microsoft word s-5. shamsi.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 77-80, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication trichothecium roseum link a new record of hyphomycetous fungus for bangladesh shamim shamsi1 and razia sultana department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: trichothecium roseum, hyphomycetes, bangladesh recently, a study was undertaken to find out the association of fungi with infected chickpea (cicer arietinum l.) plants grown in bangladesh. during the isolation of fungi from the infected dried pod surface of chickpea, a hyphomycetous fungus trichothecium roseum link was found associated with the sample examined and the genus is a new record for bangladesh. the fungus was isolated following “tissue planting” method (cab 1968) on pda medium. trichothecium roseum is the only species included in the genus trichothecium. trichothecium roseum has world-wide distribution. the fungus is mostly saprophytic or weakly parasitic (barnett and hunter 1972). the fungus was found as laboratory contaminant and previously recorded on felled trunks and fallen branches of acer, corylus, fagus, prunus, quercus and ulmus (ellis and ellis 1985). the fungus was also isolated from paddy field soil and pink rot infected apples (subramanian 1971). the fungus was previously isolated from fruit surface of jute (corchorus capsularis l.) by the first author, but was not reported. therefore, this is the first record of association of t. roseum with chickpea as well as jute. the present description is based upon the sample isolated from chickpea. trichothecium roseum link (1809) (plates 1-2) (subramanian 1962, ellis and ellis 1985) colonies effuse, at first white but soon turning rosy pink. conidiophores up to 147 × 3.0-4.5 µm, hyaline, often slightly swollen at their tips. conidia hyaline, pink in mass, 1septate, thick-walled, each with a flattened protuberance at the base, 13.5-27.0 × 8-11 µm, often clustered. specimens examined: isolated from infected dried fruit surface of jute, botanical research garden, curzon hall, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 167, 23 august 1998. isolated from the infected dried pod surface of bari chola-3 (cicer arietinum), botanical research garden, curzon hall, university of dhaka, dhaka, r. sultana 10, 30 november 2006. 1corresponding author. e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com 78 shamsi and sultana plate 1. trichothecium roseum. a. infected dried pods of chickpea (cicer arietinum); b. culture plate; c. photomicrograph of the mycelia, conidiophores and conidia. (bar = 20 µm) trichothecium roseum link 79 plate 2. trichothecium roseum. camera lucida drawings of the fungus: a. conidiophores; b. conidia. acknowledgements the authors express their sincere thanks and gratitude to prof. md. abul hassan, chairman, department of botany, university of dhaka for providing all laboratory facilities to carry out the present research work. special thanks are due to prof. a.z.m. nowsher ali khan for his overall cooperation during the tenure of research and prof. m.r. khan of the same department for his suggestion, encouragement and help in microscopic and digital photography. 80 shamsi and sultana references barnett, h.l. and hunter, b.b. 1972. illustrated genera of imperfect fungi. 3rd edition. burgess publishing company, minneapolis, minnesota, pp. 1-241. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. 1st edition. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, pp. 1-267. ellis, m.b. and ellis, j.p. 1985. microfungi on land plants. biddles ltd., guildford and kings lynn, great britain, pp. 1-818. subramanian, c.v. 1962. a classification of the hyphomycetes. curr. sci. 31: 409-411. subramanian, c.v. 1971. hyphomycetes. icar, new delhi, pp. 1-930. (manuscript received on 3 february 2008; revised on 24 april 2008) microsoft word s-3. chunle.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 73-74, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication validation of the name paraphlomis hispida c.y. wu (lamiaceae) xiang chunlei1 and peng hua2 key laboratory of biodiversity and biogeography, kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, kunming 650204, yunnan, china keywords: paraphlomis hispida, lamiaceae, nomenclature, validation, china in the course of working on lamiaceae for regional floras in yunnan province, china, it was found that paraphlomis hispida c.y. wu was not a validly published name under the article 37.1 in the international code of botanical nomenclature (mcneill et al. 2006). three specimens were cited for paraphlomis hispida, but none of them was designated as the type of this species in the protologue (wu 1959). unfortunately, this problem was not realized in the updated english edition of the flora of china (li and hedge 1994). to enable formal use of the name, paraphlomis hispida is here validated with one of these three specimens designated as the holotype. as the name and validating diagnosis are ascribed to wu (1959), under the article 46.2, c.y. wu is the author of the name paraphlomis hispida. validation paraphlomis hispida c.y. wu, sp. nov. type: china, yunnan province: si-chou, fardoe, 1,300 m, forest floor, 8 dec. 1939, c.w. wang 85447 (holotype: herbarium, kunming institute of botany, academia sinica (kun)); china, yunnan, mar-li-po, tung-ting, 1,200-1,500 m, in open thickets, 22 nov. 1947, k.m. feng 13539 (paratype: kun). validating description and diagnosis are referred to c.y. wu in acta phytotax. sin. 8(1): 39 (1959). paraphlomis hispida is similar to p. patentisetulosa c.y. wu ex h.w. li and p. javanica (bl.) prain, their key characters are listed in table 1. table 1. a comparison of key features of three paraphlomis species. species stem petiole leaf calyx nutlet p. hispida densely retrorse, fine strigose slender, up to 15 cm membranous, 3-20 ×1.8-11.5 cm bristly truncate p. javanica retrorse, strigose slender, up to 8 cm membranous, 3-15 (-30)× 1.5-8.5 (-14) cm not bristly triquetrous p. patentisetulosa densely fine tawny, patentsetose flat, 2-8 cm thin papery, 5.5-14.5 ×2.5-7 cm bristly triquetrous 1graduate school of the chinese academy of sciences, beijing 100049, china 2corresponding author. present address: herbarium, kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, kunming, yunnan, china. e-mail: hpeng@mail.kib.ac.cn 74 chunlei and hua paraphlomis hispida is confined to east asia, known from china (se yunnan) and northern vietnam. it occurs in dense tropical forests or thickets, at altitude of 1,2001,500 m. acknowledgments this study was funded by ministry of science and technology (grant no.: 2003cb415103) and kunming institute of botany (grant no.: kib-wu-2001-04), china. the authors are grateful to an anonymous reviewer for his valuable suggestions in revising the manuscript. references li, x.w. and hedge, i.c. 1994. paraphlomis. in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds.), flora of china. 17: 170177. science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., burdet, h.m., demoulin, v., hawksworth, d.l., marhold, k., nicolson, d.h., prado, j., silva, p.c., skog, j.e., wiersema, j.h. and turland, n.j. (eds.) 2006. international code of botanical nomenclature (vienna code). adopted by the seventeenth international botanical congress vienna, austria, july 2005. a.r.g.. gantner verlag, ruggell. [regnum veg. 146] wu, c.y. 1959. revisio labiatarum sinensium. acta phytotax. sin. 8(1): 1-66. (manuscript received on 19 october 2007; revised on 28 november 2007) microsoft word s-1. ss.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 91-93, 2009 (june) short communication © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama – a new dematiaceous hyphomycetes record for bangladesh shamim shamsi1 and zuhra yasmin department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. keywords: bipolaris australiensis; new record; bangladesh. an anamorphic fungus bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama was found associated with felled, painted timber. the fungus was isolated following “streaking” method on pda medium (cab, 1968). cladosporium sp., pestalotia sp. and trichoderma viride pers were also found along with b. australiensis. earlier, bipolaris spicefera (bainier) subrum. was recorded on rice (shamsi, 1999) and b. sorokiniana (sacc.) shoem on wheat (ali-hydar and fakir, 1992; ahmed and hossain, 2003) from bangladesh. bipolaris australiensis is a new record for bangladesh. bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama, mycologia 73: 88-96, 1981. (plates 1, 2) colonies blackish-green, velvety on pda medium at room temperature between 24 and 29ºc at ph 6. hyphae brown, smooth septate. conidiophores solitary, flexous or geniculate, septate, chocolate brown, 57-138 × 4.5-6.3 µm. conidia straight, ellipsoidal or oblong, rounded at the ends, chocolate brown, mostly 3-pseudoseptate, rarely 4 or 5pseudoseptate, 13-36 × 8-11 µm. conidia germinate from both poles (bipolar). a flattened hilum or point of attachment is seen on the basal cell of conidia (shoemaker, 1959; tsuda and ueyama, 1981). on the basis of condial features, tsuda and ueyama (1981) transferred drechslera australiensis m.b. ellis to the genus bipolaris shoemaker. specimen examined: isolated from felled, painted wood. 230 new d.o.h.s. mohakhali, dhaka, shamsi 2086, 6 february 2008. 1 corresponding author. e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com 92 shamsi and yasmin plate 1. bipolaris australiensis. a. colonies on painted wood; b. photomicrograph of conidiophores and conidia (bar = 30 µm). plate 2. bipolaris australiensis. a. conidiophores; b. conidia. bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama 93 acknowledgements the authors express their sincere thanks and gratitude to the chairman, department of botany, university of dhaka for providing all laboratory facilities to carry out the present research. special thanks are extended to prof. a.z.m. nowsher ali khan and prof. m.r. khan of the same department for their overall cooperation during the tenure of research. references ahmed, f. and hossain, i. 2003. physiologic races of bipolaris sorokiniana in bangladesh. bangladesh j. agric. res. 30(4): 568-583. ali-hydar, m.m. and fakir, g.a. 1992. fungi associated with wheat grains in bangladesh and their pathogenic significance. bangladesh j. bot. 21(2): 173-180. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, pp. 1-267. shamsi, s. 1999. investigations into the sheath rot disease of rice (oryza sativa l.) in bangladesh. phd thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. i-xii + 1-127. (unpublished) shoemaker, r.a. 1959. nomenclature of drechslera and bipolaris segregated from helminthosporium. canad. j. bot. 37: 879-887. tsuda, m. and ueyama, a. 1981. pseudocochliobolus australiensis, the ascigerous state of bipolaris australiensis. mycologia 73: 88-96. (manuscript received on 3 july 2008; revised on 8 january 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 59-61, 2005 (june) short communication hemiorchis rhodorrhachis schum. (zingiberaceae) a new record for bangladesh s. c. srivastava and p. p. ghoshal botanical survey of india, p.o. botanic garden, howrah-711 103, west bengal, india key words: hemiorchis rhodorrhachis, new record, bangladesh during a taxonomic study of the genus hemiorchis kurz (zingiberaceae) in india and its vicinity, a specimen of lister deposited at cal was found to be wrongly identified as h. pantlingii king. the correct identity of the specimen significantly influenced its known distribution. so far the species is known to occur from india (meghalaya) and burma, but the present specimen of lister, from barkal. establishes its occurrence in bangladesh too. the present paper provides detailed description along with an analytical illustration for easy identification. the species is closely allied to h. pantlingii king, but differs in having the corolla tube almost equal to clayx. a detailed description and illustration of the species for easy identification is given here. hemiorchis rhodorrhachis schum. in engler, das pflanzenreich, heft 20: 128 (1904). rao et verma in bull. bot. surv. india 14 (1-4): 119 (1972); mitra, flow. pl. east. india 1: 249, 1958. h. burmanica auct. non kurz 1873; baker in curtis, bot. mag. 46 ser. 3. t. 7120. 1890 et in hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 207 1890. type: india: khasia hill, g. mann. 1889 (k, n.v.). (fig. 1) herb, terrestrial, 10-15 cm tall. rhizome vertical, cylindrical, muddy white outside, creamy white inside, c. 0.5 cm thick. leaves 3-6, produced after flowering, sheathing the stem; lamina oblong-lanceolate, entire, membranous margin, dark green above, pale green beneath, acute apex, pubescent. inflorescence radical, spike c. 12 cm long; peduncle covered with spathe; spathe 5-7, 4.0-6.2 cm long, round at tip, pink, entire margin, puberulous; flower spirally arranged, ebracteate, orange coloured, 1.8-2.2 cm long, 1-2 flowers open at a time. calyx 7-8 × 4-5 mm, tubular, trifid apically, pink, pubescent; sinus c. 1.5 mm; lobes slightly bifid. corolla tube c. 8 mm long, orange. lateral petals c. 12 × 5 mm, membranous, cream coloured, oblong-ovate, entire margin, hispidulous, obtuse apex, 3-nerved; dorsal lobe 12 × 7 mm, cream coloured, membranous, broadly oblong-ovate, entire margin, hispidulous, obtuse apex, 3-nerved. staminodes c. 12 7 mm, bit leathery, obliquely ovate-oblong, orange or yellow, entire margin, obtuse apex, 3-nerved, slightly clawed; claw c. 3 mm. lip 14 × 10 mm, broadly ovate or orbicular when open, yellowish or orange, spotted with red-brown dots, leathery, 60 srivastava and ghoshal fig. 1. a-h: hemiorchis rhodorrhachis schum. a. habit; b. flower, c. calyx; d. dorsal petal; e. lateral petals; f. staminodes; g. lip and h. stamen. entire margin, deep orange midrib like appearance which is protruding out in beak shape structure. stamen c. 8 mm long, anther c. 3-4 mm long, apiculate, yellow. stigma rounded, pubescent, protuded out of anther. ovary c. 2 mm long, oblong, tomentose. hemiorchis rhodorrhachis (zingiberaceae) 61 specimens examined: bangladesh: chittagong hill tracts, barkal, 1876, j.l. lister 305 (cal). references baker, j.g. 1890. in: curtis's bot. mag. 46, ser. 3, t. 7120. l. reeve & co., 5 henrietta st., covent garden, london. baker, j.g. 1890. in: hooker, j.d. (ed.) fl. brit. india 6: 206-207. l. reeve & co., ltd. the oast house, brook, ashford, kent. mitra, j.n. 1958 flowering plants of easten india 1 monocotyledons. 249-250. the world pres private ltd. calcutta. rao, a.s. and d.m. verma. 1972. materials for a monocot flora of assam ii (zingiberaceae and marantaceae) in bull. bot. sur. india 14(4): 119. scumann, k. 1904. in: engler, a. (ed.) das pflanzenreich regni vegetabilis conspectus.\ heft 20: 127-129 im verlag von h.r. engelmann (j. cramer) weinheim/bergstrafbe. botanical survey of india, p.o. botanic garden, howrah-711 1 west bengal, india wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 63-65, 2005 (june) short communication wedelia trilobata (l.) a.s. hitchc. (asteraceae) a new record for bangladesh a. b. m. enayet hossain and md. abul hassan1 department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342, bangladesh key words: wedelia trilobata (l.) a.s. hitchc. asteraceae, new record, bangaldesh a specimen of wedelia jacq., belonging to the family asteraceae, was found and collected by the second author from gulshan area of dhaka city in july 2003, which was subsequently grown for flowering in the dhaka university botanic garden and also in the jahangirnagar university botanic garden. after thorough taxonomic investigation, the specimen has been identified as wedelia trilobata (l.) a.s. hitchc., a native of central america, now widely distributed in the tropics. this species has been found as an ornamental herb grown in the islands of dhaka city streets and in the private gardens. very likely this species is an escape from these gardens and now flourishing rapidly within the city area. since wedelia trilobata (l.) a.s. hitchc. was not reported earlier from the present bangladesh territory by any of the previous workers, viz. hooker (1881), prain (1903), heinig (1925), raizada (1941), sinclair (1955), hossain (1966), hossain and khan (1993) and khan (1992), this is being recorded here for the first time for bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic description and illustration of the plant are given below, based on the living specimens maintained by the authors. wedelia trilobata (l.) a.s. hitchc. in rep. missouri bot. gard. 4: 99 (1898); sivarajan & pradeep in ind. j. for. 11: 161-162 (1988); hajra, rao, singh and unigal (ed), fl. ind. 12: 426 (1995). silphium trilobatum l., syst. ed. 10: 1232 (1759). (fig. 1) creeping, mat-forming perennial herb; stems rooting at the nodes, cylindrical, muchbranched, procumbent, coarsely strigose to spreading hirsute or subglabrous, reaching up to 30 cm or more. leaves shortly petiolate, opposite-decussate, ovate-dentate or 3-lobed, irregularly toothed or serrate, usually with a pair of lateral lobes, fleshy, strigose on both surfaces, 4-7 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm wide. capitula heterogamous, rayed, solitary on 310 cm long peduncles. involucre campanulate, hemispherical; bracts 2-seriate, outer 1.01.2 cm long and 0.4-0.5 cm broad, ovate-lanceolate, chuffy, rigid, often recurved and exceeding the disk; inner shorter, lanceolate; receptacle convex, paleaceous. paleae 1department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 64 hossain and hassan fig. 1. wedelia trilobata (l.) a.s. hitchc. a. habit sketch (2/3 nat. size); b. l.s. of a capitulum; c. involucral bract; d. a. female floret, b. a hermaphrodite disc floret; e. a. outer palea, b. inner palea. embracing the cypselas, concave. ray florets 1-seriate, female, ligulate, 5-12 mm long; disc-florets many-seriate, tubular, bisexual. corolla of the ray-florets golden yellow with 2-3-fid limb; that of disc-florets with 5-fid limb. anthers appendaged, bases sagittate with minute auricles. stylar arms of outer florets elongated, tips acute, hairy; those of discwedelia trilobata (l.) a.s. hitchc. 65 florets flattened, with acute appendages, hairy. cypselas of outer florets 3-angled, those of disc-florets sub-terete or sub-truncate, tuberculate. pappus a crown of short fimbriate scales. fl. march-august. the authors sincerely thank md. rabiul islam, an m.sc. student of the department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, for making the illustrations of this species. references heinig, r.h. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. pp. 1-84. hooker, j.d. 1881. flora of british india. 3: 219-419. indian reprint. 1973. bishensingh-mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. hossain, a.b.m.e. 1966. compositae of dhaka city and its suburbs. m.sc. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, bangladesh (partly published). hossain, a.b.m.e. and khan, s.a. 1993. a vegetational analysis on the compositae of the eastern region of bangladesh. bangladesh j. life sci. 5(2): 49-55. khan, s.a. 1992. a taxonomic study on the compositae of the eastern region of bangladesh. m.sc. thesis, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, dhaka, bangladesh (unpublished). prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol. 1: 426-464. indian reprint (1963). botanical survey of india. (calcutta). raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong, indian forester 17: 245-254. sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. bengal 9(2): 110-111. department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka references wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 97-99, 2010 (june) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnobotanical information on sapium insigne (royle) benth.: a conserved plant of shivalik hills, india dhiraj s. rawat and anjna d. kharwal* deparment of botany, shoolini institute of life sciences and business management, solan (h.p.), india keywords: ethnobotanical information; latex; shivalik hills. shivalik hills or the lower hills of himachal pradesh in ancient times were known as 'manak parbat'. it literally means the "tresses of shiva". shivalik hills in himachal pradesh includes districts i.e. kangra, hamirpur, una, bilaspur and the lower parts of mandi, solan and sirmaur. the altitude ranges from 350m to 1,500m above the sea level, (balokhra, 2002). sapium insigne (royle) benth. is a common medium-sized deciduous tree of this range with alternate, toothed, oblong-lanceolate, glabrous leaves crowded towards the end of branches. bark rough, divided deeply into furrows with corky ridges. flowers are yellowish-green, arranged in terminal spikes. capsules long, 3-lobed, 3seeded and fleshy when young. it mostly occurs in wastelands and along field boarders. so far a little information of latex used by locals as a fish poison is available (ambasta, 1986; jain, 1984, 1991). this species is of great concern in himalayas as it is fast growing, discarded in use due to fear of latex and avoidance of plant growth near residential areas. in order to understand the ethnobotanical relationship the present study is carried out. for a better understanding of local beliefs, habits and uses of plant, different categories of people like family heads, healers, old experienced and knowledgeable informants were repeatedly interviewed. in total 50 informants were interviewed in each district (total 350) for one year in shivalik hills (kangra, hamirpur, una, bilaspur and the lower parts of mandi, solan and sirmaur). specific questions based upon proforma (jain and goel, 1995) were asked and the resultant information was recorded in the ethnobotanical field notebook. information revealed the facts about its local names, ecology, reproductive cycle (flowering and fruiting period), causes of fear to locals, ethnobotanical uses if any and mode of reproduction. sapium insigne (royle) benth. (euphorbiaceae) is locally known as 'ainkhar' or 'balodhar' in shivalik hills. flowering occurs during the months of may to july with crimson red spikes. it appears beautiful in vegetative as well as in flowering stage; but still it is highly undesirable by the locals due to its poisonous nature. it propagates through seeds. leaves are not given as a fodder to the livestock as it is considered highly poisonous to the animals. the wood of the plant is of no use even as a fuel wood due to highly irritating smoke. it causes redness of eyes which is highly irritating. people *department of botany, govt. p. g. college, solan (h.p.). 98 rawat and kharwal consider that prolonged exposure to the smoke may lead to loss of sight. inflammation of cornea, conjunctivitis, oedematous swellings and blisters commonly occurs on exposure to latex. poisonous flowering spikes are of no use as such, even not touched by the locals. the highly poisonous component of the plant is latex as stated by the locals. people fear to cut this tree as if latex happens to fall in eyes which may cause serious troubles related to eyesight. so its cutting is done with utmost care by some people as they do not want this tree to be present along the boarders of the fields as a safety measure. latex contains fatty acid esters of tetracyclic diterpenes alcohols i.e. phorbol and derivatives of phorbol, diphnane and ingenane. the given information is the first ever report on sapium insigne. similar work has been done on poisonous ivy plant (hedera helix l.) and brassaia actinophylla of the family araliaceae. oil and latex from this plant is highly irritating to skin; so people avoid them (boyle and harman, 1985; massmanian et al., 1988; mitchell, 1981). sapium insigne (royle) benth. in flowering stage. the only use of latex by locals is as a fish poison and sometimes it is applied to the boils and blisters in very little quantity to hasten suppuration (ambasta, 1986; jain, 1984, 1991), but utmost care is required. some locals consider it risky to life as there are so many herbal remedies for curing later. in this era of globalization, as people are using the natural resources ruthlessly and most of the plant species are declining but due to limited uses, poisonous nature of the latex, the population of the studied plant is increasing in this range and it seems to be automatically conserved. ethnobotanical information on sapium insigne 99 acknowledgement the authors are thankful to prof. s. k. sood, dean of life sciences, himachal pradesh university, shimla for his valuable guidance. references ambasta, s.p. (ed.). 1986. the useful plants of india. c.s.i.r., new delhi. balokhra, j.m. 2002. the wonderland himachal pradesh. h.g. publication, new delhi. boyle, j. and harman, r.m. 1985. contact dermatitis to hedera helix (common ivy). contact dermatitis 12: 111-112. jain, s.k. 1984. ethnobotany of morni and kalesar (ambala, harayana). j. econ. tax. bot. 5: 809-813. jain, s.k. 1991. dictionary of indian folk medicine and ethnobotany. deep publication, new delhi. jain, s.k. and goel, a.k. 1995. workshop exercise-1. proforma for field work. in: jain, s.k. (ed.). a manual of ethnobotany. scientific publ., jodhpur. pp. 142-147. massmanian, a., valcuende-cavero, f., ramirez-bosca, a. and castells-rodellas, a. 1988. contact dermatitis from variegated ivy (hedera helix subsp. canariensis willd.). contact dermatitis 18: 247-248. mitchell, j.c. 1981. allergic contact dermatitis from hedera helix and brassaia actinophylla (araliaceae). contact dermatitis 7: 158-159. (manuscript received on 5 march 2009; revised on 6 october 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 53-57, 2005 (june) pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh : meteoriaceae and pterobryaceae hamida khatun and syed hadiuzzaman department of botany, university of dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: pleurocarpous moss, isobryales, meteoriaceae, pterobryaceae, bangladesh abstract barbella rufifolia (thwait & mitt.) broth. (family meteoriaceae) and pterobryopsis auriculata dix. (family pterobryaceae) of isobryales are described as new records for bangaldesh. introduction while studying the herbarium specimens of the university of dhaka (duh) for the pleurocarpous mosses of bangaldesh, the authors have come across with two species namely, barbella rufifolia (thwait & mitt.) broth. of the family meteoriaceae and pterobryopsis auriculata dix. of the family pterobryaceae, both belonging to the order isobryales. incidentally, it may be mentioned that these two genera are also new records for bangladesh. these two taxa are not found in the works of earlier workers, viz. tixier 1967, khatun and hadiuzzaman 1994a, 1994b, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2004a and 2004b. gangulee (1976) described many genera and species of the family meteoriaceae from the eastern india and adjacent regions but b. rufifolia was not mentioned from bangladesh in his work. as regards p. auriculata gangulee (l.c.) mentioned it as endemic to india, but now it is found also in bangladesh. so far khatun and hadiuzzaman (l.c.) reported 22 species under 12 genera of pleurocarpous mosses of bangaldesh. the illustrated description of the above mentioned two new records along with short notes on their distribution in bangladesh are given below. order: isobryales; family: meteoriaceae genus barbella fleisch. in broth., nat. pfl., 1(3): 823 (1906) plant slender, loose, soft, long, pendant tufts. stems creeping with numerous short or long free and irregular branches. leaves symmetric, inserted in many rows, curved or spiraled when dry, lanceolate, acuminate, with a single vein ending in well below the tip. leaf cells thin-walled, variously papillose, linear to elliptic, rhomboidal at base and slightly different at alar. barbella rufifolia (thwait & mitt.) broth., nat. pfl., 1(3) : 324 (1906) (plate 1) [syn.: meteorium rufifolium thwait. & mitt. in j. linn. soc. bot., 13: 316 (1873)] 54 khatun and hadiuzzaman plant green to yellow-green, secondary branches flexuose. main stem pendulous, branches short, distant, pinnate, complanate, ending in flagellate tips, c. 5 cm or more long. leaves widely spreading, complanate, lanceolate, not ovate at base but gradually narrow, c. 3.25 mm long and 0.73 mm wide at base, apex short, pointed, margin dentate, costa single, reaching up to less than half or half of the leaf. leaf cells elongate, linear plate 1 plate 1 figs. a-k: barbella rufifolia (thwait. & mitt.) broth. a. dry plant (× 6.67), b. wet plant (× 6.67); c, d. leaves (× 24), e. basal laminal cells (× 180), f. middle laminal cell (× 180), g. leaf apex cells (× 180), h. perichaetial leaf (× 24), i. mouth cells of the capsule (× 200), j. exothecial cells of the capsule (× 200), k. peristome teeth (× 80). pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 55 sometimes elliptic, with one or more than one papillae, extreme base and extreme tip cells lack of papillae, c. 95 × 5 µm at tip,c. 75 × 4 µm at middle, short at base up to c. 60 × 5 µm, alar differentiated by very few rectangular cells. sporophyte on short, lateral shoot with ovate-cylindric capsule, shorter than perichaetial leaves. seta short, c. 1.2 mm, capsule ovate cylindric, c. 1.3 × 0.5 mm in diameter. peristome double, exostome long with linear lanceolate teeth showing median line and dense striations below, endostome hyaline, papillose, segments showing median perforation with c. 987 µm basal membrane. specimen examined: natore: sadar, collected from the bark of the tree on 20 december, 1978 by sakil ahmed, 335 (duh). family: pterobryaceae; genus: pterobryopsis plant robust, shiny, stems creeping, filiform, densely rediculose, slightly woody and hard. leaves in many rows, symmetrical, ovate-lanceolate, short acuminate, cucullate at the apex, concave. nerve stronger, single. leaf cells smooth, incrassate, porose and larger at the base, alar cells little differentiated. pterobryopsis auriculata dix., j. bombay nat. hist. soc., 39 : 782 (1937) (plate 2) plant dense or robust, branches present, more or less pinnately branched, up to 8 cm long. leaves also dense, erect, ovate-cochliariform (rounded and concave like spoon), cucullate at acute apex. stem leaf c. 2.5 mm long and 1.5 mm wide, margin involute in upper leaf, slightly dentate at tip, auricle present at base. costa single, length of the costa about 3/4th or more of the leaf length. leaf cells non papillose but porous and thick wall at basal middle, linear elongate at middle, c. 95.5 x 8 µm, c. 70.7 x 10 µm at base, alar cells are not conspicuous, cells in auricle hyaline, shorter, c. 40.5 x 8 µm. main stem and branch stem leaves are more or less similar but branch stem leaves are slightly wider and larger in size. sporophyte not known. number of filamentous gemmae found, 8-10 celled structure, c.200-260 µm long. specimens exmined: barisal: amtoli, on the bark of tree, md. rafiq, 2.12.95, 748 (duh), cox's bazar: town, on the bark of tree, hamida khatun, 21.02.92, 73 (duh); st. martin’s island, on the bark of tree, 1538, 1569 (duh); maulvi bazar : srimangal, on the bark of tree, hamida khatun, syeda humaira afroze,md. shahabuddin, md belal, abdul karim, 3.3.92, 671 (duh); adampur forest, on the bark of tree, hamida khatun, 1.12.94, 353 (duh); kality tea estate, on the bark of tree, shelly, husna, nilufer, lovely, 12.3.82 (duh); nilphamari: syedpur, on the bark of tree, masuduzzaman, 30.11.88,1393 (duh); tangail : mirzapur, on the bark of tree, nazmul islam, 19.2.91, 37 (duh). 56 khatun and hadiuzzaman plate 2 fig. a-g: pterobryopsis auriculata dix. a. dry plant (× 6.66), b. wet plant (× 6.66), c. leaf (× 18), d. gemma (× 133.33), e. basal laminal cells (× 300), f. middle laminal cells (× 300), g. leaf apex cells (× 300). references gangulee, h.c. 1976. mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions. (a monograph), fasc. 6: 1260-1272, 1324-1389, calcutta, india. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman s. 1994. taxonomic studies of some pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh, bangladesh j. bot. 23(1): 113-122. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 57 khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman s. 1994. a preliminary checklist of the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh . bangladesh j. plant taxon . 1(2): 61-63. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman s. 1995. addition to the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot . 24(2): 183-191. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman s. 1999. addition to the checklist of the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 8(2): 207-209. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman s. 2003. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh, family neckeraceae-1. bangladesh j. plant taxon . 10(2): 47-55. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman s. 2004. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh, family neckeraceae-2. bangladesh j. plant taxon . 11(1): 43-47. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman s. 2004. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh, family erpodiaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon . 11(2): 29-32. tixier, p. 1967. bryophytae indosinicae. the dacca univ. stud., b, 15: 1-14 department of botany, university of dhaka-1000, bangladesh abstract introduction order: isobryales; family: meteoriaceae plate 1 plate 1 family: pterobryaceae; genus: pterobryopsis plate 2 references wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 177-180, 2009 (december) short communication © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists epidermal features of rice leaf cv. brri dhan29 md. tofazzal islam1, a.k.m. golam sarwar2, hasna hena begum and toshiaki ito research faculty of agriculture, hokkaido university, kita 9, nishi 9, kita-ku, sapporo 060 8589, japan. keywords: leaf epidermis; rice; scanning electron microscopy (sem); slender macro hair. epidermal characters of the leaf play an important role in distinguishing members of the poaceae (metcalfe, 1960; ellis, 1979) as well as different rice (oryza sativa l.) cultivars (sarwar and ali, 2002 and references therein). with the increased use of electron microscopy, studies on phytoliths as criteria in systematics have successfully been employed (whang et al., 1998). among 51 high yielding rice cultivars developed by bangladesh rice research institute (brri), the brri dhan29 is one of the most productive and popular cultivars (anonymous, 2009). a detail light microscopic (lm) study on leaf epidermis of some rice cultivars grown in bangladesh was carried out (sarwar and ali, 2002), but no scanning electron microscopic (sem) study on the leaf epidermis of them has been done. the present study was carried out to visualize the characteristic features of leaf epidermis of brri dhan29 by sem. brri dhan29 seeds collected from the seed market of mymensingh, bangladesh were sterilized, germinated and after two weeks culture the third leaves were prepared for sem study following protocol as described by islam et al. (2005). the stomatal apparatus, macro hairs, and prickle hairs were measured under a jsm-6301f, jeol scanning electron microscope with accelerating voltage of 5kv. the leaf surface of brri dhan29 comprises several types of cells and appendages e.g., long and short cells, stomata with guard cells, macro hairs, prickle hairs, papillae and silica bodies (figs 1a-d). the long cells were dominating among the various cells. the whole leaf surface had a dense cover of epicuticular wax and bore hairs. long cells of both costal and intercostal regions had thick and moderately marked sinuous wall (figs 1c, f). by lm, similar results were reported by sarwar and ali (2002). short cells were usually nearly equidimensional in shape and were present in costal regions and absent in intercostal regions (fig. 1a). it also confirmed the earlier reports of lm studies (metcalfe, 1960; sarwar and ali, 2002). papillae are protrusions of various shapes and sizes from the outer walls of the epidermal cells. the number and size of papillae varied among different cells and within a cell also (figs 1c, f, g). 1 present address: school of agriculture and rural development, bangladesh open university, gazipur, bangladesh. e-mail: tofazzalislam@yahoo.com 2 corresponding author. present address: department of crop botany, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh 2202, bangladesh. e-mail: gsshameem@gmail.com 178 islam et al. macro hairs were common in the adaxial surface along with other types of hairs (figs 1b, d, g). macro hairs were characteristically unicellular with pointed tip (figs 1b, g) and were seen with naked eye or by a hand lens (metcalfe, 1960; ellis, 1979; sarwar and ali, 2002). the length of macro hairs was 87.75 (mean) ± 14.72 (standard deviation) µm and the width was 14.02±1.60 µm. but, a special type of macro hair was discovered in both the adaxial and abaxial surfaces of rice leaves in this study (figs 1d, e). these macro hairs are small and slender in shape with blunt tip, length 32.63±7.65 µm and width 5.21±0.70 µm (fig. 1h). this is the first report on the presence of slender macro hair on the rice leaf epidermis, although this type of macro hairs was observed on the adaxial surface of mature maize leaf (fig. 1b in sylvester et al., 2001). sylvester et al. (2001) also did not find any difference in the anatomy of juvenile leaves of rice compared with that of adults. the brri dhan29 bears the highest density of macro hairs on its leaf epidermis (sarwar and ali, 2002), which might be one of the probable causes of resistance to insect pests and diseases in this cultivar. but further studies, with both higher number of cultivars and specimens, are needed to confirm whether this feature is unique to this cultivar or also shared with others. fig. 1. scanning electron micrographs showing the adaxial (a-d, f, g, i) and abaxial (e, h) surfaces of brri dhan29 leaf blade. the leaf surfaces contain long cells, short cells, prickle hairs, stomata with guard cells, papillae and hairs of different sizes. l, long cell; ma, macro hair; pa, papilla; pr, prickle hair; sb, silica body; sma, special type macro hair; st, stoma with guard cells. rods on figure h are phyloplane epiphytic bacteria. epidermal features of rice leaf cv. brri dhan29 179 the stomata were arranged in 3-4 rows in intercostal zones (fig. 1b). the stomatal apparatuses were generally triangular in shape, but some were found to be dome shaped (figs 1c, f, g). the frequency of stomata was higher in the adaxial surface compared with the abaxial surface. the length of stomatal apparatuses was 27.67±2.86 µm and the width was 17.07±2.71 µm. similar observations were reported from lm studies (sarwar and ali, 2002), but the present study visualized the epidermal characteristics of brri dhan29 rice leaves more clearly and in depth. the size, shape and number of stomata might be used as differentiating criteria of rice cultivars grown in bangladesh (a.k.m. golam sarwar, unpublished data). most silica bodies are formed in epidermal long cells (figs 1f, h). silica bodies developed in epidermal long cells along the midrib were significantly different in shape and size compared to those formed along other veins. morphological variations in silica bodies might be related to different water conducting tissue systems that influence silica availability, phytolith size and shape (whang et al., 1998). in rice, silica body content may be correlated with resistance to fungal diseases (e.g., brown spot and blast) and insect pests (e.g., asiatic stem borer and leaf roller) (kim et al., 2002). the number of silica bodies and rows per cell may be diagnostic for a species, but there is always a range of values, and variations are due to the age of the leaf, and environmental conditions must be taken into account (kim et al., 2002; prychid et al., 2003). the x-ray micro-analysis is emerged as a good tool for quantifying si distribution in the rice leaf (lux et al., 1999, 2003). in the abaxial epidermis, prickle hairs were fairly common (fig. 1e). prickle hairs had tough, short pointed structure with swollen bases and short, sharp pointed spines or barbs which arise from (fig. 1i), and form an integral part of epidermis with lignified walls (metcalfe, 1960). the length of prickle hairs was 66.1±15.57 µm and the width was 19.1±2.36 µm. the leaf margin was characterized by the radial arrangement of prickle hairs only (sarwar and ali, 2002). they were distributed more or less equidistantly in brri dhan29 (fig. 1a). acknowledgements the authors are thankful to prof. satoshi tahara, laboratory of ecological chemistry, hokkaido university, japan for his enormous support during this work. the first author and the corresponding author are thankful to the japan society for the promotion of science (jsps) and ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology (mext) of japan for the postdoctoral fellowship and monbukagakusho scholarship during the period of this study, respectively. 180 islam et al. references anonymous 2009. success stories. <http://www.brri.gov.bd/success_stories/index.htm>, retrieved on 10 april 2009. ellis, p.r. 1979. a procedure for standardizing comparative leaf anatomy in poaceae. ii. the epidermis as seen under surface view. bothlia 12: 641-671. islam, m.t., deora, a., hashidoko, y., ito, t. and tahara, s. 2005. suppression of damping-off disease in host plants by the rhizoplane bacterium lysobacter sp. strain sb-k88 is linked to plant colonization and antibiosis against soilborne peronosporomycetes. appl. environ. microbiol 71: 3786-3796. kim, s.g., kim, k.w., park, e.w. and choi, d. 2002. silicon-induced cell wall fortification of rice leaves: a possible cellular mechanism of enhanced host resistance to blast. phytopathology 92:1095-1103. lux, a., luxova, m., abe, j., morita, s. and inanaga, s. 2003. silicification of bamboo (phyllostachys hetercycla mitf.) root and leaf. plant and soil 255: 85-91. lux, a., luxova, m., morita, s., abe, j. and inanaga, s. 1999. endodermal silicification in developing seminal roots of lowland and upland cultivars of rice (oryza sativa l.). can. j. bot. 77: 955-960. metcalfe, c.r. 1960. anatomy of monocotyledons. i. gramineae. oxford univ. press, london, pp. 1-731. prychid, c.g., rudall, p.j. and gregory, m. 2003. systematics and biology of silica bodies in monocotyledons. bot. rev. 69: 377-440. sarwar, a.k.m. golam and ali, m.a. 2002. studies on the leaf epidermis of rice (oryza sativa l.). indian j. agric. res. 36: 24-28. sylvester, a.w., parker-clark, v. and murray, g.a. 2001. leaf shape and anatomy as indicators of phase change in the grasses: comparison of maize, rice, and bluegrass. amer. j. bot. 88: 2157-2167. whang, s.s., kim, k. and hess, w.m. 1998. variation of silica bodies in leaf epidermal long cells within and among seventeen species of oryza (poaceae). amer. j. bot. 85: 461-466. (manuscript received on 10 april 2009; revised on 7 july 2009) 1 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 25-32, 2005 (june) new records of three aroids from bangladesh hosne ara and md. abul hassan bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words : three new records, araceae, bangladesh abstract three species of araceae viz. colocasia oresbia a. hay, rhaphidophora grandis schott and r. pertusa (roxb.) schott are recorded here for the first time from bangladesh. correct names with important synonyms, illustrated description, flowering and fruiting times, ecology, geographical distribution and occurrence within bangladesh for each species are provided. introduction the family araceae, consisting of about 110 genera and 2500 species (croat 1979), is mostly distributed in the tropics and subtropics of both the hemispheres. bangladesh, having humid tropical climate in the s. asia, is also rich in aroids. while studying the specimens collected from different places of bangladesh, the authors have come across with three species of the araceae which are found to be new records for bangladesh, namely, colocasia oresbia a. hay, rhaphidophora grandis schott and r. pertusa (roxb.) schott. these taxa were not reported from bangladesh territory in the previous works by any of the following workers, viz., hooker (1893), prain (1903), heinig (1925), calder et al. (1926), sinclair (1955), rao and verma (1976), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), rashid et al. (2000), ara (2001), khan and huq (2001) and rahman (2004a, 2004b). the illustrated taxonomic descriptions of the three species along with their local distribution are given below. updated nomenclature, important synonyms, notes on ecology, geographical distribution and the occurrence of each species in bangladesh are also provided. materials and methods the plant materials have been collected from different areas of greater chittagong hill-tracts and maulvi bazar districts during several field trips between 1998 and 2003. all the specimens are kept in the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) after the study. the specimens have been identified with the help of nicolson (1987), karthikeyan (1989), noltie (1994) and hay (1996). 1corresponding author. 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 26 ara and hassan 1. colocasia oresbia a. hay, sandakania 7: 3148 (1996). (fig. 1) robust solitary evergreen herb, stem condensed, creeping to decumbent, clothed in marcescent leaf bases, 25-40 cm long, 8-12 cm diam., stolons absent. leaves several together; petiole light green, 80-180 cm long, sheathing in the lower 1/3-1/2; blades very broadly ovate-sagittate, deeply peltate, 60-84 cm long, 50-65 cm wide, upper surface glossy green, lower surface pale green; primary lateral veins 5-6 pairs, pale green. inflorescences produced in both juvenile and adult plants, solitary or paired; peduncles almost completely enclosed in sheath of subtending leaf, when paired the sequence perpendicular to the circumference of the stem with the younger one further out, 25-60 cm long, much shorter than petiole. spathe 20-36.5 cm long, tube narrowly ovoid, glaucous green, 45.5 cm long, limb erect, lanceolate, 11-31 cm long, pale creamy yellow, open only at base, the rest convolute. spadix sessile, shorter than spathe, 10-22.5 cm long; female 3.5-4 cm long, 1-1.5 cm diam., slightly tapering distally; pistils numerous (c. 150-400), interspersed irregularly in the lower half of and at the apex of the female zone with c. 2.5 mm long upturned ivory staminodes; ovaries incompletely 3-5 locular with parietal placentation and numerous sub-orthotropous ovules; style distinct but very short, less than 0.5 mm long; stigma whitish, 2 mm diam.; sterile interstice 1-2 cm long; male zone 6-11.5 cm long, 1 cm diam., synandria ivory, irregularly rhombohexagonal, 1-1.5 mm diam.; appendix constricted at base, 3-4.5 cm long, 0.4 -0.5 cm diam., tapering to a point, surface slightly and irregularly rugose. fruiting spadix aligned with peduncle; fruits numbering hundreds per infructescence, green tinged brown when ripe, seeds c. 0. 75 mm long. flowering and fruiting time: june to september. specimens examined: khagrachari district: alutilla, 11.07.2003, hosne ara and sarder nasir uddin ha 460 (dacb); maulvi bazar district: madhabkundo, 05.06.1998, hosne ara ha 36; 05.07.2002, hosne ara and sarder nasir uddin ha 91; rangamati district: kaptai, rampahar, 07.07.2003, hosne ara and sarder nasir uddin ha 359; kaptai, shilsori,. 08.07.2003, hosne ara and sarder nasir uddin ha 415 (dacb); kaptai, sitapahar, 08.07.2003, hosne ara and sarder nasir uddin ha 428 (dacb); rajbari area, 18.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1121 (dacb); subalang forest area, 19.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1123 (dacb). ecology: grows in rain forest, shady places of hill slope and foot hill. geographical distribution: indonesia. note: four species of colocasia, previously reported from bangladesh territory (ara 2000, 2001 and ara et al. 2003), are c. affinis, c. esculenta, c. fallax and c. heterochroma. c. oresbia is different from the above mentioned four species and it can easily be identified by its non-waxy, wettable leaf blades, rather long stout stem thickly clothed in old leaf bases, lack of stolons, much more robust infructescence, straight fruiting peduncle and montane plants. new records of three aroids from bangladesh 27 fig. 1. colocasia oresbia a. hay. (a) habit sketch of a flowering plant (× 0.05); (b) inflorescence (× 0.17); (c) spadix (× 0.22), (d) top view of synandria (× 4); (e) pistil (× 6); (f) longitudinal section of pistil (× 6); (g) sterile flower (× 3). 2. rhaphidophora grandis schott in öst., bot. zeitschr. 349 (1858) et prodr. 386 (1860). noltie in fl. bhut. 3 (1): 128 (1994); karthikeyan et al., fl. ind. enu. monocot.: 13 (1989); engler and krause, in engler, planzenr. 37 (iv. 23b): 51(1908); r. eximia schott, in bonplandia 5: 45 (1857); prodr. 387 (1860); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 547 (1893). (fig. 2) perennial evergreen liane to 12 m, but often less. stem 4 cm diam., internodes elongated. leaves scattered, with one foliage leaf at each node; blade larger, 40-100 x3928 ara and hassan 64 cm, oblong, not glaucous below, bright green on both surfaces; pinnae 6-10(-12) pairs of obliquely truncate, acute, unicostate and many nerved segments. petiole very stout, 1550 cm long. peduncle stouter, 15-25 cm long. spathe 20-30 x 5-10 cm, oblong-ovate, acuminate, widely open, orange-yellow on both surfaces. spadix large, 17-23 x 3-5 cm, cylindrical, sessile, apex truncate-rounded, base slightly tapering, dull cream. stamens fig. 2. rhaphidophora grandis schott. (a) habit sketch of a plant (× 0.04); (b) inflorescences and associated stem (× 3); (c) dorsal view of stamen (× 4); (d) whole flower and longitudinal section of pistil (× 4). new records of three aroids from bangladesh 29 four per flower, filaments flat, anthers much shorter than filaments, thecae dehiscing by longitudinal slit. ovaries long, fibrous, apex up to 6 mm diameter, domed so stigma raised. ovules anatropous on parietal placentation. flowering and fruiting time: may to february. specimens examined: khagrachari district: alutila, 11.07.2003, hosne ara and sardar nasir uddin ha 463 (dacb); maulvi bazar district: lewachara forest, 02.05.2003, hosne ara ha 201 (dacb). ecology: scrambling or climbing on trees in shady and moist situations in the subtropical and tropical humid or rain forest or deciduous forest. geographical distribution: bhutan, india. note: rhaphidophora grandis schott closely resembles r. glauca schott but differs by its leaf blade over 40 cm and pinnately cut, not glaucous beneath, pinnae up to 6-12 per side and spadix over 13 cm long. 3. rhaphidophora pertusa (roxb.) schott, bonplandia 5: 45 (1857); nicolson, rev. handb. fl. ceylon 6: 31-32 (1987); karthikeyan et al., fl. ind. enu. monocot.: 13 (1989); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 546 (1893); hook. f. in trimen, handb. fl. ceylon 4: 361 (1898); pothos pertusa roxb. hort. beng. 83 (1814), fl. ind. 1: 455 (1820); roxb., fl. ind 1: 434 (1832); monstera pertusa (roxb.) schott, wiener z. kunst 1830: 1028 (1830); scindapsus pertusus (roxb.) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot. 21 (1832); wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 3: 5, t. 781 (1844). (fig. 3) usually a large, evergreen, epiphytic climber with stems up to 3.5 cm thick, internodes 5-10 cm long; blades of juvenile leaves ovate, oblong-ovate or oblong-elliptic, entire and not perforated; petioles of adult leaves 20-35 cm long with a withering sheath, geniculate at apex, pulvinate at leaf blade. blade broadly ovate-oblong to almost rounded-ovate, 20-50 cm long and 15-25 cm wide, acute or usually cuspidate-acuminate and rounded or subcordate at base, simple, unequal sided, entire or irregularly and shallowly lobed, occasionally with large holes and some of the perforations usually extending to the margin. peduncles 5-18 cm long. spathe coriaceous, oblong, acuminate, 15-20 cm long, 10 cm wide when expanded, greenish at first, becoming whitish or yellowish, soon withering and deciduous. spadix cylindric, 10-15 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm in diameter. flowers naked, bisexual. stamens 4, free, filaments oblong-linear, 0.3 cm long, anthers much shorter than filaments, 0.15 cm long, dehiscing by longitudinal slit. ovary unilocular, 0.4 cm long, ovules many, anatropous, parietal placentation; stigma punctate, subimmersed in the truncate style. berries many-seeded; seeds oblong. flowering and fruiting time : august-september. ecology : grows on trees in wet lowland forest. specimen examined : maulvi bazar district: madhabkundo, 05.06.1998, hosne ara ha 29 (dacb); bangladesh national herbarium (cultivated), 07.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1090 (dacb). 30 ara and hassan fig. 3. rhaphidophora pertusa (roxb.) schott. (a) a portion of flowering shoot (× 0.3); (b) leaf (× 0.03); (c) detail of spadix ( × 0.5); (d) flower (× 3.5); (e) longitudinal section of pistil (× 3.5). distribution: southern india, sri lanka, southern mexico to west indies and southern brazil. note : six species of rhaphidophora, previously reported from bangladesh (ara 2001 and uddin et al. 2001), are r. affinis, r. calophyllum, r. decursiva, r. glauca, r. hookeri and r. hongkongensis. r. pertusa differs from all the above mentioned six new records of three aroids from bangladesh 31 species and it can easily be separated by its leaves entire or only shallowly or irregularly pinnatifid, occasionally with large holes and stigma sessile, not stalked. references ara, h. 2000. colocasia fallax schott (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(2): 85-87. ara, h. 2001. an annotated checklist of aroids in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 19-34. ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2003. colocasia heterochroma h. li et z. x. wei (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 32(2): 129-131. calder, c.c., narayanaswamy, v. and ramaswami, m.s. 1926. list of the species and genera of indian phanerogams not included in sir, j. d. hooker's "flora of british india". rec. bot. surv. ind. 11(1): 1-157. croat, t.b. 1979. the distribution of araceae. in larsen, k. & holm-nielsen, l. b. (eds.), tropical botany, academic press, london. pp. 291-308. hay, a. 1996. a new bornean species of colocasia schott (araceae: colocasieae), with a synopsis of the genus in malesia and australia. sandakania 7: 31-48. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. pp. 1-84. hooker, j.d. 1893. aroideae. flora of british india 6. indian reprint 1973. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 490-556. karthikeyan, s., jain, s.k., nayar, m.p. and sanjappa, m. 1989. florae indicae enumeratio: monocotyledonae. flora of india series 4. botanical survey of india. brabourne road, calcutta, pp. 1435. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wild-life sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focussing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants'. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. nicolson, d.h. 1987. araceae. in: dassanayake, m. d. and fosberg, f. r. (eds.). a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon 6. balkema, rotterdam, pp. 17 101. noltie, h.j. 1994. flora of bhutan, 3(1). royal botanic garden, edinburgh, uk, pp.121-158. prain. d. 1903. bengal plants 2. indian reprint (1963), botanical survey of india (calcutta), pp. 830-840. rahman, m.a and uddin, s.b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakundu in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker`s 'flora of british india' and prain`s 'bengal plants': series 1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker`s 'flora of british india' and prain`s 'bengal plants': series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rao, a.s. and verma, d.m. 1976. materials towards a monocot flora of assam v. bull. bot. surv. ind. 18(1-4): 8-34. rashid, m. h., rahman, e. and rahman, m. a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43-63. sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan, bull. bot. soc. bengal. 9(2): 110-111. 32 ara and hassan uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31-68. uddin, s.n., ara, h. and hassan, m.a. 2001. rhaphidophora hongkongensis schott (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 8(2): 111-114. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s. hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. microsoft word s-2. zashim.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 67-72, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication medico-botanical report on the chakma community of bangladesh snigdha roy, mohammad zashim uddin1, md. abul hassan and m. matiur rahman2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: chakma tribe, ethnobotany, bangladesh bangladesh is the abode for 21 ethnic communities (khaleque 1995). among them, the chakma tribe is the largest and the most dominant one. total population of chakma is about 253,000 (tripura 1994) of which more than 90 percent live in rangamati and khagrachari districts. even in the recent past, the chakma people living in bangladesh used to meet their daily needs mostly from natural forest products. for the primary health care, still most of them depend upon surrounding plants and plant products. the knowledge of such health care system is passed from generation to generation in verbal form by traditional medicine men, local headmen and elderly persons in their community. however, currently the indigenous healthcare knowledge of chakma tribe is in great risk because of various threats. if the present trend of eroding situation prevails, the valuable knowledge possessed by the chakma people on indigenous medicinal plants is going to be lost forever without being properly recorded and documented. studies on medico-botanical information of ethnic communities in bangladesh are at initial stage. some of the articles published in this field include mia and huq (1988), alam (1992), alam et al. (1996), khisa, b. (1996), khisa, s.k. (1998), rahman and uddin (1998), rahman et al. (1998), uddin (2001), uddin et al. (2001), khan et al. (2002), yusuf et al. (2002), chakma et al. (2003), rahman (2003) and uddin et al. (2004, 2006). none of these articles cover the entire medico-botanical documentation of the chakma people of bangladesh. in order to address this issue, the present article attempts to present some new medico-botanical information of chakma people in the chittagong hill tracts of bangladesh. rangamati and khagrachari districts (latitude 21º91′-23º75′ n and longitude 91º75′92º42′ e) were selected for the study as the majority of the chakma community live there. six field trips were conducted in the study area in the years 2004 and 2006. information on the medicinal plants was gathered by interviewing chakma traditional medicine men, local headmen and elderly persons in the community. local names of each medicinal plant with plant part(s) used and the names of diseases or symptoms treated were recorded. this information was confirmed by asking two or more persons of the same community. the collected botanical specimens were identified at the department of botany of the university of dhaka and bangladesh national herbarium. the voucher specimens are stored at bangladesh national herbarium for future reference. 1corresponding author. e-mail: zashim07@yahoo.com 2present address: house 64, road 9a, dhanmondi r/a, dhaka 1205, bangladesh. 68 roy et al. a total of 90 plant species have been recorded which are used in the treatment of different ailments by the chakma people. for each species, scientific, local and family names, part(s) used and diseases treated are presented in the table 1. out of the total 90 species, three species, viz. brownea coccinea jacq., gomphostemma parvifloria wall. and pyrrosia piloselloides m.g. (pteridophyte) were recorded to have medicinal value for the first time from bangladesh (hassan and khan 1986, 1996, mia and huq 1988, alam 1992, alam et al. 1996, yusuf et al. 1994, 2006, chowdhury et al. 1996, ghani 1998, uddin et al. 2001, 2004, 2006, khan et al. 2002, chakma et al. 2003, rahman et al. 2003). the list of medicinal plants of chakma people presented in this article is not a complete list. to make a complete list further long term survey is necessary. table 1. a list of medicinal plants used by the chakma people of bangladesh. scientific names of medicinal plants are arranged in alphabetical order. sl. no. scientific name chakma name family part(s) used disease(s) or symptom(s) to be treated 1. abelmoschus moschatus medik. kona-gach malvaceae leaves, seeds stomach ache 2. abroma augusta l. gash-chola sterculiaceae calyx, seeds snake bite 3. achyranthes aspera l. ubo-langara amaranthaceae leaves stomach ache, abortion 4. adhatoda zeylanica medik. basok-pata acanthaceae leaves cold, cough 5. ageratum conyzoides l. monimozzakhar asteraceae leaves wounds, skin diseases 6. alocasia indica (rox.) scott. man-kuchu araceae leaves rheumatism, constipation 7. aloe indica l. ghrito-kumari liliaceae leaves wounds, burning 8. alpinia conchigera griff. khetranga zingiberaceae rhizomes wounds 9. amaranthus viridis l. bhul-maresh amaranthaceae leaves fever 10. ampelygonum chinensis (l.) lindly mono-eja-dar polygonaceae whole plant antiseptic 11. ananus sativus schult. anash bromeliaceae unripe fruits anthelmintic 12. angiopteris evecta (frost.) hoffm. hadibo-muro angiopteridaceae stems (caudex) blood cancer 13. anisomelis indica (l.) kuntze jharbo-horin sing lamiaceae leaves gout, rheumatism 14. aphania danura (roxb.) radlk. gach-challa sapindaceae roots bark dysentery 15. areca catechu l. subori arecaceae roots urination problem 16. azadirachta indica a. juss. nim meliaceae leaves skin diseases 17. baliospermum montanum (willd) muell. shapan-pan euphorbiaceae leaves antidote 18. bambusa tulda roxb. midinga-bash poaceae leaves diabetes 19. barleria lupulina lindl. sornomukhi acanthaceae whole plant skin diseases 20. bombax ceiba l. shimul-tuologach bombacaceae roots, flowers impotency, pox, aphrodisiac, food 21. brownea coccinea jacq. kurochit-sak fabaceae roots, leaves gynecological problem 22. cajanus cajan (l.) huth. dumisumi fabaceae leaves jaundice, diabetes (contd.) medico-botanical report on the chakma community 69 table 1 contd. sl. no. scientific name chakma name family part(s) used disease(s) or symptom(s) to be treated 23. calamus latifolius roxb. karat-bet arecaceae stems fracture 24. calotropis gigantea r. br. akonda asclepiadaceae leaves, latex asthma, wounds 25. cardiospermum helicacabum l. kataboksashak sapindaceae whole plant measles 26. cassia hirsuta l. sabo-daru fabaceae leaves snake bite 27. celosia argentea l. hiang-morish amaranthaceae leaves ear diseases 28. celosia cristata l. radakuro-phul amaranthaceae leaves wounds 29. centella asiatica urban. thankuni umbelliferae whole plant blood dysentery 30. centipeda minima (l.) a.br. hatchuni asteraceae whole plant nasal problem 31. clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze noli-gach verbenaceae roots stop bleeding 32. clerodendrum viscosum vent. veck-gach verbenaceae leaves sores, diabetes 33. cnesmone javanica bl. chotta euphorbiaceae leaves snake bite, blood cancer 34. coccinia cordifolia cogn. tela-kuchu cucurbitaceae whole plant diabetes, burning sensation 35. crotalaria pallida ait. kudugojhunjhuni (1) fabaceae roots, leaves stomach pain, urination problem 36. curcuma caesia roxb. kala-holod zingiberaceae rhizomes anti-poison, sore throat 37. curcuma longa l. holod zingiberaceae flowers, rhizomes blood purifier, tonic 38. cymbopogon citratus stapf. dhan-sabarang poaceae roots, leaves cold, stomach ache 39. cyperus diffusus vahl perazary cyperaceae leaves antiseptic 40. delima sarmentosa l. ulu-ludi dilleniaceae roots, leaves fever 41. desmodium triquitrum dc. komorsina fabaceae leaves paralysis 42. diploclisia glaucescens (bl.) diels sonattola menispermaceae leaves rheumatic pain 43. dysophylla crassicaulis benth. shel-pata-richa lamiaceae leaves menstrual problem (stop bleeding) 44. entada phaseoloides (l.) merr. gila fabaceae seeds poisoning, play game 45. eupatorium odoratum l. assam-pata asteraceae leaves wounds 46. ficus racemosa l. jagga-dumur moraceae fruits invigorative 47. gomphostemma parviflorum wall. kudugojhunjhuni (2) lamiaceae roots irregular menstruation 48. hibiscus radiatus cav. sorbo-amila malvaceae leaves jaundice 49. hibiscus sabdariffa l. amila malvaceae leaves catarrh 50. hoya acuminata (wight) benth. pasha-mash asclepiadaceae leaves ear diseases 51. kalanchoe pinnata (lamk.) pers. pathor -kuchi crassulaceae leaves ear lesion, urination problem 52. lagenaria siceraria (molina) standly kudugulo cucurbitaceae roots throat diseases 53. leea macrophylla roxb. baggach leeaceae roots, leaves fracture, rheumatism 54. lygodium flexuosum sw. kogti-jurgo lygodiaceae leaves sores 55. mangifera indica l. am anacardiaceae seeds diabetes, tonic (contd.) 70 roy et al. table 1 contd. sl. no. scientific name chakma name family part(s) used disease(s) or symptom(s) to be treated 56. melastoma malabathricum l. moha-puttinggulo melastomaceae roots stomach ache 57. moghania macrophylla kuntze kodorothanggach fabaceae leaves gastric 58. moringa oleifera lamk. sajna moringaceae stems bark back ache, rheumatism 59. musa sapientum l. kola-gach musaceae leaves tumor 60. mussaenda glabra vahl bissollokarani/ gachranirtak rubiaceae whole plant menstrual problem 61. ocimum americanum l. sabarang lamiaceae whole plant stimulant 62. ocimum gratissimum l. mithaphul/ram-tulsi lamiaceae leaves nasal diseases, skin diseases 63. oroxylum indicum (l.) vent. fona-gulogach bignoniaceae stem bark jaundice 64. oxalis corniculata l. amrul oxalidaceae whole plant constipation 65. paederia foetida l. pada-bash-ludi rubiaceae leaves joint pain, rheumatism 66. peliosanthes teta andrews dhub-melony liliaceae roots wounds 67. pentapetes phoenicea l. dibuzza-phulgach sterculiaceae leaves boils 68. phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus n.e. vargi-nola acanthaceae leaves gout, rheumatism 69. phylanthus emblica l. amoloki euphorbiaceae fruits constipation 70. piper nigrum l. gul-morish piperaceae roots, leaves fever, cough, catarrh, rheumatism 71. plumbago indica l. rangajat agunateda plumbaginaceae roots stomach ache 72. plumbago zeylanica l. chita-mul plumbaginaceae roots stomach ache 73. plumeria rubra l. bak-phul apocynaceae roots, stems blood cancer 74. polygonum flaccidum meissn. biskatali polygonaceae leaves sores and boils, antiseptic 75. pothos scandens l. komorsina araceae stems, leaves fracture 76. premna esculenta roxb. lalom-pata verbenaceae leaves appetizer 77. psidium guajava batt goium myrtaceae leaves dysentery, toothache 78. pyrrosia piloselloides m.g. tenga-chara polypodiaceae leaves ear ache 79. rauvolfia serpentina benth. ex kurz surchan apocynaceae roots blood pressure, stomach ache 80. ricinus communis l varon pata euphorbiaceae leaves boils, gynecological problem 81. rubus hexagynus roxb. kata-chola rosaceae roots fever 82. solanum myriacanthum dun. karnafully solanaceae fruits aphrodisiac 83. taebernaemontana divaricata bl. katto-dongor apocynaceae roots hiccup 84. terminalia bellerica roxb. boragulo combretaceae stems barks, roots blood dysentery, urination problem 85. terminalia chebula retz. hottail combretaceae fruits blood dysentery, stomach ache 86. thevetia peruviana (pers.) schum. goi-phul apocynaceae roots urination problem (contd.) medico-botanical report on the chakma community 71 table 1 contd. sl. no. scientific name chakma name family part(s) used disease(s) or symptom(s) to be treated 87. typhonium trilobatum (l.) scott. harbaz araceae leaves rheumatism, body pain 88. uraria crinita (l.) desv. bilai-langur fabaceae whole plant paralysis 89. vernonia patula (dryand.) merr. danta-utpal asteraceae roots stomach ache 90. zingiber zerumbet (l.) sm. bhul-changa zingiberaceae rhizomes paralysis acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the ministry of chittagong hill tracts affairs, government of bangladesh for financial support to conduct the fieldwork. references alam, m.k. 1992. medical ethno-botany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46(3): 330330. alam, m.k., choudhury, j. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies from bangladesh. bangladesh j. life sci. 8(1): 49-63. chakma, s., hossain, m.k., khan, b.m. and kabir, m.a. 2003. ethno-botanical knowledge of chakma community in the use of medicinal plants in chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. mfp news xlll(3): 3-7. chowdhury, j., alam, m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies against dysentery and diarrhea in bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. additional series 12. scientific publishers, jodhpur, pp. 20-23. ghani, a. 1998. medicinal plants of bangladesh: chemical constituents and uses. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-460. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 1986. ethnobotanical record of bangladesh-1: plants used for healing fractured bones. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh. (sci.). 12(1&2): 33-39. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.a.1996. ethnobotanical record of bangladesh-2. plants used for healing cuts and wounds. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(2): 49-52. khaleque, k. 1995. ethnic communities of bangladesh. in: gain, p. (ed.) bangladesh, land, forest and forest people, pp. 1-25. society for environment and human development (sehd), dhaka. khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2002. ethnobotanical survey in rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 51-60. khisa, b. 1996. chakma talik chikitsa. herbal medicine centre committee, rajban bihar, rajbari, rangamati, 1-136 pp. khisa, s.k. 1998. ethnobotanical and cultural background of ethnic communities in forest resource management in chittagong hill tracts. in: banic, r.l., alam, m.k., pei, s.j. and rastogi, a. (eds), applied ethno-botany, pp. 56-63. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong. rahman, m.a. 2003. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge among tribals of bangladesh. in: ethnobotany and medicinal plants of indian subcontinent, pp. 89-93. scientific publisher, jodhpur. 72 roy et al. rahman, m.a., khisa, a., uddin, s.b. and wilcock, c.c. 2003. indigenous knowledge of herbal medicine in bangladesh treatment of jaundice by the tribal communities of hill tracts districts. in: sillitoe, p. (ed.), indigenous knowledge development in bangladesh present and future, pp. 75-78. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1998. some anti-rheumatic plants used by tribal people of hill tracts district. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(2): 4. rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and khisa, a. 1998. a report on some anti-jaundice plants from tribal community of hill tracts district. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(1): 4. mia, m.m.k. and huq, a.m. 1988. a preliminary ethno-botanical survey in the jointiapur, tamabil and jafflong area, sylhet, bangladesh national herbarium bull. 3: 1-10. tripura, s.l. 1994. nature and culture of the chittagong hill tracts. tribal culture institute, rangamati hill district, pp. 1-192. uddin, s.b. 2001. a comparative ethno botanical study among the tribal communities of chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. phd thesis, the university of aberdeen, uk. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and sultana, m. 2006. ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in phulbari upazila of dinajpur district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 63-68. uddin, m.z., khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 2001. ethno medical plants records of kalenga forest range (habiganj), bangladesh for malaria, jaundice, diarrhea and dysentery. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 101-104. uddin, s.n., uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and rahman, m.m. 2004. preliminary ethno-medical plant survey in khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 39-48. yusuf, m., choudhury, j.u., wahab, m.a. and begum, j. 1994. medicinal plants of bangladesh. bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1-340. yusuf, m., rahman, m.a., choudhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2002. indigenous knowledge about the use of zingibers in bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. 26(3): 566-570. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., choudhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2006. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge from kaulkhali proper and betunia of rangamati district. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 55-61. (manuscript received on 27 august 2007; revised on 18 november 2007) microsoft word 05. mz.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 39-46, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 5. euglena, euglenocapsa moniruzzaman khondker1, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, munirul alam2, r. bradley sack3, anwar huq4 and rita r. colwell3,4,5 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: phytoplankton, new records, bangladesh, euglena, euglenocapsa, ponds abstract this study presents 20 taxa of the genus euglena and one species of the rare euglenoid genus euglenocapsa. all these taxa are reported for the first time from some pond ecosystems of mathbaria in pirojpur and bakerganj of barisal districts of bangladesh. introduction the genus euglena has been represented worldwide by approximately 73-155 taxa (gojdics 1953, huber-pestalozzi 1955). recently, dillard (2000) reported 67 taxa of pigmented euglena from the southeastern united states. in bangladesh, relatively limited work has been conducted on the genus euglena compared with other groups of algae. studies so far carried out reveal the occurrence of 30 taxa from euglena in bangladesh (islam and khatun 1966, islam and aziz 1977, islam and paul 1978, islam et al. 1991). in the present study, altogether 20 taxa of euglena and one taxa of euglenocapsa are further added to the list of euglenoid algae of bangladesh. euglenocapsa is also a new generic record for bangladesh. these taxa were found in the plankton samples collected from different pond ecosystems of mathbaria of pirojpur and bakerganj of barisal districts between 2004 and 2006. new reports of phytoplankton for bangladesh belonging to cyanophyceae, cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae, synurophyceae and the members of the order volvocales and chlorococcales from the same study areas have been published elsewhere (khondker et al. 2006, 2007a, b, c, d). materials and methods samples for the present study were obtained after filtering a definite volume of pond water through plankton net and sedimenting approximately 100 ml water by lugol's solution. the sampling was carried out at 1-8 and 1-6 permanent stations of bakerganj and mathbaria, respectively, between 2004 and 2006. details of the sampling procedure and descriptions of the sites have been presented in khondker et al. (2006). 1corresponding author. e-mail: khondker56@yahoo.com. 2international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh. 3johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, baltimore, maryland, usa. 4centre of marine biotechnology, university of maryland biotechnology institute, baltimore, maryland, usa. 5university of maryland institute for advanced computer studies, college park, maryland, usa. 40 khondker et al. taxonomic enumeration illustrated accounts of 21 taxa of the family euglenaceae have been elaborated in the present paper. the species are alphabetized under the genera. division: euglenophyta; class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales family: euglenaceae; genus: euglena ehr. 1838 1. euglena acus var. longissima defl. [syn.: euglena acutissima var. longa johnson] (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 97; pringsheim 1956, 49, 2f) (figs 1-2) cells solitary, spindle-shaped, elongated. posterior end straight, gradually narrowed to a sharp end. periplast weakly striated. cells 212-269 µm long, 16 µm broad. flagellum short, 8 µm long. paramylum 2-6 in number. cells length to breadth ratio varies from 1417. note: the size range and length to breadth ratio is highly variable in the cells of euglena acus. gojdics (1953) considered a higher range in sizes (150-311 µm long, 1215 µm broad) for e. acus and included var. longissima as a synonym. huber-pestalozzi (1955), however, quoted a size range for e. acus – 91-180 µm long, 7-14 µm broad. pringsheim (1956) has clearly mentioned that "it is more practical to include in e. acus only those of 80-150 µm long and 7-12 µm broad. differences between forms are to a great part hereditary as clone cultures show. the length to width ratio changes considerably from strain to strain, some being slender, others being stouter. the flagellum is shorter, less than one third of its length." the present authors have followed the opinions of latter two authors and placed the taxon under var. longissima. mathbaria, station no. 2, 22.11.2004; station no. 6, 30.08.2004. 2. euglena agilis var. praeexicisa schiller (figs 3a-b) (schiller 1956, 556, 4: 11a,b) cells almost cylindrical, one side straight another side slightly convex. both the posterior and anterior ends rounded, ends similar or posterior end slightly swollen. cells 16-18 µm long, 6 µm broad. flagellum short, apical or slightly laterally inserted, 3-7 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 4, 12.07.2004. 3. euglena allorgei defl. (fig. 4) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 80, 12: 56a; dillard 2000, 17, 4: 6) cells elongate, margin parallel, anterior end slightly tapered with a longitudinal groove. posterior end gradually narrowed to a sharp end. pellicle with longitudinally arranged striations. chloroplasts discoid, small. pyrenoid absent. cells 120 µm long, 13 µm broad. paramylum bodies long rods, 3-4 in number, 38 µm long, 8 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 5, 11.07.2005. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 41 4. euglena archaeoplastidiata chadefaud (fig. 5) (gojdics 1953, 78, 6: 1b) cells pyriform, anterior end rounded. posterior slightly tapered to a blunt end. cells 18 µm long, 8 µm broad. flagellum apical, 10 µm long. closer to e. pisciformis klebs. mathbaria, station no. 3, 12.02.2005. 5. euglena fusca (klebs) lemm. [syn.: euglena spirogyra var. fusca klebs] (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 64, 7: 41c; pringsheim 1956, 56; dillard 2000, 24, 4: 5) cells brown, elongate, cylindrical, one margin parallel, other margin at the middle slightly depressed, not spirally coiled. anterior gradually narrowed to a flat end (approx. 12 µm broad) with a central notch, posterior also deeply and gradually narrowed to a smaller flat end (approx. 8 µm broad) from which a sharp spine (approx. 20 µm long) originated. pellicle ornamented with prominent deep striations. cells 191 µm long and 26 µm broad. paramylum two in number, centrally located, 23 µm long, 10 µm broad. note: the species has got similarity with e. spirogyra ehr. pringsheim (1956) separated e. fusca and e spirogyra by size, colour, flagellum and habitat characters. the present material fits well in respect of size, colour and habitat as those mentioned for e. fusca. mathbaria, station no. 2, 30.08.2004. 6. euglena caudata hübner (figs 7a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 88, 14: 67; pringsheim 1956, 15; dillard 2000, 18, 5: 11) cells broadly spindle, posterior end sharply pointed, metabolic, can be seen in different forms. periplast spirally striated, flagellum body length. chloroplasts many, roundish, hour-glass-shaped. cells 71-91 µm long, 18-20 µm broad. mathbaria, station nos 4 & 5, 30.08.2004. 7. euglena hemichromata skuja (figs 13a-b) (dillard 2000, 27, 5: 6) cells cylindric to spindle-shaped. anterior end narrowly curved with a groove, posterior end gradually narrowed to a tapering blunt point. cells 76-99 µm long, 15-25 µm broad. chloroplast discoid, numerous. flagellum almost body length. mathbaria, station no. 2, 16.03.2004; station no. 3, 13.09.2004. 8. euglena gojdicsae prescott (figs 8, 9) (gojdics 1953, 97, 10: 7a) cells fusiform to subcylindric, anterior end truncated, posterior end attenuated to a short, blunt point. pellicle smooth, weakly metabolic. chloroplasts irregular discs, numerous, tightly packed. cells 22-38 µm long, 10-13 µm broad. flagellum 56 µm long. bakerganj, station nos 4 & 7, 12.07.2004. 42 khondker et al. 9. euglena limnophila lemm. (figs 10a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 82, 13: 59; pringsheim 1956, 50, 3) cells cylindrical to elliptical, elongated, spindle-shaped with straight or slightly bent end spine. anterior end slightly flat to rounded. periplast thin, may be gently striated. cells 46-49 µm long, 8 µm broad. flagellum one, half to two third of body length. bakerganj, station nos 1 & 4, 27.01.2005. 10. euglena limnophila var. minor drez. (fig. 11) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 83, 13: 59b) cells spindle-shaped, curved. anterior narrowed to a rounded end, posterior suddenly narrowed to a sharp point. cells 38 µm long, 8 µm broad. paramylum two in number, short rods, 6 µm long, 4 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 1, 04.10.2004. 11. euglena mainxii defl. [syn.: e. reticulata mainx nec e. reticulata sjöstedt] (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 40, 1: 13) (fig. 12) cells lanceolate with rounded anterior and a gradually narrowed and pointed posterior. periplast thin, smooth. cells 40 µm long, 15 µm broad. flagellum 38 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 1, 04.10.2004. 12. euglena mutabilis var. lefevrei chadef. (fig. 14) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 78, 11: 53a) cells elongated cylinder, anterior tapered to a little, posterior end gradually narrowed to a long and sharp point. cells 51 µm long, 6 µm broad. chloroplast many, parietal plates, adjacent to the cell wall. mathbaria, station no. 1, 19.07.2004. 13. euglena oblonga schmitz (figs 15a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 44, 2: 18) cells ovoid, elongated oval or elliptical spindle, anterior weakly narrowed to a rounded end, posterior suddenly narrowed to a blunt end. cells 64-71 µm long, 20-25 µm broad. periplast relatively thick, striated spirally. bakerganj, station no. 4, 12.07.2004. 14. euglena oxyuris var. minor defl. (figs 16a-b) (gojdics 1953, 182, 36: 9; huber-pestalozzi 1955, 65) cells elongated cylinder, anterior end rounded or truncate, posterior end gradually tapering to a short caudus. cells 155 µm long, 25 µm broad. pellicular striations spirally arranged, distinct. chloroplast many, ovoid. paramylum 1-2 in number, short rods. bakerganj, station no. 2, 12.07.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 43 figs. 1-23. 1-2. euglena acus var. longissima, 3a-b. e. agilis var. praeexicisa, 4. e. allorgei, 5. e. archaeoplastidiata, 6. e. fusca, 7a-c. e. caudata, 8-9. e. gojdicsae, 10a-b. e. limnophila, 11. e. limnophila var. minor, 12. e. mainxii, 13a-b. e. hemichromata, 14. e. mutabilis var. lefevrei, 15a-c. e. oblonga (c, striation), 16a-b. e. oxyuris var. minor (b, striation), 17. e. retronata, 18a-b. e. rostrifera, 19a-c. e. spathirhyncha, 20. e. splendens, 21. e. tripteris, 22a-b. euglenocapsa ochracea, 23a-b. euglena viridis. (bars =10 µm) 44 khondker et al. 15. euglena retronata l.p. johnson (fig. 17) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 95, 15: 74a) cells more or less ovoid, metabolic, can be seen in different forms. anterior truncated, posterior gradually narrowed to a rounded end. cells 17 µm long, 9 µm broad. chloroplasts parietal plates. flagellum about 30 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. 16. euglena rostrifera l.p. johnson (figs 18a-b) (dillard 2000, 32, 5: 10) cells elongated spindleor top-shaped, anterior narrowed to a blunt end, posterior gradually tapered to a sharp long point, mid-region bulged out. cells 102-109 µm long, 25-28 µm broad. paramylum discoid. cells tightly packed with chloroplasts. mathbaria, station no. 2, 31.07.2004; station no. 5, 28.02.2005. 17. euglena spathiryncha skuja [syn.: e. phacoides nygaard] (figs 19a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 100, 17: 79) cells elongated spindle, strongly metabolic, anterior long neck-like, posterior gradually narrowed to a sharply pointed end, mid-region bulged out. in a metabolic stage mid-region is nicely top-shaped. cells (51) 53-119 µm long, 13-28 (46) µm broad. flagellum about 38 µm long. bakerganj, station nos 2 & 4, 12.07.2004. 18. euglena splendens dangeard (fig. 20) (pringsheim 1956, 95, 23d) cells ovoid with conical posterior end, rarer extended state look cylindro-fusiform, when irritated becomes almost spherical, but the posterior tip does not disappear completely. cells 69 µm long, 64 µm broad. paramylum granular. mathbaria, station no. 6, 13.09.2004. 19. euglena tripteris (duj.) klebs [syn.: phacus tripteris duj.] (fig. 21) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 62, 7: 39; pringsheim 1956, 58, 6c) cells elongated, twisted, with or without three wings or 2-3 spiral ridges. posterior end contains a slightly angled, colourless, long (10 µm), cylindrical tail, weakly metabolic. cells 56 µm long, 10 µm broad. paramylum 2 in number, thick, rod like, 15 µm long, 4 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 6, 30.08.2004. 20. euglena viridis ehrb. (figs 23a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 45, 2: 19; pringsheim 1956, 102, 26) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 45 cells elongated oval to spindle-shaped. anterior end lightly bent, posterior gradually narrowed to a short and sharp point. cells 30-40 µm long, 10-14 µm broad. periplast soft, covered with deep spiral striations. chloroplasts many, band-shaped, arranged in stars. bakerganj, station no. 1, 15.06.2004. genus: euglenocapsa steinecke 1931 unflagellated cells spherical, 8-10 µm in diameter, embedded singly or in double in visible mucilaginous sheath. flagellated cells slightly ovoid, 10 µm long, 6 µm broad. chromatophores discoid, many, without a stigma and a pyrenoid. flagellum single, approximately body length. paramylum body rounded, few. reproduction by longitudinal splitting via gullet. 21. euglenocapsa ochracea steinecke (figs 22a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 400, 72: 868) cells spherical to slightly oval, faintly coloured, 7-8 µm long, 7-6 µm broad. chloroplasts many, disc-shaped, remain adjacent to the cell wall. vacuole system present as in euglena. flagellum 22 µm long. pyrenoid absent. the genus is also a new record for bangladesh. mathbaria, station no. 4, 16.08.2004. acknowledgements the research, as an integral part of the major multidisciplinary project entitled ‘epidemiology and ecology of vibrio cholerae in bangladesh’, was financed by the national institute of health (nih) research grant # 1ro1a13912901 under the collaborative agreement between the international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh (icddr,b) and johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health. the authors gratefully acknowledge the nih ecological surveillance team at icddr,b for kindly supporting this research. references dillard, g.e. 2000. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 7. pigmented euglenophyceae. j. cramer, berlin, pp. 1-135. + pls. 1-20. gojdics, m. 1953. the genus euglena. the university of wisconsin press, madison, pp. 1-267. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 4. teil: euglenophyceen. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 1-606 + pls. 1-114. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 94-109. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1977. studies on the phytoplankton of the karnaphuli river estuary. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 1(2): 141-154. 46 khondker et al. islam, a.k.m. nurul and paul, n. 1978. hydrobiological study of the haor hakaluki in sylhet. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 4(1): 83-91. islam, a.k.m. nurul, khondker, m. and haque, s. 1991. euglenoid algae of four polluted ponds in and around dhaka city. bangladesh j. bot. 20(1): 7-15. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2006. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 1. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 173-179. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 2. cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53-59. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 3. order: volvocales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 1-12. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007c. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 4. order: chlorococcales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 83-91. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a. and yeasmin, j. 2007d. colacium vesiculosum ehr.: a new record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 36(2): 195-197. pringsheim, e.g. 1956. contribution towards a monograph of the genus euglena. johann ambrosius barth verlag, leipzig, pp. 1-168. schiller, j. 1956. untersuchungen an den planktischen protophyten des neusiedler sees 1950-1954. iii. teil: euglenen. österr. akad. wiss. mathem.-naturw. kl., abt. i. 165(6-8): 547-583. (manuscript received on 17 january 2008; revised on 17 february 2008) microsoft word 07. 39-08 choudh.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 57-63, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation in north bihar, india kaushal kishore choudhary1 department of botany, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur 842 001, bihar, india. keywords: chroococcaceae; cyanobacteria; rice cultivation; north bihar; india. abstract the species richness of cyanobacteria belonging to the family chroococcaceae in rice fields of north bihar, india was studied over a 60-day period. twenty-eight species representing nine genera were identified. the highest number of 21 species was observed around 30th day against eight and 13 species around 10th and 60th day of rice cultivation, respectively. aphanocapsa grevillei (hass.) rabenh., aphanothece naegelii wartm and microcystis marginata (menegh.) kützing were observed from 10th to 60th days of rice cultivation. introduction cyanobacteria are geographically widespread in freshwater, marine and terrestrial habitats. some genera are capable of nitrogen fixation and are therefore of great importance for the balance in ecosystems. with the establishment of agronomic potential of cyanobacteria (de, 1939), the distribution of cyanobacteria and their role in maintaining soil fertility has variously been studied throughout the world (begum et al., 1993, 1996, 2008; khan et al., 1994; singh et al., 2001). cyanobacteria have been reported to promote the nitrogen economy of the soil by converting atmospheric nitrogen into soluble form of ammonia with the help of enzyme nitrogenase complex contained within the specialized structure heterocyst (ernst et al., 1992). additionally, cyanobacteria contribute phosphorus to the soil by mobilizing the insoluble phosphate present in the soil with enzyme phosphatases (mishra et al., 2005). moreover, cyanobacteria enhance the water holding capacity by adding polysaccharidic materials to the soil (choudhary et al., 2007) and increase the soil aggregation property. cyanobacteria have also been reported to excrete growth promoting substances into the soil (gupta and shukla, 1969). rice is one of the main crops of bihar and is cultivated in most part of the state. rice fields favour the growth of cyanobacteria in terms of light, temperature, ph, humidity, water and nutrient availability (mitra, 1951). heterocystous forms of cyanobacteria have been extensively studied for their diversity in rice fields (singh, 1961; choudhary, 1999). the information on systematic enumeration of non-nitrogen-fixing forms including chroococcaceae in the rice fields is limited. this study has been aimed to enumerate the periodic occurrence of chroococcaceae in some rice fields of north bihar, india. 1 e-mail: kkc1970@gmail.com 58 choudhary materials and methods the study was conducted in some rice fields of muzaffarpur district (latitude 26°7'12"n and longitude 85°24'0"e) of north bihar. cyanobacterial occurrence in rice fields has been documented in terms of cultivation cycle. the cyanobacterial diversity was enumerated randomly around 10th, 30th and 60th days of plantation of rice seedlings in rice fields. cyanobacterial samples growing in heterogeneous assemblage were randomly collected from upland and lowland rice fields representing the terrestrial as well as freefloating masses. the samples were collected in culture tube (50 ml) and brought to the laboratory. the taxonomic enumeration was performed with fresh materials in the laboratory. the taxa were identified with the help of desikachary (1959). results and discussion the study revealed 28 species belonging to nine genera of chroococcaceae described below. class: cyanophyceae; order: chroococcales; family: chroococcaceae 1. aphanocapsa biformis a. br., in rabenhorst, fl. eur. alg. 2: 246 (1865). thallus olive-green; cells 4-7 µm in diameter, spherical, mostly with a mucilaginous envelope, loosely arranged, 2-4 together in the envelope, nannocytes present. 2. aphanocapsa grevillei (hass.) rabenh., fl. eur. alg. 2: 50 (1865), [syn.: microcystis gravillei (hassall) elenkin]. cells spherical, 4.0-5.8 µm in diameter, closely arranged in homogeneous mucilage, individual envelopes not distinct. 3. aphanocapsa koordersi strom, algol. notes, nyt mag. naturvid. 61: 128 (1923). colonies spherical; cells spherical, loosely arranged 2.3-3.2 µm in diameter. 4. aphanothece bullosa (menegh.) rabenh., fl. eur. alg. 2: 65 (1865). thallus spherical; cells cylindrical, 6.5-12.3 µm long, 3.8-5.8 µm broad, without individual envelope. 5. aphanothece castagnei (bréb.) rabenh., fl. eur. alg. 2: 64 (1865). thallus gelatinous and indefinite in shape, slimy; cells cylindrical, 4-8 µm long, 2.0-3.6 µm broad, sheath diffluent, colourless. 6. aphanothece conferta richter, in hauck and richter, phyk. univ. 10: 487 (1892). thallus gelatinous; cells spherical, 2.5-3.0 µm in diameter, sheath diffluent, colourless. 7. aphanothece naegelii wartm, in rabenhorst, fl. eur. alg. 2: 65 (1865). thallus gelatinous; cells oval or spherical, 3.5-4.5 µm, blue-green, sheath diffluent. occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation 59 8. aphanothece pallida (kütz.) rabenh., fl. eur. alg. 2: 64 (1865). cells oblong, 7-12 µm long, 5.3-6.5 µm broad without envelope and 11.5-20.3 µm long, 8.4-16.6 µm broad with envelope, sheath lamellated. 9. aphanothece stagnina (spreng.) a. br., in rabenhorst, fl. eur. alg. 2: 66 (1865). thallus gelatinous, spherical, ellipsoidal; cells oblong, more or less ovoid or cylindrical, 4.5-10.0 µm long, 3.0-6.5 µm broad. 10. chroococcus macrococcus (kütz.) rabenh., krypto. fl. sachsen 1: 70 (1863). thallus mucilaginous; cells spherical, 2-4 together, 21-40 µm in diameter without sheath and 26-64 µm in diameter with sheath, sheath lamellated. 11. chroococcus minor (kütz.) näg., gatt. einzell. algen 47 pl. 1, a, fig. 4 (1849). cells spherical, 3.5-4.0 µm in diameter, cells single or two together, sheath hyaline and thin. 12. chroococcus minutus (kütz.) näg., gatt. einzell. algen 46 (1849). cells spherical, 2-4 in a group, 4.8-8.6 µm in diameter without sheath, 8-14 µm in diameter with sheath, sheath hyaline. 13. chroococcus tenax (kirchner) hieron., beitr. biol. pfl. 5: 483, pl. 17, fig. 11 (1892). cells spherical and in a group of 2-4 cells, 16-21 µm in diameter without sheath and 20-26 µm in diameter with sheath, sheath colourless and lamellated. 14. gloeocapsa atrata (turp.) kütz., phyc. generalis: 172 (1843). thallus mucilaginous, blackish; cells 3.5-4.5 µm in diameter without sheath and 9-14.4 µm in diameter with sheath, cells many in colony, sheath colourless, thick and unlamellated. 15. gloeocapsa decorticans (a. br.) richter, ex wille, nyt. mag. naturvid. 62: 186 (1925). cells spherical or oval, single or 2-4 together, single cells 8.0 µm in diameter without sheath and 19 µm in diameter with sheath, sheath thick and distinctly lamellated. 16. gloeocapsa gelatinosa kütz., phyc. generalis: 174 (1843). cells 1.5-2.2 µm in diameter without sheath and 5.4-8.4 µm in diameter with sheath; colonies 20 µm in diameter. 17. gloeocapsa punctata näg., ex kützing, species algarum: 22 (1849). thallus gelatinous; cells without sheath 0.7-1.5 µm in diameter and with sheath 3.5-7.0 µm in diameter, sheath thick, colourless and unlamellated. 18. gloeothece fusco-lutea näg., gatt. einzell. algen: 58 (1849). cells cylindrical, 4-8 together in envelope, cells without sheath 6.5-11.5 µm long and 4.2-5.6 µm broad, sheath brown. 60 choudhary 19. gloeothece rupestris (lyngb.) bornet, alg. de schousb., mem. soc. sci. nat. math. de cherbourg 28: 177 (1892). cells cylindrical with rounded ends, 12-14 µm long and 6-9 µm broad without hyaline mucilaginous sheath, 2-4 cells together in a common sheath, cells with sheath 15-24 µm long and 10-16 µm broad. 20. merismopedia aeruginea bréb., in kützing, species algarum: 472 (1849). colony of 16-64 ovate or hemispherical cells, very regularly arranged to form quadrangular colonies, colonies 32-52 µm broad; cells spherical, 4-5 µm in diameter. 21. merismopedia glauca (ehrenb.) näg., gatt. einzell. algen: 55, pl. 1d, fig. 1 (1849). colonies 40-120 µm in diameter with 8-32 cells; cells spherical, closely arranged, 3.5-5.5 µm broad. 22. microcystis aeruginosa kütz., tab. phycologicae 1: 8, pl. 8, fig. 1 (1846). colonies round or slightly longer than broad, solid with distinct hyaline colonial mucilage; cells spherical, 3.5-7.0 µm in diameter, generally with gas vacuoles. 23. microcystis elabens (bréb.) kütz., in kützing, tab. phycologicae 1: 6, pl. 8 (1846). colonies spherical, cells oblong, 4.0-8.5 µm long, 2.0-4.5 µm broad and with gas vacuoles. 24. microcystis flos-aquae (wittr.) kirchner, in engler and prantl, natürlichen pflanzenfam. i. (1a): 56, fig. 49 (n) (1898). colonies spherical to ellipsoidal with distinct colonial mucilage; cells spherical, 3.0-6.5 µm in diameter, with gas vacuoles, nannocytes present. 25. microcystis marginata (menegh.) kütz., tab. phycologicae 1: 6, pl. 8 (1845-49). colony round or irregularly flattened, single colony ellipsoidal to ovoid in outline, 140-150 µm long and 60-95 µm broad; cells spherical, 3-6 µm in diameter, closely arranged and with gas vacuoles. 26. synechococcus aeruginosus näg., gatt. einzell. algen: 56, pl. 1, e, fig. 1 (1849). thallus up to 3 cm in diameter; cells oblong to cylindrical, 12-20 µm long, 5.6-10.0 µm broad . 27. synechocystis aquatilis sauv., bull. soc. bot. france 39: 121, pl. 6, fig. 2 (1892). cells spherical, single or two together, 4.5-5.5 µm in diameter, pale-green in colour. 28. synechocystis pevalekii ercegovic, acta bot. inst. bot. univ. r. zagreb 1: 77, pl. 1, fig. 8 (1925). thallus indefinite, cells spherical, 2.5-3.5 µm in diameter, single or two together. the enumeration of cyanobacteria revealed the maximum diversity during the midcultivation cycle of the rice fields (table 1). the study showed maximum 21 species around 30th day of rice plantation followed by around 60th day (13 species) and minimum around 10th days (8 species). the occurrence of lesser number of forms during early cultivation stage might be attributed to the inhibitory effect of high light intensity, occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation 61 whereas fewer forms in the later part might be due to loss of nutrients as well as low light intensity reaching to the surface due to increased rice canopy. this was in agreement of the cyanobacterial distribution reported by gupta (1966). the poor distribution of cyanobacteria in high light intensity suggested them to be sensitive to high light intensity and as low-light species (roger and reynaud, 1979; choudhary, 2009). table 1. presence and absence of species of chroococcaceae in rice fields (upland and lowland) of north bihar during rice cultivation. + = presence; – = absence; r = rare. sl. no. species 10th day 30th day 60th day 1. aphanocapsa biformis + 2. aphanocapsa grevillei + + + 3. aphanocapsa koordersi + + 4. aphanothece bullosa + + 5. aphanothece castagnei r 6. aphanothece conferta + + 7. aphanothece naegelii + + + 8. aphanothece pallida + + 9. aphanothece stagnina + + 10. chroococcus macrococcus + 11. chroococcus minor + 12. chroococcus minutus + + 13. chroococcus tenax r 14. gloeocapsa atrata r 15. gloeocapsa decorticans + 16. gloeocapsa gelatinosa r 17. gloeocapsa punctata r 18. gloeothece fusco-lutea r 19. gloeothece rupestris r 20. merismopedia aeruginea r 21. merismopedia glauca r 22. microcystis aeruginosa + + 23. microcystis elabens + 24. microcystis flos-aquae + + 25. microcystis marginata + + + 26. synechococcus aeruginosus + 27. synechocystis aquatilis r 28. synechocystis pevalekii r the proliferation of non-nitrogen-fixing members of chroococcaceae during midcultivation cycle might further be attributed to the availability of sufficient nitrogen along with other nutrients in the rice fields with suitable light intensity. singh (1978) also reported the development of non-nitrogen-fixing forms in rice fields. he further described the early appearance of nitrogen-fixing forms in unfertilized plots than fertilized ones. it 62 choudhary might be proposed that the appearance of non-nitrogen-fixing forms in rice fields might play an important role in establishment of nitrogen fixers by reducing the nitrogen status of the field by utilizing nutrients, particularly nitrogen. in this way, non-nitrogen fixers play a significant role in nutrient cycling and development of other biological system to fill up the gap produced in terms of nutrients. finally, it might be concluded that the documentation on cyanobacteria may enhance the understanding of the nutrient status of the field and might be applied for sustainable agricultural practices by reducing the application of chemical fertilizer to avoid the appearance of non-nitrogen fixers in the soil that might compete with nitrogen fixers for nutrients (agawin et al., 2007). acknowledgements the author is grateful to head, department of botany, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur, bihar for providing laboratory facilities and prof. r. bimal for his guidance and suggestions. this communication is a part of the phd programme of the author. references agawin, n.s.r., rabouille, s., veldhuis, m.j.w., servatius, l., hol, s., van overzee, h.m.j. and huisman, j. 2007. competition and felicitation between unicellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and non-nitrogen fixing phytoplankton species. limnol. oceanogr. 52(5): 2233-2248. begum, z.n. tahmida, khan, z.u.m., mandal, r. and hossain, m.z. 1993. distributional pattern of nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria in rice fields of bangladesh. phykos 32(1&2): 109-114. begum, z.n. tahmida, mandal, r. and amin, f.b. 2008. quantification and nitrogen fixation of cyanobacteria in rice field soils of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 183-188. begum, z.n. tahmida, mandal, r., khan, z.u.m. and hossain, m.z. 1996. prospect and potentiality of cyanobacteria as an alternative source of nitrogen fertilizer in bangladesh rice cultivation. in: rahman, m., podder, a.k., hove, c., begum, z.n. tahmida, heulin, t., and harmann, a. (eds), biological nitrogen fixation associated with rice production. kluwer academic publishers, great britain, pp. 119-131. choudhary, k.k. 1999. ex-situ conservation of cyanobacterial germplasm of north bihar, india, phd thesis, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur, bihar, india. choudhary, k.k. 2009. ecological and biotechnological relevance of cyanobacteria. in: gupta, r.k., kumar, m. and vyas, d. (eds), soil microflora. daya publishing house, new delhi, pp. 324-339. choudhary, k.k., singh, s.s. and mishra, a.k. 2007. nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria and their potential applications. in: gupta, r.k. and pandey, v.d. (eds), advances in applied phycology. daya publishing house, new delhi, pp. 142-154. de, p.k. 1939. the role of blue-green algae in nitrogen fixation in rice fields. proc. r. soc. lond. 127b: 121139. desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. icar, new delhi, india, pp. 1-686. occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation 63 ernst, a., black, t., cai, y., panoff, j.m., tiwari, d.n. and wolk, c.p. 1992. synthesis of nitrogenase in mutants of the cyanobacterium anabaena sp. pcc 7120 affected in heterocyst development. j. bacteriol. 174(19): 6025-6032. gupta, a.b. 1966. algal flora and its importance in the economy of rice fields. hydrobiologia 28(2): 213-222. gupta, a.b. and shukla, a.c. 1969. effects of algal extracts of phormidium species on growth and development of rice seedlings. hydrobiologia 34(2): 77-84. khan, z.u.m., begum, z.n. tahmida, mandal, r. and hossain, m.z. 1994. cyanobacteria in rice soils. world j. microb. biot. 10(3): 296-298. mishra, u., choudhary, k.k., pabbi, s., dhar, d.w. and singh, p.k. 2005. influence of blue green algae and azolla inoculation on specific soil enzymes under paddy cultivation. asian jr. microbiol. biotechnol. env. sc. 7(1): 9-12. mitra, a.k. 1951. the algal flora of certain indian soils. indian j. agric. sci. 21: 357. roger, p.a. and reynaud, p.a. 1979. ecology of blue-green algae in paddy fields. in: international rice research institute. los baňos, philippines, pp. 289-309. singh, r.n. 1961. the role of blue-green algae in nitrogen economy of indian agriculture. icar publication, new delhi, pp. 175. singh, b.v., choudhary, k.k., dhar, d.w. and singh, p.k. 2001. occurrence of some nostocales from 24 parganas of west bengal. phykos 40 (1&2): 83-87. singh, s.p. 1978. succession of blue-green algae on certain sites near varanasi. indian j. microbiol. 18(2): 128-130. (manuscript received on 21 october 2008; revised on 5 april 2009) microsoft word 05. litsea.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 183-191, 2010 (december) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an account of the species of litsea lam. (lauraceae) endemic to india t. bhuinya1, p. singh2 and sobhan k. mukherjee* taxonomy and biosystematics laboratory, department of botany, university of kalyani, kalyani, nadia 741 235. w.b., india. keywords: litsea; india; endemic species. abstract this paper deals with the 18 species of litsea lam. endemic to india with special emphasis to the rare elements. correct nomenclature, brief morphological description, flowering and fruiting period, subject to availability, ecology, distribution and uses, if any, have been provided for each species. the status of the relevant species included in the latest version of iucn red list of threatened species has also been provided. introduction lauraceae comprises 52 genera with 2850 species occurring in the warm temperate regions of south-east asia and brazil (mabberley, 1997, 2008). litsea lam. belonging to the family lauraceae consists of more than 300 species in the world (mabberley, 2008). in india there are 45 species and litsea species grow in the evergreen or semi-evergreen forests at elevation from 200-3650 m. in the present paper an attempt has been undertaken to assess the number of endemic species of litsea in india. materials and methods field surveys were conducted during 2004 to 2007. parts of western ghats, like the nilgiri hills, trivandrum hills, mahabaleshwar hills and those of eastern himalaya like the hills of darjeeling, khasi and jayantia hills, garo hills, hills of sikkim and foothills of arunachal pradesh were explored for lauraceous flora. this was supplemented with exhaustive literature survey and study of herbarium specimens preserved at central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, howrah in west bengal (cal), at the herbaria of the different regional centres of botanical survey of india, namely, coimbatore in tamil nadu (mh), shillong in meghalaya (assam), itanagar in arunachal pradesh (arun), pune in maharashtra (bsi) and those of research institutes and colleges housing good collections of lauraceous specimens such as st. xavier’s college, mumbai in maharashtra (blat), agharkar research institute, pune in maharshtra (ahma), tropical botanic garden and research institute, thiruvananthapuram in kerala (tbgt). digital images of type specimens were obtained from the royal botanic gardens, kew (k) to confirm the identity of the species. *corresponding author. email: sobhankr@gmail.com; sobhankr@yahoo.com 1central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, indian botanic garden, shibpur, howrah-711 103. w.b., india. 2botanical survey of india, c.g.o. complex, salt lake city, kolkata-700 064. w.b., india. 184 bhuinya et al. the status of the relevant species included in iucn red list of threatened species has been given following iucn (2010), iucn red list of threatened species. version 2010.3. <http://www.iucnredlist.org/>. results and discussion the species of litsea lam. are well distributed in the indian subcontinent. out of the 45 species found in the country, 8 show distributions up to china, 12 are found in nepal, 11 in bhutan, 6 species show extended distribution to bangladesh as well as to myanmar, 4 are found to grow in sri lanka and 2 of these species are reported from pakistan. there are 18 endemic species of litsea in india and they are distributed in different states (table 1). accounts of endemic species of litsea are given below: 1. litsea assamica (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 161 (1886). [litsaea]. tetranthera rangoonensis meisn. var. assamica meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 188 (1864). small trees, 5-6 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 2.6-12.2 x 0.9-4.1 cm, highly variable in size, elliptic-ovate; inflorescences umbels, solitary, 4-flowered; fruits berries, 7-9 mm long, ovoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube, cup 5-7 mm in diameter. fl.: feb. may; fr.: mar. sept. ecology: grows on low hills of north-eastern india at elevations from 600-1000 m. distribution: arunachal pradesh, assam and meghalaya. specimens examined: arunachal pradesh, tirap district, banfera, g. panigrahi 16705 (arun); assam, jenkins s.n. (k); meghalaya, khasi hills, u. kanjilal 116p (assam). 2. litsea beddomei hook. f., fl. brit. india. 5: 177 (1886). [litsaea]. small trees, 5-8 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 8-10 x 3-4 cm, linear-oblong to linear-lanceolate; inflorescences umbels, arranged in racemes, 4-flowered; fruits berries, 8-12 mm long, ellipsoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube, cup 6-8 mm in diameter. fl.: may dec.; fr.: sept. apr. ecology: grows in evergreen forests of southern western ghats at elevation of 8001300 m. distribution: kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: kerala, kannur, peria, 830 m, v. s. ramachandran 66868 (mh); tamil nadu, tirunelveli, beddome s.n. (k) status: endangered b1+2c. 3. litsea bourdillonii gamble in bull. misc. inform. kew 1925: 131 (1925). medium to large trees, 15-20 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 14-25 x 6-11 cm, elliptic-ovate to oblong-ovate; inflorescences umbels, arranged in sessile clusters, 4flowered; fruits berries, 8-10 mm long, ellipsoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube, cup 44.5 mm in diameter. endemic species of litsea lam. in india 185 fl.: aug. mar.; fr.: nov. june. ecology: grows in evergreen and mixed forests of western ghats at elevations from 750-1800 m. distribution: karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: kerala, thiruvananthapuram, in evergreen forest, 1000 m, bourdillon 18, 569 (k); tamil nadu, andiparai shola, 1275 m, joseph 14210 (cal). 4. litsea coriacea (nees) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 166 (1886) [litsaea]. tetranthera coriacea nees in wall., pl. asiat. rar. 2: 66 (1831). small trees, 6-8 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 10-15 x 2.5-5.5 cm, elliptic-ovate to elliptic-lanceolate; inflorescences umbels, arranged in sessile clusters, 4-flowered; fruits berries, 7-15 mm long, ovoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube. fl.: sept. jan.; fr.: dec. june. ecology: common in evergreen and mixed forests of western ghats at elevations from 900-1500 m. distribution: maharashtra, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: maharashtra: castle rock, m. r. almeida 932 (blat); v. d. vartak s.n. (bsi); v. d. vartak 13176, 13177 (ahma); tamil nadu, tirunelveli, courtallam, wight 2532 (k). uses: wood is used by the local people for making match boxes, splints and as fuel. 5. litsea floribunda (blume) gamble, fl. madras : 1238 (1925). cylicodaphne floribunda blume, mus. bot. 1: 387 (1852). medium to large trees, 12-20 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 12-20 x 4-7.5 cm, elliptic-ovate to oblong-ovate; inflorescences umbels, arranged in racemes, 5-6 flowered; fruits berries, 15-17 mm long, ellipsoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube, cup 7-8 mm in diameter. fl.: july feb.; fr.: sept. mar. ecology: common in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of western ghats at elevations from 800-1000 m. distribution: maharashtra, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: maharashtra, tenmale, teppakulam, subramanian 77520 (bsi); tamil nadu, coimbatore, malinamadursam, fisher 383 in part; kerala, pathanmthitta, moozhair, 350 m, anilkumar n. 304 (mh); karnataka, garsoppa falls, talbot 751 (bsi). 6. litsea ghatica c.j. saldanha, fl. karnataka 1: 67 (1984). small trees, 3-5 m tall, evergreen; leaves whorled at apex, alternate below, 9-23.5 x 4-8.5 cm, obovate to oblanceolate; inflorescences umbels, solitary, 6-flowered; fruits 186 bhuinya et al. berries, 7-9 mm in diameter, globose, seated on plate-like perianth tube, plate 3-4 mm in diameter. fl.: aug. dec.; fr.: oct. feb. ecology: common in semi-evergreen and evergreen forests at elevations from 5001000 m. distribution: maharashtra, karnataka and kerala. specimens examined: maharashtra, mahabaleshwar, v. d. vartak 1167 (ahma); karnataka, shimoga, kaveledurga, r. raghavan 82903 (bsi); kerala, kannur, kannoth reserve forest, 150 m, v. s. ramachandran 68250 (cal). 7. litsea keralana kosterm. in ceylon j. sci., biol. sci. 12(2): 138 (1977). l. insignis gamble in kew bull. 1925: 130 (1925), non boerl. (1900). lofty trees, 12-30 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 15-20 x 6.5-8 cm, elliptic to obovate; inflorescences umbels, cauliflorous, 12-flowered; fruits berries, 12-16 mm long, ellipsoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube, cup 15-17 mm in diameter. fl.: july dec.; fr.: oct. apr. ecology: grows in wet evergreen forests of western ghats at elevations from 6001600 m. distribution: kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: kerala, idukki, triveny, 650 m, b. d. sharma 42474 (mh); tamil nadu, tirunelveli, valayar forest, 1600 m, p. bhargavan 47431 (mh). 8. litsea laevigata (nees) gamble, fl. madras : 1236 (1925). tetranthera attenuata wall. ex nees var. laevigata nees, syst. laur. : 677 (1836). small trees, 6-8 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 10-18 x 3.5-5.5 cm, oblonglanceolate; inflorescences umbels, arranged in sessile clusters, 4-flowered; fruits berries, 7-15 mm long, ellipsoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube, cup 6-7 mm in diameter. fl.: sept. jan.; fr.: dec. june. ecology: grows in evergreen and mixed forests of western ghats from 600-1200 m. distribution: karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: maharashtra, satara district, gomantak, v. d. vartak s.n., (ahma); karnataka, nilkund ghat, w. a. talbot (cal); kerala, idukki, thekkady, 850 m, k. vivekananthan 46693; tamil nadu, nilgiri, anamallays, beddome 122 (cal). 9. litsea membranifolia hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 159 (1886) [litsaea]. middle sized trees, 7-10 m tall; leaves alternate, 20-32 x 10-16 cm, oblong-obovate; inflorescences umbels, solitary, 10-12-flowered; fruits not known. fl.: june; fr.: not known. endemic species of litsea lam. in india 187 ecology: rare in sub-tropical forests of north-east india at elevations from 1000 1200 m. distribution: arunachal pradesh and nagaland. specimens examined: arunachal pradesh, lower dibang valley, mishmi hills, griffith kd 4310 (k); nagaland, naga hills, n. l. bor 28 (assam). 10. litsea mishmiensis hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 161 (1886). [litsaea]. large trees, 15-20 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 10.2-15 x 3.8-5 cm, oblonglanceolate; inflorescences umbels, solitary, 10-15 flowered; fruits not known. fl.: nov.; fr.: not known. ecology: rare in mishmi hills in north-east india at elevations from 1250 – 1300 m. distribution: arunachal pradesh. specimen examined: arunachal pradesh, lower dibang valley, mishmi hills, griffith 4317 (k). 11. litsea mysorensis gamble in kew bull. 1925: 130 (1925). small trees, 5-7 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 8-9.5 x 1.4-2.1 cm, linearlanceolate; inflorescences umbels, arranged in sessile clusters, 4-flowered; fruits not known. fl.: oct. feb.; fr.: not known. ecology: rare in evergreen and mixed forests of western ghats at elevations from 900-1200 m. distribution: kerala, karnataka and tamil nadu. specimens examined: kerala, kannur, chandanathode, 840 m, v. s. ramachandran 66944, 127185, 127186 (mh). 12. litsea nigrescens gamble, fl. madras : 1236 (1925). moderate sized trees, 10-15 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 11-16 x 4-6 cm, elliptic, black when dry; inflorescences umbels, arranged in racemes; fruits not known. fl.: apr. – may; fr.: not known. ecology: rare in evergreen forests of western ghats at altitude 600-1200 m. distribution: kerala and tamil nadu. specimen examined: kerala, thiruvananthapuram, bourdillon 998 (cal). status: endangered b1+2c. 13. litsea oleoides (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 175 (1886). [litsaea]. tetranthera oleoides meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 195 (1864). large trees, 15-30 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, opposite on young shoots, 1220 × 5-7.5 cm, elliptic-oblong to elliptic-lanceolate; inflorescences umbels, arranged in 188 bhuinya et al. racemes; fruits berries, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, globose, seated on plate-like perianth tube, plate 10-12 mm in diameter. fl.: aug. dec.; fr.: nov. june. ecology: grows in evergreen forests at elevations from 800-1200 m. distribution: kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: kerala, kannur, chandanathode, 840 m, v. s. ramachandran 63923 (mh); tamil nadu, nilgiri, sispara, m. a. lawson 44727 (mh). 14. litsea oreophila hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 156 (1886). [litsaea]. small trees, 5-7 m tall, deciduous; leaves alternate, 2.8-3.4 x 1.8-3 cm, elliptic to ovate-lanceolate; inflorescences umbels, solitary or arranged in clusters, 6-flowered; fruits berries, 6-8 mm in diameter, globose, seated on plate-like perianth tube, plate 2-2.5 mm in diameter. fl.: june – july; fr.: july – aug. ecology: rare in sikkim himalaya on rocky soil at elevations from 3000 – 3500 m. distribution: sikkim. specimen examined: sikkim, lachoong, 3000-3350 m, hooker s.n. (k). 15. litsea stocksii (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 176 (1886). [litsaea]. tetranthera oblonga nees var. stocksii meisn in dc., prodr. 15(1): 205 (1864). medium sized trees, 10-15 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 10-17 x 4-7.5 cm, elliptic-oblong to ovate-lanceolate; inflorescences umbels, arranged in racemes, 6-8 flowered; fruits berries, 7-15 mm long, ellipsoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube, cup 710 mm in diameter. fl.: aug. dec.; fr.: oct. mar. ecology: common in deciduous, semi-evergreen and evergreen forests of western ghats at elevations from 900-1300 m. distribution: maharashtra, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: maharashtra, mahableswar, v. d. vartak 2163, 2164, 2165 (ahma); karnataka, nellapore, w. a. talbot 290 (bsi); kerala, tirunelveli reserve forest, 700 m, v. s. ramachandran 62106 (mh); tamil nadu, anamalais, c. a. barber 3970 (mh). 16. litsea travancorica gamble in kew bull. 1925: 132 (1925). medium sized trees, 7-10 m tall, evergreen; leaves opposite, 14-20 x 5.5-7.5 cm, elliptic-oblong to ovate-oblong; inflorescences umbels, arranged in sessile clusters; fruits berries, 6-10 mm long, ellipsoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube, cup 9-12 mm in diameter. endemic species of litsea lam. in india 189 fl.: feb. mar.; fr.: mar. apr. ecology: rare in evergreen forests of south western ghats at elevations from 9001200 m. distribution: kerala. specimens examined: kerala, pathanamthitta, attathode, e. vajravelu 80610 (mh, cal). status: endangered b1+2c. 17. litsea venulosa (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 161 (1886) [litsaea]. tetranthera venulosa meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 187 (1864). straggling shrubs, 5-6 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 8-13 x 2.5-5 cm, ellipticoblong; inflorescences umbels, solitary, 4-5 flowered; fruits berries, 6-10 mm in diameter, globose, seated on plate-like perianth tube, plate 4-5 mm in diameter. fl.: june dec.; fr.: july feb. ecology: grows in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of western ghats at elevations 700-1400 m. distribution: kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: peninsular india wight s.n. (k); kerala, thiruvananthapuram, agasthamala hills, attayar, 700 m, mohanan tbg&ri 12439 (tbgt); tamil nadu, lower nirar to italiar forest, 950 m, k. ramamurty 78449 (mh). 18. litsea wightiana (nees) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 177 (1886) [litsaea]. cylicodaphne wightiana nees in wall., pl. asiat. rar. 2: 68 (1831). large trees, 10-20 m tall, evergreen; leaves alternate, 7-15 x 2.56 cm, elliptic-oblong to oblong-lanceolate; inflorescences umbels, arranged in racemes, 4-6 flowered; fruits berries, 8-12 mm long, ellipsoid, seated on cup-like perianth tube, cup 4-8 mm in diameter. fl.: aug. jan.; fr.: oct. july. ecology: common in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests of western ghats at elevations from 1000 1800 m. distribution: maharashtra, goa, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu. specimens examined: karnataka, aglatti, a. meebold 8479 (cal); kerala, palghat, 725 m, e. vajravelu 48931 (mh); tamil nadu, kanyakumari, balamore to m. k. vayal, 1200 m, a. n. henry 49399 (cal). uses: wood is used for making rafters and boats and also as fuel. the resin obtained from the trees is used as a substitute for frankincense. 190 bhuinya et al. conservation the endemic species need to be protected through in situ as well as ex situ conservations. a part of their habitat in south india is included under the nilgiri biosphere reserve. programmes of ex situ conservation can be undertaken through plant tissue culture, gene banks, etc. plant taxonomists are urged to collect these species from the existing habitats and spread them to new habitats suitable for their conservation. table 1. occurrence of endemic species of litsea in different states of india. litsea species states of india having endemic species of litsea ap a g ka k ma me n s tn l. assamica + + + l. beddomei + + l. bourdillonii + + + l. coriacea + + + + l. floribunda + + + + l. ghatica + + + l. keralana + + l. laevigata + + + l. membranifolia + + l. mishmiensis + l. mysorensis + + + l. nigrescens + + l. oleoides + + l. oreophila + l. stocksii + + + + l. travancorica + l. venulosa + + l. wightiana + + + + + ap = arunachal pradesh, a = assam, g = goa, ka = karnataka, k= kerala, ma = maharashtra, me=meghalaya, na= nagaland, s = sikkim, tn = tamil nadu conclusion out of the 18 indian endemic species of litsea, 4 species i.e. 22% of the total number of endemic species occur in north-east india and 14 species i.e. 78% of the total number of endemic species occur in peninsular india including western ghats. among the endemic species of litsea in india, 3 species are restricted to a very narrow geographical region. l. travancorica is confined to kerala; l. oreophila in sikkim and l. mishmiensis in arunachal pradesh only. interestingly, one endemic species l. wightiana is widespread in five different states like maharashtra, goa, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu. table-1 provides the distribution of the endemic species of litsea in indian states. endemic species of litsea lam. in india 191 the endemic species of litsea are confined to 10 states of india. the highest number of endemic species (14) is recorded from kerala followed by tamil nadu (12). the states of karnataka, maharashtra and arunachal pradesh have 7, 5 and 3 endemic species, respectively. each of the five states, namely, assam, sikkim, meghalaya, nagaland and goa have single endemic species (table 1). acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the director, botanical survey of india for his encouragement, to the curators of the herbaria visited, to the indian botanical liaison officers, royal botanic gardens, kew, u.k. for their help and to the forest officials for their permission and assistance during field survey, and to the local people for giving the information about the occurrence of the plants during the field surveys. one of the authors (tb) would further like to thank the director, botanical survey of india for awarding the fellowship under the ‘flora of india project’. references iucn, 2010. iucn red list of threatened species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/. iucn, gland, switzerland. retrieved on 21 september 2010. mabberley, d. j. 1997. the plant book: a portable dictionary of vascular plants, ed. 2: cambridge university press, cambridge, pp. 393. mabberley, d. j. 2008. the plant book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. third edition. cambridge university press, cambridge, pp. 496. (manuscript received on 23 september, 2010; revised on 23 november, 2010) microsoft word 04. naskar.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 31-38, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists brackish water oscillatoriaceae from north 24-parganas, west bengal, india nurmohammad naskar1, k.r. naskar and c.r. sen2 central inland fisheries research institute (icar), kolkata centre, cgo complex, salt lake, kolkata 700064, india keywords: brackish water, species diversity, ecosystem, oscillatoriaceae, north 24-parganas, west bengal abstract the present communication enumerates 40 taxa of oscillatoriaceae from the brackish water wetlands of north 24-parganas district of west bengal. out of the reported taxa, 12 are from each of lyngbya and oscillatoria, 6 from each of phormidium and spirulina, 2 belong to schizothrix, and hydrocoleum and katagnymene are represented by one species each. a close relationship was observed between seasonal water temperature and salinity levels of the wetlands in enhancing algal population. introduction blue-green algae (bga) are the primitive photosynthetic microorganisms which have tremendous potential in environmental management, as soil conditioners, bio-fertilizer, bio-monitors of soil fertility, water quality, amelioratory agents, feed for animals and protein supplements and rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems through biosorption of metals (whitton and potts 2000). the family oscillatoriaceae includes non-heterocystous filamentous forms of bga. tropical climate of west bengal, india provides favourable environment for the luxuriant growth of bga in different types of soil, freshwater bodies, brackish waters and estuarine habitats (gupta 1965, 1975, sen and gupta 1987, 1998, santra et al. 1988, 1991, sen and naskar 2002, 2003, naskar et al. 2006, 2007). taxonomic work on bga from brackish water wetlands of west bengal has long been ignored. the present communication is an outcome of the taxonomic investigation of algal flora from brackish water wetlands of north 24-parganas district of west bengal. this study has been made with a view to understand the distribution of different members of oscillatoriaceae in brackish water environment, which is an initiative study for exploiting their innate potentials. materials and methods the present study was conducted during 2002 to 2005 in brackish water wetlands of north 24-parganas district of west bengal. the district is situated in the southern zone of the state west bengal, india and lies between 22º11΄6΄΄ n and 23º1΄2΄ ́ n latitude and 1corresponding author. e-mail: nurmohammadnaskar@yahoo.com 2department of botany, charuchandra college, kolkata 700029, india. 32 naskar et al. between 88º20΄ e and 89º5΄ e longitude. out of 22 blocks of the district, 12 blocks include brackish water wetlands. the administrative units chosen for the present study were blocks, viz. hingalganj, sandeshkhali-i and ii, haroa, hasnabad, minakhan, basirhat-i and ii, baduria, barasat-ii, rajarhat and deganga. these 12 administrative units have been divided into four zones based on the adjoining blocks. zone i includes the blocks hingalganj, sandeshkhali-i and ii; zone ii with horoa, hasnabad and minakhan; zone iii with basirhat-i and ii and baduria; and zone iv with barasat-ii, rajarhat and deganga. algal collections were made during summer (march-may), monsoon (june-august), post-monsoon (september-november) and winter (december-february) seasons. all the collections were preserved in 4% formalin and deposited at the central inland fisheries research institute (icar), salt lake, kolkata. the materials were then examined microscopically and measurements were taken. identification was mostly based on the identification keys given by desikachary (1959) and some other workers (santra et al. 1988, sen and naskar 2003, sen 2005). results and discussion the study revealed 40 taxa belonging to seven genera of oscillatoriaceae which are briefly described here alphabetically along with their spatial and temporal occurrence and abundance. 1. hydrocoleum lyngbyaceum kütz. ex gomont, trichomes 7.5-8.3 µm board. on wet soil in brackish water wetland at hasnabad, voucher no. 8, 28.05.2002; few. 2. katagnymene pelagica lemm., trichomes 13.5 µm broad, cells 1.7-2.5 µm long. free-floating with green algae in brackish water at hingalganj, voucher no. 83, 14.09.2002; rare. 3. lyngbya aestuarii liebm. ex gomont, filaments 18-20 µm broad, trichome 10-12 µm broad. planktonic in brackish water wetland at baduria, voucher no. 206, 23.01.2004; rare. 4. lyngbya birgei smith g.m., filaments 20-22 µm broad, cells 2.0-2.5 µm long. freefloating in brackish water wetlands at sandeshkhali-ii, baduria, basirhat-ii and deganga, voucher nos 86 (04.01.2004), 104 (17.04.2004), 84 (15.06.2005) and 72 (01.05.2002); common. 5. lyngbya confervoides c. ag. ex gomont, trichomes 8.0-9.3 µm broad. freefloating in brackish water at basirhat-ii, voucher no. 40, 28.04.2002; few. 6. lyngbya connectans bruhl et biswas, trichomes 12-16 µm broad, cells 2.0-2.6 µm long. free-floating with other bga in brackish water wetland at deganga, voucher no. 39, 01.05.2002; rare. brackish water oscillatoriaceae from north 24-parganas 33 7. lyngbya gracilis (menegh.) rabenh. [syn.: leibleinia gracilis meneghini], trichomes 5.0-6.3 µm broad, cells 1-1/2 times as long as broad, 2.5-4.0 µm long. free-floating form in brackish water wetland at haroa, voucher no. 98, 09.07.2004; very rare. 8. lyngbya heironymusii lemm., filaments 12-15 µm broad, cells 11-13 µm broad, 2.4-3.0 µm long. free-floating in brackish water wetland at baduria, voucher no. 6, 04.04.2002; rare. 9. lyngbya major menegh ex gomont, filaments 22-24 µm broad, cells 13-15 µm broad, 1/8 to 1/4 as long as broad, 2.0-2.8 µm long. free-floating in brackish water at baduria, voucher no. 96, 09.07.2004; rare. 10. lyngbya majuscula harvy ex gomont, filaments 18-20 µm broad, cells short, 2-3 µm long. associated with green alga lola sp. in brackish water at hingalganj, voucher no. 66, 28.05.2002; rare. 11. lyngbya martensiana menegh ex gomont, trichomes 8-12 µm broad, cells 1/4 to 1/2 times as long as broad, 1-3 µm in length. free-floating and grown in stagnant brackish water at sandeshkhali-ii, baduria and basirhat-ii, voucher nos 86 (03.07.2004), 63 (09.07.2004) and 28 (13.07.2004); common. 12. lyngbya semiplena (c. ag.) j. ag. ex gomont, filaments up to 26 µm broad, cells 9-11 µm broad, 2-3 µm long. free-floating with green algae in brackish water at hingalganj, voucher no. 55, 28.05.2002; rare. 13. lyngbya sordida gomont, trichomes 16-24 µm broad, cells 4-6 µm long. freefloating at the edge of a brackish water fishery at deganga and sandeshkhali-ii, voucher nos 38 (01.05.2002) and 34 (21.05.2002); few. 14. lyngbya truncicola ghose, filaments 13-15 µm broad, cells 3-4 µm long. on wet soil in brackish water wetlands at baduria and deganga, voucher nos 48 (04.04.2002) and 47 (01.05.2002); few. 15. oscillatoria chalybea mertens [syn.: oscillatoria subsalsa c. agardh], trichomes 25-33 µm broad, 10-12 µm long. free-floating with other bga in brackish water at basirhat-ii, voucher no. 85, 29.03.2002; few. 16. oscillatoria corallinae (kütz.) gomont [syn.: leibleinia corallinae kütz.], trichomes 5.6-6.3 µm broad, cells 2.3-3.0 µm long. found with green algae lola sp. and chaetomorpha sp. in brackish water at hingalganj, voucher no. 9, 28.05.2002; rare. 17. oscillatoria curviceps ag. ex gomont, trichomes 13-20 µm broad, cells 1/6 to 1/3 as long as broad, 3-6 µm long. planktonic form in brackish water at deganga and basirhat-ii, voucher nos 17 (01.05.2002) and 29 (29.03.2002); common. 34 naskar et al. 18. oscillatoria decolorata west, g.s., trichomes 12.0-12.5 µm broad. associated with other algae in brackish water at baduria, voucher no. 149, 05.06.2003; rare. 19. oscillatoria irrigua (kütz.) gomont [syn.: oscillaria irrigua kütz.], trichomes 9.010.3 µm broad, cells 4.0-7.5 µm long. planktonic form with enteromorpha sp. in brackish water at minakhan, voucher no. 298, 15.05.2005; rare. 20. oscillatoria laete-virens var. minimus biswas, trichomes 2.8-3.0 µm broad, cells 1.5-2.0 µm long. planktonic in brackish water at deganga, voucher no. 277, 04.06.2005; few. 21. oscillatoria limosa ag. ex gomont, trichomes 12-17 µm broad, cells 2.5-4.0 µm long. found in association with chaetomorpha sp. in brackish water at haroa, voucher no. 101, 10.04.2002; few. 22. oscillatoria nigroviridis thwaites ex gomont, trichome 6.0-7.5 µm broad, cells 1.5-2.3 µm long. free-floating and on muddy substratum in brackish water wetlands at basirhat-i and deganga, voucher nos 277 (07.06.2005) and 49 (04.06.2005); rare. 23. oscillatoria princeps vaucher ex gomont, trichomes 43-48 µm broad, cells 4-8 µm long. free-floating with other green algae in brackish water at basirhat-ii, voucher no. 85, 29.03.2002; few. 24. oscillatoria proboscidea gomont, trichomes 26-39 µm broad, cells 1/6 to 1/3 as long as broad, 7-8 µm long. on muddy substratum in brackish water wetland at basirhat-ii, voucher no. 106, 29.03.2002; rare. 25. oscillatoria subbrevis schmidle, trichomes 6-7 µm broad, cells 1.0-1.5 µm long. planktonic and benthic form in brackish water wetlands at baduria, basirhat-ii and minakhan, voucher nos 206 (29.03.2002), 72 (20.03.2002) and 78 (25.03.2002); few. 26. oscillatoria tenuis ag. ex gomont, trichomes 4.6-7.0 µm broad, cells 1.5-2.3 µm long. on wet soil in brackish water wetland at basirhat-i, voucher no. 12, 13.04.2002; rare. 27. phormidium ambiguum gomont, trichomes 4.0-5.3 µm broad, cells 1.5-2.3 µm long. on the wet soil and floating in brackish water wetland at hasnabad, voucher no. 61, 28.05.2002; common. 28. phormidium anomala rao, c.b., trichomes 8-10 µm broad, cells much broader than long, 1.3-2.0 µm long. free-floating form in brackish water at minakhan and baduria, voucher nos 32 (09.07.2004) and 96 (15.05.2005); few. 29. phormidium corium var. capitatum gardner, filaments 7 µm broad, trichomes 4.25.8 µm broad, cells 1.4-2.0 µm long. attached to a bamboo stick in brackish water at haroa, voucher no. 99, 25.05.2004; rare. brackish water oscillatoriaceae from north 24-parganas 35 30. phormidium fragile (meneghini) gomont, trichomes 1.2 -2.4 µm broad. on muddy region in brackish water wetland at basirhat-i, voucher no. 10, 14.04.2002; few. 31. phormidium microtomum skuja, filaments 8.5-10.3 µm broad, trichomes 7-8 µm broad, cells 0.7-1.5 µm long. on muddy substratum in brackish water wetland at basirhat-ii, voucher no. 81, 05.04.2002; rare. 32. phormidium stagnina rao, c.b., filaments interwoven, 12-16 µm broad, cells 1.62.0 µm long. in stagnant water of brackish water wetlands at baduria and basirhat-ii, voucher nos 105 (09.07.2004) and 103 (11.07.2004); rare. 33. schizothrix fuscescens kütz. ex gomont, trichomes 2.5-3.3 µm broad, cells 7.511.3 µm long. at the bottom of stagnant water of a brackish water fishery at haroa and deganga, voucher nos 10 (10.04.2002) and 18 (17.04.2002); few. 34. schizothrix telephoroides (mont.) gomont, cells 3-4 µm board, 7-8 µm long. on wet soil and planktonic in brackish water wetland at basirhat-ii and haroa, voucher nos 68 (10.04.2002) and 11 (13.04.2002); few. 35. spirulina gigantea schmidle, trichomes 3.2-3.8 µm broad, spirals 11.3-17.0 µm broad. free-floating in brackish water at rajarhat, voucher no. 19, 26.04.2002; common. 36. spirulina labyrinthiformis (l.) gomont [syn.: oscillatoria labyrinthiformis (l.) c. agardh], trichome 1.2-1.6 µm broad, spirals 2.0-2.5 µm broad. planktonic in brackish water at deganga, voucher no. 221, 01.05.2002; rare. 37. spirulina major kütz. ex gomont, trichomes 1.2-1.5 µm broad, spirals 3-4 µm broad, 3.8-4.0 µm distant. free-floating in brackish water at rajarhat and deganga, voucher nos 38 (26.04.2002) and 52 (01.05.2002); common. 38. spirulina meneghiniana zanard ex gomont, trichomes 1.2-1.5 µm, spirals 3.0-3.5 µm broad and 4-6 µm distant from each other. planktonic in brackish water at haroa and basirhat-ii, voucher nos 151 (10.04.2002) and 74 (06.04.2002); few. 39. spirulina princeps w. et g.s. west, trichomes 4.5-5.3 µm broad, spirals 10.0-11.5 µm broad and 9.1-11.0 µm distant. among with enteromorpha sp. in brackish water at barasat-ii, voucher no. 27, 15.04.2002; common. 40. spirulina subtilissima kütz. ex gomont, trichomes 0.7-0.8 µm broad, spirals 1.21.8 µm broad, distance between spirals 1.8-2.0 µm. associated with bga and green algae in brackish water at barasat-ii and haroa, voucher nos 20 (05.04.2002) and 22 (12.04.2002); few. the study site has got a unique algal assemblage in terms of algal diversity. most of the algal taxa showed planktonic habitat (25 taxa) followed by epiphytes (7 taxa) and benthos (8 taxa). the studied brackish water wetlands showed highest number of bga 36 naskar et al. species in summer (35 taxa) and the lowest in monsoon (9 taxa) and winter (3 taxa). the post-monsoon period showed absence of these algae. the taxa which appeared during winter were (viz. lyngbya birgei, l. aestuarii and spirulina major) also found in summer, but not in monsoon. table 1. range of temperature and salinity of different zones of north 24-parganas district, west bengal. (naskar et al. 2007) zone water temperature (°c) salinity (g l-1) i 20.0-33.9 7.9-22.3 ii 19.3-32.5 7.8-17.3 iii 16.3-30.5 7.2-12.0 iv 18.2-33.9 3.4-8.4 the brackish water wetlands are fed with tidal waters of hooghly-matla estuarine system and its tributaries. the salinity distribution of the studied wetlands does not indicate specific salinity zones. the temperature range and salinity spectrum of all four studied zones (zone i to zone iv) are shown in table 1. the salinity values of brackish water wetlands were maximum during summer and went down during monsoon showing minimum values. but salinity values were higher during post-monsoon and winter periods than monsoon. the table 2 summarizes the zone-wise distribution of recorded oscillatoriaceae species. table 2. presence (+) and absence (-) of species of oscillatoriaceae in different zones of north 24 parganas district, west bengal. species zone-i zone-ii zone-iii zone-iv 1. hydrocoleum lyngbyaceum + 2. katagnymene pelagica + 3. lyngbya aestuarii + 4. lyngbya birgei + + + 5. lyngbya confervoides + 6. lyngbya connectans + 7. lyngbya gracilis + 8. lyngbya heironymusii + 9. lyngbya major + 10. lyngbya majuscula + + 11. lyngbya martensiana + + 12. lyngbya semiplena + 13. lyngbya sordida + + 14. lyngbya truncicola + + 15. oscillatoria chalybea + (contd.) brackish water oscillatoriaceae from north 24-parganas 37 table 2 contd. species zone-i zone-ii zone-iii zone-iv 16. oscillatoria corallinae + 17. oscillatoria curviceps + + 18. oscillatoria decolorata + 19. oscillatoria irrigua + 20. oscillatoria laete-virens var. minimus + 21. oscillatoria limosa + 22. oscillatoria nigroviridis + + 23. oscillatoria princeps + 24. oscillatoria proboscidea + 25. oscillatoria subbrevis + + 26. oscillatoria tenuis + 27. phormidium ambiguum + 28. phormidium anomala + + 29. phormidium corium var. capitatum + 30. phormidium fragile + 31. phormidium microtomum + 32. phormidium stagnina + 33. schizothrix fuscecens + + 34. schizothrix telephoroides + + 35. spirulina gigantea + 36. spirulina labyrinthiformis + 37. spirulina major + 38. spirulina meneghiniana + + 39. spirulina princeps + 40. spirulina subtilissima + + algae is one of the most important primary producer groups in aquatic ecosystems, and the productivity of these ecosystems depends very much on them (kamath et al. 2006). species diversity does influence the rates or nature of ecosystem processes (giller and o’donovan 2002). in brackish water wetlands, the high algal diversity is favorable for aquaculture and ecosystems with high diversity are more stable because fluctuation in abundance of individual species has less influence on the function of the entire ecosystem (boyd 1973). the role of temperature and light in regulating algal growth is well known. water temperature in the present study area does not appear to be a significant factor in determining the algal population as a whole, as it was always within the bio-kinetic range and never fall below 12°c (knopp 1960). but it definitely played a significant role in regulating the seasonal spectrum of algae. so, the present study showed bga under oscillatoriaceae can thrive well in low to high salinity conditions and also survive in low to high temperature conditions. 38 naskar et al. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the director of cifri (icar) for necessary laboratory facilities and dr. m.a. hassan, senior scientist, cifri (icar) for his valuable suggestions. this study is a part of the phd programme of the first author. references boyd, c.e. 1973. summer algal communities and primary productivity in fish ponds. hydrobiologia 41(3): 357-390. desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. icar, new delhi, india, pp. 1-686. giller, paul s. and o’ donovan, g. 2002. biodiversity and environment. proceedings of the royal irish academy b 102(3): 129-139. gupta, d. 1965. some new records of blue-green algae from west bengal. bull. bot. soc. bengal 19(1): 1-2. gupta, d. 1975. some new records of blue-green algae from west bengal-ii. bull. bot. soc. bengal 29(1): 29-31. kamath, d., puttaiah, e.t., kiran, b.r. and kumar, v. 2006. diversity of phytoplankton in santhekadur tank in shimoga district, karnataka. environ. ecol. 24s(3): 521-524. knopp, h. 1960. unter suchungen uberdas sauerstoff – production – potential van frussplankton. schwerz. z. hydrol. 22: 152-166. naskar, n.m., naskar, k.r. and sen, c.r. 2006. a systematic account of chroococcales (myxophyceae) from brackishwater wetlands of north 24-parganas district, west bengal. environ. ecol. 24s(3): 655657. naskar, n.m., naskar, k.r. and sen, c.r. 2007. systematic account and ecology of chlorococcales from brackishwater bheries (wetlands) of north 24-parganas district of west bengal. geobios 34(1): 17-20. santra, s.c. pal, u.c. and choudhury, a.1991. marine phytoplankton of the mangrove delta region of west bengal, india. j. mar. biol. ass. india 33(1&2): 292-307. santra, s.c., pal, u.c., maity, h. and bandyopadhya, g. 1988. blue-green algae in saline habitats of west bengal: a systematic account. biol. mem. 14(1): 81-108. sen, c.r. 2005. the genus phormidium kütz. from lower gangetic plains of west bengal. in: keshri, j.p and kargupta, a.n. (eds), glimpses of indian phycology, pp. 205-209. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun. sen, c.r. and gupta, d. 1987. the genus oscillatoria vaucher from greater calcutta. bull. bot. soc. bengal 41(1): 41-45. sen, c.r. and gupta, d. 1998. the genus oscillatoria vaucher from lower gangetic plains of west bengal. phykos 37(1&2): 89-93 sen, n. and naskar, k.r. 2002. algal communities in the intertidal mangrove niches of sundarbans, west bengal. j. intercad. 6(4): 420-433. sen, n. and naskar, k.r. 2003. algal flora of sundarbans mangals. daya publishing house, new delhi, pp. 1-317. whitton, b.a. and potts, m. 2000. the ecology of cyanobacteria: their diversity in time and space. kluwer academy publisher, netherlands, pp. 1-669. (manuscript received on 4 october 2007; revised on 13 march 2008) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 141-149, 2009 (december) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new taxa in lauraceae from india m. gangopadhyay1 central botanical laboratory, p.o. botanic garden, howrah 711 103, india. keywords: new taxa; apollonias; persea; phoebe; lauraceae. abstract three new taxa, namely apollonias arnottii nees var. beddomei m. gangop. var. nov., persea macrantha (nees) kosterm. var. brevifolia m. gangop. var. nov., and phoebe palghatensis m. gangop. sp. nov. of the family lauraceae are described and illustrated from india. introduction during the course of a taxonomic study of the family lauraceae in india the author came across some interesting specimens of the genera apollonias nees, persea mill. and phoebe nees deposited in the herbaria of central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, howrah (cal), southern circle, botanical survey of india, coimbatore (mh), department of botany, presidency college, chennai (pcm), rapinat herbarium, st. joseph college, tiruchirapally (rht), and tropical botanical garden, thiruvananthapuram (tbgri). after critical studies, these were found to be three new taxa, which are described and illustrated here. 1. apollonias arnottii nees var. beddomei m. gangop. var. nov. (plate 1) apollonias arnottii nees var. arnottii affinis, sed differt foliis gracilibus chartaceis latis ellipticis vel lanceolato ellipticis, infra cyaneo glaucis, inflorescentiis glabris, floribusque longipedicellatis. holotypus: tamil nadu, tinnevelly hills, beddome s.n. (acc. no. 383377 cal); iso in cal; paratypi: sisparaghat (nilgiris), n.d., coll. illeg. s.n., acc. no. 383382 (cal); ibid., 1200 m, may 1884, j. s. gamble 14267 (cal); nilgiris, kurisimalai, 1500 m, 30.01.1971, j. l. ellis 37771 (mh); anamalais, iyerpadi, 25.10.1901, c. a. barber 3845 (mh). allied to a. arnottii nees, but differs in having thin chartaceous broad elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic leaves bluish glaucous beneath, glabrous inflorescences and long pedicellate flowers. habit not known. branchlets slender, terete, 2-4 mm in diameter, rough with leafscars, warts and elevated lenticels, glabrous, gradually smooth, angled and longitudinally canaliculate, sparsely fine puberulous or tomentellous towards apices; terminal bud narrow ovate-lanceolate, c 2.5 × 1.5 mm, acuminate, brown or rusty silky tomentose. 1e-mail: mgangopadhyay55@rediffmail.com 142 gangopadhyay leaves scattered, crowed towards apices, thinly chartaceous, dark greenishor brownish green above, bluish-glaucous beneath, usually broad elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic or rarely narrowly elliptic, 10-20.5 × 3-5 cm, unequally or sub-equally acute or obtuse at base, non-decurrent to extreme base, entire, flat along margin, attenuate to long acumen often beaked (acumens 11-32 mm long, broad and acute at tip) at apex; glabrous excepting mid-vein sparsely tomentellous at lower half above, sparsely minutely appressed fine puberulous beneath; mid-vein penninerved, slender, shallowly sunken at lower halves, gradually flat along length above, slightly raised, convex or rarely triangular beneath; lateral nerves 10-14 pairs, slender, hardly raised above, slightly raised beneath, arcuate, forming faint loops near margin; tertiary nerves obscure to faint above, faint beneath, distantly scalariform; minor nervules obscure above, faint beneath, reticulate; petioles slender, 10-18 mm long, 1-1.5 mm broad, sparsely puberulous or glabrous, concave above, convex beneath. inflorescences axillary, solitary, few flowered cymes or panicle, 2.5-8 cm long, glabrous; peduncles slender, 10-55 mm long, c 1 mm wide, terete below, angled and flat along length above, bracts and bracteoles deciduous. flowers (over matured) cupular-campanulate, 12-15 × 1.8-3 mm, long pedicellate, almost glabrous; pedicels 7-10 mm long, c 1 mm wide, flattened; cup obconic, c 2 × 2 mm; tepals 3 + 3, obovate-oblong, obovate or ovate, acutish, gland dotted; outer: 2.5-3.2 × 2.12.5 mm, anastomosis faint, shallow concave ventrally, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely puberulous at apex without and ventrally; inner: 2-2.8 × 1.8-2 mm, anastomosis obscure, shallowly concave ventrally, glabrous or sparsely puberulous at apex without. stamens 9, 3 in each whorl, anther 2-celled, i and ii introrse, iii whorl 2 glandular, extrorse, filaments sparsely villous; i whorl: 1.4-2 mm long, filaments 1-1.1 mm long, thin, flat, anther ovate-oblong or ovate, retuse at apex; ii whorl: filament 1-1.2 mm long, anther ovate, obtuse or truncate at apex; iii whorl: glands c 1 mm long, stipe c 0.5 mm long, thin, sparsely villous, adnate at base of filaments head oblongor ovate-orbicular, obtuse or apiculate at apex, cordate at base, filaments 1-1.3 mm long, wider below, anther narrow ovate-oblong, truncate at apex. staminodes 3, c 1.5 mm long; stipe c 0.9 mm long, ventrally concave, villous; head sagittate, acute, ventrally shallow concave. pistil 2.6-2.8 mm long, glabrous; ovary oblong-ovoid to obovoid, smooth, 1.2-1.4 × c 1.2 mm; style 1-1.2 mm long, ventrally shallow longitudinally channeled; stigma peltate, spreading or reflexed, thin, shallowly lobed, muriculate. fruits not seen. flowering time: may. distribution: india (tamil nadu). habitat: grows in hilly forests at about 1200 m altitude. note: the infra-specific epithet is contributed to the honour of mr. r.h. beddome. three new taxa in lauraceae from india 143 plate 1. apollonias arnottii nees var. beddomei m. gangop. var. nov. a. flowering branch; b. flower; c. outer tepal dorsal view; d. idem ventral view; e. inner tepal dorsal view; f. idem ventral view; g-l. stamens: g. whorl i dorsal view; h. idem ventral view; i. whorl ii dorsal view; j. idem ventral view; k. whorl iii dorsal view; l. idem ventral view; m. whorl iv (staminode) dorsal view; n. idem. ventral view; o. pistil [after coll. illeg. s.n., acc. no. 383381(cal)]. 144 gangopadhyay 2. persea macrantha (nees) kosterm. var. brevifolia m. gangop. var. nov. (plate 2) persea macrantha (nees) kosterm. var. macranthae affinis, sed differt foliis parvioribus rigide coriaceis petiolis brevibus, nervis lateralibus confertis non divergentibus, inflorescentiisque brevioribus et crassioribus. holotypus: tamil nadu, anamalays, 2000 m, june 1859, beddome 120 (cal); iso in cal. allied to p. macrantha (nees) kosterm. var. macrantha but differs in having rigidly coriaceous smaller leaves with short petiole, close set up lateral nerves and shorter and stouter inflorescences. a tree. branchlets slender, terete, whitish gray or pale brown, 2-3.5 mm in diameter, with scattered leaf-scars and warts, glabrous; gradually angular, compressed, smooth, glabrous towards apices. bud-scales: ovate-lanceolate, blackish, coriaceous, c 5 × 2.5 mm, acuminate, glabrous. leaves scattered and crowded toward apices, young one thinly chartaceous, blackish, glabrous, venation obscure, matured one rigidly coriaceous, blackish-green, glossy above, pale brown and glaucous beneath, glabrous, obovate to oblong-obovate, 8-8.5 × 3.5-4 cm, unequally obtuse at base, margin entire, strongly incurved, obtuse and apiculate at apex; mid-vein slender, shallowly channeled above, raised and terete at lower half, gradually triangular along length beneath; lateral nerves up to 12 pairs, close, arcuate, almost flat and faint above, obscurely canaliculate beneath; tertiary nerves faint above, obscure beneath; minor nervules canaliculate-reticulate above, areolate-reticulate beneath; petioles stout, to 12 mm long (from impression marks), 1.5-2 mm wide, flat and channeled above, terete beneath, glabrous. inflorescences whorled below terminal buds, axillary, solitary, panicle of cymes, 6.5-9 cm long; branches short, ascending, fine brown puberulus; peduncles 15-40 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, stout, terete below, gradually compressed and angled along length above, glabrescent, longitudinally canaliculated. flowers cupular-campanulate, 7-8 mm long, 4-5.5 mm across, finely appressed puberulous; pedicels 3.5-4 mm long, up to 1.5 mm wide, flattened, shallow grooved; bracteoles minute, triangular-acute; tepals 3 + 3, thick, anastomosis obscure, shortly keeled at apex, ventrally tomentose; outer: c 3.3 × 1.5 mm, ovate-lanceolate, shallow concave ventrally; inner: c 5 × 1.5 mm, narrow-oblong, almost flat within. stamens 9, in 3 whorls, anther 4-locular; whorls i and ii introrse, and whorl iii extrorse; i and ii whorls: c 3.3 mm long, filaments c 2.5 mm long, slender, flat, ventrally shallow concave, pilosulous, anthers narrow oblong, retuse; iii whorl: c 3-4 mm long; glands 2, up to 1.5 mm long, stipes c 1 mm long, flat, adnate at the base of filament, pilose, head oblong, cordate at base, retuse at apex; filament 2.5-3.5 mm long, thick, pilose, anther narrow oblong, retuse at apex. pistil c 4 mm long; ovary narrow-ovoid, c 1.5 × 0.9 mm; style slender, shallowly channeled, pilose below; stigma minute, thin, peltate. infructescences (immature one): 6-14 cm long; peduncles 45-60 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, terete below, angled at length above, glabrous; rachis and branches puberulous. three new taxa in lauraceae from india 145 plate 2. persea macrantha (nees) kosterm. var. brevifolia m. gangop. var. nov. a. leafy branch; b. flower; c. outer tepal dorsal view; d. idem ventral view; e. inner tepal dorsal view; f. idem ventral view; g-n. stamens and staminode: g. whorl i dorsal view; h. idem ventral view; i. whorl ii dorsal view; j. idem ventral view; k. whorl iii dorsal view; l. idem ventral view; m. whorl iv (staminode) dorsal view; n. idem ventral view; o. pistil; p. immature fruit; q. inflorescence [a-o & q after beddome 120, and p after coll. illeg. s.n., acc. no. 384502 (cal)]. 146 gangopadhyay fruits (immature): globose, c 4 mm diameter, glabrous, smooth; stalks c 5 mm long and 1 mm wide, compressed, puberulous; tepal lobes reflexed, up to 5 mm long, 3 mm wide, sericeous on both surfaces. flowering time: june. distribution: india (tamil nadu). habitat: grows in hill forests at about 2000 m altitude. note: the specimen was mentioned by hooker (1886, 1890) as a different form from the typical one because of the foliage characters. later on, j.s. gamble did support this view by putting a slip on the specimen, but did not give any name to it. 3. phoebe palghatensis m. gangop. sp. nov. (plate 3) phoebe wightii meisn. affinis, sed differt surculis juvenibus sparsim sericeis, foliis longe acuminates, nervis tertiaribus gracilibus et semote positis, nervulis minoribus ad maturitatem infra obscures. differt a p. lanceolatae (nees) nees foliis latiribus paniculis brevibus, minus ramosis, fructoque lato ovoideo et indumento. holotypus: kerala, idukki dist., meenmutty, 600 m, 14.02.1982, c. n. mohanan 73233 (cal); iso in mh; paratypi: kerala. travancore, 1500 m, december 1910, a. meebold 13212 (cal). idukki dist., calnarymount, 800 m, 21.02.1983, c. n. mohanan 77913 (cal, mh); kulamavu, 700 m, 30.12.1983, a. g. pandurangan 62579 (cal, mh); ibid., thekkady, 850 m, 29.09.1972, b.d. sharma 42359 (mh); meenmutty dam area, 700 m, 25.02.1983, c. n. mohanan 77977 (cal), pearmeed, 900-1200 m, march 1887, t. f. bourdillon 23 (mh). palghat dist., singamparai r.f., 26.05.1979, e. vajravelu 62829 (cal, mh); dam site of valiyaparathode, 850 m, 05.12.1980, n. c. nair 69119 (cal, mh); madrithode to walghat, 1100 m, 11.12.1980, n. c. nair 69544 (cal, mh); karapara, 850 m, 01.03.1975, e. vajravellu 46130 (mh); panthenthode, 850 m, 21.01.1980, p. bhargavan 65647 (mh); kudam-muthikulam, 850 m, 29.04.1979, e. vajravellu 62980 (mh). tamil nadu, shevaroys, 1400 m, 13.05.1978, v. a. amalraj 13773 (pcm); bothamalai, 1100 m, 14.07.1978, k. m. matthew & k. murugesan 14843 (pcm); kodai kanal, 24.03.1956, j. pallithanam 1657 (pcm); cauveri peak, 1300m, 16.03.1976, k. m. matthew & v. alphonse 1695 (pcm). andhra pradesh, visakhapatnam dist., sunkarimetta, 1350 m, 19.09.1961, n. p. balakrishnan 688 (cal). allied to p. wightii meisn., but differs in having sparsely sericeous young shoots, leaves with long acumens, tertiary nerves slender and distantly placed and minor nervules faint beneath when mature. it also differs from p. lanceolata (nees) nees in having broader leaves, short, less branched panicle and broad ovoid fruits and in indumentum. a tree, (2-) 5-15 m high. branchlets terete, whitish-yellow to pale yellow, 5-6 in mm diameter, rough with profuse leaf-scars, elevated and ellipsoid lenticels and warts, glabrous in age; leaf bearing branches slender, dark blackish-brown or brown, scattered three new taxa in lauraceae from india 147 plate 3. phoebe palghatensis m. gangop. sp. nov. a. flowering branch; b. flower; c. outer tepal dorsal view; d. idem ventral view; e. inner tepal dorsal view; f. idem ventral view; g-n. stamens and staminode: g. whorl i dorsal view; h. idem ventral view; i. whorl ii dorsal view; j. idem ventral view; k. whorl iii dorsal view; l. idem ventral view; m. whorl iv (staminode) dorsal view; n. idem ventral view; o. pistil; p. immature fruit [a after k. vivekananthan 66216 (cal), b-o after v. a. amalraj 13773 (rht), and p after k. m. matthew & k. murugesan 14843 (rht)]. 148 gangopadhyay leaf scarred and lenticelate, up to 2.5 mm thick; very young one compressed, angled, shallow canaliculate, appressed tomentellous or villosulus; terminal buds ovate, to narrow ovate-lanceolate, up to 2 × 1.5 mm, coriaceous, acuminate, silky-brown puberulous or tomentellous. leaves scattered, crowded toward apices, thinly chartaceous to thinly coriaceous, young one reddish-brown, blackish-green to dark-brown above when mature, paler and sometimes subglaucous beneath, sparsely appressed fine puberulous or tomentellous along mid-vein above, sparsely appressed fine puberulous or tomentellous along mid-vein and scattardly so else where beneath, glabrous in age, elliptic, obovate, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, sometimes ovate-lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, 7-20 × 2.5-5 cm, unequally attenuate or acute at base, decurrent to extreme base, slightly incurved along margin, long acuminate (acumens 17-25 mm long, sharp and sometimes beaked) at apex; mid-vein flat or slightly raised and canaliculate above, raised beneath; lateral veins 10-12 pairs, slender, raised on both surfaces, arcuate and weakly looped along margins; tertiary nerves faint above, slender but prominent beneath, scalariform; minor nervules obscure or inconspicuously canaliculate-reticulate above, slender and prominent beneath; petioles slender, 10-17 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, flat and shallow channeled above, terete beneath, sparsely puberulous when young, glabrous in age. inflorescence axillary and sub-terminal solitary panicle, slender, 3-6 cm long, once branched or simple, sparsely puberulous or tomentellous; peduncles slender, shallow channeled, 20-50 mm long, c 1 mm wide; bracteole deciduous; branches short, thin, flattened. flowers lax, cupular, 8-9.5 × 2-2.5 mm; pedicels 4-5 mm long, c 1 mm wide, shallow longitudinally channeled, angled; tepals 3 + 3, ovate or ovate-orbicular, subacute, thin, anastomosis prominent, margin ciliate; outer: 2.5-3 × c 2 mm, concave and sparsely puberulous within; inner: c 3 × 2 mm, sparsely puberulous within. stamens 9, 3 in each whorl, anthers 4-locular, whorls i and ii introrse, of iii extrorse, filaments thin, flat, glabrous or very sparsely villous at base; i whorl: 2-2.5 mm long; filament 1.2-1.5 mm long, anther ovate or ovate-oblong, truncate or retuse at apex; ii whorl: 1.8-2.1 mm long; filament 1.2-1.5 mm long; anthers ovate or ovate-oblong, truncate or retuse at apex; iii whorl: 2-2.2 mm long, glands 2, c 1 mm long, stipe c 0.5 mm long, thin, flat, head ovate-orbicular, cordate at base; filaments c 1-1.5 mm long, wider below; anthers narrowoblong, truncate at apex; iv whorl (of 3 staminodes): minute, c 1.5 mm long; stalk c 1 mm long, flat, ventrally shallow channeled, head sagittate, acute, ventrally shallow concave. pistil 2.1-2.7 mm long, glabrous; ovary obovoid, 1.3-1.5 × 1 mm, smooth; styles 1.3-1.5 mm long, slender, flat, shallow channeled; stigma discoid, thin, lobulate. infructescences: 3-8 cm long, slender, sparsely puberulus or glabrous, profuse lenticelate; peduncles 25-65 mm long, c 1 mm wide, blackish, lenticelate. fruits ovoid, brown to blackish, 12-8 × 9-10 mm, obtuse apex with a mucro at centre, pericarp smooth, glabrous; stalks (2.5-) 5-7 × 1-2 mm, glabrous or sparsely puberulous; clasping tepals to 4 × 7 mm, blackish, smooth, thick, glabrous or sparsely sericeous. flowering time: all year round. fruiting time: not known. three new taxa in lauraceae from india 149 distribution: india (andhra pradesh, tamil nadu and kerala). habitat: grows on hilly forests at 700-1500 m altitudes. note: most of the specimens had been identified as p. lanceolata (nees) nees which is a different species in having glabrous nature, narrow-elongated leaves, elongated inflorescence and ellipsoid fruits. the collection from south india of r. wight deposited in wallich herbarium (cat. no. 2598) at k was misidentified by kostermans as p. cathia (d. don) kosterm., a species is distributed in the himalayas. actually it is p. wightii meisn. the himalayan species p. cathia is readily distinguished from this new taxon in having much branched paniculate inflorescences and young branchlets densely brown tomentose. acknowledgements the author thanks the director, botanical survey of india for the research facilities. he would like to express his deep sense of gratitude to the authorities and staff members of the southern circle, botanical survey of india, coimbatore (mh); rapinat herbarium, st. joseph college, tiruchirapally (rht); the department of botany, presidency college, chennai (pcm) and the tropical botanical garden, thiruvananthapuram (tbgri) for their kind co-operation. thanks are also due to late dr n.c. majumdar, ex-scientist, botanical survey of india for the latin transcriptions. references hooker, j.d. 1886. laurineae. flora of british india. vol. 5. london, pp.116-189. hooker, j.d. 1890. addition and correction. flora of british india. vol. 5. london, pp. 859 864. (manuscript received on 16 march 2009; revised on 29 may 2009) m. gangopadhyay1 acknowledgements microsoft word 05. phyllanthus_final-15.6.2011 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 57-63, 2011 (june) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists the identity and occurrence of phyllanthus hookeri muell.-arg. and p. nozeranii rossignol & haicour (euphorbiaceae) in india vatsavaya s. raju*, s. suthari and a. ragan plant systematics laboratory, department of botany, kakatiya university, warangal, andhra pradesh 506 009, india keywords: phyllanthus urinaria complex; p. hookeri; p. nozeranii; identity; chemotaxonomy; india. abstract there are 16 species of phyllanthus subgenus phyllanthus reported from india. the present paper adds two more species that are invasive weeds in the paddy fields and on forest floors, namely phyllanthus hookeri muell.-arg. and p. nozeranii rossignol & haicour of sect. urinaria subsect. urinaria of phyllanthus. the former is somewhat woody and perennial whereas the latter is slender and monsoonal. the presence of these two taxa in india was brought to light in 1987 by rossignol et al. based on the herbarium specimens collected earlier to 1863 and deposited at paris from northeastern and southeastern india. whilst phyllanthus hookeri is overlooked or underrated by the taxonomists, p. nozeranii is misidentified and considered conspecific with p. urinaria l. introduction the biovulate linnean phyllanthus l. (euphorbiaceae) is not only a well-known medicinal plant genus with its diverse biomolecules but also has given the name to the recently resurrected segregate family phyllanthaceae martinov, by molecular taxonomists. the first comprehensive taxonomic treatment of this genus for india was provided by hooker (1887) in his flora of british india. earlier, roxburgh (1832) described 25 species of phyllanthus. chiefly confined to humid tropics of the world, the genus comprises 833 species (govaerts et al., 2000). in india, it is represented by 53 species (gangopadhyay et al., 2007). phyllanthus l. (s.l.) is often divided into a number of subgenera, namely, cicca, emblica, eriococcus, isocladus, kirganelia, phyllanthus, xylophylla, etc. the subgenus phyllanthus is characterized by herbs or low woody shrubs bearing colporate pollen grains, tricarpellary capsular fruits with six, striate and/or foveolate seeds. it is represented by 16 species in india (gangopadhyay et al., 2007). the present paper reports phyllanthus hookeri and p. nozeranii of subgenus phyllanthus as additions to the indian flora. these, in fact, were reported earlier but either overlooked by authors or often misidentified, or treated conspecific with phyllanthus urinaria; the fourth of the six species described by linnaeus in his species plantarum (1753). later, roxburgh (1832: 660) considered p. urinaria as the second species under section ii (leaves pinnate; obviously, roxburgh mistook the phyllanthoid branchelets as pinnate leaves). phyllanthus urinaria l. was kept in section urinaria by *corresponding author. email: satyavatsa@yahoo.co.in 58 raju et al. webster while central asia is conceived as the centre of origin of this section which is of interest due to hepatoprotective and other medicinal uses (lee et al., 2006; komuraiah et al., 2009). chaudhary and khan (2003) studied the sem of seeds of nine herbaceous species of phyllanthus from india and described these under three morphotypes, with phyllanthus urinaria placed in p. urinaria type. it is the experience of the taxonomists in general and of experts of the genus in india in particular that there exist specimens of phyllanthus evincing affinity with p. urinaria but do not match wholly with the technical description of it in the regional floras. rossignol et al. (1987) were the first to draw the attention to the discontinuities within the section urinaria in the characteristics like pilosity, length of the internodes and of plagiotrophic (phyllanthoid) shoots, the number of leaves on it and the number of colpii of the pollen, the presence or absence of foveoles on the lateral sides of seeds, ploidy level, etc. on the basis of morphology, cytology, genetics and biometry, a new classification was presented by rossignol et al. (1987) in which the allied species of p. urinaria or “urinaria complex”, are placed in the subsection urinaria haicour & rossignol, recognizing two subgroups within it on spermoderm ornamentation. each of these lines is represented by two species which differ from either in somatic chromosome number: 50 (p. nozeranii) and 100 (p. embergeri) in the “spiraled” line, 50 (p. urinaria) and 100 (p. hookeri) in the “radiated” line. the members of the subsection are characterized by 4-5 colporate, prolate pollen with bi-reticulate ornamentation (chen and wu, 1997; chen et al., 2009). certain of the herbarium specimens of phyllanthus urinaria complex available at madras herbarium, coimbatore (mh) and kakatiya university herbarium, warangal (kuh) including the live plants in the botanical garden, kakatiya university campus belong to the less-known but described species, viz. phyllanthus hookeri muell.-arg. and p. nozeranii rossignol & haicour. curiously, there was no mention of p. nozeranii in the recent account of phyllanthus from india by gangopadhyay et al. (2007). however, phyllanthus hookeri muell.-arg., p. urinaria var. hookeri (muell.-arg.) hook. f. and p. urinaria var. oblongifolia muell.-arg. were treated conspecific with p. urinaria l. ramla (1995) described and segregated the seeds of p. urinaria complex in kerala state as p. urinaria – ‘spiraled’ (s) and ‘radiated’ (r) on seed coat ornamentation, as has been done by rossignol et al. (1984, 1987). but, she did not go further to distinguish them at the species level though well aware of the work of rossignol et al. (1987). later, chaudhary and rao (2002) treated p. urinaria, without commenting on the apparent morphological variation. chaudhary and khan (2003:118) stated that the seed of p. urinaria has 12-15 transverse ridges and 1-3 circular pits on the sides (a routine description copied from floras, e.g. philcox, 1997) while their photographs show only single large pit. identity of phyllanthus hookeri and p. nozeranii 59 the following is the key (modified after rossignol et al., 1987) to segregate the species of phyllanthus urinaria complex: 1. seeds without foveoles 2 1. seeds with foveole/s 3 2. capsules mamillate-rugose with fleshy or thin scales; pollen grains with 5 colpi hookeri 2. capsules smooth skinned, sub-globose; pollen grain with 4 colpi urinaria ssp. nudicarpus 3. seeds with large, single foveole 4 3. seeds with 2-4, small foveoles; pollen grains with 4 colpi urinaria ssp. urinaria 4. staminate flowers with tepals hispid abaxiallly; plagiotropic shoots highly hispidulous; pollen grains with 4 colpi nozeranii 4. staminate flowers with tepals glabrous abaxiallly; plagiotropic shoots scarcely hispidulous; pollen grains with 5 colpi embergeri a decade after the work of rossignol et al. (1987) on this group, chen and wu (1997) clearly reiterated that phyllanthus embergeri rossignol & haicour, p. hookeri muell.-arg. and p. urinaria ssp. nudicarpus rossignol & haicour are distinct taxa in taiwan on pollen characters. the present account deals with p. hookeri and p. nozeranii, which can be easily identified in the field as well as in the herbarium, and even on other evidence as demonstrated below: 1. phyllanthus hookeri muell.-arg. in linnaea 32: 19 (1863) et in dc., prodr. 15(2): 366 (1866); rossignol et al., amer. j. bot. 74: 1862 (1988). type: eastern india, khasia mountains (3000-4000 ft), j.d. hooker et t. thomson sub phyllantho no. 71 in hb. dc. (holotype p; isotype vil). phyllanthus leprocarpus wight, icon. pl. ind. or. 5: 25, t. 1895, f.4 (1852). phyllanthus urinaria var. hookeri (muell.-arg.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 294 (1887). diasperus hookeri (muell.-arg.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 2: 599 (1891). (fig. 1a, b) perennial erect herbs, up to 60 cm high. main stem woody, hard, smooth; cataphylls arranged spirally; internodes relatively short, angular. leaves narrowly oblong, distichous, hispidulous along the margins; leaf base slightly oblique, 1.1-1.4 × 0.3-0.4 cm; petiole 1 mm long; stipules acuminate. phyllanthoid branchlets plagiotropic up to 15 cm long, with 47-50 leaves. plants monoecious; 22-25 proximal nodes with axillary, solitary, pistillate flowers while the distal nodes 30-37 with solitary or at the most 2 staminate flowers. staminate flowers: pedicels 0.5 mm long, tepals 6, white with red strip along the midvein, elliptic-oblong, entire, obtuse; filaments form a column (less than 0.5 mm); anthers free, divergent, sub-globose, yellow, dithecous, extrorse and dehiscing by longitudinal slits; disk glands discrete, alternating the tepals, granular; pollen grains 5colporate. pistillate flowers: pedicels 0.5 mm long, tepals 6, white, linear-oblong, apex rounded; glabrous below; upper rim of disk finely crenulate. fruits capsular, depressed globose, exocarp mamillate-rugulose, with fleshy scales. seeds 6, brown, trigonous, 1.360 raju et al. 1.5 × 1.5 mm; ornamentation radiating from the rounded hilum with 5-7 ridges on lateral faces and 13-14 distinct transverse ridges on dorsal side; non-foveolate. flowering and fruiting: throughout the year. illustration: phyllanthus urinaria auct. non l.: matthew, further ill. fl. tamilnadu carnatic f. 580. 1998; pullaiah and babu, fl. andhra pradesh 4: 1808, f. 458 (1998). geographical distribution: asia: india to philippines. specimens examined: andhra pradesh: chittoor district, satyavedu to madras (150 m): 7.10.1974, m. chandrabose 45259; cuddapah district, on the side of gunjam river (190 m): 9.11.1962, j. l. ellis 14981. east godavari district: kotha isukapalli, v.s. raju 1615 (kuh); warangal district: ku campus, hanamkonda: v.s. raju & s. suthari 1851 (kuh). assam: locality?: masters, mh 70925. chattisgarh, bastar district, kondagaon, in paddy fields (767 m): 19.11.1958, k. subramanyam 7185; north kanger valley, kutamsar (530 m): 26.8.1959, k. subramanyam 8630. karnataka, south canara, sullia: 25.10.1900, c.a. barber 2070. kerala: cannanore district, tolpetty (800 m): 9.7.1978, v.s. ramachandran 57516; idukki district, churuly on hill slopes in cardamom plantation: 22.8.1981, v.s. raju 71145; edayar-pooyamkutty (125 m), 15.12.1988, p. bhargavan 89934. madhya pradesh: rewa distrct, rewa town, khatonlia forest (400 m): 14.9.1959, k.m. sebastine 8766. nagaland: herb. hort. bot. calcuttensis, flora of naga hills: 22.10.1886, dr. d. prain, mh 70921. sikkim: flora of bengal (sikkim): july, 1882. j.s. gamble 10460; flora of the sikkim himalaya (locality? 187 m). g. king 187. southeast india: coromandel coast: coll.? 108, date? (p). tamil nadu: tirunevelly district, courtallam: 14.9.1915, coll.? 12158, mh 46773; 21.10.1919, k.c. jacob 16224; mundanthurai to karyar: 17.9.1915, coll.? 12219; papanasam: 12.7.1907, coll.? 8371. west bengal: hook.f. & thoms., mh 70923. note: within the subsect. urinaria, p. hookeri shows striking resemblance to p. urinaria var. urinaria and p. urinaria ssp. nudicarpus in habit. but, the tepals of staminate flowers are larger, obovate-crenulate and the seeds foveolate (cf. silva and sales, 2007) in the former and capsules are smooth and pollen 4-colporate in the latter (cf. chen and wu, 1997). however, govaerts et al. (2000) considered it as a variety under p. urinaria though phyllanthus hookeri was accepted as a distinct species by chen and wu (1997) on pollen morphology. phyllanthus hookeri is distinct from p. nozeranii on ovule structure, seed and seedling morphology (cf. ramla, 1995) besides the other differences already stated. 2. phyllanthus nozeranii rossignol & haicour, amer. j. bot. 74: 1858 (1987) (publ. 1988). (fig. 1c, d) vernacular (telugu): erra usirikee. plants herbaceous, 20-35 cm high, ephemeral, monsoonal. young stem bearing a rosette of 5-7 assimilatory leaves; cataphylls arranged spirally above it; internodes identity of phyllanthus hookeri and p. nozeranii 61 slightly angular, finely pilose, 8-15 mm long. phyllanthoid branchlets plagiotropic, dorsiventrally flattended, 6.2-8.0 cm long with 15-16 distichous leaves. leaves obovate, purplish along the margins and veins (young leaves more purplish abaxially); base oblique, 1.3-1.8 × 0.6-0.7 cm. staminate flowers: 0.5-2.0 mm in diameter (in full bloom), fig. 1a,b: phyllanthus hookeri (a) whole plant and seed (b) seedling c, d: phyllanthus nozeranii (c) whole plant and seed (d) seedling. . pedicels below 0.5 mm long, tepals 6, white; stamens with filaments fused, anthers free, divergent, sub-globose, yellow, dehiscing by longitudinal slits; pollen grains 4-colporate. pistillate flowers: axillary, solitary, pedicels below 0.5 mm long; tepals 6, apex rounded. fruits capsular, depressed-globose, 2 mm in diameter, very scaly. seeds 6, brown, 1.21.5 x 1-1.2 mm; with 13-15 transversal ridges on their convex face; lateral faces with a central, conspicuous, crescent-shaped foveole. 62 raju et al. geographical distribution: southeast asia, peninsular india. specimens examined: andhra pradesh: east godavari district, locality? (125 m): 19.9.1980, g.v. subbarao 67560; khammam district: vazeedu, v.s. raju 1616 (kuh); kurnool district, locality? (375 m): 29.8.1965, j.l. ellis 25575; lukke (590 m): 9.8.1980, j.l. ellis 42224; visakhapatnam district: forest near s. kota (175 m): 4.9.1960, n.p. balakrishnan 11018; warangal district: mangapet, v.s. raju 1624 (kuh); ku campus: v.s. raju & s. suthari 1852 (kuh). karnataka: south canara, sullia, 25.1.1900, c.a. barber 2070; sampagi: 10.11.1900, c.a. barber 2192. kerala: trivandrum district, near nilamil (125 m): 12.8.1978, m. mohanan 54798; trichur district, thunakadavu submergible area (667 m): 24.7.1964, k.m. sebastine 20929. tamil nadu: tirunevelly district, courtallam: 13.9.1915, coll.? 12036, mh46781. peninsular india: coromandel coast (without locality): macé s.n. (p). the specimens cited above for the two species, other than those indicated as kuh and p, are all available at mh. discussion among the eight secondary metabolites screened for phyllanthus hookeri, p. nozeranii and p. urinaria, alkaloids are present while iridoids absent in all. steroids are exclusive to p. urinaria, lignins, methylene-dioxy compounds and triterpenoids to p. hookeri and ellagic acid to p. nozeranii. however, tannins are shared by p. hookeri and p. nozeranii. the distribution of 21 known and 24 unknown amino acids, 10 known and 4 unknown phenolic acids and 8 secondary metabolites scored for 17 species of phyllanthus revealed 25.0 paired affinity between p. nozeranii and p. urinaria, 23.0 between p. hookeri and p. nozeranii, and 15.3 between p. hookeri and p. urinaria. the isolation values are 50 for p. urinaria, 30.7 for p. hookeri and 22.2 for p. nozeranii (komuraiah, 2009). leaf proteins in p. hookeri and p. nozeranii were studied using sds-page. based on the mobility of the protein bands, the species of phyllanthus were categorized into a (slow: rf 0.4-1.5), b (intermediate: rf 1.6-2.1), c (fast: rf 2.8-3.9) and d (very fast: rf 4.0-5.1). p. hookeri showed exclusive bands in a and b while p. nozeranii developed a band is c (fast) while both shared bands in d (very fast). when the paired affinity and isolations were calculated for 11 species of phyllanthus, p. hookeri and p. nozeranii showed zero paired affinity whereas p. hookeri evinced highest isolation value of 54.5. conversely, phyllanthus hookeri, p. nozeranii and p. urinaria are distinct not only in external morphology as demonstrated but also in cytology (rossignol et al., 1984, 1987) and phytochemistry (komuraiah, 2009), even on their antimicrobial properties (komuraiah et al., 2009). identity of phyllanthus hookeri and p. nozeranii 63 acknowledgements we are thankful to dr g.v.s. murthy, joint director, botanical survey of india, southern circle, coimbatore, for permission to work in mh while sateesh suthari is grateful to dr v.k. dadhwal and dr sarnam singh, iirs, dehra dun for financial assistance for travel through vegetation carbon pool project. references chaudhary, l.b. and khan, z.h. 2003. sem study on seeds of some herbaceous phyllanthus l. (euphorbiaceae). phytotaxonomy 3: 112-118. chaudhary, l.b. and rao, r.r. 2002. taxonomic study of herbaceous species of phyllanthus l. (euphorbiaceae) in india. phytotaxonomy 2: 143-162. chen, s-h. and wu, m-j. 1997. a revision of the herbaceous phyllanthus l. (euphorbiaceae) in taiwan. taiwania 42: 239-261. chen, y.-j., chen, s.-h., huang, t.-c. and wu, m.-j. 2009. pollen morphology of philippine species of phyllanthus (phyllanthaceae, euphorbiaceae s.l.). blumea 54: 47-58. gangopadhyay, m., chakrabarty, t. and balakrishnan, n.p. 2007. phyllanthus. in: n.p. balakrishnan and t. chakrabarty, the family euphorbiaceae in india: a synopsis of its profile, taxonomy and bibliography. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun. pp. 361-391. govaerts, r., frodin, d.g. and radcliffe-smith, a. 2000. world checklist and bibliography of euphorbiaceae (and pandaceae) 1-4: 1-1622. the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew. hooker, j.d. 1887. phyllanthus. in: flora of british india 5: 285-305. l. reeve & co, london. komuraiah, a. 2009. macromolecular systematics of the tribe phyllantheae subfamily phyllanthoideae of euphorbiaceae. ph.d. thesis, kakatiya university, warangal. komuraiah, a., bolla, k., rao, k.n., ragan, a., raju, v.s. and charya, m.a.s. 2009. antibacterial studies and phytochemical constituents of south indian phyllanthus species. african j. biotech. 8(19): 4991 4995. lee, c.y., peng, w.h., cheng, h.y., chen, f.n., lai, m.t. and chiu, t.h. 2006. hepatoprotective effect of phyllanthus in taiwan on acute liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride. amer. j. chinese med. 34: 471482. linnaeus, c. 1753. species plantarum. stockholm. philcox, d. 1997. euphorbiaceae, part 1. in: dassanayake, m.d. and clayton, w.d. (eds), a revised handbook of the flora of ceylon 11: 80-283. amerind publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhi. ramla, k. 1995. seed and seedling morphology of the genus phyllanthus (euphorbiaceae) of kerala state in relation to taxonomy. ph.d. thesis, university of calicut, kerala. rossignol, l., rossignol, m and haicour, r. 1987. a systematic revision of phyllanthus subsection urinaria (euphorbiaceae). amer. j. bot.74(12): 1853-1862. rossignol, l., rossignol, m., haïcour, r. and piquepaille, p. 1984. le phénotype moyen des unités systématiques de la sous-section “urinaria” du genre phyllanthus. les formes adaptatives et la notion d'écotype. canad. j. bot. 62(5): 947-964. roxburgh, w. (w. carey, ed.) 1832. flora indica. mission press, serampore. silva, m.j. de and sales, m.f. de 2007. phyllanthus l. (phyllanthaceae) em pernambucao, brasil. acta bot. bras. 21: 79-98. (manuscript received on 28 july 2010; revised on 29 may 2011) microsoft word 06. aa.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 193-198, 2010 (december) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. ix. new records of green algae (chlorophyceae) abdul aziz1, shahima islam and abdullah harun chowdhury2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: cladophora crispula; cladophora prolifera; phyllodictyon anastomosans; st. martin’s island. abstract cladophora crispula vickers, cladophora prolifera (roth) kütz. and phyllodictyon anastomosans (harv.) kraft et wynne are recorded and described for the first time from the st. martin’s island, cox's bazar, bangladesh. introduction so far 45 taxa under 17 genera of green algae have been reported from bangladesh coasts (islam, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1976; islam and khair, 1978; salam and khan, 1980; islam and irfanullah, 2000; aziz et al., 2008). the authors on examination of some preserved samples came across some green algae, which were not recorded earlier from the bangladesh territory. these are described and illustrated in the present account. materials and methods several marine algae collected from the littoral (exposed and knee-deep water below low tide mark) zone of st. martin’s island, cox’s bazar district bangladesh on different occasions were preserved with 4% formalin in marine water. cladophora prolifera (roth) kütz. was collected by prof. abdul aziz, while cladophora crispula vickers and phyllodictyon anastomosans (harv.) kraft et wynne were collected by dr. abdullah harun chowdhury. taxonomic enumeration cladophora prolifera and phyllodictyon anastomosans were found to be growing on exposed rocks, shells and stones while cladophora crispula was found as an epiphyte on phyllodictyon anastomosans collected from the coast of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. these taxa are new records for bangladesh and are described and illustrated below. 1corresponding author. e-mail: dr.aziz.botany@gmail.com 2environmental science discipline, khulna university, khulna 9208, bangladesh. 194 aziz et al. class: chlorophyceae; order: cladophorales; family: cladophoraceae genus: cladophora kütz. 1. cladophora crispula vickers (fig. 2 a-d) (taylor 1960, 85; rios 1972, 227, 2: 8) plants filamentous, moderately branched, 3.00 mm high; thallus appears to be young, branching mainly monopodial; cells cylindrical, thallus attached by short finger-like rhizoidal extensions from the lower most cell; gradually broadened at the tip, slightly incurved, 248-362 µm long, diameter of broader region varies from 63.50 to 77.55 µm and narrower region from 45.72 to 51.00 µm; tip cells 33.00-50.80 µm broad with rounded apex; cell wall thick stratified, chloroplasts reticulate, with many small rounded to ovoid pyrenoides; reproductive structures not observed. fig. 1 a-d. cladophora crispula vickers. a. terminal part of a plant showing predominant unilateral branching; b. an enlarged portion of the plant; c. apex of a terminal cell showing cell wall and chloroplast structures; d. stratification of the cell wall and reticulate chloroplast in a median cell. scales: a, b = 100 µm; c, d = 25 µm. note: islam (1976) reported cladophora echinus (biasoletto) kütz. & c. patentiramea (montag.) kütz. from st. martin’s island, bangladesh. the present material does not resemble with any of the above species. the present material resembles to a certain extent with c. gracilis (griffiths) kütz. by its branching pattern and cell shape but differs enormously by the size of the plant. the present material is very small (2.5-3.0 marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh 195 mm long) compared to 30 cm for c. gracilis. however, the present material appears to be in early growing stage. there are 1055 species names in the species database of cladophora at present, of which 176 are flagged as currently accepted taxonomically. the two species recorded here are among the accepted ones. habitat and local distribution: epiphytic on phyllodictyon anastomosans; a.h. chowdhury, 06 jan. 2006, ahc 212. geographical distribution: atlantic islands: bermuda; caribbean islands: bahamas, barbados, cuba, hispaniola; south coast of asia: philippines, vietnam (taylor, 1960). 2. cladophora prolifera (roth) kütz. [conferva prolifera roth] (fig. 1 a-d) (taylor 1960, 91, 3: 5; joly 1965, 44, 3: 37, 4: 52) plants tufted, coarse and stiff, 5.0-5.6 cm high; thallus dark green, profusely branched, filaments up to 325 µm broad near the base, with cells up to 1.75 mm long, small rhizoidal extensions from most of the cell bases, branching chiefly opposite, the branches rather erect, clustered toward the tip; branchlets lateral, not spreading, 125-150 µm broad and the cells 450-500 µm long, tip cells blunt, cell wall very thick, stratified; chloroplast reticulate with numerous pyrenoids; reproductive structures were not observed. note: present material differs from other marine species of cladophora chiefly by predominant opposite branching and rhizoidal extension from cell base. this species differs from c. aokii yamada by less rhizoidal investment on the main axes. islam and hossain (1978) reported cladophora prolifera from a freshwater body of dhaka city, about 1 cm high where cells in the middle part of the thallus are typically cladophoralike, while cells in the apical part are globose to irregular shaped (probably zoosporangia). the size of the plant and variations in cell shape described by islam and hossain (1978) do not fit with the present material collected from lower intertidal zone and that of the illustrations and descriptions for species from marine habitat (newton, 1931; taylor, 1957, 1960). thus, it appears that the material described by islam and hossain is wrongly identified (that needs to be amended), and by mistake the species has been quoted as marine in ahmed et al. (2008). thus, c. prolifera described here is a new record for bangladesh. habitat and local distribution: plants commonly grow on rocks and stones; abdul aziz, 01 march, 1995; aa 9. geographical distribution: cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical zones occurring in brackish and marine conditions (taylor, 1960). 196 aziz et al. fig. 2. a-d. cladophora prolifera (roth) kütz. a. habit of plants; b. rhizoidal extension from the base of branches (arrow); c. upper portion of a main axis showing branching habit; d. a portion of the cell showing heavily stratified cell wall and numerous pyrenoids. scales: b,c = 100 µm; d = 25 µm. class: chlorophyceae; order: siphonocladales; family: boodleaceae genus: struvea sonder. 3. phyllodictyon anastomosans (harv.) kraft et wynne [cladophora anastomosans harv., struvea anastomosans (harv.) picc., s. delicatula kütz., (?) s. tenuis zonard.] (fig. 3 a-e) (nizamuddin 1969, 239; taylor 1960, 122, 9: 2, 5: 1 as struvea anastomosans (harv.) picc.) plant densely entangled, filamentous, up to 1.0 cm tall, tufted distally; branching opposite, the main filamentous axes up to 372 µm wide, unsegmented with constrict here and there (6.50-16.00 mm) in the lower part of the stalk but segmented above, bearing in marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh 197 a plane 4-6 pairs of opposite branchlet filaments which divide and redivide with decreasing regularity to form the net-work; in older filament cells are 1.6-4.5 mm long and 0.5 mm broad, in young filament cells are 200-400 µm long and 100-172 µm broad; young tip cells very curved 214-365 µm (outer face) and 175-285 µm (inner face) long. cells are narrowest at the base and the diameter remains more or less same throughout most of its length and then swollen into a knee like structure at the tip, cell tip rounded. in the main filament, the lumen is narrowed to about 26 µm, in most part of the cell while in the most swollen part it is about 166 µm broad; cell wall 25-30 layered; chloroplast reticulate; abundant growth of germlings found on the surface of old filament; reproductive structures were not observed. fig. 3 a-e. phyllodictyon anastomosans (harv.) kraft et wynne. a. basal portion of a plant. b. enlarged part of the base showing constrictions in the axis and rhizoidal branches. c. upper part of a plant with branches and branchlets. d. apex of a developing branch. e. part of a mature branch. scales: a, c = 1 cm; b = 500 µm; d, e = 200 µm. 198 aziz et al. note: there are 25 species names in the species database at present, of which 7 including the present species are flagged as currently accepted taxonomically. the genus is recorded for the first time from bangladesh habitat and local distribution: the alga grows on rocks; a.h. chowdhury, 06 jan. 2006, ahc 212. geographical distribution: atlantic islands, canary islands, north america, caribbean islands, south america, africa, indian ocean islands, south-west asia, asia (taylor, 1960). references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 3. algae, chlorophyta (aphanochaetaceae–zygnemataceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 812 pp. aziz, a., islam, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2008. ulva lactuca lin. var. rigida (c. ag.) le jolis (chlorophyceae) from inani beach, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. noami 26(2): 87-89. islam, a.k.m.n. 1964. the genus cladophorella newly found in east pakistan. rev. alg. 7(4): 275-289. islam, a.k.m.n. 1965. taxonomic study of species of dichotomosiphon & vaucheria found in east pakistan. proc. pak. acad. sci. 2(1): 47-56+9 pls. islam, a.k.m.n. 1973. a new species of boodleopsis (chlorophyta) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 2(1): 53-67. islam, a.k.m.n. 1976. contribution to the study of the marine algae of bangladesh. bibliotheca phycologica 19: 1-253. islam, a.k.m.n. and hossain, s.k.t. 1978. algal flora of the ablution tanks of mosques in dhaka city. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh (sci.) 3(2): 103-113. islam, a.k.m.n. and irfanullah, h.m. 2000. addition to the list of marine algae st. martin’s island. vi. codium stackhouse. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(2): 21-26. islam, a.k.m.n. and khair, a. 1978. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin’s island. i. genus codium stackhouse. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh (sci) 4(1): 123-126. joly, a.b. 1965. flora marinha do littoral norte do estado de sao paulo e regioes circunvizinhas. boletin no. 294. fac. fil. cienc. e letr. univ. sáo paulo, bot. 21: 1-393. newton, l. 1931. a handbook of the british seaweeds. british museum, london, 478 pp. nizamuddin, m. 1969. contribution to the marine algae from west pakistan. 1. morphology and ecology of siphoneous algae. algologique 3: 239-274. rios, n.r.de. 1972. contribucion al estudio systematico de las algas macroscopicas de las costas de venezuela. acta botánica venezuelica. 7(1-4): 219-324 + 42 lám with 85 figs. salam, a.m.a. and khan, a.s.y. 1980. ulva patengansis, a new species from bangladesh. phykos 19(2): 129-131. taylor, r.w. 1957. marine algae of the northeastern coast of north america. univ. mich. press, ann arbor, 509 pp. taylor, r.w. 1960. marine algae of the eastern tropical & subtropical coasts of the america. univ. mich. press, ann arbor, 870 pp. (manuscript received on 19 july, 2010; revised on 24 november, 2010) microsoft word 05. sarwar.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 37-46, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology and systematics in two subfamilies of ericaceae: cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae a.k.m. golam sarwar1 and hideki takahashi2 laboratory of systematic botany, graduate school of agriculture, hokkaido university, japan. keywords: pollen morphology; systematics; cassiopoideae; harrimanelloideae; ericaceae. abstract pollen morphology of two subfamilies of ericaceae, cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae, was studied using light microscopy (lm), scanning electron microscopy (sem), and also, for selected species, transmission electron microscopy (tem). the systematic significance of new palynological data is discussed in the light of the recent classification of ericaceae. the cassiopoideae are stenopalynous; the four 3aperturate grains are united in compact minute tetrads with striate apoclopial exine sculpture. infraand inter-specific variations have been observed in some palynological features of cassiope, this might be due to geographical distribution. the harrimanelloideae pollen grain is characterized by minute tetrahedral tetrads with coarsely rugulate to psilate apoclopial exine sculpture and perforated septum. pollen morphology supports the subfamilial status of cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae, and the close relationship between the members of subfamily harrimanelloideae and vaccinioideae. the secondary sculpture on the exine surface might be a synapomorphic palynological character state for harrimanelloideae + styphelioideae + vaccinioideae clade. introduction the cosmopolitan family ericaceae comprises eight subfamilies, approximately 125 genera and 4100 species. although members of this family are highly diverse in life forms, leaf morphology, and inflorescence characteristics, three of these subfamilies viz., enkianthoideae, cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae, are monogeneric (kron et al., 2002; kron and luteyn, 2005). the systematic position of subfamilies; cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae, have been discussed variously. cox (1948) first proposed a new tribe, cassiopeae, in the subfamily vaccinioideae, which included the genera cassiope, harrimanella, epigaea, enkianthus and agauria on the basis of similar wood anatomy. later, stevens (1971) reassessed the generic limits of the tribe cassiopeae with only cassiope and harrimanella, although he reported much dissimilarity between these two genera. the cladistic studies showed that cassiope and harrimanella (as member of the tribe cassiopeae sensu stevens, 1971) form a sister clade to ericoideae (including ericeae-empetreae-rhodoreae clade). hence they are cladistically closer to ericeae (ericeae and calluneae sensu watson et al., 1967) than to any part of the vaccinioideae (anderberg, 1993). the latest classification of ericaceae identified them as the member 1 corresponding author. present address: department of crop botany, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh 2202, bangladesh. e-mail: gsshameem@gmail.com 2 the hokkaido university museum, north 10 west 8, sapporo 060-0810, japan. 38 sarwar and takahashi of two monogeneric subfamilies; cassiopoideae, the sister group of subfamily ericoideae, and harrimanelloideae, the sister group of styphelioideae + vaccinioideae clade (kron et al., 2002). the subfamily cassiopoideae comprises only genus cassiope with about 12 species of circumboreal distribution, extending south into china, the himalayan region, japan, russia, and pacific north america (kron and luteyn, 2005). this genus possesses some apomorphic character states, e.g. calluna-type pith, decussate leaves, indumentum of fasciculate branched hairs and one-flowered axillary inflorescence with 4-6 basal bracteoles (stevens, 1971; kron et al., 2002), and the only member of the ericaceae with bisporic embryo sac (palser, 1952). harrimanella, the only genus of the other subfamily harrimanelloideae, comprises two species, with a disjunct circumboreal distribution; from north america, greenland, north scandinavia to west russia, kamchatka, and north japan (kron and luteyn, 2005). subfamily harrimanelloideae also possesses some apomorphic character states, e.g. indumentum of only unicellular hairs, inflorescence terminal, flowers solitary, bract and bracteoles lacking, and short and stout stigma (kron et al., 2002). pollen morphology might play an important role in distinguishing among subfamilies of ericaceae like enkianthoideae (kron et al., 2002; sarwar and takahashi, 2006a). hitherto, all previous studies of pollen morphology of members of cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae were done by only light microscopy (lm) (yang, 1952; sladkov, 1953, 1954; ueno, 1962; nair, 1965; stevens, 1971; moriya, 1976; comtois and larouche, 1981; warner and chinnappa, 1986; ikuse, 2001). the data from pollen morphology has not been significantly used for taxonomic purposes. therefore, the present research was undertaken to study the pollen morphology of cassiope and harrimanella in detail with the combination of lm, scanning electron microscopy (sem) and transmission electron microscopy (tem), and to discuss the systematic significance of new pollen morphological data in the light of the recent classification of ericaceae (kron et al., 2002). materials and methods pollen morphology of four species, representing both genera of the monogeneric subfamilies cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae was examined with lm and sem (table 1). pollen grains of cassiope lycopodiodes and harrimanella stelleriana were studied especially with tem. polliniferous materials used in this study were taken from dried specimens available from the herbaria of hokkaido university museum (saps), university of copenhagen (c) and university of gothenburg (gb). preparation of pollen grains followed sarwar et al. (2006a). pollen samples were acetolysed following the standard procedure of erdtman (1960) with little modification, and after the dehydration in an ethanol series, acetolysed pollen was embedded in silicone pollen morphology and systematics in ericaceae 39 oil for lm observations. the following measurements were carried out with lm within one week after the preparation making. the main dimensions d, p, d(e) and 2f corresponding to the tetrad diameter, polar length and equatorial diameter of a single pollen grain within the tetrad, and total length of two concurrent apertures (colpi) were measured, and the ratios of d/d, p/e and 2f/d were calculated. furthermore, width (w) of apertures, thickness of apocolpial exine and septum (inner wall) were measured. the measurements given in table 3 are based on at least 10 grains from each specimen. pollen slides and sem stubs of all collections are deposited in the hokkaido university museum, sapporo, and in part, in the palynological laboratory of swedish museum of natural history, stockholm. descriptive terminology follows punt et al. (1994) and sarwar et al. (2006a). table 1. specimens of the subfamilies of cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae examined. voucher information (herbarium acronym) subfamily cassiopoideae cassiope fastigiata d. don. bhutan: shringe, me la, 08.06.1949. f. loulow, g. sherriff & j. hicks 20708 (gb) c. lycopodiodes (pall.) d. don. japan: hokkaido, kawakami-sicho, kawakami-gun, mts. daisetsu, sugataminoike – susoaidaira, 16.07.1987. h. takahashi et al. 7185 (saps) usa: alaska, mt. marathon, seward, kenai pen. 600 06' n, 1490 27' w, 13.07.1951. j.a. calder 5850 (c) c. mertensiana (bong.) g. don. canada: british columbia, mt. revelstoke nat. park, vicinity of heather lodge, 22.07.1953. j.a. calder & d.b.o. savile 10837 (c) subfamily harrimanelloideae harrimanella stelleriana (pall.) cov. japan: hokkaido, daisetsu, mt. ashi-dake, sugatamino-ike, 20.06.1982. h. takahashi 2513 (saps) results subfamily cassiopoideae in lm, the pollen grains are united in compact tetrahedral tetrad (figs 1a-c). the average values of species ranged as follows: d 24.4-30.3 µm, p 12.8-15.4 µm, d 17.022.5 µm, d/d 1.34-1.49 (table 3); oblate or suboblate; three aperturate (colpus), colpor(oid)ate, colpi distinct, but faint in c. fastigiata, 2f 17.2-22.4 µm, w 0.6-1.0 µm, wider at middle, acute towards end, tip often bifurcated in one specimen of c. lycopodiodes (calder 5850), costae present, indistinct in c. fastigiata; endocracks absent or indistinct, present in c. lycopodiodes (takahashi et al. 7185); endoaperture distinct, lalongate; exine tectate, apocolpial exine 0.9-1.7 µm thick, septum 0.7-1.1 µm thick, apocolpial exine sculpture varied from finely verrucate to finely rugulate or psilate (tables 2 & 3). in sem, the pollen surface is somewhat flat and the apocolpial exine sculpture is striate (type s; figs 1d-f). colpi are narrow and elongate and the apocolpial region is 40 sarwar and takahashi small; aperture membranes are smooth in c. fastigiata and c. lycopodiodes, but granulate in c. mertensiana (table 2). tem showed that in c. lycopodiodes (takahashi et al. 7185), the apocolpial exine is composed of ektexine; tectum, columellae (rod-like elements distinct) and a foot layer, and endexine with higher electron density (figs 1g-i). sexine is ca 0.4 µm thick, endexine thick and (endo)cracks present, and a total exine is ca 0.8 µm thick (fig. 1h). in the septum (proximal exine), tectum is lacking or fragmentary, two foot layers of adjacent grains are connected by columellae, the septum is ca 0.5-0.8 µm thick (fig. 1i). intine is almost evenly thick around the pollen tetrad, showing a lower electron density than the endexine at both apocolpial and septal exine. fig. 1. lm, sem and tem micrographs of cassiope pollen grains. a, d. c. fastigiata (ludlow et al. 20708); b, f. c. mertensiana (calder & savile 10837); c, e. g-i. c. lycopodiodes (takahashi et al. 7185). a, b. pollen tetrads at polar view; c. pollen tetrads at equatorial view; d-f, micrographs with apocolpial exine sculpture details; g. whole tetrads showing thick intine layer near aperture region; h. apocolpial exine showing tectum with striae, columellae, foot layer and thick endexine with (endo)cracks; i. in septum, tectum fragmentary, two foot layers of adjacent grains sometimes connected by columellae, endexine and thick intine. pollen morphology and systematics in ericaceae 41 subfamily harrimanelloideae in lm, pollen grains of harrimanella stelleriana are commonly united in tetrahedral tetrads (figs 2a-c) and the grains often shrink. in this species, the pollen grains are oblate; three aperturate, colporate, colpi slit-like, costae present; endocracks present; endoaperture distinct, lalongate; exine tectate, apocolpial region small, exine sculpture varies from psilate or finely rugulate. qualitative and quantitative data on different pollen grain features of this species are given in tables 2 & 3. fig. 2. lm, sem and tem micrographs of harrimanella stelleriana pollen grains (takahashi 2513). a, b. pollen tetrads at polar view; c. pollen tetrads at equatorial view; d, e. micrographs with apocolpial exine sculpture details; f. micrographs with mescolpial exine sculpture details; g. whole tetrads; h. apocolpial exine showing tectum, columellae, thick foot layer with (endo)cracks and endexine indistinguishable; i. septum faintly perforated, tectum fragmentary, two foot layers of adjacent grains sometimes connected by columellae, very thin or indistinguishable endexine and thick intine; j. aperture region characterized by thick foot layer, thin endexine and thick intine. in sem, the pollen surface is somewhat flat with an apocolpial exine sculpture that is coarsely rugulate to psilate, but intermediate types (r/p in fig. 2d; r/rs in fig. 2e). exine sculpture along the colpi is similar to that appearing at the distal pole (apocol42 sarwar and takahashi pium), but the mesocolpial exine has a tendency to decrease the lateral extension of the rugulae into more distinct units (fig. 2f). aperture membrane is granulate (table 2). table 2. qualitative pollen morphological data of the subfamilies cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae. ct, compact tetrad; t, tetrahedral tetrad; s, striate; r, rugulate; p, psilate; rs, rugulate-striate. names of taxa config uration orname ntation aperture membrane remarks subfamily cassiopoideae cassiope fastigiata ct s smooth colpi faint c. lycopodiodes takahashi et al. 7185 ct s smooth endocracks distinct calder 5850 ct s smooth ora indistinct, colpi often bifurcated c. mertensiana ct s granulate subfamily harrimanelloideae harrimanella stelleriana t r/p or r/rs granulate grains often shrink in tem, the apocolpial exine is composed of ektexine and endexine (figs 2g-i). the sexine is ca 0.5 µm thick, endexine thick and (endo)cracks present, and a total exine is ca 1.1 µm thick (fig. 2h). in the septum (proximal exine), the tectum is lacking or fragmentary, two foot layers of adjacent grains are connected by columellae; the septum is ca 0.6-1.1 µm thick, faintly perforated, and thicker towards peripheral regions (fig. 2i). intine is almost evenly thick around the pollen tetrad, showing lower electron density than the endexine at both apocolpial and septal exine. the aperture region is characterized by a thick foot layer, thin endexine and thick intine (fig. 2j). discussion all taxa of cassiope examined in this study have minute and 3-colpor(oid)ate grains united in compact tetrahedral tetrads having the similar exine sculpture of type s. this suggests that the genus cassiope, as a whole, is a well-defined entity. members of cassiope showed some distinct palynological characteristics e.g. consistently minute pollen grains. the apocolpial exine sculpture (type s) is rarely found among the members of ericaceae (sarwar, 2007), which strongly supports its monophyly and present placement in the monogeneric subfamily cassiopoideae. another characteristic palynological feature of cassiope, the ratio of aperture length to tetrad diameter (2f/d) is relatively larger compared to other ericaceous taxa (sarwar, 2007). the larger 2f/d resulted into pollen grains with the smaller/narrower apocolpial region in these taxa. although the cassiope species studied showed the characteristic similarity in some palynological features, some infraand inter-specific variations have also been observed. the old world taxa possessed relatively smaller pollen tetrads and narrower aperture, but pollen morphology and systematics in ericaceae 43 44 sarwar and takahashi relatively larger d/d, p/e and 2f/w compared to those of new world taxa. it was very interesting that the two specimens of c. lycopodiodes showed variation in all quantitative palynological characters except 2f/d and septum thickness. these differences may be due to their geographic distribution. infrageneric geographical variation in palynological characters also have been found in other taxa (sarwar and tahahashi, 2006a, c). therefore, further study, with larger number of specimens, is necessary to clarify and/or confirm whether these differences are due to their geographic position or just random variation. the pollen grain of harrimanella is commonly minute in size. our measurements agree with the results of previous studies (ikuse, 2001). pollen tetrads of h. stelleriana were often shrunken and/or broken and probably susceptible to acetolysis. many other factors, viz. the poorly developed exine caused by genetic abnormalities and/or obstruction during pollen development process, thin tectum, poorly developed septum wall, and heterodynamosporus tetrads, either independently or collectively might be responsible for the shrinkage of pollen grains in ericaceae (sarwar, 2007). the ratio of aperture length to width (2f/w) in harrimanella is relatively larger compared to other ericaceous taxa (sarwar, 2007), which may also indicate to the higher adaptibility of h. stelleriana to drier high alpine regions of japan (h. takahashi, personal observations). by reducing the water losses through the narrow slit-like colpi, plants might be able to retain/increase viability of their pollen and improve the reproductive success in drier habitats. although most of the quantitative palynological characters are very similar in both the genera cassiope and harrimanella, tetrad shape, 2f/w and the apocolpial exine sculpture differed significantly between these two genera. moreover, the septum of harrimanella is perforated. although the septum with perforations is not a rare palynological feature in the families having pollen tetrads, this character is characterized only a few other taxa of ericaceae, e.g. andromeda and arctostaphylos, and has emerged as a character of taxonomic importance within this family (sarwar, 2007). the distinct difference in exine sculpture and septum structure between these two genera might support and confirm their placement in two different monotypic subfamilies cassiopoideae and harrimanelloideae (kron et al., 2002), as the apocolpial exine sculpture emerged as palynological character of the most important taxonomic utility within the family ericaceae (sarwar, 2007; sarwar et al., 2008). the rugulae with secondary sculpture, faintly striate in harrimanella may also support their close relationship with the members of subfamily vaccinioideae (sarwar and takahashi, 2006b, c, 2007; sarwar et al., 2006a, b). pollen grains united in tetrahedral tetrads and the secondary sculpture might be synapomorphic palynological character states for harrimanelloideae + styphelioideae + vaccinioideae clade (sarwar, 2007; sarwar and takahashi, 2006b, c, 2007; sarwar et al., 2006a, b). pollen morphology and systematics in ericaceae 45 acknowledgements the authors wish to express their sincere thanks to the directors and curators of saps, c and gb for allowing them to examine and/or for sending specimens on loan to sample polliniferous materials. particular thanks are due to mr. toshiaki ito of electron microscopy laboratory, graduate school of agriculture, hokkaido university for his technical assistance during the electron microscopic studies and photography of pollen grains. the first author is thankful to ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology (mext) of japan for monbukagakusho scholarship during the period of this study. references anderberg, a.a. 1993. cladistic interrelationships and major clades of the ericales. plant syst. evol. 184: 207-231. comtois, p. and larouche, a. 1981. morphologie pollinique des éricales du québec. natur. can. 108: 245262. 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(in japanese with english abstract) warner, b.g. and chinnappa, c.c. 1986. taxonomic implications and evolutionary trends in canadian ericales. can. j. bot. 64: 3113-3126. watson, l., william, w.t. and lance, g.n. 1967. a mix-data approach to angiosperm taxonomy: the classification of ericales. proc. linn. soc. london 178: 25-35. yang, b.y. 1952. pollen grain morphology in the ericaceae. quar. j. taiwan mus. 5: 1-24. (in chinese) (manuscript received on 18 february 2009; revised on 29 march 2009) microsoft word 08. phanera.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 55-61, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists fifty new combinations in phanera lour. (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) from paleotropical region s. bandyopadhyay1, p.p. ghoshal and m.k. pathak central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, p.o. botanic garden, howrah 711 103, west bengal, india keywords: leguminosae; caesalpinioideae; bauhinia; phanera; new combinations. abstract fifty new combinations are proposed in phanera for species earlier treated in bauhinia l. introduction the subgenus phanera (lour.) kurz (wunderlin et al., 1987; bandyopadhyay, 1999) under bauhinia l. is now recognized as a genus distinct from bauhinia based on recent advances in molecular phylogeny (lewis and forest, 2005; bruneau et al., 2008; sinou et al., 2009). thirty two new combinations have already been proposed in phanera lour. occurring in the neotropical region from brazil (queiroz, 2006; vaz, 2010) and for one species from the palaeotropical region (wunderlin, 2011). fifty new combinations are proposed here in phanera occurring in the palaeotropical region from china, india and myanmar to malesia along with the types of the names which have been cited either by scrutinizing the relevant protologues or from the publication of larsen and larsen (1996). 1. phanera aherniana (perkins) de wit var. subglabra (merr.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia subglabra merr., philipp. j. sci., c. 3: 230 (1908). bauhinia aherniana perkins var. subglabra (merr.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 661 (1993). type: f.w. foxworthy, bureau of science no. 821 (k, image! lecto; ny, image! isolecto). 2. phanera andersonii (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia andersonii k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 2: 330 (1982). type: unesco limestone expedition 1962, no. 653 (k, image! holo; l, sing, iso). 3. phanera aureifolia (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia aureifolia k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 11: 633 (1991). bauhinia chrysophylla k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 9: 253 (1989), non vahl ex dc. (1825) nec vogel (1839). type: c. niyomdham & w. ueachirakan 1837 (aau, holo; bkf, k, image! iso). 4. phanera bidentata (jack) benth. var. breviflora (ridl.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia breviflora ridl., fl. malay penins. 5: 306 (1925). bauhinia bidentata jack var. breviflora (ridl.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 663 (1993). type: pahang, i.h. burkill & haniff, singapore field no. 16867 (k, image! holo; sing, iso). 1email: subirbandyopadhyay@yahoo.com 56 bandyopadhyay et al. 5. phanera bidentata (jack) benth. var. cornifolia (baker) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia cornifolia baker in hook.f., fl. brit. india 2: 278 (1878). bauhinia bidentata jack var. cornifolia (baker) bennet, indian j. forest. 5: 326 (1982). type: griffith 1878 (k, image!). 6. phanera bidentata (jack) benth. var. gracilipes (merr.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia gracilipes merr., pap. michigan acad. sci. 19: 157 (1934). bauhinia bidentata jack var. gracilipes (merr.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 663 (1993). type: h.h. bartlett 7600 (a, holo; c, l, image!, ny, image!, w, iso). 7. phanera bidentata (jack) benth. var. monticola (ridl.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia monticola ridl., j. straits branch roy. asiat. soc. 75: 28 (1917). bauhinia bidentata jack var. monticola (ridl.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 663 (1993). type: h.c. robinson s.n. (sing, holo; k, image! iso). 8. phanera bracteata benth. subsp. astylosa (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia bracteata (benth.) j. graham ex baker subsp. astylosa k. larsen & s.s. larsen, fl. cambodge, laos & vietnam 18: 178 (1980). type: dournes s.n. (p, image!). 9. phanera burbidgei (stapf) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia burbidgei stapf, trans. linn. soc. london, bot. 4: 143 (1894). type: o. beccari 633 (fi, image! holo). 10. phanera campanulata (s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia campanulata s. s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 14: 289 (1994). type: d.a. simpson & m. marsh 2051 (k, image! holo; aau, brun, iso). 11. phanera clemensiorum (merr.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia clemensiorum merr., j. arnold arbor. 23:171 (1942). type: j. clemens & m.s. clemens 3621 (a, holo; p, k, image! iso). 12. phanera excurrens (stapf) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia excurrens stapf, trans. linn. soc. london, bot. 4: 143 (1894). type: g.d. haviland 1382 (k, image! holo). 13. phanera fabrilis (de wit) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. phanera riedelii (baker) de wit var. fabrilis de wit, reinwardtia 3: 464 (1956). bauhinia fabrilis (de wit) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 11: 634 (1991). type: anthony, b.n.b. forestry department, no. a. 756 (l, holo; k, image!, kep, sing, iso). 14. phanera foraminifera (gagnep.) de wit var. falcata (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p. p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia foraminifera gagnep. var. falcata k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 661 (1993). type: p.s. ashton, brun 5614 (l, holo; k, image! iso). new combinations in phanera lour. 57 15. phanera ferruginea (roxb.) benth. var. griffithiana (benth.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. phanera griffithiana benth. in miq., pl. jungh.: 263 (1852). bauhinia ferruginea roxb. var. griffithiana (benth.) baker in hook.f., fl. brit. india 2: 283 (1878). type: griffith s.n. (k, image!, br ). 16. phanera franckii (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia franckii k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 11: 633 (1991). type: c.w. franck 1406 (c, image! holo). 17. phanera havilandii (merr.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia havilandii merr., philipp. j. sci., c. 11: 79 (1916). type: native collector, bureau of science no. 199 (us, lecto). 18. phanera khasiana (baker) thoth. subsp. polystachya (gagnep.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia polystachya gagnep., notul. syst. (paris) 2: 178 (1912). bauhinia khasiana baker subsp. polystachya (gagnep.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, fl. cambodge, laos & vietnam 18: 189 (1980). type: massie s.n. (p, image!). 19. phanera khasiana (baker) thoth. var. gigalobia (d.x. zhang) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia khasiana baker var. gigalobia d.x. zhang, nordic j. bot. 13: 401 (1993). type: cai kehua 584 (kun, holo & iso). 20. phanera khasiana (baker) thoth. var. tomentella (t.c. chen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia khasiana baker var. tomentella t.c.chen, guihaia 8: 46 (1988). type: w.s. lious 303 (kun, holo). 21. phanera kingii (prain ex king) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia kingii prain ex king, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 189 (1897). type: scortechini 320 (k, image! lecto). 22. phanera kockiana (korth.) benth. var. angustifolia (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia kockiana korth. var. angustifolia k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 664 (1993). type: w.l. chew et al. 2968 (k, image! holo; l, image!, sing, iso). 23. phanera kockiana (korth.) benth. var. bakoensis (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia kockiana korth. var. bakoensis k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 664 (1993). type: ilias paie s.17902 (l, image! holo; k, san, sing, iso). 24. phanera kockiana (korth.) benth. var. beccarii (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k.pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia kockiana korth. var. beccarii k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 664 (1993). type: petrus & dewol, san 89576 (san, holo; aau, mo, sing, iso). 58 bandyopadhyay et al. 25. phanera kockiana (korth.) benth. var. brevipedicellata (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia kockiana korth. var. brevipedicellata k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 664 (1993). type: mogea 3508 (l, image! holo; bo, iso). 26. phanera kockiana (korth.) benth. var. calcicola (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia kockiana korth. var. calcicola k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 664 (1993). type: p.j. martin s. 38676 (l, image! holo; aau, k, kep, iso). 27. phanera kockiana (korth.) benth. var. scarlatina (backer ex cammerl.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia scarlatina backer ex cammerl., bul. fac. sti. cernăuti 3: 171 (1929). bauhinia kockiana korth. var. scarlatina (backer ex cammerl.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 665 (1993). type: jaheri 1181 (bo, holo; l, image! iso). 28. phanera kostermansii (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia kostermansii k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 11: 629 (1991). type: a. kostermans 13549 (l, holo; bo, k, image!, p, iso). 29. phanera lingua (dc.) miq. var. antipolana (perkins) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia antipolana perkins, fragm. fl. philipp. 1: 9 (1904). bauhinia lingua dc. var. antipolana (perkins) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 660 (1993). type: e.d. merrill 1317 (ny, image! lecto). 30. phanera lingua (dc.) miq. var. riedelii (baker) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia riedelii baker, j. linn. soc., bot. 15: 98 (1876). bauhinia lingua dc. var. riedelii (baker) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 660 (1993). type: riedel s.n. (k, lecto; p, w, iso). 31. phanera merrilliana (perkins) de wit var. borneensis (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia merrilliana perkins var. borneensis k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 658 (1993). type: ilias bin paie s. 28594 (l, image! holo; e, k, sar, sing, iso). 32. phanera ornata (kurz) thoth. subsp. mizoramensis (bandyop. et al.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia ornata kurz subsp. mizoramensis bandyop. et al., nordic j. bot. 12: 223 (1992). type: r. dutta 33793 (cal!, holo). 33. phanera ornata (kurz) thoth. var. balansae (gagnep.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia balansae gagnep., notul. syst. (paris) 2: 168 (1912). bauhinia ornata kurz var. balansae (gagnep.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, fl. cambodge, laos & vietnam 18: 209 (1980). type: m. balansa 2140 (p, image!). new combinations in phanera lour. 59 34. phanera ornata (kurz) thoth. var. burmanica (k.larsen & s.s.larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia ornata kurz var. burmanica k. larsen & s.s. larsen, thai forest bull., bot. 13: 42 (1980). type: j. keenan et al. 735 (e, holo; a, k, image! iso). 35. phanera ornata (kurz) thoth. var. kerrii (gagnep.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia kerrii gagnep., notul. syst. (paris) 2: 173 (1912). bauhinia ornata kurz var. kerrii (gagnep.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, fl. cambodge, laos & vietnam 18: 208 (1980). type: kerr 1740 (k, image! lecto; p, image!, bm, image! isolecto). 36. phanera ornata (kurz) thoth. var. subumbellata (pierre ex gagnep.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia subumbellata pierre ex gagnep., notul. syst. (paris) 2: 180 (1912). bauhinia ornata kurz var. subumbellata (pierre ex gagnep.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, fl. cambodge, laos & vietnam 18: 209 (1980). type: harmand 1119 (p, image! holo). 37. phanera pachyphylla (merr.) de wit var. wenzelii (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia pachyphylla merr. var. wenzelii k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 659 (1993). type: wenzel 2537 (ny, image! holo; bo, br, k, mo, pr, iso). 38. phanera rahmatii (merr.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia rahmatii merr., pap. michigan acad. sci. 19: 158 (1934). type: rahmat si toroes 161 (a, holo; ny, image! iso). 39. phanera ridleyi (prain ex king) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia ridleyi prain ex king, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 185 (1897). type: ridley s.n. (k, lecto). 40. phanera semibifida (roxb.) benth. var. acuminata (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia semibifida roxb. var. acuminata k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 660 (1993). type: f. krispinus, san 105335 (k, image! holo; san, iso). 41. phanera semibifida (roxb.) benth. var. bruneiana (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia semibifida roxb. var. bruneiana k. larsen & s. s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 660 (1993). type: j.p. van neil 3455 (l, image! holo). 42. phanera semibifida (roxb.) benth. var. longebracteata (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia semibifida roxb. var. longebracteata k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 660 (1993). type: winkler 176 (hbg, holo; aau, l, iso). 43. phanera semibifida (roxb.) benth. var. perkinsiae (merr.) bandyop., p.p.ghoshal et m.k.pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia perkinsiae merr., publ. bur. sci. gov. lab. 17: 21 (1904), ‘perkinsae’. bauhinia semibifida roxb. var. perkinsiae (merr.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 661 (1993). type: e.d. merrill 731 (ny, lecto; k, image! isolecto). 60 bandyopadhyay et al. 44. phanera stipularis (korth.) benth. var. brachystylus (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia stipularis korth. var. brachystylus k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 659 (1993). type: j. van borssum waalkes 2552 (l, image! holo; bo, k, iso). 45. phanera steenisii (k. larsen & s. s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia steenisii k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 11: 630 (1991). type: a. kanis, san no. 50115 (l, image! holo; k, san, iso). 46. phanera wrayi (prain ex king) de wit var. blumeana (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia wrayi prain ex king var. blumeana k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 662 (1993). type: t.c. whitmore 3342 (k, holo; l, image! iso). 47. phanera wrayi (prain ex king) de wit var. borneensis (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p.ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia wrayi prain ex king var. borneensis k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 662 (1993). type: w. meijer 47492 (l, image! holo; k, san, iso). 48. phanera wrayi (prain ex king) de wit var. cardiophylla (merr.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia cardiophylla merr., philipp. j. sci., c. 11: 79 (1916). bauhinia wrayi prain ex king var. cardiophylla (merr.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 662 (1993). type: native collector 1858 (a, image!). dr. emily w. wood (pers. comm.) informed that there is only a photo of native collector 1858 at a and not any specimen as cited by larsen and larsen (1996). 49. phanera wrayi (prain ex king) de wit var. moultonii (merr.) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. et stat. nov. bauhinia moultonii merr., philipp. j. sci., c. 11: 82 (1916). bauhinia wrayi prain ex king var. moultonii (merr.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, nordic j. bot. 13: 662 (1993). type: native collector, bureau of science no. 202 (a, holo; k, image! iso). 50. phanera wuzhengyii (s.s. larsen) bandyop., p.p. ghoshal et m.k. pathak, comb. nov. bauhinia wuzhengyii s.s. larsen, novon 9: 526 (1999). type: h.y. ying & w. s. kong 580812 (kun, holo). acknowledgements we are thankful to the director, botanical survey of india, kolkata and additional director, central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, howrah for providing facilities; to drs. a.m.s.f. vaz, instituto de pesquisas jardim botanico do rio de janeiro, brazil; a. bruneau, institut de recherche en biologie végétale, université de montréal, canada and n. malpure, natural products-botany, piramal life sciences ltd., mumbai, for providing literature. we are also thankful to the directors/curators/ contact persons at a, c, fi, k, l, ny and p for providing us the images of the type specimens and to the anonymous reviewer for his helpful suggestions. new combinations in phanera lour. 61 references bandyopadhyay, s. 1999. nomenclatural replacements in bauhinia (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). kew bull. 54: 974. bruneau, a., mercure, m., lewis, g.p. and herendeen, p.s. 2008. phylogenetic patterns and diversification in the caesalpinioid legumes. botany 86: 697-718. larsen, k. and larsen, s.s. 1996. bauhinia. in: kalkman, c., kirkup, d.w., nooteboom, h.p., stevens, p.f. and wilde, w.j.j.o. de (eds), flora malesiana 12: 442-535. rijksherbarium/hortus botanicus, leiden university, the netherlands. lewis, g.p. and forest, f. 2005. cercideae. in: lewis, g., schrire, b., mackinder, b. and lock, m. (eds), legumes of the world. royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 57-67. queiroz, l.p. 2006. new species and new combinations in phanera lour. (caesalpinioideae: cercideae) from the caatinga biome. neodiversity 1: 6-10. sinou, c., forest, f., lewis, g.p. and bruneau, a. 2009. the genus bauhinia s.l. (leguminosae): a phylogeny based on the plastid trnl-trnf region. botany 87: 947-960. vaz, a.m.s.f. 2010. new combinations in phanera (leguminosae; cercideae) from brazil. rodriguésia 61 (suppl.): s33-s40. wunderlin, r.p. 2011. new combination in phanera (fabaceae). phytoneuron 19: 1-2. wunderlin, r., larsen, k. and larsen, s.s. 1987. reorganization of the cercideae (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae). biol. skr. 28: 1-40. (manuscript received on 23 november, 2011; revised on 3 march, 2012) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 73-82, 2006 (december) evaluation of rapd markers for taxonomic relationships in some aquatic species of utricularia l. (lentibulariaceae) mohammad oliur rahman1 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh key words: aquatic utricularia, genetic affinity, neighbour joining, rapd, systematic relationships, upgma abstract random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) markers were used to assess relationship across nine aquatic species of utricularia. the highest numbers of rapd bands were detected in utricularia bremii and u. intermedia. the highest genetic similarity was observed between u. australis and u. dimorphantha; between u. australis and u. vulgaris; and between u. dimorphantha and u. macrorhiza indicating that these species are closely related. unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (upgma) analysis based on the rapd profile in aquatic utricularia resolved the taxa into three clusters: the first cluster included u. aurea, u. australis, u. dimorphantha, u. macrorhiza and u. vulgaris; the second cluster constituted from u. bremii and u. gibba while u. intermedia formed the third cluster with u. minor. the neighbour joining (nj) tree showed that aquatic species could be placed in two main groups and the results obtained from the nj analysis were coherent with that of the upgma clustering method. the molecular findings revealed from this study support the systematic relationships in utricularia inferred from morphological investigations. introduction the development of random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) markers generated by polymerase chain reaction (pcr) using arbitrary primers has resulted in alternative molecular markers for the detection of nuclear dna polymorphism (williams et al. 1990). rapd markers detect nucleotide sequence polymorphisms, providing fingerprints for individuals and populations. these sequence polymorphisms may arise due to changes in the random priming sites on the template or because of insertions or deletions in the dna downstream of the site, changing the size of the amplified fragment. rapd method employs a lower annealing temperature during amplification (35-390c compared to the usual 50-550c) because of using random primers (bowditch et al. 1994). the resulting pcr products from rapd analysis are electrophorized on 1.52.0% agarose gel and stained with ethidium bromide. sometimes polyacrylamide gel and silver staining are also used. huff and bara (1993) found silver-stained rapd markers more reliable than rapd analysis using agarose gel and ethidium bromide staining. however, the agarose gel with ethidium bromide staining were used successfully by sweeney and danneberger (1995). electrophoresis of a set of products translated from different dna regions chosen by the primer produces a series of bands in this technique (schierwater 1995). 1email : oliurrahman@yahoo.com 74 rahman the rapd technique has many advantages such as detection of polymorphism, relatively inexpensive, fast, and reliable. in addition, it utilizes primers of arbitrary sequences which may be used for different species and does not require previous knowledge of dna sequence. rapd markers have found application in many fields including dna fingerprinting (caetano-anollés et al. 1991, micheli et al. 1994), assessment of genetic diversity (bolaric et al. 2005, bodo slotta and porter 2006), cultivar identification (koller et al. 1993, al-khalifah and askari 2003), estimation of population genetic parameters (oiki et al. 2001, sales et al. 2001), hybridization (caraway et al. 2001, triest 2001), systematics (díaz lifante and aguinagalde 1996, vilatersana et al. 2005), phylogeny reconstruction (rath et al. 1998, ahmed et al. 2005) and genome mapping (stockinger et al. 1996, krutovskii et al. 1998). rapd markers have been used in different group of plants. these markers have also been applied successfully in many aquatic plants. san martín et al. (2003) applied these markers for detecting genetic variation in aldrovanda vesiculosa. madeira et al. (1997) determined phenetic relationships among accessions of hydrilla verticillata. waycott (1995) assessed genetic variation in seagrass posidonia australis employing rapd and allozyme analyses. utricularia, a member of the family lentibulariaceae, encompasses 214 species and is distributed throughout the world with the largest number of species in tropical and central america (taylor 1989). many important contributions were made on utricularia based on morphology (taylor 1989, crow 1992), cytology (casper and manitz 1975, pogan et al. 1990) and palynology (huynh 1968, sohma 1975). however, molecular techniques have not been widely used in this genus to evaluate genetic variation and to infer systematic relationships except a few investigations (müller et al. 2002, rahman and kondo 2003). rapd markers have never been tested in this important carnivorous genus. the present study offers a methodological approach using rapds to investigate partitioning of variation and taxonomic relationships among nine aquatic species of utricularia. this investigation examines the suitability of rapds as a tool for identifying utricularia species and detecting genetic variability among the species. materials and methods plant materials: the species of utricularia employed in this study are listed in table 1. the species were grown in both in vitro and in vivo cultures at the laboratory of plant chromosome and gene stock, graduate school of science, hiroshima university, japan. in order to grow the species in vitro culture b5 medium was used (gamborg et al. 1968). isolation of dna: total dna was isolated from the leaf tissue ranging from 1.0g to 1.8g using ctab (cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide) method. see rahman and kondo (2003) for detailed protocol for dna extraction. the isolated dna was dissolved in te buffer and stored at –200c. http://www.springerlink.com/content/?author=b.+koller http://www.springerlink.com/content/?author=n.s.+al-khalifah http://www.springerlink.com/content/?author=e.+askari http://www.springerlink.com/content/?author=s.+m.+ahmed rapd markers in aquatic utricularia 75 rapd amplification : rapd primers were purchased from operon technology. the following oligonucleotide primers were examined for rapd analysis which provided good amplified products: opa1, opa2, opa3, opa4, opa7, opa9, opa13, opb1, opb4, opb5, opb6, opb8, opb11, opb15, opb17 and opb18. each pcr included 20ng of dna, 10 pmol primer, 1µl 10x ex taq buffer, 1µl of dntp mixture, 0.05µl taq polymerase enzyme, and sterile, deionised water up to final volume of 12µl. the reaction mixture was overlaid with 30µl mineral oil. pcr reaction was performed in a ptc-100 thermal cycler as per following temperature profile: 1 min at 94ºc, 1 min at 35ºc and 2 min at 72ºc followed by 45 cycles. a final 5 min extension at 72ºc ensured full extension of all amplified fragments. table 1. list of the aquatic species of utricularia employed in the present study. name of the species cultivation procedure amount of leaf (g) distribution* u. aurea lour. in vitro 1.2 nas, tas, mal, anz u. australis r. br. in vivo 1.5 eua, nas, afr, tas, mal, anz u. bremii heer ex. kölliker in vitro 1.8 eua u. dimorphantha makino in vivo 1.5 nas u. gibba l. in vitro 1.4 nam, cam, sam, eua, nas, afr, tas, mal, anz u. intermedia hayne in vivo 1.0 nam, eua, nas u. macrorhiza leconte in vivo 1.3 nam, cam, nas u. minor l. in vivo 1.2 nam, eua, nas, tas, mal u. vulgaris l. in vivo 1.1 eua, nas * after taylor (1989) __________ cam: central america from mexico to panama, including all the islands in the caribbean from the bahamas southwards to trinidad; sam: south america from colombia to argentina and chile, including the galapagos islands; nam: north america, including the whole of the united states, canada and greenland. nas: north asia, including ussr east to the urals, china, mongolia, korea and japan; tas: tropical asia from pakistan to indo-china; mal: malesia from the malay peninsula to new guinea, including the islands of guam and palau; anz: australia, new zealand and new caledonia; eua: europe, north africa, and the middle eastern countries to afghanistan; afr: africa, south of sahara with madagascar and the mascarene islands. gel electrophoresis: amplified products were mixed with bromophenol dye and were analyzed on 1.5% agarose gel following ethidium bromide staining for 30 minutes. the bands were visualized under ultra-violet radiation and photographed. data analysis: rapd bands were recorded in a binary data matrix scored as presence (1) or absence (0). simple matching coefficient was used for measuring genetic similarity among the species analyzed. upgma (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) tree was generated by clustering the similarity data and sahn (sequential, agglomerative hierarchical and nested clustering) method. dist coefficient was employed 76 rahman to know the dissimilarity level between the species examined. a neighbour joining (nj) tree was constructed based on jukes and cantor (1969) distance coefficient. ntsys-pc package, version 2.1 was used for all analyses (rohlf 2000). results and discussion rapd fingerprints and genetic variation: rapd markers generated reproducible fingerprints across the aquatic species tested. some rapd primers were ignored because of presenting artifacts. the electrophoretic pattern of pcr amplified rapd fingerprints generated by the primer opb15 is shown in figure 1. the highest number of rapd bands was observed in utricularia intermedia followed by u. bremii. in contrast, u. vulgaris showed the least number of bands. fig. 1. electrophoretic pattern of pcr amplified rapd banding profile on 1.5% agarose gel for aquatic utricularia species with the primer opb15. m. molecular size marker (100 bp), 1. u. aurea, 2. u. australis, 3. u. bremii, 4. u. dimorphantha, 5. u. gibba, 6. u. intermedia, 7. u. macrorhiza, 8. u. minor and 9. u. vulgaris. across the aquatic species of utricularia, the highest genetic similarity (9.37) has been found between u. australis and u. dimorphantha; between u. australis and u. rapd markers in aquatic utricularia 77 vulgaris; and between u. dimorphantha and u. macrorhiza indicating that these species are very closely related (table 2). utricularia bremii was found close to u. gibba showing a high genetic affinity (8.75). on the other hand, the highest dissimilarity (7.07) was detected between u. aurea and u. bremii; u. aurea and u. intermedia; u. bremii and u. dimorphantha; and u. dimorphantha and u. intermedia. table 2. similarity matrix among the aquatic species of utricularia studied by rapd markers using simple matching coefficient. species u. aurea u. australis u. bremii u. dimorphantha u. gibba u. intermedia u. macrorhiza u. minor u. vulgaris u. aurea 1 u. australis 6.87 1 u. bremii 5.00 5.62 1 u. dimorphantha 6.25 9.37 5.00 1 u. gibba 6.25 6.87 8.75 6.25 1 u. intermedia 5.00 5.62 5.00 5.00 6.25 1 u. macrorhiza 6.87 8.75 5.62 9.37 6.87 5.62 1 u. minor 6.25 6.87 5.00 6.25 6.25 7.50 6.87 1 u. vulgaris 7.50 9.37 6.25 8.75 7.50 6.25 8.12 7.50 1 taxonomic relationships: for aquatic species of utricularia, dendrograms were constructed both from upgma and nj analyses. upgma dendrogram in aquatic species based on dist coefficient resulted in producing three clusters (fig. 2). in the first cluster u. australis grouped with u. dimorphantha and u. macrorhiza was joined with this group in which u. vulgaris was joined, and morphologically, these species are closely related. utricularia aurea was found sister to this group. the lowest dissimilarity (25%) was obtained in this group between u. australis and u. dimorphantha indicating that they are very close to each other. the second cluster made from u. bremii and u. gibba was found as a sister group to the cluster having u. aurea, u. australis, u. dimorphantha, u. macrorhiza and u. vulgaris (fig. 2). the third cluster consisted of utricularia minor and u. intermedia and these two species were found far away from other aquatic species employed. the nj tree constructed on the basis of jukes and cantor coefficient revealed that aquatic species could be placed into two main groups: the first group possessed five species including u. aurea, u. australis, u. dimorphantha, u. macrorhiza and u. vulgaris and the second one consisted of four species, namely, u. bremii, u. gibba, u. intermedia and u. minor (fig. 3). the second group contained two clusters where u. bremii and u. gibba formed one cluster and the second one was made by u. intermedia 78 rahman and u. minor. the nj analysis showed the similar results with that of the upgma clustering method. fig. 2. dendrogram showing relationships among aquatic utricularia species based on upgma analysis generated by rapd markers. in recent years, several dna markers were developed for genome analysis and have been found suitable in molecular systematic studies. the dna markers commonly used in molecular studies include rflp (restriction fragment length polymorphism; botstein et al. 1980), ssr (simple sequence repeat; tautz and renz 1984), rapd (williams et al. 1990), issr (inter simple sequence repeat; zietkiewicz et al. 1994) and aflp (amplified fragment length polymorphism; vos et al. 1995). among these marker systems available rapd is the most popular approach that has wide range of applications. application of these markers in aquatic plants is quite evident (piquot et al. 1996, padgett et al. 1998, madeira et al. 2000). in the genus utricularia, application of dna markers is very limited. recently, rahman and kondo (2003) applied issr markers in terrestrial utricularia and found them useful for species delimitation. however, rapd markers were not tested in this genus earlier. the present investigation revealed that rapd markers are useful to rapd markers in aquatic utricularia 79 characterize aquatic utricularia species. the rapd analyses in aquatic utricularia showed that u. australis, u. dimorphantha, u. macrorhiza and u. vulgaris could be grouped together. in another study, these aquatic species of utricularia were investigated by some other molecular markers, like issr, and u. australis was found very close to u. dimorphantha, while u. gibba was found near to u. bremii (m. oliur rahman, unpublished). the interspecific relationships in aquatic utricularia based on rapd fig. 3. neighbour joining tree for aquatic utricularia species using jukes and cantor coefficient based on rapd data. analysis is in agreement with the results obtained from the previous study inferred from issr analysis. morphologically, u. dimorphantha is allied to u. australis by having basifixed bracts, curved filaments, globose ovary, globose capsule and prismatic seeds. a close relationship was evident among u. australis, u. macrorhiza and u. vulgaris in the present study, which was concordant with their morphology. for instance, leaves of these species divided into two primary segments each of which pinnately divided and the secondary segments divided into further segments. these species showed dimorphic traps and the basal traps were ovoid (taylor 1989). cytologically, utricularia australis and u. macrorhiza presented the same gametic number of chromosome (casper and manitz 80 rahman 1975). utricularia macrorhiza is also close to u. vulgaris in terms of somatic chromosome numbers (löve 1954, 1982). the rapd data revealed that u. minor was genetically closely related to u. intermedia. some morphological characters such as ovate or ovate-deltoid bracts, subequal calyx lobes, curved filament and globose ovary placed these two species in the same line (taylor 1989). in conclusion, rapd markers were found suitable to detect genetic variation and species relationships in aquatic utricularia. in addition, the results obtained from rapd analysis in utricularia were in agreement with previous studies based on morphological, cytological and molecular 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(manuscript received on 1 november 2006; revised on 12 november 2006) mohammad oliur rahman1 padgett, d.j., les, d.h. and crow, g.e. 1998. evidence for t stockinger, e.j., mulinix, c.a., long, c.m., brettin, t.s. microsoft word 02. ethnoveternary practices.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 7-16, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnoveterinary medicinal practices in tribal regions of andhra pradesh, india prayaga murty pragada1 and geddada mohan narasimha rao department of botany, andhra university, visakhapatnam 530003, a.p, india keywords: medicinal plants; veterinary diseases; uses; andhra pradesh. abstract the present communication deals with the plants used to treat common diseases in cattle and pet animals in the tribal belts of andhra pradesh, india. for the purpose of the ethnoveterinary practices, 108 plant species belonging to 99 genera and 51 families were identified. the present study reveals that leafy parts rank first, among the various plant parts used to treat different ailments of the livestock. introduction andhra pradesh is the fourth largest state in india which lies between 12º 37/ and 19º 54/ north latitudes and 76º 46/ and 84º 46/ east longitudes, and occupies the middle portion of the eastern half the indian peninsula with an area of 2,75,068 sq km of which 23.20% is covered by forest lands. the state has land boundaries with orissa, madhya pradesh on the north, maharashtra and karnataka on the west, tamilanadu on the south and sea boundary with the bay of bengal on the east. the tribal population of andhra pradesh is 50.24 lakhs divided into 33 tribal groups. ethnoveterinary medicine, deals with traditional animal health care which encompasses the knowledge, skills, methods, practices and beliefs about animal health care. a broader survey has shown that more than 80% of the tribal populations of andhra pradesh still depend on traditional medicines for their animal health practices and more than 95% of the traditional medical preparations are of plant origin. indian rural economy depends upon agriculture and livestock management and farmer’s livelihood in andhra pradesh is partially on dairy. in rural and tribal regions livestock regularly affected by different types of diseases. due to unavailability of veterinary services rural tribal poor people of andhra pradesh depend on ethnoveterinary practices. the present study has been made to collect, identify and document the ethnoveterinary medicinal plants used by tribals of andhra pradesh. material and methods fifteen field trips to the study area were made to collect information on ethnoveterinary practices by the aboriginal and others through interviewing local chiefs, priests, vaidyas, herbal practitioners, elderly people and educated youths. the methodology was adopted as described by jain (1964, 1981, 1987, 1999), chadwick and marsh (1994), hemadri (1994) and martin (1995). each medicinal practice was cross checked with 3 or 4 informants. ethnoveterinary data and the vernacular names were collected for documentation. plants specimens were collected and identified by referring to standard flora, viz. hooker (1872-1897), gamble and fischer (1915), pullaiah (1997) and few other local floras. 1corresponding author. email: pragada007@gmail.com 8 pragada and narasimha rao results and discussion in the present study a total of 108 plant species belonging to 99 genera and 51 families have been identified as potential source for treating 47 types of ailments. the scientific names of the species along with families, vernacular names, part(s) used, veterinary uses, doses and mode of preperation are recorded in table 1. among these, leafy parts occupies the highest position (41%), followed by stem bark (18%), aerial part (12%), fruit (7%), whole plant (6%), root (5%), tubers (3%) corn, oil and bulb (2%) each one for latex, stem, milk, young fruit were used to treat the livestock ailment. table 1. plant species used by tribal people in the andhra pradesh, for treatment of veterinary diseases and the mode of administration. sl. no. species name family name vernacular name part(s ) used veterinary use doses and mode of preparation 1. abrus precatorius l. fabaceae gurivinda seed trypanosomiasis seed extracts (20 mg) dissolved in drinking water, once daily for 4 days 2. acacia chundra l. mimosaceae sandra stem bark ephemeral fever stem bark decoction (200 ml) is administered once daily for 4-5 days 3. acacia nilotica l. mimosaceae nalla tumma stem bark intestinal problem decoction (100 ml) stem bark is administered twice daily for 4 days 4. acalypha indica l. euphorbiaceae muripindi root, leaf worms roots and leaves are crushed in 1:2 ratio and administered once daily for 5 days 5. achyranthus aspera l. amaranthaceae uttareni leaf, flower anthalmintic, myiasis paste of leaves (100 gm) mixed in butter and is applied to wounds to prevent myiasis 6. adansonia digitata l. bombacaceae enugu padam stem bark, fruit diarrhoea, poor milk flow boiled decoction of stem bark, fruit is administered thrice daily for 3 days 7. agave americana l. agavaceae kittanara leaf skin wounds leaf paste applied on effected area 8. ailanthus excelsa roxb. simaroubaceae pedda manu leaf malarial fever decoction of leaves is administered twice daily for 5 days 9. allium cepa l. liliaceae ulli bulb gastrointestinal problems ash (100 mg) is prepared from bulb and is administered twice daily for 4 days 10. allium sativum l. liliaceae vellulli bulb cough paste (50 mg) of bulb is administered once daily for 5 days 11. aloe vera l. liliaceae kalabanda leaf fowl typhoid paste of crushed fresh leaves (200 gm) dissolved in 1 liter water and administered once daily for 4 days (contd.) ethnoveterinary medicinal practices in andhra pradesh 9 table 1. contd. sl. no. species name family name vernacular name part(s) used veterinary use doses and mode of preparation 12. alstonia scholaris l. apocynaceae edakulapala bark gastric problem bark (50 mg) is mixed with sufficient salt and administered once daily for 5 days 13. amaranthus spinosus l. amaranthaceae mulla thotakura whole plant wounds paste of whole plant is applied externally for quick healing of wounds 14. ananas comosus l. bromeliaceae nelapanasa young fruit anthelmintic young fruit juice (200 ml) is administered twice daily for 5 days 15. anisomeles indica kuntze lamiaceae chinna ranabari leaf ephemeral fever leaf decoction (500 ml) is administered once daily for 4 days 16. annona reticulata l. annonaceae ramaphalam leaf wounds paste of leaves is mixed with mustard oil and applied on wounds for quick healing 17. annona squmosa l. annonaceae seethaphalam leaf, seed tick infestation, maggot wound paste of seeds and leaves is applied on the skin 18. argemone mexicana l. papavaraceae rakka balusa milk, oil chronic ulcerous wounds pale milk of the plant and oil from seeds are applied on chronic ulcerous wounds once daily for 15 days 19. atlantia malabarica (l.) correa rutaceae konda nimma stem bark anthrax stem bark (250 gm) paste with sufficient quantity of pepper and garlic is administered twice daily for a week 20. azadirachta indica l. meliaceae vepa whole plant trypanosomiasis 50 gm of powder of leaf is administered twice daily for 4 days 21. balanitis aegyptiaca l. simaroubaceae gara seed anthelmintic seed powder (20 gm) administered once daily for 8 days 22. bambusa aundinacea retz. poaceae veduru leaf cough dried leaves (50 mg) is mixed with mustard oil and administered twice daily for 3 days 23. barleria prionites l. acanthaceae mullagorinta leaf, stem bark diarrhoea, foot and mouth diseases decoction of bark (200 ml) is given to animals as an astringent in diarrhoea. paste of leaves (20gm) is applied to inter digital space in animals suffering from foot and mouth disease until cure 24. brassica nigra l. brassicaceae avalu seeds kidney disorder seed oil (50 ml) is administered orally once for 5 days 25. bryonia dioica l. cucurbitaceae buddakakara leaf, fruit worm and fever decoction (100 ml) of leaf and fruit is administered once daily for 3 days (contd.) 10 pragada and narasimha rao table 1. contd. sl. no. species name family name vernacular name part(s) used veterinary use doses and mode of preparation 26. butea monosperma l. fabaceae moduga seed anthelmintic seed powder (200 mg) alone or in combination with honey is given as an anthelmintic 27. caesalpinia crista l. caesalpiniaceae gaccha leaf trypanosomiasis leaves along with leaves of dendrocalamus strictus (20 gm each) crushed and mixed in 100 ml of water is administered thrice a day for 4 days 28. calotropis procera r.br. asclepiadaceae tella jilledu leaf, latex inflammation, snake-bite milky latex of plant is applied on inflamed areas to relieve inflammation and on snake bite to neutralize poison 29. capsicum annuum l. solanaceae mirapa fruit mouth disease 5 gm of fruit paste is dissolved in 1 liter of water administered thrice daily for 5 days 30. caralluma adscendens r. br. euphorbiaceae kundatikommulu leaf bloat paste (200 mg) dissolved in 5 liters of water, administered twice daily for 3 days 31. carica papaya l. papavaraceae boppay latex anthelmintic latex (20 ml) mixed with feed and administered twice daily for 6 days 32. cassia fistula l. caesalpiniaceae rela fruit cold paste of green fruit is applied on neck to cure swelling due to cold 33. c. senna l. caesalpiniaceae sonamukhi leaf, pod rheumatism, skin disease powder of dried leaves (20 gm) used in rheumatism and skin diseases once daily for 8 days 34. ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. bombacaceae burugu leaf, stem bark trypanosomiasis decoction is administered twice daily for 3 days 35. cipadessa baccifera miq. meliaceae rendabha-ram stem bark ephemeral fever stem bark decoction (500 ml) is administered with a pinch of pepper powder once daily for 4-5 days 36. cissampelos pareira l. menispermaceae chiruboddi aerial part swelling of abdomen boiling the aerial parts properly and preparing decoction, given 4-5 table spoon full thrice daily for 3 days 37. citrus aurantifolia l. rutaceae nimma fruit cold, nervous disorder fruit juice (200 ml) is administered twice daily for 3 days (contd.) ethnoveterinary medicinal practices in andhra pradesh 11 table 1. contd. sl. no. species name family name vernacular name part(s) used veterinary use doses and mode of preparation 38. clerodendrum phlomoides l. f. verbenaceae urni root edema decoction of root (200 ml) is used orally to treat indigestion and generalized edema 39. c. viscosum vent verbenaceae gurrapu katilyaku leaf worms paste of the tender leaves (20 gm) is administered once daily for 3 days 40. cochlospermum religiosum l. cochlospermaceae konda gogu leaf, stem bark infertility decoction of leaf and stem bark is administered once daily for 10 days 41. convolvulus arvensis l. convolvulaceae pilimiteega leaf respiratory ailments leaf decoction (50 ml) is mixed with feed administered twice daily for 7 days 42. costus speciosus koenig costaceae chengalvacost root wounds paste of the root stock is applied externally to cure wounds 43. cucurbita pepo l. cucurbitaceae karkumbuda leaf antiparasitics leaf decoction is applied externally 44. cuminum cyminum l. apiaceae jeelakarra seed cough powder (25 mg) of the seeds is administered once daily for 3 days 45. curcuma longa l. zingiberaceae pasupu corn bleeding blood paste of corn (100 mg) administered twice daily for 5 days 46. cuscuta reflexa roxb. cuscutaceae bangaru teega whole plant galactogogue about 20 gm of plant is fried in mustard oil and is given twice daily after delivery as galactogogue 47. cymopsis tetragonoloba l. fabaceae goruchikkudu seed nematodiasis the mixture of cluster bean gram and red chilies (50 gm) is administered 48. datura stramonium l. solanaceae ummetha leaf antiparasitics, repellents leaf decoction is applied externally 49. delonix regia l. caesalpiniaceae turai stem bark ephemeral fever stem bark extract with pepper and garlic is administered twice daily for 8 days 50. dillenia pentaphylla roxb. dilleniaceae kalinga stem bark anthrax stem bark paste is fed to animal daily twice for 3-4 days 51. diospyros lotus l. sapotaceae adavi sapota stem bark trypanosomiasis stem bark decoction (400 ml) is given every hour 52. dolichandrone atrovirens roth bignoniaceae neeruddi stem bark ephemeral fever stem bark extract with anogeissus latifolia (1:1 ratio) is administered 3-4 times daily for 2 days 53. eucalyptus globulus l. myrtaceae neelagiri oil skin and wounds oil is applied on skin problems and wounds (contd.) 12 pragada and narasimha rao table 1. contd. sl. no. species name family name vernacular name part(s) used veterinary use doses and mode of preparation 54. ficus religiosa l. moraceae marri bark small fox paste of bark (100 mg) mixed with powder of wheat and prepared pills administered orally once daily for 10 days 55. fioria vitifolia mattei. malvaceae adavi benda stem bark ephemeral fever stem bark (200 gm) soaked in 2 liters of buttermilk for 3 days with sufficient quantity of pepper and garlic is administered twice daily for 3 days 56. foenicum vulgare miller apiaceae sompu seed reproductive disorder seed powder (50 mg) is administered once daily for 7 days 57. gardenia latifolia ait. rubiaceae pedda kalinga stem bark ephemeral fever stem bark (150-200 gm) extract with 15-20 pepper and garlic is given twice daily for 3 days 58. geodorum densiflorum schltr. orchidaceae donthula dumpa tuber ephemeral fever tuber (200 gm) extract with 15-20 gm of pepper and garlic is administered once daily for 3 days 59. gnaphalium polycaulon pers. asteraceae bakhlu whole plant ephemeral fever whole plant extract (200-300 gm) with sufficient quantity of pepper and garlic is administered once daily for 3 days 60. hedyotis corymbosa l. rubiaceae tikka chutta whole plant trypanosomiasis whole plant decoction (1-2 liter) is administered with a pinch of pepper and garlic powder, is also used as nasal drops 61. helianthus annus l. asteraceae poddutirugudu oil reproductive disorder seed oil (50 ml) is administered orally once for 5 days 62. hordeum vulgare l. poaceae barley, yavaka seed, leaf gastrointestinal complaints seed powder with combination of jaggery is administered twice daily for 7 days 63. jatropha curcas l. euphorbiaceae nepalam leaf, stem bark pneumoni boiled decoction is administered once daily for 2 days 64. lannea coromandelica murr. anacardiaceae gumpena stem bark anthrax stem bark decoction (250 ml) is administered daily twice for 15 days 65. lawsonia inermis l. lythraceae gorintaku leaf bruises wounds decoction leaf is administered directly on skin until cure 66. lindernia parviflora haines. scrophulariaceae not known whole plant ephemeral fever whole plant crushed with 1015 pepper and sufficient quantity of garlic is administered once daily for 3 days (contd.) ethnoveterinary medicinal practices in andhra pradesh 13 table 1. contd. sl. no. species name family name vernacular name part(s) used veterinary use doses and mode of preparation 67. lycopersicum esculentum l. solanaceae tamata leaf eye problem fruit juice (500 ml) is administered twice daily for 3 days 68. mangifera indica l. anacardiaceae mamidi seed, stem bark, root poor milk flow combination of seed, stem bark and root paste (1:1:1) is administered once daily for 10 days 69. miliusa tomentosa roxb. annonaceae barra duddi stem bark trypanosomiasis stem bark decoction (200-250 ml) is given twice daily for 3 days 70. morinda citrifolia l. rubiaceae togara fruit anthelmintic fruit juice (20 ml) is administered once daily for 3 days 71. moringa oleifera l. moringaceae mulaga seed, stem bark, root heminthosis paste of seed (20 gm) or stem bark (50 gm) or root (50 gm) is administered twice daily for 3 days 72. mollugo nudicaulis lam. molluginaceae not known leaf ripen abscesses paste of fresh leaves (100 gm) is applied to ripen abscesses daily once for 4 days 73. murraya koenigii l. rutaceae karivepaku leaf diarrhoea 50 gm of leaves are crushed in water and drenched 74. musa paradisiaca l. musaceae arati root worms paste of crushed fresh roots (200 gm) dissolved in 1 liter water and administered once daily for 4 days 75. nerium oleander l. apocynaceae ganneru tuber antiparasitics, repellents, skin and wounds tuber is crushed into paste and applied over the wounds and skin 76. nicotiana tabaccum l. solanaceae pogaku leaf ectoparasites leaf decoction is applied on skin directly 77. ocimum gmatissimum l. lamiaceae nimmathulasi leaf constipation leaf paste is dissolved in drinking water for 3 days 78. oryza sativa l. poaceae vari seed gastrointestinal problems combination of boiled grains with jaggery is administered once daily for 15 days 79. papaver somniferum l. papavaraceae nallamandu seed nervous system disorder decoction (20 ml) is administered once daily for 10 days 80. pedalium murex l. pedaliaceae enugu palleru fruit diuretic powder of dried fruits (100 gm) dissolved in 1 liter of water is administered once daily for 5 days 81. phyllanthus amarus l. euphorbiaceae nela usisri root, leaf indigestion, wounds powder of roots (20 gm) is given to animals suffering indigestion, juice of leaves (100 ml) is applied to wounds and inflamed areas (contd.) 14 pragada and narasimha rao table 1. contd. sl. no. species name family name vernacular name part(s) used veterinary use doses and mode of preparation 82. physalis minima l. solanaceae buddabusara leaf swelling of abdomen twig of the plant (200 mg) is mixed with leaves of clerodendrum viscosum (100 mg) and is administered once daily for 3 days 83. piper nigrum l. piperaceae pippallu fruit low milk flow fruits (20 mg) with grinded black gram paste is administered once daily for 10 days 84. polyalthia cerasoides bedd. annonaceae chilaka duddi stem bark ephemeral fever stem bark (200 gm) crushed with 10-15 pepper and sufficient quantity of garlic is administered twice daily for 3 days 85. psidium guajava l. myrtaceae jama leaf, stem bark helminthosis, fever, diarrhoea boiled leaf decoction (500 ml) and stem bark is administered twice daily for 3 days 86. pterolobium hexapetalum l. caesalpiniaceae korintha teega whole plant cough decoction (50 ml) is administered once daily for 4 days 87. radermachera xylocarpa roxb. bignoniaceae isakarasi stem bark ephemeral fever 15-20 pepper and garlic is fed to cattle twice daily for 2 days 88. ricinus communis l. euphorbiaceae amudam seed oil purgative oil of seed (20 ml) is used as a purgative once daily for 5 days 89. sansevieria roxburghiana schult. agavaceae chapodishi leaf trypanosomiasis warmed leaf juice is used as nasal drops thrice in a period of two hours and paste is also applied over the body 90. securinega leucopyros muell. euphorbiaceae sulamunata leaf wounds paste of leaves (50 gm) is applied to wounds once daily for 4 days 91. semecarpus anacardium l. annonaceae nalla jeedi fruit haemorrhagic dried fruits (50 mg) are administered twice daily for 6 days 92. senna occidentalis roxb. caesalpiniaceae kasintha leaf helminthosis soak in water and drench 93. sida acuta l. malvaceae muttavapulagam leaf diarrhoea decoction with musa paradisiaca flowers, administered 4-5 times daily for 3 days 94. solanum melongena l. solanaceae vanga leaf skin wounds leaf paste is applied on skin wounds 95. s. nigrum l. solanaceae kamanchi leaf gastrointestinal decoction (100 ml) of leaf is administered once daily for 10 days 96. s. tuberosum l. solanaceae bangaladumpa tuber reproductive disorder tuber paste is administered twice daily for 6 days (contd.) ethnoveterinary medicinal practices in andhra pradesh 15 table 1. contd. sl. no. species name family name vernacular name part(s) used veterinary use doses and mode of preparation 97. sonchus oleraceus l. asteraceae rathrinta leaf skin wounds leaf paste is applied on skin wounds 98. soymida febrifuga a. juss. meliaceae somidi stem bark trypanosomiasis stem bark mixed with same of terminalia alata, dichrostachys cinerea and solanum xanthocarpum (100 gm each) is administered twice daily for 2 days 99. strychnos nuxvomica l. loganiaceae musidi leaf foot rot decoction of leaf is applied on foot thrice daily for one week 100. tamarindus indica l. caesalpiniaceae chinta stem bark mouth disease boiled decoction is administered thrice for 4 days 101. tinospora cordifolia (willd.) hook. f. & thoms. menispermaceae tippateega stem, leaf fever, immunity stem and leaf decoction (50 gm) is administered once daily for 3 days 102. tribulus terrestris l. zygophyllaceae palleru leaf chronic cough juice of leaf (50 mg) is administered twice daily for 4 days 103. vitex altissima l. verbenaceae nemaladugu stem bark ephemeral fever stem bark and that of anogeissus latifolia (1:1 ratio) along with 1015 pepper and garlic crushed is administered twice daily for 3 days 104. v. negundo l. verbenaceae vavila leaf rheumatism, arthritis decoction of leaves (200 ml) is administered twice daily for 3 days 105. waltheria indica l. sterculiaceae nallabenda leaf pneumonia boiled decoction (200 ml) is administered twice daily for 10 days 106. zea mays l. poaceae jonna corn reproductive disorder powder of the corn is administered for the reproductive disorders 107. ziziphus jujuba l. rhamnaceae regu fruit skin disease fruit pulp is administered for 10 days 108. z. xylopyra l. rhamnaceae gotti root anthrax roots crushed with calotropis gigantea stem barks, erythroxylum monogynum and pterocarpus marsupium and 10-12 dry chilies is administered for 2-3 days with one liter of water once daily among these families solanaceae ranks the highest position represented by eight species followed by caesalpiniaceae with seven species. twenty three families are represented by single species only. to treat a disease more than one species may be used. ephemeral fever in cattle are treated by 14 plant species; trypanosomiasis by 9 species; anthelmintic and wounds by 6 species; diarrhoea by 5 species; anthrax, cough reproductive disorders, skin diseases and wounds by 4 species; antiparasitics, helminthosis by 3 species; cold, fever, immunity, mouth disease, pneumonia, rheumatism and swelling of abdomen by 2 species; and remaining diseases such as bleeding, bloat, bruises, wounds, chronic cough, chronic ulcerous wounds, constipation, diuretic, edema, eye problem, footroot, galactogogue, gastrointestinal, haemarragic, indigestion, wounds, infertility, inflammation, snake-bite, kidney disorder, low milk flow, malarial fever, nematodiasis, 16 pragada and narasimha rao nervous system disorder, poor milk flow, purgative, respiratory ailments, riben abscesses, smallpox, and tick infestation were treated by one species. acknowledgement the authors duly acknowledge tribal people and andhra pradesh forest department for their co-operation during field works. references chadwick, d.j. and marsh, j. 1994. ethnobotany and the search for new drugs. john wiley & sons, chichester, u.k. gamble, j.s. and fischer, c.e.c. 1915. flora of the presidency of madras (reprinted edition 1930), vols. 1-3. adlard & sons ltd., london. hemadri, k.1994. shastravettalanum akashistunna girijanavaidyam (tribal pharmacopoeia). tribal cultural research and training institute, hyderabad. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india. vols. 1-7. l. reeve & co., ashford, kent. jain, s.k. 1964. the role of botanist in folklore research. folklore 5(4):145-150. jain, s.k. 1981. observations on ethnobotany of the tribal of central india. in: jain, s.k. (ed.), glimpses of indian ethnobotany. oxford & ibh, new delhi, pp. 193-198. jain, s.k. (ed.) 1987. a manual of ethnobotany. scientific publishers, jodhpur. jain s.k. 1999. directory of dthnoveterinary plants of india. deep publications, new delhi. martin, g. 1995. ethnobotany a method manual. chapman and hall, london. pullaiah, t. and chennaiah, e. 1997. flora of andhra pradesh, india. scientific publishers, jodhpur. (manuscript received on 14 december, 2010; revised on 16 march, 2012) microsoft word 01. ramadhani.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 1-12, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists structure and composition of understory plant assemblages of six land use types in the lore lindu national park, central sulawesi, indonesia ramadhanil1, sri soetarmi tjitrosoedirdjo2 and dede setiadi2 department of biology, faculty of mathematics and natural sciences, herbarium celebense (ceb), tadulako university, kampus bumi tadulako palu, central sulawesi 94118, palu, indonesia keywords: cacao plantation, primary forest, structure and composition, understory plant assemblages abstract in the present study the diversity and species composition of understory plants are examined in the submontane forest of lore lindu national park, central sulawesi, indonesia by comparing three rain forest types and three types of plantations of cacao differing in use intensity. the results showed that 376 understory plant species consisting of 140 species of tree seedlings, 162 herbs and shrubs, 29 terrestrial ferns and 45 climbers were collected in all land use types. the mean species numbers of herbs did not differ among three forest types but was significantly higher in cacao plantation with high use intensity, being about three times higher than in undisturbed rain forest and lightly disturbed rain forest. urticaceae, araceae, hypoxidaceae and acanthaceae were predominant in the forests, whereas asteraceae and poaceae in the cacao plantations. the number of species of ferns and climbers did not differ between forests and plantations. the study also recorded several invasive plant species at the cacao plantations such as piper aduncum l., bidens pilosa l., ageratum conyzoides l., sclerea purpuriens steud and paspalum conjugatum berg. introduction tropical rain forests are among the most species rich places on earth (jacobs 1988). many studies demonstrated high tree diversity of tropical rain forests (proctor et al.1983, kochummen et al. 1990, phillips et al. 1994, wright et al. 1997, hamann et al. 1999, kessler et al. 2005), especially economically important trees (whitmore 1990). however, the studies on understory assemblages (gentry and dodson 1987), herbs, shrubs, lianas, and epiphytes (laska 1997, svenning 2000, gradstein et al. 2005) are limited. ecologically, understory plant species assemblages play a fundamental role in diversity, structure, and functional aspects of tropical forests (svenning 2000). they may show different patterns of diversity than tree species due to different responses to light level, nutrient availability, and temperature (laska 1997, svenning 2000, siebert 2002). 1corresponding author. e-mail: pitopang_64@yahoo.com 2department of biology, faculty of mathematics and natural sciences, bogor agricultural university, kampus dermaga raya bogor, indonesia. 2 ramadhanil et al. similar to other plant groups, data on understorey plant assemblages of sulawesi, indonesia are still limited and published data on the effects of habitat modification on such plant assemblages in the island are missing. this study, therefore, makes an attempt to address the question how the floristic composition, diversity, richness and density of understorey plant communities differ between three rain forest types and three cacao plantations types with different use intensity in submontane forest of lore lindu national park, central sulawesi, indonesia. materials and methods the study area was located in the surroundings of toro, a village at the western margin of lore lindu national park (longitude 01º22’52’’ 01º31’4’’ s; latitude 120º1’37’’ 120º3’5’’ e) about 100 km south of palu, the capital of central sulawesi, indonesia. research was carried out from april 2004 to december 2005. detailed information on climate and soil conditions of this part of central sulawesi is not yet available (see whitten et al. 1987). falk et al. (2005), however, reported that mean annual rainfall in the study area varied between 1,500 mm and 3,000 mm, mean relative humidity 85.17%, and monthly mean temperature 23.40°c. the margin of the national park is characterized in many parts by a mosaic of primary forest, primary less disturbed forest, primary more disturbed forest, secondary forests, and several land-use systems with cacao, coffee, maize and rice as the dominating crops (gerold et al. 2004). the elevation of the selected sites is between 800 m and 1100 m, therefore belongs to the submontane forest zone (whitten et al. 1987). understory plants were sampled in six different land use types differing in use intensity, including three types of rain forest and three types of agroforestry system, as follows: 1. land use types a-c: rain forest land use type a (“wana”): low use intensity / undisturbed rain forest. natural forest with traditional use only; human activities restricted to collecting of medicinal plants and extensive hunting; rattan palms abundantly present. land use type b (“pangale 1”): medium use intensity / lightly disturbed rain forest. natural forest with rattan extraction, rattan palm removed. land use type c (“pangale 2”): medium use intensity / moderately disturbed rain forest. selectively logged forest, containing small to medium sized gaps, disturbance of ground vegetation, and increased abundance of lianas following the selective removal of canopy trees and rattan. structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 3 2. land use types d-f: agroforestry system land use type d (“pahawa pongko 1”): moderate use intensity. cacao forest garden with natural shade trees (= remaining forest cover) in the forest margin. land use type e (“pahawa pongko 2”): light use intensity. cacao cultivated under mixed canopy planted shade trees in the forest margin. land use type f (“huma”): high use intensity. cacao cultivated under canopy of monospecific planted shade trees more distant from the forest margin. for each land use type, four replicates were selected. at all sites understory vascular plants (including herbs, tree seedlings, ferns and climbers) less than 1.50 m high were sampled in ten 2 × 2 m subplots. plots were selected similar to plots for tree diversity study. plots of land use types a-c were located at slightly higher elevation (hill-tops) than land use types d-f (lower slopes). all recognizable morphospecies of understory plants were collected. plant collection was according to the “schweinfurth method” (bridson and forman 1999). additionally, fertile voucher specimens were collected for identification. processing of the specimens was conducted at the herbarium celebense (ceb), universitas of tadulako, palu, indonesia. identification was done in the field, in the ceb, in herbarium bogoriense (bo), indonesia, and in national herbarium of netherland (l), leiden. vouchers were deposited in ceb, with duplicates in bo, l, herbarium gottingen, germany, and herbarium biotrop bogor, indonesia. statistical analyses relative density, relative biomass, relative frequency and importance value indices (ivi) were calculated according to the formulae of dumbois-muller and ellenberg (soerianegara and indrawan 1998, setiadi et al. 2001). i) relative density (%) = (no. of individuals of a family or species / total no. of individuals in sample) × 100 ii) relative biomass (%) = (biomass of a species or family / total biomass in sample) × 100 iii) relative frequency (%) = (sampling units containing a species/ sum of all frequencies) × 100 iv) ivi for a species is the sum of its relative density, relative biomass, and relative frequency. additionally, we compared the taxonomic and structural composition between the land use types. taxonomic composition was quantified on a family basis by calculating 4 ramadhanil et al. the family relative density, relative diversity, relative dominance, and family importance value (fiv) indices according to the formulae of mori et al. (1983): i) family relative density (%) = (no. of trees in a family / total no. of trees) × 100 ii) family relative diversity (%) = (no. of species in a family / total number of species) × 100 iii) family relative dominance (%) = (total basal area for all trees in a family / total basal area of all families) × 100 iv) fiv is the sum of family relative diversity, relative density, and relative dominance. the presence and absence data were used to calculate species similarity among all plots by application of sörensen’s similarity coefficient: s = 2 c (a +b) -1 where a is the number of iv (important value) in stage 1, b is the number of iv in stage 2, and c is the number of iv common to both stages. furthermore, dissimilarity index (1 sörensen similarity coefficient) among those plots where then clustered by using biodiv 97 (meßner 1996) and the program statistica 5.5. dissimilarity values were used to calculate a two-dimensional ordination of all samples using multidimensional scaling. the program systat version 7.0 was used to perform statistical analyses. arithmetic means are given ± 1 standard deviation (sd). anova was of a one-way type. tukey’s honest significant different test was used for multiple comparisons of means. results and discussion species richness in total, 376 understory plant species consist of 140 species of tree seedlings, 162 herbs and shrubs, 29 terrestrial ferns and 45 climbers were collected in all land use types. statistically, the mean species number of herbs did not differ among three forest types but was significantly higher in cacao plantation type f (high use intensity of cacao plantation) compared to all other five land use types (fig. 1). the mean species number of herbs in cacao plantation type f (35.3 ± 5.8) was about three times higher than in undisturbed and lightly disturbed rain forests. in contrast, the mean number of species of tree seedlings was highest in moderately disturbed rain forest (type c: 36.5 ± 3.0), followed by rain forest of light use intensity and undisturbed rain forest, with the mean numbers of species being 25.5 ± 3.4 and 25.3 ± 5.3, respectively. the lowest number of tree seedling species (4.5 ± 3.7) was in the land use type f (high use intensity of cacao plantation). structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 5 -20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 a b c d e f land use types n um be r o f s pe ci es herb seedling ferns liana fig. 1. species richness (+ standard deviation) of understory plants (herbs & shrubs, seedlings, ferns and liana) in six land use types at the lore lindu national park, indonesia. a = undisturbed rain forest, b = lightly disturbed rain forest, c = moderately disturbed rain forest, d = moderate use intensity of cacao plantation, e = light use intensity of cacao plantation and f = high use intensity of cacao plantation. taxonomic composition the species composition of understory plants was different among land use types. in the undisturbed forest (type a), dominating tree seedling species were acer laurinum hassk. (aceraceae), areca vestiaria giseke (arecaceae), calophylum soulattri burm.f. (clusiaceae), aglaia argentea bl. (meliaceae), ardisia celebica scheff. (myrsinaceae). syzigium accuminatisimum miq. (myrtaceae), lasianthus sp. (rubiaceae) meliosma sumatrana (jack.) walp (sabiaceae), palaquium quercifollium (de vriese) burck (sapotaceae). herb and shrub species were presented by alpinia galanga (l.) swartz., costus speciosus (koen.) j.e. smith, elletaria sp. (zingiberaceae), four unidentified species of elatostema spp. and pauzolzia zeylanica benn. (urticaceae). ferns were mostly represented by christella dentata forst (thelypteridaceae), cyathea amboinensis (aldew.) merr. (cyatheaceae), davalia trichomanoides bl. (davaliaceae), diplazium crenatoserratum (bl.) moore (athryriaceae), nephrolepis bisserata (sw.) schott and selaginella sp. (selaginellaceae), whereas liana and vine species were four juvenile endemic rattans, namely calamus inops becc. ex heyne, calamus minahassae becc., calamus ornatus blume ex schult. var. celebicus becc., and calamus zollingerii becc. (arecaceae), an endemic scrambler bamboo dinochloa barbata s. dransfield (poaceae), land use types n um be r o f s pe ci es herbs & shrubs seedlings ferns lianas 6 ramadhanil et al. freycenetia angustifolia bl. (pandanaceae), stephania japonica (thunb. ex murr.) miers (menispermaceae), and ziziphus angustifolius (miq.) hatus. (rhamnaceae). in the lightly disturbed rain forest (type b), dominant tree seedling recorded were areca vestiaria, arenga pinnata (wurmb) merr., pinanga aurantiaca mogea (arecaceae), callophyllum soulattri (clusiaceae), leea indica (burm.f.) merr. (leeaceae), pandanus sarasinorum lauterb (pandanaceae), meliosma sumatrana (jack) walp (sabiaceae), palaquium quercofollium (giff.) engler and chionanthus laxiflorus blume (oleaceae). whereas herb species recorded were staurogyne elongata (blume) kuntze (acanthaceae), curculigo orchioides gaertn. (amaryllidaceae), homalomena humilis (jack) hook.f. (araceae), begonia aptera bl. (begoniaceae), elatostema cf. macrophylla, elatostema sp. 1, elatostema sp. 2 (urticaceae), spathyphyllum canaefollium schott (araceae) and tacca palmata bl. (taccaceae). there were only two juvenile rattans species, namely calamus zollingerii and calamus minahassae, but the other common lianas species were ziziphus angustifolius (rhamnaceae), alyxia celebica d.j. middleton (apocynaceae), medinilla sp. (melastomataceae), gnetum cuspidatum bl. (gnetaceae) and centrosema sp. (fabaceae). christella dentata, diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw., cyathea amboinensis, nephrolevis biserrata and helminthostachys zeylanica (l.) hook. (ophioglosaceae) were the co-dominant fern species in this land use type. the herb species in moderate use intensity forest (type c) were mostly presented by elatostema sp. 2 (urticaceae), homalomena humilis (araceae), curculigo orchioides (amarylidaceae), elatostema sp. 1, elatostema sp. 3 and tacca palmata. there were only six species of ferns in this habitat and again we recorded lindsaea lucida, christella dentata, cyathea sp. and helmintostachys zeylanica as seedlings. the dominant liana seedlings were stephania japonica (menispermaceae), dinochloa barbata l. (poaceae), arcangalesia flava (l.) merr. (menispermaceae), piper miniatum l. (piperaceae), calamus inops and an endemic rattan korthalsia celebica becc. (both arecaceae). the understory plants species composition was significantly different between cacao plantations and forests. the number of native species of forest climbers and herbs decreased in land use types d, e and f, where they were replaced by the weedy herb species. although there were elatostema sp. 1 (urticaceae), tacca palmata (taccaceae), elatostema sp. 2, curculigo orchioides and impatiens platypetala lindl. (balsaminaceae), all typical for the herb layer of the forest, we collected a large number weedy species in land use type d such as ageratum conyzoides (asteraceae), elephantopus mollis l. (asteraceae), crassocephalum crepidiodes (benth.) s. moore (asteraceae), paspalum conyugatum, setaria palmifolia (j. koenig) stapf, panicum repens l., eragrostis tennella (l.) beauv. ex r. & s. (poaceae), cyathula prostata (l.) bl. (amaranthaceae), coleus sp. (lamiaceae), hyptis capitata jacq. (lamiaceae), commelina diffusa burm.f., pollia secundiflora (bl.) bakh.f. (commelinaceae), blumea structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 7 lacera (burm.f.) dc. (asteraceae), and scleria purpurascens steud. in land use types e and f, the herb species layer was entirely composed of the weedy species. at the family level, the understory plant composition was different among six land use types (table 1). urticaceae was dominant in land use types a, c and d, but taccaceae in b. whereas poaceae was dominant family in land use type e and asteraceae in f. similarity of understory plant assemblages the result of similarity analyses of understory plant assemblages among the six land use types showed that there was a high degree of similarity percentage among land use types a, b and c. the value of similarity between a vs b was 67%, a vs c was 63% and between b and c was 67%. on the other hand, the taxonomic composition between land use types e and f also showed a high degree of similarity, with a sörensen index 0.82. similarity percentages of understory plant between forests and cacao plantations showed low values of sörensen index. the value of similarity between a vs d was 28%, a vs e was 9%, and between a and f was 7%, whereas between b vs d, e and f were 34%, 14% and 10%, respectively. the cluster analysis and two dimensional scaling based on sörensen indices for all possible pair wise combinations of understory plant species assemblages showed a clear separation between the three types of forests and the cacao plantation types (figs 2 and 3). there is a high degree of overlapping between land use types a (natural forest) and b (lightly undisturbed forest). the cacao forest garden (type d) represented a relatively distinct group. both land use types e (cacao cultivated under mixed canopy of shade tree) and f (cacao cultivated under monospecific canopy of shade tree) showed a high degree of overlapping. the richness and composition of understory plant species are presumably due to their different responses to abiotic factors such as differential light levels, nutrient availability, water availability, wind and temperature (marquis et al. 1986, denslow 1987, laska 1997, svenning 2000, siebert 2002). the abundance and diversity of understory plants are also influenced by biotic factors. for example, birds, mammals and bats are known to be important dispersers of pioneer and forest climax tree species, shrub, herb and epiphytic species (galindo-gonzales et al. 2000, siebert 2002). in the present study, herbs showed highest species richness in cacao cultivated forest gardens (type f), which is in accordance with the findings of siebert (2002). the higher light levels and more open canopy in this land use type may explain the observations. table 1. the ten main understory plant families under each of six land use types based upon family important value (fiv). a = undisturbed rain forest, b = lightly disturbed rain forest, c = moderately disturbed rain forest, d = moderate use intensity of cacao plantation, e = light use intensity of cacao plantation, and f = high use intensity of cacao plantation. land use types a b c d e f no. families fiv families fiv families fiv families fiv families fiv families fiv 1 urticaceae 92.80 taccaceae 24.35 urticaceae 106.60 urticaceae 72.84 poaceae 89.84 asteraceae 86.95 2 araceae 55.50 acanthaceae 20.96 araceae 62.92 poaceae 54.29 asteraceae 56.13 poaceae 80.74 3 hypoxidaceae 40.10 urticaceae 17.42 hypoxidaceae 35.49 asteraceae 39.10 acanthaceae 29.31 caryophyllaceae 29.26 4 acanthaceae 14.60 araceae 16.16 taccaceae 16.98 araceae 21.60 lamiaceae 22.00 amaranthaceae 13.33 5 zingiberaceae 7.48 hypoxidaceae 14.38 gesneriaceae 15.26 taccaceae 18.60 caryophyllaceae 16.73 lamiaceae 12.53 6 gesneriaceae 7.22 gesneriaceae 4.83 acanthaceae 13.41 lamiaceae 17.42 rubiaceae 11.74 cyperaceae 11.18 7 orchidaceae 5.52 zingiberaceae 2.91 zingiberaceae 13.17 hypoxidaceae 13.31 cyperaceae 10.24 urticaceae 8.07 8 commelinaceae 2.68 orchidaceae 2.75 balsaminaceae 9.54 balsaminaceae 10.88 urticaceae 9.03 commelinaceae 7.69 9 araliaceae 2.30 begoniaceae 2.35 maranthaceae 8.39 acanthaceae 8.05 malvaceae 8.97 euphorbiaceae 6.62 10 taccaceae 2.05 balsaminaceae 1.16 commelinaceae 6.84 comelinaceae 7.73 verbenaceae 8.10 rubiaceae 5.25 remaining families 69.80 remaining families 192.75 remaining families 11.41 remaining families 36.18 remaining families 37.91 remaining families 38.38 total 300 total 300 total 300 total 300 total 300 total 300 structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 9 tree diagram for variables unweighted pair-group average euclidean distances 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 linkage distance f e d c b a fig. 2. dendrogram of cluster analysis of understory assemblages based on dissimilarity index (1 sörensen similarity indices) among six land use types differing in use intensity. a = undisturbed rain forest, b = lightly disturbed rain forest, c = moderately disturbed rain forest, d = moderate use intensity of cacao plantation, e = light use intensity of cacao plantation, and f = high use intensity of cacao plantation. scatterplot 2d a1 a2 a3 a4 b1 b2 b3 b4 c1 c2 c3 c4 d1 d2 d3 d4 e1 e2 e3 e4 f1 f2f3 f4 -1.4 -1.2 -1.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 dimension 1 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 d im en si on 2 fig. 3. two dimensional scaling of understory species assemblages similarity based on sörensen indices in the six land use types. sites belonging to the same habitat type are connected by lines. a = undisturbed rain forest, b = lightly disturbed rain forest, c = moderately disturbed rain forest, d = moderate use intensity of cacao plantation, e = light use intensity of cacao plantation, and f = high use intensity of cacao plantation. 10 ramadhanil et al. the cacao forest garden, known as a traditional forest farming system (siebert 2002), is an important land use type in the margins of lore lindu national park. the high species diversity and complex structure of traditional forest farming systems maintain many of the ecosystem functions and processes found in primary forests. these include low ground-level light intensities, low transpiration rates of understory plants, reduced wind speed, diurnal temperature and humidity fluctuations, large and continuous organic matter inputs, efficient nutrient cycling, and a diverse habitat for forest flora and fauna (perfecto et al. 1996, beer et al. 1998, siebert 2002). traditional forest farming system may also provide connectivity between isolated primary forest fragments (galindogonzales et al. 2000). in this study, a mix of native and exotic weed species was recorded in the cacao forest garden (type d). the composition of herbs in this forest type agrees with the results of siebert (2002) who found both native and exotic weed species occurring in traditional forest farming systems. at the family level, asteraceae and poaceae were the dominant families of exotic weeds in cacao plantation areas. probably, the invasion by species of these two families is due to the excellent dispersal capacities of their species. interestingly, the dominant tree seedling species in three cacao plantation types was piper aduncum (piperaceae), with important value indices more than 75%. weber (2003) stated that piper aduncum is one of invasive alien species widely distributed in the tropics including malesia, polynesia and melanesia. tjitrosoedirdjo (2005) who inventoried the invasive alien species in indonesia pointed out that this species is originally from south america but it has recently invaded some islands in indonesia including sulawesi. despite the differing levels of disturbance, the three forest types (a, b and c) showed significant similarities among themselves suggesting resilience of the occupying species towards disturbance. on the other hand, although the overall species assemblages of types e (light use intensity) and f (high use intensity) were similar, type d (moderate use intensity) remained different from them probably due to the presence of high tree seedlings and weedy species. acknowledgements this study was carried out in the framework of interdisciplinary research programme “stability of rain forest margins in indonesia” (storma) funded by the german research foundation (dfg-sfb 552) and the directorate general of higher education department of national education republic of indonesia. we gratefully acknowledge logistic support from storma’s indonesia partner universities in bogor and palu, institut pertanian bogor, universitas tadulako (untad), the ministry of education in jakarta (dikti), the authorities of lore lindu national park “balai taman nasional lore lindu” and the nature conservancy indonesia. great appreciation and gratitude to structure and composition of understory plant assemblages 11 dr. h. sahabuddin mustafa, ms (rector of tadulako university), dr. h. arifuddin bidin (head of research center of tadulako university), prof. s.r. gradstein and m. kessler (both georg august university of gottingen germany) for their constructive comments. i would like to thank the pita group of national herbarium of netherlands leiden, herbarium bogoriense staff, herbarium celebense staff, the people of ngata toro and to the lore lindu national perk authority for their many kind of support. the manuscript profited from the comments by an anonymous reviewer. references beer, j., muschler, r., kass, d. and somarriba, e. 1998. shade management in coffee and cacao plantations. agroforestry systems 38: 139-164. bridson, d. and forman, l. 1999. the herbarium handbook. 3rd ed., royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 1334. denslow, j.s. 1987. tropical rain forest gaps and tree species diversity. annu. rev. ecol. syst. 18: 431-451. falk, u., ibrom, a., oltchev, a., kreilein, h., june, t., rauf, a., merklein, j. and gravenhorst, g. 2005. energy and water fluxes above a cacao agroforestry system in central sulawesi indonesia, indicate effects of land use change on local climate. met zeitsch. 14: 219-225 galindo-gonzales, j., guevara, s. and sosa, v. 2000. batand bird-generated seed rains at isolated trees in pastures in a tropical rainforest. conservation biology 14: 1693-1703. gentry, a.h. and dodson, g. 1987. contribution of nontrees to species richness of a tropical rain forest. biotropica 19: 149-156. gerold, g., fremerey, m. and guhardja, e. (eds.) 2004. land use, nature conservation and the stability of rainforest margins in south asia. springer verlag berlin heidelberg, germany, pp. 1-533. gradstein, s.r., tan, b., king, c., zhu, r.l., drubert, c. and pitopang, r. 2005. catalogue of the bryophytes of sulawesi, indonesia. journal of hattori botanical laboratory 98: 213-257. hamann, a., barbon, e.b., curio, e. and madulid, d.a. 1999. a botanical inventory of a submontane tropical rainforest on negros island, philippines. biodiversity and conservation 8: 1017-1031. jacobs, m. 1988. the tropical rainforests: a first encounter. springer-verlag. berlin, pp. 1-295. kessler, m., keßler, p.j.a., gradstein, s.r., bach, k., schmull, m. and pitopang, r. 2005. tree diversity in primary forest and different land use systems in central sulawesi, indonesia. biodiversity and conservation 14: 547-560. kochummen, k.m., lafrankie, j.v. and manokaran, n. 1990. floristic composition of pasoh forest reserve, a lowland rain forest in peninsular malaysia. j. trop. for. sci. 3: 1-13. laska, m.s. 1997. structure of understorey shrub assemblages in adjacent secondary forest and old growth tropical wet forests, costa rica. biotropica 29: 29-37. marquis, r.j., young, h.j. and braker, h.e. 1986. the influence of understory vegetation cover on germination and seedling establishment in a tropical lowland wet forest. biotropica 18: 273-278. meßner, s. 1996. untersuchungen zur biodiversität der myrmecofauna (formicidae) im parc national de la como’e (elfenbeinküste). diploma thesis, university of würzburg, würzburg, germany. mori, s.a., boom, b.m., carvalino, a.m. and santos, d. 1983. the ecological importance of myrtaceae in eastern brazilian wet forest. biotropica 15: 68-70. perfecto, i., rice, r.a., greenberg, r.m.e. and van der vort 1996. shade coffee: a disappearing refuge for biodiversity. bioscience 46: 598-608. 12 ramadhanil et al. phillips, o.l., hall, p., gentry, a.h., sawyer, s.a. and vasquez, r. 1994. dynamic and species richness of tropical rain forest. proc. natl. acad. sci. u.s.a. 91: 2805-2809. proctor, j.j., anderson, m. and chai, p. and vallack, h.w. 1983. ecological studies in four contrasting lowland rain forest in gunung mulu national park, serawak. j. ecol. 71: 237-260. setiadi, d., qoyim, i. and muhandiono, h. 2001. penuntun praktikum ekologi. laboratorium ekologi, jurusan biologi, fmipa, institut pertanian bogor, indonesia, pp. 1-152. siebert, s. 2002. from shadeto sun-grown perennial crops in sulawesi, indonesia: implications for biodiversity conservation and soil fertility. biodiversity and conservation 11: 1889-1902. soerianegara, i. and indrawan, a. 1998. ekologi hutan indonesia. laboratorium ekologi hutan, fakultas kehutanan, institut pertanian bogor, indonesia, pp. 1-104. svenning, j.c. 2000. small caopy gaps influence plant distribution in the rain forest understory. biotropica 32: 252-261. tjitrosoedirdjo, s.s. 2005. inventory of the invasive alien plant species in indonesia. biotropia 25: 60-73. weber, e. 2003. invasive plant species of the world. a reference guide to environmental weeds. cabi publishing, cab international, wallingford, oxon, uk. whitmore, t.c. 1990. an introduction to tropical rain forests. oxford university press, new york, pp. 1-226. whitten, a.j., mustafa, m. and henderson, g.s. 1987. the ecology of sulawesi, gadjah mada university press, yogyakarta, pp. 1-777. wright, d.d., jessen, j.h., burke, p. and de silva garza, h.g. 1997. tree and liana enumeration and diversity on a one-hectare plot in papua new guinea. j. biotropica 29: 250-260. (manuscript received on 11 september 2007; revised on 18 november 2007) 01. ramadhanil table 1.pdf land use types wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 105-108, 2010 (june) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. (apiaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh b. m. rezia khatun, md. oliur rahman1 and syeda sharmeen sultana bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh keywords: hydrocotyle verticillata; new record; bangladesh. the genus hydrocotyle l. belongs to the family apiaceae consists of about 100 species distributed throughout temperate and tropical region of the world (airy-shaw, 1897). in the indian subcontinent clarke (1879) reported 5 species of hydrocotyle from the british india, namely, h. javanica thunb., h. burmanica kurz, h. conferta wight, h. rotundifolia roxb. and h. asiatica l. prain (1903) documented only 2 species of hydrocotyle viz. h. rotundifolia roxb. and h. asiatica l. from the then bengal. this genus is represented by a single species hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam. (h. rotundifolia roxb.) in bangladesh (rahman, 2008). recently a specimen of the genus hydrocotyle was collected from azimpur of dhaka city. after critical study, it has been identified as hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. with the help of britton and brown (1913). hydrocotyle verticillata is distinguished from h. sibthorpioides lam. by having verticillate inflorescence, larger leaflets and longer petiole. hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. was not reported earlier from the areas that now falls under the present territory of bangladesh by the workers of this region, viz. clarke (1879), prain (1903), heinig (1925), cowan (1926), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1956), khan and afza (1968), khan and banu (1972), khan and hassan (1984), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), khan and huq (2001), rahman et al. (2001), rashid and mia (2001), uddin et al. (2003), rahman (2004a, b), hossain et al. (2005), alam et al. (2006) and islam et al. (2009). hence, it is being reported here as a new record for bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic account along with illustration of the plant has been made based on the fresh materials. the collected specimen has been preserved in the bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka (dacb). hydrocotyle verticillata thunb., diss. hydrocotyle 2: t. 5 (1778). briton & brown, an illustrated flora of the northern united states, canada and the british possession 2: 649 (1913). hydrocotyle vulgaris thunb., flora of capensis: 252 (1782). (plate 1) a perennial, glabrous, succulent, prostrate herb, 10-15 cm long. stem creeping, rooting at the nodes, with long stolon. leaves simple, alternate, leaflets c. 2.0-5.0 x 2.56.0 cm, orbicular-reniform, rather broader than long, palmately lobed, margin very 1corresponding author. present address: department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. e-mail: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 106 khatun et al. plate 1. hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. (a) habit sketch (x1); (b) a flower (×25); (c) l.s. of a flower (×25); (d) a corolla (×20); (e) stamen (×25); (f) a stigma (×25); (g) a fruit (×20). hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. (apiaceae) 107 coarsely repand-serrate, shiny, blackish-green above, pale beneath, smooth, prominently veined; petiole c. 8-25 cm long. inflorescence c. 5-25 cm long, arising from the axil of the leaves; peduncle 3-13 cm long with at least 2-6 verticillate flowers clustered at 1-3 cm apart, each cluster consisting 6-12 flowers. flowers greenish to creamy-white, starshaped, small; pedicel very short, 2-3 mm long in fruit; perienth 5, c. 1.5 × 1.0 mm, ovate-acute, each flower subtended by a minute bract at the base. stamens usually 5. ovary orbicular, glabrous; style filiform, divericate. fruits sub-orbicular, 1.0-1.5 × 2.02.5 mm, broader than long, laterally compressed with prominent ribs. flowering and fruiting: november january, also between march may. specimen examined: dhaka: azimpur residential area, 10.11.2007, b.m. rezia khatun, rk 5702 (dacb). ecology: grows in moist and waste places, by the side of drains of sewerage line and in shady moist soil. economic value: used as background in aquarium, garden pond, sometimes used as indoor plant in america. distribution: native of north and south america, distributed in canada, denmark, france, puerto rico and hawaii. acknowledgement the authors would like to thank mahmuda akhter, artist-cum-illustrator of bangladesh national herbarium for the illustration. references airy-shaw, h.k. 1897 (reprinted 1980). a dictionary of the flowering plants and ferns by j. c. willis (ed. 8). cambridge university press, england. alam, m.s., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2006. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora of gagotia union under kapasia upazila in gazipur district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 155-170. brighton, n.l. and brown, a. 1913. an illustrated flora of the northern united states, canada and the british possessions. vol. 2. p. 649. clarke, c.b. 1879. umbelliferae. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india. vol. 2. pp. 665-669. cowan, j.m. 1926. flora of chakaria sunderbans. rec. bot. surv. india 11(1): 209-211. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1110. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of the plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling. pp. 17-26. hossain, m.m., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2005. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills, comilla, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 85-96. islam, m.r., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2009. an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 115-140. 108 khatun et al. khan, m.s. and afza, s.k. 1968. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of teknaf and st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 16: 35-37. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts 2. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh 17(2): 63-68. khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 1984. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 32(1): 76-78. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focusing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. mia, m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain, d.1903. bengal plants. vol. 1. botanical survey of india, calcutta. pp. 390-391. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rahman, m.m. 2008. apiaceae. in: ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperm: dicotyledons (acanthaceae – asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 162-163. rahman, m.m., rashid, m.h. and rashid, s.h. 2001. assessment of plant biodiversity of sand dune ecosystem along cox's bazar to teknaf coast. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 27-45. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants” series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants” series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a.1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur (bangladesh). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. rashid, s.h. and mia, m.m.k. 2001. angiospermic flora of madhupur national park, tangail, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 63-82. sinclair, j. 1956. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 92-94. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox's bazar. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 43-46. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2003. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh ii.a: magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 79-94. (manuscript received on 26 april 2010; revised on 18 may 2010) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 63-68, 2006 (june) ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in phulbari upazila of dinajpur district, bangladesh mohammad zashim uddin, md. abul hassan and mahmuda sultana department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000. bangladesh key words: ethnobotanical survey, threats and conservation, bangladesh abstract ethnobotanical survey in phulbari upazila of dinajpur district has revealed a total of 86 species used as medicinal plants by the santal community. santal names, part/s used as medicine and diseases to be treated with each plant have been presented. a number of threats to medicinal plants and their habitats have been identified and some measures have also been recommended for the conservation of medicinal plants and their habitats in the area. introduction phulbari upazila belongs to dinajpur district. it lies between 250º23´ and 25º34´ n latitude and 88º48´ and 88º59´ e longitude. the upazila is bounded by parbotipur and shiribandar to the north, by nawabganj to the east, by birampur to the south and east and by india to the west. total area of the upazila is about 299.55 sq. km. the general topography of the upazila may be described as flat, gently sloping southward and slightly elevated alluvial terrace known as barind. elevation ranges from 25 to 35 meters above mean sea level (siddiqi 1972). once maximum area of the upazila was occupied by an extensive sal (shorea robusta gaertn.) forest interspersed with cultivated rice fields. due to human settlement, agricultural encroachment and mining activities, the sal forest of the area has been drastically reduced to small patches. in the small patches of the forest, s. robusta is the dominant species. some other species associated with the sal are careya arborea (kumbhi), anacardium occidentale (bela), cassia fistula (sonalu), albizia procera (koroi). syzygium fruticosum (butijam), syzygium operculatum (panijam), syzygium cumini (kalojam), flacourtia indica (paniala), randia dumetorum (monkanta), and litsae glutinosa (menda). forest floor has been covered with seasonal vegetation including grasses, sedges, aroids, zingers, climbers, herbs etc. phulbaria upazila is the abode for 1.3 million human population (asiatic society of bangladesh 2003). among this, 3.11% population belongs to santal community they are living in the forest sites far from the upazila headquarters. a major share of their food, medicine, house buildings materials and firewood come from the natural forest. these people have their own language and cultural tradition. they always like to keep away from the hub of modern civilization. currently, their cultural tradition is threatened by 64 uddin et al. modern cultures all around them. they already started to convert to christianity from hinduism. they are losing their traditional knowledge day by day. apart from this, mining activities and forest clearance around their home sites are other major threats to their traditional culture. considering all these factors ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in phulbari upazila will require much time to complete. otherwise we may lose important traditional santal knowledge about plants before documentation. ethnobotanical work here in bangladesh is in its initial stage. some work, e.g. hassan and khan (1986), mia and huq (1988), hassan and khan (1996), chowdhury et al. (1996), alam et al. (1996), uddin et al. (2001). khan et al. (2002) and uddin et al. (2004) are only a few to mention. the work on the ethnobotany of santal community is lacking. that is why in the present survey an attempt has been made with the following objectives: 1) to identify the medicinal plants, their santal names, parts used and diseases to be treated 2) to identify the threats to medicinal plants and their habitats 3) to make recommendation for conservation measures. materials and methods phulbari upazila of dinajpur district was selected for the study and santal community was considered as target community. all santal villages in the upazila were visited during the year of 2004 and 2005. data of medicinal use of plants were collected through interview with local herbal practitioners (kabiraj/ boidya), headmen and elderly persons in the community using semi-structured questionnaire at different locations. data collected from one person were verified with others by asking the same questions. most of the medicinal plants were identified in the field and in case of unknown, plant specimens were collected. these specimens were brought to dhaka university herbarium and processed by traditional herbarium techniques. these were examined and identified by comparing herbarium specimens and also consulting literature. threats to medicinal plants and their habitats were also noted from the field observations. results and discussion a total of 86 medicinal plant species were recorded from the present survey work in phulbari upazila. these species are used by santal community in different ailments. botanical names, santal names, parts used and diseases to be treated are presented in the table 1. currently, coal mining, stone lifting and related developmental activities in phulbari upazila are great threats to medicinal plants and their habitats. moreover, santal community already started to convert themselves to christianity. missionary activities ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants 65 gave them opportunity to go for modern medicine. it was found that many medicine men are reluctant to go back to santal community and their traditional health care system. forest clearance for exotic monoculture plantations in phulbari upazila is other threat to indigenous medicinal plants . sal forest with associated species were replaced by acacia spp. and eucalyptus spp. plantations in different natural forest patches of the upazila. remaining sal patches are in great risk because of fragmentation, edge effect, agricultural encroachment and developmental activities. from the present observation in the phulbari upazila, we have come up with some recommendation measures for the conservation of medicinal plants and their habitat. traditional santal knowledge about the usage of medicinal plants should be properly recorded and documented. apart from several threats some sal patches of the upazila still merit for in situ conservation. otherwise ex-situ conservation sites including medicinal plant garden, protected area and eco-park should be established. awareness about the importance of medicinal plants should be created among the local people, developers, energy companies and policy makers. environmental impact assessment should be done before going to undertake any mining and developmental projects. compensation measures should be ensured from companies for damaging the medicinal plants and their habitats. table 1. list of medicinal plants used by santal community of phulbari upazila under dinajpur district. scientific name santal name parts used diseases to be treated achyranthes aspera l. kakra lata root jaundice aegle marmelose corr. singadare fruits laxative urinary diseases agave americana l. kongak leaves ear lesion albizia procera benth. koroi leaves allergy alstonia scholaris l. chatinidare bark aphrodisiac, impotence amaranthus spinosus l. jenumara whole plant chest pain amaranthus virdis l. gandareshak whole plant vegetable anacardium occidentale l. shasho fruits mump, antiseptic andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall. chirata whole plant malarial fever anisomeles indica (l.)o. kuntz kukurmuta fruits impotence antidesma ghaesembila gaertn. chudumathasune leaves fever azedirachta indica a. juss. neemdare leaves fever, malaria, lesion, abscess biscofia javanica bl. mathasure leaves kidney diseases bombax ceiba l. edaldare root impotance borreria articularis (l.f.) williams. mudmala leaves eye pain caesalpinia crista l. baghinjanum fruit,seed headache, color for fishing net cardiospermum helicacavum l. chatolature stem heart pain 66 uddin et al. table 1. (contd.) caryea arborea roxb. kumbidare bark weakness cassia fistula l. neduic leaves, fruits ring worm, laxative centella asiatica urban. dolbamon whole plant gastric cissus adnata roxb. bodlar stem paralysis clerodendrum viscosum vent. banni roots,leaves healing cut injury, fever commelina bengalensis l. jeotin root menstrual disorder crinum asiaticum l. birpiaj root ringworm curculigo orchioides gaertn. birparo root healing, cut injury curcuma longa l. shasang rhizome blood purifier curcuma zedoaria (christm) rosc. pado rhizom diarrhoea cuscuta reflexa roxb. alakgudi wholeplant rheumatic fever, lesion, jaundice cynodon dactylon l. dubigass wholeplants healing cut injury cyperus rotundus vahl. takudare root paralysis dioscorea bulbifera l. damru root fever, krimi, vegetable elephantopus escaber l. ranurang roots abscess erythrina veriegata l. mararbaha flower waist pain eupatorium odoratum l. randai leaves healing cut injury euphorbia hirta l. kushitoa whole plant head injury euphorbia thymifolia burm. f. gutedare leaves waist pain ficus racemosa l. loa fruits krimi, blood purifier glochidion multiloculare (roxb. ex.willd.) muell.-arg. kudurpala leaves,root diarrhea of cow glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc. atishadha stem jaundices, tooth brush holarrhena pubescens (buch.-ham) wall. ex. g. don. hartdare bark diarrhoea, dysentery hyptis sauveolens(l.)poit. kukurmuta (sada) fruits impotence indigofera tinctoria l. nildare root ulcer jatropha curcas l. kuruzdare fruits lesion, ring worm jatropha gossipyfolia l. beddha leaves dysentery lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. dokadare bark diarrhea leea macrophylla roxb. harmadare root healing cut injury leportia crenulata gaud. sengelsingh root head ache litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. robinson maliata leaves,bark diarrhoea, dysentery, aphrodisiac mallotus philippensis ( lamk.) muell.arg. ruda barks piles mangifera indica l. uldare bark,leaves diarrhoea merrimia umbellata (l.) hallier.f. haruamar stem indigestion mimosa pudica l. japhi root impotence, aphrodisiac mimosa rubricaulis lamk. kondrajenure root impotence, menstrual disorder moringa olifera lamk. munga bark to refrain from snake ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants 67 table 1 (contd.) mucuna prurins (l.) dc. bandoneri stem waist pain murraya koenigii spreng jimtidare leaves menstrual disorder ocimum sanctum l. torshi leaves fever, bronchitis oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz. banahata bark,fruit jaundice, cow diseases persicaria hyropiper (l.) spach. jeoti root impotence phyllanthus emblica l. lodam fruits jaundice, diarrhoea phyllanthus reticulatus poir simikdare stem tooth brush pterospermum acerifolium willd. moskanda flower brain treatment ricinus communis l. araddom bark,fruit eye treatment scoparia dulcis l. sinipata leaves diarrhoea senna accidentalis (l.) link. junjunea leaves diabetes senna sophera (l.) link. bedatheri root lesion senna tora (l.) roxb. sakamenda root indigestion shorea robusta gaertn. sajamdare bark,root menstrual disorder sida acuta burm. f. sipsedip leaf head ache sida cordata (burm.f) borss. japkhasakam leaf abscess smilax zeylanica l. katrupala root menstrual disorder solanum nigram l. hedikudi leaves eye disease solanum torvum s.w. bengar fruits hopping cough, ear rotten stephania japonica (thunb.) miers. tezomala stem jaundice, foot rot of cow sterculia foetida l. sekra bark, pellicles impotence, weakness, tonic streblus asper l. sharha bark pain, diarrhoea suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. charchu fruit fish kill terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex. dc.) wt. and arn. arjun barks heart diseases terminalia belerica roxb. lopung fruits menstrual disorder terminalia chebula retz. rol fruits dysentery trichosanthes bracteata (lamk.) voigt. kahubutki root gastric paid typhonium trilobatum schott. nirbish leaves constipation urena lobata l. bedijone root lesion vernonia patula merrill. shandani root menstrual, disorder zizyphus mauritiana lamk. jenumdare leaves headache zizyphus xylopyrus (retz.)willd. sekera bark constipation ackonwledgement the authors are highly grateful to smec (snow mountain environmental corporation, australia) for financial support for the field work. references alam, m.k. 1992. medical ethnobotany of marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46 (3): 330-335. alam m.k., chowdhury, j. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies from bangladesh j. life sci. 8(1): 49-63 68 uddin et al. asiatic society of bangladesh 2003. banglapedia (ed. sirajul ialam and sajahan mia), 8: 73-74. chowdhury, j., alam, m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies against dysentery and diarrhoea in bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. additional series 12, scientific publishers jodhpur (india), pp. 20-23. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 1986. ethnobotanical record in bangladesh-1. plant used for healing fractured bones. j. asiatic society, bangladesh (sci.) 12(ia2): 33-39. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.a.1996. ethno botanical record in bangladesh-2 . plants used for healing cut’s and wounds. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(2): 49-52 khan, m.s, hassan, m.a and uddin, m.z. 2002. ethnobotanical survey in rema kalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 51-60. mia, m.m.k. and huq. a.m, 1988. a preliminary ethnobotanical survey in the jointiapure, tamabil and jafflong area, sylhet, bangladesh national habarium bull. 3, pp.1-10. siddiqi, a. 1972. bangladesh district gazetteers for dinajpur, bangladesh government press, dhaka, pp. 4-3. uddin, m.z., khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 2001. ethnobotanical plant records of kalanga forest range (habiganj), bangladesh for malaria, jaundice, diarrhoea and dysentery. bangladesh. j. plant taxon. 8(1): 101-104 uddin, s.n, uddin, m.z, hassan, m.a and rahman, m.m.2004. preliminar ethnomedical plant survey in khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 39-48. wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 79-82, 2007 (june) short communication additions to the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh : family plagiotheciaceae hamida khatun1 and syed hadiuzzaman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: pleurocarpous mosses, hypnobryales, plagiotheciaceae, bangladesh in a previous publication, three species of the genus stereophyllum, namely s. tavoyense, s. anceps and s. ligulatum were reported (khatun and hadiuzzaman 1994). in this paper detailed account of two newly recorded species of stereophyllum, namely s. decorum and s. wightii have been presented. these two species are epiphytic on different trees and are usually abundant during rainy season. the present study also revealed that the genus stereophyllum of the family plagiotheciaceae under the order hypnobryales is fairly common and widespread in bangladesh. the studied specimens are preserved in dhaka university herbarium. 1. stereophyllum decorum (mitt.) wijk. & marg. in taxon 9: 52 (1960) (plate 1) s. chionostomoides broth. in dix., j. bot. 63: 11(1925) nom.nud. in synom. leskea longirostris schwaegr. in sp. musc. suppl. 3(2): 290a (1830) hom. illeg. hypnum decorum mitt. in musc. ind. or. : 77 (1859) small to medium-sized, green, glossy, caespitose plants. main stem creeping, irregular branches. leaves very dense, homomallous, erectopatent, shrunk but erectopatent to spreading when dry, ovate, lanceolate, concave, tip narrowly acute, c. 3 × 1 mm, margin smooth throughout the leaf. costa strong, single, covering two-third of the leaf. leaf cells linear, c. 90 × 10 µm at apex, broader and shorter near base, extreme basal and alar cells quadrate c. 25 × 25 µm, lattice-like at alar. sporophyte usually on main stem. seta erect, 1 to 2 cm long. capsule constricted under mouth when dry. peristome normal, double, basal membrane high, exostome and endostome in same height. specimens examined: this species is widely distributed all over the country. however, populations were found in abundance in the following localities. jamalpur: islampur, on bark of tree, md. fazle rabbi, 15.06.1989, 40; noakhali: sreenarayanpur, on bark of tree, lutfa rahman, 12.05.1975, 117; pabna: paksey, on bark of tree, prodip kundu, 13.07.1998, 1275; panchagarh: telipara, on bark of tree, hamida khatun, md. yousuf ali, monnuzan begum, mahbuba sultana and sohel chowdhury, 23.12.1998, 1342; tangail: modhupur forest, on bark of tree, farida rahman, 12.06.1996, 684. 1corresponding author. e-mail: hamida_92@yahoo.com 80 khatun and hadiuzzaman note: leaves dense, homomallous or bent to one side, erectopatent, ovate-lanceolate, concave, leaf tip narrowly acute and lattice-like at alar are the important features of this species. plate 1. stereophyllum decorum. a. dry plant (× 5), b. wet plant (× 5), c. leaf (× 18), d. basal laminal cells (× 135), e. middle laminal cell (× 135), f. apical laminal cells (× 135), g. exothecial cells of the capsule (× 60), h. peristome teeth (× 100), i. mouth cells of capsule (× 60), j. operculum (× 18). k. exothecial cell with stomata (× 60), l. perichaetial leaf (× 18). 2. stereophyllum wightii (mitt.) jaeg. in ber. s. gall. naturw. ges. 1877-78: 279 (1880) (plate 2) hypnum wightii mitt. in musci ind, or. : 82 (1859) plant slender to rather large, main stem creeping, moderately robust, shiny and silky, flat, light to dark green, sometimes yellow-green mats, radiculose on the lower side, mostly corticolous, irregularly branched, branches horizontal, blunt. leaves crowded, somewhat complanate, about 4 lateral rows better developed, oblong-lanceolate, apex acute, acuteness of the leaf tip is variable, sometimes revolute at both margins, very often additions to the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 81 asymmetrical with a stout single costa extending two-third to three-fourth the length of the leaf, concave, erectopatent, lower leaves on branches sometimes spreading, appressed to stem when dry, margin often inflexed on one side at base, margin entire, except for a few faint teeth at the apex, c. 1.6 × 0.5 mm, narrowed at leaf base, sometimes broad. leaf cells elongated, elliptical-rhomboid, c. 56.7 × 7.2 µm at middle, c. 51 × 10 µm at top, basal cells slightly wider, a large area of rounded quadrate to rectangular cells extending plate 2. stereophyllum wightii. a. dry plant (× 5), b. wet plant (× 5), c-e. leaves (× 18), f. basal laminal cells (× 150), g. middle laminal cells (× 150), h. apical laminal cells (× 150), i. perichaetial leaf (× 18), j. peristome teeth (× 100), k. mouth cells of capsule (× 150), l. exothecial cells of capsule (× 150). almost to the costa at the insertion, on both side of the costa, number of alar cells are not equal, one side is less than the other side and they are laxly arranged, c. 18.15 × 15.67 µm. sporophyte on main stem, sometimes on branch stem. perichaetial leaves erect, 0.1 to 1.5 mm long, costate, narrowed at top, wide at base. seta slender, long, reddish-brown, smooth, 10 to 12 mm long. capsule erect, sometimes horizontal or nearly so, more or less cylindric, 1 to 2 mm long and 0.5 mm in diameter. peristome normal, double, exostome 82 khatun and hadiuzzaman longer than endostome and c. 200 µm high, basal membrane more or less high. spores round, greenish in colour, 10 to 15 µm in diameter. specimens examined: this species is widely distributed all over the country. however, a number of good populations were found in the following localities. dhaka: mirpur, on bark of tree, bijon kumar bhowmik, 10.02.1996, 976; gazipur: konabari, on bark of tree, hamida khatun, 18.04.1994, 1082; moulvi bazar: srimangal, on bark of tree, syeda humaira afroze, md. shamim, md. shahabuddin, 03.03.1992, 270; narsingdi: raipura, on the of tree, hamida khatun, 18.04.1991, 1085; panchagarh: tetulia, by the bank of river mohananda, on bark of tree, hamida khatun, 23.12.1998, 1212. note: the distinguishing features of this species are: leaf asymmetrically oblonglanceolate, apex acute, tip narrower than other species of the same genus, leaf margin often inflexed on one side at base and alar covers the whole of leaf base. reference khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1994. taxonomic studies of some pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 23 (1): 113-122. (manuscript received on 31 march 2007; revised on 11 april 2007) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 175-176, 2009 (december) short communication © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists comments on the type specimens of lindsaea andamanica (lindsaeaceae) at central national herbarium (cal), india s.k. basu, p.p. ghoshal1, s. bandyopadhyay and md. n. aziz botanical survey of india, p.o. botanic garden, howrah 711 103, west bengal, india. keywords: corrections; lindsaea andamanica; type specimens. dixit and ghosh (1983) designated ‘south andamans: putlamg stream, 2.2.1904, rogers s.n., acces. no. 7409 (cal)’ as the holotype and ‘acces. nos. 5307, 7408 (cal)’ as the isotypes in the protologue of lindsaea andamanica r.d. dixit & b. ghosh, and cited the other specimens examined by them as ‘andaman and nicobar islands: south andamans – jungles north, kurz s.n., acces. nos. 5475, 5476 (cal); nabee bah, near viper, april, 1890, king s.n., acces. nos. 5308, 5373 (cal); sipighat, island forest, ± 20 m, 6.8.1975, balakrishnan 2579 (cal); wright myoto myseen skyline, ±100 m, 9.1.1974, balakrishnan 765 (pbl. cal)’. the authors, however, annotated the specimens of kurz s.n., acc. no. 5475 as holotypus and c.g. rogers s.n., acc. nos. 5307, 7408 (cal) as paratypus. it seems to us that these annotations, made on 10.10.1978, i.e. prior to the publication of the protologue in 1983, were based on a preliminary version of the protologue, which we have come across inside the bundle of the types of l. andamanica at cal. they, however, did not re-annotate them according to the changed type designations made in the protologue and thus leading to confusion. moreover, there are some discrepancies between the data given on the type sheets and those which have been published in the protologue, and these led to further confusion. besides these, even the holotype has once been cited as an isotype in the protologue. so, in order to clear the confusions, all relevant data related to the types of l. andamanica at cal, have been given here in a tabular form as follows. sl no. data as given on the type sheets annotations made by dixit and ghosh on the type sheets annotations made on the type sheets by s.k.b. during the present study 1. 4 miles from coast, putatang stream, s. andamans, near large stream, 2.2.1904, c.g. rogers s.n., acc. no. 7408 paratypus holotype the illustration (dixit and ghosh, 1983: 253, t.40) given in the protologue is based on this specimen. the authors cited this as the holotype in the caption to the figure but as isotype in page 255 of the protologue. the acc. no. 7409 has been incorrectly given in the protologue because its actual acc. no. is 7408. balakrishnan 765 has the acc. no. 7409 1corresponding author. e-mail: pp_ghoshal@rediffmail.com 176 basu et al. sl no. data as given on the type sheets annotations made by dixit and ghosh on the type sheets annotations made on the type sheets by s.k.b. during the present study 2. putalang stream, s. andamans, 2.ii.1904, c.g. rogers s.n., acc. no. 5307 paratypus isotype 3. south andaman, jungles north, s. kurz s.n., acc. no. 5475 holotypus paratype 4. south andaman, s. kurz s.n., acc. no. 5476 paratypus paratype 5. nabee bah, near viper, s. andaman, apl 1890, king s.n., acc. no. 5308 paratypus paratype 6. nabee bah, near viper, s. andaman, 1890, king s.n., acc. no. 5373 paratypus paratype 7. south andamans, sipighat, inland forests, ± 20 m, n.p. balakrishnan & p. chakraborty 2579, acc. no. 7407 paratypus paratype in the protologue balakrishnan has been mentioned to be the sole collector. 8. south andamans, wright myoto wyssen skyline, ± 100 m, 9 jan. 1974, n.p. balakrishnan 765, acc. no. 7409 paratypus paratype it is hoped that this will facilitate the researchers to have the correct information about the aforementioned types. acknowledgements we are thankful to the director, botanical survey of india for his help and encouragement and to the anonymous reviewer for his helpful suggestions. reference dixit, r.d. and ghosh, b. 1983. the genus lindsaea dryand. ex smith in india. proc. indian acad. sci., pl. sci. 92(3): 233-258. (manuscript received on 17 march 2009; revised on 18 may 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 129-145, 2007 (december) ethnobotanical investigation into the mandi ethnic community in bangladesh pavel partha1 and a.b.m. enayet hossain2 bangladesh resource centre for indigenous knowledge (barcik) house 50, road 16 (new), dhanmondi, dhaka 1209, bangladesh key words: ethnobotany, ethnic community, mandi, bangladesh abstract the present ethnobotanical investigation has been carried out into the mandi ethnic communities of 32 villages of seven upazillas of dhaka and sylhet divisions in bangladesh. a total of 109 plant species belonging to 59 plant families were found to be used by the communities to treat 38 common human diseases, in ethnoveterinary practices, for pest control, as food, and also to perform rituals, taboos and hunting. introduction in the present world, traditional botanical knowledge and ethnobotanical research are playing an important role in biological investigation, economy and practical uses. in addition, this knowledge and experience of different ethnic groups can play a vital role in the identification, conservation and use of various plant resources including the wild and uncultivated. in bangladesh, there are many marginalized ethnic communities of different lifestyle and culture. they use surrounding plants for their primary healthcare along with other necessities, which are based on their traditional knowledge and dynamic cultural heritage. preliminary work of hassan and khan (1986) in ethnobotanical research is regarded as pioneer endeavour in bangladesh. since then, mia and huq (1988), alam (1992), alam et al. (1996), uddin et al. (2001), khan et al. (2002), partha (2002), partha and hossain (2002) and yusuf et al. (2006) have also made significant contribution to our understanding of enthnobotany in bangladesh. most of these studies, however, focused on tribal communities in the chittagong hill tracts with some surveys on the tribes in the sylhet region. an initial survey was conducted by khan (1998) on mandi (garo) tribe inhabiting madhupur and haluaghat in the districts of tangail and mymensingh, respectively. in the nearby indian state of meghalaya, rao (1981) documented the medicinal plants used by the khasi and garo communities. rao and shampru (1997) later on listed 78 plant species used by garos of meghalaya for food (30), medicine (24), fish poison (5), fiber (6), dye (3), miscellaneous (10) and from magico-religious beliefs. 1corresponding author. e-mail: animistbangla@yahoo.com 2department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka 1342, bangladesh. 130 partha and hossain our current understanding of the enthnobotany of mandi community of bangladesh is very limited. the present investigation, therefore, gives an opportunity to explore the inter-relationships between plants, human beings, environment, ecology and traditional knowledge and culture of the mandi ethnic community in 32 villages of two divisions in central-north and north-eastern bangladesh. materials and methods mandi ethnic community: mandi is the largest marginalized ethnic community in the dhaka division of bangladesh. total mandi population in bangladesh is about 64,280 (bangladesh population census of 1991). mandis are generally known as 'garo', but they call themselves 'mandi'. in their 'a`tchik' dialect 'mandi' means ‘human being’. study area: the present investigation was carried out between december 2000 and may 2002 into the mandi ethnic communities of 32 different villages of sunamganj sadar and tahirpur upazillas (sunamganj district) of sylhet division; and durgapur and kalmakanda upazillas (netrokona district), nalitabari upazilla (sherpur district), haluaghat and dhubaura upazillas (mymensingh district) and madhupur upazilla (tangail district) of dhaka division. information collection: the ethnobotanical information was collected by ‘participant observations’, from focus group discussions, and interviewing local people and local medicine men who prescribe their own herbal preparations. for ethnobotanical research, ‘participant observation’ is given more preference. for this participant observation, a researcher has to live with the ethnic people for a long time. but owing to limited scope and allocated time for the present ethnobotanical survey, the first author could only spend few trips to the specified areas and stay for a short while with the informants. however, the present endeavour was initiated far back in 1997 through repeated visits to various ethnic areas and making friendship with the ethnic communities. although visits had been made since 1997, much time was spent from december 2000 to may 2002 for the present ethnobotanical investigation reported in this communication. in their every social and cultural activities and festivals, both physical and mental participation was made during the period of the survey. the first author also participated in their ‘jhumming’ (shifting cultivation) and other household works. the women were also interviewed at the time of cooking and collecting vegetables and fruits from the ‘jhum-jungle’, and the information and processes were documented. the ethnic medicine men were interviewed individually in the forests where they pointed out the herbs that they use to cure different ailments. information was also gathered from the medicine men using two separate questionnaires. ethnobotanical investigation into the mandi ethnic community 131 plant material collection: a large number of plant materials were collected during the present survey and were preserved as herbarium sheets. during plant collection and making herbarium specimens, unknown, little known and important plants were given more preference. all the herbarium specimens are preserved in the jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh), department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka 1342. the juh allows anybody to use these specimens for academic and research purposes. results and discussion the plant species documented in the present survey are enumerated in the table 1 in alphabetic order of their scientific names. these are accompanied by their local names in mandi language, localities (village and district) and ethnobotanic uses. the medicinal uses of plants listed here are indicative and are not accompanied by doses, therefore the readers are not encouraged to follow them without verification. most of the mandi people rely upon surrounding plant wealth for their health-care, food and other life accessories. present ethnobotanical investigation generated important information that might be useful for health-care programme, economic and agricultural policy development, alternative food programme, development of essential drugs, and biodiversity conservation action plan for bangladesh. since limited work has been done in the field of ethnobotanical research in bangladesh, information of mandi botanical knowledge documented in this paper is almost new at academic ethnobotanical paradigm. some specific suggestions are articulated as below. • before entering into 'new technology' and 'modern medicine', ethnobotanical and traditional knowledge of all ethnic groups of bangladesh are to be documented with a proper `free prior informed consent’ way. • the land and natural resource rights of the ethnic people are to be ensured. antiethnic, anti-ecological development processes like large dams, eco-park or any other infrastructural developments should not be undertaken, which destroy life, livelihoods, resources and ethnobotanical practices. • ethnic people's traditional knowledge and culture is to be conserved with active help of proper policy framework. eco-friendly policy and laws are to be formulated for conservation of medicinal and economic plant species. successful enactment of the draft 'biodiversity and community knowledge protection act, 1998' could be a good example in this regard. table 1. plants used by the mandi ethnic communities of dhaka and sylhet divisions. sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 1. abutilon indicum (l.) sweet. malvaceae ha-nijang-zalek thanarbaid, tangail leaf and root paste is used for migraine pain. 2. achyranthes aspera l. amaranthaceae mimang-khachi menkifanda, netrokona root juice is used treating worms and inflammation in urinary tract. 3. acorus calamus l. araceae phachi, chisik sagordighi, netrokona leaf juice is used for children in "baw-batasi" (any physical change caused by evil spirits) disease. 4. adhatoda vasica nees acanthaceae alok-bizak narayantala, sunamganj decoction of twig is used in cough and cold. 5. agaricus campestris l. agaricaceae na-phang sagordighi, netrokona plant juice and edible mushroom are used to cure menstruation problem. 6. aloe vera l. (syn. a. barbadensis mill.) liliaceae dip-thi-kanchon ranikhong, netrokona leaves are cut into small pieces and soaked in water, the extract mixed with sugar is used for liver complications and to remove tiredness. 7. amaranthus spinosus l. amaranthaceae kuriakanta, kulelhara farongpara & menkifanda, netrokona slightly warm root paste is applied locally on boils. whole plant paste is used as ointment for rheumatic pain. see also benincasa hispida. 8. amorphophallus bulbifer (roxb.) bl. araceae chung-muru, baghadumm ranikhong, netrokona used as vegetables. 9. andrographis paniculata nees acanthaceae gumkhah-sum hagurakuri, tangail leaf juice is used for fever and pain. 10. aristolochia indica l. aristolochiaceae chong-khengsum thanarbaid, tangail leaf and tuber paste is used as ointment in burning. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 11. artemisia nilagirica (clarke) pamp asteraceae nagdewna, ramanisam sagordighi, netrokona; chonia, tangail leaf juice is used to treat leprosy. young twig is used in preparation of fermenting medium "chumanti" for traditional liquor "chu". fresh leaf juice is used for liver pain and dysentery. 12. artocarpus heterophyllus lamk. moraceae thibrong sagordighi, netrokona; chonia, tangail stem gall is tied to the affected testis to prevent hernia. timber is used for “k’ma/khima” (monument for dead person). 13. asparagus recemosus l. (syn. a. officinalis l.) liliaceae mimangthamachii chonia, tangail root juice is used to increase sperm count. 14. bambusa longispiculata gamble ex brandis poaceae tolah-wah chonia, tangail used for making the socio-religious musical instrument "alongma", "bangsi" and "adori". 15. basella alba l. (syn. b. rubra l.) basellaceae puisak sagordighi, netrokona leaf and stem paste is used for headache. see also benincasa hispida. 16. bauhinia vahlii w. et a. caesalpiniaceae lota-kanchanphang khazai, tangail fruits are eaten raw or roasted when mature. 17. benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. cucurbitaceae ak-kharu sagordighi, netrokona paste made of "ak-kharu" seed, basella alba leaf, amaranthus spinosus root and garlic is used to treat "jal-batasi" (after pregnancy, excess secretion of menstruation blood) disease in women. see also physalis minima. 18. bixa orellana l bixaceae ronjak-phang boheratoli, netrokona seeds are used to make red dye. 19. bombax ceiba l. (syn. salmalia malabarica (dc.) sch. & endle.) bombacaceae man-chow bhabanipur (north), netrokona the religious worship "asong-meddi" is only performed under this tree for preventing pox and cholera. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 20. borassus flabellifer l. arecaceae tal-phang telungia & utrail, netrokona fresh flower paste is used to relieve the inflammation of breast. leaves are used in the religious worship "jolkuri-meddi". 21. bridelia retusa spreng euphorbiaceae heja chonia, tangail ripe fruits are edible. 22. bryophyllum pinnata (lamk.) pers. (syn. bryophyllum calycinum salisb.) crassulaceae samjangi sagordighi, netrokona leaves are wrapped with banana leaf and put in hot ashes until it becomes soft and half-boiled. then it is squeezed to extract the juice to use for dysentery and improving sexual strength. 23. cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. (syn. c. indicus spreng.) papilionaceae mendu utrail, netrokona fresh leaf juice is mixed with sugar and is used in jaundice. 24. canna indica l. var. speciosa cannaceae diggi-walsun sagordighi, netrokona paste made of tuber of "diggi-walsun" and fruit ash of "bhoittyakola" (musa sapientum l. var. sylvestris) is used in excess menstruation. 25. cardiospermum halicacabum l. sapindaceae gondoli, sithapu menkifanda, netrokona; gaira, tangail young twig juice is applied locally on eyes to prevent inflammation of eyes. green fruits are edible. root paste is used for dyspepsia of cattle. 26. careya arborea roxb. lecythidaceae dombel thanarbaid, tangail decoction of stem-bark is used as red dye. 27. caryota urens (l.) kirt arecaceae souii-phang baragup, sunamganj sun-dried seeds are used as a substitute for areca catechu and used with betel leaf as a chewing material. 28. celosia cristata l. amaranthaceae shibjota monikura, mymensingh young leave is cooked with small fish and is used for excess menstruation. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 29. centella asiatica (l.) urban. apiaceae misi-nachil, thorkuri menkifanda, netrokona; kakorkandi, sherpur leaf paste is used for rheumatic pain. paste made of leaves of “misi-nachil” and "jhinga" (luffa acutangula) seeds is used internally for dog bites. roasted leaf juice is used in jaundice. 30. chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. (syn. andropogon aciculatus retz.) poaceae nengra-bon lengoora & menkifanda, netrokona root juice is used in liver pain. inflorescence paste is applied on scabies after slight scrapping. 31. cinnamomum tamala (buch.ham.) nees & eberm. lauraceae tejpata sagordighi, netrokona juice made of fresh young leaf of “tejpata” and whole plant of "sarnalot" (cuscuta reflexa) is used to treat jaundice. 32. cissus quandrangularis l. (syn. vitts quadrangularis) vitaceae moi-bhanga lot, diggi-therengi berui, mymensingh plant paste is used in the treatment of fractured bones. 33. cleistocalyx operaculatus (roxb.) merr. & perry. (syn. eugenia operculata roxb.) myrtaceae bol-rujol-phang chonia, tangail ripe fruits are edible. 34. clerodendrum viscosum vent. verbenaceae samkhu-khukuphang, samakhsi baromari, sherpur; thanarbaid, tangail young twig is used in preparation of fermenting medium "chumanti" for traditional liquor "chu". young leaf juice is mixed with sugar and used for ascaris and liver pain. 35. coix lachryma-jobi l. poaceae riksiri, simpuli sagordighi, netrokona; thanarbaid, tangail root paste is used for treating leprosy. paste made of "riksiri" tuber, "tulsi phang" (ocimum sanctum) leaf, and "belathiphang" (aegle marmelos) leaf is used as female oral contraceptive after menstruation. 36. commelina benghalensis l. commelinaceae ankhi-zachi, hanki-zachi chonia, tangail whole plant juice is used for children’s latewalking. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 37. crinum defixum ker. amaryllidaceae dukkhanusheng gaira, tangail tuber paste is mixed with table salt and is used for flatulence of cattle. 38. curcuma amada roxb. zingiberaceae diggi, diggithegacu ranikhong & sagordighi, netrokona tuber paste is used against evil spirits. root juice is used to treat impotency. 39. curcuma caesia roxb. zingiberaceae sammi-seng chonia & pirgacha, tangail fresh tuber juice is used as an antidote after poisoning. tuber paste is used for liver pain. 40. dendrophthoe falcata (l. f.) etting. (syn. loranthus longiflorus desr.) loranthaceae dorangsi-phang sagordighi, netrokona leaf paste is mixed with ginger (zingiber officinale) and used to treat fractured bones. 41. dillenia indica l. dilleniaceae thigi valukapara, mymensingh decoction of fruit mixed with table salt is used for dyspepsia of domestic pig. 42. dioscorea alata l. var. globosa dioscoreaceae tha-mandi madhupur, tangail one of the main homestead crops of mandi in madhupur sal (shorea robusta) forest areas. tuber and bulbil of this plant used in the main jhum festival 'wann.a (wangala)'. 43. dioscorea sp. dioscoreaceae tha-ak sainnamari & thanarbaid, tangail tuber paste is used as poison in hunting. 44. drynaria quercifolia (l.) j. smith polypodiaceae doreng-jasi monsapara, mymensingh rhizome paste is used to protect children from evil spirit. 45. elentherine plicata hub liliaceae chinisum pirgacha, tangail bulb paste is used for dysentery and liver pain. 46. eleusine indica (l.) gaerten poaceae gang-ringphang sagordighi, netrokona whole plant juice is used in wounds and cuts. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 47. erythrina variegata l. papilionaceae mandar-phang, kantab birishiri, netrokona; chonia, tangail stem and shoot are used in "ramachittya" (funeral procession). stem-gum is used for dysentery. 48. euphorbia antiquorum l. euphorbiaceae a-rong-jora menkifanda, netrokona whole plant paste is used in treating fractured bones. 49. euphorbia hirta l. euphorbiaceae khatri-bi-phang hagurakuri, tangail leaf paste is used in skin diseases. 50. ficus benghalensis l. moraceae prup-phang menkifanda, netrokona dried aerial root burnt and the "khar" (ash) is used in vegetable preparation instead of oil. this tree has a sacred value also. 51. ficus racemosa l. (syn. f. glomerata roxb.) moraceae koudra-phang, twe-aek sagordighi, netrokona seed paste is used in piles. young twig juice is used for diabetes. 52. ficus religiosa l moraceae gitingbel telungia, netrokona dried aerial root burnt and the "khar" (ash) is used in vegetable preparation in place of oil. this tree is sacred. 53. flacourtia jangomas (lour.) raeusch. (syn. f. cataphracta roxb. ex willd.) flacourtiaceae che-marang, dari-chick menkifanda, netrokona paste of 7 young twigs of “che-marang” and "nailla" (corchorus copsularis) seeds is used in infertility of women after four days of menstruation. 54. flemingia semialata roxb. ex. ait. (syn. f. congesta roxb. ex. ait.) papilionaceae do-fatchi thanarbaid, tangail root and young twig juice is used for gastric problem. 55. ganoderma sp. ganodermataceae kanchata, kanchara sagordighi, netrokona sun-dried fruit body burnt and the ash is soaked in water and used for children's "dudsari" (diarrhoea of children after breastfeeding). (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 56. gmelina arborea roxb. verbenaceae gambari-phang chonia, tangail timber is used for making the socio-religious musical instrument "dama", and also to make "k'ma/khima” (monument for dead person). 57. gossypium arboreum l. (syn. g. harbaceum l.) malvaceae chon-na-khel achkipara, mymensingh; boheratoli, netrokona oil extracted from the seeds is used in lamps. the plant is the main source of cotton fibre for mandi clothes. 58. hibiscus sabdariffa l. malvaceae menda-guru pirgacha, tangail young twig and fruit are used as vegetables. 59. hyptis suaveolens (l.) poir. lamiaceae do-ju menkifanda, netrokona sun-dried seeds are soaked in water for 12 hrs. the mucilaginous extract is used for constipation. 60. imperata cylindrica (l.) p. beauv poaceae gong-chamri rajai, sunamganj 'sanksarek mandi' (animist) believes that, creator "bagoba-borombi" first created this plant in this world. this plant is the main thatching material in the areas. 61. jatropha gossipifolia l. euphorbiaceae krendagichha, balgechak sagordighi, netrokona paste made of young twig of “krendagichha” and tamarindus indica seed is used to relieve piles pain. 62. justicia gendarusa l. acanthaceae dojagappi menkifanda, netrokona paste made of “dojagappi” leaf and "nisinda" (vitex negundo) leaf is used in the wounds. 63. kaempferia pulchra (syn. k. marginata) zingiberaceae wak-fatra sagordighi, netrokona tuber paste is used in the treatment of pheumonia and bronchial complaints. 64. lagenaria siceria standl. cucurbitaceae fong chonia, tangail sun-dried fruit shell is used as "fong-reng", "fong-shen" and "fong-saljong" (utensils used for drink traditional liquor "chu" and sometimes women conserve different types of crop seeds in this natural shell-pot). (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 65. lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. (syn. l. grandis (dennst.) eng.) anacardiaceae gika-phang utrail, netrokona; bheduria & thanarbaid, tangail green fruit is used in chicken pox. decoction of stem-bark is used as red dye. stem and shoot are used in "ramachittya" (funeral procession). 66. lasia spinosa (l.) thw. (syn. l. heterophylla schoott., l. aculeata lour.) araceae chongi-bret, gong-mentre rajai, sunamganj used as vegetables. 67. leea macrophylla roxb. leeaceae udum-sam, athi-nachel chonia & jolchotra, tangail leaf and root cut into small pieces and soaked in water for 4-5 hrs. the mucilaginous extract is used for increasing sperm count. leaf paste is used for treating fractured bones. 68. leucas indica (l.) r. br. ex vatke lamiaceae domkolos, korponath menkifanda, netrokona inflorescence and root paste is used in insect and snake bites. 69. lygodium sp. lygodiaceae royatoop menkifanda, netrokona rhizome stalk paste is mixed with sugar and used in gonorrhoea. 70. mangifera indica l. anacardiaceae thegachu birishiri, netrokona; narayantala, sunamganj fresh stem-bark juice is mixed with sugar and is used for dysentery. leaf is used in the ritual "reen-chottya". timber is used to make "k'ma/khima" (monument for dead person). 71. manihot esculenta crantz. euphorbiaceae tha-bol-chu sagordighi, netrokona; thanarbaid, tangail one of the main crops in mandi areas. tuber paste is used in preparation of fermenting medium "chumanti” (traditional yeast cake) for traditional liquor "chu". dried leaf and stem are burnt and the ash ("khar") is used in cooking instead of oil. 72. marsilea quadrifoliata l. marsileaceae mikhampret, sampret menkifanda, netrokona whole plant paste is soaked in hot water and is used for treating toothache. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 73. melastoma malabathrica l melastomaceae kakku-phang rajai, sunamganj stem is used as toothbrush. 74. microcos paniculata l. ex w. & a. (syn. grewia microcos wall. ex mast.) tiliaceae dhamsi-bret, datoi-phang rajai, sunamganj ripe fruits are edible. 75. mikania cordata (burm. f.) roxb. asteraceae athisaheph chonia, tangail young leaf are fried in oil and eaten by persons suffering from gastric pain. 76. mimosa pudica l. mimosaceae ambi-michhum, sammachup baragup, sunamganj dried root tied to the arm in the treatment of women's infertility. root paste is applied locally for alleviating inflammation of breast. 77. moringa oleifera lamk. (syn. m. peterygosperma gaertn.) moringaceae sajna-phang sainnanaari, tangail fresh stem bark paste is used in the treatment of fractured bones. 78. musa ornata roxb musaceae thirik-phang, echim-chimri bhabanipur & utrail, netrokona; khazai, tangail "sanksarek mandi" (animist) believes that, the creator "bagoba-borombi" first created this plant in this world. dried inflorescence axis with sheaths is burnt and the "khar" (ash) is used in vegetable preparation instead of oil. pseudostem is used in the religious worship "bidaw-e-chibal" for edema during and after pregnancy of women. whole plant is used in the religious worship "ronsri-meddi" for good health and wealth. 79. nymphaea nouchali burm. f. nymphaeaceae bibalchak, gechhak-afluk sagordighi, netrokona rhizome paste is used to treat menstruation problem. 80. opuntia dilenii haw. cactaceae narpanda-siju sagordighi, netrokona stem latex is used in eye diseases of cattle. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 81. peperomia pellucida kunth. piperaceae samol-phang, phanmachii taltala, tangail whole plant juice is used in wounds. sun-dried plant pieces is tied with a piece of black thread to the hip of women in edema. 82. persicaria lanatum roxb. polygonaceae hagra menkifanda, netrokona root mixed with "gomenda" (cucurbita maxima) fruit-bark and table salt and made into paste. this paste is also used to relieve finger pain. 83. phyllanthus emblica l. (syn. emblica officinalis gaertn. ) euphorbiaceae ambori-phang chonia, tangail fruits are edible. 84. physalis minima l. solanaceae ambichok sagordighi, netrokona leaf juice is mixed with "ak-kharu" (benincasa hispida) seed juice and is used locally in eye diseases. 85. poinciana pulcherrima l. (syn. caesalpinia pulcherrima swartz.) caesalpiniaceae rummoth-phang birishiri, netrokona young twig juice is used in abortion at 3 months of pregnancy. fresh flower juice is used for cough and cold. 86. polycarpon prostratum forsk. (syn. p. loeflineae benth. et hook. f.) caryophylaceae beng-bongjathong chonia, tangail leaves are used as vegetables. 87. punica granatum l. punicaceae dalim-phang boheratoli & menkifanda, netrokona young twig paste is used for ascar of domestic pig. decoction of root bark with table salt for expelling human worms. 88. rauvolfia serpentina benth. apocynaceae do-grek-mi thanarbaid, tangail root and leaf paste is made into pill, sun-dried and used in malarial fever. 89. saccharum spontaneum l. poaceae kash utrail, netrokona stem is used in worship of "bagoba-borombi". 90. scoparia dulcis l scrophulariaceae sam-khucuk khazai, tangail young twig and leaf are used as vegetables. 91. semecarpus anacardium l. f. anacardiaceae baula, bhewlaphang pirgacha, tangail seed kernel is edible. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 92. shorea robusta gaertn. dipterocarpaceae bolsal, borshalphang chonia, gaira, khazai & thanarbaid, tangail stem-bark juice is used to treat ulceration of mouth. stem resin is used as insect/mosquito repellent. stem-bark is used to make red dye. seed can be eaten after roasted. timber is used to make "k'ma/khima" (monument for dead person). 93. sida cordata (burm.f.) borssum. (syn. s. veronicaefolia lam.) malvaceae sam-fathal menkifanda, netrokona paste made of "sam-fathal" root and "gokkared" (costus speciosus) rhizome is used in gonorrhoea. 94. sida sp. malvaceae sam-fathal birishiri, netrokona whole plant paste is used for rheumatic pain. decoction of seed is used to increase sperm count. 95. smilax zeylanica l. (syn. s. macrophylla roxb.) smilacaceae sam-refu chonia, tangail decoction of leaf mixed in warm water and is used in bath for children with "pesera" (measles). 96. solanum melongena wall. solanaceae misinachole birishiri, netrokona; narayantala, sunamganj leaf juice is mixed with sugar and is used in dysentery. leaf juice is mixed with mother’s milk and is used in diarrhoea in infants. 97. solanum xanthocarpum l. solanaceae khuka, bekaigota bhabanipur (north) & lengoora, netrokona dried fruit is used in preparation of "chumanti" (preparation medium of traditional liqour "chu"). fruits fried in oil and is used for scabies. 98. sterblus asper lour. moraceae shawla songra, mymensingh; menkifanda, netrokona it is locally believed that, evil spirit live in this tree. so it is not planted in homesteads. ripe fruits are eaten by children. paste of root-bark is used in dysentery. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) sl. no. scientific name family mandi name location (village, district) use 99. tamarindus indica l. caesalpiniaceae amlichuka, tintili-phang menkifanda, netrokona decoction of ripe fruit pulp is used for dyspepsia of domestic pig. 100. thysanolaena maxima (roxb.) kuntze. (syn. agrostis maxima roxb.) poaceae sarla-phang rajai, sunamganj used for making broom and thatching material. 101. trichosanthes bracteata (lamk.) voigt. (syn. modecca bracteata lamk.) cucurbitaceae mamalaru sainnamari, tangail dried fruit pulp soaked in water and the extract is used to alleviate liver complaints. 102. utricularia flexuosa vahl. lentibulariaceae joler-satmul sagordighi, netrokona dried plant is used for menstruation problem. 103. vetiveria zizanioides (l.) nash poaceae bimachuba sagordighi, netrokona paste of 7 young leaf-twig is used in "dudsari" (diarrhoea of children after breastfeeding). 104. vigna sinensis endl. ex hassk. (syn. v. catjang var. sinensis prain.) papilionaceae kharek hagurakuri, tangail this plant is the clan totem of "nokrek" clan in mandi society. 105. vitis latifolia roxb. vitaceae bon angur pirgacha, tangail young leaf and stem are used as vegetables. 106. wedelia chinensis (osb.) merrill. (syn. w. calendulaceae less.) capparidaceae baw-batasi sagordighi, netrokona leaf juice is used for children in any physical change caused by supernatural power called "kharap batas laga". 107. withania somnifera (l.) dunal. solanaceae achothra thanarbaid, tangail root juice is mixed with lime water and used in diarrhoea. 108. zanthoxylum budrunga (roxb.) dc rutaceae kankoi, khankoi khazai, tangail young twig and leaf are used as vegetables. 109. zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. rutaceae sumu-cheng chonia, tangail timber is used for making the religious musical instrument "ambangii". 144 partha and hossain • rights of every ethnic group (including the intellectual property rights) to use traditionally used plant species for their own usage is to be ensured under the convention on biological diversity (cbd). • active participation of the ethnic people in making decisions and formulating laws and state policies for ethnic people is to be ensured. • all the medicinal, edible, economic and other threatened plants mentioned in this investigation can only be conserved through traditional knowledge and culture, which stated community-based conservation. all plant species are to be protected in situ with the co-operation of the ethnic and local people and of the forest department of the country. acknowledgements we wish to express our sincere appreciation and the deepest sense of gratitude to ajit ritchil (menkifanda), tokkia rema (utrail), kanu ritchil (monsapara), prhalhad chandra jambil, r.m.p. (boheratili), robin marak (sagardigi), mitali ruram and jotindra manda (birishiri mandi bazar), shamim ritchil (bhobanipur), pronat rema (taltola-thanarbaid), uttam ritchil and srijon sangma (tribal cultural academy, birishiri), noyan sangma (rajai), porag ritchil (haluaghat), monindranath marak (birishiri), shijen marak, shibram nokrek and neta nokrek (hagurakuri), janin nokrek and shyamchoron rema (sainnyamari), jonik nokrek, soheen mree, bijonty mree and anita mree (chonia), jerome hagidok (bheduria), ajoy a. mree, babul d. nokrek and somola marak (gachabari), uzine nokrek (gaira), and the people of mandi communities in the local areas for their cordial inspiration, sharing, cooperation and guidance. thanks are also due to the bangladesh national herbarium and the department of botany, jahangirnagar university for botanical identification and academic suggestions. references alam, m.k. 1992. medicinal ethnobotany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46(3): 330335. alam, m.k., choudhury, j. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies from bangladesh. bangladesh j. life sci. 8(1): 49-63. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 1986. ethnobotanical records in bangladesh-1 : plants used for healing fractured bones. jour. asiatic soc. bangladesh. (sc.). 12(1&2): 33-39. khan, m.s. 1998. prospects of ethnobotany and ethnobotanical research in bangladesh. in: banik, r.l., alam, m.k., pei, s.j. and rastogi, a. (eds.), applied ethnobotany. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong, bangladesh, pp. 24-27. khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2002. ethnobotanical survey in rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary (habigonj) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 51-60. mia, m.m.k. and huq, a.m. 1988. a preliminary ethnobotanical survey in the jointopur, tamabil and jaflong (jointapur upazilla), sylhet. in: khan, m.s. (ed.), bull. of bangladesh national herbarium, no. 3. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, pp. 1-10. ethnobotanical investigation into the mandi ethnic community 145 partha, p. 2002. ethnobotanical investigation of the ethnic communities living in greater dhaka and sylhet divisions of bangladesh. m.sc. thesis, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, pp. 390. (unpublished) partha, p. and hossain, a.b.m.e. 2002. ethnoconservational practices by 14 ethnic communities in bangladesh. in: bangladesh environment 2002, 1: 523-530. bangladesh poribesh andolon, dhaka. rao, m.k.v. and shampru, r. 1997. some plants in the life of the garos of meghalaya. in: jain, s.k. (ed.), contribution to indian ethnobotany. scientific publishers, jodhpur, india, pp. 179-186. rao, r.r. 1981. ethnobotany of meghalaya: medicinal plants used by khasi and garo tribes. economic botany 35(1): 4-9. uddin, m.z., khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 2001. ethnomedical plant records of kalenga forest range (habiganj), bangladesh for malaria, jaundice, diarrhoea and dysentry. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 8(1): 101-104. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2006. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge from kaukhali proper and betbunia of rangamati district. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 55-61. (manuscript received on 13 may 2007; revised on 9 november 2007) introduction materials and methods microsoft word 03. abdel.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 21-29, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and anatomical investigations in desmodium tortuosum (sw.) dc. (fabaceae): a new addition to the egyptian flora abdel samai moustafa shaheen1 department of botany, aswan faculty of science, south valley university, aswan 81528, egypt keywords: adaxial bundle, abaxial bundle, seed pattern, micromorphology, desmodium tortuosum abstract the morphological, anatomical and micromorphological features of desmodium tortuosum (sw.) dc. were investigated to assist in the identification of the species as a new record for egypt. specimens collected from different places in the egyptian nubia (nubian nile valley) confirmed the presence of d. tortuosum as a naturalized species in the country. in general, the results obtained from the morphological studies were consistent with the previous studies on this species. however, the present investigation into leaf, petiole and stem anatomy and the seed and the leaf patterns under light and scanning electron microscopes, respectively, is the first such study on the species. introduction desmodium tortuosum (sw.) dc. belongs to the family fabaceae (leguminosae). the species is common throughout the temperate and tropical regions, with exception of europe, new zealand, and the united states’s west of the rocky mountain (schubert 1980). the native range of d. tortuosum includes the west indies; other reports, however, suggest the species also may be native to the americas (smith 1889, hume 1907). of the 300 species of desmodium distributed throughout the world, only 39 species occur in africa, but none has so far been reported from egypt (lock 1989, boulos 2004). desmodium tortuosum was once regarded as a useful warm-season crop in the usa, especially important as horse feed and as a crop improving soil structure (smith 1889, yaunge et al. 1964). today, the species is considered among the most troublesome weeds in crop fields of the southeastern coastal plain of the usa (webster and cardina 2004), but still regarded as a desirable plant for wildlife. some anatomical and morphological features of the subfamily papilionoideae and the genus desmodium were reported by heneidak and shaheen (2007) and webster and cardina (2004), respectively. however, so far, there have been no detailed anatomical and morphological studies on d. tortuosum. 1e-mail: abdushaheen@yahoo.com 22 shaheen in the present study, the morphological, anatomical and ultra-morphological features of fresh samples of d. tortuosum were studied in an attempt to provide more detailed descriptions for this species newly added to the flora of egypt. the study may also give new characters to assess the identification and the taxonomic position of this species in the future studies. materials and methods a survey of some herbaria throughout egypt (cai: cairo university herbarium; caim: agriculture museum herbarium; and asw: aswan faculty of science herbarium), consultation of all published egyptian floras and monographs and field exploration in some phyto-geographical regions revealed no report of the genus desmodium from egypt. the author recorded the first population of d. tortuosum in egypt from the nubian nile valley (al-gahfra, latitude 24º24’51” n, longitude 32°57’17” e; 30 km north of aswan city) in march 2001. the second one was collected from the nubian nile valley (elephantine island, latitude 24º05’08” n, longitude 32°53’25” e; 6 km north of aswan dam) in november 2001 (shaheen et al. 2004). later on plant specimens were collected from different places of the egyptian nubian valley through repeated visits during 20042007. specimens for morphological studies were preserved according to standard herbarium techniques and stored in aswan faculty of science herbarium (asw), egypt. the taxonomic description of the plant was framed using the stereomicroscope at asw and compared with that of webster and cardina (2004). anatomical investigations were performed on cross-sections of fresh samples of leaves, petioles and stems at ain shams university, cairo, egypt. segments of petiole (distal, medial and proximal), stem and leaf were preserved in 70% alcohol. the crossand surface-sections were covered with glycerin-gelatin (vardar 1987) and photographs of the sections were taken using a leitz deplane photomicroscope. seed coat and leaf surface patterns were first investigated at the 7-14 × magnification using an olympus stereomicroscope (asw herbarium). for more detailed study, seed and leaf were mounted on specimen stubs with conductive material paint. the specimens prepared before being examined and photographed with ivo stero scanning electron microscope (sem) at the central laboratory at qena faculty of science, qena, egypt. results and discussion desmodium tortuosum (sw.) dc., in miller, fl. jamaica 4: 316 (1730). swart, fl. jamaica 107 (1788); miller and swartz, journal de botanique, appliquèe à l' agriculture, à la pharmcie, à la mèdecine et aux arts 1: 122, pl. 5, f. 15 (1813); de candolle, in prodromus systematis naturalis regini vegetablis 2: 332 (1825); schubert, ann. mo. morphological and anatomical investigations in desmodium tortuosum 23 bot. gard. 67: 658 (1980). d. purpureum (mill.) fawc. & rendle, fl. jamaica 4(2): 36 (1920). d. stipulaceum (sw.) dc., prodr. 2: 330 (1825). hedysarum purpureum mill., gard. dict. ed. 8, no. 6 (1768). h. tortuosum sw., prodr.: 107 (1788). meibomia purpurea (mill.) vail & small, fl. s.e. u.s.: 639 (1903). m. stipulacea (dc.) kuntze rev. gen. pl. 1: 198 (1891). m. tortuosa (sw.) kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 1: 198 (1891). (fig. 1) fig. 1. desmodium tortuosum. a. vegetative part. b. upper part of a plant with pods. type: prodr. 2: 332 (1825, 13679); on maui in 1913, s.n., bish hawaiian archipelago, kauai, dahu, maui, kahoolawe and hawaii. english names: beggar weed, florida weed, spanish clover, dixie ticktrefoil (usdaars-grin 2001). 24 shaheen annual herb, highly branched from the base, with very dense, hooked short, stiff indumentums, unicellular trichomes covering leaves, petioles, stems, legumes, and young branchlets (glandular). stems ascending up to 50-60 cm, often green to purple with some red markings at the nodes and typically covered with short stiff trichomes. lower leaves alternate, unifoliate, obovate, 5.8-6.8 × 3.4-3.8 cm, petioles 2.0-2.9 cm long; upper leaves trifoliate, lanceolate 3.2-2.5 × 0.4-0.6 cm, sessile to sub-sessile, stipules 0.2-0.4 cm long. sessile to sub-sessile. inflorescence an open panicle with occasional unifoliate leaves along the spreading branches, many flowered (16-30), pale blue pedicles loose, 1.4-1.8 cm long, erect or spreading. legumes 3.5-4.5 × 0.3-0.5 cm, with distinct constrictions between seeds; the number of the constriction ranges from 2-8, the constrictions allow the mature fruit to separate at maturity. seeds brownish-black in color, reniform, 1.4 × 0.9 cm, number of seeds per pod 2-8, young seeds green. the findings of morphological studies were generally consistent with the description given by rodford et al. (1968), redhead and polhill (1971), lock (1989), brown and cardina (1992) and webster and cardina (2004), especially with those of pod and seed. distribution: northern america (southeastern and south central usa) and southern america (mesoamerica, caribbean, northern south america, brazil, western south america and southern south america) (schubert 1980). in africa, the species was collected from three sites of the regional centre of endemism (zambezian, sudanian and somalia-masai) and one regional transition zones and regional mosaics (lake victoria regional mosaic). it was also collected from anthropic landscape vegetation type (white 1983). habitat: locally, the specimens were collected from date palm orchards terrace of the nubian nile valley (latitude 24º8’ 24º15’n and longitude 32º32’ 33º30’ e) which is considered a narrow strip of nile deposits (shaheen 1987). the soil comprises a mixture of wadi-fill deposits and nile alluvium. the surface layer is characterized by the coarse ingredient (67% sand) with smaller amounts of silt (15.9%) and clay (14.4%) (shaheen 1987). the seasonal range of mean temperature of the region shows that the winter is cooler (december: 16.95°c) and the summer is hotter (july: 33.25°c). the annual mean rainfall in the region is negligible, and the relative humidity suggests the region to be dry. the plant community is basically formed of herbaceous annual and perennial species characterized by grasses in addition to prostrate weedy plants such as dominating oxalis corniculata l. and phyla nodiflora (l.) greene. the main crops cultivated in this terrace are date palm, mango, clover, sorghum and maize. phenology: flowering february to april; fruiting march to june. chromosome number: 2n = 22 (webster and cardina 2004). specimens examined: nubian nile valley (nn): al-gahfra, 30 km north of aswan city, 25.03.2001, a.m. shaheen, 11084 (asw); kubbanya island, 18 km, northwest of morphological and anatomical investigations in desmodium tortuosum 25 aswan city, 25.04.2003, a.m. shaheen, 11085 (asw); elephantine island, 6 km north of aswan dam, 6.11.2001, f.a. hammada, 10513 (asw); al-aqaba, 25 km north of aswan city, 15.03.2004, a.m. shaheen, 11086 (asw); elephantine island, 6 km north of aswan dam, 22.03.2005, a.m. shaheen, 11087 (asw); kubbanya island, 18 km north of aswan city, 22.03.2007, a.m. shaheen, 11088 (asw); elephantine island, 6 km north of aswan dam, 12.05.2007, a.m. shaheen, 11089 (asw); al-gahfra, 30 km north of aswan city, 15.05.2007, a.m. shaheen, 11090 (asw). anatomical features petiole anatomy: in the proximal region, the leaf trace has a less irregular shape, the adaxial and the abaxial bundles have fussed into a more or less complete vascular cylinder with a continuous layer of pericyclic fibres (figs 2a-c). the secondary bundles and cortical sclerenchyma are completely absent. dense solitary crystals are present in this part of the petiole. dense unicellular and multicellular trichomes are present. in the medial region, the petiole trace has a more irregular shape; it is already divided clearly into three adaxial and 13 small abaxial bundles. in addition to the main bundles, there is an arc of accessory bundle lie within the core of the trace under the adaxial bundles; it differentiated from the abaxial and adaxial bundles by being concentric one. pericyclic fibres are present in separate regions outside the phloem of each of these bundles. there are no secondary bundles. the cortical sclerenchyma and crystals are absent. the unicellular trichomes are sparse. in the distal region, the leaf trace becomes more irregular in shape; it is clearly divided into one large adaxial (weakly divided) and eight abaxial bundles forming the main trace, above which lie laterally a pair of secondary bundles. pericyclic fibres are present as a separate layer above the phloem of each bundle of the main trace only (adaxial and abaxial bundles) while each secondary bundle has its own separate fibre cap. cortical sclerenchyma and crystals are absent. dense unicellular trichomes are present. the anatomical analysis given in these studies provides the first detailed description of d. tortuosum. analysis of the petiole trace structure in cross-sections (proximal-distal) shows that the petiole trace of this species has a major change in the anatomy structure throughout its petiole. the disappearing of the secondary bundles in the proximal and medial regions is also documented in this study. in addition, there is also an abnormality in the leaf trace structure of the medial region (having an accessory bundles in the core of the trace). these results are consistent with the description given by heneidak and shaheen (2007) in their investigation of the petioles of some papilionoid species. in this connection, shaheen (2006, 2007) reported the usefulness of anatomy of stem-leaf transitional zone in the identification of some mimosoid and caesalpinioid species. 26 shaheen fig. 2. desmodium tortuosum. a-c. cross-section of petiole (a. proximal region, b. medial region, c. distal region), d. cross-section of the leaf, e. cross-section of the stem. ad, adaxial bundle; ab, abaxial bundle; ac, accessory bundle; e, epidermis; en, endodermis; pl, palisade tissue; ph, phloem; pr, pericycle; p, pith; sc, secondary bundle; x, xylem. (bars = 1 mm) leaf anatomy: the upper and lower leaf epidermis layers are composed of uniseriate, large elongated cells, and thick lateral walls (fig. 2d). both epidermal layers are covered with thick cuticle. unicellular and multicellular hooked trichomes are very dense on both surfaces. there are some glandular trichomes as well. the stomata type is paracytic morphological and anatomical investigations in desmodium tortuosum 27 (rubiaceous) and they occur on the surface of both sides, being more abundant on the upper surface. they are in sunken position with the epidermal cells as mentioned in the micromorphology section (fig. 3c). the mesophyll is composed of two layers of palisade tissue. palisade tissue has solitary crystals. the midrib is well developed. the xylem and phloem are in the normal position; the xylem (three arches) is towards the upper side, while the phloem is on the lower side. fig. 3. desmodium tortuosum. a-d. leaf under sem (a. stomata pattern, b. trichome and wax pattern, c. hooked trichome and sunken stomata, d. unicellular trichomes), e-h. seed under sem (e. seed shape, fh. seed ornamentation patterns under different magnifications). these present findings are in agreement with those of shaheen (1995) who reported the distribution of stomata on both sides of the leaf in some species of egyptian and australian acacia. in general, these anatomical features observed on the leaves are consistent with those of metcalf and chalk (1950) and philipson (1963) for the description of leaf anatomy of leguminosae (fabaceae). stem anatomy: the epidermis is composed of almost elongated cells, with compactly arranged cells and bears no stomata (fig. 2e). the epidermis is covered with a relatively 28 shaheen thick cuticle and contains dense uniand multicellular trichomes. the cortex is 4-5 layered consisting of irregular parenchyma with chloroplasts and patches of collenchyma cells. the single-layered endodermis consists of elongated cells. the pericycle is wide consisting of 5-6-layered sclerenchyma cells. the phloem is 2-3-layered consisting of irregular cells. the fascicular and interfascicular cambium is distinguishable (6-layered cells). xylem is composed of vessels and the phloem contains resin ducts. the pith consists of large orbicular pentahedral parenchymatous cells. these cells underlie the xylem and are thin-walled. a sclernchymatous ring with varying width found in different genera and species of papilionoid species also characterizes the pericyclic of d. tortuosum. the xylem and phloem also form a continuous ring in the studied species as well as in certain species of desmodium (devadas and brck 1972). in addition, there were no calcium oxalate crystals in their stems. these results are in agreement with ataslar (2004) who reported the absence of calcium in the stem of saponaria kotschyi boiss. micromorphology micromorphological studies of the leaf surface pattern by scanning electron microscope (sem) show that the leaflet has clearly defined epidermal cells with fine crystals and the stomata are paracytic type and present on both top and bottom surfaces of the leaf (figs 3a-d). stomata are at the lower level than other epidermal cells that is in a sunken position. in addition, study of the seed surface under sem shows an irregularly rippled pattern (figs 3e-h). there has been no report on micromorphology of d. tortuosum. nonetheless, the results agree with those of shaheen (1995) who reported the usefulness of sunken stomata on leaf in identification of acacia ehrenbergiana hayne. irregularly rippled pattern on seeds has also been documented in some species of spinescent acacia (shaheen 1995). in this connection, valuable taxonomic evidence has been obtained from studying seed characteristics under sem in some species of cassia and senna as well as some species of caesalpinioideae (hussein et al. 2002a, b). the micromorphological as well as the anatomical investigations into desmodium tortuosum recorded here provide the first detailed description for this species. it can be concluded that, the species has some diagnostic morphological and anatomical features with taxonomic values, especially those of the seed and pod and also the abnormality in the vascular trace structure of its petiole. references ataslar, e. 2004. morphological and anatomical investigations on the saponaria kotschyi bioss. (caryophyllaceae). turk. j. bot. 28: 193-199. boulos, l. 2004. flora of egypt. vol. 1. all hadra pub. cairo-egypt, pp. 1-419. morphological and anatomical investigations in desmodium tortuosum 29 brown, s.m. and cardina, j. 1992. weed facts: florida beggerweed. tif-ron, ga. university cooperative extension service, pp. 1-4. devadas, c. and brck, c.b. 1972. comparative morphology of the primary vascular systems in some species of rosaceae and leguminosae. am. j. bot. 59: 557-567. heneidak, s.i. and shaheen, a.m. 2007. characteristics of the proximal to distal regions of the petioles to identify 15 tree species of papilionoideaefabaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14: 101-115. hume, h.h. 1907. beggerweed. in: bailey, l.h. (ed.), cyclopedis of american agriculture, ii crops. macmillan, new york, pp. 214-215. hussein, h.i., khalifa, s.f., ghareeb, a. and fawzi, n. 2002a. taxonomic importance of seed characteristics of some species of cassia and senna (subfamily: caesalpinioideae-leguminosae). egypt j. biotechnol. 12: 248-265. hussein, h.i., khalifa, s.f., ghareeb, a. and fawzi, n. 2002b. taxonomic criteria of the characteristic features in seeds of some selected species of caesalpinioideae-leguminosae. egypt j. biotechnol. 12: 280-298. lock, j.m. 1989. legumes of africa. a check-list. royal botanic garden, kew, pp. 1619. metcalf, c.r. and chalk, l. 1950. anatomy of the dicotyledons (leguminosae): leaves, stems and wood in relation to taxonomy with notes on economic uses. vol. 1. oxford, clarendon press, pp. 153. philipson, w.r. 1963. vascular patterns in dicotyledons. bot. rev. 29: 382-404. redhead, e.m. and polhill, r.m. 1971. flora of tropical east africa, leguminosae. vol. 2. royal botanical garden, kew, pp. 503-1109. rodford, a.e., ahles, h.e. and bell, c.r. 1968. manual of the vascular flora of the carolines chapel hill. the university of north carolina press, pp. 11183. schubert, b.c. 1980. desmodium. ann. mo. bot. gard. 67: 658-66. shaheen, a.m. 1987. studies on the weed flora of aswan area. msc thesis, aswan faculty of science, assuit university, egypt, pp. 1-185. shaheen, a.m. 1995. morphological and cytological variation within acacia population in egypt. phd thesis, aswan faculty of science, assuit university, egypt, pp. 1-163. shaheen, a.m. 2006. the value of vascular supply of the petiole trace characteristics in the systematics of some species of subfamily mimosoideae: leguminosae. assuit univ. j. bot. 35: 193-213. shaheen, a.m. 2007. characteristics of stem-leaf transitional zone in some species of caesalpinioideae (leguminosae). turk. j. bot. 31: 297-310. shaheen, a.m., gaber, m., hammed, a. and hammada, f. 2004. botanical diversity in the flora of some islands in the egyptian nubia. proc. first inter. conf. on the strategy of egyptian herbaria, agriculture museum, dokei, giza, egypt, pp. 161-182. smith, j.g. 1889. florida beggerweed. u.s. dep. agri. circ. 13: 1-15. usda-ars-grin (us department of agriculture agricultural research service germplasm resources information networks) 2001. national genetic resources program. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgibin/npgs/html/species pl3530, retrieved on 20 august 2007. vardar, y. 1987. botanikte preparsyon teknigi-ismir: ege üniversitesi fen faküitesi basmevi press, turkey. (in turkish) webster, t.m. and cardina, j. 2004. a review of the biology and ecology of florida beggerweed (desmodium tortuosum). weed sci. 52: 186-200. white, f. 1983. the vegetation of africa. unesco, paris, pp. 1-356. yaunge, o.r., plucknett, d.l. and rotar, p.p. 1964. culture and yield performance of desmodium inturtum and d. canumin in hawaii. no. 59 honolulu, hi: hawaii agricultural experiment station, university of hawaii, pp. 1-28. (manuscript received on 20 september 2007; revised on 30 december 2007) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52, 2005 (june) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae) a. k. m. nurul islam* and haseeb md. irfanullah1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: acidic habitats, diversity, phytoplankton, periphyton, new records abstract a total of 108 algal taxa belonging to 57 genera and nine classes (excluding chlorophyceae), namely, cyanophyceae 28, euglenophyceae 37, chloromonadophyceae 1, charophyceae 3, xanthophyceae 11, chrysophyceae 4, bacillariophyceae 20, dinophyceae 2 and rhodophyceae 2 have been recorded from some acidic habitats within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar. of these 13 are new records for bangladesh. introduction recently, islam and irfanullah (2000a) have described the vascular hydrophytes of baraoora lake and the burburia river located within the tea gardens at srimangal upazilla (latitude 24°18′n and longitude 91°44′e), maulvi bazar district. the present paper is the second one in a series in continuation of the above work under the same title. some preliminary studies suggest that these acidic habitats are rich in algae with diverse taxonomy and ecology (islam and irfanullah 1998a, 1998b, 1999a, 1999b, 2000b and 2001). this paper is the first attempt to document a complete list of the algal flora of the area (excluding chlorophyceae). materials and methods for the description of the study area and meteorological information see islam and irfanullah (2000a). the ph of baraoora lake ranged from 5.5 to 6.8, nearby ditches 5.8– 6.6, and the burburia river 6.0–7.2. in total 120 algal samples were collected in winter of 1996 (9 january) and different seasons of 1997 (winter, 6 january; spring, 18 march; rainy season, 20 july and autumn, 20 october). phytoplankton samples were collected by using plankton net or by agitating and squeezing the aquatic macrophytes. epiphytes and epizoons were collected by preserving the submerged plant parts and host molluscs, respectively. algae were also collected from moist soil, rock and wet sand from the bank of the water-bodies. all algal materials were preserved in transeau’s solution. while examining the samples, camera lucida drawings were made and relative abundance was eye estimated for each taxon. *corresponding author. 1present address: iucn-the world conservation union, bangladesh country office, house no. 11, road no. 138, gulshan-1, dhaka-1212, bangladesh. e-mail: hmirfanullah@yahoo.co.uk 34 islam and irfanullah results and discussion in total, 108 algal taxa under 57 genera and nine classes are listed from the study area. the classes are, cyanophyceae (28 taxa), euglenophyceae (37 taxa), chloromonadophyceae (1 taxon), charophyceae (3 taxa), xanthophyceae (11 taxa), chrysophyceae (4 taxa), bacillariophyceae (20 taxa), dinophyceae (2 taxa) and rhodophyceae (2 taxa). out of these, 13 are recorded for the first time in bangladesh (marked by asterisks). however, a few algal taxa from this area have already been reported by the authors as new records for bangladesh (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 2001), which are not marked in this account. in terms of algal species richness this study area seems to be unique. most of the species encountered are expected in the acidic habitats. but, high number of blue-green taxa was unusual. the population size of the algal taxa recorded is very low in number and appeared once a year. the species diversity indices for algae have not been calculated, but given the community structure presented here the value would be high. the algal distribution appeared to be highly patchy in the lake as well as in the river. existence of various ecological niches is also evident from this study. more systematic sampling and quantitative estimation of species abundance (density or biovolume) over a longer period may give a more detailed picture of the algal flora of these interesting habitats. a complete list of all the studied taxa is given below. class: cyanophyceae; order: chroococcales; family: chroococcaceae 1. choococcus minutus (kütz.) näg. (pl. 1, fig. 1) (skuja 1949, pl. 1, fig. 9; prescott 1951, 449, pl. 100, fig. 9) colony l. 37 µm, d. 30.4 µm; cell l. 5.4–7.4 µm, d. 3.4–4.7 µm. lake; winter 96, 97; few. 2. *gloeocapsa aeruginosa (carm.) kütz. (pl. 3, fig. 26) (geitler 1925, 89, fig. 87) one to four small, spherical cells are surrounded by thin mucilage sheath forming free-floating colonies; colony d. 5.4–8.8 µm, cell d. 2 µm. however, it did not form firm or leathery mucilage sheath (prescott, 1951, 451, 101:6). lake; autumn 97; few. 3. merismopedia glauca (ehr.) näg. (pl. 1, figs. 2 & 3) (prescott 1951, 459, pl. 101, figs. 2–4) cell l. 4.0–9.4 µm, d. 2.7–5.4 µm. lake; winter 97; common; and river; spring 97; few. 4. *synechocystis septentrionalis skuja (pl. 3, fig. 25) (skuja 1956, 48, pl. 5, figs. 1–5) free-floating, solitary, spherical cell, surrounded by thick mucilage, cell d. (with mucilage layer) 21 µm and (without mucilage layer) 14.8 µm. lake; winter 97; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 35 plate 1 (figs. 1–15) 1. chroococcus minutus, 2 & 3. merismopedia glauca, 4. oscillatoria ornata, 5. o. chalybea, 6. o. tenuis, 7. o. subbrevis, 8. spirulina princeps, 9. oscillatoria acutissima, 10. porphyrosiphon notarisii, mid-part, 11. lyngbya limnetica fa., 12. l. hieronymusii, 13. l. ceylanica var. constricta, 14. ? johannesbaptistia pellucida, 15. euglena oxyuris. (scales = 20 µm). 36 islam and irfanullah family: entophysalidaceae 5. ? johannesbaptistia pellucida (dickie) taylor & drouet (pl. 1, fig. 14) (desikachary 1959, 165, pl. 32, figs. 14-19) filament d. 8 µm; cell l. 2–2.7 µm, d. 4–4.7 µm. river; autumn 97; rare. order: pelonematales; family: pelonemataceae 6. pelonema aphane skuja (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 115, pl. 1, figs. 1 & 2) lake (rare) and river (episammic; few); rainy 97. order: oscillatoriales; family: oscillatoriaceae 7. lyngbya ceylanica wille var. constricta frémy (pl. 1, fig. 13) (desikachary 1959, 299, pl. 54, fig. 5) filament d. 11 µm; cell l. 7.8–9.8 µm, d. 7.3–8.5 µm. lake; rainy 97; few. 8. lyngbya hieronymusii lemm. (pl. 1, fig. 12) (desikachary 1959, 297, pl. 48, fig. 4) filament d. 14 µm; cell l. 2.0–5.4 µm, d. 10–10.8 µm. lake; winter 96; rare. 9. lyngbya limnetica lemm. fa. (pl. 1, fig. 11) filament d. 2.7–3.3 µm; trichome d. 2.0–2.7 µm. lake; rainy 97; rare. 10. oscillatoria acutissima kufferath (pl. 1, fig. 9) (prescott 1951, 484, pl. 109, fig. 1) cell l. 5–10 µm, d. 2.7 µm. lake; spring 97; common. 11. oscillatoria amphibia ag. ex gomont (pl. 3, fig. 28) (desikachary 1959, 229, pl. 37, fig. 6) intercalary cell l. 5.4–11.3 (–16.2) µm, d. 4.7–5.4 µm; tip cell round, size similar to other cells; cross-walls without constriction, in most intercalary portion cross-walls are not evident for quite a length. river; spring 97; few. 12. oscillatoria chalybea (mertens) gomont (pl. 1, fig. 5) (desikachary, 1959, 218, pl. 38, fig. 3) cell l. 2.0–4.0 (–6.7) µm, d. 5.4–6.0 µm. lake; autumn 97; rare. 13. oscillatoria ornata kütz. ex gomont (pl. 1, fig. 4) (desikachary 1959, 206, pl. 37, fig. 12) cell l. 2.7–5.4, d. 10.8 µm. lake; rainy 97; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 37 14. oscillatoria subbrevis schmidle (pl. 1, fig. 7) (desikachary 1959, 207, pl. 37, fig. 2) cell l. 2.7–5.4 µm, d. 5.4–6.7 µm. river; rainy & autumn 97; rare. 15. oscillatoria tenuis ag. ex gomont (pl. 1, fig. 6) (prescott 1951, 491, pl. 110, fig. 9) cell l. 2–4 µm, d. 4.7–5.4 µm. river; autumn 97; rare. 16. *oscillatoria vizagapatensis rao (pl. 3, fig. 29) (desikachary 1959, 205, pl. 39, figs. 16 & 18) trichome is deep blue in colour, straight, about 0.7 mm long; intercalary cell l. 2–4 µm and d. 8–9.4 µm; cross-walls not constricted; tip cell is round and dome shaped, l. 3.3–4 µm and d. 5.4–6.7 µm; ultimate and penultimate cells have constrictions on the cross-wall. lake; rainy 97; rare. 17. oscillatoria willei gardner em. drouet (pl. 3, fig. 30) (desikachary 1959, 217, pl. 38, figs. 4 & 5) thallus deep green in colour, forms mat-like colony of 8–9 cm diameter on mud; long, flexible light blue-green trichomes entangling each other; cell l. 4.7–10.0 µm and d. 5.4 µm; no constriction on cross-walls, tip cell round, in some intercalary regions cross-walls are not evident for quite a length. river; winter 97; common. 18. porphyrosiphon notarisii (menegh.) kütz. ex gomont (pl. 1, fig. 10) (desikachary 1959, 248, pl. 47, fig. 9) filament d. 18 µm; cell l. 3–12 µm, d. 10.8 µm. river; autumn 97; rare. 19. *spirulina laxa g.m. smith (pl. 3, fig. 27) (prescott 1951, 479, pl. 108, fig. 10) trichome d. 1.3–2 µm, spiral width 4 µm; distance between the adjacent spirals 16.2–17.5 µm; loosely twisted, deep blue-green in colour. lake; rainy 97; rare. 20. spirulina princeps w. & w. (pl. 1, fig. 8) (prescott 1951, 480, pl. 108, fig. 13; desikachary 1959, 197, pl. 36, fig. 7) trichome d. 4 µm, spiral width 9.4 µm, distance between adjacent spirals 8.5 µm. lake; winter & rainy 97; few. order: nostocales; family: nostocaceae 21. anabaena oscillatorioides bory fa. (pl. 2, fig. 20) trichome solitary; cell l. 3.0–4.7 µm, d. 3.6–4.7 µm; 2–4 heterocysts per trichome, heterocyst l. 10.8 µm, d. 4.7 µm; smaller than typical (young stage). river; spring 97; few. other forms of this genus were also seen in the lake; year round 97; few to common. 38 islam and irfanullah order: scytonematales; family: scytonemataceae 22. ? scytonema sp. (pl. 2, fig. 21) filament d. 10.8–12.0 µm; cell l. 2–6 µm, d. 6–8 µm; heterocyst l. 16.8 µm, d. 10 µm. lake; winter 96; rare. order: stigonematales; family: stigonemataceae 23. *hapalosiphon aureus w. & w. (pl. 2, fig. 24) (prescott 1951, 544, pl. 128, figs. 1–3) filament d. 8.3–13.3 µm; cell l. 6.7–18.7 µm, d. 3.3–5.8 µm; heterocyst l. 11.7 µm, d. 6.7 µm. lake; epiphytic; winter 96, 97; few to common. 24. *hapalosiphon flexuosus borzi (pl. 2, fig. 23) (prescott 1951, 545, pl. 128, figs. 5 & 6) filament d. 7.4–9.4 µm; cell l. 4–12 µm, d. 5.4–7.4 µm. lake; epiphytic; rainy 97; few. order: rivulariales; family: rivulariaceae 25. calothrix clavatoides ghose (pl. 2, fig. 17) (desikachary 1959, 531, pl. 113, fig. 9) cell l. 3.4–9.4 µm, max. d. 7.4 µm; heterocyst d. 8.0–9.4 µm; an young stage. lake; autumn 97; few. 26. gloeotrichia natans (hedwig) rab. (pl. 2, fig. 16) (prescott 1951, 559, pl. 134, figs. 6 & 7) cell l. 6.7–7.4 (–12.8) µm, max. d. 10.8 µm; heterocyst l. 12.8–16.2 µm, d. 10.8 µm; akinete l. 143–194 µm, d. 12.8–13.5 µm. lake; free-floating macroscopic colony; winter 96; common. 27. rivularia aquatica de wildeman (pl. 2, figs. 18 & 19) (desikachary 1959, 552) cell l. 11–25 µm, d. 3.0–5.4 µm; heterocyst l. 8.0–13.5 µm, d. 6.4–10.8 µm. lake; epiphytic; spring & rainy 97; common. 28. ? pelonema sp. (pl. 2, fig. 22) cell l. 3.4-6.7 µm, d. 0.7 µm. lake; within schizochlamys gelatinosa mucilage; winter 97; common. class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae 29. euglena acus var. acus ehr. (pl. 4, fig. 46) (h.-p. 1955, 96, pl. 16, fig. 75) l. 74 µm, d. 6 µm. lake; rainy 97; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 39 plate 2 (figs. 16–24) 16. gloeotrichia natans, 17. calothrix clavatoides, 18 & 19. rivularia aquatica, 20. anabaena oscillarioides fa., 21. ? scytonema sp., 22. ? pelonema sp., 23. hapalosiphon flexuosus, 24. h. aureus. (scales = 30 µm). 40 islam and irfanullah 30. euglena charkowiensis swir. (pl. 4, fig. 47) (h.-p. 1955, 61, pl. 6, fig. 37) l. 157 µm, d. 27 µm, two paramylon bodies. paddy field; autumn 97; few. 31. euglena oxyuris schmarda (pl. 1, fig. 15) (h.-p. 1955, 65, pl. 7, fig. 42) l. 150 µm, d. 23 µm, four paramylons. lake; spring 97; common. 32. euglena pisciformis klebs (pl. 3, fig. 36) (h.-p. 1955, 41, pl. 1, fig. 15) l. 82 µm, d. 8 µm; striation present; two large and one small cylindrical paramylon bodies. lake; winter 97; few. 33. euglena ? tripteris (duj.) klebs (pl. 4, fig. 48) (prescott 1951, pl. 86, figs. 4-6; h.-p. 1955, 62, pl. 7, fig. 39) l. 65–68 µm, d. 10.8 µm, spiral striation. lake; rainy 97; common. 34. *lepocinclis cymbiformis playf. fa. (pl. 3, fig. 31) fusiform cell with stout anterior end, l. 33.7 µm, d. 12.2 µm, anterior end d. 4µm; longitudinal striation present; one pair of spindle-shaped paramylon bodies; tail short and oblique. lake; winter 97; rare. 35. lepocinclis ovum (ehr.) lemm. variety (pl. 3, fig. 33) elliptical, golden coloured cell, l. 44.5 µm, d. 23.7 µm; spiral striation, 8-10 striations per 10 µm; straight, stout tail. paddy field; autumn 97; few. 36. lepocinclis ovum (ehr.) lemm. fa. (pl. 3, fig. 32) l. 30.5 µm, d. 17.5–19 µm, 12 striations/10 µm. lake; rainy 97; few. 37. *lepocinclis playfairiana defl. (pl. 4, fig. 49) (prescott 1951, 407, pl. 89, fig. 16) l.32.4–40.5 µm, d. 27.0–29.7 µm. lake; rainy 97; rare. 38. lepocinclis sp. 1 (pl. 3, fig. 34) ovate cell with long pointed posterior tail; many disc-shaped chloroplasts; l. 32.4 µm, d. 12 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. 39. lepocinclis sp. 2 (pl. 5, fig. 85) l. 15.5 µm, d. 13.5 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. 40. phacus caudatus hübner (pl. 4, fig. 54) (h.-p. 1955, 196, pl. 39, fig. 236) l. 29.7 µm, d. 18.2 µm. lake; rainy 97; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 41 41. phacus curvicauda swir. (pl. 4, fig. 55) (h.-p. 1955, 200, pl. 41, fig. 251) l. 30.4–33 µm, d. 24.3–25.6 µm, 6-8 striations/10 µm. lake; autumn 97; rare. 42. phacus helicoides pochm. (pl. 4, figs. 50 & 51) (h.-p. 1955, 226, pl. 51, fig. 312) l. 64.8 µm, d. 32.4 µm. lake; rainy 97; rare. 43. phacus platalea drez. (pl. 4, fig. 52) (h.-p. 1955, 210, pl. 45, fig. 274) l. 47.2 µm, d. 32.4 µm, one large paramylon body, longitudinal striation. lake; spring & rainy 97; rare. 44. phacus pleuronectes (o.p.m.) duj. (pl. 4, fig. 53) (h.-p. 1955, 211, pl. 45, fig. 276) l. 55.3 µm, d. 46 µm, distance between adjacent striations 2.7 µm. lake; spring & rainy 97; rare. 45. phacus sp. – 1 (pl. 3, fig. 35) l. 47.2 µm, d. 36.4 µm. ditch; autumn 97; rare. 46. phacus sp. – 2 (pl. 4, fig. 56) l. 44 µm, d. 13.5 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. 47. *strombomonas fluviatilis (lemm.) defl. variety (pl. 3, fig. 44) light brown, thick walled lorica with smooth but undulated surface; raised ostiole; straight posterior tail; l. (with tail) 37.8 µm, d. 22.3 µm, ostiole d. 5.4 µm. lake; winter 96; rare. 48. trachelomonas abrupta swir. em. defl. (pl. 5, fig. 70) (prescott 1951, 410, pl. 83, fig. 18; h.-p. 1955, 320, pl. 69, fig. 628) l. 22.3 µm, d. 14 µm, ostiole d. 2 µm. lake; winter 97; few. 49. trachelomonas armata (ehr.) stein variety (pl. 5, fig. 67) l. 27 µm, d. 21.6 µm, ostiole d. 3.4 µm. lake; winter 96; few. 50. trachelomonas australica (playf.) comb. defl.? var. granulata (playf.) comb. defl. (h.-p. 1955, 303, pl. 65, fig. 560) (pl. 5, fig. 68) l. 20.2 µm, d. 17 µm, ostiole d. 3 µm. lake; winter 97; few. 51. trachelomonas cylindrica ehr. sec. playf. variety (pl. 3, fig. 43) elliptic lorica with smooth wall, 7–8 vertical extensions /spines form the collar; l. 15.5 µm, d. 7.4 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. 42 islam and irfanullah 52. trachelomonas dubia swir. em. defl. (pl. 5, fig. 66) (prescott 1951, 412, pl. 85, figs. 1 & 2; h.-p. 1955, 334, pl. 72, fig. 696) l. 24.3 µm, d. 12 µm, ostiole d. 2 µm, smooth wall. lake; winter 97; few. 53. trachelomonas dybowskii drez. (pl. 4, fig. 60) (h.-p. 1955, 280, pl. 61, figs. 465 & 466) l. 19 µm, d. 17 µm, ostiole d. 2.7 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. 54. *trachelomonas eurystoma stein sec. playf. var. minuta van oye (pl. 3, fig. 40) (h.-p. 1955, 316, pl. 68, fig. 614) irregularly ovate, smooth wall lorica with simple ostiole, l. 14 µm, d. 9 µm, ostiole d. 2.3 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. 55. trachelomonas hispida (perty) stein em. defl. (pl. 3, fig. 37, pl. 5, fig. 71) (h.-p. 1955, 293, pl. 63, fig. 520) l. 20.2–24.3 µm, d. 16.2–17.5, ostiole d. 2.7 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. 56. trachelomonas hispida var. punctata lemm. (pl. 5, figs. 63–65) (h.-p. 1955, 295, pl. 63, fig. 521) l. 15.5–28.3 µm, d. 13.5–22.3 µm, ostiole d. 2.3 -2.7 µm. lake; winter 96; few. 57. trachelomonas hispida (perty) stein em. defl. variety (pl. 3, fig. 39) l. 20.2 µm, d. 15.5 µm, ostiole d. 3.4 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. 58. trachelomonas hispida (perty) stein em. defl. fa. (pl. 4, fig. 62) l. 16.2 µm, d. 13.5 µm, ostiole d. 2 µm. lake; winter 96; common. 59. trachelomonas lacustris drez. (pl. 5, fig. 69) (prescott 1951, 415, pl. 83, fig. 14; h.-p. 1955, 290, pl. 62, fig. 504) l. 27 µm, d. 15.5 µm, ostiole d. 4 µm. lake; winter 97; few. 60. trachelomonas oblonga lemm. (pl. 4, fig. 61) (h.-p. 1955, 278, pl. 61, fig. 459) l. 13.5 µm, d. 10.8 µm. lake; winter 96; rare. 61. trachelomonas superba swir. em. defl. var. duplex defl. (pl. 4, fig. 57) (prescott 1951, 417, pl. 84, fig. 11; h.-p. 1955, 306, pl. 66, fig. 573) l. 43.2 µm, d. 35 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. 62. trachelomonas sydneyensis playf. (pl. 5, fig. 72) (prescott 1951, 418, pl. 84, fig. 2; h.-p. 1955, 300, pl. 65, fig. 545) l. 40.5 µm, d. 23 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 43 plate 3 (figs. 25–45) 25. synechocystis septentrionalis, 26. gloeocapsa aeruginosa, 27. spirulina laxa, 28. oscillatoria amphibia, 29. o. vizagapatensis, 30. o. willei, 31. lepocinclis cymbiformis fa., 32. l. ovum fa., 33. l. ovum variety, 34. lepocinclis sp. – 1, 35. phacus sp. – 1, 36. euglena pisciformis, 37. trachelomonas hispida, 38. t. volvocina, 39. t. hispida variety, 40. t. eurystoma var. minuta, 41. t. volvocinopsis, 42. t. volzii var. cylindracea, 43. t. cylindrica variety, 44. strombomonas fluviatilis variety, 45. gonyostomum semen (scales = 10 µm). 44 islam and irfanullah 63. trachelomonas volvocina ehr. (pl. 3, fig. 38, pl. 4, figs. 58 & 59) (h.-p. 1955, 251, pl. 66, fig. 349) lorica d. 12–16.8 µm (dimension once, 14.8 × 18.2 µm), ostiole d. 1.5–2 µm. lake; winter 97; few. 64. trachelomonas volvocinopsis swir. (pl. 3, fig. 41) (h.-p. 1955, 253, pl. 66, fig. 358) spherical lorica with finely pitted wall, d. 36.4 µm, ostiole d. 3.4 µm. lake; winter 96; rare. 65. *trachelomonas volzii lemm. var. cylindracea playf. (pl. 3, fig. 42) (h.-p. 1955, 334, pl. 72, fig. 695) red-brown, ovo-elliptic, smooth walled lorica with cylindrical collar at ostiole; l. 40.5 µm, d. 20.2 µm. lake; winter 97; few. class: chloromonadophyceae; order: chloromonadales; family: chloromonadaceae 66. gonyostomum semen (ehr.) diesing (pl. 3, fig. 45) (prescott 1951, 422, pl. 99, figs. 11 & 12) brownish, fusiform cell with spiral striation, central mass of (?) food material was evident, top view circular; l. 66 µm, d. 37 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. class: charophyceae; order: charales; family: characeae 67. chara fibrosa agardh ex bruzelius em. wood var. hookeri (braun) wood fa. burmanica (pal) wood (islam and sarma 1968, 370, pl. 6, figs. 46–52) lake; year round 97; common to abundant. 68. nitella furcata (roxb. ex bruz.) ag. subsp. furcata r.d.w. var. furcata wood fa. furcata r.d.w. (islam and sarma 1976, 48, figs. 24–32) lake; year round 97; few to common. 69. nitella pseudoflabellata braun subsp. pseudoflabellata var. leptodactyla (j. gr.) r.d.w. (islam and sarma 1976, 58, figs. 73–79) river; winter (common) & summer (few) 97. class: xanthophyceae; order: heterococcales; family: pleurochloridaceae 70. botrydiopsis arhiza borzi (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 116, pl. 2, fig. 15) lake; autumn 97; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 45 family: gloeobotrydiaceae plate 4 (figs. 46–62) 46. euglena acus var. acus, 47. e. charkowiensis, 48. e. ? tripteris, 49. lepocinclis playfairiana, 50 & 51. phacus helicoides, 52. p. platalea, 53. p. pleuronectes, 54. p. caudatus, 55. p. curvicauda, 56. phacus sp. – 2, 57. trachelomonas superba var. duplex, 58 & 59. t. volvocina, 60. t. dybowskii, 61. t. oblonga, 62. t. hispida fa. (scales: figs. 46-55 = 20 µm, figs. 56-62 = 10 µm). 46 islam and irfanullah 71. gloeobotrys limnetica (g.m. smith) pascher (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 118, pl. 1, fig. 8) lake; winter 96; few. family: characiopsidaceae 72. characiopsis longipes (rab.) borzi (pl. 5, fig. 83) (prescott 1951, 358, pl. 93, figs. 32 & 34) l. (with stipe) 46 µm, (without stipe) 24.3 µm, d. 5.4 µm. lake; rainy 97; few. 73. characiopsis sp. (pl. 5, figs. 81 & 82) l. (with stipe) 32.4–37.8 µm, (without stipe) 13.5–19 µm, d. 5.4–6.7 µm. lake; rainy 97; few. 74. peroniella planctonica g.m. smith (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 118, pl. 1, fig. 3) lake; epiphytic on oedogonium sp.; rainy 97; common. family: sciadaceae 75. bumilleriopsis brevis printz (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 118, pl. 2, figs. 12–14) river; rainy 97; common. family: centritractaceae 76. centritractus belanophorus lemm. (pl. 5, fig. 77) (prescott 1951, 361, pl. 95, figs. 37 & 38) l. (with spine) 78.3 µm and (without spine) 28.3 µm, d. 5.5 µm. lake; winter 96; rare. family: chlorotheciaceae 77. ophiocytium arbusculum (a.br.) rab. (pl. 5, figs. 74-76) (prescott 1951, 363, pl. 94, fig. 12) l. (without spine) 21.6–54 µm, d. 2.7–4 µm. lake; winter 96 (rare) and rainy 97 (common). 78. *ophiocytium capitatum wolle (pl. 5, figs. 78 & 79) (prescott 1951, 363, pl. 94, figs. 21 & 22) l. (without spine) 94–108 µm, d. 5.4–7.4 µm; spines at both ends, l. 5.4–21.6 (–27) µm. lake; rainy 97; common. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 47 plate 5 (figs. 63–85) 63–65. trachelomonas hispida var. punctata, 66. t. dubia, 67. t. armata variety, 68. t. autralica ? var. granulata, 69. t. lacustris, 70. t. abrupta, 71. t. hispida, 72. t. sydneyensis, 73. ? stipitococcus sp., 74– 76. ophiocytium arbusculum, 77. cetritractus belanophorus, 78 & 79. ophiocytium capitatum, 80. o. cochleare, 81 & 82. characiopsis sp., 83. c. longipes, 84. dinobryon sertularia, 85. lepocinclis sp. – 2. (scales: figs. 63–72 & 85 = 10 µm, figs. 73–84 = 20 µm). 48 islam and irfanullah 79. *ophiocytium cochleare (eichw.) a.br. (pl. 5, fig. 80) (prescott 1951, 363, pl. 94, figs. 10 & 11) l. (without spine) 94 µm, d. 5.4 µm; spine at one end, l. 5.4 µm. lake; rainy 97; common. order: mischococcales; family: pleurochloridaceae 80. pseudostaurastrum abbreviatum islam & irfanullah (islam and irfanullah 2001, 6, figs. 8–11) lake; winter 97; rare. class: chrysophyceae; order: chrysomonadales; family: ochromonadaceae 81. dinobryon sertularia ehr. (pl. 5, fig. 84) (prescott 1951, 378, pl. 98, fig. 10) lorica l. 32.4–36.4 µm, d. 9.4 µm, opening d. 10.8 µm; zygospore d. 14.8 µm. lake; winter 97; common. order: rhizochrysidales; family: stylococcaceae 82. lagynion subovatum prescott (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 118, pl. 2, figs. 18 & 19) paddy field; epiphytic on hyalotheca dissiliens var. tatrica; autumn 97; common. 83. stylococcus aureus chodat (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 118, pl. 1, fig. 7) paddy field; epiphytic on hyalotheca mucosa; autumn 97; common. family: stipitococcaceae 84. ? stipitococcus sp. (pl. 5, fig. 73) l. (without stalk) 29.7 µm and (with stalk) 40.5 µm, d. 14.8 µm, ostiole d. 5.4 µm. lake; rainy 97; rare. class: bacillariophyceae; order: centrales; family: coscinodiscaceae 85. melosira granulata (ehr.) ralfs : lake; winter & spring 97; rare to few. order: pennales; family: diatomaceae 86. diatoma sp. : river; winter (few), rainy (rare) and autumn (common) 97. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 49 family: fragilariaceae 87. synedra ulna (nitzsch) ehr.: lake; winter 96; rare to few. family: eunotiaceae 88. eunotia flexuosa kütz : also a few other forms; lake and river; year round 97; rare to few. family: achnanthaceae 89. achnanthes sp. : lake; winter 96; few. 90. cocconeis sp. : lake; winter 96; rare to few. family: naviculaceae 91. frustulia rhomboides (ehr.) de toni : also a few other forms; lake and river; winter 96, spring and autumn 97; few. 92. navicula pupula kütz : also a few other forms; lake and river; year round 97; few to common. 93. pinnularia gibba ehr. : also a few other forms; lake and river; year round 97; few. 94. stauroneis sp. : lake; year round 97; rare to few. 95. gomphonema angustatum (kütz) rabh. : also a few other forms; lake and river; year round 97; few to common. 96. cymbella affinis kütz.: lake; year round 97; few to common. 97. c. tumida (breb.) van heurck: lake; year round 97; few to many. 98. c. turgidula grun.: lake; year round 97; few to common. 99. amphora sp. : lake; winter 97; few. 100. rhopalodia gibba (ehr.) o. müll.: lake; winter 97; rare. family: nitzschiaceae 101. hantzschia sp. : lake and river; year round 97; rare to few. 102. nitzschia sigmoidea (ehr.) w. smith : river; spring & autumn 97; few. 103. nitzschia sp. : lake and river; winter & rainy 97; rare to common. 50 islam and irfanullah family: surirellaceae 104. surirella robusta ehr.: river; year round 97; rare to few. class: dinophyceae; order: peridiniales; family: peridiniaceae 105. peridinium spp. : lake and river; winter & spring 97; rare. plate 6 (figs. 86–91) 86–88. compsopogon aeruginosa (showing main axis, spine like branches and the central cells of branches), 89–91. c. coeruleus (showing main axis with a branch, a basal part and the central cells of a branch) (scales: a = 500 µm, rest = 100 µm) order: dinococcales; family: glenodiniopsidaceae 106. cystodinium sp. (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 120, pl. 2, figs. 16 & 17) lake; rainy 97; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 51 class: rhodophyceae; order: bangiales; family: erythrotrichiaceae 107. compsopogon aeruginosa (j. ag.) kütz. (pl. 6, figs. 86–88) (islam 1992, 34, pl. 3, fig. 20, pl. 4, fig. 25, pl. 5, figs. 26–29) river; year round 97; common. 108. compsopogon coeruleus (balbis) mont. (pl. 6, figs. 89–91) (islam 1992, 34, pl. 3, figs. 17–19) river; autumn 97; few. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to a.f.m. badrul alam, director, btri, srimangal for providing logistic and laboratory support during this study, and also to his colleagues who extended their help in the laboratory and in supplying necessary information. thanks are also due to the authority of the james finley & co. for granting permission in collecting samples from the aquatic habitats within its gardens. references desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. i.c.a.r., new delhi, 686 pp. geitler, l. 1925. cyanophyceae. in: die süsswasserflora deutschlands, oesterreichs und der schweiz (ed. a. pascher). heft 12. verlag von gustav fischer, jena, 450 pp. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 4 teil. euglenophyceen. e. schw. verlags., stuttgart, 606 pp. + 114 pls. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1992. freshwater red algae of bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 18: 29-46. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1998a. new records of three green algal genera for bangladesh: desmatractum, glaucocystis and groenbladia. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5: 91-95. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1998b. new records of desmids for bangladesh. i. fifteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 27: 89-96. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1999a. new records of desmids for bangladesh. ii. thirteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 28: 117-123. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1999b. new records of desmids for bangladesh. iii. 24 taxa. bangladesh j. plant taxon 6: 91-104. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2000a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. i. aquatic macrophytes. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7: 29-42. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2000b. new records of eleven algal taxa for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 29: 115-120. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2001. some new records of algae for bangladesh: cyanarcus, chloremys, myrmecia, selenodictyum, tetraplektron and pseudostaurastrum. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8: 1-7. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, d. 1968. the characeae of east pakistan. 1. lychnothamnus and chara. j. asiatic soci. pakistan 13: 357-376. 52 islam and irfanullah islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, d. 1976. the characeae of bangladesh. ii. the genus nitella. journal of asiatic soci. bangladesh 2: 43-61. prescott, g.w. 1951. algae of the westerns great lakes area. cranbrook. inst. bull. no. 31, pp. 946. skuja, h. 1949. zur süsswasseralgen-flora burmas. nova acta reg. soc. sci. upsaliensis ser. iv. 14(5): 1188 + 39 pls. skuja, h. 1956. taxonomische und biologische studien uber das phytoplankton schwedischer binnengewasser. ibid. 16(3): 1-404 + 63 pls. a. k. m. nurul islam* and haseeb md. irfanullah1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangl abstract introduction class: cyanophyceae; order: chroococcales; family: chroococc order: pelonematales; family: pelonemataceae order: oscillatoriales; family: oscillatoriaceae order: nostocales; family: nostocaceae order: stigonematales; family: stigonemataceae order: rivulariales; family: rivulariaceae class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenacea class: chloromonadophyceae; order: chloromonadales; family: chloromonadaceae class: charophyceae; order: charales; family: characeae 67. chara fibrosa agardh ex bruzelius em. wood var. hookeri lake; year round 97; common to abundant. family: gloeobotrydiaceae 71. gloeobotrys limnetica (g.m. smith) pascher (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 118, pl. 1, fig. 8) lake; winter 96; few. family: characiopsidaceae family: sciadaceae family: centritractaceae family: chlorotheciaceae order: mischococcales; family: pleurochloridaceae order: rhizochrysidales; family: stylococcaceae family: stipitococcaceae class: bacillariophyceae; order: centrales; family: coscinod order: pennales; family: diatomaceae family: fragilariaceae family: eunotiaceae 88. eunotia flexuosa kütz : also a few other forms; lake and family: achnanthaceae family: naviculaceae 100. rhopalodia gibba (ehr.) o. müll.: lake; winter 97; rare family: nitzschiaceae family: surirellaceae order: dinococcales; family: glenodiniopsidaceae class: rhodophyceae; order: bangiales; family: erythrotrichi 107. compsopogon aeruginosa (j. ag.) kütz. (pl. 6, figs. 86– 108. compsopogon coeruleus (balbis) mont. (pl. 6, figs. 89–9 islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1999b. new records wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 109-111, 2010 (june) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists micrasterias torreyi bail. var. nurulislamii aziz var. nov. (chlorophyceae) from bangladesh abdul aziz department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: micrasterias torreyi bail. var. nurulislamii aziz var. nov.; desmid; green alga; bangladesh. substantial works have been carried out on desmids of bangladesh (islam, 1970; islam and haroon, 1980; islam and begum, 2004; islam and irfanullah, 2006). these include 51 species of micrasterias ag. in addition to many species and varieties of different genera (ahmed et al., 2008). of the reported species of micrasterias, 18 species, 22 varieties and 11 forma are new to science. the author came across a taxon of micrasterias collected from a freshwater body which showed similarities and dissimilarities with m. doveri biswas var. curvata (krieger) thomasson 1960, m. rotata (grev.) ralfs ex ralfs and m. torreyi bail. var. sachlanii scott et prescott 1961. thorough studies revealed some characteristics which are unique and thus described as a new variety of m. torreyi bail. in this paper. class: chlorophyceae; order: zygnematales; family: desmidaceae micrasterias torreyi bail. var. nurulislamii* aziz var. nov. (figs. 1&2) cellulae quasi ovalis, 280-310 µm longa, 210-220 µm latus ad isthmus, longitudelatitudo rationes 1.33-1.41. semicellula cum 26 lobulis, lobus axiales columnararis, 95100 µm longa, fere 47 µm latus ad basim, 35 µm proximus apicem. chloroplasto lobus ad parietilobulis aptum, uni in quoque semicellula; pyrenoids 10-12 in quoque chloroplasto. cellula parieti subtiliter verrucatus omnino. cells oval, 280-310 µm long, 210-220 µm broad giving length-breadth ratio that varied from 1.33 to 1.41, with deep isthmus (31 µm). each semicell heavily incised, lateral lobes divided into six lobes of order iii, which is further divided into 12 lobules of order iv with two spines in each. thus, there are 26 lobules in each semicell. basal half portion of each lobe near the isthmus is parallel to the transverse axis, while others are radial to slightly convergent to poles. axial lobes 95-100 µm long, columnar, about 47 µm broad at the base, 35 µm broad near the tip giving the length-breadth ratio that varied from 2.11 to 2.33. cell wall with fine warts all through. chloroplast single in each semicell and lobed with 10-12 pyrenoids. each lobe of the chloroplast corresponds to one lobe of the semicell. *the verietal epithet has been chosen after national professor dr. a.k.m. nurul islam who worked a lot on desmids and a pioneer on algal taxonomic researches in bangladesh. 110 aziz locality: ati-panchdana beel, dhaka, 15 janurary 1998. holotype: photomicrographs, figs. 1-2. note: the present material resembles micrasterias torreyi var. sachlanii scott and prescott 1961 by having 26 lobules in each semicell and curvature of lobules but in the present organism length-breadth ratio of the axial lobe is much lower (2.11-2.33) giving a robust nature and that it does not project so much beyond the adjacent lobules. islam and haroon (1980) described a new var. dacchense of micrasterias torreyi (by mistake the name m. doveri var. dacchense was given; personal communication national prof. a.k.m. nurul islam). the new var. dacchense islam et haroon differs from the type by having two supra-isthmal median processes in each semicell. the present material resembles m. doveri var. curvata (ling and tyler, 2000) by 1.32 length-breadth ratio of cells and slightly by curvature of lobules, but the number of lobules is only 18 and axial lobes are more or less uniform in diameter from base to apex. m. rotata (grev.) ralfs ex ralfs resembles the present material by having 26 lobules in each semicell and warted cell wall, but differs by cell shape, convergence of lobules and the shape of axial lobes (růžička, 1981). however, in m. torreyi var. sachlanii, cell wall is without warts, base of the axial lobes are as wide as the tip giving length-breadth ratio that varied from 3.22 to 4.00. on the other hand, in the present organism cell wall is with warts, the axial lobes are much wider at the base appearing columnar, length-breadth ratio varied from 2.11 to 2.33 and supra-isthmal median processes are absent, the features distinct enough to consider it as the new variety under micrasterias torreyi bail. figs. 1 & 2. micrasterias torreyi bail. var. nurulislamii aziz var. nov. 1. a cell; 2. a semicell enlarged, warts present on cell wall. inset in the upper left is a part of the lobe enlarged showing warts. bars = 30 µm. micrasterias torreyi var. nurulislamii var. nov. 111 acknowledgement sincere gratitude is due to prof. syed hadiuzzaman, department of botany, university of dhaka, for latin diagnosis of the taxon. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 3. algae, chlorophyta (aphanochaetaceae-zygnemataceae). asiat. soc. bangladesh, dhaka. 812 pp. islam, a.k.m. nurul. 1970. contributions to the knowledge of desmids of east pakistan. part 1. nova hedwigia 20: 903-983. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, a. 2004. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh. i. genus micrasterias ag. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 1-14. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. desmids of bangladesh. part 1. nova hedwigia 65(4): 551-604. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2006. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. v. desmids (euastrum, micrasterias, actinastrum and cosmarium). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 1-20. ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 2000. australian freshwater algae (exclusion of diatoms). bibliotheca phycologica 105: 1-643. růžička, j. 1981. die desmidiaceen mitteleuropas. band 1, lieferung 2. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung, stuttgart. pp. 293-736 + tafel 73. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1961. indonesian desmids. hydrobiologia 17: 1-132. thomasson, k. 1960. some planktonic staurastra from new zealand. bot. notiser 113: 225-245. (manuscript received on 6 may 2010; revised on 22 may 2010) microsoft word 09. s4_castanopsia_edited_11.6.2011 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 77-79, 2011 (june) short communication © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists validation of four names of castanopsis (fagaceae) from hainan, southern china yin zhijian1, xiang chunlei and peng hua* key laboratory of biodiversity and biogeography, kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, kunming 650204, yunnan, pr china keywords: castanopsis; china; fagaceae; hainan; nomenclature; validation. four names of castanopsis were not validly published because specimens from two gatherings were indicated as types in the original publications. this is contrary to art. 37.2, which permits two or more specimens to be indicated provided that they belong to a single gathering (but on or after 1 january 1990 a single herbarium must also be specified: art. 37.7). the names are here validated with the designation of the holotype. castanopsis spach. consists of about 120 species which are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical asia (huang and zhang, 1988; mabberley, 2008). in china, 58 species of castanopsis have been recognized (huang et al., 1999). recently, four new species, i.e., castanopsis hairocarpa g. a. fu, c. oleifera g. a. fu, c. qingbeiensis g. a. fu, c. wuzhishangensis g. a. fu, from hainan island in south china were published (fu, 2001). however, two specimens, representing flowering and fruiting stage, were simultaneously designated as types for them respectively. therefore, these names were not validly published according to art. 37.1 of the international code of botanical nomenclature (icbn, see mcneill et al., 2006). to enable their formal use, these names are herein validated by a holotype designation. according to the article 46.2, g. a. fu is the author of c. hairocarpa, c. oleifera, c. qingbeiensis and c. wuzhishangensis, that is because, for each name validated here, both the name and the validating description and diagnosis are ascribed to fu. holotype of each species were examined in the herbarium hfb, other specimens from the following herbaria were available to us for comparison: cdbi, ibk, ibsc, kun and pe. as fruit is a very important character for the taxonomy of the genus castanopsis, thus collections in fruiting stages were designated as holotype respectively. *corresponding author. present address: herbarium, kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, kunming 650204, yunnan, pr china. e-mail: hpeng@mail.kib.ac.cn 1graduate school of the chinese academy of sciences, beijing 100049, china 78 zhijian et al. validation of the names castanopsis trichocarpa (in the original publications is hairocarpa, which is a ridiculous compound of the english word “hair” and a greek word “carpa”. it is preferable to use another greek word in the compound: trichomeans hairy.) g. a. fu, sp. nov. validated by a full and direct reference to the latin diagnosis associated with castanopsis hairocarpa g. a. fu, guihaia 21: 96. 2001. holotype: g. a. fu 7739 (hfb), china, hainan, wenchang, gongpo town, longfeitou village, 3 oct 1992. — paratypes: g. a. fu 7328, 8169, 8219, 8224, 8250, 8251, 10250 (hfb), china, hainan, wenchang, gongpo town, longfeitou village; g. a. fu 8249 (hfb), hainan, wenchang, changsa town, baocaishan village. castanopsis trichocarpa is similar to c. choboensis hickel & a. camus and c. indica (roxburgh ex lindl.) a. dc., but its cupules only cover about basal 1/2 of nuts. the new species is endemic to wenchang, under rain forests, associated plants include symplocos racemosa roxb., syzygium odoratum (lour.) dc., ochna integerrima (lour.) merr., psychotria rubra (lour.) poir. the chinese name of this species is “mao guo zhui” and known as “ruan ci zhui” for local people. castanopsis oleifera g. a. fu, sp. nov. validated by a full and direct reference to the latin diagnosis associated with castanopsis oleifera g. a. fu, guihaia 21: 97-98. 2001. holotype: g. a. fu 6683 (hfb), china, hainan, wenchang, changsa town, baocaishan village, 7 oct 1989. — paratypes: g. a. fu 6681, 8107, 8166, 8167, 8109, 8170 (nhf), china, hainan, wenchang, changsa town, baocaishan village, 18 dec 1995; g. a. fu 6681, 7740, 7742, 7743, 7894, 8237, 8238, 8243, 8244, 10174 (nhf), hainan, wenchang, gongpo town, longfeitou village. castanopsis oleifera is mostly similar to c. hainanensis merr., but the leaf blade of c. oleifera is oblong to elliptic, secondary veins arcuate, while leaf blade of c. hainanensis is obovate, ovate-elliptic or broadly ovate, secondary veins straight. c. oleifera is endemic to east wenchang, hainan, in mixed forest of litsea pseudoelongata h. liu, syzygium hancei merr. & l. m. perry, psychotria rubra (lour.) poir., with the altitude about 20 m. the chinese name of the species is “you zhui” and known as “jia niu zhui” for local people. castanopsis qiongbeiensis g. a. fu, sp. nov. validated by a full and direct reference to the latin diagnosis associated with castanopsis qingbeiensis g. a. fu, guihaia 21: 9697. 2001. holotype: g. a. fu 10248 (hfb), china, hainan, wenchang, gongpo town, lonfeitou village, 27 nov 1999. — paratypes: g. a. fu 6682, 6960, 7895, 8108, 8171, 8172, 8173 (hfb), china, hainan, wenchang, changsa town, baocaishan village; g. a. fu 7744, 8243, 10175, 10249a (hfb), hainan, wenchang, gongpo town, lonfeitou village; j. xiao 137877 (hfb), china, hainan, wenchang, changsa town, baocaishan village. validation of four names of castanopsis 79 castanopsis qiongbeiensis is most similar to c. chinensis hance, from which it differs by its ovate-lanceolate or ovate-oblong leaf blade, and leaves more hard. the new species is confined to wenchang, hainan, growing with litsea pseudlongata h. liu, syzygium tephrodes (hance) merr. & l. m. perry, c. wenchangensis g. a. fu & c. c. huang, symplocos racemosa roxb. the chinese name of this species is “qiong bei zhui” and known as “da ye ke zhui” for local people in wenchang. castanopsis wuzhishanensis g. a. fu, sp. nov. validated by a full and direct reference to the latin diagnosis associated with castanopsis wuzhishangensis g. a. fu, guihaia 21: 95-96. 2001. holotype: g. a. fu 10256 (hfb), china, hainan, wuzhishan, in secondary rain forest, 4 jan 2000. — paratypes: g. a. fu 10116, 10251, 10291 (hfb), china, hainan, wuzhishan. castanopsis wuzhishanensis is morphologically most similar to c. carlesii (hemsl.) hayata var. spinulosa w. c. cheng & c. s. chao and c. echinocarpa miq. var. seminuda w. c. cheng & c. s. chao. compared to c. carlesii var. spinulosa, leaves of c. wuzhishangensis are more hard and thick, and can be distinguished from c. echinocarpa var. seminuda by its smaller leaves (c. 5.5-10.5×1.5-2.8 cm). c. wuzhishangensis is confined to wuzhishan, central hainan with the altitude from 700 to 850 m, associated plants include eurya nitida hieron., lindera kwantungensis (liou) c. k. allen, reevesia longipetiolata merr. & chun, cyclobalanopsis blakei (skan) schottky and castanopsis hystrix miq. the chinese name of this species is “wu zhi shan zhui” and known as “shan bai zhui” for local people in wenchang. acknowledgements this study was supported by kunming institute of botany (kib-wu-2001-04). references fu, a.g. 2001. new species of the genus castanopsis from hainan. guihaia 21: 95-98. huang c.j. and zhang, y.t. 1988. castanopsis. in: cheng, h.y. and huang, c.j. (eds), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae 22: 13-80. huang, c.j., zhang, y.t. and bruce, b. 1999. fagaceae. in: wu, c.y. and raven, p. (eds), flora of china 4: 314-400. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant-book: a portable dictionary of the plants. 3rd edition. cambridge university press, cambridge. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., burdet, h.m., demoulin, v., hawksworth, d.l., marhold, k., nicolson, d.h., prado, j., silva, p.c., skog, j.e., wiersema, j.h. and turland, n.j. 2006. international code of botanical nomenclature (vienna code). regnum vegetabile, 146. (manuscript received on 12 august 2010; revised on 20 april 2011) microsoft word 07. appendcula.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 199-202, 2010 (december) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists rediscovery of appendicula cornuta bl. (orchidaceae) from meghalaya, india m. bhaumik1 and c. deori2 central botanical laboratory, botanical survey of india, howrah 711 103, india keywords: rediscovery; appendicula cornuta bl.; generic record; meghalaya; india. the genus appendicula bl. (orchidaceae) was established by c. l. blume in his bijdragen tot der flora van nederlandsch indiё. it is allied to the genus podochilus bl. and is represented by c. 60 species from tropical asia to polynesia (pearce and cribb, 2002). in india it comprises of only 2 species, viz. a. reflexa bl. from andaman and nicobar islands (singh et al., 2001) and a. cornuta bl. from assam and sikkim (king and pantling, 1898). while on a tour to leska region, jaintia hills district meghalaya, an appendicula species was collected in flowering condition and after critical study the same led to its identity as a. cornuta bl. this species was first described by blume in 1825 based on a plant collected from seribu and pantjar, java. in india, it was first reported by hooker (1890) as a. bifaria (wall. ex lindl.) lindl. from assam (cachar, keenan) and sikkim by king and pantling (1898), pantling no. 288a (bm, k) and 288b (k) which has been later reduced to synonym of a. cornuta. the species in india has not been collected after pantling’s collection. although, pradhan (1979) has simply mentioned its occurrence in meghalaya without any specific locality and evidence of herbarium sheet, the scrutiny of various other later literatures viz. jain and mehrotra (1984), kataki (1986), bose et al. (1999), and kumar and manilal (1992), and thorough herbarium study from assam and cal also could not trace the occurrence of the same. hence it is the first report of rediscovery to india from a different locality after more than a century constituting a new generic record for meghalaya hitherto unreported in the recent works of singh et al. (2001). a detailed description and illustration with relevant notes are given here to facilitate its identification in field. appendicula cornuta bl., bijdr. 1: 302 (1825); pradhan, indian orch. guide identif. & cultr.2: 442 (1979); seidenf. op. bot. 89: 138. t. 88 (1986); pearce & cribb, orch. bhutan: 391. t. 92 (2002); dendrobium bifarium lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl.: 81 (1830). appendicula bifaria (wall. ex lindl.) lindl. in hooker’s j. bot. kew gard. misc. 7: 35 1corresponding author. e-mail: dr_manasb@yahoo.com 2botanical survey of india, eastern circle, shillong -793 003, india. e-mail: hunti23@yahoo.co.in 200 bhaumik and deori (1855); hook. f. fl. brit. india 6: 82 (1890); king & pantl., ann. roy. bot. gard. calcutta 8: 248. pl. 330 (1898); brühl, guide orch. sikkim : 146 (1926). a. bifaria var. wallichiana hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 83 (1890). podochilus cornutus (bl.) schltr. in mem. herb. boissier. 8(21): 34 (1900). (fig. 1) tufted medium sized epiphytic herb. roots filiform, c. 0.1 mm in diameter, villous. stems 12-27 cm long, terete, sheathed; internodes 0.8-1.0 cm apart. leaves many, 1.5-2.8 × 0.7-1.2 cm, oblong-lanceolate, emarginate and mucronate at apex, distichous, many fig. 1. appendicula cornuta bl. a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. floral perigone with lip; d. ovary with column; e. column with anther and stelidia; f. anther, dorsal view; g. anther, ventral view; h. pollinia (bhaumik 116537, assam). rediscovery of appendicula cornuta bl. (orchidaceae) 201 veined. inflorescence terminal or axillary, 3-7-flowered raceme; peduncles 6-8 mm long, pale green; floral bract 7-8 × 1.5-2 mm, lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, entire, pale green, persistent, 3-nerved. pedicel and ovary c. 2 mm long. flowers 4.0-6.5 mm long from the tip of the dorsal sepal to the tip of the mentum, sepals and petals white, become yellow at maturity. sepals 3-nerved; dorsal sepal 4.0-4.2 × 2.6-2.8 mm, broadly ovate, concave, acute to apiculate, glabrous; lateral sepals 4.0-4.2× 2.7-3.1 mm, broader at base, broadly ovate-lanceolate, acute, base attached with the column foot to form a mentum; mentum c. 3.1 mm long, rounded; petals 3.0-3.2 × 2.0-0.1 mm, clawed at base, broadly ovate, sub-acute, glabrous, 3-nerved, margins minutely undulate towards apex, hyaline. lip c. 6 × 3 mm, obscurely 3-lobed, oblong-elliptic, fleshy, reflexed; hypochile with basal horse-shoe shaped appendage; epichile narrowed into a truncate, obscurely 2-lobed tip, appendage cylindrical, c. 1 × 1 mm. column with foot c. 3 mm long, pale yellow; stelidia 1.0-1.2 mm long, pointed towards apex. anthers 1.5 × 0.8 mm, cordate, acuminate, pale yellow. pollinia 6 in 2 pairs, 1.1-1.3 mm long, unequal. fruits c. 6.0 × 1.5 mm, ovoid, ridged. flowering and fruiting: september-december. distribution: india (sikkim, assam and meghalaya); myanmar, china, thailand, cambodia, vietnam, east indonesia, east malaysia and the philippines. specimen examined: meghalaya, jaintia hills district, leska, north bank of amshaning river, c. 600 m, 26.09.2007, bhaumik 116537 (assam). note: appendicula cornuta in the wild is rare and was found growing in tropical forests in the branches of medium sized trees up to 15-20 ft. high associated with other orchid species such as podochilus khasianus hook. f., dendrobium ochreatum wall. ex lindl., eria paniculata lindl., bulbophyllum monanthum (kze.) j. j. sm. and ferns, mosses etc. the shape of sepals, petals and lip of a. cornuta found in meghalaya shows variation compared to the sikkim plant as illustrated by pearce and cribb (2002) from parish 365 (k). moreover, seidenfaden (1986) has mentioned that ‘the species shows considerable variability in the shape of the central callus on the epichile of the lip and careful study of fresh material may lead to establishment of several varieties’. acknowledgement the authors are thankful to dr. m. sanjappa, director, botanical survey of india, kolkata and dr. t. m. hynniewta, ex head and joint director, botanical survey of india, eastern circle shillong for providing facilities and encouragement. references bose, t.k., bhattacharjee, s.k., das, p. and basak, u.c. 1999. orchids of india. naya prokash, calcutta p. 97. hooker, j.d. 1890. flora of british india, vol. 6: 82. l. reeve & co., ltd. ashford, kent. jain, s.k. and mehrotra, a. 1984. a preliminary inventory of orchidaceae in india. howrah. p.10 202 bhaumik and deori kataki, s.k. 1986. orchids of meghalaya. forest department, shillong, meghalaya. king, g. and pantling, r. 1898. the orchids of the sikkim himalaya. ann. roy. bot. gard. calcutta 8: 248 249. kumar, s.c. and manilal, k.s. 1992. epiphytic orchids of india. rheedea 2(2): 82. pearce, n.r. and cribb, p.j. 2002. flora of bhutan. vol. iii, part 3. royal botanic garden edinburgh. pp. 391-393. pradhan, u.c. 1979. indian orchids: guide to identification and culture. ii. kalimpong. p. 442. seidenfaden, g. 1986. orchid genera in thailand xiii. thirty-three epidendroid genera. opera botanica 89: 135-142. singh, k.p., phukan, s. and bujarbarua, p. 2001. ‘orchidaceae’ in floristic diversity and conservation stratergies in india vol. iv. in (singh, n. p., singh, d.k. and singh, k.p. eds.) botanical survey of india, calcutta. p. 1743. (manuscript received on 2 july, 2009; revised on 25 may, 2010) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 37-45, 2007 (june) the genus pronephrium c. presl (thelypteridaceae) from bangladesh momtaz mahal mirza1 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh key words: pronephrium, thelypteridaceae, pteridophyte, bangladesh abstract the paper deals with the genus pronephrium c. presl of the family thelypteridaceae and includes five species, namely p. articulatum (haulst. & moore) holtt., p. lakhimpurensis (rosenst.) holtt., p. nudatum (roxb. ex griff.) holtt., p. parishii (bedd.) holtt., and p. triphyllum (sw.) holtt. from bangladesh. descriptions of the species with artificial key, illustrations, distribution and short notes with conservation measures are given here. introduction the genus pronephrium c. presl of the family thelypteridaceae is a tropical genus with about 70 species (dixit and vohra 1984). the species are widely distributed in tropical asia, china, japan, malaysia, sri lanka, fiji and auatralia (dixit and vohra l.c.). from the bangladesh territory, prain (1903) first recorded menischyum triphyllum sw., only from chittagong. dixit (1984) recorded pronephrium articulatum (haulst. & moore) holtt. from bangladesh. later on, mirza and rahman (1997) recorded a total of five species, namely, p. articulatum, p. lakhimpurensis (rosenst.) holtt., p. nudatum (roxb. ex griff.) holtt., p. parishii (bedd.) holtt., and p. triphyllum (sw.) holtt. from bangladesh in a checklist. here full description of each species with illustrations is provided. the present work was based on the materials deposited at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), kew herbarium (k), natural history british museum (bm) and central national herbarium (cal), for taxonomic enumeration of the species. the taxonomic description with key to species, illustrations, specimens examined, distribution, short notes and proposal for conservation measure are given below. pronephrium c. presl, epim. bot.: 258 (1851). lectotype: p. lineatum (bl.) presl (= aspidium lineatum bl.). rhizome short-creeping. stipe dark brown to black, not tufted or rarely tufted. fronds lacking reduced basal pinnae, pinnae sub-entire or crenate, usually with several pairs of anastomosing veins, lower surface between veins often pustular when dry, spherical glands sometimes present on the lower surfaces of pinnae or on sporangia. sori 1 e-mail: bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 38 mirza exindusiate. spores bilateral plano-convex to concavo-convex, perineous. sori either super-ficial, circular or elongated, occur at the end of veins and secondary veins. spores monolete and ellipsoidal or rarely trilete and somewhat spheroidal, surface often reticulate or with short, low ridges or prominently winged, the borders sometimes ciliate or shortly cristate to echinate. chromosome number : x = 36 ( smith 1990). key to the species 1. fronds with more than 7 pairs of pinnae 2 fronds with less than 7 pairs of pinnae 3 2. rhizome tufted, erect; sporangia glandular; spores winged p. articulatum rhizome cylindrical, creeping; sporangia eglandular; spores without wings p. nudatum 3. sori near costule, without indusia p. lakhimpurensis sori medial, with profusely hairy indusia 4 4. fronds trifoliate; sori in a cresent shaped row along each pair of convinent veins; apical pinna not auricled p. triphyllum fronds penta-foliate; sori transversely arranged on the costules; apical pinna auricled, at both sides p. parishii 1. pronephrium articulatum (haulst. & moore) holtt. in blumea 21 (1): 116 (1972). dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); nephrodium articulatum haulst. & moore in gard. mag. bot.: 293 (1851); nephrodium glandulosum var. late-strigosum clarke in trans. linn. soc. lond. ii. bot. 1: 532. t. 74. f. 2 (1880). (plate 1) rhizome short, creeping. sterile stipe 20-30 cm long. fronds dimorphous, minutely hairy. sterile lamina 30-40 cm long. pinnae 12 pairs, basal pinnae narrowed at base, more on basiscopic than acroscopic side, base truncate, auricled on acroscopic side, apex abruptly short-acuminate, edges obliquely lobed to a depth of 1-2 mm or sometimes more deeply lobed. veins 8 pairs, 2-4 pairs anastomosing. lower surface of rachis covered with thick curved hairs, more than 0.5 mm long, upper surface covered throughout more or less closely with finely appressed hairs. stipe fertile, frond about 50 cm long, pinnae widely spaced than sterile one, edges shallowly crenate. sori medial, lower ones at least somewhat elongated along veins, sporangia with glands, spores with wing, ornamentation. specimens examined : chittagong: khasalong, 10.1.1869, clarke 8276 a (k); burkhal, 8.2.1873, clarke 19698 (k, bm); burkhal, 13.2.1873, clarke 19902a (k); chittagong, 31.12. 1850 s.n. coll (k); burkhal, 13.2.1873, clarke 19900 [lectotype, (k)]; ranganthea, 5.2.1873, clarke 19539 (bm); burkhal, 13.2.1873, clarke 19902 (bm). sylhet: sylhet, griffith s.n. coll (k). the genus pronephrium 39 distribution : india, sri lanka, mymanmar, n. thailand and china. pronephrium articulatum grows in shady forests near streams. it is not so common in bangladesh. extensive survey should be made to find it out from different localities, and should be brought under cultivation, before the species becomes endangered in bangladesh. plate 1. pronephrium articulatum. a. habit (× 0.13); b. fertile pinna showing arrangement of sori and venation (× 2.55). 2. pronephrium lakhimpurensis (rosenst.) holtt. in blumea 20 (1): 110 (1972). dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); dryopteris lakhimpurense rosenst. in meded. rijskherb. 31: 7 (1917); meniscium cuspidatum var. longifrons clarke in trans. linn. soc. lond. ii. bot. 1: 572 (1880). (plate 2) rhizome short, creeping, 7-10 mm in diameter, bearing hooked hairs. stipe about 50 cm or more long, dark at the base with hooked hairs and dark brown scales, sometimes not found on younger plants. fronds simple-pinnate. lamina commonly 30-50 cm long, firm, dull reddish after drying. pinnae 4-7 pairs, lowest one opposite, sometimes a bud present on the highest pinnae of old fronds, basal pinnae with stalked apex, caudate40 mirza acuminate, crenate. veins 10-12 pairs, not prominent on either side. sori near costule, somewhat elongated. specimen examined : sylhet : sylhet, 30.11.1872, clarke 18431 (k). distribution : malaysia, java, india, china and thailand. plate 2. pronephrium lakhimpurensis. a. habit (× 0.5); b. sterile frond showing venation (× 2.5). pronephrium lakhimpurensis grows on rocks or steep valley-sides in shady forests. it is a rare species in bangladesh; only once collected from sylhet by c.b. clarke. extensive survey is needed to find it out from other localities. the species should be brought under cultivation before it becomes threatened in bangladesh. the genus pronephrium 41 3. pronephrium nudatum (roxb. ex griff.) holtt. in blumea 20 (1):111 (1972). dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); polypodium nudatum roxb. ex griff. in calc. journ. nat. hist. 4: 491 (1884); nephrodium moulmeinense bedd., ferns brit. india suppl.: 18 (1876). (plate 3) rhizome stout, creeping. stipe firm erect, slightly swollen and densely scaly at the base, about 80 cm or more long. fronds 2-3 cm apart, 150 cm or more long, 4-28 cm. lamina simply pinnate. pinnae very shortly stalked, 10-12 pairs,11.5-28 × 2.3-5 cm wide near the base, base cuneate, apex acuminate, margin sharply crenate, hairy. veins several pairs, all anastomosing, free excurrent veins rare. sori small, round, superficial, medial, indusiate. indusium prominent, profusely hairy. spores monolete, bilateral, brown perine absent, exine densely spinulose. plate 3. pronephrium nudatum. a. habit (× 0.13); b. fertile pinna showing arrangement of sori and venation (× 2.5). specimens examined : chittagong: on the way to chittagong university, 13.7.2004, m.m. mirza mm.429 (dacb). cox’s bazar: neela range, madhaya neela beat, 29.8.1991, khan, huq, mia and rahman k.8565 dacb; himchari, 28.6.1993, mia, 42 mirza karim and rashid, m3612 (dacb). jamalpur: karnajhula, 8.8.2006 m.m. mirza mm.713 (dacb). mymensingh: bhyadanga, 20.11.1868, clarke 8089 (bm); mymensingh town, 6.8.2006, m.m. mirza, mm.689 (dacb). sherpur: jhenaighati, 7.8.2006, m.m. mirza mm.705 (dacb). sylhet: sylhet station, 24.11.1872, clarke 17937 (k); adampur, 18.5.2005, m.m. mirza mm.537 (dacb); lowachera, 19.5.2005, m.m. mirza mm.565 (dacb). distribution : india, sri lanka, mymanmar, malaya and china. pronephrium nudatum is a large terrestrial fern forming extensive colonies in partially shaded moist forest floor as undergrowth, particularly near streams. it is also found to grow on moist places in the plainland. it is quite common in bangladesh; no conservation measure is needed. 4. pronephrium parishii (bedd.) holtt. in blumea 20(1): 111 (1972). dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); meniscium parishii bedd., ferns brit. india t.184 (1866); meniscium triphyllum var. parishii (bedd.) bedd., handb. ferns brit. ind. suppl.: 102 (1892); nakaike, enum. pterid. jap.: 290 (1975). (plate 4) p late 4. pronephrium parishii. a. habit (× 0.5); b. fertile pinna showing arrangement of sori and venation (× 2.5). the genus pronephrium 43 rhizome long, creeping upto 4 mm in diameter. stipe about 15-20 cm long. fronds simply pinnate. lamina variable, apical part with 1-2 narrow lobes at the base, or 1-2 small narrow adnate free pinnae just below it, no buds present at the base or upper pinnae. pinnae up to 6 pairs, usually opposite, but sometimes not, usually decreasing in size from the apex to the base or frond, upper ones always adnate to rachis at basiscopic base. sporangia with longer hooked hairs. veins prominent. sori transversely arranged on the lamina. specimens examined : chittagong: burkhal, 7.2.1873, clarke 19742 (k); kasalong, l3.2.1873, clarke 19825 (k). distribution : india, sri lanka, mymanmar and malaysia. pronephrium parishii grows along the stream banks in open forests. from bangladesh it is reported from chittagong only. attempts should be made to find it out from other localities. the species should be brought under cultivation before it becomes extinct from the wild. 5. pronephrium triphyllum (sw.) holtt. in blumea 20: 122 (1972). nakaike, enum. pterid. jap.: 289 (1976); sledge in bull. brit. mus. nat. hist. bot. 8(1): 47 (1981); dixit, cens. ind. pterid.: 111 (1984); meniscium triphyllum sw. in schrad. j. bot. 1800 (2): 16 (1801); bedd., ferns s. ind. t. 56 (1863); clarke in trans linn. soc. lond. ii. bot. 1: 571 (1880). (plate 5) rhizome slender, long-creeping, bearing stipes at interval of 1-2 cm. stipes slender, covered with short hairs throughout, those of fertile fronds commonly more than twice as long as those of sterile fronds on the same plant, stipes of sterile fronds 7-20 cm long. lamina trifoliate. the lateral leaflets opposite, attached at 1-2 cm below the terminal leaflet; sterile terminal leaflet 10-15 cm long, 2.5-4 cm wide, lanceolate, the base rounded, often somewhat unequal, apex acuminate, the edges entire or irregularly sinuate, the midrib and the upper surface shortly hairy. the midrib and veins beneath bearing numerous shortly spreading, pale, hooked hairs, the lamina between the veins dull, verrucose and glabrous. veins 10-12 pairs, spreading from the costules at the very obtuse angle, usually almost straight, nearly always meeting in opposite pairs, the excurrent veinlet free or united to the next pair of veins above; lateral sterile leaflets similar, but shorter (5-10 × 1.5-3 cm), unequally rounded at the base, and shortly stalked, fertile fronds with narrower leaflets (apical leaflet 1-2.5 cm wide) the veins almost at right angles to the costules. sori extending all along each vein so that sporangia are distributed in a cresent shaped row along each pair of connivent veins, without indusia. specimens examined: chittagong: chittagong, hooker & thomson s.n. (k); burkhal, 6.2.1873, clarke 19742 (bm). jamalpur : gozni, lowachapra, kornojhula, 8.8.2006, m.m. mirza mm.714 (dacb). sylhet : sylhet, 1820, wallich s.n. (k). sylhet : sylhet station, 24.11.1872 clarke, 17937 (k); adampur, 18.5.2005, m.m. mirza mm.537 44 mirza (dacb); adampur, 6.5.2003, m.m. mirza mm.326 (dacb); lowachera, 19.5.2005, m.m. mirza mm.565 (dacb). distribution : india, sri lanka, mymanmar, thailand, japan, malaysia, philippines and new guinea. plate 5. pronephrium triphyllum. a. habit (× 0.25); b. fertile pinna showing arrangement of sori and venation (× 2.5). pronephrium triphyllum is a common species in bangladesh forests, growing along the stream edges. no conservation measure needed. acknowledgements the author is grateful to dr. b.m. wadhua, botanist, kew herbarium, kew, for his help and supervision, during her visit to kew herbarium (k) and the authorities of herbarium of natural history british museum (bm) and central national herbarium, the genus pronephrium 45 india (cal). thanks are also due to prof. a.b.m. enayet hossain, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, for his valuable comments on the manuscript. references dixit, r.d. 1984. a census of the indian pteridophytes. botanical survey of india. delhi, pp. 98-102. dixit, r. and vohra, j.n. 1984. a dictionary of the pteridophytes of india. botanical survey of india, pp. 48. mirza, m.m. and rahman, m.m. 1997. an annotated check list of ferns and fern-allies of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 4769. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. 2: 1237-1270 indian reprint (1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. smith, a.r. 1990. thelypteridaceae. in: kramer, k.u. and. green, p.s (eds.), the families and genera of vascular plants. pteridophytes, gymnosperms. springerverlag. new york, pp. 263-272. (manuscript received on 19 september 2006; revised on 8 january 2007) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 151-156, 2009 (december) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists cytogenetical analysis of 12 taxa of genista l. (fabaceae) from turkey esra martin1, muhittin dinc2, ahmet duran2, bekir dogan3 and erdogan e. hakki4 department of biology, nigde university, nigde 51100, turkey. keywords: genista; leguminosae; chromosome number; karyotype; turkey. abstract in this study, cytogenetical analyses of 12 taxa belonging to the genus genista l. and grown naturally in turkey were conducted. these taxa include g. acanthoclada, g. albida, g. anatolica, g. aucheri, g. burdurensis, g. carinalis, g. involucrata, g. januensis subsp. lydia, g. sandrasica, g. sessilifolia, g. tinctoria and g. vuralii. chromosome numbers of all the taxa, except g. tinctoria, are introduced to the scientific community for the first time. somatic metaphase chromosomes of the genus were determined as 2n = 18, 36, 46, 48, 52, 72 and 144. polyploidy was observed in the cells of g. albida (2n = 18, 2n = 4x = 36), g. tinctoria (2n = 36, 48, 2n = 4x = 96), g. januensis subsp. lydia (2n = 46, 2n = 4x = 92), g. burdurensis and g. sessilifolia (2n = 48, 2n = 4x = 96). somatic chromosomes of the g. sandrasica are very small, thus exact ploidy level of polyploidy was not determined. karyotype analysis of g. albida and g. involucrata were performed via an image analysis system. introduction fabaceae (leguminosae) is a large family represented by 650 genera and 18,000 species in the world (kass and wink, 1997). except for antarctica, taxa of fabaceae may be found from herbaceous to shrubby forms in all continents. fabaceae in anatolia consisted of 974 species belonging to 69 genera (davis et al., 1988) of mimosoideae, caesalpinioideae and papilionoideae subfamilies. the genus genista l. falls under the subfamily papilionoideae which is made up of about 90 species in the world (hickey and king, 1997; duran and dural, 2003). genista is distributed in the phytogeographic regions of mediterranean and the related european, north african and west asian territories (hickey and king, 1997). it is widely accepted as a genus with mediterranean origin. all of its species are perennial shrubby and short woody forms. in turkey, the genus is specifically prevalent at the mediterranean phytogeographic region, but is also pervasive at the transition zones of mediteranean-irano-turanian as well as the mediteranean-euro-siberian regions. restricted distribution of genista is also seen in the eastern and south-eastern anatolia. genista in turkey is represented by 15 taxa, 14 species and one variety, and five species, namely g. aucheri, g. burdurensis, g. involucrata, g. sandrasica and g. vuralii are endemic to turkey (gibbs, 1970; davis et al., 1988; duran and dural, 2003). 1 corresponding author. e-mail: esramartin@gmail.com 2 department of biology education, selcuk university, konya 42090, turkey. 3 department of science education, selcuk university, konya 42090, turkey. 4 department of field crops, selcuk university, konya 42079, turkey. 152 martin et al. karyotypical knowledge needs to be used in conjunction with other sources of data to achieve a better understanding of the cytologic relationship of genista taxa, leading to their natural classification. in this regard, the numbers of somatic chromosomes were determined in 12 taxa of genista growing naturally in turkey, and karyological attributes of selected taxa were evaluated for the first time. materials and methods voucher specimens have been deposited at the herbarium of selcuk university, faculty of education, konya, turkey (table 1). chromosome numbers and karyotypes were made on somatic metaphases using the squash technique. root meristems from germinating seeds collected in the wild were used. root tips were pretreated with αmonobromonaphthalene at 4°c for 16 h. root tips were fixed with carnoy for 24 h at 4°c. before staining, the material was hydrolyzed with 1n hcl for 13 minutes at room table 1. localities and other information on specimens of 12 genista taxa studied. taxon locality of voucher specimens g. acanthoclada dc. mugla: eski kale road, 900 m, scrubby region, 23.07.2006, a. duran 7309. g. albida willd. burdur: dirmil passage, preserved area, open spaces, 1630 m, 25.07.2006, a. duran 7331. g. anatolica boiss. osmaniye: amanos mountains, mitisin plateau, open pinus nigra forest, 1350 m, 04.07.2006, m. dinc 2702. g. aucheri boiss. sivas: sivas-zara interim, 5 km before zara, steppe, 1350 m, 26.07.2006, m. dinc & a. duran 2811. g. burdurensis p. gibbs burdur: tefenni-yesilova road, karamanli exit, surrounding dam, quercus vacancy, 1200 m, 25.07.2006, a. duran 7336. g. carinalis gris. balıkesir: edremit, from kızılkecili village at kaz dagi, gölcük location, pinus nigra and quercus forest, 400 m, 22.07.2006, a. duran 7302. g. involucrata spach sivas: akdagmadeni–yıldızeli interval, quercus distinction, 25th km, 1275 m, 26.07.2006, m. dinc & a. duran 2808. g. januensis viv. subsp. lydia (boiss.) kit tan & zieliński osmaniye: zorkun plateau, kadirli peak, cevizli region, pinus nigra forest, 1500 m, 14.07.2006, m. dinc 2786. g. sandrasica hartwig & strid. mugla: köycegiz, sandras mountain, pinus nigra forest, 1700 m, 14.08.2007, m. dinc & s. dogu 3062. g. sessilifolia dc. kırsehir: sereflikochisar-karaman road, 5 km before karaman, step, 1000 m, 26.07.2006, m. dinc & a. duran 2810. g. tinctoria l. erzincan: refahiye i̇lic road (7th km), steppe, 1740 m, 28.07.2006, m. dinc & a. duran 2844. g. vuralii a. duran & h. dural cankırı: ilgaz mountain, telekom transmitter vicinity, 1900 m, a. duran 8143. cytogenetical analysis of 12 taxa of genista 153 temperature. it was stained with 2% acetic orcein and mounted in 45% acetic acid. for all the counts, a minimum of ten plates from different individuals were examined and for each taxa only one population was studied. permanent slides were made by using the standard liquid nitrogen method. photographs were taken through bx50 olympus microscope. the ideogram was prepared with measurements taken on enlarged micrographs of five well-spread metaphase plates. the karyotypes, the lengths of long and short arms, arm ratio, centromeric index, and relative chromosomal length were measured by image analysis system (bs200pro) loaded on a personal computer. at least five metaphase plates were measured for g. albida and g. involucrata. chromosomes were classified using the nomenclature of levan et al. (1964). results and discussion according to the cytogenetical data analyses of genista, the somatical chromosome numbers of the studied taxa are highly divergent (ranging from 2n = 18, 36, 46, 48, 72 to 144) (figs 1-14). the numbers of chromosomes were determined within g. albida and g. involucrata (2n = 18), g. albida and g. tinctoria (2n = 36), g. carinalis and g. januensis subsp. lydia (2n = 46), g. anatolica, g. burdurensis, g. sessilifolia, g. tinctoria and g. vuralii (2n = 48), g. acanthoclada (2n = 52), g. aucheri (2n = 72), and g. sandrasica (2n = 144). although rare, a few cells revealed polyploidy in some of preparates (g. albida, g. burdurensis, g. januensis subsp. lydia, g. sandrasica, g. sessilifolia and genista tinctoria). the numbers of chromosomes were determined in genista albida (2n = 18, 2n = 4x = 36), g. tinctoria (2n = 36, 48, 2n = 4x = 96), g. januensis subsp. lydia (2n = 46, 2n = 4x = 92), and g. burdurensis and g. sessilifolia (2n = 48, 2n = 4x = 96). tetraploid cells were determined in the same preparates where diploid chromosomes were counted. however, the somatic chromosome of the g. sandrasica is very small and it was difficult to determine the exact ploidy level of polyploidy. additionally, karyotype analyses of g. albida and g. involucrata were conducted by using an image analysis system (ias) (figs 15-16). the basic chromosome number of these species were x = 9. while chromosome morphology of g. albida was 9m, that of g. involucrata was determined as 8m+1sm. total haploid chromosome size of g. albida was greater (19.59 µm) when compared with g. involucrata (18.08 µm). the length of chromosomes were measured between 1.55 and 3.19 µm within the species g. albida, while it was 1.35-2.69 µm in g. involucrata. chromosomal arm ratios differed in g. albida (1.13-1.65) from that of g. involucrata (1.09-1.94). from the cytological results, however, it was understood that, taxonomically, it is not appropriate to classify these two species since they have the same chromosome numbers and very similar karyotypes. therefore, karyological features obtained in this study were not enough to classify these two species. 154 martin et al. figs 1-14. metaphase chromosomes in study taxa. 1. g. acanthoclada 2n = 52, 2. g. albida 2n = 18, 3. g. albida 2n = 36, 4. g. anatolica 2n = 48, 5. g. aucheri 2n = 72, 6. g. burdurensis 2n = 48, 7. g. carinalis 2n = 46, 8. g. involucrata 2n = 18, 9. g. januensis subsp. lydia 2n = 46, 10. g. sandrasica 2n = 144, 11. g. sessilifolia 2n = 48, 12. g. tinctoria 2n = 36, 13. g. tinctoria 2n = 48, 14. g. vuralii 2n = 48. (bars = 5 µm) cytogenetical analysis of 12 taxa of genista 155 fig. 15. ideogram of genista albida. fig. 16. ideogram of genista involucrata. karyological studies of genista taxa distributed in the balkan peninsula were previously performed by cubas et al. (1998) in order to resolve the genetic evolution of the taxa. in their study, they also used some species that are distributed in anatolia and determined their chromosome numbers. these taxa included g. carpetana subsp. carpetana (2n = 40), g. cinerascens (2n = 24), g. micrantha (2n = 36), g. mugronensis subsp. rigidissima (2n = 36), g. ramosissima (2n = 48), and g. tinctoria (2n = 48). in their study, novel aneuploid chromosome number for g. florida (x = 23) as well as polyploidy (2n = 64) for g. tournefortii subsp. tournefortii were also determined. they also emphasized the need for further chromosomal data in order to clarify the cytological differentiation within the genus genista. two somatic chromosome numbers of g. tinctoria (2n = 36 and 48) are determined in the present study differing from cubas et al. (1998). it is possible to consider g. tinctoria having different somatic chromosome numbers. these cytogenetic diversions may have an effect on the distinct occurrence of infraspecific variation. the present study effectively determined the chromosome numbers and karyotypical characteristics of 12 genista taxa that are naturally distributed in turkey. this study expanded the range of chromosomal number in genista and also recorded the karyological features of two genista species. acknowledgements financial support received from the scientific research coordination center of selcuk university (bap-05401075) to conduct the study is gratefully acknowledged. references davis, p.h., mill, r.r. and tan, k. (eds) 1988. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 3. (suppl.). edinburgh: edinburgh univ. press, pp. 24-32. duran, a. and dural, h. 2003. genista vuralii (fabaceae), a new species from turkey. annales botanici fennici 40: 113-116. cubas, p., pardo, c., sánchez-mata, d. and canto, p. 1998. karyological and taxonomic notes on genista l. (papilionoideae, leguminosae) from the iberian peninsula. botanical journal of the linnean society 128: 423-434. 156 martin et al. gibbs, p.e. 1970. genista l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 3. edinburgh: edinburgh univ. press, pp. 24-32. hickey, m. and king, c. 1997. common families of flowering plants. cambridge university press, uk, pp. 1-197. kass, e. and wink, m. 1997. phylogenetic relationships in the papilionoideae (family leguminosae) based on nucleotide sequences of cpdna (rbcl) and ncdna (its 1 and 2). molecular phylogenetics and evolution 8: 65-88. levan, a., fredga, k. and sandberg, a.a. 1964. nomenclature for centromeric position on chromosomes. hereditas 52: 201-220. (manuscript received on 17 march 2009; revised on 1 june 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 101-103, 2010 (june) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of two hyphomycetous fungi monodictys putredinis (wallr.) hughes and stachybotrys atra corda for bangladesh shamim shamsi1 and razia sultana department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: monodictys putredinis; new records; stachybotrys atra. two hyphomycetous fungi, namely monodictys putredinis (wallr.) hughes and stachibotrys atra corda have been recorded for the first time for bangladesh. monodictys putredinis was earlier recorded on rotten wood and prunus spinosa l. (ellis and ellis, 1985). this is the first record of association of this species with jute (corchorus capsularis l.). stachybotrys atra, on the other hand, is cosmopolitan and a very common fungus, frequently isolated from paper, seeds, soil, textiles and dead plant parts (ellis, 1971). this is the first record of association of this fungus with chayote (sechium edule (jacq.) sw.). both the fungi were isolated following “blotter” method (cab, 1968). microscopic details of the fungi were made from freshly collected samples. species determination was made following ellis (1971, 1976), and ellis and ellis (1985). 1. monodictys putredinis (wallr.) hughes, 1958, can. j. bot. 36: 785. (figs. 1& 2) colonies blackish-brown on pda medium at room temperature between 27-32 ºc at ph 6. hyphae brown, smooth, septate. conidiophore cells not markedly swollen. conidia pyriform, ellipsoidal or subspherical, multicellular, sometimes slightly constricted at the septa, dark, reddish-brown to almost black, smooth, 18-30 × 15-24 µm. specimen examined: on dried stems of corchorus capsularis, botanic garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 2127, 22 september 2008. 2. stachybotrys atra corda, 1837, icon. fung. 1: 21. (figs. 3&4) colonies effuse, blackish-green on pda medium at room temperature between 2429º c at ph 6. hyphae partly superficial, brown. conidiophores at first hyaline but soon becoming olivaceous brown to black and rough or covered with granules, especially towards the apex, mostly unbranched, up to 95 µm long, 3-5 µm wide. phialides mostly 10-13 µm long, 5-7 µm wide in the broadest part. conidia broadly ellipsoidal to subspherical, dark, blackish-brown to black, verrucose, 8-13 × 5-9 µm. specimen examined: on dried leaves of sechium edule, botanic garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 2098, 19 march 2008. 1 e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com 102 shamsi and sultana figs. 1-2. monodictys putredinis. 1a. colony on dried stems of jute (corchorus capsularis); 1b. mycelia and conidiophores with conidia (bar = 10 µm). 2a-2b. conidiophores with conidia (bars: a = 30 µm, b = 10 µm). figs. 3-4. stachybotrys atra. 3a. colony on dried leaf of chayote (sechium edule); 3b. mycelia, conidiophores and conidia (bar = 40 µm). 4a. conidiophores with phialides and conidia (bar = 30 µm); 4b. single conidiophore with phialides; 4c. conidia (bar = 10 µm). new records of two hyphomycetous fungi 103 acknowledgement the authors express their sincere thanks and gratitude to prof. md. abul hassan, chairman, department of botany, university of dhaka for providing all laboratory facilities to carry out the present research work. references cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. 1st edition. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england. pp. 1-267. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp. 1-608. ellis, m.b. 1976. more dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp. 1-507. ellis, m.b. and ellis, j.p. 1985. microfungi on land plants. biddles ltd., guildford and kings lynn, great britain. pp. 1-818. (manuscript received on 22 june 2009; revised on 15 november 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 33-53, 2010 (june) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. ii. magnoliopsida (dicots) ershad tutul*, md. zashim uddin, md. oliur rahman and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: angiosperms; magnoliopsida; runctia sal forest. abstract this paper deals with a total of 153 plant species under 120 genera and 52 families of the division magnoliopsida (dicots) of the runctia sal forest in sherpur district. habit analysis shows that herbs are represented by 34, shrubs 36, trees 65, climbers 17 and epiphyte by a single species. updated nomenclature, habit, habitat and representative specimen have been furnished under each taxon. introduction the runctia sal forest is a deciduous type of forest with an area of 3363.93 ha and consists of many hills and hillocks. the forest is interspersed by hills, valleys, streams and cultivated rice fields. the forest consists of three beats, namely, runctia, gazni and tawakocha. despite runctia sal forest plays a significant role in the local economy, environment and traditional health care system, very little is known about the flora of the forest. very recently tutul et al. (2009) have described 49 species under liliopsida (monocots) from the same forest for the first time. the present paper is the continuation of the previous one. the present study has been undertaken in order to identify the species under magnoliopsida (dicots). the detailed information about the forest has been provided in tutul et al. (2009). materials and methods materials and methods of the work carried out were also provided in the previous paper (tutul et al. 2009). the specimens were collected from hill tops, hill slopes, forest floors, forest margins, streams, swamps and plain lands of the forest area. they were identified and the identification were confirmed with the help of hooker (1872-1888), prain (1903), kanjilal et al. (1934, 1938, 1939, 1940), dassanayake and fosberg (19801985), khan (1972-1987), khan and rahman (1989-2002), hassan (1996), hajra et al. (1997) and singh et al. (2000). the families were arranged according to the cronquist (1981) and the genera and species under each family were placed alphabetically. only one representative specimen was cited under each species because of page limitation. the specimens were deposited in the dhaka university herbarium (duh), presently known as salar khan herbrium. *corresponding author. e-mail: tutul_ershad@yahoo.com 34 tutul et al. systematic enumeration a total of 153 dicot species were recorded from the runctia sal forest. the identified species were assigned to 120 genera and 52 families. habit analysis showed that herbs were represented by 34, shrubs 36, trees 65, climbers 17 and epiphyte by a single species. species representation in the families varied from 1 to 15. the family rubiaceae appears to be the largest represented by 15 species followed by euphorbiaceae (12), fabaceae (10), moraceae (7), caesalpiniacae (7), asteraceae (7) and verbenaceae (6). shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn. f. is the most dominant species in the forest. some of the other dominant species of the forest include: lagerstroemia indica l., mussaenda frondosa l., grewia nervosa (lour.) panigr., melastoma melabathricum l., clerodendrum viscosum vent., morinda angustifolia roxb., mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson etc. 1. magnoliaceae michelia champaca l., sp. pl.: 536 (1753). michelia rheedii wight (1840). local name: champa. a semi-evergreen to evergreen tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 181 (duh). 2. annonaceae miliusa velutina (dunal) hook. f. & thom., fl. ind.: 139 (1855). uvaria villosa roxb. (1832). local name: gandhi gajari. a deciduous tree. top of the hill. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 392 (duh). 3. lauraceae litsea angustifolia wall. ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 169 (1886). tetranthera saligna nees (1831). local name: haria. a bushy evergreen shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 238 (duh). litsea glutinosa (lour.) robinson, philip. j. sci. bot. 6: 321 (1911). litsea chinensis lamk. (1792). local name: kukurchita. a small to medium-sized evergreen tree. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 182 (duh). litsea monopetala (roxb.) pers., syn. pl. 2: 4 (1807). tetranthera monopetala roxb. (1798). local name: akorma. a medium-sized tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 101 (duh). angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 35 4. menispermaceae cyclea barbata miers, contrib. bot. 3: 237 (1871). cyclea wallichii diels (1910). a long slender climber. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 185 (duh). 5. ulmaceae trema orientalis (l.) blume, ann. mus. bot. lugd.-bat. 2: 62 (1856). sponia orientalis (l.) decne. (1834). local name: jibon. a small to medium-sized tree. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 273 (duh). 6. moraceae artocarpus chama buch.-ham. ex wall., cat. no. 4657 (1814). artocarpus chaplasha roxb. (1832). local name: chamkathal. a large deciduous tree. on the hill top. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 275 (duh). artocarpus heterophyllus lamk., encycl. meth. 3: 210 (1789). artocarpus philippensis lamk. (1789). local name: kanthal. an evergreen tree. on hill top and slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 237 (duh). artocarpus lacucha hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 524 (1832). local name: dewa. a deciduous tree. on the hill top and slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 67 (duh). ficus benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). ficus indica l. (1753). local name: bot. a large, evergreen tree. on the hill slope and edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 239 (duh). ficus virens aiton, hort. kew. 3: 451 (1789). ficus infectoria roxb. (1814). local name: pakur. a deciduous or semi-deciduous tree. on the top hill. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 114 (duh). ficus racemosa l., sp. pl.: 1060 (1753). ficus goolerea roxb. (1832). local name: dumur. a medium-sized evergreen tree. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 97 (duh). streblus asper lour., fl. cochinch. 2: 615 (1790). streblus lactescens blume (1918). local name: sheora. 36 tutul et al. a bushy evergreen tree. on the forest edges. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 123 (duh). 7. amaranthaceae amaranthus spinosus l., sp. pl. 1: 991 (1753). local name: kanta-note. an annual, erect herb. on waste lands, roadsides, fields and gardens. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 127 (duh). cyathula prostrata (l.) blume, bijdr.: 549 (1825). achyranthes prostrata l. (1762). a slender, annual herb. on the edges of forest and shady areas. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 244 (duh). 8. polygonaceae persicaria stagnina (hamilt. ex meissn.) hassan, bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 3(1): 81 (1996). polygonum stagninum hamilton ex meissn. (1832). local name: bara bishkathali. a perennial herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 24 (duh). 9. dilleniaceae dillenia indica l., sp. pl. 1: 535 (1753). dillenia speciosa thunb. (1791). local name: chalta. a medium-sized to large evergreen tree. on the hill slope of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 73 (duh). dillenia pentagyna roxb., pl. corom. 1: 21, t. 20 (1795). dillenia baillonii pierre ex lanessan (1886). local name: bon chalta. a large, deciduous tree. on the top hill. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 103 (duh). 10. dipterocarpaceae shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn. f., de fruct. 3: 48 (1805). local name: gozari. a large, semi-deciduous tree. on the hill top. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 26 (duh). 11. theaceae schima wallichii (dc.) korth. in temminck, verh. nat. gesch. bot. 3: 143 (1840). schima brevipes craib (1915). a large evergreen tree. common on the hill top. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 72 (duh). angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 37 12. clusiaceae garcinia cowa roxb. ex dc., prodr. 1: 561 (1824). garcinia roxburghii wight (1840). local name: kao. a dioecious, tall tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 339 (duh). 13. tiliaceae grewia nervosa (lour.) panigr., taxon 34: 702 (1985). grewia microcos l. (1767). local name: asar. a semi-deciduous tree. very common on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 12 (duh). triumfetta pentandra a. rich. in guill. & perr., fl. senegamb. tent. 1: 93, t. 19 (1831). triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. var. pentandra (a. rich.) j. l. ellis (1983). an annual herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 246 (duh). 14. sterculiaceae abroma augusta (l.) l. f., suppl.: 341 (1781). abroma mollis dc. (1824). local name: ulatkambol. a shrub or small tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 161 (duh). sterculia villosa roxb. ex smith in rees, cycl. 34, no. 16 (1816). sterculia armata mast. in hook. f. (1874). local name: udal. a medium-sized tree. on hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 147 (duh). 15. malvaceae sida cordata (burm. f.) borss., blumea 14: 182 (1966). melochia cordata burm. f. (1768). local name: junka. an annual herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 35 (duh). sida rhombifolia l., sp. pl.: 684 (1753). sida retusa l. (1763). local name: lal berela. an undershrub. on the forest edges. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 249 (duh). thespesia lampas (cav.) dalz. & gibs., bombay fl.: 19 (1861). hibiscus lampas cav. (1787). local name: bonkarpas. an erect, slightly branched shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 263 (duh). 38 tutul et al. urena lobata l., sp. pl.: 692 (1753). urena palmata roxb. (1832). local name: belaz. an undershrub. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 21 (duh). 16. lecythidaceae careya arborea roxb., pl. corom. 3: 14 (1811). local name: kumvi. a fire resistant, medium-sized tree. on the hill top. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 184 (duh). 17. flacourtiaceae flacourtia jangomas (lour.) raeusch., nom. bot. ed. 3: 290 (1797). flacourtia cataphracta roxb. (1806). local name: paniala. a small evergreen shrub. on the hill slope and forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 371 (duh). 18. cucurbitaceae solena amplexicaulis (lamk.) gandhi in saldanha & nicolson, fl. hassan distr.: 179 (1976). melothria heterophylla (lour.) cogn. (1881). local name: rakhal gota. a perennial, climbing herb. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 63 (duh). trichosanthes tricuspidata lour., fl. cochinch.: 589 (1790). trichosanthes bracteata (lamk.) voigt (1848). local name: makal phal. a climber. on the forest edges. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 274 (duh). 19. capparaceae crateva magna (lour.) dc., prodr. 1: 243 (1824). crateva nurvala buch.-ham. (1827). local name: barun. a small to medium-sized deciduous tree. near the swamps and on edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 88 (duh). 20. myrsinaceae maesa indica (roxb.) a. dc., trans. linn. soc. 17: 134 (1834). baeobotrys indica roxb. (1814). a shrub or small tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 55 (duh). 21. mimosaceae acacia concinna (willd.) dc., prod. 2: 464 (825). mimosa concinna willd. (1806). local name: bonrita. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 39 a scandent and spiny climber. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 387 (duh). acacia mangium willd., sp. pl. ed. 4, 4: 1053 (1806). racosperma mangium (willd.) pedley (1987). local name: mangium. a fast growing, exotic tree. planted on the forest bed. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 269 (duh). acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. & hook., lond. j. bot. 1: 377 (1842). acacia moniliformis griseb.(1874). local name: akashmoni. an exotic tree. planted on the forest bed. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 70 (duh). mimosa pudica l., sp. pl. 1: 518 (1753). mimosa asperata blanco (1837). local name: lajjabati. an annual or perennial herb. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 16 (duh). samanea saman (jacq.) merr., j. wash. acad. sci. 6: 47 (1916). enterolobium saman jacq. (1897). local name: rendi. a very large tree. on hill top and along the roadsides. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 277 (duh). 22. caesalpiniaceae bauhinia purpurea l., sp. pl. 1: 375 (1753). phanera parpurea (l.) benth. (1852). local name: sada kanchon. a small deciduous tree. on hill slope and forest edges. representative specimen: runctia, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 74 (duh). bauhinia scandens l., sp. pl. 1: 344 (1753). lasiobema horsfieldii miq. (1855). local name: kanchon. a woody climber. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 108 (duh). caesalpinia crista l., sp. pl. 1: 380 (1753). caesalpinia chinensis roxb. (1832). local name: letkanta. a prickly shrub or small tree. on the edges and near the swamps of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 287 (duh). caesalpinia cucullata roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 2: 358 (1832). mezoneuron cucullatum (roxb.) wight & arn. (1834). a large scandent shrub. near the swamps of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 155 (duh). 40 tutul et al. caesalpinia digyna rottler, ges. naturf. freunde. berlin. schrift. 4: 200, t. 3 (1803). caesalpinia oleosperma roxb. (1832). a large shrub. on the hill slope and edges of forest. representative specimen: runctia, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 56 (duh). cassia fistula l., sp. pl. 1: 377 (1753). cassia rhombifolia roxb. (1832). local name: bandorlathi. a deciduous, medium-sized tree. on hill slope of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 368 (duh). senna tora (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 340 (1832). cassia tora l. (1753). local name: kalkesunda. a perennial herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 98 (duh). 23. fabaceae abrus precatorius l., syst. nat. ed. 12: 472 (1767). glycine abrus l. (1753). local name: rati. a perennial climber. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 40 (duh). crotalaria pallida ait., hort. kew. 3: 20 (1789). crotalaria saltiana auct. non andr. (1811). local name: jhunjhuni. an erect, annual herb. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 22 (duh). dalbergia stipulacea roxb., fl. ind. 3: 233 (1814). dalbergia ferruginea roxb. (1832). a woody climber. on the hill top. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 287 (duh). derris elegans benth. var. vestita (baker) prain, j. asiat. soc. beng. 66: 103 (1897). derris vestita baker (1878). a woody climber. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 222 (duh). erythrina fusca lour., fl. cochinch.: 427 (1790). erythrina ovalifolia roxb. (1832). local name: mandar. a small, soft wooded, deciduous tree. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 270 (duh). erythrina variegata l., diss. herb. amb. amoen. acad. 4: 122 (1754). erythrina indica lamk. (1786). local name: mandar. a small to medium-sized, deciduous tree. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 104 (duh). angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 41 mucuna pruriens (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 405 (1825). mucuna prurita hook. f. (1831). local name: alkushi. an annual or perennial climbing herb. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 331 (duh). tephrosia candida dc., prodr. 2: 249 (1825). robinia candida roxb. (1832). a small branched shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 186 (duh). uraria crinita (l.) desv. ex dc., prodr. 2: 324 (1825). hedysarum crinitum l. (1876). a shrub. on hilly forest areas. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 223 (duh). vigna pilosa (willd.) baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 207 (1879). dolichos pilosum willd. (1777). an annual herb. on hilly areas. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 45 (duh). 24. lythraceae lagerstroemia parviflora roxb. var. benghalensis c. b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 576 (1879). local name: sidha. a tree with white flowers. very common on the hill top. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 301 (duh). lagerstroemia indica l., sp. pl. ed. 2, 1: 734 (1762). lagerstroemia chinensis lamk. (1789). local name: choto jarul. a small tree. on forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 252 (duh). lagerstroemia macrocarpa wall., cat. no. 2114 (1831). local name: ban jarul. a medium-sized tree. occurs in mixed and open forest. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 112 (duh). lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers., syn. 2: 72 (1807). lagerstroemia regina roxb. (1832). local name: jarul. a large, much-branched, deciduous tree. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 356 (duh). 25. myrtaceae eucalyptus grandis hill ex maiden, j. r. soc. n. s. w. 52: 50 (1980). eucalyptus saligna var. pallidivalvis baker & smith (1902). local name: eucalyptus. a large tall tree. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 235 (duh). 42 tutul et al. syzygium fruticosum dc., prodr. 3: 260 (1828). eugenia fruticosa roxb. (1832). local name: bon jam. a large shrub to small tree. on hilly slope of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 378 (duh). 26. onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara, j. jap. bot. 28: 291 (1953). jussiaea adscendens l. (1767). local name: molchi. a rarely creeping to floating herb. near the forest swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 30 (duh). 27. melastomataceae melastoma malabathricum l., sp. pl. 1: 390 (1753). melastoma royenii blume (1831). local name: motmoti. an undershrub to shrub. very common in forest margin. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 15 (duh). 28. combretaceae terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn., prodr.: 314 (1834). pentaptera arjuna roxb. ex dc. (1828). local name: arjun. a medium to large tree. on hill slope and edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 278 (duh). terminalia catappa l., syst. nat. ed. 12: 674 (1767). terminalia procera roxb. (1832). local name: katbadam. a medium to large deciduous tree. on the forest edges. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 118 (duh). 29. alangiaceae alangium chinense (lour.) harms in ber. deuts. b. ges. 15: 24 (1897). marlea begoniaefolia roxb. (1814). local name: marleza gachh. a small deciduous tree with grey bark. on hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 321 (duh). 30. loranthaceae scurrula parasitica l., sp. pl.: 110 (1753). loranthus scurrula l. (1762). a stem parasite. on branches of woody angiosperms. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 288 (duh). angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 43 31. euphorbiaceae antidesma acuminatum wall. in wight, icon. pl. ind. or. 6: t. 199 (1853). local name: shial. a small to large tree. on hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 49 (duh). bridelia stipularis (l.) blume, bijdr.: 597 (1825). clutia stipularis l. (1753). a large, more or less climbing shrub. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 258 (duh). flueggea virosa (roxb. ex willd.) baill., etudes gen. euphorb.: 593 (1858). phyllanthus virosus roxb. ex willd. (1805). local name: shikori. a glabrous shrub or small tree. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 303 (duh). jatropha gossypifolia l., sp. pl.: 1066 (1753). local name: lalvarenda. a soft-wooded shrub. on open sunny places. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 234 (duh). macaranga denticulata (blume) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15, 2: 1000 (1866). mappa gummiflua miq. (1858). local name: bura. a medium-sized, evergreen tree. hill slope of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 96 (duh). macaranga peltata (roxb.) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15, 2: 1010 (1866). osyris peltata roxb. (1832). a small evergreen tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 175 (duh). mallotus tetracoccus (roxb.) kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 2: 382 (1877). mallotus albus (roxb.) muell.-arg. (1865). local name: muralia. a small tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 220 (duh). manihot esculenta crantz, inst. 1: 167 (1766). manihot edule a. rich. (1853). local name: shimul alu. a glabrous shrub with tuberous root. on the forest edge. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 59 (duh). phyllanthus emblica l., sp. pl.: 982 (1753). emblica officinalis gaertn. (1790). local name: amloki. a bushy tree. on the hill top. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 119 (duh). 44 tutul et al. phyllanthus niruri l., sp. pl.: 981(1753). local name: bhuiamla. an annual herb. on the hill slope. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 245 (duh). phyllanthus reticulatus poir., encycl. meth. 5: 298 (1804). cicca microcarpa benth. (1861). local name: chitki. a scandent shrub. near the swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 42 (duh). trewia nudiflora l., sp. pl.: 1193 (1753). mallotus cardiophyllus merr. (1912). local name: pitali. a medium-sized tree. near the swamps of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 342 (duh). 32. rhamnaceae gouania tiliaefolia lamk., encyl. 3: 5 (1789). gouania leptostachya dc. (1825). a large climber with lateral tendrils. on the edge of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 334 (duh). ziziphus oenoplia (l.) mill., gard. dict. ed. 8. no. 3 (1768). rhamnus oenoplia l. (1762). local name: bonboroi. a prickly shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 115 (duh). 33. leeaceae leea crispa l., mant. 1: 124 (1767). local name: banchalita. a gregarious undershrub to shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 181 (duh). leea indica merr., philipp. j. sci. bot. 14: 245 (1914). leea sambucina willd. (1797). local name: kukura. a much-branched shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 353 (duh). 34. vitaceae cissus adnata roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 1: 405 (1820). cissus assamica (lawson) craib var. pilosissima gagnep. (1911). local name: alianga lata. a woody climber. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 154 (duh). cissus repens lamk., encycl. math. bot. 1: 31 (1783). vitis repens (lamk.) wight & arn. (1834). local name: marmaria lata. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 45 a large climber. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 383 (duh). cayratia trifolia (l.) domin, biblioth. bot. 89: 371 (1927). vitis carnosa (lamk.) wall. ex wight & arn. (1834). a climber with swollen rootstock. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 377 (duh). 35. burseraceae protium serratum (wall. ex coelbr.) engl. in dc., monogr. phan. 4: 88 (1883). bursera serrata wall. ex colebr. (1827). local name: gutgutia. an evergreen or semi-deciduous tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 146 (duh). 36. anacardiaceae anacardium occidentale l., sp. pl. 1: 383 (1753). local name: kaju badam. an evergreen tree. on the top of hill, also planted. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 381 (duh). spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz, pegu rep. a. : 44 (1875). spondias mangifera willd. (1799). local name: amra. a deciduous, glabrous tree. on the hill slope, planted also. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 68 (duh). 37. meliaceae aglaia spectabilis (miq.) jain & bennet, ind. j. for. 9: 271 (1987). amoora ridleyi king (1895). a medium-sized evergreen tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 102 (duh). aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r. n. parker, ind. for. 57: 486 (1931). amoora rohituka (roxb.) wight & arn. (1833). local name: pitraj. a large tree. on the top of hill. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 106 (duh). azadirachta indica a. juss., mem. mus. hist. nat. paris 19: 221, t. 13 (1832). melia indica (a. juss.) brandis (1874). local name: nim. a medium-sized tree. on the hill slope and edges of forest. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 279 (duh). melia azedarach l., sp. pl. 1: 384 (1753). azedarach sempervirens (l.) o. kuntze (1891). local name: gora nim. 46 tutul et al. a medium-sized tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 76 (duh). toona ciliata m. roem., synops. monogr. 1: 139 (1846). toona ciliata m. roem. var. parviflora (benth.) bahadur (1988). local name: rangil. a medium to large tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 284 (duh). 38. rutaceae clausena suffruticosa (roxb.) wight & arn., prodr.: 96 (1834). amyris suffruticosa roxb. (1832). local name: kalomaricha. a small shrub. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 90 (duh). glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc., prodr. 1: 538 (1824). glycosmis arborea (roxb.) a. dc. (1824). local name: matkila. an evergreen shrub. on the forest edges. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 292 (duh). micromelum minutum (j. g. forster) wight & arn., prodr. fl. ind. or.: 448, 468 (1834). micromelum compressum (blanco) merr. (1918). an unarmed shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 187 (duh). zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc., prodr. 1: 728 (1825). zanthoxylum budrunga (roxb.) dc. (1824). local name: bajna. a medium-sized deciduous, spiny tree. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 372 (duh). 39. oxalidaceae biophytum sensitivum (l.) dc., prodr. 1: 690 (1824). oxalis sensitiva l. (1753). an annual herb. on moist fallow land and hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 240 (duh). 40. araliaceae schefflera bengalensis gamble, kew bull.: 229 (1919). a climbing shrub. on bushy areas of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 77 (duh). schefflera elliptica (blume) harms in engl. & prantl, pflanzenfam. 3(8): 39 (1894). sciadophyllum elliptica blume (1826). a woody climber, often epiphytic. on the hill slope. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 293 (duh). angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 47 trevesia palmata (roxb.) vis., mem. acad. torin. 2, 4: 262 (1842). gastonia palmata roxb. (1824). local name: argoja. an erect shrub. on shady areas of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 375 (duh). 41. apiaceae centella asiatica (l.) urban in mart., fl. braz. 11(1): 187 (1879). hydrocotyle asiatica l. (1753). local name: thankuni. a perennial herb. on wet moist lands. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 295 (duh). 42. apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br., mem. wern. nat. hist. soc. 1: 76 (1811). nerium tinctorium perr. (1824). local name: chhatim. a tall tree. on the hill top. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 392 (duh). holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall. ex decne., prodr. 8: 413 (1844). holarrhena pubescens wall. ex g. don (1837). local name: kurchi. a shrub to tree. common on hill top and slopes. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 261 (duh). ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r. br., mem. wern. soc. 1: 62 (1811). ichnocarpus volubilis merr. (1922). local name: dudhlata. a large climber. on moist lands of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 105 (duh). rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz, forest fl. brit. burm. 2: 171 (1877). tabernaemontana cylindracea wall. (1829). local name: sarpogandha. a woody herb. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 136 (duh). 43. solanaceae solanum sisymbrifolium lamk., illus. 2: 25 (1797). solanum balbisii dunal (1825). local name: kata begun. a very prickly herb. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 28 (duh). 44. convolvulaceae argyreia roxburghii choisy, mem. soc. phys. genev. 6: 419 (1833). a large climber. near the swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 324 (duh). 48 tutul et al. ipomoea fistulosa mart. ex choisy in dc., prodr. 9: 349 (1845). ipomoea crassicaulis (benth.) b. l. robinson (1916). local name: dhol kolmi. an erect shrub. near the swamps. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 250 (duh). merremia umbellata (l.) hallier f., bot. jahrb. 16: 552 (1893). ipomoea cymosa (desr.) (1819). local name: sada kolmi. a climber. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 46 (duh). merremia vitifolia (burm. f.) hallier f., bot. jahrb. 16: 552 (1893). ipomoea vitifolius burm. f. (1768). a large twiner. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 100 (duh). 45. boraginaceae heliotropium indicum l., sp. pl. 1: 130 (1753). heliotropium velutinum dc. (1845). local name: hatisur. an annual herb. near swamps and on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 359 (duh). 46. verbenaceae callicarpa arborea roxb., fl. ind. 1: 405 (1820). local name: bormala. a deciduous tree. on the hill top. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 111 (duh). clerodendrum viscosum vent., jard. malm. 1: 25 (1803). clerodendron pubescens wall. ex walp. (1843). local name: vat. a woody herb. most common plant in the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 03 (duh). tectona grandis l. f., suppl.: 151 (1781). theka grandis (l. f.) lamk. (1793). local name: segun. a large deciduous tree. on the hill top. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 19 (duh). vitex negundo l., sp. pl.: 638 (1753). vitex paniculata lamk. (1788). local name: nishinda. a large shrub. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 225 (duh). vitex peduncularis wall. ex schauer in a. dc., prodr. 11: 687 (1847). vitex alata roxb. (1832). local name: awal. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 49 a moderate-sized tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 188 (duh). vitex trifolia l. f., suppl.: 293 (1781). vitex triphylla royle (1839). an aromatic shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 377 (duh). 47. lamiaceae anisomeles indica (l.) o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 512 (1891). anisomeles ovata r. br. (1811). local name: gobura. an annual herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 247 (duh). leucas aspera (willd.) link, enum. hort. berol. 2: 113 (1822). phlomis aspera willd. (1809). local name: dandakalos. an annual herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 125 (duh). leucas indica (l.) r. br. ex vatke in oesterr., b. zeits. 25: 95 (1875). leucas lavandulaefolia smith (1819). local name: shetodron. an annual herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 348 (duh). 48. scrophulariaceae limnophila indica (l.) druce, rep. bot. soc. exch. club br. isles 3: 420 (1914). limnophila gratioloides r. br. (1810). an aquatic herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 283 (duh). lindernia ciliata (colsm.) pennell, brittonia 2: 182 (1936). lindernia serrata (roxb.) muell.-arg. (1882). local name: bhui. a very small, annual herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 243 (duh). scoparia dulcis l., sp. pl.: 116 (1753). scoparia grandiflora nash (1896). local name: bondhone. a perennial herb. on the edges and near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 31 (duh). 49. acanthaceae justicia gendarussa burm. f., fl. ind.: 10 (1768). gendarussa vulgaris nees (1832). local name: jagatmardan. an undershrub. on hill slope. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 272 (duh). 50 tutul et al. thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottler) roxb., bot. reg. 6: t. 495 (1820). thunbergia cordifolia nees (1847). local name: nillata. a large climber. epiphyte on lagerstroemia spices. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 99 (duh). 50. bignoniaceae oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz, for. fl. brit. burm. 2: 237 (1877). bignonia indica l. (1753). local name: kanaidingi. a small to medium-sized tree. on the hill top and slope. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 393 (duh). 51. rubiaceae catunaregam spinosa (thunb.) tirveng., bull. mus. hist. nat. (paris) ser. 3, 35: 13 (1978). randia spinosa (thunb.) bl. (1826). local name: mankanta. a spiny shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 32 (duh). haldina cordifolia (roxb.) ridsdale, blumea 24: 361 (1978). adina cordifolia hook. f. ex brandis (1874). local name: keli kadam. a large deciduous tree. on the top of hill. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 58 (duh). ixora javanica dc., prodr. 4: 487 (1830). local name: rangan. a shrub. on the forest bed. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 230 (duh). meyna spinosa roxb. ex link, jahrb. gewachsk 1(3): 32 (1820). meyna laxiflora robyns. (1828). an armed tree. on hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 191 (duh). morinda angustifolia roxb., fl. ind. 1: 547 (1820). local name: bonamali. an evergreen shrub or small tree. on the forest edges. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 138 (duh). mussaenda frondosa l., sp. pl.: 177 (1753). mussaenda macrophylla sensu kurz (1877) non wall. local name: nagaballi. a scandent shrub. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 297 (duh). mussaenda macrophylla wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 228 (1824). mussaenda calycina wall. ex kurz (1874). a shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 80 (duh). angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 51 mussaenda roxburghii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 87 (1880). mussaenda corymbosa kurz (1874). an erect or suberect shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 81 (duh). neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser, bull. mus. hist. nat. (paris) 4, ser. 6, sec. b, 3: 247 (1984). anthocephalus cadamba (roxb.) miq. (1856). local name: kadam. a large deciduous tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 329 (duh). oxyceros kunstleri (king & gamble) tirveng., nordic j. bot. 3(4): 466 (1983). randia scandens dc. (1830). a rambling shrub. on the shady hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 152 (duh). paederia foetida l., mant. 1: 52 (1767). paederia tomentosa blume. (1826). local name: gandhabadhuli. a slender climber. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 268 (duh). pavetta indica l., sp. pl.: 110 (1753). ixora pavetta (l.) o. kuntze (1891). a large shrub. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 79 (duh). pavetta naucleiflora r. br. ex g. don, gen. syst. 3: 575 (1834). ixora naucleiflora kurz (1877). a large shrub. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 298 (duh). spermacoce articularis l. f., suppl. pl.: 119 (1782). borreria articularis (l. f.) williams (1905). local name: madnabata kadu. an annual herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 285 (duh). spermacoce latifolia aublet, hist. pl. guiane frtan. 1: 55, t. 19, f. 1 (1775). borreria latifolia (aublet) k. schum. (1888). an annual or perennial herb. near the swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 92 (duh). 52. asteraceae ageratum conyzoides l., sp. pl.: 839 (1753). local name: fulkuri. an annual herb. on the hill slope and edges. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 169 (duh). 52 tutul et al. blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc. in wight, contrib. bot. ind.: 14 (1834). conyza lacera burm. f. (1768). local name: kukursunga. an annual herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 18 (duh). chromolaena odorata (l.) king & robinson, phytologia 20: 204 (1970). eupatorium odoratum l. (1759). local name: motmoti. an erect, annual herb or undershrub. very common on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 156 (duh). elephantopus scaber l., sp. pl.: 814 (1753). elephantopus scaber l. var. typicus koster (1935). a perennial herb. on the forest edges and forest floors. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 57 (duh). mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson, contr. gray herb. 104: 65 (1934). mikania volubilis willd. (1803). local name: assamlata. a twining, perennial herb. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 266 (duh). vernonia cinerea (l.) less., linnaea 4(1): 291 (1829). conyza cinera l. (1753). local name: kuksim. an annual herb. on the hill slope and the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 23 (duh). vernonia extensa dc., prodr. 5: 33 (1836). vernonia cylindriceps c. b. clarke (1876). an annual herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 299 (duh). references cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york. 1262 pp. dassanayake, m.d. and fosberg, f.r. (eds.). 1980-1985. a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, vols. 1-5. amerind publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhi. hajra, p.k., nair, v.j. and daniel, p. (eds.). 1997. flora of india, vol. 4. botanical survey of india, calcutta. 561 pp. hassan, m.a. 1996. three new combinations in persicaria mill. (polygonaceae) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(1): 81-83. hooker, j.d. 1872-1888. the flora of british india, vols. 1-5 (ind. repr. 1973). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1934. flora of assam, vol. 1. a von book company, delhi, india. 386 pp. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1938. flora of assam, vol. 2. a von book company, delhi, india. 409 pp. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest (dicots) 53 kanjilal, u.n., das, a., kanjilal, p.c. and de, r.n. 1939. flora of assam, vol. 3. a von book company, delhi, india. 578 pp. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., de, r.n. and das, a. 1940. flora of assam, vol. 4. a von book company, delhi, india. 377 pp. khan, m.s. (ed.). 1972-1987. flora of bangladesh, nos. 1-39. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. khan, m.s. and rahman, m.m. (eds.). 1989-2002. flora of bangladesh, nos. 40-53. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols. 1 & 2 (ind. repr. 1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. singh, n.p., vohra, j.n., hajra, p.k. and singh, d.k. (eds.). 2000. flora of india, vol. 5. botanical survey of india, calcutta. 577 pp. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2009. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. i. liliopsida (monocots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 83-90. (manuscript received on 16 july 2009; revised on 29 august 2009) angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. ii. magnoliopsida (dicots) systematic enumeration 1. magnoliaceae wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 69-71, 2006 (june) short communication macrothelypteris torresiana (guad.) ching (thelypteridaceae) a new record for bangladesh momtaz mahal mirza bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh key word : macrothelypteris torresiana, new record, bangladesh while consulting the herbarium sheets of bangladesh national herbarium an intersting member of the genus macrothelypteris under the family thelypteridaceae was found. fraser-jenkins, an expert of pteridophytic flora of south asian region and himalayan ferns during his visit to the bangladesh national herbarium identified the specimen as macrothelypteris torresiana (guad.) ching. it was further reconfirmed with the help of holttum (1954, 1982), and dixit (1954). this species was not reported before from bangladesh in the relevent literature of this region, viz., prain (1903), sinclair (1956), and mirza and rahman (1997). therefore, it is recorded here for the first time from bangladesh. macrothelypteris is widely distributed in the mascarene islands; warmer parts of mainland asia and japan, malaysia, queensland, polynesia, hawaii, in open or slightly shaded places in the areas of dry season. m. torresiana grows in open grassy place or light shade, not in full shade at the edge of the forest or in the fallow land. it is quite common in the forest and hilly areas of chittagong and sylhet. a detailed taxonomic description and illustration of the plant has been prepared, based on the collected specimens, which are now preserved at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). 1. macrothelypteris torresiana (guad.) ching, acta phytotax. sinica 8: 310. (1963). polystichum torresianum guad., freye. voy. uran. physic. bot.: 333 (1828). (plate 1) rhizome stout, short creeping. stipe to 50 cm. long, glaucous when young, persistent base swollen and fleshy, covered with many narrow dark brown scales bearing both acicular and capitate hairs, rest of the rachis smooth. fronds deeply tripinnatifid, shiny yellowish green. lamina to about 70 x 50 cm. alternate to the stipe. pinnae 12-15 pairs, alternate to the rachis, sub-basal are largest. the largest pinnae 20 x 9 cm. deltoid, pinnae with all pinnules are alternate, but lowest adnate to a narrowly green-winged pinna rachis; pinnules oblique to pinna-rachis, largest 5-8 x 1.5-2.5 cm. acuminate, cut almost to costa in to oblique deeply lobbed segments, or sharply toothed segments 2.54 mm. wide. the anterior basal (largest) segments 1-2 cm. long and 2-2.5 mm. wide. costae and 70 mirza plate 1. macrothelypteris torresiana (guad.) ching a. habit (× 0.25); b. a fertile part of pinnule showing venation and arrangements of the sori (× 4); c. dermal scale (× 8); d. dermal scale magnified portion (× 20); e. dermal hairs (× 5). macrothelypteris torresiana (guad.) ching 71 costules beneath clothed with scattered pale stiff thin hairs, some multicellular and more than 1mm.long; lower surface bearing short erect unicellular capitate hairs. veins in the segments to about 7 pairs, forked. sori globose or round large. specimen examined : chittagong: mirarsari to fatik chari. 26.11. 92. rahman, rezia and momtaz r. 3845 (dacb); chittagong university campus, 13.7.2004, momtaz mahal mirza mm 427 (dacb). sylhet: on the way to airport 8. 4. 88. momtaz, mahfuz, hosneara and a.m. huq mm 24 (dacb). ecology: the persistent fleshy bases of the stipe are remarkable; they may function as water storage organs, so the plant can resist in the dry season in open places. distribution : india, myanmar, sri lanka, malaysia, china, australia, and japan. references dixit, r.d. 1984. a census of the indian pteridophytes. delhi, botanical survey of india, pp. 1-177. holttum, r.e. 1954. a revised flora of malaya. ferns of malaya 2. singapore govt. printing press. pp.1-653. holttum, r.e. 1982. in van steenis, c.g.g.j. & holttum, r.e. (eds.) flora malesiana ser.ii, vol.1. martinus nihoff/ dr. w. junk publishers, london. pp. 348-352. mirza, m. m. and rahman m.m. 1997. an annotated check list of ferns and fern-allies of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 4769. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. 2. indian reprint.1981. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun. pp.1237-1270. sinclair, j. 1956. flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. bengal. 9 (2): 114-115. macrothelypteris torresiana (guad.) ching (thelypteridaceae momtaz mahal mirza bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh microsoft word 04. runctia_23.11.10.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 167-181, 2010 (december) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh md. oliur rahman, md. zashim uddin1, ershad tutul, momtaz begum and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: angiosperms; runctia sal forest; addition. abstract in the present paper additional occurrence of 100 species in 75 genera under 40 angiosperm families in the runctia sal forest of sherpur district is reported. of these, 71 species in 56 genera are from magnoliopsida (dicots) and 29 species in 19 genera are from liliopsida (monocots). these species exhibit in diverse life forms in the area, viz., 54 species are herbs, 21 species shrubs, 12 species climbers and 13 trees. holigarna longifolia is threatened in the sal forest area which needs to give conservation priorities. an enumeration of the species recorded is presented with important synonyms, bengali names, habit, habitat and representative specimens. introduction the runctia sal forest in sherpur district of bangladesh is a type of deciduous forest. the floristic diversity of the forest has recently been studied and two subsequent reports on the magnoliopsida and liliopsida have been published with the occurrence of 153 and 49 species respectively (tutul et al. 2009, 2010). details about the forest have been stated in tutul et al. (2009). further investigation to the same forest area has been carried out for extensive survey and collection of additional species which have not been able to collect in the previous field trips. the determination of collected specimens was made and a total of 100 species are recognized, as additions to the previous accounts. materials and methods the specimens were collected from different habitats of the forest including forest floors, plain lands, forest margins, streams, swamps, hill slopes and hill tops during 20092010. the specimens were identified at dhaka university herbarium (duh), currently known as salar khan herbarium and identifications were confirmed by consulting hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), kanjilal et al. (1934, 1938, 1939, 1940), dassanayake and fosberg (1980-1985), khan (1972-1987), khan and rahman (1989-2002), hajra et al. (1997) and singh et al. (2000). the voucher specimens were kept at the salar khan herbarium. an enumeration of these species is prepared with updated nomenclature, important synonyms, habit, habitat, representative specimen and bengali names (wherever available) of each taxon. in the enumeration, the arrangement of the families is followed according to the system of cronquist (1981). 1corresponding author. email: zashim07@yahoo.com 168 rahman et al. taxonomic enumeration magnoliopsida (dicots) 1. annonaceae miliusa velutina (dunal) hook. f. & thom., fl. ind.: 139 (1855). uvaria velutina dunal (1817). local name: gandhi-gajari. a deciduous tree. on the forest floor. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 609 (duh). 2. lauraceae dehaasia kurzii king ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 125 (1886). local name: modonmosto. an evergreen tree with subverticillate leaves. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 487 (duh). 3. moraceae ficus hispida l. f., suppl. pl.: 442 (1781). ficus oppositifolia roxb. (1798). a large shrub to small tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 423 (duh). ficus semicordata buch.-ham. ex smith in rees, cycl. 14: ficus n. 71 (1810). ficus cunia buch.-ham. ex roxb. (1832). a small tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 462 (duh). ficus religiosa l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). urostigma religiosum (l.) gasp. (1853). local name: ashwatha. a medium-sized to large deciduous tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 573 (duh). 4. urticaceae sarcochlamys pulcherrima gaudich., voy. bot.: t. 89 (1826). urtica pulcherrima roxb. (1832). a shrub or small tree. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 455 (duh). 5. nyctaginaceae boerhaavia diffusa l., sp. pl. 1: 3 (1753). boerhaavia repens l. (1753). a perennial creeping or climbing herb. rocky and sandy places of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 599 (duh). additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 169 6. amaranthaceae achyranthes aspera l., sp. pl. 1: 204 (1753). cyathula geniculata lour. (1790). local name: upatlengra. an erect, perennial herb. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 483 (duh). aerva lanata (l.) juss. ex schult., syst. veg. 15(5): 564 (1819). aerva elegans miq. (1849). local name: chaya. an erect, perennial herb. on forest margin. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 403 (duh). alternanthera sessilis (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult., syst. 5: 554 (1819). achyranthes villosa blanco (1837). local name: highcha. a much branched herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 508 (duh). deeringia amaranthoides (lamk.) merr., int. rumph. herb. amb.: 211 (1917). achyranthes amaranthoides lamk. (1785). a scandent or subscandent shrub. on the forest edges. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 632 (duh). 7. polygonaceae persicaria barbata (l.) hara, fl. east. himal.: 70 (1966). polygonum barbatum l. (1753). an ascending herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 473 (duh). persicaria flaccida (meissn.) h. gross ex loesen., beih. centralbl. 37: 112 (1919). polygonum flaccidum meissn. (1832). local name: lal-bishkatali. an annual herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 590 (duh). 8. clusiaceae garcinia pedunculata roxb. ex buch.-ham. in brewster, edinburgh j. sci. 7: 45, t. 1 (1827). a medium-sized, deciduous tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 628 (duh). 9. elaeocarpaceae elaeocarpus varunua buch.-ham. ex masters in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 407 (1874). local name: belphoi. a large to medium-sized evergreen tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 408 (duh). 170 rahman et al. 10. tiliaceae corchorus fascicularis lamk., encycl. 2: 104 (1786). corchorus brachycarpus guillemin (1831). local name: jangli-pat. a suberect annual herb. along sides of channel. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 611 (duh). grewia asiatica l., mant. pl.: 122 (1767). grewia hainesiana hole (1917). a shrub or small tree. common on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 438 (duh). triumfetta rhomboidea jacq., enum. syst. pl. carib.: 22 (1760). triumfetta bartramia l. (1759). local name: bon okra. a herb or undershrub. open places of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 425 (duh). 11. malvaceae hibiscus mutabilis l., sp. pl.: 694 (1753). local name: sthal padma. an erect robust shrub. on the hill top. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 569 (duh). hibiscus cannabinus l., syst. nat. ed. 10, 2: 1149 (1759). local name: mesta pat. an erect annual herb. on the hill top. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 528 (duh). 12. flacourtiaceae flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr., interp. rumph. herb. amb.: 377 (1917). flacourtia rotundifolia clos (1877). a much-branched and dense deciduous thorny shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 413 (duh). 13. cucurbitaceae hodgsonia macrocarpa (blume) cogn. in dc., monog. phan. 3: 349 (1881). trichosanthes macrocarpa blume (1826). a robust, woody climbing herb. on the forests and thickets. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 563 (duh). 14. myrsinaceae ardisia icara wall. & a. dc., trans. linn. soc. 17: 125, t. 7 (1834). a large shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 430 (duh). maesa ramentacea (roxb.) a. dc., trans. linn. soc. 17: 133 (1834). baeobotrys ramentacea roxb. (1824). local name: bol-jakhandok. additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 171 a large shrub or small tree. moist shady places in the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 602 (duh). 15. caesalpiniaceae senna alata (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 349 (1832). cassia alata l. (1753). local name: dadmardan. a soft wooded shrubby plant. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 460 (duh). senna tora (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 340 (1832). cassia tora l. (1753). local name: chakunda. an erect, profusely branched herb or undershrub. common on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 504 (duh). 16. fabaceae crotalaria alata d. don, prod. fl. nep.: 241 (1825). a suberect herb. on the forest edges, also near swamps. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 520 (duh). desmodium gyroides (roxb. ex link) dc., prodr. 2: 326 (1825). hedysarum gyroides roxb. ex link (1822). a long shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 452 (duh). desmodium heterocarpon (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 337 (1825). desmodium polycarpon (poir.) dc. (1825). an erect or suberect undershrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 605 (duh). desmodium triflorum (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 334 (1825). hedysarum triflorum l. (1753). a small herb. open place on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 551 (duh). desmodium triquetrum (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 326 (1825). hedysarum triquetrum l. (1753). a shrub, branches triquetrous, glabrescent. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 445 (duh). desmodium velutinum (willd.) dc., prodr. 2: 328 (1825). desmodium latifolium (roxb.) dc. (1825). an erect undershrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 518 (duh). 172 rahman et al. desmodium triquetrum (l.) dc. subsp. alatum (dc.) prain, j. asiat. soc. beng. 66: 390 (1897). desmodium alatum dc. (1825). a shrub with triquetrous branches. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 572 (duh). pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth., j. linn. soc. bot. 9: 125 (1867). dolichos phaseoloides roxb. (1832). a much-branched twining, woody climber. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 604 (duh). pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth. var. subspicata (benth.) van der maesen, agric. univ. wageningen pap. 81(1): 84 (1985). pueraria subspicata (benth.) benth. (1867). a twinning herb. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 605 (duh). spatholobus acuminatus benth. in miq., pl. jungh.: 238 (1852). butea squamiger (prain) blatter (1929). a large climber, with glabrous branches. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 424 (duh). spatholobus parviflorus (roxb. ex dc.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl.: 205 (1891). butea parviflora roxb. ex dc. (1825). an extensive evergreen climber. on the plants in hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 469 (duh). uraria lagopus dc., ann. sc. nat. ser. 1, 4: 100 (1825). uraria rependa wall. ex benth. (1832). an erect undershrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 562 (duh). vigna vexillata (l.) a. rich., hist. fis. polit. nat. 1, cuba 11: 191 (1445). phaseolus vexillata l. (1753). a perennial climbing or trailing herb. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 416 (duh). 17. myrtaceae syzygium balsameum (wight) walp., repert. 2: 17 (1843). eugenia balsamea wight (1841). local name: buti jam. a large shrub or small tree with light grey bark. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 489 (duh). 18. onagraceae ludwigia perennis l., sp. pl.: 119 (1753). jussiaea perennis (l.) brenan (1953). an erect, unbranched herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 544 (duh). additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 173 19. melastomataceae osbeckia rostrata d. don, prod. fl. nepal: 221 (1825). osbeckia stellata var. rostrata (d. don) hansen (1977). a small shrub. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 451(duh). 20. combretaceae calycopteris floribunda (roxb.) lamk., enc. meth. bot. suppl. 2: 41 (1811). getonia floribunda roxb. (1798). a diffuse or scandent shrub. on the hill top of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 457 (duh). 21. euphorbiaceae glochidion velutinum wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 5(2): 29, t. 1907, f. 2 (1852). phyllanthus velutinus (wight) muell.-arg. (1865). a small evergreen tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 454 (duh). jatropha curcas l., sp. pl. 2: 1006 (1762). local name: sadajeol. a glabrous, soft-wooded shrub or small tree. on the forest margin. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 529 (duh). phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels, u.s. dept. agric. bur. pl. ind. bull. 148: 17 (1909). averrhoa acida l. (1753). a deciduous glabrous tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 515 (duh). 22. rhamnaceae ziziphus rugosa lamk., encycl. 3: 319 (1789). ziziphus tomentosa roxb. (1820). local name: jangli boroi. a prickly shrub to small tree. on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 442 (duh). 23. vitaceae ampelopsis glandulosa (roxb.) momiyama, fl. eastern himalaya 2: 78 (1979). vitis glandulosa (roxb.) wall. (1824). a slender, branched climber. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 444 (duh). 24. anacardiaceae holigarna longifolia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 80 (1824). local name: barola. 174 rahman et al. a tall tree with glabrous ash-coloured bark. moist places in the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 465 (duh). 25. rutaceae murraya koenigii (l.) spreng., syst. veg. 2: 315 (1825). chalcas koenigii (l.) kurz (1875). local name: currypata. a large shrub or small tree. moist places of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 414 (duh). 26. convolvulaceae argyreia argentea (roxb.) choisy, mem. soc. phys. geneve. 6: 418 (1833). lettsomea argentea roxb. (1824). a common large climber. on the hill slope of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 461 (duh). aniseia martinicensis (jacq.) choisy, mem. soc. phys. geneve. 8: 66 (1838). convolvulus martinicensis jacq. (1763). a twiner. on the hill slope of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 55 4 (duh). 27. verbenaceae clerodendrum indicum (l.) o. kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 2: 506 (1891). clerodendrum verticillatum d. don (1825). a shrub. on the hill top of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 579 (duh). 28. lamiaceae anisomeles malabarica (l.) r. br. ex sims, bot. mag.: t. 2071 (1819). anisomeles intermedia wight ex benth. (1835). a tall shrubby plant. common on the hill slope. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 435 (duh). hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., ann. mus. par. 7: 472, t. 29 (1806). ballota suaveolens l. (1759). local name: tokma. a sweet smelling rigid herb. along the forest edges. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 581 (duh). ocimum americanum l., cent. pl. 1: 15 (1753). ocimum canum sims (1823). local name: bon tulshi. an erect, aromatic herb. open places of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 608 (duh). additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 175 pogostemon paniculatus (willd.) benth. in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 30 (1830). elsholtzia paniculata willd. (1801). an erect, branched herb. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 523 (duh). 29. scrophulariaceae limnophila heterophylla (roxb.) benth., scroph. ind.: 25 (1835). columnea heterophylla roxb. (1832). an aquatic herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 499 (duh). limnophila repens (benth.) benth. in dc., prodr. 10: 387 (1846). limnophila conferta benth. (1846). an aquatic herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 555 (duh). limnophila sessiliflora (vahl) blume, bijdr.: 749 (1826). hottonia sessiliflora vahl (1791). an aquatic herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 591 (duh). lindernia crustacea (l.) f. muell., census austral. pl. 1: 97 (1882). capraria crustacea l. (1767). a small herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 513 (duh). lindernia procumbens (krocker) philcox, taxon 14: 30 (1965). anagalloides procumbens krocker (1790). an aquatic herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 560 (duh). 30. acanthaceae barleria prionitis l., sp. pl.: 636 (1753). barleria flava jacq. (1781). a branched shrub. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 521 (duh). lepidagathis incurva buch.-ham. ex d. don, prodr. fl. nep.: 119 (1825). lepidagathis hyalina nees (1832). a perennial, suberect herb. moist places in the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 409 (duh). rungia pectinata (l.) nees in dc., prodr. 11: 469 (1847). rungia parviflora var. pectinata (l.) c. b. clarke (1885). local name: birlongopark. 176 rahman et al. a much branched herb. on the hill slope. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 594 (duh). thunbergia fragrans roxb., pl. corom. 1: 47, t. 67 (1795). thunbergia fragrans roxb. var. laevis (nees) c. b. clarke (1884). a twiner or climber. on the jarul tree of this forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 565 (duh). 31. lentibulariaceae utricularia bifida l., sp. pl. 1: 18 (1753). utricularia recurva lour. (1790). local name: chotojhanjhi. a very small, annual insectivorous herb. on moist places near the water body. representative specimen: gazni, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 527 (duh). 32. rubiaceae dentella repens (l.) j. r. & g. forst., char. gen. pl. ins. mar. austr.: 26, t. 13 (1776). oldenlandia repens l. (1768). an aquatic herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 509 (duh). 33. asteraceae sphaeranthus indicus l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 1314 (1762). sphaeranthus hirtus willd. (1804). an erect, annual herb. cultivated by kuch tribes in their inhabitants. representative specimen: gazni, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 550 (duh). spilanthes calva dc. in wight, contrib. : 19 (1834). spilanthes acmella auct. non. l., thw. (1860). an annual, glabrous herb. on the forest edges. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 517 (duh). synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn., fruct. 2: 456, t. 171 (1791). verbesina nodiflora l. (1787). local name: highcha. an erect, branched, pubescent herb. on the hill slope of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 603 (duh). liliopsida (monocots) 34. xyridaceae xyris indica l., sp. pl.: 42 (1753). xyris robusta mart (1832). a tufted herb. marshy areas of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 536 (duh). additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 177 35. commelinaceae commelina paleata hassk., pl. jungh.: 139 (1852). a long creeping herb. on the wetlands of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 598 (duh). floscopa scandens lour., fl. cochin.: 192 (1790). dithyrocarpus rothii wight (1836). a perennial herb. near the swamps and on the edges of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 589 (duh). 36. cyperaceae cyperus cuspidatus kunth in humb., bonpl. & kunth, nov. gen. & sp. pl. 1: 204 (1815). cyperus uncinatus camus (1912). an annual herb. on the edges and near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 510 (duh). cyperus haspan l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 45 (1753). cyperus micranthus presl. (1828). an annual or perennial herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 595 (duh). cyperus iria l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 45 (1753). cyperus diaphaniria steud. (1855). an annual or perennial herb. on the edges of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 537 (duh). cyperus pilosus vahl, enum. pl. 2: 354 (1806). cyperus obliquus nees (1834). an annual herb. on the edges and near the wetland of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 535 (duh). cyperus procerus rottb., descr. & icon. rar. nov. pl. 1: 29, t. 5, f. 3 (1773). pycreus puncticulatus ridl. (1907). a perennial herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 585 (duh). cyperus tenuispica steud., syn. pl. glum. 2: 11 (1855). cyperus flavidus (non retz.) c. b. clarke (1893). an annual or perennial herb. near the swamps and along the edges of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 501 (duh). fimbristylis dichotoma (l.) vahl subsp. dichotoma, enum. pl. 2:287 (1806). scirpus dichotoma l. (1753). an annual or perennial herb. near the swamps and along the margin of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 500 (duh). fimbristylis miliacea (l.) vahl, enum. pl. 2:287 (1806). scirpus miliacea l. (1759). an annual or perennial herb. near the swamps and wetlands of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 534 (duh). 178 rahman et al. fimbristylis ovata (burm. f.) kern, blumea 15: 126 (1967). carex ovata burm. f. (1768). a perennial herb. near the swamps and wetlands of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 540 (duh). fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 1: 184 (1820). scirpus ciliaris l. (1771). an annual herb. near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 542 (duh). kyllinga bulbosa beauv., fl. d’oware & benin 1:11 t. 8, f. 1 (1804). cyperus triceps (rottb.) endl. (1842). a perennial herb. open places and edges of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 459 (duh). pycreus stramineus (nees) c. b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 589 (1893). cyperus stramineus nees (1834). an annual herb. along the wetlands and margin of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 537 (duh). 37. poaceae arthraxon nudus (nees ex steud.) hochst., flora 39: 188 (1856). bathratherum nudum nees ex steud. (1854). an annual creeping grass, rooting at the nodes. near swamps, and moist and shady places. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 491 (duh). cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf in hook., ic. pl.: sub t. 3096 (1922). panicum accrescens trin. (1828). a scrambling grass. shady places along the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 476 (duh). eragrostis gangetica (roxb.) steud., syn. pl. glum. 1: 266 (1854). poa gangetica roxb. (1820). an annual or short-lived perennial grass. near swamps, and open places of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 495 (duh). eragrostis japonica (thunb.) trin., mem. acad. sci. petersb. ser. 6, 1: 405 (1830). poa japonica thunb. (1784). an annual or short-lived perennial grass. near swamps of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 625 (duh). isachne globosa (thunb.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 778 (1891). milium globosum thunb. (1784). an annual or short-lived perennial grass. near swamps, and open places of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 496 (duh). additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 179 oplismenus compositus (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 54: 169 (1812). panicum compositum l. (1753). a grass with tall and creeping culms. shady places along edges of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 405 (duh). panicum brevifolium l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 59 (1753). panicum ovalifolium poir. (1816). a grass with tall culms. shady places along edges and near the swamps of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 401(duh). panicum notatum retz., obs. bot. 4: 18 (1786). panicum courtallense nees & wall. (1854). a perennial grass with tall culms. on the forest edges and near swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 477 (duh). paspalum cartilagineum j. s. presl ex c. b. presl, rel. haenk. 1: 216 (1830). a perennial grass with erect culms. open places of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 511 (duh). sporobolus indicus r. br., prodr.: 170 (1810). sporobolus elongatus r. br. (1810). a perennial grass with tufted culms. open places of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 547 (duh). 38. arecaceae calamus guruba buch.-ham. ex martius, hist. nat. palm. 3: 211 (1838). calamus nitidus martius (1853). local name: jalibet. a scandent, spiny rattan. on the edges of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 420 (duh). 39. liliaceae molinera recurvata (dryand.) herbert, amaryl.: 84 (1834). curculigo recurvata dryand. (1811). a stout herb. on the hill slopes of the forest. representative specimen: runctia, 1.11.2009, ershad tutul 634 (duh). 40. smilacaceae smilax ocreata a. dc. in dc., monogr. phan. 1: 191 (1878). smilax roxburghiana wall. (1831-1832). a woody climber. on the hill slopes of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 447 (duh). smilax pseudo-china l., sp. pl. 2: 1031 (1753). smilax leptanthera pennell (1916). an annual climber. on the hill slopes and near channel of the forest. representative specimen: gazni, 31.10.2009, ershad tutul 479 (duh). 180 rahman et al. results and discussion the present study revealed the occurrence of additional 100 angiosperm species under 75 genera in 40 families, amongst which magnoliopsida is represented by 71 species under 56 genera and 33 families, whereas liliopsida is represented by 29 species, 19 genera and 7 families. these species exhibit in diverse life forms in the area, viz., herbs are represented by 54, shrubs by 21, trees 13 and climbers by 12 species. the family fabaceae appears as the largest in magnoliopsida represented by 13 species, whereas the cyperaceae is the largest family in liliopsida comprising 12 species in this addition. among the genera desmodium is the largest in dicots comprising d. gyroides, d. heterocarpon, d. triflorum, d. triquetrum, d. triquetrum subsp. alatum and d. velutinum, whereas cyperus is the largest in monocots possessing c. cuspidatus, c. haspan, c. iria, c. pilosus, c. procerus and c. tenuispica. the low lands are dominated by the members of the family cyperaceae and poaceae. in the present study holigarna longifolia, a member of the family anacardiaceae has been reported as threatened from runctia sal forest, whereas previous studies have reported cymbidium aloifolium and rauvolfia serpentina as threatened from the forest (tutul et al., 2009, 2010). these species recorded from the runctia forest have been included in the red list of vascular plants of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001). at present the floral diversity of the forest is in great risk because of many threats as observed during field visits including illegal sand and stone collection from forest bed, clear felling and exotic monoculture plantation, frequent forest fire during dry season, illegal logging, fire wood collection, over-exploitation of the medicinal plants, lack of awareness among the local people etc. therefore, the following recommendations should be adopted for the sake of better management of the forest and botanical diversity: i) steps should be undertaken to protect the habitats of the species; ii) conservation priorities should be given to the rare, threatened and endangered species; iii) distribution map of threatened plants should be made on priority basis that will facilitate accurate location and home range of threatened species in the forest; iv) public awareness to be built up to preserve floral diversity, particularly the medicinal plants; v) monitoring activities should be strengthened; and vi) in severe cases, ex situ conservation measure for particular species may be applied for replicating the population. references cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york. 1262 pp. dassanayake, m.d. and fosberg, f.r. (eds.). 1980-1985. a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, vols. 1-5. amerind publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhi. hajra, p.k., nair, v.j. and daniel, p. (eds.). 1997. flora of india, vol. 4. botanical survey of india, calcutta. 561 pp. additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 181 hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india, vols. 1-7. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1934. flora of assam, vol. 1. a von book company, delhi, india. 386 pp. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1938. flora of assam, vol. 2. a von book company, delhi, india. 409 pp. kanjilal, u.n., das, a., kanjilal, p.c. and de, r.n. 1939. flora of assam, vol. 3. a von book company, delhi, india. 578 pp. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., de, r.n. and das, a. 1940. flora of assam, vol. 4. a von book company, delhi, india. 377 pp. khan, m.s. (ed.). 1972-1987. flora of bangladesh, nos. 1-39. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. khan, m.s. and rahman, m.m. (eds.). 1989-2002. flora of bangladesh, nos. 40-53. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m. and ali, a.a. (eds.). 2001. red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. 179 pp. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols. 1&2 (ind. repr. 1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. singh, n.p., vohra, j.n., hajra, p.k. and singh, d.k. (eds.). 2000. flora of india, vol. 5. botanical survey of india, calcutta. 577 pp. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2009. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. i. liliopsida (monocots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 83-90. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. ii. magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 33-53. (manuscript received on 6 july, 2010; revised on 10 october, 2010) microsoft word s-4. book_review_bamboo_2pp.doc book review bamboos at tbgri: by k. c. koshy. published by the director, tropical botanic garden and research institute, palode, thiruvananthapuram 695562, kerala, india in 2010, price usd 30 (postage free); pp. 104. this book is a contribution to the documentation of germplasm collection and ex-situ conservation of tropical bamboos. the book contains 104 pages and three chapters. chapter 1 deals with tbgri bambusetum and major bambuseta of china and india. this chapter provides the historical development of tbgri bambusetum with an index map showing contour lines. notes on the contribution of pioneer scientists who contributed towards the establishment and development of this bamboo garden and dignitaries who visited the bambusetum are a special feature of the first chapter. section on “advantages of a bambusetum” included in chapter 1 is of good academic interest. chapter 2 is the important part and main contents of the book. it includes systematic documentation of live collections of 68 species and one variety under 15 genera, and 12 hybrids produced at tbgri. the species under each genus are arranged alphabetically. each species entry includes the latin name with important citations, a brief description, distributions, records of live collections, locations in the bambusetum with accession numbers. it also records the details of propagules used for planting, their provenances and different hereditary lines conserved. besides, it provides notes on herbarium collections and spirit materials and notes on flowering where available. colour photographs of most of the species described, is an important feature of the book that will help all professionals in identifying a living bamboo. chapter 3, a brief 2-page chapter with four photographs discusses the future prospects of bamboo breeding. the identification of bamboos involves more problems than any other group of flowering plants, because most of the bamboos flower once in their life time and die soon after. flowering of bamboos usually takes place at long intervals (30-120 years). so, identification of bamboos based on floral characters is not always possible. descriptions based on vegetative characters are also not always complete. because of identification problem interest in bamboo research is also less among biologists compared to research in other groups. live collections can help in getting the flowering material that will ultimately help authentic identification and supplying materials for breeding programs. there are bamboo plantations around many organizations, in many home gardens through this sub-continent and in many forest departments’ plantations. but systematic information on origin of planting materials, provenances and planting dates are lacking, which are very much needed for methodical research works. tbgri has taken this novel task of this systematic effort of germplasm collection and conservation. only who has pursued work on bamboo biology knows how painstaking it is! dr. k. c. koshy’s efforts in documenting the collections at tbgri are praise worthy. it will give us a clear picture of flowering and seeding cycles of many bamboo species; genetic diversity among many species and their biology. these collections will also help bamboo taxonomists in documenting vegetative characters along with 210   flowering characters that will make a clear picture of species description. i firmly believe, this book will be good help to taxonomists, breeders, horticulturists and conservation biologists. there remain some shortcomings in every work. this book also has some shortcomings that need to be mentioned. use of acronym of an organization in the title of the book could be avoided. tbgri may not be known to every reader. so, through cross reference one may not know ‘what is it or where it is’? it would be clearer if the author had used the full name of the organization and acronym in parenthesis. the map of tbgri bambusetum with contour lines and index for accessions is an important feature of the book. but font used in printing accession numbers is too small to be visible in naked eye or by a reading glass. it needs a magnifying glass to read the letters. the map pages also do not open flat and is difficult to read the writings within the fold. the author could further split chapter 2. so many entries under a species have made the presentation clumsy. one chapter could be with taxonomic descriptions, geographical distribution and flowering notes. another chapter could include the accessions of live collections, collection locality, provenances and other information. a key for identification of species based on vegetative characters would make it more users friendly. an auricle of the culm sheath is a good diagnostic character. the author could use it in making botanical descriptions of species. vernacular names sometimes help general users in tentative identification of a species. the author could cite vernacular names for the species where available. however, the author is to be congratulated for his painstaking works in collecting and centralizing bamboos from various parts of india and making this documentation as a milestone for future bamboo biologists and conservationists. the book printed in good quality glossy paper with nice cover and good photographs looks smart. i wish its wide circulation. m. khairul alam microsoft word 05. lloydia nana.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 33-36, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists lloydia nana, a new species of liliaceae from china rong li1 and heng li key laboratory of biodiversity and biogeography, kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, kunming 650201, p. r. china keywords: lloydia nana; liliaceae; new species; xizang; china. abstract lloydia nana r. li & h. li, a new species of liliaceae from eastern xizang, china, is described and illustrated. morphologically, it is closely similar to l. serotina var. parva (c. marquand & airy shaw) h. hara and l. yunnanensis franchet, but differs from the former by having single basal leaf, taller stigma than anthers; from the latter by having dwarf habit 2.5-4.0 cm tall, indistinctly 3-lobed stigma, and style slightly longer than ovary. introduction the genus lloydia reichenbach includes 20 species distributed in temperate regions of the north hemisphere, with one species in western north america and 19 in eurasia (wu et al., 2006; mabberley, 2008). in china, lloydia reichenbach is represented by eight species, two of which are endemic, namely, lloydia oxycarpa franchet and l. ixiolirioides baker ex oliver (chen and turland, 2000). in july 2011, during an expedition to the eastern xizang for the project “flora of panhimalayas”, we collected some interesting specimens belonging to lloydia. among them, we found one species with morphological features that differed from the other known species in this genus. after a critical morphological study, literature survey (hara, 1971, 1975; chen, 1987; liang, 1994; noltie, 1994; li, 1997; chen and turland, 2000), and examination of many other specimens in the herbarium of institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences (pe) and the herbarium of kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences (kun), we concluded it representing a new species in the genus lloydia, viz., lloydia nana r. li & h. li. the detailed taxonomic account along with illustration is given below. lloydia nana r. li & h. li, sp. nov. (fig. 1) diagnosis: lloydia serotina var. parva (c. marquand & airy shaw) h. hara et l. yunnanensis franchet affinis, sed a priore folio basalio singulo, stigmate celsus quam h. hara et antherae differt; ab postea habito nano, 2.5-4.0 cm elato, stigmate leviter trilobo, stylo leviter longiore quam ovario differt. type: china. xizang autonymous region (tibet): mangkang county, quzika township, hongla mountains pass, along the no. 214 national road from deqing of yunnan to mangkang of tibet, alpine meadow, growing on the slope, 28°22′57.5″n, 98°59′42.1″e, 4225 m, 23 july 2011, rong li 554 (holotype: kun). perennial herb, 2.5-4.0 cm tall, bulbiferous. bulb ovoid, 2-5 × 1-3 mm, covered with a membranous, translucent tunic; tunic generally with a collar of persistent leaf bases, apex splitting longitudinally. stem simple, erect. basal leaf 1, linear, slightly shorter or longer than stem, 25-40 1corresponding author. email: lirong@mail.kib.ac.cn 34 li and li × 0.5-1.0 mm; cauline leaves 3, narrowly linear, 4-8 × c. 0.5 mm. inflorescence terminal, 1flowered. flowers bisexual. tepals 6, free, glabrous, white with 3 purple veins, basally mottled with yellow, with 2 inconspicuous, nectariferous grooves near base adaxially; outer tepals oblong, c. 5-6 × 1 mm, apex acute; inner tepals obovate, c. 5-6 × 2 mm, apex acute. stamens 6, inserted at the base of tepals, shorter than tepals, 3-5 mm long; filaments erect, glabrous, 2.5-4.5 mm long; anthers basifixed, oblong, c. 0.5 mm long. ovary ovoid to sub-ellipsoid, superior, yellow, 2.0-2.5 × 0.5-1.0 mm, 3-loculed; ovules numerous in each locule; style slender, slightly longer than ovary, 2.5-3.0 mm long; stigma indistinctly 3-lobed, longer than anthers. fig. 1. lloydia nana r. li & h. li, sp. nov. a) habit, b) flower with part petals removed, showing stamens and pistil, c) stamen, d) pistil, e) outer petal (dorsal view), f) inner petal (dorsal view). phenology: flowering in july. etymology: the specific epithet of the new species refers to its dwarf habit. lloydia nana, a new species of liliaceae 35 distribution and ecology: lloydia nana r. li & h. li is currently known only from two sites on quzika township of mangkang county and tiantuo township of zugong county in changdu prefecture, xizang autonymous region, china. it grows in alpine meadows at 4,000-4,225 m and shares its habitat with plants such as spenceria ramalana trimen, sanguisorba filiformis (j.d hook) handel-mazzetti, fragaria sp., adenophora sp., hedysarum sp., pedicularis spp., and potentilla spp. conservation status: the species was collected only from two sites and is therefore assumed to be rare. it is considered as ‘endangered’ using the criteria set out by iucn (2001) since its known area of occupancy is less than 500 km2 (criterion b2) and the total population size is estimated to be smaller than 2,500 mature individuals (criterion c). the major morphological differences among three taxa of lloydia are outlined in table 1. table 1. morphological comparison of lloydia nana sp. nov., l. serotina var. parva and l. yunnanensis. characters l.nana l. serotina var. parva l. yunnanensis habit 2.5-4.0 cm tall 3-4 cm tall 8-20 cm tall basal leaves 1 2 1 or 2 tepals basally mottled with yellow basally mottled with purple basally mottled with purple or red style slightly longer than ovary nearly as long as ovary 2-4 times as long as ovary stigma taller than anthers, indistinctly 3-lobed shorter than anthers, indistinctly 3-lobed equal or taller than anthers, shortly 3-lobed additional specimens examined (paratypes): china. xizang autonymous region (tibet): changdu prefecture, zugong county, tiantuo township, aixi mountains pass, along the no. 318 national road from zugong to bangda, alpine meadow, growing on the slope, 29°44′39″n, 97°45′20.7″e, 4000 m, 16july 2009, zhiling dao 4239 (kun); changdu prefecture, mangkang county, quzika township, hongla mountains pass, along the no. 214 national road from deqing of yunnan to mangkang of tibet, alpine meadow, growing on the slope, 28°23′24.1″n, 98°58′4.5″e, 4150 m, 23 july 2011, rong li 569 (kun). acknowledgements the authors are thankful to miss rongmei zhang from kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences (kun) for drawing the illustration. the study was supported by the open fund of key laboratory of biodiversity and biogeography, kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences (grant no. klbb201204), and the project of the knowledge innovation engineering of the chinese academy of sciences (grant no. kscx2-ew-j-24). references chen, x. 1987. lloydia salisbury ex reichenbach. in: wu, z.y. (ed.), flora xizangica. vol. 5. science press, beijing, china, pp. 533-536. chen, x. and turland, n.j. 2000. lloydia reichenbach. in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds.), flora of china. vol. 24. science press, beijing, china and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, usa, pp. 121123. hara, h. 1971. liliaceae. in: hara, h. (ed.), the flora of eastern himalaya. vol. 2. university of tokyo press, tokyo, japan, pp. 165-175. 36 li and li hara, h. 1975. liliaceae. in: ohashi, h. (ed.), the flora of eastern himalaya. vol. 3. university of tokyo press, tokyo, japan, pp. 131-136. iucn 2001. iucn red list categories and criteria.version 3.1. iucn species survival commission. gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk: iucn. li, h. 1997. lloydia salisbury ex reichenbach. in: wu, z.y. (ed.), flora yunnanica. vol. 7. science press, beijing, china, pp. 777-783. liang, s. 1994. lloydia salisbury ex reichenbach. in: wang, w.c. (ed.), vascular plants of the hengduan mountains. vol. 2. science press, beijing, china, pp. 2432-2434. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant-book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. cambridge university press, cambridge, uk. noltie, h.j. 1994. lloydia salisbury ex reichenbach. in: noltie, h.j. (ed.), flora of bhutan, vol. 3, part 1. royal botanic garden edinburgh, edinburgh, uk, pp. 108-111. wu, z.y., zhou, z.k., sun, h., li, d.z., peng, h. 2006. the areal-types of seed plants and their origin and differentiation. yunnan science and technology press, kunming, china. (manuscript received on 18 march, 2012; revised on 27 may, 2012) microsoft word 02. s. africa.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 105-115, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists   anatomy of the southern african boerhavia and commicarpus species (nyctaginaceae) madeleen struwig*, anine jordaan1 and stefan j. siebert a.p. goossens herbarium, school of environmental sciences and development, north-west university, private bag x6001, potchefstroom 2520, south africa keywords: stem; leaf; anthocarp; trichomes; kranz anatomy; light microscopy. abstract the nyctaginaceae in southern africa is represented by five genera of which boerhavia l. and commicarpus standl. are the most species-rich. stem, leaf and anthocarp material was collected in situ and examined with a scanning electron microscope and a light microscope. the anatomy of the leaf and anthocarp proved diagnostic at the generic level, but was uniform amongst the species of each genus. kranz anatomy occurs around the minor veins in the leaves of boerhavia, but in commicarpus the minor veins are surrounded by large parenchyma cells. the anthocarp of boerhavia has five ribs or three wings, with sclerenchyma within the ribs and the area between the ribs, whereas commicarpus has ten ribs with sclerenchyma only present within the ribs. the number of chlorenchyma rows in the stems could be diagnostic and the outline of the sclerenchyma bundles in the anthocarp could divide the commicarpus species into two groups, but more research needs to be done on these characters. introduction the nyctaginaceae consists of about 30 genera and 400 species (douglas and manos, 2007) mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas of the new world (bittrich and kühn, 1993; jordaan, 2000), with some genera extending into the temperate regions such as southern africa (thulin, 1994). anatomy of this family is summarized by metcalfe and chalk (1950, 1979) and bittrich and kühn (1993) with numerous studies which focus on specific anatomical features in a few species (mikesell and popham, 1976; vanvinckenroye et al., 1993). the stem anatomy of the family is characterized by anomalous secondary growth and numerous studies have focused on this phenomenon (rajput and rao, 1998; carlquist, 2004). stomata are present in both the adaxial and abaxial epidermis (amphistomatic) or only in the abaxial epidermis (hypostomatic) (bittrich and kühn, 1993). the mesophyll is centric, dorsiventral or isobilateral and kranz anatomy occurs in a few genera (carolin et al., 1978; muhaidat et al., 2007). calcium oxalate crystals are present and tannin idioblasts occur in some genera (edeoga and ikem, 2002). the structure of the anthocarp differs between genera. the wall of the anthocarp can either have wings or ridges that are either smooth or bear warts. the anthocarp wall is constructed of epidermis, sclerenchyma, parenchyma, vascular strands and columnar parenchyma cells, and raphide bundles are common (willson and spellenberg, 1977; douglas and manos, 2007). *corresponding author. e-mail: madeleen.struwig@nwu.ac.za 1department of botany, school of environmental sciences and development, north-west university, private bag x6001, potchefstroom 2520, south africa. 106 struwig et al.   in southern africa, south of the zambezi river, that is, botswana, lesotho, southern mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland and zimbabwe, five genera (viz., boerhavia l., commicarpus standl., mirabilis l., phaeoptilum radlk. and pisonia l.) occur (germishuizen and meyer, 2003). boerhavia and commicarpus are the most species-rich genera, totaling 16 species of which six are endemic to the region (table 1). boerhavia and commicarpus can be distinguished from each other morphologically as their habit, the shape of the flower and the anthocarp structure differ (meikle, 1978). boerhavia has a diffuse habit, the flowers have a bell-shaped perianth and the anthocarp has either 3-4 wings or 5 ribs and the surface may be smooth or covered with multicellular trichomes. commicarpus has a scrambling or climbing habit, the flowers have a funnel-shaped perianth and the anthocarp has ten ribs covered with large, viscid and mucilaginous glands (stannard, 1988). the anatomy of the genus boerhavia has been studied extensively in the literature with boerhavia diffusa l. var. diffusa, a south american species introduced to southern africa (codd, 1966; bromilow, 2010), mostly used as the representative (rajput and rao, 1998; edeoga and ikem, 2002). the anatomy of commicarpus however, was inadvertently included during studies of boerhavia repanda willd. or boerhavia chinensis (l.) aschers. & schweinf., as both names are currently regarded as synonyms for commicarpus chinensis (l.) heimerl. subsp. chinensis (das and santakumari, 1978; rajput and rao, 1998). although the two genera and their species in southern africa are sharply differentiated by their morphology, there is still a lack of knowledge about their anatomy. an anatomical study was required to determine whether additional taxonomic evidence could be obtained to aid in the delimitation of the genera and their species. the aim of this paper is to describe the stem, leaf and anthocarp anatomy of southern african boerhavia and commicarpus species for the first time and to report on the taxonomic significance of these characters. materials and methods sampling: stem, leaf and anthocarp material was collected in situ during 2009 and 2010 in namibia and south africa, as these two countries make up the southern african centre of diversity and together play host to all 16 taxa. voucher specimens were deposited in the national herbarium windhoek (wind), namibia and the a.p. goossens herbarium (puc), potchefstroom, south africa (table 2). scanning electron microscopy: stem, leaf and anthocarp material was stored in 70% ethanol and dehydrated once in 90% and twice in 100% ethanol successively for ten minutes before critical point drying. the plant material was then mounted on specimen stubs and sputter-coated with gold/palladium and examined with a fei quanta 200 environmental scanning electron microscope (esem). anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 107   table 1. list of southern african boerhavia and commicarpus species and their distribution in southern africa (*introduced aliens; eendemic). species distribution in southern africa boerhavia coccinea mill. var. coccinea botswana, mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland, zimbabwe *boerhavia cordobensis kuntze namibia, south africa eboerhavia deserticola codd namibia *boerhavia diffusa l. var. diffusa botswana, mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland, zimbabwe *boerhavia erecta l. botswana, mozambique, namibia, south africa, zimbabwe eboerhavia hereroensis heimerl namibia, south africa boerhavia repens l. var. repens botswana, namibia, south africa, zimbabwe commicarpus chinensis (l.) heimerl subsp. natalensis meikle south africa, mozambique ecommicarpus decipiens meikle namibia ecommicarpus fallacissimus (heimerl) heimerl ex. oberm. schweick. & i. verd. namibia, botswana ecommicarpus fruticosus pohn. namibia commicarpus helenae (roem. & schult.) meikle var. helenae botswana, namibia, south africa commicarpus pentandrus (burch.) heimerl botswana, lesotho, mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland, zimbabwe commicarpus pilosus (heimerl) meikle botswana, namibia, south africa, zimbabwe commicarpus plumbagineus standl.var. plumbagineus botswana, mozambique, namibia, south africa, swaziland, zimbabwe ecommicarpus squarrosus standl. namibia light microscopy: stem, leaf and anthocarp material was fixed in 4% aqueous paraformaldehyde. fixed material was then rinsed three times in 0.05 m cacodylate buffer for 15 minutes each and followed by three rinses with distilled water for 15 minutes each. the material was dehydrated in an ethanol series of 50%, 70%, 90% and twice in 100% ethanol for 15 minutes each followed by 15 minutes in 100% resin (l.r. white™ wirsam/london resin company). this was followed by two changes in resin for one hour each and was left overnight at 20°c before being embedded and then polymerised overnight at 65°c. embedded material was cut with a reichert-jung microtome and stained with 0.5% toluidine blue in 1% borax and 0.1% neufuchsin for 15 seconds. micrographs were taken at 40x, 60x and 100x magnification with a nikon digital camera dxm 1200 f, fitted on a nikon eclipse e 800 and a nikon digital sight camera fitted on a nikon eclipse 80i light microscope. 108 struwig et al.   table 2. voucher specimens deposited in the national herbarium windhoek (wind), namibia and the a.p. goossens herbarium, potchefstroom, south africa (puc) (np national park; nr nature reserve). taxon voucher specimens locality boerhavia coccinea var. coccinea struwig 55 struwig 108 struwig 120 namibia. farm okatjiho south africa. wyllie’s poort south africa. mapungubwe np b. cordobensis struwig 112 struwig 122 struwig 132 south africa. mapungubwe np south africa. tsipise south africa. klerksdorp b. deserticola struwig 38 struwig 42 struwig 43 namibia. brandberg namibia. twyfelfontein namibia. sesfontein b. diffusa var. diffusa struwig 88 struwig 117 struwig 125 south africa. mtuzini nr south africa. mapungubwe np south africa. tzaneen b. erecta struwig 23 struwig 135 struwig 143 south africa. potchefstroom south africa. kruger np south africa. kruger np b. hereroensis struwig 34 struwig 35 struwig 40 namibia. karibib namibia. klein spitzkuppe namibia. twyfelfontein lodge b. repens var. repens struwig 168 struwig 170 namibia. maltahöhe namibia. maltahöhe commicarpus chinensis subsp. natalensis struwig 61 struwig 62 struwig 63 south africa. uhmlanga rocks south africa. richards bay south africa. richards bay c. decipiens struwig 47 struwig 51 struwig 176 namibia. tsumeb namibia. klein waterberg namibia. omaruru c. fallacissimus struwig 33 struwig 46 namibia. windhoek namibia. joubert pass c. fruticosus. struwig 59 struwig 163 struwig 164 namibia. naukluft mountains namibia. naukluft mountains namibia. naukluft mountains c. helenae var. helenae struwig 44 struwig 141 struwig 183 namibia. khowarib rest camp south africa. kruger np namibia. otjimbingwe c. pentandrus struwig 48 struwig 57 struwig 131 namibia. tsumeb namibia. aris farm south africa. manyaka c. pilosus struwig 109 struwig 111 struwig 114 south africa. waterpoort road south africa. waterpoort road south africa. mapungubwe np c. plumbagineus var. plumbagineus siebert 3969 struwig 106 struwig 126 south africa. kruger np south africa. louis trichardt south africa. duiwelskloof c. squarrosus struwig 36 struwig 39 struwig 41 namibia. klein spitskuppe namibia. brandberg namibia. twyfelfontein anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 109   results trichomes: trichomes are present in all the organs of both boerhavia and commicarpus, and vary in their size, length, distribution and abundance. the trichomes are uniserial and multicellular. the trichomes terminate in a head which is either globose (fig. 1a) or clavate (fig. 1b). the walls of the trichomes are impregnated with numerous crystalline granules (fig. 1c). the head of the trichomes stain dark purple/blue with toluidine blue, which is an indication of dense cytoplasm (fig. 1d). the trichomes secrete a substance which makes the organs extremely sticky. fig. 1. a. scanning electron micrograph of a trichome with a globose head of boerhavia hereroensis. b. scanning electron micrograph of a trichome with a clavate head of commicarpus fallacissimus. c. crystals in the cell wall of the trichome (indicated by the arrow) of b. hereroensis. d. dense cytoplasm in the globose head of the trichome of b. hereroensis. scale bars a: 50 µm; b: 100 µm; c-d: 10 µm. stem anatomy: boerhavia: the cell walls of the epidermis are thickened, especially the outer periclinal wall, which is impregnated with crystalline granules of varying thickness. the cuticle is thin. the epidermal cells are rounded and not of the same size, with some cells larger than others (fig. 2a). the stomata are not sunken and the outer and inner periclinal walls of the guard cells are thickened but not cutinized. the collenchymatous hypodermis consists of 1-3 layers of cells. the 110 struwig et al.   hypodermis does not form a continuous cylinder around the axis of the stem but is interrupted at the substomatal chambers. the chlorenchyma cells are spherical to brick-shaped and arranged in 2-4 rows with large and small intercellular spaces. the cells vary in size. the innermost cell layer of the cortex (starch sheath) consists of large cells with thickened walls. the primary xylem consists of vessel elements with a large diameter. all the stem sections show anomalous secondary growth. the secondary xylem and secondary phloem form clusters of thick walled fibres with conjunctive parenchyma in between (fig. 2b). consecutive cambial layers differentiate from phloem parenchyma cells which were formed by the preceding cambium. no rays are present. medullary bundles form in the pith. bundles of raphide crystals are present throughout the stem in no specific pattern. fig. 2. a. light micrograph of a cross section through a portion of a stem of boerhavia deserticola. (c= crystals, chl= chlorenchyma, col= collenchymas, e= epidermis, g= guard cell of stoma, l= outer ledge of guard cell, ss= starch sheath). b. light micrograph of a cross section through a portion of a stem of boerhavia diffusa var. diffusa showing secondary growth. (co= cortex, e= epidermis, f= fibre, sp= secondary phloem, ss= starch sheath, sx= secondary xylem). bars = 50 µm. commicarpus: the structure of the stem corresponds with that which was described for boerhavia, except that the chlorenchyma cells are arranged in 3-6 rows. leaf anatomy: boerhavia: the epidermal cells are large, irregular in shape and the walls are thickened, especially the dome-shaped outer periclinal wall, which is not cutinized. the outer periclinal wall is impregnated with crystalline granules which are more numerous on the abaxial surface than the adaxial surface (fig. 3a). the cuticle is thin. tannin idioblasts are sometimes present in the epidermis of either or both surfaces (fig. 3a). the stomata are present on both leaf surfaces (amphistomatic) and the structure is the same as described for the stem. the mesophyll consists of palisade and spongy parenchyma cells which are irregular in shape. the minor veins are surrounded by atriplicoid kranz anatomy (that is, the veins are surrounded by a layer of kranz cells which in turn are surrounded by palisade cells) (fig. 3b). the main veins are not surrounded by kranz anatomy and the vessels have a large diameter. throughout the mesophyll, bundles of anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 111   raphide crystals are present in no specific pattern (fig. 3c) and small druse crystals are present inside the palisade cells. fig. 3. a. micrograph of the abaxial leaf surface of boerhavia erecta (c= crystals, e= abaxial epidermis, m= mesophyll, t= tannin). b. kranz anatomy (k) around the minor veins of boerhavia coccinea var. coccinea. (m= mesophyll, p= phloem, x= xylem). c. raphide crystals (r) in the mesophyll of boerhavia hereroensis. d. parenchyma cells (pa) around the minor veins of commicarpus pilosus (m= mesophyll, p= phloem, x= xylem). bars a, b, d = 50 µm; c= 10 µm. commicarpus: the structure of the leaf is the same as described for boerhavia, except that the minor veins are not surrounded by kranz anatomy but with large parenchyma cells (fig. 3d), and tannin idioblasts are absent from the epidermal cells. anthocarp anatomy: boerhavia: the anthocarps of the different species have five ribs, except for b. cordobensis, which has three wings and b. erecta which has five wings. the outer epidermal cells are irregularly brick-shaped to round (fig. 4a). the outer periclinal wall of the epidermal cells is thickened and impregnated with a thick layer of crystalline granules. the cuticle is thin. the epidermis overlays 3-5 rows of parenchyma cells which are followed by 3-8 rows of sclerenchyma. the sclerenchyma occurs within the ribs and the area between the ribs. below the epidermis of the ribs, columnar cells sometimes occur which become mucilaginous. five or six 112 struwig et al.   vascular bundles occur near the sclerenchyma in the ribs. the inner epidermal cells are brick shaped and the outer periclinal wall is thickened, although not as much as that of the outer epidermis. bundles of raphide crystals are present throughout the anthocarp in no specific pattern. fig. 4. light micrograph of a cross section through the anthocarp of boerhavia and commicarpus species. a. anthocarp of boerhavia diffusa var. diffusa. b. anthocarp of commicarpus pilosus. (a= anthocarp wall, c= columnar cells, f=fruit, r= rib, s=sclerenchyma). c. schlerenchyma bundle (sclerenchyma indicated by the arrow) with a round outline d. schlerenchyma bundle with an elongated outline. bars a: 0.3 mm; b: 0.3 mm; c-d; 100 µm. commicarpus: the anthocarp has 10 ribs (fig. 4b) and the epidermis is followed by 2-5 rows of parenchyma cells. the sclerenchyma occurs in a bundle within the ribs and, unlike boerhavia, is not present in the area between the ribs. the sclerenchyma bundle is either round (fig. 4c) or elongated sideways in outline (fig. 4d). five vascular bundles occur in the ribs near the sclerenchyma bundle, although it may appear as if two bundles have fused. towards the inside of the rib the sclerenchyma bundle is followed by 3 rows of parenchyma cells and the inner epidermis. the area between the ribs consists of 3-6 rows of parenchyma cells. anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 113   discussion careful observations of the anatomy of the different species suggested that the anatomy within a genus is uniform and can therefore not be used to distinguish among the different species. several studies had previously shown the importance of certain anatomical characters to distinguish among the genera of the nyctaginaceae (fadeyi et al., 1989; edeoga and ikem, 2002), and this is also the case for boerhavia and commicarpus in southern africa. the trichomes of the nyctaginaceae are described as glandular and uniserial with ellipsoidal, clavate or spherical terminal cells, or stellate, as in the tribe leucastereae or branched as in pisonia (metcalfe and chalk, 1965). fadeyi et al., (1989) decribed the trichome morphology of four boerhavia species which occur in nigeria as variable in their morphology, distribution and abundance and they are generally uniserial and multicellular with an acute apex or the trichomes terminate in a large apical cell. the trichomes of the southern african boerhavia and commicarpus are uniserial and multicellular with globose or clubshaped heads and their size, length, distribution and abundance vary considerably between and within genera and species, so much so that trichomes could not be used to distinguish between the two genera nor species. the structure of the stem and leaves of boerhavia correspond to the descriptions given by metcalfe and chalk (1950, 1983). current results show that commicarpus has more rows of chlorenchyma than boerhavia, but this character needs further investigation to determine whether it is diagnostic. the anatomy of the leaves of boerhavia and commicarpus differ as boerhavia has kranz anatomy around the minor veins, which is absent in commicarpus. this corresponds to the finding of muhaidat et al. (2007) who investigated commicarpus plumbagineus standl., boerhavia coccinea mill. and boerhavia dominii meikle & hewson for the presence of kranz anatomy in a study investigating the kranz anatomy and biochemisty of c4 eudicots. the presence or absence of kranz anatomy is therefore a diagnostic character to distinguish between boerhavia and commicarpus. tannin idioblasts and raphides are recorded for the family by various authors (bittrich and kühn, 1993; edeoga and ikem, 2002). the tannin idioblasts are absent in commicarpus leaves, but due to the fact that they are not always present in the epidermal cells of boerhavia leaves either, this character cannot reliably be used to distinguish between the two genera. the distribution of the raphides is not in a specific pattern and of no taxonomic value. anthocarp morphology is the character by which most genera can be distinguished within the family (douglas and manos, 2007) and, likewise, the anthocarp anatomy of the southern african species of boerhavia and commicarpus differ significantly. boerhavia has five-ribbed or threeto five-winged anthocarps with sclerenchyma present within the rib and the area between the ribs. commicarpus has ten ribs with sclerenchyma only present within the rib, and the sclerenchyma bundles can either be round (as in c. decipiens, c. pentandrus, c. plumbagineus var. plumbagineus and c. squarrosus) or elongated (as in c. chinensis subsp. natalensis, c. fallacissimus, c. fruticosus, c. pilosus and c helenae var. helenae) in outline. however, the reliability of the outline of the sclerenchyma bundles still needs to be investigated further at 114 struwig et al.   different developmental stages of the anthocarp before it can be considered as a diagnostic character with which to divide the commicarpus species into two groups. this distinction could be used in later studies to understand the phylogeny of the genus in southern africa. the following key is therefore proposed: 1a. anthocarp five ribbed or threeto five-winged; sclerenchyma present within the rib and the area between the ribs; minor veins of the leaves surrounded by kranz anatomy boerhavia 1b. anthocarp ten ribbed; sclerenchyma only present in the rib area; minor veins of the leaves surrounded by parenchyma cells commicarpus conclusion the anatomy of the southern african boerhavia and commicarpus species has been described for the first time. the leaf and especially the anthocarp anatomy can be used to distinguish between the two genera, but the anatomy at the species level is uniform and uninformative. however, this study provides evidence that the number of chlorenchyma rows in the stems may be a diagnostic character and that the shape of the sclerenchyma bundles in the anthocarp can possibly be used to divide commicarpus in two groups which can later be used to understand the phylogeny of the genus in southern africa. acknowledgements the south african biosystematics initiative (national research foundation) of south africa provided financial support. we thank dr l.r. tiedt and ms. w. pretorius at the laboratory for electron microscopy, north-west university, for technical support. references bromilow, c. 2010. problem plants and alien weeds of south africa. third edition. briza publications, pretoria. bittrich, v. and kühn, u. 1993. nyctaginaceae. in: kubitzki, k., rohwer, j.g. and bittrich, v. (eds.), the families and genera of vascular plants dicotyledons 2. bittrich springer-verlag, berlin, pp. 473-486. carlquist, s. 2004. lateral meristems, successive cambia and their products: a reinterpretation based on roots and stems of nyctaginaceae. bot. j. linn. soc. 146: 129-143. carolin, r.c., jacobs, s.w.l. and vesk, m. 1978. kranz cells and mesophyll in the chenopodiales. australian j. bot. 26: 683-698. codd, l.e. 1966. notes on boerhavia in southern africa. bothalia 9: 113-121. das, v.s.r. and santakumari, m. 1978. the incomplete evolution of c4photosynthesis within the pantropical taxon, boerhaavia (nyctaginaceae). photosynthetica 12: 418-422. douglas, n.a. and manos, p.s. 2007. molecular phylogeny of nyctaginaceae: taxonomy, biogeography and characters associated with a radiation of xerophytic genera in north america. american j. bot. 96: 856872. edeoga, h.o. and ikem, c.i. 2002. tannins, saponins and calcium oxalate crystals from nigerian species of boerhavia l. (nyctaginaceae). south afr. j. bot. 68: 382-385. anatomy of boerhavia and commicarpus 115   fadeyi, a., adeoye, a.o. and olowokundejo, j.d. 1989. epidermal and phytochemical studies in the genus boerhavia (nyctaginceae) in nigeria. international j. crude drug res. 27: 178-184. germishuizen, g. and meyer, n.l. 2003. plants of southern africa: an annotated checklist. strelitzia 14: 749750. jordaan, m. 2000. nyctaginaceae. in: leistner, o.a. (ed.), seed plants of southern africa: families and genera. strelitzia 10: 424-426. meikle, r.d. 1978. a key to commicarpus. notes royal bot. gard., edinb. 36: 235-249. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1950. anatomy of the dicotyledons: leaves, stems, and wood in relation to taxonomy with notes on economic uses. clarendon press, oxford. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1965. anatomy of the dicotyledons. clarendon press, oxford. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1979. anatomy of the dicotyledons. systematic anatomy of leaf and stem, with a brief history of the subject, vol. 1, second edition, clarendon press. oxford. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1983. anatomy of the dicotyledons. wood structure and conclusion of the general introduction. vol. ii. clarendon press, oxford. mikesell, j.e. and popham, r.a. 1976. ontogeny and correlative relationship of the primary thickening meristems in four-o’clock plants (nyctaginaceae) maintained under long and short photoperiods. american j. bot. 63: 427-437. muhaidat, r., sag, r.f. and dengler, n.g. 2007. diversity of kranz anatomy and biochemistry in c4 eudicots. american j. bot. 94: 362-381. rajput, k. and rao, k.s. 1998. cambial anatomy and absence of rays in the stem of boerhaavia species (nyctaginaceae). annales botanici fennici 35: 131-135. stannard, b.l. 1988. nyctaginaceae. in: launert, e. (ed.), flora zambesiaca. vol. 9. fascicle 1. halesworth press ltd., london, pp. 12-28. thulin, m. 1994. aspects of disjunct distributions and endemism in the arid parts of the horn of africa, particularly somalia. in: seyani, j.h. and chikuni, a.c. (eds.), proceedings of the 13th plenary meeting of aetfat held in zomba, malawi on 2–11 april 1991. national herbarium and botanic gardens of malawi, zomba, pp. 1105-1119. vanvinckenroye, p., cresens, e., ronse decraene, l-p. and smets, e. 1993. a comparative floral developmental study in pisonia, bougainvillea and mirabilis (nyctaginaceae) with special emphasis on the gynoecium and floral nectaries. bulletin van de national plantentuin van belgië 62: 69-96. willson, j. and spellenberg, r. 1977. observations on anthocarp anatomy in the subtribe mirabilinae (nyctaginaceae). madrono 24: 104-111. (manuscript received on 13 may 2011; revised on 24 november 2011) microsoft word 05. znt.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 129-139, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton of a pond receiving textile industrial effluents z.n. tahmida begum1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: industrial effluents, phytoplankton, taxonomy abstract phytoplankton from four stations of a large pond receiving effluents from two textile industries have been investigated. a total of 69 taxa were identified out of which 48 belonged to chlorophyceae followed by 17 to cyanophyceae. one species from each of chrysophyceae, xanthophyceae, cryptophyceae and dinophyceae were also recorded. oscillatoria limnetica lemm., anabaena circinalis rabenh. ex born. et flah., nostoc commune vaucher ex born. et flah. ankistrodesmus falcatus var. mirabilis (west & west) lemm. and scendesmus spp. were found dominant in all the stations. introduction the effluents, discharged in rivers, ponds, lakes, etc., are as varied as the human activities which produce them. according to hynes and pentelow (1978) six categories of effluents exist, namely (i) inert suspensions, (ii) poisons, (iii) inorganic reducing agents, (iv) oils, (v) organic residues, and (vi) hot water. the degree of pollution can often be measured most easily by a biological analysis in which phytoplankton are important indicators. for the assessment of water quality biological indicators are better than chemical and physical features (round 1985). in india, aspects of biology of industrial wastewater have been studied by mohan and kumar (1990) and baliarsingh et al. (1991). in bangladesh, a number of research works have been carried out on phytoplankton from a range of habitats and localities (islam and begum 1970, 1987, islam and irfanullah 2005a, b, c, 2006, khondker et al. 2007a, b). phytoplankton from organically polluted ponds were worked out by islam and khatun (1966), islam and nahar (1967), and khondker et al. (1990), but there exists very little information on qualitative aspects of phytoplankton from the polluted habitats contaminated by industrial wastes. the present work has therefore been undertaken to study qualitative account of phytoplankton (excluding members of bacillariophyceae and euglenophyceae) from a pond receiving wastewater from two textile industries in dhaka. materials and methods the investigation was carried out in a large permanent pond near deilla, demra, dhaka during 1990-1991. the pond is an open drainage type having one inlet and is regularly charged with effluent wastewater released from the nearby textile and dyeing 1e-mail: botany@univdhaka.edu 130 begum industries. four stations or sampling points, namely s-1, s-2, s-3 and s-4, were selected in the pond for sampling. samples were collected at fortnight intervals at a depth of about 25 cm below the surface of water. a rafter was used for this purpose. air and water temperatures were recorded by a mercury (centigrade) thermometer. ph and redox potential (rp) were measured by cd-300 digital portable ph meter with the help of the electrode (phmhba-220u, 24:760/6). dissolved oxygen (do) and free carbon dioxide were analyzed according to apha (1976). the bicarbonate alkalinity was measured after gerrath and denny (1979). collection and preservation of samples for biological analysis were done according to johansen (1940) and khondker et al. (1990). phytoplankton were identified with the help of a nikon compound microscope (japan) at magnifications ranging from ×150 × 1500. desikachary (1959), islam and begum (1970), prescott (1982), huber-pestalozzi (1983), bold and wynne (1985), islam and irfanullah (2005a, b, c) and khondker et al. (2006, 2007a, b) were consulted for the identification of phytoplankton species. results and discussion table 1 shows annual ranges of some physicochemical variables from the studied pond. except s-1 no significant variation was observed in case of air and water temperatures. annual maximum water temperature recorded at this station was about 67°c higher compared to the maximum temperature recorded in other stations. might be this station was receiving some hot water discharge from the industries. a minimum ph value has been recorded at this station and s-4. anoxia was observed in all the stations. carbon dioxide was occasionally undetectable at s-1 and s-3. similarly bicarbonate alkalinity was also undetectable at different times in all the stations. table 1. range of some physical and chemical variables from four stations of the pond in dhaka, 1990-1991. sampling station air temperature (oc) water temperature (oc) ph dissolved oxygen (mg/l) free co2 (mg/l) bicarbonate alkalinity (meq/l) redox potential s-1 23-38 20-39 5-7 0-5 0-8 0-19 -0.43-0.29 s-2 23-36 20-32 6-7 0-6 1-6 0-8 -0.21-0.29 s-3 22-36 20-33 6-7 0-5 0-9 0-19 -0.19-0.29 s-4 23-36 18-32 5-7 0-5 1-9 0-5 -0.22-0.27 a total of 69 phytoplankton taxa were recorded from the pond. the taxa which were found to be dominant were also previously reported to be dominant in different aquatic habitats in bangladesh. the taxa belonged to the classes cyanophyceae, chlorophyceae, chrysophyceae, xanthophyceae, cryptophyceae and dinophyceae. a brief account on each taxon has been provided below including its abundance in station(s). a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton 131 class: cyanophyceae; order: chroococcales; family: chroococcaceae 1. aphanothece pallida kütz. (rebenh.), fl. eur. alg. 2: 64 (1865). colony 4-6 µm broad; cells 7-9 broad, 14-16 µm long with sheath, without sheath 6.5 broad, 6.5-10.0 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. order: oscillatoriales; family: oscillatoriaceae 2. oscillatoria agardhii gomont, monogr. oscillariées, 205 (1892). filamentous; cells 2.0-6.6 broad, 1-3 µm long; calyptra 2.5 broad, 1.8 µm long. stations: 2-4; few. 3. oscillatoria amphibia ag. ex gomont, monogr. oscillarièes, 221, pl. 7, figs 4-5 (1892). tip cell 3 µm broad, 13 µm long; individual cell 5 µm broad, 3 µm long. station: 3; rare. 4. oscillatoria homogenea frémy, myxo. d’ afr. équat. franc. 215, fig.184 (1929). trichomes long; cells 5.7-8.5 µm broad, 4-7 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. 5. oscillatoria limnetica lemm., ber. dtsch. bot. ges. 18: 310 (1900). [syn.: o. splendida var. limnetica (lemm.) playfair]. trichomes straight or bent; cells 1.5-2.0 µm broad, 2.5-5.0 µm long. stations: 1-4; very common. 6. oscillatoria pseudogeminata g. schmid., ber. dtsch. bot. ges. 32: 124, fig. 4 (1914). trichomes straight; individual cell 3 µm broad, 8 µm long; terminal cell 2-3 µm broad, 4-8 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. 7. oscillatoria sancta (kütz.) gomont, monogr. oscillariées, 209, pl. 6, fig. 12 (1892). thallus composed of many trichomes; cells 9.2-16.0 µm broad, 2.3-6.1 µm long. stations: 1, 3, 4; few. 8. oscillatoria subbrevis schmidle., engler’s bot. jahrb. 30; 243, pl. 4, fig. 7 (1901). trichomes single, 5-6 µm broad; cells 1-2 µm long. stations: 1-3; few. 9. spirulina gigantea schmidle., engler’s bot. jahrb. 32: 59, pl. 1, fig. 5 (1902). trichomes 2.7-4.0 µm broad, regularly spirally coiled, spirals 8-16 µm broad. station: 1; rare. family: nostocaceae 10. anabaena affinis lemm., zeit. f. fisch. 1897: 177-188 (1897). filaments long; cells 6.0-7.5 µm broad, 4.0-4.5 µm long; heterocysts 6.5-8.5 µm broad, 5.5-6.2 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. 11. anabaena circinalis rabenh. ex born. et flah., algen eur. exs. no. 209 (1852). [syn.: a. flos-aquae var. circinalis kirchner]. trichome 5-8 µm broad; cells 7-10 µm 132 begum long, 5-6 µm broad; heterocysts sub-spherical, 7-11 µm broad. stations: 1-4; very common. 12. anabaena flos-aquae (lyngb.) bréb. ex born. et flah. in bréb. et godey, algues des environs de falaise, 36 (1835). filamentous; cells 5-6 µm broad; heterocysts 6-7 µm broad, 7.8 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. 13. anabaena naviculoides fritsch, j. indian bot. soc. 28: 138, figs 17-39 (1949). trichomes elongate, coiled; cells 3.5-5.0 µm broad. station: 1; very rare. 14. anabaena orientalis dixit, proc. indian acad. sci. b, 3: 101, fig. 3 d, e (1936). trichomes single, 6.5 µm broad; cells 3.6-7.0 µm broad, 5-7 µm long; heterocysts 57 µm broad, 7.0-11.2 µm long; akinetes 11-14 µm broad, 18.1-21.5 µm long. stations: 3, 4; not very common. 15. anabaena volzii lemm., abh. nat. ver. bremen, 18: 153, pl. 9, figs 4, 5, 20 (1906). [syn.: anabaena unispora gardner]. filamentous; cells 3.6-4.8 µm broad, 7-10 µm long; heterocysts 3.6-8.0 µm broad, 7-16 µm long; akinetes 9.6-20.0 µm broad, 20-34 µm long. stations: 1-4; few. 16. anabaenopsis raciborskii wolosz., bull. int. acad. sci. cracovie, b, 6: 684, fig. 10 (1913). filaments 40-130 µm long; cells 2-3 µm broad, 4.5-11.0 µm long; heterocysts 3.0-3.5 µm broad, 5.5-7.5 µm long; akinete-like structure 4.0-4.3 µm broad, 7-9 µm long. station: 2; very rare. 17. nostoc commune vaucher ex born. et flah., historoie des conferves d'eau douce, 222, pl. 16, fig. 1 (1803). colony 84 µm broad, 183 µm long; cells 4-5 µm broad, 5-7 µm long; heterocysts 5 µm broad, 3 µm long. stations: 1-4; very common. class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocales; family: volvocaceae 18. eudorina elegans ehrenberg, monatsber. akad. wiss. berlin 183: 78, 152 (1833). colony 32-celled (also 16-celled), 69-96 µm broad, c 60-200 µm long; cells 7.0-11.7 (25.0) µm broad; pyrenoids 3 to many. station: 1; rare. 19. pandorina morum (müller) bory, encycl. meth. diet. hist. nat., p. 600 (1824). colony 8-16-(rarely-32)-celled, 20-33(-42) µm broad, 30-41(-60) µm long (may be longer); cells 6.6-10.0(-17.0) µm broad, 9-13(-17) µm long; flagella 2, 2.0-2.5 times body length; contractile vacuole 2. stations: 2, 3; few. order: chlorococcales; family: chlorococcaceae 20. schroederia setigera (schröd.) lemmermann, hedwigia, dresden, 37: 303-312 (1898). [syn.: reinschiella setigera schröd., ankistrodesmus setigerus (schröd.) g.s. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton 133 west, characium setigerum (schröd.) bour.]. cells 4.4 µm broad, 105.6 µm long with spines. stations: 2-4; rare. family: hydrodictyaceae 21. pediastrum duplex meyen, nova acta loep. carol., norimberge, 14(2): 768-778 (1829). [syn.: p. napoleonis ralfs, p. pertusum kützing]. colony 8-128-celled, up to 182 µm broad; cells 10.0-16.2 µm broad, 13.5-21.78 µm long. stations: 1, 2; few. 22. pediastrum duplex var. gracillimum west & west, j. roy. microsc. soc., london, 14: 1-17 (1894). [syn.: p. gracile a. br., p. gracillimum thun.]. colony 4-32-celled; cells 2.3-13.2 µm broad, 5.5-13.2 µm long. station: 2; rare. 23. pediastrum duplex var. reticulatum lagerheim, ofv. kgl. sv. vet.-akad. forh. 39: 47-81 (1882). [syn.: p. duplex var. clathratum (ag. br.) lagerheim]. colony 8-32celled; outer cells 4.4-20.0 µm broad, 8.8-27.0 µm long; inner cells 2.3-17.6 µm broad, 6.6-20.55 µm long. stations: 2-4; few. 24. pediastrum tetras (ehrenberg) ralfs, ann. & mag. nat. hist. 14: 469 (1844). [syn.: p. rotula kütz., p. ehrenbergii (chodat) a. braun, p. incavatum turn.]. colony 4-8celled; inner cells with 4-6 straight sides, cells 4.4-6.6 µm broad, 5.5-9.0 µm long. stations: 2-4; common. 25. pediastrum tetras var. tetraedron (corda) hansgirg, prod. algen. böhmen-1. teil, 288 pp. prag (1886). colony 4-celled, 21.3-40.0 µm long; cells 2.2-13.3 µm broad, 7.26-14.2 µm long. stations: 1, 4; very rare. family: oocystaceae 26. ankistrodesmus falcatus (corda) ralfs, ann. bot. 34: 49, 74, fig. 2 (1848). [syn.: micrasterias falcata corda, a. biplex (reinsch) g.s. west, a. lundbergii kors.]. cells 1.1-2.0 µm broad, 30.2-66.0 µm long, solitary or in clusters of 2-32 individuals. stations: 1-4; very common. 27. ankistrodesmus falcatus var. mirabilis (west and west) lemmermann (1908). cells 2 µm broad, 19.8-37.4 µm long; autospores 4-8 in number. stations: 1-4; very common. 28. ankistrodesmus spiralis (turner) lemmerman, ark. bot. kristiania 2: 1-209 (1904). [syn.: raphidium spirale turn., raphidium polymorphum fres., raphidium turneri bern.]. colony 2-8 or more celled; cells 1.1-2.2 µm broad, 25.8-30.8 µm long; autospores 4-8 in number. stations: 2, 4; rare. 134 begum family: scenedesmaceae 29. crucigenia lauterbornii (schmidle) schmidle, allg. bot. z., karlsruhe, 5: 2-4 (1900). [syn.: hofmannia lauterbornii (schmidle) wille, komarenkia lauterbornii (schmidle) fott, staurogenia lauterbornii schmidle]. colony 4-celled; cells 4.4-6.6 µm broad, 6.6-6.7 µm long. station: 1; rare. 30. crucigenia quadrata morren, ann. sci. nat. (a). paris, 20: 404-426 (1830). [syn.: micrasterias crucigenia kütz., staurogenia quadrata (morr.) kütz.]. colony 4celled, forming 16-celled multiple coenobia; colony 13.2-36.0 µm in diameter; cells 3.3-6.6 µm broad, 3.3-9.9 µm long; chloroplasts as many as 4 in a cell. stations: 1, 2; few. 31. crucigenia tetrapedia (kirchner) west and west, trans-roy. irish acad. 32 (b): 1100 (1902). [syn.: staurogenia tetrapedia kirchner, tetrapedia kirchneri lemm., lemmermannia tetrapedia (kirchn.) lemm.]. colony 4-celled, forming 16-celled multiple coenobia; colony 6.6 µm in diameter; cells triangular, 2.2-4.4 µm broad, 6.4-6.7 µm long. stations: 1, 2; few. 32. crucigeniella crucifera (wolle) komárek, arch. protistenk., jena, 116: 1-75 (1974). [syn.: staurogenia crucifera wolle, crucigenia cruciata schmidle, c. crucifera (wolle) collins]. colony 4-16-celled, 8.8-11.0 µm broad, 8.8-14.2 µm long, cells 2.2-6.6 µm broad, 4.4-10.0 µm long. station: 2; rare. 33. crucigeniella rectangularis (näg.) komárek, arch. protistenk., jena, 116: 1-75 (1974). [syn.: staurogenia rectangularis nägeli in ex braun, crucigenia rectangularis (nägeli) gay]. colony 4-32-celled; cells 2.2-3.5 µm broad, 2.4-6.6 µm long; chloroplasts 1-4 parietal discs. stations: 1-4; common. 34. scenedesmus acutiformis schöder, ber. dt. bot. ges., stuttgart 15: 372-373 (1897). [syn.: s. quadricauda var. acutiformis (b. schröder) schmidle, s. hystrix var. acutiformis (b. schröder) r. chodat, s. hystrix f. acutiformis (b. schröder) r. volk]. colony 4-celled; cell 6 µm long. stations: 1, 2, 4; few. 35. scenedesmus arcuatus lemmermann, forschungsber. biol. stat. plön 7: 96-135 (1899). colony 4-16-celled; cells 4.4-8.8 µm broad, 6.6-14.3 µm long. stations: 1-4; very common. 36. scenedesmus arcuatus var. platydiscus g.m. smith, trans. wisc. acad. sci. arts and letters, madison, 18: 422-539 (1916). colony 4-8-celled, 11.0 µm long; cells oblong-elliptic, 2.2-6.6 µm broad, 6.8-8.8 µm long. stations: 1, 3; few. 37. scenedesmus bijuga (turp.) lagerheim, nuora notarisia 2: 153-191 (1893). [syn.: s. helveticus chodat]. colony 2-4-8-celled, 13.5 µm long; cells 3.3-10.0 µm broad, 8.8-20.0 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton 135 38. scenedesmus bijuga var. irregularis (wille) g.m. smith, trans. wisc. acad. sci. arts and letters, madison 18: 422-539 (1916). colonial; cells 3.3-6.6 µm broad, 6.68.8 µm long. stations: 1, 3, 4; common. 39. scenedesmus brasiliensis bohlin, bih. k. svenska vet.-akad. handl. 23, afd. 3, no. 7: 3-47 (1897). colony 2-4-8-celled, arranged in a single series, 21-27 µm long; poles with 1-2 small teeth; cells 4.4-7.4 µm broad, 11.0-22.3 µm long. stations: 1, 4; rare. 40. scenedesmus denticulatus lagerheim, öfv. kongl. [svenska] vet.-akad. förh. 39(2): 47-81 (1882). colony 4-8-celled, arranged in a single series; cells 3.3-10.0 µm broad, 11.0-20.9 µm long; 1-4 short teeth/spines at cell apices; spines 3.3 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. 41. scenedesmus dimorphus (turp.) kütz., linnaea 8: 604-609 (1833). [syn.: achnanthes dimorpha turp., s. pectinatus meyen, s. acutus var. dimorphus (turp.) rabenh.]. colony 4-8-celled; cells 2.2-10.0 µm broad, 11-23 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. 42. scenedesmus incrassatulus bohlin, k. svenska vet.akad. handl. stockholm, afd. 3, 23 (7): 3-47 (1897). colony 2-4-8-celled; cells 2.2-4.4 µm broad, 13.4-17.6 µm long. stations: 2-4; few. 43. scenedesmus magnus meyen, nova acta leop. carol., norimbergae 14(2): 768-778 (1829). [syn.: s. longus var. naegelli bréb., s. longus meyen, s. quadricauda bréb. var. maximus (west & west) chodat.]. colony flat, 2-4-8-celled; cells 3.0-8.8 µm broad, 7-23 µm long. stations: 1, 2, 4; few. 44. scenedesmus longus var. brevispina g.m. smith, trans. wisc. acad. sci. arts. lett., madison 18: 422-530 (1916). colonial; cells 4.5-6.6 µm wide, 15.4-17.4 µm long; setae 2.2 µm long. stations: 3, 4; rare. 45. scenedesmus perforatus lemmermann, forschungsber. biol. stat. plön 11: 289-311 (1904). colony 2-8-celled; cells 3.0-8.8 µm broad, 9.9-26.4 µm long; setae 2.2-15.4 µm long. station: 1; very rare. 46. dictyosphaerium ehrenbergianum nägeli, gattungen einzelliger algen. pp. 137, zürich (1849). colony 85 µm in diameter; individual cells 3.3-6.6 µm broad, 6.6-9.9 µm long. stations: 1-4; very common. 47. hyaloraphidium contortum pascher & korsikov, arch. protistenk. 74: 249, figs 1-6 (1931). cells 2.2-2.5 µm broad, 19.8-28.6 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. 48. kirchneriella lunaris (kirch.) moebius, abh. senck. natur. ges. frankfurt a.m. 18: 309-350 (1894). [syn.: raphidium convolutum var. lunare kirchn., k. lunata 136 begum schmidle]. colony 4-16-celled, up to 48.4 µm in diameter; cells 4.4-6.6 µm broad, 3.3-9.9 µm long. station: 2; rare. 49. trochiscia reticularis (reinsch) hansgirg, hedwigia, 27: 126-132 (1888). cells usually in clumps, 26.4-33.0 µm in diameter; autospores 4, 8 or 16. stations: 1, 2; not very common. 50. tetraedron regulare kützing, phycologia germanica, d.i. deutschlants algen in bündigen beschreibungen, pp. 340. nordhausen (1845). [syn.: t. tumidulum (reinsch) hansgirg, t. quadrilobum g.m. smith]. cells tetragonal, 50.7 µm broad (with spine), 15.5-57.4 µm long. stations: 1, 2; rare. 51. tetraedron trigonum (nägeli) hansgirg, hedwigia, 27: 126-132 (1888). cells 8.622.0 µm broad, 11.2-22.0 µm long. stations: 1-4; common. 52. tetraedron constrictum g.m. smith, wis. geol. and nat. hist. surv., bull. 57: 1-243 (1920). cells 28.6 µm in diameter with processes. station: 2; very rare. 53. tetraedron caudatum (corda) hansgirg, hedwigia, dresden, 27 (516): 126-132 (1888). [syn.: polyedrium pentagonum reinsch]. cell diameter 8.8 µm; autospores 2-4-8 per cell. stations: 1, 2, 4; few. family: coelastraceae 54. actinastrum hantzschii lagerheim, öfv. kongl. sv. vet.–akad. förhandl, 39 (2): 47-81 (1882). [syn.: ourococcus bicaudatus (a. braun) grobety]. colony 4or 8 celled; cells 2.2-4.2 µm broad, 8.8-19.6 µm long. stations: 1-4; very rare. order: zygnematales; family: desmidiaceae 55. closterium moniliferum (bory) ehrenberg, infusions. volkomm. organism. p. 91, pl. 5, fig. 16; ex ralfs 1848, brit. desm. 166, pl. 28: 3 (1838). [syn.: c. leibleinii kg. ex ralfs proparte, c. malinvernianiforme groenblad, c. moniliferum (bory) her. ex ralfs var. malinvernianiforme (groenb.) kosinsk.]. cells solitary, 166-261 µm long, median diameter 29-45 µm, apex (3)-6-9 µm, 50º-133º arc; chloroplast 5-10, pyrenoids 4-10; terminal vacuole with c 10 granules. station: 2; very rare. 56. closterium ralfsii bréb. ex ralfs var. gracilius (maskell) krieger, rabenhorst’s kryptog. flora 13: 346, pl. 31, fig. 6 (1937). [syn.: c. decorum bréb. var. gracilius maskell]. cell length 210 µm, median diameter 11 µm, apex 3 µm, curvature less, c 30º arc; striation 5-14 in 10 µm. station: 4; very rare. 57. cosmarium caelatum ralfs, brit. desmid.: 103 (1848). cells 18.2 µm broad, 21.823.2 µm long, isthmus 3.6-5.4 µm, apex 10 µm. station: 2; rare. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton 137 58. cosmarium impressulum elfving, acta soc. fauna flora fenn. 2 (2): 13, pl.1, fig. 9 (1881). [syn.: c. meneghinii var. simplicissimum f. reinschii istvanfy]. cells 18-26 µm long, 12.6-18.5 µm broad, isthmus 3.6-7.4 µm, apex 5.5-7.3 µm. station: 3; rare. 59. cosmarium laeve rab., f1. eur. aig. 3: 161 (1858). cells 25.4 µm long, median diameter at the base of semicell 7.5-14.5 µm, isthmus 3.3-6.9 µm. stations: 2-4; common. 60. staurastrum galeatum turner, alg. ind. orient.: 122, pl. 14, figs 3, 9-10 (1893). cells 29.6-30.0 µm long, median diameter with processes 37-39 µm, isthmus 11 µm. station: 4; rare. 61. staurastrum lapponicum (schmidle) grönblad, soc. sc. fenn., cimment. biol. 2(5): 29 (1926). [syn.: s. punctulatum var. muricatiforma fa. lapponica schmidle]. cells 25 µm long, median diameter 23-24 µm, isthmus 8.3 µm. station: 4; rare. 62. staurastrum longibrachiatum west & west, nova hedwigia pl. 17, figs 8, 9 (1905). [syn.: s. bicorne var. longebrachiatum borge]. cell length without processes 26-46 µm, median diameter with processes 60-90 µm, isthmus 8-10 µm. station: 4; rare. 63. staurastrum manfeldtii delponte, hirano, mem. r. accad. sc. torino, ser. 2, 30: 64 (1878). cell length 35 µm, median diameter without spines 13.6 µm, isthmus 8.3 µm. stations: 1, 2, 4; few. 64. pleurotaenium trabecula (her.) nägeli., gattung einz. algen, 104, pl. 6, fig. a (1849). cells 576 µm long, median diameter at the base of semicell 50 µm, isthmus 42 µm, cell apex 25.0-33.4 µm. stations: 3, 4; rare. 65. euastrum spinulosum delponte var. inermius (nordstedt) bernard, p. 126, pl. 8, figs 207, 208 in protococcácées et desmidiées d’eau douce, recoltees á java, pp. 230, batavia (1908). [syn.: e. spinulosum delp. subsp. inermius nordstedt]. cells 49-59(81) µm long, median diameter 42-51-(67) µm, isthmus 8.5-11-(18) µm, apex 12.517-(27) µm. station: 4; rare. class: chrysophyceae; sub-class: chrysophycidae; order: ochromonadales; family: dinobryaceae 66. dinobryon sertularia ehrenberg, abh. k. aked. wiss. berlin, physik. k1. 1833: 280 (1834). lorica 9.4 µm broad, 32.4-36.4 µm long, opening diameter 10.8 µm; zygospore diameter 14.8 µm. stations: 2-4; not so common. 138 begum class: xanthophyceae; order: mischococcales; family: pleurochloridaceae 67. isthmochloron gracile (reinsch) skuja var. dacchense islam, dacca univ. stud. 21, pt. b. (1973). cells solitary, with arms 22-34 µm broad, 28.8-34.0 µm long. stations: 2-4; not so common. class: dinophyceae; order: peridiniales; family: peridiniaceae 68. ceratium hirundinella (müller) dujardin, infusoires: 377 (l84l). [syn.: bursarja hirundinella müller]. cell proper 41 µm broad, 150 µm long; epicone with horn 95 µm long; hypocone with posterior horn 64 µm long. stations: 1, 2; not so common. class: cryptophyceae; order: cryptomonadales; family: cryptomonadaceae 69. cryptomonas obovata skuja, acta horti bot. univ. latv. 11-12: 41-169 (1939). cells 13 µm broad, 25 µm long; flagella 2, equal or unequal, 12 µm long. stations: 24; common. acknowledgements the author is grateful to md. zahangir hossain for the assistance during the collection of the materials. thanks are also due to two textile mill authorities for permitting the author to sample their pond. references apha, 1976. standard methods for the examination of water and waste water (14th ed.). american public health association, washington, pp. 1-1193. baliarsingh, p.k., routray, b., chowdhury, r.c. and padhi, s. 1991. effect of environmental factors on plankton community in various effluent receiving sites of sugar industry of aska (orissa). in: islam, a.k.m. nurul, fattah, q.a., muttaqi, i.a. and aziz, a. (eds), plant science and man: problems and prospects, proc. intl. bot. conf., 10-12 jan. 1991, pp. 47-53, bangladesh botanical society, dhaka. bold, h.c. and wynne, m.j. 1985. introduction to the algae. 2nd edn. prentice-hall, new jersey, pp. 1-706. desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. i.c.a.r., new delhi, pp. 1-686. gerrath, j.f. and denny, p. 1979. fresh water algae of sierra leone. i. euglenophyta. nova hedwigia. 31: 525-285. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1983. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 7. teil, 1. hälfte, ord. chlorococcales. e. schweizerb. verlagsb., stuttgart, pp. 1-1044. hynes, h.b.n. and pentelow, f.t.k. 1978. the biology of polluted waters. liverpool univ. press, pp. 1-202. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.n.t. 1970. studies on the phytoplanktons of dacca district. order: chlorococcales. j. asiatic soc. pak. 15(3): 227-271. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.n.t. 1987. new records of algae of bangladesh. iii. genus pseudobohlinia (chlorococcales). bangladesh j. bot. 16(1): 103-106. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton 139 islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005b. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iii. chlorophyceae (excluding desmids). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 1938. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005c. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iv. desmids (17 genera). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 49-62. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2006. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. vi. desmids (xanthidium, arthrodesmus, staurodesmus and staurastrum). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 111-129. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 94-109. islam, a.k.m. nurul and nahar, l. 1967. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. part ii. blue-green algae. sci. res. 4(2&3): 141-149. johansen, d. 1940. plant microtechnique. mcgraw hill book co. inc., pp. 1-523. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sach, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2006. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. i. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 173-180. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sach, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. ii. cryptophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53-60. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sach, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 4. chlorococcales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 83-92. khondker, m., islam, a.k.m. nurul, begum, z.n.t. and haque, s. 1990. limnological studies of four polluted ponds in and around dhaka city with reference to indicator species. bangladesh j. bot. 19(1): 51-63. mohan, n. and kumar, n. 1990. influence of industrial effluents on blue-green algae. national symposium on cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation. i.a.r.i., india. jan. 29-31, 1990, p. 62. prescott, g.w. 1982 (reprinted). algae of the western great lakes area. otto koeltz sci. publ., west germany, pp. 1-977. round, f.e. 1985. the ecology of algae. cambridge univ. press, cambridge, pp. 1-653. (manuscript received on 8 june 2008; revised on 28 august 2008) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 83-91, 2006 (december) three new records of aroids (araceae) for bangladesh hosne ara1 and md. abul hassan2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words: colocasia gigantea, epipremnum pinnatum, scindapsus perakensis, new records, araceae, bangladesh abstract three aroid species, namely colocasia gigantea (blume) hook. f., epipremnum pinnatum (l.) engl. and scindapsus perakensis hook. f. under the family araceae are recorded for the first time for bangladesh. an updated nomenclature including important synonyms, illustrated descriptions, flowering and fruiting times, specimens examined, ecology, geographical distribution, occurrance within bangladesh and uses for each species have also been provided. introduction araceae is a family of about 110 genera and 2500 species (croat 1979) distributed mostly in the tropics and subtropics of both the hemispheres. recent publications indicate that about 65 species of the family araceae have so far been identified in bangladesh (ara 2001, ara and hassan 2005 a,b, ara et al. 2004, 2005 a,b). the list, probably, is not yet complete. field collections from rangamati, khagrachari, bandarban, sylhet and maulvi bazar districts indicate that three species of the family, namely colocasia gigantea (blume) hook. f., epipremnum pinnatum (l.) engl. and scindapsus perakensis hook. f. were not reported from the territory of bangladesh by many previous workers, for example, hooker (1893), prain (1903), heinig (1925), calder et al. (1926), sinclair (1955), rao and verma (1976), huq and khan (1984), nicolson (1987), karthikeyan et al. (1989), khan et al. (1994), noltie (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), rashid et al. (2000), ara (2001), khan and huq (2001) and rahman (2004a, 2004b). the genus epipremnum schott has not been reported previously from bangladesh. so, it is a new generic record for the country. materials and methods the plant materials have been collected from different forest areas of bandarban, khagrachari, maulvi bazar, rangamati and sylhet districts during several field trips between 1998 and 2004. the specimens, after study, have been preserved in the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the published articles of engler and krause (1908, 1920), li heng (1979), nicolson (1979, 1987), karthikeyan (1989), hay (1996) and boyce (1998) on the family araceae helped the authors to identify the three newly recorded species. 1corresponding author. 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 84 ara and hassan in this communication, detailed taxonomic description, correct names with important synonyms, specimen citation, notes on ecology, geographical distribution within and outside the country, economic importance and illustration of each species have been presented based on the fresh specimens. all the specimens examined including the types have been cited. description of the species 1. colocasia gigantea (blume) hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 524 (1893). caladium giganteum blume ex hassk, cat. hort. bogor. 56 (1844); leucocasia gigantea (blume) schott, oesterr. bot. wochenbl. 7: 34 (1857); gen. aroid. 38 (1859), et prodr. 141 (1860); colocasia indica engler in dc., monogr. phan. 2: 494 (1879), et pflanzenr. 71 (iv. 23 e): 69 (1920), p.p., non kunth. enum. 3: 39 (1854). (fig. 1) type: indonesia, java. blume s.n. (l!, holo). bangla name: salad kachu perennial, evergreen herbs with stout short above-ground stem, creeping to decumbent, clothed with marcescent leaf bases, 20-50 cm long, 4-6 cm diam., stolons 24, trailing horizontally, branching, thin, pale green, 30-40 cm long, 0.4-0.5 cm diam. leaves several together; petiole light green, pruinose, 80-120 cm long, lower half of the length sheathing; blade ovate-cordate, apex short acuminate, undulate along the margin, base deeply cordate, sinus open, peltate, 50-58 cm long, 30-52 cm wide, green or pale green above, glaucous below; primary lateral veins 6-7 pairs. inflorescences 5-8 in each axil of leaves. peduncle cylindric, shorter than petiole, 30-54 cm long, 1-2 cm diam, each one with a membranous cataphyll, nearly equalling the length of peduncle. spathe white, oblong, distinctly constricted, 12-24 cm long, tube light green, ellipsoid, inrolled, 3.5-5 cm long; limb white, erect, 8.5-19 cm long, boat-shaped, 3-5.5 cm diam., deciduous. spadix sessile, shorter than spathe, 9-20 cm long, female portion yellow, conic, 1.5-2 cm long, 1.5-2 diam.; ovaries numerous, narrow, ovules scattered, parietal placentation; style distinct but very short, less than 0.5 mm long; stigma light yellow, 2 mm diam.; sterile portion slendar, 3-4.5 cm long; male portion 5-14 cm long, 1.1 cm diam.; appendix very short, acute, 1-5 mm long, surface slightly and irrregularly rugose. flowers unisexual, naked; berry oblong, 5 mm; seeds many, spindle-shaped, with many distinct longitudinal striae. flowering and fruiting time: april to september. flowering of the plant is not an annual event rather it takes an interval of several (6 to 7) years. specimens examined: khagrachari: jamtoli, 12. 07. 2003, hosne ara and sardar nasir uddin ha 483 (dacb); rangamati: kaptai, shilsori, 08.07.2003, hosne ara and sarder nasir uddin ha 390 (dacb); rajbari area, 18.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1119 (dacb); bandarban: betchari forest area, 22. 09. 2004, hosne ara ha 1355 (dacb). ecology: grows in shady places of hill slope and foot hill. three new records of aroids (araceae) 85 fig. 1. colocasia gigantea (blume) hook. f. (a) habit sketch (× 0.9), (b) inflorescence (× 0.5), (c) spadix (× 0.5), (d) synandria (× 3), (e) synandrium, side view (× 8), (f) longitudinal section of gynoecium (× 4), (g) transverse section of gynoecium (× 4). geographical distribution: native of southern china and indo-china to the malay peninsula, sumatra and java. note: colocasia gigantea can easily be distinguished from all other colocasia species so far reported from bangladesh (ara and hassan 2005a,b) by the presence of the following characters together: petiole pruinose, leaves very large, ovate-cordate, spathe 12-24 cm long, limb oblong or elliptic-oblong, cymbiform, cuspidate and very short appendage of the spadix. 86 ara and hassan uses: the petiole of the plant is used as one of the ingredients of "salad". its leaves and petioles are used in making delicious curry. the petioles and leaves of the plant contain iron, calcium and vitamin-c. in bangladesh, children and women generally suffer from the deficiency of iron, calcium and vitamin-c and, as such, the plant may be consumed by the common people to suppliment as a source of these minerals or vitamin. the plant should be cultivated in kitchen garden of each family for its ready availability. it can also be cultivated on a commercial basis for meeting the demand of domestic consumption as well as for exporting to different countries that will bring foreign exchange for the country. 2. epipremnum pinnatum (l.) engl. in engl. & krause in pflanzenr. 37 (iv. 23b): 60 (1908). merr., interpr. herb. amboin. 127 (1917); pothos pinnata l., sp. pl., ed. 2: 1374 (1763); roxb., fl. ind. 1: 456 (1820); rhaphidophora pinnata (l.) schott, bonplandia 5: 45 (1857); backer & bakh., fl. java 3: 107 (1968); epipremnum mirabile schott, gen. aroid. t. 79 (1858); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 549 (1893). (fig. 2) type: amboina. illustr. published as adpendix laciniata rumph., herb. amboin. 5: 489, t. 183, f. 2 (1747). large, root-climber to 15m. pre-adult plant usually forming modest terrestrial colony. adult plant with stem 2.5-4 cm diam., internodes 2-25 cm long, branched. petiole 19.560 cm × 3-13 mm, smooth, dark-green, pulvinate at both ends, sheath running to upper pulvinus and soon disintegrating to leave a reticulate network of intertwined venation. leaf blade subleathery, oblong, base wide cordate, 10-93 × 5-60 cm, regularly pinnatifid to (rarely) entire, ovate to oblong-elliptic in outline, apex acute to acuminate, base rounded to slightly cordate, divisions pinnatifid to pinnatisect, pinnae 1.2-6.5 cm wide, 12-13 per side, narrowly lanceolate to somewhat falcate, with 1-3 equally strong, parallel costae, apex truncate to acute, the terminal one usually subrhomboid, dark-green above, paler beneath. peduncle 5.5-21.5 × 0.4-1.0 cm, stout, terete, pale-green, enveloped by sheath, finally withering. spathe canoe-shaped, 7-18 × 3-10 cm, green outside, yellow inside, apex acuminate. spadix bisexual, 8.5-19.5 × 1.1-3.5 cm, sessile, cylindrical, bluntly tapering towards the apex, base slightly obliquely inserted, green. flowers 3-7 mm diam., ovary 4-12 × 2-7 mm, cylindrical, basal part slightly compressed; ovules 2 or 3; stylar region 3-7 × 1.5-4 mm, trapezoid, apex flattened; stigma linear, 2-6 × 0.1-0.5 mm, longitudinal; stamens 4; filaments 5 × 1 mm; anthers narrowly ellipsoid, 1.5-2 × 0.75-1 mm. fruit green. seeds reniform, smooth, 4.5 × 3.5 mm, pale to brown. flowering and fruiting time: april to may. three new records of aroids (araceae) 87 fig. 2. epipremnum pinnatum (l.) engl. (a) habit sketch (× 0.005), (b) inflorescence (× 0.25), (c) portion of spadix showing the arrangement of bisexual flowers (× 0.5), (d) stamens (× 2), (e) pistil (× 2), (f) longitudinal section of pistil (× 2), (g) seeds (× 2). specimens examined: sylhet: tamabil-jafflong, 04.06.1998, hosne ara 28 (dacb); dhaka: khilgaon (cultivated), 30.04.2006, hosne ara 2628 (dacb). ecology: creeping on trees or on stone walls in shady and moist conditions in the tropical rain forests or deciduous forests. geographical distribution: southeastern asia through malesia to oceania. 88 ara and hassan note: the species is recognized by its high-climbing habit; sheath soon withering, but leaving a mat of intertwined venation; blade pinnatisect (adult) to entire (juvenile), to 1 x 0.5 m., often with tiny perforations along midrib; spathe creamy, soon withering; spadix sessile, to 17 x 3 cm. uses: this plant serves as an useful medicine in china for treating abscesses, traumatic injury and rheumatic arthralgia (li heng 1979). in fiji, local people used to prepare a medicine by mixing crushed leaves and stems of epipremnum pinnatum and premna taitensis (verbenaceae). the medicine, known as "tonga," cures "aches". epipremnum pinnatum is also cultivated as an ornamental plant in the pacific east of the fijian region, as well as in other parts of the world (nicolson 1979). 3. scindapsus perakensis hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 542 (1893). engler and krause, in engler, pflanzenr. 37 (iv. 23b): 75-76 (1906); ridley, fl. malay peninsula 116-118 (1925). (fig. 3) type : scortechini (bm), kunstler 5306 (k), 10692 (k) (both as 'dr. king's collector'). stem 10-12 m long, 5-7 cm broad, very stout. leaves many, 21-30 x 6-9 cm, broadly or narrowly oblong, rarely ovate or sublanceolate, acuminate, elliptic or nearly ovate, thinly coriaceous, base acute or rounded, primary and secondary nerves undistinguishable above, primary nerves distinct beneath, nervules trabeculate. petioles 10-15 cm long, broadly winged to base. inflorescence solitary. peduncle shorter than the petiole, 8-10 cm long, very stout. spathe creamy white, ovate, cuspidate, leathery, 8 cm long. spadix longer than spathe, 10-15 × 2 cm, cylindric or subclavate. fruiting spadix 4 cm in diam. flowers bisexual. stamens 4, free. ovary 1-locular, anatropous, basal placentation, stylar region well-developed, stigma linear. fruit slaty blue. seed lenticular black. flowering and fruiting time: may to october. specimens examined: maulvi bazar: madhabkundo, 05.06. 1998, hosne ara ha 39; sherpur: zhinaigati thana, rangtia forest, 22.06.2004, hosne ara ha 1031 (dacb); bangladesh national herbarium (cultivated), 07.05.2006, hosne ara ha 2629 (dacb). ecology: climber on trees, in shady and moist places in the forest. geographical distribution: malaysia. note: earlier three species of scindapsus, namely s. officinalis (roxb.) schott, s. pictus hassk., and s. scortechinii hook. f. have been reported within the bangladesh territory by ara (2001) and ara et al. (2004). scindapsus perakensis differs from the above-mentioned three species in its oblong-lanceolate or falcately lanceolate, acuminate, thinly coriaceous leaves with acute or rounded base, 21-30 cm long; in broad petioles, 1015 cm long; in 8-10 cm long peduncle, very stout and in spadix longer than spathe. three new records of aroids (araceae) 89 fig. 3. scindapsus perakensis hook. f. (a) habit sketch (× 0.013), (b) spadix (× 1), (c) top view of stigma (× 4), (d) flower in gynoecium to show ovule (× 4). use: the plant, as a climber on wall or on big tree, possesses ornamental value for its showy oblong-lanceolate leaves borne on sheathing petioles. acknowledgements the authors express their sincere thanks to mr. md. jasim uddin, deputy director (export), bangladesh agriculture development corporation (badc), zia international ariport road, dhaka for allowing the first author to study the life-cycle of the colocasia gigantea that was collected, transplanted and nourished by him in his office compound. 90 ara and hassan thanks are also extended to mrs. mahmuda akhter, artist, bangladesh national herbarium, for helping the authors in preparing the line drawings of the specimens. references ara, h. 2001. an annotated checklist of aroids in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 19-34. ara, h. and hassan, m.a. 2005a. new records of three aroids from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 25-32. ara, h. and hassan, m.a. 2005b. four new records of aroids for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 39-48. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m.a. 2004. scindapsus scortechinii hook. f. (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 91-94. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m.a. 2005a. aglaonema modestum schott ex engler (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(1): 49-51. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m.a. 2005b. new records of three aroids from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(2): 115-120. boyce, p.c. 1998. the genus epipremnum schott (araceae-monsteroideae-monstereae) in west and central malesia. blumea 43: 183-213. calder, c.c., narayanaswamy, v. and ramaswamy, m.s. 1926. list of the species and genera of indian phanerogams not included in sir, j. d. hooker’s “flora of british india”. rec. bot. surv. ind. 11(1): 1157. croat, t.b. 1979. the distribution of araceae. in: larsen, k. & holm-nielsen, l.b. (eds.), tropical botany, academic press, london. pp. 291-308. engler, a. and krause, k. 1908. das pflanzenreich 37 (iv. 23 ba). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 60-76. engler, a. and krause, k. 1920. das pflanzenreich 71 (iv. 23 e). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 3-132. hay, a. 1996. a new bornean species of colocasia schott (araceae: colocasieae), with a synopsis of the genus in malesia and australia. sandakania 7: 3148. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. pp. 1-84. hooker, j.d. 1893. aroideae. flora of british india 6. indian reprint 1973. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 490-556. huq, a.m. and khan, m.s. 1984. a preliminary taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of moheskhali island-1 (dicotyledons). dhaka univ. studies. part b 32(2): 19-31. karthikeyan, s., jain, s.k., nayar, m.p. and sanjappa, m. 1989. florae indicae enumeratio: monocotyledonae. flora of india series 4. botanical survey of india. brabourne road, calcutta, pp. 1 435. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wild-life sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focussing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. three new records of aroids (araceae) 91 li heng. 1979. araceae. fl. reipubl. popularis sin. 13(2): 1-210. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants'. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. nicolson, d.h. 1979. araceae. in: smith, a.c., flora vitiensis nova 1. pacific tropical botanical garden, hawaii, pp. 438-460. nicolson, d.h. 1987. araceae. in: dassanayake, m.d. and fosberg, f. r. (eds.). a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon 6. balkema, rotterdam, pp. 17-101. noltie, h.j. 1994. flora of bhutan 3(1). royal botanic garden, edinburgh, uk, pp.121-158. prain. d. 1903. bengal plants 2. indian reprint (1963), botanical survey of india (calcutta), pp. 830-840. rahman, m.a and uddin, s.b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakundu in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants': series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants': series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rao, a.s. and verma, d.m. 1976. materials towards a monocot flora of assam-v. bull. bot. surv. ind. 18(14): 8-34. rashid, m.h., rahman, e. and rahman, m. a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43-63. sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan, bull. bot. soc. bengal. 9(2): 110-111. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31-68. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s. hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 19 september 2006; revised on 9 november 2006) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 155-170, 2006 (december) a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora of ghagotia union under kapasia upazila in gazipur district, bangladesh mohammad shah alam, md. abul hassan and mohammad zashim uddin1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: preliminary checklist, angiospermic flora, ghagotia union, gazipur, bangladesh abstract angiospermic flora of ghagotia union representing magnoliopsida (dicots) and liliopsida (monocots) have been inventoried after survey during the years of 2004 and 2005. a total of 187 species have been recorded from the area. these have been assigned to 65 families and 160 genera. magnoliopsida is represented by 50 families, 113 genera and 133 species, whereas liliopsida is represented by 15 families, 47 genera and 54 species. introduction ghagotia union is located in kapasia upazila under gazipur district, bangladesh. it lies between 24º07′ and 24º11′ n latitudes and 90º38′ and 90º42′ e longitudes. it is about 70 km north-east from dhaka. the union consists of mainly medium high plain land and low plain land. some small hillocks are also present in the western part of the union which are covered by natural secondary sal (shorea robusta) forest. other parts are covered by homestead vegetation and cultivated lands. ghagotia union is mainly dominated by the extension of shallow upland soil. dissected terrace soil is found in some high ridges and alluvial soil is found in the valleys. the western part of the area is composed of some red and brown clay of the mixed variety of deep dissected terrace soil. the eastern part of the area contains some fertile soil with grey and white-brown plain clay soil (rizvi 1969). the area enjoys a tropical climate characterized by a period of high precipitation from may to october and six months of relatively dry period from november to april. the mean annual rainfall is about 1693 mm. temperature of the area ranges from 21-34°c. the maximum temperature was recorded in april and the minimum was recorded in january during the study period. a number of floristic works have so far been done in greater dhaka district including ismail and mia (1973), alam (1995), hossain et al. (1995), rahman and hassan (1995) and rashid et al. (1995). but no floristic studies are found in the ghagotia union of gazipur district. moreover, the area supports a large number of angiospemic species including herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers, epiphytes, parasites and also plenty of hydrophytes. like other parts of the country, the floristic elements of this area is in risk 1corresponding author. 156 alam et al. because of various anthropogenic activities including irrigation and modern agriculture, population settlements and firewood collection and also habitat degradation. in order to make a documentation of the angiospermic vegetation of the area, an attempt has been made to prepare a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic plant species occurring in ghagotia union of gazipur district. materials and methods the work is based on the fresh materials collected through repeated field trips (eight in total) to the area during the years of 2004 and 2005. botanical specimens were collected, and field identification of the collected specimens were confirmed comparing with herbarium specimens at salar khan herbarium (university of dhaka) and bangladesh national herbarium. in some cases, standard literature, such as hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), brandis (1906), kanjilal et al. (1934, 1938, 1939, 1940), bor (1960), khan (1977, 1984, 1985), deb (1981, 1983), matthew (1999a, 1999b, 1999c) and uddin and hassan (2004) were consulted for identification purposes. the specimens were mounted and deposited in the salar khan herbarium, university of dhaka for future references. results in the present survey, a total of 187 angiospermic species under 160 genera and 65 families have been recorded from the ghagotia union. magnoliopsida is represented by 50 families, 113 genera and 133 species, while liliopsida is represented by 15 families, 47 genera and 54 species. the families have been arranged according to cronquist (1981). the genera under each family and the species under each genus are arranged in an alphabetical order. for each species, nomenclature has been brought up to date and local name (wherever available) and a short annotation is provided. magnoliopsida (dicots) 1. annonaceae uvaria hamiltonii hook. f. & thomson, fl. ind.: 96 (1820). local name: bandor kola. a scandent shrub. 2. lauraceae litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. robinson in philip. j. sci. bot. 6: 321 (1911). sebifera glutinosa lour., fl. cochinch.: 638 (1990). local name: chapaitta. a medium-sized, evergreen tree. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 157 3. piperaceae peperomia pellucida (l.) h.b.k., nov. gen. et. sp. 1: 64 (1815). piper pellucidum l., sp. pl. 1: 30 (1753). local name: luchipata. a small, annual herb. 4. nymphaeaceae nymphaea nouchali burm. f., fl. ind.: 120 (1768). nymphaea pubescens willd., sp. pl. 2: 1154 (1799). local name: shapla. a perennial aquatic herb with creeping rhizome. n. rubra roxb. ex salisb., parad. london 1: sub. t. 14 (1805). local name: ogul phul. a perennial aquatic herb with creeping rhizome. n. stellata willd., sp. pl. 2: 1153 (1799). local name: shinduk. a perennial aquatic herb with creeping rhizome. 5. ulmaceae trema orientalis (l.) bl., mus. bot. lugd.-bat. 2: 63 (1856). celtis orientalis l., sp. pl.: 1044 (1753). local name: narsa. an evergreen, small tree. 6. moraceae ficus benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). local name: bot. a large, spreading tree. f. heterophylla l. f., suppl.: 442 (1781). local name: bhuidumur. a hispid, scandent shrub. f. rumphii bl., bijdr.: 437(1825). local name: guya assawth. a large tree. 7. portulacaceae portulaca oleracea l., sp. pl.: 445 (1753). local name: bara nunia. a prostrate, annual herb. 8. chenopodiaceae chenopodium ambrosioides l., sp. pl.: 219 (1753). an annual, erect herb. 9. amaranthaceae achyranthes aspera l., sp. pl. 1: 204 (1753). local name: apang. a perennial herb. alternanthera philoxeroides (mart.) griseb., abh. ges. goett. wiss 24: 36 (1879). bucholzia phyloxeroides mart., beitr. amar.: 107 (1825). local name: helencha. an annual herb. a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex dc., cat. hort. monsp.: 77 (1813). gomphrena sessilis l., sp. pl.: 225 (1753). local name: kantanotey. an annual, profusely branched herb. celosia argentea l., sp. pl.: 205 (1753). local name: thainthainna. an annual, erect herb. 158 alam et al. 10. polygonaceae persicaria hydropiper (l.) spach, hist. veg. 10: 536 (1841). polygonum hydropiper l., sp. pl.: 361 (1753). local name: pakurmul. an annual herb. p. minor (huds.) opiz, seenam, rosplin, kbeteny, ceske: 72 (1852). polygonum minus (huds.), fl. angl. 1: 148 (1762). an annual, erect or ascending herb. polygonum plebejum r. br., prodr. fl. nov. holl.: 420 (1810). a prostrate or diffuse herb. rumex maritimus l., sp. pl.: 335 (1753). local name: ban palang. an annual herb. 11. dipterocarpaceae shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn. f., de fruct. 3: 48, t. 186 (1805). local names: gojari, sal. a tall, deciduous tree. 12. tiliaceae microcos paniculata l., sp. pl. 1: 514 (1753). local name: dattoi. a shrub or small tree. 13. malvaceae sida cordata (burm. f.) borss. in blumea 14 (1): 182 (1966). melochia cordata burm. f., fl. ind.: 143 (1768). local name: junka. an annual, prostrate or ascending herb. urena lobata l., sp. pl.: 692 (1753). local name: banokra. an undershrub. 14. lecythidaceae barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn., fruct. 2: 97 t. 101 (1791). eugenia acutangula l., sp. pl.: 471 (1753). local name: hizol. a small tree. careya arborea roxb., corom. pl. 3: 14. t. 218 (1811). local name: gadila. a small to medium-sized, deciduous tree. 15. flacourtiaceae flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merril, interpr. rumph. herb. amb.: 377 (1917). gmelina indica burm. f., fl. ind.: 132, t. 39, f. 5 (1768). local name: dephoi gota. a much branched, thorny shrub. f. jangomas (lour.) raeusched. nomencl. bot. 3: 290 (1797). stigmarota jangomas lour., fl. cochinch. 2: 634 (1790). local name: fela gota. a middle-sized tree. 16. cucurbitaceae coccinia grandis (l.) voit., hort. suburb. calcut.: 59 (1845). bryonia grandis l., mant. pl. 1: 126 (1767). local names: kawajhinga,telakucha. a much branched, climbing or prostrate herb. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 159 17. capparaceae cleome viscosa l., sp. pl.: 672 (1753). local name: hurhuria. an erect, glandularpubescent herb. 18. sapotaceae manilkara hexandra (roxb.) dub. in ann. muss. col. marseille, ser. 3, 3: 9 (1915). mimusops hexandra roxb., pl. cor. 1: 16, t. 15 (1795). local name: khiron gota. a tree with deeply furrowed bark. 19. mimosaceae acacia concinna (willd.) dc., prodr. 2: 464 (1825). mimosa concinna willd., sp. pl. 4: 1039 (1805). local name: banritha. a prickly shrub. albizia chinensis (osb.) merr., amer. j. bot. 3: 575 (1916). mimosa chinensis osb., degbok ostind. resa.: 233 (1757). local name: mashkala. a tall, unarmed tree. a. procera benth. in hook., london j. bot. 3: 89 (1844). local name: koroi. a medium sized tree. mimosa pudica l., sp. pl.: 518 (1753). local name: lojjabati. a prickley, woody herb. 20. caesalpiniaceae senna sophera (l.) roxb., mem. n.y. bot. gard. 35: 440 (1982). cassia sophera l., sp. pl.: 279 (1753). local name: jhingi. a woody herb to undershrub. 21. fabaceae (papilionaceae) crotalaria pallida aiton, hort. kew, 2: 20 (1789). local name: bara jhanjhani. an annual herb. desmodium heterophyllum (willd.) dc., prodr. 2: 334 (1825). desmodium triflorum wight. & arn., prodr.: 229 (1834). a procumbent herb. erythrina ovalifolia roxb. [hort. beng.: 53 (1814) nom. nud.], fl. ind. 3: 251(1832). local name: mandar. a deciduous, small tree. pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth., j. linn. soc. bot. 9: 125 (1867). dolichos phaseoloides roxb., fl. ind. 3: 316 (1832). a herbaceous, pubescent climber. 22. lythraceae lagerstroemia parviflora roxb., pl. corm. 1: 47, t. 66 (1795). local name: tila jarul. a small, bushy tree. l. speciosa (l.) pers., syn. 2: 72 (1807). munchausia speciosa l., mant. pl. 2: 243 (1771). local name: jarul. a large, deciduous tree. 160 alam et al. 23. myrtaceae syzygium fruticosum (roxb.) dc., prodr. 3: 260 (1828). eugenia fruticosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 87 (1832). local name: titijam. a small tree. 24. onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara, j. jap. bot. 28: 290 (1953). jussiaea adscendens l., mant. 1: 69 (1767). local name: keshardam. a creeping or floating herb. l. hyssopifolia (g. don.) exell. garica de orta 5: 471 (1957). jussiaea hyssopifolia g. don, gen. syst. 2: 693 (1832). a branched herb. 25. melastomaceae melastoma malabathricum l., sp. pl.: 390 (1753). local name: datranga. a shrub. 26. combretaceae terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb., pl. corom. 2: 54, t, 198 (1805). myrobalanus bellirica gaertn., de. fruct. semi. 2: 90, t. 97 (1791). local name: bohera. a large tree. 27. rhizophoraceae carallia brachiata (lour.) merr., philip. j. sci. 15: 249 (1919). a small to mediumsized tree with erect trunk. 28. alangiaceae alangium salvifolium (l. f.) wangerin in pfreich 41: 9 (1910). grewia salvifolia l. f. suppl.: 409 (1781). local name: gugur. a small tree. 29. loranthaceae dendrophthoe falcata (l. f.) etting. in denschr. akad. wissench. wien. mathem – naturawiss. cl. 32: 52 (1872). loranthus falcatus l. f., suppl. sp. pl.: 221 (1781). a parasite with terete branchlets. macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) van tiegh., bull. soc. b. fr. 41: 122 (1895). loranthus cochinchinensis lour., fl. cochin. 1: 195 (1790). local name: chhota banda. a stout, parasitic shrub. 30. euphorbiaceae antidesma gaesembilla gaertn., fruct. 1: 189, t. 39 (1788). local name: khudijam. a small tree. aporusa dioica (roxb.) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15(2): 472 (1866). alnus dioica roxb., fl. ind. 3: 580 (1832). a medium-sized, evergreen tree. a. wallichii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 350 (1885). a medium-sized tree. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 161 bridelia retusa (l.) spreng., syst. veg. 3: 48 (1829). clutia retusa l., sp. pl.: 1042 (1753). a medium-sized tree. croton bonplandianum baill., adansonia 4: 339 (1864). an annual herb. gelonium multiflorum roxb., fl. ind. 3: 832 (1832). a medium-sized tree. jatropha curcas l., sp. pl.: 1006 (1753). local name: veron. a large, glabrous shrub or rarely small tree. j. gossypifolia l., sp. pl.: 1006 (1753). local name: lalbherenda. a small shrub. macaranga peltata (roxb.) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15(2): 1010 (1866). osyris peltata roxb. (1832). local name: pidali. a small tree. mallotus philippensis (lam.) muell.-arg. in linnaea 34: 196 (1865). croton philippense lam., encycl. meth. b. 2: 209 (1786). a medium-sized tree. phyllanthus reticulatus poir. in lam., encycl. meth. b. 5: 298 (1804). local name: sitki. a large, scandent shrub or small tree. p. urinaria l., sp. pl.: 982 (1753). an erect, glabrous, annual herb. putranjiva roxburghii wall., tent. fl. nep.: 61 (1826). local name: phoolgach. a large tree. ricinus communis l., sp. pl.: 1007 (1753). local name: rerhi. a shrub. trewia nudiflora l., sp. pl. ed. 3: 166 (1753). local name: latim. a deciduous tree. 31. leeaceae leea aequata l., syst. nat. ed. 12, 2: 627 (1767). leea hirta roxb., fl. ind. 2: 469 (1824). local name: pagol gota gach. a shrub. 32. sapindaceae allophyllus cobbe bl., rumph. 3: 131 (1849). local name: chitta. a shrub. erioglossum rubiginossum (roxb.) bl., rumphia 3: 118 (1849). sapindus rubiginossus roxb., fl. corom. 1: 44. t. 62 (1795). local name: hanni gota. a small tree. 33. anacardiaceae lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. j. arnold. arbor. 19: 353 (1938). dialium coromandelicum houtt., nat. hist. 2: 39, t. 5, f. 2 (1774). local name: kaphila. a medium-sized, deciduous tree. 34. meliaceae aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) parker in ind. for. 57: 486 (1931). aglaia polystachya wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 429 (1824). local name: roonna. a tree with dense spreading crown. 162 alam et al. melia azedarach l., sp. pl.: 384 (1753). local name: gora nim. a medium-sized tree. 35. rutaceae clausena suffruticosa wight & arn., prodr.: 96 (1834). a small shrub. glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc., prodr. 1: 538 (1824). limonia pentaphylla retz. obs. bot. 5: 24 (1788). local names: motkila, matmoti. a shrub or small tree. micromelum minutum (forst. f.) wight & arn., prodr. 1: 448 (1834). limonia minutum forst. f., prodr.: 33 (1786). local name: thullui. a bushy shrub. zanthoxyllum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. prodr.: 728 (1824). fagara rhetsa roxb. fl. ind. 1: 437 (1820). local name: bazna. an evergreen, small tree. 36. oxalidaceae oxalis corniculata l., sp. pl.: 435 (1753). local name: amrul. an annual herb. 37. apiaceae (umbelliferae) centella asiatica (l.) urban in mart., fl. bras. 11. 1: 287 (1879). hydrocotyle asiatica l., sp. pl. : 234 (1753). local names: manik pata, thankuni. a perennial, trailing herb. 38. apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. in mem. wern. nat. hist. s. 1: 75 (1811). echites scholaris l., mant. pl. 1: 53 (1767). local name: chatim. a medium-sized tree. ervatamia coronaria (jacq.) stapf, fl. trop. africa 4(1): 127 (1904). nerium coronarium jacq., ic. pl. rar. 1: 5, pl. 52 (1781). local name: ban marich. a shrub or small tree. holarrhena pubescens (buch.-ham.) wall. ex g. don, gen. syst. 4: 95 (1837). echites pubescens buch.-ham. in trans. linn. soc. 13: 521(1821) local name: kudishar. a shrub. wrightia arborea (dennst.) mabberly in taxon 26: 533 (1977). periploca arborea dennst., schlüs. h. malabar.: 13, 23 (1818). local name: dhudi. a small, deciduous tree. 39. solanaceae nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv., elench. pl. hort. dinergo : 26. t. (1802). a slender, erect, annual herb. physalis minima l., sp. pl.: 183 (1753). an annual, glabrous, herb. solanum lasiocarpum dunal, hist. solanum: 222 (1813). solanum indicum l. sp. pl.: 187 (1753). local name: titbegun. an under-shrub with prickles. s. torvum sw., nov. gen. sp. pl.: 47 (1788). local name: bootbegun. a small shrub. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 163 40. convolvulaceae argyreia argentea (roxb.) choisy, mem. soc. phys. geneve. 6: 418 (1833). lettsomea argentea roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey & wall. 2: 79 (1824). a creeping herb. ipomoea aquatica forsk., fl. aeg.-arab.: 44 (1775). local name: kalmilata. a glabrous trailer on water. i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy in dc., prodr. 9: 349 (1845). local name: dholkalmi. a fistular shrub. merremia hederacea (burm. f.) hallier f., bot. jahrb. 18 : 118 (1994). evolvulus hederaceus burm. f., fl. ind.: 77, t. 30 (1768). local name: puhilot. a twinner. 41. cuscutaceae cuscuta reflexa roxb., pl. corom. 2: 3, t. 104 (1798). local name: swarnalata. a fleshy parasite, forming dense yellow masses on small trees or shrubs. 42. boraginaceae heliotropium indicum l., sp. pl.: 130 (1753). local name: hatisur. an annual, erect herb. 43. verbenaceae callicarpa lanceolaria roxb., fl. ind. 1: 395 (1820). a shrub. clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 506 (1891). siphonanthus indica l. sp. pl. : 109 (1753). a small shrub. c. viscosum vent., gard. malm. 1: t. 25 (1803). local name: vant. a perennial, woody herb to undershrub. lippia javanica (burm. f.) spreng., syst. 2: 752 (1825). an undershrub. vitex negundo l. sp. pl. : 638 (1753). a small tree. 44. lamiaceae (labiatae) anisomeles indica (l.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. : 512 (1891). nepeta indica l. sp. pl. : 571 (1753). annual or perennial bushy undershrub. dysophylla crassicaulis benth. in wall., pl. as. rar. 1.: 30 (1830). an annual herb. d. verticillata benth. in wall., pl. as. rar. 1: 30 (1830). an annual herb. hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., ann. mus. par. 7: 472, t. 29 (1806). ballota suaveolens l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 1100 (1859). local name: tokma. an aromatic herb. leonurus japonicus houtt., nat. hist. pl. 9: 366, t. 57 (1778). leonurus sibiricus hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 678 (1885). local name: roktadron. an erect, stout, leafy herb. leucas aspera spreng., syst. 2: 743 (1825). local name: dorhalash. a herb. 164 alam et al. l. lavandulifolia sm. in rees, cyclop. 20: n. 2 (1819). local names: dorhalash, shetodron. an annual, erect, branched herb. ocimum sanctum l., mart. 1: 85 (1867). local name: kalo tulshi. a much branched, soft hairy, perennial herb. 45. scrophulariaceae limnophylla heterophylla (roxb.) benth., scroph. ind.: 25 (1835). columnea heterophylla roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 3: 97 (1832). a glabous, aquatic herb. lindernia crustacea (l.) f. muell., cens. austr. pl.: 97 (1882). capraria crustacea l. mant. pl. 1: 87 (1767). a dichotomously branched, prostrate herb. 46. bignoniaceae oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz., for. fl. br. burma 2: 237 (1877). bignonia indica l., sp. pl.: 625 (1753). local name: kanaidengi. a medium-sized tree. 47. acanthaceae adhatoda zeylanica medik., hist. & comment. acad. elect. sci. theod. palat. 6: 393 (1790). adhatoda vasica nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 103 (1832). local name : basok. a shrub. ecbolium linneanum kurz. in j. as. soc. 2: 75 (1871). a shrub. justicia gendarusa burm. f., fl. ind.: 10 (1768). local name: bishdoloni. an undershrub. phlogacanthus curviflorus nees in dc., prodr. 11: 320 (1847). a small shrub. rungia pectinata (l.) nees in dc., prodr. 11: 469 (1847). justicia pectinata l., amoen. acad. 4: 293 (1759). a much branched, prostrate or suberect herb. thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottler) roxb. in bot. reg. 6: t. 495 (1820). flemingia grandiflora roxb. ex. rottler, ges. naturf. freund berlin neue schriften 4: 202 (1803). a climber. 48. lentibulariaceae utricularia aurea lour., fl. cochinch.1: 26 (1790). utricularia flexuosa vahl. enum. 1: 198 (1804). an aquatic insectivorous herb. 49. rubiaceae hymenodictyon excelsum (roxb.) wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 149 (1824). cinchona excelsa roxb., fl. corom. 2: 4. t. 106 (1799). a large tree. ixora acuminata roxb. [hort. beng.: 10 (1814) nom nud.], fl. ind. 1: 383 (1820). an undershrub. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 165 i. cuneifolia roxb., fl. ind. 1: 380 (1820). an evergreen shrub. morinda angustifolia roxb. [hort. beng. 15 (1814) nom. nud.], fl. ind. 2: 201 (1824). an erect shrub. m. citrifolia l., dc. prodr. 4: 446 (1830). a glabrous, small tree. pavetta tomentosa roxb. ex smith in rees, cycl. 26: 2 (1819). a shrub. xeromphis spinosa (thunb.) keay in bull. jard. b. brux. 28: 37 (1958). gardenia spinosa thunb., diss. gard. n. 7. t. 2 (1780). locol name: monkata. a shrub with strong spines. 50. asteraceae ageratum conyzoides l., sp. pl.: 839 (1753). local name: hialmuti. an annual herb. blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc. in wight., contrib. bot. ind.: 14 (1834). conyza lacera burm. f., fl. ind.: 180, t. 59. (1768). an erect, annual, aromatic herb. eclipta prostrata l., mant. 2: 286 (1771). local name: kalokeshoti. an erect, annual herb. enhydra fluctuans lour., fl. cochinch.: 511 (1790). local name: helencha. a profusely branched, annual herb. eupatorium odoratum l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 1205 (1759). local names: podina, motmoitta. a shrub. gnaphalium luteo-album l., subsp. affine (d. don) koster, blumea 4: 484 (1941). an erect, annual herb. grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir., enc. suppl. 2: 825 (1811). artemisia maderaspatana l., sp. pl.: 849 (1753). an annual herb. mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson in contrib., gray herb. 104: 65 (1934). eupatorium cordatum burm. f., fl. ind.: 176 (1768). local name: assamlata. an annual, twining herb. spilanthes calva dc. in wight, contrib. bot. ind.: 19 (1834). an annual herb. synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn., fruct. 2: 456, t. 171 (1791). verbesina nodiflora l., cent. pl. 1: 28 (1755). a small woody herb. xanthium strumarium l., sp. pl. : 987 (1753). an erect, annual herb. liliopsida (monocots) 1. hydrocharitaceae blyxa octandra (roxb.) planch. ex thw., enum. pl. zeyl.: 332 (1864). vallisneria octandra roxb., pl. cor. 2 : 34, t. 165 (1802). a stemless, submerged herb. 166 alam et al. hydrilla verticillata (l. f.) royle, 111. bot. himal. t.: 376. (1839). serpicula verticillata l. f., suppl.: 416 (1781). an aquatic herb. 2. aponogetonaceae aponogeton natans (l.) eng. & krause in engl. pflan. 24: 11 (1906). saururus natans l., mant. 2: 227 (1771). an aquatic herb. 3. araceae alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott, oestr. bot. wochenbl. 4: 410 (1854). arum fornicatum roxb., fl. ind. 3: 501 (1832). a tuberous, coarse herb. amorphophallus bulbifer (roxb.) bl., rumphia 1: 148 (1837). arum bulbiferum roxb., fl. ind. 3: 510 (1832). local name: amla-bela. a tuberous herb. colocasia esculenta (l.) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot.: 18 (1832). arum esculentum l., sp. pl.: 965 (1753). local name: kachu. a tall coarse herb. pistia stratiotes l., sp. pl.: 963 (1753). local name: topapana. a floating, gregarious herb. scindapsus officinalis (roxb.) schott. in schott & endl. melet. bot. 1: 21 (1832). pothos officinalis roxb., fl. ind. : 431 (1820). a scandent herb. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. in wien., zeitschr. 3: 72 (1829). arum trilobatum l., sp. pl. : 965 (1753). a tuberous herb. 4. commelinaceae commelina benghalensis l., sp. pl. : 41 (1753). a slender herb. murdania nudiflora (l.) brenan, kew bull. 7: 189 (1952). commelina nudiflora l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). an annual, diffuse herb. 5. cyperaceae cyperus difformis l., cent. pl. 2: 6 (1756). local name: mutha. an annual, tufted herb. c. diffusus vahl., enum. pl. 2: 321 (1806). a perennial herb. c. iria l., sp. pl. ed. 1. : 45 (1753). an annual or rarely perennial herb. c. tenuispica steudl., syn. pl. glumac. 2: 11 (1855). an annual, occasionally short-lived perennial herb. eleocharis retroflexa (poir.) urban., symb. ant. 2: 165 (1900). scirpus retroflexus poir (1804). an annual, tufted herb. fimbristylis dichotoma (l.) vahl, enum. pl. 2: 287 (1806). scirpus dichotomus l. sp. pl.ed. 1.: 50 (1753). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 167 f. miliacea (l.) vahl., enum. pl. 2: 287 (1806). scirpus miliaceus l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 868 (1759). an annual or occasionally biennial, tufted herb. f. squarrosa vahl, enum. pl. 2: 289 (1806). an annual, tufted herb. pycreus pumilus (l.) nees, linnaea 9: 283 (1835). cyperus pumilus l., cent. pl. 2: 6 (1756). an annual, densely tufted herb. scleria levis retz., obs. bot. 4: 13 (1786). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. 6. poaceae (gramineae) axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv., ess. agrost.: 12(154): 167 (1812). milium compressum sw., prod.: 24 (1788). a tufted, perennial herb. bambusa balcooa roxb., fl. ind. 1: 196 (1820). local name: barakbans. a tall, stout, densely caespitose bamboo. chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin., fund. agrost. 188 (1820). andropogon aciculatus retz. obs. bot. 5. 22. (1989). a glabrous herb. cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., syn. pl. ed.1.: 85 (1805). panicum dactylon l., sp. pl.: 58 (1753). local name: durba. a creeping herb. cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf in hook., ic. pl. t.: 3096 (1922). panicum accrescens trin., sp. gram. ic. 1, t. 88 (1828). an annual herb. echinochloa crusgalli (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 53: 161 (1812). panicum crusgalli l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 56 (1753). annual or perennial grass. eleusine indica (l.) gaertn., fruct. 1: 8 (1789). cynusurus indicus l., sp. pl. ed.1.: 72 (1753). a tufted, annual herb. eragrostis unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud., syn. pl. glum. 1: 264 (1854). poa unioloides retz. obs. bot. 5: 19 (1789). an annual herb. hemarthria protensa steud., syn. pl. glum. 1: 359 (1854). local name: chailla. an erect to decumbent herb. hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees in wight & arn., edinb. new philos. j. 15: 380 (1833) pharus aristatus retz., obs. bot. 5: 23 (1789). a floating, glabrous herb. hymenachne pseudointerrupta c. mueller, bot. zeitung (berlin). 19: 333 (1861). an annual grass. ichananthus vicinus (f. m. bailey) merr, enum. philipp., fl. pl. 1: 70 (1923). panicum vicinus f.m. bailey, syn. queens., fl. suppl. 3: 82 (1890). a perennial herb. imperata cylindrica (l.) reaeschel, nom. bot. ed. 3: 10 (1797). lagurus cylindricus l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 878 (1759). local name: son. a rhizomatous, perennial grass. leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees, syll. pl. nov. 1: 4 (1824). poa chinensis l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 69 (1753). a tufted grass. 168 alam et al. melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz, prelim. rep. for. veg. pegu. app. b.: 94 (1875). bambusa baccifera roxb., pl. corm. 3: 38, 243 (1819). local name: moli bansh. an evergreen, unarmed bamboo. oplismenus compositus (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost 54:168 (1812). panicum compositum l., sp. pl. ed. 1. : 57 (1753). a perennial grass. panicum notatum retz., obs. bot. 4: 18 (1786). a tufted, perennial grass. p. repens l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 87 (1762). a perennial, rhizomatous grass. paspalidium flavidum (retz.) a. camus in lecomte, fl. gen. indo-chine 7: 419 (1922). panicum flavidum retz., obs. bot. 4: 15 (1786). an annual grass. sporobolus diander (retz.) p. beauv., ess. agrost.: 26: 147 (1812). agrostis diander retz., obs. bot. 5: 19 (1789). a caespitose, perennial grass. vetiveria zizanioides (l.) nash in small, fl. south-east u.s. ed. 1: 67(1903). phalaris zizanioides l., mant. 2: 183 (1771). local name: binna. a rhizomatous, aromatic, perennial grass. 7. zingiberaceae curcuma zedoaria (christm.) rosc., trans. linn. soc. london, 8: 354 (1807). amomum zedoaria christm. in christm. & panzer, linn. pflanesyst. 5: 12 (1779). local name: hoiter gach. a stemless herb with pale yellow-white rhizome. 8. costaceae costus speciosus (koenig) smith in trans. linn. soc. london 1: 249 (1791). banksea speciosa koenig in retz., obs. bot. 3: 75 (1783). a rhizomatous herb. 9. arecaceae (palmae) calamus viminalis willd., sp. pl. 2: 203 (1799). a thicket-forming climber. caryota urens l., sp. pl.: 1189 (1753). a tall, monoecious palm. 10. pandanaceae pandanus fascicularis lam. in hook, f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 485 (1894). local name: keya. a bushy shrub. 11. lemnaceae lemna perpusilla torrey, fl. new york. 2: 245 (1843). a small, floating aquatic herb. 12. pontederiaceae eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 527 (1883). pontederia crassipes mart., nov. gen. sp.: 9, t. 4 (1823). local name: kachuripana. an aquatic, free-floating herb. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora 169 monochoria hastata (l.) solms. in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 523 (1883). pontederia hastata l., sp. pl.: 288 (1753). an aquatic, emergent herb. 13. liliaceae curculigo orchioides gaertn., fruct. 1: 63, t. 13 (1788). a slender herb with elongated rhizome. 14. dioscoreaceae dioscorea bellophylla (prain) j. o. voigt ex haines, forest fl. choto nagpur.: 530 (1910). dioscorea nummularia var. bellophylla prain, bengal pl. 2: 802 (1903), ind. rep. 1963. a perennial climber. d. pentaphylla l., sp. pl.: 1032 (1753). a large, slender twinter. 15. orchidaceae vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g. don in loud., hort. brit.: 372 (1830). epidendrum tessellatum roxb., pl. corom. 1: 34, t. 42 (1795). an epiphytic herb. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to dr. m. matiur rahman, director, bangladesh national herbarium for allowing to use herbarium facilities during the study. they also gratefully acknowledge the cooperation rendered by dr. mahbuba khanam, dr. m. oliur rahman and mr. sarder nasir uddin of bangladesh national herbarium particularly for identification of some critical specimens. the authors thank dr. m. oliur rahman also for his comments on an early draft of the manuscript. references alam, m.k. 1995. diversity in the woody flora of sal (shorea robusta) forest of bangladesh. bangladesh j. forest sci. 24(1): 41-51. brandis, d. 1906. indian trees (2nd repr. 1978). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, 767 pp. bor, n.l. 1960. the grasses of burma, ceylon, india and pakistan (excluding bambosoideae). pergamon press, oxford. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, 1262 pp. deb, d.b. 1981. the flora of tripura state 1: 1-50. r. k. jain, today & tomorrow's printers and publishers, new delhi. deb, d.b. 1983. the flora of tripura state 2: 1-601. r. k. jain, today & tomorrow's printers and publishers, new delhi. hossain, a.b.m.e., khan, s.a. and islam, m.a. 1995. an inventory of plant diversity in relation with the ecology and environment of jahangirnagar university. vegetational composition and their taxonomic identity. bangladesh j. life sci. 7(1&2): 95-103. 170 alam et al. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india vols. 1-7 (ind. repr. 1973). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. ismail, m. and mia, m.m.k. 1973. studies on some deciduous sal forests of bangladesh. ecology of bangladesh vegetation 2: 81-103 kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1934. flora of assam 1: 1-386 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1938. flora of assam 2: 1-409 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., das, a., kanjilal, p.c. and de, r.n. 1939. flora of assam 3: 1-578 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., de, r.n. and das, a. 1940. flora of assam 4: 1-377 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. khan, m.s. 1977. onagraceae. in: khan, m.s. (ed.). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 6: 1-10. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. khan, m.s. 1984. dipterocarpaceae. in: khan, m.s. (ed.). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 25: 1-15. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. khan, m.s. 1985. convolvulaceae. in: khan, m.s. (ed.). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 30: 1-59. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. matthew, k.m. 1999a. the flora of the palni hills, south india 1: 1-575. the rapinat herbarium, tiruchirapalli, india. matthew, k.m. 1999b. the flora of the palni hills, south india 2: 576-1196. the rapinat herbarium, tiruchirapalli, india. matthew, k.m. 1999c. the flora of the palni hills, south india 3: 1197-1880. the rapinat herbarium, tiruchirapalli, india. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols. 1&2 (ind. repr. 1963). botanical survey of india, calcutta. rahman, m.o. and hassan m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur (bangladesh). bangladesh j. pl. taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. rashid, s.h., rahman, m.m. and hossain, a.b.m.e. 1995. an inventory of the under growth resources in chandra sal forest at gazipur, bangladesh. bangladesh j. life sci. 7(1&2): 111-118. rizvi, s.n.h. 1969. bangladesh district gazeteers, dacca. east pakistan govt. press, dacca. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. iucn bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh, vi+120 pp. (manuscript received on 18 october 2006; revised on 18 november 2006) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 139-154, 2006 (december) scrophulariaceous taxa in bangladesh mohammad oliur rahman1 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words: schrophulariaceae, bangladesh abstract this paper presents a total of 59 scrophulariaceous species distributed in 23 genera from bangladesh. an updated nomenclature, brief diagnostic characters, flowering and fruiting period and distribution within and outside bangladesh have been furnished under each species. chromosome number has also been cited whenever possible. introduction the scrophulariaceae is a large cosmopolitan family consisting of about 3000 species under 220 genera mainly centered in temperate regions (heywood 1993). most of the members of this family are herbs while few are shrubs and lianas, rarely trees. scrophulariaceae are mostly autotrophic, less often hemiparasitic or parasitic. they are mainly characterized by sympetalous 2-lipped corolla, 4 stamens, superior ovary, simple style and capitate stigma. they inhabit a wide range of habitats including moist and marshy places, paddy fields, near and within the water bodies like ponds, rivers, beels and ditches. referring to the scrophulariaceous taxa of bangladesh, hooker (1884) enumerated 47 species under 18 genera from the area of bangladesh. prain (1903) recorded 32 species from the east bengal including sylhet and chittagong districts. in the “list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts” heinig (1925) included 26 species distributed in 15 genera. datta and mitra (1953) listed 33 species and 19 genera in his “common plants in and around dacca”. however, no detailed study on this family was undertaken. therefore, this study has been undertaken with a view to document all members of the scrophulariaceae available in bangladesh. the present paper is based on herbarium specimens deposited in bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka university herbarium, and the existing literatures. a total of 59 species distributed in 23 genera from bangladesh have been identified. nomenclature has been brought up-to-date with the aid of modern literatures. the genera and species have been placed in an alphabetical order. a crisp diagnostic account along with flowering and fruiting period and the distribution of the species within and outside bangladesh have been furnished. chromosome number (2n) has also been cited whenever possible. 1e-mail : oliurrahman@yahoo.com 140 rahman systematic enumeration of the species 1. adenosma indianum (lour.) merr., trans. amer. philos. soc. 24 (2) : 351 (1935). manulea indiana lour., fl. cochinch.: 386 (1790); adenosma capitatum (benth.) hance, j. linn. soc. bot. 13 : 114 (1873). an annual herb. leaves oblong-lanceolate to oval-oblong, corolla pale purple to dark blue. capsule ovoid. flowering and fruiting : july january. 2n = 72 (mehra and vasudevan 1972). distributed in cambodia, india, indonesia, laos, malaysia, myanmar, the philippines, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is common throughout the country. 2. angelonia grandiflora morr. in ann., soc. hort. gand. 3 : 93 (1847). a bushy undershrub. leaves lanceolate. corolla white with violet spots. capsule longitudinally 2-valved, valves entire. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. 2n = 20 (verma and dhillon 1967). distributed in south america; now naturalized elsewhere. in bangladesh, this species is found in cox's bazar. 3. antirrhinum majus l., sp. pl. : 617 (1753). an erect herb with glabrous branchlets. leaves oblong-lanceolate. corolla lavender, orange, pink, red, yellow, white or purple. capsule oblong, glandular outside. flowering and fruiting: almost throughout the year. 2n = 16 (verma and dhillon 1967). distributed in south west europe and the mediterranean region. in bangladesh, this species is found under cultivation throughout the country in the gardens. 4. bacopa hamiltoniana wettst. in engler & prantl, naturl. pflanzenfam. 4: 77 (1891). herpestis hamiltoniana benth., scroph. ind.: 30 (1835). an annual herb. leaves linear-lanceolate. corolla pink or bluish pink, with purple veins. capsule ellipsoid-ovoid to oblong-globose, septicidally dehiscent. flowering and fruiting: february june. 2n = 24 (gill 1971). distributed in india, nepal and pakistan. in bangladesh, this species was recorded from dhaka under the name herpestis hamiltoniana benth. (datta and mitra 1953). 5. b. monnieri (l.) pennell, proc. acad. nat. sci. philadelphia 98: 94 (1946). lysimachia monnieri l., cent. pl. 2 : 9 (1756); herpestis monnieri benth., scroph. ind.: 30 (1835). an annual, glabrous herb. leaves oblong-oblanceolate. corolla white, purple or blue. capsule narrowly ovoid. flowering and fruiting : may december. 2n = 64 (lewis et al. 1962). scrophulariaceous taxa in bangladesh 141 widespread in tropics and subtropics. in bangladesh, this species is found in most of the districts. 6. centranthera indica (l.) gamble, fl. pres. madras : 971 (1924). rhinanthus indica l., sp. pl. : 603 (1753); centranthera hispida r. br., prodr. : 438 (1810); centranthera nepalensis d. don, prod. fl. nepal (1825). an annual herb. leaves oblong to ovate-oblong, spreading or erect. corolla dotted with yellow glands, commonly purplish-red, less often rose-coloured or white. capsule ovoid. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. 2n = 30 (vij and kashyap 1975). distributed in australia, china, india, malaysia, myanmar, nepal and sri lanka. in bangladesh, this species is found in dinajpur, gazipur and sylhet. 7. c. tranquebarica (spreng.) merr., 150th anniv. vol. r. bot. gard. calcutta : 55 (1941). razumovia tranquebarica spreng., mant. fl. hal. : 45 (1807); centranthera humifusa wall. ex benth., scroph. ind. : 50 (1835). an annual herb. leaves linear, opposite below, alternate above. corolla dorsally dull purple, ventrally yellowish. capsule globose. flowering and fruiting : may march. 2n = 36 (bhattacharyya 1969). distributed from india through sri lanka to malaysia. in bangladesh, this species is found in comilla, dhaka and tangail. 8. curunga amara juss., ann. mus. par. 9 : 320 (1807). herpestis amara benth., scroph. ind. : 30 (1835); gratiola amara roxb., fl. ind. 1 : 135 (1820). a glabrous, annual herb. leaves ovate, membranous. corolla reddish-brown. capsule almost orbicular, enveloped in the enlarged calyx. flowering and fruiting : april august. distributed in india, indonesia, malaysia and the philippines. in bangladesh, this species is confined to chittagong. 9. dopatrium junceum (roxb.) buch.-ham. ex benth., scroph. ind.: 31 (1835). gratiola juncea roxb., pl. corom. 2 : 16, t. 127 (1798). an annual, slender, glabrous, erect herb. leaves oblong to oval-oblong or obovate oblong. corolla white, rose or pale purple. capsule broadly ellipsoid, glabrous. flowering and fruiting : june december. 2n = 48 (bhattacharyya 1969). distributed in australia, bhutan, china, india, indonesia, japan, malaysia, the philippines, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is common in chittagong, dhaka and rajshahi. 142 rahman 10. glossostigma diandrum (l.) kuntze, rev. gen. pl. : 461 (1891). limosella diandra l., mant. 1 : 252 (1767); glossostigma spathulatum wight & arn. in nov. act. nat. cur. 18 : 355 (1836). a small, tufted, creeping, aquatic herb. leaves opposite or occasionally whorled, narrowly spathulate. corolla pale bluish, pinkish or white. capsule globose. flowering and fruiting : november february. 2n = 32 (bhattacharyya 1969). distributed in australia, india and tropical africa. in bangladesh, this species occurs in chittagong and dhaka. 11. kickxia ramosissima (wall.) janchen in oesterr., bot. zeischr 82 : 152 (1933). linaria ramosissima wall., pl. as. rar. 2 : 43, t. 153 (1831). a much branched, prostrate, perennial herb. leaves ovate or narrowly ovate. corolla pale yellow. capsule ovoid or sub-globose. flowering and fruiting : september december. 2n = 18 (verma and dhillon 1967). distributed in afghanistan, bhutan, india and pakistan. in bangladesh, this species is found in dhaka. 12. limnophila aquatica (roxb.) alston, ann. r. bot. gard. peradeniya 11 : 205 (1929). cyrilla aquatica roxb., pl. corom. 2 : 47, t. 189 (1798); diceros aquaticus (roxb.) moon, cat. : 45 (1824); limnophila racemosa benth., scroph. ind. : 26 (1835). an annual, aquatic herb. leaves ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate. corolla white or pale blue or pale mauve. capsule globose. flowering and fruiting : march december. 2n = 34 (bhattacharyya 1969). distributed in india and sri lanka. in bangladesh, this species is found in dhaka. 13. l. aromatica (lam.) merr., interpr. herb. amboin. : 466 (1917). ambulia aromatica lam., enc. 1 : 128 (1783); limnophila gratissima bl., bijdr. : 749 (1826); limnophila punctata bl., bijdr. : 750 (1826). an annual, aromatic, aquatic herb. leaves linear-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate. corolla mauve-purple to pale violet. capsule broadly ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. 2n = 68 (borgmann 1964). distributed in australia, bhutan, china, india, indonesia, japan, korea, laos, malaysia, the philippines and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species occurs in chittagong, dhaka, dinajpur, gazipur, khagrachari and patuakhali. scrophulariaceous taxa in bangladesh 143 14. l. cana griff., notul. 4 : 98 (1847). an annual, aquatic herb. upper leaves elliptic or linear-oblong, lower ones pinnatisect to lacerate. corolla violet, blue or purple. capsule enclosed in persistent calyx with 5 teeth. flowering and fruiting : september december. this species is endemic to bangladesh and has been reported from dhaka, jamalpur and pabna (khan et al. 2001). 15. l. chinensis (osbeck) merr., amer. j. bot. 3 : 581 (1916). columnea chinensis osbeck, dagb. ostend. resa : 230 (1757); limnophila hirsuta (heyne ex benth.) benth.in dc., prod. 10 : 388 (1846). an annual herb. leaves ovate-lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, or rarely spathulate. corolla purple-red, blue or rarely white. capsule compressed, ovoid to ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting : april october. distributed in australia, cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, malaysia, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is found in chittagong and cox's bazar. 16. l. diffusa benth. in dc., prodr. 10 : 387 (1846). stemodia cimicina benth. in wall. cat. no. 3933 (1831); limnophila camphorata hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4 : 267 (1884). an annual, erect or decumbent, diffuse herb. leaves elliptic-ovate or oblonglanceolate. corolla 2-lipped, glabrous outside, hairy inside. capsule septicidally 4-valved. flowering and fruiting : september january. distributed in india, indonesia and myanmar. in bangladesh, this species is reported from chittagong and dhaka. 17. l. erecta benth. in dc., prodr. 10 : 388 (1846). annual aquatic herb. leaves linear-elliptic. corolla white or pink, 2-lipped. capsule ovoid. flowering and fruiting : july october. distributed in indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. this species was reported in 1884 from the then bengal, the area now falls under bangladesh (hooker 1884). 18. l. heterophylla (roxb.) benth., scroph. ind. : 25 (1835); columnea heterophylla roxb., fl. ind. 3 : 97 (1832). a perennial aquatic herb. leaves linear-lanceolate to ovate-oblong. corolla pale pinkish-violet or pink. capsule ovoid, pale brown. flowering and fruiting : february september. 2n = 34 (sarkar et al. 1976). 144 rahman distributed in cambodia, china, india, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is common in dhaka, narayanganj, rajshahi, sunamganj and sylhet. 19. l. indica (l.) druce, rep. bot. soc. exch. club br. isles 3: 420 (1914). hottonia indica l., sp. pl. ed. 2 : 208 (1762); grattiola trifida willd., sp. pl. 1 : 104 (1797); limnophila gratioloides r. br., prod. : 442 (1810). a perennial aquatic herb. lower leaves pinnately dissected, root-like, uppermost often undivided, linear-spathulate to linear-lanceolate. corolla pale yellow, occasionally pale purple. capsule subovoid, black. flowering and fruiting : february october. 2n = 34 (shetty and subramanyam 1971). distributed in africa, australia, cambodia, china, india, indonesia, japan, laos, malaysia, nepal, oceania, pakistan, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is located in chittagong and dhaka. 20. l. micrantha benth. in dc., prod. 10 : 387 (1846). an annual, aquatic herb. leaves linear-oblong to ovate. corolla white or mauve to purple-red. capsule flattened-spherical to broadly ellipsoid, light purplish-brown. flowering and fruiting : august november. distributed in india, myanmar, nepal and pakistan. in bangladesh, this species was recorded over 100 years back from chittagong (prain 1903). 21. l. repens (benth.) benth. in dc., prod. 10 : 387 (1846). stemodia repens benth., scroph. ind. : 23 (1832); limnophila conferta benth. in dc., prod. 10 : 387 (1846). an aquatic annual herb. leaves rhomboid-oblong to ovate-elliptic. corolla white, dull violet-pink to pinkish-purple. capsule ovoid-ellipsoid, blackish. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. distributed in australia, bhutan, cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, the philippines, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is commonly found in chittagong, cox's bazar, dhaka and sylhet. 22. l. roxburghii g. don, gen. syst. 4 : 543 (1837). capraria gratissima roxb., fl. ind. 3 : 92 (1832). an erect, stout, glabrous herb. leaves elliptic-lanceolate. corolla bluish purple with a yellow mouth. capsule oblong to ellipsoid, glabrous. flowering and fruiting : august november. 2n = 36 (mehra and vasudevan 1972). distributed throughout india. in bangladesh this species was reported from sylhet (hooker 1884). scrophulariaceous taxa in bangladesh 145 23. l. rugosa (roth) merr., interpr. herb. amboin. : 466 (1917). herpestis rugosa roth, nov. pl. sp. : 290 (1821). a perennial herb. leaves ovate-lanceolate to ovate-elliptic. corolla purple-red to blue. capsule pale brown, broadly ovoid. flowering and fruiting : september december. distributed in bhutan, india, indonesia, japan, laos, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, pacific islands, the philippines, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species occurs in chittagong and dinajpur. 24. l. sessiliflora (vahl) blume, bijdr. : 749 (1826). hottonia sessiliflora vahl, symb. bot. 2 : 36 (1791). a perennial aquatic herb. upper leaves often pinnately divided, submerged leaves pinnatisect. corolla pale mauvish-pink. capsule globose, compressed. flowering and fruiting: april october. distributed in bhutan, china, india, indonesia, japan, korea, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, the philippines, sri lanka and vietnam. in bangladesh, it is available in chittagong, comilla, dhaka, dinajpur, gopalganj, mymensing, rangamati and sylhet. 25. lindenbergia indica (l.) vatke, oesterr. b. zeits. 25 : 10 (1875). dodartia indica l., sp. pl. : 633 (1753); lindenbergia polyantha royle ex benth., scroph. ind. : 22 (1835). an erect annual herb. leaves ovate. corolla pubescent outside, upper lip shortly bifid with the divisions, lower lip with oblong. capsule oblong. flowering and fruiting : october january. 2n = 28 (bhattacharrya 1967). distributed in afghanistan, china, india, malaysia, myanmar and nepal. in bangladesh, this species is found all over the country 26. l. muraria (roxb. ex d. don) p. bruehl in journ. dept. bot. cal. uni. 2 (bot.) : 27 (1920). stemodia muraria roxb. ex d. don, prod. fl. nepal : 89 (1825); lindenbergia urticaefolia lehm. in link & otto, ic. pl. rar. : 95, t. 48 (1831). a densely glandular-hairy, annual or perennial herb. leaves ovate. corolla 2-lipped, the upper lip pubescent inside, lower lip rounded. capsule pubescent at the apex. flowering and fruiting : september february. 2n = 50 (mehra and vasudevan 1972). distributed in afghanistan, india, nepal and pakistan. in bangladesh, this species is found in chittagong, dhaka, natore and rajshahi. 27. l. philippensis (cham. & schl.) benth. in dc., prodr. 10 : 377 (1846). stemodia philippensis cham. in linnaea 3 : 5 (1828). 146 rahman a perennial, stout, erect, much branched herb. leaves ovate to ovate-lanceolate. corolla yellow, outside with purple patches. capsule narrowly ovoid. flowering and fruiting: november march. distributed in cambodia, india, laos, myanmar, philippines, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is found in chittagong. 28. lindernia anagallis (burm. f.) pennell, j. arnold arbor. 24 : 252 (1943). ruellia anagallis burm. f., fl. ind. : 135 (1768); gratiola cordifolia colsm., prod. desc. grat. : 15 (1793); vandellia pedunculata benth., scroph. ind. : 37 (1835); lindernia cordifolia (colsm.) merr., enum. philipp. pl. 3 : 437 (1923). a small annual herb. leaves linear to linear lanceolate or broadly ovate. corolla white, purple or light yellow. capsule linear-cylindric. flowering and fruiting : march november. distributed in australia, bhutan, cambodia, india, japan, laos, malaysia, myanmar, the philippines, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is available in comilla, dhaka and rangamati. 29. l. antipoda (l.) alston in trimen, hand. fl. ceylon 6 : 214 (1931). ruellia antipoda l., sp. pl. : 635 (1753); gratiola veronicifolia retz., obs. bot. 4 : 8 (1786); bonnaya veronicifolia (retz.) spreng., syst. veg. 1 : 14 (1825). a very small annual herb. leaves variable in shape, oval oblong, obovate-oblong, oblanceolate or linear-elliptic. corolla pale violet or violet-blue to pale blue or white, occasionally pale purple. capsule linear-cylindric or subulate-cylindric. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. 2n = 18 (philcox 1968). distributed in australia, bhutan, cambodia, india, japan, laos, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, the philippines, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is common throughout the country. 30. l. ciliata (colsm.) pennell, brittonia 2 : 182 (1936). gratiola ciliata colsm., prod. desc. grat. : 14 (1793); bonnaya brachiata link & otto, ic. pl. select. : 25, t. 11 (1820); gratiola serrata roxb., fl. ind. 1 : 140 (1820). a very small annual herb. leaves oblong-lanceolate or oblong-oval. corolla pale mauve to white. capsule linear-cylindric. flowering and fruiting : may august. 2n = 18 (bhattacharyya 1967). distributed in australia, cambodia, china, india, japan, laos, malaysia, myanmar, the philippines and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is found almost throughout the country. scrophulariaceous taxa in bangladesh 147 31. l. crustacea (l.) f. muell., census austral. pl. 1 : 97 (1882). capraria crustacea l., mant. : 87 (1767); torenia crustacea (l.) cham. & schlecht., linnaea 2 : 570 (1827); vandellia crustacea (l.) benth., scroph. ind. : 35 (1835). a small annual herb. leaves ovate to ovate-cordate. corolla purplish-blue. capsule ovoid, oblong or globose. flowering and fruiting : april december. 2n = 42 (darlington and wylie 1955). distributed in tropical and subtropical asia from india eastward into australasia and polynesia, and also in tropical africa and america. in bangladesh, this species is found all over the country. 32. l. elata (benth.) wettstein in engler & prantl, nat. pflanzenfam. 4 : 79 (1891); vandellia elata benth., scroph. ind. : 36 (1835). a small annual herb. leaves elliptic to ovate. corolla purple, purple-red or blue. capsule ellipsoid, oblong or globose. flowering and fruiting : august december. distributed in cambodia, china, indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species occurs in chittagong. 33. l. hyssopioides (l.) haines, bot. bihar & orissa 4 : 635 (1922). gratiola hyssopioides l., mant. 2 : 174 (1771); ilysanthes hyssopioides benth. in dc., prod. 10 : 419 (1846). a small annual herb. leaves oblong to oblong-lanceolate. corolla white to pale blue. capsule obliquely ovoid. flowering and fruiting : august may. 2n = 26 (darlington and wylie 1955). distributed in china, india, indonesia, malaysia, sri lanka and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is found in chittagong, dhaka, narayanganj and rangamati. 34. l. micrantha d. don, prodr. fl. nepal. : 85 (1825). vandellia angustifolia benth., scroph. ind. : 37 (1835). an annual herb. leaves linear to linear-lanceolate. corolla pale pinkish-violet or white. capsule linear-cylindric. flowering and fruiting : may november. 2n = 18 (bhattacharyya 1969). distributed in cambodia, india, indonesia japan, korea, laos, myanmar, nepal, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. hooker (1884) reported this species (under the name vandellia angustifolia benth.) from an area of the then bengal that now lies in bangladesh. 35. l. mollis (benth.) wettstein in engler & prantl, nat. pflanzenfam. 4(3b) : 79 (1895). vandellia mollis benth., scroph. ind. : 37 (1835); lindernia montana koord., exkur. java 3 : 178 (1912). 148 rahman an annual marshy herb. leaves ovate to ovate-lanceolate. corolla purple to yellowwhite. capsule narrowly ovoid or ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting : july november. distributed in cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, malaysia, myanmar, pakistan and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is found in sylhet. 36. l. multiflora (roxb.) mukerjee, journ. ind. bot. soc. 24 : 131 (1945). torenia multiflora roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 3 : 96 (1832); vandellia multiflora (roxb.) g. don, gen. syst. 4 : 549 (1838). a small annual herb. leaves oblong to elliptic. corolla white to pale white. capsule ovoid-ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting : june november. 2n = 20 (bhattacharyya 1967). distributed in bhutan, india, malaysia and nepal. in bangladesh, this species is found throughout the country. 37. l. parviflora (roxb.) haines, bot. bihar & orissa 4 : 635 (1922). gratiola parviflora roxb., pl. corom. 3 : 3, t. 204 (1819); ilysanthes parviflora (roxb.) benth. in dc., prod. 10 : 419 (1846). a small annual herb. leaves linear-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate. corolla white or pinkish-white, with 2 yellow dots at the throat. capsule oblong to globose. flowering and fruiting : july november. 2n = 26 (bhattacharyya 1969). distributed in india, nepal and sri lanka. in bangladesh, this species occurs in chittagong and dhaka. 38. l. procumbens (krock.) philcox in taxon 14 : 30 (1965). anagalloides procumbens krock., fl. siles. 2 (1) : 398, t. 26 (1790); vandellia erecta benth., scroph. ind. : 36 (1835). a small annual herb. leaves sessile elliptic to oblong, somewhat rhomboid. corolla white, pink to purple. capsule globose to ovoid-globose. flowering and fruiting : july december. 2n = 30 (bhattacharyya 1969). distributed in afghanistan, china, india, indonesia, japan, kazakhistan, laos, nepal, pakistan, russia, south europe, tajikistan, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is available all over the country. 39. l. pusilla (willd.) boldingh, zakfl. java.: 165 (1916). gratiola pusilla willd., sp. pl. 1 : 105 (1797); vandellia scabra benth., scroph. ind.: 36 (1835); lindernia hirta (cham. & schlecht.) pennell, j. arnold arbor. 24 : 250 (1943). a small annual herb. leaves ovate to orbicular-ovate. corolla white or pale mauve or pale blue. capsule globose. flowering and fruiting : april january. 2n = 40 (bhattacharyya 1969). scrophulariaceous taxa in bangladesh 149 distributed in cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, new guinea, the philippines, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is common in chittagong, dhaka, gazipur, mymensingh, narayanganj, sylhet and tangail. 40. l. rotundifolia (l.) alston in trimen, hand. fl. ceylon 6 : 214 (1931). gratiola rotundifolia l., mant. : 274 (1767); ilysanthes rotundifolia (l.) benth. in dc., prod. 10 : 420 (1846). a small annual herb. leaves broadly ovate, elliptic or rounded. corolla bluish-white. capsule ovoid-globose, glabrous. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. distributed in india, madagascar, mascarene islands, mauritius and sri lanka. in bangladesh, this species is found in chittagong. 41. l. ruellioides (colsm.) pennell, brittonia 2 : 182 (1936). gratiola ruellioides colsm., prod. desc. grat. : 12 (1793); gratiola reptans roxb., fl. ind. 1 : 140 (1820); bonnaya reptans (roxb.) spreng., syst. veg. 1 : 41 (1824). an annual herb. leaves elliptic-ovate, ovate-oblong or orbicular. corolla pink or purplish. capsule cylindrical. flowering and fruiting : may january. distributed in cambodia, china, india, indonesia, japan, malaysia, myanmar, new guinea, the philippines and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is found in dhaka and sylhet. 42. l. tenuifolia (colsm.) alston in trimen, hand. fl. ceylon 6 : 214 (1931). gratiola tenuifolia colsm., prod. desc. grat. : 8 (1793); bonnaya tenuifolia (colsm.) spreng., syst. veg. 1 : 42 (1825). an annual herb. leaves linear to linear-lanceolate. corolla white, pale blue or bluishviolet. capsule linear-cylindric. flowering and fruiting : april november. 2n = 18 (bhattacharyya 1969). distributed in cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, malaysia, myanmar, new guinea, the philippines and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is available in dhaka, gazipur, narayanganj and narsingdi. 43. l. viscosa (hornemann) boldingh, zakfl. java : 165 (1916). gratiola viscosa hornem., enum. pl. hort. hafn. : 19 (1807); vandellia hirsuta buch.-ham. ex benth., scroph. ind. : 36 (1835); lindernia viscosa (reichb.) alston in trimen, handb. fl. ceylon 6 : 213 (1931). a small annual herb. leaves ovate to suborbicular. corolla white or pink with or without a yellow throat. capsule globose. flowering and fruiting : may november. 2n = 20 (sarkar et al. 1980). 150 rahman distributed in cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, myanmar, new guinea, the philippines, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this plant is found in dhaka, khulna and mymensingh. 44. majus pumillus (burm. f.) van steenis, nova guinea 9 : 31 (1958). lobelia pumila burm. f., fl. ind. : 186, t. 60 (1768); lindernia japonica thunb., fl. jap. : 253 (1784); majus rugosus lour., fl. cochinch. : 358 (1790). a small annual herb. leaves oblong-oval to obovate-spathulate. corolla pale blue on adaxial side, white on opposite side. capsule obovoid. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. 2n = 40 (verma and dhillon 1967). distributed in china, india, japan, malaysia, myanmar and sri lanka. in bangladesh, this species is found in comilla, dhaka, kustia, mymensingh and sylhet. 45. mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small, fl. southeast u.s. : 1338 (1905). erinus procumbens mill., g. dict. ed. 8, n. 6 (1768); herpestis chamaedryoides h. b. & k., nov. gen. et sp. 2 : 369 (1818); bacopa procumbens (mill.) green. in publ. field columb. mus. b. 2 : 261 (1907). an annual, prostrate, glabrous herb. leaves elliptic to ovate. corolla lemon yellow. capsule oblong. flowering and fruiting : february june. 2n = 22 (fedorov 1969). distributed in india, nepal and subtropical america. in bangladesh, this species is found in bogra and rajshahi. 46. microcarpaea minima (koenig ex retz.) merr., philipp. j. sci. 7 : 100 (1912). paederota minima koenig ex retz., obs. bot. 5 : 10 (1789); microcarpaea muscosa r. br., prod. : 426 (1810). a small annual herb. leaves linear-oblong to linear-spathulate. corolla pinkish-red. capsule ovoid-ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting : march september. distributed in china, india, indonesia, japan, korea, malaysia, oceania, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is found in chittagong and dhaka. 47. mimulus strictus benth., scroph. ind. : 28 (1835). mimulus gracilis auct. non r. br.: hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4 : 259 (1884). an erect glabrous herb. leaves linear-oblong. corolla white or pale blue. capsule compressed, loculicidal. flowering and fruiting : march september. 2n = 16 (gill 1971). distributed in australia, china, india, nepal, pakistan and tropical africa. this species was recorded from a part of the then bengal that now falls in bangladesh (hooker 1884). scrophulariaceous taxa in bangladesh 151 48. russelia equisetiformis schlecht. & cham., linnaea 6 : 377 (1831). russelia juncea zucc., flora 15 (2) : 99 (1832). a weeping shrub. leaves ovate, mostly reduced to linear scales. corolla bright red. capsule oval, brown. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. 2n = 20 (verma and dhillon 1967). cultivated throughout the tropics and readily naturalizing. in bangladesh, this species is confined to chittagong. 49. scoparia dulcis l., sp. pl. : 116 (1753). gratiola micrantha nutt., amer. j. sci. 5 : 267 (1822); scoparia grandiflora nash, bull. torrey bot. club 23 : 105 (1896). an erect, perennial herb. leaves obovate-oblong to oblanceolate. corolla white. capsule subglobose, longer than calyx. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. 2n = 20 (lewis et al. 1962). throughout the tropics and subtropics. in bangladesh, this species is commonly found throughout the country. 50. sopubia stricta baker, jour. linn. soc. 21 : 427 (1885). an annual herb. leaves linear. corolla pale mauve to deep purple. capsule loculicidally and septicidally dehiscent. flowering and fruiting : september december. distributed in bhutan, india and myanmar. in bangladesh, this species was reported from a part of the then bengal that is now under bangladesh (hooker 1884). 51. striga angustifolia (d. don) saldanha, bull. bot. surv. india. 5 : 70 (1963). buchnera angustifolia d. don, prod. fl. nepal : 91 (1825); buchnera euphrasioides benth., scroph. ind. : 41 (1835). a small annual herb. leaves linear, setulose on both surfaces. corolla white. capsule ovoid, glabrous. flowering and fruiting : august may. distributed in bhutan, china, india, indonesia, myanmar, nepal, sri lanka and vietnam. this species was recorded from the then east bengal that now falls under the territory of bangladesh (prain 1903). 52. s. asiatica (l.) kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 1 : 466 (1891). buchnera asiatica l., sp. pl. : 630 (1753); striga lutea lour., fl. cochin. : 22 (1790); buchnera hirsuta benth., scroph. ind. : 41 (1835). an annual or perennial herb. leaves linear. corolla yellowish. capsule ovoid, dark brown. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year. 2n = 40 (kumar and abraham 1941). 152 rahman distributed in bhutan, china, india, malaysia, nepal, pakistan, sri lanka, and tropical and south africa. this species was recorded from an area of the then east bengal, which is now under bangladesh (prain 1903). 53. s. densiflora (benth.) benth. in hook., comp. bot. mag. 1: 363 (1836). buchnera densiflora benth., scroph. ind.: 41 (1835). a perennial hispid herb. stem erect. leaves linear, entire or sparingly serrate. corolla white, sometimes bluish-white. capsule oblong, enveloped in calyx. flowering and fruiting: almost throughout the year. 2n = 40 (bhattacharyya 1967). distributed in china, india and taiwan. in bangladesh, this species occurs in rajshahi as a root parasite of sugarcane. 54. torenia diffusa d. don, prodr. fl. nep. : 86 (1825). torenia vegans roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 3 : 96 (1832). a sprawling or creeping, branched, annual herb. leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate. corolla violet-purple. capsule oblong-ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting : may september. distributed in bhutan and india. in bangladesh, this species is found in chittagong. 55. t. flava buch.-ham. ex benth., scroph. ind. : 38 (1835). torenia hokutensis hayata, ic. pl. formos 9 : 80 (1920). an erect herb, usually branched from base, villous. leaves ovate to elliptic. corolla yellow. capsule narrowly ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting : june november. distributed in cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species occurs in chittagong. 56. t. fournieri lind. ex tourn., ill. hort. 23 : 129 (1876). a small herb. leaves oblong-ovate to ovate. corolla pale blue above, narrowed and orange-yellow at base. capsule narrowly ovoid to ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting : april -august. 2n = 18 (bhattacharyya 1967). distributed in cambodia, china, india, laos, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is cultivated as an ornamental plant all over the country because of its beautiful flower. 57. t. violacea (azaola ex blanco) pennell, j. arnold arbor. 24 : 255 (1943). mimulus violaceus azaola ex blanco, fl. phillip. ed. 2 : 357 (1845); torenia peduncularis benth. ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4 : 276 (1884). an annual herb. leaves ovate to narrowly ovate. corolla pale yellow or white. fruit a capsule. flowering and fruiting : august november. scrophulariaceous taxa in bangladesh 153 distributed in bhutan, cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, malaysia, the philippines, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is confined to sylhet. 58. verbascum chinense (l.) santapau, fl. purandhar. : 90 (1958). scrophularia chinensis l., mant. 2 : 250 (1771); celsia coromandeliana vahl, symb. bot. 3 : 79 (1794); verbascum coromandelianum (vahl) kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 1 : 468 (1891). an annual or biennial herb. radical leaves compound or pinnatisect, with several small leaflets or segments at base and a large oblong-oval acute terminal leaflet, cauline leaves oblong-ovate. corolla yellow. capsule ovoid. flowering and fruiting : march august. 2n = 80 (malik 1960). distributed in afghanistan, cambodia, china, india, laos, myanmar, pakistan, sri lanka and thailand. in bangladesh, this species is found in chittagong and dhaka. 59. veronica undulata wall. ex jack in roxb., fl. ind. 1 : 147 (1820). veronica anagallis bong. in mem. acad. petersb. ser. 6 (2) : 157 (1833); veronica anagallisaquatica l. subsp. undulata (wall.) elenevsk. in byull. mosk. obshch. ispyt prir., biol. 82 (1) : 153 (1977). a perennial herb. leaves mostly elliptic to ovate, sometimes ovate-oblong or linearlanceolate, rarely lanceolate. corolla pale blue, pale purple, violet or white. capsule subglobose. flowering and fruiting : april september. 2n = 28, 32 (bhattacharyya 1969). distributed in afghanistan, china, india, japan, korea, laos, nepal, pakistan, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is found in dhaka, kishoreganj, kurigram, mymensingh and rajshahi. references bhattacharyya, n.k. 1967. cytological investigation on several genera of scrophulariaceae and their interrelationships. proc. 54th indian sci. congr. part 3 : 384. bhattacharyya, n.k. 1969. cytological studies of a few more taxa of scrophulariaceae. proc. 56th indian sci. congr. part 3 : 375. borgmann, e. 1964. anteil der polyploiden in der flora des bismarcksgebirges von ostneuguinea. z. bot. 52: 118-173. darlington, c.d. and wylie, a.p. 1955. chromosome atlas of flowering plants. george allen and unwin, london. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1-110. fedorov, a.a. 1969. chromosome numbers of flowering plants. academy of sciences of u.s.s.r., moscow, 926 pp. gill, l.s. 1971. chromosome numbers in certain west-himalayan bicarpellate species. bull. torey bot. club 98: 281. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling, india. pp. 1-84. 154 rahman heywood, v.h. 1993. flowering plants of the world. oxford university press, new york. hooker, j.d. 1884. the flora of british india. volume 4. indian reprint 1973. bishen singh mohandra pal singh, dera dun, india. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m. and ali, m.a. 2001. red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. p. 140. kumar, l.s.s. and abraham, a. 1941. cytological studies in indian parasitic plants. proc. indian acad. sci., sect. b, 14: 509-516. lewis, w.h., stripling, h.l. and ross, r.g. 1962. chromosome numbers for some angiosperms of southern united states and mexico. rhodora 64: 147-161. malik, c.p. 1960. chromosome number of some dicotyledons. sci. cult. 25: 437. mehra, p.n. and vasudevan, k.n. 1972. in: iopb chromosome number reports xxxvi. taxon 21: 333-346. philcox, d. 1968. revision of the malesian species of lindernia all. kew bull. 22(1): 1-72. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. volume 2. reprint edition 1981. sarkar, a.k., chakraverty, m., saha, n.c. and das, s.k. 1976. in: iopb chromosome number reports liv. taxon 25: 631-649. sarkar, a.k., chakraverty, m., das, s.k., pal, c.r. and hazara, d. 1980. in: iopb chromosome number reports lxvii. taxon 29: 347-367. shetty, b.v. and subramanyam, k. 1971. in: iopb chromosome number reports xxxiv. taxon 20: 785797. verma, s.c. and dhillon, s.s. 1967. in: iopb chromosome number reports xi. taxon 16: 215-222. vij, s.p. and kashyap, s.k. 1975. in: iopb chromosome number reports xlviii. taxon 24: 367-372. (manuscript received on 11 october 2006; revised on 8 november 2006) 7. c. tranquebarica (spreng.) merr., 150th anniv. vol. r. b 17. l. erecta benth. in dc., prodr. 10 : 388 (1846). 24. l. sessiliflora (vahl) blume, bijdr. : 749 (1826). hotto 26. l. muraria (roxb. ex d. don) p. bruehl in journ. dept. b 29. l. antipoda (l.) alston in trimen, hand. fl. ceylon 6 : 34. l. micrantha d. don, prodr. fl. nepal. : 85 (1825). v 40. l. rotundifolia (l.) alston in trimen, hand. fl. ceylon bhattacharyya, n.k. 1967. cytological investigation on sever darlington, c.d. and wylie, a.p. 1955. chromosome atlas of f mehra, p.n. and vasudevan, k.n. 1972. in: iopb chromosome nu shetty, b.v. and subramanyam, k. 1971. in: iopb chromosome n microsoft word 09. hedychium.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 169-176, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists the identity of hedychium marginatum c.b. clarke (zingiberaceae), and a new species, h. nagamiense from north-eastern india e. sanoj and m. sabu* department of botany, university of calicut, kerala 673 635, india keywords: hedychium luteum; h. marginatum; h. nagamiense; new species; new synonym; taxonomic identity; zingiberaceae. abstract the identity of hedychium marginatum c.b. clarke is corrected based on the type and protologue studies and h. luteum baker is reduced as its synonym. h. nagamiense sanoj et al. sp. nov., from nagaland, india is described and illustrated. nomenclatural notes, phenology, geographical distribution and iucn status of both species are provided. introduction genus hedychium was established by koenig (1783) with h. coronarium as the type species, based on rumphius’ (1747) illustration. since then, a number of taxa have been described by various authors from india and adjacent countries, mainly by smith (1811), roxburgh (1820), roscoe (1824-1828), wallich (1853), baker (1892), schumann (1904) and rao and verma (1969). now it holds about 80 species mainly distributed in eastern himalaya to southern china, india and south-eastern asia (sirirugsa and larsen, 1995). this is the largest genus of the family zingiberaceae in india with about 44 taxa, mostly restricted to north-eastern states (sanoj, 2011). during the revision of hedychium in india, the examination of nomenclature and types of h. marginatum c.b. clarke and h. luteum baker revealed that both are one and the same species; hence, the latter is reduced as a new synonym of the former. a new species, h. nagamiense, is also described, which was misidentified as h. luteum by rao and verma (1972). a detailed description, illustration with relevant notes and a key to allied species are provided here to facilitate its identification in the field. taxonomic treatment 1. hedychium marginatum c.b. clarke, j. linn. soc., bot. 25: 75. t. 31 (1889); baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 226 (1892). type: india, kohima, 4500 ft., 3.11.1885, c.b. clarke 41513 (holotype k!; isotypes bm!, cal!). (fig. 2b) hedychium luteum baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 232. (1892), syn. nov. type: t. thomson, illustration at calcutta herbarium, 11.1854 (iconotype: cal!). (fig. 2a) *corresponding author. email: msabu9@gmail.com 170 sanoj and sabu terrestrial, perennial rhizomatous herbs. rhizome 2.2-3.0 cm wide, monopodial branching, creamy white internally, aromatic. leafy shoot 105-150 cm high, slanting. leaves 15-22, 5.7-10.0 cm apart, spreading on plant, sessile; ligule 2.6-3.6 × 1.0-1.8 cm, lanceolate, single lobed, pale green, sericeous, externally membranous, closely appressed to stem, tip obtuse; lamina 24.2-30.6 × 6.0-6.5 cm, elliptic-oblanceolate, dark green and glabrous above, pale green (pale pink tinged towards base on lower leaves) and sericeous below; margin non-ciliate, translucent, pale pink tinged; tip twisted, long acuminate; base obtuse; midrib pale green above. inflorescence 6.5-10.0 cm long, elliptic, dense. bracts 3.9 × 1.6 cm, spathulate, boat-shaped, green with red tinge, sparsely pubescent externally, moderately coriaceous, imbricating; margin non-ciliate, translucent; tip rounded, tuft of hairs at tip, hairs brown; cincinnus 2-4 -flowered. bracteoles c. 1.6 × 1.0 cm, white with red tinge, pubescent externally, membranous, translucent, non-tubular; margin nonciliate. flower 9.8-10.2 cm long, lemon-yellow (turn to much dark yellow on second day), spreading, 4-8 flowers opened at a time. calyx 3.4-3.5 cm long, c. 2.5 mm wide at mouth, pale greenish-yellow with red tinge, pubescent externally, membranous, translucent, upper half slightly inflated, lower half closely appressed to corolla tube, unilaterally split up to 1.1 cm deep, obscurely 3-toothed at tip, unequal. corolla tube 6.5-6.6 cm long, c. 3 mm wide at mouth, lemonyellow, whitish towards base, slightly arching, glabrous externally, hairy internally along the margin of filament groove, hairs downwardly directed. corolla lobes lemon-yellow, membranous, drooping from flower, glabrous, margin rolled inside, slightly coiled like an expanded spring; dorsal lobe 3.5-3.6 × c. 0.4 cm, 1.5-2.0 mm long beaked at tip; lateral lobes 3.1-3.3 × c. 0.4 cm, non-beaked at tip. lateral staminodes 2.8-3.0 × 0.4-0.5 cm, oblanceolate, lemon-yellow, upper half reflexed back, outer margin undulate, tip obtuse. labellum 2.6-2.7 × c. 1.7 cm, obovate, lemon-yellow, upper half reflexed back spreading on flower, gradually clawed at base; claw c. 5 mm wide; sinus 8-9 mm deep; lobes obtuse at tip; outer margin undulate. stamens 3.7-3.8 cm long; filament 2.6-2.7 cm long, c. 1.5 mm wide at base, lemon-yellow, slightly arching; anthers c. 1.2 × 0.3 cm, oblong, lemon-yellow, oblong, lobes parallel, split opens from top to bottom, attached with the filament at c. 1.5 mm above from base, anthers parallel with the filament axis; connective yellow, glabrous, prolonged into a very minute crest (c. 0.5 mm long), truncate at tip. ovary c. 2.5 × 2.5 mm, barrel-shaped, pale red, densely pubescent externally, trilocular, ovules many, placentation axile; style filiform, white, glabrous, broadens and green tinged towards stigma; stigma c. 1.5 mm wide, green, stigmatic head flat, slanting with a depression at center, hairy, hairs hook-like, bulbose based. epigynous glands 2, c. 2.5 mm long, oblong, yellow. flowering and fruiting: it flowers profusely in august-september and so far no fruiting has been observed. geographical distribution: assam to myanmar. in india, common in kohima, phek and mokokchung districts of nagaland but known only from solitary collections from meghalaya, mizoram and tripura. iucn red list category: the species is common at kohima, mokokchung and phek districts of nagaland (about 6,750 sq. km) and sparse at mizoram and tripura, and is facing high risk of identity of hedychium marginatum and h. nagamiense, sp.nov. 171 threat in the wild. hence, the species is assessed as vulnerable (vu) [crb1ab (i,ii,iv)+2ab (i,ii,iv)] as per iucn guidelines (iucn 2001, iucn standards and petitions subcommittee, 2010). specimens examined: manipur: imphal district imphal, 17 aug 1951, d.b. deb 290 (cal), 16.8.1951, d.b. deb 337 (cal). mizoram: champhai district 2 km from murlin village towards vapar, 24.8.2008, a.v. prasanth & m.c. shameer 115412 (cali). tripura: sardukchira, d.b. deb 1460 (cal). nagaland: s. loc. d.m. verma 34649 (cal); kohima district piffinsa (3000 ft.), 18.10.1885, c.b. clarke 42094 (cal); kohima (4000 ft.), 19.10.1885, c.b. clarke 40926 (cal), 4.9.1937, g.k. deka 19654 (assam). mokokchung district meinkiong (1400 m.), n 26°21'40" e 094°33'56", 20.5.2006, m. sabu & a.k. pradeep 103621 (cali); meinkiong, 27.8.2006, e. sanoj & v.p. thomas 105536, 105539 (cali); 5 km from phek to kutsepo, 6.9.2006, e. sanoj & v.p. thomas 105611, 105615 (cali). phek district jotsoma, july 1886, d. prain 9, 16, 18 (cal); 2 km from kohima city (1400 m), 23.5.2006, m. sabu & a.k. pradeep 103629 (cali); 31.8.2006, e. sanoj & v.p. thomas 105569 (cali). tuensang district phalong, naga hills, 4000 ft., 12.1907, a. meebold 7086 (cal). note: h. marginatum was described by clarke (1890) based on a specimen collected by him from kohima (c.b. clarke 41513). he described it as a distinct species mainly because of the villous nature of the tips of bracts and yellow labellum. the plate number xxxi associated with the protologue does not match with the type material mainly on the winged filaments, bifid ligule, cylindrical inflorescence and single flowered bracts. subsequently, baker (1892) described another species h. luteum based on a colour plate made at calcutta herbarium under the supervision of t. thomson, the then superintendant of royal botanical garden in november 1854. however, h.f. link mentioned the same epithet h. luteum long back in 1st volume of his ‘enumeratio plantarum beroliensis’ (443. 1821) under “addenda et emendanda” as “h. coccineum et angustifolium bot. mag. non differre videntur. accepimus quoque h. luteum ex hort. angl. quod nondum floruit” (translated as h. coccineum and h. angustifolium of the botanical magazine do not differ. we have also received h. luteum of english gardener which has not yet flowered). link's species is invalid as there is not a descriptive word or a reference, as is usual with names in horticulture. while describing h. luteum, baker (1892) did not refer to link and he described the species only on the basis of the drawing of thomson at cal. the code (mcneill et al., 2006) has no restrictions for a later use of "luteum" in the genus, and so it is quite acceptable when it was used in the ‘flora of british india’. hence it is also difficult to say whether h. luteum of baker and that of link are one and the same. later, the drawing of thomson was reproduced by king and prain (1898) as h. luteum, and the original illustration is available at calcutta herbarium. baker (1892) placed h. marginatum under the subgenus gandasulium horan. (stamen never much longer than lip) and h. luteum under the subgenus macrostemium horan. (stamen much longer than lip). however, in both species, the stamens are longer than the lip (stamen rather longer than lip, and stamens half as long again as lip respectively), as evidenced by types. while 172 sanoj and sabu describing h. luteum baker mentioned the “labellum orbicular, bifid and distinctly clawed”. this statement is a mistake made by baker while interpreting thomson’s drawing. based on the many live specimens from kohima, mokokchung and phek districts of nagaland and champhai district of mizoram revealed that, the labellum is obovate, bifid up to 8-9 mm deep and gradually clawed. moreover it is one of the species which shows a wide range of variation in labellum size, shape and length and nature of claw. schumann (1904) also treated h. marginatum and h. luteum under two subgenera, viz., gandasulium and euosmianthus k. schum., respectively. based on these evidences and the detailed protologue and type studies, we concluded that, both are conspecific. recently, rao and verma (1972) also treated h. marginatum and h. luteum as separate species. but they misidentified and described another taxon as h. luteum. the detailed studies on the possible material used by them (d.m. verma 34646 [assam]) and the description provided turned out to be a new species. during the revisionary work of indian hedychium, we could collect live plants of this species from nagaland and is described below. 2. hedychium nagamiense sanoj, m. sabu & v.p. thomas, sp. nov. (fig. 1, 2c) type: india, nagaland, mokokchung district. way to alichen, 28.8.2006, e. sanoj & v.p. thomas 105552 (holotype cali; isotypes cal, mh). h. luteum auct. non baker: a.s. rao & d.m. verma, bull. bot. surv. india 14(1-4): 134 (1972); chaturv. & moaakum, folia malaysiana 9(2): 134 (2008). diagnosis: hedychio marginato similis bracteis apice pilis densis, sed laminis maioribus (36.5-45.0 × 6.6-9.5 contra 24.2-30.6 × 6.0-6.5 cm), inflorescentia longiore (15.5-22.0 contra 6.5-10.0 cm) cylindrica, bracteis convolutis, floribus longioribus (11.8-12.0 contra 9.8-10.2 cm) cremeoluteis, calyce longiore (4.0-4.3 contra 3.4-3.5 cm), staminis (5.5-5.7 contra 3.7-3.8 cm) differt. terrestrial, perennial rhizomatous herbs. rhizome 2.6-3.0 cm wide, creamy white internally, pale pink externally, slightly aromatic, covered with brown scales. leafy shoot 135-180 cm high, slanting with erect inflorescence, robust. leaves 12-16, 5.3-9.5 cm apart, spreading, sessile; sheath 1.6-1.8 cm wide, margin green, membranous, translucent, pubescent; ligule 2.3-3.0 × c. 1.4 cm, ovate, single lobed, rounded-truncate at tip, pink, sericeous externally, membranous, translucent, papery, closely appressed to the stem; lamina 36.5-45.0 × 6.6-9.5 cm, lanceolate, dark green and glabrous above, pale green and sericeous below; margin undulate, membranous, translucent, white tinged, non-ciliate; tip long caudate, twisted; base cuneate-obtuse; midrib densely sericeous below. inflorescence 15.5-22.0 cm long, cylindrical, lax, erect. bracts 4.7-5.5 × 2.0-2.4 cm, obovate, green with red tinge, pubescent, densely pubescent towards tip margins, coriaceous, convolute; margin non-ciliate, translucent, membranous, white, tip obtuse, cincinnus 5-8 flowered; bracteoles 2.4-3.3 × 1.2-1.6 cm (outer tubular), slightly translucent, obscurely 2-lobed at tip, pale red with green tinge, white towards base, pubescent externally, sparsely hairy towards base, outer one completely encircles the cincinnus, membranous. flowers 11.8-12.0 cm long, creamy yellow, 8-14 flowers opens at a time, ascending, slightly fragrant. calyx 4.0-4.3 cm long, c. 2.5 mm wide at identity of hedychium marginatum and h. nagamiense, sp.nov. 173 fig. 1. h. nagamiense (a) bract, (b) bracteole, (c) single flower, (d) calyx, (e) corolla tube with calyx and ovary, (f) corolla lobes, (g) labellum, (h) lateral staminodes, (i) stamen, (j) anther front view (left) and lateral view (right), (k) ovary with epigynous glands and base of style, (l) cross section of ovary, (m) stigma with a part of style (e. sanoj & v.p. thomas 105552, cali). mouth, pale green, white towards base, pubescent externally, membranous, translucent, closely appressed to corolla tube, unilaterally split up to 5-8 mm deep, 3-toothed at tip. corolla tube 5.86.0 cm long, c. 3 mm wide at mouth, white, slightly yellowish towards tip, slightly arching, hairy internally, hairs downwardly directed; lobes oblanceolate, pale green, creamy-yellow tinged towards base, membranous, drooping from flower, glabrous, margins rolled inside, slightly coiled like an expanded spring; dorsal lobe 3.7-3.9 × c. 0.4 cm, 2.5-3.0 mm long beaked at tip; lateral lobes 3.5-3.6 × c. 0.3 cm, very minutely beaked at tip. lateral staminodes 2.9-3.0 × 0.4-0.5 cm, sword-shaped, creamy-yellow, spreading on flower, reflexed back, outer margin undulate, tip 174 sanoj and sabu obtuse. labellum 2.9-3.0 × 1.5-1.7 cm, obovate, creamy yellow, slightly deep coloured at centre, spreading on flower, upper half reflexed back, gradually clawed at base; claw 3.0-3.5 mm wide; sinus 1.0-1.4 cm deep; outer margin undulate, lobes tip rounded. stamens 5.5-5.7 cm long filament 4.7-4.9 cm long, c. 2 mm wide at base, creamy yellow, slightly arching, anther 1.0-1.5 × c. 0.3 cm, elliptic, yellow at openings, split opens from top to bottom, attached with the filament at c. 2.5 mm above from base, thecae axis at an angle of c. 25° with the filament; connective creamy yellow, glabrous, non-crested, tip truncate-slightly notched. ovary 3.5-4.0 × c. 2.5 mm, oblong, fig. 2. (a) hedychium luteum iconotype (t. thomson cal), (b) h. marginatum inflorescence, (c) h. nagamiense inflorescence, (d, e & f) comparison of flower and flower parts of h. nagamiense (left) and h. marginatum (right). identity of hedychium marginatum and h. nagamiense, sp.nov. 175 white, pubescent externally, trilocular, ovules many, placentation axile; style filiform, white, glabrous, broadens and green tinged towards stigma; stigma c. 2 mm wide, green, cup-shaped, slanting with a depression at center, pubescent, hairs hook-like, bulbous based, c. 1.5 mm exserted from the anthers. epigynous glands 2, 4.5-5.0 mm long, oblong, yellow. etymology: the specific epithet ‘nagamiense’ is derived from the name of the tribe ‘nagas’, which is the prominent ethnic group of nagaland. the type specimen belongs to alichen, mokokchung district of nagaland. flowering and fruiting: it flowers in late august to november and so far no fruiting has been observed. geographical distribution: endemic to nagaland, india. reported only from the type locality, one introduced material at the woodlands, meghalaya and ungma, mokokchung district of nagaland (chaturvedi and moaakum, 2008). iucn red list category: the species is known only from the type locality and another introduced plant at woodland with unknown locality, most probably from nagaland. it is facing high threats due to construction of roads, mining and land sliding. due to the rarity and very restricted distribution of h. nagamiense, it is assessed here as critically endangered (cr) (crb 1ab(i,ii,iii,v) + 2ab(i,ii,iii,v); d) according to iucn guidelines (iucn, 2001; iucn standards and petitions subcommittee, 2010). specimens examined: india. meghalaya: east khasi hills district. woodlands, cultivated, 16.8.1971, d.m. verma 34646 (assam). notes: allied to h. marginatum c.b. clarke in having dense hairs at the tip of bracts, but mainly differs from it in having larger lamina, longer and cylindrical inflorescence, convolute bracts, longer and creamy yellow flowers with longer calyx and stamen (fig. 2d-f, table 1). table 1. main differential characters of h. marginatum and h. nagamiense. characters h. marginatum h. nagamiense lamina 24.2-30.6 × 6.0-6.5 cm 36.5-45.0 × 6.6-9.5 cm inflorescence 6.5-10.0 cm long, ellipsoidal, dense 15.5-22.0 cm long, cylindrical, lax bracts imbricate convolute flower 9.8-10.2 cm long, lemon yellow 11.8-12.0 cm long, creamy-yellow calyx length 3.4-3.5 cm 4.0-4.3 cm corolla tube length 6.5-6.6 cm 5.8-6.0 cm stamen length 3.7-3.8 cm 5.5-5.7 cm filament length 2.6-2.7 cm 4.7-4.9 cm ovary 2.5 × 2.5 mm 3.5-4.0 × 2.5 mm acknowledgements we are thankful to council of scientific industrial research, new delhi for the award of senior research fellowship to the first author (9/43(0138)2k9-emr i) and department of 176 sanoj and sabu science and technology, new delhi for the project on indian zingiberaceae (sp/so/ps115/2009). we are also grateful to the director, botanical survey of india and curators of bm, e and k for the permission of consultation of herbaria. we are thankful to dr. j.f. veldkamp (leiden) for latin diagnosis. the help rendered by dr. s.k. chaturvedi and mr. moaakum of department of botany, nagaland university is gratefully acknowledged. references baker, j.g. 1892. scitamineae. in: hooker, j. d. (ed.), flora of british india. vol. 6. l. reeve & co., london. pp. 199-264. chaturvedi, s.k. and moaakum. 2008. diversity of the genus hedychium koenig in the mokokchung and zunheboto districts, nagaland, folia malaysiana 9(2): 129-140. clarke, c.b. 1890. plants of kohima and moneypore, j. linn. soc. 25: 75. 1890. iucn 2001. iucn red list categories and criteria. version 3.1. iucn species survival commission. gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk: iucn. iucn standards and petitions subcommittee. 2010. guidelines for using the iucn red list categories and criteria. version 8.0. prepared by the standards and petitions subcommittee in march 2010. king, g. and prain, d. 1898. a second century of new and rare indian plants. ann. roy. bot. gard. calcutta 9: 70. 1898. koenig, j.f. 1783. in: retzius, a.j. (ed.), observationes botanicae. vol. 3. apud siegfried lebrecht crusium, lipsiae, pp. 73-74. link, h.f. 1821. enumeratio plantarum horti regii berolinensis altera. vol. 1. apud g. reimer, berolini (berlin). mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., burdet, h.m., demoulin, v., hawksworth, d.l., marhold, k., nicolson, d.h., prado, j., silva, p.c., skog, j.e., wiersema j.h., and turland, n.j. 2006. international code of botanical nomenclature (vienna code), adopted by the seventeenth international botanical congress vienna, austria, july 2005. regnum vegetabile 146. a.r.g. gantner verlag kg. rao, a.s. and verma, d.m. 1969. notes on hedychium koenig, including four new species from khasi and jaintia hills, assam. bull. bot. surv. india 11(1&2): 120-128. rao, a.s. and verma, d.m. 1972. materials towards a monocot flora of assam–ii (zingiberaceae and marantaceae). bull. bot. surv. india 14: 114-143. roscoe, w. 1824-1828. monandrian plats of the order scitamineae, liverpoool, george smith. roxburgh, w. 1814. hortus bengalensis. mission press, serampore. roxburgh, w. 1820. flora indica. vol. 1. mission press, serampore. rumphius, g.e. 1747. herbarium amboinense. vol. 5. apud franciscum chaguion, hermannum uytwerf, amstelaedami (amsterdam). sanoj, e. 2011. taxonomic revision of the genus hedychium j. koenig (zingiberaceae) in india. ph.d. thesis, university of calicut, kerala, india. schumann, k. 1904. zingiberaceae. in: engler, a. (ed.), das pflanzenreich, leipzig, berlin. 4(46): 1-458. sirirugsa, p. and larsen, k. 1995. the genus hedychium (zingiberaceae) in thailand. nord. j. bot. 15(3): 301-304. smith, j. e. 1811. in: rees (ed.), cyclopedia. vol. 5. london. wallich, n. 1853. initiatory attempt to define the species of hedychium, and settle their synonymy, hook. j. bot. 5: 321-329, 367-377. (manuscript received on 26 august, 2011; revised on 8 december, 2011) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 21-28, 2006 (june) the genus microlepia presl (dennstaedtiaceae) from bangladesh momtaz mahal mirza bangladesh national herbariumm chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words : microlepia, dennstidiaceae, pteridophyte, new record, bangladesh abstract the paper deals with the genus microlepia presl of the family dennstaedtiaceae, which includes 4 species, namely, m. hookeriana (wall. ex hook.) presl, m. strigosa (thunb.) presl, m. speluncae (l.) moore and m. hancei prantl from bangladesh, of which last one is a new record. introduction the genus microlepia presl of the family dennsteadtiaceae is a tropical genus with about 46 terrestrial species, most of which are asiatic, extending as far as new zealand and madagascar in the south and japan in the north, (nayar and kaur1963). in bangladesh the family is represented by the genus microlepia presl with four species, namely, m. hookeriana (wall. ex hook.) presl, m. strigosa (thunb.) presl, m. speluncae (l.) moore and m. hancei prantl, of which the last one is a new record for bangladesh. prain (1903) recorded only two species, davallia strigosa sw. (m. strigosa), and d. speluncae bak. (m. speluncae) from chittagong. dixit (1984) recorded m. speluncae from bangladesh. later on mirza and rahman (1977) recorded, m. hookeriana, m. strigosa, and m. speluncae, from bangladesh in a checklist. here full description of each species with diagrams are provided. the present work was based on the material deposited at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), kew herbarium (k) and also central national herbarium (cal), for taxonomic study of the species, and to evaluate the number of members of the family in bangladesh. the taxonomic description with keys to the species, illustrations, specimens examined, distribution, short notes and proposal for present conservation measures are given below. microlepia presl, tent. pterid.: 124 (1836). lectotype : microlepia polypodiodes (sw.) presl (= dicksonia polypodiodes sw.) terrestrial, rhizome short or long creeping, profusely branched and covered with deciduous hairs. fronds generally large, simple, pinnate or variously compound. stipe continuous with the rhizome, long, cylindrical usually covered with short hairs; rachis shallowly grooved, costae of pinnules slightly grooved, ultimate pinnules obliquely 22 mirza incised, usually hairy; texture herbaceous, thin. veins free. sori intermarginal, terminal base, receptacle short, annulus of 16-20 cells, straight and interrupted, succession of sporangia gradate or more or less mixed; spores tetrahedral, smooth or tuberculate. microlepia is a genus of worldwide distribution, but mainly asiatic. they are usually grown in restricted to deeply shaded, moist localities, forming small colonies in wellprotected areas in the plains and hills of low elevations. key to the species 1. fronds simple pinnate to bi-pinnatified 2 fronds tripinnatequadripinnate 3 2. lamina simple pinnate, sori close to the margin m. hookeriana lamina bipinnate, sori submarginal m. strigosa 3. fronds strong, primary and secondary rachis shallow, lamina profusely hairy all over m. speluncae fronds lax, dorsal groove on stipe, primary and secondary rachis deep, foliar hair restricted to veins m. hancei 1. microlepia hancei prantl arb. bot. gart, breslau 1 : 35 (1892).; nayar and kaur, bull. nat. bot. gard. 79: (1963). microlepia speluncae (l.) moore var. hancei (prantl). chr. ind. fil. : 426 (1906). davallia polypodiodes benth. fl. hook. : 461 (1861). (plate 1) rhizome widely creeping, and densely covered with slender pale brown uniseriate hairs. stipe densely hairy, about .51.5 cm. thick at the base 40-60 cm. long. fronds tripinnatequadripinnatified. lamina loosely placed, deltoid, about 50-90 cm. long 30-40 cm. broad. rachis densely hairy and prominently grooved on the dorsal surface. the larger primary pinnae about 25-40 cm. long, and 6-12 cm. broad, oblong-lanceolate and loosely placed, the lower ones 5-8 cm. apart, with rachis straight and prominent dorsal median grooves. the lower secondary pinna on the acroscopic side is larger than the basiscopic one. the secondary pinnae 5-10 cm. long, 2.0-2.5 cm. broad, more or less loosely placed, pinnate except at the acuminate apex where it is pinnately lobed into small rhomboidal to sufalcate lobes. rachis of the secondary pinnae straight grooved on the upper surface, hairy throughout. tertiary pinnae about 1.5-2.0 cm. long 5-.8 cm. broad with cuneate base, with blunt round apex, lobes rhomboidal in shape. texture pellucid-herbaceous, hairs absent on the lamina between the veins. veins not prominent. indusia small glabrous. sori submarginal and confined to the basal acroscopic veinlet in the lower lobes, 1-3 sori on either margin of the large basal lobes. chromosome number n = 43 (kramer 1990). specimen examined : panchagarh : tetulia, (17.7. 2005), momtaz mahal mirza, mm 661 (dacb). thakurgoan : sadar thana, (17.8.98), m.s. khan, k10080 (dacb). distribution : india, china and hong kong. the genus microlepia presl (dennstaedtiaceae) 23 plate 1. microlepia hancei prantl. a. habit (× 0.16); b. fertile pinnae showing arrangement of the sori (× 1.33); c. cup shaped sori (× 3.33). m. hancei is repoted for the first time from panchagarh and thakurgoan, bangladesh. it is a terrestrial fern growing by the road side about 90 cm. long, with very strong wild smell. it is fairly common in the above areas, where the young fronds are eaten as vegetables. 24 mirza 2. microlepia hookeriana (wall. ex hook.) presl, epim. bot.: 95 (1851). davallia hookeriana wall. ex hook., sp. fil. 1: 172 (1846). (plate 2) stipe more than 90 cm long, pubescent, rachis hirsute. fronds simple pinnate, lanceolate. pinnules 25-30 pairs, sessile, alternate, acroscopic base with large auricled, basioscopic base, sometime shortly auricled, apex shortly acuminate, margin bi-crenulate. plate 2. microlepia hookeriana (wall ex hook.) presl. a. part of pinnae (× 0.67); b. fertile pinnae showing arrangement of the sori and venation (× 6.67); c. dermal hair (× 10). the genus microlepia presl (dennstaedtiaceae) 25 veins parallel, hairy on the costa and veins beneath, dichotomously branched. sori borne intermarginally on the undersurface of the pinnae, at the apices of some lateral veinlets, small, round and protected by a half cup-shaped indusium which is attached at the base and the sides open towards the leaf margin. spores trilete, with a triangular amb and are devoid of perine. chromosome number is n = 43 (kramer, 1990). specimens examined : sylhet : wallich s . n. [type (k)]. distribution : china, india, malay islands, nepal, and taiwan. m. hookeriana is rare in bangladesh. there was only one collection made by wallich from sylhet which is a type specimen. intensive search should be made to relocate the species, type locality, neighbouring areas, and if the plants are located, then attempt should be made to conserve it through in-situ and ex-situ methods. 3 . microlepia speluncae (l.) moore ind. fil.: 93 (1857). polypodium speluncae l., sp. pl. 2: 1093 (1753). (plate 3). rhizome widely creeping, branched, densely clothed by pale brown, multicellular, uniseriate hairs all over. stipes strong 35-50 cm long, green or pulplish, hairy. fronds upto 90-150 cm. long, 21-40 cm. broad. lamina ovate to deltoid, deeply tripinnatified, basal pinnae somewhat reduced; rachis densely hairy. pinnae 14-28 cm. long, pinnules 2.5 x 1.5 cm narrowly deltoid, acuminate, apex blunty rounded, edges lobed or not. sori near the base of the sinuses between the lobes, 1-5 to the entire segments, more copious on the lobes, segments varying in size; involucre half cup-shaped, hispid or rarely glabrous, sporangia many, generally spreading to hide the indusium completely. spores trilete, densely but often faintly granulose, perine absent. chromosome number n = 43 (kramer 1990). specimens examined : chittagong: rangapani forest, (30.10.1978), huq, rahman, and mia, h.4017 (dacb); chittagong (1880) gamble 7820 (k); chittagong, (5.1.1857), hooker and thomson 308 (k). dhaka: bikrampur, roshernen(4.8.1871), clarke 14125a (k). dinajpur: dinajpur, (20.10.1976), huq, rahman, and mia, h.2911 (dacb). habiganj: remakalenga wild life sanctuary, debra bari, (2.4.1994), khan, islam, zashim, k.9772 (dacb). panchagarh: boro awoliar mazar (18.7.2005), momtaz mahal mirza mm. 674 (dacb). rangpur: chilahati, (!7.10.1976), huq, rahman, and mia, h .2738 (dacb). sylhet: on the way to jaintea (5.4.1988), momtaz, huq, rahman and hosne ara, mm.08 (dacb); sylhet, (4.12.1850), hooker and thomson 308e (k); 60 m away from sylhet (17.6.1886), clarke 42718d (k). thakurgaon: baliadangi, (4.8.1998), khan , harun, nasir, zashim k.9981 (dacb). distribution : india (himalayas, south india), sri lanka, malay peninsula, malayan islands, polynesia and tropical america. 26 mirza m. speluncae grows all over bangladesh and is fairly common. young fronds are plucked from the wild and cooked as vegetable. it is nutritious and tasty. juice of the frond is given to the patients suffering from fever for long time (panchagarh). plate 3. microlepia speluncae (l.) moore. a. a part of pinnae (× 0.75); b. fertile pinnae showing arrangement of the sori, venation and hairs (× 10). the genus microlepia presl (dennstaedtiaceae) 27 4 . microlepia strigosa (thunb.) presl, epim bot.: 95 (1849). trichomanes strigosum thunb., fl. jap.: 339 (1784). (plate 4) rhizome long creeping, branched, up to 0.5 cm. thick, densely covered with dark brown, multicellular hairs all over. stipes about 2.5-5 cm. apart, elongated, hairy towards the base, with shorter hairs towards the apex. fronds long, lanceolate, bipinnate, rachis plate 4. microlepia strigosa (thunb.) presl. a. habit (× 0.16); b. fertile pinnae showing arrangement of the sori (× 3.4). 28 mirza and veins pubescent, hispid. lamina about 2040 cm. long, primary pinnae petiolate, lanceolate acuminate, about 10 pairs, ascending, lower 1-2 pairs slightly reduced, subopposite, others alternate, apex acute or subacute, or rounded, margin lobed, ¼ -½ way to the costa mostly petiolate, submediate-ovate, obtuse pinnatifid, chiefly on the upper edge, lower lobes obovate, angulate dentate. veins slightly distinct above, clearly distinct below, furnished with a few long scattered hairs both above and beneath. sori sub marginal at the end of acroscopic veinlet, covered by broadly cup-shaped indusia; indusia crenate or fimbriate when mature, bearing few hairs. chromosome number n = 43 (kramer 1990). specimens examined : cox's bazar: teknaf (3.3.1989), ali, coll. s.n. (dacb); (march, 1880), gamble 7816(k). panchgarh: tetulia (17.7.2005), momtaz mahal mirza, mm. 656 (dacb). sylhet: satchari (17.5.2005), momtaz mahal mirza, mm. 526b (dacb); kalenga, (16.5.2005), momtaz mahal mirza, mm. 504 (dacb). distribution : north india, japan, sri lanka and polynesia. m. strigosa is not common like m. speluncae, but grows well and forms thickets in open places by the road side, village jungles and forest floor. the taxon is being destroyed by the grazing animals as well as by the habitat destruction. therefore, both insitu and exsitu conservation measures should be undertaken. acknowledgement the author is grateful to national professor a.k.m. nurul islam, department of botany, university of dhaka for his help and cooperation during the preparation of the manuscript. references dixit, r. d. 1984. a census of the indian pteridophytes. delhi, botanical survey of india. pp. 98102. kramer, k.u.1990. in: kramer, k.u. and green, p.s. (ed's). the families and genera of vascular plants. pteridophytes, gymnosperms. springer-verlag. new york. pp. 81-94. mirza, m. m. and rahman m. m. 1997. an annotated check list of ferns and fern-allies of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 4769. nayar, b.k. and kaur, s. 1963. microlepia presl. bulletin of the national botanic gardens. lucknow, 79: 125. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. (indian reprint 1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun. pp.1237-1270. pollen morphology of some species belonging to prangos lindl and ekimia h bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 165-174, 2009 (december) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of 10 taxa belonging to prangos lindl. and ekimia h. duman & m.f. watson (umbelliferae) from turkey and its taxonomic significance sevil pehlivan1, birol başer2 and evren cabi3 department of biology, faculty of science and art, gazi university, ankara, turkey. keywords: ekimia; pollen morphology; prangos; sem; taxonomy; tem. abstract pollen grains of nine taxa of prangos lindl. and one of ekimia h. duman & m.f. watson (umbelliferae) were examined with lm (light microscope) and sem (scanning electron microscope), and of them four with tem (transmission electron microscope). the quantitative data were also subjected to cluster analysis. the obtained phenogram revealed that ekimia bornmuelleri (hub.-mor. & reese) h. duman & m.f. watson is strictly different from the taxa of prangos regarding their quantitative pollen profile; except p. ferulacea lindl., all taxa included in section intactae formed a cluster together; members of section meliocarpoides and section prangos show a closer relationship regarding their pollen features. exine ornamentations of prangos and ekimia are rugulatestriate and are of no value for identification purposes. introduction the genus prangos lindl. has around 28 species worldwide (herrnstadt and heyn, 1972; 1977). the anatolian part of turkey is considered as one of the primary centers of the genus (duran et al., 2005). in the flora of turkey, herrnstadt and heyn (1972) recognized 10 species of prangos. in addition, they mentioned about two incompletely known species, namely cachyrys papillaris boiss. and p. bornmuelleri hub.-mor. & reese. later on, duman and watson (1999) transferred p. bornmuelleri to the monotypic genus ekimia h. duman & m.f. watson as e. bornmuelleri (hub.-mor. & reese) h. duman & m.f. watson. since the publication of the flora of turkey, three more species of prangos were described from turkey, making the total species number 13 (davis et al., 1988; duman and watson, 1999; duman, 2000; duran et al., 2005). there are plenty of studies concerning the pollen morphological features of the family umbelliferae (erdtman, 1952; cerceau-larrival, 1962, 1963, 1965; aytuğ et al., 1971; cerceau-larrival, 1971; ferreira and purper, 1972; cerceau-larrival and roland heydacker, 1976; herrnstadt and heyn, 1977; moore and webb, 1978; punt, 1984). pollen grains of umbelliferae are usually very distinctive with their inner and outer outlines and very characteristic ‘bone’ shape. these distinctive palynological features have also been used by several authors in general pollen keys (erdtman, 1952; aytuğ et al., 1971; moore and webb, 1978). 1 e-mail: pehlivan@gazi.edu.tr 2 e-mail: baser@gazi.edu.tr 3 corresponding author. department of biological sciences, faculty of arts and sciences, middle east technical university, ankara, turkey. e-mail: ecabi2004@yahoo.com; ecabi@metu.edu.tr mailto:pehlivan@gazi.edu.tr mailto:baser@gazi.edu.tr 166 pehlivan et al. the previous study on pollen morphology of prangos was limited and conducted using only light microscope (herrnstadt and heyn, 1977). therefore, an attempt has been made to describe the palynological features of the genera prangos (nine taxa) and ekimia (one species) to validate the utility of these data to provide additional support to sectional groups currently recognized within prangos and also to provide new insights on the justification of transfer of p. bornmuelleri to ekimia using numerical approach. materials and methods the pollen characteristics of nine prangos taxa belonging to three sections, namely sect. meliocarpoides, sect. prangos and sect. intactae, and one taxon of ekimia were studied (table 1). seven of these taxa are endemic to turkey. the studied plant materials were collected from different populations in turkey. a list of specimens examined is given in table 1. table 1. voucher specimens of 10 taxa of ekimia and prangos. taxon details of voucher specimens** e. bornmuelleri (hub.-mor. & reese) h. duman & m.f. watson * c2 burdur: yeşilova salda lake side, 1150 m, f.a. kravelioğulları 3237 (gazi). section intectae p. denticulata fisch. & mey.* a4 ankara: hüseyin gazi mountain, 1150 m, h. duman 8770 (gazi). p. ferulaceae lindl. c5 konya: ereğli, aydos mountain, delimahmutlu, edge of kapız stream, calcerous mainrock, 1600 m, s. erik 2277 (hub). p. heyniae h. duman & m.f. watson * c4 konya: 13 km from bozkır to hadim, slopes, 1330 m, b. başer 1002 (gazi). p. peucedanifolia fenzl b6 malatya: malatya-pötürge gündüz village darı mektep vicinity quercus community, 1250 m, y. altan 1411 (fuh). p. platychloena subsp. platychloena boiss. ex tchihat * b7 erzincan: kemaliye sırakoruklar village up sarıçiçek plato 1500 m, m. vural ve m. koyuncu 8402 (gazi). p. platychloena boiss ex tchihat subsp. engizekensis h. duman & m.f. watson. * c6 kahramanmaraş: engizek mountain southwestern of küçükyesil plato 2100-2300m, rocky areas, h. duman 3622 (gazi). p. uechtritzii boiss. & hausskn. * b5 kayseri: kayseri-yahyalı l km eşkidut vicinity river side 1350 m, b. başer 1001 (gazi). section meliocarpoides p. meliocarpoides boiss. * b5 kayseri: bünyan-korumaz mountain rocky slopes, 18501900 m, m.e. uzunhisarcıklı 1619 (gazi). section prangos p. pabularia lindl. b9 bitlis: tatvan-nemrut mountain upper sections of şahmiran village, l700 m, m. ekici et al. 2242 (gazi). *endemic to turkey. **ank (ankara university), fuh (fırat university), gazi (gazi university) and hub (hacettepe university). for light microscope (lm) investigations, pollen grains were taken from the herbarium materials and prepared according to the methods of wodehouse (1935) and erdtman (1960). twenty (20) intact pollen grains from each taxon were scored under lm pollen morphology of 10 taxa belonging to prangos and ekimia 167 (leica dm 1000) for the following parameters: p, polar axis; e, equatorial diameter; p/e, ratio of polar axis and equatorial diameter; clg, colpus length; clt, colpus diameter; plg, pore length; plt, pore width; i, thickness of intine; coswid, costae width. cluster analysis (ca) was performed to determine the pattern of grouping of the taxa based on these nine quantitative pollen characters. in ca, the data matrix were used to produce the distance matrix based on gower general similarity coefficient by the group average method as suggested by gower (1971) using statistic package mvsp version 3.1 (kovach, 1999). for scanning electron microscope (sem) investigations, the pollen grains were put on stubs, sputter-coated with gold plate, and examined under a jeol jsm-6060 scanning electron microscope. for transmission electron microscope (tem) studies, acetolysed pollen grains were stained with 2% oso4 and with uranil acetate, dehydrated and embedded in epon-araldite (skvarla and turner, 1966). ultrathin sections of the pollen grains were obtained with a glass knife in a reichert supernova microtome. post-staining was done with lead citrate for 5 minutes (reynold, 1963), and the sections were examined under a jeol 1220 tem. the terminologies for pollen morphology proposed by punt (1984) and faegri and iversen (1989) were followed. results and discussion according to lm and sem investigations, the pollen grains of the taxa belonging to prangos and ekimia, are perprolate, trizonocolporate, operculate, isopolar and bilaterally symmetrical, subrectangular in equatorial view, triangular in polar view (figs 1-10), with a rugulate-striate exine sculpture (figs 11-20). there is a thickening around the aperture of exine (costae) with a decreasing diameter towards the poles. apertures are on the same plane in the equatorial region (figs 1-10). pollen grains of the umbelliferae show uniformity to some extent. detailed palynogical investigations have been carried out by cerceau-larrival (e.g. 1962, 1963, 1965, 1971). as a result of these investigations, five basic types, namely subrhomboidal (rh), subcircular (c), ovoid (o), subrectangular (rg) and equatorially constricted (e), were defined according to inner outline of the endexine (nexine). two species were examined from the genus prangos “cachrys alpina” (= prangos trifida (miller) i. herrnstadt & heyn) and “cachrys goniocarpa” (= p. ferulacea). on the basis of cerceaularrival’s classification, all studied pollen grains of the present study were consistent with subrectangular pollen type. herrnstadt and heyn (1977) studied acetolyzed pollen of eight species of prangos and six of them are included in our study. they found the range of pollen grains from 39 to 65 µm in size. in our study, we found that e. bornmuelleri (29.24±1.17 (a)) has the shortest pollen grains relative to the taxa of prangos (32.49±2.32 48.23±2.59 (a)) (table 2). 168 pehlivan et al. sem investigations revealed that all investigated taxa have rugulate-striate ornamentation. punt (1984) stated that ornamentation is of little value as a discriminating factor for identification of pollen grains in umbelliferae. three ornamentation patterns have been determined in his studies: irregularly regulate, irregularly striate or cerebroid. punt, however, did not examine any species belonging to the genus prangos. aytuğ et al. (1971) also studied the pollen grains of species of ferula (tourn.) l. and oenante (tourn.) l. belonging to umbelliferae. he noted that these pollen grains have exine sculptures in the form of simple columella. figs 1-10. light photomicrographs of acetolyzed pollen grains of ekimia and prangos taxa. a, polar view; b, equatorial view. 1. e. bornmuelleri; 2. p. denticulata; 3. p. ferulacea; 4. p. heyniae; 5. p. meliocarpoides; 6. p. pabularia; 7. p. peucedanifolia; 8. p. platychloena subsp. platychloena; 9. p. platychloena subsp. engizekensis; 10. p. uechtrizii. the present tem examinations revealed that endexine is very thin in all studied taxa. endexine is thinner in ekimia pollen grain in comparison with prangos pollen grains. ectexine is observed to be thinnest in p. meliocarpoides (table 3, fig. 21). the results of the present study indicate that the most variable pollen characteristics among the investigated taxa are the polar axis, equatorial axis and colpus length. the relative size of pollen grains was determined to be effective in separating the genera ekimia and prangos. the polar and equatorial axes are smaller in ekimia than the members of prangos. the genus prangos, especially section intactae shows variability regarding their pollen sizes. section meliocarpoides and section prangos have similar pollen characteristics thus formed a tight cluster on the obtained phenogram (table 2, fig. 22). pollen morphology of 10 taxa belonging to prangos and ekimia 169 170 pehlivan et al. figs 11-15. sem microphotographs of pollen grains of ekimia and prangos taxa. a, general view; b-c, exine ornamentations. 11. e. bornmuelleri; 12. p. denticulata; 13. p. ferulacea; 14. p. heyniae; 15. p. meliocarpoides. pollen morphology of 10 taxa belonging to prangos and ekimia 171 figs 16-20. sem microphotographs of pollen grains of prangos taxa. a, general view; b-c, exine ornamentations. 16. p. pabularia; 17. p. peucedanifolia; 18. p. platychloena subsp. platychloena; 19. p. platychloena subsp. engizekensis; 20. p. uechtrizii. 172 pehlivan et al. fig. 21. tem microphotographs of exine structure of pollen grains of ekimia and prangos taxa. a. e. bornmuelleri; b. p. heynia; c. p. meliocarpoides; d. p. pabularia. fig. 22. upgma phenogram of the investigated ekimia and prangos taxa based on gower general similarity coefficient. pollen morphology of 10 taxa belonging to prangos and ekimia 173 table 3. transmission electron microscope (tem) characteristics of four taxa of ekimia and prangos. ectexine (µm) taxon tectum columella food layer endexine (µm) e. bornmuelleri 0.28 0.75 0.30 0.33 p. heyniae 0.23 0.80 0.38 0.55 p. meliocarpoides 0.25 0.50 0.27 0.46 p. pabularia 0.35 1.05 0.40 0.48 the obtained upgma phenogram (fig. 22) based on gower general similarity index supplements that the genus ekimia (e. bornmuelleri) is distinctly different from the members of the prangos concerning the quantitative pollen data. section intactae members form a cluster except p. ferulacea taxa. the application of statistical methods, in this study the cluster analysis, proved the viability of using quantitative pollen data as taxonomic characters for effective discrimination, especially among genera. acknowledgements the authors thank to the curators of four herbaria, namely ank (ankara university), fuh (fırat university), gazi (gazi university) and hub (hacettepe university), who allowed formers to study their prangos specimens; yrd. doç. dr. hakan güngüneş who helped in taking electron photographs of pollen surface; and prof. hayri duman for providing some samples. the authors also appreciate the valuable efforts of dr. hülya özler and mr. umut toprak for editing an early version of the manuscript. this study was supported by gazi university under grant 05/2001-37. references aytuğ, e., aykut, n.m. and g. edis, 1971. atlas de pollens des environs d’istanbul. kutulmuş press, istanbul, pp. 1-328. (in french) cerceau-larrival, m.th. and roland heydacker, f. 1976. the evolutionary significance of the ultrastructure of the exine in umbelliferous pollen grains. in: ferguson, i.k. and muller, j. (eds), the evolutionary significance of the exine. linn. soc. symp., ser. 1: 481-498. cerceau-larrival, m.th. 1962. le pollen d'ombelliferes mediterraneennes. i. echinophoreae. pollen & spores 5: 95-104. (in french) cerceau-larrival, m.th. 1963. le pollen d'ombelliferes mediterraneennes.ii. tordylinae. pollen & spores 5: 297-323. (in french) cerceau-larrival, m.th. 1965. le pollen d'ombelliferes mediterraneennes. iii. scandicineae. pollen & spores 7: 35-62. (in french) 174 pehlivan et al. cerceau-larrival, m.th. 1971. morphologie pollinique et correlations phylogenetiques chez les ombelliferes. in: heywood, v.h. (ed.), the biology of chemistry of the umbelliferae. j. linn. soc., suppl., pp. 109-156. (in french) davis, p.h., mill, r.r. and tan, k. 1988. prangos lindl. in: davis, p.h., mill, r.r. and tan, k. (eds), flora of turkey and east aegean islands (suppl. 1) 10: 151. edinburgh univ. press, edinburgh. duman, h. 2000. prangos lindl. in: güner, a., özhatay, n., ekim, t. and başer, k.h.c. (eds.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands (suppl. 2) 11: 141-142. edinburgh univ. press, edinburgh. duman, h. and watson, m.f. 1999. ekimia, a new genus of umbelliferae and two new taxa of prangos lindl. (umbelliferae) from southern turkey. edinburgh j. bot. 56(2): 199-201. duran, a., sağıroğlu, m. and duman, h. 2005. prangos turcica (apiaceae), a new species from south anatolia, turkey ann. bot. fennici 42: 67-72. erdtman, g. (ed.) 1952. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy, angiosperms. the chronica botanica co., walthan, mass., almquist wiksell, stockholm, sweden, pp. 1-539. erdtman, g. l960. the acetolysis method. a revised description. svensk bot. tidskr. 54: 561-564. faegri, k. and iversen, j. (eds) 1989. textbook of pollen analysis. john wiley and sons, new york, pp. 1328. ferreira, a.g. and purper, c. 1972. pollen grains of umbelliferae from rio grande do sul. iii. rev. bras. biol. 32: 15-19. gower, j.c. 1971. a general coefficient of similarity and some of its properties. biometrics 27: 857-871. herrnstadt, i. and heyn, c.c. 1972. prangos lindl. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 4. university press, edinburgh, scotland, pp. 382-388. herrnstadt, i. and heyn, c.c. 1977. a monographic study of genus prangos (umbelliferae) boissiera 26, mémoires du conservatoire de botanique et de l'institut de botanique systematique de l'universite de geneve. geneva, pp. 1-91. kovach, w.l. 1999. mvsp – a multivariate statistical package for windows. version 3.1. pentraeth: kovach computing services. moore, p.d., and webb, j.a. (eds) 1978. an illustrated guide to pollen analysis. hodder and stoughton, london. pp. 1-133. punt, w. 1984. the northwest european pollen flora iv. rev. paleobot. palyn. 42: 155-369. reynold, e.s. 1963. the use of lead citrate at high ph as on electron opaquestain in electron microscope. stain technol. 43: 139-144. skvarla, j.j. and turner, b.l. 1966. systematic implications from electron microscopic studies of compositae a review. annals of the missouri botanical garden 53: 220-256. wodehouse, r.p. 1935. pollen grains. hafner, new york, pp. 1-435. (manuscript received on 8 january 2009; revised on 15 july 2009) microsoft word 10. curcuma.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 79-84, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new species of curcuma l. (zingiberaceae) from bangladesh m. atiqur rahman1 and m. yusuf2 department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: new species; zingiberaceae; curcuma roxburghii; c. wallichii; c. wilcockii; bangladesh. abstract three new species of the section masantha horan. of the genus curcuma l. (zingiberaceae), viz., c. roxburghii rahman et yusuf, c. wallichii rahman et yusuf and c. wilcockii rahman et yusuf from bangladesh are described and illustrated. these species were collected from the forests of rangamati, moulvi bazar, sylhet and tangail districts. diagnostic morphological characters from closely related taxa are discussed. a key to the bangladesh species of section masantha horan. is presented. introduction in course of the study on the zingiberaceae for its complete inventory for the flora of bangladesh we have made an extensive survey throughout the country and collected a number of specimens of the family during the period from 1993 to 2000. during our field trips we have recognized the occurrence of two distinct groups of curcuma l. in the wild; one group with the spikes lateral to the leafy shoots belonging to section exantha horan. and the other group with the spikes terminal on the leafy shoots belonging to section masantha horan. survey of the relevant literature of roxburgh (1814, 1820, 1832), wallich (1829-49), baker (1890), prain (1903), heinig (1925), kanjilal et. al. (1934), raizada (1941), sinclair (1956), rahman (1995), rahman and yusuf (1996, 1997) showed that, the genus curcuma is represented in the flora of bangladesh by nine species of which two species, c. amada roxb. and c. longa l. belong to the section masantha horan. on the other hand, remaining seven species belong to the section exantha horan., and these are c. amarissima rosc., c. aromatic salisb., c. caesia roxb., c. ferruginea roxb., c. latifolia rosc., c. rubescens roxb., and c. zedoaria (christm.) rosc. during field trips we came across some characteristically distinct flowering populations of curcuma with terminal spikes growing in the forest floors of rangamati (one of the chittagong hill tract districts), lawachara rain forest (moulvi bazar district), forest of tamabil hills (sylhet district) and madhupur sal forest (tangail district) which hitherto represent undescribed species of the section masantha horan. the flowering specimens were collected and preserved for identification. the rhizomes were also collected and grown in the field of bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research (bcsir), chittagong and in the botanic garden of chittagong university. the specimens were critically examined and compared with the identified specimens of curcuma l. available at cal, bm, dacb, e, k, bcsirh, dush (dhaka university salar khan herbarium) and hcu (herbarium of chittagong university) and finally confirmed them as three new species in section masantha horan. of the genus curcuma l. these new species are similar to c. amada roxb. and c. longa l. belonging to the same section but characteristically different from each other for a number of variations in floral structures, leaf morphology and in shape and colour of rhizomes. 1corresponding author. email: atiquerahman125@hotmail.com 2bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research, chittagong, bangladesh. 80 rahman and yusuf curcuma wilcockii rahman et yusuf is distinct from other species of the section for its orange-yellow flowers, anthers without spur and indistinct colour of coma and fertile bracts. c. roxburghii rahman et yusuf is distinct for its exserted flowers and turmeric smell of rhizomes. c. wallichii rahman et yusuf, on the other hand, is distinct for its non-exserted flowers, purplish pink coma bracts and hairy ovary. hence, the section masantha horan. recognized here to be representing in the flora of bangladesh by five species including these three new species. a key to these five taxa are presented. the new species are described with latin diagnosis. illustrations with photographs of habits are provided. key to the species: 1. coma and fertile bracts indistinct in colour; flowers orange-yellow; anthers without spur; main rhizome without horizontal branches. c. wilcockii coma and fertile bracts distinct in colour; flowers not orange-yellow; anthers with spur; main rhizome with horizontal branches. 2 2. flowers exserted, longer than bracts. 3 flowers not exserted, more or less equal to the bracts. 4 3. base sheaths green; lamina puberulous on the upper side; coma bracts pinkish or whitish; fertile bracts pale green; rhizomes pale yellow with smell of green mango; ovary villous throughout. c. amada base sheaths purple; lamina glabrous on both sides; coma bracts light purple, white at base; fertile bracts light green with purple edges; rhizomes yellow with light smell of turmeric; ovary hairy at the top only. c. roxburghii 4. coma bracts greenish or white with purplish tips; fertile bracts light green; staminodes up to 12 mm long, ligulate, creamy white; labellum oblong, 15 mm long; ovary hairy at the top. c. longa coma bracts purplish pink; fertile bracts light green, pinkish on the apical border; staminodes 16 mm long, oblong, light yellow; labellum obovate, 20 mm long; ovary hairy throughout. c. wallichii 1. curcuma roxburghii rahman et yusuf, sp. nov. (fig. 1) diagnosis: curcuma roxburghii distinctus per floribus extrusus, rhizomatibus turmericodorem. holotypus: bangladesh, rangamati district, rangapani, 8.7.1993, m. yusuf et m.a. rahman 803 (bcsirh). rhizomes large, bright yellow inside with light turmeric smell. leaf tufts 1.2-1.5 m long; base sheaths of young shoots green, suffused with purple. leaves 5-7, suberect, lamina broadly lanceolate, acuminate at apex, cuneate at base, 55-85 × 17-21 cm, glabrous, green throughout; petioles 20-35 cm long. spikes central to the leaf tufts, 16-19 × 5 cm; fertile bracts 12-14, light green with purple edges, 3.5-3.8 × 2.8 cm, obovate, obtuse, apex and base sparsely hairy, adnate to each other half way or more in the lower portion, each subtending 3-4 flower buds; coma bracts 811, light purple, white at base, sub-elliptic, 6.1-6.5 × 3.3-3.8 cm, obtuse, mucronate, hairy at apex; bracteoles obovate, 2.2-2.5 ×1.5-2.0 cm, white with pinkish tips, glabrous. flowers much exserted at the lower bracts. calyx white, c. 1 cm long, 3-lobed, hairy on the nerves. corolla tube c. 3 cm long, light yellow; petals 3, white, glabrous, lateral two ovate, rounded at apices, upper one three new species of curcuma l. (zingiberaceae) 81 hooded, spured at apex. staminodes obliquely ligulate, 12 × 10 cm, creamy white; labellum broadly obovate with emerginate beak, c. 15.0 × 16.5 mm, creamy with yellow mid band; filaments broad, flat, 4.0 × 3.5 mm; anthers c. 3.5 mm with two 2.5 mm long basal spurs. ovary white, hairy, 3.5 × 2.5 mm; epigynous glands c. 4 mm long. fig. 1. curcuma roxburghii sp. nov.: a. habit of the plant with inflorescences (photograph); b. dorsal petal (× 1.6); c. lateral petal (×1.6); d. labellum (× 1.6); e. staminode (× 1.6); f. coma bract (largest one) (× 0.7). phenology: flowering in july-august. specimens examined: rangamati: rangapani, 8.7.1993, m. yusuf & m.a. rahman 803 (bcsirh: holo!), 803 b (hcu) and 803 b (dacb); ibid, 18.7.1998, m. yusuf 1053 (bcsirh) and 1054 (dacb). distribution: south-eastern part of the flora of bangladesh, rangamati district (one of the chittagong hill tracts districts of bangladesh). endemic. ecology: grows on the hill slopes in partial shade, at about 570 m altitude. conservation status: it is known from the type locality only. few populations were seen at the type locality. it can be graded as lr (cd) category (iucn, 1994). etymology: this species is named in honour of dr. william roxburgh, father of indian botany, who has made outstanding contribution in collecting and naming most of the plants of the then bengal. note: it is closer to c. amada roxb. for exserted flower, distinct colour of fertile and coma bracts and spured anthers but differs for purple base sheaths, glabrous lamina, purple coma bracts, light green with purple edged fertile bracts and turmeric smelled yellow rhizomes. 82 rahman and yusuf 2. curcuma wallichii rahman et yusuf, sp. nov. (fig. 2) diagnosis: curcuma wallichii distinctus per floribus intrusus, coma bracteis purpureuspersinus, ovarium puberulus. holotypus: bangladesh, maulvi bazar district, srimangal, lawachara forest, 16 july, 1993, m. yusuf et m.a. rahman 813 (bcsirh). rhizomes light yellow inside. leaf tufts 1 m long, base sheaths green. leaves 6-7, spreading, lamina elliptic, acuminate, 66-70 × 21-24 cm, glabrous, green throughout; petioles 8-14 cm long. spikes central to the leaf tufts, 18-20 x 8 cm; fertile bracts up to 24, light green, pinkish on the apical boarder, each subtending 4-6 flower buds; coma bracts up to 11, large, elliptic-oblong, obtuse, c. 8.5 cm long, purplish pink, hairy; bracteoles white, c. 3.0 × 1.8 cm, ovate, folded, apex sparsely hairy on the main nerves. flowers slightly exserted at the lower bracts and included at the upper bracts. corolla tube light yellow, c. 3.2 cm long; lobes white, glabrous, dorsal one hooded apical, 1.6 × 1.2 cm. staminodes light yellow, obliquely oblong, c. 16 × 9 mm; labellum broadly obovate, 3-lobed, apex emarginate, yellow with deep yellow mid band; filaments c. 3.5 × 3.8 mm; anthers 4 mm long with two 3 mm basal spurs. ovary white, hairy, 4.5 × 3.5 mm; epigynous glands yellow, 4.0-4.5 mm long. phenology: flowering in july. specimen examined: maulvi bazar: srimangal, lawachara rain forest, 16.7.1993, m. yusuf & m.a. rahman 813 (bcsirh: holo!). distribution: eastern part of the flora of bangladesh, maulvi bazar district (within greater sylhet). endemic. ecology: grows in the rain forest area in partial shades. fig. 2. curcuma wallichii sp. nov.: a. habit of the plant with inflorescences (photograph); b. lateral petal (× 1.4); c. dorsal petal (× 1.4); d. staminode (× 1.4); e. labellum (× 1.4); f. coma bract (largest one) (× 0.8). three new species of curcuma l. (zingiberaceae) 83 conservation status: it is known from the type locality only. a few populations were seen at the type locality. it can be graded as lr (cd) category (iucn, 1994). etymology: it is named in honour of dr. nathaniel willich, superintendent of the then east indian company’s museum, calcutta, who has collected and named a huge number of plants from the indian subcontinent including the area now in bangladesh. note: it is closer to c. longa l. for included flowers, distinct colour of fertile and coma bracts and spured anthers but differs for purplish pink coma bracts, light green fertile bracts, light yellow longer staminodes and hairy ovary. 3. curcuma wilcockii rahman et yusuf, sp. nov. (fig. 3) diagnosis: curcuma wilcockii distinctus per floribus aurantiacus-flavidis, antheris sine calcaris, coma et fertilis-bracteis coloris indistinctus. holotypus: bangladesh, tangail district, madhupur sal forest, rasulpur, 21 august, 1993, m. yusuf et m.a. rahman 838 (bcsirh). rhizomes small without horizontal branch, white inside, strongly aromatic. leaf tufts c. 60 cm long. leaves 6-7, spreading, lamina ovate, acuminate, 39-43 × 13-17 cm, deep green, glabrous, lateral veins raised; petioles 12-16 cm long. spikes central to the leaf tufts; peduncles 16-20 cm; spikes c. 15-20 × 8-9 cm; bracts many, 60-70 in number, green, c. 5 × 3 cm; coma and fertile bracts indistinct; lower bracts with rusty tinge, minutely hairy, tips out-curved; bracteoles oblong, c. 10 × 6 mm, white, apex and mid-veins hairy. flowers orange-yellow, usually not exserted except slightly at the lower bracts. calyx white, hairy, 3-lobed, c. 16-17 mm long. corolla orangeyellow, tube c. 3.0-3.5 cm long; lower 2 lobes oblong, tip rounded, c. 18-19 × 8-10 mm, glabrous; fig. 3. curcuma wilcockii sp. nov.: a. habit of the plant with inflorescences (photograph); b. dorsal petal (× 1.6); c. lateral petal (× 1.6); d. labellum (× 1.6); e. staminode (× 1.6); f. coma bract (largest one) (× 0.8). 84 rahman and yusuf upper lobe oblong, hooded, apiculate, 18-19 × 8-12 mm, hairy. staminodes obovate, c. 16 × 10 mm, orange-yellow, margins ciliate; labellum obscurely 3-lobed, emarginate, apex ciliate, orangeyellow; filaments flattened, 2 × 3 mm; anthers without spur, cells curved with curved crest. ovary 2 × 2 mm, hairy; stigma c. 1.3 mm broad, not exserted; epigynous glands 4.0-4.5 mm long, free. phenology: flowering in august-september. specimens examined: tangail: madhupur sal forest, rasulpur, 21.8.1993, m. yusuf & m.a. rahman 838 (bcsirh: holo!); ibid, 23.7.1994, m. yusuf & m.a. rahman 896 (bcsirh); ibid, 22.7.1997, m. yusuf & m.a. rahman 1000 (hcu). sylhet: tamabil, 9.9.1995, m. yusuf & m.a. rahman, 904 (bcsir); ibid, 18.9.1996, m. yusuf & m.a. rahman, 965 (hcu); ibid, 4.9.1997, m. yusuf & m.a. rahman, 1016 (dacb). distribution: central and eastern parts of bangladesh (tangail and sylhet districts). ecology: grows in dry moist forest floors. conservation status: it has been collected from two localities. a few populations were seen at both localities. it can be graded as lr (cd) category (iucn, 1994). etymology: it is named in honour of dr. christopher c. wilcock of aberdeen university (department of plant and soil science) for his involvement with the flora of bangladesh project for long time and outstanding contribution to the taxonomy and biodiversity of bangladesh. note: it is closer to c. longa l. for its included flowers but differs for indistinct colour of fertile and coma bracts, orange-yellow flowers and anthers without spur. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the authorities of the cal, e, k, dacb and dush for providing facilities to study their materials and to consult their libraries. references baker, j.g. 1890. scitamineae. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india 6: 198-257. reeve & co. england. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling, 84 pp. iucn 1994. red list categories. gland, switzerland: iucn species survival commission. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., and das, a. 1934. flora of assam, vol. 1. government of assam, shillong. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants 2: 262-273. (reprint ed.1981). rahman, m.a. 1995. an index of wallich material of zingiberaceae, costaceae and marantaceae from bangladesh held in herb. wall (k-w). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 1-5. rahman, m.a. and yusuf, m. 1996. diversity, ecology and ethnobotany of the zingiberaceae of bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. add. series 12: 13-19. rahman, m.a. and yusuf, m. 1997. new records of zingiberaceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 26(1): 1-5. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. the indian forester 67: 245-267. roxburgh, w. 1814. monandria monogynia. hortus bengalensis (num. nud.), pp. 1-2. roxburgh, w. 1820. monandria monogynia. flora indica, ed. carey. roxburgh, w. 1832. monandria monogynia. flora indica, ed. carey. sinclair, j. 1956. the flora of cox’s bazar. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2):84-116. wallich, n. 1829-49. a numerical list of dried specimens of plants in the east indian company’s museum. (manuscript received on 24 march, 2012; revised on 5 may, 2012) microsoft word s-3. pulicaria.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 205-208, 2011 (december) short communication © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pulicaria vulgaris gaertn. (asteraceae) a new species record for bangladesh md. oliur rahman1, mahbuba sultana2, momtaz begum and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: pulicaria vulgaris; new record; bangladesh; asteraceae. the genus pulicaria gaertn. belonging to the tribe inuleae of the family asteraceae consists of about 100 species with a distribution from europe to north africa and asia, particularly around the mediterranean (liu et al., 2010). pulicaria are annual or perennial woolly or villous herbs distinguished from other species by the presence of outer pappus scales in the form of a short coronate cup. they are characterized by having unwinged stem without resin canals, usually sessile leaves, hemispheric to campanulate involucres, persistent phyllaries and ecalcarate anthers, with branched tails. pappus are in two rows, inner row of barbellate bristles while outer row of short membranous scales. clarke (1881) studied the british indian pulicaria documenting 10 species under 4 sections. prain (1903) reported only two species of the genus namely, p. foliolosa and p. angustifolia from the then bengal. in bangladesh some works on the asteraceae were carried out however, pulicaria was not included in those taxonomic treatments (hossain, 1967; khan, 1992; rahman et al., 2008). very recently ahmed et al. (2008) reported the occurrence of pulicaria foliolosa dc. from bangladesh without citing any locality. recently two specimens belonging to the genus pulicaria were collected from galachipa upazila of patuakhali district which were not in line with the recorded species. after critical examination the specimens were identified as pulicaria vulgaris gaertn. since pulicaria vulgaris gaertn. was not reported from any areas now falling under present bangladesh territory in the relevant literatures (clarke, 1882; prain, 1903; heinig, 1925; raizada, 1941; datta and mitra, 1953; sinclair, 1956; mia and khan, 1995; uddin et al., 2003; rahman, 2004; islam et al., 2009; uddin et al., 1998; rahman et al., 2010; tutul et al., 2010; uddin and hassan, 2010), it is being reported here as a new species record for bangladesh. a key to pulicaria vulgaris with the recorded species is given below: 1. ligules present; ray florets ligulate, 4-5 toothed; achenes ellipsoid, 4-5 angled. p. vulgaris ligules absent; ray florets tubular, 3-toothed; achenes oblong. p. foliolosa a detailed taxonomic account along with illustration of the plant has been made based on the fresh materials. the voucher specimens have been deposited in dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). 1corresponding author. e-mail: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 2department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka, bangladesh. 206 rahman et al. pulicaria vulgaris gaertn., fruct. sem. pl. 2: 461 (1791); dc., prodr. 5: 478 (1849); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 298 (1881). pulicaria prostrata (gilib.) ascher., fl. brandenburg 1: 304 (1864). inula prostrata gilib., fl. lithuan. 3: 205 (1787). aster pulicarius (l.) scop., fl. carn. ed. 2: 172 (1772). inula pulicaria l., sp. pl. 2: 882 (1753). (fig. 1). common name: small fleabane. fig. 1. pulicaria vulgaris gaertn: a, habit sketch (× 0.6); b, hermaphrodite floret (× 8); c, style (with stylar arms) of a hermaphrodite floret (× 6); d, cypsela (× 17). pulicaria vulgaris gaertn. (asteraceae) 207 an annual, erect pubescent herb, 15-45 cm tall. stems softly pubescent, copiously dichotomously subcorymbosely branched above. leaves 1-3 x 0.5-1.8 cm, lower leaves obovate, half-amplexicaul, shortly petiolate, upper ones oblong-lanceolate, sessile, acute or obtuse at apex, somewhat undulate at margin, entire or slightly finely distantly toothed. heads 0.8-1.3 cm in diameter, on short stout peduncles, divaricate. involucral bracts 4-5 seriate, subulate, erect or with subrecurved tips; outer bracts linear, oblanceolate, 2.5-3.0 mm long, acute; inner linear, longer than the outer, c. 3.5 mm long, acuminate. ray florets uniseriate, ligulate, 4-5-toothed; ligules not exceeding the size of involucral bracts, c 1.0 x 0.4 mm. disc florets numerous; corolla 2.0-3.5 mm long; lobes glandular. achenes 4-5-angled, ellipsoid, c 1 mm long, silky, slightly compressed and longitudinally costate. pappus dirty white, 1-3 mm long, hairy; inner pappus of 6-12 bristles, 1.01.5 mm long; outer scales lanceolate, serrate, free. flowering and fruiting period: march to august. habitat: grasslands, riverbeds, shady areas and roadsides. specimens examined: patuakhali district, galachipa, 1.3.2005, m. sultana, ms 617 (dush); mirzagonj, 16.5.2005, m. sultana, ms 791 (dush). references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque e.u. (eds). 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperm: dicotyledons (acanthaceae asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 263359. clarke, c.b. 1881. compositae. in: hooker j.d., flora of british india. vol. 3. pp. 297-300. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1110. heinig r.l. 1925. list of the plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling. hossain, e. 1967. compositae of dacca city and its suburbs. m.sc. thesis, department of botany, dacca university. islam, m.r., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2009. an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 115-140. khan, s.a. 1992. a taxonomic study on the compositae of the eastern region of bangladesh. m.sc. thesis, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, dhaka, bangladesh. liu, l.-l., yang, j.-l. and shi, y.p. 2010. phytochemicals and biological activities of pulicaria species. chemistry and biodiversity 7(2): 327-349. mia, m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol. 1. botanical survey of india, calcutta. pp. 443-444. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rahman, a.h.m.m., alam, m.s., hossain, m.b., nesa, m.n., islam, a.k.m.r. and rahman, m.m. 2008. study of species diversity on the family asteraceae (compositae) of the rajshahi division. research j. agric. biol. sci. 4(6): 794-797. 208 rahman et al. rahman, m.o. 2004. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants” series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o., uddin, m.z., tutul, e., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2010. additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 167-181. sinclair, j. 1956. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 92-94. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. ii. magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 33-53. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park (bangladesh): a preliminary assessment. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 9-22. uddin m.z., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2003. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh ii.a: magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 79-94. (manuscript received on 14 july 2011; revised on 3 november 2011) a preliminary checklist of angiospermic flora of bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 85-96, 2005 (december) a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills, comilla, bangladesh md. munir hossain, md. abul hassan and mohammad zashim uddin department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: preliminary checklist, angiospermic flora, lalmai hills, comilla, bangladesh abstract the paper includes a checklist containing a total of 151 angiospermic species (127 dicot and 24 monocot) growing in the lalmai hills, comilla, bangladesh, which has been prepared after the survey of the area during the years 2001 and 2002. introduction the lalmai hills are situated in the district of comilla, about 8 km to the west of comilla town. they lie on 23°-21′ n latitude and 91°-09′ e longitude. the hills are commonly known as mainamati lalmai range. the range includes 50 hillocks (hossen and dewan 2004). the range extends from north to south for a distance of 17.71 km from mainamati to datya dighi and is about 40.25 km in circumference. the area of investigation consists of several hills of different heights and a few valleys. the hills attain a height of 45 m at some places, but the average elevation is 12 m above the plains. the highest peaks are kalir bazar and chand mura, and there are small springs near these peaks and bijaynagar. the hills are bounded by the faults on the western and eastern sides. the faults scrap on the east is up-thrown to the west and considerably dissected by drainage channels. on the west there are two parallel faults about 1.5 km apart of which both are up-thrown on the east. the inner fault forms a welldefined valley, while the outer (westernmost) fault has a surface throw in excess of 30 m at several places. structurally this range is a horst, tilted to the east. the hills are flat with steep and strongly gullied sides, mainly consisting of unconsolidated sands with a clay capping. the old piedmont apron comprises a narrow fringe of foothills along with the chittagong-tripura hills in india with a gently flooding relief. it also comprises the foothills of lalmai hills, mainly consisting of unconsolidated finer textured and moderately well-drained soils derived from weathered tertiary or pleistocene unconsolidated sands and soils. these strongly acid soils occur on gently rolling areas of the lalmai hills. they have yellowish-brown topsoil overlying a strong brown to yellowish-red structured clay subsoil. texture of the surface layer varies from sandy-clay-loam to clay-loam. these soils are moderately well-drained with medium to rapid runoff and medium internal drainage, which are droughty in the dry season. the forest enjoys a tropical climate characterized by a period of high precipitation from may to october and six months of relatively dry period from november to april. the lalmai supports a moist deciduous sal forest. it supports a large number of plant species that would contribute to the forest economy of bangladesh. but the forest of 86 hossain et al. lalmai hills area does not have any published flora or manual. at the same time this area is vulnerable and needs to be documented and protected immediately. materials and methods the present work is based mainly on the fresh materials collected by the authors from the study area through repeated field trips during the year 2001-2002. these are supplemented by the herbarium specimens examined at the dhaka university herbarium and bangladesh national herbarium. the identification of the specimens was confirmed with the help of hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903, 1903a), brandis (1906), kanjilal et al. (1934, 1938, 1939, 1940), khan (1977, 1984, 1985), deb (1981, 1983) and matthew (1999, 1999a, 1999b). the families have been arranged according to cronquist (1981). the genera and species under each family are arranged in alphabetical order. the checklist includes wild, naturalized and planted species. results a total of 149 species under 127 genera and 49 families have been identified and recorded in this paper. magnoliopsida is represented by 43 families, 108 genera and 127 species while liliopsida is represented by 6 families, 19 genera and 22 species. in magnoliopsida, the fabaceae appears to be the largest family having 9 genera and 12 species. in liliopsida, the poaceae appears to be the largest family having 8 genera and 11 species. magnoliopsida (dicots) 1. magnoliaceae michelia champaca l., sp. pl.: 536(1753). local name: champa. a mediumsized tree. 2. ulmaceae trema orientalis (l.) bl., mus. bot. lugd. bot. 2: 62 (1856). celtis orientalis l., sp. pl.: 1044(1753). a small to medium-sized tree. 3. moraceae artocarpus chama buch.-ham. ex wall. cat.: 4657(1814). artocarpus chaplasha roxb., fl. ind. 3: 525(1832). local name: chamul. a lofty tree. a. heterophyllus lamk., meth. b. 3: 209(1789). local name: kanthal. an evergreen tree. ficus benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 1059(1753). local name: bot. a large spreading tree. f. hispida l. f., suppl. pl.: 442(1781). local name: dumur. a low tree. f. religiosa l., sp. pl.: 1059(1753). local name: ashathwa. a large tree. streblus asper lour., fl. cochin. 2: 615(1790). local name: sheora. a bushy tree. 4. amaranthaceae achyranthes aspera l., sp. pl.: 204(1753). local name: apang. a perennial herb. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills 87 aerva lanata (l.) juss. ex schult., syst. veg. 15(5): 564(1819). achyranthes lanata l., sp. pl. 1: 204(1753). local name: chaya. an erect herb. amaranthus viridis l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 1405(1763). local name: notey shak. a slender herb. cyathula prostrata (l.) blume, bijdr.: 549(1825). achyranthes prostrata l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 296(1762). an annual herb. 5. dipterocarpaceae dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn. f., de fruct. 3: 51, t. 188, f. 1(1805). local name: telia garjon. a lofty evergreen tree. shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn. f., de fruct. 3: 48. t. 186(1805). local name: sal, gajari. a tall deciduous tree. 6. elaeocarpaceae elaeocarpus robustus roxb. [hort. beng.: 42(1814). nom. nud.], fl. ind. 2: 597(1824). local name: jalpai. a small tree. 7. tiliaceae grewia serrulata dc. prodr. 1: 510(1824). local name: pichandi. a shrub. microcos paniculata l., sp. pl. 1: 514(1753). local name: asar. a shrub to small tree. triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. [enum. pl. carib.: 22(1762) nomen], select. strip. am.: 147. t. 90(1763). local name: banokra. an undershrub. 8. bombacaceae bombax ceiba l., sp. pl.: 511(1753). local name: shimul tula. a large tree with buttress base. 9. malvaceae hibiscus sabdariffa l., sp. pl.: 695(1753). local name: mesta. a shrub. sida acuta burm. f., fl. ind.: 147(1768). local name: kureta. a herb. s. cordata (burm. f.) borss. in blumea 14(1): 182(1966). melochia cordata burm. f., fl. ind.: 143(1768). local name: junka. an annual herb. s. mysorensis wt. & arn., prodr.: 59(1834). an annual herb. s. rhombifolia l., sp. pl.: 684(1753). an undershrub. urena lobata l., sp. pl.: 692(1753). local name: jaruga gota. an undershrub. 10. lecythidaceae careya arborea roxb., pl. corom. 3: 14. t. 218(1811). local name: kumbi. a low tree. 11. flacourtiaceae flacourtia indica (burm.f.) merril, interpr. rumph. herb. amb.: 377(1917). gmelina 88 hossain et al. indica burm. f., fl. ind.: 132, t. 39, f. 5(1768). local name: paniala. a spiny shrub. 12. caricaceae carica papaya l., sp. pl.: 1036(1753). local name: pepe. an herbaceous tree with milky latex. 13. capparaceae cleome viscosa l., sp. pl.: 672(1753). local name: hurh uria. an erect, glandularpubescent herb. 14. brassicaceae rorippa indica (l.) hiern., cal. afr. pl. wel. w. pt. 1: 26(1896). sisymbrium indicum l., mant. 1: 93(1767). local name: ban sarisha. a small herb. 15. myrsinaceae maesa montana a. dc. in dc., prodr. 8: 79(1844). local name: ramjoni. a bushy tree. 16. mimosaceae acacia concinna (willd.) dc. prodr. 2: 464(1825). mimosa concinna willd. sp. pl. 4: 1039(1805). local name: banritha. a shrub with conical and hooked prickles. a. auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. in london j. bot. 1: 377 (1842). a. moniliformis griseb. in goett. abh. 19:136(1874). local name: akashmoni. a middle sized tree. albizia procera (roxb.) benth. journ. bot. 3: 89(1844). acacia procera roxb., pl. corom. 2:12. t. 121(1798). local name: sil koroi. a medium sized tree. mimosa intisia l., dc., prod. 2: 429(1832). local name: bara lajjabati. a straggling shrub. m. pudica l., sp. pl.: 518(1753). local name: lajjabati. a prickly woody herb. 17. caesalpiniaceae caesalpinia pulcherrima (l.) sw. obs.: 166(1971). poinciana pulcherrima l., sp. pl. : 380(1753). local name: radhachura. a much branched shrub. cassia fistula l., sp. pl.: 377(1753). local name: sonalu. a deciduous tree. c. occidentalis l., sp. pl.: 377(1753). local name: kalkasunda. an annual shrub. c. tora l., sp. pl.: 376(1753). local name: chakunda. an annual shrubby herb. tamarindus indica l., sp. pl.: 34(1753). local name: tentul. an evergreen tree. 18. fabaceae atylosia scarabaeoides (l.) benth. in miq., pl. jungh.: 245(1852). dolichos scarabaeoides l., sp. pl.: 726(1753). local name: ban kalai. a branched herb. butea monosperma (lam.) taub. in engl. & prantl, pflanzenfam. 3(3): 365(1984). erythrina monosperma lam., encycl. 1: 391(1783). local name: palash. a deciduous tomentose tree. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills 89 cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. in field columb. mus. bot. 2: 53(1900). cytisus cajan l., sp. pl.: :739(1753). local name: arhar. an erect herb. centrosema pubescens benth., comm. legum. gen.: 55(1837). a climber. crotolaria calycina schrank, pl. rar. monac.: t. 12(1819). an erect herb. c. pallida aiton, hort. kew. 3: 20(1789). local name: jhanjhani. a glabrescent undershrub. dalbergia sissoo roxb., [hort. beng.: 53(1814), nom. nud. &] ex dc. prodr. 2: 416(1825). local name: shishu. a large deciduous tree. desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. prodr. 2: 327(1825). hedysarum gangeticum l., sp. pl.: 746(1753). local name: satpani. a suberect undershrub. d. pulchellum (l.) benth., fl. hongk.: 83(1861). hedysarum pulchellum l., sp. pl.: 747(1753). local name: juta-salpani. a shrub. d. triflorum (l.) dc. prodr. 2: 334(1825), excl. syn. cit. hedysarum triflorum l., sp. pl.: 749(1753), p.p. local name: kulaliya. a prostrate herb. erythrina variegata l., in stickm. herb. amboin.: 10(1754). local name: mandar. a deciduous prickly tree. flemingia strobilifera r. br. in ait., hort. kew. ed. 2(4): 350(1812). an erect shrub. 19. lythraceae lagerstroemia speciosa pers., syn: 2(1937). local name: jarul. a large deciduous tree. 20. myrtaceae eucalyptus citriodora hook. in mitch. journ. trop. austral.: 235 (1848). a tall tree. psidium araca raddi, opusc. sc. 4: 252(1823). local name: tok peyara. a bushy shrub. p. guajava l., sp. pl.: 470(1753). local name: peyara. a large shrub or small tree. syzygium cumini (l.) skeels in u.s. dept. agr. bull. 248: 25(1912). myrtus cumini l., sp. pl.: 471(1753). local name: jam. a large evergreen tree. s. fruticosum (roxb.) dc., prodr. 3: 260(1828). eugenia fruticosa roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2(2): 487(1832). local name: khudijam. a small tree. 21. onagraceae ludwigia hyssopifolia (g. don) exell. garica de orta 5: 471(1957). jussiaea hyssopifolia g. don, gen. syst. 2: 693(1832). a branched herb. 22. melastomaceae melastoma malabathricum l., sp. pl.: 390(1753). local name: bantezpata. a shrub. 23. combretaceae terminalia arjuna (roxb.) wight & arn., prodr. 314(1834). pentaptera arjuna roxb., [hort. beng. 34(1814), nom. nud.] fl. ind. 2: 440(1832). local name: arjun. a large tree. 90 hossain et al. 24. loranthaceae dendrophthoe falcata ( linn. f.) etting. in denksehr. akad. wissen. math.-naturw. 32: 52 (1872). loranthus falcatus l. f., suppl.: 221(1781). local name: bancha. a parasitic plant on mango tree with terete branchlets. 25. euphorbiaceae antidesma ghaesembilla gaertn., de fruct. 1: 189,t. 39(1788). local name: timtoa. a small tree. bridelia stipularis bl. bijd.: 597(1826). a shrub. glochidion multiloculare muell. arg. in dc., prodr. 15: 279(1866). local name: aniatory. a shrub. macaranga denticulata (bl.) muell. – arg. in dc., prodr. 15(2): 1000(1866). mappa denticulata bl., bijdr.: 625 (1825). local name: jhakura. a small tree. manihot esculenta crantz, inst. 1: 167(1766). local name: kasava, simul alu. a sub herbaceous shrub. phyllanthus embelica l., sp. pl.: 982(1753). local name: amloki. a medium-sized deciduous tree. p. fraternus webster, contr. gray. herb. 176: 53(1955). local name: bhui amla. an erect glabrous herb. p. reticulatus poir., encycl. 5: 298(1804). local name: chitki. a large scandent shrub. ricinus communis l., sp. pl.: 1007(1753). local name: redhi. an evergreen soft wooded shrub. 26. rhamnaceae zizyphus rugosa lam., encycl. 3: 319(1789). local name: jangli boroi. a small tree with stout thorns. 27. anacardiaceae lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr., j. arnold. arbor. 19: 353(1983). dialium coromandelicum houtt., nat. hist. 2: 39. t. 5. f. 2(1774). local name: jiga, jeol. a middle-sized deciduous tree. mangifera indica l., sp. pl.: 200(1753). local name: am. a tree. 28. meliaceae aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) parker in ind. for. 57: 486(1931). aglaia polystachya wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 429(1824). local name: pitraj. a tree with dense spreading crown. azadirachta indica a. juss. in mem. mus. paris 19: 220. t. 2(1830). local name: nim. a large deciduous tree. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills 91 melia azedarach l., sp. pl.: 384(1753). local name: ghora nim. a middle-sized deciduous tree. swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. enum. pl. carib.: 4(1760). swietenia mahagoni l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 271(1762). local name: mehagani. a large tree. 29. rutaceae aegle marmelos (l.) correa in trans. linn. soc. 5: 222(1800). crataeve marmelos l., sp. pl.: 444(1753). local name: bel. a small deciduous tree with erect stout axillary thorns. glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc., prod. 1: 538(1824). limonia pentaphylla retz., obs. bot. 5: 24(1788). local name: datmajan. an evergreen much-branched shrub. micromelum minutum (forst.f.) wight & arn., prod. 1: 448(1834). limonia minuta forst. f., prod.: 33(1786). local name: bankutch. a small unarmed tree. zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc., prod.: 728(1824). fagara rhetsa roxb., 1. c. 437 (1820). local name: bajrang. an evergreen small tree. 30. oxalidaceae oxalis corniculata l., sp. pl.: 435(1753). local name: amrul shak. a procumbent herb with long, slender, creeping stems. 31. apiaceae centella asiatica (l.) urban in mart., fl. bras. 11: 287(1879). hydrocotyle asiatica l., sp. pl. 1: 234(1753). local name: thankuni. a trailing herb. 32. apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) brown, mem. wern. nat. hist. soc. 1: 76(1811). alstonia scholaris l., mant. pl. 1: 53(1767). local name: chhatim. a large deciduous tree. holarrhena pubescens (buch. – ham.) wall. ex g. don, gen. syst. 4: 78(1838). echinites pubescens buch. –ham. in trans., linn. soc. 13: 524(1822). local name: kurchi. a small tree. rauvolfia serpentina benth. ex kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 2: 171(1877). local name: sarpagandha. a woody herb. 33. asclepiadaceae calotropis gigantea (l.) dryand. in aiton, hort. kew. ed. 2(2): 78(1811). asclepias gigantea l., sp. pl.: 214(1753). local name: akanda. a large shrub with milky juice. hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br. in aiton, hort. kew. ed. 2( 2): 75(1811). periploca indica l., sp. pl.: 211(1753). local name: annantamul. a prostrate or slightly twining undershrub with aromatic roots. 92 hossain et al. 34. solanaceae solanum lasiocarpum dunal, hist. solanum: 222 (1813) solanum indicum l., sp. pl.: 187(1753). local name: gurkamai. a much branched undershrub. s. nigrum l., sp. pl.: 186(1753). local name: puti begun. a herb. s. torvum sw., nov. gen. sp. pl.: 47(1788). local name: gota begun. a shrub. 35. convolvulaceae ipomoea fistulosa mart. ex choisy in dc., prodr. 9: 349(1845). local name: dholkalmi. a shrub containing milky juice. merremia umbellata (l.) hallier. f., bot. jahrb. 16: 552(1893). convolvulus umbellatus l., sp. pl. : 155(1753). local name: sada kalmi. a herbaceous twiner. 36. cuscutaceae cuscuta reflexa roxb., pl. corom. 2: 3, t. 104(1798). local name: swarnalata. a twining parasitic herb. 37. boraginaceae heliotropium indicum l., sp. pl. : 130(1753). local name: hatisur. an erect herb. 38. verbenaceae clerodendrum viscosum vent., jard. malm. 1: t. 25(1803). local name: bhant. a softy tomentose woody herb. gmelina arborea roxb., fl. ind. 3: 84 (1832). local name: gamari. a deciduous unarmed tree. lantana camara l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 2: 627(1753) var. camara schau in mart., fl. bras., 9: 256(1851). a branching shrub. premna bengalensis clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 577(1882). local name: dauli. a tree. vitex peduncularis wall. cat.: 1753(1825). local name: horina. a middle-sized tree. 39. lamiaceae gomphostemma parviflorum wall. [cat. 60, n. 215(1830): nom. nud]. local name: jateribormala. a perennial herb. hyptis suaveolens poit, ann. mus. natl. hist. nat. 7: 472 t. 29, f. 2(1806). local name: tokma. an aromatic herb. leucas aspera spreng. syst. 2: 743(1825). local name: swetadrone, dandakalos. a herb. ocimum sanctum linn., mart. 1: 85(1767). local name: tulsi. a much branched, softly hairy herb. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills 93 40. scrophulariaceae scoparia dulcis l., sp. pl.: 116(1753). local name: bandhoney. an erect or ascending herb. torenia vagans roxb., fl. ind. 3: 96(1832). a herb. 41. acanthaceae justicia gendarussa burm. f., fl. ind.: 10(1768). local name: jagatmadan. an undershrub. lepidagathis incurva f. ham. ex d. don. prodr.: 119(1825). a herb. nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. in l., sys. veg. ed. 16, 1: 42(1824). justicia canescens lam., tab. encycl. method. bot. 1: 40(1791). local name: paramul. a trailing herb. phaulopsis dorsiflora (retz.) sant. in kew bull. 1948: 276(1948). ruellia dorsiflora retz., obs. 6: 31(1791). a much branched hairy herb. rungia pectinata (l.) nees in dc., prodr. 11: 469(1847). justicia pectinata l. amoen. acad. 4: 293(1759). local name: pindi. a much branched suberect herb. strobilanthes scaber nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 84(1832). a herb. 42. rubiaceae borreria articularis (linn.f.) williams, bull. herb. boissier (ser.) 2, 5: 956(1905). spermacoce articularis linn. f., suppl.: 119(1781). local name: madnabata kadu. a procumbent rough hispid herb. hedyotis scandens roxb., hort. beng.: 10(1814), nom. nud. & fl. ind. 1: 364(1820). local name: lataguji. a climber. ixora cunifolia roxb., fl. ind. 1: 385(1820). local name: beophul. a shrub. mussaenda roxburghii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 87(1880). local name: silchaonri. an erect large shrub. 43. asteraceae ageratum conyzoides l., sp. pl.: 839(1753). local name: fulkuri. a herb. blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc. in wight., clarke, comp. ind.: 76(1876). conyza lacera burm. f., fl. ind.: 180, t. 59. f. 1(1786). local name: barakukshima. an erect aromatic herb. elephantopus scaber l., sp. pl.: 814(1753). local name: gejiashak. an erect herb with creeping rootstock.. eupatorium odoratum linn., syst. nat. ed. 10: 1205(1759). local name: germanlata, assamlata. a herb. 94 hossain et al. gnaphalium indicum auct. non l., c. b. clarke, comp. ind.: 114(1876). local name: bara kamra. a wooly herb. mikania cordata (burm.) robinson, contr. gray herb. 104: 65(1934). eupatorium cordatum burm., fl. ind.: 176, t. 58, fig. 2(1768). local name: refugee lata. a herb. spilanthes calva dc. in wight, contrib.: 19(1834). local name: marhatitiga. an annual herb. synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn., fruct. 2: 456. t. 171. f. 7(1791). verbesina nodiflora l., amoen. acad. 4: 290(1759). an erect branching annual herb. vernonia cineria (l.) lees., linnaea 4(1): 291(1829). conyza cinerea l., sp. pl.: 862(1753). local name: kuksim. an erect herb. liliopsida (monocots) 1. arecaceae borassus flabellifer l., sp. pl.: 1187(1753). local name: tal. a tall palm. cocos nucifera l., sp. pl.: 1188(1753). local name: narikel. a coconut palm. phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 3: 787(1832). elate sylvestris l., sp. pl.: 1189(1753). local name: khejur. a tall palm. 2. cyperaceae cyperus iria l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 45(1753). local name: barachancha. an annual herb. c. rotundus l., sp. pl.: 45(1753). local name: motha ghas. a perennial grass. fimbristylis miliacea (l.) vahl, enum. pl. 2: 287(1806). scirpus miliaceus l., syst. ed. 10: 868(1759). local name: bara javani. a perennial, tufted herb. kyllinga monocephala rottboel., descr. ic. rar. nov. pl.: 13, t. 4, f. 4(1773). local name: nirbirshaghas. a perennial herb, rhizome covered with scale. mariscus sumatrensis (retz.) raynal, adansonia 15: 110(1975). kyllinga sumatrensis retz., obs. bot. 4: 13(1786). local name: bara guthubi. a perennial herb, stoloniferous in some cases. scleria levis retz., obs.: 4(1786). a perennial herb with short rhizome. 3. poaceae bambusa balcooa roxb., fl. ind. 1: 196(1820). local name: barakbans. a tall stout, densely caespitose bamboo. cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. syn. pl. 1: 85(1805). panicum dactylon l., sp. pl.: 58(1753). local name: durbaghas. a perennial grass. eleusine indica (linn.) gaertn., fruct. 1: 8(1789). cynosursus indicus linn., sp. pl.: 72(1753). local name: malankuri. a tufted annual grass. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills 95 eragrostis cilianensis (all) janchen, mitt. naturw. univ. wien 5 (9): 110 (1907). e. major host. gram. austr. 4: 14. t. 24 (1809). an annual grass. e. unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud., syn. pl. glum. 1: 264(1854). poa unioloides retz., obs. bot. 5: 19(1789). an annual grass. melocanna bambusoides trin. in spreng., neue enterdeck 2: 45(1821). an evergreen unarmed bamboo. panicum brevifolium l., sp. pl.: 59(1753). a slender decumbent grass. p. notatum retz., obs. bot. 4: 18(1786). a tufted perennial grass. p. paludosum roxb., fl. ind. 1: 310(1820). local name: barati. a perennial grass. p. repens l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 87(1762). local name: dhanighas. a perennial grass. paspalidium flavidum (retz.) a. camus in lecomte, fl. gen. de i’indo-chine 7: 419(1922). panicum flavidum retz., obs. bot. 4: 15(1876). an annual grass. setaria glauca (linn.) p. beauv., ess. agrost.: 51, 169, 178(1812). panicum glaucum linn., sp. pl. ed. 1: 56(1753). a tufted annual grass. 4. zingiberaceae curcuma zedoaria (christm.) roscoe., trans. linn. soc. london 8: 354(1807). amomum zedoaria christm. in christm. & panzer, linn. pflanzensyst. 5: 12(1779). local name: shoti. a stemless herb with pale yellow-white rhizome. 5. costaceae costus speciosus (koenig) smith, trans. linn. soc. london 1: 249(1791). banksea speciosa koenig in retz., obs. bot. 3: 75(1783). a herb, 2-3m long. 6. smilacaceae smilax zeylanica l., sp. pl.: 1029(1753). local name: kumari lata. a large prickly climber. references brandis, d. 1906. indian trees (2nd repr. 1978). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, 767 pp. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, 1262 pp. deb, d.b. 1981. the flora of tripura state 1 : 1-50. r.k. jain, today & tomorrow's printers and publishers, new delhi. deb, d.b. 1983. the flora of tripura state 2 : 1-601. r.k. jain, today & tomorrow's printers and publishers, new delhi. hossen, m.m. and dewan, t.a. 2004. moinamoti-lalmai. archeological division, ministry of culture and heritage. 60 pp. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india vols. 1-7 (repr. 1973). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun. 96 hossain et al. kanjilal, u.n., das, a., kanjilal, p.c. and de, r.n. 1939. flora of assam 3 : 1-578 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1934. flora of assam 1 : 1-386 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1938. flora of assam 2 : 1-409 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., de, r. n. and das, a. 1940. flora of assam 4 : 1-377 (ind. repr. 1982). a von book company, delhi. khan, m. s. 1977. onagraceae. in: khan, m. s. (ed.). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 6 : 1-10. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. khan, m. s. 1984. dipterocarpaceae. in: khan, m. s. (ed.). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 25 : 1-15. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. khan, m. s. 1985. convolvulaceae. in: khan, m. s. (ed.). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 30 : 1-59. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. matthew, k. m. 1999. the flora of the palni hills, south india 1 : 1-575. the rapinat herbarium tiruchirapalli, india. matthew, k. m. 1999a. the flora of the palni hills, south india 2 : 576-1196. the rapinat herbarium tiruchirapalli, india. matthew, k. m. 1999b. the flora of the palni hills, south india 3 : 1197-1880. the rapinat herbarium tiruchirapalli, india. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants 1: 1-487 (ind. repr. 1963). botanical survey of india, calcutta. prain, d. 1903a. bengal plants 2: 488-1013 (ind. repr. 1963). botanical survey of india, calcutta. department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangl key words: preliminary checklist, angiospermic flora, lalmai abstract introduction materials and methods results michelia champaca l., sp. pl.: 536(1753). local name: champa microsoft word 06. sujan.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 47-56, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pteridophytes of greater mymensingh district of bangladesh used as vegetables and medicines sujan kumer sarker1 and a.b.m. enayet hossain department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh. keywords: vegetables; medicine; pteridophytes; bangladesh. abstract sixteen species of pteridophyte, collected from greater mymensingh district, bangladesh, were studied for their use as food (vegetables) and traditional herbal medicine. out of these, four were recorded to have use as vegetables, seven as traditional medicine and five as both vegetables and medicine. eight species were recorded for the first time in bangladesh having use as vegetables and/or medicines. the local people and five ethnic communities, namely coach, garo, mandai, khayatriya and wera were interviewed in this study. introduction pteridophytes are vascular cryptogams and form a neglected group of plants in biodiversity as far as their economic value is concerned. their food and medicinal values are not well known to many of the people of bangladesh, although their uses as food and medicine are known from earlier literature. pammel (1911) compiled a manual of poisonous plants from eastern north america with brief notes on economic and medicinal plants which included some medicinal pteridophytes. the ayurvedic systems of medicine referred by sushruta (ca 100 ad) and charka (ca 100 ad) recommended the medicinal uses of some ferns in their samhitas. ferns are also used by the physicians in unani system of medicine (uddin et al., 1998). in chinese system of medicine, many ferns are also prescribed by local doctors (kimura and noro, 1965). later on modern biological and pharmaceutical studies were carried out on pteridophytes by different workers. benerjee and sen (1980) conducted the only extensive survey of antibiotic activity among the ferns and reported about a hundred species having such property. dixit and vohra (1984) reported edible and medicinally important pteridophytic species from india. kaushik (1998) emphasized on the ethno-botanical importance of ferns of rajasthan, india. the ethno-botanical uses of this unique group are of immense importance (singh et al., 1989; dhiman, 1998). the most important studies on food and medicinal values of pteridophytes were conducted by nayar (1957), hodge (1973), and dixit (1974, 1975). recently, ghosh et al. (2004) reported some edible pteridophytes as vegetables and medicines. 1 corresponding author. present address: department of botany, ananda mohon govt. college, mymensingh, bangladesh. e-mail: choamoni_97@yahoo.com 48 sarker and hossain very recently, it has been recorded that 196 pteridophytic taxa are available in bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007). some of them do possess potential value as traditional medicine and food. the study on use of pteridophytes as vegetable and herbal medicine is still in early stage in bangladesh. this type of work was initiated for the first time in bangladesh by uddin et al. (1998). they reported 40 medicinal ferns and fern-allies available in bangladesh, but did not specify any users or tribal communities in case of medicinal uses. the most important work in bangladesh on ethno-botanical use of pteridophytes from the chittagong hill tracts was conducted by uddin et al. (2008) where a total of 40 pteridophytic species were recorded with ethnic importance. given the importance of greater mymensingh from ethno-botanical point of view, an attempt has been made to study the use of pteridophytes of this region as food vegetables and medicines. materials and methods the present work is mainly based on materials collected from greater mymensingh of bangladesh since 1980’s. this study area is very significant for ethno-botanical studies owing to the dominance of different tribal communities, like coach, garo, mandai, khayatriya and wera. more than 300 specimens of pteridophyte were collected from the study area through repeated visits in different seasons in different years. in addition to investigation on taxonomic aspects, the association of pteridophytes with the local inhabitants was also considered. for this purpose, a close relationship was built up with local knowledgeable persons and medicine men, and information was collected through interviewing them using pre-tested questionnaire, and, in some cases, through short-term participant observation. plants were collected from the field as noted by the informants and were preserved as voucher specimens. information on plant parts used and local uses was recorded on the labels of herbarium sheets. vernacular and ethnic names of the species and the name(s) of user ethnic group(s) were also recorded. the information given by the informants were cross-checked. occurrence of species in bangladesh mentioned here is after mirza and rahman (1997), uddin et al. (2001), siddiqui et al. (2007) and also authors’ personal observations. in order to authenticate identification of the collected specimens, the specimens preserved in bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), mirpur, dhaka, bangladesh and central national herbarium (cal), botanical survey of india, shibpur, howrah, west bengal, india were examined. all the collected specimens are stored in department of botany, ananda mohon govt. college, mymensingh and department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh. pteridophytes of greater mymensingh district 49 taxonomic enumeration a total of 16 pteridophytic species were found in the study area used as vegetables and medicines by different communities. the species are listed in alphabetical order with their family names and synonyms, followed by short botanical characterization and ecology. for each species vernacular or tribal names (if any), part(s) used, local uses, and occurrence in bangladesh including the study area are also provided. 1. adiantum capillus-veneris l., sp. pl. 2: 1096 (1753). (adiantaceae) vernacular name: bidhayapata. tribal name: basanta lata (garo). tufted, small herb with short creeping rhizome; stipe slender, black, polished. fronds bi-pinnate with an apical leaflet. sori marginal, on reflexed marginal flaps of leaflet. ecology: very common on old brick walls, brick-crevices as well as on shady soil of garden and household areas. occurrence in bangladesh: frequently found throughout bangladesh. part used: whole plant. local uses: the garo community of haluaghat and dhobaura (mymensingh) take the juice of fresh plants for curing cough and diabetes. juice of fresh fronds is also taken by their children for good health and against microbial diseases. they keep the plants under bed for the prevention of chicken pox. 2. ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel, gen. fil.:144 (1947). (thelypteridaceae) synonym: hemionitis prolifera retz. (1791). vernacular name: dheki shak. a creeping or spreading herb, often rooting at the tips of the fronds. fronds unipinnate. sori along veins. ecology: grows near water sources, bank of ponds, along roadside slopes and open sunny exposed places. occurrence in bangladesh: frequently found throughout bangladesh. part used: young frond. local uses: young or tender fronds are cooked and taken as vegetables by the local people in mymensingh. this use is recorded for the first time for bangladesh. 3. angiopteris evecta (forst) hoffm., comm. soc. reg. gott. 12: 29, t. 5 (1796). (angiopteridaceae) synonym: polypodium evectum forst (1786). tribal name: mati alu (khayatriaya). 50 sarker and hossain a large-sized, semi-erect tree fern, rhizome massive, very thick. lamina pinnately compound, pinnae costae swollen at their bases, recurrent veins present. sori exindusiate. ecology: grows on moist slopes near water falls, on deep forest floor. occurrence in bangladesh: rarely distributed in the hilly regions of bangladesh. it is found in chittagong, dinajpur, durgapur (netrokona), gozni (sherpur) and madhabkundu (sylhet). parts used: frond and rhizome. local uses: young fronds and rhizomes are cooked as vegetables with small fishes or alone and are taken by the khayatriaya people of durgapur in netrakona district. it is also taken by them as an effective purgative against constipation. these uses are recorded for the first time for bangladesh. 4. blechnum orientale l., sp. pl. 2: 1077 (1753). (blechnaceae) synonym: blechnum javanicum blume (1828). tribal name: baro dheki shak (garo). a large, terrestrial, erect sun-fern of hilly areas with peculiar circinate vernation, grows up to man-height or more. fronds pinnately compound. sori linear, continuous along the costae. ecology: terrestrial, grows generally in open sunny places near hill slopes. occurrence in bangladesh: very common in the hilly districts of bangladesh including chittagong, jamalpur, mymensingh, panchagarh, sherpur and sylhet. parts used: frond and rhizome. local uses: this species is popularly used as vegetables and ethno-medicine by the garo of gozni in sherpur. the fleshy circinate vernation is burned in flame and is given to children as anthelmintic and abdominal disorders. fresh fronds are also cooked and taken as vegetables, very effective against constipation. according to garo beliefs, this species is avoided by all kinds of snakes. these uses are recorded for the first time for bangladesh. 5. ceratopteris pteridoides (hook.) hiern, bot. jahrb. 34: 561 (1905). (parkeriaceae) synonym: parkeria pteridoides hook. (1825). vernacular name: pani shak. aquatic fern; fronds dimorphic − sterile fronds mostly simple or palmately lobed, fertile fronds dissected. sori protected by reflexed lamina margin. ecology: aquatic or semi-aquatic mostly rooted on substratum. grows on humus deposits of old ponds and on the soil of cultivated rice fields. pteridophytes of greater mymensingh district 51 occurrence in bangladesh: rarely found in iswargonj (mymensingh), karotia (tangail), kendua (netrokona), pakundia (kishoregonj) and sribordi (sherpur). part used: frond. local uses: fronds are cooked with other vegetables or alone and are eaten by the rural people of greater mymensingh district. fresh fronds are also taken as salad. these uses are recorded for the first time for bangladesh. 6. ceratopteris thalictroides (l.) brongrn. in bull. sci. soc. philom. paris, 1821: 186 (1822). (parkeriaceae) synonym: acrostichum thalictroides l. (1753). vernacular name: pani shak. semi-aquatic, tufted fern; fronds dimorphic – sterile fronds lanceolate or deltoid, fertile fronds linear and dissected. sori protected by reflexed lamina margin. ecology: grows commonly in aquatic habitat, submerged rice fields, sometimes on sub-aquatic soil of shady places. occurrence in bangladesh: frequently found in greater chittagong, cox’s bazar, dhaka, jessore, mymensingh, rajshahi, satkhira and sylhet districts. part used: frond. local uses: in the villages of dhobaura, nandail, phulpur and trisal of mymensingh fronds are cooked and eaten as vegetables. fresh fronds are also used as salad. 7. dicranopteris linearis (burm.f.) underw., bull. torr. bot. club. 34: 250 (1907). (gleicheniaceae) synonym: polypodium linearis burm. (1768). tribal name: khasi lata (garo). a fern of hilly areas; rhizome stout, creeping. stipes dichotomously branched. sori simple, two rows on both sides of costa. ecology: terrestrial in hilly areas, growing in open full sunlight or slightly shady roadside slopes, forming dense patches. occurrence in bangladesh: it is widely distributed in the hilly regions of chittagong, chittagong hill tracts and sylhet and rarely found in the foot hills of jamalpur, mymensingh and netrakona districts. part used: whole plant. local uses: the garo of haluaghat (mymensingh) takes the juice of young leaves for the treatment of cough, allergic symptoms and respiratory troubles. 52 sarker and hossain 8. diplazium esculentum retz. sw., schrad. j. bot.1801 (2): 312 (1803). (athyriaceae) synonym: hemionitis esculentum retz. (1791). vernacular names: dheki shak, paloi shak. tribal name: teria shak (wera). a herb or small shrub with stout caudex. fronds bi-pinnate or tri-pinnate. sori on both sides of the veins with double indusia. ecology: fairly common in moist, shady places by the sides of drain or channel and also grows terrestrially in the homestead areas. occurrence in bangladesh: frequently found in bogra, cox’s bazar, greater mymensingh, rangpur and sylhet. part used: frond. local uses: young fronds are cooked with small shrimps, small fishes or alone and are eaten as a tasty vegetable curry. the users in the study area have confirmed that it is very effective against constipation as a purgative, appetizer and abdominal disorders. the coach, garo, mandai and wera communities take it as a remedy for skin diseases. the garo and wera people also opined that they have got relief from leprosy by taking this species regularly as vegetables. they also take it as a preventive measure against these diseases. these uses are recorded for the first time for bangladesh. 9. diplazium polypodioides bl., enum. pl. jav.: 194 (1828). (athyriaceae) synonym: athyrium asperum (blume) milde (1870). tribal name: dheki shak (coach, garo & mandai). a large-sized fern, often giving an impression of a tree fern from a distance. fronds bi-pinnate or tri-pinnatifid. sori in two oblique linear rows with thin indusia. ecology: grows in hilly areas in ravines along water courses, often also grows on the forest fringes. occurrence in bangladesh: distributed in chittagong, dinajpur, durgapur (netrokona), gozni, nalitabari (sherpur), lawachapra (jamalpur), mymensingh and sylhet. part used: frond. local uses: fronds with circinate vernation are cooked with dry fish (locally called shutki) or alone as vegetables, taken as delicious food by the coach and mandai communities in the foot hill areas of karnajhura of lawachapra (jamalpur), gozni, nalitabari (sherpur) and haluaghat (mymensingh). fresh leaf juice is used for their children as anthelmintic and carminative. these uses are recorded for the first time for bangladesh. pteridophytes of greater mymensingh district 53 10. drynaria quercifolia (l.) j. sm. in hook. j. bot. 3: 398 (1841). (polypodiaceae) synonym: polypodium quercifolia l. (1753). vernacular name: pankhiraj. a very common epiphyte with fleshy, creeping rhizome with brown scales. fronds di-morphic. sori in two regular rows between lateral veins. ecology: very common epiphyte on raintree, mango tree, palm tree or any other rough-barked trees. sometime grows on old brick walls, on humus deposits of old tinshed. occurrence in bangladesh: frequently found throughout bangladesh. part used: rhizome. local uses: rhizome-paste with coconut oil, applied on head for the treatment of long sleeping disorder by the local people of phulpur in mymensingh. it is also used in the treatment of insanity by the local people of netrakona. 11. helminthostachys zeylanica (l.) hook., gen. fil.: t. 47(1840). (helminthostachyaceae) synonym: osmunda zeylanica l. (1753). vernacular name: kabar gash. eusporangiate fern with fleshy, creeping rhizome and two rounded stipules at the base. fronds with a tripartite lamina and an erect fertile spike. sporangia in clusters on short lateral branches. ecology: terrestrial, grows commonly on moist, shady places under bamboo groves, near burial ground and bushy forest floor in plains as well as on the hill slopes. occurrence in bangladesh: distributed in chandpur, chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, dinajpur, fulbaria, muktagacha (mymensingh), gozni (sherpur), madhupur (tangail), sundarban and sylhet. parts used: frond and rhizome. local uses: the village kabiraj of fulbaria and muktagacha in mymensingh district use paste of the frond and rhizome in the treatment of muscle pain and rheumatism. 12. lygodium flexuosum (l.) sw. in schrad. j. bot.1800 (2):106 (1801). (lygodiaceae) synonym: ophioglossum flexuosum l. (1753). tribal name: poka lata (garo & mandai). a terrestrial, climbing fern. basal leaflets often with large basal lobes. sporophores dissected on leaf margin; sori surrounded by reflexed leaf margin. 54 sarker and hossain ecology: grows in bushy places, in the plains as well as in the hilly areas. occurrence in bangladesh: frequently found in bangladesh including bogra, chittagong, dhaka, dinajpur, greater mymensingh and sylhet. part used: frond. local uses: juice of fronds is applied to wounds or cuts by the garo and mandai in madhupur and haluaghat. frond-paste is also applied externally to insect bite by the local people of jhinaigati and gozni (sherpur). 13. marsilea minuta (l.) mant., 308(1771). (marsileaceae) synonym: marsilea aegyptiaca wall. (1828). vernacular and tribal name: shusni shak (coach & garo). aquatic or sub-aquatic fern with creeping rhizome. lamina quadrifoliate with long stipe. gradate sori in sporocarp. ecology: grows in drain water, ditches on lowland and on the cultivated rice fields. sporocarps produced only in amphibious condition. occurrence in bangladesh: frequently found throughout bangladesh. part used: whole plant. local uses: the rural people of mymensingh eat the fronds as vegetable and they have got relief from hypertension, sleeping disorders and headache by regular eating. in haluaghat and dhobaura of mymensingh district the garo and coach drink the juice of fresh shoots as a remedy for cough, respiratory troubles, especially for their babies. juice or paste of the whole plant are applied externally on the head of patients suffering from sleeping disorder and hypertension; the patients reported that they have got relief from sleeping disorder and hypertension. 14. microlepia strigosa (thunb.) presl, epim. bot.: 95 (1851). (dennstaedtiaceae) synonym: trichomanes strigosum thumb. (1784). tribal name: dheki shak (coach & garo). a big-sized, tufted fern with bipinnate fronds. sori cup-shaped, sub-marginal with a few hairs. ecology: terrestrial, grows generally in the hilly areas in tufts. occurrence in bangladesh: occurs in abundance in the foot hill areas of chittagong hill tracts, gozni (sherpur), lawachapra (jamalpur) and sylhet. part used: frond. local uses: young fronds are cooked as vegetables, taken by the coach and garo of gozni and lawachapra. this use is recorded for the first time for bangladesh. pteridophytes of greater mymensingh district 55 15. nephrolepis cordifolia (l.) presl, tent. pterid.: 79 (1836). (nephrolepidaceae) synonym: polypodium cordifolium l. (1753). vernacular name: bagan fern. frond tufted and pinnately compound, pinnae opposite, sessile, base cordate. sori in two rows along the vines. ecology: terrestrial, grows in shady places, commonly cultivated in gardens. occurrence in bangladesh: distributed in chittagong, dhaka, dinajpur, jamalpur, mymensingh, netrokona, sherpur and sylhet. parts used: frond and tuber. local uses: some of the herbal practioners of sherpur, mymensingh and netrokona districts use the extract of frond and tuber-paste for the treatment of cough, allergic symptoms and respiratory troubles. 16. pityrogramma calomelanos (l.) link, handb. erken. gew. 3: 20 (1833). (hemionitidaceae) synonym: acrostichum calomelanos l. (1753). vernacular name: matka pata (garo). a tufted fern with dark purplish shining stipes. white farinose on lower surface of pinnules. sori on the lower surface of pinnules covering it completely. ecology: terrestrial, grows commonly on shady soil of hill slopes, along water canals and cultivated as a pot-plant. occurrence in bangladesh: frequently found in greater mymensingh, gozni (sherpur), lawachapra (jamalpur) and also in chittagong, dinajpur, moulvi bazar, panchagarh and sylhet. part used: frond. local uses: the garo herbal practioners of gozni, nalitabari and runctia (sherpur) use frond-paste for treatment of backache, joint and muscle pain of legs. this use is recorded for the first time for bangladesh. references benerjee, r.d. and sen, s.p. 1980. antibiotic activities of pteridophytes. ec. bot. 34(2): 284-298. dhiman, a.k. 1998. ethnomedicinal uses of some pteridophytic species in india. indian fern. j. 15: 61-65. dixit, r.d. 1974. ferns a much neglected group of medicinal plants. i. j. res. indian med. 9(4): 59-68. dixit, r.d. 1975. ferns a much neglected group of medicinal plants. iii. j. res. indian med. 10(2): 74-90. dixit, r.d. and vohra, j.n. 1984. a dictionary of the pteridophytes of india (flora of india series 4) botanical survey of india publication, department of environment, government of india, botanical garden, howrah, pp. 1-177. 56 sarker and hossain ghosh, s.r., ghosh, b., biswas, a. and ghosh, r.k. 2004. the pteridophytic flora of eastern india (vol. 1). flora of india series 4. botanical survey of india, pp. 1-591. hodge, w.h. 1973. fern food of japan and the problem of toxicity. amer. fern. j. 63: 77-80. kaushik, p. 1998. ethnobotanical importance of ferns of rajsthan: indigenous medicinal plants. today and tommorrow printers and publication, new delhi, pp. 61-66. kimura, k. and noro, y. 1965. pharmacognostical studies on chinese drug "gu-sui-bu". i. consideration on "gu-sui-bu" in old herbals (pharmacognostical studies on fern drugs xi). syoy akugaku zasshi 19: 2531. mirza, m.m. and rahman, m.m. 1997. an annotated checklist of ferns and fern-allies of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 47-69. nayar, b.k. 1957. medicinal ferns of india. bull. nat. bot. gdn. 58: 1-38. pammel, l.h. 1911. a manual of poisonous plants chiefly of eastern north america with brief notes on economic and medical plants and numerous illustrations. the torch press cedar rapdis, iowa, pp. 323-325. rao, r.r. and hajra, p.k. 1995. methods of research in ethnobotany. in: jain, s.k. (ed.), a manual of ethnobotany. sci. pub. jodhpur, india, pp. 28-34. siddiqui., k.u., islam, m.a., ahmad, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahaman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 5. pteridophyta, pp. 195-342, asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. singh, k.k., saha, s. and maheshwari, j.k. 1989. ethnomedicinal uses of some ferns amongst the tribals of uttar pradesh. indian fern j. 6: 66-67. uddin, m.g. mirza, m.m. and pasha, m.k. 1998. the medicinal uses of pteridophytes of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(2): 29-41. uddin, m.g., rahman, m.m., sarker, s.k. and pasha, m.k. 2001. a systematic account of the pteridophytic flora of greater mymensingh district of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 8(1): 65-80. uddin, s.b., rahman, m.a., uddin, m.g. and pasha, m.k. 2008. ethno-botancial uses of pteridophyte from chittagong hill tracts of bangladesh. nepal journal of plant science 2(1): 89-93. (manuscript received on 16 september 2008; revised on 1 april 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 1-12, 2007 (june) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 3. volvocales moniruzzaman khondker*, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, munirul alam1, r. bradley sack2, anwar huq3 and rita r. colwell2,3,4 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: phytoplankton, new records, bangladesh, volvocales, ponds abstract this study presents 21 species of chlamydomonas, four species of carteria, two species of each of nephroselmis, pyramidomonas and scherffelia, and collodictyon triciliatum, polytoma minus, tetrachloridium ? allorgei and tetraselmis cordiformis. these species have been reported from some ponds of mathbaria of pirojpur and bakerganj of barisal districts in bangladesh. introduction the members of the order volvocales under the class chlorophyceae show a common single character i.e., motility both in vegetative and reproductive phases of life. their frequent occurrence in the samples of freshwater plankton is another common feature. few of them e.g., chlamydomonas sp., carteria sp., heteromastix angulata, pandorina morum, volvox sp., etc. form blooms and discolour water. the group is represented by 974 species worldwide (huber-pestalozzi 1961). in bangladesh, the first research work on volvocales dates back to 1966 when professor a.k.m. nurul islam and one of his research students momena khatun studied the plankton of some polluted ponds of dhaka city (islam and khatun 1966). in that study they reported nine species of volvocales. later, islam (1974) reported three species of pleodorina and four species of volvox from bangladesh. including few more systematic works on volvocales published later in bangladesh, the total number of species reported are 38 (islam and khatun 1966, islam 1974, islam and khondker 1993, 1994, 1997, islam and alfassane 2002). in the present study, 35 species of volvocales have been newly recorded for bangladesh. the species were encountered in the plankton samples collected from different pond ecosystems of mathbaria of pirojpur district and bakerganj of barisal district between 2004 and 2006. new reports of phytoplankton for bangladesh belonging to cyanophyceae, cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae and synurophyceae from the same study areas have been published elsewhere (khondker et al. 2006, 2007). *corresponding author. e-mail: khondker56@yahoo.com 1international center for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh. 2johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, baltimore, maryland. 3center of marine biotechnology, university of maryland biotechnology institute, baltimore, maryland. 4university of maryland institute for advanced computer studies, college park, maryland, usa. 2 khondker et al. materials and methods the species have been described by studying concentrated samples of plankton collected by a net and also by sedimentation technique. for the purpose water samples from 1-8 and 1-6 permanent stations of bakerganj and mathbaria, respectively have been used (khondker et al. 2006). all the investigated water bodies were pond ecosystems except one river channel (station no. 5, bakerganj) and the sampling was carried out in between 2004 and 2006 (khondker et al. 2006). taxonomic enumeration in the present study, 35 species of unicellular volvocales belonging to nine genera under three families were identified from the pelagic plankton communities of different ponds of mathbaria and bakerganj. an illustrated account of these species are presented in this paper. for the systematic arrangement, huber-pestalozzi (1961) has been followed. division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocales family: polyblepharidaceae 1. pyramidomonas inconstans hodgett (fig. 34) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 19, 2: 12c) cell shape strongly variable, elliptic-ovoid, posterior end rounded; periplast distinct, chromatophore occupying the whole cell, pyrenoid single, basal; cells 6 µm long and 5 µm broad; flagella 4, equal in length, 7 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 6, 29.11.2004. 2. pyramidomonas montana geitler (figs. 36a-d) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 18, 2: 9) cells elongate ovoid, posterior rounded, truncated square, gradually widened from posterior to anterior; chromatophore massive, two contractile vacuoles present at the top; cells 12-19 µm long and 8-11 µm broad; flagella 4, little more longer than the body length, 13-15 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 6, 08.02.2005. 3. collodictyon triciliatum carter (figs. 23a-b) (iyengar and desikachary 1981, 181, fig. 93) cells pale green in colour, broadly ovoid, anterior end wide and rounded, posterior end gradually narrowed to a blunt end; protoplast vacuolated; cells 18 µm long and 13 µm wide; flagella 4, long, inserted at the anterior end, about 1-1½ the size of the body length. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 3 mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. 4. tetrachloridium ? allorgei (bourr.) huber-pestalozzi (fig. 25) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 31, 5: 23a) cells spindle or elongated pear shaped, posterior end rounded, anterior gradually narrowed to a blunt conical end; chromatophore large, parietal plate; cells 13 µm long and 6 µm broad; flagella 4, about 5 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 1, 16.01.2004. family: nephroselmidaceae 5. nephroselmis angulata (korsch.) skuja (fig. 28) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 58, 11: 49a) cells laterally depressed, subhexagonal, periplast distinct, firm. chromatophore large, dark green in colour, completely occupied the cell except the area below the flagella. cells 6 µm long and 4.5 µm broad; flagella 2, unequal in length, longer one 23 µm and shorter one 7 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 1, 03.05.2004. 6. nephroselmis discoidea skuja (fig. 29) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 59, 11: 50) cells strongly compressed laterally, to some extent discoid; cells 5 µm long 7 µm wide; flagella 2, unequal in length, longer one 13 µm long and shorter one 9 µm long. periplast smooth, colourless; chromatophore bowl shaped with a basal pyrenoid, bright green. bakerganj, station no. 6, 29.11.2004. family: chlamydomonadaceae 7. polytoma minus pascher (fig. 33) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 497, 104: 692) cells elongate ovoid, gradually narrowed towards apex, posterior end broadly rounded. cells small, 6 µm long and 4 µm broad; flagella 2, long, about 12 µm long. cell wall not distinct, delicate, without papilla, contractile vacuoles and small starch granules present. bakerganj, station no. 3, 29.11.2004. 8. carteria globosa kors. (figs. 1a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 85, 16: 59) 4 khondker et al. cells spherical, membrane hyaline and delicate, without papilla; chromatophore large, positioned somewhat in the middle of the cell, anterior portion of the chromatophore reaches closer towards cell wall from where flagella originates. pyrenoid large, occupied in the basal region. cells 13-19 µm long, 11-18 µm broad, protoplast 1015 µm long and 9-14 µm broad; flagella 4, somewhat equal the body length or 1½ times than body length, 11-12 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 4, 12.07.2004, 06.09.2004. 9. carteria huberi christen (fig. 2) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 88, 17: 63) cells weakly ovoid to broadly ellipsoidal, posterior end widely rounded, also the anterior end widely rounded or slightly tapered. cell membrane very thin, without papilla. chromatophore sturdy, pyrenoid round. cells 10 µm long and 8 µm broad. flagella 4, somewhat equal to body length or slightly longer, 15 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 09.08.2004. 10. carteria peterhofiensis kiss. (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 98, 20: 78a) cells ellipsoid-cylindric or ovoid cylindric; anterior widely rounded, extreme top somewhat flat, posterior end also rounded. cell membrane strong, hyaline, smooth and prominent. protoplast massive, moved away from the cell membrane, almost placed centrally. cell 31 µm long and 17 µm broad, protoplast 22 µm long and 15 µm broad; flagella 4, originates from the terminal portion of the protoplast and then crosses the hyaline area further across cell membrane, flagella not always body length, 20 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 01.11.2004. 11. carteria radiosa korsch. (figs. 4a-d) (iyengar and desikachary 1981, 311, fig. 178: 1) cells spherical, wall prominent and thick, papilla present, flagella arises surrounding papilla. chloroplast cup shaped, massive, lobed, proceeding radially from a central large pyrenoid. cells 8-18 µm long and 8-18 µm broad; flagella 4, 12-17 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 29.03.2004, 12.07.2004, 11.07.2005. 12. scherffelia deformis skuja (fig. 30) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 133, 26:128a) cells pear shaped, posterior end broadly rounded, anterior end narrowly rounded, blunt. chromatophore 2, light green, laterally placed. cells 8 µm long and 7 µm broad; flagella 4, 5 µm long. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 5 mathbaria, station no. 1, 30.01.2004. 13. scherffelia pelagica skuja (fig. 31) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 132, 26: 126b) cells broadly ovate, posterior end slightly narrowed or rounded, membrane thin, colourless. chromatophore parietal, light to yellow green without pyrenoid. cells 8 µm long, 7 µm broad; flagella 4, about equal to body length. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. figs. 1-11. 1a-c. carteria globosa, 2. c. huberi, 3. c. peterhofiensis, 4 a-d. c. radiosa, 5. chlamydomonas acidophila, 6. chla. opulenta, 7. chla. angulosa, 8. chla. botryopara, 9a-b. chla. cylindrica, 10a-b. chla. foveolarum, 11a-f. chla. globosa. (bars =10 µm). 6 khondker et al. 14. chlamydomonas acidophila nyg. (fig. 5) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 361, 71: 440) cells relatively small, elongate ovoid, or elliptical or spindle shaped. cell membrane delicate or fine, papilla absent. chromatophore delicate, adjacent to the cell wall, central area blank, pyrenoid absent. cells 6 µm long and 3 µm broad; flagella 2, 8-9 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 6, r-10 (?). figs. 12-26. 12a-c. chlamydomonas gloeopara, 13. chla. indica, 14. chla. inflata, 15. chla. multitaeniata, 16. chla. elliptica, 17a-e. chla. cylindrus, 18. chla. pertyi, 19a-d. chla. planoconvexa, 20a-c. chla. pulchra, 21. chla. pulsatilla, 22a-b, 24. chla. reinhardi var. minor, 23a-b. collodictyon triciliatum, 25. tetrachloridium ? allorgei, 26a-b. chlamydomonas speciosa. (bars =10 µm). new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 7 15. chlamydomonas angulosa dill (fig. 7) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 188, 36: 92b) cells broadly elliptic, anterior and posterior end widely rounded, membrane shining, strong, prominent, papilla wide. cells 18 µm long and 13 µm broad; flagella 2, 8 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 1, 29.11.2004. figs. 27-36. 27a-d. chlorogonium elongatum, 28. nephroselmis angulata, 29. n. discoidea, 30. scherffelia deformis, 31. s. pelagica, 32a-b. tetraselmis cordiformis, 33. polytoma minus, 34. pyramidomonas inconstans, 35. chlamydomonas iyengari, 36a-d. pyramidomonas montana. (bars = 10 µm). 8 khondker et al. 16. chlamydomonas botryopara rodhe et skuja (fig. 8) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 305, 62: 373) cells spherical ovoid and ellipsoidal, lightly asymmetric, in one side more convex. flagella body length or 1½ longer than body length, papilla present. cells 8 µm long and 5 µm broad; flagella 2, 8 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 4, 30.08.2004. 17. chlamydomonas cylindrica chod. (figs. 9a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 223, 45: 245) cells cylindrical, 4 times longer than breadth, anterior and posterior ends rounded, sometimes from posterior towards anterior end gradually narrowed. cell length fully occupied by a light green chromatophore. cells 14 µm long and 3 µm broad; flagella 2, 11 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 3, 31.07.2004. 18. chlamydomonas cylindrus (pasch.) gerloff (figs. 17a-e) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 313, 68: 385) cells cylindrical, sometimes weakly bent, about 3 times as long as broad, both posterior and anterior end rounded, cell membrane delicate, papilla present, sometimes it may be absent. cells 8-9 µm long and 3-4 µm broad; flagella 2, about equal to body length, 5-10 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 4, 30.08.2004. 19. chlamydomonas foveolarum skuja (figs. 10a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 293, 59: 342) cells somewhat spherical, membrane delicate, colourless, smooth, without terminal papilla. chromatophore thin, light green. cells 7-8 µm in diameter; flagella 2, delicate, about double the body size, here 12 µm long, mathbaria, station nos. 3 & 6; 16.08.2004, 30.08.2004. 20. chlamydomonas globosa snow (figs. 11a-f) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 157, 37: 132) cells mostly spherical, sometimes weakly ellipsoidal, small, cell membrane prominent, anterior papilla absent. cells 5-9 µm in diameter; flagella 2, longer than body length, 5-12 µm long. bakerganj, station nos. 3 & 4, 12.07.2004, 29.11.2004; mathbaria, station nos. 4 & 5, 16.08.2004, 13.09.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 9 21. chlamydomonas gloeopara rodhe et skuja (figs. 12a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 276, 56: 330) cells broadly elliptic, both the anterior and posterior ends rounded. cell membrane delicate, anterior papilla may be absent, if present weakly developed. chromatophore cup-shaped, pyrenoid lateral. cells 8-10 µm long, 6-7 µm broad; flagella 2, prominent, about equal to body length or little longer, 9-15 µm long. bakerganj, station nos. 1 & 2, 06.09.2004, 04.10.2004, 29.11.2004. 22. chlamydomonas indica mitra (fig. 13) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 423, 89: 554; iyengar and desikachary 1981, 287, fig. 162) cells ellipsoid to oval, posterior end rounded but not uniformly, posterior sub-laterally depressed, papilla present, prominent. chloroplast thin, occupied cell fully. cells 10 µm long and 6 µm broad; flagella 2, emerging from the margin of the papilla, 10 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 6, 09.08.2004. 23. chlamydomonas inflata skv. (fig. 14) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 430, 90: 569) cells elliptical or ovoid, membrane very thin, nucleus in the middle. cell 6 µm long, 4 µm broad; flagella 2, 8 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 6, 19.07.2004. 24. chlamydomonas iyengari mitra (fig. 35) (iyengar and desikachary 1981, 274, 154: 1) cells spherical to somewhat oblong, wall thin, posterior end broadly rounded, anterior end gradually narrowed to a truncate transparent papilla. cell 7 µm long, 5 µm broad; flagella 2, 6 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 1, 30.08.2004. 25. chlamydomonas multitaeniata kors. (fig. 15) (iyengar and desikachary 1981, 272, 149: 2) cells ellipsoid to ellipsoid-cylindric, anterior and posterior poles rounded, papilla prominent, chloroplast large, striated, with a rounded central pyrenoid. cell 18 µm long and 13 µm broad; flagella 2, not more than body length, 12 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 12.07.2004. 26. chlamydomonas opulenta pasch. (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 333, 68: 406) 10 khondker et al. cells elongated pear, anterior end smoothly rounded, both the lateral walls of the cell as well as protoplast depressed, then gradually tapered to an almost narrowed but blunt end; cell wall delicate, transparent but prominent. chloroplast massive, drawn quite a distance from the posterior end towards the inner half of the cell. cell 71 µm long and 28 µm broad; protoplast 51 µm long and 18 µm broad; flagella not found. mathbaria, station no. 4, 30.08.2004. 27. chlamydomonas elliptica korsch. (fig. 16) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 270, 54: 317) cells ellipsoidal, both sides rounded, membrane delicate, papilla thick, sharp. chromatophore massive with a large pyrenoid. cell 15 µm long and 9 µm broad; flagella 2, half of the body length. mathbaria, station no. 3, 16.08.2004. 28. chlamydomonas pertyi gor. (fig. 18) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 155, 27: 129) cells spherical, both sides rounded, membrane thin, hyaline, double layered. chromatophore massive. cells 22 µm long and 21 µm broad, body wall somewhat warty; flagella not found. mathbaria, station no. 1, 03.05.2004. 29. chlamydomonas planoconvexa lund (figs. 19a-d) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 318, 65: 387f; iyengar and desikachary 1981, 292, 165: 8-9) cells elliptic or lanceolate, dorsiventral, symmetrical in one view, both anterior and posterior ends rounded or pointed, anterior somewhat narrower, papilla small, laterally placed. cells 6-10 µm long and 3-4 µm broad; flagella 2, as long as body length, 8-13 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004; mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. 30. chlamydomonas pulchra skv. (figs. 20a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 233, 46: 264) cells broadly elliptic, cell membrane firm, papilla absent. pyrenoid single, large, round, placed almost in the middle. cells 12-13 µm long and 10-11 µm broad; flagella not found. bakerganj, station nos. 1 & 4, 12.07.2004, 13.06.2005; mathbaria, station no. 5, 16.08.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 11 31. chlamydomonas pulsatilla woll. (fig. 21) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 156, 27: 131) cells broad, elliptic-ovoid, posterior widely rounded, membrane often firm. cells 10 µm long and 9 µm broad; flagella 2, closer to body length, 6 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 1, 01.11.2004. 32. chlamydomonas reinhardi dang. var. minor nygaard (figs. 22a-b, 24) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 164, 29: 144a) cells spherical to short-ellipsoidal, smaller in size, anterior and posterior ends broadly rounded or slightly narrowed, membrane delicate, no true-papillae but plasmapapilla present. cells 4-6 µm long and 3-5 µm broad; flagella 2, 5 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 2, 02.06.2004; mathbaria, station no. 6, 19.07.2004. 33. chlamydomonas speciosa korsch. (figs. 26a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 230, 46: 259a) cells elliptical to elongate ovoid, both the anterior and posterior ends blunt or the posterior may be broadly rounded, membrane delicate but easily visible, anterior portion not very sharply narrowed. cells 8-10 µm long and 5 µm broad; flagella 2, about equal to body length or little shorter, 10 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 1, 12.07.2004. 34. chlorogonium elongatum dang. (figs. 27a-d) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 470, 97: 645m) cells elongated, spindle form, shape highly variable, 9-15 times as long as broad, posterior end pointed, sharp, hyaline; chromatophore large, free at the posterior end, pyrenoid single, large. cells 28-38 µm long and 3-5 µm broad; flagella 2, somewhat equal to half of the body length, 7-15 µm long. bakerganj, station nos. 1 & 6, 12.07.2004, 27.01.2005. 35. tetraselmis cordiformis (carter) stein (figs. 32a-b) (dillard 1989, 23, 4: 1) cells cordiform, anteriorly broadened and moderately compressed, anterior end posses a small depression, papilla absent; chloroplast a massive cup, pyrenoid single. cells 16-17 µm long and 12-14 µm braod; flagella 4, 10-12 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 09.08.2004, 29.11.2004. 12 khondker et al. acknowledgements the research as an integral part of the major multidisciplinary project entitled 'epidemiology and ecology of vibrio cholerae in bangladesh' was financed by the national institute of health (nih) research grant # 1ro1a13912901 under the collaborative agreement between the international center for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh (icddr,b) and johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health. the authors gratefully acknowledge the nih ecological surveillance team at icddr,b for kindly supporting this research. references dillard, g.e. 1989. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 1. chlorphyceae: volvocales, tetrasporales and chlorococcales. bibl. phycol. vol. 81. j. cramer, berlin, pp. 202 + pls. 37. huber-pestalozzi, g.h. 1961. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 5. teil: chlorophyceae (grünalgen), ordnung: volvocales. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 744 + pls. 157. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1974. freshwater algae of bangladesh. vii. flagellates: volvocales. bangladesh j. bot. 3(2): 7-15. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 94-109. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1993. some unicellular flagellate algae of bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 19(2): 75-79. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1994. new records of algae from bangladesh. iv. heteromastix and gonyostomum. bangladesh j. bot. 23(2): 199-223. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1997. new records of some flagellate algae for bangladesh-5, chlamydomonas, pascherina, pyrobotrys, cryptomonas and chilomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 13-23. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002. new records of motile green algae for bangladesh: phacotus, pteromonas and thoracomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 15-18. iyengar, m.o.p. and desikachary, t.v. 1981. volvocales. indian council of agricultural research, new delhi. pp. 531. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2006. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 1. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 173-179. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 2. cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53-59. (manuscript received on 12 march 2007; revised on 28 march 2007) moniruzzaman khondker*, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, m r. bradley sack2, anwar huq3 and rita r. colwell2,3,4 abstract introduction materials and methods taxonomic enumeration division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocal family: polyblepharidaceae family: nephroselmidaceae family: chlamydomonadaceae acknowledgements references microsoft word 06. hosne ara.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 47-61, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus mill. (rhamnaceae) of bangladesh hosne ara1, md. abul hassan2 and mahbuba khanam bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh keywords: ziziphus, taxonomy, bangladesh abstract a taxonomic account of six species of ziziphus mill., viz. z. funiculosa buch.-ham. ex lowson, z. glabrata heyne ex roth, z. mauritiana lam., z. oenoplia (l.) mill., z. rugosa lam., and z. xylopyrus (retz.) willd. occurring in the flora of bangladesh has been given. a dichotomous key to the species has been furnished. an updated nomenclature including important synonyms, selected references, description of the taxa along with illustrations, ecological notes, specimens examined and geographical distribution have been provided. bangla and english names, flowering and fruiting periods, chromosome number and economic importance have also been presented where available. introduction the genus ziziphus mill., belonging to the family rhamnaceae, is characterized for its 3 or 5-nerved leaves and drupaceous fruits with a solitary pyrene. it consists of about 135 species, distributed in the temperate and tropical parts of the world, mostly concentrated in asia and america; although a few of them extend in the pacific islands and australia (bhandari and bhansali 2000). there are 17 species in india (bhandari and bhansali 2000) and six species in pakistan (qaiser and nazimuddin 1981). long and rae (1991) listed seven species in bhutan, while hara and williams (1979) recorded eight species in nepal. there has been no systematic study of the genus ziziphus in bangladesh. prain (1903) recorded five species and one variety for the greater bengal of which only four fall in the territory of bangladesh. hooker (1875) included 18 species from the whole of british india out of which five were mentioned from the area of present bangladesh. uddin et al. (2000) added one species to the account of ziziphus, viz. z. xylopyrus for bangladesh. a literature survey of relevant floristic works, viz. roxburgh (1832), hook. f. (1875), prain (1903), brandis (1906), heinig (1925), cowan (1928), cowan and cowan (1929), kanjilal et al. (1934), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1955), khan and afza (1968), khan and banu (1972), huq and khan (1984), khan et al. (1984), alam (1988), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), 1corresponding author. e-mail: bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. 48 ara et al. rashid et al. (2000), khan and huq (2001), and rahman (2004a, b) and the study of the herbarium materials at different herbaria revealed that only six species have so far been reported from bangladesh. no type specimens for the genus or any species have been seen. the present paper deals with the detailed account of all the six ziziphus species of bangladesh. the illustrated taxonomic descriptions with bracketed key to the species, updated nomenclature along with important synonyms, notes on ecology, geographical distribution on global context and within bangladesh are presented under each taxon. flowering (fl.) and fruiting (fr.) time of the species have been cited while chromosome numbers, bangla and english names have been provided where available. all the specimens examined have been cited. the district names given under specimen citation are in an alphabetical order. the enumeration is presented in an alphabetical order of the accepted names of taxa. materials and methods the present work is mainly based on the herbarium specimens housed at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), central national herbarium (cal), and dhaka university herbarium indicated in the text as duh as well as on the survey of literature, namely farr et al. (1979), hara and williams (1979), qaiser and nazimuddin (1981), bhandari and bhansali (1990, 2000) and long and rae (1991). enumeration of taxa ziziphus p. miller, gard. dict. abr. ed. 4 (1754). zizyphus tourn. ex linn., syst. ed. 1 (1735). lectotype: z. jujuba p. miller shrubs or trees, erect or straggling, often climbing, evergreen or deciduous, often spinose. leaves alternate, petiolate, entire or crenate, coriaceous, 3-5 nerved at the base, stipules usually 1 or rarely 2 or curved spines or absent. inflorescence axillary or terminal cymes or thyrses. flowers small, pentamerous, bisexual, pedicellate, yellow-green. calyx tube shallow. sepals ovate-triangular or triangular, keeled within. petals cucullate, deflexed or incurved, rarely absent. stamens 5, included or excluded, inserted below the disc. disc shallow or flat, 5-10-lobed. ovary globose, 2-4-loculed, sunk in the disk and adnate to its base; styles 2-4, usually free or partially united; stigma papillose. fruit a globose or oblong drupe, base with persistent calyx tube, apex mucronulate; putaman woody, 1-3-celled. seed 1-3, plano-convex, testa thin, smooth shining; cotyledons thick; radicle short. taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 49 key to the species 1 plant armed, young shoots rusty pubescent / rusty tomentose 2 plant unarmed, young shoots glabrous z. glabrata 2 flowers fascicled or in sessile axillary cymes 3 flowers in peduncled cymes arranged in large panicle 4 3 trees, leaf blade broadest at middle z. mauritiana scandent or erect shrubs, leaf blade broadest at lower part z. oenoplia 4 leaves rusty tomentose beneath, petals absent z. rugosa leaves pubescent beneath, petals present 5 5 spine single, fruit yellow when ripe z. funiculosa spines in pair, fruit white when ripe z. xylopyrus 1. ziziphus funiculosa buch.ham. ex lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 636 (1875reprint 1973). brandis, ind. trees: 172 (1906-reprint 1971); haines, bot. bih. or.: 196 (1922); deb, fl. tripura state 1: 407 (1981); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 282 (1934-reprint 1982); alam, pl. taxon. series, bull. 5: 93 (1988); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 95 (1990); long and rae, fl. bhut. 2(1): 141 (1991); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al. (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 227 (2000). (plate 1) large scrambling shrub; young shoots rusty pubescent, glabrous with age; internodes 1-5 cm long; prickles short, stout, recurved, usually solitary, glabrous or slightly pubescent at the base. leaves 7-10 × 3-4 cm, alternate, obliquely ovate or elliptic-oblong, acuminate, crenate, coriaceous, oblique at the base, glabrous, slightly pubescent on nerves, basally 3-nerved; petioles short, 0.8-1.0 cm long, pubescent, slightly channeled. inflorescence panicled cymes. flowers 5 mm across, sweet scented, in axillary and terminal pedunculate. pedicels very short. calyx lobes deltoid, 2 mm long, acute, glabrous within, rusty velvety outside. petals 1.5 mm long, obovate, clawed, spreading. stamens 5, equal to petals; filaments flat. disc thin, glabrous, 5-lobed, sometimes faintly 10-lobed. ovary 2-celled, glabrous; styles 2, divided to nearly the base, curved near apex. drupes ovate, 1.3-1.8 cm long, 1-celled, fleshy, glabrous, yellow when ripe. seed 1, 1 × 1 cm, black. fl. & fr.: march-october. ecology: grows in evergreen forests. geographical distribution: india, myanmar, malesia and borneo. economic importance: the fruits are edible (deb 1981). specimen examined: chittagong hill tracts: january, 1887, dr. king’s collector 244 (cal). 50 ara et al. plate 1. ziziphus funiculosa buch.ham. ex lawson. habit sketch (× 0.4). 2. ziziphus glabrata heyne ex roth, nov. pl. sp.: 159 (1821). wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 1: 15-16, t. 282 (1840); lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 633 (1875-reprint 1973); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 89 (1955); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 96 (1990); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al. (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 229 (2000). z. trinervia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 364 (1824) et 1: 614 (1832). z. trinervia var. glabratus heyne ex roth, nov. pl. sp.: 159 (1821). (plate 2) english name: jagged jujube. tree up to 8 m high, unarmed; branchlets glabrous. leaves 1.8-10.3 × 1.3-5.2 cm, alternate, lanceolate or ovate-oblong, apex acute, base rounded, crenulate, glabrous, coriaceous, glossy, dark green, basally 3-nerved; petioles 3-9 mm long; stipules filiform, deciduous. inflorescence axillary fascicles; peduncles 2-3 mm long. flowers 5-6 mm across, yellowish green, slightly puberulous; pedicles 4-5 mm long. calyx lobes 2-3 mm taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 51 long, glabrous inside. petals obtriangular with convolute margins, 1-2 mm long, acute or rounded at apex. stamens about 3 mm long; filaments flattened. disc faintly 10-lobed, glabrous, fleshy. ovary 2-celled, glabrous; styles 2, united to the middle, curved. fruits globose, 10-11 mm in diameter, 1-2-celled with a sweet gelatinous pulp. seeds soft, brownish. fl. & fr.: september-january. plate 2. ziziphus glabrata heyne ex roth. habit sketch (× 0.24). ecology: grows in foothills or slopes of hills. geographical distribution: india and bhutan. economic importance: fruits are well-known for possessing emollient and pectoral properties. matured fruits are sour but the dried ones are rather sweet. pulp of the fruits of the cultivated varieties are sweet, aromatic, mealy and white. people eat ripe fruits. the 52 ara et al. fruits are also dried in sun, preserved and consumped in off-season. ripe fruits are also eaten by boiling / stewing / baking with millet or rice. decoction of the leaves is applied to purify blood; it is also used in venereal diseases (bhandari and bhansali 1990). specimen examined: cox's bazar: cox's bazar, kelatuli forest, 21 iii 1945, sinclair s. n. (mentioned in sinclair (1955)). 3. ziziphus mauritiana lam., encycl. meth. bot. 3: 318 (1789). sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 89 (1955); khan and afza, dacca university studies, b 16: 38 (1968); qaiser and nazimuddin, fl. pakistan 140: 10 (1981); deb, fl. tripura state 1: 407 (1981); alam, pl. taxon. series, bull. 5: 94 (1988); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 99 (1990); long and rae, fl. bhut. 2(1): 138 (1991); rahman and hassan, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 66 (1995); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al. (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 233 (2000); khan and huq, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 59 (2001). ziziphus jujuba lam., encycl. 3: 318 (1789) (non miller, 1768); roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 1: 608 (1832); wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 1: t. 99 (1839); lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 632 (1875-reprint 1973); prain, beng. pl. 1: 234 (1903-reprint 1963); brandis, ind. trees: 169 (1906-reprint 1971); heining, list chittagong: 13 (1925); cowan, rec. bot. surv. ind. 11: 208-209 (1928); kanjilal et al., fl. assam, 1: 279 (1934-reprint 1982); datta and mitra, bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 36 (1953). (plate 3) bangla names: kul, boroi, gram-boroi, bagri, bogri. english names: chinese date, indian cherry, indian jujube, indian plum. large shrubs or trees, evergreen, up to 15 m tall. young branches densely yellowgray tomentose; spines solitary or in pairs, straight or one of them recurved. leaves 2-6 × 1.0-4.5 cm, alternate, variable, broadly elliptic or oblong, rarely subrounded, broadest at middle, base subrounded, slightly oblique, margin serrulate, apex rounded, rarely acute, pubescent or glabrous above, densely yellow or grey-white tomentose beneath, basally 3nerved; stipules spinescent. inflorescence short axillary cymes or few to 10-flowered fascicles; peduncles 1-8 mm long. flowers 4-6 mm across, green-white; pedicels 2-4 mm long in flowers, 5-8 mm in fruits, gray-yellow tomentose. calyx lobes ovate-triangular, glabrous inside, tomentose outside, tube campanulate. petals oblong-spatulate, clawed at the base, 1.0-1.5 mm long. stamens equal to petals. disk thick, fleshy, 10-lobbed, concave at middle. ovary globose, bilocular, glabrous; style short, 2-fid or branched to half; stigmatic lobes curved. drupes 1.0-1.2 × 1.0 cm, globose oblong or ovoid, orangeyellow, turning deep red, pulpy, with persistent tube at base; kernel irregularly furrowed with a hard, thick, boney shell. seeds 1 or 2, 6-7 × 5-6 mm, shiny, red-brown. fl. & fr.: august-february. taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 53 plate 3. ziziphus mauritiana lam. habit sketch (× 0.25). chromosome number: 2n = 48 (kumar and subramaniam 1986). ecology: grows well in dry places. geographical distribution: india, pakistan, sri lanka, afghanistan, china, australia and tropical africa. economic importance: the wood of the tree is reddish in colour and hard in quality. it is used in agricultural implements. it is also used as fuel and charcoal (bhandari and bhansali 1990). fruit acts as a medicine in astringency, stomatche, biliousness, digestion, blood purification, laxative, scabies, throat troubles, nausea and vomiting. it also possesses emollient and pectoral properties. bark is also used in astringency and in diarrhoea. powder of the bark is used in dressing to wounds. the powder is also an effective medicine in ulcers. root is helpful in curing fever, delirium, purgative, gout and rheumatism. tender leaves and twigs cures boils, abscesses and carbuncles (yusuf et al. 1994). 54 ara et al. specimens examined: bandarban: betchari area, 22 ix 2004, hosne ara ha 1190 (dacb). chittagong: rangapani to hazarikhil, 31 x 1978, huq, rahman & mia h. 4089 (dacb); mirsarai, 06 x 1970, khan & huq k. 2034 (dacb); chunati, 26 ix 2005, hosne ara ha 2264 (dacb). chittagong hill tracts: october, 1887, dr. king’s collector 606 (cal); 1886, dr. king’s collector 105 (cal). cox’s bazar: teknaf upazilla, nayapara, 08 vi 1988, mia, huq & mahfuz m. 1973 (dacb). dhaka: tejgaon, 24 ix 1942, atul (duh); abul ghani road, 15 x 1963, a.f. muhammed 18 (duh); j. n. hall campus, 18 vi 1968, paritosh 188 (duh). dinajpur: ramsagor area, 11 x 1980, huq, rahman, mia & mahbuba h. 4715 (dacb). faridpur: gaohati on magurafaridpur road, 06 x 1976, huq, rahman & mia h. 1965 (dacb). habiganj: kalenga beat, kalenga, 16 v 2005, hosne ara ha 1556 (dacb); satchori, 17 v 2005, hosne ara ha 1604 (dacb). khulna: jamtala, kotka, sundarban, 17 ii 2002 (dacb), sarder nasir uddin and dr. floris deodatus n 1290 (dacb). mymensing: haluaghat thana, koroitali, 20 vi 2004, hosne ara ha 904 (dacb). netrokona: utrail bazar, vabanipur, 18 vi 2004, hosne ara ha 844 (dacb). patuakhali: kolapara thana, tangragiri, khan, huq, rahman & mia k. 5842 (dacb). rangpur: testa near bridge, 04 xii 1985, khan, huq & mia k. 7511 (dacb). sherpur: samaschura beat, 10 x 2003, hosne ara 702 (dacb); rangtia range, gazni beat, 21 vi 2004, hosne ara ha 948 (dacb). sunamganj: sunamganj, maizbari, 12 x 1985, khan, huq & mia k. 7130 (dacb). sylhet: sarighat-jainta, 03 x 1983, huq, rahman, mia & mahbuba h. 6336 (dacb). tangail: dokhola, 06 x 2003, hosne ara ha 532 (dacb). note: ziziphus mauritiana lam. is often confused with z. jujuba mill. (z. vulgaris lam.). ziziphus mauritiana differs from z. jujuba by the leaves velvety tomentose beneath (not glabrescent pubescent) with flowering in august-september (not in mayjune). in bangladesh, z. jujuba does not occur. 4. ziziphus oenoplia (l.) mill., gard. dict. ed. 8: 3 (1768). roxb., fl. ind. 2: 360 (1824) et 1: 611 (1832); lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 634 (1875-reprint 1973); kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 1: 298 (1877); prain, beng. pl. 1: 234 (1903-reprint 1963); brandis, ind. trees: 170 (1906-reprint 1971); heining, list chittagong: 13 (1925); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 280 (1934-reprint 1982); datta and mitra, bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 36 (1953); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 89 (1955); deb, fl. tripura state 1: 408 (1981); alam, pl. taxon. series, bull. 5: 94 (1988); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 103 (1990); khan et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 32 (1994); rahman and hassan, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 66 (1995); rahman and uddin, bangladesh j. plant taxon 4(1): 27 (1997); uddin et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 29 (1998); uddin and rahman, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 49 (1999); rashid et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 51 (2000); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al. (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 236 taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 55 (2000); khan and huq, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 59 (2001); rahman et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 36 (2001). rhamnus oenoplia l., sp. pl.: 194 (1753). (plate 4) bangla names: anor, banboroi, bankul, but boroi, got-boroi, jonglikol, makoh, makhora, shealkul, shiakol, shyakul. english name: jackal jujube. plate 4. ziziphus oenoplia (l.) mill. habit sketch (× 0.25). erect, straggling or climbing shrub; branches fasciculate or not, often densely rusty tomentose; nodes slightly enlarged around the leaf scars. leaves 1-8 × 2-3 cm, alternate, obliquely ovate or elliptic, crenate or sub-entire, oblique at the base, subrounded, apex acute or acuminate, 3-4 nerved, softly pubescent above, softly pilose beneath; petioles 25 mm long, pubescent; stipular spines solitary, recurved. inflorescence axillary shortly pedunculate cymes. pedicels about 2 mm long, pilose. calyx lobes 1.5-2 mm long, ovatetriangular, apex acute, glabrous inside, brownish, apparently hairy outside. petals 0.8-1.0 mm long, spatulate, clawed, shorter than calyx. stamens 0.7-0.9 mm long. disc glabrous, 56 ara et al. 10-lobed; lobes opposite each calyx lobe, emarginate. ovary globose, glabrous, 2-celled, immersed in disk; styles 2, united to above the middle; stigma obtuse. drupe 5-7 × 5-6 mm, globose or ovoid-globose, small, base with persistent calyx tube, apex mucronulate, black and shining when ripe; fruiting pedicel 3-4 mm long, pilose. seeds 1-2, 1 cm long, shiny, globose. fl. & fr.: august-january. chromosome number: 2n = 20, 24, 48 (kumar and subramaniam 1986). ecology: grows along the roadside forests and thickets. geographical distribution: india, pakistan, sri lanka, malesia and australia. economic importance: the fruit is edible. the bark is used for tanning. the root possesses medicinal properties (deb 1981). specimens examined: chittagong: 03 x 1940, s.k. sen, n.l. pal & r. khan (duh); baraiyadhala to hazarikhil, 14 x 1978, khan & huq k. 5185 (dacb); chunati, 26 ix 2005, hosne ara ha 2265 (dacb). chittagong hill tracts: chittagong hill tracts, 1876, j.l. lister 63 (cal); september 1885, dr. king’s collector 122 (cal); 1886, dr. king’s collector 48 (cal); october, 1887, dr. king’s collector 598 (cal); february 1940, dr. s.k. mukerjee 5 (cal); kaptai, sitapahar east, 26 ii 1965, m. s. khan 1188 (duh). chuadanga: darshana, 13 xii 1988, huq, rahman & mia h. 8915 (dacb). comilla: lalmai hills, mainamati, 12 xi 1970, khan & huq k. 2161 (dacb). cox’s bazar: kelatuli, 30 xii 1944, james sinclair 3877 (cal); chakoria, 02 xii 1999, khan, mia, rashid & islam k. 10186 (dacb). dhaka: tejgaon, 24 ix 1942, atul (duh); 13 x 1943, s. k. sen (duh); kurmitolla, 13 xi 1963, din mohammad 102 (duh); gulshan area, 29 viii 1970, a.m. huq 120 (dacb); mirpur botanical garden, 15 xii 1979, huq, mia & momtaz m. 216 (dacb). dinajpur: ramsagor, 11 x 1980, huq, rahman, mia & mahbuba h. 4717 (dacb); singra forest, 18 vii 2005, hosne ara ha 2094. gazipur: joydebpur-sripur, 22 x 1977, khan, huq & rahman k. 4734 (dacb); joydebpur railway sides, 20 i 1987, m.k. mia m 1358 (dacb). habiganj: kalenga beat, kalenga, 06 v 2003, hosne ara 295 (dacb); satchori, 17 v 2005, hosne ara 1602 (dacb). khagrachhari: ramgarh, 31 xii 1985, huq & mia h. 7330 (dacb). kushtia: rajnagar to amjhupi, 26 ix 1978, khan & huq k. 5075 (dacb). moulvi bazar: lowachera forest, 19 i 1963, m.s. khan 478 (duh). mymensingh: mirzapur, 27 vi 1965, s. shaha 65 (duh); majra kura, karaitala, sal forest, 24 v 1989, mia, huq & rahman m. 2076 (dacb). nowabganj: nowabganj, 04 ix 2002, rezia, momtaz, bushra & harun r.k. 3875 (dacb). patuakhali: kolapara thana, kuakata, 05 i 1980, khan, huq, rahman & mia k. 5965 (dacb). rajshahi: near nawhati, 13 xii 1972, a.m. huq 654 (dacb); mohanpur, 18 xi 1988, huq, rezia, mahfuz & bushra h. 8763 (dacb). sherpur: samaschura beat, 10 x 2003, hosne ara ha 689 (dacb). sylhet: july 1905, s. abu hussain 66 (cal); roadside, asian highway through satgaon forest, 31 xii 1966, p. bhattacharjee 110 (duh); sylhet m.c. college compound, 12 x 1973, khan, huq & taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 57 hassan k. 3239 (dacb). tangail: dokhola, madhupur forest, 06 x 2003, hosne ara ha. 533 (dacb). 5. ziziphus rugosa lam., encycl. 3: 319 (1789). lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 636 (1875-reprint 1973); kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 1: 265 (1877); prain, beng. pl. 1: 234 (1903-reprint 1963); brandis, ind. trees: 171 (1906-reprint 1971); heinig, list chittagong: 13 (1925); kanjilal et al., fl. assam, 1: 281 (1934-reprint 1982); qaiser and nazimuddin, fl. pakistan 140: 11 (1981); deb, fl. tripura state 1: 408 (1981); alam, pl. taxon. series, bull. 5: 94 (1988); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 108 (1990); long and rae, fl. bhut. 2(1): 140 (1991); khan et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 32 (1994); rahman and hassan, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 66 (1995); bhandari and bhansali in n.p. singh et al., fl. ind. 5: 240 (2000). z. latifolia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 355 (1824); ed 2, 1: 607 (1832). z. glabra roxb., fl. ind., ed. 2, 1: 614 (1832); heinig, list chittagong: 13 (1925). (plate 5) bangla names: anai, jangli boroi, banboroi. plate 5. ziziphus rugosa lam. habit sketch (× 0.27). 58 ara et al. evergreen straggling shrub or small tree, 3-6 m tall, young branches rusty tomentose; bark dark grey or nearly black; spine 1, recurved, purple-red, 3-6 mm long. leaves 5-14 × 3-8 cm, alternate, dark-green, broadly ovate or broadly elliptic, serrate, oblique or subcordate or rounded at the base, acute or bluntly apiculate, glabrous above, rusty tomentose beneath, basally 3-5 nerved; petioles 5-7 mm long, tomentose. cymes on very long axillary or terminal rusty tomentose panicles. flowers minute, pale green; pedicels 3-4 mm long, densely tomentose. calyx lobes triangular, 1.5-2.5 mm long, tomentose outside. petals absent. stamens 1-2 mm long; anther lobes broadly ovate. disc 5-lobed, glabrous. ovary globose, immersed in the disc, 2-celled, villous or glabrous; style 2lobed, divided to middle, curved. drupes 6-12 × 8-10 mm, fleshy, obovoid-globose; fruiting pedicels 7-10 mm long, tomentose. seeds 2, black. fl. & fr.: january-june. chromosome number: 2n = 24 (kumar and subramaniam 1986). ecology: grows in hill slope and top of the hill. geographical distribution: india, pakistan, laos, myanmar, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. economic importance: the wood of the tree is reddish in colour and moderately hard in quality. the wood is susceptible to insect attack. main use of the wood is fuel. the fruits are consumed by people. the leaves are used as fodder. the bark is used as medicine in swelling in cheek and ulcer in mouth in powder form mixing with ghee (bhandari and bhansali 1990). specimens examined: chittagong hill tracts: 1876, j.l. lister (cal); february, 1887, dr. king’s collector 287, 369, 521 (cal); kaptai, sita pahar east, 26 ii 1965, m.s. khan 1188 (duh). dhaka: kurmitolla, 27 ii 1938, n.k. chatterji & s.k. sen (duh); ramna, 20 iii 1964, din mohammad 258 (duh); mirpur, 24 iii 1968, paritosh 52 (duh); savar, 13 iv 1969, panna 118 (duh). dinajpur: singhra forest, 15 i 1974, khan & huq k. 3604 (dacb); 18 viii 2005, hosne ara ha 2092 (dacb). gazipur: salna forest, 24 i 1968, n. begum 89 (duh). habiganj: chunarughat, chanbari beat, chanbari, 02 iv 1997, a.m. huq & a.i. h 10412 (dacb). mymensingh: rasulpur, 12 v 1983, huq, hassan & islam h. 5718 (dacb); madhupur forest; 28 ii 1987, huq, mia & habib h. 8189 (dacb). sherpur: gazni forest area, 05 v 1982, mia et al. m. 700b (dacb); 10 ii 1985, khan huq & mia k. 7112 (dacb); samaschura beat, 10 x 2003, hosne ara ha 652 (dacb). sylhet: satgaon forest road side, 14 iv 1967, p. bhattacharjee 240 (duh). 6. ziziphus xylopyrus (retz.) willd., sp. pl. 1: 1104 (1789). lawson in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 634 (1875-reprint 1973); prain, beng. pl. 234 (1903-reprint 1963); brandis, ind. trees: 171 (1906-reprint 1971); deb, fl. tripura state, 1: 409 (1981); bhandari and bhansali in m.p. nayar et al., fasc. fl. ind. 20: 112 (1990); bhandari taxonomic study of the genus ziziphus 59 and bhansali in n.p. singh et al., (eds.), fl. ind. 5: 243 (2000); uddin et al., bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(2): 77-79 (2000). rhamnus xylopyrus retz., obs. b. 2: 11 (1781). zizyphus caracutta roxb., fl. ind., ed. 2, 1: 612 (1832). (plate 6) plate 6. ziziphus xylopyrus (retz.) willd. habit sketch (× 0.39). large, straggling shrub or small tree, 6-10 m tall; young shoots rusty tomentose, spines in pairs on younger branches, one straight, the other curved; nodes swollen at the leaf scars. leaves 2.5-9.0 × 1.5-8.0 cm, alternate, broadly elliptic or orbicular, rarely ovate, crenate-serrate, rounded at apex, slightly oblique, subcordate at the base, 3-4 nerved; petioles 2-7 mm long, tomentose. inflorescence axillary, dense, dichotomous cymes; peduncles up to 15 cm long, branched, reddish to yellowish tomentose. flowers 4-6 mm across, yellowish green, buds ovoids, densely pubescent; pedicels 3-4 mm long, tomentose. calyx lobes 2.0-2.5 mm long, keeled up to the middle, glabrous inside, pubescent outside. petals 1.5-2 mm long, obovate. stamens 5, equal to petals. disc 1060 ara et al. lobed, rarely 5-lobed, glabrous. ovary globose, glabrous, 3-celled, 1 × 1 mm; styles 2-3, 2 mm long, hairy; stigma papillate. drupes globose, about 2 × 1 cm, white when ripe. seeds 3, 1-2 × 1.0-1.5 mm, black. fl. & fr.: march-january. chromosome number: 2n = 24 (kumar and subramaniam 1986). ecology: grows in deciduous forests. geographical distribution: india, nepal and sri lanka. economic importance: the wood of the tree is yellowish-brown in colour, hard and durable in quality. it is mainly used as fuel. the fruits and bark are used in tanning. the leaves are used as fodder. the kernel, not the pulp, of the fruit is consumed by people (bhandari and bhansali 1990). specimens examined: habiganj: chunarughat thana, kalenga forest range, kalenga beat area, 07 iv 2000, zashim 756 (duh); 06 v 2003, hosne ara ha 293 (dacb). acknowledgements thanks to the authorities and staff of the central national herbarium (cal) for allowing to use the herbarium and library facilities. thanks are also due to ruhul amin fakir and mahmuda akhter for line drawings, and ohid ullah and parvin akter for computer compose. references alam, m.k. 1988. annotated checklist of the woody flora of sylhet forests. plant taxonomy series, bull. 5. forest research institute, chittagong, pp. 1-153. bhandari, m.m. and bhansali, a.k. 2000. rhamnaceae. in: singh et al. (eds), flora of india. vol. 5. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 1-577. brandis, t.d. 1906. indian trees. indian reprint 1978. periodic experts book agency, delhi, pp.1-767. cowan, j.m. 1928. the flora of the chakaria sundarbans. rec. bot. surv. ind. 11: 197-225. cowan, a.m. and cowan, j.n. 1929. the trees of northern bengal. bengal secretariat book depot, calcutta, pp. 1-178. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1-2): 1-110. deb, d.b. 1981. the flora of tripura state. vol. 1. today & tomorrow’s printers and publishers, india, pp.1-509. farr, e.r., leussink, j.a. and stafleu, f.a. 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(received on 28 january 2008; revised on 30 april 2008) microsoft word 01. pedicularis.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 1-5, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of four endemic species of pedicularis l. from alpine zone of the deosai plateau, himalayan range abida bano, mushtaq ahmad1, mir ajab khan, muhammad zafar, shazia sultana and zahid ullah department of plant sciences, quaid-i-azam university, islamabad, pakistan keywords: pedicularis l.; deosai plateau; pollen morphology; sem analysis. abstract the pollen morphology with special reference to exine sculpturing of four species of the genus pedicularis l. has been examined by light and scanning electron microscope. comparative pollen analysis was made based on the type of pollen, shape in polar and equatorial views, p/e ratio, exine thickness and sculpturing of pollen. in this study, two types of pollen aperture configuration known in the genus were observed i.e., trisyncolpate and bi-syncolpate. pollen grains with microscabrate ornamentation were found in bi-syncolpate pollen for the first time. pollen fertility estimation ranged from 8795%, which shows that pollen flora of selected species is well established in alpine zone. introduction the deosai plateau (30°00΄ n, 75°30΄ e) is located in the north of the main himalayan range in baltistan, pakistan. the altitude of the deosai plateau is 4,115 meters above mean sea level. it is among the highest plateau of the world and is above the tree line. it is about 30 km from skardu and covers an area of almost 5,000 sq km, surrounded by himalayas and lies close to the magnificent karakorum mountain range, which include the second highest peak of the world k2 (8,611 m) (anonymous, 1993). the area is surrounded by snowy mountains exceeding 5,000 meters above mean sea level and suspended glaciers. at an average altitude of 3,500 meter, the deosai plateau is declared national park and protected area for wildlife in 1993 (anonymous, 1993). over half of the year (between september and may), deosai remains snow covered and inaccessible (snow is 7-8 meters deep). there are a number of small lakes and the river valleys sloping southeast. about 342 species of plants belonging to 36 families and 142 genera have been recorded from deosai. this high level biodiversity on the plateau is due to several reasons including topography, location of the plateau (junction of 4 major mountain ranges) and local adaptation of its plant and animal species (woods et al., 1997). sultana et al. (2007) worked on altitudinal distribution of grasses, sedges and rushes of the deosai plateau and found that majority of the species were found at high altitude due to availability of plenty of moisture and favourable weather conditions. pollen morphological characters have been used for the identification of taxa (erdtman, 1966). pehlivan et al. (2009) worked on pollen morphology of ten taxa of family umbelliferae and concluded that the most variable pollen characteristics among the investigated taxa are the polar axis, equatorial axis and colpus length. köksal et al. (2010) studied the pollen grains of potentilla recta l. groups a, b & c and compared them using light microscope (lm), scanning electron microscope (sem) and transmission electron microscope (tem) to elucidate their taxonomic position at species or subspecies level. the genus pedicularis l. belonging to the family scrophulariaceae comprises of 800 species worldwide (mill, 2001) and is one of the largest angiosperm genus in the northern hemisphere (mabberley, 1987; yang et al., 1998). based on light microscopy (lm), some scattered pollen 1corresponding author. email: mushtaqflora@hotmail.com 2 bano et al. data were reported from european (risch, 1939; belkina, 1972) and indian (dutta and chanda, 1979) members of pedicularis. tsoong and chang (1965) recognized three types of pollen aperture in the genus, i.e., tri-colpate, trisyncolpate and bi-syncolpate. details on exine ornamentation start to emerge when pollen from two turkish (inceoğlu, 1981) and one canadian species (minkin and eshbaugh, 1989) was reported and illustrated using lm and scanning electron microscopy (sem). there are no reports on palynological studies of this genus from the himalayans range of pakistan. four endemic species of pedicularis, namely p. bicornata kl., p. chielanthifolia schrenk, p. pectinata wall. ex benth. and p. punctata decne are for the first time reported here with reference to palynological diversity by light microscopy (lm) and scanning electron microscopy (sem). materials and methods four pedicularis species used in this study were p. bicornata kl., p. chielanthifolia schrenk, p. pectinata wall. ex benth. and p. punctata decne. for light microscopy, pollen grains were treated by acetolysis (erdtman, 1960) and mounted in glycerin jelly. different parameters were studied including pollen shape, aperture type, exine sculpturing, polar and equatorial diameter, p/e ratio and exine thickness. the pollen fertility estimation was determined according to the technique used by khan and stace (1999). the percentage of full stained grains was calculated after staining with a mixture of equal amounts of 1% aceto-carmine and neutral glycerin. the pollen grains were prepared for scanning electron microscopy (sem) by the methods described by erdtman (1952). the pollen grains suspended in a drop of water were directly transferred to a double sided tape affixed stub with a fine pipette and coated with gold in a sputtering chamber (ionsputter jfc-1100). coating was restricted to 150a. the specimens were examined with jeol microscope jsm-t200 at 15 kv and photographed. results and discussion pollen of all selected four species of pedicularis are remarkably uniform in their pollen characters. maximum pollen size i.e. 40 µm was found in p. punctata in polar view and minimum pollen size 20 µm in polar view was observed in p. pectinata. whereas maximum pollen size in equatorial view was 35 µm in p. punctata and minimum was 22.5 µm in p. pectinata. pollen shape in equatorial view also varies including oblate-spheroidal in p. bicornuta and p. pectinata (p/e: 0.90 and 0.88), prolate-spheroidal in p. chielanthifolia (p/e:1) and subprolate in p. punctata (p/e:1.14) (table 1). table 1. pollen morphological characters of four pedicularis species. taxon shape aperture type polar diameter (µm) equatorial diameter (µm) p/e ratio exine thickness (µm) exine sculpturing % fertility p. bicornuta kl. os tri syncolpate 25 (24.5-26) 27.5 (26.5-28) 0.90 1.25 (1-1.75) psilate 94 p. chielanthifolia schrenk ps tri syncolpate 30 (28.5-31) 30 (28.5-31) 1 1.87 (1.5-2) psilate 87 p. pectinata wall. ex benth. os bisyncolpate 20 (19.5-21) 22.5 (21-23) 0.88 3.12 (2.75-3.75) microscabrate 95 p. punctata decne sp bisyncolpate 40 (39.5-41) 35 (34.5-36) 1.14 2.5 (1.75-2.75) microscabrate 90 os = oblate-spheroidal, ps= prolate-spheroidal, sp= subprolate pollen morphology of pedicularis l. 3 based on the current study, two types of pollen aperture configuration (tsoong and chang, 1965) known in the genus were observed, viz., tri-syncolpate and bi-syncolpate. in the present study, p. bicornuta and p. chielanthifolia have tri-syncolpate pollen (fig. 1, 1a & 2a), whereas p. pectinata and p. punctata have bi-syncolpate pollen (fig. 1, 3a & 4a). the ancestral pollen type in this genus was considered to be tri-colpate (tsoong and chang, 1965; wang et al., 2003), fig.1. scanning electron microscope (sem) micrographs of pollen grains of pedicularis species. 1. p. bicornuta (tri-syncolpate) a polar view, b equatorial view, c exine sculpturing. 2. p. chielanthifolia (trisyncolpate) a polar view, b equatorial view, c exine sculpturing. 3. p. pectinata a mesocolpium view, b equatorial view, c exine sculpturing. 4. p. punctata a mesocolpium view, b equatorial view, c exine sculpturing. (scales: a+b = 5 µm, c = 2 µm). 4 bano et al. which is usually present in some ‘primitive’ or early diverging species. recent molecular data also revealed that the early diverging clades of this genus possess tri-colpate pollen (ree, 2005). moreover, tri-colpate pollen grains do not occur in a monophyletic group cyathophora, which is endemic to the eastern himalaya-hengduan mountains region (yu and wang, 2008). the exine of pollen grains of pedicularis is extremely thin, and it is difficult to distinguish the exine ornametation under lm (erdtman, 1960; beug, 1961; tsoong and chang, 1965; dutta and chanda, 1979). however, some studies considered that pollen grains in pedicularis are smoothsurfaced (tsoong and chang, 1965; yang et al., 2002), but others found a distinct variation of exine ornamentation (inceŏglu, 1981; minkin and eshbaugh, 1989; wang et al., 2003). the extensive investigation of the exine of some chinese species of pedicularis using sem recognised the presence of five types of exine ornamentation: i.e., microfoveolate, microreticulate, microrugulate, microscabrate and retipilate (wang et al., 2003). sem observations also revealed three types of aperture configurations, each of which could be subdivided, making a total of eight sub-types (wang et al., 2003; yu and wang 2008). in the present study, the exine ornamentation was psilate with completely smooth surface in p. bicornuta and p. chielanthifolia (tri-syncolpate) (fig 1, 1c & 2c). pollen grains with microscabrate ornamentation were found in bi-syncolpate pollen (p. pectinata and p. punctata) for the first time (fig. 1, 3c & 4c). this exine ornamentation was earlier found in species with tri-syncolpate pollen grains according to wang et al. (2009). so far, only 59 species of pedicularis were studied using sem, therefore, it is difficult to provide relatively complete data of the exine ornamentation in pedicularis (wang et al., 2009). more studies are still needed in future, utilizing cosmopolitan material, to achieve more conclusive results. references anonymous, 1993. district census report of northern areas of pakistan. statistical division, ministry of population, pakistan, pp. 1-12. belkina, k.v. 1972. new palynological data on taxonomy of yakutian species of pedicularis l. bot. zhurn. 57: 822-825. beug, h.j. 1961. leitfaden der pollenbestimmung fur mitteleuropa and angrenzende gebiete. lieferung, 1. gustav fischer, stuttgart, pp. 1-63. dutta, n.m. and chanda, s. 1979. pedicularis linn.: taxonomically an advanced genus but palynologically primitive. birbal sahni institute of palaeobotany. proc. 4th int. palynological conf. vol. 1. lucknow, pp. 539-541. erdtman, g. 1952. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy. angiosperms. chronica. erdtman, g. 1960. the acetolysis technique, a revised description. svensk. bot. tidskr. 54: 561-564. erdtman, g. 1966. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy: angiosperms with addendum. hafner publ. co., new york. inceog˘lu, o¨ 1981. pollen grains in some turkish rhinantheae (scrophulariaceae). grana 21: 83-96. khan, m.a. and stace, c.a. 1999. breeding relationship in the genus brachepodium (poaceae). nordic j. bot. 19: 257-269. köksal, e., aşci, b. and pinar, n.m. 2010. a comparison of pollen grains of potentilla recta l. (rosaceae) groups a, b & c in turkey. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 93-96. minkin, j.p. and eshbaugh, w.h. 1989. pollen morphology of the orobanchaceae and rhinanthoid scrophulariaceae. grana 28: 1-18. mill, r.r. 2001. notes relating to the flora of bhutan: xliii. scrophulariaceae (pedicularis). edinburgh j. bot. 58: 57-98. mabberley, d.j. 1987. the plantbook. cambridge univ. press, cambridge, p. 54. pollen morphology of pedicularis l. 5 pehlivan, s., başer, b. and cabi, e. 2009. pollen morphology of 10 taxa belonging to prangos lindl. and ekimia h. duman & m.f. watson (umbelliferae) from turkey and its taxonomic significance. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 165-174. ree, r.h. 2005. phylogeny and the evolution of floral diversity in pedicularis (orobanchaceae). international j. plant sci. 166: 595-613. risch, c. 1939. die pollenko¨rner der in deutschland wild wachsenden scrophulariaceen. ber dtsch. bot. ges. 57: 108-121. sultana, k., shah, m. and upson, t.m. 2007. altitudinal distribution of grasses, sedges and rushes of deosai plateau. electronic j. environ. agric. & food chem. 6: 2517-2525. tsoong, p.c. and chang, k.t. 1965. palynological study of pedicularis and its relation with the taxonomic systems of the genus. acta phytotaxon. sin. 10: 257-281. wang, h., mill, r.r. and blackmore, s. 2003. pollen morphology and infrageneric evolutionary relationships in some chinese species of pedicularis (scrophulariaceae). plant syst. evol. 237: 1-17. wang, h., yu, w.b., chen, j.q. and blackmore, s. 2009. pollen morphology in relation to floral types and pollination syndromes in pedicularis (orobanchaceae). plant syst. evol. 277: 153-162. woods, c.a., kilpatrick, c.w., rafiq, m., shah, m. and khan, w. 1997. biodiversity and conservation of the deosai plateau, northern areas, pakistan. in: mufti, s.a., woods, c.a. and hasan, s.a. (eds.), biodiversity of pakistan. pakistan museum of natural history, islamabad, pakistan, pp. 33-61. yang, h.b., holmgren, n.h. and mill, r.r. 1998. pedicularis. in: wu, c.y. and raven, p.h. (eds.), flora of china, vol. 18. science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 97-209. yang, c.f., guo, y.h., gituru, r.w. and sun, s.g. 2002. variation in stigma morphology how does it contribute to pollination adaptation in pedicularis (orobanchaceae). plant syst. evol. 236: 89-98. yu, w.b. and wang, h. 2008. pollen morphology of pedicularis sect. cyathophora, a group endemic to the eastern himalaya-hengduan mountains region. j. integr. plant biol. 50: 224-252. (manuscript received on 21 october, 2010; revised on 17 april, 2012) microsoft word 08. s3_cyanobacteria_edited_11.6.2011 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 73-76, 2011 (june) ` short communication © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists occurrence of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria during different stages of paddy cultivation kaushal kishore choudhary* department of botany, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur-842001, bihar, india keywords: cyanobacteria; diversity; nitrogen-fixing; rice fields; north bihar. rapid decline in soil fertility and productivity due to excessive application of chemical fertilizer particularly nitrogen and its increasing cost has induced to develop alternate biological sources of nitrogenous fertilizers (boussiba, 1991). biological fertilizers maintain the nitrogen status of the soils and helps in optimum crop production to meet the demand of increasing human populations while maintaining the agricultural practices sustainable. with establishment of agronomic potential of cyanobacteria (singh, 1950), these photosynthetic prokaryotes were applied and studied for enrichment of different living ecosystems with nitrogenous compounds. cyanobacteria are endowed with a specialized structure ‘heterocyst’ with ‘nitrogenase complex’ capable of converting unavailable sources of molecular nitrogen into nitrogenous compounds (ernst et al., 1992). the ability of cyanobacteria to fix atmospheric nitrogen is increasing concern worldwide to exploit this tiny living system for nitrogenous fertilizers for sustainable agriculture practices. advances in cyanobacteria have revealed their significant contribution in promoting the fertility of the soil and water including marine by adding nitrogen and phosphorus. cyanobacteria contribute phosphorus to the soil by mobilizing the insoluble organic phosphates present in the soil with enzyme ‘phosphatses’ (whitton et al., 1991). moreover, cyanobacteria enhance the water holding capacity by adding polysaccharidic material to the soil (richert et al., 2005) that increases the soil aggregation property. cyanobacteria have also been reported to excrete growth promoting substances into the soil (karthikeyan et al., 2007). in view of cyanobacterial potential, distribution and diversity of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in rice fields has been extensively studied (khan et al., 1994; prasanna and nayak, 2007; begum et al., 2008; choudhary, 2009; choudhary and bimal, 2010). the present study has been aimed to enumerate the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria belonging to family microchaetaeceae, rivulariaceae and scytonemataceae (nostocales) in rice fields of north bihar. study sites: the study was conducted in certain rice fields of muzaffarpur district situated at latitude 26°7'12"n and longitude 85°24'0"e of north bihar. documentation of proposed cyanobacterial diversity was conducted during rice cultivation cycle by assuming that rice fields witnesses a gradual decrease in temperature and nutrient status with progress in cultivation cycle. * e-mail: kkc1970@gmail.com 74 choudhary enumeration of cyanobacterial diversity: heterogeneous biomasses of cyanobacteria growing on moist soil surfaces, floating on the water bodies and attached to rice plants were randomly collected from upland and lowland rice fields on 20th, 40th and 60th days of rice seedlings plantation. table 1. distribution of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria belonging to family microchaetaceae, rivulariaceae and scytonemataceae (nostocales) during different stages of paddy cultivation. (+ = presence; – = absence; r = rare) sl. no. species family 20 days 40 days 60 days 1. calothrix fusca (kützing) bornet & flahault rivulariaceae r 2. calothrix javanica de wildeman rivulariaceae + + + 3. calothrix viguieri frémy rivulariaceae + 4. fortiea incerta skuja microchaetaceae + 5. gloeotrichia echinulata j.e. smith ex p.g. richter rivulariaceae  + 6. gloeotrichia indica schmidle rivulariaceae  + 7. gloeotrichia kurziana zeller rivulariaceae  + + r 8. gloeotrichia longicauda schmidle rivulariaceae  + + 9. gloeotrichia natans (hedwig) rabenhorst ex bornet & flahault rivulariaceae  + + 10. gloeotrichia pilgeri schmidle rivulariaceae  + 11. gloeotrichia pisum (c. agardh) thuret ex bornet & flahault rivulariaceae  + 12. gloeotrichia raciborskii var conica dixit rivulariaceae  + 13. microchaete grisea thuret microchaetaceae + 14. microchaete tenera thuret ex bornet microchaetaceae  + + + 15. microchaete uberrima n. carter microchaetaceae  + + 16. microchaete violacea frémy microchaetaceae  r 17. plectonema notatum schmidle scytonemataceae + + 18. plectonema tomasinianum (kützing) gomont ex gomont scytonemataceae r 19. rivularia aquatica de wildeman rivulariaceae  + + 20. rivularia beccariana (de notaris) bornet & flahault rivulariaceae  + 21. rivularia manginii fremy rivulariaceae  r 22. scytonema cincinnatum (kützing) thuret scytonemataceae  + 23. scytonema fritschii s. l. ghose scytonemataceae  + + + 24. scytonema pascheri bharadwaja scytonemataceae  r 25. scytonema simplex bharadwaja scytonemataceae  + + + 26. scytonema varium kützing scytonemataceae  + + 27. tolypothrix tenuis (kützing) scytonemataceae + +   the samples were collected in culture tube (50 ml) with 20 ml nutrient medium (rippka et al., 1979) and brought to the laboratory. the taxonomic enumeration of cyanobacterial occurrence of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria 75 species diversity was performed microscopically with collected samples (fresh materials) in the laboratory. the taxa were identified using morphological features such as cell size, shape, morphology of the terminal cell, presence or absence of heterocysts and akinetes (desikachary, 1959). twenty-seven nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial species belonging to microchaetaeceae, rivulariaceae and scytonemataceae (nostocales) were recorded from field samples collected on 20th, 40th and 60th day of rice seedling plantation. out of 27 species, 8 were represented by gloeotrichia, 5 by scytonema, 4 by microchaete, 3 by calothrix and rivularia each, 2 by plectonema and 1 by tolypothrix and fortiea each. cyanobacterial species diversity was represented by 26 species (8 genera) on 60th day, 12 species (7 genera) on 40th day and 6 species (4 genera) on 20th day of rice seedling plantation with some common forms (table 1). the gradual increase in diversity of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria with progress in paddy cultivation was assumed to be related with increase in rice canopy that causes a decrease in light intensity reaching to the surface of the soil and depletion of nutrients particularly nitrogen. similar distribution pattern of cyanobacterial diversity was reported for fertilized and unfertilized rice fields (choudhary and bimal, 2010). granhall et al. (1987) reported the predominance of nitrogen fixation and cyanobacterial number under low concentration of nitrogen fertilizer. finally, it might be proposed that documentation on nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and their application in the rice fields can be used for management of nitrogen fertilizer at different stages of paddy cultivation for sustainable agricultural practices by making the field environment supportive for nitrogen-fixers. acknowledgements the author is grateful to head, department of botany, b.r.a. bihar university, muzaffarpur, bihar for providing laboratory facilities. the author is also thankful to prof. r. bimal for his support. references begum, z.n.t., mandal, r. and amin, f.b. 2008. quantification and nitrogen fixation of cyanobacteria in rice field soils of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 183-188. boussiba, s. 1991. nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria potential uses. plant & soil 137(1): 177-180. choudhary, k.k. 2009. occurrence of chroococcaceae during rice cultivation in northern bihar, india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 57-63. choudhary, k.k. and bimal, r. 2010. distribution of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria (nostocaceae) during rice cultivation in fertilized and unfertilized paddy fields. nord. j. botany 28(1): 100-103. desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. indian council of agricultural research, new delhi, india. pp. 1-686. 76 choudhary ernst, a., black, t., cai, y., panoff, j.m., tiwari, d.n. and wolk, c.p. 1992. synthesis of nitrogenase in mutants of the cyanobacterium anabaena sp. pcc 7120 affected in heterocyst development. j. bacteriol. 174(19): 6025-6032. granhall, u., kulassoriya, s.a., hirimburegama, w.k., de silva, r.s.y. and lindberg, t. 1987. nitrogen fixation in some rice soils in sri lanka. world j. microb. biotech. 3(4): 67-88. karthikeyan, n., prasanna, r., nain, l. and kaushik, b.d. 2007. evaluating the potential of plant growth promoting cyanobacteria as inoculants for wheat. eur. j. soil biol. 43(1): 23-30. khan, z.u.m., begum, z.n.t., mandal, r. and hossain, m.z. 1994. cyanobacteria in rice soils. world j. microb. biotech. 10(3): 296-298. prasanna, r. and nayak, s. 2007. influence of diverse rice ecologies on cyanobacterial diversity and abundance. wetl. ecol. management 15(2): 127-134. richert, l., golubic, s., le guédès, r., ratiskol, j., payri, c. and guezennec, j. 2005. characterization of exopolysaccharides produced by cyanobacteria isolated from polynesian microbial mats. curr. microbiol. 51(6): 379-384. rippka, r., josette, d., waterbury, j.b., herdman, m. and stanier, r.y. 1979: generic assignments, strain histories and properties of pure cultures of cyanobacteria. j. gen. microbiol. 111(1): 1-61. singh, r.n. 1950. reclamation of usar lands in india through blue-green algae. nature 165(4191): 325-326. whitton, b.a., grainger, s.l.j., hawley, g.r.w. and simon, j.w. 1991. cell-bound and extracellular phosphatase activities of the cyanobacterial isolates. microbial ecol. 21(1): 85-98. (manuscript received on 26 september 2010; revised on 3 march 2011) microsoft word 08. 40-08 can.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 65-71, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists anatomical studies in salvia viridis l. (lamiaceae) canan özdemir, pelin baran and kamuran aktaş1 department of biology, faculty of art and science, celal bayar university, 45030 muradiye, manisa, turkey. keywords: anatomy; lamiaceae; morphology; salvia viridis. abstract anatomical properties of two morphologically distinct forms (form i: with violet coma and form ii: without coma or with white, green or pink coma) of salvia viridis l. have been studied. the analysis provided here studying the cross-sections of root, stem, leaf, petiole, bract, calyx and corolla comprises the first detailed description for the species. the results are furnished with photographs and drawings. although no anatomical differences were observed between the forms, s. viridis showed some differences from other salvia species. introduction salvia l., the largest genus of the family lamiaceae, represents an enormous and cosmopolitan assemblage of nearly 1000 species displaying a remarkable range of variation. turkey is a major diversity centre for salvia in asia (vural and adıgüzel, 1996), with 90 species, 47 of which are endemic to this country. salvia viridis l. is the only annual species of salvia in turkey. there are several distinct forms based on coma features. in turkey, the most frequent is that with a prominent violet coma consisting of sterile bracts (form i). specimens without coma or with white, green or pink coma (form ii) are less frequent (hedge, 1982). detail information on anatomical properties of s. viridis cannot be found in the existing literature. an attempt, therefore, has been taken to study the anatomy of s. viridis for the first time to elucidate its taxonomic implications. materials and methods plant samples were collected from natural populations. some of the samples were used for anatomical observations and some of them were dried as herbarium sample. the investigated forms were collected from the following locations: form i: samsun: kalkanca, roadside, 900 m, 13.05.2003, özdemir 034; and form ii: manisa: gölmarmara, near lakeside, 79 m, 16.04.2005, baran 020. anatomical studies were carried out on the samples kept in alcohol 70%. the parafin method was applied for preparing the cross-sections of root, stem, leaf, petiole, calyx and corolla (algan, 1981). results are presented with original drawings and photographs and 1 corresponding author. e-mail: kamuran.aktas@bayar.edu.tr 66 özdemir et al. in tables. no distinction is made between the two forms in data presentation since no difference was observed between them. results and discussion root: annual root of the species had a periderm 3-5-layered at the outermost of the cross-section. the fellem elements of this layer were dark coloured and crushed in places. flattened parenchyma cells of cortex were located under periderm. cortex parenchyma cells were 12-20-layered and gradually getting smaller towards the center. cambium was not clear and rarely 1-2-layered under phloem. pith was not parenchymatic since the center was filled with xylem. diameter of trachea was enlarging towards the center. pith rays were 1-3-layered (fig. 1, table 1). table 1. measurements of different cells and tissues of salvia viridis. length (µm) width (µm) range mean ± sd range mean ± sd root peridermis cell 10.6 42.4 25.2 ± 9.8 15.9 79.4 42.4 ± 21.7 parenchyma cell 7.9 37.1 20.6 ± 12.6 7.9 68.8 34.7 ± 21.4 pith ray 5.3 68.8 23.3 ± 18.4 trachea cell 10.6 84.7 45.8 ± 33.6 stem epidermal cell 10.6 47.6 27.9 ± 11.9 10.6 58.2 23.3 ± 10.7 parenchyma cell 10.6 58.2 34.4 ± 20.4 trachea cell 5.3 47.6 26.8 ± 19.9 pith cell 15.9 211.6 92.6 ± 78.0 leaf cuticle 5.3 7.9 6.6 ± 1.5 adaxial epidermal cell 10.7 75.0 34.3 ± 19.6 16.1 96.4 53.0 ± 33.6 abaxial epidermal cell 7.9 47.6 25.4 ± 15.6 7.9 79.4 33.3 ± 24.3 mesophyll region 63.4 185.3 114.9 ± 39.6 palisade region 44.9 105.9 67.5 ± 18.8 spongy region 18.5 79.4 47.4 ± 20.8 palisade cell 26.5 58.2 39.7 ± 11.7 10.6 26.5 17.5 ± 4.5 spongy cell 10.6 31.8 19.3 ± 7.3 sd, standard deviation. stem: epidermal cells at the quadrangular stem were oval, squarish and nearly rectangular in the cross-section. at the corners of stem, there were collenchyma 2-5layered under epidermal. parenchyma was 5-7-layered consisting of oval or nearly circular cells. vascular bundles at the corners were larger than the others. in the vascular bundles, phloem was located under sclerenchyma and a large xylem was located under anatomical studies in salvia viridis 67 phloem. a very large pith was present at the centre of stem, so the vascular bundles were placed near the periphery of stem. pith cells were parenchymatic (figs 2a-b, table 1). fig. 1. the root sections of salvia viridis. ca: cambium, cp: cortex parenchyma, p: pith, pe: peridermis, ph: phloem, pr: pith ray, t: trachea, x: xylem. leaf: adaxial epidermal cells were larger than abaxial epidermal cells. especially, epidermal cells at the region of median vein were larger than others. leaf was bifacial. palisade parenchyma was 1-2-layered. in the median vein of leaf, phloem and sclerenchyma surrounding it were clear and xylem rays were usually four. epidermal 68 özdemir et al. cells had sinuous walls in the superficial sections. stomata were diacytic and present on both surface of leaf (figs 2c-f, table 1). fig. 2. the stem and leaf sections, and leaf surface of salvia viridis. a-b. stem sections; c-d. leaf sections; e. adaxial epidermis of leaf; f. abaxial epidermis of leaf. ab: abaxial epidermis, ad: adaxial epidermis, co: collenchyma, cp: cortex parenchyma, cu: cuticle, e: epidermis, eh: eglandular hair, gh: glandular hair, p: pith, ph: phloem, pp: palisade parenchyma, s: sclerenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, st: stomata, t: trachea, v: vascular bundle, x: xylem. petiole: single-layered epidermis consisted of oval or nearly circular cells in the cross-section of petiole. parenchyma under epidermis was 5-10-layered consisting of circular cells. parenchyma cells had clear intercellular spaces. few-layered collenchyma anatomical studies in salvia viridis 69 was located in places under epidermis. in the center of cross-section, there was a large single vascular bundle consisting of 31-37 xylem rays. this vascular bundle sometimes consisted of 2 or 3 lobes. in the cross-section, there were 2-4 small vascular bundles at the end of petiole. vascular bundles were collateral (figs 3a-d, table 1). fig. 3. the petiole, calyx and corolla sections of salvia viridis. a-d. petiole sections; e-g. calyx sections; h-j. corolla sections. ab: abaxial epidermis, ad: adaxial epidermis, cu: cuticle, e: epidermis, eh: eglandular hair, gh: glandular hair, pa: parenchyma, ph: phloem, pl: papilla, s: sclerenchyma, t: trachea, v: vascular bundle, x: xylem. 70 özdemir et al. bracts: adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells of the bracts were nearly rectangular. parenchyma cells between two epidermal layers were flattened and nearly rectangular. calyx: parenchyma cells between epidermal layers were round, and had large intercellular spaces and a lot of chloroplasts. they were close together around vascular bundles. in vascular bundles, there was a large sclerenchyma on phloem. epidermal cells of calyx had sinuous walls in the superficial section. stomata were diacytic and present at epidermis (figs 3e-g, table 1). corolla: a thin cuticle was present on epidermis. the outer side of epidermal cells did not have papilla. epidermal cells were oval, roundish or squarish. parenchyma between two epidermal layers was 1-2-layered. a lot of vascular bundles were arranged in corolla circle. epidermal cells of corolla had sinuous walls in the superficial section (figs 3h-j, table 1). pith rays of lamiaceae family are 2-12 or more rowed and quite heterogeneous in structure (metcalfe and chalk, 1972). in salvia species recorded in the literature, pith rays are 1-10-rowed and root center is filled with primery xylem (çobanoğlu, 1988; çobanoğlu et al., 1992; özdemir and şenel, 1999). the root center of s. forskahlei l. has a large pith consisting of parenchymatic cells and the pith rays are 2-40-rowed (özdemir and şenel, 2001). row number of pith rays can be used as a species-distinguishing feature, because it differs in every species. the characteristic feature of lamiaceae family is a quadrangular stem and a welldeveloped collenchyma, supporting tissue at the corners of stem (metcalfe and chalk, 1972). these features were seen in s. viridis. woody stem of s. forskahlei has sclerenchyma groups upon the phloem and also a sclerenchymatic ring upon the sclerenchyma groups, but the herbaceous stem has only a sclerenchymatic ring (özdemir and şenel, 2001). the stem of s. viridis had clear sclerenchyma groups upon the phloem, but did not have any sclerenchymatic ring. cambium in salvia species examined is 2-3layered or sometimes unclear (çobanoğlu, 1988; özdemir and şenel, 1999, 2001). s. viridis examplifies the latter type. leaf mesophyll of salvia species is entirely parenchymatic and the median vein of leaf is surrounded by collenchyma (metcalfe and chalk, 1972). lacunar collenchyma forming around intercellular spaces is present in salvia genus (yentür, 1995). this characteristic was found in s. viridis. the arrangement of vascular bundles in the petiole of lamiaceae is important in the point of taxonomy (metcalfe and chalk, 1972). nakipoğlu and oğuz (1990) separated the vascular bundles of seven salvia species into two groups as those in the species with basal leaves and those in the species without basal leaves. according to this separation, the central vascular bundles of the species with basal leaves were divided, while those of the species without basal leaves were single, large and undivided. salvia argentea l., a plant with basal leaves, had 4-7 central vascular bundles and 3-5 small bundles at each anatomical studies in salvia viridis 71 end of petiole. our finding correspondes with that of nakipoğlu and oğuz (1990), since s. viridis is a plant without basal leaves and the central vascular bundle of the petiole was single and undivided. the analysis given in this account provides the first detailed description of anatomy of s. viridis. the two morphologically distinct forms (forms i and ii) of s. viridis showed no qualitative and quantitative differences in anatomy. some anatomical differences, however, were identified between this species and other salvia species reported in the literature. from the anatomical observations it could be concluded that the investigated forms of s. viridis belong to the same species showing morphological variations to some extent. references algan, g. 1981. bitkisel dokular i̇çin mikroteknik, fırat üniv. fen-ed. fak. yayın. bot. no: 1, i̇stanbul. (in turkish) çobanoğlu, d. 1988. salvia palaesthina bentham’ın (lamiaceae) morfolojik ve sitolojik özellikleri. doğa bilim dergisi: biyoloji, 12: 215-223. (in turkish) çobanoğlu, d., özel, s. and evren, h. 1992. salvia trichoclada bentham (lamiaceae) nin morfolojik özelikleri. xi. ulusal biyoloji kongresi, elazığ 24-27 haziran botanik, pp. 83-89. (in turkish) hedge, i.c. 1982. salvia l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 7. edinburgh univ. press, edinburgh, pp. 400-461. metcalfe, j.r. and chalk, l. 1972. anatomy of the dicotyledons. vol. 2. clarendon press, oxford, pp. 10411053. nakipoğlu, m. and oğuz, g. 1990. i̇zmir çevresinde yayılış gösteren bazı salvia (adaçayı) türlerinin biyosistematiği üzerine araştırmalar. e. ü. fen bil. enst. derg. 1(2): 23-29. (in turkish) özdemir, c. and şenel, g. 1999. the morphological, anatomical and karyological properties of salvia sclarea l. tr. j. botany 23(1): 7-18. özdemir, c. and şenel, g. 2001. the morphological, anatomical and karyological properties of salvia forskahlei l. (lamiaceae) in turkey. journal of economic and taxonomic botany 19: 297-313. vural, a. and adıgüzel, n. 1996. a new species from central anatolia: salvia aytachii m. vural et n. adıgüzel (labiatae). tr. j. botany 20(6): 531-534. yentür, s. 1995. bitki anatomisi. i̇stanbul üniv. fen fak. yay., i̇stanbul. (in turkish) (manuscript received on 12 november 2008; revised on 5 april 2009) microsoft word s-2. artimisia.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 203-204, 2011 (december) short communication © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists validation of the name artemisia anomala s. moore var. acuminatissima y. r. ling (asteraceae) wang zehuan and peng hua1 kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, kunming 650204, china. keywords: artemisia; asteraceae; nomenclature; validation. during the research on asteraceae, we found that artemisia anomala s. moore var. acuminatissima y. r. ling is not a validly published name under the article 37.1 of the international code of botanical nomenclature (mcneill et al., 2006). two collections, x. x. yang 16777 and h. migo s.n. were cited for artemisia anomala var. acuminatissima, but neither of them was designated as the type of the name of this variety in the protologue (ling, 1992). furthermore, these specimens could not be found in herbaria pe or nas. to enable the formal use of the name, artemisia anomala var. acuminatissima is validated herein by the designation of another specimen in kun as the holotype. as the name and validating diagnosis are ascribed to ling (1992), according to the article 46.2, y. r. ling is the author of the name artemisia anomala var. acuminatissima. validation artemisia anomala s. moore var. acuminatissima y. r. ling, var. nov. type: china, zhejiang province: hangzhou, southeastern slope of ju-lai-feng, in forest, 26 sep. 1958, anonymous 1214 (holotype: kun). validating diagnosis was provided by y. r. ling in guihaia 12(2): 104 (1992). artemisia anomala var. acuminatissima is similar to artemisia anomala s. moore var. anomala, both of them have glabrescent leaves, which distinguish them from another variety of this species, artemisia anomala s. moore var. tomentella hand.-mazz. while a. anomala var. acuminatissima and a. anomala s. moore var. anomala differs from each other in the shape and size of their leaves. a. anomala var. acuminatissima differs from a. anomala s. moore var. anomala in its elliptic-lanceolate or lanceolate leaves with a length of 18-22 cm, while is ovate, ovate-elliptic, or ovate-lanceolate leaves with a length of 9-15 cm of in the latter. artemisia anomala var. acuminatissima is known from south china, occurring in anhui, jiangxi and zhejiang province, and grows at low elevations along forest margins or roadsides. acknowledgements we are grateful to dr. xiang chunlei (kun) for his valuable comments on the manuscript. 1corresponding author: e-mail: hpeng@mail.kib.ac.cn 204 zehuan and hua references ling, y.r. 1992. addenda to artemisia l. in s.-e. china. guihaia 12: 104. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., burdet, h.m., demoulin, v., hawksworth, d.l., marhold, k., nicolson, d.h., prado, j., silva, p.c., skog, j.e., wiersema, j.h. and turland, n.j. (eds.) 2006. international code of botanical nomenclature (vienna code). adopted by the seventeenth international botanical congress vienna, austria, july 2005. a.r.g.. gartner verlag, ruggell. [regnum veg. 146] (manuscript received on 10 august 2010; revised on 20 november 2011) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 131-137, 2006 (december) pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh : family entodontaceae hamida khatun1 and syed hadiuzzaman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: pleurocarpous mosses, hypnobryales, entodontaceae, bangladesh abstract three species, namely, erythrodontium julaceum, pterigynandrum decolor and entodon flavescens under family entodontaceae are described with illustrations and a short note on each. introduction recent studies on the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh (khatun and hadiuzzaman 1994, 1995, 2003, 2004a, 2004b, 2005a, 2005b, 2006) revealed that among different groups of pleurocarpous mosses, the members of the family entodontaceae are not common. tixier (1967) studied some bryophytes based upon some collections from kaptai, cox’s bazar and hills of sitakund in bangladesh. he reported a number of pleurocarpous mosses only in the form of checklist which included erythrodontium julaceum from entodontaceae. nonetheless, a recent study on pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh revealed that the family entodontaceae of the order hypnobryales is represented by three species under three genera and these are erythrodontium julaceum, pterigynandrum decolor and entodon flavescens. in his monograph on mosses of eastern india and the adjacent regions, gangulee described all the three species (gangulee 1980), but did not give any information on their occurrence in bangladesh. furthermore, he mentioned entodon flavescens as endemic to the himalayas and pterigynandrum decolor as an endemic species of eastern himalayas. in this paper three species, namely, erythrodontium julaceum, pterigynandrum decolor and entodon flavescens, belonging to the family entodontaceae have been described and illustrated along with their distribution. an artificial key to the genera and species, and distinguishing characters of each species are also given here. family: entodontaceae medium-sized, slender, glossy plants in loose tuft. main stem creeping, irregularly to pinnately or sub-pinnately branched, branches generally julaceous. stem and branch leaves more or less similar, leaves crowded in many rows, usually appressed at least when dry, sometimes more or less complanate, mostly symmetric of various shape. costa 1corresponding author. 132 khatun and hadiuzzaman none or very short, double and delicate. leaves linear to oblong-linear, smooth, those at the basal angle quadrate and rectangular or transversely rectangular, sometimes in many oblique rows, alar very much differentiated. key to the genera of entodontaceae: 1. leaf cells smooth, alar cells forming a large conspicuous group extending obliquely about half way up the margins erythrodontium cells smooth or papillose, alar not as above 2 2. alar cells in many rows, quadrate, upper leaf cells short-rhomboid pterigynandrum alar cells not in many rows, irregular in shape, upper leaf cells not shortrhomboid but elongated entodon genus: erythrodontium hamp. in vid. medd. naturh. for. kjobenh. ser. 3, 2: 279 (1870) slender to moderately robust. stem elongate, branch rigid, more or less julaceous. leaves imbricate when dry, broadly oval or ovate-oblong, shortly apiculate from a strong decurrent base. leaf cells narrowly elliptic, alar cells in oblique series, rounded-quadrate or transversely rectangular, forming a large conspicuous group extending obliquely about half length of leaf. 1. erythrodontium julaceum (schwaegr.) par. in index. bryol.: 436 (1896) (plate 1) neckera julacea hook. ex schwaegr. in sp. musc. suppl. 3(1): 245 (1828) pterogonium squarrosum griff. in cal. j. nat. hist. 3: 63 (1843) pterogonium squarrosulum mont. in lond. j. bot. 4: 9 (1845) leptohymenium julaceum (schwaegr.) hamp. in linnaea 20: 83 (1847) pterogonium julaceum (schwaegr.) hook. in c. muell. syn. 2: 101 (1850) neckera squarrulosa c . muell in syn., 2: 101 (1850) pterogonium squarrulosum mont. in syn.: 21(1856) ortho. err. stereodon juliformis mitt. in musci ind. or.: 92 (1859) platygyrium julaceum (schwaegr.) bosch & lac. in bryol. java. 2: 107, 217 (1864) p. squarrosulum (mont.) jaeg. in ber. s. gall. naturw.ges. 1876-77: 277 (1878) entodon julaceus (schwaegr.) c. muell. in linnaea 42: 435 (1879) erythrodontium juliforme (mitt.) par. in index bryol.: 436 (1896) erythrodontium squarrulosum ( mont.) par. in index bryol.: 437 (1896) plant rigid, glossy, golden-green, brown in old, slender to moderately robust. stem elongate, prostrate, 5 cm or more long, branched, branches narrow, short, irregularly closely pinnate, julaceous, erect. leaves dense, terete, imbricate, closely appressed to stem when dry, oval or ovate-oblong when moist, c.1.04 mm long and 0.6 mm wide with suddenly narrowed short tip from a decurrent base, margin entire, nerveless. leaf cells narrowly elliptic to linear c. 37.92 × 13.2 µm at tip, c. 57.7 × 8.2 µm at middle. alar pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 133 rounded-quadrate, transversely rectangular, c. 17.5 × 8.7 µm forming large conspicuous triangular patches of cells extending obliquely about half way up the margins (length of the leaf) render it easily distinguishable. plate 1. erythrodontium julaceum (schwaegr.) par. a. dry plant (×6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c-e. leaves (×24), f. basal laminal cells (×200), g. apical laminal cells (×200), h. middle laminal cells (×200). specimens examined: this species is widely distributed all over the country. however, specimens were collected from the following districts: barisal (656, 660, 768), 134 khatun and hadiuzzaman brahmanbaria (155), bhola (728, 1336), bogra (1295), chittagong (760), dhaka (757, 1004), faridpur (514, 1441), rangamati (693), jamalpur (1292, 1323), jessore (695, 1423), khulna (1322), kushtia (692), madaripur (701), moulvi bazar (1287, 1408), mymensingh (637), narayanganj (644, 1324), naogaon (1203), noakhali (978), norsingdi (1348, 1510), rangamati (693), rangpur (1293), sirajganj (1448), sylhet (691, 27) and tangail (643). note: this species is distinguished by its brown (in old plants), rigid, julaceous habit, ovate, suddenly narrowed, short-tipped, ecostate leaves, basal angles on both sides with large triangular patches of transverse rectangular cells reaching to a considerable length on two margins. genus: pterigynandrum hedw. in sp. musc. : 80 (1801) pterigynandrum hedw. in lindb.: musc. scand.: 36 (1879) ortho. err. plants slender to medium sized, brownish mats. primary stems prostrate, branches elongate, slightly julaceous, irregularly closely branched. leaves closely imbricate, appressed when dry, slightly concave, ovate-oblong, small and narrowly acuminate, base decurrent, margin entire, nerve indistinct, sometimes distinct. cells linear-rhomboid, shorter at apex, alar cells in oblique series, rounded-quadrate and transversely rectangular, forming a large conspicuous group extending obliquely about half way up the margins. 2. pterigynandrum decolor (mitt.) broth. in nat. pft. 1(3): 892 (1907) (plate 2) stereodon decolor mitt. in musci ind. or.: 92 (1859) pylaisia brevifolia wils. in mitt. : id., nom. nud. in synon. pterigynandrum brandisii c. muell. in fleisch. : hedwigia, 59: 218 (1917) nom. nud. leptopterigynandrum decolor (mitt.) fleisch. in musci fl. buitenz., 4: 1496 (1923) creeping, branches filamentous, rigid, deep green to brownish-green, more or less glossy plants in tufts, branches terete and sometimes slightly flattened. leaves dense, erectropatent, appressed to stem when dry, in more than one row, slightly concave, ovate, acuminate, c. 0.84 × 0.45 mm, margin smooth or entire. costa usually absent, rarely double, faint, short, about 1/3 to 1/4th of leaf length. leaf cells rhomboid, non-papillose, non-porous, irregularly rhomboid at tip, c. 17.25 × 5.25 µm, irregularly elongaterectangular at mid base c. 6.72 × 8 µm, rhomboid at mid above c. 6.7 × 25.5 µm, a few rows at basal angle are short as alar and transversely elongated c. 18.66 × 13.23 µm. main stem leaves and branch stem leaves similar, but branch leaves slightly larger in size. sporophyte not found. specimen examined: comilla (227), moinamoti, on the bark of tree. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 135 note: the species is distinguished by its creeping stem, ovate, elongated-rhomboid cells, shorter at apex, number of rows of cells at both basal angles and transversely elongated as alar. genus entodon c. muell. in linnaea 18: 704 (1845) plate 2. pterigynandrum decolor (mitt.) broth. a. dry plant (×6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c, d. leaves (×24), e. basal laminal cells (×133), f. upper middle laminal cells (×300), g. apical laminal cells (×300), h. basal middle laminal cells (×133). 136 khatun and hadiuzzaman genus: entodon c. muell. in linnaea 18: 704 (1845) moderately robust, yellow-green mats. main stem creeping, irregularly erect branching, leaves imbricate, ovate-lanceolate, acute, margin entire, costa short, double, cells narrow-linear, at the base large, thickened, alar cells sharply defined, quadrate, hyaline. 3. entodon flavescens (hook.) jaeg. in ber. s. gall. naturw. ges. 1876-77: 293 (1878) neckera flavescens hook. in trans. linn. soc. lond. 9: 314 (1808) (plate 3) stereodon schwaegricheni mitt. in musci ind. or.: 108 (1859) entodon schwaegrichenii (mitt.) broth. in par. index bryol. ed. 2, 5: 151 (1906) plate 3. entodon flavescens (hook.) jaeg. a. dry plant (×6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c, d. leaves (×24), e. basal laminal cells on one side of midrib (×200), f. basal laminal cells on the other side of midrib (×200), g. middle laminal cells (×200), h. middle laminal cells at the upper portion of leaf (×200), i. apical laminal cells (×200). pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 137 stem creeping, irregularly pinnately branched. leaves complanate on main stem, triangular ovate-lanceolate c. 1.30 × 0.48 mm. branch leaves erect to erectopatent, ovatelanceolate, concave, tapering at base, c.1.03 × 0.42 mm, apex acute, sometimes acute acuminate, margin almost smooth. costa two, short, unequal. leaf cells elongated elliptic at top c. 26.4 × 6.6 µm, elongate-linear to elliptic at mid lamina c. 45.9 × 9 µm, alar formed of lax quadrate rectangular c. 9.79 × 6.86 µm wide cells, spreading towards costa and becoming narrower and longer above. specimen examined: jessore (188), jessore air force base, on soil. note: this species is distinguished by its ovate-lanceolate leaves, leaf cells elongateelliptic, alar differentiated with quadrate-rectangular, lax, transparent cells. references gangulee, h.c. 1980. mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions. a monograph. fasc. 8. calcutta , india. 1770-1795, 1802-1824. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1994. taxonomic studies of some pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 23(1): 113-122. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1995. addition to the pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 24(2):183-191. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2003. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family neckeraceae-1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 47-55. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004a. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family neckeraceae-2. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 43-47. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004b. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family erpodiaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 29-32. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2005a. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family meteoriaceae and pterobryaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 53-57. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2005b. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family thuidiaceae and brachytheciaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 71-84. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2006. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family symphyodontaceae and amblystegiaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 29-40. tixier, p. 1967. bryophytae indosinicae. dacca univ. stud. 15(b): 1-14. (manuscript received on 11 october 2006; revised on 26 november 2006) microsoft word 01. s. naz.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 81-87, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists addition to oedogoniaceous algae of bangladesh: bulbochaete agardh sabrina naz1, shah md. golam gousul azam, umma nahar and nasrin jahan diba department of botany, university of rajshahi, rajshahi 6205, bangladesh keywords: oedogoniales, bulbochaete, new records, bangladesh abstract a total of nine taxa of bulbocheate agardh are reported from the north-west barind tract of bangladesh as new records for the country. these are bulbochaete crassa pringsh., b. debaryana wittr. & lund. in wittr., b. elatior pringsh. var. elatior, b. iyengarii sarma & mukh., b. keralense venk. & natr., b. minuta west & west, b. nana wittr. var. chungkingensis jao, b. pygmaea pringsh. var. erecta jao, and b. suberecta (coll.) tiff. introduction the oedogoniales is a unusual, highly specialized order of green algae. morphologically oedogonium, oedocladium and bulbochaete are markedly different from each other. they have no obvious ancestors, several other features common to other green algae (e.g. possession of the phycoplast) place them in the chlorophyta (mattox and stewart 1984). preliminary molecular data (booton et al. 1998) confirm that they constitute a monophyletic, taxonomically isolated clade. further, these data also provide the fact that bulbochaete could be more basally placed phylogenetically than the other two genera. gonzalves (1981) reported 109 species of the genus bulbochaete from all over the world which was further updated by mrozinska (1985), who reported a total of 113 species. so far 14 taxa of bulbochaete have been reported from bangladesh (islam and sarma 1965, islam 1972, islam 1979, aziz et al. 1991, zaman 1991, hasan 2000). in a recent investigation into some freshwater habitats of north-west barind tract of bangladesh recorded nine taxa of bulbochaete which have not been reported from bangladesh earlier. the present paper portrays illustrated accounts of these taxa. materials and methods the present study was carried out in the north-west barind tract situated in between 88.2°-89.2°e longitude and 24.6°-25.2°n latitude of bangladesh from november 2000 to march 2005. the descriptions and identification of all studied taxa are based upon the investigation of fertile, mature specimens collected between the 1st week of november and 1st week of march. the present study has concentrated on the bulbochaete specimens growing on aquatic plants including charophytes. all the collected specimens were preserved 1corresponding author. e-mail: drsabrina_naz@yahoo.com 82 naz et al. in transeau’s solution. camera lucida drawings were made at 400× magnification under a reichert microscope (nr. 309 209). photomicrographs were taken by a vivitar v3200 camera. taxonomic enumeration 1. bulbochaete crassa pringsh. (pl. 1, figs 9a-c; pl. 2, fig. 6) (gonzalves 1981, 639, 10: 63) nannandrous, gynandrosporous, vegetative cells 16-19 × 40-58 µm, division of suffultory cell median or a little above median. oogonium subdepressed-globose to globose patent, situated below a terminal setae, 50 × 39-43 µm. oospore 46 × 35 µm, outer layer of spore wall scrobiculate, androsporangia up to 3-seriate, scattered, 12 ×13 µm. dwarf males a little longer than the oogonia, 10 × 40 µm. antheridium unicellular, exterior, 9 × 20 µm. material studied: col. no. bulbo-074, 12 february 2002, dargahpara near kakanhat at godagari, rajshahi, filaments attached to hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees ex wight & arn. distribution: north america: united states (massachusetts, ohio, wisconsin). europe: austria, czechoslovakia, germany, poland, switzerland (gonzalves 1981, mrozinska 1985). 2. bulbochaete debaryana wittr. & lund. in wittr. (pl. 1, fig. 1; pl. 2, figs 1, 7) (saito and yamagishi 1973, 1: 1-2, 2: 5; gonzalves 1981, 587, 10: 3) monoecious, macrandrous, vegetative cells 13-20 × 22-32 µm. oogonium ellipsoid, situated below a vegetative cell or terminal setae. oogonia 28-30 × 45-50 µm. oospores 26-28 × 36-48 µm. antheridium single or up to 3, 10-12 × 5-8 µm. material studied: col. no. bulbo-013, 2 march 2005, andhasura beel in naogaon, filaments attached to nitella hyalina agardh. distribution: north america: alaska, canada, greenland. europe: poland, sweden, u.s.s.r. (estonian s.s.r.; latvian s.s.r.) (gonzalves 1981). 3. bulbochaete elatior pringsh. var. elatior (pl. 1, fig. 3; pl. 2, fig. 2) (gauthier-lievre 1963-64, 237, 25: 4aa; gonzalves 1981, 602, 10: 22a) nannandrous, gynandrosporous, vegetative cells slender, 10.0-16.5 × 29.7-33.0 µm, division of suffultory cell basal. oogonium depressed-globose, erect 42.9-45.2 × 33-36 µm. oospore globose, 33-42 × 26-30 µm, spore wall smooth. androsporangia single or two, epigynous, rarely scattered, 7-10 × 10 µm. dwarf male situated on the suffultory cell, stipe straight, 8-9 × 16-20 µm; antheridium exterior, unicellular, 6-8 × 9-11 µm; basal division of the suffultory cell the exterior antheridium and the short dwarf males are the distinguishing characters of this species. oogonia usually erect. addition to oedogoniaceous algae of bangladesh 83 mrozinska (1985) described this variety as two forma (f. elatior and f. pumila hirn); our material's morphology resembles with the description and measurement of b. elatior var. elatior f. pumila hiorn. plate 1 figs 1-9. 1. bulbochaete debaryana, 2. b. nana var. chungkingensis, 3. b. elatior var. elatior, 4a, b. b. keralense, 5. b. pygmaea var. erecta, 6a, b. b. iyengarii, 7. b. minuta, 8. b. suberecta, 9a-c. b. crassa. (scale = 50 µm) material studied: col. no. bulbo-016, 1 january 2001, uddran dighi at debour at saphahar, naogaon, filaments attached to cyperus tagetiformis roxb. distribution: africa: chad, guinea, ivory coast, malagasy rep., senegal, tanzania, upper volta. north america: united states (massachusetts, michigan). central america: panama canal. south america: brazil. asia: burma, india (ankola in karnataka), sri lanka. europe: austria, germany, poland, sweden, u.s.s.r. (russian s.f.s.r., ukrainian s.s.r.). oceania: australia (queensland, arnhem land, new caledonia). west indies: puerto rico (gonzalves 1981). 84 naz et al. 4. bulbochaete iyengarii sarma & mukherjee (pl. 1, figs 6a, b; pl. 2, fig. 3) (sarma and mukherjee 1990, 55-57, 1: 1-7) macrandrous, heterothallic, vegetative cells moniliform to short cylindric, 13.2-14.0 × 13.0-16.5 µm. basal cell pointed at the base, basal cell blunt. oogonium ellipsoid, brown, erect, 33 × 22 µm. oospore of same shape as oogonium, normally completely filling the oogonium, oospore 30.0 × 19.8 µm in diameter, spore wall three-layered, outer layer smooth, median layer areolate. antheridium erect, 1-2 seriate, 33 × 9 µm, division horizontal. note: this species resembles b. macrandria ley (gonzalves 1981, mrozinska 1985) in its shape and size of the vegetative cell, but differs in basal cell. in this species basal cell is blunt, but in b. macrandria basal cell is conical; ornamentation of oospore in b. iyengarii is areolate, but scrobiculate in b. macrandria. materials studied: col. no. bulbo-004, 18 november 2000, chagati pond at godagari, rajshahi, filaments attached to nymphaea nouchali burm.; col. no. bulbo-013, 2 march 2005, andhasura beel in naogaon, filaments attached to nitella hyalina. distribution: india (rukni in purulia district, amtala in murshidabad district) (sarma and mukherjee 1990). 5. bulbochaete keralense venk. and natr. (pl. 1, figs 4a, b; pl. 2, fig. 9) (gonzalves 1981, 646, 10: 70) nannandrous, idioandrosporous, vegetative cells cylindric, 13.2-18.0 × 24-33 µm, division of suffultory cell basal. oogonium depressed-globose, erect, situated below a terminal seta, 36.6-29.0 × 79-33 µm. oospore is completely filling the oogonium, 29.733.0 × 26.4-29.0 µm, spore wall scrobiculate. dwarf males situated on the suffultory cell near the oogonium or on the oogonium, 9.9-11.9 × 22.7-24.4 µm. antheridium single or two, exterior, 8.0 × 7.8 µm. material studied: col. no. bulbo-060, 22 november 2002, dargapara near kakanhat at godagari in rajshahi, filaments attached to corchorus olitorius l. and cyperus tagetiformis roxb. distribution: india (kottarakara in kerala) (gonzalves 1981). 6. bulbochaete minuta west & west (pl. 1, fig. 7; pl. 2, fig. 8) (gauthier-lievre 1963-64, 240, 26: 42; gonzalves 1981, 604, 10: 24) nannandrous, gynandrosporous, vegetative cells 9-13 × 16-26 µm, division of suffultory cell basal. oogonium depressed-globose, erect or patent, situated below an androsporangium, 30 × 26 µm, division median or nearly so. oospore depressed-globose, 27 × 25 µm, spore wall smooth. androsporangium unicellular, epigynous. dwarf males situated on suffultory cell, 7 × 16 µm, stipe curved. antheridium unicellular, exterior. addition to oedogoniaceous algae of bangladesh 85 note: in b. minuta the dwarf male is situated on the suffultory cell, but in b. suberecta (coll.) tiff., dwarf male is situated on the oogonium. material studied: col. no. bulbo-027, 1 november 2001, naogaon district in sapahar at mungroil, filaments attached to scirpus articulatus (l.) palla. plate 2 figs 1-10. 1,7. bulbochaete debaryana, 2. b. elatior var elatior, 3. b. iyengarii, 4. b. pygmaea var. erecta, 5. b. suberecta, 6. b. crassa, 8. b. minuta, 9. b. keralense, 10. b. nana var. chungkingensis. (scales = 50 µm) 86 naz et al. distribution: africa: congo, ivory coast, malagasy, mali, upper volta. north america: united states (florida, massachusetts, michigan, new england, oklahoma). asia: china, india (devarayi in karnataka), sri lanka (gonzalves 1981). 7. bulbochaete nana wittr. var. chungkingensis jao (pl. 1, fig. 2; pl. 2, fig. 10) (gonzalves 1981, 592, 10: 8b) macrandrous, homothallic, vegetative cells 13-14 × 18-23 µm. oogonium somewhat obovoid-ellipsoid, rarely ellipsoid, broader than that of the type, 23 × 33 µm. antheridium smaller than that of the type, 8-10 × 4-6 µm. outer layer of spore wall smooth; median layer longitudinally costae. antheridium single or in twos, erect or scattered, 7 × 5 µm. material studied: col. no. bulbo-067, 15 december 2002, devipur at mahadebpur in naogaon district, filaments attached to deep water paddy straw (oryza rufipogon griffiths). distribution: according to mrozinska (1985) this variety has so far been reported only from china. 8. bulbochaete pygmaea pringsh. var. erecta jao (pl. 1, fig. 5; pl. 2, fig. 4) (gauthier-lievre 1963-64, 225, 16: a-f; gonzalves 1981, 621, 10: 45a) nannandrous, gynandrosporous, filaments short, usually less than ten-celled, unbranched or with one or two-celled branches, vegetative cells 13 × 11 µm, basal cell 13 × 16 µm. division of suffultory cell lacking. oogonium ellipsoid, erect, usually next to the basal cell, very rarely terminal or patent, below vegetative cells or setae, 21-24 × 33-36 µm. oospore 19-22 × 30 µm; presence of longitudinal ribs on spore wall. androsporangia single or in twos, scattered, 10 × 3 µm. dwarf male situated near the oogonium, stripe 13 × 20 µm. antheridium exterior. material studied: col. no. bulbo-045, 2 november 2001, chakla at mahadebpur in naogaon district, filaments attached to enhydra fluctuans lour. distribution: the united states (massachusetts) (gonzalves 1981, mrozinska 1985). 9. bulbochaete suberecta (coll.) tiff. (pl. 1, fig. 8; pl. 2, fig. 5) (gonzalves 1981, 656, 10: 83) nannandrous, gynandrosporous, vegetative cells 24-36 × 10-13 µm, division of suffultory cell supramedian to superior. oogonium depressed-globose, usually erect, situated below an androsporangium, 33 × 29 µm, division median. oospore 30 × 27 µm, spore wall finely scrobiculate. androsporangium single, epigynous, dwarf male situated on the oogonium, 16 × 10 µm. antheridium 7 × 9 µm. addition to oedogoniaceous algae of bangladesh 87 material studied: col. no. bulbo-025, 1 november 2001, mohishdanga at sapahar upazilla in naogaon district, filaments attached to cyperus tagetiformis. distribution: north america (massachusetts) (gonzalves 1981, mrozinska 1985). references aziz, a., alam, j. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1991. studies on the members of oedogoniales epiphytic on deepwater rice plants near sonargaon, bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. part e 6(2):119-123. booton, g.c., floyd, g.l. and fuerst, p.a. 1998. origins and affinities of the green algal orders chaetophorales and oedogoniales based on 18s rrna gene sequences. j. phycol. 34: 312-318. gonzalves, f.a. 1981. oedogoniales. icar. new delhi, pp. 1-757. gauthierlievre, l. 1963-64. oedogoniaceae africains. nova hedwigia 7: 208-255. hasan, m.a. 2000. assessment of diversity of algal plants in chalan beel in relation to physico-chemical conditions. ph.d. thesis, rajshahi university, pp. 1-420. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1972.the genus bulbochaete in bangladesh. bangladesh j.bot. 1(1&2): 1-12. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1979. addition to the list of oedogoniaceae from bangladesh. dacca univ. stud. b. 27(1): 47-52. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, p. 1965. new and rare species and varieties of the oedogoniales from dacca district, east pakistan. pak. jour. biol. agri. sci. 8(1):169-188. mattox, k.r. and stewart, k.d. 1984. a classification of the green algae: a concept based on comparative cytology. in: irvine, d.e.g. and john, d.m. (eds), systematics of the green algae, pp. 29-72. academy press, london. mrozinska, t. 1985. süßwasserflora von mitteleuropa chlorophyta vi oedogoniophyceae oedogïoniales. veb gustav fischer verlag jena, pp. 1-624. sarma, p. and mukherjee, d. 1990. a new species of macrandrous heterothallic bulbochaete (b. iyengarii sp. nov.) from west bengal, india. in: rajarao, v.n. (ed.), perspectives in phycology, pp. 55-57. today & tomorrow’s printers & publishers, new delhi, india. saito, e. and yamagishi, t. 1973. studies on some bulbochaete and oedogonium in the alaskan, canada and greenland. gen. educ. rev., coll. agr. & vet. med., nihon uni. 9: 24-31. zaman, m. 1991. studies on the algal flora of chalan-beel in relation to its physico-chemical conditions. ph.d. thesis, rajshahi university, pp. 1-550. (manuscript received on 23 february 2008; revised on 8 april 2008) microsoft word s-1. ocimum-.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 89-92, 2012 (june) short communication © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists seedling morphology of four species of ocimum l. (lamiaceae) and its taxonomic significance ajai kumar singh1 department of botany, udai pratap autonomous college, varanasi 221 002, u.p., india keywords: seedling morphology; ocimum; lamiaceae; taxonomy. the genus ocimum (family lamiaceae, subfamily nepetoideae, tribe ocimeae) is cultivated for its remarkable essential oil which exhibit many herbs, culinary, perfume for herbal toiletries, aromatherapy treatment and as flavouring agent. the ocimeae are essentially a tropical tribe and ocimum occurs naturally in tropical america, africa and asia. in the state of uttar pradesh, india to which the present study area belongs, the genus ocimum is represented by only 5 species, namely, ocimum americanum l., o. basilicum l., o. gratissimum guerke, o. kilimandscharicum guerke and o. tenuiflorum l. (rao, 1994; khanna et al.,1999). although, a number of studies have been made in recent years on phylogenetic diversity of ocimum species (paton et al., 2004; singh et al., 2004; mustfa and badr, 2006), the significance of seedling morphology in taxonomy of ocimum species has not been probably studied. seedlings of four ocimum species, viz. o. americanum l., o. basilicum l., o. gratissimum l. and o. tenuiflorum l. were collected from different parts of varanasi district, uttar pradesh, india (25º18' n, 83º1' e) during the months of july to september 2008. seeds of these four species were also collected in january and february 2009, and grown during july to august 2009 in the greenhouse of the experimental botanic garden of the department of botany, udai pratap autonomous college, varanasi, india to ensure correct identification of seedling species. the different stages of development of each species were considered for preparing a complete description out of ten individuals. all the specimens at different leaf stages were documented in the form of herbarium sheets which have been deposited in the herbarium, department of botany, udai pratap autonomous college, varanasi, uttar pradesh, india. the gross morphological features of seedlings were described following the terminology proposed by de vogel (1980). for seedling description, ahammed and paria (1996) and singh (2009) were followed. investigated species show affinity with regard to type of seedling, the morphological characters of collet, hypocotyl, paracotyledon, epicotyl and leaves. paracotyledons of all these species are similar from a morpho-taxonomic point of view. some morphological characters of seedlings, viz. secondary root surface, collet and number of leaf veins are found suitable to distinguish the investigated species at their juvenile stage. findings of the present study reflect possibilities for taxonomic considerations of seedling morphology. therefore, it is suggested that seedling morphology should be taken into consideration in a comprehensive way to distinguish the species and in solving taxonomic and phylogenetic implications. a key to the species of ocimum based on seedling morphology is given below. 1. collet without distinct ring, lowermost side veins opposite in 1st leaf. o. basilicum collet with distinct ring, all veins alternate in 1st leaf. 2 2. secondary roots smooth. o. gratissimum secondary roots with parallel striations. 3 1email: ajaiupcollege@gmail.com 90 singh 3. first leaf with 7 distinct veins, mid-vein reaches to apex. o. americanum first leaf with 9 distinct veins, mid-vein not reaching to apex. o. tenuiflorum ocimum americanum l. (fig. 1, a-c) primary root fibrous, taproot; secondary roots with parallel striations. collet distinct with brown swollen ring. hypocotyl green, surface strigose, nearly terete. paracotyledons 2, opposite, isocotylar, leafy, petiolate, blade deltoid, base subcordate, apex retuse, margin entire, adaxial surface dark green, abaxial surface light green, both sides strigose, venation not distinct. epicotyl green, strigose, quadrangular. first leaf simple, opposite, exstipulate, petiolate, blade ovate, base attenuate and slightly oblique, apex acute, margin dentate, both surfaces dark green, strigose, many pits on abaxial side, 7 veins distinct, mid-vein reaches to the apex. subsequent leaves same as that of 1st leaf. ocimum basilicum l. (fig. 1, d-f) primary root non-fibrous, taproot; secondary roots smooth. collet without distinct ring, smooth. hypocotyl purplish-green, surface pubescent, terete. paracotyledons 2, opposite, isocotylar, leafy, petiolate, blade deltoid, base subcordate, apex retuse, margin entire, adaxial surface dark green, abaxial surface light green, both sides pubscent, venation not distinct. epicotyl reddish-green, pubescent, quadrangular. first leaf simple, opposite, exstipulate, petiolate, leaf blade ovate, base rounded, apex acute, margin dentate, adaxial surface dark green, abaxial surface light green, both sides pubescent, many pits on abaxial side, 9 veins distinct, lowermost side veins opposite. subsequent leaves same as that of 1st leaf. ocimum gratissimum l. (fig. 1, g-i) primary root non-fibrous, taproot; secondary roots smooth. collet distinct with yellow ring, smooth. hypocotyl green above and white below, pubescent, terete, 3.9 cm long at 5th leaf stage. paracotyledons 2, opposite, isocotylar, leafy, petiolate, blade deltoid, base subcordate, apex retuse, margin entire, adaxial surface dark green, abaxial surface light green, both sides pubescent, venation not distinct. epicotyl green, pubescent, quadrangular, 6.9 cm long at 5th leaf stage. first leaf simple, opposite, petiolate, leaf blade ovate, base attenuate, apex acute, margin denticulate, adaxial surface dark green, abaxial surface light green, both surfaces pubescent, few pits on abaxial side, 7 veins distinct, all veins alternate. subsequent leaves same as that of 1st leaf, but leaf margin dentate after 2nd or 3rd leaf stage. ocimum tenuiflorum l. (fig. 1, j-l) primary root non-fibrous, taproot; secondary roots with parallel striations. collet distinct with brown ring, smooth. hypocotyl whitish green to purple, surface velutinose, terete, 1.6 cm long at 5th leaf stage. paracotyledons 2, opposite, isocotylar, leafy, petiolate, blade deltoid, base subcordate, apex retuse, margin entire, adaxial surface dark green, abaxial surface light green, velutinous on both sides, venation not distinct. epicotyl greenish purple, velutinoos, quadrangular, 10 cm long at 5th leaf stage. first leaf simple, opposite, petiolate, leaf blade ovate, base rounded and oblique, apex acute, margin remotedly dentate, adaxial surface dark green, abaxial surface light green, both sides velutinous, many pits on abaxial side, 9 veins distinct, mid-vein does not reach the apex. subsequent leaves same as that of 1st leaf but leaf margin dentate. seedling morphology of ocimum l. 91 91 fig. 1. seedlings and hairs: ocimum americanum l.a. second leaf stage; b. fifth leaf stage; c. hairs; o. basilicum l.d. second leaf stage; e. fifth leaf stage; f. hairs; o. gratissimum l.g. second leaf stage; h. fifth leaf stage; i. hairs; o. tenuiflorum l.j. second leaf stage; k. fifth leaf stage; l. hairs. acknowledgement thanks are due to prof. n.d. paria, department of botany, university of calcutta, kolkata, india for encouragement. 92 singh references ahammed, j. and paria, n. 1996. systematic value of seedling morphology in some indian asteraceae. acta botanica indica 24: 49-55. de vogel, e.f. 1980. seedlings of dicotyledons.wageningen: pudoc. khanna, k.k., mudgal, v., uniyal, b.p. and sharma, j.r. 1999. dicotyledonous plants of uttar pradesh – a check list. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. mustfa, a.e. and badr, a. 2006. genetic diversity among ocimum populations in egypt as reflected by morphological, seed proteins and isoenzyme polymorphism. international j. bot. 2(3): 261-269. paton, a.j., springate, d., suddee, s., olieno, d., grayer, r.j., harley, m.m., willis, f., simmonds, m.s., powell, m.p. and savolin, v. 2004. phylogeny and evolution of basils and allies (icimeae, labiatae) based on three plastid dna region. mol. phylogenet. evol. 31(1): 277-299. rao, r.r. 1994. biodiversity in india (floristic aspects). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. singh, a.k. 2009. seedling morphology of some chenopods viz. beta vulgaris l., chenopodium album l., c. murale l., and kochia trichophylla voss. proc. nat. acad. sci. india sect. b, 79(iii): 271-275. singh, a.p., dwivedi, s., bharti, s., srivastava, a., singh, v. and khanuja, s.p.s. 2004. phylogenetic relationships as in ocimum revealed by rapd markers. euphytica 136(1): 11-12. (manuscript received on 18 march, 2010; revised on 5 march, 2012) microsoft word s-1. oliur.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 155-158, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication aristolochia elegans mast. (aristolochiaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh md. oliur rahman1, sumona afroz2 and md. abul hassan2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1 dhaka 1216, bangladesh keywords: aristolochia elegans mast., new record, bangladesh aristolochia l., a member of the family aristolochiaceae consists of about 500 species, and is distributed in tropical and temperate asia, africa, europe and america (heywood 1993). in bangladesh, aristolochia is represented by only three species, namely a. indica l., a. saccata wall. and a. tagala cham. (hooker 1886, prain 1903, heinig 1925). recently, during the course of scrutiny of aristolochia specimens deposited at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), the authors came across three interesting specimens. after critical examination, these specimens have been identified as aristolochia elegans mast. it should be noted here that seeds of this species were first collected by prof. m. salar khan from the chittagong hill tracts area in wild state in 1995. the seeds were then sown in the botanic garden of the university of dhaka; plants grew and flowered. the specimens deposited at the dacb were collected from those plants in 1997. aristolochia elegans was not reported earlier from the territory of bangladesh in the relevant literature of this region, viz. hooker (1886), prain (1903), heinig (1925), cowan (1928), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1955), khan and afza (1968), khan and banu (1972), huq and khan (1984), khan and hassan (1984), alam (1988), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), rashid et al. (2000), khan and huq (2001), uddin et al. (2003), and rahman (2004a, b). it is being reported here as a new record for the country and a new addition to the flora of bangladesh. the specimens have been preserved at the dacb. the detailed description and illustrations of the taxon prepared from the examined specimens are appended below. 1corresponding author. present address: department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. e-mail: oliurrahman@yahoo.com 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. 156 rahman et al. aristolochia elegans mast., gard. chron. 2: 301 (1885). schmidt, repert. spec. nov. regn. veg. 23: 299 (1927); bor & raizada, some beaut. ind. climb. shrubs : 26 (1954); parker, for. fl. punj. 5: 421 (1956); qaiser, fl. w. pak. 110: 4 (1977); phuphathanaphong, fl. thailand 5(1): 13 (1987). aristolochia littoralis parodi in anal. soc. cient. argent. 5: 155 (1878). (plate 1) english name: calico flower. plate 1. aristolochia elegans mast. a. twining leafy shoot (× 1), b. a flower (× 0.8), c. a fruit (× 0.9). a slender woody climber. stem glabrous, branches pendulous. leaves with pseudostipules, pseudo-stipules leaf-like, amplexicaul; petioles 2-6 cm long, slender, glabrous; aristolochia elegans mast. 157 lamina 4-10 × 5-11 cm, triangular to broadly ovate, apex obtuse or rounded, base cordate, margin entire, glabrous on both surfaces, but young leaves pubescent, palmately finely 3nerved, venation reticulate, obscure. flowers solitary, axillary, on long pedicels, bent, more than 6 cm long. perianth white or greenish with purple-black or purple-brown mottling; utricle obliquely ellipsoid, 2.2-2.8 × 1.2-1.6 cm, tube bent upwards, somewhat funnel-shaped at the top, 1.2-2.0 × 0.4-0.7 cm, expanding abruptly into a nearly circular shallow cup, limb orbicular, 5-7 cm in diameter. stamens 6; anthers linear, c 4 × 1 mm. gynostegium c 5.5 × 4.5 mm, cylindrical. ovary 6-locular, ovules many in each locule; stylar column short, cylindrical; stigmatic lobes 6, flattened, apically pubescent outside, with margins recurved outwards. fruit a capsule, c 4 cm long and 2 cm across, 6-valved. seeds many, flat, 2-5 mm long. flowering and fruiting period: june-october. ecology: grows in the forests, also cultivated in gardens. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanic garden, 04.06.1997, m.s. khan, k. 9924 (dacb); dhaka university botanic garden, 10.08.1997, a. hassan and o. rahman (dacb); dhaka university botanic garden, 23.09.1997, a. hassan (dacb). distribution: a native of brazil, but is now cultivated throughout the tropical and temperate regions of the world. references alam, m.k. 1988. annotated checklist of the woody flora of sylhet forests. bulletin 5. plant taxonomy series. forest research institute, chittagong, pp. 1-153. cowan, j.m. 1928. the flora of chakaria sundarbans. rec. bot. surv. ind. 11: 197-225. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1-110. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, pp. 1-84. heywood, v.h. 1993. flowering plants of the world. oxford university press, new york, pp. 1-336. hooker, j.d. 1886. aristolochiaceae. flora of british india. 5: 74-77. l. reeve & co. ltd. huq, a.m. and khan, m.s. 1984. a preliminary taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of moheskhali island-1 (dicotyledons). dhaka univ. stud. part b, 32(2): 19-31. khan, m.s. and afza, s. 1968. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of teknaf and st. martin’s island. dacca univ. stud. b, 16(2): 23-50. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-2. j. asia. soc. bangladesh 17(2): 59-88. khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 1984. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of st. martin’s island. dhaka univ. stud. b, 32(1): 71-84. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focussing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. 158 rahman et al. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 24-45. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol. 2. indian reprint 1981. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 6631319. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s 'flora of british india' and prain’s 'bengal plants'-series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s 'flora of british india' and prain’s 'bengal plants'-series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal narional park, gazipur, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakund in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rashid, m.h., rahman, e. and rahman, m.a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43-63. sinclair, j. 1955. the flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 84-116. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31-68. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2003. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh ii.a: magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 79-94. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 29 april 2008; revised on 26 may 2008) microsoft word 03. munronia_edited_10.6.2011 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 39-49, 2011 (june) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists geographical distribution and conservation of a rare medicinal plant munronia pinnata (wall.) theob. (meliaceae) in sri lanka r.m. dharmadasa1*, p.l. hettiarachchi2 and g.a.s premakumara1 herbal technology section, industrial technology institute, 363, bauddhaloka mawatha, colombo 7, sri lanka key words: munronia pinnata; systematic survey; meliaceae; conservation; cultivation; medicinal plants. abstract in the present study, distribution and abundance of munronia pinnata (wall.) theob. in sri lanka were explored in 6 provinces, 7 districts, 68 divisional secretariat divisions (dsd) and 395 grama niladari (gn) areas. fifty three gn areas were identified as m. pinnata abundant areas. in 217 gn areas, the plant is found in small scale and in 65 gn areas it was rarely found. m. pinnata was not found in 8 dsds. ten new localities were found and three of them were in the wet zone. the highest diversity was found in monaragala and matale districts. populations well adopted for a range of climatic conditions were observed in madulla, nilgala, warakapola, ritigala and haldumulla. monaragala, wellawaya, mathurata, meemure and kithulpe were identified as unique populations for conservation. monaragala, badulla and matale appear to be the most suitable districts for commercial cultivation of m. pinnata. this is the first record of an extensive systematic survey on the distribution of m. pinnata in sri lanka. introduction the genus munronia wight. (meliaceae), comprising 13-15 species, is naturally distributed in southern china, vietnam, myanmar, java, sri lanka, india, indonesia and the philippines (qi et al., 2003). out of these, five species of munronia are restricted to tropical asia, and subtropical china, up to 1800 m and in sri lanka up to 700 m from the mean sea level (dassanayake et al., 1995; peng and bartholomew, 2008). munronia pinnata (wall.) theob. is a rare medicinal plant species (dassanayake et al., 1995). according to the literature available, plants of m. pinnata with an array of variable phenotypic characters (3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 leaflets types) exist in various locations in sri lanka (jayaweera, 1982; dassanayake et al., 1995). according to hooker (1874), m. pinnata was an abundant and widely distributed plant in sri lanka in early days. in chinese and sri lankan traditional medicine, munronia has been used since historic times for many ailments such as tuberculosis, cough, stomach-ache, sores, malaria, recurrent fever, dysentery and purification of blood (jayaweera, 1982; qi et al., 2003). moreover, there are over 32 written recipes including ‘sudarshana churna’, ‘chandraprabha watee’ and ‘denimba debatu adee kashaya’ in sri lankan ayurvedic *corresponding author. email: dharma@iti.lk 1herbal technology section, industrial technology institute, 363, bauddhaloka mawatha, colombo 7, sri lanka. 40 dharmadasa et al. pharmacopeia, in which the entire plant of m. pinnata is used as the major ingredient of preparations used for above ailments (anonymous, 1979). on the other hand m. pinnata is one of the most expensive plant materials (us$ 50-110/kg) used in traditional systems of medicine in sri lanka. further almost all raw material requirements are obtaining from natural habitats due to lack of systematic cultivations, lack of information on cultivation and processing and lack of sufficient planting materials to establish commercial cultivation in sri lanka as well as elsewhere. therefore, there is a tremendous pressure on this rare plant which might lead to extinction due to over exploitation. recording of existing populations in different locations with their abundance, identifying potential areas and morphotypes for cultivation, recognizing population/s for conservation and sustainable use of this valuable medicinal plant in traditional and ayurveda medicine seem to be timely important issues. these data will certainly provide information needed to establish cultivations for sustainable use of m. pinnata in sri lanka. information available on the distribution is very old and the most recent record is also more than 20 years old while some evidence are more than 100 years old (dassanayake et al., 1995). therefore, attempts were made to investigate the present distribution and the abundance of m. pinnata in different localities in physically accessible areas of the country. materials and methods island wide survey on the distribution: for administrative purposes, the country is divided into nine provinces and 26 districts. each district has 3-7 divisional secretariat divisions (dsd) and each dsd has many gramaniladari divisions (gn). the gn division is the smallest administrative division in sri lanka. the present study was carried out during 2004-2007. the systematic survey comprises four stages as collecting information from available literature, collecting data from gn divisions using a questionnaire, visiting areas of the country where m. pinnata is available (guided by available literature) and gathering information by personnel communication with traditional practitioners of ayurveda. collecting information from available literature: a literature survey was carried out on the distribution of m. pinnata in sri lanka. information was collected from literatures and databases, herbarium specimens deposited at royal botanical garden peradeniya, sri lanka and personal communication with personnel involved in traditional medical practices. collecting data from gn divisions: a systematic survey was carried out covering all dsds of the country. a questionnaire for this survey was prepared and evaluated by trying out with 4-5 persons before giving the questionnaire to gramaniladaris. the questionnaire was distributed among traditional ayurvedic doctors, cultivators and collectors of medicinal plants in each of the gn divisions through the government distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 41 administrative officer (“gramaniladari”) of the area. completed questioners were collected through the same way and information was compiled. field visits: field surveys were carried out by visiting various places, which were selected based on available literature and information collected through the questionnaire survey in different ecological regions of the country. selected areas for field visits are given in map 1. distribution of m. pinnata as found in the present study was compared with data available in the literature (appendix b) to mark populations for conservation as well as for places for cultivation. collection and maintenance of different populations: out of the 16 locations listed in table 3, plants from 13 locations were collected for the present study. ten to twenty plants were collected from each location depending on the availability of plants. when there were only a few plants in a particular location, neighboring areas were searched for more plants without disturbing the existing population. plants collected were brought to industrial technology institute, sri lanka and potted in plastic or clay pots filled with a mixture of topsoil 1: compost 2: sand 1. each sample was labeled using the respective notation and was maintained in the greenhouse for 5 years. close observations were made during that period on the survival, growth performance, flowering and fruiting of each morphotype under normal day light and temperature 27oc ± 2. collection of ecological data: the altitude, latitude and longitude of each population were measured using global positioning system (etrex vista garmin model). soil samples were collected from each location using a soil auger to measure the soil ph. the agro-ecological region and rainfall data were adopted from panabokke and kannangara (1996). determination of the stomatal index: stomatal index was calculated as described by trease and evance (2002) with slight modifications. end leaflet pieces of each population (5 × 5 mm) other than from extreme margin and midrib were warmed up in saturated chloral hydrate solution until they become transparent. subsequently these were strained with 1% safranin in 50% ethanol and were made into temporary mounts using glycerin. slides were examined under compound light microscope fitted with an eye piece micrometer. counts were made of the number of epidermal cells and of stomata (two guard cells and ostiole being considered as a single unit) within the square grid. successive adjacent fields were examined until about 400 cells have been counted. the stomatal index value for each population was calculated using standard formula given by trease and evance (2002). stomatal index = where s = the number of stomata in a given area of leaf, e= the number of epidermal cells (including trichomes) in the same area of leaf. s × 100 e + s 42 dharmadasa et al. data analysis: the range of each variable/character was sub-divided and ranked, and then a numerical value was given to each level (table 1). using these numerical values, a data table (table 2) for cluster analysis was prepared. cluster analysis was done by using spss version 10. clusters were generated following unweighted pair group method with arithmetic means (upgma), which is an agglomerative clustering method. table 1. parameters used in numerical analysis and ranking of their data (the ranks are given in parenthesis). parameter ranks given 1. elevation (ev) < 100 m (1), 100 – 499 m (2), 500-1000 m (3), >1000 m (4) 2. soil ph (ph) 5 -5.9 (1), 6 – 6.9 (2), >7 (3) 3. agro-ecological region (aer) im (1), il (2), wl (3), dl (4) 4. rainfall (rf) <45 (1), 45-60 (2), > 60 (3) 5. soil type (st) rb/rbe (1), ryp (2) 6. stomatal index (si) 5.5 -6.4 (1), 6.5 -7.4 (2), 7.5 or more (3) im = mid country intermediate zone; il= low country intermediate zone; wl= low country wet zone; dl= low country dry zone; rb/ rbe= reddish brown/ reddish brown earth; ryp red yellow podzolic soils. table 2. data matrix for analysis of ecological data (ranking and notations are as in table 1 and table 3 respectively). . character populations elevation soil ph value aer rainfall soil type stomatal index madulla 2 1 1 2 1 2 monaragala 2 1 1 2 1 1 nilgala 2 1 2 2 1 2 warakapola 2 3 3 3 2 2 ritigala 2 1 4 1 1 2 kithulpe 3 3 2 2 2 1 haldummulla 3 2 1 2 1 1 wellawaya 2 2 2 2 1 3 pallewela 1 2 3 3 2 2 kuliyapitiya 1 1 3 2 2 1 naula 2 1 1 1 1 2 mathurata 4 2 3 2 2 1 meemure 2 1 2 1 1 3 results and discussion island wide survey carried out using a questionnaire revealed that out of the 68 dsds considered, m. pinnata could be naturally found in only 38 dsd divisions in sri lanka. m. pinnata was abundant in 395 gn divisions. in 217 gn divisions it was found in small scale and in 65 it was found very rarely. the 38 dsds are shown in appendix a and list of places where m. pinnata had been recorded in literature as cited in the handbook of flora of ceylon (dassanayake et al., 1995) is shown in appendix b. results of the present study on distribution and abundance of m. pinnata is presented in distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 43 table 3. different populations collected from different locations are shown in plate 1. areas recorded in the present study together with those recorded in literature are presented in map 1. presence/absence of flowering and fruiting of 13 populations are presented in table 4. table 3. distribution and abundance of m. pinnata (based on the present study) location district province leaflet no. abundance* 1. haldummulla (hm) badulla uva 3 a 2. kalundewa** matale central 3/5 a 3. kithulpe (kp) nuwaraeliya central 3 b 4. koslanda badulla uva 3 b 5. kuliyapitiya (kpt)** kurunegala nw 5 b 6. madulla (md)** monaragala uva 3 a 7. mathurata (mr) nuwaraeliya central 3 b 8. meemure (mm)** matale central 5/7 a 9. naula (nu)** matale central 5 a 10. nilgala (ng)** monaragala uva 3 a 11. pallegama** matale central 3 b 12. pallewela (pw)** gampaha western 3 a 13. ritigala (rg) anuradhapura nc 5 a 14. srivijayapura (mg)** monaragala uva 9/11 b 15. warakapola (wp)** gampaha western 3 b 16. wellawaya (ww) monaragala uva 7 a *abundance was estimated visually with relevant to the size of the populations aabundant, b only a very few plants available; **new localities found in the present study; ncnorth central, nwnorth western table 4. flowering and fruiting performance of 13 morphotypes of munronia pinnata under greenhouse conditions (temp. 27 ±2 oc, normal day length) performance populations flowering fruiting haldummulla normal normal kithulpe rare no fruiting kuliyapitiya medium medium madulla normal normal monaragala rare very rare meemure rare very rare mathurata rare no fruiting nilgala normal normal naula normal normal pallewela normal normal ritigala normal normal warakapola normal normal wellawaya rare no fruiting 44 dharmadasa et al. map 1. geographical distribution of munronia pinnata in sri lanka (bdgbalangoda; btbuttala, dk dolukanda; hmhaldummulla; kpnkalupahana; kp-kithulpe; kslkoslanda; kptkuliyapitiya; kldkundasale; lg lunugala; kdvkalundeva; plgpallegama;mmmeemure; mdgmadugoda; mrmathurata; mgmoneragala; mp – muppane; mdmadulla; nunaula; ngnilgala; pw pallewela; rgritigala; svpsrivijayapura; wpwarakapola, wwwellawaya) distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 45 however, in eight dsd divisions namely, attala, mundalama matara, pallepola, baticalloa, jaffna, katana and negombo, including 60 gn areas, m. pinnata was found neither growing naturally nor as in cultivation. ten new localities were recorded in present survey and three of them were in the wet zone (map 1). this plant had been reported only from dry and intermediate zones of the country. plate 1. different morphotypes of munronia pinnata, available in different locations in sri lanka. 1. dambagalla, 2. haldummulla, 3. kalumdewa, 4. kithulpe, 5. kuliyapitiya, 6. madulla, 7. monaragala, 8. meemure, 9. mathurata, 10. nilgala, 11. naula, 12. okadagala, 13. pallewela, 14. ritigala, 15. warakapola, 16. wellawaya. during this survey, several localities with m. pinnata were found in monaragala and matale districts. out of these two districts, the highest number of m. pinnata 46 dharmadasa et al. morphotypes was found in monaragala district, which comprises of four populations (two types of 3-leaflets, 7-leaflets and 9/11-leaflets types). out of 16 locations given in table 3, 10 locations contained 3-leaflet types of m. pinnata. populations bearing more than 3-leaflets were recorded only in five locations (kalundewa, naula, ritigala, kuliyapitiya and meemure). normal growth was observed in all populations under greenhouse conditions. flowering was rare and even when occurred, no fruiting was observed in five out of 13 populations under greenhouse conditions (table 4). flowering is one of the phenological processes influenced by external environmental factors especially temperature. therefore difficulty observed in flowering in populations of kp and mr is quite acceptable as they were collected from nuwaraeliya district which is in the hill country of sri lanka where the average temperature is around 20 oc. furthermore, day length fluctuation is also higher in this area than that of the low laying areas of the country, where these plants were acclimatized in greenhouse. it indicates that conservation of these populations demands in situ conservation. if not they have to be grown in greenhouses under carefully controlled conditions. the morphotype collected from meemure (matale district) produced some flowers, but did not produce fruits. since meemure is isolated and surrounded from huge mountains it has its own microclimatic conditions. therefore, this population may have adapted to these climatic conditions especially for flowering and fruiting. on the other hand population collected from ritigala performed well producing flowers and fruits under normal greenhouse condition in colombo. although ritigala is separated from wet and intermediate zones by dry plains, its isolation and high elevation has produced a unique climate with wet and intermediate characteristics. hence ritigala provides platform for 410 taxa of lower and higher plants. it shows that this population could easily be cultivated in areas with wet and intermediate characteristics. geographical isolation must have restricted rg population to that area. some populations collected from monaragala and matale performed well under climatic conditions of greenhouse in colombo, while three of them namely, monaragala, wellawaya and meemure did not. these populations bear 7-9 and 11-leaflets and are not common in other areas indicating that they may be genetically adapted to grow in these areas and their restricted distribution is not merely due to geographical isolation. in situ conservation seems to be the best method for these populations, but when ecological conditions were analyzed, these three clustered with the rest of the populations collected from matale and monaragala. it shows that there is a possibility for cultivation of these populations in other localities. according to the analysis of ecological data (fig. 1), m. pinnata growing in sri lanka could be separated into three main clusters such as 1. md, nu, ng, mg, hm, ww, mm; 2. wp, pw, kpt; 3. rg, kp and mr. this indicates that md, nu, ng, mg, hm, ww and mm require approximately the same climatic conditions compared to the other populations. these include plants collected from badulla, matale and monaragala distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 47 districts. this group comprises of populations varying from 3, 5, 7 9 and 11 leaflet types. flower and fruit setting of mg, ww and mm populations were very unsatisfactory under greenhouse conditions. these findings are very important in the conservation point of view as it shows the possibility of establishing large scale cultivation in areas where these populations do not exist naturally at present. populations collected from nuwara eliya (kp and mr) formed a separate cluster which was collected from hilly areas with a cold climate. their failure in producing flowers and fruits under low country conditions (temperature around 27oc ± 2) shows that they can be cultivated only in the areas with fig. 1. a dendrogramme of ecological relationship of 13 m. pinnata populations (for abbreviations see table 3). similar environmental conditions. in the conservation point of view, they need special attention for survival. population collected from ritigala got separated from all three clusters. this is acceptable as the microclimate in this area is very specific and quite different from those of other locations. according to the present study, m. pinnata could be grown within a considerable range of ecological conditions including all three agroecological regions in the country and within a considerable range of altitude (30-1000 m). moreover, studies on stomatal index of different populations did not show clear correlation with environmental factors or number of leaflets of different populations. our findings are in agreement with the previous reports (dassanayake et al., 1995; peng and bartholomew, 2008), who pointed out that m. pinnata, was grown up to 700 m from mean sea level in sri lanka and up to 1800 m in china. furthermore, qi et al. (2003) and peng and bartholomew (2008) reported that munronia species can grow in heights 48 dharmadasa et al. varying from 200 m to 1800 m from mean sea level in china. findings of the present study are in agreement with the previous work. in order to conserve the medicinal plants ethnobotanical surveys are very useful (chellaiah et al., 2006; bekalo et al., 2009). the present study also highlights his important issue. the present study revealed that this rare and valuable medicinal plant could easily be cultivated in different parts of sri lanka under various climatic conditions. this opens up an avenue to establish large growing areas of m. pinnata in places where it has not been reported or cultivated before. this study was unable to find, m. pinnata in some of the localities reported earlier (dassanayake et al., 1995). several reasons including urbanization, clearing forests for cultivation, natural disasters such as landslides and over-exploitation might have exerted unfavorable impacts on these populations, making them very rare or extinct in those localities. conclusion this is the first record of an extensive systematic survey on the distribution of m. pinnata in sri lanka finding 10 new localities including three in the wet zone. it shows that this plant could be cultivated in the wet zone though it has been previously recorded only from the dry and intermediate zones. matale, badulla and monaragala seem to be the most suitable districts to establish large scale cultivations of m. pinnata. populations collected from ritigala (rg) could easily be cultivated even in colombo. this is quite promising as it was identified as a unique population for conservation with regard to morphology and molecular characters (unpublished data). six populations i.e. md (madulla), nu (naula), ng (nilgala), wp (warakapola), rg (ritigala) and hm (haldummulla), were grown well, under a range of climatic conditions producing large number of flowers and fruits. however the ability to produce flowers and seeds of the morphotypes kp, mr, mg, ww and mm are very low and hence there should be a special conservation plan for them particularly, otherwise they might be extinct from the country soon. appendix a. dsds of m. pinnata. 1. ahatuwewa 2. alawwa 3. anamaduwa 4. bammunukotuwa 5. bibile 6. dambulla 7. dankotuwa 8. galgamuwa 9. gomarankadawela 10. hambanthota 11. horowpathana 12. ibbagamuwa 13. kaluthara 14. katupotha 15. kebithigollewa 16. kotawehera 17. kurunegala 18. laggala 19. madulla 20. mallawapitiya 21. mawathgama 22. medagama 23. mihintala 24. morawewa 25. naula 26. nikaweratiya 27. palagala 28. pallegama 29. palugaswewa 30. pannala 31. polgahawela 32. polpithigama 33. rasnayakepura 34. raththota 35. udubaddawa 36. wariyapola 37.kulama 38. wellawaya distribution and conservation of munronia pinnata 49 appendix b. locations of m. pinnata previously recorded (dasanayake et al., 1995). haldummulla (1986)* balangoda (1906) buttala*(n/a) dammenthenna (1987) doluwa (1972) kalupahana (1987)* katharagama (1897) kundasale (1987)* (n/a) laggala 1987* lunugala (1888)*n/a madugoda (1990) mathurata (1883)* mediwaka (1990) muppene (1928) ritigala (1887,1905, 1971,1973,1975)* wadinagala (1975) wellawaya (1906)* uma oya (1883) those marked with * were visited during this study acknowledgements the authors sincerely appreciate the efforts of anonymous reviewers who reviewed this manuscript. financial assistance provided by industrial technology institute and university of sri jayawardanapura, sri lanka are greatly acknowledged. references anonymous, 1979. ayurveda pharmacopeia 1. part (2). department of ayurveda, colombo, sri lanka. p.121. bekalo, t.h., woodmatas, s.d. and woldemariam, z.a. 2009. an ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by local people in the lowlands of konta special woreda, southern nations, nationalities and peoples regional state, ethiopia. j. ethnobiol. ethnomed. 5:26. dassanayake, m.d., fosberg, f.r. and clayton, w.d (eds) 1995. a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon. vol. 9. amerind publ. co. ltd. new delhi, india, pp. 230-239. hooker, j.d. 1874. flora of british india. vol. 1. london, pp. 540-569. jayaweera, b.m.a. 1982. medicinal plants (indigenous and exotic) used in ceylon, part 4. national science council, sri lanka p. 59. muthu, c., ayyanar, m., raja, n. and ignacimuthu, s. 2006. medicinal plants used by traditional healers in kancheepuram district of tamil nadu, india. j. ethnobiol. ethnomed. 2: 43. panabokke, c.r. and kannangara, r.p. 1996. agro-ecological regions of sri lanka: map 2. survey department of sri lanka. peng, h. and bartholomew, b. 2008. munronia. in: theobald, w. and burmah, m. (eds), flora of china 11: 118-119. qi, s.-h., chen, l., wu, d.g., maa, w.-b. and luoa, x.-d. 2003. novel tetranortriterpenoid derivatives from munronia henryi. tetrahedron 59: 4193-4199 trease, w.c. and evance, d. 2002. pharmacognosy. elsevier ltd, new york pp. 545-546. (manuscript received on 24 september 2009; revised on 21 october 2010) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 69-78, 2010 (june) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists reproductive biology of three medicinal plants shamim ara liza, md. oliur rahman1, md. zashim uddin, md. abul hassan and momtaz begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: taxonomy; pollination; seed germination; asclepias curassavica l.; clerodendrum viscosum vent.; scoparia dulcis l. abstract this paper presents the flower morphology, pollination mechanisms and seed germination of three indigenous medicinal plants of bangladesh namely, asclepias curassavica l., clerodendrum viscosum vent. and scoparia dulcis l. the minimum days taken for seed germination in asclepias curassavica, clerodendrum viscosum and scoparia dulcis are 6, 14 and 9, respectively. epigeal type of seed germination has been noted in asclepias curassavica and scoparia dulcis, whereas hypogeal type of seed germination has been found in clerodendrum viscosum. fruit production is highest in scoparia dulcis among the species studied and a maximum of 304 seeds are produced per fruit in it. maximum 108 seeds are produced per fruit in asclepias curassavica. among the species investigated asclepias curassavica and clerodendrum viscosum are cross-pollinated, and scoparia dulcis is self-pollinated. butterflies, bees and ants are noted to be the pollinators in asclepias curassavica and in clerodendrum viscosum black ants, butterflies and long tongue hawk moths are the pollinators. introduction medicinal plants are of enormous economic importance and they are used as raw materials for the extraction of active constitution in pure form, as precursors for synthetic vitamins and steroids, and as preparations for herbal and indigenous medicines (de padua et al., 1999). asclepias curassavica, clerodendrum viscosum and scoparia dulcis are three medicinally important plants. asclepias curassavica, a member of the family asclepiadaceae is highly valued in both traditional and modern medicine. leaf juice of asclepias curassavica is administered in abdominal pain, arrests haemorrhages and having anthelmintic properties, whereas roots are applied for asthma, piles and gonorrhoea (ghani, 2003). clerodendrum viscosum belongs to the family verbenaceae is used in fever, cough and bronchitis, also applied for herpetic eruptions and as vermifuge and bitter tonic. scoparia dulcis falls under the family scrophulariaceae, is used as analgestic, diuretic and antipyretic, to treat diarrhoea and dysentery, also in cough, bronchitis, hypertension, haemorrhoids and insect bite (van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2002; ghani, 2003). 1corresponding author. e-mail: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 70 liza et al. over the past half century, numerous studies have addressed various aspects of reproductive biology, pollination and seed germination. several studies on reproductive biology and pollination mechanism have been carried out in different group of plants. cox (1990) investigated pollination and the evolution of breeding system in the members of the pandanaceae. hassan and khan (1996) carried out pollination studies in the genus polygonum and showed that mechanism of cross pollination is operating as a rule in heterostylar plants, whereas self pollination occurs in non-heterostylar plants. wyatt and broyles (1990) highlighted the reproductive biology in milkweeds (asclepiadaceae). the biological function of the neotropical orchid genera was elucidated by the study of the pollination biology (singer and sazima, 1999). very recently, pansarin and amaral (2009) investigated the reproductive biology and pollination in the genus stanhopea. studies on seed germination in different plants are well known and factors affecting seed germination have been recognized in different species (yang et al., 1999; hassan and fardous, 2003; chauhan and johnson, 2008). even though studies on reproductive biology were carried out in different groups of plants, however, no study was conducted on this subject so far in the medicinally important species asclepias curassavica, clerodendrum viscosum and scoparia dulcis. because of habitat destruction and over-exploitation many medicinal plants are going to be endangered. consequently, economically important plants should be brought under cultivation. prior to bring them under cultivation their detailed reproductive biology should be studied. therefore, the present study was undertaken to investigate different biological characteristics like mode of pollination and seed germination in these three indigenous important medicinal plants which might help us in bringing the plants under cultivation. materials and methods three medicinal plants were selected for this study namely, asclepias curassavica, clerodendrum viscosum and scoparia dulcis. plants were collected from different parts of the country and planted in the botanic garden of dhaka university for closer observation and critical study. flower morphology of each plant was studied critically. bagging experiment: in order to understand the pollination mechanism bagging experiments were carried out. bags of fine cotton cloth were used for bagging which were done to note the mode of pollination of the flowers using the protocol of hassan and khan (1996). unopened floral buds were caged by cotton bags and kept under observation. emasculated floral buds were also brought under bagging. observations on phenology were made throughout the year. seed germination experiment: seeds were collected from mature fruits for germination experiments. earthen pots of 10 inch in diameter filled up with a mixture of soil and compost (2:1) were used for seed sowing. ten to thirty seeds at each time were reproductive biology of three medicinal plants 71 sown at different times of the year to record dormancy and viability, suitable time for germination, percentage and type of germination. results and discussion flower morphology asclepias curassavica l., sp. pl.: 215 (1753). (fig. 1) flowers hermaphrodite, complete, c 1.7-1.8 cm across. calyx 5, polysepalous, 3-4 mm long, 1 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, persistent. petals 5, rotate, about 1.5-1.8 cm long, regular, elliptic, corolla tube short, crowned by a corona arisen from corolla, lobes reflexed, orange-red or bright crimson, corona adnate to the staminal fig. 1. asclepias curassavica l.; a. habit sketch with flowering branch (×1); b. sepal (×5); c. petal (×1.5); d. corona (×3.5); e. flower (×1.5); f. l. s. of flower (×2.5); g. gynandrium (×4); h. carpels (×4.75); i. pollinia (×20); j. t.s. of ovary (×18); k. fruit (×0.6); l. seed (×2.5). 72 liza et al. column. gynostegium about 3 x 2 mm, cylindrical, anthers up to 2.5 cm long. pollinaria 5, pollinia ovate-lanceolate, caudicular, pendulous, flattened. ovary 2 or 3; styles 2 or 3, up to 3 mm long, glabrous. flowering time: almost throughout the year. clerodendrum viscosum vent., jard. malm. 1: 25, t. 25 (1803). (fig. 2) flowers hermaphrodite, complete, white, pink at the centre, at evening sweet scented but odourless during the day. sepals 5, gamosepalous, c 1.0-2.9 cm long, tubular, red, erect, lanceolate, silky pubescent. corolla 5, tubular, lobes spreading, as long as the tube, white and purplish-pink at the mouth of the tube, rounded at the top, the tube 1.5-1.7 cm long, oblong, obtuse. stamens 4, didynamous; filament c 1.5-4.2 cm long, white to purplishred; anthers oblong, dorsifixed, 2-celled; pollen bursts transversely. ovary glabrous; style slender, c 4.6 cm long; stigma short and 2-fid, c 0.2 cm long, white. flowering time: january-june. fig. 2. clerodendrum viscosum vent.; a. habit sketch (×0.3); b. sepals (×0.7); c. petals (×1.6); d. a flower (×1.2); e. l. s. of flower (×1); f. stamen (×0.6); g. carpel (×1); h. t.s. of ovary (×20); i. fruit (×1.2); j. seed (×1). reproductive biology of three medicinal plants 73 scoparia dulcis l., sp. pl. : 116 (1753). (fig. 3) flowers hermaphrodite, complete, usually axillary, c 6-7 mm in diameter, 4-fid, rotate, regular. sepals 4-5, gamosepalous, regular, calyx lobes oval-oblong, 2.5-3.0 x 0.81.0 mm, 3-nerved, glabrous, ciliate at the margin, persistent. corolla pale yellow to white, corona present, tube densely hairy at the throat, lobes 2-4 mm long, apex obtuse, slightly curvy, upper lobes slightly larger than others. stamens 4, exserted; filament inserted at the top of the corolla tube, glabrous; anthers dorsifixed. style erect, c 2 mm long; stigma truncate to 2-partite, sometimes notched. flowering time: almost throughout the year. fig. 3. scoparia dulcis l.; a. a habit sketch (×1); b. sepal (×8); c. petal (×4.5); d. a flower (×5); e. l. s. of flower (×5); f. stamen (×6.5); g. carpels (×8); h. t.s. of ovary (×50); i. fruit (×6). 74 liza et al. pollination the results of pollination experiment are summarized in table 1. in asclepias curassavica five stamens are usually adnate to the stigma with the pollen agglutinated into pollinia united into pairs. so the 5-angled depressed stigma cannot accept pollens because of its structure. besides, the larva of butterflies are seen that move from one flower to another. the bagging experiment did not reveal any fruit formation under the bag, however, fruits set under control indicating that cross-pollination is the usual method in asclepias curassavica. butterflies, bees and ants are the pollinators for this species (table 1). table 1. production of fruits in bagging experiment in three medicinal plants (‘+’ indicates positive fruit setting, ‘-’ indicates negative fruit setting). production of fruits sl. no. species bagging period (days) bagged plant control type of pollination pollinators 1. asclepias curassavica c. 13 + cross-pollinated butterflies, ants, bees 2. clerodendrum viscosum c. 10 + cross-pollinated ants, butterflies, hawk moths 3. scoparia dulcis c. 12 + + self-pollinated in clerodendrum viscosum the stigma cannot accept pollens for their arrangement. many big black ants and butterflies are seen that moved on flowers to flowers but long tongue hawk-moth are also the pollinators for the tubular flower. cross pollination occurs in this species as no fruit was formed within the bag. on the other hand, fruit formation takes place under control. in clerodendrum viscosum the types of cross-pollination are myrmecophily, psychophily or phalaenophily. the emasculated flowers do not produce fruits under bagging condition in clerodendrum viscosum. therefore, it could be said that there is no possibility of apomixis. in scoparia dulcis the exserted stamens with filaments are inserted at the top of the corolla tube and truncate to bipartite stigma present. fruit formation starts within 4-5 days within the bag and almost each carpel is turned to a fruit and fruits mature within 12 days. therefore it is evident that self-pollination mechanism occurs in this species indicating scoparia dulcis a self-pollinated plant. seed germination most plants reproduce through production of seeds. seed germination experiments were carried out in asclepias curassavica, clerodendrum viscosum and scoparia dulcis. result of seed germination in asclepias curassavica is depicted in table 2. it is evident that seeds sown immediately after collection in january (14.1.2008) took more or less 6 reproductive biology of three medicinal plants 75 days to germinate in asclepias curassavica, whereas seeds sown in early march (8.3.2008) took about 13 days. seeds sown after six month of storage did not germinate indicating that their viability was lost (table 2). seeds that fall on the ground after maturity of fruits usually germinated in january. plants that germinated from seeds flower and fruit in the same season. a plant of moderate size produces c 20-25 fruits per year. maximum numbers of seeds produced in asclepias curassavica are108 per fruit. the type of seed germination was noted to be epigeal. table 2. seed germination in asclepias curassavica. date of seed collection date of seed sown no. of seeds sown date of seed germinated no. of seeds germinated days taken to germinate % of seed germinated 14.01.08 10 20.01.08 10 c 6 100 10.02.08 10 20.02.08 10 c 10 100 08.03.08 10 21.03.08 6 c 13 60 14.01.08 19.07.08 10 not germinated 0 not germinated 0 seed germination in clerodendrum viscosum is displayed in table 3. the seed germination time for clerodendrum viscosum is may to july and the minimum days taken to germinate when sown in may indicating that the usual germination period for this species is may. seeds that fall on the ground after maturity of fruits usually germinate in may and early june. plants that germinated from seeds do not flower and fruit in the same season. the type of seed germination in clerodendrum viscosum was hypogeal. table 3. seed germination in clerodendrum viscosum. date of seed collection date of seed sown no. of seeds sown date of seed germination no. of seeds germinated days taken to germinate % of seed germinated 15.05.08 10 29.05.08 10 c 14 100 01.05.08 03.06.08 10 22.06.08 10 c 19 100 01.07.08 10 24.07.08 4 c 23 40 19.08.08 10 not germinated 0 not germinated 0 in scoparia dulcis it takes 9-19 days to germinate seeds (table 4). if seeds are sown after immediate collection, minimum days are required to germinate and germination rate becomes high. seeds that fall on the ground after maturity of fruits usually germinate within 7-10 days. plants that germinated from seeds usually flower and fruit in the same season. at every nodes of the plant usually 4 fruits are set. plant of moderate size produces numerous fruits per year and each fruit contains a maximum of 304 seeds. epigeal type of germination was found in scoparia dulcis. 76 liza et al. table 4. seed germination in scoparia dulcis. date of seed collection date of seed sown no. of seeds sown date of seed germination no. of seeds germinated days taken to germinate % of seed germinated 19.07.07 30 28.07.07 30 c 9 100 19.07.07 03.08.07 30 16.08.07 26 c13 86.7 19.01.08 30 02.02.08 24 c 14 80.0 16.09.08 30 05.10.08 4 c 19 13.34 the present study shows that in asclepias curassavica the usual germination period is january to february, in clerodendrum viscosum the germination time is may to june, and in scoparia dulcis it is almost throughout the year. it has been observed that among the species studied the minimum days taken to germinate seeds are in asclepias curassavica, whereas the maximum days taken to germinate are in clerodendrum viscosum. the development of seedlings from seeds up to maturity in the species studied has been shown in plate 1. in the present study we investigated floral morphology, seed germination and pollination mechanism of three medicinal plants. the present study reveals that hypogeal germination is found in clerodendrum viscosum, whereas epigeal germination is observed in asclepias curassavica and scoparia dulcis. self-pollination has been found to occur in scoparia dulcis and cross-pollination is found in asclepias curassavica and clerodendrum viscosum. the main pollinators revealed from this study include black ants, butterflies, honey bees and hawk-moth. the role of butterflies, bees and ants have already been recognized as potential pollinators in different plants (sazima et al., 1993). asclepias pollinators include bees, moths and butterflies (kephart, 1983; broyles and wyatt, 1991). purseglove (1968) postulated that flowers with white corolla, strong perfume, abundant nectar and sticky pollen are entomophilous and are visited by bees and thrips. however, our study showed that white flowers of clerodendrum viscosum are visited by black ants, butterflies and hawk moths. in asclepias curassavica crosspollination has been done by butterflies, ants and bees. among the species studied asclepias curassavica and clerodendrum viscosum are heterostylar plants, while scoparia dulcis is a homostylar plant. the structures of stigma or the arrangement of stamens and carpels in asclepias curassavica and clerodendrum viscosum support the cross-pollination. in case of heterostylar species, no fruit is formed under bagged condition indicating cross-pollination as the breeding mechanism. our results support the previous study on pollination mechanism involving bagging experiments indicates that mechanism of cross-pollination is operating as a rule in heterostylar plants due to the presence of the capitate stigmas, whereas self pollination occurs in homostylar plant (hassan and khan, 1996). reproductive biology of three medicinal plants 77 plate 1. development stages of three medicinal plants. 1-4. asclepias curassavica (1. seeds; 2. seedling; 3. mature plant with flowering stage; 4. fruiting stage). 5-8. clerodendrum viscosum (5. seeds; 6. seedling; 7. mature plant with flowering stage; 8. fruiting stage). 9-12. scoparia dulcis (9. seeds; 10. seedling; 11. mature plant with flowering stage; 12. fruiting stage). 78 liza et al. 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(ed.), biological approaches and evolutionary trends in plants. academic press, london. pp. 255-272. yang, j., lovett-doust, j. and lovett-doust, l. 1999. seed germination patterns in green dragon (arisaema dracontium, araceae). amer. j. bot. 86(8): 1160-1167. (manuscript received on 20 december 2009; revised on 3 may 2010) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 55-61, 2006 (june) ethno-medico-botanical knowledge from kaukhali proper and betbunia of rangamati district mohammed yusuf, md. abdul wahab, jasim uddin chowdhury and jaripa begum bcsir laboratories, p.o. chittagong cantonment, chittagong-4220, bangladesh key words: ethno-medico-botany, kaukhali, betbunia, rangamati abstract a survey was carried out between july 2001 and june 2002 in kaukhali proper and betbunia area of rangamati district to document the medicinal plants of that area and their uses. during this work 34 species representing 23 genera and 17 families were found, which are used by the chakma and marma tribes and the bangalis living there for the treatment of 31 diseases. botanical and tribal names of the plants, parts used, name of the diseases, and name of the users have been mentioned. introduction kaukhali proper is about 10 km west to rangamati town. betbunia is a union under kaukhali p.s. situated about 9 km south of kaukhali proper and about 18 km south-west to rangamati town. being a hilly area they are rich in floral diversity. inhabitants of those areas are mostly tribal, dominated by chakma and marma. many of them still depend on local medicinal plants for the treatment of different diseases. a good number of bangali families are also living there. they also use quite a good number of medicinal plants for the treatment of different diseases. in recent years due to development of good communication, modern doctors and medicines have reached there, resulting decline in the use of traditional medicine. therefore the knowledge of traditional use of medicinal plants by the local people is likely to be lost in near future, and for this it is necessary to document as much as possible the existing available information. only a limited work has been done on the tribal folk medicine in the chittagong hilltracts i.e., alam 1992, chakma, et al. 2003, rahman et al. 1998; rahman and uddin 1998, rahman 2003, uddin 2001, yusuf et al. 2002. keeping this in mind this survey was done to document those valuable ethno-medico-botanical knowledge. the survey was carried out for about a year. during this work 34 species representing 23 genera and 17 families were documented which are used for the treatment of 31 diseases. local names of those plants, parts used, method of use and doses are mentioned. 56 yusuf et al. materials and methods uses of medicinal plants have been documented on ethnobotanical data sheet by interviewing tribal healers and elderly people of the study areas, namely, kaukhali and betbunia. the study was made for about one year, between july 2001 and june 2002 by repeatedly visiting the areas in different seasons to get the information on the plants. the information were verified by repeated inquiries and asking the tribal healers as far as possible. the voucher specimens of most of the species have been collected, identified and preserved in the herbarium of bcsir laboratories, chittagong. plants are arranged alphabetically by their botanical names followed by tribal names, family names and voucher number. in case of most common and well-known plants voucher number has not been mentioned. results and discussion data collected on the uses of medicinal plants by the tribes and bangali of the study areas are given below in the tabular form (table 1) uses of the following 18 plants described above viz., abrus sp., alocasia cuculata, alstonia scholaris, asparagus acerosus, boreria articularies, clerodendrum indicum, costus speciosus, desmodium triquetrum, pavetta sp. leucas zeylanica, leucas aspera, mitracarpus hirtus, ocimum americanum (citral type), plumbago zeylanica, pouzolzia zeylanica, scoparia dulcis, sida orientalis, synedrilla nodiflora do not match with the reports consulted. probably the usage is new so far known. additional uses along with the reported one was documented in case of achyranthes aspera, acorus calamus, amaranthus spinosus and rauvolfia serpentina (kirtiker and basu1975, alam et al. 1996, khan et al. 2002, chakma et al. 2003). in case of cassia fistula same use was reported for bark and wood (kirtiker 1975) instead of fruit pulp as recorded here. marma tribe uses the root of plumbago zeylanica in case of suppression of menses. it has a rational basis, because “plumbagin” contained in the root has stimulant effect on muscular tissue of uterus and on nervous system (kirtikar and basu 1975). it was observed during the investigation that tribal of betbunia and kaukhali generally use single plant for the preparation of medicine, rarely two or more than two plants. but the bangalis in kaukhali were found to use a number of plants instead of single plant. moreover, they use some minerals also, which was not found in tribal preparations. probably this is due to the influence of ayurvedic and unani systems of medicine on them. the local people reported during the investigations that the number of tribal practitioners has declined to only a few now-a-days than in the past. table 1. ethno-medico-botanical data from kaukhali proper and betbunia of rangamati. scientific name, family name, voucher number local name locality diseases uses abrus precatorious l. (leguminosae) voucher no. 1190 bengali. kunch, rati, jostimadhu kaukhali gastric pain dry roots of this plant along with the dry leaves of coccinea cordifolia, cassia angustifolia and whole herb of ipomea quamoclit, cleome viscosa and clitoria ternatea are pounded together and pills (size of a small marble) made from this is given orally. dose: 1 tablet daily in the morning with water (users: bangali). abrus sp. (leguminosae) voucher no. 1098 marma yattaripru betbunia urinary arrest/ oliguria root paste mixed with rice-socked water is prescribed orally. dose: 1 cup twice daily for 3 days (users: marma). achyranthes aspera l. (amaranthaceae) marma chainchi betbunia impotency, jaundice, dropsy root paste is given orally with honey for impotency. dose: 1 teaspoonful once daily for 3-4 days. in jaundice and dropsy, necklets made of root pieces worn on head and kept till cure (users: marma). acorus calamus l. (araceae) voucher no.1106 marma laonochi betbunia paralysis, epileptic faint rhizome paste along with the bile of python and fruits of myristica fragrans is rubbed on the affected parts in paralysis. bruised leaves are put before nose of the patient of epilepsy for relief (users: marma). albizia procera benth. (leguminosae) chakma sadakoroi betbunia thread worm fresh leaves or paste of the young leaves are prescribed orally along with rice. dose: teaspoonful of paste twice daily for 2-3 days (users: chakma). allium sativum l. (liliaceae) chakma rasun betbunia localized baldness (alopecia) blood of monopterous cuchia is applied over head after cleaning and then paste of garlic is applied along with the jhul i.e., spider net along with dirt (users: chakma). alocassia cuculata schott.( araceae) voucher no. 1104 marma sapposraku betbunia hardness of abdomen (peterdhola) rhizome paste is swallowed along with ripe banana. dose: about a tablespoonful once daily for 2-3 days (users: marma). alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br. (apocynaceae) voucher no. 1100 marma chailoi betbunia arthritic pain leaf paste is warmed and applied as a poultice twice daily over affected parts. (users: marma). amaranthus spinosus l. ( amaranthaceae) chakma kata marish betbunia fever and ranikhet disease in chicken root extract along with the fruit of myristica fragrens is given in fever along with rice soaked water. dose: half glass twice daily for three days. infant dose is half. in ranikhet of chicken root juice mixed with boiled rice and cow dung is prescribed. dose: half teaspoon 2-3 times a day (users: chakma). scientific name, family name, voucher number local name locality diseases uses asparagus acerosus roxb. (liliaceae) voucher no. 1097 marma saktichara, chulanopay betbunia arthritis, leucorrhoea, abdominal pain paste of the roots along with other ingredients is given orally. dose: one teaspoon twice daily for a week for arthritis and leucorrhoea and one table spoon twice for one day in abdominal pain (users: marma). borreria articularies (l.f.) f.n.will. ( rubiaceae) voucher no. 1162 bengali – ekdaira kaukhali bronchitis dried leaves of this plant along with the leaves of nyctanthes arbortristis is grind together and tablet (size of a pea) made and given orally. dose: 1 tablet twice daily for 15 days (users: bangali). cassia alata l. (leguminosae) chakma dadgach betbunia thread worm decoction of the leaves is prescribed orally before meal at night. dose: one glassful for 2 days (users: chakma). c. fistula l. (leguminosae) marma miaopiga betbunia dysentery inner portion of the young fruit is prescribed orally. dose: small amount (5-6 gms) twice daily for a week (users: marma). c. occidentalis l. (leguminosae) voucher no. 1101 marmakajor betbunia respiratory problem decoction of the leaves is prescribed orally. dose: half cup of decoction twice daily for 2-3 days (users: marma). clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze. (verbenaceae) voucher no. 1196 bengali ekdaira gach kaukhali carbuncle leaves of the plants along with the whole herb of commelina diffusa, cynodon dactylon and plumbago indica is made into paste and applied over the carbuncle. it is applied after washing with warm water and continues for a week (users: bangali). c. viscosum l. (verbenaceae) voucher no. 1096 marma vegach betbunia poisonous insect bite paste of few young leaves is applied as a poultice on the affected area (users: marma). costus speciosus (koinig) sm. (costaceae) marma kedogi betbunia pus in ear juice of the roasted stem of the plant is squeezed out and given as a drop in ear. dose: few drops 2-3 times a day for three days (users: marma). cyathula prostrata bl. (amaranthaceae) voucher no. 1086,1163 chakma & bangali – uphutlengra betbunia and kaukhali urinary calculi, headache in betbunia, red iron dipped in to the juice of the root and the juice is prescribed orally for urinary calculi. dose: half cup of juice twice daily. in primary stage 3 doses only. in kaukhali garland made from the root pieces is tie on head to get relief from headache (users: chakma & bangali). scientific name, family name, voucher number local name locality diseases uses desmodium triquetrum dc. (leguminosae) voucher no. 1092 marma pha loy joy betbunia threadworm, bleeding piles decoction of the fresh leaves is prescribed orally. dose: 2 teaspoon 2-3 times a day for 2-3 days in both the cases (users: marma). holarrhena pubescens (buch.ham.)wall. (apocynaceae) chakma kuruch betbunia dysentery paste of the bark is prescribed along with curd. dose: 1 table spoon twice daily for three days (users: chakma). kaempferia parviflora l. (zingiberaceae) voucher no. 1089 chakma kala halud betbunia poisonous insect bite paste of the rhizome and leaf is applied as poultice on bite area. k. rotunda l. (zingiberaceae) voucher no. 1105 marma bhujuraphul betbunia scabies, wound paste of the rhizome along with some other ingredients (untoled) is applied as a poultice. it is applied once daily for a week. leucas aspera (willd.) link. (lamiaceae) voucher no. 1164 bengali – shetadron, donkalash kaukhali earache, arthritic pain slightly wormed leaf juice is pour into ear to cure earache. for arthritic pain leaves are cooked and taken as vegetables. l. zeylanica (l.) r.br. (lamiaceae) voucher no. 1095 marma paichangcha betbunia convulsion due to fever necklet made with the pieces of roots are tie on arms and legs and kept till cures. melia sempervirens (l.) all. (meliaceae) voucher no. 1157 bengali ghoranim kaukhali skin disease leaf paste of this plant along with camphor, copper sulfate, alum and borax is applied superficially. it is applied twice daily until cure. mitracarpus hirtus (rubiaceae) voucher no. 1161 bengali – padmamukhi kaukhali blood dysentery dried herb, dried mango seed kernel, dried green fruit of aegle mermelos and fruits of terminalia balerica is grind together and tablet (size of a pea) made from the powder is prescribed orally. dose: 2 tablets thrice daily for 5 days. ocimum americanum l.camphor type (lamiaceae) voucher no. 1159 bengali – tulsi kaukhali cataract juice of this plant along with ludwigia hyssopifolia is given in eye as a drop. dose: two drops thrice daily for 7-8 days. scientific name, family name, voucher number local name locality diseases uses ocimum americanum l.citral type (lamiaceae) voucher no. 1090 chakma sabrang betbunia eye disease of chicken leaves rubbed on eyelids 2-3 times daily for 4-5 days. pavetta sp. (rubiaceae) voucher no. 1102 marma sangraimay betbunia menstrual irregularity root paste of this plant along with the root of clerodendrum viscosum and plumbago zeylanica is prescribed orally. dose: 1 tablespoonful 2-3 times a day for a week. plumbago zeylanica l. (plumbaginaceae) voucher no.1099 marma kaincho apru betbunia suppression of menses paste of the root along with the root of clerodendrum viscosum is prescribed orally. dose: about a tablespoonful once daily for 2-3 days. pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. (urticaceae) chakma biskatali betbunia pustules paste made from the leaves of this plant along with the leaves of sida rhombifolia is applied as a poultice over pustules to hasten suppuration. rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth.ex kurz. (apocynaceae) voucher no. 1093 chakma surchan betbunia high blood pressure, respiratory problem fresh root juice or dried root powder soaked in water is prescribed orally. dose: 1 teaspoonful twice daily. scoparia dulcis l. (scrophulariaceae) voucher no. 1165 bengali bondhoinna kaukhali jaundice tablet (size of a pea) made from the whole plant along with cardamom, black pepper and borax are prescribed orally. dose: 2 tablet twice daily for 2 weeks. sida orientalis cav. (malvaceae) voucher no. 1167 bengali bailodi kaukhali tumor in the uterus tablet ( size of a marble) made from the leaves of this plant along with the leaves of melochia chorchorifolia, ludwigia hyssopifolia and the flower of nelumbo nucifera are prescribed orally. dose: 2 tablet daily until cure. synedrilla nodiflora gaertn. (asteraceae) voucher no.1094 marma ochonsagor biai betbunia scabies water boiled along with the leaves of this plant is used as a bath for seven days. tagetis erecta l. (asteraceae) bengali genda kaukhali piles leaves of this plant are pounded along with the fruits of phyllanthus emblica, terminalia chebula, t. belerica and roots of glycirhyza glabra and the juice is expressed out. this juice is given orally in piles. dose: 1-2 tablespoonful once daily for 20-21 days. zingiber montanum (koenig) a.dietr. (zingiberaceae) marmapaley betbunia flatulance rhizome paste is prescribed orally. dose: 1 teaspoon 2-3 times a day. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge 61 acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the ministry of science and technology, government of the peoples republic of bangladesh, for providing financial support to carry out this investigation. thanks are also due to the director, bcsir laboratories, chittagong for his generous co-operation and encouragement during the work. references alam, m. k. 1992. medical ethnobotany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46(3): 330335. alam, m. k., choudhury, j. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies from bangladesh. bangladesh j. life sci. 8(1)49-63. chakma, s., hossain, m.k., khan, b.m. and kabir, m.a. 2003. ethno-botanical knowledge of chakma community in the use of medicinal plants in chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. mfp news, xiii(3) : 3-7. dehra dun, india. khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2002. ethnobotanical survey in rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1) : 51-60. kirtikar, k.r. and basu, b.d. reprint 1975. indian medicinal plants vol. i-iv. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, new connaught place, dehrahun. rahman, m.a., 2003. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge among tribals of bangladesh. in: ethnobotany and medicinal plants of indian subcontinent. scientific publisher, jodhpur, india pp. 89-93. rahman, m.a., and uddin, s.b. 1998. some anti-rheumatic plants used by tribal people of the hill tracts districts. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(2): 4. rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and khisha, a. 1998. a report on some anti-jaundice plants from tribal community of hill tracts districts. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(1): 4. uddin, s.b. 2001. a comparative ethnobotanical study among the tribal communities of chittagong hilltracts. bangladesh. ph.d. thesis submitted to the university of aberdeen. yusuf, m., rahman, m..a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2002. indigenous knowledge about the use of zingibers in bangladesh. j.econ. taxon. bot. 26(3): 566-570. bcsir laboratories, p.o. chittagong cantonment, chittagong abstract references 06. yousuf.pdf bcsir laboratories, p.o. chittagong cantonment, chittagong abstract references microsoft word 02. 04-09 znt-2.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 9-19, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton of a pond receiving textile industrial effluents. ii. euglenophyceae and bacillariophyceae z.n. tahmida begum1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. keywords: industrial effluents; phytoplankton; taxonomy; euglenophyceae; bacillariophyceae. abstract a total of 97 phytoplanktonic algal taxa belonging to 17 genera under two classes (euglenophyceae and bacillariophyceae) have been recorded from a pond receiving effluents from two textile industries at demra, dhaka district. five diatom species, namely navicula cryptocephala kütz., n. decussis oestrup, n. rhynchocephala kütz., n. viridula kütz. and nitzschia intermedia hantzsch are new records for bangladesh. introduction for the assessment of water quality phytoplankton are important biological indicators and sometimes they are better than physical and chemical variables (round, 1985). previously, information about the physico-chemical aspects (begum and hossain, 1993), and impact of major and minor elements on the plankton community (begum et al., 1996) of a pond receiving textile industrial effluents have been made for the first time from bangladesh. recently, begum (2008) has described the phytoplanktonic algal taxa belonging to six classes, namely cyanophyceae, chlorophyceae, xanthophyceae, chrysophyceae, cryptophyceae and dinophyceae from the same pond at demra, dhaka district. the present paper is a continuation and last part of the previous one, based on the same collections, and it includes 97 taxa under euglenophyceae and bacillariophyceae. materials and methods the samples were collected from a pond receiving textile industrial effluents in different seasons of 1990 and 1991. description of sample collections, their preservation and examination, details of physical and chemical conditions of water at four stations or sampling points have been published by begum (2008). literature consulted for the identification of all the phytoplankton are: islam and khatun (1966), islam and haroon (1975), islam and aziz (1977, 1979), islam and chowdhury (1979), islam and hossain (1979), germain (1981), islam and moniruzzaman (1981), aziz and islam (1986), islam and mannan (1986), khondker et al. (1990), islam et al. (1991), aziz and ara (2000), nahar (2001), aziz and tanbir (2003), islam and alfasane (2004), and islam and irfanullah (2005). in the present study classification proposed by bold and wynne (1985) is followed. 1 e-mail: botany@univdhaka.edu 10 begum taxonomic enumeration a total of 97 taxa belonging to 17 genera under two classes are presented in this paper, most of them have been reported previously from different aquatic bodies, mostly polluted water (see references in the materials and methods). however, five diatom taxa are newly recorded for bangladesh as indicated after their brief descriptions. class: euglenophyceae order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae 1. euglena acus (müller) ehr., abhandl. königl. akad. der wiss. zu berlin 1: 1-88, pl. 6 (1830). [syn.: vibrio acus müller (1786), euglena acus var. rigida hübner (1886), e. acus var. minor hansgirg (1892)]. cells 76-250 µm long, 5.7-14.3 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 2. euglena australica var. claviformis playfair, proc. linn. soc. n. s. w. 48: 223 (1923). cells 20 µm long, 14 µm broad. stations: 1-3; common. 3. euglena chlamydophora mainx, arch. f. protistenk. 60: 342, pl. 1, fig. 8 (1928). cells 54 µm long, 17 µm broad. stations: 1-4; common. 4. euglena clavata skuja, symb. bot. upsal. 9(3): 189, pl. 22, figs 2-5 (1948). cells 99 µm long, 16 µm broad. stations: 2, 4; rare. 5. euglena deses ehr., abhandl. d. akad. d. wiss. berlin 1833: 248 (1834). [syn.: enchelys deses müller (1786), euglena satelles braslavska-spectorova (1937)]. cells 99 µm long, 11 µm broad. station: 2; rare. 6. euglena exilis gojdics, the genus euglena: 148, pl. 28, fig. 4 (1953). cells 48 µm long, 11.4 µm broad. stations: 1-3; few. 7. euglena flava dangeard, le botaniste 8: 180, pl. 5, figs. 53 (1902). cells 16-44 µm long, 6.4-14.3 µm broad. station: 3; rare. 8. euglena geniculata dujardin, infusiones: 362 (1841). cells 99 µm long, 15.6 µm broad. stations: 1-4; common. 9. euglena granulata (klebs) fr. schmitz jahrb. wiss. bot. 15: 16 (1884). [syn.: e. velata var. granulata klebs (1883)]. cells 37-64 µm long, 23-29 µm broad. stations: 1, 2, 4; few. 10. euglena güntheri gojdics, univ. wisconsin press, madison, p.161, fig.1, pl. 33 (1953). [syn.: enchelys terricola günther (1928)]. cells 54-97 µm long, 11.4-14.5 µm broad. stations: 1, 2, 4; common. 11. euglena pisciformis klebs, unters. bot. inst. tüb. 1(2): 302 (1883). [syn.: e. agilis h. j. carter (1856)]. cells 24-82 µm long, 7-11 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton of a pond 11 12. euglena polymorpha dangeard, le botaniste 8: 175 (1902). [syn.: e. granulata var. polymorpha popova (1966)]. cells 73 µm long, 6.6-23.8 µm broad. stations: 1, 2; common. 13. euglena proxima dangeard, le botaniste 8: 154 (1902). cells 54 µm long, 14.2 µm broad. station: 3; rare. 14. euglena sanguinea ehr., physik. abh. kgl. akad. wiss. 1: 1-18, pl. 6. 1830 (1831). [syn.: cercaria viridis müller (1790), euglena viridis var. sanguinea playfair (1921)]. cells 60-102 µm long, 31 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 15. euglena sociabilis (schimtz) dangeard, la botaniste 8: 182 (1902). cells 70 µm long, 7 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 16. euglena spirogyra ehr., abh. k. akad. wiss. berlin, phys. kl. 1830: 83, pl. 6: 6 (1830). [syn.: e. spirogyra var. fusiformis deflandre (1924)]. cells 70-74 µm long, 3-14 µm broad. stations: 1-4; common. 17. euglena subehrenbergii skuja, symb. bot. upsal. 9(3): 192 (1948). cells 92 µm long, 11.5 µm broad. station: 1; rare. 18. euglena tripteris (dujardin) klebs, unters. bot. inst. tüb. 1: 306 (1883). [syn.: e. torta stokes (1885), e. tripteris subsp. crassa swirenko (1915)]. cells 65-97 µm long, 11-17 µm broad. station: 2; very rare. 19. euglena variabilis klebs, unters. bot. inst. tüb. 1: 300 (1883). cells 77 µm long, 14-29 µm broad. stations: 1, 2; abundant. 20. phacus caudatus hübn., euglenac.-f1. stralsund: 5, fig. 5 (1886). cells 18-30 µm long, 8.5-18.2 µm broad. stations: 1-3; rare. 21. phacus curvicauda swirenko, arch. f. hydrobiol. v. planktonk. 10: 333 pl. ii, figs 13, 16 (1915). [syn.: phacus brevicauda (klebs) lemm. bei fritsch (1918), p. brevicauda fa. minor defl. (1928)]. cells 30-80 µm long, 24-47 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 22. phacus longicauda (ehr.) duj., infusoires: 337 (1841). cells 40 µm long, 33 µm broad. stations: 1, 2, 4; few. 23. phacus swirenkoi skvortzov, ber. d. dtsch. bot. ges. 46 (105-125) (1928). cells 38-70 µm long, 23-60 µm broad. stations: 1, 3, 4; few. 24. trachelomonas abrupta fa. angustata defl., monogr. du genre trachelomonas nemurous (1926). lorica 25-26 µm long, 14-18 µm broad. stations: 1, 2; few. 25. trachelomonas allorgei var. madaripurense islam, int. rev. der gesamt. hydrobiol. 66(1): 109-125 (1981). lorica 71 µm long, 18 µm broad. station: 1; rare. 26. trachelomonas armata (ehr.) stein, org. infusionsthiere iii(1): pl. 22, figs 37, 38 (1878). lorica 12-14 µm long, 21-30 µm broad. station: 1; rare. 12 begum 27. trachelomonas armata var. steinii lemm., abh. naturw. ver. bremen 18: 165 (1905). lorica 43-50 µm long, 31-39 µm broad. stations: 2, 3; rare. 28. trachelomonas caffra rino, revista de ciências biológicas [universidade de lourenco marques], série a, 5: 158, pl. 8, figs 6-9 (1972). lorica with spines 32-33 µm long, 36 µm broad; without spines 22-24 µm long, 22-23 µm broad. station: 2; rare. 29. trachelomonas dybowskii drez., odbitka z rosprawi widom. z muz. im dzieduszychich. 7/8 (1921). [syn.: t. oblonga lemm. bei conrad und van meel (1952)]. lorica 16-19 µm long, 9-17 µm broad. station: 3; rare. 30. trachelomonas hispida (perty) stein, org. infusionsthiere iii(1): 22, figs 20-34 (1878). lorica 21-36 µm long, 15-25 µm broad. stations: 1-4; common. 31. trachelomonas hispida var. coronata lemm., eugl. in die süssw. deutsch. öst. und der schweiz, g. fischer, jena 2: 150 (1913). lorica 38 µm long, 22-25 µm broad. stations: 2-4; few. 32. trachelomonas hispida var. punctata lemm., abh. naturw. ver. bremen 18: 165 (1905). lorica 25-29 µm long, 17-26 µm broad. stations: 1-4; common. 33. trachelomonas intermedia dang., la botaniste: 8 (97-360) (1901). lorica 20-25 µm long, 18-21 µm broad. station: 1; rare. 34. trachelomonas mucosa var. brevicollis skv., ber. d. dtsch. bot. ges. 43: 306-341 (1925). lorica 18 µm long, 14.5 µm broad. station: 1; rare. 35. trachelomonas oblonga lemm., abh. naturw. ver. bremen 16: 344 (1899). lorica 11-16 µm long, 7.5-12.4 µm broad. stations: 1-4; common. 36. trachelomonas oblonga var. attenuata playfair, proc. linn. soc: n. s. w., sydney 40: 1-41 (1915). [syn.: t. minuscula drez. (1925)]. lorica 16.4 µm long, 12.3 µm broad. station: 2; rare. 37. trachelomonas oblonga var. truncata lemm., beih. bot. zbl. 76: 150-156 (1898). lorica 10-11 µm long, 7.5 µm broad. station: 2; rare. 38. trachelomonas oblonga lemm. fa. ovata defl., monogr. du genre trachelomonas –nemurous (1926). lorica 17.7 µm long, 13.6 µm broad. station: 1; rare. 39. trachelomonas planctonica swir., arch. hydrobiol. planktonk. 9: 633 (1914). lorica 26-29 µm long, 21 µm broad. station: 2; rare. 40. trachelomonas playfairii defl., bull. soc. bot. france 71: 1125 (1924). [syn.: t. flexicollis drez. (1925), non t. flexicollis drez. (1922)]. lorica 23-25 µm long, 16-18 µm broad. stations: 1-4; few. 41. trachelomonas pulcherrima playfair, proc. linn. soc.: n. s. w., sydney 40: 13 (1915). [syn.: t. oblonga var. pulcherrima (playfair) popova (1955)]. lorica 20.021.5 µm long, 10.0-11.5 µm broad. station: 2; rare. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton of a pond 13 42. trachelomonas pulcherrima var. latior playfair, proc. linn. soc.: n. s. w., sydney 40: 1-41 (1915). lorica 20 µm long, 11 µm broad. station: 2; vary rare. 43. trachelomonas pulcherrima var. ovalis playfair, proc. linn. soc.: n. s. w., sydney 40: 14 (1915). [syn.: t. oblonga var. ovalis popova (1955)]. lorica 19.6 µm long, 10.0-11.4 µm broad. station: 2; rare. 44. trachelomonas pusilla playfair, proc. linn. soc.: n. s. w., sydney 40: 12 (1915). lorica 12.4-14.3 µm long, 10.7-12.4 broad. stations: 1-3; common. 45. trachelomonas robusta swir. emend defl., arch. hydrobiol. 9: 636 (1914). lorica 28.0-28.6 µm long, 21.5-22.0 µm broad. station: 2; rare. 46. trachelomonas rotunda swir., arch. hydrobiol. 9: 636 (1914). [syn.: t. gibbelaris var. rotunda skv. (1925)]. lorica 12.0-22.5 µm long, 14-25 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 47. trachelomonas superba swir., arch. hydrobiol. 9: 642 (1914). [syn.: t. horrida var. superba (swirenk.) skv. (1917)]. lorica 31-41 µm long, 25-35 µm broad. stations: 2, 4; few. 48. trachelomonas volvocina ehr., phys. abh. berl. akad. wiss: 145-336 (1833). lorica 7.0-21.5 µm in diameter. stations: 1-4; abundant. 49. trachelomonas volzii lemm., arch. hydrobiol. 1: 409-427 (1906). lorica 31-32 µm long, 16.5-18.0 µm broad. stations: 1, 2, 4; few. 50. trachelomonas volzii lemm. var. acidophila bourr., bull. inst. franç. afr. noire, ser. a, 23: 310, 354, pl. 5, fig. 13, pl. 6, fig. 2. (1961). lorica 36-37 µm long, 14-16 µm broad. station: 1; rare. class: bacillariophyceae order: centrales; family: melosiraceae 51. melosira granulata (ehr.) ralfs, pritchard, hist. inf. ed. 4: 820 (1861). [syn.: m. moniliformis ag. (1824)]. frustules 11.5-15.5 µm long, 8.0 µm broad; half-cells 3.6 µm long. stations: 1-4; abundant. 52. melosira varians c. ag., flora 10(40): 628 (1827). [syn.: lysigonium varians (c. agardh) de tone (1892)]. frustules 20-22 µm long, 9.5 µm broad, spine 7.3 µm long. stations: 1-3; few. family: coscinodiscaceae 53. coscinodiscus lacustris grun., k. svenska vet.-akad. handl., ser. 4, 17(2): 114 (1880). frustules 33-34 µm in diameter in valve view. stations: 1-3; few. 14 begum order: pennales; family: fragilariaceae 54. fragilaria capucina desm., pl. crypt. france ed. 1, 10: 453 (1825). [syn.: f. capucina var. lanceolata grunow (1881)]. frustules 44 µm long, 4.5 µm broad. stations: 2-4; common. 55. fragilaria virescens ralfs, ann. mag. nat. hist. 12: 110 (1843). frustules 42-79 µm long, 5-8 µm broad, striae 9-12 in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; common. 56. synedra acus kütz., kieselschal. bacill: 68, pl. 15, fig. 7 (1844). frustules 149 µm long, 73 µm broad (at the middle), 3.6 µm broad (at the tip), striae 14-16 in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; abundant. 57. synedra tabulata (ag.) kütz., bacillarien p. 68 (1844). [syn.: diatoma tabulatum ag. (1832)]. frustules 33-94 µm long, 4.0-5.5 µm broad, striae 12 in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; abundant. 58. synedra ulna (nitzch) ehr., abh. k. akad. wiss. berlin 1831, phys. kl. 87 (1932). [syn: bacillaria ulna nitzsch.]. frustules 320-350 µm long, 6.6 µm broad in the median region; tip 9.5 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 59. synedra ulna var. oxyrhynchus (kütz.) ơ meara, proc. ray. trish acad., ser. 2 (science): 306 (1875). frustules 120-126 µm long, 14 µm broad, 10 or 11 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; common. family: eunotiaceae 60. eunotia alpina (näg.) hust., a. schmidt's atlas: pl. 291, figs 7, 8 (1913). [syn.: synedra alpina nägeli (1849)]. frustules 57-100 µm long, 2.5-3.5 µm broad in the median region. stations: 2-4; common. 61. eunotia lunaris (ehr.) grun., month. micr. j. 18: 170 (1877). frustules 112 µm long, 73 µm broad (at the middle), 15 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; abundant. 62. eunotia monodon ehr., ath. k. akad. wiss. berlin physik. kl. 1841: 414 (1843). [syn.: e. undoso var. monodon ehr. (1870), e. major (w. smith) rabenhorst (1864)]. frustules 54 µm long, 7-26 µm broad (at the middle), 9-12 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1, 2, 4; few. 63. eunotia pectinalis var. minor (kütz.) rab., bot. jahrb. 45: 117 (1910). frustules 43.5 µm long, 3.6 µm broad (at the middle), 14 or 15 striae in 10 µm. stations: 2, 4; very rare. 64. eunotia sudetica (o. müller) forsch, ber. biol. stat. plön 6: 59 (1898). frustules 33 µm long, 15 µm broad, 9 or 10 striae in 10 µm. stations: 2-4; common. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton of a pond 15 family: naviculaceae 65. gyrosigma acuminata (kütz.) rab., süssw.-diat.: 47 (1853). [syn.: frustulia acuminata kütz. (1832)]. frustules 139-165 µm long, 23-25 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 66. gyrosigma attenuatum (kütz.) rab., süssw.-diat.: 47 (1853). [syn.: frustulia attenuate kütz. (1833)]. frustules 208-250 µm long, 25 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 67. gyrosigma distortum (w. smith) cleve var. parkeri (m.b. harrisson) cleve, k. svenska vet.-akad. handl., ser. 4, 26(2): 116 (1894). frustules 110-120 µm long, 16-17 µm broad. stations: 1-4, few. 68. navicula cryptocephala kütz., bacillarien: 95 (1844). frustules 25-35 µm long, 5-7 µm broad, 16 or 17 striae in 10 µm. stations: 2-4; few. it is a new record for bangladesh. 69. navicula cuspidata kütz., bacillarien: 94 (1844). [syn.: frustulia cuspidata kütz. (1833), n. fulva ehr. (1838)]. frustules 47-166 µm long, 16-32 µm broad, 11-18 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; common. 70. navicula decussis oestrup, dansek diat.: 77, pl. ii, fig. 50 (1910). frustules 16-25 µm long, 6-7 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. it is a new record for bangladesh. 71. navicula exigua (dujardin) nouv., man. obs. micr. atlas.: 44 (1842). frustules 2528 µm long, 7.8 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 72. navicula gastrum (ehr.) kütz., bacillarien: 94 (1844). [syn.: pinnularia gastrum ehr. (1843)]. frustules 26-49 µm long, 7-10 µm broad. stations: 2-4; few. 73. navicula menisculus schum., schr. k. phys.-ökon. ges. königs berg 8: 56 (1867). [syn.: navicula peregrima var. menisculus a. mayer (1911)]. frustules 28 µm long, 6-7 µm broad. stations: 1-4; abundant. 74. navicula rhynchocephala kütz., bacillarien: 145 (1844). frustules 50-65 µm long, 12-15 µm broad, 10 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1, 3, 4; few. it is a new record for bangladesh. 75. navicula viridula kütz., bacillarien: 91 (1844). frustules 60-80 µm long, 13-15 µm broad, 6-9 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; few. it is a new record for bangladesh. 76. pinnularia acrosphaeria bréb. var. laevis cleve, k. svenska vet.-akad. handl., ser. 4, 27(3): 86 (1895). frustules 83 µm long, 12.7 µm broad, 12-14 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; abundant. 77. pinnularia gibba var. mesogongyla (ehr.) hust., pascher, sussw.-fl. 10, 2. aufl.: 327 (1930). [syn.: p. mesogongyla ehr. (1843)]. frustules 44 µm long, 10 µm broad, 14 or 15 striae in 10 µm. stations: 2, 3; few. 16 begum 78. pinnularia gibba var. parva (ehr.) grun., an. mus. argent. cienc. nat. 37: 395 (1933). [syn.: navicula stauroptera var. parva grunow (1860)]. frustules 33-42 µm long, 8.3-9.0 µm broad, 9-12 striae in 10 µm. stations: 2-4; few. 79. pinnularia tabellaria ehr., abh. k. akad.. wiss. berlin, physik. k1. 1841: 422 (1843). frustules 102 µm long, 16 µm broad (at the middle) and 11 µm broad (at the tip), 15 striae in 10 µm. stations: 3, 4; few. 80. pleurosigma balticum var. simile (ehr.) grun., ann. mag nat. hist. ser. 2, 9: 8 (1852). frustules 87 µm long, 15 µm broad, 19 or 20 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1, 3; common. 81. stauroneis anceps fa. gracilis (ehr.) [hustedt] pascher, süssw.-fl. 10, 2, aufl.: 256 (1930). frustules 90-100 µm long, 9-21 µm broad, 20 or 25 striae in 10 µm. stations: 2-4; common. family: cymbellaceae 82. cymbella affinis kütz., bacillarien: 80 (1844). [syn.: cocconema fusidium ehr. (1838), cymbella cymbiformis c. agardh (1830)]. frustules 83 µm long, 18 µm (at the middle), 11 µm broad (at the tip). 13-15 striae in 10 µm. station: 4; very rare. 83. cymbella hustedtii krasske, bot. arch. 3: 204, fig. 11 (1923). frustules 36 µm long, 11 µm broad (at the middle), 7 µm broad (at the tip), 13-15 striae in 10 µm. station: 3; rare. 84. cymbella parva (w. smith) kirchner, alg. schles.: 188 (1878). [syn.: cocconema parvum w. smith (1853)]. frustules 80 µm long, 18 µm broad (at the middle), 11 µm broad (at the tip), 10-12 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1, 3; very rare. 85. cymbella stuxbergii (cl.) cleve, k. sverska vet.-acad. handl., ser. 4, 26(2): 174 (1894). [syn.: cocconema stuxbergii cleve (1880)]. frustules 50-69 µm long, 18-22 µm broad, 9-10 striae in 10 µm. stations: 2-4; common. 86. cymbella tumida (bréb. ex kütz.) van heurek, syn. diat. belg. expl., pl. 2, fig. 10 (1880). [syn.: cocconema tumidum bréb. ex kütz. (1849)]. frustules 40-78 µm long, 12-20 µm broad, 10-15 striae in 10 µm. stations: 2-4; common. 87. cymbella turgida gregory, quart. j. micr. sc. 4: 5 (1858). [syn.: cymbella eleginenia krammer (1981)]. frustules 56 µm long, 15 µm broad, 8 or 9 striae in 10 µm. station: 3; few. 88. cymbella turgidula grun., a. schmidt, atlas: pl. a, figs 23-29 (1875). frustules 3839 µm long, 12-14 µm broad, 9 or 10 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; few. 89. gomphonema augur ehr., ber. k. akad. wiss. berlin 1840: 211 (1840). [syn.: g. ehrenbergii farrutherum (1864)]. frustules 20-22 µm long, 7 µm broad. stations: 23; few. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton of a pond 17 90. gomphonema lanceolatum var. turris (ehr.) hust., arch. hydrobiol. suppl. 14: 166 (1935). [syn.: g. turris ehr. (1842)]. frustules 54-73 µm long, 12-15 µm broad, 9-12 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; abundant. 91. gomphonema longiceps var. subclavata (ehr.) grun., in hustedt pascher, süssw-fl. 10. 2. aufl.: 375 (1930). [syn.: g. montanum var. subclavatum grun. (1880)]. frustules 62 µm long, 11 µm broad. station: 3; few. 92. gomphonema olivaceum (hornemann) kütz., bacillarien: 85 (1844). frustules 4548 µm long, 8.5-9.0 µm broad, 8-10 stirae in 10 µm. stations: 1, 2, 4; few. family: epithemiaceae 93. rhopalodia gibba (ehr.) ö müller, bot. jahrb. 22: 65 (1895). [syn.: epithemia gibba (ehr.) kütz. (1844), navicula gibba ehr. (1832)]. frustules 80-109 µm long, 18.221.8 µm broad (at the middle), 11.0-14.5 µm broad (at the tip) having sometimes median constrictions. stations: 2-4; common. family: bacillariaceae 94. nitzschia acicularis (kütz.) w. smith, syn. brit. diat. i: 43 (1853). [syn.: synedra acicularis kutz. (1844)]. frustules 35-100 µm long, 3-5 µm broad, striae 16-20 in 10 µm. stations: 2-4; few. 95. nitzschia hantzschiana rabh. in grunow, verh. k. zool.-bot. ges. wien 12: 576 (1862). frustules 87 µm long, 10 µm broad, 10 canals in 10 µm. stations: 1-4; common. 96. nitzschia intermedia hantzsch, grunow k. svenska vet.-akad. handl., ser. 4, 17(2): 95 (1880). frustules 40-130 µm long, 4-6 µm broad, 9-12 striae in 10 µm. stations: 1, 3; few. it is a new record for bangladesh. 97. nitzschia longissima (bréb.) grunow, verh. k. zool.-bot. ges. wien 12: 581 (1862). [syn.: ceratoneis longissima bréb. (1849), nitzschia birostrata w. smith (1853)]. frustules 33 µm long, 4 µm broad. stations: 2, 4; few. discussion the studied pond is a unique habitat because of the fact that the limnological parameters showed wide range. here carbon dioxide was occasionally undetectable at stations 1 and 3, biocarbonate alkalinity was also undetectable at different times in all the stations and anoxia was observed in all the stations (begum, 2008). among the different phytoplankton groups, highest richness was represented by euglenophyceae (50 taxa), chlorophyceae (48 taxa) (begum, 2008), and bacillariophyceae (47 taxa) followed by cyanophyceae (17 taxa) (begum, 2008). chrysophyceae, xanthophyceae, cryptophyceae 18 begum and dinophyceae were each represented by single species. similar observation was made earlier by islam et al. (1991) in organically polluted pond. dominance of euglenophyceae in the studied pond is supported by the observations made by islam et al. (1991) and begum and hossain (1993). record of euglenoid bloom under oxygen deficient condition is in agreement with observations made by previous workers (hickmen and penn, 1977; begum and hossain, 1993). the comparatively lower representation of cyanophyceae among the major groups is in agreement with observations made by islam et al. (1991) and begum and hossain (1993). acknowledgments the author is grateful to late national professor a.k.m. nurul islam, department of botany, university of dhaka, for identification of some euglenoids and diatoms, and also grateful to md. zahangir hossain for the assistance during the collection of the materials. thanks are due to two textile mill authorities to sample their aquatic habitats. references aziz, a. and ara, m. 2000. diatom taxa from deepwater rice fields at tangail, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 7-13. aziz, a. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1986. lagoon algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. part e. 1(1): 45-52. aziz, a. and tanbir, m. 2003. algal flora of some northern districts of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 63-77. begum, z.n.t. 2008. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton of a pond receiving textile industrial effluents. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 129-139. begum, z.n.t. and hossain, m.z. 1993. physico-chemical aspects and phytoplankton of a pond receiving textile industrial effluents. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 2(1): 93-99. begum, z.n.t., tarafdar, s.a. and hossain, m.z. 1996. impact of major and minor elements on the plankton community of a pond receiving textile industrial effluents. bangladesh j. bot. 25(1): 65-72. bold, h.c. and wynne, m.j. 1985. introduction to the algae. prentice-hall, new jersey, pp. 1-706. germain, h. 1981. flore des diatomées. diatomophycées société nouvelle des éditions boubée, paris, pp. 1-444. hickmen, m. and penn, i.d. 1977. the relationship between planktonic algae and bacteria in a small lake. hydrobiologia 53(2-3): 213-219. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2004. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: iii. genus trachelomonas ehr. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 33-37. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1977. studies on the phytoplankton of the karnaphuli river estuary. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 1(2): 141-145. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1979. algal flora of moheshkhali island, bangladesh. dacca univ. stud. part b. 27(2): 105-122. islam, a.k.m. nurul and chowdhury, a.r. 1979. hydrobiological studies of dhanmondi lake, dacca. ii. phytoplankton. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 5(2): 47-57. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton of a pond 19 islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1975. limnological studies of the river buriganga ii. biological aspect. dacca univ. stud. part b. 23(1): 25-44. islam, a.k.m. nurul and hossain, m. 1979. preliminary studies on the algal flora of bagerhat, khulna. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 5(2): 47-57. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.md. 2005. hydrobiological studies within the ten gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. scientific researches, east regional laboratories, pakistan, 3(2): 94-109. islam, a.k.m. nurul and mannan, m.a. 1986. algal flora of some brackish water shrimp culture ponds at satkhira. dhaka univ. stud. part e. 1(1): 7-18. islam, a.k.m. nurul and moniruzzaman, k. 1981. contribution to the study on euglenophyta of bangladesh. i. genus trachelomonas ehr. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 66(1): 109-125. islam, a.k.m. nurul, khondker, m. and haque, s. 1991. euglenoid algae of four polluted ponds in and around dhaka city. bangladesh j. bot. 20(1): 7-15. khondker, m., islam, a.k.m. nurul, begum, z.n.t. and haque, s. 1990. limnological studies of four polluted ponds in and around dhaka city with reference to indicator species. bangladesh j. bot. 19(1): 51-63. nahar, k. 2001. relationships between diatom assemblage of surface sediment and some environmental factors in two wetland ecosystems of bangladesh. phd thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 1-257. round, f.e. 1985. the ecology of algae. cambridge univ. press, cambridge, pp. 1-653. (manuscript received on 21 january 2009; revised on 11 february 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 181-184, 2009 (december) short communication © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists dianella ensifolia (l.) dc. (liliaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh sarder nasir uddin1 and m.a. hassan2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh. keywords: dianella ensifolia; new record; bangladesh. the family liliaceae with 280 genera and about 4000 species (cronquist, 1981) is distributed all over the world, especially in the temperate regions of asia, australia and africa. a recent publication suggests that this family is represented in the flora of bangladesh by 26 species under 13 genera (hassan, 2007). a specimen of dianella was collected from ram pahar of kaptai upazila, rangamati district in 2006 and after a critical study the specimen has been identified as dianella ensifolia (l.) dc. this species was not previously recorded from the bangladesh territory by hooker f. (1892), prain (1903), heinig (1925), raizada (1941), sinclair (1955), mia and khan (1995), uddin et al. (1998), and rahman (2004a,b). therefore, it is reported here for the first time as a new record for bangladesh. a detail taxonomic description and illustration has been provided based on the herbarium specimens stored at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). dianella ensifolia (l.) dc. in redouté, liliac. 1, t.1 (1802). dracaena ensifolia l., mant. 63 (1767). dianella nemorosa lamk., encycl. 2: 276 (1786). dracaena ensata thunb., diss. bot. drac. 4 (1808). dianella montana blume, en. pl. jav. 1: 12 (1827). dianella odorata (rump.) blume, en. pl. jav. 1: 13 (1827). dianella revoluta (non r. br.) schauer, nov. act. ac. nat. 19 (1843). dianella bancana miq., fl. ind. bat. suppl. 610 (1861). dianella caerulea merr., philip. j. sc. (bot.) 2: 266 (1907). dianella robusta elmer, leafl. philip. bot. 5: 806 (1913). dianella bambusifolia hall.f., nova guinea 8: 995, t. 182 (1914). dianella parviflora ridl., j. fed. mal. st. mus. 6: 186 (1915). dianella pullei krause, nova guinea 14: 175 (1924). dianella ledermannii krause, bot. jahrb. 59: 553 (1925). dianella levis c. t. white, proc. linn. soc. n. s. w. 51: 298 (1926). dianella sparsiflora schlittler, mitt. bot. mus. un. zürich 163: 262 (1940). dianella ensata (thunb.) henderson, taxon 26: 136 (1977). (plate 1) a perennial erect or decumbent herb, stem up to 1.5 m high, rigid, usually unbranched, rarely with a few branches, rhizome horizontal, moderately branched. 1 corresponding author. e-mail: nsarder@yahoo.com 2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. 182 uddin and hassan plate 1. dianella ensifolia (l.) dc. a. habit (× 0.7); b. lateral view of a flower (× 2); c. front view of a flower (x 6); d. stamen (× 10); e. gynoccium (× 10); f. t.s. of ovary (× 4); g. l.s. of ovary (× 4). dianella ensifolia (l.) dc. (liliaceae) 183 leaves basal, scattered along the stem or in a terminal rosette, distichous, with a sheathing lower part, lamina linear or linear-lanceolate (sometimes absent in lower leaves), 30-90 × 1-3 cm, above the base keeled, margins smooth or scabrid, firmly appressed to one another and fused to form an isobilateral portion, midrib on the lower surface with minute serrations or prickles, veinlets conspicuous and numerous. inflorescence a terminal panicle, 30-70 cm long, cuneiform, usually exceeding the leaves, lax or with short terminal branches often 1-2 cm long, bearing up to 30 flowers. lower bracts usually narrowly lanceolate and bilaterally compressed above the basal sheath like the leaves, bracts subtending pedicels 1-4(-7) mm long or rarely absent. pedicels 4-15(22) mm long. flowers inodorous, perianth segments 6, blue, yellow, lilac or white, spreading, 4-9 mm long, inner three reflexed. filaments often more than half as long as the perianth segments, filiform or narrowly linear, white or yellow with a yellow or orange, glabrous swelling below the anther, anthers linear, 2-porose. ovary green, three locular, 1.5-2.0 mm long, ovules 4 in each locule, style green, white or blue. fruit shiny blue or dark purple, 6-10 mm in diameter, each cell 1-3or more seeded. seeds ovoid, subacute, 3-4 mm long. flowering and fruiting time: throughout the year. ecology: a highly adaptable species, occurring in habitats ranging from open grasslands to primary forests, from sea level to over 3000 m altitude (jessop, 1979). distribution: continental africa, madagascar, continental asia to southern china, japan and formosa, through malesia to australia (jessop, 1979). specimens examined: dhaka: ramna park, 19.02.1981, m. halim 928 (dacb); dhanmondi, 06.08.1991, rezia khatun 694 (dacb); habiganj: satchari forest, 19.04.1985, huq and mia h 7003 (dacb); moulvi bazar: lawachara, srimangal, 02.02.2009, sarder nasir uddin n-3282 (dacb); rangamati: ram pahar, kaptai, 20.04.2006, sarder nasir uddin n-2825 (dacb). references cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, pp. 1-1262. hassan, m.a. 2007. liliaceae. in: siddique, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, a., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds), encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, angiosperms-monocotyledons (liliaceae), vol. 11. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 334-352. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of the chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india, pp. 1-79. hooker, j.d. 1892. flora of british india. vol. 6 (indian reprint 1973). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 1-792. jessop, j.p. 1979. liliaceae. in: van steenis, c.g.g.j. (ed.), flora malesiana, ser. 1, vol. 9, part 1. noordhoff international publishing, leiden, the netherlands, pp. 189-235. 184 uddin and hassan mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. the first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants’. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1 & 2): 25-45. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol. 2 (indian reprint 1996). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 663-1319. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants’: series-i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11 (1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants’: series-ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11 (2): 49-56. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67: 245-254. sinclair, j. 1955. the flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 84-116. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 4 may 2009; revised on 16 july 2009) microsoft word 03. assam.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 141-165, 2010 (december) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists plant collections from bangladesh in the herbarium at shillong (assam), india hussain ahmed barbhuiya and r. gogoi¹ botanical survey of india, eastern regional centre, shillong, india keywords: bangladesh; plant collections; assam. abstract the paper presents a complete list of plants from bangladesh deposited in the herbarium of the botanical survey of india at shillong (assam). a total of 448 species belonging to 324 genera and 101 families has been found to be deposited in the herbarium in assam. detailed field data of each species have also been provided. introduction the study on the flora of north east india was actually initiated by gustav mann, who was appointed as the in-charge of the rubber plantation in chariduar in the year 1863 and later became the first conservator of forests of assam. during his service he had to collect a good number of plants for his higher authority dietrich brandis, the first inspector general of forest, from the assam province which in those days also included the district of sylhet, presently in bangladesh. mann sent one set of his collections to brandis and kept a duplicate set at shillong, the headquater of assam forest department for future reference. in this way mann led the foundation of a forest herbarium at shillong. during the period of mann, tara kisor gupta and boloram sing also deposited their collections in the forest herbarium at shillong. their excellent contributions also helped contemporary botanists to understand the flora of sylhet. later in 1912, a. earle, the then chief commissioner of assam, sanctioned a huge project entitled ‘flora of assam’, to upendra nath kanjilal the then extra assistant conservator of forests of assam. u.n. kanjilal, a veteran field botanist started collecting plants form different parts of the then assam province. as a result of his collection a good number of plants also collected from sylhet (sylhet was under assam province) were deposited at the forest herbarium at shillong. when u. n. kanjilal suddenly died in 1928 before completion of ‘flora of assam’, the charge of the project was handed over to his capable son p. c. kanjilal a forest officer from u.p. cadre. along with p. c. kanjilal many other foresters like a. das, c. s. purkayastha, r. n. de, b. c. sengupta, g. k. deka, n. l. bor, b. b. shyam, s. r. sharma, dinanath paul and h. k. dastider joined hands to enrich the collection in the forest herbarium from sylhet and its adjoining areas. ¹corresponding author. botanical survey of india, arunachal pradesh regional centre, itanagar, india. e-mail: rajibbsi@yahoo.co.in 142 barbhuiya and gogoi the collections made by these pioneer workers helped immensely to publish the ‘flora of assam’ (1934-1940) which is a monumental floristic work. it helps to know the regional botany of the north eastern part of the indian subcontinent. after the publication of the ‘flora of assam, few people from assam forest department continued collecting plants from sylhet and adjoining areas. some of them are r. n. de, g. k. deka and m. m. srinivasan. in the year 1956, the botanical survey of india established a regional office at shillong and its herbarium is known by the acronym assam (holmgren et al., 1990). this herbarium, the largest herbarium of the region, received all the 45,000 herbarium specimens from the forest herbarium which was long nonfunctional after the publication of the ‘flora of assam’. in this way all the plants that were collected from various places of assam province, got deposited at assam. in course of the study at assam the authors documented the plants from sylhet, chittagong and neighbouring areas in bangladesh. it gives a clear picture about the floristic wealth of these areas. in fact when kanjilal et al. (1934-1940) published the ‘flora of assam’ all the species collected up to that time by their colleagues and earlier workers from different parts of the present day bangladesh, were included in their book but the details of the collections were not cited. in the present checklist of plants, all the species from bangladesh deposited so far at assam have been taken into account along with the details of their collections. this will be helpful to the foresters, field botanists, conservationists and researchers to relocate the plants or to judge their present status in their earlier site of collections which were carried out more than half century ago and to formulate conservational strategies to protect these national resources. material and methods a total number of 2,65,000 herbarium sheets were screened at assam to find out all the collections from bangladesh. the botanical names were recorded with the place of collection, collectors’ names, collection numbers with particular date or the month of the year in which they have been collected. the families have been arranged in the list according to bentham and hooker’s system of classification (batham and hooker, 18621883) with modifications followed at kew and british museum. the accession numbers of the sheets have only been given after s.n. (sine numero) i.e. when there was no collector’s number. the correct names of the species have been given by consulting the latest literature. for the three species of dendrocalamus the names of the species could not be ascertained and in these cases, their local names, as recorded on the herbarium sheets, have been given in brakets against them. plant collections from bangladesh 143 result and discussion during the screening of the herbarium specimens, a total number of 448 species under 324 genera and 101 families were found to be deposited at assam from present bangladesh area, out of which 350 species belonging to 252 genera and 87 families were dicots and 98 species belonging to 72 genera and 14 families were monocots. among the dicots fabaceae was the largest family with 22 species belonging to 15 genera. on the other hand, poaceae was the largest family among the monocots with 48 species belonging to 35 genera. among the collectors u. n. kanjilal made the largest number of collections with 111 species and g. k. deka made the second largest collection with 109 species. apart from the aforesaid names of collectors, plant collections of j. s. gamble and c. b. clarke from bangladesh were also found to be deposited at assam. further some more collections from chittagong, made by rev. w. j. l. wenger, christian missionary posted for medical relief work in mizoram and neighbouring areas in the first few decads of 20th century were found to be deposited at assam. enumeration of species dicotyledons 1. ranunculaceae clematis cadmia buch-ham ex hook. f. & thomson; sylhet, april 1877, g. mann s.n. 41632. naravelia zeylanica (l.)dc.; chhatak, sylhet, 21.11.1943, g.k. deka 21795; sylhet, october 1936, c.s. purkayastha 12439. ranunculus sceleratus l.; chhatak, 7.02.1941, sylhet, g.k. deka 20285. 2. dilleniaceae tetracera scandens (l.) merr.; longai, sylhet, 24.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4924. 3. magnoliaceae kadsura heteroclita (roxb.) craib.; tillagarh, sylhet, 14.11.1932, a. das 10438. magnolia pterocarpa roxb.; near jaintiapur, sylhet, march 1890, g. mann s. n. 201. michelia champaca l.; dohalia reserve, sylhet, 28.07.1932, p. c. kanjilal s.n. 335; jaintia hills, sylhet, november 1889, boloram sing s.n. 338; near bisnuri, sylhet, 30.04.1915, u. n. kanjilal 5088. m. mannii king; longai, sylhet district, august 1890, u. n. kanjilal 343. 4. annonaceae fissistigma rubiginosum (dc.) merr.; chandkhira t. e. sylhet, 29.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4956. polyalthia simiarum (buch.-ham. ex hook. f. & thompson) hook. f. & thompson; 144 barbhuiya and gogoi longai reserve, sylhet, 28.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4946. 5. menispermaceae cissampelos pareira l.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r. n. de 18128. 6. nympheaceae nymphaea pubescens willd.; sylhet, october 1935, c. s. purkayastha 12451. 7. capparidaceae capparis zeylanica l.; teliapara, sylhet, 12.4.1947, m. m. srinivasan s. n. 39000. cleome spinosa jacq.; sylhet, march 188, g. mann s. n. 1058. c. viscosa l.; sylhet, april 1881, g. mann 34. strixis suaveolens (roxb) pierre; lawachara, sylhet, 21.2.1941, r. n. de 20530. 8. violaceae viola betonicifolia sm.; sylhet, april 1877, g. mann s. n. 1188. 9. flacourtiaceae hydnocarpus kurzii (king.) warb.; lawachara, sylhet, 15.4.1940, r. n. de 19329; longai reserve, sylhet, 28.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4949. 10. samydaceae homalium bhamoense cubitt. & w. w. sm.; sylhet, may 1937, n. l. bor 13929; silua forest, 21.3.1921, u. n. kanjilal 7639; silua forest, sylhet, 29.3.1921, b. c. sengupta 7639. h. schlichii kurz; badshai tilla, sylhet, 16.011932, u. n. kanjilal 7726. 11. polygalaceae securidaca inappendiculata hassk; jaintiapur, 7.11.1936, sylhet, g. k. deka 16234. xanthophyllum flavescens roxb.; rajkandi, sylhet, march 1935, c. s. purkayastha 10988. 12. caryophyllaceae polycarpon prostratum (forsk) asch. & schweinf.; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g. k. deka 22218. stellaria media (l.) vill.; longai, sylhet, 15.2.1941, r. n. de 20432. 13. clusiaceae calophyllum polyanthum wall. ex choisy; singla reserve, sylhet, 15.3.1921, u. n. kanjilal 7634. garcinia kydia roxb.; longai reserve, sylhet, 28.3.1932, p. c. kanjilal 10123; longai reserve, sylhet, 1.6.1932, p. c. kanjilal 10245. plant collections from bangladesh 145 g. pedunculata roxb.; sylhet, 8.3.1947, d. paul 22090. g. pictoria (roxb.) engler; singla reserve, sylhet, 22.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4911. g. sopsopia (buch.-ham) mabb.; longai reserve, sylhet, 24.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4922. mesua ferrea l.; sylhet, march 1887, t.k. gupta s. n. 1970. m. floribunda (wall.) kosterm.; patharia forest, sylhet, july 1854, t. k. gupta s.n. 1913; loobah reserve, sylhet, 10.11.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4698; singla reserve, sylhet, 13.3.1921, u. n. kanjilal 7635. 14. theaceae camellia kissi wall.; longai reserve, sylhet, 26.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4931. eurya acuminata d.c.; lawachara, sylhet, 14.9.1946, g. k. deka 21994. schima wallichii choisy; patharia forest, sylhet, march 1886, t. k. gupta s. n. 2240. 15. dipterocarpaceae dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn. f.; patharia forest, sylhet, march 1886, g. mann s.n. 2404; longai reserve, sylhet, 28.11.1931, p. c. kanjilal 9817; patharia reserve, sylhet, may 1935, r. d. silwa 11087. 16. malvaceae hibiscus macrophyllus roxb. ex hornem.; longai reserve, sylhet, march 1919, b. sen gupta 60. kydia calycina roxb.; patharia forest, sylhet, march 1886, g. mann s. n., 2638. thespesia lampas (cav.) dalz. ex dalz & a. gibson; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 16.1.1925, u. n. kanilal 7835. 17. sterculiaceae buettneria pilosa roxb.; lawachara, sylhet, 19.12.1938, r. n. de 17727; sylhet, october 1935, c. s. purkayastha 12433. heritiera macrophylla wall. ex voigt; jaintiapur, sylhet, 7.11.1936, g. k. deka 162050. h. papilio bedd.; longai reserve, sylhet, 27.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4934. melochia corchorifolia l.; haluganj, sylhet, october 1935, c. s purkyastha 12440. pterospermum lanceaefolium roxb.; naricha lakhimamla, sylhet, march 1886, t. k. gupta s.n. 2849. sterculia guttata roxb.; singla reserve, sylhet, 22.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4908. s. roxburghii wall.; sylhet, march 1886, g. mann s.n. 2728. s. villosa roxb.; patharia forest, sylhet, march 1886, t. k. gupta 32. 146 barbhuiya and gogoi 18. tiliaceae grewia piscatorum hance; sylhet, october 1935, c. s. purkayastha 12449. g. serrulata dc.; lawachara, sylhet, 19.8.1938, r. n. de 19056. microcos paniculata l.; lawachara, sylhet, 10.8.1938, g. k. deka 18125. triumfetta rhomboidea jacq.; bhanugach, sylhet, 14.11.1932, a. das 10437. 19. elaeocarpaceae elaeocarpus floribundus blume; santgaon village, sylhet, 10.11.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4702; sylhet town, 4.9.1941, r. n. de 20602. sloanea sterculiacea (benth.) rehder & e.h. wilson; patharia forest, sylhet, march 1886, g. mann s.n. 3086. 20. linaceae erythroxylum coca lam.; chandkhera tea estate, sylhet, r. n. de 19155. ixonanthes reticulata jack; longai reserve, sylhet, 27.05.1937, n. l. bor 16077; longai reserve, sylhet, 24.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4926. linum usitatissimum l.; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g. k. deka 20288. 21. malpighiaceae aspidopterys indica (roxb.) hochr.; sylhet, january 1936, c. s. purkayastha 13445. 22. rutaceae acronychia pedunculata (l.) miq.; bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 12.8.1921, u. n. kanjilal 7639. citrus assamensis s. dutta & s. c. bhattacharya; sylhet, 6.11.1938, s. dutta 23059. c. latipes (swingle) tanaka; sylhet, 20.2.1936, d. paul 13600. clausena anisata (willd.) hook. f. ex benth. var. paucijuga (kurz) j. f. molino; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 12.4.1947, m. m. srinivasan 22239. c. macroptera montrouz.; dawki, sylhet, 31.5.1935, g. k. deka 12204. 23. ochnaceae ochna integerrima (lour.) merr.; tilagarh reserve, sylhet, june 1935, c. s. purekayastha 10970. 24. burseraceae bursera serrata wall. ex coleber; sylhet, january 1936, c. s. purkayastha 13435. garuga floribunda decne var. gamblei (king ex smith) kalkman; near baithakhal tea estate, sylhet, 29.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4955. plant collections from bangladesh 147 25. meliaceae aglaia perviridis hiern; singla reserve, sylhet, 15.1.1932, u. n. kanjilal 7725. dysoxylum binectariferum (roxb.) hook. f. ex bedd.; longai reserve, sylhet, 26.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4930. cedrela microcarpa (c. dc.) harms; longai reserve, sylhet, 17.3.1915, u. n. kanjilal 6901. walsura robusta roxb.; longai reserve, sylhet, 20.3.1921, u. n. kanjilal 7640. 26. olacaceae natsiatum herpeticum buch.-ham. ex arn.; bholaganj forest, sylhet, 23.01.1931, p. c. kanjilal 9001; cheragi path, sylhet, 23.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4918. 27. celastraceae bhesa robusta (roxb.) ding-hou.; sylhet, january 1936, c. s. purkayastha 13432. celastrus stylosus wall.; sylhet, 1.12.1910, u. n. kanjilal s.n. 5553. euonymus attenuatus wall. ex lawson; loobah lake, sylhet, 9.11.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4687. lophopetalum wightianum arn.; ichabil tea garden, sylhet, 28.12.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4951; longai reserve, sylhet, 18.3.1915, u. n. kanjilal 6902. 28. rhamnaceae ziziphus oenoplia (l.) mill.; longai forest, sylhet, 16.2.1941, r. n. de 20606. 29. vitaceae ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch.; lawachara, sylhet, 19.8.1938, r. n. de 18071. cissus adnata roxb.; chhatak, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g. k. deka 20541; loobah, sylhet, 8.11.1914, u. n. kanjilal 4679. c. repens lam.; sylhet division, october 1935, c. s. purkayastha 12431. tetrastigma dubium (lawson) planch.; chhatak, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g. k. deka 20542. t. rumicispermum. (lawson) planch.; patharia forest, sylhet, july 1828, g. mann 1073. 30. sapindaceae aesculus assamicus griff.; patharia forest, sylhet, march 1886, t. k. gupta s. n. 6346. allophylus cobbe blume; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, g. k. deka 18126. erioglossum rubiginosum (roxb.) blume; jaintiapur, sylhet, may 1937, n. l. bor 13944; patheria, sylhet, may 1884, t.k. gupta s.n. 6297. lepisanthes senegalensis (a. juss. ex poir.) leenh.; tillagarh reserve, sylhet, 9.4.1947, m. m. srinivasan 22343. 148 barbhuiya and gogoi 31. sabiaceae meliosma simplicifolia (roxb.) walp.; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g. k. deka 20497. 32. anacardiaceae holigarna longifolia buch.-ham. ex roxb.; longai reserve, sylhet, march 1935, c. s. purkayastha 10987; sylhet, june 1920, u. n. kanjilal 7832. mangifera indica l.; longai, sylhet, 18.2.1941, r. n. de 20520. pegia nitida colebr.; longai forest, sylhet, 16.2.1941, r. n. de 20565. semecarpus prainii king.; patharia reserve, sylhet, 10.3.1920, u. n. kanjilal 7729. 33. connaraceae rourea minor (gaertn.) leenh.; sylhet, october 1935, c. s. purkayastha12446. 34. fabaceae abrus precatorius l.; maulvi bazar, sylhet, 11.4.1947, m. m. srinivasan 22133. canavalia ensiformis (l.) dc.; chhatak, sylhet, 27.5.1935, g. k. deka 12814. crotalaria juncea l.; chhatak, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g. k. deka 20445; sylhet, april 1881, g. mann s.n. 7141. c. mysorensis roth; kalenga, tarap reserve, sylhet, 22.10.1941, r. n. de 20790. dalbergia confertiflora benth.; ichabil t. e. sylhet, 28.121914, u. n. kanjilal 4953; sylhet, march 1935, c. s. purkayastha 10983. d. lanceolaria l. f. hatikhera; sylhet, 17.11.1934, u. n. kanjilal 7816; longai reserve, sylhet, 28.12.1914, u. n. kanjillal 4950. d. pinnata (lour.) prain; longai reserve, sylhet, march 1935, c. s. purkayastha 10983. d. rimosa roxb.; tilagarh, sylhet, 15.11.1932, a. das 10441; tilagarh reserve, sylhet, 14.12.1938, r. n. de 17601. derris cuneifolia benth.; lawachara, sylhet, 20.5.1939, r. n. de 18801; lawachara, bhanugach, sylhet, r. n. de 18732. d. elegans benth. var. vestita (baker) prain; lawachara, bhanugach, sylhet, 7.7.1939, r. n. de 18665. desmodium triflorum (l.) dc.; fakir tillah, chhatak, sylhet, 18.11.1943, g. k. deka 22131. erythrina fusca lour.; chhatak, sylhet, 27.5.1935, g.k. deka 12831. flemingia macrophylla (willd.) merr.; jintiapur, sylhet, 7.11.1936, g. k. deka 16199; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1914, g. k. deka 20510. f. strobilifera (l.) w. t. aiton; chittagong hill tracts, may 1939, w. j. l wenger 21512. plant collections from bangladesh 149 indigofera arrecta hochst. ex a. rich.; ranpur plantaion, longai, sylhet, 19.2.1941, r. n. de 20501. millettia pachycarpa benth.; lawachara, sylhet, 4.4.1938, r. n. de 16571. m. pinnata (l.) panigrahi; sylhet river bank, 8.8.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7691. ormosia robusta (kurz) baker; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 5.2.1925, u.n. kanjilal 7838; patharia forest, sylhet, march 1886, t. k. gupta s.n. 8602; lawachara, sylhet, april 1937, n.l. bor 13954. pueraria thunbergiana benth.; lawachara, bhanugach, sylhet, 20.10.1940, r.n. de 19758. spatholobus parviflorus (dc.) kuntze; longai forest, sylhet, 16.2.1941, r.n. de 20503; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18717. tadehagi triquetrum (l.) h. ohashi; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1940, g. k. deka 20482; hatikhera, sylhet, 17.11.1924, u. n. kanjilal 7814; chhatak, sylhet, 20.11.1943, g. k. deka 21797. uraria crinita (l.) dc.; lawachaa, bhanugach, sylhet, 22.10.1940, r.n. de 19757. 35. caesalpiniaceae caesalpinia cucullata roxb.; longai forest, sylhet, 16.2.1941, r.n. de 20393. delonix regia (bojer) raf.; road side, sylhet town, 29.5.1935, g.k. deka 13412. maniltoa polyandra (roxb.) harms; loobah lake, sylhet, 9.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4690; patharia, sylhet, may 1889, t.k. gupta s.n. 8823. xylia xylocarpa (roxb.) taub.; lawachara, sylhet, 4.4.1938, r.n. de 16575. 36. mimosaceae acacia concinna (willd.) dc.; patharia forest, march 1886, g. mann s.n. 9135. a. pinnata link; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g.k. deka 20434. a. polyacantha willd.; diopara, sylhet, october 1937, c.s. purkayastha 12450. albizia lebbek (l.) benth.; singla reserve, sylhet, 22.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4907. archidendron clypearia (jacq.) i. c. nielsen; sylhet, march 1887, t.k. gupta s.n. 9401; longai forest, sylhet, 16.2.1941, r.n. de 20502. calliandra umbrosa (wall.) benth.; bholalganj forest, sylhet, 23.1.1931, g. ram 1988; badshaitilla reserve, sylhet, 2.12.1924, b. sen gupta 7820. samanea saman (jacq.) merr.; maulvi bazar, sylhet, 11.4.1947, m.m. srinivasan 21893. 37. rosaceae cotoneaster khasiensis klotz; sylhet road, sylhet, 2.10.1935, a. das 12280. 150 barbhuiya and gogoi 38. droseraceae drosera burmanni vahl; dinnapur hill, sylhet, february 1886, g. mann s.n.,10413; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g.k. deka 20430. 39. combretaceae anogeissus sericea brandis; longai reserve, sylhet, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10989. combretum extensum roxb.; chhatak, naya tilla, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g.k. deka 20440. c. pilosum roxb.; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g.k. deka 20438. terminalia belirica wall.; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 12.4.1947, m.m. srinivasan 22136. t. myriocarpa van heurck & müll.-arg.; sylhet, january 1936, c.s. purkayastha 13434. 40. lecythidaceae barringtonia acutangula gaertn.; jaintiapur, sylhet, 7.11.1936, g.k. deka 16302. 41. myrtaceae eucalyptus maculata hook.; longai reserve, sylhet, 17.2.1941, r.n. de 20560. eugenia acuminata roxb.; longai reserve, sylhet, 27.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4937. e. aquea burm. f.; longai reserve, sylhet, 20.6.1925, u.n. kanjilal 7334. e. cuneata wall.; loobah lake, sylhet, 9.11.1914, u.n. kanjial 4686. e. cymosa lam.; tarap reserve, sylhet, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10994; longai reserve, sylhet, 22.2.1915, u.n. kanjilal 6899; longai forest, 18.2.1941, r.n. de 20504. e. grandis wight; longai reserve, sylhet, march 1835, c.s. purkayastha 10986; singla reserve, sylhet, 14.3.1921, b. sen gupta 7638. e. jambos l.; patherkandi, sylhet, april 1884, t.k. gupta s.n. 10838. e. kurzii duthie ex kurz; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18119. e. mooniana wight; longai reserve, sylhet, 25.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4927. 42. melastomaceae memecylon elegans kurz; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g.k. deka 20453. osbeckia nepalensis hook.; lawachara, sylhet, 19.8.1938, r.n. de 19178. 43. lythraceae duabanga sonneratioides buch.-ham.; bholaganj, sylhet, 24.1.1931, r. sarkar 9009. lagerstroemia parviflora roxb.; patharia forest, sylhet, march 1886, g. mann s.n. 11725. plant collections from bangladesh 151 44. onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara; kamalganj, sylhet, 14.9.1946, g.k. deka 22243. l. octovalvis (jacq.) p. h. raven subsp. sessiliflora (micheli) p. h. raven; fakir tila, chhatak, sylhet, 18.11.1943, g.k. deka 22162. 45. passifloraceae modecca cardiophylla mast.; 44th miles from sylhet shillong road, 9.8.1944, g.k. deka 22141. passiflora foetida l.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1939, r.n. de 19159; loobah lake, sylhet, 8.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4684; chhatak, sylhet, 20.11.1943, g.k. deka 21794. p. subpeltata ortega; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1939, r.n. de 19160. 46. cucurbitaceae hodgsonia heteroclita hook.f. & thomson; shillong-sylhet road, 35 miles from sylhet, 13.4.1947, m.m. srinivasan 22371. melothria heterophylla (lour.) cogn.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18253. 47. aizoaceae mollugo lotoides (loefl.) kuntze; chhatak, bank of surma river, sylhet, g k. deka 20455. m. pentaphylla l.; lawachara, sylhet, 19.8.1938, r.n. de 18041. 48. araliaceae heteropanax fragrans seem.; bholaganj, sylhet, 26.12.1955, g.k. deka s.n. 39319. trevesia palmata vis.; dawki, sylhet, 29.4.1943, g.k. deka 22019. 49. alangiaceae alangium barbatum baill. ex kuntze; longai reserve, sylhet, 24.12.1941, u.n. kanjilal 4921. 50. caprifoliceae viburnum foetidum wall.; lawachara, sylhet, 17.8.1938, r.n. de 18090. 51. rubiaceae adenosacme longifolia wall.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, g.k. deka 18101. canthium didymum c. f. gaertn.; longai reserve, sylhet, 24.12.1941, u.n. kanjilal 4923. gardenia coronaria buch.-ham.; bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 22.6.1924, b. sen gupta 15989; sylhet, may 1937, n.l. bor 13928; kalenga, sylhet, 21.12.1938, r.n. de 17596. hedyotis tenelliflora blume; jaintiapur, sylhet, 7.1.1936, g.k. deka 16463. 152 barbhuiya and gogoi hymenodictyon excelsum (roxb.) wall.; longai reserve, sylhet, 16.2.1941, r.n. de 26521. h. orixense (roxb.) mabb.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18054. hyptianthera stricta wall.; loobah lake, sylhet, 9.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4688. ixora finlaysoniana wall.; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12437. i. undulata roxb.; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 12.4.1947, m.m. srinivasan 22137. mitragyna diversifolia havil.; lawachara, bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 19.12.1938, r.n. de 17726; longai forest, 16.2.1941, r.n. de 20524. nauclea sessilifolia roxb.; tarap reserve, sylhet, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10984; tarap reserve, sylhet, 13.12.1924, u.n. kanjilal 7822. oldenlandia nudicaulis roth; lawachara, sylhet, 19.8.1938, r.n. de 18834. ophiorrhiza oppositifolia hook.f.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18848. psydrax glabrum (blume) deb & dutta; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12434. randia dumetorum lam.; chhatak, sylhet, 27.5.1935, g.k. deka 12809. r. longiflora lam.; habiganj, sylhet, may 1937, n.l. bor 13947. stephegyne diversifolia benth. & hook.f.; patharia, sylhet, may 1884, t. k. gupta s.n. 13160. wendlandia grandis cowan; lawachara forest, 23.2.1941, r.n. de 20487. 52. asteraceae blumea laciniata dc.; dawki, sylhet, 16.4.1940, g.k. deka 2221; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g.k. deka 20426. cotula hemisphaerica wall.; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g k. deka 20091. elephantopus scaber l.; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 13484. gamochaeta purpurea (l.) cabera; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g k. deka 20607. saussurea affinis spreng. ex dc.; chhatak, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g k. deka 20449. vernonia arborea buch.-ham.; lawachsra forest, sylhet, 19.8.1938, r.n. de 18817; loobah reserve, sylhet, 10.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4697. 53. campanulaceae lobelia affinis wall.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, g k. deka 18715. wahlenbergia gracilis e. mey.; chhatak, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g.k. deka 22219. 54. plumbaginaceae plumbago indica l.; moolagul, sylhet, 26.12.1937, r.n. de 16617. 55. myrsinaceae ardisia floribunda wall.; longai forest, sylhet, 16.2.1941, r.n. de 20566. plant collections from bangladesh 153 a. thomsonii mez; syampara, chhatak, sylhet, 20.11.1943, g.k. deka 21824. embelia floribunda wall.; lawachara, sylhet, 4.4.1938, r n. de 16566; tilagarh forest, sylhet, 9.4.1947, m m. srinivasan 22383. e. gallatlyi king & gamble; mianimukh, chittagong hill tract, march 1880, j.s. gamble 7906. e. nutans wall.; longai reserve, sylhet, 25.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4928. maesa indica wall.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18114. m. ramentacea wall.; tarap reserve, sylhet, 10.1.1925, u.n. kanjilal 7823; lawachara, sylhet, 23.2.1941, r.n. de 20394; bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 19.2.1938 r.n. de 17599; sylhet, january 1936, c.s. purkayastha 13444. 56. sapotaceae mimusops elengi l.; patharkandi, sylhet, july 1889, t.k. gupta s.n., 17481. sarcosperma arboreum hook. f.; loobah lake, sylhet, 10.11.1914, u n. kanjilal 4700. 57. ebenaceae diospyros montana roxb.; syampara, chhatak, sylhet, 19.11.1943, g.k. deka 21823. d. nigricans wall.; singla reserve, sylhet, 22.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4912; sylhet, 5.7.1940, g.k. deka 19605. d. pilosula wall.; sylhet, 9.11.1914, u n. kanjilal 4692; loobah lake, sylhet, 9.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4692. d. variegata kurz; patharia reserve, sylhet, 18.1.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7646; balisira hill, sylhet, 18.3.1921, b. sen gupta 7644. 58. symplocaceae symplocos ferruginea roxb.; bhanugach reserve, sylhet division, 26.2.1925, b. sen gupta 7826. s. racemosa roxb.; longai reserve, sylhet, 28.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4947; cheragi, singla reserve, sylhet, 30.11.1924, b. sen gupta 7818; patharia reserve, sylhet, march 1886, t.k. gupta s. n. 17922. 59. oleaceae jasminum calycinum wall. ex voigt; sylhet, 2.4.1834. shyam 22156. j. coarctatum roxb.; lawachara, sylhet, 23.3.1938, r.n. de 16445. j. laurifolium roxb.; lawachara, sylhet, 3.4.1938, r.n. de 16568. j. scandens vahl; chhatak, sylhet, 20.11.1943, g.k. deka 21796; tilagarh reserve, sylhet, may 1886, g. mann s.n. 1815. linociera grandifolia elmer; tharia, sylhet, 26.12.1955, a. das 104. 154 barbhuiya and gogoi l. macrophylla wall.; bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 12.8.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7692; singla, sylhet, 21.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4903. 60. apocynaceae aganosma marginata g.don; singla, sylhet, 22.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4909. anodendron paniculatum a.dc.; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g.k. deka 22307. holarrhena pubescens (buch.-ham.) wall. ex g. don; patharia forest, sylhet, march 1885, t.k. gupta s.n. 18741. ichnocarpus frutescens r.br.; mollagul hill, sylhet, 12.11.1914, u n. kanjilal 4709; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g k. deka 20433; chhatak, sylhet, 19.11.1943, g k. deka 21788. rauvolfia serpentina benth. ex kurz; lawachara, sylhet, 19.5.1939, r.n. de 18802; plains of sylhet, april 1877, g. mann 237. wrightia coccinea (roxb.) sims; patherkandi, sylhet, 12.6.1925, b. sen gupta 7835; bhalukmara, loobah lake, sylhet, 8.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4680. 61. asclepiadaceae asclepias curassavica l.; plains of sylhet, february 1888, g. mann s.n. 19152. calotropis gigantea dryand; bholaganj, sylhet, 17.11.1943, b.b. shyam 22156. cynanchum vincetoxicum pers.; deoban, chatak, sylhet, 14.6.1940, n.l. bor 13106. gymnema acuminatum wall.; mollagul hill, sylhet, 12.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4710. marsdenia roylei wight; longai reserve, sylhet, 24.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4920. 62. loganiaceae fagraea obovata wall.; sylhet, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10996. strychnos wallichiana benth.; longai reserve, sylhet, 27.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4939. 63. gentianaceae crawfurdia fasciculata wall.; rangamati, chittagong, april 1939, w.j.l. wenger 21518. limnanthemum cristatum griesb.; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12438. 64. boraginaceae cordia fragrantissima kurz; lawachara, bhanugach, sylhet, 20.10.1940, r.n. de 19756. ehretia acuminata r.br.; chhatak, sylhet, 27.5.1935, g.k. deka 12830. rotula aquatica lour.; loobah lake, sylhet, 9.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4693. 65. convolvulaceae argyreia speciosa sweet; kamalganj, sylhet, 12.11.1937, f. dastidar 16585. plant collections from bangladesh 155 ipomoea obscura guill.; chhatak, sylhet, 2.2.1941, g.k. deka 20518. i. uniflora roem. & schult.; chhatak, sylhet, 2.11.1943, g.k. deka 21885. operculina turpethum (l.) silva manso; longai forest, sylhet, 16.2.1941, g.k. deka 22302. 66. scrophulariaceae adenosma capitatum benth. ex hance; fakir tilla, chhatak, sylhet, 17.11.1943, g.k. deka 23375. bonnaya veronicaefolia spreng.; chhatak, sylhet, 7.11.1936, g.k. deka 16477. centranthera grandiflora benth.; lawachara, sylhet, 19.8.1938, r.n. de 18714. limnophila hirsuta benth.; chhatak, sylhet, 7.11.1936, g.k. deka 20518. pagesia dianthera (sw.) pennell; chhatak, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g.k. deka 22589. torenia edentula griff.; lawachara, sylhet, 16.8.1938, g.k. deka 19325. vandellia hirsuta buch.-ham. ex benth.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18006. veronica anagallis bong.; surma river bank, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g.k. deka 20516. 67. orobanchaceae aeginetia indica l.; rangamati, chittagong, may 1939, w.j.l. wenger 21510. 68. gesneriaceae rhynchoglossum ellipticum a.dc.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18004. r. obliquum blume; jaintiapur, sylhet, 30.10.1935, g.k. deka 12955. 69. bignoniaceae crescentia cujete l.; sylhet, march 1941, r.n. de 20495; sylhet, 11.11.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7675; sylhet, 11.12.1921, b. sen gupta 7695. pajanelia rheedii wight; sylhet station, february 1886, g. mann s. n. 21086; ichabil tea garden, sylhet, 28.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4952. 70. acanthaceae daedalacanthus strictus t. anderson; longai forest, sylhet, 19.2.1941, r.n. de 20525. d. suffruticosus t. anderson; loobah reserve, 10.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4694. ebermaiera staurogyne nees; lawachara, sylhet, 20.8.1941, r.n. de 20736. hygrophila phlomoides nees; fokir tilla, chhatak, sylhet, 17.11.1943, g.k. deka 22009. h. polysperma t. anderson; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g.k. deka 20287. h. salicifolia nees; jaintiapur, sylhet, 30.10.1935, g.k. deka 12881. phlogacanthus asperulus nees; jaintiapur, sylhet, march 1880, g. mann s.n. 21674. staurogyne argentea wall.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, g.k. deka 20277. 156 barbhuiya and gogoi s. thyrsodes kuntze; roghunandan reserve, sylhet, 12.4.1947, m.m. srinivasan 23395. strobilanthes acrocephalus t. anderson; rangamati, chittagong, april 1939, w.j.l. wenger 21519. thunbergia grandiflora roxb.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 19052. t. maculata lace; lawachara, sylhet, 19.8.1938, r.n. de 18460. 71. verbenaceae callicarpa arborea roxb.; apha river bank, sylhet, 11.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4706. c. longifolia lam.; bhanugach, lawachara, sylhet, 14.11.1932, dina nath 10756. clerodendron infortunatum gaertn.; teliapara, sylhet, 12.4.1947, m.m. srinivasan 22135. lantana camara l. var. aculeata (l.) moldenke; lawachara, sylhet, 20.8.1941, r.n. de 20737. lippia geminata kunth; lookara, habiganj, sylhet, 26.2.1941, r.n. de 20390. premna latifolia roxb.; sautgaon, sylhet, 10.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4703. sphenodesme pentandra jack; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g.k. deka 20437. s. unguiculata schauer; sylhet, 26.12.1937, r.n. de 16014. vitex glabrata r.br.; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 6.8.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7687. v. peduncularis wall.; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 6.8.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7685. v. pubescens vahl; bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 13.8.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7686; longai reserve, sylhet, 27.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4940. 72. lamiaceae coleus blumei benth.; longai reserve, sylhet, 16.2.1941, r.n. de 20604. gomphostemma parviflorum wall.; singla, sylhet, 21.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4904. leucas linifolia spreng.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 19182. ocimum basilicum l.; habiganj, sylhet, 27.2.1941, r.n. de 20222. o. canum sims; chhatak, sylhet, 27.5.1935, g. k. deka 12855. 73. amaranthaceae alternanthera achynantha r.br.; chhatak, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g.k. deka 20286. a. sessilis r.br.; fakir tilla, chhatak, sylhet, 19.11.1943, g.k. deka 22148. cyathula prostrata blume; kamalpur, sylhet, 15.11.1955, r.n. de s.n. 39581. 74. chenopodiaceae chenopodium ambrosioides l.; chhatak, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g.k. deka 20464. plant collections from bangladesh 157 75. polygonaceae polygonum viscosum buch.-ham. ex d. don; longai river bank, sylhet, 16.2.1941, r.n. de 20529. 76. aristolochiaceae aristolochia roxburghiana klotzsch; singla, sylhet, 23.2.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4913; rangamati, chittagong, may 1939, w.j.l. wenger 21521. 77. piperaceae peperomia pellucida kunth; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18078. piper attenuatum buch.-ham. ex wall.; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g.k. deka 20673. p. griffithii c. dc.; nayatilla, chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g.k. deka 20674. p. longum l.; sylhet division, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10961. 78. myristicaceae myristica amygdalina wall.; longai reserve, sylhet, 19.11.1934, u.n. kanjilal 7815. m. linifolia roxb.; guliang village, sylhet, 11.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4705. m. longifolia hook.f. & thomson; near ranpur plantation, longai, sylhet, 19.2.1941, r.n. de 20605. 79. lauraceae actinodaphne angustifolia nees; lawachara, sylhet, 19.8.1938, r.n. de 19169. alseodaphne owdeni parker; longai reseve, sylhet, 27.2.1938, r.n. de 16391. beilschmiedia brandisii hook.f.; longai reserve, sylhet, 28.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4948. cryptocarya amygdalina nees; lawachara, sylhet, r.n. de 18058, 18.8.1938; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g.k. deka 20429. litsea laeta benth. & hook.f.; longai reserve, sylhet, 26.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4933. l. polyantha juss.; patharia, sylhet, may 1887, t.k. gupta s.n. 249091. l. sebifera pers.; lawachara, sylhet, 8.7.1939, r.n. de 19193; sylhet division, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 13293. machilus bombycina king ex hook.f.; barshai peak, sylhet, 23.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4916; barshai hill, sylhet, 28.4.1915, u.n. kanjilal 6898. m. villosa hook.f.; longai forest, sylhet, 18.2.1941, r.n. de 20531; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g.k. deka 20442. phoebe lanceolata nees; lawachara, sylhet, 2.4.1938, r.n. de 16567. 80. proteaceae helicia robusta wall.; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 3.1.1921, b. sen gupta 7645. 158 barbhuiya and gogoi 81. loranthaceae dendrophthoe falcata (l.f.) ettingsh.; chhatak, sylhet, 8.2.1941, g.k. deka 20198; sylhet division, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10982. helixanthera parasitica lour.; longai reserve, sylhet, 18.2.1941, r.n. de 20199. loranthus globosus roxb.; lawachara, bhanugach, sylhet, 8.7.1939, r.n. de 18342. l. gracilifolius roxb. ex schult. f.; maulavi bazar range, sylhet, 1.2.1935, through d.f.o. 10976. macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) tiegh.; longai forest, sylhet, 17.2.1941, r.n. de 20216; kamalganj road, sylhet, 2.4.1940, r.n. de 19267. scurrula cordifolia (wall.) g. don; lawachara, bhanugach reserve, sylhet, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10974. s. parasitica l.; lawachara, sylhet, march 1936, c.s. purkayastha 13463; longai reserve, sylhet, 11.12.1938, r.n. de 17599; lawachara, sylhet, 20.8.1941, r.n. de 20798. tolypanthus involucratus (roxb.) tiegh.; longai reserve, sylhet, 18.2.1941, r.n. de 20200; longai reserve, sylhet, 24.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4925. viscum monoicum roxb.; longai reserve, sylhet, 18.2.1941, r.n. de 20214. 82. euphorbiaceae antidesma bunius spreng.; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 5.7.1925, u.n. kanjilal 7829. a. ghesaembilla gaertn.; chhatak, sylhet, 27.5.1935, g.k. deka 12823; santh gaon, sylhet, 9.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4685. a. roxburghii wall.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, g.k. deka 18122. aporosa roxburghii baill.; tilagarh reserve, sylhet, 9.4.1947, m.m. srinivasan 22100. bridelia tomentosa blume; tilagarh reserve, sylhet, 14.12.1938, r.n. de 17595. chaetocarpus castanocarpus thwaites; patharia forest, sylhet, july 1884, t.k. gupta s.n. 27412; singla reserve, sylhet, 16.1.1932, u.n. kanjilal 7724; tilagarh reserve, sylhet, 14.12.1938, r.n. de 17594. chrozophora rottleri a. juss.; chhatak, sylhet, 27.5.1935, g.k. deka 12833. cyclostemon assamicus hook. f.; longai reserve, sylhet, 2.3.1915, u.n. kanjilal 6900. c. eglandulosus kurz; longai reserve, sylhet, 2.3.1915, u.n. kanjilal 6901; patharia reserve, sylhet, 19.3.1932, b. sen gupta 16174. gelonium multiflorum a. juss.; lawachara, sylhet, 4.4.1938, r.n. de 16569; raghunandan reserve, sylhet, 5.7.1925, u.n. kanjilal 2830. glochidion gamblei hook. f.; tarap reserve, sylhet, 10.1.1925, u.n. kanjilal 7824. g. lanceolarium voigt; tarap reserve, sylhet, march 1935. c.s. purkayastha 10990. plant collections from bangladesh 159 g. sphaerogynum kurz; loobah reserve, sylhet, 10.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4696. mallotus albus müll.-arg.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, g.k. deka 18124. m. rapandus müll.-arg.; kamalganj, sylhet, 27.2.1925, u.n. kanjilal 7827. m. roxburghianus müll.-arg.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, g.k. deka 18121. sapium eugerniaefolium buch.-ham. ex wall.; loobah reserve, sylhet, 10.11.1914. u.n. kanjilal 4695. sauropus trinervius hook. f. & thomson ex müll.-arg.; barshai peak, sylhet, 23.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4917. trewia nudiflora l.; lawachara, sylhet, 20.1.1937, through dfo 13599; circuit house compound, sylhet, 3.2.1941, r.n. de 20457. trigonostemon semperflorens müll.-arg.; chhatak, sylhet, 9.2.1941, g.k. deka 20850. 83. urticaceae celtis cinnamomea lindl.; longai reserve, sylhet, 20.3.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7641. gironniera reticulata thwaites; badshai tilla, sylhet, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10985; singla reserve, sylhet, 16.3.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7636. sarcochlamys pulcherrima gaudich.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18092. trema orientalis blume; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r. n. de 19189. 84. moraceae artocarpus chama buch.-ham. ex wall.; solgoi tea estate, sylhet, 29.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4954. a. lacucha (roxb.) buch.-ham.; longai reserve, sylhet, 27.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4938. conocephalus suaveolens blume; tilagarh reserve, sylhet, 9.4.1947, m.m. srinivasan 22346. ficus fistulosa reinw. ex blume; lawachara, sylhet, 23.2.1941, r.n. de 20492. f. heterophylla l. f.; loobah, sylhet, 11.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4704. f. hispida l. f.; apha river bank, sylhet, 11.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4707. f. geniculata kurz; sylhet, 6.10.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4677. f. infectoria roxb.; sylhet station, february 1886, g. mann s.n. 28015. f. gibbosa blume; maulavi bazar, sylhet, february 1886, g. mann s.n. 27803. f. obtusifolia roxb.; bhallukmara, tillagarh, loobah, sylhet, 8.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4681. f. pyriformis hook. & arn.; loobah lake, sylhet, 9.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4691. f. retusa l.; ita hill, sylhet, february 1886, g. mann s n. 27924. 160 barbhuiya and gogoi f. silhetensis miq.; sylhet, june 1886, g. mann s n. 28279. f. variegata blume; sillaoah, sylhet, june 1886, g. mann 36a. streblus asper lour.; plains of sylhet, april 1877, t.k. gupta s.n. 27735. 85. juglandaceae engelhardtia polystachya radlk.; bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 12.5.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7688. e. spicata blume; sylhet, march 1887, t.k. gupta s.n. 28944. 86. fagaceae castanopsis armata spach; sylhet, march 1886, g. mann s.n. 29568. c. lanceifolia (roxb.) hickel & a. camus; hailpox, sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 13423. c. tribuloides a.dc.; badshai tilla, sylhet, 12.3.1921, b c. sen gupta 7637. quercus fenestrata roxb.; sylhet, may 1887, t.k. gupta s.n. 29096; patharia, sylhet, may 1887, t.k. gupta s.n. 29104. q. lappacea roxb.; patharia, sylhet, may 1889, t.k. gupta s.n. 29174. q. semiserrata roxb.; sylhet, march 1887, t.k. gupta s.n. 29158; longai reserve, sylhet, 27.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4936; longai reserve, 27.2.1938, sylhet, r.n. de 16390. q. spicata sm.; sylhet, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10995; bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 12.5.1921, u.n. kanjilal 7690. 87. salicaceae salix calophylla wall.; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g.k. deka 20436. s. tetrasperma roxb.; longai reserve, sylhet, 24.11.1924, b. sen gupta 7817. monocotyledons 88. hydrocharitaceae ottelia alismoides pers.; deopara, sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12438. 89. orchidaceae dendrobium transparens wall. ex lindl.; dawki, sylhet district,, 30.4.1943, g.k. deka 22189. hetaeria affinis lindl.; ranpur plantation, longai, sylhet, 19.2.1941, r.n. de 20643; bathergul, sylhet, 6.2.1886, g. mann 23482. micropera pallida (roxb.) lindl.; kamalganj, sylhet, 14.9.1946, g.k. deka s n. 36095. plant collections from bangladesh 161 zeuxine affinis benth. ex hook. f.; rangamati, chittagong, may 1939, w.j.l. wenger 23481. 90. zingiberaceae caulokaempferia linearis (wall.) k. larsen; dawki, sylhet, 11.8.1944, g.k. deka 21872. globba racemosa sm.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 19619; lawachara, sylhet, 15.7.1940, r.n. de 19543. zingiber chrysanthum rosce; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 20319. 91. musaceae musa sapientum l.; lawachera, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de17679. 92. dioscoreaceae dioscorea decipiens hook. f.; bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 18279. d. hamiltoni hook. f.; bhanugach reserve, sylhet, 23.10.1940, r.n. de 19750. d. pentaphylla l.; sylhet, may 1936, c.s. purkayastha 12444. 93. roxburghiaceae stichoneuron membranaceum hook. f. & thomson; ranpur plantation, sylhet, 19.2.1941, r.n. de 20284. 94. liliaceae dianella ensifolia (schlitter) kitamura; lawachara plantation, sylhet, 15.7.1940, r.n. de 19544. dracaena terniflora wall.; longai reserve, sylhet, 25.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4929. paris polyphylla sm.; rangamati, chittagong, may 1934, w.j.l. wenger 21509. smilax aspericaulis wall.; longai forest, sylhet, 18.2.1941, r.n. de 20718. s. prolifera roxb.; chhatak, syampara, sylhet, 20.11.1943, g.k. deka 21831; chhatak, sylhet, 7.12.1941, g.k. deka 20427. 95. pontederiaceae eichhornia speciosa kunth; chhatak, sylhet, 27.5.1935, g.k. deka 12867; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12445. 96. xyridaceae xyris pauciflora willd.; chhatak, sylhet, 18.11.1943, g.k. deka 21850. 97. commelinaceae commelina paludosa blume; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 19623. cyanotis cristata (l.) d. don; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 19622. 162 barbhuiya and gogoi floscopa scandens lour.; fakir tilla, chhatak, sylhet, 18.11.1943, g.k. deka 22420. murdannia elata g. brückn.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, r.n. de 19627. m. terminalis (blume) raizada; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12308. m. vaginata g. brückn.; bholaganj, sylhet, 21.8.1935, g.k. deka 12480. 98. arecaceae calamus tenuis roxb.; longai forest, sylhet, 18.2.1941, r.n. de 20709. c. viminalis willd.; chhatak, sylhet, 7.2.1941, g.k. deka 20708. daemonorops jenkinsianus mart.; longai reserve, sylhet, 26.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4932. licuala peltata roxb.; tillagarh reserve, sylhet, 28.11.1941, r.n. de 20785. plectocomia himalayana griff.; loobah reserve, sylhet, 10.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4699. 99. araceae colocasia antiquorum schott; dawki, sylhet, 7.8.1940, g.k. deka 22205. homalomena aromatica schott; lawachara, sylhet, 19.8.1939, g.k. deka 23250. h. rubescens kunth; singla reserve, sylhet, 22.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4906. lasia heterophylla schott; tilagarh reserve, sylhet, 19.4.1947, m.m. srinivasan 22347. pistia stratiotes l.; jaintiapur, sylhet, 30.10.1935, g.k. deka 12860. pothos scandens l.; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12443. 100. cyperaceae carex thomsonii boott; plains of sylhet, april 1887, c.b. clarke s.n. 31720. cyperus brevifolius hassk.; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12309. c. iria l.; sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12628. c. sieberianus spreng.; sylhet, october1935, c.s. purkayastha 12286. c. tenuispica steud.; lawachara, sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12627. eleocharis dulcis trin. ex henschel.; sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12609. fimbristylis complanata link; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12289. f. dichotoma (l.) vahl; lawachara, sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12627. f. schoenoides vahl; fakir tila, chhatak, sylhet, 18.11.1943, g.k. deka 22311. f. tetragona r. br.; shillong-sylhet road, 40 mile point, 28.8.1935, g.k. deka 12362. rikliella squarrosus ( l.) j. raynal; lawachara nursery, sylhet, 14.9.1946, g.k. deka s.n. 31628. rynchospora rubra (lour.) makino; shillong-sylhet road, 40 mile point, 29.8.1935, s.r. sharma 12360. plant collections from bangladesh 163 scirpus grossus l. f.; kamalganj, sylhet, 14.9.1946, g.k. deka 22245. 101. poaceae acroceras tonkinense (balansa) c. e. hubb.; lawachara plantation, sylhet, 10.1.1938, g.k. deka 17683; lawachara plantation, sylhet, 18.8.1938, g.k. deka 17764. apluda mutica l.; companyganj, sylhet, 26.11.1936, g.k. deka 21388. bambusa nutans wall. ex munro; loobah reserve, sylhet, 10.11.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4701. b. polymorpha munro; protabgarh, sylhet, december 1889, t.k. gupta s.n. 32269; taraf hill reserve, sylhet, 9.7.1937, through d.f.o. 15820 . b. tulda roxb.; barshai hill, sylhet, 23.12.1914, u.n. kanjilal 4915; jafflong, sylhet, 6.8.1944, g.k. deka 22580; lawachara, sylhet, 24.11.1941, r.n. de 22578. chrysopogon aciculatus trin.; lawachara, sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12619. cyrtococcum accrescens stapf; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12295. dendrocalamus longispathus kurz; magura, sylhet, april 1937, n l. bor 13915. dendrocalamus sp. (sil barua); protabgarh, sylhet, december 1889, t.k. gupta s.n. 31883. dendrocalamus sp. (teli barua); poldahar, sylhet, december 1889, t.k. gupta s.n. 31881. dendrocalamus sp. (baskal); protabgarh, sylhet, december 1889, t.k. gupta s.n. 31887. digitaria adscendens (kunth) henrard; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha,12290, 12297; sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12607. d. biformis willd.; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12296. d. microbachne henrard; lawachara, sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12623; companyganj, sylhet, 26.11.1936, g.k. deka 13835. echinochloa stagnina p. beauv.; lawachara, sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12621. eleusine indica gaertn.; lawachara, sylhet, august 1935, c. s. purkayastha 12620; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12288, 12293,12298, 12302. eragrostis japonica (thunb.) trin.; rangamati, chittagong, may 1939, w.j.l wenger 21513. e. unioloides nees ex steud.; lawachara, sylhet, 22.11.1941, r.n. de 20819. erianthus fulvus nees ex steud.; jaintiapur, sylhet, 30.10.1935, r.n. de 12563. e. longisetosus t. anderson ex c. b. clarke; longai reserve, sylhet, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10977; tillagarh reserve, sylhet, 28.2.1941, r.n. de 20110. 164 barbhuiya and gogoi gigantochloa macrostachya kurz; dewadik, sylhet, december 1889, t.k. gupta s.n. 32266. hygroryza aristata nees; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12307. hymenachne pseudointerrupta c. muell.; companyganj, sylhet, 7.11.1935, g.k. deka 12545. ischaemum goebelii hack.; companyganj, sylhet, 8.11.1935, g.k. deka 12583. leersia hexandra sw.; dalairgaon range, sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha s.n. 32871. melocalamus sp.; protabgarh, sylhet, december 1883, t.k. gupta s.n. 32031. melocanna bambusoides trin.; protabgarh, sylhet, december 1883, t.k. gupta s.n. 31907. microstegium ciliatum (trin.) a. camus; jaintiapur, sylhet, 7.11.1936, g.k. deka 13864. neyraudia reynaudiana (kunth) keng ex hitchc.; longai reserve, sylhet, march 1935, c.s. purkayastha 10978. oryza sativa l.; jaintiapur, sylhet, 7.11.1936, g.k. deka 13715; companyganj, sylhet, 7.11.1935, g.k. deka 12536 ; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12301. oxytenanthera albo-ciliata munro; magura, sylhet, april 1937, n.l. bor 13910. panicum cambogiense balansa; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12294, 12300. p. humedorum buch.-ham.; jaintiapur, sylhet, 30.10.1935, g.k. deka 12452. p. paludosum roxb.; hailpur, sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12600. paspalidium punctatum a. camus; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12303. paspalum conjugatum p. j. bergius; sylhet, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12299; lawachera, sylhet, august 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12625. phragmites karka trin. ex steud.; companyganj, sylhet, 26.11.1936, g.k. deka 12554. pseudostachyum polymorphum munro; protabgarh, syhet, december 1889, t.k. gupta s.n. 31967. saccharum procerum roxb.; lawachara, sylhet, 22.11.1941, r.n. de 20800. s. spontaneum l.; near jaintiapur, sylhet, 30.10.1935, g.k. deka 12561. saccolepis interrupta (willd.) stapf; sylhet division, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12305; jaintiapur, sylhet, 30.10.1935, c.s. purkayastha 12419. setaria pallidifusca stapf & c. e. hubb.; lawachara, sylhet, 18.8.1938, g.k. deka 17735; sylhet division, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12291. s. palmifolia stapf; jaintiapur, sylhet, 30.10.1935, g.k. deka 12417. plant collections from bangladesh 165 sporobolus indicus r. br.; sylhet division, october 1935, c.s. purkayastha 12285. sorghum vulgare pers.; lawachara, sylhet, may 1937, r.n. de 21419. themeda villosa hack.; companyganj, sylhet, 8.11.1935, g.k. deka 12414. thysanolaena maxima kuntze; maguria, sylhet, may 1937, n.l. bor s.n. 33146; badshai tilla reserve, sylhet, 8.3.1937, awpo s.n. 33145. vetiveria zizanioides nash; companyganj, sylhet, 26.11.1936, g.k. deka 12574. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to dr. m. sanjappa, director, botanical survey of india, kolkata and also to dr. sandhyajyoti phukan, ex joint director, eastern regional centre, shillong, and dr. a. a. mao of arunachal pradesh regional centre, botanical survey of india, itanagar for the facilities. references bentham, g. and hooker, j.d.1862-1883. genera plantarum. vols.1-3. lovell reeve & co., london. holmgren p.k., holmgren, n.h. and barnett, l.c. 1990. index herbariorum, 8th ed.:179. koeltz, konigstein, germany. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., de, r.n., das, a. and bor, n.l. 1934-1940. flora of assam. vols. 1-5. government of assam, shillong. (manuscript received on 18 december, 2009; revised on 4 september, 2010) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 13-24, 2007 (june) aquatic flora in two indian ponds near kolkata, west bengal: implications for conservation gautam mukhopadhyay2, sourav sengupta and anjana dewanji1 agricultural and ecological research unit, indian statistical institute, 203 b.t. road, kolkata 700 108, india key words: aquatic flora, species composition, occurrence, coverage, nitrogen, phosphorus, management abstract occurrence, coverage and chemical constituents of aquatic flora were studied in two indian ponds over a period of 39-month in order to gain an insight into their associations and infestation for implications in conservation and management. species diversity was recorded in presence of two invasive species (alternanthera philoxeroides (martius) griseb. and lemna aequinoctialis welwitsch). these species should be managed in view of their beneficial uses. nymphaea pubescens willd, a threatened species, was recorded. positive association of nymphoides hydrophylla (loureiro) o. kuntze with alternanthera philoxeroides and vallisneria spiralis l. showed that spatially separated habitats are useful for conservation. azolla pinnata r. brown, an useful species and rotala rotundifolia (f. hamilton ex roxburgh) koehne, an uncommon species, were able to produce high coverage in their brief occurrence important for their conservation. similar feature as observed in cladophora glomerata (l.) kütz and hydrodictyon reticulatum (l.) lagerh. is useful for management of these species due to their negative impacts. introduction the state of west bengal of india harbors nearly 57,000 small ponds (individual surface area < 2.25 ha). these ecosystems support 380 aquatic plant species belonging to 176 genera and 81 families which represent about 60% of the diversity of the indian aquatic vascular plants (cook 1996, ghosh 2005). being located in a monsoon region, the state supports a luxuriant growth of these plants throughout the year. conservation of aquatic flora is an important part of the management regime of ponds in view of its regular use, specially by the villagers in rural landscapes. aquatic plants also directly or indirectly provide fishes, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals with food, shelter and breeding sites, thus enhancing habitat diversity. they also support livelihood subsistence to several thousand rural folks in india and bangladesh (irfanullah 2002, ghosh 2005). in recent times, many species are gradually becoming rare in their earlier area of occurrence due to habitat modifications, overharvesting and invasion by exotic as well as aggressive weeds (lacoul and freedman 2006). thus, aquatic plants are also directly threatened, sometimes even without coming to the knowledge of mankind (cronk and fennessy 2001). record of different species of aquatic plants has been regarded as a 1corresponding author, e-mail: anjana@isical.ac.in 2department of botany, derozio memorial college, rajarhat, kolkata 700 136, india. 14 mukhopadhyay et al. botanical conservation index for ponds (linton and goulder 2000). charting the occurrence of individual species in a pond specially in presence of invasive weeds along with its phenology, coverage and chemical composition over time could provide valuable information on conservation and management related issues, options or strategies. the knowledge of aquatic flora regarding the above-mentioned aspects is scarce particularly for pond ecosystems (mukhopadhyay and dewanji 2005) since they are primarily regarded to be a nuisance. masses of vegetation are commonly eradicated from ponds to make the water body available for fishery practices. in view of the importance of aquatic plants, a baseline data on monthly variation in occurrence, phenology, coverage and nutrient contents of various species of aquatic flora found in two ponds near kolkata, west bengal were collected over a period of three years and three months in order to gain an insight into their conservation and management options or strategies. materials and methods data were collected on a monthly basis, from march 1999 to may 2002 from two ponds, namely pond 203 and pond 206, situated within the indian statistical institute campus in baranagar, kolkata, india (latitude 22020/-22040/ n and longitude 88010/-88040/ e). both ponds are old (>75 years), rectangular in shape, small (surface area: 0.4 and 0.3 ha; volume: 7258 and 8136 m3, respectively) and shallow (maximum depth: 4.5 and 5.0 m, average depth: 2.2 ± 1.8 and 3.4 ± 1.2 m, respectively) with one inlet and one outlet. the surrounding land cover for both ponds is dominated by shading trees with overhanging branches, roads, nursery, temple and the ponds are primarily used by the local people as a water source for bathing, washing of clothes and utensils. in this study, ‘aquatic plants’ will mean those plants, visible to the naked eye, that grow in the littoral zone of a water body and consisting of angiosperms, ferns and large freshwater algae. occurrence: plant species were recorded by walking along the margin of the pond as well as by a boat. an aquascope and a rake were used for observation and collection of submerged plants (dennis and isom 1984). individual voucher specimen of each species was collected, dried and mounted on herbarium sheet (martin 1995). angiosperms and ferns were identified following cook (1996), while macroalgae were identified according to biswas and calder (1955) and boyd and tucker (1998). expert opinion was sought from the central national herbarium, indian botanic garden, sibpur, howrah for reconfirmation of the identification. phenology: monthly variations in leaf measurements of some dominant aquatic plant species were measured during a one-year period (may 1999 to april 2000). period of flowering as well as fruiting was observed and recorded for each species. aquatic flora in two indian ponds 15 cover percent: a stratified random design was used to determine monthly coverage of plants, present at six sampling points per pond, mainly at the littoral zone where majority of the plants occurred. it should be emphasized that the data collected therefore characterize the littoral zone, which in case of shallow ponds may be identical with the flora of the entire pond. at each sampling point, cover percent of each species was visually determined by placing a 1 m2 quadrat ten times (srivastava et al. 1995) in three zones, namely, surface water for floating plants; bottom for submerged plants (crawford 1977, ali et al. 1999) and shoreline for emergent plants, each to a maximum cover of 100%. chemical composition: plant samples were collected from six sampling points in each of two ponds. after removing excess water and debris, samples were dried in an oven at 700c to constant weight. after drying, all samples were ground in a cyclotec mill and used subsequently for chemical analysis following standard methods (aoac 1984). nitrogen (% dry weight) was determined by the micro kjeldahl method in a kjeltec 1026 unit (tecator, höganäs, sweden). ash was estimated by incinerating plant sample at 5500c in a muffle furnace for 4-6 hrs. after ashing, samples were dissolved in nitric acid (10% v/v) and after dilution, the acid digest was used for determination of tissue phosphorus (% dry weight) by colorimetric method (fiske and subbarow 1925). statistical analysis: univariate description of cover percent and chemical constituents of different species of aquatic flora based on calculation of sample statistics such as mean, standard deviation, maximum and minimum values have been done on the complete dataset. to study the interrelationship between coverage of different species, pearson’s correlation coefficients were worked out. results and discussion species list: a total of 13 plant species were recorded in the two ponds during the study period. the species list involved alternanthera philoxeroides (martius) griseb. (amaranthaceae), azolla pinnata r. brown ssp. asiatica (azollaceae), cladophora glomerata (l.) kütz (cladophoraceae), commelina benghalensis l. (commelinaceae), eclipta alba (l.) hasskarl (asteraceae), hydrodictyon reticulatum (l.) lagerh. (hydrodictyaceae), lemna aequinoctialis welwitsch (lemnaceae), marsilea minuta l. (marsileaceae), nymphaea pubescens willd (nymphaeaceae), nymphoides hydrophylla (loureiro) o. kuntze (menyanthaceae), rotala rotundifolia (f. hamilton ex roxburgh) koehne (lythraceae), trapa natans l. var. bispinosa (roxb.) makino (trapaceae) and vallisneria spiralis l. (hydrocharitaceae). occurrence: the monthly occurrence of different plant species in the two study ponds is given in fig.1. occurrence of plant species ≥ 50% of the study period was considered to be the dominant flora while the rest was regarded as less dominant ones. less dominant flora azolla pinnata (13) • • • • • cladophora glomerata (5) • • commelina benghalensis (28) • • • • • • • • • • • marsilea minuta (46) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • nymphaea pubescens (49) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • rotala rotundifolia (36) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • trapa natans (8) • • • dominant flora alternanthera philoxeroides (54) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • lemna aequinoctialis (97) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • nymphoides hydrophylla (100) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • po nd 2 03 vallisneria spiralis (100) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • m a m j j a s o n d j f m a m j j a s o n d j f m a m j j a s o n d j f m a m 1999 2000 2001 2002 dominant flora alternanthera philoxeroides (54) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • lemna aequinoctialis (61) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • nymphoides hydrophylla (54) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • less dominant flora azolla pinnata (8) • • • cladophora glomerata (13) • • • • • commelina benghalensis (3) • eclipta alba (33) • • • • • • • • • • • • • hydrodictyon reticulatum (3) • po nd 2 06 nymphaea pubescens (3) • fig. 1. monthly occurrence of plants (march 1999 may 2002) in ponds 203 and 206 (figures in parentheses show the percent occurrence for each plant). aquatic flora in two indian ponds 17 among the dominant species, alternanthera philoxeroides grew in relatively monospecific stands along the banks of both ponds during september 1999 to december 2000. at times (june to october), it extended to a considerable distance (1 m from bank) across the water surface by developing buoyant layers. lemna aequinoctialis was present throughout the study period in pond 203, gregariously forming a green mantle on the surface during july to november. nymphoides hydrophylla was present throughout the study period in pond 203 and from january 2000 to august 2001 in pond 206. vallisneria spiralis was present throughout the study period as a thick vegetation bed (up to a depth of 2 m) in the littoral zone of pond 203. among the less dominant species, azolla pinnata was found in both ponds during the last three months (march to may 2002) of the study period. in india, large-scale growth of this species has been reported and it was found that during the growing season (winter) it can double its weight in less than 7 days (gopal 1967). cladophora glomerata was found forming dense filamentous cushion on soft substrates at a maximum depth of 20 cm in the littoral zone of pond 203 in february and march 2001, while it occurred for brief periods during the years 2001 and 2002 in pond 206. in temperate ponds, vegetative growth was recorded during early summer (mason 1965). propagation by overwintering filaments possibly reestablished the species in the subsequent year in pond 206. commelina benghalensis was noticed only once in october 2000 in pond 206, while it was present for a longer stretch (february to november 2000) in pond 203. during the monsoons, this plant extended into the water in pond 203 by its creeping stems rooting at the nodes. eclipta alba was observed only in pond 206 from december 1999 to december 2000. ramakrishnan (1960) found that the incidence of this species was higher at the end of the rainy and winter seasons. hydrodictyon reticulatum made an appearance in submerged condition at a maximum depth of 0.5 m in the littoral zone during february 2001 in pond 206. in some temperate regions, the species is reported to form extensive surface mats during summer on a regular basis (wells and clayton 2001). marsilea minuta was present only in pond 203 mainly during july 1999 to november 2000. the floating leaves of nymphaea pubescens were noticed only once in october 2001 in pond 206, while it grew intermittently along the littoral zone in pond 203. this species has been regarded to be threatened in west bengal (ghosh 2005). bushy growth of rotala rotundifolia was observed up to 2 m depth in the littoral zone of pond 203, mostly during the years 1999 and 2000. the species has been reported to be uncommon in west bengal (ghosh 2005). although pond 203 was not used for cultivation of trapa natans, the species was observed at only one location for a brief period (february to april 2000). in tropical climates, maximum growth of this species has been observed during winter (kumari and datta munshi 1991), while in temperate ponds, the time was generally summer (kunii and maeda 1982). 18 mukhopadhyay et al. phenology: monthly variation of leaf measurements of three dominant species in pond 203 during may 1999 to april 2000 is given in fig. 2. fronds of lemna aequinoctialis were 0.4 to 3.0 mm long (fig. 2a) and 0.3 to 2.0 mm wide. maximum frond length was observed during january. blades of floating leaves of nymphoides hydrophylla were 1.8 to 15.0 cm wide and maximum value was observed during may (fig. 2b). leaves of vallisneria spiralis were 8.4 to 82.8 cm long, 3.0 to 9.0 mm wide (figs. 2cd). higher values of leaf length were observed from may to september, while c) leaf length of 0 20 40 60 80 100 m j j a s cm d) leaf breadth 0 2 4 6 8 10 m j j a s m m b) diameter of leaf blad 0 4 8 12 16 20 m j j a s cm a) frond length of lemna aequinoctialis 0 1 2 3 4 m j j a s o n d j f m a month m m m fig. 2. monthly variation in leaf measurements aequinoctialis, b) nymphoides hydrophylla and c april 2000. vallisneria spiralis o n d j f m a of vallisneria spiralis o n d j f m a e of nymphoides hydrophylla o n d j f m a onth of three dominant aquatic plant species a) lemna -d) vallisneria spiralis in pond 203 from may 1999 to aquatic flora in two indian ponds 19 leaf breadth was comparatively stable and always < 10 mm. cook (1996) reported that leaves might be up to 2 m long. as per lowden's classification (1982), the plant found in the present study fell into the narrow leaved (< 10 mm width) category. only flowering was recorded for alternanthera philoxeroides (throughout the year), nymphoides hydrophylla (throughout the summer and winter months), vallisneria spiralis (only staminate flowers were observed throughout the year), commelina benghalensis (aerial chasmogamous flowers were found throughout the presence of the plant) and eclipta alba (during august). in case of nymphaea pubescens both flowers (during the rainy season) and fruits (during november) were observed. cover percent: the mean cover percent values of all the plants found in this study are reported in table 1 along with their maximum values to give an idea about their potential for maximum coverage. it can be seen that all dominant flora had maximum values table 1. mean and maximum cover percent of aquatic plants of the two study ponds (ponds 203 and 206). species total number of mon pond mean maximum ths present ± sd dominant plant 21 203 28.1 ± 16.37 072 alternanthera philoxeroides 21 206 28.6 ± 23 082 38 203 31.2 ± 28.60 100 .04 lemna aequinoctialis 24 206 34.8 ± 100 39 203 15.8 ± 077 37.90 14.56nym la 21 206 24.6 ± 091 vallisneria spiralis 39 203 61.7 ± 098 phoides hydrophyl 21.08 27.08 less dominant plant 05 203 34.6 ± 081 30.50 azolla pinnata 03 206 38.0 ± 098 02 203 36.0 ± 070 50.70 8.60 cladophora glomerata 05 206 18.0 ± 089 11 203 1.9 ± 2.39 035 22.20 commelina benghalensis 01 206 1.0 ± 003 eclipta 13 206 3.7 ± 028 0.01 3.82 alba hyd ulatum 01 206 39.0 ± 078 rodictyon retic 7.67 marsilea minuta 18 203 3.1 ± 030 2.40 19 203 1.1 ± 010 0.46 nymphaea pubescens 01 206 1.0 ± 002 rotala rotundifolia 14 203 13.1 076 0.07 ± 9.93 trapa n 03 203 1.0 ±00.22 002 atans above 70%. among the less dominant flora, azolla pinnata, cl ora glomerata, hydrodictyon reticulatum and rotala tundifolia a howed ma cover above 70% during their limited period of existence. mean values of cover percent of azolla pinnata (both ponds), cladophora glomerata (pond 203), and hydrodictyon reticulatum adoph ro lso s ximum 20 mukhopadhyay et al. (pond 206) were found to be higher alternanthera philoxe quinoctialis and nymphoides hydrop in respective pond/ponds, which could be due to their abilities of formation of extensive colonies even for a short duration. however, commelina benghalensis and nymphaea pubescens in pond 2 pa natans in pond 2 min during brief appearence. among the dominant flora, cover nt of nymphoides hydrophylla was positively associated with that of alternanth philoxero vallisneria spiralis 47, respectively, n = 39, p< ). the coexistence of dominant plants in these ponds could be due to t that growth habits of floating, submerged and em ere spatially separated from each other and probably had better availab esources in the s tem (chamb and prepa chemical composition: the chem positio nd in the study was analyzed and the results a eported in e 2. nitro uatic plants ranged from phora glomerata to 3.08% zolla pinna he two ponds, while phosp t varied from 0.03% in cladophora glomerata to 0.36% in rotala rot in the two ponds. the dominant species in b ponds showed able 2. dry matter, nitrogen and phosphorus estimation of aquatic plants of two ponds (ponds 203 than that of dominant species like roides, lemna ae hylla 06 and tra 03 showed imum cover percentage their perce era ides and (r = 0.332 and 0.4 0.05 he fact ergent forms w ility of abiotic r ys ers s 1990). ical com n of the different plants fou re r tabl gen in aq 0.78 in clado horus conten in a ta in t undifolia all oth t and 206). plant pond n dry matter (%) nitrogen (%) phosphorus (%) 203 071 12.3 ± 3.2 2.23 ± 0.81 0.22 ± 0.07 alternanthera philoxeroides 206 066 12.1 ± 2.8 2.39 ± 1.05 0.20 ± 0.10 203 014 05.9 ± 0.8 2.76 ± 0.31 0.23 ± 0.17 azolla pinnata 206 006 07.5 ± 0.6 3.08 ± 0.18 0.11 ± 0.02 203 002 13.6 ± 4.3 0.78 ± 0.13 0.03 ± 0.01 cladophora glomerata 206 016 10.4 ± 2.3 2.56 ± 0.61 0.27 ± 0.07 203 013 11.4 ± 5.0 1.97 ± 0.66 0.29 ± 0.10 commelina benghalensis 206 002 08.7 ± 0.3 1.34 ± 0.11 0.28 ± 0.06 eclipta alba 206 019 14.6 ± 3.1 0.96 ± 0.54 0.11 ± 0.08 hydrodictyon reticulatum 206 004 05.7 ± 0.8 1.73 ± 0.48 0.13 ± 0.15 203 111 07.0 ± 2.5 2.32 ± 0.57 0.31 ± 0.13 lemna aequinoctialis 206 089 07.0 ± 1.2 2.50 ± 0.58 0.27 ± 015 marsilea minuta 203 012 09.8 ± 2.8 1.82 ± 0.97 0.26 ± 0.08 203 110 09.4 ± 2.6 2.08 ± 0.67 0.33 ± 0.10 nymphoides hydrophylla 206 078 07.9 ± 2.0 2.13 ± 0.59 ± rotala rotundifolia 203 013 08.4 ± 1.4 1.99 ± 0.93 0.35 0.12 0.36 ± 0.12 vallisneria spiralis 203 169 07.9 ± 1.8 1.85 ± 0.44 0.27 ± 0.13 higher nutrient values than the growth limiting levels (1.3 and 0.13% dry weight respectively for nitrogen and phosphorus) reported by gerloff and krombholz (1966). similar values were found for less dominant species except eclipta alba, azolla pinnata or phosphorus) and cladophora glomerata only in pond 203 (table 2). (f aquatic flora in two indian ponds 21 implications for conservation: the present study gives us an insight into the natural cession osuc f species in two ponds over a 39-month period. from the data, we can get an idea about species occurrence, their associations anc ld n conservation and management measures in future. y per the of b fo gen s continued unabated thereby showing that the growth of plants, however mu , maintained equilibrium with w se. all ant ged t f orms, the ld m ain s ersi ystem function and health probably because of sep itats ant flora erna ra p es a ae , because of th e c nee en f t ed. stu done ur l hav n l o ialis as a source of b rtiliz pta ) as r possible control of eutrophication of nd s ( et ). nymphoides hydrophylla was never fo to g uisa rtio s tem nymphoides pel (br 19 nc e conserved in view of its beneficial us foo ne a ica h the ability of vallisneria spiralis to maintain water transparency even at high icial, and verage ≥70%) even in the presence of m orted by ghosh (2005) and domin e which cou help us pla throughout the stud iod use oth ponds r anthropo ic purpose ch or little ater u since the domin flora belon to differen amilies and growth f y cou aint pecies div ty and ecos their spatially arated hab . among the domin , alt nthe hiloxeroid nd lemna quinoctialis eir potential to grow in conduciv heir use as food and fe onditions, d managem t in view o dies in o aboratory e also show the potentia f lemna aequinoct iofe er (sengu et al. 2005a well as fo po ecosystem sengupta al. 2005b und row to n nce propo n unlike it perate counterpart, tata ock et al. 83) and he e should b e as d, medici nd beautif tion (ghos 2005). phosphorus concentrations thereby retarding algal blooms has been reported by mukhopadhyay and dewanji (2004). xian et al. (2006) identified allelochemicals from the extracts of this plant which had strong inhibitory effects on colonial cyanobacteria microcystis. thus presence of v. spiralis only in pond 203 is thereby benef could be a cause of greater diversity in this pond. among the less dominant species, azolla pinnata and marsilea minuta, the sole representatives of the families azollaceae and marsileaceae in west bengal, were also recorded. occurrence, ability to grow (maximum co co petitive association of lemna aequinoctialis is important in view of the conservation of azolla pinnata, which is a potential source of biofertilizer. in the present study, marsilea minuta was also found in association with diverse plant communities like commelina benghalensis, nymphaea pubescens, rotala rotundifolia, nymphoides hydrophylla and vallisneria spiralis. similar association was rep in various fish ponds where the presence of m. minuta in non-netting zones enhanced biodiversity without disturbing fishery practices. the other major association consisted of lemna aequinoctialis (free-floating), nymphoides hydrophylla and nymphaea pubescens (rooted-floating) for shared resources and nutrient status. the association evident between two emergent plants eclipta alba and alternanthera philoxeroides could probably be explained by their tissue nitrogen and phosphorus contents. eclipta alba with its low requirement of these nutrients could flourish in presence of a. philoxeroides, which had a comparatively higher nitrogen and phosphorus contents. 22 mukhopadhyay et al. nymphaea pubescens, one of the two species of the genus nymphaea generally observed in west bengal, is now considered as 'threatened' because of indiscriminate harvesting of rhizomes as alternative vegetables and source of medicine in rural bengal (ghosh, 2005). the presence of this species in pond 203 adds to the diversity. rotala rotundifolia was also found in pond 203 and hence gave us an opportunity to study its occurrence (present 14 months in a 39-month study period), coverage (ability to grow to 0≥7 % coverage occasionally) and its associations (ability to share space with other submerged plants like vallisneria spiralis and cladophora glomerata). mean nitrogen and phosphorus percent was found to be highest in r. rotundifolia when compared with the two other submerged species of this pond, namely v. spiralis and c. glomerata. conservation strategies for the growth of nymphaea pubescens for its use as food, eclipta alba for its medicinal values and rotala rotundifolia which is uncommon in this region, should be developed. on the contrary, cladophora glomerata and hydrodictyon reticulatum the scum forming algae should also be managed since they can grow to nuisance proportions causing problems for boating, fisheries and water supply. phenology of different species showed that the majority of plants reproduced by vegetative structures, thus regular observation of these structures specially for less dominant species is also important for their conservation. a regular record of aquatic plants in ponds should therefore be maintained in order to get an insight into the regional diversity as well as for initiating future conservation and management for the proper health and functioning of pond ecosystems. acknowledgements thanks are due to l.b. magranti and g. bhaumik for providing all possible assistance during the fieldwork. we also gratefully acknowledge experts of the central national herbarium, indian botanic garden, sibpur for their help in reconfirming the identification of some aquatic plant species. references ali, m.m., murphy, k.j. and abarnethy, v.j. 1999. macrophyte functional variables versus species assemblages as predictors of trophic status in flowing waters. hydrobiologia 415: 131-138. aoac 1984. official methods of analysis (horwitz, w. ed.) 14th edn. association of official analytical chemists, washington dc, pp. 1141. biswas, k. and calder, c.c. 1955. hand book of common water and marsh plants of india and burma 1936. health bull no. 24, malaria bureau no.11, manager of publication, delhi, pp. 216. boyd, c.e. and tucker, c.s. (eds.) 1998. pond aquaculture water quality management. kluwer academic publishers, boston, pp. 396-397. brock, t.c.m., arts, g.h.p., goosen, i.l.m. and rutenfrans, a.h.m. 1983. structure and biomass production of nymphoides peltata (gmel.) o. kuntze (menyenthaceae). aquat. bot. 17(3-4): 167-188. chambers, p.a. and prepas, e.e. 1990. competition and coexistence in submerged plant communities: the effects of species interaction versus abiotic factors. freshwater biol. 23(3): 541-550. aquatic flora in two indian ponds 23 cook, c.d.k. 1996. aquatic and wetland plants in india. oxford university press, oxford, pp. 385. crawford, s.a. 1977. chemical, physical and biological changes associated with chara succession in farm ponds. hydrobiologia 55(3): 209-217. cronk, j.k. and fennessy, m.s. 2001. wetland plants: biology and ecology. crc press, boca raton, pp. 462. dennis, w.m. and isom, b.g. 1984. ecological assessment of macrophyton: collection, use and meaning : 529-537. 05. illustrated aquatic and wetland plants in harmony with mankind. standard literature, 25. biol. 3: 309-313. (1): 45-55. ot. 13: mart hods manual. chapman and hall, london, pp. 31-54. mukhopadhyay, g. and dewanji, a. 2004. the ability of aquatic macrophytes to maintain water clarity in muk nological ram p.s. 1960. ecology of eclipta alba hassk. proc. nat. ins. sci. india, 24b: 191-204. att, y.c. and mohnot, p. 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(eds.) kolkata, india, pp. 387-390. astava, d.s., cynthia, a acidity and trophic status. aquat. bot. 51(3-4): 181-196. 24 mukhopadhyay et al. wells, r.d.s. and clayton, j.s. 2001. ecological impact of water net (hydrodictyon reticulatum) in lake aniwhenue, new zealand. n. z. j. ecol. 25(2): 55-63. eria spiralis l. by activity guided fractionation. environ. sci. pollut. res. xian, q., chen, h., liu, h., zou, h. and yin, d. 2006. isolation and identification of antialgal compounds from the leaves of vallisn 13(4): 233-237. (manuscript received on 6 march 2007; revised on 10 april 2007) gautam mukhopadhyay2, sourav sengupta and anjana dewanji1 cover percent: the mean cover percent values of all the plan species above 70%. among the less dominant flora, azolla pinnata, cladophora glomerata, hydrodictyon reticulatum and rotala rotundifolia also showed maximum cover above 70% during their li chemical composition: the chemical composition of the differ microsoft word islam and irfanullah13_2_.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 111-129, 2006 (december) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. vi. desmids (xanthidium, arthrodesmus, staurodesmus and staurastrum) a.k.m. nurul islam and haseeb md. irfanullah1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: acidic habitats, species diversity, conservation, phytoplankton, new records abstract in this last instalment of the series, 78 desmid taxa belonging to four genera, namely xanthidium (8 taxa), arthrodesmus (3 taxa), staurodesmus (11 taxa) and staurastrum (56 taxa) have been recorded from different aquatic habitats located within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar. of these, nine are described as new records for bangladesh. an overall assessment of the algal flora of the study area reveals desmids as the single largest group consisting of 230 taxa out of 421 recorded algal taxa. the paper comments on the conservation potentials of the studied aquatic habitats as monitoring tools of land use pattern like tea-gardening. introduction in a series of hydrobiological papers, islam and irfanullah have recently described the aquatic macrophytes (islam and irfanullah 2000) and the major proportion of the algal flora (islam and irfanullah 2005a, b, c, 2006) of some selected habitats within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar district. the present paper is the concluding instalment of this series dealing with four desmid genera, namely, xanthidium, arthrodesmus, staurodesmus and staurastrum, from these aquatic habitats. materials and methods the studied water bodies (described in islam and irfanullah 2000), namely, baraoora lake, the burburia river, ditches and paddy fields were mainly acidic (islam and irfanullah 2005a). a total of 120 algal samples were collected in different seasons of 1996 and 1997: winter (9 january 1996 and 6 january 1997), spring (18 march 1997), rainy season (20 july 1997) and autumn (20 october 1997). the methods of sample collection, preservation and subsequent examination were described by islam and irfanullah (2005a). taxonomic enumeration this study revealed 78 desmid taxa belonging to four genera, of which nine are new records for bangladesh. the new records are marked with asterisks. eighteen desmid taxa belonging to the mentioned four genera have already been reported from this area by the 1corresponding author. present address: the world conservation union (iucn), bangladesh country office, house 11, road 138, gulshan 1, dhaka-1212, bangladesh. e-mail: hmirfanullah@yahoo.co.uk 112 islam and irfanullah same authors as new records for bangladesh (islam and irfanullah 1998, 1999), thus are not marked in this account. remaining other taxa are briefly described along with their spatial and temporal occurrence, and abundance. class: chlorophyceae; order: zygnematales; family: desmidiaceae genus: xanthidium ehrenberg 1. x. acanthophorum nordst. (pl. 1, fig. 4) (islam 1970, 928, 14: 4) l. csp. 59.4 µm, l. ssp. 44.5 µm, w. csp. 46 µm, w. ssp. 37.8 µm, i. 12 µm. lake (autumn 1997) and river (spring 1997); rare. 2. x. burkillii w. & w. fa. (pl. 1, fig. 5) l. csp. 74.2-78.3 µm, l. ssp. 52.6-54 µm, w. csp. 87.7; w. ssp. 59.4-61.4 µm. i. 23 µm. differs from islam and haroon (1980, 582, 16: 232) in the ornamentations at front view. lake; winter 1996; few. 3. x. hastiferum turner var. javanicum (nordst.) turner (islam and irfanullah 1999, 103, 3: 31) lake; autumn 1997; rare. 4. x. hastiferum var. javanicum fa. planum turner (islam and irfanullah 1999, 103, 3: 30) lake; autumn 1997; few. 5. x. spinosum (josh.) w. & w. fa. (pl. 1, fig. 2) l. ssp. 50 µm, w. ssp. 48.6 µm, w. csp. 54 µm, i. 25.6 µm. ten pairs of spine not regularly arranged as described by islam and haroon (1980, 584, 16: 226-227). lake (winter 1996 and spring 1997; few) and river (winter 1997; rare). 6. x. spinosum (josh.) w. & w. var. (pl. 1, fig. 3) l. 47.2 µm, w. ssp. 44.5 µm, w. csp. 48.6 µm, i. 24.3 µm. small spines are irregularly, sparsely distributed all over the cell surface. river; spring 1997; rare. 7. x. urniforme (w. & w.) scott & croasdale (pl. 1, fig. 1) (islam and haroon 1980, 586, 13: 177) l. csp. 44.5 µm, l. ssp. 41.8 µm, w. csp. 41.8-44.5 µm, w. ssp. 39 µm, t. csp. 25.6 µm, t. ssp. 23 µm, i. 17.5 µm. paddy field and river; autumn 1997; few to rare. 8. xanthidium sp. (pl. 1, fig. 6) l. csp. 61 µm, l. ssp. 47 µm, depth 23.5-24.7 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 113 plate 1 (figs. 1-6) 1. xanthidium urniforme, 2. x. spinosum fa., 3. x. spinosum var., 4. x. acanthophorum, 5. x. burkillii fa., 6. xanthidium sp. [scales = 20 µm] genus: arthrodesmus ehrenberg 9. a. asperies scott & croasdale fa. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 95, 2: 17-18) lake; winter 1996; few. 10. *a. curvatus turner var. latus scott & prescott (pl. 2, fig. 8) (scott and prescott 1961, 76, 33: 1-3) l. 36.4 µm, w. csp. 70.2-73 µm, w. ssp. 39-41.8 µm, i. 13.5 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 114 islam and irfanullah 11. a. curvatus turner fa. (pl. 2, fig. 7) l. 36.4 µm, w. csp. 64.8-66 µm, w. ssp. 35-37.8 µm, i. 8 µm. our form differs from hirano (1972, 142, 7: 3) in narrow isthmus and angular sides. side’s angles are comparable with corasdale and scott’s staurodesmus indentatus (w. & w.) teil. (1976, 542, 12: 1). lake; winter 1996; few. genus: staurodesmus teiling 12. std. dejectus (bréb.) teil. var. dejectus fa. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 96, 4: 45-46) lake; winter 1996; rare. 13. std. dickiei (ralfs) lillier var. circularis (turner) croasdale (islam and irfanullah 1999, 96, 4: 39-40) lake; autumn 1997; common. 14. std. dickiei var. circularis fa. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 97, 4: 41-42) lake; winter 1996 and 1997; rare to common. 15. std. dickiei var. maximus (w. west) thom. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 97, 4: 37-38) lake; winter 1996; common. 16. std. hebridarus (w. & w.) förster var. hebridarus (islam and irfanullah 1999, 98, 4: 43-44) lake; winter 1997; few. 17. std. megacanthus (lund.) thunk. (pl. 2; fig. 12) (ling and tyler 1986, 53, 26: 5-7) l. 46 µm, w. csp. 58.8-68.2 µm, w. ssp. 44.7-50.5 µm, i. 11.8 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. 18. std. pachyrhynchus (nordst.) teiling (islam and irfanullah 1998, 94, 2: 16) lake; winter 1997; few. 19. std. unicornis (turner) thomasson var. ceylanicum w. & w. fa. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 98, 3: 32-33) lake; autumn 1997; few. 20. std. unicornis (turner) thomass. var. gracilis (iyenger & vimala bai) teil. (croasdale and scott 1976, 543, 14: 3) (pl. 2, fig. 10) l. 30.3 µm, w. csp. 34.3-36.4 µm, w. ssp. 25.6-28.3 µm, i. 7.4 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 115 plate 2 (figs. 7-15) 7. arthrodesmus curvatus fa., 8. a. curvatus var. latus, 9 & 11. staurastrum leptodermum var. ikapoae, 10. staurodesmus unicornis var. gracilis, 12. std. megacanthus, 13. staurastrum sp., 14. st. leptacanthum var. brachyurum, 15. st. freemanii fa. [scales = 20 µm] 116 islam and irfanullah 21. staurodesmus sp. (pl. 3, fig. 26) l. 27.5 µm, w. 22.5-25 µm, i. 11.7 µm. granules are concentrically arranged on each arm as well as on the poles. shape is similar to std. pachyrhynchus (nordst.) teiling (islam and irfanullah 1998, 94, 2: 16). lake; winter 1997; very rare. 22. staurodesmus sp. (pl. 7, fig. 70) l. 27.5 µm, w. csp. 25.8-27.5 µm, i. 7.5 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. genus: staurastrum meyen 23. st. alternans bréb. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 94, 2: 11-13) lake; autumn 1997; rare. 24. st. alternans bréb. fa. (pl. 4, fig. 37) l. 27 µm, w. 25 µm, i. 8.5 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. 25. st. bifidum (ehr.) bréb. (pl. 7, figs. 59 & 60) (ling and tyler 1986, 38, 28: 17 & 18) l. 43.2 µm, w. csp. 63.4-68.8 µm, w. ssp. 40.5-43.2 µm, i. 14-16 µm, cell wall punctuate, divergent processes on each arm tip. ours are larger than ling and tyler’s specimens. lake; winter 1996; common. 26. st. bifidum (ehr.) bréb. fa. (pl. 3, fig. 28) l. 32.4-37.8 µm, w. csp. 32.4-46 µm, w. ssp. 28.3-32 µm, i. 13.5-14.8 µm; smooth wall, flat poles. the distance between the level of spines and the level of isthmus is twice as much the distance between the level of spines and the level of the pole of a semicell. lake (winter 1997, common) and river (spring 1997, few). 27. st. brevispinum bréb. fa. (pl. 7, fig. 68) l. 25 µm, w. csp. 29-30 µm, w. ssp. 26.7-28 µm, i. 5.8 µm. semi-cells broader and length-wise compressed compare with hirano’s (1959a, 289, 38: 7) material. lake; winter 1996; rare. 28. st. ? cerastes lund. (pl. 6, fig. 48) (hirano 1959b, 371, 50: 1) l. 37.8 µm, w. cpr. 50.5 µm, i. 7.4 µm, t. 9.4 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 29. st. ceylanicum w. & w. paddy field; autumn 1997; few. 30. st. coarctatum bréb. var. subcurtum nordst. (pl. 3, fig. 27) (islam and irfanullah 1999, 96, 2: 15 & 16) lake; winter 1996; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 117 plate 3 (figs. 16-30) 16-18. staurastrum orbiculare var. depressum, 19. st. retusum var. boreale, 20. st. disputatum var. sinense fa., 21 & 22. staurastrum sp., 23. st. disputatum var. sinense, 24. st. disputatum var. extensum, 25. st. punctulatum, 26. staurodesmus sp., 27. staurastrum coarctatum var. subcurtum (after islam and irfanullah, 1999), 28. st. bifidum fa., 29. st. ensiferum, 30. staurastrum sp. [scales = 10 µm] 118 islam and irfanullah 31. *st. ? crenulatum (näg.) delp. (pl. 6, fig. 53) (scott and prescott 1961, 88, 59: 10) l. 25 µm, w. csp. 37.5 µm, w. ssp. 30.8 µm, i. 8 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. 32. *st. ? cyclacanthum w. & w. (pl. 6, fig. 54) w. csp. 48.6-52.6 µm, w. ssp. 40.5-43.2 µm, i. 8 µm. top view is similar to st. cyclacanthum var. armigerum of scott and prescott (1961, 89, 57: 1-3). lake; winter 1996; rare. 33. st. disputatum w. & w. var. extensum (borge) w. & w. (pl. 3, fig. 24) (islam and haroon 1980, 588, 17: 238 & 239) l. 24.3 µm, w. 27.7 µm, i. 8 µm. river; spring 1997; few. 34. st. disputatum w. & w. var. sinense (lütkm.) w. & w. (pl. 3, fig. 23) (skuja 1949, 157, 36: 1 & 2) l. cpr. 27 µm, w. cpr. 27-28.3 µm. i. 10.8 µm. lake (winter 1996) and river (spring 1997); few. 35. st. disputatum var. sinense fa. (pl. 3, fig. 20) l. 20.2 µm, w. 17.5 µm, i. 5.4 µm. comparable with hirano (1959b, 298, 39: 3). paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 36. st. ensiferum turner (pl. 3, fig. 29) (turner 1892, 109, 14: 22; ling and tyler 1986, 40, 39: 23-26) l. ssp. 48.6 µm, w. csp. 46-48 µm, w. ssp. 35 µm, i. 9.4 µm. river; spring 1997; few. 37. st. forficulatum lund. (pl. 4, fig. 34) (islam and haroon 1980, 588, 21: 328 & 329) l. csp. 27 µm, l. ssp. 23 µm, w. csp. 23 µm, w. ssp. 20.2 µm, i. 12 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; common. 38. st. freemanii w. & w. (islam and irfanullah 1998, 94, 2: 17) lake; autumn 1997; rare. 39. st. freemanii w. & w. fa. (pl. 2, fig. 15) l. 28.3 µm, w. cpr. 70.2 µm, w. spr. 37.8 µm, i. 9.4 µm, t. spr. 17.5 µm, t. cpr. 36.4 µm. granulated cell wall; two additional spines alternately located on each semicell. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 40. st. gemelliparum nordst. (pl. 4, fig. 35) (islam and haroon 1980, 588, 20: 324 & 325) l. csp. 25.6 µm, l. ssp. 20.2 µm, w. csp. 24.3 µm, w. ssp. 16.2 µm, i. 8 µm. young cell (?). lake; winter 1997; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 119 plate 4 (figs. 31-38) 31. staurastrum tohopekaligense, 32 & 36. st. quadrangulare var. contectum, 33. st. leptacanthum var., 34. st. forficulatum, 35. st. gemelliparum, 37. st. alternans fa., 38. st. pseudosebaldi var. planctonicum. [scales = 20 µm] 120 islam and irfanullah 41. *st. glabrum (ehr.) ralfs var. glabrum (pl. 7, fig. 69) (scott et al. 1965, 53, 11: 154) l. 25-29.7 µm, w. cpr. 39-46 µm, w. spr. 29.7-37.8 µm, i. 6-6.7 µm. also comparable with turner’s (1892, 17: 12) st. curvirostrum turner. lake; winter 1996; few. 42. st. gladiosum turner (pl. 7, fig. 63) (ling and tyler 1986, 41, 32: 24 & 25) l. csp. 37.8 µm, l. ssp. 30.3 µm, w. csp. 41 µm, w. ssp. 27 µm, i. 8.8 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 43. st. javanicum (nordst.) turner var. apiculiferum (turner) krieger (islam and irfanullah 1998, 94, 2: 18-20) lake; winter 1996; very rare. 44. st. laceratum turner fa. (pl. 6, fig. 56) w. csp. 54-58.7 µm, i. 14.8 µm. differs from islam and haroon (1980, 590, 8: 125 & 126) in arms having 3 terminal spines and 3-4 dorsal spines instead of 2 on both cases. lake; winter 1996; rare. 45. st. leptacanthum nordst. var. leptacanthum (islam and irfanullah 1999, 96, 2: 14) paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 46. st. leptacanthum nordst. var. brachyurum scott and grönbl. (pl. 2, fig. 14) (islam and haroon 1980, 590, 21: 347 & 348) w. spr. 31 µm, w. cpr. 45.9 µm. six arms in the upper ring and nine arms in the lower ring. river; spring 1997; rare. 47. st. leptacanthum nordst. var. (pl. 4, fig. 33) l. cpr. 59.4 µm, l. spr. 50 µm, w. cpr. 48.6 µm, w. spr. 27 µm, i. 14.8 µm. bears larger number of arms: the lower ring has 12 and the upper one has 8 arms. river; spring 1997; few. 48. st. leptocladum nordst. var. cornutum wille (pl. 6, fig. 47) (islam and haroon 1980, 590, 17: 243) l. 37.8 µm, w. cpr. 85 µm, w. spr. 12 µm, i. 9.4 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 49. st. leptodermum lund. var. ikapoae (schmidle) w. & w. (pl. 2, figs. 9 & 11) (grönblad et al. 1958, 41, 20: 73 ; hirano 1972, 149, 6: 8) broad form (fig. 9): l. csp. 54-56.7 µm, l. ssp. 40.5-41.8 µm, w. ssp. 33.7-35 µm, i. 13.5 µm, t. csp. 24.3-21.6 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. elongated form (fig. 11): l. csp. 50 µm, l. ssp. 45 µm, l. pole-pole 31 µm, w. 32.4 µm, i. 13.5 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. however, förster (1964, 33: 14-15) named the elongated form st. ikapoae schm. var. elongatum (grönblad & scott) förster. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 121 plate 5 (figs. 39-46) 39 & 40. staurastrum sexangulare var. asperum, 41 & 42. st. sexangulare fa., 43. st. sexangulare ? var. bidentatum, 44. st. ? pinnatum, 45. st. sexangulare var. subglabrum, 46. st. pinnatum ? var. subpinnatum. [scale = 20 µm] 122 islam and irfanullah 50. st. longibrachiatum (borge) gutw. (pl. 6, fig. 50) (ling and tyler 1986, 42, 31: 24-26) l. 36.4 µm, w. csp. 64.8-74.2 µm, w. ssp. 60.7-70.2 µm, i. 9.4 µm. lake; winter 1996 and autumn 1997; few. 51. *st. ? mucronatus (ralfs) croasdale (pl. 7, fig. 62) (förster 1969, 71, 30: 16) l. 27 µm, w. csp. 35 µm, w. ssp. 25.6-27 µm; each arm is terminated with a small spine directed outward parallel to the flat cell pole. lake; winter 1997; few. 52. st. orbiculare (ehr.) ralfs var. depressum roy & biss. (pl. 3, figs. 16-18) (scott and prescott 1961, 100, 52: 12; scott et al. 1965, 56, 12: 170; islam and haroon 1980, 590, 8: 129 & 130, 17: 253 & 254) l. 27-38.5 µm, w. 24.3-37.8 µm, i. 6.7-10.8 µm. pitted cell wall. lake (winter 1996 and autumn 1997; few to common) and river (spring 1997; few). 53. st. orbiculare var. ralfsii w. & w. (islam and irfanullah 1998, 95, 2: 14) lake; winter 1996; rare. 54. *st. ? peristephes scott and prescott (pl. 6, fig. 55) l. 47.2 µm, w. cpr. 56.7 µm, i. 12 µm. the top view is similar to scott and prescott’s material (1961, 100, 59: 5), but the front view of our specimen was not sufficient to confirm other details. lake; autumn 1997; common. 55. *st. perundulatum grönbl. (pl. 7, fig. 65) (scott and prescott 1961, 101, 52: 9; förster 1969, 90, 36: 7 & 8) l. 11.5 µm, w. cpr. 34.4 µm, w. spr. 10 µm, i. 6 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 56. st. pinnatum turner ? var. subpinnatum (sch.) w. & w. (islam and haroon 1980, 590, 20: 320 & 321) (pl. 5, fig. 46, pl. 7, fig. 66) w. 51.6–57.4 µm, i. 14 µm. lake; winter 1996 (few) and autumn 1997 (rare). 57. st. ? pinnatum turner (pl. 5, fig. 44) (islam and haroon 1980, 590, 19: 290 & 291) w. cpr. 48.2 µm, w. spr. 18.5 µm, i. 13.5-14 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 58. *st. pseudosebaldi wille var. planctonicum teil. (pl. 4, fig. 38) (förster 1974, 181, 28: 4) l. 30.4 µm, w. cpr. 46-52.6 µm, w. spr. 12.2-14.8 µm, i. 8 µm, t. 12.8 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 123 plate 6 (figs. 47-56) 47. st. leptocladum var. cornutum, 48. st. ? cerastes, 49. staurastrum sp., 50. st. longibrachiatum, 51. st. subsuecicum, 52. st. sonthalianum, 53. st.? crenulatum, 54. st. ? cyclacanthum, 55. st. ? peristephes, 56. st. laceratum fa. [scales = 20 µm] 124 islam and irfanullah 59. st. punctulatum bréb. in ralfs (pl. 3, fig. 25) (scott and prescott 1961, 104, 52: 14) l. 27-28.3 µm, w. 31 µm, i. 9.4 µm. river; spring 1997; few. 60. st. quadrangulare bréb. var. contectum (turner) grönbl. (pl. 4, figs. 32 & 36) (islam and haroon 1980, 592, 21: 330 & 331) l. csp. 33.7 µm, l. ssp. 27 µm, w. csp. 33-40.5 µm, w. ssp. 23 µm, i. 10-11.5 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. 61. st. retusum turner var. boreale w. & w. (pl. 3, fig. 19) (ling and tyler 1986, 44, 29: 21 & 22) l. 17.5 µm, w. 16.7 µm, i. 5.8. lake; winter 1996; common. 62. st. sexangulare lund. var. asperum playf. (pl. 5, figs. 39 & 40) (scott and prescott 1961, 107, 45: 1-3; islam 1970, 931, 17: 18) l. cpr. 89 µm, l. spr. 56.7 µm, w. cpr. 94.5 µm, w. spr. 43.2 µm, i. 19 µm, t. cpr. 81 µm, t. spr. 35 µm. river; spring 1997; few. 63. st. sexangulare lund. ? var. bidentatum gutw. (pl. 5, fig. 43) (scott and prescott 1961, 107, 45: 4 & 5) l. spr. 31 µm, w. cpr. 47.2 µm, i. 9.4 µm. smaller than typical. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 64. st. sexangulare lund. ? var. subglabrum w. & w. (pl. 5, fig. 45) (scott and prescott 1961, 107, 46: 1 & 2) w. csp. 75.6-81 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 65. st. sexangulare lund. fa. (pl. 5, figs. 41 & 42) l. spr. 35.8 µm, w. cpr. 52.6-60 µm, i. 11.5 µm. smaller cell with 5 pairs of processes. close to st. sexangulare var. subglabrum w. & w. (scott and prescott 1961, 107, 46: 1 & 2; ling and tyler 1986, 46, 34: 13 & 14). lake; autumn 1997; rare. 66. st. sonthalianum turner (pl. 6, fig. 52) (turner 1892, 14: 27) l. 40.5 µm, w. cpr. 70.2-73 µm, i. 10.2 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 67. st. subgracillimum w. & w. ? var. tortum scott and grönbl. (pl. 7, fig. 61) (ling and tyler 1986, 46, 32: 10-12) w. csp. 37-43.5 µm. i. 4.5 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 68. *st. subsuecicum scott & prescott (pl. 6, fig. 51) (scott and prescott 1961, 110, 52: 3) l. 33.7, w. cpr. 51.3-54 µm, i. 8 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 125 plate 7 (figs. 57-70) 57 & 58. staurastrum wildemanii, 59 & 60. st. bifidum, 61. st. subgracillimum ? var. tortum, 62. st. ? mucronatus, 63. st. gladiosum, 64. staurastrum sp., 65. st. perundulatum, 66. st. pinnatum ? var. subpinnatum, 67. staurastrum sp., 68. st. brevispinum fa., 69. st. glabrum var. glabrum, 70. staurodesmus sp. [scales = 20 µm] 126 islam and irfanullah 69. st. tohopekaligense wolle (pl. 4, fig. 31) (islam and haroon 1980, 592, 17: 236 & 237) l. cpr. 70.2 µm, l. spr. 40.5 µm, w. cpr. 67.5-77 µm, w. spr. 31-32.4 µm, i. 17.5 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 70. st. tohopekaligense fa. minus (turner) scott & prescott (islam and irfanullah 1999, 96, 3: 35 & 36) lake; winter 1996; few. 71. st. wildemanii gutw. (pl. 7, figs. 57 & 58) (ling and tyler 1986, 48, 28: 5 & 6, 11 & 12) l. 54 µm, w. csp. 85 µm, w. ssp. 54 µm, i. 20.2 µm. spines are shorter than ling and tyler’s (1986) two-spined forms. lake; winter 1996; few. 72. st. zahlbruckneri luetk. (islam and irfanullah 1998, 95, 2: 15) lake; winter 1997; rare. 73. staurastrum sp. (pl. 2, fig. 13) w. 22.7 µm, i. 6.25 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 74. staurastrum sp. (pl. 3, figs. 21 & 22) l. 18.3-19.2 µm, w. 18.3-19.2 µm, i. 5.4-5.8 µm. four or five droopy processes, punctuate cell wall. processes of st. paulense var. ornatum krieger as shown by förster (1964, 425, 29: 8) are not long enough like our material, but show droopiness. lake; autumn 1997; common. 75. staurastrum sp. (pl. 3, fig. 30) l. 35 µm, w. 28.3-31 µm, i. 8 µm. lake; autumn 1997; few. 76. staurastrum sp. (pl. 6, fig. 49) l. 18.3 µm, w. 26.7 µm, i. 5 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 77. staurastrum sp. (pl. 7, fig. 64) w. cpr. 39.5 µm. top view similar to st. manfeldtii delp. (hirano 1959b, 368, 48: 1). lake; winter 1996; few. 78. staurastrum sp. (pl. 7, fig. 67) w. cpr. 64.8–67.5 µm, i. 12 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. the study area as a whole was extraordinary in terms of algal species richness (table 1). desmid diversity was remarkable, as expected in acidic waters, species number occupying more than half of the total species number. most of the algal taxa (>50%) were hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 127 microplankton (size 20-200 µm) followed by nannoplankton (size <20 µm) and epiphytes (around 40 taxa each). habitat-wise, baraoora lake had more taxa (mean number about 75) than the burburia river (mean number around 30). the lake showed highest number of species in winter (>140 taxa), whereas the river showed maximum in spring (>75 taxa). the lowest species number (around 40 taxa) in spring was quite unusual for a lentic water-body like baraoora lake. the river was highly dynamic in rainy season explaining the lowest species richness in monsoon (<10 taxa). table 1. relative abundance of different algal classes recorded from the aquatic habitats within the tea gardens at srimangal, based on islam and irfanullah (2005 a, b, c, 2006 and the present paper). algal classes no. of genera no. of species no. of taxa relative abundance by taxa (%) cyanophyceae 17 28 28 6.7 euglenophyceae 5 33 37 8.8 chloromonadophyceae 1 1 1 0.2 chlorophyceae (excluding desmids) 42 76 83 19.7 chlorophyceae (desmids only) 25 182 230 54.6 charophyceae 2 3 3 0.7 xanthophyceae 8 11 11 2.6 chrysophyceae 4 4 4 1.0 bacillariophyceae 17 20 20 4.8 dinophyceae 2 2 2 0.5 rhodophyceae 1 2 2 0.5 total 124 362 421 100 discussion conservation of algal communities lies with their habitat conservation. but it is difficult to peruse the stakeholders for conservation without direct and immediate benefits, which is often monetary. in many cases it is hard to prove the direct benefits of ‘a species’. in case of microscopic organisms, like algae, it is even tougher. if we argue that saving a species is essential for maintaining ecological integrity, many species will lose their importance as they might not be crucial in maintaining the functioning of their native ecosystems (lawton 1991). but we believe that habitats like baraoora lake are important just because of the species diversity they possess. it is just like a living laboratory for aquatic biologists. deepening this habitat and trying something financially profitable, like aquaculture, should not be encouraged (of course, given the acidic ph, fish-culture might not be practical, anyway). instead we should leave these habitats in their present state without any major interventions. because of high species diversity, these can be used as ‘natural tools’ for monitoring the ecological quality of the tea gardens as a whole. islam and irfanullah (2005a) also emphasised on more systematic sampling and quantitative 128 islam and irfanullah estimation of species abundance to get a clearer and detailed picture of the algal flora of these interesting habitats. institute like the bangladesh tea research institute (btri) can take initiatives to run simple analyses of water chemistry and plankton community on a regular basis and share the information with the tea garden owners. this will assist the latter to assess the ecological impacts of current tea cultivation practices (e.g. nutrient-holding capacity of the soil, major changes in the soil chemistry, effects of chemical residues, etc.). correlating the tea garden soil chemistry with lake water chemistry and biology will also help them to trace the viability of tea garden ecosystems. baraoora lake could be one of the first sites for the ecological monitoring of catchment-lake connectivity in bangladesh. a full limnological investigation in these habitats will strengthen the justification of these habitats becoming monitoring tools. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to mr. a.f.m. badrul alam, the then director, bangladesh tea research institute (btri), srimangal, maulvibazar for providing the logistic, laboratory and other support during this study and also to all his colleagues who extended their help in the laboratory and in supplying necessary information. thanks are also due to james finley & co. for the permission to sample its aquatic habitats. prof. moniruzzaman khondker, department of botany, university of dhaka helped in reconfirming the new records. references croasdale, h. and scott, a.m. 1976. new or otherwise interesting desmids from northern australia. nova hedwigia 27(3-4): 501-596. förster, k. 1964. desmidiaceen aus brasilien. 2 teil: bahia, goyaz, piauhy und nord-brasilien. hydrobiologia 23(3-4): 321-505. förster, k. 1969. amazonische desmidieen. 1 teil: areal santarém. amazoniana 2(1-2): 5-116. förster, k. 1974. amazonische desmidieen. 2 teil: areal maués-abacaxis. amazoniana 5(2): 135-242. grönblad, r., prowse, g.a. and scott, a.m. 1958. sudanese desmids, acta botanica fennica 58: 3-82. hirano, m. 1959a. flora desmidiarum japonicarum. contributions from the biological laboratory kyoto university no. 7: 226-301 + pls. 31-38. hirano, m. 1959b. flora desmidiarum japonicarum. contributions from the biological laboratory kyoto university no. 9: 302-386 + pls. 39-52. hirano, m. 1972. desmids from cambodia, with special reference to phytoplankton of lake grands lacs (tonle sap). contribution from the biological laboratory kyoto university 23 (3-4): 123-157. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1970. contributions to the knowledge of desmids of east pakistan. part i. nova hedwigia 20: 903-983. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. desmids of bangladesh. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 65(4): 551-604. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 129 islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1998. new records of desmids for bangladesh. i. fifteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 27(2): 89-96. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1999. new records of desmids for bangladesh. iii. 24 taxa. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(2): 91-104. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2000. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. i. aquatic macrophytes. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 29-42. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005b. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iii. chlorophyceae (excluding desmids). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 19-37. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005c. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iv. desmids (17 genera). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 49-62. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2006. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. v. desmids (euastrum, micrasterias, actinotaenium and cosmarium). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 1-20. lawton, j. 1991. are species useful? oikos 62: 3-4. ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 1986. a limnological survey of the alligator rivers region. ii. freshwater algae, exclusive of diatoms. res. report 3, austr. govt. publ. service, canberra, pp. 173. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1961. indonesian desmids. hydrobiologia 17(1-2): 1-132 + pls. 63. scott, a.m., grönblad, r. and croasdale, h. 1965. desmids from the amazon basin, brazil: collected by dr. h. sioli. acta botanica fennica 69: 1-94. skuja, von h. 1949. zur süsswasseralgen flora burmas. nova acta reg. soc. sci., upsaliensis, ser. iv. 14(5): 1-188 + pls. 39. turner, w.b. 1892. algae aquae dulcis indiae orientalis. the freshwater algae (principally desmidieae) of east india. kongl. sv. wet.-akad. handl. 25(5): 1-187 + pls. 23. (manuscript received on 21 october 2006; revised on 15 november 2006) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 87-92, 2010 (june) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports and one new forma from bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane1, md. shafiqul islam2 and moniruzzaman khondker department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: phytoplankton; chlamydomonas; pyramidomonas; pediastrum; epicystis; chroomonas. abstract eight newly recorded taxa of freshwater phytoplankton from bangladesh have been described in the present paper. of these, 3 species are from cryptomonadales, 2 species from each of volvocales and euglenales and one species from chromulinales. in addition one new forma of pediastrum duplex meyen var. duplex fa. nagdaensis m.a. alfasane, m.s. islam & m. khondker fa. nov. (chlorococcales) has also been described in this account. introduction recently a series of papers have been published where many taxa from different classes have been described and illustrated (khondker et al., 2007a, b, c; 2008a, b; 2009). during the present study on some recent collections from different parts of the country planktonic algae of different orders have been found to occur which, could not be recorded earlier from the areas selected or any other parts of bangladesh. so these could be considered as new records for bangladesh. the recorded species belonged to the genera chlamydomonas and pyramidomonas under volvocales, two taxa of trachelomonas under euglenales, epicystis under chromulinales and the rest three belonged to chroomonas, rhodomonas and cryptomonas under cryptomonadales. pediastrum duplex var. duplex fa. nagdaensis m.a. alfasane, m.s. islam & m. khondker fa. nov. under chlorococcales is described as new to science. materials and methods samples for the present paper were collected from 4 different places in bangladesh. one of them is buriganga river (near to sikdar medical college, hazaribagh), dhaka metropolis. in this place, the sampling station (station 1) is located in the mid-part of the river. the second one is a polluted ditch of village nagda, narayanganj. two other sampling stations are located in two domestic ponds of pirojpur and barisal districts (khondker et al. 2006). samples were obtained by sieving 100 l of sub-surface water through a plankton net having a mesh aperture of 20 µm. the concentrated plankton sample in the bucket of the plankton net were taken in a screw caped glass vial and fixed with lugol's solution. 1corresponding author. e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com 2ansar academy, shafipur, gazipur, bangladesh. 88 alfasane et al. organisms were photomicrographed with the help of a nikon optiphot, ufx-11a microscope fitted with a nikon fx-35wa camera, japan. taxonomic enumeration a total of eight taxa of freshwater phytoplankton have been identified as new reports for bangladesh and one taxa has been described as new to science. the illustrated taxonomic descriptions of these taxa are given below. division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocales; family: chlamydomonadaceae; genus: chlamydomonas 1. chlamydomonas pomiformis pascher [chlamydonephris pomiformis (pascher) h. and o. ettl] (fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi, 1961, 159, 28: 139; dillard, 1989, 16, 1: 18) cells spherical to ellipsoidal, posterior end smoothly rounded, anterior truncated, flat, without papilla. cells 21 µm in diameter. flagella 2, equal, 20 µm long. buriganga river, station 1, collection no. 1-41, 20.05.2005. genus: pyramidomonas 2. pyramidomonas quadricauda pascher (fig. 4) (huber-pestalozzi, 1961, 13, 3: 17) cells strongly metabolic, inverted, ovoid to pear shaped, anterior end rounded, posterior end provided with 4 tentacle like outgrowth. cells 25 µm long, 16 µm broad. flagella 4, 29 µm long. buriganga river, station 1, collection no. 1-41, 20.05.2005. order: chlorococcales; family: hydrodictyaceae; genus: pediastrum 3. pediastrum duplex meyen var. duplex fa. nagdaensis m.a. alfasane, m.s. islam & m. khondker fa. nov. (fig. 2) colonia 16 cellularis, 14.73 µm diametro, cellulae in colonia circinatim disposita. cellulae peripheralis 3.81 µm longum, 3.56 µm latus. cellulae centralis 2.56 µm longum, 3.07 µm latus. distantia inter biapicem 2.56 -3.07 µm. colony 16-celled, 14.73 µm in diameter. cells in the colony arranged circinally. peripheral cells 3.81 µm long, 3.56 µm broad. central cells 2.56 µm long, 3.07 µm broad. distance between two tips 2.56-3.07 µm. some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports 89 figs. 1. chlamydomonas pomiformis pascher; 2. pediastrum duplex var. duplex fa. nagdaensis alfasane et al. fa. nov.; 3. trachelomonas zorensis lef.; 4. pyramidomonas quadricauda pascher; 5. trachelomonas stockesiana var. conradi (defl.) h.-p.; 6. epicystis peridinearum pascher (epiphytic on peridinium cyst); 7. chroomonas pochmani huber-pestalozzi; 8. rhodomonas ovalis nygaard; 9. cryptomonas alpina chodat. bars = 10 µm. 90 alfasane et al. notes: this new forma differs from the typical by being smaller in colony diameter and length-breadth ratio of central and peripheral cells. in the type, peripheral cell length 1.42 times more than breadth, in the central cells it is nearly double (huber-pestalozzi, 1983). in this new forma, length and breadth ratio of both peripheral and central cells are 1.07 and 0.83, respectively. holotype: sample no. 7(2), 17 july 2003, nagda, narayanganj district, collected by mohammed almujaddade alfasane, herbarium of phycology, hydrobiology and limnology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka, bangladesh. type locality: the sample was collected from a polluted ditch located in the village nagda, narayanganj, bangladesh, zmax = 1.7 m, a = 1600 m2. the ditch receives effluents from the nearby industries. ecology: pelagic plankton, water ph was 7.67. division: euglenophyta; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: trachelomonas 4. trachelomonas stockesiana var. conradi (defl.) huber-pestalozzi [t. rugulosa bei conrad, t. conradi skv., t. rugulosa var. conradi defl.] (fig. 5) (huber-pestalozzi, 1955, 265, 58: 410a) lorica elliptical, flagellum aperture with a thick ring. membrane strongly rugose. cells 14 µm long, 11.4 µm broad. flagellum 17.8 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 2, collection no. nheb0410042, 15.06.2004. 5. trachelomonas zorensis lef. (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi, 1955, 320, 69: 627b) lorica ellipsoidal, posterior end broadly rounded. flagellum aperture without a collar but with ring like thickening. cell membrane thick with fine scrobiculations, yellowish brown. lorica 23 µm long, 14 µm broad. flagellum about twice the length of the body. bakerganj, station no. 4, collection no. nheb0410054, 12.07.2004. division: chrysophyta; order: chromulinales; family: chrysosphaeraceae; genus: epicystis 6. epicystis peridinearum pascher (fig. 6) (kristiansen and preisig, 2001, 120-121, 89). unicellular, solitary. cells spherical, thin walled, epiphytic on peridinium cysts, 5 µm in diameter. bakerganj, station no. 4, collection no. nheb0510124, 27.01.2005. some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports 91 division: cryptophyta; order: cryptomonadales; family: cryptomonadaceae; genus: chroomonas 7. chroomonas pochmani huber-pestalozzi (fig. 7) (huber-pestalozzi, 1968, 31, 3: 16a,b) unicellular, solitary, free swimming. cells broadly oval, anterior end broadly rounded, posterior end slightly attenuated. cells 17 µm long, median diameter 12 µm. flagella 2, short, almost equal to body length. narayanganj, station no. 5, collection no. 5, 17.07.2003. genus: cryptomonas 8. cryptomonas alpina chodat (fig. 9) (huber-pestalozzi, 1968, 66, 8: 52) unicellular, solitary, slipper shaped. cells elongated, posterior end flatly rounded, anterior one slightly depressed in angle. flagella 2, 12 µm long. cells 13 µm long, 8 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 3, collection no. nhem0460053, 21.06.2004. genus: rhodomonas 9. rhodomonas ovalis nygaard (fig. 8) (huber-pestalozzi, 1968, 25: 11a, c) unicellular, solitary, free swimming. cells ovoid to elongated oval-cylindric, two times longer than broad. pyrenoid single, present in anterior part. cells 15 µm long, 8 µm broad. narayanganj, station no. 5, collection no. 5, 17.07.2003. acknowledgements the research as an integral part of the major multidisciplinary project entitled ‘epidemiology and ecology of vibrio cholerae in bangladesh’ was financed by the national institute of health (nih) research grant no. 1ro1a13912901 under the collaborative agreement between the international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh (icddr,b) and johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health. the authors gratefully acknowledge the nih ecological surveillance team at icddr,b for kindly supporting this research (i.e. collections of bakerganj and mathbaria). latin diagnosis of the new forma done by prof. syed hadiuzzaman, department of botany, university of dhaka is also gratefully acknowledged. 92 alfasane et al. references dillard., g.e. 1989. freshwater algae of southern united states. part 1. chlorophyceae: volvocales, tetrasporales and chlorococcales. bibl. phycol. vol. 81. j. cramer.berlin, pp. 202 + pls. 37. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1955. das phytoplankton des süßswassers: systematik und biologie. euglenophyceen e. schweizerb. verlagsb. (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany. pp. 606 + pls. 114. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1961. das phytoplankton des süßswassers. systematik und biologie. 5. teil: chlorophyceae (grünalgen), ordnung: volvocales. e. schweizerb. verlagsb. (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany. pp. 744 + pls. 157. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1968. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 3. teil: cryptophyceae, chloromonadophyceae, dinophyceae. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany. 322 pp. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1983. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 7. teil, 1. hälfte, chlorophyceae (grünalgen) ordnung chlorococcales. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany. 1400 pp. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2006. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 1. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 173-179. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 2. cryptophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53-59. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 3. order: volvocales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 1-12. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007c. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 4. order: chlorococcales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 83-91. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2008a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 5. euglena, euglenocapsa. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 39-46. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2008b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 8. trachelomonas ehr. (euglenophyceae). bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 133-139. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2009. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 9. some rare and a new species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 1-8. kristiansen, j. and preisig, h.r. (eds). 2001. encyclopedia of chrysophyte genera. bibl. phycologica 110: 120-121. (manuscript received on 23 december 2009; revised on 22 may 2010) some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports and one new for md. almujaddade alfasane1, md. shafiqul islam2 and moniruzz abstract introduction materials and methods taxonomic enumeration division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocal family: chlamydomonadaceae; genus: chlamydomonas order: chlorococcales; family: hydrodictyaceae; genus: pediastrum division: euglenophyta; order: euglenales; family: euglen genus: trachelomonas division: chrysophyta; order: chromulinales; family: chrysosphaeraceae; genus: epicystis division: cryptophyta; order: cryptomonadales; family: cryptomonadaceae; genus: chroomonas acknowledgements references microsoft word 11. phytoplankton.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 85-88, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of euglenophyceae for bangladesh md. ataul gani, md. almujaddade alfasane1 and moniruzzaman khondker department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: wastewater lagoons; phytoplankton; euglena; lepocinclis; phacus. abstract eight newly recorded species of euglenophyceae from bangladesh have been illustrated and described in the present paper. the species are euglena fundoversata l.p. johnson, e. korshikovii gojdics, e. minuta prescott, e. sacculiformis schiller, lepocinclis truncata da cunha, phacus pusillus lemn., p. strongylus pochm. and p. wettsteini drez. introduction a series of papers on the members of euglenophyceae have been published where 256 taxa have been described and illustrated (islam and aziz, 1979; islam and khondker, 1981; islam et al., 1991; islam and alfasane, 2002, 2003; khondker and alfasane, 2005; alfasane and khondker, 2007; khondker et al., 2008a, b, 2009; ahmed et al., 2009; begum, 2009; begum and khanam, 2009; alfasane et al., 2010). during a recent study on planktonic algae of pagla sewage treatment plant (pstp) in narayanganj, bangladesh, some taxa of the order euglenales were found to occur, which were not recorded earlier from bangladesh. in this paper, eight of these taxa are described and illustrated as new records for bangladesh. materials and methods two lagoons of pstp at narayanganj, dhaka were selected for the present study, namely lagoon 4 (l-1) and lagoon 10 (l-2). detail description of these lagoons of pstp has been furnished by gani et al. (2011). a total of 34 phytoplankton samples were collected from october 2009 to july 2010 at fortnight intervals. the samples were collected between 8:00 am and 9:30 am. after collection, the phytoplankton samples were brought to the phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory of the department of botany, university of dhaka for analysis. samples were obtained by sieving 100 l of sub-surface water through a plankton net having a mesh aperture of 20 µm. the concentrated plankton sample in the bucket of the plankton net were taken in a screw caped glass vial and fixed with lugol's solution (gani et al., 2011). a random checking of the sedimented planktonic material was carried out under light microscope with high magnification for identification up to species level. organisms were photomicrographed with the help of a nikon optiphot, ufx-11a microscope fixed with a nikon fx-35wa camera, japan. taxonomic enumeration a total of eight freshwater species of euglenophyceae have been identified as new reports from bangladesh. the illustrated taxonomic descriptions of these taxa are given below. division: euglenophyta; class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: euglena ehrenberg 1. euglena fundoversata l.p. johnson (fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 55, pl. v, f. 28a; gojdics 1953, pl. 2, f. 3a) 1corresponding author. email: mujaddade@yahoo.com 86 gani et al. cell 75 µm long, 22 µm broad. cells are relatively large, broad spindle-shaped, end is tapered with a blunt end tip. body slightly curved. flagellum about twice as long as body length, flagellum tip is circle. chromatophores and paramylon numerous. collection no. 2 (l-1), 9 nov 2009. 2. e. korshikovii gojdics (fig. 2) (gojdics 1953, 52, pl. 19, f. 2a; syn. e. torta korshikov) cell 33 µm long, 19 µm broad. cell undulated, broadly fusiform, tapered. flagellum equal to body length. anterior end short, posterior caudus slightly curved. paramylon numerous, round. collection no. 6 (l-1), 15 jan 2010. 3. e. minuta prescott (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 118, pl. xxii, f. 106c; dillard 2000, pl.1, f.13) cell 14 µm long, 5 µm broad. cell small, curved like structure, fusiform to almost pyriform, end tapered short, blunt. paramylon egg-shaped. collection no. 5 (l-2), 30 dec 2009. 4. e. sacculiformis schiller (fig. 4) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 114, pl. xxi, f. 99) cell 52 µm long, 15 µm broad. cell metabolic, slightly convex to nearly parallel, ends broadly rounded, with short, spine-like apex. paramylon numerous, small. huber-pestalozzi (1955) noted the size of e. sacculiformis as 38 µm ×10 µm. collection no. 6 (l-1), 15 jan 2010. genus: lepocinclis perty 5. lepocinclis truncata da cunha (fig. 5) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 146, pl. xxviii, f. 138) cell 40 µm long, 35 µm broad. flagellum half of the body length. cell pentagonal, anterior end broadly flattened and convex body nature. two large paramylons. collection no. 13 (l-2), 15 may 2010. genus: phacus dujardin 6. phacus pusillus lemn. (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 183, pl. xxxiv, f. 199, syn. p. alatus klebs partim) cell 21 µm long, 8 µm broad. cell elongate, median furrow longitudinally arranged. anterior end slightly blunt, posterior end pointed. paramylon round. collection no. 13 (l-2), 15 may 2010. 7. p. strongylus pochm. (fig. 7) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 234, pl. liv, f. 331; syn. p. setosa france´ drez.; p. setosa var. polonica skv. bei skvortzow; p. setosa var. crenata skv. bei skvortzow ) cell 33 µm long, 18 µm broad. cell compressed, straight or slightly curved, dentate in one side view, spiral striation, median furrow dividing into two halves. caudus long, paramylon numerous. collection no. 10 (l-2), 25 mar 2010. new records of euglenophyceae 87 figs 1-8. 1. euglena fundoversata l.p. johnson, 2. e. korshikovii gojdics, 3. e. minuta prescott, 4. e. sacculiformis schiller, 5. lepocinclis truncata da cunha, 6. phacus pusillus lemn., 7. p. strongylus pochm. 8. p. wettsteini drez. bar = 10 µm. 8. p. wettsteini drez. (fig. 8) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 183, pl. xxxiv, f. 198a) cell 15 µm long, 7 µm broad. cell ellipsoid to ovoid, anterior front more or less narrows, slightly spreading, with small opening. posterior end blunt or rounded with bright translucent longitudinal groove, longitudinal striation arranged spirally. paramylon round. collection no. 6 (l-2), 15 jan 2010. 88 gani et al. references ahmed, z.u., khondker, m., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. (eds.) 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 4. algae, charophyta – rhodophyta. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 543 pp. alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2007. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh: phacus, lepocinclis and pteromonas bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 167-169. alfasane, m.a., islam, m.s. and khondker, m. 2010. some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 87-92. begum, z.n.t. 2009. a taxonomic account on the phytoplankton of a pond receiving textile industrial effluents. ii. euglenophyceae and bacillariophyceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 9-19. begum, z.n.t. and khanam, d. 2009. physicochemical asspects and phytoplankton of the river shitalakhya receiving pharmaceutical effluents. bangladesh j. bot. 38(1): 77-85. dillard, g.e. 2000. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 7. pigmented euglenophyceae. bibl. phycol. bd. 106. j. cramer, berlin, stuttgart, 135 pp. + 20 pls. gani, m.a., alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2011. limnology of wastewater treatment lagoons at pagla, narayanganj. bangladesh j. bot. 40(1): 35-40. gojdics, m. 1953. the genus euglena. the univ. wisconsin press, madison, 268 pp. + 39 pls. huber-pestalozzi, g.h. 1955. das phytoplankton des süßswassers: systematik und biologie. euglenophyceen e. schweizerb. verlagsb. (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 606 + pls. 1114. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1979. algal flora of moheshkhali island, bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. b 27(2): 105-122. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: i. genus phacus. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 3-18. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2003. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: ii. lepocinclis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 15-26. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1981. euglenophyta of bangladesh. i. genus trachelomonas ehr. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 66(1): 109-125. islam, a.k.m. nurul, khondker, m. and haque, s. 1991. euglenoid algae of four polluted ponds in and around dhaka city. bangladesh j. bot. 20(1): 7-15. khondker, m. and alfasane, m.a. 2005. euglenamorpha hegneri wenrich (euglenaceae): a rare euglenoid from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(1): 41-43. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2008a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 5. euglena, euglenocapsa. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 39-46. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2008b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 8. trachelomonas ehr. (euglenophyceae). bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 133-139. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2009. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 9. some rare and a new species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 1-8. (manuscript received on 29 february, 2012; revised on 20 april, 2012) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 79-86, 2010 (june) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists flowering and fruiting characteristics and biochemical composition of an endangered palm species (corypha taliera roxb.) moniruzzaman khondker*, md. abul hassan, md. almujaddade alfasane and umma fatema shahjadee1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: corypha taliera; biochemical composition; flowers; fruits; pericarp. abstract monitoring on the panicle initiation, flowering, fruiting and seedling characteristics of corypha taliera has been carried out. biochemical composition of fresh and dry flowers together with the pericarp of the fruits have been analysed. fresh flowers, fruits, seeds, and pericarp and testa weighed 13.75 mg/flower, 19.46 g/fruit, 6.47 g/seed, 12.89 g/pericarp and testa, respectively. the length of fruits and seeds were c 3.34 cm and c 2.33 cm, respectively while the breadth of the same were 3.14 cm and 1.94 cm, respectively. the protein content of fresh flower and pericarp were 12.78 and 14.70%. high energy content 345.97 kcal was recorded in the pericarp and testa of the fruit. the first sown seeds were germinated in latterite clay soil between january and february and took approximately 30-48 days. introduction linnaeus (1753) first designated the genus corypha (arecaceae). c. taliera was discovered in 1819 by william roxburgh and he considered it to be endemic to bengal (roxburgh, 1820, 1832; basu, 1991). there are four species of corypha available in india, viz., corypha taliera, c. umbraculifera, c. elata and c. macropoda. of these c. taliera is rare. the existence of a lone individual of c. taliera was preliminarily identified by late prof. salar khan in 1950 in a scrub jungle within the dhaka university campus, dhaka, bangladesh (23°43′46″ n and 90°23′33″ e). since the individual was found to grow in a scrub jungle it was considered to be the lone surviving individual of the species throughout the whole world under natural condition (khan, 2001a,b). the principal characteristic features of the plant are: plant monocarpic, individual tree 12-15 m long, no spiral bands on stem, strong spines on both margins of petiole; petiole c 3 m long, base single, not divided into two parts; panicle terminal, comes out from stem head, robust, compound, pyramid like; fruit green. since there is no information on the biochemical composition of flower and fruit biomass of the species throughout the world and the present individual is the last representative so an initiative was undertaken to find the biochemical components of the flower and fruit of this globally endangered species. *corresponding author. e-mail: mkhondker@yahoo.com 1 bcsir laboratories, dhaka. 80 khondker et al. materials and methods though grew in a scrub jungle, the species was cordoned within the boundary wall of the official residence of the pro-vice chancellor of dhaka university, dhaka, bangladesh because of safety reasons. regarding fruiting, the plant was under continuous observation since 2000. after panicle initiation (visible on 18 september 2008) monitoring on its growth was done at definite intervals (1 week 2 months) during which photographs of the plant canopy, stem, panicle, flower, fruits, etc. were taken and digitized (fig. 1). this activity continued from 18 september 2008 to 23 january 2010. for chemical analysis, the flower biomass was collected by spreading a synthetic oilcloth (160 × 117 cm) underneath the tree for 5 days. during this period an amount 500 g of flower biomass was collected (fig. 3). it was then screened for separating debris manually and then poured in a polythene bag. the biomass was then transported to the bcsir laboratories, dhaka for analysis. ten selected fresh flowers were weighed individually with the help of an electronic balance (and fr-200 mk ii, japan). length and width of juvenile, young and mature fruits and their petiole and seeds were measured from a randomly selected 12 specimens with the help of a slide calliper and a screw gauge. the weight of fresh fruits and seeds were taken with the help of an electronic balance as mentioned above. the analysis on biochemical components was carried out on fresh flower as well as on dry flower biomass (dried at 100 °c). the biomass was crushed in a mortar with the help of a pestle. the crushed material was then used to determine the amount of protein, ash, fat, moisture, fibre, carbohydrate, calcium, phosphorus, iron and energy content (nin, 1976). moisture content was determined with the help of a moisture meter (ib-30, brand chyo, capacity 309, readability = 0.0019). mikrokjeldhal method was followed to determine the protein content (nin, 1976). ash was determined with the help of a muffle furnace (model no. carbolite rhf-1600). pericarp and testa were separated manually from the fresh fruits and analyzed following the same methodology as described above. results and discussion the present individual of c. taliera showed a pipe-like panicle initiation on 18 september 2008 which later on took a shape just like the branched horns of a deer until 16 october 2008 (fig. 1). the first flower was seen on one of the branched panicle on 24 october 2008 and the whole set of panicle blossomed in january 2009 (figs. 2 & 3). the flowers are trimerous, white with large dark brown anthers borne on needle like slightly bent filaments (fig. 3b, d). the weight of each fresh flower ranged from 12.0-17.1 mg with a mean value of 13.75±1.3 mg. table 1 depicts the biochemical composition of fresh and dry flower and pericarp and testa. the moisture contents were characteristics and biochemical composition of corypha taliera 81 33.1% and 17.5% in fresh and dry flower, respectively. except this parameter, all other measured components of flower were higher in dried condition compared to the fresh one. fig. 1. stem characteristics and different stages of panicle growth in c. taliera. a. habit; b. first panicle initiation; c. panicle branchlets initiation; d. panicle branchlet growing; e. magnified view at the base of branchlet; f. few small leaves at the base of the panicle; g. pyramidal shape of the whole panicle; h. ring like growth on stem. the protein content of flower and testa is almost similar to those obtained in safflower flower but calcium, phosphorus and iron are much lower in concentration (http://nariphaltan.virtualave.net/safflower.htm). considering the comparable information available, the protein content of c. taliera flower, pericarp and testa are lower than sambucus nigra flowers (kislechenko and vel’ma, 2006). ripe fruits smelled strongly alcoholic. at night the fruits were chewed by pteropus giganteus brunnich. (bangla: kala badur, english common name: flying fox) and other birds. http://nariphaltan.virtualave.net/safflower.htm 82 khondker et al. fig. 2. flower formation, petiole character, fruit formation and epiphytic growth of algae on stem. a. flower coming out from the top of the panicle; b. base of the leaf petiole not divided; c. juvenile fruit; d. young fruit; e-g. various stages of epiphytic algal growth on the stem of c. taliera, three kinds of subaerial corticolous algal association were found, these were, almost unialgal scytonema sp. (e) and trentepohlia monilia (f) and a mixed association of the above mentioned two algae (g); h. dying tree with mature fruits. table 1. weight and biochemical composition of flower, pericarp and testa of corypha taliera. flower pericarp and testa parameter fresh dry fresh mean weight (mg) 1,2 13.75 nd 12.89 carbohydrate % 41.62 52.62 67.03 protein % 12.78 14.70 14.70 fat % 1.25 1.58 1.17 moisture % 33.10 17.5 12.10 fibre % 10.58 14.73 41.18 ash % 11.25 13.60 5.0 calcium mg/100 g 256.51 432.86 240.0 phosphorus mg/100 g 290.0 490.00 212.0 iron mg/100 g 36.80 53.80 17.0 energy kcal 228.17 290.70 345.97 1= (sd ± 0.13 mg/flower, n=10); 2 = (sd ± 2.00 g/fruit, n=12), nd = not done. characteristics and biochemical composition of corypha taliera 83 fig. 3. bloomed panicle and individual flower. a. blossom with full length and diameter; b&d. flowers; c. heap of flowers collected for biochemical analyses. fig. 4. fruits and seeds. a. juvenile fruits; b. fruits with stipe; c. mature fruits; d. fruits chewed by bats and birds; e. peeled off pericarp and testa of a mature fruit; f. seeds; g. germinated seed with root; h. seed bed habitat. 84 khondker et al. fig. 5. newly germinated plant of c. taliera. a. a primordium; b. grown seedling; c. germination of seed; d. magnified view of germinated seed. from panicle initiation to first flowering the plant took 36 days and from the very young fruit to mature fruit 415 days (1 year 1 month 20 days). some picked up fruits chewed by birds/bats were sown in a seed bed (fig. 4h) containing latterite soil on 10 january 2010. the bed was charged with water at every alternate days in a way as it is normally done in case of flower bed. on 28 february 2010 a seedling was seen to grow in the habitat with a 7 cm long root (fig. 4g). however, the seedling died after it was transplanted to a normal flower garden. around 50 other seeds were sown mostly in flower gardens containing latterite soils and were found germinated. after the seeds were sown and waiting for more than a month nothing was visible above the ground level. then for checking digging was done at the base of few sown fruits and it was seen that all seeds had developed massive roots penetrating soil. after three months of sowing, shoot developed above the ground (fig. 5a-d). after the primordial development above the ground, the growth rate is about 0.5 cm/day. characteristics and biochemical composition of corypha taliera 85 table 2. size and weight of fruit parts at different stages of development. date parameter unit 10.02.09 31.08.09 24.10.09 11.01.10 23.01.10 peduncle length (cm) 0.892 ± 0.112 1.000 ± 0.050 1.000 ± 0.050 breadth (cm) 0.244 ± 0.029 0.240 ± 0.030 0.250 ± 0.040 n 12 12 12 fruit length (cm) 2.060 ± 0.250 3.026 ± 0.230 3.180 ± 0.410 3.340 ± 0.180 breadth (cm) 1.830 ± 0.210 2.820 ± 0.170 3.040 ± 0.340 3.140 ± 0.160 weight (g/fruit) 3.740 ± 1.140 12.01 ± 3.74 18.03 ± 4.86 19.46 ± 2.79 n 12 12 12 12 seed length (cm) 2.120±0.150 2.33 ± 0.150 breadth (cm) 1.770±0.110 1.94 ± 0.140 weight (g/fruit) 4.250±0.700 6.470 ± 0.78 n 27 12 pericarp and testa weight (g/fruit) 12.89 ± 2.00 n 12 c. taliera takes a total of 431 days from panicle initiation to fruit ripening and after sowing the seeds germinate approximately within 30-48 days but only root system develops first which continues to penetrate inside the soil. another 48 days is required to come out the shoot (plumule) above the ground level. the shoot actually develops rupturing a sheath attached with the root system keeping the structure of the seed above (fig. 5c-d). since the germination rate of the seeds seems to be high (c 90%) and the present plant has produced nearly 224 kg (sun dried) of fruits (50% of which is properly collected and preserved), there is ample chance of conservation of the plant ex situ. acknowledgements the first author wishes to acknowledge the encouragement rendered by late, zeba khondker who showed her deep interest to this endangered species. the help extended by two gardeners jahangir and arjun of tower bhaban, dhaka university for collection and sowing of seeds is gratefully acknowledged. 86 khondker et al. references basu, s.k. 1991. palm utilization and conservation in india, indonesia, malaysia and the philippines. in: johnson, d. (ed.), palms for human needs in asia. pp. 27-28. http://nariphaltan.virtualave.net/safflower.htm. safflower improvement programme at the nimbkar agricultural research institute (nari), maharashtra, india. khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and basu, s.k. 2001a. rescue of an extinct palm in bangladesh. species 36: 9. newsletter of the species survival commission, iucn-world conservation union. khan, m.s., rahman, m., ali, m.a. (eds.). 2001b. red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. 179 pp. kislechenko, v.s. and vel’ma, v.v. 2006. amino-acid composition of flowers, leaves, and extract of sambucus nigra flowers. chemistry of natural compounds 42(1): 97-98. linnaeus, c. 1753. species plantarum. london. nin, 1976. a manual of laboratory techniques. national institute of nutrition, indian council of medical research, hyderabad, india. pp. 1-3. roxburgh, w. 1820. flora indica. serampore 3:51, t. 255-256. 1820 ("1819"). roxburgh, w. 1832. flora indica (ed. 2). serampore. (manuscript received on 16 march 2010; revised on 5 may 2010) http://nariphaltan.virtualave.net/safflower.htm http://taxonomicon.taxonomy.nl/person.aspx?id=2951 moniruzzaman khondker*, md. abul hassan, md. almujaddade alf and umma fatema shahjadee1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangl fig. 1. stem characteristics and different stages of panicle microsoft word 02. leymus_edited_12.6.2011.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 27-38, 2011 (june) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists anatomy and pollen morphology of leymus racemosus (lam.) tzvelev subsp. sabulosus (bieb.) tzvelev and leymus cappadocicus (boiss. & bal.) melderis özlem mavi*, musa doğan, birol başer1, sevil pehlivan2, evren cabi3 and galip akaydin4 department of biological sciences, middle east technical university, ankara-06530, turkey keywords: leymus; anatomy; leaf; pollen; taxonomy. abstract the present study aims to evaluate the anatomy of leaf and stem as well as pollen morphology in two taxa, namely l. racemosus (lam.) tzvelev subsp. sabulosus (bieb.) tzvelev and l. cappadocicus (boiss. & bal.) melderis. also, it is targeted to contribute to the morphology of these two taxa. the results have revealed varying anatomical characters in the types of stomata, wall appearance of the long cells, indumentum densities, dispositions of sclerenchyma around the vascular bundles, girders and strand shapes of the sclerenchymatic cells in the leaves, epidermal cell arrangements and epidermal cell sizes in the attachment points with sclerenchyma in the stems. moreover, alternation in the pollen morphology concerning pollen size, operculum, undulation and the number of scabrae has also been demonstrated. introduction leymus (poaceae) is one of the 16 genera of the tribe triticeae dumort. in the flora of turkey (davis, 1985) and represented by two taxa, one of which is a euro-siberian element, l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus, and the other is an irano-turanian element, l. cappadocicus. the anatomy of leaves within the gramineae was first used for systematic reasons by duval-jouve (1875), who stated that the position, presence or absence and type of the bulliform cells could be considered as important diagnostic characters. schwendener (1890) emphasized on the prescence of sclerenchyma between the vascular bundles and the upper or lower epidermis to be of systematic importance. moreover, vukolov (1929) showed the arrangement of sclerenchyma around the vascular bundles diagrammatically. after these remarkable studies, some researchers separated the family into the subgroups as such festucoid, panicoid, bambusoid, chloridoid, arundinoid and aristidoid grasses based on their leaf anatomy (prat, 1932). furthermore, according to the previous studies on stem anatomy of the grasses most of the hollow stemmed grasses were those with only one or two cycles of vascular bundles around a large pith (stover, 1934). metcalfe (1960) examined about 345 genera of poaceae and found the *corresponding author. email: <mavi@metu.edu.tr>. 1department of biology, eren university, 13000, bitlis-turkey; 2department of biology, gazi university, 06530, ankara-turkey; 3department of biology, atatürk university, 25240, erzurum-turkey; 4department of biology education, hacettepe university, 06532, ankaraturkey. 28 mavi̇ et al. diagnostic microscopical characters as the shape of girders, strands and the stoma types based on the subsidiary cells. girders and strands on the sclerenchymatic cells around the vascular bundles and stomata of the family were also classified according to the shapes of their subsidiary cells (metcalfe, 1960). in the more recent studies, shape of leaf blades in cross-sections, epidermal cell types, floral morphology including glume, awn and caryopsis cross-sections were examined and useful anatomical features in characterizing the major taxa within the family were demonstrated (doğan, 1985, 1988, 1991a, b, c, 1997, 1999; doğan and tosunoğlu, 1992). several studies have been carried out about the pollen morphologies of the family (liu et al., 2004; özler et al., 2009). perveen (2006) indicated that the taxonomic value of numerous pollen characters, such as size, aperture, shape and exines could not be dependable. however, palynology was found to be helpful to discriminate the genera and species within the tribe. according to perveen (2006), poaceae is a stenopalynous family including monoporate pollens. although there have been several studies on the tribe triticeae (xu and zhou, 2008; islam et al., 2009), there is a limited number of studies based on the taxonomic significance of the anatomy or palynology in the genus leymus (li et al., 2005; chen and wang, 2009). the present study aims to illustrate anatomical and palynological properties of leymus racemosus (lam.) tzvelev subsp. sabulosus (bieb.) tzvelev and l. cappadocicus (boiss. & bal.) melderis on the basis of their leaf and stem anatomy and also pollen morphology. materials and methods for both anatomical and palynological investigations, fresh samples were collected from their natural habitats during the field trips in 2006 and 2008 (table 1). for anatomical studies, the samples were placed in 70% ethyl alcohol solution. the specimens, consisting of leaf and stem tissues were fixed in formalin-acetic-alcohol (f.a.a.) solution for 48 hours (metcalfe, 1960). after removing the fixative by distilled water, they were dehydrated with ethyl alcohol solution of increasing strength. then, dehydrated specimens were embedded into paraffin and sectioned following paraffin sectioning method (johansen, 1944). the transverse sections were stained with safranin. however, the tangential sections were not stained. after fixing with entellan, the slices were observed under ‘euromex fe 2025’ microscope and photographed by using a ‘euromex cmex dc.1300’ camera. the upper and lower sides of leaves of each taxon were examined by 30 slides prepared from each side and the number of stomata with the number of prickles were counted. the averege of the stomata and the prickle numbers per 234 x 186 µm² area of the leaf surfaces of each taxon were given in table 2. anatomy and pollen morphology of leymus 29 table 1. collectors and collection areas of the plant samples investigated. taxon samples collectors collection number locality anatomical e. cabi e. karabacak g. akaydin e. cabi 767 a1: tekirdağ to silivri, 15 km from tekirdağ, 28.05.2006, n: 41°00.269' e: 27°41.029', alt. 15 m leymus racemosus subsp. sabulosus palynological e. cabi e. karabacak g. akaydin e. cabi 761 a1: tekirdağ. between gazikoy and kumbağ, 5 km to kumbağ, 28.05.2006, n: 40°50.472'; e: 27° 26.101', alt. 238 m anatomical e. cabi e. karabacak e. cabi 3313 a6: ankara polatlı to sivrihisar, 32 km to sivrihisar, 16.06.2008, n: 39°33.843' e: 31°48.627', alt. 870 m leymus cappadocicus palynological e. cabi b. başer e.cabi 3662 a6: ankara gölbaşı to koçhisar, 10 km to vezirhane, 23.07. 2008, n: 39°34.610'; e: 32°51.317', alt. 1066 m pollen samples from the taxa were studied both using light microscopy (lm) and scanning electron microscopy (sem). pollens were obtained from herbarium specimens at middle east technical university (metu). totally 30 pollen samples were investigated for each taxa. from these samples, 15 of them were used for lm and the remaining samples were used for sem observations. the samples for lm were prepared following the procedure of wodehouse (1935) and also acetolysed according to erdtman (1960) method. morphological measurements of the pollen grains, which had been mounted in glycerine jelly on glass slides, were obtained by using a ‘microlux-11’ trinocular light microscope and photographed with a ‘leica dm1000’ light microscope. pollens were fixed on metallic stubs using double sided cellotape and covered with gold in a ‘polaron ca508 evaporation psv’ model of sputtering chamber for morphological measurements of ornamentations. following this step, the samples were microphotographed by using ‘jsm jeol 6060 lv’ sem at the department of biology, gazi university. the terminology used is in accordance with faegri and iversen (1975), chaturvedi et al. (1994, 1998) and also punt et al. (1999, 2007). results and discussion anatomy of leaves: l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus has horizontally arranged abaxial epidermal cells which seem to have different sizes, including stomatal apertures and one short cell between two long cells, which have moderately thick and sinuous walls (fig. 1a). the tangential sections of the leaves of l. cappadocicus demonstrate that the epidermal long cells have clearly thick and markedly sinuous walls (fig. 1b). 30 mavi̇ et al. l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus has stomata having parallel-sided subsidiary cells as in the tangential section of the leaf (fig. 1a). fig. 1. tangential sections of abaxial epidermal sides of the leaves: a) leymus racemosus subsp. sabulosus; b) leymus cappadocicus; s = stoma, sc = short cell, lc = long cell. stomata are confined to the intercostal zones, each of which is composed of two or three stomatal rows at the abaxial surface, while there are three rows at the adaxial surface. l. cappadocicus has mostly three rows in the intercostal zones of both abaxial and adaxial epidermis. stomata of the species have two low-dome-shaped subsidiary cells (fig. 1b). stomata are more dense in lower side of leaves than upper side of leaves for both taxa (table 2). table 2. stoma and prickle densities of leaves in l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus and l. cappadocicus (per 234 × 186 µm² of 30 slides prepared from each side of the leaves). upper surface of leaves lower surface of leaves taxon number of stoma number of prickle number of stoma number of prickle leymus racemosus subsp. sabulosus 4 ± 0.8 2.07 ± 0.8 6.4 ± 0.9 1 ± 0 leymus cappadocicus 4.2 ± 0.8 3.3 ± 1.18 10.5 ± 0.72 absent the measurements using 20 slices of tangential sections of leaves show that the length of stomata is vertically 15.0 ± 0.9 µm and horizontally 39.0 ± 0.6 µm in l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus and vertically 18.5 ± 1.03 µm and horizontally 29.8 ± 0.2 µm in l. cappadocicus. short cells are fairly solitary but moderately in pairs in the intercostal zones of the leaves of l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus. however, there are also triple short cells in the costal zones of abaxial surface. the adaxial surface has short cells mostly in pairs in the intercostal zones and has also triple short cells on the costal zones as well. in l. cappadoccicus, the costal zones in both sides of leaf blade cover short cells, majority of which are solitary and the remaining ones are in pairs. anatomy and pollen morphology of leymus 31 in l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus abaxial side of leaf appears to be comprising slightly of monotypic hairs with an average lenght of 40.35 ± 1.1 µm and an average width of 15.15 ± 2.0 µm. the adaxial side includes more prickle-hairs than the lower side and also includes bulliform cells (fig. 2a). despite its glabrous abaxial side, l. cappadocicus has prickles and longer hairs on the adaxial side of the leaf blade (fig. 2b). the base width of these prickles seems to be longer than the length of them (table 3). fig. 2. transverse sections of leaves of leymus: a) leymus racemosus subsp. sabulosus, b) leymus cappadocicus, c) leymus racemosus subsp. sabulosus, d) leymus cappadocicus; bc = bulliform cells, m = mesophyll, is = inner sheath, os = outer sheath, p = prickle, sc = sclerenchyma. table 3. the range of the length and width measurements of hairs of the taxa (µm). taxon leaf surface lenght of prickle width of the prickles at the base lenght of long hairs width of the long hairs at the base upper surface 30.58 97.95 11.16 73.87 absent absent l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus lower surface 29.48 47.67 11.15 19.05 absent absent upper surface 13.63 57.89 32.04 60.55 92.9 -74.7 17.22 32.49 l. cappadocicus lower surface absent absent absent absent 32 mavi̇ et al. leaves of l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus has bulliform cells, inflated towards the homogenous mesophyll. they are regularly fan-shaped in pairs or triple cells (fig. 2a & 2c). these colourless cells have thinner cell walls but larger dimensions than the adjacent ordinary epidermal cells. fig. 2d shows a part of the transverse section of leaf of l. cappadocicus. according to this observation, the bulliform cells of the species appear to be uncertain, instead they form groups of shapeless cells which have thinner cell walls than the adjacent ordinary epidermal cells. as in most grasses (watson and dallwits, 1992), midribs of the taxa are not readily distinguisable. the vascular bundles are of two orders throughout the chlorenchyma from one apex to the other. these circular bundles have different sizes with their ‘doubletype’, conspicuous bundle sheaths around them. the bigger bundles have translucent parenchymatic outer sheath cells that have nearly the same size of the neighbouring mesophyll cells. the sclerenchymatous inner sheath cells are smaller in diameter and have thicker walls than those of the outer sheaths (fig. 2c & 2d). in l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus disposition of sclerenchyma comprises both the abaxial girders and abaxial with adaxial girders. with reference to metcalfe (1960), it seems that the taxon icludes i-shaped abaxial girders and t-shaped adaxial girders. as observed in fig. 2a, bundle sheath interruptions by sclerenchyma can be classified into 3 groups, first of which includes outer sheath interruption both adaxially and abaxially with complete inner sheath. abaxially interruption of outer sheath with complete inner sheath may be the second group of this classification. in the last group, the outer sheath has neither abaxial nor adaxial interruption by sclerenchyma and does not appear to completely surround the inner-sheath. in l. cappadocicus the arrangement of sclerenchyma of the leaves comprises the abaxial and adaxial girders and also strands. both adaxial and abaxial girders are i-shaped (fig. 2b) and also the bundle sheath interruptions by sclerenchyma have complete inner sheaths with abaxially and adaxially interrupted uncompleted outer sheaths. anatomy of stems: stem sections of l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus (fig. 3a) demonstrate that the vascular bundles are arranged in two circular rings, composed of circular small bundles and elliptical larger bundles with no connection between each other. small vascular bundles, connecting each others with sclerenchyma, are also attached to the epidermis with 4-5 layers of sclerenchymatic cells, which seem to make epidermis to form domes outwardly. moreover, at this attachment point the epidermal cells tend to get larger. stem transverse sections of l. cappadocicus represent that there are two types of vascular bundles, both of which are connected to each other and to the epidermis with 4-5 layers of sclerenchymatic cells (fig. 3b). in this stem, regularly arranged large bundles and the circular small bundles seem to be in the same line. anatomy and pollen morphology of leymus 33 in l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus the assimilatory tissue, forming about 3-4 cells wide, thin and flattened layers, is covered by sclerenchyma, not only subtending the epidermis but also surrounding the small bundles. irregularly arranged large bundles of inner ground tissue have no relation with sclerenchyma. each large bundle has protoxylem vessels between large metaxylem vessels. the ground tissue is made of fig. 3. transverse sections of stems: a) leymus racemosus subsp. sabulosus; b) leymus cappadocicus; e = epidermis, sc = sclerenchyma, vb = vascular bundle. parenchymatic cells. the central part of this tissue seems to be free of cells. at the contact regions of epidermis and sclerenchyma of stems of l. cappadocicus, the epidermal cells tend to become smaller. the thickness of the sclerenchymatous tissue, separating the near columns of assimilatory tissue from one another, is based on the size of the bundles. the protoxylem and metaxylem elements are clearly seen in both large and small bundles. the middle region of the stem appears to be hollowed. pollen morphology: as shown in fig. 4a-d non-acetolyzed pollen grains (w) of l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus are prolate-spheroidal and acetolyzed pollen grains (e) are subprolate. the inner and the outer edges of the annulus of each pollen are not clearly protruding (fig. 5a-c). the operculum, which has the same size of the pore, has pentagon shape. using the lm observations of l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus (fig. 4a-d), the average length of the annulus was measured from the non-acetolyzed pollen grains as 2.52 µm and from the acetolyzed pollen grains as 3.61 µm. table 4 shows pollen morphological parameters of the investigated taxa. some ratios of these parameters were calculated using both w and e. according to these calculations, the ratio of long axis of pore (pa) to long axis of pollen (a) is 9 % using both w and e; long axis of pore to annulus diameter is 35 % using w and 41 % using e; length of annulus to exine is 247 % 34 mavi̇ et al. using w and 171 % using e; and lastly, annulus diameter to long axis of pollen is 27% using w and 23 % using e. table 4 was constructed according to the lm observations (fig. 4e-h) of l. cappadocicus. using the measurements in table 4, pa/a ratio was calculated as 11 % with both w and e. moreover, the ratio of pa/annulus diameter was calculated as 38 % (w) and 48 % (e), the annulus diameter/a ratio is 28 % (w) and 23 % (e) and the height of annulus/exine thickness ratio is 189 % (w) 143 % (e). fig. 4. lm observations of pollen grains; a-d. leymus racemosus subsp. sabulosus: a) equatorial view (w), b) polar view (w), c) equatorial view (e), d) polar view (e); e-h. leymus cappadocicus: e) equatorial view (w), f) polar view (w), g) equatorial view (e), h) polar view (e). fig. 5. sem micrographs of pollen grains; a-c. leymus racemosus subsp. sabulosus: a) general appearance, b) aperture, c) surface view; d-f. leymus cappadocicus: d) general appearance, e) aperture, f) surface view. anatomy and pollen morphology of leymus 35 36 mavi̇ et al. sem micrographs of l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus demonstrate that the spinulose scabrae are mix grouped and undulations are distinctive in the regions that are close to aperture (fig. 5a-c). according to the measurements based on these observations, the average number of scabrae is 7.40 per 1 µm², and scabrae are 0.32 µm in width and 0.18 µm in length (table 5). non-acetolyzed and acetolyzed pollen grains of l. cappadocicus are oblatespheroidal and prolate-spheroidal respectively (fig. 4e-h). the annulus has protruding edges (fig. 5d-f). in l. cappadocicus pollen grains do not have any undulations. the spinulose scabrae are observed in mixed groups, each of which may include one, two, three or rarely four scabrae (fig. 5f). in 1 µm² region of pollen, there are 11.30 scabrae having the width of 0.25 µm and the length of 0.15 µm, on average. table 5. ornamentations of the taxa according to sem observations (the values are given as mean ± standart deviation for 15 pollen samples for each taxa). taxon scabrae number per 1 µm² width of scabrae length of scabrae group undulation l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus 7.40 ± 2.14 0.32 ± 0.09 0.18 ± 0.04 mixed including 1 or 2 scabrae + (close to aperture) l. cappadocicus 11.30 ± 1.70 0.25 ± 0.06 0.15 ± 0.07 mixed including 1, 2, 3 or rarely 4 scabrae in conclusion, tangential sections including the surface view of the leaves contain diagnostic features such as stoma type, wall appearance of long cells, prickle density, the presence of sclerenchyma and its arrangement around the vascular bundles. moreover, it is evident that at the attachment point of the epidermis and sclerenchymatic cells of the stems, l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus tend to have large epidermal cells, whereas l. cappadocicus have smaller ones. in addition, these larger epidermal cells of the former taxon form domes outwardly. there are limited number of studies about the stem or culm structures of the family. therefore, it would be more clear with further studies whether characters such as epidermal arrangements and cell sizes of the attachment points with sclerenchymatic cells can be used as distinguishable characters. furthermore, the pollen of l. racemosus subsp. sabulosus with undulations near the aperture which has the same size of the operculum is larger than the pollen of l. cappadocicus without undulations. also the aperture of the latter pollen is larger than the operculum. the alternations in characters of anatomy and pollen morphology of the investigated taxa may be correlated with certain environmental conditions that are typical of the growth habitats or natural constituents. therefore, the number of studies concerning grasses should be increased in order to relate the anatomical and palynological characteristics in large groups. anatomy and pollen morphology of leymus 37 acknowledgement we are very grateful to the scientific and technical research council of turkey (tubitak tbag-105 t 171) for their financial assistance. references chaturvedi, m., yunus, d. and datta, k. 1994. pollen morphology of sorghum moench, sections eusorghum and para-sorghum. grana 33: 117-123. chaturvedi, m., datta, k. and nair, p.k. 1998. pollen morphology of oryza (poaceae). grana 37: 79-86. chen, l. and wang, r. 2009. anatomical and physiological divergences and compensatory effects in two leymus chinensis (poaceae) ecotypes in northeast china. agriculture, ecosystems and environment 134: 46-52. davis, p.h. 1985. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 9. edinburg university press, edinburgh. doğan, m. 1985. comparative reproductive morphology of turkish grasses. doğa bilim dergisi a(2) 9: 196213. doğan, m. 1988. a scanning electron microscope survey of the lemma in phleum, pseudophleum and rhizocephalus (gramineae). notes rbg edinburgh 45: 177-124. doğan, m. 1991a. assessment of morphological variation by means of numerical taxonomy in alopecurus (gramineae). flora et vegetatio mundi 9: 75-81. doğan, m. 1991b. taxonomic significance of vegetative and floral morphologies in the genus alopecurus l. 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(manuscript received on 8 october 2009; revised on 30 december 2010) microsoft word 06. nahid.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 141-153, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists the genus heliconia l. cultivated in bangladesh nahid sultana1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: heliconia, cultivated, keys and descriptions, bangladesh abstract the heliconias, now widely grown in bangladesh as ornamental plants, have been classified into eight species with four cultivars, and two hydrids. dichotomous bracketed keys to the taxa, detailed taxonomic descriptions with colour photographs, time of flowering and distribution have been provided. english names and chromosome numbers have also been furnished wherever available. introduction the family heliconiaceae consists of a single rather large genus heliconia l., with 100 or more species, native mainly to tropical and subtropical south and central america (cronquist 1981). the name heliconia is derived from helicon, a mountain in southern greece regarded by the ancient greeks as the home of the muses, thus suggesting the relationship between these plants and the bananas, genus musa (berry and kress 1991). unique features of the heliconiaceae are (1) medium to large erect herbs rising from underground rhizomes; (2) each erect shoot is composed of a stem and leaves, whereas the stem is made up of an axis covered by overlapping sheathing leaf bases, technically called a pseudostem; (3) inverted flowers; and (4) the presence of a single staminode. they mainly propagate by clump and rhizome divisions. although heliconias are native only to central and south america and some of the islands of the south pacific, for horticultural and commercial popularity, they are now being grown in nearly all of the tropical regions of the world, including africa and asia. by now many species of heliconia are also introduced and widely grown in bangladesh, mainly for their ornamental value. several attempts have been made over the years to sort out the taxonomy of the old world heliconia. baker (1893), followed by schumann (1900) and winkler (1930), dealt with the problem of identity and origin of these taxa by assigning them to the neotropical species h. bihai (l.) l. others such as ridley (1908a, b), backer (1920) and green (1969) recognized the distinctive and endemic features of the paleotropical taxa that separated them from the neotropical species. the recent taxonomic treatment of the heliconia of costa rica (daniels and stiles 1979) emphasizes the need for critical field observations and photographs of live specimens in situ, since in most cases some characteristic features are absent from dried herbarium collections. 1corresponding author. e-mail: nahid_botany@yahoo.com 142 sultana and hassan there is so far no taxonomic work has been done on the family heliconiaceae of bangladesh. the present work, therefore, is the first attempt on the comprehensive taxonomic studies of heliconias grown in bangladesh. materials and methods the present work is mainly based on the living materials collected from different areas of the country and planted in the botanical garden, university of dhaka, for critical observations and studies. after a critical study of all the collected materials artificial dichotomous keys to the taxa have been prepared for easy identification. brief notes on nomenclature, detailed taxonomic description, time of flowering and distribution have also been provided under each taxon. the species, hybrids and cultivars are identified with the help of the heliconia society website (www.heliconia.org), heliconia society international, and berry and kress (1991). all the collected materials are kept in dhaka university herbarium (duh). results and discussion in the present work, eight species with four cultivars, and two hybrids of heliconia have been treated. heliconia l., mant. pl. 2: 147, 211 (1771). medium to large erect herbs with underground rhizomes, acaulescent or with slender, unbranched aerial stem (pseudostem). leaves simple, exstipulate, with basal sheath and long petiole, midrib prominent, numerous lateral veins in a pinnate-parallel arrangement, the lateral veins extending to the margin. inflorescence terminal, has either an erect or pendent orientation, with large coloured bracts, in one plane (distichous) or spirally arranged due to twisting of the rachis, boat-shaped, each bract subtending a compact, few-flowered monochasial cyme (cincinni). flowers perfect, bisexual, irregular, epigynous. perianth segments 6, in 2 cycles, sepals 3, petals 3 (sepals and petals scarcely differentiated), 2 sepals and 3 petals united, remaining sepal free, all petaloid. stamens 5, functional, inserted, anthers oblong, basifixed, opening by longitudinal slits, 6th stamen is a small staminode adnate to the odd tepal. carpels 3, syncarpous, ovary 3-celled, inferior, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation basal-axile, style slender, furrowed, stigma wet, papillate. fruit a schizocarp or a drupe, separating into 3-(2)-1-seeded parts. key to the heliconia taxa cultivated in bangladesh 1. inflorescence pendent or contorted 2 inflorescence erect 3 2. inflorescence pendent, cincinnal bracts bright red with yellow-green tip and green margin h. rostrata inflorescence contorted, cincinnal bracts maroon all through h. bourgaeana × h. collinsiana the genus heliconia l. cultivated in bangladesh 143 3. leaf sheaths and the lower surface of leaf blades purplishmaroon h. metallica leaf sheaths and the lower surface of leaf blades green 4 4. leaves like those of banana (musoid) 5 leaves like those of ginger (zingiberoid), leaves linear to lanceolate; bracts tip pointed h. aurantiaca 5. flowers with distal dark green or black band h. psittacorum flowers without distal dark green or black band 6 6. basal bract usually with green leaflet (second bract with or without a green keel) h. latispatha basal bract without green leaflet, but with a green keel 7 7. tepal apex round h. stricta tepal apex acute 8 8. leaves obovate-oblong; cincinnal bracts yellow h. psittacorum × h. spathocircinata leaves ovate-oblong or linear-lanceolate 9 9. leaves ovate-oblong; bracts usually more than 5, bright rosered with green tip, lip dark green distally with whitish line above h. bihai leaves linear-lanceolate; bracts usually less than 5, reddishorange h. densiflora taxonomic enumeration the heliconia taxa in the text are arranged alphabetically. 1. heliconia aurantiaca ghiesb. ex lem., illustr. hortic.: 9. t. 332 (1862). bihai aurantiaca (ghiesb.) griggs, bull. torr. bot. club: 445 (1904). (pl. 1, fig. 1) english name: aurantic heliconia. a zingiberoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, c 1.5 m tall. pseudostem green, c 2 cm in diameter. leaves simple, sheaths green to greenish-orange, petiolate, petioles c 3.5 cm long, lamina 6-28 × 3-6 cm, linear to lanceolate, acute to acuminate, entire, midrib green. inflorescence one per shoot, c 20 cm long, terminal, erect, distichous, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts orange with pale green tip, turning green with age. flowers pedicellate, pedicels c 1 cm long, orange, bracteate, bracts 3-6, c 6 cm long, tip pointed, first bract without flower, flowers inverted, 5 or more per bract, yellow, acute at the apex, rachis orange. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, c 5 cm long. stamens 5, filaments c 2.5 cm long, anthers 2-celled, c 1 cm long, staminode c 0.6 cm long, acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate. carpels 3, ovary 3celled, c 0.4 cm in diameter, off-white with yellow or green edge, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, 3.7 cm long, off-white, stigma yellow. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: december-june. chromosome number: 2n = 24 (fedorov 1969). 144 sultana and hassan distribution: mexico to panama, barbados, and usa (florida, hawaii) (berry and kress 1991). specimen examined: dhaka: baldah garden, 19.04.2007, nahid sultana 20 (duh). 2. heliconia bihai (l.) l., mant. 2: 211 (1771). musa bihai l., sp. pl.: 1043 (1753); h. humilis jacq., hort. schoenz. 1: 23 (1804); bihai luteofusca o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 684 (1891); b. bihai (l.) griggs, bull. torr. bot. club: 445 (1904). (pl. 1, fig. 2) english names: crab claw, lobster claw, macaw flower. a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, c 3 m tall. pseudostem greenish-brown, c 3.5 cm in diameter. leaves simple, petiolate, petioles c 32 cm long, lamina 50-60 × 20-22 cm, ovate-oblong, shortly acuminate, entire, midrib green on the upper surface and reddish-green on the lower surface. inflorescence one per shoot, up to 45 cm long, pedunculate, peduncle c 15 cm long, greenish-white, terminal, erect, distichous, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts bright rose-red with green tip, lip dark green distally with whitish line above. flowers pedicellate, pedicels 1.3 cm long, off-white, glabrous, bracteate, bracts 5-12, 14-17 cm long, cincinnal bracts placed at 1.0-1.5 cm or more apart, rachis red, bracteolate, bracteoles off-white with deep brown apex, flowers inverted, 12 or more per bract, arranged in 2 rows from small to large, upper portion light green and lower portion offwhite, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, 0.6-4.0 cm long. stamens 5, filaments 0.22.2 cm long, anthers 2-celled, 0.8-1.0 cm long, staminode c 0.5 cm long, acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.3 cm in diameter, off-white, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, 0.9-3.5 cm long, off-white, stigma offwhite. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: december-june. chromosome number: 2n = 24 (fedorov 1969). distribution: northern south america (berry and kress 1991). specimens examined: dhaka: baldah garden, 19.04.2007, nahid sultana 21 (duh). gazipur: rajendrapur (omni agro complex), 19.12.2006, nahid sultana 10 (duh). 3. heliconia densiflora hort. par. ex verlot, rev. hortic.: 274 (1869). cogn. and marchal, pl. ornem.: 2. t. 46 (1874); bihai densiflora o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 685 (1891). (pl. 1, fig. 3) a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, up to 1 m tall. pseudostem green, c 2 cm in diameter. leaves simple, petiolate, petioles c 1 cm long, lamina 15-20 × 3-5 cm, linear-lanceolate, acute, entire, midrib green. inflorescence one per shoot, c 10 cm long, terminal on a long peduncle, erect, distichous, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts reddish-orange. flowers pedicellate, pedicels c 1 cm long, yellow, glabrous, bracteate, bracts 4-5, 5-10 × 1.3-1.5 the genus heliconia l. cultivated in bangladesh 145 cm, cincinnal bracts placed at 0.9-1.8 cm or more apart, rachis reddish-orange, bracteolate, flowers inverted, 6 or more per bract, yellow with greenish tip, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, c 3.5 cm long. stamens 5, filaments c 1.5 cm long, anthers 2celled, c 1 cm long, staminode c 0.6 cm long, acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.2 cm in diameter, yellow, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, 2.8 cm long, off-white, stigma yellow. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 13 per fruit. flowering time: december-june. distribution: australia, brazil, costa rica and usa (florida, hawaii). specimen examined: gazipur: rajendrapur (omni agro complex), 03.04.2007, nahid sultana 15 (duh). 4. heliconia latispatha benth., bot. voy. sulph.: 170 (1846). key to the cultivars plant small, 1.0-1.5 m tall; cincinnal bracts usually red on distal half and yellow or golden proximally, basal bract usually with green leaflet, second and third bracts often with green keel and tip h. latispatha cv. distans plant large, 2-4 m tall; cincinnal bracts usually red over most of the bract with small area of yellow or golden at the base, basal bract usually with green leaflet, second and third bracts without green keel and tip h. latispatha cv. red-yellow gyro 4a. heliconia latispatha benth. cv. distans in bot. voy. sulph.: 170 (1846). h. meridensis klotzsch, linnaea 20: 462 (1847); bihai meridensis o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 684 (1891); b. latispatha (benth.) griggs, bull. torr. bot. club: 445 (1904). (pl. 1, fig. 4) english names: expanded lobster claw, golden lobster claw. a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, 1.0-1.5 m tall. pseudostem green with chocolate-maroon spots, c 3 cm in diameter. leaves simple, petiolate, petioles 15-25 cm long, lamina 60-75 × 15-20 cm, oblong, acute, entire, midrib green on the upper surface and green with red spots on the lower surface. inflorescence one per shoot, c 30 cm long, pedunculate, peduncle c 11 cm long, glabrous or slightly hairy, terminal, erect, spiral, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts usually red on distal half and yellow or golden proximally, basal bract usually with green leaflet, second and third bracts often with green keel and tip. flowers pedicellate, pedicels c 1 cm long, pale yellow, glabrous, bracteate, bracts 3-7, 15-18 cm long, cincinnal bracts placed at 2-3 cm or more apart, rachis usually yellow, sometimes green, bracteolate, bracteoles brownish-yellow, flowers inverted, 12 or more per bract, yellowish-green, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, 4.0-4.3 cm long. stamens 5, filaments 2.0-2.5 cm long, anthers 2-celled, c 0.9 cm long, staminode c 1.1 cm long, acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.5 cm in diameter, yellow 146 sultana and hassan white, slightly hairy, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, c 3.5 cm long, yellow-white, stigma brown. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: april-december. distribution: barbados, usa (florida, hawaii), venezuela and west indies. specimens examined: dhaka: mohammadpur, 09.08.2006, nahid sultana 3 (duh); kakrail, 02.04.2007, nahid sultana 13 (duh). 4b. heliconia latispatha benth. cv. red-yellow gyro in bot. voy. sulph.: 170 (1846). h. meridensis klotzsch, linnaea 20: 462 (1847); bihai meridensis o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 684 (1891); b. latispatha (benth.) griggs, bull. torr. bot. club: 445 (1904). (pl. 1, fig. 5) english names: expanded lobster claw, golden lobster claw. a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, 2-4 m tall. pseudostem green with chocolate-maroon spots, c 3.5 cm in diameter. leaves simple, petiolate, petioles 20-25 cm long, lamina 70-80 × 20-25 cm, oblong, acute, entire, midrib green on the upper surface and green with red spots on the lower surface. inflorescence one per shoot, c 35 cm long, pedunculate, peduncle 11-15 cm long, glabrous, terminal, erect, spiral, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts usually red over most of the bract with small area of yellow or golden at the base, basal bract usually with green leaflet, second and third bracts without green keel and tip. flowers pedicellate, pedicels c 1 cm long, pale yellow, glabrous, bracteate, bracts 3-7, 20-25 cm long, cincinnal bracts placed at 2-3 cm or more apart, rachis usually yellowishgreen, bracteolate, bracteoles brownish-yellow, flowers inverted, 12 or more per bract, yellowish-green, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, 4.0-4.5 cm long. stamens 5, filaments 2.3-2.5 cm long, anthers 2-celled, c 1 cm long, staminode 1.3 cm long, acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.6 cm in diameter, yellowwhite, glabrous, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, 3.7 cm long, yellow-white, stigma brown. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: april-december. distribution: mexico to south america (berry and kress 1991). specimen examined: dhaka: institute of education and research (ier), university of dhaka, 21.04.2007, nahid sultana 22 (duh). 5. heliconia metallica planch. and linden ex hook., bot. mag.: 88. t. 5315 (1862). bihai metallica o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 685 (1891). (pl. 1, fig. 6) english name: shining bird of paradise. a cannoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, 1-3 m tall. pseudostem purplish-maroon, c 2.5 cm in diameter. leaves simple, sheaths purplish the genus heliconia l. cultivated in bangladesh 147 plate 1 figs 1-6. 1. heliconia aurantiaca ghiesb. ex lem., 2. h. bihai (l.) l., 3. h. densiflora hort. par. ex verlot, 4. h. latispatha benth. cv. distans, 5. h. latispatha benth. cv. red-yellow gyro, 6. h. metallica planch. and linden ex hook. 148 sultana and hassan maroon, petiolate, petioles 2-4 cm long, lamina 35-90 × 15-25 cm, lanceolate-ovate, acuminate, entire, upper surface green with light green midrib, lower surface purplishmaroon with purplish midrib. inflorescence one per shoot, c 15 cm long, terminal on a long peduncle, c 45 cm long, erect, distichous, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts greenish-red. flowers pedicellate, pedicels 1.3 cm long, light green, glabrous, bracteate, bracts 5-7, 6-15 cm long, cincinnal bracts placed at 2 cm or more apart, rachis reddish, bracteolate, flowers inverted, 5 or more per bract, reddish-pink, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, 4.2 cm long. stamens 5, filaments 3.7 cm long, anthers 2-celled, c 0.8 cm long, staminode c 0.5 cm long, acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.7 cm in diameter, off-white with black edge, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, 4.7 cm long, off-white, stigma off-white. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: marchaugust. chromosome number: 2n = 16, 18, 20, 22 (fedorov 1969). distribution: honduras to bolivia (berry and kress 1991). specimen examined: dhaka: baldah garden, 16.02.2007, nahid sultana 11 (duh). 6. heliconia psittacorum l. f., suppl.: 158 (1781). key to the cultivars cincinnal bracts maroon, flowers parrot-green with distal dark green or black band and white tip, staminode acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate h. psittacorum cv. black cherry cincinnal bracts orange, flowers orange with distal dark green or black band and yellow-white tip, staminode acute h. psittacorum cv. choconiana 6a. heliconia psittacorum l. f. cv. black cherry in suppl.: 158 (1781). bihai psittacorum o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 684 (1891). (pl. 2, fig. 7) english names: parakeet flower, parrot’s beak, parrot’s flower. a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, c 1.5 m tall. pseudostem green, c 2.5 cm in diameter. leaves simple, petiolate, petioles 7-10 cm long, lamina 30-45 × 7.5-11.0 cm, lanceolate, acuminate, entire, lower surface glossy, midrib green. inflorescence one per shoot, c 14 cm long, terminal on a long peduncle, c 75 cm long, erect, distichous, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts maroon. flowers pedicellate, pedicels 1.7 cm long, red, glabrous, bracteate, bracts 4-6, 6-17 cm long, first bract greenish-maroon and others maroon, cincinnal bracts placed at 1.5 cm or more apart, rachis red, bracteolate, bracteoles brown, 0.9-2.0 × 0.4 cm, flowers inverted, 9 or more per bract, parrot-green with distal dark green or black band and white tip, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, 4.2 cm long. stamens 5, filaments c 2.5 cm long, anthers 2-celled, c 1 cm long, yellow, staminode c the genus heliconia l. cultivated in bangladesh 149 1.5 cm long, acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.4 cm in diameter, off-white with green edge, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, c 4 cm long, lower portion yellow, upper portion off-white, stigma yellow. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: march-september. plate 2 figs 7-12. 7. heliconia psittacorum l. f. cv. black cherry, 8. h. psittacorum l. f. cv. choconiana, 9. h. rostrata ruiz and pavon, 10. h. stricta huber, 11. h. psittacorum l. f. × h. spathocircinata aristeguieta, 12. h. bourgaeana petersen × h. collinsiana griggs. 150 sultana and hassan chromosome number: 2n = 24 (fedorov 1969). distribution: usa (hawaii). specimen examined: gazipur: rajendrapur (omni agro complex), 03.04.2007, nahid sultana 14 (duh). 6b. heliconia psittacorum l. f. cv. choconiana in suppl.: 158 (1781). bihai psittacorum o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 684 (1891). (pl. 2, fig. 8) english names: parakeet flower, parrot’s beak, parrot’s flower. a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, c 1.5 m tall. pseudostem greenish-maroon, c 2.5 cm in diameter. leaves simple, petiolate, petioles c 16 cm long, lamina 20-37 × 6-9 cm, lanceolate, acute, entire, lower surface glossy, midrib green. inflorescence one per shoot, c 10 cm long, terminal on a long peduncle, c 85 cm long, erect, distichous, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts orange. flowers pedicellate, pedicels 1.8 cm long, orange, glabrous, bracteate, bracts 4-6, 6-11 cm long, cincinnal bracts placed at 2.5 cm or more apart, rachis orange, bracteolate, bracteoles brown, flowers inverted, 8 or more per bract, orange with distal dark green or black band and yellow-white tip, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, c 4.5 cm long. stamens 5, filaments c 3 cm long, anthers 2-celled, c 1 cm long, staminode 1.2 cm long, acute. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.5 cm in diameter, off-white with orange edge, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, 4.3 cm long, orange, stigma orange. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: april-december, sometimes bloom year-round. chromosome number: 2n = 24 (fedorov 1969). distribution: guianas (berry and kress 1991). specimens examined: dhaka: botanical garden, university of dhaka, 30.06.1970, a.m. huq 76 (dacb); mirpur botanical garden, 14.08.1988, rezia khatun 377 (dacb); bangladesh national herbarium (bnh) compound, dhanmondi, 06.08.1991, rezia khatun 695 (dacb); botanical garden, university of dhaka, 17.08.2006, nahid sultana 4 (duh). 7. heliconia rostrata ruiz and pavon, fl. per. 3: 71. t. 305 (1798-1802). bihai rostrata (ruiz and pavon) griggs, bull. torr. bot. club: 445 (1904). (pl. 2, fig. 9) english names: false bird of paradise, hanging heliconia, hanging lobster claw, lobster claw. a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, up to 3 m tall. pseudostem greenish-red, c 2.5 cm in diameter. leaves simple, petiolate, petioles up to 24 cm long, lamina 7-98 × 4-20 cm, oblong, acute, entire, midrib green, sometimes maroon beneath. inflorescence one per shoot, 20-50 cm long, pedunculate, peduncle 15the genus heliconia l. cultivated in bangladesh 151 20 cm long, red, hairy, terminal, pendent, distichous, sometimes spiral, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts bright red with yellowgreen tip and green margin, densely hairy. flowers pedicellate, pedicels c 0.7 cm long, yellowish-white, bracteate, bracts 4-35, 7-10 cm long, cincinnal bracts placed at 2 cm or more apart, rachis red, bracteolate, bracteoles brown, flowers inverted, 12 or more per bract, yellow, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, 3.5-5.0 cm long. stamens 5, filaments c 2 cm long, anthers 2-celled, c 1 cm long, staminode 1.0-1.2 cm long, acute. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.6 cm in diameter, off-white, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, c 3 cm long, off-white, stigma off-white. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: march-august. chromosome number: 2n = 24 (hanson et al. 2001). distribution: originally from amazonian peru and ecuador, now widely cultivated around the world (berry and kress 1991). specimens examined: dhaka: botanical garden, university of dhaka, 16.07.2006, nahid sultana 1 (duh); tikatuli, 04.04.2007, nahid sultana 16 (duh); dhanmondi, 05.04.2007, nahid sultana 18 (duh). 8. heliconia stricta huber, bol. mus. para. 4: 543 (1906). bihai stricta griggs, bull. torr. bot. club, 42: 325 (1915). (pl. 2, fig. 10) english name: firebird heliconia. a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, c 2 m tall. pseudostem green, c 2.5 cm in diameter. leaves simple, petiolate, petioles up to 19 cm long, lamina 25-35 × 10-12 cm, oblong, acuminate, entire, midrib green. inflorescence one per shoot, c 25 cm long, pedunculate, peduncle c 5 cm long, green, terminal, erect, distichous, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts red with yellowish-white base and green margin, basal bract with green keel, glabrous. flowers pedicellate, pedicels c 1 cm long, off-white, bracteate, bracts 5-6, 10-13 cm long, cincinnal bracts placed at 1.5 cm or more apart, rachis yellowish-white, bracteolate, bracteoles off-white, flowers inverted, 12 or more per bract, arranged in 2 rows from small to large, upper portion deep green and lower portion off-white, round at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, 1.0-3.7 cm long. stamens 5, filaments 1.5-3.0 cm long, anthers 2celled, c 0.7 cm long, staminode c 1.5 cm long, acute. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.4 cm in diameter, off-white, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, 1.7-4.0 cm long, off-white, stigma brown. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: december-june. distribution: bolivia, ecuador, surinam and venezuela (brickell 1996). specimen examined: gazipur: rajendrapur (omni agro complex), 19.12.2006, nahid sultana 9 (duh). 152 sultana and hassan 9. heliconia psittacorum l. f. × h. spathocircinata aristeguieta (pl. 2, fig. 11) english name: golden torch. a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, c 50 cm tall. pseudostem green, c 2 cm in diameter. leaves simple, sheaths green, petiolate, petioles 4.5-6.0 cm long, lamina 17-30 × 7.5-9.5 cm, oblong-obovate, acuminate, entire, midrib green. inflorescence one per shoot, c 15 cm long, terminal on a long peduncle, 85 cm long, erect, distichous to spiral, a raceme of many-flowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts yellow. flowers pedicellate, pedicels c 1.3 cm long, yellow, glabrous, bracteate, bracts 5-8, 4.5-12.0 cm long, cincinnal bracts placed at 1.0-3.5 cm or more apart, rachis yellow, bracteolate, bracteoles c 3.5 × 0.7 cm, light yellow, flowers inverted, 7 or more per bract, yellow, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, 4.7-5.0 cm long. stamens 5, filaments c 2.7 cm long, anthers 2-celled, c 1 cm long, staminode c 1.6 cm long, acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.4 cm in diameter, off-white with yellow edge, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, c 4.5 cm long, yellow, stigma off-white. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: december-april. distribution: guyana and south america. specimens examined: dhaka: kakrail, 23.08.2006, nahid sultana 5 (duh); basundhara, 04.04.2007, nahid sultana 17 (duh). gazipur: rajendrapur (omni agro complex), 19.12.2006, nahid sultana 8 (duh). 10. heliconia bourgaeana petersen × h. collinsiana griggs (pl. 2, fig. 12) english name: pedro ortiz. a musoid-type, perennial herb with rhizomatous underground stem, c 155 cm tall. pseudostem green with maroon spots, c 3.5 cm in diameter. leaves simple, sheaths green, petiolate, petioles c 15 cm long, lamina 30-35 × 10-15 cm, oblong, acuminate, entire. inflorescence one per shoot, c 40 cm long, terminal, contorted, a raceme of manyflowered monochasial cymes (cincinni), cincinnal bracts maroon. flowers pedicellate, pedicels 2.2 cm long, yellow, glabrous, bracteate, bracts 5-8, 15-25 cm long, cincinnal bracts placed at 2-5 cm or more apart, rachis maroon, bracteolate, light yellow, flowers inverted, 13 or more per bract, yellow, acute at the apex. tepals 6, in 2 cycles, c 5.2 cm long. stamens 5, filaments 3.2 cm long, anthers 2-celled, 1.2 cm long, staminode 1.7 cm long, acuminate, shallowly tri-dentate. carpels 3, ovary 3-celled, c 0.6 cm in diameter, off-white with yellow edge, ovule solitary in each cell, placentation axile, style 1, c 5 cm long, orange, stigma off-white. fruit a schizocarp or drupe. seeds 1-3 per fruit. flowering time: december-june. distribution: mexico and costa rica. specimen examined: gazipur: rajendrapur (omni agro complex), 06.04.2007, nahid sultana 19 (duh). the genus heliconia l. cultivated in bangladesh 153 acknowledgements we are indebted to victor lee, editor of the heliconia society international bulletin, for helping in confirming the identity of all the taxa of heliconia grown in bangladesh. we are also grateful to julie thomas, project officer and doris marcsik, new product development research officer, crops, forestry and horticulture, department of primary industry, fisheries and mines, northern territory of australia for their help. we are also thankful to lipon rozario, an employee of a nursery in gazipur, who provided us some heliconia materials. references backer, c.a. 1920. heliconia indica lamarck, an insufficiently known species of the east-indian archipelago. bull. jard. bot. buitenzorg, ser. 3, 2: 315-319. baker, j.g. 1893. a synopsis of the genera and species of musaceae. ann. bot. (london) 7: 189-222. berry, f. and kress, w.j. 1991. heliconia: an identification guide. smithsonian institution press, washington and london, pp. 1-334. brickell, c. (ed.). 1996. the royal horticultural society, a-z. encyclopedia of garden plants. dorling kindersley limited, london, pp. 1-1080. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, pp. 1-1262. daniels, g.s. and stiles, f.g. 1979. the heliconia taxa of costa rica. keys and descriptions. brenesia 15 (suppl.): 1-150. fedorov, a.a. 1969. chromosome numbers of flowering plants. academy of sciences of ussr, moscow, pp. 1-926. green, p.s. 1969. notes on melanesian plants: ii. old world heliconia (musaceae). kew bull. 23: 471-478. hanson, l., mcmahon, k.a., johnson, m.a.t. and bennett, m.d. 2001. first nuclear dna c-values for another 25 angiosperm families. ann. bot. 88: 851-858. ridley, n.h. 1908a. heliconias. agric. bull. straits fed. malay states 6: 129-132. ridley, n.h. 1908b. heliconias. gard. chron. ser. 3, 7: 13. schumann, k. 1900. musaceae. in: engler, a. (ed.). pflanzenr. iv. 45: 1-45. winkler, h. 1930. musaceae. in: engler, a. and prantl, k. (eds), die natürlichen pflanzenfamilien, ed. 2, bd. 15a: 505-541. (manuscript received on 13 july 2008; revised on 14 september 2008) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 23-31, 2010 (june) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists airborne pollen flora of a deciduous mesic forest in turkey hatice kutluk and burhan aytuğ1 department of geology (paleobotany), eskişehir osmangazi university, 26480 batı meselik, eskişehir, turkey (hkutluk@ogu.edu.tr) keywords: airborne pollen; climate; nw turkey; phytogeography; vegetation. abstract airborne pollen composition of a deciduous mesic forest in northwestern turkey is compared with the flora of the forest and a wider area. the airborne assemblage is constituted by 641.553 pollen belonging to 32 orders, 54 families and 96 genera. of these, 380.000 (59.2%) belong to native and 257.180 (40.1%) to non-native plants. among the native taxa arboreal pollen (ap) is represented by 55.7% and non-arboreal (nap) by 44.3%. all of the arboreal elements of the forest are quercus, castanea, carpinus, ulmus, alnus, populus, salix, fagus, tilia, acer, corylus, prunus, rubus, ligustrum, phillyrea which represented in the airborne assemblage. incorporation of nap to airborne composition is less than ap and they more likely provide an indication of the composition of local plant communities and hence represent vegetation of immediate vicinity. the most common nap taxa are poaceae, plantaginaceae, asteraceae, urticaceae, apiaceae, cannabaceae, polygonaceae and cyperaceae. pollen of climbers are less represented than ap but more than nap taxa. platanus orientalis (30.7%) and pinus and cupressus (20.2%) constitute half of the non-native flora; the rest is the pollen of exotic, alien and horticultural taxa from numerous parks and gardens in i̇stanbul. introduction large quantities of pollen are released from anemophilous plants during dissemination period; they are carried by air currents and eventully settle on the ground. most of the grasses, gymnosperms and a significant number of angiosperms are anemophilous that produce airborne pollen. composition of atmospheric pollen provides a picture of surrounding vegetation, yet several factors such as differential pollen production of the plants, limitations in dispersal, falling velocity, etc. are considered in the assessment of ‘vegetation’ versus ‘airborne pollen’ relationship. some plant taxa produce pollen in much greater quantities than the others, which is a factor determined by the genetic potential of each species (molina et al., 1996). some plant taxa produce large and heavy grains whose falling rate is much faster and hence they more reflect the vegetation of a closer area, while some others produce small and light pollen which are easily drifted by wind and falls onto earth far from the maternal plant reflecting vegetation of far distant places. the amount of sporopollenin content and the morphological features such as the thickness and even the sculpture types of exine determine the falling rate of pollen. the height of trees, woodland density and canopy 1department of forestry botany, faculty of forestry, i̇stanbul university, 34473 bahçeköy, i̇stanbul, turkey. 24 kutluk and aytuğ cover may additionally alter the quantity and consequently pollen in the air becomes over-, equally-, or underrepresented than the plant in the vegetation. the relationship between the airborne pollen assemblage of a forest area and the floristic composition of the surrounding vegetation in nw turkey is investigated in this study. a pollen calendar has been prepared with selected allergenic taxa by aytuğ (1974) and aytuğ et al. (1974) for the i̇stanbul region; however, no attempt has been made in comparing airborne pollen with the surrounding vegetation. the airborne pollen data is compared here with the forest in the vicinity and the vegetation of a much wider area both of whose floristic compositions are well known with the aim of elucidating how reliably vegetation is represented by the atmospheric pollen composition under aforementioned constrains. materials and methods the airborne pollen was collected in bahçeköy, belgrade forest, i̇stanbul covering an area of about 5060 ha. (50 km2) between the 28°59′-29°00′ latitude and 41° 09′-41°12′ longitude; which is 20 km far from istanbul, 5 km to both the blacksea in the north and the bosphorus in the east with the highest altitude being 230 m in the north. the wider region around the sampling site and the forest, designated as ‘grid a2e’ by davis et al. (1965-1985) covers an area of approximately 4200 km2 in the western part of the bosphorus and bounded by the black sea and the sea of marmara from the north and south respectively (fig. 1). the grid, among the thirty, exhibits the highest floristic diversity (kutluk and aytuğ, 2004) and comprises five out of '122 important plant areas' of turkey (özhatay et al., 2003). pollen has been collected by an hirst volumetric trap and hourly counts per unit volume of air (10 lt/hour) for a three-year-period. counts of a three-year-period can be assumed as a ‘long term average pollen assemblage period’ which are required for vegetation construction because diurnal cyclic variation in pollen production were eliminated. the trap has been located at 1.60 cm above the ground level at an elevation of 129 meters above sea level in the forested area. the height of the trap is an average height of human breathing system as well as a height of both many arboreal (ap) and non-arboreal (nap) pollen co-exist. floristic composition and climate of the study area: the belgrade forest is composed mainly of mesophytic deciduous trees associated with evergreen shrubs of macchie formation. only one taxon, out of a total of 381, belongs to gymnosperms and 380 taxa to angiosperms in the forest (yaltırık, 1966). there are 1818 species/ infraspecies belonging to 639 genera and 119 families in the wider region, a2e (kutluk and aytuğ, 2001, 2004). pure oak and some mixed oak stands with carpinus and/or fagus cover three fourths of the forested area. the second abundant tree taxon in the forest is castanea sativa. together with quercus and castanea, carpinus betulus, fagus airborne pollen flora of a deciduous mesic forest 25 orientalis, tilia tomentosa, acer campestris, a. trautvetteri and ulmus campestre appear as the most prominent arboreal taxa. the valleys of alibey and kağıthane which drain the forested area favor the growth of woody elements characteristic of humid habitats with a predominance of the species alnus glutinosa, populus tremula, salix alba and s. cinera. there are also macchie elements of the mediterranean origin mixed such as erica arborea, e. verticillata, calluna vulgaris, arbutus unedo, cistus salviifolius, c. creticus, spartium junceum, laurus nobilis, osyris alba, lavandula cariensis, pyracantha coccinea, poterium spinosum, etc. among and under the stands of arboreal taxa. pollen trap is closest to q. petraea and carpinus betulus association in the southeastern part; out of four associations defined by mayer and aksoy (1998). enlarged a2e 25 45 t u r k e y 0 km 40 30 35 40 35 georgia iran iraq black sea syriamediterranean marmara bulgaria greece 400100 200 300 belgrade forest m a r m a r a s e a location of hirst spore trap b l a c k s e a euro-siberian: 46 % mediterranean:43 % 0 1 2 3 4 5 km ýstanb ul euro-siberian: 25 % mediterranean: 69 % euro-siberian mediterranean a1e 40 sea of marmara a2e bahçeköy b l a c k s e a 42 ýzmit bay turkish thrace (phytogeography questionable) bulgaria 3026 28 irano-turanian fig. 1. location map and phytogeographical regions of the study area the study area is under the joint influence of two phytogeographical regions; the euro-siberian and the mediterranean. the tree flora of the forest has a very close resemblance to eastern europe, however, the ground flora and ruderal cover reflect a typical mediterranean origin. based on 788 taxa whose phytogeographical regions are known, among the 1818 in the wider area (a2e), kutluk and aytuğ (2001, 2004) 26 kutluk and aytuğ suggested that 53.6% of taxa belongs to the mediterranean, 42.9% to the euro-siberian and only 3.6% to the irano-turanian phytogeographical regions. further deliniation of the area into two exhibits that the euro-siberian and the mediterranean ratios become 46 and 43 percent respectively in the north, however, the mediterranean elements (69%) become dominant over the euro-siberian (25%) in the south (fig. 1). results and discussion airborne pollen composition: airborne pollen assemblage of the study area is composed of trees, shrubs, and grasses of both native and also introduced or cultivated taxa belonging to 32 orders, 54 families and 96 genera. the results revealed that a total of 641.553 pollen has been recorded during the three years’ period. distribution of the total pollen with respect to three years appeared to be uniform, i.e., pollen sum of each individual year is almost one third of the three years’ grand total. out of 641.553 pollen, 380.000 (59.2%) belongs to native, 257.180 (40.1%) to non-native plant taxa, but 4.373 (0.7%) remains unidentified. the airborne pollen assemblage is divided into three; the arboreal (ap), the non-arboreal (nap) and the cultivated and/or alien taxa. of the 380.000 pollen, 55.7% (211.713) is constituted by trees and shrubs (ap) and 44.3% (168.287) by herbs, grasses and weeds (nap). the ap, nap and non-native taxa are grouped with respect to their abundances for convenience in comparisons with the surrounding vegetation. the first and second groups are overand equally represented, whereas the third and the lower groups are under-represented. the native ap, nap and non-native taxa in descending order, are given in table 1. arboreal pollen flora (ap): various quercus species (q. dschorochensis, q. polycarpa, q. dalechampii, q. frainetto, q. cerris subsp. austriaca, q. pedunculifera, q. haas, q. infectoria) and castanea sativa predominate in the ap taxa by producing the largest amount of pollen in the airborne spectra. they are also the dominant plant taxa covering three fourths of the forested area, revealing that a significant correlation exists between the abundance of their pollen and the trees in vegetation. the members of only these two wind-pollinated genera constituted 64.9% of the ap and 36.2% of the overall native flora. the ratio of each taxon in the second abundant group ranges between 1 and 10%. the ap flora includes oleaceae (ligustrum vulgare, phillyrea sp.); erica arborea and e. verticillata; corylus avellana, alnus glutinosa, carpinus betulus; rosaceae including a variety of species belonging to the genera prunus, rubus, fragaria, geum, agrimonia, sanguisorba, poterium, rosa, sorbus, pyrus, malus, pyrancantha, crataegus and mespilus; populus tremula and ulmus campestris. the pollen of all these trees and shrubs contributed with a 32.6% to the ap and with a 18.3% to the overall flora. pollen airborne pollen flora of a deciduous mesic forest 27 28 kutluk and aytuğ of wind pollinated taxon, carpinus betulus is widely distributed in the north facing humid slopes of the north anatolian mountains in the black sea region up to the altitudes of 1200-1300 m and appeared as an equally represented taxon. the members of the oleaceae (ligustrum vulgare, phillyrea sp.) on the other hand, are over-represented though they are not common in the forest. ulmus campestris and the typical mediterranean elements whose presence indicates a milder climate, erica (erica arborea and e. verticillata) are the other main constituents of the forest. although they are entomophilous, their pollen exhibit an equal representation revealing that entomophiluous pollen may at times be airborne. the main under-storey element, corylus avellana and the members of the rosaceae whose many species having attractive flowers for bees and insects are also equally represented. pollen of wind pollinated taxa alnus glutinosa and populus tremula are represented in fairly large quantities. alnus glutinosa grows at altitudes between 0 and 1600 m in the marmara and particularly in the eastern black sea regions where the mean of the minimum temperature of the coldest month (m) is 4-7°c, the mean of the maximum temperature of the hottest month (m) is 15-22°c and the annual precipitation is above 1000 mm. populus tremula has an extensive distribution in all the forested areas of turkey growing up to 2000-2300 m. the ratio of tilia tomentosa, fagus orientalis, salix alba, s. cinera and sambucus ebulus in the third group ranges between 1 and 0.1%. the total contribution of the group to the ap is 2.3% and to the overall native flora is 1.3%. the insect pollinated tilia tomentosa, a common element of the mid-europe and the balkans flora, is known as a taxon producing lesser amount of pollen. also due to presence of a thick exine it is under-represented in the airborne assemblage. pollen of fagus orientalis is also reflected in insignificant amounts and extremely under-represented. although fagus is wind pollinated, it produces less amount of pollen having high settling velocities (aytuğ, 1969; prentice, 1985). fagus orientalis has been growing in the wet, shady, north facing slopes in the north and northeastern parts of the forest, 5-10 km away from the sampling site, the areal distribution therefore also appears a limiting factor. climax of the species is at 5001000 m altitudes in the euro-siberian region where m is 2-5°c and m is 15-20°c. entomophilous salix species (salix alba and s. cinera) are the other examples of low representation; their pollen is much lower than the other anemophilous, humid-habitat taxa of alder and poplar. willow occupies the lowermost profiles of the valleys closer to the water than the other riparian taxa; topographical constrains seem responsible for its low representation. the total contribution of the elements of the fourth group cistus salvifolius, c. creticus, hedera helix, ilex aquifolium, laurus nobilis, acer trautvetteri and a. campestris is only 0.1% to the ap flora whereas cornus mas, c. australis, lonicera etrusca, daphne pontica and clematis vitalba are recorded only sporadically and have almost no quantitative contribution to the total pollen flora. although, not frequent, their airborne pollen flora of a deciduous mesic forest 29 presence however, in the airborne spectrum provides an insight about phytogeographical characteristics of the airborne assemblage; cistus, laurus and lonicera are of the mediterranean, whereas acer, cornus and daphne are of the euro-siberian origin. many entomophilous taxa, such as ilex aquifolium, laurus nobilis, acer trautvetteri and a. campestre and lianas such as hedera helix, lonicera etrusca, clematis vitalba, etc. are all extremely under-represented. the flowers of climbers are produced within the lower canopy and hence their pollen have lesser chance to incorporate into airborne assemblage. non-arboreal pollen flora (nap): a dense and diverse herbaceous taxa including many forbs and grasses are present under the forest, however, their chance to incorporate into the airborne assemblage is less than woody taxa. the nap taxa displays the composition of the local plant communities and reflect the vegetation of immediate vicinity. the most common nap in descending order belong to poaceae, plantaginaceae, asteraceae, urticaceae, apiaceae, cannabaceae, polygonaceae and cyperaceae (table 1). all poaceae and some species of plantago constitute 60.4% and 18.3% of the nap flora respectively. the poaceae is represented by 35 species in the forest (yaltırık, 1966) and by 190 in the wider area (kutluk and aytuğ, 2004). a general assignment at familial or generic level has been commonly made for the large group poaceae in most of the aeropalynological studies; taxonomic precision at specific level however, prove that the pollen production capacity of the group varies significantly from species to species (prieto-baena et al., 2003). plantago has lesser chance to be transported long distance for having an exine of high specific gravity (harrington and metzger, 1963; flenley, 1971) and hence reflect local vegetation. the pollen of wind-pollinated marsh plants, sparganiaceae and typhaceae were not represented in the nap, although they are common in the wet and damp places of the forest. on the contrary, carex pollen appeared sporadically. an entomophilous group asteraceae, with its 204 and 28 species in the wider area and in the forest respectively, is the most diversified family; together with urtica diorica, various species of apiaceae and polygonaceae, humulus and carex they reflect an equal-representation; with the aforementioned families of the first group they reach to a percentage of 97.7 in the nap flora. fabaceae in the third group is the most diversified family of the forest represented by 38 species and is the second largest after asteraceae in the wider area with 200 species. the fourth group is the most diversified one among the total nine groups of the pollen flora, however, contributed by only 0.2% to the overall flora revealing that representation of the nap pollen is not consistent with their diversification rate in the vegetation in contrast to the ap flora. non-native pollen flora: out of 641.553 airborne pollen, 257.180 (40.1%) belongs to the plants which are not native indicating that a fairly large number of airborne pollen 30 kutluk and aytuğ have been captured from the plants of the reforestation areas and numerous parks and gardens in i̇stanbul housing a great variety of exotic, alien and horticultural taxa. of 257.180 non-native pollen, 135.981 belong to gymnosperms and 121.199 to angiosperms (table 1). pinus and cupressus produced the greatest amount of pollen. the only coniferous forest in the region, a neogene relict pinus nigra forest, is in kilyos (kayacık et al., 1981), about 60 km away from the sampling site. also some solitary native pines grow on the islands in the sea of marmara and northern part of the bay of i̇zmit, about 40 and 70 km away respectively, from the pollen trap. the source of pine pollen in the reforestation areas very close to the trap, however, some may have been transported long distance from the aforementioned areas. natural distribution of cupressus sempervirens is in the mediterranean taurus, but some scattered native cypress grow at the hillsides of the bosphorus (kayacık, 1966) and it is also widely planted in parks and gardens in i̇stanbul. one of the main aeroallergens platanus orientalis has also been planted extensively close to the pollen trap. pollen of various cultivated trees, shrubs, forbs and herbs belonging to aesculus, amaranthaceae, anacardiaceae, artemisia, buxus, crataegus, fraxinus, juglans, liquidambar, lotus, morus, onobrychis, ostrya, papaveraceae, poaceae, robinia pseudoacacia, scabiosa and syringa are present in the non-native assemblage. artemisia and scabiosa might have been derived from the a2e region outside of the forested area where they scatteredly occur. conclusion the present study reveals that the airborne assemblage is strongly influenced by the forest vegetation and the high taxonomic diversity is reflected in the pollen composition. atmospheric pollen provided a picture of vegetation of the forest and wider area (a2e) in i̇stanbul region. all of the arboreal elements of the forest are represented in the airborne assemblage, the non-arboreal elements on the contrary, is less represented than the arboreal taxa, some have not even been encountered. insect-pollinated taxa have also been recorded in the airborne assemblage indicating that entomophilous pollen may at times be airborne. pollen of the lianas and climbers whose flowers are produced below the lower canopy are represented in the assemblage, however, they are less than arboreal but more than the ground flora elements. pollen taxa are defined only at familial level in most of the researches for allergenic purposes rendering the potential value of airborne studies in comparisons with surrounding vegetation. assignment of pollen taxa at generic and particularly at specific level, even when large quantities of data is involved as herein, provides more reliable picture of vegetation which would in turn enhance implications regarding phytogeography and climate. airborne pollen flora of a deciduous mesic forest 31 acknowledgements the airborne pollen data were collected by b. aytuğ, s. aykut, n. merev and g. edis through a project of turkish scientific and research council (toag 1974). authorities of the eskişehir osmangazi university provided permission to h. kutluk to undertake data processing and conducting the research at the faculty of forestry of i̇stanbul university. anonymous reviewers improved the manuscript through their critical reading. sincere gratitudes to all are hereby expressed. references aytuğ, b. 1969. atmosfer pollen analizleri ve bu analizlerin faydaları. i̇.ü. orman fakültesi a. xix(1): 9498. aytuğ, b. 1974. pollen calender for turkey. the i̇stanbul region and other regions with identical flora of turkey. in: charpin, j. and surinyach, r. (eds.). atlas europeen des pollens allergisants, sandoz publications. 229 p. aytuğ, b., aykut, s., merev, n. and edis, g. 1974. belgrad ormanı’nın ve i̇stanbul çevresi bitkilerinin polinizasyon olayının tesbiti ve değerlendirmesi. tbtak publ., 221, toag (29), 700 p. davis, p.h., cullen, m.j.e., coode, d.f., chamberlain, d., matthews, v.a., kupicha, f.k., paris, b.s., edmondson, j.r., mill, r.r. and tan, k. 1965-1985. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vols.1-9, edinburgh university press. 6460 pp. flenley, j.r. 1971. measurements of the specific gravity of the pollen exine. pollen et spores xiii(1): 179186. harrington, j.b. and metzger, k. 1963. ragweed pollen density. amer. j. bot. 50: 532-539. kayacık, h. 1966. a study on the geographical distribution of cupressus sempervirens l. in turkey. revue de la faculte des sciences forestieres de l’universite d’i̇stanbul a. xvi(1): 39-65. kayacık, h., aytuğ, b. and şanlı, i.. 1981. la trace des periodes geologiques en thrace. revue de la faculte des sciences forestieres de l’universite d’i̇stanbul a. xxxi(1): 48-55. kutluk, h. and aytuğ, b. 2001. vegetation versus climate in i̇stanbul. plants of the balkan peninsula into the next millenium. proceedings of the 2nd balkan botanical congress. n.özhatay (ed.). i: 279-284. kutluk, h. and aytuğ, b. 2004. plants of turkey grid by grid. birlik offset and printing, eskişehir, turkey, 600 pp. mayer, h. and aksoy, h. 1998. wälder der turkei. western blacksea forestry research institute publications. bolu, 1. 291 p. molina, r.t., rodriguez, a.m., palacios, i.s. and lopez, f.g. 1996. pollen production in anemophilous trees. grana 35: 38-46. özhatay, n., byfield, a.j. and atay, s. 2003. important plant areas of turkey. the foundation for the conservation of nature publications. 88 p. prentice, c.i. 1985. pollen representation, source area, and basin size: toward a unified theory of pollen analysis. quaternary research 23: 76-86. prieto-baena, j.c., hidalgo, p.j., dominguez, e. and galan, c. 2003. pollen production in the poaceae family. grana 42: 153-160. yaltırık, f. 1966. floristic analysis of the vegetation of belgrade forest and investigations on the composition of the main stand types. turkish ministry of forestry publications 436(6): 174. (manuscript received on 8 june 2009; revised on 26 october 2009) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 25-35, 2007 (june) a taxonomic revision of the genus cleome l. (capparaceae) in bangladesh hosne ara1, bushra khan and md. manzur-ul-kadir mia bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh key words: cleome, taxonomic revision, capparaceae, bangladesh abstract the available record of the genus cleome l. for bangladesh has been updated in this paper and includes c. diffusa, c. gynandra, c. hassleriana, c. rutidosperma and c. viscosa. the updating has been done in case of nomenclature with important synonyms, local names, description of the taxa along with illustrations, flowering and fruiting times, ecological notes, specimens examined and their geographical distribution. for identification of the species, a dichotomous bracketed key has been added in this paper. information on chromosome number and economic importance have also been provided where available. introduction the genus cleome was first described by linnaeus in species plantarum, vol. 2 in 1753. the genus is represented by more than 150 species in pantropical and subtropical regions of the world (jacobs 1960). many of them in america, in the old world (c. 65 spp.), mostly in africa and the middle east. there are eight species in malaysia, of which two are cultivated and the others are native or introduced. many species have been introduced into other continents as aliens and are widely spread as weeds (jacobs 1960). there are about 15 species in india (raghavan 1993). taxonomic revision of the genus cleome l. in bangladesh has not been done. hooker and thomson (1872) mentioned 12 species of cleome l. and one species of gynandropsis, g. pentaplylla which is now treated as cleome gynandra, from british india. prain (1903) recorded only five species including the species of gynandropsis for the greater bengal of which only two fall in the territory of bangladesh. khan et al. (1978) recorded two species of cleome, viz. c. rutidosperma and c. hassleriana for bangladesh. yusuf (1989) also recorded one species of cleome, c. diffusa, for bangladesh. a literature survey including heinig (1925), kanjilal et al. (1934), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1955), khan and banu (1972), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), rashid et al. (2000), rahman (2004a, 2004b) and the study of herbarium materials of bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and dhaka university herbarium (duh) reveals that only five species have so far been reported from bangladesh, viz. cleome 1corresponding author. e-mail: bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 26 ara et al. diffusa, c. gynandra, c. hassleriana, c. rutidosperma and c. viscosa. the present paper updates the available record of the genus cleome for bangladesh and includes important synonyms, descriptions of the taxa with illustrations, flowering and fruiting times, ecological notes and geographical distribution. cleome l., sp. pl. 2: 671 (1753). polanisia dc., prod. 1: 242 (1824). gynandropsis dc., prod. 1: 237 (1824). lectotype species: c. ornithopodioides l. annual or perennial herbs, sometimes woody at base, often hairy, sometimes glandular-hairy, some thorny. stipules absent or sometimes with short spine-like (thorn). leaves alternate, long-petiolate, palmately compound; leaflets 3-9, sessile. flowers bisexual; white, yellow, pink or purple in terminal, bracteate racemes, actinomorphic or zygomorphic by displacement of petals. sepals generally 4, free or connate at base, equal, valvate, often glandular pubescent. petals usually 4, mostly clawed at base, hypogynous. androgynophore present or not. stamens 4 to numerous, usually all fertile, borne on a short or long androgynophore; filaments equal or subequal, declinate. ovary 1-celled, sessile or mostly on a short gynophore which elongates in fruit; ovules many, borne on 2 parietal placentas; style short or 0, stigma knob-shaped or flattish or discoid or capitate, subsessile. fruit a capsule, capsule siliquliform, linear, terete, striate, 2-valved, beaked, dehiscing from the base with a persistent replum. seeds numerous, glabrous or pubescent, orbicular to reniform, scalariform with conspicuous, ± sharp cross-ribs connected by numerous, much lower longitudinal ribs or verrucose. key to the species: 1 androgynophore present 2 androgynophore absent 3 2 gynophore 1-2 cm long c. gynandra gynophore 3-7 cm long c. hassleriana 3 flowers white; gynophore c. 2 mm long c. diffusa flowers yellow or pink or purplish; gynophore present or absent 4 4 flowers yellow; stamens 10-24; gynophore absent c. viscosa flowers pink or purplish; stamens 6; gynophore 1.5-8 mm long c. rutidosperma 1. cleome diffusa banks ex dc., prodr. 1: 241 (1824). eichl. in mart., fl. bras. 13: 258 (1865); yusuf, j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 15 (2): 149-151 (1989). (plate 1) english name: spreading spider flower. erect, annual bushy herb, up to 70 cm high. stem cylindric. leaves palmately compound; leaflets 3-5, subsessile, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, acute, entire, the middle one largest up to 5.7 × 2.2 cm, the lateral two medium up to 4.5 × 1.9 cm and the a taxonomic revision of the genus cleome 27 outermost two shortest up to 3 × 1.8 cm. petiole 6 cm long, subtended by two stipular spines. racemes terminal, 30 cm long. bracts ovate, acute to acuminate, base rounded. pedicel 1-1.2 cm long, pubescent. sepals 4, 3-4.5 mm long, linear-lanceolate, valvate. petals 4, 6.5 × 2.5 mm, free, white. stamens 6, the 4 anterior c. 8.5 mm long while the 2 posterior ones c. 7.5 mm long, free; anthers 1.5 mm long, linear, oblong, basifixed, dehiscence longitudinal. ovary 4.5-6.5 mm long, oblong cylindric on a gynophore c. 2 mm long; ovules many, on parietal placentae; style 0; stigma capitate. capsule up to 2.5 × 0.4 cm, elongated cylindric, apex notched, pedicel c. 1.6 cm long. seeds many, 18-24, c. 2 mm across, rugose, strophiole white, brown, prominent. flowering and fruiting: aprilaugust. a plate 1. cleome diffusa. a. habit (× 0.33); b. flower (× 1.67); c. sepal (× 5); d. petal (× 3); e. stamen (× 2.5); f. fruit (× 1); g. seed (× 5). ecology: grows in shady damp waste places. 28 ara et al. specimens examined: chittagong: chandanpura, 30 v 1978, yusuf 165 (dacb); chittagong govt. college, 18 vii 1978, s.n. (dacb). geographical distribution: brazil (type). 2. cleome gynandra l., sp. pl. 2: 671 (1753). jacobs, fl. males. 1 (6): 101 (1960); grierson & long, fl. bhut. 1 (2): 416 (1984); raghavan in balakrishnan (ed.), fl. ind. 2: 309 (1993); gynandropsis pentaphylla dc., prod. 1: 238 (1824); hook. f. & thoms., fl. brit. ind. 1: 171 (1872); prain, beng. pl. 1: 225 (1903), rep. ed. 1: 150 (1963); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 73 (1934). (plate 2) bangla names: sada hurhuria, ansarisha, arkahuli english names: spider wisp, wild spider flower. plate 2. cleome gynandra. a. habit (× 0.4); b. flower (× 1); c. fruit (× 1); d. seed (× 8). annual herb, erect, branched, 0.6-1.0 m high; all parts glandular pubescent. leaflets 5, 0.7-5 × 0.3-3 cm, obovate-oblanceolate, lowest pair smallest, middle largest, apex a taxonomic revision of the genus cleome 29 acute or obtuse, base cuneate or attenuate, margins entire or serrulate; nerves 5-9 pairs. petiole 3-8 cm long. bracts small, leaf-like, trifoliate. racemes terminal, elongated, glandular-pubescent, flowering at the tip. flowers white or tinged with purple. pedicels 1-2 cm long. sepals 4, 3-6 × 1-2 mm, free, lanceolate, glandular-pubescent, green with white veins. petals 4, 7-15 mm long in all, 1.5-4 mm broad with 3-4 mm claw, free, elliptic or spathulate with rounded tip. androgynophore 1-24 mm long. stamens 6, free; filaments purple, 1-2 cm long; anthers linear, 2-3 mm long. gynophore 1-2 cm long, extending to 3.5 cm in fruits. ovary sessile among stamens or on up to 2 cm long gynophore, oblong-cylindric, 2.5-4 × 0.5 mm, elongating after fertilization, green or purplish green, shortly glandular-pubescent; style short, 1-1.2 mm long; stigma capitate, depressed at apex, purple; ovules many, on parietal placentae. fruits capsule, linear to cylindric, 4-15 cm long, 3-5 mm wide, tapering at both ends; stipes 4-5 cm long. seeds 11.5 mm in diameter, black-brown, numerous, small, with short irregular cross-ribs and inconspicuous longitudinal ribs. flowering and fruiting: throughout the year. chromosome number: 2n = 30 (fedorov 1969). ecology: grows along roadsides, edges of rice fields and sandy river banks. specimens examined: dhaka: nilkhet-palashi, 6 x 1978, mahbuba halim 290 (dacb). gaibandha: palashbari upazila, jangalpur, 6 v 1988, mia et al. m. 1839 (dacb). kushtia: chuadanga-gokulkhali, 2 i 1976, huq et al. h. 1747 (dacb), chuadanga-kalabari, 2 i 1976, huq et al. h. 1806 (dacb). rajshahi: godagari, on the way to nawabganj, 14 xii 1972, a.m. huq 744 (dacb). geographical distribution: sri lanka to southeast and east asia, malesia, africa (type) and america. economic importance: decoction of root is given in fever. leaves are used in rheumatism by rural people in india (bakshi 1984). 3. cleome hassleriana chodat., bull. herb, boiss. 6, app. 1: 12 (1898). khan et al., j. asiatic soc. (sc.) 4 (1&2): 77-79 (1978); grierson & long, fl. bhut. 1(2): 416 (1984); raghavan in balakrishnan (ed.), fl. ind. 2: 320 (1993). (plate 3) english names: spider flower, spider plant. erect, perennial herb; stem up to 1.5 m tall. stem glandular-pubescent, rather hispidulous near the apex, occasionally spiny, longitudinally grooved. leaves 5-7 foliate, the terminal 3-5 leaflets usually larger up to 7 × 2 cm, the shorter two lateral ones up to 2.5 × 1.0 cm, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, entire, often ciliolate, glandular-pubescent, often spines on midrib beneath. petiole 6 cm long, bearing a pair of short spine-like stipules at base. racemes 30-40 cm long. bracts 10-20 × 6-12 mm, simple, ovate, acuminate to acute, pubescent. pedicel 2-5 cm long, glandular pubescent. sepals 4, 8-10 × 2 mm, linear-lanceolate, reflexed, glandular-pubescent, valvate, united at the base, green. petals 4, free, claw slender, 8-12 mm long, limb ovate, 1.2-1.8 cm, rosy30 ara et al. pink, gradually turning into white. androgynophore 3 mm long; stamens 6, equal, filaments 4.0-4.5 cm long, anthers oblong, 6-9 mm long. ovary 5-10 mm long, gynophore at first c. 3 cm, later 5-7.5 cm long; ovules many, on parietal placentae; style none; stigma capitate. capsule 4.5-9 × 0.3 cm, elongated-cylindrical, glandularpubescent, greyish at maturity. seeds many, c. 2.0 × 1.2 mm, reniform, yellow. flowering and fruiting: january-may. ecology: grows in waste places near human habitation and on the roadside, low land. h plate 3. cleome hassleriana. a. habit (× 0.4); b. flower (× 0.5); c. sepal (× 2); d. petal (× 1); e. stamen (× 0.4); f. gynophore (× 0.25); g. fruit (× 0.5); h. seed (× 6). specimens examined: chittagong: chittagong, 28 v 1978, yusuf 163 (dacb). dhaka: kaoran bazar, 2 v 1978, a.m. huq 3816 (dacb); barc compound, 22 iv 1997, hosne ara 23, 24 (dacb). kishoreganj: karimganj jungle bari village, 13 iii 1988, mia & mahfuz m. 1651 (dacb). sylhet: khadimnagar tea estate, 13 iv 1978, a taxonomic revision of the genus cleome 31 mia, huq & g. zaman m. 1401 (dacb); salutikar airport area, 8 iv 1988, mahfuz, huq, momtaz & hosne ara mz. 158 (dacb). sunamganj: chhatak, 5 i 1978, huq & rahman h. 3642 (dacb); sunamganj to dabarghat, 30 i 1979, a.m. huq 4159 (dacb); sunamganj, 30 v 1998, hosne ara 25, 26 (dacb). geographical distribution: native of tropical south america. indigenous to brazil, argentina and paraguay. economic importance: cultivated for its showy flowers as an ornamental plant in bangladesh and other tropical countries. 4. cleome rutidosperma dc., prodr, 1: 241 (1824). jacobs, fl. males. 1 (6): 104 (1960); iltis, brittonia 12: 290 (1960); back. & bakh. f., fl. java 1: 183 (1963); khan et al., j. asiatic soc. (sc.) 4 (1&2): 75-77 (1978); mukherjee in indian for. 95: 237 (1969); raghavan in balakrishnan (ed.), fl. ind. 2: 313 (1993); c. ciliata schum. & thonn., dansk. vid. selsk. afh. 4: 67 (1828). (plate 4) plate 4. cleome rutidosperma. a. habit (× 0.4); b. sepals (× 4); c. petals (× 2); d. androecium (× 2); e. gynoecium (× 1.5); f. fruit (× 0.5); g. seeds (× 6). 32 ara et al. english name: fringed spider flower. annual herb, 60 cm long with a tap root, widely branched, semi-erect to trailing; all parts with scattered, soft, whitish hairs. stem cylindrical, erect or prostrate, with pricklelike, softish appendages, up to 2 mm long. leaflets 3, middle leaflet larger, 3-5 × 1.5-2 cm, the lateral leaflets smaller, up to 2.3 × 1 cm, alternate, exstipulate, ovate-rhomboid to elliptic, entire, acuminate, base cuneate; nerves 6-8 pairs. petiole 3-3.5 cm. long, hirsute. racemes with reduced leaves. bract leaf like. flowers violet, bisexual, hypogynous; buds oblong, c. 4 mm long. pedicels filiform, 1-3 cm long. sepals 4, 4 × 1.5 mm, free, linear to linear lanceolate. petals 4, 8-11 × 2.5-3 mm, free, obovate, clawed, all on the posterior side, purplish, gradually becoming white. stamens 6, free, the 2 anterior c. 8 mm long and the 4 posterior ones c. 5 mm long, all incurved towards the posterior side; filaments 5-10 mm long; anthers 1.5-2 mm long, oblong, greyish, dehiscence longitudinal. gynophore c. 1.5-2 mm long, elongating to 8 mm in fruits. ovary linear, 5-12 mm long, slightly curved, superior, 1-locular with many ovules on two parietal plancentae; style absent; stigma sessile, capitate. capsule 4.5-6 × 0.3-0.4 cm with parallel veins, glabrous, linear, cylindrical; stipes 2.5-3 cm long. seeds many, 1.3-1.9 × 1.0-1.5 mm, deep reddish brown, with conspicuous, ± anastomosing cross-veins, glabrous ribs connected by much weaker longitudinal ribs; a whitish elaiosome present. flowering and fruiting: throughout the year. chromosome number: 2n= 20 (kumar and subramaniam 1986). ecology: grows in waste places, as wayside weed, sometimes on rocks. specimens examined: chittagong: foy's lake, 9 viii 1989, huq et al. h. 9327 (dacb); chittagong, 10 vi 1978, yusuf 169 (dacb). cox's bazar: moheshkhali, 5 iii 1978, annanda kumar poddar 76 (dacb). dhaka: mirpur, technical, 2 vi 1975, mokles s.n. (dacb); curzon hall campus, 1 vi 1977, m.a. hassan (duh). rangamati: rangamati, 1 v 1977, huq & rahman h. 3323 (dacb); near rangamati college, 25 vi 1987, a.m. huq & m.k. mia h. 8438 (dacb). rangpur: saidpur railway officer's colony, 15 x 1976, huq et al. h. 2608 (dacb). geographical distribution: native in south-east asia, southern, eastern and central africa, central america, philippines and indonesia, or native to west tropical africa (type), introduced to burma and malesia. 5. cleome viscosa l., sp. pl. 2: 672 (1753). hook. f. & thoms., fl. brit. ind. 1: 170 (1872); prain, beng. pl. 1: 225 (1903), rep. ed. 1: 149 (1963); dunn in gamble, fl. pres. madras: 41: 29 (1915); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 72 (1934); jacobs, fl. males. 1 (6): 103 (1960); grierson & long, fl. bhut. 1 (2): 416 (1984); raghavan in balakrishnan (ed.), fl. ind. 2: 318 (1993); polanisia viscosa dc., prod. 1: 242 (1824). (plate 5) bangla names: halde hurhure, hurhuria a taxonomic revision of the genus cleome 33 english names: asian spider flower, tickweed. erect, annual herb, 30-90 cm high, all parts ± densely brownish glandular pubescent and viscid throughout. leaves 3 or 5 foliolate, 1.5-4.5 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, obovate or ovate, base cuneate, apex acute or obtuse, margin entire, nerves 5-6 pairs, exstipulate. petiole 1.5-6 cm long. racemes lax, few-flowered, corymbose up to 30 cm long. bracts subsessile, leaf-like, trifoliate. flowers yellow, actinomorphic. pedicels 1-2 cm long, elongating up to 4 cm in fruits. sepals 4, 6-7 × 1-2 mm, free, lanceolate or oblong, acuminate, glabrous inside, glandular hairy outside. petals 4, subequal, free, obovate or plate 5. cleome viscosa. a. habit (× 0.4); b. flower (× 2); c. sepals (× 2); d. androecium (× 2); e. gynoecium (× 1.4); f. fruit (× 0.5); g. seed (× 7). oblanceolate to oblong-spathulate, base cuneate with up to 6 mm long claw at base, rounded at tip, 7-12 × 3-5 mm, yellow, glabrous, distinctly veined. stamens many, free, glabrous; filaments almost filiform, 3-8 mm long; anthers linear, 1-3 mm long. 34 ara et al. gynophore absent. ovary sessile, 3-10 mm long, 2-4 mm wide, oblong-cylindric or linear-oblong, beaked, glandular-pubescent; style 2-6 mm long, slender; stigma usually on a very short style, capitate. capsule 3-10 cm long, 2-4 mm wide, cylindric, striate, glandular pubescent, narrowed at the tip with distinct veins, hairy; stipes 1-3 mm long. seeds 1.3-1.8 mm in diameter, red-brown, with narrow cleft, strong cross-ribs and weak concentric ribs. flowering and fruiting: throughout the year. chromosome number: 2n = 20 (fedorov 1969). ecology: common in waste places, railway tracks, along roadsides and other open and shady places. specimens examined: bagerhat: mongla (other side of the river), 28 vi 1986, a.m. huq & m.k. mia h. 7808 (dacb). chittagong: sitakund, chandranath hill, 22 vi 1979, mia & rahman m. 88 (dacb). cox's bazar: teknaf upazila, nayapara, 8 vi 1988, mia et al. m. 1954 (dacb). comilla: salban biher, moinamati, lalmai, 8 viii 1988, mahfuz & a.m. huq mz. 225 (dacb). dhaka: mohakhali area, 19 vii 1995, hosne ara ha. 17, 18, 19 (dacb); mirpur botanic garden, 15 xii 1979, mia et al. m. 199 (dacb). dinajpur: singra, 15 i 1974, m.s. khan & a.m. huq k. 3640 (dacb). faridpur: goalando, 16 i 1981, mia et al. m. 517 (dacb). jessore: rupganj, 29 viii 1983, huq et al. h. 5980 (dacb). khulna: near newsprint mill area, 29 vi 1973, a. m. huq 1041 (duh). khagrachhari: matiranga (22 km north), 26 vi 1985, huq & mia h. 7166 (dacb). kushtia: chuadanga-gokerkhali, 2 i 1976, huq & mia h. 1755 (dacb). kishoreganj: kishoreganj, 12 iii 1968, paritosh 26 (duh); dhanchira (1½ miles off), 4 iii 1983, huq et al. h. 6486 (dacb). nilphamari: saidpur near railway officer's colony, 15 x 1976, huq et al. h. 2608 (dacb). patuakhali: ferry-ghat, 11 iii 1982, rahman & mia r. 1266 (dacb). rajshahi: rajshahi university campus, 19 xi 1988, huq et al. h. 8786 (dacb). rangamati: manikchhari, 24 vi 1987, a.m. huq & m.k. mia h. 8381 (dacb). satkhira: sonabaria, 2 v 1984, khan et al. k. 6625 (dacb). sunamganj: chhatak, 5 i 1978, huq & rahman h. 3658 (dacb). tangail: mirzapur, 27 vi 1965, k. begum 39 (duh). geographical distribution: native in the tropical and warmer parts of india, and the rest of the world. economic importance: the seeds are anthelmintic (bakshi 1984). acknowledgements the authors would like to thank the authorities and staff members of the following herbaria for allowing to use the herbarium and library facilities: british natural history museum (bm); central national herbarium (cal); bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and dhaka university herbarium (duh). mrs. mahmuda akhter, artist-cumillustrator, bangladesh national herbarium deserves thanks for helping the authors in drawing all the illustrations of the paper. a taxonomic revision of the genus cleome 35 references bakshi, d.n.g. 1984. flora of murshidabad district, west bengal, scientific publications, jodhpur, india, pp. 55. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 14. fedorov, a.a. 1969. chromosome numbers of flowering plants. academy of sciences of u.s.s.r., moscow, pp. 926. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india, pp. 84. hook. f. and thomson. 1872. capparidaceae. in: flora of british india. vol. 1: 167-180. (reprint 1973). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. jacobs, m. 1960. capparidaceae. in: flora malesiana series 1, vol. 6(1): 61-105. printed in the netherland. kanjilal, u.k., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1934. flora of assam, vol. 1 (reprint 1982). a von book company, india, pp. 386. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-2. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh 17 (2): 59-88. khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and huq, a.m. 1978. new angiospermic records for bangladesh-12, cleome rutidosperma dc. & cleome hassleriana chodat. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 4(1&2): 75-79. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m. k. and hassan, m. a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focussing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. kumar, v. and subramaniam, b. 1986. chromosome atlas of flowering plants of the indian subcontinent, vol. 1 (dicotyledons). botanical survey of india, pp. 464. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants’. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol 1. indian reprint (1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 663. raghavan, r.s. 1993. capparaceae. in: sharma, b.d. and balakrishnan, n.p. (eds.). flora of india 2. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 248-335. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakund in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants’: series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants’: series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. rashid, m.h., rahman, e. and rahman, m.a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island, cox's bazar. bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43-63. sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. bengal 9(2): 84-116. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. yusuf, m. 1989. clemoe diffusa banks ex dc. a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 15(2): 149-151. (manuscript received on 15 february 2007; revised on 15 april 2007) bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh key words: cleome, taxonomic revision, capparaceae, banglade abstract gynophore 3-7 cm long acknowledgements wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 83-91, 2007 (december) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 4. chlorococcales moniruzzaman khondker1, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, munirul alam2, r. bradley sack3, anwar huq4 and rita r. colwell3,4,5 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: chlorococcales, new records, phytoplankton, ponds abstract this study presents three species from each of schroederia, monoraphidium and ankistrodesmus, two species and one variety of dictyosphaerium, two varieties of pediastrum, and tetraedron arthrodesmiforme var. contorta, chlorotetraedron polymorphum, myrmecia aquatica, oocystis tainoensis, nephrocytium spirale, kirchneriella irregularis, coelastrum indicum and scenedesmus similagineus. these taxa have been reported from some ponds of mathbaria of pirojpur and bakerganj of barisal districts in bangladesh. introduction chlorococcales comprises a large number of species which are predominantly aquatic and found to be most common in occurrence in samples of phytoplankton. they are mostly unicellular but may form colonies of rather definite shape. all of them have a characteristic in common that they are unable to multiply via vegetative cell division. at vegetative state the multiplication is generally carried out by autospore formation (prescott 1982, huber-pestalozzi 1983). in bangladesh, islam and khatun (1966) first reported some species of chlorococcales from some polluted waters of dhaka city. later on, islam and begum (1970) performed another voluminous work on this order from dhaka district. few more research works carried out in the later period have also added to the new reports for this group (e.g., islam 1969, 1973, islam and saha 1975, islam and zaman 1975, islam and aziz 1977, 1979, 1987, islam and khair 1978, chowdhury and khair 1983, islam and begum 1987, islam and alfasane 2001, islam and irfanullah 2001) and the total number of species so far reported is about 250. in the present study, 22 taxa of chlorococales have been newly recorded for bangladesh. the taxa were encountered in the plankton samples collected from different pond ecosystems of mathbaria of pirojpur district and bakerganj of barisal district between 2004 and 2006. new reports of phytoplankton for bangladesh belonging to 1corresponding author. e-mail: khondker56@yahoo.com 2international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh. 3johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, baltimore, maryland, usa. 4centre of marine biotechnology, university of maryland biotechnology institute, baltimore, maryland, usa. 5university of maryland institute for advanced computer studies, college park, maryland, usa. 84 khondker et al. cyanophyceae, cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae, synurophyceae and the members of the order volvocales from the same study areas have been published elsewhere (khondker et al. 2006, 2007a,b). materials and methods plankton concentrates, obtained by passing and sedimenting a definite volume of sample water through plankton net and by lugol's solution in pyrex glass bottle, respectively, were used for the present systematic analyses. the sampling was carried out from 1-8 and 1-6 permanent stations of bakerganj and mathbaria, respectively, in between 2004 and 2006. details of the sampling procedure and descriptions of the sites have been published in khondker et al. (2006). taxonomic enumeration twenty-two taxa of chlorococcales belonging to eight families were identified from the pelagic plankton communities of different ponds of mathbaria and bakerganj. an illustrated account of these species is presented in this paper. for the systematic arrangement, huber-pestalozzi (1983) has been followed. division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: chlorococcales family: palmellaceae 1. chlorotetraedron polymorphum (mac entee, f.j., h.c. bold & p.a. archibald) mac entee, f.j., h.c. bold & p.a. archibald [syn.: pseudotetraedron polymorphum mac entee, f.j., h.c. bold & p.a. archibald] (figs. 1a-c) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 128, 34: 12c) cells solitary, somewhat tetrahedral or polyhedral. chloroplast single, lying in close contact with the cell wall, pyrenoid single, seldom many. cells 10-19 µm in diameter, without processes, process 4 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 4, 09.08.2004, station no. 8, 06.09.2004. 2. myrmecia aquatica g.m. smith (figs. 2a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 144, 41: 3) cells solitary, ovoid, spherical, sometimes irregularly pyriform. cell wall thin with mamillate thickening on one side. chloroplast parietal, placed little away from the mamillate margin. cells 8-10 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 1, 16.08.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 85 figs. 1-25. 1a-c. chlorotetraedron polymorphum, 2a-b. myrmecia aquatica, 3. schroederia antillarum, 4. s. planctonica, 5a-b. s. spiralis, 6. padiastrum boryanum var. brevicorne, 7. p. simplex var. sturmii, 8a-b. dictyosphaerium granulatum, 9a-b. d. pulchellum var. minutum, 10. d. tetrachotomum, 11. oocystis tainoensis, 12. nephrocytium spirale, 13a-b. monoraphidium arcuatum, 14. m. fontinale, 15. m. tortile, 16-17. ankistrodesmus bernardii, 18. a. densus, 19. a. stipitatus, 20. kirchneriella irregularis, 21. tetraedron arthrodesmiforme var. contorta, 22-24. coelastrum indicum, 25. scenedesmus similagineus. (bar = 10 µm) 86 khondker et al. family: characiaceae 3. schroederia antillarum kom. (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 251, 74: 2) cells solitary, pale green in color, elongated spindle, curved; both the cell ends straight, hyaline and sharply pointed. cells with pointed ends 25 µm long and 2 µm wide. bakerganj, station no. 8, 09.08.2004. 4. schroederia planctonica (skuja) philipose [syn.: characium planktonicum skuja] (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 250, 72: 3f) (fig. 4) cells solitary, pale green in color, spindle-shaped, central portion bulged out, tips sharply pointed, thin, elongated, both the cell ends almost straight. chloroplast with 1-2 or later on more pyrenoids. mother cells show laterally divided protoplasts probably prior to the zoospore production. cells without pointed ends 15 × 11 µm, ends 23 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 8, 29.11.2004. 5. schroederia spiralis (printz) korš. [syn.: ankistrodesmus nitzschioides var. spiralis printz.] (figs. 5a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 252, 74: 4b) cells solitary, pale green in color, spindle-shaped. both the cell ends sharply pointed and spirally bent. chloroplasts lie adjacent to the cell walls, parietal, with distinct pyrenoids. cells including spiral ends 35 µm long and 3 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 1, 30.08.2004. family: hydrodictyaceae 6. pediastrum boryanum var. brevicorne a. br. (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 296, 86: 5c) coenobia mostly compact and without perforation, (a single perforation is evident in the present specimen), 8-32-celled, cell wall lightly granulated, peripheral cells with two stubby processes, central cells nearly quadrangular. coenobia 30.6 µm in diameter; individual cells 11.4 × 10.2 µm. mathbaria, station no. 4, 04.07.2005. 7. pediastrum simplex var. sturmii (reinsch) wolle [syn.: pediastrum sturmii reinsch] (fig. 7) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 288, 84: 2b) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 87 coenobia without perforation, 16-celled, cell wall regularly granulated, each peripheral cell with a single medium-sized process, central cells nearly quadrangular. coenobia 38 µm in diameter. peripheral cells 12.7 × 5.1 µm; central cells 4.6 × 3.5 µm. mathbaria, station no. 4, 04.07.2005. family: botryococcaceae 8. dictyosphaerium granulatum hind. (figs. 8a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 354, 106: 1c) colonies 4-16-celled, seldom with more cells, surrounded by a colorless mucilage sheath. cells ovoid, broadly ovoid or spherical. chloroplast single, bowl-shaped, pyrenoid present. cell wall yellowish to brown, beset with irregularly arranged granules. colonies 37 × 32 µm; individual cells 5 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 6, 30.08.2004. 9. dictyosphaerium pulchellum var. minutum defl. (figs. 9a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 354, 105: 3) colonies 4-16-celled, cells spherical, mucilage envelope not visible, cells loosely arranged. cells 5 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 3, 11.10.2004. 10. dictyosphaerium tetrachotomum printz (fig. 10) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 355, 107: 2) colonies free swimming, mostly irregular, approximately 30 µm in diameter, no mucilage envelope. cells weakly ovoid to spherical. chloroplast single, lateral, bowlshaped, always with a pyrenoid. individual cells 3 µm in diameter. bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004. family: oocystaceae 11. oocystis tainoensis kom. (fig. 11) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 501, 20: 1) cells elliptical, ends bluntly pointed, very seldom single, mostly 2-4-16-celled colonies. polar thickenings invisible, in younger cells pyrenoid present. colonies 14 × 8 µm, individual cells 5 × 3 µm. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. 88 khondker et al. 12. nephrocytium spirale beck-mannag. (fig. 12) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 538, 157: 3) colonies 4-8-celled, elliptic to oval. cells spiral, more or less cylindrical, curved or screw-like, embedded in a colorless mucilage. colonies 12 × 10 µm, individual cells 5 µm long (under curved condition) and 1.5 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004. family: chlorellaceae 13. monoraphidium arcuatum (korš.) hind. [syn.: ankistrodesmus arcuatus korš.] (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 634, 177: 3) (figs. 13a-b) cells solitary, thin, spindle-shaped, more than 20 times longer than broad, ends gradually narrowed to a sharp point, curved like a circle. chloroplast lie adjacent to the cell wall, pyrenoid absent. cells 25-30 µm long (under curved condition), about 1.0-1.5 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 1, 24.05.2004; bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004. 14. monoraphidium fontinale hind. (fig. 14) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 632, 177: 26) cells solitary, elongated spindle, almost straight to lightly curved, ends not so sharply pointed. cell wall hyaline, smooth. chloroplast lie adjacent to the cell wall, pyrenoid absent. cells 20 µm long, about 5 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 1, 30.08.2004. 15. monoraphidium tortile (w. & g.s. west) kom.-legn. [syn.: ankistrodesmus tortilis w. & g. west] (fig. 15) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 631, 176: 2) cells solitary, elongated spindle, nearly 10 times longer than broad, straight or seldom lightly bent. cell ends gradually tapered to a pointed tip. chloroplast lies adjacent to the cell wall. pyrenoid absent. cells 21 µm long, about 2 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 1, 16.08.2004. 16. ankistrodesmus bernardii kom. (figs. 16-17) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 687, 193: 3a,d) colonial, cells in the colony form bundle, 2-8-many cells bound together in a single colony. cells very narrow, elongated, thin, ends pointed. many-celled colony 40.6 µm in diameter, individual cell 30.0 µm long and 0.8 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004, 30.08.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 89 17. ankistrodesmus densus korš. (fig. 18) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 687, 193: 2c) colonial, cells in the colony joined end to end and alternately to form an elongated filamentous structure. colorless thin mucilage may be present. colonies 101.6 µm long and 5 µm broad. individual cells 38 µm long and 2.5 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 8, 11.07.2005. 18. ankistrodesmus stipitatus (chod.) kom.-legn. [syn.: raphidium fasciculatus status stipitatus chod.] (fig. 19) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 684, 191: 2b) solitary or in 2-4-8-celled colonies. cells elongated, straight, very thin, sharply pointed at both ends, light green. individual cell 40.0 µm long and 1.5 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. 19. kirchnerella irregularis (g.m. smith) korš. [syn.: kirschneriella lunaris var. irregularis g.m. smith] (fig. 20) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 668, 186: 4a) colonial, 4-16-(32)-celled, seldom solitary. cells in the colony are arranged in a group of 4. individual cells bent in a half-circle fashion, spindle-shaped, at the end gradually tapered, somewhat pointed or having a blunt end. chloroplast lies adjacent to the cell wall. a single pyrenoid may be present. colonies 25.6 µm long and 12.9 µm broad; individual cells 5 µm long and 1.5-2.0 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 1, 15.06.2004. 20. tetraedron arthrodesmiforme var. contorta woloszyńska (fig. 21) (prescott 1982, 263, 59: 9-10; yamagishi and hashizume 1989, 79, 5:18o) cells solitary, 4-angled, angle smooth, tipped with spine, spine single, angles in one plane. cells deeply constricted on both sides, each of the 4 lobes tipped with a spine. cells quadrate in outline, isthmus is bordered by a widely open sinus, 40 µm wide (including spines) and 14 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 6, 30.08.2004. family: coelastraceae 21. coelastrum indicum turn. (figs. 22-24) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 737, 205: 5) 90 khondker et al. colonies spherical, free-living, (8)-16-32-(64)-celled. cells spherical with angled undulated margin, triangular holes present in the colony. chloroplast single, lies adjacent to the cell wall. colonies 34-40 µm in diameter; individual cells 4-6 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 6, 30.08.2004, 09.11.2004. family: scenedesmaceae 22. scenedesmus similagineus hortob. (fig. 25) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 856, 231: 5) coenobia 2-4-(8)-celled, linear, sometimes lightly bent. individual cells elongated ovoid to spindle shaped, poles rounded, with small papillae like dents. cell wall smooth. coenobium (2-celled) 9 × 9 µm; individual cells 9 µm long and 4 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 1, 15.06.2004. acknowledgements the research, as an integral part of the major multidisciplinary project entitled ‘epidemiology and ecology of vibrio cholerae in bangladesh’, was financed by the national institute of health (nih) research grant # 1ro1a13912901 under the collaborative agreement between the international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh (icddr,b) and johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health. the authors gratefully acknowledge the nih ecological surveillance team at icddr,b for kindly supporting this research. the suggestions made by an anonymous reviewer were very helpful. references chowdhury, s.c. and khair, a. 1983. the phytoplankton members of kaptai lake, chittagong hill-tracts. iii. chlorophyceae. chittagong univ. stud. pt. ii. 7(2): 125-131. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1983. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 7. teil: chlorophyceae (grünalgen), ordnung: chlorococcales. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 1-1044. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1969. a preliminary report on the phytoplankton and other algae of chittagong hilltracts. j. asiatic soc. pak. 14(3): 343-363. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1973. freshwater algae of bangladesh. i. chlorophyceae, xanthophyceae and chrysophyceae. dacca univ. stud. b. 21(1): 69-84. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2001. new records of some freshwater planktonic algae for bangladesh: species of treubaria, goniochloris, tetraedriella and tetraplektron. bangladesh j. bot. 30(1): 131-134. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1977. studies on the phytoplankton of the karnaphuli river estuary. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 1(2): 141-154. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 91 islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1979. algal flora of moheshkhali island, bangladesh. dacca univ. stud. b. 27(2): 105-122. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1987. new record of algae from bangladesh. ii. genus radiococcus schmidle (chlorophyta). bangladesh j. bot. 16(1): 103-106. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.n.t. 1970. studies on the phytoplankton of dacca district. j. asiatic soc. pak. 15(3): 227-271, pls. 1-8. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.n.t. 1987. new records of algae from bangladesh. iii. genus pseudobohlinia (chlorococcales). bangladesh j. bot. 16(1): 103-106. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2001. some new records of algae for bangladesh: cyanarcus, chloremys, myrmecia, selenodictyum, tetraplektron and pseudostaurastrum. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 1-7. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khair, a. 1978. report of some phytoplankton from lake kaptai, chittagong hilltracts. dacca univ. stud. b. 26(2): 53-61. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 94-109. islam, a.k.m. nurul and saha, j.k. 1975. limnological studies of the ramna lake at dacca. dacca univ. stud. b. 23(2): 39-46. islam, a.k.m. nurul and zaman, k.m. 1975. limnological studies of the river buriganga. iii. biological aspect. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 1(1): 45-65. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2006. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 1. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 173-179. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 2. cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53-59. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 3. order: volvocales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 1-12. prescott, g.w. 1982 (reprinted). algae of the western great lakes area. otto koeltz sci. publ., wgermany, pp. 1-977. yamagishi, t. and hashizume, s. 1989. morphological variability on some freshwater algae. nihon univ. fac. agri. j. bot. 25: 73-84. (manuscript received on 5 august 2007; revised on 5 september 2007) moniruzzaman khondker1, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, munirul alam2, r. bradley sack3, anwar huq4 and rita r. colw abstract introduction cyanophyceae, cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae, synurophyceae an materials and methods taxonomic enumeration division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: chloroco family: palmellaceae family: characiaceae family: hydrodictyaceae family: botryococcaceae family: oocystaceae family: chlorellaceae family: coelastraceae family: scenedesmaceae acknowledgements references microsoft word 08. epiphytic.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 163-167, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists epiphytic bryophytes on thuja orientalis in nagaland, north-eastern india pooja bansal, virendra nath* and s.k. chaturvedi1 bryology laboratory, national botanical research institute, lucknow 226 001, india keywords: epiphytic bryophytes; thuja orientalis; nagaland; india. abstract a survey of bryophyte diversity in district mokokchung (nagaland) has brought to light an unexpectedly rich bryophyte flora, including several interesting species to nagaland. the tree species thuja orientalis linn. growing in nagaland, luxuriantly covered by epiphytic bryophytes with wide range of diversity. the samplings were made from tree base up to canopy as well as abaxial and adaxial side of the tree. investigation has revealed twelve species of mosses represented to eight families belonging to the genus brachymenium schwaegr., plagiothecium b.s.g., entodontopsis broth., entodon c. muell., erythrodontium hamp., fabronia raddi, regmatodon brid., floribundaria fleisch. and hyophila brid., four species of hepatics belonging to two families and two genera frullania raddi and lejeunea libert compose the corticolous bryophyte vegetation of thuja orientalis in some of the localities of nagaland, north-east region of india. the richness and diversity of bryophytes on thuja tree bark have been assessed for the first time. introduction thuja orientalis linn. is a distinct species of densely branched evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family cuprassaceae and is widely distributed in china, korea, japan, iran and india. the trees are conical shaped, slow growing, 5-8 m tall and 3 m wide. thuja orientalis is widely used as an ornamental tree in homeland, where it is associated with long life and vitality, as well as elsewhere in temperate climates. although this coniferous tree has been subjected to different kinds of researches, no critical study of their epiphytic bryophytes has been carried out till date. in addition, study of the epiphytic bryophytes may provide interesting information about the environments of the study area because these are often valuable environmental indicators as well (barkman, 1958; smith, 1982; bates et al., 2004; medina et al., 2010). the vegetation of nagaland has been summarized by various workers (robinson, 1841; masters, 1848; clarke, 1889; kanjilal et al., 1934-40; bor, 1942; panigrahi, 1960; hynniewta, 1986; jamir and rao, 1988; singh and sinha, 1994). it varies according to altitudinal gradient and ranges from tropicalevergreen to temperate-evergreen to coniferous. exploration of bryophytes in nagaland was started by gangulee (1969-1980), who worked on the mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions and reported 77 species of mosses belonging to 55 genera from different parts of naga hills, though the exact localities of these taxa are not yet confirmed. later udar and asthana (1985) *corresponding author. e-mail: drvirendranath2001@rediffmail.com 1department of botany, nagaland university, lumami, mokokchung 798 601, nagaland, india. 164 bansal et al. studied hornworts and reported a new species anthoceros pandei a hornwort from mao area of nagaland, but no attention was paid towards the hepatic flora of this state. three species of hepatic genus frullania viz. f. wallichiana mitt., f. ericoides nees. and f. muscicola steph. (nath et al., 2010) and three species of moss genus brachymenium viz. b. bryoides hook. ex schwaegr., b. capitulatum (mitt.) kindb. and b. longicolle ther. (bansal et al., 2010) were reported for the first time from mokokchung and kohima districts of nagaland. the tree species thuja orientalis growing in nagaland, ornamentally in a number of residential campuses covered with epiphytic bryophytes. recently, an attempt has been made to study bryophytes growing epiphytically in nagaland. materials and methods field survey of bryophytes growing epiphytically on tree trunk and branches of thuja orientalis in mokokchung district of nagaland was carried out in the month of august 2008. the samplings were made from tree base up to canopy as well as abaxial and adaxial side of the tree for study. results and discussion thirty two specimens belonging to sixteen species and out of these twelve species of mosses belonging to the genera brachymenium schwaegr., plagiothecium b.s.g., entodontopsis broth., entodon c. muell., erythrodontium hamp., fabronia raddi, regmatodon brid., floribundaria fleisch. and hyophila brid. (assignable to 8 families) and four species of liverworts belonging to the genera frullania raddi and lejeunea libert (assignable to 2 families) constitute the corticolous bryophyte vegetation of thuja orientalis in mokokchung district of nagaland, northeastern india provide first hand information of epiphytic bryophytes on thuja tree. in nagaland epiphytic bryophyte communities of mosses appear more frequently and more dominant than liverworts (plate 1). entodontopsis leucostega (brid.) buck & ireland (stereophyllaceae), fabronia secunda mont., f. schensiana c. muell. (fabroniaceae), brachymenium capitulatum (mitt.) kindb., b. longicolle ther. (bryaceae) are very common epiphytic bryophytes in nagaland, whereas hyophila nymaniana (fleisch.) menzel (pottiaceae), plagiothecium cavifolium (brid.) iwats. (plagiotheciaceae) in the upper trunk, regmatodon orthostegius mont. (regmatodontaceae), frullania ericoides nees. and f. wallichiana mitt. (frullaniaceae) in the lower trunk, erythrodontium julaceum (schwaegr.) par. (entodontaceae) in the middle trunk and plagiothecium neckeroideum var. sikkimense ren. et card. (plagiotheciaceae), floribundaria floribunda (doz. et molk.) fleisch. (meteoriaceae) in the basal zone, are less confined and show less abundance in comparison to genera belonging to family stereophyllaceae, fabroniaceae and bryaceae (table 1). in case of liverworts both the species of genus frullania viz. f. ericoides nees. and f. wallichiana mitt. (frullaniaceae) are confined to lower trunk only and the plants of lejeunea curviloba steph. (lejeuneaceae) are present as epiphytes on the branches only, on the other hand, plants of lejeunea cavifolia (ehrh.) lindb. are present on the middle as well as basal zone of trunk. epiphytic bryophytes on thuja orientalis 165 plate 1 figs 1-16. 1: entodon scariosus ren. et card., 2: entodontopsis leucostega (brid.) buck & ireland., 3: lejeunea cavifolia (ehrh.) lindb., 4: fabronia secunda mont., 5: erythrodontium julaceum (schwaegr.) par., 6: plagiothecium neckeroideum var. sikkimense ren. et card., 7: lejeunea curviloba steph., 8: frullania wallichiana mitt., 9: f. ericoides nees., 10: brachymenium capitulatum (mitt.) kindb., 11: b. longicolle ther., 12: plagiothecium cavifolium (brid.) iwats., 13: fabronia schensiana c. muell., 14: regmatodon orthostegius mont., 15: floribundaria floribunda (doz. et molk.) fleisch., 16: hyophila nymaniana (fleisch.) menzel. 166 bansal et al. epiphytic bryophytes on thuja orientalis 167 acknowledgements thanks are due to the director, national botanical research institute, lucknow, india for providing facilities and to the council of scientific and industrial research (csir), new delhi for award of csir emeritus scientist scheme to vn and senior research fellowship to pb. references barkman, j.j. 1958. phytosociology and ecology of cryptogamic epiphytes. van gorcum, assen, netherlands, pp. 628. bansal, p., nath, v. and chaturvedi, s.k. 2010. morphotaxonomic study on the genus brachymenium schwaegr. from nagaland (north-eastern hills), india. phytomorphology 60(3&4): 150-155. bates, j.w., roy, d.b. and preston, c.d. 2004. occurrence of epiphytic bryophytes in a ‘tetrad’ transect across southern britain. 2. analysis and modelling of epiphyte-environment relationships. j. bryol. 26: 181-197. bor, n.l. 1942. some remarks on the geology and flora of the naga and khasi hills. 150th anniversary volume of royal botanical garden, calcutta. pp. 129-195. clarke, c.b. 1889. some new plants of kohima and munneypore. j. linn. soc. lond. bot. 25: 1-105. gangulee, h.c. 1969-1980. mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions, vol. i-iii. books and allied (p) ltd., kolkata, india. hynniewta, t.m. 1986. orchidaceae of nagaland (a detailed knowledge of the orchid flora). ph.d. thesis. gauhati university, gauhati, india. jamir, n.s. and rao, r.r. 1988. the ferns of nagaland. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india. pp. 23-27. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., das, a., de, r.n. and bor, n.l. 1934-1940. flora of assam. vols. 1-4, government press, shillong. masters, j.w. 1848. extract from a memoir of some natural productions of the angami naga hills and other parts of upper assam. j. asiat. soc. bengal 17(1): 57-59. medina, r., lara, f., albertos, b., draper, i., garilleti, r. and mazimpaka, v. 2010. epiphytic bryophytes in harsh environments: the juniperus thurifera forests. j. bryol. 32: 23-31. nath v., chaturvedi, s.k. and bansal, p. 2010. studies on the genus frullania raddi of nagaland. in: gupta, r.c. (ed.), nagaland university research communication, cambridge university press india pvt. ltd., new delhi. pp. 171-178. panigrahi, g. 1960. pteridophytes of eastern india i. enumeration of the species collected and their nomenclature. bull. bot. surv. ind. 2: 309-314. robinson, w. 1841. a descriptive account of assam. london. singh, k.p. and sinha, g.p. 1994. lichen flora of nagaland. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india. pp. 10-23. smith, a.j.e. 1982. epiphytes and epiliths. in: bryophyte ecology. london, chapman and hall, pp. 191-227. udar, r. and asthana, a.k. 1985. a new anthoceros from nagaland. j. ind. bot. soc. 64: 303-305. (manuscript received on 25 april, 2011; revised on 24 november, 2011) microsoft word 03. 29-08.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 21-28, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of agropyron gaertner in turkey hülya özler1, evren cabi2, ebru us3, musa doğan and sevil pehlivan3 department of biology, faculty of science, middle east technical university, ankara, turkey. keywords: agropyron; pollen morphology; sem; turkey. abstract pollen morphology of agropyron cristatum (l.) gaertner. s.s. (subsp. incanum (nábĕlek) melderis and subsp. pectinatum (m. bieb.) tzvelev, latter including var. pectinatum and var. imbricatum (roemer & schultes) g. beck) in turkey has been studied by using light microscope and scanning electron microscope. the above-mentioned taxa are homogenous in both aperture type and exine ornamentation. pollen grains are monoporate (rarely diporate in the case of var. imbricatum) having scabrate grouped exine surface. the scabra density and the height of scabrae as well as other morphological parameters such as annulus and operculum diameter are peculiar features for differentiation of taxa. two different phenograms were created with the upgma (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) clustering technique using quantitative measurements of the pollen grains. introduction the taxonomy of agropyron gaertner (poaceae) was studied in different ways by various researchers. in a broad sense, it was once thought to be one of the largest genera encompassing more than 100 species in the tribe triticeae dumort (dewey, 1983). nevski (1934) treated agropyron as a small genus consisting only of the species with keeled glumes. the remaining taxa were placed in elytrigia desv, roegneria c. koch and elymus l. agropyon has been restricted to the species with p genome composed of three ploidy levels (2x = 14, 4x = 28, 6x = 42) (dewey and asay, 1975; melderis, 1978; dewey, 1983; assadi, 1995; jensen et al., 2006). this narrow concept of agropyron has been accepted by many authorities. the major eurasian floras have followed the generic concept of nevski (tzvelev, 1976; melderis et al., 1980; melderis, 1985). much confusion prevailed regarding the number of species included in this genus. dewey and pendse (1967) considered all the crested wheatgrasses, regardless of ploidy level, as a single breeding population. tzvelev (1976) recognized 10 species in agropyron and nine subspecies in agropyron cristatum (l.) gaertner. agropyron cristatum is represented by two subspecies in turkey, namely subsp. incanum (nábĕlek) melderis distributed in east anatolia and subsp. pectinatum (m. bieb.) tzvelev distributed throughout turkey. morphologically, subsp. incanum is 1 the ministry of environment and forest, forest tree seeds and tree breeding research directorate, p.o. box 11, 06560 gazi, ankara, turkey. 2 corresponding author. e-mail: ecabi@metu.edu.tr, ecabi2004@yahoo.com 3 department of biology, faculty of science, gazi university, ankara, turkey. 22 özler et al. distinctly different by having spikes with closely pressed together spikelets and densely pilose lemmas contrary to subsp. pectinatum. subspecies pectinatum includes two varieties viz. var. imbricatum (roemer & schultes) g. beck which has pilose spikelets and var. pectinatum with glabrous spikelets (melderis, 1985). there have been some studies regarding pollen morphology of members of tribe triticeae, especially the economically important genera such as triticum l., secale l., and hordeum l. (faegri and iversen, 1975; köhler and lange, 1979; kruse, 1980; panajiotidis et al., 2000; kalinowski et al., 2005), but rarely on taxa of agropyron (smith, 2000). the aim of this paper is to describe the palynological features of three taxa of the genus agropyron available in turkey and also to contribute to their taxonomy showing some differences between them regarding their exine sculptures. materials and methods pollen samples from each of the three studied taxa were obtained from herbarium specimens listed in table 1. the identifications of the specimens were made according to the agropyron accounts given in flora of turkey (melderis, 1985). for the light microscope study, the pollen grains were prepared following the wodehouse (1935) and erdtman (1952) methods. morphological features of 30 pollen grains were measured using leica dm 1000 and their microphotographs were taken by the leica dfc280 camera attachment. the measurements included the following parameters: long axis of spheroidal pollen grains (a), short axis of spheroidal pollen grains (b), long axis of ellipsoidal pore, short axis of ellipsoidal pore, exine thickness, annulus diameter, a/b ratio indicating shape of a spheroidal pollen grain, operculum diameter, thickest part of intine, and intine thickness. table 1. investigated taxa with their site of collections. # coll. no. taxon locality altitude 1 e. cabi 2545 agropyron cristatum (l.) gaertner subsp. incanum (nábĕlek) melderis a8 erzurum: aşkale to bayburt, kop mount, kop pass, calcerous slopes (40°01'38"n, 40°31'20"e) 2401 m 2 e. cabi 2258 agropyron cristatum subsp. pectinatum (m. bieb.) tzvelev var. imbricatum (roemer & schultes) g. beck a9 kars: kuyucak village, kuyucak lake environments, dry pastures (40°43'41"n, 43°25'30"e) 1642 m 3 e. cabi 2244 agropyron cristatum subsp. pectinatum var. pectinatum b6 sivas: sivas cumhuriyet university campus, roadside and under forest (39°42'28"n, 37°01'10"e) 1275 m using the average values of pollen measurements, phenograms of the investigated taxa were produced for fresh (w, wodehouse) and acetolysed (e, erdtman) pollen grains pollen morphology of agropyron 23 based on the gower general similarity coefficient. gower’s (1971) coefficient was chosen to generate a distance matrix. this distance matrix was used for cluster analysis with the help of upgma algorithm (sneath and sokal, 1973). correlation values were obtained using spss version 11.0 (spss, 1999). for scanning electron microscope (sem) studies, pollen grains were put on stubs, sputter coated with gold and examined under jeol jsm-6060lv sem at the central laboratory of middle east technical university. the terminologies for pollen morphology were used in accordance with wodehouse (1935), faegri and iversen (1989), and chaturvedi et al. (1998). results and discussion the means and standard deviations of the measured pollen parameters of taxa are given in table 2. all investigated taxa had heteropolar, monoporate (rarely diporate in the case of var. imbricatum) and spheroidal pollen grains. the pore was surrounded by an annulus and it was partly covered by an operculum. pollen grains of gramineae were classified as annulate or nonannulate and operculate or nonoperculate by perveen (2000, 2006), chaturvedi et al. (1998) and salgado-labouriau and rinaldi (1990). they also rarely observed diporate pollen grains. in this study, we observed that all taxa were annulate and operculate (figs 1-3). the exine ornamentation types in gramineae were defined as insular, granulose, spinulose, verrucose, brevicerebro ornate (chaturvedi et al., 1994, 1998; liu et al., 2004). erdtman (1969), moore and webb (1978) and moore et al. (1991) used the term scabrate for exine sculpture covered with small (<1 µm) elements, equivalent to granulate exine ornamentations. according to our sem investigations, exine sculpture is scabrate in all examined taxa (figs 1-3). köhler and lange (1979) proposed that the number of spinules may be used for identification. in present study, we found that the investigated taxa could be differentiated based on exine parameters such as the number and height of scabrae and the distance between the scabrae. in all investigated taxa, 2 to 4 scabrae were observed in each group. the distance between scabrae was greater in agropyron cristatum subsp. incanum than other two taxa. based on scabra number and height, var. pectinatum can be differentiated from other two taxa (figs 1-3). scabrae density was 19-20 no./µm2 in subsp. pectinatum var. pectinatum, 8-9 no./µm2 in subsp. pectinatum var. imbricatum, and 5-7 no./µm2 in subsp. incanum. the highest scabra was 0.29 µm in subsp. pectinatum var. pectinatum, 0.18 µm in subsp. pectinatum var. imbricatum, and 0.17 µm in subsp. incanum. the scabrae were wider in subsp. incanum (0.32 µm) than in subsp. pectinatum var. imbricatum (0.26 µm) and in var. pectinatum (0.21 µm). exine was thicker in subsp. pectinatum var. imbricatum and subsp. incanum than subsp. pectinatum var. pectinatum (table 2). typical measurements for exine thickness 24 özler et al. pollen morphology of agropyron 25 of gramineae are (0.5-)0.85-1.10(-1.53) µm (w) and 1.02-1.61 µm (e) (erdtman, 1943; lewis et al., 1983; salgado-labourian and rinaldi, 1990; liu et al., 2004; pehlivan et al., 2004). figs 1-3. 1. agropyron cristatum subsp. pectinatum var. pectinatum. a. slightly oblique polar view with distinct annulus; b. aperture view with operculum; c. scabrate grouped exine surface. 2. a. cristatum subsp. pectinatum var. imbricatum. a. pollen grain in equatorial view; b. aperture view with distinct annulus; c. scabrate with grouped exine surface. 3. a. cristatum subsp. incanum. a. pollen grain in equatorial view; b. aperture view with distinct annulus; c. scabrate with grouped exine surface. liu et al. (2004) found a positive correlation between pollen and aperture size and between aperture and annulus diameter. in our study, both acetolysed (e) and fresh pollen (w) measurements also showed that there are strong positive correlations between the long axis of pollen grain and pore, and short axis of pollen grain and pore (table 3). 26 özler et al. table 3. correlation coefficient for different pollen morphological parameters at p < 0.001. wodehouse (w) erdtman (e) pb a b pb a b pa 0.999 0.365 0.989 0.901 pb 0.687 0.875 a 0.946 0.946 w: non-acetolysed pollen grains, e: acetolysed pollen grains, a: long axis of spheroidal pollen grains, b: short axis of spheroidal pollen grains, pa: long axis of ellipsoidal pore, pb: short axis of ellipsoidal pore. differences between measurements of fresh and acetolysed pollen grains resulted in the formation of different clusters. although the two subspecies differentiated distinctively and the varieties of subsp. pectinatum formed a tight cluster with respect to their quantitative pollen data obtained from fresh pollen grains, var. pectinatum formed a different cluster due to their acetolysed pollen grains (fig. 4). the phenogram obtained from measurements of fresh pollen grains is much more suitable for separating the taxa regarding their morphological pollen features in the genus agropyron. although acetolysed pollen grains give excellent topographic information, but due to the very process of acetolysis they get modified, thus do not represent actual size. fig. 4. upgma phenograms of the investigated taxa based on gower general similarity coefficient. the results indicate that the genus agropyron has stenopalynous pollen grains, thus the value of pollen characters for taxonomic applications is limited. faegri and iversen (1975), andersen (1978), and perveen (2006) also indicated similar uniformity in pollen grains of poaceae. the application of cluster analysis showed the possibility of using quantitative data based on fresh pollen grains for differentiating the taxa. the density of scabrae and the distance between the scabrae can be used as the most functional differentiating characters. pollen morphology of agropyron 27 acknowledgements the authors would like to thank to central laboratory personnel of middle east technical university for their assistance in coating the pollen samples and taking their photographs during the sem studies and to the scientific and technical research council of turkey (tubitak-tbag-105 t 171) for their financial assistance. the authors would like to thank mr. umut toprak for his valuable efforts to edit the manuscript. references andersen, s.th. 1978. identification of wild grass and cereal pollen.-danm. geol. unders., arborg, pp. 69-92. assadi, m. 1995. meiotic configuration and chromosome number in some iranian species of elymus. botanical journal of the linnean society 117:159-168. chaturvedi, m., datta, k. and nair, p.k.k. 1998. pollen morphology of oryza, poaceae. grana 37: 79-86. chaturvedi, m., yunus, d. and data, k. 1994. pollen morphology of sorghum moench-sections eu-sorghum and para-sorghum. grana 33: 117-123. dewey, d.r. 1983. historical and current taxonomic perspectives of agropyron, elymus and related genera. crop sci. 23: 637-642. dewey, d.r. and asay, k.h. 1975. the crested wheatgrasses of iran. crop sci. 15: 844-849. dewey, d.r. and pendse, p.c. 1967. cytogenetics of crested wheatgrass triploids. crop sci. 7: 345-349. erdtman, g. 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(eds) 1989. textbook of pollen analysis. john wiley and sons, new york, pp. 1328. gower, j.c. 1971. a general coefficient of similarity and some of its properties. biometrics 27: 857-871. jensen, k.b., larson, s.r., waldron, b.l. and asay, k.h. 2006. cytogenetic and molecular characterization of hybrids between 6x, 4x, and 2x ploidy levels in crested wheatgrass. crop sci. 46: 105-112. kalinowski, a., klimko, m. and wojciechowska, b. 2005. pollen morphology and two-dimensional patterns of pollen coat and protoplast proteins in aegilops kotchyi x secale cereale amphiploids. acta biologica cracoviensia series botanica 47: 97-110. köhler, e. and lange, e. 1979. a contribution to distinguishing cereal from wild grass pollen grains by lm and sem. grana 18: 133-140. kruse, j. 1980. skulpturuntersuchungen an pollen der gattungen triticum l. and aegilops l. kulturpflanze 28: 341-359. lewis, w., vinay, h.p. and zenger, v.e. (eds) 1983. airborne and allergenic pollen of north america. the john hopkins university press, pp. 1-254. 28 özler et al. liu, q., zhao, n.x. and hao, g. 2004. pollen morphology of the chloriodoideae (gramineae). grana 43: 238-248. melderis, a. 1978. taxonomic notes on the tribe triticeae (gramineae) with special reference to the genera elymus l. s.l., and agropyron gaertner s.l. bot. j. linnean soc. 76: 369-384. melderis, a. 1985. agropyron (gaertner). in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 9. university press, edinburgh, scotland, pp. 204-206. melderis, a., humpries, c.j., tutin, t.g. and heathcote, s.a. 1980. tribe triticeae dumort. in: tutin, t.g., heywood, v.h., burges, n.a., moore, d.m., valentine, d.h., walters, s.m. and webb, d.a. (eds), flora europaea. vol. 5. cambridge university press, cambridge, england, pp. 190-200. moore, p.d. and webb, j.a. 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(ed.), flora of the u.s.s.r. the botanical institute of the academy of sciences of the ussr, leningrad, ussr, pp. 590-722. panajiotidis, s., athanasiadis, n., symenonidis, l. and karataglis, s. 2000. pollen morphology in relation to the taxonomy and phylogeny of some native greek aegilops species. grana 39: 126-132. pehlivan, s., bayrak, f. and ozler, h. 2004. comparison of pollen morphology and total proteins in some species of poaceae from turkey. bangladesh j. bot. 33: 109-114. perveen, a. 2000. pollen characters and their evolutionary significance with special reference to the flora of karachi. turk. j. biol. 24: 365-378. perveen, a. 2006. a contribution of the pollen morphology of family gramineae. world applied sciences journal 2: 60-65. salgado-labouriau, m.l. and rinaldi, m. 1990. palynology of gramineae of the venezuelan mountains. grana 29: 119-128. smith, e.g. 2000. sampling and identifying allergenic pollens and molds. blewstone press, san antonio, pp. 97-105. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r. 1973. numerical taxonomy. freeman, san franciscoi, pp.1-513. spss 1999. spss base 10.0 for windows user’s guide. spss inc., chicago. tzelev, n.n. 1976. poaceae urss. tribe 3. triticeae dum. genus 17. agropyron, pp. 143-150. ussr academy of science press, leningrad. wodehouse, r.p. 1935. pollen grains. hafner, new york, pp. 1-435. (manuscript received on 7 august 2008; revised on 22 march 2009) microsoft word 03. dr. zashim satchari.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 117-140, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiosperm flora of satchari national park, habiganj, bangladesh md. kamrul arefin, md. mizanur rahman, mohammad zashim uddin1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: checklist; angiosperms; satchari national park. abstract an inventory of angiosperm flora of satchari national park, located in habiganj district, is prepared on the basis of collected materials and observation made from november 2008 to december 2009. from the study site, 245 angiosperm species including cultivated and planted in 183 genera under 72 families are documented. of 245 species recorded here, 86 species are represented by herbs, 46 by shrubs, 73 by trees, 37 by climbers and 3 by epiphytes. the survey has also confirmed the occurrence of seven threatened angiosperm species, one tree fern and one gynosperm in the park area. for each species scientific name, local name (wherever available), family, habit and habitat are provided with citation of specimens. introduction satchari national park, a segment of the raghunandan hill reserve forest under chunarughat upazila of habiganj district, located between 24˚5' to 24˚10' n latitude and 91˚25' to 91˚30' e longitude, is about 130 km northeast of dhaka, and about 60 km southwest of srimangol. it was declared as national park in 2005 with an area of 242.91 ha. it is the newest among the 17 declared protected areas of bangladesh (mukul et al., 2006) and developed by the forest department as part of a co-managed eco-tourism project under its nishorgo initiative. the semievergreen forest of satchari national park forms a part of transition zone between the indian subcontinent and the indo-chinese ecological region (sharma, 2006). the vegetation of the park area comprises a patch of 120 ha of natural forest and remaining area covered by a short rotation plantation of eucalyptus sp. and acacia sp. and as well as long term plantation of oil palms. the topography of the park shows undulating with slopes and hillocks, locally called tila, ranging from 10-50 m height and running from south to north and these are composed of upper tertiary rocks in which sand stones are largely predominant (rizvi, 1970). the soils of the park area are characteristically sandy loams, and accumulation of humus on the top soil is very low due to rapid decomposition of debris under moist warm tropical condition (rizvi, 1970). soils are more acidic than in adjoining ecological zones (mukul et al., 2006). the area enjoys a moist tropical climate characterized by a period of high precipitation from may to october and six months between november and april are relatively dry. 1corresponding author. e-mail: zashim07@yahoo.com 118 arefin et al. a number of studies on the angiosperm flora of different protected areas of bangladesh have already been reported (khan et al., 1994; rahman and hassan, 1995; uddin and rahman, 1999; khan and huq, 2001; uddin et al., 2002, 2003; tutul et al., 2009, 2010; rahman et al., 2010; uddin and hassan, 2004, 2010). a few publications on the satchari reserve forest and the park area are available, such as, chowdhury et al. (2004), mukul et. al. (2006), uddin and mukul (2007) and sultana (2007). however, most of those publications did not cover the checklist of angiosperm flora of the satchari national park. it is assumed that the park supports a large number of native angiosperm species. conservation significance of such species is very high. currently angiosperm flora of the park area is under threat due to various pressure including anthropogenic activities. for making proper management plan of the park, data on the angiosperm species are essential. in order to provide such information, the present study an attempt has been made to prepare an inventory of angiosperm flora of satchari national park. materials and methods floristic survey was carried out in the satchari national park at 3-months intervals between november 2008 and december 2009. the survey covered all habitats including hilltops, slopes, foothills, valeys and wet areas of the park. special attention was given to locate the species already listed as threatened categories in the country. flowering or fruiting specimens were collected and processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; alexiades, 1996). the specimens were identified consulting different floras viz., hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), uddin and hassan (2004), siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008, 2009). specimens available at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) were consulted in identifying the collected plant specimens. the updated nomenclature of the species was followed siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008, 2009). threatened categories of plants were confirmed with the help of khan et al. (2001). families are arranged according to cronquist (1981). voucher specimens are deposited at dush. results the present study revealed an inventory of 245 species including cultivated and planted in 183 genera under 72 families from the satchari national park. the species diversity in the families varied from 1 to 18. in magnoliopsida (dicots), moraceae is the largest family represented by 18 species, while in liliopsida (monocots), poaceae (gramineae) is the largest family represented by 12 species. of 245 species recorded here, 86 species represented by herbs, 46 by shrubs, 73 by trees, 37 by climbers and 3 by epiphytes. seven threatened species of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001) were found to occur in the park area including amomum aromaticum roxb. (zingiberaceae), aquilaria agallocha roxb. (thymeliaceae), cymbidium aloifolium l. (orchidaceae), globba multiflora wall. ex baker (zingiberaceae) holigarna longifolia roxb. (anacardiaceae), rauvolfia serpentina l. (apocynaceae) and steudnera colocasioides hook. f. (araceae). moreover, thereatened tree fern, cyathea gigantea (wall. ex hook. f.) holtt. and a angiosperm flora of satchari national park 119 threatened gymnosperm, gnetum oblongum mgf. (khan et al., 2001) were also found to occur in the park area. for each species of angiosperm scientific name, local name (wherever available), family, habit and habitat are provided with specimen citation. magnoliopsida (dicots) 1. annonaceae annona squamosa l., sp. pl.: 537 (1753). local name: ata. a small tree, cultivated. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, kamrul arefin (ka) 311, dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). desmos chinensis lour., fl. cochinch. 1: 352 (1970). a large climber on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 294 (dush). miliusa velutina (dunal) hook. f. & thom., fi. ind. 1: 139 (1855). uvaria velutina dunal (1817). a deciduous tree on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 242 (dush). uvaria hamiltonii hook. f. & thoms., fl. ind. 1: 96 (1855). local names: kola, tufaru. a large climber on trees in the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 320 (dush). 2. lauraceae cinnamomum camphora (l.) j. presl, priroz. rostlin 2: 36, 47 (1825). laurus camphora l. (1753). local name: karphur. a medium tree in deep forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 325 (dush). dehaasia kurzii king ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 125 (1886). local name: modon mosto. a tall tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 366 (dush). litsea angustifolia wall. ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 169 (1886). an evergreen tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 241 (dush). litsea glutinosa (lour.) robinson, philip. j. sci. bot. 6: 321 (1911). sebifera glutinosa lour. (1790). local name: menda. a midium sized evergreen tree on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 314 (dush). litsea monopetala (roxb.) pers., syn. pl. 2: 4 (1807). tetranthera monopetala roxb. (1798). local name: huaria, kukurchita. a medium sized tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 308 (dush). litsea panamonja (buch.-ham.) hook. f., fl. brit. ind 5: 175 (1886). tetranthera panamonja buch.-ham. (1864). local name: naori. a large tree on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 28. 01. 2009, ka 05 (dush). 3. piperaceae piper longum l., sp. pl.: 29 (1753). local name: pepul. a slender creeper on humus covered forest floors. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 215 (dush). 120 arefin et al. piper nigrum l., sp. pl.: 28 (1753). local name: gool marich. a climber, cultivated. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 120 (dush). 4. aristolochiaceae aristolochia tagala cham., linnaea 7: 207, t. 5, f. 3 (1832). local name: ishwarmul. a glabrous climber on moist shady place. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka, 282 (duh). 5. menispermaceae pericampylus glaucus (lamk.) merr., interp. rumph. herb. amb.: 219 (1917). menispermum glaucum lamk. (1797). local name: goal lata. a woody climber on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 67 (dush). stephania japonica (thunb.) miers, ann. mag. nat. hist. ser. 3, 18: 14 (1866). menispermum japonicum thunb. (1784). local name: maknadi. a slender climber on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 216 (dush). tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thoms., fl. ind. 1: 183 (1855). menispermum crispum l. (1763). local name: padmaguruz, amguruz. a woody climber with warted stem on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 183 (dush). 6. ulmaceae trema orientalis (l.) blume, ann. mus. bot. lugd.-bat. 2: 62 (1856). celtis orientalis l. (1753). local name: bonanalia. an evergreen small tree along the roadside and also in the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 102 (dush). 7. moraceae artocarpus chaplasha roxb., fl. ind. 3: 525 (1832). local name: chamul. a lofty deciduous tree common on the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 101 (dush). artocarpus heterophyllus lamk., encycl. meth. 3: 209 (1789). local name: kanthal. a large evergreen tree on the forest edge, cultivated representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 188 (dush). artocarpus lacucha buch.-ham., mem. wern. soc. 5: 333 (1826). local name: deua. deciduous tree common in the forst. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 145 (dush). ficus ampelas burm. f., fl. ind.: 226 (1768). a shrub on deep forest shaded area. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 225 (dush). ficus benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). local name: bot. a large spreading tree on the foot hill. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 298 (dush). ficus benjamina l., mant.: 129 (1767). a medium tree on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 335 (dush). angiosperm flora of satchari national park 121 ficus elastica roxb. ex hornem, hort. bot. hafn. suppl.: 7 (1819). ln: kathali bot. a small tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 261 (dush). ficus fistulosa reinw. ex blume, bijdr.: 470 (1825). a small tree on deep forest shaded area. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 341 (dush). ficus heterophylla l. f., suppl. pl.: 442 (1781). local name: bhuidumur. a hispid, scandent shrub mostly in wet place. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 87 (dush). ficus hirta vahl, enum. pl. 2: 201 (1806). a busy tree common near the stream. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 28 (dush). ficus hispida l. f., suppl. pl.: 442 (1781). local name: kakdumur. a shrub common on the hill slopes. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 32 (dush). ficus nervosa heyne ex roth in roem. et schult., syst. veg. 1: 513 (1817). a large tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 264 (dush). ficus pumila l., sp. pi.: 1060 (1753). a climber with clinging roots on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 96 (dush). ficus racemosa l., sp. pl.: 1060 (1753). local name: jagga dumur. a large tree along the road. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 222 (dush). ficus religiosa l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). local name: ashathwa. a large tree on the hill slopes. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 248 (dush). ficus rumphii blume, bijdr.: 437 (1825). a large tree in the deep forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 322 (dush). ficus virens aiton, hort. kew. 3: 451 (1789). local name: pakur. a large spreading deciduous tree on the foot hill. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 347 (dush). streblus asper lour., fl. cochinch. 2: 615 (1790). local name: shaora. a shrub common on the bank of chara (channel). representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 140 (dush). 8. urticaceae boehmeria macrophylla hornem., hort. reg. bot. hafn. 2: 890 (1815). local name: ulichara. a herb on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 28. 01. 2009, ka 11 (dush). dendrochide sinuata (blume) chew, gard. bull. sing. 21: 206 (1965). local name: chutrapata. a dioecious shrubs common on the hill slope and hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12 .2009, ka 332 (dush). 9. juglandaceae engelhardtia spicata lesch. ex blume, bijdr.: (1825). local name: zalna. a deciduous tree common on the bank of chara (channel). representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 272 (dush). 122 arefin et al. 10. fagaceae castanopsis castanicarpa (roxb.) spach., hist. veg. phan. 11: 185 (1842). quercus castanicarpa roxb. (1820). local name: hingra. a medium sized tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 195 (dush). 11. amaranthaceae achyranthes aspera l., sp. pl. 204 (1753). local name: apang. a weed of roadsides and waste places. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 151 (dush). aerva monosonia mant., beitr. amarants.: 83 (1825). an annual herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 19 (dush). aerva sanguinolenta (l.) blume, bijd.: 547 (1825). achyranthes sanguinolenta l. (1763). an annual herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 374 (dush). amaranthus spinosus l., sp. pl. 991 (1753). local name: kantanotey. a profusely branched herb, armed with axillary spines on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 181 (dush). amaranthus viridis l., sp. pl. ed. 2, 1405 (1763). local name: notey shak. a slender herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 174 (dush). 12. dilleniaceae dillenia pentagyna roxb., pl. corom. 1: 21, t. 20 (1795). local name: bon chalta. a tree on the forest floor and open area. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 125 (dush). dillenia scabrella roxb. ex wall., pl. as. rar. 1: 20, t. 22 (1830). local name: ekuish. a large tree near the stream. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 372 (dush). tetracera sarmentosa (l.) vahl, symb. bot. 3: 70 (1794). delima sarmentosa l. (1753). a woody climber on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 375 (dush). 13. dipterocarpaceae dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn., de fruct. 3: 51 (1805). local name: telia garjan. a lofty tree on the forest floor. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 338 (dush). 14. clusiaceae (guttiferae) garcinia cowa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 622 (1824). local name: cawphal. a tree on the foot hill. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 345 (dush). garcinia pedunculata roxb. ex buch.-hum. in brewster, edinburgh j. sci. 7: 45, t. 1 (1827). a low tree on the foot hill. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 292 (dush). garcinia sopsopia (buch.-hum.) mabberley, taxon 26: 529 (1977). oxycarpus sopsopia buch.hum. (1826). a low tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 239 (dush). angiosperm flora of satchari national park 123 garcinia xanthochymus hook. f. ex t. anders in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 269 (1874). local name: dephal. a much branched tree on the bank of chara (channel). representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 277 (dush). 15. elaeocarpaceae elaeocarpus floribundus blume, bijdr.: 120 (1825). local name: belpoi. a large tree on the foot hill near wet areas. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 317 (dush). elaeocarpus tectorius (lour.) poir. in lamk., encycl. suppl. 2: 704 (1812). craspedum tectorium lour. (1790). local name: jalpai. tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 368 (dush). 16. tiliaceae grewia asiatica l., mant. pl. 1: 122 (1767). a shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 115 (dush). grewia serrulata dc. , prodr. 1: 510 (1824). a shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 211 (dush). grewia nervosa (lour.) panigr., taxon 34: 702 (1985). fallopia nervosa lour. (1790). a shrub in the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 109 (dush). 17. sterculiaceae byttneria pilosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 681 (1824). a climbing shrub in the deep forest, shaded area. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 260 (dush). pterospermum acerifolium (l.) willd, sp. pl. 3: 729 (1800). pentapetes acerifolia l. (1753). local name: moskanda. a large tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 178 (dush). sterculia villosa roxb. ex smith in rees, cycl. 34, no. 16 (1816). local name: udal. a medium sized tree in the deep forest, shaded area. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 170 (dush). 18. malvaceae hibiscus surattensis l., sp. pl.: 696 (1753). a herb on the foot hill area. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 202 (dush). sida acuta burm. f., fl. ind.: 147 (1768). local name: nakphul. a herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 327 (dush). urena lobata l., sp. pl.: 692 (1753). local name: banokra. a herb in waste land and roadside. representative specimen: satchari, 28. 01. 2009, ka 10 (dush). 124 arefin et al. 19. flacourtiaceae flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr., interp. rumph. herb. amb: 377 (1917). gmelina indica burm. f. (1768). local name: pinagola. a much branched, thorny shrub in the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 240 (dush). flacourtia jangomas (lour.) raeusch., nom. bot. ed. 3: 290 (1797). a shrub with spines in the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 224 (dush). 20. cucurbitaceae trichosanthes tricuspidata lour., fl. cochinch.: 589 (1790). local name: makal. a climber on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04.12.2009, ka 204 (dush). zehneria japonica (thumb.) h. y. liu, bull. nat. mus. nat. (taiwan) 1: 40 (1989). bryonia japonica thunb. (1784). a slender climber on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 159 (dush). 21. capparaceae stixis suaveolens (roxb.) pierre, bull. soc. linn. paris 1: 654 (1887). roydsia suaveolens roxb. (1819). a woody scandent on the foot hill. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 31 (dush). 22. moringaceae moringa oleifera lamk., encycl. 1(2): 398 (1785). local name: sajna. a small tree, cultivated. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 34 (dush). 23. styracaceae styrax serrulatus roxb., fi. ind. ed. 2: 415-416 (1832). a shrub on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 278 (dush). 24. myrsinaceae ardisia colorata roxb., fl. ind. 2: 271 (1824). a tall shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 255 (dush). ardisia solanacea roxb., pl. corom. 1: 27, t. 27 (1795). an erect shrub on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 234 (dush). maesa montana a. dc. in dc. , prodr. 8: 79 (1844). a shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka, 182 (dush). maesa ramentacea (roxb.) a. dc., trans. linn. soc. 17: 133 (1834). baeobotrys ramentacea roxb. (1824). a shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 343 (dush). angiosperm flora of satchari national park 125 25. mimosaceae acacia concinna (willd.) dc., prodr. 2: 464 (1825). mimosa concinna willd., sp. pl. 4: 1039 (1805). local name: banritha. a shrub near the stream. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka, 194 (dush). albizia chinensis (osb.) merr., amer. j. bot. 3: 575 (1916). mimosa chinensis osb. (1757). a large tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka, 280 (dush). albizia myriophylla (roxb.) benth., lond. j. bot. 3: 90 (1844). mimosa macrophylla roxb. (1832). a large spiny climber near the stream. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka, 121 (dush). mimosa intisia l., sp. pl. 525 (1753). a straggling herb on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 25 (dush). mimosa pudica l., sp. pl. 518 (1753). local name: lojjabati. a prickly herb on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 251 (dush). 26. caesalpiniaceae cassia nodosa buch.-ham. ex roxb., fl. ind. 2: 336 (1824). a low tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 191 (dush). senna tora (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 340 (1832). cassia tora l., sp. pl.: 376 (1753). local name: lasiabupang. an annual herb on the forest floor. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 172 (dush). senna occidentalis roxb., fl. ind. 2: 343 (1832). an herb near the stream. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 122 (dush). 27. fabaceae (papilionaceae) calpogonium mucunoides desv., ann. sci. nat. paris 9: 423 (1826). a climber near the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 184 (dush). dalbergia stipulacea roxb., fl. ind. 3: 233 (1814). a scandent shrub on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 02. 04. 2009, ka 72 (dush). dalbergia volubilis roxb., pl. corom. pl.: 2: 48, t. 191 (1805). local name: dad bari. a scandent shrub common on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 315 (dush). desmodium heterocarpon (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 337 (1825). hedysarum heterocarpon l. (1753). an erect herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 227 (dush). erythrina variegata l., diss. herb. amb. amoen. acad. 4: 122 (1754). local name: mander. soft-wooded tree in forest. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 144 (dush). 126 arefin et al. flemingia stricta roxb., fl. ind. 3: 342 (1832). an herb on the deep forest. representative specimen: satchari, 02. 04. 2009, ka 81 (dush). flemingia macrophylla (willd.) o. kuntze ex merr., philipp. j. sci. bot. 5: 130 (1910). crotalaria macrophylla willd. (1803). an erect herb on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka, 297 (dush). 28. lythraceae lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers., syn. 2: 72 (1807). munchausia speciosa l. (1771). local name: jarul. a large deciduous tree on the roadside and near the wet area of the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 129 (dush). woodfordia fruticosa (l.) kurz, journ. as. soc. beng. 40 (2): 56 (1871). lythrum fruticosum l. (1759). a shrub common on the hill slope and hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 196 (dush). 29. thymelaeaceae aquilaria agallocha roxb., fl. ind. 2: 422 (1820). local name: agar. a medium sized tree on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 132 (dush). 30. myrtaceae syzygium cumini (l.) skeels, usda. bur., pl. industr. bull. 248: 25 (1912). myrtus cumini l. (1753). local name: kalojam. a large tree on the hill top and hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 126 (dush). syzygium fruticosum (roxb.) dc., prodr. 3: 260 (1828). eugenia fruticosa roxb. (1832). local name: khudijam. a small tree with pale grey bark on the hill slope and foot hill area. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 226 (dush). 31. melastomataceae melastoma malabathricum l., sp. pl. 390 (1753). local name: futki. a herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 39 (dush). 32. combretaceae combretum acuminatum roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2: 228 (1832). a large scandent in shady places of the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 179 (dush). terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wt. and arn. prodr.: 314 (1834). pentaptera arjuna roxb. ex dc. (1828). local name: arjun. a large tree common on the foot path sides. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 192 (dush). planted. terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb., pl. corom. 2: 54, t. 198 (1805). myrobalanus bellirica gaertn. (1791). local name: bohera. a large spreading tree in the deep forest. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 139 (dush). angiosperm flora of satchari national park 127 33. olacaceae olax nana wall. ex benth., proc. linn. soc. 1: 88 (1840). a suffruticose herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 326 (dush). 34. celastraceae lophopetalum wightianum arn., ann. nat. hist. 3: 151 (1839). local name: raktan. a large, tall tree on wet area of the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 276 (dush). 35. euphorbiaceae antidesma ghaesembilla gaertn., fruct. 1: 189, (1788). local name: anna. a shrub on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 93 (dush). aporusa dioica (roxb.) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15 (2): 472 (1866). local name: kakra. an evergreen tree in the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 305 (dush). aporusa wallichii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 350 (1885). a medium sized tree most common all over the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 27 (dush). bischofia javanica blume, bijdr.: 1168 (1827). local name: kanjal, bhadi. a deciduous tree near the stream. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 217 (dush). breynia retusa (dennst.) alston, ann. roy. bot. gard (peradeniya) 11: 204 (1929). phyllanthus retusus dennst. (1818). a shrub in the deep forest. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 108 (dush). bridelia stipularis (l.) blume, bijdr.: 597 (1826). clutia stipularis l., mant. pl.: 127 (1767). a scandent shrub on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 306 (dush). euphorbia hirta l., sp. pl.: 454 (1753). local name: dudia. an annual herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 197 (dush). macaranga indica wight, pl. ind. or. 5, 2:t. 1883 (1852). local name: gulile. a shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 141 (dush). macaranga peltata (roxb.) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15, 2: 1010 (1866). osyris peltata roxb. (1832). a low tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 344 (dush). mallotus philippensis (lamk.) muell.-arg., linnaea 34(1): 196 (1865). croton philippense lamk. (1786). local name: moinbura. a shrub in the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 28. 01. 2009, ka 14 (dush). phyllanthus emblica l., sp. pl.: 982 (1753). local name: amloki. a deciduous tree on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 138 (dush). 128 arefin et al. suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill., etudes gen. euphorb.: 396 (1858). gelonium multiflorum a. juss. (1824). a middle sized tree on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 212 (dush). trewia nudiflora l., sp. pl.: 1193 (1753). local name: pidali. a deciduous medium sized tree near the stream. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 187 (dush). 36. rhamnaceae zizyphus oenoplia (l.) mill., gard. dict. ed. 8. no. 3 (1768). rhamnus oenoplia l. (1762). a prickly shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 279 (dush). 37. leeaceae leea acuminata wall., cat. no. 6830 (1832). a robust herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 94 (dush). leea aequata l., mant. pl. 1: 124 (1767). a herb on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 208 (dush). leea guinensis g. don, gen. syst. 1: 712 (1831). a herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 291 (dush). 38. vitaceae ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch. in dc., monogr. phan. 5: 375 (1887). vitis barbata wall. (1824). a stout climber on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 50 (dush). cayratia japonica (thunb.) gagnep., not. syst. 1: 349 (1911). vitis japonica thunb. (1784). a slender climber on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 303 (dush). tetrastigma angustifolium (roxb.) planch. in dc., monogr. phan. 5: 439 (1887). cissus angustifolia roxb. (1820). a slender climber on the deep forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 29 (dush). 39. sapindaceae lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh., blumea 17: 82 (1969). sapindus rubiginosus roxb. (1796). local name: apain. a shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 136 (dush). 40. burseraceae protium serratum (wall. ex colebr.) engl. in dc., monogr. phan. 4: 88 (1883). bursera serrata wall. ex colebr. (1827). local name: neul. an evergreen tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 133 (dush). angiosperm flora of satchari national park 129 41. anacardiaceae holigrana longifolia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 80 (1824). local name: jaowa. a tall tree with spreading branched on the foot hill. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 370 (dush). mangifera longipes griff., notul, 4: 419 (1854). local name: milam. a large tree on the foot hill. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 160 (dush). 42. meliaceae aglaia spectabilis (miq.) jain & bennet, ind. j. for. 9: 271 (1987). amoora spectabilis miq. (1868). local name: rongi rata. a medium sized tree on the bank of chara (channel). representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 354 (dush). aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) parker, ind. for. 57: 486 (1931). sphaerosacme polystachya wall. (1829). local name: royna, pitraj. a large tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 218 (dush). toona ciliata m. roem., syn. monogr. 1: 139 (1846). local name: rongi. a medium sized tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 127 (dush). walsura robusta roxb., fl. ind. 2: 386 (1824). local name: bonlichu. a medium sized tree on the bank of chara (channel). representative specimen: satchari, 02. 04. 2009, ka 82 (dush). 43. rutaceae citrus maxima (burm.) merr., interp. rumph. herb. amb: 296 (1918). a small evergreen tree, cultivated. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 114 (dush). clausena suffruticosa (roxb.) wight & arn., prodr.: 96 (1834). amyris suffruticosa roxb. (1832). a small shrub on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 82 (dush). glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc., prodr. 1: 538 (1824). limonia pentaphylla retz. (1788). local name: motkila. a low shrub on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 221 (dush). micromelum minutum (g. forster) wight & arn., prodr. fl. ind. orient.: 448, 468 (1834). limonia minutum forster (1786). local name: padra pisti. a shrub on the hill slopes. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 84 (dush). 44. araliaceae trevesia palmata (roxb.) vis., mem. acad. torin. 2, 4: 262 (1842). gastonia palmata roxb. (1824). local name: katagach. an erect shrub in shaded area of the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 28. 01. 2009, ka 04 (dush). 45. apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br., mem. wern. nat. hist. s. 1: 75 (1811). echites scholaris l. (1767). local name: chatim. a tall tree on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 150 (dush). 130 arefin et al. tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult., syst 4: 427 (1819). nerium divaricata l. (1753). local name: kakra. a low shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 47 (dush). ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r. br. in ait. f., hort. kew. ed. 2, 2: 69 (1811). apocynum frutescens l. (1753). local name: dud lata. a profusely branched woody climber on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 293 (dush). rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 2: 171 (1877). ophioxylon serpentinum l. (1753). local name: sarpagandha. a woody herb on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 175 (dush). willoughbeia edulis roxb., pl. corom. 3:77, t. 280 (1820). local name: lolam. a large climber on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 02. 04. 2009, ka 76 (dush). 46. asclepiadaceae hoya parasitica (roxb.) wall. ex wight, contr. bot. ind.: 37 (1834). asclepias parasitica roxb. (1832). local name: serapata. a succulent epiphytic climber common on trees, deep forest area. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 124 (dush). 47. solanaceae physalis minima l., sp. pl.: 183 (1753). annual herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 198 (dush). solanum torvum sw., nov. gen. sp. pl.: 47 (1788). a shrub near the stream. representative specimen: satchari, 02. 04. 2009, ka 74 (dush). solanum violaceum ortega., hort. matr. dec.: 56 (1798). local name: phutki begun. a branched shrub on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 285 (dush). 48. convolvulaceae argyreia nervosa (burm. f.) boj., hort. maurit.: 224 (1837). convovulus nervosus burm. f. (1768). a climber near stream. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 259 (dush). merremia umbellata (l.) hallier f., bot. jahrb. 16: 552 (1893). convolvulus umbellatus l. (1753). local name: sainna lata. a woody twiner in the deep forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 49 (dush). 49. verbenaceae callicarpa arborea roxb., fl. ind. 1: 405 (1820). a deciduous tree on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 142 (dush). clerodendrum viscosum vent., jard. malm. 1: 25, pi. 25 (1803). local name: bhant. a soft tomentose woody herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 28. 01. 2009, ka, 02 (dush). angiosperm flora of satchari national park 131 lantana camara l., sp. pl.: 627(1753). branching herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 28. 01. 2009, ka 12 (dush). premna esculenta roxb., fi. ind. 2, 3: 81 (1832). a low shrub on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 30 .05. 2009, ka 117 (dush). tectona grandis l. f., suppl.: 151 (1781). local name: segun. trees on the forest edge, planted. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 128 (dush). vitex altissima l. f., suppl. pl.: 294 (1781). local name: monawal. a medium sized tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 337 (dush). vitex glabrata r. br., prodr, fl. nov. holl.: 512 (1845). local name: badruk. a deciduous tree on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 64 (dush). vitex peduncularis wall. ex schauer in a. dc., prodr. 11: 687 (1847). local name: awal. a large tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 173 (dush). 50. lamiaceae (labiatae) hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., ann. mus. par. 7: 472, t. 29 (1806). ballota suaveolens l. (1759). local name: tokma. an aromatic herb common on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 169 (dush). 51. oleaceae jasminum multiflorum (burm. f.) andr., bot. rep. 8:t. 496 (1807). nyctanthes multiflora burm. f. (1768). a large scandant common on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 66 (dush). myxopyrum smilacifolium (wall.) blume, mus. bot. lugd.-bat. 1: 320 (1850). chionanthus smilacifolia wall. (1820). a glabrous climber on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 223 (dush). 52. scrophulariaceae scoparia dulcis l., sp. pl.: 166 (1753). local name: bondhane. a herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 148 (dush). torenia diffusa d. don, prodr. fl. nepal: 86 (1825). a creeping herb on the wet area of the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 119 (dush). 53. gesneriaceae rhynchotechum ellipticum (diet.) dc., prodr. 9: 285 (1845). an erect shrub on the hill slope and shaded area. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 103 (dush). 54. acanthaceae eranthemum album (roxb.) nees in dc., prodr. 11: 455 (1847). justicia alba roxb. (1847). a herb in shaded area of foot hills. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 180 (dush). 132 arefin et al. justicia adhatoda l., sp. pl.: 15 (1753). local name: bashak. a shrub on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 324 (dush). lepidagathis incurva buch.-ham. ex d. don, prodr. fl. nepal: 119 (1825). a herb on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 309 (dush). nelsonia canescens (lamk.) spreng., syst. 16. 1: 42 (1824). justicia canescens lamk. (1791). a herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 271 (dush). staurogyne argentea t. anders., journ. linn. soc. 9: 451 (1867). a small herb in shaded area of foot hills. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 351 (dush). thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottler) roxb., bot. reg. 6: t. 495 (1820). flemingia grandiflora roxb. ex rottler, ges. naturf. freund berlin neue schriften 4: 202 (1803). a climber in the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 02. 04. 2009, ka 77 (dush). 55. bignoniaceae fernandoa adenophylla (wall. ex g. don) van steenis, blumea 23: 135 (1976). bignonia adenophylla wall. ex g. don (1838). local name: banpata. a deciduous tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 275 (dush). oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 2: 237 (1877). bignonia indica l. (1753). a tree in the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 336 (dush). stereospermum colais (buch.-ham. ex dillw.) mabberley, taxon 27: 553 (1979). bignonia colais buch.-ham. ex dillw. (1839). local name: paroi. a large deciduous tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009 ka 149 (dush). 56. rubiaceae aidia densiflora (wall.) masam., sci. rep. kanazawa uni. 4: 85 (1955). webera oppositifolia wall. in roxb, fl. ind. 2: 536 (1824) ed.1. local name: manakata. a shrub in the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 236 (dush). gardenia coronaria buch.-ham. syme’s emb. ava. 11. 3: 307, t. 22 (1825). local name: sitgach. a low tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 313 (dush). hymenodictyon orixensis (roxb.) mabb., taxon 31: 66 (1982). hymenodictyon excelsum (roxb.) wall. (1824). local name: paharia thona. a large deciduous tree on the deep forest. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 135 (dush). ixora cuneifolia roxb., fl. ind. 1: 380 (1820). an evergreen shrub common on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 48 (dush). ixora javanica dc., prodr. 4: 487 (1830). a low shrub common on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 45 (dush). angiosperm flora of satchari national park 133 morinda angustifolia roxb., fl. ind. 1: 547 (1820). local name: ranggach. an erect shrub common on the bank of chara (channel). representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 193 (dush). mussaenda roxburghii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 87 (1880). a shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 254 (dush). neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser, bull. mus. hist. nat. paris, ser. 6, sec. b, 3:247 (1984). anthocephalus cadamba (roxb.) miq. (1856). local name: kadam. large tree on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 213 (dush). ophiorrhiza villosa roxb., fl. ind. 1:702 (1820). a small herb on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 89 (dush). paederia foetida l., mant.1: 52 (1767). local name: gandha badhuli. a slender climber on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 319 (dush). psychotria monticola kurz, j. asiat. soc. beng. 41(2): 315 (1872). a shrub on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 233 (dush). spermacoce latifolia aublet, hist. pl. guiane frtan. 1: 55, t. 19, f. 1 (1775). borreria latifolia (aublet) k. schum. (1888). local name: thitulon. a procumbent rough hispid herb on the forest floor. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 237 (dush). 57. asteraceae (compositae) ageratum conyzoides l., sp. pl.: 839 (1753). an annual herb on the dry valley of forest area. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 307 (dush). elephantopus scaber l., sp. pl.: 814 (1753). an erect perennial herb on the hill top and hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 229 (dush). chromolaena odorata (l.) king & robinson, phytologia 20: 204 (1970). eupatorium odoratum l. (1759). local name: pisaish. an annual herb most common on the forest bed and in open areas. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 199 (dush). spilanthes calva dc. in wight, contrib. bot. ind.: 19 (1834). an annual herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 302 (dush). synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn., fruct. 2: 456. t. 171 (1791). verbesina nodiflora l. (1787). a herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 249 (dush). vernonia cinerea (l.) less., linnaea 4(1): 291 (182). conyza cinerea l. (1753). an erect, more or less pubescent annual herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 24 (dush). vernonia extensa dc., prodr. 5: 33 (1836). an erect herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 02. 04. 2009, ka 75 (dush). 134 arefin et al. liliopsida (monocots) 58. arecaceae calamus tenuis roxb., fl. ind.eds. 2, 3: 780 (1832). local name: jalibet. a scandent rattan in the wet areas of forest. representative specimen: satchari, 28. 01. 2009, ka 09 (dush). calamus viminalis willd., sp. pl. 2(1): 203 (1799). local name: bet. a thicket forming climbers in the wet area of forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 243 (dush). caryota urens l., sp. pl. 1189 (1753). trunk solitary, annulate, erect in the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 296 (dush). wallichia densiflora mart., hist. palm. 3:190 (1838). a short stemed palm on the foot hills. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 22 (dush). 59. pandanaceae pandanus foetidus roxb., fl. ind. eds.2, 3: 742 (1832). local name: keya kanta. a shrub on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 162 (dush). 60. araceae alocasia acuminata schott, bonpland. 7: 28 (1859). a rhizomatous aroid on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 329 (dush). alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott, oesterr. bot. wochenbl. 4: 410 (1854). arum fornicatum roxb. (1832). a rhizomatous aroid in forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 203 (dush). amorphophallus bulbifer (roxb.) blume, rhumphia 1: 148 (1837). arum bulbiferum roxb. (1832). an annual aroid shaded area of the hill slope and foot hills. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 137 (dush). colocasia esculenta (l.) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot.: 18 (1832). arum esculentum l. (1753). local name: kochu. a perennial aroid in wet area of forest. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 171 (dush). colocasia fallax schott, bonpl. 7: 28 (1859). a rhizomatous herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 235 (dush). homalomena aromatica (roxb. ex sim.) schott, schott & endl., melet. bot. 20 (1832). calla aromatica roxb. ex sim. (1832). a rhizomatous herb on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 200 (dush). lasia spinosa (l.) thwait., enum. pl. zeyl.: 336 (1864). dracontium spinosum l. (1753). local name: kanta kachu. an intensely prickly plant in shaded area of foot hill. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 201 (dush). steudnera colocasioides hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 520 (1893). local name: bish kachu. a rhizomatous herb on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 350 (dush). angiosperm flora of satchari national park 135 61. commelinaceae commelina benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). local name: dholpata. a slender herb on the hill slops. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 158 (dush). commelina diffusa burm. f., ind. 18, t. 7 (1768). an annual slender herb on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 269 (dush). commelina erecta l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). a perennial herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 333 (dush). commelina paludosa blume, enum. pl. jav. 1: 2 (1827). a stout herb in the bank of chara (channel). representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 206 (dush). floscopa scandens lour., fl. cochin.: 193 (1790). a perennial herb on the wet area of forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 342 (dush). murdannia elata (vahl) bruck in engl. & prantl, nat. pfanzenfam. ed. 2, 15a:173 (1930). commelina elata vahl (1808). a stout herb on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 97 (dush). 62. cyperaceae carex jackiana boott., linn., soc. 1: 260 (1845). a rhizomatous herb most area of forest. representative specimen: satchari, 01. 04. 2009, ka 54 (dush). cyperus compressus l., sp. pl. 46 (1753). local name: chancha. annual, tufted everywhere in the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 353 (dush). cyperus laxus lamk., lll. gen. 1: 146 (1791). a perennial herb on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 100 (dush). cyperus rotundus l., sp. pl. 45 (1753). local name: motha ghas. perennial in sandy soil and moist places of forest. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 167 (dush). fimbristylis acuminata vahl, en. pl. 2: 285 (1806). an annual herb near the stream. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 99 (dush). 63. poaceae (gramineae) arundinella bengalensis (spreng.) druce in rep. bot. exchang. club, brit, isles. 605 (1916). panicum bengalense spreng. (1825). a stout perennial herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 154 (dush). bambusa tulda roxb., fl. ind. 2: 193 (1824). local name: wana, mitinga. a clump forming bamboo on the hill slope and hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 334 (dush). centotheca lappacea (l.) desv. in nouv. bull. soc. philom. 2: 189 (1810). cenchrus lappaceus l. (1763). a tufted perennial grass on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 17 (dush). 136 arefin et al. cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (steud.) stapf. in hook., ic. pl.: sub. t, 3096 (1922). panicum oxyphyllum steud. (1854). a perennial tall herb on the hill top and shaded area. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 18 (dush). imperata cylindrica (l.) beauv., ess. agrost.: 165 (1812). lagurus cylindricus l., syst. nat. ed. 10:878 (1759). local name: ulukhar. a herb on the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 156 (dush). hemarthria protensa steud., syn. pl. glum.: 359 (1854). local name: chalia. an erect to decumbent grass near stream. representative specimen: satchari, 31.05.2009, ka 168 (dush). melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz, prelim. rep. for. veg. pegu. app. b.: 94 (1875). bambusa baccifera roxb. (1814). local name: muli. evergreen unarmed bamboo on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 02. 04. 2009, ka 78 (dush). panicum notatum retz., obs. bot. 4: 18 (1786). a tufted, perennial grass growing in the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 20 (dush). paspalum longifolium roxb., fl. ind. 1:283 (1820 ). local name: goicha. a glabrous, annual grass in the damp place. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 162 (dush). setaria glauca (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 51. 169 (1812). pennisetum typhoides (burm. f.) stapf & c.e. hubb. 1933. a tufted, annual grass on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 02. 04. 2009, ka 70 (dush). themda quadrivalvis (l.) kuntze, rev. gen. 2: 793 (1891). andropogon quadrivalvis l. (1774). an annual herb in the deep forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 250 (dush). thysanolaena maxima (roxb.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 794 (1891) agrostis maxima roxb. (1820). local name: jharuful. a perennial tall herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 30 (dush). 64. zingiberaceae alpinia malaccensis (burm. f.) rosc. in trans. linn. soc. 8: 345 (1808). maranta malaccensis burm. f. (1768). a robust rhizomatous herb on the hill slope and foot hill area. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 321 (dush). amomum aromaticum roxb., fl. ind. 1: 45 (1820). local name: tara. a rhizomatous herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 316 (dush). amomum corynostachyum wall. pl. asiat. rar. 1: 48 t. 58 (1830). a rhizomatous herb on the hill slope and foot hill area. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 107 (dush). amomum dealbatum roxb., fl. ind. 1: 43 (1820). a rhizomatious herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 104 (dush). curcuma latifolia rosc. in trans. linn. soc. lond. 8: 3 (1807). a rhizomatous herb on the hill top. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 105 (dush). angiosperm flora of satchari national park 137 curcuma zedoaria (christm.) rosc. in trans. linn. soc. lond. 8: 354 (1807). curcuma zerumbet roxb. (1810). local name: shoti. a stemless herb with pale yellow-white rhizome in the shady places of the forest. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 163 (dush). etlingera linguiformis (roxb.) r. m. smith, notes rbg. edinb. 43 (2): 246 (1986). alpinia linguiforme roxb., pl. corom. 3: 74, t. 276 (1819). a rhizomatous herb on the foot hill and shaded area. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 258 (dush). globba multiflora wall. ex baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind., 6: 202 (1890). a small rhizomatous herb on the foot hill and shaded area. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 214 (dush). 65. costaceae costus speciosus (koenig ex retz.) smith, trans. linn. soc. london 1: 249 (1791). banksea speciosa koening ex retz. (1783). local name: jongliphul, gardong. a tall herb in the forest bed. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 165 (dush). 66. marantaceae schumannianthus dichotomous (roxb.) gagnep., bull. soc. bot. fr. 51: 176 (1904). clinogyne dichotoma (roxb.) salisb. ex benth. (1883). local name: mukta, mustak. a herb on the forest floor. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 26 (dush). 67. liliaceae crinum asiaticum l., sp. pl.: 419 (1753). a large herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 164 (duh). curculigo orchioides gaertn., fruct. 1: 63, t. 16 (1788). local name: satipata, luruk. a large herb on the hill slope. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 23 (dush). 68. agavaceae dracaena spicata roxb., fl. ind. 2: 157 (1824). an erect herb on the forest edge. representative specimen: satchari, 28. 01. 2009, ka 06 (dush). 69. taccaceae tacca integrifolia ker.-gawl., bot. mag. 35. t. 1488 (1812). a rhizomatous herb in foot hill areas and deep shaded moist places. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 366 (dush). 70. smilacaceae smilax ovalifolia roxb. ex. d. don, (1825). local name: kumarilata. a large prickly climber on the hill slopes. representative specimen: satchari, 31. 05. 2009, ka 152 (dush). smilax perfoliata lour., fl. cochinch.: 622 (1790). a large climber on the hill slopes. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 365 (dush). 138 arefin et al. 71. dioscoreaceae dioscorea belophylla (prain) voigt ex haines, forest fi. choto nagpur: 530 (1910). a perennial climber common in the forests. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 263 (dush). dioscorea esculenta (lour.) burkill, gard. bull. straits. settl. 1: 396 (1917). oncus esculentus lour. (1790). a climber twining to the left on tree of the hill slopes and hill tops. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 356 (dush). dioscorea hispida dennst., hort. ind. malabar: 33 (1818). a climber with prickles on the hill slopes. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 106 (dush). dioscorea oppositifolia l., sp. pl.: 1033 (1753). a climber twinning to the right on tall trees. representative specimen: satchari, 29. 01. 2009, ka 37 (dush). 72. orchidaceae acampe praemorsa (roxb.) blatter & mccann., j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 35: 495(1932). epidendrum praemorsum roxb. (1795). a perennial epiphyte on deep forest. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 330 (dush). aerides odorata lour. fl. coch. 2: 525 (1790). a perennial epiphyte common on teak (tectona grandis), kadam (anthocephalus chinensis and mango (mangifera indica) trees. representative specimen: satchari, 30. 05. 2009, ka 118 (dush). cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw., nov. act. soc. upsal. 6: 73 (1799). epidendrum aloifolium l. (1753). a perennial epiphyte most common on the tree trunk of dillenia pentagyna and also terminalia bellirica. representative specimen: satchari, 04. 12. 2009, ka 228 (dush). acknowledgement the authors duly acknowledge delta research center, university of dhaka for their partial financial support and bangladesh forest department for their co-operation during field works. thanks are due to dr. m. oliur rahman of the department of botany, university of dhaka for his help and cooperation during preparing this manuscript. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman,a .k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 6 february 2011; revised on 24 may 2011) micromorphological and anatomical studies on petals of some turkish onosma l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 157-164, 2009 (december) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists micromorphological and anatomical studies on petals of 11 turkish onosma l. (boraginaceae) taxa öznur ergen akçin1 department of biology, faculty of science & arts, ordu university, ordu, turkey. keywords: anatomy; micromorphology; onosma; scanning electron microscope (sem). abstract the petal epidermis and petal anatomy of 11 taxa of onosma l. were studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. differences in epidermal patterns were observed on the dorsal surface. domed epidermal cells and non-papillae epidermal cells were seen on the petal surface. papillae types were lithops, cone-like, finger-like or skittle-cell type. areolate and rugose types were observed on the non-papillae surface. principal anatomical structures of petals were similar. micromorphological features on dorsal surfaces of petals could be useful for species-level diagnosis along with other selected morphological and micromorphological features. introduction the genus onosma l. (boraginaceae) is represented by more than 100 taxa (97 species) in turkey (riedl, 1978; davis et al., 1988; riedl et al., 2004; binzet and orcan, 2007). this genus is important in the flora of turkey because of its large number of species and endemism. some onosma species are used as vegetables, folk medicines and dyes. the flowers of some species are eaten as vegetables. onosma species are grown in garden as ornamental plants because of their beautiful flowers (oztürk and ozçelik, 1991). there have been anatomical studies (akçin and engin, 2001, 2005; akçin, 2004), karyological studies (teppner, 1981, 1988), micromorphological studies (akçin, 2007; binzet and akçin, 2009), and chemical studies (khajuria and jain, 1993; ozgen et al., 2004) of many onosma species. general corolla structures of o. isauricum boiss. & heldr. and o. stenolobum hausskn. ex h. riedl were studied with other anatomical features (akçin and engin, 2001). petal morphology has major taxonomic importance in onosma. corolla colour, shape and size are used as taxonomic characters in this genus (riedl, 1978). however, detailed observations of the micromorphology and anatomy of petals of onosma species are lacking. the use of scanning electron microscopy (sem) has greatly increased the knowledge of surface features of some vegetative and reproductive organs and has provided valuable taxonomic information (barthlott, 1984; stace, 1984; özcan, 2002). according to riedl (1978) most of the turkish representatives of onosma are poorlydefined and require additional characters for proper identification. in the present study, the anatomical and micromorphological features of petals were studied to provide more detailed information for 11 onosma taxa. 1 e-mail: oakcin@odu.edu.tr; oakcin@gmail.com 158 akçin materials and methods plant specimens of 11 onosma taxa were collected from north anatolia, turkey during 1997-2000 (table 1). voucher specimens are kept at ordu university herbarium. samples for anatomical studies were fixed in 70% alcohol. cross and surface sections of petals were excised by hand and they were covered with glycerin-gelatin (vardar, 1987). their photographs were taken with nikon fdx-35 microscope. all measurements and observations were made using imaging software (nis-elements, version 3.00 sp5). epidermal terminology of petals was used as in reule (1937), stearn (1973) and metcalfe and chalk (1979). for sem, dried corolla samples were mounted on stubs using doublesided adhesive tape. samples were coated with 12.5-15 nm of gold. coated leaves were examined and photographed with a jms-6400 scanning electron microscope. table 1. information on 11 examined onosma taxa. taxon locality o. ambigens lacaita çorum: i̇skilip to tosya, 450m, ergen 1008. o. armenum dc. ankara: around çubuk 2. dam, 1150m, barbaros 1007. o. bornmuelleri hausskn. kastamonu: ilgaz, 890 m, akçin 1031. o. bourgaei boiss. çankırı: ilgaz, 2000m, ergen 1010. o. bracteosum hausskn. & bornm. samsun: ladik, 950 m, akçin 1016. o. intertextum hub.mor. tokat: around niksar, 350m, akçin 1047. o. isauricum boiss. & heldr. amasya: akdag, 1150 m, akçin 1015. o. roussaei dc. samsun: çakallı, 350 m, akçin 1049. o. sericeum willd. ankara: around çubuk 2. dam, 110m, barbaros 1008. o. stenolobum hausskn. ex h. riedl amasya: vermiş village, 1200 m, akçin 1010. o. tauricum var. tauricum pallas ex willd. kastamonu: tosya, 900 m, akçin 1048. results morphological characteristics of the epidermal cells in abaxial surface of onosma such as size, shape and pattern of anticlinal walls are studied. the epidermal cells of onosma as seen under light micropcope are similar and usually polygonal, isodiametricpolygonal or polygonal-rectangular (table 2). the pattern of anticlinal cells are straight to curved in all studied species. on dorsal surface, sizes of epidermis cells vary in the range 15-175 × 10-67.5 µm (table 2). onosma armenum has the longest cells (123.0± standard error of the mean 4.15 × 39.25±0.98 µm) and o. sericeum has the smallest cells (30±0.85 × 18±0.32 µm) (table 2, figs 1-11). micromorphological properties of petal surfaces show some variations (tables 2 & 3). domed epidermal cells and non-papillae epidermal cells are seen on the surface of petals. surface patterns are generally papillae type in studied species (figs 13-14, 16-22). papillae types are lithops, cone-like, finger-like or skittle-cell type (table 3). only in o. bourgaei, surface pattern is ribbed-rugose type; here ribbed-rugose structures are micromorphological and anatomical studies on petals 159 interconnected with each other (fig. 15). these structures are generally arranged flexuous or longitudinally and latitudinally. there are a few papillae on the abaxial surface of o. ambigens (fig. 12). in o. armenum, in contrast, the whole abaxial surface is covered by papillae. domed epidermal cells are seen on the surface. cell generally has a small, apically rounded papilla or smooth dome. apical parts of papillae are generally slanted. table 2. petal epidermal features of 11 onosma taxa studied under light microscope.   epidermal cell size (mean±se*) taxon length width no. of parenchyma layer shape of epidermal cells o. ambigens 28.8 ± 3.07 22.0 ± 2.13 4-5 isodiametric-polygonal o. armenum 123.0 ± 4.15 39.3 ± 0.98 5-6 rectangular o. bornmuelleri 65.0 ± 3.87 48.3 ± 2.88 5-6 polygonal-rectangular o. bourgaei 74.0 ± 1.05 34.8 ± 2.15 5-6 rectangular o. bracteosum 31.4 ± 1.49 21.3 ± 1.40 5-6 isodiametric-polygonal o. intertextum 68.8 ± 3.69 30.3 ± 2.28 4-5 polygonal-rectangular o. isauricum 31.0 ± 1.66 21.8 ± 1.50 5-7 rectangular o. roussaei 80.1 ± 0.65 30.4 ± 0.30 4 rectangular o. sericeum 30.0 ± 0.85 18.0 ± 0.32 5-6 isodiametric-polygonal o. stenolobum 63.5 ± 2.74 23.3 ± 1.62 4-5 rectangular o. tauricum var. tauricum 91.3 ± 2.72 34.5 ± 0.64 4 rectangular *se = standard error of the mean. table 3. petal epidermal features of 11 onosma taxa studied under sem. taxon surface pattern papillae type anticlinal wall of epidermis trichome o. ambigens areolate rarely present visible – o. armenum papillae lithops type not visible simple, porrect-stellate with ornamental wall o. bornmuelleri papillae skittle-cell type not visible – o. bourgaei ribbedrugose – visible simple with ornamental wall o. bracteosum papillae skittle-cell type not visible simple with ornamental wall o. intertextum papillae skittle-cell type not visible simple with ornamental or smooth wall o. isauricum papillae cone-like papillae not visible simple with ornamental or smooth wall o. roussaei papillae skittle-cell type visible simple with ornamental wall o. sericeum papillae finger-like papillae not visible simple, densely arranged with ornamental wall o. stenolobum papillae skittle-cell type visible simple, short with ornamental wall o. tauricum var. tauricum papillae cone-like papillae with silica not visible simple with ornamental walls   160 akçin there are also simple or porrect-stellate trichomes with ornamental walls on the epidermal cells (fig. 13). in o. bracteosum, there are some cavities among papillae. here cell walls are generally elevated (fig. 16). in o. intertextum, apical parts of papillae are generally slanted and wider compared with the other skittle-cell types. trichomes are in general adpressed and densely arranged (fig. 17). onosma isauricum generally has domed epidermal cells, usually smooth, and uncommonly non-papillose cells (fig. 18). the outer periclinal walls of the epidermal cells are slightly bulged in o. roussaei (fig. 19). in o. sericeum, densely and adpressed trichomes are present on the surface (fig. 20). figs 1-11. epidermal cells on abaxial surface of petals of 11 onosma taxa under light microscope. 1. o. ambigens; 2. o. armenum; 3. o. bornmuelleri; 4. o. bourgaei; 5. o. bracteosum; 6. o. intertextum; 7. o. isauricum; 8. o. roussaei; 9. o. sericeum; 10. o. stenolobum; 11. o. tauricum var. tauricum. (bars: figs 1, 5, 7, 9 = 30 µm; figs 3, 6, 10 = 60 µm; figs 4, 8 = 75 µm; figs 2, 11 = 100 µm). micromorphological and anatomical studies on petals 161 papillae do not cover the whole surface in o. stenolobum. here boundaries of cells are seen clear (fig. 21). the epidermal cells of o. tauricum var. tauricum contain silica (fig. 22). the corolla of all examined species are clavate, cylindrical or campanulate. so they are seen as a lobed ring in transverse section. the principal architecture of all species is similar. the adaxial epidermal cells are larger than abaxial epidermal cells. both adaxial figs 12-22. scanning electron micrographs of petal surface of 11 onosma taxa. 12. o. ambigens; 13. o. armenum; 14. o. bornmuelleri; 15. o. bourgaei; 16. o. bracteosum; 17. o. intertextum; 18. o. isauricum; 19. o. roussaei; 20. o. sericeum; 21. o. stenolobum; 22. o. tauricum var. tauricum. (bars: fig. 12 = 10 µm; figs 13-22 = 100 µm). 162 akçin and abaxial epidermis are covered with cuticula. mesophyll consists of oval or cylindrical and multilayered parenchymatic cells (table 2). parenchymatic cells have intercellular cavities. large intercellular cavities are present in o. intertextum, o. isauricum, o. stenolobum and o. tauricum var. tauricum. vascular bundles are small and consist of several xylem and phloem vessels. bundle sheath generally surrounds each vascular bundle, and these are small parenchymatic cells (figs 23-33). figs 23-33. cross-sections of petals of 11 onosma taxa under light microscope. 23. o. ambigens; 24. o. armenum; 25. o. bornmuelleri; 26. o. bourgaei; 27. o. bracteosum; 28. o. intertextum; 29. o. isauricum; 30. o. roussaei; 31. o. sericeum; 32. o. stenolobum; 33. o. tauricum var. tauricum. ad, adaxial epidermis; p, parenchyma; ab, abaxial epidermis; pa, papillae; t, trichome. (bars: figs 23, 27 = 20 µm; figs 26, 30 = 30 µm; figs 24, 29, 31 = 35 µm; figs 25, 33 = 40 µm; figs 28, 32 = 45 µm). micromorphological and anatomical studies on petals 163 discussion petal morphology and micromorphology are distinctive features in taxa diagnosis (metcalfe and chalk, 1979; özcan, 2002). the present micromorphological and anatomical studies on petals of some selected onosma species provide more detailed information on these species. it appeared from the study that the morphological features of the petal epidermis under light microscope are constant with no apparent difference among the studied taxa. the pattern of anticlinal cells were straight to curved in all studied species. nonetheless, some differences were seen in number of parenchymatic cell layers. akçin and engin (2001) studied anatomical structure of petals in o. isuricum and o. stenolobum. they reported that epidermal cells are covered with a cuticle layer with undulation. according to this study, epidermis cells in abaxial side were generally papillose, supporting the report of metcalfe and chalk (1979). the present study further support these findings. micromorphological characters of petal surface, on the other hand, showed some variations in studied onosma taxa. papillae type was determined as a main type according to the ornamentation of the petal surface. same surface type was seen in more than one species, but there was more or less difference in every species. the presence of crystals in boraginaceae is an important feature (metcalfe and chalk, 1979). azizian et al., (2000) reported that crystal (calcium carbonate) present in two forms in onosma species: a) deposited in cell wall of hairs, and b) located in the base of large hairs. crystals were clearly seen in the bases of trichomes in o. bracteosum and o. roussaei. according to the present study, micromorphological features of the dorsal surface of petal are important characters and can provide useful information on species-level diagnosis along with other selected morphological and micromorphological features. references akçin, ö.e. 2004. endemik onosma bornmuelleri hausskn.’nın morfolojisi, anatomisi ve ekolojisi üzerine bir araştırma. ecology 13(51): 13-19. (in turkish) akçin, ö.e. 2007. nutlets micromorphology of some onosma l. (boraginaceae) species from turkey. biologia 62(6): 684-689. akçin, ö.e. and engin, a. 2001. onosma isauricum boiss. & heldr. and o. stenolobum hausskn. ex h. riedl türleri üzerinde karşılaştırmalı morfolojik ve anatomik bir araştırma. the herb journal of systematic botany 8: 75-95. (in turkish) akçin, ö.e. and engin, a. 2005. the morphological, anatomical and ecological properties of endemic onosma bracteosum hausskn. & bornm. (boraginaceae) species. turk. j. bot. 29: 317-325. azizian, d., khatamsaz, m. and kasaian, j. 2000. the taxonomic significance of leaf anatomy in the genus onosma l. (boraginaceae) in iran. iran. journ. bot. 8(2): 167-180. barthlott, w. 1984. microstructural features of seed surfaces. in: heywood, v.h. and moore, d.m. (eds), current concept in plant taxonomy. academic press, london, pp. 95-105. 164 akçin binzet, r. and akçin, ö.e. 2009. nutlet size, shape and surface ornamentation in 14 onosma species (boraginaceae). acta bot. croatica 68(1): 117-126. binzet, r. and orcan, n. 2007. a new species of onosma l. (boraginaceae) from southern turkey. novon, a journal for botanical nomenculature 17(1): 8-10. davis, p.h., mill, r.r. and tan, k. 1988. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol 10, edinburgh university press, edinburgh, pp. 1-590. khajuria, r.k. and jain, s.m. 1993. two new naphthoquinones from the roots of onosma hispidum. indian journal of chemistry 32: 390-391. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1979. anatomy of dicotyledons. vol. i. oxford university press, london, pp. 1-276. ozgen, u., maksut, c., kazaz, c. and secen, h. 2004. naphthoquinones from the roots of onosma argentatum hub.-mor. (boraginaceae). turk. j. chem. 28: 451-454. özcan, t. 2002. sem observations on petals and fruits of some turkish endemic bupleurum l. (umbelliferae) species. botanical journal of the linnean society 138: 441-449. öztürk, m. and özçelik, h. 1991. doğu anadolu’nun faydalı bitkileri. si̇skav, ankara, pp. 1-196. (in turkish) reule, h. 1937. vergleichendanatomische untersuchungen in der gattung mesembryanthemum l. flora 31: 24-400. (in german) riedl, h. 1978. onosma. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 6. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, pp. 326-376. riedl, h., bınzet, r. and orcan, n. 2004. a new species of onosma (boraginaceae-lithospermeae) from southern turkey. edinburgh journal of botany 61: 127-130. stace, c.a. 1984. the taxonomic importance of the leaf surface. in: heywood, v.h. and moore d.m. (eds), current concepts in plant taxonomy. academic press, london, pp. 67-94. stearn, w.t. 1973. botanical latin. david & charles, newton, abbot, london, pp. 1-566. teppner, h. 1981. karyosystematik von onosma stellulatum, o. pygmaeum und o. leptanthum (boraginaceae). bot. jahrb. syst. 102: 297-306. teppner, h. 1988. onosma kaheirei spec. nova und o. erectum (boraginaceae) aus griechenland. phyton (austria). 28: 115-131. vardar, y. 1987. botanikte preparasyon tekniği. ege üniversitesi, izmir, pp.1-66. (in turkish) (manuscript received on 24 september 2008; revised on 1 july 2009) akçin, ö.e. 2007. nutlets micromorphology of some onosma l. microsoft word 04. citrus anatomy_nigeria.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 25-31, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists foliar epidermal characters and petiole anatomy of four species of citrus l. (rutaceae) from south-western nigeria c.s. ogundare and s.a. saheed1 department of botany, faculty of science, obafemi awolowo university, ile-ife 22005, nigeria keywords: citrus l.; foliar characters; petiole anatomy; taxonomy; nigeria. abstract studies on the leaf epidermal characters and petiole anatomy of four species of citrus l. viz., c. limon (l.) burm., c. paradisi macf., c. reticulata blanco and c. sinensis (l.) osbeck were carried out to establish and document their foliar anatomical characters with the aim of separating them from the modified varieties been cultivated globally. leaf epidermal features that revealed close relationship among these taxa include hypostomatic condition, stomata shape and type, presence of secretory cavity on the adaxial surface, and polygonal shape of epidermal cells. the absence of secretory cavity on the abaxial surface separates c. limon and c. sinensis from others. petiole anatomy revealed that the outline is flat without ribs in c. sinensis, convex with short ribs in c. reticulata, convex with long ribs in c. paradisi while in c. limon it is circular without ribs. presence of trichomes and crystals distinguishes c. paradisi from the rest. introduction the genus citrus l. is one of the very important genera in the family rutaceae. they are shrubs or small to medium-sized trees and are cultivated throughout the tropics and subtropics. they are indigenous in some parts of india, china, northern australia and new caledonia (harley et al., 2006). most citrus species are of importance because of their fruits, which are eaten alone as fresh fruit, or they may be processed as fruit juice and in some cuisines, lemon, or lime are added to dishes and beverages. most of the species in the genus have traditional medicinal value (goethesson, 1997; okeke and mbagwu, 2001). due to increased economic value of citrus species, many agricultural cultivars have been developed which has led to series of identity conflict between the parent plants and cultivars (morton, 1987; goldschmidt, 1996). therefore, the phylogeny and taxonomy of citrus remains a matter of controversy (herrero et al., 1996). citrus taxonomy is complex and unsettled, and a general assumption is that only three fundamental citrus species exist while other species arose from hybridization (katz and weaver, 2003). however, which of the hybrids are considered species varies widely according to the classification scheme used (katz and weaver 2003). interestingly, previous systematics of citrus species rest on floral and fruit characters, only a few morphological and anatomical characters were considered (morton, 1987; goldschmidt, 1996). many workers showed that citrus leaves possess many morphological attributes of potential taxonomic significance that are often diagnostic at the genus and species levels (arroyo, 1986; edeoga and eboka, 2000; adedeji and illoh, 2004; mbagwu and edeoga, 2006; saheed and illoh, 2010). the shape of epidermal cells, types and arrangement of stomata as well as the size and shape of trichomes are important taxonomic characters in this connection. the current study, therefore, is set to investigate detailed leaf epidermal and petiole anatomical characters of four selected parent species of citrus, which may be of high diagnostic values that may further enhance the taxonomy of this important genus. 1corresponding author. email: saheed@oauife.edu.ng 26 ogundare and saheed materials and methods fresh leaves of four species of citrus namely, c. limon (l.) burm., c. paradisi macf., c. reticulata blanco and c. sinensis (l.) osbeck were collected from obafemi awolowo university teaching and research farm ile-ife (7o32' n, 4o32' e), osun state, south west nigeria. they were identified and confirmed at obafemi awolowo university ile-ife, nigeria herbarium (ife). epidermal peels of most of the specimens were obtained manually using forceps and dissecting needles, fragile and difficult materials were obtained using the procedure previously described (adedeji and jewoola, 2008). the peels were stained with 1% safranin ‘o’ solution for about 5-10 minutes, rinsed carefully in several changes of water to remove excess stains and then mount in dilute (10%) glycerol solution on a glass slide for further microscopic observation. the transverse sections (20 µm thick) of the leaf petiole were carefully cut through the median region using a sledge microtome following established protocols (illoh, 1995; essiett, 2010). the cut sections were placed on clean glass slides, stained with 1% safranin ‘o’ mounted in dilute (10%) glycerol. microscopic observations of important leaf epidermal and petiole characters were viewed and captured on an olympus bh-2 compound microscope fitted with a jvc kyf70b digital camera and selected images were imported as bitmaps to corel draw 12 (corel corporation, ottawa, canada 2003). twenty-five measurements were taken for each of the measured parameters, guard cell area (gca) was calculated by multiplying the length and width of guard cells by franco’s constant (0.7854). stomatal index (si) was obtained using the formula: si = [s/(e+s)] × 100; where s = no. of stomata per unit area, e = no. of ordinary epidermal cell plus the subsidiary cells in the same unit area. results leaf epidermal surface c. limon (l.) burm. on the adaxial surface the epidermal cells are largely polygonal (rectangular to pentagonal) with straight anticlinal walls (fig. 1a). the walls are thick, having 3 or 4 layers of cells. the epidermal cells are 17.3-31.1 µm long and 6.9-13.8 µm broad. stomata and trichomes are absent, but prismatic crystals and secretory cavities are present and they are distributed throughout the surface of the epidermis. the shape of the epidermal cells on the abaxial surface is the same as on the adaxial with straight anticlinal walls (fig. 1b). the cells are arranged in elongated rows, the walls are thick with 3 or 4 layers of cells and are 13.8-44.9 µm long and 6.9-13.8 µm broad. stomata are abundant, largely paracytic, circular or elliptic in shape. the size of the stomata is 47.6-285.7 µm² and the stomata index is between 11.2% and 23.7%. prismatic crystals are present and distributed throughout the surface while secretory cavity is absent. c. paradisi macf. the adaxial epidermal cells are largely polygonal (rectangular to pentagonal) with straight anticlinal walls (fig. 1c). the walls are thick having 3 or 4 layers of cells and these are 13.8-31.1 µm long and 6.9-17.3 µm wide. the species is hypostomatic, but prismatic crystals and secretory cavities occur on this surface and they are distributed throughout the surface. the epidermal cells have straight anticlinal walls and the cells are arranged in elongated rows (fig. 1d). the walls are thick having 3 or 4 layers of cells, cells are 13.8-38.0 µm long and 6.9-13.8 µm wide. stomata are abundant and are largely paracytic circular with few been elliptic, their size is 71.8-285.7 µm² and stomata index ranges between 17.1% and 24.2%. prismatic crystals and secretory cavities are present and distributed throughout the surface. foliar epidermal characters and petiole anatomy of citrus 27 fig. 1. adaxial and abaxial epidermal surfaces of citrus species. c. limon, a) adaxial, b) abaxial; c. paradisi, c) adaxial, d) abaxial; c. reticulata, e) adaxial, f) abaxial; c. sinensis g) adaxial, h) abaxial. c = crystals; s = stomata; sc = secretory cavity. scale = 21 µm. 28 ogundare and saheed c. reticulata blanco adaxial epidermal cells are largely polygonal (rectangular to pentagonal), anticlinal walls are straight, cell wall are 3 or 4 layers thick (fig. 1e). ordinary epidermal cells are 13.8-38.0 µm long and 6.9-17.3 µm wide. stomata and trichomes are absent. prismatic shaped crystals and secretory cavity are present and they are distributed throughout the surface of the epidermis. epidermal cells on the abaxial surface (fig. 1f) are largely polygonal (rectangular to pentagonal). anticlinal walls are straight and are 3 or 4 layers thick with epidermal cells arranged in elongated rows. epidermal cells are 17.3-41.4 µm long and 6.9-17.3 µm wide. paracytic stomata are abundantly present circular in shape with few been elliptic. stomata index is between 13.0% and 22.0%, stomata size is 71.8-238.7 µm². prismatic crystals and secretory cavity are present distributed throughout the surface while trichomes are absent. c. sinensis (l.) osbeck epidermal cells on adaxial surface are largely polygonal, rectangular to pentagonal, with straight anticlinal walls (fig. 1g). the walls are 3-4 layers thick, and the cells are 20.7-38.0 µm long and 10.4-17.3 µm broad (table 1). stomata and trichomes are generally absent but there are prismatic crystals as well as secretory cavities distributed throughout the surface. on the abaxial surface (fig. 1h), epidermal cells are largely polygonal just like it is on the adaxial surface, with straight anticlinal walls and they are 3 or 4 layers thick. the epidermal cells are 17.3-44.9 µm long and 10.4-20.7 µm broad. paracytic stomata occur in abundant largely circular in shape with few been elliptic. stomata index ranges between 12.2% and 25.7%, while stomata size is 143.5-358.1 µm². prismatic crystals are distributed throughout the surface but without secretory cavity. table 1. leaf epidermal and petiole anatomical characters of four species of citrus l. adaxial surface abaxial surface petiole species cs (µm) l/w sc cs (µm) l/w ss (µm²) si (%) sc outline tc sc c c. limon 17.3-31.1 6.9-13.8 + 13.8-44.9 6.9-13.8 47.6-285.7 11.2-23.7 circular, no ribs c. paradisi 13.8-31.1 6.9-17.3 + 13.8-38.0 6.9-13.8 71.8-285.7 13.0-22.7 + convex, long ribs + + + c. reticulata 13.8-38.0 6.9-17.3 + 17.3-41.4 6.9-17.3 71.8-238.7 17.1-24.2 + convex, short ribs c. sinensis 20.7-38.0 10.4-17.3 + 17.3-44.9 10.4-20.7 143.5-358.1 12.2-25.7 flat, no ribs cs = cell size; l = length; w = width; sc = secretory cells; ss = stomata size; si = stomata index; tc = trichomes; c = crystals; + = present; = absent. petiole anatomy c. limon (l.) burm. median region outline is circular without ribs and trichomes (fig. 2a). the epidermis is uniseriate. the cortex contains 4 to 7-layered angular collenchyma cells on the outermost region of the petiole, followed by 10 to 14-layered parenchyma cells. a layer of sclerenchyma cell surrounds the vascular bundles which form a continuous ring. shining crystals and 1 or 2 layers of foliar epidermal characters and petiole anatomy of citrus 29 secretory cells are present. the collateral vascular bundles are arranged in a ring form and joined together. the pith is parenchymatous and embedded with prismatic crystals. c. paradisi macf. the outline of the median region is convex with long ribs and short, unicellular, nonglandular, unbranched trichome is present (fig. 2b). the epidermis is uniseriate. angular collenchyma of 4-6 layers cells occur on the outermost portion of the cortex followed by 6 to 8layered parenchyma cells. a layer of sclerenchyma cells forms a continuous ring round the vascular bundles, secretory cells are absent. collateral vascular bundles are arranged in a ring form and are joined together. the pith is parenchymatous without crystals. fig. 2. anatomical features found in the petiole of citrus species. a) c. limon; b) c. paradisi; c) c. reticulata; d) c. sinensis. c = cortex; xy = xylem; ph = phloem; sc = secretory cavity; tc = trichome. scale = 25 µm. c. reticulata blanco the median region outline is convex with short ribs (fig. 2c). trichomes are absent while the epidermis is uniseriate. the cortex contains 3 to 5-layered angular collenchyma cells to the outermost portion, followed by 5 to 7-layered parenchyma cells. a layer of sclerenchyma cells forms a continuous ring around the vascular bundles, with shining prismatic crystals and 3 or 4 layers of secretory cells. collateral vascular bundles are arranged in a ring joining one another, the pith is parenchymatous without crystals. 30 ogundare and saheed c. sinensis (l.) osbeck the outline through the median region is flat without ribs (fig. 2d). trichomes are absent and the epidermis is uniseriate. the cortex contains 4 to 6-layered angular collenchyma cells to the outermost portion, followed by 8 to 12-layered ordinary parenchyma cells. a layer of sclerenchyma surrounds the vascular bundles forming a discontinuous ring around it. prismatic and shining crystals are present in the cortical region along with 2 or 3-layered secretory cells. collateral vascular bundles are arranged in a ring form and are fused together. the pith is parenchymatous with prismatic crystals embedded in it. discussion the present study showed that foliar epidermal and petiole anatomical features are useful for characterization and delimitation of the four species of citrus studied. all the species investigated have very similar foliar epidermal characters with only few differences which points to the close inter-relationship among them. on both adaxial and abaxial surfaces epidermal cells are largely polygonal (rectangular to pentagonal) and the anticlinal walls are straight for all the species (table 1). the epidermal wall is 3 or 4 layers thick with secretory cavities and prismatic crystals occurring on the epidermal surfaces of all the species except in c. sinensis and c. limon where secretory cavities are found only on the adaxial but absent on their abaxial surfaces. however, the size of the ordinary epidermal cells on both surfaces varies among the species (table 1). our result also shows that the epidermal cells of c. sinensis appear bigger in size and it is characteristics of this species when compared to others. illoh (1995), adedeji and jewoola (2008), and saheed and illoh (2010) have shown that the varying sizes of foliar epidermal cells in plants could be characteristics and delimiting among closely related species. presence of the hypostomatic nature in all the four species of citrus (table 1) is probably an adaptation to water loss (shaw, 1977; goldschmidt, 1996) as it is expected to confer an ecological advantage to survive as perennial plants. paracytic stomata are encountered in all the four species and they are mostly circular with few elliptic in all the species studied. the stomata size in c. sinensis was found to be the highest like the ordinary epidermal cells while it is smallest in c. reticulata. stomata index equally varies, yet c. sinensis has the highest and with others closely ranged. the data from our work clearly show that foliar epidermal characters could be employed to distinguish closely related species of citrus. our findings support previous studies in some other genera where leaf anatomical characters have been used as a veritable taxonomic tool (ogundipe and olatunji, 1991; illoh, 1995; adedeji and illoh, 2004; saheed and illoh, 2010; akcin and binzet, 2010). petiole anatomy has been reported to provide considerable variations which are of taxonomic significance (olatunji and bakare, 1993; srinual and thammathaworn, 2008; essiet, 2010). our results shows clear distinguishing general outline of the median regions of the petiole, the outline is flat without ribs in c. sinensis, convex with short ribs in c. reticulata, convex with long ribs in c. paradisi, while the outline of c. limon is circular without ribs. trichome is absent in c. limon, c. reticulata and c. sinensis, but present only in c. paradisi. the petiole epidermal cells are uniseriate along with angular collenchyma cells in the cortex of all four species. struwig et al. (2011) have shown that the number of chlorenchyma rows may be diagnostic in some other genera. our results have shown that the number of collenchyma layers though overlapping, may still be diagnostic to some extent considering the minimum and maximum number of layers that can be found in the species investigated. the presence of crystals in the pith and cortical regions is quite delimiting. crystals occurs in both the pith and cortical regions of c. sinensis and c. limon, but present in the cortical region only in c. reticulata, while crystals are completely absent in both regions in c. paradisi. this work has provided basic information on foliar epidermal characters foliar epidermal characters and petiole anatomy of citrus 31 and detailed petiole anatomical attributes that show close relationships between four citrus species as well as distinguishing characters which could be employed to identify these native species from their improved cultivars. references adedeji, o. and illoh, h.c. 2004. comparative foliar anatomy of 10 species in the genus hibiscus linn. in nigeria. new botanists 31: 147-180. adedeji, o. and jewoola, o.a. 2008. importance of leaf epidermal characters in the asteraceae family. not. bot. hort. agrobot. cluj. 36(2): 7-16. akçin, ö.e. and binzet, r. 2010. the micromorphological and anatomical properties of onosma angustissimum hausskn. & bornm. and o. cassium boiss. (boraginaceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 1-8. arroyo, s. 1986. leaf anatomy in the tecophilaeaceae. bot. j. linn. soc. 93: 323 -328. edeoga, h.o. and eboka, a.u. 2000. morphology of the leaf epidermis and systematics in some dissotis benth. species (melastomataceae). global j. pure appl. sci. 6(3): 371-374. essiett, u.a. 2010. petiole anatomy for systematic purposes in eremomastas polysperma, justicia insularis and asystacia gangetica (acanthaceae). world j. appl. sci. tech. 2(1): 69-75. goethesson, l.c. 1997. plants of the pitcairn islands including local names and uses. centre for south pacific studies, university of new south wales, sydney, australia. goldschmidt, e.e. 1996. biology of citrus. cambridge university press, cambridge, uk. harley, m.i., richard, b.s., virginia, e.s., ward, d. and elevitch, c.r. 2006. citrus (citrus) and fortunella (kumquat) rutaceae (rue family) in: elevitch, c.r. (ed.). species profile for pacific island agroforestry. permanent agriculture resources, (par), hōlualoa hawai‘i , pp. 1-27. herrero, r., asíns, m.j., carbonell, e.a. and navarro, l. 1996. genetic diversity in the orange subfamily aurantioideae. i. intraspecies and intragenus genetic variability. theor. appl. gen. 92(5): 599-609. illoh, h.c. 1995. foliar epidermis and petiole anatomy of four species of celosia l. in nigeria. feddes repert. 106(1-2): 15-23. katz, s.h. and weaver, w.w. 2003. encyclopedia of food and culture. schribner, new york. mbagwu, f.n. and edeoga, h.o. 2006. leaf anatomy of some nigerian species of vigna savi (leguminosaepapilionoideae). agri. j. 1(1): 5-7. morton, j. 1987. in: morton, j.f. (ed.), fruits of warm climates. miami, florida. ogundipe, o.t and olatunji, o.a 1991. the leaf anatomy of the species of cochlospermum kunth. (coschlospermaceace) in west africa. feddes repert. 102(3-4): 183-187. okeke, s.e. and mbagwu, f.n. 2001. herbalism in njaba local government area of imo state of nigeria. j. sci. eng. tech. 2: 168-174. olatunji, a.o. and bakare, o.a. 1993. taxonomic value of the petiole anatomy in the genus sida l. (malvaceae) in nigeria. feddes repert. 104(1-2): 35-39. shaw, p.e. 1977. essential oils. in: nagy, s., shaw, p.e. and veldhuis, m.k. (eds), citrus science and technology. westport, ct, the avi publishing co. inc., 427 pp. saheed, s.a. and illoh, h.c. 2010 a taxonomic study of some species in cassinae (leguminosae) using leaf epidermal characters. not. bot. hort. agrobot. cluj 38(1): 21-27. srinual, a. and thammathaworn, a. 2008. leaf anatomy of vatica l. (dipterocarpaceae) in thailand. nat. hist. j. chulalongkorn uni. 8(2): 121-134. struwig, m., jordaan, a. and siebert s.j. 2011 anatomy of the southern african boerhavia and commicarpus species (nyctaginaceae) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 105-115. (manuscript received on 25 october 2011; revised on 27 may 2012) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 29-40, 2006 (june) pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh : symphyodontaceae and amblystegiaceae hamida khatun and syed hadiuzzaman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words : pleurocarpous moss, hookeriales, hypnobryales, symphyodontaceae amblystegiaceae, bangladesh abstract a taxonomic account of six species of pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh of the families symphyodontaceae and amblystegiaceae under the order hookeriales and hypnobryales respectively are given . introduction the family symphyodontaceae is being represented in bangladesh by only a single genus with two species, and the family amblystegiaceae is represented by two genera and four species of the order hookeriales. during detailed studies on the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh khatun and hadiuzzaman (1994, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2005) found that among the different groups of these mosses, the order hookeriales is not so common. two species of the genus symphyodon of the family symphyodontaceae are being described in this present paper, namely s. orientales and s. erraticus. gangulee (1977) described eight species of the genus symphyodon from eastern india and adjacent regions, but he did not give any information on the occurrence of this genus in bangladesh. he also mentioed s. orientalis is endemic to upper assam and s. erraticus is endemic to indo-cylon but both species were found in bangladesh. chaetomitrium philippenense mont. of the family hookeriaceae under hookeriales was reported earlier from bangladesh by tixier (1967) from kaptai, rangamati on twigs in a checklist only, but none from the genus symphyodon. very recently banufattah (2005) reported distichophyllum schmidtii broth. of the family hookeriaceae. this moss is also rare and earlier it was only collected by sinclair (1955) from kalatuli, cox’s bazar. a previous study of khatun and hadiuzzaman ( 2005) revealed that two families of pleurocarpous mosses of the order hypnobryales, namely, thuidiaceae and brachytheciaceae are present in bangladesh. another family amblystegiaceae is being described in the present paper. this family is represented by two genera, namely, cratoneuron and campylium. the genus cratoneuron is represented by a single species, namely, c. filicinum. the genus campylium is represented by three species, namely c. gollanii, c. sommerfeltii and c. stellatum. tixier (1967) reported several pleurocarpous mosses from bangladesh, but not one from the family amblystegiaceae. gangulee (1978) reported two species of the genus cratoneuron and two species of the genus 30 khatun and hadiuzzaman campylium of the family amblystegiaceae from the eastern india and adjacent regions. chopra (1975) also reported four species of cratoneuron and four species of campylium. these authors did not mention the occurrence of these taxa from bangladesh territory. in the present paper two species of symphyodon of the family symphyodontaceae of the order hookeriales and one species of cratoneuron, three species of campylium, of the same order are being fully described and illustrated along with the key to the species. their distribution in bangladesh has also been recorded. order: hookeriales; family: symphyodontaceae genus: symphyodon mont in ann. sc. nat. bot. ser. 2, 16 : 279 (1941) key to the species of symphyodon 1. leaves ovate, a spinose row of shorter and broader cells at top margin s. orientalis leaves ovate-lanceolate, no spinose row of shorter and broader cells at top marginal cells s. erraticus 1. symphyodon orientalis (mitt.) broth. ex par. in coll. 33 (1909) (fig. 1) stereodon orientalis mitt. in musci ind. or. : 111(1859) plant slender, yellow green, main stem creeping, branches irregularly pinnate, top of the branches fasciculate, became yellowish with age, branches more or less patent, branches and leaves curled when dry. 2 to 3 cm or more long. leaves more or less complanate and more or less distichous, leaves dense, erectopatent, ovate, slightly concave, gradually narrowed towards tip, acute, sometimes slightly falcate, more or less 1 to 1.5 mm long, 0.4 to 0.5 mm wide, margin entire but apical portion dentate, costa short, double, more or less equal, sometimes unequal. leaf cells linear to linear-elongate, tip cells irregularly linear up to c. 80 × 5 µm, border cells of tip more broader and shorter, middle cells elongated linear, c.86 × 4.5 µm, alar not distinctly differentiated but cells irregularly rectangular or irregularly quadrate at basal attachment, c. 20 × 8.5 µm, all cells show one papillose development at its tip, cell wall irregularly thickened but more or less thin. main stem leaves and branch stem leaves more or less similar. sporophyte on main shoot, sometimes on branch shoot. perichaetial leaves elongated, narrow c. 2.5 mm long . seta erect c. 2 cm long, upper portion rough, capsule curved from apophysis, elongated-cylindric, horizontal, c.1 mm long, and 0.5 mm in diameter, exothecial cells irregularly quadrate containing stomata. peristome teeth normal, double, exostome yellow-brown, transverse striolation present, c. 3 µm high, endostome is same height and golden-yellow in colour. specimens examined: maulvi bazar: srimangal, lawacherra forest, on soil, saiful islam, 03.03.92,325; sirajganj: tarash, on soil, ferdous alam, 06.12.98, 1443; sylhet: golapganj, on soil,hamida khatun, 06.01.96, 367 pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 31 fig. 1. symphyodon orientalis (mitt.) broth. a. dry plant (× 6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c. leaf (×24), d. basal laminal cells (×300), e. middle laminal cell (×300), f. apical laminal cells (×300), g. perichaetial leaf (×24), h. exothecial cells of the capsule (×133), i. mouth cells of the capsule (×133), j. exothecial cells showing stomata (×133), k. peristome teeth (×133). 2. symphyodon erraticus (mitt.) jaeg. in ber. s.gall. naturw. ges. 1876-77: 296 (1878) (fig. 2) stereodon erraticus mitt. in musci. ind. or . :111 (1859) reddish to blackish yellow, robust plants. main stem creeping , secondary shoots spreading, pinnately branched, branches some times bior tri-pinnate, 10 cm or more long. leaves erectopatent to spreading, ovate lingulate, slightly concave, sometimes one 32 khatun and hadiuzzaman side of the leaf revolute, c.1.5 mm long and 0.5 mm broad, apex acute, margin dentate from middle to top, sometimes also recurved below, somewhat asymmetric. costa double, short, unequal. leaf cells very linear elongate c.55 × 5µm at middle, tip cells little shorter than middle cells and c.35.9 ×5 µm, mostly showing a paiplla at upper angle, cells at attachment broader, laxer, quadrate below, and c.20.5 × 20 µm . main stem leaves and branch leaves more or less similar but branch leaves little smaller, more concave, more ovate than main stem leaves. sporophyte not found. fig. 2. symphyodon erraticus (mitt.) jaeg. a. dry plant (× 6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c, d. leaves (×24), e. basal laminal cells (×180), f. middle laminal cell (×180), g. apical laminal cells (×180). pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 33 specimens examined: chittagong: chittagong university, on the bark of tree, kishore kumar, 11.08.94, 341; maulvi bazar: lawacherra forest, sandy soil, hamida khatun, 23.02.92, 325; sylhet : airport road, on soil, hamida khatun, 06.01.96, 367 order: hypnobryales; family: amblystegiaceae genus: cratoneuron (sull.) spruce. in cat. musc. amaz. and.: 21 (1867) 3. cratoneuron filicinum (l. ex hedw.) spruce. cat. musc. amaz . and ., p. 21, 1867 hypnum filicinum l. ex hedw., in sp. musc., p 285, 1801. (fig. 3) h.compressum brid. in musc. rec., 2(2): 58 (1801). robust, medium-sized green to golden-green plants in dense tufts. main stem usually ascending (prostrate, some branches errect), densely tomentose, c. 6-11 cm. long. stems spreading or more often, crowded, irregularly or more typically pinnately branched. paraplyllia present, variable in shape. stem leaves erect or erect spreading or sometimes secund or slightly falcato-secund, ovate-lanceolate to broadly ovate, rather abruptly acuminate, the acumen usually not flexuose or twisted, decurrent, margins often slightly recurve at extreme base, mildly serrulate nearly all around except extreme base. costa single, ending below tip c.1.42 mm × 0.7 mm. leaf cells also reported to be variable. in this case cells smooth, firm-walled, shortly oblong, sometimes oblong-rhomboidal about 3 : 6 to 6 : 1 i. e, ( 40 × 10 µm), cells at next to the tip shortly oblong, at extreme tip slightly elongated rhomboidal up to c. 36 × 11µm , middle cells show variation, sometimes small or sometimes large elongated-rhomboid c. 26.4 × 10.8 µm. alar cells abruptly differentiated, hyaline or yellow-brown, irregularly rectangular more or less thick walled c.28 × 12 µm in concave groups. branch leaves shorter and narrower, crowded erectopatent (erect with flexuose or out-spread tips when dry), lanceolate acuminate, more or less with falcate tips, up to 1.25 mm long. costa single, ending below tip likely to be percurrent, cells as stem leaf. sporophyte not found. specimen examined : pabna: raghunathpur, on the bark of tree, luna ahmed, 03.03.94, 193. genus: campylium (sull.) mitt. in j. linn. soc. bot., 12 : 631 (1869) key to the species of campylium 1. leaves ovate-lanceolate, more or less acute c. gollanii leaves not so but, from an ovate base narrowed into a channelled acumen 2 2. leaves erect spreading to spreading, leaf ovate, near the apex secund c. sommerfeltii leaves spreading from an suberect base , leaf cordate ovate, leaf tip not so c. stellatum 34 khatun and hadiuzzaman fig. 3. cratoneuron filicinum (hedw.) spruce. a. dry plant (×6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c-g. larger and smaller leaves (×24). 4. campylium gollanii c. muell. ex vohra in bull. bot. surv. india 12 (1-4) : 101. 1970. (fig. 4). dioecious, small plants, glossy, golden green, uaually corticolous and loosely tufted. main stem creeping, branches ascending short arched, pinnate, dense, smooth up to 2.5 cm long and 0.5 cm wide with leaves. leaves erect spreading to spreading, ovatelanceolate, margin slightly involute that makes the leaf little concave, apex narrowed into a long and fine acumen, margin entire, up to 1.25 mm long and 0.29 mm broad. costa pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 35 short, double, unequal, sometimes indistinct. alar cells quadrate to sub-rectangular sometimes inflated, incrassate c. 22.99 × 7.99 µm, smooth, not porose, middle cells narrowly linear, fusiform, c.78.7 × 3 µm, apex cells rhomboid to linear up to 45 × 3.9 µm. branch leaves same as stem leaves but slightly smaller in size. perichaetial bract linear lanceolate to ovate laceolate, long acuminate, nerve less. seta reddish, up to 8 mm long, capsule brown, peristome teeth normal and more or less 300 µm long. spores 9.5 ×12 µm, smooth. fig. 3. (contd.) h. basal laminal cells (×133), i. middle laminal cells (×180), j. apical laminal cells (×133), k-p. paraphyllia (×60). 36 khatun and hadiuzzaman fig. 4. campylium gollanii c. muell. a. dry plant (× 6.67), b. wet plant (× 6.67) c, d. leaves (×24), e. basal laminal cells (× 300), f. middle laminal cells (× 300), g. leaf apex cells (× 300), h. exothecial cells of the capsule (× 80), i. peristome teeth (× 80), j. perichaetial leaf (× 24). specimens examined: chittagong: chittagong university area, on soil, hamida khatun, 22.08.93, 279; cox’s bazar: ramu, on soil, m.a. rahim, 01.03.89, 429; maulvi bazar: srimangal, madhobkundu, on stone, hamida khatun, abdul karim, belal, syeda humaira afroz, md. shahabuddin, 28.2.92, 292; 289; mymensingh: gouripur, on soil, jashim sheikh, 08.02.93, 295; pabna: sathia, on soil, luna ahmed, 28.08.92, 280; bera, on soil, luna ahmed, 29.08.92; rangamati: kaptai, on sandi moist tilla, hamida khatun, 20.02.92, 96. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 37 5. campylium sommerfeltii (myr.) bryhn. explor. 61. 1893; kanda in journ. sc. hiroshima university ser. b. div. 2 (bot.) 15(2) :255. 1975 (fig. 5) hypnum sommerfeltii myr. k. svenska vetensk akad. aorsb. 328.1831. monoecious, plants in dense carpet, pale green to bright golden green, sometimes brownish in colour. main stem creeping, more or less 2 cm long, erect, irregularly branched, 1 to 2 cm long, densely foliate, branches more or less 4 to 5 mm long. leaves fig. 5. campylium sommerfeltii (myr.) bryhn. a. dry plant (×6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c-g. leaves (×24), h. basal laminal cells at the one side of midrib (×300), i. basal middle laminal cells at the other side of midrib (×300) j. middle laminal cells (×200), k. exothecial cells (×133), l. apical laminal cells (×200), m. perichaetial leaf (×24), n. peristome teeth (×133). 38 khatun and hadiuzzaman more or less 0.91 to 0.95 mm long, 0.3 to 0.4 mm wide, concave, ovate, gradually narrowed into a long acumen, margin plain, basal portion slighty dentate, very faintly toothed, entire above, nerve short, double, unequal, reaching up to 2/3 or 1/4th of leave length. cells in middle of leaf is variable in size and shape c.77.59 × 6.6 µm, tip cells linear, c. 36.99 × 3 µm, angular cells few, alar cells quadrate to sub-rectangular c.36 × 4.4 µm. sporophyte on main stem, perichaetial leaf erect, elongated, c. 1.5 mm long, nerve present up to 2/3 of its length. seta brown, erect, c. 1 cm long, capsule brown , oblong-elongate, exothecial cells irregular in shape, c. 20-30 µm wide, brown and thinwalled. peristome normal, hypnoid, exostome brown, endstome pale-yellow colour; cilia also present . specimen examined: habiganj: satchhari, chunarughat, on the bark of tree, shafaet ahmed khan, 17.10.88, 140. 6. campylium stellatum (hedw.) c. jens. in lange, medd. grönl. 3: 328 , 1887. hypnum stellatum hedw., sp. musc. , p. 280, 1801 (fig. 6) campyliodelphus stellatus (hedw.) kanda, jour. sci. hiroshima univ. b2, 15: 269, (1975) 1976. plant slender, moderately robust, in loose mats, dioecious, green or yellowish to golden green, more or less glossy when dry. main stem creeping, irregularly branched, ascending. leaves crowded, erect to erect spreading from a broad suberect base,c. striolate when dry, 1-2 mm long, 0.3-0.5 mm broad, ovate lanceolate gradually narrowed to a long slender, channeled acumem, acuminating straight, sometimes recurved, margin entire, costa short, double, unequal, sometimes absent, in few reaching about 1/3 or 1/4th of the leaf length, cells fusiform, smooth, upper cells linear, c. 51 x 4.5 µm at tip, c.7.2 × 3 µm at middle, basal cells thick-walled c.47.7 × 6.6 µm alar cells conspicuously differentiated, large, short, oblong becoming thick-walled c. 14.7 × 11.76 µm and brownish with age. sporophyte on main stem, perichaetial leaf elongate, errect, nerve less, seta erect, 15-20 mm long, capsule oblong-elongate, 2-3 mm long, c. 1 mm wide. peristome normal, exostome yellow brown, endostome pale yellow, cilia also present, basal membrane low. specimens examined: maulvi bazar: srimangal, on soil, hamida khatun, syeda humaira afroz, md shahabuddin, md. shamim. 29.02.92, 272; pabna: atghoria, on soil, luna ahmed, 04.03.94, 285. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 39 fig. 6. campylium stellatum (hedw.) c. jens. a. dry plant (×6.67), b. wet plant (×6.67), c, e. leaves (×24), f. basal laminal cells (×300), g. middle laminal cells (×33), h. apical laminal cells (×300), i. exothecial cells of the capsule (×200), j. perichaetial leaf (×24), k. peristome teeth (×133). acknowledgement the authors are grateful to national professor a.k.m. nurul islam, department of botany, university of dhaka for his valuable suggestions and constructive criticism for the preparation of the manuscript. 40 khatun and hadiuzzaman refereces banu-fattah, k. 2005. distichophyllum schmidtii broth. (hookeriaceae) a new report from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(1): 45-47. chopra, r. s. 1975. taxonomy of indian mosses. new delhiindia. 440-531. gangulee, h. c. 1977.mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions. a monograph. fasc. 6. calcutta , india. 1516-1527. gangulee, h. c. 1978.mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions. a monograph. fasc. 7. calcutta, india. 1657-1661, 1680-1683. khatun, h and hadiuzzaman, s. 1994. taxonomic studies of some pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 23(1): 113-122. khatun, h and hadiuzzaman, s. 1995. addition to the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 24(2): 183-191. khatun, h and hadiuzzaman, s. 2003. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family neckeraceae-1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 47-55. khatun, h and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family neckeraceae-2. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 43-47. khatun, h and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family erpodiaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 29-32. khatun, h and hadiuzzaman, s. 2005. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family meteoriaceae and pterobryaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 53-57. khatun, h and hadiuzzaman, s. 2005. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family thuidiaceae and brachytheciaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 71-84 sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. bengal, 9(2): 110-111. tixier, p. 1967. bryophytae indosinicae. dacca univ. stud. pt. b. 15(1): 1-14. 1. symphyodon orientalis (mitt.) broth. ex par. in coll. 33 stereodon orientalis mitt. in musci ind. or. : 111(1859) 2. symphyodon erraticus (mitt.) jaeg. in ber. s.gall. naturw microsoft word 01. johrenia.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 113-120, 2010 (december) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists phylogenetic relationships among the taxa of the genus johrenia dc. (apiaceae) from turkey based on molecular method bekir dogan*, ahmet duran1, yavuz bagci2, muhittin dinc1, esra martin1, ozlem cetin1 and meryem ozturk1 selcuk university, education faculty, department of science education, 42090, konya, turkey keywords: johrenia; dichoropetalum; apiaceae; taxonomy; issr; turkey. abstract in the present study, issr markers were employed to determine the phylogenetic relationships among the taxa of johrenia. the genera angelica and xanthogalum were selected as outgroups. unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (upgma) and principal coordinate analyses were conducted to view the molecular relationships. johrenia alpina, j. depauperatum and j. aurea are transferred to the genus dichoropetalum. the infrageneric and intergeneric phylogenetic relationship among the johrenia and dichoropetalum genera are determined. introduction the apiaceae family is represented by approximately 400 genera and 3500 species worldwide (constance, 1971; pimenov and leonov, 1993). the family consists of 102 genera and 434 species in turkey (erik and tarıkahya, 2004). the apiaceae includes many commonly grown vegetables (carrot, parsnip) and condiments (chervil, cumin, parsley, dill). they owe their distinctive flavour largely to diverse essential oil compounds in the fruits, seeds and leaves. the family also encompasses widespread weeds and toxic plants (downie et al., 2000). a molecular approach has contributed much to understanding the evolutionary relationships of apiaceae. phylogenetic analyses of the family using chloroplast dna (cpdna) sequences (downie et al., 1996), cpdna restriction sites (plunkett and downie, 1999), and nuclear ribosomal dna internal transcribed spacer (its) sequences (downie and katz-downie, 1996) provided an alternative classification of drude (1898). revision based on molecular data provide better resolution of the systematic positions. the taxonomic problems at the species level have begun started to be solved with dnabased molecular analyses which are not affected by environmental conditions, in contrast to the phenotypical analyses. *corresponding author. e-mail: <bdogan@selcuk.edu.tr>. 1selcuk university, education faculty, department of biology education, konya 42090, turkey. 2selcuk university, faculty of science and literature, department of biology, konya 42031, turkey. 114 dogan et al. probably, the centre of the genetic diversity of the genera johrenia and dichoropetalum are in anatolia. johrenia is represented by nine taxa in turkey, namely, johrenia selinoides, j. porteri, j. dichotoma subsp. dichotoma, j. dichotoma subsp. sintenisii, j. tortuosa, j. polyscias, j. alpina, j. berytea, and j. aurea (chonberlair, 1972). five of these species are endemic to turkey, viz j. selinoides, j. dichotoma subsp. sintenisii, j. alpina, j. berytea, and j. polyscias. the sample of j. dichotoma subsp. sintenisii was collected by g. post 120 years ago and was only known from the type locality in mardin province. johrenia aurea species was collected 150 years ago which was only known from the type locality on aslandağ mountain in kayseri province (chamberlain, 1972). johrenia was described first by candolle (1829) based on j. dichotoma dc. later, dichoropetalum fenzl, based on d. alpinum fenzl, was described (fenzl, 1842) but soon after sunk by its author into synonymy with johrenia (fenzl, 1843). the basis for the modern johrenia taxonomy was laid by boissier (1844), who placed 10 species in johrenia, and divided them into two informal groups. the first contains six species (j. selinoides, j. dichotoma, j. fungosa, j. graeca, j. alpina and j. berytea). the second group was again subdivided into two subgroups. the first subgroup comprises j. candollei, j. platycarpa, and the other subgroup contains j. aurea and j. juncea. drude (1898) maintained boissier’s classification of the genus. bornmüller (1930) compiled a synopsis of the johrenia species and included descriptions of some new species, among which j. polyscias is adopted in turkish flora (chamberlain, 1972). pimenov et al. (2007) made a comprehensive taxonomic analysis of dichoropetalum, johrenia, zeravschania and other related genera of apiaceae based on 32 morphological diagnostic characters. according to results from their comparative multivariate analysis, 28 new nomenclatural combinations are validated and lectotypes are designated for several names. from the genus johrenia, pimenov et al. (2007) transferred j. alpina, j. aromatica, j. berytea, j. aurea, j. golestanica, j. paucijuga, j. platycarpa and j. ramosissima into the genus dichoropetalum. in addition, johrenia westii was transferred to the genus ferulago. transferred species j. alpina, j. berytea and j. aurea are endemic to turkey. according to the latest taxonomic analysis on some of the genera in apiaceae family, the johrenia and dichoropetalum genera are represented by six taxa and three species respectively in turkey. these taxa are as follows: johrenia selinoides, j. porteri, j. dichotoma subsp. dichotoma, j. dichotoma subsp. sintenisii, j. tortuosa, j. polyscias in johrenia genus; dichoropetalum alpinum, d. aureum and d. depauperatum (syn. j. berytea) in dichoropetalum genus (pimenov et al., 2007). currently morphological revisions of various plant taxa are often supported by molecular data (apg, 2003). as compared with morphological data, dna data are not influenced by the environmental conditions in which the plants have grown; hence they serve as a powerful tool in resolving taxonomical and systematical problems. phylogenetic relationships of johrenia 115 the aim of our study was to determine the infrageneric and intergeneric phylogenetic relationship among the johrenia and dichoropetalarum genera emplyomg issr method. also, we selected angelica sylvestris (m. bieb.) sprengel and xanthogalum purpurascens lallem. to resolve their controversial status by using a dna based molecular marker system. materials and methods plant materials: johrenia and dichoropetalum specimens were collected by the authors from amasya, mersin, adana, niğde, kahramanmaraş, bursa, konya, osmaniye and kayseri provinces between of 2003-2008 (fig. 1). the flora of turkey (chamberlian, 1972), flora iranica (rechinger, 1987), and flora europaea (tutin, 1968), were used to identify the collected plant samples. specimens are kept in selçuk university education faculty herbarium. the specimens’ localities (fig. 1) and examined representative specimens are in the appendix. the genera angelica and xanthogalum were selected as outgroups. these genera are closest to johrenia in respect to phylogeny in turkish flora. dna isolation: nuclear dna was isolated from leaves both from herbarium and fresh materials using ctab method (sambrok et al., 1989). total dna was obtained from 50-75 mg dried leaf tissue from 10 different individuals. dnas were isolated with the easy nucleic acid isolation kit (omega) and concentrations were determined by nanodrop. sample dnas were diluted to 25 ng/µl. stock dnas were kept at -86ºc. issr amplifications: issr primers (galvan et al., 2003) were amplified in a pcr thermal cycler. the characteristics of the primers used are given in table 1. each pcr reaction contained 25 µl containing 2.5 µl pcr buffer (10 mm tris/50 mm kcl buffer, ph 8.0), 3 µl 25 mm mgcl, 0.5 µl of each primer, 0.5 µl of dntp mix, 0.4 µl taq dna polymerase, 4 µl of each dna and 14.1 µl distilled water. after a pre-denaturation step of 3 min at 94 0c, amplification reactions were cycled 40 times at 94ºc for 1 min, at annealing temperature (table 1) for 1 min and 72ºc for 1 min and a final extension was allowed for 10 min at 72ºc in an eppendorf mastercycler gradient thermocycler. upon completion of the reaction, 15 µl aliquots of the pcr products were mixed with 3 µl of loading dye (50% glycerol, 0.25% bromophenol blue and 0.15% xylene cyanol) and loaded onto a 2% agarose, 1x tris-borate-edta gel and electrophoriesed at 4v cm-1. amplified fragments were visualized under a uv transiluminator and photographed using a gel documentation system (vilbert lourmat, infinity model). data analysis: all the fragments amplified were treated as dominant genetic markers. each dna band generated was visually scored as an independent character or locus (‘1’ for presence and ‘0’ for absence). qualitative differences in band intensities were not considered. every gel was scored in triplicate (independent scorings) and only the fragments consistently scored were considered for analysis. a rectangular binary data 116 dogan et al. matrix was prepared and all the data analysis was performed using the numerical taxonomy system, ntsys-pc version 2.02 (applied biostatistic, exeter software, setauket, new york, usa). similarity coefficient method was used. in cluster analysis of the samples the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean (upgma) procedure was followed (rohlf, 1992). genetic distances calculated with the simple mathing coefficient. in order to determine the ability of issr data to display the interrelationships among the samples analysis was conducted using ntsys-pc package. fig. 1. distribution map of the examined specimens; 1. dichoropetalum aytachii, 2. d. depauperatum, 3. d. alpinum, 4. johrenia porteri, 5. j. selinoides, 6. j. dichotoma, 7. j. polyscias, 8. j. tortuosa, 9. xanthogalum purpurascens, 10. angelica sylvestris. results and discussion from an initial screening of 25 issr primers, nine primers revealed high levels of polymorphisms. these primers generated 90 highly polymorphic fragments that were consistently amplified in repeated experiments. the gc percentages of the selected primers were within the range of 38.9-66.7% (five of them being 52.6%). in total, the average number of polymorphic fragments per primer used was roughly 11. genetic distances calculated with the sm coefficient ranged from 0.46 to 0.99. as a result of the evaluation of the issr data, dichoropetalum depauperatum showed 95% similarity with and d. aytachii. the clade composed of j. dichotoma and j. porteri are very similar according to the morphological characters. these similarities are supported with the issr data and these species show much more similarity in the dendogram than any other species (fig. 2). phylogenetic relationships of johrenia 117 pimenov et al. (2007) selected 33 morphological characters for phenetic analyses of johrenia, dichoropetalum, zeravschania and related genera. selected characters were used to perform upgma analysis, and the resulting phenogram showed the relationships among johrenia, dichoropetalum, zeravschania, and related genera. in the phenogram, three major groups matched with one of the three genera. the molecular dendogram of the genera dichoropetalum and johrenia showed parallelism among the major groups like the phenogram of johrenia, dichoropetalum, zeravschania genera of pimenov et al. (2007). table 1. issr primers used in this study and their specifications. primer primer sequence tmelting (0c) size (bp) gc% tannealing issr m8 acacacacacacacacacg 56.7 19 52.6 56 issr m12 gacacgacacgacacgacac 61.4 20 60 60 issr m15 cacacacacacacacaag 53.7 18 50 53 issr n2 gtggtggtggtggtg 53.3 15 66.7 52 issr f1 gagcaacaacaacaacaa 49.1 18 38.9 49 issr f2 ctcgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgt 56.7 19 52.6 56 issr f5 agagagagagagagag 49.2 16 50 49 issr f6 ccaccaccaccacca 53.3 15 66.7 53 issr f7 acacacacacacacac 49.2 16 50 48 the present study based on issr data revealed four clades, each clade matching with one of the four genera, viz. johrenia, dichoropetalum, angelica and xanthogalum. the genus angelica with xanthogalum, and dichoropetalum with johrenia shows much more molecular phylogenetic similarity. there is a correlation between the morphologic diagnostic characters and molecular taxonomic classification. the concept of the “diagonal” was first proposed by davis (1971), who defined it as an oblique belt running from the north east, south to the anti-taurus; it then divides into two, with one branch to the amanus (amanos mountains), and the other to the cilician taurus (fig. 1). thirty three percent of the total species growing in turkey are found along the diagonal, while 5% are more or less restricted to it (ekim and güner, 1986). the spread of genus dichoropetalum is on the anatolian diagonal (fig. 1). the genus occurs in the anti-taurus region and branch (aladağ, amanos and bolkar mountains) of the anatolian diagonal. in anatolia, almost all mountain peaks so far examined abound in endemics (zohary, 1973). all species of dichoropetalum are grown on mountain peaks and endemics in anatolia. the anatolian diagonal and its adjacent areas are one of the most important centers of genetic diversity in turkey. the amanos mountain range is an interesting area, occupying an intersection of the mediterranean phytogeographical 118 dogan et al. region and the anatolian diagonal, with many euro-siberian phytogeographical region enclaves (ekim and güner, 1986). the area is very rich in paleo and neo endemic plants. fig. 2. dendogram showing genetic relationship of johrenia, dichoropetalum, angelica and xanthogalum species based on issr markers. an interesting dichoropetalum specimen, d. aytachii, (a. duran 7699, bagci & dinc) was collected from aladağlar mountain (niğde) in 2007. it is rather different specimens in dichoropetalum genus. on the specimen is required more comprehensive morphological, anatomical, palynological and cytotaxonomical studies. the specimen of the genus dichoropetalum examined with other samples, and its species placed in different clade in dendogram (fig. 2). the related species were clearly separated by the principal coordinate analysis (fig. 3). although the genus johrenia is distributed primarily in the east mediterranean region, some species maintain an interrupted spread in the ecotone zone in central anatolia. they grow on the anatolian diagonal or western side of the diagonal except for j. dichotoma ssp. sintenisii. this taxon is only known from the type locality and is a very local endemic. this genus represents six species in the world and five species in turkey (j. distans spread in greece and f.y.r. macedonia). four species of johrenia endemic to turkey are found on the anatolian diagonal. taxa of johrenia are poorly occurring and have local population in anatolia. opposite to the genus dichoropetalum, the genus johrenia is distributed in the lowest altitude of the mountains in turkey. phylogenetic relationships of johrenia 119 fig. 3. principal coordinate analysis of johrenia, dichoropetalum, angelica and xanthagalum species. as a result the johrenia and dichoropetalum taxa in turkey are classified according to the molecular data. j. alpina, j. depauperatum and j. aurea species have been transferred to the genus dichoropetalum. therefore, johrenia and dichoropetalum contain five and three species, respectively as revealed from molecular phylogenetic studies. acknowledgements we would like to thank to selcuk university (bap project no: 05401075) for financial support during this study. appendix examined representative specimens: – dichoropetalum alpinum. c5 mersin: gülek, maden road, karlıboğaz, 2400 m, 10.08.2007, steppe, duran et al., 7711, (duran, bağcı & dinc) – d. depauperatum. c6 kahramanmaraş: göksun, çardak, from ericek village to berit mountain 2100-2400 m, 08.08.2007, steppe, duran et al., 7687, – d. aytachii. c5 niğde: çamardı, aladağlar, emli mountain pass, 2100 m, 09.08.2007, calcareous slopes, 38°00.844'n, 36°49.579'e duran et al., 7699, – johrenia porteri. b6 kayseri: sarız, between yalak (yeşilkent)-körkuyu, 1450 m, 7.8.2007, duran et al., 7686, – johrenia selinoides. c5 adana: gülek mountain pass, between akçatekir-adana, 850 m, 10.08.2007, open forest, calcareous stony slopes, 37°13.271'n, 34°48.621'e, duran et al.,7708, – johrenia dichotoma. c5 mersin: karakütük village, 700 m, 05.06.2007, roadsides, open machia, duran et al., 7381, – johrenia polyscias. a5 amasya: hartna casstle, 450-630 m, 26.08.2007, rocky slopes, 40°39.314'n, 35°49.568'e, bağcı et al., 3688, – johrenia tortosa. b2 bursa: harmancıkdursunbey road, 450 m, 21.07.2006, open pinus brutia, duran 7292. – xanthayalum purpuracens. c4 konya: hadim, gevne valley, beyreli village, 1300, 25.7.2003, streamside, duran 6332. – angelica sylvestris. c6 osmaniye: yarpuz, 850 m, 12.09.2003, wet places, duran 6354. 120 dogan et al. references apg (angiosperm phylogeny group). 2003. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg ii. bot. j. linn. soc. 141: 399-436. boissier, p.e. 1844. annales des sciences naturelles, botanique sér. 3, 1: 304. bornmüller f. 1930. repertorium specierum novarum regni vegetabilis. centralblatt für sammlung und veroffentlichung von einzeldiagnosen neuer pflanzen. 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(eds.), die natürlichen pflanzenfamilien, vol. 3(8): 63-250. wilhelm engelmann, leipzig, germany. ekim, t. and güner, a. 1986. the anatolian diagonal: fact or fiction?. proceedings of the royal society of edinburgh 89b, 69-77. erik, s. and tarikahya, s. 2004. türkiye florası üzerine, kebikeç 17: 117-137. fenzl, e. 1842. pugillus plantarum novarum syriae et tauri occidentalis primus. fenzl e. 1843. flora brasiliensis, enumeratio plantarum in brasilia hactenus detectarum :quas suis aliorumque botanicorum studiis descriptas et methodo naturali digestas partim icone illustratas /ediderunt carolus fridericus philippus de martius et augustus guilielmus eichler ; iisque defunctis successor ignatius urban. monachii et lipsiae [munich & leipzig] : r. oldenbourg. galvan, m.z., bornet, b., balatti, p.a. and branchard, m. 2003. inter simple sequence repeat (issr) markers as a tool for the assessment of both genetic diversity and gene pool origin in common bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.). euphytica, 132: 297-301. pimenov, m.g. and leonov, m.v. 1993. the genera of the umbelliferae. royal botanic gardens, kew, u.k. pimenov, m.g., kljuykov, e.v. and ostroumova, t.a. 2007. critical taxonomic analysis of dichoropetalum, johrenia, zeravschania and related genera of umbelliferaeapioieaepeucedanea. willdenowia 37:465601. plunkett, g.m. and downie, s.r. 1999. major lineages within apiaceae subfamily apioideae: a comparison of chloroplast restriction site and dna sequences data. am. j. bot. 86: 1014-1026. rechinger, k.h. 1987. johrenia. in: flora iranica. rechinger, k.h. & hedge, i.c. 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(manuscript received on 25 may, 2009; revised on 8 july, 2010) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 49-54, 2006 (june) identification of some hibiscus germplasm through numerical analysis nazmul alam1, mostafa kamal pasha and shamsuddin ahmad2 department of botany, chittagong university, chittagong-4331, bangladesh key words : hibiscus, numerical analysis, identification, cluster analysis, dendrogram abstract numerical analyses of 68 morphological characters of 12 varieties/forms belonging to four species of hibiscus were carried out by calculating sørensens and sneath and sokal similarity coefficients followed by cluster analysis and construction of dendrograms for visual appreciation of taxonomic relationship within this family. the sørensens similarity coefficient varied between 0.211 and 0.919 and sneath and sokal similarity coefficient ranged between 0.142 and 0.890, indicating much variation between the species. introduction the genus hibiscus medik. of family malvaceae exhibits considerable taxonomic complexity. in bangladesh, hibiscus cannabinus l. (deccan hemp or kenaf) and h. sabdariffa l. (rosella or mesta), are cultivated and h. acetosella l. and h. radiatus l. are wild. in recent years h. cannabinus and h. sabdariffa are getting much attention and grown commercially for paper-pulp production in many countries (andrew and piters 1980, nieschlag et al. 1960). in bangladesh, paper and pulp mills have recently introduced kenaf (h. cannabinus) along with jute whole stem as raw materials for paper and pulp making (anonymous 1993). this new use has led to investigate about the component characters contributing to biomass production of the above four species. the fibre of jute (corchorus capsularis and c. olitorius), kenaf (h. cannabinus) and mesta (h. sabdariffa) are considered as economic yield for textile purpose, while air dry whole stem is considered as biomass in paper-pulp industries (kalder 1991). despite the high socio-economic significance no major breakthrough has been achieved in research relating to these above species. numerical approaches have not been utilized for taxonomic purposes among other taxa of the malvaceae even though there seems to be ample scope for an examination of the applicability of these techniques to an assessment of the taxonomic relatedness of the taxa belonging to this family. the present investigation was, therefore, undertaken to determine the taxonomic relationship by using numerical analyses of 12 taxa at intraspecific and infraspecific levels. 1department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342, bangladesh. 2bangladesh jute research institute, shere-e-bangla nagar, dhaka, bangladesh. 50 alam et al. materials and methods three cultivars of hibiscus cannabinus viz., hc-95, hc-2 and cp1 72126/1; four of h. sabdariffa viz., var. hs 24, breeding line 300m, cultivar 2065 and cultivar samu 93; three forms of h. acetosella viz., green foliage yellow flower (gfyf), green foliage magenta flower (gfmf) and acc. red foliage crimson red flower (rfcrf) and two forms of h. radiatus viz., tall with magenta flower and dwarf with yellow flower were taken. the experiment was conducted at central station of bjri, dhaka. the experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (rbd) with three replications in each case. recommended doses of fertilizers, irrigation, weeding, mulching and other cultural practices were performed as and when required. hierarchical cluster analysis for qualitative characters was performed following binary euclidian distance and dendrogram was drawn using average linkage (between groups). among the various morphological features qualitative characters of plant were used in cluster analysis and constructing dendrograms. sixty-eight morphological characters were selected without any prejudices for each variety (table 1). the similarity coefficients of different otu’s were measured according to sørensens (1948) and sneath and sokal (1973). the coefficients were clustered by upgma method as outlined by sneath and sokal (1973). all the analyses were computed using the software spss 10.0.1 standard version (statistical package for social sciences) released in 1999. the program was run through windows 98 operating system, in a pentium iii model computer. results and discussion based on 68 qualitative characters (table 1), the similarity coefficients for each pair otu’s (operational taxonomic units) were calculated separately according to both sørensens (1948) and sneath and sokal (1973) similarity measure and the data matrices were prepared. based on these matrices dendrograms were constructed. in both similarity matrices prepared from the values of the taxa examined showed that a few of the taxa have similarity coefficient greater than 0.50 with respect to the other taxa. the sørensens’s similarity coefficients varied between 0.211 and 0.919 while the sneath and sokal similarity coefficients ranged between 0.142 and 0.890 (table 2). the sørensens’s similarity coefficient for within species ranged between 0.595 and 0.919, 0.211 and 0.595, 0.378 and 0.667 and 0.619 for h. cannabinus, h. sabdariffa, h. acetosella and h. radiatus respectively. whereas the sneath and sokal similarity coefficient ranged for the above-mentioned case were 0.499 to 0.890, 0.142 to 0.501, 0.285 to 0.580 and 0.506 respectively (table 2). considering the otu’s coefficient of similarity matrix, h. sabdariffa showed little intervarietal relationship. the cult. cpi 72126/1 and var. hc 2 of h. cannabinus showed maximum coefficient value (0.890) and was followed by 0.741, 0.658 for cult. samu 93 identification of some hibiscus germplasm 51 and var. hc 95, and breeding line 300m and var. hc 95 of h. sabdariffa and h. cannabinus, respectively (table 2). table 1. characters used for construction of matrix of similarity coefficient among 12 taxa of hibiscus (including varieties/forms) of malvaceae family. characters variations characters variations 1. stem color: green 12. leaf shape: entire full green partially lobed red deeply lobed green pigmented 13. leaf pubescence: present/absent 2. leaf lamina color: green 14. leaf pubescence types: not prickled full green sparsely prickled red 15. pigmentation of flower buds: green green pigmented green pigmented 3. leaf vein color: green red full green 16. flower petal color (outer): yellow red magenta green pigmented pink 4. leaf petiole color: green crimson red full green 17. flower color (inner): yellow red magenta green pigmented pink 5. stipule +/-: stipulate/exstipulate deep magenta 6. stipule shape: foliaceous yellow lower center red scally pink lower center red filiform 18. pigmentation of fruit: green 7. stipule color: green green pigmented full green red red 19. fruit pubescence: smooth green pigmented hairy 8. stem pubescence: present/absent bristle 9. stem pubescence type: smooth 20. seed dispersal mechanism: dehiscent/ non debiscent hairy 21. seed coat color: brown prickly brownish grey 10. branching habit: branched grey unbranched 11. branching habit type: no branching weak intermediate strong very strong 52 alam et al. table 2. range of coefficients of similarity matrix following sneath and sokal similarity measure among four species of hibiscus. sources of variation h. cannabinus h. sabdariffa h. acetosella h. radiatus intraspecies (within varieties and forms) 0.595-0.919 (0.499-0.890) 0.211-0.595 (0142-0.501) 0.378-0.667 (02.85-0.580) 0.619 (0.506) h. cannabinus 0.222-0.800 (0.156-0.741) 0.162-0.541 (0.142-0.442) 0.410-0.500 (0.308-0.407) h. sabdariffa 0.205-0571 (0.135-0.481) 0.205-0.634 (0.136-0.527) h. acetosella 0.462-0.615 (0.356-0.516) interspecies (between species) h. radiatus note: data in parenthesis are coefficients resulted from sneath and sokal similarity measure. coefficients calculated following sørensens similarity measure. while the minimum coefficient value was observed between form rfcrf of h. acetosella and breeding line 300m of h. sabdariffa. however, some of the intervarietal similarity coefficients were found between 0.501 and 0.582, but maximum of them ranged between 0.135 and 0.481. at the intervarietal level, similarity coefficients value greater than 0.50 recorded in comparisons involving cult. cp1 72126/1 and var. hc 95, breeding line 300m and cult. samu 93, form rfcrf and cult. 2065, form dwarf and breeding line 300m, gfyf and gfmf forms, tall and gfmf forms, and tall and dwarf forms. here, comparisons were based on sneath and sokal’s similarity coefficient values. sørensens’s similarity coefficients always gave relatively higher values in each case. the phenetic relationship among the taxa studied can be visualized in the dendograms. the patterns of dendrograms prepared according to sørensen’s measure were found to be almost identical with sneath and sokal’s one with minor exceptions. in all the approaches var. hc 2 and cult. cpi 72126/1 of h. cannabinus exhibited the highest similarity and clustered together (figs.1 and 2). similar kinds of clustering were also observed between var. hc 95 of h. cannabinus and cult. samu 93 of h. sabdariffa. similarity between gfyf and gfmf forms of h. acetosella was greater than those observed between tall and dwarf forms of h. radiatus. cultivar 2065 of h. sabdariffa and form rfcrf of h. acetosella clustered further away apart from the members of their respective species. all the three members of h. cannabinus together with cult. samu 93 and breeding line 300m of h. sabdariffa formed a cluster equal to the distance of the cluster formed by gfyf and gfmf forms of h. acetosella and dwarf and tall forms of h. radiatus. var. hs 24 of h. sabdariffa exhibited different type of grouping with the other members of hibiscus. identification of some hibiscus germplasm 53 fig. 1. dendrogram using sørensen’s measure with average linkage (between groups). fig. 2. dendrogram using sneath and sokal similarity matrix with average linkage (between groups). in all the three approaches of clustering (namely sørensen’s and sneath and sokal ), var. hs 24 of h. sabdariffa grouped with the cluster formed by the rest at distance greater than 20 and later joined with the cluster formed by cult. 2065 of h. sabdariffa and form rfcrf of h. acetosella at distance 25 (fig. 1 and 2). pasha and sen (1986, 1995, 1997) also worked on several taxa of cucurbitaceae. in numerical analysis they have 54 alam et al. constructed dendrograms on the basis of jaccards (1908) and sørensen’s (1948) similarity coefficient of 143 characters. the similarity coefficient of the 22 taxa varied between 0.36 and 0.91 indicated different levels of diversity among those species. references andrew, c.s. and piters, w.h.j. 1980. foliar symptoms of mineral disorders in kenaf (hibiscus cannabinus l.). cisro, aust. div. trop. crops past. tech. rep. 22: 1-2. annonymous, 1993. paper and pulp from green jute and allied fibre. in: jute newsletter of international jute organization. 8(4): 6. jaccards, p. 1908. nouvelles recherches sur la distribution florale. bull. soc. vaud. sci. nat. 44: 223-270. kalder, a.f. 1991. a competitive fibre plantation eucalypt based on recent investigation in thailand. tappi progress report. 20: 77-82. nieschlag, h.j., nelsa, g.h., wolff, i.a. and perdue, r.e.jr. 1960. a search for new fibre crops. tappi, 43(4): 193-201. pasha, m.k. and sen, s.p. 1986. taxonomy and relationship of the cucurbitaceae with particular reference to palynological, numerical and molecular aspects. ph.d. thesis, kalyani university, india. pasha, m.k. and sen, s.p. 1995. molecular analysis of cucurbitaceae genome: reassociation kinetic classes and its evolutionary significance. biochem. syst. ecol. 23(4): 399-406. pasha, m.k. and sen, s.p. 1997. numerical analysis in the taxonomy of cucurbitaceae of eastern india and bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 1-12. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r. 1973. numerical taxonomy: the principles and practice of numerical classification. san francisco: w.h. freeman. sørensen, t. 1948. a method of establishing groups of equal amplitude in plant sociology based on similarity of species content. biol. skr., k. danske vidensk. selsk. 5: 1-34. table 2. range of coefficients of similarity matrix followin h. cannabinus h. sabdariffa h. acetosella h. radiatus h. cannabinus h. sabdariffa h. acetosella h. radiatus species entry profile 3: angiosperm bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 63-70, 2005 (december) a taxonomic account of utricularia linn. from bangladesh m. oliur rahman bangladesh national herbarium, ciriakhana road, mirpur-1 dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words: utricularia, taxonomy, bangladesh abstract a taxonomic account of eight species of utricularia linn. viz. u. aurea lour., u. bifida lin., u. caerulea linn., u. gibba linn., u. inflexa forsk., u. minutissima vahl, u. scandens benj. and u. stellaris l. f. has been provided from bangladesh. an updated nomenclature including important synonyms, habitat and distribution have been furnished under each species. a key has also been given for easy identification of the species. introduction utricularia, an insectivorous genus of the family lentibulariaceae encompasses 214 species, and is distributed throughout the world with the greatest species richness in the tropical regions (taylor, 1989). they are mainly characterized by carnivorous bladders, 2-lipped calyx, personate corolla and they have no true roots. the morphology of vegetative parts usually differs from other vascular plants. rhizoids substitute the roots. the main part of the plant is represented by a stolon with usually horizontal proliferation that bears traps, leaves and, if present, inflorescence. the leaves are organs that are considered as real leaves by some morphologists, whereas some others classify them as modified parts of the stem (taylor, 1989). utricularia inhabits a wide range of habitats including wet grounds, ponds, lakes and other marshy areas, epiphytic conditions and seasonal deserts. since utricularia was first described in the “species plantarum” where linnaeus (1753) listed only seven species, it has received considerable attention from many taxonomists. many important accounts were produced mainly based on the morphology and floristics (kamienski, 1895; barnhart, 1916; taylor, 1964; crow, 1992). however, the most significant systematic work on the genus is the excellent monograph by taylor (1989). although many workers have added greatly to our knowledge of the asian species (oliver, 1859; gamble, 1924; komiya, 1972; subramanyam, 1979), the species of this genus in bangladesh have received very little attention (khan and halim 1987; uddin et al. 2000). this paper is based on the materials housed at the bangladesh national herbarium and the previous works (clarke 1884, prain 1903, khan and halim l. c.) relating to the bangladeshi species of utricularia. most of the previous works were confined only to the incomplete list of species without providing any taxonomic account. the present paper deals with the detailed account of eight utricularia species of bangladesh, namely, u. aurea lour., u. bifida lin., u. caerulea linn., u. gibba linn., u. inflexa forsk., u. 64 rahman minutissima vahl, u. scandens benj. and u. stellaris l. f. the dichotomous bracket key has been provided to identify the species. an updated nomenclature along with important synonyms, habitat and distribution are provided under each taxon, while chromosome numbers have been cited whenever available. key to species 1. corolla yellow. 2 corolla not yellow. 6 2. bracteoles present, much narrower than the bract; terrestrial plants, with entire linear or obovate leaves. 3 bracteoles absent; aquatic plants with leaves divided into narrowly linear or filiform segments. 4 3. capsule wall of uniform thickness. pedicel not longer than the calyx. bifida capsule wall thickened on either side of the line of dehiscence. upper calyx lobe not or scarcely wider than the lower, broadly ovoid. scandens 4. peduncle with a whorl of inflated organs above its middle. inflatted organs sessile, with a leaf-like segments at the apex only. stellaris peduncle without a whorl of inflated organs. 5 5. corolla externally pubescent; scales always absent. aurea corolla externally glabrous; scales present. bracts wider than long, not auriculate. gibba 6. bracts basisolute. corolla lower lip entire, calyx lobes subequal. caerulea bracts basifixed. 7 7. bracteoles absent; aquatic plant. leaves divided into capillary segments. inflexa bracteoles present; terrestrial plant. bract and bracteoles not longer than the pedicel minutissima utricularia aurea lour., fl. cochinch. 1: 26 (1790); roem. & schult., syst. veg. 1: 198 (1817). utricularia flexuosa vahl, enum. 1: 198 (1804). utricularia fasciculata roxb., hort. beng. : 4 (1914). utricularia macrocarpa wall. cat. : 1494 (1829). a medium-sized to large, perennial, suspended aquatic herb. rhizoids present at the base or shortly above the base of the peduncle, bearing botryform or leaf-like branches. stolons filiform, terete, branched, papillose. leaves very numerous, semicircular in outline, 1-8 cm long, divided from the base into 3-5 semiverticillate primary segments, the secondary segments pinnate, alternate, each pinna dichotomously divided into numerous further segments, the ultimate segments capillary, terete, setulose. traps dimorphic, obliquely ovoid. racemes 5-25 cm long, up to 10-flowered. bracts ovate to suborbicular, basifixed, 1-nerved, truncate at base, acute to acuminate at apex. bracteoles absent. flowers up to 10 mm long. pedicels 6-20 mm long. calyx lobes subequal, ovate to oblong, fleshy. corolla bright yellow; upper lip ovate, hairy at base, obtuse to retuse at apex; lower lip obovate, hairy at throat, truncate, undulate at apex. spur more or less equal to lower lip in length, papillose, glandular hairy at base, obtuse at apex. stamens c. 2 mm long; filaments curved, dilated above, papillose; anther thecae confluent. ovary a taxonomic account of utricularia l. 65 subglobose. style thick; stigma 2-lipped, lower lip hairy, margin ciliate, upper lip obsolete. capsule globose with a long beak, circumscissile. seeds polygonal, margin winged. flowering and fruiting period: july to april with a peak during october to january. chromosome number: 2n = 80 (tanaka and uchiyama, 1988). habitat: common in ditches, beels, lakes, pools, ponds, swamps and in still or slowly flowing water and rice fields. distribution within bangladesh : this species is distributed throughout the country. distribution outside bangladesh : australia, china, hong kong, india, indochina, indonesia, japan, korea, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, new guinea, pakistan, philippines and thailand. utricularia bifida linn., sp. pl. 1: 18 (1753); oliver in j. linn. soc. bot. 3: 182 (1859). clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 332 (1884); prain, beng. pl. 2: 582 (1903, rep. ed. 1963). utricularia recurva lour., fl. cochinch. 1: 26 (1790). utricularia humilis vahl, enum. 1: 203 (1804). utricularia biflora wall. cat. : 1498 (1829). a small, annual, terrestrial herb. rhizoids numerous, capillary. stolons few, capillary, branched. leaves narrowly linear, rounded or subacute at apex, 10-20 x 0.5-1.0 mm. traps globose, stalked. racemes 3-30 cm long, erect, 1-8flowered. bracts basifixed, ovate, obtuse to acute at apex. bracteoles subulate. flowers 5-15 mm long. pedicels 2.5-4.0 x 1.0-1.5 mm, broadly winged, spreading at anthesis, recurved in fruit. calyx lobes subequal, ovate. corolla yellow; upper lip linear oblong; lower lip orbicular to ovate, hairy in throat, gibbous at base. spur subulate, acute at apex. stamens c. 1.5 mm long; filaments straight, 1 mm long; anther thecae distinct. ovary ovoid, dorsiventrally compressed. style distinct; stigma 2-lipped, lower lip semicircular, the upper one very short or obsolete. capsule broadly ellipsoid, dorsiventrally compressed. seeds ovoid, ellipsoid to obovoid, numerous. flowering and fruiting period: july to december with a peak during august to october. habitat: in wet and marshy areas near perennial water bodies, falls, streams, lakes and in rice fields. distribution within bangladesh : it is commonly found in all the districts of the country. distribution outside bangladesh: australia, china, hong kong, india, indo-china, indonesia, japan, korea, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, new guinea, philippines, sri lanka and thailand. utricularia caerulea linn., sp. pl. : 18 (1753); wight in hooker's j. bot. kew gard. misc. 1: 374 (1849); taylor in steenis, fl. males. 8: 287 (1977). utricularia racemosa wall. ex walp. in meyen, observ. bot. 19: 401 (1843); a. dc. in dc. prodr. 8:21 66 rahman (1844); clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 333 (1884); prain, beng. pl. 2 : 582 (1903, rep. ed. 1963). u. purpurea willd. ex benj. in linnaea 20: 309 (1847). an annual, terrestrial herb. rhizoids glandular, rarely branched. stolons sparsely glandular, branches hyaline. leaves 4.0-8.0 x 1.0-1.4 mm, spathulate, rounded to obtuse at apex. traps ovoid, stalked. racemes 3 -4 cm long, simple or rarely branched, terete or flattened, glabrous. bracts elliptic to rhomboid, basisolute, sparsely papillose without. bracteoles linear, pappilose. flowers up to 6 mm long. pedicels up to 2.0 x 0.5 mm, erect, terete, often recurved in fruit, pappilose. calyx lobes subequal, hooded, pappilose. corolla purple, pink, blue or violet, pappilose; upper lip oblong to rarely deltoid, constricted at middle with two horn like projections on ventral surface, ciliate at lower margin, truncate, notched or emarginate at apex; lower lip semiorbicular to broadly ovate, gibbous at base, rounded or shallowly 3-lobed at apex. spur horizontally projected, often curved upwards. stamens c. 1 mm long; filaments strap-shaped, curved; anther thecae distinct. ovary ovoid, attached to upper calyx lobe at base. style short; stigma 2-lipped, lower lip semiorbicular, hairy; upper lip filiform, glabrous. capsule subglobose to obliquely ovoid, papillose. seeds ovoid, ellipsoid to obovoid. flowering and fruiting period: august to april with a peak during december to february. chromosome number: n = 20 (subramanyam and kamble, 1968). habitat: in wet or marshy sandy soil and mud. distribution within bangladesh : it is common throughout the country. distribution outside bangladesh : africa, australia, malaysia, new zealand, northern asia, including the ussr, china, mongolia, korea and japan, and tropical asia from pakistan to indo-china. utricularia gibba linn. sp. pl.: 18 (1753); willd., sp. pl., ed. 4, 1: 113 (1798); vahl, enum. 1: 204 (1804). utricularia fibrosa roem. & schult., syst. 1: 196 (1817). utricularia exoleta r. br., prodr. : 430 (1810). utricularia gibba l. subsp. gibba p. taylor in kew bull. 18: 198 (1964). utricularia gibba l. subsp. exoleta (r. br.) p. taylor in kew bull. 18: 204 (1964). a small to medium-sized, annual or perennial, aquatic herb. rhizoids filiform. stolons much branched and often mat forming, filiform, terete. leaves numerous, 0.5-1.5 cm long, uniform; primary segments 2, sparsely dichotomously branched into up to 8 segments, the ultimate segments capillary, slightly flattened. traps obliquely ovoid. racemes 4-15 cm long, erect, solitary or fasciculate, glabrous, 1-3-flowered. bracts wider than long, transversely oblong, truncate or denticulate at apex. bracteoles absent. flowers up to 7 mm long. pedicels 2-8 mm long, terete, erect or suberect. calyx lobes subequal, obovate to ovate with rounded or truncate apex. corolla yellow, upper lip orbicular to ovate with truncate or rounded apex; lower lip broadly ovate, rounded, truncate or rarely 3-lobed at apex. spur as long as lower lip, conical, glandular within. stamens c. 1 mm a taxonomic account of utricularia l. 67 long; filaments flat, curved; anther thecae distinct. ovary globose. style short; stigma 2 lipped, lower lip larger and semiorbicular, upper lip obsolete or denticulate. capsule globose, laterally bivalvate. seeds lenticular with a broad, irregular corky wing. flowering and fruiting period: january to may with a peak in february and march. chromosome number: n = 14 (kondo, 1972). habitat: in shallow still or slowly running water, mud, ditches, pools, lakes, river backwaters, bogs, swamps and marshes. also found in deep water but not flowering unless supported on floating mats or living or dead vegetation. distribution within bangladesh : it is common throughout the country. distribution outside bangladesh : pantropical, extending northward into eastern and western canada and u.s.a., spain and portugal, north africa, israel, china and japan and southward to argentina, south africa, australia and new zealand, also as an occasional inhabitant in the european countries and a common weed of aquaria and botanic gardens throughout the world. utricularia inflexa forsk., fl. aegypt. arab. descr. pl.: 9 (1775). utricularia inflexa var. inflexa basak, bull. bot. surv. ind. 17 (1-4): 99 (1975). utricularia stellaris l. f. var. inflexa (forsk.) clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 329 (1884); prain, beng. pl. : 581 (1903, rep. ed. 1963). an aquatic, floating herb. stolons filiform, glabrous. leaves dissected, divided into 3-5 primary segments, multifid, floating leaves narrow, cylindrical to filiform. traps ovoid, shortly stalked, slightly compressed. floats present on the peduncle, inflated, spongy, globose, ellipsoid to cylindrical. racemes held above water level by floats. bracts basifixed, elliptic to ovate-deltoid. bracteoles absent. peduncle stout and without scales, bearing a whorl of oblong vesicles about the middle. calyx lobes erect, somewhat fleshy, up to 1 cm long in fruit, completely enclosing and concealing the capsule. corolla white with violet stripes. spur pubescent and slightly curved. stamens 2, usually 1.5 mm long; filaments dilated towards anther; anthers two-thecous, distinct. ovary globose, unilocular with a free basal placenta. style up to 3 mm long, cylindrical; stigma 2-lipped, lower lip ciliate. capsule globose, circumscissile. seeds narrower than long, prismatic, winged. flowering and fruiting period: august to february. habitat: found in floating condition in beels, ditches and low lands. distribution within bangladesh : it is found in kushtia and jessore districts. distribution outside bangladesh : afghanistan, africa, europe, malaysia, middle eastern countries and tropical asia from pakistan to indo-china. utricularia minutissima vahl, enum. pl. 1: 204 (1804); a. dc. in dc. prod. 8: 16 (1884); clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 334 (1884). utricularia capillacea wight ex oliver in j. linn. soc. bot. 3: 184 (1859). utricularia nipponica makino in bot. mag. tokyo 20: 95 (1906). 68 rahman a very small, annual, terrestrial herb. rhizoids few to many, capillary, simple. stolons few, glandular or glabrous, sparsely branched. leaves few, linear, up to 3 cm long and 0.8 mm wide, glandular or terete at base, rounded at apex. traps numerous, subglobose to ovoid, stalked. racemes 2-8 cm long, erect, glabrous, 1-4-flowered. bracts basifixed, narrowly ovate, acute at apex; bracteoles linear-ovate. bracts and bracteoles not longer than the pedicel. flowers c. 4 mm long. pedicels filiform, terete. calyx lobes subequal, 2.0-3.5 mm long, ovate to obovate, glabrous or rarely papillose. corolla 0.6-1.0 cm long, violet, pink or white; upper lip narrowly oblong-elliptic to obovate, rounded or emarginate at apex; lower lip narrowly 3-lobed. spur straight, notched at apex. stamens 1 mm long; filaments flattened, curved; anther thecae distinct. ovary obliquely ovoid. styles short; stigma 2-lipped, lower lip short or obsolete, upper lip long and recurved. capsule obliquely ellipsoid, c. 2 mm long, uniformly membranous. seeds globose to broadly ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting period: august to march with a peak during october to january. chromosome number: n = 8 (subramanyam and kamble, 1968). habitat: in wet sandy soil or mud in open, grassy places. distribution within bangladesh : it is found in chittagong district. distribution outside bangladesh: australia, china, hong kong, indo-china, indonesia, india, japan, malay peninsula, myanmar, new guinea, philippines, sri lanka and thailand. utricularia scandens benj. in linnaea 20: 309 (1847); taylor in kew bull. 18: 46 (1964); abraham and subramanyam in proc. indian acad. sci. 62b: 98 (1965). utricularia volubilis wight ex benj. in linnaea 20: 309 (1847). u. wallichiana wight, ic. t. 1572, f. 1. (1850); clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind 4: 332 (1884). an annual, terrestrial herb. rhizoids papillose. stolons filiform, profusely branched. leaves up to 15 x 1 mm, linear, acute or rounded at apex. traps globose, stalked. racemes up to 25 cm long, twining, rarely erect in smaller ones, glabrous, 1-9-flowered. bracts basifixed, broadly ovate, acuminate to caudate at apex. bracteoles linear to lanceolate. flowers 5-10 mm long. pedicels 1-5 mm long, erect, winged. calyx lobes ovate. corolla yellow, upper lip obovate to oblong, constricted near middle, obtuse to emarginate at apex; lower lip more or less obovate, hairy in throat, gibbous at base, rounded or shallowly emarginate at apex. spur subulate or rarely conical, acute and curved at apex. stamens c. 1 mm long; filaments flat, twisted; anther thecae distinct. ovary ovoid. stigma 2-lipped, lower lip oblong and hairy, upper one semiorbicular, glabrous. capsule oblong to ovoid, dorsiventrally compressed; seeds ovoid to ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting period: almost throughout the year with a peak during september to december. chromosome number: n = 6 (subramanyam and kamble, 1968). a taxonomic account of utricularia l. 69 habitat: along wet and marshy places, twining among themselves or on other plants. distribution within bangladesh : this species has been recorded from north bengal (prain 1903) some parts of which fall under the territory of present bangladesh. distribution outside bangladesh : africa, malaysia, northern asia including the ussr, china, mongolia, korea and japan, and tropical asia from pakistan to indochina. utricularia stellaris l. f., suppl. pl. : 86 (1781); roxb., fl. coromandel. 2: 42, t. 180 (1798); clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 328 (1884); prain, beng. pl. 2: 581 (1903, rep. ed. 1963). utricularia macrocarpa wall. ex clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 328 (1884); utricularia inflexa forssk. var. stellaris (l.f.) taylor in kew bull. 18: 189 (1964). an annual or perennial, aquatic herb. rhizoids absent. stolons filiform, glabrous, branched. leaves up to 5 cm long; primary segments 3-5, semiverticillate, filiform; secondary segments 2 per point and repeatedly divided; ultimate segments capillary, terete, minutely setulose. traps obliquely ovoid, shortly stalked, slightly compressed. racemes up to 20 cm long, held above water level by floats, up to 12-flowered; floats globose, ellipsoid to cylindrical, usually at the middle of peduncle, rarely near at base. bracts basifixed, elliptic to ovate-deltoid. bracteoles absent. flowers up to 8 mm long. pedicels 2-6 mm long, terete, erect at anthesis and recurved in fruit. calyx larger than the capsule. calyx lobes subequal, accrescent, reflexed or rarely covering the capsule. corolla yellow, glandular hairy; upper lip broadly ovate, emarginate, rounded at apex; lower lip orbicular, hairy in throat, emarginate or crenate at apex, bigibbous at base. spur short, cylindrical, slightly curved, obtuse at apex. stamens c. 1.5 mm long; filaments dilated towards anther; anther thecae distinct. ovary globose. style short, cylindrical; stigma 2-lipped, lower lip semiorbicular and hairy, upper lip 3-denticulate. capsule globose, circumscissile, shorter than the calyx. seeds prismatic, 4-7 angled, winged on all the angles. flowering and fruiting period: july to april with a peak during october to february. chromosome number: n = 21 (subramanyam and kamble, 1968). habitat: in still or slow running water, ponds, tanks, lakes and rice fields. distribution within bangladesh : it is found all over the country. distribution outside bangladesh : afghanistan, africa, australia, bhutan, europe, india, indo-china, indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, pakistan and sri lanka. acknowledgement the author is thankful to prof. a. k. m. nurul islam, department of botany, university of dhaka for his suggestion and advice during preparation of the manuscript. 70 rahman references barnhart, j. h. 1916. segregation of genera in lentibulariaceae. mem. new york bot. gard. 6 : 39-64. clarke, c. b. 1884. lentibulariaceae. in: hooker, j. d., flora of british india 4. london. crow, g. e. 1992. the genus utricularia (lentibulariaceae) in costa rica. brenesia 38: 1-18. gamble, j. s. 1924. flora of the presidency of madras 2. london. kamienski, f. 1895. lentibulariaceae. in: engler, a. and prantl, k. a. e. die naturlichen pflanzenfamilien iv, 3b, leipzig. khan, m. s. and halim, m. 1987. aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh. bangladesh agriculture research council, dhaka. komiya, s. 1972. systematic studies on the lentibulariaceae. dissertation, nippon dental college, tokyo. kondo, k. 1972. chromosome numbers of some angiosperms in the united states ii. phyton (buenos aires) 30: 47-51. linnaeus, c. 1753. species plantarum 1. stockholm. oliver, d. 1859. the indian species of utricularia. j. linn. soc. bot. 3: 170-190. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. volume 2. indian reprint 1963. calcutta. subramanyam, k. 1979. studies on the indian utricularia, a review. j. ind. bot. soc. 58: 1-16. subramanyam, k. and kamble, n. p. 1968. chromosome number of certain indian species of utricularia l. (lentibulariaceae). proc. ind. acad. sci. 68b: 221-224. tanaka, r. and uchiyama, h. 1988. chromosomes of four species of utricularia in japan. journal of japanese botany 63(6): 219-223. taylor, p. 1964. the genus utricularia l. (lentibulariaceae) in africa(south of the sahara) and madagascar. kew bull. 18: 1-245. taylor, p. 1989. the genus utricularia – a taxonomic monograph. kew bull. add. ser xiv : 1-724. hmso, london. uddin, m. z., khanam, k., hassan, m. a. and khan, m. s. 2000. utricularia minutissima vahl (lentibulariaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh jour. plant taxon. 7(1): 65-67. m. oliur rahman dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words: utricularia, taxonomy, bangladesh abstract a taxonomic account of eight species of utricularia linn. vi introduction key to species utricularia scandens benj. in linnaea 20: 309 (1847); taylor acknowledgement wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 75-77, 2007 (june) short communication an enumeration of collections of bauhinia subgen. phanera (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) from bangladesh in central national herbarium (cal), india s. bandyopadhyay1 botanical survey of india, p.o. botanic garden, howrah 711 103, west bengal, india key words: bauhinia subgen. phanera, collections, cal, bangladesh the fascicles of the flora of bangladesh with detailed taxonomic accounts of the angiospermic families are being published in series of numbers and the latest of them is by khan and khanam (2003). in this paper the collections of bauhinia subgen. phanera from bangladesh in central national herbarium (cal), india have been enumerated with a view to draw the attention of the researchers engaged in the preparation of detailed taxonomic account of the subgenus in bangladesh. the enumeration is as follows: 1. bauhinia nervosa (wall. ex benth.) baker in hook. f., fl. brit. india 2: 283. 1878. phanera nervosa wall. ex benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 262. 1852. representative specimen: mt. sillhet, wall. cat. no. 5777, herb. acc. no. 137449. note: wall. cat. no. 5777 is the type of p. nervosa. the wallichian specimens having no. 5777 are also in k, photo. – cal! and k-w, photo. cal! 2. bauhinia ornata kurz var. kerrii (gagnep.) k. larsen & s. s. larsen in aubreville & leroy (eds.), fl. cambodge, laos & vietnam 18: 208. 1980. b. kerrii gagnep. in lecomte, not. syst. 2: 173. 1912. phanera rufa benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 263. 1852. bauhinia rufa (benth.) baker in hook.f., fl. brit. india 2: 280. 1878, ‘rufa grah.’, non steud. (1840). representative specimen: m. sylhet, wall. cat. no. 5798, herb. acc. no. 137237. note: wall. cat. no. 5798 is the type of p. rufa. the wallichian specimens having no. 5798 are also in k, photo. – cal! and k-w, microf. cal! 3. bauhinia scandens l., sp. pl. 374. 1753. b. anguina roxb., pl. coromandel 3: 82, t. 285. 1820. representative specimens: chittagong, j. d. hooker & t. thomson s. n., herb. acc. no. 137692; chittagong, bariadhala,10.10.1905, d. hooper 25919; silhet, wall. cat. no. 5773a, herb. acc. no. 137701; silhet, wall. cat. no. 5773a, herb. acc. no. 137702. 1e-mail: subirbandyopadhyay@yahoo.com mailto:subirbandyopadhyay@yahoo.com 76 bandyopadhyay note: the collection of d. hooper 25919 is with immature inflorescence and identified as bauhinia integrifolia roxb. on the herbarium label. in an additional strip of paper there is a note saying “not recorded in fl. br. ind for chittagong-burma area nor in the calc herbarium (fl. br. ind p 279) nos. 14-16. it is not b. retusa ham which is ecirrhose, & is confined to the western himalayas. it is not bidenta(ta) which has leaves longer than broad”. the given identity is, however, not correct. ms. s.s. larsen (pers. comm. 1997), aarhus university, denmark has kindly identified it for me as b. scandens. fig. 1. bauhinia sp.: a leaf from j. l. lister s.n. with widely diverging lobes at apex. [scale = 1 cm] the sheet having wall. cat. no. 5773a has a flowering collection of b. scandens and three leaves of b. roxburghiana voigt. the latter species, however, occurs in india, nepal and pakistan, but not in bangladesh. 4. bauhinia wallichii j. f. macbr. in contrib. gray herb. harvard university (n.s.) 3(59): 23. 1919. phanera macrostachya benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 262. 1852. bauhinia macrostachya (benth.) benth. in benth. & hook.f., gen. pl. 1: 576. 1865, non benth. (1840). representative specimens: wall. cat. no. 5774a, herb. acc. no. 137352; silhet, wall. cat. no. 5774a, herb. acc. no. 137351. an enumeration of collections of bauhinia 77 note: wall. cat. no. 5774 is the type of p. macrostachya. the wallichian specimens having no. 5774 (see bandyopadhyay, 2001: 10) are also in k, photo. – cal! and k-w, photo. cal! another specimen s.k. mukherjee 79 collected from chittagong hill tracts in feb. 1940 and labeled as bauhinia macrostachya wall. exists in cal, but the identity of this sterile specimen could not be determined. in addition to the afore-mentioned collections, two other collections (east pakistan, chittagong hill tracts, mynimukh forest, 25.12.1956, m. s. khan 244; chittagong hill tracts, myani mukh, feb. 1876, j. l. lister s.n., herb. acc. no. 137356) identified as bauhinia divergens baker / phanera divergens (baker) thoth. are in cal. this species, however, do not actually exist in nature. larsen and larsen (1979) has pointed out that the type (birma, griffith 1895 k, photo. cal!) of b. divergens baker represents a mixed collection: “flowers and young pod from bauhinia variegata l., while a sterile branch with leaves probably belongs to b. scandens l.”. many such collections were examined with leaves having widely diverging lobes at apex, typically as in j. l. lister s.n. (fig.1), from eastern and north-eastern india and some adjacent countries in cal having the names b. divergens / p. divergens but all of them were sterile. mr. m. k. pathak who is working on the flora of dibang valley in arunachal pradesh, india informed (pers. comm. 2006) that during his field studies he had seen such type of leaves in some plants in two localities in arunachal pradesh, namely, in kornu-difunala and near the helipad in roing. the plants were 3-4 m in length and were creeping on the forest floor or climbing up on the trees. their stems were terete, about 5 mm in diameter but the plants were, however, without flowers or fruits. more field observations are necessary to see that to which species the leaves actually belong to. acknowledgements i am thankful to the director, botanical survey of india for his help and encouragement and to the anonymous reviewer for his helpful comments. references bandyopadhyay, s. 2001. miscellaneous notes on bauhinia l. (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) ii. j. econ. taxon. bot. 25(1): 10-12. khan, m.s. and khanam, m. 2003. cuscutaceae. in: rahman, m.m. and khanam, m. (eds.), flora of bangladesh 55: 1-11, bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, bangladesh. larsen, k. and larsen, s.s. 1979. nomenclatural notes on some old world bauhinia. taxon 28(5/6): 591592. (manuscript received on 2 march 2007; revised on 23 april 2007) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 55-67, 2010 (june) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district of bangladeshclass: hepaticopsida and anthocerotopsida khurshida banu-fattah* and sujan kumer sarker department of botany, ananda mohan college, college road, mymensingh, bangladesh keywords: bryophytes; hepaticopsida; anthocerotopsida; liverworts; hornworts; mymensingh district. abstract the greater mymensingh district of bangladesh, particularly the hilly areas are rich in bryophyte flora. the present paper on class hepaticopsida (liverworts) and anthocerotopsida (hornworts) represents primary as well as secondary data collection and includes an account of 48 species under 12 genera, nine families and four orders. an alphabetic arrangement of taxa with short description, habitats, localities, names of collectors with dates and collection numbers are provided. introduction the greater mymensingh district, particularly the hilly areas are good abodes of bryophytes. a reasonably good amount of taxonomic works have been done on bryophytes of bangladesh but not enough has been done on its distribution. khan (1955, 1957) for the first time, worked on liverworts and reported several species including some new species but none of these was from greater mymensingh district. tixier (1967) collected and reported a good number of liverworts in a checklist but all these were from chittagong region. after a long gap of years, hadiuzzaman and chakravarty (1981,1983) reported five liverworts and two hornworts, out of which only one species, anthoceros laevis l. was from mymensingh district. kamruzzaman (1995) gave an illustrated account of 45 species of riccia l. which was later included by hadiuzzaman (2007) in the encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, many of which were collected of the greater mymensingh district. banu (1991) for the first time, gave a district-wise distribution of bryophyta but that was confined only to mosses. later banu-fattah (1998) dealt with bryophyte flora of chittagong zone and reported several species of hepaticopsida and anthocerotopsida. recently, banu-fattah and sarker (2007) presented a comprehensive list of mosses under the class bryopsida from greater mymensingh district. the present paper is the continuation of the previous paper on bryophytes dealing with the rest of the classes i.e. hepaticopsida and anthocerotopsida. the present paper is based on the specimens collected by the authors as well as many other collectors and all the species previously reported from this region. there are some unpublished reports on the presence of many other species but these have not been included here since complete informations are not available. the present study on hepaticopsida and anthocerotopsida includes an account of 48 species under 12 genera, nine families and four orders. *corresponding author’s present address : flat b-3, house 27, road 5, dhanmondi r/a., dhaka-1205, bangladesh. e-mail: qafattah@gmail.com 56 banu-fattah and sarker materials and methods the areas covered in this study is the greater mymensingh district of dhaka division of bangladesh which at present is comprised of six administrative districts namely, jamalpur, kishoreganj, mymensingh, netrokona, sherpur and tangail. some of the informations on this region have been given in the previous paper (banu-fattah and sarker, 2007). this paper is based mainly on fresh materials collected from different localities under the greater mymensingh district. most of the specimens collected were worked out and identified. out of all these specimens, only one has been mentioned from each district. all the specimens collected by the authors and their associates are preserved in the bryology herbarium, department of botany, ananda mohan college, mymensingh. in addition, this list includes all the species previously reported from this region. an alphabetical arrangement of the taxa with brief accounts of 48 species with habitats, localities, names of collectors with dates and numbers of collections are given in the following section. taxonomic enumeration class: hepaticopsida; order: jungermanniales; family: lejeuneaceae; genus: lejeunea libert, ann. gen. sc. phys. 6: 372 (1820). 1. lejeunea sp. leaves distant, alternate, spreading, ovate to ovate-round, amphigastria small, bilobed, margin entire, apex smooth, marginal cells smaller, cells smooth. grows on bark of trees. specimen examined: sherpur: zhinaigati, runctia, khurshida and sujan, 17.9.1986, no. 5. family: lophocoleaceae; genus: chiloscyphus corda in opiz, beitr.1: 651 (1829). 2. chiloscyphus argutus nees in gott., lindenb. & nees. syn. hep.: 183 (1845). plant brownish-green, leaves alternate, plano-distichous, slightly imbricate, quadrate to rectangular or ovate-quadrate, margin entire, apex with many coarse teeth, amphigastria distant, small, bifid to about the middle. grows on damp soil. specimen examined: sherpur: zhinaigati, runctia, near forest office, khurshida and sujan, 17.9.1996, no. 14. bryophytes of greater mymensingh district 57 order: marchantiales; family: aytoniaceae genus: asterella p. beauv. in cuvier (ed.), dictionnaire sci. nat. 3: 257 (1905). 3. asterella sp. thallus long with poor branching, midrib not distinct, male receptacle very short, disc round, female receptacle long, bearing four lobed disc, receptacle with small red papillae, capsule bright yellow, invested by perianth. grows on damp walls. specimen examined: mymensingh: gouripur, college campus, sujan, 12.1.1989, no. 17. genus: plagiochasma l. et l. in lehm. pug. pl. iv. p: 13 (1832). 4. plagiochasma appendiculatum l. et l. pug. iv: p. 14 (1832). thallus large, thick, midrib not distinct, margin purple coloured, ventral surface with appendiculate scales, male receptacle horse-shoe shaped without bristle, female receptacle stalked, usually with 5-6 lobes. grows mostly on old damp walls and bricks. specimens examined: jamalpur: railway station, anisur, 5.3.1993, no. 47. kishoreganj: azim uddin school campus, nasima, 25.2.1993, no. 33. mymensingh: nasirabad collegiate boys school, khurshida and sujan, 27.12.1992, no. 21. netrokona: kalmakanda, iffat, 5.2.1998, no. 57. sherpur: civil surgeon’s office, meher, 5.7.2000, no. 49. tangail: adalat para, nurjahan, 25.12.2000, no. 16. family: cyathodiaceae genus: cyathodium kunze in lehm. pug. vi.: 17 (1854). 5. cyathodium tuberosum kashyap, new phyt. vol. xiii.: 210 (1914). thallus very small, thin, yellowish to pale-green, once or twice dichotomously divided, densely overlapping, lobes linear to oblong; sporophyte with clasping involucres, spore spinous. very common on damp walls, shaded places, holes, caves. specimens examined: jamalpur: doyamoy mondir, rezaul, 2.2.1992, no. 18. kishoreganj: karimganj, marina, 7.12.1996, no. 23. mymensingh : principal’s quarter, ananda mohan college, khurshida, 5.11.1992, no. 8. netrokona: taligati college campus, gokul, 2.2.2001, no. 51. tangail: senanibash, ghatail, rafiqul, 2.12.1999, no. 24. family: marchantiaceae genus: dumortiera reinw. bl. et. nees nova acta leop. carol. vii.: 410 ( 1824). 6. dumortiera hirsuta reinw. bl. et nees nova acta leop. carol. vii.: 410 (1824). thallus very large, broad, translucent with conspicuous midrib, apex deeply emerginate, air chambers absent, scales simple or rudimentary, hyaline, male receptacle 58 banu-fattah and sarker terminal, depressed at the centre, both male and female receptacles with bristles. grows on damp, shaded soil. specimens examined: mymensingh: concern office, shaheb park, khurshida and sujan, 26.12.1992, no. 27. netrokona: near bdr camp, bijoypur, durgapur,tania, 15.5.2001, no. 77. sherpur: near picnic spot, gazni, khurshida and sujan, 25.9.1997, no. 68. tangail: forest office, loharia, modhupur, rashed, 2.2.1995, no. 99. genus: marchantia l., sp. pl.: 1137 (1753). 7. marchantia nepalensis l. et l. in lehm. pugiv.: 10 (1832). thallus without dark median line on dorsal surface, lobes broader and shorter, with conspicuous aereoles and scales, inner pore cruciate, male receptacle slightly lobed, 6-8, female receptacle umbonate,7-8 rayed, gemmae cups lobed, dentate to shortly spinose on the margin. grows on damp soil, walls and bricks. specimens examined: jamalpur: lawachapra bazar, sribordi, anisur, 5.12.1994, no. 40. kishoreganj: mithamoin, apurbo, 5.8.1998, no. 59. mymensingh: ananda mohan college campus, khurshida and sujan, 25.12.1992, no. 19. netrokona: helachia, thakurakona, gokul, 12.1.1994, no. 28. sherpur: gazni, sujan, 25.9.1997, no. 63. tangail: jangalia, gopalpur, shashanka, 5.2.2000, no. 88. 8. marchantia palmata nees, nova acta xii: 193 (1824). thallus lobe long, narrow with distinct dark line in the middle on dorsal side, margin entire, apex emerginate, male receptacle very variable, either circular with many lobes or palmate with long narrow lobes, gemmae cups rare. common on damp soil, walls and bricks. specimens examined: jamalpur: doyamoyee mondir, ethi, 5.12.1998, no. 46. kishoreganj: astagram brick field, shahana, 5.3.1998, no. 38. mymensingh: near bdr sector office, dholadia, khagdoor, khurshida and sujan, 28.3.1993, no. 31. netrokona: town, hadiuzzaman, dec. 1980. sherpur: nokla thana, nokla, delwar, 5.2.2001, no. 34. tangail: modhupur rubber garden, nahid, 5.7.1999, no. 78. family: ricciaceae genus: riccia l., sp. pl. : 1138 (1753). 9. riccia arnellii khan the bryologist 60 : 23-30 (1957). thallus thin, pale green, dorsal surface porous, sporophyte ventral, spore tetrahedral, papillose. grows on damp soil, often on paddy land after harvesting. specimens examined: jamalpur: melandaha, mirza azam college, sujan, 29.12.2001, no. 129. kishoreganj: nikli college campus, rafiqul, 25.12.2000, no. 36. mymensingh: boroikandi, rupshi, phulpur, delowar, 5.2.2000, no. 118. netrokona: bryophytes of greater mymensingh district 59 near purbodhala bazar, sujan, 30.12.2001, no. 133. sherpur: sandhyakura, runctia, zhinaigati, khurshida and sujan, 25.9.1997, no. 75. tangail: sakhipur ansar training centre, rubel, 6.1.2000, no. 22. 10. riccia bakshi zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 183-186 (1995). plant spongy, dorsal furrow indistinct, dorsal surface pitted, sporangia ventral, spores triangular or oval, wing crenate or dentate. grows on shady damp or sandy soil. specimens examined: jamalpur: sthall, kamruzzaman, may 1990, no. 839. tangail: palulipara, kamruzzaman, nov. 1985, no. 182. 11. riccia barabaidensis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 63-66 (1995). thallus thin, scale absent, sporangia ventral, spore wall reticulate, wing crenate, not uniformly wide, tri-radiate marking absent. grows on shady, damp soil. specimen examined: tangail: modhupur forest, near barabaid, syed ahmadia yatimkhana, kamruzzaman, july 1985, no. 3. 12. riccia billardieri mont. et nees, syn. hep.: 602 (1846). thallus comparatively bigger, monoecious, sporophyte dorsal, spore winged, wing cart-wheel like. common. grows on damp soil, flower pots, rice fields, plinth of dwelling house and drying ditch. specimens examined: jamalpur: nandina bazar, roksana, 25.10.1999, no. 11. kishoreganj: sadar land office, nilganj upazilla, roksana, 15.10.2001, no. 85. mymensingh: botanical garden, agriculture university campus, khurshida and fattah, 5.3.1987, no. 15. netrokona: town, baraghat bridge side, gokul, 17.9.1992, no. 35. sherpur: banshardi, ganopathi, rakibur, 2.8.1983, no. 9. tangail: near kalihati college, shahabuddin, 25.2.1983, no. 6. 13. riccia cavernosa hoffm in udar & agarwal, j. indian bot. soc. 64: 246-250 (1985). thallus thin, more or less woolly, air pores distinct, scales absent, sporangia ventral, spores shining brown, wing present. grows on shady damp soil, road and pond sides. specimens examined: netrokona: dupaura, kamruzzaman, nov. 1991, no. 1463. tangail: santosh, patulipara, kamruzzaman, july 1985, no. 186. 14. riccia centroporii zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 236-240 (1995). colony compact, deep red or yellow at the centre, fleshy, more or less woolly, dorsal surface pitted, scale absent, sporangia ventral, spore isobilateral, spiny. grows on shady damp soil, drying pond and ditches, also on sandy soil under direct sunlight. 60 banu-fattah and sarker specimens examined: mymensingh: on bank of brahmaputra, kamruzzaman, may 1989, no. 463. sherpur: near bdr camp, kamruzzaman, oct. 1991, no. 743. tangail: elasin, on bank of dhaleshwari, kamruzzaman, apr. 1988, no. 458. 15. riccia crundwellii zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 93-96 (1995). thallus greyish, linear, tubers present, sporangia ventral, spore wall reticulate, wing thin, narrow. grows on shady, damp soil and in house gardens. specimen examined: tangail: shantikunja, kamruzzaman, july 1988, no. 413. 16. riccia crystallina l., sp. pl. 113 (1973). yellow or crystalline-green, fleshy, spongy, sporangia ventral, spores round to triangle, wing broad, crenate, tri-radiate marking distinct. grows on shady damp soil, bank of canals, rivers and paddy fields. specimens examined: netrokona: hosainpur, on bank of river mogra, kamruzzaman, mar. 1986, no. 170. tangail: kagmari, canal side, kamruzzaman, mar. 1987, no. 231. 17. riccia discolor l. et l., pugil. 4:1 (1832). thallus with distinct dorsal furrow, scales violet, purple or hyaline, sporangia dorsal, spores without wing, no tri-radiate mark. grows on shady damp soil, brick roads and fallow lands. specimen examined: jamalpur: sharishabari bus stand, kamruzzaman, feb. 1985, no. 126. 18. riccia fluitans l., sp. pl.: 1139 (1753). thallus ribbon-like, branched dichotomously, sporophyte ventral, pendulous, spores triangular without tri-radiate marks, spore wall regularly reticulate, wingless. aquatic, free floating, or on shady damp soil of drying out water bodies. specimens examined: jamalpur: near railway station, kalibari, kendua, rezaul, 2.1.1999, no. 29. kishoreganj: near jhalua primary school, jhalua bazar, marina, 27.2.1996, no. 37. mymensingh: kachary ferry ghat, char ishwardia, sujan, 28.3.1994, no. 48. sherpur: gidda naryanpur, sujan, 25.9.1997, no. 71. tangail: muktagacha langrar bazar, ashraful, 15.1.2000, no. 81. 19. riccia frostii aust., bull. torrey bot. cl. 6: 17 (1875). thallus form rosette, dioecious, female thallus fleshy, bigger than males, sporophyte ventral, spore triangular with tri-radiate marks, irregularly reticulate. very common by the sides of rivers, beels, khals and ditches. bryophytes of greater mymensingh district 61 specimens examined: jamalpur: jagannathganj ghat, sunit, 2.12.1983, no. 50. kishoreganj: eidgah maidan, sadar upazilla, afroza, 2.12.1998, no. 25. mymensingh: by the side of brahmaputra river, khurshida and sujan, 3.2.1987, no. 13. netrokona : bank of river mogra, gokul, 5.3.2003, no. 193. tangail: kagmari moulana mohammad ali college, mahbubul, 5.2.2000, no. 109. 20. riccia gangetica ahmad, curr. sci. 11: 433 (1942). thallus fleshy, sporophyte dorsal, spore round, wall reticulate, wingless. common on damp soil, specially in gardens and paddy fields. specimens examined : jamalpur: sharishabari college campus, rezaul, 21.5.2000, no. 127. kishoreganj: t&t office campus, bajitpur, marina, 21.12.1992, no. 79. mymensingh: doctorbari, boroikandi, phulpur, sujan, 25.1.1987, no. 64. netrokona: durgapur college campus, sujan, 2.12.1991, no. 20. sherpur: sadar upazilla complex, sujan, 25.9.1997, no. 68. tangail: ghatail college, sujan, 8.9.2000, no. 107. 21. riccia gangulii zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 116-119 (1995). thallus with brittle cilia, scales hyaline, sporangia dorsal, spore reticulate, wing smooth, wavy. grows on shady damp soil and drying ditch. specimen examined: kishoreganj: near gurudayal college, hassan, mar. 1987, no. 451. 22. riccia gopalpurensis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 120-123 (1995). thallus in rosette colony or overlapping, scales absent, sporangia dorsal, spore wall reticulate, 9-12 areolae across dorsally, winged, tri-radiate marks distinct. grows on shady damp soil in sunny locations and forest floor. specimen examined: tangail: gopalpur-bhuapur road, kamruzzaman, july 1985, no. 1. 23. riccia hasnabadii zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 124-127 (1995). thallus thin, scales absent, spore wall reticulate, 6-8 areolae across dorsally, wing crenate, tri-radiate marking absent. grows on shady damp soil and forest floor. specimen examined: tangail: modhupur sal forest, barabaid, kamruzzaman, july 1985. 24. riccia jamalpurensis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 128-131 (1995). 62 banu-fattah and sarker thallus bluish-green, scales prominent, spores roughly round, wall reticulate, 7-12 areolae across dorsally, wing highly wavy, tri-radiate marks not distinct. grows on damp, sandy soil and in gardens. specimen examined: jamalpur: sharishabari, kamruzzaman, mar. 1988, no. 452. 25. riccia jamunii zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 202-206 (1995). thallus yellowish-green, scales scanty, mostly hyaline, few violet, sporangia ventral, somewhat pendulous, spores broadly triangular, wall reticulate, areolae 5-9 across dorsally. grows on shady damp soil, roadside, fallow land, sandy soil and banks of rivers. specimens examined: jamalpur: sharishabari, kamruzzaman, nov. 1986, no. 274. netrokona: shikerpur, bank of river mogra, kamruzzaman, oct. 1991, no. 1421. sherpur: goalpotti, kamruzzaman, oct. 1991, no. 1450. 26. riccia kagmariensis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 132-135 (1995). thallus deep green, scales absent, sporangia dorsal, large, distinctly visible from dorsal surface, areolae 6-8, wing crenate, tri-radiate marks distinct. grows on shady damp soil, bank of drying ditches and sandy banks of rivers. specimens examined: jamalpur: near circuit house, bank of river brahmaputra, kamruzzaman, mar. 1988, no. 461. tangail: kagmari, kamruzzaman, feb. 1988, no. 445. 27. riccia lingulata zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 207-211 (1995). thallus thin, truncate or tongue-like at apex, scales hyaline or violet, sporangia pendulous, spores yellowish-brown, more or less translucent, reticulation thin, wing crenate or finely dentate. grows on shady damp soil, drying soil, fallow land, river bank and drying out river beds. specimens examined: mymensingh: haluaghat, paglapara, kamruzzaman, mar. 1986, no. 233. netrokona: nagra, kamruzzaman, mar. 1986, no. 230. tangail: gopalpur, kamruzzaman, nov. 1986, no. 207. 28. riccia lunata zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 140-143 (1995). thallus fleshy, distinctly pitted, scale absent, sporangia ventral, 5-8 areolae across dorsally, wing crenate or finely dentate, perforated. grows on shady damp soil. specimens examined: mymensingh: phulpur, kamruzzaman, apr. 1998, no. 438. tangail: korotia, kamruzzaman, apr. 1988, no. 432. bryophytes of greater mymensingh district 63 29. riccia madhupurensis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 144-147 (1995). thallus thin, dorsal furrow shallow, sporangia ventral, spore wing crenate, areolae 79. grows on shady damp soil, rich in organic matter, decaying substratum. specimens examined: mymensingh: muktagachha, on highway side, kamruzzaman, nov. 1985, no. 156. tangail: modhupur, kamruzzaman, oct. 1985, no. 142. 30. riccia marsupiformis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 212-215 (1995). thallus woolly, dorsal surface highly pitted, sporangia deeply pendulous (pouched), pear-shaped, spore wall reticulation thin. grows on shady damp soil. specimen examined: tangail: on bank of patulipara canal, kamruzzaman, jan. 1985, no. 185. 31. riccia mogransis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 148-151 (1995). thallus with upper epidermal cells hyaline and characteristically crescent-shaped, scales hyaline, sporangia dorsal, spores golden-brown, 6-8 areolae across dorsally, winged with one perforation at each corner. grows on shady damp soil, brick and river embankments. specimen examined: netrokona: near mogra embankment, kamruzzaman, mar. 1986, no. 231. 32. riccia nathurcharensis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 152-155 (1995). thallus light green, sporangia ventral, spore wall reticulate, irregular, 5-7 areolae across dorsally, wing wavy. grows on damp soil. specimen examined: tangail: mirzapur-mohonpur road, nathurchar, kamruzzaman, july 1985, no. 2. 33. riccia parvullii zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 156-159 (1995). thallus very small, unbranched, scale hyaline and pinkish-brown, sporangia dorsal, spores few, wall vermiculate dorsally, reticulate ventrally. grows on shady damp soil, jute field and house garden. specimen examined: tangail: kagmari, kamruzzaman, july 1985, no. 8. 34. riccia perssonii khan, svensk. botanisk. tids. bd. 49: 433 (1955). thallus spongy, dorsal surface porous, dioecious, sporophyte ventral, spore isobilateral, papillose. common on damp soil of paddy fields, sides of ditches and rivers. 64 banu-fattah and sarker specimens examined: jamalpur: near railway station, nandina, roksana, 15.12.2001, no. 37. kishoreganj: tarail, baruha munna, 25.5.2003, no. 195. mymensingh: shankipara, tinkona pukurpara, sujan, 24.12.2001, no. 120. netrokona: birishiri tribal cultural institute, khurshida and fattah, 27.2.1994, no. 41. sherpur: runctia, zhinaigati, khurshida and sujan, 25.9.1997, no. 74. tangail: bhareteswari home, mirzapur, fazlul, 5.12.1994, no. 35. 35. riccia plana tayl., j. bot. london: 414 (1846). thallus thin, linear, scale hyaline and purplish, sporangia ventral, sometimes slightly pendulous, spores mostly triangular, wall reticulate, wing thin, crenate with one perforation at the corner. grows on shady damp and sandy soil. specimens examined: netrokona: bank of river mogra, kamruzzaman, nov. 1987, no. 299. tangail : patulipara, kamruzzaman, nov. 1987, no. 297. 36. riccia sharishabariensis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 218-222 (1995). thallus linear, thick, scales hyaline, sporangia pendulous, spores triangular, rarely quadrangular, wall reticulate, highly crenate. grows on shady damp soil, fallow lands and river banks. specimens examined: jamalpur: sharishabari, on canal side, kamruzzaman, oct. 1985, no. 55. kishoreganj: pakundia, roadsides, kamruzzaman, mar. 1991, no. 1192. 37. riccia sorocarpa bisch., nov. acta acad. nat. cur. 17: 1053 (1835). thallus overlapping or in rosette, scales hyaline, sporangia ventral, spore wall reticulate, projecting like ridges, winged, wavy. grows on shady damp soil, river banks, char land and latterite soil. specimen examined: tangail: shakhipur, kamruzzaman, dec. 1987, no. 309. 38. riccia sultanii zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 223-224 (1995). thallus deep green, scales hyaline, also violet, rhizoid vermiculate, sporangia ventral, sometimes pendulous, spores yellowish to golden-brown, wall reticulate, wing crenate, perforated. grows on shady damp soil, garden, pond and roadsides. specimen examined: tangail: college, kamruzzaman, mar. 1988, no. 415. 39. riccia tangailensis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 172-175 (1995). thallus fleshy, sporangia ventral, spore yellowish to brown, up to 6 areolae across dorsally, wing wavy, crenate, perforated. grows on shady damp soil, house garden and hillocks. bryophytes of greater mymensingh district 65 specimen examined: tangail: gorai hill, kamruzzaman, feb. 1986, no. 439. 40. riccia tubulosa zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 176-179 (1995). thallus olive-green, small, linear, scale absent, sporangia dorsal, wall reticulation irregularly branched, wing smooth. grows on damp and sandy soil and river banks. specimen examined: tangail: near elashin ghat, bank of river dhaleshwari, kamruzzaman, nov. 1987, no. 244. 41. riccia varientis zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 246-249 (1995). thallus greyish-green to yellowish-green, sporangia ventral, many, clearly visible from both dorsal and ventral sides, spores rhomboidal, tetrahedral and isobilateral in the same sporangium, spores permanently attached in tetrad, with spines all over the surface. grows on shady damp soil and drying fallow lands. specimens examined: jamalpur: bank of river brahmaputra, near ferry ghat, kamruzzaman, mar. 1989, no. 44. mymensingh: near circuit house, hadiuzzaman, feb. 1989, no. 438. tangail: bhabanipur, elenga, kamruzzaman, feb. 1988, no. 426. 42. riccia vulgaris zaman et syed, studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh, ph.d. thesis: 225-229 (1995). thallus deep to light green, scales rudimentary, hyaline, sporangia highly pendulous, spores roughly triangular, wing wavy, perforated at corners. grows on shady damp soil. specimens examined: jamalpur: sharishabari, kamruzzaman, feb. 1985, no. 14. tangail: nathurchar, gopalpur, kamruzzaman, feb. 1984. genus: ricciocarpus corda in opiz. (ed.), natural. (12). (beitr. z. nat. (1): 651 (1929). 43. ricciocarpus natans ( linn.) corda in opiz. beitr. zur. nat. 12: 651 (1829). aquatic, free floating or terrestrial. thallus broadly obovate, lobes with long, pendent sword-like, violet, serrated scales on the ventral surface, aquatic forms generally sterile, terrestrial forms fertile, scales greatly reduced. grows on beels, ponds, paddy fields and fallow lands. specimens examined: jamalpur: kalibari, kendua upazilla, bikash, 5.3.1995, no. 44. kishoreganj: floating on bohera beel, tarail, ashutosh, 5.11.1993, no. 85. mymensingh: kakchar beel, bishka, phulpur, narayan, 5.9.1983, no. 20. netrokona: rajdha beel, purbadhala, shovon, 5.10.2000, no. 69. tangail: dikpait, dhanbari, modhupur, roksana, 12.2.1994, no. 30. 66 banu-fattah and sarker order: metzgeriales; family: pallaviciniaceae; genus: pallavicinia s. gray., nat. arr. brit. pl. 1: 679, 775 (1821). 44. pallavicinia sp. thallus long, narrow with distinct midrib, branches monopodial, midrib multilayered, wings 1-layered thick, only smooth rhizoid and scales present. grows on wet, damp soil, found mostly on slopes of small hills. specimens examined: jamalpur: near picnic spot, kornojhura, sribordi, sujan, 10.3.2003, no. 184. sherpur: gazni picnic spot, zhinaigati, khurshida and sujan, 25.9.1997, no. 56. class: anthocerotopsida; order: anthocerotales; family: anthocerotaceae; genus : anthoceros l., sp. pl.: 1139 (1753). 45. anthoceros crispulus (mont.) douin., rev. bryol. 32: 27 (1905). monoecious, thallus bright green, scattered or form rosette, thallus margin incised or lobed, dorsal surface velvety or powdery due to presence of many leaf-like lobed lamellae, mucilage cavities large, spores hispid with spines, dark brown to black. specimens examined: jamalpur: deb bari, kalibari, kendua, sujan, 25.12.1995, no. 61. mymensingh: muktagachha, shovon, 12.2.1998. sherpur: gazni, sujan, 10.12.1995, no. 54. 46. anthoceros fusiformis aust., ann. bot. 38: 473-483 (1924). monoecious, thallus rough with ridges, dark-green, large mucilage cavities present, nostoc colonies abundant, can be seen from dorsal and ventral surfaces with naked eyes as circular black spots, sporophytes comparatively long, spores black, papillose. grows on shaded, damp soil, crevices and sides of rivers. specimen examined: mymensingh: slopes of brahmaputra river, agriculture university campus, khurshida and sujan, 10.3.1995, no. 69. 47. anthoceros laevis l., ann. bot. 38: 105-111 (1907). dioecious, thallus dark green, smooth, margin crispulate, large mucilage cavities absent, spores smooth, yellow. grows on damp, shaded soil and slope of rivers. specimens examined: jamalpur: sharishabari, rezaul, 10.2.1994. mymensingh: shaheb park, khurshida and sujan, 10.2.1992, no. 52. tangail: madhupur, hadiuzzaman, july 1980. bryophytes of greater mymensingh district 67 family: notothyladaceae; genus: notothylas sull. in a. gray, amer. j. sci. arts 51: 74 (1846). 48. notothylas indica kashyap, proceed. lahore philosoph. soc. 4: 54 (1925). monoecious, thallus green, single or in dense overlapping patches, often forming rosette, nostoc colonies abundant, can be seen in naked eyes, sporophytes cylindrical, borne horizontally along the lobes, young sporophytes yellow, black at maturity, often completely enclosed within involucre or projected beyond it, columella well-developed, spores opaque, dark brown, minutely granular. specimens examined: jamalpur: near picnic spot, karnajhura, sribordi, sujan, 11.9.2000, no. 110. mymensingh: on crevices of brahmaputra river, shaheb bazar park, khurshida and sujan, 5.11.1996, no. 70. sherpur: upazilla complex, sujan, 9.3.2003, no. 182. references banu, k. 1991. taxonomic studies on the acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh. ph. d. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka. 460 pp. banu-fattah, k. 1998. bryophytic flora of chittagong in bangladesh. banlgadesh j. plant taxon. 5(2): 8389. banu-fattah, k. and sarker, s.k. 2007. bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district of bangladesh class: bryopsida. bangladesh j. plant taxon.14(1): 47-66. hadiuzzaman, s. 2007. class: hepaticopsida and anthocerotopsida. in: siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a.., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 5. bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 1-38. hadiuzzaman, s. and chakravarty, a. 1981. marchantiales of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 10(1): 63-81. hadiuzzaman, s. and chakravarty, a. 1983. anthocerotae of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 13(1): 101-107. kamruzzaman, m. 1995. studies on the genus riccia of bangladesh. ph. d. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka. 272 pp. khan, s.a. 1955. riccia perssonii s. a. khan: a new and interesting species from east pakistan. svensk botanik tidskrift. bd. 49 h. 3: 433-436. khan, s.a. 1957. studies in ricciaceae of east pakistan: new and little known species of riccia. the bryologist 60: 28-32. tixier, p. 1967. bryophytae indosinicae. the dacca university studies. xv, part b: 1-12. (manuscript received on 20 july 2009; revised on 16 may 2010) abstract introduction 6. dumortiera hirsuta reinw. bl. et nees nova acta leop. ca genus: marchantia l., sp. pl.: 1137 (1753). 9. riccia arnellii khan the bryologist 60 : 23-30 (1957). 12. riccia billardieri mont. et nees, syn. hep.: 602 (184 20. riccia gangetica ahmad, curr. sci. 11: 433 (1942). references microsoft word 04. ornithogalim_edited_16.6.2011_checked[1].doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 51-55, 2011 (june) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ornithogalum beyazoglui (hyacinthaceae), a new species from west anatolia, turkey yavuz bağci*, ahmet savran1, olcay dinç düşen2 and lütfi tutar department of biology, faculty of science, selçuk university, konya -42031, turkey keywords: ornithogalum beyazoglui; hyacinthaceae; endemic: taxonomy; turkey. abstract ornithogalum beyazoglui y.bağcı, savran & o. d. düşen sp. nov. (hyacinthaceae), a new species is described and illustrated from i̇zmir, ödemiş, bozdağ (i̇zmir, ödemiş province). diagnostic morphological characters are discussed, including sem examination of seed coat surface. data are also presented on ecology, biogeography and conservation status of the new species. introduction the genus ornithogalum l. (hyacinthaceae) consist of about 160 species (manning et al., 2009) and distributed in south africa and around the mediterranean basin, with many species of horticultural importance (zahariad, 1980; cullen, 1984; heywood, 1993). anatolia is an important distribution area for ornithogalum in asia. since ornithogalum was revised by cullen (1984) for the flora of turkey, thirty one new taxa or new records have been described from turkey (davis et al., 1988; özhatay, 2000; düşen and sümbül, 2002, 2003; düşen and deniz, 2005; uysal et al., 2005; özhatay and kültür, 2006; bağcı et al., 2009; özhatay et al., 2009; yıldırımlı, 2009; koca and yıldırımlı, 2010). during a recent botanical expedition to izmir in 2009, the authors collected some specimens of ornithogalum which after critical examination were identified as new species ornithogalum beyazoglui y. bağcı, savran & o. d. düşen. materials and methods in may of 2009, during an expedition to the bozdağ (ödemiş, i̇zmir) in the frame of the project “a morphological, karyological and molecular phylogenetic revision of rorippa scop. (brassicaceae) species in turkey”, the authors collected some interesting ornithogalum specimens. further studies evidenced that they were not referable to any known taxon of the genus, and therefore a new species is here described. a grid system was adapted for the division of the area of turkey for the citation of specimens. this system divided turkey into twenty-nine squares (davis, 1965). according to this grid system, the new species growing in i̇zmir province falls within the a1 square. *corresponding author. email: ybagci66@gmail.com 1department of biology, faculty of science and art, niğde university, niğde 51100, turkey. 2department of biology, faculty of science and art, pamukkale university, denizli 20100, turkey. 52 bağci et al. for scanning electron microscope (sem) study, the seeds were transferred directly to double-sided tape affixed stubs and sputter-coated with gold plate. photomicrographs were taken with a jeol jsm-5600 electron microscope at the university of erciyes (kayseri), faculty of art and education, deparment of biology. results ornithogalum beyazoglui y. bağcı, savran & o. d. düşen, sp. nov. (figs 1& 2) type: turkey. a1 i̇zmir: ödemiş, bozdağ, high mountain steppe, 38019/877// n, 28006/956// e, 1750-1900 m, 9.6.2009, bağcı 3936, savran and tutar (holotype: knya, isotypes: gazi, pamuh, hb. yıldırımlı ). paratype: turkey. a1 i̇zmir: ödemiş, bozdağ, high mountain steppe, damp pastureland, 1760 m, 13.5.2007, bağcı 3604 and savran (knya). fig. 1. ornithogalum beyazoglui (a) habit, (b) flower , (c) immature fruit. diagnosis: foliaris 3-10 mm latitudo; scapis usque ad 6.5 cm longis; perigonio segmentis 9-12 mm longis; pedicellis fructiferis valde recurvis; filamentis 4-5 mm longis; capsulis alatis. plant 3.5-17.0 cm long. bulb ovoid, 10-17 x 07-15 mm, without bulbils; outer tunics brown, inner whitish, membranous. scape usually erect, 0.5-6.5 cm long, glabrous. leaves 2-3 (-4), spreading or erect, usually lanceolate, sometimes linear-lanceolate, glabrous; 4-15 (-17) x 0.3-1.0 cm, much longer than scape, usually flat or slightly ornithogalum beyazoglui (hyacinthaceae) 53 canaliculate, or canaliculated only at the apex, gradually tapering to acute apex, without white median line, margin entire. raceme corymbose; 2-12 flowered, pedicels up to 3 cm in flower and up to 4 cm in fruit, ascending at anthesis but some of them strongly recurved in fruit, longer than perianth segments. bracts 0.5-2.0 cm long, lanceolate or linear to lanceolate, acuminate, equalling or shorter than pedicels. perianth segments 9-12 mm long, white inside, green with narrow white margins outside. filaments 4-5 x 1.0-1.5 mm, acuminate; anthers 2.0-2.5 mm long, whitish to dirty white, neither winged nor toothed. ovary 2-3 x 1.5-2.0 (-3) mm wide, ovoid, longer than style; style c. 1.0-1.8 (-2) mm long. capsule 0.6-1.0 x 0.5-1.0 cm, ovoid, winged. seed numerous, black, 1.5-2.0 x 1.0-1.2 mm, rough, subglobose to globose. flowering and fruiting time: may to june. etymology: this species is named in honour of the turkish botanist, professor dr. osman beyazoğlu (department of biology, karadeniz technical university). distribution and ecology: ornithogalum beyazoglui is a turkish endemic species, restricted to the bozdağ, ödemiş-i̇zmir, west anatolia, and an irano-turanian element. it grows on high mountain steppe and damp pastureland. its altitudinal range is 1750-1900 m. the new species is associated with ornithogalum nutans, centaurea sp., rumex sp., and euphorbia sp. fig. 2. distribution map of ornithogalum beyazoglui (■) conservational status: the specimens were collected in a1 i̇zmir (ödemiş) where the species seems to be very rare and local (fig 2). it is known only from the type locality. the range of this local endemic species is restricted to a single location (iucn criterion b1a). the populations seem to be small and scattered on the mountain slopes where excessive grazing, erosion and human effects are threatening the species. populations are pure, with an area of occupancy smaller than 10 km², and according to 54 bağci et al. field observations, it is estimated that the total number of individuals of these endemic species does not exceed 70-80 in its single locality (criteria b2a and c). therefore we suggest that ornithogalum beyazoglui should be labelled as critically endangered (cr), according to the iucn (2001) red list categories. seed characteristics in this study, the dorsal seed coat surface of ornithogalum beyazoglui and ornithogalum lanceolatum were examined in detail using scanning electron microscopy. seeds of o. beyazoglui are blackish, subglobose to globose, 1.5-2.0 x 1.0-1.2 mm. the surface ornamentation is reticulate-rugulate. the seeds of o. lanceolatum are blackish, ovoid to oblong, 1.8-2.2×1.8-2.0 mm. the surface ornamentation is reticulate-striate (fig. 3). fig. 3. sem photographs of the seed coat. a, b & c: ornithogalum beyazoglui; a) general view, b & c, seed coat surface. d, e & f: o. lanceolatum; d) general view, e & f: seed coat surface. ornithogalum beyazoglui (hyacinthaceae) 55 the turkish endemic ornithogalum beyazoglui is closely related to o. lanceolatum, however, the former differs from the later by having the following characters: fruiting pedicels usually strongly recurved (not erect-spreading); leaves width 3-10 mm (not 1520 mm); filaments 4-5 mm long (not 6-7 mm) and capsule winged (not unwinged). acknowledgements the authors are indebted to tubitak and selçuk university scientific research projects unit for financial support. also, we thank the cahit doğan for his cooperation during seed coat surface studies. references bağcı, y., savran, a. and başköse, i̇. 2009. ornithogalum nurdaniae (liliaceae), a new species from northwest anatolia, turkey. turk. j. bot. 33: 163-167. cullen, j. 1984. ornithogalum l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 8. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, pp. 227-244. davis p.h. 1965. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 1. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, pp. 1-3. davis, p.h., mill, r.r. and tan, k. 1988. ornithogalum l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 10. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, pp. 223-225. düşen, o.d. and sümbül, h. 2002. ornithogalum pamphylicum: new species from south anatolia. israel j. plant sci. 50: 73-76. düşen, o.d. and sümbül, h. 2003. a new ornithogalum l. species (liliaceae) from turkey. israel j. plant sci. 51: 75-77. düşen, o.d. and deniz, i.g. 2005. ornithogalum sumbulianum (hyacinthaceae), a new endemic species from south west anatolia. pak. j. bot. 36(4): 33-36. heywood, v.h. 1993. flowering plants of the world. oxford university press, new york, pp. 312-314. iucn 2001. 2001 iucn red list of threatened species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. iucn, gland, switzerland. koca, a. and yıldırımlı, ş. 2010. ornithogalum nallihanense sp. nov. (hyacinthaceae) from northwest anatolia, turkey. nord. j. bot. 28: 329-331. manning, j.c., forest, f., devey, d.s., fay, m.f. and goldblatt, p. 2009. a molecular phylogeny and a revised classification of ornithogaloideae (hyacinthaceae) based on analysis of four plastid dna regions. taxon 58(1): 77-107. özhatay, n. 2000. ornithogalum l. in: güner, a., özhatay, n., ekim, t. and başer, k.h.c. (eds), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 11. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, pp. 233-237. özhatay, n. and kültür, ş. 2006. checklist of additional taxa to the supplement flora of turkey iii. turk. j. bot. 30: 281-316. özhatay, n., kültür, ş. and aslan, s. 2009. checklist of additional taxa to the supplement flora of turkey iv. turk. j. bot. 33: 191-226. uysal, t., ertuğrul, k. and dural, h. 2005. a new species of ornithogalum (liliaceae) from south anatolia, turkey. bot. j. linn. soc. 148(4): 501-504. yıldırımlı, ş. 2009. a new species of ornithogalum. o. sandrasicum yıld. (liliaceae) from sw anatolia, turkey. ot sist. bot. der. 16: 1-8. zahariad, c. 1980. ornithogalum l. in: tutin, t.g., heywood, v.h., burges, n.a., moore, d.m., valentine, d.h., walters, s.m. and webb. d.a. (eds), flora europea. vol. 5. cambridge university press, cambridge, pp. 35-40. (manuscript received on 16 june 2010; revised on 7 may 2011) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 41-47, 2006 (june) desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh: 3. genus staurastrum meyen (2) a.k.m. nurul islam and nasima akter department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: desmids, staurastrum, bangladesh abstract the paper deals with 13 taxa belonging to desmid genus staurastrum meyen from some selected areas of bangladesh. of these, eight taxa are new records for bangladesh and two taxa are new to science. introduction this is in continuation of the previous work on desmids collected from some selected areas of bangladesh and published under the same title in the same journal (islam and akter 2004). the latter paper dealt with the genus staurastrum meyen, in which 30 taxa belonging to it have been described. in the present instalment further addition of 13 taxa belonging to the same genus, not included in the previous paper, have been made. of these taxa included here, eight taxa are new records for bangladesh and two taxa are new to science. the new taxa and new records are marked by the asterisk (*) in the text. materials and methods for details see islam and akter (2004). taxonomy class: chlorophyceae; order: desmidiales; family: desmidiaceae genus: staurastrum meyen 1. *staurastrum excavatum west & west var. spinosum islam and akter var. nov. (pl. 1, figs. 14-15) cell medium-small, with distinct notch-like median constriction; broader than long; cell length without process 11.5 µm; mid-diam. without processes 10.3 µm, with processes 37-54 µm; isthmus 5.2 µm; differs from the typical by its shorter length and greater breadth, and with one large spine at the basal angles of each semicell; additional spines are present on the cell wall and the processes are relatively longer; top view is somewhat twisted; apex with distinct depression. specimen studied: collection no. kg2, collected from a ditch near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur district, on 12 september 1989. 42 islam and akter 1. *staurastrum excavatum west & west var. spinosum islam and akter var. nov. (pl. 1, figs. 14-15) cellulis medio-parvus, cum mediano incisura distinctus; aspectus apicalis aliquantum tortus; membrana cellulis spinosus; apicalis cum dipressio distinctus; cellulis sine processibus 11.5 µm longis; medio-diam. sine processibus 10.3 µm, cum processibus 37-54 µm; isthmus 5.2 µm; varieties a typo divergens a longitudo brevis; diametro latus, et unus spina ad angulis basalis et semicellulis; membrana cellulis spinosus. typus: pl. 1 figs. 14-15; type locality: a ditch near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur district. on 12 september 1989. 2. *st. indentatum west and west fa. minus scott & prescott (pl. 1, figs. 5-6) (scott & prescott 1961, 96, pl. 50, figs. 8,9) in cell shape and ornament this form is similar to the typical form, but is much smaller and with shorter processes; cell length 34-37 µm; mid-diam at base without processes 17.1 µm; with processes 59-62.5 µm; isthmus 5.7-7.1 µm; a form with two large spines at the apex of the semicell; arms more or less horizontal. specimens studied: collection no.kg3, from a rice-field near the kaliganj railway station, district gazipur; collected on 4 november, 1989; common in the collection. 3. st. leptocladum var. cornutum west & west (islam and haroon 1980, pl. 17: 243) cell l. without spines 36.9 µm; l. with processes 38.8 µm; mid-diam without processes 17.1 µm, with processes 82.4 µm; isthmus 7.1 µm; the process are horizontally elongted; dentatum at the base of each semicell present. specimen studied: collection no. kg2, from a rice-field near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur district, on 12 september 1989. 4. *st. leptocladum nordst., var. smithii grönblad (pl. 1, figs. 7-9) (förster 1969, pl. 38: 1; 1974, 179, pl. 24: 1-4) in shape and size it fits well with this variety as shown by förster (1969, pl. 38: 1) from brazil. his illustrations of the same taxon in 1974 are little different; cell length without spine 39.8 µm; mid diam. without processes 17.1 µm, and with processes 85.2 µm; isthmus 5.7 µm broad. specimen studied: collection no. kg3, from a rice-field near kaliganj railway station on 4 november, 1989. 5. *st. leptocladum var. subinsigne scott & grönblad (pl. 1, figs. 10-11) (scott and grönblad 1957, pl. 22: 8) desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh 43 plate 1 (figs. 1-16) figs. 1-2. staurastrum saltans var. javanicum; 3-4. st. saltans var. sumatranum; 5-6. st. indentatum fa. minus; 7-9. st. leptocladum var. smithii; 10-11. st. leptocladum var. subinsigne; 12-13. st. subjavanicum sp.nov.; 14-15. st. excavatum var. spinosum var. nov. 16. st. tetracerum. 44 islam and akter cell length with spines 37 µm; mid-diam. at base without processes 20 µm, with processes 75.3 µm; isthmus 8.5 µm; note: slightly smaller than the typical. specimen studied: collection no. kg1, from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, on 14 august, 1989. 6. *st. pinnatum turner var. hydra krieger fa. (pl. 2, figs. 19-20) (grönblad et al. 1968, 24, fig. 138). cell small, length without spines 25.6 µm; mid-diam. without process 15.4 µm, with process 36 µm; isthmus 9 µm broad; each semicell with 5 arms or proceses at top view; 2 additional processes at the base of each arm/process; main process/arm is not bifurcated, spines absent on cell wall; it slightly differs from the african specimens shown by grönblad et al. (1968). specimen studied: collection from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, district gazipur, on 14 august 1981 and also from a pond at cox's bazar by squeezing utricularia sp.; common in all collections. 7. *st. pinnatum turner var. hydra krieger fa. supernumerarium scott & prescott (scott and prescott 1961, 101, pl. 46, fig. 7) (pl. 2, figs. 17-18) the cell is similar in shape, size and ornamentation to the variety, but with an extra small quadrifid verruca on the left side of each of the principal processes; cell with processes 24.5 µm long; mid-diam. without process 14.1 µm;, with processes 34.4 µm; isthmus 7.7 µm broad; cell wall with small spines. note: almost similar structure, but poorly drawn, was shown by turner (1892, pl. 13, fig. 28) as st. ornatum (boldt) turner (l. 38 µm; br. 42 µm; isth. 12 µm; process 11 µm). the above forma of scott and prescott (l.c.) is almost similar in size and most likely the same taxon as that of turner (l. 30 µm; br. 44 µm with processes, isthmus 12 µm) specimen studied: collected from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, gazipur district, on 12 september 1989. 8. *st. pinnatum tumer var. simplex turner (pl. 2, figs. 21-22) (turner 1892, pl. 13, fig. 29) cell small, broader than long; cell length with spines 30 µm; mid-diam. without process 20.5 µm, with process 47.5 µm; isthmus 11.5 µm; it is somewhat smaller than the typical. specimen studied: collected from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, gazipur district, on 14 august 1989; common in the collection. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh 45 plate 2 (figs. 17-24) figs.17-18. staurastrum pinnatum var. hydra fa. supernumerarium; 19-20. st. pinnatum var. hydra fa.; 21-22. st. pinnatum var. simplex; 23-24. st. pinnatum var. subpinnatum. 46 islam and akter 9. st. pinnatum turner var. subpinnatum w. & w. fa. (pl. 2, figs. 23-24) cell small, slightly broader than long; cell length 35.5 µm; mid-diam. without process 20 µm, with process 54 µm; isthmus 11.4 µm; a form with diverging arm, prominent spine at the base of isthmus, relatively few number of spines on the cell wall; it differs from the typical. specimen studied: collected from a khilkhet beel, dhaka by squeezing the hydrophytes on 6 september, 1989; common in the collection. 10. *st. saltaus joshua var. javanicum scott and prescott (pl. 1, figs. 1-2) (scott and prescott 1961, 105, pl. 57: 8,9) cell length with the spines 37 µm; mid-diam. without processes 22.7 µm, with processes 62.5 µm; isthmus 8.5 µm; this is slightly smaller in length than the typical. specimen studied: collection no. kg2, collected from a ditch near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur district; collected on 12 september, 1989; common in the collection. 11. *st. saltans joshua var. sumatranum scott and prescott. (pl. 1, figs. 3-4) (scott and prescott 1961, 106, pl. 51: 3,4) cell length without spines 34.1 µm; with spines 42.6 µm; mid-diam. without processes 20 µm; with processes 91 µm; isthmus 8.5 µm; a form with narrow isthmus. specimen studied: collection no. kg2, from a ditch near the kaliganj railway station, gazipur distract, collected on 22 september 1989; common in the collection. note: our specimen is like the typical form as shown by scott and prescott (1961, pl. 51, fig. 3). 12. *staurastrum subjavanicum islam and akter sp. nov. (pl. 1, figs. 12-13) cell medium-large, broader than long, with prominent depression/incision at middle; each semicell with 3-radating arms/processes, apical 2 horizontal and the third process developed from almost the mid-region of the semicell, straight but twisted at the base; process margins serrated; apical margin with bifurcated spines, 2 bigger spines one at each apical corner and 4 small spines in between; at the apex; top view triangular with asymmetric arrangement of the central arm; cell length with spines 57 µm; mid-diam. without processes 25.5 µm; with processes 96.5 µm; isthmus 14.2 µm broad; bifurcated spines are present at the base of each arm/process. holotype: pl. 1, figs. 12-13; collection no. utt1, collected from a shallow pond (part of an old beel) opposite uttara shopping centre, near zia international airport, dhaka, on 6 september 1989; rare in the collection. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh 47 staurastrum subjavanicum islam and akter sp. nov. (pl. 1, figs. 12-13) cellulis medio-grandis, latus quam longior, medianus incisura/depressus nonprofundus; semicellulis cum triprocessus, 2-apicalis horizontalis, tertius irregularis, basalis tortus; marginem processus serratis; marginem apicalis cum medio spinis bifidus ad centralis, et unus spina in quoque angulis apicalis; cellulis 57 µm longis cum spinis; medio-diam. sine processes 25.5 mm, cum processus 96.5 µm; isthmus 14.2 µm latus; bifid spinis in quoque basalis ad processus. holotypus: pl. 1, figs. 12-13. 13. *st. tetracerum ralfs (pl. 1, fig. 16) (grönblad et al. 1968, 25, pl. 9, figs. 140, 141; scott & prescott 1961, 112, pl. 57, fig. 12) cell length without processes 8.9 µm; mid-diam. without processes 7.7 µm, with processes 19.2 µm; isthmus 3.8 µm; in shape and size it is similar to sierra leone material shown by gönblad et al. (1968). specimen studied: collected from a ditch near the kaliganj railway station; gazipur district, on 14 august 1989; common in the collection no. kg1. references förster, k. 1969. amazonische desmidiaceen. amazonia, 2: 5-116, + pl. 1-56. grönblad, r., scott, a.m. and croasdale, h. 1968. desmids from sierra leone, tropical west africa. acta bot. fennica, 78: 1-41. islam, a.k.m. nurul and akter, n. 2004. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh. 2. genus staurastrum meyen. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 15-28. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. desmids of bangladesh. int. rev. ges. hydrobiol. 65(4): 551-604. scott, a.m. and grönblad, r. 1957. new and interesting desmids from the southern united states. acta soc. sci. fennicae, n.s. 811(8): 1-62 + pls. 1-37. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1961. indonesian desmids. hydrobiologia, 17: 1-132 + pl.s. 1-63. turner, w.b. 1892. freshwater algae of east india. kg. sv. vet. akad. handl. 25(5): 1-187 + pls. 1-23. department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangl wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 93-109, 2006 (december) taxonomic revision of the genus caesalpinia l. (caesalpiniaceae) for bangladesh b.m. rezia khatun1 and mohammad oliur rahman bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1 dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words: caesalpinia, taxonomic revision, caesalpiniaceae, bangladesh abstract the genus caesalpinia l. represented by 12 species has been revised for bangladesh. dichotomous bracket key has been given for identification of the species. an updated nomenclature, description of the taxa along with illustrations, specimens examined, ecology, notes on distribution and economic importance have been provided. chromosome number and ethnobotanical information have also been furnished in most cases. introduction the genus caesalpinia l. (caesalpiniaceae) is a pantropical genus of trees, shrubs and prickly climbers comprising of about 150 species distributed throughout the world (verdcourt 1979). most of the members of caesalpinia are economically, medicinally and horticulturally important. caesalpinia pulcherrima is a popular ornamental plant, equally important for medicine to treat different bronchial diseases including asthma and bronchitis and cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery and liver complaints (ghani 2002). caesalpinia bonduc is used as a native medicine in india to relieve colic, fever, hydrocele, diarrhoea and rheumatism (bor and raizada 1954). some species of this genus produce important tannin and dye viz., c. coriaria, c. digyna, c. decapetala and c. sappan (ali 1973). there has been no taxonomic revision of this important genus in bangladesh although the genus received much attention in india and pakistan. sanjappa (1992) recorded 20 species of caesalpinia including both wild and cultivated species from india, whereas, ali (1973) reported only six species from pakistan. earlier, baker (1878) reported 10 species from indian sub-continent while prain (1903) recorded six species from the present territory of bangladesh. a thorough and critical study of a large number of specimens from bangladesh and detailed literature survey (heinig 1925, datta and mitra 1953, sinclair 1955, khan et al. 1996) revealed that the following 12 species of the genus are present in bangladesh, viz., caesalpinia bonduc, c. cacalaco, c. coriaria, c. crista, c. cuculata, c. decapetala, c. digyna, c. enneaphylla, c. hymenocarpa, c. pulcherrima, c. sappan and c. tortuosa. the updated nomenclature, important synonyms, detailed taxonomic account, ecology, specimens examined, economic value and worldwide distribution have been furnished under each taxon. a key to species has 1corresponding author. 94 khatun and rahman also been given. chromosome number and ethnobotanical information have been provided wherever available. illustrations for rare and uncommon species have been given. caesalpinia l. sp. pl. 380: (1753) trees, shrubs or woody scandent, prickly climbers, rarely unarmed. stipules present or not, minute to foliaceous, deciduous or persistent. leaves alternate, bipinnately compound, rachis armed with prickles below the insertion of pinnae and pinnula; leaflets opposite and rarely alternate. flowers zygomorphic, bisexual or sometimes unisexual, stalked, yellow, red, showy. inflorescence of axillary to terminal or supra-axillary, panicled racemes. bracts mostly deciduous, bracteoles absent. hypanthium usually obliquely short-cupular or funnel shaped. sepals 5, free or connate at the base, unequal, imbricate or valvate, the lowest one largest and cucullate, clasping the others, often reflexed during anthesis. petals 5, free, unequal, spathulate, spreading, usually orbicular with a distinct claw, the standard petal differing in shape and size with a liguliform appendage. stamens 10, free, delicate; filaments hairy; anthers oblong, uniform, versatile, dorsifixed, split longitudinally. ovary sessile to sub-sessile; style filliform; stigma terminal, oblique. pods very variable, oblong, ligulate, thin and flat or thick and subturgid, smooth or spiny. seeds orbicular to oblong, globose or flat, usually exalbuminous. key to species 1. leaflets stalked, stalk more than 0.5 mm; pod winged or wingless, when wingless neither swollen on each seed, nor the sutures thickened 2 leaflets sessile or sub-sessile, stalk if present less than 0.5 mm; pod wingless but thickened along the suture 10 2. pedicels and stamens more than 5 cm long; leaflets with stipels. flowers dark red, yellow or orange-yellow c. pulcherrima pedicels and stamens less than 3 cm long; leaflets without stipels 3 3. racemes up to 6 cm long; leaflets up to 2.5 mm wide. pod flexuous, twisted c. coriaria racemes more than 10 cm long; leaflets more than 3 mm wide 4 4. leaflets obovate, retuse; pods cylindrical, transversely clefted c. cacalaco leaflets not obovate; pods neither cylindrical nor transversely clefted 5 5. pods armed with numerous spines, dehiscent. stipules pinnate, foliaceous c. bonduc pods unarmed, indehiscent 6 6. leaflets 2-3 pairs; pod rhombic-elliptic, woody c. crista leaflets more than 3 pairs; pod oblong, not woody 7 7. standard about as large as the other petals, butterfly-shaped; pod 1-seeded c. cucullata standard rounded at the top; pod more than 1-seeded 8 8. ovary hairy. ovules 8-10. wing in pod sharply beaked c. decapetala ovary glabrous 9 taxonomic revision of the genus caesalpinia 95 9. flower buds glabrous; wing of the pod 4-6 mm wide c. enneaphylla flower buds hairy; wing of the pod 7-12 mm wide c. hymenocarpa 10. pedicels jointed near the top; ovary hairy; pod with dorsal suture ending in a sharp beak c. sappan pedicels not jointed near the top; ovary usually glabrous; pod swollen on each side, indehiscent 11 11. leaf rachis up to 23 cm long; leaflets membranous, loosely arranged, hairy, dull above c. digyna leaf rachis 30 cm or longer; leaflets glabrous or very short-hairy, chartaceous, closely arranged, shining above c. tortuosa 1. caesalpinia bonduc (l.) roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2 (2) : 362 (1832). brandis, ind. trees: 246 (1906). guilandina bonduc l., sp. pl. : 381 (1753); c. bonducella (l.) fleming, baker in hook f., fl. brit. ind. 2 : 254 (1878); prain, beng. pl. 2 : 449 (1903). local names: nata, natai, jhagragota, lalkanta, touri; english name: fever nut a vigorous climber or scrambling bushy shrub or small tree up to 5 m high, armed with numerous hairy prickles. leaves compound, paripinnate, stipulate. rachis 30-80 cm long; pinnae 3-9 (-11) pairs, c 8-20 cm long; leaflets 7-12 pairs, c 2-4 × 1-2 cm, ovateoblong to elliptic-lanceolate, obtuse to sub-acute at apex, rounded and unequal at base. inflorescence supra-axillary, simple or panicled racemes, dense at the top. flowers yellow, c 1 cm long, articulated, bracts linear-oblong, cuspidate, c 6-12 mm long, pedicels 4-6 mm long, pubescent. sepals 5, subequal, c 5-8 × 2-3 mm, rusty tomentose. petals 5, golden yellow, the standard petal with red spotted or patches, c 4-4 × 3-4 mm with claw c 3-4 × 1-2 mm, reflexed, other 4 petals spathulate, c 8-10 × 3-4 mm. stamens 10; filaments 6-10 mm long, anthers c 1 mm long. ovary seated on a short gynophore, developed from the base of the calyx tube; style 3-4 mm long; stigma ciliate. fruit a pod, c 6.0-9.0 × 3.5-4.5 cm, oblong, covered with sharp wiry prickles, dehiscent. seeds one or two, c 1.5-2.0 cm across. flowering and fruiting : july april. chromosome number : 2n = 24 (atchison 1951). ecology : grows in coastal areas, inland in scrub jungle, hedges of the crop fields, roadsides, ditches and sometimes forming thickets on vacant lots as ruderal habitat. specimens examined: bagerhat : bagerhat, 12.6.1974, khan & huq, k 3950; mongla, 28.6.1986, huq & mia, h 7797. chittagong : moheskhali, 31.8.81, mia, huq & rahman, m 667. cox's bazar : st martin's island, dhulipara, near jangle, 27.10.1996, m.s. khan, k 9676. dhaka : badyrbazar, 3.10.1977, huq & rahman, h 3508. faridpur: pansa, 3.11.1974, nashiruddin talukder no. 28. gazipur : kaliganj to ghorashal, 6.9.1986, m.k. mia, m 1251. jessore : kaligang katchandpur, 1.9.1983, huq, mia & mahbuba, h 6125. mymensingh: bangladesh agricultural university campus, 19.9.1980, mia, huq & rahman, m 397. rajshahi : near padma river, 96 khatun and rahman 12.12.1972, a.m. huq, h 636. thakurgoan : birganj beat, 14.4.1996, khan & rashid, k 9479. economic importance: the nuts and root bark are considered to be tonic, antiperiodic and febrifuge. the leaves and seeds are much used as native medicine to relieve colic, fever, hydrocele, diarrhoea and rheumatism. the seeds are also used as an anthelmintic, vermifuge, chewed for coughs and eaten for stomach trouble as well as for curing gout (kanjilal et al. 1938, bor and raizada 1954). ethnobotanical information: the villagers use this plant as an effective hedge plant to protect the crop fields in the northern districts of bangladesh. the leaves are used as emmenagogue in indo-china (caius 1989). powered seeds are administered to cure malarial fever and also used as anthelmintic in sundarbans region of india (tribedi et al. 1993). distribution: china, hong kong, india, nepal, malay peninsula, myanmar, the philippines, sri lanka, taiwan and new guinea. 2. caesalpinia cacalaco humb. ex bonpl., pl. aeqninoct, 2: 173, t. 137 (1809); sen & nasker, bull. bot. surv. ind. 7: 36 (1965); sanjappa, legumes of ind.: 13 (1992). (plate 1) an unarmed, low spreading shrubby tree of about 4-5 m high. leaves compound, bipinnate. rachis 3.5-12.0 cm long; pinnae 3-6 pairs, c 2.0-5.5 cm long; leaflets 3-5 pairs, c 1.0-2.2 × 0.6-1.5 cm, obovate, often retuse, puberulent, pale beneath. inflorescence of large terminal panicles, c 20-32 cm long. flowers 1.5 cm across, pedicels 1.0-1.5 cm long, jointed about 0.5 cm apart from the base of calyx, flower buds subtended by bract, c 7-10 × 1-2 mm, linear oblong, cuspidate. calyx sub-campanulate, sepals 5, lower sepals hooded, clasping the others, greenish, golden brown pubescent. petals 5, yellow or orange, stripped with red. stamens 10, free; filaments flattened near the base, reddish or grey, bearded at lower half; anthers ovate, purple or brown. pods cylindrical, c 15 cm long, many seeded. seeds separated by equal number of constriction in the wall of the pods. flowering and fruiting : january august. ecology: in plains, sunny and dry areas. specimens examined: dhaka : dhaka university, s.m. hall compound, 26.1.1990, momtaz begum 168 (b); s.m. hall compound, 10.2.1954, md. shajahan, no. sn; s.m. hall, 5.1.1956, m. rahman 39. distribution: native of south america; introduced in many parts of the world as an ornamental plant. this is rarely cultivated in bangladesh. economic importance: this species is used as an ornamental plant for its delicate foliage and profusely display of yellow flowers. taxonomic revision of the genus caesalpinia 97 plate 1. caesalpinia cacalaco (a-b): a. flowering shoot (× 0.5); b. leaflet (×2). caesalpinia coriaria (c-d): c. part of branch with pods (×0.33); d. part of pinna with leaflets (×2.67). 3. caesalpinia coriaria (jacq.) willd., sp. pl. ed. 4, 2: 532 (1799); backer & bakh. f., fl. java 1 : 544 (1964); hattink, reinwardtia 15: (1974); ali, fl. pak. 54: 35 (1973); verdc., manual new guinea leg. bot. bull. 11 : 23 (1979); vidal, fl. camb. laos & vietnam 18: 23 (1980); lock, leg. africa: 20 (1989); kumar & sane, leg. asia : 28 (2003); poinciana coriaria jack., select. strip. amer. hist.: t.175, f. 36 (1735). local name: umulkuchi; english name: american sumac (plate 1) 98 khatun and rahman an unarmed, glabrous, large scandent shrub to small deciduous tree up to 10 m high. leaves bipinnate, compound. rachis 10-20 cm long; pinnae 3-9 pairs, 5-8 cm long; leaflets 20-30 pairs, c 5-9 × 1-2 mm, linear-elliptic to oblong, sessile to sub-sessile, opposite or sub-opposite, slightly obliquely sub-cordate at base, rounded to truncate or emarginate at apex, pubescent to glabrous, dark green above and greyish beneath. inflorescence of supra-axillary to terminal, dense panicles up to 5 cm long, much shorter than the subtending leaves. flowers greenish yellow, sweet scented, almost sessile. calyx tube c 1-2 mm long, sepals 5, equal or rarely subequal, c 7-9 × 3-4 mm, ovate. corolla c 5 mm long, petals 5, standard petal c 4-6 × 3-4 mm with 3-4 × 1-2 mm claw, yellow. stamens 10; filaments free; anthers versatile. ovary stipitate, glabrous; style short. pods asymmetric, ovate-oblong, inflated, turgid, valves blackish brown, c 3.0-5.0 × 0.8-1.0 cm, thick and pulpy within. seeds flat, rounded. flowering and fruiting : september march. chromosome number: 2n = 24 (bir and kumari 1980). ecology: sunny and dry places up to 700 m elevation and even in poor soil. specimens examined: sylhet : sylhet, 12.10.1973, khan, huq & hassan, k 3237; tilagarh, m.c. college campus, 6.1.1978, huq & rahman, h 3676; m.c. college campus, 22.10.1986, huq & mia, h 7941. economic importance: it is suitable for planting in small avenue and large parks due to its dark green foliage with umbrella shaped-canopy for shade and brilliant greenish yellow, scented flowers. this is important for chemical products, medicine and timber (kumar and sane 2003). the timber is hard and very heavy. the barks and the pods are considered as astringent. ethnobotanical information: in india, the bark is applied for treatment of chronic fever and the decoction of powdered pods are used for washing the bleeding piles. in southern part of india the pod is used as a source of powerful tanning, which is used to make ink. in mexico, a black dye is extracted (bor and raizada 1954, caius 1989). distribution: native of tropical america. frequently found in india, taiwan and west indies. 4. caesalpinia crista l., sp. pl. 1 : 380 (1753), pro parte, emend. dandy & exell, j. bot. 76 : 179 (1938). hattink, reinwardtia 9 : 20 (1974); huang, fl. taiwan 3 : 185 (1977); c. chinensis roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 2 (1832). guilandia nuga l., sp. pl. ed. 2 : 546 (1762). (plate 2) local name: letkanta a glabrous, scandent, prickly shrub or small tree. leaves bipinnate, compound, c 1525 cm long, stipulate, stipule caducous. rachis c 10-30 cm long including petiole, armed with short, hooked or recurved spine beneath; pinnae 6-8 pairs; leaflets 2-3 (-5) pairs, c 26 × 1.53.0 cm, ovate-elliptic to lanceolate-ovate, obtuse to shortly acute at the apex. taxonomic revision of the genus caesalpinia 99 inflorescence axillary to terminal panicle, c 20-40 cm long with many flowers. bracts c 1 mm long, caducous. flowers yellow, fragrant, pedicels 1.0-1.5 cm long. calyx broadly obconic, glabrous, 10 ribbed, sepals 5, oblong, c 6-8 × 2-4 mm. petals 5, yellow, the standard petal deep orange or red striped, hairy inside towards the middle, claw c 5 mm long, other petals c 8-10 × 3-4 mm, orbicular. stamens 10; filaments woolly; anthers orange. ovary shortly stalked, seated on oblique gynophore,; style c 8 mm long; stigma ciliate. pods rhombic-elliptic in outline, c 4.0-7.0 × 2.5-3.5 cm, indehiscent, turned blackish when dry. seeds 1 or 2 per pod, rounded to ovate or kidney shaped. flowering and fruiting : august may. plate 2. caesalpinia crista (a-b): a. part of branch with leaves and pod (× 0.53); b. pod with seed after partly open (×0.5). caesalpinia cucullata (c-f): c. part of rachis with pinnea (×0.33); d. upper petal (×1); e. ovary (×2.67); f. pod with single seed (×0.5). caesalpinia enneaphylla (g-h): g. pinnea (×0.83); h. pod with many seeds (×0.5). 100 khatun and rahman chromosome number: 2n = 24 (atchison1951). ecology: in village thickets, along streams, river banks, mangrove forest and its fringes, coastal areas along seashore and on sandy beaches. specimens examined: bagerhat: mongla port area, 4.2.1987, huq & mia, h 8182. chittagong: chakaria sundarbans, 12.11.1979, huq, rahman & mia, h 4556. cox's bazar: teknaf, st. matin's island, 29.1.1994, yusuf, huda, dey, hossain & emran, no. 4213; teknaf, st. martin's island, 27.10. 1996, m.s. khan, k. 9417. economic importance: the root is considered as diuretic. roasted seeds, root and the juice of the stem are applied both externally and internally for treatment of eye diseases (bor and raizada 1954). ethnobotanical information: in india, the plant is used as the host of ‘lac insect’ and the finely powdered form of leaves is administered to women as a tonic just after delivery (caius 1989). distribution: archipelago, australia, cambodia, china, india, malay peninsula, myanmar, sri lanka, vietnam and taiwan. 5. caesalpinia cucullata roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2 (2) : 358 (1832); hattink, reinwardtia 9 : 22 (1974); mezoneuron cucullatum (roxb.) wight & arn., prod. fl. pen. ind. or. : 283 (1834); mezoneuron macrophyllum bl. ex miq., fl. ind. bat. 1(1) : 104 (1855). m. cucullata var. grandis heyne ex baker, fl. brit. ind. 2 : 258 (1878); m. cucullata var robusta craib fl. siam. enum. 1 : 499 (1928). (plate 2) local name: bogaserra kanta a large struggling, scandent, glabrous shrub. leaves compound, exstipulate. rachis c 12-30 cm long; pinnae 2-5 pairs, 7-15 cm long; leaflets 4-5 pairs, c 4.5-10.0 × 1.5-6.0 cm, opposite, ovate-elliptic, bluntly acuminate, rounded and somewhat unequal at base, shining above. inflorescence of simple supra-axillary to terminal large panicles, c 1540 cm long, glabrous. flowers bright yellow, bracteate, bract fugacious, very early caducous, pedicels 0.6-1.2 cm long, glabrous. calyx up to 1 cm long, deeply divided, sepals 5, glabrous, lowest one hood-shaped and larger than the other 4 sepals. petals 5, bright yellow, standard petals purplish-red, 2-lobed, butterfly shaped, c. 2.0-2.5 cm long, claw 6.0-7.5 mm long. stamens 10; filaments short-hairy towards the base; anthers red. ovary glabrous, 1-2 ovuled. pods elliptic-lanceolate, c 8-12 × 2.5-3.5 cm, including papery wing about 4-6 mm wide along upper suture, reddish brown, 1 seeded at the middle of the pod. seed orbicular, flat, c 1 cm across, shinning brown. flowering and fruiting : january september. chromosome number: 2n = 22 (roy and sinha 1966). ecology: in evergreen forests, along streams, near canals and on fringes. taxonomic revision of the genus caesalpinia 101 specimens examined: rajshahi : nauhata, near a cannal, 7.2.1973, a.m. huq, h 832; rajshahi university campus, 9.12.1972, a.m. huq, h 515. dinajpur : thakurgoan, kanthipur-singra, 15.1.1974, khan & huq, k 3599. panchagar : tetulia, tirnai, 24.2.1984, mia, rahman & zaman, m 968. sherpur : jhenaigati, gazni, 9.2.1985, m.s. khan, k. 7052. mymensingh : madhupur forest, 28.2.1987, huq, mia & habib, h 8211. economic importance : wood of this species is used as firewood. distribution: bhutan, cambodia, china, india, indonesia, malay peninsula, myanmar, nepal, nicabor island, the philippines, thailand and vietnam. 6. caesalpinia decapetala (roth) alston in trimen, handb. fl. ceylon 6 (suppl.): 89 (1931); hattink, reinwardtia 9: 24 (1974); ali, fl. pak. 54: 31 (1973). reichardia decapetala roth, nov. pl. spec. : 210 (1821); caesalpinia ferrox hassk., fl. java. rar.: 400 (1848); c. sepiaria roxb., hort. beng.: 32 (1814) nom nud. fl. ind. 2: 360 (1832); baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 256 (1878). (plate 3) local names: kander, relan; english name: the mysore thron a scandent or scrambling shrub or small tree, up to 10 m tall. leaves compound, bipinnate, up to 30 cm long, stipulate, stipules caducous. rachis c 1224 cm long; pinnae 4-10 pairs; leaflets 8-12 pairs, opposite, sub-sessile, c 1.0-2.0 × 0.4-1.0 cm, oblong, obtuse, rounded at the apex, unequal at the base, glabrous above, sparsely pubescent beneath. inflorescence of supra-axillary to terminal large racemes, c 20-30 cm long. flowers bright yellow, c 1.2-1.8 cm long, often with red veins, bracts ovate lanceolate, pedicels c 2.0-3.0 cm. calyx 1.0-1.3 cm long, fulvous hairy, 10 ribbed, sepals 5, golden hairy, the lowest sepal c 8-10 × 3-4 mm, other 4 sepals c 6-8 × 3-4 mm. petals 5, suborbicular or obovate, standard petal c 1.3-1.4 cm long with 5-6 mm claw, the others up to 1.1 cm long, with 1-2 mm claw, obovate. stamens 10, free; filaments 1.5 cm long, flattened and densely woolly at lower parts; anthers versatile. pod oblong to falcateoblong, c 6.0-12.0 × 1.7-2.8 cm, flat, sharply beaked, dehiscent. seeds 4-8 per pods, ellipsoid, dull black. flowering and fruiting : may september. chromosome number : 2n = 24 (bir and kumari 1973 as c. sepiaria). ecology : sunny and dry habitats in bushy open places, in hedges and river banks. specimens examined: kushtia : chuadanga, kalabari, 2.1.1976, huq, rahman & mia, h 1833; chuadanga, a.m. huq, h 4692. economic importance: the plant is medicinally important and different chemical products are obtained from this species (kumar and sane 2003). it is cultivated for excellent hedge plant and suitable for gardening for its bright yellow flowers in large racemes. the root is used as purgative. the plant is also used as the host of ‘lac insect’ (ali 1973). 102 khatun and rahman ethnobotanical information : in south india the bark of the plant is reported as a source of tanning material (ali 1973). the tribal people of naga in india use this plant as their village defense. the branches of the plant were erected on the forked poles over the paths during the day while at night the poles were removed and the plant laid on the ground as creeper, forming impenetrable barrier to any miscreant (bor and raizada 1954). distribution: bhutan, china, hong kong, india, indonesia, japan, korea, laos, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, pakistan, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. plate 3. caesalpinia decapetala (a-e): a. part of flowering branch with pods (×0.67); b. part of rachis with pinna (×1.33); c. leaflet (×1.33); d. upper petal (×1.67); e. pistil (× 1.67); f. stamen (×1.33). taxonomic revision of the genus caesalpinia 103 7. caesalpinia digyna rottler, ges. naturf. freunde. berlin. schrift. 4: 200, t. 3 (1803); baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 256 (1878); brandis, ind. trees: 247 (1906); hattink, reinwardtia 9: 28 (1974); caesalpinia oleosperma roxb., fl. ind. 2: 357 (1832). local names: amalkuchi, umulkuchi, kochai, teri a large, struggling, scandent, prickly shrub or small tree with recurved prickles. leaves compound, bipinnate, stipulate, stipules c 2 mm long, caducous. rachis c 15-20 cm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; pinnae 6-12 pairs, up to 5 cm long; leaflets 8-12 pairs, opposite, sub-sessile, c 8-12 × 3-4 mm, oblong, obtuse to rounded, slightly unequal at base. inflorescence supra-axillary to terminal panicles, c 16-30 cm long. flowers bright yellow, c. 8-10 mm across, bracteate, bracts c 5 mm long, caducous, pedicels slender, c. 1.5-2.5 cm long. sepals 5, oblong-obtuse, dotted, the lowest one hood-shaped, glabrous. petals 5, obovate, oblong or orbicular, the standard petal constricted towards the middle, hairy inside. stamens 10, free; filaments dilated at the base and densely woolly in lower part; anthers glabrous or with few hairs. ovary glabrous or slightly hairy on the suture; style 6-8 mm long; stigma short-hairy along the margin. pod elliptic-oblong, fleshy, c 46 × 1.5-2.0 cm, shortly beaked, indehiscent. seeds 2-4 per pod, sub-globose. flowering and fruiting: july january. ecology : in clearings, thickets, forest fringes, sometimes at the slop of the hills, and open and dry places. specimens examined: chittagong : fatikchari, karnophuli tea state area, 21.1.1989, huq, rahman & mahfuz, h 9012; bariadhala to hazarikhil, 14.10.1978, khan & huq, k 5163; dulhazara range, harbang-chakoria-sunderbans, 21.11.1979, huq, rahman & mia, h 4555. cox's bazar : teknaf range, mochini beat, 7.10.1991, khan, huq, mia & rahman, k 8630; ukhia, rezu range, 12.12.1985, khan, huq & mia, k 6855. gazipur : salna forest, 2.12.1980, huq, rahman, mia, mahbuba & momtaz, h 4856; gori, 19.01.1969, parvin a. hashem, no. 31. thakurgoan : kantanagar, 15.1.1974, khan & mia, k 3608. economic importance: the plant is important for chemical products, forage and medicine (kumar and sane 2003). the root is used for treatment of phthisis, scrofulous affections and diabetes (caius 1989). ethnobotanical information: in some part of myanmar, the pounded root is mixed with water to make a drink which is used as febrifuge (caius 1989). the pods are considered as the source of tanning material (kanjilal et al. 1938). distribution: cambodia, china, india, laos, malaya peninsula, myanmar, nepal, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. 104 khatun and rahman 8. caesalpinia enneaphylla roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2: 363 (1832); hattink, reinwardtia 9 : 30 (1974); larsen et al., fl. thailand 4: 77 (1984); mezonuron enneaphyllum (roxb.) wight & arn. ex benth., baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 258 (1878). (plate 2) local name : kuchai a woody climber armed with recurved prickles. leaves compound, stipulate, stipules scale like. rachis c 20-30 cm long; pinnae 8-12 pairs; leaflets 8-10 pairs, c 1.5-2.5 × 0.60.9 cm, opposite, elliptic-oblong, obtuse, mucronate, retuse at apex, unequal at base. inflorescence of axillary to terminal panicles, up to 30 cm long. flowers pedicellate, pedicels c. 1.0-2.0 cm long, glabrous or sparsely hairy. sepals 5, c 6-8 mm long, the lowest one hood-shaped, glabrous. petals 5, bright yellow, the standard petal suborbicular with a claw protected into a glabrous, bilobed ligule. stamens 10; filaments free, slightly larger than calyx; anthers glabrous. ovary glabrous, 4-6 ovuled; style funnel-shaped; stigma shortly ciliate. pod elliptic-oblong, c. 7.5-11.0 × 2.0-3.5 cm, including 4-6 mm wide dorsal wing, young pods red. seeds 4-6, separated from each other. flowering and fruiting : june december. ecology : in dry hill slopes, secondary forests and open sunny places. specimens examined : bandarban : bandarban, 26.11.1983, khan, huq, rahman & mia, k 6446; chimbuk hills on way to mirzapur, 27.11.1983, khan, huq, rahman & mia, k 6520. chittagong : foyes lake, 24.01.1973, khan & huq, k 2709; chittagong university campus, 3.12.1979, a.m. huq, h 1655; near himchari forest office, 27.11.1970, khan & huq, k 2299; ukhia forest area, 29.12.1983, mia, huq & rahman, m 946. sylhet : jafflong, sripur, 27.2.2000, khan & mia, k 10285. economic importance : cultivated as a garden plant. distribution : china, malayan archipelago, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. 9. caesalpinia hymenocarpa (prain) hattink, reinwardtia 9: 35 (1974) nov comb., vidal, fl. camb. laos & vietnam 18 : 46 (1980); larsen & larsen, fl. malesiana ser. 1, 12(2): 546 (1996); mezoneuron hymenocarpum prain, j. as. soc. beng. 66 (2): 472 (1897). (plate 4) a much branched shrub to low tree. leaves compound, stipulate, stipules c 0.51.0 mm long. rachis c 20-40 cm long, with recurved prickles in pairs; pinnae 6-8 pairs, pubescent; leaflets 10-18 pairs, c 1.2-2.5 × 0.6-1.5 cm, obovate to obovate-oblong, rounded to emarginate at apex, unequal at base. inflorescence of axillary to terminal large panicle, c 30-50 cm long. flowers yellow, pedicillate, bracteate, bract triangular, c 5-6 mm long, pedicels c 8-15 mm long. sepals 5, unequal, pubescent, the lowest one larger and hood-shaped, deeply cucullate, c 6.0-10.0 × 3.5-5.0 mm. petals 5, yellow, standard petal orbicular or reniform, c 3-4 × 4-6 mm, with claw c 3-4 mm long, other petals with taxonomic revision of the genus caesalpinia 105 claw c 0.5-1.0 mm long. stamens 10; filaments c 7-17 mm long, hairy at base; anthers 2.5 mm long, glabrous. ovary 4-6 ovuled, glabrous; style c 12 mm long; stigma shortly ciliate. pod elliptic-lanceolate, c 10.0-15.5 × 2.53.5 cm, with 7-12 mm wide dorsal wing, beaked, indehiscent, 3-6 seeded. seeds ellipsoid, flat. flowering and fruiting: july february. ecology : in secondary growth, hilly, monsoon forests, scrub jungles and river banks. plate 4. caesalpinia hymenocarpa (a-d): a. part of branch with leaves and pods (×0.5); b. flower bud (×0.67); c. upper petal (front view) (×0.67); d. upper petal (side view) (×0.67). caesalpinia tortuosa (e-j) e. part of branch with pinnae (×0.5); f. a pair of leaflet (×2); g. flower bud (×1.33); h. stamen (×1.33); i. pistil (× 2); j. pod (×1). 106 khatun and rahman specimens examined : chittagong : maheshkhali, 7.3.1987, khan et al., k 4896; foyes lake, 22.01.89, momtaz & rezia, mn. 79; jaldi range, sonai chari, 31.12.83. m.s. khan, k 8212. chittagong hill tracts : mainimukh, kalokchicha forest, 28.12.81, huq, rahman & mia, h 5458. economic importance : it is used as an ornamental and hedge plant. ethnobotanical information: the plant is used as the host of ‘lac insects’and the bark is the source of tanning material in south india (bor and raizada 1954). distribution : cambodia, china, india, indonesia, japan, laos, malaysia, myanmar, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. 10. caesalpinia pulcherrima (l.) swartz., obs. bot. ind. occ.: 166 (1791); willd., sp. pl. 2: 531 (1799); prain, beng. pl. 1: 449 (1903); brandis, ind. trees: 247 (1906). poinciana pulcherrima l., sp. pl.: 380 ( 1753); baker in hook, f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 255 (1878). local names: krisnachura, radhachura, chatta-krisnachura; english names: barbados pride, red bird of paradise a handsome, much branched shrub to small tree, c 3-6 m tall. leaves abruptly bipinnate, pinnately compound with stipules and stipels. rachis c 10-40 cm long; pinnae 6-12 pairs, c 3-8 cm long; leaflets 5-13 pairs, c 0.5-2.5 × 0.4-1.5 cm, oblong-elliptic, rounded or emarginate, slightly mucronulate at apex. inflorescence axillary to terminal large racemes, up to 40 cm long. flowers orange-yellow, red to crimson-red or orangecrimson with yellow or cream margin, pedicels c 7.5-10.0 cm long. sepals 4, free, c 0.71.5 × 0.5-0.7 cm, hooded, glabrous. petals 5, free, 4 sub-equal, distinctly clawed, 5th petals with long clawed and smaller lamina, orbicular. stamens 10, free; filament up to 7.5 cm long, very much long exserted; anthers versatile. ovary seated on short gynophore, glabrous, compressed; style c 5.0-5.5 cm long; stigma ciliate. pod oblong, compressed, c 5.0-8.5 × 1.5-2.0 cm, purple to dark brown, dehiscent. seeds 8-10 per pod, brown or black. flowering and fruiting : almost throughout the year but flowering profuse during february april and september november. chromosome number : 2n = 24 (atchison 1951). ecology : dry and sunny places, generally in gardens, parks and homesteads. specimens examined: chittagong : sitakund, huq & mia, h 8052. dhaka : green road, 18.03.1978, huq et al., h 3878; sahrawardy uddan, 14.5.1980, momtaz begum 375. mymensingh : mymensingh, 2001, sakir hossain, no. 13; sylhet : jafflong, 20.10.1986, huq & mia, h 7910. economic importance: it is planted as a popular ornamental plant. the leaves, flowers and seeds are largely used in indian medicine. the pounded root is useful in taxonomic revision of the genus caesalpinia 107 infantile convulsions. the infusion of the flowers are used as a remedy of cough, chronic catarrh, asthma and malarial fever. leaf juice is administered for treatment of fever (bor and raizada 1954). the fruits are main sources of tannin and the flowers yield a red dye (chakraverty and jain 1984). ethnobotanical information: in indo-china, the plant is considered as tonic, stimulant and emmenagogue. in the philippines, the leaves are used as purgative. an infusion of the flowers is used as febrifuge, and is applied for the treatment of bronchitis, asthma, and malarial fever (caius 1989). distribution: native of south america and cultivated throughout the tropics. 11. caesalpinia sappan l., sp. pl.: 381 (1753); kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 1: 405 (1877); backer in hook f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 255 (1878); prain, j. as. soc. beng. 66 : 228 (1897); hattink, reinwardtia 9: 51 (1974); larsen et al., fl. thailand 4: 65 (1984); c. minutiflora elmer. leaf. philip. bot. 5: 1803 (1913). local names: bakam, bakamkat, patang a prickly shrub or small tree of about 6 m high. leaves compound, stipulate, stipules 3-4 mm long, caducous. rachis 15-40 cm long; pinnae 10-13 pairs; leaflets 10-18 pairs, c 1.0-2.0 × 0.6-1.0 cm, elliptic-oblong, sessile, very oblique at base, slightly emarginate at apex. inflorescence of supra-axillary to terminal panicles, c. 30-40 cm long. bract lanceolate, c 6 mm long, caducous, pedicels 1.5-2.0 cm long, pubescent. flowers yellow, pubescent, calyx tube short, bowl shaped, sepals golden brown, hairy outside, glabrous inside, the lowest one more concave and larger. petals 5, yellow, obovate, the standard petal smaller, constricted into a claw, hairy inside. stamens exserted; filaments slightly longer than the petals, white, woolly in lower half; anthers glabrous. ovary 3-6 ovuled, grey, velvety; style c 12 mm long; stigma ciliate. pod obovate, obliquely oblong, 7.0-10.5 × 2.0-3.0 cm, flattened, woody, sessile on receptacle, widest toward the apex. seeds ellipsoid, 3-4 per pod, dull black. flowering and fruiting : june may. chromosome number : 2n = 24 (ghose 1952). ecology : in scrub jungles, limestone hills and under cultivation around villages. specimens examined: kushtia : chuadanga, a.m. huq, h 4592; chuadanga, 2.1.1976, huq, rahman & mia, h 1833. economic importance : the species is important for wood, chemical products and medicine (kumar and sane 2003). the wood is used in decoction form in various diseases especially skin diseases (caius 1989). it is also used as an ornamental plant. ethnobotanical information: wood yields valuable dye to colour silk and starch red in holy occasion (bor and raizada 1954). in indo-china, the decoction of wood is used 108 khatun and rahman as a powerful emmenagogue and used as vulnerary for wounds, hemorrhages and menstrual disorder. in china, it is used to cure dysentery and diarrhoea (caius 1989). distribution : china, india, indo-china, malay peninsula, myanmar, new guinea, sri lanka, and taiwan. 12. caesalpinia tortuosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 365 (1832); baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 257 (1878); hattink, reinwardtia 9: 57 (1974); c. microphylla buch.ham. ex prain, j. asiat. soc. beng. 66: 471 (1897); c. tortuosa roxb. var grandiflora fedde, rep. sp. nov. 12: 39 (1913). (plate 4) a climbing shrub to small tree up to 10 m high. leaves pinnately compound, exstipulate. rachis up to 60 cm long, often with recurved spines; pinnae 7-20 pairs, 6-15 cm long; leaflets 12-30 pairs, sessile, c 10-20 × 2-6 mm, narrowly linear-oblong, truncate at base, rounded to obtuse at apex, glabrous or sparsely puberulous beneath. inflorescence of axillary to terminal or rarely supra-axillary panicles, c 20-60 cm long. flowers bracteate, bract c 2 × 1 mm, pubescent. sepals 5, c 8-10 × 4-6 mm, unequal, ciliate, lowest one deeply hooded. petals 5, unequal, standard petal orbicular, c 5 mm across with c 5-8 × 2 mm claw, hirsute above, other 4 petals orbicular to reniform, c 7-10 × 6-12 mm with 1-3 × 1 mm claw. stamens 10; filaments 10-14 mm long, woolly at lower part, somewhat exserted; anthers c 2.5-3.0 × 0.7-1.0 mm. ovary subsessile, hairy or glabrous; style 8-12 mm long, pubescent; stigma c 1 mm long. pod elliptic-oblong, c 3.59.0 × 2.0-3.5 cm, obtuse, shortly beaked, turned black when dry, thickened at suture, indehiscent. seeds 1-5 per pod, subglobose. specimen examined : no specimen was examined because of the non-availability, but this species was recorded from sylhet district (brandis 1906). ecology : primary and secondary forests, forest margins and along rivers. economic importance : wood is used as fuel. distribution: china, hong kong, india, indonesia, myanmar and peninsular malaysia. in bangladesh this species was reported from sylhet. acknowledgement we thank mr. md. ruhul amin, senior artist-cum-illustrator of bangladesh national herbarium for drawing some illustrations. references ali, s.i. 1973. caesalpiniaceae. in: nasir, e. and ali, s.i. (eds.) flora of west pakistan, no 54. department of botany, university of karachi, west pakistan, 47 pp. atchison, e. 1951. studies in the leguminosae. vi. chromosome number among tropical woody species. amer. j. bot. 38(7): 538-547. taxonomic revision of the genus caesalpinia 109 baker, j.g. 1878. leguminosae. in: hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2 : 254-257. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. bir, s.s. and kumari, s. 1973. in: iopb chromosome number reports xli. taxon 22 : 459-464. bir, s.s. and kumari, s. 1980. cytological evolution of the leguminous floras of the punjab plains. recent research in plant science (ed. bir, s.s.), kalayani publishers, ludhiana, india, pp. 251-260. bor, n.l. and raizada, m.b. 1954 (repr. ed.1982). some beautiful indian climbers and shrubs. bombay natural history society, pp. 60-72. brandis, d. 1906. indian trees. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dhera dun, india, pp. 245-247. caius, j.f. 1989. the medicinal and poisonous legumes of india. scientific publisher, jodhpur, india, pp. 1187. chakraverty, r.k. and jain, s.k. 1984. beautiful trees and shrubs of calcutta. botanical survey of india, howrah, calcutta. p. 42. datta, r.b and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1110. ghani, a. 2002. bheshaja oshudh (herbal medicine). bangla academy, dhaka. pp. 113-275. ghose, a.k. 1952. chromosome numbers and meiotic behavior in two species of caesalpinia. sci. & cult. 17: 384-385. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of the plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling, pp. 1-84. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1938 (rep. ed.1982). flora of assam, vol. 2. a von book company, india, pp.1-176. kumar, k. and sane, p.v. 2003. legumes of south asia (a check list). royal botanic garden, kew, 531 pp. khan, m.s., khatun, b.m.r. and rahman, m.m. 1996. a preliminary account of legume diversity in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(1): 1-33. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. volume 1. reprint edition 1963. pp. 322-323. roy, r.p. and sinha, b.m.b. 1966. cytological studies in mezuneuron cucullatum w. et a. sci. & cult. 32 (9): 463-464. sanjappa, 1992. legumes of india. bishen singh mahendra pal singh. dehra dun india, pp. 9-14. sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 84-116. tribedi, g.n., mugal, v. and pal, d.c. 1993. some less known ethnobotanical uses of plants in sundarbans. bull. bot. surv. ind. 35(1-4): 6-10. verdcourt, b. 1979. a manual of new guinea legumes. bulletin no. 11, lae, papua new guinea, pp. 20-29. (manuscript received on 8 november 2006; revised on 29 november 2006) local name: letkanta baker, j.g. 1878. leguminosae. in: hook. f., fl. brit. ind. microsoft word 01. iranian alfalfa.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 93-104, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists genetic variation among iranian alfalfa (medicago sativa l.) populations based on rapd markers fatemeh mohammadzadeh*, hassan monirifar1, jalal saba, mostafa valizadeh2, ahmad razban haghighi1, bahram maleki zanjani, maryam barghi1 and vahideh tarhriz3 faculty of agriculture, zanjan university, zanjan, iran keywords: alfalfa; rapd; genetic diversity; analysis of molecular variance; cluster analysis. abstract genetic diversity among and within 10 populations of iranian alfalfa, from different areas of azarbaijan, iran was analyzed by screening dna from seeds of individual plants and bulk samples. in individual study, 10 randomly amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) primers produced 156 polymorphic bands and a high level of genetic diversity was observed within populations. the averages of total and within population genetic diversity were 0.2349 and 0.1892, respectively. results of analysis of molecular variance (amova) showed the great genetic variation existed within populations (81.37%). these results were in agreement with allogamous and polyploid nature of alfalfa. cluster analysis was performed based on nei’s genetic distances resulting in grouping into 3 clusters which could separate breeding population from other populations. results of cluster analysis were in consistent with morphological and geographical patterns of populations. the results of bulk method were different from individual analysis. our results showed that rapd analysis is a suitable method to study genetic diversity and relationships among alfalfa populations. introduction alfalfa (medicago sativa l.) is the most important forage legume (veronesi et al., 2010), originated in caucasus, northeastern turkey, northwestern iran and turkmenistan (dehghanshoar et al., 1997), though iran is known as central origin (hanson, 1988). it is an autotetraploid and allogamous plant (flajoulot et al., 2005). these features lead to its high genetic complexity (gherardi et al., 1998; flajoulot et al., 2005). therefore, a high degree of genetic diversity can be found within and between populations (mengoni et al., 2000). these factors cause the complication of breeding improvement in alfalfa (gherardi et al., 1998). however, since alfalfa is an agronomically important crop, its improvement is necessary, especially to increase pest or disease resistance, forage quality and forage yield (volence et al., 2002). alfalfa cultivars are synthetic varieties developed by intercrossing the selected parents and advancing their offspring through three or four generations of seed increase (rowe and hill, 1999). so, genetic studies such as differentiation between cultivars and estimating the genetic diversity within and between populations are important in alfalfa breeding programs to use some of these populations as selected parents and producing higher yielding cultivars (veronesi et al., 2010). *corresponding author: e-mail: fidafeh_m@yahoo.com 1agricultural biotechnology research, institute of iran (abrii) for northwest and west of iran, tabriz, iran. 2faculty of agriculture, tabriz university, tabriz, iran. 3sari agricultural sciences and natural resources university, sari, iran. 94 mohammadzadeh et al. fig. 1. locations of alfalfa populations (azarbaijan, iran). source: http://www.ncc.org.ir dna-based molecular markers such as rflps, ssrs and rapds are extensively used to estimate genetic diversity and establish the relationships between plant cultivars (kidwell et al., 1994; mengoni et al., 2000). these markers have more polymorphism loci than other methods such as isozyme analysis (jenczewski et al., 1999) and since they are not affected by environment conditions and plant development level, they can estimate genetic diversity in populations more precisely (tucak et al., 2008). in rapd-pcr technique, genomic dna is amplified with arbitrary 10-mer oligonucleotide primers to produce dna fragment polymorphisms (gherardi et al., 1998). rapd markers are independent of dna quantity (jenczewski et al., 1999) and they do not require previous knowledge of genome (rahman, 2006; tucak et al., 2008). therefore, rapd analysis is considered as rapid, simple and inexpensive method (williams et al., 1990; rahman, 2006) to study genetic structures such as genome mapping, estimating of genetic diversity within and among populations and discriminating among plant populations and cultivars such as alfalfa (arzani and samei, 2004; vandemark et al., 2006; rahman, 2010). although rapd procedure is a useful method, its application might be limited when a large number of individuals are studied (yu and pauls, 1993). this problem could be solved using bulked dna samples as dna templates in rapd amplifications (michelmore et al., 1991). in genetic variation among iranian alfalfa 95 this study we aimed to estimate genetic diversity within and among alfalfa populations of azarbaijan (iran) by rapd markers. we also grouped these populations with analysis of individual samples and bulked dna samples. materials and methods plant materials: nine tetraploid iranian alfalfa native ecotypes collected from different areas of azarbaijan, iran (fig. 1) and one breeding population (ghareh yonjeh) were employed in this study (table 1). in each population, 30 seeds were randomly selected for individual plant analysis. a mixture of 30 randomly selected seeds per population was also used to prepare bulked dna sample. table 1. list of alfalfa populations used in the present study. population number population name collection site elevation (km) planting type 1 gran chay kaleibar 750 irrigated farming, native ecotype 2 zonorag marand 1850 dry farming, native ecotype 3 sivan marand 2000 irrigated farming, native ecotype 4 almalou ajabshir 2000 dry farming, native ecotype 5 seviar hashtrud 1700 irrigated farming, native ecotype 6 balsin mianeh 1730 semi-dry farming, native ecotype 7 ein-aldin bostanabad 1900 irrigated farming, native ecotype 8 ilan-jough ardabil 1800 irrigated farming, native ecotype 9 kordlou ahar 1350 irrigated farming, native ecotype 10 ghareyonje khosroshahr 1345 dry farming, improved cultivar dna isolation: genomic dna from 30 individual seeds of each population was extracted following madden (2002) with mirror modification. the quantity and purity of extracted dnas were estimated by spectrophotometry and 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. each dna sample was diluted to 30 ng and kept at -20ºc to use for pcr amplification. dna from bulked seeds per population was also extracted and referred to as bulked dna sample. rapd amplification: thirty eight random primers were tested and finally 10 primers were selected in this study for rapd analysis (table 2). pcr reactions were performed in a 25 µl total volume containing 1 µl of template dna (30 ng), 4 pmol of random primers (cinnagen), 13 µl of 1 x pcr master kit (cinnagen pcr master kit, cat. no. pr8250c) and 10 µl of double distilled h2o. amplifications were carried out in a thermal cycler (primus 96), programmed for an initial denaturation step at 94ºc for 5 min followed by 40 cycles of 1 min at 93ºc, 1 min at 40ºc, 90 s at 72ºc and a final extension cycle of 5 min at 72ºc. rapd products were separated by electrophoresis on 1.5% agarose gels, stained with ethidium bromide, visualized with uv light and then photographed. a 1kb dna ladder (fermentas) was also loaded to estimate the size of rapd fragments. 96 mohammadzadeh et al. data analysis: the presence or absence of bands visualized on the gel were scored as 1 (presence) or 0 (absence) for each locus separately. the percentage of polymorphic bands per primer was defined and then within population polymorphism, genetic diversity based on nei’s gene diversity (nei, 1973) and shannon’s information index (lewontin, 1972) and the genetic distances among populations (nei, 1972) were measured by popgen ver 1.32 (yeh et al., 1999) software. a matrix of pairwise genetic distances was employed to cluster the populations and upgma dendrogram was drawn using the sequential agglomerative hierarchical nested (sahn; sneath and sokal, 1973) clustering method as available in ntsys-pc 2.02 (rohlf, 1998). cophenetic correlation was measured with ntysys to test the association between input and output of the distance matrix (mantel, 1967). table 2. properties of arbitrary oligonucleotide primers used for rapd analysis. individual analysis bulk analysis primers sequence (5'-3') number of polymorphic bands % of polymorphic bands number of polymorphic bands % of polymorphic bands opj4 ccgaacacgg 19 100.00 10 83.33 b1 ggttcgctcc 18 100.00 3 25.00 b6 tgctctgccc 12 100.00 7 63.63 b7 ggtgacgcag 12 92.31 2 16.67 b8 gtccacacgg 11 91.67 3 42.86 opj13 ccacactacc 20 86.96 5 41.67 b10 ctgctgggac 16 88.89 4 28.57 opa1 caggcccttc 20 83.33 12 80.00 opj19 ggacaccact 15 93.75 3 30.00 opj20 aagcggcctc 13 86.67 0 00.00 mean 15.6 92.36 46 41.17 fig. 2. rapd fragments for bostanabad population using the primer b6 in individual analysis. m. molecular size marker (1 kb). 1-30. individuals number. genetic variation among iranian alfalfa 97 analysis of molecular variance (amova) was performed to estimate hierarchical variance components (among individuals within populations, among populations and among groups). amova was carried out via arlequin 3 (excoffier et al., 2005). to show a graphical representation of the relationships among populations, principal coordinates analysis (pcoa) was performed using ntsys-pc, version 2.02. genetic distances among populations for bulk analysis were estimated and cluster analysis and principal coordinates analyses were performed. results among 38 random primers tested in this study, 10 primers generated reproducible bands (table 2). fig. 2 and fig. 3 show rapd fragments in individual plant study and bulk analysis, respectively. fig. 3. rapd fragments for 10 populations using the primer b6 in bulk analysis. m. molecular size marker (1 kb). 1-10. populations number. table 3. within-population polymorphism and gene diversity (1nei’gene diversity, 2shannons information index). population number number of polymorphic bands % of polymorphic bands h1 i2 1 112 65.88 0.1977 0.3058 2 98 57.65 0.1715 0.2671 3 107 62.94 0.1891 0.2925 4 119 70.00 0.1975 0.3091 5 116 68.24 0.1991 0.3090 6 110 64.71 0.1801 0.2819 7 107 62.94 0.1753 0.2748 8 113 66.47 0.1843 0.2874 9 118 69.41 0.2114 0.3238 10 105 61.76 0.1864 0.2876 mean 110.5 65 0.1892 0.2939 98 mohammadzadeh et al. individual analysis: a total of 156 polymorphic bands ranging from 250 to 2500 bp were identified. three primers (b1, b6 and opj4) produced 100% polymorphic bands. minimum percentage of polymorphic bands was observed by primer opa1 (table 2). the percentage of polymorphic bands within populations differed from 57.65% for population 2 to 70% for population 4 (table 3). additionally, the populations 9 and 2 showed the maximum and minimum genetic diversity (table 3), respectively. total genetic diversity (ht) and within population genetic diversity (hs) were calculated as 0.2349 and 0.1892, respectively and the degree of genetic differentiation among populations (gst) was estimated as 0.1944. these results indicated that diversity within populations was greater than that among populations. genetic distances among pairs of populations ranged from 0.025 between populations 7 and 8 to 0.1103 between populations 2 and 10. the average distance among populations was 0.0631. in total, genetic distances among populations were low (table 4). table 4. nei’s genetic distances between populations for individual analysis (lower diagonal) and bulk analysis (upper diagonal). mean for upper diagonal: 0.1169; mean for lower diagonal: 0.0631 population 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 0.0919 0.0543 0.0857 0.1149 0.0703 0.0870 0.1243 0.1363 0.0869 2 0.0341 0.1150 0.0667 0.1220 0.1542 0.1149 0.1428 0.1566 0.1264 3 0.0391 0.0417 0.0857 0.0919 0.0595 0.0869 0.1135 0.1136 0.0543 4 0.0616 0.0859 0.0595 0.0667 0.1250 0.1200 0.1477 0.1617 0.1200 5 0.0490 0.0779 0.0652 0.0413 0.1314 0.1149 0.1314 0.1253 0.1149 6 0.0487 0.0528 0.0447 0.0575 0.0428 0.1027 0.1290 0.1751 0.0919 7 0.0358 0.0438 0.0392 0.0774 0.0620 0.0538 0.0702 0.1023 0.0543 8 0.0434 0.0701 0.0506 0.0553 0.0491 0.0530 0.0250 0.1073 0.1027 9 0.0760 0.0886 0.0830 0.0978 0.0934 0.0848 0.0792 0.0645 0.0795 10 0.0674 0.1103 0.0978 0.1050 0.0831 0.0950 0.0872 0.0663 0.0791 genetic distance values were used to construct a upgma dendrogram and populations were divided into three groups (fig. 4). first groups included population 10 (a breeding population) and second group included population 9. other populations belonged to third group. matrix correlation was estimated as 0.849. to study relationships among populations, amova was performed based on population clustering (significance tests were provided by computing 1023 permutations). significant differences were observed among groups, among populations within groups and among individuals within populations. however, the high genetic variation (76.08 %) was attributed to differences within populations (table 5). amova was also performed in population level to estimate diversity within and between populations (fst = 0.186; p = 0.05). although variation among populations was significant, the great genetic diversity (81.37%) was observed within populations (table 5). fig. 5 shows the results of pcoa. on the basis of the first and second coordinates, which accounted for 29.29% and 19.29% of the total variation, respectively, populations were distributed in three groups. populations 10 and 9 belonged to first and second groups, respectively and the other populations belonged to third group. genetic variation among iranian alfalfa 99 table 5. results of analysis of molecular variance (amova) in individual analysis. source of variation df ss variance component percentage of variation p based on clustering among groups 2 453.744 2.34129 10.46 0.023 among populations within groups 7 752.262 3.01445 13.46 <10-5 within populations 290 4939.467 17.03264 76.08 <10-5 total 299 6145.473 22.38839 in population level within populations 290 4939.467 17.03264 81.37 <10-5 among populations 9 1206.007 3.89894 18.63 <10-5 total 299 6145.473 20.93158 fst 0.18627 fig. 4. upgma dendrogram for alfalfa populations based on nei’s genetic distances in individual analysis. fig. 5. principal coordinates analysis (pcoa) for alfalfa populations based on the first and second coordinates (in individual analysis). 100 mohammadzadeh et al. bulk analysis: a total 46 polymorphic bands were identified in bulk analysis. maximum and minimum percentages of polymorphic bands were observed by primers opj4 and opj20, respectively. the average percentage of polymorphic bands was 41.17 % (table 2). cluster analysis based on nei’s genetic distances (table 4) divided populations into three groups (fig. 6). first group included populations 8 and 9, the second groups included populations 5, 4, and 2 and third groups included the others. matrix correlation was estimated as 0.712. pcoa was performed for bulk samples and populations were located into 3 groups (fig. 7). fig. 6. upgma dendrogram for alfalfa populations based on nei’s genetic distances in bulk analysis. the first and second coordinates accounted for 29.29% and 19.29% of the total variation, respectively. in total, results of bulk analysis were different from results of individual analysis. discussion in the present study we analyzed 10 alfalfa populations from diverse regions of azarbaijan, iran using rapd profiles. since reproducibility is an important factor in rapd studies (ulloa et al., 2003), only reproducible bands were used in present investigation. in individual analysis, ten primers produced 156 polymorphic bands with an average 15 polymorphic bands per primer. this can be favorably compared with the number of bands used by tucak et al. (2008) to estimate genetic diversity in alfalfa populations and is higher than the number of bands used by dehghan-shoar (1997) and mengoni et al. (2000) to study alfalfa populations. in terms of population genetic parameters, total gene diversity (ht) observed in this study was high. it was in consistent with previous studies. mengoni et al. (2000) suggested that high level of genetic diversity is observed in alfalfa populations. moreover, falahati-anbaran et al. (2007) studied population genetic structure in alfalfa from various regions contiguous to the centers of origin of the species. they proposed that since northwestern of iran is the primary centre of diversity for alfalfa, so high level of genetic diversity exists within and among iranian genetic variation among iranian alfalfa 101 alfalfa populations such as populations employed in this work. however, the within population diversity (based on nei’s gene diversity) was high for each population, as found in previous studies (flajoulot et al., 2005; falahati-anbaran et al., 2007; tucak et al., 2008). gherardi et al. (1998) also suggested that the within population diversity is higher than diversity among populations. it can be explained by the outcrossing and tetraploid nature of alfalfa that results in highly heterogeneous and heterozygous populations (kidwell et al., 1994). fig. 7. principal coordinates analysis (pcoa) for alfalfa populations based on the first and second coordinates in bulk analysis. results of analysis of molecular variance suggested that the largest proportion of genetic variation was attributed to variation among individuals within populations (81.37%). these results were in agreement with previous studies (falahati-anbaran et al., 2007; tucak et al., 2008). low genetic distances were detected between populations possibly due to small geographical distances existed between them. in spite of it, cluster analysis could group populations and amova based on population grouping showed a significant distance between groups. the largest genetic distance was observed between populations number 10 (ghareh yonjeh) and number 2 (zonorag). separation of ghareh yonjeh which is a breeding population from the other populations indicates the sufficiency of this method to study relationship in alfalfa populations. falahati-anbaran et al. (2007) could also separate ghareh yonjeh from other iranian alfalfa populations. population number 9 was clustered into a distinct group. morphological studies indicated differences among this population and other populations. thereupon, separation of it from other populations of azarbaijan can be related to morphological differences. other populations grouped together in one cluster and formed a different branch in the dendrogram. distribution of these populations on distinct branch was in agreement with geographical patterns of them. 102 mohammadzadeh et al. cluster analysis in bulk method could not separate ghareh yonjeh from other populations and genetic differentiation of populations was not in agreement with geographical or morphological patterns. such differences among results obtained from bulk analysis and individual analysis were observed in previous studies (mengoni et al., 2000; pupilli et al., 2000). negri et al. (1995) and pupilli et al. (2000) reported that bulk procedure reduces within population diversity when frequency of polymorphic fragments is low. some dna sequences are found in a few individuals and produce rare fragments in individual analysis. since these sequences compose a low concentration of template dna in bulked sample, they can not efficiently be amplified. so rare fragments observed in individual analysis are absent in bulk analysis (yu and pauls, 1993) as observed in our study. kidwell et al. (1994) also proposed that bulk method underestimates the level of genetic diversity in both within and between populations and results of differentiation among populations in bulk analysis are not in agreement with individual analysis. this was true especially in our study with 30 individuals per bulk sample. since using of greater number of individuals in bulk samples reduces the probability of detecting rare fragments that may be diagnostic of a population, so differentiation between populations was not carried out precisely (kidwell et al., 1994). the high level of genetic diversity observed within populations in our study, particularly population 4, 5 and 9, indicates each population as a genetic source for selection of suitable genotypes to employ them in breeding programs and improve alfalfa cultivars with high level of heterosis. furthermore results of cluster analysis indicated that ghareyonje and population number 9, are different from other populations. thus each of them can be used as parents in breeding programs. bulk method offers a rapid analysis of rapd patterns in genetic study of alfalfa population. however, comparison of bulk analysis with individual analysis showed that it is better to use individual analysis in detection of relationships among alfalfa populations and estimation of genetic diversity especially within populations. finally, rapd analysis was demonstrated as a suitable method to study genetic diversity and relationships among alfalfa populations. however it is advised to accompany results of rapd procedure with other molecular methods and morphological studies. acknowledgments this research was performed in the agricultural biotechnology research institute of iran (abrii), for northwest and west of iran, tabriz-ian. we thank ms nahid hosseinzadeh for her editorial assistance. references arzani, a. and samei, k. 2004. assessment of genetic diversity among persian clover cultivars as revealed by rapd markers. in: vollmann, j., grausgruber, h. and ruckenbauer, p. 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(manuscript received on 21 august 2010; revised on 2 december 2011) . pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 71-84, 2005 (december) pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: family thuidiaceae and brachytheciaceae hamida khatun and syed hadiuzzaman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: pleurocarpous mosses, thuidiaceae, brachytheciaceae, hypnobryales, bangladesh. abstract a taxonomic account of six species of pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh under the order hypnobryales is given. detailed taxonomic descriptions, illustrations, and distributions of these six species are provided . introduction so far khatun and hadiuzzaman (1994,1995,2003,2004,2005) have described 14 genera with 24 species of pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh and illustrated them. earlier, tixier (1967) studied a large number of hepatics and mosses from the forest of kaptai in the former district of chittagong hill-tracts ( now rangamati dist.), and the forest of cox’s bazar and sitakund hills in the greater chittagong district and he published only a ckecklist without giving any descriptions and illustrations. in this checklist he reported 15 pleurocarpous mosses from bangladesh and among these he mentioned only one species from thuidiaceae family, e.g. t. meyenianum from cox’s bazar and kaptai. he, however, did not mention anything about anomodon of the same family, and homalothecium and brachythecium of the family brachytheciaceae. gangulee (1978) described 4 species of anomodon and 19 species of thuidium from the adjacent west bengal but did not mention about their occurrence in the present bangladesh territory except mentioning tixier’s collection of t. meyenianum. this shows that very little study has been made on this group of plants, i.e. pleurocarpous mosses in bangladesh. therefore, the present work was undertaken to evaluate the whole group of pleurocarpous mosses in bangladesh and this work is an outcome of that, which includes only the order hypnobryales. the study reveals that the order hypnobryales in bangladesh is represented by two families, namely, thuidiaceae and brachytheciaceae. the family thuidiaceae is represented by two genera, each with a single species, e.g., anomodon rostratus (hedw.) schimp. and thuidium meyenianum (hamp.) doz. & molk. ; and the family brachytheciaceae is also represented by two genera with four species , e.g. homalothecium sericeum (hedw.) b.s.g. and brachythecium salebrosum (web. & mohr.) b.s.g., b. curtum (lindb.) limpr. and b. acuminatum ( hedw.) aust. the illustrated taxonomic descriptions of these taxa are given below with their ecology and distribution within bangladesh. 72 khatun and hadiuzzaman key to the genera of thuidiaceae 1. plant and leaf very small, leaf cells isodiametric, number of paraphyllia present thuidium plant and leaf large, leaf cells more or less hexagonal, not isodiametric, no paraphyllia anomodon genus thuidium b.s.g. in bryol. eur., 5 : 157 (1852) slender to robust, mostly stiff plants. stem prostrate, more or less regularly 1-3 pinnate. paraphyllia numerous. leaves dimorphic, stem leaves larger, ovate, mostly plicate, long acuminate from cordate base, nerve single, strong. branch leaves much smaller, mostly ovate-lanceolate, acute, concave, costa single, ceasing well below the apex. leaf cells isodiametric, incrassate, strongly papillose. seta long, rough. capsule horizontal. peristome double with cilia. 1. thuidium meyenianum (hamp.) doz. & molk. in bryol. jav., 2: 121 (1865) hypnum meyenianum hamp. in icon . musc.: 8 (1844) hypnum kuripanum doz. & molk. in zoll. syst. verz.: 29 (1855) yellow green to brownish, wiry, delicate, plants in dense mats, in naked eye no leaf is seen except stem. main stem creeping, irregularly, bipinnately branched, branches in one plane, up to 3cm long. paraphyllia present, simple, filamentous. leaves dimorphic, stem leaves incurved on drying, erect spreading when moist, larger in size and less in number, distant, triangular, ovate, suddenly narrowed in to a long acumen from a cordate base, plicate, up to 8.0 mm long and 0.2 to 0.3 mm wide. costa ceasing a little below the apex to percurrent. branch leaves small, close, erect spreading (somewhat curled and appressed to stem when dry), concave, ovate, with acute point ±0.18 mm long and ±0.15 mm. wide, margin crenulate, flat, costa single, ceasing well below apex. leaf cells small, obscure with one and more than one papillae, irregularly hexagonal, ±5 to 6 µm wide. sporophyte on main stem, perichaetial leaf narrow with fine long floxuose acumen, into a denticulate arista, nerve excurrent, without papillae, cells irregularly rounded to rectangular. seta erect, rough all over with papillae, ± 1.5 mm long, arcuate at top, dark brown in colour. capsule horizontal, inclined, gibbous, ovate cylindrical, ± 1.5 mm long and ± 0.5 mm in diameter, yellow brown in colour and mildly papillose. peristome normal, hypnoid. exostome teeth brownish, lanceolate, densely horizontally stripped below, ± 0.5 mm high, basal membrane high, endostome segments pale, keeled with median perforation slits almost as long as exostome. cilia one or two, slightly shorter than endostome segments. mouth cells short, irregularly rounded to quadrate, exothecial cells large, irregularly quadrate to rectangular in shape. spores rounded, dark brown in colour, ±10 to 15 µm in diameter. (fig. 1) specimens examined: bhola:gazipur road, on the bark of tree, rokeya nazmi tahnia, 07.05.97, 488; chandpur: hajiganj, on soil, sanaullah,12.03.97, 770; chittagong: high pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 73 hill of bareyadhala, jesmin akter, lulu bilkis banu, mizanur rahman,11, 03.76, 98; kalurhat, on slopy area, on soil, razia begum, parveen sultana, 13.10.76, 153; potiya,on the bark of tree, anwar sadat, 23.11.98, 1362; comilla: muradnagar, on soil, yasmin sultana, 05.04.85, 338; cox’s bazar: teknaf, on the bark of tree, hamida khatun, 22.02.92, 94; maulvi bazar:srimangal, magurcherra, on soil, m.s. islam, 20.11.73, 148; burburia, on the bark of tree, hamida khatun, 23.12.98, 1458; lawacherra forest, on soil, fig.1. thuidium meyenianum (hamp.) doz. & molk. a. dry plant (x6); b.wet plant (×6); c. main stem leaf (×72); d.branch stem leaf (×72); e. middle laminal cell (× 270; f. apical laminal cells (x 270); g-p araphyllia (x 120); k. exothecial cells of the capsule (× 120); l. perichaetial leaf (× 72); m. spores (× 180); n. mouth cells of the capsule (× 120); o. peristome teeth (× 120). 74 khatun and hadiuzzaman mizanur rahman, 22.7.89, 26; madhobkundu, on the bark of tree, salima begum, husna banu, nilufar akhtar, tahmina begum, 13.03.77, 53; lawacherra cnb road, on the bark of tree, shafaet ahmed khan, 17.10.88, 138; syleht: jaflong, on the bark of tree, rabeya kabir, 05.09.88, 144; naogaon: mohadevpur on soil, akibuddin,07.01.96, 781; noakhali: sreenarayanpur, on the soil, lutfa rahman,12.05.75, 125; panchagarh: tetulia, bank of mohananda river, on soil, luna ahmed, 17.01.93, 180; ullapara, on the bark of tree, luna ahmed, 03.03.94, 282, tetulia, kumibon; on the bark of tree, hamida khatun, md. yousuf ali, monnuzan begum, mahbuba sultana, sohel chawdhury, 22.12.98. 146; satkhira: kaliganj, on soil,begum sultana, 16.09.77, 130; shamnagar, on soil, begum sultana, 16.09.77, 131; sherpur: phulpur, on the bark of tree, jashim sheikh, 18.03.75, 52. note: distinctly very small plant, main stem creeping, secondary stem once, twice or even thrice pinnately branched, branches with paraphyllia, leaves dimorphic, one type is small scale-like and second one is large chlorophyllose. leaf cells isodiametric, strongly papillose are distinguishing features of this species. genus anomodon hook. & tayl. in musc. brit. : 79, 3 (1818) dark green, strongly growing lusterless non glossy, fairly stiff and robust, rupestrine or corticolous plants in dense tufts. main stem creeping , adhering to substratum as they radiculose. secondary stems simple or two to many branched, paraphyllia lacking. leaves of secondary stems and branches similar, crowded in numerous rows, imbricate appressed when dry, widely spreading to squarrose when moist, iance-acuminate from a broad base, oblong or ovate, generally decurrent base, margin papillose-crenulate, costa strong ending below the apex, flexuose, yellow. leaf cells small, rounded quadrate, pluripapillose. perichaetial leaves moderately elongate. seta long , smooth. capsule erect, oblong-cylindric, symmetrical. peristome double, cilia missing. 2. anomodon rostratus (hedw.) schimp. syn . musc. eur., p 488, 1840. leskea rostrata hedw., sp. musc., p.226, 1801. plant brown yellow to dark green some times dark brown in dry, become blackish with age, forming dense mats, up to 1.48 × 0.6 cm. primary stem creeping and radiculous, secondary stems and branches crowded and usually erect. paraphyllia and pseudoparaphyllia usually none. leaves of main stem and branches similar,crowded in numerous rows, crowded and imbricate when dry, erect or erect spreading when moist, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate from a broad extreme decurrent base, margin mostly plain, revolute to the base of the acumen. costa strong, flexuose ending well below the apex. leaf cells small, hexagonal, thin walled papillose and obscure, cells at the middle of the insertion, oblong, thick walled, smooth and pellucid, rest of the basal cells hexagonal, papillose ± 6.49 × 6.49 µm, basal middle cell ±15 × 3.9 µm, cells at middle upto 9 × 6 pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 75 µm, tip cell hyaline and hair point in different length, ±21.9 × 3.49 µm, extreme tip cells non papillose. sporophyte on main stem, and on branch stem, capsule ± 1.5 mm long, oval, oblong cylindric, smooth, becoming dark brown with age, seta upto 10 mm long. perichaetial leaves pale, elongate, erect, gradually acuminate, smooth, pale elongated cells,ecostate. peristome pale yellow to yellowish-brown, cross-striolate below, endostome sigments narrow, no cilia. spores brown, smooth. (fig. 2) fig. 2. anomodon rostratus (hedw.) schimp. a. dry plant (× 6); b. wet plant (× 6); c,d. leaves (× 22); e. basal laminal cells (× 270); f. middle laminal cells (× 270); g. perichaetial leaf (× 22); h. leaf apex cells (× 270); i. cells of the capsule (× 180); j. peristome teeth (× 36). 76 khatun and hadiuzzaman specimen examined : jessore: jessore air base, on the bark of tree base, hamida khatun, shougat ahmed, 04.04.89; 1064. note: the species is unique in having leaves in five rows, ovate, acuminate, ending in a hyaline hair point of varying length, leaf cells hexagonal, densely papillose. key to the genera of brachytheciaceae: 1. branches usually curved, ascending when dry, leaves distinctly 2-4 plicate, margins broadly reflexed nearly throughout serrulate at base. leaves small, lanceolate homalothecium branches straight, generally horizontal, leaves usually more or less biplicate, margins usually serrulate at above, not more strongly toothed at base brachythecium genus homalothecium b. s. g. in bryol. eur., 5: 91 (1851) moderate dense mats, stems creeping, radiculose with erect branches. leaves imbricate, longitudinally plicate, lanceolate, finely long acuminate, toothed almost whole leaf, costate for 3/4th of the leaf length, cells linear, almost uniform, smooth but apices of some of the cells at back near apex upturned as sharp papillae or even spine, alar cells numerous rather quadrate. 3. homalothecium sericeum (hedw.) b. s .g. in bryol. eur., vol. 5, 93(1851) leskea sericea hedw in sp. musc., 228, (1801) hypum sericeum l. ex with. in syst. arr. brit. pl. ed.4, 3: 846 (1801) plants slender, extensive yellow-brown to greenish mats, shiny when dry, stems freely and irregularly branched, with an abundance of erect often curved branches, branches crowded, sub-erect , some what curved when dry, may or may not branches again. paraphyllia and pseudoparaphyllia not found. leaves crowded erect to imbricate some times subsecund when dry, erect spreading when moist, upto 1.5 mm long, and 0.21 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate and gradually long-acuminate, somewhat decurrent, strongly 2-4 plicate, margins broadly reflexed nearly throughout, sinute-serrulate above, serrulate at the base. costa 3/4th or more the leaf length, often ending in a minute dorsal spine, cells smooth, upper cells linear, flexuose, thick-walled ±25.08 x 5.28 µm, middle cells also long linear flexuose longer than tip cells ±46.2 x 7.4 µm, alar cells small, irregularly sub-quadrate, in small groups, and ±15.2 x 6.6 µm. cell wall not porose. sporophyte not found. (fig. 3) specimens examined: gazipur: kabirpur, on the bark of tree, mostaque ahmed, 27.05.99, 52; pabna : raghunathpur, on the bark of tree, luna ahmed, 03.03.94, 1614; sylhet: golapganj, on the bark of tree, abu shahid, 7.12.99, 1531. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 77 fig. 3. homalothecium sericeum (hedw.) b.s.g. a. dry plants (x 5); b. wet plant (× 5); c, d. leaves (× 18); e. basal laminal cells and showing the longitudinal placation (× 150); f. middle laminal cells (× 150); g. middle laminal cell at per portion of the leaf (× 150); h. apical laminal cells (× 150). note: this species is very distinct in having plicate leaves, triangular-lanceolate, finely long acuminate, toothed to almost entire, nerve single, strong, reaching 2/3 up the leaf. some cells near apex upturned as sharp papillae or even spines. genus brachythecium b.s.g. in bryol. eur., 6 : 5 (1853) slender to moderately robust plants in mats. main stem prostrate, ascending to erect, irregularly rarely pinnate branched. pseudoparaphyllia present. stem leaves and branch leaves differentiated, loosely imbricate to spreading, often complanate, some times falcato-secund, plicate to plane, mostly concave, decurrent, ovate to ovate-lanceolate or triangular-ovate, acute to acuminate, margin entire to serrulate, nerve single, reaching 3/4 78 khatun and hadiuzzaman up the leaf, median cells long or short, elongate-rhombic to linear, smooth, alar distinct with quadrate or rectangular cells. key to the species of brachythecium 1. leaves faintly plicate, stem leaves narrowly lanceolate (reaching 2.5 × 0.6 mm), gradually and evenly narrowed from base to apex b. salebrosum leaves not so, stem leaves ovate, more abruptly narrowed to a slender acumination 2 2. stem leaves with numerous differentiated alar cells extending into rather long decurrencies, leaf tip acuminate b. curtum alar cells not so, but cells across leaf base uniform in size, leaf-tip abruptly acuiminate, slenderly acute b. acuminatum 4. brachythecium salebrosum (web. & mohr) b.s.g. in bryol eur., 6: 20 (1853). hypnum plumosum hedw. ssp. salebrosum (web. & mohr) c. muell. in syn., 2: 359 (1851) brachythecium laevisetum kindb. in bull. torr. bot. cl. , 17 : 278 (1890) monoecious, plants glossy, yellow-green in mats. stems up to 5 cm long, creeping and irregularly branching, radiculose, paraphyllia or pseudo-paraphyllia not found. all leaves plicate in dry and wet condition, leaves lanceolate, branch leaves little narrowly lanceolate, reaching ± 2.26 to 2.5 × 0.51 to 0.67 mm. costa single, covering up to 3/4th or more of the leaf length. stem leaves and branch leaves about the same shape, but stem leaves little larger in size, gradually and evenly narrowed from the base to the more or less slenderly acuminate apex, reflexed in the lower portion, margin entire, but slightly serrulate at tip, lower margin of leaf slightly reflexed and this reflexed portion is often decurrent and its basal cells different from the median cells, usually sub quadrate, hyaline or slightly chlorophyllose, this band of shorter cells may extend across the entire base of the leaf, the leaf thus constructed usually plicate with narrow longitudinal folds in the central portion. these folds are most conspicuous when the leaves dry, but persist even when the leaves moistened. leaf cells elongate-rhomboidal to slightly vermiculate ±39.6 x 9.9 µm at tip, middle cells more linear than tip cells ± 54.45 × 7.425 µm, basal cells much broader and shorter ± 24.19 × 10.99 µm. all cells smooth, no papillae, not porous. sporophyte not found. (fig. 4) specimens examined: gazipur: kabirpur, on the bark of tree, mostaque ahmed, 27.05.99, 52; pabna: raghunathpur, on the base of tree, luna ahmed, 03.03.94, 193; rangpur : pirgacha, on the base of tree, yasmin sultana, 03.09.84, 194; taraganj, on the base of tree, yasmin sultana,05.10.85, 195. note: the species is characterized by, in being distinctly plicate, large leaves, gradually and evenly narrowed from base to apex. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 79 fig. 4. brachythecium salebrosum (web. & mohr) b.s.g. a. dry plant (× 6); b.wet plant (× 6); c. leaf (× 6); d. basal laminal cells at one side of the midrib (× 180); e. basal laminal cells at other side of the midrib (× 180); f. middle laminal cells (× 180); g. leaf apex cells (× 180). 5. brachythecium curtum (lindb.) limpr., laubm. deutschl., vol. 3, p. 101, 1896 hypnum curtum lindb., musci scand., p. 35, 1879 autoecious, medium sized plants, in loose, green to yellowish green, shiny mats. stem ascending, irregularly branched. stem leaves ovatelanceolate, acuminate, decurrent or nerve ceasing below apex, ±1.20 mm × 0.64 mm . leaf cells smooth numerous lax, oblong, cells at the basal angle upto 18.15 × 8.25 µm, middle cells liner 80 khatun and hadiuzzaman flexuose up to 44.1 × 4.7µm, tip cells are little shorter than middle cells upto 30.87 × 7.35 µm. branch leaves are not so crowded, spreading and loosely complanate in wet, slightly concave, upto 1.07 mm long, 0.4 mm wide, oblong-lanceolate, gradually acuminate, slightly decurrent , margin plane. sharply serrulate or, more often, serrate nearly all around except extreme basal portion in branch leaves, costa slender, about 5/6th of the leaf length, cells linear-flexuose, a few at the basal angles lax, oblong and sub-quadrate. sporophyte not found. (figs. 5-6) fig. 5. brachythecium curtum (lindb.) limpr. a. dry plant (× 5); b. wet plant (× 5); c-e. stem leaves (× 18); f, g. branch leaves (× 18). specimens examined: comilla: muradnager, on the base of tree, yasmin sultana, 05.04.85, 196; faridpur: pangsha, on the bark of tree, begum sultana, 05.04.97, 219; khulna: sundarban, on the bark of tree, tahamina khatun, fahmina islam, gita chakma, tahmina shobnom, rafique 01.01.95, 227; maulvi bazar: srimangal, kaliti tea estate, pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 81 on the bark of tree, selima begum, nilufar akter, husne ara, tahmina , 10.03.79, 470; mymensingh: ranikhony, on moist soil, s, gomes, s. naznin, selina banu, 26.5.73, 159; noakhali: laxmipur, suraya begum, on the bark of tree, 05.01.85, 198; pabna: nagarbarighat, on the bark of tree, luna ahmed, 03.03.94, 189; satkhira: on the bark of tree, naila morium, rafia musarrat, farida rahman, nasheta zarin, rafia afroz. 19.01.95, 467. fig. 6. brachythecium curtum (lindb.) limpr. h. basal laminal cells at one side of the midrib (× 150); i. basal laminal cells at other side of the midrib (× 150); j. middle laminal cell (× 150); k. apical laminal cells (× 150). note: stem leaves broadly ovate-lanceolate and abruptly passing into a short acumen. stem leaves with numerous differentiated alar cells extending into rather long decurrencies differentiates this species from b. salebrosum and b. acuminatum. 6. brachythcium acuminatum ( hedw.) aust., musci appal. no.310, 1870. leskea acuminata hedw., sp. musc., p. 224, 1801 hypnum erectum hook. ex drumm., musci amer. (rocky mts.) no. 224, 1828. 82 khatun and hadiuzzaman plant green to light green, shiny plants in mat. main stems creeping, closely branched, branches erect, short, terete and usually subjulaceous when dry . stem and branch leaves similar but stem leaves are more wider then branch leaves. leaves usually crowded, erect when dry, erect spreading or spreading when moist, some what plicate or sometime nearly smooth, ±1.5 to 2 mm long, ovate or ovate-lanceolate, gradually aciminate, slenderly acute, often twisted at the apex, sometimes margins reflexed below, serrulate in the upper half, costa 3/4th of the leaf length, upper cells linear rhomboidal upto 34.65 to 8.25 µ, shorter at the apex of the leaf upto 31.35 to 7.42 µ. basal and alar cells sub quadrate in several rows up to ±14.52 to 9.24 µ . (figs. 7-8) fig. 7. brachythecium acuminatum (hedw.) aust a. dry plant (× 6); b. wet plant (× 6); c, d. stem leaves (× 22); e, f. branch leaves (× 22); g. basal laminal cells (× 180); h. middle laminal cell (× 180). pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh 83 fig. 8. brachythecium acuminatum (hedw.) aust i. leaf apex cells (× 150); j-m. paraphyllia (× 150). specimens examined: bogra: bogra cantonment, on tree base, hamida khatun, 2012.89,197; norsingdi: nabinagar, on the bark of tree, aklima begum, 04.03.85, 199. note: the species differs from b. curtum, in having stem leaves ovate-lanceolate but gradually acuminate, often twisted at the apex. branch leaves lanceolate and serrulate in the upper half, cells elongated rhomboid. acknowledgement the authors are thankful to prof. a. k. m. nurul islam, department of botany, university of dhaka for his suggestion and advice during the preparation of the manuscript. 84 khatun and hadiuzzaman references gangulee, h.c. 1978. mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions: a monograph, fasc. 7. calcutta, india., 1578-1723. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1994. taxonomic studies of some pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 23(1): 113-122. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1995. addition to the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 24(2): 183-191. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2003. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. family neckeraceae-1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2) 47-55. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: family neckeraceae-2. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1) 43-47. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: family erpodiaceae, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2) 29-32. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2005. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: meteoriaceae and pterobryaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1) 53-57. tixier, p. 1967. bryophytae indosinicae. dacca univ. stud. 15(b): 1-14. fig.1. thuidium meyenianum (hamp.) doz. & molk. a. dry plant (x6); b.wet plant ((6); c. main stem leaf ((?72); d.branch stem leaf ((72); e. middle laminal cell (( 270; f. apical l acknowledgement wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 93-96, 2010 (june) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a comparison of pollen grains of potentilla recta l. (rosaceae) groups a, b & c in turkey ela ayşe köksal1, bariş aşci2 and nur münevver pinar2,3 elementary science education department, faculty of education, derbent campus, niğde university, 51100 niğde, turkey keywords: pollen grains; potentilla recta l.; rosaceae. potentilla l. (rosaceae) is represented by 59 species in turkey (tübitak, 2005). it is, however, difficult to identify some of its members at the species and subspecies levels and p. recta l. is one of them. this species is an extremely variable polyploid and includes various samples resembling morphologically and linking to each other. peşmen (1972) grouped p. recta into a, b & c based upon some differences in sepal, petal and leaf anatomy. in the present study the pollen grains of p. recta groups a, b & c were examined and compared using light microscope (lm), scanning electron microscope (sem) and transmission electron microscope (tem) to elucidate their taxonomic position at species or subspecies level. the wodehouse (1935, w) and erdtman (1960, acetolysis, a) methods were used to prepare slides of pollen grains for lm study where different pollen measurements were recorded under a leitz-wetzlar microscope (×16; ×100). the measurements of each character were taken until a gauss curve was obtained. in addition, at least 30 pollen grains from each group were measured for 1) the length of exine and intine from the slides prepared with the w method and 2) the length of exine from the slides prepared with the a method. the photographs were taken with an olympus c-35 ad-4 type camera attached on an olympus bh 2 microscope. for the sem study, the unacetolysed pollen grains were directly placed on stubs, covered with gold and their photographs were taken with a jsm electron microscope. skvarla (1966) was followed to examine the acetolysed pollen grains under tem. in the tem micrographs, the tectum, columella, foot layer, and endexine were measured at least 5 different points and their means were taken. the major pollen grain features of groups a, b & c of p. recta are given in tables 1 and 2 and depicted in figs. 1-3. in all groups, pollen grains are monad, isopolar, radially symmetric and tricolporate. although there are variations among the groups according to the pollen shape (table 2), but they are roughly prolate. the amb shape is inter semiangular. the ornamentation is suprastriate-microperforate. the liras lie parallel to the colpus. the exine is subtectate. the intratectal columellae that form tectum are distinct, small, sometimes bifurcated and thin. the infratectal columellae are distinct, long, bifurcated. there are also foramina on the columella. the foot layer is not continuous. 1 e-mail: eakoksal@nigde.edu.tr; elaaysekoksal@gmail.com 2 biology department, faculty of science, ankara university, ankara, 06100 turkey 3 corresponding author. e-mail: pinar@science.ankara.edu.tr 94 köksal et al. 94 köksal et al. pollen grains of potentilla recta 95 fig. 1. lm (a-e) and sem (f-g) micrographs of potentilla recta group a pollen grains. a. pore (w); b. amb shape in polar view (w); c. pore in equatorial view (a); d. colpus in equatorial view (a); e. exine structure and aperture in polar view (a) (bar = 10 µm); f. equatorial view, ornamentation and aperture; g. ornamentation in polar axis. fig. 2. lm (a-e), sem (f) and tem (g, h) micrographs of potentilla recta group b pollen grains. a, b. exine structure and aperture in equatorial view (w); c. amb shape in polar view (w); d, e. exine structure and aperture in equatorial view (a) (bar = 10 µm); f. microperforate ornamentation in polar axis; g. general structure of exine structure in a section from the aperture region; h. exine structure in a section from mesocolpium area (arrows show that exine structure is subtectate). 96 köksal et al. fig. 3. lm (a-d) and sem (e) micrographs of potentilla recta group c pollen grains. a, b. exine structure and aperture in equatorial view (a); c, d. exine structure, aperture and amb shape in polar view (a) (bar = 10 µm); e. ornamentation in mesocolpium. the endexine is discontinuous. it is thicker under the aperture. the edge of the colpus is straight and the colpus ends are acute. the operculum is present. the ornamentation is striate. the pore is lalongate. based on the data on the pollen grains, all the three groups seem to be similar in regard of the morphological features, thus cannot be classified into separate taxa. acknowledgements we would like to thank professor emeritus dr. özden i̇nceoğlu for her initial guidance during the course of this study. references erdtman, g. 1960. the acetolysis method. a revised description. svensk botanisk tidskrift 54: 561-564. peşmen, h. 1972. potentilla recta l. flora of turkey. vol. 4. edinburgh university press, edinburgh. pp. 4145. skvarla, j.j. 1966. techniques of pollen and spore electron microscopy. i. staining, dehydration and embedding. oklahoma geology notes 26: 179-186. tübitak. 2005. taxonomic species database of turkey vol. 10. <http://bioles.tubilak,gov.tr> wodehouse, r.p. 1935. pollen grains. mcgraw hill, new york. pp. 1-435. (manuscript received on 29 january 2009; revised on 20 july 2009) desmid of some selected areas of bangladesh bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 1-9, 2005 (december) additions to the genus stigeoclonium (chlorophyta) as new records for bangladesh mazibar rahman khan1 and a. k. m. nurul islam department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: new records, stigeoclonium, chlorophyta, chaetophoraceae, bangladesh abstract three taxa belonging to the genus stigeoclonium (chaetophorales, chlorophyta) are described here as new records for bangladesh, namely, stigeoclonium amoenum var. novizelandicum, s. protensum and s. tenue var. uniforme. introduction thirty one taxa (23 species and 8 varieties) of stigeoclonium (family: chaetophoraceae: order: chaetophorales) so far have been reported from bangladesh (islam 1963, 1972, islam and ahia 1964, islam and hossain 1978, islam and zaman 1975, islam and aziz 1979, islam et al. 1979, islam et al. 1980, khan and islam 1998,1999) and comprehensive ecological notes on these have been mentioned (khan and islam 1993). of these taxa, seven were described as new to science (islam 1972, khan and islam 1998). further studies of the chaetophoralean algae of bangladesh revealed the presence of three more taxa of stigeoclonium in bangladesh, namely s. amoenum var. novizelandicum, s. protensum and s. tenue var. uniforme, which are now described in the present paper. materials and methods the materials for the study were collected from almost all the present districts of bangldesh (for details see khan 1992). the materials were preserved in transeau’s solution and kept in the phycological herbarium, department of botany, university of dhaka. the localities and the ecological conditions of the habitats of the three taxa have been mentioned under each taxon described below. taxonomic descriptions 1. stigeoclonium amoenum kg. var. novizelandicum nordst. (islam 1963, sarma 1986) (pl. 1, figs. 1-3; pl. 2, figs. 4-6, pl. 3, figs. 7-10) thallus light green, 2-5 cm, long attached to the substratum by profuse rhizoids which are not much branched, mostly developing from one side, tips of the rhizoids swollen; erect part well developed, main axis consisting of short and long cells; branchproducing cells usually short, 11-15 µm broad and 15-25 µm long; 2-3 short cells which branches forming node-like appearance, branches opposite, alternate and rarely forming pseudowhorls of 3-4; tips of branches usually pointed, often blunt, primary 1department of botany, patuakhali govt. college, patuakhali, bangladesh. 2 khan and islam plate 1 figs. 1-3. stigeoclonium amoenum var. novizelandicum (showing basal rhizoid part and erect part with branch habit and cell types; 2-3. apical branches with hairs; from mirpur, dhaka); scale =100 µm. additions to the genus stigeoclonium 3 plate 2 figs. 4-6. stigeoclonium amoenum var. novizelandicum (showing basal part with rhizoids, upper part showing branching habit and cell structure with chloroplast; from kalikapur, patuakhali); scales: a=50 µm; b=100 µm. 4 khan and islam plate 3 figs. 7-10. stigeoclonium amoenum var. novizelandicum (showing basal part with rhizoids and upper erect part showing chloroplast and branching habit and hairs; from sonargaon, narayanganj); scales: a=50 µm; b=100 µm. additions to the genus stigeoclonium 5 branches long and secondary branches short; cells of the main axis cylindrical, inflated at the middle with little constriction, 10-22 µm broad and 29-95 µm long; cells in some become swollen, bulbuous in shape mostly at the upper part of the branches (may be due to environmental factors or by the attack of chytrids; chloroplast single, parietal, with 1-5 pyrenoids. specimens studied: narayanganj, col. no. mr-228, 230, on the adventitious roots of deepwater rice plant and on the stem of alternanthera sp., kantal beel, sonargaon, water temp. 31°c, ph 6.7, 22.9.1986; dhaka, mr-332, on adventitious roots and stems of rice plant, nawab beel near dhaka zoo, water temp. 32°c, ph, 6.7, 27.5.1987; patuakhali, mr-1676, on submerged bricks, road side ditch, town kalikapur, water temp. 28°c, ph 7.0, 24.9.1987. this variety superficially resembles s. tenue in having branch-producing cells, short cells and apical cells with pointed tips but differs in having inflated and much elongated cells of the main axis and also in general appearance. the swollen bulbuous structures of the cells may be due to fungal infection (by chytrids). 2. s. protensum (dillw) kg. (pl. 4, figs. 11-12) (heering 1914, islam 1963) plants light green, mucilagenous, grown on submerged bricks, attached to the substratum by the rhizoids, 4-8 µm in diameter; prostrate part not found; primary branches long drawn, branches mostly alternate, somewhat scattered, rarely opposite and often with whorl of three, most of the branches curved basal cells of which are swollen; branches tapering into multicellular setiferous hairs and others with blunt tips; cells of the main axis cylindrical, 9-12 µm broad and 11-36 µm long, often inflated, barrel-shaped, cells of the branches mostly barrel-shaped and sometimes cylindrical with little constriction, cell-wall thin, cells producing branches short or long; chloroplast single parietal with median band, consisting of 1-2 pyrenoids. specimen studied: sirajganj, col. no. mr-1247, on submerged bricks in a pond near upazila sadar, tarash, water temp. 19°c, ph 6.8, little polluted, 28.12.1986. according to islam (1963) this species is quite polymorphic and its growth forms resemble s. stagnatile. bangladesh material looks like s. tenue but its long drawn setiferous terminal hairs, swollen basal cells of the branches, slightly inflated or barrel-shaped cells and median band chloroplast are the characteristic features of this species. 3. s. tenue (ag.) kg. var. uniforme (ag). kg. (pl. 5, figs. 13-15) (islam 1963; printz 1964 as s. uniforme (ag.) rab.; sarma 1986) thallus dark green, 1-3 cm long, mucilagenous, differentiated into prostrate and erect system; prostrate cells mostly globular, 9-15 µm in diameter, often irregular in shape, filled with food materials; rhizoids developed mainly from the cells of the lower part of 6 khan and islam plate 4 figs. 11-12. stigeoclonium protensum (showing basal part with rhizoids and erect part with branching habit and chloroplast); scale=50 µm. additions to the genus stigeoclonium 7 plate 5 figs. 13-15. stigeoclonium tenue var. uniforme (showing prostrate part and erect part with long-drawn apical tufts; scales: a=50 µm; b=100 µm. 8 khan and islam the filaments, cells of the rhizoids 4.0-7.5 µm broad and 17-43 µm long; erect filaments profusely branched, branches alternate and opposite, no whorl formation, most of the branches developed from short cells, rarely from long cells, primary and secondary branches long and slender, crowded to form long drawn tufts, branches mostly with pointed tips; cells of the main axis cylindrical, 8-14 µm broad and 20-82 µm long, cellwall thin, branch-producing cells angular, cells longer at the base and short at the apex, some inflated at the middle; chloroplast girdle-shaped, with 2-5 pyrenoids. specimens studied: natore, col. no. mr-661, on the stem of alternanthera sp. in a shallow pond near registrar office, shingra, water temp. 23°c, ph 7.0, 24.12.1986; thakurgaon, mr-843, on submerged bricks in tangan river, water temp. 17°c, ph 5.8, 21.12.1986. the variety is characterized mostly by the larger cells than the type and the formation of long plumose tufts at the tips of the branches and main filaments. acknowledgement the first author is grateful to the bangladesh university grants commission for awarding him a fellowship and to the ministry of education, govt. of bangladesh for granting him the study leave with deputation to carry out this work in the department of botany, university of dhaka. references heering, w. 1914. ulotrichales, microsporales, oedogoniales. in: pascher, a (ed.), die süsswasserflora deuschlands, osterreichs und der schweiz, heft 6, chlorophyceae 3, gustav fischer, jena, pp. 250. islam, a.k.m. nurul. 1963. a revision of the genus stigeoclonium beih. z. nova hedwigia 10: 1-164 + pls. 1-47. islam, a.k.m. nurul. 1972. new and rare species of some green algae from bangladesh. nova hedwigia 23: 655-663 + pls. 1-14. islam, a.k.m. nurul and ahia, a.n.m. 1964. contribution to the knowledge of chaetophoraceae of dacca district. pak. j. biol. agr. sci. 7(1): 103-110. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1979. algal flora of moheshkhali island. bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. b. 27(2): 105-122. islam, a.k.m. nurul and hossain, s.k.t. 1978. algal flora of the ablution tanks of mosques in dacca city. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 3(2): 103-113. islam, a.k.m. nurul, anatunnesa and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. hydrobiological studies in and around naogaon, rajshahi. dacca univ. stud. b. 28(2): 3147. islam, a.k.m. nurul, rahman, m. and choudhury, a.r. 1979. hydrobiological studies of dhanmondi lake, dacca. 1. macrophytes and benthic flora. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 5(1): 59-75. islam, a.k.m. nurul and zaman, k.m. 1975. limnological studies of the river buriganga. iii. biological aspect. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.). 1(1): 45-65. khan, m.r. 1992. critical studies on the chaetophoralean algae of bangladesh. ph. d. thesis, university of dhaka. pp. 363 + pls. 1-169. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul. 1993. ecology of chaetophoralean algae of bangladesh. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.). 19(2): 145-153. additions to the genus stigeoclonium 9 khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul. 1998. six new taxa of chaetophoraceae (chlorophyta) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(2): 13-27. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul. 1999. new records of stigeoclonium taxa (chlorophyta) for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(2): 55-83. printz, h. 1964. die chaetaphoralen der binnengewasser. hydrobiol. 24(1/3): 1-576. sarma, p. 1986. the freshwater chaetophorales of new zealand. beih. z. nova hedwigia 58: 1-169+ 550 figs. department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangl abstract introduction taxonomic descriptions plate 1 plate 2 plate 3 plate 4 plate 5 acknowledgement references wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 147-162, 2007 (december) an annotated checklist of lauraceae in bangladesh hosne ara1, md. manzur-ul-kadir mia and bushra khan bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1 dhaka 1216, bangladesh key words: checklist, lauraceae, bangladesh abstract a preliminary report on the species of the laurel family in bangladesh is presented in this paper. in bangladesh, the family is represented by 13 genera and 46 species. updated nomenclature with synonyms, local and english names, flowering and fruiting time, diagnostic characteristics, geographical distribution and occurrence within bangladesh have been provided under each taxon. introduction the family lauraceae is represented by 32 genera and 2,500 species distributed mostly in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world (heywood 1993). a comprehensive and systematic analysis on the availability and distribution of lauraceae in bangladesh has not been prepared yet. hooker (1886, 1890) reported 15 genera and 204 species for british india, out of which 11 genera and 39 species were recorded from the present bangladesh territory. prain (1903) recorded 23 species and 9 genera from the area of present bangladesh, whereas heinig (1925) listed 20 species distributed under 9 genera from the chittagong and chittagong hill tract region. sinclair (1955) enumerated 5 species and 3 genera from the area of cox's bazar. alam (1988) recorded 30 species and 9 genera from the forests of sylhet region. the present taxonomic enumeration of the family is based mostly on the herbarium materials preserved in the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and dhaka university herbarium (duh), and available literature by different workers, who worked on the flora of this region, viz. cowan and cowan (1929), raizada (1941), huq and khan (1984), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), rashid et al. (2000), khan and huq (2001) and rahman (2004a, b). this checklist contains the names of 46 species and 13 genera of lauraceae so far reported from the territory of bangladesh. the following literature have been consulted for the up-to-date nomenclature, viz. kostermans (1978), farr et al. (1979) and hara et al. (1982). the genera and species have been arranged in alphabetical order and each species is accompanied by its local names, salient features, flowering (fl.) and fruiting (fr.) time, occurrence in bangladesh and geographic distribution. 1corresponding author. e-mail : bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 148 ara et al. taxonomic enumeration actinodaphne c.g.d. nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 61-68 (1831). 1. actinodaphne angustifolia nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 31 (1832). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 152 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 674 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 56 (1925). a. hookeri meissn., dc. prodr. 15 (1): 218 (1864); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 149 (1886). local name: modanmosta. a medium to large-sized evergreen tree, up to 20 m high. leaves in whorls, very variable in length and breadth, 10-25 × 3.5-6.2 cm, oblanceolate, lanceolate or elliptic. inflorescence scattered, umbellate. fruit globose, up to 0.8 cm long. fl. & fr.: junedecember. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong, chittagong hill tracts and sylhet forests (hooker 1886, heinig 1925). distribution: indo-malaya and north-east india. 2. actinodaphne obovata (nees) blume, mas. bot. 1: 342 (1851). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 153 (1886). tetradenia obovata nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 64 (1831). local name: kolapata (sylhet). a small to medium-sized tree. leaves 17.5-45.0 × 6.2-15.0 cm, very variable in size and shape, obovate or elliptic-oblong. fruit ellipsoid, more than 2 cm long. fl. & fr.: march-august. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: eastern himalaya and sub-himalayan regions (assam, khasia hills, meghalaya, monipur and sikkim). beilschmiedia nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 69 (1831). 3. beilschmiedia assamica meissn. in dc. prodr. 15 (1): 64 (1864). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 124 (1886); brandis, ind. trees: 529 (1906); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 53 (1940-reprint 1982). local name: naga-sutrong (sylhet). a large tree, 15-25 m high. leaves 6-20 × 3-8 cm, opposite or sub-opposite, elliptic, oblong-elliptic or lanceolate. inflorescence paniculate, panicles 8-16 cm long. fruit 2.55.0 × 1.5-2.0 cm, ellipsoid or ovoid-oblong. fl. & fr.: december-april. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: myanmar and north-east india (assam). an annotated checklist of lauraceae in bangladesh 149 4. beilschmiedia fagifolia nees in wall., as. rar. 2: 69 (1831). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 122 (1886); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 52 (1940-reprint 1982). a small to medium-sized tree, up to 10 m high. leaves alternate or sub-opposite, 512 × 2-5 cm, elliptic, oblong-elliptic, or elliptic-lanceolate. inflorescence short, crowded panicles. fruit elliptic-oblong, c 0.5 cm long. fl. & fr.: june-december. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (hooker 1886, alam 1988). distribution: north-east india. 5. beilschmiedia gammieana king ex hook. f., fl., brit. ind. 5: 124 (1886). a small to medium-sized tree with spreading branches. leaves opposite or subopposite, 15-30 × 5-8 cm, oblong-lanceolate or elliptic-oblong. inflorescence axillary panicles or terminal racemes, very short, up to 3 cm long. fruit a berry or drupe, oblong, on thickened pedicel, 1.8-3.0 × 0.8-1.8 cm, globose-obovoid, shortly apiculate. fl. & fr.: march-november. occurrence in bangladesh: greater sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: bhutan, india and nepal. 6. beilschmiedia roxburghiana nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 69 (1831). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 121 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 672 (1903-reprint 1963). laurus bilocularis roxb., fl. ind. 2: 311 (1824). local name: serai-guti (sylhet). a small to medium-sized tree, up to 10 m high with a compact, oval crown branches from the base. leaves 10-25 × 4-10 cm, alternate, oblong, elliptic-lanceolate or elliptic oblong. inflorescence peduncled panicles or racemes, 3-6 cm long, few-flowered, axillary or from axils of the fallen leaves or lateral from the axils of the caducous scales. fruit baccate, obovoid-oblong, 2-3 cm long, dark purple when ripe. fl. & fr.: march-august. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet forest areas (alam 1988) and dhaka (brandis 1906). distribution: north-eastern india and myanmar. cassytha l., sp. pl.: 35 (1753). 7. cassytha filiformis l., sp. pl.: 35 (1753). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 188 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 676 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 57 (1925); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9 (2): 105 (1955). local name: akashbel. a herbaceous twining parasite, attaching itself by haustoria to the host plant forming a web of leafless cords over bushes. stem dark-green, puberulous when young, glabrescent with age. leaves none or reduced to a few minute hyaline scales. fruit 150 ara et al. globose, c 0.7 cm in diameter, white, smooth. fl. & fr.: almost throughout the year, usually july-october. occurrence in bangladesh: coastal districts and islands (sinclair 1955). distribution: india, sri lanka, tropical east asia, africa, australia and america. cinnamomum schaeffer, bot. exped.: 74 (1760). 8. cinnamomum bejolghota (buch.-ham.) sweet, hort. brit. ed. 1: 344 (1827). laurus bejolghota buch.-ham. in trans. linn. soc. 13: 559 (1822). cinnamomum obtusifolium roxb. ex nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 73 (1831); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 128 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 673 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 56 (1925); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9 (2): 105 (1955). local names: tezpat, ram tejpat, kinton (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts). a large tree, up to 25 m high. leaves opposite or sub-opposite, 15-30 × 4-9 cm, elliptic-oblong or elliptic. inflorescence panicles, panicles usually longer than the leaves. fruits 0.6-1.2 cm long, ellipsoid or sub-globose. fl. & fr.: january-july. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong, chittagong hill tracts and sylhet regions (hooker 1886, heinig 1925). distribution: central and eastern himalaya, andaman island and myanmar. 9. cinnamomum camphora (l.) j. presl, priroz. rostlin 2: 36 & 47-56 (1825). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 134 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 673 (1903-reprint 1963). laurus camphora l., sp. pl. 369 (1753). local name: karpur. english name: camphor tree a small to medium-sized tree with spreading crown. leaves alternate or spirally arranged, ovate-elliptic to elliptic or sub-ovate-elliptic, 3-10 × 1-5 cm. inflorescence panicles, axillary, slender, many-flowered, up to 10 cm long with few short branches. fruit globose, slightly fleshy, 5-10 mm in diameter. fl. & fr.: march-july. occurrence in bangladesh: almost every where in bangladesh (mostly planted). distribution: native to china and japan, widely cultivated all over the world. 10. cinnamomum glanduliferum (wall.) meissner., dc. prodr. 15 (1): 25 (1864). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 135 (1886). laurus glandulifera wall. in tr. s. med. phys. calc. 1: 45 & 51, t. 1 (1825). a large tree, up to 25 m high. leaves alternate, very variable in size and shape, usually 4-12 × 3-6 cm, ovate or obovate-elliptic, orbicular or lanceolate. inflorescence panicles, axillary or terminal, up to 8 cm long, few-flowered, appearing after or together with leaves. fruit up to 2.5 cm long, obovoid. fl. & fr.: april-august. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong and sylhet (brandis 1874). an annotated checklist of lauraceae in bangladesh 151 distribution: central himalaya and eastern india, nepal and sikkim. 11. cinnamomum glaucescens (nees) meissn., dc. prodr. 15 (1): 25 (1864). cecicodaphne glaucescens nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 70 (1831). c. cecidodaphne meissn. in dc. prodr. 15 (1): 25 (1864); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 135 (1886); brandis, ind. trees: 534 (1906). local names: gonoroi, gonori (sylhet). a medium to large-sized tree with spreading crown. leaves alternate, 5-10 × 2-5 cm, elliptic-lanceolate or broadly elliptic. inflorescence panicles, 4-6 cm long. fruit 1.5-3.0 cm long, ellipsoid, oblong. fl. & fr.: february-november. occurrence in bangladesh: greater sylhet (hooker 1886). distribution: bhutan, india, nepal and sikkim. 12. cinnamomum iners reinw., blume bijdr.: 570 (1826). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 136 (1886); heinig, list chittagong: 56 (1925). local names: tez-bohu, kosturi, karuyea (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts). a medium-sized tree about 12 m tall. leaves 12.5-18.0 × 3.8-7.5 cm, elliptic or elliptic-oblong. inflorescence panicles, c 15 cm long, very lax-flowered. fruit ellipsoid, black, pulpy, blent, 1.0-1.5 cm long. fl. & fr.: january-february. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong and chittagong hill tracts (heinig 1925). distribution: india, myanmar, malay peninsula and indonesia. 13. cinnamomum nitidum blume, rumph. 1: 35 (1836). brandis, ind. trees: 533 (1906). laurus culitlaban roxb. hort. beng. (30); fl. ind. ii. 299 (1824). cinnamomum encalyptoides nees (1831). local name: kabab. a shrub or tree, with short appressed branches. leaves 7-22 cm long, glabrous, elliptic-oblong or linear-oblong, obtuse, 3-nerved. inflorescence panicles, slender, longpeduncled, often longer than the leaves. fruit ellipsoid, 1.0-1.5 cm long. fl. & fr.: not on record. occurrence in bangladesh: mirpur national botanic garden, dhaka (dey 2006). distribution: malay islands, molaccas and myanmar. 14. cinnamomum pauciflorum nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 75 (1831). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 129 (1886); brandis, ind. trees: 533 (1906); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 57 (1940-reprint 1982). laurus recurvata roxb., fl. ind. 2: 301 (1832). a large shrub or a small tree. leaves usually opposite, 5-12 × 2-5 cm, elliptic-ovate, ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate. inflorescence axillary panicles, up to 8 cm long, few-flowered. fruits 0.7-1.0 cm across, globose or ellipsoid. fl. & fr.: april-november. 152 ara et al. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (hooker 1886). distribution: north-east india. 15. cinnamomum tamala (buch.-ham.) nees & eberm., handb. med.-pharm. b. 2: 426 (1831). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 128 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 673 (1903reprint 1963); datta & mitra, bull. bot. soc. beng. 7 (1&2): 12 (1953). laurus tamala buch.-ham. in tr. linn. s. 13: 555 (1822). local names: huara, tejpata. english names: cassia cinnamon, cassia lignea. a medium-sized evergreen tree, up to 15 m high. leaves opposite or sub-opposite, 10-15 × 2.5-6.2 cm, ovate-oblong or elliptic to oblong-lanceolate. inflorescence panicles, panicles as long as leaves. fruit a drupe, c 1 cm long, black when ripe, ovoid or globose. fl. & fr.: february-october. occurrence in bangladesh: hilly forest areas of greater sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: tropical and sub-tropical himalayan regions, bhutan, india and nepal. 16. cinnamomum verum j. prest, prin. rostlin 2: 36 (1825). cinnamomum zeylanicum blume bijdr. xi.: 568 (1826); nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 74 (1831). local names: darchini, daruchini, dalchini. english names: cinnamon, true cinnamon. a medium-sized evergreen tree, all parts glabrous. leaves opposite or sub-opposite, rarely alternate, ovate, ovate-lanceolate. inflorescence lax panicles, terminal, manyflowered, usually longer than leaves. fruit 1.3-1.7 cm long, oblong or ovoid-oblong, minutely apiculate. fl. & fr.: january-march. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong hill tracts and also elsewhere in gardens (cultivated). distribution: india, malay peninsula, myanmar and sri lanka. cultivated in the malay island and elsewhere in the tropics. cryptocarya r. brown, prodr.: 402 (1810). 17. cryptocarya amygdalina nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 69 (1831). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 118 (1886). cryptocarya floribunda nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 69 (1831); prain, beng. pl. 2: 671 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 56 (1925). local name: bhuiya gach. a medium-sized to large tree up to 20 m high with spreading crown. leaves 8-20 × 3-8 cm, broadly oblong, elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate or oblanceolate. inflorescence terminal or axillary panicles, up to 15 cm long, pubescent, long peduncled and much branched. fruit 2.0-2.5 × 0.9-1.2 cm, usually ribbed. fl. & fr.: march-november. an annotated checklist of lauraceae in bangladesh 153 occurrence in bangladesh: greater chittagong and sylhet forests (hooker 1886, prain 1903). distribution: eastern himalaya from sikkim eastwards. dehaasia blume, rumphia 1: 161 (1835). 18. dehaasia kurzii king ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 125 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 672 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 56 (1925). local names: modon-mosto, bagraj (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts). an evergreen tree. leaves subverticillate, 15-25 × 3-6 cm, elliptic, acuminate or obtusely acuminate. inflorescence panicles, long peduncled, very slender. fruit a cylindrical to oblong berry, c 5 cm long. fl. & fr.: august-december. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong and chittagong hill tracts (heinig 1925). distribution: andaman island and myanmar. endiandra r. brown, prodr.: 402 (1810). 19. endiandra firma nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 68 (1831). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 126 (1886); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 54 (1940-reprint 1982). laurus firma wall., cat. no. 2597 (1830). an evergreen tree, branches terete. leaves alternate, 12-20 × 4-5 cm, elliptic-oblong, acuminate, glabrous. inflorescence in short, axillary panicles, 2.5-5.0 cm long, branches spreading, puberulous. fruit c 3 cm long, elliptic-ovoid, quite smooth, tip rounded. fl. & fr.: october-december. occurrence in bangladesh: forests of sylhet district (hooker 1886, alam 1988). distribution: india (cachar). lindera thumb., nova gen. pl.: 64 (1783). 20. lindera latifolia hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 183 (1886). brandis, ind. trees: 541 (1906); heinig, list chittagong: 57 (1925); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 95 (1940reprint 1982). local names: shikoria, shukaria, shiori (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts). an small to medium-sized evergreen tree, up to 20 m high. leaves 10-20 × 5-10 cm, obovate, oblong or broadly oblanceolate and pinnately nerved. inflorescence umbels, 1012-flowered, very short peduncled. fruit small, globose, 0.6-0.7 cm across. fl. & fr.: february-october. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong (sitakund) and chittagong hill tracts (heinig 1925). 154 ara et al. distribution: india (meghalaya-khasia hills). 21. lindera melastomacea benth., gen. plant. 3: 164 (1880). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 185 (1886); brandis, ind. trees 541 (1906). laurus cuspidata d. don, prodr. fl. nepal. 64 (1825). a shrub or small tree, up to 10 m high. leaves ascending, 3-10 × 1-3 cm, obovate, oblanceolate or elliptic-oblong. inflorescence umbels, globose, 3-5-flowered. fruit c 0.8 cm long, ellipsoid, slightly apiculate. fl. & fr.: february-november. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: eastern himalaya and north-east india. 22. lindera reticulata (nees) benth., gen. plant. 3: 164 (1880). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 183 (1886). polyadenia reticulata nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 61 (1831). a small or medium-sized tree. leaves 15-25 × 3-8 cm, obovate-oblong or oblanceolate to oblong. inflorescence umbellate, very small, clustered, sessile. fruit ellipsoid or oblong, 1.2 cm long, smooth, shortly pedicelled. fl. & fr.: april-august. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (hooker 1886). distribution: india. litsea lamk., dict. 3: 574 (1989). 23. litsea angustifolia wall. ex. hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 169 (1886). prain, beng. pl. 2: 676 (1903-reprint 1963); heing, list chittagong: 57 (1925); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 87 (1940-reprint 1982). tetranthera saligna nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 67 (1831). local names: chhota shiyal-buka, huria, risapaing (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts). a bushy evergreen shrub, young parts finely pubescent. leaves alternate, 7.5-20.0 × 1.0-1.5, linear lanceolate. umbellules solitary or fascicled. fruit ellipsoid-oblong, 1.0-1.2 cm long, smooth. fl. & fr.: march-september. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet and chittagong (hooker 1886). distribution: india (assam and cachar). 24. litsea clarkei prain, bengl. pl. 2: 676 (1903). heinig, list chittagong: 50 (1925). a small, evergreen tree. leaves 7.5-12.5 cm long, alternate or subverticillate. inflorescence umbels in solitary or binate racemes. fruit unknown. fl. & fr.: not on record. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong (prain 1903). distribution: endemic to bangladesh (khan et al. 2001). an annotated checklist of lauraceae in bangladesh 155 25. litsea cubeba (lour.) pers., syn. pl. 2 (1): 4 (1806). laurus cubeba lour., fl. cochinch. 1: 252 (1970). litsea citrata blume, bijdr.: 565 (1826); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 155 (1886). litsea kingii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 156 (1886); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 81 (1940-reprint 1982). a deciduous shrub or small tree. leaves aromatic, alternate, 7.5-15 × 2.5-4.0 cm, lanceolate or narrowly ovate-lanceolate. inflorescence in capitate umbels. fruit 0.6-0.7 cm in diameter, globose. fl. & fr.: november-july. occurrence in bangladesh: greater sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: himalaya (bhutan to nepal), indo-china, myanmar and north-east india. 26. litsea glutinosa (lour.) robinson in philipp., j. sci., bot. 6: 321 (1911). sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9 (2): 105 (1955). sebifera glutinosa lour., fl. cochinch.: 638 (1790). litsea chinensis lam., encyc. method iii: 574 (1789); datta & mitra., bull. bot. soc. beng. 7 (1&2): 12 (1953). litsea sebifera (willd.) pers., syn. pl. 2: 4 (1807); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 157 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 675 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 57 (1925). local names: kukur-chita, ratun, garpur (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts). a small to medium-sized, aromatic, evergreen tree, 5-18 m high. leaves alternate, sub-terminal on the branches, very variable, 7.5-22.5 × 2.5-10.0 cm, elliptic-oblong or ovate-lanceolate. inflorescence 8-12-flowered umbellules. fruit a spherical berry, 0.6-1.0 cm across. fl. & fr.: april-january. occurrence in bangladesh: almost throughout the country. distribution: australia, china, malay islands, india, pakistan, sikkim (lower himalaya) and sri lanka. 27. litsea laeta wall. ex nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 67 (1831). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 169 (1886). tetranthera laeta nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 67 (1831). local name: bon-hoalu (sylhet). a small to medium-sized tree, up to 20 m high, with spreading branches. leaves alternate, 10-30 × 2-12 cm, elliptic, lanceolate or narrowly oblong. inflorescence umbels in axillary clusters. fruit almost white, oblong-ovoid, 1.7 cm across. fl. & fr.: november-april. occurrence in bangladesh: hill forests of greater sylhet (hooker 1886). distribution: tropical and eastern himalaya, bhutan, india and sikkim. 156 ara et al. 28. litsea lancifolia (roxb. ex nees) hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 159 (1886). prain, beng. pl. 2: 676 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 57 (1925). tetranthera lancifolia roxb. ex nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 65 (1831). a shrub or small tree, up to 8 m high. leaves opposite, sub-opposite or alternate, 715 × 2-5 cm. inflorescence umbellate clusters. fruit sub-globose or ellipsoid-oblong, 11.5 cm long and c 1.2 cm across, apiculate. fl. & fr.: february-june. occurrence in bangladesh: greater chittagong and sylhet districts (hooker 1886, heinig 1925). distribution: tropical and eastern himalaya including bhutan, india, myanmar, nepal and south china. 29. litsea monopetala (roxb.) pers., syn. pl. 2: 4 (1807). sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9 (2): 105 (1955). tetranthera monopetala roxb., pl. coromand. 2: 26. t. 148 (1798). litsea polyantha juss. in ann. mus. hist. nat. paris 6: 211 (1805); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 162 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 676 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 57 (1925); datta & mita., bull. bot. soc. beng. 7 (1 & 2): 12 (1953). local names: bara kukur-chita, huoria (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, sylhet). a small to medium-sized, evergreen tree, usually 10-15 m high, with spreading crown. leaves alternate, extremely variable, 7-20 × 3-12 cm, ovate-oblong, oblanceolate or elliptic-oblong. inflorescence in pedunculate umbellate heads. fruit globose to ellipsoid, 0.7-1.2 cm long, blackish when ripe. fl. & fr.: march-november. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong, chittagong hill tracts (heinig 1925) and sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: bhutan, india, malay peninsula, myanmar, nepal and south-west china. 30. litsea nitida hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 174 (1886). prain, beng. pl. 2: 676 (1903reprint 1963); kanjilal, et al., fl. assam 4: 90 (1940-reprint 1982); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9 (2): 105 (1955). tetranthera nitida roxb. ex nees, wall. pl. as. rar. 2: 67 (1831). a medium-sized tree. leaves alternate, 10-25 × 5-8 cm, oblanceolate or obovateoblong. inflorescence racemose. fruit aromatic, ellipsoidal, 1-2 cm long. fl. & fr.: november-april. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (kanjilal et al. 1940). distribution: bhutan, india, myanmar and nepal. 31. litsea panamonja hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 175 (1886). prain, beng. pl. 2: 676 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 57 (1925). tetranthera panamonja nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 67 (1831). an annotated checklist of lauraceae in bangladesh 157 local name: panamonja (chittagong). a large tree, young shoot puberulous. leaves 12-30 × 5-10 cm, oblong or lanceolate. male inflorescence umbels in long racemes. female inflorescence umbels in short racemes. fruit globose, broader than long. fl. & fr.: march-may. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong (prain 1903) and sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: india (assam), malay peninsula and myanmar. 32. litsea salicifolia (roxb. ex nees) hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 167 (1886). prain, beng. pl. 2: 676 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 57 (1925). tetranthera salicifolia roxb. ex ness in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 66 (1831). local names: bara shiyal, digloti, hiyal-buka, pania-mula (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, sundarbans). a small, evergreen tree or shrub up to 8 m high. leaves alternate, very variable. umbels 0.6-0.8 cm diameter, glabrous or hoary. fruit 0.6-1.5 cm long, ellipsoid, obovoid. fl. & fr.: february-may. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong, chittagong hill tracts (heinig 1925) and sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: myanmar, india, nepal and sikkim. 33. litsea semecarpifolia (wall.) hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 165 (1886). brandis, ind. trees: 537 (1906); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 86 (1940-reprint 1982). tetranthera semecarpifolia wall., cat. n. 6345 a (1830). a tree, 8-10 m high. leaves alternate, 15-18 × 6-13 cm, obovate or elliptic-oblong. inflorescence umbels, clusters of 6 flowers. fruit globose, c 1.5 cm in diameter. fl. & fr.: january-june. occurrence in bangladesh: recorded from the then east bengal by hooker (1886). distribution: india and myanmar. 34. litsea thomsonii meissn. in. dc., prodr. 15 (1): 183 (1964). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 170 (1886); brandis, ind. trees: 538 (1906); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 89 (1940reprint 1982). a large tree, branches stout. leaves alternate, 12-25 × 5-8 cm, linear oblong or elliptic-lanceolate. inflorescence axillary, umbels in short sub-racemous corymbs and in the leafless axils. fruit globose, 1.5-2.0 cm across. fl. & fr.: september-august. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (hooker 1886, alam 1988). distribution: india. 158 ara et al. machilus c. g. d. nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 61, 70 (1831). 35. machilus fruticosa kurz, journ. as. soc. beng. 2: 101 (1873). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 140 (1886); brandis, ind. trees: 531 (1906). a glabrous shrub with velvety leaf-buds, branches stout, black. leaves 6-15 cm long, ovate to ovate-oblong, linear or elliptic-oblong. inflorescence axillary panicles, 7-20 cm long. fruit small, globose, glabrous. fl. & fr.: not on record. occurrence in bangladesh: sitapahar of rangamati district (mia and khan 1995). distribution: myanmar. neolitsea (benth.) merr., philip. j. sci. 1 suppl.: 56 (1906). 36. neolitsea cassia (l.) kosterm., j. sci. res. indones. 1: 85 (1952). laurus cassia l., sp. pl. 369 (1753). neolitsea zeylanica (nees) merr. in phillip. j. sci. 1: suppl. 57 (1906); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 92 (1940-reprint 1982). litsea zeylanica c & fr. nees in amen. bot. bonn. fasc. 1: 58, t. 5. (1823); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 178 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 676 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 57 (1925). a small to medium-sized, evergreen tree, up to 20 m high. leaves alternate, 7-15 × 3.5-5 cm, elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate. inflorescence in 4-5-flowerd heads in almost sessile clusters. fruit ovoid-oblong, 0.7-1.0 cm long. fl. & fr.: october-april. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong, chittagong hill tracts and sylhet (hooker 1886, heinig 1925). distribution: eastern himalaya, bhutan, indo-malesia and myanmar. persea p. mill., gard. dic. abr. ed. 4 (1754). 37. persea americana p. mill., gard. dict. ed. 8 (1768). local name: avocado. english name: avocado pear. a tree usually 15 m high with spreading crown. leaves 8-18 × 4-6 cm, oblong to elliptic. inflorescence compact panicles, terminal on branchlets. fruit a berry, obovoid, 10 × 8 cm. fl. & fr.: march-may. occurrence in bangladesh: mirpur national botanic garden, dhaka (dey 2006). distribution: tropical america, widely cultivated in tropics. 38. persea bombycina (king ex hook. f.) kosterm., in reinwardtia 6: 191 (1962). machilus bombycina king ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 861 (1890); prain, beng. pl. 2: 674 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 56 (1925); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 66 (1940-reprint 1982). an annotated checklist of lauraceae in bangladesh 159 a medium-sized tree up to 20 m high. leaves alternate, 6-13 × 2-5 cm, ellipticlanceolate to ovate-lanceolate. inflorescence sub-terminal panicles, up to 10 cm long, spreading, sparsely pubescent. fruit globose, 0.5-0.8 cm across. fl. & fr.: decembermay. occurrence in bangladesh: greater chittagong and sylhet districts (prain 1903, alam 1988). distribution: lower himalaya including india (assam), myanmar and nepal. 39. persea gamblei (king ex hook. f.) kosterm., reinwardtia 6: 192 (1962). machilus gamblei king ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 138 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 673 (1903reprint 1963); brandis, ind. trees: 531 (1906); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 67 (1940). a medium-sized to large tree, up to 20 m high. leaves 6-15 × 2-6 cm, variable in shape, obovate-oblong, oblanceolate or lanceolate to elliptic. inflorescence in lax, fewflowered, pubescent panicles, 3-7 cm long. fruit 0.7-1.0 cm across, black and primrose when ripe. fl. & fr.: january-july. occurrence in bangladesh: north bengal (prain 1903). distribution: bhutan, north-east india and nepal. 40. persea odoratissima (nees) kosterm., in j. sci. res. indonesia 1: 116 (1952). machilus odoratissima nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 70 (1831); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 139 (1886); brandis, ind. trees: 530 (1906); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 64 (1940-reprint 1982). a medium-sized tree, up to 15 m high. leaves crowded at the ends of branches, 7-18 × 2-5 cm, very variable in shape, oblanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, elliptic-oblong. inflorescence sub-terminal panicles, up to 13 cm long and many flowered. fruit 1.2-1.6 cm long, oblong or ellipsoid, purple and primrose when ripe. fl. & fr.: march-june. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (kanjilal et al. 1940). distribution: subtropical and temperate himalaya, bhutan, china, india, malaysia and myanmar. 41. persea owdeni (parker) kosterm., lauraceae in pulle, fl. suriname 2 (1): 244-337 (1936). alseodaphne owdeni parker in indian forester 50: 365 (1924); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 62 (1940-reprint 1982). local names: jatisundi, maricha sundi, tilsundi (sylhet). a large tree, branches glabrous. leaves alternate, 7-15 × 2.5-4 cm, lanceolate. inflorescence panicles, lax, from beneath of the crowded leaves. fruit a drupe, 0.2-1.0 cm long, bluish-black when ripe, ellipsoid. fl. & fr.: may-september. 160 ara et al. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: india. 42. persea villosa (roxb.) kosterm., reinwardtia 6 : 194 (1962). laurus villosa roxb. fl. ind. 2: 310 (1824). phoebe villosa (roxb.) wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 5: 11, t. 1822 (1852). machilus villosa (roxb.) hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 860 (1890); prain, beng. pl. 2: 673 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 56 (1925). a medium to large tree, up to 25 m high with spreading crown. leaves alternate, 717 × 2.5-4.0 cm, elliptic to lanceolate. inflorescence in panicles, up to 18 cm long, subterminal. fruit a berry, globose, 0.5-0.8 cm across with reflexed perianth. fl. & fr.: december-may. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong and sylhet (hooker 1886). distribution: north-east india, myanmar, nepal to sikkim. phoebe c.g.d. nees, syst. laurin.: 98 (1836). 43. phoebe attenuata (nees) nees, syst. laur.: 104 (1836). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 143 (1886). ocotea attenuata nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 71 (1831). local name: bonsum (sylhet). a large tree, often reaching 25-30 m high. leaves alternate, crowded at the ends of branchlets, 12-25 × 4-8 cm, oblong or oblanceolate. inflorescence spreading panicles, pedunculate, peduncles stout, 7.5-15.0 cm long. fruit c 1.2 cm long, narrowly ellipsoid. fl. & fr.: march-october. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (gamble 1922, alam 1988). distribution: bhutan, india (assam), nepal and sikkim. 44. phoebe cathia (buch.-ham. ex d. don) kosterm., nat. hist. bull. siam s. 25: 44 (1974). cinnamomum cathia buch.-ham. ex d. don, prodr. fl. nep. 66 (1825). ocotea paniculata nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 71 (1831); 3: 32 (1832). phoebe paniculata (nees) nees, syst. laur.: 105 (1836); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 142 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 674 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 56 (1925). a tall tree, up to 2 m high. leaves 7-22 × 2-20 cm, crowded at the ends of twings, elliptic, oblong-obovate or oblong-elliptic. inflorescence panicles, 6-10 cm long. fruit a berry, c 1.0 × 0.8 cm, ovoid, reticulately rugose, blackish. fl. & fr.: march-november. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong (hooker 1886, prain 1903). distribution: india, myanmar and nepal. an annotated checklist of lauraceae in bangladesh 161 45. phoebe lanceolata (nees) nees, syst. laur.: 109 (1836). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 141 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 674 (1903-reprint 1963); heinig, list chittagong: 56 (1925). ocotea lanceolata nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 71 (1831). local names: chaongri, dulia (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts). a small to medium-sized evergreen tree, up to 10 m high, with spreading branches. leaves alternate, crowded towards the apex, 8-25 × 2-6 cm, lanceolate or oblonglanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate. inflorescence axillary corymbiform panicles, longpeduncled, sometimes 10-15 cm long. fruit a berry, 0.7-1.2 cm long, black, ovoid or ellipsoidal. fl. & fr.: april-november. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong, chittagong hill tracts (heinig 1925) and sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: bhutan, india, myanmar and nepal. 46. phoebe pallida (nees) nees, syst. laur.: 112 (1836). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 142 (1886). ocotea pallida nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 2: 71 (1831). a small to medium-sized tree, young parts of shoots very finely puberulous. leaves alternate, 7-20 × 2-4 cm, oblanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, minutely pubescent when young, glabrous when mature. inflorescence axillary in lax panicles, peduncles up to 13 cm long, puberulous. fruit c 1 cm long, ellipsoid. fl. & fr.: june-january. occurrence in bangladesh: sylhet (alam 1988). distribution: north india, myanmar, nepal and sikkim. references alam, m.k. 1988. annotated checklist of the woody flora of sylhet forests. forest research institute, chittagong, pp. 1-153. brandis, d. 1874. the forest flora of north-west and central india. indian reprint 1972. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 1-608. brandis, t.d. 1906. indian trees. indian reprint 1978. periodic experts book agency, delhi, india, pp. 1-767. cowan, a.m. and cowan, j.n. 1929. the trees of northern bengal. bengal secretariat book depot, calcutta, pp. 1-178. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1-2):1-110. dey, t.k. 2006. bangladesher praojanio gachgachra (useful plants of bangladesh). the ad. communication, anderkila, chittagong, p. 1-987. farr, e.r., leussink, j.a. and stafleu, f.a. (eds). 1979. index nominum genericorum (plantarum). vols 1-3. bohn, scheltema and holkema, utrecht dr. w. junk b.v., publishers, the hague, the netherlands, pp. 1-1896. gamble, j.s. 1922. a manual of indian timbers. indian reprint 1984. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 1-868. hara, h., chater, a.o. and williams, l.h.j. 1982. an enumeration of the flowering plants of nepal 3. trustees of british museum (natural history), london, pp. 1-226. 162 ara et al. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india, pp. 1-89. heywood, v.h. 1993. flowering plants of the world. oxford university press, london, pp. 1-336. hooker, j.d. 1886, 1890. lauraceae. flora of british india 5. indian reprint 1973. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 1-910. huq, a.m. and khan, m.s. 1984. a preliminary taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of moheskhali island-1 (dicotyledons). dhaka univ. studies. part b 32(2): 19-31. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., de, r.n. and das, a. 1940. flora of assam 4. indian reprint 1982. a von book company, delhi, india, pp. 1-337. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focussing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. khan, m.s. and huq. a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m. and ali, m.a. (eds). 2001. red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, pp. 1-179. kostermans, a.j.g.h. 1978. lauraceae in flora of west pakistan. no. 118. rijksherbarium, leiden, netherlands, pp. 1-13. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants'. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain. d. 1903. bengal plants 2. indian reprint 1963. botanical survey of india, catcutta, pp. 491-1013. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakundu in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants': series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and parin's 'bengal plant's: series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1 & 2): 47-79. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rashid, m.h., rahman, e. and rahman, m.a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island, cox's bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43-63. sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan, bull. bot. soc. bengal. 9(2): 84-116. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31-64. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 4 october 2007; revised on 10 november 2007) dhaka 1216, bangladesh abstract introduction local names: huara, tejpata. english names: cassia ci local name: bhuiya gach. local name: avocado. english name: avocado pear. citation obituary national professor a.k.m. nurul islam (27 october 1928 1 july 2006) error! dr. a.k.m. nurul islam, the national professor, department of botany, university of dhaka passed away on 1 july 2006 at the age of 78 at a private hospital in dhaka. he was receiving treatment for recently diagnosed cardiovascular problems. with his departure bangladesh has not only lost the pioneer in the fields of phycology and limnology, but also an outstanding scholar of botany. dr. nurul islam started his career as an academic by joining the university of dhaka as a lecturer of the then department of biology in 1952 after completing his msc in the same department in 1951. in 1960, he received his phd degree from the michigan state university, usa where he revised the filamentous green algal genus stigeoclonium under the supervision of prof. g.w. prescott. he continued his affiliation with the department of botany, university of dhaka for about 54 years as a professor (retiring in 1990), supernumerary professor (1990-2000) and honorary professor (2001-january 2006). dr. nurul islam’s relationship with his favorite department reached a new level in february 2006 when he became a national professor and remained in that position until his death. it was an excellent tribute from the government of bangladesh to his life-long devotion and enthusiasm in teaching and research. prof. nurul islam was also the founder dean of the faculty of biological sciences, university of dhaka in 1975 and served the department of botany as its head and chairman on several occasions (1964-1975). prof. nurul islam, popularly known as ‘dni sir’ (dr. nurul islam sir) among his students, was a superb combination of academic and scientist an excellent example for the aspiring academics. he and his coworkers published 195 original research articles in reputed national and international journals including the latest one published in this current issue of bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy. he described the algal genus kirchneriellosaccus islam along with about 300 new algal species and varieties, many of which have been included in the world monographs. over the past five decades he guided about 40 students for msc and a few for phd degrees in the fields of phycology, limnology, hydrobiology and marine biology. many of his students are now wellestablished at home and abroad in academic and other professional arenas. prof. nurul islam is regarded as the ‘father of phycology and limnology’ in bangladesh for his extraordinary leadership and contributions in these fields. as a recognition of his contributions to the development of science, prof. nurul islam was elected a fellow of the bangladesh academy of sciences (1980), bangladesh botanical society (1997) and asiatic society of bangladesh (2003). for his overall original contributions to plant sciences, the highest awards were bestowed upon dr. nurul islam by the bangladesh academy of sciences (1993), dhaka university alumni association (1996) and bangladesh botanical society (2003). prof. nurul islam was one of the founding members of bangladesh association of plant taxonomists. he was elected as the president of this association and the chief editor of its research journal bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy in 2002 after the death of the founding president and chief editor prof. m. salar khan and remained in the office until his death. he was very earnest in performing his responsibility in achieving the purpose of the association and in publishing its journal despite many constraints. during his association with other learned societies, dr. nurul islam was also elected as the president of bangladesh botanical society (1985-1986) and asiatic society of bangladesh (1992-1993). he also efficiently edited the journal of the asiatic society of bangladesh, science; dhaka university studies, part b (sci.) and part e (sci.); bangladesh journal of botany; journal of scientific research (baas journal) etc. for several years between 1973 and 1990. he showed his brilliance in editing books as well. he edited an excellent compilation entitled “two centuries of plant studies in bangladesh and adjacent regions” (asiatic society of bangladesh, 1991) and was one of the editors of the 5 volumes of “bangla academy science encyclopedia” (in bangla) (bangla academy, 1998-2005). the other involvements of prof. nurul islam include, the preparation of the district gazetteers between 1963 and 1980, contributing to government review committees and acting as a phd thesis examiner for the universities of new zealand, india and bangladesh. over the last couple of years of his life he had been deeply engaged in preparing “encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh” to be published by asiatic society of bangladesh. given his vast knowledge on the subject, the preparation of chapters on algal flora, especially desmids, will greatly be hampered in his absence. prof. nurul islam was a very good speaker. besides botany and biology in general, he had good understanding of many different subjects ranging from geology to sociology, and especially the religion. as a man of principles and with strong personality, dr. nurul islam never paused in exerting his strong opinions on issues came 3 before him in his professional life. on the other hand, his sense of humor was wonderful – poised but still made him accessible even to the first year undergraduate students. nevertheless, there were a few aspects of his life which were missed out by many of his students and colleagues: poetry-writing, passion for gardening and playing of musical instruments. prof. nurul islam was the first professor i met on my first day as a graduate student of botany in 1992. i became associated with him in 1996 as his msc thesis student and the affiliation got stronger every year until he passed away. i often wonder how he guided me through my metamorphosis, from a naive student to a professional, over these years and how he sculpted our relationship accordingly, which was always a combination of mentoring, love and respect. i will indeed miss his advice on my research, editing, reviewing and personal life; working with him in his small office; and especially, his bringing of extra lunch for me. despite the opportunities to work and settle abroad, prof. nurul islam preferred to teach and conduct research works in bangladesh. he found it very sad that promising workers in botany complaining about the scarcity of resources. but dr. nurul islam had shown throughout his life that constraints like paucity of resources could be overcome by vision, enthusiasm and sense of responsibility to the area of interest and above all to the nation. his philosophy reminds me a quote from goethe’s work “it does not matter what the cage is like but whether the bird can sing.” prof. nurul islam will always be remembered for his sincerity, dedication, hard-work and patience in doing research. but in the latter years, he was very concerned about the alarming reduction of original work done by bangladeshi academics and scientists in the field of taxonomy, and plant science in general. his uncompromising attitude towards the quality of work sometimes portrayed him as a critical reviewer of the efforts made by fellow workers. nonetheless, those of us who are familiar with his outlooks know that his approach should not be taken personally. his observations and comments should be considered as advice from a tour-guide guiding the path he has traveled many times successfully to reaching the destination full of obstacles, failures and distractions as it is in one's career and personal life. in this time, when taxonomic studies have become endangered, facing threats from commercialization of education, the taxonomists should learn from prof. nurul islam’s life, practice the learning and convey it to the generations to come. in this way we can hope for the revitalization of original taxonomic work in bangladesh, a land full of opportunities to conduct systematic, biodiversity and conservation studies. prof. nurul islam has left his wife, a daughter, a son, two grandchildren, other relatives, numerous students, colleagues and admirers to mourn his death. may allah grant him eternal peace. haseeb md. irfanullah microsoft word 01. mz-2.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 1-8, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 9. some rare and a new species moniruzzaman khondker1, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, munirul alam2, r. bradley sack3, anwar huq4 and rita r. colwell3,4,5 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. keywords: rare species; strombomonas islamii khondker; ponds; bangladesh. abstract ten taxa belonging to chlorophyceae, cyanophyceae, bacillariophyceae and euglenophyceae, and one with an uncertain taxonomic position have been described in this paper. of these, 10 taxa have been found to be globally rare and new records for bangladesh, whereas strombomonas islamii khondker sp. nov. has been described as new to science. introduction islam (1969, 1972) studied some rare planktonic green algae in the bangladesh territory. recently, under the domain of a research project ‘epidemiology and ecology of vibrio cholerae in bangladesh’ an extensive collection programme of phytoplankton was performed in two southern coastal districts, namely pirojpur and barisal of bangladesh between 2004 and 2007. in this programme, 13 domestic ponds and a river channel belonging to mathbaria upazila of pirojpur district and bakerganj upazila of barisal district were explored and the outcome was a collection of 1,008 samples. while working on these plankton samples, the present authors noticed the occurrence of a number of interesting species which were rather difficult to identify. after an extensive literature search, some taxa were proved to be globally rare and one was designated as new to science. other relatively common taxa worked out from the same collections, but proved to be new reports for bangladesh, have been published in a series of papers (khondker et al., 2006, 2007 a, b, c, d, 2008 a, b, c, d). the present paper records the systematic accounts of 10 rare taxa which are new records for bangladesh and one new species of phytoplankton. materials and methods net and lugol's solution-sedimented samples of phytoplankton were used for the present study. details of the methodology, frequency of sampling and description of the sampling stations could be found in khondker et al. (2006). 1 corresponding author. e-mail: mkhondker@yahoo.com 2 international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh. 3 johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, baltimore, maryland, usa. 4 centre of marine biotechnology, university of maryland biotechnology institute, baltimore, maryland, usa. 5 university of maryland institute for advanced computer studies, college park, maryland, usa. 2 khondker et al. taxonomic enumeration systematic accounts of 10 rare taxa of phytoplankton have been provided with photomicrographs. one new species under the genus strombomonas delf. has also been described. ten taxa belong to four algal classes, namely chlorophyceae, cyanophyceae, bacillariophyceae and euglenophyceae. taxonomic position of one taxon is uncertain. in the description, the taxa are arranged after smith (1950). division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocales family: chlamydomonadaceae 1. chlorogonium metamorphum skuja (fig. 8) (huber-pestalozzi, 1961, 474, 97: 650a) cells elongated spindle-shaped, anterior end narrowed to a blunt end, posterior gradually narrowed to pointed end, 15 µm long, 3 µm broad. cell membrane thin, smooth, colorless. flagellum 15 µm long, anteriorly placed. bakerganj, station no. 8, 10.07.2006. 2. pandorina cylindricum iyengar (fig. 6) (iyengar and desikachary, 1981,420, text-fig. 245:3; ling and tyler, 2000, 123, 55: 3) colony oblong to cylindrical, both ends slightly tapering to rounded. mucilaginous sheath broad, much wider at both ends of the colony, 10-15 µm wide at ends. cells pyriform, 16 in number, arranged in 4 tiers. colony with mucilage sheath 70 µm long, 40 µm broad, without mucilage sheath 50-55 µm long, 28-30 µm broad. vegetative cells 14 µm long, 15 µm wide at a maximum. bakerganj, station no. 2, 17.04.2006. division: euglenophyta; class: euglenophyceae; order: colaciales family: colaciaceae 3. colacium ovale playf (figs 13-16) (huber-pestalozzi, 1955, 135) cells ovoid to elongated ovoid or spherical, attached, light green, 7.5-14.8 µm long, 4-7 µm broad. note: the species was reported from australia and found to grow on the carapace of copepods (huberpestalozzi, 1955). in the present study the species grew attached to the lorica of trachelomonas sp. huberpestalozzi (1955), however, did not produce any figure of the species. the present taxon fits well with the measurements and description as provided by huber-pestalozzi (1955), and therefore, it has been tentatively placed under c. ovale. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 3 figs 1-16. 1. microcrocis granulata, a. thallus, b. enlarged view; 2. paulinella chromatophora, a. organism, b. top view; 3. aphanothece clathrata; 4, 5. strombomonas acuminata var. deflandreana; 6. pandorina cylindricum; 7. achnanthes lacunarum; 8. chlorogonium metamorphum; 9. lepocinclis sphagnophila; 10, 11. strombomonas islamii sp. nov.; 12. raphidiopsis mediterranea; 13-16. colacium ovale. (bars = 10 µm) 4 khondker et al. mathbaria, station no. 6, 19.07.2004, 16.08.2004. 4. lepocinclis sphagnophila lemm. (fig. 9) (prescott, 1982, 406, 89: 11-13) cells ovoid to fusiform, posterior end gradually narrowed to a short pointed caudus, anterior suddenly narrowed to blunt apex, at the centre of which flagellum appears. cells 19 µm long, 11 µm broad. flagellum more than body length, 23 µm long. paramylon bodies 4 in number, plate-like, two on either side (in our material two on one side and one on the another side). bakerganj, station no. 1, 07.12.2006. 5. strombomonas acuminata var. deflandreana conrad (figs 4, 5) (huber-pestalozzi, 1955, 373, 77: 800). lorica nearly orbicular, irregularly warted, with a distinct, short but wide mouth part and an elongated, cuneate caudus. lorica 26-30 µm long, 18 µm broad. mouth part 1.4 µm high, 6.1-6.7 µm broad. caudus 6-11 µm long. protoplasm massive, flask-shaped, in anterior region moved away from the lorica wall, 16-18 µm long, 15-17 µm broad. flagellum very long, near about 3 times the body length. bakerganj, station no. 1, 07.12.2006. 6. strombomonas islamii khondker sp. nov. (figs 10, 11) lorica fusiformis, leuteo-brunneus. antico extrematus dumbbeliformis, postico cylindraceus cum apicalis appendix. cellula contenta aggregatus in capitulum. antico extrematus leviter angustata in extrematibus obtusatus, unde unus longus flagellum habitus. lorica 27-74 µm longum, 13-20 µm latus ad capitulum. caudus 14 µm longum, orificium 3.3 µm latus. flagellum 60 µm longum. lorica spindle-shaped, yellow brown. anterior end dumbbell-head-like, posterior cylindrical with a terminal appendix. cell content concentrated in the head region. anterior end slightly narrowed to a blunt end, from which a long flagellum appears. lorica 27-74 µm long, 13-20 µm broad at the head region. caudus 14 µm long, mouth part 3.3 µm broad. flagellum 60 µm long. holotype: sample no. nheb0610361, 27 november 2006, bakerganj, barisal district, collected by nih ecological surveillance team at icddr,b, dhaka; herbarium of phycology, hydrobiology and limnology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka, bangladesh. type locality: the sample was collected from a typical road side village pond named ‘bakerganj helipad government pond’ in bakerganj, barisal, bangladesh, zmax = 2.4 m, new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 5 a = 371 m2. the water of the pond is used for bathing, washing and for other domestic uses by the villagers. the bank of the pond is covered with bushes and trees. ecology: pelagic plankton. some water quality data at the time of collection were: air temperature 28°c, water temperature 24°c, ph 8.2, tds 90 mg/l, alkalinity 1.6 meq/l, po4-p 41.3 µg/l, no3-n 1.28 mg/l, silicate 16.2 mg/l and chlorophyll a 574.5 µg/l. distribution: so far known only from bakerganj of barisal district, bangladesh. note: the present species has some likeliness with strombomonas lackeyi (mccoy) dillard (dillard, 2000), but differs by the shape of head region, caudal region, lorica size and length of the flagellum. strombomonas lackeyi has a flask-shaped anterior part, but the present material has a dumbbell-head-shaped anterior part. caudal region in the former is conical, but cylindrical in the latter. the present specimen is nearly 1.7 times smaller than s. lackeyi. in s. lackeyi flagellum is about 121 µm long, but in the present specimen it is 60 µm long. the species has been named in the honour of prof. a.k.m. nurul islam, department of botany, university of dhaka for his outstanding pioneering contribution to phycology. division: chrysophyta; class: bacillariophyceae; order: pennales family: achnanthaceae 7. achnanthes lacunarum hust. (fig. 7) (hustedt, 1930, 205, 297) frustules lanceolate, forming a star-shaped colony of 4 cells. cells 9-13 µm long, 6-7 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 6, 01.11.2004. division: cyanophyta; class: cyanophyceae; order: chroococcales family: chroococcaceae 8. aphanothece clathrata w. et g.s. west (fig. 3) (geitler, 1925, 71, text-figs. 61; prescott, 1982, 467, 104: 6-7) colony microscopic, free-floating, elliptical, 22-26 µm long, 13-14 µm broad. cells cylindrical or rod-shaped, light to deep blue-green in colour, densely packed, straight or lightly curved, 3-5 µm long, 1.0-1.3 µm broad. mucilage transparent. note: the species forms large, often irregular, clathrate colonies with homogeneous mucilage when grown in benthic condition. under planktonic condition it does not develop clathrate colonies rather microscopic and small colonies (desikachary, 1959). the present material was collected from a bloom in a pond. bakerganj, station no. 1, 27.11.2006. 6 khondker et al. 9. microcrocis granulata skuja (fig. 1) (starmach, 1966, 68, text-fig. 55). colonial, sheet-like. sheets convoluted at both ends, c 90 µm long, 66 µm broad. cells look polygonal or hexagonal, 2.5 µm broad. cell content prominent blue-green. mathbaria, station no. 3, 03.10.2004. family: rivulariaceae 10. raphidiopsis mediterranea skuja (fig. 12) (desikachary, 1959, 432, 79: 2-3) trichome free-living, straight, both ends attenuated, composed of 12 cells. after fragmentation trichome rounded at one end. trichome 132 µm long, 5 µm broad. cells in the middle of trichome 6.2-7.6 µm long, 4.2-5.0 µm broad, end cells 17.8 µm long. one end of trichome blunt, measures 40.6-81.2 µm long, 2.5 µm broad, terminal cell 5.0 µm long, 2.5 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 8, 10.07.2006. incertae sedis 11. paulinella chromatophora lauterborn (fig. 2) (desikachary, 1959, 54, text-fig. 1; edmondson, 1959, 253, text-fig. 9.83; ling and tyler, 2000, 60, 19: 4-7) shell pear-shaped, colorless. anterior with an oval aperture provided with a short neck, posterior broadly rounded. protoplasm contains 1-2 sausage-shaped curved cyanellae. shell 11 µm long, 8 µm broad at the base. cyanellae c 6 µm long (at curved state), 1.5-2.0 µm broad, light blue-green in colour. note: the specimen is a thecate amoeba inhabiting one or two cyanellae. it was collected with samples of phytoplankton. similar observation was also made by ling and tyler (2000). bakerganj, station no. 8, 09.08.2004. acknowledgements the research as an integral part of the major multidisciplinary project entitled ‘epidemiology and ecology of vibrio cholerae in bangladesh’ was financed by the national institute of health (nih) research grant # 1ro1a13912901 under the collaborative agreement between the international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh (icddr,b) and johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health. the authors gratefully acknowledge the nih ecological surveillance team at new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 7 icddr,b for kindly supporting this research. latin diagnosis of the new species done by prof. syed hadiuzzaman, department of botany, university of dhaka is also gratefully acknowledged. references desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. icar, new delhi, india, pp. 1-686. dillard, g.e. 2000. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 7. pigmented euglenophyceae. j. cramer, stuttgart, pp. 1-136 + pls 20. edmondson, w.t. (ed.) 1959. freshwater biology. john wiley & sons inc., pp. 1-1248. geitler, l. 1925. die süßwasserflora. deutschlands, österreichs und der schweiz. heft 12: cyanophyceae. jena verlag von gustav fischer, pp. 1462. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 4. teil: euglenophyceen. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 1-606 + pls 1-114. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1961. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 5. teil: chlorophyceae (grünalgen), ordnung: volvocales. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 1-744 + pls 1-157. hustedt, f. 1930. in pascher's die süsswasserflora. heft: 10, bacillariophyta (diatomeae). verlag von gustav fischer, jena, pp. 1-466. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1969. some rare planktonic green algae found in east pakistan. pakistan j. botany 1: 19-32. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1972. new and rare species of some green algae from bangladesh. nova hedwigia 23: 655-663 + pls 1-14. iyengar, m.o.p. and desikachary, t.v. 1981. volvocales. indian council of agricultural research, new delhi, pp. 1-531. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2006. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 1. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 173-179. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 2. cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53-59. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 3. order: volvocales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 1-12. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007c. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 4. order: chlorococcales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 83-91. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a. and yeasmin, j. 2007d. colacium vesiculosum ehr.: a new record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 36(2): 195-197. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2008a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 5. euglena, euglenocapsa. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 39-46. 8 khondker et al. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2008b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 6. lepocinclis perty, strombomonas defl., astasia dujardin, menoidium perty. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 107-114. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2008c. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 7. phacus. bangladesh j. botany 37(1): 55-60. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2008d. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 8. trachelomonas ehr. bangladesh j. botany 37(2): 133-139. ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 2000. australian freshwater algae (exclusive of diatoms). bibl. phycol. bd. 105. j. cramer, gebrüder brontraeger verlagsbuchhandlung, berlin, pp. 1-643. prescott, g.w. 1982 (reprinted). algae of the western great lakes area. otto koeltz sci. publ., w. germany, pp. 1-977. smith, g.m. 1950. the freshwater algae of the united states. mcgraw-hill book co. new york, pp. 1-719. starmach, k. 1966. cyanophyta-sinice, glaucophyta-glaukofity. flora słodkowodna polski. tom-2. polska akademia nauk, warszawa, pp. 1-806. (manuscript received on 22 january 2008; revised on 22 november 2008) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 93-100, 2007 (december) application of ordinal clustering to the taxonomy of the genus entada (fabaceae) in taiwan sheng-zehn yang1, yu-ying feng and fu-ya yeh2 department of forestry, national pingtung university of science and technology, 1 shuehfu road, neipu, pingtung 91201, taiwan key words: entada, non-metric multidimentional scaling, numerical taxonomy, ordinal cluster analysis, ordinal scaling abstract the importance of a mathematically correct treatment of ordinal information has not sufficient been emphasized. since ordinal cluster analysis (ordclan) and non-metric multidimentional scaling (nmds) are order-invariant, an attempt has been made to illustrate the previous taxonomic treatments of three species of entada adans. (fabaceae) of taiwan by these two methods. the genus entada is represented in taiwan by e. koshunensis hayata et kanehira, e. phaseoloides (l.) merr. and e. rheedii spreng. in this study, 29 morphological characteristics and 14 operational taxonomic units (otus) representing these three species were selected to construct a primary mixed data matrix. due to incomplete and limited herbarium specimens, the same local specimens were combined to form 14 otus from 62 specimens preserved in several taiwan herbaria. the characters were measured on binary nominal, multistate nominal, ordinal, and quantitative scales. ordclan and nmds based on gower’s index were used to evaluate the relationship among the three entada species from the primary matrix. the cluster dendrogram and the ordination of otus showed that the genus entada obviously can be divided into three groups representing three existing species, therefore, agreed with previous taxonomic analyses. introduction nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio data types are usually used in numerical taxonomy or vegetation ecology (anderberg 1973). the methodological sequence implied by exploratory analysis of ecological data includes sampling, data collection, resemblance matrix calculation, and classification or ordination (podani 2005). each move between these levels of abstraction can be carried out by applying either an ordinal (o, sequence-/rank-based) or a metric (m, difference-/ratio-based) scale and methodological paths, such as m-m-o, o-m-o, o-m-m, o-o-m, m-o-m, m-o-o, o-o-o, are implied. in these paths ordinal and metric properties are confounded. switching from m scale to o scale, some information is always lost and actual differences between distances become neglected, while changing from o scale to m scale, the increase of information may not be mathematically correct (krauth 1986, dale 1989, podani 2005). future multivariate analysis should be ordinal in nature so that the order of dissimilarities can be considered by algorithm. thus, the sequence o-o-o is the best combination for the 1corresponding author. e-mail: yangsz@mail.npust.edu.tw 2fooyin university. 151 chinhsueh road, taliao, kaohsiung 831, taiwan. 94 yang et al. processing of ordinal data because this path can maintain the consistency of the analysis and the overall statistic precision. however, very few reports emphasized the importance of a correct treatment of ordinal information in explanatory data analysis in the past decade. multivariate analysis is most problematic when ordinal variables appear together with other scale types in the data. however, this obstacle can be solved by extending gower's general coefficient of similarity to ordinal data types, facilitating cluster and multidimensional scaling (podani 1999). ordinal cluster analysis (ordclan) proceeds in the same manner as agglomerative clustering method. non-metric multidimentional scaling (nmds) (kruskal 1964) relies on the ordinal information and represents a good alternative to the metric procedures (podani 2000, 2005). in nmds, any change in the dissimilarity matrix of objects have no impact on the final ordination that the first two axes usually provide a fairly good representation of objects or variables. gordon (1999) suggested that the name ordinal scaling is more appropriate than non-metric scaling. these two methods are order invariant and this property ensures that the results are independent of changes not affecting ordinal relationships (podani 1999, 2005, 2006). in taiwan, three species of entada adans. (fabaceae), namely e. koshunensis hayata et kanehira, e. phaseoloides (l.) merr. and e. rheedii spreng. occur (yang et al. 2005), of which e. koshunensis is endemic. entada is frequently found among riverine vegetation and the segments of its pods are dispersed by water. the terminal pinnae of the entada species are modified into tendrils and the stems are often more than 30 cm in diameter. the plant can grow extremely quickly towards the light and has the ability to entangle trees (nielsen 1992). as the leaflets and flowers of the three entada species are very similar in shape and the specimens preserved in taiwan herbaria are few and incomplete, these characteristics are the factors that obviously influence academic decisions in identifying the species. the aims of the present study are to provide a primary mixed data matrix (podani 2001) and use multivariate analysis by ordclan and nmds to affirm the results of previous taxonomic treatments (ho 1985, huang and ohashi 1993, yang et al. 2005). materials and methods sixty-two voucher specimens of entada species deposited in three herbaria of taiwan, namely provincial pingtung institute (ppi), national taiwan university (tai), taiwan national museum (tnm), were used and the same local specimens were combined to represent the fourteen operational taxonomic units (otus). twenty-nine morphological characters (character states, variables) were selected to distinguish the three species of the genus (table 1). otus 1-5 were the species identified as e. koshunensis, 6-10 identified as e. phaseoloides, and 11-14 identified as e. rheedii. the characters were measured on binary nominal, multistate nominal, ordinal, and ratio application of ordinal clustering to the taxonomy of entada 95 scales. the binary nominal data type involves a categorization without numerical values or ranks. it involves two states, such as presence/absence of data or black/white coded as 1/0. the multistate nominal data type involves three states or more, such as red/blue/black. the ordinal data type can be placed in rank order along a continuum. some of the abundance scale for recording vegetation data belongs to the ordinal data type. the ratio data type includes real quantitative values, and thus, the differences between values of objects can be compared (podani 1994). for example, the presence of table 1. four scales describing 29 character states of the genus entada in taiwan. b: binary nominal, m: multistate nominal, o: ordinal, q: quantitative. character states data type values or scales character states data type values or scales 1. leaflet midrib, petiolelet hairs b 0. absent 1. present 14. leaflet pairs no. q no. 2. seed surface sculpturing b 0. absent 1. present 15. leaflet thickness q mm 3. seed surface luster b 0. absent 1. present 16. leaflet length q mm 4. seed around furrow b 0. absent 1. present 17. leaflet width q mm 5. inflorescence axis hairs b 0. absent 1. present 18. leaflet petiole length q mm 6. leaflet base b 0. regular 1. oblique 19. pinnule rachis length q mm 7. inflorescence b 0. spike 1. raceme 20. inflorescence length q mm 8. seed shape b 0. round 1. elliptic 21. petal length q mm 9. endocarp texture b 0. parchment-like 1. woody 22. sepal length q mm 10. seed color b 0. brown 1. blackish-brown 23. stamen length q mm 11. seed surface b 0. flat 1. convex 24. legume section length q mm 12. leaflet shape m 1. oblique-ovate 2. obovate-elliptic 3. obliqueelliptic 25. legume section width 26. endocarp thickness 27. seed length q q q mm mm mm 13. leaflet apex o 1. mucronate 2. mucronateemarginate 3. emarginate 28. seed width 29. seed thickness q q mm mm hairs is binary nominal (0 = absent, 1 = present); the outline of leaflets is multistate nominal (1 = ovate, 2 = oblique-ovate, 3 = obovate-elliptic, 4 = oblique-elliptic); the leaflet apex is ordinal (1 = mucronate, 2 = mucronate-emarginated, 3 = emarginate); and leaflet pairs, inflorescence length, petal length, legume section length or width, seed thickness, and endocarp thickness are ratio scale. the ratio scale variables are obtained as table 2. the primary mixed data matrix composed of 29 character states and 14 operational taxonomic units (otus) of taiwan entada genus. states 1-11: binary nominal, 12: multistate nominal, 13: ordinal, and 14-29: quantitative. otu state 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 7 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 10 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 3 3 3 13 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 3 2 1 2 2 3 3 14 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 4 5 4 5 15 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.1 16 57.5 56.0 65.0 41.0 61.0 72.5 46.5 39.0 72.5 61.5 45.0 39.0 50.5 44.0 17 37.5 25.0 27.5 23.5 26.5 40.5 22.0 18.0 32.5 28.5 22.5 14.0 23.0 16.5 18 5.0 3.9 5.5 6.0 3.7 4.5 3.7 1.8 3.5 5.0 2.2 2.5 2.3 1.8 19 35.0 85.0 83.0 60.0 62.5 73.0 51.5 60.0 60.5 64.0 95.0 90.0 81.0 101.0 20 200.0 180.0 195.0 230.0 165.0 215.0 195.0 109.0 185.5 290.0 185.0 205.0 225.0 132.5 21 2.0 2.5 3.1 3.9 2.4 3.2 3.1 1.6 3.2 2.5 2.9 2.6 2.5 2.3 22 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.9 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.5 1.1 1.3 0.9 0.8 1.1 0.8 23 4.5 3.9 2.6 3.1 4.3 6.0 2.6 8.0 8.0 4.2 5.7 5.9 5.3 4.0 24 55.0 50.0 54.5 52.0 45.0 93.5 41.0 74.5 74.5 103.0 72.0 58.5 68.5 67.0 25 40.0 61.5 59.0 61.5 54.0 77.0 54.5 91.5 90.0 56.5 81.0 71.5 34.0 33.0 26 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 1.1 1.1 0.4 3.4 4.5 3.2 3.8 27 40.5 38.2 38.0 46.0 46.7 61.5 38.0 54.0 71.0 55.0 41.5 40.0 36.3 34.2 28 34.0 37.9 37.0 43.0 43.5 52.0 37.0 50.0 50.0 64.0 39.0 41.0 36.2 35.1 29 18.2 18.1 18.0 19.0 19.9 23.5 18.0 15.0 15.0 18.0 20.0 12.0 16.7 15.1 application of ordinal clustering to the taxonomy of entada 97 an average from five replicate samples from the same otu. a primary mixed data matrix was made by 14 objects (otus) and 29 character states (table 2) for the explanatory analysis. gower's formula was used to calculate the primary mixed data into dissimilarities, which were in turn subject to nmds and the application of ordclan (program syntax 2000, podani 2001). single link (sl, nearest neighbor) method was selected because sl possesses the property of order invariance (hubert 1973, boberg and salakoski 1993). a dendrogram of ordinal cluster analysis of taiwan entada taxa based on 29 character states of 14 otus has been constructed. for evaluating the correlation between the dendrogram and the distance matrix, the cophenetic correlation coefficient was measured: the higher the correlation, the better the representation of distances in the hierarchy. if the value is larger than 0.9, the correlation is high, if the value is lower than 0.74, the correlation is not significant (sneath and sokal 1973). the results of nmds will show the first two most important dimensions about the otu distribution pattern and measure final stress value. the stress value of zero indicates perfect fit of the ranked ordination distances to the original distances. results and discussion the dendrogram obtained by ordclan is presented in fig. 1. three groups are recognized from the threshold line between the dissimilarity values of 0.288-0.378. the first group is composed of the otus 1-5, the second group comprises otus 6-10, and the third group is composed of the otus 11-14. the cophenetic correlation coefficient of 0.933 shows a significant correlation between the dendrogram and the distance matrix. the nmds solutions for the first two dimensions are shown in fig. 2. the final stress of 0.0304 indicates that the rank order of distance in the new space follows the original rank order as closely as possible. the points representing e. koshunensis are distributed along the middle-lower side; points in the upper-left of the ordination are e. phaseoloides; points in the upper-right of the ordination are e. rheedii. this otu ordination (fig. 2) is very close to the dendrogram obtained by ordclan (fig. 1). given the few and incomplete herbarium specimens of entada in taiwan herbaria, there are controversial opinions concerning the taxa of the genus in taiwan (ho 1985, huang and ohashi 1993, yang et al. 2005). the results from ordclan and nmds indicate that three groups can be clearly distinguished from one another and the endemic species e. koshunensis is indeed different from the others and truly exists in taiwan. this result is close to the results of yang et al. (2005). otu 8 is composed of three specimens, which were collected from mainland china and submitted to the tnm herbarium during the exchanging process. the point of otu 8 is distributed in the upper-left near the second group (e. phaseoloides) (fig. 2). indeed, these three specimens collected from mainland china have some different characteristics, 98 yang et al. such as leaflet size and shape, however, the evidence is not clear enough to be able to separate otu 8 from the second group. the difference of the characteristics may be influenced by the geographical location or the environmental conditions of the microhabitat. we suggest that these three specimens belong to the species e. phaseoloides. nielsen (1992) showed the ranges of various species of entada in asia, but fig. 1. dendrogram of ordinal cluster analysis of taiwan entada taxa based on 29 character states of 14 operational taxonomic units (otus). the cophenetic correlation coefficient = 0.933, showing a significant correlation between the dendrogram and the distance matrix. in his work e. phaseoloides was not distributed in taiwan. despite few different characters among five otus of the second group (fig. 2), the present study confirms that the range of e. phaseoloides includes the taiwan area. deciding on an appropriate correct treatment of ordinal information is still complicated by contrasting opinions presented in the literature (e.g. podani 2006, van der maarel 2007). however, the dissimilarity coefficient should be compatible with ordinal variables and the subsequent ordination of clustering methods should consider only the rank order of dissimilarities (podani 2005). the idea of o-o-o sequence is very important for multivariate exploratory analysis and extending gower's general coefficient of similarity to ordclan and nmds will meet this excellent path and obtain good results. according to the ordclan and nmds results, it is obvious that taiwan entada surely includes three independent taxa. entada koshunensis truly exists in the fragmented land of hengchun peninsula with few populations, e. phaseoloides is widely distributed application of ordinal clustering to the taxonomy of entada 99 in central taiwan and more abundant than the other two species, and e. rheedii is rare just found in southern taiwan. fig. 2. non-metric multidimentional scaling, for dimensions 1 and 2, of taiwan entada taxa based on 29 character states of 14 operational taxonomic units (otus). otus 1-5: e. koshunensis, 6-10: e. phaseoloides, and 11-14: e. rheedii. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the herbaria of ppi, tai and tnm for loaning the specimens. they express their appreciation to mrs. m. willis for the manuscript revision. they also thank the anonymous reviewer for his comments. most of all, the authors really appreciate dr. j. podani for discussions and comments on methodological sequence. references anderberg, m.r. 1973. cluster analysis for applications. john wiley, new york, usa, pp. 1-359. boberg, j. and salakoski, t. 1993. general formulation and evaluation of agglomerative clustering methods with metric and non-metric distances. pattern recogn. 26: 1395-1406. dale, m.b. 1989. dissimilarity for partially ranked data and its application to cover-abundance data. egetatio 82: 1-12. v gordon, a.d. 1999. classification. (2nd. ed.) chapman and hall, london, uk, pp. 1-252. 100 yang et al. ho, f.c. 1985. notes on the genus entada of taiwan. j. taiwan museum 38(1): 75-80. huang, t.c. and ohashi, h. 1993. leguminosae. in: the editorial committee of the flora of taiwan (2nd ed.), fl. taiwan 3: 169-171. the editorial committee of the flora of taiwan, taipei, taiwan. hubert, l.j. 1973. monotone invariant clustering procedures. psychometrika 38: 47-62. krauth, j. 1986. classification procedures for ordered categorical data. in: gaul, w. and schader, m. (eds.), lassification as a tool of research, pp. 249-255. elsevier, amsterdam, the netherlands. c cl a kruskal, j.b. 1964. nonmetric multidimentional scaling: a numerical method. psychometrika 29: 115-129. nielsen, i.c. 1992. mimosaceae (leguminosaemimosoideae). in: foundation flora malesiana. fl. malesiana ser. i, 11(1): 176-181. rijksherbarium/ hortus botanicus, leiden university, the netherlands. podani, j. 1994. multivariate analysis in ecology and systematicsa methodological guide to the syn-tax 5.0 package. the hague, spb academic publishing bv, pp. 1-316. podani, j. 1999. extending gower’s coefficient of similarity to ordinal characters. taxon 48: 331-340. podani, j. 2000. introduction to the exploration of multivariate biological data. backhuys, leiden, the netherlands, pp. 1-407. podani, j. 2001. syn-tax 2000. computer programs for data analysis in ecology and systematics. user’s manual. scientia, budapest, hungery, pp. 1-53. podani, j. 2005. multivariate exploratory analysis of ordinal data in ecology: pitfalls, problems and solutions. j. veg. sci. 16: 497-510. podani, j. 2006. braun-blanquet’s legacy and data analysis in vegetation science. j. veg. sci. 17: 113-117. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r. 1973. numerical taxonomy: the principles and practice of numerical assification. w. h. freeman and company, san francisco, usa, pp. 1-573. van der maarel, e. 2007. transformation of cover-abundance values for appropriate numerical treatment lternatives to the proposals by podani. j. veg. sci. 18: 767-770. yang, s.z., hueng, s.h., huang, c.c. and chiang, s.s. 2005. the taxonomy of entada genus in taiwan. q.j. chinese for. 38(3): 255-266. (in chinese with english summary) (manuscript received on 4 september 2007; revised on 17 october 2007) microsoft word 07. ethnobotany of bandarban.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 45-53, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethno-medico botanical study among the four indigenous communities of bandarban, bangladesh mohammed mohiuddin1, md. khairul alam, sukla rani basak and m. kamal hossain2 forest botany division, bangladesh forest research institute, sholoshahar, p.o. box -273, chittagong 4000, bangladesh keywords: medicinal plants; ethnobotany; indigenous knowledge; bandarban. abstract this paper provides ethno-botanical information on 70 plant species under 36 families and these species were in common use among the bwam, the marma, the murang and the tanchangya communities of bandarban hill district. ethno-medicinal uses along with their scientific names, families, local names, voucher numbers and uses are enumerated. quantitative analysis shows that the marma tribe uses the higher number of species followed by the tanchangya, the murang and the bwam. similarity index indicates that the marma, the tanchangya and the murang have higher similarities for ethno-botanical knowledge among four tribes. the most widely used medicinal plants are cassia obtusifolia l., centella asiatica (l) urban., costus speciosus smith, emilia sonchifolia dc., litsea glutinosa (lour.) roxb., melothria indica lour. and premna esculenta roxb. fever, cough, menstrual problem, diarrhoea, dysentery, tumor and skin diseases seem to be common problems treated using plants by the tribal communities in bandarban district. introduction bandarban hill district is the second largest district of chittagong hill tracts (cht) with an area of 4,502 sq. km. it is situated in the southeast of bangladesh and located between 21º25/ and 23º45/ n and between 91º45/ and 92º50/ e (alam and mohiuddin, 2008). geographically it is a part of the hindu-kush-himalayan region of the continent (khan et al., 2007). landform of bandarban is mainly composed of high hills (20%), medium hills (22%), low hills (31%) and the rest is valley land. eleven tribes (ethnic groups) are living in different hilly areas of bandarban district (banglapedia, 2006). the bwam, the marma, the murang, and the tanchangya are the dominant tribes and constitute 70% hill population of this district (khan et al., 2007). they have their own culture, tradition and primary health care system acquired through close observation of nature. these tribal people has a close relation with surrounding flora and using different plant parts as food, medicine, dye, soap and other purposes from the time immemorial in their day to day life. bandarban district is rich in floristic composition of medicinal plants, and the tribal herbal healers locally called “bhaidya” use these plants in preparing traditional medicine. ethnomedicinal knowledge plays an important role in identifying plants of therapeutic agents (balick, 1990). ethno-botanical samples contain novel drug compounds and helps to find out economically important plant based drugs (cox and balick, 1994). like the other parts of the world, a good number of the people of bandarban hill district still depend upon the herbal healers and herbal medicine for treatments. 1corresponding author. email: uddinm59@gmail.com 2institute of forestry and environmental sciences, university of chittagong, chittagong, bangladesh. 46 mohiuddin et al. several ethno-medicinal studies in bangladesh have been carried out by alam (1992), hassan and khan (1996), rahman et al. (1998), rahman and uddin (1998), rahman (2003), rahman et al. (2003), uddin et al. (2004) and yusuf et al. (2006, 2007). however, there is very limited information on the ethno-medicinal plants used by the tribal communities of bandarban hill district. this study aims to document ethno-medicinal plants used for the treatment of different diseases by four tribes of bandarban district namely the bwam, the marma, the murang, and the tanchangya communities to make a quantitative analysis of botanical knowledge of these tribes. materials and methods a series of exploration in the tribal areas of bandarban district have been conducted for a period of four years through 2003 to2007. during the study we visited different tribal paras (villages) of three upazillas namely bandarban sadar, lama and rwangcharai during different seasons for collecting the ethnomedicinal plants. the marma and the tanchangya tribes have herbal healers, locally called ‘bhaidya’. the other two tribes (the bwam and the murang) generally do not have herbal healers. for the study we collected plant specimens in different seasons along with necessary information with the help of herbal healers from the surrounding forests areas. collated information was cross checked in the field to validate the gathered information. collected samples were processed and authentically identified consulting the pertinent literatures, viz. hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), brandis (1906) and kanjilal et al. (1934, 1938, 1939, 1940). the voucher specimens are housed in bangladesh forest research institute herbarium, chittagong. in this paper the common species between and among the four tribes have been enumerated. local names are given in italics followed by the tribal name in parenthesis in abbreviated form (b for bwam, m for marma, mu for murang and t for tanchangya). prior consent of the knowledge providers were taken for documentation and further sharing. results and discussion the plants used by four tribes in bandarban district are summarized in table 1. a comparative analysis of the number of ethno-medicinal plants used by the four tribes showed that the marma tribe uses the highest number of species (48 species), followed by the tanchangya (43 species), the murang (34 species) and lowest by the bwam (6 species). costus speciosus, emila sonchifolia and prema esculenta were common among the four tribes. alpinia nigra, cassia obtusifolia, centella asiatica, emblica officinalis, melthoria indica, sarcochlamys pulcherrima, solanum torvum and spilanthes calva were common species among the marma, the murang and the tanchangya. similarity index showed that 29 species were common between tanchangya and marma, 25 species were common between murang and marma, 9 species were common between tanchangya and murang (table 2). six species were common for bwam and marma. five species were common for bwam and murang. three species were common for tanchangya and bwam. the present findings indicated that the plant use pattern by different tribes is different, and number of common species used by different tribes is very limited. use of more plants by the marma tribe for different purposes indicates that they have more knowledge-base about the plant use than other three tribes. ethno-medico botanical study among the four indigenous communities 47 48 mohiuddin et al. ethno-medico botanical study among the four indigenous communities 49 50 mohiuddin et al. ethno-medico botanical study among the four indigenous communities 51 52 mohiuddin et al. table 2. similarity index of common medicinal plant species among the four tribes in bandarban. tribes marma tanchangya murang bwam marma 0 tanchangya 29 0 murang 25 9 0 bwam 6 3 5 0 acknowledgement we are thankful to the local healers and other informants who kindly had provided us with this valuable information and allowed us to document it. references alam, m.k. 1992. medicinal ethnobotany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46(3): 330335. alam, m.k. and mohiuddin, m. 2008. shifting cultivation (jhum) agrobiodiversity at stake: bangladesh situation. acta hort. 806(2): 709-715. balick, j.m. 1990. ethnobotany and identification of therapeutic agents from the rainforest. in: chadwick, d.j. and marsh j. (eds), ethnobotany and the search for new drugs (ciba foundation symposium 185). wiley, chi chester, pp. 22-32. banglapedia 2006. bandarban district. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. website: <www.banglapedia. org/httpdocs/ht/b 0101 htm>. brandis, d. 1906 (reprint 1978). indian trees. periodical expert book agency, delhi, india, 677 pp. cox, p.a. and balick, m.j. 1994. the ethnobotanical approach to drug discovery. sci. amer. 270(6): 60-65. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 1996. ethnobotanical records in bangladesh -2. plants used for healing cuts and wounds. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(2): 49-52. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. flora of british india, vols. 1-7. reeve & co., kent, england. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1934. (reprint1984). flora of assam. 1: 1-386. periodical expert book agency, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1938. (reprinted 1984). flora of assam. 2:1-409 periodical expert book agency, delhi. kanjilal, u.n., das, a. kanjilal, p.c. and de, r.n. 1939. (reprint 1982). flora of assam. 3: 1-578. a von book co., delhi. kanjilal, u.n., das, a. kanjilal, p.c. and de, r.n. 1940. (reprint1984). flora of assam. vol. 4: 1-377. a von book co., delhi. khan, m.f.a., mantel, s. and chowdhury, e.h. 2007. state of the environment of the chittagong hill tracts. charm project report 2. (pro.no. bd/asia-pro eco/12/103-584). prain, d. 1903. (indian reprint 1981). bengal plants. 1&2: 1-1319. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. rahman m.a. 2003. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge among tribals of bangladesh. in: ethnobotany and medicinal plants of indian subcontinent. scientific publisher, jodhpur, india, pp. 89-93. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1998. some anti-rheumatic plants used by tribal people of hill tracts districts of bangladesh. biodiversity newsletter 2(2): 4. rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and khisa, a. 1998. a report on some anti–jaundice plants from tribal community of hill districts. biodiversity newsletter 2(1): 4. ethno-medico botanical study among the four indigenous communities 53 rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and wilcock, c.c. 2003. indigenous knowledge of herbal medicine in bangladesh: diarrhoea, dysentery, indigestion and stomach pains. j. med. & aro. pl. sc. 25: 101-109. uddin, s.n., uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and rahman, m.m. 2004. preliminary ethnobotanical plant survey in khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 39-48. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a. and chowdhury j.u. 2006. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge from kauhkali proper and betbunia of rangamati district. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1):55-61. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., yousuf, m., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2007. some tribal medicinal plants of chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 117-128. (manuscript received on 6 july, 2011; revised on 12 april, 2012) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 163-165, 2007 (december) short communication a new species of the genus phoebe nees (lauraceae) from north-east india m. gangopadhyay1 and a. sarmah2 central botanical laboratory, howrah 711103, west bengal, india key words: lauraceae, new species, phoebe during the course of the study of the family lauraceae, the authors came across some interesting specimens from arunachal pradesh, india housed in assam (herbarium of botanical survey of india, eastern circle, shillong) and apfh (herbarium of state forest research institute, itanagar, arunachal pradesh). those were found to be of a new species of the genus phoebe nees which is described in this communication. phoebe hedgei m. gangop. et a. sarmah sp. nov. (plate 1) phoebe declinata (blume) nees affinis, sed differt foliis tenuibus chartaceis late oblongis, elliptico-oblongis vel raro ellipticis ad obovato-ellipticis, infra puberulis, infructescentiis simplicibus paniculatis. holotypus: arunachal pradesh, west kameng district, saddle sessa, 23.9.1997, anupam sarmah 4180 (apfh) paratypus: arunachal pradesh, lohit district, tweng village, ca 3,600 m, 23.12.1993, a.s. chowhan 99495 (assam). allied to phoebe declinata (blume) nees, but differs in having thinly chartaceus broad oblong, elliptic-oblong or rarely elliptic to obovate-elliptic leaves, puberulus beneath and simple paniculate infructescences. tree, 4-5 m high. branchlets slender, angled, yellowish to pale brown below, blackish above, 3-4 mm wide, inconspicuously ribbed and furrowed, glabrous, lenticellate; terminal buds narrow ovate-lanceolate, 3-3.5 × ca 1.5 mm, acuminate, yellow pilosulus. leaves alternate, thinly chartaceus, blackish brown above, paler beneath, broad oblong, elliptic-oblong or rarely elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 13 20 × 4.2 5.8 cm, obtuse or sometimes cuneate at base, slightly decurrent at extreme base, slightly incurved at margins, acuminate (acumens 5-10 mm long) at apex, glabrous above, finely appressed puberulus beneath; mid-vein slender, channeled above, raised beneath; lateral nerves 1112 pairs, slender, distant, arcuate, raised above, canaliculated beneath; tertiary nerves prominent, scalariform; minor nervules laxly reticulate, faint above, prominent beneath; petioles slender, 15-28 mm long, 1-1.5 mm wide, deeply concave above, shallowly 1corresponding author. e-mail: mgangopadhyay55@rediffmail.com 2world wildlife fund (wwf), tejpur, assam. e-mail: anupamsarmah@gmail.com 164 gangopadhyay and sarmah plate 1. phoebe hedgei m. gangop. et a. sarmah a. branch with fruits; left hand upper: lower surface of leaf; left hand lower: upper surface of leaf; b. fruit (after a. sharma 4180). winged at margins, blackish, glabrous. flowers not seen. infructescences paniculate, simple, 9-15 cm long, slender, glabrous; peduncles 6-10.5 cm long, ca 1 mm thick, flattened and angled. fruits globose, 5.5-8 mm in diameter, greenish when young, blackish with age, scattered pustulate, glabrous; stalk slender, 5-8 mm long, ca 1 mm a new species of the genus phoebe nees 165 wide, thin, flat; tepals subindurate with semi-clasping lobes, ca 2.5 × 1.5 mm, yellow; lobes oblong, obtuse to subacute, glabrous above, ciliate at margins, sericeus within. distribution: india (arunachal pradesh). ecology: scarce in evergreen forests at about 3,600 m altitude. fruiting: september december. phoebe declinata has been recently reported by gangopadhyay (2006) from bangladesh in typical glabrous and sparsely pubescent forms. this new species is allied to the sparsely pubescent form of p. declinata in having globose fruits with semi-clasping tepal lobes but differs from it in having thinly chartaceus broad oblong, elliptic-oblong or elliptic to obovate-elliptic leaves and simple paniculate infructescences instead of coriacus, obovate, oblong-obovate to oblanceolate, 6-11.5 × 2.5-4 cm leaves and compound paniculate infructescences, respectively. the specific epithet has been given in the honour of dr. s.n. hedge, ex-director, the state forests research institute, itanagar, arunachal pradesh. acknowledgements authors are grateful to the director, the state forests research institute, itanagar, arunachal pradesh and the deputy director, eastern circle, botanical survey of india, shillong for research facilities. thanks are due to dr. n.c. majumdar, retired scientist, botanical survey of india, for the latin translation. reference gangopadhyay, m. 2006. notes on the family lauraceae from india and its adjoining countries i. bulletin of botanical survey of india 48(1-4): 103-156. (manuscript received on 27 august 2007; revised on 12 september 2007) microsoft word 09. maa.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 209-213, 2010 (december) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists egeria densa planchón (hydrocharitaceae) : a new angiospermic record for bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane1, moniruzzaman khondker, md. shafiqul islam2 and m. azmal hossain bhuiyan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: egeria densa; hydrocharitaceae; new record; bangladesh. hydrocharitaceae of bangladesh is represented by 6 genera namely, hydrilla, blyxa, nechamandra, vallisneria, ottelia and hydrocharis (khan and halim, 1987). under these genera 9 species have been reported so far. another member of hydrocharitaceae, egeria densa planchón is native to the coast of southeastern brazil through argentina. the plant was also cultivated as an aquarium plant and is now considered naturalized in the eastern united states (cook and urmi-könig, 1984). the plant material was collected through a limnological expedition carried out in a remote natural lake of bangladesh namely bogakain situated in the hilly bandarban district (khondker et al., 2010). details of the sampling location together with the preliminary limnological condition of the lake has been presented in khondker et al. (2010). bogakain, an eutrophic hilly natural lake has a vast littoral. the sample was collected on 10 march 2010 from 1 m depth near the shore of the lake as submerged vegetation and transplanted in a concrete house (1 × 0.5 m, depth 0.40 cm) in the botanical garden, department of botany, university of dhaka. some fresh materials were preserved in 4% formaldehyde and few herbarium sheets of the material were prepared and preserved in the hydrobiology and limnology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. the specimen has been identified as egeria densa planchón with the help of cook and urmi-könig (1984), haramoto and ikusima (1988), roberts et al. (1999), haynes (2000), yarrow et al. (2009) and morgan (2010). egeria densa planchón was not reported earlier from the areas that now fall under the territory of bangladesh in the relevant literatures, viz. hooker (1888), prain (1903), heinig (1925), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1955), mia and khan (1995) and rahman (2004 a, b). hence, it is reported here as a new record for bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic account along with illustrations of the species has been prepared based on the fresh specimen. 1corresponding author. e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com 2deputy director (training), ansar academy, shafipur, gazipur, bangladesh. 210 alfasane et al. egeria densa planchón, annales des sciences naturelles, botanique. sér. 3, 11: 80 (1849). anacharis densa (planch.) marie-vict., contrib. lab. bot. univ. montreal 18: 41 (1931); elodea densa casp., monatsb. berl. acad.: 49 (1857); philotria densa small., man. southeast fl.: 28 (1933). (figs 1-2) common names: brazilian elodea, brazilian waterweed, common water weed, dense water weed, egeria, leafy elodea, south american water weed. fig. 1 a-f. a, habit of e. densa with long stem (just after collection from the lake), b. habit after culturing in a concrete house, c. a double-node (2 adjacent nodes separated by a short internode), d. leaves found to be present at nodes, e. lateral buds, branches and adventitious roots growing from a doublenode region of the stem, f. plant canopy in the natural habitat (lake bogakain). a submerged, dioecious, freshwater perennial herb, rooted between 1 and 2(7) m below water surface. stems trailing, elongate, slender, 2-3 mm thick, single or sparingly branched, up to 2 m long, they form dense mat over the water surface, producing adventitious roots at double-nodes. stem fragments having double-node gives out roots egeria densa planchón (hydrocharitaceae) 211 and continue growth, forming dense monospecific stands covering extensive areas. leaves and stems generally bright green, short internodes frequently give plant very leafy appearance, may persist as fragments, drifting in water column. leaves 3-6(-8) whorled, densely arranged towards the apex, linear to oblong, cuneate, up to 1.6 × 0.3 cm, minutely serrated, apex acute. tubers absent. fig. 2. comparative morphology between egeria densa and hydrilla verticillata. a1. habit of e. densa with no tuber, a2. h. verticillata with tuber, b1. dense leaf of e. densa compared to h. verticillata, b2. light leaf of h. verticillata, c. two double-nodes separated by 6 short internodes in egeria densa, d1. germinating tuber of h. verticillata, d2. growing buds of e. densa. 212 alfasane et al. the present specimen has been identified based on leaf and canopy characters, unbranched adventitious roots, buds and canopy like branching arising at double-nodes (fig. 1 and 2) and absence of tubers. ecology: e. densa found in lentic and lotic waters that forms dense monospecific stands which restrict water movement, trap sediment, and cause fluctuations in water quality. distribution: e. densa is distributed in brazil, argentina, uruguay, alaska, hawaii, has invaded new zealand (coffey and clayton, 1986), japan (hamabata and kobayashi, 2002), in a high altitude lake in colombia (carrillo et al., 2006), chile (cook and urmikönig, 1984) and australia (roberts et al., 1999) and numerous areas across europe (dutartre et al., 1999). in the united states, e. densa has invaded lakes and ponds across most east coast states, from new england (vermont, new hampshire, massachusetts, connecticut) south to florida. in the western us, it has heavily infested areas of the california delta as well as many lakes in oregon and washington. most recently three water bodies near moscow and boise, idaho were found and treated for infestations (morgan, 2010). specimens examined: lake bogakain, ruma upazila, bandarban, 10.03.2010, khondker, m. and alfasane, m. a., hyd 1003101. notes: egeria typically looks larger and leafier than hydrilla and in the former genus, the majority of biomass is located near the water surface (fig. 1f). leaves curved downwards in egeria. on the other hand, hydrilla leaves are narrow and straight. no tuber formation occurs in egeria, but potato-like tubers found in hydrilla which remains attached to the roots in the mud. double nodes present in egeria, which produce lateral buds, branches, and adventitious roots. double nodes typically spaced along stems at 612 node intervals in egeria (cook and urmi-könig, 1984). only fragments with a double node develop into new plant. in hydrilla double node is absent. all these differences are shown in fig. 2. acknowledgement the authors are indebted to mr. md. amjad hossain, district commandant, ansar and vdp, bandarban for providing necessary support to reach the lake bogakain. references carrillo, y., guarìn, a. and guillot, g. 2006. biomass distribution, growth and decay of egeria densa in a tropical high-mountain reservoir (neusa, colombia). aquatic botany 85: 7-15. coffey, b.t. and clayton, j.s. 1986. submerged macrophytes of lake pupuke, takapuna, new zealand. new zealand j. marine and freshwater research 21: 193-198. cook, c.d.k. and urmi-könig, k. 1984. a revision of the genus egeria densa (hydrocharitaceae). aquatic botany 19: 73-96. egeria densa planchón (hydrocharitaceae) 213 datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1-110. dutartre, a., haury, j. and jigorel, a. 1999. succession of egeria densa in a drinking water reservoir in morbihan (france). hydrobiologia 415: 243-247. hamabata, e. and kobayashi, y. 2002. present status of submerged macrophyte growth in lake biwa: recent recovery following a summer decline in the water level. lakes & reservoirs: research and management 7: 331-338. haramoto, t. and ikusima, i. 1988. life cycle of egeria densa planch., an aquatic plant naturalized in japan. aquatic botany 30: 389-403. haynes, r.r. 2000. hydrocharitaceae jussieu, tape-grass or frogbit family. in: barkworth, m.e., capels, k.m. and long, s. (eds.). flora of north america, vol. 22. oxford university press. pp. 26-30. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. 84 pp. hooker, j.d. 1888. flora of british india, vol.5. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. pp 463-686. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1987. aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. 120 pp. khondker, m., alfasane, m.a., islam, m.s., bhuiyan, m.a.h. and gani, a. 2010. limnology of lake bogakain, bandarban district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 39(2): in press. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s flora of british india and prain’s bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 33. morgan, v.h. 2010. egeria densa. usgs nonindigenous aquatic species database, gainesville, fl. http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?speciesid=1107 revisiondate: 3/3/2009 prain, d. 1903. 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(manuscript received on10 april, 2010; revised on 8 november, 2010) microsoft word 04. sumona.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 115-128, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists systematic studies in the family liliaceae from bangladesh sumona afroz1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: liliaceae, systematic studies, bangladesh abstract the family liliaceae a.l. de jussieu has been revised for bangladesh and a total of 34 species with one variant under 16 genera have been recorded. artificial dichotomous keys to the genera and species have been given. descriptions have been provided for each taxon, and local names, flowering and fruiting periods have been added wherever available. out of 34 species, 16 species are native/naturalized and 18 species, including 1 variant, are exotic. four genera, ten species and one variant have been documented for the first time in bangladesh. introduction liliaceae a.l. de jussieu, the lily family, is a moderately large family consisting of about 280 genera and nearly 4000 species, widespread throughout the world, but most abundant and varied in fairly dry, temperate to subtropical regions. the family is characterized by the following diagnostic characters: i) perennial or annual herbs, rarely shrubs, with starchy rhizome, bulb or corm; ii) leaves simple, alternate or less often opposite or whorled, often all basal; iii) flowers in a raceme, spike, panicle or involucrate cymose umbel, sometimes solitary or paired in the axils of the leaves; iv) tepals 6-8, usually in 2 similar petaloid cycles, stamens usually as many as the tepals; v) carpels 3 (rarely 2 or 4), united, ovary superior or inferior with axile or basal placentation; vi) fruit a loculicidal or septicidal capsule, less often a berry, seeds often flat (cronquist 1981). many taxonomists, viz. bentham and hooker (1862-1883), engler and prantl (18871915), bessey (1915), rendle (1925), and hutchinson (1934) described amaryllidaceae (ovary inferior) and liliaceae (ovary superior) separately under the same order or under separate orders mainly on the basis of ovary position, but other characters are more or less the same. so it is more logical to keep both the families under a single larger family as done by cronquist (1981) and takhtajan (1980). the same treatment is followed here. species of this family are much important for economic uses. most of the species are poisonous for cattle, but there are many species in this family which are commercially useful for their medicinal value. 1corresponding author. e-mail: binidu@yahoo.com 116 afroz and hassan a general account of liliaceae (including amaryllidaceae) occurring in indian subcontinent was given by hooker (1892) and for the then bengal by prain (1903). in the present context, these accounts are not up to date regarding the number of taxa as well as nomenclature. after hooker and prain's publications many floras on the smaller areas of present bangladesh have been published where the authors included liliaceae and amaryllidaceae either separately or jointly under liliaceae, viz. heinig (1925), cowan (1926), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1955), mia and khan (1995), uddin et al. (1998), rahman (2004), and uddin and hassan (2004). however, there has been no revisionary work on liliaceae for bangladesh. materials and methods the present work is mainly based on the fresh materials collected by the first author. the work is also supplemented by the herbarium specimens housed at the dhaka university herbarium (duh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the germplasm of most of the taxa have been collected and planted in the experimental plots of the dhaka university botanical garden for further studies. the collected specimens were identified consulting standard literature like hooker (1892), jackson (1895), prain (1903), dassanayake and clayton (1981), and deb (1983), and comparing with herbarium specimens available both in the duh and dacb. the present work is intended to record all the species growing all over bangladesh in the wild and also cultivated in the garden and in the field and to make a revision of the family for the country. short descriptions, important synonyms, precise localities and local names of each species are given wherever available along with the correct botanical names. flowering and fruiting periods (fl. & fr.) are also noted. the genera and species are arranged alphabetically. results and discussion the systematic studies in the family liliaceae from bangladesh resulted in the confirmation of 34 species and a variant under 16 genera, whereas hooker (1892) reported only 17 species under 10 genera and prain (1903) mentioned 14 species under 11 genera in greater liliaceae for the present bangladesh area. for easy identification, dichotomous keys to the genera and also to the species have been constructed on the basis of easily recognizable characters. four genera (haemanthus, hippeastrum, proiphys and eucharis), eleven species (asparagus densiflorus, a. officinalis, a. setaceus, crinum jagus, eucharis grandiflora, haemanthus multiflorus, hippeastrum × johnsonii, proiphys amboinensis, zephyranthes atamasco, z. candida, and z. grandiflora), and one variant of crinum asiaticum, most of which are planted in gardens, have been documented for the first time in bangladesh. systematic studies in the family liliaceae from bangladesh 117 key to genera 1. inflorescence surrounded by involucral bracts or spathes 2 inflorescence not surrounded by involucral bracts 9 2. scape 1-flowered zephyranthes scape more than 1-flowered 3 3. leaves radical, scapose allium leaves not scapose, usually strap shaped 4 4. scape hollow, arising with or just after the leaves hippeastrum scape solid 5 5. flowers without staminal corona 6 flowers with staminal corona 7 6. leaves usually evergreen crinum leaves appearing along with or after the appearance of scape haemanthus 7. leaves without petiole; corona soft pancratium leaves with petiole; corona hard and waxy 8 8. corona 6-partite; scape more than 10-flowered proiphys corona united; scape up to 10-flowered eucharis 9. leaves reduced to minute scales, often spinescent, bearing in their axils tufts of leaf-like cladodes asparagus leaves simple 10 10. inflorescence branched hemerocallis inflorescence unbranched 11 11. fruit indehiscent 12 fruit dehiscent 13 12. perianth tube produced above the ovary; stamens perigynous curculigo perianth tube not produced above the ovary; stamens epigynous molineria 13. aerial annual stem climbing, leafy; leaves with tendril-like tips gloriosa aerial annual stem or scape erect, leafless 14 14. inflorescence 1 or 2-flowered hypoxis inflorescence many-flowered 15 15. perianth campanulate; seeds many urginea perianth not campanulate; seed usually 1 asphodelus 118 afroz and hassan systematic enumeration of taxa allium [tourn.] linn., syst. ed. 1 (1735). key to species 1. leaves fistular a. cepa leaves flat 2 2. bulb long, cylindric, simple; heads bearing flowers only a. tuberosum bulb short, compound; heads bearing both flowers and bulbils a. sativum 1. allium cepa l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 300 (1753). local name: peyaj. an annual herb. leaves fistular, heads dense. flowers white with mid-green line in tepals. fruit a capsule. seeds compressed, black. fl. & fr.: february-june. cultivated. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 23.4.1940, atul (duh); 11.1.2007, sumona 6 (duh); 19.3.2007, sumona 9 (duh). 2. allium sativum l., sp. pl. 1: 296 (1753). local name: rashun. an erect, annual herb. leaves flat, heads bearing both flowers and bulbils. flowers greenish-white. fruits seedless. fl. & fr.: february-april. cultivated. specimen examined: munsigonj: shirajdikhan, 23.3.2008, sumona 48 (duh). 3. allium tuberosum rottler ex spreng., syst. 2: 38 (1825). a. uliginosum g. don, mem. wern. soc. 6: 60 (1827). local name: banga gandina. an erect, annual herb. leaves flat, heads bearing only flowers. flowers white or pink. fruits obcordate. fl. & fr.: june-august. cultivated. specimen examined: maulvi bazar: srimangal (khasia palli), 25.8.1998, m. yusuf 1062 (bcsir lab.). asparagus tourn. ex linn., syst. ed. 1 (1735). key to species 1. branchlets and cladodes arranged like a fern frond 2 branchlets and cladodes not arranged like a fern frond 3 2. inflorescence 5-9 flowered; cladodes 2-9 per node a. densiflorus inflorescence 1-4 flowered; cladodes 10-15 per node a. setaceus 3. stem not terete, rather triquetrous a. acerosus stem terete 4 4. flowers pendulous, solitary or in pairs in the leaf axils a. officinalis flowers not pendulous, more than 2 flowers cluster in the leaf axils 5 systematic studies in the family liliaceae from bangladesh 119 5. spines straight a. adscendens spines reflexed a. racemosus 4. asparagus acerosus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 150 (1832). asparagopsis acerosa kunth, enum. pl. 5: 102 (1850). local name: shatamuli. a perennial, sub-scandent undershrub. stem triquetrous. flowers white. fruit a berry, 1-seeded. fl. & fr.: november-march. native/naturalized. specimens examined: tangail: madhupur, 29.6.1969, alo rani 306 (duh); madhupur, 29.6.1969, asiya 118 (duh); madhupur, 29.6.1969, panna 115 (duh); madhupur, 22.12.1982, mia 892 (dacb); madhupur, 28.2.1987, huq et al. 8215 (dacb). 5. asparagus adscendens roxb., fl. ind. 2: 153 (1832). asparagopsis adscendens kunth, enum. pl. 5: 102 (1850). local name: shatamuli. a dioecious, evergreen shrub with white tuberous roots. stem terete, spines straight. fruit a berry, 1-seeded. native/naturalized. specimen examined: gazipur: sal forest, 10.12.1944, badal singh (duh). 6. asparagus densiflorus (kunth) j.p. jessop, bothalia 9: 51 (1966). asparagopsis densiflora kunth, enum. pl. 5: 96 (1850); asparagus sprengeri regel, act. hort. petrop. 11: 302 (1890); protasparagus densiflorus (kunth) a.a. oberm., fl. south afr. 5(3): 49 (1992). an evergreen, perennial herb with more or less tuberous roots. flowers greenishwhite with orange anthers. fruit a bright-red berry, 3-seeded. fl. & fr.: february-april. cultivated. specimens examined: dhaka: baldha garden, 23.3.2007, sumona 11 (duh); baldha garden 26.4.2007, sumona 23 (duh). 7. asparagus officinalis l., sp. pl.: 313 (1753). a dioecious, erect, perennial herb with a robust tuberous rhizome. flowers white or pink. fruit a globose berry, red, 1-6-seeded. fl. & fr.: march-july. cultivated. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 15.5.2008, sumona 49 (duh). 8. asparagus racemosus willd., sp. pl. 2: 152 (1799). local names: satmuli, shatamuli, hilungbupang (tippara). 120 afroz and hassan a perennial, slender, scandent or twinning shrub. stem terete, spines reflexed. flowers white with purplish anthers and sweet scented. fruit a globose berry, turn red when ripe, 1-seeded. fl. & fr.: november-march. native/naturalized. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 5.2.1983, m.a. hassan 501 (duh); dhaka university campus (science library), 4.2.2006, sumona 1 (duh); dhaka university campus (ekushey hall), 2.12.2006, sumona 4 (duh); dhaka university botanical garden, 21.5.2007, sumona 34 (duh). 9. asparagus setaceus (kunth) j.p. jessop, bothalia 9: 51 (1966). asparagopsis setacea kunth, enum. pl. 5: 82 (1850); asparagus plumosus baker, j. linn. soc. 14: 613 (1875). local name: fern asparagus. a woody vine, branchlets and cladodes arranged like a fern frond. flowers white, fragrant. fruit a berry, purplish-black, 1-3-seeded. fl. & fr.: february-june. cultivated. specimens examined: dhaka: nazimuddin road, 20.1.1956, shajahan (duh); baldha garden, 17.2.1988, rezia et al. 249 (dacb). asphodelus [tourn.] linn., syst. ed. 1 (1735). 10. asphodelus tenuifolius cavan, anal. cienc. nat. 3: 46, t. 27 (1801). a. fistulosus l., sp. pl.: 309 (1753); a. parviflorus wight, ic. t. 2062 (1853). an annual herb. flowers white with a brownish costa. fruit a globose capsule. seeds trigonal with 3-4 dorsal ridges. fl. & fr.: may-july. native/naturalized. specimens examined: chuadanga: chuadanga, 2.1.1976, huq, rahman and mia 1758 (dacb). kushtia: 24.4.1957, m.q. kabir 52 (duh). narayanganj: postogola, 21.5.1970, m.a. rahman 133 (duh). rajshahi: biraldah, 5.2.1973, huq 778 (dacb). crinum l., gen. pl. ed. 1: 97 (1737); sp. pl.: 291 (1753). key to species 1. perianth tube straight, erect 2 perianth tube curved, declinate 3 2. umbels more than 15-flowered 4 umbels up to 15-flowered 5 3. leaf margin scabrous; perianth vertically reddish on the back c. latifolium leaf margin smooth; perianth white c. jagus 4. scape and perianth tube green c. asiaticum scape and perianth tube purplish c. asiaticum, a variant 5. bulbs with a fusiform, stoloniferous base; perianth lobes linear c. defixum bulbs not stoloniferous; perianth lobes lanceolate 6 systematic studies in the family liliaceae from bangladesh 121 6. leaves acuminate, scabrous; perianth lobes shorter than the tube c. amoenum leaves obtuse or sub-acute; perianth lobes longer than the tube c. pratense 11. crinum amoenum roxb., fl. ind. 2: 127 (1832). local name: gang kachu. a bulbous perennial herb. leaf margin scabrous. flowers white, filament purple in upper half portion. fruit a capsule. fl. & fr.: may-august. native/naturalized. specimens examined: dhaka: uttara (sector-5), 24.5.2007, sumona 36 (duh); baldha garden, 26.5.2007, sumona 38 (duh). 12. crinum asiaticum l., sp. pl.: 292 (1753). crinum toxicarium roxb., fl. ind. 2: 134 (1832). local names: bara kanur, gaerhonar pata, kachori, nagdal, sukhdarshan. a perennial herb. flowers white. fruit a capsule, green. seeds round, concave. fl. & fr.: march-november. treated here as crinum asiaticum l., proper. chromosome no.: 2n = 22 (lubna et al. 2004). native/naturalized. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 1.7.1968, mozahar 155 (duh); uttara (sector-3), 12.7.2007, sumona 43 (duh); dhaka university botanical garden, 8.8.2007, sumona 41 (duh). jhalakathi: chankati, 3.3.1987, huq and mia 6667 (dacb). 13. crinum asiaticum l., a variant. local name: sukhdarshan. a perennial herb. flowers purplish. fruit and seed were not found. fl. & fr.: almost throughout the year. chromosome no.: 2n = 33 (lubna et al. 2004). cultivated. it is perhaps a triploid plant. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 15.11.2006, sumona 3 (duh). 14. crinum defixum ker-gawl., quart. journ. sci. 3: 105 (1817). c. asiaticum roxb., hort. beng. 23 (1814). local name: sukhdarshan. a very stout, bulbous herb. flowers white, perianth tube straight, erect. fruit an ellipsoid capsule, 1-2-seeded. fl. & fr.: may-august. native/naturalized. 15. crinum jagus (thomps.) dandy, journ. bot. lond. 77: 64 (1939). amaryllis jagus thomps., bot. displ. t. 6 (1798); c. giganteum andr., bot. rep. t. 169 (1810). local name: sukhdarshan. 122 afroz and hassan a bulbous, perennial herb. flowers white, fragrant, perianth tube curved. fruit a subglobose capsule. fl. & fr.: april-july. cultivated. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university campus (science library), 3.5.2007, sumona 25 (duh); dhaka university (charukala campus), 26.5.2007, somona 39 (duh). 16. crinum latifolium l., sp. pl.: 291 (1753). c. zeylanicum l., syst. ed. 12 (1767); c. moluccanum roxb., fl. ind. 2: 140 (1832); c. ornatum herb., amaryll.: 262 (1837). local name: sukhdarshan. a bulbous, perennial herb. flowers white, more or less streaked or tinged with red towards the centre, sometimes red-purple, nearly all over dorsal surface. fruit a subglobose capsule, pinkish-maroon. fl. & fr.: may-september. native/naturalized. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 28.4.2007, somona 24 (duh); dhaka university campus (science library), 19.9.2007, sumona 44 (duh). 17. crinum pratense herb., amaryll.: 256 (1837). c. longifolium roxb., fl. ind. 2: 130 (1832). local names: bon peyaj, sukhdarshan. a bulbous, perennial herb. flowers white, perianth lobes longer than the tube. fruit a capsule. fl. & fr.: may-august. native/naturalized. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 1.6.2000, zashim uddin 835 (dacb). curculigo gaertn., fruct. 1: 63, t. 16 (1788). key to species 1. slender herbs; leaves small, linear; flowers in distichous spikes on scapes, hidden by the leaf-sheaths c. orchioides large stout herbs; leaves large, lanceolate, plicate; flowers on scapes projecting beyond the leaf-sheaths c. latifolia 18. curculigo latifolia [dryand.] ait., hort. kew. ed. 2, 2: 253 (1811). c. sumatrana roxb., fl. ind. 2: 146 (1832); molineria latifolia (dryand.) herb. ex kurz, tijds. ned. ind. 27: 232 (1864). a large, stout herb. flowers on scape projecting beyond the leaf-sheaths, unisexual (male) and bisexual, yellow. fl. & fr.: may-october. native/naturalized. specimen examined: sylhet: rema-kalenga range, 24.5.1999, zashim uddin 719 (dacb). systematic studies in the family liliaceae from bangladesh 123 19. curculigo orchioides gaertn., fruct. 1: 63, t. 16 (1788). c. brevifolia [dryand.] ait., hort. kew. ed. 2, 2: 253 (1811). local name: talmuli. a slender herb. flowers distichous, hidden by the leaf-sheaths, the lowest bisexual, all the rest male, yellow. fruit a capsule, 1-4-seeded. seeds black. fl. & fr.: juneaugust. native/naturalized. specimens examined: bandarban: kechua, 22.8.1987, khan, huq and mia 7788 (dacb); chittagong: sitakund, 24.6.1979, mia and rahman 158 (dacb); 3.10.1940, s.k. sen (duh); cox's bazar: goalmara beat, 4.8.1990, khan, huq and alam 8426 (dacb); dinajpur: singra (sal forest), 25.8.1998, mia et al. 4242 (dacb); sylhet: astagram, 21.4.1985, huq and mia 7032 (dacb). eucharis planch. and linden, cat. no. 8: 3 (1853) et in fl. des serres, ser. 1, 8: 107 (1852-1853). 20. eucharis grandiflora planch. and linden, fl. des serr. ser. 1, 9: 255 (1853-1854). a bulbous, perennial herb. leaves lanceolate. flowers white with staminal corona, waxy. fl. & fr.: may-july. cultivated. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university campus (science library), 6.6.2007, sumona 40 (duh). gloriosa l., syst. ed. 1 (1735); sp. pl.: 305 (1753). 21. gloriosa superba l., sp. pl.: 305 (1753). g. simplex d. don, prod. fl. nep. 51 (1825). local names: agnishikha, bilambuli, bishlanguli, kalihari, ulatchandal. a climbing herb. flowers axillary, greenish at first, then turning yellow, and in sequence to orange, scarlet and finally crimson. fruit a capsule. seeds sub-globose, orange. fl. & fr.: july-november. native/naturalized. specimens examined: dhaka: baldha garden, 16.8.1966, zeyauddin 223 (duh); govt. nursery, 11.10.1970, m.a. rahman 268 (duh); dhaka university botanical garden, 25.9.2007, somona 47 (duh). dinajpur: biral (mayer pukur), 28.8.1998, mia et al. 4392 (dacb). gazipur: zoydebpur, 28.6.1969, subhash chandra ghosh 88 (duh). haemanthus [tourn.] l., syst. ed. 1 (1735). 22. haemanthus multiflorus martyn ex willd., sp. pl. 2: 25 (1799). scadoxus multiflorus rafin., fl. tell. 5: 19 (1836). local names: agni golock, ball phul, may flower. 124 afroz and hassan a bulbous, perennial herb. flowers reddish-pink. fruit a berry, globose, red when ripe. fl. & fr.: may-june (flowers usually in may). cultivated. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 28.5.1968, mozahar 131 (duh); dhaka university botanical garden, 5.5.2007, sumona 27 (duh). hemerocallis l., syst. ed. 1 (1735); sp. pl.: 324 (1753). 23. hemerocallis fulva l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 462 (1764). h. disticha donn, hort. contab. ed. 6: 93 (1811); h. longituba miq., ann. mas. bot. lugd. bat. 3: 152 (1867). local name: komola lily. a showy herb. flowers orange. fruit a loculicidal capsule. seeds black, shining. fl. & fr.: june-july. cultivated. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 28.5.1968, mozahar 133 (duh); dhaka university botanical garden, 30.6.1970, huq 81 (dacb); dhaka university botanical garden, 12.5.2007, sumona 33 (duh). hippeastrum herb., app. bot. reg.: 31 (1821). 24. hippeastrum × johnsonii, a hybrid between h. reginae herb. and h. vittatum herb., herbartia 15: 31-35 (1959). local name: lal lily. a herb with subterranean bulb. flowers showy, funnel-shaped, more or less declinate, perianth red with white stripe towards the centre. fl. & fr.: march-may. cultivated. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university campus (science library), 24.3.2007, sumona 14 (duh). hypoxis l., syst. ed. 10: 986 (1759). 25. hypoxis aurea lour., fl. cochinch.: 200 (1790). h. minor d. don, prod. fl. nep. 53 (1825); curculigo graminifolia nimmo, j. grah. cat. pl. bomb. 215 (1839); hypoxis franquevillii miq., fl. ind. bat. 3: 586 (1858). a small, perennial herb. inflorescence 1 or 2-flowered. flowers yellow. fruit a capsule. seeds sub-globose, black, tuberculate. fl. & fr.: may-august. cultivated. molineria colla, hort. repub. app. 2: 333, t. 18 (1826). 26. molineria recurvata (dryand.) herb., amaryll.: 84 (1834). leucojum capitulatum lour., fl. cochin. 199 (1790); curculigo recurvata [dryand.] ait., hort. kew. ed. 2, 2: 253 (1811); c. capitulata (lour.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. 703 (1891). systematic studies in the family liliaceae from bangladesh 125 local name: satipata. a stout herb. flowers yellow. ovary hardly produced upwards into a long beak or stipe. fruit a berry, more than 20-seeded. seeds black. fl. & fr.: june-september. native/naturalized. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 5.9.2006, sumona 2 (duh). cox's bazar: teknaf, 25.3.1973, m.m. islam 792 (duh); teknaf, 16.6.1991, khan et al. 8475 (dacb). mymensingh: haluaghat, 23.5.1989, mia 2034 (dacb). rangamati: kaptai, 24.4.1997, khan et al. 9835 (dacb). sylhet: lawachhera, 15.8.1976, khan et al. 4227 (dacb). pancratium dill. ex linn., syst. ed. 1 (1735). key to species 1. staminal cup not bi-fid between the filaments p. biflorum staminal cup bi-fid between the filaments 2 2. scape equal or longer than the leaves p. verecundum scape shorter than the leaves p. triflorum 27. pancratium biflorum roxb., fl. ind. 2: 125 (1832). pancratium longiflorum buch.ham. ex roxb., fl. ind. 2: 125 (1832). a perennial, bulbous herb. flowers white with funnel-shaped, erose staminal corona. fruit a capsule, 3-angled. fl. & fr.: may-september. cultivated. specimen examined: dhaka: baldha garden, 23.3.2007, sumona 12 (duh). 28. pancratium triflorum roxb., fl. ind. 2: 126 (1832). p. malabathricum herb., amaryll.: 202, 206 (1837); crinum pauciflorum miq. ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 285 (1892). a perennial herb. flowers white with broadly 2-toothed staminal corona between the filaments. fl. & fr.: april-may. native/naturalized. specimen examined: khagrachari: khagrachari, 6.4.2004, m. yusuf 1602 (bcsir lab.). 29. pancratium verecundum ait., hort. kew. 1: 412 (1810). local names: bakphul, gor rashun. a perennial, bulbous herb. flowers spider-like, with 2-toothed staminal corona between the filaments. fruit a sub-globose capsule. seeds angled. fl. & fr.: march-july. native/naturalized. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 5.2.2007, sumona 7 (duh). 126 afroz and hassan proiphys herb., app. [bot. reg.] 42 (1821). 30. proiphys amboinensis (l.) herb., app. [bot. reg. 7] 42 (1821). pancratium amboinensis l., sp. pl.: 291 (1753); eurycles sylvestris salisb., trans. hort. soc. 1: 337 (1812); e. amboinensis (l.) lindl. in loud., enc. pl. 242 (1829). a herb with tunicated bulb. leaves cordate-reniform. flowers white, waxy. staminal corona 6-partite. fruit a globose berry. fl. & fr.: april-august. cultivated. specimens examined: dhaka: govt. nursery, 26.4.1946, sukhdeo (duh); dhaka university botanical garden, 25.5.1968, mozahar 129 (duh); dhaka university botanical garden, 5.5.2007, sumona 28 (duh). urginea steinh., ann. sc. nat. ser. 2, t. 14, 1: 322 (1834). 31. urginea indica (roxb.) kunth, enum. pl. 4: 333 (1843). scilla indica roxb., fl. ind. 2: 147 (1832); s. coromandeliana roxb., fl. ind. 2: 147 (1832); urginea coromandeliana (roxb.) hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 347 (1892); u. senegalensis kunth, enum. pl. 4: 334 (1843). local names: bon peyaj, jongli peyaj, kanda, shamudra peyaj. a perennial, bulbous herb. flowers campanulate, greenish-white. fruit a capsule, brownish-yellow. seeds black, compressed. fl. & fr.: february-may. native/naturalized. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 6.4.2007, sumona 20 (duh). zephyranthes herb., app. [bot. reg.] 36 (1821). key to species 1. leaves terete; spathe covering the ovary z. candida leaves flat; spathe not covering the ovary 2 2. spathe bi-fid 3 spathe not bi-fid z. tubispatha 3. perianth segments 6 or up to 8, pink colour z. grandiflora perianth segments 6, white but turn pink at maturity z. atamasco 32. zephyranthes atamasco (linn.) herb., app. bot. reg.: 36 (1821). amaryllis atamasco blanco, fl. filip. 254 (1837). local name: sada ghash-phul. a perennial, bulbous herb. flowers white but turn pink as it ages. fruit a capsule. fl. & fr.: april-may. cultivated. systematic studies in the family liliaceae from bangladesh 127 specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 11.4.2007, sumona 21 (duh). 33. zephyranthes candida (lindl.) herb., bot. mag. 53: t. 2607 (1826). amaryllis candida lindl., bot. reg. (1825). local name: sada ghash-phul. a perennial, clump-forming, bulbous herb. flowers white, spathe covering the ovary. fruit a sub-globose capsule, yellowish-green. seeds angular, flattened, testa black. fl. & fr.: august-november. cultivated. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university campus (science library), 20.9.2007, sumona 46 (duh). 34. zephyranthes grandiflora lindl., bot. reg.: t. 902 (1825). z. carinata herb., bot. mag. t. 2594 (1825); z. rosea lindl., bot. reg. t. 821 (1825). local name: golapi ghash-phul. a bulbous, clump-forming, perennial herb. flowers pink, spathe bi-fid. fruit a capsule, deep green. seeds angular, flattened, testa black. fl. & fr.: june-october. blooming soon after a heavy rainfall. cultivated. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 19.9.2007, sumona 45 (duh). 35. zephyranthes tubispatha (l’her.) herb. ex traub, taxon 7: 110 (1958). amaryllis tubispatha l’her., sert. angl. 9 (1789); z. nervosa herb., amaryll.: 172 (1837). local name: holde ghash-phul. a small, perennial herb. flowers yellow. fruit a capsule, yellowish-green. seeds angular, flattened, testa black. fl. & fr.: june-september. native/naturalized. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 10.4.1968, mozahar 101 (duh); dhaka university botanical garden, 26.5.2007, sumona 37 (duh). acknowledgements the authors are thankful to dr. alan merrow, research geneticist and systematist, national germplasm repository, florida, the usa for identifying some critical materials. the authors are also grateful to dr. mahbuba khanam, director, bangladesh national herbarium for extending library facilities and jahir uddin ahmed, director, national botanical garden for his kind permission to observe and collect live specimens from baldha garden and national botanical garden. our gratitude are also due to dr. mohammad yusuf, bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research laboratory, chittagong for supplying some specimens. 128 afroz and hassan references bentham, g. and hooker, j.d. 1862-1883. genera plantarum, london. bessey, c.e. 1915. the phylogenetic taxonomy of flowering plants. ann. miss. bot. gard. 2: 109-164. engler, a. and prantl, k. 1887-1915. die nat. pflanz. ed. 2. leipig. cowan, j.m. 1926. the flora of chakaria sundarbans. rec. bot. surv. ind. 11: 197-225. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, pp. 1-1262. dassanayake, m.d. and clayton, w.d. 1981. a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon. oxford and ibh co. ltd., calcutta, 14: 25-26. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bul. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 103105. deb, d.b. 1983. the flora of tripura state, vol. 2. today and tomorrow's printers and publishers, new delhi, india, pp. 1-602. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india, pp. 71-72. hooker, j.d. 1892. the flora of british india. 23-a, connaught place, dehra dun, india 6: 227-362. hutchinson, j. 1934. the families of flowering plants, vol. 2. london, pp. 1-243. jackson, b.d. 1895 (rep. 1946). index kewensis (an enumeration of the genera and species of flowering plants). vols 1-2. clardon press, oxford. lubna, a., begum, r., noor, s.s., zaman, m.a. and alam, s.s. 2004. reversible flurescent chromosome banding in three crinum spp. (amaryllidaceae). cytologia 69(1): 69-74. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants'. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol. 2. indian reprint 1981. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 663-1319. rahman, m.o. 2004. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants': series-іі. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rendle, a.b. 1925 (rep. 1973). the classification of flowering plants, vol. 1. vikas publishing house, india, pp. 1-413. sinclair, j. 1955. the flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. bengal 9(2): 84-116. takhtajan, a. 1980. outline of the classification of flowering plants (magnoliophyta). bot. rev. 46: 225-359. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. iucn, bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1-122. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 2 april 2008; revised on 14 june 2008) notes on two green plankton found in bangladesh bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 97-99, 2005 (december) short communication notes on two green plankton found in bangladesh a.k.m. nurul islam and md. almujaddade alfasane department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: green planktonic algae, chlorococcales, bangladesh the paper deals with two green plankton algae belonging to chlorococcales, recently collected in bangladesh. one of them was reported as treubaria umbrina (smith) fott and kov. by islam and alfasane (2001), and the other one, not yet recorded for bangladesh, looks somewhat like a member of echinosphaerella smith. the systematic position and nomenclature of the former taxon has become somewhat controversial and the latter is yet to be identified. these are now discussed below. 1. pachycladella umbrina (smith) silva (basionym: pachycladon umbrinus smith, g.m. 1924; synonym: treubaria umbrina (smith) fott and kovacik 1975). (figs. 1-4) silva (1970) changed the generic name pachycladon as this name was preoccupied and renamed it as pachycladella. fott and kovacik (1975) considered p. umbrinus under the genus treubaria bern., whereas reymond et al. (1992) agreed to keep it under pachycladella. earlier, we have identified our material as treubaria umbrina, which we think was not justified and now it needs correction. smith (1950) while describing pachycladon states that “this genus has considerable resemblance to treubaria, it differs in shape of the cell, in nature of appendages and in the chloroplast”. the cells are spherical without a gelatinous envelop, the wall bears four stout appendages that are usually quadrately arranged, rarely pyramidate. the appendages are dark brown in colour and tapered from a broad base to blunt or bifurcate apex. accordingly, there should not be any controversy regarding the differences between these two genera and thus, now we prefer to reidentify this taxon as pachycladella umbrina (smith) silva. the material of this taxon was collected from a large pond near baroauliar mazar in barisal district on 31 july 2000; water ph 6.8 and temperature 29°c. 2. echinosphaerella-like species (figs. 5-9) cells spherical, solitary, planktonic, without any gelatinous sheath; cell wall thin, incompletely covered by stout hyaline spines with broad base, and sharply acute apex; chloroplast and pyrenoid not clearly seen; cell diam. 27-30 µm; spines 12-21 µm long; base of spines 3-8 µm broad. the material was collected from the sewage pond at pagla, narayanganj on 15 july 2004; water ph 7.75 and temperature 31.5°c. the cell structure apparently looks like the zygospores of some desmids, or some volvocalean algae, but in the collection not a single cell of these groups of green algae 98 islam and alfasane could be found and thus we may consider these cells as the vegetative stage of any taxon. until further studies we provisionally place it under the genus echinosphaerella. hindak and m.-gouni (1990) while describing treubaria triappendiculata mentioned that besides 3-4 spined cells of this taxon, there are few multispined (7-16 spines or upto 50 spines) echinosphaerella – like cells, were also present in the same collection, and they plate 1 (figs. 1-9) figs. 1-4. pachycladella umbrina (smith) silva. 5-6. echinosphaerella like cells (photomicrophs). 7-9. echinosphaerella – like cells (camera lucida drawings). (scale = 30 µm). considered these latter cells also as t. triappendiculata. in the latter cells the many spines, however, did not cover the cells completely. recently we have found several planktonic unicellular structures with several spines on the cell wall. the spines are more notes on two green plankton 99 or less similar to some of the cells as shown by hindak and m.-gouni (fig. 2, no. 1 (3rd one). the base of the spines in our cells is broad and the apex is sharply pointed. most of the spines in our cells are not too long. in general our cells are more or less similar to the cells as shown by hindak and m.-gouni but we think that our cells are close to echinosphaerella rather than to treubaria. references fott, b. and kovacik, l. 1975. über die gattung treubaria (chlorococcales, chlorophyceae). preslia 47: 305-316. hindak, p. and m.-gouni, m.t. 1990. planktic coccal and trichal green algae of lake volir, greece. folia geobot. phyto-taxonomica. 25(2): 159-195. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2001. new records of some freshwater planktonic algae for bangladesh: species of treubaria, goniochloris, tetraedriella and tetraplektron. bangladesh j. bot. 30(2): 131-134. reymond, o.l., yamagishi, t. and druart, j.-c. 1992. morphological and taxonomical assessment of former and present records of pachycladella umbrina and p. zatoriensis (green alga, chlorococcales). cryptogamie, algol. 13(2): 93-107. smith, g.m. 1924. ecology of the plankton algae in palisades interstate park, including the relation of control methods to fish culture. roosvelt wild life bulletin. 2: 95-195. smith, g.m. 1950. the fresh-water algae of the united states. 2nd edn., mcgraw-hill, new york. pp. 719. department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangl microsoft word 05. elatostema_galley proof_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 149-152, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new taxa of elatostema (urticaceae) from thailand and india hai yan bi1, zhi rong yang and qi lin* state key laboratory of systematic and evolutionary botany, institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, beijing 100093, p. r. china keywords: elatostema; e. intanondense; e. ranongense var. glabroum; urticaceae. abstract in this study, one new species and one new variety are described and illustrated. elatostema intanondense q. lin (urticaceae), collected from doi intanond of chiang mai in thailand, is morphologically similar to e. subincisum weddell, but differs by having obscure stipules (vs. conspicuous, linear-lanceolate, 5-6 mm long in e. subincisum), and elliptic to lanceolate nanophylls, 3-7 × 1.5-3.0 mm (vs. absent in e. subincisum). elatostema ranongense yahara var. glabroum q. lin, a new variety collected from khasi hills in mawhplong of meghalaya, india. this new variety has glabrous stems and glabrous leaves that differs from var. ranongense that having densely hirtellous stems, densely strigillose leaf blade on abaxial surface along veins. introduction the genus elatostema j. r. forster & g. forster (urticaceae) contains approximately 300 species primarily distributed in tropical and subtropical africa, asia, and oceania (lin et al., 2003). elatostema is distinguished from the other genera of urticaceae by having capitula inflorescences with receptacles and involucres. during examination of asian specimens of elatostema, a new species and a new variety, elatostema intanondense q. lin and elatostema ranongense yahara var. khasiense q. lin, were found from thailand and india, respectively. 1. elatostema intanondense q. lin sp. nov. (fig. 1) diagnosis: habitu elatostemati subinciso weddell valde simile, quod stipulis minimis vel obscuris, foliis abortivis ellipticis vel lanceolatis, 3-7 mm longis, 1.5-3.0 mm latis differt (non stipulis linearilanceolatis, 5-6 mm longis, foliis abortivis absentibus). type: thailand: chiang mai: doi intanond, 1400-1700 m, 18o30΄ n, 98o30΄ e, 9 nov. 1974, k. larsen & s. s. larsen 34423 (holotype l; isotype l). perennial herbs, monoecious, c. 20 cm tall, glabrous. stems erect, branched. leaves alternate; stipules obscure; petiole 0-1 mm long; leaf blade membranaceous or papery, obliquely oblonglanceolate, 2.0-4.5 × 1.0-1.5 cm, semitriplinerved, base obliquely cuneate, margin deeply subpinnatifidly crenate or serrate, apex caudate to acuminate. cystoliths conspicuous, sparse, random; nanophylls elliptic to lanceolate, 3-7 mm long, 1.5-3.0 mm wide. flowers monoecious, *corresponding author. e-mail: linqi@ibcas.ac.cn. 1graduate university of chinese academy of sciences, beijing 100049, p. r. china. 150 bi et al. capitate. male inflorescences axillary, solitary, 3-7 mm in diam.; peduncle sessile; receptacle 2-5 mm in diam.; bracts ovate; bracteoles lanceolate to linear; male flowers 4-merous. female inflorescences axillary, solitary, 5-8 mm in diam.; peduncle sessile; receptacle 3.5-6.5 mm in diam.; bracts broadly ovate; bracteoles spathulate-linear; female 4-merous. achenes ellipsoidal, c. 6-ribbed. fig. 1 elatostema intanondense q. lin sp. nov. (from k. larsen & s. s. larsen 34423=l herb. bar code no. 0412346, holotype, l): a. habit; b. female inflorescence (ventral view); c. achene. new taxa of elatostema from thailand and india 151 phenology: flowering september; fruiting from october to november. distribution and habitat: only known from the type locality in doi intanond, chiang mai of central thailand, at altitudes between 1400 and 1700 m above sea level. note: morphologically, e. intanondense q. lin is similar to e. subincisum weddell that occurring in india and nepal (weddell, 1856) based on small herbs, glabrous; stems erect, branched; petiole absent; leaf blade margin deeply subpinnatifidly crenate or serrate, apex caudate to acuminate. more detailed morphological differences between two species are given in table 1. 2. elatostema ranongense yahara var. glabroum q. lin var. nov. (fig. 2) var. ranongensi differt caulibus glabribus et foliis glabris. type: india. assam (= meghalaya): mawphlng (= mawhplong), khasi hills, 2000 m, 14 september 1949, rupchand 2281 (holotype l). stems and leaves glabrous. fig. 2. holotype of elatostema ranongense yahara var. glabroum q. lin (from rupchand 2281, l). photographed by q. lin. 152 bi et al. phenology: flowering september; fruiting from october to november. distribution and habitat: the new variety is only known from the type locality at khasi hills in mawphlong of meghalaya, india. it occurs under moist forests at altitude of 2000 m above sea level. table 1. comparisons of morphological characters between elatostema intanondense q. lin and e. subincisum weddell. characters e. intanondense e. subincisum stipules obscure conspicuous, linear-lanceolate, 5-6 mm long leaf blade obliquely oblong-lanceolate, 2.0-4.5 × 1.0-1.5 cm obliquely oblong-lanceolate, 1.5-3.5 × 0.61.2 cm nanophylls present, elliptic to lanceolate, 3-7 × 1.5-3.0 mm wide absent male inflorescences 3-7 mm in diam.; sessile; receptacle 25 mm in diam. 2-5 mm in diam.; sessile; receptacle 13 mm in diam. female inflorescences 5-8 mm in diam.; sessile; receptacle 3.5-6.5 mm in diam. 3.0-5.5 mm in diam.; sessile; receptacle 1.53.0 mm in diam. the new variety has glabrous stems and glabrous leaves which differs from var. ranongense that having densely hirtellous stems, densely strigillose leaf blade on abaxial surface along veins. acknowledgments thanks are due to the curators of herbaria l and ti for the loan of specimens or for permission to examine specimens. this work was supported by plant specimen digitization and chinese virtual herbarium establishment (grant number 2005dka21401) and the project of the education department in hunan province (11a109). references lin, q., friis, i. and wilmot-dear, c.m. 2003. elatostema (urticaceae). in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china. vol. 5. science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, usa. pp. 127-163. weddell, h.a. 1856. monographie de la famille des urticées. archives du muséum d’histoire naturelle 9: 1-332. (manuscript received on 10 november 2010; revised on 29 november 2011) microsoft word 08. naz_corrected legend.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 203-207, 2010 (december) short communication © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists nitellopsis obtusa (desv.) j. groves : a new charophytic record for bangladesh sabrina naz1, nasrin jahan diba and m. zaman department of botany, university of rajshahi, rajshahi 6205, bangladesh keywords: nitellopsis obtusa; characeae; new record; bangladesh. hy established nitellopsis hy as a genus in 1889. nitellopsis obtusa (desv.) j. groves was described as chara obtusa in 1809 by desvaux. this genus includes three species, viz., n. obtusa (desv.) j. groves, n. bulbifera c. dont. and n. sarcularis zaneveld (wood and imahori, 1965). nitellopsis obtusa (desv.) j. groves, a macroalga is widespread throughout europe and asia from scandinavia to japan. kundu (1929) initiated charophyte research in the then east pakistan (now bangladesh). then the charophyte flora has been worked out by kundu (1938), agharkar and kundu (1937), islam and sarma (1976), zaman (2001), aziz and tanbir (2003) and naz and diba (2009). so far, four genera, namely chara, nitella, lychnothamnus and lamprothamnium have been described from different parts of bangladesh. in the present investigation the genus nitellopsis hy and its species nitellopsis obtusa (desv.) j. groves has been recorded for the first time in bangladesh. the plant materials were collected from a shallow water zone (10 cm depth of water) of the river mahananda of chapai-nawabganj district. fresh materials were freely displayed on a petridis with distilled water and photomicrographs were taken by sony dsc w-55 under compound microscope (model l-101). specimens have been kept in the herbarium of phycology and limnology laboratory, department of botany, university of rajshahi, bangladesh and also preserved in transeau`s solution (transeau, 1951). camera lucida drawings were made at 25x, 50x, 60x, 100x and 150x magnifications. air temperature and relative humidity of the sampling location were measured by a digital thermometer and a humidity meter (model: hanna), respectively. nitellopsis obtusa (desv.) j. groves, jour. bot. 57: 127. 1919. [chara obtusa desvaux in loiseleur-deslongchamps, not. pl. fl. france, p. 136. 1810. nitellopsis stelligera (bauer) hy, rev. bot. 8: 46. 1890.] (pl. 1, figs a-l; pl. 2, figs 1-10) (groves and webster 1924, 3, pl. 24, figs. 1-8; pal et al. 1962, 80, figs. 171-175; krause 1997, 128, fig. 50: a-i; langangen et al. 2002, 30, fig. 20; schubert and blindow 2003, 216, fig. 4.28.1: a-j). common name: starry stonewort. !corresponding author. e-mail: drsabrina_naz@yahoo.com 204 naz et al. plant dioecious, upto 14 cm high, not incrusted, deep green, lower axial nodes white, stellate; plant entirely ecorticate; stem slender, up to 458 µm in diameter; stipulodes absent; branchlet up to 2 cm long; internodes up to 4 cm long; branchlet 5-7 in a whorl, figs. 1-12. nitellopsis obtusa (desv.) j. groves.1. habit; 2. bract cells; 3. a whorl; 4. upper portion of a branchlet and bract cells; 5. a branchlet node and oogonium; 6. stem node; 7, 8. one tier corona; 9. bifid end cell (aberration); 10. end cells (acuminate-mucronate); 11. oogonium; 12. a young whorl. (scales= 0.2 mm). 2 cm 1 2 3 4 7 8 9 10 11 12 6 5 nitellopsis obtusa (desv.) j. groves 205 straight, incurved (above), reflexed (below), segments 2-3, elongate; end segment 1-2 celled, cylindrical; end cell short, conical, acuminate-mucronate; bract cells 2-4, conical, sometimes absent, cylindrical, resembling the end segment of branchlets; oogonium solitary, egg-shaped, 500 µm long (including corona), 343 µm wide, convolutions 6-9; corona small, one tier, rarely elongate, 43-72 µm long, 57-72 µm wide at base; oospore 286 µm long, 272 µm wide (plant richly fertile but ripe oospores were not found); antheridium (male plant) not found. bulbils white, stellate. plate 2. nitellopsis obtusa (desv.) j. groves 1. habit; 2. oogonium; 3. new shoot arising from stem node; 4. a whorl; 5. bract cells; 6. a young whorl; 7. bifid apices of branchlet; 8. apices of branchlet; 9. stem node; 10. bulbil. (scales= 0.2 mm). 206 naz et al. specimen examined: chapai-nawabgonj, mahananda river, 15.03.2004, nasrin jahan diba col. no.1. ecology: freshwater lotic habitat (river) with sandy bottom at 10 cm depth of water. this plant was found from a depth of about 1500 m from dhal lake in kashmir (pal et al., 1962). existing literature further reveals nitellopsis obtusa is a species which often is found in deep water, from 1-8 m; mainly found in freshwater but also in brackish water in the baltic sea. distribution: nitellopsis obtusa is mainly distributed in europe but occasionally it is found in asia and africa including india, pakistan, myanmar, malaysia, japan and iraq. notes: nitellopsis obtusa does not often produce oospores and vegetative reproduction by star-shaped bulbils is therefore important. fructification is very low for this species and ripe oospores are rarely found. during the present study ripe oospores were not observed. fructification is in july-october and is dependent on light intensity (langangen, 2007). schubert and blindow (2003) state that antheridia are occasionally found in nitellopsis obtusa, however, in the present investigation, we did not find antheridia. the plant resembles nitella translucens (pers.) agardh but there is no terminal branchlet corona in nitellopsis obtusa and by contrast there are no bract-cells or bulbils in nitella translucens (wood and imahori, 1965). the species is easily recognizable by means of its bulbils, which in the examined material are common on most nodes, but best developed on the lower nodes. references agharkar, s.p. and kundu, b.c. 1937. charophytes of bengal. j. dep. sci. calcutta univ. n. s. 1(1): 1-23. aziz, a. and tanbir, m. 2003. algal flora of some northern districts of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 63-78. groves, j. and webster, g.r.b. 1924. the british charophyta. vol. ii. chareae with plates, concluding articles, geological sketch, bibliography and index. ray society, london. pp. 3-6. islam, a.k.m.n. and sarma, d. 1976. the characeae of bangladesh ii. genus nitella. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh (sci.) 2(1): 43-61. krause, w. 1997. charales (charophyceae). süsswasserflora von mitteleuropa. band 18.gustav fischer verlag. pp. 128-131. kundu, b.c. 1929. studies of the charophytes of bengal. pt. i. proc. indian sci. congr. p. 248. kundu, b.c. 1938. a new nitella from rajshahi, bengal. j. indian bot. soc. 16: 223-226. langangen, a. 2007. charophytes of the nordic countries. saeculum. ans. 102 pp. langangen a., koistinen, m. and blindow, i. 2002. the charophytes of finland. memoranda soc. fauna flora fennica 78:17-48. naz, s. and diba, n.j. 2009. genus lamprothamnium j. groves. in: ahmed, z.u., m. khondker, z.n.t. begum, m.a. hasan, s.m.h. kabir, m. ahmed, a.t.a. ahmed and a.k.a. rahman (eds). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. algae, charophyta-rhodophyta. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka 4:13. nitellopsis obtusa (desv.) j. groves 207 pal, b.p., kundu, b.c., sundaralingam, v.s. and venkataraman, g.s. 1962. charophyta monographs on algae, vol. 5. indian council of agricultural research, new delhi. pp. 80-81. indian council of agriculture research, india. schubert, h. and blindow, i. 2003. charophytes of the baltic sea. a.r.g. gantner verlag, ruggell. pp. 216222. transeau, e.n. 1951. periodicity of fresh water algae. amer. j. bot. 3: 121-133. wood, r.d. and imahori, k. 1965. a revision of the characeae. part-i. monograph of the characeae. verlag von, j. cramer, weinheim. pp. 349-355. zaman, m. 2001. assessment of diversity of algal flora in chalan beel in relation to physico-chemical conditions. in: survey of flora national conservation strategy (ncs) implementation project-1, ministry of environment & project, government of the people`s, republic of bangladesh. pp. 194-212 (manuscript received on 5 august, 2009; revised on 22 november 2010) microsoft word 04. 21-08 patt.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 29-36, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an assessment of floristic diversity of gandhamardan hill range, orissa, india c. sudhakar reddy and chiranjibi pattanaik1 forestry and ecology division, national remote sensing centre, hyderabad 500 037, andhra pradesh, india. keywords: floristic diversity; gandhamardan hill range; life-form; medicinal plants; orissa. abstract the plant resources of gandhamardan hill range were studied and analysed. a total of 912 vascular species belonging to 556 genera under 142 families were recorded. herbs dominate the flora followed by trees, climbers and shrubs. dominance of phanerophytes indicates the tropical moist and humid climate. proper conservation and management plans are needed to save the natural resources, especially medicinal plants, of this sacred hill range. introduction knowledge of forest structure and floristics are necessary for the study of forest dynamics, plant-animal interactions and nutrient cycling. an aspect that has generated considerable attention for many years among ecologists as well as evolutionary and conservation biologists has been the analysis of the patterns, causes and maintenance of biological diversity in the tropics (gentry, 1988; huston, 1994). more recently, there has been an awareness of and an increasing interest in understanding the variation in species diversity within the tropics (gentry, 1982, 1995). tropical moist deciduous forests are the most diverse from the floristic point of view. gandhamardan hill range is such a tropical moist deciduous system in orissa, india. due to diversified topography with twenty-two perennial streams, the hill range having most congenial environment for the luxuriant growth of plant resources. these resources are under severe threat due to over-exploitation by the local people for collection of firewood, fodder and medicinal plants and heavy incidence of grazing. some sporadic works on floristic and ethnobotanical studies were carried out earlier (raju, 1960; panigrahi et al., 1964; brahmam and saxena, 1990a, b; mishra et al., 1994, 2001; misra and behera, 1998; mishra and das, 2003; misra, 2004). but, this floristically rich hill range with varied terrain conditions and environmental factors along with its phytogeographical position was not explored well in the past. the present study is, therefore, the first attempt to make an inventory and analysis of the entire flora of gandhamardan hill range based on copious field observations, available literature and herbarium data, with a view to contribute to the overall knowledge of gandhamardan flora and to the management of this sacred hill range. 1 corresponding author. salim ali centre for ornithology & natural history, deccan regional station, 12-13-588/b, nagarjuna nagar colony, tarnaka, hyderabad 500 017, andhra pradesh, india. e-mail: jilu2000@rediffmail.com 30 reddy and pattanaik c b a materials and methods gandhamardan hill range (between 20˚42' and 21˚00' n latitude and 82˚41' and 83˚05' e longitude) is stretches over 240 km2 area in bargarh and bolangir districts of orissa, india. the hills are believed to be of ancient age and sacred because legend says, when hanuman carried the mountain from himalayas to sri lanka in search of sanjivani, some part it fell down in orissa. there are two temples (nrusinghnath and harishankar) of 11th century based in the foothills on the northern and southern parts of the plateau on the bank of two perennial streams. the hill ranges are composed of a cluster of hills with altitude varying between 600 and 1005 m. bender, butel, chalidilli, chhatradandi gandhamardan, potpani and thuta are the prominent hills in this area. the range stands as a natural barrier at the border of bolangir and bargarh districts of orissa (fig. 1). this fig. 1. map of the gandhamardan hill range (a), the study area, in orissa (b), india (c). area enjoys tropical monsoon climate. the mean annual rainfall ranges between 1250 and 1400 mm. the rainfall in the hill region and temperate climate facilitate tropical deciduous forest with a good number of medicinal plant species. normally the rain depends on north-east monsoon. the maximum temperature goes up to 37˚c in summer (april-may) whereas the minimum falls to 12˚c in winter (december-january). the humidity is relatively high. the rock formation is archaic metamorphic called ‘khondalite’ to high-level laterite (pandey and chatterjee, 1984). an assessment of floristic diversity of gandhamardan hill range 31 the present study was carried out during 2004-2006. data on taxon distribution within the gandhamardan hill range were collected mainly from two sources: field observations and collection of specimens, and literature, while only in a few cases data were assembled from the herbarium of regional research laboratory (rrl-b). the majority of field observations were carried out from 2004 to 2006 during multiple field trips throughout each growth season. accordingly, information on habit, habitat, flowering, fruiting period, etc. was recorded. collection of plant specimens was carried out in both dry and wet seasons to know more information on habitat. the specimens collected were deposited in herbarium of rrl-b. the identification of specimens was carried out by consulting relevant literature (patro, 1993; saxena and brahmam, 1995; misra and das, 1998, 2004) and regional floras (gamble and fischer, 1915-35; haines, 1921-25; mooney, 1950; saxena and brahmam, 1996). life-form categories were identified according to raunkiaer’s system of classification (raunkier, 1934). results and discussion floristic composition: the floristic composition of the hill is remarkable in its diversity and luxuriance. altogether, 912 vascular plant taxa pertaining to 142 families and 556 genera were collected. the dicotyledonous plants belonged to 106 families, 418 genera and 685 species, and the monocotyledonous plants to 21 families, 122 genera and 206 species. pteridophytes were represented by 21 species belonging to 15 families and 16 genera. analysis of flora shows a comparatively higher representation of herbaceous species (519) followed by 173 trees, 119 climbers and 101 shrubs. in comparison with the orissa flora (total area 155,707 sq km) consisting of 2727 species (saxena and brahmam, 1996), 33.4% of species were recorded in the present study area. the recorded genera of the gandhamardan flora were 52.4% of the orissa flora, whereas the families covered 62.3%. a total number of 776 indigenous wild species, 64 introduced wild species and 72 cultivated species were found in the area. the species to genera ratio was 2.6 in orissa flora, whereas it was 1.6 in the present study. the ratio of genera and family in the gandhamardan flora was 3.9, whereas the value of the orissa flora was 4.7. this indicates higher taxonomic diversity of the study area. pielou (1975) and magurran (1988) pointed out that, in intuitive terms, hierarchical (taxonomic) diversity will be higher in an area in which the species are divided amongst many genera as opposed to one in which most species belong to the same genus, and still higher as these genera are divided amongst many families as opposed to a few. a comparison of ten dominant families in the gandhamardan flora with those of the floras of sambalpur (panda and das, 2004), bihar and orissa (haines, 1921-25) and british india (hooker, 1872-97) shows a close resemblance among each other (table 1). here caesalpiniaceae (caesalpinioideae), papilionaceae (fabaoideae) and mimosaceae (mimosoideae) are treated as subfamilies under leguminosae. the relative position of 32 reddy and pattanaik leguminosae and gramineae (poaceae) are almost same in all the works. scrophulariaceae, apocynaceae and malvaceae of the present work do not comply with the first ten families of the flora of british india (hooker, 1872-97) where orchidaceae and utricaceae are occupying the first and the last positions. nine dominant families of the present work, except leguminosae, are phylogenetically advanced and except euphorbiaceae, all are herb-dominating. the prevalence of microclimatic conditions provided suitable habitats for herb-dominating flora. euphorbiaceae was represented in this flora with 45 species of which 26 are trees and shrubs. they are mostly deciduous and majority of them contain latex. leguminosae is one evenly distributed family with trees, shrubs, annual and perennial herbs, climbers and lianas. most of the families represented in this flora are mainly tropical in distribution. in addition to this, a few temperate families such as caryophyllaceae, melastomataceae, ranunculaceae and violaceae were also found. table 1. comparison of ten dominant angiospermic families in the gandhamardan flora from the present study with the floras of sambalpur, bihar and orissa, and that of british india. gandhamardan flora (present study) sambalpur flora (panda and das, 2004) bihar and orissa (haines, 1921-1925) british india (hooker, 1872-1897) leguminosae leguminosae leguminosae orchidaceae gramineae gramineae gramineae leguminosae euphorbiaceae euphorbiaceae cyperaceae gramineae rubiaceae compositae compositae rubiaceae compositae cyperaceae euphorbiaceae euphorbiaceae cyperaceae acanthaceae acanthaceae acanthaceae acanthaceae rubiaceae orchidaceae compositae scrophulariaceae scrophulariaceae rubiaceae cyperaceae apocynaceae labiatae labiatae labiatae malvaceae verbenaceae scrophulariaceae utricaceae exactly 50% of the recorded taxa belonged to only 13 species-rich families. the largest families in terms of number of species were poaceae (90), papilionaceae (68), euphorbiaceae (45), rubiaceae (41), asteraceae (36), cyperaceae (35), acanthaceae (30), caesalpiniaceae (20), schrophulariaceae and apocynaceae (each with 19 species). a total of 15 species of orchids belonging to 10 genera were also recorded. at genus level, ficus showed the maximum diversity with 14 species. this was followed by cyperus (11), cassia (9), blumea (8), bauhinia, grewia, hedyotis, indigofera (each with 7 species), acacia and alysicarpus (each with 6 species). analysis of flora shows that most of the genera (388) are represented by single species and a very few genera are represented by more number of species. asparagus gonoclados baker, corchorus trilocularis l., enicostema axillare (lam.) a. raynal and triumfetta rotundifolia lam. were recorded new to the flora of orissa. erythrina resupinata roxb., heterostemma an assessment of floristic diversity of gandhamardan hill range 33 tanjorense wight & arn. and tylophora fasciculata buch-ham. ex wight & arn. are the unique species found in the study area, which are not sighted elsewhere in orissa. there were 64 invasive exotic species also found, which will be serious threat to the forest ecosystem in the future. important among them are ageratum conyzoides l., chromolaena odorata (l.) r. king & h. robins., crotalaria pallida ait., hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., lantana camara l., mimosa pudica l., parthenium hysterophorus l. and triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. the upper storey of the vegetation was covered by tall trees with epiphytic growth of lichens, bryophytes, ferns and orchids. it was interesting to note that shorea robusta gaertn. f., a common species in other parts of orissa, showed sporadic distribution in the study area. some of the shrubs e.g., ardisia solanacea roxb., flemingia macrophylla (willd.) prain ex merr., indigofera cassioides rottl. ex dc., leea asiatica (l.) ridsdale and morinda citrifolia l., were found to grow in dense and interior forests. the bamboo species dendrocalamus strictus (roxb.) nees. also occupied considerable part of the area. herbs were mostly distributed all over the hill range, which includes open and dense forests, along the streams, top of the hills with grasses and forest road sides. a good number of lianas and woody climbers were present in the hill range, such as bauhinia vahli wight & arn., calycopteris floribunda lam., combtretum albidum g. don., cryptolepis buchanani roem. & schult., entada pursaetha spreng., hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br., smilax zeylanica l., toddalia asiatica (l.) lam., and ventilago madraspatana gaertn. epiphytes were less in number. vanda testacea (lindl.) reichb. f. and v. tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g. don. were two common epiphytic orchids found on branches of most tall trees. four root parasites (aeginetia indica l., melasma thompsonii (hook. f.) wettst., sopubia delphiniifolia (l.) g. don. and striga angustifolia (d. don) saldanha) and two stem parasites (dendrophthoe falcata (l. f.) etting and viscum articulatum burm. f.) were also recorded from the study area. the extensive flat plateau on the top of the hills running through the whole length of the gandhamardan range presented a grassland formation with luxuriant growth of various grass species attaining 2-3 m in height. the grassland comprises of arthraxon lancifolius (trin.) hochst., capillipedium assimile (steud.) a. camus., cymbopogon martini (roxb.) wats., heteropogon contortus (l.) p. beauv. ex roem. & schult. and interspersed with stunted growth of lagerstroemia parviflora roxb., phyllanthus emblica l., pimpinella heyneana (wall. ex dc.) kurz. and woodfordia fruticosa l. kurz.. weeds such as borreria stricta roth ex roem. & schult., cleome monophylla l. and mollugo pentaphylla l. were common. celosia argentea l. (introduced) is a weed of great nuisance in the abandoned fields near borasambar, paikmal and harishankar. life-form analysis: the life-form spectrum in the present study showed predominance of phanerophytes (349 spp., 38.3% of the recorded species), followed by therophytes (298 spp., 32.7%), geophytes (128 spp., 14%), hemi-cryptophytes (119 spp., 34 reddy and pattanaik 13%) and chamaephytes (18 spp., 2%). majority of annuals were winter species or cool season species; some were hot-weather species, and a few were non-seasonal species responding to rainfall at any time of the year (e.g., tribulus terrestris l.). the dominance of shrubby species over the grasses when water is limited, as in this area, can be explained by their extensive root system, which is capable of utilizing water stored at different soil depths, whereas grasses utilize the transient water stored in the upper soil synchronic with precipitation pulses. besides the spatial variations in the species composition of plant communities, the composition of life forms reflected the response of vegetation to variations in certain environmental factors. in this study, the dominance of phanerophytes followed by therophytes over the other life forms seemed to be a response to the prevailing tropical moist and humid climate and biotic interference. the phanerophytes included trees, large woody shrubs, perennial herbs and woody climbers. therophytes (annuals) are drought evaders in the sense that the whole plant sheds during unfavourable conditions. moreover, the high proportion of therophytes in this study was also attributed to human activities (raunkier, 1934). medicinal plant exploration: gandhamardan hill range is also known as ‘ayurvedic paradise’ and treasure house for potential medicinal plant species not only for orissa but also for india. more than 300 plant species were found in the area with medicinal properties. these are depleting rapidly because of unsustainable harvesting, lack of awareness, and unrestricted grazing by domestic animals from nearby villages (panigrahi, 1963; pattanaik and reddy, 2007). nonetheless, many people from far and wide come to this area to collect medicinal plants and share their knowledge on medicinal uses of these plants. major medicinal plant species, such as asparagus racemosus willd., celastrus paniculata willd., chlorophytum arundinaceum baker, costus speciosus (koenig) sm., curculigo orchioides gaertn., curcuma angustifolia roxb., gloriosa superba l., gymnema sylvestre (retz.) r. br. ex schult., plumbago zeylanica l., rubia cordifolia l. and tinospora cordifolia (willd.) hook.f. & thoms., were harvested in bulk for preparation of medicines by the local people. unsustainable collection of above medicinal plants has placed them in threatened and vulnerable categories in conservation assessment and management plan (camp) of orissa. conservation measures: in the prevailing situation, conservation of plant resources is very important, as many of these plants, for example asparagus gonoclados and enicostema littorale blume, have been reduced to a greater extent. therefore, sustainable utilization of medicinal plants is an urgent demand of the hour. sustainable wild collection with fair trade would help to conserve the natural resources of the gandhamardan hill range. piloting of farmer-based cultivation trials for a selected number of threatened and indigenous medicinal plant species on the edges of forests and in home gardens should be encouraged. the state forest department should initiate in situ as well as ex situ conservation practices by promoting nurseries, home garden and an assessment of floristic diversity of gandhamardan hill range 35 plantation. the state government should promote village management committee (vmc) and conservation area management committee (camc) to protect the forests from denudation. community mobilization and creating awareness on sustainable harvesting of plant parts among the local people of the surrounding villages must be done at priority level. the local non-government organisations (ngos) should promote participatory research in breeding and participatory knowledge management involving scientists, government officials and tribal families. the forest and environment department should establish linkages with markets, so that the cultivation of medicinal plants becomes market-driven, with assured income security for tribal families. unrestricted movement of pilgrims all around the adjoining forest areas near to the temple are causing loss of plant species. it is necessary to improve the socio-economic conditions of people living around the hills to minimize the anthropogenic activities in order to prevent depletion of natural resources of this sacred hill range. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to dr s.n. prasad, senior principal scientist, sacon, deccan regional station, hyderabad and director, nrsa, hyderabad for their encouragement and providing facilities to carry out the work. we thank to the herbarium staff of regional research laboratory for helping with identification of species. the study was undertaken with financial assistance from the department of biotechnology and department of space, government of india in form of a research project entitled biodiversity characterization at landscape level in eastern ghats of india using remote sensing and gis. references brahmam, m. and saxena, h.o. 1990a. ethnobotany of gandhamardan hills some noteworthy folkmedicinal uses. ethnobotany 2: 71-79. brahmam, m. and saxena, h.o. 1990b. phyto-chemical screening of the plants of gandhamardan hills of orissa (india) for tannins, saponins, flavonoids and alkaloids. asian j. plant sci. 1: 71-79. gamble, j.s. and fischer, c.e.c. 1915-1935. flora of presidency of madras. vols 1-3. adlard and son ltd, london. gentry, a.h. 1982. patterns of neotropical plant species diversity. evolutionary biology 15: 1-54. gentry, a.h. 1988. changes in plant community diversity and floristic composition on environmental and geographical gradients. annals of the missouri botanical garden 75: 1-34. gentry, a.h. 1995. diversity and floristic composition of neotropical dry forests. in: bullock, s.h., mooney, h.a. and medina, e. (eds), seasonally dry tropical forests. cambridge university press, cambridge, uk, pp. 146-194. haines, h.h. 1921-1925. the botany of bihar and orissa. adlard & son ltd, london. hooker, j.d. 1872-97. the flora of british india. reeve & co. ltd, nr, ashford, kent, london. huston, m.a. 1994. biological diversity. the coexistence of species on changing landscapes. cambridge university press, cambridge, uk, pp. 1-681. 36 reddy and pattanaik magurran, a.e. 1988. ecological diversity and its measurements. princeton university press, new jersey, pp. 1-192. misra, r.c. 2004. therapeutic uses of some seeds among the tribals of gandhamardan hill range, orissa. indian j. traditional knowledge 3: 105-115. misra, r.c. and behera, g. 1998. ecological status of gandhamardan forests using remote sensing techniques. in: biodiversity conservation: problems and prospects. proc. national seminar on biodiversity conservation, bhubaneswar, india, pp. 75-80. misra, r.c. and das, p. 1998. vegetation status of nrusinghanath harishankar complex, orissa. j. econ. taxon. bot. 22: 547-554. mishra, r.c. and das, p. 2003. wild poisonous seeds: some notable species from gandhamardan hill ranges of orissa. j. econ. bot. 27: 513-518. misra, r.c. and das, p. 2004. vegetation stratification of gandhamardan hill range, orissa using remote sensing techniques. j. econ. taxon. bot. 28: 429-438. mishra, r.c., panda, p.c. and das, p. 1994. lesser known medicinal uses of plants among the tribals of gandhamardan hill ranges, orissa. in: gupta, b.k. (ed.), higher plants of indian subcontinent, vol. iii, bishen singh mahendra pal singh publications, dehra dun, india, pp. 135-142. mishra, r.c., panda, p.c. and das, p. 2001. a taxonomic study of the ferns and fern allies of gandhamardan hills, orissa. j. econ. taxon. bot. 25: 577-590. mooney, h. 1950. supplement to the botany of bihar and orissa. international book distributors, dehra dun, india, pp. 1-308. panda, s. and das, p. 2004. flora of sambalpur, orissa. bishen singh mahendra pal singh publications, dehra dun, india, pp. 1-480. pandey, n. and chatterjee, b.k. 1984. petrology of the precambrian banded iron information of gandhamardan hillwest of keonjhargarh, orissa. j. geol. soc. india 25: 286-294. panigrahi, g. 1963. gandhamardan parbat, orissa a potential source of important indigenous drugs. bull. reg. res. lab. 1: 111-116. panigrahi, g., chowdhury, s., raju, d.c.s. and deka, g.k. 1964. a contribution to the botany of orissa. bull. bot. surv. ind. 6: 237-266. patro, s.n. 1993. gandhamardan: the treasure house of minerals. in: environmental conservation movements in orissa. orissa environmental society, bhubaneswar, india, pp. 1-55. pattanaik, c. and reddy, c.s. 2007. medicinal plant resources of gandhamardan hill range, orissa: an urgent need for conservation. natl. acad. sci. lett. 30: 35-38. pielou, e.c. 1975. ecological diversity. wiley publications, new york, pp. 1-165 raju, d.c.s. 1960. vegetation pattern of gandhamardan hills. bull. int. soc. trop. ecol. 1: 21-22. raunkiaer, c. 1934. the plant life forms and statistical plant geography. clarendon press, oxford, pp. 1-632. saxena, h.o. and brahmam, m. 1995. vascular flora of gandhamardan hills. j. econ. taxon. bot. 19: 113-132. saxena, h.o. and brahmam, m. 1996. the flora of orissa. vols i-iv. orissa forest development corporation ltd, bhuabneswar, india. (manuscript received on 26 may 2008; revised on 24 march 2009) microsoft word 09. 2-09 ahmet.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 73-82, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists comparative morphology, anatomy and palynology of two salvia l. species (lamiaceae) and their taxonomic implications ahmet kahraman1,2, ferhat celep2 and musa dogan department of biological sciences, middle east technical university, ankara, turkey. keywords: morphology; anatomy; palynology; salvia. abstract morphological, anatomical and palynological characteristics of salvia glutinosa l. and s. staminea montbret & aucher ex bentham and their taxonomic importance are presented. their expanded description and phenology are also given. the features of stems, leaves, calyces, corolla and nutlets have been found to be significant to distinguish the species. mesophyll structure, distribution of stomata on upper epidermis, size of stomata on lower epidermis, shape of vascular structure in midrib, and number of vascular bundles and presence of sclerenchymatic fibers in petiole are diagnostic characters. moreover, pollen size and exine ornamentation are important in separating these two species. introduction salvia l. (lamiaceae) is represented by about 1000 species displaying a remarkable diversity in growth forms, secondary compounds, floral morphology, and pollination biology. the genus is distributed extensively in three regions of the world: central and south america (500 spp.), western asia (200 spp.) and eastern asia (100 spp.) (walker and sytsma, 2007). turkey is a major diversity center for salvia in asia (hamzaoglu et al., 2005). the first revision of salvia l. in turkey was made by hedge (1982), who recognized 86 species, one hybrid and one doubtful species. since then, six more new species and three new records have been described from turkey. the genus salvia has been subject to a number of studies mainly based on morphological (hedge, 1982), anatomical (metcalfe and chalk, 1965; kaya et al., 2007; kahraman et al., 2009a, b) and palynological (cantino et al., 1992) information. boissier (1875) recorded 75 species of salvia from turkey and placed them under seven sections using bentham’s (1833) sectional delimitation. boissier (1875) placed salvia glutinosa l. in the section drymosphace and s. staminea montbret & aucher ex bentham in the section plethiosphace. since 2005, as a part of a revision of the genus salvia in turkey, the present authors have carried out extensive field studies and collected a large number of specimens. although s. glutinosa and s. staminea belong to different sections, some morphological characteristics of these two species overlap such as stem indumentum, leaf size, petiole length, inflorescence length, number of verticillasters, stamen type, and bract shape and size. anatomical and palynological 1 corresponding author. e-mail: ahmetk@metu.edu.tr 2 department of biology, ataturk university, 25240, erzurum, turkey. 74 kahraman et al. structures of these species, however, have not been studied before. the present study thus aims to clarify taxonomic importance of anatomical and palynological characters in addition to morphological ones for distinguishing these two species and their sections. materials and methods plant specimens were collected from different localities in turkey. the specimens have been stored in ankara university herbarium (ank). anatomical studies were carried out on specimens kept in 70% alcohol. the paraffin method was used for the transverse sections of stem, leaf and petiole. the specimens were embedded in paraffin and then sectioned with a leica rm2125rt rotary microtome. all sections were stained with safranin and fast green and then mounted with canada balsam. measurements and photographs were taken using a leica dm1000 binocular light microscope with a leica dfc280 camera. for palynological investigations, pollen materials were obtained from herbarium specimens. the pollen slides were prepared according to wodehouse (1935) technique. for light microscope (lm) studies, measurements and observations were made using the leica dm1000 binocular light microscope with the leica dfc280 camera. the polar length, equatorial length, colpus length, exine and intine thickness for 30 pollen grains were measured under the light microscope (x 1000) and polar axis/equatorial axis (p/e) ratios were calculated. for scanning electron microscopy (sem), the pollen grains were observed and photographed with a jeol-6060 scanning electron microscope to determine their exine ornamentation. pollen terminology of punt et al. (2007) has been used. results and discussion morphological characteristics s. glutinosa l., sp. pi. 26 (1753). ic: fl. rpr 8: t. 39 f. 1 (1961); huxley & taylor, fls. greece t. 237 (1977). stems up to 1 m tall, erect, branched above. the stem indumentum sparsely eglandular and glandular pilose to villous. leaves simple, 4-20 × 3-12 cm, ovate-triangular, sagittate-hastate, serrate. the leaf indumentum subglabrous to sparsely pilose on veins, with sessile glands. petiole 4-11 cm long. inflorescence 15-45 cm long, densely glandular pilose to villous. verticillasters 4-6-flowered, distant. bracts 6-14 × 4 -8 mm, ovate. bracteoles present. pedicels up to 5 mm long, erecto-patent, elongating in fruit. calyx 10-14 mm long, up to 20 mm in fruit, tubular to campanulate, upper lip 1-dentate, almost straight. calyx indumentum densely glandular-villous. corolla yellow with brownish markings, 30-40 mm long, tube nearly 15 mm long, upper lip falcate. stamens 2, type b, filaments 4-6 mm long. upper connectives 10-15 mm long, lower connectives comparative morphology, anatomy and palynology of two salvia speci̇es 75 4-5 mm. fertile anthers 4-5 mm long. nutlets ovate-trigonous, 3.5 × 2.0 mm. flowering period: july-october. fruiting period: october-november. figs 1-8. transverse sections of the stem of salvia glutinosa (figs 1-4) and s. staminea (figs 5-8). c, cortex; ch, chlorenchyma; co, collenchyma; cu, cuticle; e, epidermis; eh, eglandular hair; gh, glandular hair; pc, parenchyma cell; ph, phloem; pi, pith region; sc, sclerenchyma; tr, trachea; x, xylem. s. staminea montbret & aucher ex bentham in ann. sci. nat. ser. 2, 6: 41 (1836). pobedimova in not. syst. (leningrad) 21: 320-324 (1961). stems 20-70 cm tall, erect, rarely branched at the base. the stem indumentum eglandular pilose to villous. leaves distributed over stem or rosette-forming, 2.5-15 × 1-6 cm, linear-oblong to ovate, subentire to erose. leaf indumentum subglabrous to shortly 76 kahraman et al. tomentose with sessile glands. petiole 0.5-9.0 cm long. inflorescence up to 40 cm long, paniculate, eglandular tomentose to villous sometimes with glandular pilose to villous. verticillasters 2-6-(-8)-flowered and approximating above. bracts 2-15 × 4-10 mm, broadly ovate. pedicels 2-3 mm long. calyx 6-8 mm long, up to 12 mm in fruit tubular figs 9-16. transverse and surface sections of the leaf of salvia glutinosa (figs 9-12) and s. staminea (figs 13-16). cu, cuticle; le, lower epidermis; lec, lower epidermal cell; pc, parenchyma cell; pp, palisade parenchyma; sp, spongy parenchyma; st, stomata; ue, upper epidermis; uec, upper epidermal cell; vb, vascular bundle. campanulate, upper lip tridentate, equal to or shorter than lower. calyx indumentum densely glandular or eglandular pilose with or without long flattened eglandular hairs. corolla white to pale yellow, 12-16 mm long, tube almost 5 mm long, ventricose, comparative morphology, anatomy and palynology of two salvia speci̇es 77 squamulate, upper lip nearly straight and narrow. stamens 2, type b, filaments 1-2 mm long. upper connectives (5-)-9-15-(-18) mm, lower connectives 1-2 mm long. fertile anthers 1.0-1.5 mm long. nutlets rounded in transverse section and ovoid in outline, 2.02.8 × 1.5-1.9 mm. hilum diameter 0.25-0.40 mm. nutlet surface glabrous, slightly tuberculate, mature nutlet colour light brown. flowering period: may-august. fruiting period: august-september. the main morphological characters such as leaf shape and margin, calyx, corolla, filament and connective length, and nutlet size and shape are taxonomically important to identify these two species. leaves of s. glutinosa are ovate-triangular and serrate while those of s. staminea are linear-oblong to ovate and subentire to erose. the length of calyces, corollas, filaments and connectives of s. glutinosa are taller than that of calyces, corollas, filaments and connectives of s. staminea. nutlets of s. glutinosa are larger than that of s. staminea. also, in s. glutinosa nutlets are ovate-trigonous, but in s. staminea nutlets are ovoid. anatomical characteristics table 1 compares detailed measurements of different cell and tissue types of stem, leaf and petiole of s. glutinosa and s. staminea. table 1. comparative anatomy of the stem, leaf and petiole of salvia glutinosa and s. staminea. s. glutinosa s. staminea width (µm) length (µm) width (µm) length (µm) min. max. min. max. min. max. min. max. stem cuticle 2-3 3-5 epidermal cell 10-30 8-15 19-26 11-17 cortex cell 36-75 24-63 38-113 25-93 trachea cell 17-34 19-42 20-51 18-60 pith cell 30-103 20-101 46-139 40-110 leaf cuticle 1-3 2-3 upper epidermal cell 20-40 18-30 33-56 17-50 lower epidermal cell 25-35 20-32 20-45 12-30 palisade parenchyma 9-14 27-41 7-11 21-35 spongy parenchyma 19-29 16-24 9-17 10-20 petiole abaxial epidermal cell 15-35 12-17 17-25 16-20 adaxial epidermal cell 12-34 12-18 20-30 17-23 cortex cell 55-107 31-93 40-156 50-150 trachea cell 16-34 19-55 16-37 18-38 78 kahraman et al. stem anatomy: transverse sections taken from the stem of s. glutinosa revealed (fig. 1) that the epidermis is covered by a thin and smooth cuticle with glandular (30-150 µm) or eglandular (50-500 µm) hairs. the epidermis consists of uniseriate rectangular or squarish cells. multilayered collenchyma cells (40-150 µm) are located at the corners and between the corners (fig. 2). underneath the epidermis, there are 1-3-layered chlorenchyma cells (35-50 µm) (fig. 3). the cortex (50-200 µm) comprises of 3-6 layers of squashed oval or orbicular parenchymatous cells. the phloem, with sclerenchymatic fibers, measures 30-100 µm (fig. 4). cambium is not distinguishable. size of the xylem is 50-260 µm and it immediately bulges at ridges. the pith comprises of large hexagonal, polygonal or circular parenchymatic cells. transverse sections taken from the stem of s. staminea (fig. 5) showed that the epidermis is covered by a thin and undulate cuticle with glandular or eglandular hairs. the epidermis is composed of uniseriate oval or rectangular cells. underneath the epidermis, multilayered collenchyma cells (80-160 µm) are located at the corners and between the corners. there are 2-4-layered chlorenchyma cells (20-40 µm) (fig. 6). the cortex (130-350 µm) consists of 3-6 layers of oval or orbicular parenchymatous cells. the phloem (30-50 µm) is surrounded by sclerenchymatic fibers (fig. 7). cambium is not clearly distinguishable. the xylem (70-290 µm) considerably bulges at ridges. the pith is large and consists of hexagonal or orbicular parenchymatic cells (fig. 8). the stems of the family labiatae (lamiaceae) species are quadrangular and include well-developed collenchymatous cells at the corners (metcalfe and chalk, 1965). moreover, it was also reported that scleranchymatic fibers surround the vascular tissue. this report is congruent with our results observing same anatomical characteristics in the stems of s. glutinosa and s. staminea. our results also detected thicker, undulated cuticle in s. staminea, which prefers drier habitats, opposed to s. glutinosa. the cortex layer of s. staminea is also larger than that of s. glutinosa. leaf anatomy: transverse sections of the lamina and surface preparations of both epidermis of s. glutinosa (fig. 9) showed that the upper and lower epidermis that are covered with sparsely simple hairs consisting of uniseriate oval or rectangular cells with thin and undulate cuticles. the upper epidermis cells are nearly equal to the lower. mesophyll region (140-165 µm) consists of 2 or 3 layers of elongated palisade cells and 3 or 4 layers of nearly isodiametric spongy parenchymatic cells with large intercellular cavities (fig. 10). the leaf is bifacial and hypostomatic. stomata on the lower epidermis are of the diacytic type. their length varies from 22-28 µm while their width ranges from 15-17 µm (figs 11-12). in the midrib region, deeply crescentiform or u-shaped vascular bundles are surrounded by parenchymatic cells. there is a single large vascular bundle in the center. transverse sections of the lamina and surface preparations of upper and lower epidermis of s. staminea revealed (fig. 13) that both epidermis are covered with densely comparative morphology, anatomy and palynology of two salvia speci̇es 79 eglandular hairs consisting of uniseriate, rectangular or oval cells with thin and undulate cuticles. the upper epidermal cells are larger than the lower. mesophyll region (100-130 µm) comprises of 2-3-layered palisade cells above, 1-2-layered below and 1-2-layered spongy parenchyma cells (fig. 14). the leaf is equifacial and amphistomatic, with diacytic type (figs 15-16). stomata on the lower surface show higher frequencies than those on the upper surface. on the adaxial surface, the length of stomata varies from 1519 µm while the width of stomata ranges from 15-17 µm. on the abaxial surface, the length of stomata varies from 17-19 µm, whereas the width of stomata ranges from 15-17 µm. in the midrib region, shallow crescentiform vascular bundles are surrounded by parenchymatic cells. there are a single large vascular bundle in the center and one small bundle on each side. figs 17-18. transverse sections of the petiole of salvia glutinosa (fig. 17) and s. staminea (fig.18). ab, abaxial epidermis; ad, adaxial epidermis; pc, parenchyma cell; sc, sclerenchyma; svb, subsidiary vascular bundle; vb, vascular bundle. mesophyll in salvia species is entirely parenchymatic and the midrib is surrounded by collenchymatous cells (metcalfe and chalk, 1965). the leaves of s. indica (kahraman et al., 2009a) are bifacial and amphistomatic, however those of s. halophila (kaya et al., 2007) are monofacial and amphistomatic. according to the mesophyll structure, the leaves of s. glutinosa are bifacial and hypostomatic while those of s. staminea are equifacial and amphistomatic. moreover, the vascular bundle structure of s. glutinosa is a deeply crescentiform or u-shaped, but that of s. staminea is shallow crescentiform. salvia glutinosa has only single large bundle in the center, whereas s. staminea has a single large vascular bundle in the center and 2 small bundles on the sides. salvia indica (kahraman et al., 2009a) has one large and lobed vascular bundle in the centre, however s. halophila (kaya et al., 2007) has two large bundles. moreover, stomata in s. glutinosa are larger than s. staminea. to sum up, the distribution of palisade and spongy parenchyma cells, the presence of stomata on the upper surface, shape and number of the 80 kahraman et al. vascular bundle structure, and size of stomata are taxonomically significant characters in separating the species. petiole anatomy: transverse sections taken from the petiole of s. glutinosa showed the following elements (fig. 17). the epidermal cells of both surfaces are oval and rectangular. adaxial and abaxial epidermis cells are nearly equal in size. one to three layers of collenchyma cells are located under the epidermis. the vascular bundle surrounded by parenchymatic cells appears as a shallow arc. a large single vascular bundle is located in the middle, as well as, there are 3 or 4 small subsidiary vascular bundles in each wing. a few sclerenchyma fibers are only observed on the phloem. transverse sections taken from the petiole of s. staminea showed the following elements (fig. 18). the epidermal cells of both surfaces are squarish and nearly rectangular. the adaxial epidermal cells are slightly larger than the abaxial epidermal cells. there are 2 or 3 layers of collenchyma cells under the epidermis. a broad single vascular bundle is located in the middle, as well as, there are two or three small subsidiary vascular bundles in one petiolar wing and two small bundles in the other wing. the sclerenchyma tissue is well-developed outside of the phloem and xylem. the structure of the vascular bundles in the petiole structure of the species of labiatae could be used as a distinctive character (metcalfe and chalk, 1965). in the petiole of s. glutinosa, there is one large bundle in the center and there are 3 or 4 small subsidiary vascular bundles in each petiolar wings. in s. staminea, although there is a large single vascular bundle in the center, but there are 2 or 3 small subsidiary vascular bundles in one petiolar wing and two small bundles in the other wing. kaya et al. (2007) investigated s. halophila found 6 broad vascular bundles in its middle of the petiole and 6 small bundles on its wings. ozdemir and altan (2005) observed in s. huberi a single large vascular bundle in the center of the petiole and 5 small lateral bundles, 2 of which are located in one petiolar wing and 3 in the other. while in s. glutinosa only phloem is surrounded by sclerenchyma fibers, both xylem and phloem in s. staminea are surrounded by sclerenchyma fibers. thus, number of vascular bundles and the presence/absence of sclerenchymatous tissue in the petiole may serve as taxonomically diagnostic characters. pollen characteristics table 2 compares detailed measurements of different palynological features of s. glutinosa and s. staminea. the pollen grains of both the species are suboblate to prolatespheroidal (figs 19, 20 & 23, 24), while the exine sculpturing is bireticulate-perforate in both (figs 21, 22 & 25, 26). in s. glutinosa, lumina of the primary reticulum is extendedangular and lumina number of the secondary reticulum is less than 10; on the other hand, lumina of the primary reticulum is extended in s. staminea and lumina number of the secondary reticulum is more than 10. comparative morphology, anatomy and palynology of two salvia speci̇es 81 table 2. comparative pollen morphology of salvia glutinosa and s. staminea showing mean value ± standard deviation, and the range in parenthesis. all measurements are in µm except p/e. species polar axis (p) equatorial axis (e) p/e colpus length colpus width exine thickness intine thickness s. glutinosa 51.8 ± 4.4 (45.0 59.3) 53.7 ± 4.0 (48.2 59.9) 0.8 1.1 47.1 ± 4.1 (40.0 52.6) 3.5 ± 1.1 (2.5 6.0) 1.0 ± 0.2 (0.9 1.3) 0.5 ± 0.1 (0.4 0.7) s. staminea 39.1 ± 5.3 (32.5 48.8) 44.1 ± 3.7 (37.9 50.8) 0.8 1.1 33.5 ± 5.0 (27.7 42.8) 7.5 ± 1.3 (5.7 9.4) 1.2 ± 0.1 (1.0 1.3) 0.5 ± 0.1 (0.5 0.7) pollen features of the family labiatae have been reported to have considerable taxonomic importance (erdtman, 1945). cantino et al. (1992) revised the classification of all genera in labiatae, and placed it within the subfamily nepetoideae because the genus salvia has hexacolpate pollen. like s. glutinosa and s. staminea, suboblate to prolatespheroidal pollens are also found in s. indica (kahraman et al., 2009a). although the exine sculpturing of s. glutinosa, s. staminea (in the present study) and s. indica (kahraman et al., 2009a) is bireticulate-perforate, in s. anatolica hamzaoğlu & a. duran it is euryreticulate, and in s. bracteata banks & sol. suprareticulate (hamzaoglu et al., 2005). nonetheless, differences in the size of the pollens, in the shape of primary lumina and in number of lumina of secondary reticulum are useful traits in distinguishing s. glutinosa and s. staminea. figs 19-26. light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy micrographs of pollen grains of salvia glutinosa (figs 19-22) and s. staminea (figs 23-26). 19, 23. polar view; 20, 21 & 24, 25. equatorial view; 22, 26. exine ornamentation. salvia glutinosa and s. staminea have some significant differences in terms of not only morphological features but also anatomical and palynological characteristics which are useful to separate them. 82 kahraman et al. acknowledgements the authors wish to thank technical research council of turkey for their financial assistance (tubi̇tak-tbag-104 t 450). references bentham, g. 1833. labiatarum genera et species. j. ridgway & sons, london, pp. 1-783. boisseir, e.p. 1875. flora orientalis. composees 3: 151-883. cantino, p.d., harley, r.m. and wagstaff, s.j. 1992. genera of labiatae: status classification. in: harley, r.m. and reynolds, t. (eds), advanced in labiatae science. royal bot. gardens, kew, pp. 511-512. erdtman, g. 1945. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy iv. labiatae, verbenaceae and avicenniaceae. svenk bot. tidskr. 39: 279-285. hamzaoglu, e., duran, a. and pinar, n.m. 2005. salvia anatolica (lamiaceae), a new species from east anatolia, turkey. ann. bot. fenn. 42: 215-220. hedge, i.c. 1982. salvia l. in: davis, p.h. (ed), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 7. edinburgh univ. press, edinburgh, pp. 400-461. kahraman, a., celep, f. and dogan, m. 2009a. morphology, anatomy and palynology of salvia indica (labiatae). world app. sci. j. 6(2): 289-296. kahraman, a., celep, f. and dogan, m. 2009b. morphology, anatomy, palynology and nutlet micromorphology of salvia macrochlamys (labiatae) in turkey. biologia (in press). kaya, a., goger, f. and baser, h.c. 2007. morphological, anatomical and palynological characteristics of salvia halophila endemic to turkey. nordic journal of botany 25: 351-358. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1965. anatomy of the dicotyledons. vol. 2. clarendon press, oxford, pp. 7251500. ozdemir, c. and altan, y. 2005. morphological and anatomical characteristics of endemic salvia huberi hedge in turkey. bangladesh j. bot. 34(2): 95-100. punt, w., hoen, p.p., blackmore, s., nilsson, s. and le thomas, a. 2007. glossary of pollen and spore terminology. review of palaeobotany and palynology 143: 1-81. walker, j.b. and sytsma, k.j. 2007. staminal evolution in the genus salvia (lamiaceae): molecular phylogenetic evidence for multiple origins of the staminal lever. annals of botany 100(2): 375-391. wodehouse, r.r. 1935. pollen grains. mcgraw-hill, new york. pp. 1-574. (manuscript received on 11 january 2009; revised on 8 april 2009) microsoft word 01. amorphophallus_edited_11.6.2011 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 1-26, 2011 (june) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. rhaphiophallus (schott) engl. (araceae) in india v. abdul jaleel, m. sivadasan1*, ahmed h. alfarhan1, jacob thomas1 and a. a. alatar1 department of botany, university of calicut, calicut university, p.o. 673 635, kerala, india keywords: araceae; amorphophallus; rhaphiophallus; india; endemics. abstract the genus amorphophallus blume ex decne. (araceae), with more than 200 species, is one of the most taxonomically difficult genera of the family, and in fact is one of the moderately understood of all asian aroid genera. the 11 sections recognised by engler have been currently reduced to 10, and out of the 10 sections three, viz. candarum engl., conophallus (schott) engl. and rhaphiophallus (schott) engl. are represented in india. rhaphiophallus as recognized now including sect. synantherias comprises eight species: amorphophallus bonaccordensis sivad. & n. mohanan, a. hohenackeri (schott) engl. & gehrm., a. konkanensis hett., s. r.yadav & k. s. patil, a. longiconnectivus bogner, a. margaritifer (roxb.) kunth, a. mysorensis e. barnes & c. e. c. fisch., a. smithsonianus sivad., and a. sylvaticus (roxb.) kunth. herein a. bhandarensis s. r.yadav, kahalkar & bhuskute is recognized at the new rank of variety, as a. mysorensis var. bhandarensis (s. r. yadav, kahalkar & bhuskute ) sivad. & jaleel. the name amorphophallus sylvaticus (roxb.) kunth is lectotypified here. all except a. sylvaticus (also occurring in sri lanka) are endemic to india. introduction the genus amorphophallus blume ex decne. (araceae) is distributed in tropical africa, madagascar, tropical and subtropical asia, the malay archipelago, melanesia and australasia (mayo et al., 1997), and comprises in excess of 200 species. the species of amorphophallus exhibit variation in shape and size of tuber, petiole, spathe, spadixappendix, and the individual female flowers (hettersheid and ittenbach, 1996). taxonomically and botanically it is one of the most difficult genera of the family due to various reasons including the timing of emergence of inflorescences and their relatively short active period of existence. the morphological similarity of the leaves of many species makes identification of the species with vegetative specimens difficult or impossible. apart from these, the succulent and massive nature of the plant parts like tubers, petioles, peduncles and inflorescences, and the raphide contents in the plant body make collection and preservation of the specimens very difficult resulting in poor representation in indian and international herbaria. *corresponding author: e-mail: drmsivadasan@rediffmail.com 1department of botany & microbiology, college of science, king saud university, p. o. box 2455, riyadh-11451, kingdom of saudi arabia. 2 jaleel et al.   amorphophallus was first placed in the tribe "thomsonieae" (blume, 1835; bogner et al., 1985). tribe "thomsonieae" consisted of two closely related genera, amorphophallus and pseudodracontium. several attempts have been made to reveal the phylogenetic relationships within the genus amorphophallus sensu lato (incl. pseudodracontium). hetterscheid et al. (1994) have provided a fairly good discussion on the probable monophyly and character evolution in the then known species of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus. molecular evidences indicated that the two genera could be merged into a single genus, amorphophallus (grob et al., 2002, 2004). a molecular study using a combination of matk and rbcl sequences revealed the position of amorphophallus and other araceae as a monophyletic clade in a basal node of the order alismatales (tamura et al., 2004). the study of araceae phylogeny by cabrera et al. (2008) using a combination of matk, rbcl, the trnk intron, trnl intron, and the trnl-trnf spacer, showed the tribe "thomsonieae" as a basal sister clade consisting of the tribes "caladieae" and "zomicarpeae". sedayu et al. (2010) attempted to interpret morphological character evolution in amorphophallus based on a combined nuclear and plastid phylogeny that is more completely sampled than in previous studies. since hooker’s treatment of amorphophallus (1893), several publications of ad hoc new taxa, rediscoveries, and reports of species new to india, e.g. bogner et al. (1985), sivadasan (1986, 1989), sivadasan et al. (1994), hetterscheid et al. (1994), bogner (1995), hetterscheid and sarker (1996), sivadasan and jaleel (1998a, b, 2000a, b, 2001, 2009) and yadav et al. (2009) have greatly expanded our knowledge of the genus in india, but to date a full but a revision of the genus in india has yet to be undertaken. taxonomic history of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus engler (1911) in his monographic treatment of the family araceae, treated the species presently recognized as belonging to the genus amorphophallus under 3 genera, namely amorphophallus blume ex decne., plesmonium schott and thomsonia wall., and recognized 11 sections under the genus amorphophallus. bogner et al. (1985) treated the genus thomsonia as congeneric with amorphophallus and also presented a detailed account of the characteristic features of plesmonium margaritiferum and a plea for its treatment under the genus amorphophallus by sinking plesmonium under amorphophallus. this was followed by the treatments by sivadasan (1989), hetterscheid et al. (1994), hetterscsheid and de sarker (1996), sivadasan et al. (1994) and mayo et al. (1997) wherein plesmonium has been recognized as congeneric with amorphophallus. with the merger of amorphophallus sect. synantherias with sect. rhaphiophallus (sivadasan, 1989), the number of sections as recognized by engler (1911) has been reduced to 10, and now in india the genus is represented by 3 sections, viz. candarum engl., conophallus (schott) engl. and rhaphiophallus (schott) engl. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 3   the present article is limited to revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus (schott) engl., the largest section of the genus in india, and characterized by having a staminodial zone between the male and female zones on the spadix. methodology intensive and extensive field explorations were made all over india including the andaman and nicobar islands. repeated collection trips during different seasons were essential to get the taxa both in reproductive and vegetative phases. all relevant data about the plants have been recorded in a field book. photographs were taken, and collected a sufficient number of plants based on the population, for making herbarium specimens. herbarium specimens were prepared following the wet method (fosberg and sachet, 1965). tubers were collected and cultivated in calicut university botanical garden for future observations and studies. illustrations were made and camera lucida was used wherever necessary. specimens, especially nomenclatural types at major indian and international herbaria were examined. taxonomic treatment amorphophallus blume [bataviasche courant 1825, descript. but no name] ex decne., nouv. ann. mus. hist. nat. 3: 366. 1834, nom. cons. (taxon 31: 310. 1982). type: amorphophallus campanulatus decne. (= a. paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson). amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus (schott) engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (heft 48): 103 (1911). hydrosme sect. rhaphiophallus (schott) engl., bot. jahrb. syst. 15: 458 (1892). (rhaphiophallus schott, gen. aroid. t. 27. 1858). amorphophallus sect. synantherias (schott) engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (heft 48): 102 (1911). (synantherias schott, gen. aroid. t. 28. 1858). tuberous herbs. leaves solitary; petiole long, cylindrical; usually conspicuously and variously mottled, sheath very short. lamina trichotomously decompound; leaflets oblong-elliptic to linear, tip acuminate or acute, base decurrent or not; venation reticulate with primary lateral veins pinnate; secondary lateral veins united below the margin forming a sub-marginal collective vein. inflorescence solitary; flowering without leaves, peduncle long; spathe variously shaped and coloured, ultimately deciduous. spadix usually stipitate; differentiated into a basal female zone, a sterile staminodial zone above which may be naked or bear sterile or neuter flowers, a male zone, and a terminal appendix. appendix usually prominent, barren without differentiated sterile structures, rarely with sterile structures, or reduced to a stub; erect, sometimes horizontal, rarely pendent, very variable in shape. female flowers usually crowded, spirally or sub-spirally arranged, ovary 1-4-locular, ovules anatropous or semi-anatropous, 1 per locule; style 4 jaleel et al.   absent, short or long; stigma variously shaped; male flowers 1-6-androus, stamens free or sometimes connate, dehiscence by apical pores or slits. infructescence more or less cylindric. berries, 1 to 4-seeded. seeds ellipsoid, non-endospermous. key to the indian species of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 1. spadix without a naked appendix; neuter flowers between female and male zones large, elongate-obovoid, cream-coloured. a. margaritifer spadix with a naked appendix; neuter flowers between female and male zones spherical, rhomboid, rounded, or short, stout-echinate, cream, dark pinkish, purplish, brownish red, or greenish. 2 2. spadix appendix very long, 16-25 cm long, cylindric, tapering to the tip, pendent; female flowers with stigma having 3-5 stout echinate lobes. a. smithsonianus spadix appendix medium-sized, to 7.5-20 cm long or very short (less than 4 cm), cylindric, tapering to the tip, erect; female flowers with stigma without prominent echinate lobes. 3 3. neuter flowers short, stout, subulate and greenish; spadix appendix stalked, very short, c. 2 cm long, with irregularly formed sterile structures (resembling rudimentary male or female flowers); male flowers with long projected connectives (rarely staminodial zone and spadix appendix lacking). a. longiconnectivus neuter flowers rhomboid, obovoid or oblong-gibbous or globose; spadix appendix sessile, barren; male flowers without projecting connectives. 4 4. spathe shorter than spadix appendix. 5 spathe longer than spadix appendix. 6 5. neuter flowers oblong-gibbous, pinkish; stigma 2-lobed with irregular small warts at maturity; male flowers sparsely arranged in groups of 2-5; spadix appendix pale brownish yellow. a. sylvaticus neuter flowers rhomboid, slightly convex, whitish or faintly purplish or dark purple; stigma 3-lobed, without irregular small warts at maturity; male flowers arranged loosely (especially at base), not in groups; spadix appendix dirty olive green or dark purple. a. konkanensis 6. spathe differentiated into a basal convolute tube and an upper limb separated by a distinct shallow constriction, tip shortly acuminate; barren naked zone present between pistillate and staminodial zones; spadix appendix cylindric, apex rounded. a. bonaccordensis spathe not differentiated into a tube and limb; naked barren zone between pistillate and staminodial zones absent; spadix appendix cylindric, tapering to tip. 7 revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 5   7. spathe fully convolute into a tube, limb not differentiated or indistinct; stigma sessile. a. mysorensis spathe basally convolute and tubular at early stage, completely opens throughout and become boat-shaped at maturity; stigma very shortstyled. a. hohenackeri amorphophallus bonaccordensis sivad. & n. mohanan, blumea 39(1-2): 295 (1994). (fig. 1) type: india, kerala state, thiruvananthapuram dist., bonaccord on the agasthyamala hill ranges, 700 m, 20.4.1990, n. mohanan tbg & ri 8219 (holotype k!; isotype cal!, m!, tbgt!, us!). tubers sub-globose, 3-6 cm diam. and 1.5-2.5 cm thick in vegetative phase; 4.0-7.5 cm diam. and 3-4 cm thick in reproductive phase; stolons produced from the corms of fertile individuals. petiole 40-80 cm long, 0.7-1.5 cm diam. at the base, green with dark greenish brown mottling, paler towards the tip. lamina 70-90 cm diam., leaflets sessile, ovate-oblong, 4.5-14.0 cm long, 1.5-6.5 cm broad, acuminate at apex, base acute and unequal, decurrent on rachis, dark green above, paler below, slightly undulate. peduncle smooth, 35-70 cm high, 0.8-1.5 cm diam. at the base, identical with petiole in colour and pattern of mottling. spathe ovate-oblong, greenish-yellow, 13-20 cm long, 4.0-5.5 cm broad. spadix more or less equal in length to the spathe, 11-16 cm long, comprising a basal stipe 6-10 mm long, c. 5 mm diam., pale greenish, a female zone 2.5-3.5 cm long, a barren naked zone c. 2 mm present in between the female and staminodial zones, a staminodial zone 8-13 mm long, a male zone 3.0-3.8 cm long, and a terminal appendix. female flowers: ovary sessile, sub-globose, greenish, c. 2 mm high, 3 mm diam., 2 or 3loculed, ovules sub-basal; unicellular trichomes present on funicle and on placenta around the area of funicular attachment; style very short, cylindric, c. 7 mm long, c. 8 mm diam.; stigma 2 or 3-lobed, cream-coloured; neuter flowers in 1-3 rows, creamy white, obovoid, each c. 5 mm long, c. 3 mm diam. male flowers: in groups of 2-5, each group borne on a white cushion-like structure c. 1 mm thickness; each c. 1 mm long, inconspicuously 2-lobed. spadix appendix cylindric, 7.5-10.5 cm long, c. 1 cm diam., rounded at the apex, cream-coloured, smooth, base rarely with very shallow rhomboidal projections. phenology: flowering: april; fruiting may be in may, but fruiting specimens have not so far been collected. distribution: so far known only from the type locality. notes: amorphophallus bonaccordensis differs from all other species by the ovateoblong spathe with a prominent basal convolute tubular portion separated from the oblong erect limb by a slight constriction. the spadix appendix is cylindric with a rounded tip and is much shorter than the spathe. amorphophallus bonaccordensis closely resembles a. hohenackeri in its general morphological features. 6 jaleel et al.   fig. 1. amorphophallus bonaccordensis sivad. & n. mohanan. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe cut-opened to show spadix; d. female flower; e. female flower l.s.; f. ovary c.s.; g. male flower view from broader side; h. male flower view from top; i. male flower l.s.; j. male flower c.s. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 7   specimens examined: india. kerala: thiruvananthapuram dist.: bonaccord on the agasthyamala hill ranges, 700 m, 25.4.1990, n. mohanan 8219 (infl.) (cali); ibid., 26.4.1995, n. mohanan 22326 (infl.) (tbgt). amorphophallus hohenackeri (schott) engl. & gehrm. in engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c(48): 103 (1911); c.e.c. fisch. in gamble, fl. pres. madras : 1587 (1931); karth., jain, nayar & sanjappa, fl. indicae enum. monocot. : 6 (1989); hettercheid & ittenbach, aroideana 19: 83 (1996). rhaphiophallus hohenackeri schott, gen. aroid. : t. 27 (1858). hydrosme hohenackeri (schott) engl. in engl. & prantl, pflanzenfam. ii(3): 128 (1887). (fig. 2) type: india, karnataka state, mangalore, canara, r.f.hohenacker 21646 (b). tubers depressed sub-globose, 2.0-3.5 cm diam. and 2-3 cm high in vegetative phase, 3.5-6.5 cm diam. and 2.5-4.0 cm high in reproductive phase, skin pale brownish; offsets 2-3 cm long and 5-7 mm diam.; roots numerous, 5-20 cm long and 2-3 mm diam., pale yellowish. petiole 35-68 cm long, 8-14 mm diam. at the base, smooth, pale yellowish green with dark green mottling and minute cream speckles, surrounded by 3-4 cataphylls, each cataphyll 10.5-30.0 cm long and 1.3-2.0 cm broad, pale pinkish with tiny green speckles. lamina 30-45 cm diam., leaflets sessile, elliptic, 3.5-10.0 cm long and 1.5-3.5 cm broad, acuminate at apex, base unequal and decurrent on rachis, dark green above, paler below, margin slightly undulate. peduncle 18-50 cm long, 6-10 mm diam. at base, identical with petiole in colour and pattern of mottling. spathe light pinkish yellow with purplish black mottling and a pale purplish streak along the median outside, yellowish green within, 10.5-15.5 cm long and 4.0-5.5 cm broad. spadix more or less equalling the length of the spathe, or slightly longer, with 5-8 mm long and 6-7 mm diam. cream stipe; female zone 1.0-1.5 cm long and 9-11 mm diam., staminodial zone 5-7 mm long and 8-10 mm diam., male zone 1.5-2.0 cm long and 8-9 mm diam. female flowers: ovary sub-globose, c. 1.3 mm long, 1.8 mm diam., greenish, 2-3-loculed; style very short; stigma inconspicuously 2-3-lobed, c. 1 mm diam., yellowish. staminodial zone with closely arranged rounded to elongate rhomboid, gibbous, cream; neuter flowers arranged in 1-3 rows, each 4-5 mm long, c. 3 mm diam. male flowers: yellowish, each c. 1 mm high and 1.3 mm broad. spadix appendix 8.5-12.5 cm long and 1.0-1.2 cm diam. at base, tapering towards the tip, base with inconspicuous rhomboid projections, smooth above, cream. fruits oblong, green when young and turning scarlet-red when ripe, c. 8 mm long and 9 mm diam. seeds ovoid, 2-3 per fruit, each c. 6 mm long and 6 mm diam. phenology: flowering: march-may; fruiting: may-august. distribution: very limited in distribution, known only from kerala and karnataka states. 8 jaleel et al.   fig. 2. amorphophallus hohenackeri (schott) engl. & gehrm. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe cut-opened to show spadix; d. single female flower; e. female flower l.s. passing through two locules; f. stigma view from top; g. ovary c.s.; h. male flower view from broader side; i. male flower view from top showing opening of thecae; j. male flower l.s.; k. male flower c.s. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 9   notes: amorphophallus hohenackeri differs from other species in the nature of the spathe. it is closely related to a. bonaccordensis but it differs in having a spadix shorter than the spathe, a barren zone below the sterile and female flower zones, and a more or less cylindric spadix appendix without terminal tapering. specimens examined: kerala: trivandrum dist.: attayar, 800 m, 3.3.1993, s coll., 11342 (infl.) (tbgt). ernakulam dist.: kalady, 5.11.1931, s. coll., acc. no. 0764 (infl.) (tbgt). palakkad dist.: kavalod, melarcode-nemmara road, 20.5.1997, a. jaleel ria 51 (infl.) (cali). malappuram dist.: calicut university campus, 17.3.1976, m. sivadasan cu 13124 (infl.) (cali, k, l, m, us); ibid., 28.4.1976, m. sivadasan cu 13124a (infl.) (cali, k, m). kozhikode dist.: ferok, 18.4.1978, m. sivadasan, cu 21418 (m). kannur dist.: vengad, 19.5.1997, a. kumar ria 50 (infl.) (cali). karnataka : mangalore, ‘canara’, r. f. hohenacker 2164b (bm, gh, l) (note: one of the sheets at l r. f. hohenacker 2164b contains specimens of both amorphophallus hohenackeri and an arisaema sp.); mangalore, july 1909, c. d’ alleizette 7792 (l); belikeri, n. kanara, 5.6.1883, w. a. talbot 492 (bsi, cal); koddimalai state forest, s. kanara dist., 28.7.1978, c. j. saldanha, ramesh & ravindra kfp 1942 (jcb). amorphophallus konkanensis hett., s. r.yadav & k. s. patil, blumea 39: 289 (1994); hett. & ittenb. aroideana 19: 90 (1996). (fig. 3) type: india, maharashtra state, sindhudurg dist., maneri, 15.4.1992, k. s. patil 4687a (holotype cal), k. s. patil 4687-b (paratype blat), k. s. patil 4687-c (paratype l). tubers globose or depressed globose, 3-4 cm diam. and 1.5-2.5 cm thickness in vegetative phase; 6-9 cm diam. and 4-5 cm thickness in reproductive phase, skin pale brownish; roots 3-10 cm long, c. 1 mm diam. petiole 20-80 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm diam. at base, pale brownish or greenish-brown with pale yellowish-green to white stripes and pinkish mottling. lamina 38-80 cm diam., rachises winged, leaflets linear-lanceolate, 6.520 cm long and 1.5-4.5 cm broad, acuminate at apex, green above and paler below. peduncle smooth, 28-60 cm long, 5-9 mm diam. at base, colour and pattern of mottling same as that of the petiole. spathe broadly ovate in outline, when spread flat, completely convolute throughout the length with an opening at the top, 6-8 cm long and 5.0-6.5 cm broad, tip acute, limb poorly differentiated from the tube, dirty pinkish with a brownish hue, faint brownish spots, and dark purple brown veins outside, dark maroon within. spadix much longer than the spathe, 17-21 cm long, with a greenish stipe c. 5 mm long; female zone 1.3-1.8 cm long, staminodial zone 0.8-1.2 cm long, male zone 3.7-4.2 cm long; spadix appendix 10.5-14.0 cm long and 5-10 mm diam. at base. female flowers: ovary globose, c. 2 mm diam., 1 mm long, pale green, becoming purplish near the top, usually 3-locular, rarely 2 or 4-locular; style very short, c. 0. 3 mm long, 2 mm diam., purplish; stigma 3or 4-lobed, c. 2 mm diam., 0. 8 mm long, verruculate, pale yellowish; 10 jaleel et al.   fig. 3. amorphophallus konkanensis hett., s. r.yadav & k. s. patil. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe partially removed showing spadix; d. details of basal interior portion of spathe; e. basal interior portion of spathe c.s.; f. single female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma view from top; j. single male flower view from broader side; k. male flower view from top showing openings of thecae; l. male flower c.s.; m. male flower l.s. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 11   neuter flowers rhomboid, slightly convex, whitish or faintly purplish or dark purple. male flowers: each c. 0.8 mm high, 1.3 mm broad, thecae whitish, connective brownish; spadix appendix cylindric, apically tapering, dirty olive green. fruits turning pinkish-red at maturity, 8-10 mm diam.; usually 3-seeded, rarely 2 or 4-seeded. seeds ovoid; each 7-8 mm long, c 5 mm diam. phenology: flowering: april-may; fruiting: may-june. distribution: restricted to goa and maharashtra states. notes: amorphophallus konkanensis differs from other species in having the completely convolute spathe with maroon inside and the spadix with rhomboid, slightly convex neuter flowers with whitish, dark purple or faint purplish hue. specimens examined: goa: dodamarg, 5.6.1997, a. jaleel & b. thomas ria 70a (infl.) (cali). amorphophallus longiconnectivus bogner, kew bull. 50(2): 397 (1995); sivad. & jaleel, rheedea 8(2): 243 (1998). (fig. 4) type: india, "central provinces", piparia, june 1910, h. haines 3590 (holotype k!). tubers subglobose or depressed globose, 4.5-7.0 cm diam. and 2-5 cm thick in vegetative phase; 6.5-8.0 cm diam. and 4-6 cm thick in reproductive phase; roots numerous, 1-2 mm diam.; offsets small, globose or fusiform, 6-12 in number per tuber, each 8-10 mm diam. and 1.2-1.8 cm long. petiole 35-77 cm long, 1.2-2.3 cm in diam. at base, smooth, light green with dark brownish, narrow-elongated stripes, paler towards the upper portion; leaflets sessile, linear-lanceolate, 14.0-7.5 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, acuminate at apex, base unequal and decurrent on rachis, pale green below; margin slightly undulate. peduncle smooth, 62-110 cm long, 1.2-1.7 cm diam. at base, identical with petiole in colour and patterning. spathe broadly ovate to broadly triangular, usually broader than long, 10-14 cm long, tip acute, completely convolute, not differentiated into basal tube and upper limb, pale green outside, pale purplish within with a dark purplish verrucose base. spadix as long as or slightly shorter than the spathe, with a pale green stipe c. 1 cm long and c. 1.2 cm diam.; female zone 1.3-2.5 cm long and 1.2-1.4 cm diam.; staminodial zone 8-9 mm long and 1.2-1.4 cm diam.; male zone 3.2-4.0 cm long and 0.8-1.3 cm diam.; upper sterile zone 1.5-3.0 cm long, clothed with sterile flowers and rarely with a few scattered fertile stamens; without or (usually) with a stipitate appendix. female flowers: ovary subglobose, c. 2 mm high, c. 2.5 mm diam., greenish, 2-3-locular; style very short, c. 1 mm long; stigma 2-3-lobed, 1-2 mm diam., papillate. staminodial zone with loosely arranged thick-based echinate fleshy sterile flowers, each 3-5 mm long, c. 1 mm broad at base, rarely a few with forked tips. male flowers: golden-yellow, each 2-3 mm long, 1-2 mm broad, filaments short, flat, thecae lateral, ellipsoid, 1.5-2.5 mm long; connective elongated to 1.0-1.5 mm above the level of the thecae tips. sterile flowers 12 jaleel et al.   fig. 4. amorphophallus longiconnectivus bogner. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe removed showing spadix; d. details of basal interior portion of spathe; e. basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. single female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma view from top; j & k. sterile flowers; l. single male flower dorsal view; m. male flower ventral view; n. male flower c.s.; o. appendix sterile flowers. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 13   more or less subulate, cream. spadix appendix stipitate, stipe 3-8 mm long, 2.5-4.0 mm diam., green, terminal part 7-8 mm long, c. 3 mm diam., bearing irregularly formed cream-coloured rudimentary male or female flowers or irregular protuberances. rarely plants without neuter flowers and lacking a spadix appendix are observed. fruits ellipsoid, 8-10 mm long, 6-8 mm diam. seeds 2-3, ellipsoid, 6-8 mm long and 4-6 mm diam. phenology: flowering: june-july; fruiting: august-september. distribution: so far known to occur only in piparia, madhya pradesh state. notes: amorphophallus longiconnectivus bogner has been rediscovered (sivadasan and jaleel, 1998) at its type locality in madhya pradesh, for the first time since haines’s original gathering in 1910. amorphophallus longiconnectivus is unique in various aspects and is highly variable in its spadix structure. usually the spadix has a stipe, followed by a zone of female flowers, a staminodial zone, a zone of male flowers, an upper sterile flower zone, and a spadix appendix with a stipe. but variations from the typical condition have also been noted. in some specimens the spadix appendix is completely lacking. in some, both basal staminodial zone and spadix appendix are lacking, but this condition is very rare or may be abnormal. variations in morphology and size of other floral organs such as connectives of male flowers, neuter flowers and spadix appendix are also noticed. specimens examined: madhya pradesh: "central provinces", piparia, june 1910, h. haines 3590 (holotype – k); piparia, 28.8.1997, a. jaleel & b. thomas ria 131 (leaf) (cali); ibid., 16.7.1998, a. jaleel ria 316 (infl.) (cali). amorphophallus margaritifer (roxb.) kunth, enum. pl. 3: 34 (1841); hett. & de sarker, aroideana 19: 131 (1996). arum margaritiferum roxb., fl. ind. (ed., carey) 3: 512 (1832); wight, ic. 3(1): 6, t. 795 (1844). plesmonium margaritifer (roxb.) schott, syn. aroid. : 34 (1856) ("margaritiferum"); hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 518 (1893); engl., pflanzenr. iv 23c (48): 49 (1911); c. e. c. fisch. in gamble, fl. pres. madras : 1588 (1931). (fig. 5) lectotype: wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 3(1) (1844), plate 765. (hetterscheid and de sarker, 1996). tubers more or less sub-globose to depressed globose, 2.5-5.0 cm diam. and 1.8-3.5 cm thick in vegetative phase, 7-13 cm diam. and 5.0-6.5 cm thick in reproductive phase, seasonally producing numerous small globose to fusiform offsets, varying from 7-11 per tuber, each 5-7 mm diam. and 8-14 mm long; skin pale brown to yellowish brown. petiole smooth, 24-84 cm long, 1.0-3.3 cm diam. at base; green with numerous narrowly elongated black-margined pale green stripes, with small spots between, petiole paler towards the tip, dark green to blackish green at the extreme base. lamina 32-76 cm diam., the primary rachises smooth, and coloured as for petiole, 3-9 cm long, 4-12 mm 14 jaleel et al.   fig. 5. amorphophallus margaritifer (roxb.) kunth. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe partially removed showing spadix; d. details of basal interior portion of spathe; e. basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. single female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma view from top; j. male flower view from broader side; k. male flower l.s.; l. male flower view from top showing openings of thecae; m. male flower c.s. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 15   diam., leaflets linear to lanceolate, 8-24 cm long, 1.1-3.5 cm broad, decurrent at base, upper surface green, paler below. peduncle smooth, 50-70 cm long, 2-4 cm diam., colour same as that of the petiole. spathe broader than long, broadly ovate or broadly triangular, 11.0-17.5 cm long, 13-20 cm broad, tip acute, not differentiated into basal tube and upper limb; pale greenish outside, pale purplish within, dark purplish, prominently verrucate at base within. spadix as long as or slightly longer than the spathe, 14-20 cm long, lacking a sterile appendix; stipe 6-11 mm, greenish; female zone 1.1-2.8 cm long, 9-18 mm diam.; staminodial zone 2.0-3.5 cm long; male zone elongate-conoidal, 6-9 cm long, 1.0-1.5 cm diam. at base. female flowers: each 5-6 mm high, ovary pale green, slightly broader than stigma, 2.5-3.0 mm long, c. 2.5 mm diam., 2-locular; style very short, 0.5-1.0 mm long, c. 1 mm diam., colour same as that of ovary; stigma yellowish, capitate, distinctly 2lobed, rarely 3-lobed, c. 2 mm high, 2 mm diam., surface verrucate. neuter flowers loosely arranged, large, elongate-obovoid, 7-9 mm long, 4-5 mm diam. at top, cream, tip obtuse or subtruncate. male flowers: each 2-3 mm high, 1.5-2.0 mm broad, pale brownish yellow. fruit subglobose, red at maturity, c. 8 mm long. phenology: flowering: may-june; fruiting: august. distribution: maharashtra, madhya pradesh, uttar pradesh, rajasthan, bihar, west bengal, sikkim and assam. notes: amorphophallus margaritifer resembles a. longiconnectivus in its general appearance of greenish spathe that is not differentiated into tube and limb, and the nature of the spadix. but the former differs from the latter in having large elongate-obovoid, cream-coloured neuter flowers, and the lack of a spadix-appendix. a. longiconnectivus has a short stipitate appendix and in some cases the appendix bears irregularly formed structures, some of which resemble rudimentary sterile male or female flowers; and the neuter flowers are greenish, short, stout and subulate. rarely in some of the specimens of a. longiconnectivus the neuter flowers and spadix-appendix are lacking and hence there might be a chance of gradual reduction in appendix size and its complete absence. specimens examined: maharashtra: chorbush, nagpur, h. haines 3675 (k). madhya pradesh: hoshangabad, mahaba, 16.7.1964, g. panigrahi & singh 4205 (bsa); "central prov.", raipur, 24.10.1896, martin, acc. no. 496881 (leaf) (cal). uttar pradesh: dehra dun, june 1895, mac kurin s.n. (infl.) (dd). bihar: purneah dist., purneah, 9.8.1906, i. h. burkill 27322 (cal). west bengal: uttar dinajpur, 14.9.1997, a. jaleel & b.thomas ria 149 (leaf) (cali); ibid., 21.6.1998, a. jaleel ria 287 (infl.) (cali). amorphophallus mysorensis e. barnes & c. e. c. fisch., bull. misc. inform. 10: 661 (1939). sivad. & jaleel, aroideana 24: 94 (2001). type: india, karnataka state ("mysore state"), punjur ghat, billigirirangan hills, 3500', 22 april 1939, e. barnes 2133 (holo k!). 16 jaleel et al.   key to the varieties of a. mysorensis 1. spathe dull purplish; neuter flowers globose, brownish red; spadix appendix dark purplish, inconspicuously irregularly furrowed at base, smooth above, tip blunt, c. 8.5 cm long. var. mysorensis spathe brownish-pale green with vertical prominent veins; neuter flowers rhomboid-conical with usually purplish apex; spadix appendix pale yellow, with irregular furrows and small protuberances, tip pointed, 3.5-4.0 cm long var. bhandarensis amorphophallus mysorensis e. barnes & c. e. c. fisch., bull. misc. inform. 10: 661 (1939). var. mysorensis (fig. 6) tubers normally depressed globose, 2.5-9.0 cm in diam. and 2-5 cm thick in vegetative phase; c. 8.5 cm diam. and 3 cm thick in flowering phase, skin creamcoloured. petiole smooth, 37.5-54.0 cm long, 0.5-1.5 cm diam. at base, slightly tapering to the tip, pale greenish with dark olive-green and brownish-black mottling, paler towards the tip, extreme base whitish or pale pink in colour; leaflets sessile, linear-lanceolate, large leaflets 9.0-18.5 cm long and c. 1.8 cm broad, small leaflets 1.8-4.0 cm long and c. 8 mm broad, acuminate at apex and decurrent at base, light green above and paler below, lateral nerves 7-11 pairs. peduncle slender, smooth, c. 63 cm long, and c. 1 cm diam. at base, identical with petiole in colour and pattern of mottling. spathe broadlyovate, c. 12.5 cm long, and c. 12 cm broad; tip acute, fully convolute, c. 4.5 cm diam. at base and 3.7 cm diam. at top just below the mouth; mouth dilated, 4.8 cm diam., not differentiated into a tube and limb; dull purplish outside with numerous fine, raised parallel veins; inside purplish at top, dark purplish and verrucose at base. spadix longer than the spathe, c. 18 cm long with a stipe of c. 6 mm long and 12 mm diam.; female zone c. 2 cm long and 1.2 cm diam., male zone c. 5.8 cm long and 1 cm diam., staminodial zone c. 1 cm long, terminal sterile appendix of c. 8.5 cm long, and 7 mm diam. at base, narrowed to the tip. female flowers: ovary spherical, c. 2 mm diam., yellowish-green, 2-4-locular; stigma 2-4-lobed, pale yellow in colour. neuter flowers closely arranged, each flower spherical, brownish-red, glossy, c. 6 mm diam. male flowers: each c. 1.8 mm long, c. 1.5 mm broad, 4-celled, opening by 2 apical elongated pores, yellowish flushed with red at top along the connective. spadix appendix c. 8.5 cm long, cylindrical, tapering towards the tip, dark purplish, inconspicuously irregularly furrowed at the base, smooth above, becoming warty and wrinkled after anthesis. infructescence not observed. phenology: flowering: march-april; fruiting specimens have not been observed, fruiting may be during may-june. distribution: known only from the type locality. notes: a rare taxon with very restricted distribution. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 17   fig. 6. amorphophallus mysorensis e. barnes & c. e. c. fisch. var. mysorensis. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe removed showing spadix; d. single female flower; e. female flower l.s.; f. ovary c.s.; g. stigma view from top; h., male flower view from broader side; i. male flower view from top showing openings of thecae; j. male flower l.s.; k. male flower c.s. 18 jaleel et al.   specimens examined: karnataka: mysore dist.: billigirirangan hills, punjur ghat, 3500 ft., 22.4.1939, e. barnes 2131 (2 inflorescences) (k); ibid., 22.41939, e. barnes 2133 (spirit collection 6914/5) (k), e. barnes 2167 (spirit collection 16862) (k); ibid., 12.9.1999, a. jaleel ria 378 (tuber with leaf) (cali). amorphophallus mysorensis var. bhandarensis (s. r.yadav, kahalkar & bhuskute) sivadasan & jaleel, stat. et comb. nov. basionym: amorphophallus bhandarensis s.r. yadav, kahalkar & bhuskute, aroideana 32: 134 (2009). type: india, maharashtra state, bhandara dist., tumsar, 2.7.2008, v. i. kahalkar 5372 (holotype cal; isotype bsi & shivaji university herbarium, kolhapur, maharashtra!). tubers depressed sub-globose, 5-7 cm diam. and 3-4.5 cm thick; with stolon-like offsets produced from the tubers. petiole 40-55 cm long, 1.5-2.0 cm diam., smooth, with small black lines and dots forming mottling all over except at the apical portion. leaflets sessile, lanceolate, 7-19 cm long and 3-5 cm broad, base unequal and decurrent on rachis. peduncle 35-55 cm long, and 1.5-2.0 cm diam., identical with petiole in colour and mottling. spathe convolute; brownish-pale green with prominent veins outside, purplish within, dark brown at base, 14.0-15.5 cm long and 3.5-4.0 cm diam., broadly ovate when spread, flat, tip acute. spadix longer than the spathe, with a stipe c. 1.2 cm long and 1 cm diam.; female zone 3.5-4.0 cm long and c. 1.2 cm diam., staminodial zone 1.5-2.0 cm long and c. 1.4 cm diam., male zone 4.5-5.5 cm long and c. 1 cm diam. female flowers: ovary sub-globose, c. 1.6 mm high, c. 2 mm diam., greenish, 2-4-loculed; stigma sessile, 2-4-lobed, c. 1.3 mm diam., pale yellowish. staminodial zone with closely arranged rhomboid-conical, gibbous, apex purple-tinged; neuter flowers arranged in c. 6 spiral rows. male flowers: yellowish, each c. 1.8 mm high and 1.6 mm broad, dehiscing by two apical pores. spadix appendix 3.5-4.0 cm long and c. 8 mm diam. at base, tapering to a pointed tip, with irregular small furrows and ridges, pale yellowish. fruits ovoid, bright red when ripe. seeds 2-4, globose. phenology: flowering and fruiting: july-august. distribution: known only from the type locality. notes: amorphophallus bhandarensis was published recently (yadav et al., 2009) during the preparation of the present article, the description is primarily based on the protologue of the species. a thorough study of the characteristic features of the species revealed that although it exhibits similarities with a. konkanensis, a. mysorensis and a. sylvaticus, it mostly resembles a. mysorensis in several morphological features including the general shape of spathe and spadix. the shape of neuter flowers and length of the spadix appendix are stated as being different from those of a. mysorensis by yadav et al. (2009). the neuter flowers usually exhibit variation in their shape and colour. even though the spadix appendix also exhibits variation in length, the relatively short sized revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 19   appendix of the species is a striking character. however, gross morphological similarities among the two species indicate the close relationship between the two and hence a. bhandarensis deserves only the status of a variety of a. mysorensis which is herein treated accordingly. specimen examined: maharashtra: bhandara dist.: tumsar, 2.7.2008, v. i. kahalkar 5372 (isotype shivaji university herbarium, kolhapur). amorphophallus smithsonianus sivad., willdenowia 18: 435 (1989). (fig. 7) type: india, kerala state, thiruvananthapuram dist., near attayar on the way to agasthyamala peak from bonaccord, 590 m, 25.12.1985, m. sivadasan cu 21547 (holotype k; isotype b!, cal!, m!, us!). tubers compressed-globose or irregularly sub-globose, 2.5-4.0 cm diam. and 1.8-2.3 cm thick in vegetative phase; 4-6 cm diam. and 2.8-3.5 cm thick in reproductive phase; skin smooth, glossy. petiole smooth, 25-55 cm long and 1.0-1.7 cm diam. at base; green with white specks and mottles, extreme base whitish and apical portion green, basally surrounded by 4-6 cataphylls, each cataphyll 8-11 cm long and 2.2-3.0 cm broad, tip acute with a stiff projection terminating in bifid apex, pale pinkish. lamina 30-40 cm diam., leaflets obovate-oblong, 3.5-13.8 cm long and 1.5-4.5 cm broad, apex acuminate, lower surface pale green, margin erose, glossy, venation closely pinnate. peduncle smooth, 9.0-10.5 cm long and 6-7 mm diam. at the base, colour same as that of the petiole surrounded by 4-6 cataphylls. spathe funnel-shaped, broadly obovate when spread with round or obtuse base, apex entire or notched, 4.0-4.5 cm long and 4.5-5.0 cm broad, basally convolute with broadened mouth, pale green with minute purplish specks outside, dark purplish with minute truncate projections at the base within for about one third of the length, pale yellowish green or creamy and smooth above. spadix sessile, c. 4 times longer than the spathe; female zone 6-9 mm long; staminodial zone 5-6 mm long, followed by a male zone of 2.0-2.2 cm long, and a terminal sterile appendix. female flowers: each with ovary c. 1.5 mm high and c. 2 mm diam., cream-coloured; style very short c. 0.5 mm long; stigma sub-equalling the ovary in diameter with 3-5 stout echinations, pale green becoming cream in colour after anthesis. neuter flowers in 2-5 rows, each obovoid or ellipsoid, dark-purplish or sometimes pale green, c. 5 mm high and c. 3 mm diam., becoming shrunken and thin at maturity. male flowers: each 1.0-1.3 mm high and 1.5-1.8 mm broad, sub-rectangular in outline with rounded corners, creamcoloured or pale greenish to yellowish-green with pale purplish tinge at the top, dehiscence by apical confluent pores. spadix appendix 12.5-21.0 cm long, c. 8 mm diam. at the base and tapering to the tip, bent or hanging from the middle, dark purplish, tip sometimes purplish green, with irregular longitudinal shallow furrows and few small spinescent projections at the base. phenology: flowering: december; fruiting specimens have not been observed. 20 jaleel et al.   fig. 7. amorphophallus smithsonianus sivad. a. tuber with leaf; b. marginal portion of a leaflet; c. tuber with inflorescence; d. inflorescsence spathe partially removed showing basal portion of spadix; e. details of basal interior portion of spathe; f. basal interior portion of spathe c.s.; g. single female flower; h. female flower l.s.; i. ovary c.s.; j. stigma view from top; k. single male flower view from broader side; l. male flower view from top showing openings of thecae; m. male flower l.s.; n. male flower c.s. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 21   distribution: endemic to kerala state. confined to a very small area in the state. notes: amorphophallus smithsonianus differs from other species in having a long bent or pendent spadix appendix, echinate stigma and erose leaflet-margins. it resembles with a. sylvaticus and a. konkanensis only in the general organization of the spadix. it is quite unusual to find specimens of amorphophallus in vegetative and reproductive phases during december with the only known exception of a. nicolsonianus sivad. (1986), but belonging to amorphophallus sect. conophallus (schott) engl. specimens examined: kerala: thiruvananthapuram dist.: near attayar on the way to agasthyamala peak from bonaccord, 590 m, 25.12.1985, m. sivadasan cu 21547 (holotype k; isotype – b, cal, cali, m, us). ibid., 30.12.1997, a. jaleel ria 268 (infl.) (cali); karamanayar, 700 m, 18.5.1991, n. mohanan 10824 (leaf) (tbgt); ibid., 700 m, no date, n. mohanan 11596 (infl.) (tbgt). amorphophallus sylvaticus (roxb.) kunth, enum. pl. 3: 34 (1841); engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c(48): 103 (1911); c. e. c. fisch. in gamble, fl. pres. madras : 1587 (1931); sivad. & nicols. in matthew, fl. tamilnadu carnatic 2: 1687 (1983); karth., jain, nayar & sanjappa, fl. ind. enum. monocot. : 6 (1989). arum sylvaticum roxb., fl. ind.: 511 (1832); wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 3: 7, t. 802 (1844). brachyspatha sylvatica (roxb.) schott, syn. aroid. : 35 (1856). synantherias sylvatica (roxb.) schott., gen. aroid.: t. 28 (1858); hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 518 (1893). (fig. 8) lectotype: wight, icon. pl. ind. or. 3(1) 1844, plate 802. (selected and designated here). tubers depressed sub-globose, 3-5 cm diam. and 1.5-3.0 cm thick in vegetative phase; 5-6 cm diam. and 3-4 cm in thick in reproductive phase; skin smooth, whitish or cream-coloured; roots numerous, 6-12 cm long and c. 0.1 cm diam. petiole smooth, 31-65 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm diam. at the base, greenish with pale green ovate-elongate irregular blotches with white margin, or pale green with pale yellowish ovate-elongate blotches, or pale green with whitish blotches, or light brown with pale brown blotches, and in all with minute mottling in between the blotches. lamina 32-60 cm diam., leaflets glabrous, ovate-elliptic, lanceolate or linear lanceolate, 4.0-7.5 cm long and 2.5-3.5 cm broad, decurrent at the base, tip acute, or acuminate in the case of linear lanceolate leaflets, ventral side pale green, margin slightly undulate. peduncle smooth, 40-50 cm long and c. 1 cm diam. at the base, identical with petiole in colour and pattern of blotches. spathe ovate, 3.0-5.5 cm long and 4.0-6.5 cm broad, completely convolute and open at the top; pale pinkish or greenish-purple outside, purple and verrucose within. spadix 5-6 times than the spathe, 14-22 cm long; stipitate; stipe 3-5 mm long, pale greenish; female zone 0.8-1.2 cm long, staminodial zone 4-8 mm long; male zone 1.6-3.0 cm long; terminal spadix appendix c. 18 cm long and 6-9 mm diam. at the base. female flowers: each with ovary sub-globose, c. 2 mm long and c. 2 mm diam., 2-locular with 22 jaleel et al.   fig. 8. amorphophallus sylvaticus (roxb.) kunth. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe partially removed to reveal basal portion of spadix; d. details of basal interior portion of spathe; e. basal interior portion of spathe c.s.; f. single female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma view from top; j. single male flower view from broader side; k. male flower view from top showing openings of thecae; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 23   single ovule in each locule; style short, 1-1.5 mm long, pale yellowish; stigma c. 1.5 mm broad, 2-lobed, sometimes obliquely oriented at the tip of the style; smooth at early stage but with irregular small warts at maturity. neuter flowers oblong-gibbous, 4-5 cm long, 3-4 mm diam., dark brown. male flowers: in groups, each group with 2-5 flowers, each flower c. 1.3 mm long and c. 1.5 mm broad. spadix appendix purplish. berries usually 2seeded, scarlet when mature. phenology: flowering: april-june; fruiting: july-august. distribution: sri lanka and india (kerala?, tamil nadu, karnataka, andhra pradesh, maharashtra and gujarat). one specimen at k (r.h. beddome, s.n.) is labelled as collected from ‘wynad’ and forms the only record of the species in kerala. notes: the name arum sylvaticum was first published in william roxburgh’s ‘flora indica’ (511:1832) based on a specimen collected from ‘circars’ and the illustration (plate 802) was published in robert wight’s ‘icones plantarum indiae orientalis’ (18431845). this being the first published illustration based on roxburgh’s collection, it is selected and designated here as the lectotype of the name. the leaflets are highly variable in shape from ovate-elliptic to lanceolate or long linear lanceolate. amorphophallus sylvaticus resembles a. konkanensis in general morphology of the spathe and spadix. but in a. konkanensis the style is more or less sessile or very short (c. 0.3 mm), and stigma is 3-4-lobed whereas in a. sylvaticus the style is comparatively long (1.0-1.5 mm) and stigma is 2-lobed which usually is obliquely oriented on the style. specimens examined: kerala?: ‘wynad’, 1873, r. h. beddome, s.n. (k). tamil nadu: tamabaram, vandalur, ‘chingleput’ dist., aug. 1934, e. barnes 880 (k); tambaram, w. tank bund, 3.8.(19)34, e. barnes 824(k); nedumkundram, ‘chingleput’ dist., 4.8.(19)34, e. barnes 823 (k); 934, e. barnes 825 (k). tamabaram, vandalur, ‘chingleput’ dist., aug. 1934, e. barnes 880 (k); maruthamalai, 15.4.1970, m .v. viswanathan 524 (infl.) (mh); chengalpet dist., maduranthakan taluk, pillathikkuppam near vedanthangal bird sanctuary, 25.12.1986, m. sivadasan cu 21560c (infl.) (cali); ibid., 3.7.1998, a. jaleel ria 315 (infl.) (cali). karnataka: ainurmarigudi forest, 11.8.1981, c. r. suresh cu 21493a (part of a leaf) (cali). andhra pradesh: kurnool dist.: dhongabhavikota-chelma, 6.7.1963. j. s. ellis 16772 (mh). maharashtra: bombay, (no date), nimmo 259 (k); forest near chormuli, naoli, 6 miles north of bhimanoli, 13.7.1941, mccann & h. santapau 214-9 (blat). madhya pradesh: raipur, 6.6.1972, verma 17572 (bsa). taxonomic analysis hooker in his flora of british india (1893) included seventeen species of amorphophallus of which seven are listed for india and actually they belong to five species. additionally, plesmonium margaritiferum (roxb.) schott (= amorphophallus margaritifer) and synantherias sylvatica (roxb.) schott (= a. sylvaticus), the only 24 jaleel et al.   representatives then known of sect. rhaphiophallus, are also listed. fischer (1931) in gamble's 'flora of the presidency of madras' described six species of which a. hohenackeri, plesmonium margaritiferum (= a. margaritifer) and a. sylvaticus are the ones representing amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus. after the publication of the important works of hooker (1893), engler (1911) and fischer (1931), a total of six new taxa, viz. a. bhandarensis s. r. yadav et al. (= a. mysorensis var. bhandarensis (s. r. yadav et al.) sivad. et jaleel, a. bonaccordensis, a. longiconnectivus, a. konkanensis, a. mysorensis and a. smithsonianus belonging to this section have been published, thereby enhancing the total number of taxa of this section in india to nine. the endemic taxa with very restricted distribution confined to one state alone are a. bonaccordensis (kerala), a. longiconnectivus (madhya pradesh), a. mysorensis (karnataka), a. mysorensis var. bhandarensis (maharashtra), and a. smithsonianus (kerala). amorphophallus hohenackeri occurs in kerala and karnataka states, and a. konkanensis in goa and maharashtra states. a. margaritifer and a. sylvaticus are the species having wider distribution in the country with the latter having extended distribution outside india occurring in sri lanka. a. mysorensis var. mysorensis has been rediscovered during the course of the present investigation after about 60 years of its first collection in 1939 by barnes. a. longiconnectivus was described by bogner (1995) based on a single specimen collected by haines in the year 1910 and available at the kew herbarium (k). no other earlier or later collections are known to be available in any indian or foreign herbaria other than the collections made during the present investigation which formed the second collection of the species after 87 years of its first collection. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to dr. wilbert l. a. hetterscheid, netherlands for thorough review of a manuscript on revision of indian amorphophallus. the first two authors wish to thank the authorities of the university of calicut, kerala, india for logistics during the execution of field work of the study. the facilities provided by the authorities of various national and international herbaria (assam, bm, bsa, bsd, bshl, bsi, cal, cali, dd, gh, jab, k, kfri, l, m, mh, pbl, tbgt, us) for study of herbarium specimens are thankfully acknowledged. the authors express gratitude towards mr. v. b. sajeev, india for the illustrations. the last four authors extend their appreciation to the deanship of scientific research, king saud university for support through the research group project no. rgp-vpp-135. references blume, c.l. 1835. tribe "thomsoniae". rumphia 1: 138-150. bogner, j. 1995. a remarkable new amorphophallus (araceae) from india. kew bull. 50: 397-400. revision of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus 25   bogner, j., mayo, s.j. and sivadasan, m. 1985. new species and changing concepts in amorphophallus. aroideana 8(1): 14-25. cabrera, l.i., salazar, g.a., chase, m.w., mayo, s.j., bogner, j. and dávila, p. 2008. phylogenetic relationships of aroids and duckweeds (araceae) inferred from coding and noncoding plastid dna. amer. j. bot. 95(9): 1153-1163. engler, a. 1911. araceae–lasioideae. in: engler, a. (ed.), das pflanzenreich 48 (iv. 23 c). wilhelm engelmann, leipzig, pp. 1-130. fischer, c.e.c. 1931. araceae. in: gamble, j.s., flora of the presidency of madras. adlard & son ltd., london, pp. 1106-1107. fosberg, f.r. and sachet, m.h. 1965. manual of tropical herbaria (regnum vegetabile 39). international bureau for plant taxonomy & nomenclature, utrecht, netherlands. grob, g.b.j., gravendeel, b., eurlings, m.c.m., and hetterscheid, w.l.a. 2002. phylogeny of the tribe "thomsoniae" (araceae) based on chloroplast matk and trnl intron sequences. syst. bot. 27: 453-467. grob, g.b.j., gravendeel, b. and eurlings, m.c.m. 2004. potential phylogenetic utility of the nuclear floricaula/leafy second intron: comparison with three chloroplast dna regions in amorphophallus (araceae). mol. phyl. evol. 30: 13-23. hetterscheid, w.l.a. and de sarker, d. 1996. notes on the genus amorphophallus (araceae) 7. amorphophallus (plesmonium) margaritifer (roxb.) kunth in profile. aroideana 19: 132-138. hetterscheid, w.l.a. and ittenbach, s. 1996. everything you always wanted to know about amorphophallus, but were afraid to stick your nose into! aroideana 19: 7-131. hetterscheid, w.l.a., yadav, s.r. and patil, k.s. 1994. notes on the genus amorphophallus (araceae) 5. amorphophallus konkanensis, a new species from india, and taxonomic reflections on amorphophallus section rhaphiophallus. blumea 39: 289-294. hooker, j.d. 1893. amorphophallus. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india, vol. 6. l. reeve & co. ltd., london, pp. 513-519. mayo, s.j., bogner, j. and boyce, p.c. 1997. amorphophallus. in: the genera of araceae. royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 235-239. sedayu, a., eurlings, m.c.m., gravendeel, b. and hetterscheid, w.l.a. 2010. morphological character evolution of amorphophallus (araceae) based on a combined phylogenetic analysis of trnl, rbcl and leafy second intron sequences. botanical studies 51: 473-490. sivadasan, m. 1986. amorphophallus nicolsonianus (araceae), a new species from india. pl. syst. evol. 153: 165-170. sivadasan, m. 1989. amorphophallus smithsonianus (araceae), a new species from india and a note on a. sect. synantherias. willdenowia 18: 435-440. sivadasan, m. and abdul jaleel, v. 1998a. rediscovery of amorphophallus longistylus (araceae), a little known rare endemic species from middle andaman, india. rheedea 8(1): 103-106. sivadasan, m. and abdul jaleel, v. 1998b. rediscovery of amorphophallus longiconnectivus bogner, a little known rare endemic species of araceae. rheedea 8(2): 243-247. sivadasan, m. and abdul jaleel, v. 2000a. rediscovery of amorphophallus carnosus (araceae), a rare and narrow endemic species from south andaman, india. rheedea 10(1): 63-67. sivadasan, m. and abdul jaleel, v. 2000b. amorphophallus hirsutus teysm. et binn. (araceae): a new report from india. rheedea 10(2): 143-147. 26 jaleel et al.   sivadasan, m. and abdul jaleel, v. 2001. amorphophallus mysorensis e. barnes et c.e.c. fisch. of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus (araceae) in india with notes on related species. aroideana 24: 94-99. sivadasan, m. and abdul jaleel, v. 2009. amorphophallus bognerianus (araceae), a new species from india. aroideana 32: 136-141. sivadasan, m., mohanan, n. and rajkumar, g. 1994. amorphophallus bonaccordensis, a new species of araceae from india. blumea 39: 295-299. tamura, m.n., yamashita, j., fuse, s. and haraguchi, m. 2004. molecular phylogeny of monocotyledons inferred from combined analysis of plastid matk and rbcl gene sequences. j. plant. res. 117: 109-120. wight, r. 1843-1845. icones plantarum indiae orientalis, vol. 3 (part1). j. b. pharoah, madras. yadav, s.r., kahalkar, v.i. and bhuskute, s.m. 2009. a new species of amorphophallus bl. ex decne. (araceae) from bhandara district, maharashtra state, india. aroideana 32: 132-135. (manuscript received on 23 march 2010; revised on 5 february 2011) taxonomic study of the genus leucas r bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 1-10, 2005 (june) a critical study of the genus leucas r. br. (lamiaceae) from bangladesh mahbuba khanam and md. abul hassan1 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur -1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh key words: leucas r. br., lamiaceae, taxonomy, bangladesh. abstract eight species of the genus leucas r. br. (lamiaceae) have been recognized for bangladesh after ciritical studies and described them in the paper with artificial key, illustrations and other necessary information. introduction the genus leucas r. br. ( lamiaceae), consisting of 80 species (hedge 1990) with two main centres: one in africa, especially eastern tropical africa; the other in asia, with its largest diversity in india with 43 species (mukerjee 1940). the previous taxonomic accounts of leucas for the present bangladesh area have been given by hooker (1885), prain (1903) and kanjilal et al. (1939) who reported only five species. after thorough and critical studies of a large number of specimens from bangladesh including the type specimens the authors have recognized the existence of eight species of the genus leucas for bangladesh, namely leucas aspera, l. biflora, l. cephalotes, l. ciliata, l. indica, l. mollissima, l. vestita and l. zeylanica. of these l. ciliata, l. mollissima and l. vestita are known only from greater sylhet; and l. aspera, l. cephalotes, l. zeylanica are fairly common in most of the districts; whereas l. indica is by far the most common of all the species and l. biflora is very rare being recorded only from chittagong. in the present paper, the taxonomic enumeration of the recognized taxa is presented in alphabetical order. types and other specimens studied have been mentioned. materials and methods the description and illustrations have been prepared from the herbarium specimens preserved at dacb, cal, k, e and duh (dhaka university herbarium) as well as from freshly collected materials by the authors. 1department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 2 khanam and hassan results and discussion leucas burm. ex r. br., prodr.: 504 (1810) type species : l. flaccida r. br. herbs or undershurbs, aromatic. stem quadrangular, grooved, wooly, villous, pubescent or hirsute. leaves opposite, elliptic-lanceolate to broadly ovate, entire to serrate, acute to acuminate. inflorescence of dense axillary, less often terminal, usually distant whorls. calyx 10nerved, often striate, mouth equal or oblique, teeth 6-10, usually unequal, pubescent to hirsute. corolla with upper lip erect, concave, villous externally, lower lip 3-fid, spreading, mid-lobe larger. stamens 4, didynamous, ascending under upper lip, anthers connivent, cells divaricate, ultimately confluent. disc entire or lobed, uniform or sometimes enlarged anteriorly, style shortly 2-lobed. nutlets ovoid, triquetrous, obtuse to truncate-rounded at apex. key to the species of leucas: 1. whorls 2-4-flowered; stem procumbent biflora whorls 6many flowered; stem erect or ascending 2 2. bracts linear, calyx mouth almost glabrous within 3 bracts lanceolate to elliptic, shortly awned, ciliate. calyx mouth with a ring of hairs within cephalotes 3. bracts pubescent, without marginal bristles indica bracts hirsute, with marginal bristles 4 4. bracts forming a dense involucre, calyx mouth equal 5 bracts forming a loose involucre, calyx mouth oblique zeylanica 5. leaves pubescent on the upper surface, bracts ciliate 6 leaves and bracts villous 7 6. calyx hairy outside and with a ring of hairs at mouth ciliata calyx hairy above, glabrous below, mouth naked aspera 7. calyx villous outside and at the throat vestita calyx silky villous outside; pubescent at the throat mollissima enumeration of the species 1. l. aspera (willd.) link., enum. hort. berol. 2 : 113 (1822). hook. f., fl. brit. india, 4: 690 (1885); prain, bengal pl.: 639(1903-reprint 1963); mukerjee, rec. bot. surv. india, 14 (1): 166 (1940); keng, gard. bull. singapore, 24: 101 (1969) and in van steenis (ed.), fl. malesiana, 8(3): 337(1978); phlomis aspera willd., enum. hort. berol. 2: 621 (1809). bangla: choto halkusa, dulfi, kusa, shetodrone (pl. i. fig. 1) an erect or diffuse, annual herb, up to 50 cm tall, hirsute or scabrid. leaves with 0.5 1 cm long petiole; lamina 4-8 x 1-1.5 cm, oblong-lanceolate often entire or slightly serrate, a critical study of the genus leucas 3 plate 1 (figs. 1-4) 1. leucas aspera (willd.) link., habit sketch (x 0.18). 2. l. biflora (vahl.) benth., habit sketch (x 0.18). 3. l. cephalotes ( roth.) spreng., habit sketch (x 0.18). 4. l. ciliata wall ex benth., habit sketch (x 0.18). acute to obtuse. inflorescence with terminal and axillary whorls. bract c. 1 cm long, almost equaling the calyx, marginal bristles more than 0.5 mm long. calyx c. 0.8 cm long, fruiting calyx c. 1.2 cm long, tubular, curved, constricted above the nutlets, usually smooth and 4 khanam and hassan glabrous below, ribbed and hirsute above, teeth triangular, spinulose, ciliate, the upper one longest. nutlets c. 0.2 x 0.1 cm, obovoid-oblong, angular on inner surface, rounded on outer, smooth, brownish black. fl.& fr.: almost throughout the year, but especially during winter. 2n=22 (fedorov 1969). specimens examined: type: caramania (b-willd, 10951-microfiche !) bogra : mohasthangar, 22 viii 1989, mia, rahman, mahbuba & rezia m. 2191(dacb). chittagong : moheskhali, 31 viii 1981, mia et al. m. 672 (dacb). cox's bazar : cox's bazar, 15 xii 1984, khan, huq & mia k. 6984 (dacb). dhaka: dhaka, dhaka university, shamsun nahar hall, 31 xii 73, m. khanam 109(duh). gazipur : chandra forest, 19 viii 1980, huq, mia, mahbuba & momtaz h. 4643(dacb). jessore: jhikorgacha to mallikpur, 2 ix 1983, huq, mia & mahbuba, h. 6166(dacb); keshabpur, 30 viii 1983, huq, mia & mahbuba h. 5987(dacb). rangamati : pablakhali near rangapahar, khan et al. k. 4590(dacb). tangail: gorai, 5 viii 1976, khan et al. k. 4158(dacb). economic importance: the juice of the leaves is used in psoriasis, chronic skin eruptions, in chronic rheumatism and applied to disperse painful swellings (kirtikar and basu 1918; chopra et al. 1996). the flowers are being warmed with a little honey and given orally for coughs and colds to children (caius 1998). ecology: usually on sandy soil. distribution: throughout indian sub-continent extending from punjab to assam and southward up to peninsular india. 2. l. biflora (vahl.) benth. in wall., pl. as. rar.1: 62(1830). hook. f.., fl. brit. india, 4: 683(1885); mukerjee, rec. bot. surv. india, 14(1): 180(1940); cramer in dassanayake & fosberg (eds.), rev. handb. fl. ceylon, 3:186(1981); phlomis biflora vahl., symb. bot. 3: 77(1794); r. br. prodr.: 504(1810); prain, bengal pl.: 640(1903-reprint, 1963). (pl. i. fig. 2) a slender procumbent herb. leaves with 0.4-1.0 cm long petiole. lamina 1.5-5.0 x 0.52.0 cm, elliptic to broadly ovate or oblong, coarsely serrate or crenate, truncate to rounded at the base, obtuse, hirsute on the upper surface, tomentose beneath. inflorescence in axillary and terminal whorls, verticils lax, distant, 1-4-flowered. bract c. 0.2 cm long, subulate, setaceous. pedicel 0.2-0.3 cm long. calyx 0.8-0.9 cm long, distinctly pedicelled, campanulate, 10-nerved, nerves prominent, hispid outside, sparsely hairy within except below the middle; teeth 10, narrowly lanceolate, ciliate, shorter than the tube. nutlets 1.5 mm long, truncate at the apex, irregularly tuberculate, brown. fl.& fr: january to july. specimens examined: type: habitat in india orientali. chittagong : chittagong, oct. 1940, s.k.sen, n.l.pal & r.khan (duh); 2 vi 1967, n. khan 2(k); near gani bakery, 24 iv 1985, m.yusuf (k); kotwali p.s., 4 i 1980, m.yusuf 278(dacb). ecology: on dry soil. distribution: india extending southward to myanmar. a critical study of the genus leucas 5 3. l. cephalotes ( roth.) spreng., syst. 2 :743(1825). hook. f., fl. brit. india, 4, 689 (1885); prain, bengal pl.: 639(1903-reprint, 1963); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 3: 525 (1939); mukerjee, rec. bot. surv. india, 14 (1): 168 (1940); press in hara et al. (eds.), enum. fl. pl. nepal, 3 :156 (1982); phlomis cephalotes roth., nov. sp. : 262( 1821); leucas capitata desf., mem. mas. par. 11: 8, t, 4 (1824). bangla: barahal-kusa (pl. i. fig. 3) stout, erect, annual herb, up to 60 cm tall. stem usually branched, grooved, scaberulous or hispidly pubescent. leaves with 1.0 1.5 cm long petiole, pubescent; lamina 6.0 7.5 x 1.5 2.0 cm, ovate, serrate, subacute, pubescent on both surfaces. inflorescence with whorls, usually terminal, globose, up to 4.0 cm in diam. bract c. 1.4 cm long, ellipticlanceolate, acute, shortly awned, ciliate, nerves prominent. calyx enlarged in fruit, flowering calyx 1.0 cm and fruiting calyx 1.5 cm long, almost straight, slightly bent at the mouth, teeth 10, pubescent without, with a ring of stiff hairs inside the mouth, as long as or longer than the teeth. nutlets c.0.3 x 0.1 cm, ovoid, brown, smooth. fl.& fr.: april to december. specimens examined: type: "in india orientali" heyne (b?). chittagong : moheskhali, 5 iii 1978, a.hassan 10 (dacb). chuadanga : kalabari, 2 i 1976, huq et al. h. 1801(dacb). dhaka : shamsun nahar hall, 28 v 1973, m. khanam 80 a(duh); neighbourhood of biology building, curzon hall, 12 vi 1942, a.k. acharya (duh); jawgara, 3 xii 1968, s. das 2 (duh). jessore : magura , 5 i 1976, huq et al. h. 1921(dacb); rupganj, 29 viii 1983, huq, mia & mahbuba h. 5977(dacb); keshabpur, 30 vii 1983, huq, mia & mahbuba h. 5995(dacb). .kaliganj-kotchandpur, 1 ix 1983, huq, mia & mahbuba h. 6104(dacb). rajshahi : r. u.campus, 19 i 1974 , khan & huq k. 3832(dacb); charghat, 24 x 1989, mia, rahman, mahbuba & rezia. 2294(dacb). this species may be easily confused with l. aspera in its dense floral whorls, but can be readily distinguished by its elliptic-lanceolate bracts and by the characteristic ring of hairs inside the calyx mouth. economic importance: the plant is officinal, being considered stimulant and diaphoretic. the seeds yield medicinal oil. the fresh juice is used specifically as an external application in scabies. the flowers are administered in the form of syrup as a domestic remedy for coughs and colds. the leaves are eaten as a pot-herb (kirtikar and basu, 1918 and kanjilal et al. 1939; chopra et al. 1996). ecology: on waste marshy places. distribution: throughout indian subcontinent. 4. l. ciliata wall ex benth., wall. pl. as. rar.1: 61(1830). hook. f.., fl. brit. india, 4: 687(1885); mukerjee, rec. bot. surv. india, 14(1): 174(1940); press in hara et al. (eds), enum. fl. pl. nepal, 3: 156 (1982). (pl. i. fig. 4) a robust herb up to 100 cm tall. leaves with 0.5-1.5 cm long petiole, lamina 4.0-8.0 x 1.0-2.5 cm, ovate or lanceolate, acute, coarsely serrate, base narrowed, hirsute with yellow appressed hairs, midrib and veins glabrous on the upper surface and densely hairy on the lower surface. inflorescence in terminal and axillary whorls, globose, densely manyflowered. bracts 1-1.1 x 0.1-0.2 cm long, linear with median one rib, margin ciliate, 6 khanam and hassan spinulose. calyx 1.0-1.1 cm long, tubular, tube 0.70.8 cm long, straight, hairy outside and with a ring of hairs at the mouth; teeth 0.3-0.4 cm long, linear or lanceolate, ciliate, spinulose, stellately spreading in fruit. nutlets 0.3-0.5 cm long, smooth, brown. fl.& fr.: april to december. specimens examined: type : nepal, wall. cat. n. 2046 (cal !). sylhet : sylhet, 26 viii 1821, francis de silva wall. cat. n.2046 (cal). ecology: on waste marshy places. distribution : nepal, bhutan, india and myanmar. 5. l. indica ( l.) r. br. ex vatke in oesterr. b. zeits. 25 : 95 (1875). press in hara et al.(eds.) enum. fl. pl. nepal. 3 :156 (1982); leonurus indicus l., syst. ed. 10 : 1101 (1760); leucas lavandulifolia sm., in rees. cycl. : 20, n. 2 (1819); mukerjee, rec. bot. surv. india, 14 (1): 167 (1940); keng, gard. bull. singapore 24: 103 (1969); and in van steenis (ed.), fl. malesiana, 8(3) : 338(1978) phlomis linifolia roth., nov. sp. : 260 (1821); leucas linifolia (roth.) spreng., syst. 2: 743 (1825). hook. f., fl. brit. india, 4: 690 (1885); prain, bengal pl.: 639(1903-reprint, 1963); kanjilal et al. fl. assam 3: 524 (1939). bangla: dondocolos, hal-kusa, sheto drone. (pl. 2. fig. 5) erect or diffuse, aromatic annual, 16-60 cm long. leaves with 0.5 1.0 cm long petiole; lamina 6.0-9.0 x 0.5 2.5 cm, linear or narrowly oblong-lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, acute, base narrow, margin entire or obscurely crenate, more or less pubescent on both surfaces. inflorescence whorls, terminal and axillary, often the whorls of the successive nodes joining to form a cylindrical spike . bract c. 0.6 cm long, almost equalling the calyx, tip spinulose, pubescent. calyx c. 0.8 cm long, tubular, curved, constricted above the nutlets, usually smooth and glabrous below, ribbed and scabrid above, mouth very oblique, produced on the upper side, teeth short, triangular, spinulose, the upper one longest, pubescent within only above the nutlets. nutlets c. 0.3 x 0.1 cm, obovoid-oblong, angular on inner face, rounded on outer, smooth, brownish black. fl.& fr: almost throughout the year, but especially during winter. 2n=22 (fedorov 1969). specimens examined: type: linn 726/28-microfiche !. barguna : barguna to amtali, 19 iii 1989, huq, mahfuz, rahman & mia h.9145(dacb). bogra : near a.h.college, 18 i 1974, khan & huq k. 3795(dacb). chittagong : chittagong, 10 iv 1880, j. wood (cal); on the bank of the karnaphuli river, 19 iii 1899, a.t.gage (cal); chittagong, jan.-feb. 1878, s. kurz (cal); sandwip, kalapani, 9 ii 1988, mia & mahfuz m. 1485(dacb); dinajpur: singra forest, 12 x 1980, huq, rahman, mia & mahbuba h.4739(dacb). gazipur : joydebpur; bangladesh rice research institute, 19 vi 1973, m. khanam 86 b(duh). kushtia: munshigunj to alamdanga, 11 vi 1974, khan & mia k. 3933(dacb). rajshahi : meghla, 2 iv 1974, m.rahman 333(dacb). sylhet : sylhet, francis de silva wall. cat. no. 2048(k). a critical study of the genus leucas 7 plate 2 (figs. 5-8) 5. leucas indica ( l.) r. br. ex vatke, habit sketch (× 0.18). 6. l. mollissima wall ex benth., habit sketch (× 0.18). 7. l. vestita wall ex benth., habit sketch (× 0.18). 8. l. zeylanica (l.) r. br., habit sketch (× 0.18). economic importance : the plant contains isopunarane, rhamnoglycoside linifolioside (ghani 2003). leaves are roasted and eaten with salt for loss of appetite and in snakebite. juice of leaves is employed in headaches (chopra et al. 1996). 8 khanam and hassan ecology : a common weed, on the cultivated lands but has been seen to grow in shady moist situations also. distribution: bangladesh, india and myanmar. 6. l. mollissima wall ex benth., wall. pl. as. rar. 1: 62(1830). hook. f., fl. brit. india, 4: 682(1885); prain, bengal pl.: 640(1903-reprint 1963); mukerjee, rec. bot. surv. india, 14(1): 183(1940); cramer in dassanayake & fosberg (eds.), rev. handb. fl. ceylon, 33:184(1981); press in hara et al.(eds.) enum. fl. pl. nepal, 3 :157 (1982). (pl. 2. fig. 6) slender herbs with staggling branches. stem hoary-tomentose with adpressed hairs. leaves with c. 0.5 cm long petiole, densely hairy; lamina 3.0-5.0 x 1.0-2.0 cm, ovatelanceolate, serrate, acute, cuneate, strigosely villous above and tomentose below. inflorescence in dense whorls, whorls many flowered. bracts 0.3-0.4 cm long, linear, villous. calyx 0.6-0.8 cm long, almost sessile, tube 10-ribbed, ribs softly villous outside, pubescent within on the upper part; teeth c. 0.5 mm long, subequal or alternately shorter, mouth equal. nutlets 0.2 x 0.1 cm, obliquely truncate at the top, brown. fl.& fr: january to july. specimen examined : type : nepalia, wall. cat. no 2054/1 (cal!). sylhet : sylhet; pandua, f. de silva, wall cat no. 2054/2 ( k). ecology : on dry soil. distribution : india, sri lanka, china and malaysia. 7. l. vestita wall ex benth., wall. pl. as. rar. 1 : 61(1830). hook. f., fl. brit. india, 4: 687(1885); mukerjee, rec. bot. surv. india, 14(1): 175(1940). (pl. 2. fig. 7) a tall herb, tawny villous with spreading hairs. leaves shortly petioled, hirsute. lamina 5.0-9.0 x 2.5-4.0 cm long, ovate-lanceolate, acute, crenate serrate, narrowed to the base, villous on both surfaces with somewhat stiff hairs. inflorescence terminal, whorls usually solitary, dense-flowered. bracts c. 1.0 cm long, narrowly linear, densely ciliate with long, somewhat bristle-like hairs. calyx about 1.0 cm long, tubular, straight, villous outside and at the throat, mouth not oblique; teeth short, slender, erect, sometimes spreading, ciliate with long hairs c. 0.1 cm long corolla large, upper lip densely bearded with rufus-brown hairs. nutlets c. 0.3 cm long, brown, smooth and shining. fl.& fr: january to july. specimen examined: type: bangladesh, sillet [sylhet], wall. cat. n. 2039(cal!). sylhet : sylhet, francis de silva wall. cat. n. 2039 (cal). ecology : on dry soil in grassland. distribution : india. 8. l. zeylanica (l.) r. br. in w. t. aiton, hort. kew. ed. 2(3): 409 (1811). hook. f., fl. brit. india, 4: 689 (1885); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 3: 525 (1939); mukerjee, rec. bot. surv. india, 14(1): 171(1940); keng, gard. bull. singore, 24: 101 (1969) and in van steenis, fl. malesiana, 8(3) : 338(1978); cramer in dassanayake & fosberg(eds.), rev. handb. fl. ceylon, 33:183(1981); phlomis zeylanica l., sp. pl.: 586(1753); l. involucrata wall ex benth., in wall. cat. n: 2047 nom nud; prain, bengal pl.: 638 (1903reprint, 1963). (pl. 2. fig. 8) a critical study of the genus leucas 9 an erect annual herb, upto 50 cm high. leaves with 0.3-1.0 cm long petiole; lamina 4-8 x 0.5-2.5 cm, broadly elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, remotely serrate, acute, hirsute on dorsal surface and on the nerves beneath. inflorescence of terminal whorls, rarely axillary. bract c. 0.6 cm long, almost equalling the calyx, linear, hirsute forming a loose involucre, marginal bristles usually less than 0.5 mm long. calyx c. 0.6 cm long, tubular, curved, glabrous below, ribbed and hirsute above, glabrous within, teeth triangular, spinulose, ciliate, the upper one longest. nutlets c. 0.2 x 0.1 cm, obovoid-oblong, angular on inner surface, rounded on outer, smooth, brownish black. fl.& fr: may to october. specimens examined:type: india (linn-740/14-microfiche !). bandarban: banbarban, 26 xi 1983, khan et al. k. 6447(dacb); comilla : lalmai hills; mainamati, 12 xi 1970, khan & huq k. 2133(dacb). dhaka: high court compound, 30 v 1973, m. khanam 82(duh). panchagarh : panchagarh, 26 ii 1984, mia et al. m. 1045(dacb). sylhet: jafflong road, 13 x 1973, khan et al. k. 6447(dacb). economic importance : juice of whole plant is used in scabies, skin-diseases, in headache and cold (chopra et al. 1996). the juice of the leaves is sniffed of as a remedy for snakebite (caius 1998). ecology: a weed of waste places. distribution: sri lanka, india (assam and peninsula), extending eastward through malaya peninsula up to china. acknowledgements the first author would like to thank the authorities of the royal botanic gardens, kew and edinburgh for herbarium and library facilities during her visit to uk in 1991-92. thanks are also due to the overseas development authority and the british council for the scholarship offered to her, and to bangladesh national herbarium for granting study leave. she also wishes to thank the authorities of the central national herbarium at kolkata, india for herbarium and library facilities during her visit in 1999. references caius, j.f. 1998. the medicinal and poisonous plants of india. scientific publishers, india. chopra, r.n., nayar, s.l. and chopra, i.c. 1996. glossary of indian medicinal plants. national institute of science communication, new delhi, india. cramer, l.h., 1981. in dassanyake and fosberg (eds), flora of ceylon 3. a.a. balkema. rotterdam. ghani, a. 2003. medicinal plants of bangladesh. asiatic soc. bangladesh, dhaka, 2nd edn. pp. 603. fedorov, a.a. 1969. chromosome numbers of flowering plants. academy of sciences of u.s.s.r., moscow. pp. 926. hooker, j. d. 1885. flora of british india, 4: 696-699 (indian reprint 1973). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, 23-a, connaught place, dehra dun, india. 10 khanam and hassan hedge, i.c., 1990. in: ali, s.i. and nasir, y. j. (eds.). flora of pakistan. royal botanic garden, edinburgh. kanjilal, u.n., das, s., knajilal, p.c. and de, r.n., 1939. flora of assam. 3: 497-530, calcutta. kirtikar, k. r. and basu, b. d. 1918. indian medicinal plants. 2 : 1010-1049, indian press, calcutta. mukerjee, s.k., 1940. a revision of the labiatae of the indian empire. rec. bot. surv. ind. 14(1);1205. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants 2: 859. (indian reprint 1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, 23-a, connaught place, dehra dun, india. results and discussion enumeration of the species microsoft word 07. primulina_purpurea.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 167-172, 2012 (december) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists primulina purpurea f. wen, b. zhao & y.g wei (gesneriaceae), a new species from china fang wen, wenlan li1, bo zhao, gui-you liang and yi-gang wei2 herbarium, guangxi institute of botany, guangxi zhuang autonomous region and chinese academy of sciences, cn-541006, guilin, china keywords: primulina purpurea; new species; gesneriaceae; guangxi; limestone flora; china. abstract primulina purpurea f. wen, b. zhao & y.g wei, a new species from east guangxi, china, is described and illustrated. the new species resembles p. medica (d. fang) y. z. wang, but differs from the latter by having broadly ovate to elliptic, left-right slightly asymmetry leaf blade, brightly purple to fuchsia corolla, broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate bracts with villous hairs outside and pubescent hairs inner, pistil 23.5–26.8 mm long, staminodes 3, capsule 4.5-5.0 cm long. introduction chirita buch.-ham. ex d. don (1822), belonging to gesneriaceae consisted of over 150 species and mainly distributed in south china, indo-china peninsula, malay peninsula, indonesia, nepal, burma (presently myanmar), bhutan and india (wood, 1974; wei et al., 2010). its relative, chinese monotypic genus primulina hance (1883), has been recently enlarged to include chirita sect. gibosaccus clarke and chiritopsis w. t. wang, two species of wentsaiboea based on molecular and morphological data (wang et al., 2011; weber et al., 2011). in gesneriaceae, primulina sensu lato is already a large genus with at least 145 species and 9 varieties (wang et al., 1998; wen et al., 2012a). in may 2009, during an expedition to zhongshan county, guangxi for the karst plants, we collected some unknown specimens belonging to primulina. although this unknown species looks very like p. medica (d. fang) y.z. wang, after critical examination, consultation of the relevant literatures (wang et al., 1990, 1998; ho, 2000; li and wang, 2004; wei et al., 2010; wen et al., 2012b; wu et al., 2012; xu et al., 2012) and study of herbarium specimens (e.g. pe, ibk, ibsc, cdbi, hn, kun, anu and bjfu), this species has been described as a new species, primulina purpurea fang wen, bo zhao & y.g wei. the new species is described and illustrated below. primulina purpurea fang wen, bo zhao & y.g wei, sp. nov. (figs 1-2). diagnosis: species nova haec p. medicae (d. fang) y.z. wang affinis, sed foliis late ovatis usque ellipticis, leviter asymmetricis, non falcatis, corollo purpurea usque fuchsina, bracteis late lanceolatis usque anguste ovatis, extus villosis, intra pubescentibus, pistillo 2.35–2.68 cm longo, staminodiis 3, capsula 4.5-5.0 cm longo differt. primulina purpurea is similar to p. medica (d. fang) y.z. wang, but it can be distinguished by leaf blade broadly ovate to elliptic, left-right slightly asymmetry, not falcate, corolla brightly purple to fuchsia, bracts broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, villous outside, pubescent inside, pistil 2.35–2.68 cm long, staminodes 3 and capsule 4.5-5.0 cm long. 1 college of chemistry and bioengineering, guilin university of technology, cn-541004, guilin, china (liwenlan@whu.edu.cn). 2 corresponding author. email: weiyigang@yahoo.com.cn 168 wen et al. type: china, guangxi zhuangzu autonomous region: zhongshan county, gong’an township, on the limestone hills, 24º27΄n, 111º9΄e, ± 186 m, 07 may 2009, g.y. liang & f. wen 09050701 (holotype: ibk; isotype: bjfc). fig. 1. primulina purpurea fang wen, bo zhao & y.g wei, sp. nov. a. habit; b. opened corolla; c. pistil and opened calyx lobes; d. stigma; e. anthers and filaments. perennial, stemless herb. rhizome internodes inconspicuous. leaves basal, whorled, rarely opposite; petioles 5-25 × 5-8 mm; leaf blade broadly ovate to elliptic, left-right slightly asymmetric, but not falcate, 3.5-7 × 2-3.5 cm, chartaceous to herbaceous, adaxially with dense, short and long hairs, eglandular, abaxially densely pubescent, base slightly oblique or symmetrical, cuneate, margin entire, occasionally repand, apex acute; lateral veins c. 5 on each side of midrib, conspicuous. cymes 6-9 or more on one stem, 10-12-flowered or more; peduncle 9.0-12.5 cm long, villous and glandular puberulent; bracts 2, free, broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 4.5-9.5 × 2.5-5.0 mm, outside villous, inner pubescent, margin entire, apex acute; bracteoles 2 when cyme 1-branched, opposite, narrowly ovate to linear, 7 × 1 mm, acute at apex, hairs same as bracts. pedicels 5-16 mm long, villous and glandular puberulent. calyx 5-partite to near base, and slightly united at base; segments equal, lanceolate-linear, 3.5-4 × 0.8-1 mm, outside and inside primulina purpurea, a new species 169 fig. 2. primulina purpurea fang wen, bo zhao & y.g wei, sp. nov. and p. medica (d. fang) y.z. wang. a-h & l: p. purpurea a, full view of the collection locality; b, habitat; c, habit; d, cyme and frontal view of flower; e, later view of flower; f, top view of flower; g, opened corolla; h, infructescence and young capsule; i, stigma; j-m: p. medica j, full view of the collection locality; k, habit; l, flower and leaf comparison of two related species; m, stigma. 170 wen et al. puberulent, margin entire, apex acute. corolla brightly purple to fuchsia, throat with two distinctly brightly yellow strips, 2.5-3.0 cm long, outside with densely spreading glandular hairs, inside glabrous, but adaxial lobes base sparsely puberulent; tube nearly tubular or infundibuliform, 20-25 × 6.8-7.5 mm; limb distinctly 2-lipped, adaxial lip 2-partite to middle or slightly over middle, lobes slightly oblique, linguiform or ovate, adaxial lobes c. 3 mm; abaxial lip 3-partite to base, lateral lobes obliquely ovate, c. 5 × 4 mm, the central one oblong, 5 × 3 mm. filaments c. 9 mm long, glabrous; anthers dorsifixed, connate at adaxial surfaces, c. 2.2 mm long, pubescent; staminodes 3, lateral ones short, linear, apex capitate, glabrous, 1.2-1.5 mm long, adnate to corolla 1.6-1.8 mm above base, the central one 0.4-0.5 mm long, adnate to corolla 3.0-3.1 mm above base; disc white, annular, margin apparently repand, glabrous, 0.8-1.0 mm high. pistil 23.5-26.8 mm long; ovary cylindrical, 16-18 mm long, c. 1.5 mm in diam., densely puberulent and glandular puberulent; style 6-7 mm long, c. 1.8-2.0 mm in diam., densely puberulent and glandular puberulent, the part close to stigma with densely eglandular-puberulent hairs. stigma translucent to white, obtrapeziform, apex 2-lobed to the middle, 1.5-1.8 mm long, lobes lingulate. capsule cylindrical, 4.5-5.0 cm long, 3.0-3.2 mm in diam., densely erectly puberulent and glandular puberulent. phenology: flowering in april-may. fruit matured in july-august. etymology: the specific epithet of the new species refers to its purple corolla. distribution and ecology: so far known only from some limestone hills range of gongan township, zhongshan county, guangxi zhuangzu autonomous region in china. the geographic distributions of this new species and its relative site are adjacent to each other (fig. 3). primulina purpurea grows in crevices or coarse faces of rocks of limestone hills at altitudes of c. 180 m associated with the other plants of gesneriaceae, p. pseudoheterotricha (t.j. zhou, b. pan & w.b. xu) mich. möller & a. weber, p. lutea (yan liu & y.g. wei) mich. möller & a. weber, petrocodon hancei (hemsl.) a.weber & mich. möller and paraboea dictyoneura (hance) b. l. burtt. fig. 3. distribution of primulina purpurea fang wen, bo zhao & y.g wei, sp. nov. (a) and its related species, p. medica (d. fang) y.z. wang (b) in china. primulina purpurea, a new species 171 conservation status: the species was collected only from one site and it face the danger of extinction due to human activities. the population of this new species is small, scattered along those limestone hill ranges and is restricted to 15 sq. km area. it is considered critically endangered [cr b2ab (iii, iv, v) + e] category by following iucn criteria (iucn, 2007). its related species, p. medica, was also assessed as critically endangered [cr b1ab (i, ii, v)]. however, the current status of the threatened new one is more serious than p. medica. primulina purpurea is allied to p. medica (d. fang) y.z. wang, but distinctly differs from the latter by the main characters given in table 1. table 1. diagnostic morphological characters of primulina purpurea and p. medica. characters p. purpurea p. medica leaves broadly ovate to elliptic, left-right slightly asymmetry, but not falcate. narrowly ovate-falcate to elliptic-falcate, asymmetry. peduncle length 9.0-12.5 cm long. 15-25 cm long. bracts broadly lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 4.5-9.5 × 2.5-5 mm, outside villous, inner pubescent. lanceolate-linear, 4-7 × 1.0-1.2 mm, outside villous, inner glabrous. corolla colour brightly purple to fuchsia. white or tinged pink. corolla size 2.5-3.0 cm long. 1.7-2.1 cm long. corolla tube size 2.0-2.5 cm × 6.8-7.5 mm. 1.3-1.5 cm × 5-6 mm. disc white, margin apparently repand, 0.81.0 mm high. green, margin entire, 0.4-0.5 mm long. pistil length 2.3-2.7 cm long. c. 1.8 cm long. ovary 16-18 mm long, densely villous. c. 7 mm long, densely puberulent. style 6-7 mm long, densely glandularpubescent and puberulent. 11-12 mm long, sparsely glandularpubescent and puberulent. staminodes 3 2 mature capsule 4.5-5.0 cm long. c. 1.5 cm long. acknowledgments we are grateful to mr. qi wei for the drawings, prof. fa-nan wei for checking the latin diagnosis, mr. shawn su (new zealand) for linguistic comments on the manuscript. this study was financially supported by the guangxi natural science foundation (2011gxnsfb018050), science research foundation of guangxi institute of botany (guizhiye11003), the national natural science foundation of china (31260038), basic research funding of guangxi academy of sciences (12yj25zw013) and west light foundation of the chinese academy of sciences. references don, d. 1822. descriptions of two new genera of nepal plants. edin. phil. j. 7: 82-86. hance, h.f. 1883. new chinese cyrtandreae. j. bot. 21: 165-170. ho, p.h. 2000. hemiboea clarke an illustrated flora of vietnam, vol. 3. nha xuat ban tre, tp. pp. 24-25 (in vietnamese). iucn 2007. 2007 iucn red list of threatened species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. iucn, gland, switzerland. retrieved on 31 august 2007. 172 wen et al. li, z.y. and wang, y.z. 2004. primulina, chirita and chiritopsis. in: li, z.y. and wang, y.z. (eds), plants of gesneriaceae in china. henan sci. & technol. publ. house, zhengzhou, pp. 170-282. wang, w.t., pan, k.y. and li, z.y. 1990. gesneriaceae. in: wang, w.t. (ed.), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae 69. science press, beijing, pp. 125-581. wang w.t., pan, k.y. and li, z.y. 1998. gesneriaceae. in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds.) flora of china vol. 18. science press, beijing & missouri bot. garden press, st. louis. 322 pp. wang, y.z., mao, r.b., liu, y., li, j.m., dong, y., li, z.y. and smith, j.f. 2011. phylogenetic reconstruction of chirita and allies (gesneriaceae) with taxonomic treatments. j. system. evol. 49: 50-64. weber, a., middleton, d.j., forrest, a., kiew, r., lim, c.l., rafidah, a.r., sontag, s., triboun, p., wei, y.g., yao, t.l. and möller, m. 2011. molecular systematics and remodelling of chirita and associated genera (gesneriaceae). taxon 60: 767-790. wei, y.g., wen, f., möller, m., monro, a., zhang, q., gao, q., mou, h.f., zhong, s.h. and cui, c. 2010. gesneriaceae of south china. guangxi sci. & technol. publ. house, nanning, 777 pp. (in chinese and english). wen, f., qin, g.l., wei, y.g., liang, g.y. and gao, b. 2012a. primulina hochiensis var. rosulata (gesneriaceae) a new variety at an entrance of a limestone cave from guangxi, china. phytotaxa 54: 37-42. wen, f., xi, s.l., wang, y., xiang, m.s. and fu, l.f. 2012b. primulina fengshanensis (gesneriaceae), a new species from guangxi, china. ann. bot. fennici 49: 103-106. wood, d. 1974. a revision of chirita (gesneriaceae). notes rbg edinb. 33: 123-205. wu, l., zhang, q., xu, w.b. and mo, s.s. 2012. primulina guigangensis (gesneriaceae): a new species from limestone area in guangxi, china. phytotaxa 38: 19-23. xu, w.b., zhang, q., wen, f., liao, w.b., pan, b., chang, h. and chung, k.f. 2012. nine new combinations and one new name of primulina (gesneriaceae) from south china. phytotaxa 64: 1-8. (manuscript received on 6 october 2012; revised on 12 november 2012) microsoft word 06. or.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 153-157, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new records of sterculiaceae for bangladesh md. manzurul kadir mia1, md. oliur rahman*, md. abul hassan and a. mozaharul huq2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: sterculiaceae; new records; guazuma ulmifolia; helicteres viscida; sterculia urens; bangladesh. abstract three species belonging to sterculiaceae, namely guazuma ulmifolia lam., helicteres viscida bl. and sterculia urens roxb. are recorded here for the first time for bangladesh. of these, the genus guazuma is also a new generic record for the country. updated nomenclature, important synonyms, description, ecology and geographical distribution are provided for each species. introduction sterculiaceae is moderately a large family consisting of some 70 genera and 1500 species, mainly of tropical and subtropical regions (cronquist, 1981). referring to the sterculiaceae of bangladesh hooker (1874) reported 20 species under 10 genera from the present bangladesh, whereas, prain (1903) documented 9 species and 5 genera from the same area. heinig (1925) recorded 14 species from chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. sinclair (1956) listed 6 species of this family from cox’s bazar while datta and mitra (1953) registered 11 species from dhaka and its suburb. very recently ahmed et al. (2009) added to our knowledge documenting 25 species of sterculiaceae occurring in bangladesh. during the course of a revisionary work on sterculiaceae of bangladesh the first author visited the british museum, london (bm), royal botanic garden, edinburgh (e) and royal botanic gardens, kew (k). at these herbaia he came across some herbarium specimens (clarke 19931, cowan 1618, hooker & t. thomson 302) collected from the area now falls under bangladesh, namely, guazuma ulmifolia lam., helicteres viscida bl. and sterculia urens roxb., respectively. none of these species appeared in the relevant publications of the regional flora, viz. hooker (1874), prain (1903), heinig (1925), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1956), khan and afza (1968), khan and banu (1972), khan and hassan (1984), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), khan and huq (2001), rahman et al. (2001), rashid and mia (2001), uddin et al. (2003), rahman (2004a, b), hossain et al. (2005), islam et al. (2009), tutul et al. (2009, 2010), rahman et al. (2010) and uddin and hassan (2010). since there has been no record of occurrence of guazuma ulmifolia lam., helicteres viscida bl. and sterculia urens roxb. in any *corresponding author. email: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 1former principal scientific officer, bangladesh national herbarium, mirpur-1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh. 2former consultant-taxonomist, university of illinois at chicago, usa. 154 mia et al. floristic works of bangladesh, these species are reported here for the first time as new records for bangladesh. moreover, the genus guazuma mill. is also reported here as a new generic record for the country. a detailed description with updated nomenclature, important synonyms, ecology and geographical distribution for each species are given below. guazuma ulmifolia lam., encycl. math. bot. 3: 52 (1789); robyns in ann. miss. bot. gard. 51: 10 2, f. 7 (1964); abedin et al. in nasir & ali (eds), fl. w. pak. 99: 10 (1976); malick in sharma et al., fl. ind. 3: 424 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 421 (1995). guazuma tomentosa kunth, in h.b.k., nov. gen. sp. 5: 32 (1823). mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 375 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 278 (1903). diuroglossum rufescens turcz. in bull. soc. nat. mosc. 25 (2): 157 (1852). theobroma guazuma l., sp. p1. : 782 (1753). a moderate-sized tree, up to 25 m tall. young twigs covered with rusty-brown or light grey stellate hairs. leaves simple, tomentose, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, 7-13 x 3-6 cm, acuminate at the apex, obliquely cordate at the base, 3-5 nerved from the base, margin serrate, scabrid or glabrescent on upper surface, pubescent on lower surface; petiole 0.7-1.2 cm long, slender, covered with stellate hairs. inflorescence axillary and terminal panicles, many-flowered. flowers yellow; flower buds globose. calyx campanulate, 5-lobed, lobes reflexed, connate below the middle, stellately hairy. corolla 5-lobed, concave at the base, exceeding the calyx. stamens 10, staminodes 5, lanceolate; anthers 2-lobed, lobes divergent, concealed in the hood of the petals. ovary 5-locular, ovules many in each locule; style more or less connate. fruit a capsule, woody, oblong, obtuse, tuberculate. seeds albuminous. flowering and fruiting period: january to september. ecology: secondary forests, growing in alluvial and clay soils. specimen examined: naokhali: 30.10.1873, c.b. clarke 19931 (bm). geographical distribution: tropical america from mexico to the northern part of argentina and the middle part of brazil. also distributed in india, sri lanka and indonesia. helicteres viscida bl., bijdr. 1: 79 (1825); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 143 (1877); gagnep. in fl. gen. i.-c. 1: 489 (1911); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 281 (1922); craib in fl. siam. enum. 1: 175 (1925); kou-mei, fl. reipubl. popularis sin. 49 (2): 161 (1984). helicteres pulchella wall. ex boj. in hort. maurit.: 35 (1837). a shrub, 1-3 m tall, with stellate hairs on all parts. leaves ovate, ovate-oblong to lanceolate, 6-15 x 4-10 cm, subcoriaceous, with soft hairs on lower surface, acute to cuspidate at the apex, cuneate or oblique at the base, margin irregularly dentate, secondary nerves 3-5 pairs; petiole 0.4-1.0 cm long, hairy. inflorescence axillary, up to 3.5 cm long. flowers white or yellow; new records of sterculiaceae 155 pedicels articulate. calyx funnel shaped, 1.4-1.8 cm long, velvety outside, 5-lobed, lobes unequal, acute. corolla 2.5-3.2 cm long, spathulate, 5-lobed, lobes obtuse or retuse. stamens 10; staminodes 5; filamens glabrous; anthers 2-celled. ovary 5-locular, glabrous, each locule with many ovules, ovoid to oblong, surrounded by the ring of stamens; styles slender; stigma divided into 5, pin-like teeth. fruit a capsule, oblong or cylindrical, 2.5-4.0 cm long, beaked, covered with shaggy hairs. seeds many, globose to rhomboid. flowering and fruiting period: july to march. ecology: evergreen forest, altitudes 30-340 m. geographical distribution: china, vietnam, laos, thailand, myanmar, malay peninsula and indonesia. specimen examined: chittagong: jaldi range, boilchori, 2.12.1920. j.m. cowan 1618 (e). sterculia urens roxb., p1. corom. 1: 25, t. 24 (1795); fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 145 (1832); wight & arn, prodr. 1: 63 (1834); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 355 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 274 (1903); malick in shanma et al., fl. ind. 3: 470 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 432 (1995). cavallium urens schott & endl., melet. : 33 (1832). a soft-wooded deciduous tree, up to 15 m tall, with white papery outer bark; twigs glabrescent, with distinct raised leaf scars and lenticels. leaves crowded at the end of branchlets, palmately 3-5 lobed, coraceous, hairy on lower surface, 12-20 x 10-20 cm, acuminate to cuspidate at the apex, deeply cordate at the base, usually 5-nerved from the base; petiole very long, up to 20 cm long; stipules narrowly lanceolate, caducous. inflorescence terminal, many flowered, 10-18 cm long, glandular pubescent. flowers small, yellow; pedicels c 4mm long. cayx 5-lobed, campanulate, 5-lobed, lobes oblong or narrowly triangular, 4-8 x 3-5 mm, hairy on both surface, calyx-tube as long as lobes. male flowers: stamens 10; anthers sessile; staminodes 10. female flowers: ovary 5-6, ovoid, hairy; style hairy; stigma 5-6 lobed, recurved. fruit a follicle, 2-6, oblong, ellipsoid or kidney-shaped, 4-6 cm long and 1-2 cm broad when young, densely rusty pubescent. seeds 3-6, oblong to ellipsoid, black. flowering and fruiting period: october to february. ecology: mixed deciduous forest. geographical distribution: cambodia, india, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. specimen examined: chittagong : s. loc. 31.12.1850, j.d. hooker & t. thomson 302 (k). acknowledgement we would like to thank the authorities of the royal botanic gardens, kew, royal botanic garden, edinburgh and british museum, london for herbarium and library facilities. 156 mia et al. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperm: dicotyledons (ranunculaceae-zygophyllaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1110. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of the plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling. hooker, j.d. 1874. the flora of british india. vol. 1. l. reeve & co. ltd., england. pp. 353-379. hossain, m.m., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2005. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills, comilla, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 85-96. islam, m.r., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2009. an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 115-140. khan, m.s. and afza, s.k. 1968. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of teknaf and st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 16: 35-37. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts 2. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh 17(2): 63-68. khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 1984. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 32(1): 76-78. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focusing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. mia, m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol. 1. (reprint edition 1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india. pp. 271-279. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakund in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m.m., rashid, m.h. and rashid, s.h. 2001. assessment of plant biodiversity of sand dune ecosystem along cox's bazar to teknaf coast. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 27-45. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants” series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants” series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur (bangladesh). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. rahman, m.o., uddin, m.z., tutul, e., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2010. additions to the angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 167-181. rashid, s.h. and mia, m.m.k. 2001. angiospermic flora of madhupur national park, tangail, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 63-82. sinclair, j. 1956. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 92-94. new records of sterculiaceae 157 tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2009. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. i. liliopsida (monocots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 83-90. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. ii. magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 33-53. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox's bazar. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 43-46. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park (bangladesh): a preliminary assessment. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 9-22. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2003. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh ii.a: magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 79-94. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 10 july 2011; revised on 3 december 2011) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 185-194, 2009 (december) review paper © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran b. zarei-darki1 department of biology, islamic azad university, falavarjan branche, esfahan, iran. keywords: algal flora; taxonomic quotient; water body; iran. abstract algal floristic work carried out in iran between 1853 and 1981 have been reviewed and compared with the results obtained in a series of recent studies (2000-2007). algal samples for the recent studies were collected mainly from different inland aquatic habitats. on the basis of data from published and the recent studies, the systematic list of algae shows the occurrence of 1304 species and 1559 infra-specific taxa in iran. however, 1213 species (1443 infra-specific taxa) revealed from the recent studies included 812 species (979 infra-specific taxa) as new reports for iran (63% of the total species recorded). analysis on taxonomic structure of algal flora of iran testifies its richness. the basic parameters of a regular diversification of flora, values of genera quotient, spectra of leading taxa confirm that the highest percentage is contributed by bacillariophyta (43%) of the total number of specific and infra-specific taxa followed by chlorophyta (25%), cyanophyta (15%) and euglenophyta (8%). on an interrelation among divisions of algae, the algal flora of iran appeared to be closer to that of turkmenistan. introduction preserving biological diversity needs research on species richness of certain taxonomic groups in different administrative and natural territories. so far, the algal diversity of iran has been investigated very insufficiently. according to compere (1981) l. rabenhorst (1853) reported first several species of freshwater diatoms (bacillariophyta) from south persia, iran but without mentioning habitats. in 1842, soil samples were collected by kotschy from the territories between percipolis, shiraz and bushehr which cover modern provinces, namely fars, esfahan, bahtiaria and cheharmehal, busher. later ehrenberg studied them and revealed 45 species of algae (ehrenberg, 1854), out of which, 29 species became valid. in 1899, j.b. petersen identified 8 species of algae studying samples collected by o. paulsen from the purlieus of tehran (petersen, 1930). later on, d.a. tarnogradskiy collected 9 samples from the anzali swamp in november 1922 and woronichin (1925) published 13 species of algae from those collections. the first remarkable studies on the algal flora of iran by löffler (1959, 1961) appeared 100 years after the very first report by rabenhorst (l.c.). the works of löffler can be considered as the first authentic study on the algal flora of iran. later on, hirano (1973) and wasylik (1975) reported 406 infra-specific taxa. from the soil algae of sahara-gobi desert area, 29 species from the arid soils have been mentioned for iran (novichkova-ivanova, 1980). 1 e-mail: zareidarki@iaufala.ac.ir; zarei@mail.ru 186 zarei-darki in autumn of 1972, the belgian multi-purpose expedition investigated deserts of the central, eastern and middle iran, mainly dašt-e kavir, dašt-e lut and hollow jazmuriyãn. botanist of the above-mentioned expedition j. leonard collected samples of algae, which became a subject of study in p. compere’s work (compere, 1981). the samples of algae were collected from 21 different places and about 300 species and varieties were presented. of these 66% was diatom, 17% green and 14% blue-green algae. two species of diatom nitzschia curvata compere, n. iranica compere and one form navicula egregia hust. fa. elongata compere were described as new to science (compere, 1981). till 2000, an estimated 580 algal taxa were known from iran. a series of studies on algae of iran was conducted between 2000 and 2007 based on 535 samples collected from 125 water bodies from all over iran (dogadina et al. 2002; zarei-darki, 2002, 2004 a, b, 2006, 2007). the habitats included 64 rivers, 19 reservoirs, 19 ponds, 7 lakes, 2 swamps, 2 karizes (a kind of artificial underground channel), 2 water-falls, and 10 springs of which 6 were thermal with water temperature ranged from 34-52°с (fig. 1). fig. 1. schematic map of iran with sampling sites: deciduous vegetation (dcv), steppe mountain vegetation (smv), friganoid mountain vegetation (fmv), desert vegetation (dv), complex vegetation of deserted coastal lowlands (cvdcl), meadow-salt marsh vegetation of southern coast of caspian sea (mvcs), ● – author’s collections (2000-2007); ▲the literary data. taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran 187 the present paper attempts to analyze the taxonomic structure of algal flora of iran based upon published information starting from l. rabenhorst to p. compere (18531981) and also data obtained from recent studies based upon samples collected between 2000 and 2007 by the author. the algal flora of georgia (chkhaidze, 1987), turkmenistan (kogan, 1973), central asia (muzafarov, 1965), vietnam (tien, 1982) and ukraine (wasser and tsarenko, 2000; tsarenko and petlevanniy, 2001) were also compared with that of iran. overall algal diversity of iran algae from different water bodies of iran revealed the occurrence of 1213 species and 1443 infra-specific taxa (infra-specific taxa), which included 812 species (979 infraspecific taxa) as new report for iran (about 63% of the general species diversity). but 91 algal species (116 infra-specific taxa) from the previous studies on the territorial boundary of iran could not be confirmed in the recent studies. so, by adding 91 species and 116 infra-specific taxa as obtained from the literature survey to the data accumulated in the recent studies, the total number of algal species now reached 1304 (1559 infraspecific taxa) for iran (table 1). the algal species of iran belong to 8 divisions, 15 classes, 37 orders, 96 families and 262 genera (table 1). among the divisions, bacillariophyta is the largest followed by chlorophyta, cyanophyta and euglenophyta. the percentage of each division is given in table 2. in the following sections, classification of zerov (1972) is followed. diversity within algal divisions cyanophyta has made up almost 15% of the total number of specific and infraspecific taxa of iran (table 2). the recent studies revealed 174 species including 201 infra-specific taxa. about 126 taxa appeared as new reports from iran. from literary data the wide-spread cyanophytic species belonged to the genera gloeocapsa (kütz.) hollerb., merismopedia (meyen) elenk., microcystis (kütz.) elenk., oscillatoria vauch., phormidium kütz. and synechocystis sauv. some sporadically recorded cyanophytes are synechocystis pevalekii erceg. (parišãn lake), microcystis testacea (näg.) elenk. (lirbāzār rudgā river), aphanothece nostocopsis skuja (parišãn lake), chamaesiphon incrustans grun. (toroq reservoir), phormidium paulsenianum boye-pet. (orumiyeh lake), ph. toficola (näg.) gom (šatt-e mongãr lake), microcoleus sociatus w. et g.s. west (mahallãt thermal spring), anabaena azollae straburg (anzali swamp), and rivularia aquatica (de wild.) geitl. (vošmgir reservoir). euglenophyta is the fourth largest division in iran in terms of species and infraspecific numbers. in the research conducted during 2000-2007, 121 euglenoid taxa were recorded as new reports. earlier, four species of euglenoid algae recorded by wasylik (1975) and compere (1981) were also found to occur in the present investigation. 188 zarei-darki taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran 189 190 zarei-darki euglena anabaena mainx was found only in halil rud river and e. mutabilis schmitz was recorded both from halil rud and minãb rivers; while e. oxyuris schmarda in a number of rivers, reservoirs, ponds and swamp habitats (water temperature 16-28°с, рн 6.5-8.0). trachelomonas hispida (perty) stein emend. defl. var. duplex defl. occurred in qešlāq river and hasanlu reservoir. the occurrence of chrysophyta is known only from the recent studies. the most frequently occurring and wide-spread species are dinobryon divergens imhof., kephyrion rubri-claustri conr. and lagynion triangulare (stokes) pasch. occasionally occurring species include chrysococcus оrnatus pasch., dinobryon sertularia ehr., d. sociale ehr., kephyrion valkanovii huber-pest. and pseudokephyrion schilleri (schill.) conr. altogether 56 species and 58 infra-specific taxa of xanthophyta have been recorded in the recent studies; but the occurrence of species like botrydiopsis eriensis snow, botryochloris minima pasch. (novichkova-ivanova, 1980) and vaucheria sessilis (vauch.) d.c. (woronichin, 1925) reported in previous studies could not be confirmed. the majority of xanthophytа representatives was noted seldom, and a few of these species, namely arachnochloris striata pasch., chlorothecium clava pasch., stipitococcus apiculatus prescott and tetraedriella impressa pasch., were recorded only in šãdgãn pond, and mohammad ãbãd and sivand rivers, and anzali swamp, respectively. diatoms (bacillariophyta) dominated in all the investigated water bodies of iran. more than 90% of species and infra-species (i.e. 479 species and 612 infra-specific taxa) were revealed by the recent studies with 217 species (303 infra-specific taxa) as new records for iran. some of the newly recorded diatom species of iran are aulacoseira italica (ehr.) sim., cyclotella bodanica grun., c. caspia grun., diatoma ehrenbergii kütz., eunotia diodon ehr., melosira lineate ag., m. undulata (ehr.) kütz. var. normannii arn., stephanodiscus astraea (ehr.) grun., synedra gaillonii (bory) ehr. and thalassiosira bramaputrae (ehr.) hak. out of 36 species of dinophytes, only two were known before (löffler, 1961; wasylik, 1975), namely ceratium hirundinella (o. müll.) bergh. and peridiniopsis oculatum (stein) bourr. dinophytes represented in the plankton of qešlāq river and reservoir, sanandaj city were glenodinium lemmermannii zach., gonyaulax polyedra stein, gymnodinium palustre schill., peridiniopsis charkowiensis (matv.) bourr., p. oculatum (stein) bourr., peridinium aciculiferum lemm. and p. pseudolaeve lef. no species of cryptophyta was recorded for iran before the recent studies. most frequent cryptophytes are chroomonas acuta uterm., ch. coerulea (geitl). skuja, ch. rosenbergae hub.-pest., cryptomonas borealis skuja, c. marssonii skuja and c. parapyrenoidifera skuja. taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran 191 chlorophyta is the second largest algal division in iran. class chlorophyceae occupies leading position among other classes of green algae and is represented by 9 orders, 27 families, 209 species and 221 infra-specific taxa. as a result of processing samples from polytypic water bodies of iran during 2000-2007, 200 species (211 infraspecific taxa) were identified, of them 165 species (176 infra-specific taxa) are new for the country. frequently occurring species are chlamydomonas angulosa dill, ch. snowiae printz, coelastrum microporum näg. in a. br., dunaliella minuta lerche, kirchneriella irregularis (g. sm.) korsch., micractinium pusillum fres., monoraphidium irregulare (g. sm.) kom.-legn. in fott, oocystis borgei snow, pediastrum boryanum (turp). menegh., planctococcus sphaerocystiformis korsch., scenedesmus acuminatus (lagerh.) chod., s. ellipticus (w. et g. s. west) chod., s. quadricauda (turp.) breb., schroederia setigera (schröd.) lemm., tetraedron minimum (a. br.) hansg. and tetrastrum triangulare (chod.) kom. from the order chlorodendrales under the class prasinophyceae, two species, namely tetraselmis arnoldii (pr.-lavr.) norris, hori & chihara and t. contracta (carter) butcher, were recorded from rivers, reservoirs and swamps. among the new findings from ulvophyceae, noteworthy species are geminellopsis fragilis korsch., klebsormidium dissectum (gay) ettl et gärtn., stichococcus bacillaris näg., ulothrix flacca (dilw.) thur., u. zonata (web. et mohr.) kütz. and uronema confervicolum lagerh. from zygnematophyceae, mougeotia sphaerocarpa wolle, spirogyra bogeana trans., s. condensata (vauch). kütz., s. ellipsospora trans., s. micropunctata jao, s. pratensis trans., zygnema insigne (hass.) kütz. and z. pectinatum (vauch.) ag. have been recorded for the first time in iran during recent studies. charophyceae known earlier (compere, 1981) have also been found to occur during the recent studies. chara gymnophylla a. br. was found to grow within water temperature 14-28°с, рн 6.5-7.0 in the halil rud river and šatt-e mongãr lake, and ch. vulgaris l. emend. wallr. in halil rud river, šãdgãn pond and gãvxuni swamp (14-28 °с, рн 6.5-8.5). for the first time in iran, chara uzbekistanica hollerb. was found in the šatt-e mongãr lake and gãvxuni swamp (20-28°с, рн 6.5-8.5). however, nitella hyalina (dc.) ag. could not be recorded in the recent studies. taxonomic quotients it is known that the factor which testifies connection between number of species, genera and families determines the ‘face’ of flora with the greatest clarity (tolmachev, 1974). 'proportions of flora' and generic factor concern to a group of parameters of taxonomic diversity. the s/f (species/families) is estimated as a ratio between the number of species and number of family of a particular group (e.g. class); g/f (genera/families) and s/g (species/genera) are determined in a like manner. generic factor shows generic 192 zarei-darki richness of algal flora by species and infra-specific taxa. according to some authors, richer floras differ from less rich floras by higher values of these parameters (shmidt, 1980, 1984). additionally, generic factor is considered as a factor of taxonomic diversity that does not depend on area. comparison of genera quotient values among divisions shows that the greatest specific richness is seen in bacillariophyta followed by euglenophyta, cryptophyta and cyanophyta (table 1). in spite of high number of species in algal flora, chlorophyta occupies sixth place. apparently, it is explained by the presence of the large number of genera with little species number, e.g. 84 genera represented only by one or two species out of 116 total genera in iran’s algal flora. for the algal flora of iran as a whole, rather high values of general genera quotient (4.9) (table 1) testifies the richness of investigated flora. such conclusion is proved to be true by the comparison of values of the genera quotient for some other floras. for example, genera quotient was 2.8 for system of lake chany (safonova, 1973), and 3.8 for water bodies of yakutia (vasilieva, 1989). comparison of algal flora of iran with those of other countries table 2 shows a comparison of taxonomic spectrum of algal flora of different countries with that of iran. the choice of the countries was arbitrary. the only generalized data brought in the literature (muzafarov, 1965; kogan, 1973; tien, 1982; chkhaidze, 1987; wasser and tsarenko, 2000; tsarenko and petlevanniy, 2001) were used in the paper. the compared countries and regions rather differ on the terrain, natural settings, remoteness from iran, a degree of a level of algal flora knowledge and many other attributes. however, ostensibly such comparison is useful to reveal general regularity and characteristic features in the algal structures of these regions. absolute values of all comparable floras differ markedly and indeed depend on degree of algal study in the country. therefore, proportion (in %) a division occupies in the total algal flora was preferred than its absolute value. in all the compared floras as presented in table 2, the basic role is played by two divisions, namely chlorophyta and bacillariophyta, occupying top two positions in taxonomic spectra. contribution of these two divisions in the algal flora of iran looks very close to the algal flora of turkmenistan. this can be explained by the geographical location and presence of the general orographical and climatic attributes of the two countries. in other floras, the 1st place is occupied by the green algae considerably leaving behind diatoms as it is evident in the flora of ukraine range. in all the compared floras, the 3rd place in taxonomic spectra is occupied by blue-green algae. it is evident that the diversity of cyanophyta in some neighboring geographical regions (turkmenistan, central asia) is very high compared with iran. but contrary to it, in iran, luxuriant growth of cyanophyta is common in the rice fields and obviously a study on these taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran 193 habitats could add a few more taxa to the list of iran. parameters of the relative contribution on other divisions of algae when compared, the data obtained for iran shows a concurrence with the data of other floras in most cases. acknowledgement the author expresses sincere gratitude to prof. t.v. dogadina under whose direction the present piece of research was carried out. references chkhaidze, r.i. 1987. material k analizu algoflory gruzii (material to analyze of algal flora of georgia). tez. dokl. vsesous. conf. “aktualnie problem sovremennoy algologii”. nauk. dumaka, kiev, pp. 1-82. (in russian) compere, p. 1981. algues des déserts d'iran. bull. jard. bot. nat. belg, belgia 51: 3-40. dogadina, t.v., zarei darki, b. and gorbulin, o.s. 2002. algae of anzali swamp (iran). int. journal on algae 4(4): 81-87 ehrenberg, c. g. 1854. mikrogeologie, texte. e. kummer, leipzig, pp. 111-116. hirano, m. 1973. freshwater algae from mesopotamia. contr. biol. lab. kyoto univ. 24(2): 105-119. kogan, sh.i. 1973. vodorosli vodoemov turkmenskoi ssr (algae of the water bodies of turkmenian ssr). ylym, ashhabad, pp. 1-212. (in russian) löffler, h. 1959. beiträge zur kenntnis der iranischen binnengewässer. int. rev. ges. hydrobiologia 44(1): 227-276. löffler, h. 1961. beiträge zur kenntnis der iranischen binnengewässer. int. rev. ges. hydrobiologia 46(2): 309-406. muzafarov, a.m. 1965. flora vodoroslei vodoemov srednei azii (algal flora of the water bodies of middle asia). nauka. tashkent, pp. 1-571. (in russian) novichkova-ivanova, l.n. 1980. pochvennye vodorosli fitocenozov saharo-gobiiskoi pustynnoi oblasti (soil algae of sahara-gobi desert region). nauka. leningrad, pp. 1-256. (in russian) petersen, j.b. 1930. algae from o. olufsen’s second danish pamir expedition 1898-1899. dansk. bot. ark. 6(6): 1-60. rabenhorst l. 1853. die süsswasser-diatomaceen. e. kummer, leipzig, pp. 1-72 + pls 1-10. safonova, t.a. 1973. sovremennoe sostoyanie izuchennosti algoflori zapadnoy sibiri (modern condition of a level of study of algal flora in the western siberia). an sssr vsesouz. botan. obsh., leningrad, pp. 196. (in russian) shmidt, v.m. 1980. statisticheskie metody v sravnitelnoy floristike (statistical methods of comparative floristic). publishing house lgu, leningrad, pp. 1-176. (in russian) shmidt, v.m. 1984. matematicheskie metody v botanike (mathematical methods of botany). publishing house lgu, leningrad, pp. 1-288. (in russian) tien, z.d. 1982. flora vodorosley vodoemov vietnama (algal flora of water bodies in the vietnam). abstract of phd thesis, institute of botany a. sc uzbekistan. tashkent, pp. 1-474. (in russian) tolmachev, a.i. 1974. vvedenie v geografiyu rasteniy (introduction to geography of plants). publishing house lgu, leningrad, pp. 1-243. (in russian) 194 zarei-darki tsarenko, p.m. and petlevanniy, o.a. 2001. dopolnenie k raznoobraziyu vodorosley ukrainy (addition to diversity of algae of ukraine). kholodny int. of botany nat. a. sc. ukraine, pp. 1-130. (in russian) vasilieva, i.i. 1989. vodorosli vodoemov criolitozony sssr: sistematicheskiy sostav, ekologia, rasprostranenie (na primere yakutii) (algae of water bodies in cryolite zone of ussr: taxonomic composition, ecology, distribution). kishenev, pp. 1-50. (in russian) wasser, s.p. (ed.) and tsarenko, p.m. 2000. raznoobrazie vodoroslei ukrainy (diversity of algae in the ukraine). algologia 10(4): 1-309. (in russian) wasylik, k. 1975. notes on the freshwater algae of iran. fragm. flor. geobot. 21(3): 369-397. woronichin, n.n. 1925. spisok presnovodnyh vodoroslei, sobrannyh d.a. tarnogradskim v okrestnostyah bolota enzeli (list of freshwater algae collected by d.a. tarnogradskiy in the neighbourhood of anzali swamp). travaux de la station biologique du caucase du nord 1(1): 43-44. (in russian) zarei darki, b. 2002. algae of biological ponds (esfahan province, iran). bull. kharkiv nat. agr. univ. ser. biology, kharkiv, 9(1): 96-101. zarei darki, b. 2004a. algae of water bodies of iran. phd thesis, kholodny int. of botany nat. a. sc. ukraine. кiev, pp. 1-664. zarei darki b. 2004b. chrysophyta of water bodies of iran. int. journal on algae 6(1): 12-20. zarei darki, b. 2006. bacillariophyta vodoemov irana (bacillariophyta of water bodies of iran). algologia 16(2): 246-260. (in russian) zarei darki, b. 2007. diatomic algae of lakes of iran. proceedings of international conference of youth scientists on ‘actual problems of phycology’, kiev, ukraine, 17-21 october 2007, pp. 34-35. zerov, d.k. 1972. ocherk phylogenii bessosudictykh rasteniy (phylogenetic sketch of the avascular plants). naukova dumka press, kiev, pp. 1-316. (in russian) (manuscript received on 1 august 2008; revised on 5 june 2009) taxonomic structure of the algal flora of iran introduction references microsoft word s-2. 03-09.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 95-97, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists jungermannia obliquifolia (schiffn.) váňa (marchantiophyta) from india c.n. manju1, k.p. rajesh2 and p.v. madhusoodanan3 department of botany, calicut university, kerala 673 635, india. keywords: marchantiophyta; jungermannia obliquifolia; new record; western ghats; india. jungermannia l. is one of the prominent genera of the family jungermanniaceae with about 125 species distributed worldwide (amakawa, 1959, 1960; váňa, 1975, 1996; hong, 1997, 2003; váňa and hong, 1999). in india, it is known by 54 species (bapna and kachroo, 2000). jungermannia subgenus plectocolea is represented by 11 valid species in india of which four are known to occur in south india (udar and kumar, 1981; bapna and kachroo, 2000; alam et al., 2007) during a recent survey in the western ghats, authors collected jungermannia obliquifolia (schiffn.) váňa of the subgenus plectocolea, from the wet evergreen forests of aralam wildlife sanctuary in kannur district of kerala state. this is the first record of occurrence for indian subcontinent with phytogeographical importance, hence an illustrative account is provided. class: hepaticopsida, order: jungermanniales, family: jungermanniaceae jungermannia obliquifolia (schiffn.) váňa, j. hattori bot. lab. 36: 68. 1972. nardia obliquifolia schiffn., denkschr. akad. wiss. wien, ki. math.-naturw. 67: 191. 1898. (plate 1) plant dioecious, olive-green, 10-30 mm long and 0.5-1.0 mm wide. stem soft, suberect, branching by subfloral innovations. rhizoids 13-15 µm wide, numerous, originating from stem epidermal cells, decurrent along stem as distinct fascicle, mostly intensive purple. leaves obovate to oblong-ovate, lateral intercalary (plagiochila type), distant to imbricate, sometimes with undulating margins, apices recurved when dry, 0.81.4 mm long, 0.5-1.0 mm wide; leaf cells thin-walled, trigones absent, middle and upper leaf cell 15.5-20.5 µm long diagonally, basal cells elongated, 40-62 × 16-20 µm. male inflorescence lateral intercalary with 4-10 pairs bracts, antheridia 1 or 2 per bract with biseriate stalk. female inflorescence terminal on main stem, female bracts in one pair, larger than the leaves, perianth exserted, narrowed towards crenulate mouth, 2-3 plicate, 0.82 mm in diameter; perigynium short, 0.3-1.5 mm long diagonally per perianth. sporophyte not seen. 1 corresponding author. e-mail: manjucali@gmail.com 2 botanical survey of india, andaman & nicobar circle, haddo, port blair 744 102, andaman, india. e-mail: kprajesh.botany@gmail.com 3e-mail: pvmadhu@gmail.com 96 manju et al. plate 1. jungermannia obliquifolia. a & b. plant with perianth; c. sterile plant; d. antheridial plant; e & f. perianth; g. middle cells; h. basal cells; i. transverse section of perianth; j & k. female bracts; l & m. male bracts. specimens examined: india, kerala, kannur district, aralam wildlife sanctuary, chavachi, (400 m) 7 february 2003, manju, c.n. & k.p. rajesh 87649 (cali, egr); meenmutty (750 m) 8 february 2003, manju, c.n. & k.p. rajesh 88120 (cali). ecology: on land cuttings in wet evergreen forests. distribution: java, celebes, sumatra, the philippines and australia (váňa, 1975). this is the first record for indian subcontinent. jungermannia obliquifolia (schiffn.) váňa 97 acknowledgements the authors are grateful to dr t. pocs, department of botany, eszterházy college, eger (egr), hungary for confirming the identity of the species and anonymous reviewers for valuable comments. they are also grateful to the staff members of the kerala forest department for extending support during field study. the first author is thankful to the department of science & technology (dst) for the award of young scientist fellowship. references alam, a., kumar, a. and srivastava, s.c. 2007. jungermannia nilgiriensis, a new species from nilgiri hills (western ghats) india. bulletin of the botanical survey of india 49: 219-224. amakawa, t. 1959. family jungermanniaceae of japan. i. journal of hattori botanical laboratory 21: 248-288. amakawa, t. 1960. family jungermanniaceae of japan. ii. journal of hattori botanical laboratory 22: 1-90. bapna, k.r. and kachroo, p. 2000. hepaticology in india-1. himanshu publications, india, pp. 1-439. hong, w.s. 1997. the hepaticae and anthocerotae of korean peninsula: an annotated list of taxa. lindbergia 22: 134-142. hong, w.s. 2003. the hepaticae and anthocerotae of korean peninsula: identification keys to the taxa. lindbergia 28: 134-147. udar, r. and kumar, a. 1981. jungermannia (plectocolea) rubripunctata (hatt.) amak. new to india. miscellaneous bryologie et lichenologie 9: 54-55. váňa, j. 1975. studien über die jungermannioideae (hepaticae) 8. jungermannia subg. plectocolea und subg. solenostoma in australien. neuseeland und ozeanien. folia geobotanica et phytotaxonomic 10: 277-323. váňa, j. 1996. notes on the jungermanniaceae of the world. annals inst. bio. univ. nac. auton. mexico, ser. bot. 67(10): 99-107. váňa, j., and hong, s.h. 1999. the genus jungermannia in western north america. lindbergia 24: 133-144. (manuscript received on 17 january 2009; revised on 12 april 2009) microsoft word 09. sterculiaceae.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 63-78, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a synoptical account of the sterculiaceae in bangladesh m. oliur rahman1, md. abul hassan, md. manzurul kadir mia2 and ahmed mozaharul huq3 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: taxonomy; sterculiaceae; nomenclature; distribution; bangladesh. abstract taxonomy, updated nomenclature and occurrence of the species belonging to the family sterculiaceae in bangladesh have been presented. detailed herbarium study at royal botanic gardens, kew (k), royal botanic garden, edinburgh (e), british museum (bm), bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) has revealed the occurrence of 32 species under 15 genera of the sterculiaceae in bangladesh. the correct name, important synonym(s), salient diagnostic characteristics, specimens examined and distributional notes have been provided for each species. dichotomous bracketed keys have also been presented for identification of genera and species. introduction the sterculiaceae is a family of tropical and sub-tropical plants, comprising nearly 70 genera and 1,500 species (cronquist, 1981). they are characterized by the presence of stellate hairs, bilocular anthers, 10 to numerous stamens in two or more whorls, mostly connate by their filaments, superior ovary, anatropous ovules and axile placentation. the family consists of softwooded trees and shrubs, and a few herbaceous and climbing species. many species growing in rain forests are remarkable for their development of plank buttresses. systematically it is placed in the malvales by engler and prantle (1896), and shows many features in common with the other families of that group, namely tiliaceae, elaeocarpaceae, bombacaceae and malvaceae. evidence from floral anatomy and embryology suggests that the sterculiaceae is the most primitive in the malvales (brizicky, 1966). hooker (1874) recognized six tribes of the sterculiaceae, viz., sterculieae, helictereae, eriolaeneae, dombeyeae, hermannieae and buettnerieae (byttnerieae). based on floral anatomy and embryology the tribe sterculieae is regarded as the most primitive because of the presence of pentacyclic flowers, numerous stamens, apocarpous gynoecia, and many ovulate locules, while the hermannieae is the most advanced tribe as it possesses tetracyclic flowers, a reduced number of stamens and ovules, and a tendency of perigyny. in respect to perianth structure, the helictereae and byttnerieae appear to be the most highly specialized tribes of sterculiaceae (brizicky, 1966). several taxonomic treatments on the sterculiaceae have been made based on morphology (robyns and cautrecasas, 1964; hsiang-hao, 1984; malick, 1993; verdcourt, 1995; phengklai, 2001). hooker (1874) worked out the sterculiaceous taxa of british india, while prain (1903) dealt with the species of the then bengal documenting 20 species and 9 species, respectively from the area of present bangladesh. despite khan (1972-1989), and khan and rahman (1989-2002) published the flora of bangladesh in different fascicles covering several angiospermic families, the sterculiaceae was not included in those treatments. ahmed et al. (2009) listed 25 species of 1 corresponding author. email: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 2 former principal scientific officer, bangladesh national herbarium, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh. 3 former consultant-taxonomist, university of illinois at chicago, usa. 64 rahman et al. sterculiaceae under 13 genera from bangladesh. very recently mia et al. (2011) reported three species of sterculiaceae, namely guazuma ulmifolia lam., helicteres viscida bl. and sterculia urens roxb. as new distributional records for bangladesh. however, no detailed study was carried out on this family so far. moreover, plants of bangladesh belonging to this family deposited in different foreign herbaria, particularly royal botanic gardens, kew (k), royal botanic garden, edinburgh (e) and british museum (bm) have never been investigated earlier. the present study aimed at studying all species of sterculiaceae of bangladesh deposited in the herbaria both at home and abroad, and documenting and detailing all members of the family occurring in bangladesh along with their updated nomenclatural and distributional notes. materials and methods the present study is based on both literature survey and herbarium studies. plants deposited at k, e, bm, bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) have been examined critically. dichotomous artificial keys have been provided for identification of genera and species. nomenclature has been updated for each species along with their important synonyms following verdcourt (1995), phengklai (2001) and ahmed et al. (2009). salient diagnostic characters, specimens examined and distributional notes have also been furnished under each species. results the present study revealed the occurrence of 32 species under 15 genera of the family sterculiaceae in bangladesh. a dichotomous artificial key to genera of the sterculiaceae is given below. key to the genera: 1. leaves simple. 2 leaves compound. sterculia 2. petals present; flowers bisexual or polygamous; herbs, shrubs or trees. 3 petals absent; flowers unisexual or polygamous; trees or shrub 12 3. ovary stipitate. 4 ovary sessile. 6 4. anther loculi parallel, linear; seeds winged. pterospermum anther loculi divaricate; seeds not winged. 5 5. mature carpels inflated; flowers in a large terminal panicle. kleinhovia mature carpels not inflated, but often spirally twisted; flowers solitary or fasciculated. helicteres 6. capsules 5-winged; staminodes emarginate. abroma capsules not winged; staminodes acute. 7 7. fertile stamens 5; capsules covered with stiff, long spines or prickles. byttneria fertile stamens 10-15; capsules tuberculate or downy tomentose. 8 sterculiaceae in bangladesh 65 8. petals with hooded claw. capsules tuberculate, muricate with soft plumose bristles. guazuma petals without hooded claw. 9 9. petals mostly persistent and often enlarged after flowering. 10 petals deciduous or very inconspicuous after flowering. 11 10. annual herbs; flowers usually solitary. pentapetes trees and shrubs; flowers rarely solitary. dombeya 11. ovary 5-locular; styles 5. melochia ovary 1-locular; style 1. waltheria 12. fruiting carpels strongly keeled, indehiscent, 1seeded. heritiera fruiting carpels slightly keeled, 1many seeded. 13 13. anthers regularly arranged in one or more whorls. seeds several, attached along the entire margin of open carpels, distinctly winged. pterygota anthers irregularly crowded in a cluster at the apex of androgynophore. 14 14. leaves palmately lobed; fruits membranous; seeds borne on margin of carpels. firmiana leaves not palmately lobed; fruits leafy; seeds not borne on margin of carpels. scaphium abroma jacq., hort. vindob. 3: t. 1 (1776); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1. 1: 224 (1862). type: theobroma augusta l. [abroma augusta (l.) l. f.] abroma augusta (l.) l. f., suppl.: 341 (1781) (‘ambroma’); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 375 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 278 (1903); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 286 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 179 (1925); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 409 (1993). theobroma augusta l., syst. veg. ed. 13: 580 (1774). a shrub or small tree. leaves cordate, repand-denticulate, with acuminate to cuspidate apex and cordate base, base 3-7 nerved. flowers dark red. fruit a capsule, conical, winged. flowering and fruiting: june-december. specimens examined: chittagong: s. loc. & dies, j.m. cowan 179 (e). rangapani, 30.10.1978, huq, rahman & mia, h. 4005 (dacb). dhaka: dhaka university botanic garden, 13.9.1949, s. n. (dush); ramna, 15.8.1940, atul, s. n. (dush); bangladesh national herbarium compound, mirpur, 20.1.2004, rezia khatun 4644 (dacb). faridpur: gualondo ghat, 1.7.1973, a.m. huq 982 (dacb). manikganj: taraghat village, 6.6.1978, soejarto & rahman 4976 (k). rangamati: bilaichari, farua reserve forest, 15.10.2008, s.n. uddin 3056 (dacb). sylhet: wallich no. 1142 (k). distribution: australia, bhutan, china, india, indonesia, malaysia, nepal, pacific islands, philippines, thailand and vietnam. 66 rahman et al. byttneria loeft., iter. hisp. : 313 (1758); buettneria l, syst. veg. ed. 13: 197 (1774); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1. 1: 225 (1867). type : byttneria scabra loeft. ex l. key to the species: 1. leaves entire, glabrescent above and puberulous on nerves beneath; inflorescence minutely puberulous; flower buds ovoid. b. aspera leaves finely serrate-dentate, stellate-pubescent on both surfaces; inflorescence densely stellate-pubescent; flower buds conical. b. pilosa byttneria aspera colebr. in roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 2: 383 (1824); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 377 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 279 (1903); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 160 (1934). byttneria grandifolia dc., prod. 1: 486 (1824); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 410 (1993). byttneria integrifolia lace, kew bull. 1915: 396 (1915); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 181 (1925). byttneria siamensis craib, kew bull. 1920: 300 (1920). a woody climber or scandent shrub. leaves cordate with cuspidate apex and cordate base, 5-7 nerved at the base. flowers greenish, minute, 4-5 mm across. fruit a capsule, globose, sparsely stellate hairy, armed. flowering and fruiting: may-december. specimens examined: chittagong: south-west of hazarikhil, 1.11.1978, huq, rahman & mia, h 4115 (dacb); chunati wildlife sanctuary, 30.12.1989, khan & huq, k 8188 (dacb). sylhet: wallich no. 1144, 2 (bm). distribution: bhutan, cambodia, china, india, laos, nepal, thailand and vietnam. byttneria pilosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 681 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 377 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 151 (1877); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 181 (1925) ‘buettneria’ prain, beng. p1. 1: 279 (1903). malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 414 (1993). buettneria elegans ridl., j. straits roy. asiat. soc. 57: 25 (1911); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 181 (1925). a large scandent shrub or woody climber with grooved hispid branchlets. leaves suborbicular, palmately lobed with acute or cuspidate apex and cordate base, stellate pilose on both surfaces. flowers pale yellow, 4-6 mm across. fruit a globose capsule, with black, hairy spiny tubercules. flowering and fruiting: september-february. specimens examined: bandarban: s. loc., 29.2.1868, c.b. clarke 6591 (k); ruma bazar, 28.10.1984, khan, huq, rahman and mia, k 6723 (dacb). chittagong: jaldi range, 13.10.1920, j.m. cowan 112 (e); jaldi range, 10.12.1920, j.m. cowan 1672 (e); garjania, j.m. cowan 453 (e), chittagong, 5.1.1851, j.d. hooker 365 (k); chittagong, 28.11.1850, j.d. hooker s.n. (k); chittagong, barharcherry, 4.2.1873. c.b. clarke 19584 a (bm); chittagong, j.d. hooker & t. thamson s.n. (bm); sitakund, 12.3.1968, m.a.r. laskar 88 (dush); hazarikhill, sitakund, 24.1.1968, m. akram hossain 96 (dush). chittagong hill tracts: s. loc., d. king’s coll. 57 (bm); near sangunakropara, 17.1.1965, m.s. khan 915 (dush); kendachari, 12.11.1968, alo rani 78 (dush). cox’s bazar: jadi pahar, 28.12.1957, m.s. khan 289 (dush). maulvi bazar: lowachara forest, 19.1.1963, m.s. khan 467 (dush). rangamati: kaptai, tinconia road, 25.9.1934, parkinson 4298 (k). sherpur: gajni forest area, 27.4.1986, huq & mia, h 7692 (dacb). sylhet: s. loc. & dies, wallich 1145 (k); sylhet 9.10.1872, c.b. clarke 17422a (bm). distribution: china, india, indonesia, laos, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. sterculiaceae in bangladesh 67 dombeya cav., diss. 121: t. 38, 41 (1787). key to species: 1. peduncle more than 20 cm long; sepals linear-oblong; stigma exserted. d. wallichii peduncle up to 8 cm long; sepals lanceolate; stigma included. d. mastersii dombeya mastersii hook. f., bot. mag. 93: t. 5639 (1867). dombeya angulata auct. non cav. (1867). a stellate tomentose shrub. leaves broadly ovate, entire or occasionally obscurely 3-lobed, deeply cordate at the base, acute to acuminate at the apex. flowers white or pinkish-white. stigma included. fruit a capsule, oblong, villous. planted in the gardens. flowering and fruiting: december-april. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanic garden, 15.3.1943, s.n. (dush); ramna park, 31.12.1962, s.k. dutta 61 (dush); balda garden, 20.1.1966, s.k. dutta 76 (dush); ramna park, 19.2.1980, momtaz begum 196 (dacb). distribution: tropical africa, india and pakistan. dombeya wallichii (lindl.) benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 221 (1867); bailey, stand. cycl. hort. 1: 1066 (1947); menninger, fl. tr. world : 268 (1962). a large evergreen shrub or small tree. leaves large, cordate with acute to acuminate apex and cordate base. flowers bright pink or red, fragrant. stigma exserted. fruit a capsule, ovate-oblong, densely villous. planted in the gardens. flowering and fruiting: april-july. specimens examined: dhaka: s. loc., 10.2.1947, sukdeo, s.n. (dush); dr. kanago’s garden, 10.2.1947, sukdeo, s.n. (dush); c & b nursery, 18.2.1966, s.k. dutta 111 (dush); dhaka, january 1942, a.k. acharja, s.n. (dush). distribution: indigenous to madagascar, introduced elsewhere. firmiana marsigli in saggi, sci. acad. padova 1: 114, 116 (1786); kostermans, reinwandtia 4: 281 (1957). type: sterculia platanifolia l. f. [firmiana simplex (l.) wight] firmiana colorata (roxb.) r. br. in bennet & r. br., p1. jav. rar.: 235 (1844); kosterm., reinwardtia 4: 285 (1957); abedin and ghafoor in nasir & ali (eds), fl. w. pak. 99: 22 (1976); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 420 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 437 (1995). sterculia colorata roxb., p1. corom. 1: 26, t. 25 (1795); fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 146 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 359 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 274 (1903). erythropsis colorata (roxb.) burk., gard. bull. singapore 5: 231 (1931). firmiana rubriflora kosterm., reinwardtia 6: 293 (1962). a medium-sized spreading, deciduous tree with fluted stem. leaves crowded at the end of branchlets, palmately 3-5 lobed, lobes triangular, with acute to cuspidate apex and cordate to truncate base. flowers scarlet or orange-red, polygamous. fruit a follicle, oblong. flowering and fruiting: march-june. specimens examined: chittagong: jaldi, napura, 3.4.1921, j.m. cowan 1281 (e); sitakund, 10.1.1851, j.d. hooker & t. thomson (k). chittagong hill tracts: raimatang hill, 6.4.1947, 68 rahman et al. s.m. sircar, s.n. (dush). cox’s bazar: moheshkhali, garakghata kalmadia, 7.3.1978, khan et al. k 4854 (dacb). sylhet: s. loc. & dies, wallich no. 1119 (k). tangail: on the way to madhupur, 13.4.1997, a.m. huq s.n. (dacb). distribution: bhutan, china, india, indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, pakistan, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. guazuma mill., gard. dict. abridg. ed. 4: 2 (1754); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1. : 225 (1862). type: guazuma ulmifolia lam. guazuma ulmifolia lam., encycl. math. bot. 3: 52 (1789); robyns in ann. miss. bot. gard. 51: 102, f. 7 (1964); abedin and ghafoor in nasir & ali (eds), fl. w. pak. 99: 10 (1976); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 424 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 421 (1995). theobroma guazuma l., sp. p1.: 782 (1753). guazuma tomentosa kunth in h.b.k., nov. gen. sp. 5: 32 (1823); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 375 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 278 (1903). a small to moderate sized tree. young twigs covered with rusty-brown or light grey stellate hairs. leaves oblong-lanceolate with acuminate apex and obliquely cordate base. flowers yellow. fruit a capsule, oblong, covered with black tubercles. flowering and fruiting: january-september. specimens examined: dhaka: govt. nursery, 30.4.1945, s.k. sen, s.n. (dush). jessore: s. loc., 23.2.1969, l. nessa 28 (dush). noakhali: 30.10.1873, c.b. clarke 19931 (bm). distribution: a native of tropical america and java, cultivated in india, myanmar and pakistan. helicteres l., sp. p1.: 963 (1753); gen. p1. ed. 5: 411 (1754); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1.: 220 (1862). type helicteres isora l. key to the species: 1. ripe carpels spirally twisted. h. isora ripe carpels straight, not twisted. 2 2. leaves with obtuse or slightly oblique base; petals pale violet; stamens 10; ovary hairy. h. elongata leaves with auriculate or cordate base; petals white or yellow; stamens 15; ovary glabrous. h. viscida helicteres elongata wall. ex boj. in hort. maurit.: 35 (1837); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 365 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 144 (1877); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 171 (1925); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 425 (1993). helicteres plebeja kurz, j. asiat. soc. beng. 39(2): 67 (1870); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 366 (1874); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 174 (1925). helicteres glabriuscula wall. ex mast. in fl. brit. ind. 1: 366 (1874). a diffuse straggling shrub with slender branchlets and stellate hairs on all parts. leaves oblong-lanceolate to obliquely ovate, with acute to acuminate apex and obtuse or slightly oblique base. flowers pale violet. fruit a follicle, cylindrical, hairy, beaked. flowering and fruiting: junedecember. distribution: china, india, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. sterculiaceae in bangladesh 69 note: malick (1993) reported the occurrence of this species from bangladesh without citing any specific locality. although ahmed et al. (2009) cited this species from bangladesh, however no specimen belonging to this species was available for citation. helicteres isora l., sp. p1. : 963 (1753); roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 143 (1832); wight, icon. pl. ind. dr. : t. 180 (1839); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 365 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 142 (1877); prain, beng. p1. 1: 275 (1903); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 281 (1922); abedin and ghafoor in nasir & ali (eds), fl. w. pak. 99: 13 (1976); nicolson et al., intepr. hort. mal. : 253 (1988); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 426 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 426 (1995). a large shrub or small tree, stellately hairy throughout. leaves ovate, broadly elliptic or elliptic-obovate with cuspidate apex and cordate or rounded base. flowers orange-red with black dots on inner part of the corolla. fruit a follicle, cylindrical, spirally twisted with an apical beak. flowering and fruiting: april-december. specimens examined: dhaka: savar, 10.9.1868, c.b. clarke 7665 (k); balda garden, 21.6.1966, s.k. dutta 148 (dush); savar, 7.8.1969, l. nessa 110 (dush); savar, near cantonment, 18.8.1977, khan & huq k 4513 (dacb); near nayerhat, june 1982, yusuf s. n. (dacb); dhaka university botanic garden, 8.10.2011, m.z. uddin, s.n. (dush). chittagong: banskhali, jaldi beat, 14.5.1990, khan et al. k 8351 (dacb). tangail: gorai, 31.3.1973, khan & huq k 2975 (dacb); gorai, 19.8.1973, a.m. huq 1061 (dacb). distribution: australia, cambodia, china, india, indonesia, malaysia, nepal, pakistan, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. helicteres viscida bl., bijdr. 1: 79 (1825); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 143 (1877); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 281 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 175 (1925). helicteres spicata colebr. ex mast. var. lamigera mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 366 (1874). helicteres pulchella wall. ex boj. in hort. maurit.: 35 (1837). a shrub with stellate hairs on all parts. leaves ovate-oblong to lanceolate with cuspidate apex and auriculate or cordate base. flowers white or yellow. fruit a capsule, oblong or cylindrical, beaked, covered with shaggy hairs. flowering and fruiting: july-march. specimen examined: chittagong: jaldi range, boilchari, 2.12.1920. j.m. cowan 1618 (e). distribution: china, indonesia, laos, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. heritiera ait., hort. kew. 3: 546 (1789); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1. : 219 (1862). balanopteris gaertn., fruct. 2: 94, tt. 98, 99 (1791). type: heritiera littoralis ait. key to species: 1. samara with a longitudinal ridge; leaves with faint secondary nerves and veins. 2 samara winged or wing-like; leaves with prominent secondary nerves and veins. 3 2. fruit body up to 2 × 1 cm; epicarp dull; pistil and stamens on a slender column with parallel sides. h. fomes fruit body not less than 5 × 3 cm; epicarp shining; pistil and stamens on a based column, narrowed in the distal half. h. littoralis 70 rahman et al. 3. anthers irregularly clumped on androgynophores; leaves with 8-11 pairs of lateral nerves. h. macroplylla anthers in regular rings on androgynophores; leaves with 4-5 pairs of lateral nerves. h. papilio heritiera fomes buch.ham. in symes, embassy ava ed. 2, 3: 319, t. 28 (1800); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 363 (1874); kosterm., reinwardtia 4: 490 (1959); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 428 (1993). heritiera minor roxb., hort. beng.: 50 (1814), fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 142 (1832) non lam. (1797); prain, beng. p1. 1: 274 (1903). a moderate-sized evergreen tree. leaves spirally arranged, elliptic-lanceolate or ovate, with acute to mucronate apex and tapering to rounded base. male flowers with 5-10 stamens. female flowers with 4-6 carpels; epicarp dull. fruits ellipsoid or globular, woody. flowering and fruiting: september-december. specimens examined: barguna: patharhat, 20.3.1989, huq et al. h 9187 (dacb). chittagong: matamori reserve, chokaria, 1.4.1920, j.m. cowan 780 (e); charandrin, 15.4.1927, j.m cowan s.n. (e); garjania, s. dies, j.m. cowan 456 (e). chittagong hill tracts: matangi reserve, 7.4.1920, j.m. cowan 780 (e). cox’s bazar: baghkhali river, kurish kool, 4.12.1944, j. sinclair 3836 (e); chakaria sundarban, near dulahazara, 12.6.1979, khan, huq & rahman, k 5595 (dacb). khulna: dec. 1888, c.b. clarke 24893 (k); sundarbans, oct. 1881, j.s. gamble 10097 (e); sundarbans, july 1890, r. quinnell s. n. (e); jassore, 14.6.1874, c.b. clarke 21769 (bm); sundarbans, 31.1.1895, heinig s. n. (bm); sundarban tidal forest, 20.6.1966, m. ismail & m. bhowmik 180 (dush); sundarban, bhadra, 23.3.1970, m.s. khan 1919 (dush); sundarban, kotka, 22.1.1995, m.a. hassan 1224 (dush); sundarban, jongra, 5.11.2001, n. uddin & f. deodatus n 1151 (dacb);. satkhira: munshiganj, burigualini, 11.12.1989, huq et al. h 9368 (dacb). distribution: india, myanmar and thailand. heritiera littoralis dryand. in ait., hort. kew. ed. 1, 3: 546 (1789); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 363 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 140 (1877); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 279 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 170 (1925); kosterm., reinwardtia 4: 490 (1959). a small to medium-sized evergreen tree. leaves ovate to oblong, with acute apex and obtuse to subtruncate base. male flowers with 8-10 stamens. female flowers with 4-5 carpels. fruit a samara, ellipsoid, woody with a longitudinal ridge, epicarp shining. flowering and fruiting: maydecember. specimen examined: s. loc. & dies, p. maheshwary, 13.9.49, s.n. (dush). distribution: australia, cambodia, china, india, indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, the philippines, sri lanka, thailand, vietnam and east africa. heritiera macrophylla wall. ex kurz in j. asiat. soc. beng. 42(2): 61 (1873); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 141 (1877); kanjilel et al., fl. assam 1: 155 (1934); kosterm., reinwardtia 4: 502 (1959); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 430 (1993). a medium-sized tree. leaves oblong, with acute apex and obtuse to slightly cordate base. male flowers with 6-8 stamens; anthers irregularly clumped on androgynophore. female flowers with 1 carpel. fruit a samara, ellipsoid, with one apical fish-tail wing. flowering and fruiting: november-february. sterculiaceae in bangladesh 71 specimens examined: khulna: sundarbans, 13.9.49, p. maheswary, s.n. (dush); sundarbans, 22°10’ n 89°50’e, apr. 1984, j.m. sandom 15 (k); sundarbans, 22°10’n 89° 35’ e, june 1984, f.r. miller 33 (k); sundarbans, 22°25’ n, 89°25’ e, apr. 1984, j.h. sandom 36 (k). distribution: cambodia, china, india, laos, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. heritiera papilio bedd., fl. sylhet : t. 218 (1872); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 363 (1874); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 430 (1993). heritiera acuminata all. ex kurz in j. bot. 12: 65, t. 141, f. 1, 1-3 (1874); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 155 (1934). a small to moderate-sized tree. leaves variable in shape, lanceolate, oblanceolate or oblong to elliptic with obtuse base. male flowers with slender staminal column; anthers in regular rings on androgynophore. female flowers with 5-6 ovary. fruit a single-seeded samara. flowering and fruiting: april-december. specimen examined: sylhet: wallich cat. no. 7836 (k). distribution: india. kleinhovia l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 1365 (1763); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 219 (1867). kleinhovia hospita l., sp. pl. : 1365 (1763); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 364 (1874); gagnep. in fl. gen. i.-c. 1: 497 (1911); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 280 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 171 (1925); kou-mei, fl. reipubl. popularis sin. 49(2): 144, t. 40 (1984). a small tree, with straight trunk. leaves cordate to ovate, with acute, cuspidate or rounded apex and cordate to truncate base. flowers pink. stamens 10, staminodes 5. ovary 5-locular. fruit a capsule, inflated, membranous. flowering and fruiting: february-april. specimens examined: dhaka: s. loc., 26.11.1945, sukdeo, s.n. (dush); sadarghat, 26.12.1943, atul, s.n. (dush); sadarghat, 26.12.1943, s.k. sen, s.n. (dush). distribution: australia, china, india, indonesia, malay peninsula, philippines, polynesia, sri lanka, thailand and tropical africa. melochia l., sp. p1. : 674 (1753); gen. p1. ed. 5: 304 (1754); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1. : 223 (1862). lectotype: melochia corchorifolia l. melochia corchorifolia l., sp. p1. : 675 (1753); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 374 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 277 (1903); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 441 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 414 (1995). annual herb, young parts sparsely hairy. leaves ovate, ovate-lanceolate, oblong-ovate or suborbicular with truncate or obtuse base and acute apex. flowers pinkish. fruit a globose or subglobose capsule. flowering and fruiting: march-june. specimens examined: chittagong: ganjania, s. dies., j.m. cowan 716 (e); sitakund 6.1.1851, j.d. hooker 408 (k). cox’s bazar: korantan quarter municipal, roadside of a small tank, 17.8.1943, j. sinclair 3132 (e); st. martin’s island, 29.10.1963, m.s. khan 654 (dush); teknaf range, 5.10.1991, khan et al. k 8596 (dacb). dhaka: savar, jahangirnagar university campus, 31.10.1999, rezia khatun 2010 (dacb). east bengal: s. loc., 4.6.1850, j.d. hooker s.n. (k). rajshahi: near godagari, 17.11.1988, huq et al. h 8670 (dacb). noakhali: maijdee, 1.11.63, din mohammad 34 (dush). sylhet: s. loc. 18.9. 1850, j.d. hooker s.n. (k). distribution: australia, china, india, indonesia, malay peninsula, myanmar, philippines, polynesia, thailand and vietnam. 72 rahman et al. pentapetes l., sp. p1. : 698 (1753); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1. 1: 222 (1867). moranda scop., introd.: 289 (1777). type. pentapetes phoenicea l. pentapetes phoenicea l., sp. pl. 2: 698 (1762); wight & arn., prodr. 1: 67 (1834); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 371 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 277 (1903); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 284 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 178 (1925); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 443 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 412 (1995). pentapetes angustifolia bl., bijdr.: 87 (1825). annual herb to undershrub with few scattered stellate hairs on the bark. leaves linear lanceolate, with acuminate or cuspidate apex and cuneate or obtuse base. flowers pink to red. fruit a globose or subglobose capsule, 5-valved. flowering and fruiting: september-january. specimens examined: chittagong: matamori reserve range, 2.9.1920, j.m. cowan 811 (e); 13.9.1920, j.m. cowan 866 (e). dhaka: s. loc., 10.9.1818, c.b. clarke 7703 (bm). narayanganj: fatullah, 19.4.1973, a.m. huq 1088 (dacb). rajshahi: rajshahi university campus, 11.11.1985, khan & mia k 7341 (dacb). rangamati: pablakhali, 30.4.1977, huq & rahman h 3281 (dacb); pablakhali, 26.9.1977, khan et al. k 4682 (dacb). distribution: australia, china, india, indonesia, japan, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, philippines, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. pterospermum schreb., gen. 2: 461 (1791); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1. 1: 220 (1867). velaga adans., fam. 2: 398 (1763). sczegleewia turcz., bull. soc. nat. mosc. 31(1): 233 (1858). key to the species: 1. capsules angular; leaves peltate; petals glabrous on both surfaces; style glabrous. p. acerifolium capsules not angular; leaves not peltate; petals hairy on outer surface; styles hairy at least on lower half. 2 2. leaves with a slightly oblique base, sparsely hairy or glabrescent on lower surface; fruiting calyx caducous. p. lanceaefolium leaves with strongly sagittate base, woolly on lower surface; fruiting calyx persistent. p. semisagittatum pterospermum acerifolium (l.) willd., sp. p1. 3: 729 (1800); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 368 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 145 (1877); prain, beng. p1. 1: 276 (1903); brandis, ind. trees : 91 (1906); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 175 (1925); abedin and ghafoor in nasir & ali (eds), fl. w. pak. 99: 12 (1976); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 448 (1993). pentapetes acerifolia l., sp. pl.: 698 (1753). a medium-sized to large evergreen tree. leaves polymorphous, peltate, with cordate base. flowers white or yellowish, fragrant. fruit a capsule, oblong, woody, rusty brown, glabrescent. flowering and fruiting: february-june. specimens examined: chittagong: cheval reserve forest, 27.2.1968, majumdar & islam 39a, 39b (k); sitakund, 13.1.1851, j.d. hooker & t. thomson 621 (k). dhaka: s. loc., march 1938, n.k. chatterji, s.n. (dush); ramna, 10.2.1954, shahjahan, s.n. (dush); balda garden, 17.2.1988, rezia, huq & mia r 231 (dacb). habiganj: chunarughat, kalenga beat, 1.4.1997, sterculiaceae in bangladesh 73 a.m. huq 10410 (dacb). khulna: near railway station, 16.6.1982, a.m. huq 5537 (dacb). sylhet: wallich no. 11702 (k). munshiganj: vikrampur, 30.10.1868, c.b. clarke 7937 (bm). distribution: bhutan, china, india, laos, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, pakistan and thailand. pterospermum lanceaefolium roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 3: 163 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 368 (1874); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 450 (1993). pterospermum jackianum wall. ex mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 367 (1874); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 283 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 176 (1925). pterospermum pierrei hance. j. bot. 15: 329 (1877); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 177 (1925). pterospermum insulare pierre, fl. for. cochinch.: t. 180 (1888). a small to medium-sized tree, young parts tomentose. leaves lanceolate-oblong, oblanceolate or obovate-oblong, with acute, acuminate or cuspidate apex and slightly oblique base. flowers yellowish or white, fragrant. fruit an elliptic to ovoid capsule, densely hairy. flowering and fruiting: october-april. specimens examined: sylhet: wailich no. 1172 (k, bm); sylhet station, 24.9.1872, c.b. clarke 17955 (bm); jafflong (37 miles away), 30.4.1981, huq, rahman & mia h 5121 (dacb); jafflong, 20.10.1986, huq & mia h 7904 (dacb). distribution: china, india, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. pterospermum semisagittatum buch.-ham. ex roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 160 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 368 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 146 (1877); prain, beng. p1. 1: 276 (1903); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 177 (1925); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 453 (1993). a small to moderate-sized tree. leaves oblong to oblong-lanceolate, with acute to cuspidate apex and sagittate base. flowers white, fragrant. fruit a capsule, cylindrical or elliptical, rustytomentose. flowering and fruiting: april-august. specimens examined: chittagong: jaldi range, taballa chera, 6.5.1921, j.m. cowan 399 (e); razu reserved range, 17.5.1920, j.m. cowan s. n. (e); gobania, 31.5.1920, j.m. cowan 335 (e); rezu range, 16.8.1920, j.m. cowan 215 (e); mirsari, 19.5.1920, cowan 126 (e); s. loc., nov. 1862, pierre 9718 (e, bm); sitakund 5.1.1851, j.d. hooker & t. thomson 374 (k); s.loc., october 1940, s.k. sen, s.n. (dush); cheval reserve forest, 10.6.1967, s. majumdar & a. islam 73a (k); 24.7.1966, s. mazumdar & a. islam 73b (k); harbang to aziznagar, 13.6.1979, khan, huq & rahman k 5609 (dacb); chunati game reserve, 22.4.1994, huq & mia h 10318 (dacb). chittagong hill tracts: phasoha, 28.2.1879, j.s. gamble 6725a (k); sept. 1886, dr. king’s coll. 232 (k, bm). cox’s bazar: kelatali, 21.3.1945, j. sinclair 4054 (e); harikhola, whykong range, 2.6.2000, khan et al. k 10523 (dacb). sylhet: tamabil, 29.4.1981, huq, rahman & mia h 5078 (dacb). distribution: cambodia, india, laos, myanmar, sri lanka and thailand. pterygota schott & endl., melet. bot. : 32 (1832); hutch., gen. fl. p1. 2: 520 (1967). type: sterculia alata roxb. [pterygota alata (roxb.) r. br.)]. pterygota alata (roxb.) r. br. in benn., pl. jav. rar. : 234 (1834); kochumenn in whitmore, tr. fl. malaya 2: 371 (1973); abedin and ghafoor in nasir & ali (eds), fl. w. pak. 99: 23 (1976); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 455 (1993). sterculia alata roxb., p1. corom. 3: 84, t. 287 (1819); fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 152 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 360 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 134 (1877); prain, beng. p1. 1: 274 (1903). erythropsis roxburghii schott & endl., melet. bot.: 33 (1832). sterculia teynii bedd., fl. sylv. : t. 230 (1872). 74 rahman et al. a large deciduous tree with narrow conical crown. leaves broadly ovate with acute to broadly acute apex and cordate or truncate base, usually clustered at the end of brachlets. flowers brownish-yellow. fruit a woody follicle, globose to ellipsoid, pubescent. flowering and fruiting: december-may. specimens examined: chittagong: chunati game reserve, 24.4.1994, huq & mia h. 10332 (dacb). chittagong hill tracts: s. loc., mar. 1880, j.s. gamble 7898 (k). dhaka: s. loc., 24.2.1947, sukdeo, s.n. (dush); azimpur army recruiting office compound, 1.11.1963, a.f. muhammad 34 (dush); ramna, 3.2.1947, s.k. sen, s.n. (dush); dhaka university tsc area, 10.9.1982, a.m. huq 5688 (dacb). sylhet: wallich no. 1122, 1 (k). distribution: bhutan, china, india, malaysia, myanmar, pakistan, philippines, thailand and vietnam. scaphium schott. & endl., melet. bot. : 33 (1832). type: scaphium wallichii schott. & endl. scaphium scaphigerum (wall. ex g. don) guib. & planch., hist. nat. dro. sim. ed. 7, 3: 632 (1876); kosterm., j. sci. res. indo. 2(1): 3 (1953). sterculia scaphigera wall., cat. no. 1130 (1828); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 361 (1874). scaphium wallichii schott & endl., melet. bot. : 33 (1832); benn. & r. br., pl. jav. rar. : 236 (1844). a medium-sized to large deciduous tree. leaves ovate to ovate-oblong, with acute to acuminate apex and obtuse to truncate base. petals absent. male flowers with 10-15 stamens; female flowers with 5 carpels. fruit a follicle, boat-shaped, membraneous. flowering and fruiting: february-may. specimens examined: rangamati: 50 miles south of rangamati, apr. 1934, macalpine & w.j.l. wenger 476 (k); may 1933, w.j.l. wenger s. n. (k). distribution: cambodia, malay peninsula, myanmar and thailand. sterculia l., sp. p1. : 1007 (1753); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1. 1: 217 (1862). type: sterculia foetida l. key to species: 1. leaves digitate or palmately lobed. 2 leaves not lobed. 5 2. leaves digitate. 3 leaves palmately lobed. 4 3. leaflets whitish pubescent beneath; calyx lobes inflexed; staminal column c. 2 mm long. s. versicolor leaflets glabrous beneath when mature; calyx lobes spreading; staminal column c. 10 mm long. s. foetida 4. leaves deeply 5-7 lobed; lobes 3-fid, villous beneath; flowers large, c. 2 cm wide; follicles spreading. s. villosa leaves shallowly 5-lobed, entire; softly thick velvety beneath; flowers small, less than 8 mm wide; follicles radiating. s. urens 5. calyx lobes broadly ovate, spreading. 6 calyx lobes linear or linear-lanceolete, connivent at the top. 7 sterculiaceae in bangladesh 75 6. leaves glabrous above, rusty-tomentose beneath, cordate or subcordate at base. s. guttata leaves glabrous on both surfaces, more or less rounded at base. s. roxburghii 7. fruits lanceolate; staminal column 4-5 mm long. s. hamiltonii fruits ovate; staminal column less than 4 mm. 8 8. leaves glabrous or glabrescent on both surfaces; calyx urceolate; style glabrous. s. parviflora leaves densely stellate hairy on both surface; calyx campanulate; style hairy. s. balanghas sterculia balanghas l., sp. pl. : 1007 (1753); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 358 (1874). sterculia rubiginosa vent., jard. malm. 2: t. 91 (1804); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 358 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 138 (1877); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 271 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 169 (1925). sterculia angustifolia roxb., fl. ind. 3: 148 (1832); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 138 (1877); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 274 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 165 (1925); raizada, ind. for. 67: 245 (1941). sterculia ensifolia mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 358 (1874). sterculia balanghas l. var. angustifolia (roxb.) mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 358 (1874). a small to medium-sized evergreen tree. leaves elliptic-oblong to obovate-oblong, stellate hairy on both surfaces, with blunt, acute or acuminate to caudate apex and rounded base. flowers yellow or greenish-purple, fragrant. petals absent. fruits a follicle, oblong, narrowed at both ends. flowering and fruiting: january-may. specimens examined: bengal: s. loc. & s.n., 1796 (bm); wallich no. 1131 (bm); wallich no. 1133 (bm); rangamati: kasalong reserve, mainimukh, 12.3.1940, t.v. dent. s.n.(?) distribution: india, indonesia, malay peninsula, myanmar, nepal, sri lanka and thailand. sterculia foetida l., sp. p1.: 1008 (1753); roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 154 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 354 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 135 (1877); prain, beng. pl. 1: 274 (1903); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 268 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 166 (1925); abedin and ghafoor in nasir & ali (eds.), fl. w. pak. 99: 16 (1976); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 459 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 431 (1995). a medium to large deciduous tree. leaves elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate or elliptic-oblong, crowded at the end of branchlets. flowers dull red, purplish or yellow. petals absent. fruit a follicle, woody, boat-shaped. flowering and fruiting: november-april. specimens examined: cox’s bazar: kutubdia, barkup, 27.12.1983, huq, rahman & mia h 6653 (dacb). dhaka: s. loc., 24.2.1947, sukdeo, s.n. (dush); azimpur maternity hospital, 12.8.1964, a.f. muhammed 180 (dush). distribution: cambodia, china, india, indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, pakistan, philippines, sri lanka, thailand, vietnam, eastern africa and north australia. sterculia guttata roxb. [hort. beng.: 50 (1814) nom. nud], fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 148 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 355 (1874); brandis, ind. trees : 82 (1921); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 166 (1925); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 462 (1993). a moderate-sized deciduous tree. leaves broadly ovate to ovate-oblong, with acute or abruptly shortly acuminate apex and rounded or slightly cordate base. flowers white or pale 76 rahman et al. yellow. petals absent. fruit a follicle, curved upward, tomentose outside. flowering and fruiting: april-august. specimen examined: sylhet: wallich no. 1127 (bm?). distribution: india, myanmar, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. sterculia hamiltonii (o. kuntze) adelb., blumea 5: 506 (1945); et in backer & bakh. f., fl. java aufl. 107: 23 (1944); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 464 (1993). clompanus hamiltonii o. kuntze, rev. gen. p1. 1: 77 (1891). sterculia coccinea roxb. [hort. beng. : 50 (1814) nom. nud], fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 151 (1832) non jack (1822); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 357 (1874). sterculia indica men., j. ann. arb. 33: 245 (1952). a small tree. leaves elliptic-lanceolate, oblanceolate or narrowly oblong, with abruptly short acuminate apex and tapering base. flowers yellowish, fragrant. fruit a follicle, oblong-lanceolate, crimson-red. flowering and fruiting: april-september. specimens examined: cox’s bazar: hill side, 19.3.1945, j. sinclair 4046 (e). maulvi bazar: kamalganj, adampur forest beat, 20.9.2011, s.n. uddin 4745 (dacb). sylhet: s. loc., wallich no. 1122 (k, bm); s. loc., 12.10.1973, khan, huq & hassan, k 3233 (dacb); jaintapur, 19.10.1986, huq & mia h 7839 (dacb). distribution: bhutan, india, myanmar and nepal. sterculia parviflora roxb. ex g. don, gen. hist. 1: 516 (1831); roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 147 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 356 (1874); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 271 (1922); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 468 (1993). sterculia maingayi mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 359 (1874). sterculia holttumii ridl., kew bull. 1926: 471 (1926). a medium-sized to fairly large deciduous tree. leaves elliptic-oblong, with acute or shortly acuminate apex and obtuse base. flowers yellowish brown. petals absent. male flowers with 10 stamens; female flowers with 5 carpels. fruit a follicle, oblong, pubescent. flowering and fruiting: february-july. specimen examined: sylhet: s. loc. & s. dies wallich 1121/1 (bm). distribution: india, indonesia, malay peninsula, myanmar, thailand and vietnam. sterculia roxburghii wall. [cat. 1124 (1830) nom. nud.], p1. asiat. rar. 3: t. 262 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 356 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 274 (1903); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds.), fl. ind. 3: 468 (1993). sterculia lanceifolia g. don, sylhet 1: 517 (1831). a medium-sized tree, with ashy bark. leaves oblong-elliptic or oblanceolate, with acuminate apex and rounded or subcordate base. racemes few-flowered, with sparingly stellate pilose pedicels. flowers red. fruit a follicle, ellipsoid-lanceolate. flowering and fruiting: februaryaugust. specimen examined: chittagong: dhopasari, 21.3.1921, j.m. cowan2046 (e); 2.4.1920, j.m. cowan 156 (e). sylhet: s. dies wallich nos. 1124, 1125 (k). distribution: china and india. sterculia urens roxb., p1. corom. 1: 25, t. 24 (1795); fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 145 (1832); wight & arn, prodr. 1: 63 (1834); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 355 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 274 (1903); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 470 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 432 (1995). sterculiaceae in bangladesh 77 a deciduous tree. leaves crowded at the end of branchlets, palmately 3-5 lobed, with acuminate to cuspidate apex and deeply cordate base. flowers yellow. fruit a follicle, oblong, ellipsoid or kidney-shaped, densely rusty pubescent. flowering and fruiting: october-february. specimen examined: chittagong: s. loc. 31.12.1850, j.d. hooker & t. thomson 302 (k). distribution: india and sri lanka. sterculia versicolor wall., pl. asiat. rar. 1: 48, t. 59 (1830). a large tree with spreading crown. leaves peltate, elliptic-lanceolate with acute or shortly acuminate apex and tapering base, pubescent beneath. flowers orange-yellow or pale yellow, fragrant. petals absent. fruit a slightly compressed follicle. flowering and fruiting: march-july. specimen examined: cox’s bazar: moheshkali, 7.3.1978, khan et al. k 4895 (dacb). distribution: india and myanmar. sterculia villosa roxb. [hort. beng. : 50 (1814), nom. nud.], fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 153 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 355 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 274 (1903); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 472 (1993). sterculia ornata wall. ex kurz in j. asiat. soc. beng. 42(2): 228 (1873); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 136 (1877); brandis, ind. trees : 81 (1921); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 168 (1925). sterculia armata mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 357 (1874). a moderate-sized deciduous tree. leaves palmately lobed, oblong with acuminate to cuspidate apex and cordate base. flowers pinkish-yellow. petals absent. male flowers with 10 stamens and female flowers with 5 free carpels. fruit a folicle, oblong, rusty pubescent. flowering and fruiting: february-may. specimens examined: bandarban: s. loc., 3.5.1977. a.m. huq 3354 (dacb). chittagong: jaldi range, badarmara, j.m. cowan 2275 (e). cox’s bazar: kalatuli chara, 17.3.1945, j. sinclair 4040 (e). dhaka: s. loc., 24.2.1947, sukdeo, s.n. (dush); dhaka university botanic garden, 23.1.1964, a.f. muhammed 78 (dush). gazipur: salna forest, 24.1.1968, n. begum 83 (dush). jamalpur: gajni forest, 7.5.1982, mia et al. m 817 (dacb). tangail: madhupur, pirgacha, 14.6.1989, m.k. mia 211,e3 (?) (dacb). distribution: bhutan, cambodia, china, india, myanmar, nepal, pakistan and thailand. waltheria l., sp. p1. : 673 (1753); gen. p1. ed. 5: 304 (1754); benth. & hook. f., gen. p1. : 224 (1862). astropus spreng., neue entdecj. 3: 64 (1822). type: waltheria indica l. waltheria indica l., sp. p1.: 673 (1753); wight & arn., prodr. 1: 67 (1834); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 374 (1874); prain, beng. p1. 1: 278 (1903); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 285 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 179 (1925). malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds), fl. india 3: 473 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 418 (1995). waltheria americana l., sp. p1. : 673 (1753). a much branched erect herb or undershrub. leaves ovate, ovate-oblong or elliptic-ovate, with acute to rounded apex and shallowly cordate to obtuse base. flowers yellow. fruit a capsule, ovoid, with an acute hooked apex. flowering and fruiting: april-december. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka farm, 12.1.1941, sen & singh, s.n. (dush); nakhal para, 20.7.1969, m.m.r. bhuiyan 158 (dush). distribution: pantropical. 78 rahman et al. acknowledgement the authors thank the authorities of the herbaria k, e, bm and dacb for allowing them to study specimens and use the library facilities. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperm: dicotyledons (ranunculaceae – zygophyllaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. brizicky, g.k. 1966. the genera of sterculiaceae in the southeastern united states. j. arnold arbor. 47: 6074. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york. engler, a. and prantl, c. 1896. pflanzenfamilien. leipzig. hsiang-hao, h. 1984. sterculiaceae. in: kuo-mei, f. (ed.), fl. reipubl. popularis sin. 49(2): 112–189. hooker, j.d. 1874. the flora of british india. vol. 1. l. reeve & co. ltd., england, pp. 353-379. khan, m.s. (ed.) 1972-1987. flora of bangladesh, fascicles 1-19. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. khan, m.s. and rahman, m.m. (eds) 1989-2002. flora of bangladesh. fascicles 40-53. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. malick, k.c. 1993. sterculiaceae. in: sharma, b.d. and sanjappa, m. (eds), flora of india, vol. 3. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 407-473. mia, m.m.k., rahman, m.o., hassan, m.a. and huq, a.m. 2011. three new records of sterculiaceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 153-157. phengklai, c. 2001. sterculiaceae. in: santisuk, t. and larsen, k. (eds), flora of thailand. vol. 7, part 3. the forest herbarium, royal forest department, bangkok, thailand, pp. 539-654. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol. 1. (reprint edition 1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 271-279. robyns, a. and cautrecasas, j. 1964. flora of panama. part vi. family 117. sterculiaceae. ann. miss. bot. gard. 51: 69-107. verdcourt, b. 1995. sterculiaceae. in: dassanayake, m.d., fosberg, f.r. and clayton, w.d. (eds), a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, vol. 9. amerind publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhli, pp. 418-445. (manuscript received on 8 january, 2012; revised on 5 may, 2012) bang ladesh j . p lan t taxon. 10( l ) : 99-111, 2003 (june) review paper present trends in plant taxonomy in bangladesh and its future hespns mo. inpnnur-r-nh school of biological sciences. jones building, university of liverpool liverpool l69 3gs, uk e-rna i l : h rn i l fan@l iverpoo l .ac .uk , h rn i r fanu l lah@hotmai l . com keywords: plant taxonomy, plant systematics, bangladesh abstract the trend in plant taxonomic research in bangladesh between 1972 and 2002 has been investigated by using a broad categorisation scheme and a scoring system. inventory taxonomic s tud ies (mo lpho log ica l taxonomic s tud ies invo lv ing p lan t resources cataloging) were fbund to be significantly higher than the integrared studies (s tud ies us ing the knowledge o1 ' d i f fe ren t d isc ip l ines o f b io logy) . s tud ies on angiosperms were fbund to be significantly more than any other groups and followed by that on algae. while gymnosperms received signif icantly least artention. despite the wor ld -w ide dec l ine in taxonomic research , taxonomy can make s ign i f i can t cont r ibu t ions in bang ladesh i f in i t ia t i ves are taken to comple te the inventory o f p lan t resources th rough a count ry -w ide campaign , to incorpora te in tegra ted approaches in tradit ional taxonomy and to stress on the conservation issues in taxonomic studies. such efforts could be more effect ive i f cooperation among insti tut ions concerned with plant taxonomy could be increasecl through eff lcient ne twork in ,e . introduction taxonomy is a synthetic discipline (stuessy 1990). it draws data from various branches of biology, namely, morphology, anatomy, embryology, paleobotany, palynology, cytology, genet ics, cytogenet ics, chemistry, reproduct ive biology and ecology. whi le tradi t ional plant taxonomy is exclusively based on morphological features, in the last fifty years or so, by using the knowledge and techniques of other discipl ines of biology, more integrated approaches are being taken to elucidate different issues of plant classification as well as phylogeny and evolution (e.g. stuessy 1990) . taxonomy, spec i f i ca l l y morpho log ica l taxonomy, however , i s now experiencing an alarming decline (disney 1998, lee 2000). it is quite strong in the developed countries, where recent advancement in applied biology is attracting a large proportion of the research funds indicating commercialisation of biological research programmes. despite the importance of al l p lant species in natural ecosystems, emphasis has now been given on specific plant species or plant groups because of their appealing economic benefits. 100 irfanullah on the contrary, in the less developed countries like bangladesh the scenario ts apparently less vigorous, but needs to be assessed. recent comprehensive reviews on the studies carr ied out so far in bangladesh on algae (is lam 1991a), bryophytes (hadiuzzaman 1991), pter idophytes ( is lam and hadiuzzaman 1991). gymnosperms ( is lam 1991b) and ang iosperms (khan 1991) have h igh l igh ted the impor tance o f taxonomy in the overall plant studies in this country. during the british regime in the indian subcontinent. plant taxonomy flourished as an essential part of the botanical explorat ion (khan l99l) . al though bangladesh encompasses a smal l area compared to the whole subcont inent, the ful l inventory of her plant resources is yet to be completed. regular reports on new taxa and new records of plants from different groups. especial ly angiosperms and'algae, suggest superb f lor ist ic r ichness and immense possibilities of taxonomic studies in this country. the aim of this paper is to show the trends in plant taxonomic research in bangladesh over the last three decades (1912-2002). a categorisation system and a scoring system are proposed to demonstrate the magnitude and the direction of such trends. scopes and opportunities of plant taxonomic research in bangladesh are also discussed. approaches undertaken three journa ls , pub l i sh ing p lan t taxonomic research papers , namely , bangladesh journal of botany (bjb by bangladesh botanical society, 1972-2002), journal of the asiat ic society of bangladesh, science (jasbs by asiat ic society of bangladesh, 1975-june 2002) and bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy (bjpt by bangladesh association of plant taxonomists. 1994-2002) were consulted to identify, record and classify published plant taxonomic papers under a suggested categorysystem as described below. these three journals were selected because of their different magnitudes in publishing plant taxonomic papers: bjpt, exclusive for plant taxonomic papers; bjb, exclusive for botanical research papers including taxonomy and jasbs, all kinds of scientific papers including botanicals ones. all these journals are being published on a two-issue-per-year basis. here algae, including blue-green algae (cyanobacter ia), bryophytes, pter idophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms were considered as plants. to be qualified as a study of bangladesh the worked out material(s) (plant or place) must be from bangladesh and should be carried out by one or more bangladeshi scientists inside or outside bangladesh. in addition, volumes of the flora of banglctdesh (khan et al. 1972-1996) were also included as revisions of angiospermic families. present trends in plant taxonomy categories all the taxonomic research papers recorded were classified using two separate categortsat ion scheme. in the f i rst scheme, al l the papers were classi f ied into two broad categories on the basis of the nature of the studies: | ' inventoryt studies: this mostly includes area based floristic studies, checklists of certain areas or of certain taxonomic groups, new records of taxa, and revisions on genera. families and orders. papers in relation to nomenclature like describing new taxa. proposlng new combinat ions and changing names were most ly done in the papers of f lor ist ic studies. micromorphological studies using l ight or eiectron microscopes and ethnobotanical studies with taxonomic perspect ive were also included in this category. the common feature of all these studies is traditionai morphological taxonomic approaches (include both morphology and anatomy) were taken to carry out them. 2' integrctted st t tdies: studies, where knowledge of di f ferent branches of biology other than morphology, l ike chemistry, cytology, cytogenerics, ecology and reproductive biology were used with a definite aim to elucidate taxonomic probiems or to faci l i tate taxonomic understanding were included in this category. use of numerical methods in taxonomy was also incorporated in this group. the second categorisation was done on the basis of the broad taxonomic group that a paper dealt with and the proposed six categories are: 1 . angiospermic studies: exclusively on angiospermic plants; 2. gymnospernic studies: exclusively on gymnospermic species; 3. pteridopltytic studies: exclusively on fem and fern allies; 4^ bryophytic'studies: exclusively on mosses and liverworts; 5" algal studies: includes freshwater, brackish water and marine algal taxa; and 6. mixecl studies: any two or more of the above-mentioned cateeories. scoring system. a scoring system has been proposed to quantify the published works of a category in a given year ' a paper scored three points, whi le a short communicat ion scored one point. each volume of the flora of bangladesh scored three points as a revision. total score of a category in a given year was then used for stat ist ical analyses. nonpararnetric statistics, namely. mann-whitney tests and spearman rank correlations were done to determine significant differences and correlations among the datasets, respectively. 1 0 1 1q2 irfanullah patterns revealed during the period of 1972-2002, the extent of inventory studies was significantly greater than that of integrated studies (p<0.001) (fig. 1). moreover, a clear increase in the overal l taxonomic studies was also evident since 1994. inventory papers published in the studied journals were dominated by revisions, new records and floristic studies (frg. 2a). although cytogenetical studies were the major integrated studies, there was no significant difference among different integrated studies carried out (fig. 2|-) again suggesting very low attempt for such research. figure 3 presents the overal l t rend of taxonomic studies in di f ferent plant groups. studies on anglosperms were srgnificantly higher than any other group, which was followed by algal studies, and gymnosperms received least at tent ion. correlat ions between different types of studies also showed similar magnitude in different plant groups (table 1). inventory studies as a whole showed strong positive correlation with most table l. results of spearman rank correlations among different types of taxonomic studies and pla,nt groups calculated on the basis oi yearly scores, different iiltegrated sturiies were not included separately because of their very low individuai y"euily r.o""r. total. sum of iriventory a1a^i{eea-!9! stqdies; +, positive correlation: -. negative correlationi ns-, not significant at p<0.05; *p<0.05; **p<0'01; ***p<0'001' total inven. inreg. alga. br.yo. pter i .cym. angi . mix. nom. micro. rev. flor . new check ns n s + n s + n s + + + + * * * * * * + ns ns ns ns * + + + + + x * a * * * * * + * + + n s + + + n s n s + t * * * * * x x n s + + + n s n s + + * * * * * * * + * * n s + + n s n s n s l l s + + * * * * * x x + + 11s + lls + + + + + n s + + n s n s + + n s + + x * : k * + ) k * * x ns ns ns ns ns + + + + + , k * + * + . f + * * * * x * + + n s + n s * * * i . a x + + n s + + ) k * : f * * * + + + + n s * * * 1 . * * * n s n s n s + * a + + n s + n s * + * + * * * * * + + n s + + + + x * x . < * * * * * + + n s + + * * * + * * * + * * * + + + n s n s + * * * * x x lnventory integrated algae bryo. pterido. gymno. angio. mixed nonren. micromor revrsron flolistic new rec. checklist ethnobot. present trends in plant taxonomy 103 of the plant groups' while combined integrated studies only showed correlation with angiospermic studies. arnong different inventory studies, floristic, new records and checkl ists showed highest correlat ions with other types of work, whereas revisions showed the least. publ icat ion of the bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy has enhanced an signi f icant increase in the overal l plant taxonomic research rn bangladesh compared to the yearly contributions made by the bangladesh journal of botany and the journal of the asiatic society of bangladesh, science in the earlier two decades (fig. i , table 2). 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 0o o1 02 yeaf, fig l yearly scores of inventofy and integrated raxonomic stuclies over a period of lg72-2002. the horizontal lrne across the bars is the overall mean of the combrned score per year. letters 'a' and 'b' indicate the first publicatlon of t l . re journal of the asiat ic society of bangladesh, science and bangladesh journal of p lant taxonorrrv. lespect i ve ly . global status of taxonomic studies a recent sharp decline in traditional taxonomic studies has been well recognised, which is quite evident in developed countries than in developing countries (bramrey 1994, disney 1998, lhotsky 1998, lee 2000). tradit ional morphological taxonomy is now facing two-way attack: one from its sister discipline molecular systematics (lee 2000) and the orher from rhe other appl ied discipl ines of biology (boero 2001). funding for research in biological sciences is increasing, but is almost exclusively control led by the commercial benef i ts of the funding agencies. hence appl ied disciplines, like pharmacy, molecular biology and plant transformation are j"rting increasing attention rather than those dealing with basic sciences. similarly,-funds coming into systematics studies are mostly taken up by projects dealing with specific i integrated 8o elar.ra.rtory 104 irfanullah plant species with specif ic economic importance, leaving the tradi t ional taxonomy with more or less empty hands. moreover, now-a-days taxonomic studies are considered as an old-fashioned, non-creative research in the intellectual arena of biological sciences. thus rnolecular bioiogy and other appl ied science courses are getting preference in the universities and flourishing progressively, while taxonomy courses are dwindl ing (lhotsky x998, boero 2001). nonetheless, unequal cash f lows into the di f ferent branches of biological sciences also control l tng the career perspective of the young researchers. journals publishing classical taxonomic papers have lower impact factors (lee 2000. valdecasas et al. 2000), thus are less appealing to the funding agencies and are also less useful in career bui lding. exclustve publication of experimental research articles in the new as well as in the established journals of plant biology and systematics also demonstrates this development (lee 2000). al l these are dr iv ing young researchers to take the'advanced'avenues of biological sciences with better job prospects (boero 2001). plant taxonomy: bangladesh scenario ln a developing country l ike bangladesh the picture is a bi t di f ferent. in recent years. the funds for environmental projects have been increased considerably, and are available from both internal and external sources. these mostly provide support to the projects on sustainable development of rural communit ies or conservation of threatened ecosystems through community participations. inventory and rnonitoring of plant species are often being carried out under these projects as a part of the documentation of the natuml resources of the project areas. despite the present pol i t ical recognit ion of the importance of biodiversi ty, funding for basic research in the f ie ld of plant taxonomy is megre. in terms of plant taxonomic expert ise, the botany departments of the universi ty of dhaka, universi ty of chittagong, jahangirnagar university and rajshahi university, and institutes, such as, bangladesh council for scientific and industrial research (bcsir) of chittagong, bangladesh forest research institute (bfri) and bangladesh national herbarium (bnh) are the important bodies harbouring around 35 academics and scient ists activeiy involved in plant taxonomic and ethnobotanical research. among these the bnh can be considered as the icon of the plant taxonomic research in bangladesh" in addit ion to the three mentioned journals, other journals that publ ish taxonomic art ic les are the universi ty studies of the above-mentioned universi t ies and the bulletins of the bfri. moreover, different books have also documented the plants of different broad groups of bangladesh, such as medicinal plants (khan and huq 1915), aquat ic plants (khan and hal im 1987), mangroves (hussain and acharya iggq, trees (das and alam 2001) and plants of di f ferent bio-ecological zones of bangladesh (nisirat et al. 2002). present trends in plant taxonomy 105 aithough the status of plant taxonomy in bangladesh is not falling clown, but not flourishing either in the way it should be considering the prevailing opportunities. the ctrear increase in plant taxonomic studies in bangladesh in the last 10 years or so is the direct result of the regular publ icat ion of the bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy (fig. l . table 2). whi le this suggests the importance of special ised journals for promoting the advancement of a scientific discipline, the overall picture of plant taxonomy in bangladesh is not that satisfactory. in next few sections, i shall discuss the scopes and opportunities that can be explored for the enhancement of plant taxonomic research in bangladesh. table 2. overall mean sco-res of different types of taxonomic studies in bangladesh related to three different periods characterised by journals. see the section approaches undertaken"for abbreviations. different smatl letters in the same column represent values that are-different at p<0.05, values with asterisks (+) were not included in such comparison because of their verv low values. types of studies major groups studied j ou rna l s l n v e n t . i n t e g r a algae b r y o . p t e r i d o . c y m n o a n g i o mixed bjb ( t 91 2 \ 97 4 ) bjb+jastss ( 191 5-1 993 ) bjb+jasbs+bjpt (1994-2042\ 9 a 1 l a 4 7 b l a 1 . 2 a 2 .3 a 7 a b 3 . 6 a 1 2 b 0 * 0 .6 a 4.9 b 0 * 0.2 a 3 . 6 b 0 * 0 :k 0 . 1 * 3 . 3 a 7 . 3 a 2 7 b 0 * 0.-1 a 1 . 7 a 4 5 3 5 3 0 1 2 5 ' 2' i s l a " l we cytogen. cytolo. ecolo$ nuner integrated studies rep. b io l ftg.2. overal l l rean scores ofdi f ferent taxonomic studies as the percentages of tota l a) inventory or b) integrated studies. ln graph a. bars with diff'erent small letters are different at p<0.05 as dererrnined on the basis of yearly scores; bars with asterisks are significantly different from each other. inventory studies include nomenclatural, micromorphological, revision, floristic, new records, checklists and ethnobotanical studies; and integrated studies include chemical, cytogenetical. cytological, ecological, numerical and reproductive biological studies. 106 irfanullafi acceleration of inventorying and conservation initiatives the present study suggests that the strength of plant taxonomy in bangladesh is in inventory taxonomy (fig. 1, table 1). however, despite the long tradition of such taxonomic research in bangladesh (khan 1991), we are yet to f in ish our complete inventory of plant resources. sti1l many areas, especially in the chittagong hill tracts, remain f lor ist ical ly unexplored. sporadic col lect ions and f lor ist ic studies are cont inuously contr ibut ing to the species l ist of bangladesh (fig. 2a), al though the iow proportion of nomenclatural studies undermines the actuai extent of these studies as most of the reports on new to science taxa are published in revision or floristic papers. however, with the current rate of documentation, it seems to be a long way to have a complete list of the flora of bangladesh. an encouraging initiative was taken by the bangladesh national herbarium with the f inancial support f rom the government in the mid-1990s for a comprehensive inventory of the plant resources of the country, from algae to angiosperms. but unfortunately it was not executed due to some unresolved problems. complet ion of such large-scale inventory is very essent ial , importance of which has literary been over-emphasised on different occasions. to accelerate the taxonomic explorat ion in bangladesh, botany teachers of col leges or equivalent academic inst i tut ions with b.sc. and m.sc. degrees could tre encouraged in undertaking taxonomic inventories. a detailed plan for that could be designed involving leading taxonomic experts of the country, and concerned bodies and off ic ials of educat ion and environment ministr ies of the government, and accordingly those teachers could be trained to carry out such country-wide project. at present regular training programmes are organised for the college teachers every year by the government as a part of the skill enhancement programme. the proposed 'training programme on taxonomy' can be tied up with the existing training scheme. moreover, botanists involved in different environmental projects can also be included in simi lar t raining programmes. such use of non-special ist taxonomists to expedite inventory by sieving out well-recognised taxa and by leaving rare, difficult or new ones for experts 'considerat ion is wel l discussed (alberch 1993, beatt ie and ol iver 1994. brower 1995). such an endeavour will in fact trigger a country-wide movement of taxonomic exploration, which is urgently needed, and the findings will facilitate the publication of the complete flora of bangladesh including all plant groups. however, we should be careful that this passion of recording species does not compromise with the r igidi ty and rel iabi i i ty of taxonomy as science (renner and ricklefs 1994). moreover, we should be cautious enough in designing such programme to avoid the fate of such initiative taken by the inbio (instituto nacional de biodiversidad) of costa rica in terms of insufficient training, erroneous sampling, slow identification, poor performance of para-taxonomists leading towards disappointing outputs (lobo 1e94). present trends in plant taxonoi\4y besides complete inventory, another pr ime issue, which i think the future of faxonomic studies in bangladesh l ies with, is the conservat ion of plant diversi ty. at present our activity is limited to mere survey of the conserved areas. although it is the f i rst step to start with, but is not the main focus of conservat ion. cont inuous monitoring, an essential part of the whole conservation scheme (yoccoz et at. 2001), is almost absent in the present conservation programmes. furthermore, like anywhere in the world. threatened plants of bangladesh have received less attention compared to the threatened animals. however, the recent publication of the red data book of vascular plants of bangiadesh (khan et at. 2001) can be a very important tool to guide the plant conservation movement in bangladesh. in this volume, a total of 106 plant species are listed as threatened after an extensive literature survey, search in herbaria and accompanying f ie ld works. st i l l , l ist ing of 99 species as ei ther 'data deficient' or 'not evaluated' indicates the need for more intensive investigation in this regard. nonetheless, ecosystem approaches would always be more preferable in any conservatron initiatives. especially when lower plant groups are involved. vitalization of integrated approaches the second important issue ident i f ied by the present study is the lack of integrated approaches in taxonomic studies (fig. 1,28, table 1). but there are excellent scopes for undertaking collaborative studies involving cytology (e.g. begum et al . 1994), cytogenet ics (e.g. sobhan et al . 1991, alam et a\ .2000), biochemistry (e'g. alam et al. 2000), breeding and life-cycle for elucidating taxonomic issues, like delimiting taxa, or those involving ecology, reproductive biology and tissue culture for the conservation of threatened species. lack of advanced technologies or funding cannot be an excuse for staying away from such initiatives. if necessary, we need to modify the available techniques and continue studies with our available resources, whi le looking for other routes for further advancement. integrated studies rn col laborat ion with workers from other branches of botany/biology wi l l be more effective than sole efforts by the taxonomists. such alliance will definitely improve our out look towards taxonomy. thus i t is the taxonomist who should ini t iate such venture' we should learn from the usa, which once neglected i ts tradi t ional taxonomy, has now started the partnership for enhancing expert ise in taxonorny (peet) programme, a combinat ion of morphological taxonomy and moiecular systematlcs to get maximum out of taxonomy (boero 2001). balance in studies of different plant groups in the taxonomic studies in bangladesh there are comparatively less emphases on the p lan t g roups o ther than ang iosperms (f ig .3 , tab le l ) . a l though the bangladesh national herbarium (bnh) is the sole inst i tute exclusive for plant systematics, even i t does not include lower plant groups in i ts regular act iv i t ies. t0 l 1 0 8 irfanullah despite their importance in nature, inconspicuous, microscopic organisms are less appealing to common people and also to the research funders. but they should not be to the trained botanists. in case of algae, although there is a huge scope and need for phycol imno log ica l s tud ies in bang ladesh, we on ly have a coup le o f ac t i ve phycologists, and phycological studies are almost based at the university of dhaka and the rajshahi university. moreover, there is virtually no integrated study on the lower plant groups, namely, algae and bryophytes" this scenario should be altered by changing the perspect ives of concerned workers and by undertaking systematic studies incorporat ing l i fe-history studies, and cytological , cytogenet ical and biochemical approaches. the bnh should also come forward with specific projects on lower plant groups and should include phycologists and bryologists in its working team. in the other two least studied groups, pteridophytes and gymnosperms, focus shouid be given on their conservation as they bear significant number of endangered species (khan et sl. 2001). algae bryo. pterido. gymno. angio. mixed taxonomic group fig" 3. overal l nrean scores of dif t 'erent plant gloups as the perccntages of total score: bars with dif f 'erent small letters are dif l 'erent at p<0.05" enhancement of institutional collaboration for the advancement of plant taxonomic research, cooperat ion among the organisations involved in plant taxonomic studies is very important. in this regard, the bangladesh natior-ral herbarium (bnh) and the bangladesh association of plant taxonomists (bapt), two platforms of plant taxonomic research and conservation of plant resources in bangladesh, can effectively work together and they have already demonstrated the fl 'uitfulness of their collaboration in the last ten years or so. one of present trends in plant taxonomy 1 0 9 the important activities of the bapt is the publication of the bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy (bjpt), regular publication of which has undoubtedly accelerated the pace of taxonomic research in bangladesh (table 2). but strong effort should be made to publ ish bjpt regular ly, and to publ ish i ts abstracts in internat ional abstracting journals and also on abstracting databases available on internet to improve its international acceptability. as an expansion of their col laborat ion, bnh and bapt should also take the inittatives to bring together organisations, like botany departments, institutes, different botanical associat ions l ike bangladesh botanical society and groups involved in commercial use of plants. both from the country and abroad, to establish a network of all possible stakeholders to facilitate a movement in integrated taxonomic studies in bangladesh. besides, such networking can also help in developing an electronic database on the flora of bangladesh, and contribute to the improvement of the libraries, herbaria and research facilities for plant taxonomy. conclusion through the above discussion one thing i was try ing to i l luminate is that taxonomy needs a change in the att i tude of the taxonomists. despite the present decline, traditional taxonomy has been proven to be useful and will be needed for cont inuous inventorying, including bioprospect ing, conservat ion biology as wel l as for evolutionary and phylogenic studies (cotterill and dangerfield, 1991, baker et al" 1998, jaspars 1998, lee 2000). besides other factors, taxonomists themselves are also responsible for the current decline in the taxonomic studies by not coming up with realistic and clearly achievable goals (godfray 2002). taxonomists should come our from their unappeal ing, non-creat ive image and should upl i f t their uniqueness, irreplaceability, importance and necessity in this degrading world. taxonomy should adopt knowledge from the other discipl ines of science, thus reinvent i tsel f to overcome the present cr is is. and to cope with the demand of the 21st century (godfray 7002). final ly, concentrat ion should also be given on the development of young botanists, which would involve improving the taxonomy syl labi and teaching techniques in col leges and universi t ies. and also involving them in di f ferent programmes on taxonomy, biodiversity and conservation to build up generations that appreciate and care therr plant resources. job opportunities for the taxonomists, which is the main concern of botany students to come into taxonomic research, are there in bangladesh, especially in this age of ecological sustainability, but we need to upgrade our students' know-how and their outlook to meet the requirements demanded by these professions. 1 i 0 irfanullah acknowledgements i would iike to thank prof. a.k.m. nurul islam for his support during the preparation and the finalisation of the manuscript. thanks are also due to the asiatic society of bangladesh and the bangladesh national herbarium for allowing me to consult their libraries. references alam, sk.s., nahar, k.k., sarker, r.h. and zaman, m.a.2000. differential chromosome banding and isozyme ana lys is o f ampelygonutn ch inense (l . ) i ind ley and a. sa la rkhan l i hassan (polygonaceae). bangladesh j" bot ' 29(1): 29-34' a lberch . p . 1993. museums, co l lec t ions and b iod ivers i ty inventor ies . trends eco l . evo l .8 (10) : 3723 1 s . baker , r .h. , yu . x . and desal le , r . 1998. assess ing the re la t i ve cont r ibu t ion o f mo lecu la r and morphological characters in simultaneous analysis trees. molecular phylogenetics and evolut ion 9r3): 427-436. beatt ie, a.j. and oliver, l , 1994. taxonomic minimalism. trends ecol ' evol.9(12): 488-490' begum, m., khan. m.s. and sarkar, a.k. 1994. cystol i ths as a parameter in del imit ing taxa of the family acanthaceae from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. l(2): 33-46. boero, f. 2001. light after dark: the partnership for enhancing expert ise in taxonomy. trends ecol ' e v o l . l 6 ( 5 ) : 2 6 6 . bramley. j. 1gg4. biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems: the need for an aquatic plant taxonomy course? freshwiiter forum 4(3): 216-218. brower. a.v.z. 1995. taxonomic minimalism. trends ecol. evoi. 10(5): 203. cotteri l l , f.p.d. and dangerf ield, j.m. 1997. the state of biological knowledge. trends ecol. evol ' l 2 ( 5 ) : 2 0 6 . das. d"k. and a lam, m.k.2001. trees o f bang ladesh. government o f the peop le 's repub l ic o f bangladesh, bangladesh forest research inst i tute, chittagong, pp' 342' disney, h. 1998. rescue plan needed for taxonomy. nature 394: 120 godtiay, h.c.j. 2002. challenges for taxonomy. nature 417: 17-19' hadiuzzaman, s" 1991. bryophytes. in: two centuries of plant studies in bangladesh and adjacent regions (ed. islam. a.k.m. nurul), asiat ic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 155-162 hussain, z. and acharya. g. (eds.) 1994. mangroves of the sundarbans, volume two: bangladesh' iucn-the world conservation union' bangkok, thailand, pp' 257 ' islam, a.k.m. nurul 1991a. phycology. in: two centuries of plant studies in bangladesh and adjacent regions (ed. islam, a.k.m. nurul), asiat ic society of bangladesh. dhaka. 9'1-153. islam, a.k.m. nurul l99lb. gymnosperms. in: two centuries of plant studies in bangladesh and adjacent regions (ed. islam, a.k.m. nurul), asiat ic society of bangladesh, dhaka, l '73-1'74 lslam, a.k.m. nurul and hadiuzzaman, s. 1991. pteridophytes. in: two centuries of plant studies in .bangladesh and adjacent regions (ed. islam, a.k.m. nurul), asiat ic society of bangladesh. d h a k a , 1 6 3 1 7 l jaspars, m. 1998. tough t ime for taxonomy. nature 394: 413' present trends in plant taxonomy r l l khan' m s' 1991' angiosperms. in: two centuries of plant studies in bangladesh and adjacent regions (ed. islam, a.k.m. nurul), asiat ic society of bangladesh, dhaka, l i5_194. khan' m s' and halim, m. 1987. aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh. bangladesh agriculrural research counci l , dhaka, pp. 120. khan' m's and huq, a.m, 1975. medicinal plants of bangladesh: a prel imrnary l ist giving actions and uses, bangladesh agricultural research counci l , dacca, pp. 25. khan' m's' et a/ (eds.) 1972-1996. flora of bangladesh. no. 1-51. bangladesh agricultural research counci l . dhaka. khan ' m 's ' . rahman. m.m. and a l i , m.a. (eds . ) 2001. red dara book o f vascu la r p lanrs o f bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, pp. 179. lee, m.s.y. 2000. a worrying systemaric decrine. trends ecol. evol. l5(g): 346. lhotsky' o' l998 species identi f icat ion as basis lor biodiversity evaluation. verh. internat. verern. l imno l . 26 : 1741-1742. lobo' r d b' 1994' using biodiversity: accomplishments and chal lenges of the costa rican national biodiversity inst i tute, inbio. revisra de biological rropical qio-zr: 3g3-3gi. nishat, a , huq, s.m.i. , barua, s.p., reza, a.h.m.a, khan, a.s.m. (eds.) 2002. bio-ecologicar zones of bangladesh. iucn bangladesh country off ice, dhaka, bangladesh, pp.l4l. renner, s's' and ricklef.s, r.e. 1994. systematics and biodiversity. trend ecol. evol. 9e): -7g. sobhan, m.1., alam, sk.s. and zaman, m.a. r99r. cytogenetics of commerinaceae. xi: four tradescantia. bangladesh j. bot. 20(2): 199_206. stuessy, t.f. 1990. plant taxonomy: the systematlc evaluation university press, new york, pp. 514. vaidecasas, a'g , castroviejo, s. and marcus, l.f. 2000. reliance on the citat ion index undermines the study of biodiversity. narure 403: 69g. yoccoz' n g', nichols' j.d. and boulinier, t. 2001. monitoring of biological diversity in space and time. trends ecol. evol. 166): 446-453. taxa of oi comparative data. columbia microsoft word 06. s1_myristica_edited_11.6.2011 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 65-67, 2011 (june) short communication © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists nomenclatural notes on myristica yunnanensis and cyclobalanopsis yonganensis xiao-ming peng, zheng he and wen-bin yu*1 academy of forestry inventory and planning, jiangxi, nanchang 330046, p.r. china keywords: myristica yunnanensis; myristicaceae; cyclobalanopsis yonganensis; fagaceae; publication date; nomenclature. in flora reipublicae popularis sinicae and flora of china, the reference citations of myristica yunnanensis and cyclobalanopsis yonganensis are incorrect. the publication date of myristica yunnanensis is 1977, not 1976, and that of cyclobalanopsis yonganensis is 1999, not 1993. additionally, the authorship of the combination c. yonganensis belongs to c. c. huang, y. t. zhang and b. bartholomew, but not to y. c. hsu and h. w. jen. to formalize the usage of the two names, they are revised here. 1. myristica yunnanensis y. h. li in fl. yunnan. 1: 13, pl. 2: 7-12 (1977). type: china. yunnan: mengla, menglun, alt. 650 m, 12 dec 1973. g. d. tao 7146 (holotype hitbc 057684!; isotype hitbc). myristica yunnanensis y. h. li in acta phytotax. sin. 14(1): 94 (1976), not validly published under article 37.1 & 37.2 (with article 8.1). myristica yunnanensis, described by y. h. li (1976), was not validly published because two collections, one flowering and one fruiting, were simultaneously designated as types in the original description, contrary to article 37.1 and 37.2 (with article 8.1) of the international code of botanical nomenclature (icbn, mcneill et al., 2006). unfortunately, li and his colleague did not discover this problem during the preparation for the chinese edition of flora reipublicae popularis sinicae (li, 1979) and the english and updated edition of the flora of china (li and wilson, 2008), as in both floras their reference citation of this name is incorrect. myristica yunnanensis was validly published in flora yunnanica (li, 1977), because only one collection, i.e. g. d. tao 7146, was designated as type. due to the first invalid description (li, 1976), the latter publication (li, 1977) is legitimate. therefore, the publication date of m. yunnanensis is 1977, and not 1976. *corresponding author. email: yuwenbin@mail.kib.ac.cn 1key laboratory of biogeography and biodiversity, kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, kunming 650204, p.r. china. 66 peng et al. additional examined specimens: china. yunnan: mengla, menglun, 20 apr. 1972, h. y. li 8040 (hitbc); same locality, c. 700 m, 11 dec 1972, h. y. li 8560 (ibsc, hitbc); jinghong, naban, 950 m, g. d. tao 44638 (hitbc); jinghong, nanguohe, alt. 700 m, g. d. tao 44987 (hitbc); jiangcheng, tukahe, alt. 480 m, g. d. tao 419116 (hitbc). 2. cyclobalanopsis yonganensis (l. lin & c. c. huang) y. c. hsu & h. w. jen ex c. c. huang, y. t. zhang & b. bartholomew in fl. china 4: 392 (1999). type: china. fujian: yongan, alt. 1370 m, l. g. lin 6426 (holotype fnu not seen). quercus yonganensis l. lin & c. c. huang in guihaia 11: 9-10 (1991). cyclobalanopsis yonganensis (l. lin & c. c. huang) y. c. hsu & h. w. jen in j. beijing forest. univ. 15(4): 45 (1993), not validly published under article 33.4. the species quercus yonganensis l. lin & c. c. huang (subgen. cyclobalanopsis) was originally described by huang (1991) and known from two collections from yongan county of fujian province. xu and ren (1993) recognized cyclobalanopsis as a genus, by which they placed several members of quercus subgen. cyclobalanopsis into that genus. among these, “cyclobalanopsis yonganensis (l. lin & c. c. huang) y. c. hsu & h. w. jen” was not validly published because the pages of the basionym were not correctly cited, contrary to article 33.4 (mcneill et al., 2006). unfortunately, hsu and jen (1998) did not discover this problem during the preparation of the chinese edition of flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. the name cyclobalanopsis yonganensis, however, was validly published by huang et al. (1999) in flora of china, in which the references to the basionym was fully cited in accordance with article 45.1. according to icbn, the valid publication date of this name is 1999. additionally, the authorship of this combination belongs to c. c. huang, y. t. zhang and b. bartholomew, and not to y. c. hsu and h. w. jen. acknowledgements we are grateful to the curator of hitbc (herbarium of xishuangbanna tropical botanical garden, cas) for allowing us to study the specimens; and to an anonymous reviewer for valuable comments and suggestions. references hsu, y.-c. and jen, h.-w. 1998. fagaceae: cyclobalanopsis. in: chun, w.-y. and huang, c.-c. (eds.), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae vol. 22. science press, beijing, pp. 263-332. huang, c.-c. 1991. materials for chinese rutaceae and fagaceae. guihaia 11: 5-10. nomenclatural notes on myristica yunnanensis and cyclobalanopsis yonganensis 67 huang, c.-c., zhang, y.-t. and bartholomew, b. 1999. fagaceae. in: wu, z.-y. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china. vol. 4 (cycadaceae through fagaceae). science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 314-400. li, p.-t. and wilson, t.k. 2008. myristicaceae. in: wu, z.-y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.-y. (eds), flora of china. vol. 7 (menispermaceae through capparaceae) science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 96-101. li, y.-h. 1976. a new species of myristica from china. acta phytotaxon. sin. 14: 94-95. li, y.-h. 1977. myristicaceae. in: wu, c.-y. (ed). flora yunnanica. vol. 1. science press, beijing, pp. 10-14. li, y.-h. 1979. myristicaceae. in: tsiang, y. and li, p.-t. (eds), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. vol. 30, no. 2. science press, beijing, pp. 176-205. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., burdet, h.m., demoulin, v., hawksworth, d.l., marhold, k., nicolson, d.h., prado, j., silva, p.c., skog, j.e., wiersema, j.h. and turland, n.j. (eds). 2006. international code of botanical nomenclature (vienna code). a.r.g. gantner verlag, ruggell. xu, y.-c. and ren, x.-w. 1993. new combination of quercus and cyclobalanopsis from china. j. beijing forest. univ. 15(4): 44-46. (manuscript received on 16 june 2010; revised on 29 december 2010) microsoft word 04. swaminathan.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 141-148, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new scapigerous species of impatiens (balsaminaceae) from india m.k. ratheesh narayanan, n. anilkumar, r. meera raj, m. sivadasan1* and a.h. alfarhan1 m. s. swaminathan research foundation, puthoorvayal 673 121, kalpetta, wayanad, kerala, india keywords: balsaminaceae; impatiens minae; western ghats; india; scapigerous species. abstract impatiens minae ratheesh, anil kumar & sivad. a new scapigerous species of impatiens from wayanad district in kerala, india is described and illustrated. the new species resembles impatiens denisonii and i. scapiflora by its 3-lobed lateral united petals and lower sepal with a long spur; but differs from the latter in having a curved band of dense fleshy clavate papillae at the base of lateral united petals, and from the former in the absence of a dorsal filiform appendage or auricle at the base of the lateral united petals. introduction the genus impatiens l. (balsaminaceae) is one of the largest and difficult genera of angiosperms comprising over 1000 species (mabberley, 2008), and several new species are being recognized and described each year. the earliest detailed study of the genus was by hooker and thomson (1859); and revision by warburg and reiche (1895) with infrageneric classification. the major contributions on indian species are those of hooker (1874-1875, 1904, 1905, 1906). in india the genus is represented by over 203 taxa mainly distributed in three major centres of diversity, i.e. western himalayas, north east india and the western ghats, each characterized by its own species groups and sections (hooker, 1910; gamble, 1915; rajalal et al., 1996; vivekananthan et al., 1997). the scapigerous species of impatiens have very restricted distribution in south indian-sri lankan region with very low diversity and high rate of endemism compared to non-scapigerous species (grey-wilson, 1980; nair, 1991; vivekananthan et al., 1997). except impatiens acaulis, which is distributed throughout the wet tropical forests of western ghats and sri lanka, all other species have very narrow distribution pattern in various small microcenters in western ghats, especially in its southern part. they are highly delicate ephemerals thriving mainly on moss covered tree-trunks or on wet rocks for a short duration in monsoon season. classification of the ‘scapigerae’ section is mainly based on the lobes of the lateral petals, the spur of the lip and the dorsal auricle on the lateral petals. vivekananthan et al. (1977) reported 19 species of scapigerous impatiens from western ghats in his treatment for the flora of india, and the major centre of distribution is considered to be nilgiri phytogeographical region of southern western ghats (bhaskar, 1981, 2006; bhaskar and razi, 1982; vivekananthan et al., 1997; viswanathan *corresponding author. e-mail: drmsivadasan@rediffmail.com 1department of botany & microbiology, college of science, king saud university, p. o. box 2455, riyadh 11451, kingdom of saudi arabia. 142 narayanan et al. and manikandan, 2003). out of the 30 species of impatiens reported from periyar tiger reserve in kerala, 3 are scapigerous (augustine et al., 1999). in a recent study dessai and janarthanam (2011) recognized seven scapigerous species in the northern and parts of central western ghats. during the floristic exploration of wayanad district in kerala which is unique for its rich and diverse flora and home of several endemics (sivadasan and balakrishnan, 1989; sivadasan and jaleel, 2002; narayanan et al., 2010a; narayanan et al., 2010b), interesting specimens of scapigerous impatiens with a spur of lower sepal longer than 3 cm and a curved band of dense fleshy papillae at basal part on the lateral united petals were collected from two different localities in southern wayanad. critical examination revealed that the specimens are quite distinct from hitherto known scapigerous species of impatiens, and is described and illustrated here as a new species. impatiens minae ratheesh, anil kumar & sivad., sp. nov. (figs 1, 2) diagnosis: impatiens denisonii bedd. et impatiens scapiflorae heyne ex roxb. connatolateralio-petalis 3-lobatis, infero-sepalis longe calcaratis similis, sed ab i. denisonii connatolateralio-petalis dorsaliter base haud filiformio-appendiculatis et ab i. scapiflorae ad minimosupra bases dense carnoso-petalloide papillatis, papillis in curvato-vittam dispositis differt. types: india, kerala: wayanad district, chembra hills, rocky grasslands, 11º30.716΄ n, 76º 06.239΄e , ± 1700 m, 17 august 2006, m. k. ratheesh narayanan mssh 1113 (holotype: cal; isotype: mh; community herbarium, scarascia magnozza genetic resource centre, mssrf, chennai; herbarium of the m. s. swaminathan research foundation, kalpetta). paratypes: india, kerala: wayanad district, chembra hills, rocky grasslands, 11º30.716΄ n, 76º06.239΄ e , ± 1700 m, 23 july 2009, ratheesh narayanan mssh 4815 (mh; community herbarium, scarascia magnozza genetic resource centre, mssrf, chennai; herbarium of the m. s. swaminathan research foundation, kalpetta). scapigerous terrestrial herbs, 25-30 cm high; rootstock tuberous. leaves 3-5, radical, fleshy, 5-8 × 5-7 cm, ovate-orbicular or reniform, obtuse or rounded at apex, base cordate, margin crenate or serrate, finely hairy, pinkish green above, glabrous, pale green below, primary veins usually 6, palmate; petioles up to 8 cm long, pink. scape racemose, many-flowered (up to 15), 2530 cm long, glabrous. flowers clustered at the apex, deep pink, each c. 2.5 cm across; pedicels 2.0-2.5 cm long; bracts thick, fleshy, broadly ovate, obtuse, 3-5 × 2-3 mm, reddish green. lateral sepals 2, each 3.0-4.0 × 2.0-2.2 mm; lower sepals long-spurred, spur slender, 3.0-3.5 cm long, pink, slightly recurved or pendent. dorsal petals broadly orbicular, saccate, 5-6 × 5-7 mm; lateral united petals 3-lobed, pink, with a slightly curved band of dense red-tipped clavate papillae just above base; basal lobes slightly larger than the distal lobes, curved outwards, c. 1 cm long, broadly oblong, rounded; middle lobes broader towards tip, c. 8 mm long, broadly obovate; distal lobes strap-shaped, c. 8 mm long. stamens 5, connate, c. 1.8 × 1.4 mm; filaments white with pink tinge above; anthers pale blue. ovary pale yellowish green, 1.7-1.8 ×1.0-1.3 mm, elliptic, broadly acute a new scapigerous species of impatiens 143 fig. 1. impatiens minae ratheesh, anil kumar & sivad. sp. nov. a, habit; b, a portion of leaf margin enlarged; c, bract; d, lateral sepal; e, lower spurred sepal; f, standard petal; g, lateral united petals; h, papillae on the lateral united petals enlarged; i, anthers; j, gynoecium; k, fruit; l, immature seed; m, mature seed. (drawn from m. k ratheesh narayanan mssh 4815, community herbarium, scarascia magnozza genetic resource centre, mssrf, chennai). 144 narayanan et al. at apex, glabrous. capsule glabrous, reddish green, broadly ellipsoid, apex acute, 1.3-1.8 cm long. seeds numerous, c. 1 mm long, outside short-blunt spinous. impatiens minae is allied to impatiens denisonii bedd. and impatiens scapiflora heyne ex roxb., but distinctly differs from both by the characters given in the table 1 table 1. diagnostic morphological characters of impatiens minae and related species characters i. denisonii i. minae i. scapiflora leaves ovate, apex acute, base cordate, with deep sinus, densely hairy, pink, 7.0-15.0 × 7.5-10.0 cm broadly ovate-orbicular, thick, fleshy, apex obtuse or rounded, base cordate, densely hairy, deep pink, 5-8 × 5-7 cm orbicular or broadly ovate, base cordate with deep sinus, sparsely hairy, green, 8-15 × 5-12 cm spur of flower 3-4 cm long, strongly recurved, pink 3.0-3.5 cm long, slightly curved or pendent, pink 4-6 cm long, strongly recurved, white lateral united petals with long dorsal filamentous appendage/auricle produced into the spur without a dorsal appendage/auricle without a dorsal appendage/auricle papillae on lateral united petals a curved band of pink with red-tipped petaline papillae present just above the base of lateral united petals a curved band of pink with red-tipped petaline papillae present just above the base of lateral united petals band of petaline papillae absent on the lateral united petals seeds surface covered with spiral hairs surface with short blunt spinous projections surface hispid etymology: the specific epithet of the new taxon is in honour of ms. mina swaminathan, advisor, m. s. swaminathan research foundation, who has dedicated her life for the education and empowerment of underprivileged children and women in rural areas, and also in creating awareness among them on values and importance of biodiversity and its conservation. notes: impatiens minae resembles i. denisonii bedd. and i. scapiflora heyne ex roxb. in having 3-lobed lateral united petals and lower sepal with a long spur, but differs from i. denisonii by its fleshy, broadly ovate-orbicular leaves, absence of a dorsal filamentous appendage or auricle at the base of lateral united petals, and seeds having short, blunt spinous projections. it differs from i. scapiflora in having a slightly curved band of dense clavate papillae just above the base of lateral united petals. the seed-surface in i. scapiflora are hispid in contrast to the short, blunt spinous projections in i. minae. phenology: flowering starts from july and peak time is august. fruit matured during september-october. distribution and ecology: so far known only from the chembra-vellarimala hill ranges of wayanad district in kerala (fig. 3). grows in open wet and dripping rocky slopes in grasslands at a new scapigerous species of impatiens 145 altitudes of 1600-2000 m associated with habenaria rariflora a. rich., ipsea malabarica hook. f., satyrium nepalense d. don, chlorophytum malabaricum baker, eriocaulon spp., etc. fig. 2. impatiens minae ratheesh, anil kumar & sivad. sp. nov. a, habit; b, flower bud; c, flowers; d, young fruits. 146 narayanan et al. fig. 3. distribution of impatiens minae ratheesh, anil kumar & sivad. sp. nov. in india. a new scapigerous species of impatiens 147 population structure and conservation status: the species is seen in open grassy slopes in clusters along with grasses, mainly along the slopes between 1500 and 1700 m above the sea level of chembra-vellarimala hill ranges. it is observed that they are distributed in isolated patches from southern to northern part of the hill ranges. the southern most population is located in the high altitude grassy slopes of south-east side of chembra hills of meppady forest range and major population is in the north-west slopes of the chembra hills belonging to the same forest range of wayanad district. the populations are small and scattered along this hill ranges and are restricted to 30 sq. km area. this hill ranges are not under any protected areas. increased anthropogenic interference in the form of tourism and forest fire enhance the crisis. its geographic range (extent of occurrence) and the quality of habitat are declining continuously. by following iucn criteria (iucn, 2001) for assessing the status of rare and threatened plants, m. minae is assessed as belonging to critically endangered (cr) category. acknowledgments the authors are grateful to the chairman prof. m. s. swaminathan, and executive director of m. s. swaminathan research foundation, chennai, india for providing facilities and support. the valuable comments on the novelty of the species by mr. m. d. theuerkauf, gurukula botanical sanctuary, north wayanad, kerala, logistics provided by the forest department, government of kerala for the fieldwork, and help rendered by staff of community agrobiodiversity centre of m. s. swaminathan research foundation, kalpetta are thankfully acknowledged. the last two authors extend their appreciation to the deanship of scientific research at king saud university for support through the research group project no. rgp-vpp-135. references augustine, j., sasidharan, n. and sivadasan, m. 1999. balsams of periyar tiger reserve, southern western ghats, kerala. in: sivadasan, m. and philip mathew (eds.), taxonomy and conservation of flowering plants. mentor books, calicut, india, pp. 275-292. bhaskar, v. 1981. the genus impatiens in south india: endemism and affinities. indian forester 107(6): 368378. bhaskar, v. 2006. impatiens clavata bhaskar sp. nov. a new scapigerous balsam (balsaminaceae) from bisle ghat, western ghats, south india. current science 91(9): 1138-1140. bhaskar, v. and razi, b.a. 1982. two more new species of impatiens from south india. j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 79: 382-384. dessai, j.r.n. and janarthanam, m.k. 2011. the genus impatiens (balsaminaceae) in the northern and parts of central western ghats. rheedea 21(1): 23-80. gamble, j.s. 1915. impatiens. in: flora of the presidency of madras. adlard & sons ltd., london, pp. 134145. grey-wilson, c. 1980. impatiens of africa. a. a. balkema, rotterdam. hooker, j.d. 1874-75. geraniaceae-balsamineae. in: flora of british india 1. l. reeve & company, london, pp. 440-483. hooker, j.d. 1904. an epitome of the british indian species of impatiens. rec. bot. surv. india 4 (1): 1-10. hooker, j.d. 1905. an epitome of the british indian species of impatiens. rec. bot. surv. india 4(2): 1135. 148 narayanan et al. hooker, j.d. 1906. an epitome of the british indian species of impatiens. rec. bot. surv. india 4(3): 37-58. hooker, j.d. 1910. indian species of impatiens. generis impatiens species indicae novae et minus rite cognitae a cl. meebold detectae. bull. misc. inform. 1910: 291-300. hooker, j.d. and thomson, t. 1859. praecursores ad floram indicam.-balsamineae. j. proc. linn. soc. bot. 4: 106-157. iucn, 2001. iucn red list categories and criteria (version 3.1). iucn, gland, switzerland and cambridge, u. k. mabberley, d.j. 2008. plant book a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, their classification and uses, ed. iii. cambridge university press, cambridge, uk. nair, n.c. 1991. endemism on the western ghats with special reference to impatiens l. in: proceedings of the symposium on rare, endangered and endemic plants of western ghats. special publication no. iii. kerala forest department (wildlife wing), thiruvananthapuram, india, pp. 92-102. narayanan, m.k.r., manudev, k.m., sujanapal, p., anilkumar, n., sivadasan, m. and alfarhan, a.h. 2010a. oberonia swaminathanii sp. nov. (orchidaceae) from, kerala, india. nord. j. bot. 28: 713-715. narayanan, m.k.r., sujanapal, p., anilkumar, n., sasidharan, n., and sivadasan. m. 2010b. miliusa wayanadica (annonaceae), a new species from western ghats, india. j. bot. res. inst. texas 4(1): 6367. rajalal, r., pandurangan, a.g. and pushpangadan, p. 1996. systematic studies of balsaminaceae in peninsular india. j. swamy bot. club 13: 59-62. sivadasan, m. and balakrishnan, r.t. 1989. oberonia wynadensis, a new species of orchidaceae ftom india. nord. j. bot. 9: 395-397. sivadasan, m. and jaleel, v.a. 2002. two new varieties of amorphophallus commutatus (schott) engl. (araceae) from india. rheedea 12(2): 155-157. viswanathan, m.b. and manikandan, u. 2003. a new species of balsaminaceae, impatiens tirunelvelica, from peninsular india. bull. bot. surv. india 45(1-4): 189-194. vivekananthan, k., rathakrishnan, n.c., swaminathan, m.s. and ghara, l.k. 1997. balsaminaceae. in: hajra, p.k., nair, v.j. and daniel, p. (eds.), flora of india, 4. botanical survey of india, calcutta, india, pp. 95-229. warburg, o. and reiche, k. 1895. balsaminaceae. in: engler, h.g.a. and prantl, k.a.e. (eds.), die naturlichen pflanzenfamilien, teil 3, abteilung 5. wilhelm engelmann, leipzig. (manuscript received on 19 september 2011; revised on 30 november 2011) microsoft word 02. senarath.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 13-19, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists dioecy and monoecy in the flora of sri lanka and their evolutionary correlations to endemism, growth form, fruit type, seed number and flower size w.t.p.s.k. senarath1 department of botany, university of sri jayewardenepura, nugegoda, sri lanka keywords: flora, evolutionary correlations, dioecy, monoecy, sri lanka abstract the frequency of dioecy and monoecy and the ecological correlates of each sexual system were examined for the flora of sri lanka, a tropical continental island. of the 3,529 species in the total flora, 7.05% are dioecious, 10.25% are monoecious, 1.7% are polygamodioecious, 1.9% are polygamous and 79.1% are hermaphrodites. study was carried out to test the null hypothesis that the proportionate distribution of dioecious and monoecious taxa in endemism, growth form, fruit type, seed number or flower size was not significantly different from that for the entire flora. both monoecious and dioecious species in the sri lankan flora are significantly associated with the growth form, fruit type, seed number and flower size, whereas only dioecy is associated with endemism. dioecious species are favored by trees and small flowers, whereas monoecious species are favored by herbs and minute flowers. both dioecious and monoecious species are, however, associated with fleshy fruits suggesting that animal dispersal of fruits is favored in the sri lankan flora. introduction sri lanka is a tropical continental island, which has a total area of about 65,610 sq km of which total area under forest vegetation cover is 37.5% (approx. 24,604 sq km). about 27% of land area (approx. 17,715 sq km) is covered by natural high forests (including mangroves). natural vegetation type of the island is tropical humid forests. out of the total 3,529 angiospermic species, 7.05% are dioecious, 10.25% are monoecious, 1.7% are polygamodioecious, 1.9% are polygamous and 79.1% are hermaphrodites (abeywickrama 1956a). sri lanka separated from indian landmass and existed as a separate island at the same time when the himalayas arose as a land barrier in miocene epoch (10-27 million years ago). isolation played an important role in evolving new forms or new species on this island. about 25% species of sri lankan flora is endemic, while remaining 75% non-endemic flora is found in south india, but nowhere else in the world (abeywickrama 1956a). there is a considerable disagreement about the selective forces that have led to the evolution of dioecy in plants. selection to enforce out-crossing has historically being the primary explanation (baker 1967, charlesworth and charlesworth 1978, thomson and barrett 1981). tropical and island floras appear to have a large proportion of dioecious species than temperate and continental floras (ashton 1969, bawa 1980, fanglian et al. 1e-mail: senerath@yahoo.co.uk 14 senarath 1996). dioecious flowers in temperate species are presumed to have evolved in response to selective pressure favoring wind pollination, yet wind pollination is probably either absent or uncommon in tropical species. many of the species in tropical forests have unisexual flowers and animals as pollen vectors make it obvious that unisexual flowers in these species have not evolved in response to selective pressure for wind pollination as has been suggested for temperate plants (bawa 1980). selective forces favoring anemophily have been responsible for the evolution of dioecism (bawa and opler 1975). despite the controversy that surrounds the ecology and evolution of dioecy (givnish 1980), relatively few studies are available that examined either the frequency of dioecy in regional floras or the ecological correlates of dioecy (flores and schemske 1984). there are several evolutionary pathways to the dioecious condition. it can arise either from gynodioecious condition, monoecism, (lewis 1942), heterostyly (barker 1959) or from hermaphroditism (barker 1959). the particular pathways through which a given taxon has evolved, dioecism can only be determined by comparative studies of taxa that contain related species with different breeding systems. it is not certain, on the other hand, if monoecism generally evolved from andromonoecism. there is a little discussion on different evolutionary pathways involved. selective forces other than those associated with pollination may also play a role in the evolution of this sexual system (bawa and beach 1981). most of the dry zone species in low country and just under half of the species in the wet zone of sri lanka are named as peninsular species. the high proportion of peninsular species in the wet zone of sri lanka indicates that in an earlier period, free migration from one region to the other must have been possible although present conditions are very unfavorable for a direct migration from the wetter parts of sri lanka to similar regions of peninsular india (abeywickrama 1956a). floras of tropical islands, particularly which are rich in endemics and still retain ancient floras could provide valuable information on the evolutionary trends of their breeding system. chief factors which determine the present distribution of species appear to be the degree of isolation and the tolerance to changes in the environment exhibited by the individual species (abeywickrama 1956a). because of the isolation of sri lankan flora, particularly the concentration of endemics in the wet zone of the island, it can be used for the comparative studies of the evolution of dioecy and monoecy. thus, distribution of monoecy and dioecy in relation to different factors, namely endemism, growth form, fruit type, seed number and flower size were studied for the entire sri lankan flora. materials and methods the relevant information on angiosperm species and their sexual systems were obtained from trimen (1931), abeywickrama (1959b) and dassanayaka and fosberg dioecy and monoecy in the flora of sri lanka 15 (1985). all the dioecious and monoecious species were classified under five categories and several groups under each category as tabulated in table 1. for the entire flora, 61 polygamodioecious species were considered dioecious because the perfect flowers found in these species are often functionally unisexual (flores and schemske 1984). similarly, 67 polygamous species were considered monoecious. some species were not included under certain categories because of the lack of particular information concerning their reproductive characteristics. table 1. classification of sri lankan species into several groups under five categories (distribution, growth form, fruit type, seed number and flower size). category group 1. distribution (i) endemic, (ii) non-endemic (including doubtful endemics) 2. growth form (i) trees, (ii) shrubs, (iii) herbs (including epiphytes), (iv) climbers 3. fruit type (i) dry-dehiscent, (ii) dry-indehiscent, (iii) fleshy-dehiscent, (iv) fleshy-indehiscent 4. seed number (i) one seeded-dry, (ii) many seeded-dry, (iii) one seeded-fleshy, (iv) many seeded-fleshy 5. flower size (i) minute (length <0.62 cm), (ii) small (0.62 3.75 cm), (iii) medium (3.76 5.00 cm), (iv) large (> 5.00 cm) distribution of dioecious and monoecious taxa in relation to five categories and corresponding groups (table 1) was compared with those of the entire flora by chisquare analysis (equations 1-3, modified from william 1997). the null hypothesis for all comparisons was that the proportionate representation of dioecious or monoecious taxa in the various categories is not significantly different from the distribution within entire flora. proportion of a group in total flora (a) = total number of observed species in a group under a category / total number of species in the flora equation 1 expected species number of a group under dioecy (or monoecy) = a × total number of observed species in dioecious (or monoecious) flora equation 2 chi square (λ2) = (observed proportion of a category – expected proportion of such category)2 / expected proportion of the category equation 3 results and discussion the proportion of dioecious species among the endemics was higher than that of monoecious species in the total flora (table 2). therefore, there is a significant association between dioecy and endemism in the flora of sri lanka, but there is no significant association between monoecy and endemism. temporal segregation of male and female phases can increase out-crossing probabilities in monoecious species. although selection to increase out-crossing has been hypothesized as an important factor in the evolution of dioecy (bawa 1980), many hermaphrodites or monoecious species are also highly out-crossed. if dioecy is favored on islands, following the hypothesis of baker 16 senarath (1967), one would expect a higher incidence of dioecy among endemics as compared to widely distributed taxa (bawa 1982). according to the results obtained in the present study, it could be suggested that dioecy is favored in the sri lankan flora. table 2. correlation between endemism, growth form, fruit type, seed number and flower size to dioecy and monoecy of sri lankan flora. dioecy monoecy category/group total no. of spp. in the flora observed expected λ2 observed expected λ2 endemism endemic 738 114 (3.23%) 52.07 93.1 86 (2.43%) 75.69 1.768 non-endemic 2791 135 (3.82%) 196.90 p<0.001 276 (7.8%) 286.27 p = 0.18 growth form tree 774 157 (4.44%) 54.61 131 (3.71%) 78.48 shrub 664 27 (0.02%) 46.85 309.8 54 (1.53%) 67.32 53.72 herb 1805 23 (0.65%) 127.34 p<0.001 134 (3.79%) 183.03 p<0.001 climber 285 42 (1.19%) 20.10 39 (1.1%) 28.89 fruit type dry dehiscent 1143 57 (1.62%) 99.86 124 (3.53%) 141.7 indehiscent 1112 84 (2.39%) 76.95 41.07 48 (1.36%) 109.19 107.3 fleshy p<0.001 p<0.003 dehiscent 71 4 (0.11%) 4.91 17 (0.48%) 6.97 indehiscent 886 98 (0.79%) 61.31 156 (4.44%) 87 seed number one seeded fleshy 194 6 (0.17%) 13.40 55 (1.56%) 19.03 dry 971 55 (1.56%) 67.09 1119.6 36 (1.02%) 95.25 2056.49 many seeded p<0.001 p<0.001 fleshy 771 96 (2.70%) 53.28 118 (3.35%) 75.63 dry 1580 86 (2.44%) 5.94 136 (3.86) 8.44 flower size minute 1140 84 (2.42%) 80.59 235 (6.79%) 118.20 small 1707 143 (4.12%) 120.68 15.26 117 (3.37%) 117.00 176.15 medium 254 5 (0.14%) 17.95 p>0.001 3 (0.08%) 26.33 p<0.001 large 262 13 (0.38%) 18.52 4 (0.11%) 27.17 the results obtained from the present study indicated that there is a highly significant association of dioecy and monoecy with growth form. trees proportionally included more dioecious species, whereas herbs included more monoecious species (table 2). moreover, the expected proportions of shrubs and herbs were higher than that of observed proportions, but the expected proportions of climbers were lower than that of observed proportions in both dioecy and monoecy. the ratio of dioecious: monoecious species was 1.19 for trees, 0.5 for shrubs, 0.17 for herbs and 1.07 for climbers. these data dioecy and monoecy in the flora of sri lanka 17 indicate that the relative frequency of dioecy and monoecy declines sharply with decreasing size of the growth form. according to the evolutionary history, the first angiosperms are believed to have been woody, with adaptable herbaceous forms arising soon thereafter. trees have the highest incidence of dioecy and herbs the lowest (bawa 1980), which is comparable with the results of the present study. out-breeding mechanisms are a feature of perennial plants and their high incidence in trees is wellknown (bawa 1982). this high incidence is also related to the evolutionary advantages of out-crossing in terms of genetic flexibility (bawa and beach 1981). for the entire flora of sri lanka, observed number of dioecious and monoecious species with fleshy fruits is more than twice than that of expected (table 2). there is a significant association between dioecy and monoecy to fruit type (dryor fleshydehiscent or indehiscent). the expected and observed proportions of fleshy-indehiscent fruits are more favored than fleshy-dehiscent fruits. moreover, there is a significant association between seed number and dioecy or monoecy. the expected proportion of dry, many-seeded fruits is lower than observed proportion in both dioecious and monoecious species, whereas expected proportion of dry one-seeded is higher than that of observed proportion only in dioecy. if the dispersal efficiency of oneand many-seeded dry fruits is same, according to the null hypothesis distribution of these characters among entire flora should be in same proportions. for the entire flora, observed proportion of fleshy many-seeded fruits is comparatively higher than that of fleshy one-seeded fruits, explaining fleshy many-seeded fruits are favored in the process of evolution. in dioecious tropical trees and shrubs the seeds in the vast majority of species are dispersed by birds. it is noteworthy that dispersal by birds is more common in tropical than temperate plant communities (carlquist 1974). long distance dispersal of plants by birds is an important source of colonization of species on oceanic islands. thus the highest incidence of dioecy in tropical flora could be partly due to correlation between dioecy and dispersal by birds (givnish 1980). there is a significant association found between monoecy and size of the flower, whereas the association between dioecy and flower size is not significant (table 2). to investigate this association, when flowers were placed in four classes it was observed that among dioecious species, small flowers are favored, but minute flowers are favored among monoecious species. the evolution of angiosperms is closely linked with insects and the flowers of the angiosperms arose in all probability from an etomophilous (insect-pollinated) strobilus. wind-pollinated species may have then arose from insect-pollinated species. minute flowers are more adapted for insect as well as wind pollination, but small flowers are adapted only to insect pollination (baker 1967). as in both monoecious and dioecious species observed proportions of minute and small flowers are higher than medium or large flowers it could be concluded that windor insect-pollinated flowers are more 18 senarath favored than beetleor bird-pollinated flowers among the sri lankan flora or the evolution of dioecy and monoecy among sri lankan flora is more effected by minute or small flowers. the sri lankan flora also showed similarities with the flora of other tropical islands. for example, the percentage of dioecy and monoecy in flora of barro colorado island (9.0% and 15.7% in croat 1979) and puerto rico (6.1% and 10.5% in flores and schemske 1984) were comparable to that of sri lankan estimates (7.05% and 10.25%). in terms of growth form, the flora of barro colorado island (croat 1979) demonstrated increase in the frequency of dioecy with an increase in the size of plants as did sri lankan flora. acknowledgements author would like to thank prof. i.a.u.n. gunathillake of the university of peradeniya, sri lanka and dr. magdon jayasuriya, former curator of the royal botanic gardens, sri lanka for their guidance throughout this study. references abeywickrama, b.a. 1956a. the origin and affinities of the flora of ceylon. proc. 11th ann. ses. cey. ass. adv. sci., pp. 99-121. abeywickrama, b.a. 1956b. a check list of the angiosperms in sri lanka. naresa publication, sri lanka, pp. 1-125. asthon, p.s. 1969. speciation among tropical forest trees: some deductions in the light of recent evidence. biol. j. linn. soc. 1: 155-196. barker, h.g. 1959. reproductive methods as factors in speciation of flowering plants. cold spring harbor symposium on quantiative biology 24: 177-191. baker, h.g. 1967. support for baker's law as a rule. evolution 21: 853-856. bawa, k.s. 1980. evolution of dioecy in flowering plants. ann. rev. ecol. system. 11: 15-40. bawa, k.s. 1982. outcrossing and the incidence of dioecism in island floras. am. nat. 119: 866-871. bawa, k.s. and beach, j.h. 1981. evolution of sexual systems in flowering plants. ann. mis. bot. gar. 68: 254-274. bawa, k.s. and opler, p.a. 1975. dioecism in tropical forest trees. evolution 29: 167-179. carlquist, s. 1974. island biology. columbia university press, new york, pp. 286-295. charlesworth, b. and charlesworth, d. 1978. a model for the evolution of dioecy and gynodioecy. am. nat. 112: 975-997. croat, t.b. 1979. the sexuality of the barro colorado island flora (panama). phyto. 42: 319-348. dassanayaka, m.d. and fosberg, f.r. 1985. revised handbook to the flora of sri lanka. vols i-v. amarind publishers corporation (pvt) ltd., new delhi. fangliang, h., legendre, p. and frankie, j.l. 1996. spatial pattern of diversity in a tropical rain forest in malaysia. j. biogeography 23: 57-74. flores, s. and schemske, d.w. 1984. dioecy and monoecy in the flora of puerto rico and the virgin islands: ecological correlates. biotropica 16: 132-139. dioecy and monoecy in the flora of sri lanka 19 givnish, t.j. 1980. ecological constraints in the evolution of breeding systems in seed plants: dioecy and dispersal in gymnosperms. evolution 34: 959-972. lewis, d. 1942. the evolution of sex in flowering plants. biological rev. cam. phil. soc. 17: 46-67. thomson, j.d. and barrett, s.c.h. 1981. selection for outcrossing, sexual selection, and the evolution of dioecy in plants. am. nat. 118: 443-449. trimen, h. 1931. a handbook to the flora of ceylon. vols i-vi. dalau c. ltd., london. william, p.g. 1997. statistics for bioscience. prentice hall, englewood cliff, nj, pp. 76-85. (manuscript received on 12 september 2007; revised on 19 december 2007) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 167-169, 2007 (december) short communication new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh: phacus, lepocinclis and pteromonas md. almujaddade alfasane1 and moniruzzaman khondker2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: new records, phytoplankton, lepocinclis, phacus, pteromonas in bangladesh, the genus phacus is so far represented by 40 species and lepocinclis by 10 species (islam and khatun 1966, islam et al. 1991, islam and alfasane 2002, 2003, islam and irfanullah 2003, 2005). on the other hand, the genus pteromonas is represented by a single species, pteromonas aculeata lemm. var. lemmermanni skuja (islam and alfasane 2002). recently, studies made on some new collections of algal material revealed the occurrence of few more taxa to the above-mentioned genera so far unreported from bangladesh, namely, phacus horridus and lepocinclis ovum var. globula of euglenaceae and pteromonas angulosa of phacotaceae. the samples for the present study were collected from a small temporary rainwater pocket created on the ground in ramna park, dhaka city and from an industrially polluted pond at fatullah in narayanganj district. water samples from both the habitats were blackish to greenish in colour, and mixed with fine sand and organic particles of moderate concentration. the algal samples were fixed with formalin-aceto-alcohol (faa), examined under microscope, and photo-micrographed. the newly recorded taxa are described below. division: euglenophyta; class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales family: euglenaceae 1. phacus horridus pochmann (fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 239, 55: 343; dillard 2000, 58, 9: 1) cells oval or spoon-shaped, lateral margins parallel, anterior end broad and posterior end sometimes abruptly produced into a straight or slightly bent caudus. cells 46 µm long and 27 µm broad, caudus 7 µm long. pellicle ornamented with disposed rows of small posteriorly directed spines, caudal region devoid of ornamentation. number of longitudinal rows of spines per 10 µm is 6-7 in the middle of the cell, number of individual spine along the axes in 10 µm is 7-8. ramna park, dhaka, 13.01.2005. 1corresponding author. e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com 2e-mail: khondker56@yahoo.com 168 alfasane and khondker 2. lepocinclis ovum var. globula (perty) lemm. [syn.: phacus ovum var. globula klebs.] (fig. 2) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 152, 30: 158) cells broadly ovate, anterior end broadly rounded, sometimes slightly indented, posterior end produced into a short caudus. cells 27 µm long and 24 µm broad. flagellum about cell length. pellicular striations with a left-hand spiral (not visible in the present specimen). chloroplasts discoid. paramylon bodies 2 large rings, 7 µm long and 2.5 µm broad. ramna park, dhaka, 13.01.2005. figs. 1-3. 1. phacus horridus, 2. lepocinclis ovum var. globula, 3a-b. pteromonas angulosa, (a. two individuals in opposite direction, b. a single individual). (bar = 10 µm) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 169 division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocales family: phacotaceae 3. pteromonas angulosa (carter) lemm. [syn.: pteromonas alata cohn, seligo; phacotus alatus dang.; p. angulosus stein; cryptoglena alata carter] (figs. 3a-b) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 587, 119: 827; dillard 2000, 27, 4: 11) lorica ovoid, posterior broadly rounded, anterior widely flat, apical view with two curved wings, 20 µm long and 17 µm broad. protoplast broadly ovoid, margin smooth, 11 µm long and 8 µm broad with an anterior papilla. fatullah, narayanganj, 02.07.2005. acknowledgement the authors are indebted to rinat fauzia, a 4th year b.sc. (honours) student of the department of botany, university of dhaka for bringing the collection from narayanganj. references dillard, g.e. 2000. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 7. pigmented euglenophyceae . bibl. phycol. vol. 106. j. cramer, berlin, pp. 1-135 + pls. 20. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 4. teil: euglenophyceen. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 1-606 + pls. 114. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1961. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 5. teil: chlorophyceae (grünalgen), ordnung: volvocales. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 1-744 + pls. 158. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 94-109. islam, a.k.m. nurul, khondker, m. and haque, s. 1991. euglenoid algae of four polluted ponds in and around dhaka city. bangladesh j. bot. 20(1): 7-15. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002. new records of motile green algae for bangladesh: phacotus, pteromonas and thoracomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 15-18. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2003. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh ii: lepocinclis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 15-26. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2003. freshwater algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 33-45. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. (manuscript received on 6 may 2007; revised on 10 may 2007) md. almujaddade alfasane1 and moniruzzaman khondker2 division: euglenophyta; class: euglenophyceae; order: euglen family: euglenaceae division: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: volvocal family: phacotaceae acknowledgement references microsoft word s-1. aziz.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 63-65, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication marine algae from st. martin’s island, bangladesh. v. antithamnionella floccosa (müller) whittick (rhodophyceae), a new record abdul aziz1 and a.k.m. nurul islam department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: antithamnionella floccosa, red alga, rhodophyceae, marine algae, bangladesh a large number of marine red algae have so far been reported from the st. martin’s island, bangladesh by islam and coworkers (islam 1976, islam and aziz 1982, 1987, aziz 1997, aziz et al. 2002a, b, islam et al. 2002). among these works, antithamnion divergens j. ag. was reported by islam et al. (2002). besides, islam (1976) provisionally placed a specimen of filamentous red alga in tetrasporic stage under the genus antithamnion and mentioned its superficial resemblance with a. elegance berth. and a. cruciatum (ag.) näg. fa. tenuissima. recently, whittick (1980) made a new combination of antithamnion floccosum (müller) kleen as antithamnionella floccosa (müller) whittick. in the genus antithamnionella, the branches are irregularly alternate to indefinite ramifications, in contrast to opposite branching in the genus antithamnion. in this paper, a material collected from the st. martin’s island, bangladesh is described and illustrated as antithamnionella floccosa (müller) whittick, as a new record for bangladesh. order: ceramiales; family: ceramiaceae; genus: antithamnionella whittick antithamnionella floccosa (müller) whittick (figs 1-4) (whittick 1980) (syn: callithamnion floccosum ca ag., conferva floccosa müller, newton 1931, 390; taylor 1957, 293 as antithamnion floccosum (müller) kleen) plants brownish-red, densely tufted, soft and delicate throughout, 5-10 cm tall, uniaxial; branches beset with branched and short branchlets whose tip cells are conical to strongly pointed; segments of the main axis 30-50 µm broad, 2-5 times as long as broad; branchlet cells 15-18 µm broad, 2-3 times as long as broad. cells with numerous rounded chromatophores. carpogenic branches developed from the lowest cell of a branchlet; cystocarps consisted of a huge mass of carposporangia, partially covered with three twocelled involucres, appearing terminal on branchlets. tetrasporic plants not found in the collection. 1corresponding author. e-mail: botany@univdhaka.edu; duregstr@bangla.net 64 aziz and islam figs 1-4. antithamnionella floccosa (müller) whittick. 1. terminal part of the alga at a low magnification, 2. a branch enlarged showing branching type and cell structure, 3-4. enlarged cystocarps, partially covered with involucres. c, carpospore. (bars = 10 µm) marine algae from st. martin’s island, bangladesh 65 specimen examined: the specimen was collected from the north-west coast of the st. martin’s island, bangladesh, growing on rocks in rock pools as a common form, on march 27, 1997 by a.k.m. nurul islam. distribution: northern massachusetts to maine, nova scotia, growing upon coarse algae and sometimes in tide pools in spring season (taylor 1957); n. scotland, growing on rocks, near low-water mark, very rare (newton 1931). acknowledgements late national professor a.k.m. nurul islam left some materials, which need to be worked out and published. the present short communication is first of its kind. references aziz, a. 1997. peyssonnelia polymorpha (zonars.) schmitz (rhodophyta) newly recorded from st. martin’s island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 81-83. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m. nurul and jahan a. 2002a. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. iii. red algae. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh 28(1): 63-70. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m. nurul and jahan a. 2002b. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. iv. new records of red algae. bangladesh j. bot. 31(2): 113-116. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1976. contribution to the study of marine algae of bangladesh. bibliotheca phycologica 19: 1-253. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1982. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. ii. brown, red and blue-green algae. nova hedwigia 36: 643-657. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1987. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. iii. red algae. nova hedwigia 45(1-2): 211-221. islam, a.k.m. nurul, aziz, a. and jahan, a. 2002. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. ii. new records of red algae. bangladesh j. bot. 31(1): 23-29. newton, l. 1931. a handbook of the british seaweeds. british museum, london, pp. 1-478. taylor, w.r. 1957. marine algae of the northeastern coast of north america. univ. michigan press, ann arbor, pp. 1-509. whittick, a. 1980. antithamnionella floccosa (o.f. müll.) nov. comb.: a taxonomic re-appraisal of antithamnion floccosum (o.f. müll.) kleen (rhodophyta: ceramiaceae). phycologia 19: 74-79. (manuscript received on 13 may 2007; revised on 13 november 2007) microsoft word 07. china.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 159-162, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists duchesnea brunneus, a new species of rosaceae from hubei, china c. lei, c.c. zhang, y. wang1 and j.z. dong* key laboratory of biologic resources protection and utilization of hubei province, school of biological science and technology, hubei university for nationalities, enshi 445000, china key words: duchesnea brunneus; rosaceae; new species; china. abstract duchesnea brunneus j. z. dong (solanaceae) is described and illustrated here as a new species from hubei, china. the newly described species is compared with its closely related species. introduction duchesnea belonging to the family rosaceae is distributed throughout the world (weber, 2003). in china duchesnea is represented by 2 species and 1 variety, namely, d. indica, d. chrysantha, and d. indica var. microphylla (li et al., 2003). most of them occur at the foot of shadowy hillside, slopes, ravines, river banks, meadows, field margins, and wet places. in 2010 and 2011, during our investigation on duchesnea species, we found a new plant specimen with yellow petals, globose or coniform receptacle and aggregate fruits and primarily identified it to be in duchesnea. then we conducted an extensive field investigation in hubei, sichuan, guizhou and chongqing of china. a new species was found and it was described as duchesnea brunneus j.z. dong based on its main features as follows: leaf blade 3-5-foliolate, mostly 5-foliolate; inflorescence terminal, cyme, petals yellow, rachis 2-3 branched; epicalyx long lanceolate, integeredged; receptacle globose or coniform, ripening green to light green; aggregate fruits, ripening green to brown; achenes ripened brown and rugose; reniform, green and glabrous when fresh. duchesnea brunneus j. z. dong, sp. nov. type: china. hubei: cultivated at wuhan botanical garden, cas [collected in wangchengpo mountain, enshi, hubei, china], 15 march 2011, z. j. dong (holotype, hib; isotype, hib). (fig. 1) diagnosis: herba perennis. folium 3-5-foliatum; cymula terminalis; epicalyx integer; torus globosus, chlorus. coenocarpium brunneus. marura achenium brunneus, rugosus, imaturata achenium reniformis, chlorus. *corresponding author: email: djz21cn@yahoo.com.cn 1wuhan botanical garden, chinese academy of sciences,wuhan 430074, china. 160 lei et al. perennial herbs. rhizome short, small, white, 2-3 mm in diameter, 1.5-2.0 cm long. stolons 46(-12), 10-30 (60) cm long, 1.1-3.0 mm in diameter, 5-6 nodes, procumbent, the upper surface of the stolon red, the lower surface of the stolon green; nodes bearing adventitious roots, each node bearing mostly 3 leaves and a bud, a bud bearing mostly 3 leaves. leaves 3-5-foliolate (mostly 5foliolate), leaflets long oval, margin obtusely serrate, both surfaces green; petiole 2.0-2.5 cm long; stipules 2, broadly lanceolate, pink or green, adnate to base of petiole. inflorescence terminal cyme, rachis 2-3 branched. flowers small, 0.5-1.2 cm in diameter; pedicels 1.0-1.5 cm long; sepals 5, green, bigger than epicalyx, broadly lanceolate, integer-edged, enlarged in fruits, 1.4-1.6 × 2.4-2.8 mm in flowers, 1.5-2.2×3.4-3.6 mm in fruits; epicalyx lanceolate, green, integer-edged, enlarged in fruits, 0.5-0.8×1.7-2.2 mm in flowers, 1.0-1.2 × 3.2-3.7 in fruits; petals 5, yellow, obovate, 2.9-3.1×4.1-4.3 mm. anthers yellow, fan-like, 1.2-1.7 × 1.5-2.1 mm. carpels numerous, free, inserted on convex receptacle; receptacle globose or coniform, 1.7-2.1 mm in diameter, ripening green to light green; styles subterminal, deciduous; aggregate fruits ripening green to brown, 3.5-3.7mm in diameter. achenes ovoid, rugose, 0.6-0.9 mm in diameter, reniform, green and glabrous when fresh, brown at maturity. phenology: flowering period: april to may; fruiting period: may to november. habitat and distribution: known from wangchengpo mountain of enshi, china, 109º28'30" e, 30º16'55" n, 1540 m, it grows under pine trees, together with shrubs, and from wuhan botanical garden, c. 30º32'46" n, 114º25'05" e, 31 m, it grows at lake side. it also grows at road side, top of mountain, under trees, field side in many areas such as sichuan, guizhou, hubei, henan, yunnan, guangdong and so on, together with d. indica. table 1. diagnostic characters of d. brunneus, d. indica and d. indica var. microphylla. characters d. brunneus d. chrysantha d. indica d. indica var microphylla leaf 3-5-foliolate, mostly 5-foliolate 3-foliolate 3-foliolate 3-foliolate, petiole densely villous infloresence terminal, cymose axillary, single axillary, single axillary, single epicalyx lanceolate, integeredged obovate, 3-5 serrated obovate, 3-5 serrated obovate, 3-5 serrated receptacle enlarged, ripening green enlarged, ripening red or pink enlarged, ripening red or pink enlarged, ripening red or pink stolon 4-6(-12), 0.1-0.5 m long, 2-3 mm in diam 1-3, 0.2 -0.65 m long, 0.6 -1.6 mm in diam. 1-3, 0.2 -0.65 m long, 0.6 -1.6 mm in diam. 1-3, 0.2 -0.65 m long, 0.6 -1.6 mm in diam. fruits ripening green to brown ripening red ripening red ripening red duchesnea brunneus, a new species from china 161 161 etymology: the specific epithet refers to the colour of the ripened aggregate fruits, which is different from the fruit colour of other species in duchesnea. the differentiating characters of newly described d. brunneus with its closely related species are summarized in table 1. paratypes: found in hubei university for nationalities, enshi, hubei, china, 30º17'48" n, 109º29'53" e, 456 m, about 100 individuals, and wangchengpo mountain, enshi, china, 30º20'31" n, 109º26'45" e, 1456 m, more than 1000 individuals. this species is also found distributed in many areas of china such as sichuan, guizhou, hunan, guangdong and so on. fig. 1. duchesnea brunneus. 1. terminal inflorescence. 2. flower. 3. petal. 4. achenes. 5. aggregate fruits. 6. receptacle. 7. stipule. 8. calyx. 9. epicalyx. 10. anther. 162 lei et al. discussion infrageneric taxonomy of duchesnea is still unclear and needs further clarification (naruhashi et al., 1991). in flora of china (li et al., 2003), duchesnea includes d. indica, d. indica var. microphylla and d. chrysantha. however, in usda classification, duchesnea includes only d. indica, which is in agreement with kalkman (1968). in fact, according to our investigation, d. indica, d. indica var. microphylla and d. chrysantha have the same main features and should be united into d. indica (table 1). the main features of d. brunneus j.z. dong having terminal infloresence, petals yellow, receptacle globose and ripening green to light green, aggregate fruits ripe brown provide adequate support for d. brunneus to be a new species different from d. indica, and d. chrysantha. so d. brunneus is identified as a new species. acknowledgments this work was supported by the ethnological affair committee foundation of china (grant no. 10hb02), and doctoral foundation of hubei university for nationalities (498012). we are grateful to anonymous reviewers and scientific editor for their critical review and valuable suggestions, to zheng cheng and deng jung-feng for their help in field sampling and investigation. references kalkman, c. 1968. potentilla, duchesnea and fragaria in malesia (rosaceae). blumea 16(2): 344-348. li, c.l., hiroshi, i. and hideaki, o. 2003. duchesnea. flora of china 9: 338-339. naruhashi, h. and iwatsubo, y. 1991. comparative morphology and chromosome numbers in duchesnea indica (rosaceae) from nepal and japan. the himalayan plants. university of tokyo press, tokyo 2: 11-15. weber, e. 2003. invasive plant species of the world. a reference guide to environmental weeds. cabi publishing, wallingford, united kingdom. 560 pp. (manuscript received on 24 may 2011; revised on 28 november 2011) microsoft word 04. elatostema.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 27-32, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new variety and two new records of elatostema j. r. forster & g. forster (urticaceae) from vietnam yun lin, lin dong duan1 and hai yan bi2 hunan food and drug vocational college, changsha 410014, p. r. china keywords: elatostema; new record; new variety; urticaceae; vietnam. abstract based on examination of specimens of elatostema j. r. forster & g. forster (urticaceae) from vietnam, elatostema albopilosum w.t. wang var. vicinum l. d. duan & y. lin, a new variety collected from bac can province and tuyen quang province, vietnam, is described and photographed. this new variety has glabrous stems, glabrous leaves and glabrous peduncles which differs from var. albopilosum that having sparsely puberulent leaf blade on abaxial surface along veins and sparsely strigillose leaf blade on adaxial surface, and short pilose peduncles. e. integrifolium (d. don) wedd. and e. pseudodissectum w. t. wang, two species previously known from vietnamese adjacent countries, are newly recorded from ninh binh province and tam dao national park, vietnam, respectively. the vouchers are kept in the herbarium (pe) of institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, beijing, china, and their descriptions and photographs are also provided. introduction the genus elatostema j. r. forster & g. forster is the largest genus in the family urticaceae, consists of c. 500 species and is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of africa, asia and oceania, 30 species of which are found in vietnam (fu et al., 2013; gagnepain, 1929; ho, 2003; lin, 2008; lin et al., 2003, 2011; wang, 1995, 2012). based on examination of elatostema specimens housed at the herbarium (pe) of institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, beijing, china, and after thoroughly consulting the literature (gagnepain, 1929; lin, 2008; bi et al., 2011; lin et al., 2003, 2011; wang, 1980, 1995, 2012; duan and lin, 2013; wei et al., 2013), a new variety was found from vietnam, and two species previously known from vietnamese adjacent countries, were discovered to be new to vietnam, and were reported here. 1. elatostema albopilosum w. t. wang var. vicinum l. d. duan & y. lin, var. nov. (figs 1, 2). diagnosis: the new variety elatostema albopilosum w. t. wang var. vicinum l. d. duan & y. lin is morphologically similar to e. albopilosum w. t. wang var. albopilosum, but differs in glabrous stems, glabrous leaves and glabrous peduncles; the latter pilose stems, sparsely puberulent leaf blade on abaxial surface along veins, sparsely strigillose leaf blade on adaxial surface, and short pilose peduncles. type: vietnam. tuyen quang province, na hang, 400 m a.s.l., 28 october 1998, h. n. qin, h. zhu, m. l. zhang & t. g. gao 319 (holotype: pe). bac can province, cho don district, xuan lac commune, 105o32’95’’e, 22o21’91’’n, 200 m a.s.l., 27 october 2004, l. q. li, n. t. hiep, z. y. zhang, x. c. zhang, t. g. gao, z. t. wang, n. s. khang & n. x. tam 0432 (paratype: pe). 1shaoyong university, shaoyang 422004, p. r. china 1beijing museum of natural history, beijing 100050, p. r. china. corresponding author. email: rubybi@126.com 28 lin et al. fig. 1. elatostema albopilosum w. t. wang var. vicinum l. d. duan & y. lin, var. nov. a) male habit (h. n. qin et al. 319, pe), b) staminate inflorescence (l. q. li et al. 0432, pe), c) pistillate inflorescence, dorsal view. (l. q. li et al. 0432, pe). a new variety and two new records of elatostema 29 fig. 2. holotype of elatostema albopilosum w. t. wang var. vicinum l. d. duan & y. lin (from h. n. qin et al. 319, pe) 2. elatostema integrifolium (d. don) wedd. in dc., prodr. 16(1): 179 (1869). procris integrifolia d. don, prodr. fl. nepal. : 61 (1825). (fig. 3). type: nepal. precise locality not known, wallich s. n. (? k). perennial herbs or subshrubs, monoecious or dioecious, 60-200 cm tall. stems erect, branched, glabrous. leaves alternate, glabrous; nanophylls absent; stipules narrowly lanceolate, 610 × 1.5-2.0 mm, with cystoliths; petiole 1.5-6.0 (-10) mm long; leaf blade obliquely elliptic or obliquely oblanceolate, 5-19 × 2-6 cm, papery or herbaceous, major basal lateral veins asymmetric, 1 basal, the other arising above base, cystoliths conspicuous, dense, 0.2-0.4 (-0.6) mm long; base obliquely cuneate, margin entire or c. 2-crenate, apex acuminate or caudate. male inflorescence solitary or in pairs, simple, 10-18 × 6-12 mm, sessile; receptacle 4-6 mm in diam.; bracts 4, triangular, equal, connate, c. 1 mm long; bracteoles cymbiform, c. 1.2 mm long. female inflorescence solitary or in pairs, 5-8 mm in diam.; peduncle 0-1 mm long; receptacle very small; bracts 20-30, triangular, nearly equal, 0.8 mm long; bracteoles narrowly linear, 0.8-1.2 mm long. 30 lin et al. male flowers 4-merous. achenes ellipsoid, 0.7 mm long, 8-ribbed. phenology: flowering from february to may. distribution: bhutan, china, india, indonesia, myanmar, nepal and thailand. new record to vietnam. habitat: the species grows in valley forests, streamsides at altitudes of 460-760 m in vietnam and 900-1600 m in other countries. specimens examined: vietnam. ninh binh province: bong, biology station, 460-760 m a.s.l., 10.2.1965, sino-vietnam exped. 2332 (pe). fig. 3. elatostema integrifolium (d. don) wedd. (from sino-vietnam exped. 2332, pe). note: this newly recorded species is similar to e. laevissimum w.t. wang (wang, 1980) in vietnam, but differing in stipules narrowly lanceolate, 6-10 × 1.5-2.0 mm, with cystoliths, leaves glabrous, male inflorescence 10-18 × 6-12 mm, female inflorescence 5-8 mm in diam., the latter with stipules narrowly triangular, 2-5 × 0.8-1.0 mm, without cystoliths, leaf blade sparsely a new variety and two new records of elatostema 31 strigillose on adaxial surface, male inflorescence 3-4 mm in diam. and female inflorescence 1.52.5 mm in diam. 3. elatostema pseudodissectum w. t. wang, bull. bot.. lab. n.-e. for. inst. 7(7): 55 (1980). (fig. 4). type: china. guangxi: baise, 15 august 1928, r. c. ching 7427 (holotype: pe!). perennial herbs, monoecious, 20-40 cm tall, glabrous. stems ascending or erect, branched. leaves alternate; nanophylls absent; stipules narrowly triangular, 0.7-1.5 × 0.2-0.4 mm, without cystoliths; petiole 1-3 mm long; leaf blade obliquely ovate or elliptic-ovate, 4-11 × 1.5-4.0 cm, membranous or herbaceous, major basal lateral veins both arising at base of leaf blade, cystoliths conspicuous, dense, 0.2-0.6 mm long; base obliquely cuneate, apex acuminate or cuspidate, margin denticulate. male inflorescence solitary, simple, 4-7 mm in diam.; peduncle 12-40 mm long; receptacle small; bracts 3-4, connate, equal, broadly ovate. female inflorescence solitary, 30flowered or more, 3-6 mm in diam., sessile; receptacle 3-5 mm in diam.; bracts 11-20, narrowly ovate, nearly equal, c. 1.2 mm long; bracteoles spathulate-linear, 0.3-0.5 mm long. male flowers 4-merous. achenes ellipsoid, c. 0.6 mm long, smooth. fig. 4. elatostema pseudodissectum w. t. wang (from l. q. li et al. 559, pe). 32 lin et al. phenology: flowering from september to october. distribution: south-west china. new record to vietnam. habitat: this species grows in valley wet forests, streamsides at altitudes of 1000 m in vietnam and 1100-2200 m in china. specimens examined: vietnam. tam dao national park, 105o38’68’’e, 21o27’47’’n, 1000 m a.s.l., 31.10.2004, l. q. li, n. t. hiep, z. y. zhang, x. c. zhang, t. g. gao, z. t. wang, n. s. khang & n. x. tam 559 (pe). precise locality not known, ke can, 150 m a.s.l., 5.1.1965, sinovietnam exped. 1750 (pe). note: this newly recorded species is similar to e. dissectum wedd. (weddell, 1856) in vietnam, differing in stipules narrowly triangular, 0.7-1.5 × 0.2-0.4 mm, without cystoliths, leaf blade obliquely ovate or elliptic-ovate, male inflorescence 4-7 mm in diam., the latter having stipules narrowly linear or subulate, 3-5 × 0.1-0.3 mm, with cystoliths, leaf blade obliquely oblong or obliquely oblong-lanceolate and male inflorescence 10-12 × 8-10 mm. acknowledgments thanks are due to the curator of herbarium (pe) for permission to examine specimens. this work was supported by the project of the education department in hunan province (11a109). references bi, h.y., yang, z.r. and lin, q. 2011. new taxa of elatostema (urticaceae) from thailand and india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2) : 149-152. duan, l.d. and lin, y. 2013. elatostema bioppositum (urticaceae), a new species from guangxi, china. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2) : 179-183. fu, l.f., do, v.t., wen, f., liu, s.y. and wei, y.g. 2013. new records of elatostema and pellionia (urticaceae) from vietnam. guihaia 33(6): 801-803. gagnepain, f. 1929. pellionia gaudich. flore generale de l’indo-chine 5(9): 892-921. ho, p.h. 2003. an illustrated flora of vietnam. vol. 2. nxb tre press, ho chi minh, pp. 589-593. lin, q. 2008. a revision of elatostema section weddelia series salvinioida (urticaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 158(1): 62-66. lin, q., friis, i. and wilmot-dear, c.m. 2003. elatostema (urticaceae). in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china. vol. 5. science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, usa, pp. 127-163. lin, q., yang, z.r., duan, l.d. and gao, t.g. 2011. miscellaneous taxonomic notes on elatostema (urticaceae) from china and its adjacent area. nordic j. bot. 29(5): 590-597. wang, w.t. 1980. classificatio specierum sinicarum elatostematis (urticaceae). bull. bot. lab. n.-e. for. inst. 7(7): 1-96. wang, w.t. 1995. elatostema j.r. forster & g. forster. in: wang, w.t. and chen, c.j. (eds), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae, tomus 23, no. 2. science press, beijing, pp. 187-317. wang, w.t. 2012. nova classificatio specierum sinicarum elatostematis (urticaceae) in: fu, d.z. (ed.), paper collection of w.t. wang. vol. 2. higher education press, beijing, pp. 1061-1178. weddell, h.a. 1856. monograhpie de la famille des urticées. archives du muséum d’histoire naturelle 9: 1-332. wei, y.g., wen, f., fu, l.f. and wang, w.t. 2013. three new species of elatostema j.r. forst. & g. forst. (urticaceae) in limestone caves from guangxi and guizhou, china. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 1-8. (manuscript received on 13 april 2013; revised on 22 april 2014) microsoft word s-3. book review_haseeb.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 261-262, 2016 (december) book review © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists annotated checklist of the tree flora of bangladesh by shukla rani basak and m. khairul alam trees are one of the most important elements of our terrestrial ecosystems. between 2007 and 2009, bangladesh completed an excellent compilation of her biodiversity − encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. its volumes 5−12 have listed all vascular plants ever recorded in bangladesh, including trees. but, till-to-date there is no exclusive account on the tree flora of bangladesh. in absence of it, a checklist of the trees of bangladesh is indeed a good starting point towards a tree flora of this country. annotated checklist of the tree flora of bangladesh (basak and alam, 2015) is a superb contribution in filling in our knowledge gap on tree flora. overall, this new checklist is very informative, well organized, readerand user-friendly. two esteemed botanists of bangladesh, shukla rani basak and dr. m. khairul alam, have authored this 120-page-long book published by bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong. in the introduction (pages 1−4), the authors have briefly, but very efficiently, described the contents and organization of this book. this chapter is a must read before start using this checklist. the introduction is followed by annotation of 1048 tree species found in bangladesh, belonging to 432 genera and 99 families of gymnosperms and angiosperms. the publications ended with a list of literature consulted, and two indexes to vernacular and english names of the listed species. i very much appreciate authors’ a note of caution on using vernacular names of plants. i cannot help but quoting “it should be kept in mind that a vernacular name is not equivalent for a binomial. someone getting an access to a scientific name through a vernacular must compare the botanical sample or voucher specimen with authentic flora or taxonomic literature, or compare with an identified sample in a reputed herbarium.” i hope the users of this checklist will follow this important piece of advice in all possible situations. while going through the publication, i have noticed at least three areas where the authors could have given more attention. first, from acknowledgements (page iv), it is understood that expert opinion was sought for “inclusion of some species that vary in habits from shrub[s] to trees.” this step rightly indicates the challenge of defining ‘tree’. but this book has not made any attempt to define ‘tree’. this checklist has recorded more than thousand tree species of bangladesh, which is far more than das and alam (2001)’s 342 species – one of the longest tree lists of the country. as i have personally gathered, unpublished tree lists of institutions working on bangladesh’s trees may also not exceed 500 species. further, this checklist has included gymnospermic and angiospermic trees, but excluded tree ferns. no explanation, however, has been given for this decision. it would have therefore been useful if the authors delineated ‘tree’ for this checklist to avoid possible confusions among the readers. second, what types of trees are included in this account have been sufficiently described in the introductory chapter (page 3). it has virtually included all kinds of tree – from native to naturalized to exotic to recently introduced; from those growing profusely in the forests to individuals growing in private gardens. this broad listing, however, could be misleading. because, without going through the book properly, we might see researchers and amateurs start quoting this checklist and telling widely ‘bangladesh has 1048 tree species’, which is obviously scientifically not appropriate. we have seen this happened before with red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001). citing this book, 106 plant species were extensively called 262 basak and alam threatened in bangladesh, whereas only 4 species were in fact threatened as per iucn guidelines (irfanullah, 2011). third, the authors have included the following species in this checklist for which no published references are given, viz., araucaria cunninghamii d. don (serial no. 001), acacia crassicarpa a. cunn. ex benth. (no. 555), artocarpus altitis (parkinson) fosberg (no. 584), prunus domestica l. (no. 746), and chrysophyllum cainito l. (no. 864). these are probably the ones advised by an expert and referred to as “some species those are not recorded in many consulted literatures.” (acknowledgements section, page iv). it means these species are for the first time recorded for bangladesh through this checklist. this important fact, however, has not been recorded anywhere in this publication. other minor observations include referencing, which was found not consistent enough. in some cases the original papers were referred to. in other cases encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh were referred to, which is completely based on original, published literature.the figure 1 is a forest map of bangladesh based on ‘source: bangladesh forest department, 1999’. but the reference is not given in literature consulted section. on the whole, the checklist as a printed product is very good. the binding, the printing quality, and the page layout and formatting are good. the map (figure 1), however, could have been with better resolution. from book publishing standards, i could not find international standard book number (isbn) of this publication. this could have been sought before the publication making it globally recognized. the printed copies of this checklist is not for sale, but for free distribution to interested people. this arrangement should encourage its wider circulation among the researchers and practitioners. it is also important that its electronic version is made available at least on the publisher’s website so that interested people can download and use without waiting for hardcopies. this will help this important work meet wider readership and help botanists, foresters and biodiversity enthusiasts to a greater extent in the years to come. haseeb md. irfanullah, phd iucn bangladesh country office dhaka references basak, s.r. and alam, m.k. 2015. annotated checklist of the tree flora of bangladesh. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong, bangladesh, pp. iv+116. das, d.k. and alam, m.k. 2001. trees of bangladesh. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong, bangladesh. irfanullah, h.md. 2011. conserving threatened plants of bangladesh: miles to go before we start? bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy 18(1): 81-91. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m. and ali, m.a. (eds) 2001. red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, 179 pp. microsoft word s-2. 22-08.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 159-161, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication scanning electron microscopic studies on the testa surface pattern of bauhinia nervosa and b. wallichii (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae) m.k. pathak1, m. bhaumik and s. bandyopadhyay botanical survey of india, howrah 711 103, west bengal, india keywords: bauhinia, testa surface pattern, scanning electron microscopic studies scanning electron microscopic studies on the testa surface pattern of some species of bauhinia (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae) have been undertaken by trivedi et al. (1980), gunn (1991), kaur et al. (1992), bandyopadhyay et al. (1993), and bandyopadhyay and thothathri (1996a, b). the present paper describes the testa surface patterns of bauhinia nervosa (wall. ex benth.) baker and b. wallichii j.f. macbr., which have not been studied earlier. mature seed samples were obtained from specimens deposited in the herbarium of the botanical survey of india, eastern circle, shillong (assam) and central national herbarium, howrah (cal). the light microscopic photograph was taken with the help of an olympus szx 12 microscope with photographic attachments. for scanning electron microscopic studies the seeds were cleaned with cotton soaked in absolute ethanol, air dried and mounted on metallic stubs after correctly orienting them (gunn 1991). observations were made with quanta 200 in the high vacuum mode at an applied voltage of 12.5 kv. in case of b. nervosa the scanning electron micrographs were captured from the central part of the seed and those of b. wallichii from the periphery of the seed. specimens examined: bauhinia nervosa, k. & j. hills, dawki forest, 13.2.1942, g. k. deka 20926 (assam). b. wallichii, arunachal pradesh, dibang valley, along the ephipani river, near malo basti, 250 m, 13.8.2000, m.k. pathak & m. bhaumik 2724 a (cal). observations bauhinia nervosa. seeds brown, 1.9-2.2 × 1.5-1.9 × 0.3 cm, suborbicular to ovateoblong, with scar mark of unequal funicular aril-lobes running along 7/8 of its circumference. to the naked eye and under light microscope the testa surface appeared to be faintly wrinkled. with the help of scanning electron microscope it was found to be pitted (figs 1a, b). the pits were closely situated and varied in size. they were angular to elongated, sometimes more or less circular, but rarely slit-like. 1corresponding author. e-mail: mithileshkp@yahoo.com 160 pathak et al. bauhinia wallichii. seeds brownish black, c 2.4 × 2.0 × 1.1 cm, ovate-orbicular, with scar mark of funicular aril-lobes running along 7/8 of its circumference. to the naked eye the testa surface appeared to be more or less smooth with fine cracks all over the testa surface. under light microscope the testa surface appeared to be somewhat striated (fig. 1c). with the help of scanning electron microscope the testa surface was found to be rugulate (fig. 1f) with very prominent fracture lines (?) (figs 1d, e). the central portion of the seed was also rugulate, but not as prominent as on the periphery. a few tuberculate structures (fig. 1d) and shallow circular depressions (fig. 1e) were also found on the periphery. figs 1a-f. bauhinia nervosa: a, b. scanning electron micrographs of testa surface pattern; b. wallichii: c. light microscopic photograph of testa surface pattern, d-f. scanning electron micrographs of testa surface pattern. arrows in d & e point a tuberculate structure and a shallow depression, respectively. scanning electron microscopic studies on the testa surface 161 there are about 300 species of bauhinia in the world (wunderlin et al. 1987), but so far scanning electron microscopic studies on the testa surface pattern have been carried out only on about 4% of them. studies on many other species are, however, certainly necessary to assess the taxonomic value of the ultramicroscopic pattern on the seed surface of the genus. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the director, botanical survey of india for providing necessary facilities and encouragement, and to the scientist, in-charge, scanning electron microscopy unit for allowing to use the microscope. the authors are also grateful to g.k. upadhyay, senior research fellow, botanical survey of india for taking the photograph of the seed of bauhinia wallichii with the help of light microscope and the anonymous reviewer for his helpful suggestions. references bandyopadhyay, s. and thothathri, k. 1996a. sem studies on the testa surface pattern of some species of bauhinia (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 93: 116-118. bandyopadhyay, s. and thothathri, k. 1996b. sem studies on the testa surface pattern of two species of bauhinia (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 93: 120-121. bandyopadhyay, s., thothathri, k. and sharma, b.d. 1993. on an interesting collection of bauhinia (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) from arunachal pradesh. j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 90: 120. see errata in j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 90: 326. gunn, c.r. 1991. fruits and seeds of genera in the subfamily caesalpinioideae (fabaceae). u.s. department of agriculture. technical bulletin no. 1755: 16, 200-205. kaur, h., singh, r.p., pal, a. and sahai, k. 1992. morphology, spermoderm pattern and anatomy of some bauhinia species (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). j. indian bot. soc. 71: 135-138. trivedi, b.s., bagchi, g.d. and bajpai, u. 1980. studies on seeds and spermoderm structure of bauhinia. phytomorphology 30: 11-16. wunderlin, r., larsen, k. and larsen, s.s. 1987. reorganization of the cercideae (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae). biol. skr. 28: 1-40. (manuscript received on 13 june 2008; revised on 17 july 2008) microsoft word 06. flora of rampahar.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 37-44, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiosperm flora of rampahar reserve forest under rangamati district in bangladesh. i. liliopsida (monocots) sarder nasir uddin1 and md. abul hassan2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh keywords: angiosperm flora; liliopsida; rampahar reserve forest. abstract a systematic floristic study of rampahar reserve forest under rangamati district in bangladesh has revealed 89 monocot (liliopsida) taxa belonging to 66 genera under 15 families. out of these recorded taxa, 73 are herbs, 9 climbers, 3 bamboos, 3 reeds and 1 tree species. the area harbours 11 threatened species of the country. updated nomenclature with full reference citation, habit and representative specimen have been provided for each species. well known synonyms and local name(s) have also been given in some cases. introduction rampahar together with sitapahar was declared as a first reserve forest within the chittagong hill tracts (chts) in 1875 (anonymous, 1960). the under explored forest area of rampahar, represents tropical rain forest mainly of evergreen type of vegetation, is situated in kaptai upazila under rangamati district. administratively, the area belongs to kaptai forest range under the management of rangamati south forest division. it lies between 22°26´ & 22°38´ north and 92°08´ & 92°17´ east. the hilly area is occupying approximately 648 hectares of natural forest covers. rampahar reserve forest is bounded by the river karnaphuli on the south and by degraded hills and a tribal settlement on the west. teak (tectona grandis) plantation of chitmarom forest beat lies on the east and north which is being separated by a channel known as 'baluchhara'. geologically, the area belongs to the pliocene and miocene epoch of the tertiary period. the configuration of the ground is very irregularly rugged and consists of a series of ridges and valleys running more or less from north to south. the level of valley bottoms ranges from 30 to 90 meters above the sea level and maximum elevation is about 500 m. soil is mainly yellowish-brown to reddish-brown loams which grade into broken shale or sandstone at a various depth (between 30120 cm). the valley soil is mainly acid loams and clays subject to seasonal flooding. the humus composition is high but its degree of accumulation varies from place to place depending on topography. usually more deposition is found on flat land and on the bed of channel (chhara) and less on the undulating hills. the climate of the study area is tropical warm-humid and which is greatly influenced by the monsoon. the average temperature ranges from 19.9°c to 28.3°c and the average annual rain fall is about 2,900 mm (uddin et al., 1998). about 90% of the total rainfall occurs in the period between june-september, whereas, the months of december to march are particularly without rain. the mean relative humidity is rather high and usually remains between 66-85% throughout the year. during the winter, the perennial springs (chhara) and the river karnaphuli are the source of water supply in the reserve. however, with abundance of rainfall during the rainy season there is no dearth of water for vegetation during that period, which is incidentally the growing season for the plants. 1corresponding author. email: nsarder@yahoo.com 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. 38 uddin and hassan over the past few decades, several floristic inventories have been progressed throughout the country. those had resulted in the compilation of a number of checklists viz. khan and banu, 1969; khan et al., 1994; rahman and hassan, 1995; rahman and uddin, 1997; uddin et al., 1998; uddin and rahman, 1999; khan and huq, 2001; uddin and hassan, 2004; uddin and hassan, 2010. even though, many areas of the country have been either poorly investigated or remain unexplored till now. floristic collections are essential for expanding the holdings from those under-represented areas. recently, the forest department of bangladesh has declared the area as a part of kaptai national park and has been taking various initiatives for the conservation and sustainable management of the plant genetic resources of the area. however, no published floristic account has been prepared for the rampahar area so far. the present study has been undertaken aiming to have an inventory of angiosperm flora of rampahar reserve forest. this floristic inventory will generate baseline information for any conservation and management activity of the area. materials and methods the present work deals with the monocot (liliopsida) species of the rampahar area and is mainly based on plant specimens collected through extensive field survey. the floristic inventory of rampahar reserve forest was done by using area maps and regular field visits, accompanied with the collection of fertile specimens of all available plant species. a total of 19 field trips were made during 2001-2008 and over 2,000 plant specimens were collected. the collected specimens were examined at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh forest research institute herbarium (bfrih). some difficult specimens were identified during the visits to herbaria at the royal botanic garden edinburgh (e), the royal botanic gardens kew (k) and the central national herbarium, kolkata, india (cal). the specimens have been preserved at the dacb, dush and bfrih. the families have been arranged according to cronquist’s system of classification (cronquist, 1981). the genera and species under each family have been arranged alphabetically. to keep the paper less voluminous, valid name with original citation of each taxon with only well-known synonyms in few cases, local name (if available), habit and only one representative specimen (rs) number (collected from the study area rangamati district, rampahar, kaptai) has been provided. the species names have been checked with hooker (1890-1894, 1897), prain (1903), heinig (1925), raizada (1941), sinclair (1956), siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008). taxonomic enumeration family arecaceae c. h. schultz-schultzen (1832). wallichia densiflora mart., hist. nat. palm. 3: 190 (1838). a short stemed, clustered palm tree. rs: 2.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1788 (dacb). family araceae a. l. jussieu (1789). aglaonema hookerianum schott, bonpland. 7: 30 (1859). local name: horina shak. a perennial herb. rs: rangamati dist.; rampahar, kaptai, 2.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1772 (dacb). alocasia navicularis (c. koch et bouche) c. koch et bouche in ind. sem. hort. berol. app. p. 2 (1855). a perennial herb. rs: 3.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1884 (dacb). amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson var. campanulatus (decne.) sivadasan, taxon 32: 130 (1983). local name: ol kachu. a perennial, cormous herb. rs: 16.6.2001, s.n. uddin n-1021 (dacb). angiosperm flora of rampahar reserve forest 39 colocasia oresbia a. hay, sandakania 7: 31-48 (1996). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 7.7.2003, hosne ara & s.n. uddin h-359 (dacb). homalomena aromatica (roxb. ex sims) schott, schott & endl., melet. bot.: 20. (1832). local names: barodaga, gandubi kachu. a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 3.9.2002, s.n. uddin n1745 (dacb). scindapsus officinalis (roxb.) schott, schott & endl. melet. bot. 1: 21 (1832). local name: gajpipul. a perennial climber. rs: 3.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1871 (dacb). steudnera colocasioides hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 520 (1893). steudnera virosa prain (1903). local names: bish kachu, ek dajja kachu. a perennial herb. rs: 16.6.2001, s.n. uddin n-997 (dacb). family commelinaceae r. brown (1810). commelina erecta l., sp. pl.: 41(1753). local name: jata kanchira. a perennial, erect herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1622 (dacb). commelina sikkimensis c.b. clarke, comm. et cyrt. beng.: 16, t. 6 (1874). local name: batbaithia shag. an annual, creeping herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1612 (dacb). cyanotis cristata (l.) d. don., prodr. fl. nep.: 46 (1825). an annual, creeping herb. rs: 1.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1749 (dacb). floscopa scandens lour., fl. cochin.: 193 (1790). a perennial herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1701 (dacb). murdannia elata (vahl) brück in engl. & prantl, nat. pfanzenfam. ed. 2, 15a: 173 (1930). an annual, erect herb. rs: 2.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1777 (dacb). murdannia nudiflora (l.) brenan, kew bull.: 189 (1952). local names: kanduli, kureli. a perennial, erect herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1623 (dacb). family cyperaceae a. l. de jussien (1789). carex continua c.b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 717 (1894). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1677 (dacb). carex indica l., mant. 2: 574 (1771). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 28.5.2003, s.n. uddin n-1888 (dacb). cyperus cuspidatus kunth in humb., bonpl. & kunth, nov. gen. & sp. pl. 1: 204 (1815). an annual herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1669 (dacb). cyperus cyperoides (l.) kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 3 (2): 333 (1898). local names: bara guthubi, kucha, kusha. a perennial, rhizomatou herb. rs: 2.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1758 (dacb). cyperus laxus lam. var. laxus simpson & koyama, fl. thai. 6 (4): 368 (1998). cyperus diffusus vahl (1806). a perennial herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1679 (dacb). cyperus platystylis r. br., prod. fl. nov. holl.: 214 (1810). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 29.5.2003, s.n. uddin n-1938 (dacb). cyperus rotundus l., sp. pl.: 45 (1753). local names: mutha, sadakufi. a perennial, stoloniferous herb. rs: 2.5.2008, s.n. uddin n-2926 (dacb). fimbristylis dichotoma (l.) vahl subsp. dichotoma d. a. simpson & t. koyama in t. santisuk & k. larsen, fl. thailand 6 (4): 321 (1998). local name: bara nirbishi. a perennial, herb. rs: 30.9. 2002, s.n. uddin n-1676 (dacb). kyllinga nemoralis (j. r. forst. & g. forst.) dandy ex hutchins. & dalziel, fl. w. trop. africa 2: 486 (1936). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1675 (dacb). 40 uddin and hassan scleria levis retz., obs. bot. 4: 13 (1786). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1678 (dacb). scleria terrestris (l.) fassett, rhodora 26: 159 (1924). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 3.6.2002, s.n. uddin n-1672 (dacb). family poaceae barnhart (1895). bambusa polymorpha munro, trans. linn. soc. 26: 98 (1868). local names: burma bans, pharua bans. a tufted bamboo. rs: 8.6.2002, s.n. uddin n-1345 (dacb). bambusa tulda roxb., fl. ind. 2: 193 (1832). local names: mitringa bans, talls, toru. a tufted bamboo. rs: 8.6.2002, s.n. uddin n-1355 (dacb). centotheca lappacea (l.) desv., nouv. bull. soc. philom. paris 2: 189 (1810). a perennial, tufted grass. rs: 15.12.2004, s.n. uddin n-2558 (dacb). chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin., fund. agrost. 188 (1820). local names: badaiya, lengra, premkanta. a perennial, creeping grass. rs: 3.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1823 (dacb). cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., syn. pl. 1: 85 (1805). local names: dubba har, durba ghas. a perennial, stoloniferous grass. rs: 8.6.2002, s.n. uddin n-1315 (dacb). cyrtococcum accrescent (trin. ) stapf in hook. ic. pl. t. 3096 (1922). a perennial, scrambling grass. rs: 1.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1726 (dacb). cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (hochst. ex steud.) stapf in hook. ic. pl. t. 3096 (1922). a perennial, creeping grass. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1682 (dacb). dichanthium annulatum (forssk.) stapf in prain, fl. trop. afr. 9: 178 (1917). local name: loari. a perennial grass. rs: 2.5.2008, s.n. uddin n-2920 (dacb). digitaria sanguinalis (l.) scop. fl. carn., ed. 2, 1: 52 (1772). local name: makunjali. an annual grass. rs: 2.5.2008, s.n. uddin n-2946 (dacb). eragrostis unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud., syn. pl. glum. 1: 264 (1854). a tufted, annual grass. rs: 8.6.2002, s.n. uddin n-1341 (dacb). hackelochloa granularis (l.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 776 (1891). a perennial grass. rs: 19.10.2003, s.n. uddin n-2129 (dacb). imperata cylindrica (l.) beauv. var. major (nees) c. e. hubb. ex hubb. & vaughan, grass. maur. 96 (1940). local names: chhan, chau. a perennial, tufted grass. rs: 8.6.2002, s.n. uddin n-1352 (dacb). lophatherum gracile brongn. in duperry. voy. monde 50, t. 8 (1831). a perennial grass. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1681 (dacb). melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz, prelim. rep. for. veg. pegu, app. b.: 94 (1975). local names: bajali, muli, paiya. a clumped bamboo. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1581 (dacb). mnesithea laevis (retz.) kunth, rév. gram. 1: 154 (1829). a perennial grass. rs: 19.10.2003, s.n. uddin n-2131 (dacb). panicum auritum presl ex ness, agrost. bras. 176 (1829). a perennial grass. rs: 2.5.2008, s.n. uddin n-2923 (dacb). panicum repens l., sp. pl. ed. 2, 87 (1762). local names: baranda, dhani ghas. a stoloniferous, perennial grass. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1680 (dacb). paspalum scrobiculatum l., mant. pl. 1: 29 (1767). local names: goicha, kodoa dhan. a perennial, tufted grass. rs: 2.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1757 (dacb). phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud., nom. bot., ed. 2, 2: 324 (1841). local names: dharma, nal. a perennial reed. rs: 2.5.2008, s.n. uddin n-2914 (dacb). angiosperm flora of rampahar reserve forest 41 pogonatherum crinitum (thunb.) kunth, enum. pl. 1: 478 (1833). a tufted, perennial grass. rs: 15.12.2004, s.n. uddin n-2563 (dacb). rottboellia cochinchinensis (lour.) w.d. clayton, kew bull. 35(4): 817-818 (1981). local name: bara swati. a tall, annual grass. rs: 4.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1830 (dacb). saccharum arundinaceum retz., obs. bot. 4: 14 (1786). local name: teng. a perennial reed grass. rs: 16.12.2004, s.n. uddin n-2569 (dacb). saccharum spontaneum l., mant. pl. 2: 183 (1771). local names: kaichha, kash, khagra. a perennial grass. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1567 (dacb). sacciolepis myosuroides (r. br.) a. camus in lecomte, fl. indo-chine 7: 460 (1922). a tufted, annual grass. rs: 2.5.2008, s.n. uddin n-2922 (dacb). setaria glauca (l.) p. beauv. ess. agrost. 51: 169, 178 (1812). local names: banaspati ghas, kauni. a perennial grass. rs: 3.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1806 (dacb). themeda villosa (poir.) a. camus in lecomte, fl. gen. de indo-chine 7: 364 (1922). a tufted perennial grass. rs: 17.12.2004, s.n. uddin n-2582 (dacb). thysanolaena maxima (roxb.) o. ktze., rev. gen. pl. 2: 794 (1891). local name: jharu phul. a tufted, perennial reed grass. rs: 19.10.2003, s.n. uddin n-2132 (dacb). family musaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). musa ornata roxb., fl. ind. 1: 666 (1832). musa rosacea jacq. (1804). local names: pahari kala, ram kala. a perennial, tree like herb. rs: 8.6.2002, s.n. uddin n-1407 (dacb). family zingiberaceae lindley (1835). alpinia calcarata (haworth) rosc., trans. linn. soc. 8: 347 (1807). local name: deshi chhoto elachi. a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 3.4.2002, s.n. uddin n-1616 (dacb). alpinia nigra (gaertn.) burtt., notes roy. bot. gard. edinb. 35: 213 (1977). alpinia allughas (retz.) rosc. (1807). local names: tara, taruko. a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1547 (dacb). amomum aromaticum roxb., fl. ind. 1:45 (1820). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1689 (dacb). amomum subulatum roxb., pl. corom. 3: 75 (1820). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 16.10.2003, s.n. uddin n-2049 (dacb). boesenbergia longiflora o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl.: 685 (1891). a small, perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1675 (dacb). curcuma longa l., sp. pl. 1:2 (1753). local names: halud, haldi. a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 19.10.2003, s.n. uddin n-2139 (dacb). curcuma zedoaria (christm.) rosc. in trans linn. soc. london 8: 354 (1807). local names: failla, kachura, phalga, shoti. a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.4.2002, s.n. uddin n-1687 (dacb). etlingera linguiformis (roxb.) r. m. smith, notes r. b. g. edinb. 43(2): 246 (1986). amomum linguiforme (roxb.) baker (1892). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n1687 (dacb). globba multiflora wall. ex baker in hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 202 (1890). a perennial herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1620 (dacb). zingiber rubens roxb., asiat. res. 11: 348 (1810). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1481 (dacb). 42 uddin and hassan family costaceae nakai (1941). costus speciosus (koening) smith, trans. linn. soc. london 1: 249 (1791). local names: bandugi, keumul, kura, kushtha. a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n1686 (dacb). family marantaceae peterson (1888). phrynium imbricatum roxb., fl. ind. 1: 6 (1820). local name: pituli pata. a perennial herb. rs: 1.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1728 (dacb). family haemodoraceae r. brown (1810). peliosanthes teta andr., bot. repos. 10. t. 605 (1810). local name: napigach. a scapigerous, perennial herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1655 (dacb). family liliaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). molineria recurvata (dryand.) herbert, amaryl.: 84 (1834). curculigo recurvata dryand. (1811). local names: bidri pata, meloni, satipata. a tuberous, perennial herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1688 (dacb). family taccaceae dumortier (1829). tacca integrifolia ker-gawl., bot. mag. 35: t. 1488 (1912). local name: mati munda. a perennial, rhizomatous herb. rs: 2.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1771 (dacb). family smilacaceae ventenat (1799). smilax perfoliata lour., fl. cochinch.: 622 (1790). smilax prolifera roxb. (1832). local name: choto kumari lata. a perennial, armed climber. rs: 18.6.2004, s.n. uddin n-2479 (dacb). family dioscoreaceae r. brown (1810). dioscorea aculeata l., sp. pl.: 1033 (1753). local name: gointa alu. an annual twiner. rs: 15.12.2004, s.n. uddin n-2542 (dacb). dioscorea bulbifera var. bulbifera l., sp. pl.: 1033 (1753). local names: pagla alu, rata alu, rath pagla alu. an annual, tuberous climber. rs: 1.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1753 (dacb). dioscorea glabra roxb., fl. ind. 3: 804 (1832). local names: shora gainta alu, sora alu. an annual, tuberous climber. rs: 1.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1708 (dacb). dioscorea hamiltonii hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 295 (1892). local name: thakan budo. an annual, tuberous climber. rs: 30.12.2002, s.n. uddin n-1754 (dacb). dioscorea opositifolia l., sp. pl.: 1033 (1753). an annual, tuberous climber. rs: 19.10.2003, s.n. uddin n-2137 (dacb). dioscorea pentaphylla l., sp. pl.: 1032 (1753). local names: jum alu, kanta alu. an annual, tuberous climber. rs: 17.10.2003, s.n. uddin n-2098 (dacb). dioscorea pubera blume, enum. pl. jav. 1: 21 (1827). local names: kukur alu, kakur alu. an annual, tuberous herb. rs: 30.9.2002, s.n. uddin n-1642 (dacb). family orchidaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). acampe ochracea (lindl.) hochr., bull. n. y. bot. gar. 6: 270 (1910). a perennial epiphyte. rs: 29.5.2003, s.n. uddin n-1945 (dacb). acampe papillosa (lindl) lindl., fol. orch.: 2 (1853). local name: kandori phul. a perennial epiphyte. rs: 27.5.2003, s.n. uddin n-1836 (dacb). angiosperm flora of rampahar reserve forest 43 aerides odorata lour., fl. cochinch. 2: 525 (1790). a perennial epiphyte. rs: 1.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1748 (dacb). bulbophyllum viridiflorum (hk. f.) schltr. in orchids 4: 108 (1910). a perennial, epiphytic herb. rs: 2.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1796 (dacb). cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw., nov. act. soc. upsal. 6: 73 (1799). local name: churi. a perennial, tufted epiphyte. rs: 29.5.2003, s.n. uddin n-1944 (dacb). dendrobium aphyllum (roxb.) c.e.c. fischer in gamble, fl. pres. madras 3: 1416. (1928). dendrobium pierardi roxb. (1832). local name: fasia mach. a perennial epiphyte. rs: 20.10.2003, s.n. uddin n-2153 (dacb). eria tomentosa (koen.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 803 (1890). a perennial epiphyte. rs: 16.10.2003, s.n. uddin n-2038 (dacb). nervilia aragoana gaud. in freyc., voy. bot.: 422, t. 35 (1826). an annual, terrestrial herb. rs: 10.6.2002, s.n. uddin n-1308 (dacb). nervilia juliana (roxb.) schltr., bot. jahrb. syst. 45: 402 (1911). an annual, terrestrial herb. rs: 2.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1773 (dacb). oberonia rufilabris lindl., sert. orch.: t. 8 a (1838). an annual epiphyte. rs: 3.10.2002, s.n. uddin n-1812 (dacb). papilionanthe teres (roxb.) schltr., orchid 9: 78 (1915). a perennial, epiphytic, woody herb. rs: 30.5.2003, s.n. uddin n-1956 (dacb). peristylus goodyeroides (d. don) lindl., gen. sp. orch. pl.: 299 (1835). habenaria goodyeroides d. don (1825). an annual, terrestrial, tuberous herb. rs: 16.6.2001, s.n. uddin n1011 (dacb). vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g. don. in loud., hort. brit. 372 (1830). a perennial epiphyte. rs: 18.12.2004, s.n. uddin n-2620 (dacb). discussion a total of 89 taxa of monocot (liliopsida) under 66 genera and 15 families have been recorded for the rampahar reserve forest. the study has revealed that only nine species are epiphytes and the remaining terrestrial. on the other hand, the number of perennial and annual species are 72 and 17, respectively. the study has also found that poaceae is the largest family with 27 species followed by orchidaceae (13 species), cyperaceae (11 species) and zingiberaceae (10 species). eight families (viz. arecaceae, musaceae, costaceae, marantaceae, haemodoraceae, liliaceae, taccaceae and smilacaceae) are represented each by a single species. the genus dioscorea appears as the largest genus represented by seven species. the area possesses five red listed plant species of bangladesh, viz. aglaonema hookerianum schott., amomum aromaticum roxb., cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw., globba multiflora wall., and phrynium imbricatum roxb. as recorded by khan et al. (2001). besides those species, another six species i.e. alocasia navicularis c. koch., boesenbergia longiflora o. kuntze, colocasia oresbia a. hay, nervilia aragoana gaud., nervilia juliana (roxb.) schltr. and oberonia rufilabris lindl. have been identified as threatened species for bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008). from this analysis, it can be said that out of 89 taxa occurred in the study area 11 species are threatened. however, this figure may be much higher in near future if no immediate conservation action is taken. acknowledgements we would like to thank the authority of the bangladesh forest department for their co-operation during the field work. we are grateful to the authorities of the following herbaria for 44 uddin and hassan allowing to consult their libraries and use their herbarium materials: bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong (bfri), central national herbarium of india (cal), the royal botanic gardens kew (k) and the royal botanic garden edinburgh (e). references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.t. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 12. angiosperms: monocotyledons (orchidaceae-zingiberaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp.1-552. anonymous. 1960. working plan of the chittagong hill tracts north and south forest division for the period from 1953-54 to 1972-73, vol. 2. working plan division, forest department, the government of east pakistan, pp. 1-89. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants, columbia university press, new york. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, pp. 1-78. hooker, j.d. 1890-1894. the flora of british india, vol. 6. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england, pp. 1-792. hooker, j.d. 1897. the flora of british india, vol. 7. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england, pp. 1-842. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1969. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-1 (monocotyledons). j. asiatic soc. pakistan 14(2): 219-222. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m. and ali, m.a. (eds) 2001. red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, pp. 1-179. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq. a.m., mia. m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focussing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. prain, d. 1903 (indian rep. ed. 1963). bengal plants, vol. 2. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 4911013. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1997. assessment of plant diversity of sitakunda in chittagong. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 17-36. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur (bangladesh). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-80. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.t. & haque, e.u. (eds) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 11. angiosperms: monocotyledons (agavaceae-najadaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-399. sinclair, j. 1956. flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 1-116. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31-68. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sitapahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. iucn bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1-120. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park (bangladesh): a preliminary assessment. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 9-22. (manuscript received on 14 september, 2011; revised on 21 april, 2012) microsoft word s-4. hassan.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 75-76, 2008 (june) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication doubtful occurrence of solanum nigrum l. in bangladesh md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: solanum nigrum, doubtful occurrence, bangladesh the presence of solanum nigrum l. (solanaceae), the black nightshade, in bangladesh territory is recorded by all the standard existing literature of this region, viz. clarke (1883), prain (1903), kanjilal et al. (1939), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1955) and khan and rahman (2002). the species is a very common weed of waste places, fallow lands, roadsides and even crop fields. solanum nigrum is also recognized as a reputed medicinal plant. in hindu medicine, it is considered as a tonic; its leaves are used in fever, diarrhoea, eye diseases, and in chronic enlargement of spleen and are also considered a valuable alterative and diuretic (kanjilal et al. 1939). the leaves are a rich source of riboflavin, nicotinic acid, citric acid, vitamin-c and betacarotene (ghani 2003). the juice of fresh leaves is reported to produce dilation of pupil (fox and philip 1952 in ghani 2003). fifty per cent alcoholic extract of this plant at the dose of 50 mg / 100 g significantly lowered the lipid level and prevented development of fatty liver in albino rat (agrawal and gulati 1996 in ghani 2003). the fruits contain saponins and alkaloids solanine, solamargine, solasonine, solasodine, steroidal genin and trigogenin (ghani 2003). nonetheless, before using it as a medicinal plant its correct identification is a vital prerequisite. in bangladesh, two distinct forms of the species occur in nature – one bears black fruits and the other bears orange fruits. the general facies of these two forms also differ. now, the questions are: (i) do both the forms belong to the same species, s. nigrum? (ii) which one of these two forms actually belongs to s. nigrum? and (iii) do they belong to s. nigrum at all? working on the s. nigrum complex of the indian subcontinent, schilling and anderson (1990), on the basis of chromosome number as well as some other morphological characters, recognized three distinct species, viz. (i) s. americanum mill., 2n = 2x = 24 (inflorescence umbellate, fruits shiny purple-black with reflexed sepals), (ii) s. villosum mill., 2n = 4x = 48 (fruits very distinctive orange, orange-brown or reddishorange), and (iii) s. nigrum l., 2n = 6x = 72 (inflorescence racemiform, fruits dull purple-black with sepals adhering to the fruits). cytological studies on the s. nigrum complex of bangladesh (sultana and alam 2007) resulted in two distinct chromosome numbers, 2n = 2x = 24 (of the forms with black fruits) and 2n = 4x = 48 (of the forms with orange fruits). this finding clearly identifies the black-fruit-bearing plants of bangladesh as s. americanum and orangefruit-bearing plants as s. villosum, which are more common. the other species s. nigrum, 76 hassan so far known from bangladesh, may not at all occur here or it is a species of rare occurrence. different black-fruit-bearing forms, if they occur at all in bangladesh, should be collected from throughout the country to confirm the very existence of s. nigrum in bangladesh. references clarke, c.b. 1883. solanaceae. in: hooker j.d. (ed.), fl. brit. ind. 4: 228-246. indian reprint (1973), bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. bengal 7(1&2): 1110. ghani, a. 2003. medicinal plants of bangladesh. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-603. kanjilal, u.n., das, a., kanjilal, p.c. and de, r.n. 1939. flora of assam. 3: 363-375. indian reprint (1982), a von book company, ajmiri gate, delhi. khan, m.s. and rahman, m. 2002. flora of bangladesh. solanaceae. no. 53. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, pp. 1-48. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. 2: 742-753. indian reprint (1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun. schilling, e.e. and anderson, r.n. 1990. the black nightshade (solanum sect. solanum) of the indian subcontinent. j. linn. soc. 102(3): 257. sinclair, j. 1955. the flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. bengal 9(2): 84-116. sultana, s.s. and alam, sk.s. 2007. differential fluorescent chromosome banding of solanum nigrum l. and s. villosum l. from bangladesh. cytologia 72(2): 231-219. (manuscript received on 4 may 2008; revised on 22 may 2008) microsoft word 09. numerical of senna-14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 77-83, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists numerical taxonomy of the genus senna mill. from bangladesh m. oliur rahman1, md. zahidur rahman and ayesa begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: senna; cluster analysis; phenetic relationship; upgma. abstract this study examines the patterns of morphological variation and phenetic relationships among 11 species of senna mill. from bangladesh using 32 vegetative and floral characters. the highest similarity is found between s. obtusifolia and s. tora, while the highest variation is observed between s. alata and s. hirsuta. upgma tree derived from cluster analysis reveals three major clusters, the first of which consists of two species (s. alata and s. auriculata), the second cluster comprises four species (s. hirsuta, s. obtusifolia, s. tora and s. occidentalis) and the third one is composed of five species (s. multiglandulosa, s. sophera, s. siamea, s. timoriensis and s. surattensis). a close relationship is also found between s. multiglandulosa and s. sophera, and between s. siamea and s. timoriensis. results obtained from the present study are found congruent with cytological and anatomical studies showing the significance of numerical analysis for taxonomic relationship in the genus senna. introduction numerical taxonomy, also termed as morphometrics deals with grouping by numerical methods of taxonomic units into taxa on the basis of their character state (sneath and sokal, 1973). cluster analysis and principal component analysis are two techniques commonly used in numerical classification. cluster analysis produces a hierarchical classification of entities (taxa) based on the similarity matrix. it thus provides a logical means of expressing the relationship existing between taxa. numerical taxonomic studies are important for discovering and documenting new morphological character and character states, and many attempts have been made in this regard for understanding phenetic relationships in different groups of plants (pinheiro and de barros, 2007; mulumba and kakudidi, 2010; deshmukh, 2011; rahman and rahman, 2012). the genus senna mill. (caesalpiniaceae) is represented by 350 species and is distributed throughout the world (marazzi et al., 2006). irwin and barneby (1982) reports that about 80% of the senna species are found in the american continent, while most of the remaining members occur in tropical africa, madagascar and australia, with only a few species in southeastern asia and the pacific island. senna are characterized by the presence of cylindrical or flattened, irregularly dehiscent pods and longest filaments without sigmoidally curved towards the base and seed surfaces usually with areole. economically senna species are very important since their bark and oil extract are used for flavouring purposes and in soaps, candy and perfumery (hill, 1952). several senna species are reported to have medicinal properties as laxative, expectorant, antimalarial, relaxant and anti-inflammatory (sadique and chandra, 1987; ajagbonna and mojiminiyi, 2001; tona and mesia, 2001). studies on the genus senna are very much limited in bangladesh. baker (1879) described 18 species of cassia s.l. of which 6 species now included in senna are found in the area of bangladesh. prain (1903) listed 7 species of senna from the then bengal which falls under the 1corresponding author. email: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 78 rahman et al. territory of present bangladesh. although khan et al. (1996) documented 6 species of the senna from bangladesh, recently ahmed et al. (2008) reported 10 species of the genus from the country. the extensive field surveys through the present study revealed a total of 11 species of senna are now found in bangladesh. despite few fragmentary studies are available on senna, numerical approaches have never been tested in this genus to determine species relationships. therefore, the present study aims at applying numerical method for examining morphological variation and inferring phenetic relationships among senna species occurring in bangladesh. materials and methods plant materials: eleven species of senna were used in the present study (table 1). both fresh materials collected from different areas of bangladesh, and herbarium specimens housed at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) were examined for numerical analysis. table 1. list of senna species along with their vouchers used in the present study. no. species specimens examined 1 senna alata (l.) roxb. bandarban: chimbuk hills, mirzapara, 27.11.1983, khan, huq, rahman & mia k. 6494 (dacb); dhaka: dhaka university campus, 23.12.2011, ayesa 65 (dush). 2 s. auriculata l. dhaka: shere-e-bangla agricultural university compound, 26.1.2011, ayesa 07 (dush); sangshad bhaban, 27.1.2011, ayesa 08 (dush). 3 s. hirsuta (l.) irwin & barneby bandarban: lama, 6.12.2007, bushra, halib & mafiz b 609 (dacb); cox’s bazar: bamiachara near chakaria, 2.12.1999, khan, mia, rashid & islam k. 10177 (dacb); gazipur: gazipur, 30.6.2011, ayesa 40 (dacb). 4 s. multiglandulosa (jacq.) irwin & barneby no fresh or herbarium specimens available. 5 s. obtusifolia (l.) irwin & barneby bandarban: chimbuk hills, 26.11.1983, khan, huq, rahman & mia k. 6472 (dacb); cox’s bazar: teknaf, mouchuni, 24.4.2011, ayesa 32 (dush); patuakhali: islampur, 6.2.2011, ayesa 17 (dush). 6 s. occidentalis roxb. bogra: mohasthangarh, 22.8.1989, mia, rahman, mahbuba & rezia m 2117 (dacb); dhaka: dhaka university campus, 26.12.2010, ayesa 02 (dush); gazipur: rajendrapur forest, 22.12.2011, ayesa 63 (dush). 7 s. siamea (lamk.) irwin & barneby chittagong: chunati range, 10.6.1979, khan, huq & rahman k 5515 (dacb); dhaka: tejgaon, old airport, 27.12.2011, ayesa 74 (dush). panchagarh: fakirhat, 30.6.1998, mia et al. m 3883 (dacb). 8 s. sophera (l.) roxb. chittagong: sandwip, rahmatpur 12.2.1988, mia and mahfuz m 1590 (dacb); cox’s bazar: teknaf, shilkhali, 30.2. 2011, ayesa 25 (dush); dhaka: dhaka university campus, 30.4.11, aeysa 33 (dush). 9 s. surattensis (burm. f) irwin & barneby dhaka: dhaka university campus, 20.12.2011, ayesa 47 (dush); div 22, 19.10.1977, m. naskar 3955 (dush). 10 s. timoriensis (dc.) irwin & barneby bandarban: ruma bazar, 28.10.1984, khan, huq, rahman & mia k 6724 (dacb); chittagong hill tracts: ruma p.s., changnakra, 25.1.1965, m. s. khan 1166 (dush). 11 s. tora (l.) roxb. dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 26.12.2011, ayesa 69 (dush); khulna: jatrapur railways line side, 16.6.1982, a. m. huq 5542 (dacb). numerical taxonomy of senna mill. 79 characters: thirty two characters were investigated and used in this analysis. characters and character states were determined through examination of both living and herbarium specimens housed at dush and dacb. both qualitative and quantitative characters were coded as binary-state. the characters and their binary states used for numerical taxonomic studies are listed in table 2. neither herbarium nor living specimens of senna multiglandulosa were available; therefore character states for this species were determined from the relevant literature (ahmed et al., 2008). statistical analysis: the data matrix was scored using binary matrix. dissimilarity matrix was prepared based on the data matrix. cluster analysis was performed using upgma (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) and a dendrogram was constructed to show the relationship among the species (sneath and sokal, 1973). all analyses were carried out using the program statistica (version 3.0). result and discussion thirty two vegetative and reproductive characters have been identified for numerical analysis of senna species (table 2). table 2. morphological characters and their state used in the numerical analysis. no. characters character states 1 habit herb or undershrub (1), shrub or tree (0). 2 stem hairy (1), glabrous (0). 3 leaves 6-20 pairs (1), 2-5 pairs (0) 4 stipules persistent (1), cauducous or subpersistent (0). 5 shape of stipules deltoid or ovate (1), linear or cordate (0). 6 size of stipules 1-5 mm (1), 8-20 mm (0). 7 leaf attachment alternate (1), opposite (0). 8 petiole length 0.1-0.3 cm (1), > 0.4 cm (0). 9 gland present (1), absent (0). 10 laminar shape oblong or elliptic (1), ovate or cordate (0). 11 base angle obtuse (1), acute (0). 12 apex angle acute (1), acumminate or obtuse (0). 13 base shape rounded or obtuse (1), oblique or unequal (0). 14 apex shape rounded or obtuse (1), acute or acumminate 15 margin type entire (1), serrulate (0). 16 lobation of vein present (1), absent (0). 17 inflorescence axillary and terminal (1), terminal (0). 18 sepal free (1), united (0). 19 bract present (1), absent (0). 20 shape of bract ovate (1), linear to lanceolate (0). 21 bracteole present (1), absent (0). 22 corolla free (1), united (0). 23 anther bilobed (1), not bilobed (0). 80 rahman et al. table 2 contd. no. characters character states 24 anther opening apical pore (1), lateral (0). 25 ovary glabrous (1), hairy (0). 26 stigma truncate (1), punctiform or others (0). 27 shape of pod linear to curved (1); oblong (0). 28 surface of pod pubescent (1), glabrous (0). 29 number of seeds per pod > 30 (1), 6-12 (0). 30 dehiscence of pod dehiscent (1), indehiscent (0). 31 areole present (1), absent (0). 32 seed shape ovoid or oblong (1), rhomboidal (0). the present study reveals that the lowest morphological variation is observed between s. obtusifolia and s. tora indicating that they are most closely related among all species studied. s. occidentalis is also very close to s. obtusifolia. the highest variation is found between s. alata and s. hirsuta (table 3). a high variation has also been detected between s. alata and s. tora; and s. alata and s. obtusifolia. table 3. morphological variation among 11 species of senna based on squared euclidean distance. species alat auri hirs mult obtu occi siam soph sura timo tora alat 0 auri 9 0 hirs 18 13 0 mult 10 9 14 0 obtu 15 10 9 13 0 occi 12 13 8 10 5 0 siam 12 13 12 8 13 10 0 soph 12 13 12 6 9 6 10 0 sura 14 11 12 10 9 12 10 10 0 timo 11 10 11 11 12 13 7 13 9 0 tora 16 9 8 12 3 6 12 8 6 11 0 alat = senna alata, auri = s. auriculata, hirs = s. hirsuta, mult = s. multiglandulosa, obtu = s. obtusifolia, occi = s. occidentalis, siam = s. siamea, soph = s. sophera, sura = s. surattensis, timo = s. timoriensis, tora = s. tora the numerical analysis presents the phenetic relationships among 11 senna species. the upgma dendrogram based on cluster analysis reveals three clusters. the first cluster consists of two species, viz. s. alata and s. auriculata; the second one comprises four species, namely s. hirsuta, s. obtusifolia, s. tora and s. occidentalis; while the third cluster includes five species, viz., s. multiglandulosa, s. sophera, s. siamea, s. timoriensis and s. surattensis (fig. 1). in the first cluster s. alata is grouped with s. auriculata indicating that they are closely allied, and this is evidenced by the presence of their puberulent stem, persistent stipule and linear to oblong pod. a close association between s. hirsuta, s. obtusifolia, s. tora and s. occidentalis is evident in the second cluster. the common characters shared by these four species include linear numerical taxonomy of senna mill. 81 stipule, racemose inflorescence, orbicular to rhomboidal seeds and presence of glands on the rachis. in this cluster the highest similarity has been observed between s. obtusifolia and s. tora showing that they are most closely related among all the species studied, and this highest affinity is supported by the following shared characters: leaflets obovate, stipules linear, falcate, inflorescence short-racemose, axillary, ovary ribbed, style glabrous, stigma truncate, pod linear or subtetragonous and seeds are 4-5 mm long, with an areole on each face. fig.1. upgma dendrogram showing species relationship in senna. in the third cluster two distinct subclusters are found. the first one consists of s. multiglandulosa and s. sophera, and they are in the same line by presence of glandular leaves, ovate bracts, caducous stipule, pubescent ovary, and compressed, pointed seeds. the second subcluster contains s. siamea, s. timoriesnsis and s. surattensis. in this subcluster s. siamea and s. timoriensis are found to be more close to each other than they are to s. surattensis. senna siamea and s. timoriensis both are evergreen trees and the close affinity between them is supported by their eglandular leaves, linear bracts, puberulent sepals, glossy brown seeds and presence of areoles. morphometric studies received considerable attention for species relatedness in different genera (gomez-campo et al., 2001; henderson and ferreira, 2002; sonibare et al. 2004; bolourian and pakravan, 2011). although such studies were carried out in different legume genera, for example, cassia (boonkerd et al., 2005), indigofera (soladoye et al., 2010a), daniellia (de la estrella et al. 2009), however very little is known about the morphometrics in the genus senna. recently soladoye et al. (2010b) made a morphometric study of eight species of senna from south-western nigeria and using 13 morphological characters they showed that s. sophera is closely related to s. hirsuta. our results suggest that s. sophera is closely allied to s. multiglandulosa which is incongruent with that of soladoye et al. (2010b). the present study reveals a close association between s. hirsuta, s. obtusifolia, s. tora and s. occidentalis as they grouped together. ogundipe et al. (2009) have shown that paracytic and anomocytic types of stomata are found both in s. hirsuta and s. occidentalis. the anticlinal walls are straight and undulate in both these species indicating a close relationship between them. our result is supported by ogundipe et al. (2009) since a close affinity has been observed between s. hirsuta, s. obtusifolia, s. tora and s. occidentalis. the close affinity among these species is also evidenced by 82 rahman et al. cytological investigation where the somatic chromosome number 2n=28 was reported for these four species (irwin and turner, 1960; bir and kumari, 1980). in conclusion, our study shows the significance of numerical analysis for detecting variation and taxonomic relationships among senna species available in bangladesh as it is attested by previous studies based on cytological and anatomical characters. acknowledgement the authors are thankful to the director, bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka for allowing to use herbarium facilities. thanks are also due to prof. md. abul hassan and prof. momtaz begum, department of botany, university of dhaka for their help and cooperation during this study. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a. begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and huque, e.u. (eds). 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. angiosperms: dicotyledons (balsaminaceae-euphorbiaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 546 pp. ajagbonna, o.p. and mojiminiyi, f.b.o. 2001. relaxant effects of the aqueous leaf extract of cassia occidentalis on rat aortic rings. african j. biomed. res. 4(3): 127. baker, j.g. 1879. in: hooker, j.d., the flora of british india, vol. 2. reeve & co. ltd. england, pp. 261267. bir, s.s. and kumari, s. 1980. cytological evolution of the leguminous flora of the punjub plain. in: bir, s.s. (ed.), recent researches in plant science. kalyani publishers, ludhiana, india, pp. 261-271. bolourian, s. and pakravan, m. 2011. a morphometric study of the annual species of alyssum (brassicaceae) in iran based on their macroand micromorphological characters. phytologia balcanica 17(3): 283-289. boonkerd, t., pechsri, s. and baum, b.r. 2005. a phenetic study of cassia sansu lato (leguminosaecaesalpinioideae: cassieae: cassiinae) in thailand. plant syst. evol. 252: 153-165. de la estrella, m., aedo, c. and velayos, m. 2009. a morphometric analysis of daniellia (fabaceaecaesalpinioideae). bot. j. linn. soc. 159: 268-279. deshmukh, s.a. 2011. morphometrics of the genus cassia l. from kolhapur district. the bioscan 6(3): 459-462. gomez-campo, c., herranz-sanz, j.m. and montero-riquelme, f. 2001. the genus coincya rouy (cruciferae) in south-central spain revisited: a morphometric analysis of population structure. bot. j. linn. soc. 135: 125-135. henderson, a. and ferreira, e. 2002. a morphometric study of synechanthus (palmae). syst. bot. 27(4): 693-702. hill, f.a. 1952. economic botany. mcgraw hill books company, new york, 560 pp. irwin, h.s. and barneby, r.c. 1982. the american cassiinae. mem. new york bot. gard. 35: 1-918. irwin, h.s. and turner, b.l. 1960. chromosomal relationships and taxonomic considerations on the genus cassia. am. j. bot. 47(4): 309-318. khan, m.s., khatun, b.m.r. and rahman, m.m. 1996. a preliminary account of legume diversity in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(1): 1-33. marazzi, b., endress, k.p., de queiroz, l.p. and conti, e. 2006. phylogenetic relationships within senna (leguminosae, cassiinae) based on three chloroplast dna regions: patterns in the evolution of floral symmetry and extrafloral nectaries. am. j. bot. 93(2): 288-303. mulumba, j.w. and kakudidi, e. 2010. numerical taxonomic study of acacia senegal (fabaceae) in the cattle corridor of uganda. south african j. bot. 76: 272-278. numerical taxonomy of senna mill. 83 ogundipe, o.t., kadiri, a.b. and adekanmbi, o.h. 2009. foliar epidermal morphology of some nigerian species of senna (caesalpiniaceae). indian j. sci. technol. 2(10): 5-9. pinheiro, f. and de barros, f. 2007. morphometric analysis of epidendrum secundum (orchidaceae) in southeastern brazil. nordic j. bot. 25: 129-136. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants, vol. 1, botanical survey of india, calcutta, india, pp.313-315. rahman, m.z. and rahman, m.o. 2012. a morphometric analysis of desmodium desv. (fabaceae) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 41(2): 143-148. sadique, j. and chandra, t. 1987. biochemical modes of action of cassia occidentalis and cardiospermum halicacabum in inflammation. j. ethnopharmacol. 19: 201-212. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r. 1973. numerical taxonomy, freeman and company, san francisco, usa, 573 pp. soladoye, m.o., sonibare, m.a. and chukwuma, e.c. 2010a. morphometric study of the genus indigofera linn. (leguminosae-papilionoideae) in south-western nigeria. international j. bot. 6(3): 343-350. soladoye, m.o., and onakoya, m.a., chukwuma, e.c. and sonibare, m.a. 2010b. morphometric study of the genus senna mill. in south-western nigeria. african j. plant science 4(3): 44-52. sonibare, m.a., jayeola, a.a. and egunyomi, a. 2004. a morphometric analysis of the genus ficus linn. (moraceae). african j. biotechnol. 3(4): 229-235. tona, l. and mesia, k. 2001. in vivo antimalarial activity of cassia occidentalis, morinda morindoides and phyllanthus niruri. ann.trop. med. parasitol. 95: 47-57. (manuscript received on 15 november 2012; 24 february 2013) microsoft word s-3. khaya anthotheca.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 95-97, 2012 (june) short communication © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. (meliaceae) an exotic species in bangladesh md. khairul alam1, sukla rani basak and syedul alam bangladesh forest research institute, post box no. 273, chittagong 4000, bangladesh. keywords: khaya anthotheca; bangladesh; exotic; lombu. khaya a. juss., a member of meliaceae, is a small genus with six species, four in tropical africa and two in madagascar and the comores (wiselius, 1998). the genus is easily recognized by its paripinnate leaves and round or mainly spherical 4-5 valved, dehiscent woody capsules. members of khaya was introduced in many trial plantations of peninsular malaysia and indonesia (wiselius, 1998), but there is no record of its introduction in bangladesh. khaya species are tall with cylindrical boles and fast growing in nature. about two decades back one species of khaya was introduced in bangladesh by nursery men as a fast growing tree species and gave a fancy name, lombu meaning tall tree (in bangla ‘lomba’ means tall and the vernacular name was derived from the vernacular word lomba). it is being cultivated in homesteads almost throughout the country, but mostly in south-western parts of bangladesh. because of the lack of flowering and fruiting materials it could not be identified. its flowering and fruiting specimens were collected from jessore in 2009. the botanical samples are preserved in bangladesh forest research institute herbarium (bfrih), chittagong. with above flowering materials the exotic lombu tree has been identified as khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. from the herbarium, royal botanic gardens, kew. taxonomic enumeration of khaya anthotheca based on bangladesh materials is as follows. khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. monogr. phan. 1: 721 (1878). hutchinson & dalziel, fl. west tr. africa 1: 699 (1954). synonyms: garretia anthotheca welw., apont. phytogeogr.: 587 (1859). khaya nyasica staf. ex bak. f. (1911). vernacular names: east african mahogany, nyasaland mahogany, red mahogany, smoothbarked mahogany, white mahogany, uganda mahogany (english); acaujo (french); lombu (bangla). a large tree, up to 60 m tall, with a straight rounded stem that reaches a considerable height before branching; buttress very small at base (markedly buttressed in matured old trees); bark fairly smooth (but flaking in large trees), greyish brown, inner bark dark brownish-pink with whitish streaks, exuding gum like sap, twigs glabrous. leaves spirally arranged, but clustered near the ends of branches, new flushes towards the crown sometimes light reddish; with 4-16 pairs of leaflets; leaflets sub-opposite or nearly so, apical 4 pairs opposite, elliptical to ovate elliptical or oblong-elliptic, 15-23 x 6.5-8.0 cm, entire, glossy green above, pale below, glabrous, base obtuse or rounded and slightly asymmetrical and oblique in many leaflets, apex abruptly tapering into a short point, lateral veins 6-20 pairs, distinct on the lower surface; stipules absent; petiole and rachis together up to 28-60 cm long; petiolules 0.6-1.5 cm long, petiolules of lower leaflets comparatively longer. inflorescence a 25-45 cm long panicle. flowers unisexual, male and female lowers very similar in appearance, regular, small, c. 10 mm in diameter, yellowish, 1corresponding author. email: mkhairul_52@yahoo.com 96 alam et al. 4-merous, sweet scented, bracteolate, bracteoles 2. sepals 4, 0.2-0.4 mm long, gamosepalous, imbricate. petals 4, 3.5-4.0 mm long, gamopetalous, valvate. stamens 8, fused into an urn-shaped tube 3-5 mm long, epipetalous, alternating with rounded lobes; disk cushion-shaped; filament short; anthers 2-celled, oblong, dehiscent transverse. ovary superior, globose to conical, 1-2 mm in diameter, 4-5 celled; style up to 1 mm long; stigma disk-shaped; male flowers with rudimentary ovary, female flowers with smaller, non-dehiscing anthers. fruit a woody capsule, oval-ovoid, 3-5 cm in diameter, dehiscent into 4 valves (4-5 valved). seeds arranged in rows around the central column, light brown, surrounded by a narrow wing, 1-2 × 1.5-3.0 cm. flowering: february march. fruiting: july august. specimens examined: jessore: panishora, godkhali, jikorgacha 14.3.2006, m.k. alam 0972 (bfrih); aranda, 14.7.2007, ibrahim khalil 10918 (bfrih). chromosome number: 2n = 50 (maroyi, 2008). ecology: in east and southern africa, it is found in rainforest and riparian forest, up to 1,500 m altitude. in plantations it requires fertile deep soils and plenty of water. it is susceptible to fire (maroyi, 2008). fig. 1. khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. a) trees of c. 10 years old at bfri campus; b) leaves; c) a fruiting twig; d) a dehiscent fruit; e) seeds. origin and geographical distribution: khaya anthotheca is widespread, from guinea bissau east to uganda and tanzania, and south to angola, zambia, zimbabwe and mozambique. it is khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. 97 fairly widely grown in plantations within its natural area of distribution, but also in south africa, tropical asia and tropical america (maroyi, 2008). in bangladesh it is planted in homesteads throughout plain districts with alluvial soils. uses: the wood is highly valued for furniture, cabinet work, decorative boxes and cases and veneer, and is also commonly used for window frames, paneling, doors and stair cases. it is suitable for light flooring, ship building, vehicle bodies, sporting goods, musical instruments, toys, novelties, carving, plywood and pulpwood (maroyi, 2008). the bitter bark is widely used in traditional medicine in africa. it is taken to treat cough, whereas bark decoctions or infusions are taken to treat fever, cold, pneumonia, abdominal pain, vomiting and gonorrhea, and applied externally to wounds, sores and ulcers. pulverized bark is taken as aphrodisiac and to treat male impotence. in tanzania, root decoctions are drunk to treat anemia, dysentery and rectal prolapse. in this country, the bark has been used by the shambaa people for reddish brown dyeing. in dr congo, the leaves are said to be used for making arrow-poison. k. anthotheca is fairly commonly planted as an ornamental shade tree and roadside tree. it is occasionally planted as a shade tree in agroforestry systems (maroyi, 2008). note: hossain and uddin (2010) cited lambu as dysoxylum gobarum/ d. procerum. in dysoxylum, the cells of ovary are 1-2 ovuled, but in khaya cells of ovary are many ovuled. so it seems that lambu identified by hossain and uddin (2010) as dysoxylum was not correctly identified, because our specimens, popularly known as lombu contains many ovules in cells of the ovary. k. anthotheca is very close to k. grandifoliola c. dc. the leaves of species examined from bangladesh look like k. grandifoliola, but this species has larger fruits with thicker valves. the 4valved fruits also indicate k. senegalensis (desr.) a. juss., but this species has smaller and fewer leaflets (xander van der burgt, personal communication). acknowledgement the authors express their gratitude to dr. xander van der burgt of the herbarium, royal botanic gardens, kew for his assistance in identifying the sample. references hossain, a.b.m.e. and uddin, m.z. 2010. plants in pakistan and bangladesh periods. in: islam, m.a. (ed.), environment of capital dhaka, plants wildlife gardens parks open spaces air water earthquake. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 64-65. maroyi, a., 2008. khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. < http://database.prota.org/search.htm> record from protabase. louppe, d., oteng-amoako, a.a. and brink, m. (eds), prota (plant resources of tropical africa / ressources végétales de l’afrique tropicale), wageningen, the netherlands. wiselius, s.i. 1998. khaya a. juss. in: sosef, m.s.m., hong, l.t. and prawirohatmodjo, s. (eds), plant resources of south-east asia. no. 5(3). timber trees: lesser-known timbers. prosea, bogor, indonesia, pp. 310-313. (manuscript received on 11 december, 2011; revised on 11 april, 2012) microsoft word 10_review paper_final bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 81-91, 2011 (june) review paper © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists conserving threatened plants of bangladesh: miles to go before we start? haseeb md. irfanullah1 practical action, bangladesh country office, house 12/b, road 4, dhanmondi r/a, dhaka 1205, bangladesh keywords: angiosperm; biodiversity; convention on biological diversity; red data book; red list; vascular plants. abstract in the light of important developments in biodiversity conservation in the global and national arenas over the last decade (2001-2010), this paper appraises the progress in identifying threatened vascular plant species of bangladesh as a primary step of species diversity conservation. it is argued that, as per the iucn red list categories and the volume 1 of ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ published in 2001, only four angiosperm species are threatened (1 critically endangered (cr), 1 endangered (en), 2 vulnerable (vu)) in bangladesh, not 106 vascular species. this account also records that, accordingly to the ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’ (20072009; volumes 5-12), 36 pteridophyte species (all vu; 18.46% of 195 recorded species), 1 gymnosperm species (en; 14.29% of 7 species), and 449 angiosperm species (30 cr, 126 en, 293 vu; 12.43% of 3,611 recorded species) are threatened in the country. the paper discusses and explores the importance, limitations and opportunities for red listing of threatened plants of bangladesh. this account further advocates for a well-planned initiative to effectively complete the red list of threatened plant species of the country by considering appropriate, established, updated assessment methods; following collaborative approach; and capitalizing on the progress made so far. such steps may subsequently contribute to the species diversity conservation endeavours in bangladesh. introduction the year 2001 is a significant year for plant conservation in bangladesh. this year saw the first-ever red data book on threatened plant species of the country, listing out 106 vascular plant species, published by the bangladesh national herbarium (khan et al., 2001). the purpose of this book was to initiate appropriate identification of threatened vascular plants of the country (pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms), so that their conservation status (iucn red list categories) is understood with existing conservation measures and future conservation measures can be suggested. since the publication of this milestone book, a number of significant events happened – globally and nationally – in the field of biodiversity conservation. internationally, in 2002, the ‘2010 biodiversity target’ was set out in the 6th conference of parties to the convention of biological diversity (cbd cop 6) in hague, netherlands (cbd, 2007). 1 e-mail: hmirfanullah@yahoo.co.uk 82 irfanullah in the same year, the target was endorsed by the world summit on sustainable development in johannesburg, south africa, and in 2005 by the un world summit (countdown 2010). the year 2010 has been the ‘international year of biodiversity’ – declared by the united nations. in october of this year, the cbd cop 10 was held in nagoya, japan where some important decisions were taken by the country parties on conserving biodiversity. one of these is a revised strategic plan with 20 targets under five strategic goals to significantly reduce the current biodiversity loss by 2020 (cbd, 2010). the target 12 is directly related to threatened species: “by 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained”. nationally, the government of bangladesh prepared the ‘national biodiversity strategy and action plan (nbsap)’ (moef, 2006) as its commitment to the cbd. the asiatic society of bangladesh published 28 volumes of ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’, sponsored by the ministry of environment and forests, government of bangladesh (ahmed et al., 2008a). early 2010 saw the publication of ‘biodiversity national assessment and programme of action 2020’ by the government (moef, 2010) as the fourth national report prior to the cop 10. in line with these important and historic events, more specifically on plant conservation in bangladesh, a new initiative has recently been taken by the bangladesh national herbarium to prepare and publish the second volume of the ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ (moef, 2010). indeed, after the cop 10, focus now will increasingly be given on achieving cbd’s 2020 biodiversity target. completion of red listing would help us to go forward in achieving the target under species diversity conservation. against this backdrop, the present account highlights some important issues associated with listing of threatened plant species in ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ (volume 1) and ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’. attempts shall also be made to identify some vital aspects which need to be addressed to take any future endeavour to complete red listing the flora of bangladesh, especially after the recent national and global developments. in this paper, ‘red list’ and ‘red data book’ are used interchangeably for convenience; ‘red listing’ refers to the whole process associated with identifying threatened species following standard assessment procedures; and ‘encyclopedia’ means ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’ published by the asiatic society of bangladesh. red listing at global level there are a number of species assessment systems in place to check out the threat status of a species. of these, the system proposed by iucn is the most widely accepted. a leading organisation in management of natural resources, iucn is also a pioneer in conserving threatened plants of bangladesh 83 extinct (ex) extinct in the wild (ew) critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) near threatened (nt) least concern (lc) (threatened)(adequate data) data deficient (dd) not evaluated (ne) (evaluated) a extinct (ex) extinct in the wild (ew) critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) near threatened (nt) least concern (lc) (threatened)(adequate data) data deficient (dd) not evaluated (ne) (evaluated) a extinct (ex) extinct in the wild (ew) critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) near threatened (nt) least concern (lc) (threatened) data deficient (dd) not evaluated (ne) (evaluated) b not applicable (na) regionally extinct (re) extinct (ex) extinct in the wild (ew) critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) near threatened (nt) least concern (lc) (threatened) data deficient (dd) not evaluated (ne) (evaluated) b not applicable (na) regionally extinct (re) developing an assessment system of global red list of threatened species and has been continuing to do so over the last 47 years. now, the iucn red list of threatened species™ is a brand. the global iucn red list is updated on a regular basis. the latest version was released in october 2010 as ‘2010.4’ (iucn red list, 2010c). initially, experts alone used to compile a red list; but since 1994 appropriate conservation and environmental organizations and expert networks are involved in the assessment process through a rigorous process of data collection on certain criteria, validation of collected data, scoring, and assigning of red list categories (iucn red list, 2010c). as can be seen in the fig. 1, there are 9 or 11 categories (varies between global and regional/national assessments), but only three of these qualify as threatened categories: critically endangered (cr), endangered (en) and vulnerable (vu). each of these categories has its own set of criteria defining the category (iucn, 2003; iucn red list, 2010a). fig. 1. iucn red list categories and their interrelationships, a) as per the version 3.1 (iucn red list, 2010a); b) as per the guidelines for regional or national assessment (iucn, 2003). 84 irfanullah red listing at national level: bangladesh in addition to global species assessments, national red listing is also necessary to take conservation measures of threatened species in the national context. therefore, the global assessment criteria need to be modified to reflect country’s situation (iucn bangladesh, 2000; iucn, 2003). in bangladesh, iucn bangladesh set a good example of such adaptation in the late 1990’s by preparing the red books of threatened animals of bangladesh in five volumes covering the red list, fish, amphibians & reptiles, birds, and mammals. later on, iucn bangladesh translated these books into bangla in a single volume (iucn bangladesh, 2003). regarding the threatened flora, as mentioned at the beginning of this paper, khan et al. (2001) still remains the only red data book on vascular plants of bangladesh. some important issues associated with this book are discussed in the following sections. red listing of flora of bangladesh the issues concerning threatened plant species of bangladesh were first presented in the early nineties (khan, 1991; khan et al., 2001). the published list of 12 vascular plants was based on the field experience of experts rather than following any standard quantitative or semi-quantitative methods. according to the ‘iucn red list of threatened plants’ of 1997, 24 plant species of bangladesh faced various degrees of threat of extinction (iucn, 1997, in nishat et al., 2002). despite the importance of identifying threatened species in plant conservation, no concrete measures were taken by any government or non-government agencies until 1998 when a project was launched by the bangladesh national herbarium supported by bangladesh agriculture research council (khan et al., 2001). iucn red list categories and criteria of 1994 were apparently followed to determine threatened vascular plant species. out of 106 species listed in this book, 1 is critically endangered (cr), 1 endangered (en), 2 vulnerable (vu), 3 lower risk (lr), 25 data deficient (dd), and 74 are not evaluated (ne). almost at the same time, under the national conservation strategy (ncs) implementation project-1, an attempt was made to determine the threatened categories of plant species found in 10 different ecologically important areas/ecosystems, but it was insufficiently planned and incomplete (moef, 2001). later on, khan (2003) mentioned 95 vascular plants as threatened (92 angiosperms and three gymnosperms) without citing any references. threatened status of plant and animal species from bangladesh is regularly recorded in the global iucn red list. for example, in the global red list 2006, 12 plant species were recorded as threatened; in 2010 it is 16 (iucn red list, 2010d). by consulting eight volumes of ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’ (volumes 5-12) on vascular plants (pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms) (siddiqui et al., 2007a, b; ahmed et al., 2008b, c; ahmed et al., 2009a, b, c, d), about conserving threatened plants of bangladesh 85 13% species were found designated as threatened (table 1). a few families are significantly threatened: for example, about 53% species of orchidaceae are threatened (94 species out of 179), whereas in lamiaceae it is more than 30% (26 species out of 86). needless to say, these threatened statuses are purely in the national context. the information presented in the encyclopedia can be considered as the most recent update for bangladesh. table 1. number of threatened species in major vascular plant groups according to the ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’ (siddiqui et al., 2007a, b; ahmed et al., 2008b, c; ahmed et al., 2009a, b, c, d). vascular plant groups total no. of species critically endangered (cr) endangered (en) vulnerable (vu) total no. of threatened species (% of total species in a group) pteridophytes 195 0 0 36 36 (18.46) gymnosperms 7 0 1 0 1 (14.29) angiosperms 3,611 30 126 293 449 (12.43) dicotyledons 2,623 8 80 179 267 (10.18) monocotyledons 988 22 46 114 182 (18.42) total 3,813 30 127 329 486 (12.75) limitations of ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh (2001)’ although khan and his co-workers’ endeavour of 2001 is pioneering to assess the threat on vascular plants of bangladesh, it has a number of fundamental weaknesses limiting its use. further, in reference to this red data book, misinterpretation of the information on threatened plants of bangladesh is widely continuing. i) the red data book does not put the threatened plants in a larger context. for example, there is no indication of how many species have so far been recorded from this country; or no attempt was made to relate the position of nationally threatened species in global context, i.e. whether they are globally threatened or not. ii) although it is stated that a standard format was used for data collection accompanied by extensive field visits and indication is made that iucn red list categories of 1994 was considered – the presented information does not comply with these. iii) there is no comment on how many species were actually evaluated to prepare the list of 106. iv) national adaptation of global assessment criteria is needed for any national assessment as done in iucn bangladesh’s red data book of animals (iucn bangladesh, 2000; iucn, 2003). apparently, no such adaptation was made. moreover, no list of criteria is given which was probably used to evaluate the species. 86 irfanullah v) according to the standard iucn system, only the ‘evaluated’ species can be broadly classified into either ‘data deficient’ or ‘adequate data’. the latter could successively be classified under any of the not threatened or threatened categories (cr, en, vu) (fig. 1). but about 70% of the listed species in khan et al. (2001) are categorized under not evaluated (ne), which is not a ‘threatened’ category. no explanation was given to justify this. the editors of ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ recognized the limitations of their endeavour (preface, khan et al., 2001). nonetheless, the limitations mentioned above have never been clearly identified and clarified by any workers since then. islam (2002) reviewed this red data book and gave emphasis on the need for quantitative assessment which was missing in the book. in moef (2007, p. 68), designation of 74 species as not evaluated (ne) was mentioned as an ‘interesting’ step, indicating its incorrectness. all 106 plant species listed in khan et al. (2001) are now often misquoted as ‘threatened species’ in many national and scientific documents (e.g. nishat et al., 2002; moef, 2006; hassan and ahmed, 2008; moef, 2010). these 106 species were also indicated as the ‘only’ threatened plants in bangladesh on some occasions. clarifying some discrepancies this is being emphasized through this communication that, according to the volume 1 of the ‘red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh’ (khan et al., 2001), out of 106 plant species, only four angiosperm species are threatened in true sense, namely corypha taliera roxb. (critically endangered, cr), aldrovanda vesiculosa l. (endangered, en), knema bengalensis de wilde and licuala peltata roxb. (vulnerable, vu). the remaining 102 species designated as lower risk (lr, 3 species), data deficient (dd, 25 species) and not evaluated (ne, 74 species) are not threatened as these three are not threatened categories (fig. 1). according to the iucn red list category “a taxon is not evaluated when it has not yet been evaluated against the criteria” (khan et al., 2001; iucn red list, 2010b). fifteen species mentioned in khan et al. (2001) as not evaluated (ne), namely amomum costatum (roxb.) benth., ceropegia longifolia wall. subsp. longifolia, cynanchum wallichii wight, dendrobium longicornu wall. ex lindl., gymnema molle wall. ex wight, hoya acuminata (wight) benth. ex hook. f., h. lanceolata wall. ex don, justicia oreophila c. b. clarke, lagenandra gomezii (schott) bogener & jacobson, marsdenia eriocarpa hook. f., nothopegia acuminata j. sinclair, paphiopedilum insigne (wall. ex lindl.) pfitz, pentabothra nana (f. ham. ex wight) hook f., rotala simpliciuscula (s. kurz.) koehne and vernonia thomsoni hook. f., could have been classified into some other categories (e.g. threatened or data deficient (dd)) as these could not be found for conserving threatened plants of bangladesh 87 the last 50-150 years since they were reported last. but those were categorised as not evaluated (ne). as expected, statuses of many species as mentioned by khan et al. (2001) are changed in the encyclopedia (volumes 5-12). for example, endangered (en) aldrovanda vesiculosa was later evaluated as critically endangered (cr); not evaluated (ne) dendrobium longicornu as critically endangered (cr); while data deficient (dd) terminalia citrina (gaertn.) roxb. ex fleming was evaluated as least concern (lc). opportunities ahead: some reflections in the light of above-discussed limitations and anomalies, the following sections shed some light on the opportunities lying before us and what are the vital issues need to be considered in any future red listing initiatives in bangladesh. putting red listing into global and national perspectives while preparing a red list or red data book, the aim should not be limited to preparing or updating the list or the book, but should be beyond that. since the publication of khan et al. (2001), a number of significant events happened globally and nationally pertinent to plant conservation (see introduction of this paper). therefore, any new initiative on red data book should consider supporting, for example, the ‘bangladesh programme of action 2020’ (moef, 2010) and cbd’s 2020 biodiversity target (cbd, 2010). the assessment process should be standard and acceptable nationally and globally. it, however, should be noted that at the moment national or regional assessments are not included on the iucn red list of threatened species, except those for endemic species (iucn red list, 2010b). therefore, assessment of possible 16 endemic vascular species of bangladesh (hassan and ahmed, 2008), national assessment must be fed into the global red list. completing and updating the red list khan et al. (2001) envisaged the need for continuous investigations to complete a red list and regular revision of the threat status of species based upon recent, updated information. more than 12 years have past since the start of the first red data book project in bangladesh (khan et al., 2001); therefore, updating of the information presented in the volume 1 is needed. in the meantime, we also have the encyclopedia (flora, volumes 2-12). it has already made significant effort to identify threats to the species and to gather information on their conservation (including status, measures taken, and measures proposed). the volumes 5-12 contain information on 3,813 vascular plant species ever recorded from the bangladesh territory, and alarmingly identified about 13% of them as threatened (table 1). therefore, earnest attempts should now be made to complete the red list of threatened plant species of bangladesh by considering the significant information 88 irfanullah presented in the encyclopedia. focus should be given on evaluating the not evaluated (ne) and data deficient (dd) species through extensive field survey. during this process, the current threatened species status could also be re-evaluated if new information comes in, thus updating the red list. it is particularly applicable for those species not found over the last 50-150 years since their first record (khan et al., 2001; hassan and ahmed, 2008). focusing on the assessment process updated, appropriate, standard assessment scheme is the key to prepare a red list. khan et al. (2001) supposedly used the assessment system of iucn proposed in 1994 (version 2.3). but since then major changes happened in the category systems and criteria, and currently ‘2001 iucn red list categories and criteria’ (version 3.1) is followed (baillie et al., 2004; iucn red list, 2010b). moreover, in 2003, iucn published guidelines on the application of the iucn red list criteria at national and regional levels (fig. 1; iucn, 2003). hence re-evaluation of threatened vascular plants of bangladesh is needed according to these guidelines overcoming the limitations and anomalies of khan et al. (2001) discussed above. furthermore, as suggested above, if we consider the categorization of the encyclopedia, we need to understand its strengths as well as weaknesses. here it should be noted that in the encyclopedia no methodology is described or referred to for determining the conservation status of a species, except that the iucn red list categories were used (siddiqui et al., 2007b). from the introduction of encyclopedia (ahmed et al., 2008b), it is understood that secondary information and author’s experience were the key elements for categorising a species. therefore, any future red listing attempts need to consider these issues as well. effective collaboration national and international collaboration is vital in preparing any red list. as can be seen in iucn’s red list development, although started by iucn in 1963, in 2000 it became an effort of ‘red list consortium’ of several organizations and networks. since 2004, the partnership grew in a big way bringing in more expertise, thus better knowledge, information, accuracy, confidence and acceptability. similarly, in bangladesh, as a government agency, the bangladesh national herbarium can bring together relevant bodies, like iucn, bangladesh botanical society, bangladesh association of plant taxonomists, department of botany of different universities and colleges, other research institutions, relevant projects & programmes, and nonprofessional naturalists to form working group(s) for completing or updating a national red list of plants. expert assistance may also be sought from relevant international bodies. these will make the process much comprehensive, rigorous and acceptable, and will ensure the best use of limited resources. conserving threatened plants of bangladesh 89 conclusion the title of this account posed a question if we have yet to start our threatened plant species conservation. red list preparation is one of the first stepping stones to reach to the goal of achieving species conservation. again, species conservation is not a stand alone effort. it is related to managing the threats putting pressure on biodiversity loss by creating awareness (in all senses and at all levels) and by putting in place effective policy and legal instruments. the current red listing process has its own challenges due to absence of complete species inventory, limited availability of information, changes in taxonomic status, biasness towards certain groups or ecosystems or regions, and difference between global and regional/national assessment processes (see iucn red list, 2010c). but a fresh, well-thought, well-planned, professional approach has to be taken for effective red listing of plants of bangladesh. only then it may effectively guide the future of plant conservation in this country. acknowledgements encouragement from prof. m.a. hassan, department of botany, university of dhaka during the preparation of this manuscript is duly acknowledged. comments of dr. m. oliur rahman of the same department on an earlier draft are appreciated. views expressed in this paper are the author’s own and do not reflect that of practical action. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 1. bangladesh profile. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-230. ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceae – asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1408. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008c. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 12. angiosperms: monocotyledons (orchidaceae – zingiberaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-552. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 27 november 2010; revised on 4 april 2011) microsoft word 03. mz.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 107-114, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 6. lepocinclis perty, strombomonas defl., astasia dujardin, menoidium perty moniruzzaman khondker1, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jenat yeasmin, munirul alam2, r. bradley sack3, anwar huq4 and rita r. colwell3,4,5 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: phytoplankton, new records, bangladesh, lepocinclis, strombomonas, astasia, menoidium, ponds abstract the paper deals with a systematic account of 17 euglenoid phytoplakton. of these, seven taxa belong to lepocinclis and seven to strombomonas. the other three taxa are astasia cylindrica pringsheim, a. pygmaea skuja and menoidium tremulum skv. the taxa are reported from some pond ecosystems located in pirojpur and barisal districts of bangladesh. introduction the euglenoid genera lepocinclis and strombomonas are represented worldwide by 40 and 42 species, respectively; whereas, astasia and menoidium have 32 and 16 species, respectively (huber-pestalozzi 1955). in bangladesh, islam and alfasane (2003) have reported 10 taxa of lepocinclis and 6 taxa of strombomonas. the genus astasia has been represented by two taxa in bangladesh (islam and aziz 1979). the occurrence of the genus menoidium is new for bangladesh. a total of 17 taxa of euglenoid phytoplankton have been worked out in the present investigation and found to be new reports for bangladesh. the taxa were found to occur in the plankton samples collected from different pond ecosystems of mathbaria of pirojpur district and bakerganj of barisal district. new reports of phytoplankton for bangladesh from the same locality have also been published elsewhere (khondker et al. 2006, 2007a, b, c, d, 2008). materials and methods samples studied were collected via a plankton net (20 µm mesh) and sedimentation technique using lugol's iodine. the collection was made from 1-8 and 1-6 permanent stations of bakerganj (barisal district) and mathbaria (pirojpur district), respectively, in between 2004 and 2006. details of the sampling procedure and descriptions of the sites have been published in khondker et al. (2006). 1corresponding author. e-mail: khondker56@yahoo.com 2international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh. 3johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, baltimore, maryland, usa. 4centre of marine biotechnology, university of maryland biotechnology institute, baltimore, maryland, usa. 5university of maryland institute for advanced computer studies, college park, maryland, usa. 108 khondker et al. taxonomic enumeration the present paper deals with 17 taxa of the family euglenaceae which were identified from the pelagic plankton communities of different ponds of mathbaria and bakerganj. an illustrated account of these species together with each of their taxonomic features have been elaborated here. the species are alphabetized under the genera. division: euglenophyta; class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales family: euglenaceae 1. lepocinclis cylindrica conrad var. minor chu (pl. 1, fig. 3) (yamagishi and kanetsuna 1990, 42, 1:13-14) cells solitary, cylindrical to ovoid. anterior end rounded, posterior end bears a nipple like cauda. periplast soft. cells 13-18 µm long, 6-9 µm broad. flagellum 15 µm long. note: cell dimension as quoted in yamagishi and kanetsuna (1990) fits very well with the present material. however, the spiral striation of periplast and 2 rings of paramylon body could not be recognized in the present material while taking photomicrographs. these are also not visible in the photomicrographs as presented in yamagishi and kanetsuna (1990). the taxon has been tentatively put under l. cylindrica var. minor. bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004, station no. 1, 01.11.2004. 2. lepocinclis ovum (ehrenb.) lemm. var. bütschlii conr. [syn.: l. bütschlii lemm.] (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 150, 29: 149a) (pl. 1, fig. 4) cells broadly ovoid or ellipsoidal with deeply coloured membrane. anterior end broadly rounded, posterior end with a short, blunt, caudus. body surface covered with spirally coiled striations. cells 30 µm long, 19 µm broad. chloroplasts discoid, many. paramylon two on each side, elongated ring like or roundish, big. mathbaria, station no. 4, 27.09.2004. 3. lepocinclis ovum (ehrenb.) lemm. var. dimidio-minor defl. (pl. 1, figs 5a, b) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 151, 30: 151-152) cells regularly elliptical to ovoid, anterior rounded, posterior a short, blunt, straight, caudus. cells smaller than the type, 17-18 µm long, 11-12 µm broad. flagellum opening exactly apical, flagellum more than body length, 26 µm long. bakerganj, station no. 2, 15.06.2004, station no. 4, 16.08.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 109 4. lepocinclis ovum (ehrenb.) lemm. var. major (huber-pestal.) conr. [syn.: l. bütschlii lemm. var. major huber-pestal.] (pl. 1, fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 152, 30: 155) cells broadly ovoid, apical end papillate, posterior end with a moderately long, clear, pointed caudal process. cells 37 µm long, 25 µm broad. flagellum not seen. bakerganj, station no. 1, 06.09.2004. plate 1 figs 1-10. 1. astasia cylindrica, 2. a. pygmaea, 3. lepocinclis cylindrica var. minor, 4. l. ovum var. bütschlii, 5a, b. l. ovum var. dimidio-minor, 6. l. ovum var. major, 7a, b. l. texta, 8a-d. l. salina, 9a, b. l. teres fa. parvula, 10. menoidium tremulum. (bars = 10 µm) 5. lepocinclis salina fritsch [syn.: l. texta var. minor roll., l. texta var. minor hub.pest., "l. texta" auct.] (pl. 1, figs 8a-d) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 157, 32: 173; ling and tyler 2000, 79, 37: 11) cells ellipsoid to ovoid, anterior end comparatively narrowed than posterior. mouth meaningfully ex-central. posterior end broadly rounded, no caudus. periplast spirally 110 khondker et al. striated. chloroplasts discoid, many. flagellum 10.6-40.0 µm long. paramylon round, grains, never ring like. cells 31-38 µm long, 23-31 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 3, 06.09.2004; mathbaria, station no. 3, 16.08.2004, station no. 4, 30.08.2004. 6. lepocinclis teres (schmitz) francé fa. parvula conr. (pl. 1, figs 9a, b) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 153, 31: 161) cells ovoid or pear-shaped, anterior end broadly rounded, posterior end gradually drawn to a conical shape. periplast finely striated. flagellum longer than body length. paramylon discoid or ring like. cells 25-36 µm long, 17-23 µm broad. the caudus is not so long drawn as the type. bakerganj, station no. 4, 12.07.2004. 7. lepocinclis texta (duj.) lemm. emend. conrad [syn.: crumenula texta duj., e. texta (duj.) hübner, lepocinclis obtusa francè, l. texta var. minor woronichin.] (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 142, 27: 127) (pl. 1, figs 7a, b) cells elliptic to ovoid, posterior end broadly rounded, anterior end with a central groove. periplast striated. chloroplast discoid, round or angled. paramylon never in rings rather roundish bodies, elliptical to ovoid, present in very high numbers. cells 51 µm long, 38-46 µm broad. note: the size and shape of the present specimen fits well with the type, but the cell content was so densely packed that neither the internal structure nor the striations were visible. regarding this, huberpestalozzi (1955) stated that the cells and cysts of the species are so densely packed with paramylon bodies that without pretreatment of the cells with koh it is hardly possible to study the fine structures. mathbaria, station no. 1, 13.09.2004. 8. strombomonas fluviatilis (lemm.) defl. [syn.: trachelomonas fluviatilis lemm.] (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 378, 78: 815; dillard 2000, 72, 13: 5). (pl. 2, figs 1a, b) lorica elongate ellipsoid to broadly fusiform, colourless to pale yellow brownish. anterior end with a short neck but wide mouth, posterior gradually tapered to a pointed end. lorica 28-30 µm long, 10-12 µm broad, wall roughened. flagellum 13 µm long, mouth 8 µm broad. protoplast 15-22 µm long, 8-10 µm broad. mathbaria, station no. 1, 16.08.2004, station no. 2, 19.07.2004, station no. 3, 21.06.2004. note: islam and irfanullah (2005) reported st. fluviatilis as a variety of the type species. 9. strombomonas girardiana (playf.) defl. [syn.: trachelomonas girardiana playf., t. urceolata stokes var. girardiana playf.] (pl. 2, figs 2a, b) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 375, 78: 805; dillard 2000, 72, 13: 2; ling and tyler 2000, 83, 38: 3-4) new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 111 lorica subhexagonal, yellow to dark brown. lateral margin with median groove and humps. anterior end narrowed to a long neck, 6 µm long, 8-10 µm broad. posterior end pointed to a long caudus, 15 µm long. lorica 47 µm long, 24 µm broad, wall rough with large warts. mathbaria, station no. 2, 19.07.2004. plate 2 figs 1-7. 1a, b. strombomonas fluviatilis, 2a, b. s. girardiana, 3a, b. s. rotunda, 4. s. triquetra, 5. s. napiformis var. brevicollis, 6. s. tuberosa, 7a-e. s. verrucosa var. borystheniensis. (bars = 10 µm) 10. strombomonas napiformis (playf.) defl. var. brevicollis (playf.) defl. [syn.: trachelomonas napiformis playf. var. brevicollis playf.] (pl. 2, fig. 5) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 376, 78: 810; ling and tyler 2000, 83, 38: 2). lorica dark brown, obovate, narrowed posteriorly into a caudus. neck short, 3 µm high, with slightly flared aperture, 8 µm broad. caudus 12 µm long with sharp end. lorica 40 µm long, 24 µm broad, wall roughened, warty. mathbaria, station no. 3, 25.10.2004. 112 khondker et al. 11. strombomonas rotunda chadef. [syn.: trachelomonas gibberosa var. rotunda playf.] (pl. 2, figs 3a, b) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 380, 79: 821) lorica clear, top-shaped. anterior end with a medium to long neck, which is 6-10 µm long, 5 µm broad. middle portion of the lorica bulged out or hump-like. posterior end with a pointed caudus, 6-8 µm long. lorica 25-28 µm long, 15-20 µm broad, wall roughened, warty. protoplast 10-12 µm in diameter. mathbaria, station no. 2, 19.07.2004, station no. 3, 25.10.2004. 12. strombomonas triquetra (playf.) defl. [syn.: trachelomonas triquetra playf.] (yamagishi and kanetsuna 1991, 138, 4: 13) (pl. 2, fig. 4) upper part of the lorica rectangular, lower part triangular. anterior end bears a short neck, about 10 µm long, 10 µm broad. posterior end gradually narrowed to a short caudus. lorica 48.3 µm long, 25.4 µm broad, wall rough, warted. flagellum short, about 10 µm long, terminally inserted. lorica not completely filled by protoplast. protoplast c 30 µm long, 15 µm broad. note: triangular shape of the specimen under optical section could not be confirmed in the present material. therefore, it has been tentatively put under s. triquetra. mathbaria, station no. 4, 04.07.2005. 13. strombomonas tuberosa (skv.) defl. [syn.: trachelomonas tuberosa skv.] (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 367, 77: 784) (pl. 2, fig. 6) lorica elongated ovoid. anterior end gradually narrowed to a truncate end, posterior end oval-shaped, wall smooth. lorica 22 µm long, 10 µm broad. protoplast 20 µm long, 8 µm broad, posterior end 3 µm broad. bakerganj, station no. 2, 06.09.2004. 14. strombomonas verrucosa (v. daday) defl. var. borystheniensis (roll) defl. [syn.: trachelomonas borystheniensis roll] (pl. 2, figs 7 a-e) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 371, 77: 793; ling and tyler 2000, 84, 37: 14) lorica oval with a short, wide neck, wall thick, dark brown, bears wart like outgrowths. posterior end slightly tapered. lorica 23-32 µm long, 19-23 µm broad. protoplast may fill the lorica or remain aside posteriorly from the lorica, 22 µm long, 20 µm broad. chloroplasts many, discoid, with big diplopyrenoids. flagellum 35 µm long, protrudes through a wide, flared, mouth. opening of the mouth c 8 µm. mathbaria, station no. 1, 03.05.2004, station no. 2, 25.10.2004 and 12.02.2005, station no. 4, 16.08.2004. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 113 15. astasia cylindrica pringsheim (pl. 1, fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 430, 87: 890) cells free swimming, cylindrical, anterior end slightly narrowed, posterior end rounded. cells 28 µm long, 6 µm broad. paramylon round or short rods, many. mathbaria, station no. 2, 31.07.2004, station no. 5, 28.02.2005. 16. astasia pygmaea skuja (pl. 1, fig. 2) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 439, 89: 910) cells ovoid to pear-shaped, less metabolic, anterior end narrowly rounded, posterior end suddenly narrowed, obtuse. cells 9 µm long, 6 µm broad. flagellum about the body length, 10 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 1, 16.08.2004. 17. menoidium tremulum skv. (pl. 1, fig. 10) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 448, 91: 926) cells relatively small, slightly bent, cylindrical. periplast soft, smooth. cells 18 µm long, 6 µm broad. flagellum about body length, here it is 11 µm long. mathbaria, station no. 6, 22.06.2004. acknowledgements the research as an integral part of the major multidisciplinary project entitled ‘epidemiology and ecology of vibrio cholerae in bangladesh’ was financed by the national institute of health (nih) research grant # 1ro1a13912901 under the collaborative agreement between the international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, bangladesh (icddr,b) and johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health. the authors gratefully acknowledge the nih ecological surveillance team at icddr,b for kindly supporting this research. references dillard, g.e. 2000. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 7. pigmented euglenophyceae. j. cramer, berlin, pp. 135 + pls. 20. huber-pestalozzi, g. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. systematik und biologie. 4. teil: euglenophyceen. e. schweizerbart’sche verlagsbuchhandlung (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany, pp. 606 + pls. 114. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1979. algal flora of moheshkhali island, bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. b 27(2): 105-122. 114 khondker et al. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2003. euglenophyceae for barisal district, bangladesh ii. lepocinclis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 15-25. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2006. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 1. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 173-179. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007a. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 2. cryptophyceae, xanthophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53-59. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007b. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 3. order: volvocales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 1-12. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007c. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 4. order: chlorococcales. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 83-91. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2008. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 5. euglena, euglenocapsa. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 39-46. khondker, m., bhuiyan, r.a. and yeasmin, j. 2007d. colacium vesiculosum ehr.: a new record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 36(2): 195-197. ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 2000. australian freshwater algae (exclusive of diatoms). bibl. phycol. vol. 105. j. cramer, berlin, pp. 1-643. yamagishi, t. and kanetsuna, y. 1990. freshwater algae of papua new guinea (4) some euglenoid flagellates and desmids. bull. natn. sci. mus., tokyo, ser. b, 16(2): 41-59. yamagishi, t. and kanetsuna, y. 1991. phytoplankton from malayasia. gen. educ. rev., coll. agr. & vet. med., nihorn univ., 27: 137-151. (manuscript received on 17 january 2008; revised on 10 june 2008) lindsaeoid ferns of bangladesh and bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 11-18, 2005 (december) lindsaeoid ferns of bangladesh momtaz mahal mirza bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1215, bangladesh key words : lindsaeoid ferns, pteridophyte, bangladesh abstract the paper deals with two genera of the family lindsaeaceae, namely, lindsaea (with 4 species, l. ensifolia, l. odorata, l. lucida and l. doryphora ) and sphenomeris (with only s. chinensis ) from bangladesh. introduction the members of the fern family lindsaeaceae are quite diversified in the old world than in the new world, and the genus lindsaea is the largest one having ca. 150 pantropic and sub-tropic species (kramer 1968, 1971, 1972). prain (1903) recorded only two species l. cultrata sw. (= l. odorata roxb. ex griff.) and l. ensifolia sw. from chittagong. dixit (1984) recorded three species, e.g., l. ensifolia sw., l. lucida bl. and l. odorata roxb. ex griff. from bangladesh. later on mirza and rahman (1997) recorded l. ensifolia and l. odorata from bangladesh. another genus of the family sphenomeris maxon is also distributed in the tropics of both the hemispheres and in the northern subtropical regions, and is represented by 11 species of which six are restricted within small areas (kramer, l.c.). in bangladesh it is represented by only one species s. chinensis (l.) maxon (mirza and rahman 1977, pasha and chakraborty 1982). previously the lindsaeoid ferns were considered under davallioid ferns (dixit and ghosh 1983). ching (1940) proposed the name lindsaeaceae as a separate family, which was validated by pichi sermolli (1970) by providing latin description (dixit and ghosh l.c.). in the present paper lindsaea and sphenomeris are considered under the family lindsaeaceae and the work of pichi sermolli (l.c), kramer (l.c) and dixit and ghosh (l.c) are followed. the present work was based on the materials deposited at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), kew herbarium (k) and also in the central national herbarium, india (cal), to evaluate the members of the family lindsaeaceae in bangladesh.the study reveals that in bangladesh the above mentioned two genera are present, and the genus lindsaea dryand ex smith is represented by four species, namely, l. ensifolia, l. odorata, l. lucida and l. doryphora ; and the genus sphenomeris is represented by only one species, s. chinensis. the taxonomic description with keys to the genera and species, illustrations, specimens examined, distribution, short notes and proposal for present conservation measures are given below. 12 mirza lindsaeaceae pichi sermolli, webbia 25: 246 (1970). typically terrestrial or rarely epiphytic ferns of moderate size with creeping rhizome. fronds pinnate or bipinnate, lamina pinnately divided, sometimes decompound; veins often free or in some cases anastomosing to form oblique areoles. sori marginal or terminal. key to the genera pinnae dimidiate, almost equal in size, sori marginal on 1-8 veins lindsaea pinnae finely dissected, sori at the apices on 1-3 veins sphenomeris lindsaea dryand ex j. e. sm., mem. acad. roy. sci. turin 5: 413. t. 9 (4) (1793). rhizome creeping or climbing. stipes slender, grooved on the adaxial surface. fronds pinnate or bipinnate. pinnae or pinnules, semi-cresent-shaped, trapezoid or parallelogram-shaped, the upper and outer edges soriferous; soriferous edges entire or lobbed; lower edge always strongly thickened towards the base and decurrent upon the raised edge of the rachis; inner edge (acroscopic basal edge) always thin and close to the rachis, uppermost leaflets gradually or abruptly reduced. venation of leaflets repeatedly dichotomous with no distinct midrib. sori submarginal, linear. sporangia with slightly oblique annulus. spores pale, tetrahedral, minutely warty. key to the species 1. fronds simple pinnate 2. pinnules 1-5 pairs, about 25-60 cm. long, margin entire l. ensifolia 2. pinules 20-30 pairs, 1.5-3.5 cm. long 3. pinules half crescent-shaped l. odorata 3. pinnules quadrangular in shape l. lucida 1. fronds bi-pinnate and pinnules round trapeziform in shape l. doryphora 1. lindsaea doryphora kramer, blumea 15 : 566 (1968); flora malesiana ser 11 vol. 3: 227 (1971). l. scandens hooker var. terrestris holttum, rev. fl. mal 2 : 327 (1954), nom. invalid. (not typified); l. lancea or l. trapeziformis auctt. quad specimina asiatica. (plate 1) type: alston 13358, permanting, s. of kwala kwajan, kalimantan, borneo (u; dup. in bm). rhizome rather short creeping, 1.5-2 mm thick; scales medium brown, very narrowly triangular, to 1.5-2 mm long. stipe slightly apart from each other. fronds bipinnate about 25-35 cm long, with 5-7 branches. pinnules usually 20-25 pairs to a side, with a long crenulate apex, subcontiguous, chartaceous, olive-green when dry, having a metalic sheen, somewhat variable in shape, if large, spreading or slightly decurved, not rarely with concave lower margin, 2.5-3 times as long as wide; if smaller similar or roundedtrapeziform, 2-2.5 times as long as wide; largest pinnules about 25 by 8 mm, but more often about 10-25 by 4-6 mm., upper margin of the outward increasingly convex, a lindsaeoid ferns of bangladesh 13 distinct outer margin hardly developed. sterile pinnae margin shallowly crenate towards the apex of the pinnule. upper pinnules simple pinnate. veins immersed, rather close, free, mostly twice forked. sori occupying all vein-ends of a pinnule or only the inner ones, continuous; indusium pale to dark, entire. spores pale brownish, oval in shape. plate 1. lindsaea doryphora kramer a. habit (× 0.67); b. pinnule enlarged, showing arrangement of the sori and venation (× 2).c. sterile pinnae (× 2). d. rhizome (× 67). 14 mirza specimen examined: chittagong: chittagong town, (15.7.2003), momtaz mahal mirza mm. 342 (dacb). distribution: indonesia, malay peninsula, thailand, singapore, and the philippines. l. doryphora is reported for the first time from bangladesh. it was collected from chittagong, growing on a hill slope. it is also a rare taxon, and thus attempt should be made to collect it further and ex-situ conservation measure may be undertaken. 2. lindsaea ensifolia sw. in schrad. j. bot. 1800 (2): 77 (1801). schizoloma ensifolia (sw.) j.sm. in hook., journ. bot. 3: 414 (1841). (plate 2) plate 2. lindsaea ensifolia sw. a. habit (× 0.5); b. pinnule enlarged, showing arrangement of the sori and venation (× 2.25). lindsaeoid ferns of bangladesh 15 rhizome short-creeping. stipes pale, or dark purplish when old, to about 35 cm. long, grooved. fronds long simple pinnate, 1-5 pairs of pinnules, about 30 cm. long and 1.5 cm broad.texture of the lamina firm straw colour when mature, very variable in length and width, about 10-20 cm. long and o.4-2.0 cm.wide, sessile or with a short-winged stalked, narrowly lanceolate with a cuneate base and somewhat acuminate apex. sori continuous along the edge of the pinnae, the indusium firm, entire, almost reaching the edge of the lamina. specimens examined: chittagong: chittagong, (6.5.1851) hooker & thomson 299/c (k); khagera, (march 1880), gamble 7909 (k); chittagong town, (13.7.2004), momtaz mahal mirza, mm 426 (dacb). maulvi bazar: bangladesh tea research institute (btri) campus, (19.5.2005), momtaz mahal mirza, mm 542 (dacb). panchagarh: giragoa, (simatha fari), (16.7.2005), momtaz mahal mirza, mm 641 (dacb). distribution: africa, australia, china, hawaii, throughout india, malay peninsula, malesian islands, myanmar, new guinea, new caledonia, and sri lanka. from the present study it is revealed that lindsaea ensifolia is locally abundant in open places in low lands in bangladesh.the taxon is being destroyed by the grazing animals as well as by the habitat destruction. therefore, both in-situ and ex-situ conservation measures should be undertaken. 3. lindsaea lucida bl., enum. pl. jav. : 216 (1828) ; holtt. gard. bull.s.s. 9: 131; l. lobbiana hk. spec. fil.1. 205. t. 62c (1846); holttum, rev. fl. malaya 2 : 328 (1954). (plate 3) rhizome short, creeping. stipe dark brown about 30-40 cm. long. fronds simple pinnate, 25-30 pairs of pinnae on each side. pinnules .51.5 cm. long and 1.5-2.5 cm. broad almost round to quadragular in shape. the basal pinnae somewhat reduced and more widely spaced, the apical ones rather abruptly reduced, texture thin.veins distinct. lower edge nearly straight; upper edge usually with 3-4 shallow lobes separated by narrow sinus, each lobe with concave edge bearing single sorus. sori slightly elongated narrow in shape. specimen examined: chittagong : kasalong, (22.2.1876) j.l. lister (cal). distribution: bhutan, china, india, malay peninsula, malaesian islands, myanmar, new guinea, philippines and thailand. l. lucida is rare in bangladesh. there was only one collection made by j.l. lister some 130 years ago in 1876 from chittagong hill tracts that has been housed at the central national herbarium (cal). intensive search should be made to relocate the species, and if the plants are located, then attempt should be made to conserve it through in-situ and ex-situ methods. 16 mirza plate 3. lindsaea lucida bl. a. habit (× 0.75); b. pinnule enlarged, showing arrangement of the sori and veination (× 2). 4. lindsaea odorata roxb. ex griff. in calc. journ. nat. hist. 4:511 (1844). lindsaea cultrata auct.: bedd., ferns s. india 7: t. 23 (1864). (plate 4) rhizome short-creeping. stipes apart from each other, nearly black when old, shining at the maturity, about 3-18 cm. long. fronds simple pinnate, to about 20 cm. long,15-25 pairs pinnae on each side, pinnae 1.5-2.5 cm. long, 1.00-2.00 cm broad, the pinnae distinctly spaced, those a little above the base largest, the upper ones gradually reduced, the apical one very small. pinnae half cresent-shaped; lower edge curved toward its distal end; upper edge shallowly lobed; lobes usually 3 or 4 in number. sori marginal on each lobe. specimen examined: sylhet : griffith s.n. [type. (k)]. distribution: africa, australia, china, hawaii, india, malesian islands, malay peninsula, moluccas, myanmar, new guinea, new caledonia, philippines and sri lanka. lindsaeoid ferns of bangladesh 17 l. odorata is rare in bangladesh. it was collected only once from sylhet by griffith, which is a type specimen housed at kew herbarium (k). the type locality and neighbouring areas need to be thoroughly explored for this species. once it is relocated then efforts should be undertaken for both in-situ and ex-situ conservation. in addition, steps must be taken to promote to protect its habitats. plate 4. lindsaea odorata, roxb. ex griff. a. habit (× 0.75); b. pinnule enlarged, showing arrangement of the sori and venation (×2). sphenomeris maxon in j. wash. acad. sci. 3: 144 (1993). a terrestrial fern. rhizome short-creeping.stipes tufted, grooved on the adaxial surface, fronds erect of limited growth, finely dissected, glabrous, lobes having a single vein or once or twice forked, free at the end; midrib of pinnules grooved. sori marginal and terminal on the vein. spores bilateral, non-perinous. 18 mirza sphenomeris chinensis (l.) maxon in journ. wash. acad. sc. 3: 144 (1913). rhizome short-creeping. stipes 6-20 cm. long, strong, erect, polished, naked, dark brown, grooved on the adaxial side. fronds 15-45 cm. long, 2-15 cm. broad; lamina tripinnate-quadripinnatifid, lanceolate to almost ovate in outline, lower pinnae reduced, shape deltoid, texture thin but firm; each lobe with one or two veins only, their apices joined by a sorus or each bearing a separate sorus. spores monolete, bilateral. specimens examined: sylhet: sylhet town, (1829) wallich 245 (k); maulvi bazar: madhabkundu, (20.5.2005) momtaz mahal mirza, mm 585 (dacb); panchagarh: tetulia town, (17.7.2005), momtaz mahal mirza, mm 657(dacb). distribution: african islands, china, fiji, india, japan, malay peninsula, polynesia, and sri lanka. s. chinensis is fairly common in the country and also found to grow for sale as an ornamental pot plant for its beautiful fronds. acknowledgements the author is grateful to prof. a.k.m. nurul islam, dept. of botany, university of dhaka for his help and cooperation during the preparation of the manuscript. the author would like to thank dr. r. j. johnes, dr.wadhua and mr. peter edwards of the royal botanic gardens kew, for their advice and suggestions, and the authorities of kew herbarium and central national hebarium, india for library and working facilities. thanks are also due to the artist ms. mahmuda akhter for her drawings. references ching, r.c. 1940. on the natural classification of the family polypodiaceae sunyatsenia 4 : 201-268. dixit, r.d. 1984. a census of the indian pteridophytes. delhi, botanical survey of india. pp. 98-102. dixit, r.d and ghosh, b. 1983. the genus lindsaea dryand ex smith in india. proc. indian acad. sci. (plant sci.) vol. 92 (3): 233-258. kramer. k.u. 1968. lindsaeoid ferns of old world-111. notes on lindsaea and sphenomeris in the flora malesiana area, blumea 15: 557-574. kramer. k.u. 1971. flora malesiana, series 11. pteridophyta. ferns and fern-allies vol,1. part 3: lindsaea group. wolters-noordhoff publishing, groningen. the netherlands. pp. 177-254. kramer. k.u. 1972. lindsaeoid ferns of the old world vi, continental asia, japan and taiwan. gard. bull. singapore 26: 1-48 f.1-9. mirza, m. m. and rahman m. m. 1997. an annotated checklist of ferns and fern-allies of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 4769. pasha, m.k. and chakraborty, r.1982. ferns of bangladesh 11. pteridaceae. chittagong university studies. part ii. 6: 71-85. pichi sermolli r.e.g. 1970. a provisional catalologue of the family names of pteridophytes. webbia 25: 219-297. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. 2: 1237-1270. (indian reprint 1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun. key to the genera key to the species hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 49-62, 2005 (december) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iv. desmids (17 genera) a. k. m. nurul islam* and haseeb md. irfanullah1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: desmids, acidic habitats, phytoplankton, new records abstract fifty nine taxa of desmids under 17 genera, namely cylindrocystis, netrium, spirotaenia, gonatozygon, penium, closterium, pleurotaenium, triploceras, triplastrum, hyalotheca, groenbladia, bambusina, teilingia, sphaerozosma, spondylosium, onychonema and desmidium have been recorded from different aquatic habitats located within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar. eight taxa are described as new records for bangladesh including two genera, namely, cylindrocystis and spirotaenia. introduction recently, islam and irfanullah have described the aquatic macrophytes (islam and irfanullah 2000) and algae (excluding desmids) (islam and irfanullah 2005a, 2005b) of some selected habitats within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar. the present paper is the third installment of the same series and it records 17 desmid genera. materials and methods for the description and meteorological data of the study area see islam and irfanullah (2000). the studied waterbodies, namely, baraoora lake, the burburia river, ditches and paddy fields were mostly acidic (islam and irfanullah 2005). in the winter of 1996 (9 january) and in different seasons of 1997 (winter, 6 january; spring, 18 march; rainy season, 20 july and autumn, 20 october), a total of 120 algal samples were collected. see islam and irfanullah (2005) for the sample collection methods, and their preservation and examination. taxonomic enumeration the present study reveals 59 taxa of desmids belonging to 17 genera of which eight taxa are newly recorded for bangladesh (marked by * asterisks). nonetheless, a few algal taxa have already been reported as new records by the same authors from this area (islam and irfanullah 1998, 1999), which are not marked in this account. *corresponding author. 1iucn the world conservation union, bangladesh country office, house 11, road 138, gulshan 1, dhaka 1212. e-mail: hmirfanullah@yahoo.co.uk 50 islam and irfanullah class: chlorophyceae; order: zygnematales; family: mesotaeniaceae genus: cylindrocystis meneghini ex ralfs 1848 1. *? c. brebissonii meneghini (pl. 3, fig. 30) (scott and prescott 1961, 1: 3) l. 47.2 µm, w. 23 µm, t. 10.8–13.5 µm; two pyrenoids per cell. river; spring 1997; few. genus: gonatozygon de bary, 1858 2. g. aculeatum hastings (pl. 5, fig. 48) (smith 1924, 52: 3; scott and prescott 1961, 1: 7) l. 250 µm, w. csp. 20–21.6 µm, w. ssp. 10.8–12 µm, t. ssp. 12–12.8 µm. lake; winter 1997; common. 3. g. kinahani (archer) rab. fa. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 118, 1: 4) lake; autumn 1997; few. 4. g. pilosum wolle (pl. 5, fig. 49) (růžička 1977, 1: 15–16) l. 262 µm, w. csp. 13.5 µm, w. ssp. 12 µm, t. 12 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. genus: netrium (näg.) itz. & rothe in rab., 1856 5. n. digitus (ehr. ex ralfs) itz. & rothe var. lamellosum (bréb.) grönbl. (islam and haroon 1980, 2: 27) (pl. 5, figs. 50–51) l. (163)–211–346 µm, w. 39–64 µm, t. 19.2–25.6 µm. river; spring 1997; common. family: desmidiaceae; genus: spirotaenia de brébisson, 1844 6. *spirotaenia sp. (pl. 3, fig. 31) (smith 1924, 5) l. 86.4–143 µm, w. 13.5–16.2 µm; smooth cell wall; spiral chloroplast with pyrenoids. river; spring 1997; common. genus: penium bréb. ex ralfs in ralfs, 1848 7. p. spirostriolatum barker (pl. 3, fig. 32) (scott and prescott 1961, 1: 12) l. 198 µm, w. 23 µm, i. 20.2 µm, t. 13.5 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. genus: triplastrum iyengar & ramanathan, 1942 8. t. abbreviatum (turner) iyengar & ramanathan (pl. 1, fig. 6) (islam 1980, 3: 36–41) l. csp. 85.7 µm, l. ssp. 83.7 µm, w. 10.8 µm, i. 8.5 µm, t. 11.5–13.5 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iv 51 plate 1 figs. 1-2. desmidium aptogonum var. acutius, 3. d. swartzii var. ambloydon, 4. d. bengalicum, 5. d. baileyi var. baileyi, 6. triplastrum abbreviatum, 7, 9. hyalotheca dissiliens var. tatrica, 8. h. dissiliens var. hians. [scales = 20 µm] 52 islam and irfanullah genus: triploceras bailey, 1851 9. t. gracile bailey var. undulatum scott & prescott (pl. 5, fig. 47) (scott and prescott 1958, 27, 3: 8) l. csp. 624 µm, l. ssp. 608 µm, w. csp. 52 µm, w. ssp. 35 µm, i. 30 µm, t csp. 46 µm, t. ssp. 40.5 µm. lake (autumn 1997) and river (spring 1997); few. genus: closterium nitzsch ex ralfs, 1848 10. cl. angustatum kütz. ex ralfs (pl. 2, fig. 11) (islam 1970, 909, 4: 17; islam and haroon 1980, 558, 1: 14) l. 192 µm, w. 13.5 µm, t. 6.7–8 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 11. *cl. closterioides (ralfs) louis and peeters var. intermedium (roy & biss.) růžičk (růžička 1977, 93, 6: 3–6) (pl. 2, fig. 18) l. 109.3 µm, w. 23 µm, t. 8–9 µm; eight axial chloroplasts, smooth wall, pyrenoids were not clearly evident. lake; winter 1996 and 1997; rare to few. 12. *cl. dianae var. minus hieron. (pl. 2, fig. 13) (růžička 1977, 135, 13: 10–12; as c. dianae var. minor hieron. in prescott et al. 1975, 47, 23: 8) l. 213 µm, w. 23 µm, t. 4.7 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 13. cl. gracile bréb. ex ralfs (pl. 2, fig. 12) (prescott et al. 1975, 52, 16: 2; růžička 1977, 168, 21: 1–4) l. 416 µm, w. 17.5 µm, t. 5.4 µm; cell wall punctate. lake; winter 1997; rare. 14. cl. jenneri ralfs var. tenue croasdale (pl. 2, fig. 15) (prescott et al. 1975, 56, 23: 2) l. 97–103 µm, w. 9.4–12 µm, t. 4 µm. lake (winter 1997; few) and river (spring 1997; common). 15. cl. kuetzingii bréb. var. vittatum nordst. (pl. 2, fig. 21) (růžička 1977, 209, 30: 15–17) l. 384 µm, w. 13.5 µm, t. 2.7 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997; few. 16. cl. moniliferum (bory) ehr. ex ralfs (pl. 2, fig. 14) (prescott et al. 1975, 70, 21: 3) l. 115 µm, w. 16.2 µm, t. 4 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997, and autumn 1997; few. 17. cl. pritchardianum archer (pl. 2, fig. 10) (prescott et al. 1975, 77, 25: 7, 14) l. 528 µm, w. 35.2 µm, t. 8 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iv 53 plate 2 figs. 10. closterium pritchardianum, 11. cl. angustatum, 12. cl. gracile, 13. cl. dianae var. minus, 14. cl. moniliferum, 15. cl. jenneri var. tenue, 16-17. cl. striolatum var. subtruncatum, 18. cl. closterioides var. intermedium, 19. cl. tumidum, 20. cl. ralfsii var. hybridum, 21. cl. kuetzingii var. vittatum. [scales = 30 µm]. 54 islam and irfanullah 18. cl. ralfsii de bréb. var. gracilius (maskell) krieger (pl. 5, fig. 58) (růžička 1977, 191, 25: 9) l. 143 µm, w. 5.4 µm, t. 2 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. 19. cl. ralfsii var. hybridum rab. (pl. 2, fig. 20) (růžička 1977, 192, 25: 10–13) l. 352 µm, w. 28.8 µm, t. 6.7 µm. river; spring 1997; few. 20. * cl. rectimarginatum scott & prescott (pl. 5, fig. 57) (scott and prescott 1961, 13, 1: 27–28) l. 189 µm, w. 23 µm, t. 4 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. note: it is somewhat similar to c. subfusiforme (see prescott et al. 1975, 14: 11). 21. cl. rostratum ehr. var. rostratum (pl. 5, fig. 59) (prescott et al. 1975, 83, 31: 3, 12) l. 243 µm, w. 20.2 µm, t. 5.4 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 22. *cl. striolatum var. subtruncatum (w. & w.) krieger (pl. 2, figs. 16–17) (prescott et al. 1975, 89, 27: 5 & 28: 7; růžička 1977, 218, 32: 12–14) l. 192–195 µm, w. 21.6–24.3 µm, t. 9.4–12.2 µm; 5-8 striations per 10 µm. lake (autumn 1997) and river (spring 1997); few. 23. cl. tumidum johnson (pl. 2, fig. 19) (islam and akter 1999, 26, 2: 27) l. 127 µm, w. 21.6 µm, t. 5.4 µm; six axial chloroplasts per semicell. paddy field; autumn 1997; few. genus: pleurotaenium nägeli, 1849 24. pl. ehrenbergii (bréb.) de bary var. ehrenbergii (pl. 4, fig. 37) (prescott et al. 1975, 114, 45: 1–5) l. 230 µm, w. 21.6 µm, i. 14.8 µm, t. 13.5 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. 25. pl. ehrenbergii var. elongatum west (pl. 4, fig. 40) (prescott et al. 1975, 117, 46: 1–3) l. 270 µm, w. 12–13.5 µm, i. 9.4 µm, t. 9.4–10 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 26. pl. ehrenbergii var. undulatum schaars. (pl. 4, fig. 41) (islam 1970, 913, 4: 15; prescott et al. 1975, 117, 46: 5, 6, 18) l. 512 µm, w. 54.4 µm, t. 41.6–43.2 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 27. pl. kayei (archer) rab. (pl. 4, figs. 42–43) (islam and haroon 1980, 562, 4: 54–55) l. 275–320 µm, w. csp. 56.7–67.5 µm, w. ssp. 44.5–54 µm, i. 32.4 µm, t. csp. 38– 40.5 µm, t. ssp. 28 µm. lake (autumn 1997; few) and river (winter 1997; common). hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iv 55 plate 3 figs. 22. pleurotaenium verrucosum var. validum, 23. pl. trochiscum, 24. pl. trabecula fa., 25. pl. trabecula var. crassum, 26. pl. trabecula var. elongatum, 27. pl. nodosum var. borgei, 28–29. pl. nodosum var. gutwinskii, 30. ? cylindrocystis brebissonii, 31. spirotaenia sp., 32. penium spirostriolatum [scales = 20 µm]. 56 islam and irfanullah 28. pl. kayei var. ovoideum islam and haroon (pl. 4, fig. 44) (islam and haroon 1980, 562, 5: 77) l. 243 µm, w. csp. 71.5 µm, w. ssp. 56.7 µm, i. 37.8 µm, t. csp. 40.5 µm, t. ssp. 25.6 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 29. pl. nodosum (bail.) lund. var. borgei (grönbl.) krieger (pl. 3, fig. 27) (islam 1970, 914, 5: 15; prescott et al. 1975, 125, 44: 6–9) l. 248–346 µm, w. 49–50 µm, i. 23 µm, t. csp. 23–29, t. ssp. 20.2–21.6 µm. lake (winter 1997; few) and paddy field (autumn 1997; rare). 30. pl. nodosum var. gutwinskii krieger (pl. 3, figs. 28–29) (prescott et al. 1975, 126, 44: 10; islam and haroon 1980, 562, 5: 86) l. 232–313 µm, w. 51–86 µm, i. 23–43 µm, t. csp. 24–41 µm, t. ssp. 22–34 µm; band present at the isthmus, 10–12 nodules on the basal ring, 12 spines at each semi-cell tip. quite robust and slightly differs from the typical. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 31. pl. subcoronulatum (turn.) w. & w. (pl. 4, figs. 38–39) (scott and prescott 1961, 132, 49: 2–4, 10; islam 1970, 914, 4: 1–2) l. 740 µm, w. 47 µm, i. 41 µm, t. 39 µm; cell wall pitted. lake; winter 1996; few. 32. pl. trabecula (ehr.) näg. (pl. 4, figs. 33–34) (prescott et al. 1975, 133, 40: 1–5) l. 550–660 µm, w. 38–44.5 µm, i. 24.3–28.3 µm, t. 24.3–28.3 µm. river; spring 1997; few. 33. pl. trabecula var. crassum wittr. (pl. 3, fig. 25) (prescott et al. 1975, 134, 40: 14) l. 160 µm, w. 25 µm, i. 22.5 µm, t. 14 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 34. pl. trabecula var. elongatum cedergren (pl. 3, fig. 26; pl. 4, fig. 36) (prescott et al. 1975, 134, 40: 10–11) l. 162–167 µm, w. 7–9.6 µm, i. 5.4–7.8 µm, t. 4.8–5.4 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 35. pl. trabecula var. maximum (reinsch) roll fa. constrictum scott & presc. (scott and prescott 1961, 18, 3: 11) (pl. 4, fig. 35) l. 570 µm, w. 40.5 µm, i. 31 µm, t. 25.6 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. 36. pl. trabecula fa. (pl. 3, fig. 24) l. 307–320 µm, w. 30–31 µm, i. 26 µm, t. 17.5–19 µm; one band at the isthmus. river; spring 1997; very rare. 37. pl. trochiscum w. & w. (pl. 3, fig. 23) (prescott et al. 1975, 136, 50: 9–12) l. 448 µm, w. 32.4 µm, i. 28.8 µm, t. 22.4 µm. lake; winter and rainy 1997; rare to few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iv 57 plate 4 figs. 33–34. pleurotaenium trabecula, 35. pl. trabecula var. maximum fa. constrictum, 36. pl. trabecula var. elongatum, 37. pl. ehrenbergii var. chrenbergii, 38–39. pl. subcoronulatum, 40. pl. ehrenbergii var. elongatum, 41. pl. ehrenbergii var. undulatum, 42–43. pl. kayei, 44. pl. kayei var. ovoideum, 45. spondylosium sp., 46. sphaerozosma aubertianum [scales = 20 µm]. 58 islam and irfanullah 38. * pl. verrucosum (bail.) lund. var. validum scott and grönbl. (pl. 3, fig. 22) (prescott et al. 1975, 139, 51: 1) l. 275 µm, w. 41.8–58 µm, i. 29.7 µm, t. 23 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. genus: hyalotheca ehrenberg ex ralfs, 1848 39. h. dissiliens (smith) bréb. var. hians wolle (pl. 1, fig. 8) (croasdale et al. 1983, 29, 461: 2–3) l. 12–19 µm, w. 21.6 µm, i. 16.2–17.5 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. 40. h. dissiliens var. tatrica racib. (pl. 1, figs. 7, 9) (croasdale et al. 1983, 29, 461: 4) l. 12–19 µm, w. (10.8–12.8)–21.6 µm, i. (10.2)–16.2–17.5 µm. lake (winter 1996 and 1997; rare to common) and river (spring 1997; common). 41. h. mucosa (mert.) ehr. ex ralfs (islam and irfanullah 1999, 122, 1: 3) lake (autumn 1997; few) and river (spring 1997; common). genus: groenbladia teiling, 1952 42. g. neglecta (racib.) teiling (islam and irfanullah 1998, 93, figs. 1–3) lake (winter 1997) and river (spring 1997); common. 43. g. undulata (nordst.) förster (islam and irfanullah 1998, 95, figs. 4–5) lake; autumn 1997; few. genus: bambusina kützing ex kützing, 1845 44. b. brebissonii kütz. var. brebissonii (pl. 5, fig. 54) (islam 1970, 934, 3: 9–10) l. 24.3–27 µm, w. 16.2–19 µm, t. 12 µm. lake (winter 1996; rare), river (spring 1997; common) and paddy field (autumn 1997; few). genus: teilingia bourrelly, 1964 45. t. exigua (turner) bourrelly (islam and irfanullah 1999, 122, 1: 11) lake; autumn 1997; few. genus sphaerozosma corda ex ralfs, 1848 46. *s. aubertianum west, w. (pl. 4, fig. 46) (croasdale et al. 1983, 2, 448: 1-5) l. 10.8 µm, w. 12-13.5 µm, i. 6.7 µm; a fine horizontal row of pores across the middle of the semicell; mucilage strand from the pore appearing as granules on the lateral margins. lake; autumn 1997; common. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iv 59 plate 5 figs. 47. triploceras gracile var. undulatum, 48. gonatozygon aculeatum, 49. g. pilosum, 50–51. netrium digitus var. lamellosum, 52. onychonema laeve var. laeve, 53. o. laeve var. micracanthum, 54. bambusina brebissonii var. brebissonii, 55. spondylosium javanicum var. javanicum, 56. s. planum var. planum, 57. closterium var. rectimarginatum, 58. cl. raflsii var. gracilius, 59. cl. rostratum var. rostratum [scales, figs. 47–51 = 30 µm, figs. 52–59 = 20 µm]. 60 islam and irfanullah genus: spondylosium brébisson ex kützing, 1849 47. s. javanicum (gutw.) gronblad var. javanicum (pl. 5, fig. 55) (croasdale et al. 1983, 19, 457: 14-15; scott and prescott 1961, 121, 60: 10 as s. nitens (wall.) arch. var. triangulare turner fa. javanicum gutw.). l. 27 µm, w. 24.3 µm, i. 6.7 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 48. s. panduriforme (heim.) teil. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 122, 1: 5–9) lake; autumn 1997; common. 49. s. panduriforme var. panduriforme fa. limneticum (w. & w.) teil. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 122, 1: 10) lake; winter 1996 (few) and spring 1997 (common). 50. s. planum var. planum (wolle) w. & w. (pl. 5, fig. 56) (croasdale et al. 1983, 21, 456: 6–7) l. 8 µm, w. 4 µm, i. 2.7 µm, t. 2.7 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; few. 51. spondylosium sp. (pl. 4, fig. 45) l. 24.3–26.3 µm, w. 28.3–30.4 µm, i. 7.4 µm; warts present on the tips of the arms and at the poles. lake; autumn 1997; rare. genus: onychonema wallich, 1860 52. o. laeve nordst. var. laeve (pl. 5, fig. 52) (croasdale et al. 1983, 13, 452: 6–10) l. cpr. 28.3–31 µm, l. spr. 18.2–21.6 µm, w. csp. 27.7–35.8 µm, w. ssp. 21.6–31 µm, i. 3–8 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 53. o. laeve var. micracanthum nordst. (pl. 5, fig. 53) (croasdale et al. 1983, 14, 453: 7–9) l. 14.8 µm, w. csp. 22.3 µm, i. 6 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. genus: desmidium agardh, 1848 54. d. aptogonum bréb. ex kütz. var. acutius nordst. (pl. 1, figs. 1–2) (croasdale et al. 1983, 39, 463: 7–8) l. 16–19 µm, w. 28.3–35 µm, i. 19–28.3 µm, t. 11.3–24.3 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 55. d. baileyi (ralfs) nordst. var. baileyi (pl. 1, fig. 5) (croasdale et al. 1983, 41, 464: 8–9) l. 21 µm, w. 21.6–23 µm, t. 21.6–23 µm; zygospore dimension 27–29.7 µm x 19– 21.6 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iv 61 56. d. baileyi fa. tetragonum nordst. (islam and irfanullah 1999, 120, 1: 1) lake; winter 1996; few. 57. d. bengalicum turner (pl. 1, fig. 4) (scott and prescott 1961, 124, 62: 12–13; islam 1970, 934, 2: 7 & 7: 6) l. 19 µm, w. 28.3–29.7 µm, ist. 20.2–21.6 µm, t. 12 µm; zygospore 17.5–19 µm × 17.5–21 µm. colonies are embedded in mucilage with ray-like deposition but no spines. river; winter and spring 1997; few to common. 58. d. quadrangulatum ralfs (islam and irfanullah 1999, 122, 1: 2) lake; winter 1996; few. 59. d. swartzii var. ambloydon (itz.) rab. (pl. 1, fig. 3) (islam 1970, 934, 2: 8–9; croasdale et al. 1983, 49, 468: 5–10) l. 16.2 µm, w. 35 µm, i. 29.7–31 µm, t. 24.3 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. acknowledgements we are grateful to a.f.m. badrul alam, the then director, bangladesh tea research institute (btri), srimangal, for providing the logistic, laboratory and other support during this study and also to all his colleagues who extended their help in the laboratory and in supplying necessary information. thanks also due to james finley & co. for the permission to sample its aquatic habitats. references croasdale, h.t., bicudo, c.e.m. and prescott, g.w. 1983. a synopsis of north american desmids. part ii. desmidiaceae : placodermae. sec. 5. the filamentous genera. univ. nebraska press, lincoln and london. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1970. contributions to the knowledge of desmids of east pakistan. part i. nova hedwigia 20: 903-983. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1980. study on triplastrum found in bangladesh with a note on its species. bangladesh j. bot. 9(1): 1-12. islam, a.k.m. nurul and akter, n. 1999. desmids of chittagong, bangladesh. part 2: closterium, docidium, netrium, pleurotaenium and staurastrum. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 1930. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. desmids of bangladesh. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 65(4): 551-604. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1998. new records of three green algal genera for bangladesh: desmatractum, glaucocystis and groenbladia. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 91-95. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1999. new records of desmids for bangladesh. ii. thirteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 28(2): 117-123. 62 islam and irfanullah islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2000. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. i. aquatic macrophytes. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 29-42. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005b. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iii. chlorophyceae (excluding desmids). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 19-37. prescott, g.w., croasdale, h.t. and vinyard, w.c. 1975. a synopsis of north american desmids. part ii. desmidiaceae: placodermae. sec i. univ. nebraska press, lincoln, pp. 275. růžička, j. 1977. die desmidiaceen mitteleuropas. band 1; 1 lief. e. schw. verlagsb., stuttgart, pp. 291 + pls. 1-44. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1958. some freshwater algae from arnhem land in the northern territory of australia. rec. american-australian sci. expn. to arnhem land (part 2) 3: 8-136. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1961. indonesian desmids. hydrobiologia 17(1-2): 1-132 + pls. 63. smith, g.m. 1924. phytoplankton of the inland lakes of wisconsin. part ii. desmidiaceae. wisconsin geol. & nat. hist. surv. bull. 57(part ii): 1-227, pls. 52-88 + text figs. 1-17. a. k. m. nurul islam* and haseeb md. irfanullah1 introduction microsoft word 10. oliur.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 83-90, 2009 (june) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. i. liliopsida (monocots) ershad tutul, md. zashim uddin, md. oliur rahman1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. keywords: angiosperm; monocots; runctia sal forest. abstract this paper presents 49 plant species belonging to 38 genera and 13 families of the division liliopsida (monocots) from runctia sal forest in sherpur district, bangladesh. the update nomenclature, habit, habitat and representative specimen have been provided for each species. important synonyms and local names have also been furnished, wherever available. introduction the runctia sal forest with an area of 3363.93 ha is located at about 32 km north of sherpur district headquarters. the forest area bears hills and hillocks of varying heights (max. about 160 m) intercepted by narrow depressions of valleys. hills are located on the north and the low lands are situated on the south side of forest area. about half of the runctia forest land falls under the deep red brown terrace soil type (khan, 2005). the temperature of this area ranges from minimum 10.7ºc (january) to maximum 33.3ºc (may) and humidity varies from 74% to 89% throughout the year (bangladesh meteorological department, personal communication). runctia sal forest consists of three beats, namely, runctia (752.49 ha), gazni (1578.69 ha), and tawakocha (1032.75 ha). the vegetation of the runctia forest area is a little bit different from those of madhupur and other sal forest areas of bangladesh (alam, 1995). the floristic composition of sal forests in bangladesh has so far received little attention (ismail and mia, 1973; rashid et al., 1995; rahman, 2004). although the runctia sal forest area supports a luxuriant growth of angiospermic flora and plays an important role in the local economy, environment and traditional health care system, no systematic study was conducted in this sal forest till date. therefore, a study has been undertaken with a view to prepare an inventory of angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest and to facilitate undertaking possible measures for conservation for the rare, threatened and endangered species. this communication presents plant species belonging to the division liliopsida (monocots) from runctia sal forest. materials and methods the present study area includes hill tops, hill slopes, forest floors, forest margins, streams, swamps and plain lands of runctia sal forest areas from where fresh plant materials were collected through repeated field trips during the years of 2007 and 2008. 1corresponding author. e-mail: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 84 tutul et al. the collected specimens were identified at dhaka university herbarium (duh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). in some cases, standard literature, such as hooker (1888-1897) and prain (1903) were consulted for identification of the species. jackson (1893-1955), khan (1972-1987), huq (1986) and some other literature and journals have been consulted for bringing the names up-to-date. the collected specimens were mounted and deposited in duh for future reference. the families have been arranged according to cronquist (1981). the genera and the species are arranged in an alphabetical order. for each species, the nomenclature has been brought updated and the local name (if available), short description, habitat and one representative specimen have been provided. systematic enumeration in the present investigation, a total of 49 monocot species under 38 genera and 13 families have been recorded from runctia sal forest. poaceae is the largest family possessing 12 genera and 12 species, and orchidaceae comes to the second largest with 6 genera and 6 species. among the genera, dioscorea appears as the largest genus comprising 6 species. 1. arecaceae calamus tenuis roxb., fl. ind. 3: 780 (1832). local name: jalibet. a scandent rattan. on forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 17 (duh). 2. araceae amorphophallus bulbifer (roxb.) bl., rumphia 1: 148 (1837). amorphophallus tuberculiger (schott) engl. (1879). a herb with globose corms. on shady and moist areas. representative specimen: gazni, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 300 (duh). colocasia esculenta (l.) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot.: 18 (1832). arum esculenta l. (1753). local name: kochu. a perennial herb. on shady areas. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 07 (duh). raphidophora calophyllum schott, bonplandia 5: 45 (1857). raphidophora lancifolia schott (1857). a sub-parasitic climber. on the hill slopes and shady areas. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 43 (duh). angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 85 3. commelinaceae commelina erecta l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). commelina kurzii c. b. clarke (1870). an erect, perennial herb. near the swamp. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 133 (duh). commelina paludosa bl., enum. pl. jav. 1: 2 (1827). commelina obliqua buch.-ham. ex d. don (1825). an erect, stout herb. on the forest edges and near the swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 358 (duh). murdannia scapiflora (roxb.) royle, illus. bot. himal.: 403, t. 95 (1839). commelina scapiflora roxb. (1832). a perennial herb. on the forest floors. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 401 (duh). 4. cyperaceae cyperus cyperoides (l.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 3(2): 333 (1898). mariscus sieberianus nees ex c. b. clarke (1893). a perennial herb. on the wet areas. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 171 (duh). cyperus difformis l., cent. pl. 2: 6 (1756). cyperus goeringii steud. (1855). an annual herb. near the swamps. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 148 (duh). cyperus exaltatus retz., obs. bot. 5: 11 (1789). cyperus altus nees (1834). a perennial herb. near the swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 172 (duh). cyperus laxus lamk., iii. gen. 1: 146 (1791). cyperus nigro-viridis thw. (1864). a perennial herb. on the hill top and near the swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 04 (duh). kyllinga brevifolia rottb., descr. icon. rar. nov. pl.: 13, t. 4, f. 3 (1773). cyperus brevifolius (rottb.) hassk. (1884). a perennial herb. on the edges and near the swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 157 (duh). 5. poaceae axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 12: 154 (1812). agrostis compressa (sw.) poir. (1810). a rhizomatous, perennial grass. on the forest edges. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 84 (duh). 86 tutul et al. bambusa tulda roxb., fl. ind. 2: 193 (1832). bambusa longispiculata gamble ex brandis (1906). local name: mitinga bash. a clump forming bamboo. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 153 (duh). chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin., fund. agrost. : 188 (1820). andropogon javanicus steud. (1854). a creeping, perennial herb. on the forest edge. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 131 (duh). cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., syn. pl. 1: 85 (1805). cynodon glabratus steud. (1854). local name: durba. a mat-forming, perennial grass. on open, moist or dry places. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2007, ershad tutul 40 (duh). eragrostis unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud., syn. pl. glum. 1: 264 (1854). eragrostis rubens (lamk.) hochst. ex miq. (1851). an annual or perennial grass. on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 158 (duh). gigantochloa andamanica kurz, forest fl. brit. burma 2: 556 (1877). bambusa andamanica kurz (1870). local name: kalibans. a closely clumped, sympodial bamboo. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 122 (duh). imperata cylindrica (l.) beauv. var. latifolia (hook. f.) c. e. hubb., imp. agri. bur. jt. pub. no. 7: 14 (1944). imperata arundinacea var. latifolia hook. f. (1896). a perennial, rhizomatous herb. on the forest edges and near swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 318 (duh). pogonatherum paniceum (lamk.) hack., allg. bot. zeit. 12: 178 (1906). an annual or perennial herb. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 128 (duh). saccharum spontaneum l., mant. alt. : 183 (1771). saccharum propinquum steud. (1855). local name: kash. a rhizomatous, perennial herb. near the swamps and on the edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 362 (duh). setaria glauca (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 51: 169 (1812). pennisetum typhoides (burm. f.) stapf & c. e. hubb. (1933). an annual herb. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 83 (duh). sporobolus diander (retz.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. : 26, 147, 178 (1812). vilfa retzii steud. (1841). angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 87 a slender, perennial herb. near the swamps and on edges of forest. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 13 (duh). thysanolaena maxima (roxb.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 794 (1891). thysanolaena acarifera (trin.) wight & arn. (1841). a perennial, tall herb. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 129 (duh). 6. zingiberaceae curcuma latifolia rosc. in trans. linn. soc. lond. 8: 3 (1807). a rhizomatous herb. on the hill top. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 50 (duh). curcuma aromatica salisp. in parad. lond. 2 : t. 96 (1803). local name: bon haldi. a leafy, rhizomatous herb. on the shady forest floors. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 05 (duh). curcuma zedoaria (christm.) rosc. in trans. linn. soc. lond. 8: 354 (1807). curcuma zerumbet roxb. (1810). local name: shoti. a rhizomatous herb. on the hill slopes and forest floors. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 347 (duh). globba orixensis roxb., asiat. res. 11: 358 (1810). an annual, small, rhizomatous herb. on shady areas. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 14 (duh). 7. costaceae cheilocostus speciosus (j. koenig) c. d. specht in c. d. specht, taxon 55(1): 159 (2006). costus speciosus (j. koenig) smith (1791). a tall herb. on the edges of forest and shady areas. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 262 (duh). 8. marantaceae maranta arundinacea l., sp. pl.: 2 (1753). maranta sylvatica roscoe ex j. e. smith (1819). a herb with creeping rootstock. on high humid and shady places. representative specimen: tawakocha, 28.10.2007, ershad tutul 270 (duh). 9. pontederiaceae monochoria hastata (l.) solms in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 523 (1883). monochoria hastaefolia presl (1827). 88 tutul et al. a perennial, robust herb. near the swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 93 (duh). 10. liliaceae crinum asiaticum l., sp. pl.: 419 (1753). crinum toxicarium roxb. (1832). a perennial herb. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 367 (duh). chlorophytum nepalense (lindley) baker, journ. linn. soc. 15: 330 (1876). chlorophytum khasianum hook. f. (1892). a perennial herb. on the shady hill top. representative specimen: runctia, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 205 (duh). note: this species has been reported very recently as a new record for bangladesh (tutul et al., 2008). curculigo orchioides gaertn., fruct. 1: 63, t. 16 (1788). curculigo brevifolia dryand. (1811). a slender herb. on the forest floors. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 20 (duh). molineria recurvata (dryand.) herb., amaryll.: 84 (1834). curculigo capitulata (lour.) o. kuntze (1891). a large herb. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 199 (duh). pancratium verecundum ait., hort. kew. 1: 412 (1810). a perennial, bulbolous herb. on the hill top. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 198 (duh). 11. smilacaceae smilax perfoliata lour., fl. cochinch.: 622 (1790). smilax prolifera roxb. (1832). local name: kumarilata. a large climber. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 15.05.2007, ershad tutul 11 (duh). 12. dioscoreaceae dioscorea bulbifera l., sp. pl.: 1033 (1753). dioscorea pulchella roxb. (1832). a large climber. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 333 (duh). dioscorea esculenta (lour.) burkill, gard. bull. straits settl. 1: 396 (1917). dioscorea fasiculata roxb. (1832). angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest 89 a climber. near the swamps. representative specimen: gazni, 25.05.2007, ershad tutul 254 (duh). dioscorea hispida dennst., hort. ind. malabar: 33 (1818). dioscorea daemona roxb. (1832). a twining climber. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 305 (duh). dioscorea kamoonensis kunth, enum. pl. 5: 395 (1850). dioscorea triphylla wall. (1832). a climber. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 16.05.2008, ershad tutul 302 (duh). dioscorea oppositifolia l., sp. pl.: 1033 (1753). dioscorea oppositifolia l. var. meeboldtii prain & burkill (1939). a twining herb. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 25.05.2007, ershad tutul 253 (duh). dioscorea pentaphylla l., sp. pl.: 1032 (1753). dioscorea triphylla l. (1753). a twining herb. on the hill slopes. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2008, ershad tutul 338 (duh). 13. orchidaceae aerides multiflora roxb., pl. corom. 3: 68, t. 271 (1820). aerides multiflora roxb. var. dactyloides mokter et al. (1989). a perennial epiphyte. occurs on trunk and branch of lagerstroemia species. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 54 (duh). bulbophyllum lilacinum ridl., journ. linn. soc. 32: 276 (1896). a perennial epiphyte. common on ficus species. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 78 (duh). cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw., nov. act. soc. upsal. 6: 73 (1799). cymbidium erectum wight (1851). a perennial epiphyte. most common on dillenia species. representative specimen: gazni, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 95 (duh). dendrobium macrostachyum lindl., gen. sp. orch. pl.: 78 (1830). dendrobium gamblei king & pantl. 15: 584 (1897). an epiphytic herb. common on lagerstroemia species. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 51 (duh). papilionanthe teres (roxb.) schltr., orchis 9: 78 (1915). vanda teres (roxb.) lindl. (1833). 90 tutul et al. a perennial, scrambling epiphyte. on hill slopes. representative specimen: runctia, 17.05.2007, ershad tutul 53 (duh). geodorum densiflorum (lamk.) schltr., feddes report. 4: 259 (1929). limnodorum densiflorum lamk. (1792). an annual, terrestrial herb. common on hill tops and shady areas. representative specimen: gazni, 18.05.2007, ershad tutul 183 (duh). references alam, m.k. 1995. diversity in the woody flora of sal (shorea robusta) forests of bangladesh. bang. journ. forest science 24(1): 41-51. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, 1-1262 pp. hooker, j.d. 1888-1897. the flora of british india, vols 5-7. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. huq, a.m. 1986. plant names of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, pp. 1-289. ismail, m. and mia, m.m.k. 1973. studies on some deciduous sal forests of bangladesh. ecology of bangladesh vegetation. botanical survey of bangladesh, ecology section. botany department, dhaka university, pp. 79-103. jackson, b.d. 1893-1955. index kewensis. vols 1 & 2. oxford. khan, a.h. 2005. yearbook of agricultural statistics of bangladesh-2004. bangladesh bureau of statistics, ministry of planning, bangladesh. khan, m.s. (ed.) 1972-1987. flora of bangladesh, nos. 1-39. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols 1 & 2 (ind. repr. 1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. rahman, m.m. 2004. floral diversity of grasses and sedges in sal (shorea robusta gaertn.) forests of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 61-67. rashid. s.h., rahman, m.m. and hossain, a.b.m.e. 1995. an inventory of the undergrowth resources in chandra sal forest at gazipur, bangladesh. jahangirnagar univ. j. sc. 20: 87-96. tutul, e., afroz, s., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2008. chlorophytum nepalense (lindley) baker (liliaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 193-194. (manuscript received on 1 march 2009; revised on 16 april 2009) microsoft word 08. glochidion talakonense galley proof_approved 13.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 59-63, 2016 (june) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists glochidion talakonense sp. nov. (phyllanthaceae) from seshachalam biosphere reserve, andhra pradesh, india m. sankara rao1, j. swamy2, s. nagaraju2, s.b. padal3, m. tarakeswara naidu3, k. chandramohan2 and t. thulasiah4 botanical survey of india, sikkim himalayan regional centre, gangtok, sikkim737103, india keywords: glochidion talakonense; new species; phyllanthaceae; andhra pradesh; india. abstract glochidion talakonense m. sankara rao, j. swamy, s. nagaraju, s.b. padal, m. tarakeswara naidu, k. chandramohan & t. thulasiah, a new species of phyllanthaceae from talakona hills, seshachalam biosphere reserve, andhra pradesh, india, is described and illustrated. it is allied to g. karnaticum chakrab. & m. gangop., but differs from the latter by stamens, ovary, style and fruit characters. introduction the seshachalam hills, spread in chittoor and kadapa districts of andhra pradesh, were declared as biosphere reserve by government of india in 2010. the reserve lies between the latitudes of 130 38′′and 130 55′′ n and the longitudes of 790 07′′ and 790 24′′ e with an area of c. 4755.99 sq. km. the vegetation of the reserve is chiefly southern dry mixed deciduous forests, dry deciduous scrub, dry savannah, red sander forests and hardwickia forests (champion and seth, 1968). a total of 1756 species of flowering plants belonging to 176 families are estimated to occur in this area (sudhakar, 2012). the hill ranges vary in elevation from 400 to 1370 m with an average altitude of 700 m above sea level. the genus glochidion j.r. forst & g. forst. is represented by c. 320 species distributed in tropical asia to northern australia and polynesia, a few species in madagascar and tropical america (chakrabarty and gangopadhyay, 1995, 2012; balakrishnan and chakrabarty, 2007). in india, the genus is represented by c. 22 species and 8 varieties, of which 3 species and one variety are reported from andhra pradesh (babu, 1997; chakrabraty and gangopadhyay, 1995, 2012). recently, one new species was described from the seshachalam hills (rasingam et al., 2014). while exploring the talakona area of seshachalam biosphere reserve, the authors collected an interesting species of glochidion, which on critical observations showed conspicuous differences from all other known species of the genus. the same is therefore described and illustrated here as a new species glochidion talakonense sp. nov. and compared with the allied g. karnaticum chakrab. & m. gangop. glochidion talakonense m. sankara rao, j. swamy, s. nagaraju, s.b. padal, m. tarakeswara naidu, k. chandramohan & t. thulasiah sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: glochidion talakonense is allied to g. karnaticum chakrab. & m. gangop., but differ in the asymmetric-rounded leaf-base, 5 stamens, 6-locular ovary and capsules and the longer columnar style, inflexed at apex (table 1). 1corresponding author. email: mudadlas@gmail.com 2botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad – 500048, telangana, india. 3department of botany, andhra university, visakhapatnam, andhra pradesh, india. 4s.l.v.garden & landscape developers, tirupati, andhra pradesh, india. 60 rao et al.   type: india. andhra pradesh, chittoor dist.,talakona hills (130 48′43.7′′ n & 790 13′ 05.5′′ e), 852 m, 16 apr 2014, m. sankara rao & party, 4465 (holotype: cal; isotypes: bsid); ibid.,9 sep 2014, m. sankara rao & party 5503 (paratypes: bsid). trees, up to 7 m high; branches spreading; branchlets terete, puberulous when young, glabrescent at maturity, greenish-yellow. leaves oblong to oblong-elliptic, 4.0-12.5 x 2.5-6.2 cm, asymmetric-rounded at base, entire, acuminate at apex, thinly coriaceous, glabrous, green above, glaucous beneath; lateral veins 7-8 pairs, prominent on both sides; petioles 4-5 x c. 2 mm, glabrous; stipules subulate, 1-2 mm long, puberulous. inflorescences axillary, sessile, fascicled, 8many-flowered, unisexual or bisexual. male flowers: up to 18 in each fascicle, c. 2.0 x 1.8 mm, brownish-pink; pedicels filiform, up to 4 mm long; tepals 3+3, free, unequal, spreading and recurved, puberulous outside, glabrous inside; outer ones 1.8 x 1.3 mm, ovate, acute at apex; inner ones 1.8-2.0 x c. 1 mm, elliptic-oblong, rounded at apex; stamens 5; anthers connate into an oblong mass, c. 0.8 x 0.6 mm, connectives c. 0.3 x 0.3 mm; anther thecae linear, longitudinally dehiscent. female flowers: many in each fascicle, 4 -5 x 4.5-4.7 mm, greenish with purple tinge; pedicels 2-4 mm long; tepals 3+3, free or occasionally shortly connate at base, unequal, tawnypuberulous on both surfaces; outer ones 1.8-2.2 x 1.6-1.8 mm, ovate, acute at apex; inner ones 1.42.0 x 0.8-1.2 mm, oblong, rounded or acute at apex; ovary subglobose, c. 2.3 x 2.6 mm, glabrous or puberulous, 6-locular, locules biovulate; styles columnar, inflexed at apex, c. 2.3 x 0.9 mm; apical lobes 6, linear or triangular, tawny-puberulous. fruits capsular, 6-7 x 8-9 mm, shallowly lobed, slightly depressed, glabrous or puberulous. seeds 12, glabrous. phenology: flowering & fruiting: april september. etymology: the species is named after the type locality, “talakona”, a famous water fall in seshachalam biosphere reserve in chittoor district of andhra pradesh. habitat: along waterfalls in moist deciduous forests at about 852 m elevation growing in association with allophylus cobbe, syzygium alternifolium and phoenix loureiroi. table 1. morphological comparison of glochidion talakonense sp. nov. and its allied g. karnaticum. characters glochidion talakonense sp. nov. glochidion karnaticum leaves asymmetric-rounded at base acute at base petioles 4-5 × c.2.2 mm 2-3 x 1.0-1.5 mm male pedicels up to 4 mm long 7-10 mm long male tepals unequal, outer ones ovate, 2.3-2.6 × 1.5-1.7 mm; inner ones elliptic-oblong, 1.8-2.0 × 0.9-1.0 mm equal, oblong, elliptic-ovate, 1-2 × 0.5-1.0 mm anthers 5 3 female pedicels 2-4 mm long c. 2 mm long. female tepals unequal, outer ones ovate, 1.8-2.2 × 1.6-1.85 mm; inner ones oblong, 1.4 -2.0 × 0.8-1.2 mm equal, oblong, 1.0-1.5 × c. 0.5 mm ovary 6-locular, 2.0-2.6 mm in diameter 4-locular, c.1 mm in diameter style columnar, inflexed at apex, c. 2.3 × 0.9 mm columnar, c.1 × 0.4 mm fruits 6 -7 × 8-9 mm, 6-locular 2-3 × 4-5 mm, 4-locular glochidion talakonense sp. nov. (phyllanthaceae) 61   fig. 1. glochidion talakonense, sp. nov. a. flowering branch; b. inflorescence; c. male flower; d. female flower; e. gynoecium; f. t.s. of ovary; g-h. fruits. 62 rao et al.   fig. 2. glochidion talakonense, sp. nov. a. habit; b. adaxial and abaxial view of leaves; c. inflorescence (mixed); d. male inflorescence; e. female inflorescence; f. fruits; g. male flower; h. female flower; i. androecium; j. gynoecium; k. t. s. of ovary. (from type specimen) glochidion talakonense sp. nov. (phyllanthaceae) 63   conservation status: glochidion talakonense is a local endemic and so far known only from its type locality with nearly five [criteria d] mature individuals. as it is known from a single location [criteria b(a)], the extent of occurrence, eoo [criteria b1] and area of occupancy, aoo [criteria b2] is calculated as 4 km2 by taking the minimum grid size of 2 km2. the quality of habitat is declining [criteria b(b-iii)] due to climate change and high anthropogenic pressure through tourism. in view of the above, by applying iucn red listing criteria and guidelines (iucn, 2012) the threat perspective of this species has been assessed as “critically endangered” [cr b1ab (iii)+2ab(iii); d]. habitat management and propagation studies are suggested conservation measures for this species. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the director, botanical survey of india, kolkata and scientist incharge, botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad for providing facilities and to the forest department officials, government of andhra pradesh for permission and logistic support during field surveys. thanks are due to dr. d.k. agrawala, scientist in-charge, botanical survey of india, sikkim himalayan regional centre, gangtok for encouragements and valuable suggestions and to dr. t. chakrabarty, ex scientist, botanical survey of india for suggesting the alliance. references babu, s.p.1997. euphorbiaceae in: pullaiah, t. and ali moulali, d. (eds), flora of andhra pradesh (india) 2: 836–890. scientific publishers, jodhpur, india. balakrishnan, n.p. and chakrabarty, t. 2007. the family euphorbiaceae in india a synopsis of its profile, taxonomy and bibliography. bishen singh, mahendrapal singh, dehradun, india, pp. 1–500. chakrabarty, t. and gangopadhyay, m. 1995. the genus glochidion (euphorbiaceae) in the indian subcontinent. j. econ. taxon. bot 19: 173–234. chakrabarty, t. and gangopadhyay, m. 2012. glochidion. in balakrishan, n.p, chakrabarty, t., sanjappa, m., lakshminarasimhan, p. and singh, p. (eds), flora of india, 23:87–511 botanical survey of india, kolkata. champion, h.g. and seth, s.k. 1968. a revised survey of the forest types of india. manager of publications, new delhi, pp. 1–404. iucn. 2012. iucn red list categories and criteria: version 3.1. second edition. gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk: iucn. iv + 32 pp. rasingam, l., chorghe, a.r., prasanna, p.v. and sankara rao, m. 2014. glochidion tirupathiense (phyllanthaceae) a new species from seshachalam biosphere reserve of andhra pradesh, india. taiwania 59(1): 9–12. sudhakar, g. 2012. seshachalam biosphere reserve – deccan south, india. in: palni, l.m.s. and rawal, r.s. (eds), compendium on indian biosphere reserve, progression during two decades of conservation. ministry of environment & forests, new delhi. pp. 178–183. (manuscript received on 24 november 2015; revised on 13 january 2016) microsoft word s-1_amorphallus.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 201-203, 2012 (december) short communication © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new amorphophallus species (araceae) from vietnam xun gong1 and heng li key laboratory of biodiversity and biogeography, kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, kunming, yunnan 650201, china keywords: amorphophallus candidissimus; new species; vietnam; araceae. the genus amorphophallus blume ex decne. (araceae) consists of about 200 species described from paleotropical region, including west to east africa, south and south-east to east asia, north australia and pacific islands (li and hetterscheid, 2010). many new species of amorphophallus from tropical asia, africa and madagascar have been published in the recent years (ittenbach and lobin, 1997; bogner, 2003; hetterscheid, 2011; hetterscheid et al., 2012). there are about 16 species of amorphophallus in the forest and hilly areas from the north to the south of vietnam [botany research and development group of vietnam (bvngroup), www.botanyvn.com]. during a field work in vietnam in 2004, a species belonging to the genus amorphophallus was collected which did not match with any known species of the genus. after critical examination the species has been described as a new species amorphophallus candidissimus. it has been introduced in the kunming botanical garden of the chinese academy of sciences, china and is growing well. after 5 years of observation we collected the inflorescence from the living plant in the garden for description. the new species amorphophallus candidissimus is described and photographs of different parts of the species are given. the morphological similarities of the newly described species with other species are also discussed. amorphophallus candidissimus x. gong et h. li，sp. nov. (fig. 1) type: china. yunnan: cultivated at kunming botanical garden, chinese academy of sciences [introduced from cuc phuong national park，nhoquan district, ninhbinh province vietnam, 15 dec. 2004. inflorescence: 22 jun. 2011; leaf: 9 oct. 2011], xun gong 37521 (kun, spiritcoll., holotype!) diagnosis: amorphophalli muelleri blume (amorphophalli erubescenti hett.) similis sed tubere dense verrucoso, folii lamina sine bulbilis, spatha candida, base intra laevigata, late infundibulari, 9 cm longa, spadice breviore, appendice alba, ovate-conica, 5 cm longa et 2.5 cm diametro differt. tuber depressed globose, slightly brown outside, white inside, surface densely verrucose, 3-5 cm high, 7-9 cm in diam. at the top, no offset development. leaf solitary; petiole terete, 27 cm long, 1 cm in diam., smooth, uniformly pale brown with a few pale whitish oblong, with sparse elliptic spots; lamina lacking bulbils : upper side green, and lower side pale green with reddish veins, c. 40 cm in diam. divided into three main branches; main branches equally long; rachises once pseudodichotomously branched，naked; leaflets elliptic, elliptic-oblanceolate, 4-14 cm long, 2.5-5.5 cm wide, apex acuminate, base asymmetric and decurrent on one side, margin entire. inflorescence long peduncled; peduncle 21 cm long, 11 mm in diam, smooth, slight brown, with scattered elliptical, whitish spots; spots c. 1-21 x 1-9 mm; spathe erect, wide infundibuliforum upperward, base convolute, without constriction in between the basal and upper portions, inner 1corresponding author. email: gongxun@mail.kib.ac.cn 202  gong and li  fig. 1. amorphophallus candidissimus x. gong et h. li，sp. nov., a. plant with tuber and leaf; b. leaf-lamina view from top; c. tuber with warts; d. tuber with young vegetative shoot; e. vertical section of tuber; f. top-view of tuber; g. tuber with inflorescence spathe removed; h. basal part of petiole and cataphyll; i. inflorescence; j. inflorescence showing abaxial side of spathe; k. detached spathe abaxial side; l. female zone of spadix; m. male zone of spadix; n. appendix of spadix; o. female flower cross section of ovary, and longitrdinol section. a new amorphophallus species (araceae) 203 and outer sides white, smooth, no spots outside, base within without small warts, 9 cm long, 8.5 cm wide (when expanded), apex cuspidate with blunt tip, margin entire. spadix sessile, leviter, longer than spathe, 10 cm long; female zone light pink, cylindric, c. 10 mm long, c. 15 mm in diam., flowers congested; male zone white, obconic c. 2.4 cm long, lower part c. 1.2 cm in diam, upper part c. 2.1 cm in diam., flowers congested; naked zone between female and male zones white, smooth, 3-4 mm long; appendix ovate-conoid, white, base smooth, without warts, c. 5 cm long, c. 2.5 cm in diam., smooth. female flowers white, ovary subglobose, c. 2.5 mm high, c. 2.5 mm in diam., bilocular; stigma sessile, black, shallowly 3-lobed. male flowers consisting of 2-3 thecae; each c. 1.5 mm long; filaments c. 1 mm long, fused entirely, whitish; thecae c. 0.5 mm long, 1.0-1.5 mm in diam., whitish, pores apical. pollen psilate. distribution and habitat: only known from the type locality, cuc phuong national park，nho quan district, ninh binh province, vietnam, ca 550-600 m above the sea level, around 20°21'29'' n, 105°35'22'' e, it grows in rock crevices, and mossy tree trunk. etytmology: the species epithet refers to the white colour of the inflorescence, spathe and the spadix. notes: amorphophallus candidissimus somewhat is related to amorphophallus muelleri blume from tropical asia (from andamans eastward through myanmar into northern thailand south-eastward on sumatra, java, and timor), but differs in having tuber with numerous succulent warts, the leaf lamina lacking bulbils, the spathe infundibulate, white on both sides without any spots, base within without warts, wide infundibulate upper ward, without constriction in between, 9 cm long, 8.5 cm wide, the naked zone between female and male zones at spadix present, white, smooth, 3-4 mm long; the appendix ovate-conical, white, 5 cm long, 2.5 cm in diam. acknowledgment we are grateful to professor wu sugong and dr. xiang jiangying for their help in field investigation. we are also grateful to dr. yue liangliang and niu yang for the photographs. references bogner j. 2003. a new amorphophallus species (araceae) from madagascar. willdenowia 33: 299-303. hetterscheid, w.l.a. 2011. notes on the genus amorphophallus (araceae). 2. new species from tropical asia. blumea 39: 237-281. hetterscheid, w.l.a., wistuba, a., amoroso, v.b., medecilo, m.p. and claudel, c. 2012. amorphophallus natolii (araceae), a new species from limestone on palawan, philippines. botanical studies 53: 415-420. ittenbach, s. and lobin, w. 1997. notes on the genus amorphophallus (araceae). 6. six new species and two new subspecies from africa. willdenowia 27: 147-160. li, h. and hetterscheid, w.l.a. 2010. amorphophallus. in: wu，z.y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.y.（eds), flora of china, vol. 23 (acoraceae through cyperaceae). science press, beijing, & missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 23-33. (manuscript received on 22 november 2011; revised on 30 april 2012) microsoft word 09. 54 bjpt 16 -54_editmk.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 175-180, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists didymodon mongolicus (bryophyta, pottiaceae), a new species from mongolian plateau dong-ping zhao1, tong-rui zhang, xue-liang bai and dong-mei ren department of biology, school of life science, inner mongolia university, west college road 235, hohhot 010021, china keywords: china; didymodon; mongolia; moss; taxonomy. abstract didymodon mongolicus d. p. zhao &t. r. zhang is described as a new species from northern china and mongolia. the new taxon is distinguished from others species of the genus by its small, ovate leaves, weakly recurved margins, smooth laminal cells and costa ending several cells below the apex, with 1 layer of ventral stereids in the lower part of the leaf. drawings and light microscope photographs of the main characters are given, and its relationships with some closely related species within the genus are discussed. introduction the genus didymodon hedw. (pottiaceae) currently consists of 126 species with distribution nearly throughout the world (zander, 1993; 2007). the genus concept of didymodon has been controversial, especially the morphological delimitation of didymodon versus barbula hedw. the taxonomic differences between the two genera are mainly on gametophytic characteristics: barbula has entirely hyaline axillary hairs, while in didymodon the hairs have one or two brown basal cells. the leaves of barbula are ovate to long-elliptical, the basal cells are hyaline, elongate and well differentiated, while those of didymodon are mostly lanceolate to long-lanceolate, the basal cells are usually green, shortly rectangular and little differentiated (saito, 1975; zander, 1993, 2007; jiménez et al., 2005; werner et al., 2005; jiménez, 2006). recently, jiménez et al. (2012) described andina j.a. jiménez & m.j. cano as a new genus, which contained several species earlier recognized within pseudocrossidium r.s. williams and didymodon. andina and didymodon both have brown basal cells in axillary hairs; however, andina can be easily distinguished from the latter by the cucullate leaf apices, strongly recurved to revolute leaves with margins infolded in the apex, ventral costal outgrowths differentiated as pads of bulging and papillose cells, filaments or lamellae, and upper laminal cells usually bulging on both surfaces. mongolian plateau is divided politically and geographically by mongolia in the north and the inner mongolia autonomous region of china in the south. didymodon is the most species-rich genus in the pottiaceae in this region and includes 30 species (bai, 1997; tsegmed, 2010; zhao et al., 2014, 2015). over the last several years we have been studying didymodon of the mongolian plateau (e.g., zhao 2010; zhao et al. 2013, 2014, 2015). in the course of this work we found that several specimens fit into the generic concept of didymodon based on the presence of stem sclerodermis, axillary hairs with one brownish basal cells, costa with ventral and dorsal stereids, upper laminal cells rounded, subquadrate or oval, and basal cells little differentiated. nevertheless, they were not referable to any known didymodon species. after studying the types deposited in h and je herbaria and after comparison between the specimens with published information (saito, 1975; zander, 1993; zander and ochyra, 2001; li et al. 2001; jiménez et al., 2005; jiménez,                                                              1 corresponding author. email: topalizdp@aliyun.com 176 zhao et al. 2006; zander, 2007; kučera and ignatov, 2015), we conclude that our samples belong to an undescribed species of didymodon, which is described, illustrated and compared with the most closely related species in the study. didymodon mongolicus d. p. zhao &t. r. zhang, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: didymodon mongolicus is differentiated from other species in the genus by the following combination of characters: small sized, ovate leaves, weakly recurved margins up to 3/4 of the apex, smooth laminal cells, costa ending below the apex and cross-section of the costa with1 layer of ventral stereids in the lower part of the leaf. type: china. inner mongolia autonomous region, helan mountain national nature reserve, xuelingzi valley, 38°39'54" n, 105°47'25" e,1900 m, on soil in juniperus communis l. forests, 1 aug. 2012, x. l. bai1459 (holotype: himc; isotypes: kun). plants small, 0.5-0.9 cm high, green above, brownish below, in dense turfs. stems erect, simple or branched, transverse section rounded, sclerodermis present, without hyalodermis, central strand differentiated. rhizoidal tubers absent. leaves monomorphic, appressed when dry, erectpatent to spreading when moist, ovate, not keeled, 0.5-1.0 × 0.3-0.5 mm; lamina unistratose, yellowish green with koh; apex acuminate, not deciduous; margins entire, weakly recurved from base to 3/4 of the leaf, unistratose. costa single, ending several cells below the apex; ventral cells of the costa, in the upper middle of the leaf, rectangular to subquadrate, dorsal cells of the costa, in the upper middle of the leaf, rounded or subquadrate; 5-7 rows of cells across ventrally at midleaf; costal transverse section elliptical at leaf base, with 4 guide cells in 1 layer, 1 layer of ventral stereids, 1-2 layers of dorsal stereids, without hydroids, ventral epidermis differentiated, not bulging, smooth, dorsal epidermis differentiated, papillose or smooth. upper and middle laminal cells rounded, subquadrate or oval, 7.8-10.4 × 7.2-9.6 µm, smooth, lightly thick-walled; basal cells quadrate or shortly rectangular,10.4-15.6 × 10.4-13.0 µm, not differentiated, not hyaline, smooth, thick-walled, not pitted. gemmae absent. sexual condition unknown. sporophyte unknown. etymology: named after the type locality, mongolian plateau. habitat and distribution: didymodon mongolicus grows on soil and rocks in juniperus communis forests. it forms small and mostly monospecific patches. besides the type locality, we discovered four additional populations from inner mongolia and ones from mongolia. the new species seems to be restricted to the mongolian plateau, but it is likely to be found elsewhere in this large plateau with progress in field studies. paratypes: china. inner mongolia autonomous region: helan mountain national nature reserve, xuelingzi valley, 1 aug. 2012, x. l. bai1452 (himc); baotou city, bayan-obo mining district, 5 aug. 2013, d. m. ren201308085 (himc); ordos city, jungar banner, 1 july 2005, x. l. bais.n. (himc); mausoleum of genghis khan, 27 oct. 2008, x. l. bai0810001 (himc); xingan league, bailang town, 31 july 1988, x. l. bai1636 (himc); mongolia. bayankhongor province: 13 june 1971, n. s. golubkova and u. tsogt 5 (himc, uba); töv province: 29 june 1974, n. s. golubkova and u. tsogt 111 (himc, uba); khovd province: 24 july 1984, ts. tsegmed 9045 (himc, uba). note: didymodon mongolicus is most closely related to d. tectorum (müll. hal.) k. saito and d. cordatus jur., sharing such charateristics as the shape of the leaves, yellowish green colour of the lamina with koh reaction, rectangular to subquadrate ventral cells of costa above midleaf, and growing in dry soil and rock. in fact the small forms of d. tectorum, which lack gemmae cannot be easily distinguished from the new species. didymodon mongolicus can be separated readily from d. tectorum by its leaf margins weakly recurved from base to 3/4 of the leaf (fig. 2: a, f), didymodon mongolicus , a new species 177 cells smooth above midleaf (fig. 2: c, d, h, i), and transverse section of costa with 1 layer of ventral stereids (fig. 2: e, j). although the type of d. tectorum does not contain gemmae, fig. 1. didymodon mongolicus sp. nov.: a. plants, b. leaves, c. transverse section of stem, d. leaf apex, e. middle part of leaves,f. basal part of leaves, g-j. transverse section of leaves from apex to base, k. axillary hair. (all drawn from the holotype). 178 zhao et al. fig. 2. a-e. didymodon mongolicus sp. nov. (holotype, x. l. bai 1459, himc), f-j. didymodon tectorum (isotype, rev. jos. giraldi 849, h), k-o. didymodon cordatus (isolectotype, c. schliephacke s.n., je), a, f, k. leaves. b, g, l. leaf apex. c, h, m. transverse section at upper leaves. d, i, n. transverse section at midleaves. e, j, o. transverse section near leaf bases. didymodon mongolicus , a new species 179 numerous specimens of d. tectorum from china and mongolia have copious gemmae. d. cordatus differs from d. mongolicus in having a stout costa that is shortly excurrent, ending in a wide mucro (fig. 2: l) and with 2-5 layers of ventral steroids (fig. 2: n, o), and margins revolute up to the apex. small forms of didymodon acutus (brid.) k. saito may be confused with d. mongolicus, as both species have appressed leaves when dry, smooth laminal cells, slightly recurved margins, and absence of gemmae in the axils of the leaves, but d. mongolicus differs in its smaller size, more ovate leaf shape and never having lanceolate leaves, and the costa ending before the apex. d. validus limpr., a species known from central asia and europe (jiménez, 2006), resembles d. mongolicus in the smooth laminal cells. it differs from the new species by its recurved or incurved leaves when dry, shape of leaves ovate-lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, costa long-excurrent and transverse section of the costa with 1-3 layers of ventral stereids while d. mongolicus has appressed leaves when dry, ovate leaves, costa ending several cells below the apex and transverse section of the costa with 1 layer of ventral stereids. acknowledgements the first author thanks dr. ts. tsegmed for her assistance during our field work in mongolia. we are grateful to the curators of herbaria h, je and uba for the loan specimens. this research was conducted with financial support from the national natural science foundation of china (nos. 31260046, 31360142) and open major basic research projects in inner mongolia (nos. 201503001). references bai, x.l. 1997. flora bryophytarum intramongolicarum. inner mongolia university press, hohhot, pp. 1541. jiménez, j.a. 2006. taxonomic revision of the genus didymodon hedw, (pottiaceae, bryophyta) in europe, north africa and southwest and central asia. j. hattori bot. lab. 100: 211-292. jiménez, j.a., cano, m.j., and jiménez, j.f. 2012. taxonomy and phylogeny of andina (pottiaceae, bryophyta): a new moss genus from the tropical andes. syst. bot. 37(2): 293-306. jiménez, j.a., ros, r.m., cano, m.j. and guerra, j. 2005. a revision of didymodon section fallaces (musci, pottiaceae) in europe, north africa, macaronesia, and southwest and central asia. ann. missouri bot. gard. 92: 225-247. kučera, j. and ignatov, m.s. 2015. revision of phylogenetic relationships of didymodon sect. rufiduli (pottiaceae, musci). arctoa 24: 79-97. li, x.j., he, s. and iwatsuki, z. 2001. pottiaceae. in: li, x. j. and crosby, m. r. (eds), moss flora of china. vol. 2. science press, beijing, missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 114-249. saito, k. 1975. a monograph of japanese pottiaceae (musci). j. hattori bot. lab. 39: 373-537. tsegmed, t.s. 2010. moss flora of mongolia. izdatel’stvo sel’khozakademii. moscow, pp. 1-634. werner, o., jiménez, j.a., ros, r.m., cano, m.j. and guerra, j. 2005. preliminary investigation of the systematics of didymodon (pottiaceae, musci) based on nrits sequence data. syst. bot. 30 (3): 461-470. zander, r.h. 1993. genera of the pottiaceae: mosses of harsh environments. bull. buffalo soc. nat. sci. 32: 1-378. zander, r.h. 2007. pottiaceae. in: flora of north america editorial committee (ed.) flora of north america north of mexico. vol. 27. oxford university press, new york, pp. 476-642. zander, r.h. and ochyra, r. 2001. didymodon tectorum and didymodon brachyphyllus (musci, pottiaceae) in north america. bryologist 104: 372-377. 180 zhao et al. zhao, d.p. 2010. pottiaceae. in: bai, x. l. (ed.), bryophyte flora of helan mountain. ningxia people’s press, yinchuan, pp. 61-128. zhao, d.p., bai, x.l., wang j.n. and liu, y. 2013. didymodon cordatus jur. (pottiaceae), new to the moss flora of china. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 259-261. zhao, d.p., tsegmed, t.s. and bai, x.l. 2015. didymodon rigidulus var. subulatus (thér. & bartram ex e.b. bartram) r.h. zander, new to the moss flora of mongolia and asia. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 63-66. zhao, d.p., wang, j.n. and zhao, x.d. 2014. didymodon baii (pottiaceae), a new moss species from china. ann. bot. fennici 51: 185-188. (manuscript received on 5 may 2016; revised on 8 september 2016) microsoft word s-3. ss -f.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 163-165, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication gibberella zeae (schw.) petch a new record of ascomycetous fungus for bangladesh shamim shamsi1 and razia sultana department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: gibberella zeae, ascomycetes, bangladesh gibberella zeae (schw.) petch, the teleomorph of fusarium graminearum schwabe, has been described and illustrated in the present paper as a new ascomycetes record for bangladesh. gibberella zeae causes a good number of diseases on various graminaceous as well as non-graminaceous host plants. perithecial stage of g. zeae was earlier recorded on arrhenatherum, avena, glyceria, hordeum, phragmites and triticum (ellis and ellis 1985). recently, the authors recorded g. zeae on two jute species, namely corchorus capsularis l. and c. olitorius l. from bangladesh. jute is therefore a new host record of the fungus. numerous perithecia of g. zeae were found on dried stems and fruits of jute along with pycnidia of macrophomina phaseolina (tassi) goid., botryodiplodia theobromae pat. and cercospora corchori sawada. gibberella zeae was isolated following “streaking” method (cab 1968) on pda medium (potato dextrose agar medium), but the fungus did not produce conidia or perithecia in culture. microscopic details of the fungus were made from freshly collected samples of infected stems and fruits of corchorus capsularis and c. olitorius. species determination was made following booth (1971) and ellis and ellis (1985). gibberella zeae (schw.) petch, annls mycol. 34: 260, 1936. (plates 1, 2) colony grayish on pda medium at temperature between 22º and 28ºc and ph 6. hyphae grayish. perithecia with an outer stromatic wall of 16-18 µm width, clustered around the lower nodes and basal parts of the infected stems and fruits, 145-200 µm in diameter, black, violet or bluish grey in transmitted light. asci 65-82 9-12 µm, 8spored. ascospores pale straw-coloured, curved, fusoid, but with rounded ends, 3-septate, 16.5-27.5 3.5-5.0 µm. specimens examined: on stems and fruits of corchorus capsularis, botanical garden, curzon hall campus, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 2075, 4 december 2007; on stems and fruits of c. olitorius, botanical garden, curzon hall campus, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 2095, 19 february 2008. 1corresponding author. e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com 164 shamsi and sultana gibberella zeae (schw.) petch 165 acknowledgements the authors express their sincere thanks and gratitude to prof. a.z.m. nowsher ali khan, department of botany, university of dhaka for his valuable comments and suggestions on the manuscript. references booth, c. 1971. the genus fusarium. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, pp. 179-182. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, pp. 1-267. ellis, m.b. and ellis, j.p. 1985. microfungi on land plants. biddles ltd., guildford and kings lynn, great britain, pp. 1-818. (manuscript received on 18 march 2008; revised on 4 december 2008) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 67-69, 2007 (june) short communication curvularia harveyi shipton : a new hyphomycetes record for bangladesh shamim shamsi1 and arju yasmin2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: curvularia harveyi, maize, bangladesh maize (zea mays l.) is one of the three most popular cereal crops of the world. it occupies an important position in the world economy and is traded as a food, feed and industrial grain crop. but disease is the most important obstacle for maize production. every year various kinds of diseases cause yield loss of maize. in bangladesh, so far 28 different diseases of maize have been reported and most of these are caused by fungi. twenty species of fungi were recorded on maize in bangladesh (bari 2004, yasmin 2007). however, very little work has been done regarding the etiology of the disease and identification of the pathogens. recently, a study was undertaken to find out the association of fungi with maize plant grown in bangladesh (yasmin 2007). during the isolation of fungi from the infected leaf of maize, a hyphomycetes fungus curvularia harveyi shipton was found associated with the sample examined which is a new record for bangladesh. the isolated fungus was identified following ellis (1971). so far it was recorded on triticum from australia. curvularia species mainly cause small necrotic or chlorotic spots on the leaf of maize plant. these are the causal agents of leaf spots, leaf blight, kernel rot, root rot, seedling blights, grain lesions and deformation (ellis 1971). before the present communication, 12 species of curvularia with one variety have been reported from bangladesh by various workers: c. affinis, c. geniculata, c. pallescens (akhter 2001), c. brachyspora, c. eragrostidis, c. fallax, c. penniseti, c. prasadii, c. stapeliae (haque 2006), c. lunata, c. lunata var. aeria (shamsi et al. 2003), c. clavata and c. senegalensis (akhter 1993). taxonomic description of curvularia harveyi is given below. curvularia harveyi shipton (plate 1) colonies fluffy, olivaceous black. conidiophores solitary, mostly unbranched, straight or slightly undulating, often geniculate, pale to dark brown, septate, 56-95 µm long, 4.0-5.6 µm thick, often swollen at the base. conidia with 3 septa, dark brown, almost straight or slightly curved, at the third cell from the base is larger and darker than the others, end cells subhyaline or pale brown, smooth, 24-43 × 9.2-15.6 µm. 1corresponding author. e-mail: zohams@aitlbd.net 2e-mail: arju_yasmin@hotmail.com 68 shamsi and yasmin specimen examined: isolated from the infected leaves of zea mays l. (poaceae), botanical research garden, curzon hall, university of dhaka, 24 september 2005, a. yasmin, 3. plate 1. curvularia harveyi. a. infected leaf of maize (zea mays); b. culture plate; c. photomicrograph of the mycelia, conidia and conidiophores; d. camera lucida drawings of the fungus: i) conidiophore and ii) conidia. curvularia harveyi 69 acknowledgements the authors are grateful to prof. jadu lal karmoker, chairman, department of botany, university of dhaka for providing all laboratory facilities for carrying out the present work and prof. m.r. khan of the same department for his cooperation, suggestions, encouragement and helping in microscopic and digital photography. references akhter, r. 1993. a study of some dematiaceous hyphomycetes associated with dead plant parts. m.sc. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 56. akhter, s. 2001. taxonomic studies of some dematiaceous hyphomycetes associated with diseased plant parts. m.sc. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 74. bari (bangladesh agricultural research institute) 2004. gam o vuttar prodhan rog somuho abong tar protiker (major diseases of wheat and maize and their control) (in bangla). publication no. bklt02/2004-05. plant pathology department, bari, dhaka. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. commonwealth mycological institute, england, pp. 608. haque, j. 2006. study of fungi associated with some selected vegetables of bangladesh. m.s. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 64. shamsi, s., khan, a.z.m. nowsher a., shahjahan, a.k.m. and miah, s.a. 2003. fungal species associated with sheaths and grains of sheath rot affected rice varieties from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 32(1): 17-22. yasmin, a. 2007. fungi associated with infected maize plant (zea mays l.) and chemical control of the selected pathogenic species. m.s. thesis, department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 72. (manuscript received on 11 march 2007; revised on 7 april 2007) a new hyphomycetes record for bangladesh microsoft word 08. achene_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 125-136, 2015 (december) systematic implications of achene characteristics in genera centaurea l., cyanus mill., psephellus cass. and rhaponticoides vaill. (asteraceae) mehmet bona1 department of botany, faculty of science, istanbul university, istanbul, turkey keywords: achene; asteraceae; scanning electron microscopy; taxonomy. abstract this study examines the exomorphic achene characteristics of 23 taxa belonging to centaurea, cyanus, psephellus and rhaponticoides in asteraceae using light microscope and scanning electron microscope (sem). the exomorphic characteristics studied are shape, size, colour and surface pattern of achene, and hair, length and colour of pappus. the results of the present investigation showed that achene size of the studied taxa is 3–7 × 1–4 mm. pappus length is 1–14 mm, deciduous for three taxa and inner row is differentiated from the outer, 1–3 mm long, for 10 taxa. sem studies showed eight different types of achene surface patterns for the studied taxa: glebulate, glebulate-ruminate, reticulate, ribbed, ruminate, smooth, smooth-glebulate and undulate. achene characteristics are useful for both intrageneric and intraspecific classification of the studied taxa. introduction morphological and anatomical studies on fruit and seed structure play an important role in systematics (kumar et al., 2012). microstructural details of the seed and fruit coat enable the distinguishing of taxa or the discovery of their affinities. this is especially useful for families in which the identification of particular taxa is complicated (kumar et al., 2012; bona, 2013; piwowarczyk et al., 2014). furthermore, observations of micromorphological features can also provide us with information about developmental strategies, adaptation to different environmental conditions and evolutionary tendencies within related groups of plants (kreitschitz and vallès, 2007; moazzeni et al., 2010). the family asteraceae is one of the largest angiosperm families and comprises about 1,300 genera and 2,500 species distributed over three subfamilies and 17 tribes (ayad et al., 2012). the genus centaurea l. s.l. is one of the largest genera in the family asteraceae. among the challenging taxonomic problems persisting in the asteraceae is the delimitation of the genus centaurea (bancheva and raimondo, 2013; ranjbar et al., 2013). centaurea has recently been divided into four genera, namely centaurea, rhaponticoides, psephellus and cyanus (wagenitz and hellwig, 2000; greuter, 2003a, b). cyanus, however, is not widely accepted by different authors (susanna and garcia-jacas, 2007). though previous studies support the use of achene surface patterns as diagnostic characters at species and subspecies levels for the genus centaurea s.l., understanding the importance of these characters at generic and subgeneric levels requires further studies (uysal et al., 2005; çelik et al., 2005a, b; aksoy et al., 2010; okay and demir, 2010; shabestari et al., 2013; bona, 2014; candan et al., 2015). with this in mind, this study examines the exomorphic achene characters of 23 taxa belonging to the genera centaurea, cyanus, psephellus and rhaponticoides in asteraceae by using light microscope (lm) and scanning electron microscope (sem).                                                              1email: mehmetbona@gmail.com 126 bona materials and methods the materials of this study are the mature achenes of 23 asteraceae taxa belonging to the genera centaurea, cyanus, psephellus and rhaponticoides. the collected specimens were kept at the istanbul university, faculty of pharmacy, department of pharmaceutical botany herbarium (iste). the exomorphic characteristics of the achene are achene colour, size, shape and surface pattern, and pappus colour, hair, and length (table 1). all these characteristics are described, illustrated and compared. up to 50 (at least 10) mature achenes for each taxon were measured and observed under the light microscope. during scanning electron microscopy, two mature achenes were selected and mounted onto stubs with double-sided adhesive tape, and were then coated with gold. the achene surfaces were examined from the lateral sides. for each sample, photographs of testa were taken using the jeol jsm-5600 at a magnification of 22×–50×, 1000×, and 3000×. the terminology of achene characteristics in this work is based on the descriptions used by barthlott (1981), stearn (1992), koul et al. (2000), and bojňanský and fargašová (2007). results the results of the present investigation showed that the achene size of the studied taxa is 3–7 × 1–4 mm. the pappus length is changing from 1 to 14 mm, deciduous for three taxa and the inner row is differentiated (1–3 mm long) for 10 taxa. testa cells of all the studied taxa appear regularly arranged and elongated-parallel with the seed surface. the results of the studied taxa are distinguished below. 1. centaurea antiochia boiss. var. antiochia: achene straw-coloured, oblong, 5–6 × 2–3 mm, pappus scabrous, 5–6 mm long, inner row differentiated from outer row, c. 2 mm long. seed surface pattern smooth. cell boundaries thin and cell centres at ± equal levels with the boundaries (fig. 1a–c). 2. c. arifolia boiss.: achene dark brown, oblong, 4–5 × 3 mm, pappus scabrous, 7–8 mm long, inner row differentiated from outer row, c. 1 mm. seed surface pattern glebulate-ruminate. cell boundaries very thin and cell centres raised above boundaries (fig. 1d–f). 3. c. carduiformis dc. subsp. carduiformis var. thrinciifolia (dc.) wagenitz: achene blackish green, oblong, 5–6 × 3 mm, pappus dark silver, scabrous, 8–9 mm long, inner row differentiated from outer row, c. 2 mm long. seed surface pattern undulate. cell boundaries thin and cell centres at ± equal levels with the boundaries. testa cells are apparently imbricate; this condition shows itself as waved layers on the edge of the achene (fig. 1g–i). 4. c. cassia boiss.: achene black, oblong, 3 × 1.4–1.5 mm, pappus white, scabrous, c. 1 mm long. seed surface pattern ruminate. cell boundaries very thin and cell centres raised above the boundaries (fig. 1j–l). 5. c. cheirolopha (fenzl) wagenitz: achene light brown-straw-coloured, oblong, 4−5 × 2 mm, pappus absent or very short, scabrous, c. 1 mm long. seed surface pattern glebulate. the cell boundaries are broad and appear raised above the cell centres (fig. 1m–o). 6. c. drabifolia subsp. cappadocica (dc.) wagenitz: achene greyish, oblong-elliptic, 4–5 × 2 mm, pappus white-straw-coloured, plumose, 6–7 mm long, deciduous. seed surface pattern glebulate-ruminate. the cell boundaries are thin and have a smooth structure and the cell centres are placed at ± equal levels with the boundaries (fig. 1p–s). systematic implications of achene characteristics 127  128 bona systematic implications of achene characteristics 129  fig. 1. sem micrographs of achenes of centaurea antiochia var. antiochia (a−c); c. arifolia (d−f); c. carduiformis subsp. carduiformis var. thrinciifolia (g−i); c. cassia (j−l), c. cheirolopha (m−o); c. drabifolia subsp. cappadocica (p−s). 130 bona 7. c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa (boiss.) wagenitz & greuter: achene yellow-green, oblong, 4–5 × 2 mm, pappus straw-coloured, plumose, 8–10 mm long. seed surface pattern smooth. cell boundaries are thin and the boundaries appear raised above the cell centres (fig. 2a–c). 8. c. foliosa boiss. & kotschy ex boiss.: achene dark silver-brown, oblong, c. 5 × 3 mm, pappus dark purple, scabrous, 5–6 mm long. seed surface pattern glebulate-ruminate. cell boundaries are thin and smooth and appear raised above the cell centres (fig. 2d–f). 9. c. lycopifolia boiss. & kotschy ex boiss.: achene dark green-brown, oblong, 4–6 × 2 mm, pappus straw-coloured, scabrous, c.1 mm long. seed surface pattern glebulate-ruminate. cell boundaries are very thin and the cell centres are raised above the boundaries (fig. 2g–i). 10. c. pseudoscabiosa subsp. araratica (azn.) wagenitz: achene dark brown, oblong, 5–6 × 3 mm, pappus silvery brown, scabrous, 6 mm long, inner row differentiated from outer row, c. 2 mm long. seed surface pattern reticulate. cell boundaries are broad and have a smooth structure and the boundaries seem distinctly raised above the cell centres (fig. 2j–l). 11. c. ptosimopappa hayek: achene straw-coloured to green when young and blackish when mature, oblong, 5–6 × 2.0–2.5 mm, pappus straw-coloured or sometimes purplish, scabrous, 5–6 mm long, deciduous. seed surface pattern glebulate-ruminate. cell boundaries are broad and have a smooth structure and the boundaries seem distinctly raised above the cell centres (fig. 2m–o). 12. c. virgata lam.: achene brown-grey, oblong, 3–4 × 1–2 mm, pappus white, scabrous, c. 2 mm long, deciduous. seed surface pattern glebulate-ruminate. cell boundaries are thin and smooth and appear raised above the cell centres (fig. 2p–s). 13. cyanus bourgaei (boiss.)wagenitz & greuter: achene straw-coloured to brown, oblong, c. 5 × 2 mm, pappus straw-coloured, scabrous, c.1 mm long. seed surface pattern smooth. cell boundaries are thin and the cell centers are ± equal with the boundaries. testa cells are sulcate at the centres of the cells (fig. 3a–c). 14. cy. cheiranthifolius (willd.) soják subsp. purpurascens (dc.) wagenitz: achene strawcoloured to dark green, oblong, 6–7 × 3 mm, pappus straw-coloured, scabrous, c. 2 mm long. seed surface pattern smooth-glebulate. the cell boundaries are thin and the cell centres are ± equal with the boundaries (fig. 3d–f). 15. cy. depressus (m. bieb.) soják: achene dark green, oblong, 5–6 × 2–2.5 mm, pappus strawcoloured, scabrous, 5–6 mm long, inner row differentiated from outer row, c. 2 mm long. seed surface pattern smooth. cell boundaries are very thin and the cell centres are raised above the boundaries (fig. 3g–i). 16. cy. segetum hill: achene dark green, narrowly oblong, c. 3 × 1 mm, pappus straw-coloured to red, scabrous, c. 2 mm long. seed surface pattern smooth-glebulate. the cell boundaries are thin and have a smooth structure and the cell centres are ± equal with the boundaries (fig. 3j–l). systematic implications of achene characteristics 131  fig. 2. sem micrographs of achenes of centaurea drabifolia subsp. floccosa (a−c); c. foliosa (d−f); c. lycopifolia (g−i); c. pseudoscabiosa subsp. araratica (j−l); c. ptosimopappa (m−o); c. virgata (p−s). 132 bona fig. 3. sem micrographs of achenes of cyanus bourgaei (a−c); cy. cheiranthifolius subsp. purpurascens (d−f); cy. depressus (g−i); cy. segetum (j−l); psephellus appendicigerus (m−o); p. bornmuelleri (p−s). systematic implications of achene characteristics 133  17. psephellus appendicigerus (k. koch) wagenitz: achene is straw-coloured, narrowly ovate, 6–7 × 3 mm, pappus light straw-coloured, plumose, 13–14 mm long. seed surface pattern ribbed. the cell boundaries are broad and have smooth structure and appear raised above the cell centres. cell centres are sulcate (fig. 3m–o). 18. p. bornmuelleri (hausskn. ex bornm.)wagenitz: achene yellowish, lanceolate, 6–7 × 3 mm, pappus purple, scabrous, 8 mm long, and its inner row is differentiated from the outer row, c. 3 mm long. seed surface pattern smooth. the cell boundaries are thin and the cell centres are ± equal with the boundaries. testa cells are apparently imbricate; this condition shows itself as waved layers (fig. 3p–s). 19. p. brevifimbriatus (hub.-mor.) wagenitz: achene straw-coloured, oblong, c. 6 × 3 mm, pappus straw-coloured to light brown, scabrous, 7 mm long, and its inner row is differentiated from the outer row, c. 3 mm long. seed surface pattern undulate. the cell boundaries are thin and the cell centres are ± equal with the boundaries. cell centres are slightly sulcate (fig. 4a–c). 20. p. mucronifer (dc.) wagenitz: achene straw-coloured to greyish, narrowly ovate, c. 6 × 3 mm, pappus straw-coloured, scabrous, c. 4 mm long, and its inner row differentiated from the outer row, c. 1 mm long. seed surface pattern smooth. the cell boundaries are thin and have smooth structure and the centres of the cells are placed at ± equal levels with the boundaries (fig. 4d–f). 21. p. pulcherrimus (willd.) wagenitz: achene dark green to brown, lanceolate, 5–6 × 2 mm, pappus straw-coloured, plumose, 10–12 mm long. seed surface pattern ribbed. the cell boundaries are very thin and the centres of the cells are raised above the boundaries. cell centers are ribbed (fig. 4g–i). 22. p. pyrrhoblepharus (boiss.) wagenitz: achene straw-coloured to green, narrowly oblong, 5–7 × 2 mm, pappus straw-coloured to yellow, scabrous, 2–4 mm long, and its inner row different, c. 1 mm long. seed surface pattern ruminate. the cell boundaries are broad and have smooth structure and the boundaries appear raised above the cell centres (fig. 4j–l). 23. rhaponticoides wagenitziana (bancheva & kit tan) m.v. agab. & greuter: achene dark brown above, yellow at base, broadly oblong, 6–7 × 4 mm, pappus brown, scabrous, 7–8 mm long, inner row differentiated from outer row, c. 2 mm long. seed surface pattern reticulate. cell boundaries are distinctly broad and appear seem distinctly raised above the cell centres. achenes have waved layers which are independent from cells and cell boundaries (fig. 4m–o). discussion rhaponticoides wagenitziana is the only species of the studied taxa which belongs to genus rhaponticoides. the achenes are dark brown above, yellow at base and have waved layers which are independent from the cells and cell boundaries. these two characteristics seem specific to r. wagenitziana. more work is required to confirm the use of characteristics for delimitation of the genus rhaponticoides. psephellus coruhensis, p. turcicus and p. psephelloides have reticulate seed surface patterns (duran and hamzaoğlu, 2005; duran et al., 2009). our study shows that pappus length, colour and achene colour characteristics show differences at the specific level. additionally, the achene 134 bona fig. 4. sem micrographs of achenes of psephellus brevifimbriatus (a−c); p. mucronifer (d−f); p. pulcherrimus (g−i); p. pyrrhoblepharus (j−l); rhaponticoides wagenitziana (m−o). systematic implications of achene characteristics 135  surface pattern can be ribbed, smooth or undulate for the genus psephellus. because of the overlap, achene characteristics are not useful for determining generic limits in psephellus. despite that, achene characteristics provide strong support in the delimitation of the studied psephellus taxa at the specific level. p. appendicigerus and p. pulcherrimus were placed into section aetheopappus (wagenitz, 1975). these two taxa are easily separated from other psephellus taxa by their ribbed achene surface pattern and their pappus, which do not have differentiated inner rows. other studied psephellus taxa belong to section psepheloideae (wagenitz, 1975) in which their inner pappus row is differentiated. these findings show that achene characteristics could be useful for sectional classification of the genus psephellus. there is no specific pappus length, pappus colour, achene size or colour for the genus cyanus, but all the studied cyanus taxa have smooth or smooth-glebulate achene surface pattern. this study supports the use of achene surface patterns as diagnostic characters at both specific and infraspecific levels in the genus centaurea. there are other achene characteristics, including achene length and colour, pappus length and colour, that might be helpful to distinguish more taxa. however, though achene characteristics provide strong support in the delimitation of the studied taxa at specific level, understanding the importance of these characteristics for intrageneric classification of the genus centaurea requires further study. centaurea drabifolia subsp. cappadocica and c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa are separated from each other based on stem length in the flora of turkey (wagenitz, 1975). this study shows that achene characteristics are useful in the separation of these taxa, because pappus length, achene colour and achene surface patterns of these taxa are different from each other. the sem study of achene surfaces showed that the cell wall in c. kurdica is thicker than that of c. sclerolepis, especially on the margins and could be a useful character in the delimitation of species (uysal et al., 2005). in conclusion, the achene characteristics of 23 taxa belonging to the genera centaurea, cyanus, psephellus and rhaponticoides were evaluated in this study. results support the use of achene characteristics as diagnostic characters for intrageneric and intraspecific classification of these taxa. achene characteristics provide strong support for the delimitation of the studied taxa at specific level, but understanding the importance of these characteristics at generic and intrageneric levels needs further studies. hopefully, this investigation will encourage additional studies about achene morphology of this complex family to further elucidate the complex taxonomy of the asteraceae. acknowledgements the author thanks the scientific investigation project coordinator of istanbul university (project no: 42493) and edinburgh botanic garden (sibbald) trust for their financial support. thanks are also due to dr. sabina knees for her help in improving the manuscript. references aksoy, n., ataşlar, e., efe, a. and güneş, n. 2010. centaurea yaltirikii subsp. dumanii subsp. nov. 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(manuscript received on 9 july 2015; revised on 3november 2015) microsoft word 02. gangopadhya.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 89-106, 2008 (december) © 2008 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists nine new taxa and a new combination in lauraceae from india and myanmar m. gangopadhyay1 central botanical laboratory, p.o. botanic garden, howrah 711 103, india keywords: new taxa, actinodaphne, beilschmiedia, cinnamomum, cryptocarya, new combination, potameia tirunelvelica, lauraceae abstract nine new taxa belonging to the genera actinodaphne nees, beilschmiedia nees, cinnamomum schaeff. and cryptocarya r. br. of the family lauraceae are described and illustrated from india and myanmar. one new combination of the family has also been appended. introduction during the course of a taxonomic study of the family lauraceae of india and its adjoining countries the author came across some interesting specimens of actinodaphne nees, beilschmiedia nees, cinnamomum schaeff. and cryptocarya r. br. deposited at cal and pbl which on critical studies were found to be of nine new taxa. they are described and illustrated here. beilschmiedia tirunelvelica manickam et al. is transferred to the genus potameia a. thouars. new taxa 1. actinodaphne andamanica m. gangop., sp. nov. (plate 1) actinodaphne sesquipedalis hook.f. et thomson ex meisn. affinis, sed differt foliis latis obovatis non nitidis, basi acutis, fructus cupula nitida, fructibus parvioribus globosis. holotypus: dhani reef creek, 29.?.1890, king’s collector s.n. (cal); paratypus: namunaghar, 28.6.1890, king’s collector s.n. (cal). allied to a. sesquipedalis hook.f. & thomson ex meisn., but differs in having broad, obovate, non-glossy leaves which are acute at base, smooth fruit-cups and smaller globose fruits. branchlets terete, 5-9 mm in diameter, scales scarred, densely rufus-tomentose, gradually slender, compressed, with shallow longitudinal grooves at upper portion. bud scales (lowermost) ovate, c 2 × 3 mm, apiculate, puberulous above, upper one deciduous. leaves in whorls of 3, coriaceous, dark greenish-brown, glabrous above, reddish-brown or brown, tomentose on main veins beneath, obovate or elliptic, 21-38 × 7.2-15.0 cm, sub-equally acute at base, entire, strongly incurved along margin, acuminate (acumens 1e-mail: mgangopadhyay55@rediffmail.com 90 gangopadhyay 18-40 mm long, acute at tip) at apex; midvein penninerved, with slight impression or flat and canaliculate above, stout, raised and quadrangular beneath; lateral nerves 8-10 pairs, oblique, distant, ascending-arcuate, faint above, raised and stout beneath; tertiary nerves closely parallel, faint above, prominent beneath; minor nervules obscure above, prominent beneath, reticulate; petioles 12-17 mm long, c 1.5 mm broad, flat and shallow canaliculate above, convex beneath, rufus-tomentellus. inflorescences axillary, subsessile, plate 1. actinodaphne andamanica m. gangop. sp. nov. a. flowering branch; b. pistillate flower; c. outer tepal lobe dorsal view; d. idem ventral view; e. inner tepal lobe dorsal view; f. idem ventral view; g-l. staminodes: g. whorl i dorsal view; h. idem ventral view; i. whorl ii dorsal view; j. idem ventral view; k. whorl iii dorsal view; l. idem ventral view; m. over-matured ovary; n. fruit (a-m. after paratype; n. after holotype). nine new taxa and a new combination in lauraceae 91 panicle of umbels, 20-25 mm long, rufus-villous; peduncles short and broad, 2-3 mm long, up to 2.5 mm wide, bracts scarred, rufus-tomentose; branches short; bracts and bracteoles deciduous. male flowers not seen. female flowers (over-matured) cupularcampanulate, c 9 × 7 mm, villous; pedicels up to 4 mm long, c 1 mm wide. cup oblongovoid, c 3 × 3.5 mm; tepal lobes 3 + 3, thin, anastomosis obscure, silky pilose within; outer: ovate, c 3.5 × 2.5 mm, obtuse, keeled at apex; inner: ovate-lanceolate, c 3.8 × 2.5 mm, subacute. staminodes 9 in 3 whorls; whorl i: c 2.8 mm long; filament c 1.2 mm long, thin, flat, villous, head thin, narrow elliptic, acute, glabrous; whorl ii: same as whorl i; whorl iii: c 2 mm long; glands 2, c 0.8 mm long, stipe short, villous, head ovateoblong, acute; filament 0.8 mm long, villous; head narrow elliptic, acute, thin. pistil: style and stigma broken; ovary globose, c 2 × 2 mm, puberulous above, glabrous below. infructescences: bracts and bracteoles deciduous; peduncles c 4 mm long, 3 mm wide; branches short. fruits globose, 8-10 mm in diameter, glabrous, black-brown, ruminate; pedicels 9-11 mm long, c 2.5 mm wide above, 1 mm wide below, tomentose; cup coriaceous, 3-4 × 8-9 mm, entire, smooth, fine puberulous. flowering time: june. fruiting time: not known. distribution: india (andaman islands). 2. actinodaphne mansonii m. gangop., sp. nov. (plate 2) actinodaphne concolor blume affinis, sed differt plantis glabris, foliis cum marginibus valde incurvis, apicibus acutis, supra nervis lateralibus elevatis, fructorum pedicellis longioribus. holotypus: myanmar, tenasserim, s.d., f.b. manson 101 (cal). allied to a. concolor blume, but differs in having glabrous nature, leaves with strongly incurved margin and acute apex, raised lateral nerves on upper surface and long stalked fruits. branchlets terete, blackish-brown, up to 5 mm in diameter, smooth, glabrous, angular above. scales of the terminal buds (outer fallen) ovate, c 3.5 × 3.0 mm, acute at apex, silky pilose. leaves in whorls of 4, thinly coriaceous, dark brown, glossy above, paler and subglaucous beneath, obovate, 22.3-25.5 × 8.0-9.3 cm, attenuate at base, slightly decurrent to extreme base, cartilaginous, strongly incurved and semi-undulate along margin, acute at apex; midvein subconvex above, stout, raised, semiterete beneath, penninerved; lateral nerves 8-10 pairs, sometimes oblique, slightly raised above, stout, raised beneath, ascending, forming prominent loops near margin beneath; tertiary nerves faint above, prominent beneath, scalariform; minor nervules obscure above, faint to obscure beneath, fine reticulate; petioles 20-22 mm long, 2.5-3.0 mm wide, flat, canaliculate above, convex beneath. flower not seen. infructescences on short lateral branches, umbellate, short peduncled, silky villosulus. fruits not seen; stalk c 10.0 × 1.5 92 gangopadhyay mm, whitish pilose; cup shallow, 2.5-3.5 mm high, 7-8 mm in diameter, rigid, entire, blackish, glabrous. flowering & fruiting time: not known. plate 2. actinodaphne mansonii m. gangop. sp. nov. fruiting branch (after holotype). distribution: myanmar. local name: kyese shor. the plant differs from all the known species of the region in having glabrous nature and strong incurved leaf margin. all the mature fruits were found to be fallen off from the specimen. however, the other characters are sufficient for proposing this new species. the species has been named after its collector mr. f.b. manson. nine new taxa and a new combination in lauraceae 93 3. actinodaphne nicobarica m. gangop., sp. nov. (plate 3) actinodaphne glomerata (blume) nees affinis, sed differt ramulis foliisque glabris, foliis infra cum nervis tertiariis scalariformibus confertis, pedicellisque brevioribus. holotypus: south nicobar, 34 km east-west road, 175 m, 22.7.1976, n.p. balakrishnan 3939 (cal); isotypus (pbl). allied to a. glomerata (blume) nees, but differs in having glabrous branchlets and leaves; leaves with fine close scalariform tertiary nerves beneath, and shorter pedicels. tree, 12-15 m high (fide collectoris). branchlets terete, chocolate brown, 4-7 mm in diameter, old nodes with scars of scales, glabrous. scales of the terminal buds variable; lower: ovate-orbicular, c 1.5 × 2.5 mm, rounded, margin ciliate; upper: ovate, up to 6 × 6 mm, acute, sericeous above and villous along margin. leaves in whorls of 8, coriaceous, glossy, dark brown above, greenish, glaucous beneath, elliptic-oblong, 24-28 × 6-8 cm, cuneate at base, cartilaginous, slightly incurved along margin, acuminate (acumens up to 25 mm long, acute) at apex, glabrous; midvein flattened and canaliculate at lower halves, slightly raised along length above, raised and flat topped beneath; lateral nerves 10-12 pairs, slender, ascending, arcuate, forming faint loops along margin, flat above, prominent and raised beneath; tertiary nerves closely scalariform, obscure above, faint beneath; minor nervules faint, fine reticulate; petioles 18-25 mm long, 2.0-2.5 mm wide, flat and shallow canaliculate above, convex beneath, glabrous. inflorescences subsessile, 15-22 mm long, pale brownish tomentose; peduncle short, c 2 × 2 mm, bracts scarred; rachis slender, c 1 mm wide; bracts obovate, c 5.5 × 5.0 mm, obtuse at apex, concave ventrally, densely sericeous outside, glabrous within; bracteoles ovate, c 3.0 × 2.5 mm, obtuse above, concave ventrally, sericeous. male flowers (slightly immature): whitish green with purple tinge (fide collectoris), cupular, c 6.5 × 3.0 mm, densely sericeous above; pedicels c 3 mm long, 0.8-1.0 mm wide, angled; tepal lobes 3 + 3, anastomosis obscure; outer: ovate-oblong to oblong, c 3.0 × 2.8 mm, acute at apex, thick, finely ciliate along margin near apices, glabrous within; inner: obovate-oblong, c 3 × 2 mm, obtuse, almost flat, margin fimbriate near apex, sericeous below within. stamens 9 in 3 whorls, anthers 4-locular, all introrse; filament thick, flat, villous at base; whorl i: c 2.5 mm long; filament c 0.8 mm long; anther narrow oblong, bluntly subapiculate at apex; whorl ii: c 2.5 mm long; filament c 1 mm long, anther broad oblong, obtuse; whorl iii: c 2.8 mm long, biglandular; glands c 1.2 mm long, attached to filament; stipe c 0.5 mm long, thin, head oblong, obtuse at apex, quadrangular; filament c 1.1 mm long; anther oblong, obtuse. pistillode minute. fruits not seen. flowering time: july. fruiting time: not known. distribution: india (nicobar islands). habitat: grows in the inland forests at about 175 m altitude on clayey loam. 94 gangopadhyay according to the collector, the plant is common in nicobar islands but author could not find any other specimen from the locality, in the herbaria consulted, except the type. plate 3. actinodaphne nicobarica m. gangop. sp. nov. a. leafy branch; b. inflorescence (male); c. bract ventral view; d. staminate flower; e. outer tepal lobe dorsal view; f. idem ventral view; g. inner tepal lobe dorsal view; h. idem ventral view; i-n. stamens: i. whorl i dorsal view; j. idem ventral view; k. whorl ii dorsal view; l. idem ventral view; m. whorl iii dorsal view; n. idem ventral view (after holotype). nine new taxa and a new combination in lauraceae 95 4. beilschmiedia andamanensis m. gangop., sp. nov. (plate 4) beilschmiedia fagifolia nees affinis, sed differt foliis rigidis, cum nervis tertiariis nervulisque minoribus obscures, fructibusque ellipsoideis acutis cum pericarpio verrucoso. holotypus: south andaman, shoal bay, 70 m, 16.05.1990, sam p. mathew 20498 (pbl). plate 4. beilschmiedia andamanensis m. gangop. sp. nov. a. fruiting branch; b. bract dorsal view; c. idem ventral view (after holotype). allied to b. fagifolia nees, but differs in having stiff coriaceous leaves with entirely obscure tertiary nerves and minor nervules, and ellipsoid, acute fruits with warty pericarp. 96 gangopadhyay tree, up to 8 m in height (fide collectoris). branchlets terete, whitish grey, up to 6 mm in diameter, warty and lenticellate, glabrous, gradually quadrangular above. terminal buds ovate, c 1 × 1 mm, acute, tomentose. leaves opposite to sub-opposite, stiff coriaceous, greyish-green above, light brown beneath, narrow ovate to elliptic-ovate, 510 × 1.5-3.8 cm, equally cuneate to acute at base, incurved along margin, acuminate (acumens 10-11 mm long, blunt) at apex, glabrous; midvein slender, slightly raised above, flat and canaliculate beneath; lateral nerves 8-10 pairs, very slender, ascending, abruptly arcuate forming very obscure loops near margin, faint above, almost obscure beneath; tertiary nerves obscure; minor nervules obscure; petioles slender, 8-13 mm long, c 1 mm wide, shallowly concave above, convex beneath, glabrous. flower not seen. flower buds whitish (fide collectoris). infructescences axillary, solitary, up to 3.5 cm long; peduncles 12-15 mm long, c 1.5 mm wide, terete, with scars of bracts and bracteoles; branches not present; bracts thickly coriaceous, suborbicular 1-2 × 1.0-1.5 mm, tomentellus outside, glabrous within, deciduous. fruits green, ellipsoid, 20-22 × 1011 mm, acute at apex, pericarp brown, warty, glabrous; stalks 4-6 mm long, c 1.5 mm wide, terete, tomentose; tepals deciduous. flowering time: not known. fruiting time: may. distribution: india (andaman islands). habitat: grows in the inland evergreen forests at about 70 m altitude. the specimen was annotated as dehaasia firma blume by dr. n.p. singh at kew, but it has bracteate infructescences and narrow fruit stalks, so the species certainly belongs to beilschmiedia nees. 5. beilschmiedia fagifolia nees var. gaurii m. gangop., var. nov. (plate 5) beilschmiedia fagifolia nees var. fagifoliae affinis, sed differt foliis rubello-brunneis nitidis, infra cum nervules laxe reticulatis, fructibusque majoribus ellipsoideis. holotypus: andaman islands, king’s collector 220, acc. no. 551514 (cal); isotypi: acc. nos. 551509-551513 & 551515 (cal); paratypi: south andamans, dhani khari, 30.7.1892, king’s collector s.n. ‘2 sheets’ a & b (cal). allied to b. fagifolia nees var. fagifolia, but differs in having reddish-brown, glossy leaves with laxly reticulate minor nervules beneath, and larger ellipsoid fruits. tree, 13-20 m high (fide collectoris). branchlets terete, brown, up to 4 mm in diameter, faintly striate, glabrous, lenticellate, gradually compressed, glabrous above; terminal buds ovate-lanceolate, c 3.5 × 2.0 mm, brown puberulous. leaves opposite to subopposite, sometimes alternate, throughout on branchlets, thinly coriaceous, glossy, reddish-brown above, paler beneath, elliptic, oblong-elliptic to ovate-elliptic or rarely narrow ovate, 6-16 × 1.2-4 cm, subequally or unequally cuneate-attenuate at base, decurrent to extreme base, entire, flat or shallowly incurved at margin, bluntly acuminate nine new taxa and a new combination in lauraceae 97 (acumens up to 14 mm long) at apex, glabrous; midvein slightly raised above, raised and flat topped beneath, slender; lateral nerves 8-10 pairs, slender, raised on both surfaces, distant, arcuate, forming weak loops with the next; tertiary nerves laxly reticulate, prominent on both surfaces, slender; minor nervules almost hidden above, faint beneath, plate 5. beilschmiedia fagifolia nees var. gaurii m.gangop. var. nov. a. flowering branch; b. flower; c. outer tepal lobe dorsal view; d. idem ventral view; e. inner tepal lobe dorsal view; f. idem ventral view; g-n. stamens and staminode: g. whorl i dorsal view; h. idem ventral view; i. whorl ii dorsal view; j. idem ventral view; k. whorl iii dorsal view; l. idem ventral view; m. whorl iv dorsal view; n. idem ventral view; o. pistil; p. fruit (a-o. after holotype; p. after paratype a). reticulate; petioles 8-13 mm long, 0.6-1.0 mm thick, slender, concave above, convex beneath, glabrous. inflorescences axillary, solitary, bracteate, few flowered corymbs, up to 13 mm long; bracts persistent, lower/outer one triangular, acute, c 1 × 1 mm, gradually 98 gangopadhyay ovate-orbicular above, 1.5-2.0 × 2.5–3.0 mm, obtuse, rufus-tomentellous; peduncles very short, up to 6 mm long; branches stout, densely rufus-villous. flowers white (fide collectoris), shallow tubular-campanulate, c 8.5 × 3.5 mm, silky tomentellus; pedicels c 4 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, angled. cup c 0.5 × 1.2 mm, obconic; tepal lobes 3 + 3, thin, reflexed at apex, puberulous within; outer: narrow obovate-oblong, c 4.5 × 1.2 mm, acute, anastomosis faint; inner: ovate-oblong, c 5.0 × 1.5 mm, subobtuse, anastomosis obscure. stamens 9, 3 in each whorl, anthers 2-locular; filament flat, thin, sparsely tomentellus, whorls i and ii introrse, of iii extrorse, biglandular; whorl i: c 1.9 mm long; filament c 1 mm long, wider above; anthers ovate-oblong, truncate at apex, glabrous; whorl ii: c 1.9 mm long; filament c 1.2 mm long; anthers ovate, truncate and retuse at apex; whorl iii: c 3 mm long; glands c 1.1 mm long, stipes thin, slender, c 0.5 mm long, head suborbicular, lobulate; filament c 2 mm long; anthers narrow-ovate, retuse at apex; whorl iv (of 3 staminodes): c 1.2 mm long, stipes stout, c 0.3 mm long, c 0.2 mm broad and flat, tomentellus, head triangular-ovate, acute, ventrally shallow grooved, glabrous. pistil c 3 mm long, ovary globose, c 1.2 × 1.2 mm, smooth, glabrous, tapering towards apex; style flat, slender, shallow channeled, sparsely puberulous below; stigma thin, peltate, lobulate. infructescences broken. fruits ellipsoid, c 30 × 11 mm, subacutish toward ends, blackish; stalks c 4 mm long, 2 mm wide, fine puberulous; tepal lobes deciduous. flowering time: not known. fruiting time: july. distribution: india (andaman islands). habitat: grows in hill jungles on rocky places. the fruits of the typical ones are 18-23 mm long and 9-13 mm wide. the variety has been named in the honour of late gauri roy for her dedicated service as a librarian of botanical survey of india. 6. beilschmiedia gallatlyi m. gangop., sp. nov. (plate 6) beilschmiedia globularia kurz affinis, sed differt gemmae terminalibus anguste ovato-lanceolatis, fructibusque parvioribus ellipsoideo-ovoideis. holotypus: tenasserim, ?.1877, g.a. gallatly 984, acc. no. 551478 (cal); isotypi: ‘2 sheets’: acc. nos. 551479 & 551480 (cal). allied to b. globularia kurz, but differs in having narrow ovate-lanceolate terminal buds and smaller ellipsoid-ovoid fruits. tree. branchlets terete, whitish-brown, up to 7 mm in diameter, rough with corky patches, glabrous, gradually smooth, slender, brown, glabrous towards apex. terminal buds narrow ovate-lanceolate, c 6 × 3 mm, acute, smooth, glabrous. leaves coriaceous, glossy, pale brown, reddish-brown to greenish-brown above, paler beneath, ovate, oblong-ovate, 10-14 × 5-6 cm, acute at base, margin entire, slightly incurved, nine new taxa and a new combination in lauraceae 99 subacuminate (acumens up to 6 mm long, blunt) at apex, glabrous; midvein slender, flat and channeled above, raised and triangular or flattened beneath; lateral nerves 8-10 pairs, distant, arcuate, prominent, forming loops at extreme margin; tertiary nerves prominent plate 6. beilschmiedia gallatlyi m. gangop. sp. nov. a. leafy branch; b. fruit (a. after isotype acc. no. 551480; b. after holotype). on both surfaces; minor nervules finely reticulate, more prominent beneath; petioles slender, 6-10 mm long, 1.0-1.5 mm wide, flat and concave above, terete beneath, glabrous. flowers not seen. infructescences up to 6 cm long, blackish, glabrous; peduncles terete. fruits ellipsoid-ovoid, c 10 × 7 mm, obtuse with a mucro at apex, blackish, smooth, glabrous; tepals deciduous. flowering & fruiting time: not known. 100 gangopadhyay distribution: myanmar. the species has been named after the well known plant collector mr. g.a. gallatly. 7. cinnamomum palghatensis m. gangop., sp. nov. (plate 7) cinnamomum macrocarpum hook. f. affine, sed differt foliis angustioribus, basibus acutis, nervis secundariis confertis, fructibusque oblongis. differt a c. walaiwarense kosterm. foliis glabris, nervis lateralibus confertis, fructibusque oblongis. holotypus: kerala, palghat district, singampatti to vattaparai forest, siruvani western slopes, 625 m, 29.5.1979, e. vajravelu 62860 (cal); isotypus (mh). allied to c. macrocarpum hook. f., but differs in having narrow leaves with acute base, closer secondary nerves and oblong fruits. it also differs from c. walaiwarense kosterm. in having glabrous leaves, more closely set up lateral nerves and oblong fruits. tree, 12-15 m high (fide collectoris). branchlets terete, blackish-brown, up to 5 mm in diameter, axils puberulous, smooth, gradually compressed and quadrangular, densely fine brown puberulous above; leaf-bearing branchlets slender, compressed, densely brown puberulous, 1.5-2.0 mm thick. terminal buds ovate-lanceolate, c 3 × 1.5-2.0 mm, acute at apex, densely brown puberulous. leaves subopposite, thinly coriaceous, greenish-brown above, paler beneath, opaque, narrow oblong-lanceolate to oblongelliptic, 15-22 × 2.8-4.0 cm, subequally acute at base, slightly decurrent to extreme base, entire, thin, almost flat along margin, apex broken tending to broad acumen; trinerved, central one prominent, raised and stout on both surfaces, square beneath, accessories arising 10-15 mm above from lamina base, raised and stout beneath, gradually slender along length and ultimately vanishing below acumen, lateral nerves of the central one sub-prominent and distant, that of accessories forming faint loops along margin; tertiary nerves parallel, 1-2 mm apart, faint above, obscure beneath; minor nervules faintly reticulate above, obscure beneath; petioles 10-15 mm long, c 1.5 mm wide, almost flat with shallow wings along corner above, convex beneath, puberulous. flowers not seen. infructescences solitary, axillary, c 15 cm long; peduncles c 55 mm long, c 1.5 mm wide, terete, puberulous; rachis flattened, densely puberulous. fruits green with large oblong, perianth (fide collectoris) c 22 × 16 mm, obtuse and projected at apex, pericarp blackish, glabrous, muriculate; fruit cup thick, c 3 × 12-15 mm, margin slightly undulate, tepal lobes deciduous. flowering time: not known. fruiting time: may-june. distribution: india (kerala). habitat: grows on the hilly slopes at 625 m altitude. nine new taxa and a new combination in lauraceae 101 plate 7. cinnamomum palghatensis m. gangop. sp. nov. a. leafy branch; b. fruit (after holotype). 8. cryptocarya calderi m. gangop., sp. nov. (plate 8) cryptocarya crassinervia miq. affinis, sed differt foliis infra cum nervis tertiariis tenuibus, paniculisque laxifloris valde ramosis patentibusque, floribusque subsessilibus. holotypus: upper cinchona camp, 12.4.1924, c.c. calder s.n. (cal). allied to c. crassinervia miq., but differs in having leaves with slender tertiary nerves beneath, lax flowered much branched spreading panicle and subsessile flowers. 102 gangopadhyay tree, c 30 m high. branchlets terete, longitudinally shallow ribbed and grooved, up to 3.5 mm in diameter, densely brown tomentose, gradually slender, compressed above. terminal bud absent. leaves alternate, coriaceous, green, glossy above, brown, subglaucous beneath, oblong to orbicular-oblong, 13-17 × c 7 cm, unequally obtuse and cuneate, obtuse and obtuse or obtuse and acute at base, non-decurrent to extreme base, strongly incurved along margin, retuse at apex, glabrous except the partially tomentose midvein and lateral nerves above, densely rufus-villous on main nerves and sparsely so elsewhere beneath; midvein slender, channeled above, raised, quadrangular, canaliculate beneath; lateral nerves 5-8 pairs, ascending, arcuate near margin, canaliculate above, raised and stout, forming prominent loops along margin beneath; tertiary nerves faint above, raised and slender beneath, scalariform; minor nervules obscure above, faint beneath, reticulate; petioles to 15 × 2 mm, flat or shallow concave above, terete beneath, rufus-tomentose. inflorescences axillary and pseudo-terminal panicles, 6-12 cm long; peduncles 10-35 mm long, c 1.5 mm in diameter, terete, ferrugineus villous; branches spreading, villous; branchlets slender, flat, villous, lax flowered. flowers tubularcampanulate, c 4.5 × 2.8 mm, subsessile, finely appressed tomentellus, bracteolate; pedicels c 0.2 mm long; bracteoles narrow oblong, acute at apex, ventrally concave, densely tomentellus; tube narrow oblong-obovoid, c 1.5 × 1.0 mm; tepal lobes 3 + 3, acutish at apex, ventrally concave, minutely puberulous within; outer: narrow oblongovate, c 2 × 1 mm, thick, anastomosis obscure; inner: elliptic-ovate c 2.1 × 1.2 mm, thin, anastomosis faint. stamens 9, 3 in each whorl, anthers 2-locular, whorls i and ii introrse, of iii extrorse, biglandular, filaments puberulous, anthers sparsely puberulous; whorl i: c 1.3 mm long, filament c 0.5 mm long, thin; anthers oblong-ellipsoid, obtuse at apex; whorl ii: c 1.4 mm long, filament c 0.7 mm long, thin; anther ovate-oblong or ovate, subretuse at apex; whorl iii: c 1.9 mm long; gland c 1 mm long, attached at base of filament; stipes c 0.4 mm long, thin, puberulous, head sagittate, acute; filament c 1 mm long, wider below; anther narrow ovate, obtuse at apex; whorl iv (of 3 staminodes): c 1.7 mm long, stalk short and broad, c 0.3 mm long, flat, puberulous; head hastate, ventrally shallow grooved, dorsally convex, sparsely puberulous. pistil glabrescent, c 2.5 mm long; ovary narrow ovoid, gradually tapering into broad style, c 1 × 0.5 mm; style flat, shallow channeled; stigma minute, thin, peltate. fruit not seen. flowering time: april. fruiting time: not known. distribution: myanmar. habitat: grows in the jungle shed. the species has been named after the well known botanist mr. c.c. calder. nine new taxa and a new combination in lauraceae 103 plate 8. cryptocarya calderi m. gangop. sp. nov. a. flowering branch; b. bracteole dorsal view; c. idem ventral view; d. flower; e. outer tepal lobe dorsal view; f. idem ventral view; g. inner tepal lobe dorsal view; h. idem ventral view; i-p. stamens and staminode: i. whorl i dorsal view; j. idem ventral view; k. whorl ii dorsal view; l. idem ventral view; m. whorl iii dorsal view; n. idem ventral view; o. whorl iv dorsal view; p. idem ventral view; q. pistil (after holotype). 9. cryptocarya simonsii m. gangop., sp. nov. (plate 9) cryptocarya amygdalina nees affinis, sed differt foliis nitidis supra cum nervulis minoribus obscuris, fructu parvo ovoideo. holotypus: india, assam, nuku hills, simons s.n., acc. no. 383079 (cal); isotypus (k, photo cal!). 104 gangopadhyay allied to c. amygdalina nees, but differs in having glossy leaves with obscure minor nervules above and smaller ovoid fruits. plate 9. cryptocarya simonsii m. gangop. sp. nov. a. fruiting branch (after holotype). branchlets terete, blackish-brown, up to 4 mm in diameter, longitudinally shallow channeled, sparsely lenticellate, glabrous; gradually slender, compressed, sparsely to densely puberulous above. terminal buds not seen. leaves alternate, coriaceous, glossy, greenish-brown above, glaucous beneath, narrow to broad oblong or ovate-oblong, 13-17 × 4.5-8.5 cm, equally or subequally obtuse and acute at base, incurved along margin, obtuse and apiculate at apex, glabrous above, appressed pilose beneath when young, glabrous with age; midvein penninerved, shallow channeled above, raised and prominent beneath; lateral nerves 10-12 pairs, slender, ascending, ultimately arcuate near margin, nine new taxa and a new combination in lauraceae 105 flat and faint above, prominent beneath, close, obscurely looped along margin; tertiary nerves faint above, prominent beneath, distantly scalariform; minor nervules obscure above, faint, laxly reticulate beneath; petioles 12-16 mm long, to 2 mm wide, shallow channeled above, convex beneath, puberulous when young, glabrous with age. flowers not seen. infructescences axillary, solitary, up to 8 cm long; peduncles 38-40 mm long, c 1 mm wide, glabrescent; branches spreading, slender, glabrescent. fruits ovoid, c 8 × 6 mm, black, smooth, glabrous, tapering above, rounded beneath; stalks c 3 × 1 mm, sparsely puberulous. flowering & fruiting time: not known. distribution: india (assam). habitat: grows in the hilly forests. a duplicate specimen housed at kew was named by a.j.g.h. kostermans as c. riparia, but he did not publish it. the species has been named in the honour of mr. charles j. simons, who made extensive collection of plants mainly in the areas of assam, khasia and mikir hills in north-east india. new combination recently manickam et al. (2007) have described a new species viz. beilschmiedia tirunelvelica manickam et al. from tamil nadu, india. but this unique species has been placed erroneously under the genus beilschmiedia nees. beilschmiedia is characterized by trimerous flowers having 9 fertile stamens and 3 staminodes with well-developed filaments as well as inconspicuous decurrent stigma. the description and drawings reveal that b. tirunelvelica belongs to the genus potameia a. thouars, as it bears dimerous flowers with 4 fertile stamens in two whorls and 2 staminodes as well as inconspicuous stigma. thus the following new combination is proposed. 10. potameia tirunelvelica (manickam et al.) m. gangop., comb. nov. beilschmiedia tirunelvelica manickam et al. in nordic j. bot. 24: 407, fig.1 (2007). type: india, tamil nadu, tirunelveli district, agasthiyamalai biosphere reserve, agasthiar hills, poongulam, ca 1400 m, 24.05.1999, v.s. manickam 19103 (holotype: mh, n.v.; isotypes: xch, n.v). this species differs from potameia paradoxa (hook. f.) kosterm. (basionym: syndiclis paradoxa hook. f.) of bhutan in having opposite, oblong-lanceolate leaves with fewer number of lateral veins (5-7), supra-axillary inflorescences and 2-celled anthers. in p. paradoxa the leaves are alternate with 10-12 pair lateral veins, the panicles are axillary and the anthers are 1-celled. 106 gangopadhyay according to kostermans (1957), the genus potameia has a disjunctive distribution. so far, 19 are known to occur in madagascar island and 1 each in bhutan and china (hainan). the occurrence of p. tirunelvelica in tamil nadu, india is not only a new area of disjunct distribution, but also a new generic record for india. acknowledgements thanks are due to the joint director and staff members of the andaman & nicobar circle, botanical survey of india, port blair for their kind co-operation. thanks are also due to dr. n.c. majumdar, retired scientist, botanical survey of india for the latin diagnoses. references kostermans, a.j.g.h. 1957. lauraceae. reinwardtia 4(2): 193-256. manickam, v.s., murugan, c., jothi, g.j. and sundaresan, v. 2007. a new species of beilschmiedia (lauraceae) from the western ghats, india. nordic j. bot. 24(4): 407-410. correction in ibid. 24(6): 703. 2007. (manuscript received on 1 april 2008; revised on 15 may 2008) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 101-115, 2007 (december) characteristics of the proximal to distal regions of the petioles to identify 15 tree species of papilionoideae-fabaceae samia heneidak1 and abdel samai m. shaheen2 botany department, faculty of applied sciences, suez canal university, suez, egypt key words: accessory ridge bundles, crystals, papilionoideae, petiole anatomy, petiole vasculature, ridge bundles, secretory cavities abstract comparative studies on the structure of the vascular supply of stem-leaf transitional zone of the petioles were carried out in 15 papilionoid tree species. anatomical characteristics and changes in the main vascular trace were recorded. the anatomical features of significance include outline; epidermal cell; pericyclic fiber patterns; main petiolar vasculature; presence, number and separation of ridge vascular bundles; presence of additional accessory ridge bundles; crystal types; secretory elements and multicellular trichomes. erythrina variegata and pterocarpus indicus show no change in the petiole trace structure throughout their petioles from proximal to distal, while the rest of the species have minor to major changes. sophora secundiflora has the highest number of ridge vascular bundles (5-6), while these are absent in the two dalbergia species, e. variegata, derris robusta, sophora davidii and s. japonica. only derris robusta and sophora japonica show unusual petiole trace structure by having two additional accessory ridge bundles adaxial of the main trace enclosing with it by a complete ring of pericyclic fibers. the studied species of tribe millettieae show the presence of secretory cavities lined by epithelial cells. the usefulness of these character states is shown for assessing, identifying and delimiting these examined species. introduction papilionoideae is the biggest subfamily of the three widely recognized subfamilies of fabaceae, and consists of 31 tribes (polhill 1981, mabberley 1997, lewis et al. 2005). it contains approximately 426 genera and about 12,150 species distributed with greatest diversity in brazil, mexico, east africa and madagascar; and a few basic stocks in mediterranean (mabberley 1997). anatomical data have been used at all levels of taxonomic hierarchy as well as for identification and assessment of taxonomic relationships among the taxa of flowering plants (stuessy 1990). vesque (1885) studied a number of families and used petiole anatomy to separate genera and families formerly united. subsequently, the study of petiole anatomy has received much attention and has provided many useful characters 1corresponding author. e-mail: sheneidak2000@yahoo.com 2botany department, aswan faculty of science, south valley university, egypt. e-mail: abdushaheen@yahoo.com 102 heneidak and shaheen (watari 1934, hare 1943, metcalfe and chalk 1950, howard 1979, al-nowaihi et al. 1980, khalifa and el gohary 1982). petiole anatomy has proved to be useful in the delimitation of the genera musa (ennos et al. 2000), quercus (maria and rodriigo 2003), cucurbita (agbaywa and noukwu 2004) and ficus (saquaro 2005). regarding the family fabaceae (leguminosae), watari (1934) examined the vasculature of the petioles and leaves of 133 species of its three subfamilies. of these, 96 species were from papilionoideae, 12 from mimosoideae, and 25 from caesalpinioideae. shaheen (1995, 2006, 2007) studied the anatomy of the stem-leaf transitional zone of the petiole, and used the results to delimit and identify some species of mimosoid and caesalpinioid species. taxonomically useful anatomical characters included pericyclic fiber patterns, main petiole trace types, number and position of secondary bundles and additional accessory bundles, as well as crystal and trichome types. no comprehensive work has been done on petiole anatomy and their proximal to distal vascular supply in trees of the subfamily papilionoideae. thus, the present comparative anatomical investigation was carried out based on fresh samples from the proximal, medial and distal regions of the petioles of 15 papilionoid species to obtain a good guide and additional characters for the identification and delimitation of these important ornamental trees. materials and methods fresh materials of mature petioles of 14 cultivated species of papilionoideae was collected from plant island, aswan, egypt on 15 may 2006, while sesbania sesban was collected from aswan faculty of science, south valley university, egypt on the same day (table 1). all the studied taxa are cultivated plants except sesbania sesban, which is wild and cultivated. these species were identified by comparison with herbarium specimens kept at asw herbarium (aswan faculty of science herbarium, south valley university, egypt), and the herbarium of plant island, aswan, egypt. herbarium specimens were prepared for all species from the collected fresh materials, and are deposited in the asw herbarium and biological sciences department, suez faculty of education, suez canal university, egypt. three samples per species from different individuals and three petioles per sample were examined. petiole segments measuring 2-3 mm long were cut from proximal to distal regions. these segments were fixed and preserved in formalin acetic alcohol (faa), then transferred to 70% ethanol (johansen 1940). using a hand microtome in ain shams university, egypt, sections (10-20 µm) were obtained and double stained with safranin (1% solution in 50% ethanol) and light green (1% solution in absolute ethanol and clove oil) (corgan and widmoyer 1971). these sections were photographed using an olympus photomicroscope, model ch3orf200, japan at public service center of biological control, faculty of agriculture, suez canal university. characteristics of the proximal to distal regions of the petioles 103 table 1. the classification, uses and distribution of the studied 15 papilionoid species according to elhadidi and boulos (1979), lock (1989) and lewis et al. (2005). tribe species use distribution dalbergia lanceolaria l.f. subsp. paniculata (roxb.) thoth. [syn: d. paniculata roxb.] ornamental africa d. sissoo roxb. ex dc. fodder & timber africa & asia pterocarpus indicus willd. ornamental africa & asia dalbergieae tipuana tipu (benth.) kuntze [syn: machaerium tipu benth.] ornamental africa & south america bolusanthus speciosus (bolus) harms [syn: lonchocarpus speciosus bolus] ornamental zaire (africa) pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre ornamental africa & asia derris elliptica (wallich) benth. ornamental africa millettieae d. robusta (roxb. ex dc.) benth. ornamental africa cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. human food & fodder africa erythrina variegata l. [syn: e. indica lam.] ornamental africa, asia, and indian & pacific oceans phaseoleae glycine sinensis sims. ornamental africa sesbanieae sesbania sesban (l.) fawc. & rendle fibre, fodder, medicinal & ornamental africa & asia sophora davidii (franchet) skeels [syn: s. viciifolia salisbury] ornamental kenya, south africa (africa) & asia s. japonica l. [syn: styphnolobium japonicum (l.) schott] medicinal & ornamental egypt, kenya, south africa, zimbabwe (africa) & asia sophoreae s. secundiflora (gomez-ortega) lag. ex dc. ornamental kenya (africa), central & north america results and discussion some recognizable variations as well as similarities were observed among the studied 15 papilionoid species in terms of 18 anatomical characters as summarized in tables 2 & 3 and illustrated in figs. 1-5. in the following sections only the salient features, features showing micro-variations within a category of a character state and the importance of these features in taxonomy are discussed in detail under two broad headings. non-vascular features some features, namely epidermal cells shape, cortex structure, pith, crystal type, mucilage elements showed some specific variations among the studied species. the results of petiole outline agree with those of shaheen (2006, 2007) who reported the usefulness of this character in the assessment of the identification of some species of table 2. the characters (non-vascular) of the petiole anatomy of the studied 15 species of papilionoideae. characters → species ↓ figure outline (ridges & adaxial groove) epidermal cells cortex pericyclic fibres pith crystal type secretory elements mucilage elements multicellular trichomes dalbergia lanceolaria figs. 1a-c 1 1 1 2 1 3 0 2 0 dalbergia sissoo figs. 1d-f 1 3 1 1 2 3 0 2 1 pterocarpus indicus figs. 1g-i 2 1 1 3 2 3 0 2 1 tipuana tipu figs. 2a-c 2 3 1 2 1 3 0 1 1 bolusanthus speciosus figs. 2d-f 2 2 3 2 3 1 1 0 1 pongamia pinnata figs. 2g-i 2 1 1 2 3 4 1 2 1 derris elliptica figs. 3a-c 2 (circular to rectangular) 1 1 2 (proximal) & 4 (medial, distal) 3 (hollow center) 4 1 2 0 derris robusta figs. 3d-f 2 (circular to oblong) 3 1 2 (proximal) & 4 (medial, distal) 3 4 1 1 0 cajanus cajan figs. 3g-i 3 2 2 2 4 4 0 1 1 erythrina variegata figs. 4a-c 1 1 1 1 (small) 1 (solid to hollow center) 2 0 2 0 glycine sinensis figs. 4d-f 2 (circular to obtriangular) 1 3 2 3 (solid to hollow center) 4 0 1 1 sesbania sesban figs. 4g-i 2 (circular to oblong) 1 3 3 (proximal) & 1 (medial, distal) 2 3 0 2 0 sophora davidii figs. 5a-c 1 1 2 2 4 3 0 2 1 sophora japonica figs. 5d-f 2 3 1 2 (proximal) & 4 (medial, distal) 2 4 0 0 0 sophora secundiflora figs. 5g-i 2 (circular with small ridge adaxially) 2 1 2 2 4 0 0 1 key to attributes: outline: 1= wavy circular, 2= wavy circular with two ridges and a shallow to deep adaxial groove, 3= angular to five angled with five angles in between them five furrows. epidermal cells: 1= tangentially elongated, 2= radially elongated, 3= tangentially elongated and radially elongated. cortex: 1= large isodiametric parenchyma cells, 2= large irregular parenchyma cells, 3= outer chlorenchyma and inner parenchyma cells especially in the medial and distal regions. pericyclic fibers: 1= isolated strands, 2= a dissected ring, 3= continuous layers, 4= a continuous ring. pith: 1= large isodiametric parenchyma cells, 2= small isodiametric parenchyma cells, 3= large and small isodiametric parenchyma cells, 4= large irregular parenchyma cells. crystal types: 1= numerous druses and rhombohedral solitary, 2= numerous rod-shaped solitary, 3= few to numerous rhombohedral solitary, 4= numerous rhombohedral and rod-shaped solitary. secretory elements: 1= present, 0= absent. mucilage elements: 1= numerous brown mucilage cavities in the cortical, phloem and pith parenchyma cells, 2= brown mucilage cells present in epidermis, cortical, phloem and pith parenchyma cells, 0= absent. multicellular trichomes: 1= present, 0= absent. table 3. the characters of the petiole vasculature of the studied 15 species of papilionoideae (v. b. = vascular bundles). main petiolar vasculature shape characters → species ↓ figure type in proximal in medial & distal v. b. division changes presence of ridge v. b. no. of ridge v. b. separation of ridge v. b. number of additional accessory v. b. dalbergia lanceolaria figs. 1a-c 2 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 dalbergia sissoo figs. 1d-f 2 3 3 (8-10 v.b.) 1 (1-3 v.b.) 2 0 0 0 0 pterocarpus indicus figs. 1g-i 1 6 5 4 1 3 1 2 0 tipuana tipu figs. 2a-c 3 7 2 (flat abaxially in distal) 1 (2-6 v.b.) 3 1 2 2 0 bolusanthus speciosus figs. 2d-f 3 5 2 (invaginated towards pith adaxially) 2 (2 v.b.) 3 2 1 2 0 pongamia pinnata figs. 2g-i 3 5 4 1 3 2 1 2 0 derris elliptica figs. 3a-c 3 5 1 (nearly square) 2 3 1 1 2 0 derris robusta figs. 3d-f 3 5 2 1 3 0 0 0 2 cajanus cajan figs. 3g-i 3 4 4 2 (1 v.b.) 2 1 1 2 0 erythrina variegata figs. 4a-c 2 3 3 (12 v.b.) 4 1 0 0 0 0 glycine sinensis figs. 4d-f 3 4 4 1 (6-7 v.b.) 3 1 1 2 0 sesbania sesban figs. 4g-i 3 6 3 (5-8 v.b.) 1 (3-4 v.b.) 3 2 1 2 0 sophora davidii figs. 5a-c 2 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 sophora japonica figs. 5d-f 2 1 1 (medial) & 2 (distal) 3 2 0 0 0 2 sophora secundiflora figs. 5g-i 2 2 2 (abaxially compressed) 3 3 1 3 1 0 key to attributes: main petiolar vasculature type: 1= open, 2= closed, 3= open in the proximal region and closed in the medial and distal regions. main petiolar vasculature shape in the proximal region: 1= excentric cylindrical amphiphloic siphonostele, 2= two closely neighbouring amphiphloic siphonosteles, 3= circular dictyostele, 4= wavy five angled dictyostele, 5= continuous bicollateral cup-shape, u-shaped, or o-shaped, 6= small bicollateral arc, 7= large bicollateral flask-shaped. main petiolar vasculature shape in the medial and distal regions: 1= excentric cylindrical amphiphloic siphonostele, 2= wavy angular amphiphloic siphonostele, 3= circular dictyostele, 4= wavy dictyostele, 5= small bicollateral arc. main petiolar v.b. division: 1= number of bundles increased laterally and abaxially, 2= number of bundles increased adaxially, 3= xylem division only, 4= unchanged bundles. main petiolar vasculature changes: 1= no changes, 2= minor changes, 3= major changes. presence of ridge bundles: 1= in the three regions of the petioles, 2= only in the medial and distal regions, 3= only in distal regions, 0= absent. no. of ridge v. b.: 1 = constantly 2 (1 at each ridge side), 2 = 4 bundles (2 at each ridge side), 3 = 5-6 bundles, 0 = absent. separation of ridge v.b.: 1= from the adaxial sides of the two vascular rings, 2= from both ends of the open main trace, 0= absent. number of additional accessory v. b.: 0= absent, 2= presence of two bundles. 106 heneidak and shaheen mimosoid and caesalpinioid species. metcalfe and chalk (1983) also listed the presence of mucilage cavities and cells in primary cortex, phloem or pith of the species of the family fabaceae. our findings match their records. figs. 1a-i. cross-sections of the proximal (a, d, g), medial (b, e, h) and distal (c, f, i) regions of the petiole: a-c. dalbergia lanceolaria subsp. paniculata, d-f. dalbergia sissoo, g-i. pterocarpus indicus (tribe dalbergieae). ab = abaxial bundles, ad = adaxial bundles, c = cortex, e = epidermis, h = multicellar hairs, i = inner phloem, l = lateral bundles, o = outer phloem, p = pith, pf = pericyclic fibers, rb = ridge bundles, x = xylem. (bar = 1 mm) characteristics of the proximal to distal regions of the petioles 107 pericyclic fiber forms: the main petiolar vascular supply is strongly supported by the pericyclic fibers outside the outer phloem in all examined species. these patterns appear to be a diagnostic character between the studied species (table 2). generally, the characters of pericyclic sclerenchyma in the petioles are diagnostic to pterocarpus indicus, bolusanthus speciosus, pongamia pinnata, derris elliptica, d. robusta and sophora japonica. in this respect, the presence or absence of pericyclic sclerenchyma in woody plants appears to have taxonomic value (petit 1887). metcalfe (1983) mentioned that phloem fibers are of considerable taxonomic importance. ibrahim (1996) reported that a continuous ring of sclerenchyma cells surrounds the main petiolar vasculature in 27 species of subfamily caesalpinioideae, and the remaining species have either a dissecting ring or isolated strands. crystal type: crystal is a characteristic of bolusanthus speciosus (numerous druses and rhombohedral solitary crystals) and erythrina variegata (numerous rod-shaped solitary crystals). in this respect, metcalfe and chalk (1950) reported the presence of rodshaped solitary crystals (styloids) in the palisade tissue of derris, pongamia and sophora species. also, ibrahim (1996) recorded the presence of druses in 11 species, solitary crystals in 10 species, solitary and druses crystals in 6 species, and crystals absent in 6 species of subfamily caesalpinioideae. secretory elements: these elements are restricted to the cortical region of the petiole of bolusanthus speciosus, derris elliptica (small in these two species), pongamia pinnata and derris robusta (large in these two species, figs. 2g & 3d) of tribe millettieae. each secretory element is formed of a large intercellular space surrounded by a layer of tangentially flattened papillose epithelial cells. earlier, metcalfe (1983) recorded the presence of these secretory elements in bolusanthus species (papilionoideae), and their presence is of diagnostic rather than of taxonomic value. multicellular trichomes: sparsely distributed multicellular-uniseriate trichomes were found in nine studied species (table 2). in bolusanthus speciosus and cajanus cajan these are, however, dense and long (figs. 2d-f & 3g-i). shaheen (2006, 2007) also showed trichomes seemed to be of taxonomic interest for the distinction of some of mimosoid and caesalpinioid species. vascular bundle features some features, namely tendency of bundles to divide in the main petiole vasculature, changes within the petiole of the same species, presence of ridge (secondary) vascular bundles, number of ridge vascular bundles and separation of ridge bundles are summarized in table 3. however, a few features need detailed discussion as illustrated below. main petiole vasculature type: within the taxa studied, petiole vasculature type (table 3) seems to be diagnostic to the two dalbergia species, pterocarpus indicus, 108 heneidak and shaheen erythrina variegata and sophora davidii. in addition, the unique type of petiole vasculature in bolusanthus speciosus and pongamia pinnata may support a close relationship between them belonging to tribe millettieae. in this respect, de candolle (1879) proposed two types of petiole vasculature: open where the bundles are arranged in an arc, and closed where the bundles form circular comparable to that of the stem. his proposals were incorporated in the work of metcalfe and chalk (1950). figs. 2a-i. cross-sections of the proximal (a, d, g), medial (b, e, h) and distal (c, f, i) regions of the petiole: a-c. tipuana tipu (tribe dalbergieae), d-f. bolusanthus speciosus, g-i. pongamia pinnata (tribe millettieae). g = adaxial groove, i = inner phloem, m = brown mucilage elements, r = ridges, rb = ridge bundles, s = secretory elements. (bar = 1 mm) characteristics of the proximal to distal regions of the petioles 109 tendency for the bundles to divide: the increased number of vascular bundles in the medial and distal regions than the proximal one of the petioles (table 3) seems to be a diagnostic feature of dalbergia sissoo, tipuana tipu and cajanus cajan. in addition, the unique pattern of bundle division in dalbergia sissoo and tipuana tipu account for the close relationship between them belonging to tribe dalbergieae, similar relationship was seen in derris elliptica and bolusanthus speciosus belonging to tribe millettieae. these results agree with those of shaheen (2006, 2007) who reported the importance of this character in the assessment of the identification and delimitation of some mimosoid and caesalpinioid species. changes in vascular bundles from proximal to distal region: three cases of change are recorded from proximal to distal region (table 3). the main petiolar vascular supply has many variations in types, shapes and tendency of its bundles to divide from the proximal to distal regions. it is diagnostic to dalbergia lanceolaria (large amphiphloic siphonostele), dalbergia sissoo (small dictyostele of 7 bicollateral bundles), sophora japonica, s. davidii (amphiphloic siphonostele) and s. secundiflora (an abnormal structure of two closely neighbouring amphiphloic siphonosteles; one much bigger than the other). the complexity in the structure of the petiole vasculature is also recorded in faidherbia albida (shaheen 1995) and in quercus (maria and rodriigo 2003). in contrast, shaheen (2006, 2007) reported the importance of that character in the assessment of the identification of some mimosoid and caesalpinioid species. in this respect, homogeneously in the structure of the petiole vasculature is also recorded in acacia phyllodes and acacia podalyriifolia (duarte and wolf 2005) and in some caesalpinioid species (shaheen 2007). main petiole vasculature shape in the proximal region: the shape, number and topography vary greatly within the petiole of the same species and between the studied species (table 3). in the proximal region, seven types were seen: 1) excentric cylindrical amphiphloic siphonostele, in dalbergia lanceolaria, sophora davidii and s. japonica (figs. 1a, 5a, d). 2) two closely neighbouring amphiphloic siphonosteles (one much bigger than the other, in sophora secundiflora) (fig. 5g). 3) circular, dictyostele, in dalbergia sissoo (small, excentric of 7 bundles; three adaxial, two lateral and two abaxial, fig. 1d) and erythrina variegata (large of 12 small bundles; three adaxial, six lateral and three abaxial, fig. 4a). 4) wavy five angled dictyostele, in cajanus cajan (9 bundles of one abaxial and 8 laterals; four big and four small in between, fig. 3g) and glycine sinensis (5 bundles of one big abaxial and four laterals two big and two small, fig. 4d). 110 heneidak and shaheen 5) continuous bicollateral cup-shape with two incurved ends adaxially, in bolusanthus speciosus (fig. 2d), pongamia pinnata (fig. 2g), derris elliptica (u-shaped, fig. 3a) and derris robusta (open o-shaped of small 5 bundles; four laterals and one abaxial, fig. 3d). figs. 3a-i. cross-sections of the proximal (a, d, g), medial (b, e, h) and distal (c, f, i) regions of the petiole: a-c. derris elliptica, d-f. derris robusta (tribe millettieae), g-i. cajanus cajan (tribe phaseoleae). ar = additional accessory ridge bundles, i = inner phloem, m = brown mucilage elements, pf = pericyclic fibers, s = secretory elements. (bar = 1 mm) characteristics of the proximal to distal regions of the petioles 111 6) small bicollateral arc in pterocarpus indicus (continuous, fig. 1g) and sesbania sesban (5 bundles, fig. 4g). 7) large bicollateral flask-shaped; round basal part with five large bundles, and two long incurved ends adaxially separating each end to two ridge bundles in tipuana tipu (fig. 2a). figs. 4a-i. cross-sections of the proximal (a, d, g), medial (b, e, h) and distal (c, f, i) regions of the petiole: a-c. erythrina variegata, d-f. glycine sinensis (tribe phaseoleae), g-i. sesbania sesban (tribe sesbanieae). ch = chlorenchyma cells, i = inner phloem. (bar = 1 mm) 112 heneidak and shaheen figs. 5a-i. cross-sections of the proximal (a, d, g), medial (b, e, h) and distal (c, f, i) regions of the petiole: a-c. sophora davidii, d-f. s. japonica, g-i. s. secundiflora (tribe sophoreae). ar = additional accessory ridge bundles, i = inner phloem, pf = pericyclic fibers, r = ridge bundles. (bar = 1 mm) generally, this feature is characteristic to the two species of the two dalbergia and derris species, petrocarpus indicus, sophora secundiflora, s. javanica and tipuana tipu. in addition, this result seems to be accounted for the close relationship between cajanus cajan and glycine sinensis. in this connection, hare (1943) and metcalfe and chalk (1950) recorded main petiole vasculature strand shape composed of separate bundles or characteristics of the proximal to distal regions of the petioles 113 continuous in the form of u-shaped, cylindrical or open arc. ibrahim (1996) also summarized the types of petiole vasculature in the medial regions of the petioles as siphonostele, dictyostele and complete crescent shape. main petiole vasculature shape in the medial and distal regions: the major petiole vasculature shapes in the medial and distal regions are tabulated in table 3. however, the wavy dictyostele show some variations among the species: pongamia pinnata (five angled and invaginated towards pith adaxially, figs. 2h-i), cajanus cajan (five-angled with five big bundles lying in the five angles in between them five small bundles lying in the five furrows, figs. 3h-i) and glycine sinensis (triangular and invaginated towards pith adaxially, figs. 4e-f). ridge (secondary) vascular bundles: these are situated at the ridges of the adaxial side of the petiole in its cortex with certain taxonomic significance in family leguminosae (watari 1934, ibrahim 1996). there are four cases identified in the present study (table 3). in case of pterocarpus indicus, the ridge is present only in the distal region. separation of ridge bundles: in terms of the characters of ridge bundles (table 3), our findings agree with those of watari (1934) who recorded the presence of the ridge bundles in pterocarpus indicus, derris elliptica and sophora japonica, and their absence in dalbergia sissoo. in contrast, watari (1934) reported the presence of the ridge bundles in 53 species of subfamily papilionoideae, 11 species of mimosoideae, and 18 species of caesalpinioideae. ibrahim (1996) recorded also the presence of the ridge bundles in the medial regions of the petioles of 14 species of caesalpinioideae. additional accessory ridge bundles: there are two such ridge bundles which lie adjacent to the main petiole strand adaxially enclosing with it by a complete ring of pericyclic fibers in derris robusta and sophora japonica (figs. 3e-f & 5d-f). they separate in the medial region in derris robusta (fig. 3e), or in the proximal region in sophora japonica (fig. 5d). shaheen (1995, 2007) reported the presence of the accessary bundles in the core of the main trace in some mimosoid and caesalpinioid species. ibrahim (1996) recorded also the presence of the additional accessory ridge bundles in the medial regions of the petioles of seven species of subfamily caesalpinioideae. in this study, we found major changes in the petiolar supply from proximal to distal regions in the most of the studied species, contrary to metcalfe and chalk (1979) who reported that the middle of the petiole is the most reliable position from which a single section can be taken for comparative purposes. our findings also suggested that petiolar outline shape, the number of ridge bundles (two), crystal type, secretory elements and the unique patterns in the main petiolar vasculature (especially open main vascular type in the proximal regions and closed main vascular type in the medial and distal regions) account for close relationship among the species of tribe millettieae. 114 heneidak and shaheen acknowledgements the authors appreciate the corrections and suggestions of the referees who much contributed to the improvement of this manuscript. references agbaywa, i.o. and noukwu, b.c. 2004. the value of morpho-anatomical features in the systematic of cucurbita species in nigeria. african j. biotech. 3(10): 541-546. al-nowaihi, a.s., khalifa, s.f. and ishak, i.f. 1980. the 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(manuscript received on 19 september 2007; revised on 6 november 2007) microsoft word 10. review.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 177-197, 2011 (december) © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f., the flora of british india: volume-i m. enamur rashid and m. atiqur rahman* department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: j.d. hooker; flora of british india; bangladesh; nomenclature; taxonomic status. abstract sir joseph dalton hooker in his first volume of the flora of british india includeed a total of 2460 species in 452 genera under 44 natural orders (= families) of which a total of 226 species in 114 genera under 33 natural orders were from the area now in bangladesh. these taxa are listed with their updated nomenclature and taxonomic status as per icbn following cronquist’s system of plant classification. the current number recognized, so far, are 220 species in 131 genera under 44 families. the recorded area in bangladesh and the name of specimen’s collector, as in hook.f., are also provided. introduction j.d. hooker compiled his first volume of the “flora of british india” with three parts published in 3 different dates. each part includes a number of natural orders. part i includes the natural order ranunculaceae to polygaleae while part ii includes frankeniaceae to geraniaceae and part iii includes rutaceae to sapindaceae. hooker was assisted by various botanists in describing the taxa of 44 natural orders of this volume. altogether 10 contributors including j.d. hooker were involved in this volume. publication details along with number of cotributors and distribution of taxa of 3 parts of this volume are mentioned in table 1. this volume includes a total of 44 natural orders (now treated as families), 98 tribes, 452 genera and 2460 species. hooker described 5 natural orders by himself, 14 natural orders jointly with t. thomson, 3 natural orders with m.p. edgeworth, 1 natural order with t. anderson while maxwell t. masters, alfred w. bennett, w.t. thiselton dyer, w.p. hiern, t. anderson and m.a. lawson individually described remaining 21 natural orders. out of these 44 natural orders, 33 were recorded with 226 species from the area now in bangladesh. these natural orders of the volume-i and their contributors are listed below in table 2 with distribution of taxa. materials and methods the first volume of the flora of british india (hooker, 1872) was considered as an initial step to prepare a list of species which have been recorded in it from the area now in bangladesh. the recorded area (collection locality), collector’s name, etc. were determined by checking the protologue of each species carefully. the recorded localities, as mentioned in the protologues, were confirmed by consulting roxburgh (1814, 1832) and wallich (1828-49) which appeared before the flora of british india. moreover, literature including kurz (1877), prain (1903), heinig *corresponding author. e-mail: atiquerahman125@hotmail.com 178 rashid and rahman (1925), cowan (1926) and sinclair (1956) appeared after the flora of british india, were also consulted to ascertain the corresponding places of occurrence in the area of bangladesh. table 1. publication details of flora of british india, volume 1. published parts year of publication no. of contributors no. of natural orders no. of genera no. of species part-i 1872 4 16 171 777 part-ii 1874 5 16 139 929 part-iii 1875 5 12 142 754 the current nomenclature of each species was determined as per icbn by consulting voss (1983) and by searching internet sources (i-vi), and taxonomic status were determined following cronquist’s (1981) system of plant classification. for currect author citation brummitt and powell (1992) was consulted. synonyms were checked by consulting recently published relevant literature, viz., khan (1972-1987), hara and williamms (1979), grierson and long (1984, 1991), brummitt (1992), sharma et al. (1993), sharma and balakrishnan (1993), sharma and sanjapa (1993), mabberley (1997), hajra et al. (1997), hajra (1997), press et al. (2000), khan and rahman (1989-2002), rahman et al. (2003), khanam and ara (2007), and ahmed et al. (2008a,b;2009a,b,c). table 2. natural orders with contributors and distribution of taxa in the volume-i natural order as in volume-i name of contributors no. of genera no. of species no. of species from the area of bangladesh 1. ranunculaceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 19 121 2 2. dilleniaceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 6 34 3 3. magnoliaceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 8 27 2 4. anonaceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 26 194 22 5. menispermaceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 19 34 10 6. berberideae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 6 17 0 7. nymphaeaceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 5 8 1 8. papaveraceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 5 13 0 9. fumariaceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 4 31 0 10. cruciferae j.d. hooker & t. anderson 43 138 1 11. capparideae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 8 56 1 12. resedaceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 3 4 0 13.violaceae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 3 26 3 14. bixineae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 10 26 4 15. pittosporeae j.d. hooker & t. thomson 1 9 0 16. polygaleae alfred w. bennett 5 39 3 17. frankeniaceae m.p. edgeworth & j.d. hooker 1 1 0 18. caryophylleae w.t. thiselton dyer 19 108 0 updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants 179 table 2 contd. natural order as in volume-i name of contributors no. of genera no. of species no. of species from the area of bangladesh 19. portulaceae w.t. thiselton dyer 2 6 0 20. tamariscineae w.t. thiselton dyer 2 8 0 21. elatineae w.t. thiselton dyer 2 6 0 22. hypericineae w.t. thiselton dyer 3 26 3 23. guttiferae t. anderson 6 65 10 24.ternstrcemiaceae w.t. thiselton dyer 14 56 7 25. dipterocarpeae w.t. thiselton dyer 9 95 11 26. malvaceae maxwell t. masters 27 127 9 27.sterculiaceae maxwell t. masters 17 90 12 28.tiliaceae maxwell t. masters 13 115 22 29. linea j.d. hooker 7 23 2 30. malpighiaceae j.d. hooker 3 14 2 31. zygophylleae m.p. edgeworth & j.d. hooker 4 9 0 32. geraniaceae m.p. edgeworth & j.d. hooker 10 180 3 33. rutaceae j.d. hooker 23 95 14 34. simarubeae alfred w. bennett 9 17 1 35. ochnaceae alfred w. bennett 4 13 1 36. burseraceae alfred w. bennett 10 39 3 37. meliaceae w.p. hiern 19 85 9 38. chailletiaceae j.d. hooker 1 6 1 39. olacineae maxwell t. masters 23 69 10 40. ilicineae j.d. hooker 1 26 2 41.celastrineae m.a. lawson 13 114 13 42. rhamneae m.a. lawson 12 57 5 43. ampelideae m.a. lawson 3 101 23 44. sapindaceae w.p. hiern 24 132 11 total: 44 10 452 2460 226 results and discusion the search of the first volume of the flora of british india revealed a total of 226 species under 114 genera and 33 natural orders from the area now in bangladesh. after current nomenclatural treatment, the number of species reduced to 220. while the genera and families splited to 131 and 44, respectively. it is determined, so far, that 35 generic names are changed and 79 remain unchanged. on the other hand, 106 species names are changed and 120 remain unchanged. hence, 220 species and 131 genera under 44 families. are recognized, so far, from the area of bangladesh and presented in table 3. 180 rashid and rahman table 3. list of taxa as in hook.f., the flora of british india (fbi), volume-i from the area of bangladesh with their current nomenclature and taxonomic status. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 1. clematis cadmia ham. ex wall. natural order: ranunculaceae eastern bengal griffith 1. clematis cadmia buch.-ham. ex hook.f. & thom., fl. ind.: 5 (1855). family: ranunculaceae 2. naravelia zylanica dc. natural order: ranunculaceae bengal wall. cat. 4687 2. naravelia zylanica (l.) dc., syst. nat. 1: 167 (1817). family: ranunculaceae 3. tetracera assa dc. natural order: dilleniaceae chittagong wall. cat. 6629 3. tetracera indica (houtt. ex christm. & panz.) merr., interpr. rump. herb. amboin.: 367 (1917). family: dilleniaceae 4. dillenia indica linn. natural order: dilleniaceae silhet wall. cat. 943 4. dillenia indica l., sp. pl.: 535 (1753). family: dilleniaceae 5. dillenia scabrella roxb. natural order: dilleniaceae silhet wall. cat. 944 5. dillenia scabrella roxb. ex wall. in pl. as. rar. 1: 20, t. 22 (1830). family: dilleniaceae 6. magnolia sphenocarpa roxb. natural order: magnoliaceae chittagong wall. cat.975 6. magnolia pterocarpa roxb., pl. corom. 3: 62, t. 266 (1820). family: magnoliaceae 7. kadsura roxburghiana arn. natural order: magnoliaceae silhet wall. cat. 4987 7. kadsura heteroclita (roxb.) craib., fl. siam. enum.1: 28 (1925). family: schisandraceae 8. uvaria bracteata roxb. natural order: anonaceae silhet roxburgh 8. cyathostemma argenteum (bl.) j. sinclair in sarawak mus. journ. 5: 3: 599 (1951). family: annonaceae 9. uvaria macrophylla roxb. natural order: anonaceae silhet wall. cat. 6487 9. uvaria cordata (dunal) alston in handb. fl. ceyl. suppl. 6: 4 (1931). family: annonaceae 10. artabotrys suaveolens blume natural order: anonaceae silhet wall. cat. 6416 10. artabotrys suaveolens blume in fl. jav. anon. p. 62. t. 30 & 31d (1830). family: annonaceae 11. unona dunalii wall. natural order: anonaceae chittagong, sitakund h. f. & t. 11. desmos dunalii (hook.f. & thom.) saff. in bull. torr. bot. club 39: 506 (1912). family: annonaceae 12. unona dumosa roxb. natural order: anonaceae silhet roxburgh 12. desmos dumosus (roxb.) saff. in bull. torr. bot. club 39:506 (1912). family: annonaceae 13. unona discolor vahl natural order: anonaceae silhet wall. cat. 6420 (partly) 13. desmos chinensis lour., fl. cochinch. 1: 352 (1790). family: annonaceae 14. unona longiflora roxb. natural order: anonaceae chittagong wall. cat. 6419 14. desmos longiflorus (roxb.) saff. in bull. torr. bot. club 39: 507 (1912). family: annonaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants 181 table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 15. polyalthia cerasoides benth. natural order: anonaceae eastern exposer hamilton 15. polyalthia cerasoides (roxb.) bedd.in ic. pl. ind. orien.: 17 (1869). family: annonaceae 16. polyalthia simiarum benth. & h. f. natural order: anonaceae silhet hamilton and wallich 16. polyalthia simiarum (buch-ham. ex hook. f.) hook.f. & thom. in fl. brit. ind. 1: 63 (1872). family: annonaceae 17. polyalthia jenkinsii benth. & h. f. natural order: anonaceae silhet kurz 17. polyalthia jenkinsii hook.f. & thom. in fl. brit. ind. 1: 64 (1872). family: annonaceae 18. polyalthia suberosa benth. & h. f. natural order: anonaceae bengal not mentioned 18. polyalthia suberosa (roxb.) thw. in enum. pl. zeyl.: 398 (1864). family: annonaceae 19. polyalthia argentea h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae silhet h. f. & t. 19. trivalvaria argentea (hook.f. & thom.) j. sinclair in sarawak mus. journ. 5: (1951). family: annonaceae 20. oxymitra fornicata h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae silhet wall. cat. 6423a 20. friesodielsia fornicata (roxb.) das in bull. bot. sunv. ind. 5: 43 (1963). family: annonaceae 21. mitrephora tomentosa h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae chittagong h. f. & t. 21. mitrephora tomentosa hook.f. & thom., fl. ind. p. 113 (1855). family: annonaceae 22. anona reticulata linn. natural order: anonaceae naturalized in bengal 22. anona reticulata l., sp. pl.: 537 (1753). family: annonaceae 23. melodorum rubiginosum h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae chittagong and silhet h. f. & t. 23. fissistigma rubiginosum (a. dc.) merr. in philipp. journ. sc. bot. 15: 135 (1919). family: annonaceae 24.melodorum polyanthum h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae silhet wall. cat. 6467 24. fissistigma polyanthum (hook.f. & thom.) merr. in philipp. journ. sc. bot. 15:135 (1919). family: annonaceae 25. melodorum rufinerve h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae silhet h. f. & t. 25. fissistigma rufinerve (hook.f. & thom.) merr. in philipp. journ. sc. bot. 15: 136 (1919). family: annonaceae 26. melodorum wallichii h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae silhet wallich 26. fissistigma wallichii (hook. f. & thom.) merr. in philipp. journ. sc. bot. 15: 137 (1919). family: annonaceae 27. saccopetalum longiflorum h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae eastern bengal hamilton 27. miliusa longiflora (hook. f. & thom.) finet & gagnep. in bull. soc. bot. fr. 53(4): 153 (1906). family: annonaceae 28. alphonsia lutea h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae silhet beddome 28. alphonsia lutea (roxb.) hook.f. & thom., fl. ind. p.153 (1855). family: annonaceae 182 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 29. alphonsia ventricosa h. f. & t. natural order: anonaceae chittagong wall. cat. 6453 29. alphonsia ventricosa (roxb) hook.f. & thom., fl. ind. p. 152 (1855). family: annonaceae 30. parabaena sagittata miers natural order: menispermaceae chittagong wall. cat. 4984 30. parabaena sagittata miers ex hook.f. & thom., fl. ind. p. 181 (1855). family: menispermaceae 31. tinospora malabarica miers natural order: menispermaceae chittagong wall. cat. 4969 31. tinospora sinensis (lour.) merr., sunyasenia 1: 193 (1934). family: menispermaceae 32. tinospora crispa miers natural order: menispermaceae silhet wall. cat. 49966a, b. 32. tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thom., fl. ind. p. 183 (1855). family: menispermaceae 33. tinospora tomentosa miers natural order: menispermaceae bengal roxburgh 31. tinospora sinensis (lour.) merr., sunyasenia 1: 193 (1934). family: menispermaceae 34. anamirta cocculus w. & a. natural order: menispermaceae eastern bengal wall. cat. 4954 33. anamirta cocculus (l.) wight & arn., prod. 1:446 (1834). family: menispermaceae 35. tiliacora racemosa coleb. natural order: menispermaceae bengal not mentioned 34. tiliacora acuminata (lam.) hook.f. & thom., fl. ind. p.187 (1855). family: minispermaceae 36. limacia cuspidata h. f. & t. natural order: menispermaceae eastern bengal wall. cat. 4960 35. hypserpa nitida miers. in hook.f., kew journ. bot. 3: 258 (1851). family: minispermaceae 37. pericampylus incanus miers natural order: menispermaceae chittagong wall. cat. 4980 36. pericampylus glaucus (lam.) merr., interp. rump.. herb. amb.: 219 (1917). family: menispermaceae 38. stephania hernandifolia walp. natural order: menispermaceae chittagong wall. cat. 4977 d-h,k 37. stephania japonica (thunb.) miers in ann. mag. nat. hist. ser. 3. 18: 14 (1866). var. timoriensis (dc.) forman, kew bull. 11: 55 (1956). family: menispermaceae 39. pycnarrhena pleniflora miers. natural order: menispermaceae silhet wallich 38. pycnarrhena pleniflora (planiflora) hook.f. & thom., fl. ind. p. 206 (1855). family: menispermaceae 40. euryale ferox salisb. natural order: nymphaeaceae jheels of eastern bengal 39. euryale ferox salisb. in kon. & sims. in ann.bot. 2: 74 (1806). family: nymphaeaceae 41. nasturtium palustre dc. natural order: cruciferae bengal not mentioned 40. rorippa palustris (l.) bess. in enum. pl. volhyniae: 27 (1822). family: brassicaceae 42. capparis horrida linn. f. natural order: capparideae chittagong wall. cat. 6981 41. capparis zeylanica l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 720 (1762). family: capparaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants 183 table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 43. ionidium suffruticosum ging. natural order: violaceae bengal wall. cat. 1439 42. hybanthus enneaspermus (l.) f. muell., fragm. phyt. austr. 10: 81 (1876). family: violaceae 44. alsodeia bengalensis wall. natural order: violaceae silhet wallich and griffith 43. rinorea bengalensis (wall.) o. kutze., rev. gen. pl. 1: 42 (1891). family: violaceae 45. alsodeia roxburghii wall. natural order: violaceae silhet wallich 44. rinorea heteroclita (roxb.) craib. in fl. siam. enum. 1:89 (1925). family: violaceae 46. flacourtia inermis roxb. natural order: bixineae silhet jack & c. 45. flacourtia inermis roxb., pl. corom. 3: 16, t. 222 (1811). family: flacourtiaceae 47. flacourtia cataphracta roxb. natural order: bixineae chittagong wall. cat. 6674 46. flacourtia jangomas (lour.) raeusch., nom. bot. ed. 3: 290 (1797). family: flacourtiaceae 48. flacourtia sepiaria roxb. natural order: bixineae throughout bengal 47. flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr., interpr. rump. herb. amb. 377 (1917). family: flacourtiaceae 49. gynocardia odorata r. br. natural order: bixineae chittagong not mentioned 48. gynocardia odorata r. br. in roxb. pl. corom. 3: 95, t. 299 (1820). family: flacourtiaceae 50. salomonia cantoniensis lour. natural order: polygaleae eastern bengal wall. cat. 4192 49. salomonia cantoniensis lour., pl. cochinch. 1:14 (1790). family: polygalaceae 51. securidaca tavoyana wall. natural order: polygaleae chittagong, silhet -wall. cat. 4196 50. securidaca inappendiculata hassk., pl. jav. rar. 295 (1848). family: polygalaceae 52. xanthophyllum flavescens roxb. natural order: polygaleae chittagong, silhet not mentioned 51. xanthophyllum flavescens roxb., pl. corom. 3: 82, t. 284 fig. 2 (1820). family: xanthophyllaceae 53. hypericum japonicum thunb. natural order: hypericineae silhet wall. cat. 4811 52. hypericum japonicum thunb. ex murray in syst. veg. ed. 14, 702 (1784). family: clusiaceae 54. hypericum breviflorum wall. natural order: hypericineae silhet wallich 53. triadenum breviflorum (wall. ex dyer) kimura in nakai & honda, nova fl. japan 10:79 (1951). family: clusiaceae 55. cratoxylon neriifolium kurz natural order: hypericineae chittagong h. f. & t. 54. cratoxylum sumatranum (jack.) blume subsp.neriifolium (kurz) gog. in blumea 15: 463 (1967). family: clusiaceae 56. garcinia cornea linn. natural order: guttiferae silhet wall. cat. 4852 55. garcinia affinis wall. ex pierr. in fl. forest. cochinch. fosc. 6:16, t. 78c, 79g (1883). family: clusiaceae 184 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 57. garcinia cowa roxb. natural order: guttiferae eastern bengal wall. cat. 4863 56. garcinia cowa roxb. ex dc., prodr. 1:501 (1824). family: clusiaceae 58. garcinia lanceaefolia roxb. natural order: guttiferae silhet wall. cat. 4861 a, b 57. garcinia lanceaefolia roxb., fl. ind. 2:623 (1832). family: clusiaceae 59. garcinia pedunculata roxb. natural order: guttiferae silhet, rungpore wall. cat. 4860 58. garcinia pedunculata roxb. ex buch-ham. in brewster, edinburgh j. sci. 7:45. t, 1 (1827). family: clusiaceae 60. garcinia morella desrouss. natural order: guttiferae eastern bengal-wall. cat. 4868 59. garcinia morella (gaertn.) desr. in lam., encycl. 3(2): 701, t. 405, f. 4 (1792). family: clusiaceae 61. garcinia paniculata roxb. natural order: guttiferae eastern bengal wall. cat. 4857 60. garcinia sopsopia (buch-ham.) mabberley in taxon 26: 529 (1977). family: clusiaceae 62. garcinia anomala planch. &trian. natural order: guttiferae eastern bengal – wallich & c. 61. garcinia anomala planch. & triana in ann. soc. nat. ser. 4, 14: 329 (1860). family: clusiaceae 63. garcinia xanthochymus hook.f. natural order: guttiferae eastern bengal wall. cat. 4837 62. garcinia xanthochymus hook.f. ex t. anders. in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 269 (1874). family: clusiaceae 64. calophyllum polyanthum wall. natural order: guttiferae eastern bengal kurz 63. calophyllum polyanthum wall. ex choisy, deser. guttif. inde.: 43 (1849). family: clusiaceae 65. mesua ferrea linn. natural order: guttiferae eastern bengal wall. cat. 4834 64. mesua ferrea l., sp. pl. 515 (1753). family: clusiaceae 66. ternstroemia japonica thunb. natural order: ternstroemiaceae eastern bengal not mentioned 65. ternstroemia gymnanthera (wight & arn.) bedd., fl. sylv. 91. pl. 91 (1871). family: theaceae 67. cleyera grandiflora h. f. & t. natural order: ternstroemiaceae eastern bengal j.d.h. & t.t. 66. cleyera japonica thunb., nov. gen. pl. 68 (1783) var. grandiflora (wall. ex choisy) kobuski. in j. arn. arb. 18: 125 (1937). family: theaceae 68. eurya acuminata dc. natural order: ternstroemiaceae eastern bengal not mention 67. eurya acuminata dc. in mem. soc. phys. hist. nat. geneva 1: 418 (1822). family: theaceae 69. saurauja roxburghii wall. natural order: ternstroemiaceae chittagong, silhet j. h. d. & t. t. 68. saurauja roxburghii wall., pl. as. rar. 2:40 (1830). family: actinidiaceae 70. schima wallichii choisy natural order: ternstroemiaceae chittagong wallich & c. 69. schima wallichii (dc.) korth. in temminck, verh. nat. gesch. bot. 143 (1840). family: theaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants 185 table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 71. pyrenaria barringtoniaefolia seem. natural order: ternstroemiaceae eastern bengal lobb. 70. pyrenaria barringtonifolia (griff.) seem., bonplandia 7: 49 (1859). family: theaceae 72. camellia caudata wall. natural order: ternstroemiaceae silhet wallich & c. 71. camellia caudata wall., [cat. 27, n. 978 (1829), nom. nud.] pl. as. rar. 3: 36 (1830). family: theaceae 73. dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn. f. natural order: dipterocarpeae chittagong wall. cat. 952 72. dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn., de fruct. 3: 51, t. 188, f. 1 (1805). family: dipterocarpaceae 74. dipterocarpus pilosus roxb. natural order: dipterocarpeae chittagong roxburgh & c. 73. dipterocarpus gracilis blume, bijidn. 5: 224 (1825). family: dipterocarpaceae 75. dipterocarpus scaber ham. natural order: dipterocarpeae eastern bengal hamilton 74. dipterocarpus costatus gaertn., de. fruct. 3:50, t. 187 (1805). family: dipterocarpaceae 76. dipterocarpus tuberculatus roxb. natural order: dipterocarpeae chittagong roxburgh 75. dipterocarpus tuberculatus roxb., fl. ind. 2:614 (1832). family: dipterocarpaceae 77. dipterocarpus alatus roxb. natural order: dipterocarpeae chittagong wall. cat. 953 76. dipterocarpus alatus roxb. ex g. don in gen. syst. 1: 813 (1831). family: dipterocarpaceae 78. dipterocarpus incanus roxb. natural order: dipterocarpeae chittagong roxburgh 76. dipterocarpus alatus roxb. ex g. don, gen. syst. 1: 813 (1831). family: dipterocarpaceae 79. dipterocarpus costatus roxb. natural order: dipterocarpeae chittagong not mentined 74. dipterocarpus costatus gaertn., de. fruct. 3: 50, t. 187 (1805). family: dipterocarpaceae 80. ancistrocladus wallichii planch. natural order: dipterocarpeae chittagong,silhet h f. & t., de silva, 77. ancistrocladus wallichii planch. in ann. sc. nat. bot. ser. 3, 13: 319 (1849). family: ancistrocladaceae 81. vatica scaphula dyer. natural order: dipterocarpeae chittagong roxb. 78. anisoptera scaphula (roxb.) pierre. in fl. for. cochin., sub. t. 235, ff. b 13-17 (1888-1891). family: dipterocarpaceae 82. vatica lanceaefolia blume natural order: dipterocarpeae silhet wallich 79. vatica lanceifolia (roxb.) blume in mus. bot. 2: 31(1852). family: dipterocarpaceae 83. shorea robusta gaertn. f. natural order: dipterocarpeae eastern districts – wall. cat. 965 80. shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn. f., de. fruct. 3: 48 (1805). family: dipterocarpaceae 84. abutilon avicennae gaertn. natural order: malvaceae bengal not mentioned 81. abutilon theophrasti medik., malv.: 28 (1787). family: malvaceae 186 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 85. hibiscus surattensis linn. natural order: malvaceae bengal not mentioned 82. hibiscus surattensis l., sp. pl.: 696 (1753). family: malvaceae 86. hibiscus fragrans roxb. natural order: malvaceae silhet roxburgh 83. hibiscus fragrans roxb., hort. beng.: 97 (1814). family: malvaceae 87. hibiscus scandens roxb. natural order: malvaceae chittagong wall. cat. 1910, 1910b 84. hibiscus scandens roxb., [hort. beng.: 57 (1814) nom. nud.] fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 200 (1832). family: malvaceae 88. hibiscus macrophyllus roxb. natural order: malvaceae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 1903 85. hibiscus macrophyllus roxb. ex hornem., hort. hafn. suppl.: 149 (1819). family: malvaceae 89. hibiscus monihot l. natural order: malvaceae naturalized in bengal 86. abelmoschus monihot (l.) medik., malv.: 46 (1787). paul & nayar in nayar et. al. (eds.) fasc. fl. ind. 19: 74 (1988). family: malvaceae 90. hibiscus tiliaceus l. natural order: malvaceae bengal not mentioned 87. hibiscus tiliaceus l., sp. pl.: 694 (1753). family: malvaceae 91. thespesia populnea corr. natural order: malvaceae bengal not mentioned 88. thespesia populnea (l.) sol. ex corr. in ann. mus. hist. nat. paris 9: 290, t. 8, f. 1 (1807). family: malvaceae 92. gossypium herbaceum l. natural order: malvaceae dacca wall. cat.1880 89. gossypium herbaceum l., sp. pl.: 693 (1753). family: malvaceae 93. sterculia villosa roxb. natural order: sterculiaceae bengal 90. sterculia villosa roxb., [ h. beng. 50(1814), nom. nud.], ex smith in rees, cyclop. 34: no. 16 (1816). family: sterculiaceae 94. sterculia roxburghii wall. natural order: sterculiaceae silhet wall. cat. 1124 91. sterculia roxburghii wall. in fl. asait. rar. 3; t. 262 (1832). family: sterculiaceae 95. sterculia colorata roxb. natural order: sterculiaceae eastern bengal wall. cat. 1119 f 92. firmiana colorata (roxb.) r. br. in benn. & brown., fl. java rar.; 235 (1844). family: sterculiaceae 96. sterculia parviflora roxb. natural order: sterculiaceae silhet wallich 93. sterculia parviflora roxb. ex g. don in gen. hist. 1: 516 (1831). family: sterculiaceae 97. sterculia alata roxb. natural order: sterculiaceae chittagong and silhet roxburgh 94. pterygota alata (roxb.) r. br. in benn. pl. java rar. 234 (1844). family: sterculiaceae 98. helicteres elongata wall. natural order: sterculiaceae eastern bengal j.d.h. 95. helicteres elongata wall., [cat. no. 1845 (1831), nom. nud.] ex masters in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 365 (1874). family: sterculiaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants 187 table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 99. heritiera fomes buch. natural order: sterculiaceae gangetic delta, extending inland to silhet not mentioned 96. heritiera fomes buch-ham. in symes, an. account of an embassy to the kingdom of ava, ed. 2, 3: 319 (1800). family: sterculiaceae 100. pterospermum acerifolium willd natural order: sterculiaceae chittagong wall. cat. 1170 97. pterospermum acerifolium (l.) willd., sp. pl. 3: 729 (1800). family: sterculiaceae 101. pterospermum semisagittatum ham. natural order: sterculiaceae chittagong h.f. & t. 98. pterospermum semisagittatum buch-ham ex roxb., fl. ind. 3: 160 (1832). family: sterculiaceae 102. pterospermum lanceaefolium roxb. natural order: sterculiaceae silhet roxburgh 99. pterospermum lanceaefolium roxb., [hort. beng.: 50 (1814) nom. nud.] fl. ind. 3: 163 (1832). family: sterculiaceae 103. buettneria aspera colebrooke natural order: sterculiaceae silhet de silva 100. byttneria grandiflora dc., prodr.1: 486 (jan.1824). family: starculiaceae 104. buettneria pilosa roxb. natural order: sterculiaceae chittagong, silhet h.f. & t., de silva 101. byttneria pilosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 681(1832). family: starculiaceae 105. brownlowia elata roxb. natural order: tiliaceae chittagong – roxburgh, griffith & c. 102. brownlowia elata roxb., pl. corom. 3: 61 (1819). family: tiliaceae 106. brownlowia lanceolata benth. natural order: tiliaceae sunderbunds griffith 103. brownlowia tersa (l.) kosterm. in penerbitan majd. pengetahuan indonesia 1: 73 (1995). family: tiliaceae 107. grewia excelsa vahl natural order: tiliaceae chittagong wall. cat. 6307 a 104. grewia excelsa vahl in symb. b. 35 (1790). family: tiliaceae 108. grewia asiatica l. natural order: tiliaceae eastern bengal wall. cat. 1089 105. grewia asiatica l. in mant. pl. 122 (1767). family: tiliaceae 109. grewia scabrophylla roxb. natural order: tiliaceae chittagong wallich & c. 106. grewia sclerophylla roxb. ex g. don in gen. hist. 1: 550 (1831). family: tiliaceae 110. grewia multiflora juss. natural order: tiliaceae eastern bengal not mentioned 107. grewia serrulata dc., prodr. 1: 510 (1824). family: tiliaceae 111. grewia microcos l. natural order: tiliaceae chittagong wall. cat. 1098 108. grewia nervosa (lour.) panigr., taxon 34: 702 (1985). family: tiliaceae 112. triumfetta tomentosa bojer natural order: tiliaceae silhet wallich 109. triumfetta pilosa roth. in nov. pl. sp.: 223 (1821). family: tiliaceae 188 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 113. triumfetta cana blume natural order: tiliaceae chittagong hook. & thoms. 110. triumfetta oblique roth. in nov. pl. sp. 224 (1821). family: tiliaceae 114. elaeocarpus ganitrus roxb. natural order: tiliaceae chittagong wallich 111. elaeocarpus angustifolius blume in bijdr. fl. ned. ind. 3: 120 (1825). family: elaeocarpaceae 115. elaeocarpus floribundus blume natural order: tiliaceae chittagong griffith 112. elaeocarpus floribundus blume in bijdr.: 120 (1825). family: elaeocarpaceae 116. elaeocarpus serratus l. natural order: tiliaceae eastern bengal wall. cat. 2666 113. elaeocarpus serratus l., sp. pl.: 515 (1753). family: elaeocarpaceae 117. elaeocarpus robustus roxb. natural order: tiliaceae chittagong wall. cat. 2664 a? 114. elaeocarpus tectorius (lour.) poir. in lam., encycl. suppl. 2: 704 (1812). family: elaeocarpaceae 118. elaeocarpus cuneatus wight natural order: tiliaceae chittagong, silhet – wight, beddome 113. elaeocarpus serratus l., sp. pl.: 515 (1753). family: elaeocarpaceae 119. elaeocarpus lanceaefolius roxb. natural order: tiliaceae silhet wallich, griffith & c. 115. elaeocarpus lanceifolius roxb., fl. ind. 2: 598 (1832). family: elaeocarpaceae 120. elaeocarpus lucidus roxb. natural order: tiliaceae chittagong roxburgh, griffith 116. elaeocarpus lucidus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 600 (1832). family: elaeocarpaceae 121. elaeocarpus aristatus roxb. natural order: tiliaceae silhet wallich 117. elaeocarpus aristatus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 599 (1832). family: elaeocarpaceae 122. elaeocarpus rugosus roxb. natural order: tiliaceae chittagong roxburgh 118. elaeocarpus rugosus roxb. ex g. don in gen hist. 1: 559 (1831). family: elaeocarpaceae 123. elaeocarpus acuminatus wall. natural order: tiliaceae silhet wallich & c. 119. elaeocarpus acuminatus wall. ex masters in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 406 (1874). family: elaeocarpaceae 124. elaeocarpus prunifolius wall. natural order: tiliaceae silhet wallich 120. eleocarpus prunifolius (c. muell.) masters in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 407 (1874). family: elaeocarpaceae 125. elaeocarpus varunua ham. natural order: tiliaceae chittagong,silhet wall. cat. 2666 g,h 121. elaeocarpus varunua buch-ham. ex masters in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 407 (1874). family: elaeocarpaceae 126. elaeocarpus integra wall. natural order: tiliaceae silhet wallich 122. elaeocarpus petiolatus (jack.) wall. ex steud. in nom. bot. ed. 1: 545 (1840). family: elaeocarpaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants 189 table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 127. reinwardtia trigyna planch. natural order: lineae chittagong wall. cat. 1505 123. reinwardtia indica dumort., com. bot.: 19 (1822). family: linaceae 128. erythroxylon kunthianum wall. natural order: lineae eastern bengal wall. cat. 6849 124. erythroxylum kunthianum wall. ex kurz in j. asiat. soc. beng. 41: 294 (1872). family: erythroxylaceae 129. aspidopterys nutans hook.f. natural order: malpighiaceae chittagong – roxburgh & c. 125. aspidopterys nutans (roxb. ex dc.) a. juss. in ann. sc. nat. 2. ser. bot. 5, 13: 267 (1840). family: malpighiaceae 130. aspidopterys natuns var. rotundifolia a. juss. natural order: malpighiaceae chittagong roxburgh 126. aspidopterys orbiculata (roxb. ex wall.) niedenzu in arb. bot. inst. kerigl. lyceums hosianum braunsberg 6: 14 (1915). family: malpighiaceae 131. impatiens flavida h. f. & t. natural order: geraniaceae silhet wallich & c. 127. impetiens trilobata colebr. in hook.f., exot. fl. 2:f. 141 (1825). family: balsaminaceae 132. impatiens tripetala roxb. natural order: geraniaceae silhet wall. cat. 4742 128. impetiens tripetala roxb. ex dc., prodr. 1: 687 (1824). family: balsaminaceae 133. hydrocera triflora w. & a. natural order: geraniaceae throughout bengal 129. hydrocera triflora (l.) wight & arn., prod. 140 (1834). family: balsaminaceae 134. zanthoxylum budrunga wall. natural order: rutaceae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 1211 130. zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc., prodr. 1: 728 (1824). family: rutaceae 135. acronychia laurifolia blume natural order: rutaceae chittagong wall. cat. 1205 131. acronychia padunculata (l.) miq. in fl. ind. bot. suppl. 532 (1861). family: rutaceae 136. micromelum pubecens blume natural order: rutaceae chittagong wall. cat. 6371 132. micromelum minutum (g. froster) wight & arn., prodr. fl. ind. orient.: 448, 468 (1834). family: rutaceae 137. murraya exotica linn. natural order: rutaceae chittagong wall. cat. 6368 133. murraya paniculata (l.) jack. in malayan misc. 1(5): 31 (1820). family: rutaceae 138. murraya koenigii spreng. natural order: rutaceae bengal not mentioned 134. murraya koenigii (l.) spreng., syst. veg. 2: 315 (1826). family: rutaceae 139. clausena heptaphylla w. & a. natural order: rutaceae chittagong, silhet h. f. &t., wallich 135. clausena heptaphylla (roxb.) wight & arn. ex steud., prodr. fl. ind. or. 95 in nota (1834). family: rutaceae 140. clausena excavata burm. natural order: rutaceae chittagong, silhet wallich & c. 136. clausena excavata burm. f., fl. ind. 87. t. 29. f. 2 (1768). family: rutaceae 190 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 141. clausena wampi blanco natural order: rutaceae eastern islands 137. clausena lansium (lour.) skeels in u. s. d. a. bur. pl. industr. bull. 168: 31(1909). family: rutaceae 142. clausena suffruticosa w. & a. natural order: rutaceae chittagong roxburgh 138. clausena suffruticosa (roxb.) wight & arn., prodr.: 96 (1834). family: rutaceae 143. luvunga scandens ham. natural order: rutaceae eastern bengal wall. cat. 6382 139. luvunga scandens (roxb.) buch-ham. ex wight in wight & arn., prodr. 90 (1834). family: rutaceae 144. paramignya griffithii hook. f. natural order: rutaceae silhet wallich 140. paramignya scandens (griff.) craib in fl. siam. enum. 1: 235 (1926). family: rutaceae 145. paramignya citrifolia hook.f. natural order: rutaceae chittagong roxburgh 140. paramignya scandens (griff.) craib in fl. siam. enum. 1: 235 (1926). family: rutaceae 146. atalantia monophylla correa natural order: rutaceae silhet h f. & t. 141. atalantia monophylla (l.) dc., prodr. 1: 535 (1824). family: rutaceae 147. citrus medica linn. natural order: rutaceae chittagong h. f. & t. 142. citrus medica l., sp. pl. 782 (1753). family: rutaceae 148. brucea mollis wall. natural order: simarubeae silhet wallich 143. brucea mollis wall. ex kurz in j. as. s. beng. 42: 64 (1873). family: simaroubaceae 149. ochna aquarrosa linn. natural order: ochnaceae silhet wall. cat. 2805 144. ochna squarrosa l., sp. pl.: 732 (1753). family: ochnaceae 150. balsamodendron roxburghii arn. natural order: burseraceae silhet roxburgh & c. 145. cammiphora agallocha (wight & arn.) engl. in dc., mongr. phan. 4: 11 (1883). family: burseraceae 151. bursera serrata colebr. natural order: burseraceae chittagong wall. cat. 8492 146. protium serratum (wall. ex colebr.) engl. in dc., monogr. phan. 4: 88 (1883). family: burseraceae 152. canarium bengalense roxb. natural order: burseraceae silhet roxburgh 147. canarium bengalense roxb., fl. ind. 3: 316 (1832). family: burseraceae 153. dysoxylum grande hiern natural order: meliaceae silhet (wall.) 148. dysoxylum grande hiern. in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 547 (1875). family: meliaceae 154. dysoxylum hamiltonii hiern natural order: meliaceae silhet wall.cat. 4882 149. dysoxylum mollissimum blume, bijdr. 175 (1825). family: meliaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants 191 table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 155. aglaia wallichii hiern natural order: meliaceae silhet wallich, griffith 150. aglaia wallichii hiern. in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 555 (1875). family: meliaceae 156. aglaia edulis a. gray. natural order: meliaceae silhet – wallich, j. d. h. & t. t. 151. aglaia edulis (roxb.) wall., calc. gar. rep. 26 (1840). family: miliaceae 157. amoora rohituka w. & a. natural order: meliaceae silhet wall. cat. 4888 152. aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r. n. parker, ind. for. 57: 486 (1931). family: meliaceae 158. amoora chittagonga hiern. natural order: meliaceae chittagong j. d. h. & t. t. 153. aglaia chittagonga miq. in ann. mus. bot. lugduno-batavum 4:44 (1868). family: meliaceae 159. amoora cucullata roxb. natural order: meliaceae sunderbunds wallich 154. aglaia cucullata (roxb.) pellegr. in fl. indochine. 1: 771 (1911). family: meliaceae 160. walsura robusta roxb. natural order: meliaceae silhet wallich 155. walsura robusta roxb., fl. ind. 2:386 (1832). family: meliaceae 161. heynea trijuga roxb. natural order: meliaceae bengal not mentioned 156. heynea trijuga sims in curtis, bot. mag. 41: t. 1738 (1815). family: meliaceae 162. chailletia gelonioides hook.f. natural order: chailletiaceae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 4342 157. dichapetalum gelonioides (roxb.) engl. in engl. & prantl., pflanzenfam. 3, 4: 348 (1896). family: dichapetalaceae 163. olax imbricata roxb. natural order: olacineae chittagong wallich 158. olax imbricata roxb., fl. ind. 1: 169 (1820). family: olacaceae 164. olax acuminata wall. natural order: olacineae silhet wallich 159. olax acuminata wall. ex benth. in trans. linn. soc. 18: 678 (1841). family: olacaceae 165. erythropalum scandens blume natural order: olacineae silhet wallich 160. erythropalum scandens blume, bijdr.: 922 (1826). family: olacaceae 166. schoepfia acuminata wall. natural order: olacineae silhet wallich 161. schoepfia fragrans wall. in roxb. fl. ind. ed. 2: 188 (1832). family: olacaceae 167. lepionurus oblongifolius mast. natural order: olacineae eastern bengal wall. cat. 7206f 162. lepionurus sylvestris blume, bijdr. 1148 (1826). family: opiliaceae 168. gomphandra axillaris wall. natural order: olacineae silhet wallich 163. gomphandra tetrandra (wall. ex roxb.) sleum., notizbl. berlin-dablen 15: 238 (1940). family: icacinaceae 192 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 169. natsiatum herpeticum ham. natural order: olacineae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 4252 164. natsiatum herpaticum buch-ham. ex arn. in edinb. new philos. j. 16: 314 (1834). family: icacinaceae 170. iodes hookeriana baill. natural order: olacineae chittagong h. f. & t. 165. iodes hookeriana baill., adans. 10: 268 (18711872). family: icacinaceae 171. iodes thomsoniana baill. natural order: olacineae chittagong h.f. & t. 166. iodes thomsoniana baill., adans. 10: 270 (18711872). family: icacinaceae 172. cardiopteris lobata r. br. natural order: olacineae silhet wall.cat.8033 167. peripterygium quinquelobum hassk. in tijd. nat. gesch. phys. 10: 142 (1843). family: cardiopteridaceae 173. ilex griffithii hook.f. natural order: ilicineae silhet h. f. & t. t. 168. ilex triflora blume, bijdr.: 1150 (1826). family: aquifoliaceae 174. ilex godajam colebr. natural order: ilicineae silhet wall. cat. 4329 169. ilex godajam colebr. ex hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 604 (1875). family: aquifoliaceae 175. euonymus glaber roxb. natural order: celastrineae east bengal griffith 170. euonymus glaber roxb., fl. ind. 2: 403 (1824). family: celastraceae 176. euonymus cinereus laws. natural order: celastrineae east bengal griffith 171. euonymus cinereus laws. in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 611 (1875). family: celastraceae 177. euonymus pendulus wall. natural order: celastrineae east bengal griffith 172. euonymus pendulus wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 406 (1824). family: celastraceae 178. lophopetalum fimbriatum wight natural order: celastrineae silhet wallich 173. lephopetalum wightianum arn. in ann. mag. nat. hist. 3: 151(1839). family: celastraceae 179 celastrus venulosa wall. natural order: celastrineae silhet wallich 174. celastrus venulosa wall. ex hook.f. & thom. in fl. brit. ind. 1: 618 (1872). family: celastraceae 180. celastrus monosperma roxb. natural order: celastrineae eastern bengal-wallich, griffith 175. celastrus monospermus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 394 (1824). family: celastraceae 181. gymnosporia neglecta wall. natural order: celastrineae silhet wallich 176. celastrus stylosus wall. ex roxb., fl. ind. 2: 401 (1824). family: celastraceae 182. gymnosporia wallichiana spreng. natural order: celastrineae eastern bengal herb. griffith 177. maytenus wallichii (g. don) bennet. & sahni., ind. for. 103(6): 387 (1977). family: celastraceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants 193 table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 183. kurrimia pulcherrima wall. natural order: celastrineae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 4334 178. bhesa robusta (roxb.) ding hou in blume suppl. 4: 152 (1958). family: celastraceae 184. hippocratea obtusifolia roxb. natural order: celastrineae silhet wallich 179. loeseneriella africana (willd.) wilczek in fl. cong. belge. & ruanda-brundi 9: 154 (1960). family: hippocrateaceae 185. hippocratea grahami wight natural order: celastrineae silhet wallich 180. hippocratea grahamii wight in illustr. ind. bot. 1: 130 (1840). family: hippocrateaceae 186. salacia prinoides dc. natural order: celastrineae silhet h. f. & t. 181. salacia chinensis l., mant. ed. 2: 293 (1771). family: hippocrateaceae 187. salacia floribunda wight natural order: celastrineae silhet de silva 182. salacia floribunda wight in illustr. ind. bot. 1: 134 (1840). family: hippocrateaceae 188. ventilago calyculata tulasne natural order: rhamneae silhet wall. cat. 4268 b 183. ventilago denticulate willd., ges. natur. fr. neue. schr. 3: 417 (1801). family: rhamnaceae 189. zizyphus glabrata heyne. natural order: rhamneae eastern bengal griffith 184. ziziphus glabrata heyne. ex roth., nov. pl. sp.: 159 (1821). family: rhamnaceae 190. zizyphus funiculosa ham. natural order: rhamneae silhet – wallich & c. 185. ziziphus funiculosa buch-ham. ex lows. in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. i: 636 (1875). family: rhamnaceae 191. zizyphus rugosa lamk. natural order: rhamneae silhet wallich & c. 186. ziziphus rugosa lam., encycl. 3: 319 (1789). family: rhamnaceae 192. berchemia floribunda wall. natural order: rhamneae eastern bengal griffith 187. berchemia floribunda (wall.) brongn., mem. fam. rhamn. 50, t. 2.1 (1826) in ann. sci. nat. 10: 357, t. 13, 1(1827). family: rhamnaceae 193. vitis pentagona roxb. natural order: ampelideae chittagong roxburgh 188. vitis pentagona (roxb.) lows. in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 646 (1875). family: vitaceae 194. vitis repens w. & a. natural order: ampelideae chittagong, silhet -wall. cat. 5990 189. cissus repens lam. in encycl. math. bot. 1: 31 (1783). family: vitaceae 195. vitis discolor dalz. natural order: ampelideae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 6010 190. cissus javana dc., prodr. 1: 628 (1824). family: vitaceae 196. vitis repanda w. & a. natural order: ampelideae silhet wall. cat. 6002 191. cissus rependa vahl, symb. 3: 18 (1794). family: vitaceae 194 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 197. vitis adnata wall natural order: ampelideae silhet wall. cat. 5998 192. cissus adnata roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 1:405 (1814). family: vitaceae 198. vitis barbata wall. natural order: ampelideae silhet wall. cat. 5995 c,d 193. ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch. in dc., monogr. phan. 5: 375 (1887). family: vitaceae 199. vitis lanata roxb. natural order: ampelideae chittagong wall. cat. 5995 a,b,e 194. vitis lanata roxb., fl. ind. 2: 472 (1814). family: vitaceae 200. vitis latifolia roxb. natural order: ampelideae silhet wall. cat. 5993 ? 195. ampelocissus latifolia (roxb.) planch., j. vigne. amer.: 374 (1884). family: vitaceae 201. vitis montana laws. natural order: ampelideae silhet hook. f. & t. 195. ampelocissus latifolia (roxb.) planch., j. vigne. amer.: 374 (1884). family: vitaceae 202. vitis parvifolia roxb. natural order: ampelideae eastern bengal roxburgh 196. vitis parvifolia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 475 (1820). family: vitaceae 203. vitis bracteolata wall. natural order: ampelideae silhet de silva 197. tetrastigma bracteolatum (wall.) planch. in dc., monogr. phan. 5: 428 (1887). family: vitaceae 204. vitis angustifolia wall. natural order: ampelideae silhet wall. cat. 6033 198. tetrastigma angustifolium (roxb.) planch. in dc., monogr. phan. 5: 439 (1887). family: vitaceae 205. vitis elongata wall. natural order: ampelideae silhet wall. cat. 6016 199. cissus elongata roxb., fl. ind. 1: 411 (1832). family: vitaceae 206. vitis auriculata roxb. natural order: ampelideae chittagong h.f. & t. 200. cyphostemma auriculata (roxb.) singh & shetty in fl. bhutan. 2(1): 160 (1991). family: vitaceae 207. vitis capriolata don natural order: ampelideae silhet roxburgh 201. tetrastigma serrulatum (roxb.) planch. in dc., monogr. phan. 5: 432 (1887). family: vitaceae 208. vitis mollis wall. natural order: ampelideae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 6025 202. cayratia japonica (thanb.) gagnep., nat. syst. 1: 349 (1911). family: vitaceae 209. vitis dubia laws. natural order: ampelideae chittagong? h. f. & t. 203. tetrastigma dubium (laws.) planch. in dc., monogr. phan. 5: 437 (1887). family: vitaceae 210. vitis hookeri laws. natural order: ampelideae chittagong h. f. & t. 204. tetrastigma leucostaphyllum (dennst.) alston ex mabb. in taxon 20: 539 (1977). family: vitaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants 195 table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 211. vitis pedata vahl natural order: ampelideae silhet wall. cat. 6027 205. cayratia pedata (lam.) juss. ex gagnep., not. syst. 1:346 (1911). family: vitaceae 212. vitis rubifolia wall. natural order: ampelideae silhet wallich 206. vitis rubifolia wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 480 (1824). family: vitaceae 213. leea macrophylla roxb. natural order: ampelideae bengal wall. cat. 6818 207. leea macrophylla roxb. ex hornem., hort. hafn. 1: 231 (1813). family: leeaceae 214. leea crispa willd. natural order: ampelideae chittagong, silhet wallich 208. leea crispa l., syst. nat. ed. 12, 2: 627 (1767). family: leeaceae 215. leea hirta roxb. natural order: ampelideae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 6822 209. leea aequata l., syst. nat. ed. 12, 2: 627 (1767). family: leeaceae 216. allophylus cobbe blume natural order: sapindaceae silhet wall. cat. 8066 210. allophyllus triphyllus (brum. f.) merr. in phil. j. sci. 19: 363 (1921). family: sapindaceae 217. cupania pentapetala w. & a. natural order: sapindaceae silhet roxburgh 211. cupania pentapetala wight & arn., prodr. 113 (1834). family: sapindaceae 218. cupania sumatrana miq. natural order: sapindaceae silhet gomez, h. f. & t. 212. mischocarpus pentapetalus (roxb.) radlk. in sapind. holl.-ind.: 43 (1879). family: sapindaceae 219. sapindus trifoliatus linn. natural order: sapindaceae bengal cultivated 213. sapindus emarginatus vahl, symb. bot. 3: 54 (1794). family: sapindaceae 220. sapindus mukorossi gaertn. natural order: sapindaceae silhet 214. sapindus saponaria l., sp. pl.: 367 (1753). family: sapindaceae 221. sapindus attenuatus wall. natural order: sapindaceae silhet wallich, griffith & c. 215. aphania rubra radlk. in sitzb. math. phys. acad. mucnch.: 238 (1878). family: sapindaceae 222. sapindus danura voigt natural order: sapindaceae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 8051 216. aphania danura (voigt.) radlk., in sitzb. math. phys. acad. mucnch. 8: 238 (1878); family: sapindaceae 223. xerospermum noronhianum blume. natural order: sapindaceae silhet wallich 217. xerospermum noronhianum (blume) blume, rumphia 3: 100 (1847). family: sapindaceae 224. nephelium longana camb. natural order: sapindaceae eastern bengal wall. cat. 8049 218. dimocarpus longan lour., fl. cochinch.: 233 (1790). family: sapindaceae 196 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural order as in hook.f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and family as cronquist (1981) 225. harpullia cupanoides roxb. natural order: sapindaceae chittagong roxburgh 219. harpullia cupaniodes roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 2: 442 (1832). family: sapindaceae 226. turpinia pomifera dc. natural order: sapindaceae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 4276 220. turpinia pomifera (roxb.) dc., prodr. 2: 3 (1825). family: staphyleaceae acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the university grants commission, bangladesh for providing fund to carry out this research. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2008a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceaeasteraceae).asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 1408. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2008b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. angiosperms: dicotyledons (balsaminaceaeeuphorbiaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 1546. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2009a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 8. angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae-lythraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 1478. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. 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(manuscript received on 19 august 2011; revised on 23 october 2011) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 1-8, 2010 (june) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists the micromorphological and anatomical properties of onosma angustissimum hausskn. & bornm. and o. cassium boiss. (boraginaceae) öznur ergen akçin1 and riza binzet2 department of biology, faculty of sciences and arts, ordu university, ordu 52750, turkey keywords: boraginaceae; onosma; morphology; anatomy; lm; sem. abstract the micromorphological and anatomical properties of onosma angustissimum hausskn. & bornm. and o. cassium boiss. were investigated. o. angustissimum is an endemic species. all examined taxa had secondary root structure. crystals were seen in the stem and leaves of two species. epidermal cells containing crystal needles were observed in o. cassium. studied onosma species had isobilateral type of leaves. stomata were anisocytic and anomocytic. glandular and eglandular trichomes especially porrectstellate and simple trichomes were densely seen on the both upper and lower epidermis of leaves in two species. stomata index was different in o. cassium from o. angustissimum. introduction the family boraginaceae comprises about 131 genera and 2500 species in five subfamilies and seven tribes. the boraginaceae are distributed throughout the tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of the world. the centers of highest diversity in the north temperate zone are the irano-turanian and mediterranean regions, and in the tropics are central america and northern and central south america. in turkey there are about 300 species (alshehbaz, 1991). the genus onosma is represented by about 102 taxa (97 species) in turkey and the proportion of endemism among native species is 50% including 50 endemic species and 1 endemic variety (riedl, 1978; davis et al., 1988; yıldırımlı, 2000; riedl et al., 2005; binzet and orcan, 2007). the roots of many species of boraginaceae, particularly in the genera alkana tausch, anchusa l., arnebia forssk., cynoglossum l., echium l., lithospermum l. and onosma l. yield red to purple nafthaquinone dyes commonly known as alkannins. several members of the boraginaceae have commonly been used as pot herbs and for their medicinal and culinary values (alshehbaz, 1991). previous studies on the anatomy of this genus are limited. metcalfe and chalk (1979) and watson and dallwitz (1991) reported the characteristic properties of the family boraginaceae. anatomical data of the genus onosma are scare and scattered in literature 1corresponding author. e-mail: <oysakcin@yahoo.co.uk><oakcin@omu.edu.tr> 2department of biology, faculty of art and science, adıyaman university, adıyaman, turkey. 2 akçin and binzet dealing more generally with the boraginaceae family (metcalfe and chalk, 1979). it has been noted that various types of hairs (setae) occur in boraginaceae and it shows great variation within onosma species. the anatomical and ecological properties of some onosma species were studied by akçin and engin (2001, 2005) and akçin (2004). binzet and orcan (2003) investigated the anatomical structure and palynological characteristics of o. roussaei dc. and o. giganteum lam. the chromosome numbers of different species of onosma were reported by teppner (1981, 1988). recently nutlet micromorphologies of some onosma species were studied (akcin, 2007a). we began this research after perceiving the need for biological characteristics of plants to be supported by anatomical and morphological research in order to shed more light on evolutionary and systematic relationships. therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the micromorphological and anatomical characteristics of onosma angustissimum hausskn. & bornm. and o. cassium boiss and its application to systematics. materials and methods plant materials were collected from different localities of southern turkey (table 1). voucher specimens were kept at the herbarium of the faculty of art and science of mersin university. taxonomical descriptions of the specimens were made according to riedl (1978). samples for anatomical studies were fixed in 70% alcohol. cross and surface sections of root, stem and leaves were excised by hand and they were covered with glycerin-gelatin (vardar, 1987). the photographs were taken with nikon fdx-35 microscope. all measurements and observations were made using imaging software (table 2). stomata index was calculated according to the method described by meidner and mansfield (1968) (table 3). for scanning electron microscopy, dried leaves were mounted on stubs using double-sided adhesive tape. samples were coated with 12.5-15.0 nm of gold. coated leaves were examined and photographed with jms-6400 scanning electron microscope. table 1. locality information of the examined onosma taxa. taxa locality o. angustissimum c3 antalya: gazipaşa, sugözü plataeau, 1230 m, 360 26' n 0320 28' e, 19.05.2005, binzet 59; c4 mersin: anamur, abanoz plataeau-bardat plataeau, fersakan around, 1300 m, 360 21' n 0320 49' e, 20.05.2005, binzet 60. o. cassium c5 hatay: i̇skenderun, arsuz, işıklı village-kale village, rocky slopes and open forest, 360 19'n 0350 47' e, 29.06.2004, 150 m, binzet 11; 24.04.2005, binzet 12. results and discussion o. cassium boiss. transverse sections taken from the root were observed as follows. fellogen is uniseriate and distinguishable. felloderm is 1-2 layered. cortex is multilayered and micromorphological and anatomical properties of onosma 3 composed of parenchymatous cells and phloem. cambium cells are 1-3 layered and distinguishable. xylem is composed of sclerenchymatous cells and trachea and covers a large area in root. pith rays are multi-layered. in the pith, primary xylem tissue is present (table 2, fig. 1). table 2. anatomical properties of various tissues of o. cassium and o. angustissimum. o. cassium o. angustissimum parameter breadth (µm) mean ± se length (µm) mean ± se breadth (µm) length (µm) root periderm cells 38.90 ± 14.58 23.90 ± 5.73 parenchyma cells 25.82 ± 5.20 16.27±1.66 diameter of trachea 37.38 ± 7.01 stem epidermis cells 25.57 ± 5.31 20.78 ± 2.61 collenchyma cells 44.50 ± 7.36 28.10 ± 4.45 parenchyma cells 66.88 ±15.18 46.06 ± 8.64 diameter of trachea 28.47 ± 6.16 diameter of pith cells 77.74 ± 20.51 leaf upper epidermis cells 17.68 ± 2,68 13.29 ± 2.46 lower epidermis cells 18.99 ± 3.65 13.30 ± 2.53 palisade parenchyma cells 27.30 ± 2.93 11,76 ± 2.63 spongy parenchyma cells 9.2 ± 0.69 11.93 ± 1.49 table 3. stoma features on the upper and lower epidermis of o o. cassium (mean ± se) parameter upper surface lower number of stomata (1 mm2) 52 ± 5.20 46 ± number of epidermis cells (1 mm2) 248 ± 4.8 271 ± stoma index 17.33 14, stoma length (µm) 24.71 ± 2.9 13.92 stoma width (µm) 22.66 ± 2.49 16.29 epidermis is covered by cuticle with glandular an eglandular trichomes are simple and stellate. the ep rectangular or oval cells. collenchyma is 2-3 layered. parenchyma cells and 2-4 layered parenchyma ce distinguishable. sclerenchymatous cells are present cambium is distinguishable. pith rays are 1-6 layer cylindrical parenchymatous cells (table 2, fig. 2). mean ± se mean ± se 30.55 ± 7.75 16.84 ± 2.76 25.12 ± 3.72 14.67±2.39 65.65 ± 15.21 26.21 ± 4.32 28.99 ± 5.92 34.03 ±6.49 31.44± 4.99 61.23 ±12.23 52.43± 6.30 26.39 ± 5.89 53.35 ± 9.87 29.96 ± 9.04 19.04± 5.99 19.38 ± 5.55 23.69 ± 6.38 18.82 ± 5.93 63.80 ± 12.31 20.68 ± 4.99 12.56 ± 3.89 . cassium and o. angustissimum. o. angustissimum (mean ± se) surface upper surface lower surface 4.60 7.1 51 ± 3.18 ± 3.32 d egla iderm ther lls in betwe ed. t 34 ± 3.40 66 ± 6.60 247 ± 4.7 346 ± 4.6 12.09 16,01 15.11 ± 4.17 17.24 ±1.93 13.74 ± 2.71 13.57 ± 1.91 ndular trichomes on the stem. is is composed of uniseriate e are 3-5 layered compressed the cortex. endodermis is en phloem and parenchyma. he pith consists of large and 4 akçin and binzet the transverse and surface sections taken from the leaves were observed (figs. 3-9). there is a thick cuticle. epidermal cells are isodiametric and oval. some epidermal cells are larger and located higher than the others on the upper surface. epidermal cells contain crystal needles. glandular and eglandular trichomes especially porrect-stellate trichomes are seen on the both upper and lower epidermis. the stellate trichome base elevate above the epidermis. these trichomes have cystoliths in the bases. palisade parenchyma cells are 2-(3) layered on the upper surface and single layered on the lower surface. spongy parenchyma cells are 2-(3) layered. stomata types are of anisocytic and anomocytic. there are more anisocytic stomata on the upper epidermis. vascular bundles are collateral and surrounded by a parenchymatic bundle sheath (tables 2-3). figs. 19: o. cassium. 1. transverse section of root. 2. transverse section of stem. 3-9. leaf (lm, sem). pd = peridermis; cx = cortex; c = cambium; x = xylem; e = epidermis; cl = collenchyma; sc = sclerenchyma; en = endodermis; ph = phloem; ue = upper epidermis; pp = palisade parenchyma; sp = spongy parenchyma; le = lower epidermis; st = stomata. bars: 1,2 = 50 µm; 3,4,7 = 20 µm; 5,8 = 100 µm; 6,9 = 10 µm. micromorphological and anatomical properties of onosma 5 o. angustissimum hausskn. & bornm. cortex is multi-layered and parenchymatous under the periderm of root. clear and large phloem is seen in the upper portion of the cambium. xylem is composed of untidy concentric rings. the pith consists of tracheary elements (table 2, fig. 10). figs. 10-18. o. angustissimum. 10. transverse section of root. 11. transverse section of stem. 12-18. leaf (lm, sem). pd = peridermis; cx = cortex; c = cambium; x = xylem; e = epidermis; cl = collenchyma; sc = sclerenchyma; en = endodermis; ph = phloem; ue = upper epidermis; pp = palisade parenchyma; sp = spongy parenchyma; le = lower epidermis; st = stomata. bars:10 = 60 µm; 11 = 65 µm; 12 = 30 µm; 13,16 = 15 µm; 14,17 = 100 µm; 15,18 = 10 µm. cuticle layer is thick on the stem. the epidermis consists of uniseriate, flattened, rectangular or orbicular cells. glandular and eglandular trichomes are present on the epidermis. the eglandular trichomes include simple trichomes and porrect-stellate 6 akçin and binzet trichomes with ornamental cuticle. the glandular trichomes are capitate types with unicellular or bicellular stalk and a head. capitate trichomes are dense on the stem. collenchyma is generally 2-3 layered (sometimes 4-5 layered). endodermis is distinguishable and 1-2 layered. xylem and phloem elements are clear. cambium is distinguishable. tracheids with thick walls are dense in xylem tissue. pith cells are large and cylindrical (table 2, fig. 11). the adaxial and abaxial epidermis of the leaf consist of uniseriate, oval or rectangular cells in transverse section. both epidermis are covered with short simple trichomes, short and long porrect-stellate trichomes and glandular trichomes. eglandular trichomes have ornamental cuticle and contain crystals in the bases. stomata are anisocytic and anomocytic on both epidermis. anisocytic stomata are more dense than ones on the upper epidermis. pallisade parenchyma cells are 3-layered on the upper surface and 1-2 layered on the lower surface. spongy parenchyma cells are 2-3 layered. vascular bundles are collateral and surrounded by a bundle sheath (tables 2-3, figs. 12-18). several authors paid attention on anatomical features of onosma. the pith region of root consists of generally primary xylem elements in onosma species (akçin and engin, 2005; binzet and akçin, 2009). in the present study we found that o. cassium and o. angustissimum had primary xylem elements in pith region. some onosma species have parenchymatic pith region (binzet and orcan, 2003; akçin, 2007b; binzet and akçin, 2009). the presence of crystals in boraginaceae is an important phenomenon (metcalfe and chalk 1979). azizian et al. (2000) reported that crystal (calcium carbonate) present in two forms in onosma species; a. deposited in cell wall of hairs, or b. located in the base of large hairs. crystals were clearly seen in the bases of stellate trichomes in o. cassium and o. angustissimum. o. sieheanum hayek has crystals in the pith region and trichomes (binzet and akçin, 2009). in o. intertextum hub.-mor. crystal needles is present in epidermal cells (binzet and akçin, 2009). this characteristic was found in o. cassium. glandular and eglandular trichomes especially porrect-stellate and simple trichomes are densely seen on both the upper and lower epidermis of leaf in two species. according to öztürk and seçmen (1996), plants from dry habitats possess more pubescent leaves or densely covered with trichome. o. cassium and o. angustissimum grow in dry habitats and they show the same features. metcalfe and chalk (1979) pointed out that the boraginaceae have both bifacial and isobilateral leaves. according to azizian et al. (2000) two distinct leaf anatomical structures are present within the genus onosma: in the sections protonosma and podonosma, leaf is dorsiventral, and in the section onosma, leaf type is isobilateral. in our study (section onosma), leaves are isobilateral. onosma species generally have isobilateral leaf (akçin and engin, 2001, 2005; binzet and orcan, 2003; akçin, 2004). metcalfe and chalk (1979) reported that there is both anomocytic and anisocytic stomata in boraginaceae. the leaf anatomy and trichome features of micromorphological and anatomical properties of onosma 7 fourteen onosma species were investigated by azizian et al. (2000), who observed that the stomata are mainly anomocytic. akçin (2007b) reported that stomata are anisocytic and anomocytic in o. armenum. according to zarinkamar (2007) dominant stomatal type is anomocytic, with anisocytic cells present as a subordinate type in some species such as o. microcarpum dc. and o. dichroanthum boiss. our findings are similar with metcalfe and chalk (1979) and akçin (2007b). stomata type was anisocytic and anomocytic in two species. there are more anisocytic stomata on the upper epidermis of o. cassium. stomata in o. cassium are larger than o. angustissimum. stomata index in upper surface of o. cassium is bigger than o. angustissimum. however, o. angustissimum has bigger stomata index in lower surface. stomata index is important as the number of stomata may be changed by the age of the leaf, but the stomata index remains constant for a species (trease and evans, 1982). we believe that important discoveries unearthed during the study of anatomy and morphology will lead to a better understanding of the species, and provide a contribution to any further study. references al-shehbaz, i.a. 1991. the genera of boraginaceae in the southeastern united states, jour. arnold arb. 1: 1-169. akçin, ö.e. 2004. endemik onosma bornmulleri hausskn.’nın morfolojisi, anatomisi ve ekolojisi üzerine bir araştırma. ekoloji 13(51): 13-19. akçin, ö.e. 2007a. nutlets micromorphology of some onosma l. (boraginaceae) species from turkey. biologia 62(6): 684-689. akçin, ö.e. 2007b. the morphological and anatomical properties of endemic onosma armenum dc. (boraginaceae) species. international journal of natural and engineering sciences 1(2): 37-43. akçin, ö.e. and engin, a. 2001. onosma isauricum ve o. stenolobum türlerinin karşılaştırmalı anatomisi. ot sistematik botanik dergisi 8(2): 75-95. akçin, ö.e. and engin, a. 2005. the morphological, anatomical and ecological properties of endemic onosma bracteosum hausskn. & bornm. (boraginaceae) species. turk. j. bot. 29: 317-325. azizian, d., khatamsaz, m. and kasaian, j. 2000. the taxonomic significance of leaf anatomy in the genus onosma l. (boraginaceae) in iran. iran. journ. bot. 8(2): 167-180. binzet, r. and orcan, n. 2003. morphological and palynological studies on onosma roussaei dc. and onosma giganteum lam. (boraginaceae). ot sistematik botanik dergisi 10(1): 57-76. binzet, r. and orcan, n. 2007. a new species of onosma l. (boraginaceae) from southern turkey. novon 17: 8-10. binzet r. and akçin, ö.e. 2009. the morphological and anatomical properties of two endemic onosma species (o. intertextum hub.-mor. and o. sieheanum hayek). acta botanica hungarica 51(1-2): 1-9. davis, p.h., mill, r.r. and tan, k. 1988. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 10. edinburgh university press, edinburgh. 590 pp. meidner, h. and mansfield, t.a. 1968. physiology of stomata. mcgraw-hill, london. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1979. anatomy of dicotyledons ii. oxford university press, london. 8 akçin and binzet ozturk, m.a. and seçmen, o. 1996. bitki ekolojisi. ege üniversitesi basımevi, i̇zmir. 238 pp. riedl, h. 1978. boraginaceae. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, vol. 6, edinburgh university press, edinburgh. pp. 237-437. riedl, h., binzet, r. and orcan, n. 2005. a new species of onosma (boraginaceae-lithospermeae) from southern turkey. edinb. j. bot. 61(2-3): 127-130. teppner, h. 1981. karyosystematik von onosma stellulatum, o. pygmaeum und o. leptanthum (boraginaceae). bot. jahrb. syst. 102(1-4): 297-306. teppner, h. 1988. onosma kaheirei spec. nova und o. erectum (boraginaceae) aus griechenland. phyton 28(1): 115-131. trease, g.h. and evans, w.c. 1982. pharmacognazi, 11th edition, cassel and collier, mcmillan publishers ltd., london. 722 pp. vardar, y. 1987. botanikte preparasyon tekniği. ege üniversitesi, izmir. 66 pp. watson, l. and dallwitz, m.j. 1991. the families of angiosperm: automated descriptions, with interactive identification and information retrieval. aust. syst. bot. 4: 681-695. yıldırımlı, ş. 2000. the chorology of the turkish species of boraginaceae family. herb journal of systemic botany 7(2): 257-272. zarinkamar, f. 2007. stomatal observations in dicotyledons. pakistan j. biol. sci. 10(2): 199-219. (manuscript received on 2 june 2009; revised on 30 september 2009) öznur ergen akçin1 and riza binzet2 abstract akçin, ö.e. 2007a. nutlets micromorphology of some onosma l. microsoft word 09. ixora predeepii_galley proof_approved 11.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 65-69, 2016 (june) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ixora predeepii, a new species of rubiaceae from southern western ghats, india anoop p. balan1 and harikrishnan shanmugam indian cardamom research institute, spices board, myladumpara, kailasanadu p.o., idukki, kerala 685553, india keywords: ixora; new species; rubiaceae; southern western ghats. abstract ixora predeepii, a new species of the family rubiaceae from southern western ghats, india is described and illustrated. it is allied to ixora elongata heyne ex d. don in general appearance, but differs from the latter by its small habit, short peduncled congested inflorescence, small purplish white flowers with glabrous corolla and scarlet berry. introduction ixora l. is the third largest genus of rubiaceae with about 500 species (mouly et al., 2009) includes shrubs and small trees distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. in india, the genus is represented by 46 species (husain and paul, 1989), of which 22 species are reported from kerala state (sasidharan, 2004, 2013; nayar et al., 2006). during a floristic exploration in the cardamom hills of southern western ghats, india, the authors collected some interesting specimens of ixora, resemble i. elongata in general appearance. on critical studies it turned out to be very distinct from i. elongata and upon perusal of herbarium specimens and literature (hooker, 1880; gamble, 1921; nayar et al., 2014), it was found to be an undescribed taxon which is described here as a new species, ixora predeepii. a detailed description, illustration, photographs and relevant notes on ecology and phenology of the new species are provided to facilitate its easy identification in the field. ixora predeepii anoop et harikrishnan, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: ixora predeepii sp. nov. is allied to i. elongata in its general appearance, many– flowered, congested inflorescence with pubescent peduncle and calyx, but clearly distinct from the latter by its small habit, comparatively small leaves, short peduncled congested inflorescence with small flowers, long calyx lobes, glabrous corolla and scarlet berry (table 1). type: india, kerala, idukki district, udumbanchola, myladumpara, 9o 5″ n, 77o 9′ e, at 1100 m, 10 november 2013, anoop p. balan 20471 (holotype: mh; isotype: cal). paratype: india, kerala, idukki district, chathurangappara, 1100 m, 15 december 2013, anoop p. balan & harikrishnan 20490 (mh). shrubs, 1.0–1.5 m high; branches slender, glabrous, internodes 3–5 cm long. stipules 6–8 × 2–3 mm, triangular, long cuspidate, glabrous. leaves 8–13 × 2.5–5.0 cm, ovate–elliptic, acute at apex, cuneate at base, chartaceous, glabrous, margin weavy; petiole 6–8 mm long, glabrous; lateral   1corresponding author. email: anooppb01@gmail.com 66  balan and shanmugam    veins 8–12 pairs, prominent beneath. bracts supporting inflorescence foliaceous, 3.0–4.5 × 2.0– 2.5 cm, ovate, acute at apex, rounded at base, persistent. inflorescence terminal, 6–10 cm long, trichotomously branched corymbose cymes; peduncle branched at 1.0–3.5 cm from the base; branches 4–6 cm long, patently pubescent; bracts supporting flowers 2 mm long, linear, pubescent. flowers sessile, bracteolate; bracteoles 1.5 mm long, linear, pubescent. calyx tube 1 mm long, sparsely pubescent; lobes 4, c. 1.5 mm long, lanceolate, ciliate. corolla deep red in bud, purplish white when open, glabrous; tube 10 mm long, broadened towards apex; lobes 4 × 2 mm, ovate– oblong, obtuse to subacute at apex, reflexed. stamens 4, attached at mouth, alternating with corolla lobes; filaments c. 1mm long; anthers sub–basifixed, 3 mm long, tip pointed, sagitate at base. ovary 2–celled, ovule 1 in each cell; style slender, 1.2 cm long, tip fusiform, longitudinally cleft forming two stigmatic lobes of c. 2 mm long. berry didymous, 6–8 × 5–6 mm, glabrous, crowned by the permanent calyx, scarlet when ripe. seeds 2, 5–6 × 5–6 mm, plano–convex, brown, testa membraneous. fig. 1. ixora predeepii anoop et harikrishnan, sp. nov. a. habit; b. stipule; c. flower; d. calyx; e. corolla lobe; f. stamen; g. infructescence. ixora predeepii, a new species of rubiaceae 67   fig. 2. ixora predeepii anoop et harikrishnan, sp. nov. a. habit; b. nodal portion; c & d. inflorescence; e. flower; f & g. infructescence; h. seeds. 68  balan and shanmugam    phenology: flowering from november to january; fruiting from february to april habitat: cardamom plantations and the margins of evergreen forests at 1100 m elevation. distribution and ecology: ixora predeepii is so far known only from the type locality, cardamom hills of southern western ghats, kerala. it is an undergrowth shrub in cardamom plantations and the margins of evergreen forests often found in association with dichapetalum gelonioides (roxb.) engl., nothapodytes nimmoniana (graham) mabb., ligustrum robustum subsp. walkeri (decne.) p. s. green, psychotria nilgiriensis deb & gangop. and lepisanthes erecta (thw.) leenh. etymology: specific epithet of the new taxon is in honor of dr. s.v. predeep, department of botany, svr nss college, vazhoor for his valuable contributions to the field of angiosperm taxonomy. table 1. comparison between ixora predeepii sp. nov. and its related species i. elongata. characters ixora predeepii sp. nov. ixora elongata habit small shrubs, 1.0–1.5 m high large shrubs, 3–5 m high petiole lamina lateral nerves 0.6–0.8 cm long 8–13 × 2.5–5.0 cm 8–12 pairs 1.0–1.5 cm long 12–22 × 3.5–10 cm 12–15 pairs inflorescence 6–10 cm long 16–25 cm long calyx lobes longer than tube lobes equal to tube corolla lobes glabrous lobes with spreading hairs fruit scarlet when ripe black when ripe note: the only known locality of this novel taxon is the cardamom hills and adjacent evergreen forest patches of idukki district of kerala state. the natural flora of cardamom hills are under severe threat due to human activities related to agriculture. except large trees, all other plants are undergoing weeding process every year which may cause severe destruction of the population of ixora predeepii also. a detailed population survey is yet to be undertaken to assess the present status of this taxon in order to ascertain a proper iucn status to ensure the conservation of this species. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the curators of mh and cal for allowing consultation of herbarium specimens. we are also thankful to the director (research) and our colleagues in indian cardamom research institute, myladumpara for their constant support and encouragement and dr. a.j. robi, bam college, thuruthicadu, for his valuable comments on the identity of this species. references gamble, j.s. 1921. the flora of the presidency of madras, vol. 2. adlard and son ltd., london, 445 pp. hooker, j.d. 1880. the flora of british india, vol. 3. reeve and co., london, pp. 137-149. husain, t. and paul, s.r. 1989. taxonomic studies on indian species of genus ixora l. (rubiaceae). j. econ. tax. bot. additional series 6. scientific publishers, jodhpur, india. ixora predeepii, a new species of rubiaceae 69   mouly, a., razafimandimbison, s.g., khodabandch, a. and bremer, b. 2009. phylogeny and classification of the species rich pantropical showy genus ixora (rubiaceae–ixoreae) with indications of geographical monophyletic units and hybrids. am. j. bot. 96: 686–706. nayar, t.s., beegum, a.r., mohanan, n. and rajkumar, g. 2006. flowering plants of kerala a handbook. jntbgri, thiruvananthapuram, pp. 282–287. nayar, t.s., beegum, a.r. and sibi, m. 2014. flowering plants of the western ghats, india, vol. 1. jntbgri, thiruvananthapuram, 386 pp. sasidharan, n. 2004. biodiversity documentation for kerala. part 6: flowering plants. kerala forest research institute, peechi, kerala, pp.232. sasidharan, n. 2013. a digital database of flowering plants of kerala: cd-rom ver. 2. kerala forest research institute, peechi, kerala. (manuscript received on 23 january 2016; revised on 2 may 2016) microsoft word s-2. 48-13 sc_addition sitapahar ok.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 255-257, 2013 (december) short communication © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists additions to the angiosperm flora in the sitapahar reserve forest of kaptai, rangamati, bangladesh mohammad harun-ur-rashid1 and md. aminul islam chowdhury department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: additional; angiosperm taxa; sitapahar reserve forest. sitapahar reserve forest is one of the botanically richest areas of bangladesh. sitapahar including rampahar forming a single forest beat has been declared reserve forest in 1875. it is situated in kaptai upazila under rangamati district and is about 60 km away from chittagong city (anonymous, 1970). sitapahar reserve forest is situated approximately between 22º26΄n and 22º38΄n latitude and 92º08΄e and 92º17΄e longitude. this tropical rain forest occupying approximately 922 acres; the highest peak being about 460 m above the sea level (uddin et al., 1998). the under explored hilly forest area represents a rain forest mainly of semi-evergreen type of vegetation at kaptai forest range under the administration of the south forest division, chittagong hill tracts. though the area is very rich in species diversity but a comprehensive floristic study of the area is still lacking. heinig (1925) listed 45 taxa from the sitapahar. later uddin et al. (1998) recorded 332 species from the area, of which 248 species belong to magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) and 84 to liliopsida (monocotyledons). this natural forest is under enormous and persistent threats mainly due to different anthropogenic activities. as a result, a number of economically important species as well as germplasm stocks have become endangered or threatened and perhaps extinct of a few. since uddin et al. (1998) there has been no comprehensive plant exploration survey in sitapahar. therefore, the present work had been undertaken and added 43 taxa under 42 genera belonging to 24 families to the previous accounts of the study area. the reserve forest has been explored and plant specimens have been collected from the area through repeated extensive explorations during 2010-2011. the identification of specimens has been made with consultation of different floras and relevant literature e.g. hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), uddin et al. (1998), siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008-2009), and consulting properly identified herbarium specimens lodged at the chittagong university herbarium (hcu), bangladesh forest research institute herbarium (bfrih), dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the additional occurrence of 43 angiosperm taxa is presented alphabetically along with their family names, habit and voucher specimens in table 1. genera reported for the first time from the study area are indicated with asterisk (*) marks. all collected specimens have been lodged at hcu. among the recorded taxa magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) is represented by 38 species under 37 genera and 21 families, whereas liliopsida (monocotyledons) consists of 5 taxa under 5 genera and 3 families. it is an extend species diversity to the area, exhibits different life forms e.g. 18 herbs, 8 shrubs, 11 climbers and 6 trees. two families, apiaceae and liliaceae, and 21 genera have been reported here for the first time from the area. populations of four species namely, byttneria aspera, phlogacanthus curviflorus, sterculia balanghas and syzygium oblatum have been determined to be rarely distributed to the area and facing severe threats at different degrees. 1corresponding author. email: haruncu@gmail.com 256 rashid and chowdhury   table 1. additional taxa to the sita pahar reserve forest. sl. taxa family habit voucher magnoliopsida 1 aglaia perviridis hiern meliaceae tree h 22 2 aidia oppositifolia (roxb.) rahman & das rubiaceae tree h 212 3 alternanthera philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. amaranthaceae herb h 130 4 byttneria aspera colebr. ex wall. sterculiaceae climber h 125 5 centella asiatica (l.) urban apiaceae herb h 36 6 cissampelos pareira l. menispermaceae climber h 126 7 cissus javana dc. vitaceae climber h 253 8 codariocalyx gyroides (roxb. ex link) hassk. fabaceae shrub h 252 9 combretum griffithii heurck & muell.-arg. combretaceae climber h 220 10 crassocephalum crepidioides (benth.) s. moore asteraceae herb h 105 11 euphorbia thymifolia l. euphorbiaceae herb h 139 12 flemingia involucrata benth. fabaceae shrub h 136 13 hygrophila polysperma (roxb.) t. anders. acanthaceae herb h 01 14 ipomoea mauritiana jacq. convolvulaceae climber h 260 15 i. pes-tigridis l. convolvulaceae climber h 87 16 justicia japonica thunb. acanthaceae herb h 66 17 lepisanthes senegalensis (poir.) leenh. sapindaceae shrub h 17 18 limnophila indica (l.) druce scrophulariaceae herb h 90 19 lindernia crustacea (l.) f. muell scrophulariaceae herb h 77 20 macaranga peltata (roxb.) muell.-arg. euphorbiaceae tree h 51 21 macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) van tiegh. loranthaceae epiphyte h 123 22 mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small scrophulariaceae herb h 76 23 merremia umbellata (l.) hallier f. convolvulaceae climber h 63 24 millettia pachycarpa benth. fabaceae climber h 101 25 mitracarpus hirtus (l.) dc. rubiaceae herb h 194 26 ophiorrhiza mungos l. rubiaceae herb h 213 27 phlogacanthus curviflorus nees acanthaceae shrub h 74 28 physalis angulata l. solanaceae herb h 108 29 polygonum praetermissum hook. f. polygonaceae herb h 02 30 solanum americanum mill. solanaceae herb h 71 31 sterculia balanghas l. sterculiaceae tree h 152 32 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. asteraceae herb h 242 33 syzygium oblatum (roxb.) wall. ex cowan & cowan myrtaceae tree h 97 34 teramnus labialis (l. f.) spreng. fabaceae climber h 88 35 tetrastigma serrulatum (roxb.) planch. vitaceae climber h 111 36 trichosanthes tricuspidata lour. cucurbitaceae climber h 216 37 vitex peduncularis wall. ex schauer verbenaceae tree h 143 38 vitis heyneana roem. & schult. vitaceae climber h 256 liliopsida 39 crinum viviparum (lam.) r. ansari & v. j. nair liliaceae herb h 128 40 cyrtococcum patens var. latifolium (honda) ohwi poaceae herb h 41 41 didymosperma gracilis hook. f. arecaceae tree h 62 42 saccharum longisetosum (anders.) narayan. ex bor poaceae herb h 67 43 sacciolepis myosuroides (r. br.) a. camus poaceae herb h 06 additions to the angiosperms in the sitapahar reserve forest 257   the sitapahar reserve forest is floristically diverse and rich. due to many anthropogenic activities biodiversity of the forest is in severe threat. therefore, the following recommendations should be adopted for the sake of better management of the forest and biodiversity: i. natural habitats of biodiversity should be maintained; ii. conservation priorities should be given to the rare, threatened and endangered species; iii. mapping of threatened plants should be prepared to facilitate exact location in the forest; iv. public awareness should be created towards sustainable uses of the biodiversity, particularly the medicinal plants; v. accentuate the monitoring of the conservation activities; vi. in severe cases, both in situ and ex situ conservation measures for particular species may be applied for replicating the population. acknowledgements we thank the beat officer and all the staff of rampahar sitapahar beat, kaptai range, chittagong hill tracts south forest division, rangamati, for their immense co-operation during the field works. thanks are due to the director, bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), dhaka, and the divisional officer, forest botany division, bangladesh forest research institute (bfri), chittagong, for allowing us to consult the libraries and herbarium specimens and providing us with all the supports and facilities required. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2008-2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vols. 6-10. angiosperms: dicotyledons. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. anonymous, 1970. chittagong hill tracts forest inventory survey 1961-63. kassalong and rankhiang reserve forest (vols. 1 & 2). forestry and engineering international ltd. (forestal), vancouver, canada. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. pp. 1-89. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india. vols. 1-7. indian reprint 1973. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols. 1 & 2. indian reprint 1981. botanical survey of india, calcutta. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.t. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 11. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 1-399. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sitapahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 7 april 2013; revised on 2 august 2013) microsoft word 04. pollens of kalmia.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 123-133, 2012 (december) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of kalmia l. (phyllodoceae, ericaceae) and its taxonomic significance a.k.m. golam sarwar1 and hideki takahashi laboratory of systematic botany, graduate school of agriculture, hokkaido university, japan keywords: pollen morphology; infrageneric classification; exine sculpture; kalmia. abstract pollen morphology of seven taxa of kalmia was examined using light and scanning electron microscopy (lm and sem, respectively), or sem alone, in search of new characters that might contribute to infrageneric classification of the genus. the kalmia species are stenopalynous and characterized by 3-colpor(oid)ate, medium, oblate pollen united in tetrahedral tetrads with rugulate exine sculpture. however, a continuous and serial variation in all the quantitative characters and exine sculpture was revealed within the genus. kalmia buxifolia is characterized by having the smallest pollen tetrads, largest aperture, largest 2f/d ratio and septum thicker than apocolpial exine. on the other hand, k. latifolia produces the largest pollen tetrads with smallest aperture and smallest 2f/d ratio. an evolutionary trend from rugulate to psilate has also been observed in apocolpial exine sculpture of the genus kalmia. on the basis of acetolysed pollen characteristics, a dichotomous key for kalmia was prepared. introduction kalmia l. (family phyllodoceae, subfamily ericaceae) comprises eleven quite distinct species of evergreen or deciduous shrubs (rarely tree) and is restricted to north america and cuba, the only circumboreal species is k. procumbens (kron et al., 2002; stevens et al., 2004). the number of species (including leiophyllum pers. and loiseleuria desv.) varies from seven to eleven (ebinger, 1974; southall and hardin, 1974; judd, 1995; stevens et al., 2004). linnaeus described the genus kalmia (linnaeus, 1753, 1754) as well as its first two species, k. latifolia and k. angustifolia. drude (1889) placed kalmia in the tribe phyllodoceae, and its position has not been changed by most of the subsequent authors (see ebinger, 1974). there have been few nomenclatural complications in the genus, and only two other generic names have been proposed. kuntze (1891) used catesby's pre-linnean name of chamaedaphne and made numerous transfers to it, while small (1914) divided kalmia into two genera. he proposed the genus kalmiella, segregating kalmia hirsuta and k. ericoides in the latter genus on the basis of their inflorescence structure (i.e., solitary flowers) and deciduous calyx (small, 1914). all subsequent authors (copeland, 1943; wood, 1961), except alain (1957), have treated kalmiella as a synonym of kalmia. leiophyllum pers. and loiseleuria desv. are two monotypic genera of the tribe phyllodoceae, ericaceae (drude,1889; stevens, 1971). leiophyllum buxifolia (berg.) elliott is a shrub endemic to the southeastern united states (new jersey). due to its disjunct distribution and morphological variability, leiophyllum has long been a subject of debate and speculation about its taxonomy and evolutionary history (strand and wyatt, 1991). loiseleuria procumbens (l.) desv. has holarctic circumpolar-boreal range with a large gap in north-west asia. loiseleuria and leiophyllum despite differences in the leaf vernation and fusion of corolla, show many similarities in anatomy 1 present address: department of crop botany, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh 2202, bangladesh. e-mail: drsarwar@bau.edu.bd 124 sarwar and takahashi and anther structure, and described as a closely related pair of genera (stevens, 1971). recent molecular phylogenetic studies included these two monotypic genera within kalmia (kron and king, 1996; kron et al., 2002). here, we adopt a broad circumscription of kalmia which includes leiophyllum and loiseleuria [see kron et al. (2002) for the formal transfers]. pollen of kalmia is shed in tetrahedral tetrads which vary in size from 45 µm in k. latifolia to 23 µm in k. angustifolia var. carolina; the tetrads are associated with viscin strands in k. latifolia, k. hirsuta, k. ericoides and k. angustifolia, while such threads have not been seen in the remaining species (ebinger, 1974; southall and hardin, 1974; judd, 1995). exine sculpturing is generally coarsely reticulate or rugulate in k. microphylla (hook.) heller, while finely so in k. latifolia and k. ericoides. the pollen morphology of some taxa has been described in previous literature, but little is known about the use of palynological features in taxonomy/systematics. hitherto, no formal infrageneric classification of kalmia has been proposed, but some distinctly different groups, based on different features, have been recognized within this genus (stevens, 1971; ebinger, 1974; southall and hardin, 1974; judd, 1995; kron and king, 1996). previously, the pollen morphological features were found to be important in the infrageneric as well as subfamilial classification of some ericaceous taxa (sarwar and takahashi, 2006a, b, 2009; sarwar et al., 2006; sarwar, 2011). therefore, we present here a general pollen survey on kalmia based on lm and sem to search new character that could add information pertinent to infrageneric classification of this genus. materials and methods pollen morphology of seven taxa (and 11 specimens) out of 11 species of kalmia was examined by means of lm and sem, or sem alone (table 1). the remaining four species were not examined due to unavailability of herbarium specimens (and/or pollen samples) in the herbaria consulted here as well as others (sarwar, 2011; for the complete list of herbaria consulted). polliniferous materials used in this investigation were taken from the dried specimens from the herbaria s, saps and sapt. abbreviation of the herbarium names except for sapt (the botanic garden, hokkaido university, sapporo) are according to the index herbariorum (holmgren et al., 1990). pollen grains were acetolysed following the technique of erdtman (1960) modified by takahashi (1987). palynological features of three kalmia species were studied both acetolysed and non-acetolysed condition to find out the effect of acetolysis on its pollen. for lm, the dehydrated (in an ethanol series) pollen (both acetolysed and non-acetolysed) was mounted in silicone oil (viscosity 3000 cs), and examined and measured with a nikon eclipse e200 microscope. the dimensions “d”, “p”, “d (e)” and “2f”, corresponding to the tetrad diameter, polar length, equatorial length and colpus length of pollen grain were measured, and the d/d, p/e and 2f/d ratio was calculated (oldfield, 1959). the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and the maximum and minimum values were calculated using the xlstat 2009.3 program. the measurements given in table 2 are based on at least 10 grains from each specimen. principal component analysis (pca) and agglomerative hierarchical clustering (ahc) were also conducted using the same program to visualise the relationships among the studied species based on pollen data. a dendrogram was built by ahc. pollen slides of all collections are deposited at the hokkaido university museum, sapporo, japan. pollen size and shape classes were made following erdtman (1986) and descriptive terminology follows punt et al. (2007) and sarwar et al. (2006). for sem, the pollen samples, both acetolysed and non-acetolysed, were dehydrated in an ethanol series, and mounted and air dried on aluminum stubs from 70% ethanol, and sputter coated pollen morphology of kalmia l. 125 with platinum-palladium by a hitachi e102 ion sputter. subsequently, these were examined and photographed with a jeol jsm-5310 lv scanning electron microscope operated at 15 kv. the sem micrographs of apocolpial exine sculpture of similar position were used for the purpose of description and comparison. table 1. list of kalmia taxa used in this study along with their voucher specimens. no. taxa voucher specimens 1. kalmia angustifolia l. usa: connecticut, litchfield co., norfolk, great mt. forest, tobey bog, 23.06.1983. s. desimon 415 (sapt) north america: grand harbor, 03.08.1888, k. miyabe s.n. (saps) 2. k. buxifolia (berg.) gift, kron & stevens usa: north carolina, brunswi. co., 12 miles s of wilmington, 06.04.1939. r.k. godfrey & r.n. white 7110 (s) 3. k. ericoides wright ex grisebatch var. aggregata (small) ebinger cuba: prov. pinar del rio, la grifa, 19.11.1923. e.l. ekman 18165 (s) 4. k. latifolia l. usa: connecticut, litchfield co., mt. riga state park, near riga lake, moist woods, 16.06.1981. g. feldman 63 (sapt) georgia, lumpkin co., chattahoochee national park, 11.05.1982, f.h. utech et al. 82-056 (saps) 5. k. microphylla (hook.) heller var. microphylla usa: washington, mt. rainier, (flora of cascade mountains), 13.08.1894. o.d. allen s.n. (saps) canada: british columbia, garibaldi park, 23.07.1975, v.j. krajina s.n. (sapt) 6. k. polifolia wangenh. usa: washington, swamp, upper valley of the nesqually, (flora of cascade mountains), 27.05.1893. o.d. allen s.n. (saps) 7. k. procumbens (l.) gift, kron & stevens japan: hokkaido, prov. kitami, monbestu-gun, shirataki-mura, mt. taira-yama, 30.06.1980. h. takahashi et al. 2644 (saps) sweden: torne lappmark, abisco, mt njulla, 20.07.1989. h. takahashi 9907 (saps) results general pollen morphology in lm, the medium pollen grains are united in tetrahedral tetrad (fig. 1a-c); viscin threads present in some species; d 24.4-36.6 µm, p 12.8 -18.8 µm, e 17.3-26.3 µm, d/d 1.31-1.52, p/e 0.70-0.80, oblate or suboblate; 3-colpor(oid)ate, 2f 11.6-19.6 µm, w 0.4-1.2 µm, 2f/d 0.32-0.67, costae present and distinct, colpus margin distinct; endocracks present; endoaperture distinct and lalongate; apocolpial exine 1.6-2.1 µm thick, septum 0.7-1.9 µm thick (table 2); tectate, apocolpial exine sculpture from fine verrucate to rugulate. in sem, the pollen surface is somewhat flat (fig. 1d-e), apocolpial exine sculpture moderate to coarsely rugulate, with distinct grooves (type r; fig. 1f-g, j-k); or primary exine sculpture coarsely rugulate-psilate, the rugulae with moderately (diam. > 0.2 µm) granulate (type rgs; fig. 1h); or psilate (type p; fig. 1l); colpus membrane variable, from granulate to smooth, sometime 126 sarwar and takahashi indistinct. exine sculpture along the colpi is similar to that appearing at the distal pole (apocolpial region). the mesocolpial exine has a tendency to decrease in lateral extension of rugulae with more distinct unit (fig. 1i). specific pollen description k. angustifolia in lm, pollen grains are in lobed tetrahedral tetrad; viscin threads present; oblate, nonacetolysed grains suboblate; exine sculpture rugulate (table 2). in sem, exine sculpture moderate to coarsely rugulate, with distinct grooves (type r; fig. 1f); colpus membrane smooth or granuloid. k. buxifolia in lm, pollen grains are in compact tetrahedral tetrad, small; viscin threads absent; oblate; colpus margin faintly demarcated; endocracks absent/indistinct; endoaperture indistinct; exine sculpture rugulate (table 2). in sem, exine sculpture moderate to coarsely rugulate, with distinct grooves (type r; fig. 1g); colpus membrane granulate. k. ericoides var. aggregata in lm, pollen grains are in lobed tetrahedral tetrad; viscin threads present; suboblate; exine sculpture from coarsely regulate to psilate (table 2). in sem, primary exine sculpture coarsely rugulate-psilate, the rugulae with moderately (diam. > 0.2 µm) granulate (type rgs; fig. 1h); colpus membrane indistinct. k. latifolia in lm, pollen grains are in tetrahedral tetrad with exceptions; viscin threads present; oblate, suboblate in one non-acetolysed specimen (utech et al. 82-056); rarely 4-colporate; exine sculpture rugulate (table 2). in sem, exine sculpture moderate to coarsely rugulate, with distinct grooves (type r; fig. 1j); colpus membrane granulate. k. microphylla var. microphylla in lm, pollen grains are in compact tetrahedral tetrad; viscin threads absent; only a few pollen tetrads could be recovered from anther. in sem, apocolpial exine sculpture rugulate (table 2). k. polifolia in lm, pollen grains are in compact tetrahedral tetrad; viscin threads absent; oblate; endocracks absent/ indistinct; exine sculpture rugulate (table 2). in sem, exine sculpture moderate to coarsely rugulate, with distinct grooves (type r; fig. 1k); colpus membrane smooth. k. procumbens in lm, pollen grains are in tetrahedral tetrad; viscin threads absent; oblate, suboblate in one specimen (takahashi et al. 2644); endocracks absent/indistinct; endoaperture indistinct in one specimen (takahashi et al. 2644); exine sculpture psilate (table 2). in sem, exine sculpture psilate (type p; fig. 1l); colpus membrane granulate or sometime indistinct. in principal component analysis (pca) using the lm characters, the first and second principal components explain 69.32% of the variance of the sample, 42.18% for the first component factor 1; and 27.14% for the second factor 2. among the species, k. buxifolia and k. polifolia showed the highest values in the first and second components (4.23 and 2.40, respectively), and k. procumbens (takahashi 9907) and k. ericoides var. aggregata (-2.14 and -2.08, respectively), showed the lowest values in the first and second components. kalmia buxifolia is situated at the pollen morphology of kalmia l. 127 128 sarwar and takahashi fig. 1. lm and sem micrographs of acetolysed kalmia pollen. a. k. angustifolia (desimon 415); b. k. buxifolia (godfrey & white 7110); c-e. k. ericoides var. aggregata (ekman 18165); f. k. angustifolia (desimon 415); g. k. buxifolia (godfrey & white 7110); h-i. k. ericoides var. aggregata (ekman 18165); j. k. latifolia (feldman 63); k. k. polifolia (allen s.n.); l. k. procumbens (takahashi et al. 2644). pollen tetrads at polar view (a-d); pollen tetrad with viscin threads at equatorial view (e); micrographs with apocolpial exine sculpture details (f-h, j-l); micrographs with mesocolpial exine sculpture details (i). upper right edge of total variation of kalmia (fig. 2). in agglomerative hierarchical clustering (ahc) using quantitative characters, the taxa studied were distributed in three major clusters (fig. 3). apart from the pca, the k. buxifolia pollen also possesses a distinct position in the ahc analysis. the cluster 1 composed of k. angustifolia, k. polifolia and k. procumbens, and the cluster 3 of k. ericoides var. aggregata and k. latifolia. kalmia buxifolia is the only member of cluster 2 (fig. 3). pollen morphology of kalmia l. 129 discussion variation in palynological characters all the kalmia species examined are characterized by 3-colpor(oid)ate, medium, oblate pollen united in tetrahedral tetrads with rugulate exine sculpture indicating that the genus kalmia is a closely related entity. this is in agreement with previous reports (ebinger, 1974; southall and hardin, 1974; judd, 1995). however, there are significant differences in the value of quantitative palynological characters that may to some extent be related to differences in the mounting media (meltsov et al., 2008 and references therein). pollen grains mounted in silicon oil were smaller than grains mounted in glycerine jelly (faegri and iversen, 1989; meltsov et al., 2008). although, the majority of palynologists use the acetolysis method of erdtman (1960) or the slightly modified method of reitsma (1969) for the preparation of pollen grains for lm and sem observations, these methods themselves also affect the size of pollen grains. the increase of pollen size after acetolysis varies among genera, sometimes even among species. in kalmia species, we have observed 6-16% difference in tetrad diameter (d) between acetolysed and non-acetolysed pollen of the same taxon (table 2). however, in some taxa, the size increment of pollen grains ranges between 6% and 30% due to acetolysis has been reported by schols et al. (2004). fig. 2. two dimensional graph representing species in the principal component analysis. no correlation between ploidy level and palynological features was found in kalmia (table 2). although in vaccinioideae some tetraploids (vaccinium spp.) produce larger pollen tetrads compared to those of the diploids (cockerham and galletta, 1976). kalmia polifolia is tetraploid and all other kalmia species are diploids (jaynes, 1969 cf. kron and king, 1996), the pollen tetrads of k. polifolia are relatively smaller or similar in size than other diploid species (table 2). 130 sarwar and takahashi interestingly when compared to k. latifolia, the chromosomes of k. polifolia are about 50% smaller, but contain the same amount of chromatin (kron and king, 1996). previously, the presence of viscin threads on pollen tetrads was reported only for three species of kalmia, k. latifolia, k. hirsuta and k. ericoides (ebinger 1974; judd, 1995). however, viscin threads were also observed on pollen tetrads of all three specimen of k. angustifolia (table 2). southall and hardin (1974) reported the presence of viscin threads in only k. latifolia referring older references and used this character in their systematic treatment of kalmia. however, the scanning electron micrographs of k. hirsuta and k. ericoides (including k. simulata; see ebinger, 1974) showed viscin threads on their pollen tetrads (figs 5g, i, j in southall and hardin, 1974). viscin threads on pollen tetrads were also reported in k. buxifolia (as leiophyllum buxifolia) and k. procumbens (as loiseleuria procumbens) by stevens (1971), but no viscin threads were observed in this study. this feature needs confirmation with larger number of specimens from both of these two taxa. hesse et al. (2000) reviewed the origin, nature, systematic distribution, and the respective function of highly variable and diverse thread-forming structures including viscin threads in angiosperm anther. any pollen material with viscin threads points to the highly specialized pollination mode. it has been suggested that viscin threads increase the efficiency of pollination, and their presence implies highly specific pollinators for accurate delivery of pollen to stigma (hesse et al., 2000). the pollination mechanism of kalmia is very unique; entomophily, anemophily, and possibly autogamy, are all possible (southall and hardin, 1974). bombus bimaculatus, b. ternarius, andrena kalmiae, a. vicina and a. claytoniae have been observed pollinating the flowers of various kalmia species of eastern north america (southall and hardin, 1974; jaynes, 1988). fig. 3. dendrogram showing relationships in kalmia species based on agglomerative hierarchical analysis. pollen morphology of kalmia l. 131 taxonomic significance of palynological features the cladistic relationships of the species of kalmia were investigated by southall and hardin (1974) using “visual ground plan correlation method” of wagner (1961). their study indicates that k. latifolia is the early-branching taxon and ancestor of all other kalmia species, although k. latifolia of today may be slightly different from the original ancestral type (southall and hardin, 1974). kalmia microphylla and k. polifolia were very closely related and could have been derived from k. angustifolia (including k. carolina; see ebinger, 1974), and k. ericoides (including k. aggregata and k. simulata; see ebinger, 1974) is most closely related to k. hirsuta and k. cuneata (southall and hardin, 1974). in the ahc analysis, k. angustifolia, k. polifolia and k. procumbens made a cluster (cluster 1 in fig. 3) which might indicate similarities in palynological features of these three taxa. on the contrary, although k. latifolia was indicated as the early-branching and k. ericoides as late-branching taxon (southall and hardin, 1974), palynological characteristics of these two taxa were very similar, and also positioned in the same cluster (cluster 3 in fig. 3). inclusion of the two monotypic genera, leiophyllum and loiseleuria in kalmia and, in consequence, the resurrection of k. buxifolia and k. procumbens, respectively has recently been proposed (kron et al., 2002). pollen morphological features, in general, showed similarities and may support the inclusion of these two taxa in kalmia, but also showed some distinct variations viz. thicker septum compared to apocolpial exine, exine sculpture tending to psilate, etc. (table 2). pollen tetrads of k. buxifolia showed the characteristic rugulate apocolpial exine sculpture of kalmia (fig. 1g), however, it possesses some exceptional pollen characters within kalmia, viz. smallest tetrads, largest aperture, largest 2f/d ratio and septum thicker than apocolpial exine (table 2; fig. 2). in the ahc analysis, k. buxifolia is the only member of cluster 2, which was sister to cluster 3 (fig. 3). the sister relationship of k. buxifolia to k. procumbens has been recovered from all, both individual and/or combined, analyses of morphological and molecular data (kron and king, 1996; kron et al., 2002), although, their palynological characters are distinctly different (table 2; figs 1g, l). however, the cladistic analysis of morphological data showed that these two taxa, k. buxifolia and k. procumbens, are more closely related to the genera ledothamnus and bryanthus than other kalmia species (fig. 3b in kron et al., 2002). on the contrary, the rbcl molecular data showed that k. latifolia is sister to k. buxifolia and k. procumbens, but the position of k. angustifolia and k. polifolia within kalmia is not clear (fig. 5a in kron et al., 2002). with the inclusion of leiophyllum and loiseleuria, the combined analysis of morphological, anatomical, palynological and molecular data from a larger number of both specimens and species may be useful to identify relationships among the species as well as in infrageneric classification of kalmia, as both genera also possess distinct morphological and anatomical characters (stevens, 1971; kron and king, 1996). the apocolpial exine thickness and sculpture have emerged as taxonomically important palynological features for kalmia. an evolutionary trend from rugulate to psilate, or vice-versa, was postulated in apocolpial exine sculpture of the genus kalmia (figs 1f-l; see also kron and king, 1996). dichotomous key to kalmia taxa examined based on pollen characters: 1. viscin threads present on pollen tetrads 2 2. apocolpial exine thickness < 2.0 µm and sculpture rugulate, oblate pollen 3 3. pollen grains united in lobed tetrahedral tetrads, d 32.2 µm, aperture relatively larger, 2f/d 0.43 k. angustifolia 3. pollen grains united in tetrahedral tetrad along with other configurations, d 36.6 µm, aperture relatively smaller, 2f/d 0.32 k. latifolia 2. apocolpial exine thickness > 2.0 µm and sculpture coarsely rugulate-psilate with moderately granulate, suboblate pollen k. ericoides var. aggregata 132 sarwar and takahashi 1. viscin threads absent on pollen tetrads 4 4. apocolpial exine sculpture rugulate, tetrahedral tetrads compact 5 5. septum thicker than apocolpial exine, d 24.4 µm, aperture relatively larger, 2f/d 0.67 k. buxifolia 5. apocolpial exine thicker than septum, d 30.2 µm, aperture relatively smaller, 2f/d 0.54 k. polifolia 4. apocolpial exine sculpture psilate, tetrahedral tetrads normal k. procumbens acknowledgments the authors wish to express their sincere thanks to the directors and curators of herbaria s, saps and sapt for allowing them to examine and/or send the specimens on loan and sample polliniferous materials. the first author is thankful to mext (japanese ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology) scholarship during the period of this study. references alain, b.h. 1957. ericaceae. in: leon, b.h. and alain, b.h. flora de cuba. vol. 4. havana. cockerham, l.a. and galletta, g.j. 1976. a survey of pollen characteristics in certain vaccinium species. j. amer. soc. hort. sci. 101: 671-676. copeland, h.f. 1943. a study, anatomical and taxonomic, of the genera rhododendroideae. amer. midl. nat. 30: 533-625. drude, o. 1889. ericaceae. in: engler, a. and prantl, k., die naturlichen pflanzenfamilien. 4, 1. leipziq, engleman. 15-65 pp. ebinger, j.e. 1974. a systematic study of the genus kalmia (ericaceae). rhodora 76: 315-398. erdtman, g. 1960. the acetolysis method a revised description. svensk bot. tidskr. 54: 561-564. erdtman, g. 1986. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy angiosperms. e.j. brill, leiden. faegri, k. and iversen, j. 1989. textbook of pollen analysis. 4th ed. faegri, k., kaland, p.e. and krzywinski, k. 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(manuscript received on 10 april 2012; revised on 2 november 2012) microsoft word 10. 57 bjpt 16 57 -editka.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 181-188, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists mycoflora associated with infected fruits of momordica cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. shamim shamsi1, sarowar hosen, md. al-mamun and momtaz begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. keywords: mycoflora; fruit rot; anthracnose; momordica cochinchinensis. abstract eleven species of anamorphic fungi associated with anthracnose and fruit rot symptoms of momordica cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. (ban kakrol) have been described. the associated fungi were aspergillus niger van tieghem, colletotrichum gloeosporioides (penz.) sacc., c. orbiculare (berk. & mont.) arx., corynespora cassiicola (berk. & curt.) wei, curvularia clavata jain, dendryphiella vinosa (berk. & curt.) reisinger, fusarium moniliforme j. sheld., lasidiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griff. & maubl., pestalotiopsis guepinii (desm.) stey., penicillium digitatum sacc. and xylohypha pinicola d. hawksw. xylohypha pinicola is a new record for bangladesh. introduction momordica cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. (ban kakrol) belongs to the family cucurbitaceae (ahmed et al., 2008). its roots, leaves and fruits are important for its nutritional and medicinal properties. the plant is native to south east asia. in bangladesh, it grows mainly in the chittagong hill tracts in wild condition. it is known as ban kakrol in bangladesh, gac in vietnam and variously red melon, babyjackfruit, spiny bitter gourd or cochinchin gourd in english. momordica cochinchinensis fruit is traditionally used in asia to provide red colour for cuisines and enhance visional health. recently, m. cochinchinensis fruit has emerged as a potential source of carotenoids, especially lycopene and β-carotene. carotenoids and other identified bioactives from this fruit including phenolics, flavonoids and trypsin inhibitors are associated with many beneficial bioactivities such as antioxidant, anticancer and provitamin a activities. in addition to the traditional utilization, commercial products like m. cochinchinensis powder and oil is manufactured as natural colourants and medicinal supplements (chuyenet al., 2015). in vietnam, gac is prized by natives for promoting longevity and vitality. in a supplementation trial among vietnamese children, gac increased serum vitamin a levels more than synthetic betacarotene (burke et al., 2005). from the above discussion it is clear that diseases free m. cochinchinensis fruits are carrying need for nutritional and medicinal point of view. from india mukerji and bhasin (1986) reported eight fungal diseases of two species of momordica l. viz., m. charantia l. and m. dioica roxb. ex willd. they exclusively reported only fruit rot disease on m. cochinchinensis species. so far there is no report is available regarding fungal diseases of momordica spp. in bangladesh. recently fruit rot and anthracnose symptoms showing severe damage of m. cochinchinensis fruits was recorded on the plants grown in botanical garden, curzon hall, dhaka university. present investigation was conducted to find out the fungi associated with infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis. 1corresponding author. email: prof.shamsi@gmail.com 182 shamsi et al. materials and methods infected fruits of momordica cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. having characteristic symptoms were collected from selected fields of the botanical garden of dhaka university to record the prevalence of the diseases and association of fungi during the tenure of december 2015 to january 2016. samples were collected in separate sterile polyethylene bags, labeled properly and then brought to the laboratory for isolating associated pathogenic fungi following “tissue planting method” on pda medium. from infected fruits of ban kakrol showing anthracnose and soft rot symptoms, each measuring 2 mm2 sized were cut separately with a pair of sterilize scissors and kept in a separate sterilized petri plate. the inocula were washed with sterile water and then surface sterilized by dipping in 10% chlorox solution for three minutes. the inocula were again washed with sterile water. for fruit rot symptoms a total of 100 inocula were placed separately on 30 sterilized petri plates containing 15 ml of pda medium with an addition of 1 drop (ca 0.03 ml) of lactic acid to check the bacterial growth and incubated in an incubator (25 ± 2˚c) for 7 days. detail morphological studies of the fungal isolates were made in order to determine their identification. the microscopic structural characters of the isolated fungi were recorded under a digital camera. species identification was done by camera lucida drawing. all specimens, included in the present study were preserved in mycology and plant pathology section and salar khan herbarium, department of botany, university of dhaka, bangladesh. identities of the isolates were determined following the standard literature (booth, 1971; ellis, 1971; barnet and hunter, 1972; sutton, 1980). results and discussion a total of eleven species of fungi were associated with two types of symptoms viz., anthracnose and fruit rot were recorded on infected fruits of momordica cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. (fig. 1). the fungi associated with anthracnose symptoms were colletotrichum gloeosporioides, c. orbiculare, curvularia clavata, fusarium moniliforme and penicillium digitatum. fruit rot infected samples showed the association of aspergillus niger, colletotrichum gloeosporioides, corynespora cassiicola, curvularia clavata, dendryphiella vinosa, fusarium moniliforme, lasidiodiplodia theobromae, pestalotiopsis guepinii and xylohypha pinicola. of these x. pinicola is a new record for bangladesh. taxonomic treatment of fungal taxa 1. aspergillus niger van tieghem, ann. sci. nat. bot., ser. 5, 8: 240 (1867). (fig. 2a). colonies effuse, black. mycelium well-developed, septate, profusely branched and brownish. cells are multinucleate. conidiophores brown 200−400 × 7−10 µm. vesicles globose or subglobose, thick walled, commonly 20−50 µm, occasionally up to 100 µm in diameter. sterigmata 20−30 × 6−8 µm. conidia dark brown, one celled globose, spinose 2−4 (5) µm in diameter. cattenulate. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. hosen 12, 6 december 2015. 2. colletotrichum gloeosporioides (penz.) sacc., fung. agrum. 2: 6 (1882). (fig. 2b). colonies greyish. acervuli black, sub-epidermal but later the epidermis are ruptured and expose them. hyphae septate, hyaline, both inter and intra-cellular. conidia hyaline, straight, obtuse at the apex, 11.2−25.2 3.6−5.0 µm. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 3077, 17 december 2015. mycoflora associated with momordica cochinchinensis 183 fig. 1. momordica cochinchinensis. a. healthy fruit, b. rotten fruit, c−f. fruit showing different stages of anthracnose symptom. 184 shamsi et al. 3. colletotrichum orbiculare (berk. & mont.) arx.,verh. akad. wet. amst. 51(3): 112(1957). (fig. 2c, d). colonies with abundant white greyish aerial mycelium, reverse dark brown, conidial masses salmon pink. setae present, conidia straight, cylindrical obtuse at the apices, 11.7−14.4 × 4.5−6 µm. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 3078, 1january 2016. 4. corynespora cassiicola (berk. & curt.) wei, mycol. pap. 34: 5 (1950). (fig. 2e). colonies effuse, grey, thinly hairy. mycelium mostly immersed; no stroma. conidiophores pale to mid brown, with up to 9 successive cylindrical proliferations. conidia solitary or in chains of 2−6, very variable in shape. obclavate to cylindrical, straight or curved, subhyaline to rather pale olivaceous brown or brown, smooth, with 4−20 pseudosepta, 48.6−131.4 ×12−23 µm. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. hosen 13, 6 december 2015. 5. curvularia clavata jain, trans. brit. mycol. soc. 45(4): 542 (1962). (fig. 2f). colonies effuse, brown, grey or black, hairy, cottony or velvety. mycelium brown, septate, branched. conidiophores dark brown, paler towards the apex, septate, mostly geniculate. conidia solitary, simple, often curved, clavate, ellipsoidal, broadly fusiform with 3 septate, dark brown, end cells paler than the others, smooth, 16.5−25 × 7−11 µm. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. hosen 14, 17 december 2015. 6. dendryphiella vinosa (berk. & curt) reisinger, bull.trimest. soc. mycol. fr. 84: 27−39 (1968). (fig. 3a). colonies effuse, rust-colored, brown or black, hairy or velvety. mycelium mostly immersed. stroma none. setae and hyphopodia absent. conidiophores reddish brown, verruculose. conidia 3septate, distinctly verruculose when mature, pale clear brown to burnt sienna, darker at the hilum, 16.2−27 ×3.6−7.2µm. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. hosen 15, 6 december 2015. 7. fusarium moniliforme j. sheld., annual rep. neb. agric. exp. sta. 17: 23−32 (1904). (fig. 3b). colony white, cottony, reverse violet in pda medium. microconidia are formed in chains under optimum growing conditions and these can readily be observed in situ under the low power of the microscope. microconidia measure 8−11 ×1.8−2.25 µm and are fusiform to clavate with a slightly flattened base; they occasionally become 1 septate. macroconidial formation is rare in many strains, where present they develop from conidiophores formed as lateral branches on the hyphae. the conidiophore consists of a single basal cell bearing 2−3 apical phialides or it may form 2−3 metulae which in turn bear simple doliform to obclavate phialides, 17−23.4 ×1.8−2.7µm. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. hosen 16, 6 december 2015. mycoflora associated with momordica cochinchinensis 185 fig. 2. a. aspergillus niger, b. colletotrichum gloeosporioides, c−d. c. orbiculare, e. corynespora cassiicola and f. curvularia clavata. (bar = 50 µm). 186 shamsi et al. fig. 3. a. dendryphiella vinosa, b. fusarium moniliforme, c. lasidiodiplodia theobromae, d. penicillium digitatum, e. pestalotiopsis guepinii, f. xylohypha pinicola. (bar = 50 µm). mycoflora associated with momordica cochinchinensis 187 8. lasidiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griff. & maubl, bull. trimest. soc. mycol. fr. 8:136 (1892). (fig. 3c). colonies greyish brown, cottony, reverse brownish black. hyphae septate, branched, dark chocolate brown. pycnidia globose, dark brown, ostiolate. conidiophore short, hyaline. conidia dark brown, two-celled, ellipsoidal, 16−22 × 8−12 µm. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. hosen 17, 1 january 2016. 9. penicillium digitatum sacc., bur. anim. ind., bul. 118: 31−33 (1910). (fig. 3d). colony small, cottony, greenish, reverse creamy. hyphae septate, branched, hyaline. conidiophores hyaline, septate. sterigmata equally variable, 15−28 µm long and 3.5−5.0 µm width. conidia elliptical to subglobose, smooth aseptate with greenish, tinge commonly 3.5−5.0 µm and occasionally up to 10−12 µm in diameter. cattenulate. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. hosen 18, 17 december 2015. 10. pestalotiopsis guepinii (desm.) stey., bull. jard. bot. état brux. 19(3): 312 (1949). (fig. 3e). colonies white, cottony, reverse white. hyphae septate, branched, hyaline. acervuli black, small, shining. conidiophores septate, branched, dark brown, cylindrical or lageniform, formed from the upper cells of the pseudoparenchymata. conidia fusiform, straight or slightly curved, mostly 3 euseptate: basal cells hyaline, truncate, with an endogenous, cellular, appendage: apical cell conic, hyaline, with 2 or more apica, simple or branched, spathulate or espathulate appendages: median cells brown, sometimes versicoloured, thicker-walled, smooth, 14−23 × 5−7.5 µm. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinensis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. hosen 19, 6 december 2015. 11. xylohypha pinicola d. hawksw., trans. brit. mycol. soc. 64: 89−99 (1975). (fig. 3f). colonies effuse, dark brown to black. conidiophores septate, simple or branched, straight or flexuous, mid to dark brown, thick-walled, smooth, up to 160 µm long, 4−7 µm thick. conidia in simple or branched acropetal chains ellipsoidal, pale to mid brown, smooth, 4−10 × 3.5−5 µm. specimen examined: isolated from infected fruits of m. cochinchinenesis, botanical garden, university of dhaka, dhaka, s. shamsi 3079, 6 december 2015. acknowledgements the authors wish to thank professor dr. mohammad zashim uddin, department of botany, university of dhaka for collecting momordica cochinchinensis plants from fasiakhali union, chakaria upazilla, cox’s bazar district and rearing it in the botanical garden of dhaka university. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. angiosperms: dicotyledons (balsaminaceae−euphorbiaceae). bangladesh asiat. soc., dhaka, pp. 1−546. barnett, h.l. and hunter, b.b. 1972. illustrated genera of imperfect fungi. burgess pub. co. u. s. a. pp. iii +241. 188 shamsi et al. booth, c. 1971. the genus fusarium. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, pp. 237. burke, d.s., smidt, c.r. and vuong, l.t. 2005. momordica cochinchinensis, rosa roxburghii, wolfberry, and sea buckthorn—highly nutritional fruits supported by tradition and science . current top. nutraceut. res. 3(4): 259−266. chuyen, h.v., nguyen, m.h., roach, p.d., golding, j.b. and parks, s.e. 2015. gac fruit (momordica cochinchinensis spreng.): a rich source of bioactive compounds and its potential health benefits. int. j. food sci. & technol. 50: 567−577. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, pp. 608. mukerji, k.g. and bhasin, j. 1986. plant diseases of india. a source book. tatta mcgrew-hill publishing company ltd. new delhi, pp. 468. sutton, b.c. 1980. the coelomycetes. fungi imperfecti with pycnidia, acervuli and stromata. commonwealth mycological institute, england, pp. 696. (manuscript received on 10 may 2016; revised on 23 august 2016)   microsoft word 02. nepal.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 121-139, 2010 (december) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal shiva kumar rai1 and pradeep kumar misra2 department of botany, post graduate campus, tribhuvan university, biratnagar, nepal keywords: algae; cyanophyceae; himalaya; east nepal. abstract a total 51 taxa of cyanophycean algae belonging to 28 genera have been enumerated from different lotic and lentic freshwater bodies of east nepal during october, 2002 to june, 2004. of these, 19 taxa were new additions to the cyanophycean flora of nepal and 39 were new records for the study area. coelosphaerium nägeli, fischerella (bornet et flahault) gomont and myxosarcina printz were the first time describing genera for the country. oscillatoria vaucher ex gomont has the maximum species observed in the study and were frequent in most of the samples too. the distribution pattern of cyanophycean algae according to different topography were as terai>mountain> himalaya. introduction eastern development region (26°20′-28°08′n and 86°08′-88°15′e) lies in the eastern part of nepal between sikkim and darjeeling in the east, janakpur zone of nepal in the west, bihar in the south and tibet of china in the north occupying an area of about 28,456 sq. km. on the basis of topography, it is divided into 3 geographical regions from south to north as terai with hot and humid sub-tropical climate, mountain with warm and cold temperate climate and himalaya with alpine and tundra types of climate. in general, its average winter (january) temperature ranges from below -30ºc to 18ºc but in summer (july), the southern belt, i.e., terai plain experiences very hot weather with average temperature from 27ºc to 30ºc. the eastern wetter region receives up to 3000 mm rainfall whereas the hill and terai receives average 1000-2000 mm annually. about 80% of the total annual rainfall occurs during monsoon in the month of june, july and august. the region has extremely variable elevation above mean sea level (msl) that ranges from 56-8848 m (kechana kawal to mt. everest, the highest peak in the world). thus, its diverse climates favour to have an amazing wealth of cyanophycean algae in this small area. freshwater cyanophycean algae of east nepal has not been studied so far properly. hence, very little information is available regarding their taxonomy and diversity. the contribution on the cyanophycean flora of nepal has been made by hirano (1955, 1969), kusel-fetzmann (1969), watanabe (1995), hickel (1973), joshi (1979), upadhyaya (1979), shrestha and manandhar (1983), nakanishi (1986), baral et al. (1988), watanabe and komarek (1994), komarek and watanabe (1998), sahay et al. (1993), das and verma (1996), prasad (1996), habib (1997) and jha and kargupta (2001). 1corresponding author. e-mail: shivarai2003@yahoo.com 2phycology research lab, department of botany, lucknow university, lucknow -226007, india 122 rai and misra kusel-fetzmann (1969) has reported oscillatoria acutissima kufferath and scytonema myochros (dillwyn) agardh ex bornet et flahault from khumbu area. komarek and watanabe (1990, 1998) have recognized 8 new species, i.e., coleodesmium sagarmathae, chamaesiphon palssahtiae, clastidium nepalense, cyanobacterium epiphyticum, gloeocapsopsis ferruginea, mantellum himalayense, schizothrix flammea and xenococcus luteoviolaceus from different localities in sagarmatha national park. watanabe and komarek (1994) have also described 21 cyanophycean forms from the same park including further 5 new species, i.e., woronchinia kuselae, eucapsis himalayensis, chlorogloea simplex, entophysalis rubra and schizothrix radius-solis. all these studies were concentrated to the high altitude localities in the himalaya region. in terai, jha and kargupta (2001) have described 24 taxa from sapta koshi basin out of which 15 taxa were new records for nepal. recently, jha and kargupta (2006) have also reported 14 taxa of genus oscillatoria from the same localities including four new records (o. acuta bruhl et biswas, o. obscura bruhl et biswas, o. ornata kützing ex gomont and o. vizagapatensis rao) for the country. as no extensive exploration of blue-green algae through terai to himalaya of eastern nepal has been carried out hitherto, it was felt desirable to study the cyanophycean flora of this region. the present paper describes the morphology and distribution of 51 taxa of blue green algae in east nepal. all these taxa were observed by the authors in the course of studies on freshwater algal diversity of eastern nepal. materials and methods algal samples were collected from different geographical localities in east nepal during october, 2002 to june, 2004. generally, periphytes were collected by squeezing submerged plants and plankton by plankton net (mesh size 0.5 mm) in the plastic bottles (250 ml). all the collections were preserved in 3-4% formalin (aqueous solution of formaldehyde) immediately in the field. for detailed laboratory study, the cyanophycean forms were stained with methylene blue and mounted in glycerine then observation and photomicrography were done with the help of nikon e-400 microscope with h-iii photomicrographic attachment. all these collections have been deposited in the algal repository of phycology research laboratory, botany department, university of lucknow, india. accession numbers of these collections are same as those of the collection numbers. taxonomic identification were made by consulting geitler (1932), prescott (1951), tiffany and britton (1952), desikachary (1959), prasad and srivastava (1992) and some other literatures. the classification followed after komarek and hauer (2009). the literature references below the taxon’s name indicate the illustration considered to be closest to our specimen and used as a basis for identification. the distribution of the taxa in nepal has also been recorded. abbreviations and symbols used in the text are as dn = freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal 123 distribution in nepal, (*) asterisk = new record for east nepal and (**) double asterisk = new record for nepal. results and discussion in the present study, taxonomy of 51 taxa (belonging to 28 genera and 9 families) of blue green algae has been described from 8 districts of eastern nepal. it includes 3 genera (coelosphaerium nägeli, fischerella (born. et flah.) gom. and myxosarcina printz.) newly reported for nepal, 19 taxa new records for the country and 39 taxa new for eastern nepal. the maximum number of species observed under oscillatoria vaucher which was also occurred frequently in most of the other samples. genera aphanocapsa, aphanothece, coelosphaerium, woronichinia, merismopedia, eucapsis, chlorogloea, myxosarcina, arthrospira, cylindrospermum, nostoc, tolypothrix, calothrix, rivularia, nostochopsis, hapalosiphon and fischerella have monotypic species. microcoleus chthonoplastes, m. sociatus, nostoc commune, phormidium ambiguum and p. subfuscum were found on damp soils where as calothrix castellii var. somastipurense and fischerella epiphytica were found as epiphytic on decaying leaves of euphorbia pulcherrima willd. and scytonema stuposum on the bark of acacia auriculiformis. similarly, the taxa found in rice fields were anabaena iyengarii var. tenuis, a. volzii, aphanothece naegelii, coelosphaerium dubium, merismopedia elegans and microcoleus chthonoplastes. the topographical distribution pattern of the algae were as terai> mountain> himalaya. more than 50% blue green algae were recorded from terai region because the hot and humid climate favours them for luxuriant growth. scytonema burmanicum, stigonema mamillosum and stigonema ocellatum were recorded only from himalaya region. there are still many blue green algae in the samples which remain to be identified. the distribution of cyanophycean algae (table 1) and a systematic enumeration of the species have been presented below. systematic enumeration order chroococcales; family chroococcaceae; genus chroococcus nägeli 1849 1. chroococcus minutus (kützing) nägeli (pl. 1, fig. 5) (geitler 1932, 232, 112a & 113c; prescott 1951, 449, 100: 9; desikachary 1959, 103, 24: 4; 26: 4 & 15) colonies 33.5 µm long, 27.5 µm broad; cells 9-10 µm long, 7.5 µm broad. dn = a stream at tukucha moor, 2600 m, mustang (hirano, 1955); bakeya and chandi river, chandranigahpur, rautahat (sahay et al., 1993); a shallow lake near kongma la, 5300 m, solukhumbu (watanabe and komarek, 1994); on dead tree in the south shore of rara lake, 2970 m, mugu (watanabe, 1995); a ditch at narayanghat, 124 rai and misra chitwan (das and verma, 1996); kusaha and madhuban, sunsari, eastern nepal (jha and kargupta, 2001). 2. **c. schizodermaticus w. et g.s. west (pl. 1, fig. 6) (geitler 1932, 232, 111b; desikachary 1959, 103, 26: 17; prasad and srivastava 1992, 31, 5: 6) colonies 28 µm long, 23 µm broad; cells 7.5-8.5 µm in diameter. family microcystaceae; genus microcystis kützing ex lemmermann 1907 3. *microcystis aeruginosa (kützing) kützing (pl. 1, fig. 1) (geitler 1932, 137, 59d; prescott 1951, 456, 102: 1-4; tiffany and britton 1952, 336, 91: 1053 & 1054; desikachary 1959, 93, 17: 1; 18: 10) solid colonies 30-140 µm in diameter; clathrate colonies 100-470 µm (given figure 180 µm) in diameter; elongated colonies 100-600 µm long, 30-100 µm broad; cells 4-8 µm in diameter. dn = lakes of pokhara valley, kaski (hickel, 1973a; nakanishi, 1986); chhapkaiya pond, birganj, parsa (prasad, 1996). 4. **m. incerta lemmermann (pl. 1, fig. 4) (prescott 1951, 457, 102: 5; tiffany and britton 1952, 336, 91: 1055) colonies 530 µm long, 430 µm broad; cells 1-2.5 µm in diameter. 5. *m. robusta (clark) nygaard (pl. 1, figs 2-3) (geitler 1932, 135, 58; desikachary 1959, 85, 17: 7-10) irregular colonies 250 µm long, 195 µm broad; spherical colonies 290 µm in diameter; cells 3-9 µm in diameter. dn = a pond at pimbahal, 1300 m, lalitpur (joshi, 1979). family cyanobacteriaceae; genus aphanothece nägeli 1849 6. *aphanothece naegelii wartmann in rabenhorst (pl. 1, figs 9-10) (geitler 1932, 172; desikachary 1959, 141, 22: 7) cells slightly elongate, 6.5-7.5 µm long, 5 µm broad. dn = on damp bank by roadside at godawari, 1400 m, lalitpur (watanabe and komarek, 1988). family entophysalidaceae; genus chlorogloea wille 1900 7. chlorogloea simplex m. watanabe et komárek (pl. 1, fig. 15) (watanabe and komarek 1994, 12, 13; 3: 1-2; 4: 1) cells 3-6 µm in diameter. freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal 125 notes: present specimen has slightly elongated and larger cells. short pseudofilaments look like budding of cells. dn = under a moist clift at phakdingma, 2700 m, sagarmatha national park, solukhumbu, eastern nepal (watanabe and komarek, 1994). family xenococcaceae; genus myxosarcina printz 1921 8. **myxosarcina spectabilis sensu vasistha (pl. 2, fig. 1) (desikachary 1959, 178, 30: 1-5; 31: 17-22) colonies up to 50 µm in diameter; cells 9 µm in diameter. notes: this algae was found as macroscopic, thick, slimy, spongy, leathery, green (young), hyaline (old) thallus attached on large, submerged rocks of river specially where water stream flows rapidly. order oscillatoriales; family oscillatoriaceae; genus oscillatoria vaucher ex gomont 1892 9. **oscillatoria amoena (kützing) gomont var. non-granulata ghose (pl. 2, fig. 6) (geitler 1932, 969; tiffany and britton 1952, 344, 93: 1073; desikachary 1959, 230, 39: 6-7) trichomes 5 µm broad; cells 2.5-4 µm long. 10. *o. anguina (bory) gomont (pl. 2, fig. 7) (prescott 1951, 485, 108: 24; desikachary 1959, 210, 38: 11) trichomes 6-7 µm broad; cells 1.3 µm long. dn = on concrete dam at taudaha lake, 1350 m, kathmandu (watanabe and komarek, 1988). 11. **o. cortiana meneghini ex gomont (pl. 2, fig. 8) (geitler 1932, 971, 619c; desikachary 1959, 233, 38: 14) trichomes 6-7 µm broad; cells 3.7-7.5 µm long; terminal cells 10 µm long. 12. o. limosa agardh ex gomont (pl. 2, fig. 9) (geitler 1932, 944, 598d; prescott 1951, 489, 109: 17; desikachary 1959, 206, 42: 11; sant’anna and azevedo 1995, 40, 83) trichomes 11 µm broad; cells 2.5 µm long. dn = moist soil and hot spring water at tatopani, 700 m, sindhupalchok (joshi, 1979); kathmandu (shrestha and manandhar, 1983); chandi river at chandranigahpur, rautahat and kara river at hetauda, makawanpur (sahay et al., 1993); main dam of khageri khola at tikauli, chitwan (das and verma, 1996); kusaha, haripur, and 126 rai and misra madhubani of sunsari, eastern nepal (jha and kargupta, 2001); saradanagar, rampur, chitwan; paddy field at khumaltar, lalitpur; thimi, bhaktapur (prasad and prasad, 2001). 13. o. princeps vaucher ex gomont (pl. 2, figs 10-11) (geitler 1932, 947, 598a & 601 c-g; desikachary 1959, 210, 37: 1, 10-11, 13-14; prasad and srivastava 1992, 67, 8: 8 & 10; sant’anna and azevedo 1995, 42, 88) trichomes 28.5-38 µm broad; cells 5-5.5 µm long. dn = a pond at patan dhoka, 1300 m, lalitpur (hirano, 1963); narayani river, narayanghat, chitwan (upadhyaya, 1979); kara river at hetauda, makawanpur and malangwa, sarlahi (sahay et al., 1993); main dam of khageri khola at tikauli, chitwan, and jayshree khola at gaindakot, nawalparasi (das and verma, 1996); paddy and sugarcane fields, birganj, parsa (prasad, 1996). 14. *o. proboscidea gomont (pl. 2, fig. 12) (geitler 1932, 948, 598b; desikachary 1959, 211, 38: 9; sant’anna and azevedo 1995, 42, 89) trichomes 9 µm broad; cells 3.7 µm long. notes: the trichome breadth is narrower than the type. dn = hot spring at tatopani, 1500 m, mustang (upadhyaya, 1979); damp cliff by roadside at chobhar, 1350 m, kathmandu (watanabe and komarek, 1988); roadside ditches at mahendranagar, kanchanpur (habib, 1997). 15. o. sancta (kützing) gomont (pl. 2, fig. 13) (geitler 1932, 943, 598c; desikachary 1959, 203, 42: 10; sant’anna and azevedo 1995, 45, 98-102) trichomes 18.5 µm broad; cells 3 µm long. dn = kaparphori ditch at tikauli, chitwan (das and verma, 1996); kusaha, haripur, and madhuban, sunsari, eastern nepal (jha and kargupta, 2001). 16. *o. splendida greville ex gomont (pl. 2, fig. 14) (geitler 1932, 972, 611 m-o; 620 d-f; desikachary 1959, 234, 37: 7-8; 38: 10; 40: 11; sant’anna and azevedo 1995, 45, 104) trichomes 2.5 µm broad; cells 4-5 µm long; end cells 12 µm long. dn = a stream at lirum glacier, 3900 m, rasuwa (hirano, 1969). freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal 127 family oscillatoriaceae; genus lyngbya c. agardh ex gomont 1892 17. *lyngbya birgei g.m. smith (pl. 2, fig. 18) (geitler 1932, 1048, 663; desikachary 1959, 296, 50: 7-8; sant’anna and azevedo 1995, 23, 7) filaments 22.5-25 µm broad; sheath 1-1.5 µm thick; trichomes 19.5-20 µm broad; cells 3.7-4 µm long. notes: cells are slightly longer than the type. dn = sundarijal, 1300 m, kathmandu and patan, 1300 m, lalitpur (shrestha and manandhar, 1983). 18. *l. hieronymussi lemmermann (pl. 2, fig. 17) (geitler 1932, 1047, 656a; desikachary 1959, 297, 48: 4; yacubson 1980, 288, 6: 83) filaments 16-18 µm broad; sheath 1-3 µm thick; trichomes 15 µm broad; cells 3.6-4 µm long. notes: the filaments are slightly broader than the type. dn = pond near sharada river at mahendranagar, kanchanpur (habib, 1997). 19. **l. majuscula (dillwyn) harvey ex gomont (pl. 2, fig. 19) (geitler 1932, 1060, 672 c-d; desikachary 1959, 313, 48: 7; 49: 12; 52: 10; sant’anna and azevedo 1995, 25, 18) filaments 14-16 µm broad; sheath 1.5-3 µm thick; trichomes 10-11 µm broad; cells 2-3 µm long. family phormidiaceae; genus phormidium kützing ex gomont 1892 20. *phormidium ambiguum gomont (pl. 2, fig. 15) (geitler 1932, 1015, 647e; prescott 1951, 493, 3: 1; desikachary 1959, 266, 44: 16; 45: 5-8) filaments 6.5 µm broad; trichomes 4.5-5 µm broad; cells 2.5 µm long. dn = a pond at bouddha, 1300 m, kathmandu (hirano, 1963); paddy fields at kathmandu (baral et al., 1988). 21. **p. subfuscum kützing ex gomont (pl. 2, fig. 16) (geitler 1932, 1022, 652 d-g; desikachary 1959, 273, 44: 22-23; sant’anna and azevedo 1995, 52, 157-160) trichomes 7.5-8 µm broad; cells 2.5 µm long. 128 rai and misra genus arthrospira stitzenberger ex gomont 1892 22. **arthrospira khannae drouet et strickland (pl. 2, fig. 2) (desikachary 1959, 189, 35: 12) spirals 25-27 µm distant, 15-20 µm broad; trichomes 3 µm broad; end cells 2-2.3 µm broad. notes: the distance between the spirals are slightly longer than the type mentioned by desikachary (1959). genus microcoleus desmaziéres ex gomont 1892 23. *microcoleus chthonoplastes zanardini ex gomont (pl. 2, fig. 20) (geitler 1932, 1133, 739; desikachary 1959, 343, 60: 7-9; prasad and srivastava 1992, 104, 12: 3 & 7) filaments up to 100 µm broad; trichomes 5 µm broad; cells 4 µm long. dn = khair khola at tandi, chitwan (das and verma, 1996). 24. **m. sociatus w. et g.s.west (pl. 2, figs 21-22) (geitler 1932, 1141, 746; desikachary 1959, 346; sant’anna and azevedo 1995, 29, 32-33) filament 25 µm broad; trichomes 9-13 or more, 4-5 µm broad. order synnechococcales; family merismopediaceae; genus merismopedia meyen 1839 25. *merismopedia elegans a. braun in kützing (pl. 1, fig. 13) (geitler 1932, 265, 129e; prescott 1951, 459, 101: 1; desikachary 1959, 156, 29: 9; yacubson 1980, 287, 6: 73; rath and adhikary 2005, 44, 6: 3; 15: 110) whole colony 99 µm long, 78 µm broad; cells 8 µm long, 5.7 µm broad. dn = phewa lake, 967 m, pokhara, kaski (nakanishi, 1986); chandi river at chandranigahpur, rautahat and rapti river at hetauda, makawanpur (sahay et al., 1993). genus aphanocapsa nägeli 1849 26. *aphanocapsa grevillei (berkeley) rabenhorst (pl. 1, figs 7-8) (geitler 1932, 159, 71; prescott 1951, 454, 101: 15-16; tiffany and britton 1952, 331, 90: 1047; desikachary 1959, 134, 21: 9) cells spherical, 3.5-5 µm in diameter. dn = a pond at luitel bhanjyang, 770 m, gorkha (hirano, 1955); langtang khola, 200 m, rasuwa (hirano, 1969); on brick wall at balaju water garden, 1300 m, kathmandu (watanabe and komarek, 1988). freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal 129 plate 1 fig 1-15: 1. microcystis aeruginosa kütz.; figs. 2-3. microcystis robusta (clark) nygaard ; fig. 4. microcystis incerta lemm.; fig. 5. chroococcus minutus (kütz.) näg.; fig. 6. chroococcus schizodermaticus w. west; figs. 7-8. aphanocapsa grevillei (hass.) rabenh.; figs. 9-10. aphanothece naegelii wartm.; fig. 11. coelosphaerium dubium grun.; fig. 12. woronichinia kuselae watn. et kom.; fig. 13. merismopedia elegans a. br.; fig. 14. eucapsis himalayensis watn. et kom.; fig. 15. chlorogloea simplex watn. et kom. 130 rai and misra genus eucapsis clements et shantz 1909 27. eucapsis himalayensis m. watanabe et komárek (pl. 1, fig. 14) (watanabe and komarek 1994, 6, 7-8; 2: 1-4) colonies up to 20 µm in diameter; cells 3.5-5 µm long, 2.5 µm broad. notes: cell dimension is slightly smaller than the type given. dn = under a moist clift at phakdingma, 2700 m and in a shallow lake near kongma la, 5300 m, solukhumbu, eastern nepal (watanabe and komarek, 1994). genus coelosphaerium nägeli 1849 28. **coelosphaerium dubium grunow in rabenhorst (pl. 1, fig. 11) (geitler 1932, 254, 121f & 122a; prescott 1951, 470, 106: 1; desikachary 1959, 147, 28: 10) colonies 58-59 µm in diameter; colonial mucilage 5-8 µm thick; cells 6-8 µm in diameter. genus woronichinia elenkin 1933 29. woronichinia kuselae m. watanabe et komárek (pl. 1, fig. 12) (watanabe and komarek 1994, 6, 6; 2: 7-10) complex colonies 75-95 µm, individual colonies 20-25 µm in diameter; cells 3-5 µm broad. notes: cell dimension is larger than the type specimen. dn = a shallow lake near kongma la, 5300 m, solukhumbu, eastern nepal (watanabe and komarek, 1994). order pseudanabaenales; family pseudanabaenaceae; genus spirulina turpin ex gomont 1892 30. *spirulina major kützing ex gomont (pl. 2, fig. 3) (prescott 1951, 480, 108: 11; tiffany and britton 1952, 354, 97: 1124; desikachary 1959, 196, 36: 13; prasad and srivastava 1992, 51, 7: 12) spirals 2.9-3 µm distant, 3.5-4 µm broad; trichomes 1.5 µm broad. dn = bagmati river at karmaiya and paddy field at malangwa, sarlahi (sahay et al., 1993). 31. s. princeps w. et g.s.west (pl. 2, fig. 4) (geitler 1932, 931, 593d; prescott 1951, 480, 108: 13; desikachary 1959, 197, 36: 7) spirals 9.5-10 µm distant, 10-11 µm broad; trichomes 4-4.7 µm broad. dn = fish pond at hetauda, makawanpur (sahay et al., 1993); kusaha, madhuban and haripur, sunsari, eastern nepal (jha and kargupta, 2001). freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal 131 32. s. subsalsa oersted. ex gomont (pl. 2, fig. 5) (geitler 1932, 927, 593a; prescott 1951, 480, 108: 14; desikachary 1959, 193, 36: 3 & 9; prasad and srivastava 1992, 54, 7: 10-11) spirals 1.4 µm distant, 5.5 µm broad; trichomes 2.7 µm broad. dn = bagmati river at karmaiya and paddy field at malangwa, sarlahi (sahay et al., 1993); kusaha and madhuban, sunsari, eastern nepal (jha and kargupta, 2001). order nostocales; family nostocaceae; genus nostoc vaucher ex bornet et flahault 1886 33. *nostoc commune vaucher ex bornet et flahault (pl. 2, fig. 24) (geitler 1932, 845, 536-537; prescott 1951, 523, 119: 13; desikachary 1959, 387, 68: 3) trichomes 4-4.5 µm broad; cells 4-5 µm long; heterocysts 5 µm long, 5.5 µm broad. dn = water tank and paddy and sugarcane fields at birganj, parsa (prasad, 1996); parwanipur, bara (prasad and prasad, 2001). genus anabaena bory ex bornet et flahault 1886 34. anabaena iyengarii bharadwaja (pl. 2, fig. 25) (desikachary 1959, 406, 78: 2) trichomes 6 µm broad; heterocysts 9.5 µm long, 7.5 µm broad; akinets 15-25 µm long, 8-11 µm broad. dn = chandi river at chandranigahpur, rautahat (sahay et al., 1993); a pond near sharada dam, mahendranagar, kanchanpur (habib, 1997). 35. a. iyengarii bharadwaja var. tenuis rao (pl. 2, fig. 26) (desikachary 1959, 408, 76: 1; prasad and srivastava 1992, 115, 13: 4-5) trichomes 4-4.5 µm broad; cells 2.5-4 µm long; heterocysts 6.8-7 µm long, 6.5-7 µm broad; akinets 9-12.7 µm long, 6.5-7.5 µm broad. dn = kusaha and haripur, sunsari, eastern nepal (jha and kargupta, 2001). 36. *a. volzii lemmermann [syn.: anabaena unispora gardner] (pl. 2, fig. 27) (geitler 1932, 901; desikachary 1959, 403, 77: 1; prasad and srivastava 1992, 119, 13: 17, 19-20). trichomes 5-5.5 µm broad; cells 5-7.5 µm long; heterocysts 14 µm long, 7 µm broad; akinets 26 µm long, 12.5 µm broad. notes: cells are shorter and akinets are smaller in dimension than the type. dn = a puddle along khair khola at belchi, tandi, chitwan (das and verma, 1996). 132 rai and misra plate 2 figs 1-27: 1. myxosarcina spectabilis geitler; fig. 2. arthrospira khannae drouet et strickland; fig. 3. spirulina major kütz. ex gom.; fig. 4. spirulina princeps w. et g.s.west; fig. 5. spirulina subsalsa oerst. ex gom.; fig. 6. oscillatoria amoena (kütz.) gom. var. non-granulata ghose; fig. 7. oscillatoria anguina (bory) gom.; fig. 8. oscillatoria cortiana menegh. ex gom.; fig. 9. oscillatoria limosa ag. ex gom.; figs. 10-11. oscillatoria princeps vauch. ex gom.; fig. 12. oscillatoria proboscidea gom.; fig. 13. oscillatoria sancta (kütz.) gom.; fig. 14. oscillatoria splendida grev. ex gom.; fig. 15. phormidium ambiguum gom.; fig. 16. phormidium subfuscum kütz. ex gom.; fig. 17. lyngbya hieronymussi lemm.; fig. 18. lyngbya birgei g.m. smith; fig. 19. lyngbya majuscule harv. ex gom.; fig. 20. microcoleus chthonoplastes thur. ex go; figs. 21-22. microcoleus sociatus w. et g.s.west; fig. 23. cylindrospermum stagnale (kütz.) born. et flah. f. variabilis prasad; fig. 24. nostoc commune vauch. ex born. et flah.; fig. 25. anabaena iyengarii bharadwaja; fig. 26. anabaena iyengarii bharadwaja var. tenuis rao; fig. 27. anabaena volzii lemm. freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal 133 genus cylindrospermum kützing ex bornet et flahault 1886 37. **cylindrospermum stagnale (kützing) ex bornet et flahault f. variabilis prasad (desikachary 1959, 363, 64: 1) (pl. 2, fig. 23) trichomes 4-5 µm broad; cells 4-6 µm long; heterocysts 12 µm long, 6.5-7 µm broad; akinets 10 µm long, 6.5 µm broad. notes: present specimen has small spores. family scytonemataceae; genus scytonema agardh ex bornet et flahault 1886 38. **scytonema burmanicum skuja (pl. 3, figs 1-2) (desikachary 1959, 460, 97: 1-9) filaments 14 µm (above)-15.5 µm (below) broad; trichomes 11.5-12 µm broad; cells 6-9 µm long; heterocysts 13-14 µm long, 12 µm broad. 39. **s. javanicum (kützing) bornet ex bornet et flahault (pl. 3, fig. 4) (geitler 1932, 765, 490; desikachary 1959, 461, 100: 4) filaments 12.5 µm broad; trichomes 8.5-9.5 µm broad; cells 2.5-3.5 µm long; heterocysts 7 µm long, 8.5 µm broad. 40. **s. stuposum (kützing) bornet ex bornet et flahault (pl. 3, fig. 3) (geitler 1932, 756, 482; desikachary 1959, 459, 93: 4; tiwari 1979, 135, 2: 3) filaments 16 µm broad; trichomes 8-12 µm broad; cells 5-7 µm long; heterocysts 5-6 µm long, 10 µm broad. notes: the present specimen has slightly smaller dimension. family microchaetaceae; genus tolypothrix kützing ex bornet et flahault 1886 41. *tolypothrix distorta kützing ex bornet et flahault (pl. 3, fig. 6) (geitler 1932, 719, 460; prescott 1951, 537, 125: 5-6; desikachary 1959, 495, 102: 1) filaments 15 µm broad; trichomes 11.3 µm broad; cells 11 µm long. dn = a small pond south of rara lake, 3030 m, mugu (watanabe, 1995). family rivulariaceae; genus rivularia (roth) agardh ex bornet et flahault 1886 42. *rivularia minutula (kützing) bornet et flahault (pl. 3, fig. 7) (prescott 1951, 556, 136: 9) filaments 330-440 µm long, 10-12 µm broad at base; trichomes 7.5-8.5 µm broad at base; cells 5-5.5 µm long; heterocyst 10 µm long. dn = nagarjun, 1300 m, kathmandu (shrestha and manandhar, 1983). 134 rai and misra plate 3 figs 1-20: 1-2. scytonema burmanicum skuja; fig. 3. scytonema stuposum (kütz.) born. ex born. et flah.; fig. 4. scytonema javanicum (kütz.) born. ex born. et flah.; fig. 5. calothrix castellii (massal.) born. et flah. var. somastipurense rao; fig. 6. tolypothrix distorta kütz. ex born. et flah.; fig. 7. rivularia minutula (kütz.) born. et flah.; figs. 8, 12-13.gloeotrichia raciborskii wolosz. var. kashiense rao; fig. 9. gloeotrichia intermedia (lemm.) geitler var. kanwaensis rao; figs. 10-11.gloeotrichia echinulata (j.e. smith) richt. var. berhampurense rao; figs. 14-15. nostochopsis lobatus wood em. geitler; fig. 16. hapalosiphon fontinalis (ag.) born.; fig. 17. fischerella epiphytica ghose; figs. 18-19. stigonema ocellatum (dillw.) thur. ex born. et flah.; fig. 20. stigonema mamillosum (lyngb.) ag. ex born. et flah. freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal 135 genus calothrix agardh ex bornet et flahault 1886 43. **calothrix castellii (massal.) bornet et flahault var. somastipurense rao (desikachary 1959, 531, 113: 11-14; tiwari 1979, 141, 5: 3) (pl. 3, fig. 5) filaments 10 µm broad at the base; trichomes 7 µm broad at the base; cells 3.2-5 µm long; heterocysts 6.5 µm long, 9.5 µm broad. notes: the present specimen does not bear distinct trichome hair. genus gloeotrichia j. agardh ex bornet et flahault 1886 44. **gloeotrichia echinulata (j.e. smith) p. richter var. berhampurense rao (desikachary 1959, 556, 118: 13; tiwari 1979, 144, 7: 3) (pl. 3, figs 10-11) filaments 180-350 µm long; trichomes 7-9 µm broad; cells 6-9 µm long; heterocysts 8.5-9.5 µm long, 10-12 µm broad; akinets 14-15 µm long, 10-11 µm broad. 45. **g. intermedia (lemmermann) geitler var. kanwaensis rao (desikachary 1959, 560, 118: 9-11; tiwari 1979, 145, 7: 5) (pl. 3, fig. 9) trichomes 10-11.5 µm broad at base, 5 µm broad higher up; cells 2.5 µm long at the base, 5-7 µm broad higher up; heterocysts 10 µm in diameter; akinets 50-57.5 µm long, 12.5 µm (without sheath) to 15-17.5 µm (with sheath) broad; sheath 1.5 µm thick. 46. **g. raciborskii woloszynska var. kashiense rao (pl. 3, figs 8, 12-13) (desikachary 1959, 563, 117: 2-6) trichomes 7-10 µm broad at the base, 6-6.5 µm broad higher up; cells 7.5-9 µm long at the base, upto 10 µm long higher up; heterocysts 12.5 µm long, 10-11.3 µm broad; akinets 30 µm long, 14.6 µm broad (30-45 µm broad with sheath). family hapalosiphonaceae; genus hapalosiphon nägeli ex bornet et flahault 1886 47. *hapalosiphon fontinalis (agardh) bornet (pl. 3, fig. 16) (geitler 1932, 535, 332; desikachary 1959, 592, 130: 3; tiwari 1979, 146, 8: 1) main filaments 10.5-12 µm broad, branch filaments 7.5-9 µm broad; trichomes 7-9.5 µm broad; cells 5-8 µm long; heterocysts 9 µm long, 7.5 µm broad. dn = a small pond south of rara lake, 3030 m, mugu (watanabe, 1995). genus nostochopsis wood ex bornet et flahault 1886 48. *nostochopsis lobatus wood em. geitler (pl. 3, figs 14-15) (geitler 1932, 475, 28 & 285-286; desikachary 1959, 570, 120: 1-8) thallus up to 4 cm in diameter; cells 4-10 µm long, up to 5 µm broad; heterocysts 67.5 µm long, 5.5-6.5 µm broad. 136 rai and misra table 1. distribution of cyanophycean algae in eastern nepal. cn, dc bga locality al (m) d er en 15, 23.08.2002 en 20, 29.08.2002 en 25, 30.08.2002 en 34, 01.09.2002 en 42, 05.09.2002 en 56, 19.09.2002 en 45, 07.09.2002 en 54, 18.09.2002 en 82, 16.12.2002 en 101,21.12.2002 en 129,29.03.2003 en 104,28.12.2002 en 113,11.01.2003 en 154,11.05.2003 en 156,11.05.2003 en 158,12.05.2003 en 170,14.05.2003 en 192,24.05.2003 en 211,07.06.2003 en 226,13.08.2003 en 232,18.01.2004 en 235,21.01.2004 en 252,29.04.2004 en 253,12.05.2004 en 257,14.05.2004 en 315,17.11.2004 en 259,28.05.2004 en 260,02.06.2004 en 261,08.06.2004 en 263,17.06.2004 en 267,17.06.2004 en 278,19.06.2004 en 280,19.06.2004 en 286,20.06.2004 en 302,10.09.2004 en 316,17.11.2004 3 26 8 23 10 13 44,45 40 14 29,34 1 18 15 25 30 20 9,11 6,28,35,36,44 5,31 38,51 12 16,37,46 43,49 22,32 17 19 4 50 7 2, 27 41,42 33,47 24 21 39 48 p.g. campus pond, biratnagar morang campus pond, biratnagar sera khola, panchakanya paddy field at sawane-thingabari, panchakanya malaya roadside ditches, biratnagar ,, ,, ,, ,, mawa river, madhumalla epiphyte on bark of accasia auriculiformis at p.g. campus, biratnagar sarochia pond, biratnagar titrigachi pond, koshi tappu, kusaha ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, birendra sabha griha pond, biratnagar raja rani lake, bhogateni paddy field & damp soil around a tap, hongchur rawa khola, manglabare damp soil around a tap at makpa dharapani pandhero, damku paddy field at phoksiltar near sun koshi river kamal pokhari, sukrabare, kechana sabha pokhari ditches at nahar chowk, shivaganj chimdi lake epiphyte on decaying leaves of euphorbia pulcherrima in malaya road ditches, biratnagar pitchhra pond & canal, biratnagar betana wetland, belbari ,, ,, ,, hattisar campus pond, dharan gokyu lake iii, khumjung gupha pokhari, nundhaki mechi campus pond, bhadrapur mechi pokhari, mahespur, bhadrapur mai pokhari damp soil by roadside at jasbire roadside drains at ilam bazar roadside ditches at itahari attached on outlet cannel at betana wetland 72 72 430 500 72 ,, 230 72 72 206 ,, 72 700 850 720 1440 1690 400 73 4100 128 73 72 72 123 ,, 511 4777 2950 93 80 2150 2010 1208 120 123 m m s s m ,, m m m s ,, m m k k k k u m ss j s m m m ,, s sk ss j j i i i s m t t mt mt t ,, t t t t ,, t mt mt mt mt mt mt t h t t t t t ,, mt h mt t t mt mt mt t t cn = collection number, dc = date of collection, bga = name of blue-green algae according to enumeration number in the text, al = altitude, d = district name, er = ecological region, t = terai, mt = mountain, h = himalaya, m = morang, s = sunsari, ss = sankhuwasabha, k = khotang, u = udayapur, j = jhapa, sk = solukhumbu, i = ilam, khola = river, pokhari = pond. freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal 137 dn = a pond at godawari, 1400 m, lalitpur (shrestha and manandhar, 1983); streamlet connecting fish pond at godawri, 1400 m, lalitpur (watanabe and komarek, 1988). genus fischerella (bornet et flahault) gomont 1895 49. **fischerella epiphytica ghose (pl. 3, fig. 17) (geitler 1932, 485, 292; desikachary 1959, 601, 130: 2) main filaments up to 20 µm broad, branch filaments up to 15 µm broad; cells up to 10 µm in diameter. family stigonemataceae; genus stigonema agardh ex bornet et flahault 1886 50. *stigonema mamillosum agardh ex bornet et flahault (pl. 3, fig. 20) (geitler 1932, 520, 320-324; prescott 1951, 547, 130: 1-3; desikachary 1959, 613, 135: 3-6) branch filaments 55-60 µm broad; cells 15-17 µm in diameter. dn = a glacier lake at langtang himal, 3700 m, rasuwa (hirano, 1969). 51. s. ocellatum (dillwyn) thuret ex bornet et flahault (pl. 3, figs 18-19) (geitler 1932, 504, 305-307; prescott 1951, 548, 130: 5-6; desikachary 1959, 607, 138: 2) main filaments 30-40 µm broad, branch filaments up to 32 µm broad at tips; cells up to 16 µm long, up to 30 µm broad. dn = a glacier lake at langtang himal, 3700 m, rasuwa (hirano, 1969); khumbu, 4180 m-5000 m (kusel-fetzmann, 1969); small pond south of rara lake, 3030 m, mugu (watanabe, 1995). acknowledgement authors are thankful to the head of the department of botany, lucknow university, india for laboratory and library facilities. one author (s.k. rai) would like to acknowledge the university grants commission, sanothimi, bhaktapur, nepal for financial assistance. references baral, s.r., mishra, d.k. and kumar, h.d. 1988. in situ nitrogen fixation rates in ten rice fields of kathmandu valley, nepal. in: sen, s.p. and palit, p. (eds.), biofertilizers: potentialities and problems. naya prakash, calcutta, india, pp. 103-107. das, s.n. and verma, b.n. 1996. algal flroa of chitwan and nawalparasi districts of nepal. phykos 35(1-2): 119-127. 138 rai and misra desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. icar. new delhi, pp. 686. geitler, l. 1932. cyanophyceae in rabenhorst’s kryptogamen flora. leipzig 14. pp. 1196 + pls. 20. habib, i. 1997. algal flora from mahendranagar, nepal. j .econ. and taxon. bot. 21(1): 19-26. hickel, b. 1973. phytoplanktons in two ponds in kathmandu valley, nepal. int. rev. ges hydrobiol. 58(6): 835-842. hirano, m. 1955. fresh water algae. in: kihara, h. (ed.), fauna and flora of nepal himalaya. fauna and flora research society, kyoto university, kyoto, japan, pp. 5-42. hirano, m. 1969. fresh water algae from langtang himal, nepal himalaya. contr. biol. lab., kyoto univ., japan. 22: 1-42. jha, s. and kargupta, a.n. 2001. cyanobacterial flora of eastern koshi basin, nepal. ecoprint 8(1): 37-43. jha, s. and kargupta, a.n. 2006. taxonomy of the genus oscillatoria vaucher from the river koshi basin. in: jha, p.k., chaudhary, r.p., karmacharya, s.b. and prasad, v. (eds.), environment and plants: glimpses of research in south asia. ecological society, kathmandu, nepal, pp. 264-274. joshi, a.r. 1979. contribution to our knowledge on myxophyceae of nepal. j. nat. hist. mus., nepal. 3(2): 35-41. komarek, j. and watanabe, m. 1990. morphology and taxonomy of the genus coleodesmium (cyanophyceae/cyanobacteria). in: watanabe, m. and malla, s.b. (eds.), cryptogams of the himalayas, vol. 2. central and eastern nepal. national science museum, tsukuba, japan, pp. 1-22. komarek, j. and watanabe, m. 1998. contribution to the attached cyanoprokaryotes from submerged biotopes in sagarmatha national park (eastern nepal). bull. natn. sci. mus., ser. b, tokyo. 24(4): 117135. komarek, j. and hauer, t. 2009. cyanodb.cz-on-line database of cyanobacterial genera. word-wide electronic publication, university of south bohemia & inst. of botany ascr, http:// www.cyanodb.cz kusel-fetzmann, e. 1969. einige algen aus nepal. khumbu himal, berlin. 1(6): 37-56. nakanishi, m. 1986. limnological study in phewa, begnas and rupa lakes. in: ishida, y. (ed.), studies on distribution, adaptation and evolution of microorganisms in nepal himalayas. (second report), ministry of education, science and culture, kyoto, japan, pp. 3-13. prasad, b.n. and srivastava, m.n. 1992. fresh water algal flora of andaman and nicobar islands. vol. 1, bishen singh mohendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 1-369. prasad, r.c. and prasad, b.n. 2001. screening of blue green algae (cyanobacteria) and their distributional pattern in rice field of narayani and bagmati zones of nepal. j. liv. world 8(1): 1-12. prasad, v. 1996. blue green algae of birganj (nepal). short term project. research division, tribhuvan university, nepal. prescott, g.w. 1951. algae of the western great lakes area. wm.c. brown publishers, dubuque, iowa, pp. 1977. rath, j. and adhikary, s.p. 2005. algal flora of chilka lake. daya publ. house, delhi, pp. 1-206. sahay, a.p., das, p.k., and verma, b.n. 1993. studies on the algal flora of nepal-ii: cyanophyceae and euglenophyceae. geophytology 23(1): 181-183. sant’anna, c.l. and azevedo, m.t.p. 1995. oscillatoriaceae (cyanophyceae) from sao paulo state, brazil. nova hedwigia 60(1-2): 19-58. shrestha, b. and manandhar, j.d. 1983. contribution to the algal flora of kathmandu valley. j. inst. sci. techn., nepal. 6: 1-6. tiffany, l.h. and britton, m.e. 1952. the algae of illinois. hafner publishing co., new york, pp. 1-407. freshwater cyanophyceae from east nepal 139 tiwari, g.l. 1979. a study of the blue-green algae from paddy field soils of india, part iv: taxonomic considerations of nostocales and stigonematales. nova hedwigia 63: 133-159. upadhyaya, b.n. 1979. two new records of oscillatoria for nepal. j. nat. hist. mus., nepal 3(3): 74-75. watanabe, m. 1995. algae from lake rara and its vicinities, nepal himalayas. in: watanabe, m. and hagiwara, h. (eds.), cryptogams of the himalayas, vol. 3, nepal and pakistan. national science museum, tsukuba, japan, pp. 1-17. watanabe, m. and komarek, j. 1988. blue-green algae from kathmandu. in: watanabe, m. and malla, s.b. (eds.), cryptogames of the himalaya, vol. 1, the kathmandu valley. national science museum, tsukuba, japan, pp. 1-20. watanabe, m. and komarek, j. 1994. several cyanoprokaryotes from sagarmatha national park, nepal himalayas. bull. natn. sci. mus., ser. b, tokyo. 20(1): 1-31. yacubson, s. 1980. the phytoplankton of some fresh water bodies from zulia state (venezuela). nova hedwigia 33: 279-339. (manuscript received on 1 august, 2009; revised on 23 may, 2010) microsoft word 01. tax phytolacca_final_12jun.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 1–8, 2015 (june) © 2015 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular phylogenetic analyses of internal transcribed spacer (its) sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna indicate monophyly of the genus phytolacca l. (phytolaccaceae) m. ajmal ali1, joongku lee2, soo-yong kim2, sang-hong park2,3 and fahad m.a. al-hemaid department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh 11451, kingdom of saudi arabia keywords: its; nrdna; phytolaccaceae; phylogeny. abstract relationships within the family phytolaccaceae sensu lato were examined based on internal transcribed spacer (its) sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna). the study revealed phytolacca l. as taxonomically the most difficult genus in the family with completely unknown phylogeny. molecular evidence was used from nrdna its sequences of about 90% of the species for maximum parsimony analyses, and the molecular phylogenetic analyses defined a monophyletic phytolacca. this first molecular phylogenetic study of phytolacca concludes that the relationships among the species within the genus do not show harmony with the generic classification based on morphology. these results set the stage for a more detailed phylogenetic analysis of phytolacca. introduction the angiosperm family phytolaccaceae sensu lato comprises a weedy, and polyphyletic genera (apgiii, 2009) of largely tropical and subtropical plants that have been placed, almost without exception, in centrospermae under either the order chenopodiales or caryophyllales (nowicke, 1969). the genus phytolacca l. (family phytolaccaceae) is commonly known as ‘pokeweeds’ comprises about 20 species (nowicke, 1969) of perennial herbs, shrubs and trees, nearly cosmopolitan, mostly native to south america, with a few species in africa and asia (shu, 2003). the genus phytolacca possess alternate, simple leaves, pointed at the end, with entire or crinkled margins; the leaves can be either deciduous or evergreen; the stems are green, pink or red; the flowers are greenish-white to pink, produced in long racemes at the ends of the stems; they develop into globose berries 4−12 mm in diameter, green at first but dark purple to black after ripening (nowicke, 1969). the generic name is derived from the greek word phyton, meaning plant, and the latin word lacca, meaning a red dye (umberto, 2000). phytolaccatoxin and phytolaccigenin, which are poisonous, are present in many species of the genus phytolacca. the active principles for analgesic, anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, fungicidal, mitogenic and molluscicide action have been reported from several species of phytolacca (hernández et al., 2013). the active principles have also been found in methanolic extracts of fruit of p. tetramera hauman, which is a source of saponins with fungicidal action (escalante et al., 2002; santecchia et al., 2002). the african soapberry plant, p. dodecandra l’her., locally called endod, produces a range of triterpenoid 1corresponding author. email: alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa 2international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, 125 gwahak-ro, yuseong-gu, daejeon 305-806, south korea. email: joongku@kribb.re.kr 3present address: division of plant management, national institute of ecology, choongnam, secheon-gun, maseo-myeon, geumgang-ro, 1210, 325-813, south korea 2 ali et al. saponins possessing very potent and useful biological properties, including antifungal, antiprotozoan, spermicidal and insecticidal activities (lemma et al., 1979). because of its fastgrowing nature, p. dioica l. is frequently planted as a shade tree in the tropics. nowicke (1969) reported the use of berries and the young sprouts, and leaves of some species of phytolacca as an adulterant of red wine and poke salad, respectively. the generic composition and phylogeny of phytolaccaceae have long been controversial. the phylogenetic studies have substantially added new results to our knowledge of phylogeny of the family phytolaccaceae (brown and varadarajan, 1985; downie et al., 1997; cuenoud et al., 2002; lee et al., 2013). nowicke (1969) referred phytolacca as the most difficult genus in the family phytolaccaceae sensu lato, and classified under three subgenera and six sections (table 1). however, comprehensive information on phylogeny of the genus phytolacca is lacking. table 1. infrageneric classification of the genus phytolacca l. by nowicke (1969). taxa included in the present study are marked with asterisk. subgenus section species pircunia pircunia *phytolacca acinosa roxb. *p. heptandra retz. pircunioides *p. dodecandra l’her. pircuniopsis pircuniophorum *p. sanguinea h. walter *p. rugosa br. & bouche p. chilensis (miers ex moq.) h. walter pircuniopsis *p. tetramera hauman *p. dioica l. *p. weberbaueri h. walter phytolacca phytolacca *p. icosandra l. *p. octandra l. *p. thyrsiflora fenzl ex j.a. schmidt *p. heterotepala h. walter *p. meziana h. walter *p. rivinoides kunth & bouchk *p. purpurascens a. br. & bouche *p. brachystachys moq. *p. bogotensis h.b.k. *p. americana l. phytolaccoides p. pruinosa fenzl. during the last two decades, the internal transcribed spacers (its) sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) have gained wide attention, not only because of its efficacy in understanding phylogeny of the plants at lower taxonomic level, but also to be considered as the most conserved markers, because, even after facing criticism of its utility, this marker stands parallel to the smartest genes available for the molecular phylogeny and plant dna barcoding (ali et al., 2013, 2014). the nrdna its sequences have, therefore, provided a useful source of phylogenetic information in many genera and families of flowering as well as non-flowering plants (ali et al., 2015), including phytolaccaceae (lee et al., 2013). hence, as such the nrdna its are appropriate to analyze for the genus phytolacca too. molecular phylogenetic analyses of phytolacca l. 3 materials and methods taxa examined twenty taxa representing five sections (i.e. phytolacca, pircunia, pircunioides, pircuniophorum and pircuniopsis) under three subgenera (i.e. phytolacca, pircunia and pircuniopsis) of phytolacca and two outgroup taxa (namely petiveria alliacea f. muell. and monococcus echinophorus l.) were sampled from specimens deposited in the herbarium of university of california (uc), berkeley, usa (table 2). petiveria alliacea and m. echinophorus were chosen as outgroup taxa because of their close affinity to phytolacca (lee et al., 2013). table 2. accessions of the genus phytolacca l. examined in this study. taxon voucher locality genbank acc. no. ingroup phytolacca acinosa m.t. yu et al. s.n. tibet eu239681 p. americana d.w. taylor 7922 (uc/jeps) california, usa jx232573 p. bogotensis h.l. mason 23712 (uc) colombia, south america km491868 p. brachystachys f.r. fosberg 9004 (uc) hawaiian island, usa km491869 p. dioica marquez et al. 38645 (uc) mexico, north america jx232571 p. dodecandra r.e.s. tanner 572 (uc) tanganyika, africa km491870 p. heptandra l.c.c. libeoberg 5830 (uc) south africa km491871 p. heterotepala sally pugh s.n. (uc) california, usa km491872 p. icosandra j.h. beaman 2749 (uc) mexico, north america jx232570 p. meziana edward 89055 (uc) mexico, north america km491873 p. octandra g.j. martin 468 (uc) oaxaca, mexico, north america km491874 p. purpurascens w.h. wagher 5027 (uc) hawaiian island, usa km491875 p. rivinoides j. nowicke 874 (uc) panama, central america km491876 p. rugosa a. weston 5981 (uc) costa rica, central america km491877 p. sanguinea j. h. langenneim 3576 (uc) colombia, south america km491878 p. tetramera n. tur 1329 (uc) argentina, south america km491879 p. thyrsiflora c. chung 4248 (uc) california, usa km491880 p. weberbaueri c.h. dodson 6481 (uc) ecuador, south america km491881 outgroup monococcus echinophorus franch 1130 (uc) new caledonia jx232579 petiveria alliacea c.a. purpus 2272 (uc) mexico, north america jx232580 molecular methods total genomic dna was extracted by use of the dneasy plant mini kit from qiagen (valencia, ca, usa). the nrdna its regions were amplified using the primers its1 and its4 (white et al., 1990). the dna amplification for 35 cycles was carried out through pcr. initial denaturation was carried out at 94°c for 5 min, followed by denaturation at 94°c for 1 min, annealing at 48°c for 1 min, extension at 72°c for 1 min, and the final extension at 72°c for 5 min. the pcr products were purified using solgent pcr purification kit-ultra (solgent, daejeon, south korea). for sequencing, the big dye terminator chemistry (abi) and an abi 3100 avant capillary sequencer were used. all sequences were blast-searched in genbank. 4 ali et al. sequence alignments and phylogenetic analyses sequences were edited using the abi sequence navigator (perkin-elmer/applied biosystems, usa). sequence alignment was performed using clustal x version 1.81 (thompson et al., 1997), and subsequently adjusted manually using bioedit (hall, 1999). information on sequence alignment can be made available from the corresponding author. data were exported as a nexus file and subsequently analyzed using maximum parsimony (mp) in paup* 4.0b10 (swofford, 2002). the mp analysis was performed with the following settings: heuristic search algorithms with tree bisection reconnecting (tbr) branch swapping, mulpars in effect, all characters equally weighted, gap treated as missing characters, zero-length branches collapsed, random addition sequence set to 1000 replicates, and branch swapping limited to 10,000,000 rearrangements per replicate. when maximum parsimony trees were saved, a strict consensus tree was constructed. bootstrap analysis was performed using 1000 replicates, with the random addition sequence set to 10, and branch swapping limited to 10,000,000 rearrangements per replicate. results and discussion sequence characteristics the combined length of the entire its region (its1, 5.8s and its2) from taxa analyzed in the present study ranged from 609−631 nucleotides (nt). the length of the its1 region and gc contents ranged from 220−232 nt and 56%−63%, the 5.8s gene was 166 nt long, the length of the its2 region and the gc content ranged from 221−235 nt and 55%−63%, respectively. data matrix has a total number of 654 nt characters of which 423 nt characters were constant, 88 nt characters were variable but parsimony-uninformative, and 143 nt characters were parsimony-informative. phylogenetic analyses the parsimony analysis of the entire its region resulted a total number of four maximally parsimonious trees (mpts) with a total length of 252 steps, a consistency index (ci) of 0.7110, a homoplasy index (hi) of 0.2890, rescaled consistency index (rc) of 0.5361 and a retention index (ri) of 0.7540 (fig. 1). the rooted bootstrap strict consensus parsimony tree (fig. 1) revealed that the monophyly of phytolacca species is supported with 100% parsimony bootstrap support (bs). all trees resulted from the analysis of its sequences resolve three major clades (clades i−iii, fig. 1). the clade i consists of p. heptandra, the clade ii (96% bs) consists of members of subgenus pircuniopsis (i.e. p. dioica, p. tetramera and p. weberbaueri), and the clade iii (56% bs) consists of [p. americana + (p. dodecandra p. acinosa p. purpurascens) + (p. rivinoides {p. rugosa p. thyrsiflora + p. icosandra p. brachystachys p. heterotepala + p. octandra p. meziana p. sanguinea p. bogotensis})]. the generic composition of phytolacca has long been controversial principally due to common occurrence of intraspecific variability and hybridization (fassett and sauer, 1950; sauer, 1951). walter (1909) placed 26 species of phytolacca into three subgenera based on the degree of connation of the carpels: free, connate at the base with the apices free, or completely united carpels. the subgenus pircunia (moq.) h. walter contains p. heptandra retz., p. esculenta van houtte, p. acinosa roxb., p. latbenia (buch.-ham.) h. waiter and p. cyclopetala h. walter under the sect. pircuniastrum moq. characterized by hermaphroditic flowers, and p. dodecandra, p. goudotii briq. and p. nutans h. walter under the sect. pircunioides h. walter characterized by dioecious plants. the subgenus pircuniopsis h. walter characterized by carpels connate at the base with the apices free, contains a hermaphroditic group, the sect. pircuniophorum h. walter, molecular phylogenetic analyses of phytolacca l. 5 with three species, p. chilensis (miers ex moq.) h. walter, p. rugosa br. & bouche and p. sanguinea h. walter, and the sect. pseudolacca moq., with two dioecious species, p. dioica and p. weberbaueri h. walter. the subgenus euphytolacca moq., the largest group characterized by carpels completely united contains a very large hermaphroditic flower, has the sect. phytolaccastrum h. walter with p. americana l., p. australis phil., p. brachystachys moq., p. heterotepala h. walter, p. icosandra l., p. meziana h. walter, p. micrantha h. walter, p. octandra l., p. polyandra batalin, p. purpurascens a. br. & bouche, p. rivinoides kunth & bouchk and p. thyrsiflora fenzl ex j.a. schmidt, and a monotypic dioecious sect. phytolaccoides h. walter containing p. pruinosa fenzl. later on heimerl (1934) noted approximately 35 species of phytolacca; however, nowicke (1969) did not consider the names assigned to hybrid origin. nowicke (1969) recognized a total of 20 species in the genus phytolacca and classified them into fig. 1. the bootstrap strict consensus of four maximally parsimonious trees of phytolacca l. species based on the its sequence with gaps being treated as missing data (252 steps, ci= 0.71, hi= 0.28, rc= 0.53 and ri= 0.75). bootstrap values greater than 50% in 1000 replicates are shown above lines. 6 ali et al. three subgenera, i.e. pircunia (carpels completely free), pircuniopsis (carpels more or less united) and phytolacca (carpels completely united, the styles more or less connivent). based on characteristic of flowers, nowicke (1969) divided the subgenus pircunia into two sections: pircunia (p. acinosa and p. heptandra) and pircunioides (p. dodecandra); pircuniopsis into two sections: pircuniophorum (p. chilensis, p. rugosa and p. sanguinea) and pircuniopsis (p. dioica, p. tetramera and p. weberbaueri); and phytolacca into two sections: phytolacca (p. americana, p. bogotensis h.b.k., p. brachystachys, p. heterotepala, p. icosandra, p. meziana, p. octandra, p. purpurascens, p. rivinoides and p. thyrsiflora) and phytolaccoides (p. pruinosa). in our study, the clade i, which occupies independently at the basal position in mpt, consists of only p. heptandra. phytolacca heptandra was treated along with p. esculenta, p. acinosa, p. latbenia and p. cyclopetala under the subgenus pircunia, sect. pircuniastrum (walter, 1909). nowicke (1969) also treated p. heptandra along with p. acinosa under the subgenus pircunia sect. pircunia. the clade ii (96% bs) consists of p. dioica, p. tetramera and p. weberbaueri. in walter’s (1909) classification p. dioica, p. tetramera and p. weberbaueri are under the subgenus pircuniopsis, sect. pseudolacca. nowicke (1969) also treated these under the subgenus pircuniopsis sect. pircuniopsis. the clade iii (56% bs) consists of members mainly belonging to subgenus phytolacca sect. phytolacca (i.e. p. americana, p. brachystachys, p. bogotensis, p. heterotepala, p. icosandra, p. meziana, p. octandra, p. purpurascens, p. rivinoides and p. thyrsiflora,), and those treated under subgenus pircunia sect. pircunioides (p. dodecandra), subgenus pircunia sect. pircunia (p. acinosa) and subgenus pircuniopsis sect. pircuniopsis (p. sanguinea and p. rugosa) of nowicke (1969). in the walter (1909) treatment, p. americana, p. brachystachys, p. heterotepala, p. icosandra, p. meziana, p. octandra, p. purpurascens, p. rivinoides and p. thyrsiflora, were treated under subgenus euphytolacca sect. phytolaccastrum, while p. dodecandra under subgenus pircunia sect. pircunioides, p. acinosa under subgenus pircunia sect. pircuniastrum, and p. sanguinea and p. rugosa under subgenus pircuniopsis sect. pircuniophorum. the clade iii further bifurcates into four subclade, namely (iiia) p. americana; (iiib) p. acinosa, p. dodecandra and p. purpurascens; (iiic) p. rivinoides; and (ivd) p. bogotensis, p. brachystachys, p. heterotepala, p. icosandra, p. meziana, p. octandra, p. rugosa, p. sanguine and p. thyrsiflora. under the subclade ivd, p. bogotensis, p. meziana & p. sanguinea, and p. brachystachys, p. heterotepala & p. icosandra, are grouped together, and these two groups show polytomic relationships with p. rugosa and p. thyrsiflora. it is interesting to note that p. rugosa and p. sanguinea, [subgenus pircuniopsis sect. pircuniopsis of nowicke (1969) and subgenus pircuniopsis sect. pircuniophorum of walter (1909)] are nested within the clade iii, while the other members, namely p. dioica, p. tetramera and p. weberbaueri [subgenus pircuniopsis sect. pseudolacca of walter (1909) and subgenus pircuniopsis sect. pircuniopsis of nowicke (1969)] form a separate clade ii with strong bootstrap support (96% bs). phytolacca acinosa [subgenus pircunia sect. pircuniastrum of walter (1909) and subgenus pircunia sect. pircunia of nowicke (1969)] and p. dodecandra [subgenus pircunia sect. pircunioides of walter (1909) and subgenus pircunia sect. pircunioides of nowicke (1969)] grouped together with p. purpurascens (54% bs), while p. heptandra [subgen. pircunia sect. pircuniastrum of walter (1909) and subgenus pircunia sect. pircunia of nowicke (1969)] occupies basal most position in the mpts as a separate clade. in conclusion, this is the first inclusive study using molecular nrdna its sequences to estimate phylogenetic relationships of phytolacca. it is clearly evident that the phylogenetic trees molecular phylogenetic analyses of phytolacca l. 7 resulting from the analysis of nrdna its sequences are strongly supported as a monophyletic group (100% bs). however, the relationships among the species within the genus do not show harmony with the previous generic classification based on morphology. in the present analysis, a total number of 143 out of 654 (21%) sites of sequence data set were phylogenetically informative, so further sampling of additional taxon and addition of more regions are needed for the robust phylogeny of the genus phytolacca. we herein based on the present analysis hypothesize that the intraspecific classification of phytolacca should be recircumscribed into subgenus phytolacca (p. acinosa, p. americana, p. bogotensis, p. brachystachys, p. dodecandra, p. heterotepala, p. icosandra, p. meziana, p. octandra, p. purpurascens, p. rivinoides, p. rugosa, p. sanguinea and p. thyrsiflora), subgenus pircuniopsis (p. dioica, p. tetramera and p. weberbaueri), and p. heptandra should be treated under an independent subgenus. this treatment, as a hypothesis, however, needs testing and further data would help to clarify their true intraspecific affinities. acknowledgements the first and second authors provided an equal contribution to this paper. grant support (#2011-00402) from the ministry of education, science and technology, government of south korea to the second author is thankfully acknowledged. authors thank to the curators of the university and jepson herbarium (uc), university of california, berkeley, usa for providing plant materials for the study. the first and last authors acknowledge research supported by the king saud university, deanship of scientific research, college of science, research center. references ali, m.a, al-hemaid, f.m., choudhary, r.k., lee, j., kim, s.y. and rub, m.a. 2013. status of reseda pentagyna abdallah & a.g. miller (resedaceae) inferred from combined nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast sequence data. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 233–238. ali, m.a., gábor, g., norbert, h., balázs, k., al-hemaid, f.m.a., pandey, a.k. and lee, j. 2014. the changing epitome of species identification dna barcoding. saudi j. biol. sci. 21(3): 204–231. ali, m.a., pandey, a.k., al-hemaid, f.m.a., lee, j., pandit, b., kim, s.y., gyulai, g. and rahman, m.o. 2015. nuclear sequences in plant phylogenetics. in: ali, m.a., gábor, g. and al-hemaid, f.m.a. 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(manuscript received on 22 march 2015; revised on 29 april 2015) citation national professor a.k.m. nurul islam and his achievements the present volume 14 of the ‘bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy’ has been dedicated as a commemorative volume to the respected memory of national professor a.k.m. nurul islam (1928-2006). prof. nurul islam is regarded as the ‘father of phycology and limnology’ in bangladesh for his remarkable leadership and outstanding contributions in these fields of biological sciences. he had been associated with the department of botany of the university of dhaka for 54 years as a faculty member till his death. the receipt of national professorship from the government of bangladesh in early 2006 demonstrated the ultimate recognition of his contributions at the national level. he was one of the founder members of ‘bangladesh association of plant taxonomists’ and was holding the positions of the president of the association and chief editor of its journal the ‘bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy’ till his demise. in the last issue of the journal (volume 13, no. 2, december 2006) we announced the sad departure of prof. islam on 1 july 2006. there we briefly touched upon his distinguished career as a teacher, scientist and mentor, and also his dedication and contributions to botanical research and science as a whole. here we are trying to highlight prof. islam’s achievements1 registering all his scientific papers; publications he was associated with as an author, editor and contributor; positions he held in different academic institutions and organizations; journals he edited; and awards and honours he received as appreciations of his contributions to science. a. research publications (chronologically) 1. islam, nurul 1960. some subaerial green algae from east pakistan. trans. amer. micros. soc. 79(4): 471-479. (usa) 2. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1961. the genus cloniophora tiffany. revue algologique n.s.t. 6(1): 7-32. (france) 3. aziz, k.m.s. and islam, nurul 1962. a new species of fritschiella iyengar from east pakistan. trans. amer. micros. soc. 81(2): 185-189. (usa) 4. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1962. a new species of oedocladium from east pakistan with notes on the genus. trans. amer. micros. soc. 81(4): 372-379. (usa) 1this compilation is chiefly based upon prof. islam’s bio-data regularly updated by md. shah alam of the department of botany, university of dhaka as advised by prof. islam. vi prof. a.k.m. nurul islam 5. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1963. a revision of the genus stigeoclonium. beiheft zur nova hedwigia 10: 1-165+ pls. 47. j. cramer publisher, weinheim. (w. germany) 6. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, p. 1963. two new species of terrestrial oedogonium from east pakistan. trans. amer. micros. soc. 82(1): 74-77. (usa) 7. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1964. the genus cladophorella newly found in east pakistan. revue algologique 7(4): 275-289. (france) 8. islam, a.k.m. nurul and ahia, a.n.m. 1964. contribution to the knowledge of chaetophoraceae of dacca district. pak. j. biol. & ag. sc. 7(1): 103-110. (pakistan) 9. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, p. 1964. contribution to the knowledge of oedogoniales of dacca district, east pakistan. pak. j. biol. & ag. sc. 7(1): 132-135. (pakistan) 10. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, p. 1964. preliminary survey of the epizoic oedogonium growing on the shells of freshwater molluscs in east pakistan. rev. algologique 7(2): 178-186. (france) 11. islam, a.k.m. nurul and p. sarma. 1965. new and rare species and varieties of the oedogoniales from dacca district, east pakistan. pak. j. biol. & agric. sci. 8(1): 169188. (pakistan) 12. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1965a. taxonomic study of the species of dichotomosiphon and vaucheria found in east pakistan. proc. pak. acad. sci. 2(1): 47-56+ pls. 1-9. (pakistan) 13. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1965b. occurrence of the genus sirocladium in east pakistan. pak. j. biol. & agric. sci. 8(2): 264-270. (pakistan) 14. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 94-109. (pakistan) 15. islam, a.k.m. nurul and nahar, l. 1967. preliminary studies on the phytoplanktons of polluted waters. part ii. blue-green algae. sci. res. 4(2&3): 141-149. (pakistan) 16. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, d. 1968. the characeae of east pakistan. i. lychnothamnus and chara. jour. asiatic soc. pak. 13(3): 357-379 + pls. 1-11. (pakistan) 17. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1969a. some rare planktonic green algae found in east pakistan. pakistan j. botany 1: 19-32. (pakistan) 18. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1969b. kirchneriellosaccus lunatus islam gen. et sp. nov., a new member of chlorococcales. rev. alg. n.s.t. 9(4): 348-358 + pls. 18-19. (france) 19. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1969. a preliminary report on the phytoplanktons and other algal flora of chittagong hill-tracts. jour. asiatic soc. pak. 14(3): 343-363 + pls. 1-13. (pakistan) 20. islam, a.k.m. nurul and uddin, m.a. 1969. studies on the blue-green algae of dacca district. dacca univ. stud. part b 17: 85-102. (pakistan) 21. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1970a. the genus tetrasporidium in east pakistan. rev. alg. 10(1): 85-89. (france) 22. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1970b. contribution to the knowledge of desmids of east pakistan. part i. nova hedwigia 20: 903-983. (w. germany) prof. a.k.m. nurul islam vii 23. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1970c. preliminary ecological report on the marine algal flora of the st. martin's island, east pakistan. jour. asiatic soc. pak. 15(3): 273-282 + pls. 3. (pakistan) 24. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.t. 1970. studies on the phytoplanktons of dacca district. jour. asiatic soc. pak. 15(3): 227-271 + pls. 8. (pakistan) 25. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1972a. the genus bulbochaete in bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 1(12): 1-12. (bangladesh) 26. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1972b. subaerial algae of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 1(1-2): 1364. (bangladesh) 27. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1972c. new and rare species of some green algae from bangladesh. nova hedwigia. 23: 655-663 + pls. 14. (w. germany) 28. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1973a. a new species of boodleopsis (chlorophyta) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 2(1): 53-67. (bangladesh) 29. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1973b. freshwater algae of bangladesh. i. chlorophyceae, xanthophyceae and chrysophyceae. dacca univ. stud. b 21(1): 69-84. (bangladesh) 30. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1973c. the algal flora of sundarbans mangrove forest, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 2(2): 11-36. (bangladesh) 31. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1973d. freshwater algae of bangladesh. iii. cyanophyceae. dacca univ. stud. b 21(2): 133-139. (bangladesh) 32. islam, a.k.m. nurul and uddin, m.a. 1973. freshwater algae of bangladesh. ii. cyanophyceae. dacca univ. stud. b 21(2): 127-132. (bangladesh) 33. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1974a. freshwater algae of bangladesh. iv. aphanochaete, coleochaete and chaetosphaeridium. bangladesh j. bot. 3(1): 35-43. (bangladesh) 34. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1974b. a preliminary list of benthic marine algae from the bay of bengal, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 3(1): 83-91. (bangladesh) 35. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1974c. preliminary studies on the food of some fish. dacca univ. stud. b 22(1): 47-51. (bangladesh) 36. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1974d. freshwater algae of bangladesh. vii. flagellates: volvocales. bangladesh j. bot. 3(2): 7-15. (bangladesh) 37. islam, a.k.m. nurul and zaman, a.m.s. 1974. freshwater algae of bangladesh. viii. ulotrichales. dacca univ. stud. b 22(2): 83-98. (bangladesh) 38. islam, a.k.m. nurul, haroon, a.k.y. and zaman, k.m. 1974. limnological studies of the river buriganga. i. physical and chemical aspects. dacca univ. stud. b 22(2): 99-111. (bangladesh) 39. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1975a. addition to the genus coleochaete from bangladesh. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 1(1): 71-72. (bangladesh) 40. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1975b. contribution to the study of desmids of bangladesh. part ii. dacca univ. stud. b 23(2): 31-37. (bangladesh) viii prof. a.k.m. nurul islam 41. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1975a. a preliminary study on the zooplankton of the north-eastern bay of bengal, bangladesh. bangladesh j. zool. 3(2): 125-138. (bangladesh) 42. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1975b. study of marine phytoplankton from the northeastern bay of bengal, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 4(1-2): 1-32. (bangladesh) 43. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1975. limnological studies of the river buriganga. ii. biological aspect. dacca univ. stud. b 23(1): 25-44. (bangladesh) 44. islam, a.k.m. nurul and saha, j.k. 1975. limnological studies of the ramna lake at dacca. dacca univ. stud. b 23(2): 39-46. (bangladesh) 45. islam, a.k.m. nurul and zaman, k.m. 1975. limnological studies of the river buriganga. iii. biological aspect. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 1(1): 45-65. (bangladesh) 46. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1976a. contribution to the study of benthic marine algae of bangladesh. bibliotheca phycologia 19: 1-253 + pls. 7. (w. germany) 47. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1976b. addition to the species of vaucheria in bangladesh. dacca univ. stud. b 24(1): 59-62. (bangladesh) 48. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1976c. freshwater algae of bangladesh. vi. genus oedogonium. nova hedwigia. 27(3-4): 919-925 + pls. 1-5. (w. germany) 49. islam, a.k.m. nurul and mendes, f. 1976a. limnological studies of a jheel in sher-ebangla nagar. dacca univ. stud. b 24(2): 63-67. (bangladesh) 50. islam, a.k.m. nurul and mendes, f. 1976b. proteins from lyngbya majuscula harvey ex gomont and azolla pinnata r. br. bangladesh j. bot. 5(1-2): 89-92. (bangladesh) 51. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, d. 1976. the characeae of bangladesh. ii. the genus nitella. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 2(1): 43-61. (bangladesh) 52. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, p. 1976. freshwater algae of bangladesh. v. genus oedogonium. nova hedwigia. 27: 425-454. (w. germany) 53. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sobhan, a. 1976. ecology and periodicity of the members of zygnemaceae in dacca district. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh b 1(2): 113-116. (bangladesh) 54. islam, a.k.m. nurul, chowdhury, b.c. and begum, s. 1976. the genus botrydium in bangladesh. dacca univ. stud. b 24(1): 63-67. (bangladesh) 55. karim, m.a. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1976. eutrophication of the surface water of some lakes studied at dhaka (bangladesh). proc. inter. symp. on eutrophication and rehabilitation of surface waters. eutrosym 1976. iii. 200-208. (w. germany). 56. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1977. studies on the members of zygnemaceae from bangladesh: i. mougeotia, zygnema and sirogonium. dacca univ. stud. b 25(1): 7-22. (bangladesh) 57. islam, a.k.m. nurul and paul, s.n. 1977. limnological studies on wolffia arrhiza (l.) wimm. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 3(1): 111-123. (bangladesh) 58. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1977. studies on the phytoplankton of the karnaphuli river estuary. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 1(2): 141-154. (bangladesh) prof. a.k.m. nurul islam ix 59. islam, a.k.m. nurul and mendes, f. 1977a. studies on the proteins in blue-green algae of bangladesh. i. preliminary investigations. dacca univ. stud. b 25(1): 23-27. (bangladesh) 60. islam, a.k.m. nurul and mendes, f. 1977b. studies on the proteins in blue-green algae of bangladesh. ii. extractible proteins. dacca univ. stud. b 25(2): 51-54. (bangladesh) 61. islam, a.k.m. nurul and uddin, m.a. 1977. blue-green algae from dacca, bangladesh. 1. chroococcaceae and pleurocapsaceae. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 2(2): 75-81. (bangladesh) 62. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1978. a new species of vaucheria from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 7(1): 13-16. (bangladesh) 63. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1978. new reports of some members of chaetophoraceae from bangladesh. nova hedwigia 29(3-4): 537-556. (w. germany) 64. islam, a.k.m. nurul and hossain, s.k.t. 1978. algal flora of the ablution tanks of mosques in dacca city. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 4(1): 103-113. (bangladesh) 65. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khair, a. 1978a. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin's lsland. i. genus codium stackhouse. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 4(1): 123-126. (bangladesh) 66. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khair, a. 1978b. report of some phytoplankton from lake kaptai, chittagong hill-tracts. dacca univ. stud. b 26(2): 53-61. (bangladesh) 67. islam, a.k.m. nurul and paul, n. 1978. hydrobiological study of the haor hakaluki in sylhet. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 4(1): 83-91. (bangladesh) 68. islam, a.k.m. nurul and uddin, m.a. 1978a. blue-green algae from dacca, bangladesh. ii. oscillatoriaceae. dacca univ. stud. b 26(1): 73-84. (bangladesh) 69. islam, a.k.m. nurul and uddin, m.a. 1978b. blue-green algae from dacca, bangladesh. iii. nostocaceae, scytonemataceae and stigonemataceae. dacca univ. stud. b 26(1): 85-93. (bangladesh) 70. aziz, a and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1979. marine dinoflagellates from the bay of bengal, bangladesh. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 3(1-2): 41-49. (bangladesh) 71. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1979a. addition to the list of oedogoniaceae from bangladesh. dacca univ. stud. b 27(1): 47-52. (bangladesh) 72. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1979b. vaucheria longicaulis hoppaugh from iraq with a note on the species. bull. torrey bot. club. 106(3): 167-173. (usa) 73. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1979c. genus chloroclonium borzi in bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 8(1-2): 113-115. (bangladesh) 74. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1979. algal flora of moheshkhali island, bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. b 27(2): 105-122. (bangladesh) 75. islam, a.k.m. nurul and chowdhury, a.r. 1979. hydrobiological studies of dhanmondi lake, dacca. ii. phytoplankton. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 5(2): 47-57. (bangladesh) x prof. a.k.m. nurul islam 76. islam, a.k.m. nurul and hossain, m. 1979. preliminary studies on the algal flora of bagerhat, khulna. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 5(1): 37-45. (bangladesh) 77. islam, a.k.m. nurul, rahman, m. and choudhury, a.r. 1979. hydrobiological studies of dhanmondi lake, dacca. i. macrophytes and benthic flora. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 5(1):59-75. (bangladesh) 78. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1980a. study on triplastrum found in bangladesh with a note on its species. bangladesh j. bot. 9(1): 1-12. (bangladesh) 79. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1980b. revision of the members of oedogoniaceaesome proposals. in: t.v. desikachary (ed.) taxonomy of algae, pp. 533-536. university of madras, madras. (india) 80. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alam, r.j.m.s. 1980. members of cladophoraceae of dacca district. dacca univ. stud. b 28(1): 61-70. (bangladesh) 81. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1980a. marine diatoms from the bay of bengal, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 9(1): 29-35. (bangladesh) 82. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1980b. a marine angiosperm from st. martin’s island, bangladeshhalodule uninervis (forsskal) ascherson. bangladesh j. bot. 9(2): 177 178. (bangladesh) 83. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. desmids of bangladesh. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 65(4): 551-604. (w. germany) 84. islam, a.k.m. nurul, anatunnesa and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. hydrobiological studies in and around naogaon, rajshahi. dacca univ. stud. b 28(2): 31-47. (bangladesh) 85. watanabe, m. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1980. freshwater algae from lake akan (4). jap. j. phycol. 28: 37-45. (japan) 86. al-saadi, h.a., antoine, s.e. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1981. limnological investigation in al-hammara marsh area in southern iraq. nova hedwigia 35: 157-166. (w. germany) 87. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1981. study of algal flora of tibet and bangladesh. in: proc. symp. on qinghai-xizang (tibet) plateau. geological and ecological studies on qinghai-xizang plateau 2: 1141-1143. science press, beijing. (china). 88. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.t. 1981a. addition to the list of blue-green algae of bangladesh. i. dacca univ. stud. b 29(1): 49-57. (bangladesh) 89. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.t. 1981b. addition to the list of blue-green algae of bangladesh. ii. bangladesh j. bot. 10(1): 1-15. (bangladesh) 90. islam, a.k.m. nurul and muniruzzaman, kh. 1981. euglenophyta of bangladesh. i. genus trachelomonas ehr. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 66(1): 109-125. (w. germany) 91. begum, z.t and a.k.m. nurul islam 1982. preliminary studies on the effects of blue-green algae in rice yield. dacca univ. stud. b 30(1): 145-147. (bangladesh) 92. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1982. marsh algae from southern iraq. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 67(2): 245-260. (w. germany) prof. a.k.m. nurul islam xi 93. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1982. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. ii. brown, red and blue-green algae. nova hedwigia 36: 643-657. (w. germany) 94. islam, a.k.m. nurul and hameed, h.a. 1982. some epizoic algae from southern iraq. bull. basrah nat. hist. museum 5: 109-115. (iraq) 95. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1983. gall-formation in vaucheria spp. by parasitic rotatorian members. bangladesh j. bot. 12(1): 87-89. (bangladesh) 96. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1983. najas gracillima (a br.) morong. a new record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 12(1): 90-92. (bangladesh) 97. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1983. studies on chaetophoraceae from southern iraq. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 68(3): 443-451. (w. germany) 98. bhuiya, z.h, islam, a.k.m. nurul, hashem, m.a., begum, z.n.t. and rahman, m.m. 1984. effect of blue green algae as biofertilizer on rice. bangladesh j. agril. 9(2): 4751. (bangladesh) 99. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1984. studies on the members of zygnemaceae from bangladesh. ii. spirogyra link. bangladesh j. bot. 13(2): 194-213. (bangladesh) 100. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1984. studies on the genus vaucheria (xanthophyceae) in iraq. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 69(6): 877-902. (w. germany) 101. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1985. occurrence of johannesbaptistia (cyanophyceae) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 14(1): 73-75. (bangladesh) 102. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1985. some new and rare algae from iraq. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 70(5): 755-766. (w. germany) 103. islam, a.k.m. nurul and hameed, h.a. 1985. check list of algae with a note on the limnological and oeconographic studies in iraq (1942-1982). asiatic society of bangladesh, pp. 63. (bangladesh) 104. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1985. desmids of iraq. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 70(6): 877-889. (w. germany) 105. islam, a.k.m. nurul and morshed, m.g. 1985. occurrence of diatom-bloom in the coastal area of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 14(2): 185-187. (bangladesh) 106. aziz, a and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1986. lagoon algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. part e 1(1): 45-52. (bangladesh) 107. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1986. new records of algae from bangladesh. i. dactylocoocopsis and onychonema. bangladesh j. bot. 15(1): 109-110. (bangladesh) 108. islam, a.k.m. nurul and mannan, m.a. 1986. algal flora of some brackishwater shrimp culture ponds at satkhira. dhaka univ. stud. e 1(1): 7-18. (bangladesh) 109. mannan, m.a, islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1986. use of blue-green algae as biofertilizer. i. a preliminary study with scytonema mirabile d 610 in pot culture. dhaka univ. stud. e 1(2): 157-160. (bangladesh) 110. begum, z.n.t., islam, a.k.m. nurul and chowdhury, s.b. 1987. studies on the chemical composition of three green algae. bangladesh j. bot. 16(2): 219-220. (bangladesh) xii prof. a.k.m. nurul islam 111. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1987. studies on the characeae of iraq. i. genus nitella. bangladesh j. bot. 16(2): 229-231. (bangladesh) 112. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1987a. new record of algae from bangladesh. ii. genus radiococcus schmidle (chlorophyta). bangladesh j. bot. 16(1): 89-92. (bangladesh) 113. islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1987b. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. iii. red algae. nova hedwigia 45(1-2): 211-221. (w. germany) 114. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.t. 1987. new records of algae from bangladesh. iii. genus pseudobohlinia (chlorococcales). bangladesh j. bot. 16(1): 103-106. (bangladesh) 115. islam, a.k.m. nurul, hadi, r.a.m. and aziz, a. 1988. studies on the characeae of iraq. ii.chara and nitellopsis. bangladesh j. bot. 17(1): 57-64. (bangladesh) 116. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1988. two new records of green algae from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 17(2): 167-171. (bangladesh) 117. khondker, m., islam, a.k.m. nurul and islam, r. 1988. studies on the primary productivity of dhanmondi lake. dhaka univ. stud. part e 3(1): 15-21. (bangladesh) 118. khondker, m., islam, a.k.m. nurul, begum, z.n.t. and haque, s. 1990. limnological studies of four polluted ponds in and around dhaka city with reference to indicator species. bangladesh j. bot. 19(1): 51-63. (bangladesh) 119. aziz, a., alam, j. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1991. studies on the members of oedogoniales epiphytic on deepwater rice plants near sonargaon, bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. part e 6(2): 119-123. (bangladesh) 120. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1991a. phycology. in: islam, a.k.m. nurul (ed.), two centuries of plant studies in bangladesh and adjacent regions, pp. 97-153. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. (bangladesh) 121. islam a.k.m. nurul 1991b. gymnosperms. in: islam, a.k.m. nurul (ed.), two centuries of plant studies in bangladesh and adjacent regions, pp. 173-174. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. (bangladesh) 122. islam, a.k.m. nurul and hadiuzzaman, s. 1991. pteridophytes. in: islam, a.k.m. nurul (ed.), two centuries of plant studies in bangladesh and adjacent regions, pp. 163-171. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. (bangladesh) 123. islam a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1991. preliminary limnological investigations of some polluted waters covered by duckweeds. bangladesh j. bot. 20(1): 73-75. (bangladesh) 124. islam, a.k.m. nurul, begum, a. and akhter, n. 1991. some observations on the phytogeography of desmids. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 17(2): 171-178. (bangladesh) 125. islam, a.k.m. nurul, khondker, m. and haque, s. 1991. euglenoid algae of four polluted ponds in and around dhaka city. bangladesh j. bot. 20(1): 7-15. (bangladesh) prof. a.k.m. nurul islam xiii 126. khan, m.r and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1991. additions to the list of new hosts of cephaleuros viriscens kunze (trentepohliaceae) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 20(1): 77-79. (bangladesh) 127. akter, n. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1992. addition to the lists of desmid flora of bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. part e 7(1): 95-99. (bangladesh) 128. begum, a. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1992. new records of desmids for bangladesh. dhaka univ. stud. part e 7(1): 91-93. (bangladesh) 129. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1992. freshwater red algae of bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 18(1): 29-46. (bangladesh) 130. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khan, m.r. 1992. a new combination of a coleochaete taxon (c. reptans (duringer) islam and khan comb. nov.) based on bangladesh materials. bangladesh j. bot. 21(2): 287-290. (bangladesh) 131. islam, a.k.m. nurul, begum, a and akter, n. 1992. study on the desmids (chlorophyta) from cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 21(1): 43-51. (bangladesh) 132. islam, a.k.m. nurul, khondker, m., begum, a. and akter, n. 1992. hydrobiological studies in two habitats at dhaka. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 18(1): 47-52. (bangladesh) 133. hadi, a.m.r., islam, a.k.m. nurul, haroon, a.k.y. and al-saboonchi, a.a. 1993. marine benthic algae from coastal waters of iraq. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 19(2): 123144. (bangladesh) 134. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1993. limnology and pollution of wetlands. in: nishat, a., hussain, z., roy, m.k. and karim, a. (eds.), freshwater wetlands in bangladesh: issues and approaches for management, pp. 123-145. iucn, gland. (switzerland) 135. islam, a.k.m. nurul and islam, m.s. 1993. hydrophytes, eutrophication and diseases. in: tilzer, m.m. and khondker, m. (eds.), hypertrophic and polluted freshwater ecosystems: ecological bases for water resource management, pp. 173-178. proc. int. symp. limnol., 25-28 november 1991. department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka. (bangladesh) 136. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1993. some unicellular flagellate algae of bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 19(2): 75-79. (bangladesh) 137. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1993a. new records of green algae from bangladesh. i. aphanochaete and chaetosphaeridium. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 19(1): 49-54. (bangladesh) 138. khan, m.r and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1993b. ecology of the chaetophoralean algae of bangladesh. j asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 19(2): 145-153. (bangladesh) 139. khondker, m., islam, a.k.m. nurul and makhnun, a.d. 1993. study of the growth of a free-floating macrophyte. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 19(2): 103-108. (bangladesh) 140. khondker, m., islam, a.k.m. nurul and nahar, n. 1993a. a preliminary study on the growth rate of spirodela polyrhiza. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 2(2): 197-200. (bangladesh). xiv prof. a.k.m. nurul islam 141. khondker, m., islam, a.k.m. nurul and nahar, n. 1993b. study on the biomass of spirodela polyrhiza and the related limnological factors of some polluted waters. in: khan, m.s., khan, m.a.a., hadiuzzaman, s and aziz, a. (eds.), plants for the environment, pp. 37-40. proc. 7th bot. conf., 13-14 december 1992. bangladesh botanical society, dhaka. (bangladesh) 142. begum, z.t., akhter, r., islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1994. taxonomy of the stigonematalean algae in culture. in: phang et al. (eds.), algal biotechnology in the asia-pacific region, pp. 257-262. university of malaya. 143. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1994. new records of algae from bangladesh. iv. heteromastix and gonyostomum. bangladesh j. bot. 23(2): 199-203. (bangladesh) 144. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1994a. new records of chaetophoralean algae for bangladesh-1. apatococcus, entocladia, gloeoplax, gomontia, gongrosira. bangladesh j. pl. tax. 1(1): 35-42. (bangladesh) 145. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1994b. new records of chaetophoralean algae for bangladesh-2. chaetonema, chaetopeltis, cloniophora, chlorosarcina, draparnaldia, pseudendoclonium, pseudopleurococcus and spongioplastidium. bangladsesh j. plant taxon. 1(2): 1-15. (bangladesh) 146. khondker, m., islam, a.k.m. nurul and makhnun, a.d. 1994. lemna perpusilla: screening on habitat limnology. bangladesh j. bot. 23(1): 99-106. (bangladesh) 147. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1996a. new records of chaetophoralean algae for bangladesh. 3. ireksokonia. bangladesh j. bot. 25(2): 219-221. (bangladesh) 148. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1996b. new records of chaetophoralean algae for bangladesh. protoderma, pseudolvella, trichophilus, ulvella. bangladesh j. pl. tax. 3(2): 77-85. (bangladesh) 149. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1997. a new record of a seagrass (halophila decipiens ostenfeld) for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 93-97. (bangladesh) 150. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khondker, m. 1997. new records of some flagellate algae for bangladesh 5. chlamydomonas, pascherina, pyrobotrys, cryptomonas and chilomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 13-23. (bangladesh) 151. kassim, t.i., al-saadi, h.a., al-lami, a.a., farhan, r.k., al-taai, y.s. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1997. studies of the algae epiphytic on different hydrophytes in qadisia lake, iraq. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 23(1): 141-152. (bangladesh) 152. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1998. the seaweed resources of bangladesh. in: critchley, a.t. and ohno, m. (eds.), seaweed resources of the world, pp. 106-109. japan international cooperation agency. (japan) 153. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1998a. new records of three green algal genera for bangladesh : desmatractum, glaucocystis and groenbladia. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 91-96. (bangladesh) 154. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1998b. new records of desmids for bangladesh. i. fifteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 27(2): 89-96. (bangladesh) prof. a.k.m. nurul islam xv 155. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1998a. new records of subaerial green algae (trentepohliaceae) for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 47-62. (bangladesh) 156. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1998b. six new taxa of chaetophoraceae (chlorophyta) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(2): 13-27. (bangladesh) 157. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1998c. six new taxa belonging to trentepohlia (trentepohliales; chlorophyta) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(2): 6982. (bangladesh) 158. islam, a.k.m. nurul and akter, n. 1999. desmids of chittagong, bangladesh part 2: closterium, docidium, netrium, pleurotaenium and staurastrum. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 19-30. (bangladesh) 159. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, a. 1999. desmids of chittagong, bangladesh part 1: actinotaenium, cosmarium, euastrum and micrasterias. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 1-17. (bangladesh) 160. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1999a. new records of desmids for bangladesh. ii. thirteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 28(2): 117-123. (bangladesh) 161. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1999b. new records of desmids for bangladesh. iii. 24 taxa. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(2): 91-104. (bangladesh) 162. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1999a. new taxa of coleochaetales (chlorophyta) from bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 25(1): 51-79. (bangladesh) 163. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 1999b. new records of stigeoclonium taxa (chlorophyta) for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(2): 55-83. (bangladesh) 164. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2000a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. i. aquatic macrophytes. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 29-42. (bangladesh) 165. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2000b. new records of eleven algal taxa for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 29(2): 115-120. (bangladesh) 166. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2000c. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin’s island. iv. codium stackhouse. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(2): 21-26. (bangladesh) 167. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 2000. new records of four coleochaete species (chlorophyta) for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 15-27. (bangladesh) 168. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m. nurul and parvin, r. 2001. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh. i. new records of sargassum spp. bangladesh j. bot. 30(2): 135-140. 169. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2001a. new records of some freshwater planktonic algae for bangladesh : species of treubaria, goniochloris, tetraedriella and tetraplektron. bangladesh j. bot. 30(2): 131-134. 170. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2001b. new records of some green planktonic algae for bangladesh : phacotus, planktosphaeria and nephrochlamys. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 51-56. xvi prof. a.k.m. nurul islam 171. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2001. some new records of algae for bangladesh: cyanarcus, chloremys, myrmecia, selenodictyum, tetraplektron and pseudostaurastrum. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 1-7. 172. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 2001. a new record of a subaerial green alga desmococcus vulgaris (chaetophoraceae, chlorophyta) for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 109-111. (bangladesh) 173. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m. nurul and jahan, a. 2002a. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh : iii. red algae. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 28(1): 63-70 (bangladesh). 174. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m. nurul and jahan, a. 2002b. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh. iv. new records of red algae. bangladesh j. bot. 31(2): 113-116 (bangladesh) 175. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002a. new records of motile green algae for bangladesh: phacotus, pteromonas and thoracomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 15-18. (bangladesh) 176. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002b. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh. i. genus phacus. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 3-18. (bangladesh). 177. islam, a.k.m. nurul, aziz, a. and jahan, a. 2002. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh : ii. new records of red algae. bangladesh j. bot. 31(1): 23-28. (bangladesh) 178. islam, a.k.m. nurul, mansoor, n. and begum, z.n.t. 2002. taxonomy of cyanobacteria (bga) involved in the retting of jute. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 37-46. (bangladesh) 179. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2003. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh ii: lepocinclis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 15-26. (bangladesh) 180. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2003. freshwater algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh -i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 33-45. (bangladesh) 181. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khundker, j. 2003. algal flora of brackishwater shrimp-culture ponds at khulna, bangladesh i. cyanophyceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 5771. (bangladesh) 182. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m. nurul and jahan, a. 2004. peyssonnelia simulans w.-van bosse (rhodophyta) a new algal record from st. martin's island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 69-71. (bangladesh) 183. islam, a.k.m. nurul and akter, n. 2004. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh: 2. genus staurastrum meyen. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 15-28. (bangladesh) 184. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2004. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: iii. genus trachelomonas ehr. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 33-37. (bangladesh) prof. a.k.m. nurul islam xvii 185. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, a. 2004. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh: 1. genus micrasterias agardh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 1-14. (bangladesh) 186. islam, a.k.m. nurul, aziz, a. and parvin, r. 2004. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh ii. brown algae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 1-7. (bangladesh) 187. islam, a.k.m. nurul. and khundker, j. 2004. algal flora of brackishwater shrimp culture ponds at khulna, bangladesh ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 69-76. (bangladesh) 188. islam, a.k.m. nurul and akter, n. 2005. desmids of some selected areas of bangladesh. 3. docidium, pleurotaenium, triplastrum and triploceras. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 11-23. (bangladesh) 189. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2005. notes on two green plankton found in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 97-99. (bangladesh) 190. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. (bangladesh) 191. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005b. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iii. chlorophyceae (excluding desmids). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 19-37. (bangladesh) 192. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005c. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iv. desmids (17 genera). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 49-62. (bangladesh) 193. islam, a.k.m. nurul and akter, n. 2006. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh: 3. genus staurastrum meyen (2). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 41-47. (bangladesh) 194. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2006a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. v. desmids (euastrum, micrasterias, actinotaenium and cosmarium). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 1-20. (bangladesh) 195. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2006b. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. vi. desmids (xanthidium, arthrodesmus, staurodesmus and staurastrum). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 111-129. (bangladesh) b. list of scientific contributions other than research publications 1. contributor of the ‘encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh’, volumes on algae, to be published by the asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 2. gachgachali (flora of bangladesh) (in bangla), bangla academy, dhaka, pp. 108 (1985). xviii prof. a.k.m. nurul islam c. other publications, presentations and lectures 1. onno kono shur (some other tune) (a poetry book in bangla), hassan book house, dhaka, pp. 80 (1992). 2. numerous popular articles and notes in magazines and national newspapers on plants, science in general, education, history, and culture. 3. numerous papers presented at scientific meetings, seminars and workshops on algae, plant taxonomy, freshwater ecology, aquatic pollution, ecology and development, wetland conservation, oceanography, marine biology and plant science and biological science in general in bangladesh as well as abroad (e.g. china, germany and india). 4. delivered many thought-provoking lectures as a chair, presidents or fellow of different organizations and institutions. d. books edited 1. two centuries of plant studies in bangladesh and adjacent regions. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 299 (1991). 2. plant science and man: problems and prospects. bangladesh botanical society, dhaka (1992). 3. bangla academy bijnan biswakosh (bangla academy science encyclopaedia) (in bangla) (biology section), volumes 1-5, bangla academy, dhaka (1998-2005). e. research projects supervised (sponsored by the ugc) 1. investigation of high protein-yielding blue-green algae in bangladesh 2. survey of freshwater plants of bangladesh and their utilization 3. botanical survey of marine and estuarine waters f. positions held in institutions and organizations 1. 54 years’ association with the department of botany of the university of dhaka as a lecturer (1952-1962), reader (1962-1972), professor (1972-1990), supernumerary professor (1990-2000), honorary professor (2001-january 2006) and national professor (february 2006-1 july 2006) 2. head and chairman, department of botany, university of dhaka (between 1964 & 1975) 3. founder dean, faculty of biological sciences, dhaka university (1975-1977) 4. visiting professor, dept. of biology, basrah university, iraq (1978, 1980-1982) 5. director, centre of advanced studies in biological sciences (1983-1989) 6. president (1985-1986), vice-president and secretary, bangladesh botanical society 7. president (1992-93), vice-president and treasurer, asiatic society of bangladesh 8. team leader of the bangladesh govt. (sci. & tech. ministry) project on the "feasibility study for the establishment of national institute of oceanography in bangladesh" (1993) prof. a.k.m. nurul islam xix 9. team leader, btri mandate review committee (2000-2001), sponsored by barc 10. president (2002-2006) and vice-president, bangladesh association of plant taxonomists g. editorial positions held 1. chief editor, bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy (2002-2006) 2. chief editor, bangladesh journal of botany for several years 3. editor, dhaka university studies, part b 4. editor, dhaka university studies, part e 5. editor, bangladesh journal of sci. res. (baas) 6. editor, journal of the asiatic society of bangladesh (sci.) 7. member, editorial committee, journal of the academy of sciences 8. member, editorial committee, journal of microbiology 9. ex-member, advisory committee for the preparation of the district gazetteers of bangladesh (1963-1980) 10. ex-member, bangla academy journal (science) h. awards and honours received 1. fellow, bangladesh academy of sciences (1980) 2. fellow, bangladesh botanical society (1994) 3. fellow, asiatic society of bangladesh ( 2004) 4. jessup fellowship, national academy of science philadelphia, usa (1959) 5. seato senior fellowship, in marine biology in australia, new zealand and japan (19701971) 6. gold medal (senior group), bangladesh academy of sciences for contributions in the field of biological sciences (1993) 7. honoured with citations and crest, dhaka university alumni association, along with other 28 senior distinguished teachers of the university of dhaka for their achievements during the 75th anniversary celebration of the university (1996) 8. eminent botanist gold medal 2002, bangladesh botanical society, with citation during its international conference held at dhaka (2003) 9. honorary professorship, dhaka university syndicate offered after the end of the supernumerary professorship (2001) 10. national professorship, government of the people's republic of bangladesh (february 2006). xx prof. a.k.m. nurul islam i. other important achievements 1. prof. a.k.m. nurul islam described the algal genus kirchneriellosaccus islam (1969). he and his co-workers described about 300 algal species and sub-specific taxa new to science, many of which have been included in the world monographs. 2. over the past five decades he guided about 40 students for msc and a few for phd degrees in the fields of phycology, limnology, hydrobiology and marine biology. 3. external examiner of phd theses of i) auckland university, new zealand; ii) university of chittagong, bangladesh and iii) university of kalyani, india. 4. life member of different learned societies of bangladesh. he also served as a member of different national committees of the country established for the development of education and science. haseeb md. irfanullah bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 189-194, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species of laportea gaudich. (urticaceae) from himalaya, india bachan lal bhellum1 and bikarma singh2 department of botany, government college for women, parade, jammu, j & k state, india keywords: conservation status; endangered; laportea stolonifera; new species; taxonomy. abstract a new herb species of urticaceae, laportea stolonifera b. l. bhellum & b. singh, is described and illustrated from a restricted habitat of subtropical forest of northwest himalaya, india. the new taxon is vegetatively similar to laportea ovalifolia (schumach. & thonn.) chew, an african endemic species and laportea interrupta (l.) chew but differs by phenotypic characters such as cordate leaves, unbranched inflorescence, stem hairs types, linear cystoliths with varying shapes, and presence of 2 to 3 stolons arising from basal node of stems. the similarity with the allied species is due to similar habitats occupancy, but isolated geographically from each other. laportea stolonifera is assessed as endangered, and the population data, ecological parameters and associated taxa are also presented. a key to the genus laportea is prepared for india has been presented in the text. introduction the nettle family, urticaceae juss. (1789: 400), comprised of 1465 species and 54 genera in the world (tpl, 2016), includes herbs, shrubs, small trees, and vines distributed primarily in tropical, subtropical and temperate belts (mabberley, 2008). while studying the floristic composition of jammu and kashmir (india) in northwestern himalaya, and during recent plant collection trips to jasrota forest, samples from three interesting populations of tribe urticeae were collected which upon critical investigation revealed to be a new species of the genus laportea gaudich. the genus laportea comprise of 25 species (tpl, 2016), chiefly distributed in africa and madagascar with a few pantropic species (chew, 1989). in india it is represented by 4 species: l. aestuans (l.) chew; l. bulbifera (siebold & zucc.) wedd.; l. interrupta (l.) chew and l. stolonifera b.l. bhellum & b. singh, sp. nov. most of the laportea species are confined to northeast india, northwest himalaya and south india. laportea sp. collected during recent field survey in northwest india is morphologically similar to l. ovalifolia (schumach. & thonn.) chew. after thorough scrutiny of the specimens, literature survey and geographic distribution, authors found that the unknown species is new to science. the species is named as laportea stolonifera b.l. bhellum & b. singh, and is quite different from the species described in published literatures (ramaswamy and razi, 1973; fyson, 1974; bennet, 1987; chew, 1989; sharma, 2010). the specimen have been taxonomically described, photographed and illustrated. data on populations, ecological parameters and associated taxa are also presented. the holotype voucher specimen is deposited at janaki ammal herbarium (rrlh) at csir-indian institute of integrative medicine, jammu (india). 1corresponding author. email: blbhellum@gmail.com / drbikarma@iiim.ac.in 2csir-indian institute of integrative medicine, canal road, jammu-tawi, india. mailto:blbhellum@gmail.com mailto:drbikarma@iiim.ac.in 190 bhellum and singh materials and methods critical morphological work out on the newly discovered specimen were done by comparison and assessment of voucher specimen of the new taxa with that of the allied holotypes, isotypes and specimens housed at the various herbaria, viz. assam, cal, bsd, bpl, cvh and rrlh. herbarium acronyms followed were those of thiers (2015). specimens were also examined together with google images from the plant illustration (http://www.plantillustrations.org), tropicos (http://www.tropicos.org), and global plants initiative (http://gpi.myspecies.info). while describing the species, field data pertaining to habit, ecology, shape and size of floral elements, leaves, mild stinging hairs, fruits and seeds were incorporated from the field diary. associated plants of this particular species were presented along with the photographs. fresh flowering materials were examined under trinocular microscope at 10x and 40x for proper description and illustration. laportea stolonifera b.l. bhellum & b. singh, sp. nov. (figs 1&2). diagnosis: the new species, laportea stolonifera, is highly similar to the african endemic, l. ovalifolia, and some characters related with l. interrupta, but differ from them by the presence of cordate leaves, unbranched inflorescence, three types of stem mild hairs, linear cystolith with varying shapes, and salient characters of 2 or 3 stolons arising from each basal node of stems. type: india. north-west himalaya: jammu and kashmir state, jammu province, jasrota forest, shady places along the forest margin, altitude 294 m above sea level, 32°33'59.1"n 75°02'17.9"e, 2 september 2014, bl bhellum & b singh 21214 (holotype rrlh). annual herbs, 23–57 cm high; spreading along the ground by stolons and roots; rooting at the nodes, adventitious roots, thin, ca. 12 cm long. stems woody at base, furrowed, half way glabrous, usually unbranched, greenish, clothed with three different types of mild stinging hairs, larger recurved beset with one, two or three stinging points, middle single with stinging hair spreading, base bulbous and shorter hair appressed, slightly curved. petioles varies in size, depending on leaf blade size, 0.4–9.6 cm in length, presence of spreading stinging hairs; stipules interpetiolar, oblong, biclefted, segments linear, each segment prominently veined, hairy, sometimes exstipulate. leaves simple, alternate, persistent, ovate-broadly ovate, varies in size, 1.0–8.4 cm long, 0.6–6.1 cm wide, matured ones cordate at base, young ones truncate at base, shortly acuminate at apex, membranous, upper surface packed with tiny sand-like cystoliths; margins crenate-dentate or coarsely serrated; stinging hairs on the upper surface short and shining, while those on the lower surface remotely hairy on lateral and basal nerves beneath; lateral nerves 5-6 pairs, prominent, basal nerves reaching more than half of the length of the blade; cystoliths linear, visible. stolons arise from each node at the base of stem directly forming inflorescence, 2 or 3 in number. inflorescence unisexual, arise from the nodes, racemes solitary, axillary spikes arranged in lax fascicles, 3–6 cm long, soon falling off after maturing; spikes armed with stinging hairs. flower buds ellipsoidal, pale yellow or light green. male flowers 1 mm long, tepals 4 or 5, subvalvate, depressed, usually inflexed in flower buds; stamens as many as tepals; rudimentary ovary clavate or subglobose; anthers bithecous, white, filaments inflexed in bud, pistillode short. female flowers pedicellate, tepals 4, free or connate at base, lobes subequal, two large plus two opposite smaller, ciliolate along the margin, 1 mm long; ovary 1 mm long, oblique; stigmas deeply trilobed, usually filiform, central lobe longer than the other two lobes, papillae on one side, ovary with one erect ovule; staminodes absent. achenes minute, 1.0-1.5 mm in diam., oblique, flattened, compressed, completely surrounded by a narrow membranous wing along the margin, obliquely stipitate, embraced by persistent hairy perianth; fruiting pedicels small, with stinging hairs. http://www.plantillustrations.org), http://gpi.myspecies.info). a new species of laportea from himalaya 191 phenology: flowering occurs from early august and continues till early october; fruiting usually seen in october to late november. the collection site is relatively seasonal; having almost seven months dry period and five months cold winter and semi dry. etymology: the specific epithet of laportea stolonifera is named after the unique character, ‘stolonifera’, the presence of 2 or 3 stolons. fig. 1. illustration of laportea stolonifera b. l. bhellum & b. singh, sp. nov.; (a) basal portion of stem bearing roots and stoloniferous inflorescence, (b) upper portion of stem bearing inflorescence, (c) stipule, (d) female flower, (e) male flower, (f) fruit, (g) pistil, (h-k) different kind of hairs, and (l) cystoliths. illustration based on living material and voucher specimens deposited at rrlh. distribution and habitat ecology: lower subtropical forest areas of jasrota in jammu province. the plant species grows gregariously as annual herbs along the stream-sides under moderately dense forest canopy cover. the sites where it occurs are located at an elevation of 250 192 bhellum and singh to 400 m above sea level (asl). plant prefers clayey to sandy types of edaphic habitat. commonly associated species includes oxalis corniculata l., scutellaria prostrata jacq. ex benth., mazus pumilus (burm. f.) steenis and urtica dioica l. conservation status: laportea stolonifera specimens were studied from three populations confined to the jasrota forest. from these, 1196 matured individuals and 61 seedlings were recorded. in total 1257 individuals of plants were recorded in an area of less than 10 km2. the assessment of the iucn status of l. stolonifera were done following 2001 iucn red list categories and criteria version 3.1, and for this particular species iucn guidelines for application of iucn red list criteria at regional and national levels criteria version 4.0 (iucn, 2010) were followed. data reveals that l. stolonifera should be treated as endangered (en) [a1(a,b,c,d).b2(a,b(i,ii,iv,v).c2a(i.ii)]. fig. 2. laportea stolonifera b.l. bhellum & b. singh, sp. nov.; (a) habit, (b) portion of stem showing hairs, (c) inflorescence, (d-e) basal portion of stems bearing roots and stoloniferous inflorescence. discussion after detailed studies, laportea stolonifera is found to be very close to l. ovalifolia morphologically, and few characters were also matching with that of l. interrupta. the altitudinal distributions of the allied species were also geographically isolated from each other. l. stolonifera is confined to jasrota forest belts of jammu province only, which occupies the innermost northwest himalayan belts of india, whereas the related species l. ovalifolia and l. interrupta, a new species of laportea from himalaya 193 were reported from northeast india (indo-myanmar hotspot region) in eastern himalaya and african endemic, respectively. the occurrences of these two species do not over-lap as they are geographically isolated by deserts, hills and mountains. while examining the new species, laportea stolonifera, from national and international herbaria, and comparing the description of the species, the authors developed a key for identification of of laportea species from india. key to the genus laportea in india 1. often herbs with woody bulbils in leaf axils; pedicels of female flowers conspicuously laterally and symmetrically winged; achenes articulated on pedicel; stolons absent l. bulbifera herbs without bulbils in leaf axils; pedicels of female flowers slightly dorsiventrally and asymmetrically winged, or not winged; achenes not articulated on pedicel; stolons present 2 2. inflorescence paniculate; stigma ligulated l. aestuans inflorescence spicate; stigma 3-fid 3 3 leaves broadly ovate to cordate, 1.0–8.4 cm long, 0.6–6.1 cm wide, upper surface packed with tiny sand-like cystoliths; inflorescence paniculate; 1-6 cm long, arise from base of stem directly from nodes; solons present, 2 or 3 in numbers l. stolonifera leaves ovate, 5–8 cm long, 4.0–5.5 cm wide, both surfaces packed with cystoliths; inflorescence paniculate, 8-28 cm long, arise from upper half of the stem; solons absent l. interrupta acknowledgements authors are grateful to prof. a. k. koul, centre for biodiversity, baba gulam shah badshah university (rajouri), and prof. rani magotra department of botany, university of jammu (jammu) for encouragement. thanks are due to director, dr. ram. a. vishwakarma, csir-indian institute of integrative medicine for providing herbarium facilities and keeping the records of voucher samples. authors would like to thanks the reviewers for suggestions. thanks are also due to mr. pyrus bhellum for technical assistance. this article represents csir-iiim institutional communication number iiim/1899/2016. references anonymous 2015. 200 new animal and plant species discovered in the himalayas. http://www.wired.co.uk. bennet, s.s.r. 1987. name changes in flowering plants of india and adjacent regions. triseas publishers, dehradun, india. chew, w.l. 1989. urticaceae. in: flora of australia. vol. 3. australia government publishing series, canberra 190, pp. 68-93. fyson, p.f. 1974. the flora of nilgiri and pulney hilltops. bishen singh mahendra pal sing, dehra dun, india. first ed. 1915. iucn. 2001. iucn red list categories and criteria. version 3.1. http://www.iucnredlist.org/technicaldocuments/categories-and-criteria/2001-categories-criteria iucn 2010. guidelines for using the iucn red list categories and criteria, version 4.0. http://intranet.iucn.org/webfiles/doc/ssc/redlist/redlist guidelines.pdf http://www.wired.co.uk. http://www.iucnredlist.org/technicalhttp://intranet.iucn.org/webfiles/doc/ssc/redlist/redlist 194 bhellum and singh mabberley, d.j. 2008 mabberley’s plant-book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. third edition. cambridgen university press. ramaswamy, s.v. and razi, b.a. 1973. flora of bangalore district. parasaranga, university of mysore, india. sharma, b.m. 2010. illustrations of jammu plants, a supplement to flora of jammu and plants of neighbourhood with general key and annotation. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. thiers, b. 2015. index herbariorum: a global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. new york botanical garden’s virtual herbarium. available from: http://sweetgum.nybg.org/ih/ (accessed 07 march 2016) tpl.2016. the plant list, a working list of all known plant species. version 1.1, released in september 2013. online: http://www.theplantlist.org. wilmot-dear, c.m. 2009 urticaceae for the non-specialist: identification in the flora malesiana region, indochina and thailand. blumea 54(1-3): 233–241. (manuscript received on 26 may 2016; revised on 1 august 2016) http://sweetgum.nybg.org/ih/ http://www.theplantlist.org. microsoft word sc-2. musa balbisiana_galley proof_approved 12.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 75-78, 2016 (june) short communication © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new variety of musa balbisiana colla from assam, india kongkona borborah1, s.k. borthakur and bhaben tanti department of botany, gauhati university, guwahati-14, kamrup district, assam, india keywords: musa balbisianaa var. sepa-athiya; new variety; assam; india. musa balbisiana was first described as a species by an italian botanist luigi aloysius colla in 1820 based on the type collected from southeast asia (india orientali). later on brief descriptions were provided by cheesman (1948) and moore (1957). this species is very much important from the evolutionary viewpoint as it is one of the two parent plants together with m. acuminata colla for most of the cultivated bananas of present day. southeast asia is regarded as centre of origin of m. balbisiana (hore et al., 1992) and was also reported from srilanka, india, thailand, malaya, indonesia, philippines and new guinea (cheesman, 1948; sulistyaningsih et al., 2014). there is very little variation in this species in the interspecific level and no subspecies has been described so far under it (subbaraya, 2006). however, subsequent workers described five varieties on the basis of intraspecific variations of the species viz., m. balbisiana var. balbisiana colla, m. balbisiana var. andamanica d.b. singh et al., m. balbisiana var. brachycarpa (backer) hakkinen, m. balbisiana var. liukiuensis (matsum.) hakkinen and m. balbisiana var. elavazhai a. joe et al. in india the species is widely occurring with intraspecific variations in northeastern states, andaman and nicober islands and in some parts of south india. wild or feral forms of m. balbisiana are considered to possess fertile seeds. but cultivated clones occurring without fertile seeds like “bhimkol” or “athiya-kol” in assam and “elavazhai” in south india have been proved as distinct commercial varieties in these regions. these two clones cannot be considered as truly wild species due to long time cultivation by the local habitats mainly through suckers and the existence of the species either in wild or feral state is yet to be established (subbaraya, 2006; joe et al., 2014). however, the present investigators recorded wild populations of m. balbisiana colla from dima hasao district of assam. during the field work conducted between the years 2012-14 for taxonomic study on the genus musa l., the authors collected certain specimens of seed propagated plants occurring wild and in semi-domesticated state in assam which are known as “sepa-athiya”. it differs from m. balbisiana in a number of attributes. the plants are propagated both through seeds and by suckers. further, unlike the cultivated clones of m. balbisiana, the fruits of the collected plants are not edible because of the presence of numerous compactly arranged seeds with scanty flesh. however, the other parts like pseudostem, leaves and inflorescence are used as that of m. balbisiana. considering the above differences of the collected specimens with that of m. balbisiana, a new variety viz., musa balbisiana var. sepa-athiya is proposed and described. musa balbisiana var. sepa-athiya borborah, borthakur & tanti, var. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: musa balbisiana var. sepa-athiya is very much similar to m. balbisiana var. balbisiana but differs in the short peduncle (25-27 cm in m. balbisiana var. sepa-athiya vs. 30-35 cm in m. balbisiana), compact fruit bunch and large number of seeds (240-250 in m. balbisiana var. sepa-athiya vs. 50-65 in m. balbisiana). 1corresponding author. email: kongkonaborborah9@gmail.com 76 borborah et al.   fig. 1. musa balbisiana var. sepa-athiya, var. nov. a. habitat; b. upper surface of pseudostem; c. inner pseudostem; d. pseodostem with young sucker; e. petiole canal; f. a mature fruit bunch; g. a mature female bud; h. fruit bunch with a male bud; i. female bract containing female flowers; j. a complete female flower; k. lower surface of a male bract; l. upper surface of a male bract; m. a complete male flower; n. mature fruit; o. t.s. of mature fruit; p. seeds. a new variety of musa balbisiana colla 77   type: india, assam, dibrugarh district, gorokhia chapori, alongside river brahmaputra, 27°48.41" n, 94°89.94" e, 96 m 20 october 2013, borborah 004 (holotype: gubh!, isotype: assam!). plant tall, suckering very close to parent plant, 5-10 cm away, vertically arranged, 7-12 suckers in a clump. mature pseudostem 3.7-4.0 m high, 25 cm in diameter at base, light green with black colouration when mature, covered with dry outer sheaths, not waxy, underlying colour of pseudostem cream with pink-purple pigmentation, sap watery. leaves erect, older leaves intermediate occasionally, lamina 270-300 × 70-72 cm, elliptic-oblong, truncate at apex, dorsiventrally green, ventral surface waxy, leaf bases asymmetric, both side rounded, midrib dorsally green, light green ventrally, petiole up to 1.0 m long, yellow green, not waxy, canal margins curved inward, bases not winged and clasping the pseudostem, small blotches present at the petiole base, blotches dark brown. inflorescence pendulous, peduncle glabrous, up to c. 27 cm long and diameter c. 7.5 cm, dark green, 2 sterile bracts present, persistent. female bud ovoid, female bracts ovoid, 25-27 × 10-12 cm, dull pink-purple outside, very waxy, bright red-purple inside, shiny, apex obtuse, lifting 1-2 bracts at a time. female flower on average 15-17 per bract in two rows, c. 7.3 cm long; compound tepal c. 4 cm long, light yellow with a pink touch, lobe colour yellow; free tepal c. 2.1 cm long, oval shaped, translucent white and tinted with pink, simple folding under apex; staminode 5, c. 2.0 cm long, style c. 3.2 cm, cream, stigma large capitate, yellow; ovary yellowish green, c. 4.2 × 3.2 cm, smooth, four rows of ovules per locule. male bud ovoid; male bract ovate, c. 21 × 9.2 cm, pink-purple adaxially, waxy, bright pink-purple abaxially, shiny, colour homogenous until apex, bract base with large shoulder, apex obtuse, imbricate, lifting two bracts at a time, not revolute before falling, bract scars prominent, bracts persistent for 2-3 days giving the appeareance of bracts lifting 4-5 at a time. male flower on average 13-15 per bract in two rows, 5.8-6.0 cm long, falling before the bracts; compound tepal c. 4.1 cm long, light yellow with thickened keel, lobes 5, bright yellow; free tepal c. 2.4 cm long, translucent white, ovoid or boat shaped, apex poorly developed, obtuse; stamens 5, exserted, filament c. 2.1 cm, cream, anther lobes. 2 cm, cream. fruit bunch cylindrical, very compact with 7-8 hands and 16-18 fruits per hand in two rows, rachis short, hanging vertically at an angle, fruits perpendicular to the stalk; fruit straight, 9.0-9.5 cm long, 1.6-1.0 cm in circumference, pedicel c. 1 cm, glabrous, apex rounded without any floral relicts, immature fruit peel green, mature fruit peel light yellow with brown spots, fruit peel thickness 3 mm, peels easily when ripe, fruit pulp colour ivory at ripened stage; seeds numerous, 240-250 seeds per fruit, c. 4 × 3 mm, black, rounded and warty. flowering and fruiting: throughout the year. distribution: occurring sporadically in upper assam districts of dibrugarh, tinsukia, sibsagar and golaghat in wild and semi-domesticated habitats near human habitations and along riverside. etymology: the varietal epithet “sepa-athiya” derives from its common name in assamese (sepa = compressed, athi = compact bunch). ethnobotanical use: entire plant is used by the local communities as a decorative stand for lighting lamps in the festival of light. inflorescence is used as vegetable. ripe fruits are made into paste and soaked overnight in water and the filtrate is used as a refreshing cooling drink. acknowledgements we sincerely acknowledge the financial assistance of the department of biotechnology (dbt), new delhi in the form of network project on developing a digital database on the bioresources of north-east india (dbt sanction order no. and date: bt/29/ne/ 78 borborah et al.   2011dt.28.11.2011). also thankful to dr. rajib gogoi, scientist, botanical survey of india, kolkata for his valuable opinion on the subject matter. references cheesman, e.e.1948. classification of the bananas. iii. critical notes on species. musa balbisiana colla. kew bull. 3: 11–17. colla, l. 1820. memorie della reale accademia delle scienze di torino 25: 384–385. hore, d.k., sharma, b.d. and pandey, g. 1992. status of banana in north-east india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 16: 447–455. joe, a. sreejith, p.e. and sabu, m. 2014. a new variety of musa balbisiana colla (musaceae) from south india. phytotaxa, 175: 113–116. moore, h.e. 1957. musa and ensete the cultivated bananas. baileya 5: 177. subbaraya, u. 2006. farmer's knowledge of wild musa in india. plant production and protection division, fao, rome, pp. 1–46. sulistyaningsih, l.d., megia, r. and widjaja, e.a. 2014. two new records of wild bananas (musa balbisiana and musa itinerans) from sulawesi. makara j. sci. 18: 1–6. (manuscript received on 25 november 2015; revised on 4 april 2016) microsoft word sc. 01. bjpt 16 96_edt_ka-april 16, 2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 117–118, 2017 (june) short communication © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists nomenclatural notes on piper pseudonigrum velayd. and amalraj (piperaceae) r. kottaimuthu1 ashoka trust for research in ecology and the environment (atree), bengaluru, karnataka, india keywords: piper pseudonigrum; nomenclatural note. piper l. is the largest genus in the family piperaceae with about 2000 species (quijano-abril et al., 2006). in india, the genus piper is represented by over 100 species which are mainly confined to the northeast indian part of eastern himalaya and western ghats of southern india. western ghats along with sri lanka is one of the four recognized biodiversity hotspot in india (chitale et al., 2015), has about 23 species (nayar et al., 2014). while studying the piper of western ghats, velayudham and amalraj (1992) described piper pseudonigrum velay. and amalraj based on the specimens collected by amalraj from silent valley. but, the name p. pseudonigrum velay. and amalraj is an illegitimate later homonym of p. pseudonigrum c. dc (1898). hence, kumar and mathew (2013) proposed a new name piper velayudhanii. unknowingly, kumar and karthikeyan (2014) also proposed a replacement name, ‘p. sivarajanii’ for p. pseudonigrum velay. and amalraj. hence the later published name is treated here as a superfluous name. following is a note on the nomenclature on piper pseudonigrum velay. and amalraj. piper velayudhanii e.s.s. kumar and s.p. mathew in j. sci. res. 5: 579 (2013). piper pseudonigrum velay. and amalraj in j. econ. taxon. bot. 16: 247 (1992), non c.dc. (1898). piper sivarajanii karthik. and v.s. kumar in phytotaxa 167: 210 (2014), nom. superfl. type: india: kerala; palghat district, silent valley, 6 apr 1988, av202 (holotype: mh. isotype: nhcp, n.v.). piper rukshagandhum j. mathew in telopea 19: 23 (2016). syn. nov. type: india: kerala: kollam district, kottavasal valley, 77°08' 11"e, 09°13' 06"n, 700 m, j. mathew 2811 (flowering: female), 28 feb 2011 (holotype: mh, n.v.; isotype: cms, n.v.). distribution: india (kerala and tamil nadu). endemic. note: piper velayudhanii closely resembles p. nigrum in habit and leaf morphology, but can easily be distinguished by its pedicellate and sparsely distributed male flowers on long, light purple spikes (vs. sessile male flowers, densely distributed on light yellow spikes of p. nigrum). recently, mathew et al. (2016) described a new species piper rukshagandhum j. mathew from achankovil, kerala. the description and photographs provided by the authors for p. rukshagandhum falls within the circumscription of p. velayudhanii. in addition, some of the characters used for the delimitation (up to 3 cm long petioles and unequal leaf base) are the diagnostic characters of p. velayudhanii. furthermore the characters viz., blush red/pink-colored 1present address: department of botany, saraswathi narayanan college, madurai-625 022, tamil nadu, india. email: kottaimuthu@yahoo.co.in doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33038 118 kottaimuthu   spikes, fruits and internodes, comparatively long petioles (c. 3 cm long) and elongated male inflorescence (c. 15 cm long) used by mathew et al. (2016) for the delimitation of piper rukshagandhum from all other members of section muldera were already recorded in p. velayudhanii. hence, piper rukshagandhum is reduced here as a synonym under p. velayudhanii. acknowledgements the author is grateful to dr. r. ganesan, atree, bengaluru for facilities and encouragement and to dr. g.v.s. murthy, scientist f, botanical survey of india (bsi), southern regional centre (src), coimbatore for granting permission to visit the herbarium and library. thanks are also due to dr. v. sampath kumar, central national herbarium, howrah, for providing literature. references chitale, v.s., behera, m.d. and roy, p.s. 2015. global biodiversity hotspots in india: significant yet under studied. curr. sci. 108: 149. kumar, e.s.s. and matthew, s.p. 2013. piper velaudhanii (piperaceae), a new name for p. pseudonigrum velay. and amalraj. j. sci. res. 5: 579–580. kumar, v.s. and karthikeyan, s. 2014. notes on nomenclature and distribution of some taxa of piper l. (piperaceae). phytotaxa 167: 209–211. mathew, j., george, k.v. and yohanan, r. 2016. piper rukshagandhum (piperaceae): a new species from southern western ghats, india. telopea 19: 23–29. nayar, t.s., beegam, r.a. and sibi, a. 2014. flowering plants of the western ghats, india. volume 1 dicots. jawaharlal nehru tropical botanic garden and research institute, thiruvananthapuram, india quijano-abril, m. a., callejas-posada, r. and miranda-esquivel, d.r. 2006. areas of endemism and distribution patterns for neotropical piper species (piperaceae). biogeography 33: 1266 – 1278. velayudhan, k.c. and amalraj, v.a. 1992. piper pseudonigrum – a new species from western ghats. j. econ. taxon. bot. 16: 247–250. (manuscript received on 19 august 2016; revised on 6 february 2017) microsoft word 08. fbi volume-ii.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 173-190, 2012 (december) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f., the flora of british india: volume-ii m. enamur rashid and m. atiqur rahman1 department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong-4331, bangladesh keywords: j.d. hooker; flora of british india; bangladesh; nomenclature; taxonomic status. abstract sir joseph dalton hooker in his second volume of the flora of british india included a total of 2328 species in 416 genera under 28 natural orders (= families) of which 201 species in 104 genera under 20 natural orders are determined to have been recorded from the area now in bangladesh. these taxa are listed with their updated nomenclature and taxonomic status as per icbn following cronquist’s system of plant classification. the current nomenclatural treatment revealed a total of 200 species in 109 genera under 25 families to be recognized from the area of bangladesh. the recorded area and the name of specimen’s collector, as in the protologue of the flora of british india, are also provided. introduction the plants from the area of bangladesh included in the volume-i of the flora of british india have recently been puiblished with updated nomenclature and taxonomic status as per icbn (rashid and rahman, 2011). the present study deals with the similar treatment of the volume ii of the flora of british india (1876-1879) which was compiled by j. d. hooker with three different parts (iv-vi) published in 3 different dates. a total of 28 natural orders included in these 3 parts where part-iv included the natural orders from sabiaceae to leguminosae (part), part-v from leguminosae (part) to myrtaceae (part) and part-vi from myrtaceae (part) to cornaceae. publication details of this volume with distribution of taxa are shown in table 1. table 1. publication details of the flora of british india, volume ii. published year of no. of no. of no. of no. of parts publication contributors natural orders genera species part-iv 1876 2 6 131 803 part-v 1878 4 9 127 820 part-vi 1879 2 13 158 705 j. d. hooker was assisted by five other eminent botanists in describing the taxa of 28 natural orders of this volume. hooker himself described 6 natural orders and c. b. clarke alone described 18 natural orders. on the other hand, j. g. baker, j. f. duthie, rev. g. henslow and maxwell t. masters individually described 1 natural order each. these natural orders of the volume-ii and their contributors are listed with distribution of taxa in table 2. in this volume, 20 natural orders are found to have included 201 species in 104 genera from the area now in presently formed bangladesh. remaining eight natural orders have no representative species from the area of bangladesh. 1corresponding author. email: atiquerahman125@hotmail.com 174 rashid and rahman table 2. natural orders with contributors and distribution of taxa in the volume-ii natural order as in hook. f. (1876-1879) contributor number of genera cited number of species cited number of species included from the area of bangladesh 1. sabiaceae j.d. hooker 2 21 4 2. anacardiaceae j.d. hooker 22 114 8 3. coriarieae j.d. hooker 1 1 2 4. moringeae j.d. hooker 1 2 0 5. connaraceae j.d. hooker 7 40 0 6. leguminosae j.g. baker 132 846 76 7. rosaceae j.d. hooker 25 235 4 8. saxifragaceae c.b. clarke 14 83 0 9. crassulaceae c.b. clarke 8 40 2 10. droseraceae c.b. clarke 2 4 0 11. hamamelideae c.b. clarke 8 8 0 12. halorageae c.b. clarke 5 12 2 13. rhizophoreae rev. g. henslow 10 21 4 14. combretaceae c.b. clarke 8 49 8 15. myrtaceae j.f. duthie 12 161 30 16. melastomaceae c.b. clarke 21 183 10 17. lythraceae c.b. clarke 11 45 9 18. onagraceae c.b. clarke 5 21 2 19. samydaceae c.b. clarke 3 31 2 20. passifloreae maxwell t. masters 3 17 1 21. cucurbitaceae c.b. clarke 29 74 14 22. begoniaceae c.b. clarke 1 66 5 23. datiscaceae c.b. clarke 2 2 0 24. cacteae c.b. clarke 2 2 0 25. ficoideae c.b. clarke 7 16 0 26. umbelliferae c.b. clarke 39 158 9 27. araliaceae c.b. clarke 19 57 8 28. cornaceae c.b. clarke 7 19 1 total: 28 06 416 2328 201 materials and methods a list of species has been prepared with the plants as recorded in the volume-ii of the flora of british india (hooker, 1876-1879) from the area of presently formed bangladesh. the recorded area (collection locality) for bangladesh and collector’s name were determined following the procedure of rashid and rahman (2011) and consulting roxburgh (1814, 1832), wallich (18281849), kurz (1877), prain (1903), heinig (1925), cowan (1926), kanjilal et al. (1934, 1938), raizada (1941) and sinclair (1956). the current nomenclatural and taxonomic status of each species was determined as per icbn by consulting voss (1983) and brummitt and powell (1992). taxonomic status of the genera and families were determined by following cronquist’s system of plant classification (cronquist, 1981). synonyms were checked by consulting relevant literature, viz., khan (1972-1987), hara and williams (1979), grierson and long (1984, 1991), brummitt (1992), brummitt and powell updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 175 (1992), khan and rahman (1996), hajra (1997), mabberley (1997), press et al. (2000) and ahmed et al. (2008a,b; 2009a,b,c). results and discussion the search on the second volume of the flora of the british india revealed a total of 201 species under 104 genera and 20 natural orders included from the area now in bangladesh. after current nomenclatural treatment, the number of species reduced to 200 while the genera and families splited to 109 and 25, respectively. it is determined, so far, that 16 generic names are changed and 88 remain unchanged. on the other hand 129 species names are changed and 72 remain unchanged. hence, 200 species and 111 genera under 25 families are recognized, so far, from the area of bangladesh (table 3). table 3. list of taxa as in hook. f., the flora of british india volume-ii from the area of bangladesh with their current nomenclature and taxonomic status. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 1. sabia lanceolata colebr. natural order: sabiaceae silhet wall. cat. 999 1. sabia lanceolata colebr. in trans. linn. soc. lond. 12: 355 (1818). family: sabiaceae 2. sabia limoniacea wall. natural order: sabiaceae chittagong and silhet wall. cat.1000 2. sabia limoniacea wall. ex hook. f. & thom., fl. ind. p: 210 (1855). family: sabiaceae 3. meliosma simplicifolia roxb. natural order: sabiaceae silhet griffith 3. meliosma simplicifolia (roxb.) walp., rep. 1: 103 (1842). family: sabiaceae 4. meliosma pinnata roxb. natural order: sabiaceae silhet roxburgh 4. meliosma pinnata (roxb.) maxim. in bull. acad. imp. sci. st. petersb. 12: 64 (1867). family: sabiaceae 5. rhus khasiana hook. f. natural order: anacardiaceae chittagong h.f. & t. 5. rhus khasiana hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2:10 (1876). family: anacardiaceae 6. mangifera sylvatica roxb. natural order: anacardiaceae silhet roxb. 6. mangifera sylvatica roxb., fl. ind. 1: 644 (1820). family: anacardiaceae 7. buchanania lancifolia roxb. natural order: anacardiaceae chittagong 7. buchanania lancifolia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 386 (1832). family: anacardiaceae 8. tapiria hirsuta hook. f. natural order: anacardiaceae chittagong and silhet -wall. cat. 8499 8. tapiria hirsuta (roxb.) hook. f. in benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 423 (1876). family: anacardiaceae 9. semecarpus acuminata kurz natural order: anacardiaceae chittagong kurz 9. semecarpus acuminata thw., enum. pl. zeyl. 76: 410 (1860). family: anacardiaceae 10. semecarpus subpanduriformis wall. natural order: anacardiaceae chittagong wallich 10. semecarpus subpanduriformis wall. ex hook. f, fl. brit. ind. 2: 35 (1876). family: anacardiaceae table 3 contd. 176 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 11. drimycarpus racemosus hook. f. natural order: anacardiaceae silhet wall. cat.1006 11. drimycarpus racemosus (roxb.) hook. f. in gen. pl. 1: 424 (1862). family: anacardiaceae 12. holigarna longifolia roxb. natural order: anacardiaceae chittagong roxburgh & c. 12. holigarna longifolia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 80 (1824). family: anacardiaceae 13. rourea commutata planch. natural order: connaraceae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 8547, 8548 13. rourea minor (gaertn.) alston in handb. fl. ceylon 6 (suppl.): 67 (1931). family: connaraceae 14. connarus paniculatus roxb. natural order: connaraceae chittagong, silhet h.f. & t.,roxb.& c. 14. connarus paniculatus roxb., fl. ind. ed. 3:139 (1832). family: connaraceae 15. crotalaria acicularis ham. natural order: leguminosae bengal wall. cat. 5398 15. crotalaria acicularis buch-ham. ex benth. & hook.f. in london j. bot. 2: 478 (1843). family: fabaceae 16. crotalaria occulta grah. natural order: leguminosae bengal wall. cat. 5360 16. crotalaria occulta graham ex benth. & hook.f. in london j. bot. 2: 565 (1843). family: fabaceae 17. crotalaria dubia grah. natural order: leguminosae chittagong hook. f. & thomson 17. crotalaria dubia graham ex benth. in london j. bot. 2: 568 (1843). family: fabaceae 18. crotalaria bracteata roxb. natural order: leguminosae chittagong wall. cat. 5423 18. crotalaria bracteata roxb. ex dc., prodr. 2: 130 (1825). family: fabaceae 19. trigonella corniculata linn. natural order: leguminosae bengal 19. trigonella esculenta willd. enum. pl. 2: 799 (1809). family: fabaceae 20. melilotus alba lamk. natural order: leguminosae plains of bengal wall. cat. 5942 20. melilotus albus medic. in vorles. churpfälz. phys.-öcon. ges. 2: 382 (1787). family: fabaceae 21. medicago denticulata willd. natural order: leguminosae bengal wall. cat. 5946 21. medicago polymorpha l., sp. pl.: 779 (1753). family: fabaceae 22. millettia pulchra benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5630 22. millettia pulchra kurz, j. asiat. soc. beng. 42 (2): 69 (1873). family: fabaceae 23. millettia cinerea benth. natural order: leguminosae chittagong, silhet -wall. cat. 5888, 5889 23. millettia cinerea benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 249 (1852). family: fabaceae 24. millettia piscidia wight natural order: leguminosae silhet 24. millettia piscidia (roxb.) wight & arn. in prodr. : 263 (1834). family: fabaceae table 3 contd. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 177 table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 25. millettia fruticosa benth. natural order: leguminosae forests of bengal wall. cat. 909 25. millettia fruticosa (dc.) benth. ex baker. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 109 (1876). family: fabaceae 26. millettia caudata baker natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5805 26. millettia caudata baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 109 (1876). family: fabaceae 27. tephrosia candida dc. natural order: leguminosae chittagong and silhet -wall. cat. 5627 27. tephrosia candida (roxb.) dc., prodr. 2: 249 (1825). family: fabaceae 28. astragalus strictus grah. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5924 28. astragalus strictus graham ex benth. in royle, iii. b. him.: 198 (1835). family: fabaceae 29. smithia blanda wall. natural order: leguminosae east bengal wall. cat. 5669 29. smithia blanda wall. ex wight & arn., prodr.: 221 (1834). family: fabaceae 30. aeschynomene aspera linn. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5667 30. aeschynomene aspera l., sp. pl.: 713 (1753). family: fabaceae 31. pycnospora hedysaroides r. br. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5428 31. pycnospora lutescens (poir.) schindle in journ. bot. 64: 145 (1926). family: fabaceae 32. uraria lagopoides dc. natural order: leguminosae bengal 32. uraria lagopodioides (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 324 (1825). family: fabaceae 33. desmodium cephalotes wall. natural order: leguminosae chittagong wall. cat. 5721 33. dendrolobium triangulare (retz.) schindl. in repert. spec. nov. regni veg. 20: 279 (1924). family: fabaceae 34. desmodium triquetrum dc. natural order: leguminosae chittagong wall. cat. 5688 34. tadehagi triquetrum (l.) h. ohashi in ginkgoana 1: 290 (1973). family: fabaceae 35. desmodium amoenum wall. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5726 35. desmodium concinnum var. concinnum dc. ann. sci. nat. (paris) 4: 101 (1825). family: fabaceae 36. desmodium concinnum dc. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5727 36. desmodium concinnum dc., prodr. 2: 335 (1825). family: fabaceae 37. desmodium retroflexum dc. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5695, 5696 37. desmodium styracifolium (osbeck) merr. amer. j. bot. 3(10): 580 (1916). family: fabaceae 38. desmodium gyroides dc. natural order: leguminosae upper bengal wall. cat. 5728 38. desmodium gyroides (roxb. ex link.) dc., prodr. 2: 326 (1825). family: fabaceae table 3 contd. 178 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 39. abrus pulchellus wall. natural order: leguminosae chittagong wall. cat. 5819 39. abrus pulchellus wall. ex thw. in enum. pl. zeylan.: 91 (1859). family: fabaceae 40. vicia tenera grah. natural order: leguminosae silhet wallich 40. vicia tenera graham ex benth. in royle., illust. bot. himal.: 200 (1835). family: fabaceae 41. vicia sativa linn. natural order: leguminosae plains of bengal wall. cat. 5957 41. vicia sativa l., sp. pl.: 736 (1753). family: fabaceae 42. lathyrus aphaca linn. natural order: leguminosae plains of bengal wall. cat. 5952 42. lathyrus aphaca l., sp. pl.: 729 (1753). family: fabaceae 43. lathyrus sativus linn. natural order: leguminosae plains of bengal wall. cat. 5953 43. lathyrus sativus l., sp. pl.: 730 (1753). family: fabaceae 44. teramnus flexilis benth. natural order: leguminosae chittagong & silhet wall. cat. 5521 44. teramnus flexilis benth., j. linn. soc. bot. 8: 265 (1865). family: fabaceae 45. mucuna imbricata dc. natural order: leguminosae silhet wallich 45. mucuna nigricans (lour.) steud. in nom. b. ed. 2(2): 163 (1841). family: fabaceae 46. mucuna monosperma dc. natural order: leguminosae chittagong wall. cat. 5623 a, b 46. mucuna monosperma (roxb.) dc., prodr.: 406 (1825). family: fabaceae 47. mucuna macrocarpa wall. natural order: leguminosae silhet wallich 47. mucuna macrocarpa wall., pl. as. rar. 1(2): 47, t. 47 (1830). family: fabaceae 48. mucuna bracteata dc. natural order: leguminosae chittagong roxburgh 48. mucuna bracteata dc. ex kurz, j. asiat. soc. beng. 42: 231 (1873). family: fabaceae 49. mucuna nivea dc. natural order: leguminosae bengal wall. cat. 5624 49. mucuna pruriens (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 405 (1825). family: fabaceae 50. erythrina ovalifolia roxb. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall.cat. 5961 50. erythrina fusca lour., fl. cochin.: 427 (1790). family: fabaceae 51. spatholobus crassifolius benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wallich 51. spatholobus crassifolius benth. in miq., pl. jungh.: 238 (1852). family: fabaceae 52. butea minor ham. natural order: leguminosae silhet de silva 52. meizotropis buteiformis voigt. hort. suburb. calc.: 239 (1845). family: fabaceae table 3 contd. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 179 table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 53. dioclea reflexa hook. natural order: leguminosae silhet hook. f. & thomson 53. dioclea hexandra (ralph.) mabberley in manilal, bot. hist. hort. malab.: 98 (1980). family: fabaceae 54. pueraria wallichii dc. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat.5353 54. pueraria wallichii dc. prodr. 2: 240 (1825). family: fabaceae 55. pueraria thomsoni benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet gomez 55. pueraria thomsoni benth., j. linn. soc. bot. 9:122 (1867). family: fabaceae 56. pueraria phaseoloides benth. natural order: leguminosae chittagong and silhet wall. cat. 5559, 5557, 5612, 5563 56. pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth., j. linn. soc. bot. 9: 125 (1867). family: fabaceae 57. phaseolus velutinus grah. natural order: leguminosae chittagong wall. cat. 5616 57. dysolobium grande (wall. ex benth.) prain in j. asiat. soc. beng. 66: 427 (1897). family: fabaceae 58. vigna luteola benth. natural order: leguminosae sunderbunds roxburgh, g.thomson 58. vigna luteola (jack.) benth. in mart., fl. bras. 15: 194, t. 50, f. 2 (1850). family: fabaceae 59. vigna dolichoides baker. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5600, 5625 59. dysolobium dolichoides (roxb.) prain in j. asiat. soc. beng. 66: 425 (1897). family: fabaceae 60. dunbaria conspersa benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5542, 5565 60. dunbaria punctata benth. in pl. jungh.: 242 (1851-1857). family: fabaceae 61. rhynchosia rufescens dc. natural order: leguminosae dacca clarke 61. rhynchosia rufescens (willd.) dc., prodr. 2: 387 (1825). family: fabaceae 62. flemingia strobilifera r. br. natural order: leguminosae chittagong wall. cat. 5753 62. flemingia strobilifera (l.) r. br. in ait., hort. kew. ed. 2(4): 350 (1812). family: fabaceae 63. flemingia stricta roxb. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5745 63. flemingia stricta roxb., fl. ind. 3: 342 (1832). family: fabaceae 50. erythrina ovalifolia roxb. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall.cat. 5961 50. erythrina fusca lour., fl. cochin.: 427 (1790). family: fabaceae 51. spatholobus crassifolius benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wallich 51. spatholobus crassifolius benth. in miq., pl. jungh.: 238 (1852). family: fabaceae 52. butea minor ham. natural order: leguminosae silhet de silva 52. meizotropis buteiformis voigt. hort. suburb. calc.: 239 (1845). family: fabaceae table 3 contd. 180 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 67. dalbergia tamarindifolia roxb. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5870, 5866 67. dalbergia pinnata (lour.) prain in ann. roy. bot. gar. cale. 10(1): 48 (1904). family: fabaceae 68. dalbergia stipulacea roxb. natural order: leguminosae chittagong, silhet -wall. cat. 5860, 5863 68. dalbergia stipulacea roxb., [hort. beng. 53 (1814) nom. nud.], fl. ind. ed. 2, 3: 233 (1832). family: fabaceae 69. dalbergia spinosa roxb. natural order: leguminosae chittagong roxburgh 69. dalbergia spinosa roxb., fl. ind. 3: 233 (1832). family: fabaceae 70. dalbergia reniformis roxb. natural order: leguminosae silhet roxburgh, wallich 70. dalbergia reniformis roxb., fl. ind. 3: 226 (1832). family: fabaceae 71. derris scandens benth. natural order: leguminosae chittagong wall. cat. 5857, 5905 71. derris scandens (roxb.) benth. in journ. linn. soc. bot. suppl. 4: 103 (1860). family: fabaceae 72. derris cuneifolia benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5896 72. derris cuneifolia benth. in miq., pl. jungh.: 253 (1852). family: fabaceae 73. derris marginata benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5898, 5909 73. derris marginata (roxb.) benth. in journ. linn. soc. bot. suppl. 4: 103 (1860). family: fabaceae 74. derris ferruginea benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5885, 5893 74. derris ferruginea (roxb.) benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 1: 252 (1852). family: fabaceae 75. dalhousiea bracteata grah. natural order: leguminosae chittagong & silhet wall. cat. 5339 75. dalhousiea bracteata (roxb.) graham ex benth. in ann. wein. mus. nat. 2: 65 (1838). family: fabaceae 76. sophora acuminata benth. natural order: leguminosae eastern bengal wall. cat. 5973 76. sophora wightii baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 250 (1878). family: fabaceae 77. ormosia robusta wight natural order: leguminosae silhet roxburgh, wallich 77. ormosia robusta (roxb.) baker. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 258 (1878). family: fabaceae 50. erythrina ovalifolia roxb. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall.cat. 5961 50. erythrina fusca lour., fl. cochin.: 427 (1790). family: fabaceae 51. spatholobus crassifolius benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wallich 51. spatholobus crassifolius benth. in miq., pl. jungh.: 238 (1852). family: fabaceae 52. butea minor ham. natural order: leguminosae silhet de silva 52. meizotropis buteiformis voigt. hort. suburb. calc.: 239 (1845). family: fabaceae table 3 contd. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 181 table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 81. cassia alata linn. natural order: leguminosae lower bengal wall. cat. 5301 81. senna alata (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 349 (1832). family: caesalpiniaceae 82. cynometra polyandra roxb. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5815 82. maniltoa polyandra (roxb.) harms in engl. & prantl., nat. pflanz. 1: 194 (1897). family: caesalpiniaceae 83. bauhinia rufa grah. natural order: leguminosae silhet wallich 83. bauhinia ornata kurz, journ. asiat. soc. beng. 42(2): 72 (1873). family: caesalpiniaceae 84. bauhinia macrostachya wall. natural order: leguminosae silhet roxburgh, wallich 84. bauhinia wallichii macbr. in contrib. gray herb. n. s. 2 (23): 59 (1919). family: caesalpiniaceae 85. bauhinia nervosa wall. natural order: leguminosae silhet wallich 85. bauhinia nervosa (wall. ex benth.) baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 283 (1878). family: caesalpiniaceae 86. bauhinia anguina roxb. natural order: leguminosae eastern bengal wall. cat. 5773 86. bauhinia scandens l., sp. pl. 1:344 (1753). family: caesalpiniaceae 87. parkia roxburghii g. don. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5288 87. parkia timoriana (dc.) merr. philip. j. sci. bot. 5: 33 (1910). family: mimosaceae 88. albizzia lucida benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5267 88. albizia lucidior (steud.) nielson ex hara in adansonia ser. 2 (19): 222 (1975). family: mimosaceae 89. albizzia myriophylla benth. natural order: leguminosae silhet wall. cat. 5242 89. albizia myriophylla (roxb.) benth. in lond. j. bot. 3: 90 (1844). family: mimosaceae 90. calliandra umbrosa benth. natural order: leguminosae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 5273 90. calliandra umbrosa (wall.) benth. in trans. linn. soc. 30: 537 (1875). family: mimosaceae 91. pygeum acuminatum coleb. natural order: rosaceae chittagong kurz 91. prunus ceylanica (wight) miq. in fl. ind. bot. 1(1): 366 (1855). family: rosaceae 92. pygeum glaberrimum hook. f. natural order: rosaceae chittagong j. d. h. & t. t. 91. prunus ceylanica (wight) miq. in fl. ind. bot. 1(1): 366 (1855). family: rosaceae 93. rubus hexagynus roxb. natural order: rosaceae silhet wall. cat. 725 in part 92. rubus hexagynus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 516 (1832). family: rosaceae 94. eriobotrya bengalensis hook. f. natural order: rosaceae chittagong wallich 93. eriobotrya bengalensis hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 371 (1878). family: rosaceae table 3 contd. 182 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 95. bryophyllum calycinum salisb. natural order: crassulaceae lower bengal wall. cat. 7205 94. bryophyllum pinnatum (lam.) oken in allg. naturgesch. vol. iii (3): 1966 (1841). family: crassulaceae 96. kalanchoe laciniata dc. natural order: crassulaceae dacca wall. cat. 7221 95. kalanchoe laciniata (l.) pers., syn.: 446 (1805). family: crassulaceae 97. myriophyllum tuberculatum roxb. natural order: halorgeae east bengal wall. cat. 6337 96. myriophyllum tuberculatum roxb., [hort. beng. 12 (1814) nom. nud. ], fl. ind. 1: 451 (1832). family: haloragaceae 98. myriophyllum indicum willd. natural order: halorgeae bengal wall. cat. 6338 97. myriophyllum tetrandrum roxb., fl. ind. 1: 470 (1820). family: haloragaceae 99. ceriops roxburghiana arn. natural order: rhizophoreae sunderbunds wall. cat. 4875 98. ceriops decandra (griff.) ding hou. in fl. males. ser. 1. 5(4): 471, 469, fig. 24 f-h (1958). family: rhizophoraceae 100. kandelia rheedii w. & a. natural order: rhizophoreae sunderbunds wall. cat. 4876 99. kandelia candel (l.) durce. in rep. bot. exch club. br. isl (1913). family: rhizophoraceae 101. bruguiera parviflora w. & a. natural order: rhizophoreae sunderbunds wall. cat. 4877 100. bruguiera parviflora (roxb.) wight & arn. ex griff. in trans. med. phys. soc. calc. 8:10 (1836). family: rhizophoraceae 102. carallia integerrima dc. natural order: rhizophoreae silhet wall. cat. 4880 101. carallia brachiata (lour.) merr., philip. journ. sci. 15: 249 (1919). family: rhizophoraceae 103. terminalia chebula retz. natural order: combretaceae bengal wall. cat. 3967 102. terminalia chebula retz., obs. bot. 5: 31 (1788). family: combretaceae 104. terminalia citrina roxb. natural order: combretaceae east bengal wall. cat. 3970 103. terminalia citrina (gaertn.) roxb. ex fleming in as. res. 11: 183 (1810). family: combretaceae 105. combretum decandrum roxb. natural order: combretaceae bengal wall. cat. 4009 104. combretum decandrum roxb., pl. corom. 1: 43, t. 59 (1796). family: combretaceae 106. combretum pilosum roxb. natural order: combretaceae silhet wall. cat. 4004, 4005 & 4006 105. combretum pilosum roxb., [hort. beng.: 28 (1814) nom. nud.], fl. ind. ed. 2: 231 (1832). family: combretaceae 107. combretum flagrocarpum herb. natural order: combretaceae chittagong wall. cat. 3084 106. combretum flagrocarpum c.b. clarke in hook.f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 455 (1878). family: combretaceae 108. combretum squamosum roxb. natural order: combretaceae chittagong wall. cat. 3987 107. combretum punctatum blume, bijdr. 2:640 (1825) subsp. squamosum (roxb. ex don) exell. in van. steenis, fl. males. 1, 4: 539 (1954). family: combrataceae table 3 contd. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 183 table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 109. combretum dasystachyum kurz natural order: combretaceae chittagong hook. f. & th. 108. combretum griffithii heureck & muell-arg. in obs. bot.: 231 (1870). family: combretaceae 110. combretum extensum roxb. natural order: combretaceae silhet wall. cat. 3996 109. combretum latifolium blume, bijdr. 2: 641 (1825). family: combretaceae 111. decaspermum paniculatum kurz natural order: myrtaceae eastern bengal wall. cat. 3627 110. decaspermum paniculatum (lindl.) kurz, j. as. soc. beng. 2: 16 (1877). family: myrtaceae 112. eugenia formosa wall. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong wall. cat. 3609 111. syzygium formosum (wall.) masamune in enum. phan. born.: 528 (1942). family: myrtaceae 113. eugenia amplexicaulis roxb. natural order: myrtaceae cgittagong roxburgh 112. myrcia amplexicaulis (vell.) hook. f. in bot. mag.: t. 5790 (1869). family: myrtaceae 114. eugenia malaccensis linn. natural order: myrtaceae cgittagong hook. f. & t. t. 113. syzygium malaccense (l.) merr. & perry. in j. arn. arb. 19: 215 (1938). family: myrtaceae 115. eugenia polypetala wight natural order: myrtaceae chittagong, silhet roxburgh, wallich 114. syzygium polypetalum (wall. ex wight) merr. & perry. in brittonia 4: 125 (1941). family: myrtaceae 116. eugenia diospyrifolia wall. natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich 115. syzygium diospyrifolium (wall. ex duthie) s. n. mitra in indian forester 99: 100 (1973). family: myrtaceae 117. eugenia aquea burm. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong wall. cat. 3613, 3614a, b 116. syzygium aqueum (burm. f.) alston. in ann. r. bot. gard. perad. 11: 204 (1929). family: myrtaceae 118. eugenia macrocarpa roxb. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong wallich 117. syzygium megacarpum (craib.) rathakr. & n.c. nair in j. econ. taxon. bot. 4: 287 (1983). family: myrtaceae 119. eugenia wallichii wight natural order: myrtaceae chittagong, silhet-j.d.h. & t.t., roxb. 118. syzygium praecox (roxb.) rathakr. & n.c. nair in j. econ. taxon. bot. 4: 288 (1983). family: myrtaceae 120. eugenia grandis wight natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich 119. syzygium grandis (wight) walp., repert. 2: 180 (1843). family: myrtaceae 121 eugenia lanceolaria roxb. natural order: myrtaceae silhet roxburgh 120. syzygium lanceolarium (roxb.) n.p. balakr., bull. bot. surv. india 22: 174 (1982). family: myrtaceae 122. eugenia bifaria wall. natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich 121. syzygium laurifolium (dc.) n. p. balakr., bull. bot. surv. india 22: 174 (1982). family: myrtaceae table 3 contd. 184 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 123. eugenia ramosissima wall. natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich 122. syzygium ramosissimum (wall. ex duthie) balak. in pl. jowai. 1: 200 (1981). family: myrtaceae 124. eugenia mangifolia wall. natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich 123. syzygium reticulatum walp., rep. 2: 179 (1843). family: myrtaceae 125. eugenia inophylla roxb. natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich 124. syzygium inophyllum dc., prodr. 3: 260 (1828). family: myrtaceae 126. eugenia rubens roxb. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong roxburgh 125. syzygium rubens (roxb.) walp. in repert. bot. syst. 2: 180 (1843). family: myrtaceae 127. eugenia cymosa lam. natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich 126. syzygium cymosum dc., prod. 3: 259 (1828). family: myrtaceae 128. eugenia myrtifolia roxb. natural order: myrtaceae e. bengal griffith 127. syzygium myrtifolium dc., prodr. 3: 261 (1828). family: myrtaceae 129. eugenia claviflora roxb. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong and silhet wallich 128. syzygium claviflorum (roxb.) m.a. cowan & j. m. cowan in trees of north bengal: 67 (1929). family: myrtaceae 130. eugenia zeylanica wight natural order: myrtaceae silhet wall. cat. 3564, 3626 129. syzygium zeylanicum dc., prodr. 3: 260 (1828). family: myrtaceae 131. eugenia oblata roxb. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 3569 130. syzygium oblatum (roxb.) wall. ex m. a cowan & j. m. cowan in trees of north bengal: 67 (1929). family: myrtaceae 132. eugenia cuneata wall. natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich 131. syzygium cuneatum (duthie) balak. in pl. jowai. 1: 199 (1981). family: myrtaceae 133. eugenia tetragona wight natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich 132. syzygium tetragonum wall. ex kurz in j. asiat. soc. beng. 46 (2): 66 (1877). family: myrtaceae 134. eugenia operculata roxb. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong kurz 133. cleistocalyx nervosum (dc.) kosterm. var. paniala (roxb.) j. parn. & p. chantaranothai, novon 6: 201 (1996). family: myrtaceae 135. eugenia balsamea wight natural order: myrtaceae silhet wallich, j. d. h. & t. t. 134. syzygium balsameum (wight) wall. ex arn. & smith. in cown trn. beng. 68 (1920). family: myrtaceae 136. eugenia fruticosa roxb. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong, silhet roxburgh, wallich 135. syzygium fruticosum (roxb.) dc., prodr. 3: 260 (1828). family: myrtaceae table 3 contd. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 185 table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 137. eugenia bracteata roxb. natural order: myrtaceae silhet g. thomson and wight 136. eugenia involucrata dc., prodr. 3: 264 (1828). family: myrtaceae 138. barringtonia racemosa blume natural order: myrtaceae soonderbun wallich, kurz, griffith 137. barringtonia racemosa (l.) spreng. in syst. veg. 3: 127 (1826). family: lecythidaceae 139. careya herbacea roxb. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong wall. cat. 3638 138. careya herbacea roxb., pl. corom.: 3: 13, t. 217 (1811). family: lecythidaceae 140. careya sphaerica roxb. natural order: myrtaceae chittagong roxburgh 139. careya sphaerica roxb., fl. ind. 2: 636 (1832). family: lecythidaceae 141. osbeckia truncata don. natural order: melastomaceae east bengal, mudhopoor c.b. clarke 140. osbeckia truncata d. don ex wight & arn. in prod. fl. ind. or.: 322 (1834). family: melastomataceae 142. osbeckia chinensis linn. natural order: melastomaceae east bengal wall. cat. 4067, 4071 141. osbeckia chinensis l., sp. pl. 1: 345 (1753). family: melastomataceae 143. osbeckia stellata wall. natural order: melastomaceae chittagong roxburgh 142. osbeckia stellata buch-ham. ex ker-gawl. in bot. reg. 8: 674 (1822). family: melastomataceae 144. osbeckia rostrata don natural order: melastomaceae east bengal wall.cat. 4058 143. osbeckia rostrata d. don in prod. fl. nepal: 221 (1825). family: melastomataceae 145. melastoma imbricatum wall. natural order: melastomaceae east bengal griffith 144. melastoma imbricatum wall. ex triana in trans. linn. soc. london 28: 60 (1871). family: melastomataceae 146. melastoma curva roxb. natural order: melastomaceae chittagong 145. melastoma curva roxb., fl. ind. 2: 406 (1832). family: melastomataceae 147. oxyspora vagans wall. natural order: melastomaceae chittagong roxburgh 146. oxyspora vagans (roxb.) wall., pl. as. rar. 1: 78 (1830). family: melastomataceae 148. oxyspora cernua triana natural order: melastomaceae chittagong hook. f. & t. 147. oxyspora cernua hook. f. & thom. ex triana. in trans. linn. soc. london 28: 73 (1871). family: melastomataceae 149. memecylon pauciflorum blume natural order: melastomaceae chittagong hook. f. & t. 148. memecylon pauciflorum blume in mus. bot. 1: 356 (1826). family: melastomataceae 150. memecylon cerasiforme kurz natural order: melastomaceae chittagong kurz 149. memecylon cerasiforme kurz, for. fl. brit. burm. 1: 516 (1877). family: melastomataceae table 3 contd. 186 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 151. ammannia tenuis c.b. clarke natural order: lythraceae east bengal griffith 150. ammannia tenuis (wight) c.b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 567 (1876). family: lythraceae 152. ammannia simpliciuscula kurz natural order: lythraceae chittagong hook. f. & t., kurz 151. rotala simpliciuscula (kurz) koehne, bot. jahrb. 1: 159 (1880). family: lythraceae 153. ammannia salicifolia monti. natural order: lythraceae east bengal griffith 152. ammannia verticillata (ardr.) lam. in encycl. meth. bot. 1: 131 (1785). family: lythraceae 154. ammannia cordata w. & a. natural order: lythraceae noakhali c.b. clarke 153. nesaea brevipes koehne in engl., bot. jahrb. 3: 326 (1882). family: lythraceae 155. ammannia subrotunda wall. ex kurz natural order: lythraceae east bengal kurz 154. rotala subrotunda (wall. ex kurz) koehne in engl., bot. jahrb. 1: 174 (1880). family: lythraceae 156. ammannia octandra linn. f. natural order: lythraceae chittagong kurz 155. ammannia octandra l. f., suppl.: 127 (1782). family: lythraceae 157. crypteronia glabra blume natural order: lythraceae chittagong hook. f. & t. 156. crypteronia paniculata blume, bijdr.: 1151 (1826). family: lythraceae 158. sonneratia apetala ham. natural order: lythraceae soonderbun wall. cat. 3642 157. sonneratia apetala buch-ham. in symes, embassy ava. 3: 477 (1800). family: sonneratiaceae 159. sonneratia acida linn. f. natural order: lythraceae soonderbun c.b. clarke 158. sonneratia caseolaris (l.) engl., pflanz. nachtr.: 261 (1897). family: sonneratiaceae 160. ludwigia prostrata roxb. natural order: onagraceae silhet wall. cat. 6336 159. ludwigia prostrata roxb., fl. ind. i: 441 (1820). family: onagraceae 161. trapa natans linn. natural order: onagraceae silhet roxburgh 160. trapa natans var. bispinosa (roxb.) makino in bot. mag. 11: 283 (1897). family: trapaceae 162. casearia kurzii c. b. clarke. natural order: samydaceae chittagong hook. f. & t. 161. casearia kurzii c. b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 594 (1879). family: flacourtiaceae 163. homalium schlichii kurz natural order: samydaceae chittagong kurz 162. homalium schlichii kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 1: 532 (1877). family: flacourtiaceae 164. modecca trilobata roxb. natural order: passifloreae chittagong wall. cat. 1234 163. adenia trilobata (roxb.) engl. in bot. jahrb. 14: 376 (1891). family: passifloraceae table 3 contd. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 187 table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 165. hodgsonia heteroclita hook. f. & t. natural order: cucurbitaceae chittagong wall. cat. 6684a,b,c 164. hodgsonia macrocarpa (blume) cogn. in dc., mong. phan. 3: 349 (1881). family: cucurbitaceae 166. trichosanthes dioica roxb. natural order: cucurbitaceae east bengal wall. cat. 6692a,b,d 165. trichosanthes dioica roxb., fl. ind. 3: 701 (1831). family: cucurbitaceae 167. gymnopetalum cochinchinense kurz natural order: cucurbitaceae bengal wall. cat. 6690e 166. gymnopetalum cochinchinense (lour.) kurz in j. as. soc. beng. 40: 57 (1871). family: cucurbitaceae 168. luffa graveolens roxb. natural order: cucurbitaceae chittagong kurz 167. luffa graveolens roxb., fl. ind. 3: 716 (1832). family: cucurbitaceae 169. luffa acutangula roxb. natural order: cucurbitaceae plains of east bengal c.b. clarke 168. luffa acutangula (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 3: 713 (1832). family: cucurbitaceae 170. luffa echinata roxb. natural order: cucurbitaceae dacca c.b. clarke 169. luffa echinata roxb., fl. ind. 3: 716 (1832). family: cucurbitaceae 171. momordica cochinchinensis spreng. natural order: cucurbitaceae bengal 170. momordica cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. in syst. veg. 3: 14 (1826). family: cucurbitaceae 172. zehneria hookeriana arn. natural order: cucurbitaceae north bengal wall. cat. 6698 171. zehneria scabra (l.f.) sond. in harv. & sond., fl. cap. 2: 486 (1862). family: cucurbitaceae 173. melothria indica lour. natural order: cucurbitaceae chittagong, silhet hook. f. & t., kurz 172. zehneria japonica (thunb.) h. y. liu in bull. nat. mus. nat. (taiwan) 1: 40 (1989). family: cucurbitaceae 174. melothria odorata hook. f. & t. natural order: cucurbitaceae east bengal wall. cat. 6706 173. melothria odorata hook.f. & thom. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 626 (1879). family: cucurbitaceae 175. thladiantha dubia bunge natural order: cucurbitaceae east bengal wall. cat. 6740 174. thladiantha cordifolia (blume) cogn. in dc., mong. phan. 3: 424 (1881). family: cucurbitaceae 176. actinostemma tenerum griff. natural order: cucurbitaceae silhet wall. cat. 6683 175. actinostemma tenerum griff., pl. cantor.: 24, t. 3 (1837). family: cucurbitaceae 177. zanonia indica linn. natural order: cucurbitaceae east bengal griffith 176. zanonia indica l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 1457 (1762). family: cucurbitaceae 178. alsomitra clavigera hook.f. natural order: cucurbitaceae silhet wallich 177. neoalsomitra clavigera (wall.) hutch. in ann. bot. n. s. 6: 100 (1942). family: cucurbitaceae table 3 contd. 188 rashid and rahman table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 179. begonia roxburghii a. dc. natural order: begoniaceae east bengal 178. begonia roxburghii (miq.) dc., prodr. 15(1): 398 (1864). family: begoniaceae 180. begonia silhetensis c. b. clarke natural order: begoniaceae east bengal griffith 189. begonia silhetensis (a. dc.) c.b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 636 (1879). family: begoniaceae 181. begonia laciniata roxb. natural order: begoniaceae chittagong wall. cat. 3678 180. begonia laciniata roxb., fl. ind. 3: 649 (1832). family: begoniaceae 182. begonia megaptera a. dc. natural order: begoniaceae east bengal griffith 181. begonia megaptera a. dc. in ann. sci. nat. ser. 4, 11: 134 (1859). family: begoniaceae 183. begonia barbata wall. natural order: begoniaceae chittagong, silhet wall. cat. 3679a 182. begonia barbata wall. ex a. dc. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 348 (1864). family: begoniaceae 184. hydrocotyle rotundifolia roxb. natural order: umbelliferae bengal plains wall. cat. 562 183. hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam., enc. 3: 153 (1769). family: apiaceae 185. carum roxburghianum benth. natural order: umbelliferae bengal wall. cat. 571 184. trachyspermum roxburghianum (dc.) h. wolff. in engl., pfll. umbellif. aioid-ammin. : 129 (1927). family: apiaceae 186. carum copticum benth. natural order: umbelliferae bengal wall. cat. 572 185. trachyspermum ammi (l.) sprague in bull. misc. inform. kew 1929: 228 (1929). family: apiaceae 187. pimpinella heyneana wall. natural order: umbelliferae chittagong, burkul c. b. clarke 186. pimpinella heyneana (wall. ex dc.) benth. in benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 894 (1867). family: apiaceae 188. seseli indicum w. & a. natural order: umbelliferae central bengal wall. cat. 570,7215 187. seseli indicum wight & arn., prodr. fl. ind. or.: 371 (1834). family: apiaceae 189. seseli daucifolium c. b. clarke natural order: umbelliferae dacca & chittagong wallich & c. 188. cnidium monnieri cusson, mem. soc. med. par.: 280 (1782). family: apiaceae 190. oenanthe stolonifera wall. natural order: umbelliferae plains of bengal wall. cat. 585 189. oenanthe javanica (blume) dc., prodr. 4: 138 (1830). family: apiaceae 191. oenanthe benghalensisbenth. natural order: umbelliferae bengal plains wall. cat. 587, 588 190. oenanthe benghalensis (roxb.) kurz in j. asiat. soc. bengal. 2: 115 (1877). family: apiaceae 192. peucedanum dhana ham. natural order: umbelliferae dinajpur c.b. clarke 191. peucedanum dhana buchham. ex c. b. clarke in hook.f., fl. brit.ind. 2: 709 (1879). family: apiaceae table 3 contd. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 189 table 3 contd. name of species, natural orders, as in hook. f. with recorded area and collector’s name current nomenclature with loc. cite., and families as of cronquist (1981) 193. heptapleurum glaucum c.b. clarke natural order: araliaceae east bengal griffith 192. heptapleurum glaucum c.b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 728 (1876). family: araliaceae 194. trevesia palmata vis. var. cheirantha natural order: araliaceae chittagong hook. f. & thom. 193. trevesia palmata (roxb. ex lindl.) vis., mem. acad. torin. 2, 4: 262 (1842). family: araliaceae. 195. heteropanax fragrans seem. natural order: araliaceae common in bengal wall. cat. 4929 194. heteropanax fragrans (d. don) seem. in fl. vit.: 114 (1865). family: araliaceae 196. brassaiopsis palmata kurz natural order: araliaceae chittagong roxburgh, j. d. h. 195. brassiopsis polyacantha (wall.) banerjee in ind. for. 93: 341 (1967). family: araliaceae 197. brassaiopsis griffithii c. b. clarke natural order: araliaceae east bengal griffith 196. brassiopsis griffithii c. b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 736 (1879). family: araliaceae 198. brassaiopsis speciosa done. & planch. natural order: araliaceae chittagong wall. cat. 4912 197. brassiopsis glomerulata (blume) regel, gartenfl. 12: 275, t. 411 (1863). family: araliaceae 199. macropanax undulatum seem. natural order: araliaceae silhet station wall. cat. 4916 198. macropanax undulatum (wall. ex g. don) seem. in j. bot. 2: 294 (1864). family: araliaceae 200. tupidanthus calyptratus h. f. & t. natural order: araliaceae east bengal griffith 199. tupidanthus calyptratus hook. f. & thom. in bot. mag.: t. 4908 (1856). family: araliaceae 201. marlea begoniaefolia roxb. natural order: cornaceae bengal wall. cat. 3719 200. alangium chinense (lour) harms. in ber., deuts. bot. ges. 15: 24 (1897). family: alangiaceae acknowledgement the authors are greatful to the university grants commission (ugc), bangladesh for providing fund to carry out this research. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2008a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceaeasteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. p. 1408. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2008b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. angiosperms: dicotyledons (balsaminaceaeeuphorbiaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 1-546. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2009a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 8. angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae-lythraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 1478. 190 rashid and rahman ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds). 2009b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 9. angiosperms: dicotyledons (magnoliaceae-punicaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 1-488 ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds). 2009c. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperms: dicotyledons (ranunculaceae-zygophyllaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, haka. pp. 1-580. brumitt, r.k. 1992. vascular plant families and genera. royal botanic gardens, kew, england. pp.1-804 brummitt, r.k. and powell, c.e. 1992. authors of plant names. royal botanic gardens, kew, england. pp. 1-732. cowan, j.m. 1926. the flora of chakaria sundarbans. rec. bot. surv. ind. 11(2): 197-225. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, columbia. grierson, a.j.c., and long, d.g. 1984. flora of bhutan, vol. 1, no. 2. royal botanic garden, edinburgh. pp. 1-462. grierson, a.j.c., and long, d.g. 1991. flora of bhutan, vol. 2, no. 1. royal botanic garden, edinburgh. pp. 1-426. hajra, p.k. 1997. flora of west bengal, vol. 1. botanical survey of india, calcutta. pp. 1-486. hara, h. and williams, l.h.j. 1979. an enumeration of the flowering palnts of nepal. vol. 2. british museum natural history, london. pp. 1-220. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. pp. 1-84. hooker, j.d. 1876-1879. the flora of british india, vol. 2. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. pp. 1-792. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1934. flora of assam, vol. 1. government of assam, shillong, india. pp. 1-386. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1938. flora of assam, vol. 2. government of assam, shillong, india. pp. 1-409. khan, m.s. (ed.). 1972-1987. flora of bangladesh, fascicles 1-37. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. khan, m.s. and rahman, m.m. (eds). 1996. flora of bangladesh. fascicle 50. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. pp. 1-48. kurz, w.s. 1877. forest flora of british burma, vol. 2. bishen sing mahendra pal singh, dhera dun. india. pp. 1-550. mabberley, d.j. 1997. the plant-book, a portable dictionary of the vuscular plants (2nd edition). cambridge university press, cambridge, u.k. pp. 1-858. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols. 1&2. botanical survey of india, bishen singh mahendra singh, dehra dun, india. press, j.r., shrestha, k.k. and sutton, d.a. 2000. annotated checklist of the flowering plants of nepal. the natural history of museum, london. pp. 1-430. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rashid, m.e. and rahman, m.a. 2011. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f., the flora of british india: volume-i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 177-197. roxburgh, w. 1814. hortus bengalensis. boerhaave press, leiden (holland). pp.1-105. roxburgh, w. 1832. flora indica 2: 1-763. mission press, serampore, calcutta, india. sinclair, j. 1956. the flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2):1-116. voss, e.g. (ed.) 1983. international code of botanical nomenclature (icbn), regnum vegetabile, vol. 97. bohn, scheltema & holkema, utecht. wallich, n. 1828-1849. numerical list of dried specimens of plants in the east indian company’s museum, ined. (manuscript recieved on 10 july 2012; revised on 3 november 2012) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 47-66, 2007 (june) bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district of bangladesh class : bryopsida khurshida banu-fattah1 and sujan kumer sarker department of botany, govt. ananda mohan college, college road, mymensingh, bangladesh key words: bryophytes, bryopsida, mosses, mymensingh district, bangladesh abstract the greater mymensingh district, particularly the hilly areas are rich in bryophyte flora. the present paper on bryopsida is based upon primary as well as secondary data collection and includes an account of 51 species under 35 genera, 21 families and nine orders. a short description of each species with locations, dates of collections and name of collectors are provided. introduction a reasonably good amount of works have been done on mosses of bangladesh (banu 1991, khatun 2002 and references therein). however, our knowledge on districts or zonal distribution is very scanty. tixier (1967) collected and reported many mosses from chittagong and cox’s bazar of bangladesh, but none from greater mymensingh district, which currently includes six administrative districts, namely jamalpur, kishoreganj, mymensingh, netrokona, sherpur and tangail. banu (1991) for the first time gave a district-wise distribution of mosses, but her work was confined only to acrocarpous mosses. banu-fattah (1998) dealt with bryophytic flora of chittagong zone where a number of hepatics and mosses were reported, but the areas covered were limited to a few sites only. so we do not have a complete record of bryophytes as a whole from any district or zone. in the present paper, an attempt has been made for the first time to prepare a comprehensive list of mosses under the class bryopsida of the greater mymensingh district. here the authors have covered many localities of the present administrative districts of greater mymensingh by collecting a large number of bryophytes including mosses. all the previous reports on bryopsida from the mymensingh region which have been published so far were also consulted while preparing the list. materials and methods the areas covered in this study constitute the greater mymensingh district (latitude 24°05′ and 25°36′ and longitude 89°70′ and 91°20′) of dhaka division of bangladesh which at present includes six administrative districts. this area is on the centre of the 1corresponding author. present address: c/o prof. quazi abdul fattah, department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. e-mail: botany@univdhaka.edu 48 banu-fattah and sarker northern side of bangladesh. northern part of this zone have hills and hillocks which is an extension of garo hills of himalayan-hindukush mountain range of india, the other part of this region is mostly low-lying plains. some part of this region is above 10 m and the rest is about 3 m above sea level. the land is intersected with a large number of rivers, streams and canals of which the river brahmaputra is the most important one. temperature of this zone usually ranges from 11.6°c in january to 32.7°c in july. annual rainfall is moderate, being 232 cm and humidity varies from 62-95%. the central part and also some scattered strips of this zone have natural forests. this report is mainly based upon fresh materials collected from different localities under the greater mymensingh district area. most of the bryophytes collected were worked out and identified and all the specimens collected are preserved in the bryology herbarium, department of botany, govt. ananda mohan college, mymensingh. in addition, the occurrence of many species is based on previously published documents. banu-fattah and hadiuzzaman in a series of publications (1994, 1995, 1996a,b,c, 1998a,b,c, 2003a,b, 2004, 2006a,b) on the acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh described several species from the families polytrichaceae, ditrichaceae, dicranaceae, leucobryaceae, calymperaceae, fissidentaceae, pottiaceae, funariaceae, splachnaceae, bryaceae and bartramiaceae from the studied region. khatun (2002) reported many pleurocarpous mosses from this region, but only those mosses are included here which have been published so far (khatun and hadiuzzaman 1994, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007a,b). the specimens used by banu (1991) and khatun (2002) are preserved in the bryology herbarium, department of botany, university of dhaka (dubh). the classification followed in this enumeration is that of the system used by gangulee (1969-1980). a short description of each species with habitats, locations, dates and collector’s name(s) are provided. basionyms are also provided where appropriate/available. results the present study comprises an account of 51 species under 35 genera, 21 families and nine orders. although this study is not very extensive, it shows that the greater mymensingh district is a good abode of mosses, particularly, the acrocarpous mosses (banu 1991). hadiuzzaman (1984) for the first time described calymperes tenerum hedw. from tangail of the greater mymensingh. over the years, a number of interesting findings have been attained regarding the occurrence of mosses in greater mymensingh. for example, banu-fattah and hadiuzzaman (1997) described a new species splachnobryum schofieldii banu-fattah et syed from tangail. later on, banu-fattah and lal (1998) reported the occurrence of a very rare monotypic moss, pleuridiella colei robinson, previously thought to be endemic in india, collected from kishoreganj, mymensingh and bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district 49 tangail districts. moreover, the three most common mosses of bangladesh, namely, semibarbula orientalis (web.) wijk. & marg., hyophila involuta (hook.) jaeg. and bryum apiculatum schwaegr. are also very common in this region (banu-fattah and hadiuzzaman 1993). recently, funaria hygrometrica hedw., a well-known moss of the world, was collected only from tangail district (banu-fattah 2005). it has been observed that the mosses are adapted to a wide range of habitats, but most of the acrocarpous mosses are either terrestrial or lithophytes prefering shady, moist places of the plains or slope of hills. most of the pleurocarpous mosses and the species of the families leucobryaceae and calymperaceae of acrocarpous mosses are epiphytes. some species, specially, trematodon longicollis michx., are common in mymensingh and grow by the sides of rivers and ponds. robinson (1964) reported many mosses from assam region of india, adjacent to this area, and those mosses along with many others are expected to be present here. an extensive and intensive collection will surely add more names to the moss flora of greater mymensingh district. more studies are needed to complete the zonal or districtwise distribution of the mosses of this region. a brief account with relevant information on all the 51 species found in the region is given in the following section. taxonomic enumeration class : bryopsida; order : polytrichales; family : polytrichaceae genus : pogonatum palisot de beauvois, in mag. enc. 5: 329 (1804). 1. pogonatum flexicaule mitt., in musc. ind. or. 152 (1859). plants long, slender, dark-green; lamellae numerous covering almost entire ventral surface, 2-3 celled high at costa; sharply dentate margin; costa spinose-papillose on back, ending in an apicule. grows on sandy soil, slope of hills and waterfall. specimens examined: jamalpur: lawachapra, on slope of hill, s.k. sarker, 2.2.1999; mymensingh: haluaghat, on slope of hill, almas uddin hawlader, 30.9.1988. 2. p. hexagonum mitt., in musc. ind. or. 151 (1859). plants dioicous, sturdy, medium-sized, reddish; lamellae numerous, covering almost entire ventral surface; costa promiment, percurrent, spinose; capsule hexagonal; peristome teeth 32; calyptra felty. grows on sandy soil. specimen examined: mymensingh: panihata, haluaghat, almas uddin hawlader, 26.12.1988. 50 banu-fattah and sarker order : dicranales; family : ditrichaceae genus : garckea c. muell., bot. zeit. 3: 865 (1845) 3. garckea phascoides (hook.) c. muell., bot. zeit. 3: 865 (1845). dicranum phascoides hook., misc. bot. 1: 39 (1829). plants dioicous; yellowish-green; stem long with sparse leaves all along but crowded in comal tuft at tips; sporophyte hidden within perichaetial leaves; seta very short with vaginula; peristome teeth 16, papillose; calyptra scabrous. grows on dry damp soil, commonly found in hilly areas. specimens examined: jamalpur: lawachapra, s.k. sarker, 25.1.1993; mymensingh: haluaghat, s.k. sarker, 3.2.1988; sherpur: zhinaigati, gazni, ainul haque and abu bakar siddique, 5.1.1988; near sherpur town, ainul haque and abu bakar siddique, 20.1.1988; rungtia reserve forest, almas uddin hawlader, 13.12.1988; tangail: rasulpur, modhupur forest, almas uddin hawlader, 4.11.1987 and 13.1.1988; ainul haque and abu bakar siddique, 10.1.1988. genus : ditrichum hamp., flora 50: 18 (1867). 4. ditrichum difficile (dub.) fleisch., musci fl. buitenzorg. 1: 300.50 (1900-1902). plants yellowish-green, up to 1 cm high; leaves falcate with broad, ovate sheathing base and abruptly narrowing flexuose, canaliculated subula; laminal cells rectangular to linear, vermicular; leaf margin bistratose in upper part. grows on sandy soil. specimen examined: sherpur: near sherpur town, almas uddin hawlader, 16.2.1990. genus : pleuridiella robinson, j. hattori bot. lab. 27: 125 (1964). 5. pleuridiella colei robinson, j. hattori bot. lab. 27: 125 (1964). plants paroicous, very small, 2.5-4.5 mm with leaves; leaf margin narrowly revolute, serrulate all along, cells highly mamillose; capsule immersed, spherical, cleistocarpic; peristome teeth, annulus, operculum absent. grows on damp soil. specimens examined: kishoreganj: near kishoreganj town, md. abul hassan, 7.2.1987; mymensingh: womens’ t.t. college, k.b. fattah, 2.2.1987 and 5.11.1996; by the side of brahmaputra river, near circuit house, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 5.11.1996: nape campus, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 5.11.1996; tangail: near tangail town, md. kamruzzaman, 14.2.1988. bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district 51 family : dicranaceae genus: dicranella (c. muell.) schimp., caroll. bry. eur.: 13 (1856). aongstroemia c. muell., syn. 1: 430 (1848). 6. dicranella amplexans (mitt.) jaeg., ber. s. gall. naturw. ges. 1870-71: 376 (1872). leptotrichum amplexans mitt., in musc. ind. or. 9 (1859). plants dioicous; in dense tuft; stem reddish, unbranched, upper leaves longer, crowded at apex; leaf margin smooth; costa percurrent; seta with vaginula; capsule inclined; peristome teeth 16, dicranate. grows on sandy soil. specimen examined: sherpur: in and around sherpur town, almas uddin hawlader, 16.2.1990. genus : trematodon michx., fl. amer. bor. 2: 289 (1803). 7. trematodon longicollis michx., fl. amer. bor. 2: 289 (1803). plants autoicous; densely gregarious, yellow-green; stem very short, c 1.5 mm with leaves; costa prominent; sporophyte with long, curved, yellowish-brown capsule with long spongy apophysis with distinct struma at base; peristome teeth 16, irregularly perforated or splitted; operculum conic-rostrate; calyptra cucullate; spores opaque, papillose. grows on soil, commonly by the side of waterfalls, streams and rivers. common in mymensingh district. specimens examined: jamalpur: near jamalpur town, anamul haque, 12.2.1990 and 10.3.1993; mymensingh: by the side of brahmaputra river, k.b. fattah, 15.3.1987; ainul haque and abu bakar siddique, 11.2.1988; shaheb park, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker 8.12.1992; sherpur: gazni, ainul haque and a.b. siddique, 2.1.1988; rungtia reserve forest, almas uddin hawlader, 13.12.1988; near sherpur town, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 5.12.1990. family : leucobryaceae genus : leucophanes besch. in brid., bryol. univ. 1: 763 (1826). 8. leucophanes glaucescens c. muell. ex fleisch., musci fl. buitenz. 1: 178 (1904). plants dioicous; whitish-green; leaf margin bordered all along with a narrow band of very incrassate cells; costa broad, completely covers upper 2/32/5 length of lamina, one layer of chlorocyst cells, 4-sided; capsule orange-red; peristome teeth 16, papillose, deep inserted; multicellular gemmae present at the apex of leaves on costa. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: mymensingh: shaheb park, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 10.9.1987; gulkibari, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 5.8.1993. 52 banu-fattah and sarker genus : octoblepharum hedw., sp. musc. 50 (1801). 9. octoblepharum albidum hedw., sp. musc. 50 (1801). plants autoicous; in dense cushion; leaves whitish-green, flat, thick, lingulate, loosely attached to stem, chlorocysts 3-sided; costa broad, occupying half of leaf base and entire blade; peristome teeth in eight pairs; operculum conic-rostrate; spores finely papillose; new plants grow from apex of leaves. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: mymensingh: boroikandi, phulpur, s.k. sarker, 5.7.1996; shaheb park, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 25.11.2000; sherpur: zhinaigati, gazni, abu bakar siddique, 9.9.1987; tangail: near kumudini girl’s college, k.b. fattah, bilkis banu and badrunnesa, 12.12.1990. order : fissidentales; family : fissidentaceae genus : fissidens hedw., sp. musc. 152 (1801). 10. fissidens bryoides hedw., sp. musc. 153 (1801). plant gregarious; shoot with 8-10 pairs of leaves; sheathing lamini equal; limbidium all along leaf; costa percurrent or slightly excurrent; laminal cells hexagonal, smooth. grows on damp soil and old bricks. specimens examined: mymensingh: phulpur town, k.b. fattah, jashim uddin and s.k. sarker, 5.10.1989 and 6.11.2000; tangail: nagarbari, md. shafiuddin mia, 21.6.1989. 11. f. geminiflorus doz. et molk., pl. jhungh. 3b. (1854). plants dioicous; leaves up to 28 pairs; sheathing lamini 1/2-2/3 of whole leaf, excurrent; laminal cells quadrate to round, multipapillose. grows on damp soil and old bricks. specimen examined: mymensingh: college road, k.b. fattah, 9.8.1987. 12. f. laxus sull. et lesq., proc. am. arc. art. sc. 4: 276 (1859). plants dioicous; densely gregarious, yellowgreen; leaves up to 12 pairs; sheathing lamini c 1/2 of whole leaf, unequal; margin crenulated to serrulate with papillae; costa percurrent or shortexcurrent; laminal cells big, hexagonal, multipapillose. grows on red, sandy soil and moist bricks. specimen examined : tangail: modhupur, k.b. fattah, 12.2.1990. bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district 53 13. f. splachnobryoides broth. in schum. et lauterb., fl. deutsch. schutz. suedesee 81, 1900. plants yellowish to light-green; shoot with about 16 pairs of leaves; limbidium of 1-3 rows of elongated cartilagenous cells all around leaf; costa ends far below apex; laminal cells smooth, transparent, thin-walled; multicellular gemmae present at the axil of leaves, grows on damp soil. specimens examined: mymensingh: botanical garden, bangladesh agriculture university, k.b. fattah and quazi abdul fattah, 1.10.1987; ananda mohan college, k.b. fattah and anamul haque, 1.10.1987; barc campus, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 19.11.1996. 14. f. sylvaticus griff., cal. j. nat. hist. 2: 507 (1842). plants gregarious; leaves 15-18 pairs; glandular protuberances of 5-6 cells present along stem; sheathing lamini 2/3 of whole leaf, closed; margin crenulated; costa strong, percurrent or slightly excurrent in a mucro; laminal cells hexagonal. grows on soil, usually in hilly areas. specimen examined: mymensingh: panihata, haluaghat, almas uddin hawlader, 26.12.1998. 15. f. zollingeri mont., ann. sci. nat. ser. 3, 4: 114 (1845). plants synoicous; caespitose, bright-green, radiculose; leaves 5-8 pairs, sheathing lamini about half of whole leaf length, equal; limbidium borders whole leaf length; costa slightly excurrent; seta geniculate, flexuose, orange in colour; peristome dicranate, orange; spores smooth. grows on sandy soil, often on slope of hills. specimens examined: mymensingh: college road, k.b. fattah and a. haque 8.10.1987; teachers’ training college, s.k. sarker, 25.8.1999; haluaghat, s.k. sarker, 26.8.1999; sherpur: gazni, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 9.9.1987; tangail: modhupur, k.b. fattah, bilkis banu and badrun nessa, 12.2.1990. order : syrrhopodontales; family : calymperaceae genus : calymperes schwaegr. in web., tab. exh. calyp. operc. gen. 2 (1813). 16. calymperes tenerum c. muell., linnaea 37: 174 (1871). plants small, with short stem and rosette of leaves; leaf apex obtuse; margin entire; cancellinae distinct, rectangular with flat top, 1/3 to 1/6 of whole leaf; tenioli absent; gemmiferous leaves bear cluster of club to spindle-shaped gemmae at the apex of excurrent costa. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: tangail : gorai, m.a. quader, 2.2.1975 and 3.2.1977. 54 banu-fattah and sarker order : pottiales; family : pottiaceae genus : hyophila brid., bryol. univ. 1: 760 (1827). 17. hyophila comosa dix. et varde, arch. bot. 1: 166 (1927). plants densely tufted; leaves strongly inrolled and curled when dry, oblong-lingulate to spathulate, apex obtuse to rounded; costa strong percurrent; upper laminal cells multi papillose; gemmae abundant at the axil of leaves. grows on old, damp bricks. specimens examined: mymensingh: haluaghat, jashim uddin, 10.9.1989; netrokona: in and around netrokona town, anamul haque, 12.9.1988. 18. h. involuta (hook.) jaeg., ber. s. gall. naturw. ges. 1871-72: 356 (1873). gymnostomum involutum hook., musc. exot. 2: 154 (1819). plants dioicous; in dense tufts; leaf margin denticulate at apex, strongly involute when dry; costa strong, red-brown; capsule long, cylindrical; peristome absent; calyptra spirally twisted, cucullate; spores smooth; multicellular gemmae abundant on branched filaments at the axil of leaves. very common species. grows mostly on damp, old, concrete walls, drains, bricks and stones. specimens examined: mymensingh: torun hostel, ananda mohan college, k.b. fattah and anamul haque, 10.4.1987; botanical garden, bangladesh agriculture university, k.b. fattah and quazi abdul fattah, 28.9.1987; masjid road, kachijhuli, k.b. fattah, 14.10.1987; women teachers’ training college campus, k.b. fattah and sayeeda sarwar, 16.1.1988, 28.4.1989 and 26.8.1997; phulpur town, jashim uddin, 5.10.1989; iswarganj, shahabuddin, 20.12.1989, s.k. sarker, 26.8.1997; tangail: kagmari college, k.b. fattah and farida begum, 3.3.1987. genus: hydrogonium (c. muell.) jaeg., ber. s. gall. naturw. ges. 1877-78: 405 (1880). section hydrogonium of trichostomum c. muell., linnaea 40: 297 (1876). 19. hydrogonium arcuatum (griff.) wijk. & marg., taxon 7: 289 (1958). barbula arcuata griff., cal. j. nat. hist. 2: 491 (1842). plants dioicous; yellowish-green, tubers present on rhizoid; all laminal cells unistratose, smooth; capsule short-cylindrical, peristome teeth filiform, highly papillose; operculum conic-rostrate; calyptra cucullate; oval to star-shaped gemmae present at axil of leaves. grows on damp soil. specimen examined: tangail: horticulture farm, md. kamruzzaman, 10.10.1987. bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district 55 genus : semibarbula herz. ex hilp., beih. bot. centralbl. 50(2): 626 (1933). 20. semibarbula orientalis (web.) wijk. & marg., taxon 8: 75 (1959). trichostomum orientale web., arch. syst. nat. 1: 129 (1804). plants dioicous; slender, unbranched; leaves short, oblong with distinct plica on each side of costa; margin papillose; apex obtuse; costa strong with hyaline apicule or percurrent, very rough, corrugated with papillae, upper laminal cells multipapillose, obscure; peristome teeth 16, erect, highly papillose; multicellular gemmae abundant, apical or axillary. grows on damp bricks, cement walls and stones. very common. specimens examined: kishoreganj: kishoreganj town, md. abul hassan, 2.2.1987; mymensingh: station road, k.b. fattah and a. haque 13.3.1987; ananda mohan college, quazi abdul fattah, 28.9.1987; women teachers’ training college, k.b. fattah and syeeda sarwar, 28.9.1987, 16.1.1988 and 26.8.1997; kadirpur, k.b. fattah, 17.8.1987; masjid road, kachijhuli, k.b. fattah and a. haque, 14.11.1987; ishwarganj, k.b. fattah and shehab uddin, 20.12.1988; shaheb park, s.k. sarker, 28.9.1989 and 25.11.2000; botanical garden, bangladesh agriculture university, k.b. fattah and quazi abdul fattah, 28.9.1987 and 26.8.1997; netrokona: netrokona town, anamul haque, 12.9.1988; sherpur: rungtia reserve forest, almas uddin hawlader, 13.12.1988; tangail: kagmari college, md. kamruzzaman, 3.3.1987; nagarpur, md. shafiuddin mia, 21.6.1989. genus : barbula hedw., sp. musc., 115 (1801). 21. barbula marginatula c. muell. ex gang., nova hedwigia 12: 424 (1966). plants dioicous; densely tufted, yellowish-green; leaves with a very distinct hyaline margin of 2-3 rows of elongated papillose cells; costa strong; middle and upper laminal cells incrassate, densely papillose. grows on sandy soil and walls. specimen examined: mymensingh: haluaghat, jashim uddin, 10.9.1989. order : funariales; family : splachnaceae genus : gymnostomiella fleisch., musci fl. buitenzorg 1: 309 (1904). 22. gymnostomiella vernicosa (hook.) fleisch., musci fl. buitenzorg 1: 310 (1904). gymnostomum vernicosum hook., icon. pl. rar. 1: (1836). plants in dense compact tuft or loose and scattered, small, delicate; leaves lax and distant below, crowded at apex, upper leaves broad, obovate with rounded apex; margin very rough above; costa extends up to 2/3 of leaf; laminal cells thin, upper cells multipapillose; gemmae present at the axil of leaves. grows on damp walls, bricks, and drains. 56 banu-fattah and sarker specimens examined: mymensingh: muktagachha rajbari, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 3.12.1987; shaheb park, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 28.9.1989; sherpur: rungtia reserve forest, almas uddin hawlader, 13.12.1988; tangail: nagarpur, md. shafiuddin, 21.6.1989. genus : splachnobryum c. muell., verh. zool. bot. ges. wien. 19: 503 (1869). 23. splachnobryum schofieldii banu-fattah et syed, bangladesh j. bot. 26(1): 61-64 (1997). plants dioicous, slender, soft, unbranched; leaves broad, obovate to sub-orbicular with obtuse to rounded apex; laminal cells very thin-walled; costa ends much below apex. grows on damp soil. specimen examined: tangail: nagarpur, md. shafiuddin mia, 21.6.1989. family : funariaceae genus : funaria hedw., sp. musc., 172 (1801). 24. funaria hygrometrica hedw., sp. musc., 172 (1801). autoicous; stem short with rosette of leaves at apex; laminal cells thin-walled, smooth, large; seta long, slender, arcuate at top, reddish; capsule pyriform, asymmetric with narrow oblique mouth; apophysis distinct; peristome typical diplolepideous, epicranoid; plano-concave; operculum without apiculus; calyptra cucullate. grows on damp soil. very rare. specimen examined: tangail: ghatail, k.b. fattah and s.k. sarker, 5.12.1992. genus: entosthodon schwaegr., sp. musc. suppl. 2: 44 (1823). 25. entosthodon nutans mitt., musc. ind. or. 55 (1859). plants scattered, small, up to 2-3 mm with rosette of leaves at apex; laminal cells very lax, smooth, thin-walled; capsule turbinate without apophysis; no peristome; operculum flat, without apiculus; spores fine papillose. grows on damp soil. specimens examined: kishoreganj: in and around kishoreganj town, md. abul hassan, 2.2.1987; mymensingh: near ananda mohan college, s. hadiuzzaman, 15.3.1989; netrokona: mohanganj, abdul momen, 21.12.1990. genus : physcomitrium (brid.) fuernr., flora 13: 9 (1829). physcomitrium (of gymnostomum) brid., in bryol. univ. 1: 97 (1826). 26. physcomitrium cyathicarpum mitt., musci ind. or. 54 (1859). plants paroicous; tufted or scattered; stem very short with crowded leaves at apex; laminal cells thin-walled, large; seta very short; capsule globose, immersed; no bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district 57 peristome; operculum apiculate; spores densely papillose. grows on damp soil, mostly in gardens and sides of rivers and ponds. specimens examined: mymensingh: shaheb park, near brahmaputra river, k.b. fattah and ainul haque, 3.2.1988; college road, near ananda mohan college, s. hadiuzzaman, 15.3.1989. gaffargaon, b.c. shaha, 15.11.1989. 27. p. eurystomum sendtn., denkschr. bayer bot. ges. regensb. 3: 142 (1841). plants dioicous; stem short with rosette of leaves; leaf margin sharply serrulate above; laminal cells thin-walled, bordered by one row of elongated cells; capsule pyriform with apophysis; calyptra lobed; spores papillose. grows on damp soil, specially on gardens and by sides of rivers and ponds. specimens examined: mymensingh: town park, by the side of brahmaputra river, k.b. fattah and a. haque, 3.2.1988 and 10.9.1989; gaffargaon town, b.c. shaha, 15.11.1989; netrokona: mohanganj, abdul momen, 21.12.1990; tangail: near kumudini girl’s college, k.b. fattah, 12.2.1990. 28. p. pulchellum (griff.) mitt., musci ind. or. 54 (1859). gymnostomum pulchellum griff., cal. j. nat. hist. 2: 478 (1842). plants dioicous; densely tufted; stem radiculose; leaves crowded above; margin entire; costa short-excurrent; laminal cells thin-walled, smooth; leaf bordered by one layer of elongated, vermicular cells; capsule turbinate to pyriform with short apophysis, mouth narrower than urn; spores warty papillose. grows on damp soil, specially in gardens. specimens examined: mymensingh: botanical garden, bangladesh agriculture university, k.b. fattah and quazi abdul fattah, 10.10.1987 and 14.1.1989. order : eubryales; family : bryaceae genus : bryum hedw., sp. musc., 178, 1801. emend. schimp., syn. ed. 1. 1860. 29. bryum apiculatum schwaegr. in ichen, buck. w.r., atlantic forest remnant. pernambuco, brazil j. bryology 24: 251-252 (1990). plants in dense tufts, bright green, lustrous; leaves ovate lanceolate, concave, carinate; margin entire; costa percurrent; laminal cells rhomboid; numerous single and clustered multicellular gemmae present on stems, branches also on rhizoids. grows on soil, specially on plant pots, garden beds and also on damp bricks, walls, and roofs. specimens examined: kishoreganj: in and around town, k.b. fattah, 28.2.1990; mymensingh: ananda mohan college, quazi abdul fattah, 28.9.1987, s. hadiuzzaman, 15.3.1989; botanical garden, bangladesh agriculture university, quazi abdul fattah 58 banu-fattah and sarker and k.b. fattah, 1.10.1987; sultana rezia hall, bangladesh agriculture university, k.b. fattah, 19.1.1989 and 15.9.1989; circuit house compound, quazi abdul fattah and k.b. fattah, 1.10.1987; phulpur town, jashim uddin, 5.10.1989; gaffargaon town, b.c. shaha, 15.11.1989; ishwarganj, md. shehab uddin, 20.12.1989; tangail: near kumudini girl’s college, md. kamruzzaman, 21.3.1988. family : bartramiaceae genus : philonotis brid., bryol. univ. 2: 15 (1827). 30. philonotis angusta mitt., musc. ind. or. 61 (1859). plants dioicous; robust, densely tufted, shoot long with whorl of innovations; stem tomentose; leaves with broader base, long acuminate apex and serrate margin; capsule subglobose to ovoid; slightly asymmetric, mouth small. grows on soil, usually in hills. specimen examined: sherpur: gazni, zhinaigati, almas uddin hawlader, 16.2.1990. 31. p. falcata (hook.) mitt., musci ind. or. 62 (1859). bartramia falcata hook., trans. linn. soc. lond. 9: 317 (1808). plants dioicous; fairly robust, interwoven with dark brown silky tomenta below; shoot with a whorl of innovations; leaves with percurrent or short-excurrent costa and acuminate apex. grows on damp bricks, walls, roofs. specimen examined: mymensingh: ananda mohan college, torun hostel, k.b. fattah and anamul haque, 10.4.1987. 32. p. hastata (dub.) wijk. & marg., taxon 8: 74 (1859). hypnum hastatum dub. in moritzi, syst. verz. zoll. pfl. 132 (1846). plants dioicous; dense, forming mats, very slender, soft, bright green above, loosely attached to the substratum; stem highly radiculose; leaves lax, thin, lingulate with blunt, obtuse apex; costa ending much below apex. grows on damp brick walls, drains and on nearby soil. specimens examined: mymensingh: bangladesh agriculture university, botanical garden, quazi abdul fattah and k.b. fattah, 1.10.1987; sultana rezia hall, k.b. fattah, 19.1.1989; circuit house compound, quazi abdul fattah and k.b. fattah, 19.1.1989; phulpur town, jashim uddin, 5.10.1989; ishwarganj, md. shehab uddin, 20.10.1989; tangail : in and around tangail town, md. quamruzzaman, 21.3.1988. bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district 59 order: isobryales; family : erpodiaceae genus : erpodium (brid.) brid., in reichenb., consp. 32 (1828). anoectangium subgen, erpodium brid., in bryol. univ., 2: 167 (1827). 33. erpodium mangiferae c. muell., linnaea 37: 178 (1872). plants small with branches, radiculose; monomorphic; leaves in several rows, ovate, concave, short-acuminate; no costa; all leaf cells with primordial utricle, cells not papillose; alar cells rhomboid. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: jamalpur: nandina, fazar ali, 3.2.1998; madarganj, mokhlesur rahman, 21.7.1999. kishoreganj: katiadi, bijoy kumar modak, 2.5.1998; mymensingh: by the side of brahmaputra river, rafiqul islam, 30.9.1987; phulpur, jashim sheikh, 6.6.1996; shombhuganj, abu naser md. abdullah, 16.7.1997; trishal, shahnoor hossain, 16.7.1997; bhaluka, shahnoor hossain, 16.7.1997; sherpur: nalitabari, a.s.m. asadur rahman, 15.12.1998; tangail: akurtakur para, s. hadiuzzaman, 5.12.1996; mirzapur, hamida khatun, 2.10.1991; karatia, hamida khatun, 2.12.1994; ghatail, hamida khatun, 20.12.1990; modhupur forest, farida rahman, 21.8.1996; sagardighi, jamshed ali, 21.3.2000. family : pterobryaceae genus : pterobryopsis fleisch., in hedwigia 45: 56 (1905). 34. pterobryopsis auriculata dix., j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 39: 782 (1937). plants robust, pinnately branched, leaves concave, ovate-cochliariform, cucullate at apex, margin involute in upper half, base with prominent auricle, costa single, cells nonpapillose but porous, alar not conspicuous, gemmae abundant. grows on bark of trees. specimen examined: tangail: mirzapur, nazmul islam, 19.2.1991. family : neckeraceae genus : neckeropsis reichdt., in reise oesterr. freg. novara bot. 1(3): 181 (1870). 35. neckeropsis exserta (schwaegr.) broth., nat. pfl. ed. 2 11: 188 (1925). neckera exserta hook. ex schwaegr. sp. musc. suppl. 3 (1): 244 (1828). plants long, loose, soft, glossy, irregularly branched; leaves large, truncate, transversely undulate; costa single, ending near apex; laminal cells smooth, incrassate; capsule shortly exerted; peristome neckeroid. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: kishoreganj: karimganj, shafiqul islam, 17.9.1998; nikli, d.m. kader, 13.11.1998; mymensingh: haluaghat, abdul awal, 3.7.1998; tangail: mirzapur, nazmul islam, 3.7.1999; modhupur forest, rajib kumar shaha, 2.6.2000. 60 banu-fattah and sarker 36. n. submarginata card. ex touw., blumea 11: 417 (1962). plants yellow-green, glossy; branches rigid; leaves complanate, tetrastichous, lingulate, slightly asymmetric; costa single; mid-leaf with clear border of 3-5 rows of linear cells. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: mymensingh: phulpur, jashim sheikh, 18.3.1992; netrokona: netrokona town, aminul haque, 13.10.1988; tangail: modhupur forest, farida rahman, 12.3.1995; ghatail, farida rahman, 12.3.1995. order : hypnobryales; family : thuidiaceae genus : thuidium b.s.g., bryol. eur. 5: 157 (1852). 37. thuidium meyenianum (hamp.) doz. & molk., bryol. jav. 2: 121 (1865). hypnum meyenianum hamp., icon. musc. 8: (1844). plants autoicous; delicate, wiry, very small, brownish-green forming mats, irregularly bipinnately branched; paraphyllia dense; leaves dimorphic; costa single; leaf cells obscure, papillose; seta papillose; capsule horizontal, gibbous; peristome normal, hypnoid. grows on bark of trees. specimen examined: mymensingh: phulpur, jashim sheikh, 18.3.1975. family : amblystegiaceae genus : campylium ( sull.) mitt., j. linn. soc. bot. 12: 631 (1863). hypnum sect. campylium sull. gray, man. bot. n.u. states, ed. 2: 677 (1856). 38. campylium gollani c. muell. ex vohra, bull. bot. surv. india 12(1-4): 101(1970). plants dioicous; small, glossy, golden-green; branches pinnate, dense; leaf slightly concave, apex acuminate; costa short, double, unequal; alar cells quadrate to subrectangular, sometimes inflated; middle leaf cells linear, apical cells rhomboid to linear; seta reddish; capsule brown. grows on soil, often on stones. specimen examined: mymensingh: gouripur, jashim sheikh, 8.2.1993. family : brachytheciaceae genus : brachythecium b.s.g., bryol. eur. 6: 5 (1853). 39. brachythecium curtum (lindb.) limpr., laubm. deutschl. 3: 101 (1896). specimen examined: mymensingh: ranikhony, s. gomes, s. naznin and selina banu, 26.5.1973. bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district 61 family : entodontaceae genus : erythrodontium hamp., vid. medd. naturh. for. kjobenh. ser. 3, 2: 279 (1870). 40. erythrodontium julaceum (schwaegr.) par., index. bryol. 436 (1896). neckera julacea hook. ex schwaegr., sp. musc. suppl. 3(1): 243 (1828). plants rigid, glossy, golden-green; closely pinnately branched; leaves terete, imbricate, closely appressed when dry; margin entire; costa absent; leaf cells elliptic to linear; alar conspicuous, rounded-quadrate. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: jamalpur: nakla, abdus sobhan, 13.7.1997; islampur, mokbul hossain, 19.3.2000; mymensingh: khagdohor, hasina banu, 21.8.1996; tangail: mirzapur, hamida khatun, 15.3.1993. family : plagiotheciaceae genus : plagiothecium b.s.g. in bryol. eur. 5: 179 (1851). 41. plagiothecium denticulatum (hedw.) b.s.g., bryol. eur. 5: 190, 501 (1851). hypnum denticulatum l. ex hedw. sp. musc.: 237 (1801). plants monoicous; robust, bright-green, glossy; leaves concave, asymmetric; costa double, often forked; leaf cells narrowly rhomboid, not papillose; alar cells absent. grows on damp bricks. specimens examined: jamalpur: tarakandi, md. faruque, 7.9.1998; madarganj, abdus sobhan, 24.11.1991; kishoreganj: kishoreganj town, fazlul haque, 8.8.1998; mymensingh: teachers’ training college, nazmul hossain, 10.11.1988; trishal, khurshid alam, 3.7.1977; tangail: bajitpur, liakat ali, 20.12.1976; mirzapur, hamida khatun, 8.8.1999; ghatail, jaglul pasha, 3.5.1997. genus : stereophyllum mitt., ind. or., 117 (1859). 42. stereophyllum anceps (bosch & lac.) broth., nat. pfl. 1(3): 898 (1907). hypnum anceps bosch & lac., in bryol. jav. 2: 161, 260 (1867). plants monoicous; light-green, silky, branches short, complanate; leaves asymmetrical; costa single, covers up to middle of leaf; leaf cells linear to rhomboid, smooth; seta erect, smooth; capsule inclined. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: jamalpur: circuit house area, hamida khatun, 2.12.1997; jamalpur town, farida rahman, 5.11.1997; tarakandi, md. faruque, 7.9.1998; mymensingh: shaheb para, runu dey, 9.12.1993; muktagachha, md. fazlul haque, 5.2.1994; bangladesh agriculture university, shahana nasreen, 2.8.1994; fulbaria, shahana nasreen, 7.9.1994; phulpur, jashim sheikh, 19.11.1997; kazir shimla, 62 banu-fattah and sarker rashiduddin, 19.1.1999; netrokona: netrokona town, hamida khatun, 18.12.1999; kendua, md. fazlul haque, 18.7.1994; mohanganj, motaleb hossain, 29.5.2000; sherpur : nakla, abdus sobhan, 7.9.1997; tangail: modhupur, farida rahman, 21.8.1996. 43. s. decorum (mitt.) wijk. & marg., in taxon. 9: 52 (1960). hypnum decorum mitt., in musci ind. or. 77 (1859). plants autoicous; glossy, branches sparse and irregular; leaf cells smooth; costa strong covering 2/3 of leaf; seta slender, erect, smooth; capsule erect to slightly inclined; operculum long rostrate. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: jamalpur: nandina, md. fazar ali, 3.2.1998; islampur, md. fazle rabbi, 15.6.1989 and md. abdus sattar, 23.11.1998; madarganj, mukhlesur rahman, 21.7.1999; mymensingh, t.t. college, a.s.m. asadur rahman, 18.10.1997; circuit house, k.b. fattah, 10.10.1989; sherpur: rungtia reserve forest, almas uddin hawlader, 13.12.1998; tangail: kagmari college, kamruzzaman, 3.3.1987; modhupur forest, farida rahman, 12.6.1996; kalihati, sarwar hossain, 12.3.1986. 44. s. ligulatum jaeg., ber. s. gall. naturw. ges. (1877-78), 277, 1880. plants yellow-green, glossy; leaves concave and asymmetrical, ovate with obtuse apex; costa strong, single, covering about half of leaf length, upper cells rhomboid. grows on damp brick walls and also on bark of trees. specimens examined: jamalpur: nandina, md. fazar ali, 3.2.1988; tarakandi, md. faruque, 7.9.1998; islampur, mokbul hossain, 19.3.2000; kishoreganj: katiadi, nahid sultana, 20.12.1997; tarail, s.m. hannan, 7.9.1999; karimganj, mujibur rahman, 8.7.1998; mymensingh: haluaghat, md. jashim uddin, 1.19.89; phulpur, md. abdul awal, 4.5.1990; durgapur, md. abdul awal, 3.3.1994; gaffargaon, baroigaon, md. faisal ahmed, 31.1.1998; t.t. college campus, hamida khatun, 15.11.1989; bhaluka, jamaluddin, 22.7.1997; kazir simla, rashiduddin, 19.1.1999; sherpur: nakla, monir hossain, 12.12.1999; sribordi, asraf hossain, 29.7.1998; tangail : dhanbari, modhupur, farida rahman, 21.8.1886; mirzapur, hamida khatun, 10.12.1995; tangail sadar, akurtakur para, s. hadiuzzaman, 8.12.1996; modhupur forest, farida rahman, 24.6.1996; rasulpur, sakil ahmed, 13.6.1997. 45. s. tavoyense (hook.) jaeg., ber. s. gall. naturw. ges. (1877-78), 279 (1880). hypnum tavoyense hook., icon. pl. rar. 1: 24 f.1 (1836). plants yellow-green, silky, lustrous; branches pinnate, complanate; leaves oblong with acute tip; costa single, ending in middle of leaf; alar distinct, quadrate; leaf cells smooth. grows on bark of trees. bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district 63 specimens examined: jamalpur: bakshiganj, abdus sattar, 5.2.1998; tarakandi, md. faruque, 7.9.1998; kishoreganj: tarail, rokonuddin, 7.9.1992; karimganj, mujibur rahman, 8.7.1998; mymensingh: t.t. college campus, asadur rahman, 18.10.1987 and hamida khatun, 15.11.1989; ananda mohan college, k.b. fattah, 30.9.1989 and a.s.m. asadur rahman, 13.2.1993; charkagia kundu, phulpur, jesmin akter, 20.8.1993; muktagachha, jesmin akter, 20.8.1993; trishal, hamida khatun, 28.6.1997; gaffargaon, hamida khatun, 28.6.1997; tarakandi, saidul islam, 23.12.1998; kazir simla, rashiduddin, 19.1.1999; sherpur: gazni, hamida khatun, 28.11.1989; sribordi, asraf hossain, 29.7.1998; hatibandha, abdus sattar, 10.9.1998; tangail: modhupur forest, farida rahman, 12.6.1995; mirzapur, hamida khatun, 2.12.1995; tangail teacher’s staff quarter, s. hadiuzzaman, 5.12.1996; paharkanchanpur, hamida khatun, 3.4.1998. family : sematophyllaceae genus : acroporium mitt., j. linn.soc. bot. 10: 182 (1868). 46. acroporium baviense (besch.) broth., nat. pfl. ed. 2, 11: 437 (1925). sematophyllum baviense besch., j. de bot. 4: 205 (1890). plants irregularly branched, loosely erect, spreading, golden-green; leaves concave, ovate-lanceolate, base auriculate, apex acute, sharp cuspidate, conspicuous alar tinted with about 5 curved, oblong, inflated cells at the angles. grows on bark of trees. specimen examined: tangail: mirzapur, motaleb hossain, december 1998. genus : taxithelium spruce. ex mitt., j. linn. soc. bot. 12: 21, 496 (1869). 47. taxithelium nepalense (schwaegr.) broth., monsunia 1: 51 (1899). hypnum nepalense schwaegr., sp. musc. supple. 3(1): 226 (1828). plants autoicous; robust, yellow-green; branches irregular; leaves ovate with acute tips, concave; costa absent; leaf cells spindle-shaped with several small papillae in one row over the lumen; alar distinct, large rectangular; capsule inclined; peristome hypnoid. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined: jamalpur: nandina, fazar ali, 3.2.1988; islampur, mokbul hossain, 19.3.2000; kishoreganj: pakundia, abdul jabbar, 13.5.1991; katiadi, mojibur rahman, 9.7.1999; mymensingh: phulpur, s. hadiuzzaman, 24.9.1978 and jashim sheikh, 12.10.1998; gaffargaon, hamida khatun, 3.11.1987; haluaghat, jashim sheikh, 17.1.1993; gouripur, jashim sheikh, 8.2.1993; bangladesh agriculture university campus, shahana nasrin, 18.8.1994; koroitali, shimanta fari, haluaghat, shahana nasrin, 21.12.1994; gouripur, md. rafique, 12.2.1995; gaffargaon, faysal ahmed, 28.6.1997; churkhai, naznin ahmed, 28.6.1997; city park, hamida khatun, 1.10.1997; 64 banu-fattah and sarker sherpur: sribordi, abu sohel, 13.4.1998; tangail: dhanbari, md. kamruzzaman, 5.6.1987; mirzapur, nazrul islam, 19.2.1991 and hamida khatun, 3.3.1992; modhupur forest, farida rahman, 12.6.1995; shakhipur, hamida khatun, 22.8.1998 and hassan ahmed, 7.9.1998; akurtakur para, s. hadiuzzaman, 5.12.1996; chandra, serajul islam, 22.12.1998. family : hypnaceae genus : hypnum hedw., sp. musc. 236 (1801). 48. hypnum aduncoides (brid.) c. muell., syn. 2: 295 (1851). hypnum cupressiforme hedw. var.aduncoides brid., sp. musc. 2: 219 (1812). plants robust, light-green, silky; branches irregularly pinnate; leaves erectopatent, falcate, concave; costa short, double; alar little differentiated; laminal cells linear. grows on bark of trees. specimens examined : mymensingh : bangladesh agriculture university, lulu, nasreen and abdul gani, april 1984; netrokona : kalmakanda, al mamun, 22.12.98; genus : ectropothecium mitt., j. linn.soc. bot. 10: 180 (1868). 49. ectropothecium perscabrum p. tix., rev. bryol. lichenol. 34: 171 (1966). plants robust, main stem creeping, branches pinnate; leaves erectopatent, falcate, asymmetric, concave, apex slightly dentate; leaf cells highly scabrous, narrow rhomboid; alar scarcely distinguished. grows on bark of trees. specimen examined: mymensingh: trishal, md. monem and md. rafique, 12.12.1976. genus : vesicularia (c. muell.) c. muell., bot. jahrb. 23: 330 (1896). hypnum subsect. vesicularia c. muell., syn. 2: 233 (1851). 50. vesicularia dubyana (c. m.) broth., e. & p. pflazenfam. ed.1 musci, 1909. hypnum dubyanum c. m., syn. 2, 241 (1851). plants autoicous; silky, in extensive mats; branches regularly pinnate; leaves broad, concave; costa short, double, often indistinct; leaf cells very lax, smooth; alar not differentiated; capsule pendulous, ovoid, large. grows on bark of trees. specimen examined: mymensingh: near eidgah maidan, k.b. fattah, 10.10.1987. 51. v. reticulata (doz. & molk.) broth., nat. pfl. 1(3): 1094 (1908). hypnum reticulatum doz. & molk., ann. sci. nat. bot. ser. 3, 2: 309 (1844). plants autoicous; slender, glossy; branches irregularly pinnate; leaves broadly ovate: costa two, indistinct; alar absent; leaf cells smooth; capsule pendulous; peristome hypnoid. grows on bark of trees. bryophyte flora of greater mymensingh district 65 specimens examined: jamalpur: islampur, fazle rabbi, 15.6.1989; melananda, golam mostafa, 21.10.1999; kishoreganj: pakundia, abdul awal, 4.5.1990; nandail, abdul awal, 4.5.1990; mohera, saidul islam, 10.12.1988; astagram, motaleb hossain, 18.9.1996; circuit house, jesmin akter, 18.8.1992; mymensingh: durgapur, farida rahman, 4.1.1994; t.t. college campus, nazmul hossain, 10.11.1988 and k.b. fattah, 10.12.1994; ananda mohan college campus, asad hossain, 26.10.1989; bangladesh agriculture university campus, hamida khatun, 9.11.1989; ishwarganj, hamida khatun, 10.11.1989; trishal, hamida khatun, 4.5.1996; gaffargaon, faysal ahmed, 28.1.1997; phulpur, jashim sheikh, 10.11.1997; kazir simla, arif ahmed, 28.6.1998; sherpur: kakla, altaf hossain, 27.9.2000; tangail: dhanbari, md. kamruzzaman, 5.6.1987; ghatail, farida rahman, 10.8.1995; modhupur forest, farida rahman, 10.8.1995; nagarpur, md. mohidur rahman, 3.2.1996; jamurki, hamida khatun, 3.4.1996; akurtakur para, s. hadiuzzaman, 5.12.1996. references banu, k. 1991. taxonomic studies on the acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh. ph.d. thesis. department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 460. banu-fattah, k. 1998. bryophytic flora of chittagong in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(2): 83-89. banu-fattah, k. 2005. funaria hygrometrica hedw. (funariaceae) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(2): 121-124. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1993. taxonomic studies on the acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh. three most widespread species. plants for the environment. proc.7th bien. bot. conf. bangladesh bot. soc. dhaka, pp. 111-118. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1994. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-i. family: polytrichaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 87-94. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1995. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-ii. family: ditrichaceae. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh. sci. 21(2): 271-276. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1996a. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-iii. family: dicranaceae. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 22(1); 1-17. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1996b. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-iv. family: leucobryaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(1): 45-55. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1996c. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-vi. family: calymperaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(2): 59-76. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1997. a new species of splachnobryum c. muell. (splachnaceae) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 26(1): 61-64. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1998a. acrocarppous mosses of bangladesh-v. family: fissidentaceae. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh. sci. 24(2): 215-249. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1998b. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-vii. family: pottiaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(2): 43-67. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1998c. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-viii. family: funariaceae. bangladesh j. bot. 27(2): 71-87. 66 banu-fattah and sarker banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2003a. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-ix. family: splachnaceae. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 10(1): 27-34. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2003b. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-x. family: bryaceae genus bryum hedw. bangladesh j bot. 32(2): 107-117. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-x. family: bryaceae genus pohlia hedw. bangladesh j. bot. 33(1): 31-34. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2006a. acrocarpous mosses of bangladesh-xi. family: bartramiaceae-1. bangladesh j. bot. 35(1):23-29. banu-fattah, k. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2006b. acrocarpous mosses of bangladeshxi. family: bartramiaceae-2. bangladesh j. bot. 35(2): 91-97. banu-fattah, k. and lal, j. 1998. occurrence of pleuridiella colei h.robinson, a monotypic moss from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 27(2): 147-149. gangulee, h.c. 1969-1980. mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions. a monograph. vol 1-111 books and allied pvt. ltd., calcutta, india, 2144 pp. hadiuzzaman, s. 1984. mosses of bangladesh ii. a taxonomic study of calymperes sw. bangladesh j. bot. 13(2): 161-166. khatun, h. 2002. taxonomic studies on pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. ph.d. thesis. department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 554. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1994. taxonomic studies of some pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 23(1): 113-122. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 1995. addition to the pleurocarpic mosses of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 24(2): 183-191. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2003. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. familyneckeraceae-i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 47-55. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2004. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. familyerpodiaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 29-32. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2005. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: meteoriaceae and pterobryaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12 (1): 53-57. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2006. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh. familyentodontaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 131-137. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2007a. pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: familysematophyllaceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 69-80. khatun, h. and hadiuzzaman, s. 2007b. additions to the pleurocarpous mosses of bangladesh: family plagiotheciaceae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 79-82. robinson, h. 1964. a small collection of bryophytes from upper assam, india. j. hattori. bot. lab. 27: 124130. tixier, p. 1967. bryophytae indosinicae. the dacca univ. stud. 25: 1-14. (manuscript received on 21 march 2007; revised on 18 april 2007) abstract introduction materials and methods results taxonomic enumeration class : bryopsida; order : polytrichales; family : polytrich order: isobryales; family : erpodiaceae genus : pterobryopsis fleisch., in hedwigia 45: 56 (1905). family : neckeraceae microsoft word s-2. ethnogynecological-2.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 93-94, 2012 (june) short communication © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnogynaecological uses of plants from gujarat, india p.k. patel1 and m.k. patel2 department of biology, spt arts and science college, godhra, gujarat, india keywords: ethnogynaecology; medicinal plants; gujarat; india. ethnogynaecology is emerging as a new branch which deals with the treatment of ailments among tribal women, for example, abortion, menstrual trouble, menopause syndrome, morning sickness, leucorrhoea, antifertility, delivery problems, etc. (jain, 1991). tribal women of gujarat, india depend on the plants for curing various diseases including abortion, anti-fertility, leucorrhoea and menstrual trouble. they do not go to doctor but depend on herbal treatment, suggested by old women or experienced men of the village (shah et al., 1981; kirtikar and basu, 1982; patel, 2004) in order to get information regarding plants, we have visited to all parts of gujarat during 2008-2010. ethnomedicinal data have been recorded following the standard procedures by interacting with herbal practitioners and elderly women of the village with the knowledge of herbal medicine. interviews were held in the villages and the derived information was recorded. in this study 16 plant species under 16 genera and 13 families have been identified. identifications were confirmed following cooke (1967). among the species documented 14 species belong to dicotyledons and 2 species to monocotyledons. the species are arranged alphabetically. the medicinal value of each species is enumerated in table 1. table 1. list of plants used for gynaecological purposes. no. botanical name family local name application 1 annona squamosa l. annonaceae sitaphal paste of seeds is applied into vagina for abortion. 2 abrus precatorius l. fabaceae chanothi three seeds are ground and mixed with old jiggery and three balls are made, which are given one by one in a day with hot water. it relieves delivery pain. 3 allium cepa l. liliaceae dungri juice of the bulb is taken. it is warmed and then 4 spoon are given twice a day for menstrual trouble. 4 anethum graveolens l. apiaceae sawa decoction of seeds is used in abortion. 5 carica papaya l. caricaceae papaya pulp of fruit and seeds are given orally for abortion. 6 cissus quadrangularis l. vitaceae hadsankal infusion of crushed plant is used as vaginal douche to increase menses. 7 citrullus colocynthis (l.) schrad. cucurbitaceae kadva indravarna cotton dipped in fruit juice is placed over the mouth of the uterus for timely and easy delivery. (contd.) 1corresponding author. email: drpkpatel.7711@gmail.com 2department of biology, r.r.mehta science college, palanpur, gujarat, india. 94 patel and patel table 1. contd. no. botanical name family local name application 8 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. poaceae dharo the grass is pounded and filtered to obtain juice. half cup of juice with sugar is taken daily for a week to stop excessive bleeding during menstruation. 9 daucus carota l. apiaceae gajar paste of seeds is applied to vagina for abortion and to increase menses. seeds given internally to pregnant women for abortion. 10 embelica officinalis gaertn. euphorbiaceae amla dry fruit is made into powder. one spoon of the powder mixed with honey (1:1) is given twice daily for leucorrhoea. 11 lagenaria siceraria (molina) standley cucurbitaceae duthi fresh fruit is taken with cow’s milk twice daily to cure leucorrhoea. 12 manilkara hexandra (roxb.) dub. sapotaceae rayan seed paste put in vagina to increase menses. 13 mentha arvensis l. lamiaceae pudina young vegetative parts are dried in shade and then made into powder. ten grams of the powder with water is taken before the meeting for anti-fertility. 14 plumbago zeylanica l. plumbaginaceae chitrak paste of root is applied in vagina for abortion and increase menses. 15 raphanus sativus l. brassicaceae mula seeds are given orally to increase menses to purify womb and for abortion. 16 ricinus communis l. euphorbiaceae erandi after removing seed coats seeds are given for anti-fertility. acknowledgment we are thankful to dr. d.c. bhatt, head of the department of marine science, bhavnagar university, bhavnagar for providing valuable information and help. references cooke, t. 1967. flora of bombay presidency, vols. 1-3. botanical survey of india, culcutta. jain, s.k. 1991. dictionary of indian folk medicine and ethnobotany. deep publication, new delhi. kirtikar, k.r. and basu, b.d. 1982. indian medicinal plants, vols. 1-5. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. patel, p.k. 2004. studies on flora along the riverbank of the saraswati river from mukteshwar to patan district with ethnobotanical aspect. ph.d. thesis, n.g. university, patan. shah, g.l., menon, a.r. and gopal, g.v. 1981. an account of the ethnobotany of saurashtra in gujarat state. j. eco. tax. bot. 2: 173-182. (manuscript received on 11 march, 2011; revised on 7 january, 2012) microsoft word 08. theriophonum_galley proof ok_7.6.14.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 63-70, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic identity of theriophonum danielii and t. manickamii (araceae) m. sivadasan1, v. abdul jaleel2, ahmed h. alfarhan and p. lakshminarasimhan3 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, p. b. no. 2455, riyadh 11451, kingdom of saudi arabia keywords: aroideae; new synonymy; endemic; india; sri lanka. abstract the genus theriophonum (araceae), represented by seasonally dormant tuberous perennials is endemic to india and sri lanka. critical taxonomic appraisal of the constituent species supports existence of only five species, viz. t. dalzellii, t. fischeri, t. infaustum, t. minutum and t. sivaganganum, and all are with restricted distribution in india. theriophonum minutum is the only species with extended distribution in sri lanka. the recently described t. danielii and t. manickamii are considered here as conspecific with t. infaustum and t. fischeri, respectively. introduction the genus theriophonum blume (1837) belonging to the subfamily aroideae of araceae comprises seasonally dormant tuberous perennials endemic to india and sri lanka. in india, the genus is represented by five species confined to the south and central parts, while there is only one species in sri lanka (sivadasan and nicolson, 1982). in the revision of the genus, sivadasan and nicolson (1982) provided a detailed account of the taxonomic history and stated that misidentifications have been frequent and mainly centered around rheede’s (1692) illustration of nelenschena minor and the type of arum minutum willd. (1805) [=theriophonum minutum (willd.) baill. (1895)]. rheede’s nir-tsjembu (1692: 11: 33, t. 16) and nelenschena minor (1692: 11: 33, t. 17) represent the first pre-linnean printed records of theriophonum; both are identified as t. infaustum n. e. br. (1880) (sivadasan and nicolson, 1982; suresh et al., 1983). the works of schott (1860) and engler (1879, 1920) are significant in recognition and delimitation of the species described until then. engler (1920) recognized five species, which on scrutiny, were found to represent only three, viz. t. dalzellii schott (1855), t. infaustum and t. minutum. after forty nine years, a fourth species, t. sivaganganum (ramam. & sebastine) bogner (1969), was added to the genus by bogner by transfer of pauella sivagangana ramamurthy & sebastine (1967). then t. fischeri sivad. (sivadasan and nicolson, 1981) was added about 61 years after engler’s revision. sivadasan and nicolson (1982) recognized five species, viz. t. dalzellii, t. fischeri, t. infaustum, t. minutum and t. sivaganganum in their revision. since then two more species, viz. t. manickamii murugan & k. natarajan (2008) and t. danielii rajakumar et al. (2010) have been described. while reviewing the checklist of species of theriophonum, the protologues of the above two species were studied which aroused suspicion as to their identity prompting reappraisal of the pertinent specimens, including types and protologues. the study revealed misidentifications. 1corresponding author. e-mail: drmsivadasan@rediffmail.com 2department of post-graduate studies and research in botany, sir syed college, taliparamba, kannur 670 142, kerala, india 3central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, botanic garden p. o., howrah 711 103, india 64 sivadasan et al.   identity of theriophonum danielii rajakumar, selvakumari., s. murugesan & chellaperumal (2010) rajakumar et al. (2010) described theriophonum danielii based on specimens collected near tisayanvillai, tirunelveli district, tamil nadu, india. the publication of the new species was based on improper comparison of their specimens with t. infaustum. critical examination of the morphological characters (table 1 of the protologue reproduced here as table 1, below) revealed that the tuber size, petiole length, lamina shape, spathe length and spadix length of the two species overlap, indicating clear range of variation in size and shape; and characters of the new species fell within the range of variation of t. infaustum. the size of neuter flowers of t. danielii as recorded by rajakumar et al. (2010) represented that of a large specimen. the drawing of habit in figure 1 of the protologue has an erroneous presentation of the leaves. three petioles were clearly shown attached to the tuber, but the four leaf-laminae were shown above as if one petiole bifurcated producing an additional lamina. the shape of lamina was recorded as ‘ovate’ in contradiction to the shape of the majority of the leaves. the ‘black dots’ reported on staminate flowers and specified as a distinguishing character possibly might have been overlooked in t. infaustum by brown (1880), being a trivial character and not clearly discernible in dried specimens. table 1. characters of theriophonum danielii and t. infaustum (reproduced from the protologue of t. danielii). characters t. infaustum t. danielii tuber (‘corm’) size 0.5-2.0 x 1-2 cm 1.5-2.0 x 1.0 cm petiole length 5.0-12.5 cm 4-17 cm leaf shape hastate-sagittate ovate spathe length 2.0-5.5 cm 3.5-4.5 cm spadix length 4.0-4.5 cm 3.0-3.5 cm neuter 3.0-3.5 mm 6 mm staminate flowers black dots absent black dotted a photograph (cibachrome) of the type of t. infaustum (fig. 1a) at kew is with three specimens mounted on a single sheet clearly revealed variation in shape and size of leaves. rheede (1692) provided illustrations of nir-tsjembu and nelenschena minor (fig. 1b) which actually represented t. infaustum and the extreme variation in size of the two might have been the reason for describing them as distinct elements under separate names. one of the authors (vaj) visited mh and the herbarium of st. john’s college [jch, not in index herbariorum (http://sciweb.nybg.org/science2/indexherbariorum.asp), palayamkottai, tamil nadu] in order to study the types of t. danielii which were reported to have been deposited in these institutions. but the types were not available in both the herbaria. intensive search at jch helped to locate a few un-mounted specimens bearing the same collection number (1110) as that of the holotype, but without designation as type. these specimens were studied in detail and identified as t. infaustum. photograph of one of the specimens, presumably an isotype, is presented in fig. 1c, and the similarity in nature and stature of the specimen tempt to assume it to be the specimen based on which the fig. 1a of the protologue was prepared. based on all the above observations and study, t. infaustum and t. danielii are considered as conspecific. as per articles 11.1 and 11.4 of icn (mcneill et al., 2012), the correct name for the taxon is t. infaustum and t. danielii is reduced to synonymy. accordingly, we have: identity of theriophonum danielii and t. manickamii 65   theriophonum infaustum n. e. br., j. linn. soc., bot. 18: 260 (1880) [‘1881’, publ. 1880]. type: india, kerala (‘malabar’), paulghautcherry [palghat?], wight 2775 (holotype: k!). t. danielii rajakumar, selvak., s. murug. & chellap., indian j. forest. 33(3): 447 (2010), pro syn. type: ‘india, southern india, tamil nadu, tirunelveli district, rajakumar, selvakumari, murugesan & chellaperumal 1110 (holotype: jch, isotypes: mh, jch)’ (extracted from protologue). identity of theriophonum manickamii murugan & k. natarajan (2008) murugan and natarajan (2008) described theriophonum manickamii based on specimens collected from playamkottai taluk in tirunelveli district, tamil nadu. while describing the species, they compared its characters with those of t. sivaganganum, a distant species. sivadasan and nicolson (1982) provided illustrations of spadices of t. sivaganganum and t. fischeri (fig. 2a & 2b, respectively of their article), and illustration of spadix of t. manickamii is reminiscent of that of the latter species. a comparison of characters of spadices depicted by sivadasan and nicolson in fig. 2b of their article with that provided by murugan and natarajan in fig. 1b of the protologue revealed similarities between the two and brought out the erroneous conclusion on identity of the tirunelveli specimens as belonging to a new species. sivadasan and nicolson (1981) described theriophonum fischeri as a new species solely based on herbarium specimens available at cal, frc and k. owing to the non-availability of live specimens, details on variations and extent of variation in shape and size of juvenile and adult leaves were not recorded. shape of juvenile leaves varied from linear-lanceolate to ovatelanceolate, and that of mature leaves from narrowly hastate-sagittate to hastate-sagittate. the mature leaves of t. manickamii were described as narrowly-sagittate whereas in tables 1 and 2 of the protologue, their shape was mentioned as ‘narrowly hastate’ which is same as that of t. fischeri. the characters of t. fischeri and t. manickamii given in table 2 of the protologue of the latter are reproduced in table 2 below, to show their general resemblance. relatively bigger size of spathe and spadix of t. fischeri was due to the bigger size of the specimens studied, and in its protologue the range of size was not given; instead maximum sizes were given within which fall the sizes of spathe and spadix of t. manickamii. in both the species, the pistillate flowers were in 1-2 series. the number of ovules was almost the same. the shape and texture of stigma, and shape of filaments described in the protologue of t. fischeri were based on dried specimens and hence slight difference from that of the live specimens are possible. the relative positions of neuters and appendix were similar in both the species. discrepancies in figure 1 of the protologue it is also to be pointed out that some of the illustrations in fig. 1 of the protologue of t. manickamii were erroneous. the picture d of fig. 1 representing longitudinal section of basal portion of spadix contained longitudinal sections of pistillate flowers on either side of spadix-axis, and ovules were shown as attached to roof of locule of ovary, thereby showing only apical placentation. the pictures f and g of fig. 1 showed longitudinal section of pistillate flower and cross section of ovary, respectively. in fig. 1f, three ovules were shown as pendent with apical placentation. in fig. 1g, cross sections of three ovules were shown thereby representing the same pistillate flower with only three pendent ovules. one of the diagnostic characters of theriophonum distinguishing from its closely related genus typhonium schott (1829) is having basal and apical placentation. but the drawings provided in the protologue by murugan and natarajan (2008) depicted only apical placentation. 66 sivadasan et al.   fig. 1. a. photograph (cibachrome) of type of theriophonum infaustum n. e. br. at k. (© the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew; reproduced with consent); b. photo of the double-page plate from rheede’s hortus indicus malabaricus with illustrations of nir-tsjembu and nelenschena minor under tab. 16 and tab. 17 respectively. (downloaded from digital library of the real jardín botánico-csic, via open access facility strictly following the conditions of copyright notice); c. a specimen available at the herbarium (‘jch’) of st. john’s college, palayamkottai, tirunelveli with same number of holotype of ‘theriopnonnum danielii’. identity of theriophonum danielii and t. manickamii 67   fig. 2. theriophonum fischeri sivad. a. photograph (cibachrome) of holotype at k. (© the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew; reproduced with consent); b. photograph (cibachrome) of isotype (but labeled as holotype) at k. (© the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew; reproduced with consent); c. plants under cultivation displaying variation in shape and size of leaves (photo: c. n. sunil). 68 sivadasan et al.   one of the authors (vaj) visited mh and xch to study the types reported to have deposited there; but types were not available in either mh or in xch and he was informed by the authorities that the types have not yet been deposited there, and assured to contact the authors in this regard. photographs (cibachrome) of holotype and isotype of t. fischeri (holotype fischer 2359, kew negative no. 19850; isotype fischer 2359, kew negative no. 19849 – but labeled as ‘holotype’) obtained from k are presented below as fig. 2a and fig. 2b respectively to show variation in shape and size of leaves of the two specimens and to have an idea about the range of variation of mature leaves. recently, dr. c. n. sunil, department of botany, s.n.m. college, maliankara, ernakulam, kerala state collected specimens of t. fischeri from ottappalam in palakkad district, kerala and is growing them in pots in the botanic garden of the college. a photograph of the plants (fig. 2c) showed variation in shape and size of leaves. table 2. characters of t. fischeri and t. manickamii (rreproduced from the protologue of t. manickamii). characters t. fischeri t. manickamii leaves juvenile ovate-lanceolate linear-lanceolate mature hastate-sagittate narrowly hastate-sagittate spathe up to 12 cm long 5-6 cm long spadix c. 9.5 cm long 4.5 cm long pistillate flowers 1-2-seriate 1-2-seriate ovules 4-5 3-6 stigma discoid, smooth hemispherical, obscurely spinulose neuters adjacent to pistillate flowers and separated from staminate flowers adjacent to pistillate flowers and separated from staminate flowers filaments not beaked at apex obscurely beaked at apex appendix adjacent to staminate flowers adjacent to staminate flowers based on all the above evidences, it is concluded that the recognition of t. manickamii as a new species by comparing characters of the specimens with that of t. sivaganganum, a very distant and dissimilar species rather than with t. fischeri has lead to the misidentification. theriophonum fischeri has already been reported earlier from various localities in tamil nadu (sivadasan and nicolson, 1983; daniel et al., 1988; kottaimuthu and kumuthakavalli, 2011) including tirunelveli district which is the type locality of t. manickamii. therefore, theriophonum manickamii is considered as conspecific to t. fischeri: theriophonum fischeri sivad. in sivadasan & nicolson, aroideana 4(2): 64 (1981). type: india, kerala, palghat district, attappadi valley above agali, 2000 ft.[600 m], fischer 2359 (holotype: k!, isotypes: cal!, frc!). t. manickamii murugan & k. natarajan, j. econ. taxon. bot. 32(3): 618 (2008), pro syn. type: ‘india, tamil nadu, tirunelveli district, palayamkottai taluk, on the way to sasthakoil from sivanthipatti village, 25.12. 2001. murugan 21277 (holotype: mh, isotype: xch)’ (extracted from protologue). identity of theriophonum danielii and t. manickamii 69   conclusion sivadasan and nicolson (1982) recognized five species, viz. theriophonum dalzellii, t. fischeri, t. infaustum, t. minutum and t. sivaganganum in their revision of the genus, and the number of species hold good even today since the two recently described species, viz. t. danielii and t. manickamii are unequivocally recognized as conspecific with t. infaustum and t. fischeri, respectively in the present taxonomic appraisal. acknowledgements the authors express their gratitude towards the directors of cal, frc, k, mh, xch and principals of st. john’s college and st. xavier’s college, palayamkottai, tamil nadu for providing permission and facilities to study the specimens at their herbaria. the board of trustees, royal botanic gardens, kew is thanked for granting permission for reproduction of images of type specimens available at k. the authors are grateful towards dr. g. v. s. murthy (mh), dr. d. narasimhan, madras christian college, chennai, messrs. gopal krishna (cal), jana venkata sudhakar (mh) and gnanasekaran gunadayalan (mh) for various help. the photograph provided by dr. c. n. sunil, s. n. m. college, maliankara, ernakulam is gratefully acknowledged. the first and third authors wish to thank the deanship of scientific research, king saud university for support through the research group project (no. rgp-vpp-135). references baillon, h.e. 1895. monographie des pandanacées, cyclanthacées et aracées. histoire de plantes, vol. 13. l. hachette, paris, pp. 1-523. blume, c.l. 1837. rumphia, 1. c. g. sulpke, leiden, amsterdam, pp. 1-204. bogner, j. 1969. a new combination in theriophonum bl. (araceae). bull. bot. surv. india 10: 244. brown, n.e. 1880. on some new aroideae: with observations on other known forms. – part i. j. linn. soc., bot. 18: 242-263. daniel, p., rajendran, a. and thiagaraj, j.g. 1988. on theriophonum fischeri sivadas. (araceae) from the tirunelveli plains, tamil nadu. indian j. forest. 11: 163-165. engler, a. 1879. araceae. in: candolle, a. and candolle c. de (eds), monographiae phanerogamarum, vol. 2. g. masson, paris, pp. 1-681. engler, a. 1920. araceae-aroideae und araceae-pistioideae. in: engler, a. (ed.), das pflanzenreich, iv-23f (heft 73). wilhelm engelmann, berlin, pp.1-274. kottaimuthu, r. and kumuthakavalli, r. 2011. ethnobotany and taxonomy of theriophonum fischeri sivad. (araceae). life sciences leaflets 20: 956-960. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., buck, w.r., demoulin, v., greuter, w., hawksworth, d.l., herendeen, p.s., knapp, s., marhold, k., prado, j., prud’homme van reine, w.f., smith, g.f., wiersema, j.h. and turland, n.j. 2012. international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (melbourne code) adopted by the eighteenth international botanical congress melbourne, australia, july 2011. regnum vegetabile, 154. koeltz scientific books, germany, pp. 1-240. murugan, c. and natarajan, k. 2008. theriophonum manickamii (araceae) – a new plant species from the tirunelveli district, tamil nadu, india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 32: 618-623. rajakumar, t.j.s., selvakumari, r., murugesan, s. and chellaperumal, n. 2010. theriophonum danielii, a new species of araceae from tirunelveli district, tamil nadu, india. indian j. forest. 33: 447-448. ramamurthy, k. and sebastine, k.m. 1967. a new genus of araceae from madras state, india. bull. bot. surv. india 8: 348-351. rheede tot draakestein, h.a. van. 1692. hortus indicus malabaricus, vol. 11. johannis van someren, et joannis van dyck, amsterdam, pp. 1-134 + tabs. 65. schott, h.w. 1829. typhonium. wiener z. kunst 1829(3): 732. 70 sivadasan et al.   schott, h.w. 1855. aroideae, fasc. 3. caroli gerald et filii, vindobonae, pp. 15-20 + plates 21-30. schott, h.w. 1860. prodromus systematis aroidearum. mechitharists's press, vienna, pp. 1-602. sivadasan, m. and nicolson, d.h. 1981. a new species of theriophonum bl. (araceae) from india. aroideana 4: 64-67. sivadasan, m. and nicolson, d.h. 1982. a revision of theriophonum (araceae). kew bull. 37: 277-290. sivadasan, m. and nicolson, d.h. 1983. araceae. in: matthew, k.m. (ed.), the flora of the tamilnadu carnatic, vol. 3. rapinat herbarium, tiruchirapalli, india, pp. 1685-1704. suresh, c.r., sivadasan, m. and manilal, k.s. 1983. a commentary on rheede’s aroids. taxon 32: 126-132. willdenow, c.l. 1805. caroli a linné species plantarum, vol. 4(1). g. c. nauk, berlin, pp. 1-629. (manuscript received on 6 may 2013; revised on 11 march 2014) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 115-140, 2009 (december) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachhari district, bangladesh md. rafiqul islam1, mohammad zashim uddin2 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. keywords: assessment; angiospermic flora; khagrachhari; bangladesh. abstract the paper focuses on the qualitative assessment of angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachhari district conducted during may 2005 to september 2006. a total of 243 species belonging to 195 genera under 75 families were recorded. magnoliopsida is represented by 60 families, 156 genera and 192 species, whereas liliopsida by 15 families, 39 genera and 51 species. fabaceae is the largest family in magnoliopsida represented by 16 species and, in liliopsida, poaceae is the largest family with 17 species. introduction ramgarh upazila of khagrachhari district is a part of greater chittagong hill tracts of bangladesh. the upazila lies between 22º51´ and 23º02´ n latitudes and 91º43´ and 91º59´ e longitudes. it is bounded by indian state of tripura and matiranga upazila of bangladesh on the north, manikchhari and lakshmichhari upazilas on the south, mahalchhari upazila on the east and fatikchhari upazila on the west. total area of the upazila is about 207.69 sq km (lavlu, 2003). ramgarh upazila consists of many hills of different altitudes with an average elevation of 180 m above the sea level (rizvi, 1969). the soil is reddish-yellowish sandy or sandy loam, mixed with scattered magniferous iron ore, huge humus throughout the forest but its degree of accumulation varies from place to place depending on topography, usually more deposition is found on flat land and on the bed of chhari (hilly streams) and less on the undulating hills. at high altitude, soil is compact and hard when it is dry; but soil is sandy and soft at low altitude. soil ph varies from 4.5 to 6.0 (rizvi, 1969). the climate is sub-tropical, with a long dry season extending from november to may, punctuated by largely unpredictable periods of rainstorm from june to september, the south-west monsoon provide the majority of the average annual rainfall of about 1815 mm. maximum temperature is 38.8°c recorded in april and minimum temperature is 9°c recorded in january (bangladesh meteorological department, personal communication). the humidity on the whole is very high throughout the year. once the vegetation of ramgarh upazila belonged to an evergreen and semievergreen forest (choudhury, 1975). with the changing of time such vegetations are cleared. now the flora of the upazila represented by homestead gardens, road-side plantations, monocultural plantation in the denuded hills, remaining scraft bushy jungles, bamboo bushes, sun grasses, tea estates, rubber plantations, and fruit gardens. 1 e-mail: suhavedu@yahoo.com 2 corresponding author. e-mail: zashim07@yahoo.com 116 islam et al. although there have been some published works (heinig, 1925; khan and banu, 1969, 1972; uddin et al., 1998) on the flora of the chittagong hill tracts, no work exclusively on the ramgarh upazila is available. to assess the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila before further loss of present biodiversity of the area, the present attempt has been made. materials and methods the work is based on fresh materials collected during four visits to ramgarh upazila from may 2005 to september 2006 to cover the seasonal variations. the visits covered all types of habitats, particularly hill-top, slope, foot-hills, valleys, village grove, fruit gardens and streams of the study area. each trip lasted for eight days. plant parts with either flowers or fruits collected using traditional herbarium techniques to make voucher specimens for documentation. field identification of the collected specimens was confirmed comparing with herbarium specimens at dhaka university herbarium (duh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). in some cases, standard literature such as hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), and uddin and hassan (2004) were consulted for identification purpose. the specimens are deposited in the dhaka university herbarium (duh) for future reference. results and discussion in the present survey, a total of 243 angiospermic species under 195 genera and 75 families were recorded for ramgarh upazila. magnoliopsida is represented by 60 families, 156 genera and 192 species, while liliopsida is represented by 15 families, 39 genera and 51 species. habit-wise itemization of plant species shows that 36% of the total species are represented by herbs, 30% by trees, 22% by shrubs, 10% by climbers, and 2% by epiphytes and parasites. the families have been arranged according to cronquist (1981). the genera under each family and the species under each genus are arranged in an alphabetic order. for each species, nomenclature has been brought up-to-date; local name(s) (wherever available) and a short annotation are also provided. tippara, marma, and chakma (major indigenous communities of the area) and bangla names of the species are indicated by (t), (m), (c) and (b), respectively. magnoliopsida (dicots) 1. magnoliaceae michelia champaca l., sp. pl.: 536 (1753). local name: changab (m). a large or middle-sized tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 29 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 117 2. annonaceae annona squamosa l., sp. pl.: 537 (1753). local name: sharifa (b). a small tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 203 (duh). cultivated. uvaria hamiltonii hook. f. & thoms., fl. ind. 1: 96 (1820). local names: kola (b), tufaru (t). a large climber. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 4 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 152 (duh). 3. lauraceae cinnamomum camphora prain, beng. pl. 2: 673 (1903). local name: karpur (b). a medium tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 83 (duh). cultivated. dehaasia kurzii king ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 125 (1886). local name: modon mosto (b). a tall tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 135 (duh). litsea monopetala (roxb.) pers., syn. pl. 2 (1): 4 (1807). tetranthera monopetala roxb., pl. corom. 2: 26 (1800). local name: menda buphang (t). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 270 (duh). 4. piperaceae piper longum l., sp. pl. 1: 28 (1753). local name: pepul (b). a perennial herb, branches with swollen nodes. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 212 (duh). piper nigrum l., sp. pl. 1: 28 (1753). local name: gol marich (b). a climber. representative specimens: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 118 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 168 (duh). cultivated. 5. aristolochiaceae aristolochia tagala cham., linnaea 7: 207 (1832). local name: ishwarmul (b). a glabrous climber. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 344 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 133 (duh). 6. menispermaceae stephania japonica (thunb.) miers, ann. mag. nat. hist. ser. 3, 18: 14 (1866). menispermum japonicum thunb., fl. jap.: 193 (1784). local name: maknadi (b). a slender climber. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 383 (duh). 118 islam et al. tinospora sinensis (lour.) merr., sunyatsenia 1: 193 (1934). campylus sinensis lour., fl. cochinch.: 113 (1790). local name: padmo gulancha (b). a climbing shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 219 (duh). 7. papaveraceae argemone mexicana l., sp. pl. 508 (1753). local name: sialkanta (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 155 (duh). 8. ulmaceae trema orientalis (l.) bl., mus. bot. lugd.-bat. 2: 63 (1856). celtis orientalis l., sp. pl.: 1044 (1753). local names: bonanalia (b), narsa (b). an ever-green, small tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 201 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 87 (duh). 9. moraceae artocarpus chaplasha roxb., fl. ind. 3: 525 (1832). local names: champlate (t), chapalish (b). a lofty, deciduous tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 90 (duh). artocarpus heterophyllus lamk., encycl. meth. 3: 209 (1789). local name: kanthal (b). an ever-green tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 39 (duh). cultivated. ficus heterophylla l. f., suppl. pl.: 442 (1781). local name: bhuidumur (b). a hispid, scandent shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 09 (duh). ficus hirta vahl, enum. pl. 2: 201 (1806). local name: pakur (b). a bushy tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 68 (duh). ficus hispida l. f., suppl. pl.: 442 (1781). local name: kakdumur (b). a low tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 42 (duh). ficus infectoria roxb., fl. ind. 2: 643 (1824). local names: pakur (b), takthu (t). a giant, spreading tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 38 (duh). ficus nervosa heyne ex roth in roem. et schult., syst. veg. 1: 513 (1817). a large tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 71 (duh). ficus religiosa l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). local names: ashathwa, peepal (b). a large tree. representative specimens: pathachhari, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 88 (duh); ramgarh, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 354 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 119 10. urticaceae dendrocnide sinuata (blume) chew, gard. bull. singh. 21: 206 (1965). local name: chutrapata (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 291 (duh). sarcochlamys pulcherrima gaud., voy. bot. t. 89 (1826). a shrub or small tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 02 (duh); pathachhari, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 351 (duh). streblus asper lour., fl. cochin. 2: 615 (1790). local name: shaora (b). a bushy tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 193 (duh). 11. fagaceae quercus semiserrata roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 3: 641 (1832). local names: goorja-batna, rai-batna (b). a medium to large-sized tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 188 (duh). 12. amaranthaceae alternanthera sessilis (l.) dc., cat. pl. hort. monspel.: 77 (1813). a herb, usually decumbent or prostrate. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 224 (duh). amaranthus spinosus l., sp. pl. 1: 991 (1753). local name: kanta-note (b). an annual, erect, spinescent herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 176 (duh). amaranthus viridis l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 1405 (1753). local name: note sak (b). an annual, erect or decumbent, small, slender herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 49 (duh). 13. polygonaceae persicaria hydropiper (l.) spach., hist. veg. 10: 536 (1841). polygonum hydropiper l., sp. pl.: 361 (1753). local name: pakurmul (b). an annual herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 385 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 139 (duh). persicaria minor (huds.) opiz, seenam, rosplin, kbeteny, ceske: 72 (1852). polygonum minus huds., fl. angl. 1: 148 (1762). an annual, erect or ascending herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 84 (duh). 14. dilleniaceae dillenia indica l., sp. pl.: 535 (1753). local name: chalta (b). a tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 69 (duh). 120 islam et al. 15. dipterocarpaceae dipterocarpus alatus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 614 (1824). local name: dhulia garjan (b). a tall tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 166 (duh). dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn., de fruct. 3: 51 (1805). local name: garjan (b). a lofty tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 136 (duh). 16. theaceae schima wallichii choisy, mem. soc. phys. genev. 14: 144 (1855). local name: bonak (t). a large tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 6 (duh); ramgarh, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 369 (duh). 17. clusiaceae (guttiferae) garcinia cowa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 622 (1824). local name: kowphal (b). a tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 390 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 77 (duh). 18. elaeocarpaceae elaeocarpus tectorius poir., enc. suppl. 2: 704 (1812). local name: jalpai (b). a tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 167 (duh). cultivated. 19. tiliaceae microcos paniculata l., sp. pl. 1: 514 (1753). local names: assar, dattoi (b). a shrub to small tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 36 (duh). 20. sterculiaceae abroma augusta (l.) l. f., suppl. pl.: 341 (1781). theobroma augusta l., syst. ed. 12: 233 (1767). local name: ulatkambal (b). a shrub. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 220 (duh); pathachhara, 09.09.05, rafiqul islam 89 (duh). cultivated. buettneria pilosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 681 (1824). local name: harbhanga lata (b). a climbing shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 192 (duh). firmiana colorata (roxb.) r. br. in benn., pl. jav. rar.: 235 (1844). sterculia colorata roxb., pl. corom. 1: 26, t. 25 (1795). local name: udal (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 50 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 121 21. bombacaceae bombax ceiba l., sp. pl.: 511 (1753). local name: shimul tula (b). a large tree with buttress base. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 376 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 180 (duh). 22. malvaceae hibiscus sabdariffa l., sp. pl.: 695 (1753). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 8 (duh). cultivated. sida cordata (burm. f.) boriss., blumea 14 (1): 182 (1966). melochia cordata burm. f., fl. ind. 143 (1768). local name: junka (b). an annual, slender, prostrate or ascending herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 347 (duh). urena lobata l., sp. pl.: 692 (1753). local names: banokra (t), pungi (m). an undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 7 (duh). 23. lecythidaceae careya arborea roxb., pl. corom. 3: 14, t. 218 (1811). local names: gadila (m), kamba (t). a low tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 86 (duh). 24. flacourtiaceae flacourtia jangomas (lour.) raeusch., nom. bot. ed. 3: 290 (1797). stigmarota jangomas lour., fl. cochinch.: 634 (1790). local name: pina gola (b). a small, evergreen tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 258 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 79 (duh). 25. bixaceae (cochlospermataceae) bixa orellana l., sp. pl.: 512 (1753). local names: cowabupang (t), pahari lotka (b). a small, ever-green tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 370 (duh). cultivated. 26. passifloraceae passiflora foetida l., sp. pl.: 959 (1753). local names: jhumkolata (b), pokki (t). a climbing, slender shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 138 (duh). 122 islam et al. 27. cucurbitaceae coccinia grandis (l.) voigt, hort. suburb. calcut.: 59 (1845). bryonia grandis l., mant. pl. 1: 126 (1767). local names: kawajhinga (t), telakucha (b). a climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 130 (duh). 28. sapotaceae achras sapota l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 470 (1753). local name: safeda (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 265 (duh). cultivated. madhuca longifolia (koenig) macbride, contrib. gray herb. n. s. 53: 17 (1918). bassia longifolia koenig (1771). a long tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 32 (duh). 29. myrsinaceae ardisia solanacea roxb., pl. corom.: 27, t. 27 (1795). local name: banjam (b). an erect shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 221 (duh). 30. mimosaceae acacia concinna (willd.) dc., prodr. 2: 464 (1825). mimosa concinna willd., sp. pl. 4: 1039 (1805). local name: banritha (b). a bushy, spiny climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 162 (duh). acacia nilotica (l.) delile subsp. indica (benth.) brenan in kew bull. 12: 84 (1957). mimosa nilotica l., sp. pl.: 152 (1753). local name: babul (b). a tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 211 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 75 (duh). cultivated. adenanthera pavonina l., sp. pl. 1: 377 (1953). local name: raktachandan (b). a medium to large, deciduous tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 194 (duh). cultivated. albizia chinensis (osb.) merr., amer. j. bot. 3: 575 (1916). mimosa chinensis osb., degbok ostind. resa.: 233 (1757). local names: koroi (b), kulmabuphang, mashkala (t). a tall tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 315 (duh). albizia procera benth. in hook., london j. bot. 3: 89 (1844). local name: buth koroi (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 304 (duh); ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 59 (duh). mimosa pudica l., sp. pl.: 518 (1753). local name: lojjabati (b). a prickly, woody herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 202 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 123 pithecellobium angulatum benth. in hook., london j. bot. 3: 208 (1844). a short tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 336 (duh). 31. caesalpiniaceae bauhinia scandens l., sp. pl.: 344 (1753). local names: gundilata (b), kanson (t). an extensive, ever-green, woody climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 140 (duh). caesalpinia pulcherrima (l.) swartz., obs. bot. ind. occ.: 166 (1791). poinciana pulcherrima l. (1751). local name: radhachura (b). an unarmed, handsome shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 30 (duh). cultivated. cassia fistula l., sp. pl.: 377 (1753). local names: askhi, badarlathi (b). a short tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 57 (duh). delonix regia rafin., fl. tellur. 2: 92 (1836). local names: golmohar, krishnachura (b). a medium-sized, handsome, deciduous tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 25 (duh). cultivated. senna sophera (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 347 (1832). cassia sophera l., sp. pl.: 379 (1753). local names: chotokalkesunde (b), jhingi (t). a much branched shrub or undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 204 (duh). senna tora (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 340 (1832). cassia tora l., sp. pl: 376 (1753). local name: lasiabupang (t). a perennial, erect, foetid, often profusely branched herb or undershrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 275 (duh). tamarindus indica l., sp. pl.: 34 (1753). local name: tentul (b). a tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 114 (duh). 32. fabaceae (papilionaceae) aeschynomene indica l., sp. pl.: 713 (1753). local name: katshola (b). erect herb or undershrub. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 365 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 160 (duh). atylosia scarabaeoides benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 1: 242 (1852). local name: banurkala (b). a herbaceous twiner. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 199 (duh). cajanus cajan (l.) millsp., columb. mus. bot. 2: 53 (1900). cytisus cajan l., sp. pl.: 739 (1753). local name: orhor (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 126 (duh). cultivated. crotalaria pallida aiton, hort. kew. 2: 20 (1789). local names: bara jhanjhani, dangkok (t). an annual herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 326 (duh). 124 islam et al. dalbergia elegans benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 1: 252 (1852). local name: singribish lata (b). a climber. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 360 (duh). cultivated. dalbergia sissoo roxb., fl. ind. 3: 223 (1832). local names: shimaki (t), sisso (b). a tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 70 (duh). cultivated. dalbergia volubilis roxb., pl. corom. 2: 48, t. 191 (1805). local names: dad bari (b), purangbuphag (t). a scandent shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 311 (duh). desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 327 (1825). hedysarum gangeticum l., sp. pl.: 746 (1753). local name: satpani (b). a suberect undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 362 (duh). desmodium polycarpum dc., prodr. 2: 334 (1825). an undershrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 76 (duh). desmodium pulchellum (l.) benth., fl. hongk.: 83 (1861). hedysarum pulchellum l. in roxb., fl. ind. 3: 361 (1832). local name: juta-salpani (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 63 (duh). erythrina ovalifolia roxb., fl. ind. 3: 251 (1832). local name: mandar (b). a deciduous, small tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 199 (duh). flemingia strobilifra r. br. in ait., hort. kew. ed. 2 (4): 350 (1812). an erect shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 200 (duh). mucuna pruriens (l.) dc., prodr. 2: 405 (1825). dolichos pruriens l. in stickman, dis. herb. fl. amboin.: 23 (1754). local names: al-kushi (b), amukhatubupang (t). a large climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 61 (duh). phaseolus trilobatus hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 201 (1876). local name: mugani (t). twiner, usually herbaceous. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 195 (duh). pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth., j. linn. soc. bot. 9: 125 (1867). dolichos phaseoloides roxb., fl. ind. 3: 316 (1832). a herbaceous, pubescent climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 70 (duh). uraria lagopodiodes (l.) desv., mem. soc. linn. paris 4: 309 (1829). hedysarum lagopodiodes l., sp. pl. 1198 (1753). local name: latachakuley (b). a creeping, woody herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 57 (duh). 33. lythraceae daubanga grandiflora roxb., fl. ind. 2: 503 (1832). local name: kasshabupang (t). a large tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 19 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 125 lagerstroemia parviflora roxb., pl. corom. 1: 47, t. 66 (1795). local names: tila jalifung (t), tila jarul (b). a small, bushy tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 316 (duh). lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers., syn. 2: 72 (1807). munchausia speciosa l., mant. pl. 2: 243 (1771). local name: jarul (b). a large, deciduous tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 144 (duh). woodfordia fruticosa kurz, journ. as. soc. beng. 11: 56 (1871). a shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 191 (duh). 34. myrtaceae psidium guajava l., sp. pl.: 470 (1753). local name: piyara (b). large shrub or small tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 339 (duh). cultivated. syzygium claviflorum (roxb.) a.m. cowan & j.m. cowan, trees n. bengal: 67 (1929). eugenia claviflora roxb., fl. ind. 2: 488 (1832). local name: khorula jam (b). a tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 15 (duh). syzygium fruticosum (roxb.) dc., prodr. 3: 260 (1828). eugenia fruticosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 87 (1832). local name: titi jam (b). a small tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 127 (duh). syzygium jambos (l.) alston in trimen handb. fl. ceylon 6: 115 (1931). eugenia jambos l., sp. pl.: 470 (1753). local name: gulab jam (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 30 (duh). cultivated. syzygium malaccense (l.) merr. & l. m. perry, j. arnold arbor. 19: 215 (1938). eugenia malaccensis l., sp. pl.: 470 (1753). local name: bon jamrul (b). a shrub or small tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 103 (duh). syzygium samarangense (blume) merr. & l. m. perry, j. arnold arbor. 19: 115, 216 (1938). myrtus samarangensis blume, bijdr.: 1084 (1826). local name: jamrul (b). a small tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 97 (duh). cultivated. 35. onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara, j. jap. bot. 28: 290 (1953). jussiaea abyssinica l., mant. 1: 69 (1767). local name: keshardam (b). a creeping aquatic herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 223 (duh). ludwigia hyssopifolia (g. don) exell., garica de orta 5: 471 (1957). jussiaea hyssopifolia g. don, gen. syst. 2: 693 (1832). a branched herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 153 (duh). 126 islam et al. 36. melastomataceae melastoma malabathricum l., sp. pl.: 390 (1753). local names: datranga, lutki (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 128 (duh). 37. combretaceae anogeissus acuminata (roxb. ex dc.) guill. & perr., fl. seneg. tent. 1: 280 (1832). conocarpus acuminatus roxb. ex dc., prodr. 3: 16 (1828). local names: chakua (b), hiuri (t). a tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 103 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 173 (duh). calycopteris floribunda (roxb.) lamk., enc. meth. bot. suppl. 2: 41 (1811). getonia floribunda roxb., pl. corom. 1: 61, t. 87 (1798). local name: goache lata (b). a dense shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 14 (duh). combretum acuminatum roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2: 228 (1824). a large, scandent shrub. representative specimens: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 190 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 163 (duh). terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wt. & arn., prodr.: 314 (1834). pentaptera arjuna roxb. ex dc., prodr. 3: 14 (1828). local name: arjun (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 165 (duh). cultivated. terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb., pl. corom. 2: 54, t. 198 (1805). myrobalanus bellerica gaertn., de. fruct. semi. 2: 90, t. 97 (1791). local names: bohera (b), shiba (t). a tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 05 (duh). terminalia chebula retz., obs. bot. 5: 31 (1789). local name: haritaki (b). a large tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 99 (duh). 38. sapindaceae cardiospermum halicacabum l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 366 (1753). climbing herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 150 (duh). 39. euphorbiaceae acalypha indica l., sp. pl.: 1003 (1753). local name: muktajhuri (b). a small robust or woody herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 242 (duh). aporosa wallichii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 350 (1885). local name: kamba (t). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 12 (duh). baccaurea ramiflora lour., fl. cochinch.: 661 (1790). local name: latka (b). a small tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 58 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 127 breynia retusa (l.) spreng., syst. veg. 3: 48 (1829). clutia retusa l., sp. pl.: 1024 (1753). local name: silpati (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 149 (duh). bridelia stipularis (l.) blume, bijdr.: 597 (1826). clutia stipularis l., mant. pl.: 127 (1767). local names: harinhara (b), kantakui (t). a subscandent shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 73 (duh). croton bonplandianus bill., adansonia 4: 339 (1864). local name: moricha (b). an annual herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 190 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 81 (duh). euphorbia hirta l., sp. pl.: 454 (1753). local name: dudhia (b). an annual, usually robust, erect or ascending herb. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 312 (duh) ; ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 157 (duh). glochidion multiloculare (roxb. ex willd.) muell.-arg., linnaea 32: 59 (1863). agyneia multilocularis roxb. ex willd., neue schr. ges. naturf. freunde berlin 4: 206 (1803). local name: keura (t). a small tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 44 (duh). macaranga denticulata (blume) muell.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15 (2): 1000 (1886). mappa denticulata blume, bijdr.: 625 (1825). local name: bura (t). a small, ever-green tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 54 (duh). mallotus philippensis (lamk.) muell.-arg., linnaea 34 (1): 196 (1865). croton philippensis lamk., encycl. meth. 5: 298 (1804). local name: moinbura (b). a mediumsized tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 96 (duh). phyllanthus embelica l., sp. pl.: 982 (1753). local name: amloki (b). a small or middle-sized tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 113 (duh). cultivated. phyllanthus fraterous webster, contr. gray herb. 176: 53 (1955). phyllanthus niruri senu hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 5: 298 (1887). local name: bhui amla (b). a herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 186 (duh). phyllanthus reticulatus poir. in lamk., encycl. meth. b. 5: 298 (1804). local name: sitki panku (b). a large, scandent shrub. representative specimens: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 197 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 181 (duh). phyllanthus urinaria l., sp. pl.: 982 (1753). an erect, glabrous, annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 01 (duh). ricinus communis l., sp. pl.: 1007 (1753). local name: rerhi (b). an ever-green shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 21 (duh). 128 islam et al. 40. rhamnaceae zizyphus mauritiana lamk., encycl. 3: 319 (1789). local name: boroi (b). a small, much branched tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 13 (duh); pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 198 (duh). 41. leeaceae leea aequata l., mant. pl. 1: 124 (1767). leea hirta roxb., fl. ind. 2: 469 (1824). local name: pagolgota gach (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 250 (duh). 42. vitaceae cayratia trifolia (l.) domin, biblioth. bot. 89: 371 (1927). vitis trifolia l., sp. pl.: 203 (1753). local name: amal-lata (b). a slender, herbaceous climber with swollen rootstock. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 393 (duh). cissus quadrangularis l., syst. nat. ed. 12 (2): 124 (1767). local names: harjora lata, kumor lata (b). a herbaceous plant. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 124 (duh). cissus repens lamk., encycl. math. bot. 1: 31 (1783). local names: jangli angur (b), marmaria-pata (t). a large, glabrous, herbaceous climber with quadrangular stem. representative specimens: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 104 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 169 (duh). 43. burseraceae bursera serrata wall. ex colebr., trans. linn. soc. 15: 361, t. 4 (1827). local name: nule (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 03 (duh); pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 341 (duh). 44. anacardiaceae lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr., j. arnold arbor. 19: 353 (1938). dialium coromandelicum houtt., nat. hist. 2: 39, t. 5, f. 2 (1774). local names: jika (t), kaphila (m). a medium-sized, deciduous tree. representative specimens: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 85 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 156 (duh). spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz, pegu rep. a. 44 (1875). local name: bonamra (b). a medium-sized to tall tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 207 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 129 45. meliaceae aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) parker, ind. for. 57: 486 (1931). aglaia polystachya wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 429 (1824). local name: royna (b). a tree with dense spreading crown. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 225 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 80 (duh). melia azedarach l., sp. pl.: 384 (1753). local name: gora nim (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 62 (duh). cultivated. 46. rutaceae aegle marmelos (l.) corr., trans. linn. soc. 5: 222 (1800). crateva marmelos l., sp. pl.: 444 (1753). local name: bel (b). a small, deciduous tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 110 (duh). cultivated. glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc., prodr. 1: 538 (1824). limonia pentaphylla retz., obs. bot. 5: 24 (1788). local name: datmajon (b). a shrub or small tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 226 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 141 (duh). micromelum minutum (forst. f.) wight & arn., prodr. 1: 448 (1834). limonia minutum forst. f., prodr.: 33 (1786). local name: duha (b). a bushy shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 137 (duh). zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc., prodr. 1: 728 (1825). fagara rhetsa roxb. (1820). local name: bajna (b). an ever-green, small tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 45 (duh). 47. oxalidaceae (averrhoaceae) averrhoa carambola l., sp. pl.: 428 (1753). local name: kamranga (b). a bushy tree. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 24 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 74 (duh). cultivated. oxalis corniculata l., sp. pl.: 435 (1753). local name: ambuli (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 209 (duh). oxalis corymbosa dc., prodr. 1: 696 (1824). a stemless herb. representative specimens: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 102 (duh); ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 178 (duh). 48. apiaceae (umbelliferae) centella asiatica (l.) urban in mart., fl. bras. 11: 287 (1879). hydrocotyle asiatica l., sp. pl. 1: 234 (1753). local names: adamoni, thankuni (b). a perennial herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 346 (duh). 130 islam et al. 49. apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br., mem. wern. nat. hist. s. 1: 75 (1811). echites scholaris l., mant. pl. 1: 53 (1767). local names: chatim (b), shidam (t). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 56 (duh). holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall. ex decne., prodr. 8: 413 (1844). nerium antidysentericum l., sp. pl.: 54 (1753). local name: kurchi (b). a shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 236 (duh). ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r. br. in ait. f., hort. kew. ed. 2, 2: 69 (1811). apocynum frutescens l., sp. pl.: 213 (1753). local name: sham lwui (t). a climbing shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 230 (duh). rauwolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 2: 171 (1877). ophioxylon serpentinum l., sp. pl.: 1043 (1753). local names: churung (t), sarpaganda (b). a woody herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 330 (duh). tabernaemontana recurva roxb., fl. ind.: 226 (1832). a small shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 94 (duh). wrightia arborea (dennst.) mabberly, taxon 26: 533 (1977). periploca arborea dennst., schlus. h. malabar.: 13, 23 (1818). local name: dhudi (b). a small, deciduous tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 231 (duh). 50. solanaceae datura metel l., sp. pl.: 179 (1753). local name: dutra (b). a stout herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 274 (duh). nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv., elench. pl. hort. dinergo: 26. t. 5 (1802). local name: tamak (b). a slender, erect, annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 210 (duh). cultivated. physalis minima l., sp. pl.: 183 (1753). local name: potka (t). an annual glabrous herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 12 (duh). solanum nigrum l., sp. pl.: 186 (1753). local name: tit begun (b). an annual erect shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 47 (duh). solanum torvum sw., nov. gen. sp. pl.: 47 (1788). local name: bot begun (b). a small shrub. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 16 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 82 (duh). solanum violaceum ortega, hort. matr. dec.: 56 (1798). local name: phutki begun (b). a much branched undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 382 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 131 51. convolvulaceae argyreia argentea (roxb.) choisy, mem. soc. phys. genev. 6: 418 (1833). lettsomia argentea roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2: 79 (1824). local name: dhumchuk (t). a climber. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 233 (duh). argyreia capitiformis (poir.) oostr. in van steenis, fl. mal. ser. 1, 6(6): 941 (1972). convolvulus capitiformis poir. in lamk., encylc. suppl. 3: 469 (1814). a large climber. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 17 (duh). ipomoea aquatica forssk., fl. aeg.-arab.: 44 (1775). local name: kalmilata (b). a glabrous trailer on water. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 158 (duh). ipomoea fistulosa mart. ex choisy in dc., prodr. 9: 349 (1845). local names: dholkalmi, durakalma (b). a fistular shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 335 (duh). ipomoea tricolor cav., ic. 3: 5, t. 208 (1794). a glabrous twiner. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 389 (duh); pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 120 (duh). 52. cuscutaceae cuscuta reflexa roxb., pl. corom. 2: 3, t. 104 (1798). local name: swarnalata (b). a fleshy parasite, forming dense yellow masses on small tree or shrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 154 (duh). 53. boraginaceae cordia dichotoma forst. f., fl. ins. austr. prodr. 18: 110 (1876). local names: bahoduri (b), bahubara (t), boula (b). a medium-sized, deciduous tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 20 (duh). heliotropium indicum l., sp. pl.: 130 (1753). local name: hatisur (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 205 (duh). 54. verbenaceae callicarpa longifolia lamk., enc. meth. 1: 403 (1798). local name: bormala (b). a shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 78 (duh). clerodendrum viscosum vent., gard. malm. 1: t. 25 (1803). local name: bhant (b). a perennial, woody herb to undershrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 222 (duh). lantana camara l., sp. pl.: 627 (1753). local name: guayganda (b). a shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 123 (duh). 132 islam et al. lippia javanica (burm. f.) spreng., syst. 2: 752 (1825). an undershrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 87 (duh). tectona grandis l. f., suppl. pl.: 151 (1781). local name: shegun (b). a tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 134 (duh). cultivated. vitex pubescens vahl, symb. 3: 85 (1794). a large tree. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 100 (duh). 55. lamiaceae (labiatae) anisomeles indica (l.) o. kuntze, rev. gen.: 512 (1891). nepeta indica l., sp. pl.: 596 (1753). a bushy undershrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 164 (duh). dysophylla crassicaulis benth. in wall., pl. as. rar. 1: 30 (1830). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 162 (duh). hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., ann. mus. par. 7: 472, t. 29 (1806). ballota suaveolens l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 1100 (1759). local name: tokma (b). an annual herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 26 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 151 (duh). leucas aspera spreng., syst. 2: 743 (1825). local name: durung pata (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 187 (duh). ocimum tenuiflorum l., sp. pl.: 597 (1753). local name: kalo tulshi (b). a much branched, soft hairy, perennial herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 23 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 91 (duh). cultivated. 56. scrophulariaceae scoparia dulcis l., sp. pl.: 166 (1753). local name: bondhuna (b). a herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 105 (duh). 57. acanthaceae ecbolium linnaenum kurz, journ. as. soc. beng.: 2: 75 (1871). local name: uduzha (b). a shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 22 (duh). hygrophila salicifolia (vahl) nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 81 (1832). ruellia salicifolia vahl, symb. 3: 84 (1794). a prostrate to erect herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 232 (duh); pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 358 (duh). justicia adhatoda l., sp. pl.: 15 (1753). adhatoda vasica nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 103 (1832). local name: basak (b). a shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 229 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 133 justicia gandarussa burm. f., fl. ind.: 10 (1768). local name: jawa ghas (b). an undershrub. representative specimens: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 238 (duh); pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 108 (duh). lepidagathis incurva buch.-ham. ex d. don, prodr. fl. nepal: 119 (1825). a perennial herb. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 355 (duh); ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 46 (duh). rungia pectinata (l.) nees in dc., prodr. 11: 469 (1847). justicia pectinata l., amoen. acad. 4: 293 (1759). a much branched, prostrate or suberect herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 91 (duh). thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottler) roxb., bot. reg. 6: t. 495 (1820). flemingia grandiflora roxb. ex rottler, ges. naturf. freund berlin neue schriften 4: 202 (1803). local name: nil lata (b). a climber. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 357 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 145 (duh). 58. bignoniaceae oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz, for. fl. brit. burma 2: 237 (1877). bignonia indica l., sp. pl.: 625 (1753). local names: kanaidengi, konak, sona (b). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 67 (duh). stereospermum colais (buch.-ham. ex dillw.) mabberley, taxon 27: 553 (1979). bignonia colais buch.-ham. ex dillw. (1839). local name: dharmar (b). a large, deciduous tree. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 125 (duh). 59. rubiaceae boreria articularis (l. f.) will., bull. herb. bios. ser. 2, 5: 956 (1905). spermacoce articularis l. f., suppl.: 119 (1781). local name: thitulon (t). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 11 (duh). hedyotis scandens roxb., fl. ind. 1: 369 (1820). a climbing shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 371 (duh). ixora acuminata roxb., fl. ind. 1: 383 (1820). an undershrub. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 55 (duh). ixora cuneifolia roxb., fl. ind. 1: 380 (1820). an evergreen shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 367 (duh). paederia foetida l., mant. pl. 1: 52 (1767). local name: gandha badhuli (b). a slender climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 72 (duh). psychotria adenophylla wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 166 (1824). local name: moshakbupang (t). a low shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 18 (duh). 134 islam et al. randia dumetorum (retz.) poir. in lamk., encycl. suppl. 2: 824 (1812). garaenia dumetorum retz., obs. bot. 2: 14 (1781). local name: manakata (b). a shrub. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 366 (duh). stephegyne diversifolia hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 26 (1873). local name: khom ghas (b). a small tree. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 227 (duh). 60. asteraceae (compositae) ageratum conyzoides l., sp. pl.: 839 (1753). local names: dulkuri, hialmuti (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 51 (duh). blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc. in wight, contrib. bot. ind.: 14 (1834). conyza lacera burm. f., fl. ind.: 180, t. 59 (1768). local name: kuksung (b). an erect, annual, aromatic herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 93 (duh). elephantopus scaber l., sp. pl.: 814 (1753). local name: mulasus (b). a perennial herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 235 (duh). enhydra fluctuans lour., fl. cochinch.: 511 (1790). local name: helencha (b). a profusely branched, annual aquatic herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 213 (duh). grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir., enc. suppl. 2: 825 (1811). artemisia maderaspatana l., sp. pl.: 849 (1753). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 161 (duh). mikania cordata (burm. f.) b.l. robinson, contrib. gray herb. 104: 65 (1934). eupatorium cordatum burm. f., fl. ind.: 176 (1768). local name: asamlata (b). a perennial herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 171 (duh). sonchus oleraceus hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 414 (1882). an annual, milky herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 186 (duh). spilanthes calva dc. in wight, contrib. bot. ind.: 19 (1834) spilanthes acmella auct. non linn. merr. (1774). local name: hampui (t). an annual herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 28 (duh). liliopsida (monocots) 61. arecaceae (palmae) caryota urens l., sp. pl.: 1189 (1753). trunk solitary, annulate, erect, up to 12 m tall. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 268 (duh). didymosperma nanum h. wendl. & drude in kerchov., palm.: 243 (1878). a low palm. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 398 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 135 62. araceae pothos scandens l., sp. pl.: 963 (1753). local name: hatilata (b). a climbing aroid. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 388 (duh). typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott., wien. zeitschr. 3: 72 (1829). arum trilobatum l., sp. pl.: 934 (1753). local name: gondogi (t). a tuberous climber. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 323 (duh). 63. commelinaceae commelina benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). local name: dholpata (b). a slender herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 209 (duh). commelina diffusa burm. f., fl. ind.: 18, t. 7, 2 (1768). an annual, slender herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 391 (duh); pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 92 (duh). murdania nudiflora (l.) brenan, kew bull. 7: 189 (1952). commelina nudiflora l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). local name: kanduli (t). an annual, diffuse herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 159 (duh). 64. cyperaceae cyperus compressus l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 46 (1753). local name: chancha (t). an annual herb, tufted root. representative specimens: halfchhari 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 218 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 143 (duh). cyperus diffusus vahl, enum. pl. 2: 321 (1806). a perennial herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 10 (duh); pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 159 (duh). cyperus distans l. f., suppl. pl.: 103 (1781). local name: panimalancho (b). a perennial herb with short knotty rhizome. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 182 (duh). cyperus iria l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 45 (1753). an annual or rarely perennial herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 395 (duh). cyperus michelianus (l.) link., hort. bot. berol. descr. 1: 303 (1827). scirpus michelianus l., sp. pl.: 45 (1753). an annual herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 184 (duh). cyperus rotundus l., sp. pl.: 45 (1753). local name: motha ghas (b). perennial grass. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 174 (duh). diplacrum caricinum r. br., prodr. fl. nov. holl.: 241 (1810). an annual, small and slender herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 305 (duh). 136 islam et al. fimbristylis acuminata vahl, enum. pl. 2: 285 (1806). an annual herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 207 (duh). fimbristylis cymosa r. br., prodr. fl. nov. holl.: 228 (1810). rhizomatous, perennial herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 52 (duh). themda quadrivalvis (l.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 793 (1891). andropogon quadrivalvis l. in merr., syst. veg. ed. 13: 758 (1774). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 60 (duh). 65. poaceae (gramineae) arundo donax l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 81 (1753). local name: gabanal (t). a perennial, tall and stout grass. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 395 (duh). axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 12 (154): 167 (1812). milium compressum sw., prod.: 24 (1788). a perennial, tufted herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 375 (duh). chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin., fund. agrost.: 188 (1820). andropogon aciculatus retz., obs. bot. 5: 22 (1989). a glabrous herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 175 (duh). cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., syn. pl. ed. 1: 85 (1805). panicum dactylon l., sp. pl.: 58 (1753). local name: durba (b). a creeping herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 179 (duh). cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf in hook., ic. pl.: sub t. 3096 (1922). panicum accrescens trin., sp. gram. 1, t. 88 (1828). an annual, scrambling grass. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 372 (duh). dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. expl. pl.: 15 (1812). cynosurus aegyptius l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 72 (1753). local name: makra (t). stoloniferous, annual or short-lived perennial herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 376 (duh). echinochloa crus-galli (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 53: 161 (1812). panicum crus-galli l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 56 (1753). local name: barashyamaghas (b). an annual or perennial herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 216 (duh). echinochloa stagnina (retz.) p. beauv., ess. agrost.: 53, 161, 171 (1812). panicum stagninum retz., osb. bot. 5: 17 (1789). an aquatic, perennial grass. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 388 (duh); pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 308 (duh). eleusine indica (l.) gaertn., de fruct. 1: 8 (1789). cynusurus indicus l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 72 (1753). local name: malanga kuri (b). an annual, tufted herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 371 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 137 imperata cylindrica (l.) reaeschel, nom. bot. ed. 3: 10 (1797). lagurus cylindricus l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 878 (1759). local names: son, ulukhar (b). a perennial, rhizomatous grass. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 146 (duh). melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz, prelim. rep. for. veg. pegu app. b. 94 (1875). bambusa baccifera roxb., pl. corom. 3: 38, 243 (1819). local names: muli (b), nail (t), paiyya (m), tarai (t). diffusely clumped, sympodial bamboo. representative specimens: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 185 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 132 (duh). oplismenus compositus (l.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 54: 168 (1812). panicum compositum l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 57 (1753). a perennial grass. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 176 (duh). panicum montanum roxb., fl. ind. 1: 315 (1820). a perennial, tufted grass. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 313 (duh). panicum repens l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 87 (1753). a perennial, rhizomatous grass. representative specimen: halfchhari, 25.12.05, rafiqul islam 215 (duh). paspalum scrobiculatum l., mant. 1: 29 (1767). local name: goicha (b). an annual herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 21.12.05, rafiqul islam 177 (duh). saccharum spontaneum l., mant. pl. 2: 183 (1771). local name: kash (b). a perennial, tall herb. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 374 (duh). setaria palmifolia (koen.) stapf, j. linn. soc. bot. 42: 186 (1914). panicum palmaefolium koen. (1788). local name: urodhan (b). a perennial grass. representative specimens: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 318 (duh); ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 43 (duh). 66. typhaceae typha elephantina roxb., fl. ind. ed. 3: 506 (1832). local name: hogla (b). a robust herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 22.12.05, rafiqul islam 183 (duh). 67. zingiberaceae alpinia nigra (gaertn.) burtt., notes roy. bot. gard. edinb. 35: 213 (1977). zingiber nigrum gaertn. (1788). local name: tara (b). stem leafy, leaves sessile or sub-sessile. representative specimen: halfchhari, 07.05.05, rafiqul islam 10 (duh). 68. costaceae costus speciosus (koen.) smith, trans. linn. soc. london 1: 249 (1791). banksea speciosa koen. in retz., obs. bot. 3: 75 (1783). local names: gardong (t), jongliphul 138 islam et al. (b). a rhizomatous herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 106 (duh). 69. marantaceae schumannianthus dichotoma (roxb.) gagnep., bull. soc. bot. fr. 51: 176 (1904). clinogyne dichotoma (roxb.) salisb. ex benth. in benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 3 (2): 651 (1883). phrynium dichotomum roxb., asiat. rar. 11: 324 (1810). local names: mukta, mustak (b). a tall, monoecious palm. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.09.06, rafiqul islam 298 (duh). 70. pontederiaceae eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 527 (1883). pontederia crassipes mart., nov. gen. sp.: 9, t. 4 (1823). local name: kachuripana (b). a freefloating herb. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 343 (duh). monochoria hastata (l.) solms. in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 523 (1883). pontederia hastata l., sp. pl.: 288 (1753). an aquatic, emergent herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 33 (duh). 71. liliaceae asparagus acerosus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 150 (1832). local name: shatamuli (b). a perennial subscandent undershrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 95 (duh). curculigo orchioides gaertn., de fruct. 1: 63, t. 13 (1788). local name: langtipata (b). a slender herb with elongated rhizome. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 40 (duh). molineria recurvata (dryand.) herbert, amaryl.: 84 (1834). curculigo recurvata dryand. (1811). local names: luruk (t), satipata (b). a stout herb with tuberous rootstocks. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 48 (duh). 72. agavaceae dracaena spicata roxb., fl. ind. 2: 157 (1824). an erect shrub. representative specimen: pathachhara, 11.09.06, rafiqul islam 316 (duh). cultivated. 73. smilacaceae smilax zeylanica l., sp. pl.: 1029 (1753). local name: kumarilata (b). a stout climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 53 (duh). an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh 139 74. dioscoreaceae dioscorea bellophylla (prain) j.o. voigt ex haines, for. fl. choto nagpur: 530 (1910). dioscorea nummularia var. belophyla prain, bengal pl. 2: 802 (1903). local name: shora alu (b). a perennial climber. representative specimen: ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 131 (duh). dioscorea pentaphylla l., sp. pl.: 1032 (1753). local name: jhum alu (b). a climber. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 112 (duh). 75. orchidaceae brachycorythis helferi (reichb. f.) summerh., kew bull. 10: 235 (1955). gymbadenia helferi reichb. f., flora 55: 276 (1872). an annual, herb. representative specimens: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 396 (duh); ramgarh, 11.05.05, rafiqul islam 152 (duh). camarotis pallida lindl., journ. linn. soc. 3: 37 (1859). a perennial epiphyte. representative specimen: pathachhara, 10.05.05, rafiqul islam 115 (duh). cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw., nova acta regiae soc. sci. upsal. 6: 73 (1799). epidendrum aloifolium l., sp. pl.: 953 (1753). a perennial epiphyte. representative specimen: halfchhari, 17.09.06, rafiqul islam 381 (duh). vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. f. ex g. don in loud., hort. brit.: 372 (1830). epidendrum tessellatum roxb., pl. corom. 1: 34, t. 42 (1795). an epiphytic herb. representative specimen: ramgarh, 09.05.05, rafiqul islam 31 (duh). acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the director, center for advanced studies and research in biological sciences, university of dhaka for the financial support to the field work. references choudhury, m.r. 1975. working plan for chittagong hill tracts north forest division for the period 196970 to 1988-89. vol. ii. forest department, government of bangladesh, pp. 1-9. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, pp. 1-1262. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling, india, 1-78 pp. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india. vols 1-7 (ind. repr. 1973). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1969. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-1 (monocotyledons). j. as. soc. pak. 14(2): 217-224. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-2 (dicotyledons). j. as. soc. bangladesh 17(2): 59-88. 140 islam et al. lavlu, m.n.u. 2003. ramgarh upazila. in: islam, s. (ed.), banglapedia. vol. 7. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 351-352. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols 1 & 2. indian reprint 1981. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. rizvi, s.n.h. 1969. east pakistan district gazetteers for chittagong. government of east pakistan survices and general administration department, dhaka. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. iucn, bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1-120. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 13 november 2008; revised on 16 april 2009) an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila o magnoliopsida (dicots) 1. magnoliaceae 5. aristolochiaceae 18. elaeocarpaceae 26. passifloraceae 43. burseraceae 44. anacardiaceae 52. cuscutaceae cuscuta reflexa roxb., pl. corom. 2: 3, t. 104 (1798). local 69. marantaceae microsoft word 08. 45 bjpt 16 -45_editmk.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 167-173, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists genetic diversity and phenetic relationships of five trifolium l. species (fabaceae) by inter simple sequence repeats markers yourang hwang and man kyu huh1 department of molecular biology, dong-eui university, 995 eomgwangno, busanjin-gu, busan 614-714, korea keywords: genetic variation; inter simple sequence repeats; trifolium. abstract five species of trifolium l. (t. repens l., t. pretense l., t. hybridum l., t. campestre schreb., and t. dubium sibth.) were analyzed used to evaluate the genetic diversity and their phenetic relationships using inter-simple sequence repeats (issr) markers. overall, t. pratense exhibited higher variation than other species. 114 amplicons were produced by issr markers, of which 77 (67.5%) bands were polymorphic. t. dubium showed the low genetic variation. total genetic diversity values (ht) varied between 0.333 and 0.487, for an average over all polymorphic loci of 0.282. on a perlocus basis, the proportion of total genetic variation due to differences among species (gst) was 0.380. this indicated that about 38.0% of the total variation was among species. the estimate of gene flow, based on gst, was very low among species of genus trifolium (nm = 0.816). an assessment of the proportion of diversity present within species, hpop/hsp, indicated that about 95.8% the total genetic diversity was within species. t. pratense and t. hybridum were grouped together and this clade was sister with t. repens. two remainder species with yellow flowers were grouped together. information on genetic diversity for trifolium is valued for the management of germplasm and for evolving conservation strategies. introduction trifolium l., the clover genus, is one of the largest genera in fabaceae family. this genus consists about 250-300 species with a wide distribution and adaption to different agro-ecological regions (gillet et al., 2001; ellison et al., 2006). trifolium repens, also known as white or dutch clover, originated in the mediterranean region and quickly spread throughout europe (baker and williams, 1987; lane et al., 1997). white clover is adapted to a wide climate range from the arctic to the subtropics and has a wide altitudinal ranges. it is found up as 6000 m in the himalaya range (baker and williams, 1987). it has also become naturalized in china, mongolia, korea, and japan. the genus trifolium includes more than 20 clover cultivated species as forages (hirano, 2005). white clover (t. repens) in korea has been introduced from europe about two hundred years ago. most species belonging to genus trifolium can tolerate wide variations in temperature, sunlight, and ph of soil. with the recent development of organic farming, legumes have been considered candidates of fertilizer (paplauskiene and dabkeviciene, 2012). many species of trifolium are known to have been cultivated on a commercial scale including white and red clover (t. repens and t. pratense), the two most economically important pasture legumes in the uk (taylor and quesenberry, 1996). however, trifolium is one of major weeds for lawns, farming fields, and golf courses in korea. especially many plants of trifolium are also considered to cause                                                              1 corresponding author. e-mail: mkhuh@deu.ac.kr 168 hwang and huh damage to the environment and have gradually the superior competitive ability on golf courses to create fairways and teeing areas. alsike clover (t. hybridum), field clover (t. campestre), suckling clover (t. dubium), are european grassland legumes that have spread to many parts of the world. recently they have been also introduced to korea. these non-native clovers can rapidly invade and dominate vegetated and bare areas in korea (huh et al., 2005). many molecular marker techniques have been developed and they have been extensively used in plant systematic studies, measurement of variation to establish evolutionary relationships within or among species, and population genetic research (hu and vick, 2003; gupta and rustgi, 2004; rizza et al., 2007). inter simple sequence repeats (issr) markers have the advantage over randomly amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) in that the primers are longer, allowing for more stringent annealing temperatures (wolfe and liston, 1998). these higher temperatures apparently provide a higher reproducibility of bands than in rapd (nagaoka and ogihara, 1997). tsumura et al. (1996) found that most of their issr bands (96%) segregated according to mendelian expectations. the aim of this study was the estimation of population structure, genetic diversity, and genetic relationships of five clover species in korea. materials and methods plant materials five clover species, t. repens l., t. pratense l., t. hybridum l., t. campestre schreb., and t. dubium sibth. were used for issr analysis (table 1). thirty plants were collected for each species. within populations, plants are genetically subdivided by micro-environmental heterogeneity (sackville and chorlton, 1995). clover has a creeping growth habit and spreads with stolons or runners above the soil with adventitious roots forming at each node. the geographic distance between the selected individuals was about 1.0 m to avoid inclusion of individuals emanating from the same rhizome. medicago sativa l. was used as an outgroup species in this study. dna extraction total genomic dna was extracted from a fresh young leaves using the plant dna zol kit (life technologies inc., grand island, new york, u.s.a.) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. briefly, approximately 1.2 g fresh leaves per individual was ground to fine powder in liquid nitrogen with a mortar and pestle. the pulverized material was transferred to a micro-tube and plant dna zol solution was added. the sample was shaken gently at room temperature for 10 min. after adding 24:1 chloroform/isoamyl alcohol, the sample was centrifuged at 12,000 g. the dna precipitate was recovered with 70% ethanol, dried, and dissolved in te buffer. the extracted dna concentrations were calculated with a fluorometer (dyna quant 200, hoefler, amersham biosciences, usa) using bisbenzimide (amersham biosciences, usa) as the fluorescent dye. issr analysis the issr amplification assay developed by zietkiewicz et al. (1994) using primers listed in table 1. pcr was performed within a total volume of 25 � using a ptc-100 dna engine dyad peltier thermal cycler (mj research, watertown, ma, usa). each pcr mixture contained pcr buffer (promega; 20 mm this-hcl, 50 mm kcl), 1.5 mm mgcl2, 0.24 mm of each dntp, 12.5 pmol of each primer, 0.25 units of biotaq dna polymerase (bioline), and 25 ng of genomic genetic diversity and phenetic relationships of trifolium 169 dna. an initial denaturation step of 5 min at 94ºc was followed by 30 cycles of amplification (1 min sec at 94ºc, 1 min at 50ºc, 1.5 min at 72ºc) and a final elongation step of 10 min at 72ºc. the amplification products were separated by electrophoresis on 2.0% agarose gels in trisborate buffer, and stained with ethidium bromide. a 100 bp ladder dna marker (pharmacia) was used in the end of for the estimation of fragment size. statistical analyses pcr-amplified issr fragments detected on gels were scored absent (0) or present (1). only unambiguously reproducible bands were scored and used in the analyses. the following genetic parameters were calculated using a popgene computer program (ver. 1.31) developed by yeh et al. (1999): the percentage of polymorphic loci (pp), mean numbers of alleles per locus (a), effective number of alleles per locus (ae), and gene diversity (h) (nei, 1973) and shannon’s index (i) of phenotypic diversity. shannon–weaver index of diversity (shannon and weaver, 1963): the formula for calculating the shannon diversity index (h') is: h' = – σ pi ln pi pi is the proportion of important value of the ith species (pi = ni / n, ni is the important value index of ith species and n is the important value index of all the species). polymorphism information content (pic) value was calculated using the formula pic, pic = 1 p2q2, where p = band frequency and q = no-band frequency (rizza et al., 2007). nei's gene diversity formulae (ht, hs, and gst) were used to evaluate genetic diversity within and among cultivars (nei, 1973). ht is the expected heterozygosity of an individual in an equivalent random mating total interspecies. hs is the expected heterozygosity of an individual in an equivalent random mating total intraspecies. the gst coefficient corresponds to the relative amount of differentiation among cultivars. furthermore, gene flow (nm) between the pairs of species was calculated from gst values by nm = 0.5(1/gst − 1) (mcdermott and mcdonald, 1993). shannon’s index of genotypic diversity (ho) for issr was estimated to quantity the degree of within species diversity following the formula (bowman et al., 1971): ho = –∑pi log pi, where pi is the frequency of a particular phenotype i. a phenetic relationship was constructed by the neighbor-joining (nj) method in phylip version 3.57 using mega5 program (tamura et al., 2011). parsimony analyses were conducted using paup* 4.0b3a (swofford, 1999). confidence values for individual branches were determined by a bootstrap analysis with 100 repeated sampling of the data. results and discussion from the 20 decamer primers used for a primary issr analysis, thirteen primers produced good amplification products both in quality and variability (table 1). the remaining primers either did not amplify or showed unclear amplification across all genotypes. 114 amplicons were produced by issr marker, of which 77 (67.5%) bands were polymorphic. polymorphism information content (pic) for issr primers ranged from 0.244 to 0.498 with an average of 0.287 per primer. in a simple measure of inter-cultivars variability i.e. the percentage of polymorphic bands, t. pratense exhibited the highest variation (49.1%) among clovers and t. dubium the lowest (36.0%) (table 2). the average number of alleles per locus (a) was 1.423 across species, varying from 1.360 to 1.491. the effective numbers of alleles per locus (ae) was 1.311 across species, varying from 1.251 to 1.374. the mean genetic diversity within species was 0.175. shannon’s index of phenotypic diversity (i) of t. pratense (0.302) was highest of all taxa and t. hybridum was the 170 hwang and huh second (0.286). overall, t. pratense exhibited higher variation than other species. two species (t. campestre and t. dubium) with yellow flowers were shown the low genetic variation. the first fragment (issr-06-01) of primer issr-01 was specific band for t. repens which did not show at other species. the issr-01-04 fragment of primer issr-01 was also specific band for t. pratense. these specific fragments seemed to be useful markers to discriminate among species. table 1. list of decamer oligonucleotide utilized as primers, their sequences, and associated polymorphic fragments. no. of primer sequence(5’ to 3’) no. of fragments detected percentage of polymorphism bands pic issr-01 (ag) 8g 11 9 0.489 issr-02 (ca)8rg 8 8 0.498 issr-03 (ga)8gt 10 7 0.458 issr-04 (ga)8cg 7 4 0.452 issr-05 (ga)8gt 10 7 0.328 issr-06 (ga)8cg 11 7 0.418 issr-07 (ga)8tc 9 6 0.452 issr-08 (ga)8tc 7 5 0.408 issr-09 gcga(ac)8 9 7 0.285 issr-10 gcga(ca)8 7 4 0.328 issr-11 ccgg(ac)8 10 5 0.275 issr-12 agagttggtagctcttg atc 8 4 0.244 issr-13 (ac)8t 7 4 0.310 total 114 77 0.287 table 2. measurements of genetic variation for five clover species used in this study. the number of polymorphic loci (np), percentage of polymorphism (pp), mean number of alleles per locus (a), effective number of alleles per locus (ae), gene diversity (h), and shannon's information index (i). species np pp a ae h i trifolium repens 48 42.1 1.421 1.309 0.173 0.252 trifolium hybridum 53 46.5 1.465 1.360 0.198 0.286 trifolium pratense 56 49.1 1.491 1.374 0.209 0.302 trifolium campestre 43 37.7 1.377 1.251 0.147 0.217 trifolium dubium 41 36.0 1.360 1.259 0.147 0.215 mean 48.2 42.3 1.423 0.311 0.175 0.254 total genetic diversity values (ht) for polymorphic loci varied between 0.333 (issr-04) and 0.487 (issr-12) (table 3). an average (ht) over all 114 loci for five species with 13 issr primers was 0.282. in interlocus variation in the within-species, mean genetic diversity (hs) was low (0.175). on a per-locus basis, the proportion of total genetic variation due to differences among species (gst) ranged from 0.216 for issr-08 to 0.547 for issr-02, with a mean of 0.380. this indicated that about 38.0% of the total variation was among species. thus, about genetic variation (62.0%) resided within species. the estimate of gene flow, based on gst, was very low genetic diversity and phenetic relationships of trifolium 171 among species (nm = 0.816). values of genetic distance (d) were ≤ 0.233 (table 4). genetic identity values among pairs of species ranged from 0.508 to 0.956. table 3. estimates of genetic diversity of five selected clover species in korea. total genetic diversity (ht), genetic diversity within populations (hs), the proportion of total genetic diversity partitioned among populations (gst), and gene flow (nm). primer ht hs gst nm issr-01 0.405 0.231 0.422 1.821 issr-02 0.428 0.186 0.547 0.778 issr-03 0.380 0.217 0.420 1.097 issr-04 0.333 0.199 0.304 5.631 issr-05 0.409 0.197 0.527 3.061 issr-06 0.395 0.264 0.358 7.133 issr-07 0.432 0.294 0.324 4.266 issr-08 0.474 0.368 0.216 5.405 issr-09 0.386 0.265 0.331 2.279 issr-10 0.453 0.338 0.242 2.880 issr-11 0.474 0.317 0.328 2.791 issr-12 0.487 0.367 0.248 2.917 issr-13 0.427 0.247 0.413 0.871 total mean 0.282 0.175 0.380 0.816 78 t. repens 91 82 t. hybridum 100 t. pratense 100 t. campestre t. dubium medicago sativa genetic distance 0.90 0.75 0.60 0.45 0.30 0.15 0.0 fig. 1. a phentic tree for five selected species with one outgroup based on issr analysis. numbers above branches are jackknife values derived from heuriatic-based searches on sequences data. 172 hwang and huh table 4. genetic identity (upper diagonal) among five selected clover species and genetic distances (low diagonal) based on issr analysis. species t. repens t. hybridum t. pratense t. campestre t. dubium t. repens 0.815 0.849 0.815 0.807 t. hybridum 0.205 0.866 0.508 0.792 t. pratense 0.164 0.144 0.833 0.836 t. campestre 0.205 0.217 0.183 0.956 t. dubium 0.214 0.233 0.179 0.045 table 5. partitioning of the genetic diversity into within and among genus trifolium in korea. primer hvar hsp hvar / hsp (hsp hvar)/ hsp issr-01 2.110 2.306 0.915 0.085 issr-02 1.874 1.901 0.986 0.014 issr-03 2.057 2.207 0.932 0.068 issr-04 1.660 1.806 0.919 0.081 issr-05 2.209 2.277 0.970 0.030 issr-06 2.187 2.317 0.944 0.056 issr-07 2.043 2.138 0.955 0.045 issr-08 1.886 1.914 0.986 0.014 issr-09 2.109 2.182 0.967 0.033 issr-10 1.771 1.912 0.926 0.074 issr-11 2.263 2.279 0.993 0.007 issr-12 2.052 2.064 0.994 0.006 issr-13 1.848 1.907 0.969 0.031 total mean 2.005 2.093 0.958 0.042 an assessment of the proportion of diversity present within species, hvar/hsp, indicated that about 95.8% the total genetic diversity was within species. thus, the other portion of genetic variation (4.2%) resided within genus (table 5). the result was lower than that (gst) of fstatistics. clustering of five cultivars, using the nj algorithm, was performed based on the matrix of calculated distances (fig. 1). five species were well separated each other. t. pratense and t. hybridum were grouped together and this clade was sister with t. repens. two remainder species, t. campestre and t. dubium with yellow flowers were grouped together. references baker, m.j. and williams, w.m. 1987. white clover. cab international, wallingford, uk, pp. 299-322. bowman, k.d., hutcheson, k., odum, e.p. and shenton, l.r. 1971. comments on the distribution of indices of diversity. stat. ecol. 3: 315-359. genetic diversity and phenetic relationships of trifolium 173 ellison, n.e., liston, a., steiner, j.j., williams, w.m. and taylor, n.l. 2006. molecular phylogenetics of the clover genus (trifolium-leguminosae). mol. phylogenet. evol. 39: 688-705. gillet, j.m., collins, m. and taylor, n.j. 2001. the world of clovers. iowa state university press, ames., pp. 457. gupta, p.k. and rustgi, s. 2004. molecular markers from the transcribed/expressed region of the genome in higher plants. funct. integr. genomics 4: 139-162. hirano, r. 2005. ecogeographic and genetic survey of white clover (trifolium repens l.) on st kilda. thesis of master, university of birmingham, uk, pp. 1-85. hu, j. and vick, b.a. 2003. target region amplification polymorphism: a novel marker technique for plant genotyping. plant mol. biol. report 21: 289-294. huh, m.k., chung, k.t., and jeong, y.k. 2005. genetic variation of alien invasive red clover (trifolium pratense) in korea. j. life sci. 15: 273-278. lane, l.a., ayes, j.f. and lovett, j.v. 1997. a review of the introduction and use of white clover (trifolium repens l.) in australia – significance for breeding objectives. australian journal of experimental agriculture 37: 831-839. nagaoka, t. and ogihara, y. 1997. applicability of inter-simple sequence repeat polymorphisms in wheat for use as dna markers in comparison to rflp and rapd markers. theor. appl. genet. 94: 597-602. mcdermott, j.m. and mcdonald, b.a. 1993. gene flow in plant pathosystems. ann. rev. phytopathy. 31: 353-373. nei, m. 1973. analysis of gene diversity in subdivided populations. proc. natl. acad. sci. usa 701: 33213323. paplauskienė, v. and dabkevičienė, g. 2012. a study of genetic diversity in trifolium hybridum varieties using morphological characters and issr markers. žemdirbystė-agriculture, 99: 313-318. rizza, m.d., real, d., reyno, r., porro, v., burgueno, j., errico, e. and quesenberry, k.h. 2007. genetic diversity and dna content of three south american and three eurasiatic trifolium species. genetics and molecular biology 30: 1118-1124. sackville, h. and chorlton, n.r. 1995. collecting plant genetic diversity. cab international, wallingford, oxford, pp. 467-483. shannon, c. e. and weaver, w. 1963. the measurement theory of communication. univ. of illinois press, urbana, 1-132. swofford, d. l. 1999. paup*. phylogenetic analysis using parsimony (*and other methods). ver. 4.0b3a. sinauer associates,sunderland, massachusetts. tamura, k., peterson, d., peterson, n., stecher, g., nei, m. and kumar, s. 2011. mega5: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis using maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximum parsimony methods. mol. biol. evol. 28: 2731-2739. taylor, n.l. and quesenberry, k.h. 1996. red clover science, kluwer, boston, ma. pp. 11-24. tsumura, y., ohba, k. and strauss, s.h. 1996. diversity and inheritance of inter-simple sequence repeat polymorphisms in douglas-fir (pseudotsuga menziesii) and sugi (cryptomeria japonica). theor. appl. genet. 93: 40-45. wolfe, a.d. and liston, a. 1998. molecular systematics of plants: dna sequencing, kluwer, new york, usa, pp. 43-86. yeh, f.c., yang, r.c. and boyle, t. 1999. popgene version 1.31, microsoft windows-based freeware for population genetic analysis. university of alberta, alberta, pp. 1-228. zietkiewicz, e., rafalski, a. and labuda, d. 1994. genome fingerprinting by simple sequence repeat (ssr)anchored polymerase chain reaction amplification. genomics 20: 176-183. (manuscript received on 26 april 2016; revised on 1 september 2016) microsoft word 07. s2_muhlenbergia faciculata_edited_11.6.2011 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 69-71, 2011 (june) short communication © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists muhlenbergia fasciculata t.p.i. phan (poaceae) a new angiospermic record for india d. delmail1 and a. hilaire laboratory of botany and cryptogamy, faculty of pharmacy, university of limoges, grese ea 4330, 2 rue du docteur marcland, fr-87025 limoges, france keywords: mulhenbergia fasciculata; new record; india. muhlenbergia schreb. (poaceae) is related to the genera sporobolus r. br. and blepharoneuron nash. the genus contains approximately 160 species (herrera-arrieta, 1998), and the majority of them are xeromorphic and caespitose, and inhabit steppes and mountains from subarctic north america to southern south america (pohl, 1969) as well as southeast asia (zhenlan and peterson, 2006). the species m. fasciculata was firstly described in 1994 in myanmar and then was thought to be extinct due to habitat loss (phan, 1994). however, one population was discovered in 2004 and 52 individuals have been confirmed in arakan hills of western myanmar in the rakhine region on rocky environments at altitudes from 1000 to 1300 m about the sea level (delmail, 2010). more recently, a survey in the nagaland state (india) brings to the discovery of 3 new isolated specimens, from a rocky open grassland at about 25 km northwest of longwa. this is the first record of occurrence for india at the frontier with myanmar. a detailed taxonomic description and illustration of the taxon have been provided based on the examined wild specimens. muhlenbergia fasciculata t.p.i. phan, flora from the gulf of bengal 1: 158 (1994). (fig. 1) caespitose perennial, rhizomatous. culms 45-56 cm, erect or spreading. leaf sheaths 2.1-3.0 cm long, glabrous, striate, often longer than the internodes, without hyaline margins; nodes densely puberulent. ligules 0.4-0.6 mm long, membranous, hyaline, fimbriate, apex obtuse. basal blades 7-13 cm long, 1.9-2.1 mm wide, flat, margins and midveins sclerosed, scabrous. panicles 6-9 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, diffuse, pyramidal; primary branches 3-4 cm long, straight, capillary, diverging 73-95° from the rachis; pedicels 2.4-7.5 mm long, scabrous; inflorescence branches 1-3 cm long. spikelets 2-3.1 mm long, erect; glumes 0.8-1.6 mm long, acute, entire, sometimes longer than the lemma, usually equal in length, one-nerved, glabrous, yellowish; lemmas 1.5-2.4 mm long, lanceolate, hyaline, awned, glabrous; palea 1.2-1.8 mm long, oblanceolate, entire, glabrous; lodicules 2, hyaline; anthers 3, yellowish to orange, 0.4-0.8 mm long; ovary glabrous; styles free to their bases. caryopsis not observed. 1corresponding author. e-mail: david.delmail@wanadoo.fr 70 delmail and hilaire fig. 1. mulhenbergia fasciculata t.p.i. phan. a. inflorescence, b. habit, c. ligule, d. lodicules, stamens and pistil, e. spikelet. muhlenbergia fasciculata t.p.i. phan (poaceae) 71 specimen examined: india, nagaland state, mon district, about 25 km northwest of longwa, 28°7΄56΄΄ n, 97°0΄10΄΄ e, 850-900 m, 10.06.2006, shott w., delmail d. and hilaire a. (no specimen was collected due to the low number of individuals (3) in the population and its weak occurrence in the wild). ecology: on open grasslands (phan, 1994) and rocky open grasslands. in these environments, many plant species occur. among them, typical poaceae are observed as cymbopogon citratus, cymbopogon martinii and neyraudia reynaudiana. shrubs are constituted with rhododendron cerasinum, rhododendron pruniflorum and rhododendron repens. other species as allium sp., arenaria sp., cremanthodium farreri, meconopsis sp., omphalogramma burmanica and primula sp. form cushions. distribution: initially native to myanmar but now found in india. acknowledgements this work has been supported by the national botanical conservatory of brest (cbnb) and the conseil régional du limousin. authors thank j.-y. lesouëf (cbnb) and wu shott for valuable discussions and support during fieldwork. references delmail, d. 2010. validation of muhlenbergia fasciculata (poaceae) endemic to myanmar. nord. j. bot. 28: 298. herrera-arrieta, y. 1998. a revision of the muhlenbergia montana (nutt.) hitchc. complex (poaceae: chloridoideae). brittonia 50: 23-50. phan, t.p.i. 1994. flora from the gulf of bengal. xukj press, khaoni, pp. 1-387. pohl, r.w. 1969. muhlenbergia subgenus muhlenbergia (gramineae) in north america. am. midl. nat. 82: 512-542. zhenlan, w. and peterson, p.m. 2006. muhlenbergia. flora of china 22: 486-487. (manuscript received on 8 december 2010; revised on 2 june 2011) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 1-20, 2006 (june) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. v. desmids (euastrum, micrasterias, actinotaenium and cosmarium) a. k. m. nurul islam* and haseeb md. irfanullah1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: acidic habitats, species diversity, phytoplankton, desmids, new taxa, new records abstract ninety-three desmid taxa belonging to four genera, namely euastrum, micrasterias, actinotaenium and cosmarium have been recorded from different aquatic habitats located within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar. of these, 20 are described as new records for bangladesh, including a new variety, e. substellatum nordst. var. bangladeshicum islam & irfanullah var. nov. and a new forma, cosmarium depressum (näg.) lund. var. apertum (turner) hirano fa. spinosum islam and irfanullah fa. nov. introduction the aquatic macrophytes (islam and irfanullah, 2000) and a significant proportion of the algal flora (islam and irfanullah, 2005 a, b, c) of some selected habitats within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar, have recently been described in a series of hydrobiological papers. the present paper is the penultimate instalment of this series dealing with four desmid genera from these habitats. materials and methods islam and irfanullah (2000) described the present study area in srimangal and also presented some meteorological data. the studied water bodies, namely, baraoora lake, the burburia river, ditches and paddy fields were mainly acidic (islam and irfanullah, 2005a). a total of 120 algal samples were collected in different seasons of 1996 and 1997, namely winter (9 january 1996 and 6 january 1997), spring (18 march 1997), rainy season (20 july 1997) and autumn (20 october 1997). see islam and irfanullah (2005a) for sample collection methods, and their preservation and examination. taxonomic enumeration this study revealed 93 desmid taxa belonging to four genera, namely euastrum (18 taxa), micrasterias (9 taxa), actinotaenium (10 taxa) and cosmarium (56 taxa), of which 20 are new records for bangladesh including a new variety and a new forma. the new *corresponding author. 1present address: iucn the world conservation union, bangladesh country office, house 11, road 138, gulshan 1, dhaka-1212. e-mail: hmirfanullah@yahoo.co.uk 2 islam and irfanullah records are marked with asterisk. twenty-seven desmid taxa have already been reported from this area by the same authors as new records for bangladesh (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 1999 a, b), thus are not marked in this account. class: chlorophyceae; order: zygnematales; family: desmidiaceae; genus: euastrum ehr. ex ralfs, 1848 1. *e. boldtii schmidle (pl. 7, fig. 73) (růžička 1981, 80:1-7) l. 23 µm, w. 16.2-17.5 µm, i. 4.7 µm, t. 12-13.5 µm; granules are sparsely arranged in a regular fashion. river; autumn 1997; few. 2. e. ceylanicum (w. & w.) krieger (pl. 2, fig. 12) (scott and prescott 1961, 11:3-5; islam and haroon 1980, 13:176; 19:282) l. 56.7 µm, w. 43.2 µm, i. 9.4 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. 3. *e. denticulatum (kirch.) gay var. quadrifarium krieger fa. incisum scott & prescott (pl. 4, fig. 32) (scott and prescott 1958, 6:1) l. 29.7 µm, w. 23-24.3 µm, i. 5.4 µm, t. csp. 19-20.3 µm, t. ssp. 16.2-17.5 µm; finely punctate cell wall. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 4. e. didelta ralfs var. bengalicum lagerh. (pl. 2, fig. 16) (scott and prescott 1961, 9:5-6) l. 87.7 µm, w. 43.2 µm, i. 10.8 µm, t. 20.2 µm. river; spring 1997; few. 5. *e. didelta ralfs var. bengalicum lagerh. fa. minus scott & prescott (scott and prescott 1958, fig. 4, no. 7) l. 84 µm, w. 42.5 µm, i. 12 µm, t. 20 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. 6. *e. elegans (bréb.) kütz. fa. (pl. 2, fig. 14) l. 35.8 µm, w. 20.2 µm, i. 4.7 µm, t. 9.4-10.8 µm; sparsely granulated cell wall. lake; winter 1996; rare. 7. e. gnathophorum w. & w. var. bulbuosum scott & prescott (pl. 2, fig. 10) (scott and prescott 1961, 9:9-10; islam and haroon 1980, 7:116-117) l. 62 µm, w. 33 µm, i. 8.8 µm. river; spring 1997; common. 8. e. horikawae hinode (pl. 1, fig. 1) (scott and prescott 1961, 15:1; islam and haroon 1980, 2:31-35) l. 94.5 µm, w. 74.2 µm, i. 27 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 9. *e. inerme (ralfs) lund. var. inerme (pl. 2, fig. 15) (růžička 1981, 61:8-10) l. 58 µm, w. 27 µm, i. 9.4 µm, t. 14.8 µm; diameter of the perforation 4.7 µm; smooth wall. river; spring 1997; common. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 3 plate 1 (figs. 1-8) figs. 1. euastrum horikawae, 2. e. turgidum var. turgidum, 3. e. spinulosum var. burmense, 4. e. substellatum var. bangladeshicum var. nov., 5. e. quadratum, 6-7. e. substellatum, 8. e. sinuosum var. parallelum. [scales: fig. 8 = 30 µm, rest = 20 µm] 4 islam and irfanullah 10. e. longicolle nordst. var. capitatum w. & w. fa. minus scott & prescott (pl. 2, fig. 11) (scott and prescott 1961, 8:4-5; islam and haroon 1980, 7:120-121) l. 68.8 µm, w. 31 µm, i. 9.4 µm, t. 20.2 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. 11. e. quadratum nordstedt (pl. 1, fig. 5) (růžička 1981, 534) l. 51.3 µm, w. csp. 46 µm, w. ssp. 43.2 µm, i. 10.8 µm, t ssp. 16.2 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997 and rainy 1997; few. 12. e. sinuosum lenorm. var. capitatum scott & prescott (pl. 2, fig. 17) (scott and prescott 1961, 7:8-9) l. 70.2 µm, w. 41 µm, i. 8.8 µm, t. 21.7 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 13. *e. sinuosum var. parallelum krieger (pl. 1, fig. 8) (prescott et al. 1977, 60:20) l. 54 µm, w. 27.7 µm, i. 7.4 µm; finely pitted cell wall. river; spring 1997; few. 14. *e. sinuosum var. subjenneri w. & w. (pl. 2, fig. 9) (skuja 1949, 24:5-6; prescott et al. 1977, 60:18) l. 70.2 µm, w. 40.5 µm, i. 10.8 µm, t. 21.6 µm; nine minute warts on each front surface of each semicell; cell wall punctate. it also resembles var. reductum w. & w. (irene-marie 1938, 15:1-2). lake; winter 1997; rare. 15. e. spinulosum delponte var. burmense (w. & w.) krieger (pl. 1, fig. 3) (skuja 1949, 24:9-11; islam and haroon 1980, 6:102-103) l. csp. 64.8 µm, l. ssp. 58.7 µm, w. csp. 51.3 µm, i. 8 µm. river; spring 1997; rare. 16. e. substellatum nordst. (pl. 1, figs. 6-7) (scott and prescott 1961, 11:1-2) l. csp. 52.6-56.7 µm, l. ssp. 50-52.6 µm, w. csp. 51.3-59.4 µm, w. ssp. 47.2-58 µm, i. 8.8-12 µm, t. csp. 17.5-20.2 µm, t. ssp. 12.8-14.8 µm. lake (autumn 1997) and river (spring 1997); few. 17. *euastrum substellatum nordst. var. bangladeshicum islam & irfanullah var. nov. cellulis mediocris, sed magnus quam typicus; incisura mediano profundus. varietas a planta typica differens possessione per semi-cellulis lobo basalis horizontalis latus et lobo apicalis truncatis; lobo basalis et polaris separatio per sinum concavatis latumque; lobis basalibus parallelis, ad extremum lobo polaris et lobo basalis cum spinis coroniformis; ad centralis lobo basalibus tumorem magnum et duo protuberationis in lateribus; marginalis apicalis cum depressus distinctus ad medianus (incisura apicalis absens); cellulis 71.5 µm longis sine spinis; 67.5 µm in medio diam. cum spinis, et 62 µm sine spinis; isthmus 10.8 µm latus; sinus linearis, anguste aperiens intra-marginem interius, sed fere clausus extrinsecus; tumidus hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 5 mediano circumcinctus ab ca. 16-20 granulis et interius hic 6-7 granulis parvulus praesentia (planctonicus). holotypus: collectio no. h-43; 19 march 1997. locus typus: in fluvium burburia ad srimangal, moulvi bazar, in hortus camellia sinensis; aquas ph 6.7, aquas temp. 27°c. euastrum substellatum nordst. var. bangladeshicum islam & irfanullah var. nov. cells medium-sized, fairly bigger than the typical, with deep median incision; incision narrow, linear, open inside, but almost closed outside; each semicell with a basal and an apical lobe, separated by a broad sinus; basal lobes almost parallel with a crown of spines at each terminal end; each basal lobe with a big central swelling and two smaller swellings, one on each side of it at equal distance; apical lobe corners each with a crown of spines, apical margin truncate with median distinct, shallow depression but without any apical notch; in top view 1-central and 2-lateral tumour-like protrusions clearly visible; below the polar and lateral margins of each semicell several spines are present; median tumours are also surrounded by ca. 1620 granules on outer side and 6-7 smaller granules are present in the inner side; cell length 71.5 µm without spines; mid-diam. with spines 67.5 µm and 62 µm without spines; isthmus 10.8 µm broad (planktonic). rare in the collection. note: it is distinct from the typical by its parallel basal lobes with 1-median big swelling and 2-smaller lateral swellings or processes/protrusions and a crown of apical spines at the terminal ends of the basal and apical lobes. the typical form does not have the 2 extra lateral swellings in each semicell. also apical margin shows distinct median shallow depression. besides, the apical and basal lobes are separated by broad concave sinus. 18. e. turgidum wallich var. turgidum (pl. 1, fig. 2) (scott and prescott 1961, 12:4-5) l. 127 µm, w. 78.3 µm, i. 25.6 µm, t. 56.7-59.4 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. genus: micrasterias agardh ex ralfs, 1848 19. m. alata wallich (pl. 3, fig. 23) (islam 1970, 12:1-2) l. cpr. 159 µm, w. cpr. 139-147 µm, i. 17.5 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 20. m. foliacea bail. lake; winter 1996; common. 21. m. mahabuleshwarensis hobson var. surculifera lagerh. (pl. 3, fig. 18) (islam 1970, 7:7-8) 6 islam and irfanullah l. cpr. 129-135 µm, l. spr. 103 µm, w. 116 µm, i. 16.2 µm, t. cpr. 60.7 µm, t. spr. 19 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 22. m. pinnatifida (kg.) ralfs var. pinnatifida (pl. 3, figs. 19-20) (růžička 1981, 93:1-6) l. 46-59 µm, w. csp. 54-64.7 µm, i. 9.4-10.6 µm, t. csp. 37.8-50.6 µm. lake (winter 1997; common) and (autumn 1997; rare); and river (spring 1997; few). 23. m. pinnatifida (kg.) ralfs var. pinnatifida fa. inflata (wolle) croasdale (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 95, 3:34) river; spring 1997; rare. 24. m. radians turner (pl. 3, fig. 24) (islam 1970, 11:1-2) l. 111 µm, l. csp. 138-139 µm, w. csp. 116-123 µm, i. 23 µm, t. csp. 50-51 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997; rare to common. 25. m. thomasiana arch. var. notata (nordst.) grönbl. (scott and prescott, 1961, 17:6; růžička 1981, 114:1-8) l. 211 µm, w. 190 µm, i. 22 µm. here, the apical lobes show swollen lateral margins at the tip. river; spring 1997; rare. 26. m. thomasiana var. pulcherrima g. west (pl. 4, fig. 26) (islam and haroon 1980, 8:122-123; růžička 1981, 114:9) l. 173 µm, w. 151 µm, i. 23 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. 27. m. zeylanica fritsch var. wallichiana (turner) krieger (pl. 3, fig. 22) (islam 1970, 8:37) l. 47.2 µm, w. csp. 52.6 µm, i. 10.8 µm, t. csp. 37.8 µm, t. ssp. 31 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. genus: actinotaenium (näg.) teiling, 1954 28. a. australe (racib.) teil. var. crassius (g.s. west) krieger & gerloff (krieger & gerloff 1969, 59:13) l. 81 µm, w. 59.4-60.7 µm, i. 54 µm. lake; spring 1997; few. 29. a. capax (joshua) teil. var. minus (schm.) teil. (pl. 4, fig. 28) (ling and tyler 1986, 23:20) l. 75.6 µm, w. 47.2-48.6 µm, i. 44.5 µm. a smaller form. river; spring 1997; rare. 30. a. cruciferum (de bary) teil. var. cruciferum (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 118, 2:18-21) river; rainy and autumn 1997; common. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 7 plate 2 (figs. 9-17) figs. 9. euastrum sinuosum var. subjenneri, 10. e. gnathophorum var. bulbuosum, 11. e. longicolle var. capitatum fa. minus, 12. e. ceylanicum, 13. e. didelta var. bengalicum fa. minus, 14. e. elegans fa., 15. e. inerme var. inerme, 16. e. didelta var. bengalicum, 17. e. sinuosum var. capitatum. [scales: fig. 16 = 30 µm, rest = 20 µm] 8 islam and irfanullah 31. a. cucurbita (bréb.) teil var. attenuatum (g.s. west) teil. (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 118, 2:15) lake; winter 1996; rare. 32. a. cucurbitinum (biss.) teil. (pl. 4, fig. 27) (islam and haroon 1980, 7:114; ling and tyler 1986, 23:19) l. 71.5 µm, w. 25.6 µm, i. 20.2 µm, t. 10.8 µm. cell wall granulated. river; spring 1997; rare. 33. *a. cucurbitinum var. truncatum krieger (pl. 4, fig. 29) (scott and prescott 1961, 23:9) l 64.8 µm, w. 28.3 µm, i. 25.6 µm, t. 13.5 µm. poles truncate. river; spring 1997; rare. 34. a. diplosporum (lund.) teil. var. diplosporum (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 118, 2:13) lake; winter and spring 1997; rare. 35. a. subglobosum (nordst.) teil. var. subglobosum (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 120, 2:16-17) lake; year round; few to common. 36. a. turgidum (bréb) teil. var. turgidum (pl. 6, fig. 50) (islam and haroon 1980, 13:175; růžička 1981, 54:1-9) l. 159 µm, w. 81 µm, i. 69 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 37. a. wollei (w. & w.) teil. var. wollei (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 120, 2:14) lake; spring and autumn 1997; few. genus: cosmarium corda, 1834 38. c. alpestre roy & biss. (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 120, 2:12) lake; winter 1996; few. 39. c. angulatum (perty) rab. fa. major grunow (pl. 5, fig. 41) (scott and prescott 1958, fig. 13, no. 8) l. 73 µm, w. 44.5 µm, i. 17.5 µm, t. 21.6-24.3 µm. lake; winter 1996 (few) and autumn 1997 (rare). 40. c. askenasyi schmid. (pl. 6, fig. 45) (islam 1970, 6:16) l. 144 µm, w. 109 µm, i. 42 µm, t. 32 µm. lake (winter 1996; rare), ditch (rainy 1997; rare) and river (spring 1997; few). hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 9 plate 3 (figs. 18-24) figs. 18. micrasterias mahabuleshwarensis var. surculifera, 19-20. m. pinnatifida var. pinnatifida, 21. m. pinnatifida var. pinnatifida fa. inflata (after islam and irfanullah 1999b), 22. m. zeylanica var. wallichiana, 23. m. alata, 24. m. radians. [scales = 20 µm] 10 islam and irfanullah 41. c. bioculatum bréb. var. excavatum gutw. fa. (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 92, 2:28-29) lake; autumn 1997; common. 42. *c. bireme nordst. var. barbadense g.s. west (pl. 7, fig. 60) (krieger and gerloff 1965, 40:2) l. 10 µm, w. 12-13 µm, t. 6 µm, i. 3 µm; one protrusion on each front surface of each semicell, cell poles flat. slightly bigger than the typical. lake; winter 1996; rare. 43. c. blyttii wille (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 92, 2:19-21) lake; winter 1996 and 1997 (few) and river; spring (few). 44. *c. blytii fa. australicum schm. (pl. 7, fig. 71) (scott and prescott 1961, 31:15) l. 17.5 µm; w. 14.8 µm; i. 6 µm; t. 8 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 45. *c. clepsydra nordst fa. (pl. 6, figs. 48-49) l. 16 µm, w. 13.5-16 µm, i. 3.5-8.5 µm. cell wall smooth, relatively thick; in front view each semi-cell bears an elliptical protrusion on both side near the cell pole, which is flat from top view. lake; winter 1996; few. 46. c. connatum bréb. (pl. 7, fig. 52) (islam and haroon 1980, 12:164) l. 56.7-67.5 µm, w. 44.5-51.3 µm, i. 31-37.8 µm. lake and river; spring 1997; few. 47. c. contractum kirchn. var. ellipsoideum (elfv.) w. & w. (pl. 7, fig. 53) (okada 1934, 27:8; hirano 1957, 20:3-4; krieger and gerloff 1962, 17:4) l 32.4 µm, w. 23-24.3 µm, i. 4.7 µm. pitted cell wall. lake; winter 1997; few. 48. c. contractiforme groenbl. and scott fa. (islam and irfanullah 1999b, 92, 2:25–27) lake; winter 1996; common. 49. c. decoratum w. & w. (pl. 5, fig. 40) (islam and haroon 1980, 106-108) l. 86.4 µm, w. 64.8 µm, i. 24.3. lake (spring 1997; few) and paddy field (autumn 1997; rare) and river (spring 1997; few). 50. c. depressum (näg.) lund var. intermedium (gutw.) messik. (pl. 7, fig. 57) (krieger and gerloff 1962, 8:7) l. 30.5 µm, w. 30.5 µm, i. 5.6. µm, t. 4.8-5.6. the present material is only slightly smaller than the typical. lake; winter 1996; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 11 plate 4 (figs. 25-32) figs. 25. micrasterias thomasiana var. notata, 26. m. thomasiana var. pulcherrima, 27. actinotaenium cucurbitinum, 28. a. capax var. minus, 29. a. cucurbitinum var. truncatum, 30-31. c. freemanii var. ? verrucosum, 32. euastrum denticulatum var. quadrifarium? fa. incisum. [scale: figs. 25-26 = 30 µm, rest = 20 µm] 12 islam and irfanullah 51. *cosmarium depressum (näg.) lund. var. apertum (turner) hirano fa. spinosum islam & irfanullah fa. nov. (pl. 7, fig. 70) cellulis in structura simil ad var. apertum et in statura similaris ad var. minor; sed differt e uterque a membrane spinosus (spinae parvulus) et in aspectu vertice late ellipticus; cellulis 23.6 µm longum; diametro 24.8 µm; isthmus 5.2 µm. holotypus: collectio no. h-103; 21 october 1997. locus typus: in lake baraoora ad srimangal, moulvi bazar, in hortus camellia sinensis; aquas ph 5.5; aquas temp. 27°c. cosmarium depressum (nag.) lund. var. apertum (turner) hirano fa. spinosum islam & irfanullah fa. nov. (pl. 7, fig. 70) cell shape like var. apertum and in size similar to var. minor (hirano 1956); but it differs from both by its spiny cell wall (spines very small), and top view broadly elliptical. cell length 23.6 µm, diam. 24.8 µm, isthmus 5.2 µm. common in the collection. 52. c. depressum (näg.) lund. var. minutum (heimerl) krieger & gerloff (islam and irfanullah 1998, 90, pl. 1:7) lake; winter 1996; few. 53. *c. freemanii w. & w. var. ? verrucosum scott & prescott (pl. 4, figs. 30-31) (scott and prescott 1961, 31:3-4) l. 35-40.5 µm, w. 28.3-30.4 µm, i. 6.7-8.8 µm, top view elliptical, two parallel rows of small spines encircling the cell can be seen from the top view; three warts on each side of the semicell near the pole. it is also close to c. ceylanicum w. & w. fa. minus scott & prescott (scott and prescott 1961, 31:5). lake; winter 1996 and autumn 1997; rare. 54. *c. geometricum w. & w. var. latum printz (pl. 7, fig. 58) (krieger and gerloff 1965, 40:33) l. 9 µm, w. 9.5 µm, i. 5 µm, t. 6.5 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997, and spring 1997; few. 55. c. granatum bréb. (pl. 7, fig. 65) (islam and hossain 1979, 1:4) l. 27 µm, w. 18.2 µm, t. 5.4 µm. lake; winter 1996 and 1997 (few) and spring 1997 (rare). 56. c. javanicum nordst. var. tumescens (turner) islam & irfanullah (islam and irfanullah 1999b, 92, 1:10-11) river; spring 1997; rare. 57. c. lundellii delp. var. circulare (reinsch.) krieger (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 93, 1:4-5) lake (autumn 1997) and river (spring 1997); rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 13 plate 5 (figs. 33-40) figs. 33. cosmarium margaritatum, 34. c. spinuliferum, 35. c. quadrum, 36. c. scabrum, 37. c. quinarium, 38. cosmarium sp., 39. c. striolatum, 40. c. decoratum. [scales = 10 µm] 14 islam and irfanullah 58. c. lundellii var. ellipticum w.s. west (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 93, 1:6-7) river; spring 1997; rare. 59. c. lundellii delp. fa (pl. 7, fig. 59) l. 44.5 µm, w. 40.5 µm, i. 20.2 µm. lake; spring 1997; rare. 60. c. margaritatum roy & biss. (pl. 5, fig. 33) (hirano 1957, 29:3; islam and zaman 1975, 6:75) l. 55.3 µm, w. 50 µm, i. 14.8 µm. lake (winter 1996; rare) and river (spring 1997; few) 61. c. margaritatum var. quadrum krieger (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 90, 1:8) lake; winter 1997; rare. 62. c. maximum (boerges.) w. & w. fa. (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 94, 1:1) lake; autumn 1997; common. 63. c. nudum (turner) gutw. (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 90, 1:10) lake; autumn 1997; rare. 64. c. obliquum nordst. var. symmetricum groenblad (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 92, 1:1-2) lake (winter 1996) and paddy field (autumn 1997); few. 65. c. obsoletum (hantz.) reinsch var. sitvense gutw. (pl. 7, fig. 55) (islam 1970, 13:11) l. 44.5-46 µm, w. 59.4 µm, i. 21.6 µm. lake; winter 1996 (few), spring 1997 (rare) and autumn 1997 (common). 66. c. pakistanicum islam (pl. 5, fig. 42) (islam, 1970, 14:2, 23:1-10) l. 111-116 µm, w. 62 µm, i. 42-47 µm. lake (winter 1996) and river (spring 1997); few. 67. *c. paucigranulatum borge (pl. 7, fig. 72) (scott and prescott 1961, 31:14) l.11 µm, w. 15-16 µm, i. 6.8, t. 9.2-10 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. 68. *c. phaseolus bréb. var. minutum (biswas) krieger & gerloff pl. 6, figs. 43-44) (krieger and gerloff 1962, 14:6; hirano 1972, 3:14) l. 7.4-9.4 µm, w. 9.4-10.2 µm, i. 4.7-5.4 µm, t. 6.7-8 µm. cells are in short chains. lake; autumn 1997; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 15 plate 6 (figs. 41-51) figs. 41. c. angulatum fa. major, 42. c. pakistanicum, 43-44. c. phaseolus var. minutum, 45. c. askenasyi, 46. c. taxichondrum fa., 47. c. taxichondrum, 48-49. c. clepsydra, 50. actinotaenium turgidum var. turgidum, 51. a. australe var. crassius. [scales: figs. 41-42 = 30 µm, rest = 20 µm] 16 islam and irfanullah 69. c. portianum archer var. nephroideum wittr. islam and irfanullah, 1998, 92, 1:5) lake; autumn 1997; rare. 70. c. pseudamoenum wille islam and irfanullah, 1998, 92, 1:4) lake (rare) and river (few); spring 1997. 71. c. pseudoexiguum racib. var. quadratum krieger islam and irfanullah, 1998, 92, 1:6) lake; winter 1996 and 1997; few. 72. c. pseudomagnificum hinode var. brasiliense (foers. and eck.) foers. islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 94, 1:12-13) lake (winter 1997) and paddy field (autumn 1997); few. 73. c. pseudopyramidatum lund. var. letiferum taylor islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 94, 1:2-3) lake; winter 1996; rare. 74. c. punctulatum bréb. fa. (pl. 7, fig. 63) l. 19.2 µm, w. 20.8-23.2 µm, i. 5.2 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. 75. c. quadrum lund. (pl. 5, fig. 35) hirano 1957, 29:1; islam and zaman 1975, 7:95) l. 56.7 µm, w. 55.3 µm, i. 13.5 µm. it also approaches c. pardalis cohn. as shown by islam (1970). lake; autumn 1997 (few) and river; spring 1997 (few). 76. *c. quinarium lundell fa. (pl. 5, fig. 37) l. 27.7 µm, w. 26.3 µm, i. 6.7 µm. it is smaller than the typical or it is fa. irregularis nordst (irene-marie 1938, p. 190-191) and it differs by its top and side views. lake; winter 1996; rare. 77. c. rectangulare gurnow var. cambrense (turner) w. & w. (pl. 7, fig. 62) islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 94, 1:8-9) lake; winter 1996; few. 78. c. regnellii wille var. pseudoregnelii (messik.) krieger & gerloff islam and irfanullah, 1998, 94, 1:3) lake; winter 1996; few. 79. c. regnesii reinsch (pl. 7, fig. 69) scott and prescott 1961, 32:23) l. 8.8 µm, w. 10 µm, i. 4.3 µm, cell wall is warted in a symmetric fashion. lake; autumn 1997; very rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 17 plate 7 (figs. 52-73) figs. 52. cosmarium connatum, 53. c. contractum var. ellipsoideum, 54. c. tumidum, 55. c. obsoletum var. sitvense, 56. c. subvalidum, 57. c. depressum var. intermedium, 58. c. geometricum var. latum, 59. c. lundellii, 60. c. bireme var. barbadense, 61. c. venustum var. brevius, 62. c. rectangulare var. cambrense (after islam and irfanullah 1999b), 63. c. punctulatum fa., 64. c. retusiforme, 65. c. granatum, 66. c. sublatereundatum, 67-68. c. stigmosum var. hakalukiense, 69. c. regnesii, 70. c. depressum var. apertum fa. spinosum fa. nov., 71. c. blytii fa. australicum, 72. c. paucigranulatum, 73. euastrum boldtii. [scales: figs. 52 = 30 µm, rest = 10 µm] 18 islam and irfanullah 80. c. retusiforme (wille) gutw. (pl. 7, fig. 64) krieger and gerloff 1962, 20:11; islam 1970, 13:13; ling and tyler 1986, 14:15) l. 23.7-24.3 µm, w. 18.2-19 µm, i. 4-4.7 µm, t. 9.4-10 µm. lake; winter 1996 (rare) and autumn 1997 (common) and river; spring and autumn 1997 (rare to few). 81. c. scabrum turner (pl. 5, fig. 36) turner 1892, 9:32; scott and prescott 1961, 29:3) 42 µm, w. 47.2-48.6 µm, i. 13.5 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 82. *c. spinuliferum w. & w. (pl. 5, fig. 34) scott and prescott 1961, 29:6-7; ling and tyler 1986, 18:44) l. 23 µm, w. ssp. 20-21 µm, i. 5.5. µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 83. c. striolatum näg. (pl. 5, fig. 39) (scott and prescott 1961, 25:2-3; islam and haroon 1980, 14:187) l. 101 µm, w. 59.4 µm, i. 44.5 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 84. c. stigmosum (nordst.) turner var. hakalukiense islam & haroon (islam and haroon 1980, 22:361-362) l. 40.5-42 µm, w. 33.7-40.5 µm, i. 18.2-19 µm. lake; winter 1996 (rare) and 1997 (few). 85. c. sublatereundatum w. & w. (pl. 7, fig. 66) (islam and haroon 1980, 22:363-364, as a forma) l. 43.2 µm, w. 35-36.4 µm, i. 12 µm, t. 13.5 µm. lake; winter 1996, rainy and autumn 1997; rare. 86. *c. subvalidum (pl. 7, fig. 56) l. 20 µm, w. 11 µm, i. 4.5. µm, t. 8.5 µm. lake (winter 1997 ) and river (spring 1997); few. 87. c. taxichondrum lund. var. undulatum scott and prescott (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 95, 2:22-24) paddy field; autumn 1997; few. 88. c. taxichondrum lundell fa. (pl. 6, fig. 46) l. 27 µm, w. 26.5 µm, i. 5.3. µm. compare with irene-marie 1938, 27:3-5. ditch; autumn 1997; few. 89. c. taxichondrum lundell fa. (pl. 6, fig. 47) w. 32 µm, i. 5.5. µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 90. c. trachypleurum lund. var. minus racib. (islam and irfanullah, 1998, 94, 1:9) lake; winter 1996; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens 19 91. *c. tumidum lund. (pl. 7, fig. 54) (scott and prescott 1961, 27:16) l. 33.7 µm, w. 25.6 µm, i. 7.4 µm. pitted cell wall. lake; winter 1996 and 1997 (few) and autumn 1997 (common). 92. *c. venustum (bréb.) arch. var. brevius bernard (pl. 7, fig. 61) (bernard 1908, 92, figs. 123-125; hirano 1957, 137, 20:35) l. 27-28.3 µm, w. 17.5 µm, i. 4-4.7 µm, t. 8-10.8 µm. it also somewhat resembles c. impressulum elfv. (hirano 1957). lake; winter and autumn 1997; rare. 93. cosmarium sp. (pl. 5, fig. 38) l. 68.8 µm, w. 60.7 µm, i. 20.2 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. acknowledgements we are grateful to a.f.m. badrul alam, the then director, btri, srimangal, maulvibazar for providing the logistic, laboratory and other support during this study and also to all his colleagues who extended their help in the laboratory and in supplying necessary information. thanks also due to james finley & co. for the permission to sample its aquatic habitats. references bernard, ch. 1908. protococcacees et desmidiees d’eau douce, recotees a java. dept. de l’agri. aux indes néerl. pp. 230, batavia. hirano, m. 1956. flora desmidiarum japonicarum. ii. contr. biol. lab. kyoto univ. no. 2: 57-106. hirano, m. 1957. flora desmidiarum japonicarum. iii. contr. biol. lab. kyoto univ. no. 4: 107-165 + pls. 19-25. hirano, m. 1972. desmids from cambodia, with special reference to phytoplankton of lake grands lacs (tonle sap). contr. biol. lab. kyoto univ. 23(3-4): 123-127. irene-marie, f. 1938. flore desmidiale de la region de montreal. laprairie, canada, pp. 547. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1970. contributions to the knowledge of desmids of east pakistan. part i. nova hedwigia 20: 903-983. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. desmids of bangladesh. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 65(4): 551-604. islam, a.k.m. nurul and hossain, m. 1979. preliminary studies on the algae flora of bagerhat, khulna. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 5(1): 37-45. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 1998. new records of desmids for bangladesh. i. fifteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 27(2): 89-96. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 1999a. new records of desmids for bangladesh. ii. thirteen taxa. bangladesh j. bot. 28(2): 117-123. 20 islam and irfanullah islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 1999b. new records of desmids for bangladesh. iii. 24 taxa. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(2): 91-104. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 2000. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. i. aquatic macrophytes. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 29-42. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 2005a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 2005b. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iii. chlorophyceae (excluding desmids). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 19-37. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m., 2005c. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iv. desmids (17 genera). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 49-62. islam, a.k.m. nurul and zaman, k.m. 1975. limnological studies of the river buriganga iii. biological aspect. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 1(1): 45-65. krieger, w. and gerloff, j. 1962. die gattung cosmarium. lief. 1: iii-xviii, 1-112 + pls. 1-19. ver. von j. cramer, weinheim. krieger, w. and gerloff, j. 1965. die gattung cosmarium. lief. 2: 113-240 + pls. 23-42. ver. von j. cramer, weinheim. krieger, w. and gerloff, j. 1969. die gattung cosmarium. lief. 3+4: 241-410 + pls. 43-71. j. cramer, lehre. ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 1986. a limnological survey of the alligator rivers region. ii. freshwater algae, exclusive of diatoms. res. rep. 3. austr. govt. publ. service, canberra, pp. 173. okada, y. 1934. the desmid-flora of the northern kurile islands. j. imp. fish. inst. 30(3): 1-199 + pls. 17-31. prescott, g.w., croasdale, h.t. and vinyard, w.c., 1977. a synopsis of north american desmids. part ii. desmidiaceae: placodermae. sec. 2, pp. 413. růžička, j. 1981. die desmidiaceen mitteleuropas. 1 : lief. 2: 293-736. e. schw. verlags., stuttgart. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1958. some freshwater algae from arnhem land in the northern territory of australia. 2. rec. amer.-austr. sci. expn. to arnhem land. 3: 9-136. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1961. indonesian desmids. hydrobiologia 17(1-2): 1-132. skuja, von h. 1949. zur süsswasseralgen-flora burmas. nova acta reg. soc. sci. upsaliensis ser. iv. 14(5): 1-188 + pls. 39. turner, w.b. 1892. algae aquae dulcis indiae orientalis. the freshwater algae (principally desmidieae) of east india. kongl. sv. wet.-akad. handl. 25(5): 1-187. a. k. m. nurul islam* and haseeb md. irfanullah1 genus: actinotaenium (näg.) teiling, 1954 (islam and haroon 1980, 7:114; ling and tyler 1986, 23:19) l. 71.5 μm, w. 25.6 μm, i. 20.2 μm, t. 10.8 μm. cell wall gr 38. c. alpestre roy & biss. (islam and irfanullah, 1999a, 120, 2:12) lake; winter 1996; few. 43. c. blyttii wille (islam and irfanullah, 1999b, 92, 2:19-21) lake; winter 1996 and 1997 (few) and river; spring (few). microsoft word sc-4. solanum americanum_galley proof_approved 12.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 83-85, 2016 (june) short communication © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new variety of solanum americanum mill. (solanaceae), from eastern ghats, india p. murugan, c. kalidass1 and p.c. panda taxonomy and conservation division, regional plant resource centre, bhubaneswar-15, india keywords: solanum; new taxon; eastern ghats; india. solanum l., is economically and medicinally important genus and one of the largest genera of flowering plants with c. 1500 species distributed in all continents, except antarctica (vorontsova, et al., 2013). in india, the genus is represented by 48 species (reema kumari, 2004), of which 13 species are reported from odisha (saxena and brahmam, 1995). during revisionary studies and exploration of the genus solanum l. of eastern ghats, the authors came across some interesting specimens from the districts of kandhamal, ganjam and gajapati in odisha state, india. these specimens closely resemble solanum americanum but differ by its height, stem, number of flowers, ovary and style characters (table 1). therefore, it is described here as a new variety of solanum americanum mill. var. odishensis var. nov. solanum americanum mill. var. odishensis kalidass & p. murugan, var. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: solanum americanum var. odishensis is closely allied to solanum americanum mill., but differs from it in having prickly angular stem, inflorescence 5-8 flowered, style erect, densely villous in middle and curved at apex. type: india, odisha: kandhamal district, g. udayagiri forest range, 14 july 2015, 20˚07'204''n, 084˚22'187''e, ±658m, kalidass & murugan 18021 (holotype: cal!, isotypes: mh!, rprc!). erect annual herbs, 100-130 cm high. stem 4-angular with prickles, branched, pubescentglabrescent; branches ascending. leaves simple, alternate or sub-opposite, ovate or ovatelanceolate, 4-9×3-5 cm, cuneate or obtuse at base, margin entire to sinuate or sinuate-dentate, acute or acuminate at apex, pale beneath, glabrous or pubescent on both surfaces; lateral nerves 46 pairs; petioles 2-3 cm long, flat or terete. inflorescence axillary or extra-axillary, umbellate or sub-umbellate cymes, 5-8 flowered. flowers 3-5 mm long, creamy white; peduncle 2-3 cm long, slender, glabrous or pubescent; pedicels 8-10 mm long, slender, glabrous. calyx 5-lobed, valvate,1.5 mm in diameter, base united; calyx-lobes deltoid, each lobe less than 1 mm long, green, pubescent, margin ciliate, reflexed away from mature berries, persistent. corolla valvate, 5lobed, 2-3 mm in diameter, star-like, base united; lobes ovate or lanceolate 2.5 mm long, reflexed, margin ciliate. stamens 5, epipetalous; anthers lanceolate, 1 mm long, yellow, dithecus, basifixed and dehisces apically; filament c. 0.5 mm long, glabrous. ovary globose, c. 0.8 mm long, glabrous; style less than 1.5 mm long, filiform, densely villous in the middle, curved at apex; stigma capitate, green. berries globose, 5-8 mm in diameter black or dull black when ripe, glossy. seeds 10-30, ovate or orbicular, 1.0-1.5 mm long, brownish-white, compressed. flowering and fruiting: may september. 1corresponding author. email: kalidassindia@gmail.com 84 murugan et al.   etymology: solanum americanum var. odishensis is named after the state odisha, one of plant diversity zones in eastern ghats, india. distribution: the new variety in distributed in the odisha state of india as an eastern ghats element. habitat: solanum americanum var. odishensis is found to grow in open scrub forest, usually near water courses and shady localities. it grows along with lantana camara l., sida acuta burm. f., sesamum indicum l., solanum torvum sw., albizia lebbeck (l.) benth., neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser. fig. 1. solanum americanum mill. var. odishensis, var. nov. a. habit; b. leaf; c. stem; e. inflorescence; f. pistil; h. l.s. of flower bud; j. fruiting twig; k. fruit; l. seeds; solanum americanum mill. d. stem; g. pistil; i. l.s. of flower bud. a new variety of solanum americanum mill. 85   paratypes: india, odisha state, kandhamal district, paburia, 20˚09'308''n, 084˚15'339''e and alt. ±681 msl; 14.07.2015, kalidass & murugan 18024 (rprc) kalinga ghat, 20˚09'867''n, 084˚24'870''e and alt. ±737 msl; 15.07.2015, kalidass & murugan 18027 (rprc) ganjam district, sikulipadara, 19˚24'086''n, 084˚20'372''e and alt. ±594 msl; 19.08.2015, kalidass & murugan 18045 (rprc) gajapati district, parlakhemundi, jajpur, 18˚47'630''n 084˚07'230''e and alt. ±71 msl; 21.08.2015, kalidass & murugan 18067 (rprc) ganjam district, taptapani, 19˚29'126''n, 084˚23'660''e and alt. ±439 msl; 22.08.2015, kalidass & murugan 18087 (rprc). table 1. comparison of solanum americanum mill. var. odishensis var. nov. and solanum americanum mill. var. americanum character state solanum americanum mill. var. odishensis var. nov. solanum americanum mill. var. americanum plant height 100 – 130 cm ≤100cm stem angular, prickly terete, non-prickly number of flowers 5-8 flowered 4-6 flowered ovary globose, less than 1mm long ovoid, more than1mm long style less than 1.5 mm long, densely villous at middle more than 1.5 mm long, densely glandular at middle acknowledgements the authors are grateful to shri. shashi paul, i.f.s., chief executive, regional plant resource centre, bhubaneswar for their encouragement and facilities. thanks are also due to forest & environment department, government of odisha, bhubaneswar for financial support to this project. references reema kumari, m. 2004. a taxonomic revision of indian solanaceae. ph. d. thesis at bharathiar university, coimbatore, india. saxena, h.o. and brahmam, m. 1995. the flora of orissa, vol. 2. orissa forest development corporation ltd., bhubaneswar, pp. 1214–1223. vorontsova, m.s., stern, s., bohs, l. and knapp, s. 2013. african spiny solanum (subgenus leptostemonum, solanaceae): a thorny phylogenetic tangle. bot. j. linn. soc. 173: 176–193. (manuscript received on 25 january 2016; revised on 12 april 2016) microsoft word s-4. book.review.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 99, 2012 (june) book review © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists bibliography of flora and ethnobiology in west bengal by sunit mitra, subhajit bandyopadhyay and sobhan kr. mukherjee, east himalayan society for spermatophyte taxonomy, department of botany, north bengal university, siliguri 734013, west bengal, india, 2010, paperbound, price: rs. 250.00, pp. 165. a good compilation of published scientific literatures on systematic botany, plant taxonomy, flora, vegetation, economic botany, medicinal plants, ethnobotany, palynology, aerobiology, environmental botany, ecology, biodiversity and related disciplines from west bengal, india covering a wide period of about 220 years from 1790 to 2010. authors deserve special appreciation for undertaking and completion of such cumbersome and painstaking job. this is a good piece of document and ready reference of bibliographic information for teachers, students and researchers on plant taxonomy and allied fields from west bengal and adjacent regions. the book contains major three chapters, printed as chapter-i, chapter-ii and chapter-iii dealing with bibliographic entries. chapter-i deals with floristic study, vegetation, nomenclature, taxonomy, systematic and morphological information, and contains 667 entries. chapter-ii contains 427 entries on economic botany, medicinal plants and ethnobotany. chapter iii having 263 entries deals with palynology, aerobiology, environmental botany, ecology, biology and others. each chapter also includes “index to authors” to that chapter. an addendum with 33 entries is provided at the end of the book. a 22 page introduction at the beginning provides in brief the geographical and vegetation profiles of west bengal and historical review of the botany of west bengal. other than students of plant taxonomy and ethnobotany, people from other fields will derive immense benefits from this introduction. list of journals after chapter iii gives an elaboration of the acronyms of journals used in this piece of work. there remain some loopholes in every work. and this work also could not get rid of it. the book lacks a table of contents. also the chapters from introduction to addendum could be numbered systematically. many literature cited in preface and introduction have not been referred anywhere. either a general reference section in introduction chapter or at the end of the book as general references would make the citations more meaningful. a little care in editing of introduction chapter could make the readability flow much better. anyway, i firmly believe that researchers in concerned fields will be immensely benefited from this book, and wish a wide circulation of the book. i would also like to extend my warm felicitations to the authors for this valuable work through this review. dr. md. khairul alam former chief research officer bangladesh forest research institute chittagong, bangladesh microsoft word sc-3. calotropis procera_galley proof_approved 13.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 79-81, 2016 (june) short communication © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floral anomalies in calotropis procera (aiton) dryand – nature’s bizarre play piush srivastava, vineeta tripathi and dipak kumar mishra1 botany division, csir-central drug research institute, b.s. 10/1, sector 10, jankipuram extension, sitapur road, lucknow-226031, india keywords: calotropis procera; apocynaceae; flower anomaly. calotropis procera (aiton) dryand belonging to the family apocynaceae [formerly in asclepiadaceae, now under subfamily asclepiadoideae of apocynaceae (angiosperm phylogeny group, 2003; bensusan, 2009) is a small evergreen shrub distributed throughout africa, america, asia and australia. it is common almost throughout india. it is an important medicinal plant and widely used against various diseases like leprosy, ulcer, and piles (kartikar and basu, 1994). flowers of this species are regular, bisexual, pentamerous and arranged in simple or rarely compound cymose corymbs at the ends of laterally placed or interpetiolar peduncles arising from alternate sides of the nodes. each cluster is surrounded by several small, oblong, pointed and scaly caducous bracts. flower buds are ovoid, calyx five lobed, lobes broadly ovate with small fleshy teeth like glands within the base. corolla regular, gamopetalous, with a short tube and five broad ovate or lanceolate lobes. stamens five, inserted at the base of the corolla. filaments connate and form a staminal column, the apex of which is adnate to dilated stigma forming a pentangular gynostegium. five coronal appendages are radiating from the staminal columns which are slightly shorter than the column. the appendages are fleshy, pale purplish or yellowish white and laterally compressed with a circinately recurved hollow spur at base and two short obtuse obliquely divergent cuticles towards the top just below the apex. anthers short, 2-celled, coherent round the stigma, corpusculum located at the angles of gynostegium, which are visible like black glands (fig.1, a1&a2). this type of floral structure of c. procera was also supported by some other literatures (henry, 1971; hooker, 1978; kanjlal et al., 1939; lal, 1997; meena et al., 2010; rahman and wilcock, 1991; shetty et al., 1991) during the field visits to different places of uttar pradesh, india from january 2011 to december 2014, many abnormalities of its floral structure were observed. each abnormality was detected in a single flower of the plant, while other flowers of the same plant or population were quite normal. many literatures were consulted to find out any earlier report of such abnormalities, but in vein. all the herbarium specimens of c. procera deposited at the herbarium of csir central drug research institute and csirnational botanical research institute were also scrutinized, but no such abnormalities were noticed. so, the present report on such anomalies in the floral structure of c. procera can be called first of its kind. the different types of anomalies which were observed are as follows: anomaly-1: calyx 4-lobed, corolla 6-lobed, gynostegium quadrangular, coronal appendages 6, of which 2 are distinct and remaining 4 are joined in pairs (fig. 1, b1&b2). anomaly-2: calyx 5-lobed, corolla 5-lobed, gynostegium triangular, coronal appendages 4, of which 2 are distinct and remaining 2 are laterally joined (fig. 1, c1&c2). 1corresponding author. email: dk_mishra@cdri.res.in 80 srivastava et al. anomaly-3: calyx 5-lobed, corolla 4-lobed, gynostegium pentangular, coronal appendages 5, of which 3 are distinct and 2/3 lower portion of remaining 2 are laterally joined (fig. 1, d1&d2). anomaly-4: calyx 5-lobed, corolla 6-lobed, gynostegium quadrangular, coronal appendages 4, distinct (fig. 1, e1&e2). anomaly-5: calyx 6-lobed, of which 2 smaller are overlapped by a broader one, corolla 4lobed, gynostegium quadrangular, coronal appendages 4, distinct (fig. 1, f1&f2). fig. 1. structure of normal flower and floral anomalies of calotropis procera (aiton) dryand.: a1&a2. normal flower; b1&b2. anomaly 1; c1&c2. anomaly 2; d1&d2. anomaly 3; e1&e2. anomaly 4; f1&f2. anomaly 5; g1&g2. anomaly 6; h1&h2. anomaly 7; i1&i2. anomaly 8; j1&j2. anomaly 9; k1&k2 anomaly 10; l1&l2. anomaly 11. anomaly-6: calyx 5-lobed, corolla 4-lobed, gynostegium quadrangular, coronal appendages 4, distinct (fig. 1, g1&g2). anomaly-7: calyx 5-lobed, corolla 5-lobed, gynostegium quadrangular, coronal appendages 5, of which 3 are distinct and remaining 2 are completely joined looks like a single broader appendage (fig. 1, h1&h2). anomaly-8: calyx 5-lobed, corolla 5-lobed, gynostegium pentangular, coronal appendages 5, of which 3 are distinct and 2/3 lower portion of remaining 2 are laterally joined (fig. 1, i1&i2). floral anomalies in calotropis procera 81 anomaly-9: calyx 5-lobed, of which 4 are normal and remaining one is smaller and placed below the joined 2 corolla lobes, corolla 5-lobed, of which 3 are distinct and remaining 2 are completely joined, gynostegium quadrangular, coronal appendages 4 (fig. 1, j1&j2). anomaly-10: calyx 4-lobed, corolla 4-lobed, gynostegium quadrangular, coronal appendages 4, distinct (fig. 1, k1&k2). anomaly-11: calyx 4-lobed, corolla 4-lobed, gynostegium pentangular, coronal appendages 5, distinct (fig. 1, l1&l2). the development of flower usually results from the controlled cell division of floral meristems followed by their differentiation and organization. the pattern and number of cell divisions of any species decide the number, shape and orientation of its floral members. according to meyerowitz et al. (1998), the cell division pattern and number are strictly controlled by three genes viz., superman, clavata and perianthia and any kind of alteration in expression or mutation in these genes may lead to floral abnormalities. as each of these abnormalities or anomalies were noticed in a single flower of its whole population these abnormalities or anomalies of floral structure do not have any taxonomic significance. acknowledgements the authors acknowledge csir network project bsc 0106 for financial assistance. the cdri communication number of this paper is 9202. references angiosperm phylogeny group 2003. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg ii. bot. j. linn. soc. 141: 399–436. bensusan, k. 2009. taxonomy and conservation status of moroccan stapeliads (apocynaceaeasclepiadoideae-ceropegieae-stapeliinae). bulletin de l’institut scientifique, rabat, section sciences de la vie 31(2): 67–77. henry, c. 1971. flora simlensis. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, p. 315. hooker, j.d. 1978. flora of british india. vol. 4. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 17–18. kanjlal, u.n., das, a. and de, r.n. 1939. flora of assam. vol. 3. the authority of the government of assam, india, pp. 282–284. kartikar, k.r. and basu, b.d. 1994. indian medicinal plants. vol. 3. 2nd edition. allahabad, india, pp. 1606– 1609. lal, r. 1997. asclepiadaceae. in: mudgal, v., khanna, k.k. and hajra, p.k. (eds), flora of madhya pradesh. vol. 2. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 67–68. meena, a.k., yadav, a.k., niranjan, u.s., singh, b., nagariya, a.k., sharma, k., gaurav, a., sharma, s. and rao, m.m. 2010. a review on calotropis procera linn. and its ethnobotany, phytochemical, pharmacological profile. drug inventiontoday 2(2): 185–190. meyerowitz, e.m., running, m.p., sakai, h. and williams, r.w. 1998. multiple modes of cell division control in arabidopsis flower development. symp. soc. exp. biol. 51: 19–26. rahman, m.a. and wilcock, c.c. 1991. a taxonomic revision of calotropis (asclepiadaceae). nard. j. bat. 11(3): 301-308. shetty, b.v., singh, v., parmar, p.j. and pandey, r.p. (eds). 1991. flora of rajasthan, india, vol. 2. botanical survey of india, calcutta, p. 475. (manuscript received on 3 october 2015; revised on 25 january 2016) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 71-73, 2007 (june) short communication tacca plantaginea (hence) drenth (taccaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh m.a. hassan1 and mohammad zashim uddin2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: tacca plantaginea, new record, bangladesh the genus tacca forst., under the monogeneric family taccaceae, is represented by ten species, nine in the tropics of the old world and one in tropical south america. it is well-developed in malesia, where eight out of nine old world species occur (van steenis 1975). hooker (1892) recorded four species from the whole of british india (including present bangladesh), out of which only two (t. pinnatifida j. r. & g. forst. = t. leontopetaloides (l.) o. ktze. and t. integrifolia ker-gawl.) stand valid and the other two (t. cristata jack and t. laevis roxb.) became synonyms under t. integrifolia (van steenis 1975, phengklai 1993). tacca is so far represented by three species in bangladesh, viz., (i) t. leontopetaloides (l.) o. ktze. (syn. t. pinnatifida j.r.&g. forst.), (ii) t. integrifolia kergawl. (syn. t. cristata jack, t. aspera roxb. and t. laevis roxb.), and (iii) t. chantrieri andre (hook. f. 1892, prain 1903, sinclair 1955, van steenis 1975, phengklai 1993, uddin et al. 1998, lemmens and bunyapraphatsara 2003, uddin and hassan 2004). a sterile tiny specimen of tacca was collected from rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary while the area was floristically explored during 1998-2001 and planted in the dhaka university botanical garden. the plant grew well and after about five years it flowered in october 2006. this live specimen has been identified as tacca plantaginea (hence) drenth, following the description and illustration given by phengklai (1993). tacca plantaginea is so far known from south china (type), vietnam, laos and thailand (phengklai l.c.), hence it has been reported here as a new record for bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic description of the species has been prepared and photograph provided based on the live specimen conserved at the dhaka university botanical garden. tacca plantaginea (hence) drenth, blumea 20: 391 (1972). schizocapsa plantaginea hence, j. bot. 19: 292 (1881). (plate 1) a perennial herb with cylindrical rhizome. leaves 3-4 together, rosulate, petiolate, 17 × 4.5 cm, lanceolate, margin entire, apex acute to acuminate, base gradually merging into the petiole, petiole up to 15 cm long, channelled on the upper surface. inflorescence 1corresponding author. 2e-mail: zashim07@yahoo.com 72 hassan and uddin 1-2, scape simple, up to 7 cm long, up to 13-flowered. involucral bracts 4, arranged in 2 pairs, decussate, sessile, green, outer 2 ovate-lanceolate, longer one 6.3 cm, number of bracts correlates with the number of flowers. flowers pedicellate, light green, actinomorphic, trimerous. tepals 3 + 3, in two series, outer 3 c. 9 × 4 mm, inner 3 c. 7 × 6 mm, broadly ovate. stamens 6, light green, each opposite to a tepal, filaments short, plate 1. tacca plantaginea. a. habit; b. a capsule; c. a bursting capsule (seeds dropped out). c. 1 cm long, anther broad, c. 3 cm. carpels 3, 6-ribbed, united into a compound inferior ovary, one chambered, placentation parietal, ovules many. fruit a capsule, triangular, dehiscent, bursting longitudinally into 3 valves, valves reflexed. seeds oblong-ovoid, grey in colour, longitudinally striped. flowering and fruiting: october-february. distribution: south china (type), vietnam, laos and thailand. references hooker, j.d. 1892. fl. brit. ind. 6: 286-288. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. lemmens, r.h.m.j. and bunyapraphatsara, n. (eds.) 2003. plant resources of south-east asia no. 12(3). medicinal and poisonous plants 3. prosea foundation, bogor, indonesia, pp. 664. phengklai, c. 1993. taccaceae. in: smitinand, t. and larsen, k. (eds.), flora of thailand 6, part i. the forest herbarium, royal forest department, bangkok, pp. 1-9. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants 2: 1092-1093. indian reprint (1996), bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. tacca plantaginea 73 sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. bengal 9(2): 84-116. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. iucn the world conservation union, bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh, vi + pp. 120. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. van steenis, c.g.g.j. (ed.) 1975. flora malesiana 7. part 4. noordhoff international publishing, leyden, the netherlands, pp. 806-819. (manuscript received on 12 march 2007; revised on 12 april 2007) microsoft word 03. seed protein in trifolium final_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 19-26, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists electrophoretic pattern of seed proteins in trifolium l. and its taxonomic implications n.m. george1, a. ghareeb, n.m. fawzi2 and s. saad department of botany, faculty of science, zagazig university, egypt keywords: trifolium; numerical analysis; sds-page; seed protein. abstract the taxonomic delimitations of 61 taxa of the genus trifolium l. belonging to presently accepted five sections, namely lotoidea, mistyllus, vesicaria, chronosemium and trifolium are evaluated, based on numerical analysis of their electrophoretic seed protein profiles. the dendrogram, resulted from the hierarchical cluster analysis of sds-page profiles of seed proteins conform, with some restrictions, to the present splitting of the genus trifolium into the sections but not into the subsections and series. introduction the genus trifolium l. (clover) is one of the important genera of papilionoideae of the leguminosae with agricultural value. it contains 237 species and represented in all continents (zohary, 1972b). the mediterranean region and its adjacent countries are one of the main centres of distribution of trifolium species, and also the centre of domestication and breeding of the cultivated species (zohary and heller, 1984). several taxonomic treatments were made by botanists to divide the genus into natural groups. linnaeus (1753) divided the genus into five groups, some of which were later accepted as sections. seringe (1825) proposed the genus with seven sections. presl (1832) splitted the genus into nine new genera and all of these genera are retained today as sections. lojacono (1883) distinguished two subgenera within the genus and divided the first subgenus into 11 sections and the second one into only two sections. boissier (1873) reduced the number of sections to seven. hossain (1961) divided the genus into eight subgenera. another approach was adopted by zohary and heller (1984), who recognized eight sections for the genus. the first and largest section is tentatively divided into nine subsections and 13 series. based on morphological characters alone, it is difficult to distinguish the subordinate taxa of the genus trifolium from one another because they have overlapping variations in terms of the major delimiting morphological and biological characters. the importance of electrophoretic evidence in plant systematics has been discussed in detail by mamy workers (boulter and derbyshire, 1971; gottlieb, 1977; ghareeb et al., 1999; kamel, 2005). electrophoretic profiles of seed proteins have been used in different systematic studies (badr et al., 2000; zecevic et al., 2000). in leguminosae many studies have been carried out based on the electrophoresis of seed proteins (hussein and george, 2002; hussein et al., 2005). electrophoretic patterns of total seed proteins as revealed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (page) with sodium dodecyl sulphate (sds) have been successfully used to resolve the taxonomic and evolutionary problems of some plant species (ladizinsky and hymowitz, 1979; potokina et al., 2000; ghafoor and arshad, 2008; ayten et al., 2009). badr (1995) and nikolic et al. (2010) studied the electrophoretic seed profiles of some taxa of the genus trifolium. recently the phylogeny of the genus trifolium was studied based on dna sequencing (ellison et al., 2006). 1corresponding author. email: nmgtadrous@yahoo.com 2flora and phytotaxonomy research department, horticultural research institute, agriculture research center, cairo-egypt. 20 george et al.   in the present study, the taxonomic delimitations of 61 taxa of trifolium are re-assessed based on the data resulted from sds-page profiles of their seed proteins. materials and methods in the present study, 61 taxa of trifolium have been investigated. sources of the seeds directly used for protein extraction are given in table 1. to extract the seed proteins, 0.5 g of mature seeds ground to meal using a mortar and pestle. the meals were homogenized with 0.5 ml of tris-hcl buffer containing 2% sds and 10% sucrose at ph 6.8 for overnight at 4ºc. the slurry was centrifuged at 9000 rpm for 6 min. the supernatant (protein extract) was taken for loading on 12.5% polyacrylamide gel. protein samples (20 µl) including loading dye were loaded in the stacking gel. electrophoresis was carried out under non-reducing conditions in 12.5% polyacrylamide gel. the assay was carried out by an electric supply of 15 ma for 30 min, and then raised to 25 ma for 5-6 h, using a protein marker with low molecular weights. gels were then stained in coomassie brilliant blue for 16 h at room temperature, distained and photographed. the bands produced by each sample were counted. the similarity coefficient between the species based on comparisons of their sds-page profiles was calculated by jaccard’s coefficient using the spss program (version 10.1). the data obtained from the seed protein banding patterns, each species, were subjected to the numerical analysis. the presence or absence of each of the bands (coded as 1 and 0 respectively) was treated as a binary character in a data matrix. the outs (operational taxonomic units), produced from the analysis of sds-page profiles of seed proteins, collected from the investigated taxa of trifolium, resulted in a dendrogram and it was compared with the current taxonomic treatments of the genus trifolium. results and discussion the banding patterns of trifolium taxa are shown in figure 1. the seed protein profiles of examined taxa illustrated that bands in between marker weight 116kds and 55kds are homogenous in comparison to bands in between 50kds and 14kds. the relationships among the taxa of trifolium are presented in figure 2. the dendrogram resulted from the hierarchical cluster analysis of sds-page profiles of seed proteins of 61 trifolium taxa conform, with some restrictions, to the splitting of this genus into sections, but not with the sub-sectional arrangement under the section lotoidea and section trifolium considered by zohary and heller (1984). the dendrogram shows that the investigated taxa of trifolium are split into two major clusters. the first major cluster includes 20 taxa belonging to section trifolium and the second major cluster includes 41 taxa belonging to four sections, viz., lotoidea, mistyllus, vesicaria and chronosemium. within the first major cluster, the taxa are divided into two clusters. the first one included t. alexandrinum, t. caudatum and t. canescens in which t. alexandrinum was delimited leaving t. caudatum and t. canescens as a group. in the second cluster, the taxa are divided into two groups. the first group includes t. arvense, t. bocconei, t. cherleri and t. incarnatum. the second group includes 12 taxa of section trifolium. trifolium ligusticum represents the subsection phleoidea. the similarity between the taxa belonging to section trifolium ranged from 36.4% to 100%. zohary and heller (1984) showed that section trifolium ranks second in the number of species, after section lotoidea, which is consistent with the results of this study. it is heterogeneous in appearance but have several distinctive proteins banding pattern after sdspage. but their agreement in splitting of section trifolium into 17 small and natural clusters by zohary (1971, 1972a, b), regarded as subsections does not conform to the results of this study (table 1, fig. 2). the grouping of t. caudatum and t. canescens, as well as, the high similarity electrophoretic pattern of seed proteins in trifolium 21   table 1. sections, subsections and series based on zohary and heller (1984) and sources of trifolium samples. section subsection series trifolium source serial no. lotoidea loxospermum 8. t. decorum chiov. 17. t. multinerve a. rich. icla icla 9437 13321 ochreata 19. t. polystachyum fresen. 28. t. simense fresen. icla icla 6298 324903 lotoidea lotoidea 2. t. amabile h.bk rpis 262412 5. t. burchellianum ser. rpis 369911 6. t. burchellianum ssp.johanstonii gillett (oliv.) 7. t. cernum brot. icla ipk 10179 53179 10. t. hybridum l. 12. t. masaiense gillett. rpis icla 184555 896 14. t. michelianum savi. ipk 79181 15. t. michelianum var. balansae (boiss.) azn. ipk 145176 18. t. nigrescans ssp. nigrescens viv. 22. t. repens l. 23. t. repens var. giganteum larg.-foss. 24. t. occidental coombe. ipk rpis rpis ipk 117179 282378 324903 254191 25. t. semipilosum var. semipilosum fresen. 26. t. semipilosum var. glabrescens gillett 30. t. thalii vill. icla icla rpis 905 6235 308090 platystylium platystylium 1. t. africanum ser. 3. t. ambiguum m. bieb. 4. t. bilineatum fresen. rpis rpis icla 369885 440689 8355 11. t. isthmocarpum brot. 16. t. montanum l. ipk rpis 7719 234914 20. t. ruppellianum var. ruppellianum fresen. 21. t. ruppellianum var. lanceolatum fresen. 29. t. tembense fresen. icla icla icla 9229 6260 8501 micrantheum 9. t. glomeratum l. 28. t. suffocatum l. ipk ipk 136180 71179 calycospatha 13. t. mattirolianum chivo. icla 8444 mistyllus 31. t. quartinianum a. rich. 32. t. spumosum l. 33. t. teudneri schweinf. icla ipk icla 9428 67183 9720 34. t. xerocephalum fenzl. ipk vesicaria 35. t. fragiferum l. 36. t. physodes stev. ex. m.b. 37. t. lumens stev. ex. m.b. rpis rpis ipk 13322 243229 181189 38. t. resupinatum l. 39. t. tomentosum l. icla ipk 9224 138180 chronosemium agraria 40. t. campestre schreb. ipk 98180 filiformia 41. t. dubium sibth. ipk 234186 trifolium intermedia 54. t. heldreichianum (gib. belli) hausskn. 60. t. medium var. medium l. 61. t. medium var. sarosiense (hajsl.) savul. rpis rpis rpis 419289 259988 179191 22 george et al.   table 1 contd. section subsection series trifolium source serial no. alpestria 43. t. alpestre l. rpis 210191 stellata 56. t. incarnatum l. ilca 7018 trichoptera 48. t. bocconei savi. ipk 81187 phleoidea 59. t. ligusticum balb. ex. loisel. ipk 137189 lappacea 51. t. cherleri l. 55. t. hirtum all. 57. t. lappaceum l. ipk ipk ipk 135182 213175 140182 arvensia 47. t. arvense l. ipk 40186 angustifolia 44. t. angustifolium l. 47. t. purpureum loisel.var. desvauxii (boiss). 53. t. dichroanthum boiss. ipk ipk ipk 419304 143182 130179 alexandrina 42. t. alexandrinum l. 46. t. apertum bobrov. ilca ipk 6810 44182 urceolata 58. t. leucanthum m. bieb. ipk 131177 clypeata 52. t. clypeatum l. ipk 129192 ilca = international livestock center for africa at addis ababa, ethiopia; rpis = regional plant introduction station, pullman, washington, usa; ipk = institut fur pflanzengenetik und kulturpfanzenforschung, germany. fig. 1. electropherogrames produced by sds-page analysis of seed proteins of 61 trifolium taxa, under non-reducing conditions, numbered as in table 1. m = marker protein standards. (95.7%) between them support their position in subsection ochroleuca. on the other hand, t. alexandrinum show low similarity (36.4%) with t. apertum, although the obtained results, in the electrophoretic pattern of seed proteins in trifolium 23   present work, referred that both the two species still delimited under the same section trifolium, it may be claimed that the inclusion of them in the same subsection alexandrina is inconsistent and needs further investigation. three species t. cherleri, t. hirtum and t. lappaceum representing subsection lappacea are distant from one another. this result implies that it may be better to treat them under separate subsections. although t. angustifolium, t. purpureum var. desvauxii and t. dichroanthum belonging to subsection angustifolia, t. angustifolium and t. purpureum var. desvauxii grouped together but t. dichroanthum grouped with t. clypeatum showing similarity (87.0%). among the three taxa t. heldreichianum, t. medium var. medium and t. medium var. sarosiense comprising the subsection intermedia, the two varieties of t. medium shows no difference with each other with a similarity of 100% and t. heldreichianum differs from these two varieties with a similarity of 52.05%. the present data show that the taxonomic delimitations in section trifolium requires reconsideration and the number of its subsections as proposed by zohary (1971, 1972a, b), should be reduced. the second major cluster comprising of four sections (lotoidea, mistyllus, vesicaria and chronosemium) is divided into two large clusters. one includes 30 taxa belonging to the section lotoidea and other includes 11 taxa belonging to the sections mistyllus, vesicaria and chronosemium. within the large cluster of section lotoidea the taxa combine variously and form six similarity groups as described below. the pairs of taxa t. tembense and t. thalii, t. mattirolianum and t. polystachyum, and t. isthmocarpum and t. masaiense are consequently segregated as separate groups. the remaining taxa of the section are separated into three groups. the first group is formed by t. africanum, t. amabile, t. ambiguum, t. bilineatum, t. burchellianum, t. burchellianum var. johanstonii, t. cernum, t. decorum, t. glomeratum and t. hybridum. the second group comprised t. nigrescans ssp. nigrescens and t. suffocatum and the third group is formed by the remaining 12 taxa of the section lotoidea. these groupings of taxa also show that the members included in the subsections loxospermum, ochreata, lotoidea, platystylium and calycospatha or that included in the series lotoidea, platystylium and micrantheum by zohary and heller (1984) do not belong to these subsections or series (table 1, fig. 2). the similarity between the taxa belonging to this section ranged from 34.3% to 100%. among these taxa, t. ruppellianum var. lianruppeelum and t. repens shows no difference respectively with t. ruppellianum var. lanceolatum and t. repens var. giganteum, rather a similarity of 100%. trifolium semipilosum and t. semipilosum var. glabrescens presented the same similarity (100%). trifolim michelianum differs from t. michelianum var. balansae with a similarity of 96.4%. these results show that the nine subsections and 13 series recognized in section lotoidea by zohary and heller (1984) based on morphological characters should be reconsidered. their view to consider this section as the most primitive group of the genus should be justified by its robust phylogeny. george and hussein (2002) separated tribe ononidea based on chromosome study, as well as the seed proteins analysis of 10 taxa of tribe trifolieae. badr (1995) illustrated that, on the basis of seed protein electrophoresis, section lotoidea appears as a heterogenous group in which species relationship requires reconsideration. the large cluster formed by 11 taxa following the section lotoidea is segregated into three groups, one of which including t. quartinianum, t. spumosum, t. teudneri and t. xerocephalum is consistent with the section mistyllus recognized by zohary and heller (1984). the unique structure of the symmetrically vesicular calyx and the persistent corolla, the manifestly bracteolate flowers and 2-4 seeded pod dehiscing suturally, sharply delimits this section from the others (zohary and heller, 1984). the other two groups that include the taxa of sections vesicaria and chronosemium and share the similarities between 53.8% and 76.2% do not completely conform to these sections, as recognized by zohary and heller (1984). the two taxa t. resupinatum and t. 24 george et al.   tomentosum belonging to the section vesicaria group with the taxa of section chronosemium (table 1, fig. 2) which is inconsistent with zohary and heller (1984). fig. 2. dendrogram illustrating the average taxonomic distance (dissimilarity) between the trifolium taxa studied, based on the sds-page of seed protein characters under non-reducing conditions; numbered as in table 1. electrophoretic pattern of seed proteins in trifolium 25   references ayten, c., leyla, a. and zeki, a. 2009. biosystematics studies among ebenus l. species based on morphological, rapd-pcr and seed protein analysis in turkey. pak. j. bot. 41(5): 2477-2486. badr, a. 1995. electrophoretic studied of seed proteins in relation to chromosomal criteria and the relationships of some taxa of trifolium. taxon 44: 183-191. badr, a., el-shazly, h.h. and abou el-enain, m.m. 2000. seed protein diversity and its implications on the relationships in the genus lathyrus l. (fabaceae). proceedings of the 1st international conference biological sciences, 7-8 may, 2000, tanta university, pp. 333-346. boissier, e. 1873. trifolium. in: flora orientalis. vol. 2: 110-156, genevae et basileae. boulter, d. and derbyshire, e. 1971. taxonomic aspects of the structure of legume proteins. in: harborne, j.b., boulter, d. and turner, b.l. (eds), chemotaxonomy of the leguminosae. london, pp. 285-305. ellison, n.w., liston, a., steiner, j.j., williams, m.w. and taylor, n.l. 2006. molecular phylogenetics of the clover genus (trifolium leguminosae). mol. phylogenet. evol. 39: 688-705. george, n.m. and hussein, h. 2002. taxonomic significance of chromosome number and seed protein electrophoretic analysis in some taxa of tribe trifolieae (papilionoideae). egy. j. biotechnol. 11: 323329. ghafoor, a. and arshad, m. 2008. seed protein profiling of pisum sativum l., germplasm using sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (sds-page) for investigation of biodiversity. pak. j. bot. 40(6): 2315-2321. ghareeb, a., khalifa, s.f. and nael, f. 1999. molecular systematic of some cassia species. cytologia 64: 11-16. gottlieb, l.j. 1977. electrophoretic evidence and plant systematics. ann. miss. bot. gard. 64: 161-180. hossain, m. 1961. a revision of trifolium in nearer east. notes roy. bot. gard. edinburgh 23: 387-481. hussein, h. and george, n.m. 2002. taxonomic importance of floral morphology, chromosome number and seed protein electrophoretic patterns in some species of tribe vicieae (subfamily: papilionoideae leguminosae). egy. j. biotechnol. 11: 106-123. hussein, h., george, n.m. and el-dimerdash, m.m. 2005. taxonomic importance of seed protein electrophoretic patterns in some taxa of the subfamily mimosoideae-leguminosae. assiut univ. j. bot. 34(2): 101-130. kamel, e.a. 2005. biochemical and molecular variations in the genus raphanus l. based on sds-page seed proteins and isozymes patterns. bull. fac. sci. assut. univ. 34(1): 95-113. ladizinsky, g. and hymowitz, t. 1979. seed protein electrophoresis in taxonomic and evolutionary studies. theor. appl. genet. 54: 145-151. linnaeus, c. 1753. species plantarum. 2 vols. stockholm. facsimile ed. 1957, royal society, london. lojacono, m. 1883. clavis specierum trifoliorum. nuova gironale. bot. ilal. 15: 225-278. nikolic, z., vasiljevic, s., karagic, d., vujakovic, m., jovicic, d., katic, s. and surlan-momirovic, g. 2010. genetic diversity of red clover cultivars (trifolium pratense l.) based on protein polymorphism. genetika j. 42(2): 249-258. potokina, e., duncan, a., vaughan, a., eggi, e.e. and tomooka, n. 2000. population diversity of the vicia sativa agg. 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(manuscript received on 12 march 2012; revised on 4 june 2013) microsoft word s-2. cucumis hystrix.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 205-207, 2012 (december) short communication © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists cucumis hystrix chakrav. (cucurbitaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh sarder nasir uddin1, bushra khan and momtaz mohal mirza bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh. keywords: cucumis hystrix; new record; bangladesh. cucumis l. (cucurbitaceae) consists of about 35 species occurring mainly in africa and extending with few species into south-east asia and australia (kirkbride, 1993). in bangladesh, rahman (2008) listed three species of the genus, viz. cucumis callosus (rottb.) cogn., cucumis melo l. and cucumis sativus l. recently, we have collected one wild specimen of cucumis from pharua reserve forest under rangamati district and identified as cucumis hystrix chakrav. the species was not reported earlier from the territory of bangladesh in the relevant literatures of this region, viz. clarke (1883), prain (1903), heinig (1925), sinclair (1956), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman (1996, 2004a,b), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), khan and huq (2001), uddin et al. (2003), tutul et al. (2010) and arefin et al. (2011). hence, it is herewith reported as a new record for bangladesh. the voucher specimen of the species has been deposited at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the detailed description and illustration of the species based on fresh material are given below. cucumis hystrix chakrav., j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 50: 869, pl. 7 (1952); chakrav., rec. bot. surv. india 17(1): 110 (1959); jeffrey, cucur. e. asia: 22 (1980); kirkbride, biosys. mono. genus cucumis (cucurbitaceae): 86 (1993). cucumis muriculatus chakrav., j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 50: 869, pl. 4 (1952). (fig. 1) annual, monoecious climber. stem angular-sulcate, setose hairy, tendril simple, unbranched. leaves petiolate; petioles 2-8 cm long, dense greenish hairy; lamina ovate, 5-15 × 4-14 cm, shallowly (3-) 5-angular or lobed, base cordate, apex acute, margin serrate-dentate, densely brown-red setose-hairy on both surfaces. male flowers: 2-7-fascicled; pedicels 2-5 mm long, hairy; receptacle-tube turbinate-urceolate, 5 × 2 mm; sepals 2-3 mm long; corolla yellow, 8-10 mm long, tube 3-4 mm long, lobes 5-6 mm long, veins hairy; stamens inserted about halfway in the receptacle tube; filaments 1 mm long, glabrous; anthers 2.0-2.5 mm long, connective extension up to 1 mm long; disc subglobose, c. 2 mm in diam. female flowers: solitary, pedicels 1-5 mm long, hairy; ovary narrowly ellipsoid-ovoid, 8-10 × 2-3 mm, antrorse-strigose; perianths as in male flowers, but sepals somewhat broader; styles 2-3 mm long, stigma 2.5 mm long, consisting of 3 sessile carnose lobes, connate at base, lobes papillose; staminodes c. 1 mm long, inserted about halfway the receptacle tube. fruits pendent, green or yellowish-green, 5-10 × 2-4 cm, ellipsoid, tapering at both ends, shortly beaked at apex, aculeate tubercled by dense, soft, spine like 2-5 mm long protuberances, fruiting pedicels 2-10 mm long. seeds numerous, obovate, 3.5-5.0 × 2.0-2.5 mm, smooth, pale-yellow. flowering and fruiting period: september-december. ecology: grows in scrub jungles, edges of forests, and along roadsides, over granite bedrock as well as on limestone, up to 1800 m altitude. corresponding author. e-mail: nsarder@yahoo.com 206 uddin et al. fig. 1. cucumis hystrix chakrav.: a. twig with fruit, b. male flower, c. l.s. of male flower, d. female flower, e. l.s. female flower. specimen examined: rangamati: bilaichari, pharua reserve forest, monlovi chara, 19.10.2008, s.n. uddin, b. khan and m. m. mirza, n-2998 (dacb). distribution: north-east india (assam), myanmar, thailand, and south-west china (yunnan). uses: local people eat unripe fruit as a cooked vegetable. references arefin, k., rahman, m.m., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2011. angiosperm flora of satchhari national park, habigonj, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 117-140. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, pp. 1-84. clarke, c. b. 1879. cucurbitaceae. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india. vol. 2. l. reeve & co. ltd., england, pp. 604-635 cucumis hystrix chakrav. (cucurbitaceae) 207 khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. kirkbride, j.h. 1993. biosystematic monograph of the genus cucumis (cucurbitaceae). parkway publishers, boone, north carolina, p. 159. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 24-45. prain, d. 1903 (rep. ed. 1963). bengal plants. vol. 1. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 374-385. rahman, m.o. 1996. an annotated checklist of cucurbits of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 3(1): 57-65. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants' series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1l(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants' series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o. 2008. in: ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a. and rahman, a.k.t. (eds), encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. angiosperms: dicotyledons (cucurbitaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 291-325. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-97. sinclair, j. 1956. the flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 84-116. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. ii. magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 33-53. uddin, s.b. and rahman. m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox's bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31-68. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2003. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh iia: magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 79-94. uddin,. s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 30 april 2012; revised on 5 november 2012) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 9-22, 2010 (june) © 2010 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park (bangladesh): a preliminary assessment mohammad zashim uddin1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: preliminary assessment; angiosperm diversity; lawachara national park. abstract the present article focuses on an inventory of angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park. using traditional taxonomic techniques data have been collected from the park during january to october 2008. in this preliminary assessment, a total of 374 angiosperm species including cultivated ones have been catalogued under 84 families. nineteen threatened plant species have also been recognized in the park. introduction lawachara national park under kamalganj upazila of maulvi bazar district is a part of west bhanugach reserve forest, which was declared reserve in early nineteenth century as per the forest act 1878, the assam forest manual 1898 and the forest act 1927. the park is located nearly 160 km northeast of dhaka and approximately 60 km south of sylhet city. it lies between 24˚30΄-24˚32΄ n latitude and 91˚37΄-91˚39΄ e longitude. a part of the reserve forest was declared as a national park in 1996 having a total area of 1250 ha (green, 1990; canonizado and rahman, 1998; riadh, 2007; ahsan, 2007). present forest types of lawachara are a combination of planted exotic species and mixed forest with a deciduous canopy and an evergreen understory (ahsan, 2000). the forest originally supported an indigenous vegetation cover of mixed tropical evergreen type (alam, 1998). the topography of lawachara national park is undulating, with slopes and hillocks that range from 10 to 50 m in elevation (rizvi, 1970; riadh, 2007). these hillocks are scattered and interspersed with numerous streams that flow through the forest. the hills are composed of upper tertiary rocks in which sand stone largely predominates (ahmad, 1970; stevens, 1986) along with siltstones and mudstones, locally altered to slates and shales. the significant soils in the hills of maulvi bazar belong to ramgarh and rangamati series on dupitila formation (stevens, 1986). soils of the park are generally sandy loam and the rest are mostly clayey loam (ahmad, 1970). the area enjoys a moist tropical climate characterized by a period of high precipitation from april to september and five months of relatively dry period from november to march. 1corresponding author. e-mail: zashim07@yahoo.com 10 uddin and hassan in bangladesh, assessment of plant diversity of the forests of different protected areas has already been started. khan et al. (1994), rahman and hassan (1995), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), khan and huq (2001) and uddin and hassan (2004) have so far published floristic works but no such work was carried out for lawachara national park. the values of different aspects of this park is now realized both by local and international communities. one international organization usaid and nishorgo support project in collaboration with forest department have been working in the park to establish co-management strategy for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable development. for the sake of management of biodiversity, assessment of plant diversity especially angiosperm diversity as major component of the park, is very essential that will provide baseline information on which action plan can be made. the present study has been undertaken to make an inventory of angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park. materials and methods six field visits, each lasted for five days have been made to the area during january 2008 to october 2008. each section of this spectacular national park was carefully combed to assure all species in the list including those that were scattered or infrequent. special effort was made to locate the species already listed as threatened or endangered in the country. botanical specimens were collected and field identifications were confirmed back at dhaka university herbarium (presently known as salar khan herbarium). voucher specimens were preserved in the same herbarium. woody flora of sylhet (alam, 1988) and flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary (uddin and hassan, 2004) were also consulted for the identification of specimens. results and discussion based on this study, a preliminary list of angiosperm diversity of the lawachara national park was made that includes 374 species under 264 genera and 84 families. for each species scientific name, bengali name (when available) and family are provided (table 1). of 374 species recorded here, herbs are represented by148, shrubs by 71, trees by 90 and climbers by 65 species. nineteen species listed as threatened in the red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001) have been located in this park. these are ammomum aromaticum, aquillaria agallocha, bombax insigne, calamus guruba, cymbidium aloifolium, desmos longiflorus, globba multiflora, hedychium coccineum, hedychium thyrsiforme, holigarna longifolia, hydnocarpus kurzii, mangifera sylvatica, phrynium imbricatum, pinanga gracilis, pterospermum semisagittatum, rauvolfia serpentina, steudnera colocasioides, taxillus thelocarpa and terminalia citrina. one species of gymnosperm (gnetum oblongum) and one species of tree fern (cyathea gigantea) listed as endangered in bangladesh were also located in the park during this survey. angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park 11 table 1. diversity of angiosperm species of lawachara national park (h = herb, s = shrub, t = tree, c = climber) sl. no. species name bengali name family habit 1 acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. akashmoni mimosaceae t 2 a. concinna dc. kuchui mimosaceae s 3 a. mangium willd. mimosaceae t 4 acamphae premorsa (roxb.) blatter & mcann orchidaceae h 5 achyranthes aspera l. apang amaranthaceae h 6 actinodaphnae angustifolia nees lauraceae t 7 adhatoda zeylanica medikus bhasak acanthaceae h 8 aerva sanguinolenta (l.) bl. lalapang amaranthaceae h 9 ageratum conyzoides l. fulkuri asteraceae h 10 albizia odoratissima benth. kalokoroi mimosaceae t 11 a. procera (roxb.) benth. koroi mimosaceae t 12 allophyllus cobbe bl. sapindaceae h 13 alocasia cuculata (lour.) g. don araceae h 14 a. indica scott. mankachu araceae h 15 alpinia malaccensis (burm. f.) rosc. deotara zingiberaceae h 16 alstonia scholaris l. chatim apocynaceae t 17 alternanthera sessilis (l.) r. br. ex dc. chanchi amaranthaceae h 18 ammomum aromaticum roxb. morangelachi zingiberaceae h 19 a. corynostachyum wall. zingiberaceae h 20 a. dealbatum roxb. zingiberaceae h 21 a. uliginosum koen. zingiberaceae h 22 amoora wallichii king lali meliaceae t 23 amorphophalus campanulatus bl. olkachu araceae h 24 ampelygonum chinense (l.) lindley polygonaceae h 25 anacardium occidentalis l. kajubadam anacardiaceae t 26 ananas sativus schult. f. anaros bromeliaceae h 27 anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze gobura lamiaceae h 28 anthocephalus chinensis (lamk.) a. rich ex walp. kadam rubiaceae t 29 antidesma ghaesemblia gaertn. euphorbiaceae s 30 a. roxburghii wall. euphorbiaceae s 31 aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) parker pitraj meliaceae t 32 aphania danura (roxb.) rodlk. danura sapindaceae s 33 aporosa dioica (roxb.) muell.-arg. patakharolla euphorbiaceae t 34 a. oblonga (wall.) muell.-arg. euphorbiaceae t 35 aquillaria agallocha roxb. agar thymeliaceae t 36 ardisia colorata roxb. myrsinaceae s 37 a. paniculata roxb. myrsinaceae s 38 a. solanacea roxb. banjam myrsinaceae s 39 areca catechu l. supari arecaceae t 40 argyria capitiformis (poir.) oostr. convolvulaceae c 12 uddin and hassan table 1 contd. sl. no. species name bengali name family habit 41 arides odorata lour. orchidaceae h 42 aristolochia tagala cham. aristolochiaceae c 43 artocarpus heterophyllus lamk. kanthal moraceae t 44 a. chaplasha roxb. chapalish moraceae t 45 a. lakucha roxb. deua moraceae t 46 arundinella bengalensis (spreng.) druce poaceae h 47 axonopus compressus (swartz.) p. beauv. poaceae t 48 azadirachta indica a. juss. neem meliaceae t 49 baccaurea ramiflora lour. lotkon euphorbiaceae t 50 bambusa balcooa roxb. barak bans poaceae s 51 b. bambos (l.) voss kanta bans poaceae s 52 b. polymorpha munro parua poaceae s 53 b. tulda roxb. mitinga poaceae s 54 b. vulgaris schrad. ex wendl. baijja poaceae t 55 begonia barbata wall. ex a. dc. begoniaceae h 56 b. roxburghii (miq.) dc. begoniaceae h 57 bischofia javanica bl. kanjalbhady euphorbiaceae s 58 bombax ceiba l. shimul bombacaceae t 59 b. insigne wall. bonshimul bombacaceae t 60 borreria articularis (l. f.) williams rubiaceae h 61 breynia patens benth. kakro euphorbiaceae s 62 bridelia stipularis (l.) bl. euphorbiaceae c 63 brownlowia eleta roxb. sterculiaceae t 64 bulbophyllum lilacinum ridley orchidaceae h 65 bursera serrata wall. ex colobr. neul burseraceae t 66 butea monosperma (lamk.) taub. palash fabaceae t 67 buttnera pilosa roxb. sterculiaceae c 68 caesalpinia bonduc roxb. nata caesalpiniaceae c 69 calamus guruba buch.-ham. ex mart. jalibet arecaceae c 70 calotropis gigantea (l.) r. br. akonda asclepiadaceae s 71 calycarpa arborea roxb. bormala verbenaceae t 72 c. lanciolaria roxb. verbenaceae s 73 carex jenkensianus boott. cyperaceae h 74 carya arborea roxb. kumbi lecythidaceae t 75 caryota urens l. golsagu arecaceae t 76 cassia hirsuta l. caesalpiniaceae h 77 c. occidentalis l. eski caesalpiniaceae s 78 c. sophera l. kalkesunde caesalpiniaceae h 79 c. tora l. caesalpiniaceae h 80 castanopsis tribuloides a. dc. khami fagaceae t angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park 13 table 1 contd. sl. no. species name bengali name family habit 81 casuarina littorea l. jhau casuarinaceae t 82 cayratia japonica (thunb.) gagnep. vitaceae c 83 centella asiatica urban thankuni apiaceae h 84 centotheca lappacea (l.) desv. poaceae h 85 ceriscoides campanulata (roxb.) tirveng. rubiaceae s 86 chassalia curviflora (wall.) thw. rubiaceae h 87 chlorophora excelsa (welw.) benth. moraceae t 88 chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. premkanta poaceae h 89 chukrasia tabularis a. juss. chikrasi meliaceae t 90 cissus adnata roxb. aliangalata vitaceae c 91 citrus grandis (l.) osb. jambura rutaceae s 92 clausena heptaphylla (roxb.) wight & arn. pomkafur rutaceae h 93 clerodendrum serratum (l.) moon. barangi verbenaceae h 94 c. viscosum vent. bhant verbenaceae h 95 cnesmone javanica bl. euphorbiaceae s 96 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kachu araceae h 97 combretum acuminatum roxb. patuinia combretaceae c 98 c. apetalum wall. combretaceae c 99 c. latifolium bl. baulata combretaceae c 100 c. punctatum bl. combretaceae c 101 commelina benghalensis l. kanchira commelinaceae h 102 c. erecta l. commelinaceae h 103 costus speciosa (koening) smith kura costaceae h 104 crotalaria juncea l. shonpat fabaceae h 105 croton caudatus geisel. sabarjala euphorbiaceae s 106 curculigo orchioides gaer. talmuli liliaceae h 107 c. recurvata dryand. bidipata liliaceae h 108 curcuma zedoaria (christm.) rosc. shathi zingiberaceae h 109 cyclea peltata hook. f. et thom. menispermaceae c 110 cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw. orchidaceae h 111 cynodon dactylon l. durba poaceae h 112 cyperus cyperoides (l.) o. kuntze cyperaceae h 113 c. difformis l. bethua cyperaceae h 114 c. exaltatus retz cyperaceae h 115 c. pilosus vahl cyperaceae h 116 c. rotundus l. mutha cyperaceae h 117 daemonorops jenkensianas (griff.) mart. golakbet arecaceae c 118 dalbergia stipularis roxb. & baker dadbari fabaceae c 119 d. volubilis roxb. ankilata fabaceae s 120 dehaasia kurzii king ex hook. f. modonmosta lauraceae t 121 dendrobium aphyllum (roxb.) fisch. orchidaceae h 122 d. lindleyi steud. orchidaceae h 14 uddin and hassan table 1 contd. sl. no. species name bengali name family habit 123 derris elegans benth. fabaceae c 124 d. scandens benth. kamirialata fabaceae c 125 desmodium motorium (houtt.) merril. loncharal fabaceae h 126 d. pulchellum (l.) benth. jutasalpani fabaceae s 127 desmos chinensis lour. annonaceae c 128 d. longiflorus (roxb.) safford annonaceae t 129 digitaria adscendens (hbk) henr. poaceae h 130 dillenia pentagyna roxb. hargoza dilleniaceae t 131 d. scabrella (d. don) roxb. ex wall. hargoza dilleniaceae t 132 dioscorea belophylla (prain) j. o. voigt ex haines shoraalu dioscoreaceae c 133 d. bulbifera l. ratal dioscoreaceae c 134 d. hispida dennst. dioscoreaceae c 135 d. pentaphylla l. jhunihanalata dioscoreaceae c 136 d. tomentosa koenig ex spreng. dioscoreaceae c 137 d. triphylla ham. dioscoreaceae c 138 d. trinerva roxb. dioscoreaceae c 139 diospyros montana roxb. tamal ebenaceae t 140 dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn. kaligarjan dipterocarpaceae t 141 dracaena spicata roxb. dracaena liliaceae h 142 dysophyla auricularia bl. lamiaceae h 143 eclipta prostrata l. kesaraj asteraceae h 144 elaeocarpus floribundus bl. belphoi elaeocarpaceae t 145 e. robustus roxb. jalpai elaeocarpaceae t 146 eragrostis ciliaris (l.) r. br. poaceae h 147 e. tenella (l.) p. beauv. ex roem. & schult. poaceae h 148 e. tenuifolia hochst. ex steud. poaceae h 149 e. uniloides (retz.) nees ex steud. poaceae h 150 eranthemum album nees muralipata acanthaceae h 151 erioglossum rubiginosum (roxb.) bl. baraharina sapindaceae s 152 ervatamia coronaria (jacq.) stapf. togor apocynaceae s 153 erythrina ovalifolia roxb. mandar fabaceae t 154 eupatorium odoratum l. assamlata asteraceae s 155 ficus benghalensis l. bot moraceae t 156 f. hirta vahl moraceae s 157 f. hispida l. f. dumur moraceae h 158 f. irisiana elm. moraceae c 159 f. racemosa l. jagdumur moraceae t 160 f. ramentacea roxb. moraceae c 161 f. religiosa l. assawatha moraceae t 162 f. retusa l. moraceae s 163 fimbristylis aestivalis (retz) vahl cyperaceae h 164 f. dichotoma (l.) vahl baranirbishi cyperaceae h angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park 15 table 1 contd. sl. no. species name bengali name family habit 165 f. falcata (vahl) kunth cyperaceae h 166 flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. paniala flacourtiaceae s 167 f. jangomus (lour.) raeusch lukluki flacourtiaceae s 168 floscopa scandens lour. commelinaceae h 169 fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. cyperaceae h 170 garcinia cowa roxb. kau clusiaceae t 171 g. pedunculata roxb. clusiaceae t 172 g. xanthochymus hook. f. ex t. ander. dayphal clusiaceae s 173 gardenia coronaria ham. koinar rubiaceae s 174 garuga pinnata roxb. kharapat burseraceae t 175 gouania laptostachya dc. rhamnaceae c 176 gigantochloa andamanica (kurz) kurz kali poaceae s 177 globba multiflora wall. ex baker zingiberaceae h 178 g. orixensis roxb. zingiberaceae h 179 glochidion multi-loculare (roxb. ex willd) muell.-arg. kakra euphorbiaceae s 180 glycosmis arborea roxb. datmajan rutacae s 181 gmelina arborea roxb. gamari verbenaceae t 182 grangea madaraspatana (l.) poir. nemuti asteraceae h 183 grewia microcos l. assar tiliaceae s 184 gymnopetalum cochinchinensis (lour.) kurz cucurbitaceae c 185 gynostemma pentaphylla (thunb.) makino vitaceae c 186 hedychium coccineum buch.-ham. ex smith bhuiada zingiberaceae h 187 h. thyrsiforme buch.-ham. ex smith zingiberaceae h 188 hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br. anantamul asclepiadaceae c 189 heteria rubens benth. ex hook. f. orchidaceae h 190 heterophragma adenophyllum seem. bignoniacae t 191 hevea brasiliensis muell.-arg. rubber euphorbiaceae t 192 holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall. kurchi apocynaceae s 193 holigarna longifolia roxb. barola anacardiaceae t 194 homalomena aromatica schott. gandhabi araceae h 195 hoya parasitica (wall.) wight pargacha asclepiadaceae c 196 hydnocarpus kurzii (king) warb. chaulmoogra flacourtiaceae t 197 hypericum japonicum thunb. hypericaceae h 198 hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma lamiaceae h 199 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r. br. shamalata apocynaceae c 200 imperata cylindrica (l.) p. beauv. ulu poaceae h 201 ipomoea fistulosa mart. ex choisy dholkalmi convovulaceae s 202 ixora arborea roxb. ex smith swetrangan rubiaceae s 203 i. javanica roxb. ex smith rubiaceae s 204 i. parviflora vahl swetrangan rubiaceae s 205 jasminum sambac ait. beli oleaceae s 206 justicia ganderusa l. nilnishinda acanthaceae s 16 uddin and hassan table 1 contd. sl. no. species name bengali name family habit 207 lagerstroemia indica l. lythraceae t 208 l. parviflora roxb. sidha lythraceae t 209 l. speciosa (l.) pers. jarul lythraceae t 210 lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga anacardiaceae t 211 lantana camara l. lantana verbenaceae h 212 laportia cranulata gaud. agnichutra urticaceae c 213 leea acuminata (burm. f.) merr. leeaceae h 214 l. aequata l. kakjangha leeaceae h 215 l. crispa willd. leeaceae s 216 lepidagathis incurva d. don acanthaceae h 217 l. liniaris t. ander. acanthaceae h 218 lesia spinosa schott. araceae h 219 leucas lavandulifolia sm. gaochia lamiaceae h 220 lindernia ciliata (colms.) pennel scrophulariaceae h 221 lithocarpus elegans hook. f. khami fagaceae t 222 litsea glutinosa (lour.) c. b. robinson kukurchita lauraceae t 223 l. monopetala (roxb.) pers. akorma lauraceae t 224 lophopetalum fimbriatum wight. raktan celastraceae t 225 macaranga denticulata (bl.) muell.-arg. bura euphorbiaceae s 226 m. indica wight euphorbiaceae s 227 maesa indica wt. ramjoni myrsinaceae s 228 m. ramentacea wall. maricha myrsinaceae s 229 mallotus philippinensis (lamk.). muell.-arg. punag euphorbiaceae s 230 m. roxburghii muell.-arg. nimputeli euphorbiaceae s 231 mangifera indica l. aam anacardiaceae t 232 m. sylvatica roxb. jangliam anacardiaceae t 233 melastoma malabathricum roxb. datrangan melastomaceae h 234 melocalamus compactiflorus (kurz) benth. lotabans poaceae c 235 melocana baccifera (roxb.) kurz mulibans poaceae s 236 merremia umbellata (l.) hallier f. sadakalmi convolvulaceae c 237 michelia champaca l. champa magnoliaceae t 238 micromelum minutum (forst. f.) wight & arn. bankunch rutaceae s 239 mikania cordata (burm. f.) b. l. robinson assamlata asteraceae c 240 mimosa intisia l. mimosaceae s 241 m. pudica l. lajjabati mimosaceae h 242 modecca trilobata roxb. passifloraceae c 243 monochoria hastata (l.) solms. baranukha pontederiaceae h 244 morinda angustifolia roxb. ranggach rubiaceae s 245 moringa oleifera lamk. sajna moringaceae t 246 mucuna monosperma dc. nataalkushi fabaceae c 247 m. pruiens (l.) dc. alkushi fabaceae c 248 musa ornata roxb. ramkola musaceae s angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park 17 table 1 contd. sl. no. species name bengali name family habit 249 m. paradisica l. kachakola musaceae h 250 mussaenda corymbosa roxb. nagabali rubiaceae s 251 m. frondosa l. rubiaceae s 252 myxopyrum smilacifolium bl. oleaceae h 253 nelsonia canescens (lamk.) spreng. acanthaceae h 254 olax nana wall. olacaceae h 255 ophiorrhiza harisiana heyne rubiaceae h 256 o. villosa roxb. ganjankuli rubiaceae h 257 oplismenus burmanii (retz.) p. beauv. poaceae h 258 ormosia robusta (roxb.) baker fabaceae t 259 oroxyllum indicum (l.) kurz thona bignoniacae t 260 osbeckia rostrata d. don melastomaceae h 261 oxalis corniculata l. amrul oxalidaceae h 262 paedaria foetida l. gandhabadhuli rubiaceae c 263 pandanus foetidus roxb. keyakanta pandanaceae s 264 pavetta indica l. bisophal rubiaceae s 265 peliosanthes teta andr. haemodoraceae h 266 persicaria hydropiper (l.) spach. bishkatali polygonaceae h 267 p. minor (huds) opiz polygonaceae h 268 p. prosambu (ham. ex d. don) h. gross polygonaceae h 269 p. strigosa (r. br.) nakai polygonaceae h 270 phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet acanthaceae h 271 phlogacanthus asperulus nees acanthaceae h 272 p. curviflorous nees acanthaceae h 273 p. tubiflorus nees acanthaceae h 274 phrynium imbricatum (dietr.) roxb. pitulpata marantaceae h 275 phyllanthus amarus schumacher & thonn. euphorbiaceae h 276 p. emblica l. amlaki euphorbiaceae t 277 p. reticulatus poir. chitki euphorbiaceae s 278 p. sikkimensis muell.-arg. euphorbiaceae t 279 pinanga gracilis bl. ramsupari arecaceae h 280 piper betel l. pan piperaceae c 281 p. longum l. pepul piperaceae h 282 p. sylvaticum roxb. paharipepul piperaceae c 283 poganotherum panicum (lamk.) hack. poaceae h 284 polygonum plebejum r. br. anjaban polygonaceae h 285 pothos scandens l. batilata araceae c 286 premna esculenta roxb. lallong verbenaceae s 287 psidium guajava l. piara myrtaceae t 288 psychotria fulva ham. rubiaceae s 289 pterospermum acerifolium willd. kanakchampa sterculiaceae t 290 p. semisagittatum ham. ex roxb. banassar sterculiaceae s 18 uddin and hassan table 1 contd. sl. no. species name bengali name family habit 291 quercus gomeziana a. camus fagaceae t 292 q. spicata smith batna fagaceae t 293 randia dumetorum lamk. mankanta rubiaceae s 294 rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz sharpagandha apocynaceae h 295 rhychoticum ellipticum a. dc. myrsinaceae s 296 rubus hexagyna roxb. rosaceae c 297 rungia pectinata (l.) nees acanthaceae h 298 ryhnchostylis retusa (l.) bl. orchidaceae h 299 saccharum arundanaceum retz. poaceae h 300 s. spontaneum l. kash poaceae h 301 sagittaria sagittifolia l. chottokut alismataceae h 302 schima wallichii choisy kanak theaceae t 303 schizostachyum dulloa (gamble) r. majumdar dolu poaceae s 304 scleria terrestris (l.) fassett cyperaceae h 305 scoparia dulcis l. bandhuni scrophulariaceae h 306 setaria glauca (l.) p. beauv. bajra poaceae h 307 shorea robusta gaertn. f. sal dipterocarpaceae t 308 sida acuta burm f. kureta malvaceae h 309 smilax prolifera roxb. smilacaceae c 310 s. zeylanica l. kumarilata smilacaceae c 311 solanum indicum l. titbegun solanaceae s 312 s. torvum sw. solanaceae h 313 spilanthes acmella l. marhatitiga asteraceae h 314 sporobolus diander (retz) p. beauv. poaceae h 315 s. indicus r. br. poaceae h 316 staurogyne argentea wall. acanthaceae h 317 stemona tuberosa lour. stemonaceae c 318 stephania harnandifolia walp. muichanlata menispermaceae c 319 s. japonica (thunb.) miers. nimukha menispermaceae c 320 sterculia colorata roxb. udal sterculiaceae t 321 s. villosa roxb. janlibadam sterculiaceae t 322 steriospermum personatum (hassk.) chatt. bignoniacae t 323 steudnera colocasioides hook. f. araceae h 324 stixis sauveolens roxb. capparaceae c 325 streblus asper lour. shaora moraceae s 326 strobilanthus scaber nees acanthaceae h 327 suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. euphorbiaceae s 328 swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. mehogoni meliaceae t 329 synedrella nudiflora (l.) gaertn. asteraceae h 330 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels kalojam myrtaceae t 331 s. firmum thw. dhakijam myrtaceae t 332 s. formosanum (hayata) mor. panijam myrtaceae t angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park 19 table 1 contd. sl. no. species name bengali name family habit 333 s. fruticosum (roxb.) dc. khudijam myrtaceae s 334 tacca integrifolia ker – gawl. barahikand taccaceae h 335 taxillus thelocarpa (hook. f.) m. k. alam loranthaceae s 336 tectona grandis l. segun verbenaceae t 337 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wt. & arn. arjun combretaceae t 338 t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bahera combretaceae t 339 t. citrina (gaertn.) roxb. ex flaming hora combretaceae t 340 tetasera sarmentosa (l.) vahl. dilleniaceae c 341 tetrameles nudiflora r. br. tundul datiscaceae t 342 tetrastigma thomsonianum planch. vitaceae c 343 thea sinensis l. cha theaceae s 344 thladiantha cordifolia (bl.) cogn. cucurbitaceae c 345 thunbergia fragrans roxb. nillata acanthaceae c 346 thysanolena maxima (roxb.) o. kuntze phuljharu poaceae h 347 tinospora cordifolia (willd.) hook. f. gulancha menispermaceae c 348 toona ciliata m. roem. toon meliaceae t 349 torenia vagans roxb. scrophulariacee h 350 travesia palmata (roxb.) vis. araliaceae s 351 trewia nudiflora l. pitali euphorbiaceae t 352 trichosanthes bracteata (lamk.) voit. cucurbitaceae c 353 triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. banokra tiliaceae h 354 uncaria sessilifructus roxb. rubiaceae c 355 uraria lagapoides dc. fabaceae h 356 urena lobata l. banokra malvaceae h 357 uvaria hamiltonii hook. f. & thoms. annonaceae c 358 vanda teres (roxb.) lindl. orchidaceae h 359 vernonia cineria (l.) lees. kuksim asteraceae h 360 v. extensa dc. asteraceae h 361 vitex altissima l. verbenaceae t 362 v. glabrata r. br. horina verbenaceae s 363 v. peduncularis wall. ex schauer awal verbenaceae t 364 vitis latifolia roxb. goalialata vitaceae c 365 v. trifolia l. anallata vitaceae c 366 wedelia trilobata (l.) a. s. hitchc. asteraceae h 367 willughbeia edulis roxb. lata aam apocynaceae c 368 xylia dolabiformis benth. lohakat mimosaceae t 369 zanthoxyllum rhetsa dc. bazna rutaceae t 370 zingiber zerumbet (l.) smith boj zingiberaceae h 371 zizyphus mauritiana lamk. boroi rhamnaceae s 372 z. oenoplea (l.) miller. banboroi rhamnaceae s 373 z. oxyphylla edgell rhamnaceae s 374 z. xylophyrus (retz.) willd. rhamnaceae s 20 uddin and hassan the park has few patches of natural forests, and plantations raised earlier by converting high forests of great biodiversity value. the top tree canopy includes artocarpus chaplasha, dipterocarpus turbinatus, elaeocarpus floribundus, dillenia pentagyna, castanopsis tribuloides, lophopetalum fimbriatum, quercus spicata, chukrassia tabularis, ficus racemosa, toona ciliata, aphanamixis polystachia, steriospermum personatum, xylia dolabiformis, lagerstroemia parviflora and vitex peduncularis. the common shrub species are micromelum minutum, grewia microcos, aphania danura, erioglossum edulis, macaranga peltata, maesa indica, travesia palmata, carya arborea, flacourtia indica, randia dumetorum, morinda angustifolia, pavetta indica and antidesma ghaesembila. the most common undergrowth species are mostly the members of acanthaceae, rubiaceae, asteraceae, poaceae, cyperaceae, zingiberaceae and araceae. most common climber species are the members of acanthaceae, apocynaceae, asclepiadaceae, asteraceae, combretaceae, convolvulaceae, menispermaceae and vitaceae. a luxuriant growth of epiphytes and parasites are observed on the forest trees. the most common epiphytes include acampe premorsa, aerides odorata, dendrobium lindleyi and vanda teres. the common bamboo species are bambusa polymorpha, bambusa tulda, melocana baccifera and schizostachyum dullooa. valleys of the forest are often dominated by various members of poaceae, cyperaceae, araceae, polygonaceae, zingiberaceae and asteraceae. based on the field observations and present results it may be concluded that the angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park is very rich and the park is the home for many threatened plant species of bangladesh. the present result is a preliminary list of angiosperm diversity of the park. currently plant diversity of this park is in great risk because of many threats as observed during field works. noteworthy threats are frequent forest fire during dry season, illegal logging, fire wood collections, betel leaf cultivation, oil exploration, development works, uncontrolled visitors and population pressure. though the plant diversity of the park is under in situ conservation plan, the management plan should be made based on local knowledge of plant diversity. as the park is the home of many threatened plant species and as well as for wildlife, for the sake of better management option distribution map of threatened plant species should be made on priority basis. such map will facilitate accurate location and home range of threatened species in the park so that monitoring activities can be carried out easily. in severe cases, ex situ conservation for particular species may be followed to replicate their population number. present management system should be strengthened by deploying relevant manpower including plant taxonomists for proper documentation and conservation and sustainable development of lawachara national park. angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park 21 acknowledgement the authors are thankful to the authority of iucn, bangladesh and forest department for their cooperation during field visits of this study. references ahmad, n. 1970. working plan for the forests of the sylhet division for the period 1963-64 to 1982-83, working plan division 2, ctg.e.p. dacca, east pakistan govt. press. pp. 1-22. ahsan, m.f. 2000. socio-ecology of the hoolock gibbon (hylobates hoolock) in two forests of bangladesh. field research. pp. 284-299. ahsan, m.m. 2007. perceptions of tourism by indigenous communities living in and adjoining lawachara national park. in: fox, j., bushley, b.r, dutt, s and quazi, s.a. (eds.). making conservation work: linking rural livelihoods and protected areas management in bangladesh. east-west centre and nishorgo program of the bangladesh forest department. pp. 131-148. alam, m.k. 1988. annotated checklist of the woody flora of sylhet forests. bull. 5. plant taxonomy series. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong. 153 pp. alam, m.k. 1998. documentation of ethnobiological information. in: banik, r.l., alam, m.k., peil, s. and rastogi, a. (eds.). applied ethnobotany. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong. pp. 28-29. canonizado, j.a. and rahman, s.m. 1998. gob/wb forest resources management project technical asistance component: integrated forest management plan for the sylhet forest division. mandala agricultural development corporation and forest department, ministry of environment and forest, dhaka, bangladesh. pp. 1-4. green, 1990. iucn directory of south asian protected areas. iucn the wrold conservation union, gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk. pp. 24-30. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m. and ali, m.a. (eds.). 2001. red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium. 179 pp. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan m.a. 1994. assesment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focusing on economically and ecologically important plants species. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 1(1): 21-33. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. riadh, s.m. 2007. assessing the role of non-timber forest products in the livelihoods of communities living inside and outside of lawachara national park. in: fox, j., bushley, b.r, dutt, s. and quazi, s.a. (eds.). making conservation work: linking rural livelihoods and protected areas management in bangladesh. east-west centre and nishorgo program of the bangladesh forest department. pp. 36-49. rizvi, s.n.h. 1970. east pakistan district gazetteers for sylhet. government of east pakistan survices and general administration department, dhaka. pp. 5-6. stevens, p.r. 1986. land classification and soil suitability for plantation in sylhet division. working paper no. 26 (undp/fao) project bgd/79/017. 21 pp. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. lucn bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh. 120 pp. 22 uddin and hassan uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox's bazar. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31-68. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sitapahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 16 april 2009; revised on 3 august 2009) microsoft word 11. reseda ok 4.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 233-238, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists status of reseda pentagyna abdallah & a.g. miller (resedaceae) inferred from combined nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast sequence data m. ajmal ali1, fahad m. al-hemaid, ritesh k. choudhary2, joongku lee2, soo-yong kim2 and m.a. rub3 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh 11451, saudi arabia keywords: reseda pentagyna; resedaceae; saudi arabia; endemic; its; trnl-f. abstract the present study focuses on the status of reseda pentagyna abdallah & a.g. miller (resedaceae). the internal transcribed spacer (its) region of nuclear ribosomal dna and chloroplast trnl-f gene of the questioned species were sequenced. the basic local alignment search tool (blast) search showed maximum identity with r. stenostachya. the parsimony analysis of its, trnl-f and combined sequences data analyses revealed grouping of reseda species consistent with established taxonomic sections of the genus, r. pentagyna showed proximity with r. stenostachya (100% bootstrap support), nested within the clade of section reseda. introduction the resedaceae include six genera (i.e. caylusea a. st.-hil, ochradenus delile, oligomeris cambess., randonia coss., reseda l. and sesamoides ortega) with approximately 85 species, and are widely distributed in the old world, with a major center of species diversity in the mediterranean basin (martín-bravo et al., 2007). the members of the family resedaceae has been traditionally considered closely related to capparaceae and brassicaceae; however, the angiosperm phylogeny group placed it under the order brassicales (apg iii, 2009). the genus reseda consists of approximately 65 species, mostly restricted to the mediterranean basin, while four of them (i.e. reseda alba l., r. lutea l., r. luteola l. and r. phyteuma l.) are distributed throughout the world (martín-bravo et al., 2007). the genus reseda in saudi arabia is represented by seven species, viz. r. alba, r. arabica boiss., r. aucheri boiss., r. lutea, r. muricata c. presl, r. pentagyna abdallah & a.g. miller and r. sphenocleoides deflers (chaudhary, 1999). among these, r. pentagyna is endemic to saudi arabia, and reported to occur in northern hijaz mountain area, wadi sawawin and tabuk of north western saudi arabia (miller and nyberg, 1994; chaudhary, 1999; llewellyn et al., 2010). r. stenostachya is the most closely allied taxon to the endemic r. pentagyna which differs from the latter by presence of only 3-4 toothed capsules as compared to the 5-6 toothed capsules in the latter. in the last two decades, the internal transcribed spacer sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna has gained much attention, not only because of its efficacy in carrying out phylogeny of the plants at lower taxonomic level, but also to be considered as the most trusted markers available for the dna barcoding of the plants. even after facing criticism of its utility, this marker stands parallel 1corresponding author. email: majmalali@rediffmail.com 2international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon-305 806, south korea. 3national herbarium & genebank, national agriculture & animal resources research center, riyadh-11484, saudi arabia. 234 ali et al. to the smartest genes available for the molecular phylogeny and plant dna barcoding. since the intrigued morphological similarities observed in between r. pentagyna and r. stenostachya (miller and nyberg, 1994; chaudhary, 1999) we planned to carry out molecular phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer sequences (its) of nuclear ribosomal dna and trnl-f sequences to confirm the species status of r. pentagyna. materials and methods the leaf material of r. pentagyna was collected from wadi sirr area of saudi arabia, and the taxonomic identification was confirmed through consultation of flora of saudi arabia (chaudhary, 1999) and protologue (miller and nyberg, 1994). total genomic dna was extracted using the dneasy plant mini kit (qiagen, valencia, ca, usa). the nuclear (internal transcribed spacer sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna), and plastid (trnl-f) genes were amplified using accupower hf pcr premix (bioneer, daejeon, south korea). the standard primers its (white et al., 1990) and trnl-trnl-f (taberlet et al., 1991) were used for amplification and cycle sequencing. the amplified products were purified using pcr purification kit (solgent, daejeon, south korea) prior to sequencing. the purified amplified products were sequenced using abi prism 3730xl (perkin-elmer/applied biosystem, usa) following manufacturer’s protocol. each sample was sequenced in the sense and anti-sense direction. the nucleotide sequences of both the dna strands (sense and anti-sense) were obtained and analyzed using sequence navigator (perkin-elmer/applied biosystems) to ensure accuracy of the base pair sequence. for the molecular phylogenetic analysis, its and trnl-f sequences of a total of 36 related species of reseda (comprising representative from all six sections i.e. glaucoreseda, leucoreseda, luteola, neoreseda, phyteuma and reseda as recognized by martín-bravo et al., 2007) were retrieved from genbank (table 1). according to martín-bravo et al. (2007) oligomeris arose within the ranks of reseda; hence, sequences of oligomeris were retrieved from genbank, and were used as outgroup in the phylogenetic analyses (table 1). sequence alignments were performed using clustal x, version 1.81 (thompson et al., 1997). sequence alignments were subsequently adjusted manually using bioedit (hall, 1999). gaps were treated as missing data in phylogenetic analyses. the voucher specimen (chaudhary et al. 13704) of sequenced plant accession deposited at national herbarium (riy) of saudi arabia; and the generated sequences submitted in genbank (table 1). maximum parsimony (mp) analysis was performed using paup* 4.0b10 (swofford, 2002). results and discussion the combined length of its region (its1-5.8s-its2) in reseda pentagyna was 634 bp. the its1 region was 261 bp (gc content 61%), the 5.8s gene was 162 bp (gc content 56%), and the its2 region was 211 bp (gc content 63%). the trnl-f sequence in r. pentagyna was 777 bp (gc content 33%). blast search of its sequence of r. pentagyna showed maximum identity (99%) with r. stenostachya followed by r. aucheri and r. ellenbeckii (95%), while trnl-f sequence showed maximum identity (100%) with r. stenostachya followed by r. alphonsi, r. buhseana, r. gilgiana and r. sessilifolia (97%). its sequence of r. pentagyna differs from r. stenostachya at position 67 and 75 in alignment, however, in trnl-f sequences, no base pair difference was observed in between sequence of r. pentagyna and r. stenostachya. sequence characteristics and statistics of maximum parsimony trees derived from analyses of its, trnl-f and combined data are summarized in table 2. the maximum parsimony tree derived from analysis of its and trnl-f sequence revealed comparatively week bootstrap support than combined analysis; and therefore, only the maximum parsimony trees topology derived from analysis of combined sequence data is discussed here. status of reseda pentagyna abdallah & a.g. miller 235 table 1. plant accessions used for the molecular phylogenetic analysis of reseda pentagyna. taxa genbank accession no. its trnl-f ingroup sect. glaucoreseda 1. reseda battandieri pit. dq987183 dq987045 2. r. complicata bory dq987172 dq987046 3. r. glauca l. dq987182 dq987040 4. r. gredensis (cutanda & willk.) müll.-arg. dq987174 dq987047 5. r. virgata boiss. & reut. dq987177 dq987048 sect. luteola 6. r. luteola l. dq987187 dq987050 sect. leucoreseda subsect. leucoreseda 7. r. alba l. dq987198 dq987053 8. r. attenuata ball dq987201 dq987057 9. r. gayana boiss. dq987205 dq987055 10. r. undata l. dq987203 dq987056 11. r.valentina pau dq987207 dq987059 sect. leucoreseda subsect. erythroreseda 12. r. suffruticosa loefl. dq987210 dq987062 sect. neoreseda 13. r. ellenbeckii perkins dq987110 dq986998 14. r. telephiifolia (chiov.) abdallah & de wit dq987128 dq986994 sect. phyteuma 15. r. alopecuros boiss. dq987139 dq987028 16. r. arabica boiss. dq987132 dq987029 17. r. collina müll.-arg. dq987136 dq987031 18. r. diffusa ball dq987141 dq987033 19. r. inodora rchb. dq987142 dq987030 20. r. odorata l. dq987133 dq987026 21. r. orientalis (müll.-arg.) boiss. dq987137 dq987025 22. r. phyteuma l. dq987146 dq987032 sect. reseda 23. r. alphonsi müll.-arg. dq987108 dq987005 24. r. amblycarpa fresen. dq987125 dq987001 25. r. aucheri boiss. dq987123 dq986989 26. r. buhseana müll.-arg. dq987119 dq987004 27. r. crystallina webb & berthel. dq987088 dq987021 28. r. gilgiana perkins dq987114 dq986999 29. r. lanceolata lag. dq987099 dq987015 30. r. lutea l. dq987094 dq987018 31. r. pentagyna abdallah & miller jx867260 jx867261 32. r. sessilifolia thulin dq987127 dq986995 33. r. sphenocleoides deflers dq987117 dq986993 34. r. stenostachya boiss. dq987156 dq987007 35. r. stricta pers. dq987103 dq987013 36. r. urnigera webb dq987098 dq987014 37. r. viridis balf. f. dq987130 dq986996 outgroup 38. oligomeris dipetala (aiton) turcz. dq987168 dq987037 39. o. dregeana (müll. arg.) müll.-arg. dq987166 dq987038 40. o. linifolia (vahl) j.f. macbr. dq987165 dq987039 236 ali et al. table 2. summary of sequence characteristics and mp trees derived from analyses of its, trnl-f and combined data. characters its trnl-f combined data number of taxa included in analysis (including outgroup) 40 40 40 sequence characteristics length of sequenced 627-639 698-785 1325-1424 aligned length 644 955 1622 parsimony informative 92 146 433 tree characteristics number of trees 334 323 1299 length 339 327 1305 ci (consistency index) 0.643 0.832 0.656 ri (retention index) 0.885 0.926 0.860 rc (rescaled consistency index) 0.569 0.770 0.564 hi (homoplasy index) 0.478 0.318 0.446 the bootstrap strict consensus tree resulted from combined sequence data analysis has been shown in fig. 1. the study revealed the grouping of reseda species according to previously recognized taxonomic sections, which is consistent with earlier report (martín-bravo et al., 2007). moreover, r. pentagyna nested within the clade of the section reseda, and showed proximity (100% bootstrap support) with morphologically similar r. stenostachya. the its sequence of r. pentagyna (which was described based on 5-6 toothed capsule characters) differs from morphologically allied r. stenostachya (3-4 toothed capsule) at aligned position 67 (c in r. pentagyna but missing nucleotide in r. stenostachya) and 75 (c in r. pentagyna, t in r. stenostachya) possibly due to nucleotide polymorphism, a known features of its sequences of nrdna. bentham and hooker (1862) reported reseda as a polymorphic genus with not more than 30 existing species. latter, abdallah and de wit (1978) updated the list with some addition, and emphasized the need of experimental taxonomical research to get a strong support for the delimitation of species. muller (1864) also described the variations in the morphology of leaf blades of reseda that might be arranged in various manners and could be entire, crenate to ternately or pinnately (or rarely bi-pinnately) lobed. the occurrence of brachycarpous or macrocarpous capsules in reseda is a known feature (muller, 1864). under various ecological conditions, plants may show certain morphological changes, viz. r. lutea shows change in the proximity of the veins in the lamina (abdallah and de wit, 1978). further, the emergence of indumentums depends more or less on the moisture content present in the plant. in dry condition, these hairs can shrink, flatten or curl; while in wet conditions, they appear as blisters, or a scabrid, or muricated surface. as variations in fruit size within the same species usually do occur, therefore it cannot be taken as a strong taxonomic character for species level delimitation (donald, 1988); and thus, the wide degree of variation in quantitative fruit-spine characters limits their use taxonomically. the proximity of questioned sequenced material with r. stenostachya in the mpts indicates the quantitative differences of tooth characters or the variable trait which limits its use in species delimitation; therefore, we herein propose the merger of r. pentagyna into r. stenostachya. status of reseda pentagyna abdallah & a.g. miller 237 reseda complicata reseda gredensis reseda virgata reseda battandieri reseda glauca reseda ellenbeckii reseda buhseana reseda sphenocleoides reseda aucheri reseda sessilifolia reseda telephiifolia reseda amblycarpa reseda viridis reseda gilgiana reseda alphonsi reseda pentagyna reseda stenostachya reseda stricta reseda lanceolata reseda urnigera reseda crystallina reseda lutea reseda odorata reseda arabica reseda collina reseda orientalis reseda diffusa reseda inodora reseda alopecuros reseda phyteuma reseda gayana reseda suffruticosa reseda valentina reseda attenuata reseda alba reseda undata reseda luteola oligomeris linifolia oligomeris dipetala oligomeris dregeana 84 100 59 66 97 100 100 67 84 88 92 59 55 100 97 86 92 100 98 92 56 72 94 100 86 79 89 fig. 1. bootstrap strict consensus tree inferred from combined sequence data analysis of internal transcribed spacer (its) sequence of nuclear ribosomal dna and trnl-f region. the bootstrap strict consensus tree of 1299 maximally parsimonious trees (mpts) with a total length of 1305 steps, a consistency index (ci) of 0.656, a homoplasy index (hi) of 0.446, rescaled consistency index (rc) of 0.564 and a retention index (ri) of 0.860. bootstrap values greater than 50% in 1000 bootstrap replicates are shown above lines. acknowledgement the authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the deanship of scientific research at king saud university for its funding of this research through the research group project no. rgp-vpp-195. 238 ali et al. references abdallah, m.s. and de wit, h.c.d. 1978. the resedaceae: a taxonomical revision of the family. meded. landbouwhoogeschool, wageningen, p. 78. apg iii 2009. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants. bot. j. linn. soc. 161: 105-121. bentham, g., and hooker, j.d. 1862. genera plantarum. reeve, williams & norgate, london. chaudhary, s. 1999. resedaceae. in: chaudhary, s. (ed.), flora of the kingdom of saudi arabia. ministry of agriculture and water, national herbarium, national agriculture and water research center, riyadh, saudi arabia, pp. 536-543. donald, h.l. 1988. the evolution of achene morphology in ceratophyllum (ceratophyllaceae), ii. fruit variation and systematic of the “spiny-margined” group. syst. bot. 13(1): 73-86. felsenstein, j. 1985. confidence limits on phylogenies: an approach using the bootstrap. evolution. 39: 783791. hall, t.a. 1999. bioedit: a user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for windows 95/98/nt. nuc. acids symp. ser. 41: 95-98. llewellyn, o.a., hall, m., miller, a.g., al-abbasi, t.m., al-wetaid, a.h., al-harbi, r.j., al-shammari, k.f. and al-farhan, a. 2010. important plant areas in the arabian peninsula: 1. jabal qaraqir. edinb. j. bot. 67: 37-56. martín-bravo, s., meimberg, h., luceño, m., märkl, w., valcárcel, v., bräuchler, c., vargas, p. and heubl, g. 2007. molecular systematics and biogeography of resedaceae based on its and trnl-f sequences. mol. phylogenet. evol. 44: 1105-1120. miller, a.g. and nyberg, j.a. 1994. studies in the flora of arabia: xxvii some new taxa from the arabian peninsula. edinb. j. bot. 51(1): 33-47. müller, a.j. 1864. resedaceae. in: de candolle, a.p. (ed.) prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, victor masson, paris 16(2): 548-589. swofford, d.l. 2002. paup* (v. 4.0b10). phylogenetic analysis using parsimony (* and other methods). sinauer associates, sunderland. taberlet, p., gielly, l., pautou, g. and bouvet, j. 1991. universal primers for amplification of three noncoding regions of chloroplast dna. plant mol. biol. 17: 1105-1109. thompson, j.d., gibson, t.j., plewniak, f., jeanmougin, f. and higgins, d.g. 1997. the clustal_x windows interface: flexible strategies for multiple sequence alignment aided by quality analysis tools. nucleic acids res. 24: 4876-4882. white, t.j., bruns, t., lee, s. and taylor, j. 1990. amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal rna genes for phylogenetics. in: innis, m.a., gelfand, d.h., sninksky, j.j. and white, t.j. (eds) pcr protocols: a guide to method and amplifications. academic press, san diego, california, pp. 315-322. (manuscript received on 26 august 2013; revised on 5 november 2013) desmid of some selected areas of bangladesh bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 11-23, 2005 (june) desmids of some selected areas of bangladesh. 3. docidium, pleurotaenium, triplastrum and triploceras a. k. m. nurul islam and nasima akter department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: desmids, docidium, pleurotaenium, triplastrum, triploceras, bangladesh abstract 23 taxa belonging to pleurotaenium, 2 under triploceras and 1 each under docidium and triplastrum have been recorded in this paper from some selected areas of bangladesh. of these, 11 are new records for the country. introduction this is the third paper in a series under the above title. the first and second papers with the same title have already been published in this journal (islam and akter 2004 and islam and begum 2004). the present paper includes the species belonging to docidium, pleurotaenium, triplastrum and triploceras from the same selected areas as mentioned in the above papers. the illustrated descriptions of these taxa are given below. for materials and methods, dates and places of collections and other information see islam and akter (2004). taxonomy class: chlorophyceae; order desmidiales; family: desmidiaceae a total of 27 taxa (docidium 1, pleurotaenium 23, triplastrum 1 and triploceras 2) have been described with diagrams and photomicrographs. of these, 11 taxa are new records for the country (marked by *). genus: docidium de brebisson 1844 em. lundell 1871 cells straight, cylindrical, smooth, or with undulate margins, 8-26 times longer than broad; circular in cross section, slightly constricted in the midregion, with an open sinus; apex usually truncate, rounded, sometimes dilated, smooth or rarely with a few intramarginal granules; base of semicell inflated, with 6-9 visible folds (plications) at the isthmus, the folds usually subtended by granules; cell wall smooth or faintly punctulate; chloroplast axial with irregular longitudinal ridges and 6-14 axial pyrenoids; zygospore unknown. 1. docidium baculum de bréb. var. baculum (pl. 1, figs. 4-5) (prescott et al. 1975, 102, pl. 37, figs. 1-4). cells straight, cylindrical or very slightly tapering; apex smooth, rounded-truncate, not dilated; base of semicell with single inflation, with several folds; cell length 207210.2 µm; mid-diam. 11-14.20 µm; isthmus 8.5 µm; apex 7-10 µm. 12 islam and akter specimen studied: collected from a ditch within the chittagong univ. campus on 19 march 1989; fairly common. genus: pleurotaenium nägeli 1849 cells straight, cylindrical, circular in cross section, not deeply constricted in the midregion, wall smooth, undulate, nodose, or spinulose; apices truncate or roundedtruncate, sometimes with granules or teeth; wall smooth or punctate, in some species with thin and thick areas, never plicate at isthmus as in docidium; usually, prominent ring-like thickening on the semicells present; chloroplast with several parietal bands; pyrenoids few to many, either in the parietal bands or in the axial zone. allthough apparently similar, the docidium is separated from pleurotaenium chiefly by the presence of folds at the base of semicell, and by the usually smooth apices. *2. pleurotaenium coronatum (bréb.) rab. var. fluctuatum west (pl. 2, figs. 19-20) (prescott et al. 1975, pl. 46, figs. 16-17) cell length 269-298.20 µm; mid-diam. 19-21.3 µm; isthmus 17-18.5 µm; apex 1417.1 µm; our material is very much smaller in size than the typical. specimens studied: dhaka: collected from a pond near uttara shopping centre, near zia intern. airport, dhaka on 6 sept. 1989; from khilkhet beel, dhaka on 6 sept. 1989; cox's bazar: from a pond near kalatali shrimp res. inst. on 10 dec. 1989. *3. pl. crenulatum rab. var. crenulatum (pl. 1, figs. 9-10) (ruzicka 1977, pl. 42, figs. 7-13; prescott et al. 1975 as pl. ehrenbergii var. crenulatum, pl. 45, figs. 12-13). cell length 586-729.50 µm; mid diam. 51-55 µm; isthmus 35-38.7 µm; apex 2932.25 µm; in outline it is like pl. trabecula (ehr.) reinsch, but it has apical tubercles; semicells broadening again beyond the basal inflation, with sides parallel or very slightly tumid toward the apex where there is an abrupt tapering; apex truncately rounded with 57 tubercles; wall sparsely punctate,. specimen studied: chittagong, collected from a ditch within chittagong univ. campus on 19 march 1989. *4. pl. doliforme west & west var. doliforme (pl. 3, fig. 26; pl. 4, fig. 42) cells straight, cylindrical, shape barrel-shaped, with fairly prominent median constriction; semicell with broad base and slightly attenuated apex; apex truncate, flattened with several conical (dendate) tubercles; cell wall with several transverse rings of thin and irregular to quadrangular areas; thin areas of polar region irregularly elongate; zygospore not found; cell length 277-288 µm; mid-diam. 48.3 µm; isthmus 34-37 µm; apex 21-27 µm. desmids of some selected areas of bangladesh 13 plate 1 (figs. 1-13) figs. 1-13: 1. pleurotaenium minutum var. gracile; 2. pl. minutum var. attenuatum; 3. pl. minutum var. minutum; 4-5. docidium baculum var. baculum; 6-7. pleurotaenium trabecula var. trabecula; 8. pl. nodulosum var. nodulosum; 9-10. pl. crenulatum var. crenulatum; 11. pl. ovatum var. tumidum; 12-13. pl. ovatum var. ovatum. 14 islam and akter specimen studied: collected from a rice-field at sonargaon in narayanganj district on 29 march 1989; ph 6.6; fairly common. 5. pl. ehrenbergii de bary var. ehrenbergii (pl. 2, fig. 25) (foerster 1982, pl. 14, fig. 1; ruzicka 1977, pl. 40, figs. 1-10) cells relatively large, slightly constricted, semicells with conspicuous basal inflation and usually with 1-2 smaller swellings beyond (exception var. undulatum), margins of semicell slightly tapered to a rounded truncate apex with 7-10 tubercles (rounded or conical) present; wall punctate; chloroplast in longitudinal, parietal bands with severalmany pyrenoids; cell length 227.2 µm; mid diam. 11.4 µm; isthmus 10 µm; apex 8.5 µm. note: our specimen is smaller than the typical form with thick wall and irregular shallow undulations. specimens studied: collected from a pond near uttara shopping centre near the zia int. airport on 6 sept. 1989 and from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, kaliganj, gazipur on 14 aug. 1989; fairly common in both the collections. 6. pl. ehrenbergii var. undulatum schaar. (pl. 2, fig. 24) (ruzicka 1977, pl. 40, figs. 13-15; prescott et al. 1975, pl. 46, fig. 18). cells medium to large; margins gently to symmetrically undulate beyond the basal inflation up to the middle or up to the apex; apex truncate with 4-6 (8) tubercles; cell length 295-392 µm; mid-diam. 17-20 µm; apex 11-12.8 µm. specimen studied: collected from a rice-field near manikganj on 1 april 1989; ph 6.3; common in the collection. 7. pl. elatum (turn.) west & west (hirano 1957, pl. 13, fig. 3; islam and haroon 1980, pl. 4, fig. 71) cell length 774 µm; mid-diam. 58.5 µm; isthmus 48.5 µm; wall slightly undulate, with pits; median band present. specimen studied: collected from khilkhet beel, dhaka on 6 sept. 1989; fairly common in the collection. *8. pl. eugenium west & west var. eugenium (pl. 2, figs. 22-23) (scott and prescott 1961, pl. 4, fig. 3) cell medium-sized; semicells with evident basal inflation and diminishing undulations up to apex; apex slightly tapered, rounded-truncate with several tubercles; wall punctate; chloroplast 3-4 lateral bands; cell length 419-503 µm; mid-diam. 22-32.3 µm; isthmus 19-29 µm; apex 12-25.8 µm. desmids of some selected areas of bangladesh 15 plate 2 (figs. 14-25) figs. 14-25: 14-16. pleurotaenium trabecula var. trabecula; 17. pl. trabecula var. elongatum; 18. pl. repandum; 19-20. pl. coronatum var. fluctuatum; 21. pl. trabecula var. crassum; 22-23. pl. eugenium var. eugenium; 24. pl. ehrenbergii var. undulatum; 25. pl. ehrenbergii var. ehrenbergii. 16 islam and akter specimen studied: collected from a crop-field at rajbari, comilla on 15 july 1989; water ph 6.5; common. 9. pl. kayei (arch.) rab. var. kayei (pl. 3, figs. 28-29, pl. 4, fig. 40) (scott and prescott 1961, pl. 5, fig. 10; islam 1970, pl. 1, figs. 5-6). cells cylindrical with distinct median constriction; each semicell broader at the base, gradually and slightly tapering toward the apex; marginal wall undulate up to the base of apex and with 5-ring-like whorls of spiny outgrowths present from the base of semicell up to below the apex; apex slightly flat, truncate with a ring of 10-12 spines, more or less horizontally spreading; cell length 270-329 µm; mid-diam. without spines 45-51.6 µm, with spines 61-76 µm; isthmus 29-32.3 µm; apex without spines 25-32.3 µm; with spines 38-51.6 µm. note: our form differs from the typical by its broader apex and the apical spines are more or less horizontal instead of slightly vertical. specimen studied: collected from a shallow pond opposite the uttara shopping centre, near the int. airport, dhaka on 30 sept. 1990; abundant in the collection. 10. pl. minutum (ralfs) delp. var. minutum (pl. 1, fig. 3) (islam 1970, pl. 4, figs. 5-6) cells small, straight, cylindrical, with a very slight constriction at the isthmus; base of semicell slightly or not at all swollen, barely tapered to the apex, which is truncate with rounded angles and without tubercles; wall smooth or finely punctate; chloroplast mostly single with an axial row of pyrenoids (3-15); cell length 164.72 µm; mid-diam. 10 µm; isthmus 5.7 µm. specimen studied: collected from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, gazipur on 12 sept. 1989 by azam; common. *11. pl. minutum var. attenuatum krieger (pl. 1, fig. 2) (prescott et al. 1975, pl. 3, fig. 14) this variety differs by its abruptly tapering apical region; cells small, cylindrical, up to 12-14 times longer than broad; apex rounded-truncate or slightly retuse; cell-length 143.5 µm; mid-diam. 7-10 µm; isthmus 5.7; apex 2.9 µm. specimen studied: collected from a rice-field near kaliganj railway station on 4 november 1989; ph of water 6.6. here it is smaller than the typical. *12. pl. minutum var. gracile krieger (pl. 1, fig. 1) (prescott et al. 1975, pl. 39, figs. 9-10) cells slender, apex rounded-truncate, basal inflation very slight; cell length 156.2 µm; mid-diam. 8.5-11.4 µm; isthmus 8.5 µm; apex 5.6-7.1 µm. desmids of some selected areas of bangladesh 17 specimen studied: collected from a ditch near kaliganj railway station, gazipur on 12 sept. 1989. 13. pl. nodosum bailey var. borgei gronbl. (pl. 3, figs. 31-32) (islam 1970, pl. 5, fig. 15; ruzicka 1977, pl. 44, figs. 7,8) the variety with the nodes disjunct, separated by the straight sections of the wall; usually 6 or 8 nodules at each ring; cell length 238-271 µm; mid-diam. 45-51.6 µm; isthmus 19-25.8 µm; apex 25.8. specimens studied: collected from a pond opposite uttara shopping centre, near the zia int. airport, dhaka on 30 sept. 1990; also from sonargaon, narayanganj and khilkhet beel, near zia int. airport, dhaka, common. *14. pl. nodulosum de bary var. nodulosum (pl. 1, fig. 8) (ruzicka 1977, pl. 42, fig. 1) cells 8-14 times longer than broad; walls of semicells smooth or undulating from a moderate basal inflation to a tapering apical part; apex smooth, rounded or roundedtruncate with tubercles; wall punctate or scrobiculate; cell length 599-619.20 µm; middiam. 42 µm; isthmus 25-29 µm; apex 29.1 µm; median band present. specimen studied: collected from a ditch within chittagong univ. campus on 19 march 1989; common. 15. pl. ovatum nordstedt var. ovatum (pl. 1, figs. 12-13, pl. 4, fig. 41) (prescott et al. 1975, 127, pl. 48, figs. 16-17; scott and prescott 1961, pl. 6, figs. 1-2) cells medium-sized, very broad, 3-4 times longer than broad; semicells broadly oval and convex in their lateral margins, without a basal inflation; wall straight or concave immediately below the apex; apex rounded-truncate, with 5 or 6 tubercles; wall punctate; cell length 245-271 µm; mid-diam. 83-96.8 µm; isthmus 54-61.3 µm; apex 32-35.5 µm; apex with a crown of spines. specimen studied: collected from a shallow pond opposite uttara shopping centre near the zia int. airport, dhaka on 30 sept. 1990; common in the collection. 16. pl. ovatum var. inermius moeb. (islam and haroon 1980; pl. 24, fig. 325; scott & prescott 1961, pl. 6, fig. 4) cells less broader than the typical; cell length 258 µm; mid-diam. 77.5 µm; isthmus 32.3 µm; apex 25.8 µm. specimen studied: collected from a rice-field, sonargaon, narayanganj on 29 march 1989; common in the collection. 18 islam and akter *17. pl. ovatum var. tumidum (mask.) west, g.s. (pl. 1, fig. 11) (groenblad and croasdale 1971, 8, pl. 1, fig. 13; foerster 1964, pl. 2, fig. 14) this variety is much broader than the typical, semicells almost circular or broadly ovate; at least 6 dentate tubercles are present at the apex; cell length 225.7 µm; mid-diam. 96-109.7 µm; isthmus 58 µm; apex 32-35.5 µm. specimen studied: collected from a rice-field at sonargaon, narayanganj on 29 march 1989; common. *18. pl. rectum delp. var. rectum (pl. 4, figs. 33-34) (ruzicka 1977, pl. 37, fig. 3) cell cylindrical, straight, slender, tapering slightly and evenly from basal inflation to a truncate apex; no extra swelling beyond the basal inflation; cell length 303-329 µm; mid-diam. 19-21.30 µm; isthmus 17.1 µm; apex 11-12.8 µm; wall smooth, apex simple without tubercles; chloroplast with one row of pyrenoids. specimens studied: collected from roadside ditch, paglapir, rangpur on 1 june 1989 and also from a ditch within chittagong univ. campus on 19 march 1989; fairly common. 19. pl. repandum (wolle) krieger (pl. 2, fig. 18) (islam and haroon 1980, pl. 4, fig. 59; prescott et al. 1975, pl. 41, fig. 10) cells medium-sized; semicells only slightly tapered from base to apex, basal inflation slight, margins undulate up to the truncate apex; wall punctate; cell length 306.8 µm; mid-diam. 22.8 µm; isthmus 17.1 µm; apex 15.7 µm. it is smaller than the typical. specimens studied: collected from khilkhet beel, dhaka city, on 6 january 1990; also from a ditch near railway station, kaliganj, gazipur on 14 august 1989. 20. pl. trabecula (ehr.) näg. var. trabecula (pl. 1, figs. 6-7; pl. 2, figs. 14-16) (prescott et al. 1975, pl. 40, figs. 1-2; ruzicka 1977, pl. 38, fig. 9) cells medium-sized, straight, cylindrical, basal inflation of semicells slight but definite, with 1-3 swellings beyond it; semicells usually a little swollen in the mid-region and slightly tapered to apex; apex truncate with rounded angles without any tubercle; wall punctate or smooth; chloroplasts show 3 or 4 lateral bands; with scattered pyrenoids; cell length 316-516 µm; mid diam. 19-32.3 µm; isthmus 16-25.8 µm; apex 12-22.6 µm. note: this species shows wide range of structure in shape and size. sometime, some semicell may be curved or swollen or undeveloped. wall may be thick, rough or warty. a much smaller form (l. 244.3 µm; m.d. 17.1 µm; isthmus 14.20 µm; apex 8 µm) has been found in manikganj collection (pl. 2, fig. 15) desmids of some selected areas of bangladesh 19 plate 3 (figs. 26-32) figs. 26-32: 26. pleurotaenium doliforme var. doliforme; 27. pl. truncatum; 28-29. pl. kayei var. kayei; 30. pl. verrucosum var. verrucosum; 31-32. pl. nodosum var. borgei. 20 islam and akter specimens studied: collected from a pond opposite uttara shopping centre, dhaka on sept. 1989; from a road side ditch, paglapir, rajgpur on 1 june 1989; from a rice-field near manikganj on 1 april, 1989; from a ditch within chittagong univ. campus on 19 march 1989; from khilkhet beel, dhaka on 6 sept. 1989; and from a pond near railway station, kaliganj, gazipur on 4 nov. 1989; one of the most common desmid species in these areas. *21. pl. trabecula var. crassum wittrock (pl. 2, fig. 21) (prescott et al. 1975, pl. 40, figs. 13-14; ruzicka 1977, pl. 38, figs. 6-7) cells medium-sized, stout; no, or only one swelling beyond the basal inflation; semicell may be broader above the midregion but tapering toward the plain truncate apex, wall somewhat thickened and punctate; cell length 164-167.5 µm; mid-diam. 26-28.5 µm; isthmus 19-22.8 µm; apex 14.2 µm; our specimen is smaller than the typical. specimens studied: collected from a rice-field near manikganj on 1 april, 1989; from a rice-field near kaliganj railway station, gazipur on 4 nov. 1989; and from khilkhet beel, dhaka on 13 nov. 1989; common in these collections. *22. pl. trabecula var. elongatum cedergren (pl. 2, fig. 17) (prescott et al. 1975, pl. 40, figs. 10-11; ruzicka 1977, pl. 38, fig. 9) cells relatively long, 19-28 times longer than broad; 1 or 2 slight swellings beyond the basal inflation; apex truncate with rounded angles; wall punctate; cell length 645-735 µm; mid-diam. 42 µm; isthmus 32.3 µm; apex 25.8 µm; slightly smaller than the typical. specimen studied: collected from a pond near kalatali shrimp res. inst. cox's bazar on 10 dec. 1989. 23. pl. truncatum (bréb.) nägeli var. truncatum (pl. 3, fig. 27; pl. 4, fig. 43) (prescott et al. 1975, pl. 48, figs. 1-4; ruzicka 1977, pl. 43, figs. 1-3) cells large, 6-9 times longer than broad, semicells swollen beyond the basal inflation, margins convex and tapering to the apex; apex truncate with rounded angles and with several rounded tubercles; wall punctate; cell length 211 µm; mid-diam. 27 µm; isthmus 23 µm; apex 18 µm; our specimen is smaller than the typical. specimen studied: collected from a rice-field at sonargaon, narayanganj on 19 june 1989; common in the collection. 24. pl. verrucosum (bailey) lundell var. verrucosum (pl. 3, fig. 30) (prescott et al. 1975, pl. 50, figs. 13-16) cells medium-sized; semicells cylindrical with slight basal inflation and slightly tapered toward truncate apex with 5 or 6 tubercles; wall with 10-17 circles of desmids of some selected areas of bangladesh 21 quadrangular thinner areas, which are smaller and irregular in the basal circle and elongated in the apical region; cell length 432 µm; mid-diam. 33 µm; isthmus 26 µm; apex 20 µm. in our form apical dentations are not pointed and the semicells are gradually narrowed from base to apex. specimen studied: collected from a pond opposite uttara shopping centre near zia int. airport, dhaka on 6 sept. 1989; common. genus: triplastrum iyengar & ramanathan 1942 cells small, cylindrical, usually single, solitary but rarely remain attached at the poles, median constriction shallow; semicell base slightly inflated, above which margins are parallel but concave just below the polar end; apex truncated and inflated; inflated portion forming 3 (rarely 4) lobes, each terminated by a short tooth/spine; each semicell with 2 (rarely 3) stellate or variable number of longitudinal ridges with 1 or 2-3 pyrenoids; wall smooth or punctate; zygospore broadly elliptical with undulate margin (not found in all species). 25. triplastrum abbreviatum (turner) iyen. & ramana. (pl. 4, figs. 36-39) (islam 1980, figs. 19, 36-41) cells small, median constriction shallow, apex inflated, 3-lobed, lobes short, not divergent, each with 2-3 short spines; each semicell with 2 stellate chloroplast with a central pyrenoid each; cell length without spines 62-74 µm, with spines 65-77 µm; middiam. 9-10 µm; apex without spines 10.3 µm; with spines 11-14.3 µm; isthmus 8.3-9.3 µm; very rare in the collection. specimen studied: collected from khilkhet beel near the zia int. airport, dhaka on 6 january 1990. note: this rare species was reported earlier from narayanganj district by islam (1980) which was little bigger in size than the present one, otherwise there is no difference between these two collections. genus: triploceras bailey, j.w. 1851 cells elongate, subcylindric, with little or no incision at the isthmus, and slightly tapered to the apex; lateral margins undulate with 9-15 whorls of mammillate protuberances, each bearing either a simple or bifid spine or an emarginate verruca; apex variable, flat or concave, bearing 2-4 short, diverging, spine-tipped processes, and with 2 additional spines often present on small tumors between or just below each pair of processes; chloroplast axial, with longitudinal lamellae, and an axial row of pyrenoids; conjugation rare. 22 islam and akter plate 4 (figs. 33-43) figs. 33-43: 33-34. pleurotaenium rectum var. rectum. 35. triploceras gracile var. undulatum. 36-39. triplastrum abbreviatum (37. a cell little curved near the poles; 38. top polar view. 39. photomicrograph of a cell); 40. pl. kayei var. kayei; 41. pl. ovatum var. ovatum; 42. pl. doliforme var. doliforme; 43. pl. truncatum. desmids of some selected areas of bangladesh 23 26. triploceras gracile bailey var. gracile (prescott et al. 1975; pl. 51, figs. 7-14; islam 1970, pl. 2, fig. 3; islam and haroon 1980, pl. 4, figs. 52-53). same as the genus; semicell slightly tapered from base to apex; mammillate protuberances, each bearing a single, stout spine; spines in upper whorls directed upward, in lower whorls, outward; apex divided into 2 (or 3) short processes, each tipped with paired, rarely single, short spines; cell length without spines 283-322 µm; with spines 303-360 µm; mid-diam. without spines 16-19.4 µm, with spines 25-32.3 µm; apex without spines 13 µm, with spines 19-26 µm; a larger form. specimens studied: collected from a rice-field at sonargaon, narayanganj on 29 march, 1989 and from a pond opposite uttara shopping centre, dhaka on 17 feb. 1990; common. 27. t. gracile var. undulatum scott & prescott (pl. 4, fig. 35) (islam 1970, pl. 2, fig. 2; scott and prescott 1961, pl. 6, fig. 9) it differs from the above variety by its undulate wall; cell length without spines 432445 µm, with spines 451-471 µm, mid-diam. without spines 25-32.3 µm, with spines 4551.6 µm; apex without spines 19-19.4 µm, with spines 41-45.2 µm; larger than the typical. specimens studied: same as the above one and also from a rice-field at manikganj on 1 april 1989 and from a rice-field at kaliganj, gazipur on 14 aug. 1989; common. references foerster, k. 1964. desmidiaceen aus brasilien 2. teil, bahia, goyaz, piauhy und nord-brasilien. hydrobiologia 23(3-4): 321-505. foerster, k. 1982. das phytoplankton des süsswassers, 8 teil, 1 halfte. e. schw. verlags. stuttgart. groenblad, r. and croasdale, h. 1971. desmids from namibia (sw africa). acta bot. fenn, helsinki, 93: 1-40. hirano, m. 1957. flora desmidiarun japonicarum. contr. biol. lab. kyoto univ. 3: 107 islam, a.k.m. nurul. 1970. contribution to the knowledge of desmids of east pakistan, part 1, nova hedwigia, 20: 903-983. islam, a.k.m. nurul. 1980. study on triplastrum found in bangladesh with a note on its species, bangladesh j. bot. 9(1): 1-12. islam, a.k.m. nurul and akter, n. 2004. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh 2. genus staurastrum meyen. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 15-28. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, a. 2004. desmids from some selected areas of bangladesh 1. genus micrasterias agardh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 1-14. islam, a.k.m. nurul and haroon, a.k.y. 1980. desmids of bangladesh. int. rev. ges. hydrobiol. 65(4): 551-604. prescott, g.w., croasdale, h.t. and vinyard, w.c. 1975. a synopsis of north american desmids, part ii. desmidiaceae: placodermae. sec. 1. univ. nebraska press, lincoln, usa. pp. 275. růžička, j. 1977. die desmidiaceen mitteleuropas, band 1: lief. 1. schw. verlags. stuttgart. pp. 291 + 44 pls. scott, a.m. and prescott, g.w. 1961. indonesian desmids. hydrobiologia. 17: 1-132 + 63 pls. department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangl abstract introduction taxonomy class: chlorophyceae; order desmidiales; family: desmidiacea genus: docidium de brebisson 1844 em. lundell 1871 genus: pleurotaenium nägeli 1849 genus: triplastrum iyengar & ramanathan 1942 genus: triploceras bailey, j.w. 1851 references microsoft word 07. acalypha fimbriata.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 53-62, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new infra-specific taxon of acalypha fimbriata schum. & thonn. from nigeria akeem babalola kadiri department of botany, university of lagos, akoka, nigeria keywords: acalypha fimbriata; new variety; nigeria. abstract this study shows that the populations of acalypha fimbriata schum. & thonn. occurring in nigeria are divisible into two recognizable varieties, viz., a. fimbriata schum. & thonn. var. fimbriata and a. fimbriata var. robusta kadiri var. nov. generally, the populations have a suite of similar characters in their vegetative and reproductive organs and the ultra-structures of the leaf cuticle using scanning electron microscope showed uniformity of characters like sunken stomata, wide-narrow stomatal opening and conspicuous periclinal wall. however, the two varieties are discriminated based on 1 vs. 2 fruits per bract, slim vs. robust stature, scanty vs. clumsy inflorescence on the axillary spike, leaf apex character as well as smooth and rough unicellular trichomes. the observation is supported by a t-test at 95% similarity confidence while the 14 populations consisting of 280 individuals used for the analysis are separated into two by the scatter diagram. neighbour joining analysis using euclidean measure and upgma dendrogram reveal the level of relationships. therefore, one of the varieties is based on the description of the earlier described type specimen and the other variety being different is considered as a new taxon acalypha fimbriata var. robusta kadiri. introduction acalypha l. (euphorbiaceae) is pantropical in distribution, comprising about 450 species worldwide, 80 species in africa and 15 species in west africa with 9 species represented in nigeria (thonner, 1915; hutchinson and dalziel, 1958; kadiri et al., 2009). they grow in a wide range of disturbed terrestrial habitats such as gutter-walls, farm lands, road sides, forest and savannah. hutchinson and dalziel (1958) and burkill (1994) reported that they have high medicinal and aesthetic properties. acalypha fimbriata schum. & thonn. is one of the well-spread species of the genus belonging to the series polygynae-pleurogynae mull.-arg. and section ciliatae mull-arg. it is characterized by simple lanceolate leaves that is 4-10 x 2.5-4.0 cm in size. the inflorescence is arranged on axillary spike and the female flower is located within a boatshaped bract having 3-chambered fruit that contains one seed per chamber. acalypha fimbriata is medicinally important in respiratory and digestive problems, rheumatism and for sore and wound dressing (burkill, 1994 and personal communication with natives). the bioactive principles are obtainable through the common practices of pulverisation, cooking, boiling and grinding. de candolle (1866) and hepper (1976) considered the species as a synonym of a. ciliata forsk. however, radcliffe-smith (1989, 1996) regarded them as distinct taxa because of differences in some morphological characters and added that a. ciliata is common in the north, while a. fimbriata is restricted to the south of nigeria. nevertheless, the two species can be contiguous in distribution but there is no doubt about the constancy of their distinctness (radcliffe-smith, 1989). a. fimbriata is well distributed in wet areas; it is usually found throughout rainy season and disappears as soon as dry season begins. during this period of growth, it was observed that individuals of the same population and locality have robust and slim 54 kadiri stature, clumsy and sparse inflorescence distribution, different number of ovary in a bract and some other morphological numerical differences. in view of this, the present study was carried out in order to scrutinize the heterogeneity of the populations across their entire range in the country, define the species properties as accurate and recognize the possible infra-specific taxa among the populations. the outcome of the study is expected to be valuable to individual plant recognition especially in medicine. materials and methods a total of 14 out of 18 populations were focused because of loss of assessable data in four of them, each containing 20 individuals were studied in the herbaria of universities of lagos (luh) and ibadan (uih), forestry research institute of nigeria, ibadan (fhi). the fresh samples collected from the fields were examined critically. herbarium abbreviations are as reported by holmgren et al. (1990) and provenances of the specimens used are shown in table 1. samples were collected at every 3rd, 4th or 5th step depending on size and degree of variability within the population, in line with the approach of anderson (1941, 1943), clausen (1960) and olowokudejo (1995). they were examined both unaided and with the aid of x10 magnifying hand lens for exomorphological characteristics. for scanning electron microscopy, approximately 8 mm2 of the preserved leaves was hydrated in a solution of water aerosol ot and chloral hydrate. they were later dehydrated in graded ethanol series: 50%, 70%, 90% and 100%; then bisected and mounted on stubs with adaxial and abaxial surfaces facing upward before sputter coating with palladium gold alloy. samples were observed at 20kev using phillips 505t sem and photographs were taken with polaroid 55p/in film. the approach followed kadiri et al. (2009). voucher specimens have been deposited in the herbarium and representative samples maintained in cultivation in the botanical garden of university of lagos, nigeria. principal component and neighbor joining analyses based on euclidean similarity measure were performed with three characters (leaf apex length, number of inflorescence per plant and number of ovary in the bract), and a upgma dendogram based on the nine characters studied was generated using the statistical program of hammer et al. (2001) to reflect the degree of relationships among the populations. results and discussion acalypha fimbriata schum. & thonn. var. fimbriata the taxon is representative of the type already described (akobundu and agyakwa, 1998). it was compared with the described acalypha ciliata (hutchinson and dalziel, 1958), a very close ally, as there is no record of it in the flora (hutchinson and dalziel, 1958). therefore, the attention given to it is for the purpose of comparison with the new taxon. acalypha fimbriata schum. & thonn. var. robusta kadiri var. nov. diagnosis: folia apex acutatus-acuminatus, basis attenuatus-truncatus, margine serratus, forma ovatus-lanceolatus. venatio craspedodroma, folia magnitudo 4.8 – 6.3 × 3.0 – 3.6 cm, folia apex longitudo 9 -11 mm, petiolo longitudo 3.1 – 4.6 cm, inflorescentia numero 27 – 35, planta altitude 39.3 – 48.2 cm, pistillum numero per bractea 2, cuticularis, stomata depressus cum tenuis, stomata margine et latus longust stomata apetura et conicus trichoma verruca. type: collected from c. 250 m from community primary school, molade area, iwo road ibadan, 14 july 200. (holotype: luh; isotype: fhi). a new infra-specific taxon of acalypha fimbriata 55 table 1. provenances of the specimens of acalypha fimbriata used for the study. no. localities voucher specimens 1 ibadan p. wit, 17.8.1971, 27563 (fhi) 2 ibadan a. p. d. jones, 23.10.1945, 13737 (fhi) 3 igboora o. b. b., 15.10.1981, 96310 (fhi) 4 cross-river ibhanesbor and oguntayo, 8.6.1972, 65249 (fhi) 5 kwara olorunfemi and ibhanesbor, 14.5.1973, 70013 (fhi) 6 ibadan m. c. ejiofor, 7.9.1949, 24560 (fhi) 7 abeokuta oduwo and binuyo, 30.8.1984, 102011 (fhi) 8 lagos oguntayo and olorunfemi, 7.11.1977, 91921 (fhi) 9 owena oyayomi and osanyinlusi, 21.6.1977, 84421 (fhi) 10 ago-are olorunfemi et al., 19.10.1981, 96370 (fhi) 11 ipake magbagboeola & co., 1.2.1981, 94854 (fhi) 12 otukpa emwiogbon and oguntayo, 30.6.1978, 103402 (fhi) 13 ohumbe oyayomi and osanyinlusi, 13.6.1977, 82984 (fhi) 14 cross-river ekwuno & co, 14.3.1979, 89054 (fhi) 15 cross-river w. punt, 22.5.1959, 51931 (fhi) 16 abeokuta c. owechi, 22.5.1959, 52381 (fhi) 17 lagos j. g. adam, 18.4.1959, 52381 (fhi) 18 oshogbo c. owehi, 1.8.1964, 4485 (fhi) 19 ibadan (kadiri 2) kadiri, 10.9.1999, 2025 (luh) 20 ibadan kadiri, 8.7.2000, 2026 (luh) 21 ibadan kadiri, 26.10.2000, 2027 (luh) 22 ibadan kadiri, 6.7.2001, 2028 (luh) 23 iwo (kadiri 55) kadiri, 9.8.2000, 2029 (luh) 24 ilorin (kadiri 20) kadiri, 12.9.2000, 2030 (luh) 25 ijebu-ode (kadiri 4) kadiri, 26.10.2000, 2031 (luh) 26 ife (kadiri 8) kadiri, 7.8.2000, 2032 (luh) 27 ibadan (kadiri 15) kadiri, 9.8.2000, 2032 (luh) 28 ijebuode (kadiri 30) kadiri, 26.10.2000, 2033 (luh) 29 ijebuode (kadiri 35) kadiri, 3.12.2000, 2034 (luh) 30 iwo (kadiri 29) kadiri, 6.7.2001, 2035 (luh) 31 ibadan (kadiri 56) kadiri, 6.7.2001, 2036 (luh) 32 ibadan (kadiri 57) kadiri, 14.7.2001, 2037 (luh) 33 igboora kadiri, 6.7.2001, 2036 (luh) 34 abeokuta kadiri, 14.7.2001, 2037 (luh) 35 ijebu-ode kadiri, 22.10.2008, 2335 (luh) 36 ijebu-igbo (kadiri 28) kadiri, 18.11.2008, 2345 (luh) 37 shagamu kadiri, 12.12.2008, 2435 (luh) 38 ibadan (kadiri 59) kadiri, 14.12.2008, 2467 (luh) 39 ibadan (kadiri 12) kadiri, 12.2.2009, 2535 (luh) 56 kadiri an annual herb, 30-70 mm long. stem woody at the base and few to profusely branching. leaves simple, alternate, 41-71 × 19-43 mm, usually lanceolate, margin serrate, base oblique, apex acuminate, petiole slender, 21-52 mm long. inflorescence on axillary spikes, shorter than the petioles, inflorescence number 17-36 per individual. flowers greenish, male flower is above the female, clumsy, arranged alternately in boat-shaped bracts. fruit a 3-chambered capsule, usually 2 (very rarely 1) per bract, 1-2 mm long. seeds brown, c. 1-3 mm long. leaf cuticular characters include thin stomata rim, wide-long stomatal aperture and warty and long unicellular trichomes. phenology: flowering: april to august; fruiting: may to august. habitat: farmland and roadside. distribution: it is very common in the south western to the south southern nigeria. etymology: the name is based on the overall appearance of the plant. fig. 1. map of nigeria showing distribution and leaf variations among the populations of acalypha fimbriata across nigeria. the two varieties can be distinguished by number of ovaries per bract which is usually 1 in var. fimbriata and 2 in var. robusta (fig. 2b, c, f, g) and mean inflorescence number on the axillary spike that is usually varied from 2-16 in the former and 27-35 in the latter (table 2). another important feature for distinction is the length of leaf apex; it varies from 5-8 mm in var. fimbriata to 9-11 mm in var. robusta (fig. 2d, h; table 2). a new infra-specific taxon of acalypha fimbriata 57 fig. 2. line drawings showing morphological features of the two infra-specific taxa of acalypha fimbriata. a-d: a. fimbriata var. fimbriata, e-h: a. fimbriata var. robusta kadiri var. nov. kadiri. d and h: leaf apex; b and f, bracts partially sectioned to show fruits, c and g, number of fruits per bract. scale bars: a, c, d, e, g and h = 1 cm; b and f = 0.6 cm. other features are stomatal complex configuration (thin-wide rim and narrow-wide plus longshort stomatal aperture) and the trichome ornamentation which is smooth in var. fimbriata and warty in var. robusta (figs 3g; 4e, g). it was observed that individuals of the same populations often have different appearances. some may have slim stature and scanty inflorescence distribution, while others have robust stature and clumsy inflorescence distribution (fig 2). however, the leaf blade and petiole length reasonably overlap among the populations (table 2). the present study also reveals that the populations of the species are clearly divided into the two recognized varieties using principal component analysis (fig. 5a) and the relationship patterns are 58 kadiri a new infra-specific taxon of acalypha fimbriata 59 reflected by the dendrograms of neighbour joining analysis and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (upgma) (figs 5b & 5c). the statistical interpretations (i.e. principal component analysis, neighbour joining and upgma dendrograms) of the findings reasonably support the division of the populations of the species into two and recognition of them as different varieties. one taking after the type specimen already described for a. fimbriata (akobundu and agyakwa, 1998) and deposited in the herbarium and the other being newly described for the first time in the present work as a. fimbriata var. robusta. the distinctive morphological characterstics of acalypha fimbrita var. fimbriata and a. fimbriata var. robusta are presented in table 3. fig. 3. scanning electron micrographs of leaf surfaces of acalypha fimbriata var. fimbriata a – f: abaxial surface; g – h: adaxial surface (presence of long unicellular trichome in g). 60 kadiri fig. 4. scanning electron micrographs of leaf surfaces of acalypha fimbriata var. robusta kadiri var. nov. a – f: abaxial surface; g – h: adaxial surface (warty surface of trichomes are in e and g). table 3. distinctive morphological characteristics of the recognized infra-specific taxa of acalypha fimbriata in nigeria. characters acalypha fimbriata var. fimbriata acalypha fimbriata var. robusta var. nov. inflorescence number 2 – 16 27 35 pistil number per bract 1 2 cuticular characters wide stomatal rim thin stomatal rim narrow-short stomatal aperture wide-long stomatal aperture smooth unicellular conical trichome warty unicellular conical trichome a new infra-specific taxon of acalypha fimbriata 61 fig. 5. relationships among the studied populations of acalypha fimbriata. 5a. division of the populations supported by principal component analysis; 5b. neighbour joining dendrogram showing the separation of the populations; 5c. upgma tree showing the pattern of relationships among the populations of acalypha fimbriata. most of the populations used in the study are from southwest nigeria where hutchinson and dalziel (1958) implicated as the most probable centre of genetic diversity for most species of acalypha in west africa. the characters used for analysis have been reported by hutchinson and dalziel (1958) and agnew (1974) to be taxonomically useful in the genus. in corroboration, davis and heywood (1963) stated that morphology is a pedestal upon which taxonomic decisions are based. although, cuticular characters of the leaf surface are not discriminating enough to support the groups recognized, however, presence of warty and long unicellular trichome and thin stomatal rim recorded in the var. robusta kadiri var. nov. distinguish it from the var. fimbriata. stomatal and trichome characters are useful for delimitation of taxa (stace, 1965; inamdar and gangdhara, 1977; metcalfe and chalk, 1979; devi et al., 2013), which has been supported by the present study. the statistical analyses of principal component analysis, neighbour joining analysis and upgma dendrograms also reflect the level of relationships among the populations and support recognition of the two distinct groups i.e. varieties in acalypha fimbriata. principal component analysis showing the two varieties identified. the figures are the populations' accession numbers. neighbour joining analysis using euclidean similarity measures. a upgma dendrogram showing relationships among the populations. component 1 c om po ne nt 2 62 kadiri acknowledgement the support of the university of lagos, nigeria through 2001-2005 postgraduate fellowship stipends is acknowledged, without which the field trips and visits to herbaria would have been impossible. i am also grateful to professors j.d. olowokudejo and o.t. ogundipe for their encouragement. the work is a part of the author’s ph. d. thesis. references agnew, a.d.q. 1974. upland kenya wild flowers. oxford university press, london, pp. 213-217. akobundu, i. a. and agyakwa, c.w. 1998. a handbook of west african weeds. international institute of tropical agriculture, nigeria, 564 pp. anderson, e. 1941. the technique and use of mass collections in plant taxonomy. anna. missour. bot. gard. 23: 287-292. anderson, e. 1943. mass collections. chron. bot. 7: 378-380. burkill, h.m. 1994. the useful plants of west tropical africa. royal botanic gardens, kew, 636 pp. clausen, j. 1960. a simple method for the sampling of natural populations. reports of scottish plant breeding station, pp. 69-75. davis, p.h. and heywood, v.h. 1963. principles of angiosperm taxonomy. oliver & boyd. ltd., edinburgh, 559 pp. de candolle, a.p. 1866. prodromus systematis 15(2): 491. devi, n.j., padma, y., narasimhudu, c.l. and raju, r.r.v. 2013. diversity of stomata and trichomes in euphorbia l. – i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 27-38. hammer, o., harper, d.a.t. and ryan, p.d. 2001. past: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. palaeontologia electronica 4(1): 1-9. hepper, f.n. 1976. the west african herbaria of isert and thonning. robert maclehose & company ltd., great britain, 227 pp. holmgren, p.k., holmgren, n.h. and banner, t.l.c. 1990. index herbariorum. part i: the herbaria of the world [regnum veg. vol. 120]. new york botanical garden, new york. hutchinson, j. and dalziel, j.m. 1958. flora of west tropical africa. crown agents for overseas governments and administrations, london, 828 pp. inamdar, j.a. and gangadhara, m. 1977. studies on the trichomes of some euphorbiaceae. feddes repertorium 88: 103-111. kadiri, a.b., olowokudejo, j.d. and ogundipe, o.t. 2009. leaf epidermis morphology of west african species of the genus acalypha (euphorbiaceae). botanica lithuanica 15(2): 65-78. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1979. anatomy of the dicotyledons. oxford university press, oxford, 276 pp. olowokudejo, j.d. 1995. taxonomic study of the biscutella variegata complex (cruciferae). willdenowia 25: 25-38. radcliffe-smith, a. 1989. revised conspectus of the euphorbiaceae. euphorbiaceae newsletter 2: 4-9. radcliffe-smith, a. 1996. euphorbiaceae, subfamilies phyllanthoideae, oldfieldioideae, acalyphoideae, crotonoideae, and euphorbioideae, tribe hippomaneae. in pope g. v. (editor). flora zambesica 9(4): 1-357. stace, c.a. 1965. cuticular studies as an aid to plant taxonomy. bull. brit. mus. nat. hist. bot. 4: 1-78. thonner, f.r. 1915. flowering plants of africa. dulan & co. ltd., london, 647 pp. (manuscript received on 15 may 2013; revised on 14 april 2014) microsoft word 06. bjpt 12-50-camellia.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 155-165, 2012 (december) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floral morphology resolves the taxonomy of camellia l. (theaceae) sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia w. jiang, m. nitin1, b. jiang, y.p. zheng, s.s. hong and h.f. lu2 college of chemistry and life science, zhejiang normal university, jinhua, 321004, china keywords: camellia; cladistic; floral morphology; sect. oleifera; sect. paracamellia. abstract numerical taxonomy and cladistic analysis of 19 species of camellia l. were performed using floral morphology containing continuous and discrete units. the current study mostly supports the classifications of 19 species as proposed in previous works. in addition, it also agrees with combining the following species together: c. oleifera and c. vietnamensis; c. sasanqua and c. hiemalis; c. brevistyla and c. puniceiflora; and c. grijsii and c. shensiensis. further, we propose that c. maliflora be recognized as a variety of c. sasanqua, and c. phaeoclada is best placed in sect. paracamellia. moreover, we conclude that these species can be combined: c. tenii and c. miyagii; and c. confusa and c. fluviatilis. our study indicates that the numerical taxonomy and cladistic analysis based on morphological characters of floral organ is useful in species classification, and this technique appreciated in sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia can be used for identification and classification of other taxa. introduction the genus camellia l. (theaceae) is endemic to southeastern asia, and 80% species are native to china (lu et al., 2008). some species of the plant are used to produce green tea, to cultivate as ornamental plants, and the seeds of others are used to produce edible oils (lu et al., 2012). more than three million hectares of agricultural land is used to grow camellia to produce in excess of 164 thousand tons of edible cooking oil (vijayan et al., 2009). obviously, the economic value of camellia is significant. however, the taxonomic relationships between various camellia species are still unclear. since linnaeus (1753) assigned camellia japonica l. and thea sinensis l. [=c. sinensis (l.) o. kuntze] in his first edition of species plantarum, there is little consensus upon the combination and species number that should be recognized. estimates vary from about 82 to 119 or 280 species, depending on the taxonomic authority (chang, 1998; ming, 2000). camellia is regarded as morphologically, anatomically and molecularly heterogeneous genus based on studies of its various sections (lin et al., 2008; pi et al., 2009; pi et al., 2011). different taxonomic questions in relation to many of its sections remain unresolved, for example, sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia. sealy (1958) listed six species and two varieties in the sect. paracamellia. chang (1998) divided sealy’s system into sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia, because species of sect. oleifera have longer styles and androecium, and higher seed oil content (table 1). there are total 21 species in chang's taxonomic classification. ming (2000) concluded that there was no essential difference between sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia, which was largely on the basis of a structural framework proposed by sealy (1958). by combination of species, ming (2000) reduced the section to seven species. since chang's classification of camellia provided as part of a comprehensive taxonomic revision, we used it as the primary context for assessing the results of the present study. 1school of applied sciences, health innovations research institute, rmit university, melbourne 3000, victoria, australia. 2corresponding author. email: luhongfei63@yahoo.com.cn 156 jiang et al. during the last 10 years, efforts to resolve classification issues in sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia have involved data on leaf morphology (lin et al., 2008), chemical composition analysis (shen et al., 2008) and molecular marker (vijayan et al., 2009). however, the taxonomic position of a few species is still ambiguous. it is necessary to seek other information for reassessing the classification of these two sections. the construction of classifications with their positive features depended upon a careful comparison of attributes of the organisms (stuessy, 2009). stuessy (2009) reported that although many vegetative characters have also been used to good effect, in a general sense, floral features have been most useful in angiosperm taxonomy. the androecium in flowers was obviously of high taxonomic value within angiosperms, stamens were important in classification of plants, and the anthers occurred in many different sizes and shapes (hufford and endress, 1989). many studies have employed comparisons of several different floral structures (kocyan and endress, 2001; matthews and endress, 2005). liston (2003) showed the importance of careful observations of floral morphology to infer homology of ovary position. these all indicate that types of floral characters are more distinguished according to its variability of characters and states. thus, a detailed analysis of floral morphology can be regarded as a significant method to identify the disputed species among these two sections. the aims of our study were: (1) to explore if numerical taxonomy and cladistic analyses based on morphological characters of floral organ is of value in classification, (2) to investigate the distinction between sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia of the genus camellia, and (3) to assess the phylogenetic relationships among the 19 species in these two sections. material and methods plant materials five species from sect. oleifera and 14 species from sect. paracamellia were examined (table 1). as a outgroup, closely related species of sect. camellia such as c. chekiangoleosa and c. japonica were chosen. the research was based on the investigation of living collections, which were obtained from the international camellia species garden of jinhua city (icsg, 29°7´n, 119°35´s, 40 m in altitude). at least three different individual plants per species were selected in this study. voucher specimens were deposited in the chemistry and life science college of zhejiang normal university (zjnu). morphological characters for each plant, floral morphological attribute observations were obtained mainly from living plants and partly from the literature. the salient informative morphological variations were selected principally from petal, perule, filament, stamen, style, stigma, ovary, receptacle, pollen and anther (table 2). a total of five binary characters were coded as 0 and 1, such as petal colour and number of perule. pollen microscopic observations and measurements were made by using a zeiss microscope. other remaining 17 characters were studied by measuring the photographic images (fig. 1) through the imagej software. seven other variables were added (derived variables, table 2): petal width-length ratio = petal width / petal length; petal form coefficient = 16×petal perimeter/ (petal area)2; style height-stamen height ratio = height of style / height of stamen; divided style ratio = length of divided style / height of style; ovary diameter-height ratio = diameter of ovary / height of ovary; ovary diameterreceptacle diameter ratio = diameter of ovary/ diameter of receptacle; anther width-length ratio = anther width / anther length. the floral morphological characters we selected in this study were followed by earlier researches (takahata and hinta, 1986). taxonomy of camellia l. 157 table 1. species level differences between the classifications of sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia of camellia l. by chang (1998) and ming (2000). chang (1998) ming (2000) framework for classifications composed 5 species in sect. oleifera h. t. chang and 14 species in sect. paracamellia sealy composed 7 species in section sect. oleifera h.t. chang sections with similar members 1. c. gauchowensis h.t. chang 1. c. gauchowensis h. t. chang 2. c. oleifera abel 3. c. vietnamensis t.c. huang ex hu 2. c. oleifera abel 4. c. lanceoleosa h.t. chang & j.s. chiu 5. c. fluviatilis hand.-mazz. 3. c. fluviatilis hand.-mazz. var. fluviatilis var. megalantha 6. c. sasanqua thunb. 7. c. hiemalis nakai 8. c. miyagii (koidz.) makino & nemoto 4. c. sasanqua thunb. 9. c. brevistyla (hayata) coh. stuart 10. c. obtusifolia h.t. chang 11. c. puniceiflora h.t. chang 5. c. brevistyla (hayata) coh. stuart var. brevistyla var. microphylla merr. 12. c. confusa craib 13. c. kissi wall. 6. c. kissi wall. var. kissi var. vonfusa (craib.) ming 14. c. grijsii hance 15. c. yuhsienensis hu 16. c. shensiensis h.t. chang 7. c. grijsii hance var. grijsii var. shensiensis (h.t. chang) ming 17. c. maliflora lindl. hybrid 18. c. phaeoclada h.t. chang c. saluenensis stapf ex bean 19. c. tenii sealy sect. heterogenea sealy numerical taxonomy a total of 76 variables for each species were used: 5 binary and 71 continuous (including max, ave and mix). mix values of diameter of pollen, width of anther, length of anther and anther width-length ratio were ultimately excluded considering dysplasia and abortion of anther and pollen. gower's (1971) general similarity coefficient (sc) was used to measure pairwise similarities for mixed datasets. both cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis were conducted using mvsp software (version 3.13n, kovach computing services). cladistic analysis cladistic analysis was based on a set of 30 characters consisting of five discrete and 25 continuous characters. discrete characters were scored and entered directly into a data matrix. continuous characters were converted to discrete characters following otalora et al. (2008), and modifications were made for our study. firstly, an anova was analyzed on each character by using spss version 17.0 (spss inc., chicago, il). if the null hypothesis (h0= mean of each group is equal) was rejected for a given character, a pairwise mean comparison using the duncans multiple range test (p < 0.05) was performed. means for groups in homogeneous subsets were obtained. the values with different number were significantly different to convert morphological continuous characters into discrete characters. 158 jiang et al. table 2. salient morphological characters of camellia species used for the morphometrical analysis. binary characters are coded as 0 and 1. morphological characters morphometrical analysis 1. petal a. colour white (0), pink or red (1) f. area (cm) g. perimeter (cm) h. width (cm) i. length (cm) j. number of petal 2. perule b. number of perule: 6-9 (0), 10-12 (1) k. number of full petaloid perule 3. filament and stamen c. stamen fusion: connate near the base (0), connate in the lower half (1) d. stamen fusion: even (0), uneven (1) e. filament: vertical (0), curved (1) l. number of stamen m. number of stamens layer n. height of stamen 4. style and stigma o. number of stigma p. height of style (mm) q. length of divided style (mm) 5. ovary and receptacle r. diameter of ovary (mm) s. height of ovary (mm) t. diameter of receptacle (mm) 6. pollen and anther u. diameter of pollen (mm) v. width of anther (mm) w. length of anther (mm) 7. derived variables x. petal width-length ration = h/i y. petal form coefficient = 16*g/f2 z. style heightstamen height ratio = p/n ab. divided style ration = q/p ac. ovary diameter-height ratio = r/s ad. ovary diameterreceptacle diameter ratio = r/t ae. anther width-length ration = v/w *see 'morphological characters' section under materials and methods for explanation. the cladistic analysis was performed using mrbayes 3.1 (ronquist and huelsenbeck, 2003) as an alternative for likelihood analysis. a bayesian analysis (ba) was performed on standard data set, using a general time reversible (gtr) model (nst=6; rates=invgamma) with gammadistribution rate variation and a proportion of invariant sites, and one million generations of the markov chain monte carlo (mcmc) chains in two independent runs (yuan et al., 2010). all other trees sampled were used to calculate a strict consensus tree, thus yielding the posterior probability (pp). the tree was rooted with two species of sect. camellia: c. chekiangoleosa and c. japonica. taxonomy of camellia l. 159 results cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis the results of cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis are shown in figure 2 and fig. 3, respectively. fig. 2 shows that the dendrogram divided the 21 species into three clear-cut clusters, outgroup, clade 1, and clade 2. c. chekiangoleosa and c. japonica as outgroup were separated at the top level (sc = 0.715) from the other species of sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia. clade 1 included 6 species. except c. hiemalis and c. maliflora; c. gauchowensis, c. vietnamensis, c. oleifera and c. sasanqua belonged to sect. oleifera. clade 2 comprised the remaining 12 species of sect. paracamellia except c. lanceoleosa. on closer inspection, the largest similarity coefficient was recorded within c. tenii and c. miyagii (sc = 0.924), which indicates their close relationship. while c. grijsii and c. shensiensis (sc = 0.885), c. puniceiflora and c. brevistyla (sc = 0.880), c. hiemalis and c. sasanqua (sc = 0.871), c. vietnamensis and c. oleifera (sc = 0.864), c. fluviatilis and c. confusa (sc=0.849), respectively, formed a group distinct from the other species. principle coordinate analysis (pco) is displayed in a twodimensional plot using the first two principal coordinates (fig. 3). it permitted a visualization of the degree of affinity among these species. figure 3 also shows that all the species formed three groups, which were consistent with results obtained from cluster analysis. fig. 1. petal shape variability of camellia species. petals from a) c. fluviatilis; b) c. kissi; c) c. confusa; d) c. miyagii; e) c. tenii; f) c. puniceiflora ; g) c. obtusifolia; h) c. phaeoclada; i) c. brevistyla; j) c. lanceoleosa; k) c. oleifera; l) c. gauchowensis; m) c. vietnamensis; n) c. yuhsienensis; o) c. shensiensis; p) c. grijsii; q) c. maliflora; r) c. hiemalis; and s) c. sasanqua. cladistic analysis the phylogenetic relationship deduced from the morphology characters using bayesian analysis (ba) (fig. 4) was largely consistent with cluster analysis (fig. 2). the species included 160 jiang et al. in clade 1 and clade 2 was exactly the same in both trees. the monophyly of clade 1 was supported with posterior probabilities (pp = 0.66). the difference being that the ba majority rule tree was somewhat worse resolved than the cluster tree: 1) c. hiemalis, c. sasanqua and c. maliflora diverged at the same time in the ba tree, while c. hiemalis and c. sasanqua were more closely related to each other than to c. maliflora in the cluster tree; and 2) in the ba tree, c. gauchowensis was separated as the most distant from two subclades comprising c. oleifera and c. vietnamensis, and c. hiemalis, c. sasanqua and c. maliflora. while c. oleifera and c. vietnamensis were more closely related to each other than c. gauchowensis. the clade 1 consisted of these three species, and together with another subclade including c. hiemalis, c. sasanqua and c. maliflora. in clade 2, ba tree and cluster tree were consistent with one another in two places: 1) c. puniceiflora and c. brevistyla were clustered in subclade at the same level (pp = 0.65), and c. lanceoleosa was closely related to these two species (pp = 0.67); and 2) c. phaeoclada was separated as a distant from two subclades comprising c. obtusifolia, and c. tenii and c. miyagii (pp = 0.80). however, the distinct interrelationships among clade 2 remained: 1) c. shensiensis, c. grijsii and c. yuhsienensis diverged earlier on in clade 2 in ba tree, while c. shensiensis and c. grijsii were closer to each other than c. yuhsienensis in cluster tree; and 2) c. kissi had distinct systematic position in both trees. fig. 2. upgma dendrogram based on gower's general similarity coefficient for the sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia species of camellia. discussion relationship between sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia the present study is the first attempt to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships between sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia based on floral organ morphology. a comparison between topologies obtained by cluster tree and ba majority rule tree indicated that both methods provided highly similar estimates of phylogeny (figs 2-4). based on the present taxon samples, the relationships among the species in sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia are closer. our results suggest that sect. oleifera is closely related to sect. paracamellia. sealy (1958) and ming (2000) taxonomy of camellia l. 161 combined the species into one section because they are according to their common morphological characteristics, like the colour of flowers, bloom and perules drop time. however, chang (1998) divided them into sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia because he found plants of sect. oleifera have longer styles and androecium and higher seed oil content than of sect. paracamellia. shen et al. (2008) also demonstrated that the mergence of the two sections is quite unnatural based on macro-morphology, micro-morphology and chemical characteristics. in this study, we selected various morphological characters of floral organs combined numerical taxonomy to investigate the distinction between sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia, our results agree on chang’s system and shen et al. (2008). thus, two clusters are supported with low pp value. in addition, there were several morphological traits that demonstrated the discrimination within sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia. the most prominent ones are that sect. oleifera species had bigger floral organs, more stamen series, longer androecium, longer styles, bigger ovary, and even bigger anthers and pollens than sect. paracamellia. the analysis of leaf anatomy revealed that sect. oleifera may differ from sect. paracamellia. the sect. oleifera shared the same pattern of anticlinal cells and the same size between adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells, and long ovate stomatal shape (lin et al., 2008). shen et al. (2008) reported that sect. oleifera was distinguishable from sect. paracamellia in ftir (fourier transform infrared) fingerprint-like spectra, and they concluded that the merger of the two sections was quite surprising. the formation of sect. oleifera by chang (1998) was also confirmed by molecular phylogeny (vijayan et al., 2009). differences among the classifications based on leaf anatomy (lin et al., 2008) and leaf ftir (lu et al., 2008), and our results are highlighted in figure 5. the problems with classification of c. hiemalis, c. maliflora, c. lanceoleosa and other species are discussed below separately. fig. 3. scatter plots of two principal coordinate axes. otus and characters used are the same as for figure 2. a square represents a species. numbers in the figure correspond to camellia species numbers in table 1. interspecies relationships in sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia classification of c. sasanqua, c. hiemalis and c. maliflora floral morphology data has certainly improved the comprehension of evolutionary relationships between sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia, but some questions remain. sealy 162 jiang et al. (1958) noted that there was a little doubt that c. hiemalis was a form of c. sasanqua. parks et al. (1981) later reported that c. hiemalis was well known as a group of c. sasanqua. however, chang and bartholomew (1984) considered c. hiemalis a distinct species based on short and thick androecium and styles, and free petals at the base, and placed it in sect. paracamellia. recently, lin et al. (2008) showed that characteristics of the leaf anatomy in c. sasanqua and c. hiemalis, such as stomata, size of adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells, and the thickness ratio of palisade parenchyma, were different. nonetheless their close relationships were demonstrated in the dendrogram of ftir data, which showed ming’s (2000) combination of the two species is reasonable (shen et al., 2008). in the trees we constructed, c. hiemalis had closest relationship with c. sasanqua. thus, the merge of c. hiemalis and c. sasanqua seems to be natural. sealy (1958) considered c. maliflora a hybrid of unknown origin and placed it in sect. theopsis. chang (1998) also believed that c. maliflora was a hybrid according to the floral characteristics, but leaved its status as a distinct species in sect. paracamellia. subsequently, ming (2000) revealed the c. maliflora was a cultivar and should not be recognized at the species level. leaf micro-morphology characteristics displayed c. maliflora had closer relationship with sect. oleifera which convincing evidenced that it was a cultivar of sect. oleifera species. our data suggested that it is quite reasonable to place it in sect. oleifera. it had closest relationships with a clade of c. hiemalis and c. sasanqua. from a morphological point of view, these three species had similar petal colour and shape (fig. 1q-s), stamen fusion connate near the base, longer androecium and styles than sect. paracamellia species. therefore, based on these above evidence, we cannot dismiss the correctness of results and should do more work to demonstrate that c. maliflora may be regarded as a hybrid of c. sasanqua. fig. 4. phylogram from bayesian phylogenetic analysis of 30 morphological characters of 21 camellia species. number behind branches indicate bayesian clade-credibility values (posterior probability). classification of c. sasanqua, c. oleifera and c. vietnamensis chang and bartholomew (1984) believed that c. vietnamensis was closely related to c. sasanqua and c. oleifera. ming (2000) merged it into c. oleifera, although there were significant differences between c. oleifera and c. vietnamensis. the combination of c. oleifera and c. vietnamensis by ming (2000) also had good support from our results, and cluster analysis based on leaf anatomy characters. although, from our observation, c. vietnamensis had larger petals, they taxonomy of camellia l. 163 had similar petal form coefficient, height of style, number of stamen, and diameter of ovary. further, they had unique curved filament, while the others had vertical filament. based on the above features we support the ming’s (2000) combination of c. oleifera and c. vietnamensis. classification of c. grijsii, c. shensiensis and c. yuhsienensis when reconsidering c. grijsii, c. shensiensis and c. yuhsienensis, ming (2000) treated c. shensiensis and c. yuhsienensis as a variety of c. grijsii. according to our floral morphological observations, c. grijsii, c. shensiensis and c. yuhsienensis had the most similar petal shape broadly obcordate (fig. 1), whereas other species had obcordate petals. however, c. yuhsienensis had larger flowers than c. grijsii and c. shensiensis. our results support the combination of c. grijsii and c. shensiensis (fig. 2). lin et al. (2008) showed area of adaxial and abaxial epidermal cell of c. grijsii and c. shensiensis nearly match, but c. yuhsienensis was larger. pollen exine sculpture characteristics (ao et al., 2001) and molecular taxonomy from nrits sequence (vijayan et al., 2009) also support the combination of c. shensiensis into c. grijsii. close relations of these two species was also demonstrated in the dendrogram of ftir data (shen et al., 2008). therefore, combining of c. grijsii and c. shensiensis was considered here to be a reasonable one, further investigation may show if c. yuhsienensis should be treated as a variety of c. grijsii. fig. 5. differences among species classifications based on leaf anatomy, leaf ftir and our results from sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia of camellia species. classification of c. puniceiflora, c. brevistyla and c. obtusifolia camellia puniceiflora and c. obtusifolia were designated as the varieties of c. brevistyla by ming (2000). in our study, c. puniceiflora and c. brevistyla formed a clade with pp = 0.65 and sc = 0.88, which is in accordance with the results of studies on leaf anatomy (lin et al., 2008) and ftir (shen et al., 2008). however, the position of c. obtusifolia was unclear, because it was considered to belong to c. brevistyla by leaf anatomy (lin et al., 2008), but not supported by ftir (shen et al., 2008) and our results. these results indicate that c. puniceiflora should be treated as a variety of c. brevistyla, but their relationship with c. obtusifolia requires more evidence. 164 jiang et al. classification of c. phaeoclada, c. tenii, c. miyagii ming (2000) combined c. phaeoclada into c. saluenensis (belong to sect. camellia), and placed c. tenii in sect. heterogenea. our analyses, combined with ftir (shen et al., 2008), leaf anatomy (lin et al., 2008), strongly suggest that c. phaeoclada is the best placed in sect. paracamellia. this species is morphologically distinct from other c. saluenensis as well as the remainder of sect. camellia. we also propose combining c. miyagii and c. tenii, which is congruent with results of leaf ftir (shen et al., 2008), but disagrees with results of leaf anatomy (lin et al., 2008). on the basis of present study in conjunction with other studies based on leaf anatomy (lin et al., 2008), ftir (shen et al., 2008; lu et al., 2008) and molecular data (vijayan et al., 2009), we propose a bifurcation of sect. paracamellia supporting chang’s (1998) creation of sect. oleifera from sect. paracamellia. this proves that there is consistency of the information from different organs of a plant. it also highlights that every new technical development offers promise for improving the description of relationships among species. the present study shows that sect. oleifera included six species: c. oleifera, c. vietnamensis, c. gauchowensis, c. sasanqua, c. hiemalis and c. maliflora. the sect. paracamellia comprised the remaining 13 species. moreover, we extended this observation for interspecies relationship confirming ming's (2000) combination of c. oleifera c. vietnamensis, c. sasanqua c. hiemalis, c. brevistyla c. puniceiflora, and c. grijsii c. shensiensis. further, we suggest combining c. tenii c. miyagii, and c. confusa c. fluviatilis. moreover, we recognize c. maliflora as a variety of c. sasanqua, and have assigned c. phaeoclada to sect. paracamellia. numerical and cladistic analyses based on the floral morphometric data employed in this study had enough discriminating power to classify a group of species at section level. additional floral information is needed to classify individuals at the species level. this technique appears to have taxonomic value and can be widely used for identification and classification of other taxa when the species are closely related. acknowledgments this study was supported by science and technology project of jinhua city (no. 2009-2020), and excellent master thesis cultivation project of zhejiang normal university. the authors thank the international camellia species garden of jinhua city for providing grant to support this work. thanks are also due to ms. wei zhang and ms. jia lou for their help during specimens collection. references ao, c.q., chen, g.x., xi, j.b., zheng, z.w. and zhang, h.t. 2001. study on the pollen morphology of section paracamellia in genus camellia. j. south china agr. u. 22: 66-68. chang, h.t. 1998. theaceae. in: reip. pop. sin. editorial committee (ed.), vol. 49. reip. pop. sin. beijing, science press. chang, h.t. and bartholomew, b. 1984. camellias. oregon, timber press. gower, j. 1971. a general coefficient of similarity and some of its properties. biometrics 27: 857-871. hufford, l.d. and endress, p.k. 1989. the diversity of anther structures and dehiscence patterns among hamamelididae. bot. j. linn. soc. 99: 301-346. kocyan, a. and endress, p.k. 2001. floral structure and development of apostasia and neuwiedia (apostasioideae) and their relationships to other orchidaceae. int. j. plant sci. 162: 847-867. lin, x.y., peng, q.f., lu, h.f., du, y.q. and tang, b.y. 2008. leaf anatomy of camellia sect. oleifera and sect. paracamellia (theaceae) with reference to their taxonomic significance. j. syst. evol. 46: 183-193. linnaeus, c. 1753. species plantarum. vol. 1. stockholm: impensis laurentii salvii. taxonomy of camellia l. 165 liston, a. 2003. a new interpretation of floral morphology in garrya (garryaceae). taxon 52: 271-276. lu, h.f., jiang, b., shen, z.g., peng, q.f. and cheng, c.g. 2008. comparative leaf anatomy, ftir discrimination and biogeographical analysis of camellia section tuberculata (theaceae) with a discussion of its taxonomic treatments. plant syst. evol. 274: 223-235. lu, h., jiang, w., ghiassi, m., lee, s. and nitin, m. 2012. classification of camellia (theaceae) species using leaf architecture variations and pattern recognition techniques. plos one 7(1): e29704. matthews, m.l. and endress, p.k. 2005. comparative floral structure and systematics in celastrales (celastraceae, parnassiaceae, lepidobotryaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 149: 129-194. ming, t.l. 2000. monograph of the genus camellia. kunming, yunnan science and technology press. otalora, m.a.g., martinez, i., molina, c.m., aragon, g. and lutzoni, f. 2008. phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy of the leptogium lichenoides group (collemataceae, ascomycota) in europe. taxon 57: 907-921. parks, c.r., kondo, k. and swain, t. 1981. phytochemical evidence for the genetic contamination of camellia sasanqua thunberg. japan journal breed 31: 168-182. pi, e.x., lu, h.f., jiang, b., huang, j., peng, q.f. and lin, x.y. 2011. precise plant classification within genus level based on simulated annealing aided cloud classifier. expert syst. appl. 38: 3009-3014. pi, e.x., peng, q.f., lu, h.f., shen, j.b., du, y.q., huang, f.l. and hu, h. 2009. leaf morphology and anatomy of section camellia (theaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 3: 456-476. ronquist, f. and huelsenbeck, j.p. 2003. mrbayes 3: bayesian phylogenetic inference under mixed models. bioinform. 19: 1572-1574. sealy, j.r. 1958. a revision of the genus camellia. the royal horticultural society, london. shen, j.b., lu, h.f., peng, q.f., zheng, j.f. and tian, y.m. 2008. ftir spectra of camellia sect. oleifera, sect. paracamellia, and sect. camellia (theaceae) with reference to their taxonomic significance. j. syst. evol. 46: 194-204. stuessy, t.f. 2009. plant taxonomy: the systematic evaluation of comparative data, 2nd edn. new york, columbia university press. takahata, y. and hinata, k. 1986. a consideration of the species relationships in subtribe brassicinae (cruciferae) in view of cluster analysis of morphological characters. plant spec. biol. 1: 79-88. vijayan, k., zhang, w.j., tsou, c.h. 2009. molecular taxonomy of camellia (theaceae) inferred from nrits sequences. am. j. bot. 96: 1348-1360. yuan, w., zhang w.r., han y.j., dong m.f. and shang, f.d. 2010. molecular phylogeny of osmanthus (oleaceae) based on non-coding chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer regions. j. syst. evol. 48: 482-489. (manuscript received on 20 june 2012; revised on 9 october 2012) microsoft word s-1. cinnamomum.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 199-201, 2011 (december) short communication © 2011 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists cinnamomum alexei kosterm. (lauraceae) a new record for india e.s. santhosh kumar1, m.p. geetha kumary and a.g. pandurangan tropical botanic garden and research institute, palode, thiruvananthapuram 695 562, kerala, india keywords: cinnamomum alexei; new record; india. while contemplating the systematic monographic studies on the genus cinnamomum of south india, the authors stumbled upon an interesting specimen from the ponmudi hills, in agasthyamalai biosphere reserve (abr), of the thiruvananthapuram district of kerala. it is so peculiar by the betel smelled leaves and presence of 2-celled anthers in all three stamen whorls. these characters are very interesting since such species were not reported from india and that prompted us for a detailed study on the specimens. perusal of literature (gamble, 1924; kostermans, 1983, 1986) it was identified as c. alexei kosterm., a species so far known only from western java in indonesia (kostermans, 1969). the identities were further cross-matched with the type specimen (buwalda, 3618, see http://145.18.162.53:81/c8) housed at the national herbarium, the netherlands (l). c. alexei was originally reported from tjiharum, g karang near tjidadap at an altitude of 1000-1300 m. besides this, there are two more gatherings of this species from mount buleud near tjidadap, south of tjibeber at an altitude of 1000 m. and tjadasmalang near tjidadap at western java in indonesia. all these collections were housed at herbarium bogoriense, bogor, indonesia (bo). kostermans (1969) stated that this species has been collected earlier in three times from its original habitat and his further stab to relocate it in the same locality was unsuccessful. the forest along with its habitat has been destroyed completely due to developmental activities. the discovery of this species in southern india, far away from indonesia, is of very important because the species was believed to be vanished out from its type locality. it is also significant in phytogeographical point of view as it further shows the phytogeograhical affinities to indian flora. we observed only one tree in the present locality (ponmudi hills) and a few saplings were successfully raised and conserving at our field gene bank at tropical botanic garden and research institute (tbgri). the occurrence of this species in kerala hence forms a new distributional record for india. therefore, it is reported here with a detailed description, illustration and other relevant notes based on the present collection for its easy identification in the field. cinnamomum alexei kosterm., reinwardtia 7: 454 (1969). small trees, 3-5 m high; bark slimy inside, strong smell of betel leaves; terminal bud small with 2 scales, externally densely sericeous; branchlets slender, apically subquadrangular, basally subterete. leaves opposite or sub-opposite, 4-12 × 1.5-5.0 cm, ovate to lanceolate, rounded to cuneate at base, long acuminate to caudate at apex, dark green above, glaucous beneath, entire or 1correspondence: e-mail: santhoshkumares@gmail.com 200 kumar et al. fig. 1. a-r cinnamomum alexi kosterm. a: a twig; b: cross section of a branchlet; c.& d: cross section of petioles; e: terminal bud; f & g: terminal bud scaleabaxial & adaxial views; h: flower & a flower bud; i: bracts abaxial & adaxial views; j: outer perianth; k & l: outer whorls of stamens i & ii, abaxial & adaxial views; m & n : stamen whorl iii showing glands-abaxial & adaxial views; o: staminodes; p: pistil; q: l.s. of pistil; r: fruit. cinnamomum alexei kosterm. (lauraceae) 201 undulate at margin, chartaceous, smooth, strong smell of betel leaves; midrib and 2 sub-basal lateral nerves reach below the acumen or rarely almost at blade tip by anastomosing the secondary lateral nerves; secondary nerves closely reticulate, ± prominent; petioles slender, 0.7-1.5 cm long, concave above. panicles axillary or extra-axillary, 2.5-4.5 cm long, 5-12 flowered, glabrous, with 3-5 branches; central peduncle slender, 2.0-2.5 cm, pink; pedicels 4.5 mm long, slender, gradually thickened at apex. flowers c. 2.5-3.0 mm, dark maroon, glabrous; perianth of 6 tepals in 2 whorls of 3 each, broadly ovate, to 1.5 mm long, acute to obtuse at apex, minutely sericeous at base, dark reddish tomentose within; stamens 9, in 3 whorls of 3 each; whorls i & ii with anthers elliptic to ovate, 1.0-1.5 mm long, 2-celled, more or less fleshy, introrse, longer than filaments; filaments sericeous at the very base within; whorls iii extrorse; anthers oblong, 2-celled, glands sub-sessile, attached near the basal portion of the filaments; staminodes shorter than anthers, hastate, on 0.5 mm long stipes with 1 or 2 hairs on either sides. ovary ellipsoid, 1.0-1.5 mm long, glabrous; style as long as the ovary, rather thick with small peltate stigma. fruit ellipsoid, 15 × 11 mm, cupule cup-shaped, cup shallow, 1.5-2.0 × 9 mm, base conical, tepals persistent on fruit and then acute to subacute, indurate. specimen examined: india, kerala, thiruvananthapuram district, ponmudi hills, ± 700 m, 29. 01. 2003, m.p. geethakumary, 48433 (tbgt); ponmudi hills ± 700 m, e.s. santhoshkumar, 48492 (tbgt). habitat and ecology: this species grows as a member of the third storey in evergreen forests at altitude between 700-1000m. they are associated with actinodaphne malabarica, antidesma menasu, aporusa acuminata, cinnamomum malabatrum, syzygium mundagam and xanthophyllum flavescens. note: this species ischaracteristic by the presence of betel smelled leaves, which contain 80% saffrol as a principal component. the occurrence of this species with 2-celled anthers from indian subcontinent is phytogeographically significant because such species has so far been reported only from indonesia, new guinea and the philippines. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the director, tbgri for facilities provided and for the constant encouragement. they are also thankful to dr. p. lekshminarasimhan, the then indian liaison officer at royal botanic garden, kew for literature, to dr. k.b. rameshkumar, tbgri for the chemical investigation and to mr. s. sureshkumar, artist tbgri for illustration. references kostermans, a.j.g.h. 1969. revision of lauraceae ii. reinwardtia 7: 454-455. kostermans, a.j.g.h. 1983. the south indian species of cinnamomum schaeffer (lauraceae). bull. bot. surv. india 25: 90-133. kostermans, a.j.g.h. 1986. a monograph of the genus cinnamomum schaeffer (lauraceae)-part i. ginkgoana 6: 1-196. mabberley, d.j. 1990.the plant book. edition 2.cambridge university press, cambridge, u.k. gamble, j.s. 1924. flora presidency of madras. vol. 2. adlard & sons, london. (manuscript received on 17 march, 2010; revised on 25 may, 2011) microsoft word 13. 119-13 sorastrum revised ok 4.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 243-249, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists the genus sorastrum kützing (hydrodictyaceae, sphaeropleales, chlorophyta) from india, with a new species s. philiposianum jai prakash keshri1 and prasant mallick centre for advanced studies in botany, university of burdwan, golapbag, burdwan 713 104, west bengal, india. keywords: sorastrum philiposianum; chlorophyta; new species; new records; india. abstract in the present paper five species of sorastrum kützing including a new species, sorastrum philiposianum have been described from bankura and purulia districts of west bengal, india. amongst these species s. indicum bernard and s. hathoris (cohn) schmidle are being reported for the first time from india. moreover, s. americanum (bohlin) schmidle is an addition to west bengal algae. all the specimens have been collected from desmids habitats of west bengal having a low ph (5.0-6.5) and those were growing lodged on submerged portions of the aquatic weeds like ceratophyllum demersum l., hydrilla verticillata (l.f.) c. presl and ipomoea aquatica forssk. introduction sorastrum kützing (1845) is a rare planktonic coenobial member of the family hydrodictyaceae under the order chlorococcales occurring mostly in a mixed assemblage with other planktonic members and lodged on submerged aquatic weeds. although the genus is treated under chlorococcales, the recent taxonomic revisions (deason et al., 1991; buchheim et al., 2005; mcmanas and lewis, 2005; graham et al., 2009) suggest its inclusion under the members of hydrodictyaceae belonging to sphaeropleales. due to its small size and sparse occurrence the genus is easily overlooked. komárek and fott (1983) recognized 7 species of this genus world over. patel and george (1984) added one more species s. sphericum patel et george to this list. earlier following taxa of the this genus have been recorded from india, viz., s. bengalicum philipose, s. americanum (bohlin) schmidle, s. americanum var. undulatum g. m. smith, s. sphericum patel et george and s. spinulosum nägeli (carter, 1869; turner, 1892; carter, 1926; subba raju, 1963; philipose, 1967; anand, 1975, 1987; sarma and khan, 1980, 1991; patel, 1970; patel and george, 1984; patel and isabella, 1977; kamat,1974; freitas, 1980; ashtekar and kamat, 1980; compère, 1983; habib and chaturvedi, 2001; jaiswal and tiwari, 2003; gupta 2012). during the systematic investigations on the planktonic algae of west bengal the authors recorded five species of the genus from the desmid habitats of bankura and purulia districts of west bengal. materials and methods the algal samples were collected from different desmid habitats of bankura and purulia districts of west bengal, india. the ph, temperature and detailed ecological notes were recorded at collection spots. the specimens were preserved in 5% formalin. camera lucida drawings were made both from live and preserved specimens using g.w.f. solution (bando, 1988). 1corresponding author. email: keshrijp@gmail.com 244 keshri and mallick results and discussion taxonomic treatment 1. sorastrum americanum (bohlin) schmidle 1900 (pl. 1; figs 1, 2). (komárek and fott, 1983, p. 312, pl. 94, f. 1a-g; comas, 1996, p. 47, f. 5a-c). colony of 16 heart shaped or pyramidal cells, 42-47 µm in diameter (26-32 µm without spines), with distinct pith; cells 6.0-9.5 µm broad, 10-14 µm long, narrowed towards the base, attached to the centre by a short cylindrical stalk and with two long stout outwardly directed spines at each end; spines 12-14 µm long, 3.5-6.0 µm thick. collection no. pm 664, dated 1.12.2001, saheb-bandh, purulia (dist. purulia) growing lodged on submerged leaves of ceratophyllum demersum l. in a creamy colour assemblage (ph 5, temp. 24°c). distribution in india: maharashtra (kamat, 1974), kashmir (subba raju, 1963), u.p (mathur and pathak, 1990; jaiswal and tiwari, 2003). note: this is the first report of the species from west bengal, india. 2. sorastrum indicum bernard 1908 (pl. 1, fig. 3). (komárek and fott, 1983, p. 312, pl. 94, f. 6). colony of 8 cells, 32-35 µm in diameter (19-22 µm without spines), cells reniform, 9-12 µm broad, 3-4 µm long and 3 µm thick, both ends blunt with two sharp 5.5-7.5 µm long spines at each end; cells attached to a short central stalk. collection no. pm 1140, dated 17.2.2003, lal-bandh, bishnupur (dist. bankura), growing lodged on rotting submerged hydrilla verticillata (l.f.) c. presl leaves in a form of brownish colour mass in a lake (ph 5.5, temp. 23.5°c). note: this is the first report of the species from india. 3. sorastrum hathoris (cohn) schmidle 1900 (pl. 1, fig. 4). (komárek and fott, 1983, p. 312, pl. 93, f. 8). colony of 16 cells, 38 µm in diameter (27 µm without spines); cells 9-14 µm broad, 6-7 µm long and 8-9 µm thick, crescent shaped to cuneate with long stalk and having two short pointed spines from each angle; spines 7-8 µm long. collection no. 344, dated 17.10.2001, lal-bandh, bishnupur (dist. bankura) growing lodged on the ipomoea aquatica forssk. stems in a form of a yellowish mass with some filamentous green algae (ph 6, temp. 33°c). note: this is the first record of the species from india. 4. sorastrum spinulosum nägeli 1849 (pl. 2, figs 8, 9). (philipose, 1967, p. 132, f. 47; hindak, 1980, p. 183, pl. 69, f. 16; komárek and fott, 1983, p. 310, pl. 93, f. 5a-e; comas, 1996, p. 48, f. 4b). colony of 4-8 cells, 27-30 µm in diameter (19-23 µm without spines); cells 10-12 µm broad, 5.5-7.0 µm long, 4-6 µm thick, reniform to cuneate, three-angled with a short stalk, having two sharp pointed spines from each angle; spines 6.0-7.5 µm long. collection no. pm 1116, dated 31.12.2002, lal-bandh, bishnupur (dist. bankura) growing on submerged and rotting leaves of hydrilla verticillata (l.f.) c. presl and ceratophyllum demersum l. in a form of a brown colour mass (ph 6, temp. 19°c). the genus sorastrum kützing in india 245 distribution in india: andhra pradesh (philipose, 1967), assam (carter, 1926), bihar (singh and saha, 1982), jammu (anand, 1975, 1987), kashmir (compère, 1983), maharashtra (carter, 1869; gonzalves and joshi, 1946; kamat, 1963; freitas, 1980), meghalaya (turner, 1892), m.p. (mathur and pathak, 1990), orissa (philipose, 1967), tamilnadu (rani et al., 2007), uttarakhand (gupta, 2005), u.p. (pandey et al., 1981; pandey et al., 1983; habib et al., 1988; habib and charaurvedi, 2001; jaiswal and tiwari, 2003) and west bengal (turner, 1892; mallick and keshri, 2008). note: this is a fairly common and cosmopolitan species of the genus. plate 1. figs 1 & 2. sorastrum americanum (bohlin) schmidle; fig. 3. s. indicum bernard; fig. 4. s. hathoris (cohn) schmidle; figs 5 & 6. s. philiposianum keshri et mallick, sp. nov. 246 keshri and mallick 5. sorastrum philiposianum keshri et mallick, sp. nov. (pl. 1, figs 5, 6; pl. 2, fig. 7). diagnosis: colonia 8-16 cellularum, medulla praetermissa, 36-42 µm in diametro (28-30 µm sine spinis); cellulae pulchre curvatae, semi lunatae vel crescentiformes, 9-12 µm longae, cum extremis mutatis in spinis acutis dispositis subparallis ad axem verticallem; spinae 6-9 µm longae et 5.0-6.5 µm crassae ad basin. holotypus: lectus die 1.12.2001 sub numero pm 664, ad locum saheb-bandh, purulia, crescens affixus in ceratophyllum demersum l. foliis submerses in lacu (ph 5, temp. 24°c). plate 2. fig. 7. s. philiposianum keshri et mallick, sp. nov.; figs 8 & 9. s. spinulosum nägeli (scale bar = 10 µm). colony of 8-16 cells with negligible pith, 36-42 µm in diameter (28-30 µm without spines); cells gracefully curved, semi-lunate to crescent shaped, 9-12 µm broad, 6.5-8 µm long with ends into a sharp spine disposed almost parallel to the vertical axis; spines 6-9 µm long and 5.0-6.5 µm thick at base. 9 the genus sorastrum kützing in india 247 248 keshri and mallick holotype: no. pm 664, dated 1.12.2001, saheb-bandh, purulia growing lodged on submerged ceratophyllum demersum l. leaves in a form of creamy colour assemblage in a lake (ph 5, temp. 24°c). repository: algae herbarium, department of botany, the university of burdwan, west bengal, india (burd). etymology: the species has been named in honour of late professor m. t. philipose, who has significantly contributed to the taxonomy of this group. notes: this new species differs from all the existing species of sorastrum in the distinctive nature of colony, its cell shape and nature and disposition of spines. a comparative account of the species is appended in table 1. conclusion our knowledge about the planktonic green algae of india is still insufficient (sarma and khan, 1980, 1991; gupta, 2012). since they play distinctive roles in aquatic ecosystem this knowledge may be utilized for various purposes. sorastrum kützing is a rare genus, not well explored. in this work attention has been given to taxonomic and ecological perspective. it has been observed that some aquatic angiosperms like ceratophyllum demersum l., hydrilla verticillata (l.f.) c. presl and ipomoea aquatica forssk. provide suitable substance for the growth and survival of the coenobial members of sphaeropleales as well as to the desmids. little acidic ph is also a determining factor. acknowledgements thanks are due to the head of the department of botany, the university of burdwan for laboratory facilities; university grants commission for financial assistance; to late dr. n.c. majumdar for latin diagnosis of the new species and prof. g.l. tiwari for providing valuable literatures. the constant encouragement of our revered teacher prof. pranjit sarma throughout this work is gratefully acknowledged. references anand, v.k. 1975. a checklist of planktonic algae from mansar lake, jammu. phykos 14(1&2): 77-79. anand v.k. 1987. studies on the algal flora of jammu (jammu & kashmir) [india] 1. chlorococcales. j. econ. taxon. bot. 11(2): 487-492. ashtekar, p.v. and kamat, n.d. 1980. chlorococcales of aurangabad, maharashtra. phykos 19(1): 115-119. bando, t. 1988. a revision of the genera docidium, haplotaenium and pleurotaenium (desmidiaceae, chlorophyta) of japan. j. sci., hiroshima univ., ser. b, 22: 1-63. buccheim, m., buccheim, j., carlson, t., braband, t., hepperle, d., krienitz, l., wolf, m. and hegewald, e. 2005. phylogeny of the hydrodictyaceae (chlorophyceae) inferences from rdna data. j. phycol. 41: 1039-1054. carter, h.j. 1869. a description with illustrations of the development of sorastrum spinulosum to which is added that of a new form of protococcus. ann. mag. nat. hist. ser. iv, 4: 420-435. carter, n. 1926. freshwater algae from india. rec. bot. surv. india 9(4): 263-302. comas, a. 1996. das chlorococcales dulciacuicolas de cuba. bibliotheca phycologica band 99, pp. 141. compère, p. 1983. some algae from kashmir and ladakh, w. himalayas. bulletin de la société royale de botanique de belgique 116(2): 141-160. deason, t.r., silva, p.c., watanabe, s. and floyd, g.l., 1991. taxonomic status of the species of the green algal genus neochloris. plant syst. evol. 177: 213-219. the genus sorastrum kützing in india 249 freitas, j.f. 1980. a checklist of chlorococcales of nagpur. phykos 19(1): 111-114. gonzalves, e.a. and joshi, d.b. 1946. freshwater algae near bombay. j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 46(1): 154176. graham, l.e., graham, m. and wilcox, l.w. 2009. algae. 2nd edition. benjamin cummings, usa, 616 pp. gupta, r.k. 2005. algal flora of dehradun district, uttaranchal. botanical survey of india, 298 pp. gupta, r.k. 2012. algae of india, vol. 2. a check list of chlorophyceae, xanthophyceae, chrysophyceae & euglenophyceae. botanical survey of india, 428 pp. habib, i. and chaturvedi, u.k. 2001. a systematic account of chlorococcales from mahoba, india. phykos 40(1&2): 107-113. habib, i., pandey, u.c. and shukla, h.m. 1988. chlorococcales of shahjahanpur (india). mendel 5(4): 293304. hindak, f. 1980. studies on the chlorococcal algae (chlorophyceae). ii. veda, bratislava, 195 pp. jaiswal, k.k. and tiwari, g.l. 2003. chlorococcales (green algae). bioved research society, allahabad, 116 pp. kamat, n.d. 1963. the algae of kolhapur, india. hydrobiologia 22(3/4): 209-305. kamat, n.d. 1974. algae of marathawada, maharashtra. phykos 13(1): 22-32. komárek, j. and fott, b. 1983. chlorophyceae (grünalgen) ordnung: chlorococcales. in: huber–pestallozi, g. (ed.) das phytoplankton des süsswasers. systematik und biologie. 7. teil, 1. hälfte [= thienemann, a. (ed.), die binnengewässer bd. xvi , 7. teil, 1. hälfte]. stuttgart: schweizerbart. 1044 pp. mcmanus, h.a. and lewis, l.a. 2005. molecular phylogenetics, morphological variation and colony evolution in the family hydrodictyaceae (sphaeropleales, chlorophyta). phycologia 44(6): 582-596. mallick, p. and keshri, j.p. 2008. a study of chlorococcalean algae and their associated plants in bankura district, west bengal. int. j. plant sci. 4(1): 285-288. mathur, m. and pathak, n. 1990. chlorococcales from the rock shelters of hosangabad. phykos 29(1&2): 111-113. patel, r.j. 1970. an enumeration of chlorococcales of gujarat. j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 66(3): 665-669. patel, r.j. and george, i. 1984. new species of sorastrum kuetz. from gujarat. phykos 23(1&2): 88-89. patel, r.j. and isabella, p.k. 1977. chlorococcales of gujarat, india pediastrum meyen, sorastrum kützing and hydrodictyon roth. j. indian bot. soc. 56(2): 172-178. pandey, u.c., tiwari, g.l. and pandey, d.c. 1981. additions to the algal flora of allahabad, india: 7. chlorophyta, chlorococcales. proc. indian nat. acad. sci., part b, biol. sci. 47(2): 255-259. pandey, u.c., tiwari, r.k. and pandey, d.c. 1983. an enumeration of chlorococcales from allahabad, u.p. india. bibliotheca phycologica band 66: 115-126. philipose, m.t. 1967. chlorococcales. indian council of agricultural research, new delhi, 365 pp. rani, v., laila banu, n.r. and prakash, j.w. 2007. algal diversity of a rural pond in kalkulum taluk, kanyakumari district, tamilnadu. j. basic appl. biol. 1: 35-37. sarma, y.s.r.k. and khan, m. 1980. algal taxonomy in india. today & tomorrow’s printers and publishers, new delhi, 153 pp. sarma, y.s.r.k. and khan, m. 1991. fresh water algae. in: khan, m. (ed.), indian phycological review, vol. i. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, pp. 1-56. singh, n.k. and saha, l.c. 1982. chlorococcales of bhagalpur, india: 1. bihar. j. econ. taxon. bot. 3(1): 197-200. subba raju, n. 1963. the algal flora of kashmir-i. j. osmania univ., sci. 1: 9-17. turner, w.b. 1892. the freshwater algae (principally desmidieae) of east india. kongl. svensk. vet. akad. handl. 25(5): 1-187. (manuscript received on 21 september 2013; revised on 31 october 2013) microsoft word 01. bjpt 1754_edt_051117.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 129–136, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists   pollen characters as taxonomic evidence in some species of dipsacaceae from iran ebadi-nahari mostafa1, nikzat-siahkolaee sedigheh2 and eftekharian rosa2 department of biology, faculty of science, azarbaijan shahid madani university, tabriz, iran. keywords: dipsacaceae; palynological characters; sem; upgma. abstract pollen morphology of nine species representing four genera: cephalaria schrad, dipsacus l., pterocephalus vaill. and scabiosa l. of the family dipsacaceae in iran has been investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (sem). the results showed that pollen grains were triporate and tricolpate. the pollen type of scabiosa rotata bieb. (triand tetraporate) is the first report in the world. the sizes of pollen grains fall into the classification group magna (pollen grain diameter 50–100 µm). pollen shapes vary from preoblate to prolate and their polar views were triangulate and lobate. the exine ornamentation varies from gemmate in s. rotata to spinulate in the rest studied species. species of scabiosa have been dispersed in upgma tree that this confirmed the previous studies about taxonomic problems and species complexity in this genus. these results show the transfer of the some scabisoa species to lomelosia raf. based on palynological characters. pollen morphology of the family is helpful at the generic and specific level. introduction the family dipsacaceae consists of around 10-13 genera and more or less 300 species (ehrendorfer, 1965; verlaque, 1977; mabberley, 2008) of annual to perennial herbs and shrubs that occur primarily in the mediterranean basin, with about 20% distributed in asia and africa. in iran, dipsacaecae is represented by 54 species belonging to five genera distributed in different regions (jamzad, 1993). the family has long been regarded as belonging to the dipsacaceae, whereas according to apg iii it is included within the larger family caprifoliaceae (reveal and chase, 2011). delimitation of taxa within the family has always been subject to argument; accordingly, circumscription of genera and tribes has repeatedly changed over of the overall morphological similarity among the taxa in the family. the family was divided into two tribes by de candolle (1830), viz. morineae (including a single genus, morina l.) and scabioseae (including cephalaria, dipsacus, knautia, pterocephalus, and scabiosa). verlaque (1984) divided this family into three tribes with nine genera. caputo and cozzolino (1994) divided dipsacaceae into two major clades (based on morphological and palynological characters), one includes dipsacus and cephalaria, the other contain the remaining genera. the significance of pollen morphology in plant systematics has been stressed by various researchers. stuessy (2009) state that data from pollen grains are known to be useful at all levels of the taxonomic hierarchy (generic, subgeneric, inter-specific and intraspecific levels), and can often be helpful in suggesting a relationship. some studies (for example, feng et al., 2000; khalik, 2010; perveen, 2011) showed that pollen morphological characteristics play a major role in solving taxonomic problems. palynological characteristics have been able to reposit several disputed genera and interpret problems related to the origin and evolution of many taxa (nair, 1980) and to derive a classification of angiosperms (cronquist, 1981). 1 corresponding author: ebadi2023@yahoo.com 2 faculty of biological sciences, shahid beheshti university, tehran, iran. 130 mostafa et al.   the works of mayer and ehrendorfer (2000) on the pollen morphology of pterocephalus and feng et al., (2000) on the palynology of the genus dipsacus show that the study of pollen grains provides useful data for the taxonomy of different genera. there is a modicum of information on the pollen morphology of the family dipsacaceae, most especially in iran. this study reports the pollen morphology of some species in the family dipsacaceae from iran in order to establish their availability for future taxonomic works. materials and methods pollen grains of 9 species, representing 4 genera of dipsacaceae distributed in iran were studied by means of scanning electron microscope (sem). the studied plant samples were collected from natural populations in different regions during spring and summer in 2014-2015. the voucher specimens were deposited in azarbaijan shahid madani university herbarium (asmuh). the list of voucher specimens and details of localities are given in table 1. table 1. list of species used in the study along with localities and vouchers. genus species locality voucher no. cephalaria schrad c. kotschyi boiss. mazndaran, chalus asmuh95001 c. procera fisch. ardebil, khalkhal asmuh95002 pterocephalus vaill. p. plumosus (l.) coulter mazndaran, chalus asmuh95003 p. canus coulter tehran, ab-ali asmuh95004 dipsacus l. d. strigosus willd mazndaran, chalus asmuh95005 scabiosa l. s. caucasica m. b. ardebil, khalkhal asmuh95006 s. amoena jacq. gilan, masuleh asmuh95007 s. koelzii rech. f. khorasan, bojnord asmuh95008 s. rotata bieb. khorasan, mashhad asmuh95009 pollen grains were separated from anthers by using binocular microscope. for each taxon, three specimens were used, and from each specimen at least five anthers were examined. pollen grains for scanning electron microscopy were mounted on standard aluminum stubs using doublesided adhesive tape and then photographed using phenomprox scanning electron microscope at 10 kv voltages. palynological characters such as equatorial diameter (e), polar axis length (p), p/e, exine ornamentation etc. were measured (at least 30 pollen grains) by using image tools software with high accuracy and confidence degree. for grouping of the studied taxa, data were standardized (mean = 0, variance = 1) and used for the multivariate analyses using unweighted pair-group method with arithmetical mean (upgma) based on euclidean distances and principal component analysis (pca) by means of past package (hammer et al., 2001). the terminology used is in accordance with erdtmann (1952) and punt et al. (2007). results the pollen grains of the studied species revealed some variations. all palynological structures and measurements for the examined species concerning pollen type from polar view, polar (p) and equatorial (e) measurements, p/e ratio, pollen shape, polar view and exine ornamentation were shown in table 2. taxonomic evaluation of some species of the family dipsacaceae 131   132 mostafa et al.   generally, there are two major types of pollen grain apertures, varying from triporate to tricolporate among studied species (fig 1). the pollen grains of s. rotata are triporate and tetraporate (fig 1. i, j). fig. 1. scanning electron microscope photographs of pollen grains. a: c. kotschyi, b: c. procera, c: p. plumosus, d: p. canus, e: d. strigosus, f: s. caucasica, g: s. amoena, h: s. koelzii, i: s. rotata (triporate), j: s. rotata (tetraporate) polar axis (p) length of pollen grains showed large variation, ranging from the smallest size for s. rotata (28.97 µm) to the largest size for s. amoena (92.1 µm). equatorial axis (e) length of pollen grains ranged from the smallest size in p. plumosus (54.93 µm) to the largest size in s. caucasica (92.47µm). the shape classes are based on the ratio between the length of polar axis (p) and equatorial diameter (e). the p/e ratio ranged from 0.38 µm to 1.49 µm, therefore the pollen shape is subprolate to prolate in seabiosa amoena, s. koelzii, pterocephalus plumosus, p. canus and d. strigosus but preoblate to oblate in the rest studied species. however, the pollen shape in polar view varies from lobate in p. plumosus, p. canus and s. koelzii to triangulate in the rest of the species (fig. 1). the exine sculpturing showed a complex structure. the sem showed that the outer surface of the tectum is a solid layer which is covered by numerous similar small conical spinuloid (fig. 2). the exine surface with gemmate (wart-like pegs) was found in s. rotata but spinulate (more than 3 µm long) in the rest studied species. taxonomic evaluation of some species of the family dipsacaceae 133   fig. 2. scanning electron microscope photographs of pollen surface ornamentation. a: c. kotschyi, b: c. procera, c: p. plumosus, d: p. canus, e: d. strigosus, f: s. caucasica, g: s. amoena, h: s. koelzii, i: s. rotata (triporate), j: s. rotata (tetraporate) fig. 3. upgma dendrogram showing the relationship among studied taxa based on pollen characters. 134 mostafa et al.   the studied taxa were separated from each other in a upgma tree based on palynological characters. cluster analysis showed that the studied species placed in two majorclusters (fig. 3). one contained s. rotata (cluster ii) and remainders were clustered in other major branch (cluster i) of two sub-clusters assigned as ia and ib. sub-cluster ia included d. strigosus, c. kotschyi, c. procera and s. caucasica. pterocephalus canus, p. plumsus, s. koelzii and s. amoena grouped together within the sub-cluster ib (fig. 3). fig. 4. principal component analysis (pca) among studied taxa based on pollen characters. principal component analysis (pca) showed that the pollen type, pollen view, p/e and exine ornamentation have main role in grouping of species belonging to the clade ia. while the pollen shape and spine length are importance characters in grouping of species belonging to the clade ib (fig. 4). according to the exine ornamentation, s. rotata was separated from the remaining species. discussion the present study shows a palynological polymorphism within the family dipsacaceae. generally, the interspecific differences within a genus are often trivial, but there are remarkable differences among the various genera (khalik, 2010).various palynological investigations on different species of dipsacaceae confirmed importance of pollen traits for distinguishing taxa. for instance, khalik (2010) studied pollen characteristics in nine species belonging to four genera of dipsacaceae in egypt and showed that pollen character can be used to delimit the species. statistical analysis showed that most of the qualitative characters were useful in classification of studied species and had taxonomic value. aperture types, polar view and pollen shape can be used as diagnostic evidence in palynological studies. in this study, two types of pollen apertures (porate and colpate) were found in this family. in addition, we distinguished the pollen with tetraporate aperture in s. rotata for the first time. erdtmann (1952) and clarke and jones (1981) studied the pollen morphology of the dipsacaceae, distinguished two types of pollen apertures: porate and colpate. taxonomic evaluation of some species of the family dipsacaceae 135   considering the exine ornamentation, it is obvious that this palynological character cannot be used to delimit studied species, because all of them were spinulate except s. rotata that was gemmate. interestingly, spine length varied between studied species and it could be suitable as a diagnostic character. based on spine length, p. canus can be distinguished from the other taxa. in our study, s. rotata has specific palynological character such as gemmate of exine ornamentation and tri-tetraporate pollen that helps to distinguish it. the findings of the present study on the size of pollen are in agreement with previous study (ebadi-nahari and nikzat-siahkolaee, 2016). pollen grains have been classified into groups according to their sizes by erdtman (1952) as perminuta (diameter less than 10 µm), minuta (diameter 10-25 µm), media (diameter 25-50 µm), magna (diameter 50100 µm), permagna (diameter 100-200 µm) and giganta (diameter greater than 200µm). based on this classification, the pollen grains of the species studied belong to group magna (diameter 50-100µm). khalik (2010) reported nine species belonging to four genera of the dipsacaceae in the group size magna (diameter 50-100 µm). the pollen grain size reported for this family supports the fact that the flowers in the genera are more insect-and-bird pollinated than by wind. ehrendorfer (1965) first studied phylogeny of dipsacaceae at generic and infrageneric levels. the morphology and anatomy of flowers and the phylogeny, palynology, and karyology of dipsacaceae were studied by verlaque (1977, 1986). the work of verlaque demonstrated that the evolution within the dipsacaceae followed complex paths and that several genera were polyphyletic. there has been much discussion about infrageneric taxonomy of the genus scabiosa (bobrov, 1957; jasiewicz, 1976), and in spite of the fact that the genus has been the subject of many taxonomic studies. in this survey, scabiosa s. l rechinger and lack (1991) is considered. on the basis of greuter and raus (1985) studies, iranian species of scabiosa divided into two genera: lomelosia (= scabiosa sec. astrocephalus and sec. olivoerinae) and scabiosa s.s (scabiosas. l sec. scabiosa) that this classification was not accepted in flora iranica (rechinger and lack, 1991) and flora of iran (jamzad, 1993). existence of eight pits on the epicalyx tube is a distinguishing character of lomeloisa genus that separated this genus from other related genera (de castro and caputo, 1999). regarding to this classification, s. rotata and s. caucasica grouped in lomeloisa and s. koelzii and s. amoena maintained in scabiosa s. s. considering this point of view, studied species of scabisa (s. koelzii and s. amonea) were closely related to pterocephalus that supported verlaque (1986) regarding scabiosa s.s and ptercephalus have closely related than lomelosia, sixalix and pycnocomon. there is high degree of homoplasy at generic level in dipsacaceae (de castro and caputo, 1999). as shown in this study and previous study (ebadi-nahari and nikzat-siahkolaee, 2016), all studied scabiosa species with 8 groove on the epicalyx (s. columbaria, s. koelzii, s. amoena) have colpate pollen apertures and all scabiosa species with 8 pits on the epicalyx (s. micrantha, s. persica, s. calocephala, s. olivieri, s. flavida, s. rotata, s. caucasica) have porate pollen apertures. these results show the transfer of the some scabisoa species to lomelosia based on palynological characters. however, there is parallelism in the genus lomelosia with related genera (sixalix, scabiosa) (de castro and caputo, 1999) that confusing relationships within and between specimens. references bobrov, e.g. 1957. dipsacaceae. in: shishkin, r.k. 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(ed.), plant biosystematics. toronto. pp. 307–320. verlaque, r. 1986. etude biosystématiqueetphylogénétique des dipsacaceae. rev cytol. biol. veg le botaniste. 9: 5–72 (in french). (manuscript received on 1 june 2017; revised on 27 october 2017) microsoft word 04. stomata of euphorbia_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 27-38, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists diversity of stomata and trichomes in euphorbia l. i n. sarojini devi, y. padma, c.l. narasimhudu and r.r. venkata raju1 biosystematics and phytomedicine division, department of botany, sri krishnadevaraya university, anantapur 515 055, andhra pradesh, india keywords: euphorbiaceae; euphorbia; epidermal studies; classification. abstract foliar epidermal features of 18 species of euphorbia l. s.l. (euphorbiaceae) are studied. while the anisocytic and anamocytic stomata are common in herbaceous members (euphorbia subg. chamaesyce), the paracytic type is predominant in succulent species (euphorbia proper). the stomatal types, index and frequency, and the types of trichomes are explored on vegetative as well as floral parts to evaluate their possible taxonomic importance. introduction sufficient interest seems to have been revived during the past two decades on the role of internal organization of the individual organs of plants. leaves occupy a prominent position in this regard and their various features such as venation, stomata and trichomes were found useful in solving taxonomic and phylogenetic issues. the utility of foliar epidermal features in distinguishing taxonomic groups was clearly established (stace, 1965, 1984; dilcher, 1974; raju, 1981; rao and raju,1985, 1988; mohan, 1994; manohari, 2004). in view of the above considerations, it was thought worthwhile to investigate the epidermology of the important genus euphorbia l. s.l., with 84 species occurring in india (binojkumar and balakrishnan, 2007, 2010). the great diversity in habit and adaptation exhibited by the species of the genus euphorbia provide the added impetus for undertaking the present study. the structural diversity and distribution of trichomes are significant for taxonomic analysis, especially in tropical plants (stace, 1965; dilcher, 1974; rao and raju, 1985). the distribution and structure of trichomes and stomata are genetically controlled and consistent. the useful epidermal characters in systematics are the distribution of stomata over the two surfaces of the leaf, stomatal index and frequency, the nature of anticlinal walls of the epidermal cells and the types and distribution of trichomes. to fill the gaps in our knowledge in this regard concerning the genus euphorbia sensu linnaeus in india, the present study was undertaken. it is also intended to view whether these data support the realignments in the genus euphorbia by yang et al. (2012) with regard to the traditional subgenera eremophyton and poinsettia. materials and methods in the present investigation, 18 species of euphorbia l. s.l. were studied for the organography of epidermal features (table 1). the plant materials used in the present study were mostly shade dried and of pressed specimens. whole plants were boiled in water with a few pellets (1 g) of naoh at 30-40ºc. the peels were thoroughly washed and stained with safranin or acetocarmine and mounted in glycerin. the epidermal features such as cuticle, epidermal cells, stomata, and trichomes were observed on all the organs and measured using nikon eclipse, e-400 microscope. 1corresponding author. email: rrvenkataraju@yahoo.com 28 devi et al. ocular micrometer was used for measurement. the terminology adopted for the epidermal features is after raju and rao (1977, 1987) and raju (1981). the species of euphorbia studied were identified with the help of standard regional floras and experts (ellis, 1990; venkataraju and pullaiah, 1995; babu, 1995; binojkumar and balakrishnan, 2010), and the voucher specimens were deposited in the sri krishnadevaraya university herbarium (sku), anantapur. results the epidermis in euphorbia bears a variety of trichomes and stomata dispersed all over the plant surface in a consistent pattern. the extent of variations in the shape of epidermal cells, nature of anticlinal walls, types of stomata, number of stomata per unit area and stomatal indices, and the types of trichomes (glandular and eglandular) observed in 18 species are documented in tables 1 and 2. eleven species of euphorbia bear trichomes on vegetative and floral parts and the remaining seven species are glabrous. the epidermal appendages vary in structure, form and distribution. the trichome types presently recorded in the members of euphorbia are mostly multicellular. however, euphorbia agowensis (fig. 1a) bears unicellular cylindrical trichomes on vegetative as well as floral parts. a noteworthy feature of euphorbia species currently recorded is the presence of glandular trichomes at nodes and bases of stipules. these can be found in e. cristata (fig. 3a), e. elegans (fig. 3b), e. hirta (fig. 3e), e. indica (fig. 3g), and e. prostrata (fig. 3d) of subg. chamaesyce and e. heterophylla (fig. 3c) of subg. poinsettia, which are often segregated as distinct genera. these glandular trichomes are multicellular, stalked and found to be species specific in regard to their size, shape and number per unit area. the stem of e. hirta (fig. 2g) possesses two types of trichomes; they are multicellular forked with cuticular ornamentations and multicellular uniseriate osteolate ones. however, its involucre bears strictly two-celled cylindrical trichomes (fig. 2h). the epidermal cells may be rectangular and polygonal in outline. depending upon the location on the leaf, i.e., the midrib, margin and apex, their shapes tend to vary. the anticlinal walls are straight to variously arcuate. the anticlinal walls are straight in e. dracunculoides, e. deccanensis var. nallamalayana (fig. 1m), e. nivulia (fig.1h), e. perbracteata (fig. 1l, adaxial) and e. tirucalli (fig. 1k). most of the stomatal types noted for dicotyledonae (magnoliopsida) are met within the genus, with anamocytic, anisocytic and paracytic being most preponderant or basic (sehgal and paliwal, 1974; raju and rao 1977, 1987). stomata of more than one types have been encountered on the same leaf surface in e. hyssopifolia, e. longistyla (fig. 1i) and e. thymifolia (fig. 1j), as reported earlier by raju and rao (1977, 1987) for the other species of euphorbia. in e. caducifolia (fig. 1b) at places, the stomata are just represented by persistent stomatal initials (due to arrested stomatal development c.f. raju and rao, 1977). in e. tirucalli, sometimes, the stomatal complex has single guard cell. with regard to the position of stomata to the level of epidermis, different depths of sunkenness have been observed in various succulent euphorbia species (fig. 1b, h). obviously, these epidermal features can be usefully employed for diagnostic purposes in euphorbia. discussion the foliar epidermis offers a number of noteworthy taxonomic characters. the biosystematic and taxonomic studies of a number of families established the importence of leaf epidermis (baranova, 1972; raju, 1981; stace, 1984). although the taxonomists realized lately the importance of micromorphology of the epidermis, the taxonomic monographs are now considered stomata and trichome diversity in euphorbia 29 30 devi et al. stomata and trichome diversity in euphorbia 31 32 devi et al. stomata and trichome diversity in euphorbia 33 fig. 1. organography of epidermal structures in euphorbia. a) e. agowensis, b) e. caducifolia, c) e. corrigioloides, d) e. cristata, e) e. elegans, f) e. heterophylla, g) e. indica, h) e. nivulia, i) e. longistyla, j) e. thymifolia, k) e. tirucalli, l) e. perbracteata, m) e. deccanensis var. nallamalayana, n) e. prostrata, o) e. serpens. 34 devi et al. fig. 2. trichome diversity in euphorbia. a) & b) e. agowensis (stem & leaf), c) e. corrigioloides (stem), d) e. cristata (appendages), e) e. prostrata (stem), f) e. elegans (leaf abaxial), g) & h) e. hirta (stem & involucre), i) & j) e. heterophylla (stem), k) e. tirucalli (capsule), l) e. indica (leaf abaxial). stomata and trichome diversity in euphorbia 35 incomplete without it (rejdali, 1991). the diversity and distributional pattern of stomata and trichomes can be viewed from different perspectives and used as a model system for investigations into developmental biology, ecology, physiology, morphology and evolution. the work done on the stomata and trichomes was well-documented by metcalfe and chalk (1950) and reviewed by raju and rao (1977) and rao and raju (1985, 1988). the present study fills up the gaps in our knowledge of the other species of the genus euphorbia after sehgal and paliwal (1974), raju and rao (1977) and raju (1981) in india. different species of euphorbia have been found to possess anamocytic, anisocytic and paracytic types of stomata, indicating that linnean euphorbia is heterogeneous. therefore, this diversity is of use for infrageneric delimitation. the species of euphorbia subg. chamaesyce such as e. hyssopifolia, e. longistyla and e. thymifolia showed combinations of two or more types of stomata on the same leaf surface. despite the variation, a single stomatal type is preponderant in any particular euphorbiaceous taxon (raju and rao, 1977). in the case of euphorbia subg. chamaesyce, it is the trilabrate anisomesogenous type. anisocytic stomata are dominant (table 1) in the foliar epidermis of e. longistyla (92%) followed by e. indica (88%), e. cristata (81%) and e. prostrata (73%). while anamocytic stomata are predominantly found in e. deccanensis var. nallamalayana (73%), e. heterophylla (72%), e. perbracteata (66%) and e. dracunculoides (54%), paracytic stomata are preponderant in tree species and shrubs like e. caducifolia, e. nivulia and e. tirucalli (table 1). papillate epidermal cells were found in the abaxial surface of leaves of euphorbia subg. chamaesyce, as seen in e. cristata, e. elegans (fig. 1d, e) and e. indica (fig. 1g). in e. perbracteata, the anticlinal walls are straight in the adaxial foliar epidermis while they are undulate to highly wavy abaxially, as noted in the other euphorbiaceae (raju and rao, 1977). similarly, more than seven types of eglandular trichomes and three types of glandular trichomes are found on vegetative and floral parts of the linnean euphorbia. taxonomic treatment the diversity in stomata and trichomes is useful for infrageneric distinctions. however, their importance as taxonomic criteria will be greatly enhanced if the information can be interpreted with supportive evidence. binojkumar and balakrishnan (2010) recognised 10 subgenera under euphorbia for the indian species. the species of euphorbia studied now belong to five subgenera, viz., chamaesyce, eremophyton, esula, euphorbia and poinsettia. euphorbia subg. chamaesyce exibits distinct taxonomic features like varied forms of glandular trichomes at stipular bases, more than four types of eglandular trichomes and four types of stomata, whereas the subg. eremophyton is distinct from the other groups by bearing unicellular trichomes on all vegetative and floral parts, and the predominant paracytic stomata. the subg. esula shows two stomatal types, the abaxial anticlinal walls wavy and adaxial ones straight, while the subg. euphorbia is characterized by paracytic and sunken stomata. the subg. poinsettia exhibits two types of trichomes (eglandular and glandular) and the predominant advanced anamocytic stomata. yang et al. (2012) based on molecular evidence, re-circumscribed the genus euphorbia subg. chamaesyce. they reduced the traditional subgenera eremophyton and poinsettia as sections under euphorbia subg. chamaesyce. e. agowensis was placed under subg. euphorbia sect. scatorhizae. however, e. agowensis is not allied to the core sect. anisophyllum in its basic stomata and trichome types besides being ecarunculate and non-kranz species (tables 1 & 2). as a section, poinsettia (e. heterophylla) also makes the subg. chamaesyce heterogeneous with its species bearing coloured floral bracts, basic anamocytic stomata (table 1) and two types of trichomes on the stem (table 2). therefore, the micromorphological evidence supplemented with other morphological data are not in agreement with the re-alignment made for these two sections by yang et al. (2012), and instead, the data are 36 devi et al. fig. 3. vegetative and floral glands in euphorbia. a) e. cristata, b) e. elegans, c) e. heterophylla, d) e. prostrata, e) e. hirta, f) e. agowensis (leaf), g) e. indica, h) e. prostrata (involucral gland), i) e. serpens (involucral gland). stomata and trichome diversity in euphorbia 37 compatible with the traditional treatment adopted by binojkumar and balakrishanan (2010), for the species examined. the present study reveals that the epidermal characters are of taxonomic significance in the members of the euphorbia examined. despite the fact that the epidermis is being influenced by environmental factors, the traits employed are stable with regard to the mature stomatal type and distribution on different organs. therefore, the stomata, trichomes and epidermal cells can be effectively used to identify and distinguish different plant species and draw parallels or convergence with the molecular evidence. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to prof. vatsavaya s. raju, retired professor, department of botany, kakatiya university, warangal, andhra pradesh, for his encouragement and inputs and the forest officials of andhra pradesh for their cooperation and help during the field work. the first author is grateful to the university grants commission, new delhi for financial assistance. references babu, p.s.p. 1995. euphorbiaceae of andhra pradesh, india. ph.d. thesis. sri krishnadevaraya university, anantapur, india. baranova, m. 1972. systematic anatomy of the leaf epidermis in the magnoliaceae and some related families. taxon 21: 447-469. binojkumar, m.s. and balakrishnan, n.p. 2007. euphorbia. in: balakrishnan, n.p. and chakrabarty, t. (eds), the family euphorbiaceae in india, a synopsis of its profile, taxonomy and bibliography. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. pp. 238-281. binojkumar, m.s. and balakrishnan, n.p. 2010. the genus euphorbia l. (euphorbiaceae) in india: a taxonomic revision. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. pp. 1-430. dilcher, d.l. 1974. approaches to the identification of angiosperm leaf remains. bot. rev. 40: 1-157. ellis, j.l. 1990. flora of nallamalais. vol. 2. botanical survey of india, calcutta. pp. 351-357. manohari, a.l.s. 2004. studies on the foliar epidermology, architecture and anatomy of some apocynaceae. ph.d thesis, andhra university, visakhapatnam, india. metcalf, c.r. and chalk, l. 1950. anatomy of the dicotyledons. vol. 2. clarendon press, oxford. mohan, a.c. 1994. foliar epidermology and venation pattern of amaranthaceae in relation to its systematics. ph.d. thesis. kakatiya university, warangal, india. raju, v.s. 1981. leaf architecture as an aid to the systematics of the order euphorbiales. ph.d. thesis. nagarjuna university, nagarjunanagar, guntur, india. raju, v.s. and rao, p.n. 1977. variation in the structure and development of foliar stomata in the euphorbiaceae. bot. j. linn. soc.75: 69-97. raju, v.s. and rao, p.n. 1987. the taxonomic use of the basic stomatal type in the generic delimitation of chamaesyce (euphorbiaceae). feddes repert. 98: 137-141. rao, p.n. and raju, v.s. 1985. foliar trichomes in the family euphorbiaceae. in: govil, c.m. and kumar, v. (eds), trends in plant research. prof. y.s. murthy commemorative volume. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 128-136. rao, p.n. and raju, v.s. 1988. on the distribution of cuticular markings on the foliar epidermis of the euphorbiales. j. econ.taxon. bot. 12: 135-137. rejdali, m. 1991. leaf micromorphology and taxonomy of north african species of sideritis l. (lamiaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 107: 67-77. sehgal, l.s. and paliwal, g.s. 1974. studies on the leaf anatomy of euphorbia vii. general conclusions and systematic considerations. phytomorphology 24: 141-151. stace, c.a. 1965. cuticular studies as an aid to plant taxonomy. bull. br. mus. nat. hist. 4: 1-78. 38 devi et al. stace, c.a. 1984. the taxonomic importance of the leaf surface. in: herwood, v.h. and moore, d.m. (eds.), current concepts in plant taxonomy. systematic association special vol. 25, academic press, london. pp. 67-94. venkataraju, r.r. and pullaiah, t. 1995. flora of kurnool (andhra pradesh). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. pp. 412-418. yang, y., riina, r., morawetz, j.j., haevermans, t., aubriot, x. and berry, p.e. 2012. molecular phylogenetics and classification of euphorbia subgenus chamaesyce (euphorbiaceae). taxon 61(4): 764-789. (manuscript received on 12 july 2012; revised on 9 november 2012) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 117-128, 2007 (december) some tribal medicinal plants of chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh mohammed yusuf1, m.a. wahab, md. yousuf, jasim uddin chowdhury and jaripa begum bcsir laboratories, p.o. chittagong cantonment, chittagong 4220, bangladesh key words: hill tracts, medicinal plants, traditional knowledge, bangladesh abstract a survey was carried out in different localities of rangamati and bandarban districts of bangladesh between 2001 and 2002 to document medicinal plants. a total of 69 medicinal plants under 40 families were documented during this work, which the tribal use to treat about 50 diseases. scientific names, tribal names of the plants, parts used, names of the diseases and names of the user communities are mentioned. introduction chittagong hill tracts, consisting of khagrachhari, rangamati and bandarban districts and occupying 13,184 sq km of south-eastern part of bangladesh, is rich in floral diversity. the forest composition could be broadly classified into 1) tropical semievergreen to wet-green, 2) deciduous, 3) bamboo brakes and grasslands (khan 1977). at least 12 ethnic communities live in this region of which chakma is the largest tribe concentrating in the chakma circle of rangamati and part of khagrachhari districts. they are followed by the marma who are almost evenly distributed in all three districts. tripura are concentrated in khagrachhari. the other smaller ethnic communities are concentrated in bandarban district (roy et al. 2000). most of the tribal people still depend on local medicinal plants for the treatment of different diseases using the knowledge of herbal treatment they have inherited from their forefathers. but this ethno-medicinal knowledge and also the medicinal plants are depleting at an alarming rate due to availability of modern medical facilities and other socio-economic factors. on the other hand, this knowledge is valuable in searching new medicine for human welfare. in recent years interest in herbal medicines has increased considerably both at home and abroad as they are believed to be comparatively less toxic than the synthetics. so far a limited work has been done to document ethno-medicinal plants in chittagong hill tracts, namely alam (1992), rahman (1997), rahman et al. (1998), yusuf et al. (2002), chakma et al. (2003), rahman et al. (2003), uddin and rahman (1998), uddin et al. (2004), yusuf et al. (2005, 2006). keeping this in mind, the present 1corresponding author. e-mail: ctglab@spenetctg.com 118 yusuf et al. attempt has been undertaken to contribute to the documentation of this valuable knowledge and information from the area before these are totally lost. materials and methods the study was carried out in different localities of marissa and rajsthali belonging to rangamati district and lama of bandarban and adjacent areas of bandarban sadar between 2001 and 2002. information was documented in ethnobotanical data sheet by interviewing nine local baiddas (tribal healers) and 11 elderly people and verified as far as possible by repeated queries and from other tribal healers. voucher specimens were preserved at the herbarium of bcsir (bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research) laboratories, chittagong. results and discussion results have been presented in a tabular form in table 1. species are arranged alphabetically by their scientific names, followed by their family names in parenthesis and voucher numbers. voucher number of some of the species could not be cited, because they were destroyed or lost, but their identities were confirmed. tribal users and tribal names of the plants, localities, names of the diseases, and modes of uses have been given in different columns of the table 1. a total of 69 plant species have been documented during this investigation, which are used by the tribal peoples against about 50 diseases. most of the plants are used in common diseases like, diarrhoea, dysentery, cough, catarrh, asthma, fever, headache, skin diseases, sore, boil, arthritis, leucorrhoea, menstrual problem, indigestion, constipation and stomachache. only one plant, kuchbihari (solanum sp.) was found, according to the chakma tribal healers (baidda) of toolaban area, to be used for the treatment of cancer. this plant has a very characteristic fruit. it is rare and found only under cultivation in the home garden of baidda at toolaban of marissa. uses of alpinia conchigera, anisomeles indica, baliospermum montanum, centella asiatica, costus speciosus, jasminum scandens, kaempferia galanga, kaempferia parviflora, kalanchoe pinnata, maesa montana, mikania cordata, ocimum gratissimum, oroxylum indicum, plumbago indica, plumbago zeylanica, sterculia villosa, typhonium trilobatum, urena lobata and zingiber montanum match with the uses reported by different authors consulted here. most of the previous authors only mentioned the name of the disease, whereas some of the authors mentioned the method of use. but they did not mention the dose. we have mentioned the tentative doses of use, but we do not encourage following them without verification. about 46% of the documented plant species are herbs followed by 31% shrubs, 13% trees and 10% climbers. table 1. description of the tribal medicinal plants recorded from different localities of rangamati and bandarban along with their users, locations to be found, diseases treated, modes of use and doses. scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 1. achyranthes aspera l. (amaranthaceae) wahab & yousuf 1186 tanchongya lengragach naramuk, rajsthali dog & fox bite the root paste is applied over the bite area as a preventive medicine against hydrophobia. it is applied once, immediately after bite. 2. acorus calamus l. (acoraceae) wahab & yousuf 1174 a tanchongya boch naramuk, rajsthali stomachache, burn sore rhizome paste is given orally in stomachache; 1 teaspoonful, twice in a day. rhizome paste is also applied as a poultice on burn sore, twice daily till cure. 3. adiantum lunulatum burm. (adiantaceae) wahab & yousuf 1120 chakma bandortala toolaban, marissa boils paste of the plant is applied over boils to burst. it is applied 2/3 times a day. 4. aloe indica l. (liliaceae) tanchongya ghrittakumari naramuk, rajsthali constipation, indigestion leaf juice is prescribed orally; 1 tablespoonful, twice daily for 3 days. 5. alpinia conchigera griff. (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1131 wahab & yousuf 1174 chakma khetranga tanchongya ketranga toolaban, marissa naramuk, rajsthali gastric pain diarrhoea, dysentery piece of the rhizome is chewed or paste is swallowed with little salt; a small piece of rhizome or 1 tablespoonful of paste, 2/3 times a day. rhizome juice is given orally; 1 teaspoon, thrice daily for 3-4 days. 6. annona mouricata l. (annonaceae) wahab & yousuf 1388 marma penchi hangshamapara, bandarban pain in hand & leg warm leaves are rubbed on hand and leg to get relief from pain. 7. anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1155 chakma harinsingh toolaban, marissa fever, whooping cough of children leaf juice is given orally; 1 teaspoonful, twice daily for 4-5 days. 8. antidesma ghasembilla gaertn. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1377 marma sapangseye balaghata, bandarban madness pills made from the bark are given orally; 2 pills, thrice daily till cure. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 9. argyreia nervosa (burm.f.) boj. (convolvulaceae) wahab & yousuf 1146 chakma bijtarak tooaban, marissa bone fracture paste of twigs and young leaves applied on fractured area and wrapped with cloth, which is changed after every 2-3 days. 10. baliospermum montanum (willd.) muell.-arg. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1151 chakma subonpan toolaban, marissa eczema, sore in mouth & lip leaf paste is applied on affected areas; twice daily till cure. 11. cassia occidentalis l. (fabaceae) wahab & yousuf 1126 chakma khetrang toolban, marissa oliguria decoction of the leaves is prescribed orally; half a cup, thrice daily for 3 days. 12. celosia cristata l. (amaranthaceae) wahab & yousuf 1188 tanchongya moragful naramuk, rajsthali body swelling (dropsy) ash of the leaves is rubbed on the body and its juice is given orally as diuretic along with rice washed water; 1 tablespoon, thrice daily for 1week. 13. centella asiatica (l.) urban. (hydrocotylaceae) wahab & yousuf 1178 tanchongya menmuni sak naramuk, rajsthali blood dysentery leaf juice is given orally along with opium, 1 tablespoon, thrice daily for 1 week. 14. clerodendrum viscosum vent. (verbenaceae) wahab & yousuf 1121 chakma veg gach toolaban, marissa roundworms with indigestion, pain & vomiting paste of leaves and roots given orally; 2 teaspoons, twice daily for 3-4 days. 15. clitoria turnetea l. (fabaceae) wahab & yousuf 1154 chakma aingoful toolaban, marissa arthritic pain & wounds paste of leaves applied topically on affected area; twice a day. 16. costus speciosus sm. (costaceae) wahab & yousuf 1132 chakma ketoki toolaban, marissa pus in ear along with earache ear is cleaned with 2-3 drops of leaf juice and leaf paste is applied around the ear. 17. croton caudatus geisel. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1134 chakma sholokjara toolaban, marissa arthritis, paralysis root and leaf paste is applied topically for 1 week in arthritis, and for paralysis, for about a month or more. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 18. cymbopogon citratus (dc.) stapf. (poaceae) tonchongya dhansabrang naramuk, rajsthali stomach burning juice of leaves and roots is given orally; 1 teaspoon, thrice daily. 19. cynoglossum lanceolatum fotsk. (boraginaceae) wahab & yousuf 1386 marma langio lama, bandarban inflation of belly leaf juice along with other ingredients is given orally; 1 tablespoon, thrice daily. 20. desmodium triquetrum (l.) dc. (fabaceae) wahab & yousuf 1145 chakma rulimatakher toolaban, marissa impotency, leucorrhoea pills made from the leaves along with the leaves of aloe indica are given orally; 1 pill, 2-3 times a day. 21. dysophylla auricularia bl. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1175 wahab & yousuf 1188a tanchongya kongmain, krongmain naramuk, rajsthali bellyache & discomfort in belly, tetanus for bellyache and discomfort, warm leaf poultice is prescribed. in tetanus, leaf juice is given orally; 2 teaspoons, once at a time. 22. eclipta alba (l.) hassk. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1179 tonchongya kalasuna naramuk, rajsthali bleeding from nose and mouth leaf juice is given orally and as a drop in the nostril; 1 or 2 drops and 1 tablespoon, 2-3 times a day for 1 or 2 days. 23. emilia sp. dc. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1144 chakma sidirabaisa toolaban, marissa naramuk, rajsthali dysentery, diarrhoea, paralysis boil leaf juice given orally; 2-3 times a day, for a week. leaf paste is applied as a rub in paralysis. leaf paste is applied as cataplasm for suppuration of boil. 24. eupatorium odoratum l. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1184 a tonchongya demrapata gach naramuk, rajsthali bleeding leaf paste applied on cut to stop bleeding. 25. gelonium multiflorum (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1383 marma mainsingh hangshamapara, bandarban boil fruit paste is applied on boil for suppuration. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 26. grewia laevigata vahl. (tiliaceae) wahab & yousuf 1143 chakma monsimais toolaban, marissa paralysis, pain pills made from the bark, root and leaf is prescribed orally; 1 pill, thrice daily till cure. 27. gynura nepalensis dc. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1140 chakma dhup baisak toolaban, marissa arthritic pain, paralysis, burning of body pills made from the leaves are given orally; 2 pills, thrice daily. 28. haemanthus multiflorus martyn (amaryllidaceae) wahab & yousuf 1383 marma bolungbay hangshamapara, bandarban fever juice of the bulb is given orally; 1 tablespoon, thrice daily for 3 days. 29. helminthostachys zeylanica hook. (ophioglossaceae) wahab & yousuf 1383 marma simakrangkhi lama, bandarban jaundice root juice with other ingredients given orally; 1 teaspoon, twice daily for 10 days. 30. hymendictyon excelsum walp. (rubiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1384 tanchongya fulgamari naramuk, rajsthali lama, bandarban stiffness of belly jaundice root juice given orally and hot poultice of bark applied on belly for 2-3 days. bath in the morning with leaf boiled water is prescribed for 10 days. 31. jasminum scandens (oleaceae) wahab & yousuf 1122 chakma moriccha lodi toolaban, marissa red eyes (red cataract) leaf juice is used as a drop; 2 drops, twice daily till cure. 32. justicia gendarusa l. (acanthaceae) wahab & yousuf-1112 &1152 chakma basok babupara, marissa cough, catarrh, fever leaf juice given orally, alone or with honey; 1 tablespoon, 2-3 times a day for 1 week. 33. kaempferia galanga l. (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1154 a chakma bhojoraphul toolaban, marissa headache, paralysis of arms and legs rhizome paste is given as poultice in headache and as rub in paralysis, twice daily. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 34. kaempferia parviflora wall. ex baker (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1181 tonchongya kalahalood naramuk, rajsthali diarrhoea along with vomiting rhizome juice given orally; 1 teaspoon, 2-3 times a day for 3 days. 35. kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers. (crassulaceae) tanchongya rockkia pangpo naramuk, rajsthali cough & asthma of children leaf juice dipped with red iron is given orally; 2 teaspoon, thrice daily for a week. 36. leea indica (burm.f.) merr. (leeaceae) wahab & yousuf 1130 chakma hashkura toolaban, marissa sore, leprosy, eczema, itching, bone fracture, sprain leaf paste used topically, 2-3 times a day for a week. for fracture and sprain, paste is applied as a poultice. 37. leea macrophylla roxb. (leeaceae) wahab & yousuf 1176 tonchongya baggach naramuk, rajsthali boil, arthritis leaf juice is rubbed on affected area and heated with warm cloth. leaf paste is applied on boil to burst. 38. leucas zeylanica (l.) r.br. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1378 marma sarakao balaghata, bandarban burning urination leaf paste is given orally; 1 tablespoon, once a day. 39. litsea glutinosa (lour.) rob. (lauraceae) wahab & yousuf 1125 chakma surja gach toolaban, marissa boil, sore, itching leaf paste applied topically; twice daily. 40. maranta arundinacea l. (marantaceae) wahab & yousuf 1135 chakma ararut toolaban, marissa scanty urination along with pain in abdomen rhizome paste given orally; 1 tablespoon, 2-3 times a day. also given to lactating mother to increase milk flow. 41. measa montana a. dc. (myrsinaceae) wahab & yousuf 1124 chakma medri toolaban, marissa arthritis, boil paste of the bark is applied as a poultice for arthritis, twice daily for 5 days. applied on boil and kept whole day to hasten suppuration. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 42. micromelum minutum (forst. f.) wt. & arn. (rutaceae) wahab & yousuf 1128 wahab & yousuf 1390 chakma songramarich marma kakobai toolaban, marissa hangshamapara, bandarban fever along with headache dog bite leaf and root juice is given orally in fever; 1 cup, thrice daily for 5 days. fruit paste is applied on bite area. 43. mikania cordata (burm.f.) rob. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1184 a tanchongya asamlata naramuk, rajsthali bleeding leaf paste is applied on cut area to stop bleeding. 44. morinda sp. (rubiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1379 marma khujai balaghata, bandarban fever along with catarrh paste of young leaves along with black pepper and garlic is rubbed on the chest, twice a day. 45. morinda persicaefolia ham. (rubiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1380 marma khujai balaghata, bandarban cough, asthma leaf juice is given orally along with sugar; 1 teaspoon, thrice daily for 4-5 days. 46. nelsonia campestris r.br. (acanthaceae) wahab & yousuf 1184 tanchongya chitpatang naramuk, rajsthali fever, tetanus leaf juice is rubbed on the body for several days. 47. ocimum gratissimum l. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1142 chakmamidareissa toolaban, marissa cough, catarrh, headache, gout leaf juice along with honey or sugar is prescribed orally; 2 teaspoons, thrice daily for 3-5 days. 48. oroxylum indicum vent. (bignoniaceae) wahab & yousuf 1118 chakmakhona babupara, marissa jaundice juice of the fruit and bark is given orally; half a cup, thrice daily for 5 days. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 49. pedilanthus tithymaloides (l.) poit. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1147 chakmabarakut toolaban, marissa headache, impotency and seminal weakness paste of the plant is applied on forehead in headache. pills made from the paste are given in impotency and seminal weakness; 2 pills, thrice daily. 50. perilla ocymoides l. (lamiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1136 chakmanagaghoissa toolaban, marissa cut, sore, bruises seed-paste is applied as an ointment; twice daily for healing. 51. phrynium imbricatum roxb. (marantaceae) wahab & yousuf 1149 chakmapitulipata toolaban, marissa cough, catarrh, asthma, headache pills made from leaves are prescribed orally; 1 pill, 2-3 times a day. 52. phyllanthus sp. (euphorbiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1385 marmasaykhoi lama, bandarban sexual weakness pills made from dry flowers along with other ingredients are given orally; 1 pill at night. 53. plumbago indica l. (plumbaginaceae) wahab & yousuf 1187 tanchongya agnichita naramuk, rajsthali anaemia, irregular menstruation, leucorrhoea, skin disease in skin disease, leaf and root juice is applied topically, in other cases juice is given orally; 1 teaspoon, once daily for 5 days. it is also given orally to develop sterility in women; 1 tablespoon, daily for consecutive 3 days. roots are used to induce abortion. 54. plumbago zeylanica l. (plumbaginaceae) chakma chita toolaban, marissa leucorrhoea, menstrual problem, jaundice root paste is given orally; 1 teaspoon, twice daily for 7 days. 55. podocarpus nerifolia don. (podocarpaceae) wahab & yousuf 1115 chakma bajpata gach babupara, marissa gastric juice of the root and leaf is given orally; half a cup, 2-3 times daily. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 56. rauwolfia serpentina benth. (apocynaceae) wahab & yousuf 1137 chakma sursan tanchongya bombaraja toolaban, marissa naramuk, rajsthali snakebite, headache heart disease, stomachache root paste is given orally; half a teaspoon, twice daily. half a teaspoon, once daily for a month for heart disease and 1 teaspoon, at a time for stomachache. 57. sarcochlamys pulcherrima gaud. (urticaceae) wahab & yousuf 1387 marma masada lama, bandarban boil, sore leaf paste is applied topically; once a day for 3 days. 58. scoparia dulcis l. (scrophulariaceae) wahab & yousuf 1183 tanchongya postanoipata naramuk, rajsthali stomachache leaf juice is given orally; 1 tablespoon, twice daily. 59. solanum sp. (solanaceae) wahab & yousuf 1141 chakmakuchbihari toolaban, marissa cancer, sore, wounds paste of the fruit is applied topically; 2-3 times a day. 60. spillanthes sp. (asteraceae) wahab & yousuf 1177 tanchongya osonsak naramuk, rajsthali threadworm leaf juice is given orally; half a cup, once or twice a day. 61. stahlianthus involucratus (king ex baker) r.m. smith (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1189 tanchongya eskain rajsthali, rangamati fever, tetanus of children rhizome juice is given orally; 1 teaspoon, thrice daily for 5 days. 62. stephania japonica (thunb.) miers. (menispermaceae) wahab & yousuf 1153 chakmathandamanik marissa, rangamati facial paralysis leaf paste is applied topically over affected areas; twice daily for 7 days. 63. sterculia villosa roxb. (sterculiaceae) wahab & yousuf 1139 chakma-udal marissa, rangamati impotency pills made from the root along with the root of bombax ceiba and leaves of aloe indica is prescribed orally; 1 pill, thrice a day for 3 weeks. (contd.) table 1. (contd.) scientific name, (family name), voucher number users & their tribal name locality disease/ ailment mode of use & dose 64. thunbergia grandiflora roxb. (acanthaceae) wahab & yousuf 1180 tanchongya botualodi rajsthali, rangamati red eyes air blown through the cut hollow stem into the eyes; done for 3 days. 65. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. (araceae) wahab & yousuf 1138 chakmaharbaj marissa, rangamati enlarged liver pills made from the corm along with black pepper are prescribed orally; 1 pill, thrice daily for 1 month. 66. uraria picta desv. (fabaceae) chakmabilailengur marissa, rangamati suppuration of boil leaf paste is applied topically on boil to burst. 67. urena lobata l. (malvaceae) wahab & yousuf 1185 tanchongya lengragach rajsthali, rangamati snakebite, bite of dog and fox root paste is applied on bite area as a poultice and 1 tablespoon of paste is given orally. 68. vitis sp. (vitaceae) wahab & yousuf 1119 wahab & yousuf 1129 chakmakoishanglota, khoijang marissa, rangamati toolaban broken bones cough, catarrh, fever with convulsion leaf paste is applied as a poultice on broken area and changed after a week. root juice mixed with water is given orally; half a cup, thrice daily for 4-5 days. 69. zingiber montanum (koenig) dietr. (zingiberaceae) wahab & yousuf 1182 tanchongya paley rajsthali, rangamati amenorrhoea rhizome juice is given orally; 1 tablespoon, 1-2 times a day for 2-3 days. 128 yusuf et al. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the ministry of science and information & communication technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh, for providing financial support to carry out this investigation. thanks are also due to the director bcsir (bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research) laboratories, chittagong for his generous co-operation and encouragement during the work. references alam, m.k. 1992. medical ethnobotany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46(3): 330335. chakma, s., hossain, m.k., khan, b.m. and kabir, m.a. 2003. ethno-botanical knowledge of chakma community in the use of medicinal plants in chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. mfp news xiii(3): 3-7. khan, m.s. and alam, m.k. 1977. flora of bangladesh. no. 4 commelinaceae. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, pp. 1-41. rahman, m.a. 1997. tribal knowledge of plant use in hill tracts districts of bangladesh. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 1(1): 1. rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and khisha, a. 1998. a report on some anti-jaundice plants from tribal community of hill tracts districts. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(1): 4. rahman, m.a., uddin, s.b. and wilcock, c.c. 2003. indigenous knowledge of herbal medicine in bangladesh: treatment of jaundice by the tribal community of hill tracts districts. hamdard medicus xlvi(2): 25-28. roy, r.d., guhathakurta, m., mohsin, a., tripura, p. and gain, p. 2000. the chittagong hill tracts (life and nature at risk). society for environment and human development (shed), dhaka. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1998. some anti-rheumatic plants used by tribal people of the hill tracts districts. biodiversity newsletter, university of chittagong 2(2): 4. uddin, n.s., uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and rahman, m.m. 2004. preliminary ethnomedicinal plant survey in khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 39-48. yusuf, m., rahman, m.a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2002. indigenous knowledge about the use of zingibers in bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. 26(3): 566-570. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2005. herbal treatment of jaundice in chittagong hill tracts by chakma and marma tribes. j. forestry environment 3: 13-18. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2006. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge from kaukhali proper and betbunia of rangamati district. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 55-61. (manuscript received on 4 june 2007; revised on 25 july 2007) mohammed yusuf1, m.a. wahab, md. yousuf, jasim uddin chowdhu and jaripa begum abstract introduction references yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., chowdhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2005. microsoft word s-1. 38-13 sc_sorbus vestita ok.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 251-253, 2013 (december) short communication © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists nomenclatural notes on sorbus vestita (rosaceae) v. sampath kumar1 and s. karthikeyan2 royal botanic gardens, kew, richmond, surrey tw9 3ae, united kingdom keywords: nomenclature; sorbus vestita; new combination. during the preparation of checklist of indian flowering plants, the nomenclature in rosaceae was being perused by one of the authors and was found that pyrus vestita var. khasiana hook. f. was transferred to sorbus cuspidata (spach) hedl. by ghora (2007), although the name s. vestita (basionym pyrus vestita wall. ex g. don) exists. a literature survey was made and found s. vestita (wall. ex g. don) s. schauer has to be accepted and the name s. cuspidata should be considered as its synonym. in most taxonomical accounts, loddiges (cat. pl. ed. 16: 36. 1836) was attributed with the credit of transferring pyrus vestita to sorbus vestita (e.g. long, 1987; aldasora et al., 2004; watson and manandhar, 2011). verification of original of the loddiges’ catalogue available at lindley library, london revealed that schauer (1848) has to be ascribed because in the loddiges’ catalogue (ed. 16, 1836), the name sorbus vestita was mentioned without any author citation or basionym. for further confirmation, other available editions published by loddiges available at lindley and kew libraries were also searched, but in vain. it seems loddiges has been accredited due to loudon (1854: 912), who cited, ‘sorbus vestita lodd. cat. edit. 1836’ as one of the synonyms under ‘pyrus vestita wall.’ the confusion of the validity of the epithet ‘vestita’ crept after publication of the flora of british india, where j. d. hooker (1878: 375) did not mention g. don’s publication, by which for a long period pyrus vestita wall. [cat. no.679. 1828, nom. nud.] was considered to have been validated by hook. f. (e.g. yu et al., 1974; ohashi, 1979; press et al., 2000; lu and spongberg, 2003). consequently, the specific epithet of crataegus cuspidata spach got priority over pyrus vestita! watson & manandhar (l.c.), however, mentioned c. cuspidata as well as sorbus cuspidata (spach) hedl. are nom. illegit., probably owing to citation of ‘sorbus vestita lodd. cat.’ by spach while describing crataegus cuspidata in 1852. since the name sorbus vestita in loddiges’ catalogue is a nomen nudum, crataegus cuspidata and sorbus cuspidata (spach) hedl. are legitimate names. mcallister (pers. comm.) opines that throughout the himalayas there seem to be intergradations between the described species, and regard them all as part of sorbus vestita, but earliest name for this complex is s. lanata (d. don) s. schauer. however, gabrielian (1978) placed these species in different subsections viz., lanatae and grandifoliae (as s. cuspidata). further, rushforth (1991, 1992) discussed elaborately the distinguishing characters of the himalayan species and recognised them as separate entity. aldasoro et al. (2004) also recognised the himalayan species, including s. lanata and s. vestita as distinct species. 1corresponding author: email: vskumar10@rediffmail.com; v.kumar@kew.org 2e-7, greenfield, shivtirth nagar, paud road, pune, maharastra, india.    252 kumar and karthikeyan   the correct citation of sorbus vestita along with its variety is provided below: sorbus vestita (wall. ex g. don) s. schauer in übers. arbeiten veränd. schles. ges. vaterl. kult. 1847: 292 (1848) & in otto & dietr., allg. gartenz. 17: 84 (1849); long, fl. bhutan 1(3): 595 (1987); aldasora et al., syst. bot. monogr. 69: 82 (2004); watson & manandhar, fl. nepal 3: 315 (2011). pyrus vestita wall. [cat. no. 679. 1828, nom. nud.] ex g. don, gen. hist. 2: 647 (1832). aria vestita (wall. ex g. don) m. roem. in fam. nat. syn. monogr. 3 (rosifl.) : 125 (1847). pyrus vestita wall. ex hook. f., fl. brit. india 2: 375 (1878), isonym. crataegus cuspidata spach, hist. nat. vég. 2: 106 (1834). sorbus cuspidata (spach) hedl., kongl. svenska vetensk.-akad. handl. 35 (1): 89 (1901); stapf, bot. mag. 135: t. 8259 (1909); yu et al., fl. reipubl. popularis sin. 36: 297 (1974); gabr., genus sorbus in e. asia & himal. : 146 (1978); ohashi, enum. fl. pl. nepal 2: 147 (1979); press et al., ann. checkl. fl. pl. nepal : 271 (2000); lu & spongberg, fl. china 9: 163 (2003); ghora, bull. bot. surv. india 49: 201 (2007). pyrus crenata sensu lindl. in edwards's bot. reg. 20: t. 1655 (1835), non d. don (1825). sorbus crenata s. schauer in übers. arbeiten veränd. schles. ges. vaterl. kult. 1847: 292. 1848 & in otto & dietr., allg. gartenz. 17: 84 (1849). pyrus crenata hort. ex k. koch, dendrologie 1: 192 (1869), non d. don (1825). type: india, uttrakhand, kumaon, wall. cat. no. 679 (k!, lectotype; bm!, ere, g!, l!, le, w!, isolectotypes). sorbus vestita var. khasiana (hook. f.) karthik. et v. s. kumar comb. nov. pyrus vestita var. khasiana hook. f., fl. brit. india 2: 375. 1878; kanjilal & das, fl. assam 2: 217 (1938). sorbus cuspidata var. khasiana (hook. f.) ghora in bull. bot. surv. india 49: 202. 2007. type: india, meghalaya, khasia, 5 – 6000 ft., j.d. hooker & t. thomson s.n. (k – not traceable). note: schauer (1848) cited pyrus crenata royle, which probably an unpublished name. lindley in bot. reg. t. 1655, which is also cited by schauer, provided the information given by royle about the distribution, flowering period and other aspects of this species, which confirms it is different from pyrus crenata of d. don, as opined by j. d. hooker (1878). d. don’s species was regarded as synonym of p. pashia buch.-ham. ex d. don by ghora and panigrahi (1995: 400), but watson (2011) feels, “it is more likely that this name refers to a species of photinia, cotoneaster or eriobotrya”. acknowledgements the first author expresses his gratitude to the acting keeper, hlaa, rbg, kew for providing all the facilities and to the library in-charges of rhs, lindley and rbg, kew for permitting to access the archives. references aldasora, j.j., aedo, c., garmendia, f.m., de la hoz, f.p. and navarro, c. 2004. revision of sorbus subgenera aria and torminaria (rosaceae – maloideae). syst. bot. monogr. 69: 1-148. gabrielian, e.t. 1978. the genus sorbus in eastern asia and the himalayas. erevan, armenia, 264 pp. ghora, c. 2007. a new combination in sorbus cuspidata (spach) hedlund (rosaceae). bull. bot. surv. india 49: 201-202. ghora, c. and panigrahi, g. 1995. the family rosaceae in india (revisionary studies on six genera). vol. 2. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 1-481. hooker. j.d. 1878. rosaceae. in: flora of british india. vol. 2. l. reeve & co., london, pp. 307-388. nomenclatural notes on sorbus vestita 253   long, d.g. 1987. sorbus l. in: grierson, a.j.c. and long, d.g. (eds), flora of bhutan. vol. 1, part 3. royal botanic garden, edinburgh and royal government of bhutan, pp. 592-599. loudon, j.c. 1854 (2nd edition). arboretum et fruticetum britannicum; or, the trees and shrubs of britain, native and foreign, hardy and half-hardy, pictorially and botanically delineated, and scientifically and popularly described; with their propagation, culture, management. vol. 2. london. pp. 496-1256. lu, l.t. and spongberg, s.a. 2003. sorbus l. in: wu, z. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china. vol. 9. science press, beijing and missouri botanic garden press, st. louis, pp. 144-170. ohashi, h. 1979. sorbus l. in: hara, h. and williams, l.h.j. (eds), an enumeration of the flowering plants of nepal. vol. 2. trustees of british museum (natural history), london, pp. 147-148. press, j.r., shrestha, k.k. and sutton, d.a. 2000. rosaceae. an annotated checklist of the flowering plants of nepal. the natural history museum, london, pp. 260-272. rushforth, k. 1991. bhutaneses sorbi. the plantsman 13(2): 111-124. rushforth, k. 1992. bhutanese sorbi. part 3: whitebeams. the plantsman 14(1): 54-62. schauer, s. 1848. ueber die gattungen und arten der pomaceen, welche bei uns im freien aushalten, besonders über deren geographische verbreitung. übers. arbeiten veränd. schles. ges. vaterl. kult. 1847: 282-307. watson, m.f. 2011. pyrus l. in: watson, m.f., akiyama, s., ikeda, h., pendry, c.a., rajbhandari, k.r. and shrestha, k.k. (eds), flora of nepal. vol. 3. royal botanic garden, edinburgh, pp. 322-323. watson, m.f. and manandhar, v.k. 2011. sorbus l. in: watson, m.f., akiyama, s., ikeda, h., pendry, c.a., rajbhandari, k.r. and shrestha, k.k. (eds), flora of nepal. vol. 3. royal botanic garden, edinburgh, pp. 312-321. yu, t.t., lu, l.t., ku, t.c., li, c.l., kuan, k.c. and chiang, w.f. 1974. rosaceae (1): spiraeoideaemaloideae. in: yu, t.t. (ed.), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae delectis florae reipublicae popularis sinicae agendae academiae sinicae edita, vol. 36. science press, beijing, 443 pp. (manuscript received on 8 march 2013; revised on 9 october 2013) microsoft word 05. hemiboea roseoalba ok 4.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 171-177, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists hemiboea roseoalba s.b. zhou, x. hong & f. wen (gesneriaceae), a new species from guangdong, china shou-biao zhou1, xin hong2, fang wen3,4 and hong-mei xiao college of life sciences, anhui normal university, cn-241000, wuhu, china keywords: hemiboea roseoalba; new species; gesneriaceae; limestone cave flora; china. abstract a new species of hemiboea, h. roseoalba, from guangdong, china, is described and illustrated. it is similar to h. gracilis and h. angustifolia in leaf and flower shape, but can be distinguished by leaf blade with serrulate from the middle to the apex, lateral veins 7-9 on each side of midrib; peduncle 2.5-3.0 cm long, glabrous; cymes 4-6-flowered; triangular calyx base connate for c. 0.3 cm; pink corolla 4.0-4.3 cm long and margin of lobes curled or retroflexed; staminodes 3; pistil 3.7-4.0 cm long; disc 2 mm high and truncate stigma slightly swollen. introduction the genus hemiboea clarke in hooker (1888) of the gesneriaceae was first described by clarke, with two sections: sect. subcapitatae clarke and sect. sympodiales clarke. before 2011, a chinese endemic genus, metabriggsia w.t. wang, was considered morphologically similar to briggsia craib especially in those species with stems, but differs by having only two fertile stamens and one sterile carpel so that it can be treaed as a single genus, when it was published by wang (1983). thus this prefix, “meta-”, means “with”, “between” and “amid”, was used to describe the similarity in both genera. actually, whether morphologies or molecular evidences show it is much closer to hemiboea. thus, metabriggsia is reduced to synonymy with hemiboea and its two species are transferred to that genus (weber et al., 2011). so, now it has been revised 29 species and six varieties in china, northern vietnam, iriomote-shima of ryukyu, japan (li, 1996, 2004; wen et al., 2011; xu et al., 2012; pan et al., 2012). china, the center of species diversity of the genus, has all species distributed from south china eastward to taiwan and northward to henan and ganshu (li, 1983, 1987), with 4 species recorded in guangdong province before 2012 (wei et al., 2010). during the course of a floristic investigation in 2012, we collected a rare unknown species of hemiboea sect. subcapitatae from a limestone area in liannan yaozu autonomous county, guangdong. after consulting national floras and relevant literature (li, 1987, 2004; wang, 1990; wei and wen, 1995; weitzman et al., 1997; wang et al., 1998; wei et al., 2010; xu et al., 2010; huang et al., 2011; wen et al., 2011; pan et al., 2012), as well as specimens of different herbaria (pe, ibk, ibsc, cdbi, hn, kun, anu, bjfu, vnm), we concluded that our specimens represent a new species, hemiboea roseoalba sp. nov. which is described and illustrated here. 1the key laboratory of conservation and employment of biological resources of anhui, cn-241000, wuhu, china. 2the gesneriad conservation center of china. 3guangxi institute of botany, guangxi zhuang autonomous region and the chinese academy of sciences, cn-541006 guilin, china 4corresponding author. email: wenfang760608@139.com 172 zhou et al. hemiboea roseoalba s.b. zhou, xin hong, & f. wen, sp. nov. (figs 1, 2). diagnosis: haec species nova similis h. gracilis franchet et h. angustifoliae f. wen & y.g. wei, sed foliis margine serratus ab medius ad apex, lateralis nervis 7-9, pedunculis 2.5-3.0 cm longis, glabris, cymis 4-6-floris, calyx triangulatus, supra basin connatus ca. 0.3 cm, corolla persicinus, 4.0-4.3 cm longis, labellis margine crispus vel reflexis, staminodiis 3, pistillo 3.7-4.0 cm longo, stigmate truncates et leviter tumidus. fig. 1. hemiboea roseoalba sp. nov. (a) flowering branch; (b) dissection of a flower showing stamens and staminodes; (c) stamens; (d) calyx opened showing pistil and disc; (e) stigma (drawn from the holotype, f. wen 201209031). hemiboea roseoalba, a new species from china 173 type: china, guangdong province: liannan yao autonomous county, gutian village, growing in the entrance of a limestone cave, ± 200 m, 20 sep. 2012, f. wen 201209031 (holotype: ibk!; isotype: anu!). perennial herbs. stems ascending, 40-80 cm high, 5-7 mm in diameter, with scattered brown spots, glabrous to sparsely pilose toward apex, simple or branched, with 10-12 nodes or more. leaves opposite, 8-10 crowded at the apex of stems, the lower ones commonly caducous; petiole fig. 2. a-g: hemiboea roseoalba sp. nov. (a) habitat; (b) plants growing in natural habitat; (c) flowering plants; (d) frontal view of flower; (e) involucre; (f) pistil and calyx; (g) corolla opened showing stamens and staminodes. 174 zhou et al. 2-4 cm long, glabrous; leaf blade sub-carnose or thinly leathery, thickly herbaceous when dry, narrowly lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, 10-12 × 4-5 cm, adaxially pubescent, abaxially glabrous, base narrowly cuneate, sometimes slightly oblique, upper surface deep green, lower surface pallid, margin serrulate from the middle to the apex, apex acute or acuminate, lateral veins 7-9 on each side of midrib. cymes pseudoterminal, 4-6-flowered, peduncle 2.5-3.0 cm long, glabrous, densely covered in brown spots; involucre nearly spheroidal or cordate, apex long-mucronate, c. 2 cm long, 2.0-2.3 cm in diameter, vivid green, membranous, glabrous, bowl-shaped when opened. pedicel 0.3-0.4 mm long, glabrous. calyx 5, white or pale green, base connate for c. 0.3 cm, lobes equal, triangular, 1.0-1.2 × 0.5-0.7 cm, glabrous. corolla pink outside, brownish yellow inside, with mauve lines and spots, 4.0-4.3 cm long, outside densely short glandular-hairy and puberulent, inside glabrous; tube 3.5-3.8 cm long, 1.7-2.0 cm in diameter at the orifice, 0.6-0.7 mm in diameter at the base, inside with a ring of hairs adnate to c. 0.4 cm above the corolla base; limb distinctly 2-lipped, adaxial lip 2-lobed to the base, lobes oblate, margin curled, 5.5-7.0 × 5.2-7.3 mm, retroflexed; abaxial lip 3-lobed towards the middle, lobe oblate or oblate-oval, margin repand, 6.7-8.0 × 6.4-7.5 mm, reflexed. stamens 2, adnate to 10.5-11.2 mm above the corolla base; filaments linear, c. 15 mm long, geniculate near the base, linear, glabrous; anthers fused at extremities, slightly elliptic, glabrous, 3.2-3.5 × 2.0-2.5 mm. staminodes 3, glabrous, adnate to 10.2-11.3 mm above the corolla base, middle one c. 5 mm long, linear, apex inflated, lateral ones linear, c. 7 mm long with adherent capitate apex. disc ring-like, c. 2.2 mm high, margin repand, glabrous. pistil 3.7-4.0 cm long; ovary linear, c. 1.1 cm long, 1.7-2.1 cm in diameter, glabrous; style 2.6-2.9 cm long; stigma slightly swollen, truncate, c. 1 mm in diameter. capsule linear, 3.23.5 cm long, glabrous, slightly curved. phenology: flowering from end of september to the middle of october. fruits maturing during october to november. etymology: the species is named after the pink colour of the corolla of this new taxon, which is brightly pink in this genus. distribution: china, only known from the type locality, gutian village, liannan yao autonomous county, in northern guangdong province of southeastern china (fig. 3). fig. 3. distribution map of hemiboea roseoalba sp. nov. and its related taxa. (a) known distribution of h. angustifolia; (b) known distribution of h. roseoalba; (c) oval area, distribution of h. gracilis. hemiboea roseoalba, a new species from china 175 habitat: hemiboea roseoalba grows in rocky crevices on moist shady cliffs at the entrance of a limestone cave, at an elevation of about 200 m above sea level. it occurs in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest. fig. 4 a-e. hemiboea gracilis (a) habitat; (b) front view of flower; (c) lateral view of flower; (d) top view of flower and leaf blade; (e) involucre. f-i. hemiboea angustifolia (f) habitat; (g) front and lateral view of flowers; (h) top view of flowers; (i) involucre. additional collections (paratypes): china, guangdong province: liannan yao autonomous county, gutian village, c. 200 m, 20 september 2008, xin hong 20110903 (anu!). 176 zhou et al. hemiboea roseoalba is morphologically close to h. gracilis franchet and h. angustifolia f. wen & y.g. wei in the shape of leaf and flower, but can be easily distinguished by the leaf blade, lateral veins, peduncle, corolla, staminodes, pistil, disc and stigma characters (table 1, fig. 4). table 1. morphological comparison of hemiboea roseoalba, h. gracilis and h. angustifolia. characters h. roseoalba h. gracilis h. angustifolia margin of leaf blade serrulate from the middle to the apex entire to repand entire peduncle 2.5-3.0 cm long, glabrous 0.2-1.2 cm long, glabrous to sparsely white pilose 1.0-1.5 cm long, glabrous corolla size 4.0-4.3 cm long 3.0-3.8 cm long 4.8-5.4 cm long staminodes 3 2 2 pistil 3.7-4.0 cm long 2.0-2.5 cm long 2.5-2.7 cm long disc c. 2.0 mm long c. 1.0 mm long c. 2.2 mm long stigma slightly swollen, truncate capitate capitate, slightly depressed in the middle flowering time september october august october november acknowledgements the authors are grateful to prof. xin-hu guo for checking the specimens and reviewing the description of this new species. the authors also like to thank miss xu xiao-ming for drawing the botanical illustration. this study was supported by key foundation of education department of anhui province (kj2011a129), provincial key laboratory of biotic environment and ecological safety in anhui (2004sys003), science research foundation of guangxi institute of botany (guizhiye11003), the guangxi natural science foundation (2011gxnsfb018050), guangxi key laboratory of functional phytochemicals research and utilization (zrjj2012-9) and west light foundation of the chinese academy of sciences. references clarke, c.b. 1888. hooker's icones plantarum; or figures, with brief descriptive characters and remarks of new or rare plants, 18, sub t. 1798. huang, y.s., xu, w.b., peng, r.c. and liu, y. 2011. a new variety of hemiboea (gesneriaceae) from limestone areas in guangxi, china. taiwania 56(3): 240-243. li, z.y. 1983. taxa nova hemiboeae (gesneriaceae). acta phytotax. sin. 21(2): 194-203. li, z.y. 1987. a study of the genus hemiboea (gesneriaceae). acta phytotax. sin. 25(2): 81-92. li, z.y. 1996. the geographical distribution on the subfamily cyrtandroideae endl. emend. burtt (gesneriaceae). acta phytotax. sin. 34(4): 341-360. li, z.y. 2004. metabriggsia and hemiboea. in: li, z.y. and wang, y.z. (eds), plants of gesneriaceae in china. henan science and technology publishing house, zhengzhou, pp. 122-153. pan, b., wu, w.h. and xu, w.b. 2012. hemiboea pseudomagnibracteata (gesneriaceae), a new species from guangxi, china. taiwania 57(2): 188-192. wang, w.t. 1983. genus novum gesneriacearum e guangxi. guihaia 3(1): 1-6. wang, w.t. 1990. gesneriaceae. in: wang, w.t. (ed.), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae 69. science press, beijing, pp. 125-581. hemiboea roseoalba, a new species from china 177 wang, w.t., pan, k.y., li, z.y., weitzman, a.l. and skog, l.e. 1998. gesneriaceae. in: wu, z.h. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china, vol. 18. science press, beijing; missouri botanical garden press, saint louis. weber, a., wei, y.g., sontag, s. and möller, m. 2011. inclusion of metabriggsia into hemiboea (gesneriaceae). phytotaxa 23: 37-48. wei, y.g. and wen h.q. 1995. two new species from guangxi. guihaia 15: 216–219. wei, y.g., wen, f., möller, m., monro, a. and cui, c. 2010. metabriggsia and hemiboea. in: wei, y.g., wen, f., möller, m., monro, a., zhang, q., gao, q., mou, h.f., zhong, s.h. and cui, c. (eds), gesneriaceae of south china. guangxi science and technology publishing house, nanning, pp. 174-216. weitzman, a.l., skog, l.e., wang, w.t., pan, k.y. and li, z.y. 1997. new taxa, new combination, and notes on chinese gesneriaceae. novon 7: 423-435. wen, f., tang, w.x. and wei, y.g. 2011. hemiboea angustifolia (gesneriaceae), a new species endemic to a tropical limestone area of guangxi, china. phytotaxa 30: 53-59. xu, w.b., wu, w.h., nong, d.x. and liu, y. 2010. hemiboea purpurea sp. nov. (gesneriaceae) from a limestone area in guangxi, china. nordic j. bot. 28(3): 313-315. xu, w.b., huang, y.s., peng r.c. and zhuang x.y. 2012. hemiboea sinovietnamica sp. nov. (gesneriaceae) from a limestone area along the boundary of sino-vietnam. nordic j. bot. 30(6): 691-695. (manuscript received on 24 february 2013; revised on 29 august 2013) − from the chief editor’s desk on the celebration of 20 years’ endeavour to promote research in plant taxonomy plant taxonomy, the oldest branch of botanical science and the mother of all other branches of botany takes pieces of evidence from other branches, like anatomy, cytology, genetics, phytochemistry, reproductive biology, ecology, physiology, molecular biology, biodiversity, and environmental science. hence taxonomy is now a very dynamic and synthetic science. with the expansion of the field of taxonomic research, the taxonomists now need to work more and on diverse subjects. for better contribution to the scientific world and to the nation they should come together, be together and work together. with the increase in the number of plant taxonomists in bangladesh, they felt to come on a common platform to render better service to the nation. professor a.b.m. enayet hossain initiated a proposal to form an association of practicing plant taxonomists of bangladesh. this noble proposal was supported by the senior plant taxonomists of the country, like professor md. salar khan, professor a.k.m. nurul islam and others. on the 3rd march 1992, a group of plant taxonomists under the chairmanship of professor md. salar khan, gathered at the bangladesh national herbarium (housed at barc building near farmgate, dhaka) to discuss the formation of an association of plant taxonomists of the country. this resulted in the formation of bangladesh association of plant taxonomists (bapt) with 21 founder life members. the first general meeting of the bapt was held on the 31st december 1992. in the first general meeting, the draft constitution and the first executive committee of the association (1993-1995) with professor md. salar khan as the president were approved. the first volume of the bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy (bjpt) was published in june 1994. since then bapt has been regularly publishing two issues of the journal per year. the present volume of bjpt is the 20th volume, which indicates its regular publication as well as the continuity of the valuable contributions to plant taxonomy and biodiversity research. since the publication of the first volume, bjpt has gradually earned its reputation with significant impact factor and has been able to attract foreign authors to publish their valuable work in this journal. volume 1 (numbers 1 & 2) of the bjpt which was published in 1994 contained in total 14 articles by bangladeshi authors and based on bangladeshi materials in 179 pages without any coverage by abstracting agencies. at the end of 20 years, volume 20 (numbers 1 & 2) of the bjpt that has just been published (2013) contains a total of 30 articles of which 22 are by authors from around the globe. the journal is now covered by all leading abstracting agencies and enjoys isi impact factor. this outstanding transformation was only possible due to the able leadership from the editors of bjpt. the first chief editor of bjpt was professor md. salar khan who continued till his death in 2002 [volume 1 9(1)]. professor khan was followed by professor a.k.m. nurul islam who continued to render his service as the chief editor till his demise in 2006 [volume 9(2) 13(1)]. volumes 13(2) and 14(1 & 2) of bjpt were published under the chief editorship of professor a.b.m. enayet hossain. the present chief editor had to take the responsibility in 2008. the current reputation of bjpt is due to the cumulative efforts given by all its chief editors, members of editorial board and the executive editors − dr. haseeb md. irfanullah (volumes 13-16) and professor md. oliur rahman (volume 17 to date). the journal would not achieve its present status without the support rendered by the reviewers, and of course the heart of the journal − the authors from bangladesh and abroad. i sincerely offer my gratefulness to all of them. it was only in 2007, bjpt was first indexed by the institute of scientific information (isi) and the first isi impact factor was received in 2010. research papers exclusively authored by foreign authors first appeared in 2007, the number is gradually increasing every year. i sincerely thank all foreign authors (previous and present) for selecting bjpt to publish their valuable research works and hope that they will continue in keeping trust on bjpt. at the time of celebrating 20 years’ of publication of bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy, i remember the valuable contributions of professor md. salar khan and professor a.k.m. nurul islam, and pray for their departed souls. professor dr. md. abul hassan chief editor bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy microsoft word 09. seed germinaion_final 4-6-14 r.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 71-76, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists seed germination behaviour of six medicinal plants from bangladesh aleya ferdousi, md. oliur rahman1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: medicinal plants; seed germination; bangladesh. abstract this paper focuses on seed germination of six indigenous medicinal plants of bangladesh, namely adenanthera pavonina l., helicteres isora l., murraya paniculata (l.) jack, psoralea corylifolia l., uraria lagopodioides (l.) desv. and u. picta (jacq.) desv. ex dc. the minimum days taken to germinate seeds in adenanthera pavonina l., murraya paniculata (l.) jack, psoralea corylifolia l., uraria lagopodioides (l.) desv. and u. picta (jacq.) desv. ex dc. are 12, 36, 10, 39 and 14, respectively. seeds were not germinated in helicteres isora l. indicating that seeds are not suitable for propagation, however, propagation through stem cutting in this species revealed that plants flowers and set fruits in the same year and take only six to seven months. epigeal type of seed germination was observed in all cases. introduction medicinal plants play an important role in human life since they are employed as raw materials for the extraction of active constitution in pure form, as precursor for synthetic vitamins and steroids, and as preparations for herbal and indigenous medicines (de padua et al., 1999). yusuf et al. (2009) documented 747 species of medicinal plants occurring in bangladesh. adenanthera pavonina l., helicteres isora l., murraya paniculata (l.) jack, psoralea corylifolia l., uraria lagopodioides (l.) desv. and u. picta (jacq.) desv. ex dc. are six important medicinal plants commonly found in the country and used in traditional medicine. seeds of adenanthera pavonina l. (fabaceae) are used in the treatment of boils, inflammation, cholera and paralysis (ghani, 2003). leaf paste of helicteres isora l. (sterculiaceae) is used in the treatment of eczema, while stem bark and roots are considered to be demulcent, expectorant, astringent and antigalactagogue, and are employed for treating dysentery, diarrhoea and biliousness (ghani, 2003). leaves of murraya paniculata (l.) jack (rutaceae) are astringent, and used in diarrhoea and dysentery; a decoction of leaves is taken in dropsy and powdered leaf is applied to fresh cuts (yusuf et al., 2009). psoralea corylifolia l. (fabaceae) is claimed to be useful in skin disorders, eczema and hair loss; fruits are laxative, aphrodisiac and are used for the treatment of leucoderma and leprosy; while seeds are used as laxative, diaphoretic, stomachic and anthelmintic (ghani, 2003). uraria lagopodioides (l.) desv. is used in remittent fever, asthma, dysentery and for treatment of inflammation in chest. decoction of leaves is used in diarrhoea (yusuf et al., 2009). u. picta (jacq.) desv. ex dc. a source of antiseptic and leaves are used in gonorrhoea; roots are aphrodisiac and decoction of roots is used in fever and cough (yusuf et al., 2009). the germination response pattern of seeds is an important phenomenon in plant life history strategy (mayer and poljakoff-mayber, 1989). in the recent past studies on seed germination and reproductive biology on different groups of plants have received considerable attention (chauhan and johnson, 2008; liebst and schneller, 2008; vandelook and van assche, 2009; clements et al., 2010; han and long, 2010; kameneva and koksheeva, 2013), however, very little is known on 1corresponding author. e-mail: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 72 ferdousi et al. the seed germination pattern of medicinal plants (hassan and fardous, 2003; liza et al., 2010; rahman et al., 2012). since medicinal plants are employed for primary healthcare system, emphasis to be given on seed germination patterns of medicinal plants, as in many cases they need to bring under cultivation. however, no earlier study has surveyed germination patterns in the medicinal plants employed in the present study. therefore, the objective of the present work is to explore seed germination pattern and dormancy of seeds in adenanthera pavonina l., helicteres isora l., murraya paniculata (l.) jack, psoralea corylifolia l., uraria lagopodioides (l.) desv. ex dc. which might help in bringing the plants under cultivation. materials and methods six medicinally important plants selected for this study are adenanthera pavonina l., helicteres isora l., murraya paniculata (l.) jack, psoralea corylifolia l., uraria lagopodioides (l.) desv. and u. picta (jacq.) desv. ex dc. plants materials were collected from different areas of the country and planted in the botanical garden of dhaka university for closer observation and critical study. the voucher specimens are deposited in dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). seeds of six species were collected from mature fruits and preserved under laboratory condition. rahman et al. (2012) was followed for seed germination experiment. for sowing of the seeds earthen pots of 10 inch in diameter filled up with a mixture of soil and compost (2:1). in order to prevent fungal infection and microbial contamination seeds were treated with fungicides prior to sowing. ten mature seeds for each taxon were sown in earthen pots at different time intervals to record dormancy and viability, suitable time for germination, percentage and type of germination. propagation through stem cutting was performed in helicteres isora as seeds were not germinated in this species. result and discussion seed germination study on six species revealed that seeds of helicteres isora did not germinate, while seeds of the remaining five species, viz., adenanthera pavonina, murraya paniculata, psoralea corylifolia, uraria lagopodioides (l.) desv. and u. picta germinated. results of seed germination in adenanthera pavonina, murraya paniculata and psoralea corylifolia, uraria lagopodioides and u. picta are presented in table 1. the minimum days taken for germination of seeds in adenanthera pavonina are 12 and the suitable time for seed sowing is april when the germination rate is the highest. seeds of murraya paniculata required minimum 36 days to germinate and the germination rate is found to be higher in april. in psoralea corylifolia seeds were sown in different months but the highest percentage of seed germination was noted in july and the best time for seed sowing for this species is june. the minimum days taken to germinate the seeds were 10. the present study reveals that in uraria picta seeds sown after collection in december (12.12.2011) did not germinate, whereas seeds sown in mid of april (15.4.12) took 14 days indicating the minimum time for its germination. it is evident that in uraria lagopodioides seeds sown after collection in december (12.12.2011) were not germinated as well. the minimum days required for seed germination in this species is 39 when seeds sown near mid april (table 1). seed germination of six medicinal plants 73 table 1. results of seed germination of five species of medicinal plants. species date of seed collection date of seed sowing no. of seeds sown no. of seeds germinated days taken to germinate % of germination 4.3.2011 10 4 42-45 40% 25.3.2012 10 6 15 60% adenanthera pavonina l. 19.12.2010 15.4.2012 10 10 12 100% 1.2.2012 10 2 42 20% 27.2.2012 10 2 36 20% murraya paniculata (l.) jack 29.1.2012 13.3.2012 10 3 38 30% 5.5.2012 10 2 12 20% 19.6.2012 10 4 10-17 40% psoralea corylifolia l. 5.5. 2012 14.9.2012 10 2 13 20% 12.12.2011 10 0 1.1. 2012 10 0 14.2.2012 10 1 80 10% uraria lagopodioides (l.) desv. 29.11. 2011 12.4.2012 10 1 39 10% 12.12.2011 10 0 1.1. 2012 10 0 27.2.2012 10 1 33 10% u. picta (jacq.) desv. ex dc. 7.12. 2011 15.4.2012 10 1 14 10% in helicteres isora, seeds were not germinated indicating that they are not suitable for propagation through seeds. consequently other mode of propagation like stem cutting was done for this species. table 2 shows result of stem cutting experiment for helicteres isora. the result indicates that helicteres isora can be propagated by stem cutting. therefore, propagation should be done by stem cutting method. the study also indicates that plant from stem cutting takes only 5-6 months to flowers and set fruits. the development of seedlings from seeds/ stem cutting up to maturity in the taxa studied is displayed in plate 1. table 2. result of stem cutting experiment in helicteres isora l. date of stem cutting length of the stems (cm) date of leaf bud formation time taken to appear leaf bud (days) average time (days) date of flowering date of fruit formation 25 18.5.2012 32 29.9.2012 22.10.2012 25 18.5.2012 32 3.10.2012 1.11.2012 25 22.5.2012 36 died died 17.4.2012 25 25.5.2012 38 34.5 died died 74 ferdousi et al. plate 1. development stages of six medicinal plants. a-d adenanthera pavonina (a. seeds; b. seedling; c. mature plants with flowering stage; d. fruiting stage). e-h murraya paniculata (e. seeds; f. seedling; g. mature plants with flowering stage; h. fruits). i-l psoralea corylifolia (i. seeds; j. seedling; k. mature plants with flowering stage; l. fruits). m-p uraria lagopodioides (m. seeds; n. seedling; o. mature plants with flowering stage; p. fruiting stage). qt uraria picta (q. seeds; r. seedling; s. mature plants with flowering stage; t. fruiting stage). u-x helicteres isora (u. stem cuttings; v. initiation of leaves; w. flowering; x. fruiting stage). seed germination of six medicinal plants 75 in the present study we investigated seed germination of six medicinal plants. the present study reveals that epigeal germination is found in adenanthera pavonina, murraya paniculata, psoralea corylifolia, uraria lagopodioides and u. picta, whereas seeds of helicteres isora failed to germinate. time taken by the seeds to germinate varies from 10 days in psoralea corylifolia to 80 days in uraria lagopodioides (table 1). important factors controlling the variation in seed dormancy within species include the environment of the mother plant during the time of seed maturation and environmental conditions (liebst and schneller, 2008). certain environmental conditions may be required to break dormancy, and other conditions are often required to permit germination after dormancy is broken (foley, 2001). seeds of many species require days, weeks, or months at low temperatures to break dormancy (bewley and black, 1994; vleeshouwers et al., 1995), whereas others require warm temperatures for after-ripening to germinate when permissive conditions arrive (baskin and baskin, 1972). in the present study it required around two weeks to break the seed dormancy in psoralea corylifolia, whereas, in uraria lagopodioides it took one to three months to break the dormancy. the environmental factors that could affect seed dormancy are time of seed harvest, length of seed storage, relative humidity and photoperiod (baskin and baskin, 1973). in this study seeds of different taxa were not collected at the same time because of the differences in the period of seed production among the taxa. therefore, the level of dormancy observed may be affected by environmental factors. the level of dormancy observed may be affected by environmental factors. the number of days for germination is related to the size of seeds, the largest seeds germinated faster than the smaller seeds (gerry and wilson, 1995). however, our results were found incongruent with gerry and wilson (1995). since different environmental factors affect on seed germination therefore it is necessary to carry out a detailed study considering the factors that might through more light on germination patterns which are considered to be of taxonomic importance (vogel, 1980). references baskin, j.m. and baskin, c.c. 1972. ecological life cycle and physiological ecology of seed germination of arabidopsis thaliana. can. j. bot. 50: 353-360. baskin, j.m. and baskin, c.c. 1973. plant population differences in dormancy and germination characteristics of seeds: heredity or environment? am. midl. nat. 90: 493-498. beweley, j.d. and black, m. 1994. dormancy and the control of germination. seeds: physiology of development and germination. 2nd ed. plenum, new york. chauhan, b.s. and johnson, d.e. 2008. influence of environmental factors on seed germination and seedling emergence of eclipta (eclipta prostrata) in a tropical environment. weed sci. 56: 383-388. clements, c.d., harmon, d. and young, j.a. 2010. diffuse knapweed (centaurea diffusa) seed germination. weed science 58: 369-373. de padua, l.s., bunyapraphatsara, n. and lemmens, r.h.m.j., 1999. plant resources of south-east asia, no. 12(1). medicinal and poisonous plants 1. backhuys publishers, leiden, the netherlands. 711 pp. foley, m.e. 2001. seed dormancy: an update on terminology, physiological genetics, and quantitative trait loci regulating germinability. weed sci. 49: 305-317. gerry, a.k. and wilson, s.d. 1995. the influence of initial size on the competitive responses of six plant species. ecology 76: 272-279. ghani, a. 2003. medicinal plants of bangladesh with chemical constituents and uses (second edition). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 603 pp. 76 ferdousi et al. han, c.-y. and long, c.-l. 2010. seed dormancy, germination and storage behavior of magnolia wilsonii (magnoliaceae), an endangered plant in china. acta bot. yun. 32(1): 47-52. hassan, m.a. and fardous, z. 2003. seed germination, pollination and phenology of gloriosa superba l. (liliaceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 95-97. kameneva, l.a. and koksheeva, i.m. 2013. reproductive biology of seven taxa of magnolia l. in the south of russian far east. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 163-170. liebst, b. and schneller, j.s. 2008. seed dormancy and germination behavior in two euphrasia species (orobanchaceae) occurring in the swiss alps. bot. j. linn. soc. 156: 649-656. liza, s.a., rahman, m.o., uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and begum, m. 2010. reproductive biology of three medicinal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 69-78. mayer, a.m. and poljakoff-mayber, a. 1989. the germination of seeds. pergamon press, new york, ny. rahman, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2012. seed germination of two medicinal plants: desmodium pulchellum (l.) benth. and d. triflorum (l.) dc. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 209-212. yusuf, m., chowdhury, j.u., haque, m.n. and begum, j., 2009. medicinal plants of bangladesh. bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research, chittagong, bangladesh. vandelook, f. and van assche, j.a. 2009. temperature conditions control embryo growth and seed germination of corydalis solida (l.) clairv., a temperate forest spring geophyte. plant biology 11: 899-906. vleeshouwers, l.m., bouwmeester, h.j. and karssen, c.m. 1995. redefining seed dormancy: an attempt to integrate physiology and ecology. j. ecol. 83:1031-1037. vogel, e.f. 1980. morphological types in dicot seedlings with reference to their origin. bulletin de la societe botunique de france 126(3): 173-182. (manuscript received on 2 september 2013; revised on 20 may 2014) microsoft word 02. sonerila_final_10jun15.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 9–15, 2015 (june) © 2015 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists   sonerila gadgiliana, a new scapigerous species of melastomataceae from india m.k. ratheesh narayanan, m. sivadasan1,2, c.n. sunil3, m.k. nandakumar4, t. shaju5, a.h. alfarhan2 and a.s.m. amal tamimi6 department of botany, payyanur college, edat p.o., kannur 670 327, kerala, india keywords: kerala; melastomatoideae; new species; sonerileae. abstract sonerila gadgiliana, a new species collected from high altitude moss-covered dripping rocks of grassland-shola margins in wayanad district, kerala, india is described and illustrated. the species resembles s. raghaviana ratheesh et al., s. rotundifolia bedd. and s. veldkampiana ratheesh et al., but differs from leaf, inflorescence, peduncle, hypanthium, petal, anther, capsule and seed characteristics. introduction the melastomataceae jussieu is a large family of about 188 genera with around 5,100 species, mainly distributed in tropics and also in subtropics, out of which about 1,550 species occur in the old world (stevens, 2012). the members of this family are easily recognized among dicots by having leaves with a characteristic acrodromous venation (hickey, 1973) and numerous small, exalbuminous seeds. the family appears to be the largest clade of flowering plants characterized by this type of venation; only a few isolated taxa, e.g. heterocentron hook. & arn., sonerila roxb., loreya nigricans triana and macairea rufescens dc. have pinnate venation (renner, 1993; clausing and renner, 2001). the tribe sonerileae (melastomatoideae) occurs mainly in southeast asia and madagascar, with a few species in the neotropics (renner, 1993). most of the asiatic sonerileae species belong to the taxonomically very poorly understood genus sonerila, represented by caulescent and acaulescent herbaceous plants of shady habitats, often with basal rosettes of large, somewhat turgescent leaves, sometimes with tubers. uniparous (scorpioid) cymes are particularly frequent in sonerileae as commonly seen in sonerila. lundin and nordenstam (2009) estimated the genus to have about 175 species distributed from sri lanka and india to the indo-pacific (cellinese, 1997). subsequent to later publications of additional new species, the genus is now with about 180 species and represents the largest and the only consistently trimerous genus in sonerileae (except for the monotypic stussenia c. hansen and lithobium bongard) with the flowers having one or rarely two whorls of stamens, and as such easily differentiated. clarke (1879) in hooker’s flora of british india recognized 43 species of sonerila and provided names of three doubtful species. out of the 43 species, eight species were treated as “stemless or almost stemless species” and only three, viz. s. wallichii benn., s. scapigera dalzell 1corresponding author. e-mail: drmsivadasan@gmail.com 2 department of botany & microbiology, college of science, king saud university, p.o. box 2455, riyadh 11451, kingdom of saudi arabia 3department of botany, s.n.m .college, maliankara p.o., ernakulam 683 516, kerala, india 4m.s. swaminathan research foundation, puthoorvayal p.o., wayanad 673 121, kerala, india 5jawaharlal nehru tropical botanic garden and research institute, palode p.o., thiruvananthapuram 695 562, kerala, india 6department of biology, college of science, princess nora bint abdulrahman university, p.o. box 87991, riyadh 11652, kingdom of saudi arabia 10 ratheesh narayanan et al.   and s. rotundifolia bedd. were from peninsular india. gamble (1919) also recognized the above three acaulescent species among the total 13 species of sonerila in his flora of the presidency of madras. lundin (1998) made an extensive study of melastomataceae with special emphasis on sonerila of south india after his taxonomic study of the genus in ceylon (lundin, 1983). after gamble’s (1919) treatment, many new species were described and the genus is presently represented by about 50 species in india with high species diversity in the western ghats having 33 species and two varieties (nayar, 1976; giri and nayar, 1985, 1986a, b, c, 1987a, b; prakash and mehrotra, 1988; gopalan and henry, 1989; giri et al., 1992; ravikumar, 1999; murugan and manickam, 2002; josephine et al., 2003; lundin and nordenstam, 2009; murugesan and balasubramaniam, 2011; ratheesh narayanan et al., 2013, 2014; deepthikumary and pandurangan, 2014; sunil et al., 2014). during the field exploration for systematic studies in sonerila of the western ghats, an interesting scapigerous herb was collected from banasuramala, wayanad district, kerala, at altitude about 1700 m. detailed observations and study revealed its novelty and distinctness from the hitherto known species, and is described and illustrated here as a new species. sonerila gadgiliana ratheesh & sivadasan, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: sonerila gadgiliana differs from sonerila rotundifolia by having inflorescence with up to 12 flowers, an obscurely ridged hypanthium with sparsely glandular hairs, deeply cordate anthers, and tubercled seeds, and from s. veldkampiana ratheesh et al. by having angular glandular hairy peduncle, sparsely glandular hairy hypanthium, petals with 2–4 glandular hairs along the midvein on abaxial side, shortly acuminate non-beaked anthers, and glandular hairy capsule. the new species differs from s. raghaviana ratheesh et al. by having sparsely glandular hairy plants with non-overlapping basal-lobed green leaves, usually 2 inflorescences per plant, and seeds with prominent raphe. types: india, kerala: wayanad district, banasuramala, moss-covered moist rocks in grassland-shola margins, about 1700 m, 16 sep 2012, m.k. ratheesh narayanan mssh 2388 (holotype: cal; isotypes: mh, tbgt). paratypes: india, kerala: wayanad district, kurichiarmala, about 1600 m, 18 aug 2014, m.k. ratheesh narayanan & m.k. nandakumar mssh 1966 (tbgt). scapigerous herbs, attaining up to 15 cm high; rhizome small, up to 0.5 cm diameter, orbicular, white. leaves radical, 3–5; petiole 3.5–5.5 cm long, adaxially grooved, glabrous; lamina ovate, 5–6 × 4–6 cm, base cordate, without overlapping margins, green with pink tinge below, leathery, margins distantly serrate, acute to shortly acuminate at apex, hairy above, glabrous below, pinnately veined, main nerves 3 pairs from base, prominent below, pinkish. inflorescence unbranched scorpioid cyme, usually 2 per plant, 6–12-flowered; peduncle quadrangular, 8–15 cm long, sparsely hairy, hairs gland-tipped, light green; bract and bracteoles not prominent. flowers 3-merous, light pink, pedicel angular, 0.4−0.5 cm long, longer than hypanthium, sparsely glandular hairy, light pink with green tinge; hypanthium c. 0.3 cm long, light pink with green tinge, glandular hairy, obscurely ridged. calyx lobes 3, c. 0.1 cm long, broadly triangular, glabrous, greenish. petals 3, elliptic to broadly obovate, pink, 0.5–0.6 × 0.4–0.5 cm, glabrous, shortly acute, mucronate at apex, midrib prominent with 2–4 glandular hairs on abaxial side. stamens 3; filaments c. 0.3 mm long, filiform, glabrous, pinkish; anthers yellow, cordate at base, shortly acuminate at apex, non-beaked, glabrous. style 0.7–0.8 cm long, deep pinkish at base; stigma capitate, glabrous. capsules obcampanulate, pedicellate, 0.3–0.4 cm long, sparsely glandular hairy, green with pink tinge. seeds many, minute, tubercled, greenish yellow, broadly oblong, raphe prominent, non-excurrent. sonerila gadgiliana, a new species 11   fig. 1. sonerila gadgiliana ratheesh & sivadasan, sp. nov. a. habit; b. flower bud; c. mature flower; d. single petal abaxial side; e. stamen; f. young fruit; g. seed. (drawings by t. shaju from live specimens) phenology: flowering commences from early july with peak in august; fruiting during august–september. 12 ratheesh narayanan et al.   fig. 2. sonerila gadgiliana ratheesh & sivadasan, sp. nov. a. habit; b. plant with inflorescence; c. leaves; d. single flower; e. flowers, flower buds and young fruit; f. single flower and fruits mature and young. sonerila gadgiliana, a new species 13   comparison of morphological characters of sonerila gadgiliana and the related species are provided in table 1. table 1. comparison of characters of sonerila gadgiliana sp. nov. and related species. characters sonerila gadgiliana sp. nov. s. raghaviana s. rotundifolia s. veldkampiana habitat shady wet rocks along shola margins open grasslands shady moist rocky places exposed rocky grasslands leaf 4−6 cm wide, green, basal lobes not overlapping, 8−10nerved, 3 pairs of nerves arising from base and 1 or 2 pairs from the midrib, sparsely glandular hairy above, glabrous below 3–6 cm wide, brownish, basal lobes overlapping; 14nerved, 3 pairs of nerves arising from base of the leaf and 4 pairs from the midrib, densely hairy above, sparsely hairy below 1.5–3.0 cm wide, pinkish, basal lobes not overlapping, 3 or 4 pairs of nerves from near the base, glabrous on both sides 5–7 cm wide, pinkish, basal lobes overlapping, 12-nerved, 4 pairs of nerves arising from base and 2 pairs from the midrib, sparsely hairy on both sides inflorescence usually 2 per plant, unbranched scorpioid cymes with about 6−12 flowers usually 5 or 6 per plant, unbranched scorpioid cymes with more than 12 flowers usually 1, unbranched scorpioid cymes with 1−4 flowers usually 1−3 per plant, branched or unbranched scorpioid cymes with about 35 flowers peduncle quadrangular, up to 15 cm long, sparsely glandular hairy quadrangular, up to 15 cm long, densely glandular bristly angular, up to 8 cm long, sparsely nonglandular hairy terete, up to 30 cm long, glabrous bract not prominent not prominent not prominent prominent, persistent, linear lanceolate hypanthium obscurely ridged, sparsely glandular hairy obscurely ridged, densely glandular bristly not ridged, glabrous obscurely ridged, glabrous petals 5−6 mm long, elliptic to obovateacuminate, 2−4 glandular hairs on the midrib below 7−9 mm long, broadly obovate, 3−5 glandular hairs on the midrib below 8−9 mm long, orbicularobovate, glabrous 9−10 mm long, broadly obovate, glabrous anthers shortly acuminate, non-beaked, deeply cordate at base shortly acuminate, non-beaked, deeply cordate at base shortly acuminate, nonbeaked, truncate at base long acuminate, beaked, deeply cordate at base capsule obcampanulate, crowned by a narrow margin, sparsely glandular hairy obcampanulate, crowned by a broad margin, densely bristly hemispheric, crowned by a narrow margin, glabrous obcampanulate, crowned by a broad margin, glabrous seeds minutely tubercled; raphae non-excurrent prominently tubercled; raphae not prominent not tubercled; raphae nonexcurrent minutely tubercled; raphae sub-excurrent 14 ratheesh narayanan et al.   etymology: the epithet is named in honour of prof. madhav dhananjaya gadgil, a renowned indian ecologist, in recognition of his valuable research on ecology of western ghats and contributions to conservation of biodiversity. distribution and habitat: sonerila gadgiliana grows on high altitude moss-covered moist rocks in grassland-shola margins at altitudes of 1600–1700 m in contrast to s. raghaviana which grows in open grasslands. it is known only from the banasuramala-kurichiarmala hill ranges of the wayanad district, kerala. small populations of this species are distributed at shady sholagrassland merging areas of the locality. the species appears during the onset of the south-west monsoon (june–july). some of the associated species are argostemma courtallense arn., eria nana a. rich., impatiens lawsonii hook. f., i. scapiflora b. heyne ex roxb., peristylus spiralis a. rich. and strobilanthes sp. conservation status: only two well-separated populations of the species were noticed, one in kurichiarmala and the other in banasuramala at altitudes of 1600−1700 m and each population was with less than 50 individuals. both the habitats were interspersed with patches of grasslands rendering the populations prone to forest fire. effective efforts are essential to protect the existing populations. in the absence of any detailed observations and data on populations, the species is categorized as ‘data deficient’ (dd) (iucn, 2012). acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the president and principal of the payyanur college, payyanur; manager, s.n.m. college, maliankara; director, m.s. swaminathan research foundation (mssrf), chennai; and the director, jawaharlal nehru tropical botanic garden and research institute, thiruvananthapuram. sincere thanks are expressed to dr. j.f. veldkamp, for critical remarks on the manuscript, and to ms. v. mini, mr. prajeesh parameshwaran, mr. jayesh p. joseph and mr. k.t. satheesh of the community agrobiodiversity centre, mssrf, wayanad for their help. the second and sixth authors thankfully acknowledge the encouragements and support extended by the deanship of scientific research, king saud university, through the research group project no. rgp-vpp-135. references cellinese, n. 1997. a new sonerila (melastomataceae) from central kalimantan, borneo. novon 7: 103– 105. clarke, c.b. 1879. sonerila. in: hooker, j.d. 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(manuscript received on 6 march 2015; revised on 3 may 2015) microsoft word sc-5. lectotypification of dioscorea_galley proof_approved 13.6.15.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 87-89, 2016 (june) short communication © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists lectotypification of dioscorea zingiberensis (dioscoreaceae), an endemic species from china ravikiran s. pagare1, arisdason wilson2 and malapati k. janarthanam department of botany, goa university, goa 403206, india keywords: dioscorea; lectotype; syntype; china. wright (1903) described dioscorea zingiberensis (sect. stenophora uline), a species endemic to china, based on the collections from ichang, china. the specimens studied, annotated and listed in the protologue by the author are: ichang: a. henry 407, 1520, 1621! the syntypes are housed at k and bm. at bm, except a. henry 1621 (bm-000958177, image!), the other syntypes could not be traced, however, the specimens bearing the same collector’s name and field numbers a. henry 407, 1520, 1621! could be located at cal. among the all syntypes, the specimen, viz. ichang and immediate neighbourhood, 02/1887, a. henry, 1520 at k [http://specimens.kew.org/herbarium/k000098098] has been selected here as the lectotype for the name. uline who studied its duplicate specimens at b (b-10 0296760, image!) annotated it as dioscorea henryi uline, probably on 6 april 1891, but did not publish the name. later diels (1900) published the name dioscorea henryi in bot. jahrb. syst. 29(2): 261. 1900 (nom. nud.), including the same specimen without description. hence, wright must have inscribed “d. henryi uline in engl., jahrb. xxix. p. 261, (nom. nud.)” besides the name d. zingiberensis. dioscorea zingiberensis c.h. wright, j. linn. soc. bot. 36: 93 (1903). (fig. 1). type: china: ichang and immediate neighbourhood, 02/1887, a. henry 1520 (lectotype k000098098, image! designated here).                                                              1corresponding author. email: ravikiranpagare@gmail.com   2botanical survey of india, cgo complex, salt lake city, kolkata 700 064, west bengal, india.   88 pagare et al.   fig. 1. dioscorea zingiberensis c.h. wright (a. henry 1520 [k000098098, image!], k; lectotype) [© rbg, kew]. lectotypification of dioscorea zingiberensis 89   acknowledgements authors are grateful to the board of trustees of royal botanic gardens, kew, for permission to publish the image of the selected lectotype and authorities of cal, for permitting to consult the herbarium. first author is thankful to dr. k.n. gandhi, senior nomenclatural registrar, huh, cambridge, for suggestions and also to ugc-rgnf (2013-14/rgnf-2013-14-sc-goa-44299), for the financial assistance. references diels, f.l.e. 1900. die flora von central-china. bot. jahrb. syst. 29(2): 169–659. wright, c.h. 1903. dioscoreaceae. in: an enumeration of all the plants known from china proper, formosa, hainan, corea, the luchu archipelago, and the island of hongkong together with their distribution and synonymy. j. linn. soc., bot. 36: 90–94. (manuscript received on 1 february 2016; revised on 10 april 2016) microsoft word 10. foliar trichome of croton_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 85-94, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists foliar trichomes of croton l. (euphorbiaceae: crotonoideae) from china and its taxonomic implications huan-fang liu1, yun-fei deng and jing-ping liao key laboratory of plant resources conservation and sustainable utilization, chinese academy of sciences, cn-510650 guangzhou, pr china. keywords: croton; foliar trichome; taxonomy; infrageneric classification. abstract foliar trichomes of 21 species of the genus croton l. from china have been examined using stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. five trichome types characterized by their morphology are identified, viz., stellate, lepidote, simple, dendritic and appressed-rosulate. only stellate trichome is observed in most species, with only six species that are found to maintain two or three trichome types. trichome types and density are useful for species identification and sectional classification for chinese species. based on the trichome types and other morphological characters, 21 chinese species are proposed to be placed in five sections. croton crassifolius belongs to sect. andrichnia; c. cascarilloides belongs to sect. monguia; c. mangelong, c. kongensis, c. laevigatus and c. laniflorus belong to sect. argyrocroton; c. lauioides, c. howii and c. damayeshu belong to sect. adenophylli. the remaining chinese croton species might be placed into sect. croton. a key for chinese croton species based on trichome morphology is provided. introduction croton l. (euphorbiaceae s.s.) is one of the largest genera of flowering plants, with about 1300 species of herbs, shrubs, trees and occasionally lianas that are ecologically prominent and important elements of secondary vegetation in the tropical and subtropical regions worldwide (webster, 1993; radcliffe-smith, 2001). croton belongs to subfamily crotonoideae (apg, 2009; wurdack and davis, 2009), is characterized by mostly lactiferous taxa having pollen with an unusual (crotonoid) exine pattern of triangular supratectal elements attached to a network of muri with short columellae (nowicke, 1994). the synapomorphy that characterizes croton is the inflexed conformation of the tips of the staminal filaments in bud, which causes the anthers to be introrsely inverted until anthesis (berry et al., 2005). because of the large number of species and extensive morphological variation, it has been proved difficult to define and delimit sections and subsections within the genus croton (webster et al., 1996) despite the efforts of many taxonomists (pax and hoffmann, 1931; webster, 1993). webster (1993) established the most recent infrageneric classification, recognizing 40 sections in the genus mainly based on the new world taxa. among them, three were reassigned generic status by radcliffe-smith (2001). webster (1993) pointed out that his treatment of old world taxa was much more cursory than that of new world taxa because of lack of familiarity with the living plants in africa, madagascar and asia. berry et al. (2005) presented a molecular systematic analysis of the genus croton and tribe crotoneae using nrits and trnl-trnf dna sequences data to test the validity of webster’s classification. van ee et al. (2011) revised the infrageneric classification and proposed a new system for new world croton dividing into four subgenera and 31 sections including some species described as new ones. 1corresponding author. email: hfliu@scbg.ac.cn 86 liu et al. trichomes have played an important role in plant taxonomy at generic, infragenetic and specific levels (hardin, 1979; theobald et al., 1979) in groups of wide taxonomic range, such as cuphea p. browne (lythraceae: amarasinghe et al., 1991), stachys l. (lamiaceae: salmaki et al., 2009) and chelonopsis miquel (lamiaceae: xiang et al., 2010). one of the most significant characters for infrageneric classification of croton is the trichome morphology. previous studies showed that trichome types have great variation within croton (webster et al. 1996; de sá-haiad et al., 2009; senakun and chantaranothai, 2010). müller (1866) characterized the taxa as having stellate and lepidote hairs. solereder (1908) and metcalfe and chalk (1950) noted that stellate and lepidote hairs also occur in other genera of subfamily crotonoideae. webster et al. (1996) identified foliar trichome characteristics for 120 species from 36 sections in croton and established the possible evolutionary relationships among the different sections based on trichome characters. senakun and chantaranothai (2010) observed 23 thai species and recognized seven trichome types. in china, 23 species of croton are recorded, including 15 endemic species (li and esser, 2008). among them, only five species are placed in the 40 sections of webster (1993). moreover, foliar trichomes in croton from china are not well-studied. chang (1996) and li and esser (2008) described two main trichome types in chinese croton species, peltate scales [same as lepidote of webster et al. (1996)] and stellate. previously, foliar trichomes of only seven chinese croton species have been observed (webster, 1993; senakun and chantaranothai, 2010). in the present work, we characterize the foliar trichomes of young to mature leaves of 21 species from china, including 15 endemic species. the objectives of this study are to provide descriptions, illustrations, and a survey of the trichomes in these 21 species using stereomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (sem) and to propose the infrageneric classification for chinese species. materials and methods leaf samples of 21 species of croton were obtained from dry specimens deposited at the herbarium of south china botanical garden, chinese academy of sciences (ibsc). both young and mature leaves were observed for each species. two to four samples were examined for each species. a list of investigated materials is given in table 1. density of foliar trichomes was observed under zeiss stemi sv 11 stereomicroscopy, and photographed with an axiocam mrc digital camera. both young and mature leaves were washed in 95% ethanol. whole sections of young leaves and 0.5 × 0.5 cm of mature leaf fragments were bisected and mounted on copper stubs so that both adaxial and abaxial surfaces faced upwards. the mounts were air-dried, and coated with gold in a jfc-1600 sputter coater (jeol ltd, tokyo, japan). observations and digital images were collected with a jeol jsm-6360lv sem (jeol ltd, tokyo, japan). the terminology follows webster et al. (1996) and senakun and chantaranothai (2010). results the main types of the trichomes and their density among the croton species studied are summarized in table 2. selected sem micrographs of trichome types are presented in figure 1. foliar trichomes of 21 chinese croton can be separated into five types; stellate, lepidote, simple, dendritic and appressed-rosulate. glandular trichomes are not observed. type i. stellate trichome. this trichome type is characterized by its star-shaped form in one plane that is usually flattened onto the lamina with 0-30% webbing (webster et al., 1996; senakun and chantaranothai, 2010). two subtypes are observed. subtype ia, appressed-stellate (radii webbed 0-15%), with porrect radius, occurs in c. dinghuensis h.s. kiu, c. euryphyllus w.w. sm., foliar trichomes of croton l. 87 c. lachnocarpus benth. (fig. 1a), c. merrillianus croizat, c. tiglium l., c. yunnanensis w.w. sm., c. chunianus croizat (fig. 1b), c. cnidophyllus radcl.-sm. & govaerts (fig. 1c), c. yanhuii y.t. chang (fig. 1d) and c. crassifolius geiseler (fig. 1e). subtype ib, stellate or stellate-rotate (radii webbed 15-30%) occurs in c. lauioides radcl.-sm. & govaerts (fig. 1f), stellate with porrect radius trichome which occurs in c. howii merr. & chun ex y.t. chang (fig. 1g), and stellate trichome sometimes with porrect radius occurs in c. damayeshu y.t. chang (fig. 1h). table 1. list of croton species used in the present study. species section locality voucher 1. croton cascarilloides raeusch. monguia guangxi x. w. gao 55292 2. *c. chunianus croizat croton hainan k. z. hou 71927 3. *c. cnidophyllus radcl.-sm. & govaerts croton yunnan menglian expedition 9214 4. c. crassifolius geiseler andrichnia guangdong h. g. ye 7742 5. *c. damayeshu y. t. chang adenophylli yunnan h. t. tsai 5003 6. *c. dinghuensis h. s. kiu croton guangdong s. t. lin 30475 7. *c. euryphyllus w.w.sm. croton guangdong h. s. kiu 571 8. *c. hancei benth. croton guangxi c. l. tso 23429 9. *c. howii merr. & chun ex y. t. chang adenophylli hainan l. tang 3303 10. c. kongensis gagnep. argyrocroton hainan z. x. li & f. w. xing 1036 11. c. lachnocarpus benth. croton guangdong b. y. chen 2036 12. *c. laevigatus vahl argyrocroton hainan k. z. hou 73784 13. c. laniflorus geiseler argyrocroton hainan s. h. chun 11196 14. *c. laui merr. & f. p. metcalf croton hainan z. x. li 2540 15. *c. lauioides radcl.-sm. & govaerts adenophylli hainan c. wang 34386 16. *c. mangelong y.t. chang argyrocroton yunnan k. m. feng 20258 17. *c. merrillianus croizat croton hainan c. l. tso 43813 18. *c. purpurascens y.t. chang croton guangdong h. s. kiu 562 19. c. tiglium l. croton guangxi z. s. chung 808393 20. *c. yanhuii y.t. chang croton yunnan w. z. li 85725 21. *c. yunnanensis w.w. sm. croton yunnan department of biology, yunnan university 757 *species endemic to china. type ii. lepidote trichome. the individual lepidote hair resembles an appressed-stellate hair but has radii that are connected by webbing so that the trichome forms a more or less shield-like scale (webster et al., 1996). in our study, this type includes three subtypes. subtype iia, stellate-lepidote (radii webbed 30-50%), sometimes with porrect radius, occurs in c. laevigatus vahl (fig. 1i) and c. laniflorus geiseler. subtype iib, dentate-lepidote (radii webbed 50-80%), sometimes with porrect radius, occurs on the adaxial surface of c. cascarilloides raeusch. (fig. 1j). subtype iic, lepidote-subentire (radii webbed 80-100%) occurs in c. kongensis gagnep., c. mangelong y.t. chang and the abaxial surface of c. cascarilloides (fig. 1k). type iii. simple trichome. this type is stiffly erect, directed upward from an inclined base (payne, 1978). this type is only found in c. crassifolius (fig. 1e). 88 liu et al. foliar trichomes of croton l. 89 90 liu et al. fig. 1. sem micrographs of trichomes in croton: (a) appressed-stellate with porrect radius trichome in c. lachnocarpus on adm; (b) appressed-stellate with porrect radius (ia) and appressed-rosulate (v) trichomes in c. chunianus on aby; (c) appressed-stellate with porrect radius (ia) and dendritic (iv) trichomes in c. cnidophyllus on adm; (d) appressed-stellate with porrect radius (ia) and dendritic (iv) trichomes in c. yanhuii on adm; (e) appressed-stellate with porrect radius (ia), simple (iii) and dendritic (iv) trichomes in c. crassifolius on abm; (f) stellate trichome in c. lauioides on ady; (g) stellate with porrect trichome in c. howii on aby; (h) stellate with sometimes porrect radius (p) trichome in c. damayeshu on aby; (i) stellate-lepidote with sometimes porrect radius (p) trichome in c. laevigatus on aby; (j) dentate-lepidote with sometimes porrect radius (p) trichome in c. cascarilloides on ady; (k) lepidote-subentire trichome in c. cascarilloides on abm; (l) dendritic trichome in c. crassifolius on abm; (m) dendritic trichome in c. lachnocarpus on abm; (n) appressed-rosulate trichome in c. dinghuensis on aby; (o) appressed-rosulate with porrect trichome in c. purpurascens on ady. abm = the abaxial surface of mature leaf; aby = the abaxial surface of young leaf; adm = the adaxial surface of mature leaf; ady = the adaxial surface of young leaf. scale bars = 200 µm (e), 100 µm (a-d, h, j-k, l-m, o), 50 µm (f-g, i, n). foliar trichomes of croton l. 91 type iv. dendritic trichome. this type has the radii inserted at different levels on an axis (webster et al., 1996). dendritic trichome with porrect radius occurs in c. cnidophyllus, c. crassifolius (figs 1e, l), c. lachnocarpus (fig. 1m), c. laui merr. & f.p. metcalf and c. yanhuii (fig. 1d). type v. appressed-rosulate trichome. this type resembles stellate ones, but differs in the larger number of radii that are not all in a single whorl (webster et al., 1996). this type includes appressed-rosulate and appressed-rosulate with porrect radius. appressed-rosulate trichome occurs in c. dinghuensis (fig. 1n) and c. hancei benth. appressed-rosulate trichome with porrect radius occurs in c. chunianus (fig. 1b), c. hancei and c. purpurascens y.t. chang (fig. 1o). density of trichome distribution is variable on different surfaces even within the same species. in general, trichomes are much denser on the abaxial surface than on the adaxial surface. among 21 observed species, six species are glabrous on the adaxial surface even when they are at very young stage: c. chunianus, c. howii, c. laevigatus, c. laniflorus, c. mangelong and c. merrillianus. the density of trichomes decreases drastically with leaf development on both surfaces of c. yunnanensis and on the abaxial surface of c. hancei, c. kongensis, c. laevigatus, c. laui, c. mangelong and c. tiglium. in some species, trichomes are observed on both surfaces when young, but fall off completely on either both surfaces or on a single surface when mature. for example, trichomes fall off completely on both surfaces in c. damayeshu, c. dinghuensis, c. euryphyllus and c. purpurascens, or on the adaxial surface in c. cascarilloides, c. cnidophyllus, c. hancei, c. kongensis and c. laui, or on the adaxial surface in c. chunianus and c. howii. variation in trichome type can be used to differentiate the croton species examined in this study. in most species, only stellate trichome is observed. only six species are found to have two or three trichome types. in c. chunianus, a few appressed-rosulate and few appressed-stellate with porrect radius trichomes are observed on the abaxial surface (fig. 1b) and its adaxial surface is glabrous even very young. in c. cnidophyllus, a few dendritic and few appressed-stellate trichomes occur on the adaxial surface (fig. 1c), and only dendritic trichome occurs on the abaxial surface. in c. crassifolius, three types of trichomes (appressed-stellate with porrect radius, simple and dendritic) are observed on the adaxial leaf surface (fig. 1e), and only dendritic trichome occurs on the abaxial surface (fig. 1l). this species can also be easily distinguished from other chinese croton species by possessing simple trichome which is not found in any other species. in c. dinghuensis, appressed-stellate with porrect radius trichome is found on the adaxial surface and appressed-rosulate trichome is observed on the abaxial surface (fig. 1n). in c. lachnocarpus, it is observed that appressed-stellate with porrect radius trichome occurs on the adaxial surface (fig. 1a) and dendritic trichome occurs on the abaxial surface (fig. 1m). the dendritic with porrect radius trichome type and few appressed-stellate with porrect radius trichomes are found in c. yanhuii (fig. 1d). in addition, two subtypes of trichomes are found in c. cascarilloides; dentate-lepidote trichome sometimes with porrect radius occurs on the adaxial surface (fig. 1j), and leptidote-subentire trichome occurs on the abaxial surface (fig. 1k). discussion among the 21 species we observed, seven species were also observed earlier by webster et al. (1996) and senakun and chantaranothai (2010). compared to their works, trichomes of c. lachnocarpus, c. laevigatus and c. tiglium are characterized as identical to their observation. webster (1993) reported that c. kongensis had stellate trichome and was accordingly placed into sect. cascarilla, but we observed the lepidote-subentire trichome type as observed by senakun and chantaranothai (2010) based on thai material. we cannot discuss more about the differences 92 liu et al. of the observation between our studies and webster (1993), because we did not see the material observed by them. only lepidote-subentire trichome was observed in c. cascarilloides by senakun and chantaranothai (2010), but we find that dentate-lepidote trichome sometimes with porrect radius occurs on the adaxial surface and lepidote-subentire trichome occurs on the abaxial surface. senakun and chantaranothai (2010) observed three types of trichomes (fasciculate, dendritic and glandular) in c. crassifolius, but we find that appressed-stellate with porrect radius, simple, and dendritic trichomes occur on the adaxial surface, and dendritic trichome occurs on the abaxial surface. our observation accords with the previous studies (webster et al., 1996; chayamarit and van welzen, 2005; li and esser, 2008). we could not check their voucher specimen of c. crassifolius observed by senakun and chantaranothai (2010) and therefore presume that their material was misidentified. webster et al. (1996) indicated that the number and length of radii of trichomes could vary considerably on different leaves of a single specimen. it is supported by our observation. it also showed that the number and length of radii vary considerably even on same leaf of a single specimen. for example, it has 6-17 radii, 0.18-1.1 mm in diam. in c. yanhuii (fig. 1d). the foliar trichome is one of the most important characters to define sections in the genus croton (webster, 1993). according to the trichome types and other morphological characters, chinese croton species can be divided into five sections. two species, c. cascarilloides and c. crassifolius, have multifid styles. they can be easily distinguished from each other by foliar trichome type. webster (1993) placed c. crassifolius into sect. croton, which had lepidote trichome. however, c. crassifolius has stellate trichome and it might be a member of sect. andrichnia. webster (1993) uncertainly listed c. cascarilloides under both sect. anisophyllum, having appressed-stellate trichome, and sect. monguia, having lepidote trichome. this is the same as senakun and chantaranothai (2010) observed, c. cascarilloides has lepidote trichome and it is suggested to be placed in sect. monguia. among species with bifid styles, c. mangelong, c. kongensis, c. laevigatus and c. laniflorus are different from other chinese species in having lepidote trichome and belong to sect. argyrocroton which is characterized by the bifid style and lepidote trichomes. croton laevigatus and c. laniflorus were placed by müller (1866) in sect. decapetalon, however, they are not related to the species of sect. decapetalon because they have glands on the leaf blades while eglandular in sect. decapetalon. croton lauioides, c. howii and c. damayeshu have stellate trichome and belong to sect. adenophylli. croton hancei and c. purpurascens with appressed-rosulate trichomes and the remaining chinese croton species having appressed-stellate trichomes might be placed into sect. tiglium according to the classification of webster (1993). however, the correct name for sect. tiglium is sect. croton because the section including c. tiglium, the type of the genus. although webster et al. (1996) superseded small’s (1913) choice of c. tiglium as the lectotype of croton and designated c. aromaticus l., the valid lectotype of the genus is c. tiglium (britton, 1918; van ee and berry, 2010). a key to species of croton from china is provided as follows. 1. with simple trichome c. crassifolius 1. without simple trichome 2. with dentritic trichome 3. only dentritic trichome c. laui 3. with dentritic and appressed-stellate trichome 4. dentritic trichome only on abaxial surface c. lachnocarpus 4. dentritic trichome on both surfaces 5. without appressed-stellate trichome on abaxial surface c. cnidophyllus 5. with appressed-stellate trichome on abaxial surface c. yanhuii foliar trichomes of croton l. 93 2. without dentritic trichome 6. with lepidote trichome 7. with dentate-lepidote trichome c. cascarilloides 7. without dentate-lepidote trichome 8. with lepidote-subentire trichome 9. with lepidote-subentire trichome on the adaxial surface c. kongensis 9. without lepidote-subentire trichome on the adaxial surface c. mangelong 8. without lepidote-subentire trichome 10. stellate-lepidote trichome is intermediate when mature c. laniflorus 10. stellate-lepidote trichome is sparse when mature c. laevigatus 6. without lepidote trichome 11. glabrous on adaxial surface 12. with appressed-rosulate trichome c. chunianus 12. without appressed-rosulate trichome 13. with stellate trichome c. howii 13. without stellate-trichome c. merrillianus 11. with trichome on adaxial surface 14. with appressed-rosulate trichome 15. only appressed-rosulate trichome 16. all trichome fallen down when mature c. purpurascens 16. trichome not fallen down when mature c. hancei 15. with appressed-rosulate and appressed-stellate trichome c. dinghuensis 14. without appressed-rosulate 17. with stellate trichome 18. all trichome fallen down when mature c. damayeshu 18. trichome not fallen down when mature c. lauioides 17. without stellate trichome 19. all trichome fallen down when mature c. euryphyllus 19. trichome not fallen down when mature 20. trichome is dense on adaxial surface when young c. yunnanensis 20. trichome is intermediate on adaxial surface when young c. tiglium acknowledgements this work was supported by the national natural science foundation of china (31200246, 31100240, 31200176), south china botanical garden-shanghai institute of plant physiology & ecology joint fund and the foundation of key laboratory of plant resources conservation and sustainable utilization, south china botanical garden, chinese academy of sciences. we thank the curator of the herbarium, south china botanical garden, chinese academy of sciences (ibsc) for his permission to access their collections. we also thank dr. chelsea specht and dr. yuping lin working in university of california, berkeley for their english revision. references amarasinghe, v., graham, s.a. and graham, a. 1991. trichome morphology in the genus cuphea (lythraceae). bot. gaz. 152: 77-90. apg (angiosperm phylogeny group). 2009. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg iii. bot. j. linn. soc. 161: 105-121. berry, p.e., hipp, a.l., wurdack, k.j., ee, b.v. and riina, r. 2005. molecular phylogenetics of the giant genus croton and tribe crotoneae (euphorbiaceae sensu stricto) using its and trnl-trnf dna sequence data. am. j. bot. 92: 1520-1534. 94 liu et al. britton, n.l. 1918. flora of bermuda. charles scribner’s sons, new york. chang, y.t. 1996. croton. in: kiu, h.s. 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(manuscript received on 12 november 2012; revised on 18 march 2013) microsoft word 11. d rema kalenga_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 83-91, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists determination of informant consensus factor of ethnomedicinal plants used in kalenga forest, bangladesh mohammad zashim uddin1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: determination; medicinal uses; consensus factor; kalenga forest. abstract the present article tried to document the ethnomedicinal uses of plants and determine the consensus factor among villagers of kalenga forest area to evaluate the potential for new drugs of herbal origin. this study was conducted in 2010 using semistructured questionnaire with villagers engaged in the forest management. the present study documented 35 plant species under 25 families for treatment of 11 categories of ailments using 52 medicinal formularies in kalenga forest area. there was great agreement among the informants regarding ethnomedicinal uses of plants with factor of informants consensus (fic) value ranging from 0.50 to 0.95, with an average value of 0.73. the study revealed that most of the informants agreed in the use of litsea glutinosa (lour.) roxb. to treat dysentery (fic 0.95) that showed the highest fidelity level (95.23%). the results of the study also indicated that l. glutinosa might be used for the development of new, cheap, effective, and eco-friendly herbal formulations for healthcare management. villager’s views and our observations confirmed that l. glutinosa is a rare plant in the study area. illegal and unsustainable collection of bark from this tree by the local crude drug traders considered as major causes of its depletion from nature. introduction studies on the ethnomedicinal uses of plants by the local people are often significant because it provides a gateway for the exploration of new drugs source from the herbal origin (teklehaymanot and giday, 2007). right from its beginning, the documentation of traditional knowledge, especially on the medicinal uses of plants, has provided many important drugs of modern day (balick and cox, 1997; flaster, 1996). according to who (2001), 80% of the world population uses natural remedies and traditional medicines for their primary healthcare. documentation of medicinal usages of plants in bangladesh has already been started. some noticeable studies include hassan and khan (1986,1996), mia and huq (1988), khan et al. (2002), uddin and hassan (2004), uddin et al. (2004, 2006, 2012), uddin (2006) and uddin et al. (2008). all such works have listed the medicinal plants of particular area or community with their medicinal uses and none of these studies considered any quantitative consensus technique or ethno-directed technique for the analysis of medicinal uses of plants. in ethno-directed technique, plants are collected, which are used as medicine by the local people living in a specific area, for phytochemical and pharmacological analysis. cox and balick (1994) and cordell (2000) state that this method plays a fundamental role in biodiversity prospecting. proper selection of important plant species is a prerequisite to begin ethno-pharmacological, phytochemical and toxicological studies because of huge laboratory cost (canalesa et al., 2005). for this purpose, it is necessary to determine the species that are most used to treat a particular illness. a useful tool to find a particular species is the informant consensus factor (frei et al., 1998; heinrich et al., 1998). so 1corresponding author. email: zashim07@yahoo.com 84 uddin and hassan the present study was designed to document the medicinal uses of plants and to determine consensus of such uses among the villagers of kalenga forest area, in order to evaluate their potential for new drugs of herbal origin. materials and methods kalenga forest area is located in the eastern part of chunarughat upazila of habiganj district adjacent to the border of tripura state of india and nearly 130 km northeast of dhaka and approximately 80 km southwest of sylhet city. the study area has been described in detail by uddin et al. (2002). the study area was visited four times in different seasons of the year of 2010. voucher specimens for each species have been collected and processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; alexiades, 1996). the specimens were identified consulting different floras, viz., hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), uddin and hassan (2004), siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008a, 2009a,b). plant specimens available at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) have also been consulted for confirmation of identified species. the updated nomenclature of the identified species followed siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008a,b, 2009a,b,c,d). voucher specimens are deposited at dush. ethnomedicinal data has been collected through participatory rural appraisal (pra), which is based on interaction with indigenous people and direct observation in the field (chambers, 1994; martin, 1995). the data have been recorded through semi-structured interviews with villagers engaged in the forest management (alexiades, 1996). a total of 42 people have been interviewed who are involved in forest management system. once, these villagers lived inside the forest. after the declaration of kalenga as a reserved forest they were evacuated from the forest and later forest department resettled them near their office with an agreement between forest department and villagers. they have to stay near forest office and protect forest in exchange of using marginal forest land for agriculture. during the field survey, information on uses of plants to treat different illnesses of human being, parts used, modes of preparation and administration of medicine have been collected. based on the information obtained from the informants in the study area, all the reported ailments have been grouped into 11 categories. the level of homogeneity among information provided by different informants was calculated by the informants’ consensus factor, fic (trotter and logan, 1986) using the following formula: fic = nur – nt / (nur – 1) where, nur = number of use reports from informants for a particular plant-use category; nt = number of taxa or species that are used for that plant use category for all informants. fic values range between 0 and 1, where ‘1’ indicates the highest level of informant consent. the fidelity level (fl), the percentage of informants claiming the use of a certain plant species for the same major purpose, was calculated for the most frequently reported diseases or ailments as: fl (%) = (np / n) × 100 where, np = number of informants that claim a use of a plant species to treat a particular disease; n = number of informants that use the plants as a medicine to treat any given disease (alexiades, 1996). results and discussion in the present study 35 plant species under 25 families in kalenga forest area have been documented for treatment of 11 categories of ailments through 52 medicinal formularies. out of 52 formularies, 45 were of oral application and rest 7 of external applications. among the informant consensus factor of ethnomedicinal plants 85 recorded taxa, herbs are represented by 16 species followed by trees (13) and shrubs (6). for each species botanical name, family, voucher number, local name, ailments to be treated, mode of administration, and part(s) used were recorded (table1). use of plant parts as medicine among the informants shows variations. leaves are mostly used part for majority of the medicinal plants, followed by fruits, bark, stem, petiole, whole plant and root (table 1). similar trend of harvesting leaves for medicinal use has also been reported from lawachara national park (uddin et al., 2012). in the present study area threat to the species is minimal as leaves are the leading plant part used for medicinal purposes. it was observed that the collection of bark as medicinal part from the wild were not sustainable. according to local people, this type of activity is carried out by the collectors related to illegal trade of medicinal plants. litsea glutinosa is vulnerable to this kind of activity in the study area. table 1. documentation of medicinal plants with scientific name, vernacular name, parts used, ailments and mode of administration botanical name/family/ voucher number vernacular name parts used ailments mode of administration averrhoa carambola l. averrhoaceae, z154 kamranga fruits jaundice ripe fruits taken internally azadirachta indica a. juss. meliaceae, z1097 neem leaves allargy small tablets are made from leaf paste and taken internally bulbophyllum lilacinum ridl. orchidaceae, z638 ishwarmul petiole diabetes petiole juice taken internally gastrict pain petiole juice taken internally cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. fabaceae, z1133 orhor leaves jaundice leaf juice taken internally centella asiatica (l.) urban apiaceae, z1112 tunimankuni whole plant dysentry whole plant is taken as juice or paste internally ceriscoides campanulata (roxb.) tirven, rubiaceaen z-1045 behlom fruits jaundice fruits used in curry and taken internally chromolaena odorata (l.) king and rob., asteraceae z-140 pissais leaves cut and wound leaf paste applied externally clerodendrum viscosum vent., verbenaceae, z220 bhat leaves fever and malaria leaf juice taken internally antihelminthes leaf juice taken internally cuscuta reflexa roxb. cuscutaceae, z464 sharnalata stem diarrhoea stem juice taken internally dalbergia sissoo roxb. fabaceae, z190 shishu leaves dysentery leaf juice taken internally datura metel l. solanaceae, z183 dutra leaves allergy leaf juice applied externally dillenia indica l. dilleniaceae, z991 chailta fruits jaundice ripe fruits taken internally 86 uddin and hassan table 1 contd.) dillenia pentagyna roxb. dilleniaceae, z755 harganja bark cut and wound inner bark applied externally eclipta alba (l.) hassk. asteraceae, z1135 kaissa whole plant gastrict pain whole plant juice taken internally glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc., rutaceae, z323 hotigira leaves cut and wound leaf paste applied externally jaundice leaf juice taken internally justicia adhatoda l. acanthaceae, z152 bashak leaves cold and cough leaf juice taken internally fever and malaria leaf juice taken internally impotence leaf juice taken internally jaundice leaf juice taken internally justicia gendarussa burm. f. acanthaceae, z1067 kalobashak leaves fever and malaria leaf juice taken internally leucas aspera (willd.) link. lamiaceae, z1101 dolonshak leaves allergy fried leaf taken internally cold and cough fried leaf taken internally litsea glutinosa (lour.) roxb. lauraceae, z31 menda bark, leaves dysentery juice of both leaf and bark taken internally jaundice juice of both leaf and bark taken internally melocana baccifera (roxb.) kurz, poaceae, z-911 mulibans surface stem surface cut and wound bark powder of stem applied externally mikania cordata (burm. f.) rob., asteraceae, z78 assamilata leaves cut and wound leaf paste applied externally diarrhoea leaf juice taken internally gastrict pain leaf juice taken internally mimosa pudica l. mimosaceae, z80 laizzabati roots diarrhoea root juice taken internally ocimum sanctum l. lamiaceae, z288 tulsi leaves cold and cough leaf juice taken internally oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz bignoniaceae, z431 thona bark, leaves, flowers jaundice taken bark juice and fried leaves and flowers internally paedaria foetida l. rubiaceae, z1116 gandhaveduli leaves diarrhoea leaf juice taken internally persicaria hydropiper ( l.) spach. polygonaceae, z772 bishkatali leaves jaundice leaf juice taken internally phyllanthus emblica l. euphorbiaceae, z-369 amloki fruits fever and malaria ripe fruits taken internally scoparia dulcis l. scrophulariaceae, z-347 bondhania leaves diarrhoea leaf juice taken internally informant consensus factor of ethnomedicinal plants 87 table 1 contd.) smilax macrophylla roxb. smilacaceae, z-1029 kumarilata shoot apex impotence shoot apex taken internally stephania japonica (thunb.) miers, menispermaceae z-315 muchchanilata leaves diarrhoea leaf juice taken internally cut and wound leaf paste applied externally jaundice leaf paste taken internally sterculia villosa roxb. ex smith, sterculiaceae, z-135 udal petiole diarrhoea petiole juice taken internally gastrict pain petiole juice taken internally impotence petiole juice taken internally terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. combretaceae, z-47 arjun bark diabetes bark juice taken internally gastrict pain bark juice taken internally impotence bark juice taken internally t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. combretaceae, z-169 bohera fruits fever and malaria ripe fruits taken internally t. chebula retz. combretaceae, z403 horitaki fruits fever and malaria ripe fruits taken internally jaundice ripe fruits taken internally tinospora cordifolia (willd.) hook. f. & thoms. menispermaceae, z-1071 padmaguruz stem anthelmintic stem juice taken internally fic values were determined to know the agreement among the informants of kalenga forest area for use of plants to treat certain ailment categories. the fic values are presented in the table 2. it is clear that the fic values varied from 0.50 up to 0.95 with an average value of 0.73. dysentery has the highest fic value 0.95 with 40 use-reports for 3 plant species. the species responsible for this high consensus was litsea glutinosa with 40 of the 42 reported events, followed by impotence (fic = 0.89; 30 use-reports, 4 species), cold and cough (fic = 0.86; 16 use-reports, 3 species), malarial fever (fic= 0.85, 35 use reports, 6 species). medicinal plants supposed to be efficient in treating particular ailment have high fic values. the high fic value for dysentery possibly showed that this ailment is common in the study area due to poor sanitation in the region and there is a better communication established among informants for treating this ailment category. high fic values also indicate that the species traditionally used to treat these ailments are worth searching for bioactive compounds. the least agreement (fic=0.50) between the informants was observed for plants used to cure jaundice and as anthelmintic. the low fic value as recorded in our study could be due to a lack of communication among people in different areas. to determine culturally important medicinal species in the society, fidelity level (fl) of plants has been calculated based on use reports which have been cited by ten or more informants for being used against a given ailment. the fl values are presented in table 3. the analysis showed that the highest fl value found in litsea glutinosa followed by andrographis paniculata, 88 uddin and hassan oroxylum indicum, mikania cordata, glycosmis pentaphylla, cajanus cajan and chromolaena odorata. the least fl values were found in the cases of justicia adhatoda and paedaria foetida. fic and fl analyses showed that the most commonly used species in the study area is litsea glutinosa (fic = 0.95) with 40 use-reports and fl value (95.23%). when selecting the most preferred plant species for each ailment category, we took the high fidelity level (%) in each category of ailment. table 2. categories of ailments and informant consensus factor (fic) for each category use categories number of taxa (nt) number of use report (nur) consensus factor dysentery 3 40 0.95 impotence 4 30 0.89 cold and cough 3 16 0.86 malarial fever 6 35 0.85 diabetes 2 8 0.85 gastric pain 2 8 0.85 cut and wound 7 29 0.78 diarrhoea 8 25 0.70 allergy 3 7 0.66 jaundice 15 29 0.50 anthelmintic 2 3 0.50 table 3. most frequently used plants for different ailment categories based on highest fl (%) in each ailment category (total informants = 42). botanical name ailment categories citation for particular disease (use-report) fidelity level (%) litsea glutinosa dysentery 40 95.23 andrographis paniculata malarial fever 33 78.00 oroxylum indicum jaundice 26 61.9 mikania cordata cut and wound 25 59.52 glycomis pentaphylla jaundice 17 40.47 cajanus cajan jaundice 16 38.09 chromolaena odorata cut and wound 15 35.71 justicia adhatoda cold and cough 10 23.80 paedaria foetida diarrhoea 10 23.80 the present work is one of the initial afford to quantify the ethnomedicinal information in bangladesh which provide better option for the selection of widely used medicinal plants for searching bioactive compounds to treat ailments. the study reported 35 medicinal plants with their uses from the kalenga forest area. the efficacy and safety of all the reported ethnomedicinal plants need to be evaluated by phytochemical and pharmacological studies. plants with high informant consensus factor, use report and fidelity level should be given priority to carry out bioassay and toxicity studies. from this study we suggest litsea glutinosa for further ethnopharmacological studies, since this species has the high fic and fl values. the results indicated that this species may be used for the development of new, cheap, effective, and ecoinformant consensus factor of ethnomedicinal plants 89 friendly herbal formulations for healthcare management (cox and balick,1994; balick and cox, 1997; flaster,1996; heinrich, et al.1998; ghorbani, 2005; khafagi and dewedar, 2000). further use of these herbal formulations for healthcare management will require safety and efficacy testing. according to forest villagers and our observations in the field, l. glutinosa is now a very rare plant in the forest area. illegal and unsustainable collection of bark from this tree by the local crude drug traders is one of the major causes of depletion of this species from nature. there is an urgent need to formulate suitable conservation strategies for naturally growing ethnomedicinal plants to overcome their depletion from natural resources and to make these practices more ecofriendly. acknowledgment the authors are grateful to all the informants of the research area for sharing their knowledge. cooperation of forest department during filed study is duly acknowledged. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 27 january 2014; revised on 24 april 2014) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 13–22, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphometric analysis of the genus monochoria (pontederiaceae) in sri lanka savithri sarojani udage and deepthi yakandawala1 department of botany, university of peradeniya, sri lanka keywords: monochoria vaginalis; morphological data; sub-palisade cavities; principal coordinate anaysis. abstract the genus monochoria is represented in sri lanka by only two species, m. hastata and m. vaginalis. of the two species m. vaginalis exhibits a high morphological diversity. a morphometric analysis was performed on the sri lankan members of the genus monochoria to evaluate the morphological diversity exhibited by comparing 34 vegetative, anatomical and reproductive characters. both cluster and principal coordinate analyses resulted in four clusters of which one corresponded to m. hastata, while m. vaginalis was divided into three phenetic groups indicating that the sri lankan m. vaginalis is a species complex involving more than one taxon. the length ratio of the lower spathe petiole to inflorescence stalk was identified as an informative character in delimiting the phenetic groups, a character that has not been considered before. further, the occurrence of sub-palisade cavities that are filled with a red colored liquid in the leaves of two phenetic groups was a novel character for the genus as well as the family pontederiaceae. introduction the genus monochoria c. presl belongs to the family pontederiaceae is distributed widely in the tropical and warm temperate regions of the old world, asia and australia. sri lanka harbors two native members, monochoria vaginalis (burm. f.) c. presl ex kunth and m. hastata (l.) solms (dassanayake, 2000). the plants often inhabit wetlands and ditches, while m. vaginalis is more often found in paddy fields where it is considered a weed. the taxonomy of the genus has been a point of debate and addressed by many taxonomists. verdcourt (1961) in his taxonomic treatment to african monochoria, recognized m. vaginalis as a species and raised the varieties then recognized under m. vaginalis to species rank, m. africana n. e. br. and m. brevipetiolata verdc. both are endemic to africa. during the worldwide revision of the genus, cook (1989) recognized eight species under the genus, m. korsakowii regel & maack, m. vaginalis (burm. f.) c. presl ex kunth, m. hastata (l.) solms, m. elata ridl., m. africana n.e.br., m. brevipetiolata verdc., m. cyanea (f. muell.) f. muell. and m. australasica ridl. a comprehensive taxonomic treatment on asian monochoria by wang et al. (2004) recognizes five species, m. korsakowii regel & maack, m. hastata (l.) solms, m. elata ridl., m. valida g. x. wang & nagam. and m. vaginalis (burm.f.) kunth. they also recognized two varieties of m. vaginalis, viz. m. vaginalis var. angustifolia g. x. wang and m. vaginalis var. vaginalis (wang et al., 2004). the study however did not include any specimens from sri lanka. according to verdcourt (1961), the asian, east african and west african populations of m. vaginalis belong to three distinct taxa. wang et al. (2004) is of the opinion that the greater variability observed in the vegetative morphology of monochoria due to adaptation to different 1corresponding author. email: deepthiy@pdn.ac.lk doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33001 mailto:deepthiy@pdn.ac.lk 14 udage and yakandawala habitats may have led the early taxonomists to recognize ‘species’ and ‘varieties’. a more recent study on thai m. vaginalis also corroborates that the species exhibit a great variation in their morphology (tungmunnithum, 2015). the studies using morphological and molecular data have indicated that m. vaginalis in thailand consists of more than one taxon. the most recent taxonomic treatment on sri lankan monochoria in the revised handbook to the flora of ceylon (dassanayake, 2000) recognizes only two species: m. vaginalis and m. hastata. however, field studies recently carried out in sri lanka encountered m. vaginalis populations with distinct morphological characters and the results of a preliminary morphometric analysis by udage and yakandawala (2011) supported these observations. therefore, the present study was carried out with the aim of re-evaluating the patterns of morphological variation within m. vaginalis and to understand the species limits of the genus monochoria in sri lanka. materials and methods sample collection: seventy-four live plant samples of monochoria bearing flowers/fruits were collected, from populations of all possible locations in sri lanka, covering the three major climatic zones, wet, dry and intermediate zones. the specimens were then studied in detail. a reference collection of living plants was also maintained at the department of botany, university of peradeniya, sri lanka during the study period (2010-2015). data collection: the morphological features of the samples were studied in detail and recorded along with the characters traditionally used to identify and distinguish taxa within the genus. the morphological characters were examined and recorded from at least three specimens of a population. a minimum of five measurements were taken from an individual specimen for a particular character, and the mean measurement was taken as the particular character value. macroscopic parts were observed under a dissecting microscope and a stereomicroscope (leica l2). the leaf anatomy was studied either with free hand sections or microtome sections. the microtome sections were stained in safranin. all character measurements were taken using a ruler (smallest measurement 1 mm) or an eye piece graticule (smallest measurement 0.1 mm) where appropriate. following a preliminary examination of 88 characters, 34 characters (23 quantitative and 11 qualitative) were scored for the analysis based on the significance of variation (table 1). the data were entered into an excel spreadsheet (microsoft excel version 2007) and was later transformed into a file format suitable for morphometric analysis. statistical analysis: the principal coordinate analysis (pcoa) and the hierarchical cluster analysis (ca) were carried out using the statistical software past (version 2.15) (hammer et al., 2001). the cluster solution was selected from the best suitable algorithm where, gower distance was used to calculate the similarity measures with the ‘paired group’ (upgma) option and the single linkage algorithm with the highest cophenetic correlation value. the ordination analysis was performed with gower distance (transformation exponent c=2) to generate a distance matrix for the use in the pcoa. since the pcoa gives the distance between the otu’s rather than the correlation between characters, this is suitable for a mixed character data, as it will not be distorted by binary characters as with principal components analysis (pca) (cupido, 2003). from the results of these analyses, each major, consistently recovered clusters were identified. morphometric analysis of the genus monochoria 15 results and discussion the upgma dendrogram (cophenetic correlation coefficient = 0.8587) resolved four discrete clusters of otus (hereafter referred to as phenetic groups 1-4), which separated respectively at approximately 0.425, 0.35, and 0.225 distance units (fig.1). the first four (principal) eigenvalues recovered from the pcoa (2.4495, 0.4264, 0.2390 and 0.1286) accounted for 74.456% of the total fig. 1. dendrogram resulted from cluster analysis of otus of monochoria in the morphometric analysis. the otus corresponding to the three clusters of m. vaginalis are marked as m. vaginalis phenetic groups 1, 2 and 3. 16 udage and yakandawala variance (56%, 9.79%, 5.49% and 2.954% respectively). a plot of the first and second coordinates (which provided the greatest separation of otus) resulted in a separation similar to that obtained by the ca. here the pcoa also resolved four discrete clusters (fig.2) with each corresponding exactly to one of the clusters indicated by the upgma dendrogram (fig.1). however, few members of the phenetic groups 1 and 2 overlapped along both first and second coordinate axes (fig.2). fig. 2. scatter plot resulted from pcoa showing the four distinct phenetic groups of monochoria otus generated from the evaluated study material. the cluster analysis and the pcoa recognized m. hastata as a distinct group while dividing the otu’s of m. vaginalis into three distinct clusters, indicating the involvement of more than one phenetic group within m. vaginalis in sri lanka. the significant differences in leaf lobe length and inner and outer tepal widths separate the three phenetic groups of m. vaginalis from each other. the variations in leaf width and the position where the inflorescence arose (length ratio of the lower spathe petiole: inflorescence stalk) clearly separated the phenetic group 1 from the other two groups. the differences in flower diameter, inner and outer tepal lengths and inner and outer tepal widths contributed to the separation of the phenetic group 3 from the other two groups. the ranges of other characters overlapped among the three phenetic groups (table 2). the phenetic or multivariate methods in taxonomic studies provide insights on how to interpret phenetic results to make valid taxonomic decisions. in the absence of a universally acceptable species concept, it is up to the individual taxonomist to define species level taxa (davis and goldman, 1993; cupido, 2003). the phenetic species concept of sneath and sokal (1973) is an empirical method that considers distinct phenetic clusters produced by overall similarity as species, without making assumptions about speciation. clusters of overall similarity are formed between objects as a function of their individual similarities in each of the many characters in morphometric analysis of the genus monochoria 17 which they are being compared. these phenetic clusters possess a group of partially correlated characters rather than a fixed character and therefore pattern related. the pattern related species concepts are feasible for practicing taxonomists because they use criteria that are based on observed patterns of character variation in delineating species (cupido, 2003). table 1. list of characters used in the multivariate analysis. quantitative characters qualitative characters 1 plant height up to leaf base 1 leaf shape 2 leaf width 2 leaf base 3 leaf length lamina 3 lamina texture 4 leaf length lobe 4 presence of sub palisade cavities filled with a red liquid filled with a 5 peduncle length 5 arrangement of flowers in the inflorescence 6 peduncle width 6 bract shape 7 length ratio of the lower spathe petiole: inflorescence stalk 7 bract texture 8 number of flowers per inflorescence 8 flower color 9 bract width 9 persistent perianth surrounding the capsule 10 bract length 10 persistent tepal texture in capsule 11 pedicel length 11 capsule shape 12 pedicel width 13 flower diameter 14 outer tepal length 15 outer tepal width 16 inner tepal length 17 inner tepal width 18 style length 19 ovary length 20 anther length of large stamen 21 filament length of large stamen 22 anther length of small stamen 23 filament length of small stamen the results of the morphometric analyses, ca and pcoa, further suggest that the sri lankan m. vaginalis sens. lat. may be a species complex with three different phenetic groups. these were recognized from the analyses as m. vaginalis phenetic group 1, m. vaginalis phenetic group 2 and m. vaginalis phenetic group 3 supporting the field observations made during the past years. the comparison of morphological features with those in the published literature, tentatively identified the phenetic group 1 as m. vaginalis but would still need confirmation by scoring type specimens of m. vaginalis and conducting phylogenetic analyses. none of the phenetic groups exhibited features of m. vaginalis var. angustifolia recognized by wang et al. (2004) on the basis of having narrow lanceolate mature leaves, 3-7 × 0.3-2.0 cm with the basal lobes up to 0.2 cm long, apex acute or acuminate and 3-7 flowered raceme. although the vegetative characters of monochoria are highly variable, even within a single species, many of them have proven to be of taxonomic significance. wang et al. (2004) discuss the taxonomic utility of some of these morphological features in detail. the leaf characters such as length, width and the basal lobe length were taxonomically useful characters in the study of asian monochoria (wang et al., 2004). similarly, they were useful in the present study in delimiting the already recognized m. hastata and the putative phenetic groups within m. vaginalis. the phenetic 18 udage and yakandawala group 1 which is tentatively identified as m. vaginalis, exhibited the shortest basal leaf lobe with a shallow sinus compared to the other two phenetic groups. table 2. comparison of distinct morphological characters among the three phenetic groups of m. vaginalis and m. hastata. character m. vaginalis phenotype 1 m. vaginalis phenotype 2 m. vaginalis phenotype 3 m. hastate leaf length (cm) (excluding the lobes) 3.8-9.3 5.6-14.9 5.1-7.6 5.9-12.9 leaf lobe length (cm) 0.20.8 1.82.6 0.91.7 2.2-3.5 leaf width (cm) (at the broadest point) 2.4-6.6 5.4-7.5 5.1-8.1 4.3-6.7 leaf shape ovate lance ovate widely ovate widely ovate ovate lance ovate leaf base cordate with a shallow sinus cordate with a deep sinus cordate with a large sinus sagittate lamina texture smooth relatively thick rough upper surface smooth sub palisade cavities filled with a red liquid absent occasionally present present absent the length ratio of the lower spathe petiole: inflorescence stalk (1:2)-(1:3) 1:1 1:1 1:4 number of flowers per inflorescence 5-11 15-19 10-19 12-51 flower arrangement lax dense dense dense (helically arranged) peduncle length (cm) 1.53.0 1.01.4 1.01.4 2.0-2.5 flower diameter (cm) 1.62.7 1.62.7 0.81.5 1.9-2.9 pedicel length (cm) 0.5 2.0 0.5 2.0 0.10.4 1.2-3.5 arrangement of the persistent perianth around the capsule irregularly twisted around ripe fruit irregularly twisted around ripe fruit not twisted, but partially covers the capsule twisted and screwed on the ripe fruit in a regular manner capsule shape widely elliptic widely elliptic ovate widely elliptic seed shape oblong widely elliptic widely elliptic oblong in addition, the sub-palisade cavities that are filled with a red coloured liquid were observed in the leaves of the phenetic groups 3 and 2 (to a lesser extent in group 2). this character is a novel character for the genus monochoria and the family pontederiaceae. the leaf surface of the phenetic group 3 was rough or blister like; the blisters are visible to the naked eye as well as under the stereomicroscope (fig. 4). therefore, the presence of sub-palisade cavities filled with a red coloured liquid seems to be a taxonomically important character in delimiting the entities within m. vaginalis sens. lat. although the sub-palisade cavities were recorded in our study, a recent study on comparative anatomical characteristics of m. vaginalis and m. hastata conducted in india (narayanan and kaliappan, 2014) did not record any cavities/glands in the sub-palisade layer. the populations of the phenetic group 3 were mostly distributed in the dry zone of sri lanka but several co-occurring populations of phenetic groups 1 and 3 were also encountered. the populations of the phenetic group 2 were relatively restricted in their distribution. morphometric analysis of the genus monochoria 19 the floral features including inflorescence characters were also of taxonomic importance in the genus monochoria. monochoria occurring in asia possess sub-umbellate inflorescences, racemes or branched panicles (cook, 1989; wang et al., 2004). of the two species occurring in sri lanka, m. hastata possesses a sub-umbellate inflorescence, while m. vaginalis possesses a raceme type inflorescence. according to wang et al. (2004), the flowering sequence of m. hastata is definite while it is indefinite blooming in m. vaginalis. however, according to the field observations, inflorescences of all specimens encountered under m. vaginalis in sri lanka show a definite sequence in the blooming pattern. this observation corroborates with few other literature. although trimen (1898) identified the inflorescence type of m. vaginalis as a sub-sessile raceme, he states that the terminal flower is the first to open. further, soerjani et al. (1987) also state that the inflorescence is a raceme and flowers open either simultaneously or from top to bottom within a few days. most literature does not mention the flower opening sequence of monochoria. the inflorescence of m. vaginalis phenetic group 1 was lax, whereas it was dense in the other two phenetic groups. the flower diameter was larger (1.62.7 cm) in the m. vaginalis phenetic groups 1 and 2, while that of the phenetic group 3 was relatively smaller (0.81.5 cm). fig. 3. comparison of the morphological characters among the three phenetic groups: leaves, proportion of the lower spathe petiole: inflorescence stalk, inflorescence, fruits and seeds of phenetic group 1 (a, d, g, j, m) phenetic group 2 (b, e, h, k, n) and phenetic group 3 (c, f, i, l, o) respectively. 20 udage and yakandawala during the present study, the position from where the inflorescence arose was taxonomically informative i.e. the length ratio of the lower spathe petiole: inflorescence stalk. this character was not taken into account in previous taxonomic treatments. the inflorescence of monochoria is terminal where it is subtended by two spathes, upper and lower. in both m. vaginalis and m. hastata, the upper spathe is reduced. in m. vaginalis (phenetic group 1) this proportion was between 1:2 1:3 where the inflorescence arose closer to the lower spathe. in the other two phenetic groups (2 and 3) it was 1:1 or even more towards the base of the plant. further, during this study we did not encounter specimens with the petiole length of the lower spathe was as short as 0.5 cm as recorded by cook (1989). fig. 4. sub-epidermal glands in the phenetic group 3. (a): leaf upper surface, the glands are visible as blisters; (b): leaf upper surface under a stereomicroscope, the glands are visible as red dots; (c): leaf section under the light microscope (x10x10); (d): leaf sections (microtome) under the light microscope (x10) and (e): leaf sections (microtome) of phenetic group 1 with no glands under the light microscope (x10). morphometric analysis of the genus monochoria 21 fruit and seed characters were also of taxonomic importance in the genus monochoria. the capsule of monochoria is usually covered by a persistent perianth. the persistent tepals/perianth of m. hastata is screwed, covering the fruit, while in m. vaginalis phenetic group 1 and phenetic group 2, the perianth parts are arranged spirally but not neatly screwed. in phenetic group 3, the perianth parts do not totally cover the fruit. even though not included in the analysis, the examination of seeds of a larger subset of individuals indicates that the seed shapes are also taxonomically useful in recognition of the three phenetic groups within m. vaginalis in sri lanka ( fig. 3). the three m. vaginalis phenetic groups showed variation in the seed size and shape; seeds of the phenetic group 1 were the largest (0.834-0.869 x 0.594-0.617 mm) while group 3 seeds were the smallest (0.393-0.399 x 0.280-0.301 mm). the chalazal end of m. vaginalis phenetic group 1 was depressed while that in the other two groups was obtuse. the results of the multivariate analyses of morphological data suggest that the sri lankan m. vaginalis sens. lat. is a species complex that includes two distinct phenetic groups as well as the true m. vaginalis. these phenetic groups have also been supported by molecular studies using rapd data (jayewardene et al. (2013 and gunaratne et al. (2014) where the polymorphic banding patterns were different among the three m. vaginalis phenetic groups. moreover, a phytochemical investigation by ileperuma et al. (2014) reported different chemical profiles for the three phenetic groups of m. vaginalis. the phenetic group 3 with the sub-palisade cavities expressed a chemical profile with the highest brine shrimp lethality/toxicity and haemolytic activity which could possibly be abbreviated to the chemical substances deposited. further, the results of the present study were similar to the results of the recent study conducted in thailand (tungmunnithum, 2015), in which a taxonomic revision was carried out to evaluate the species limits of m. vaginalis and the results indicated the involvement of more than one taxon within the species. resolving the species circumscriptions is important in terms of evaluating the biodiversity and its conservation. it is feared that many species will become extinct even before they are described due to clearing and destruction happening around the world. in order to conserve the species and their diversity, scientists should be able to correctly identify the species, locate their populations and estimate the remaining extents of those populations. to support the correct taxonomic identification, species complexes such as monochoria vaginalis sens. lat. should be studied in detail and taxonomic species boundaries should be defined. the present study contributes to understanding the diversity and the putative number of entities within monochoria vaginalis sens. lat. m. vaginalis is an important medicinal plant and the identification of the correct species with the expected medicinal value is a requisite. further studies of sri lankan m. vaginalis using molecular data are currently underway and expectantly will shed additional merit in the identification of the m. vaginalis and the description of species corresponding with the phenetic groups. in addition, once the species limits are resolved, revised taxonomic keys will be developed to correctly identify the species. references cook, c.d.k. 1989. taxonomic revision of monochoria (pontederiaceae). in: tan, k (ed). the davis and hedge festschrift: plant taxonomy, phytogeography and related subjects. edinburgh, university press. pp. 149–184. cupido, c.n. 2003. systematic studies in the genus merciera (campanulaceae): a re-assessment of species boundaries. adansonia 25(1): 33–44. dassanayake, m. d. 2000. pontederiaceae. in: dassanayake, m.d. and clayton w.d. (eds.), a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon 14. oxford & ibh publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhi, pp. 259–264. 22 udage and yakandawala davis, j.i. and goldman, d.h. 1993. isozyme variation and species delimitation among diploid populations of the puccinellia nuttalliana complex (poaceae): character fixation and the discovery of phylogenetic species. taxon 42: 585–599. gunaratne, u.s., samaraweera, p. and yakandawala, d.m.d. 2014. genetic diversity among populations of monochoria vaginalis detected by random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) validates three phenetic groups found in sri lanka. proceedings of the peradeniya university international research sessions, ipurse – 2014.peradeniya, sri lanka 18. p. 610 (abs.) hammer, ø., harper, d.a.t. and ryan, p.d. 2001. past: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. palaeontol. electronica 4: 1–9. ileperuma, c.v.k., jayasinghe, u.l.b., yakandawala, d.m.d. and kumar, n.s. 2014. a re-assessment of species boundaries of the genus monochoria (pontederiaceae) in sri lanka using phytochemical data. proceedings of the peradeniya university international research sessions, ipurse – 2014, peradeniya, sri lanka 18, p 589 (abs.) jayawardhana, b.j.g., samaraweera p. and yakandawala, d.m.d. 2013. genetic diversity of monochoria vaginalis in sri lanka by using random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) markers. proceedings and abstracts of the peradeniya university research sessions, purse – 2012, peradeniya, sri lanka 17(1), p 247 (abs.) narayanan, k. b. and kaliappan, i. 2014. comparative anatomical characteristics of emergent aquatic herbsmonochoria vaginalis (burm. f.) presl. and monochoria hastata solms. (pontederiaceae). international journal of botany, 10: 13-23. doi: 10.3923/ijb.2014.13.23. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r. 1973. numerical taxonomy: the principles and practice of numerical classification. w.h. freeman & co., san francisco. soerjani, m., kostermans, a.j.g.h. and tjitrosoepomo, g. 1987. weeds of rice in indonesia. balai pustaka, jakarta, indonesia. pp. 484 – 489. trimen, h. 1898. a handbook to the flora of ceylon part 4, dulau & co. london, 295 -296. tungmunnithum, duangjai 2015. morphological and molecular evidences of the greatest variable monochoria species in thailand. botany 2015, july 25 29, 2015, the shaw conference centre edmonton, alberta, canada. udage, s. and yakandawala, d. 2011. morphological variation and species boundaries of the genus monochoria (pontederiaceae) in sri lanka. proceedings of the peradeniya university research sessions, purse – 2011, peradeniya, sri lanka 16 (1): 189. verdcourt, b. 1961. the genus monochoria presl (pontederiaceae) in africa. kirkia 1: 80-83. wang, g-x., wei, l, xiao-chun, w. and itoh, k. 2004. taxonomy of the genus monochoria (pontederiaceae) in asia. current topics in plant biology 5: 39–52. (manuscript received on 2 july 2016; revised on 24 april 2017) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 19-37, 2005 (december) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iii. chlorophyceae (excluding desmids) a. k. m. nurul islam * and haseeb md. irfanullah1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: acidic habitats, phytoplankton, periphyton, chlorophyceae, new records, bangladesh abstract a total of 83 algal taxa belonging to 40 genera of chlorophyceae (excluding desmids) have been recorded from some acidic water bodies within the tea gardens at srimangal, maulvi bazar. of these 14 are new records for bangladesh. introduction in the previous two installments of the current series of papers, islam and irfanullah have described the aquatic macrophytes (islam and irfanullah 2000a) and algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae) (islam and irfanullah 2005) of some selected habitats within the tea gardens of srimangal, maulvi bazar. the present paper deals with algae belonging to the class chlorophyceae (excluding desmids) of the same habitats. materials and methods for the descriptions of the studied waterbodies and meteorological data of the study area see islam and irfanullah (2000a). these habitats were predominantly acidic: baraoora lake (ph 5.5-6.8), ditch (ph 5.8-6.6) and the burburia river (ph 6.0-7.2). a total of 120 algal samples (phytoplankton and periphyton) were collected in winter of 1996 (9 january) and different seasons of 1997 (winter, 6 january; spring, 18 march; rainy season, 20 july and autumn, 20 october). for the sample collection methods, and their preservation and examination see islam and irfanullah (2005). taxonomic enumeration this study reveals a total of 83 chlorophycean taxa belonging to 40 genera. among these, 14 taxa are newly recorded for bangladesh (marked by asterisks). nonetheless, a few algal taxa from this area have already been reported by the same authors for the first time in bangladesh (islam and irfanullah 1998, 2000b), which are not marked in this account. *corresponding author. 1iucn the world conservation union, bangladesh country office, house # 11, road # 138, gulshan-1, dhaka-1212, bangladesh. e-mail: hmirfanullah@yahoo.co.uk 20 islam and irfanullah the results of all the studied taxa are given below with the descriptions and illustrations. class: chlorophyceae; order: tetrasporales; family: palmellaceae 1. ? asterococcus limneticus smith, g.m. (pl. 1, fig. 11) (smith 1920, 104, 20: 7-10) colony d. 40.5 µm; cell d. 3.4-4.7 µm; smaller than the typical. lake; rainy 1997; few. 2. asterococcus superbus (cienk.) scherffel (pl. 1, fig. 10) (prescott 1951, 86, 4: 10; islam 1973, 78, 3: 7-12) cell d. with sheath 35-44 µm, without sheath 21.6 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. 3. chlamydocapsa ampla (kütz.) fott (pl. 3, fig. 54) (fott 1972, 30, 6: 13; islam 1973, 78, 3: 5-6 as gloeocystis ampla kütz.) colony d. 20.2-25.6 µm; cell l. 8 µm, d. 4-5.4 µm. lake; winter 1996 and spring 1997; few. 4. pseudosphaerocystis lacustris (lemm.) novak. (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 116, 1: 6) lake; winter 96; few. family: tetrasporaceae 5. schizochlamys gelatinosa a. br. (pl. 1, fig. 13) (islam 1969, 29, figs. 35-36; yamagishi 1998, 65) cell d. 12.8-15.5 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. 6. tetraspora gelatinosa (vauch.) desvaux (pl. 1, figs. 1–4) (whitford and schumacher 1973, 15, 3: 15) hard, deep green macroscopic colony on rock by the bank of the river subjected to splash; colony d. 1.5-2.0 mm; no pseudocilia, spherical cells in groups embedded in thick mucilage, cell d. 5.4-9.4 µm. river; autumn 1997; few. family: coccomyxaceae 7. elakatothrix viridis (snow) printz : lake; winter 1997; rare. order: chlorococcales; family: chlorococcaceae 8. desmatractum bipyramidatum (chod.) pascher (islam and irfanullah 1998, 92, figs. 10-15) lake: winter 1997 (rare); river: spring 1997 (common). family: dictyosphaeridiaceae 9. dictyosphaeridium sp. : lake; winter 1997; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iii 21 plate 1 (figs. 1-15) figs. 1-4. tetraspora gelatinosa (1. a colony, 2. cells on the periphery, 3-4. cells in the middle), 5-6. coelastrum cambricum, 7. c. sphaericum fa., 8. c. microporum, 9. c. sphaericum, 10. asterococcus superbus, 11. a. limneticus, 12. tetrallantos lagerheimii, 13. schizochlamys gelatinosa, 14. protoderma viride, 15. ulothrix tenerrima. (scales: a = 0.5 mm, b = 20 µm, rest = 10 µm) 22 islam and irfanullah 10. dimorphococcus lunatus a. br. (pl. 2, fig. 36) (islam 1969, 25, figs. 24-25) cell l. 13.5-23 µm, d. 4.7-8 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. family: hydrodictyaceae 11. pediastrum duplex meyen (pl. 2, figs. 42–43) (islam and khatun 1966, 99, 6: 141) colony d. 40.5-67.5 µm; cell l.13.5-18.2 µm, d. 13.5-16.2 µm. lake; winter to rainy 1997; rare to few. 12. pediastrum duplex var. rugulosum racib. (pl. 2, fig. 41) (prescott 1951, 224, 49: 3; islam 1973, 76, 3: 1) colony d. 67.5 µm, cell l. 16.2 µm, d. 13.5-14.8 µm. lake; spring 1997; few. 13. pediastrum tetras (ehr.) ralfs var. tetraödon (corda) hansg. (pl. 2, figs. 44–45) (smith 1920, 174, 48: 13-14, 49: 1-2) colony d. 21.3-40 µm; cell l. 9.4-12 µm, d. 8-13.3 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. family: coelastraceae 14. coelastrum cambricum archer (pl. 1, figs. 5–6) (smith 1920, 161, 42: 2-3) 16-celled coenobium, d. 33.7-51.3 µm; cells are curved from the side view with thickening in the cell wall on the periphery appearing as a flat protrusion, each cell is connected with 3-4-6 other cells, cell d. 10.8-19 µm. lake; winter 1996; common. 15. coelastrum microporum näg. (pl. 1, fig. 8) (smith 1920, 160, 41: 12-13, 42: 1) 8-celled small coenobium, d. 16.2 µm; thin cell wall, cell d. 6.7 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 16. *coelastrum sphaericum näg. (pl. 1, fig. 9) (whitford and schumacher 1973, 43, 11: 19) 10(?)-celled coenobium, d. 32.4 µm; polygonal cells with uniformly thick cell wall, cell d. 12.2 µm; parietal chloroplast. lake; winter 1997; very rare. 17. coelastrum sphaericum näg. fa. (pl. 1, fig. 7) 8-celled coenobium, d. 18.2-21.6 µm; vegetative cells broadly curved with thin cell wall, d. 7.4-8.7 µm. lake; winter 1996; few. family: oocystaceae 18. ankistodesmus falcatus (corda) ralfs (pl. 2, figs. 39–40) (islam and begum 1970, 244, 3: 85-86; yamagishi 1998, 69) cell l. 86.4 µm, d. 2.7 µm. lake; winter 1996, winter and spring 1997; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iii 23 19. ankistodesmus spiralis (turner) lemm. : lake; autumn 1997; few. 20. ? closteriopsis longissima lemm. var. (pl. 2, fig. 37) cell l. 144.4 µm, d. 7.4 µm, tip d. 2 µm. lake; winter 1997; common. 21. glaucocystis nostochinearum itz. (islam and irfanullah 1998, 93, figs. 6-9) lake; rainy 1997; common. 22. kirchneriella sp. : lake and river; winter 1997; few. 23. nephrochlamys subsolitaria (g.s. west) kors. (islam and irfanullah 2000b, 116, 1: 4-5) lake; rainy 1997; few. however, islam and alfasane (2001) suggested it would be a species of nephrocytium or kirchneriella. 24. ? nephrocytium limneticum smith, g.m. (pl. 3, fig. 60) (smith 1950, 261, fig. 176c) slightly curved long cells with blunt poles embedded in thick, heterogeneous mucilage; cells are single or in pairs, cell l. 15.5-17.5 µm, d. 6.7-8.2 µm. lake; rainy 1997; rare. 25. nephrocytium obesum w & w (pl. 3, fig. 61) (prescott 1951, 249, 54: 20) four slightly curved large cells are loosely enclosed in a thick sheath (d. 2 µm) without any nodules on it; colony l. 75.6 µm, d. 58 µm; cell l. 35-39 µm, d. 19-23 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 26. oocystella lacustris (chod.) hind. (pl. 3, fig. 53) (hindak and moustaka-gouni 1990, 172, figs. 7-8; yamagishi 1998, 73; smith 1920, 112, 22: 8-9 as oocystis lacustris) colony d. 20.2-21.6 µm, cell l. 10-13.5 µm, d. 6.7-7.4 µm. lake; rainy 1997; few. 27. oocystella lacustris (chod.) hind. fa. (pl. 2, fig. 32) colony d. 31.7-34.4 µm; cells l. 14.2-22.3 µm, d. 11.5-13.5 µm; lamellated, hyaline cell wall. lake; winter 1996; rare. 28. oocystis borgei snow (pl. 2, fig. 31) (smith 1920, 111, 22: 4; tiffany and britton 1952, 117, 32: 322) colony d. 20.2–21.6 µm; cell l. 10.8–12 µm, d. 8–10 µm. lake; rainy 1997; common. 29. oocystis crassa wittrock : lake; winter 1997; few. 24 islam and irfanullah plate 2 (figs. 16-45) figs. 16, 22. scenedesmus quadricaudatus var. ecornis, 17. s. brasiliensis, 18. s. denticulatus fa. maximus, 19, 26-27. s. quadricauda, 20. s. arcuatus var. platydiscus, 21. s. bijuga, 23. s. armatus var. spinosus, 24. s. quadricauda var. rectangularis, 25. s. acuminatus, 28. s. perforatus, 29-30. s. longispina var. asymmetricus, 31. oocystis borgei, 32. oocystella lacustris fa., 33. oocystis sp. -1, 34. o. novae-semliae, 35. oocystis sp. -2, 36. dimorphococcus lunatus, 37.? closteriopsis longissima var., 38. crucigenia crucifera, 39-40. ankistrodesmus falcatus, 41. pediastrum duplex var. rugulosum, 42-43. p. duplex, 4445. p. tetras var. tetraödon. (scales: a = 10 µm, rest = 20 µm) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iii 25 plate 3 (figs. 46-61) figs. 46-47. oocystis ? panduriformis var. minor, 48. o. gigas fa., 49. o. solitaria, 50. o. naegelii, 51-52. o. granulata, 53. oocystella lacustris, 54. chlamydocapsa ampla, 55. tetraedron tumidulum, 56. t. regulare var. torsum, 57. t. regulare var. minor, 58. tetraedron sp., 59. t. regulare, 60. ? nephrocytium limneticum, 61. n. obesum. (scales = 20 µm) 26 islam and irfanullah 30. oocystis gigas archer fa. (pl. 3, fig. 48) 4-celled globose colony surrounded by a thick, hyaline mucilage sheath, colony d. 46 µm; cells broadly elliptic with numerous disc-shaped chloroplasts, cell l. 24.3-27 µm, d. 17 µm. smaller than prescott (1951, 244, 51: 13). lake; winter 1997; rare. 31. *oocystis granulata hortobágyi (pl. 3, figs. 51–52) (hindak and moustaka-gouni 1990, 169, 6: 3) 8-celled spherical colony with thick mucilage sheath (d. <1.3 µm), colony d. 23-24.3 µm, each cell may possess individual sheath (d. 13.5-16.2 µm); elliptical cells with pointed poles, cell l. 5.4-7.4 µm, d. 4-4.7 µm. lake; rainy 1997; few. 32. oocystis naegelii a.br. (pl. 3, fig. 50) (tiffany and britton 1952, 117, 32: 320) 8-celled colony with thin sheath having two polar nodules, colony l. 48.6 µm, d. 37.8 µm; cylindrical cells compact in a colony, cell l. 24.3-25.6 µm, d. 10.8-12 µm. lake; rainy 1997; common. 33. oocystis novae-semliae wille (pl. 2, fig. 34) (prescott 1951, 245) colony l. 54-55.3 µm, d. 36.4-40.5 µm; cell l. 19-21.6 µm, d. 13.5-14.8 µm. lake; winter 1996, winter and autumn 1997; few. 34. *oocystis ? panduriformis w & w var. minor smith, g.m. (pl. 3, figs. 46–47) (smith 1920, 114, 23: 3) 4-celled pear-shaped colony with thick mucilage sheath having two polar protrusions, colony l. 62 µm, d. 46 µm; long elipto-cylindrical cell l. 43 µm, d. 16.8–18.2 µm. smith (1920) noted the cells to be slightly convex on both lateral sides. lake; winter 1996; few. 35. *oocystis solitaria wittrock (pl. 3, fig. 49) (tiffany and britton 1952, 117, 32: 319) 4-celled colony with thin sheath having two polar nodules, colony l. 41.8 µm, d. 35 µm; elliptic cells compact in a colony, cell l. 27–29.7 µm, d. 13.5-16.2 µm. lake; rainy 1997; common. 36. oocystis sp. -1 (pl. 2, fig. 33) colony d. 35-48.6 µm; cell wall granulated, l. 8-12 µm, d. 5.4-8 µm. lake; winter 1997; common. 37. oocystis sp. -2 (pl. 2, fig. 35) colony l. 48.6 µm, d. 28.3 µm; cell l. 6.7-8 µm, d. 5.4-6.7 µm. lake; rainy 1997; rare. 38. selenastrum sp. : river; spring 1997; rare. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iii 27 39. tetraedron regulare kütz. (pl. 3, fig. 59) (smith 1920, 118, 24: 14) cell max. d. with spine 50.7-57.4 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 40. *tetraedron regulare var. minor reinsch (pl. 3, fig. 57) (skuja 1949, 65, 10: 33) cell pyramoidal with curved sides; cell max. d. 25 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 41. *tetraedron regulare var. torsum (turner) brunnthaler (pl. 3, fig. 56) (smith 1920, 119, 24: 17-18; prescott 1951, 269, 61: 8-10) quadrangular cell with smooth cell wall, single spine-like process at each angle, cell d. with spine 36.4-41.8 µm, without spine 25-30.4 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 42. *tetraedron tumidulum (reinsch) hansg. (pl. 3, fig. 55) (prescott 1951, 270, 61:17-18) cell triangular with round angles, sides are concave, cell wall smooth, cell d. 37.843.2 µm. lake; rainy 1997; rare. 43. tetraedron sp. (pl. 3, fig. 58) cell quadrangular from top view, each of the six angles possesses single spin, very minute spine like granules are concentrically arranged on the cell wall around the spine, cell d. with spine 25.6-30.4 µm. paddy field; autumn 1997; rare. family: scenedesmaceae 44. crucigenia crucifera (wolle) collins (pl. 2, fig. 38) (smith 1920, 145, 36: 6; whitford and schumacher 1973, 54, 14: 37) colony l. 12-14.2 µm, d. 8.8-10.8 µm; cell l. 5.4-8 µm, d. 3.4-4.7 µm. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 45. scenedesmus acuminatus (lager.) chodat (pl. 2, fig. 25) (islam and khatun 1966, 99, fig. 79) colony l. 21.6 µm; cell l. 14.8-20.2 µm, d. 2.7-4 µm. lake; spring 1997; few. 46. scenedesmus arcuatus var. platydiscus smith, g.m. (pl. 2, fig. 20) (islam and begum 1970, 251, 5: 140-141) colony l. 11 µm; cell l. 7.4-8 µm, d. 5.4 µm. lake; winter 1997; few. 47. scenedesmus armatus var. spinosus fritsch & rich (pl. 2, fig. 23) (hegewald and silva 1988, 102, fig. 161) colony l. 13.5 µm; cell. l. 9.4-14.8 µm, d. 3.4 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 48. scenedesmus bijuga (turp.) lagerheim (pl. 2, fig. 21) (islam and begum 1970, 252, 5: 147, 149-150) colony l. 13.5 µm; cell l. 10.8-12 µm, d. 4 µm. lake; winter 1997; rare. 28 islam and irfanullah 49. scenedesmus brasiliensis bohlin (pl. 2, fig. 17) (hegewald and silva 1988, 131, fig. 214) colony l. 21-27 µm; cell l. 19-22.3 µm, d. 5.4-7.4 µm. lake; winter 1996 and spring 1997; few. 50. *scenedesmus denticulatus fa. maximus uherk (pl. 2, fig. 18) (hagewald and silva 1988, 208, fig. 330) colony l. 25.6 µm; cell l. 20.2-21.6 µm, d. 6.7 µm. lake; winter 1996; rare. 51. scenedesmus longispina chod. var. asymmetricus hortob. (pl. 2, figs. 29-30) (hortobágyi 1960, 181, 27-28: 315-324) colony l. 13.5-16.8 µm; cell l. 10.2-12.8 µm, d. 3.4-6 µm; terminal cells have thin, curved spines at alternate tips, spine l. 5.4 µm. lake; spring 1997; few. 52. scenedesmus perforatus lemm. (pl. 2, fig. 28) (hegewald and silva 1988, 388, fig. 625) colony l. 28.3 µm; cell l. 19-19.7, d. 6.7-8 µm. close to var. pologranulatus teil., although not separable from the typical (hegewald and silva 1988). lake; spring 1997; few. 53. scenedesmus quadricauda (turp.) bréb. (pl. 2, figs. 19, 26–27) (hegewald and silva 1988, 428, fig. 687) colony l. 21-47.2 µm; cell l. 16.2-18 µm, d. 5-6.7 µm. lake; autumn and winter 1997; few. 54. *scenedesmus quadricauda var. rectangularis g.s. west (pl. 2, fig. 24) (hegewald and silva 1988, 462, fig. 746) colony l. 33.7 µm; cell l. 17.5 µm, d. 8-9.4 µm. it resembles s. quadricauda var. quadrispina (chodat) smith, g.m. lake; autumn 1997; rare. 55. *scenedesmus quadricaudatus var. ecornis ehr. ex ralfs (pl. 2, figs. 16, 22) (hegewald and silva 1988, 468, fig. 756) 4-celled colony, l. 20.2 µm; cell l. 13.5-17 µm, d. 4.7-5.4 µm, cell wall smooth or granulated. lake; rainy and autumn 1997; rare. 56. tetrallantos lagerheimii telling (pl. 1, fig. 12) (islam 1969, 27, figs. 31-33) cell l. 12-14.8 µm, d. 4 µm. lake; winter 97; rare. order: ulotrichales; family: ulotrichaceae 57. schizomeris leibleinii kütz.: lake; on snail, among cladophora; rainy 1997; few. 58. ulothrix tenerrima kütz. (pl. 1, fig. 15) (islam and zaman 1974, 87, 1: 3, 18-19) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iii 29 cell l. 5.4-17.5 µm, d. 6.7-8 µm. lake; on snail, among cladophora spp.; rainy 1997; few. family: cylindrocapsaceae 59. cylindrocapsa geminella wolle (islam and irfanullah, 2000b, 116, 1: 9-11) lake; primarily epiphytic but free-floating after maturation; winter and rainy 1997; few to common. order: chaetophorales; family: chaetophoraceae 60. chaetophora elegans (roth) c.a. agardh (pl. 4, fig. 65) (islam and ahia 1964, 105, fig. 14) colony d. 2.5-3 mm; cell dimension: main axis 24.3-48.6 × d. 13.5-6.7 µm, branch 10.8-27 × 4.7-7.4 µm; seta d. 2-2.7µm. river; colonies free-floating or epilithic; winter and autumn 1997; common. 61. protoderma viride kütz. (pl. 1, fig. 14) (printz 1964, 290, 90: 1-2) cell d. 13.5-19 µm, l. 1-2 times than breadth. lake; on oedogonium sp.; winter 1997; few to common. 62. pseudopleurococcus printzii vischer (pl. 4, fig. 69) (printz 1964, 278, 86: 1-9) cell dimension: apical 19-27 × 16.2-20.2 µm, intercalary 16.2-27 × 21.6 µm. lake; winter 1996 and rainy 1997; rare to few. 63. *pseudulvella americana (snow) wille (pl. 6, fig. 80) (bourrelly 1972, 53: 4-8) thallus microscopic, epiphytic on chara fibrosa, enclosed in gelatinous envelop, irregular margin, thallus size 173 × 109 µm; cell are irregular in shape, roundish polygonal to true polygonal, cell l. 7.4-14.8 µm, d. 6.7-10 µm; chloroplast parietal. lake; winter 1997; few. 64. stigeoclonium aestivale (hazen) collins (pl. 4, figs. 62–63) (printz 1964, 144, 34: 1) cell dimension: main axis 18-59 × 5.4-7.4 µm, branch 13.5-27 × 5.4 µm, basal 5.410.8 × 4-8 µm, seta d. 3.4-4 µm. lake and ditch; on oedogonium sp.; autumn to spring 1997; rare to common. 65. stigeoclonium curvirostrum skuja (pl. 4, fig. 64) (skuja 1949, 73, 12: 4-8) cell dimension: primary branch 13.5–40.5 × 4.7-7.4 µm, secondary branch 14.8-32.4 × 4.7-7.4 µm, basal 8-16.2 × 8-10.8 µm. lake; epiphytic; winter, few. 30 islam and irfanullah plate 4 (figs. 62-69) figs. 62-63. stigeoclonium aestivale, 64. s. curvirostrum, 65. chaetophora elegans, 66. c. soluta var. soluta, 67. c. conchata, 68. c. scutata, 69. pseudopleurococcus printzii. (scales: figs. 62–63 = 20 µm, fig. 67 = 50 µm, rest = 30 µm) hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iii 31 plate 5 (figs. 70-76) figs. 70-71. coleochaete conchata, 72-73. c. nitellarum, 74. chaetosphaeridium globosum, 75. c. pringsheimii, 76. c. ? pringsheimii. (scales = 20 µm). 32 islam and irfanullah 66. stigeoclonium geraldii islam: lake; on nymphoides indicum petiole; rainy 1997; rare. 67. *ulvella frequens butcher (pl. 6, fig. 79) (bourrelly 1972, 288, 53: 9) thallus microscopic, epiphytic on stems of panicum paludosum, forms one-cell-thick pseudoparenchymatous disc, irregular in outline, filaments radiating near periphery; cells irregularly angular in shape, central cell l. 13.5-21 µm, d. 9.4-16.2 µm, peripheral cell l. 8-19 µm, d. 8-13.5 µm; tip cells triangular; chloroplast parietal. lake; winter 1997; few. order: coleochaetales; family: aphanochaetaceae 68. aphanochaete repens a. br. (pl. 6, figs. 77–78) (islam 1974, 35, 3: 15-16) thallus l. >200 µm; cell dimensions: apical 10.8-13.5 × 5.4–6 µm, intercalary 1215.5 × 6-8.8 µm; seta base d. 2.7-4 µm. lake; on oedogonium sp.; autumn to spring 1997; rare to common. family: coleochaetaceae 69. coleochaete conchata moeb. (pl. 4, fig. 67, pl. 5, figs. 70–71) (khan and islam 2000, 15, 1: 1, 2: 2–4, 4: 11) cell l. 27-32.4 (-40.5) µm, d. (6.7-) 10.8-16.2 µm; seta l. 32.4-54 µm. lake; on nymphoides indicum petiole; rainy and autumn 1997; few to common. 70. coleochaete nitellarum jost (pl. 5, figs. 72–73) (islam 1974, 36, 1: 4-7, 2: 8-12) lake; on chara fibrosa; winter 1996 and 1997; few. 71. coleochaete scutata bréb. (pl. 4, fig. 68) (islam 1974, 37, 1: 1–3) thallus d. 153-218 µm; cell l. 14.8-32.4 µm, d. 13.5-27 µm. lake; epiphytic; winter and rainy 1997; few to common. 72. coleochaete soluta (bréb.) pringsh. var. soluta (pl. 4, fig. 66) (islam 1974, 37, 3: 19-20) thallus d. 113-122 µm; cell l. 10.8-27, d. 8-12 µm. lake; on nymphoides indicum petiole; rainy and autumn 1997; few. family: chaetosphaeridaceae 73. chaetosphaeridium globosum (nordst.) klebahn (pl. 5, fig. 74) (islam 1974, 38, 1: 7a) cell l. 10.8-12.8 µm, d. 10-12 µm; seta l. 13.5 µm. lake; winter 1996, winter to rainy 1997; rare to few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iii 33 plate 6 (figs. 77-80) figs. 77-78. aphanochaete repens, 79. ulvella frequens, 80. pseudulvella americana. (scales = 20 µm) 34 islam and irfanullah 74. chaetosphaeridium pringsheimii klebahn (pl. 5, fig. 75) (printz 1964, 332, 104: 1-2; bourrelly 1972, 323, 63: 10, 64: 1) cell d. 8.8-10.8 µm, seta l. max. 12.5 µm, d. 1.3 µm; utricle present. epithytic on oedogonium sp. along with stigeoclonium aestivale. lake; winter 1997; rare. 75. chaetosphaeridium ? pringsheimii klebahn (pl. 5, fig. 76) (tiffany and britton 1952, 44, 6: 59) globose cells irregularly arranged on the substrate, d. 8-13.5 µm; seta base d. 2-2.7 µm; utricle not clearly visible. lake; on nymphoides indicum petiole; rainy 1997; rare. order: oedogoniales; family: oedogoniaceae 76. bulbochaete spp. : lake; year round; common; lacked mature oospores. 77. oedogonium spp. : lake and ditch; year round; common; lacked mature oospores. order: cladophorales; family: cladophoraceae 78. cladophora profunda brand (pl. 7, fig. 82) (islam and zaman 1975, 48, 2: 18) cell dimensions: main axis, 170-740 × 32-43 µm and branch, 105-570 × 22-39 µm; sporangia dimension 128-269 × 32-45 µm. lake; on snail; rainy 1997; few. 79. *cladophora sterrocladia skuja (pl. 7, fig. 81) (skuja 1949, 94, 37: 1-7) red-brown branched thallus growing on snail, primary branches are opposite but secondary branches are unilateral, few successive unilateral branches can also be seen on the main axis; cell dimension: main axis 134-205 × 35-51 µm, primary branch 147-307 × 26-45 µm; reproduction was not observed. lake; rainy 1997; few. order: zygnemales; family: zygnemaceae 80. *mougeotia viridis (kütz) wittrock fa. (pl. 7, fig. 83) zygospores formed in the conjugation tube, quadratic, wall smooth, sides concave, corners retuse, dimension 35 × 28 µm. differs from prescott (1951, 306, 71: 8-10). lake; winter 1997; common. 81. mougeotia sp. (pl. 7, figs. 84–85) azygospores formed in the sporangia, cubico-cylindrical, dimension 24 × 19 µm. lake; winter and autumn 1997; few to common. 82. spirogyra spp. : lake and river; year round; common; lacking mature zygospores. 83. zygnema sp. : river; spring 1997; few. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iii 35 plate 7 (figs. 81-85) fig. 81. cladophora sterrocladia, 82. c. profunda, 83. mougeotia viridis fa., 84-85. mougeotia sp. (scales: a = 300 µm, rest = 30 µm) 36 islam and irfanullah acknowledgements we are grateful to a.f.m. badrul alam, the then director of bangladesh tea research institute (btri), srimangal, for providing the logistic and laboratory support during this study, and also to his colleagues who extended their help in the laboratory and in supplying necessary information. thanks also due to the authority of the james finley & co. for granting permission in collecting samples from the aquatic habitats within its gardens. references bourrelly, p. 1972. les algues ďeau douce. initiation a la systématique i: les algues vertes. editions n. boubée & co. paris, pp. 572. fott, v.b. 1972. das phytoplankton des süsswassers : systematik und biologie. 6 teil. chlorophyceae; ordnung : tetrasporales. e. schw. verlags. stuttgart, pp. 116 + pls. 1-47. hegewald, e. and silva, p.c. 1988. annotated catalogue of scenedesmus and nomenclaturally related genera, including original descriptions and figures. bibl. phyc. 80: 1-587. hindak, f. and moustaka-gouni 1990. planktic coccal and tichal green algae of lake volvi, greece. folia geobot. phyto-taxon. praha 25(2): 159-196. hortobágyi, von t. 1960. algen aus den fischteichen von buzsák iii.: scenedesmus – arten. nova hedwigia 2(1+2): 173–190 + pls. 22-34. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1969. some rare planktonic green algae found in east pakistan. pakistan j. bot. 1(1+2): 19–32. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1973. freshwater algae of bangladesh. i. chlorophyceae, xanthophyceae and chrysophyceae. dacca univ. stud. b 21(1): 69-84. islam, a.k.m. nurul 1974. freshwater algae of bangladesh. iv. aphanochaete, coleochaete and chaetosphaeridium. bangladesh j. bot. 3(1): 35-43. islam, a.k.m. nurul and ahia, a.n.m. 1964. contribution to the knowledge of chaetophoraceae of dacca district. pak. j. biol. & ag. sc. 7(1): 103-110. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2001. new records of some green planktonic algae for bangladesh: phcotus, planktosphaeria and nephrochlamys. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 51-56. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.t. 1970. studies on the phytoplankton of dacca district. j. asiatic soc. pak. 15(3): 227-271 + 8 pls. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 1998. new records of three green algal genera for bangladesh: desmatractum, glaucocystis and groenbladia. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 91-95. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2000a. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. i. aquatic macrophytes. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 29-42. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2000b. new records of eleven algal taxa for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 29(2): 115-120. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. islam, a.k.m. nurul and khatun, m. 1966. preliminary studies on the phytoplankton of polluted waters. sci. res. 3(2): 95-109. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens iii 37 islam, a.k.m. nurul and zaman, a.m.s. 1974. freshwater algae of bangladesh. viii. ulotrichales. dacca univ. stud. b. 22(2): 83–98. islam, a.k.m. nurul and zaman, k.m. 1975. limnological studies of the river buriganga iii. biological aspect. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sc.) 1(1): 45-65. khan, m.r. and islam, a.k.m. nurul 2000. new records of four coleochaete species (chlorophyta) for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 15-27. prescott, g.w. 1951. algae of the western great lakes area. cranbrook inst. sci. bull. no. 31, pp. 846. printz, h. 1964. die chaetophoralen der binnengewasser. hydrobiologia 24 (1/3): 1-376. skuja, von h. 1949. zur süsswasseralgen-flora burmas. nova acta reg. soc. sci. upsaliensis ser. iv. 14(5): 1-188 + 39 pls. smith, g.m. 1920. phytoplankton of the inland lakes of wisconsin. part i. myxophyceae, phaeophyceae, heterokonteae, and chlorophyceae exclusive of the desmidiaceae. wisconsin geological and natural history survey, bulletin no. 57, sci. ser. no. 12, 1–243 pp. smith, g.m. 1950. the freshwater algae of the united states. mcgraw-hill book co. inc. n.y. 719 pp. tiffany, l.h. and britton, m.e. 1952. the algae of illinois. the university of chicago press, chicago, pp. 407. whitford, l.a. and schumacher, g.j. 1973. a manual of fresh-water algae. sparks press, raleigh n.c., pp. 324. yamagishi, t. 1998. guide book to photomicrographs of the freshwater algae. uchida, rokakuho, japan, pp. 132. a. k. m. nurul islam* and haseeb md. irfanullah1 introduction class: chlorophyceae; order: tetrasporales; family: palmella family: tetrasporaceae family: coccomyxaceae order: chlorococcales; family: chlorococcaceae family: dictyosphaeridiaceae figs. 1-4. tetraspora gelatinosa (1. a colony, 2. cells on t family: hydrodictyaceae 11. pediastrum duplex meyen (pl. 2, figs. 42–43) (islam and khatun 1966, 99, 6: 141) colony d. 40.5-67.5 μm; cell l.13.5-18.2 μm, d. 13.5-16.2 μm 12. pediastrum duplex var. rugulosum racib. (pl. 2, fig. 41 (prescott 1951, 224, 49: 3; islam 1973, 76, 3: 1) colony d. 67.5 μm, cell l. 16.2 μm, d. 13.5-14.8 μm. lake; s 13. pediastrum tetras (ehr.) ralfs var. tetraödon (corda) ha (smith 1920, 174, 48: 13-14, 49: 1-2) colony d. 21.3-40 μm; cell l. 9.4-12 μm, d. 8-13.3 μm. lake; family: coelastraceae family: oocystaceae 39. tetraedron regulare kütz. (pl. 3, fig. 59) (smith 1920, 118, 24: 14) cell max. d. with spine 50.7-57.4 μm. lake; winter 1996; rar 42. *tetraedron tumidulum (reinsch) hansg. (pl. 3, fig. 55) 43. tetraedron sp. (pl. 3, fig. 58) 51. scenedesmus longispina chod. var. asymmetricus hortob. (hortobágyi 1960, 181, 27-28: 315-324) colony l. 13.5-16.8 μm; cell l. 10.2-12.8 μm, d. 3.4-6 μm; t 56. tetrallantos lagerheimii telling (pl. 1, fig. 12) order: ulotrichales; family: ulotrichaceae family: cylindrocapsaceae order: oedogoniales; family: oedogoniaceae order: cladophorales; family: cladophoraceae order: zygnemales; family: zygnemaceae 80. *mougeotia viridis (kütz) wittrock fa. (pl. 7, fig. 83) microsoft word 01. new recordes of fungi_galley proof_approved 13.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 1-6, 2016 (june) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists   new records of seven fungal species for bangladesh amena kibria, k.s. hossain1, n. akhtar2, m.a.a. jahan2, md. a.m. sarker2 and mst. n. begum2 department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka 1100, bangladesh keywords: fungi; new records; bangladesh. abstract from three farming stages of arthrospira platensis (nordstedt) gomont [spirulina platensis (gomont) geitler], seven fungal species, namely, cladosporium varians braun, melnik & k. schub., fusarium trichothecioides wollenw., geotrichum candidum link, mucor circinelloides tiegh., m. hiemalis wehmer, penicillium frequentans westling and verticillium albo-atrum reinke & berthold were recorded for the first time from bangladesh. introduction fungi are the second largest kingdom, with about 70,000−100,000 known species (kendrick, 2000). but knowledge on the mycodiversity is still deficient and incomplete, making inventory ponderous due to the inadequate number of researchers in this area (mueller et al., 2004). a total of 275 fungal species under 125 genera have been reported from bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007). spirulina, the most widely exploited food microalga, usually expose under open air during commercial production. air of the earth contains various fungal propagules. these airborne propagules can be settled on culture, slurry and powder of spirulina. eleven fungi species were isolated and identified from culture, slurry and powder of spirulina at bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research (bcsir), dhaka. out of 11 species seven were recorded for the first time from bangladesh. this study presents taxonomic description of these seven fungal species under five different genera. materials and methods fungi were isolated from culture, slurry and powder of arthrospira platensis (nordstedt) gomont [spirulina platensis (gomont) geitler; common name: spirulina] at bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research (bcsir), dhaka following agar and/or dilution plate techniques during the last week of december 2012. colony character of pure culture of each isolate was studied. they were examined microscopically after preparation of glass slides with cover slip or sticky tap by using lactophenolcotton blue solution (0.05 gm cotton blue in 100 ml lacto-phenol). microscopic images of each isolates were captured with the aid of olympus-dp20 digital camera attached with olympus cx41 compound microscope at 400x. isolates were identified up to species level with the help of standard mycological literature (bensch et al., 2012; booth, 1971; crous and groenewald, 2013; ellis, 1971; ellis et al., 2007; harvey, 1965; jabnoun et al., 2010; kurtzman et al., 2011; raper and thom, 1949; schipper, 1973, 1976, 1978; zare, 2003). 1corresponding author. email: ksh1968@gmail.com 2biological research division, bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research (bcsir), dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 2 kibria et al. pure cultures of the described species are preserved at the department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka, bangladesh. results and discussion a total of 11 fungal species belonging to eight different genera were studied and identified. among these, seven species viz., cladosporium varians braun, melnik & k. schub., fusarium trichothecioides wollenw., geotrichum candidum link, mucor circinelloides tiegh., m. hiemalis wehmer, penicillium frequentans westling and verticillium albo-atrum reinke & berthold are found new records for bangladesh. four others were arthrinium phaeospermum (corda) ellis, cladosporium sphaerospermum penz., cunninghamella bertholletiae stadel and nigrospora oryzae (berk. & br.) petch. taxonomic descriptions of the newly recorded species are as follows: 1. cladosporium varians u. braun, v.a. melnik, and k. schubert, mikologiya i fitopatologiya 42(3): 215 (2008). (figs 1 & 8). colonies on pda reaching 29.5 mm in diameter after 14 days, dark grey-olivaceous, olivaceous or iron-grey, reverse grey olivaceous, velvety to powdery, growth regular, flat to low curved, margin white, extensive. mycelium mainly immersed, pale olivaceous grey; consisting of branched or unbranched, 4.1–5.0 µm wide hyphae. conidiophores macronematous or micronematous, solitary, straight or rising, unbranched or branched or dichotomous branched, terminally or laterally formed from hyphae, septate, 58.1–87.2 × 2.8–5.5 µm. conidiogenous cells are cylindrical oblong, integrated, terminal, 15.6–17.5 × 6.9–7.5 µm. conidia broadly ellipsoidal to ellipsoidal or subglobose, aseptate conidia 5.4–12.9 × 3.9–5 µm, single septate conidia 10.0– 17.5 × 3.8–5.6 µm, ramoconidia 11.4 × 5.0 µm. specimen examined: isolate no. k.s. hossain 267, 30 december 2012, from spirulina powder, bcsir, dhaka, collected by amena kibria. notes: cladosporium varians belongs to the c. cladosporioides complex, but differs from c. cladosporioides by its long, frequently branched conidiophores. furthermore, the tips of the conidiogenous cells are often somewhat swollen or unilaterally swollen, and the ramoconidia have up to four septa, and subglobose conidia are not abundant. c. tenuissimumis another comparable species, which is, however, easily distinguishable by its setiform, usually unbranched conidiophores (bensch et al., 2012). 2. fusarium trichothecioides wollenw., j. wash. acad. sci. 2:147 (1912). (figs 2 & 9). colonies attaining 5 cm in diameter after 4 days on pda, 6.5 cm in diameter after 6 days on sna, pale pinkish-white, and reverse light brownish pink. it grows sparingly at 37° c, negative on urease reaction. it’s able to grow without vitamin supplement. mycelium cottony, extensive, 2.5– 4.4 µm wide. conidiophores comprise of a basal cell bearing 2 or 3 apical phialides, 18.0 × 3.8 µm. macroconidia 14–24 × 2.5–5 µm, 3 to 5 septate or 8–16 × 2.5–5.0 µm, 1 to 2 septate, formed frequently from lateral conidiophores. microconidia are not present. chlamydospores are smooth walled, terminal, intercalary, spherical, 8–15 µm in diameter. sporodochia, ascus and ascospore absent. specimen examined: isolate no. k.s. hossain 251, 24 december 2012, from spirulina slurry, bcsir, dhaka, collected by amena kibria. new records of seven fungal species 3 3. geotrichum candidum link, magazin der gesellschaft naturforschenden freunde berlin 3(1): 3–42 (1809). (figs 3 & 10). colonies on pda reaching 4.5 cm in diameter after 6 days, grows rapidly, white to cream colored, powdery, flat with aerial mycelium. mycelium consisting of septate, hyaline, dichotomously branched and 3–5 µm wide hyphae. arthroconidia hyaline, one-celled, smooth, slimy, subglobose to cylindrical, 4.7–10.1 × 2.7–5.4 µm, released by the separation of a double septum. disjunctor cells, blastoconidia, budding and ascospore not found. it grows sparingly at 37° c, negative on urease reaction. it’s able to grow without vitamin supplement. specimen examined: isolate no. k.s. hossain 262, 24 december 2012, from spirulina powder, bcsir, dhaka, collected by amena kibria. figs 1-7. colonies of the seven fungal species on pda medium at different incubation periods, a. front views; b. reverse views. 1. cladosporium varians, 2. fusarium trichothecioides, 3. geotrichum candidum, 4. mucor circinelloides, 5. mucor hiemalis, 6. penicillium frequentans, 7. verticillium alboatrum. [scale bars = 10 mm] 4 kibria et al. 4. mucor circinelloides tiegh., annales des sciences naturelles botanique 1: 94 (1875). (figs 4 & 11). colonies on pda attaining 6.1 cm in diameter, up to 13 mm high at room temperature; 6.9 cm in diameter at 30˚ c and 7.8 cm in diameter and 13 mm high at room temperature on beer wort agar after 4 days. colonies pale smoke gray without any zonation, reverse off white. sporangiophores branched, 6.2–16.2 µm in diameter. sporangia 18.75–53.75 × 19.38–50.63 µm, globose or spherical. columellae globose or spherical, 16.25–41.25 × 18.13–31.88 µm, collars present. sporangiospores 5.6–13.1 × 2.25–3.13 µm, broadly ellipsoidal to ellipsoidal, few fusiform. chlamydospores present, 7.50–16.88 µm thick. specimen examined: isolate no. k.s. hossain 255, 24 december 2012, from spirulina culture, bcsir, dhaka, collected by amena kibria. 5. mucor hiemalis wehmer, annales mycologici 1(1): 37 (1903). (figs 5 & 12). colonies on pda attaining 8.3 cm in diameter at room temperature; on beer wort agar 4.4 cm in diameter at 30˚ c and 5.2 cm in diameter and 5 mm high at room temperature after 4 days. colonies cottony to fluffy, pale yellow-brown colour, reverse light yellowish to ocherish. sporangiophores branched, 2.5–13.7 µm in diameter. sporangia globose, 40.63–65 × 37.5–62.5 µm. columellae globose to subglobose, 12.5–36.88 × 12.5–32.5 µm, collars present. sporangiospores 4.4–12.5 × 2.8–8.1 µm, subglobose to ellipsoidal, few ovals. chlamydospores 5.63–16.88 µm thick. specimen examined: isolate no. k. s. hossain 259, 24 december 2012, from spirulina culture, bcsir, dhaka, collected by amena kibria. 6. penicillium frequentans westling, arkiv før botanik 11(1): 133 (1911). (figs 6 & 13). colonies on pda 5.2 cm in diameter after 10 days at room temperature, spreading rapidly, radiately wrinkled, broadly zonate, margin thin. mycelium consisting of hyaline, aseptate, branched hyphae. conidiophores arise from hyphae velvety, crowded, short, septate, heavily sporing, up to 200.6 µm long and 2.6–3.6 µm wide, with smooth or finely roughed walls, and apices enlarged up to 4 µm or more in width. sterigmata mostly 8.0–12.0 × 3.0–3.5 µm, formed in crowded clusters numbering 10 to 12 or more, produce conidial chain. conidia mostly 2.6–3.1 µm in diameter, smooth, globose to subglobose, thin-walled. specimen examined: isolate no. k.s. hossain 263, 27 december 2012, from spirulina slurry, bcsir, dhaka, collected by amena kibria. 7. verticillium albo-atrum reinke & berthold, die zersetzung der kartoffel druch pilze 1: 75 (1879). (figs 7 & 14). colonies on pda reaching 4.1 cm in diameter after 14 days at room temperature, white, velvety, thinning at margin, several centric weavy zone present, margin weavy. reverse light brownish yellow. mycelium septate, hyaline. conidiophores branched, hyaline, more or less erect, and verticilliate, c. 4.25 µm thick. phialides 2−4, 2 µm thick. conidia broadly ellipsoidal to ellipsoidal, few oval, end tapered, ellipsoidal to sub cylindrical, hyaline, aseptate, 3.9–5.5 × 1.7– 2.4 µm. specimen examined: isolate no. k.s. hossain 266, 29 december 2012, from spirulina culture, bcsir, dhaka, collected by amena kibria. new records of seven fungal species 5 figs 8−14. microscopic images of the seven fungi. 8. cladosporium varians, a. dichotomous branching of conidiophores, b. different aseptate (arrow), single septate (arrowhead) conidia and ramoconidia (arrow-1); 9. fusarium trichothecioides, a. macroconidia, b. chlamydospores, c. conidiophores bearing conidia on apical phialides (arrowhead); 10. double septation (arrowhead) and arthroconidial chain of geotrichum candidum (arrow); 11. mucor circinelloides, a. sporangia, b. chlamydospores, c. columellae with collarette (arrowheads), d. sporangiospores, e. sporangia with incrusted wall (arrow); 12. mucor hiemalis, a. columellae with collarette (arrowheads), b. sporangiospores, c. sporangia with incrusted wall (arrow), d. chlamydospores, e. sporangia; 13. penicillium frequentans, a. sterigmata (arrowhead) on width apex of conidiphore (arrow), 13b. long monoverticillate conidiophore arise from mycelium (arrow to arrow-1), c. chain of conidia; 14. conidiophores (arrow-1), whorl of phialides (arrow), conidia (arrowhead) and a cluster of conidia (arrow-2) of verticillium albo-atrum. [scale bars = 25 µm] 6 kibria et al. acknowledgements the authors express their sincere thanks and gratitude to professor dr. robert l wick, university of massachusetts, usa for his great support to fulfill the lacking of literature regarding fungal identification. microscopic photographic equipments facility was provided by the director, national mushroom development & extension center, savar, dhaka, bangladesh, whose cooperation is greatly appreciated. the authors are grateful to mohammad anwar hossain of the same institute for his cooperation in microscopic photography. references bensch, k., braun, u., groenewald, j.z. and crous, p.w. 2012. the genus cladosporium. studies in mycology no. 72, cbs-knaw fungal biodiversity centre, utrecht, the netherlands, pp. 1–401. booth, c. 1971. the genus fusarium. commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, pp. 1–237. crous, p.w. and groenewald, j.z. 2013. a phylogenetic re-evaluation of arthrinium. ima fungus 4(1): 133–154. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. common wealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, pp. 1–608. ellis, d., davis, s., alexiou, h., handke, r. and bartley, r. 2007. descriptions of medical fungi. 2nd ed. mycology unit, women’s and children’s hospital, north adelaide, australia, pp. 1–198. harvey, c.s. 1965. the morphology of verticillium albo-atrum, v. dahliae, and v. tricorpus, new zeal. j. agr. res. 8(3): 450–478. jabnoun-khiareddine, h., daami-remadi, m., barbara, d.j., and el mahjoub, m. 2010. morphological variability within and among verticillium species collected in tunisia. tunisian j. plant prot. 5: 19–38. kendrick, b. 2000. the fifth kingdom. 3rd ed. focus publishing, r pullins company, newburyport, usa, pp. 1–373. kurtzman, c., fell, j.w., and boekhout, t. (eds). 2011. the yeasts: a taxonomic study, vol. 2, 5th ed. elsevier science, usa, pp.1–2354. mueller, g.m., bills, g.f. and foster, m.s. (eds). 2004. biodiversity of fungi: inventory and monitoring methods. elsevier academic press, london, pp. 1−777. raper, k.b. and thom, c. 1949. a manual of the penicillia. the willams & wilkins company, baltimore, usa, pp. 1–875. schipper, m.a.a. 1973. a study on variability in mucor hiemalis and related species. studies in mycology no. 4, cbs-knaw fungal biodiversity centre, utrecht, the netherlands, pp. 1–40. schipper, m.a.a. 1976. on mucor circinelloides, mucor racemosus and related species. studies in mycology no.12, cbs-knaw fungal biodiversity centre, utrecht, the netherlands, pp.1–40. schipper, m.a.a. 1978. on certain species of mucor with a key to all accepted species. studies in mycology no. 17, cbs-knaw fungal biodiversity centre, utrecht, the netherlands, pp. 1–70. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 2. cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–415. zare, r. 2003. a revision of plant-associated verticillium species. rostaniha 4: 29–54. (manuscript received on 15 august 2015; revised on 10 december 2015) microsoft word 06. 43-13 elatostema biopositum ok 4.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 179-183, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists elatostema bioppositum (urticaceae), a new species from guangxi, china lin-dong duan and yun lin1 shaoyang university, shaoyang 422004, hunan, people’s republic of china keywords: elatostema bioppositum; new species; urticaceae; china. abstract a new species of elatostema j. r. forst. & g. forst. (urticaceae), e. bioppositum l. d. duan & y. lin, is described and illustrated from guangxi, china. this species was found growing in evergreen broad-leaved forests in limestone hills at altitudes of 410-550 m. the new species is related to e. oppositum q. lin & y. m. shui, but differs from the latter by stipule linear, lanceolate-linear or lanceolate, 12-25 mm long, 2.0-4.5 mm wide; leaf blade green after drying; male inflorescence 15-30 mm in diameter and peduncle 2-3 mm long; and female inflorescence 7-15 mm in diameter. introduction the genus elatostema j. r. forster & g. forster, as one of the largest genera in the family urticaceae, consists of c. 500 species and is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of africa, asia and oceania. southern and south-western china is one centre of distribution for elatostema and about 240 species of elastostema have been recorded from china (wu et al., 2012). after a series of taxonomic studies on elatostema have been published (duan and lin, 2003, 2007, 2010; duan et al., 2006a, 2006b, 2011; lin and duan, 2002a, 2002b, 2003, 2008), we have examined some specimens of elatostema from china and its adjacent area, and carried out field studies in china (guangdong, guangxi, guizhou, hubei, hunan, sichuan, yunnan) and vietnam. during an expedition in longzhou county, southwest guangxi zhuangzu zizhiqu, southwest china from april to june 2011, and july 2012, a previously unknown species was collected in evergreen broad-leaved forests in limestone hills at altitudes of 410-550 m, latitude 22º 39' n, longitude 106º 49' e. after critical examination of the specimens and carefully consulting relevant literatures (wang, 1995; lin and duan, 2002a,b, 2003, 2008; duan and lin, 2003, 2007, 2010; lin et al., 2003; duan et al., 2006a,b; bi et al., 2001; wu et al., 2012; wei et al., 2013), they been identified as a new species, elatostema bioppositum sp. nov. the new species is described and illustrated here. elatostema bioppositum l. d. duan & y. lin, sp. nov. (figs 1-3). diagnosis: elatostema bioppositum is morphologically similar to e. oppositum q. lin & y. m. shui, but differs in stipule, leaf blade colour after drying, male receptacle size and peduncle length, and female inflorescence size as summarized in table 1. type: china. guangxi zhuangzu zizhiqu: longzhou county, jinlong town, 410-550 m, 1 april 2011, ♂, l. d. duan 5241 (holotype: pe; isotypes: hufd (herbarium, hunan food and drug vocational college, hunan, china), husy (herbarium, shaoyang university, hunan, china), k, mo, p, pe); the same locality, 3 april 2011, ♂, l.d. duan (paratypes: husy, pe), 5212 (paratypes: husy, pe); the same locality, 25 may 2011, ♀, l.d. duan 5253 (paratypes: husy, pe), 5254 (paratypes: husy, pe); the same locality, 3 june 2011, ♀, l.d. duan 5256 1hunan food and drug vocational college, changsha 410014, hunan, people’s republic of china. corresponding author. email: leoliny@foxmail.com 180 duan and lin (paratypes: husy, pe), 5258 (paratypes: husy, pe); the same locality, 4 june 2011, ♀, l.d. duan 5260 (paratypes: husy, pe), 5262 (paratypes: husy, pe); the same locality, 26 july 2012, ♀, l.d. duan & y. lin 25 (paratypes: bm, hufd, husy, l, pe), 26 (paratypes: hufd, husy, pe). vernacular name: shuangduisheng louticao. perennial herbs, tufted, tap-rooted, dioecious, 40-80 cm tall, glabrous. stems fleshy, erect or ascending, simple, 0.3-2.0 cm in diameter, longitudinally striate and brown furfuraceous. leaves alternate; nanophyll absent; stipules 2, herbaceous, linear, lanceolate-linear or lanceolate, 12-25 mm long, 2.0-4.5 mm wide, with cystoliths linear, 0.2-0.5 mm long, deciduous; petiole 2-10 mm fig. 1. elatostema bioppositum l. d. duan & yun lin, sp. nov. (l. d. duan 5212, pe). (a) male habit, (b) portion of male flowering stem (l. d. duan 5241, pe), (c) portion of fruiting stem (l. d. duan 5253, pe), (d) achene (l. d. duan 5253, pe). elatostema bioppositum, a new species from china 181 long; leaf blade obliquely oblong, (35-) 70-195 mm long, (11-) 30-115 mm wide, glabrous, fleshy, or chartaceous and green after drying, venation pinnate, major basal lateral (secondary) veins absent, with cystoliths conspicuous, linear, 0.2-0.6 mm long, dense, random on both surfaces; base with broader half rounded or auriculate, narrower half cuneate; margin dentate or crenate, lower broader-half basal ≤1/3 entire and narrower-half basal ≤2/3 entire; apex acute or acuminate, acumen entire. male inflorescence or female inflorescence opposite each other at the same stem figs 2-3. 2. elatostema bioppositum sp. nov. habitat of male plant (l. d. duan 5241). (a) male branches, (b) male inflorescences when young, (c) vegetative branches. 3. elatostema bioppositum sp. nov. habitat of female plant (l. d. duan 5262). (a) female branches, (b) female inflorescences. node with the node either bearing a leaf or a bract and without a leaf, one male inflorescence or one female inflorescence opposes at the leaf base, with the second one at the bract base, or both found at bract bases when the stem node leafless; bracts on the node herbaceous, glabrous, 182 duan and lin lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 6-20 mm long, 3-6 mm wide, deciduous. male inflorescence solitary, simple, 15-30 mm in diameter; peduncle glabrous, 2-3 mm long; receptacle pyriform when young, dehiscent, nearly butterfly-like when mature, 15-30 mm in diameter, with cystoliths; involucral bracts obscure; bracteoles numerous, equal, dense, linear, 1.5-2.0 mm long. male flowers 4merous; perianth lobes yellowish or white, ovate-elliptic, 2.2-2.5 mm long; stamens 4; pistil rudimentary, very small. female inflorescence solitary, nearly orbicular, mostly 7-15 mm in diameter, receptacle nearly orbicular, 5-10 mm in diameter, with cystoliths; involucral bracts obscure; bracteoles numerous, very small, subulate, c. 1 mm long. achenes ellipsoidal, 0.7-0.8 mm long, c. 4-ribbed. phenology: flowering from april to may and fruiting from june to july. etymology: the epithet ‘bioppositum’ refers to male inflorescence or female inflorescence opposite to each other at the same stem node with the node either bearing a leaf or without a leaf, one male inflorescence or one female inflorescence opposes at the leaf base, with the second one at bract base, or both found at bract bases when the stem node is leafless. habitat: it grows only in evergreen broad-leaved forests in limestone hills at altitudes of 410550 m, comprising c. 900 individuals growing in more than ten populations within a nature reserve. distribution: elatostema bioppositum is only known from its type locality, gaoshan village, jinlong town, longzhou county, southwest guangxi zhuangzu zizhiqu, south-west china table 1. comparison of morphological characteristics of elatostema bioppositum and e. oppositum. characters e. bioppositum sp nov. e. oppositum stem simple, with brown furfuraceous simple or branched, without furfuraceous stipule linear, lanceolate-linear or lanceolate, 12-25 mm long, 2.0-4.5 mm wide subulate, 5-7 mm long, 1.0-1.5 mm wide leaf blade green after drying, major basal lateral veins absent and venation pinnate brown-black after drying, the 2 major basal lateral veins asymmetric, one arising above the other basal vein male inflorescence opposite; 15-30 mm in diameter; peduncle 2-3 mm long opposite; 6-16 mm in diameter; peduncle 5-35 mm long female inflorescence opposite; 7-15 mm in diameter opposite or in pairs; 4-5 mm in diameter achene c. 4-ribbed c. 10-ribbed acknowledgements this work was supported by hunan high school scientific program (11a109) and key discipline of shaoyang university. we thank yun-xi zhu for the drawing. references bi, h.y., yang, z.r. and lin, q. 2001. new taxa of elatostema (urticaceae) from thailand and india. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 18(2): 149-152. duan, l.d. and lin, q. 2003. taxonomic notes on elatostema xinningense w. t. wang. acta phytotax. sin. 41: 495-496. duan, l.d. and lin, q. 2007. new records of urticaceae from some provinces in china. bull. bot. res., harbin 27: 527-528. duan, l.d. and lin, q. 2010. elatostema cataractum (urticaceae), a new species from guizhou province, china. ann. bot. fenn. 47: 229-232. elatostema bioppositum, a new species from china 183 duan, l.d., lin, q. and shao, q. 2006a. two new synonyms of elatostema (urticaceae). acta phytotax. sin. 44: 474-476. duan, l.d., lin, q. and shao, q. 2006b. the classification and distribution of elatostema (urticaceae) in hunan, china. life sci. res. 10: 144-150. duan, l.d., lin, q., yang, z.r. and shao, q. 2011. new records of urticaceae from twelve provinces in china. acta bot. boreali-occident. sin. 31(5): 1050-1052. lin, q. and duan, l.d. 2002a. taxonomic notes on some species of elatostema (urticaceae) from china. acta phytotax. sin. 40: 444-448. lin, q. and duan, l.d. 2002b. new records for elatostema and pellionia (urticaceae) in some provinces of china. j. trop. subtrop. bot. 10: 356-360. lin, q. and duan, l.d. 2003. taxonomic notes on five species of elatostema (urticaceae) from china. acta bot. yunnan. 25: 633-638. lin, q. and duan, l.d. 2008. two new species and a new series of elatostema (urticaceae) from china. bot. j. linn. soc. 158: 674-680. lin, q., friis, i. and wilmot-dear, c.m. 2003. elatostema (urticaceae). in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china, vol. 5. science press, beijing and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, usa. pp. 127-163. lin, q., shui, y.m. and duan, l.d. 2011. elatostema oppositum (urticaceae), a new species from yunnan, china. novon 21: 212-215. wang, w.t. 1995. elatostema j.r. et g. forst. in: wang, w.t. and chen, c.j. (eds), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae, vol. 23, no. 2. science press, beijing, pp. 187-317. wei, y.g., wen, f., fu, l.f. and wang, w.t. 2013. three new species of elatostoma j.r. forst. & g. forst. (urticaceae) in limestone caves from guangxi and guixhou, china. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 1-8. wu z.y., li, d.z., wang, h. and wang, w.t. 2012. one new series with its only new species of elatostema (urticaceae) from southeast yunnan, china. plant divers. resour. 24(2): 151-154. (manuscript received on 18 march 2013; revised on 26 august 2013) microsoft word sc. 02. bjpt16-115_edt_ka-3-5-2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 119–123, 2017 (june) short communication © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists lectotypification of actinodaphne lanata meisn. (lauraceae) and notes on its occurrence in the western ghats, india a.j. robi1, k.a. anilkumar2 and p.s. udayan3 department of botany, bishop abraham memorial college, thuruthicad, pathanamthitta, kerala 689 597, india keywords: actinodaphne; critically endangered; lauraceae; lectotype; southern western ghats. actinodaphne lanata meisn. an endemic and critically endangered species that has previously been collected only four times, was recently located and re-collected from the kerala part of nilgiri sholas, south india. a lectotype is designated and detailed account on taxonomy, ecology of the species has been provided to facilitate its easy identification. the genus actinodaphne nees was erected by c. g. d. nees von esenbeck (1831) based on a. pruinosa nees from peninsular malasia. it comprises about 101 species, distributed from india and sri lanka to myanmar, thailand, indo-china, korea, japan, malaysia and the solomon islands (rohwer, 1993; van der werff, 2001; julia, 2005). whilst revising the species of actinodaphne in south india, the authors encountered problems in the typification of the actinodaphne lanata. meisner (1864) described this species based on the collections of gardner and wight from nilgiris, india. in the protologue, meisner erroneously mentioned one collection from ceylon which was substantiated by the note given by hooker (1886). while searching for gardner’s and wight’s specimens in different herbaria it was found that there are two sheets of gardner and one sheet of wight at k, all are considered as syntypes. of the three sheets at k, one sheet of wight bears two twigs; one with young leaves and the other with mature leaves and fruits (k000778989 image!), the two specimens of gardner bear one twig with mature leaves and fruits and on both sheets a label annotated ‘nilghiri, 1847’ (k000778987 image ! and k000778988 image!) is there. amongst them, wight’s specimen wight kd 2538, k000778989 image!) is a perfect match for the description given in the protologue, and is designated here as the lectotype. while exploring the anginda and sispara shola forests of silent valley national park in palakkad district of kerala, the authors came across a few mature individuals of actinodaphne lanata. subsequent critical study and verification with the high resolution images of authentic type specimens from kew herbarium catalogue (http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/navigator.do), confirmed the identity of the plant. according to ramesh and pascal (1997) “this species could never be collected again since its original collections, neither from its type locality nor elsewhere”. 1corresponding author: email: <ajrobin80@gmail.com>. 2plant systematics and genetic resources division, centre for medicinal plants research (cmpr), arya vaidya sala, kottakkal p.o., malappuram district, kerala-676 503, india. 3p.g, department of botany & research centre, sree krishna college, ariyannur p.o., guruvayur, thrissur, kerala, india-680 102. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33039 120 robi et al. actinodaphne lanata meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 219 (1864); hook.f., fl. brit. india 5:149 (1886); brandis, indian trees: 534 (1921); gamble, fl. madras 2: 861 (1957) (repr.); b. d. sharma et al., biological memoirs 2:122 (1977); e. vajr. & p. daniel in s.k. jain & sastry (eds) materials catalogue threat. pl. of india: 33 (1983); ahmed. & m.p. nayar, end. pl. ind. reg. 1: 64 (1987); m.p. nayar & sastry, red data book ind. pl. 2: 140–141 (1990); b.r. remesh & j.-p. pascal, atlas end. w. ghats: 219 (1997); jayakumar & k.k.n. nair, j. econ. taxon. bot. 29: 153 (2005); t.s. nayar et al., fl. pl. kerala-handb.: 368 (2006). (fig. 1). lectotype (designated here): india, peninsular indiae orientalis, s. die, wight, kd2538 (k000778989 image!). (fig. 2). small tree, about. 6 m high. twigs slender, brown, juvenile shoots densely rusty tomentose. terminal buds perulate with imbricate scales, elliptic to ovate, 5–6 mm long, tomentose, margin ciliate. leaves verticillate of 5–7 per node; lamina elliptic-oblong to narrowly lanceolate, 5–8 x 1.4–2.5 cm, apex attenuate to acuminate, base acute to cuneate, margin entire, chartaceous, areolate and shining green above, densely white-woolly when young, glabrous on both surfaces when mature, glaucous beneath; secondary veins 7–9 pairs, sunken above, raised beneath, arching and looping near margin, basal pair c. 7 mm away from leaf base, opposite and oblique; tertiary veins scalariform, obscure or slightly distinct on both surfaces; petioles slender, 1–2 cm long, slightly grooved above, rounded beneath, rusty tomentose, glabrescent when mature. inflorescences fasciculate, ferrugineous tomentose, borne on twigs between whorls of leaves, up to 8-flowers per fascicle, sessile or short stalked, peduncles c. 2 mm long, fulvous tomentose. staminate flowers not seen. pistillate flowesr c. 7 mm long, pedicels 3–5 mm long, slightly angular, fulvous tomentose; perianth lobes oblong-elliptic or orbicular, acute or rounded at apex, margin ciliate, fulvous tomentose outside, glabrous inside, gland-dotted, 3-veined, membranaceous, inner 2.5 × 1.5–2.0 mm, flat, outer 2.0 × 1.5 mm long, concave, keeled at back; staminodes 9, nearly spathulate, linear-lanceolate, apex acute, 1–1.5 mm long, pilose at base, third row with bi-glandular, glands ca. 0.5 mm across, kidney-shaped, stipe linear; ovary obovoid, c. 1.5 by 1.0 mm, glabrous; style stout, sparsely pilose, curved, c. 1 mm long, yellow, stigma peltate, white. fruits ellipsoid to obovoid, c. 1.5 mm long, apex with persistent stylar remnents, drying black; mature perianth tube shallowly cup-shaped, c. 7 mm in diam., fulvous tomentose outside at early stage, puberulous when mature; pedicels slender, c. 1cm long, glabrescent, greenish yellow. flowering and fruiting: february−may. distribution and ecology: it grows in shola forests above 1800 m and is restricted to sispara, anginda (kerala) and upper bhavani and mukuruthi (tamil nadu, of nilgiri biosphere reserve. conservation status: actinodaphne lanata is endemic and listed as critically endangered (b1+2c ver. 2.3) in the iucn red list of threatened species (wcmc, 1998), because of its rarity, extremely limited distribution and fragmented habitat in the nilgiri mountains. however, our observations indicate that the habitat (shola forest) is intact, and no indication of habitat fragmentation in the nearby forest is seen. the species is, however, very rare, only a few individuals were seen on a single ridge. specimen examined: india, kerala, palakkad district.: anginda, ±2000 m, 12 october 2012, a.j. robi & k.a. anilkumar 4811 (cmpr!); anginda, ±2200 m, 14 january 2016, a.j. robi & k.j. dantas 28084 (kfri!). tamil nadu, nilgiris dist.: nilgherries, 1847, gardner s.n. (k000778987, k000778988, images!); anginda, ±2100 m, may 1889, j.s. gamble 20644 (mh!); sispara, ±1800 m, may 1889, j.s. gamble 20585 (mh!). lectotypification of actinodaphne lanata meisn. 121 fig. 1. actinodaphne lanata meisn., a. habit; b. terminal bud scales; c. leaves-abaxial view; d. leavesadaxial view; e. female inflorescence; f. flowers enlarged; g. & h. immature fruits; i. mature fruit. 122 robi et al. fig. 2. lectotype of actinodaphne lanata meisn. (wight kd 2538, k000778989). lectotypification of actinodaphne lanata meisn. 123 acknowledgements the authors are grateful to curators of various herbaria, cal, k and mh; dr. n. sasidharan kerala forest research institute (kfri), thrissur and dr. a. k. pradeep, university of calicut, calicut for their valuable help during the study. the authors (ajr and psu) are also thankful to department of science & technology (dst), govt. of india, new delhi for the financial support and the authorities of arya vaidya sala, kottakkal for the facilities and support. the facilities provided by the kerala forest department during field works are thankfully acknowledged. legend: references julia, s. 2005. a synopsis of the genus actinodaphne nees (lauraceae) in sabah and sarawak, malaysia. gardens’ bulletin singapore, 57(1): 69–100. hooker, j.d. 1886. laurineæ. in: hooker j.d. (ed.), the flora of british india. vol. 5. chenopodiaceae to orchidaceae, reeve & co, london, pp. 116–189. meisner, c.f. 1864. lauraceae in: a. de candolle (ed.), prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis. vol. 15, part 1. masson, paris, pp. 1–260. nees, c.g. 1831. actinodaphne. in: wallich, plantae asiaticeae rariores. 2: 61–68 ramesh, b.r. and pascal, j.p. 1997. atlas of endemics of the western ghats (india). distribution of tree species in the evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. institut franais de pondichry. rohwer, j.g. 1993. lauraceae. in: k. kubitzki (ed.), the families and genera of vascular plants. vol. 2, springer, heidelberg, p. 388. van der werff, h. 2001. an annotated key to the genera of lauraceae in the flora malesiana region. blumea 46: 152–140. wcmc (world conservation monitoring centre), 1998. actinodaphne lanata. the iucn red list of threatened species www.<iucnredlist.org>. downloaded on 15 october 2016. (manuscript received on 18 october 2016; revised on 30 april 2017) species entry profile 3: angiosperm bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 39-48, 2005 (december) four new records of aroids for bangladesh hosne ara1 and md. abul hassan2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words : four new records, araceae, bangladesh abstract the paper deals with four taxa of the family araceae as new records for bangladesh, namely, aglaonema commutatum schott, a. marantifolium blume, colocasia mannii hook. f. and remusatia vivipara (roxb.) schott. an up-dated nomenclature, important synonyms, illustrated description, flowering and fruiting times, specimen citation, ecology and geographical distribution for each species have also been given. introduction the family araceae consists of 110 genera and 2500 species distributed mostly in the tropics and sub-tropics (croat 1979). prain (1903) and hooker (1893) reported 27 and 30 species, respectively from the area that now comprises bangladesh. during recent past extensive field trips made throughout the country have resulted in many new records of araceae for bangladesh (ara 2000, 2001; ara and hassan 2003, 2005; ara and khatun 2002; ara et al. 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003 2004, 2005; uddin et al. 2001). some recent collections from madhupur (mymensingh), sherpur, netrokona, maulvi bazar and bandarban districts include the following species of this family namely aglaonema commutatum schott, aglaonema marantifolium blume, colocasia mannii hook. f. and remusatia vivipara ( roxb.) schott, that are new records for bangladesh. the genus remusatia schott is also a new generic record for bangladesh. none of the above mentioned species is found in the work of previous workers who published on the flora of this region, viz., hooker (1893), prain (1903), heinig (1925), calder et al. (1926), sinclair (1955), rao and verma (1976), huq and khan (1984), nicolson (1987), karthikeyan et al. (1989), khan et al. (1994), noltie (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), rashid et al. (2000), ara (2001), khan and huq (2001) and rahman (2004a, 2004b). materials and methods the paper is based on the materials collected from different parts of the country during field trips made from 2000-2005, which are now preserved in the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the specimens have been identified with the help of engler (1915), nicolson (1969, 1987), noltie (1994), mayo (1985) and rao and verma (1976). correct names with important synonyms, description, specimen citation, notes on ecology, geographical distribution within and outside the country and illustration of each species have been prepared based on the fresh specimens. 1corresponding author. 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 40 ara and hassan description of the species 1. aglaonema commutatum schott syn. aroid. 123 (1856). engler, pflanzenr. 64 (iv. 23 dc): 27 (1915); nicolson, smithsonian contr. bot. 1: 49 (1969); jervis, aglaonema grower's hand b. 11 (1980); nicolson, fl. ceylon 6: 45 (1987); noltie, fl. bhut. 131-132 (1994); aglaonema oblongifolium sensu alston in trimen, hand b. fl. ceylon. 6: 296 (1931), non schott, 1829. (fig. 1) fig. 1. aglaonema commutatum schott, (a) habit sketch (× 0.50); (b) inflorescence (× 1); (c) spadix (× 1); (d) pistil (× 10); (e) longitudinal section of pistil (× 10). four new records of aroids for bangladesh 41 an evergreen herb. stem erect, becoming decumbent in older and larger specimens, 20-150 cm tall, 0.5-6.0 cm thick. internodes 0.4-2.5 cm long. petioles 6-25 cm long, sheathing for more than half its length, margins of sheath membranous but occasionally scarious. leaf-blades usually narrowly oblong-elliptic to lanceolate, 10-30 × 2.5-12 cm, slightly asymmetric, shortly acuminate, base oblique to rounded; pale variegation along the primary lateral veins; venation differentiated into 4-7 primary lateral veins diverging from the midrib at 20-45-70; texture coriaceous. peduncle solitary to 3 together, 4.5-20 cm long. spathe 3-7 × 2.8-5 cm, light green, shorter than petiole, decurrent for 0.4-1.2 cm. spadix stipitate for 0.4-1.0 cm, completely free from spathe, 2-7 cm long, usually at least 1 cm short of spathe apex but occasionally equaling it; pistillate portion 0.3-1.0 cm long, pistils few, 10-18; staminate portion 1.5-6 × 0.4-0.6 cm. ovary ovoid or subglobose, 1-locular, ovule 1, anatropous, placenta basal, stylar region short, thick, stigma broad, discoid, concave centrally. fruits turning yellow, then bright red, ellipsoidal to obovoid, 1.5-2 × 0.4-1.5 cm. flowering and fruiting time : june to september. specimens examined: bandarban district: udalbunia, sapchari hill, 20.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1164 (dacb); maulvi bazar district: adampur beat, kawargola forest, 03.07.2005, hosne ara ha 1767 (dacb); sherpur district: samaschura beat, madhutila eco park, 23.06.2004, hosne ara ha 1068 (dacb). ecology : in shady places of forest near streams. geographical distribution : india, the philippines and north-eastern celebes. note: so far two species of aglaonema, namely, a. hookerianum schott and a. modestum schott ex engler have been reported from bangladesh (ara 2001 and ara et al. 2005). newly reported a. commutatum schott differs from these two by its leaves with pale variegation along the primary lateral veins and the spadix a bit shorter or equaling the spathe. 2. aglaonema marantifolium blume in rumphia 1: 153 (1835), t. 66. engler in engler, pflanzenr. 64 (iv. 23 dc): 26-27 (1915); nicolson, smithsonian contr. bot. 1: 47-49 (1969); calla oblongifolia roxburgh, fl. ind. 3: 516 (1832); wight ic. t. 806 (1844); aglaonema oblongifolium schottin wien., zsitschr. iii: 892 (1829). (fig. 2) stem erect, 1-3 cm thick, internodes 2 cm long. petiole 18-25 cm long, sheaths with membranous margins, 11-20 cm long. leaf blade narrowly oblong, narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, 22–35 cm long, 7.5-15 cm wide, base obtuse to subrounded, apex acuminate, often apiculate, variegation none, venation undifferentiated to weakly differentiated into 5-8 primary lateral veins diverging from the midrib, texture coriaceous. peduncles 2-5 together, rarely solitary, 10-15 cm long. spathe green, turning yellow with age, not differentiated into a tube and blade, 4-7 cm long. stipe 0.7-1.5 cm long. spadix shorter than spathe, pistillate portion 0.2-0.8 cm long, pistils 10-20, the pistil with broad yellow stigma, the style distinctly contracted; staminate portion 1.2-2.7 cm long, stamens free, filaments usually distinct. ovary subglobose, 1-locular, ovule-1, 42 ara and hassan anatropous, basal placentation, style short, stigma broad, discoid. fruits becoming bright red, 1.5-3.0 cm long, 0.7-1.7 cm wide. flowering and fruiting time: apparently non seasonal. fig. 2. aglaonema marantifolium blume, (a) habit sketch (× 0 .28); (b) inflorescence (× 1); (c) spadix (× 1); (d) top view of synandrium (× 10); (e) pistil (× 12). specimens examined: mymensingh district: madhupur forest, 25.05.2000, hosne ara ha 45 (dacb); bangladesh national herbarium (originally collected from madhupur, ha 45 and planted in bnh compound), 15.04.2005, hosne ara ha 1462 (dacb). four new records of aroids for bangladesh 43 ecology : grows in shady and damp places as forest undergrowth. geographical distribution : moluccas through new guinea. note: aglaonema marantifolium blume differs from a. commutatum schott by leaf blade which is non-variegated along the primary lateral veins and spadix which is always shorter than spathe (in case of former). 3. colocasia mannii hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 524 (1893); rao and verma, bull. bot. surv. ind.18 (1-4): 27 (1976). (fig.3) fig. 3. colocasia mannii hook. f. (a) habit sketch (x 0.14); (b) inflorescence (× 0. 43); (c) spadix (× 0.59); (d) top view of pistil (× 5); (e) transverse section of pistil (× 8); (f) ovule (× 10). 44 ara and hassan herbs. rhizome 5-6 cm long, 3-4 cm in diam., stolons absent. leaves several together; petiole reddish green, 50-87 cm long, sheathing in the lower 1/3; blades oblongovate, 25-41 x 13.5-25 cm, sagittate with a broad sinus, tip acute, peltate, upper surface glossy green, lower surface pale green; primary lateral veins 6-7 pairs, pale green. inflorescences produced in both juvenile and adult plants, solitary or paired; peduncles almost completely enclosed in sheath of subtending leaf, when paired the sequence perpendicular to the circumference of the stem with the younger one further out , 30-40 cm long. spathe 18-23.5 cm long, tube 3-5 cm long, light green, limb narrowly oblongcymbiform, 15-18.5 cm long, 7.7 cm wide, reflexed. spadix shorter than spathe, 9-11 cm long; female zone 3.0-3.8 cm long, 1 cm diam.; pistils numerous; ovaries globose, green, incompletely 3-5 locular with parietal placentation and numerous oval shaped ovules; stigma sessile, discoid, whitish, 1mm diam.; sterile interstice 3 cm long, yellow; male zone 3.0 4.2 cm long, 0.5 cm diam., tip rounded, synandria ivory, irregularly rhombohexagonal, 8-10 androus, 1mm diam., yellow; appendix absent. flowering and fruiting time: june to july. specimens examined: maulvi bazar district: gazipur beat, harargonj reserve forest, 21. 05. 2005, hosne ara ha 1737 (dacb); 05.07.2005, hosne ara ha 1807 (dacb). ecology: grows in shady and moist places of hill slope of rain forest. geographical distribution : assam (india) and sylhet (bangladesh). note: colocasia mannii hook. f. can easily be separated from all other colocasia species so far reported from bangladesh (ara and hassan, 2005) by the presence of the following characters together: tuber short, lack of stolons, narrowly oblong-cymbiform spathe limb and absence of appendix. 4. remusatia vivipara (roxb.) schott in schott and endlicher, melet. bot. 18 (1832). kunth, enum. pl. 3: 36 (1841); schott, syn aroid. 43 (1856); gen. aroid. t. 36 (1858); prodr. syst. aroid. 137 (1860); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 521 (1893); krause in engler, pflanzenr. 71 (iv. 23 e): 16 (1920); haines, bot. bihar and orissa: 907 (1924); fischer in gamble, fl. press. madras 1583 (1931), repr. ed. 2, 3: 1104 (1967); prain, beng. pl., repr. ed., 2: 837 (1963); nicolson in saldanha and nicolson, fl. hassan dist.: 788 (1976); rao and verma, bull. bot. surv. ind. 18 (1-4): 24 (1976); mayo, fl. trop. e. africa : 40-42 (1985); nicolson, fl. cylon 6: 49-50 (1987); noltie, fl. bhut. 3 (1): 133-136 (1994); arum viviparum roxburgh, hort. beng. 65 (1814), (‘vivaparium’), fl. ind. 3: 496 (1832); wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 3: 6, t. 798 (1844); caladium viviparum (roxb.) loddiges, bot. cab. 3: t. 281 (1818). (fig. 4) corm 2.5-5.0 cm in diameter 1.5-4 cm thick, pink-red outside, pinkish white within. bulbiliferous shoots appearing in the vegetative phase but persisting in a more or less decayed state till the next flowering phase, 10-30 cm long, 5-7 cm thick; bulbils clustered, 4-5 mm long. petioles upto 30 cm long, very shortly sheathing at base. leaf blade broadly ovate, peltate, 12-42 x 8-30 cm, acuminate, cordate; nerves 3-4 on either side of the midrib and 2-3 from the basal costae. flowering very rare and usually four new records of aroids for bangladesh 45 produced before leaf. peduncle 6-20 cm long, 5-8 mm diam., surrounded by about 7 cataphylls, cataphylls exceeding the peduncle. spathe about 17 cm long, tube ovoid, green, 3-5 cm long; limb at first erect, later reflexed and ultimately deciduous, yellow, broadly obovate, abruptly apiculate, about 5.5-13 cm long, 9.5 cm wide; tube and limb separated by a constriction. spadix slightly exceeding the spathe tube, sessile, 5-7 cm long; male and female floriferous zones separated by 1.5-2 cm long neuter zone; male fig. 4. remusatia vivipara (roxb.) schott. (a) habit in flower with bulbiliferous shoots (x 0.23); (b) habit with bulbiliferous shoots (× 0.4); (c) tubercle (× 4); (d) inflorescence (× 0.29); (e) spadix (× 0.71); (f) top view of synandrium (× 10); (g) side view of synandrium (× 6); (h) pistil (× 6); (i) longitudinal section of pistil (× 6). 46 ara and hassan zone clavate, 1-1.5 cm long, 0.5 cm in diameter.; female zone subcylindric, green, 2 cm long, 0.8 cm in diameter. ovary ovoid, unilocular with numerous, orthotropous ovules on 3-4 parietal placentae, stigma sessile, discoid; staminate flowers represented by shortstalked synandria of 4-6 anthers, cream coloured, dehiscing by apical pores. flowring and fruiting time: march to may. specimens examined: maulvi bazar district: adampur beat, kawargola forest, 03. 07. 2005, hosne ara ha 1770 (dacb); 07.09.2005, hosne ara ha 2214 (dacb). ecology: grows in subtropical forests and midland in moist clefts of trees or rocks leaf. geographical distribution : indo-malesia, africa, madagascar and australia. note: this species can easily be distinguished from all other species by its epiphytic habit and stout, simple erect bulbiliferous stolons produced from the corm. references ara, h. 2000. colocasia fallax schott (araceae)a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(2): 85-87. ara, h. 2001. an annotated checklist of aroids in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 19-34. ara, h. 2001. steudnera colocasiifolia k. koch (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 99-102. ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2003. gonatopus boivinii (decne.) engl. (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 32(1): 49-51. ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2005. new records of three aroids from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 25 32. ara, h. and khatun, b. m. r. 2002. amorphophallus longituberosus (engl.) engl. et gehrm (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9 (1): 81-84. ara, h., khan, m. s. and hassan, m. a. 1998. five new records of aroids from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 97-100. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m. a. 2004. alocasia decipiens schott (araceae) -a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 61 64. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m. a. 2004. caladium bicolor (aiton) ventenat (araceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 33(1): 75-77. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m. a. 2004. scindapsus scortechinii hook. f. (araceae) -a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 91 94. ara, h., partha, p. and hassan, m. a. 2005. aglaonema modestum schott ex engler (araceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(1): 49-51. ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2001. ariopsis peltata nimmo (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 30(2): 159-160. ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2002. alocasia navicularis c. koch et bouche (araceae)-a new record for angiospermic plants of bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 31(2): 135-137. ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2002. homalomena gigantea engl. (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 67-69. four new records of aroids for bangladesh 47 ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2003. colocasia heterochroma h. li et z. x. wei (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 32(2): 129-131. ara, h., uddin, s. n. and hassan, m. a. 2003. homalomena coerulescens jungh. (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(2): 81-84. calder, c.c., narayanaswamy, v. and ramaswami, m.s. 1926. list of the species and genera of indian phanerogams not included in sir, j. d. hooker's "flora of british india". rec. bot. surv. ind. 11(1): 1-157. croat, t. b. 1979. the distribution of araceae. in: larsen, k. & holm-nielsen, l. b. (eds.), tropical botany, academic press, london. pp. 291-308. engler, a. 1915. das pflanzenreich 64(iv. 23 dc.) bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 26-28. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. pp. 1-84. hooker, j. d. 1893. aroideae. flora of british india 6. indian reprint 1973. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 490-556. huq, a. m. and khan, m. s. 1984. a preliminary taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of moheskhali island-1 (dicotyledons). dhaka univ. studies. part b 32(2): 19-31. karthikeyan, s., jain, s. k., nayar, m. p. and sanjappa, m. 1989. florae indicae enumeratio: monocotyledonae. flora of india series 4. botanical survey of india. brabourne road, calcutta, pp. 1435. khan, m. s., rahman, m. m., huq, a. m., mia, m. m. k. and hassan, m. a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focussing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. khan, m.s. and huq, a. m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wild-life sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. mayo, s. j.1985. flora of tropical east africa. araceae. balkema, rotterdam, pp.1-71. mia, m. m. k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants'. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 2 (1&2): 25-45. nicolson, d. h. 1969. a revision of the genus aglaonema (araceae). smithsonian contrib. bot. 1 : 47-50. nicolson, d. h. 1987. araceae. in: dassanayake, m. d. and fosberg, f. r. (eds.). a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon 6. balkema, rotterdam, pp. 17 101. noltie, h. j. 1994. flora of bhutan, 3(1). royal botanic garden, edinburgh, uk, pp.121-158. prain. d. 1903. bengal plants 2. indian reprint (1963), botanical survey of india (calcutta), pp. 830-840. rahman, m. a and uddin, s. b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakundu in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m. o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker`s 'flora of british india' and prain`s 'bengal plants': series 1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m. o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker`s 'flora of british india' and prain`s 'bengal plants': series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rao, a. s. and verma, d. m. 1976. materials towards a monocot flora of assamv. bull. bot. surv. ind. 18 (1-4): 8-34. rashid, m. h., rahman, e. and rahman, m. a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43-63. 48 ara and hassan sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan, bull. bot. soc. bengal. 9(2): 110-111. uddin, m. z., ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2001. alocasia fallax schott (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 87-90. uddin, m. z., ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2001. amorphophallus napalensis (wall.) bogner and mayo (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 30(2): 153-155. uddin, s. b. and rahman, m. a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31-68. uddin, s. n., ara, h. and hassan, m. a. 2001. rhaphidophora hongkongensis schott (araceae)-a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 111-114. uddin, s. n., khan, m. s., hassan, m. a. and alam, m. k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. introduction microsoft word 03. new records of aroids.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 17-23, 2012 (june) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists five new records of aroids for bangladesh hosne ara1 and md. abul hassan2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh keywords: new record; araceae; bangladesh. abstract the paper deals with five species of the family araceae which are new records for bangladesh, viz. amorphophallus excentricus hett., a. krausei engl., colocasia virosa kunth, steudnera gagei krause and xanthosoma undipes (k. koch) k. koch. an updated nomenclature, important synonyms, description, phenology, ecology, specimen citation and geographical distribution are provided for each species. introduction the family araceae de juss. is represented by 110 genera and 1,800 species mostly throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world with few in the temperate regions (cronquist, 1981). the family is represented in bangladesh by 30 genera and 89 species including wild and cultivated (ara, 2007). hooker (1893) and prain (1903) have previously reported 30 and 27 species of the araceae respectively, from the area now in bangladesh. rahman and toha (2001) and toha et al. (2004) reported some aroids as new distributional records for bangladesh. in the last decade or so, extensive field trips throughout the country have been made by the first author which resulted in several new records of the araceae for bangladesh (ara 2001, 2007). the first author collected a large number of specimens of the family araceae from different parts of bangladesh and identified them up to species. after confirmation of the identity of all the specimens it has been confirmed that none of the following five species viz. amorphophallus excentricus hett., a. krausei engl., colocasia virosa kunth, steudnera gagei krause and xanthosoma undipes (k. koch) k. koch have been reported from the area of bangladesh in any relevant literature, such as, hooker (1893), prain (1903), heinig (1925), sinclair (1956), mia and khan (1995), rahman (1997), rahman (2004a, 2004b) and ara (2007). therefore, these five species of araceae have been treated here as the new records for bangladesh. materials and methods the paper is based on the materials collected by the first author from different forest areas of the country during different field trips made from 2000 to 2010. the specimens, after study, have been preserved in bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). identifications were confirmed by consulting engler (1911), engler and krause (1920), nicolson (1987), hetterscheid (1994), noltie (1994), hetterscheid and ittenbach (1996) and rodriguez and strong (2005). description of each species, based on examined specimens, has been prepared. photographs from fresh specimens have been taken. each species is cited with current nomenclature, commonly known synonyms, specimen citation, ecology and geographical distribution. 1 corresponding author. email: bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka1000, bangladesh. 18 ara and hassan taxonomy 1. amorphophallus excentricus hett., blumea 39 (1-2): 254-257 (1994). hetterscheid and ittenbach, aroideana 19: 67 (1996). (figs 1-3) tuber subglobose, 11 cm in diam., 10 cm in height. leaf solitary, lamina 65 cm in diam., leaflets elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, 2-20 cm long, 2-5 cm in diam., marginal surface slightly undulate, dark green above and paler below; petiole 120 cm long, 4 cm in diam. at base and tapering towards the tip, smooth, cream colour with bottle-green mottlings and paler towards the tip. peduncle 98 cm long, 2.5 cm in diam., smooth, cream with bottle-green mottlings, covered by cataphylls; cataphyll 23 cm long, 7 cm in diam. spathe erect, cymbiform, not differentiated into tube and limb, 33 cm long, 10.5 cm in diam. at base, with cream coloured small wart at the base. spadix shorter than spathe, 29.5 cm long. male flowers in a zone 8 cm long, 2 cm in diam.; appendix elongate fusiform, top acute or slightly rounded, base constricted, 17 cm long, 3 cm in diam., at the middle and tapering towards the tip, light yellow; stamens 3-5, c 2 mm long, 1.5 mm in diam.; anthers truncate. female flowers below in a zone, cylindric, 4 cm long, 2 cm in diam.; no sterile region between male and female zones. ovary sub-globose, 1 mm long, 2 mm in diam., greenish, unilocular with a single basal anatropous ovule; style very short, 0.5 mm long; stigma 1.5-2.5 mm in diam., 0.5-1.0 mm long, inconspicuously 4-lobed with a bigger median lobe, yellowish to brownish. flowering time: june. specimens examined: maulvi bazar: madhabkundo forest, 5.6.1998, hosne ara ha 35 (dacb). dhaka: bangladesh national herbarium garden (cultivated), 26.6.2004, hosne ara ha 1075 (dacb) [originally collected from maulvi bazar district]. ecology : grows in shady places of forest. geographical distribution : peninsular thailand. note: a. excentricus hett. differs from previously reported four amorphophallus species (ara, 2007) by its much heavier appendix and a much flatter stigma. 2. amorphophallus krausei engl., engler, pflanzenr. 48 (iv. 23 c): 94 (1911). hetterscheid and ittenbach, aroideana 19: 92-93 (1996). (figs 4-6) tuber globose, 9 cm in diam., 6.5 cm in height, no branching. leaf solitary, lamina 60-80 cm in diam.; leaflets elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, base decurrent, 2-25 cm long, 1-3 cm in diam., upper side green, lower side paler green; petiole smooth, 20-120 cm long, 1-2 cm in diam., dark rich reddish green with a few small dark elongated or paler green spots, the intensity of colours and the extension of the pattern variable. peduncle 34-45 cm long, 1.3 cm in diam. at base, smooth, dark rich reddish green with a few small dark elongated green spots near the base and at the middle of the peduncle, covered by about two cataphylls, each cataphyll 3.0-16.5 cm long and 2 cm in diam. at base, outside brown with green spots, inside white. spathe ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 19.0-21.5 cm long, 6 cm in diam. at the middle, 7 cm in diam. at the base, basally convolute for 3.5-4.0 cm, remainder flattened, erect, greenish purple with light green spot outside, light greenish yellow inside at the middle, smooth, very light pinkish purple area at the base within, no distinct warts present, upper side of the spathe twisted, light purple, the margin of the spathe reflexed at maturity, top acute, twisted for 5 cm long. spadix 17.5-21.0 cm long. male zone elongate, 4.5-6.5 cm long, 1.3-1.7 cm in diam., flowers congested; appendix elongate, conical, 10.5-12.0 cm long, 2.1-2.8 cm diam. at the middle, base slightly widened, surface smooth, dark yellow, a few staminode present at the base of appendix; male flowers with 1 or 2 stamens, stamens 1.0-2.1 mm long; filaments thick, 1-2 mm long, 1.0-1.4 mm in diam., orange; anthers new records of aroids for bangladesh 19 subtruncate, 1 mm long, 0.7-1.5 mm in diam. female zone cylindric, 2-3 cm long, 1.4-1.5 cm in diam., flowers congested; a few staminode present between male and female zones, 2-3 mm long. ovary subglobose, 2 mm in diam., 1.5 mm long, pale green, unilocular; style 0.8 mm long, 0.6 mm diam., cream colour; stigma 1.3 mm diam., 0.5 mm long, with a shallow irregular central depression, yellowish or orange. flowering and fruiting time: may to july. specimens examined: maulvi bazar: adampur beat, kawargola forest, 3.7.2005, hosne ara ha 1768 (dacb). lawachara reserve forest, 4.7.2005, hosne ara ha 1776 (dacb); gazipur beat, harargonj reserve forest, 5.7.2005, hosne ara ha 1809 (dacb). dhaka: bangladesh national herbarium garden (cultivated), 28.5.2006, hosne ara ha 2645 (dacb); 30.5.2006, hosne ara ha. 2646 (dacb); 25.6.2008, hosne ara ha 2744 (dacb) [originally collected from maulvi bazar district]. ecology: grows in shady, moist places of hill slope, damp places of forest under growth and often mixed with bamboo. geographical distribution: northern thailand, northern myanmar and southern china. note: amorphophallus krausei engl. differs from its closest a. excentricus hett. by the presence of the following characters: staminode present between male and female zones of the spadix and also present at the base of appendix. 3. colocasia virosa kunth, enum. pl. 3 : 39 (1841). schott, syn.: 41 (1856); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 524 (1893); engler and krause, pflanzenr.: 71 (iv. 23 e): 68-69 (1920); karthikeyan et al., fl. ind. enum.: 10 (1989); calla virosa roxb., fl. ind. iii: 517 (1832); wight, ic. iii.: t. 808 (1844); zantedeschia virosa c. koch, ind. sem. hort. berol. app.: 9 (1854). (figs 7-9) caudex 10 cm long, 2-3 cm in diam., cylindric, stolons absent. leaves many, blades oblongovate, 24 × 16 cm, peltate, coriaceous, margin slightly wavy, upper surface glossy green, lower surface pale green; primary lateral veins 6-9 pairs; petiole green, 40 cm long, smooth. peduncles clustered, 17 cm long, green. spathe nearly straight, 15.5 cm long, tube 2.5 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, oblong, light green, limb narrowly lanceolate, dark yellow, 12 cm long, 5 cm wide. spadix much shorter than the spathe, 6.9-7.5 cm long. male zone 4.5-5.0 cm long, 0.5 cm in diam., tip acute; anthers peltate, 8-12 celled, yellow; appendix absent. female zone 2.3-2.5 cm long, 0.8 cm in diam. ovary broadly ovoid, 0.4 mm long, 0.3 mm in diam., green, 3-4 locular with parietal placentation and numerous ovules; stigma large, peltate, white. flowering time: may. specimens examined: maulvi bazar: muraichara beat, ichachara forest, 7.5.2010, hosne ara ha 2752 (dacb). dhaka: khilgaon (cultivated), 17.5.2011, hosne ara ha 2779 (dacb) [originally collected from maulvi bazar district]. ecology: grows in shady and moist places of forest. geographical distribution: south and east india. note: colocasia virosa kunth can easily be separated from all other colocasia species so far reported from bangladesh (ara, 2007) by the presence of the following characters: tube of the spathe oblong, much shorter than the narrowly lanceolate limb, spadix much shorter than the spathe, tip acute and appendix absent. 20 ara and hassan figs 1-3. amorphophallus excentricus hett. (1. habit, 2a-b. inflorescence, 3. spadix). 4-6. amorphophallus krausei engl. (4. habit, 5a-b. inflorescence, 6. spadix). 4. steudnera gagei krause, engler and krause, pflanzenr. 71 (iv. 23 e): 15-16 (1920). rao and verma, bull. bot. surv. ind. 18 (1-4): 24 (1976); karthikeyan et al., fl. ind. enum.: 14 (1989). (figs 10-12) caudex 6-12 cm long, 2-3 cm in diam. leaf blade broadly ovate or suborbicular, 24-39 × 1823 cm, thinly coriaceous, peltate, acuminate, entire or emariginate at the base, deep green above, paler beneath; petiole 30-65 × 0.5-1.0 cm, green, petiolar sheath short, purple. peduncle shorter than petiole, 8-15 × 0.5 cm, light green or light purple. spathe ovate-lanceolate, 9-11 × 3.5-4.5 cm, acuminate, not constricted, reflexed, marcescent, light purple outside and purple-red inside. spadix new records of aroids for bangladesh 21 lacking appendix, much shorter than spathe, 3.5-4.0 cm long. male flowers adjoining the female, clavate or capitate, white, 0.7-1.1 × 0.5-0.7 cm. female flowers 2.5-3.0 × 0.5-0.6 cm, pale yellow, slightly longer and narrower than the male flowers. ovary subglobose, ovules numerous, anatropous, placentation parietal; style very short; stigma 4-lobed. berry ovoid, many-seeded. flowering time: march to april. figs 7-9. colocasia virosa kunth (7. habit, 8. inflorescence, 9. spadix). 10-12. steudnera gagei krause (10. habit, 11. inflorescence, 12. spadix). 13-15. xanthosoma undipes (k. koch) k. koch (13. habit, 14. inflorescnece, 15. spadix). 22 ara and hassan specimens examined: maulvi bazar: adampur beat, gangpali, 23.3.2008, hosne ara ha 2735 (dacb). dhaka: bangladesh national herbarium garden (cultivated), 22.4.2009, hosne ara ha 2748 (dacb) [originally collected from maulvi bazar district]. ecology: grows in shady and damp places of forest floor. geographical distribution: india. note: s. gagei krause differs from the previously reported three steudnera species by its broadly ovate or suborbicular leaves, light purple spathe outside and purple-red inside. 5. xanthosoma undipes (k. koch) k. koch, bonplandia 4: 3 (1856). alocasia undipes k. koch, app. gen. sp. nov. 1854: 5 (1854-55); xanthosoma jacquinii sensu schott, syn. aroid. : 57 (1856), non schott in schott & endicher, melet. bot.: 19 (1832), nom. illeg., non kunth (1841). (figs 13-15) herb with milky sap, erect, 2 m tall, mature plants with a thick, starchy stem, up to 1.5 m long, with numerous leaf scars and aerial roots at the base. leaves several, blades 40-70 × 30-50 cm, simple, cordate-sagittate, chartaceous, upper surface dark green, lower surface greyish green, margin undulate; petiole erect, 45-100 cm long, green, sheathing below. inflorescences 1-3, axillary. peduncle up to 30 cm long. spathe constricted, 25-31 cm long, the tube 8-13 cm long, thickened, oblong-ovoid, both sides deep pink, persistent; the blade erect, concave, adaxially cream to white, abaxially pink, shortly acuminate at apex, deciduous. spadix slightly shorter than the spathe, 30 cm long. male zone light pink, 17 cm long, elongated; synandria hexagonal, truncate, consisted of 6-8 united stamens. female zone yellowish, 3.0-5.5 cm long, cylindrical. ovary ovoid, 2.2 × 2.0 mm, cream, 2-4 locular with many ovules, anatropous; stylar region broader than ovary, usually discoid-thickened; stigma hemispheric-discoid, 2-4 lobed, yellow, narrower than style; sterile zone pink, 7.5 cm long, conical. berry cylindrical, many-seeded. seeds ovoid. flowering time: may. specimens examined: gazipur: kamesshor village, 17.5.2009, hosne ara ha 2749 (dacb). dhaka: khilgaon (cultivated), 30.5.2011, hosne ara ha 2780 (dacb) [originally collected from gazipur district]. ecology: grows in shady and moist places of village area. geographical distribution: native to tropical america. note: xanthosoma undipes (k. koch) k. koch can easily be differentiated from all other xanthosoma species so far reported from bangladesh (ara, 2001) by the presence of the following characters: basal part of the spathe (both adaxially and abaxially) deep pink; upper part of the spathe adaxially cream to white, abaxially pink; pistillate zone yellowish; sterile zone pink and male zone light pink. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to dr. wilbert hetterscheid, director, botanical gardens of wageningen university, the netherlands for assistance to identity amorphophallus krausei engl. new records of aroids for bangladesh 23 references ara, h. 2001. an annotated checklist of aroids in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 19-34. ara, h. 2007. araceae in: siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 11, asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 19-98. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york. engler, a. 1911. das pflanzenr. 48(iv. 23 c). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 6194. engler, a. and krause, k. 1920. das pflanzenr. 71(iv. 23 e). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 10-16. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india, pp. 1-84. hetterscheid, w.l.a. 1994. notes on the genus amorphophallus (araceae)-2, new species from tropical asia. blumea 39: 237-281. hetterscheid, w.l.a. and ittenbach, s. 1996. everything you always wanted to know about amorphophallus, but were afraid to stick your nose into! aroideana 19: 7-131. hooker, j.d. 1893. aroideae. flora of british india 6. indian reprint 1973. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 490-556. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants'. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 2 (1&2): 25-45. nicolson, d.h. 1987. araceae. in: dassanayake, m.d. and fosberg, f.r. (eds). a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon 6. balkema, rotterdam, pp. 17-101. noltie, h.j. 1994. flora of bhutan, 3(1). royal botanic garden, edinburgh, pp.121-158. prain. d. 1903. bengal plants 2. indian reprint (1963), botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 830-840. rahman, m.a. 1997. some medicinal and poisonous aroids of bangladesh. biodiversity newsletter bangladesh 1(2): 4. rahman, m.a. and toha, a.m.m. 2001. a report on some cultivated aroids of bangladesh. biodiversity newsletter bangladesh 5(1&2): 2-3. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants”: series 1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants”: series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rodriguez, p.a. and strong, m.t. 2005. monocotyledons and gymnosperms of puerto rico and the virgin islands. smithsonian institution. contributions from the united states national herbaruim, vol. 52: 1415. department of botany, national museum of natural history, washington, dc. sinclair, j. 1956. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 110-111. toha, a.m.m., rahman, m.a., boyce, p.c. and wilcock, c.c. 2004. notes on the araceae: some new records for bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. 28(2): 347-354. (manuscript received on 19 june, 2011; revised on 22 april, 2012) microsoft word 06. arundinella_thirunelliensis_re-revised_2.12.14_ee.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 153-157, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species of arundinella raddi (poaceae) from the western ghats, india c. n. sunil, m. k. ratheesh narayanan1, prajeesh parameswaran2, m. sivadasan3,4 and a. h. alfarhan3 department of botany, s.n.m. college, maliankara p.o., ernakulam−683 516, kerala, india   keywords: arundinella thirunelliensis; new species; india; kerala; wayanad; western ghats. abstract arundinella thirunelliensis (poaceae), a new species from the western ghats in kerala, india is described and illustrated. it closely resembles a. nepalensis but differs by being a rheophyte with large culms, glabrous culm nodes, leaf sheath and peduncles, effuse panicles with highly branched drooping branches, large, 3-nerved, deeply bifid smooth lemma with short twisted column of awn, and the lower glume distinctly shorter than the lower lemma. introduction the genus arundinella raddi (1823) (poales: poaceae) is with about 55 species, having distribution in the tropical regions of the world, mainly in asia (clayton and renvoize, 1986). watson and dallwitz (1992 onwards: http://delta-intkey.com/grass/www/arundine.htm) also accounted 55 species for the genus. sun and phillips (2006) estimated the present approximate number of species to be 60. as per clayton et al. (2006 onwards: http://www.kew.org/data/ grasses-db.html) there are 68 species of arundinella. the genus is represented by 21 species in india, of which 11 are found in kerala (hooker, 1896; fischer, 1934; bor, 1960; sreekumar and nair, 1991; shaju and mohanan, 2004; kabeer and nair, 2009). during a recent floristic exploration in the foot hills of brahmagiri, wayanad district, kerala, india some interesting specimens belonging to the genus arundinella raddi were collected. critical study and analysis revealed that it is distinct from the hitherto known taxa of the genus and is described here as a new species arundinella thirunelliensis. arundinella thirunelliensis sunil, ratheesh & sivadasan, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: arundinella thirunelliensis is similar to a. nepalensis trin., but differs in being a rheophyte having large culms, glabrous culm nodes, leaf sheath and peduncles, effuse panicles with highly branched drooping branches, large, 3-nerved, deeply bifid smooth lemma with short twisted awn-column, and lower glume distinctly shorter than the lower lemma. type: india, kerala: wayanad district, thirunelli, kalindi river bed, 900 m, 8 dec 2012, sunil & ratheesh narayanan 4854 (holotype: cal!; isotypes: mh!). paratypes: india, kerala: wayanad district, thirunelli, kalindi, 12 jan 2014, sunil, ratheesh narayanan & prajeesh 1872 (cabc-mssrf herbarium!, wayanad). 1department of botany, payyanur college, edat p.o., payyanur, kannur–670 327, kerala, india 2m. s. swaminathan research foundation, puthoorvayal p.o., kalpetta, wayanad–673 121, kerala, india 3department of botany & microbiology, college of science, king saud university, p.o. box 2455, riyadh− 11451, kingdom of saudi arabia 4corresponding author: e-mail: drmsivadasan@gmail.com 154 sunil et al. tufted, perennial rheophytes; clumps up to 60 cm wide; roots wiry. culms 80-200 cm high, 35 mm across; nodes glabrous. leaves: sheath up to 27 cm long, glabrous, ribbed; ligule a narrow rim with c. 4 mm long fimbriate hairs at apex and back; blade linear or linear-lanceolate, flat, stiff, 18-42 × 0.4-1.0 cm, base rounded, margin scaberulous or smooth, acuminate at apex, glabrous or upper surface with few scattered hairs. inflorescence terminal panicles, 16-42 cm long, 7-20 cm wide, pyramidal; branches lax to effuse, alternate, spreading, lowermost up to 25 cm long; rachis fig. 1. arundinella thirunelliensis sunil, ratheesh & sivadasan, sp. nov. a. habit; b. spikelet; c. lower glume; d. upper glume; e. lower lemma; f. lower palea; g. upper lemma; h. upper lemma spread open; i. upper palea; j. lodicules, stamens and pistil. a new species of arundinella raddi (poaceae) 155 fig. 2. arundinella thirunelliensis sunil, ratheesh & sivadasan, sp. nov. a. habitat; b. a portion of inflorescence; c. lower glume; d. upper glume; e. lower lemma – ventral view; f. lower lemma – dorsal view; g. lower palea; h. upper lemma; i. upper lemma showing bifid apex and twisted column; j. upper palea; k. caryopsis. 156 sunil et al. angular, scaberulous. spikelets elliptic-lanceolate, 4.0-4.5 mm long, pale to dark purple; pedicels 0.5-4.0 mm long, angular, scabrous. lower glume ovate-lanceolate, 3.0-3.5 × 1.0-1.5 mm, acute to acuminate at apex, 3 or 5-nerved, scabrid on mid-nerve, pale purple with green nerves, chartaceous. upper glume ovate-lanceolate, 4.0-4.5 × 1.0-1.5 mm, acuminate at apex, margin hyaline, 5 or 7-nerved, pale purple with green nerves, chartaceous. lower floret male or neuter. upper floret bisexual. callus glabrous or sparsely hairy. lower lemma ovate-lanceolate, 3.5-4.0 × 1.2-1.5 mm, margin hyaline and ciliate towards apex, apex acute, very rarely with an up to 2 mm long awn, chartaceous, 3 or 5-nerved, green. lower palea lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, 3.0-3.5 × 0.5-1.0 mm, acute at apex, 2-keeled, 2-nerved, membranous, hyaline. upper lemma ovate or ovate-oblong, 2.5-3.0 × 1.0-1.3 mm, margin involute, apex 2-lobed, awned from the sinus, subchartaceous, hyaline, 3-nerved, puberulous, whitish in fruits, smooth; lobes c. 0.5 mm long, ciliate along margin, acute or obtuse at apex; awn 4.0-4.5 mm long, geniculate with a chestnut-coloured, flat, twisted, 0.5-1.0 mm long column. upper palea ovate-lanceolate, 2.5-3.0 × 0.7-1.0 mm, ciliate along margin, acute at apex, hyaline, membranous, 2-keeled, 2-nerved. lodicules 2, triangular, c. 0.3 mm long, hyaline, apex irregularly lobed. stamens 3, anthers 1.0-1.5 mm long, oblong, yellowish-brown. ovary ovoid, 0.3-0.5 mm long; styles 2, c. 1 mm long; stigma c. 1 mm long, feathery, purple. caryopsis ellipsoid, 1.0-1.2 × 0.5-0.6 mm, light brown. phenology: flowering and fruiting occurs during october to february. etymology: the specific epithet denotes the type locality – thirunelli in wayanad district, which is one of the floristically rich regions on southern western ghats. ecology and distribution: arundinella thirunelliensis was collected from a perennial stream bed. the new species has a distribution restricted to perennial stream beds that are occasionally subjected to flash floods. the plants are often associated with homonoia riparia lour., rotula aquatica lour., cyperus sp., equisetum sp., etc. comparison of characters of arundinella thirunelliensis with a. nepalensis is provided in table 1. table 1. comparison of characters of arundinella thirunelliensis with a. nepalensis. characters arundinella thirunelliensis sp. nov. arundinella nepalensis habit rheophytic grass terrestrial grass culm node glabrous pubescent leaf sheath glabrous glabrous or tuberculate hairy peduncle glabrous below panicle pubescent below panicle panicle effuse, highly branched, branches alternate and drooping densely spiculate, branches simple and sub-verticillate, secund lower glume distinctly shorter than the lower lemma about as long as the lower lemma upper lemma 2.5-3.0 mm long, smooth, apex deeply 2lobed; lobes c. 0.5 mm long, acute or obtuse 1.0-1.5 mm long, granulose, apex emarginate or shallowly 2-lobed; lobes c. 0.05 mm long, obtuse awn column of awn 0.5-1.0 mm long when dry column of awn 2.2-3.2 mm long when dry acknowledgements the authors are grateful to dr. j. f. veldkamp, leiden, for a critical review of the manuscript. the encouragement provided by the manager and head of the department of botany, sree narayana mangalam college, maliankara, the manager and head of the department of botany, payyanur college, payyanur, and the director, community agrobiodiversity centre, m. s. a new species of arundinella raddi (poaceae) 157 swaminathan research foundation, wayanad are gratefully acknowledged. the last two authors thankfully acknowledge the encouragements and support extended by the deanship of scientific research, king saud university, through the research group project no. rgp-vpp-135. sincere thanks are expressed towards mr. jayesh p. joseph for the illustration and towards mr. t. s. rajeev, dr. sanal kumar and dr. baiju, department of botany, s. n. m. college, maliankara, ernakulam for various help. references bor, n.l. 1960. arundinella. in: the grasses of burma, ceylon, india and pakistan. pergamon press, oxford, pp. 417-428. clayton, w.d. and renvoize, s.a. 1986. genera graminum: grasses of the world. kew bull. additional ser. 13: 1-389. clayton, w.d., vorontsova, m.s., harman, k.t. and williamson, h. 2006 (onwards). grassbase the online world grass flora. http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db.html. accessed on 17 april 2014. fischer, c.e.c. 1934. arundinella. in: gamble, j.s., flora of the presidency of madras. adlard & sons ltd., london, pp. 1798-1802. hooker, j.d. 1896. arundinella. in: hooker, j.d., the flora of british india, vol. 7. l. reeve & co. ltd., london, pp. 68-77. kabeer, k.a.a. and nair, v.j. 2009. arundinella raddi. in: flora of tamil nadu grasses. botanical survey of india, kolkatta, pp. 334-344. raddi, g. 1823. agrostographia brasiliensis. bertini, lucca, 58 pp. shaju, t. and mohanan, n. 2004. a new species of arundinella raddi (poaceae) from kerala, india. rheedea 14: 47-50. sreekumar, p.v. and nair, v.j. 1991. arundinella raddi. in: flora of kerala grasses. botanical survey of india, culcutta, pp. 332-346. sun, b. and phillips, s.m. 2006. arundinella. in: wu, z.-y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.-y. (eds), flora of china, vol. 22. science press, beijing. peoples republic of china and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, missouri, usa, pp. 563-570. watson, l. and dallwitz, m.j. 1992 onwards. the grass genera of the world: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval; including synonyms, morphology, anatomy, physiology, phytochemistry, cytology, classification, pathogens, world and local distribution, and references. version: 5th february 2014. http://delta-intkey.com/grass/www/arundine.htm. accessed on 17 april 2014. (manuscript received on 28 may 2014; revised on 4 november 2014) microsoft word 11. leafy vegetables_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 95-123, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomy of the leafy vegetables in bangladesh maksuda khatun, md. abul hassan, shaikh nazrul islam1 and m. oliur rahman2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: leafy vegetables; new reports; taxonomy; bangladesh. abstract thirty four exploration trips made throughout bangladesh from 2000 to 2012 resulted in identification of 186 taxa used as leafy vegetables in the country, of which 173 taxa belong to angiosperms and 13 taxa to pteridophytes. among the angiosperms, magnoliopsida is represented by 153 taxa under 114 genera and 43 families, whereas liliopsida is represented by 20 species under 15 genera and 8 families. pteridophytes are symbolized by 13 species belonging to 10 genera and 10 families. under each taxon updated nomenclature, vernacular names, habit, representative specimen and area of major consumption of the plant as a leafy vegetable have been provided. out of 186 leafy vegetables identified in bangladesh, 140 taxa are wild and 46 are cultivated. among the cultivated ones 16 species are cultivated only as leafy vegetables and 30 are cultivated for other purposes but also used as leafy vegetables. a total of 61 species have been newly documented as leafy vegetables for bangladesh. introduction leafy vegetables are referred to leaves of any plants used as vegetables, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. they constitute a major portion of our diet and play an important part in alleviating malnutrition. fao (2012) has estimated that about 870 million people are chronically undernourished in the period 2010-12 representing 12.5% of the global population, or one in eight people. in order to arrest the undernourished situation, much attention has been paid on the exploitation and utilization of unusual plant materials for food (kawatra et al., 2001; dini et al., 2005). leafy vegetables are important protective foods and highly beneficial for the maintenance of health and prevention of diseases as they contain valuable food ingredients. usually they have no or very little poisonous alkaloids and do not cause any gastrological disturbance when they are consumed as food. the daily intake of at least 100 g of fresh leafy vegetables is recommended for the adult by nutrition experts (reddy, 1999). it has been estimated that 100 g of tropical leafy vegetables can provide 60-140 mg of ascorbic acid, 100 mg of folic acid, 4-7 mg of iron and 200-400 mg of calcium (saxena, 1999). traditional leafy vegetables are said to be an invaluable substitute for meat and therefore form important part of daily diets of rural communities in particular. over the last decade many studies have shown that fresh leafy vegetables constitute important functional food components by contributing vitamins, iron, folic acid, minerals, biologically active compounds and photosynthetic pigments (kmiecik et al., 2001; su et al., 2002; kimura and rodriguez-amaya, 2003). traditional leafy vegetables have a proven nutritive value in terms of having more protein, minerals, carbohydrate and vitamins than several common vegetables 1institute of nutrition and food science, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. 2corresponding author. email: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 96 khatun et al. (sundriyal and sundriyal, 2001; fasuyi, 2006; orech et al., 2007). leafy vegetables also contain antioxidants which offer protection against many chronic diseases including heart disease and certain types of cancer (saxena, 1999). in bangladesh, people have a long heritage of taking leafy vegetables. however, very little attempt has been made to study the leafy vegetables of bangladesh although they constitute a large proportion of the daily diet of the rural dweller of the country (ali et al., 1977; sarker and hossain 2009; hassan, 2010). despite the importance of leafy vegetables in the present day human lives, no systematic work has been carried out in bangladesh to identify and document the plant species. in view of potential beneficial attributes of leafy vegetables, there is a need to explore, identify and document the leafy vegetables of the country. the objectives of the present study are therefore three-fold: i) to make an inventory, and identify the leafy vegetables, ii) to document the leafy vegetables including wild and cultivated ones, and iii) to carry out a detailed systematic study on the leafy vegetables of bangladesh. materials and methods thirty four field trips were conducted throughout bangladesh during 2000-2012 to collect fresh plant materials and each field trip consisted of 4-8 days. the areas visited for collection of plant samples include: bagerhat (bagerhat sadar, mollarhat), bandarban (bandarban sadar, lama), barisal (barisal sadar), chittagong (mirsharai, sitakundu), comilla (comilla sadar, daudkandi), cox’s bazar (cox’s bazar sadar, teknaf), dhaka (nawabganj, savar), dinajpur (birampur, dinajpur sadar, phulbari), faridpur (faridpur sadar, madhukhali), gazipur (gazipur sadar, kaliganj, kapasia, tongi), gopalganj (gopalganj sadar, kashiani, kotalipara, tungipara), habiganj (chunarughat, madhabpur), jessore (jessore sadar, jhikargacha, keshobpur, manirampur, sharsha), jhalokhathi (jhalokathi sadar, rajapur), jhenaidah (jhenaidah sadar, kaliganj, kotchandpur, shailkupa), khagrachari (dighinala, matiranga, panchari), khulna (dighalia, khulna sadar, phultala, terokhada), magura (magura sadar, mohammadpur, shalikha), manikganj (saturia, singair), moulvi bazar (barolekha, kamalganj, sreemangal), munshiganj (gazaria, munshiganj sadar), mymensingh (haluaghat, muktagachha), narail (kalia, lohagara, narail sadar), narayanganj (fatullah, siddhirganj), natore (natore sadar, singra), netrakona (durgapur, khaliajuri), patuakhali (kalapara, patuakhali sadar), rajbari (baliakandi, pangsha, rajbari sadar), rajshahi (bagha, bagmara, godagari, puthia), rangamati (kaptai, rangamati sadar), sherpur (jhenaigathi, sherpur sadar), sunamganj (jagannathpur, sunamganj sadar), sylhet (sylhet sadar) and tangail (madhupur). collection of fresh materials was made from local markets, village areas and forest lands. prior to collection, assistance from local informants was taken regarding the use of plants as leafy vegetables. local vegetable markets were also surveyed to record marketable items. the collected samples were processed following the standard herbarium technique (hyland, 1972). some samples were also kept in liquid preservative. the collected specimens were critically studied and identified in the dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) by matching with the identified specimens housed at dush and dacb (bangladesh national herbarium), and with the help of standard literatures (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; khan, 1972-1987; dassanayake and fosberg, 1980-1985; khan and halim, 1987; khan and rahman, 1989-2002). nomenclatures have been updated using siddiqui et al. (20072008), ahmed et al. (2008-2009), and rashid and rahman (2011, 2012). the angiosperm families followed that of cronquist (1981), while pteridophyte families are arranged in an alphabetical order. under each family the genera and species have been arranged alphabetically. updated nomenclature, vernacular names (eng. = english, beng. = bangla), habit, representative specimen (only one cited because of page constraint) and area of major consumption have been furnished leafy vegetables of bangladesh 97 under each taxon. all voucher specimens have been deposited at dush in the department of botany, university of dhaka, bangladesh. results and discussion a total of 186 leafy vegetable taxa have been identified in bangladesh of which 173 belong to angiosperms, and 13 to pteridophytes. among the angiospermic taxa magnoliopsida is represented by 153 and liliopsida is represented by 20 taxa (table 1). table 1. number of taxa of leafy vegetables recorded in bangladesh. taxa magnoliopsida liliopsida pteridophyta total families 43 8 10 61 genera 114 15 10 139 species 153 20 13 186 the taxonomic enumeration of the leafy vegetables is briefly described below. magnoliopsida 1. piperaceae c. a. agardh (1825) 1. peperomia pellucida (l.) h. b. k., nov. gen. sp. 1: 64 (1815). vernacular names: pepper elder (eng.), luchi pata (beng.), samol-hapang (garo). a fleshy annual herb. representative specimen: netrakona: boheratoli, 8.10.2001, m. khatun 10. area of major consumption: netrakona district. 2. piper longum l., sp. pl.: 29 (1753). vernacular names: long pepper (eng.), pipla-mul, pipul, pipul morich (beng.). a perennial herb. representative specimen: gopalganj: tatulia, 3.3.2007, m. khatun 428. area of major consumption: rajbari district. 2. moraceae link (1831) 3. ficus benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). vernacular names: banyan tree (eng.), bot, botgachh (beng.), jalong (khasia). a large tree. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: madhabpunji, madhabkundu, 5.5.2003, m. khatun 274. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 4. f. carica l., sp. pl. 2: 1059 (1753). vernacular names: common fig, european fig (eng.), anjir, dumur (beng.), soluya (khasia). a large shrub or small tree. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: madhabkundu, 3.5.2003, m. khatun 276. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 3. nyctaginaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 5. boerhavia diffusa l., sp. pl.: 3 (1753). vernacular names: pigweed, spreading hog-weed (eng.), punarnava (beng.) a perennial, creeping or climbing herb. representative specimen: rajbari: olangapur, 8.2.2004, m. khatun 421. area of major consumption: rajbari district. 4. aizoaceae rudolphi (1830) 6. sesuvium portulacastrum (l.) l., syst. ed. 10: 1058 (1759). vernacular names: shoreline sea purslane (eng.), nuna shak (beng.), phru-bawn (rakhain). 98 khatun et al. a perennial herb. representative specimen: no specimen was collected, but information was gathered from the local people. area of major consumption: patuakhali district. 5. chenopodiaceae ventenant (1799) 7. beta vulgaris l., sp. pl. 1: 222 (1753). vernacular names: garden beet, common beet (eng.), beet, palak (beng.). a biennial herb. representative specimen: jhalokathi: rajapur, 11.4.2010, m. khatun 588. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 8. chenopodium album l., sp. pl. 1: 219 (1753). vernacular names: pigweed (eng.), batua shak (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: rajbari: salmara, 8.2.2004, m. khatun 402. area of major consumption: rajbari district. 9. spinacia oleracea l., sp. pl. 1: 219 (1753). vernacular names: white goosefoot (eng.), palong shak (beng.), mui-yaa-bawn (rakhain). a small, annual herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: binodpur, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 51. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 6. amaranthaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 10. achyranthes aspera l., sp. pl. 1: 204 (1753).vernacular names: prickly chaff-flower (eng.), apang, upatlengra (beng.), longra (santal). a perennial, erect herb. representative specimen: dinajpur: mukundupur, 16.6.2001, m. khatun 76. area of major consumption: dinajpur, mymensingh and comilla districts. 11. aerva sanguinolenta (l.) bl., bijdr.: 547 (1826). vernacular names: nuriya, lal apang (beng.), nenga (chakma). a perennial herb. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: adampur bit, 3.5.2003, m. khatun 194. area of major consumption: sunamganj and moulvi bazar districts. 12. alternanthera bettzickiana (regel) voss nichols., iii. dict. grad. 1: 59 (1884). vernacular names: joyweed (eng.), nun-khuta shak (beng.). a perennial herb. representative specimen: patuakhali: kolapara, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 475. area of major consumption: patuakhali district. 13. a. paronichyoides st. hil., voy. distr. diamans bresil. 2: 439 (1833). vernacular names: smooth chaff-flower (eng.), jhuli khata (rakhain). a perennial mat-forming herb. representative specimen: patuakhali: kalachandpara, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 476. area of major consumption: patuakhali district. 14. a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb., symb. argent. in abh. ges. wiss. gott. 24: 36 (1879). vernacular names: alligator weed (eng.), malancha shak (beng.), shergiti (santal). a perennial, polymorphic herb. representative specimen: dinajpur: noiyabad, 16.9.2001, m. khatun 41. area of major consumption: dinajpur district. 15. a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult., syst. 5: 554 (1819). vernacular names: sessile joyweed (eng.), chanchi, sachishak (beng.), garundi (garo). annual or perennial herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: binodpur, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 37. area of major consumption: rajshahi district. leafy vegetables of bangladesh 99 16. amaranthus blitum l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 990 (1753). vernacular names: purple amaranth (eng.), natiyasag (beng.). a tall, glabrous, succulent herb. representative specimen: narail: lohagara, 15.9.2007, m. khatun 458. area of major consumption: narail district. 17. a. spinosus l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 991 (1753). vernacular names: spiny amaranth (eng.), kantanotey, kantadenga (beng.), katakailpha, kuriakanta (tripura). an annual herb. representative specimen: dhaka: uttara, 14.1.2002, m. khatun 168. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 18. a. tricolor l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 989 (1753). vernacular names: joseph’s coat (eng.), lal shak, dengua (beng.), puspoo (santal). an annual herb. representative specimen: jessore: barobazar, 5.1.2004, m. khatun 383. area of major consumption: mostly in urban areas. 19. a. viridis l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 1405 (1763). vernacular names: green amaranth, (eng.), notey, notey shak (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: rajbari: konagram, 8.2.2004, m. khatun 416. area of major consumption: rajbari district. 20. celosia argentea l., sp. pl. 1: 205 (1753). vernacular names: cock’s comb (eng.), sada moragphul (beng.), thinthinga (garo), thanthania (rakhain). an erect, annual herb. representative specimen: netrakona: bijoypur, 8.1.2000, m. khatun 9. area of major consumption: patuakhali and netrakona districts. 21. c. cristata l., sp. pl. 1: 235 (1753). vernacular names: crested cock’s comb (eng.), morogful (beng.), shibjota (garo). a much branched herb. representative specimen: patuakhali: kalachanpara, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 480. area of major consumption: netrakona and patuakhali districts. 22. digera muricata (l.) mart. in nov., acad. caes. leop. carol. 13(1): 285 (1826). vernacular names: false amaranth (eng.), boutibon shak (beng.), latamouri (garo). an annual herb. representative specimen: khagrachari: golabari, 7.7.2003 m. khatun 328. area of major consumption: netrakona and khagrachari districts. 23. psilotrichum ferrugineum (roxb.) moq. in dc., prod. 13(2): 279 (1849). vernacular names: rokto-sirinch (beng.), puti shak (santal). an annual herb. representative specimen: dinajpur: noabad, 16.9.2001, m. khatun 78. area of major consumption: dinajpur district. 7. portulacaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 24. portulaca oleracea l., sp. pl.: 445 (1753). vernacular names: purslane (eng.), bara lunia, kulfi, lunia shak (beng.), tee-jey-shey (marma). an annual herb. area of major consumption: dhaka district. representative specimen: dhaka: shambazar, 14.1.2002, m. khatun 142. 25. p. quadrifida l., mant. pl. 1: 73 (1767). vernacular names: pot purslane, small-leaved purslane (eng.), chhota lunia, munia shak (beng.). a small, prostrate, annual herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: shaheb bazar, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 54. area of major consumption: dhaka and rajshahi districts. 100 khatun et al. 8. basellaceae moquin-tandon (1840) 26. basella alba l., sp. pl. 1: 272 (1753). vernacular names: indian spinach (eng.), puishak (beng.). a much branched, fleshy herb. representative specimen: dhaka: diabari, 14.1.2002, m. khatun 131. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 9. molluginaceae hutchinson (1926) 27. glinus oppositifolius (l.) a. dc., bull. herb. boiss. 2(1): 522 (1901). vernacular names: gimashak (beng.), dima tita (koach, santal). a diffusely branched, annual herb. representative specimen: dinajpur: mukundopur, 16.9.2001, m. khatun 85. area of major comsumption: dinajpur and sherpur districts. 28. mollugo pentaphylla l., sp. pl. 1: 89 (1753). vernacular names: mollugo (eng.), khetpapra (beng.), tita shak (garo). an annual herb. representative specimen: tangail: madhupur, pirgacha, 18.4.2002, m. khatun 176. area of major comsumption: tangail district. 10. caryophyllaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 29. polycarpon prostratum (forssk.) aschers. & schweinf., oesterr. bot. zeitscher 39: 128 (1889). vernacular names: ghimashak (beng.), beng-bong-jathong (koach). a dichotomously branched herb. representative specimen: sherpur: gajni, 31.10.2009, m. khatun 520. area of major consumption: sherpur district. 30. stellaria wallichiana benth. ex haines, bull. misc. inf. kew 1920: 66 (1920). vernacular names: sada fulki, tara (beng.), murmuri shak (koach). a herb. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: barolekha, madhabkundu, 4.5.2003, m. khatun 272. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 11. polygonaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 31. ampelygonum chinense (l.) lindley, bot. reg. 24: 63 (1838). vernacular names: trailing smartweed (eng.), mohicharan shak (beng.), mono-eja-dar (chakma). a perennial herb. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: madhabpunji, 4.5.2003, m. khatun 277. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 32. a. microcephalum (d. don) hassan, bangladesh j. bot. 22(1): 4 (1993). vernacular names: hilly smartweed (eng.), madhusilum shak (beng.), ambimikchip (garo). a perennial herb. representative specimen: netrakona: bijoypur, 8.10.2001, m. khatun 06. area of major consumption: netrakona district. 33. a. salarkhanii hassan, bangladesh j. bot. 20(2): 245 (1991). vernacular names: hilly smartweed (eng.), giri shobhan shak (beng.), lambak (khasia). an undershrub. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, shilchari, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 350. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 34. persicaria tomentosa (willd.) sasaki, list pl. form.: 170 (1928). vernacular names: hairy knotweed (eng.), pani-bishkatali (beng.), hagra (mandi). a perennial, aquatic herb. representative specimen: tangail: madhupur, pirgacha, 18.4.2002, m. khatun 177. area of major consumption: tangail district. leafy vegetables of bangladesh 101 35. polygonum effusum meissn. in dc., prodr. 14: 93 (1857). vernacular names: knotweed (eng.), raniphul, chemtisag (beng.), kuttasunga gas (koach). an annual herb. representative specimen: gazipur: gozaripara, 4.12.2009, m. khatun 552. area of major consumption: gazipur district. 36. p. plebeium r. br., prodr.: 420 (1810). vernacular names: small knotweed (eng.), khudibishkatali (beng.), khumchak, gang-sum (khasia). a prostrate annual herb. representative specimen: sylhet: madhabkundu, 4.5.2003; m. khatun 279. area of major consumption: habiganj district. 37. rumex dentatus l., mant. pl. 2: 226 (1771). vernacular names: toothed dock (eng.), bon tak-palong (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: shaheb bazar, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 47. area of major consumption: rajshahi district. 38. r. maritimus l., sp. pl. 1: 335 (1753). vernacular names: golden dock (eng.), bon palong (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: natore: singair, 14.9.2001, m. khatun 61. area of major consumption: dhaka and natore districts. 39. r. vesicarius l., sp. pl. 1: 336 (1753). vernacular names: rosy dock (eng.), tok palong, chuka palong (beng.). an annual, glabrous herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: meharchandi, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 53. area of major consumption: rajshahi and sylhet districts. 12. elaeocarpaceae a. p. de candolle (1824) 40. elaeocarpus floribundus blume, bijdr.: 120 (1825). vernacular names: indian olive (eng.), jalpai (beng.), uthethamo (marma). a medium-sized to large tree. representative specimen: bandarban: bandarban sadar, 6.3.2012, m. khatun 618. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 13. tiliaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 41. corchorus capsularis l., sp. pl. : 529 (1753). vernacular names: jute (eng.), deshi pat, bagi pat (beng.). an erect, annual herb. representative specimen: faridpur: mokshedpur, 9.7.2008, m. khatun 412. area of major consumption: faridpur district. 42. c. olitorius l., sp. pl. : 529 (1753). vernacular names: tossa jute (eng.), tosha pat, lalita pat, deo pat (beng.). an annual, erect herb. representative specimen: dhaka: bosila, 15.10.2002, m. khatun 238. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 14. sterculiaceae bartling (1830) 43. sterculia villosa roxb. ex smith in rees, cyc. 34: no. 16 (1816). vernacular names: udal (beng.), lambuk (tripura). a large, deciduous tree. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: madhabpungi, madhabkundu, 5.5.2003, m. khatun 280. area of major consumption: bandarban and moulvi bazar districts. 102 khatun et al. 15. malvaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 44. hibiscus cannabinus l., syst. nat. ed. 10, 2: 1149 (1759). vernacular names: kenaf hemp, decan hemp (eng.), mesta pat (beng.), dare kudrum (garo). a herb with prickly stem. representative specimen: patuakhali: kuakata, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 485. area of major consumption: patuakhali district. 45. h. sabdariffa l., sp. pl.: 695 (1753). vernacular names: kenaf hemp (eng.), mesta pat (beng.), chukair (garo), arak (rakhain). an erect, annual herb. representative specimen: tangail: madhupur, 18.4.2002, m. khatun 175. area of major consumption: tangail district. 46. h. surattensis l., sp. pl.: 696 (1753). vernacular names: wild sour (eng.), mikhri (garo), maik shak (khasia). an annual herb. representative specimen: tangail: madhupur, chonia, 18.4.2002, m. khatun 175. area of major consumption: tangail district. 47. malva verticillata l., sp. pl.: 689 (1753). var. rafiqii abedin in nasir & ali (eds), fl. w. pak. 130: 43 (1979). vernacular names: whorled malva (eng.), napha, napa (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: dinajpur: dinajpur proper, 16.9.2001, m. khatun 83. area of major consumption: dinajpur and rangpur districts. 16. cucurbitaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 48. benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. in dc., monogr. phan. 3: 513 (1881). vernacular names: wax gourd (eng.), chalkumra (beng.). an annual, hispid, climbing herb. representative specimen: jessore: birampur, 5.1.2004, m. khatun 391. area of major consumption: dhaka and jessore districts. 49. coccinia grandis (l.) voigt, hort. suburb. calc.: 59 (1854). vernacular names: ivy gourd (eng.), telakucha (beng.). a perennial, climbing herb. representative specimen: natore: shingra, 14.4.2001, m. khatun 57. area of major consumption: gazipur district. 50. cucurbita maxima duch. ex lamk., encycl. 2: 151 (1786). vernacular names: pumpkin (eng.), mistikumra, mithakumra (beng.). an annual, climbing herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: binodpur, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 41. area of major consumption: rajshahi district. 51. lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl., publ. field mus. nat. hist. chicago, b. ser. 3: 435 (1930). vernacular names: bottle gourd (eng.), lau (beng.), boo-sthie (rakhain). a large, annual, climbing herb. representative specimen: dhaka: uttarbadda, 15.10.2002, m. khatun 235. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 52. luffa cylindrica (l.) m. roem., synops. 2: 63 (1846). vernacular names: sponge gourd (eng.), dhundul (beng.), mree-u-sthie (rakhain). an extensive climbing herb. representative specimen: jessore: khoertola, 5.1.2004, m. khatun 392. area of major consumption: jessore district. 53. momordica charantia l. var. muricata (willd.) chakravarty, fasc. fl. ind. 2: 92 (1982). vernacular names: bitter melon (eng.), uchchhey (beng.), gang-khera-apang (rakhain). leafy vegetables of bangladesh 103 an annual, climbing herb. representative specimen: gopalganj: vatiapara, 3.3.2007, m. khatun 426. area of major consumption: gopalganj district. 54. trichosanthes anguina l., sp. pl. 1: 1008 (1753). vernacular names: snake gourd (eng.), chichinga (beng.), mring-bawn (rakhain). an annual, climbing herb. representative specimen: noakhali: begumganj, 7.5.2003, m. khatun 241. area of major consumption: noakhali and jessore districts. 55. t. dioica roxb., fl. ind. 3: 701 (1832). vernacular names: pointed gourd (eng.), patal (beng.), pee-tho-sthie (rakhain). an annual, climbing herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: binodpur, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 44. area of major consumption: rajshahi district. 56. zehneria japonica (thunb.) h. y. liu., bull. nat. mus. nat. (taiwan) 1: 40 (1989). vernacular name: white-fruited creeping cucumber (eng.), herana shak (chakma, khasia). an annual, climbing herb. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, digholchari, 7.7.2003, m. khatun 346. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 57. z. scabra (l. f.) sond. in harv. & sond., fl. cap. 2: 486 (1862). vernacular names: south african zehneria (eng.), rakhal sasa (beng.), kolakachu (koch). an annual, climbing herb. representative specimen: sherpur: halchati, 1.11.2009, m. khatun 527. area of major consumption: sherpur district. 17. begoniaceae c. a. agardh (1825) 58. begonia barbata wall. ex. a. dc., prodr. 15(1) : 348 (1864). vernacular name: tokpata (tripura). a herb with creeping rootstock. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: sreemangal, 6.5.2003, m. khatun 304. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 18. brassicaceae burnett (1835) 59. brassica juncea (l.) czerniak., consp. fl. chark. : 8 (1859). vernacular names: indian mustard, brown mustard (eng.), raisarisha, jhuni, chanchi (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: manikganj: singair, 13.9.2002, m. khatun 184. area of major consumption: dhaka and sylhet districts. 60. b. napus l., sp. pl. 2: 666 (1753). vernacular names: colza, rape (eng.), magi, togi, sarisha (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: meharchandi, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 41. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 61. b. oleracea var. capitata l., sp. pl. 2: 667 (1753). vernacular names: cabbage, headed cabbage (eng.), bandhakapi (beng.). an annual or biennial (in cold areas) herb. representative specimen: dhaka: ashulia, 15.1.2002, m. khatun 132. area of major consumption: dhaka, also all over the country. 62. b. rapa l., sp. pl.: 666 (1753). vernacular names: turnip (eng.), shalgam (beng.). an annual or biannual herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: meherchandi, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 55. area of major consumption: rajshahi district. 104 khatun et al. 63. raphanus sativus l., sp. pl. 2: 669 (1753). vernacular names: raddish (eng.), mula (beng.), mou-laa (rakhain). an annual herb. representative specimen: barisal: barisal sadar, 11.4.2010, m. khatun 578. area of major consumption: barisal and jessore districts. 19. moringaceae dumortier (1829) 64. moringa oleifera lamk., encycl. 1(2): 398 (1785). vernacular names: drumstick tree, horseradish tree (eng.), sajna, sojne (beng.), pepan-yuw-maa (marma). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: kolatoli, 2.8.2009, m. khatun 505. area of major consumption: cox’s bazar district. 20. mimosaceae r. brown (1814) 65. albizia procera (roxb.) benth. in hook., london j. bot. 3: 89 (1844). vernacular names: white siris (eng.), sada koroi (beng.), fonagula (chakma). a large, deciduous tree. representative specimen: chittagong: alutila, 8.7.2003, m. khatun 364. area of major consumption: khagrachari district. 21. caesalpiniaceae r. brown (1814) 66. bauhinia acuminata l., sp. pl. : 375 (1753). vernacular names: white bauhinia, mountain ebony (eng.), shada kanchon (beng.), hingshiara (garo), jalong (khasia). a large shrub or small tree. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: madhabkundu, 5.5.2003, m. khatun 287. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar and netrakona districts. 67. caesalpinia digyna rottler, neue schriften ges. naturf. freunde berlin. 4: 200 (1803). vernacular names: kamuno (marma), loho (tanchangya). a large, straggling, scandent shrub. representative specimen: bandarban: balaghata, 5.3.2012, m. khatun 621. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 68. cassia fistula l., sp. pl.: 377 (1753). vernacular names: golden shower tree, purging cassia (eng.), sonalu, bandar lati (beng.), shumrol (khasia). a medium-sized deciduous tree. representative specimen: jessore: hashimpur, 5.1.2004, m. khatun 389. area of major consumption: jessore and moulvi bazar districts. 69. senna obtusifolia (l.) irwin & barneby, mem. n. y. bot. gard. 35: 252 (1982). vernacular names: java bean (eng.), chakunda (beng.), dang geya (marma). an erect herb or undershrub. representative specimen: bandarban: lama, 3.4.2011, m. khatun 615. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 70. s. sophera (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 347 (1832). vernacular names: pepper-leaved senna (eng.), kalkashunda, kasundi (beng.), eshi shak (rakhain). an undershrub or shrub. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: kolatoli, 2.8.2009, m. khatun 503. area of major consumption: manikganj and dinajpur districts. 71. s. tora (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 340 (1832). vernacular names: sickle senna (eng.), chakunda, kalkasham (beng.), sa lai pa (marma). an erect foetid herb or undershrub. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: kolatoli, 2.8.2010, m. khatun 529. area of major consumption: rangamati district. leafy vegetables of bangladesh 105 22. fabaceae lindley (1836) 72. cajanus cajan (l.) millsp., publ. field. columb. mus. bot. ser. 2: 53 (1900). vernacular names: pigeon pea (eng.), arhar (beng.), rahar (santal). a shrub. representative specimen: khulna: rupdia, 13.9.2007, m. khatun 443. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 73. cicer arietinum l., sp. pl. 2: 738 (1753). vernacular names: chickpea, bengal gram (eng.), chola, but, chana (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: natore: singair, 14.9.2001, m. khatun 58. area of major consumption: natore district. 74. erythrina stricta roxb., fl. ind. 3: 251 (1832). vernacular names: mandar, teliamandar (beng.), kosano (marma, tanchangya). a large, deciduous tree. representative specimen: bandarban: kibukpara, 5.3.2012, m. khatun 619. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 75. lablab purpureus (l.) sweet., hort. brit. ed. 1: 481 (1827). vernacular names: hyacinth bean, lablab (eng.), sheem, urshi, ushi (beng.). a perennial or annual climbing herb. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: st. martin’s island, 18.2.2011, m. khatun 595. area of major consumption: cox’s bazar district. 76. lathyrus sativus l., sp. pl. : 730 (1753). vernacular names: grass pea (eng.), khesari (beng.). a much branched annual herb. representative specimen: natore: singair, 14.9.2001, m. khatun 59. area of major consumption: rajshahi district. 77. phaseolus vulgaris l., sp. pl. 1: 723 (1753). vernacular names: common bean, kidney bean (eng.), felong dal (marma, chakma). a climbing herb. representative specimen: bandarban: bandarban sadar, 5.3.2012, m. khatun 620. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 78. pisum sativum l., sp. pl.: 727 (1753). vernacular names: garden pea, pea (eng.), motor, motorshuti (beng.). a short-lived, climbing annual herb. representative specimen: pirojpur: nazirpur, 11.4.2010, m. khatun 583. area of major consumption: greater faridpur district. 79. sesbania grandiflora (l.) poir. in lamk., encycl. met. 7: 127 (1806). vernacular names: bakful (beng.), agasta (rakhain). a soft-wooded small tree. representative specimen: patuakhali: kuakata, 23.5.2000, m. khatun 482. area of major consumption: khagrachari and patuakhali districts. 80. trigonella foenum-graecum l., sp. pl. 3: 777 (1753). vernacular names: fenugreek (eng.), methi (beng.). an annual, robust, aromatic herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: kazla, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 45. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 81. vigna mungo (l.) happer. in kew bull. 11: 128 (1956). vernacular names: black gram (eng.), mashkalai (beng.), pee-shee-kanshi-deal (rakhain). an annual herb. representative specimen: chapai nawabganj: moharajpur, 15.9.2001, m. khatun 71. area of major consumption: chapai nawabganj district. 106 khatun et al. 23. onagraceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 82. ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara, j. jap. bot. 28: 290 (1953). vernacular names: kesardam (beng.), mulsishak (garo), gandu-pawn (rakhain). an aquatic herb. representative specimen: natore: natore sadar, 14.9.2001, m. khatun 60. area of major consumption: netrakona district. 24. melastomataceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 83. osbeckia stellata buch.-ham. ex ker-gawl., bot. reg. 8: 674 (1822). vernacular names: star osbeckia (eng.), gaichi (beng.), chakum (khasia). a shrub. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: madhabkundu, 3.5.2003, m. khatun 273. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 25. euphorbiaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 84. antidesma acidum retz., obs. bot. 5: 30 (1788). vernacular names: indian laurel (eng.), multa (beng.), mokhichikra (tripura). a large shrub or small tree. representative specimen: habiganj: chunarughat, 6.5.2003, m. khatun 307. area of major consumption: habiganj district. 85. manihot esculenta crantz, inst. 1: 167 (1766). vernacular names: cassava (eng.), simul-alu (garo), kepalli nolpai (marma). a shrub. representative specimen: tangail: madhupur, 18.4.2002, m. khatun 172. area of major consumption: tangail and sherpur districts. 86. ricinus communis l., sp. pl.: 1007 (1753). vernacular names: castor (eng.), venna, rerhi, bherenda (beng.), crusuba (marma, tanchangya). a shrubby or tree-like, somewhat herb. representative specimen: bandarban: bandarban sadar, 7.3.2012, m. khatun 617. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 26. vitaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 87. cissus adnata roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 1: 405 (1820). vernacular names: alianga-lata, bhatia-lata (beng.) chuka-blei (tripura). a slender, woody climber. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: kolatoli, 2.8.2009, m. khatun 508. area of major consumption: cox’s bazar district. 88. c. assamica (m. lawson) craib in kew bull.: 31 (1911). vernacular names: amasha-pata (beng.), gelia bleli (tripura). a large, woody climber. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: sreemangal, 2.5.2003, m. khatun 283. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 89. c. elongata roxb., fl. ind. 1: 411 (1832). vernacular names: dhemna, chemna (beng.). a large, climbing herb. representative specimen: bandarban: lama, 3.4.2011, m. khatun 615. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 90. c. quadrangularis l., syst. nat. ed. 12(2): 124 (1767). vernacular names: harjora lata, harbhanga lata (beng), marang gach (santal), moi-bhanga lota (garo). a large climber. representative specimen: patuakhali: kalachanpara, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 495. area of major consumption: patuakhali district. leafy vegetables of bangladesh 107 91. c. repens lamk., encycl. math. bot. 1: 31 (1783). vernacular names: marnaria pata (beng.), marmaria lata (koch) a large, herbaceous climber. representative specimen: chittagong: jamtoli, 8.7.2003, m. khatun 374. area of major consumption: sherpur district. 92. tetrastigma angustifolium (roxb.) planch. in dc., monogr. phan. 5: 439 (1887). vernacular name: nekung rubi (beng.). a large, glabrous, herbaceous climber. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, digholchari, 7.7.2003, m. khatun 359. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 27. sapindaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 93. cardiospermum halicacabum l., sp. pl.: 366 (1753). vernacular names: balloon vine, pigeon’s knee (eng.), phutka, lataphutki (beng.), kataboksa shak (chakma). an annual or perennial climbing herb. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, digholchari, 7.7.2003, m. khatun 377. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 28. anacardiaceae lindley (1830) 94. mangifera indica l., sp. pl.: 200 (1753). vernacular names: mango (eng.), aam (beng.), kharai (khasia), tharaapang (rakhain). a large tree. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: adampur, 3.5.2003, m. khatun 267. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 95. spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz, pegu. rep.: 44 (1875). vernacular names: hog plum (eng.), deshi-amra (beng.), thai-toui (tripura), soh-awla (khasia). a medium-sized to large tree. representative specimen: habiganj: chunarughat, 6.5.2003, m. khatun 313. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 29. meliaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). 96. azadirachta indica a. juss. in mem. mus. nat. hist. paris 19: 221, t. 13 (1830). vernacular names: margosa tree, neem tree (eng.), neem (beng.), hoppa (rakhain). a medium-sized to large tree. representative specimen: patuakhali: kuakata, 24.5.2008, m. khatun 486. area of major consumption: patuakhali district. 30. rutaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 97. aegle marmelos (l.) corr., trans. linn. soc. lond. 5: 223 (1800). vernacular names: bengal quince (eng.), bel (beng.), war-e-si-apang (marma). a deciduous tree. representative specimen: bandarban: balaghata, 5.3.2012, m. khatun 616. area of major consumption: bandarban and khagrachari districts. 98. clausena excavata burm. f., fl. ind.: 87, t. 29, 2 (1768). vernacular names: clausena (eng.), pan karpur (beng.), pankauri (chakma). an aromatic shrub. representative specimen: chittagong: sitakunda, 7.7.2003, m. khatun 285. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 99. zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc., prodr. 1: 728 (1824). vernacular names: indian ivy-rue (eng.), bajna, kantahorina, tambol (beng.), khazai (garo). a medium-sized, deciduous tree. representative specimen: tangail: madhupur, 18.4.2002, m. khatun 178. area of major consumption: tangail and netrakona districts. 108 khatun et al. 31. oxalidaceae r. brown (1817) 100. oxalis corniculata l., sp. pl.: 435 (1753). vernacular names: indian sorrel (eng.), amrul, amrul shak (beng.), amila pata (chakma, khasia). a small perennial herb. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, digholchari, 7.7.2003, m. khatun 348. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 32. apiaceae lindley (1836) 101. centella asiatica (l.) urban in mart. & eichler, fl. brasil. 11 (1): 287 (1879). vernacular names: indian pennywort (eng.), thankuni, brahmabuti (beng.). a perennial herb. representative specimen: dhaka: bocila, 15.1.2002, m. khatun 167. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 102. coriandrum sativum l., sp. pl. 1: 256 (1753). vernacular names: coriander (eng.), dhonay, dhonia (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: chittagong: adampur, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 372. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 103. eryngium foetidum l., sp. pl. 1: 232 (1753). vernacular names: wild coriander (eng.), mysapagur (chakma). an erect, biennial herb. representative specimen: rangamati: digholchari, 7.7.2003, m. khatun 351. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 104. foeniculum vulgare (l.) miller, gard. diet. ed. 8, no. 1 (1768). vernacular names: funnel (eng.), pan-mohuri (beng.), moroi (marma) a robust, aromatic herb. representative specimen: bandarban: bandarban sadar, 7.3.2012, m. khatun 616. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 105. hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lamk., enc. 3: 153 (1789). vernacular names: lawn marsh pennywort (eng.), sakumubakla (marma). a perennial, slender herb. representative specimen: khagrachari: bottoli, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 339. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 106. oenanthe benghalensis (roxb.) kurz, j. asiat. soc. beng. 2: 115 (1877). vernacular names: water celery (eng.), bandhunia (khasia). a perennial, glabrous herb. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, bangchari, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 343. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 107. o. javanica (blume) dc., prodr. 4: 138 (1830). vernacular names: water dropwort, java waterdropwort (eng.), pan-turasi (beng.), branju (rakhain). a perennial herb. representative specimen: patuakhali: kalachandpara, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 491. area of major consumption: patuakhali district. 108. trachyspermum ammi (l.) sprague, bull. misc. inform. kew. 1929: 228 (1929). vernacular names: ajowan caraway (eng.), jawan (beng.), fuchi shak (chakma, marma). an annual herb. representative specimen: khagrachari: golabari, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 326. area of major consumption: khagrachari district. 109. t. roxburghianum (dc.) h. wolff in engl., pfl. umbellif. apioid-ammin.: 129 (1927). vernacular names: radhuni, chanu (beng.), rajani (marma). leafy vegetables of bangladesh 109 an annual, aromatic herb. representative specimen: dhaka: bosila, 15.10.2002, m. khatun 233. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 33. solanaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 110. capsicum frutescens l., sp. pl.: 189 (1753). vernacular names: spur pepper, cayenne pepper (eng.), kacha morich (beng.). a herb. representative specimen: patuakhali: patuakhali sadar, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 493. area of major consumption: patuakhali district. 111. physalis angulata l., sp. pl. : 183 (1753). vernacular names: hogweed, balloon cherry (eng.), potka (beng.), ambichok (garo). an annual, much branched herb. representative specimen: pabna: thanapara, 5.3.2007, m. khatun 467. area of major consumption: pabna district. 112. solanum americanum mill., gard. dict. ed. 8, no. 5 (1768). vernacular names: glossy nightshade (eng.), titbegun (beng.). an erect annual herb. representative specimen: habiganj: chunarughat, 6.5.2003, m. khatun 316. area of major consumption: habiganj district. 113. s. tuberosum l., sp. pl.: 185 (1753). vernacular names: potato (eng.), alu, gol alu (beng.), mraa-u-shey (rakhain). a viscoid herb. representative specimen: munshiganj: gozaria, 18.1.2010, m. khatun 566. area of major consumption: cox’s bazar district. 114. s. villosum mill., gard. dict. ed. 8, no. 2 (1768). vernacular names: orange nightshade (eng.), titbegun, kakmachi (beng.), kha-rey-je-key (rakhain). an annual herb. representative specimen: patuakhali: keranipara, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 490. area of major consumption: chapai nawabganj district. 34. convolvulaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 115. hewittia sublobata (l. f.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2 : 441 (1891). vernacular name: dhudla shak (beng). a twining perennial herb. representative specimen: rajbari: salki, 12.3.2006, m. khatun 403. area of major consumption: rajbari and feni districts. 116. ipomoea aquatica forssk., fl. aeg.-arab. : 44 (1755). vernacular names: water spinach (eng.), kalmi shak (beng.). an aquatic herb. representative specimen: gopalganj: digholia, 3.3.2007, m. khatun 424. area of major consumption: gopalganj district. 117. i. batatus (l.) lamk., tabl. encycl. 1: 465 (1791). vernacular names: sweet potato (eng.), misti alu, ranga alu (beng.). a perennial herb. representative specimen: dhaka: diabari, 15.1.2002, m. khatun 134. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 118. operculina turpethum (l.) s. manso., enum. subst. bras.: 16 (1836). vernacular names: turpeth root (eng.), dudh kalmi (beng.). a glabrous twiner. representative specimen: patuakhali: kolapara, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 479. area of major consumption: gazipur and patuakhali districts. 110 khatun et al. 35. verbenaceae jaume st.hilaire (1805) 119. clerodendrum inerme (l.) gaertn., fruct. sem. pl. 1: 271 (1788). vernacular names: glory bower (eng.), banjui, batraj, koklata (beng.), jarems (khasia). an erect to scandent shrub. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: madhabpunji, 4.5.2003, m. khatun 282. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 120. premna benghalensis c. b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 4: 577 (1885). vernacular names: pakhirhar (beng.), koya jarul (khasia). a medium-sized evergreen tree. representative specimen: habiganj: chunarughat, 6.5.2003, m. khatun 317. area of major consumption: habiganj district. 121. p. esculenta roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 3: 81 (1832). vernacular names: lalong, lalana (beng.), gun-duri, darkakha (khasia). a small shrub. representative specimen: habiganj: chunarughat, kalenga, 6.5.2003, m. khatun 312. area of major consumption: habiganj district. 122. p. mucronata roxb., fl. ind. ed. 2, 3: 635 (1832). vernacular name: khatamuri (koch). a shrub or small tree. representative specimen: sherpur: runctia, kochpara, 1.11.2009, m. khatun 531. area of major consumption: sherpur district. 123. p. obtusifolia r. br., prod. fl. nov. holl. 1: 512 (1810). vernacular names: gambari, bhuttsirabi (beng.), lalom pata (khasia, chakma). a shrub to small evergreen tree. representative specimen: khagrachari: golabari, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 318. area of major consumption: khagrachari district. 36. lamiaceae lindley (1836). 124. ajuga macrosperma wall. ex benth. in wall., pl. as. rar. 1: 58 (1830). vernacular names: sabarang (chakma, marma). a herb. representative specimen: khagrachari: golabari, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 337. area of major consumption: khagrachari and rangamati districts. 125. leucas aspera (willd.) link, enum. hort. berol. 2: 113 (1822). vernacular names: dondokalosh (beng.), dong-ke-la (coach). a stout, erect or diffuse, annual herb. representative specimen: bandarban: lama, 3.4.2011, m. khatun 609. area of major consumption: chittagong district. 126. l. cephalotes (roth.) spreng., syst. 2: 743 (1825). vernacular names: bara kalkus (beng.), thaelsi (garo). a stout, erect, annual herb. representative specimen:: netrakona: bijoypur, 8.10.2000, m. khatun 05. area of major consumption: netrakona district. 127. ocimum americanum l., cent. pl. 1: 15 (1755). vernacular names: rosary ocimum (eng.), tulshi (beng.), bontulsi (coach). an erect, annual, aromatic herb. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, koblachara, 7.7.2003, m. khatun 347. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 128. pogostemon benghalensis (burm. f.) o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 529 (1891). vernacular name: lomboi shak (chakma, marma, khasia). leafy vegetables of bangladesh 111 an erect, stout, aromatic undershrub. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, digholchari, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 338. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 37. scrophulariaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 129. bacopa monnieri (l.) pennell in pflanzenfam. 4(3b): 77 (1891). vernacular names: water hyssop (eng.), brammi, brammi shak, dupkalmini (beng.) an annual herb. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: st. martin’s island, 18.2.2011, m. khatun 596. area of major consumption: patuakhali and cox’s bazar districts. 130. scoparia dulcis l., sp. pl.: 116 (1753). vernacular names: goat weed (eng.), bondhone (beng.), shamgaldak (garo). an erect, much branched, perennial herb. representative specimen: dinajpur: mukundupur, 16.9.2001, m. khatun 87. area of major consumption: dinajpur district. 38. acanthaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 131. hygrophila polysperma (roxb.) t. anders., journ. linn. soc. bot. 9: 456 (1867). vernacular names: dwarf hygrophila (eng.), puinnya shak (beng.), puinna shak (rakhain). a small, much branched herb. representative specimen: patuakhali: kalapara, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 496. area of major consumption: patuakhali district. 132. h. schulli (buch.-ham.) m. r. & s. n. almeida, journ. bomb. nat. hist. soc. 83 (suppl.): 221 (1986). vernacular names: star thorn (eng.), talmakhna, kulekhara (beng.). an annual, erect herb. representative specimen: jhalakathi: jhalakathi proper, 11.4.2010, m. khatun 577. area of major consumption: barisal and rajbari districts. 133. nelsonia canescens (lamk.) spreng., syst. 1 : 42 (1824). vernacular names: paramul (beng.), khaia shak (khasia). a trailing or diffuse herb. representative specimen: habiganj: chunarughat, 6.5.2003, m. khatun 302. area of major consumption: habiganj district. 134. ruellia tuberosa l., sp. pl.: 635 (1753). vernacular names: blue bell (eng.), chatpotey (beng.), charasak (khasia). a perennial erect herb. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: lawacherra, 2.5.2003, m. khatun 249. area of major consumption: habiganj and moulvi bazar districts. 39. bignoniaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 135. oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz, for. fl. brit. burm. 2: 237 (1877). vernacular names: midnight horror (eng.), kanaidingi (beng.), kharam-sha-bawn (rakhain), fona-gulogach (chakma). a medium-sized tree. representative specimen: patuakhali: kuakata, 24.5.2008, m. khatun 478. area of major consumption: patuakhali and rangamati districts. 40. sphenocleaceae lindly (1829) 136. sphenoclea zeylanica gaertn., fruct. sem. pl. 1: 113 (1788). vernacular names: jhill mirich (beng.), vui shak (chakma), radai (mog). a robust herb. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, debachari, 7.7.2003, m. khatun 356. area of major consumption: khagrachari district. 112 khatun et al. 41. rubiaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 137. hedyotis corymbosa (l.) lamk., tab. encycl. 1: 272 (1791). vernacular names: khetpapra, panki (beng.), dimatita (marma). an annual, diffuse or prostrate herb. representative specimen: dinajpur: mukundopur, 16.9.2001, m. khatun 79. area of major consumption: dinajpur district. 138. morinda citrifolia l., sp. pl.: 176 (1753). vernacular names: ach, banach, tufania (beng.), ken-thug-blag, chirasak (khasia). a shrub or small tree. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: kolatoli, 2.8.2009, m. khatun 506. area of major consumption: chittagong district. 139. paederia foetida l., mant. 1: 52 (1767). vernacular names: gandha bhaduli, badali (beng.), padbaj ludi (chakma). a twining, glabrous shrub. representative specimen: netrakona: polastola, 8.10.2001, m. khatun 14. area of major consumption: netrakona district. 140. spermacoce articularis l. f., sppl. pl: 119 (1782). vernacular names: horinshing, usni (santal). a procumbent, perennial, mat forming herb. representative specimen: dinajpur: noyabad, 16.9.2001, m. khatun 86. area of major consumption: dinajpur district. 141. s. latifolia aublet, hist. pl. guiane fr. 1: 55, t. 194 (1755). vernacular name: ghuiojhil shak (tanchangya). a prostrate or decumbent herb. representative specimen: bandarban: lama, 3.4.2011, m. khatun 612. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 142. s. stricta l. f., suppl. pl.: 120 (1781). vernacular names: narkel jhuri shak (rakhain), mijlick (chakma). an erect or rarely prostrate, annual herb. representative specimen: patuakhali: keranipara, 23.5.2008, m. khatun 492. area of major consumption: patuakhali and sylhet districts. 42. caprifoliaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789) 143. sambucus javanica reinw. ex blume, bijdr.: 657 (1826). venacular names: javanese elder (eng.), hoklati (beng.), maytraba (chakma). a large shrub or small tree. representative specimen: rangamati: rangamati sadar, 10.7.2003, m. khatun 333. area of major consumption: bandarban and rangamati districts. 43. asteraceae dumortier (1822) 144. ageratum conyzoides l., sp. pl.: 839 (1753). vernacular names: tropical white weed (eng.), ozone shak (chakma), mukri (tripura), hinor (khasia). an annual herb. representative specimen: khagrachari: bot-toli, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 323. area of major consumption: khagrachari district. 145. blumea lacera (burm. f. ) dc. in wight, contr. bot. ind.: 14 (1834). vernacular names: barakukshim, kukurshunga, kuksung (beng.), leikhamal (manipuri). an annual aromatic herb. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: komolganj, 3.5.2003, m. khatun 271. area of major consumption: feni and moulvi bazar districts. leafy vegetables of bangladesh 113 146. elephantopus scaber l., sp. pl.: 814 (1753). vernacular names: banmula (beng.), gejia shak (koch). a perennial herb. representative specimen: noakhali: begumganj, 7.5.2003, m. khatun 321. area of major consumption: noakhali district. 147. emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. in wight, contrib. : 24 (1834). vernacular names: lilac tassel flower (eng.), mechitra, sadusi (beng.), miam shak (chakma). an annual branched herb. representative specimen: khagrachari: dokkhin golabari, 8.7.2003, m. khatun 376. area of major consumption: khagrachari district. 148. enhydra fluctuans lour., fl. chchinch.: 511 (1790). vernacular names: helencha, hingcha, harhach (beng.). an annual, aquatic herb. representative specimen: gopalganj: tungipara, 4.3.2007, m. khatun 299. area of major consumption: gopalganj district. 149. lactuca scariola l. var. sativa hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3 : 404 (1881). vernacular names: garden lettuce (eng.), latus pata (beng.). an annual or biennial herb. representative specimen: rajshahi: meharchandi, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 36. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 150. spilanthes calva dc. in wight, contrib. : 19 (1834). vernacular names: paracress (eng.), surfa, kannya (beng.), marhatitiga (marma) an annual herb. representative specimen: khagrachari: shomoboy market, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 340. area of major consumption: rangamati district. 151. synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn., fruct. 2: 456, t. 171 (1791). vernacular name: hamfui (marma, chakma). an annual pubescent herb. representative specimen: khagrachari: pouromarket, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 344. area of major consumption: khagrachari district. 152. vernonia cinerea (l.) less., linnaea 4 (1): 291 (1829). vernacular names: little ironweed (eng.), kuksim (beng.), kalojira (garo). an erect, annual or perennial herb. representative specimen: dinajpur: noiyabad, 16.9.2001, m. khatun 98. area of major consumption: netrakona district. 153. xanthium indicum koen. ex roxb., fl. ind. 3: 601 (1832). vernacular names: rough cocklebur (eng.), ghagra, ban-okra (beng.), baksala (hajong). an annual herb. representative specimen: munshiganj: mahakali, 18.1.2010, m. khatun 568. area of major consumption: barisal, faridpur, madaripur, rajshahi and chittagong districts. note: seedlings of this species are highly poisonous, thus should never be plucked for vegetables in this stage. liliopsida 1. arecaceae c.h. schultz-schultzen. (1832) 154. calamus tenuis roxb., fl. ind. 3: 780 (1832). vernacular names: rattan (eng.), bet (beng.), khring (marma). a thicket forming climber. representative specimen: khagrachari: bot-toli, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 330. area of major consumption: khagrachari district. 114 khatun et al. 2. araceae a.l. de jussieu (1789) 155. amorphophallus bulbifer (roxb.) blume, rumph. 1: 148 (1847). vernacular names: voodoo lily (eng.), jongli ol (beng.), chungmuru (garo). a herb. representative specimen: sherpur: runctia, 31.10.2009, m. khatun 539. area of major consumption: sherpur and moulvi bazar districts. 156. a. nepalensis (wall.) bogner & mayo, aroideana 8(1): 19 (1985). vernacular names: khar kochu (tripuri), dadonga (koch). a tuberous herb. representative specimen: mymensingh: haluaghat, 6.10.2009, m. khatun 115. area of major consumption: mymensingh district. 157. colocasia esculenta (l.) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot. 1: 18 (1832). vernacular names: taro, coco-yam (eng.), kachu (beng.). a perennial herb. representative specimen: jessore: monirampur, 5.1.2004, m. khatun 382. area of major consumption: jessore and dhaka districts. 158. c. gigantea (blume) hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 524 (1893). vernacular names: giant elephant ear (eng.), salad kachu (beng.), chinjapang (khasia). a perennial herb. representative specimen: khagrachari: silchari, 8.7.2003, m. khatun 334. area of major consumption: khagrachari and sylhet districts. 159. homalomena aromatica (roxb. ex sims.) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot. 1: 20 (1832). vernacular names: bonkachu (beng.), kachu gondhobi (khasia), chikon shak (marma). a perennial herb. representative specimen: moulvi bazar: adampur bit, 3.5.2003, m. khatun 268. area of major consumption: moulvi bazar district. 160. lasia spinosa (l.) thwait., enum. pl. zeyl. 1: 336 (1864). vernacular names: kanta kachu (beng.), bonadia (garo). a perennial, stout herb. representative specimen: netrakona: durgapur, 8.10.2000, m. khatun 04. area of major consumption: netrakona and habiganj districts. 161. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott, wien. zeitschr. 3: 72 (1829). vernacular names: ghetkachu, ghekul (beng.), kharkon (santal). a small, tuberous, terrestrial herb. representative specimen: gazipur: rajendrapur, 4.12.2009, m. khatun 554. representative specimen: dhaka and gazipur districts. 162. xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot.: 19 (1832) (‘sagittaefolium’). vernacular names: tannia, tanier (eng.), mukhikachu (beng.). a perennial herb. representative specimen: rajbari: salmara, 12.3.2006, m. khatun 401. area of major consumption: faridpur district. 163. x. violaceum schott, oesterr. bot. wochenbl. 3: 370 (1853). vernacular names: blue taro, purple-stem taro (eng.), dudhkachu (beng.). a perennial herb. representative specimen: jessore: hashimpur, 5.1.2004, m. khatun 385. area of major consumption: jessore district. 3. commelinaceae r. brown (1810) 164. commelina benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 41 (1753). vernacular names: blue commelina, bengal dayflower (eng.), kanchira (beng.), piachara (chakma). leafy vegetables of bangladesh 115 a small herb. representative specimen: chapai nawabganj: moharajpur, 12.9.2001, m. khatun 66. area of major consumption: chapai nawabganj district. 4. poaceae barnhart (1895) 165. melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz, prelim. rep. for. veg. pegu, app. b.: 94 (1875). vernacular names: berry bamboo (eng.), bajali muli, tarai (beng.), wa-thui, muiya (chakma, marma, khasia). a diffusely clumped, sympodial bamboo. representative specimen: khagrachari: bot-toli, 6.7.2003, m. khatun 341. area of major consumption: chittagong hill tracts. 5. zingiberaceae lindley (1835) 166. curcuma longa l., sp. pl. 1: 2 (1753). vernacular names: turmeric (eng.), halud, haldi (beng.). a rhizomatous herb. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: kolatoli, 2.8.2009, m. khatun 513. area of major consumption: cox’s bazar district. 167. globba marantina l., mant. alt. : 170 (1771). vernacular names: yellow dancing girl (eng.), holi shak (khasia). a small, annual herb. representative specimen: rangamati: kaptai, bangchari, 7.7.2003, m. khatun 357. area of major consumption: khagrachari and rangamati districts. 168. zingiber officinale rosc., trans. linn. soc. lond. 8: 348 (1807). vernacular names: ginger (eng.), ada (beng.), shaen-pang (rakhain). a small, rhizomatous herb. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: kolatoli pahar, 2.8.2009, m. khatun 501. area of major consumption: cox’s bazar district. 6. pontederiaceae kunth (1816) 169. monochoria hastata (l.) solms in a. dc., monogr. phaner. 4: 523 (1883). vernacular names: arrowleaf false pickereweed (eng.), baranukha (beng.), chichir (garo), projukti shak (tripura). a perennial, robust herb. representative specimen: netrakona: bijoypur, 8.10.2001, m. khatun 13. area of major consumption: netrakona district. 170. m. vaginalis (burm. f.) presl, rel. haenk. 1: 128 (1827). vernacular names: heartshape false pickereweed (eng.), nukha (beng.), kusrisha (khasia). a slender, perennial herb. representative specimen: habiganj: chunarughat, 6.5.2003, m. khatun 314. area of major consumption: khagrachari and moulvi bazar districts. 7. liliaceae a.l. de jussieu (1789) 171. allium cepa l., sp. pl. ed.1: 300 (1753). vernacular names: onion (eng.), piaz (beng.). an annual herb. representative specimen: jessore: hashimpur, 5.7.2004, m. khatun 394. area of major consumption: dhaka district. 172. a. sativum l., sp. pl. 1: 297 (1753). vernacular names: garlic (eng.), rashun (beng.). an erect herb. representative specimen: rajbari: salmara, 8.2.2008, m. khatun 417. area of major consumption: rajbari district. 116 khatun et al. 8. dioscoriaceae r. brown (1810) 173. dioscorea pentaphylla l., sp. pl.: 1032 (1753). vernacular names: five-leaf yam (eng.), jhum alu, kanta alu (beng.), khaiamor (mog), patil alu (coach, rajbonshi). a twining herb. representative specimen: bandarban: lama, 3.4.2011, m. khatun 607. area of major consumption: gazipur and bandarban districts. pteridophyta 1. angiopteridaceae fee ex bonner (1867) 174. angiopteris evecta (forst.) hoffm., comm. soc. reg. gott. 12: 29, t. 5 (1796). vernacular names: king fern (eng.), dhekia shak (beng.), siblu (marma). a large, semi-erect tree fern. representative specimen: bandarban: lama, 3.4.2011, m. khatun 616. area of major consumption: bandarban and cox’s bazar districts. 2. athyriaceae pichi sermolli (1970) 175. diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw., schrad. j. 1801 (2): 312 (1803). vernacular names: edible fern (eng.), dhekia shak (beng.), teria shak (tripuri). a terrestrial fern. representative specimen: habiganj: rema-kalenga, 6.5.2003, m. khatun 303. area of major consumption: chittagong and sylhet districts. 176. d. polypodioides bl., en. pl. jav.: 194 (1828). vernacular names: fern (eng.), dhekia (beng.). a fern. representative specimen: chittagong: bangchari, 8.7.2003, m. khatun 361. area of major consumption: chittagong and mymensingh districts. 3. blechnaceae (presl) copel. (1947) 177. blechnum orientale l., sp. pl. 2: 1077 (1753). vernacular name: boro dhekia shak (garo). a large, terrestrial fern. representative specimen: cox’s bazar: himchari, 2.8.2009, m. khatun 517. area of major consumption: mymensingh and cox’s bazar districts. 4. dennstaedtiaceae pichi sermolli (1970, 1977) 178. microlepia strigosa (thunb.) presl, epim.: 95 (1849). vernacular names: lacy fern (eng.), fita dhekia (beng.), dheki shak (coach and garo). a tufted fern. representative specimen: sylhet: satchari forest, 17.5.2005, momtaz mahal mirza 526 (dacb). area of major consumption: habiganj and sylhet districts. 5. helminthostachyaceae ching (1941) 179. helminthostachys zeylanica (l.) hook., gen. fil.: t. : 47 (1840). vernacular names: fern (eng.), shada dhekia (garo). a terrestrial fern. representative specimen: tangail: pirgacha, 18.4.2002, m. khatun 173. area of major consumption: mymensingh district. 6. marsileaceae mirbel (1802) 180. marsilea minuta (l.) mant.: 308 (1771). vernacular names: marshy fern (eng.), susni shak (beng.). a small fern-allies. representative specimen: dinajpur: noyabad, 16.9.2001, m. khatun 84. area of major consumption: natore and dinajpur districts. leafy vegetables of bangladesh 117 181. m. quadrifolia l., sp. pl. 2: 1099 (1753). vernacular names: water clover (eng.), susni shak (beng.). a fern-allies. representative specimen: rajshahi: godagari, 13.9.2001, m. khatun 46. area of major consumption: rajshahi district. 7. ophioglossaceae (r. br.) agardh (1882) 182. ophioglossum reticulatum l., sp. pl. 2: 1063 (1753). vernacular names: adder’s tongue (eng.), sharpa jihba (beng.). a terrestrial fern. representative specimen: mymensingh: valukapara, 6.10.2001, m. khatun 119. area of major consumption: mymensingh district. 8. parkeriaceae hook. (1825) 183. ceratopteris pteridoides (hook.) hiern., bot. jahrb. 34: 561 (1905). vernacular names: aquatic fern (eng.), pani fern (beng.), pani dhekia shak (garo). an aquatic fern. representative specimen: no specimen was collected by the author, but this species has been reported to be used as leafy vegetable by sarker and hossain (2009). area of major consumption: mymensingh district. 184. c. thalictroides (l.) brongn., bull. soc. phil. 1821: 186 (1822). vernacular names: water fern (eng.), pani dhekia (beng.), keng khah (garo). an aquatic fern. representative specimen: bandarban: lama, 3.4.2011, m. khatun 610. area of major consumption: bandarban district. 9. stenochlaenaceae ching (1970) 185. stenochlaena palustris (burm. f.) bedd., ferns brit. india (suppl.) : 26 (1876). vernacular names: climbing fern (eng.), lata dhekia (beng.). a climbing terrestrial fern. representative specimen: dacca: bander, 17.8.1941, s. k. sen and atul 638 (dush). area of major consumption: chittagong and dhaka districts. 10. thelypteridaceae ching (1970) 186. ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel., gen. fil : 144 (1947). vernacular names: walking fern (eng.), dhekia shak (beng.). a creeping pteridophyte. representative specimen: chittagong: foy’s lake, 12.7.2004, momtaz mahal mirza 421 (dacb). area of major consumption: mymensingh and chittagong districts. taxonomic study on the leafy vegetables is the first in its nature in bangladesh. the present study shows that amaranthaceae is the largest family in magnoliopsida represented by 14 species followed by asteraceae, cucurbitaceae and fabaceae comprising 10 species each. in liliopsida, araceae stands the highest position with 9 species followed by zingiberaceae with 3 species. out of 10 families of pteridophytes the families athyriaceae, marsileaceae and parkeriaceae possess 2 species each. twenty seven familes are represented by a single species used as leafy vegetables of which 20 families belong to angiosperms and 7 families to pteridophytes. fifteen largest families of leafy vegetables reported to be found in bangladesh are shown in fig. 1. 118 khatun et al. fig. 1. radder diagram showing 15 largest families of leafy vegetables in bangladesh. the study reveals the identification of 61 newly documented leafy vegetables for bangladesh (table 2). the majority of these newly documented leafy vegetables are consumed by the people of the hilly areas, especially in the chittagong hill tracts and greater sylhet district. out of 186 leafy vegetables recorded for bangladesh, 140 taxa are wild and 46 are cultivated. among the cultivated ones, 16 taxa are cultivated only for leafy vegetables, viz., amaranthus tricolor, a. viridis, basella alba, benincasa hispida, brassica oleracea var. capitata, celosia argentea, coriandrum sativum, corchorus capsularis, c. olitorius, ipomoea aquatica, lactuca scariola var. sativa, malva verticillata, raphanus sativus, spinacea oleracea, trachyspermum ammi and trigonella foenum-graceum. most of these species are cultivated throughout the country except celosia argentia, malva verticillata and trachyspermum ammi. celosia argentia is cultivated in rangamati (kaptai), sylhet and patuakhali districts, malva verticillata is grown in dinajpur and rangpur districts, and trachyspermum ammi is cultivated only in khagrachari (golabari) district. thirty taxa are cultivated for other purposes viz. spice, pulse but leaves of them are also used as vegetables, viz., allium cepa, a. sativum, beta vulgaris, brassica juncea, b. napus, b. rapa, cajanus cajan, capsicum frutescens, cicer arietinum, colocasia esculenta, cucurbita maxima, curcuma longa, hibiscus cannabinus, ipomoea batatus, lablab purpureus, lageneria siceraria, lathyrus sativus, luffa cylindrica, manihot esculenta, melocanna baccifiera, momordica charantia var. muricata, phaseolus vulgaris, pisum sativum, solanum tuberosum, trachyspermum roxburghianum, trichosanthes anguina, t. dioica, vigna mungo, xanthosoma sagittifolium and zingiber officinale. in case of tree species usually young leaves are used as vegetables. indigenous leafy vegetables can play an important role to alleviate hunger and malnutrition, but they are often neglected in research. they are important sources of micronutrients including vitamin a and c, iron and other nutrients and are sometimes better nutritional sources than the modern vegetables. wild leafy vegetables do not warrant any health hazard as they are free from any insecticide, herbicide and pesticides as well as free from the application of chemical fertilizers. therefore, wild leafy vegetables are superior to the cultivated ones, if they are more or leafy vegetables of bangladesh 119 120 khatun et al. leafy vegetables of bangladesh 121 122 khatun et al. less similar in nutritional values. despite leafy vegetables have continuously been neglected for long time by the elite people, specially of urban societies, and has been referred to as “shak, the poor men’s food”, now with the advancement of scientific research on their nutritive and medicinal values, have become an important item of our daily diet. edible plants are thought not to contain any risk factors, therefore research for wild edible plants is necessary specially for famine situation and for the people living in rural and forest areas. the present study on the leafy vegetables of bangladesh is the most comprehensive study in the country. extensive botanical exploration throughout the country over ten years resulted in documentation of 61 new reports as leafy vegetables for bangladesh presenting 30.8% new addition to the species used as leafy vegetables. this provides a baseline study that could through more light on further research, particularly on nutra-medicinal aspects including determination of proximate nutrients, vitamins, micronutrients, macronutrients. considring the present study as a baseline, if the nutrient compositions and other nutra-medicinal properties (i.e. antidiabetic, anticancerous, antibacterial and antioxidant) of the leafy vegetables, particularly the newly documented species could be determined, it would be possible to alleviate poverty and malnutrition in bangladesh through the increased production and consumption of nutritious and health-promoting leafy vegetables. acknowledgements the authors thank the director, bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) for allowing to work in the herbarium. thanks are also due to the informants for their help during field visits. a fellowship offered to the first author by the ministry of science and technology is gratefully acknowledged. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2008-2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vols. 6-10, 12. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. ali, s.m.k., malek, m.a., jahan, k. and salamtullah, q. (eds). 1977 (reprint 1992). deshio khadyo-drobber pustiman (nutritional value of local foods). institute of nutrition and food science, university of dhaka, dhaka. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, 1262 pp. dassanayake, m.d. and fosberg, f.r. (eds). 1980-1985. a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, vols.1-6. amerind publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhi. dini, i., tenore, g.c. and dini, a. 2005. nutritional and antinutritional composition of kancolla seeds: an interesting and underexploited andine food plant. food chemistry 92(1): 125-132. fao. 2012. the state of food insecurity in the world 2012. rome, italy. fasuyi, a.o. 2006. nutritional potentials of some tropical vegetable leaf meals: chemical characterization and functional properties. afr. j. biotechnol. 5(1): 49-53. hassan, m.a. 2010. deshio shak shobjir pusti upadhan, veshojgun o patthaya bichar. the royal publishers, pp. 1-127. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india, vols. 1-7. l. reeve & co. ltd. kent, london. hyland, b.p.m. 1972. a technique for collecting botanical specimens in rain forests. flora malesiana bulletin 26: 2038-2040. kawatra, a., singh, g. and sehgal, s. 2001. nutrition composition of selected green leafy vegetables, hervs and carrots. plant foods for human nutrition 56: 359-365. leafy vegetables of bangladesh 123 khan, m.s. (ed.) 1972-1987. flora of bangladesh. nos. 1-39. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1987. aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. pp. 1-120. khan, m.s. and rahman, m.m. (eds). 1989-2002. flora of bangladesh, nos. 40-53. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. kimura, m. and rodriguez-amaya, d.b. 2003. carotenoid composition of hydroponic leafy vegetables. j. agric. & food chem. 51: 2603-2607. kmiecik, w., lisiewska, z. and jaworska, g. 2001. effect of storage conditions on the technological value of dill (anethum graveolens l.). folia horticulturea 13: 33-43. orech, f.o., christensen, d.l., lasen, t., friis, h., aagaard-hansen, j. and estambale, b.a. 2007. mineral content of traditional leafy vegetables from western kenya. inter. j. food sci. & nutr. 58(8): 595-602. prain, d. 1903 (rep. 1963). bengal plants, vols. 1-2. botanical survey of india, calcutta. pp. 1-1013. rashid, m.e. and rahman, m.a. 2011. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f., the flora of british india: volume-i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 177-197. rashid, m.e. and rahman, m.a. 2012. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f., the flora of british india: volume-ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 173-190. reddy, c.v.k. 1999. greens for good health. nutrition 33(3): 9. sarker, s.k. and hossain, a.b.m.e. 2009. pteridophytes of greater mymensingh district of bangladesh used as vegetables and medicines. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 47-56. saxena, r. 1999. how green is your diet? nutrition 33(3): 9. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2007-2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vols. 5, 11. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. su, q., rowley, k.g., itsiopoulos, c. and o’dea, k. 2002. identification and quantitation of major carotenoids in select components of the mediterranean diet: green leafy vegetables, figs and olive oil. european j. clin. nutr. 56: 1149-1154. sundriyal, m. and sundriyal, r.c. 2001. wild edible plants of the sikkim himalaya: nutritive values of selected species. economic botany 55: 377-390. (manuscript received on 18 january 2013; revised on 20 april 2013) microsoft word 10. f habenaria nicobarica_final_4.6.14 r.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 77-81, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists habenaria nicobarica (orchidaceae), a new species from andaman and nicobar islands, india c. murugan1, joju p. alappatt2, s. prabhu3 and w. arisdason4 botanical survey of india (bsi), andaman and nicobar regional centre, port blair 744 102, andaman and nicobar islands, india keywords: habenaria nicobarica; india; andaman and nicobar islands; orchidaceae. abstract a new species of terrestrial orchid habenaria nicobarica murugan, alappatt, prabhu & arisdason sp. nov. is described from south nicobar islands. key to species of habenaria in andaman and nicobar islands, illustration and photograph of the new species are also provided. introduction orchidaceae include c. 788 genera (mabberley, 2008) and c. 25,971 species (joppa et al., 2011) and distributed widely in the world. in india, orchids are represented by 184 genera and 1129 species (jalal et al., 2008), of which 150 species belonging to 59 genera are found in andaman and nicobar islands. the andaman and nicobar islands in india is a repository of diverse species, including 25 endemic orchid species (misra et al., 2012). the genus habenaria willd. is estimated to have approximately 750 species and distributed in every continent of the world (comber, 1990). among these, 100 species are recorded from india (santapau and henry, 1973) and only 1 species, namely h. andamanica hook. f., is reported from andaman and nicobar islands (choudhury et al., 2011). during the course of botanical explorations in great nicobar biosphere reserve and little nicobar tribal reserve, andaman and nicobar islands, from 2008 to 2011, the authors have collected few interesting specimens of habenaria. on critical study of the specimens and perusal of literature (hooker, 1890; jayaweera, 1981; comber, 1990; chowdhery, 1998; mathew, 1998; sinha, 1999; pandey and diwakar, 2008), the authors found it as an undescribed species, which is very closely allied to habenaria koodersii j. j. sm., but differs in leaf, flower and lip characters (table 1). hence, it is described here as a new species, viz., habenaria nicobarica along with key to species, illustration and photograph, for further collection and identification in the field. habenaria nicobarica murugan, alappatt, prabhu & arisdason, sp. nov. (figs 1, 2 b-e). type: india, andaman and nicobar islands: south nicobar, little nicobar tribal reserve, pulopaha (e), 25.11.2008, c. murugan 26630 (holotype: cal; isotype: pbl). diagnosis: habenaria nicobarica is closely related to h. koodersii j. j. sm. but differs in bract size, flower colour and lip characters. 1corresponding author. e-mail: sivanthimurugan@rediffmail.com 2forest training institute, wimberligunj, port blair-744 206, south andaman, andaman and nicobar islands, india 3botanical survey of india (bsi), andaman and nicobar regional centre, port blair-744 102, andaman and nicobar islands, india 4botanical survey of india, cgo complex, salt lake city, kolkata-711 064, west bengal, india 78  murugan et al.    tuberous, terrestrial herbs, up to 1 m high. stems terete. leaves spiral, 5-8, confined to the middle of stem, oblong-lanceolate, 7-12 × 2-3 cm, rounded with auricled at base, entire at margin, acuminate at apex, 3-veined. racemes terminal, 10-20 cm long, lax; peduncles terete, 10-25 cm long. flowers lax, light brown; bracts linear, acuminate at apex, 1.5-2.0 × 0.2-0.3 cm. dorsal sepal 10-17 mm long with 7 mm long filiform extension, 3-nerved; lateral sepals spreading, c. 10×4 mm with 9 mm long tail, 3-nerved. petals 2, bilobed; posterior lobe shorter than sepals, erect, linear, c. 10.0 × 0.1 mm; anterior lobe short, acuminate at apex. lip 3-lobed to the base, mid lobe c. 12 × 2 mm, flat; lateral lobe linear, c. 10 × 1 mm; spur cylindric, narrowed towards apex, up to 27 mm long. gynostemium c. 4 mm long. anther canal c. 2 mm long; lateral rostellar arms as long as anther canals, projecting forward; central lobe indistinct; auricle 2, prominent. stigma processes large, c. 2.0 × 1.5 mm, rounded at apex. ovary obconic, c. 2.3 × 0.2 cm, trigonous. capsules oblong, c. 2.0 × 0.5 cm. flowering and fruiting: october april. distribution: india (nicobar islands). paratypes: india, andaman and nicobar islands: s. nicobar, little nicobar tribal reserve, pulo ulon (n), 26.11.2008, c. murugan 26680 (pbl); pulo panja (n), 31.10.2009, c. murugan 27828 (pbl). pulopaha, 8.4.2011, c. murugan 28322 (pbl); great nicobar biosphere reserve, 10 km on east-west road, 31.10.2011, joju p. alappatt 337 (pbl). etymology: the species is named after the nicobar islands, the type locality and one of the plant diversity hotspots in india. table 1. comparison of exomorphic characters among habenaria koodersii, h. nicobarica sp. nov. and h. andamanica. characters habenaria koodersii h. nicobarica sp. nov. h. andamanica plant height 40-60 cm 60-100 cm 70-80 cm number of leaves 7-9 5-8 7 leaf size 13.5-17.0 cm long 7-12 cm long 5-15 cm long inflorescence 21-31 cm long 10-20 cm long 25-40 cm long peduncle 12-19 cm long 10-25 cm long 5-7 cm long bract c. 2.8 cm long 1.5-2.0 cm long 2-3 cm long flower colour greenish white light brown white with brown dorsal sepal 1.1 cm with c. 4 mm long thread 1.0-1.7 cm with c. 7 mm long thread 1.2 cm without thread petals 1.0-1.1 cm long, unlobed at base. 1 cm long, lobed at base 1.0-1.4 cm long, unlobed at base lip mid lobe shorter than side lobe mid lobe (c. 1.2 cm long) longer than side lobe mid lobe linear, 3-fid (c. 1.5 cm long) longer than side lobe spur tubular, narrow towards apex tubular, c. 2.7 cm long narrow towards apex clavate key to species of habenaria willd. in andaman and nicobar islands. 1 flowers white; sepals without filiform attachment near apex; lip laciniate. h. andamanica flowers light brown; sepals with filiform attachment near apex; lip 3-fid. h. nicobarica sp. nov. habenaria nicobarica (orchidaceae) sp. nov. 79   fig. 1. habenaria nicobarica sp. nov. (orchidaceae). a. habit; b. flower; c. bract; d-f. sepals; g-h. petals; i. lip; j-k. column; l. pollinaria; m. capsule. 80  murugan et al.    fig. 2a. habenaria andamanica hook. f. (habit with inflorescence); b-e. habenaria nicobarica sp. nov. b. habit; c. inflorescence; d. flower; e. capsule. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to dr. m. sanjappa, former director and dr. p. singh, director, botanical survey of india, kolkata, for providing facilities and constant support. they are also grateful to shri h.j. chowdhery, former secretary & pccf, shri d.v. negi, former pccf (wl), dr. shashi kumar, secretary & pccf, the former divisional forest officers, dr. p. viswakannan, habenaria nicobarica (orchidaceae) sp. nov. 81   and dr. s. dinesh kannan, department of environment and forests, andaman and nicobar islands for their permission and encouragement during the field studies and dr. huber kurzweil, singapore herbarium, singapore, for confirmation of novelty. references choudhury, s., mukheerjee, s.k. and chowdhery, h.j. 2011. distribution and diversity of the genus habenaria willdenow in india. in: ghosh, c. and das, a.p. (eds), recent studies in biodiversity and traditional knowledge in india. sarat book house, kolkata, pp. 81-90. chowdhery, h.j. 1998. orchid flora of arunachal pradesh. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 440-452. comber, j.b. 1990. orchids of java. royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 60-66. hooker, j.d. 1890. orchidaceae. in: hooker, j.d. (ed.), the flora of british india, vol. 6. l. reeve & co. ltd., london, pp. 1-198. jalal, j.s., kumar, p., rawat, g.s. and pangtey, y.p.s. 2008. list of species. orchidaceae, uttarakhand, western himalaya, india. check list 4: 304-320. jayaweera, d.m.a. 1981. orchidaceae. in: dassanayake, m.d. (ed.), revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, vol. 2. oxford & ibh publishing co. ltd., new delhi, pp. 4-388. joppa, l.n., roberts, d.l. and pimm, s.l. 2011. how many species of flowering plants are there? proc. r. soc. b 278: 554-559. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant book a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses (3rd edition.). cambridge university press, cambridge. mathew, s.p. 1998. a supplementary report on the flora and vegetation of the bay islands, india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 22: 249-272. misra, s., nayakm p.h. and panda, s.p. 2012. aerides rosea lodd. ex lindl. & paxton (orchidaceae) – a new record from the andaman and nicobar islands, india. j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 109: 226-229. pandey, r.p. and diwakar, p.g. 2008. an integrated checklist of andaman and nicobar islands, india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 32: 403-500. santapau, h. and henry, a.n. 1973. a dictionary of the flowering plants in india. council of scientific & industrial research, new delhi. sinha, b.k. 1999. orchidaceae. in: hajra, p.k. and rao, p.s.n. (eds), flora of great nicobar islands. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 420-447. (manuscript received on 5 december 2013; revised on 29 may 2014) microsoft word s-1. tax-1 lyngbya_final_12jun15.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 59–61, 2015 (june) short communication © 2015 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists polymorphism in lyngbya notarisii (meneghini) wille in culture abdul aziz1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: lyngbya notarisii; plectonema; polymorphism; porphyrosiphon; synonyms. morphology of blue-green algae or cyanobacteria may be influenced by environmental factors making identification very difficult. drouet and daily (1956) recognized only six genera of coccoid blue-green algae from about four and one-half of a dozen of genera. drouet (1981), after examining a large number of herbarium specimens including the types of many taxa of stigonemataceae, considered all the genera as synonyms of stigonema. aziz (1989) documented hapalosiphon, fischerella and stigonema-like habits of a non-thermophilic blue-green algal strain d612 in axenic culture and considered all these forms/habits of organisms as stigonema. based on culture studies of strains designated as hapalosiphon, mastigocladus, westiellopsis, fischerella and stigonema, begum et al. (1994) suggested to consider these truly branched forms as stigonema-complex. on 26 november 1995, a brownish-pink filamentous algal sample was collected along with dry coconut palm-bark from panchagar district, bangladesh. it was found to contain brownishpink filaments with thick sheath that is frayed at the tips and was identified as porphyrosiphon notarisii (menegh.) kütz. 1850 (fig. 1) (desikachary 1959, 248, pl. 47, fig. 9; starmach 1966, 425, fig. 630). the genus porphyrosiphon kütz. 1849 is separated from lyngbya ag. 1824 by having a multilayered sheath with a red or brown pigment (bourrelly, 1985). lyngbya aestuarii liebn. ex gomt., l. maior menegh. ex gomt. 1892 and l. majuscula harv. ex gomt. 1892 produce multilayered sheath (starmach, 1966, figs 338, 343 and 345, respectively). the coloured filament is due to the production of scytonemin pigment to protect the cyanobacterium from near uv radiation (muehlstein and castenholz, 1983). many of the features mentioned in the literature of porphyrosiphon have been highly variable and resemble lyngbya majuscula (desikachary 1959). in l. ceylanica wille, aziz and tanbir (1999) observed variation in colour, being reddish-brownish in upper filaments that received more light when grew on moist rice-field soil (fig. 2), with dimensions very similar to porphyrosiphon. drouet (1937) included lyngbya arboricola bruhl et biswas and l. dendrobia bruhl et biswas under porphyrosiphon notarisii. to ascertain the identity and also the variability in regards to nature of filaments, a portion of the bark sample with brownish-pink layer was placed in a petri dish containing chu 10d medium, incubated at a continuous light quantity of about 50 µe m-2 s-1 and a temperature of about 25º c. many hormogonia of 4 to 9 (−20) cells were found to be released, develop into blue-green filaments. after about 15 days, many filaments attaining about 3 cm long developed centering the bark (fig. 3). initially filaments were blue-green with relatively thin non-stratified sheath like lyngbya (fig. 4). but later on some filaments produced false-branches like plectonema thur. (fig. 5), while many filaments became purplish to reddish-brown with 10−12-layered sheath like porphyrosiphon (figs 6, 7), even more than that found in nature (fig. 1). further growth resulted much wider filaments with 2 or 3 trichomes within highly thickened rigid sheath (figs 8, 9) that 1email: dr.aziz.botany@gmail.com 60 aziz did not gelatinize like microcoleus. when a reddish-brown filament was placed on a glass slide with water and exposed to sunlight for two days, huge quantity of reddish-brown water-soluble pigment scytonemin was formed, some amount came out of the filament through open end of the sheath (fig. 10). the released scytonemin after drying formed dark coloured crystals posteriorly. however, the scytonemin produced by cells was diffused into a few innermost sheath layers but not the outermost one(s) (figs 8, 9). figs 1−10. lyngbya notarisii (menegh.) wille 1914: 1. porphyrosiphon-like filament with frayed sheath and very identical cell dimensions in figs 1 & 7. 2. filaments of lyngbya ceylanica from rice-filed soil differing in colour but with similar thickness of sheath. 3. a bark sample in liquid chu 10d culture medium producing many filaments. 4. lyngbya-like filament from the culture. 5. a false-branched filament like plectonema. 6. porphyrosiphon-like filament with multilaminated red-brown sheath from the culture. 7. an enlarged terminal part of the porphyrosiphon-like filament from the culture; note variation in sheath colour. 8. a microcoleus-like filament with three trichomes inside the parent sheath. 9. an enlarged part of the filament with two trichomes showing details; note the absence of gelatinous sheath. 10. formation and release of huge scytonemin on a glass slide after exposure to sunlight of a cultured red-brown filament in water; note the trapped scytonemin within the filament and release through open end. bars = 25 µm: bar a is for figs 4−6, 8, 10; bar b is for figs 1, 2, 7, 9. fig. 3 = scale is in millimeter. polymorphism in lyngbya notarisii 61 in the culture, the developed false-branched filaments (fig. 3) resembled the genus plectonema (desikachary 1959, 434, 438, pl. 83, figs 1, 8). the false branches were produced in young filaments due to rapid growth of intercalary hormogonia that created pressure on relatively thin sheath and came out by rupturing it like that of scytonema with heterocysts. at lamellated thick-sheath stage, the new trichomes, grew side by side (figs 8, 9), a feature of microcoleus desmaz. 1823, but here the gelatinous sheath was absent. castenholz (1989) noted that the genus porphyrosiphon is known primarily for a single trichome within a red to red-brown laminated sheath, although occasionally it is with more than one trichome per sheath, the feature reflecting polymorphic nature as is found in the present study. because of similarities, lyngbya, phormidium kütz. 1843 (narrow sheathed lyngbya-like filaments forming an irregular mucilaginous mat) and plectonema are considered as lpp group (rippka et al., 1979). the sheath thickness and colour development in filaments appeared to be due to age and light effects, respectively. lyngbya notarisii (menegh.) wille is polymorphic where the growth forms like the genera plectonema and porphyrosiphon were found. considering these facts, the genera plectonema thuret 1875 and porphyrosiphon kütz. 1850 (p. notarisii (menegh.) kütz., monotypic) are considered as the synonyms of the genus lyngbya ag. 1824. references aziz, a. 1989. polymorphism in stigonema (cyanophyta) in culture and its implication on generic delimitation in stigonematales. nova hedwigia 49(3 & 4): 447−454. aziz, a. and tanbir, m. 1999. newly recorded algal taxa from northern districts of bangladesh. i. blue-greens. bangladesh j. bot. 28(1): 61−68. begum, z.t., akhter, r., islam, a.k.m. nurul and aziz, a. 1994. taxonomy of the stigonematalean algae in culture. in: phamg, s.m., kum, l.y., borowitzka, m.a. and whitton, b.a. (eds), algal biotechnology in the asia-pacific region, univ. malaya, pp. 257−262. bourrelly, p. 1985. les algues d’eau douce. vol. iii. les algues blues et rouges. réimpression revue et augmentée. boubée, paris, pp. 1−512. castenholz, r.w. 1989. subsection iii. order oscillatoriales. in: staley, j.t. (ed.), bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology 3: 1771−1780. desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. icar, new delhi, pp. 1−686. drouet, f. 1937. brazilian myxophyceae. i. amer. j. bot. 24: 602. drouet, f. 1981. revision of the stigonemataceae: with summary of the classification of the blue-green algae. beih. z. nova hedwigia 66: 1−221. drouet, f. and daily, w. 1956. revision of the coccoid myxophyceae. butler univ. bot. studies 12: 1−218. muehlstein, l. and castenholz, r.w. 1983. sheath pigment formation in blue-green alga, lyngbya aestyarii, as an adaptation to high light. biol. bull. 165: 521−522. rippka, r., deruelles, j., waterbury, j.b., herdman, m. and stanier, r.y. 1979. generic assignments, strain histories and properties of pure culture of cyanobacteria. j. gen. microbiol. 111:1−61. starmach, k. 1966. cyanophyta-sinice glaucophyta-glaucophyty. flora słodkowodna polski. vol. 2. polska akademia nauk, instytut botaniki, warszawa, pp. 1−807. (manuscript received on 14 september 2014; revised on 29 january 2015) microsoft word 11. bjpt 17-39_teucreum_or_26.11.17.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 219–226, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of teucrium l. (lamiaceae, ajugoideae) in libya ream i. marzouk1, salama m. el-darier and abdel baset m. askar2 university of alexandria, faculty of science, botany and microbiology department, 21511, moharambek; alexandria, egypt. keywords: lamiaceae; libya; pollen exine sculpture; sem; teucrium. abstract pollen grains of 11 taxa of teucrium from libya were examined using light microscopy (lm) and scanning electron microscopy (sem) in order to provide better insight on the evaluation of palynological attributes for species characterization of teucrium with special emphasis on the five libyan endemic. two main pollen shapes were documented; subprolate and prolate or perprolate in t. fruticans. the exine sculpture inspected at surface, operculum and pole were mostly verrucate, perforate or scabrate. teucrium fruticans attained the phenomenon of pollen dimorphism with two distinct shapes and specifics sculpture for each form. the results validated the taxonomic significance of pollen grains for the discrimination among teucrium species in libya. introduction teucrium l. is the second-largest genus of subfamily ajugoideae with cosmopolitan distribution over represented in the mediterranean area (navarro and el oualidi, 2000a; radulović et al., 2012; yasaman et al., 2016). the mediterranean region is its main center of diversity, being represented by around 90% of the total teucrium species in the world (blanca et al., 2017). the pollen attributes were potentially useful for both species identification and phylogenetic implication (abdel khalik, 2016). these characters endorsed to be stable and of taxonomic significance for generic and specific delimitation of teucrium. the size, exine sculpture and density of supratectal elements seemed to be of systematic value (abu-assab and cantino, 1992; dinç and ozturk, 2008; oybak-dönmez and inceoğlu, 1988; oybak-dönmez et al., 1999; navarro et al., 2004). in libya, teucrium is represented by eleven taxa of which t. apollinis maire & weiller, t. barbeyanum asch. & taub. ex e.a. durand & barratte, t. davaeanum coss., t. lini-vaccarii pam. and t. zanonii pam. are believed to be endemic to libya (marzouk et al., 2016). the present study was performed to assess the taxonomic value of pollen grains for species characterization of teucrium. it was also achieved to appraise these characters to the libyan endemic species for the opportunity of their genetic resources conservation. material and methods eleven taxa of teucrium were collected from eleven locations in libya, starting from algabal al-akhdar in the east to gabal naffusah (garian) in the west, along 4500 sq. km. during two flowering seasons: 2009 and 2010. the studied species were sorted under three sections: chamaedrys, polium and teucrium (table 1). the voucher specimens are kept at the herbaria of alexandria university (alex) and omar el-mukhtar university (libya). 1corresponding author: email: reammarzouk@yahoo.com 2omar el-mukhtar university; faculty of science; el-beyda; libya. 220 marzouk et al. the samples were acetolyzed following erdtman's technique (erdtman, 1952). 1-3 specimens for each taxon were subjected in this work; at least 30 pollen grains per taxon were examined by using zeiss light microscope with a micrometer eye-piece. for sem, the anthers were transferred directly on a stub with double-sided tape, coated for 5 minutes with gold in a polaron jec-1100e coating unit, and then photographed with jeol jsm-5300 sem (faculty of science, alexandria university). the applied terminology based on punt et al. (2007). table 1. teucrium specimens used in the present study (sections after siddiqi, 1985). section specimen number species coordinates chamaedrys 1-3 *t. barbeyanum asch. & taub. ex e. a. durand & barratte 4-6 *t. apollinis maire & weiller shahhat susah coordinate pair: n32° 50°30.42 e21° 51°7.2 7-8 t. capitatum l. tarhonah coordinate pair: n32° 29°48.78 e13° 37°37.08 9-11 *t. davaeanum coss. wadi el quttarh coordinate pair: n32° 01°35.82 e20° 24°45.48 12-14 *t. lini-vaccarii pamp. quasser–el quaar coordinate pair: n32° 35°20.28 e13° 50°18.18 15-17 t. polium l. sirut coordinate pair: n31° 08°56.1 e16° 34°35.16 18-19 t. polium subsp. flavovirens batt. al hameida escarpment coordinate pair: n32° 24°52.98 e20° 32°17.88 polium 20-22 *t. zanonii pamp. dryannah coordinate pair: n32° 19°42.12 e20° 16°34.86 23-25 t. brevifolium schreb. lathroun–ras el hellal coordinate pair: n32° 52 305’°0 e22° 15°6.12 26-28 t. campanulatum l. wadi errieg coordinate pair: n32° 32 230°0 e20° 42°56.82 teucrium 29-30 t. fruticans l. el rabtta–el assbeh coordinate pair: n32° 07°12.6 e21° 52°16.14 *endemic species. results and discussion the taxonomic complexity of teucrium is reflected in the changes in its classification using different characteristics as pollen morphology (díez et al., 1993), karyology (valdés-bermejo and sánchez-crespo, 1978), indumentum characteristics (manzanares et al., 1983; el oualidi and puech, 1993; navarro and el oualidi, 2000b), phytochemistry (harborne et al., 1986; velasconegueruela and pérez-alonso, 1990; bukhari et al., 2014) and amino acid composition (juani et al., 2004). meanwhile, there is an imminent danger for genetic erosion of libyan wild species due to the increment in drought and anthropogenic activities, that has resulted in habitat loss and fragmentation leading to the diminishing of the germplasm reservoir (al-idrissi et al., 1996). the pollen morphology of teucrium l. 221 fig. 1. pollen grains of teucrium: a–d, t. barbeyanum; e–h, t. apollinis; i–l, t. capitatum; m–p, t. davaeanum. iucn red list of threatened plants (1998) recorded three endemic species; t. apollinis, t. barbeyanum and t. zanonii in addition t. davaeanum and t. lini-vaccari recorded by marzouk et al. (2016). consequently, the efforts must be intensified giving priority to study both endangered and endemic species through various characters. 222 marzouk et al. in the present study, teucrium pollen grains are monads, isopolar, radio symmetric, and tricolpate with opercula. the pollen shape is subprolate in t. barbeyanum (fig. 1a), t. campanulatum (fig. 3a) and t. polium subsp. flavovirens (fig. 2l) and prolate in the rest of species. however, two shapes were recorded in t. fruticans; perprolate (form a) and prolate (form b) (fig. 3i, o). that is in congruent with ojeda and díez (1992) for the recognition of the dimorphism phenomenon in this species. the polar axis length ranges from 30.02-31.2 µm in section chamaedrys, from 30.41-37.01 µm in section polium, and from 38.74-60.96 µm in section fig. 2. pollen grains of teucrium: a–d, t. lini-vaccarii; e–h, t. polium; i–k, t. polium subsp. flavovirens; l–o, t. zanonii. pollen morphology of teucrium l. 223 teucrium (table 2). the equatorial diameter varies from 23.47-28.28 µm in both sections chamaedrys and polium, and 19.63-39.23 µm in section teucrium. polar axis and equatorial diameter were found useful in separating two closely related taxa where it is large in t. polium than t. polium subsp. flavovirens. the largest colpus dimensions and mesocolpium diameter attain in section teucrium while the smallest in section polium (table 2). the exine thickness assorts from 1.5-1.65 µm in t. campanulatum and the taxa of both sections chamaedrys and polium, while from 2.33-3.19 µm in the rest of section teucrium (table 2). oybak-dönmez and inceoğlu (1988) and dinç et al. (2008) specified teucrium with either verrucate or verrucate-granulate exine sculpture, meanwhile navarro et al. (2004) declared that the basal groups of teucrium with verrucate sculpturing. the current study discriminates among the exine sculpture at the surface, fig. 3. pollen grains of teucrium: a–d, t. brevifolium; e–h, t. campanulatum; i–k, t. fruticans form a; l–o, t. fruticans form b. 224 marzouk et al. pollen morphology of teucrium l. 225 operculum and pole. in section chamaedrys, the exine sculpture is verrucate-perforate at the surface and perforate at both operculum and pole (fig. 1b, d). in section polium, the verrucateperforate surface sculpture accomplishes with t. apollinis (fig. 1f), t. lini-vaccarii (fig. 2b) and t. polium (fig. 2f). while in t. capitatum (fig. 1j, k) and t. polium subsp. flavovirens (fig. 2j), the sculpture is verrucae to scabrate. both t. davaeanum and t. zanonii specify with sculpture of scabrate-verrucate and faint perforate (fig. 1n) and scabrate-verrucate and perforate (fig. 2m), respectively. the faint perforate sculpture at both operculum and pole realizes in both t. capitatum (fig. 1k, l) and t. davaeanum (fig. 1o, p), while t. apollinis with verrucate-perforate at the operculum (fig. 1k) and perforate in the rest of species. in section teucrium, each species attains certain sculpturing, t. brevifolium reveals verrucate-perforate, perforate, and verrucate at the surface, operculum and pole, respectively (fig. 3b, d). in t. campanulatum, the sculpture is scabrate-verrucate and perforate at both surfaces and operculum and faint perforate at the pole (fig. 3f, h). teucrium fruticans accomplishes sculpture dimorphism, the verrucate or verrucate and faint perforate at the surface (fig. 3j, m), obscure or verrucate at the operculum (fig. 3i, n), and scabrate-perforate or verrucate at the pole (fig. 3k, o). the results indicated the validity of pollen characters for taxonomic implications and in the discrimination among teucrium at both section and species levels. references abdel khalik, k. 2016. a systematic revision of the genus plectranthus l. (lamiaceae) in saudi arabia based on morphological, palynological, and micromorphological characters of trichomes. american journal of plant sciences 7: 1429–1444. abu-assab, m.s. and cantino, p.d. 1992. pollen morphology in subfamily lamioideae (lamiaceae) and its phylogenetic implications. in: harley, r.m. and reynolds, t.(eds), advances in lamiaceae science. royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 97–122. al-idrissi, m., sbeita, a., jebriel, a., zintani, a., shreidi, a., ghawawi, h. and tazi, m. 1996. libya: country report to the fao international technical conference on plant genetic resources. leipzig, germany. blanca, g., cueto, m. and fuentes, j. 2017. teucrium teresianum sp. nov. (lamiaceae) from southern spain. nordic j. bot. 35(1): 14–19. bukhari, n.a., al-otaibi, r.a. and ibrahim, m.m. 2014. biodiversity characteristics of teucrium polium species in saudi arabia. saudia j. biol. sci. 22(2): 181–185. díez, m.j., ojeda, f. and colomer, m. 1993. contribución a la palinologı a del genero teucrium l. en la penınsula iberica e islas baleares y suinteretaxonmico. lagascalia 17: 119–134. dinç, m. and ozturk, m. 2008. comparative morphological, anatomical, and palynological studies on the genus stachys l. sect. ambleia bentham (lamiaceae) species in turkey. turkish j. bot. 32:113–121. dinç, m., duran, a., pinar, m. and ozturk, m.2008. anatomy, palynology and nutlet micromorphology of turkish endemic teucrium sandrasicum (lamiaceae). biologia 63: 637–641. el oualidi, j. and puech, s. 1993. quelques marqueurs morphologiques des teucrium section polium (lamiaceae) du maroc: valeurs diagnostiques à différents niveaux d’integration. acta botanica malacitana 18:163–171. erdtman, g. 1952. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy. angiosperms. almqvist and wiksell, stockholm, pp. 539. harborne, j.b., tomas-barberan, f.a., williams, c.a. and gil, m.i. 1986. a chemotaxonomic study of flavonoids from european teucrium species. phytochemistry 25: 2811–2816. iucn red list of threatened plants. 1998. walter, k.s. and gillett, h.j. (eds),1997. iucn compiled by the world conservation monitoring centre. iucn-the world conservation union, gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk, pp. 862. 226 marzouk et al. juani, r., pastor, j., milla, f., alaiz, m. and vioque, j. 2004. amino acids composition of teucrium nutlet proteins and their systematic significance. ann. bot. 94: 615–621. manzanares, p., gómez-campo, g. and tortosa, m.e. 1983. estudiossobre el indumento de las especiesibéricasy baleáricas del género teucrium l. (lamiaceae). anales del jardín botánico de madrid 40: 94–106. marzouk, r.i., el-darier, s.m. and askar a.m. 2016. nutlet micromorphological characters of teucrium taxa (lamiaceae) in libya. phytotaxa 263(3): 245–254. navarro, t. and el oualidi, j. 2000a. sinopsis of teucrium l. (labiatae) in the mediterranean region and surrounding areas. flora mediterranea 10: 349–363. navarro, t. and el oualidi, j. 2000b. trichome morphology in teucrium l. (labiatae), a taxonomic review. anales del jardín botánico de madrid 57: 277–297. navarro, t., el oualidi, j. and trigo d.m. 2004. pollen morphology of teucrium (labiatae) and its taxonomic value. belgian j. bot. 137(1): 70–84. ojeda, f. and díez, m.j. 1992. pollen dimorphism in three teucrium species (lamiaceae). plant syst. evol. 183: 43–49. oybak-dönmez, e. and inceoğlu, ő. 1988. pollen morphology of some teucrium l. (labiatae) species. communications faculty of sciences university of ankara series c: biology 6: 133–146. oybak-dönmez, e., inceoğlu, ő. and pinar, n.m. 1999. scanning electron microscopy study of pollen in some turkish teucrium l. (labiatae). turkish j. bot. 23: 379–382. punt, w., hoen, p.p., blackmore, s., nilsson, s. and le thomas, a. 2007. glossary of pollen and spore terminology. review of palaeobotany & palynology 143: 1–81. radulović, n., dekić, m., joksović, m. and vukićević, r. 2012. chemotaxonomy of serbian teucrium species inferred from essential oil chemical composition: the case of teucrium scordium l. ssp. scordioides. chemistry and biodiversity 9:106–122. siddiqi, m.a. 1985. 3: teucrium. in: jafri, s.m.h. and el-gadi, a. (eds), flora of libya. al faateh university, faculty of science, department of botany, tripoli, pp. 13–30. valdés-bermejo, e. and sánchez-crespo, a. 1978. datos cariologicos sobre el genero teucrium l. (labiatae) en la peninsula ibérica. acta botánica malacitana 4: 27–54. velasco-negueruela, a. and pérez-alonso, m.j. 1990. the volatiles of six teucrium species from the iberian peninsula and the balearic islands. phytochemistry 29: 1165–1169. yasaman, s., stefan, k., günther, h. and christian, b. 2016. phylogeny of non-monophyletic teucrium (lamiaceae: ajugoideae): implications for character evolution and taxonomy. taxon. 65(4): 805–822. (manuscript received on 28 march 2017; revised 29 october 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 77-81, 2015 (december) typification of ten species of litsea lam. (lauraceae) endemic to india rajeev kumar singh, arti garg1 and paramjit singh2 botanical survey of india (bsi), central regional centre (crc), 10-chatham lines, allahabad 211 002, uttar pradesh, india keywords: lauraceae; litsea; type; india. abstract this paper deals with the lectotypification of eight binomials of seven recognized species of litsea lam. endemic to india, namely litsea assamica (meisn.) hook. f., l. coriacea (b. heyne ex nees) hook. f., l. membranifolia hook. f., l. oleoides (meisn.) hook. f., l. stocksii (meisn.) hook. f., l. venulosa (meisn.) hook. f., and l. wightiana (nees) hook. f. types of three other endemic species, viz. l. beddomei hook. f., l. mishmiensis hook. f. and l. oreophila hook. f. are also specified. introduction the family lauraceae juss. comprises 52 genera with about 2,550 species, distributed mainly in the tropical and warm regions of southeastern asia and brazil (mabberley, 2008; bhuinya et al., 2010). the genus litsea lam. consists of more than 300 species worldwide, especially in tropical asia and australia (mabberley, 2008; bhuinya et al., 2010). in india, there are 45 species, occurring in moist deciduous, semi-evergreen, and evergreen forests at 200–3,650 m elevation, with 18 species endemic to different states (bhuinya et al., 2010; singh, 2015). as part of the revisionary studies of litsea in india, we realized the necessity for typification of some endemic species; hence, here we lectotypified eight binomials of seven species of the genus. while designating lectotypes, we followed the guidelines of art. 9.2 of the melbourne code (mcneill et al., 2012). specification of holotype for other three endemic species was done as no holotype was cited in their protologues. taxonomy 1. litsea assamica (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 161 (1886). tetranthera rangoonensis meisn. var. assamica meisn. in de candolle, prodr. 15(1): 188 (1864). type: india. assam, 1850, w. griffith 1190 [tetranthera n. 17, herb. hook. f. et thoms.] (lectotype k-000793183!, here designated; isolectotype bm-000951039!). distribution: india, endemic (arunachal pradesh, assam and meghalaya). notes: in protologue of tetranthera rangoonensis var. assamica, meisner cited ‘in assam (jenkins !)., tetranthera 17. hook. fil. et thoms.! hb. ind. or.’ three specimens belonging to the herbarium of hooker f. & thomson, tetranthera no. 17 are now extant, which comprised of a single specimen gathered by t.j. jenkins s.n. (k-000357513) and two of w. griffith 1190 (k000793183 and bm-000951039). of these, k-000793183, is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue and also includes a short description of the flower by hooker. 1corresponding author. email: kad_arti396@yahoo.com 2botanical survey of india, head quarter, cgo complex, salt lake city, kolkata 700 064, west bengal, india. mailto:kad_arti396@yahoo.com 78 singh et al. from the protologue, it seems that “jenkins” and “tetranthera 17. hook. fil. et thoms” are different collections and two of w. griffith 1190 (k-000793183 and bm-000951039) likely belong to “tetranthera 17. hook. fil. et thoms”. 2. litsea coriacea (b. heyne ex nees) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 166 (1886). tetranthera coriacea b. heyne ex nees in wall., pl. asiat. rar. 2: 66 (1831). type: india. deccan peninsula, s.d., b. heyne s.n. [in wallich number. list no. 2556] (lectotype gzu-000254469!, here designated; isolectotype bm-000793685!). distribution: india, endemic (goa, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu). notes: three specimens are extant, two at gzu (gzu-000254468 and gzu-000254469) and one at bm (bm-000793685). the gzu-000254469 specimen is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. 3. litsea membranifolia hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 159 (1886). type: india. arunachal pradesh, dibang valley, mishmi hills, s.d., w. griffith s.n. [kew distrb. 4310] (lectotype k-000357530!, here designated; isolectotypes k-000793176!, gh00415039!). distribution: india, endemic (arunachal pradesh and nagaland). notes: hooker described litsea membranifolia on the basis of specimens from ‘upper assam; mishmi hills, and woods at yen, griffith (kew distrib. 4310)’, but no specific specimen was indicated as the holotype. furthermore, for this species, three specimens of griffith’s collections are extant, two at k (k-000357530 and k-000793176) and one at gh (gh-00415039). the k000357530 specimen is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. ngernsaengsaruay et al. (2011: 72) cited the following: “type: india, east bengal, griffith 4310 (holotype k!)”. although they cited k as housing the “holotype,” their citation of “holotype” is not corrected to lectotype. because, from 2001, an act of lecto-, neo-, and epitypification needs the citation of the phrase, “here designated” or its equivalent. the critical scrutiny of description provided in ngernsaengsaruay et al. (l.c.) shows that it is best matches with l. glutinosa (lour.) c.b. rob., and thus the occurrence of this species in thailand is uncertain and needs further confirmation based on fresh collections. 4. litsea oleoides (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 175 (1886). tetranthera oleoides meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 195 (1864). type: india. kerala, sispauray (sispara), april 1846, r. wight 2530 (lectotype k-000357533!, here designated). syntype: india. kerala, s.d., r. wight 54 (ny-00355989!). distribution: india, endemic (kerala and tamil nadu). notes: meisner described tetranthera oleoides on the basis of specimen(s) from ‘in penins. indiae or.? (wight!)’. the type data lack wight’s collection number and date, and information on the number of specimens used by meisner to describe this species. currently, meisner’s main herbarium is at new york (ny), which has one fragmentary specimen of this species (ny00355989); the specimen shows “tetranthera oleoides meisn. in hb. hook., “wight. hb. n. 54!” and an illegible writing of what seems to be the locality. in contrast, the k specimen (k000357533) is complete and fits well with the protologue. therefore, the k-000357533 specimen is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. typification of ten species of litsea lam. 79 5. litsea stocksii (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 176 (1886). cylicodaphne oblonga nees var. stocksii meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 205 (1864). type: india. canara (karnataka), s.d., j.e. stocks s.n. (lectotype k-000357539!, here designated; isolectotype k-000793237!). litsea stocksii (meisn.) hook. f. var. glabrescens (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 176 (1886). cylicodaphne wightiana meisn. var. glabrescens meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 201 (1864). type: india. canara (karnataka), s.d., j.e. stocks s.n. (lectotype k-000793240!, here designated; isolectotype k-000357538!). litsea josephii s. m. almeida, fl. savantwadi 1: 364 (1990), nom. illeg. et superfl. for l. stocksii litsea vartakii m. r. almeida, j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 86(2): 180 (1989), nom. illeg. et superfl. for l. stocksii distribution: india, endemic (goa, karnataka, kerala, maharashtra and tamil nadu). notes: hooker (l.c.) based his litsea stocksii on cylicodaphne oblonga var. stocksii meisn.; at the same time, he also included “tetranthera lancaefolia (sensu) graham (cat. pl. bombay. 174. 1839, non roxb. 1832)” with a query sign. because of the doubtful inclusion, the citation does not cause superfluity to the name l. stocksii. meisner described cylicodaphne oblonga var. stocksii on the basis of specimens from ‘in canara (stocks!).’ two specimens collected by stocks from canara are now extant at k (k000357539 and k-000793237). the k-000357539 specimen is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. meisner described cylicodaphne wightiana var. glabrescens meisner on the basis of specimens from ‘wight!, perrott. n. 451!, 452!, 1843!, hohenack. n. 1335! stocks! gardn.! law!’, but no specific herbarium sheet was designated as the holotype. pertaining to this specification, only two specimens collected by stocks from canara are now extant at k (k-000793240 and k000357538). the best one, k-000793240, is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. 6. litsea venulosa (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 161 (1886). tetranthera venulosa meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 187 (1864). type: india. peninsula indiae orientalis, s.d., r. wight s.n. (lectotype k-000793184!, here designated). syntypes: india. peninsula indiae orientalis, s.d., r. wight 2532a (l-0037108!); tamil nadu, courtallam, sep 1835, r. wight 710b (l-0037109!); penins. ind. or. (peninsula indiae orientalis), s.d., r. wight 30 (ny-00356000!). distribution: india, endemic (kerala and tamil nadu). notes: meisner described tetranthera venulosa on the basis of specimens from ‘in penins.? indiae (wight!).’ four specimens belonging to peninsula indiae orientalis of the wight herbarium are extant (k-000793184, l-0037108, l-0037109, and ny-00356000). the k000793184 specimen is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. 7. litsea wightiana (nees) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 177 (1886). cylicodaphne wightiana nees in wall., pl. asiat. rar. 2: 68 (1831). type: india. peninsula indiae orientalis, s.d., r. wight 2232 [= wall. cat. n. 2557 a] (lectotype p-02003106!, here designated; isolectotypes, br-0000013053000!, k-000357542!). 80 singh et al. distribution: india, endemic (maharashtra, goa, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu). notes: in the protologue of cylicodaphne wightiana, nees cited ‘wall. cat. n. 2557, a, b. habitat in sylvis nilghiry (deenhutty in schedis). (e. noton.) vidi etiam in hb. wight.’ the “wall. cat. n. 2557 a” specimen belongs to the wight herbarium, whereas the “wall. cat. n. 2557 b” specimen belongs to collections from nilghiry by e. noton. three specimens belonging to the wight herbarium (wall. cat. n. 2557 a) are extant (br-0000013053000, k-000357542, and p-02003106). of the choice of specimens, p-02003106! is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. types of three endemic species are also specified below as in their protologues no holotypes were cited. 1. litsea beddomei hook. f., fl. brit. india. 5: 177 (1886). type: india. tamil nadu, tinnevelly (tirunelveli), dec 1880, r.h. beddome 15 (lectotype, here designated (or perhaps holotype): k-000357515!). distribution: india, endemic (kerala and tamil nadu). notes: for his new species litsea beddomei, hooker cited the type collection information as follows: “south deccan; tinnevelly hills, beddome.” the protologue lacks the collection date and number. furthermore, neither a holotype nor the name of the herbarium housing the type was mentioned. a single specimen collected by beddome from tirunelveli in december 1880 bearing hooker’s annotation ‘l. beddomei’ is now extant at k (k-000357515). because of the uncertainty whether hooker’s description was based on the k single specimen alone or on additional specimens, it is concluded here that the single specimen at k may serve as the holotype or a lectotype. 2. litsea mishmiensis hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 161 (1886). type: india. arunachal pradesh, dibang valley, laim-planj-thaya, mishmi hills, s.d., w. griffith 4317 (lectotype, here designated (or perhaps holotype): k-000357531!). distribution: india, endemic (arunachal pradesh). notes: within the protologue of litsea mishmiensis, hooker mentioned the following: ‘upper assam; mishmi hills at laim-planj-thaya, griffith’. the collection date and number were not cited. a single type specimen is now extant at k (k-000357531). hooker, however, did not cite a holotype or mention the herbarium housing the type. it is uncertain whether hooker’s description was based on the k single specimen alone or on additional specimens. therefore, it is concluded here that the single specimen at k may serve as the holotype or a lectotype. 3. litsea oreophila hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 156 (1886). lindera hookeri meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 245 (1864). type: india. sikkim, lachoong (lachung), 10,000−11,000 ft., 29 aug 1849, j.d. hooker s.n. [tetranthera n. 4, herb. hook. f. et thoms.] (holotype k-000357534!). distribution: india, endemic (sikkim). notes: within the protologue of lindera hookeri, meisner mentioned: ‘in sikkim (hook. fil. et thoms. hb. ind. or. tetranthera 4!)’ and “(v. s. in hb. hook.)” (= vidi siccam in hooker herbarium (k)]. only one specimen is extant at k (k-000357534), which is therefore the obligatory holotype. typification of ten species of litsea lam. 81 acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the curators of bm, br, gh, gzu, k, l, ny and p herbaria for information and images of type specimens. we gratefully acknowledge late prof. james l. reveal, cornell university, ithaca, usa for his critical comments and suggestions on the manuscript. references bhuinya, t., singh, p. and mukherjee, s.k. 2010. an account of the species of litsea lam. (lauraceae) endemic to india. bangladesh j. pl. taxon. 17(2): 183–191. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant-book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. 3rd edition. cambridge university press, cambridge, 1020 pp. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., buck, w.r., demoulin, v., greuter, w., hawksworth, d.l., herendeen, p.s., knapp, s., marhold, k., prado, j., proud’homme van reine, w.f., smith, g.f., wiersema, j.h. and turland, n.j. (eds) 2012. international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (melbourne code): adopted by the eighteenth international botanical congress, melbourne, australia, july 2011. regnum vegetabile 154: 1–274. ngernsaengsaruay, c., middleton, d.j. and chayamariat, k. 2011. a revision of the genus litsea lam. (lauraceae) in thailand. thai forest bull. bot. 39: 40–119. singh, r.k. 2015. typification of seven species of litsea (lauraceae) endemic to india. phytotaxa 201(4): 278–286. (manuscript received on 12 january 2015; revised on 17 july 2015) microsoft word 05. echinops mandavillei_galley proof.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 33-42, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists   application of internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal dna for identification of echinops mandavillei kit tan fahad m.a. al-hemaid, m. ajmal ali1, joongku lee2, gábor gyulai3 and arun k. pandey4 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh 11451, saudi arabia keywords: echinops mandavillei; asteraceae; its; nrdna; endemic; saudi arabia. abstract the present study explored the use of internal transcribed spacers (its) sequences (its1-5.8s-its2) of nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) for identification of echinops mandavillei kit tan, an endemic species to saudi arabia. the sequence similarity search using basic local alignment search tool (blast) and phylogenetic analyses of the its sequence of e. mandavillei kit tan showed high level of sequence similarity (98%) with e. glaberrimus dc. (section ritropsis). the novel primary sequence and the secondary structure of its2 of e. mandavillei could have a potential use for molecular genotyping. introduction the genus echinops l. belonging to the subtribe echinopsinae of cynareae, of the family asteraceae comprise about 120 species (vidović, 2011), and distributed in tropical africa, the mediterranean basin, temperate regions of eurasia, central asia, mongolia and north-eastern china, with the maximum number of species occurring in the caucasus and the middle east (susanna and garcia-jacas, 2007). the genus received considerable interest for establishing natural groups with infrageneric classification (sánchez-jiménez et al., 2010). morphological characters, like the pappus, which is a key taxonomic character of cynareae, the type and density of indumentum on stems, leaf shapes and phyllaries are considered least significance in dissemination of echinops species (mozaffarian, 2006; sánchez-jiménez et al., 2010). in saudi arabia, there are nine echinops species, viz. e. abuzinadianus chaudhary, e. erinaceus kit tan, e. glaberrimus dc., e. hystrichoides kit tan, e. macrochaetus fresen., e. mandavillei kit tan, e. sheilae kit tan, e. viscosus dc. and e. yemenicus kit tan. of them, e. abuzinadianus, e. mandavillei and e. sheilae are endemic to saudi arabia, while remaining species have been reported from different geographic locations of arabian peninsula. e. mandavillei was reported to occur in dahna, summan and nafud sands (chaudhary, 2000). the dna sequence technology provides series of new data for molecular phylogeny and dna barcoding which has now-a-days changed the paradigm of species identification (ali and choudhary, 2011; ali et al., 2014). from the first report of the utility of the internal transcribed spacers (its) sequence of nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) in plants (baldwin, 1992), it has been 1corresponding author. e-mail: majmalali@rediffmail.com 2international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon 305 806, south korea 3institute of genetics and biotechnology, st. istván university, gödöllo h-2103, hungary 4department of botany, university of delhi, delhi 110007, india 34 al-hemaid et al.   extensively used to distinguish even very closely related species (chen et al., 2010; yao et al., 2010). moreover, in the last two decades, the its sequence technology has gained much attention, along with the smartest genes available for the molecular phylogeny and taxonomy (ali et al., 2013). the its sequence technology has been used for molecular phylogeny of echinops (garnatje et al., 2005), and series of other genera of cynareae (susanna et al., 1999; vilatersana et al., 2000; wang et al., 2005, 2007; hidalgo et al., 2006); however, these studies did not include systematics of echinops species occurring in saudi arabia. hence, the present study aims to establish molecular signature of echinops mandavillei kit tan based on its sequence of nrdna. materials and methods plant materials: the leaf material of echinops mandavillei kit tan was collected from herbarium specimen (saudi arabia, al-nafud, 29.4’n, 39.58’e, 5 may 1985, h.o. al-hassan 195) housed at national herbarium and genebank, national agriculture and animal resources research centre, riyadh, saudi arabia (riy). the taxonomic identification of specimen was confirmed with the aid of flora of saudi arabia (chaudhary, 2000). its sequences of 39 species of echinops (table 1) were retrieved from the genbank database of ncbi (national centre for biotechnology information; www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). brachylaena discolor dc., from the tribe tarchonantheae kostel and cardopatium corymbosum (l.) pers. from the subtribe cardopatiinae less. were chosen as outgroups (table 1) according to previous report based on molecular characters (susanna et al., 2006; sánchez-jiménez et al., 2010). table 1. list of echinops species used in the present study along with accession numbers. taxa accession number ingroup sect. acantholepis (less.) jaub. & spach 1. echinops acantholepis jaub. & spach ay8262223 sect. chamaechinops bunge 2. e. fastigiatus kamelin & tscherneva gu116503 3. e. humilis m. bieb gu116514 4. e. integrifolius kar. & kir. gu116517 sect. echinops 5. e. arachniolepis rech. f. gu116486 6 e. dahuricus fisch. gu116493 7. e. freitagii rech. f. gu116504 8. e. kotschyi boiss. gu116520 9. e. latifolius tausch gu116521 10. e. nizvanus rech. f. gu116530 11. e. parviflorus boiss. & buhse gu116533 12. e. przewalskyi iljin gu116535 13. e. ritrodes bunge gu116539 14. e. setifer iljin gu116540 15. e. sphaerocephalus l. gu116541 16. e. spiniger iljin gu116542 17. e. transcaucasicus iljin gu116546 its sequence for identification of echinops mandavillei 35   table 1 contd. taxa accession number sect. hamolepis r. e. fr. 18. e. hoehnelli schweinf gu116506 sect. hololeuce rech. f. 19. e. hololeucus rech. f. gu116513 sect. nanechinops bunge 20. e. gmelini turcz. gu116510 sect. oligolepis bunge 21. e. cephalotes dc. gu116487 22. e. cornigerus dc. gu116552 23. e. echinatus roxb. gu116497 24. e. ghoranus rech. f. gu116508 25. e. griffithianus boiss. gu116512 26. e. ilicifolius bunge gu116516 27. e. leucographus bunge gu116522 28. e. lipskyi iljin gu116523 sect. phaeochaete bunge 29. e. longifolius a. rich gu116524 sect. psectra endl. 30. e. strigosus l. ay5386532 sect. ritropsis greuter & rech. f. 31. e. chardinii boiss. & buhse gu116490 32. e. dichrous boiss. & hausskn. gu116495 33. e. endotrichus rech. f. gu116500 34. e. gaillardotii boiss. gu116507 35. e. glaberrimus dc. gu116509 36 e. mandavillei kit tan kj187107 37. e. orientalis trautv. gu116532 38. e. spinosissimus turra he687348 39. e. tenuisectus rech. f. gu116551 sect. terma endl. 40. e. exaltatus schrad. gu116501 outgroup 41. brachylaena discolor dc. ay8262363 42. cardopatium corymbosum (l.) pers. ay8262383 dna isolation and amplification: genomic dna was extracted from 10 mg silica gel-dried leaves using the protocol of dneasy plant mini kit (qiagen, valencia, ca, usa). the its regions were amplified using the primers its1 and its4 as described by white et al. (1990). double-stranded polymerase chain reaction (pcr) products were produced through 35 cycles of 95°c for 1 min, 48°c for 1 min and 72°c for 1 min, with a 10 min final extension cycle at 72°c. pcr products were purified with solgent pcr purification kit-ultra (solgent, daejeon, south korea), and forwarded to sequencing using the same primers, 2l bigdye, 1µl primer (20 pm), template dna and purified water to reach a 10µl reaction volume. cycle sequencing used was 25 cycles of 96°c for 10 s, 50°c for 5 s, and 60°c for 4 min. 36 al-hemaid et al.   dna sequencing and data analysis: dna sequencing was performed by abi prism 377 automated dna sequencer (applied biosystems, foster city, ca, usa). each sample was sequenced in the sense and anti-sense direction. the nucleotide sequences of both dna strands were obtained and analyzed by sequence navigator (perkin-elmer/applied biosystems) to ensure accuracy of the base pair sequences. the sequence was submitted to genbank (accession number kj187107). sequence alignments were performed using clustal x, version 1.81 (thompson et al., 1997), and sequence alignments were subsequently adjusted manually using bioedit (hall, 1999). gaps were treated as missing data in phylogenetic analyses. the maximum parsimony and neighbour-joining analyses with 1,000 bootstrap replicates (felsenstein, 1985) were performed using paup* 4.0b10 (swofford, 2002). the boundaries between its1, 5.8s and its2 gene were determined according to the its sequences of echinops available in genbank. the its2 database (http://its2.bioapps.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/) was used to predict the secondary structures (koetschan et al., 2012). results and discussion the its region (its1-5.8s-its2) of echinops mandavillei kit tan sequenced in the present study was found 634 bp, where its1 region 252 bp (gc content 54%), 5.8s gene 164 bp (gc content 53%), and its2 region 218 bp (gc content 50%). the blast search of its sequence of e. mandavillei kit tan showed maximum identity (98%) with e. glaberrimus dc. parsimony analysis of the entire its region resulted in 431 maximally parsimonious trees with consistency index of 0.691, homoplasy index of 0.459, and retention index of 0.763. the phylogenetic tree constructed by the present analyses shows echinops to be monophyletic (bootstrap support 100%; fig. 1). the tree also provides a clear resolution at the sectional level and the result confirms an earlier report (sánchez-jiménez et al., 2010), and e. mandavillei kit tan nested within the clade of the section ritropsis (fig. 1). figure 2 illustrates specific nucleotide differences between e. mandavillei kit tan and e. glaberrimus dc., in total seven snps (four nucleotides in its1 region, i.e. at the alignment position 11, 81, 226 and 234, and three nucleotides in its2 region, i.e. at the alignment position 4, 58 and 165) were observed. table 2. loci of snps (single nucleotide polymorphism) its sequences of e. mandavillei compared to e. glaberrimus. region position in sequence alignment e. mandavillei → e. glaberrimus 11th t → c 81th g → r 226th t → c its1 234th c → t 4th a → c 58th a → g its2 165th t → c the secondary structures of its2 region of e. mandavillei kit tan and e. glaberrimus dc. were constructed and compared (fig. 3 a-b), which contained a central ring (primary ring) and four helices. however, the two structures differed in the four helical regions, in stem loop numbers, sizes, position, and screw angle. on the basis of the its2 secondary structure, e. mandavillei kit tan could be discriminative from other species of the genus. its sequence for identification of echinops mandavillei 37   fig. 1. neighbour joining tree of echinops species including e. mandavillei inferred from its sequences of nrdna. bootstrap values greater than 50% in 1,000 bootstrap replicates are shown above lines. 38 al-hemaid et al.   fig. 2a. alignments of its1 sequences of e. mandavillei compared to e. glaberrimus, b. alignments of its2 sequences of e. mandavillei compared to e. glaberrimus. gaps in clustal line indicate nucleotide differences. its sequence for identification of echinops mandavillei 39   fig. 3. the secondary structures of the its2 regions of e. mandavillei (a) compared to e. glaberrimus (b). 40 al-hemaid et al.   the morphological identification depends on sufficient experience and can easily be affected by the geographical environment and biocoenosis (marcon et al., 2005; rai et al., 2012). in contrast, dna sequence is hardly influenced by environmental characteristics and developmental stages (liu et al., 2011); and therefore, the dna barcoding may be an effective supplement to traditional/classical morphological methods (see hebert et al., 2003). the species identification using dna barcodes has been successfully used across the algae, fungi, plants, and animals, hence; the dna barcoding has now been proven useful in biodiversity assessment, biomonitoring, forensics, illegal trade of endangered species and their products, ecology, medicinal and poisonous plants and conservation genetics (see hebert et al., 2003; fišer pečnikar and buzan, 2014; ali et al., 2014). dna barcoding efforts worldwide have resulted in the formation of the consortium for the barcode of life (cbol), and the barcode of life database (bold), which contain more than 2.7 million records, with 2 million barcodes belonging to over 170,000 species (ratnasingham and hebert, 2007; bold systems, 2013). the china plant bol group has proposed that its1/its2 should be incorporated into the core of barcode for seed plants (li et al., 2011). in the present study, we supplied the its barcode of e. mandavillei kit tan which is new for genbank databases. an increasing number of studies also suggest that dna secondary structures are crucial for genomic stability and cellular processes, such as transcription (bochman et al., 2012; 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(manuscript received on 7 february 2014; revised on 9 may 2014) microsoft word 03. pollen of phyllodoceae_re-revised_2 12 14_ee.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 129-137, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of the tribe phyllodoceae (ericoideae, ericaceae) and its taxonomic significance1 a. k. m. golam sarwar2 and hideki takahashi laboratory of systematic botany, graduate school of agriculture, hokkaido university, japan keywords: pollen morphology; exine sculpture; phyllodoceae; taxonomic significance. abstract pollen morphology of 13 taxa belonging to 5 genera of the tribe phyllodoceae (ericaceae) was examined by means of light and scanning electron microscopy (lm and sem, respectively), or sem alone. in phyllodoceae, 3-colpor(oid)ate, minute to medium, oblate pollen grains are united usually in tetrahedral tetrads. pollen tetrads are generally characterized by the presence of viscin threads except elliottia pyroliflora, epigaea asiatica and phyllodoce caerulea. the absence of viscin threads might indicate to a secondary loss, since these are present at least in some species within all the genera of phyllodoceae. the pollen morphological data confirm the infraand inter-generic relationships as identified by molecular phylogeny of phyllodoceae and/or vice-versa. although various palynological characters were found to be taxonomically important at different taxonomic levels, the apocolpial exine sculpture is emerged as one of the most important palynological features of systematic importance. the rugulate apocolpial exine with striate secondary sculpture and a reduced colpus might be apomorphic palynological character states for this tribe and ericaceae as well. hitherto, it is the first sem study of rhodothamnus pollen. introduction the phyllodoceae drude is one of the most morphologically heterogeneous group that apparently has no morphological synapomorphy (kron, 1997). moreover, the inclusion of epigaea in the tribe phyllodoceae might increase the morphological heterogeneity of this group and the monophyly of this group is not well supported by morphology. nearly all descriptions of the tribe have diagnosed the group based upon suites of characters that are homoplasious within the broader ericoideae, rather than recognizing any particular potentially synapomorphic character (kron et al., 2002). gillespie and kron (2010) used molecular data to clarify tribe-level relationships within the ericoideae and to propose a new classification that includes five tribes, namely rhodoreae, empetreae, ericeae, bryantheae and phyllodoceae; the phyllodoceae is sister to a clade comprised of the other four tribes. most members of phyllodoceae are native to temperate-boreal regions of the northern hemisphere. the flowers are variable in shape, size and colour. some species have pollen dispersed by curved stamens that spring out from the flower centre, explosively. many species in this group are also poisonous, e.g., kalmia, both to livestock and people. the molecular analyses indicated two strongly supported clades: kalmia s.l. (including leiophyllum and loiseleuria) and a phyllodoce clade (including epigaea, kalmiopsis and rhodothamnus), and elliottia is sister to kalmia + phyllodoce clade (kron et al., 2002; gillespie and kron, 2013). in addition, at least one taxon from all currently recognized tribes within the ericoideae have at some point been classified within the phyllodoceae, illustrating the difficulty in determining relationships of these taxa based on morphological or anatomical evidence alone (gillespie and kron, 2013). 1a part of ph.d. thesis 2present address: department of crop botany, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh 2202, bangladesh. e-mail: drsarwar@bau.edu.bd 130 sarwar and takahashi pollen of the family ericaceae is very diverse – monads vs. tetrads, or as polyads of indefinite number of tetrads; and its phylogenetic importance have been well documented (kron et al., 2002; sarwar, 2007). among the genera of phyllodoceae, the pollen morphology of kalmia has already been reported (sarwar and takahashi, 2012), but fragmentary palynological information is only available for other genera of this tribe (sladkov, 1954; oldfield, 1959; stevens, 1971; bohm et al., 1978; comtois and larouche, 1981; clements, 1995; kron et al., 2002; radcliffe et al., 2010). light microscopy (lm) was mainly employed in these studies; and scanning electron microscopy (sem) was employed in a few cases. the aims of the present study are to provide the palynological data of the genera of phyllodoceae in addition to kalmia, by using both lm and sem, and to discuss its systematic significance in light of the recent molecular phylogenetic relationship of this tribe. materials and methods pollen morphology of 13 taxa belonging to 5 (out of 7) genera of the tribe phyllodoceae, was examined by means of light microscopy (lm) and scanning electron microscopy (sem), or sem alone (table 1). pollen morphology of the genus kalmia has been studied in details (sarwar and takahashi, 2012) and the data has been included in discussion. the remaining genus kalmiopsis is endemic to oregon state, usa and could not be included due to unavailability of pollen samples. polliniferous materials used in this investigation were taken from the dried specimens of the herbaria gb, s and saps. abbreviations of names of the herbaria are according to the index herbariorum (holmgren et al., 1990). table 1. list of phyllodoceae taxa used in this study along with their voucher specimens. no. name of the taxa voucher specimens 1. bejaria aestuans mutis ex l. venezuela: edo, tachira hwy. 9, 37 km south of delicias, 28.01.1978, j.l. luteyn et al. 5296 (s) 2. b. racemosa vent. usa: florida, dade co., west of fulford, 10.02.1930, h.n. moldenke 601 (s) 3. b. resinosa mutis ex l. f. colombia: district cauca, el tambo, 08.11.1936, k. von sneidern 1069 (s) 4. b. subsessilis benth. ecuador: prov. loja-zamora road, 17.06.1979, b. lǿjtnant & u. molau 15010 (gb) 5. elliottia bracteata (maxim.) benth. et hook. f. japan: hokkaido, prov. teshio, masike-gun, masike-cho, mt. shokanbetsu, 28.07.1983, h. takahashi 4500 (saps) 6. e. paniculata (sieb. et zucc.) benth. et hook. f. japan: hokkaido, hiyama-sicho, kudoo-gun, taisei-cho, mt. ohta-san, 06.08.1987, h. takahashi 7802 (saps) 7. e. pyroliflora (bong.) brim & stevens usa: alaska, juneau quadrangle, mt. roberts behind, august 1967, l.a. viereck 8624 (s) 8. epigaea asiatica maxim. japan: hokkaido, hiyama-shicho, kaminokuni-cho, 18.04.1982, m. hara 5212 (saps) 9. e. repens l. usa: new york, tomplins co., slopes on east side of valley of cayuga intel, 13.04.1935, r.i. clausen 19207 (s) 10. phyllodoce aleutica (spreng.) a. heller japan: hokkaido, jyozankei, mt. yoici-dake, 02.09.1982, h. takahashi et al. 3666 (saps) 11. p. caerulea (l.) bab. japan: hokkaido, the hidaka range, mt. poroshiri – mt. tottabetsu, 01.08.1983, h. takahashi 4569 (saps) 12. p. nipponica makino var. oblong-ovata (tatew.) toyokuni japan: hokkaido, hidaka range, mt. poroshiri – mt. tottabetsu, 01.08.1983, h. takahashi 4568 (saps) 13. rhodothamnus chamaecistus (l.) rchb. austria: kärnten, loibl-pass, 28.05.1960, i. segelberg s.n. (s) pollen morphology of the tribe phyllodoceae 131 the preparation of pollen grains for lm and sem, and pollen parameter studied follow sarwar and takahashi (2012). pollen slides of all collection are deposited at the hokkaido university museum, sapporo, japan. pollen size and shape classes were made following erdtman (1986) and descriptive terminology follows punt et al. (2007). the infrageneric classifications of bejaria and phyllodoce follow clements (1995) and good (1926 cf. gillespie and kron, 2013), respectively. results and discussion pollen grains are united usually in tetrahedral tetrads, sometimes compact tetrahedral tetrads and/or with other configurations (table 2). viscin threads are usually present, sometime swelling at base in bejaria aestuans, or absent in elliottia pyroliflora, epigaea asiatica, and phyllodoce caerulea. the shape of the pollen grains varies from oblate to suboblate. costae are usually distinct, but indistinct in bejaria, 3-colpor(oid)ate (fig. 1b), rarely 4-colporate in rhodothamnus chamaecistus (fig. 2k), ectoaperture (colpus) margins are distinct in all species. endoapertures are usually distinct, but indistinct or absent in bejaria subsessilis and phyllodoce aleutica, lalongate, sometimes h-shaped in epigaea repens; and endocracks are usually indistinct or absent in phyllodoce and rhodothamnus. septum perforations are only observed in phyllodoce nipponica var. oblong-ovata. the phyllodoceae pollen ranges in mean values: d 30.0-53.3 µm, p 15.8-26.9 µm, e 22.0-38.7 µm, d/d 1.31-1.39, p/e 0.66-0.76, 2f 11.5-21.5 µm, w 0.9-2.3 µm, 2f/d 0.260.56, endoaperture length 0.8-2.0 µm, width 7.4-13.4 µm, apocolpial exine 1.7-3.0 µm thick, and septum 0.9-2.8 µm thick; tectate, apocolpial exine sculpture from verrucate to rugulate (table 2). in sem, apocolpial exine sculptures mainly constitute two distinct groups, viz. i) primary exine sculpture indistinct, secondary sculpture gemmate-pilate (figs 1c, e, g–h, l) or intermediate type (fig. 1m); ii) primary exine sculpture moderately to coarsely rugulate or rugulate-psilate or intermediate types (figs 2b, c, d, g-i, l); colpus membrane largely granulate or granuloid. the genera of the phyllodoceae employed in the present study reveal variation in sem. in bejaria, pollen surface is somewhat flat, primary apocolpial exine sculpture indistinct, secondary sculpture finely (diam. < 0.5 µm) gemmate-pilate (type fg; figs 1c, e, g, h); colpus membrane largely granulate or granuloid. in elliottia, pollen surface is uneven to somewhat flat, primary apocolpial exine sculpture indistinct, secondary sculpture unit moderately (diam. > 0.5 µm) gemmate-pilate (type mg; fig. 1l), or intermediate type (mg/r; fig. 1m); colpus sometimes narrow and elongate, membrane granulate. the pollen surface of epigaea is somewhat flat, apocolpial exine sculpture coarsely rugulate, the rugulae transversely striate and intermediate type (rs/r; fig. 2b), or coarsely rugulate-psilate and intermediate type (r/p; fig. 2c); colpus membrane granulate. pollen surface in phyllodoce is uneven and rugged, apocolpial exine sculpture intermediate type (r/fg; fig. 2g); or the surface is somewhat flat, exine sculpture moderately to coarsely rugulate (type r; figs 2hi); colpus membrane granulate or smooth. in rhodothamnus, pollen surface is somewhat flat, apocolpial exine sculpture coarsely rugulate-psilate, the rugulae loosely arranged and clearly striate (type rs; fig. 2l); colpus membrane granuloid. the present study reveals that in phyllodoceae, both medium or minute and oblate pollen grains are united usually in tetrahedral tetrads (table 2; sarwar and takahashi, 2012). pollen tetrads of this tribe are generally characterized by the presence of viscin threads except in some species (table 2; sarwar and takahashi, 2012). results of the present study, in general, support previous palynological observations, however, in several instances, marked differences among the observations are apparent e.g., viscin threads on pollen tetrads of epigaea. we did not observe any 132 sarwar and takahashi pollen morphology of the tribe phyllodoceae 133 fig. 1. lm and sem pollen micrographs. a. bejaria aestuans (lutyen et al. 5296); b. b. subsessilis (lǿjtnant & molau 15010); c–d. b. aestuans (lutyen et al. 5296); e−f. b. resinosa (sneidern 1069); g. b. subsessilis (lǿjtnant & molau 15010); h–i. b. racemosa (moldenke 601); j–k. elliottia paniculata (takahashi 7802); l. e. bracteata (takahashi 4500); m−n. e. paniculata (takahashi 7802); o. epigaea repens (clausen 19207). pollen tetrads at polar view (a−b, j−k, o); pollen tetrad with viscin threads (b, k); micrographs with apocolpial exine sculpture details (c, e, g, h, l, m); micrographs with mesocolpial exine sculpture details (d, f, i, n). scale bars = 1 µm (c−i, l – n), 10 µm (a, b, j, k, o). 134 sarwar and takahashi fig. 2. lm and sem pollen micrographs. a. epigaea repens (clausen 19207); b. e. asiatica (hara 5212); c–d. e. repens (clausen 19207); e. phyllodoce caerulea (takahashi 4569); f–g. p. aleutica (takahashi et al. 3666); h. p. caerulea (takahashi 4569); i. p. nipponica var. oblong-ovata (takahashi 4568); j–l. rhodothamnus chamaecistus (segelberg s.n.). pollen tetrads at polar view (a, e–f, j–k); tetrad with viscin threads (a, f, k); micrographs with apocolpial exine sculpture details (b–c, g–i, l); micrographs with mesocolpial exine sculpture details (d). scale bars–1 µm (b–d, g–i, l), 10 µm (a, e, f, j, k). viscin threads on the pollen tetrads of e. asiatica (table 2), although it was reported that all three species of epigaea have viscin threads with their pollen (stevens, 1971). pollen tetrads with viscin threads are often regarded as indicating to entomophilous mode of pollination in the ericaceae (waha, 1984; gillespie and kron, 2013); however, there are many entomophilous taxa in ericaceae without viscin threads on their pollen tetrads (buchmann, 1983). high seed-set success was reported for phyllodoce aleutica whose pollen tetrads have viscin threads, on the other hand, co-occurring p. caerulea whose pollen tetrads do not have viscin threads shown the lower seed-set success (kasagi and kudo, 2003). the presence or absence of pollen morphology of the tribe phyllodoceae 135 viscin threads may possibly affect the crossing and selfing ability of these two phyllodoce species. viscin threads might be anticipated in all species with open-campanulate inflorescence, since these are associated with insect pollination. the absence of viscin threads in p. caerulea might indicate to a secondary loss (table 2), since viscin threads are present at least in some species within some genera of the phyllodoceae (gillespie and kron, 2013). the genera epigaea, rhodothamnus, phyllodoce and kalmiopsis, are consistently made a clade in all molecular analyses (kron et al., 2002; gillespie and kron, 2010, 2013); the close relationship within these four genera also represented in their palynological features. for example, all these genera possess apocolpial exine sculptures rugulate and/or its derivatives (table 2; figs 2b, c, g–i, l). the exine sculpture has also been proven as a useful taxonomic tool at the infrageneric level (sarwar and takahashi, 2006, 2012), although various palynological characters have been found to be important at different taxonomic levels. for example, elliottia bracteata and e. paniculata are sister taxa in all molecular analyses (gillespie and kron, 2013) and are characterised by the similar value (0.72) of p/e ratio (table 2). the exine sculpture of rhodothamnus chamaecistus, with clearly striate secondary sculpture on the rugulae (type rs; fig. 2l), is significantly different than that of other members of this tribe except epigaea asiatica (rs/r; fig. 2b), and very much similar to exine sculpture of members of the tribe vaccinieae of subfamily vaccinioideae (sarwar and takahashi, 2007). hitherto, it is the first sem study of rhodothamnus pollen. in combined analyses of morphological and molecular data, epigaea repens is strongly supported as sister to a clade of both rhodothamnus species (gillespie and kron, 2013). the similarity in exine sculpture may be one of the indications of closeness of these two genera (sarwar, 2007). the apocolpial exine with striate secondary sculpture may be an apomorphic palynological character state for this tribe, and ericaceae as well (kron et al., 2002; sarwar and takahashi, 2007). the apocolpial exine sculpture types vary often within a single genus. for example, the exine sculptures in epigaea asiatica and e. repens, are distinctly different (type rs/r vs. r/p; figs 2b, d). the other (external) morphological features of e. asiatica also differ considerably from those of e. repens (stevens, 1969), which might be due to disjunct geographic distribution. the infrageneric variation in palynological features due to geographic distribution has also been reported for some other genera of ericaceae e.g., pyrola (takahashi, 1986) and enkianthus (sarwar and takahashi, 2006). the generic circumscription of the tribe bejarieae (kron et al., 2002) and the systematic position of bejaria was a matter of debate for long time (gillespie and kron, 2010). based on palynological, both quantitative and qualitative features it was reported that the monotypic genus bryanthus is clearly distinguished from other members of the tribe bejarieae bejaria and ledothamnus (sarwar, 2007). the molecular phylogenetic studies later confirmed the above finding and transferred the genus bejaria to the tribe phyllodoceae and construct a new tribe bryantheae (includes bryanthus and ledothamnus) (bush and kron, 2008; gillespie and kron, 2010, 2013). between two sections, bejaria sec. bejaria is characterized by larger values of p, d/d, p/e and thicker apocolpial exine compared to those of bejaria sec. racemosae (table 2). the close relationship between b. aestuans and b. subsessilis is supported by values of d/d, ectoand endo-aperture length and apocolpial exine thickness (table 2; bush and kron, 2008). moreover, the monophyly of bejaria may be supported by apocolpial exine sculpture (table 2; figs 1c, e, g−h). the pollen tetrads of bejaria are similar to those of some rhododendron species of the tribe rhodoreae. but these similarities may be due to homoplasy. indistinct costae and lower 2f/d in bejaria are stable and distinct palynological characters within the ericoideae except for some species of rhododendron and therorhodion (sarwar, 2007). these palynological features might imply an evolutionary tendency to a reduced (smaller) ectoaperture (warner and chinnappa, 136 sarwar and takahashi 1986), and might be an apomorphic pollen character state for this genus as well as the family ericaceae (sarwar, 2007). among the other genera of the tribe phyllodoceae, the systematic significances of pollen morphological features of kalmia have previously been discussed in details (sarwar and takahashi, 2012). the pollen morphological data confirm the infraand inter-generic relationships as identified by molecular phylogeny of phyllodoceae (gillespie and kron, 2013) and/or vice-versa. although various palynological characters were found to be taxonomically important at different taxonomic levels, the apocolpial exine sculpture is emerged as one of the most important palynological features of systematic importance. the rugulate apocolpial exine with striate secondary sculpture, and a reduced colpus might be apomorphic palynological character states for the tribe phyllodoceae and the family ericaceae. acknowledgements we wish to express our sincere thanks to the directors and curators of the following herbaria: gb, s and saps, for allowing us to examine and/or for sending specimens on loan to sample polliniferous materials. the first author is grateful to the mext (japanese ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology) scholarship during the period of this study. references bohm, b.a., brim, s.w., hebda, r.j. and stevens, p.f. 1978. generic limits of the tribe cladothamneae (ericaceae), and its position in the rhododendroideae. j. arnold arbor. 59: 311-341. buchmann, s.l. 1983. buzz pollination in angiosperms. in: jones, c.e. and little, r.j. (eds), handbook of experimental pollination biology. sci. acad. eds., new york, pp.73-113. bush, c.m. and kron, k.a. 2008. a phylogeny of bejaria (ericaceae: ericoideae) based on molecular data. j. bot. res. inst. texas 2: 1193-1205. clements, s.e. 1995. bejaria. in: luteyn, j.l. (ed.), ericaceae part ii: the superior-ovaried genera. fl. neotrop. monogr. 66, new york bot. gard., bronx, pp. 54-106. comtois, p. and larouche, a. 1981. morphologie pollinique des éricales du québec. natur. can. 108: 245262 (in french). erdtman, g. 1986. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy – angiosperms. e. j. brill, leiden, 553 pp. gillespie, e.l. and kron, k.a. 2010. molecular phylogenetic relationships and a revised classification of the subfamily ericoideae (ericaceae). mol. phyl. evol. 56: 343-354. gillespie, e.l. and kron, k.a. 2013. molecular phylogenetic relationships and molecular evolution within the tribe phyllodoceae (ericoideae, ericaceae). syst. bot. 38: 752-763. good, r.d.o. 1926. the genera phyllodoce and cassiope. le j. de bot. 64: 1-10. holmgren, p.k., holmgren, n.h. and barnett, l.c. (eds). 1990. index herbariorum, part i: the herbaria of the world. 8th ed., new york bot. gard., bronx, 704 pp. kasagi, t. and kudo, g. 2003. variation in bumble bee preference and pollen limitation among neighboring populations: comparisons between phyllodoce caerulea and phyllodoce aleutica (ericaceae) along snowmelt gradients. am. j. bot. 90: 1321-1327. kron, k.a. 1997. phylogenetic relationships of rhododendroideae (ericaceae). am. j. bot. 84: 973-980. kron, k.a., judd, w.s., stevens, p.f., crayn, d.m., anderberg, a.a., gadek, p.a., quinn, c.j. and luteyn, j.l. 2002. phylogenetic classification of ericaceae: molecular and morphological evidence. bot. rev. 68: 335-423. oldfield, f. 1959. the pollen morphology of some of the west european ericales preliminary descriptions and a tentative key to their identification. pollen et spores 1: 19-48. punt, w., hoen, p.p., blackmore, s., nilsson, s. and le thomas, a. 2007. glossary of pollen and spore terminology. rev. palaeob. palynol. 143: 1-81. pollen morphology of the tribe phyllodoceae 137 radcliffe, c.a., affolter, j.m. and wetzstein, h.y. 2010. floral morphology and development in georgia plume, elliottia racemosa (ericaceae), a rare coastal plain endemic. j. amer. soc. hort. sci. 135: 487493. sarwar, a.k.m. golam. 2007. pollen morphology and its systematic significance in the ericaceae. ph.d. dissert., hokkaido university, japan. http://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/handle/2115/46925. sarwar, a.k.m. golam and takahashi, h. 2006. pollen morphology of enkianthus (ericaceae) and its taxonomic significance. grana 45: 161-174. sarwar, a.k.m. golam and takahashi, h. 2007. an overview of pollen morphology and its systematic significance within the blueberry tribe vaccinieae (vaccinioideae; ericaceae). jpn. j. palynol. 53: 87104. sarwar, a.k.m. golam and takahashi, h. 2012. pollen morphology of kalmia (phyllodoceae, ericaceae) and its taxonomic significance. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19: 123-133. sladkov, a.n. 1954. morphological description of the pollen of the pyrolaceae, monotropaceae, ericaceae, vacciniaceae and empetraceae of the european part of ussr. works inst. geo. ussr acad. sci. 61: 119-156 (in russian). stevens, p.f. 1969. taxonomic studies in the ericaceae. ph. d. thesis, univ. edinburgh, uk, 678 pp. stevens, p.f. 1971. a classification of the ericaceae: subfamilies and tribes. bot. j. linn. soc. 64: 1-53. takahashi, h. 1986. pollen morphology of pyrola and its taxonomic significance. bot. mag. (tokyo) 99: 137-154. waha, m. 1984. ultrastructure and function of pollen connecting threads in ericaceae and other angiosperm families. plant syst. evol. 147: 189-203. warner, b.g. and chinnappa, c.c. 1986. taxonomic implications and evolutionary trends in canadian ericales. can. j. bot. 64: 3113-3126. (manuscript received on 10 april 2014; revised on 13 november 2014) microsoft word 07. pollen of verbascum-revised_3.12.14_ee.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 159-165, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of verbascum l. (scrophulariaceae) in northern and central iraq muazaz al-hadeethy, athiya al-mashhadani, talib al-khesraji1, sahapat barusrux2, hazim al-jewari, piyada theerakulpisut3 and pimwadee pornpongrungrueng3,4 department of biology, college of education-ibn al-haitham, university of baghdad, baghdad, iraq keywords: pollen morphology; sem; taxonomy; verbascum; iraq. abstract the present study highlights the taxonomic values of the pollen features of 20 species of verbascum l. in iraq. the pollen grains were acetolysed and observed under light and electron microscopes. our results showed that the pollen grains of these species are usually radially symmetrical, isopolar, tricolporate and display reticulate sculpturing. the variations were found in shape, size, and exine thickness. most of the species are subprolate, prolate spheroidal, and prolate, whereas oblate spheroidal pollens were found only in v. thapsus. the pollen size among the species studied ranges from 16.2-32.5 µm. the majority of species are medium sized except v. agrimoniifolium and v. oreophilum that are small sized, and four species i.e. v. palmyrense, v. sinuatum, v. songaricum, and v. thapsus having both small and medium sized pollen grains. moreover, the result showed that the exine thickness ranges from 0.87-4.75 µm, but this value can overlap between some species. therefore, only the shape of pollen grains could be used to classify these species into groups. introduction the genus verbascum l. (scrophulariaceae) is mostly herbaceous with few shrubs and climbers, comprises about 350 species, and it is distributed all over the world (zohary, 1974). verbascum is widely spread in the arabian peninsula, especially in saudi arabia, oman and yemen (huber-morath, 1978; ghadanfar, 1992; wood, 1997). in iraq, verbascum is represented by 26 species (al-rawi, 1964; al-bermani, 1981). the taxonomy of verbascum species in iraq is still uncertain, especially that as related to the geographical distribution of the species, the morphological variation and the condition of herbarium samples (al-bermani, 1981). therefore, study of different characteristics would help in resolving the relationships and delimitation of these species. pollen morphology is proved to be a useful character for improving the accuracy in the identification and classification of several plant groups (erdtman, 1952; rajbhandary et al., 2012; özler et al., 2013; sawar and takahashi, 2013). despite pollen morphology of verbascum species was studied by several authors (erdtman, 1952; filippini et al., 1990; perveen, 1993; lobin and pormbski, 1994; bukhari and alfarhan, 2006; kheiri et al., 2006; pehlivan et al., 2008), the pollens of verbascum found in iraq has never been investigated. therefore, this study was designed to investigate constant and diagnostic pollen morphological characteristics to be used as a tool for improving the accuracy in the identification and classification of verbascum, and further authentication of the taxa. 1department of biology, college of education, university of tikrit, tikrit, iraq 2centre for research and development of medical diagnostic laboratories (cmdl), faculty of associated medical sciences, khon kaen university, khon kaen, thailand 3applied taxonomic research center, department of biology, faculty of science, khon kaen university, khon kaen, thailand 4corresponding author: email: ppimwa@kku.ac.th 160 al-hadeethy et al. materials and methods pollen sample of 20 species of verbascum l. grown in the north and central areas of iraq, were collected between april 2012 and may 2013 (table 1). the voucher specimens have been deposited in the herbarium of college of education, ibn al-haitham, university of baghdad, iraq. the pollen was prepared using the acetolysis method as described by erdtman (1960). the measurements and observations were carried out using both light microscope (lm) and scanning electron microscope (sem). for lm analysis, the acetolysed pollens were placed in a small vial, and 5-7 drops of silicone oil were added, and then the samples were mounted on a glass slide sealed with paraffin and observed under light microscope. the measurements of polar axis (p), equatorial diameter (e) and exine thickness of pollen were done using 10 reading samples for each specimen. for sem investigation, the acetolysed pollen was suspended in 100% ethanol. then the suspension was dried on an aluminum stub, coated with gold and observed using leo 1450vp electron microscopy. the terminology and pollen size classes follow walker and doyle (1975) and punt et al. (1994). table 1. list of verbascum l. species in northern and central of iraq employed in the present study. collection numbers date of collections  locations species m. al-hadeethy 166a14 jun 2012 sulaymaniyah province 1. verbascum agrimoniifolium (c. koch) hub. mor. m. al-hadeethy 235 6 may 2012 sulaymaniyah province 2. v. alceoides boiss. & hausskn. ex boiss. m. al-hadeethy 245 11 may 2013 nineveh province 3. v. alepense benth. m. al-hadeethy 129 27 jun 2012 nineveh province 4. v. andrusii post m. al-hadeethy 172 4 apr 2012 diyala province 5. v. assurense (bornm. & hand. mazz.) hub. mor. m. al-hadeethy 250 14 jun 2012 sulaymaniyah province 6. v. calvum boiss. & kotschy ex boiss. m. al-hadeethy 168 21 apr 2012 sulaymaniyah province 7. v. carduchorum bornm. m. al-hadeethy 225 4 may 2012 sulaymaniyah province 8. v. cheiranthifolium boiss. m. al-hadeethy 152 5 apr 2013 anbar province 9. v. damascenum boiss. m. al-hadeethy 230 6 may 2012 sulaymaniyah province 10. v. geminiflorum hochst. m. al-hadeethy 144 20 apr 2012 sulaymaniyah province 11. v. laetum boiss. & hausskn. ex boiss. m. al-hadeethy 200a4 may 2012 sulaymaniyah province 12. v. macrocarpum boiss. m. al-hadeethy 223 5 may 2012 sulaymaniyah province 13. v. oreophilum c. koch m. al-hadeethy 220 27 jun 2012 nineveh province 14. v. palmyrense post m. al-hadeethy 123 20 apr 2012 sulaymaniyah province 15. v. pseudodigitalis nábělek m. al-hadeethy 112 27 jun 2012 nineveh province 16. v. sinaiticum benth. m. al-hadeethy 166b7 aug 2012 kirkuk province 17. v. sinuatum l. m. al-hadeethy 200b4 may 2012 sulaymaniyah province 18. v. songaricum schrenk m. al-hadeethy 182 21 apr 2012 sulaymaniyah province 19. v. speciosum schrad. m. al-hadeethy 145 20 apr 2012 sulaymaniyah province 20. v. thapsus l. pollen morphology of verbascum l. 161   results and discussion the results of the pollen morphology of verbascum are summarized in table 2. it was found that the pollen morphology of the species studied is uniform. the general characteristic is monad, radially symmetrical, isopolar, tricolporate and reticulate in exine sculpturing (figs 1 & 2). fig. 1. sem micrographs of the pollen grains of verbascum. a, b. v. agrimoniifolium; c, d. v. alceoides; e, f. v. alepense; g, h. v. andrusii; i, j. v. assurense; k, l. v. calvum; m, n. v. carduchorum; o, p. v. cheiranthifolium; q, r. v. damascenum; s, t. v. geminiflorum; a, g, i, k, m and q. polar view; b, d, f, h, j, l, n, p, r and t. exine sculpturing; c, e, o, s. equatorial view (scale bar = 2 µm). 162 al-hadeethy et al. table 2. pollen morphological characteristics of verbascum in northern and central iraq. species polar axis (µm) equatorial axis (µm) p/e ratio shape size exine thickness (µm) exine sculpturing 1. v. agrimoniifolium 16.5-20.5 (17.54±1.39) 15.5-21.0 (17.39±1.65) 1.01 prolate spheroidal small 0.87-1.05 (0.93±0.10) reticulate 2. v. alceoides 27.5-32.5 (28.05±1.78) 22.5-25.0 (24.13±1.13) 1.16 subprolate medium 2.75-3.00 (2.65±0.41) reticulate 3. v. alepense 25.0-27.5 (26.38±1.04) 21.3-22.5 (21.88±0.63) 1.21 subprolate medium 3.00-3.72 (3.22±0.39) reticulate 4. v. andrusii 26.25-27.5 (26.88±0.63) 18.8-20.0 (19.25±0.61) 1.40 prolate medium 1.25-2.5 0 (2.15±0.48) reticulate 5. v. assurense 27.5-32.5 (30.88±1.68) 25.0-27.5 (26.50±1.22) 1.17 subprolate medium 3.75-4.25 (4.18±0.44) reticulate 6. v. calvum 27.5-30.0 (29.00±1.09) 22.5-25.0 (24.13±1.13) 1.20 subprolate medium 1.25-2.5 0 (2.08±0.51) reticulate 7. v. carduchorum 25.0-28.8 (27.13±1.38) 22.5-25.0 (24.00±1.22) 1.13 prolate spheroidal medium 3.25-4.00 (3.13±0.76) reticulate 8. v. cheiranthifolium 26.3-27.5 (26.88±0.63) 20.0-22.5 (21.38±1.18) 1.26 subprolate medium 1.25-2.5 0 (2.00±0.58) reticulate 9. v. damascenum 27.5-30.0 (29.25±1.00) 20.0-22.5 (21.6±0.98) 1.35 prolate medium 3.75-4.75 (4.00±0.58) reticulate 10. v. geminiflorum 26.25-27.5 (26.50±0.93) 20.0-22.5 (21.13±1.04) 1.25 subprolate medium 3.00-4.75 (3.58±1.28) reticulate 11. v. laetum 30.0-32.5 (31.23±0.97) 23.8-25.0 (24.50±0.61) 1.27 subprolate medium 2.50-3.75 (3.05±0.46) reticulate 12. v. macrocarpum 27.5-28.8 (28.13±0.63) 20.0-22.5 (21.75±1.00) 1.29 subprolate medium 2.50-3.75 (3.23±0.52) reticulate 13. v. oreophilum 19.1-22.5 (20.71±0.61) 18.8-20.0 (19.25±0.61) 1.08 prolate spheroidal small 1.75-2.50 (1.90±0.53) reticulate 14. v. palmyrense 22.5-25.0 (24.00±1.09) 20.0-22.5 (21.25±1.12) 1.13 prolate spheroidal small medium 1.25-2.5 0 (2.05±0.53) reticulate 15. v. pseudodigitalis 27.5-30.0 (28.75±0.97) 20.0-21.3 (20.88±0.57) 1.38 prolate medium 2.25-2.50 (2.53±0.21) reticulate 16. v. sinaiticum 27.5-30.0 (29.13±0.98) 20.0-21.3 (20.88±0.57) 1.40 prolate medium 1.50-2.5 0 (2.00±0.49) reticulate 17. v. sinuatum 19.6-25.2 (23.86±1.09) 20.6-23.2 (23.55±0.61) 1.01 prolate spheroidal small medium 2.00-2.5 0 (2.30±0.22) reticulate 18. v. songaricum 23.8-26.3 (25.38±0.98) 20.0-21.3 (20.38±0.57) 1.25 subprolate small medium 1.25-3.00 (2.13±0.75) reticulate 19. v. speciosum 25.0-27.5 (26.50±1.09) 20.0-22.5 (21.25±1.25) 1.25 subprolate medium 3.50-4.00 (3.70±0.29) reticulate 20. v. thapsus 22.5-25.0 (23.75±0.77) 24.0-27.0 (25.00±0.50) 0.95 oblatespheroidal small medium 1.24-2.16 (1.91±0.35) reticulate in verbascum, pollen grains vary in shape, size and exine thickness. the shape can be prolate spheroidal, subprolate, prolate and oblate-spheroidal. the pollens are small to medium-sized. most of the species have medium-sized pollens (25.0-32.5 µm) except in v. agrimoniifolium and v. oreophilum, where small-sized pollens (16.5-24.0 µm) are observed. verbascum palmyrense, v. sinuatum, v. songaricum, and v. thapsus have both small and medium sized pollen grains. the polar axis (p) ranged from 16.5-32.5 µm. the largest polar axis was recorded in v. alceoides, v. assurense and v. laetum with 32.5 µm long and the smallest was found in v. agrimoniifolium with pollen morphology of verbascum l. 163   16.5 µm long. the equatorial diameter (e) ranged from 15.5-27.5 µm and the largest one was present in v. assurense with 27.5 µm, while the smallest was found in v. agrimoniifolium. in addition, the exine thickness of the pollen of species studied ranged from 0.87 to 4.75 µm. fig. 2. sem micrographs of the pollen grains of verbascum. a, b. v. laetum; c, d. v. macrocarpum; e, f. v. oreophilum; g, h. v. palmyrense; i, j. v. pseudodigitalis; k, l. v. sinaiticum; m, n. v. sinuatum; o, p. v. songaricum; q, r. v. speciosum; s, t. v. thapsus; a, e, k, m, o, q and s. polar view; b, d, f, h, j, l, n, p, r and t. exine sculpturing; c, g and i. equatorial view (scale bar = 2 µm). the overlapping of exine thickness is found among the taxa studied, thus this character is of little taxonomic value. results obtained from the present study agree with previous studies on some species of verbascum (erdtman, 1952; filippini et al., 1990; lobin and pormbski, 1994; 164 al-hadeethy et al. bokhri and alfarhan, 2006; asmat et al., 2011). several authors reported two types of exine sculpturing for verbascum i.e. microreticulate and macroreticulate (kheiri et al., 2006; pehlivan et al., 2008; karavelіoğullari et al., 2010). pehlivan et al. (2008) concluded that the pollen morphological characteristics observed under the light microscope seems to have little value for taxonomic study but the sculpturing investigated under sem provides a better result for dividing the verbascum taxa into two groups with reticulate and coarsely reticulate. however, all taxa included in our study showed a uniform reticulate exine sculpturing pattern. our results showed that only the shape of pollen grains can be used for grouping the verbascum into four groups viz. the subprolate group including: v. alceoides, v. alepense, v. assurense, v. calvum, v. cheiranthifolium, v. geminiflorum, v. laetum, v. macrocarpum, v. songaricum, v. speciosum, the prolate spheroidal group including: v. agrimoniifolium, v. carduchorum, v. oreophilum, v. palmyrense, and v. sinuatum; the prolate group includes: v. andrusii, v. damascenum, v. pseudodigitalis, v. sinaiticum and the oblate spheroidal with only one species v. thapsus. even though the pollen characters alone cannot be used for species identification, they provide some information for the classification of these plants. moreover, using this character in combination with other characters may help in clarifying some problematic taxa. acknowledgement we gratefully acknowledge the staff of the department of biology, faculty of science, khon kaen university (kku), thailand, for their technical support and laboratory assistance. this study was supported by grants from the scholarships & cultural affairs directorate, ministry of higher education scientific research, iraq. references al-bermani, a.k. 1981. systematic study of the genus verbascum (scrophulariaceae) as it occurs in iraq. m.sc. thesis in biology/ botany, university of baghdad, baghdad, iraq. al-rawi, a. 1964. wild plants of iraq with their distribution. tech. bull. 14. dir. gen. of agr. res. proj. iraq, ministry of agriculture, government press, pp. 1-323. asmat, t., khan, m., ahmed, m., zafar, m., manzoor, f., munir, m., akhtar, k., bashir, s., mukhtar, t., ambreen, m. and abbasi, s. 2011. pollen morphology of selected species of scrophulariaceae of district dir upper, pakistan j. med. plants res. 5: 6423-6428. bukhari, n.a. and alfarhan, a.h. 2006. a study of some characteristics of pollen types of the genus verbascum in saudi arabia. saudi j. biol. sci. 13: 81-86. erdtman, g. 1952. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy: angiosperms. chronica botanica co., massachusettes, usa, pp. 1-553. erdtman, g. 1960. the acetolysis method, a revised description. svensk. bot. tidskr. 54: 561-564. filippini, r., cappelletti, e.m. and caniato, r. 1990. botanical identification of powdered plant drugs verbascum flowers. int. j. crude drug res. 28: 129-133. ghadanfar, s.a. 1992. an annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of oman and their vernacular names. national botanic garden of belgium, meise, belgium, pp. 1-153. huber-morath, a. 1978. verbascum l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east-aegean islands. vol. 6. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, uk, pp. 461-603. karavelіoğullari, f.a., celik, s., başer, b. and yavru, a. 2010. verbascum ergin-hamzaoglui (scrophulariaceae), a new species from south anatolia, turkey. turk. j. bot. 35: 275-283. kheiri, s., khayami, m., osaloo, s.k, and mahmoodzadeh, a. 2006. pollen morphology of some species of verbascum (scrophulariaceae) in urmia. pak. j. biol. sci. 9: 434-436. pollen morphology of verbascum l. 165   lobin, w. and pormbski, s. 1994. the genus verbascum (scrophulariaceae) on the cape verde islands, w. africa. willdenowia 24: 65-81. özler, h., pehlivan, s., celep, f., doğan, m., kahraman, a., yavru, a., başer, b. and bagherpour, s. 2013. pollen morphology of hymenosphace and aethiopis sections of the genus salvia (lamiaceae) in turkey. turk. j. bot. 37: 1070-1084. pehlivan, s., başer, b. and karavelioğullari, f.a. 2008. pollen morphology of the genus verbascum l. (group a) in turkey. biodicon. 1: 1-24. perveen, a. 1993. a preliminary study of the pollen flora of karachi. ph.d. thesis. department of botany. university of karachi, karachi, pakistan. punt, w., blackmore, s., nilsson, s. and le thomas, a. 1994. glossary of pollen and spore terminology. lpp foundation, utrecht, netherland, pp. 1-246. rajbhandary, s., hughes, m. and shrestha, k.k. 2012. pollen morphology of begonia l. (begoniaceae) in nepal. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19: 191-200. sarwar, a.k.m.g. and takahashi, h. 2013. pollen morphology of rhododendron l. and related genera and its taxonomic significance. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20: 185-199. walker, j.w. and doyle, j.a. 1975. the bases of angiosperm phylogeny: palynology. ann. mo. bot. gard. 62: 664-723. wood, j.r. 1997. a handbook of the yemen flora. royal botanic gardens, kew, london, uk, pp. 1-434. zohary, m. 1974. flora of palestine. the israel academy of sciences and humanities. jerusalem, israel, pp. 1-519. (manuscript received on 3 july 2014; revised on 3 december 2014) microsoft word 01. bjpt_16_-_55_edt-bauhinia_and_phanera_2017_april_corrected_proof.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 1–8, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists type specimens of names in bauhinia and phanera (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae) at central national herbarium, howrah (cal) s. bandyopadhyay and p.p. ghoshal1 central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, p.o. botanic garden, howrah 711 103, west bengal, india keywords: fabaceae; caesalpinioideae; bauhinia; phanera; types; cal. abstract the types of the names in bauhinia l. and phanera lour. at central national herbarium, howrah (cal) have been enumerated. introduction in course of detailed taxonomic studies, types of the names have to be examined in order to confirm their identities. the types are deposited in many herbaria worldwide. it becomes easy to locate the types if databases of type specimens in different herbaria are made available. the purpose of the present paper is to inform the botanical community the 38 type specimens of names in bauhinia l. and phanera lour. at cal. earlier, in the two volumes of the book entitled, ‘type collections in the central national herbarium’, datta et al. (1985) included two type specimens of bauhinia viz. b. hallieriana elmer and b. whitfordii elmer as part of elmer’s collections and types at cal, and sammaddar (1991), in the second volume of the said book, included the types of phanera nicobarica n.p. balakr. & thoth. materials and methods the protologues of all the names have been studied and the current status of the names has been given after scrutiny of relevant literature, viz., de wit (1956); thothathri (1965); larsen and larsen (1996); govaerts (1996); sinou et al. (2009); bandyopadhyay et al. (2012); bandyopadhyay (2013a); mackinder and clark (2014); bandyopadhyay (2014) and bandyopadhyay and ghoshal (2015). the names appearing in bold are presently the accepted names. if the name, whose type citation has been provided is presently not the accepted name, then after the type citation and notes (if any) the correct name has been provided either with the symbol ‘=’ or ‘≡’ to denote whether it is a heterotypic or homotypic synonym, respectively. the terms associated with the types have been given as far as possible. in case of lectotype and neotype, the name of the author(s) who has/have designated it has also been given. if the types are isotype or isosyntype, then the location where the holotype or lectotype is deposited has been mentioned. the 13 character alpha-numeric barcode starting with the acronym cal for each type specimen has been given if they are digitized; otherwise the accession number (6 digits) of cal has been provided. the majority of these type specimens at cal have been digitized and barcoded. the images of the desired type specimens may be sent on request for study. 1corresponding author. email: pp_ghoshal@rediffmail.com doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.32999 2 bandyopadhyay and ghoshal systematic enumeration 1. bauhinia chalcophylla h.y. chen, j. arnold arbor. 19: 130 (1938). type: china, yunnan, talang, 3500 ft, 1901, a. henry 13240 (isotype 137840). notes: the holotype is at ny. ≡ phanera chalcophylla (l. chen) mackinder & r. clark, phytotaxa 166: 54 (2014). 2. bauhinia curtisii prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 195 (1897). type: malaysia, kedah, polo langkawi, at the lake suni(?), 1890, curtis 2619 (syntype cal0000011272). ≡ phanera curtisii (prain) bandyop. & ghoshal, telopea 18: 141 (2015). 3. bauhinia diptera collett & hemsl., j. linn. soc., bot. 28: 52 (1890). type: burma, upper burma: shan hills, ywangan, 4000 ft, may 1888, h. collett 727 (lectotype cal0000011313; isolectotypes cal0000011311, cal0000011312); shan hills, koni, 4000 ft, apr. 1888, h. collett 586 (syntypes cal0000011314, cal0000011315). notes: thothathri (1965) designated the lectotype. = phanera yunnanensis (franch.) wunderlin, phytoneuron 19: 1 (2011). 4. bauhinia enigmatica prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 496 (1897). type: burma, upper burma, southern shan state, fort stedman, 1893, abdul khalil s.n. (lectotype cal0000011306); fort stedman, 1894, abdul khalil s.n. (syntype cal0000011304); maymyo, june 1888, badal khan 89 (syntype cal0000011305). notes: thothathri (1965) designated the lectotype. = bauhinia brachycarpa wall. ex benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 261 (1852). 5. bauhinia ferruginea roxb., fl. ind. (ed. carey) 2: 331 (1832). type: penang, wall. cat. num. list no. 5776 (isoneotype 137421). notes: the neotype, designated by de wit (1956: 454), is at k. ≡ phanera ferruginea (roxb.) benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 262 (1852). 6. bauhinia foveolata dalzell, j. linn. soc., bot. 13: 188 (1872). type: india, north canara, near yellapore, 18 [no year given], w.a. talbot 20 (neotype cal0000007180). notes: bandyopadhyay (2011) designated the neotype. ≡ piliostigma foveolatum (dalzell) thoth., bull. bot. soc. bengal 19: 131, 1967 (1965). 7. bauhinia glabrifolia ( benth. ) baker var. maritima k. larsen & s.s. larsen, thai forest bull., bot. 25: 14 (1997). type: burma, tenasserim & andamans, helfer 1880 (isotype cal0000011309). notes: the holotype is at k. ≡ phanera glabrifolia benth. var. maritima (k. larsen & s.s. larsen) bandyop., edinburgh j. bot. 70: 363 (2013). 8. bauhinia hallieriana elmer, leafl. philipp. bot. 2: 691 (1910). type: philippine, romblon, march 1910, a.d.e. elmer 12172 (isolectotype cal0000011332). type specimens of names in bauhinia and phanera 3 notes: the lectotype, designated by larsen and larsen (1996: 461), is at ny. = phanera aherniana (perkins) de wit, reinwardtia 3: 448 (1956). 9. bauhinia hullettii prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 183 (1897). type: malaysia, perak, tapa, l. wray (jr.) 177 (syntype cal0000011337); malay archipelago, penang, 100–300 ft, feb. 1881, dr. king's collector 1347 (syntype cal0000011336). = phanera ferruginea (roxb.) benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 262 (1852). 10. bauhinia integrifolia roxb., fl. ind. (ed. carey) 2: 331 (1832). type: penang, wall. cat. num. list no. 5780 (isolectotypes 137126, 137127). notes: the lectotype, designated by de wit (1956: 478), is at k. ≡ phanera integrifolia (roxb.) benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 263 (1852). 11. bauhinia khasiana baker in hook.f., fl. brit. india 2(5): 281 (1878). type: meghalaya, khasia, 1000–3000 ft, j.d. hooker & t. thomson s.n. (isolectotype cal0000011245). notes: the first-step designated by larsen and larsen (1980a) and second-step lectotype, designated by bandyopadhyay (2013b), are at k. ≡ phanera khasiana (baker) thoth., bull. bot. soc. bengal 19: 131, 1967 (1965). 12. bauhinia kingii prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 189 (1897). type: malay peninsula, perak, b. scortechini 320 (isolectotypes cal0000011274, cal0000011276, cal0000011277, cal0000011278); malay peninsula, perak, gunong batu pateh, 4500 ft, 1887, l. wray (jr.) 392 (syntypes cal0000011273, cal0000011275, cal0000011280); selangor, bukit etam, h. kellsall 2001 (syntype cal0000011279). notes: the lectotype, designated by de wit (1956: 499), is at k. ≡ phanera kingii (prain) bandyop. et al., bangladesh j. pl. taxon. 19: 57 (2012). 13. bauhinia meeboldii craib, repert. spec. nov. regni veg. 12: 392 (1913). type: burma, lower burma, maunglow, mergui, march 1911, a. meebold 14280 (cal0000011296, cal0000011297, cal0000011298, cal0000011299). ≡ phanera meeboldii (craib) thoth., bull. bot. soc. bengal 19: 133. 1967 (1965). 14. bauhinia mirabilis merr., univ. calif. publ. bot. 15: 103 (1929). type: borneo, elphinstone province, tawao, a.d.e. elmer 21432 (isolectotype cal0000011333). notes: the lectotype, designated by larsen and larsen (1996: 503), is at a. = lysiphyllum dipterum (blume ex miq.) bandyop. & ghoshal, phytotaxa 178: 288 (2014). 15. bauhinia mollissima wall. ex prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 176 (1897). type: wall. cat. num. list no. 5782 (isolectotype 137282). notes: de wit (1956: 403) cited wallich num. list no. 5782 (k) as the ‘type’. this should be considered as effective lectotypification according to art. 7.10 of icn (mcneill et al., 2012). larsen and larsen (1979: 8) cited wallich num. list no. 5782 (k) as the lectotype but in flora malesiana (larsen and larsen, 1996: 451), wallich num. list no. 5782 (k) as the holotype. 4 bandyopadhyay and ghoshal ≡ bauhinia pottsii g.don var. mollissima (wall. ex prain) govaerts, world checkl. seed pl. 2: 10 (1996). notes: b. pottsii g. don var. mollissima (wall. ex prain) k. larsen & s.s. larsen, bot. tidsskr. 74: 8 (1979) is not a valid combination because the basionym page was not cited. 16. bauhinia ornata kurz, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 42: 72 (1873). type: pegu, 11.2 (1871), s. kurz 2579 (lectotype cal0000011252); (isolectotypes cal0000011248, cal0000011249, cal0000011251); pegu, 8.4 (1871), s. kurz 2579 (syntype cal0000011247); burma, pegu, e. and w. slopes, choungmenah chg, 8.4.71, s. kurz 2579 (syntype cal0000011250). notes: thothathri (1965) designated the lectotype. bandyopadhyay (2012a) discussed in details about the typification of the name. ≡ phanera ornata (kurz) thoth., bull. bot. soc. bengal 19: 134, 1967 (1965). 17. bauhinia ornata kurz subsp. mizoramensis bandyop., b.d. sharma & thoth., nordic j. bot. 12: 223 (1992). type: mizoram, mizo hills, r. dutta 33793 (holotype cal0000011253). notes: the type specimen was collected from saiha, now in east chimtuipui district, sometimes in july or august, 1963 (see bandyopadhyay, 2001a). ≡ phanera ornata (kurz) thoth. subsp. mizoramensis (bandyop. et al.) bandyop. et al., bangladesh j. pl. taxon. 19: 58 (2012). 18. bauhinia polycarpa wall. ex benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 261 (1852). type: 1827, wall. cat. num. list no. 5787 (isolectotypes 136699, 136706). notes: the lectotype, designated by larsen and larsen (1996: 455) is at k. = bauhinia viridescens desv., ann. sci. nat. (paris) 9: 429 (1826). 19. bauhinia pottingeri prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 67: 289 (1898). type: n.e. of burma, namlao to bansparao, 500–2000 ft, 23.3. ?, r.a. pottinger s.n. (lectotype cal0000011318). notes: thothathri (1965) cited r.a. pottinger s.n. (cal) as ‘type’. this has to be considered as an effective lectotypification according to art. 7.10 of icn (mcneill et al., 2012). ≡ phanera pottingeri (prain) thoth., bull. bot. soc. bengal 19: 133 (1967). 20. bauhinia ridleyi prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 185 (1897). type: malay peninsula, perak: pangkalin bahra, dec. 1880, dr. king's collector 1096 (syntypes cal0000011321, cal0000011326); thwbing, aug. 1884, b. scortechini 519 (syntype cal0000011322); batu gajch?, feb. 1885, b. scortechini 140a (syntype cal0000011323); b. scortechini 140 (syntype cal0000011324). ≡ phanera ridleyi (prain) a. schmitz,, bull. soc. roy. bot. belgique 110: 15 (1977). 21. bauhinia rosea kurz, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 42: 72 (1873). type: burma, pegu, ein forest palween, between kwaymapyoo chg., may 54, d. brandis s.n. (lectotype cal0000011302); d. brandis s.n. (isolectotype cal0000011301). notes: thothathri (1965) cited d. brandis s.n. (cal) as ‘type’. this has to be considered as an effective lectotypification according to art. 7.10 of icn (mcneill et al., 2012). = phanera kurzii (prain) thoth., bull. bot. soc. bengal 19: 133 (1967). type specimens of names in bauhinia and phanera 5 22. bauhinia scortechinii prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 188 (1897). type: perak, g. haram, may 84, b. scortechini 698 (isolectotypes cal0000011319, cal0000011320). notes: the lectotype, designated by larsen and larsen (1996: 507), is at k. = phanera bidentata (jack) benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 263 (1852). 23. bauhinia sulphurea c.e.c.fisch., bull. misc. inform. kew 1927: 85 (1927). type: burma, tenasserim, tenasserim river, 28.2.1926, c.e. parkinson 1951 (paratype cal0000011316). ≡ phanera sulphurea (c.e.c. fisch.) thoth., bull. bot. soc. bengal 19: 133, 1967 (1965). 24. bauhinia strychnoidea prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 195 (1897). type: perak, larut, goping, 300–500 ft, april 1884, dr. king's collector 5914 (isolectotypes cal0000011267, cal0000011268); malaya peninsula, perak, kinta, 300–800 ft, january 1885, dr. king's collector 7054 (syntypes cal0000011265, cal0000011269, cal0000011270); selangor, caves kuwala lumpur, h. kelsall 1971 (syntype cal0000011266); perak, scortechini s.n. (syntype cal0000011271). notes: the lectotype, designated by de wit (1956: 429), is at k. ≡ phanera strychnoidea (prain) bandyop. & ghoshal, telopea 18: 142 (2015). 25. bauhinia tenuiflora watt. ex c.b. clarke, j. linn. soc., bot. 25: 18 (1889). type: india, muneypore, nongjaibang, 1700 ft, 30 nov. 1885, c.b. clarke 42342 b (syntype cal0000011243); c.b. clarke 42304 d (syntype cal0000011244). notes: a loose pod (cal0000011243) mounted on the same herbarium sheet bearing the flowering specimen c.b. clarke 42304 d (cal0000011244). ≡ phanera glauca benth. subsp. tenuiflora (watt ex c.b. clarke) a.schmitz, bull. soc. roy. bot. belgique 110: 14 (1977). 26. bauhinia tortuosa collett & hemsl., j. linn. soc., bot. 28: 52, t. 8 (1890). type: burma, upper burma, shan hills, koni, 5000 ft, may 1888, h. collet 561 (lectotype cal0000011303; isolectotype cal0000011317) 27. bauhinia viridiflora backer, bull. jard. bot. buitenzorg ser. 3, 2: 323 (1920). type: indonesia, java, birak dense (fiji pasoedja), backer 8801 (isolectotype cal0000011307). notes: the lectotype, designated by de wit (1956: 473), is at bo. ≡ phanera bassacensis (pierre ex gagnep.) de wit var. backeri de wit, reinwardtia 3: 473 (1956). 28. bauhinia whitfordii elmer, leafl. philipp. bot. 1: 229 (1907). type: philippine, luzon island, province benguet, baguio, march 1907, a.d.e. elmer 8897 (cal0000011331). notes: de wit (1956: 483) cited a.d.e. elmer 8897 (a) as the holotype. larsen and larsen (1996: 480) designated a.d.e. elmer 8897(ny) as the lectotype. = phanera integrifolia benth. var. nymphaeifolia (perkins) mackinder & r.clark, phytotaxa 166: 57 (2014). 6 bandyopadhyay and ghoshal 29. bauhinia wrayi prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 66: 191 (1897). type: malay peninsula, within 300 ft, dec. 1883, dr. king's collector 5243 (isolectotypes cal0000011290, cal0000011291, cal0000011292); malay peninsula, perak, larut, within 300 ft, 1881, h. kunstler 2446 (syntype cal0000011281); perak, b. scortechini 1652 (syntype cal0000011282); perak, assan kumbong, may 1888, l. wray (jr.) 1934 (syntype cal0000011283); assan kumbong, l. wray (jr.) 2782 (syntypes cal0000011284, cal0000011285); malay peninsula, near ? selangore, 1000–1200 ft, april 1886, h. kunstler 8758 (syntype cal0000011286); malay peninsula, perak, larut, within 300 ft, aug. 1881, dr. king's collector 2466 (syntype cal0000011287); malay peninsula, perak, larut, within 300 ft, march 1883, h. kunstler 4049 (syntype cal0000011288 ); malay peninsula, perak, larut, within 300 ft, aug. 1881, dr. king's collector 2238 (syntype cal0000011289). notes: the lectotype, designated by de wit (1956: 518), is at k (also see bandyopadhyay, 2001b). ≡ phanera wrayi (prain) de wit, reinwardtia 3: 517 (1956). 30. phanera glabrifolia benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 263 (1852). type: cultivated at hort. bot. calc. (labelled as ‘bauhinia piperifolia roxb.’), (isolectotypes cal0000011293, cal0000011294, cal0000011295, cal0000011308). note: the lectotype, designated by larsen and larsen (1980b), is at k. 31. phanera glauca benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 265 (1852). type: amherst, 18 feb. 1827, wall. cat. num. list no. 5785 (137381). notes: the lectotype, designated by larsen and larsen (1996: 478), is at k. 32. phanera glauca benth. subsp. tenuiflora (watt ex c.b. clarke) a. schmitz var. gandhiana gogoi & bandyop., j. bot. res. inst. texas 8: 71 (2014). type: arunachal pradesh, anjaw district, in between changwanti and walong, 800 m, 20 may 2011, r. gogoi 24374a (holotype cal0000025065). 33. phanera glauca benth. subsp. tenuiflora (watt ex c.b. clarke) a. schmitz var. murlenensis ram kumar et al., phytotaxa 166: 155 (2014). type: mizoram, murlen national park, in the buffer region of the park between vapar to ngur, ca. 1400 m, 11.4.2013, ramesh kumar & party 128363 (holotype cal0000026092). 34. phanera griffithiana benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 263 (1852). type: malay peninsula, malacca, griffith 1867 ( cal0000011330). ≡phanera ferruginea (roxb.) benth. var. griffithiana (benth.) bandyop. et al., bangladesh j. pl. taxon. 19: 57 (2012). 35. phanera jampuiensis darlong & d. bhattach., kew bull. 69: 9534 (2014). type: tripura, north district, jampui hill range, tlangsang, 770 m, 16 april 2013, l. darlong 10397 (holotype cal000025210). = phanera glabrifolia benth., pl. jungh. 2: 263 (1852). 36. phanera lucida benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 262 (1852). type: wall. cat. num. list no. 5779a (isolectotype 137039). type specimens of names in bauhinia and phanera 7 notes: the lectotype, designated by de wit (1956: 511), is at k. 37. phanera nervosa benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 262 (1852). type: mt. sillhet, wall. cat. num. list no. 5777 (isolectotype 137449 ). notes: the lectotype, designated by bandyopadhyay (2012b), is at k. 38. phanera nicobarica n.p. balakr. & thoth., bull. bot. surv. india 17: 201 1978 (1975). type: andaman & nicobar islands, great nicobar: 15 km on east-west road, ± 100 m, 23 aug. 1975, n.p. balakrishnan 3043 a (holotype cal0000011257); 3043 b (isotype cal0000011258), 3043 c (isotype cal0000011259), 18 km on north-south road, ± 25 m, 17 july 1976, n.p. balakrishnan 3824 a (paratype cal0000011260, cal0000011261), 3824 b (paratype cal0000011262, cal0000011263); on the way from galathea bay to pulobaha bay, ± 125 m, 26.3.1966, k. thothathri & s.p.banerjee 11661, ‘10661’ typo. error in protologue (paratype cal0000011264). = phanera stipularis (korth.) benth. in miq., pl. jungh. 2: 263 (1852). acknowledgements we thank dr. paramjit singh, director, botanical survey of india and dr. p.v. prasanna, scientist “f’ & head of the office, central national herbarium, botanical survey of india for the facilities. we also thank dr. r. govaerts (k) for providing a relevant page from world checklist of seed plants, and the anonymous reviewers for improving the manuscript. references bandyopadhyay, s. 2001a. miscellaneous notes on bauhinia l. (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) – ii. j. econ. taxon. bot. 25: 10–12. bandyopadhyay, s. 2001b. on the type of bauhinia wrayi prain (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 98: 490–491. bandyopadhyay, s. 2011. neotypification of bauhinia foveolata (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). j. jap. bot. 86: 169. bandyopadhyay, s. 2012a. typification of bauhinia ornata (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) – one last time. nelumbo 54: 263–264. bandyopadhyay, s. 2012b. lectotypification of bauhinia nervosa (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). j. bot. res. inst. texas 6: 109–111. bandyopadhyay, s. 2013a. two new varietal combinations in phanera (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). edinburgh j. bot. 70: 363–365. bandyopadhyay, s. 2013b. second-step lectotypification of bauhinia khasiana baker (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae). candollea 68: 99–103. bandyopadhyay, s. 2014. tribe cercideae (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae). in: singh, p. and bandyopadhyay, s. (eds), fasc. fl. india 26. botanical survey of india, kolkata. bandyopadhyay, s. and ghoshal, p.p. 2015. seven new combinations in phanera (fabaceae: caesalpinioideae: cercideae). telopea 18: 141–144. bandyopadhyay, s., ghoshal, p.p. and pathak, m.k. 2012. fifty new combinations in phanera lour. (leguminosae: caesalpinioideae) from paleotropical region bangladesh j. pl. taxon. 19: 55–61. datta, a., pramanick, b.b. and nayar, m.p. 1985. elmer’s philippine and bornean collections and their type material at central national herbarium (cal). in: type collections in the central national herbarium. botanical survey of india, howrah. govaerts, r. 1996. world checklist of seed plants 2: 1–492. [page 10] continental publishing, deurne. 8 bandyopadhyay and ghoshal larsen, k. and larsen, s.s. 1979. taxonomic note on bauhinia pottsii complex. bot. tidsskr. 74: 7–11. larsen, k. and larsen, s.s. 1980a. bauhinia. in: aubréville, a. and leroy, j.-f. (eds), fl. cambodge laos viêtnam 18: 146–210. paris. larsen, k., and larsen, s.s. 1980b. notes on the genus bauhinia in thailand. thai forest bull., bot. 13: 37–46. larsen, k. and larsen, s.s. 1996. bauhinia. in: kalkman, c., kirkup, d.w., nooteboom, h.p., stevens, p.f. and wilde, w.j.j.o. de (eds), flora malesiana 12: 442–535. rijksherbarium/hortus botanicus, leiden university, the netherlands. mackinder, b.a. and clark, r. 2014. a synopsis of the asian and australasian genus phanera lour. (cercideae: caesalpinioideae: leguminosae) including 19 new combinations. phytotaxa 166: 49–68. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., buck, w.r., demoulin, v., greuter, w., hawksworth, d.l., herendeen, p.s., knapp, s., marhold, k., prado, j., prud'homme, van reine w.f., smith, g.f., wiersema, j.h., turland, n.j. (eds) 2012. international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (melbourne code). adopted by the eighteenth international botanical congress melbourne, australia, july 2011, a.r.g. gantner verlag kg. [regnum veg. 154]. sammaddar, u.p. 1991. type collections in the central national herbarium, vol. 2. botanical survey of india, howrah. sinou, c., forest, f., lewis, g.p. and bruneau, a. 2009. the genus bauhinia s.l. (leguminosae): a phylogeny based on the plastid trnl-trnf region. botany 87: 947–960. thothathri, k . 1965 publ 1967. studies in leguminosae 5. taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on the indoburmese species of bauhinia linn. bull. bot. soc. bengal 19: 130–134. de wit, h.c.d. 1956. a revision of malaysian bauhinieae. reinwardtia 3: 381–539. (manuscript received on 8 may 2016; revised on 30 january 2017) microsoft word 10. bjpt 16-132_capsicum sonitpurensis_26.11.17 _1_ checked.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 215-218, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists capsicum sonitpurensis (solanaceae) a new species from assam, india jintu sarma1, gitamani dutta2 and ashalata devi department of environmental science, tezpur university, napaam, sonitpur, assam-784028, india keywords: capsicum sonitpurensis; assam; new species; solanaceae. abstract a new species capsicum sonitpurensis (solanaceae) is proposed from sonitpur district of assam. it resembles capsicum chinense and c. annum but has many contrasting characters from each other. the description, photographs and iucn conservation status of the species are provided. introduction the family solanaceae comprises of about 100 genera and 2,716 species (hunziker, 2001; olmstead and bohs, 2007; olmstead et al., 1999) and is distributed worldwide except antarctica. south america has the highest diversity in species (yadav et al., 2016). the genus capsicum l. is an economically important genus comprising of about 37 species worldwide (pozzobon et al. ,2006). it is also reported that the genus has numerous wild species (hunziker, 2001). hooker (1883) described three species from india, viz., c. frutescense l., c. minimum roxb. and c. grossum willd. kanjilal and bor (1939) reported two species from assam, viz. c. minimum roxb. and c. annum l.while carrying out an inventory of the floristic diversity of the sonitpur district of assam, the authors came across this species of capsicum. critical comparative study of above three species of capsicum has revealed that the species differs in many diagnostic taxonomic characters. capsicum sonitpurensis j. sarma & g. dutta, sp. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: capsicum sonitpurensis is closely related to c. chinense and c. annun, but can be distinguished from them by fruit shape and surface, androecium colour, petal colour, pungency, seeds per fruit. types: india, sonitpur, assam, 49 m alt., 21.11. 2015, j. sarma & g. dutta 394 a, b, c, d (holotype: assam; isotype: tuh). perennial shrubs, up to 120 cm tall. roots terete, c. 5 – 13 mm diam. stems up to 15 cm long, branched, glabrate, slightly woody with age. leaves opposite, ovate to lanceolate, apex acuteacuminate, base attenuate, margins entire, undulate; leaf lamina c. 6-12 × 3-6 cm. venation reticulate, unicostate, surface glabrescent, base narrowed, margin entire. petiole c. 2.0-4.5 cm. flowers complete, white or off-white, c. 2.0-3.2 cm long, bracteate, pedicellate. floral bracts small c. 0.2-0.4 cm, persistent; pedicels c. 2-3 cm long, greenish, jointed at the middle, nodding in flower, cylindric. sepals 5, cup-shaped, undulate, c. 2-3 × 3 mm. petals rotate, campanulate, salver or trumpet-shaped; lobes 5, usually equal; plicate or valvate in bud. stamens 5, c. 3-4 mm long, epipetalous, alternating with the corolla lobes, sometimes didynamous and unequal, attached to the                                                              1corresponding author. email: jsarma88@gmail.com 2eastern himalayan botanic ark, balipara foundation, sonitpur, assam-784102, india 216 sarma et al. fig. 1 a-k. capsicum sonitpurensis j. sarma & g. dutta, sp. nov. a. habit; b. solitary flower; c. flower showing androecium and gynoecium; d. fruit; e. ts of fruit; f. ls of fruit; g. corolla; h. corolla with androecium; i. gynoecium with calyx and stalk; j. gynoecium; k. androecium; capsicum sonitpurensis (solanaceae) a new species 217 base of the corolla tube or higher up. carpels white, c. 3.0-3.5 mm long.ovary superior, oblique, c. 2-4 locular; placentation axile. fruit a many-seeded berry, c. 6-9 cm long, surface uneven, smooth, light green, reddish black at maturity. seeds white, compressed, reniform to discoid,c. 220-240 per fruit. phenology: flowering: may-august; fruiting: julynovember. distribution: recorded only from sonitpur district of assam, india. the author has not recorded the same species in any other places of assam as on date. habitat: terrestrial, forests, (from forests now it is cultivated in different places of sonitpur) 48-60 m alt. status: only known from the type locality therefore, considered to be data deficient (dd), further survey will be conducted. at present, authors have not found no similar specimens from other parts of assam. from type locality about 47 individuals were traced. etymology: the specific epithet sonitpurensis refers to sonitpur district of state assam from where the species was first collected. the new species has been critically compared with the c. chinense and c. annum and the distinguishing characters are given in table 1. table 1. comparison of distinguishing taxonomic characters of capsicum sonitpurensis with capsicum chinense and capsicum annum. characters capsicum chinense capsicum sonitpurensis sp. nov. capsicum annum pedicel 3.04.5 cm 2-3 cm 4-6 cm fruit colour at maturity orange/reddish greenish black red fruit shape oblong lanceolate conical fruit length 3.04.6 cm 69 cm 1-3 cm fruit surface curly /rough wavy /smooth uneven androecium colour whitish violet-white white petal colour greenish yellow violet-white creamy white petal size length: 0.5-1.0 cm length: 1-2cm length: 0.5 – 1.0 cm seeds/fruit 30 48 100230 50-90 acknowledgement the authors are thankful to nandita sarma of bsi, erc, shillong for her help in the consultation of herbaria at assam. references hooker, j.d. 1883. flora of british india, vol. 4. l. revee & co., london. p. 232 hunziker, a.t. 2001. genera solanacearum: the genera of solanaceae illustrated, arranged according to a new system. gantner, ruggell (liechtenstein). kanjilal, u.n. and bor, n.l.1939. flora of assam, vol.3. omsons publications, new delhi, p. 365. olmstead, r.g. and bohs, l. 2007. a summary of molecular systematic research in solanaceae: 1982–2006. in: spooner, d.m., bohs, l., giovannoni, j., olmstead, r.g. and shibata, d. (eds), solanaceae vi: genomics meets biodiversity. proceedings of the sixth international solanaceae conference. acta horticulturae 745. international society for horticultural science, leuven, pp. 255–268. 218 sarma et al. olmstead, r.g., sweere, j.a., spangler, r.e., bohs, l. and palmer, j.d. 1999. phylogeny and provisional classification of the solanaceae based on chloroplast dna. in: nee, m., symon, d., lester, r.n. and jessop, j. (eds), solanaceae 4: advances in biology and utilization. royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 111–137. pozzobon, m.t., wittmann, m. t. s. and bianchetti1, l.d.b. 2006. chromosome numbers in wild and semidomesticated brazilian capsicum l. (solanaceae) species: do x = 12 and x = 13 represent two evolutionary lines? bot. j. linn. soc. 151: 259–269. yadav, r.m., rathi, pednekar, a. and rewachandani, y. 2016.a detailed review on solanaceae family. european j. pharm. & med. res. 3(1): 369-378. (manuscript received on 7 december 2016; revised on 4 september 2017) microsoft word 12. s-2. neotypification of ophiorhiza_revised_16.9.14_ee.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 193-195, 2014 (december) short communication © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists neotypification of ophiorrhiza hunanica h. s. lo (rubiaceae), a species endemic to hunan, china lin-dong duan, yun lin1,2 and qi lin3 shaoyang university, shaoyang 422004, hunan, people’s republic of china keywords: neotype; typification; ophiorrhiza hunanica; rubiaceae; china. the genus ophiorrhiza l. (rubiaceae) consists of c. 200-300 species distributed in tropical and subtropical asia, australia, new guinea, and the pacific islands. in china, ophiorrhiza is represented by 70 species (chen and taylor, 2011). a single specimen with flower buds was designated the type of ophiorrhiza hunanica h. s. lo from hunan. in the protologue of this name, only the stems, leaves and flower buds were described for this species, without descriptions of mature flowers, fruits and seeds (lo, 1990). this species was included in the flora reipublicae popularis sinicae (lo, 1999), and the flora of china (chen and taylor, 2011) with the same description. as part of our work on the flora of hunan, we have been searching for this type specimen at the herbarium (hutm) of institute of chinese materia medica, in hunan academy of traditional chinese medicine and pharmacy, where the type specimen was supposed to be preserved, and the herbarium (ibsc) of department of taxonomy, south china institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences where the author h. s. lo worked for many times. we have found that both the type specimens and any other original material were lost during the relocation of the herbarium hutm, and were not also deposited at the herbarium ibsc. we have collected this plant as flower bud specimens, flowering specimens and fruiting specimens from the type locality, which is in chenjia group, hengyan village, xiaojia township, huitong county, hunan province of south central china. dissection and observation of these specimens confirm the morphological characteristics coincide with original descriptions, and allow preparation of a complete description of this species. following article 9.7 and 9.16 of international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (melbourne code) (mcneill et al., 2012), neotype for this name ophiorrhiza hunanica h. s. lo is here designated because the holotype is lost, and detailed morphological description, distribution, habitat, phenology, and photographs of the living plants are provided for this species. ophiorrhiza hunanica h. s. lo in bull. bot. res., harbin 10(2): 24 (1990). (figs 1 & 2). type: china. hunan province: huitong country, xiaojia township, hengyan village, chenjia group, alt. 300 m, 16 nov. 1985, huitong herb. medic. exped. 980 (holotype: hutm, lost); the same locality, alt. 380 m, 26 mar. 2012, l. d. duan & q. lin 5191 (flower with short style) (neotype, designated here, pe; isoneotypes, bm, e, hufd, husy, ibsc, k, kun, l, mo, p). 1department of chinese materia medica, hunan food and drug vocational college, changsha 410208, hunan, people’s republic of china 2corresponding author. email: leoliny@foxmail.com 3china national herbarium (pe), state key laboratory of systematic and evolutionary botany, institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, beijing 100093, people’s republic of china 194 duan et al. herbs, procumbent at base or repent, 13-21 cm tall. stems fleshy, brown to black after drying, multicellular-villous. leaves in unequal pairs; petiole 1-6 cm, densely multicellular-villous; blade papery after drying, purple on veins, elliptic, obovate-oblong, obovate, or ovate, (4.0-) 7.5-23.0 × (2.0-) 3.0-7.5 cm, adaxially sparsely hirtellous-strigose, abaxially subglabrous or villous on veins, base cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse to subacute; secondary veins 7-14 pairs; stipules often persistent, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 5-15 mm acuminate, ciliate. inflorescence cymose, terminal, 5to many-flowered, densely multicellular-villous, pendulous; peduncle 3-8 cm, arching, densely multicellular-villous; principal axes 2-4 pairs, helicoid. bracts linear, 8-25 × 1-2 mm, sparsely pinnately veined, sparsely ciliate. flowers distylous, pedicels 1-3 mm long. calyx with hypanthium compressed-turbinate, c. 2 mm long, 5-ribbed, densely multicellular-villous; lobes 5, linear, 5-7 mm, hispidulous along costa. corolla purple, funnelform, outside glabrous or glabrescent, longitudinally winged, inside pubescent, purple near middle and white in lobes; tube 15-18 mm long; lobes 5, ovate, white, 4-6 mm long, apex rostrate. stamens 5, inserted near throat or below middle of corolla tube, exserted or included; filaments 2.5-3.0 mm in short-styled or 0.50.7 mm in long-styled; anthers 3.0-3.5 mm, dorsifixed. ovary 2-celled, ovules numerous in each cell; style 5-6 mm or 15-17 mm long; stigmas 2, linear or subcapitate, included or exserted. capsules purple, mitriform, strongly laterally compressed, 5.0-5.5 × 10-12 mm, multicellularvillose. seeds numerous, small. phenology: flowering from february to march and fruiting from april to may. habitat: this species was only observed to grow in streamsides in evergreen broad-leaved forests at altitudes of 300-390 m, comprising 400 individuals growing in more than ten populations within a nature reserve of a square kilometer. figs 1-2. 1. ophiorrhiza hunanica h. s. lo. (l. d. duan & q. lin 5191, pe) habitat of flowering plant with short style. 2. o. hunanica h. s. lo. (l. d. duan & y. lin 5242, pe) habitat of fruiting plant. distribution: ophiorrhiza hunanica is only known from its type locality, hengyan village, xiaojia township, huitong county, hunan province, south central china. neotypification of ophiorrhiza hunanica 195 additional specimens examined: china: hunan province: huitong country, xiaojia township, hengyan village, chenjia group, alt. 320 m, 18 dec. 2011, l. d. duan 5183 (flower bud), hufd (herbarium, hunan food and drug vocational college, hunan, china), husy (herbarium, shaoyang university, hunan, china), pe (china national herbarium, institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, beijing, china); the same locality, alt. 380 m, 26 mar. 2012, l. d. duan & q. lin 5190 (flower with long style) (hufd, husy, pe); the same locality, alt. 380 m, 1 may 2013, l. d. duan & y. lin 5242 (fr.) (hufd, husy, pe). acknowledgement this work has been supported by key project for the development of state facilities and information infrastructure for science and technology: national specimen information infrastructure (2005dka21401). references chen, t. and taylor, c.m. 2011. ophiorrhiza (rubiaceae). in: wu z.y. and raven p.h. (eds), flora of china, vol. 19. science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 258-282. lo, h.s. 1990. taxonomic revision of the chinese species of ophiorrhiza (rubiaceae). bull. bot. res., harbin 10(2): 1-82. lo, h.s. 1999. ophiorrhiza (rubiaceae). in: lo, h.s. (ed.), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae, vol. 71(1). science press, beijing, pp. 110-174. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., buck, w.r., demoulin, v., greuter, w., hawksworth, d.l., herendeen, p.s., knapp, s., marhold, k., prado, j., prud’homme van reine w.f., smith, g.f. and wiersema, j.h. 2012. international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (melbourne code). konigstein: koeltz scientific books, pp. 1-152. (manuscript received on 18 february 2014; revised on16 september 2014) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 99-113, 2009 (december) © 2009 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists phenetic relationship between lepisorus (j.sm.) ching (pteridophyta: polypodiaceae) and its related genera wannachai chatan1, thaweesakdi boonkerd1,2 and bernard r. baum3 biological sciences program, faculty of science, chulalongkorn university, pathumwan, bangkok 10330, thailand. keywords: lepisorus; paragramma; platygyria; cluster analysis; canonical discriminant analysis. abstract multivariate analyses based on morphological and anatomical characters have been performed to investigate the phenetic relationship and to clarify the circumscriptions of the genus lepisorus (j.sm.) ching and its related genera, namely neocheiropteris christ, paragramma t. moore and platygyria ching & s.k. wu. the dendrogram of cluster analysis separated the plants into three groups at gower similarity coefficient 0.75. group 1 and group 2 consisted of neocheiropteris palmatopedata (baker) h. christ and four species of platygyria, respectively. group 3 was neocheiropteris ensata ching and two species of paragramma deeply embedded in the lepisorus s.s. canonical discriminant analysis supported the classification inferred from the clustering results. based on these results, platygyria and n. palmatopedata should be recognized as distinct genera. on the other hand, n. ensata and the genus paragramma should be merged to the genus lepisorus. introduction lepisorus (j.sm.) ching s.l. (including paragramma t. moore) is the fern genus of polypodiaceae, which comprised approximately 30 species (verdcourt, 2001) or 70 species (lin, 2000) naturally occurring in the tropical and subtropical old world and extending northwards to the far east of russia with one species in hawaii (verdcourt, 2001). lepisorus s.s. (excluding the paragramma), however, was first treated by j. smith in 1846 (in zink, 1993) as a section of a highly heterogeneous drynaria, and ching (1933) raised the section lepisorus to generic rank. the common features of lepisorus s.l. are epiphytic, epilithic or terrestrial ferns with shortto long-creeping rhizome covered by clathrate scales; laminas are simple, entire and mostly naked; and sori are borne in single rows on either side of the midrib, and covered by clathrate paraphyses (hennipman et al., 1990; verdcourt, 2001). until now, the generic circumscription of lepisorus has remained controversial because it sometimes included or excluded its related taxa, namely paragramma and platygyria ching & s.k. wu. in addition, platygyria, which is closely related to lepisorus s.l. sometimes merged with the genus neocheiropteris christ. 1 department of botany, faculty of science, chulalongkorn university, pathumwan, bangkok 10330, thailand. e-mail: wannachaichatan@gmail.com 2 corresponding author. e-mail: bthawees@gmail.com 3 eastern cereal and oilseed research centre, agriculture and agri-food canada, ottawa, ontario, canada. e-mail: bernard.baum@agr.gc.ca 100 chatan et al. the genus paragramma was founded by t. moore in 1857 using p. longifolia t. moore as the type species (copeland, 1947). until now, its separation from the lepisorus s.l. has never been clear (hovenkamp, 1998). the recognition to keep it as a distinct genus was followed by ching (1940), copeland (1947) and pichi sermolli (1977). copeland (1947) used the combination characters of soral shape and the presence of lamina scales to distinguish the paragramma from pleopeltis (including lepisorus s.s.). two species, namely paragramma balteiformis copeland and the type species, were recognized by copeland (1947). in contrast, holttum (1954), tagawa and iwatsuki (1989), hennipman et al. (1990) and hovenkamp (1998) consented to unite paragramma with lepisorus s.s. the chinese fern genus platygyria was erected based on the p. waltonii (ching) ching & s.k. wu (ching and wu, 1980) and the characters of sporangium were used as the important defining characters. so, five species, namely platygyria sinuata ching & s.k. wu, p. inaequibasis ching & s.k. wu, p. variabilis ching & s.k. wu, p. kongtingensis ching & y.x. lin and p. muliensis ching & s.k. wu were recognized (ching and wu, 1980; ching et al., 1983). likewise, zhang et al. (2003) agreed to keep platygyria at the genus level and treated p. kongtingensis and p. muliensis as two synonyms of p. variabilis. however, there were other two treatments of the genus platygyria. the first involved reducing platygyria under neocheiropteris (ching, 1933; hennipman et al., 1990), while the second involved merging platygyria with lepisorus s.s. (yu and lin, 1997). therefore, the merging of platygyria with either lepisorus or neocheiropteris, or its acceptance as a distinct genus needs to be assessed. as the controversial generic circumscription or position of these taxa shown above, until now, there has been no taxonomic study aimed at clarifying these problems. therefore, the objectives of the present work were, 1) to investigate the phenetic relationship and use the result to determine the suitability of the generic circumscription or position of the lepisorus and the other three related genera, i.e. neocheiropteris, paragramma and platygyria, and 2) to determine the important morphological or anatomical characters that can be used to distinguish these taxa. with the aforesaid objectives in mind, both cluster analysis (ca) and discriminant analysis (da) were performed based on 53 qualitative and quantitative characters examining 487 herbarium specimens. materials and methods plant materials: in the present study, about 2500 herbarium specimens collected from around the world and housed at the herbaria in europe (bm, e, l, k and p) and asia (bcu, bkf, bk, pe, kun, pyu and ti) were studied (herbarium abbreviations according to holmgrens and holmgrens, 2008). a total of 487 complete specimens were selected for examination constituting the operational taxonomic units (otus). (some phenetic relationship between lepisorus and related genera 101 representative specimens are listed in appendix i. a complete list is available upon request from the corresponding author.) the specimens that were included in this study belonged to lepisorus s.s. and its related three genera, namely neocheiropteris, paragramma and platygyria. these specimens included specimens of the type species of each genus. most specimens were identified by examining type specimens or identifications were made by consulting literature, e.g. ching (1933), tagawa and iwatsuki (1989), zink (1993), shieh et al. (1994), hovenkamp (1998), verdcourt (2001), and zhang et al. (2003). morphological and anatomical characters: fifty-three morphological and anatomical characters were examined for each of the 487 specimens. measurement was carried out by using a keiba digital caliper no. 111-101hb or specimens were measured under stereomicroscope (zeiss stemi dv4) and light microscopes (olympus ch30). of these characters, 26 were quantitative including four ratio characters (appendix ii), and 27 were qualitative characters scored as binary or multi-state characters (appendix iii). these characters and their states were used to construct a data matrix. phenetic analysis: the phenetic relationships among the taxa were investigated by two types of multivariate analysis: cluster analysis (ca) and canonical discriminant analysis (da). the ca was performed by using an unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic average (upgma) clustering implemented in the multivariate statistical package (mvsp), version 3.13 (kovack computing services) to place individual specimen into groups. because the characters submitted to analysis were both quantitative and qualitative, the gower similarity coefficient (gsc) was calculated (gower, 1971) and clustered by the group-average method of the mvsp program. a subset of characters that maximized differences among the groups determined by ca or other groups (i.e. lepisorus s.s., paragramma, platygyria and neocheiropteris) that were recognized by previous pteridologists as a distinct group were selected by stepwise discriminant analysis. prior to performing discriminant analyses, the data matrix was modified, i.e. characters that did not satisfy the assumption of normal distribution were transformed by taking them with the natural logarithm. the canonical discriminant analyses was performed by using the classify procedure in spss/pc for windows, release 10.0 (anonymous, 1999). results and discussion cluster analysis (ca): the upgma dendrogram that constructed using gsc measure showed three discrete groups (fig. 1) at gsc 0.75. group 1 included neocheiropteris palmatopedata and group 2 comprised the four species of platygyria. in addition, group 3 was the largest group consisting of lepisorus s.s., n. ensata and the two species of paragramma. 102 chatan et al. at gower similarity coefficient 0.71, these fern taxa were divided into two groups, i.e. group 1 and a group composed of groups 2 and 3 (fig. 1). group 1 is distinct from the rest mainly by the combination characters of pedatifid lamina, presence of large veins at the lamina base and lamina width (more than 120 mm) as shown in the key to the genera below. the result suggested that n. palmatopedata was far distinct from the rests while the genus platygyria was more closely related to the genus lepisorus and paragramma than n. palmatopedata. in addition, genus lepisorus, n. ensata and paragramma are closely related to each other than the rest. canonical discriminant analysis (da): da was divided into two analyses based on the number of prior groups obtained: 1) four groups, including lepisorus s.s., neocheiropteris, paragramma and platygyria, all of which were assigned based on previous recognized genera (such as christ, 1905; ching, 1940; copeland, 1947; pichi sermolli, 1977; ching and wu, 1980; zhang et al., 2003); and 2) three groups, including groups 1, 2 and 3, which were obtained from ca. overall, 26 quantitative characters were used in these analyses with a purpose to test their groupings. fig. 1. upgma clustering of 487 operational taxonomic units (otus) based on 53 quantitative and qualitative characters of lepisorus, paragramma, platygyria and neocheiropteris. once the stepwise analysis had been performed for all four groups, the linear discriminant function classification showed that 97.3% of the specimens had been correctly classified. the nature of the differences between the entries were shown by the pooled within canonical structure wherein canonical variable 1 was 97.3% correlated with the 26 quantitative characters and explained 86.2% of the total variance, which was highly associated with three characters (table 1). canonical variable 2 was 81.6% correlated with the quantitative characters and explained 9.7% of the total variance, which was highly associated with four characters. canonical variable 3 was 68.1% correlated with the quantitative characters and explained 4.2% of the total variance, which was highly associated with seven characters (table 1). phenetic relationship between lepisorus and related genera 103 table 1. pooled within canonical structure of the four priori groups (i.e. lepisorus, paragramma, platygyria and neocheiropteris) as recognized by pteridologists, results based on 26 quantitative characters (appendix ii) scored in this study. characters in bold were selected by stepwise discriminant analysis for further use in canonical discriminant analysis. *indicates the large absolute correlation between each variable and any discriminal functions. discriminant function characters 1 2 3 aw .954* -.018 .007 nm -.079* .058 -.032 spol .055* -.012 -.038 ll -.049 .017 .034 lw -.003 .520* -.126 sl -.014 .440* .086 stl .056 .364 .014 llst .087 .359* -.007 phd -.086 .337* .256 stph -.081 -.264 .201 rhdm -.048 .232 .063 rswi -.061 .222 -.005 std -.097 .201 .195 rsle .034 .129 -.100 spw .041 -.054 .041 nssr -.091 -.055 .464* phl -.045 .181 .390* lllf .027 .075 .250* rhli -.081 .135 -.218* lfpl -.026 .024 .210* sw -.010 -.036 -.192* lllt .003 .129 -.178 lasl -.031 .148 -.164 rhsi -.020 .071 -.136 spow .108 -.057 .133* spl .045 .000 .049 the stepwise analysis was carried out for the three groups, i.e. these groups were split by the upgma dendrogram using gsc at 0.75. the nature of the differences between the entries was shown by the pooled within the canonical structure wherein canonical variable 1 was 97.2% correlated with the 26 quantitative characters and explained 89.7% of the total variance, which was highly associated with three characters (table 2). canonical variable 2 was 81.6% correlated with the quantitative characters and explained 10.3% of the total variance which was highly associated with seven characters (table 2). the linear discriminant function classification (table 3) obtaining from the program showed that the specimens had been 100% correctly classified; obviously, therefore, this 104 chatan et al. table 2. pooled within canonical structure of three groups (i.e. lepisorus (including paragramma), platygyria and neocheiropteris) obtained from ca based on 26 quantitative characters (appendix ii). characters in bold were selected by stepwise discriminant analysis for further use in canonical discriminant analysis. * indicates the large absolute correlation between each variable and any discriminal functions. discriminant function discriminant function characters 1 2 characters 1 2 aw .968* -.033 stph -.069 -.258 lllf .085 .082 phd -.008 .235 ll -.070 .012 std -.072 .219 spow .069 .022 rhdm -.014 .205 spol .056* .013 rswi -.042 .159 nm -.034 .019 nssr -.088 -.147* lfpl -.027* -.023 rhli .013 .145 lw -.002 .503* spw .032 -.126 sl -.014 .453* spl .040 -.119 lasl -.030 .333 rsle .059 .099 lllt .018 .310* rhsi .017 .093 llst .087 .310* phl -.043 .092* stl .043 .306 sw -.010 .033* table 3. classification function coefficients of three groups (i.e. lepisorus (including paragramma), platygyria and neocheiropteris) obtained from ca based on the 26 quantitative characters (appendix ii). this linear discriminant function classification received from the program showed that the specimens had been 100% correctly classified. categories characters lepisorus (including paragramma) platygyria neocheiropteris nssr -0.201 -0.099 -0.026 phl -9.480 -6.281 -6.687 lw 13.926 3.554 4.198 sl 25.130 2.926 3.254 sw -8.708 -3.013 -2.182 lfpl 2.936 7.615 7.031 spol 0.116 0.134 0.100 aw 0.302 1.306 0.365 llst 0.119 0.290 -1.834 lllt 1.230 -0.967 -1.146 (constant) -89.828 -163.867 -49.985 phenetic relationship between lepisorus and related genera 105 function could be used for further identification of these ferns. to identify an unknown specimen, one needs to multiply each character score by its coefficient in each column, compute the total for each column, the column with the highest total is the group to which the specimen belongs. the ordination plot on the two canonical axes obtained from the four groups analysis (fig. 2) showed that canonical axis 1 divided these plants into two main groups, one group included lepisorus s.s., paragramma and neocheiropteris, and the other consisting solely of platygyria. however, canonical axis 2 was able to separate n. palmatopedata from the rest. therefore, these two axes could divide these ferns into three groups. furthermore, these results were similar when the plants were divided into three groups based on the result of ca (not shown). fig. 2. ordination plot on the canonical axes 1 and 2 of the four priori assigned groups (ο: lepisorus, ▼: paragramma, □: platygyria, ∆: neocheiropteris). circumscription of lepisorus and paragramma as far as the taxonomic position or circumscription of the paragramma is concerned, there are two different forms of recognition so far, i) the form that maintains them as a distinct genus (ching, 1940; copeland, 1947; pichi sermolli, 1977) and ii) the form that combines the paragramma with lepisorus s.s. (holttum, 1954; tagawa and iwatsuki, 1989; hennipman et al., 1990; hovenkamp, 1998). the key characters that copeland 106 chatan et al. (1947) used to distinguish paragramma from his pleopeltis (i.e. including lepisorus s.s.) were the combination of its soral shape and the presence of lamina scales. in copeland’s key to genera of polypodiaceae, as well as in his description, he showed that paragramma had elongated, oblong or linear-oblong sori and that its lamina was not covered by peltate scales, while his pleopeltis generally had round or elongate sori or fused sori, but the elongate-sori species had peltate scales on the lamina. it was observed from this study that paragramma longifolia and p. balteiformis had round sori together with elongate sori. paragramma longifolia, however, had glabrous lamina while few clathrate scales occurred on the lamina of p. balteiformis. moreover, both elongate sori and few scales on the lower surface of lamina could have occurred in some lepisorus species, for example l. angustus ching, l. subconfluens ching and l. scolopendrium tagawa. so, the combination of lamina scales and soral shape could not be used to separate paragramma from pleopeltis. accordingly, paragramma could not also be separated from lepisorus by using these characters. the results of both ca and da strongly indicated that paragramma and neocheiropteris ensata were not distinct from lepisorus s.s., so the genus paragramma should be treated as a synonym of the genus lepisorus. likewise, n. ensata should be treated as a species of the genus lepisorus. furthermore, fraser-jenkins (1997) noted that n. ensata is a misapplied name of n. ovata (fée) fras.-jenk. bosman et al. (1998), however, recognized n. ensata as microsorum ensatum (thunb.) h. itô, but also noted that their justification was based on a single specimen from malesia. they also added that m. ensatum is probably a hybrid between a species of lepisorus and a true microsorum species. the results from this study, therefore, strongly support the recognition of tagawa and iwatsuki (1989), hennipman et al. (1990) and hovenkamp (1998) that the circumscription of the genus lepisorus must include paragramma. in addition, the new finding is that n. ensata should be transferred to the genus lepisorus. circumscription of neocheiropteris and platygyria for platygyria, three taxonomic positions have been recognized, i.e. combining with lepisorus s.s. (yu and lin, 1997; c.r. fraser-jenkins, personal communication), treating it under neocheiropteris (ching, 1933; hennipman et al., 1990) and maintaining the status of distinct genus (ching and wu, 1980; zhang et al., 2003). firstly, the platygyria was proposed as a genus of polypodiaceae by ching and wu in 1980 wherein the characters used to define this taxon were the globose sporangium and the very broad annulus consisting of scarcely indurate cell walls. fraser-jenkins (1997) had an opinion that p. variabilis should belong to lepisorus clathratus (c.b. clarke) ching and the rest of platygyia appeared to belong to phymatopteris pic. serm. because according to him the type-species, platygyia waltonii, is in fact a phymatopteris, another genus of the phenetic relationship between lepisorus and related genera 107 polypodiaceae. however, the genus phymatopteris is not recognized by hennipman et al. (1990) and smith et al. (2006). it was suggested that annulus characters are not constant (c.r. fraser-jenkins, personal communication), while zhang et al. (2003) determined that they are rather stable. after studying platygyria in comparison with lepisorus, neocheiropteris and paragramma, it was found that the annulus characters were not only important in separating platygyria from neocheiropteris, but also from lepisorus and paragramma. however, when herbarium specimens were examined, we found that some specimens having both sporangia which were globose, having very broad annulus (≥ 105 µm) and few indurate cells of annulus (i.e. indurate cells of annulus 1-5 or less than 1/5 of annulus or absent) and sporangia which were flat or slightly flat, having narrow annulus (<100 µm) and prominent indurate cells (i.e. more than half of annulus are indurate cell). it was found from this study that these specimens were mixed with specimens of lepisorus clathratus and were placed in the folder of lepisorus clathratus complex. however, they should be separated from l. clathratus and put into the genus platygyria. in addition, the position of the stomium is an important character to distinguish the platygyria from the rest. according to wilson (1959), the annulus was the whole ring of cells horizontally encircling the capsule and interrupted at the point of attachment to the stalk. most ferns had a row of indurate cells for the annulus, and this row were also interrupted by thin wall cells of epistomium, stomium and hypostomium. the stomium in most ferns could occur between the epiand hypostomium, but it could not occur on the row of indurate cells of annulus. in platygyria, however, the annulus cells are homogeneous or slightly homogeneous, and most or all annulus cells had thin walls. for these reasons, the position of the stomium in platygyria could not be of constant occurrence as in other ferns and can be present throughout or slightly throughout the annulus. the tuft of hairs dorsally attached to the rhizome scales has been given much weight by ching (1933) and tagawa and iwatsuki (1989) as a characteristic of their neocheiropteris s.l. examinations of this characteristic found that these hairs could also be found in neocheiropteris palmatopedata, n. ensata and platygyria waltonii, but they were not found in the other platygyria species. in addition, they could be found in some lepisorus species, i.e. l. kawakami tagawa, l. macrosphaerus ching, l. marginatus ching and l. monilisorus (hayata) tagawa. thus, this characteristic could not be considered as a diagnostic characteristic of neocheiropteris. moreover, according to both ca and da, platygyria, lepisorus s.l. and neocheiropteris were split into three distinct groups (figs 1 and 2). these results were supported by the recognition of ching and wu (1980) and zhang et al. (2003) in maintaining platygyria as a distinct taxon. therefore, the characteristics of the platygyria were globose sporangia, very broad annulus (≥ 105 µm) and few indurate cells of annulus 108 chatan et al. (i.e. indurate cell of annulus 1-5 or less than 1/5 of annulus or absent). in addition, the circumscription of platygyria should include the species or specimens that have similar characters. neocheiropteris palmatopedata, the type species and one of the two representatives of the genus neocheiropteris in this study should be kept under neocheiropteris. the striking characters that have never been used as key characters to distinguish it and the other taxa are pedatifid laminas and the presence of large veins at the lamina base. also, the lamina width is between 147-376 mm while less than 100 mm lamina width found in the rest taxa. thus the result is also supported by ca and da. previously, lepisorus s.s. (ching, 1933, 1940), paragramma (ching, 1940; copeland, 1947; pichi sermolli, 1977) and platygyria (ching and wu, 1980; zhang et al., 2003) were recognized as separate genera by some pteridologists. also, neocheiropteris was recognized as a distinct genus from the genera above (christ, 1905). the results were examined in terms of morphology and anatomy, and the two multivariate analyses of which can be proven to recognize that platygyria was a distinct taxon from lepisorus, neocheiropteris and paragramma. moreover, n. palmatopedata should be put into a different group. on the other hand, the circumscription of lepisorus should include n. ensata and paragramma. this study found ten important quantitative characters that could be used for splitting lepisorus (including n. ensata and paragramma), n. palmatopedata (here it is recognized as a monotypic genus) and platygyria by including the annulus width, sporangium length, length of the fertile portion of lamina, lamina width, sorus length, ratio of lamina length and lamina tip length, ratio of lamina length and stipe length, number of sclerenchyma strand in rhizome, phyllopodia length, and sorus width. some of these characters, including annulus width and lamina width, and some useful qualitative characters i.e. lamina indentation, prominent large vein at lamina base, occurrence of indurate cells and stomium position were used to construct a key to genera as below: key to genera 1a. annulus width ≥ 105 µm, indurate cell of annulus 1-5 or absent, stomium not constantly positioned on annulus (rarely not as above) platygyria 1b. annulus width ≤ 95 µm, indurate cell are more than half of annulus cells, stomium between the thin wall epiand hypostomium 2 2a. lamina pedatifid, lamina width ≥ 120 mm, large vein at lamina base present neocheiropteris 2b. lamina margin entire or undulate, lamina width < 120 mm, large vein at lamina base absent lepisorus (including neocheiropteris ensata and paragramma) phenetic relationship between lepisorus and related genera 109 acknowledgements the authors sincerely appreciate the efforts of anonymous reviewer who reviewed this manuscript. we are grateful to the curators or keepers of the following herbaria: bkf, bm, e, k, kun, l and pyu, who allowed access to and facilitated the study of the herbarium specimens. many thanks are due to dr. m.c. roos (l) and dr. m.j. zink for supplying the literatures. the first author would like to thanks dr. liu ende (kun), dr. xiangjingying (kun), prof. s.k. wu (kun), dr. zhao-rong he (pyu), dr. david j. middleton (e), dr. p. hovenkamp (l), dr. h.p. nooteboom (l) and miss suchada wongpakam for their help or suggestions, and the curator or keeper of ti, who gave some type-specimen images to him. this project was partially supported by the center for excellence in biodiversity, faculty of science, chulalongkorn university, under the research program on conservation and utilization of biodiversity, ceb_d_9_2006, the trf/biotec special program for biodiversity research and training, grant t_249003, and the commission on higher education, thailand (the cooperative research network crn). references anonymous, 1999. spss for windows release 10.0, standard version [computer program]. spss inc., chicago. bosman, m.t.m., hovenkamp, p.h. and nooteboom, h.p. 1998. microsorum. in: kalkman, c. and nooteboom, h.p. (eds), flora malesiana. rijksherbarium/hortus botanicus, leiden, the netherlands, pp. 90-133. ching, r.c. 1933. the studies of chinese ferns ix. bull. fan. mem. inst. 4(3): 47-113. ching, r.c. 1940. on natural classification of the family polypodiaceae. sunyatsenia 5(4): 201-270. ching, r.c. and wu, s.k. 1980. platygyria ching & s.k.wu, a unique new genus of the polypodiaceae from china. acta bot. yunn. 2(1): 67-74. ching, r.c., lin, y.x. and wu, s.k. 1983. a taxonomic revision on lepisorus clathratus (c.b. clarke) ching complex in sino-himalayan region. acta bot. yunn. 5(1): 1-23. christ, h. 1905. les collections de fougeres de la chine au muséum d’histoire naturelle de paris. bull. soc. bot. france 52, mém. 1(i): 1-69. copeland, e.b. 1947. genera filicum. chronica botanica, waltham, massachusett, usa, pp. 1-247. fraser-jenkins, c.r. 1997. new species syndrome in indian pteridology and the ferns of nepal. international book distributors, dehra dun, india, pp. 1-403. gower, j.c. 1971. a general coefficient of similarity and some of it properties. biometrics 27: 857-872. hennipman, e., veldhoed, p. and kramer, k.u. 1990. polypodiaceae. in: kubitzki, k. 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(eds), flora of taiwan (pteridophyta and gymnospermae). vol. 1. sandos chromagraph printing company, ltd, taipei, pp. 469-519. smith, a.r., pryer, k.m., schuettpelz, e., korall, p., schneider, h., and wolf, p.g. 2006. a classification for extant ferns. taxon 55(3): 705-310. tagawa, m. and iwatsuki, k. 1989. pteridophytes. in: smitinand, t. and larsen, k. (eds), flora of thailand 3(4). chutima press, bangkok, pp. 481-639. verdcourt, b. 2001. polypodiaceae. in: beentje, h.j. and smith, s.a.l. (eds), flora of tropical east africa. a.a. balkema, rotterdam, pp. 1-37. wilson, k.a. 1959. sporangia of the fern genera allied with polypodium and vittaria. contr. gray herb. 185: 97-127. yu, s.l. and lin, y.x. 1997. a study on systematics of genus lepisorus (polypodiaceae). acta phytotax. sin. 35(4): 341-347. zhang, x.c., liu, q.r. and xu, j. 2003. systematics of platygyria ching & s.k.wu (polypodiaceae). acta phytotax. sin. 41(5): 401-415. zink, m.j. 1993. systematics of the fern genus lepisorus (j.sm.) ching (polypodiaceae-lepisoreae), with special reference to africa and including and annotated list to all names published so far. phd dissertation, universität zürich, zürich, pp. 1-147. (manuscript received 13 march 2008; revised on 17 december 2008) appendix i. a list of representative specimens of each species examined. -lepisorus amaurolepidus (sledge) bir & trikha: fraser-jenkins et al. 24 (ceylon); jarrett 673 (india); manickam 606 (india). -l. annuifrons (makino) ching: faurie 5252 (japan); kano et al. 26 (japan); makino s.n. (japan). -l. bampsii (pic. serm.) m.j. zink (= l. excavatus ching): bamp 2962 (rwanda). -l. bicolor (takeda) ching: duclaux 5044 (china); henry 2465 (china); maxwell 94-1025 (thailand). -l. boninensis (christ) ching: tuyama 512 (japan); warburg s.n. (japan). -l. clathratus (c.b. clarke) ching: chola rangle 4300 (india); cischison183 (afghanistan); ludlow et al. 17223 (bhuthan). -l. contortus (christ) ching: fleming 879 (nepal); henry 6869 (china); zimmerman 396 (nepal). -l. eilophyllus (diels) ching: henry 6859 (china); purdom 90 (china); wilson 2636 (china). -l. elongatus (kaulf.) ching: gaudichaud s.n. (sandwich island); hildebrand 18 (hawaii). -l. excavatus (bory ex willd.) ching: burger 505 (ethiopia); ghose 39 (china); pichi sermolli 6793 (ethiopia). -l. jakonensis (blanf.) ching (= l. pseudonudus ching): blanford 354 (india), s.n. (india). -l. mehrae fraser-jenk.: datta 23475 (india); steward 1494 (india). -l. kawakami (hayata) tagawa: faurie s.n. (china); tagawa 47 (china). -l. kuchenensis (y.c. wu) ching: cadiére 1126 (indochina); colani 2829 (vietnam); poilane 17045 (vietnam). -l. lewisii (baker) ching: henry 9194b (china); shearer s.n. (china); tsang 23481 (china). -l. loriformis (wall. ex mett.) ching: c.b.clarke 12947 (india); fleming 1734 (nepal), wallich 271 (nepal). -l. macrosphaerus (baker) ching: cavalerie 3748 (china); duclaux 3352 (china); poilane 26824 (vietnam). phenetic relationship between lepisorus and related genera 111 l. manus hovenkamp: de wilde & de wilde-duyfjes 1305 (indonesia); otto-surbeck 365 (indonesia); surbeck 644 (indonesia). -l. marginatus ching: zhang 1 (china). -l. megasorus (c.chr.) ching: hancock 31 (china); poilane 5113 (indochina). -l. mildbraedii (hieron.) pic.serm. (= l. excavatus ching): le walle 1284 (burundi), 2442 (burundi); taton 270 (congo-belge). -l. monilisorus (hayata) tagawa: chang 4400 (taiwan); faurie 475 (china), 594 (china). -l. morisonensis (hayata) h.ito: tagawa 417 (china). -l. nudus (hook.) ching: ballard 1035 (ceylon); dharmsani 2028 (nepal); stewart 21047 (india). -l. obscurevenulosus (hayata) ching: faurie 472 (china); poilane 25575 (indochina); shimizu & chuang 20418 (taiwan). -l. oligolepidus (baker) ching: cavalerie 34 (china); henry 2049 (china); matthew 31 (china). l. onoei (franch. & sav.) ching: iwatsuki 1540 (japan); iwatsuki et al. 5566 (japan); ohba 662598 (japan). -l. preussii (hieron.) pic.serm.: brunt 764 (cameroon); chapman 62 (nigeria); saxer 13 (cameroon). -l. pseudonudus ching: luo 237(64) (china); wilson 2633 (china). -l. pseudo-ussuriensis tagawa: faurie 591(china), 644 (china); tagawa s.n. (china). -l. schraderi (mett.) ching: chase 6568 (rhodesia); loveridge 392 (uganda); pichi sermolli, p. 5141 (tanzania). -l. scolopendrium (ching) mehra & bir: gamble 8212 (india); hancock 104 (china); smitinand et al. 1744 (thailand). -l. sesquispedalis (j.sm.) fraser-jenkins (= l. scolopendrium (ching) mehra & bir): chola rangle 4399 (india); duthie 5183 (india); kari 176 (china). -l. subconfluens ching: hennipman 3141 (thailand); rock 8727 (china); snitinand 4667 (thailand). -l. sublinearis (baker ex takeda) ching: hancock 83 (china); henry 9062a (china); tagawa et al. 2878 (thailand). -l. thunbergianus (kaulf.) ching: cox et al. 198 (china); taquet 3656 (korea); wilson 53179 (china). -l. tosaensis (makino) h.ito: tagawa & iwasuki 3716 (japan). -l. ussuriensis (regel & maack) ching: furuse 7138 (japan); komrov 46 (china); tagawa 764 (japan). -neocheiropteris ensata ching: tagawa and iwasuki 539 (japan); gustav mann. s.n. (india); tagawa,togashi and kanoi s.n. (japan). -n. palmatopedata christ: beauvais 830 (china); chang 808 (china); kokonor tibet complex expedition 13339 (china); qin 83 (china). -paragramma balteiformis (brause) hovenkamp: brass 23289 (papua new guinea), 12075 (papua new guinea). -p. longifolia (blume) t. moore: boonkerd 1191 (thailand); cadière 791 (vietnam); edano 35625 (philippines). -platygyria inaequibasis ching & s.k.wu: li & wang 20658 (china); wu et al. 75-771 (china); zhang (dian team) 1753 (china). -p. soulieana (christ) x.c. zhang & q.r. liu: delavay 207/1 (china); li 3 (china). -p. variabilis ching & s.k.wu: ching 23475 (china); chu & feng, 747 (china); sykes & williams 3503 (nepal). -p. waltonii (ching) ching & s.k.wu: littledale s.n. (china); tibetean team 74-3626 (china); walton s.n.(china). appendix ii. a list of 26 quantitative characters with unit or character states used in the study of lepisorus and its related genera. abbreviation characters rhdm rhizome diameter in mm rhsi shortest rhizome internode length in mm rhli longest rhizome internode length in mm nm number of meristele in rhizome nssr number of sclerenchyma strand in rhizome rsle rhizome scale length in mm rswi rhizome scale width in mm stl stipe length in mm std stipe diameter at the middle of its length in mm phl phyllopodia length in mm phd phyllopodia diameter at the middle of their length in mm ll lamina length in mm lw lamina width in mm 112 chatan et al. abbreviation characters lasl length of the apical sterile portion of lamina in mm sl sorus length in mm sw sorus width in mm lfpl length of the fertile portion of lamina in mm spol sporangium length in µm spow sporangium width in µm aw annulus width in µm spl spore length in µm spw spore width in µm stph ratio of stipe length and phyllopodium length llst ratio of lamina length and stipe length lllt ratio of lamina length and lamina tip length lllf ratio of lamina length and length of fertile portion appendix iii. a list of 27 qualitative characters with unit or character states used in the study of lepisorus and its related genera. abbreviation characters rhs rhizome surface: not glaucous (0), glaucous and not glaucous (1), glaucous (2) rsa apex of rhizome scale: obtuse (0), obtuse and acute (1), acute and acuminate (2), filiform (3) rsb base of rhizome scale: obtuse and round (0), obtuse and round and cordate (1), cordate (2) rsm margin of rhizome scale: entire (0), entire, dentate and denticulate (1), dentate and denticulate (2) rss shape of rhizome scale: lanceolate and triangular and ovate (0), circular, lanceolate, triangular and ovate (1) rscl clathrate appearance of rhizome scale: clathrate throughout (0), center clathrate with non clathrate margin (1), center clathrate with non clathrate margin, and center opaque with clathrate or non clathrate margin (2), center opaque with clathrate and non clathate margin (3) rsor orientation of rhizome scale: appressed (0), appressed and slightly spreading (1), slightly spreading (2), strongly spreading (3) rsco colour of rhizome scale: one colour (0), one and two colours (1), two colours (2) rsat attachment type of rhizome scale: all scale basifixed (0), pseudopeltate, basifixed and peltate (1), all scale peltate (2) rsus appearance of hairs on upper surface of rhizome scale: absent (0), present (1) rsl lobe of rhizome scale: absent (0), present (1) rsip insertion point of rhizome scale: at base and close to base more than apex (0), at base, at the middle and close to base more than apex (1) li lamina indentation: margin entire and undulate (0), auriculate (1), hastate and pedatifid (2) la lamina apex: acute (0), acute and acuminate (1), acute, acuminate, obtuse and round (2), acute, obtuse and round (3), acuminate (4), acuminate, obtuse and round (5), obtuse and round (6) lt lamina texture: membranaceous and chartaceous (0), membranaceous, subcoriaceous and coriaceous (1), subcoriaceous and coriaceous (2) abl abaxial surface of lamina: lamina glabrous (0), lamina covered by few to low density of scales near the base or near midrib or on midrib (1) adl adaxial surface of lamina: lamina glabrous (0), lamina glabrous and covered by few to moderate density of scales near lamina base or near midrib or on midrib (1) lpl longitudinal posture of lamina margin : flat (0), slightly revolute (1), strongly revolute (2) phenetic relationship between lepisorus and related genera 113 abbreviation characters lv veins or lateral vein prominence on abaxial surface of lamina: inconspicuous (0), inconspicuous and conspicuous (1), conspicuous (2) lbs symmetry of lamina base: symmetric and nearly symmetric (0), present both symmetric and asymmetric base (1) sodba sori distribution between lamina base and apex: only on upper half (0), on upper half and reaching to the lower half (1); only on lower half (2) sorn sorus row number between midrib or rachis, and the margin: one row (0), one row and more than one row (1), more than one row (2) sopo sorus position between midrib and frond margin: only at the middle (0) at the middle to close to midrib (1); at the middle to close to the margin (2), close to midrib to close to the margin (3), only close to the midrib (4); only close to the margin (5) sor sori orientaion when compare with the closest midrib: not oblique (0), present both oblique and not oblique sori (1), oblique (2) stop stomium position: at the position between the thin wall epiand hypostomium (0), not constantly positioned on annulus (1) indc occurrence of indurate cells: more than half of annulus are indurate cells (0), indurate cell of annulus 1-5 or less than 1/5 of annulus or absent (1) balv large vein at lamina base: absent (0), present (1) for platygyria, three taxonomic positions have been recogniz hydrocotyle kollimalayensis (apiaceae), a new species from tamil nadu, india bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 167-173, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species of hydrocotyle l. (araliaceae) from india s. karuppusamy, m. ajmal ali 1 , k. m. rajasekaran, joongku lee 2 , soo-yong kim 2 , arun k. pandey 3 and fahad m. a. al-hemaid 1 department of botany, the madura college, madurai-625011, tamil nadu, india keywords: hydrocotyle kollimalayensis; india; its; new species; nrdna. abstract hydrocotyle kollimalayensis, a new species is described and illustrated from kolli hills of south eastern ghats, tamil nadu, india. the new species is morphologically closer to h. sibthorpioides, but differs from the latter by its filiform stem, glabrous peduncle, shorter petiole and narrower flowers. the most prominent features of the new species hydrocotyle kollimalayensis are: stem filiform with silky setaceous hairs; leaves sparsely hirsute above and dense below, 5-lobed; flowers 6-12 per inflorescence with glabrous peduncle; and fruits ellipsoidal with 3 obscure ribs. a key to distinguish the new species from other hydrocotyle species of tamil nadu, india is provided. we also inferred the relationship of h. kollimalayensis with allied species using molecular phylogenetic analyses based on nrdna its sequence data. introduction hydrocotyle l. (araliaceae) comprises some 130 species worldwide (du and ren, 2010). most of them inhabit marshy, moist shady and understory environments in tropical and subtropical forests. the genus hydrocotyle possess small, bisexual regular flowers on pedunculate, axillary or terminal umbel, and the plant body is covered with hispid hairs (hiroe, 1979; pimenov and leonov, 1993). karthikeyan et al. (2009) recognized eight taxa of hydrocotyle from india i.e. hydrocotyle conferta wight, h. hookeri (c.b. clarke) craib, h. javanica var. hookeri c.b. clarke, h. nepalensis hook., h. podantha molk., h. ramiflora maxim., h. siamica craib and h. sibthorpioides lam. while the first author was carrying out a survey of plant diversity across eastern ghats region of india in 2009, he came across some populations (about 90 patches in about 2 sq. km) of hydrocotyle in solakkadu area of kolli hills with novel characters in the leaves, inflorescence, flowers and fruits, which were different from the other known species of hydrocotyle. this led us to carry out detailed morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies for its proper identity and comparison with its allied species. the results revealed that these specimens belong to a hitherto undescribed species that is morphologically allied to h. sibthorpioides, h. conferta and h. javanica. based on extensive morphological and molecular studies, we herein describe and illustrate the species as a new entity, hydrocotyle kollimalayensis s. karup. & a. ali. materials and methods the morphological characters of hydrocotyle kollimalayensis were critically studied, and further compared with related taxonomic literature (clarke, 1879; gamble, 1935; mathias, 1936; hiroe, 1979; matthew, 1983, 1996; mukherjee and constance, 1993; pullaiah et al., 2007), and herbarium specimens housed at botanical survey of india, central national herbarium, howrah 1department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia. corresponding author. email: majmalali@rediffmail.com 2international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon-305806, south korea 3department of botany, university of delhi, delhi-110007, india http://www.tropicos.org/person/243 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/tro-1703973 168 karuppusamy et al. (cal), madras herbarium, southern regional center, coimbatore (mh), sikkim himalayan regional center, gangtok (bshc), arunachal pradesh regional center, itanagar (arun), eastern regional center, shillong (assam), and northern regional center, dehradun (dd). for molecular study, the taxa along with sources and genbank accession numbers are provided in appendix 1. leaf sample of h. kollimalayensis, h. sibthorpioides, h. javanica and h. conferta were collected during various plant exploration trips in tamil nadu, india. all the voucher specimens including the holotype of h. kollimalayensis have been deposited at the madras herbarium (mh). the leaf materials were fixed in silica gel. total dna was extracted using the dneasy plant mini kit (qiagen, valencia, ca, usa). the nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) internal transcribed spacer (its) region was amplified using the primers its1 and its4 (white et al., 1990). pcr products were purified using solgent pcr purification kit-ultra (solgent, daejeon, south korea) and sequenced employing the primers its1 and its4 in 10 µl reactions including 2 µl bigdye, 1 µl primers (20 pm) and template dna, and deionized water to reach the final reaction volume. cycle sequencing used 25 cycles of 96°c for 10 s, 50°c for 5 s, and 60°c for 4 min. sequencing products were visualized on an abi prism 377 automated dna sequencer. each sample was sequenced in both the sense and anti-sense direction. the sequences were analyzed by the abi sequence navigator software (perkin-elmer/applied biosystems). nucleotide sequences of both the dna strands were obtained and compared with the forward and reverse sequence to ensure the accuracy. the nrdna its sequences of hydrocotyle species available in the genbank were retrieved (appendix 1) for comparison and phylogenetic analysis. the genbank retrieved sequence of centella asiatica (l.) urban was selected as outgroup in the analysis as a follow up of choi and park (2012). sequences were aligned using clustal x (thompson et al., 1997). the aligned sequence was subsequently adjusted manually using bioedit (hall, 1999). all sequences generated in the present study were deposited in genbank. we constructed phylogenies using the maximum parsimony (mp) method implemented in mega v. 4.0 (tamura et al., 2007). in the analyses, gaps were treated as missing data. support for internal nodes was assessed using bootstrap analysis (felsenstein, 1985) of 1000 replicates with 100 random additions per replicate and holding 10 trees at each step. results and discussion hydrocotyle kollimalayensis s. karup. & a. ali, sp. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: planta h. sibthorpioides simulans; caulibus filiformis, sparsim pilosis, folis angulatis, supra sparsim pilosis secus nervos villosis, subtus dense villosis vel molliter hirsutis, profunde angulate 5-lobatis, lobis triangulates, crenatis acutis, acuminatisque duplo dentatibus obtusis, pedunculis quam foliis multo brevioribus, umbellis simplicibus globosis 6-12-floris, pedicillis glabris, petalis albis, stylis divaricatis, stylopodio depresso, fructibus ellipsoidus glabratis, costis obscures. type: india. tamil nadu, kolli hills, solakkadu, 78°17’-78°27’ e longitude, 11°55’-11°21’ n latitude, 1250 m, 14 jul 2009, s. karuppusamy 24375 (holotype: mh). perennial herbs. stem weak, slender, filiform, silky setaceous, creeping, rooting at nodes. leaves simple, pale green, sparsely hirsute above and dense below, membranous, base cordate, 1.5-2.0 cm wide, 1.0-1.5 cm long, angular, margin shallowly 5-lobed, lobes acute or obscurely triangular, middle lobe larger than the others, crenate, subequal. petioles slender, 2-4 cm long, with white reflexed hirsute hairs above. umbels simple, 6-12 flowered, globose; peduncle 1.0-2.5 cm long, glabrous, axillary, slender. flowers sub-sessile or very shortly pedicillate. petals ovate, white, entire, minute, c. 0.2 mm long, triangular, acute. stamens 5, minute, slightly incurved in a new species of hydrocotyle l. 169 bud; filaments short, c. 0.1 mm long; anthers bilobed. ovary minute, ellipsoidal, greenish; style 1, persistent; stylopodium slightly elevated. fruits ellipsoid, compressed, with obscure dorsal edges, glabrous, 3–ribbed, ribs obscure, subequal, c. 1.2 mm long and c. 1 mm wide, glabrous above, minutely granulate at base, pale brown. phenology: flowering and fruiting occurs almost throughout the year. fig. 1. hydrocotyle kollimalayensis s. karup. & a. ali, sp. nov. a. habit; b. leaf; c. inflorescence; d. bracts; e. flower; f. anthers; g. fruit. (drawn from the holotype.) distribution: hydrocotyle kollimalayensis is known from solakkadu, near observatory, kolli hills of southern eastern ghats in tamil nadu, india (fig. 2). it grows in between 1200 to 1350 m elevation. etymology: the new species is named after the type locality kollimalai, from where we collected the plant populations. 170 karuppusamy et al. conservation status: the new species, according to iucn red list category (iucn, 2012), is considered under ‘endangered’ category (en, criteria b). notes: hydrocotyle kollimalayensis is morphologically similar to h. sibthorpioides, however, it differs from the latter by its filiform stem with silky setaceous hairs, more number of flowers per inflorescence, glabrous peduncle and obscure ribs on fruits. a comparative account of h. kollimalayensis with its closely related species h. sibthorpioides, h. conferta and h. javanica is presented in table 1. the morphological characters which are used to delimit the species of hydrocotyle include habit, stem, leaves, flowers and fruits. however, the genus hydrocotyle shows much variation in morphological characters, which often creates difficulties in demarcating the taxonomic ranks at or below the species level (hiroe, 1979). earlier floristic reports (gamble, 1935; matthew, 1983) from tamil nadu (india) represented only three species of hydrocotyle l. i.e. h. conferta, h. javanica and h. sibthorpioides. hydrocotyle kollimalayensis is allied to h. sibthorpioides which can be evidenced from the morphological comparison (table 1). table 1. comparison of diagnostic morphological characters of hydrocotyle kollimalayensis sp. nov. with its allied species. characters h. kollimalayensis h. sibthorpioides h. conferta h. javanica stem filiform wiry wiry wiry stem hairs silky setaceous hirsute hirsute hirsute leaves 5-lobed 5-7-lobed 7-9-lobed 7-11-lobed leaf indumentum sparse hirsute above and dense below hirsute on both surface hirsute on both surface hirsute on both surface petiole 2-4 cm long 2-3 cm long 2-6 cm long 5-15 cm long no. of flowers per inflorescence 6-12 3-10 10-20 20-30 peduncle glabrous hirsute hirsute hirsute flowers 0.1 mm wide 0.2 mm wide 0.3 mm wide 0.5 mm wide fruits ellipsoidal ellipsoidal suborbicular suborbicular ribs on fruits 3, obscure 3, distinct 3, obscure 5, distinct phylogenetic relationship the phylogenetic relationship of hydrocotyle kollimalayensis with its allied species is presented in figure 3. the combined length of the entire its region (its1, 5.8s and its2) in the species included ranged from 604–625 bp. the length of its1 region ranged from 208-230 bp, the 5.8s gene was 161 bp, and the length of its2 region varied from 227-237 bp. in h. kollimalayensis, the combined length of the its region was 606 bp (the length of its1 and its2 region was 210 bp and 235 bp, respectively). aligned data matrix has a total number of 656 characters of which 450 characters were constant, 113 characters were variable but parsimonyuninformative, and 99 were parsimony-informative. insertions and deletions (indels) were necessary to align the sequences. indels ranged from 1-17 bp. the parsimony analysis of the entire its region resulted into 14 maximum parsimony trees (mpts) with a length of 88 steps, a consistency index (ci) of 0.711, a homoplasy index (hi) of 0.201, rescaled consistency index (rc) of 0.503, and a retention index (ri) of 0.727. in mpts, h. kollimalayensis shows proximity (bootstrap support 86%) with h. conferta and h. javanica, and is clearly distinct from h. sibthorpioides (fig. 3). a comparison of nrdna its sequence of h. kollimalayensis with the allied species h. javanica, h. sibthorpioides and h. conferta reveals the differences of 25, 33 and 42 bp, respectively. a new species of hydrocotyle l. 171 fig. 2. distribution map of hydrocotyle kollimalayensis and its related species in tamil nadu, india. fig. 3. the bootstrap strict consensus tree of 14 maximally parsimonious trees of hydrocotyle inferred from its sequences of nrdna data. numbers above the line indicate bootstrap values in 1000 bootstrap replicates. 172 karuppusamy et al. key to the species of hydrocotyle l. in tamil nadu, india subsequent to the discovery of the new species hydrocotyle kollimalayensis, the total number of species of hydrocotyle in tamil nadu, india has been increased to four. a key is provided herewith to facilitate easy identification of the taxa. 1. stem wiry; leaves orbicular, reniform; peduncle hirsute; flowers 0.2-0.5 mm wide. 2. umbel solitary on axillary nodes; mericarps compressed; ribs 3 on fruits. 3. leaves > 1.5 cm in diameter; peduncle very short or sessile. h. conferta 3. leaves < 1.5 cm in diameter; peduncle c. 1.2 cm long. h. sibthorpioides 2. umbel clustered on terminal and subterminal nodes; mericarps slightly compressed; ribs 5 on fruits. h. javanica 1. stem filiform; leaves angular, not reniform; peduncle glabrous; flowers c. 0.1 mm wide. h. kollimalayensis acknowledgement we are thankful to the curators and staffs of mh, cal, bshc, arun, assam and dd for providing facility for herbarium and library consultation. research supported by the king saud university, deanship of scientific research, college of science, research center. references choi, k.s. and park, s. 2012. molecular phylogenetic studies of korean hydrocotyle l. korean j plant res. 25(4): 490-497. clarke, c.b. 1879. hydrocotyle. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india, 2: 667-669. reeve & co., england. du, x.c. and ren, y. 2010. hydrocotyle changanensi (araliaceae), a new species from shaanxi, china. ann. bot. fenn. 47: 403-407. felsenstein, j. 1985. confidence limits on phylogenies: an approach using the bootstrap. evolution 39: 783791. gamble, j.s. 1935. hydrocotyle. in: flora of the presidency of madras. adlard & son, london, pp. 555-556. hall, t.a. 1999. bioedit: a user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for windows 95/98/nt. nucleic acids symp. ser. 41: 95-98. hiroe, m. 1979. hydrocotyle. in: umbelliferae of world. ariake book company, matsuo biru, tokyo, japan, pp. 103-168. iucn 2012. iucn red list categories and criteria: version 3.1. second edition. gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk: iucn. iv + 32 pp. karthikeyan, s., sanjappa, m. and moorthy, s. 2009. apiaceae [umbelliferae]. flowering plants of india, dicotyledons. vol. i (acanthaceae–avicenniaceae). botanical survey of india, howrah, india, pp. 98127. mathias, m.e. 1936. the genus hydrocotyle in northern south america. brittonia 2: 201-237. matthew, k.m. 1983. apiaceae. in: flora of tamil nadu carnatic, vol. 1. rapinet herbarium, tiruchirapalli, tamil nadu, india, pp. 815-827. matthew, k.m. 1996. apiaceae. in: flora of palni hills, vol. 1. rapinet herbarium, tiruchirapalli, tamil nadu, india., pp. 757-765. a new species of hydrocotyle l. 173 mukherjee, p.k. and constance, l. 1993. umbelliferae (apiaceae) of india. oxford & ibh pub. co. ltd., new delhi, pp. 279-286. pimenov, m.g. and leonov, m.v. 1993. the genera of the umbelliferae: a nomenclature. royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 5-161. pullaiah, t., ramamurthy, k.s. and karuppusamy, s. 2007. flora of eastern ghats, hill ranges in south india, vol. 3. regency publications, new delhi, india, pp. 125-127. tamura, k., dudley, j. nei, m. and kumar, s. 2007. mega 4: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (mega) software, version 4.0. mol. biol. evol. 24: 1596-1599. thompson, j.d., gibson, t.j., plewniak, f., jeanmougin, f. and higgins, d.g. 1997. the clustal x windows interface: flexible strategies for multiple sequence alignment aided by quality analysis tools. nucleic acids research 24: 4876-4882. white, t.j., bruns, t., lee, s. and taylor, j. 1990. amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal rna genes for phylogenetics. in: innis, m., gelfand, d., sninksky, j. and white, t. (eds), pcr protocols: a guide to method and application. academic press, san diego, california, usa, pp. 315322. appendix i ingroup: *h. bonariensis lam., af077894. †h. conferta wight, palni hills, tamil nadu, india, s. karuppusamy 25374 (mh), gu447310. †h. javanica clarke, kolli hills, tamil nadu, india, s. karuppusamy 25147 (mh), u447308. †h. kollimalayensis s. karup. & a. ali sp. nov. kolli hills, tamil nadu, india, s. karuppusamy 24375 (mh) gu447311. *h. mexicana schltdl. & cham., af077893. *h. novae-zeelandiae dc., af272356. †h. sibthorpioides lam. palni hills, tamil nadu, india, s. karuppusamy 24314 (mh), gu447309. *h. vulgaris l., af077895. *h. verticillata thunb., ay389025. outgroup: *centella asiatica (l.) urban, jeollanam-do, korea, k.s. choi 20090522 (ynuh), jq247225. † denotes that the sequences were generated in the present study and submitted to genbank, and * indicates that the sequences were retrieved from genbank. (manuscript received on 7 july 2014; revised on 8 november 2014) http://www.tropicos.org/person/243 microsoft word 03. achillea.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 19-25, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists achene micromorphology of seven taxa of achillea l. (asteraceae) from turkey tulay aytas akcin1 and adnan akcin2 department of biology, faculty of arts and science, ondokuz mayıs university, samsun,turkey keywords: achene micromorphology; achillea; slime cells; turkey. abstract micromorphological characters of achenes in seven taxa of turkish achillea l. (asteraceae) were investigated using stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope (sem). some morphological descriptions of achenes were given for each species. a.biserrata bieb. has the biggest (0.69±0.092 x 2.01±0.252 mm) and a. grandiflora friv. has the smallest (0.30±0.018 x 1.12±0.058 mm) achenes. the achenes are oblonglanceolate in a.biserrata and a. teretifolia willd. and they are oblong in the remaining taxa. in surface sculpturing, the ornamentation and slime cell distribution varied among the taxa. however, a. biebersteinii afan. has distinct slime cells forming groups scattered over the achene surface. mature achenes are ribbed and glabrous in all studied taxa. a. biserrata has distinct carpopodium structure. introduction the genus achillea l. (asteraceae) includes about 140 species distributed in south-west asia and south-eastern europe (akyalcın et al., 2011). according to recent studies, the genus achillea is represented in turkey by 48 species (54 taxa), 24 of which are endemic for anatolia (akyalcın et al., 2011). achillea l. is classified into five sections, namely sect. othantus (hoffmanns. & link) ehrend. & y. p. guo (one species), sect. babounya (dc.) o. hoffm. (30 species), sect. ptarmica (mill.) w.d.j. koch (2 species), sect. anthemoideae (dc.) heimerl (2 species) and sect. achillea (13 species) (huber-morath, 1975; duman, 2000; arabacı and yıldız, 2006; arabacı and budak, 2009). achene micromorphological characters have been found useful in systematics of the family asteraceae (abid and qaiser, 2007a, b; shekhar et al., 2011). cypselar external morphology and anatomy in members of different tribes of asteraceae are found important for delimitation of genera (garg and sharma, 2007; pandey and kumari, 2007). abid and qaiser (2002) studied cypselar morphology of dittrichia greuter, duhaldea dc., inula l., iphiona cass. and pentanema cass. (asteraceae) from pakistan and kashmir and concluded that two distinct groups of taxa can be recognized. it was confirmed that most of the species of anaphalis dc. (asteraceae) were delimited due to their distinct micromorphological characters of cypsela (abid and qaiser, 2007a). zhu et al. (2006) concluded that achene wall anatomy and surface sculpturing of lactuca l. (asteraceae) and related genera displayed variation within genera. slime cells are widespread in higher plants, especially in fruits and/or seeds in different families, viz., brassicaceae, euphorbiaceae, plantaginaceae, linaceae, malvaceae and lamiaceae (huang et al., 2000; western et al., 2000). slime cells are usually rectangular and they form ladder-like columns that are elongated in a parallel form to the long axis of the achene. within the asteraceae, slime cells have been reported in achillea (kreitschitz and valles, 2007; akcin and 1corresponding author. email: taytas@omu.edu.tr 1department of biology, faculty of arts and science, amasya university, amasya 05100, turkey   20 akcin and akcin akcin, 2010), anthemis l., chrysanthemum l. (grubert, 1974) and artemisia l. (huang et al., 2000; yakovleva et al., 2002). it is also suggested that slime plays an important role in controlling of germination, mostly in plants that grow in the condition of water deficiency in arid and semiarid environments (kreitschitz and valles, 2007). it can also help fruit or seed dispersal and defence against pathogens (huang and gutterman,1999; huang et al., 2000). despite several studies on achene micromorphology of achillea were carried out recently (abid and qaiser, 2009; akcin and akcin, 2010), however, there is very little information on the turkish taxa. the main aim of the present work is to study the detailed achene morphology of some turkish taxa belonging to the genus achillea and to find out how useful these characters are in the systematics of the genus achillea. materials and methods achenes of achillea l. taxa were studied by stereomicroscope (leica t1a) and scanning electron microscope (sem) (jeol-neoscope jcm-5000). the studied plant materials were collected from different populations in turkey. a list of specimens examined is given in table 1. the specimens have been deposited at the herbarium of the department of biology, university of ondokuz mayıs, turkey (omub). table 1. list of achillea l. taxa examined along with their vouchers. taxon vouchers sect. achillea s. lat. 1. achillea biebersteinii afan. a5 amasya: vicinity of amasya education faculty, road side, 550 m, 11.6.2010, t. akcin, omub 6446 2. a. coarctata poir. b5 kayseri: kayseri to avanos, road side, 1100 m, 10.6. 2008, t. akcin, omub 6447 3. a. grandifolia friv. a6 samsun: kocadağ, 1200 m, 20.7.2008, a. akcin, omub 6448 4. a. millefolium l. subsp. millefolium a5 kırşehir: mucur, 900 m, 21.6.2009, a. akcin, omub 6444 5. a. millefolium l. subsp. pannonica (scheele) hayek a5 amasya: yemişen village, 800 m, 28.7.2010, a. akcin, omub 6445 sect. babounya (dc.) o. hoffm. 6. a. teretifolia willd. (endemic) a5 amasya: yemişen village, road side, 750 m, 28.7.2010, t. akçin, omub 6442 sect. ptarmica (mill.) w.d.j. koch 7. a. biserrata bieb. a6 samsun: kocadağ, 1200 m, 14.7.2009, t. akcin, omub 6443 the achenes were examined using a stereomicroscope to ensure size, shape, colour and maturity. in order to determine the average achene sizes, 25 mature achenes were measured. for sem observations, the mature achenes were placed on stubs using double-sided adhesive tape. following that, they were observed and photographed with a jeol-neoscope jcm-5000 scanning electron microscope. the terminology of achene surface patterns adopted is mainly from barthlott (1981, 1984), barthlott et al. (1998) and johnson et al. (2004). achene micromorphology of achillea l. 21 results and discussion in the present study, achene morphology of seven taxa belonging to the genus achillea were reported for the first time. within the examined taxa, a. teretifolia is endemic to turkey (ekim et al., 2000). achene shapes were oblong-lanceolate in a. biserrata and a. teretifolia, oblong in a. millefolium subsp. millefolium, a. millefolium subsp. pannonica, a. coarctata, a. biebersteinii and a. grandifolia (table 2). when achene width and length were considered, different groups were obtained (p < 0.001, table 2). the widest (0.69±0.092 mm) and longest (2.01±0.252 mm) achenes were seen in a. biserrata (table 2). mature achenes ribbed and glabrous in all studied taxa. achene colours vary from brown to light brown and yellowish-brown. the position of carpopodium is almost similar (basal) in all taxa studied. however, carpopodium is with narrow circular ring in a. teretifolia (fig. 1a), a. millefolium subsp. millefolium (fig. 1e), a. millefolium subsp. pannonica (fig.1h), a. coarctata (fig. 2m), a. biebersteinii (fig. 2j) and a. grandifolia (fig. 2o). on the other hand, a. biserrata could be separated from other taxa due to its carpopodium shape (fig. 1c). abid and qaiser (2009) reported that cypselar features may also be utilized for specific delimitation as the species of fig. 1. sem micrographs of achenes in achillea l. a-b) a. teretifolia; c-d) a. biserrata; e-g) a. millefolium subsp. millefolium; h-i) a. millefolium subsp. pannonica, ep = epidermal cells; sl = slime cells. 22 akcin and akcin achene micromorphology of achillea l. 23 achillea are grouped on the basis of ribbed and non-ribbed cypsela. a. millefolium was observed to have 10-12 ribbed yellowish-brown cypsela, while non-ribbed cypselas are characteristics for a. wilhemsii (abid and qaiser, 2009). similarly, a. millefolium as indicated by abid and qaiser (2009) seperated from a. wilhemsii by the presence of circular ring shaped carpopodium, while a. wilhemsii has carpopodium with 4-6 lobed ring. the present investigation also support the observation of abid and qaiser (2009). the achenes of a. millefolium subsp. millefolium and a. millefolium subsp. pannonica have a circular ring shaped carpopodium and the ribbed surface of achenes (figs 1 e-i). however, carpopodium diameters of the achenes differ in the taxa (p< 0.001, table 2). the widest carpopodium diameter was present in a. biserrata (215.93 ± 41.751 µm) followed by a. grandifolia (215.91 ± 9.703 µm), while it was narrow in a. biebersteinii (120.68 ± 4.088 µm). the diameters of foramen of carpopodium among the studied taxa were not significant (p < 0.001, table 2). slime envelope formation is known in several plant families, including the asteraceae (kreitschitz and valles, 2007). within the achillea genus, slime has been reported previously (grubert, 1974; akçin and akçin, 2010). our results confirmed the presence of slime in the investigated achillea taxa. slime cells are usually rectangular and they form ladder-like columns that are elongated in a parallel form to the long axis of the achene (figs. 1b, 2k,l,n). slime cells can either cover almost entire surface of the achene as in a. biserrata (fig. 1d) and a. coarctata (fig. 2n), or alternate with the epidermal cells in a. millefolium subsp. millefolium (figs 1f-g), and a. biebersteinii (figs 2k-l). a distinct pattern occurs in a. biebersteinii achenes (figs 2k-l), where slime cells form groups scattered over the achene surface. slime formation on the fruit and/or seed surface is known to be an ecological adaptation to limited availability of water (huang and gutterman, 1999; huang et al., 2000). several authors showed that the presence of the slime envelope facilitates the adherence of achenes to the soil surface and makes germination easier (huang et al., 2000; kreitschitz and valles, 2007). fig. 2. sem micrographs of achenes in achillea l. j-l) a. biebersteinii; m-n) a.coarctata, o-p) a. grandifolia, ep = epidermal cells; sl = slime cells. 24 akcin and akcin taxa such as a. millefolium subsp. millefolium, a. millefolium subsp. pannonica, a. teretifolia, a. coarctata, a. biebersteinii occurring in less fertile and often arid location (hubermorath, 1975) are characterized by the presence of numerous strands of slime cells. slime formation also plays an important role in the control of germination, mostly in plants that grow in the condition of water deficiency in arid and semiarid environments, thus faciliating imbibing and maintenance of the water (kreitschitz and valles, 2007). it was also reported that slime cells in species growing in wet environment such as stream sides and meadows may not mature or function properly (i̇nceer et al., 2012). however, in a. biserrata and a. grandifolia, often growing around wet environment such as coniferous forest (huber-morath, 1975), the presence of a slime envelope may play an important role in dispersal of this species. huang et al. (2000) reported that the slime can reduce the specific weight of diaspores thus facilitating their transportation with water current (hydrochory). in the present study, there are differences in distribution of the slime cells in the examined taxa. slime cells in a. teretifolia similar to a. coarctata are usually ladder-like coloumns elongated parallelly to long axis of the achene (figs 1b, 2n). however, a. biebersteinii has a distinct slime cells forming groups scattered over the achene surface (figs 2k-l). for this reason, these species could be further seperated by the sculpture of achene surface. a. grandifolia is separated from the remaining species by having indefinite individual ribs (fig. 2p). it was also determined that slime cells alternate with epidermal cells in a. millefolium (figs 1f,g,i), while it covers almost the entire surface of achene in a. biserrata (fig. 1d) and a. coarctata (fig. 2n). these results confirmed that slime cells on the fruit surface is associated with ecological adaptation. akçin and akçin (2010) reported that achenes of a. phrygia have myxogenic cells (slime-producing) almost throughout the entire surface but slime cells are more restricted in a. gypsicola. such a relationship was reported for lamiaceae (mosquero et al., 2004), artemisia (asteraceae) (kreitschitz and valles, 2007) and tripleurospermum (i̇nceer et al., 2012). we can conclude that this work helps to charracterize the taxa of achillea l. studies employing additional taxa of the genus are necessary which might further contribute to utilization of achene micromorphological characters as significant attributes in classification of the species. acknowledgements we would like to thank the staff of faculty of science and literature directorship of basic sciences research and applied center of balıkesir university (butam) for taking microphotographs of achenes. references abid, r.d. and qaiser, m. 2002. cypsela morphology of inula l. (s. str.) and its allied genera (inuleae: compositae) from pakistan and kashmir. pak. j. bot. 34(3): 207-223. abid, r.d. and qaiser, m. 2007a. micromorphology of cypsela in the tribe plucheeae from pakistan. pak. j. bot. 39(3): 671-677. abid, r.d. and qaiser, m. 2007b. cypsela morphology of the genus anaphalis dc. (gnaphalieaeasteraceae) from pakistan. pak. j. bot. 39(6): 1897-1906. abid, r.d and qaiser, m. 2009. taxonomic significance of the cypsela morphology in the tribe anthemideae (asteraceae) from pakistan and kashmir. pak. j. bot. 41(2): 555-579. akcin, t.a and akcin, a. 2010. morphological and anatomical characteristics and taxonomical significance of achene micromorphology of achillea phrygia and a. gypsicola (asteraceae), endemic to turkey. nordic j. bot. 28(1): 65-73. achene micromorphology of achillea l. 25 akyalcın, h., arabacı, t. and yıldız, b. 2011. pollen morphology of six achillea l. sect. achillea (asteraceae) species in turkey. turkish j. bot. 35: 183-201. arabacı, t. and budak, ü. 2009. achillea hamzaoglui (asteraceae), a new species from turkey. annales botanici fennici 46: 459-463. arabacı, t. and yıldız, b. 2006. rediscovery of achillea boissieri hausskn. ex boiss. later 140 years. feddes repertorium 117: 459-463. barthlott, w. 1981. epidermal and seed surface characters of plants: systematic applicability and some evolutionary aspects. nordic j. bot. 1(3): 345-355. barthlott, w. 1984. microstructural features of seed surfaces. in: heywood, v.h. and moore, d.m. (eds), current concepts in plant taxonomy, academic press, london, pp. 95-105. barthlott, w., neinhuis, c., cutler, d., ditsch, f., meusel, i., theisen, i. and wilhelmi, h. 1998. classification and terminology of plant epicuticular waxes. bot. j. linn. soc. 126(3): 237-260. duman, h. 2000. achillea l. in: güner, a., özhatay, n., ekim, t. and başer, k.h.c. (eds), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands (suppl. 2), vol. 11, edinburgh university press, edinburgh, pp. 158-159. ekim, t., koyuncu, m., vural, m., duman, h., aytaç, z. and adıgüzel, n. 2000. red data book of turkish plants, ankara, no. 18, pp. 1-245. garg, s.k. and sharma, k.c. 2007. taxonomical significance of the micromorphological and scanning electron microscopic surface patterns of cypselas in some members of the tribe heliantheae (asteraceae). feddes repertorium 118: 165-191. grubert, m. 1974. studies on the distribution of myxospermy among seeds and fruits of angiospermae and its ecological importance. acta biologica venezuelica 8: 315-551. huang, z. and gutterman, y. 1999. water absorption by mucilaginous achenes of artemisia monosperma: floating and germination as affected by salt concentrations. israel j. plant sci. 47: 27-34. huang, z., gutterman, y. and hu, z. 2000. structure and function of mucilaginous achenes of artemisia monosperma inhabiting the negev desert of israel. israel j. plant sci. 48(4): 255-266. huber-morath, a. 1975. achillea l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, vol. 5. edinburgh university press, pp. 224-252. i̇nceer, h., bal, m., ceter, t. and pinar, n.m. 2012. fruit structure of 12 turkish endemic tripleurospermum sch. bip. (asteraceae) taxa and its taxonomic implications. plant syst. evol. 298: 845-855. johnson, l.a., huish, k.h. and portert, j.m. 2004. seed surface sculpturing and systematic significance in gilia (polemoniaceae) and segregate genera. international j. plant sci. 165(1): 153-172. kreitschitz, a. and valles, j. 2007. achene morphology and slime structure in some taxa of artemisia l. and neopallasia l. (asteraceae). flora 202(7): 570-580. mosquero, m.a., juan, r. and pastor, j. 2004. observaciones micromorfologicas y anatomicas en nuculas de prunella l. y cleonia l. (lamiaceae) del suroeste de espana. acta botanica malacitana 29: 203-214. pandey, a.k. and kumari, a. 2007. anatomical patterns of pericarp in asteraceae. in: chauhan, s.v.s., rana, a. and chauhan, s. (eds), plant reproductive biology and biotechnology. aavishkar publisher, jaipur, pp. 64-77. shekhar, s., pandey, a.k. and anderbergh, a.a. 2011. cypsela morphology and anatomy in some genera formerly placed in inula (asteraceae: inuleae-inulinae). rheedea 21(1): 13-22. western, t.l., debra, j.s. and haughn, g.w. 2000. differentation of mucilage secretory cells of the arabidopsis seed coat. plant physiol. 122(2): 345-355. yakovleva, o.v., korobkov, a.a. and boyko, e.v. 2002. structure of mucilage containing cells in achene pericarp of some species of artemisia (asteraceae). botanicheskii zhurnal 87: 1-14. zhu, s.x., qin, h.n. and shih, c. 2006. achene wall anatomy and surface sculpturing of lactuca l. and related genera (compositae: lactuceae) with notes on their systematic significance. j. integr. plant biol. 48(4): 390-399. (manuscript received on 22 february 2013; revised on 28 april 2014) microsoft word 08. ethno_punjub_revised_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 67-76, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnobotanical studies of wild herbs of central punjab, pakistan arifa zereen1, zaheer-ud-din khan and andleeb anwar sardar department of botany, gc university, lahore, pakistan keywords: ethnobotany; wild herb; herbal medicines; pakistan. abstract the current research work was designed to file the indigenous knowledge on the flora of eight districts of central punjab, viz., faisalabad, pakpattan, lahore, nankana sahib, narowal, sahiwal, sialkot and vehari. frequent field trips were made during 2006-2008 to record ethnobotanical data by interviewing people of various age groups, mostly ranging between 30 to 70 years, including medicinal healers (herbalists/hakims). the total number of species recorded was 102 that belonged to 90 genera and 38 families and were being used by local people of respective districts for various purposes e.g. medicine, fuel, fodder, vegetables, fruits and for making mats and baskets. introduction different ethnic groups of the world possess empirical knowledge about the utilization of local flora of that area on which they are immediately and intimately dependent. plants and plant products continue to play a fundamental part in the material culture of many of the world’s indigenous communities. however, with the increased contact with industrialized world and through the erosion of their natural source base, the indigenous knowledge is gradually vanishing. pakistan comprising nine major ecological zones is bestowed with a unique biodiversity. about 6,000 species of wild plants are found in the country, out of which almost 400 600 species are considered to be of medicinal importance (hamayun et al., 2005). in pakistan, medicinal plants are primarily used by tibbi dawakhanas (medical centers of indigenous physicians known as hakims). the study of traditional uses of plants in pakistan has been increasing during the last few years (hamid et al., 1996). aboriginal remedies which are believed to be inexpensive, safe and more effective are gaining recognition among the people of both countryside and city areas. knowledge gained from tribal groups about indigenous long-established medicine has played a very important role in the discovery of new products from plants as chemotherapeutic agents (katewa et al., 2004). people living in villages and tribal localities are using native plants for medicinal and various other purposes from time immemorial as this knowledge is based on experience and reaches them through generations (shinwari and khan, 1998). in an ethnobotanical study in bangladesh the use of plants for medicinal purposes among four indigenous communities of bandarban was recorded (mohiuddin et al., 2012). in another study patel and patel (2012), showed the ethnogynaecological uses of plants from gujarat, india. in this regard 16 plant species belonging to13 families were documented. rawat and kharwal (2010) provided ethnobotanical information on sapium insigne, a conserved plant of shivalik hills, india. the plant was used by locals for fish poisoning. pragada and rao (2012) highlighted the ethnoveterinary uses of plants to treat common diseases in cattle and pet animals in tribal belts of andhra pradesh, india. in a study conducted by sardar and khan (2009), the indigenous knowledge of local people of tehsil shakargarh, district narowal, pakistan about medicinal and conventional uses of plants was reported. 1corresponding author. email: arifazereen@yahoo.com 68 zereen et al. punjab is ranked as pakistan’s second largest province after baluchistan with an area of 205,344 km2 and is located between latitudes 27.42º and 34.02º n and longitudes 69.81º and 75.23º e at the northwestern edge of the geological indian plate in south asia. the present study has been carried out to collect, identify and document the ethnobotanical plants used by the indigenous people of central punjab. materials and methods in order to collect the data 32 field trips were made during the year 2006-2008. the local names, traditional and medicinal uses of the herbs were recorded by interviewing the local persons of different age groups mostly between 30 to 70 years, including herbal practitioners. the collected plant specimens were pressed and identified with the help of nasir and ali (1970-1989), ali and nasir (1990-1992), nasir and rubina (1995) and ali & qaisar (1992-2007). a questionnaire was developed for documenting ethnobotanical knowledge. the collected information was also crosschecked with the available literature. results and discussion a total of 102 species under 90 genera and 38 families were recoded which were being used by local inhabitants for various purposes such as fodder, furniture, fuel, medicine, edible fruits and vegetables (table 1). most of the species are reported to have multipurpose use by the inhabitants of the respective areas. they use them as medicinal plants (74 species), fodder (50 species), vegetables (9 species), wild fruits (2 species), reclamation of saline soils (1 species), multifarious use (8 species), herbal veterinary medicines (3 species), fuel wood (2 species), crop weeds (2 species), poisonous (1 species), religious value (1 species), condiments (1), narcotic (4) and cosmetic (1) etc. majority of the herbs present in the study area have medicinal use and in order to treat various diseases a variety of plant parts are used. the local people use plants for a number of ailments like bronchial disease (19 species), blood purifier (9 species), fever (19 species), hepatic problems (5 species), arthritis (5 species), sexual diseases (11 species), digestive disorders (43 species), general tonic (6 species), diabetes (4 species), urinary diseases (4 species), eye diseases (7 species), ear problems (3 species), hair fall (2 species), toothache (4 species), skin problems (18 species), piles (7 species), wound healing (6 species), jaundice (4 species) and cardiac problems (3 species). population of the punjab province estimated to be 70 million is comprised of about half the total population of pakistan (punjab world gazetter in 2009). central punjab with a good number of renowned cities is the hub of industrial, agricultural, educational and business activities. in the process of urbanization construction activity consisting of multistoried buildings, industrial units and roads in the area is therefore more compared to the other parts. these developments have greatly influenced the plant biodiversity (cubizolle et al., 2003). central punjab is quite rich in plants of economical importance, with record of 102 species of herbs confirming the fact. local people have depended upon indigenous plants since long for their means of living like food, medicine, shelter, trade besides the needs of fuel and animal feed etc. most of the herbs because of their great medicinal value have remained under heavy anthropogenic pressure in the form of cutting, harvesting and grazing. with the support of fertile land and a vast irrigation system majority of the land owners in central punjab use pesticides and herbicides to obtain higher yields, which create pollution and destroy vegetation in the adjoining areas. pollution of gasoline containing heavy metals also causes damage to plants on road verges (gracia-miragaya et al., 1981; gjessing et al., 1984). in all this situation people’s awareness about the sustainable use and conservation of these species is primarily essential to control indiscriminate cutting and damaging process before many of these become non-existent. ethnobotany of wild herbs of central punjab 69 70 zereen et al. ethnobotany of wild herbs of central punjab 71 72 zereen et al. ethnobotany of wild herbs of central punjab 73 74 zereen et al. ethnobotany of wild herbs of central punjab 75 76 zereen et al. references ali, s.i. and nasir, y.j. 1990-92. flora of pakistan. nos. 191-193. department of botany, university of karachi and national herbarium, parc, islamabad. ali, s.i. and qaisar, m. 1992-2007. flora of pakistan. nos. 194-208. department of botany, university of karachi and national herbarium, parc, islamabad. cubizolle, h., tourman, a., argant, j., porteret, j., oberlin, c. and serieyssol, k. 2003. origin of european biodiversity: palaeo-geographic signification of peat inception during the holocene in the granitic eastern massif central (france). landscape ecology 7: 211-227. gjessing, e., lygren, e., berglind, l., gulbrandsen, r. and skanne, r. 1984. effect of highway runoff on lakewater quality. science of the total environment 33: 247-257. gracia-miragaya, j., castro, s. and paolini, j. 1981. lead and zinc levels and chemical fractionation in roadside soils of caracas venezuela. water, air and soil pollution 15: 285-297. hamayaun, m., khan, m.a. and hayat, t. 2005. ethnobotanical profile of utror and gabral valleys, district swat, pakistan. www.ethnoleaflets.com/leaflets/swat.htm hamid, s., sabir, a.w., yamin, m. and chaudry, t.a. 1996. medicinal plants of families salvadoraceae, sapindaceae and pedaliaceae of pakistan. hamdard medicus 39(3): 69101. katewa, s.s., chaudhary, b.l. and jain, a. 2004. folk herbal medicines from tribal areas of rajasthan, india. j. ethnopharmacol. 92: 41-46. mohiuddin, m., alam, m.k. and basak, s.r. 2012. ethno-medico botanical study among the four indigenous communities of bandarban, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 45-53. nasir, e. and ali, s.i. 1970-1989. flora of pakistan. nos. 1-190. national herbarium, parc, islamabad and department of botany, university of karachi, karachi, pakistan. nasir, y.j. and rubina, a.r. 1995. wild flowers of pakistan. oxford university press, karachi, pakistan. patel, p.k. and patel, m.k. 2012. ethnogynaecological uses of plants from gujarat, india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 93-94. pragada, p.m. and rao, g.m.n. 2012. ethnoveterinary medicinal practices in tribal regions of andhra pradesh, india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 7-16. rawat, d.s. and kharwal, a.d. 2010. ethnobotanical information on sapium insigne (royle) benth.: a conserved plant of shivalik hills, india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 97-99. sardar, a.a. and khan, z.u. 2009. ethnomedicinal studies on plant resources of tehsil shakargrah, district narowal, pakistan. pak. j. bot. 41(1): 11-18. shinwari, m.i. and khan, m.a. 1998. ethnobotany of the margalla hills, islamabad, pakistan, department of biological sciences, quaid-i-azam university, pakistan. (manuscript received on 19 july 2012; revised on 26 november 2012) microsoft word 09. sisyrinchium angustifolium_revised_9.12.2014_ee-1.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 175-180, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists systematics of sisyrinchium angustifolium mill. (iridaceae), a newly recorded species from turkey özgür eminagaoglu1 and melahat özcan2 department of forest engineering, faculty of forestry, artvin coruh university, 08000 artvin-turkey keywords: new record; sisyrinchium; anatomy; chromosome number; turkey. abstract sisyrinchium angustifolium mill. (iridoideae, sisyrinchieae) has been reported as a new record for the flora of turkey from ne anatolia, and taxonomic and conservation status of this species are evaluated. detailed morphological description, leaf and stem anatomical properties, and chromosome numbers are provided. the present chromosome count is the first tetraploid level for this species reported from eastern anatolia, turkey. introduction sisyrinchium l. (iridoideae, sisyrinchieae) includes approximately 200 species (rudall et al., 1986) and occurs in wet to dry grasslands, rocky or sandy soils, and also in highly transformed areas, such as roadsides or grazed and burned fields at elevations of up to 800 m (bicknell, 1899). during fieldwork in artvin province (turkey) some interesting specimens belonging to iridaceae were collected. after critical study and consultation with relevant literature (fedchenko, 1968; davis, 1984, 1988; güner et al., 2000; özhatay et al., 2011), the specimens have been identified as sisyrinchium angustifolium mill. the species was not reported earlier from turkey (özhatay et al., 2011; eminağaoğlu et al., 2012; eminağaoğlu and özcan, 2013) and hence reported as a new record for the flora of turkey. s. angustifolium is the first species of the genus sisyrinchium to have been reported for turkey. the number of genera of iridaceae in the flora of turkey is increased to 6 with addition of sisyrinchium. in this study, we aim to describe detailed morphological characters of sisyrinchium angustifolium, to determine its conservation status, and distribution along with exploring the anatomical and cytological properties of the newly recorded species. materials and methods morphological analysis: plant materials were collected from distinct parts of artvin, turkey, at different altitudes in may and june, 2013. the collected materials were critically studied. the voucher specimens have been deposited at the herbarium of artvin coruh university (arth), artvin, turkey. anatomical preparation: anatomical observations were performed in stem and leaf from living specimens. plant samples were stored in 70% alcohol for anatomical studies. transverse sections of stem and leaf, and peripheral sections of upper and lower epidermis of leaves were taken by hand using commercial razor blades and stained in haematoxylin for about 15 min. to remove the excess stain, sections were washed in water several times (algan, 1981). semipermanent slides were mounted in glycerin or permanent slides were covered with glycerin-gelatin 1corresponding author. email: oeminagaoglu@artvin.edu.tr 2department of biology, faculty of science and arts, artvin coruh university, 08000 artvin-turkey 176  eminagaoglu and özcan  (vardar, 1987). well stained sections were examined under a light microscope and photographed using an olympus bx-53 microscope with digital camera attachment dp 73. chromosome count: for mitotic chromosome observation root tips growing in pots were cut off and pretreated with 0.05% colchicine at room temperature for 4.0-4.5 h (ozcan et al., 2008), then fixed in fresh carnoy absolute alcohol-glacial acetic acid (3:1) for 24 h at 4ºc. for chromosome counts, root tips were hydrolyzed in 5n hcl for 10-12 min at room temperature and then rinsed with distilled water for 2-3 min. staining was carried out in lacto-propionic orcein at least for 2 h at room temperature. permanent slides were prepared from at least ten well-spread cells. the best metaphase plates were photographed with olympus bx-53 microscope with digital camera attachment dp 73. results and discussion sisyrinchium angustifolium mill. gard. dict., ed. 8. n. 2 (1768). sisyrinchium angustifolium f. album j.k. sim & y.s. kim, korean j. pl. taxon. 22: 3 (1992); sisyrinchium hibernicum á. löve & d. löve, bot. not. 114: 37 (1961); sisyrinchium membranaceum e.p. bicknell, bull. torrey bot. club 26: 612 (1899); bermudiana homomalla (klatt) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 2: 700 (1891); sisyrinchium homomallum klatt, abh. naturf. ges. halle 15: 378 (1882); bermudiana graminea gaertn., fruct. sem. pl. 1: 32 (1788); sisyrinchium gramineum lam., encycl. 1: 408 (1785). (fig. 1). caespitose, perennial herb, up to 40 cm tall. stem erect or ascending, branched, conspicuously winged towards base, the wing 3-5 mm broad; with 1-2 nodes, 2.3-5.0 mm wide, glabrous, margin often minutely denticulate especially basally. leaves radical, linear-ensiform, 3-5 mm broad, leaf blades glabrous. flowers 1-4 in inflorescence, c. 15 mm in diameter; spathes usually green, wider than supporting branch, glabrous, keels denticulate to entire; outer 18-38 mm long, 2.0-9.5 mm longer than inner, usually tapering evenly towards apex, margin basally connate 4-6 mm; inner with keel evenly curved or straight, hyaline, margin 0.1-0.3 mm wide, apex acuminate to acute, ending 0.2-0.7 mm proximal to green apex. flowers pale blue to violet, occasionally white, bases yellow; outer tepals 7.7-12.5 mm long, apex rounded or emarginate, aristate. stamens inserted at the base of perianth, the filaments usually more or less adnate to the tube, filaments connate ± entirely, stipitate-glandular basally; anthers erect or ascending. ovary spherical or shortly oblong, 3-celled, with numerous ovules in each cell; style filiform, short or exceeding the stamens, the tips of style branches acting as receptive stigmatic surfaces; ovary similar in colour to foliage. capsules dark brown or black, sometimes with purplish tinge, ± globose, 4-7 mm long; fruiting pedicel spreading or ascending. seeds globose to obconic, lacking obvious depression, 0.5-1.2 mm long, rugulose. flowering period: march july; fruiting period: june august. specimens examined: turkey: a8 artvin, hopa, kemalpaşa, damp roadside, grassland, 20 m, 8 june 2013, 41°30′30″n, 41°32′16″e, ö. emin. 15855 (arth 5248); artvin, hopa, hopa to borçka roadside, gravelly soil, 270 m, 21 june 2013, 41°23′42″n, 41°29′54″e, ö. emin. 16948 (arth 5249); artvin, hopa, kemalpaşa, damp roadside, grassland, 3 m, 8 may 2014, 41°30′16″n, 41°32′07″e, ö. emin. 19361 (arth 5266). distribution: austria, brazil, canada, colombia, czechoslovakia, germany, great britain, mexico, united states, russia and georgia. new to turkey. ecology: sisyrinchium angustifolium grows on damp, humid and gravelly soil including roadsides and forest sides at 20-300 m with plantago major l., polygonum aviculare l, oxalis corniculata l., equisetum fluviatile l., and juncus effusus l. systematics of sisyrinchium angustifolium mill. 177 conservation status: sisyrinchium angustifolium is only known from two localities in artvin district. the natural habitat of the species is under threat due to animal grazing and road construction. in this state, according to the iucn (2013), the species is considered to be vulnerable (vu b2b(ii) the estimated area of occupancy is less than 2.000 km2, and the field observations indicate a continuing decline of habitat quality). therefore, s. angustifolium should be included in the list of threatened species of turkey’s flora. fig. 1. sisyrinchium angustifolium; a. habitat; b. front and lateral view of the flowers; c. capsules. scale bars: a, b = 1 cm; c = 0.5 cm anatomical characteristics: anatomical studies reveal that stem is ancipital in two directions. the epidermis contains a single layer of cells. cuticle is very thick and cell walls of the epidermis are prominently thickened. there is no papilla above the epidermis. several sunken stomata are observed in this 178  eminagaoglu and özcan  layer. mechanical tissue does not develop. collateral vascular bundles in two circles and surrounded by sclerenchymatic ring. the larger bundles are present near to the centre (fig. 2). fig. 2. stem anatomy of sisyrinchium angustifolium; a. cross section of stem; b. vascular bundles in stem. e: epidermis, pi: pith, sr: sclerenchymatic ring, st: stomata, vb: vascular bundle. scale bars: a = 200 µm; b = 50 µm. fig. 3. leaf anatomy of sisyrinchium angustifolium. a-f. cross section of leaf; g,h. peripheral section. ph: phloem, sc: sclerenchymatic cap, st: stomata, xy: xylem, scale bars: a,c,e = 200 µm; d = 100 µm; b,f,g = 50 µm; h = 20 µm. systematics of sisyrinchium angustifolium mill. 179 the innermost part of the cylinder is occupied by a pith with thick-walled parenchyma. in some cases, hollow areas were observed instead of these cells in the center. the sheathing base is unifacial with both abaxial and adaxial epidermis, and leaf blade is unifacial, with an abaxial epidermis only. surfaces do not contain any trichomes. the cuticle is smooth, epidermal cells of both surfaces are arranged in a single layer. adaxial epidermal cells are thin-walled and stomata are absent in this surface, whereas abaxial epidermal cells are thick-walled, longer and narrower over veins than in intercostals areas (fig. 3a-f). in the leaf blade, mesophyll is almost entirely chlorenchymatic. vascular bundles with different sizes are collateral and surrounded by parenchymatous sheath cells, and they are arranged in a single row. sclerenchymatic caps are observed in xylem pole. in peripheral sections, cells next to the stomata sometimes with slightly protruding over guard cells. stomata are anomocytic in abaxial parts and sunken (fig. 3g, h). mechanical tissue does not exist in the stems of examined samples. this feature has been previously reported in sisyrinchium by holm (1908). leaf blade are longitudinally furrowed and vascular bundles with sclerenchymatic cap at the xylem poles. the study also reveals that sunken stomata are only found in abaxial surface. rudall et al. (1986) investigated anatomical and chromosomal characteristics of 11 taxa and reported in these characteristics in the section of bermudiana in sisyrichium which is supported by the present study. cytological investigation: in the present study the somatic chromosome number in sisyrinchium angustifolium has been determined as 2n = 4x = 32 (fig. 4). fig. 4. somatic metaphase of sisyrinchium angustifolium. 2n = 32 basic chromosome number of the genus sisyrinchium has been reported by oliver and lewis (1962) as x = 8, 9 and 17. in addition, rudal et al. (1986) reported that basic chromosome number of the section of bermudiana as x = 8 in the genus. this species belongs to the section bermudiana. our chromosome count from eastern anatolia is the first tetraploid level in s. 180  eminagaoglu and özcan  angustifolium. till now, only one previous record in a dodecaploid level (2n = 12x = 96) for this species has been reported by murin and majovsky (1976). acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the ziraat bank in turkey and the research fund of artvin coruh university (project number: 2012.f15.02.21) for their financial supports. references algan, g. 1981. bitkisel dokular i̇çin mikroteknik, i̇stanbul. fırat university science faculty press (in turkish). bicknell, e.p. 1899. studies in sisyrinchium iv: s. angustifolium and related species of the west and northwest. bull. torrey bot. club 26: 445-457. davis, p.h. (ed.) 1984. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 8. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, 632 pp. davis, p.h. (ed.) 1988. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands.vol. 10. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, 590 pp. eminağaoğlu, ö. and özcan, m. 2013. euonymus leiophloeus (celastraceae) a new record for the flora of turkey. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 263-266. eminağaoğlu, ö., özcan, m. and kültür, ş. 2012. contributions to the leaf and stem anatomy of tradescantia fluminensis: an alien species new to the flora of turkey. acu j. for. fac. 13(2): 270-277. fedchenko, b.a. 1968. sisyrinchium angustifolium mill. in: komarov, v.l. (ed.), flora of the u.s.s.r. vol.4, jerusalem: israel program for scientific translation, pp. 577-578.  güner, a., özhatay, n., ekim, t. and başer, k.h.c. (eds). 2000. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 11. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, 680 pp. holm, t. 1908. sisyrinchium: anatomical studies of north american species. bot. gaz. 46(3): 179-192. iucn 2013. the iucn red list of threatened species, version 2013.1. iucn red list unit, cambridge, u.k. http://www.iucnredlist.org [accessed on 31 october 2013]. murin, a. and majovsky, j. 1976. in iopb chromosome number reports liii. taxon 25: 483-500. oliver, r.l. and lewis, w.h. 1962. chromosome numbers of sisyrinchium (iridaceae) is eastern north america. sida 1: 43-48. ozcan, m., hayırlıoğlu-ayaz, s. and inceer, h. 2008. chromosome counts of some cirsium (asteraceae, cardueae) taxa from turkey. caryologia 61(4): 375-382. özhatay, f.n., kültür, ş. and gürdal, m.b. 2011. checklist of additional taxa to the supplement flora of turkey v. turk. j. bot. 35: 589-624. rudall, p., kenton, a.y. and lawrence, t.j. 1986. an anatomical and chromosomal investigation of sisyrinchium and allied genera. bot. gaz. 147(4): 466-477. vardar, y. 1987. botanikte preparasyon teknigi. izmir, ege university science faculty press (in turkish). (manuscript received on 10 june 2014; revised on 29 november 2014) microsoft word s-3 seed germination in desmodium.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 209-212, 2012 (december) short communication © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists seed germination of two medicinal plants: desmodium pulchellum (l.) benth. and d. triflorum (l.) dc. md. zahidur rahman, m. oliur rahman1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: desmodium pulchellum; d. triflorum; seed germination; medicinal plants. desmodium pulchellum (l.) benth. and d. triflorum (l.) dc. are two important medicinal plants of the family fabaceae. d. pulchellum is a shrub, characterized by its finely grey-downy branches, ovate to oblong leaflets, narrowly triangular stipules, orbicular persistent bracts which conceals the flowers and fruits, white corolla, and short incurved style covered with appressed hairs. its roots are used for burning sensations in the abdomen, flowers are used for dental caries and stem bark is given for head-ache (jain, 1991). d. triflorum is a small herb, distinct by its prostrate or diffuse stem, obcordate, obovate or obtriangular chartaceous leaflets, purplish corolla with obovate standard petal, pubescent ovary and falcate pubescent pod. leaves of this species are used as galactagogue, for the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery and convulsions (ghosal et al., 1972), and roots are effective in the treatment of asthma, bilious complaints and abscesses (ghani, 2003). seed germination is important to know the germination pattern of a plant, more particularly the medicinal ones that might need to bring under cultivation for the primary healthcare system. the significance of the seedling in plant population ecology has long been recognized (silvertown and lovett-doust, 1993). the germination response pattern of seeds is also regarded as a key characteristic in plant life history strategy (angevine and chabot, 1979; mayer and poljakoffmayber, 1989). the variation in seed dormancy and the subsequent patterns of seedling emergence are controlled by environmental conditions. important factors controlling the variation in seed dormancy within species include the environment of the mother plant during the time of seed maturation and environmental conditions after the seeds have been released (liebst and schneller, 2008). certain environmental conditions may be required to break dormancy, and other conditions are often required to permit germination after dormancy is broken (bewley, 1997). seeds of many species require days, weeks, or months at low temperatures to break dormancy (vleeshouwers et al., 1995), whereas others require warm temperatures for after-ripening to germinate when permissive conditions arrive (baskin and baskin, 1972). many attempts have been made to investigate seed germination and seedling emergence of different annual and perennial species including medicinal plants (baskin et al., 1993; hassan and fardous, 2003; chauhan and johnson, 2008; liebst and schneller, 2008; liza et al., 2010). however, no study has surveyed germination patterns in desmodium species in bangladesh. like many other important medicinal plants d. pulchellum and d. triflorum also need to bring under cultivation, but no work has been done so far in this direction. the aim of the present study is to investigate seed germination rate and level of dormancy of seeds in d. pulchellum and d. triflorum which might help in bringing the plants under cultivation. the mature seeds of desmodium pulchellum and d. triflorum were collected from different areas of the country and preserved under laboratory condition. liza et al. (2010) was followed for seed germination experiment. earthen pots of 10 inch in diameter filled up with a mixture of soil and compost (2:1) were used for seed sowing. before sowing seeds were treated with fungicides to 1corresponding author. email: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 210 rahman et al. prevent fungal infection and microbial contamination. five mature seeds for each species were tested for germination. seeds were sown in the earthen pot and watering was done regularly. germination defined as shoot emergence from seeds was checked regularly. per cent of germination was calculated by the amount of seeds germinated in relation to total initial seed number. the time of 2-leaved stage was determined and measurement of seedlings in this stage was calculated. plate 1. development stages of two desmodium species. 1-4. d. pulchellum (1. seeds; 2. seedling; 3. mature plant; 4.flowering stage). 5-8. d. triflorum (5. seeds; 6. seedling; 7. mature plant; 8. flowering stage). the present study revealed the seed germination pattern in desmodium pulchellum and d. triflorum. in d. pulchellum it took 5 days to germinate the seeds, and germination rate is 60%. it required 7 days to germinate the seeds in d. triflorum and the rate of seed germination was 20% seed germination of two medicinal plants 211 (table 1). the development of seedlings from seeds up to maturity in the species studied has been shown in plate 1. table 1. seed germination period and rate in d. pulchellum and d. triflorum. species date of seed sowing date of germination no. of seed sown no. of seeds germinated days required for 2-leaved stage d. pulchellum 14.07.11 18.07.11 5 3 (60%) 5 days d. triflorum 14.07.11 20.07.11 5 1 (20%) 7 days the first leaf appears 5 days after shoot germination in d. pulchellum and 7 days after in d. triflorum (table 1). seedling height in d. triflorum was 2 cm after 5 days of germination. in d. pulchellum the seedling height was 6 cm. hypogeal type of germination was observed both in d. pulchellum and d. triflorum. the dormancy period of these species is very short, only for 5 days and 7 days in d. pulchellum and d. triflorum, respectively. in this study, seeds of these two species were not collected at the same time because of the differences in the period of seed production among the species. therefore, the level of dormancy observed may be affected by environmental factors. jain (1982) provided a clear evidence of variation in seed dormancy among different population of a single species. gerry and wilson (1995) states that the number of days for germination is positively related to seed size, the largest seeds germinated faster than the smaller seeds. the results obtained from the present study support the hypothesis of gerry and wilson (1995). since different environmental factors including light intensity and temperature affect on seed germination, therefore detailed study should be carried out considering these factors that might through more light on germination patterns. references angevine, r. and chabot, b.f. 1979. seed germination syndromes in higher plants. in: solbrig, o.t., jain, s. johnson, g.b. and raven, p.h. (eds), topics in plant population biology, columbia university press, new york, pp. 188-206. baskin, c.c., chesson, p.l. and baskin, j.m. 1993. annual seed dormancy cycles in two desert winter annuals. j. ecol. 81: 551-556. baskin, j.m. and baskin, c.c. 1972. ecological life cycle and physiological ecology of seed germination of arabidopsis thaliana. can. j. bot. 50: 353-360. bewley, j.d. 1997. seed germination and dormancy. plant cell 9: 1055-1066. chauhan, b.s. and johnson, d.e. 2008. influence of environmental factors on seed germination and seedling emergence of eclipta (eclipta prostrata) in a tropical environment. weed sci. 56: 383-388. gerry, a.k. and wilson, s.d. 1995. the influence of initialsize on the competitive responses of six plant species. ecology 76: 272-279. ghani, a. 2003. medicinal plants of bangladesh. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. ghosal, s., srivastava, r.s., bhattacharya, s.k. and debnath, p.k. 1972. desmodium alkaloids. iv. chemical and pharmacological evaluation of d. triflorum. planta medica 23(4): 321-329. harper, j.l. 1977. population biology of plants. academic press, new york, ny. hassan, m.a. and fardous, z. 2003. seed germination, pollination and phenology of gloriosa superba l. (liliaceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 95-97. 212 rahman et al. jain, s.k. 1982. variation and adaptive role of seed dormancy in some annual grass species. bot. gaz. 143: 101-106. jain, s.k. 1991. dictionary of indian folk medicine and ethnobotany. deep publications, india. 311 pp. liebst, b. and schneller, j.s. 2008. seed dormancy and germination behavior in two euphrasia species (orobanchaceae) occurring in the swiss alps. bot. j. linn. soc. 156: 649-656. liza, s.a., rahman, m.o., uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and begum, m. 2010. reproductive biology of three medicinal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 69-78. mayer, a.m. and poljakoff-mayber, a. 1989. the germination of seeds. pergamon press, new york, ny. vleeshouwers, l.m., bouwmeester, h.j. and karssen, c.m. 1995. redefining seed dormancy: an attempt to integrate physiology and ecology. j. ecol. 83:1031-1037. (manuscript received on 10 august 2012; revised on 19 november 2012) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 67-75, 2015 (december) genetic diversity and interspecific relationships of some allium l. species using inter simple sequence repeat markers leila samiei1, mahnaz kiani, homa zarghami, farshid memariani2 and mohammad reza joharchi2 department of ornamental plants, research center for plant sciences, ferdowsi university of mashhad, mashhad, iran keywords: allium l.; genetic relationship; issr; molecular marker. abstract in this study genetic diversity and interspecific relationships of 11 allium l. species from khorassan province of iran including 32 accessions were investigated by inter simple sequence repeat (issr) markers. nine issr primers produced a total of 80 polymorphic markers and revealed high polymorphism among the studied species. the average gene diversity, effective number of alleles and shannon’s information index were 0.2, 1.28 and 0.3, respectively. allium kuhsorkhense exhibited the greatest level of variation (he: 0.18), whereas a. stipitatum demonstrated the lowest level of variability (he: 0.05). upgma (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) analysis showed that allium accessions have a similarity range of 0.60 to 0.95. allium scapriscapum composed the most distant group in the dendrogram. the clustered groups of allium species clearly reflect the recent taxonomic concept of the genus at the subgenus and section levels. the present study showed that the issr technique is an effective molecular approach for analyzing genetic diversity and relationship in allium species. introduction the genus allium l. is a member of amaryllidaceae (apg iii, 2009), subfamily allioideae, tribe allieae (chase et al., 2009; reveal and chase, 2011). it is one of the largest genera of monocots and comprises more than 900 species naturally occurring in the northern hemisphere (fritsch and abbasi, 2013). this genus has a main centre of diversity in the eastern mediterranean area as well as southwest and central asia (fritsch and friesen, 2002). allium is a typical genus for irano-turanian floristic region and displays a high level of specific endemism there (matin, 1992). there are nearly 50 allium species, which are cultivated widely in the world and many more wild species are utilized locally for human consumption as spices, vegetables, medicinal and ornamental plants (friesen et al., 2006). allium consists of perennial herbs mostly characterized by tunicate bulbs, narrow basal leaves, umbellate or head-like inflorescences, flowers with 6 free or almost free tepals, and an onion-like odour and taste due to the presence of cystine sulphoxides (li et al., 2010). many studies assessing morphological and anatomical characters of allium species have been performed and numerous data have so far been published (friesen, 1995; mathew, 1996; fritsch and friesen, 2002; kovtonyuk et al., 2009). however, due to the close morphological similarities of the species, over reliance on dried specimens, and high degree of polymorphism of specific morphological traits (khassanov and fritsch, 1994; mes et al., 1997), many gaps still remain in 1corresponding author. email: samiei@um.ac.ir 2department of botany, research center for plant sciences, ferdowsi university of mashhad, mashhad, iran. mailto:samiei@um.ac.ir 68 samiei et al. our knowledge of infrageneric taxonomy and differentiation and evolution in the genus (rabinowitch and brewster, 1990; rabinowitch and currah, 2002). dna-based molecular markers have been used previously in the studies of genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of allium (mes et al., 1999; friesen et al., 2006; gurushidze et al., 2008; mukherjee et al., 2013). of the different molecular markers, inter sample sequence repeat (issr) marker has been widely used to access species genetic diversity and relationships because of its cost effectiveness, simple operation as well as the need of very little starting dna template (lin et al., 2009; uysal et al., 2010). in addition, previous studies of evaluating the phylogenetic relationship of korean allium species using issr marker indicated that these markers were highly informative in allium (hao et al., 2002). recent advances in taxonomy and classification of allium have shown that, there are about 135 species of allium including 7 subgenera and 32 sections in iran (fritsch and maroofi, 2010; memariani et al., 2012; fritsch and abbasi, 2013). north-eastern part of iran (khorassan provinces) with about 35 species is one of the most important centres of diversity of genus allium in the country (memariani et al., 2007). previously there have been some studies on the taxonomy of allium (fritsch et al., 2006; fritsch and abbasi, 2013), however, except for a few studies focusing on the diversity of one species (abdoli et al., 2009; ebrahimi et al., 2009), there has not been any reports corresponding to molecular genetic diversity and genetic relationship of allium in iran. the present study was designed to explore the genetic diversity and interspecific relationships of some allium species in north-east iran and to evaluate the potential of issr marker in detecting the genetic variability of native alliums. materials and methods plant materials: a total of 32 accessions representing 11 species of allium were collected from north khorassan and razavi khorassan provinces, located in northeast of iran during 2012−2013 (table 1). the samples were identified based on morphological characteristics and diagnostic descriptions of the species in the relevant literature (wendelbo, 1971; fritsch and abbasi, 2013). modern concepts of infrageneric classification of the genus are based on friesen et al. (2006), fritsch et al. (2010), and fritsch and abbasi (2013). dna isolation: total genomic dna was extracted based on ctab method (doyle and doyle, 1990) using accuprep genomic dna extraction kit (bioneer, korea) following manufacturer’s instructions. the relative purity and concentration of extracted dna was estimated with spectroscopy and lambda dna (thermo scientific, usa) using a known concentration as a reference. issr amplification: a set of 20 issr primers (university of british colombia, canada) was screened to generate the molecular profiles. nine out of 20 primers were selected because of their consistent amplification and clear banding pattern. the primers sequences are listed in table 2. pcr condition was optimized using different concentration of template dna and mg as well as different annealing temperature. pcr was done with 10 ng template genomic dna, 5 µl of taq dna polymerase, 2× master mix red (ampliqon, denmark), 1.5 mm mgcl2, 0.3 µm primer, in a total volume of 10 µl. dna amplification was performed on ependorf master cycler gradient (ependorf scientific, germany) using the following condition: an initial denaturation step of 94˚c for 5 min followed by 37 cycles of 94˚c for 25 s, optimized annealing temperature for 25 s, 72˚c for 1 min and a final extension at 72˚c for 5 min. the amplification products were separated by electrophoresis on 1.5% (w/v) agarose gel in 0.5× tris-borate-ethylenediamin tetra acetic acid genetic diversity and relationships of some allium species 69 70 samiei et al. (tbe) buffer at 90 v, stained with dna green viewer (pars tous, iran) and visualized under ultraviolet (uv) light in gel documentation system (uvi doc, uk). a 100 bp dna ladder (thermo scientific, usa) was used as molecular size standard. pcr amplification was repeated twice or sometimes more for each primer to ensure the reproducibility of the results. table 2. characteristics of issr markers and genetic diversity statistics. primers sequence n ae he i ubc 807 aga gag aga gag aga gt 9 1.34 (0.182) 0.24 (0.102) 0.40 (0.132) ubc 808 aga gag aga gag aga gc 7 1.23 (0.103) 0.18 (0.068) 0.32 (0.095) ubc 809 aga gag aga gag aga gg 8 1.20 (0.136) 0.16 (0.085) 0.29 (0.118) ubc 811 gag aga gag aga gag ac 7 1.21 (0.091) 0.17 (0.061) 0.31 (0.085) ubc 827 aca cac aca cac aca cg 9 1.16 (0.079) 0.13 (0.057) 0.25 (0.084) ubc 834 aga gag aga gag aga gyt 11 1.26 (0.154) 0.19 (0.097) 0.33 (0.134) ubc 835 aga gag aga gag aga gyc 7 1.60 (0.365) 0.35 (0.160) 0.52 (0.193) ubc 840 gag aga gag aga gag ayt 6 1.68 (0.268) 0.39 (0.122) 0.57 (0.146) ubc 855 aca cac aca cac aca cyt 16 1.15 (0.061) 0.13 (0.047) 0.25 (0.074) average 8.88 1.28 0.2 0.34 n = number of bands; ae = number of effective alleles; he = expected heterozigosity; i = shannon’s information index; standard errors are in parentheses. data analysis: the reproducible and well resolved fragments obtained from issr analysis were scored as binary code, viz. presence (1) and absence (0) of homologous bands. the binary data matrix was analyzed using ntsys-pc version 2.1 software package (rohlf, 2000). the pairwise genetic distances among all accessions was calculated based on nei (1978) similarity coefficient. genetic diversity (he) was calculated per primer and for each species (except for allium ellisii hook. f. for which only one accession was available) using popgene software, version 1.32 (yeh and boyle, 1997). a dendrogram was constructed by using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (upgma) employing the sahn (sequential agglomerative hierarchical and nested) module of ntsys-pc to show a phenetic representation of genetic relationships as revealed by similarity coefficient. percentage of polymorphic bands (ppb) was calculated by dividing the number of polymorphic bands by total number of bands surveyed. results nine issr primers generated 80 bands corresponding to an average of 8.8 bands per primer (table 2). the fragment size varied from 100 to 2200 bp and the number of bands ranged from 6 (ubc 840) to 16 (ubc 855). all of the 80 bands detected by issr primers were polymorphic among the individuals, i.e. the percentage of polymorphic bands was 100% for each primer. considering all accessions, the average gene diversity, effective number of alleles and shannon’s information index was 0.2, 1.28 and 0.3, respectively. the genetic diversity generated by each primer varied from 0.38 (primer ubc 840) to 0.12 (ubc 855). the average effective number of alleles and shannon’s information index was 1.28 and 0.34, respectively. among the 11 species, a. kuhsorkhense r.m. fritsch & joharchi and a. ampeloprasum l. exhibited the highest variability (ppb: 42.5% and 37.5%, he: 0.18 and 0.14, respectively) whereas the species a. stipitatum regel and a. sarawschanicum regel presented the least variability (ppb: 12.5% and 16.25%, and he: 0.05 and 0.07, respectively) as shown in table 3. genetic diversity and relationships of some allium species 71 a dendrogram generated based on nei’s genetic distances and upgma method revealed genetic relationships among allium species and accessions (fig. 1). the high cophenetic correlation (r = 0.95) obtained indicating a good fit between the dendrogram clusters and the distance matrix. the dendrogram displayed four main groups corresponding to four subgenera: allium, melanocrommyum (webb & berthel.) rouy, cepa (mill.) radić, and reticulatobulbosa (kamelin) n. friesen. the most distant group comprised two accessions of a. scabriscapum with low genetic similarity coefficient (nei = 0.22) belonging to the subgenus reticulatobulbosa. the only species present in section cepa in this study was a. oschaninii b. fedtsch. which formed a distinct group. the largest group corresponds to the subgenus melanocrommyum. it, however, is divided into three subclusters each composing the species of the same section: section procerallium comprises the accessions of a. altissimum and a. stipitatum; a. sarawshanicum regel (section megaloprason wendelbo) makes a separate cluster; and a. cristophii trautv. and a. ellisii comprise the section asteroprason r.m. fritsch (subsection christophiana tscholok.). five accessions of a. kuhsorkhense with the highest genetic diversity (0.18) placed in section asteroprason (subsection asteroprason). species belonging to the subgenus allium formed a separate cluster. this cluster, however, is divided into two subclusters correspond to sections allium and avulsea f.o. khassanov. table 3. diversity parameters of allium species. species sample size he ppb (%) a. altissimum regel 3 0.1237 35 a. ampeloprasum l. 4 0.1445 37.5 a. atroviolaceum bioss. 3 0.0802 21.25 a. cristophii trautv. 3 0.0778 21.25 a. kuhsorkhense r.m. fritsch & joharchi 5 0.1779 42.5 a. oschaninii o. fedtsch 3 0.0904 26.25 a. sarawschanicum regel 2 0.0673 16.25 a. scabriscapum bioss. 2 0.0725 17.5 a. stipitatum regel 3 0.0516 12.5 a. umbilicatum bioss. 3 0.1102 25 he = expected heterozygosity; ppb = percentage of polymorphic bands. discussion in the present study, nine issr primers yielded a total of 80 reproducibale bands with an average of 8.8 bands per primer, which was higher than in some other studies that have applied issr markers to allium species. for example, in an analysis of 24 accessions of 13 allium species, son et al. (2012) detected 3 to 11 alleles per locus (average 7.5 alleles per primer) using 20 issr markers. in our study, a very high level of issr polymorphisms was detected in the allium species indicating issr-pcr as a reliable technique for fingerprinting in the genus. issr markers have been widely employed in assessment of genetic relationships within and between plant species (thul et al., 2012; liu et al., 2013). although there are not many reports on application of issr markers for analyzing the genetic relationships among allium, the efficacy of issr markers on revealing the classification of allium species has been strongly supported by previous studies (hao et al., 2002; son et al., 2012). furthermore, the homology of issr bands between allium species has been formerly confirmed by sequence analysis (son et al., 2012). 72 samiei et al. in this study, the genetic diversity of the endemic species a. kuhsorkhense, as well as the genetic relationships among allium species were studied for the first time. the study revealed that a. kuhsorkhense is the most diverse species among the species employed in khorassan. the accessions of a. kuhsorkhense were collected from nearly distant area. this endemic species has the widest distribution range among the other species of the endemic allium section asteroprason (memariani et al., 2012). hamrick (1989) stated that the wide distribution of a species can increase the rate of genetic diversity among the accessions. the clustered groups of allium species clearly reflect the recent taxonomic concept of the genus at the subgenus and section levels. subgenus melanocrommyum comprises the largest group in the dendrogram. three sections within the subgenus were detected and clearly identified, which is in consistent with previous studies (gurushidze et al., 2008; fritsch et al., 2010). in section asteroprason, two main subclusters support its morphological classification into two subsections christophiana and asteroprason (fritsch and maroofi, 2010; memariani et al., 2012). fig. 1. upgma dendrogram showing species relationships of allium based on nei’s genetic distance. the numbers in parentheses correspond accession codes of table 1. genetic diversity and relationships of some allium species 73 within all sections of subgenus melanocrommyum, the species were clearly distinguished except for procerallium r.m. fritsch. in this section, the accessions of a. stipitatum positioned among the accessions of a. altissimum. indeed these two species are morphologically very similar and difficult to be distinguished properly. however, it is accepted that a. altissimum is more slender and somewhat smaller than typical a. stipitatum possessing narrower and glabrous (or at the most only sparsely toothed) leaves, a smaller umbel, and more intensely coloured, sublinear, in late anthesis spirally enrolled tepals (fritsch and abbasi, 2013). our issr analysis is in agreement with the molecular analyses based on its sequences of nuclear rdna, sequences of the plastid trnl-trnf region in which the cultivated strain of a. altissimum positioned among many accessions of central asian a. stipitatum underlining a high genetic similarity (fritsch and maroofi, 2010; gurushidze et al., 2010). based on our analysis, the accessions of a. ampeloprasum and a. atroviolaceum (section allium) are similarly positioned among each other, however, are well-separated from the accessions of a. umblicatum boiss. (section avulsea). hirschegger et al. (2010) found similar results for a. ampeloprasum group based on nuclear and chloroplast dna sequences analyses. issr markers were highly informative at the section level as well as at the species level in the genus allium. the resulting dendrogram was found consistent with the modern taxonomic classification, confirming that issr marker data can be used for taxonomic studies in the genus allium. genetic variation among wild species may assist plant taxonomists, and also breeders in identifying and introducing valuable traits into new hybrids. the collection and inclusion of more accessions of endemic and newly described allium species will be useful for confirming their infrageneric classification, especially in morphologically diverse subgenus melanocrommyum and also in economically important species and their wild relatives in subgenus allium (garlic and leek). about one-third of iranian allium species are native to khorassan-kopetdagh floristic province, located in the northeast of iran and partly in southern turkmenistan which is a transitional zone connecting different floristic provinces of irano-turanian region. several allium species occur in the eastern or western limits of their distribution ranges in khorassan-kopetdagh as well as many narrow and local endemics (wendelbo, 1971; memariani et al., 2007, 2012). molecular analyses on newly described and rare allium species, especially using issr markers, may helpfully reveal their taxonomic position among the infrageneric classification of the genus. moreover, the assessment of genetic diversity among populations of allium species can help to prioritize conservation efforts in order to prevent the extinction of the rare and threatened taxa with lower genetic diversity and also effective conservation of the genetically variable taxa. acknowledgement this work was supported by the ferdowsi university of mashhad (grant no. 17812). references abdoli, m., habibi-khaniani, b., baghalian, k., shahnazi, s., rassouli, h. and badi, h.n. 2009. classification of iranian garlic (allium sativum l.) ecotypes using rapd marker. j. med. plants 8: 45−51. apg iii 2009. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg iii. bot. j. linn. soc. 161: 105–121. chase, m.w., reveal j.l. and fay, m.f. 2009. a subfamilial classification for the expanded asparagalean families amaryllidaceae, asparagaceae and xanthorrhoeaceae. bot. j. linn. soc. 161: 132–136. doyle, j.j. and doyle, j.l. 1990. a rapid total dna preparation procedure for fresh plant tissue. focus 12: 13−15. 74 samiei et al. ebrahimi, r., zamani, z. and kashi, a. 2009. genetic diversity evaluation of wild persian shallot (allium hirtifolium boiss.) using morphological and rapd markers. sci. hortic. 119: 345−351. friesen, n. 1995. the genus allium l. in the flora of mongolia. feddes repert. 106: 59–81. friesen, n., fritsch, r.m. and blattner, f.r. 2006. phylogeny and new intrageneric classification of allium (alliaceae) based on nuclear ribosomal dna its sequences. aliso 22: 372−395. fritsch, r.m. and abbasi, m. 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(manuscript received on 1 november 2014; revised on 11 june 2015) microsoft word 04. bjpt 16 85_edt_ka-lichen-april 16, 2017 done.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 23–32, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists lichen diversity in amadiya and rowanduz disricts in iraq zakaria s. almola1, basheer a. al-ni'ma and nadeem a. ramadan department of biology, college of sciences, university of mosul, iraq key words: lichens; iraq; physiogeographic regions; mountain region. abstract the lichen biota of the amadiya and rowanduz districts in the mountain physiogeographic region in iraq was sampled in 2013. the samples provided 47 species belonging to 29 genera and 14 families. among them 37 species are new records for iraq. all species except lichinella cribellifera and thelidium sp. were found in amadiya district whereas only 13 species occurred in rowanduz district. most of the species (59.5%) were crustose, while 27.6% were foliose, 12.7 % squamulose and none fruticose. the three most species-rich genera are caloplaca with 7 species, collema with 5 species and aspicilia with 3 species; 6 genera were represented by 2 species and 20 by single species. all saxicolous lichens were calciphilic while the corticolous lichens were acidophilic. the most common and dominant species is lecanora muralis, found in all 17 studied locations. introduction iraq is located in the middle east or south west asian region above 29° latitude. up to date the available knowledge concerning the lichen biota of iraq is very limited in comparison with those of the neighbour countries, especially turkey and iran. in turkey the study of lichens started in the 19th century by visiting foreign scientists. while in the 1980s turkish researchers started publishing their contributions. in two decades, between 1980 and 2000, they published more than 200 papers (john, 2007). in iran the first reports on lichens have been published by göbel in 1830 and eversmann in 1831 (seaward et al., 2004). the preliminary check list of iranian lichens published in 2004 by seaward et al. (2004) consists of 396 species of lichenized fungi in addition to 8 species of lichenicolous or allied fungi. for iraq, however, so far only three publications dealt with the biodiversity of lichens. the first one was published by steiner (1921). it contains identification results of the lichen specimens that have been collected by handel mazzetti during his expedition to mesopotamia, kurdistan, syria and prinkipo, posthumously published after revision by alexander zahlbruckner. the second one was published by schubert (1973) who collected lichens in iraq during 1969. the last one was published by poelt and sulzer (1974) about buelliaepigaea in the country. feuerer (2006) brought the 32 species of these three papers in a single list. four physio-geographic regions are distinguished in iraq viz. mountain, upper plains and foothills, desert plateau and lower mesopotamian region. each one is subdivided into a number of districts (guest, 1966). our study concerns the mountain region. this is divided into four districts namely, amadiya, rowanduz, sulaimaniya and jabel sinjar. mountain is considered the richest region by lichen biota due to the suitability of its climate and substrate for lichen growth. therefore it was selected for the present study that is considered as the first step in preparing a complete check list which will cover all iraqi physio-geographic regions and districts. 1 corresponding author. email: zakaria_sami@yahoo.com doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33002 24 aimola et al. materials and method the study area the mountain region of iraq extends from west zakho to southeast of halabja, and is delimited by the 500 m contour (the approximate lower limit of the mountain forest). this contour runs irregularly following the margin of the mountain in a general south-easterly direction, very roughly along a line passing near faishkhabur-zakho-simel-dohuk-alqosh-erbil-kirkuk, then some way north of tuz and kifri to halabja. in the north and northeast the region is bordered by the iraqi frontiers with turkey and iran, respectively (guest,1966). according to guest (1966), the mountain region contains four physio-geographic districts, two of which are the subject of our study, viz. amadiya and rowanduze (figure 1). amadiya district is bordered in the east by the greater zab tributary, and in the north by the iraqi frontier with turkey, while rowanduz district is located between the greater and lesser zab tributaries of the tigris river. fig. 1. physiogeographic regions and districts of iraq, after guest (1966). the upper north eastern part represents the mountain region; mam= amadiya district, mro= rowanduz district, msu= sulaimaniya district and mjs= jabal sinjar district. lichen diversity in amadiya and rowanduz 25 geologically, the iraqi mountains consist mainly of cretaceous and eocene limestone and shale, with paleozoic strata exposed here and there in the cores of eroded anticlines, followed towards the south-west by miocene lower fars gypsum with red shale and thin limestone bands, overlying a basal conglomerate; and ending with miocene upper fars and red shale and the pliocene bakhtiari conglomerates. a belt of confused topography stretching along the north-east frontier from rowanduz to halabja is made up of a variety of basic and ultrabasic igneous and metamorphic rocks, with radiolarian chert and a little limestone (macfadyen, 1966). the climate of the area is generally warm-temperate. july is the hottest month where air temperature may surpass 400 c and january is the coldest month where air temperature approaches zero 0 c. the rainy period extends, generally, from october to may and the amount of rain is variable during the season and from year to year, for example the minimum and maximum amount of rain that have been fallen on dohuk city centre between (1980-2005) were 284.3 and 909.7 mm/year during 1994 and 1999, respectively (al-rijabo and bleej, 2010). table 1. average climatological data for two city centers located within the study area. unit dohuk erbil range of maximum air temp. 0 c 11.0-42.0 12.4-42.0 range of minimum air temp. 0 c 3.0-27.0 2.4-24.9 annual rain fall mm/year 616 543 the data represent an average of the last two decades and are obtained from wikipedia. collection, preservation and identification of specimens lichens from different substrates (soil, rocks and tree trunks) have been collected between february and may 2013 from 17 locations, of which 12 located in amadiya district and 5 in rowanduz district (table 2). table 2. names and coordinates of the study locations. coordinates locations sl. no. 37° 13´ 52” n 42° 50´ 45” e sharanish 1. 37° 01´ 04” n 43° 13´ 44” e sarsang 2. 36° 51´ 50” n 43° 05´ 34” e zawita 3. 36° 52´ 37” n 43° 20´10” e by the road, about 2 km north gali balkaif 4. 36° 52´ 22” n 43° 20´ 45” e by the road about 1 km south east galibalkaif 5. 36° 50´ 01” n 43° 14´ 00” e by the road of shaikhadi-zawita 6. 36° 49´ 59” n 43° 19´ 38” e atrush 7. amadiya district 26 aimola et al. (contd.). coordinates locations sl. no. 36° 48´ 50” n 43° 59´49” e dinarta 8. 36° 48´ 12” n 43° 18´ 07” e galibalkaif 9. 36° 46´ 30” n 43° 18´ 59” e shaikhadi 10. 36° 45´ 05” n 43° 19´ 48” e shaikh aid road fork 11. 36° 45´ 03” n 43° 58´ 32” e galizanta 12. 36° 37´ 55” n 44° 26´ 49” e gali ali beg 13. 36° 37´ 07” n 44° 25´ 04” e khalifan 14. 36° 26´ 07” n 44° 23´ 33” e heran 15. 36° 24´ 30” n 44° 18´ 06” e shaqlawa 16. 36° 23´ 02” n 44° 15´ 56” e kori-kori sheer 17. rowanduz district in the field, each specimen was preserved in a numbered paper bag and the related essential data were recorded. in the laboratory, the specimens were air dried and preserved permanently in labeled paper bags and deposited in the herbarium of the biology department, college of sciencesmosul university (mos). using olympus compound and stereomicroscopes the lichen specimens were identified after the keys following brodo et al. (2001), dobson (2011) and goward et al. (1994). the identifications were confirmed by harrie sipman from the freie university of berlin (germany) on the basis of notes and photos of whole specimens, cross sections and spores. results list of the taxa with life form, substrate, and distribution in the two districts # = new record for the district; * = new record for iraq. family: acarosporaceae genus: acarospora #1. acarospora cervina a. massal. (1852) squamulose; on limestone, in amadiya district only: locations 1, 2, 9, 11 & 12. genus: sarcogyne *2. sarcogyne regularis körb. (1855) crustose; on limestone, in amadiya district only: location 7. lichen diversity in amadiya and rowanduz 27 family: candelariaceae genus: candelariella #3. candelariella aurella (hoffm.) zahlbr. (1928) crustose; on exposed calcareous rocks, in amadiya district only: locations 1 & 3. *4. candelariella xanthostigma (pers. ex ach.) lettau (1912) crustose; on bark of oak trees, in amadiya district only: location 2. family: collemataceae genus: collema *5. collema cristatum (l.) weber ex f. h. wigg. (1780) foliose; on hard limestone and soil, in amadiya district only: locations 1, 5, 7, 10 & 11. *6.collema fuscovirens (with.) j.r. laundon (1984) foliose; on exposed, hard, calcareous rocks and dolomitic limestone, in amadiya and rowanduz district: locations 2 & 16. *7. collema ligerinum (hy) harm. (1905) foliose; on bark of oak trees, in amadiya district only: location 5 *8. collema polycarpon hoffm. (1796) foliose; on exposed, hard, calcareous rocks, in amadiya district only: location 11. *9. collema tenax (sw.) ach. (1810) foliose; on soil containing calcium, in amadiya district only: location 9. family: graphidaceae genus: diploschistes #10. diploschistes ocellatus (fr.) norman (1853) crustose; on calcareous and shale rocks, in amadiya and rowanduz districts: locations 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13 & 14. family: lecanoraceae genus: lecanora #11. lecanora muralis (schreber) rabenh. (1845) crustose; on dolomite, limestone, shale and siliceous rocks, in amadiya and rowanduz district: all 17 locations. family: lichinaceae genus: lichinella *12. lichinella cribellifera (nyl.) p. p. moreno &egea (1992) foliose; on limestone and siliceous rocks, in rowanduz district only: location 14. 28 aimola et al. family: megasporaceae genus: aspicilia #13. aspicilia calcarea (l.) mudd (1861) crustose; on limestone, dolomitic limestone and shale rocks, in amadiya and rowanduz districts: locations 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14 & 16. *14. aspicilia contorta (hoffm.) kremp. (1861) crustose; on limestone and non-calcareous rocks, in amadiya district only: locations 10, 11 & 12. *15. aspicilia ferruginea (j. steiner) szatala crustose; on dolomitic limestone, in amadiya district only: locations 1, 5 & 9. genus: lobothallia *16. lobothallia praeradiosa (nyl.) hafellner (1991) crustose; on limestone and siliceous rocks, in amadiya district only: locations 6, 7 & 10. *17. lobotha lliaradiosa (hoffm.) hafellner (1991) crustose; on calcareous rocks, in amadiya district only: location 12. genus: megaspora *18. megaspora verrucosa (ach.) hafellner and v. wirth (1987) crustose; on bark of oak trees, in amadiya district only: locations 2 & 12. family: parmeliaceae genus: melanelia *19. melanelia glabra (schaer.) essl. (1987) foliose; on bark of oak trees, in amadiya district only: location 5. genus: parmelina *20. parmelina tiliacea (hoffm.) hale (1974) foliose; on bark of oak trees, in amadiya district only: location 6. family: physciaceae genus: anaptychia *21. anaptychia desertorum (rupr.) poelt (1969) foliose; on bark of oak trees, in amadiya district only: locations 2, 9 & 10. genus: diplotomma *22. diplotomma hedinii (h. magn.) p. clerc& cl. roux (2004) crustose; on calcareous rocks, in amadiya district only: location 1. lichen diversity in amadiya and rowanduz 29 genus: phaeophyscia *23. phaeophyscia orbicularis (neck.) moberg (1977) foliose; on bark of oak and pine trees, in amadiya district only: locations 2, 10 & 12. genus:physcia *24. physcia biziana (a. massal.) zahlbr. (1901) foliose; on bark of oak and hawthorn trees, in amadiya district only: locations 2, 6, 10 & 12. genus: physconia *25. physconia distorta (with.) j. r. laundon (1984) foliose; on bark of oak trees, in amadiya district only: locations 5, 6 & 7. genus: rinodina #26. rinodina bischoffii hepp (1855) crustose; on limestone, in amadiya and rowanduz districts: locations 3 & 17. family: psoraceae genus: psora #27. psora decipiens (hedwig) hoffm. (1794) squamulose; on calcareous soil, sandy stones and limestone, in amadiya district only: locations 4, 5, 6, 9, 10 & 11. *28. psora vallesiaca (schaer.) timdal (1984) squamulose; on calciferous soil, limestone and shale rocks, in amadiya and rowanduz districts: locations 1,8 & 13. family: ramalinaceae genus: lecania *29. lecania koerberianaj. lahm (1859) crustose; on bark of oak trees, in amadiya district only: location 2. genus: squamarina *30. squamarina cartilaginea (with.) p. james (1980) squamulose; on calcareous rocks and stony calcareous soil, sometimes on mosses that grow on soil, in amadiya and rowanduz districts: locations 1, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12 & 14. #31. squamarina lentigera (weber) poelt (1958) squamulose; on sandy stones and on calcareous, especially gypsiferous soils, in amadiya district only: location 9. 30 aimola et al. genus: toninia #32. toninia sedifolia (scop.) timdal (1991) squamulose; on sandy stones and soil, in amadiya and rowanduz districts: locations 1, 8, 9 & 14. family: stereocaulaceae genus: lepraria *33. lepraria vouauxii (hue) r. c. harris (1987) crustoseleprose (powdery), on limestone and siliceous rocks, in amadiya district only: location 1. family: teloschistaceae genus: caloplaca *34. caloplaca aegyptiaca (müll. arg.) j. steiner (1893) crustose; on limestone, in amadiya district only: location 4. *35. caloplaca aurantia (hoffm.) hafellner (1991) crustose; on limestone, in amadiya and rowanduz district: locations 4, 5, 10, 11, 12 & 14. *36. caloplaca biatorina (a. massal.) j. steiner (1910) crustose; on dolomitic limestone, in amadiya and rowanduz districts: locations 4, 16 & 17. *37. caloplaca chalybaea (fr.) mull. arg. (1862) crustose; on hard calcareous rocks, in amadiya district only: location 7. *38. caloplaca erythrocarpa (pers.) zwackh (1862) crustose; on calcareous rocks, in amadiya district only: location 9. *39. caloplaca polycarpoides (j. steiner) m. steiner & poelt (1982) crustose; on bark of oak and pine trees, in amadiya district only: location 2. *40. caloplaca variabilis (pers.) mull. arg. (1862) crustose; on calcareous rocks, in amadiya district only: location 1. genus:fulgensia *41. fulgensia schistidii (anzi) poelt (1965) crustose; on moss schistidiumapocarpum, in amadiya district only: location 1. *42. fulgensia subbracteata (nyl.) poelt (1961) crustose; on limestone, dolomitic limestone, shale rocks, sandstones and soil, in amadiya and rowanduz district: locations 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14 & 16. family: verrucariaceae genus: dermatocarpon *43. dermatocarpon miniatum (l.)w. mann (1825) foliose; on limestone, in amadiya district only: locations 3 & 12. lichen diversity in amadiya and rowanduz 31 genus: placocarpus *44. placocarpus schaereri (fr.) breuss (1985) crustose; on limestone, dolomitic limestone and shale rocks, in amadiya and rowanduz districts; locations 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 13, 14, 15 & 16. genus: thelidium *45. thelidium sp. a. massal. (1855) crustose; on limestone, in rowanduz district only: location 14. genus: verrucaria *46. verrucaria macrostoma dufour ex dc. (1805) crustose; on siliceous rocks, in amadiya district only: location 4. #47. verrucaria nigrescens pers. (1795) crustose; on dolomitic limestone and shale rocks, in amadiya and rowanduz districts: locations 1, 6, 13, 15 & 17. discussion lichen specimens collected in amadiya and rowanduz districts revealed 47 species in 29 genera and 14 families. all these species, except lichinella cribellifera and thelidium sp., were found in amadiya district whereas, 13 species were found in rowanduz district. out of 47 species recorded, 37 species are new records for iraq (marked by an asterisk (*) in the list) and 10 were known before from the country but are new records for the two districts (marked by "#"). of the recorded species 59.5 % were crustose, 27.6% foliose and 12.7 % squamulose. no fruticose species were found. considering the substrates, most species grow only on one type, either soil, rock or trees, with few exceptions such as aspicilia calcarea, fulgensia schistidii and psora decipiens which were collected from a variety of substrates as rock, soil and sandstone. the epiphyte physcia biziana was found on bark of oak and hawthorn trees. like iraqi higher plants, the epilithic (saxicolous) lichens are lime lovers (calciphiles) since the rocks of the studied area are all calcareous, with available lime, which is normally present as calcium carbonate giving aqueous extracts of higher ph on the alkaline side of the neutral point (guest,1966), however the epiphytic species, according to oran (2011) can be called calcifuges or acidophilic as their results showed that the highest average ph values of the bark of 18 oak species was 6.16 and the lowest one was 4.76. the epiphytic (corticolous) lichens were found on four species only, viz. quercus aegilops, q. infectoria, crataegus azarolus and pinus brutia. the largest genera were caloplaca represented by 7 species, collema with 5 species and aspicilia with 3 species. six genera were represented by two species and 20 by one species only. the distribution of the recorded species was also widely variable, some species as caloplaca chalybaea, collema tenax, sarcogyne regularis and another 18 species were found in one location only, i.e showed narrow distribution. on the other hand, lecanora muralis was found in all 17 locations, hence it is considered the most dominant species. comparatively less dominant species are fulgensia subbracteata and aspicilia calcarea, both found in 10 locations, then placocarpus schaereri, which appeared in 9 locations. the most dominant species, lecanora muralis can be described as an ubiquitous crustose lichen, it grows all over the world including europe, asia, north america, 32 aimola et al. south africa, africa, macronesia, oceania and australasia (nash et al., 2001). this wide spreading is possibly due to the ability of the species to grow on a wide variety of rocks, basalt, pumice, rhyolite, granite, sandstone and limestone (op. cit.). moreover it is a desiccation tolerant species and it can overcome dry spells of considerable duration. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to dr. harrie sipman of botanical garden, berlin of the freie university, germany for his helpful collaboration in this work. references al-rijabo, w.i. and bleej, d.a. 2010. variation of rainfall with space and time in duhok. education science 23(1): 32-43. brodo, i.m., sharnoff, s.d. and sharnoff, s. 2001. lichens of north america. new haven, yale university press, london. dobson, f.s. 2011. lichens an illustrated guide to the british & irish species. sixth revised & enlarged edition. the richmond publishing co. ltd., england. eversmann, e. 1831. in: lichen emesculentum pall. et species consimilesadversaria. nova acta acad. caes. leopold. carol. 15(2): 349-362. feuerer, t. 2006. check list of lichens and lichenicolous fungi, version 1.http://www.checklist.de. goward, t., mccune, b. and meidinger, d. 1994. the lichens of british columbia. ministry of forests research program. göbel, f. 1830. chemische untersuchungeiner in persienherabgeregneten substanz, der parmelia esculenta .j. chem. phys. 60: 393-399. guest, e. 1966. flora of iraq. vol. 1, ministry of agriculture, republic of iraq. john, v. 2007. lichenological studies in turkey and their relevance to environmental interpretation. bocconea 21: 85-93. macfadyen, w.a. 1966. the geology of iraq. in: guest, e. (ed.). flora of iraq. vol. 1, ministry of agriculture, republic of iraq. nash, t.h., ryan, b.d., gries, c. and bungartz, f. 2001. lichen flora of the greater sonoran desert region. vol. 2. arizona state university, tempe, arizona, usa. oran s. 2011. investigations on the bark ph and epiphytic lichen diversity of quercus taxa found in marmara region. j. appl. biol. sci. 5(1): 27-33. poelt, j. and sulzer, m. 1974. die erdflechte buelliaepigaea, eine sammelart. nova hedwigia 25(1+2): 173194. schubert, r. 1973. notizenzur flechtenflora des nördlichen mesopotamien(irak). feddes rept. 83: 585-589. seaward, m.r.d., sipman, h.j.m., schultz, m., maassoumi, a.a., haji monirianbaran, m. & sohrabi, m. 2004. a preliminary lichen checklist for iran. willdenowia 34: 543-576. steiner, j. 1921. lichenesaus mesopotamien und kurdistan sowie syrien und prinkipo. wissenschaftliche ergebnisse der expedition nach mesopotamien 1910. ann. naturhist. staatsmus. wien 34:1-68. (manuscript received on 28 july 2016; revised on 4 april 2017) microsoft word 12. 121-13 zingiber salarkhanii ok 4.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 239-242, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists zingiber salarkhanii (zingiberaceae), a new species from bangladesh m. atiqur rahman and m. yusuf1 department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: new species; zingiberaceae; zingiber salarkhanii; bangladesh. abstract zingiber salarkhanii rahman et yusuf, belonging to the family zingiberaceae, is described and illustrated from bangladesh as a new species. it was collected from six different localities of hilly forests in chittagong, khagrachari and moulvi bazar districts. morphological diagnostic characters of closely related species of the genus are discussed. introduction the genus zingiber boehm. is characterized by its aromatic branched rhizomes, leafy erect pseudo-stems, lateral spikes, lateral staminodes adnate to labellum, forming a 3-lobed structure, tri-locular ovary and dehiscent capsules. the genus is widely distributed throughout tropical asia by more than 100 species (mabberley, 2008). it is known to be represented in bangladesh by 6 species, viz., zingiber capitatum roxb., z. officinale rosc., z. purpureum rosc., z. roseum (roxb.) rosc., z. rubens roxb. and z. zerumbet (l.) r.m. smith (yusuf, 2008). while working with the family zingiberaceae since 1993 for its species diversity and complete inventory for the flora of bangladesh, we came across some unidentified specimens of the genus zingiber boehm. collected from the forests of chittagong, khagrachari and moulvi bazar districts which could not be matched with any named species of the genus. the specimens were critically examined and described. consultation of relevant literature (roxburgh, 1814, 1820, 1832; wallich, 1829-1849; baker, 1890; prain, 1903; heinig, 1925; kanzilal et. al., 1934; raizada, 1941; sinclair, 1956; rahman, 1995; rahman and yusuf, 1996, 1997) and experts of the herbaria of e and k recognised this as a new species of the genus zingiber boehm. it is characterized by its shorter (0.5 cm) and 3-lobed ligule; ovoid, compact and pinkish spike; broader, emmerginate and variegated labellum; lanceolate and pinkish petals and larger fruits. hence, the genus zingiber boehm. is being recognized here to be represented in the flora of bangladesh by 7 species including this new one, zingiber salarkhanii. the new species is described along with field photographs. key to the species: 1. inflorescence basal. 2 inflorescence terminal on a leafy shoot. spike subcylindric, peduncle hairy, bracts lanceolate, pubescent. zingiber capitatum 2. inflorescence stalk 10-20 cm long, erect, spike much above the ground, lateral lobes of labellum well developed. 3 inflorescence stalk 2-7 cm long, prostrate, spike at ground level or partially burried; lateral lobes of labellum inconspicuous. 5 1bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research, chittagong, bangladesh. 240 rahman and yusuf 3. leaves narrow, 2-3 cm wide; spike small, 4.5-5.5×2-2.2 cm; labellum dark purple, with creamy yellow blotches. zingiber officinale leaves broad, 4-8 cm wide; spike large, 7-16×2-6 cm; labellum pinkish or unspotted. 4 4. ligule minute, c. 1 mm long, bilobed; bracts pubescent, purplishbrown; labellum pinkish at base; rhizome deep yellow inside; spike head typically pointed. zingiber purpureum ligule long, 1.5-3.0 cm, entire; bracts green; labellum not pinkish at base; rhizome pale yellow inside; spike head characteristically rounded. zingiber zerumbet 5. corolla tube less than 3.6 cm, hairy; lateral petals free. 6 corolla tube more than 4.5 cm, glabrous; lateral petals united. zingiber rubens 6. ligule 1.2-1.5 cm long, entire; spike dull red; petals linear, red with white bases; labellum entire, margin light yellow; fruits small, c. 3 × 2 cm. zingiber roseum ligule up to 0.5 cm long, 3-lobed; spike pinkish; petals lanceolate, pinkish throughout; labellum 3-lobed, emerginate, variegated; fruits large, 5.5-7.7 × 2.0-2.7 cm. zingiber salarkhanii zingiber salarkhanii rahman et yusuf sp. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: zingiber salarkhanii distinctus per trilobus ligulis, compactus et subroseus spicatus, immerginatus et variegatus labellum, lanceolatus et subroseus petalis, grandis fructibus. holotypus: bangladesh, chittagong, sitakundu, chandranath hill, 13.08.1993, m. yusuf & m. a. rahman 825 (bcsirh). leafy stem 1.5-2.0 m long. leaves sessile, elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 45-66 × 13-16 cm, lower surface provided with long appressed hairs at maturity; ligules very short, less than 0.5 mm, glabrous. spike short, sessile or sub-sessile, compact, ovate, c. 8 × 4 cm, pinkish, arising from the base of the plant; involucrate, bracts large, broad, 4.0-4.5 × 1.5-2.0 cm, pinkish, hairy; inner bracts lanceolate, acute, 4.5-5.4 × 1.0-1.5 cm, pink, hairy. bracteoles obovate-oblong, 4.0 × 1.8 cm, 3lobed, folded, pinkish, hairy. calyx tubular, 2.0-2.5 cm long, irregularly 3-toothed, unilaterally split more than half part, pinkish, hairy. corolla tube 3.4-3.6 cm long, pinkish-white, hairy; lobes 3, sub-equal, lanceolate, dorsal lobe 3.0-3.5 × 1.2-1.3 cm, lateral lobes 3.0-3.3 × 8.0-9.0 mm, hairy, light pink. labellum ovate, 3-lobed, c. 3.2 × 2.5 cm; middle lobe notched at apex, white, marked with purple, lateral lobes variegated with red and yellow. stamens arching over the lips; anthers sub-sessile, 1.7-1.8 cm long, yellow; beak of anther c. 1-2 cm long, red. ovary 5 × 4 mm, villous; stigma curved, ciliate. capsule large, ovate-oblong, triangular, 5.5-7.7 × 2.0-2.7 cm, 3valved, valves fleshy, reddish, inside bright red. seeds oblong, c 7 × 3 mm, black, covered with white fibrous arils, arranged in rows. phenology: flowering from july to august and fruiting from september to november. specimens examined: chittagong: baroiadhala-hazarikhil hill forests, 29.10.1978, huq et al. h. 3974 (dach); sitakundu, chandranath hill, 13.08.1993, m. yusuf & m. a. rahman 825 (bcsirh: type!; chittagong cantonment area, nachunikhola, 15.09.1993, m. yusuf 845 (bcsirh); bordighee to bhatiary road, 04.11.1993, m. yusuf 860 (bcsirh). khagrachari: zingiber salarkhanii rahman et yusuf (zingiberaceae) 241 teen tila, marissa road, 30.08.1997, m. a. rahman et al. 1871 (hcu). moulvi bazar: srimangal, lawachara reserve forest, 15.07.1993, m. yusuf & m. a. rahman 811 (bcsirh). fig. 1. zingiber salarkhanii rahman et yusuf; a. habit; b. a shoot with lateral spike; c. calyx tube (× 2.4); d. dorsal petal (× 1.3); e. lateral petal (× 1.4); f. labellum (× 1.4). ecology: grows in hill slopes and foot hills in partial shades. conservation status: it is located to more than six different localities in the tropical forests of eastern hilly areas of the country with a good number of populations. it can be regarded as lr (lc) category (iucn, 1994). etymology: zingiber salarkhanii rahman et yusuf is named in honour of late professor dr. m. salar khan, the founder of bangladesh national herbarium, for his outstanding contribution and dedication towards the inventory of the flora, exploration, collection and identification of huge number of plant specimens. note: zingiber salarkhanii rahman et yusuf is closer to z. roseum (roxb.) rosc. but differs for its shorter and 3-lobed ligule; ovoid, compact and pinkish spike; broader, emerginate and variegated labellum; lanceolate and pinkish petals and larger fruits. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the authorities of the cal, e, k, dacb and dush for providing facilities to study their material and to consult their libraries. 242 rahman and yusuf references baker, j.g. 1890. scitamineae, in: j.d. hooker, flora of british india 6: 198-257. reeve & co. england. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling. 84 pp. iucn 1994. red list categories. gland, switzerland: iucn species survival commission. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1934. flora of assam, vol. 1. government of assam, shillong. mabberley, d.j. 2008. the plant book. a portable dictionary of the vascular plants. (3rd edition) cambridge university press, cambridge, u.k. pp. 858. prain, d. 1903. scitamineae. bengal plants 2:262-273. reprint 1981 rahman, m.a. 1995. an index of wallich material of zingiberaceae, costaceae and marantaceae from bangladesh held in herb. wall (k-w). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 1-5. rahman, m.a. and yusuf, m. 1996. diversity, ecology and ethnobotany of the zingiberaceae of bangladesh. j. econ. taxon. bot. addl. series 12:13-19. rahman, m.a. and yusuf, m. 1997. new records of zingiberaceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 26(1): 1-5. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. the indian forester 67: 245-267. roxburgh, w. 1814. monandria monogynia. hortus bengalensis (num. nud.). 1-2 p. roxburgh, w. 1820. monandria monogynia. flora indica, ed. carey. roxburgh, w. 1832. monandria monogynia. flora indica, ed. carey. sinclair, j. 1956. scitamineae. the flora of cox’s bazar. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 84-116. wallich, n. 1829-1849. a numerical list of dried specimens of plants in the east indian company’s museum (ined.). yusuf, m. 2008. (zingiberace) in: ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.m. and haque, e.u. (eds.). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh,vol. 12. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 505 pp. (manuscript received on 3 october 2013; revised on 4 november 2013) microsoft word 12. bjpt 17 18_edt_ka-15-5-2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 107–116, 2017 (june) plant diversity of sonadia island – an ecologically critical area of south-east bangladesh m.s. arefin, m.k. hossain1 and m. akhter hossain institute of forestry and environmental sciences, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: plant diversity; ecologically critical area; sonadia island; mangroves. abstract the study focuses the plant diversity in different habitats, status and percentage distribution of plants in sonadia island, moheshkhali, cox’s bazar of bangladesh. a total of 138 species belonging to 121 genera and 52 families were recorded and the species were categorised to tree (56 species), shrub (17), herb (48) and climber (17). poaceae represents the largest family containing 8 species belonging to 8 genera. homestead vegetation consists of 78% species followed by roadside (23%) and cultivated land (10%), mangroves (9%), sandy beaches (4%) and wetland (1%). the major traditional use categories were timber, food and fodder, fuel, medicine and fencing where maximum plant species (33% of recorded) were traditionally being used for food and fodder. introduction sonadia island at moheshkhali of cox’s bazar is situated in the southern-eastern coastal region of bangladesh with partial regular inundations of saline water. the island covers an area of 10,298 hectares including coastal and mangrove plantations, salt production fields, shrimp culture firms, plain agriculture lands, human settlements etc. ecosystem of this island was adversely affected due to increasing rate of anthropogenic disturbances. to protect the ecosystem of this island, it was declared as ecologically critical area (eca) in 1999 under section of the bangladesh environment conservation act, 1995 (moef, 2015). ecas are ecologically defined areas or ecosystems affected adversely by the changes brought through human activities. this island is floristically composed of a number of mangrove and terrestrial plant species. the island is important not only as renewable resources but also as an essential in conservation of nature, wildlife, fish and environment of the island and the surrounding areas. the eca needs special attention for environmental conservation in terms of both flora and fauna aspects. for this, a comprehensive list of the flora and fauna existing in sonadia island is essential. moloney (2006) reported 60 vascular plants from sonadia in the draft sonadia island eca conservation and management plan. there had been gradual changes in the ecological conditions due to increased anthropogenic interference. since, no complete study was carried out throughout the period, it is completely unknown if any changes in the floristic composition of the critically endangered ecosystem has occurred in the last decade. therefore, the present study was undertaken with the aim of assessing the plant resources of sonadia island, an eca based on extensive field observations. materials and methods study area sonadia island is located in the far south-eastern corner of bangladesh at 21°n and 91°e, the site lies a few kilometers north of teknaf peninsula, north-west of cox’s bazar town and is bounded by the bay of bengal on the west and east (fig. 1). 1corresponding author: email: mkhossain2009@gmail.com doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33037 108 arefin et al. fig. 1. location of sonadia island in moheshkhali upazila of cox’s bazar district, bangladesh. plant diversity of sonadia island 109 the island is separated from the mainland by the moheshkhali channel and from moheshkhali island by the bara canal. the soil of this area is the admixture of sand and clay in varying proportion. the soil of the north part is clay and is inundated by sea water. the entire soil condition of the south part is almost sandy (doe, 1999). the whole island has a mild temperature and high humidity. the summer begins from march and continues till the beginning of june. the annual average temperature in cox's bazar is 34.8°c and a minimum of 16.1°c. sonadia island is a gently sloping low-lying barrier island with an altitude range of 0-4 metres (doe, 1999). field visit, data collection and analysis a reconnaissance survey was conducted in the sonadia island eca prior to the field work to have a general idea of the site, topography, species composition, habitat condition and socioeconomic status of the local people. the flora study methods include key informant interview, reconnaissance survey, and field data collection through whole area survey, homestead plant survey, and focused group discussion from october, 2015 to august 2016. field work was scheduled in such a way that enable plant observation and specimen collections of unknown plant species during the flowering and fruiting time of maximum number of species. a total 9 foot trails of different length (3-7 km each) in two villages (purbo para and passchim para) and 9 boat journey through the surrounding canals, rivers and sea shore (total 33 km (approx.) were made to record the flora of homesteads and mangrove forests of sonadia island. survey was continued until occurrence of new species. the observed plant species were identified and recorded in the field. habitat and habit form were also recorded. herbarium specimen of rare and unidentified plant samples with fertile material (flower, fruit and seed) were collected and prepared for identification after necessary processing. plant specimens with only vegetative part were also collected for herbarium preparation in case of unavailability of fertile materials. photographs of the characteristic plant species from suitable projection were taken to keep a digital record of morphological features of the plants. along with verification of the local names, local use of the recorded plants was explored through focused group discussion in the two villages of sonadia island. herbarium specimens were identified by consultation with voucher specimens and taxonomists of bangladesh forest research institute as well as recognized references, viz. prain (1903); heinig (1925); siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008). the identified taxa were arranged alphabetically with species names. results floristic composition a total of 138 plant species belonging to 121 genera and 52 families were identified from the sonadia island (table 1). among the recorded 138 species, poaceae appeared as the largest family with 8 species under 8 genera followed by cucurbitaceae (7 genera and 8 species), and mimosaceae (8 species and 6 genera) (fig. 2). most of the families (28 nos.) were represented by only 1 species each (table 1). growth (habit) forms of the plants the recorded flora of sonadia island is grouped under tree, shrubs, herbs and climbers growth (habit) forms. trees constitute the major category (56 species) of plant species followed by herbs (48 species), shrubs (17 species), and climbers (17 species) (fig. 3). number of tree species in mimosaceae was maximum (5 genera and 7 species), whereas shrubs were maximum in verbenaceae (3 genera and 4 species). in case of herbs and climbers amaranthaceae (4 genera and 7 species) and cucurbitaceae (7 genera and 8 species) were represented by maximum species respectively. 110 arefin et al. table 1. list of plant species recorded from sonadia island of bangladesh. sn scientific name local name family name habit habitat 1 acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. & hook. akashmoni mimosaceae t* homestead, roadside 2 abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench vandi malvaceae h cultivated 3 acacia farnesiana (l.) willd. bilati babla mimosaceae t homestead 4 acanthus ilicifolius l. hargoza acanthaceae s mangrove 5 aegialitis rotundifolia roxb. nunia gach plumbaginaceae s mangrove 6 albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. kala koroi mimosaceae t homestead 7 albizia procera (roxb.) benth. sada koroi mimosaceae t homestead 8 alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g. don mankachu amaranthaceae h homestead 9 alternanthera philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. helencha amaranthaceae h cultivated, roadside 10 alternanthera sessilis (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult. saci shak amaranthaceae h cultivated 11 amaranthus spinosus l. katashak amaranthaceae h homestead 12 amaranthus tricolor l. lalshak amaranthaceae h homestead, cultivated 13 amaranthus viridis l. datashak amaranthaceae h homestead, roadside 14 anacardium occidentale l. kajubadam anacardiaceae t homestead 15 areca catechu l. supari arecaceae t homestead 16 argyreia capitiformis (poir.) oostr. voga lata convolvulaceae c roadside 17 artocarpus heterophyllus lamak. kathal moraceae t homestead 18 asystasia gangetica (l.) t. anders. acanthaceae h roadside 19 averrhoa carambola l. kamranga averrhoaceae t homestead 20 avicennia alba blume. sada baen avicenniaceae t mangrove 21 avicennia marina (forsk.) vierh. moriccha baen avicenniaceae t mangrove 22 avicennia officinalis l. kalo baen avicenniaceae t mangrove 23 azadirachta indica a.juss. neem meliaceae t homestead 24 bambusa vulgaris schrad.ex wendl. baijja bans poaceae t homestead 25 basella rubra l. poi shak basellaceae c homestead 26 benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. chal kumra cucurbitaceae c homestead 27 blumea lacera (burm.f.) kukur muta asteraceae h roadside 28 brassica juncea (l.) czern. rai sorisa brassicaceae h homestead 29 calotropis procera (ait.) r. br. akanda asclepiadaceae t homestead 30 canavalia virosa (roxb.) wight & arn. kalo shim fabaceae h homestead 31 capsicum frutescens l. morich solanaceae h homestead, cultivated 32 carica papaya l. pepe caricaceae s homestead 33 carissa carandas l. koromcha apocynaceae s homestead 34 cassia fistula l. sonalu caesalpiniaceae t homestead 35 casuarina equisetifolia forst. jau casuarinaceae t sandy beach, roadside plant diversity of sonadia island 111 (contd. sn scientific name local name family name habit habitat 36 catharanthus roseus (l.) g.don nayantara apocynaceae h homestead 37 ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. burma simul bombacaceae t homestead 38 cicca acida (l.) merr. orboroi euphorbiaceae t homestead 39 citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle lebu rutaceae t homestead 40 citrus grandis (l.) osbeck jambura rutaceae t homestead 41 citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai tormuj cucurbitaceae c cultivated 42 clerodendrum inerme (l.) gaertn. bonjui verbenaceae s roadside 43 cocos nucifera l. narikel arecaceae t homestead 44 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kachu araceae h homestead 45 commelina benghalensis l. kanchira commelinaceae h cultivated 46 corypha umbraculifera l. arecaceae t homestead 47 crotalaria juncea l. junjuni fabaceae h roadside 48 cucumis melo l. bangi cucurbitaceae c cultivated 49 cucumis sativus l. khira cucurbitaceae c cultivated 50 cucurbita maxima duch. ex lamk. misti kumra cucurbitaceae c homestead, cultivated 51 curcuma longa l. halud zingiberaceae h homestead 52 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durbagass poaceae h roadside 53 cyperus javanicus houtt. kucha cyperaceae h roadside 54 dalbergia spinosa roxb. churilla kanta fabaceae c mangrove 55 delonix regia rafin. krishnachura caesalpiniaceae t homestead 56 dendrocalamus giganteus wall. ex munro budhum bans poaceae t homestead 57 dioscorea bulbifera l. pagla alu dioscoreaceae s homestead 58 eclipta alba (l.) hassk. kesaraj asteraceae h roadside 59 elaeis guineensis jacq. oil palm arecaceae t homestead 60 erythrina fusca lour. kata mandar fabaceae t homestead 61 eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. euclyptus myrtaceae t homestead 62 eupatorium odoratum l. assam gach asteraceae h cultivated 63 excoecaria agallocha l. gewa euphorbiaceae t mangrove 64 ficus benghalensis l. bot moraceae t homestead 65 garuga pinnata roxb. bhadi burseraceae t homestead 66 gmelina arborea roxb. gamar verbenaceae t homestead 67 hedyotis corymbosa (l.) lam. khetpapra rubiaceae h roadside, cultivated 68 heliotropium curassavicum l. hatisur boraginaceae s mangrove 69 heliotropium indicum l. hatisur boraginaceae h roadside 70 hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. joba malvaceae s homestead 71 hopea odorata roxb. telsur dipterocarpaceae t homestead 72 hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma lamiaceae s roadside 73 imperata cylindrica (l.) p. beauv. chan poaceae h roadside 112 arefin et al. (contd.) sn scientific name local name family name habit habitat 74 ipomea batatas (l.) lam. misti alu convolvulaceae c homestead, cultivated 75 ipomea pes-caprae (l.) r. br. sagorlata convolvulaceae c sandy beach 76 ipomoea aquatica forsk. kolmi shak convolvulaceae c homestead 77 ipomoea fistulosa mart. ex choisy dolkolomi convolvulaceae s roadside 78 jatropha curcas l. baghverenda euphorbiaceae s roadside 79 justicia gendarussa burm. f. jagmodon acanthaceae h roadside 80 lablab purpureus (l.) sweet sheem fabaceae c homestead 81 lagenaria vulgaris seringe lao cucurbitaceae c homestead 82 lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. jarul lythraceae t roadside 83 lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. bhadi anacardiaceae t homestead 84 lantana camara l. moggula verbenaceae s homestead, roadside 85 launaea sarmentosa (wild.) sch. bip. ex kantze asteraceae h roadside 86 lawsonia inermis l. mendi lythraceae s homestead 87 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit. ipil-ipil mimosaceae t homestead 88 leucas aspera (willd.) link. shetodhrona lamiaceae h roadside 89 leucas cephalotes (roth) spreng. bara-halkus lamiaceae h roadside 90 lindernia ciliata (colsm.) pennell bhui scrophulariaceae t roadside 91 ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara kesra-dum onagraceae h roadside 92 luffa cylindrica m. roem. dundul cucurbitaceae c roadside 93 lumnitzera racemosa willd. kirpa combretaceae t mangrove 94 lycopersicon esculentum mill. tomato solanaceae h homestead, cultivated 95 mangifera indica l. aam anacardiaceae t homestead 96 mimosa pudica l. lojjaboti mimosaceae h roadside 97 moringa oleifera lamk. shajna moringaceae t homestead 98 musa paradisiaca l. kola musaceae h homestead 99 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser. kadam rubiaceae t homestead 100 opuntia dillenii haw. foni monsha cactaceae c homestead 101 oryza sativa l. dhan poaceae h cultivated 102 oxystelma secamone (l.) karst. dudhia kata asclepiadaceae h roadside 103 pandanus fascicularis lamk. keyakata pandanaceae t sandy beach 104 pandanus foetidus roxb. keyakata pandanaceae s sandy beach 105 paspalum vaginatum sw. poaceae h cultivated 106 passiflora foetida l. jumka lata passifloraceae c homestead 107 phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb. deshi khejur arecaceae t homestead 108 pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. jilapi mimosaceae t homestead 109 porteresia coarctata (roxb.) tateoka urigrass poaceae h mangrove meadow 110 portulaca oleracea l. nuinnashak portulacaceae h mangrove meadow 111 psidium guajava l. payara myrtaceae t homestead plant diversity of sonadia island 113 (contd.) sn scientific name local name family name habit habitat 112 psilotrichum ferrugineum (roxb.) moq.tand. khetapada shak amaranthaceae h homestead, roadside 113 raphanus sativus l. mula brassicaceae h cultivated 114 ricinus communis l. varenda euphorbiaceae t homestead 115 samanea saman (jacq.) merr. raintree mimosaceae t homestead 116 senna tora (l.) roxb. terasena caesalpiniaceae h roadside 117 sida cordifolia l. berela malvaceae h homestead 118 solanum melongena l. begun solanaceae h homestead 119 sonneratia apetala buch.-ham. keora sonneratiaceae t mangrove 120 spinacia oleracea l. palon shak chenopodiaceae h homestead 121 spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz. amra anacardiaceae t homestead 122 streblus asper lour. sheora moraceae t homestead 123 suaeda maritima (l.) dumort. chenopodiaceae h roadside 124 swietenia mahagoni jacq. mahogoni meliaceae t homestead 125 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. not known asteraceae h roadside 126 syzygium fruticosum dc. putijam myrtaceae t homestead 127 tamarindus indica l. tentul caesalpiniaceae t homestead 128 tamarix gallica l. nona jau tamaricaceae s mangrove 129 tephrosia purpurea (l.) pers. bon-neel fabaceae h cultivated 130 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) arjun combretaceae t roadside 131 terminalia catappa l. kat badam combretaceae t homestead 132 thevetia peruviana (pers.) k. schum. halde karabi apocynaceae t homestead 133 thysanolaena maxima (roxb.) o. kuntze jahruful poaceae h homestead 134 trichosanthes anguina l. chichinga cucurbitaceae c cultivated, homestead 135 typha domingensis (pars.) ex steud. hogla typhaceae h wetland 136 vitex negundo l. nil nishinda verbenaceae s sandy beach, roadside 137 vitex trifolia l. f. nishinda verbenaceae s sandy beach, roadside 138 ziziphus mauritiana lamk. boroi rhamnaceae t homestead [* ttree, s-shrub, h-herb, c-climber] fig. 2. number of species belonging to dominant family in sonadia island. 114 arefin et al. fig. 3. number of species belonging to habit form in sonadia island. major plant habitats in sonadia island the sonadia island supports vegetation growing in 6 broad categories of habitats including sand dunes or sandy beach area, homestead, mangrove, mangrove meadow, bounds or foot trail or roadside and cultivated land. homestead represented 78 species constituting 53% of total species followed by 23% in roadside, 10% in cultivation firms, 9% in 10% in cultivation firms, 9% in mangrove, and 1% in wetland. plants common in the sand dunes constitute 4% of total are species, in particular ipomea pes-caprae, vitex trifolia, pandanus foetidus and casuarina equisetifolia. plants commonly occurring in the homesteads are acacia auriculiformis, cocos nucifera and eucalyptus camaldulensis etc. avicennia officinalis, avicennia alba and acanthus illicifolius appeared as very common in the natural mangrove forest, whereas in the plantations casuarina equisetifolia, eucalyptus camaldulensis, acacia auriculiformis and sonneratia apetala were commonly found. traditional uses of the recorded plants knowledge about the various uses of the available plants was gained through conversations made with the local peoples living within the island. traditional use of the recorded plants indicate that most of the plants (33%) have food value as fruit, flower, seed and different parts of those plants are edible in raw or after processing. plants also used substantially as fuel wood (18%), timber (11%), biological fence (9%), medicine (7%) etc. it is found that many medicinal plants, their medicinal values and uses are not known to local people. plants that provide fodder, oils, weeds etc. are grouped under miscellaneous category which constitutes 11% of all recorded plant species. discussion the study reveals that sonadia island currently harbours 138 plant species (tree 56, shrubs 17, herbs 48, climbers 17) that belong to 111 genera and 55 families which is higher in comparison to moloney (2006) that recorded only 60 vascular plants from sonadia island (14 trees, 8 shrubs, 27 herbs and 11 climbers species). in the first report on the angiospermic flora of this land (khan et al., 1977) the number of species was for less. according to the people living in the island, vegetation coverage in mangrove forest was dense. the findings conform with the reports of thompson and islam (2010) who indicated 144 angiospermic plants from saint martin’s island of cox`s bazar. sandwip, another island of bangladesh harbours much higher plants (438 vascular plant diversity of sonadia island 115 plants) due to its comparatively larger area coverage and varied households with diversified domestic flora (sajib et al., 2016). the floristic records of different island’s of bangladesh also reported 149 species from moheshkhali (huq and khan, 1984), 151 species from the same island (rashid et al., 2000), 91 species from kutubdia island (huq 1986), 98 plant species from hatiya island (huq 1988) and 37 species from nijhum dwip (khan et al., 1985) and 152 species from nijhum dwip (uddin et al., 2015). the presence of some exotic tree species, i.e., acacia auriculiformis, swietenia mahagoni and eucalyptus camaldulensis species was due to the plantations conducted by bangladesh forest department and the local people. major area of the island is occupied by natural mangroves, but encroachment is becoming a serious concern because of the conversion of forest lands to salt bed and shrimp cultivation. jhau, the successful species in the sandy beaches of cox’s bazar (hossain, 2010)) is also promising in sonadia island but illegal felling is a common threat in the island). acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the research cell authority of university of chittagong for providing funds for field works. we are also grateful to the officers and field staffs of chittagong coastal forest division, bangladesh forest department for helping in the field work. thanks are due to taxonomists of forest botany division, bfri and dr. mohammed yusuf, ex-director of bcsir for their supports in identification of the plant samples. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 512. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. doe (department of environment). 1999. gis and cartographic services – final report, pre-investment facility study: coastal and wetland biodiversity management project (project bgd/94/g41), dhaka, bangladesh. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling, india, 84 pp. hossain, m.k. 2010. casuarina equisetifoliaa promising species for green belt project of coastal and offshore islands of bangladesh. in: zhong, c., pinyopusarerk, k., kalinganire, a. and franche c. (eds.), improving smallholder livelihoods through improved casuarina productivity: proceedings of the 4th international casuarina workshop, haikou, china 21-25 march 2010. pp. 200–206. huq, a.m. 1986. preliminary studies on the anthropogenic flora of kutubdia island in bangladesh. j asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 12: 59-70. huq, a.m. 1988. a preliminary taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of hatia islan (noakhali district) (dicotyledons). bull. bangladesh nat. herb., dhaka 1: 1–10. huq, a.m. and khan, m.s. 1984. a preliminary taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of maheshkhali island-1 (dicotyledons). dhaka univ. stud. b 32: 19–31. khan, m.s., huq, m.a. rahman, m.m. and hassan, m.a. 1977. a preliminary report on the angiospermic flora of sonadia island, bangladesh. j. asit. sco. bangladesh 3(1): 125–126. khan, m.s., huq, a.m. and rahman, m.m. 1985. studies on the angiospermic flora of nijhum dwip (char osman) in the bay of bengal. dhaka univ. stud. b 33: 145–151. moef (ministry of environment and forests) 2015. fifth national report to the convention on biological diversity. government of the people's republic of bangladesh, dhaka, 164 pp. moloney, l. 2006. coastal and wetland biodiversity management plan bgd/ 99/ g31 sonadia island eca draft conservation management plan. prain, d. 1903 (reprinted.1981). bengal plants. calcutta, 1: 120 pp. 116 arefin et al. rashid, m.h., rahman, e. and rahman, m.a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island. cox’s bazar. bangladesh j plant taxon 7: 43–63. sajib, n.h., uddin, s.b. and islam, m.s. 2016. vascular plant diversity and their distribution pattern in sandwip island, chittagong, bangladesh. j biodivers manage forestry 5: 2 siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 11. angiosperms: (agavaceae najadaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, pp. 399. thompson, p.m. and islam, m.a. (eds.). 2010. environmental profile of st. martin’s island, united nations development programme, dhaka. washington, dc: island press, pp. 112–117. uddin, m.z., kibria, m.g. and hassan, m.a. 2015. assessment of angiosperm plant diversity of nijhum dweep. bangladesh j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 41(1): 19–52. (manuscript received on 6 february 2017; revised on 11 may 2017) microsoft word 12. litsea new comb_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 125-127, 2013 (june) short communication © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new combination in litsea lam. (lauraceae) from north eastern india trina bhuinya1 and paramjit singh2 central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, shibpur, howrah 711103, india. keywords: new nomenclatural combination; litsea; lauraceae. tetranthera khasyana meisn. and cylicodaphne hookeri meisn. (excl. var. siamensis meisn.) are the same species, with differences in the shape of berry and in the peduncles of the fruit and the umbel. hooker (1886) treated the former plant as litsea khasyana (meisn.) hook. f. and the latter as l. khasyana (meisn.) hook. f. var. hookeri. but another plant litsea khasyana meisn. already existed. hence, long (1984) adopted the name litsea hookeri (meisn.) long for cylicodaphne hookeri meisn. here, tetranthera khasyana meisn. is described as a new combination of litsea hookeri (meisn.) long var. khasyana (meisn.) t. bhuinya & p. singh. the plant is quite common in subtropical forests of khasi hills in meghalaya, and eastern himalaya in sikkim and west bengal at 400 m to 900 m. a key to the varieties of litsea hookeri (meisn.) long is given below: 1. berry ellipsoid; fruit and umbel peduncle slender var. hookeri berry depressed globose; fruit and umbel peduncle distinctly stout var. khasyana a detailed taxonomic account along with illustration of the plant has been made based on herbarium materials. litsea hookeri (meisn.) long var. khasyana (meisn.) t. bhuinya & p. singh comb. nov. tetranthera khasyana meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 185 (1864); litsea khasyana (meisn.) hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 164 (1886). nom. illeg. (non meisn. 1864); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 85 (1940). (fig. 1). type: india: meghalaya, khasi hills, j. d. hooker & t. thomson s.n. (holotype g-dc microfiche!) perennial, evergreen, dioecious tree, 8-12 m tall. branchlets cylindric, yellowish brown, puberulous when young, glabrous at maturity. leaves 9.5-22.5 × 4.5-8.7 cm, alternate, ellipticoblong, cuneate at base, entire, shortly acuminate at apex, coriaceous, dark green, glabrous, primary and secondary veins depressed above; beneath pale green, glabrous, except on veins, primary and secondary veins prominent, secondary veins 10-15 pairs, weak brochidodromous, tertiary veins alternate, percurrent, sinuous; petiole 1.5-2.0 cm long, cylindric, puberulous. umbellules 10-12 × 8-15 mm, axillary, solitary or in clusters of 3-5, 6-flowered, pedunculate, bracteate; peduncles 4-6 mm long, stout, swollen, yellowish brown, densely puberulous; bracts 6, outer two 4-6 × 6-7 mm, concave, coriaceous, yellowish green, densely puberulous outside, glabrous inside, inner four 4-6 × 5-6 mm, orbicular, membranous, gland-dotted, green, puberulous outside, glabrous inside. flowers 3.5-4.0 × 3.0-3.5 mm, white; pedicels 1-2 mm long, stout, green, 1corresponding author. email: trina.bhuinya@gmail.com 2botanical survey of india, c.g.o. complex, salt lake city, kolkata 700064, india. 126 bhuinya and singh fig. 1. litsea hookeri (meisn.) long var. khasyana (meisn.) t. bhuinya & p. singh comb. nov. a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. outer bract; d. inner bract; e. flower; f. tepal with stamens; g. gland; h. pistillode; i. fruit. (a-g: g. king, acc. no. 386868; i: g. king, acc. no. 386888). puberulous; perianth lobes 6, 2.5-3.0 × 1.5-2.0 mm, elliptic, gland-dotted, puberulous outside, glabrous inside except at base, perianth tube 1.0-1.5 mm long, funnel shaped, green, hairy inside, densely puberulous outside. male flowers: stamens 12, in 4 rows, outer 2 rows 2.5-3.0 mm long, exserted, inner 2 rows 1.5-2.5 mm long, glandular; filaments slender, hairy at base; anthers 1.0-1.5 mm long, 4 celled, upper 2 cells introrse, lower 2 cells partly latrorse; glands 0.8-1.0 mm long, 2 a new combination in litsea lam. 127 each at base of inner rows of stamens, bean shaped, subsessile, hairy at base; pistillode 0.5 mm long. female flowers: staminodes 12, in 4 rows, outer 2 rows 3.5-4.0 mm long, exserted, inner 2 rows 2.5-3.0 mm long, glandular, hairy at base; pistil 3-4 mm long; style 1.8-2.5 mm long, glabrous; stigma spreading, ovary 0.8-1.2 mm long, globose, glabrous. berries 15-18 × 8-11 mm, depressed globose, green when young, purple at maturity, glabrous, seated on persistant perianth tube, perianth tube saucer shaped, 12-16 mm in diameter, entire, dark brown, glabrous; pedicle 5-8 mm long, stout, dark brown, puberulous; fruit peduncle 6-9 mm long, stout, swollen, yellowish brown, puberulous. flowering period: march to june. fruiting period: may to september. conservation status: litsea hookeri (meisn.) hook. f. was reported from bhutan, nepal and india (arunachal pradesh, meghalaya, sikkim and west bengal) but till date l. hookeri var. khasyana was reported from india (meghalaya, sikkim and west bengal) only. hence the taxon is an addition to the recently published list of endemic species of litsea lam. in india (bhuinya et al., 2010). at present the plant is not under the threat of depletion, but the areas being popular tourist spots, are under extreme biotic pressure which may pose a threat to the existence of the species. hence plant explorers from these areas including bhutan, nepal and arunachal pradesh (india) are urged to collect the plant and confirm its identity in order to determine its present status. specimens examined: india. meghalaya, khasi hills, kurz 386975, 386878, 386896 (cal); sikkim, g. king 215 (cal); sikkim, 3500 ft, 19.6.1876, g. king 386868 (cal); west bengal, darjeeling district, mungpoo, 11.12.1877, g. king 386885, 386886, 386889 (cal); darjeeling district, banks of teesta, 26.2.1876, g. king 386867, 386888 (cal); darjeeling district, teesta, 22.2.1867, anderson 386891 (cal). acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the indian botanical liaison officers, royal botanic gardens, kew, uk and the joint directors, central national herbarium, shibpur, howrah for their help. they would also like to thank the director, botanical survey of india for awarding the fellowship under the ‘flora of india project’. references bhuinya, t., singh, p. and mukherjee, s.k. 2010. an account of the species of litsea lam. (lauraceae) endemic to india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 183-191 hooker, j.d. 1886. lauraceae. flora of british india. vol. 5. london, p. 157. long, d.g. 1984. notes related to the flora of bhutan: viii. notes r. b. gard. edinburgh 41(3): 510-511. (manuscript received on 6 january 2012; revised on 26 february 2013) microsoft word 09. stenochlaena_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 137-141, 2015 (december) stenochlaena riauensis (blechnaceae), a new fern species from riau, indonesia nery sofiyanti1, dyah iriani, fitmawati and andesba a. roza laboratory of botany, department of biology, faculty of mathematics and natural sciences, university of riau, kampus bina widya panam, pekanbaru, riau, indonesia keywords: blechnaceae; stenochlaena; new species; indonesia. abstract stenochlaena riauensis, a new fern species from riau, indonesia is described and illustrated. this species can be distinguished from its most closely related species s. palustris by the position of fertile and sterile pinnae. in the new species, both fertile and sterile pinnae are located on the same frond, the lower part of lamina consisted of sterile pinnae that gradually narrower towards apex forming linear fertile pinnae. introduction stenochlaena j. smith belonging to the family blechnaceae is a small genus consisting of only six species, and widely distributed in tropical and sub-tropical regions (holttum, 1971; chamber, 2013; wang et al., 2013). most of the species of the genus have both sterile and fertile pinnae. chamber (2013) reported that this genus is strongly dimorphic, in which fertile and sterile pinnae are located at the different fronds, with imparipinnate pinnae. furthermore, stenochlaena is charcterized by possessing radially symmetrical rhizome (chamber, 2013); purplish-red to red fronds when young; sterile pinnae entire (piggot, 1996); lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, lateral veins arising from a closely parallel series of areolae; acrotischoid sori, that densely covering the dorsal surface or the lower surface of the fertile pinnae and not arrranged in discrete lines or dots; spores with a very thin and closely appressed perispore (chamber, 2013). during our expedition in riau province (sumatera island, indonesia) from 2012 to 2014, we discovered that s. palustris (burm.f.) bedd (1876) is the the most widely distributed and abundant fern species in this province (fig. 1). local people consume the jouvenile leaves of this species as vegetables. surprisingly, some specimens collected from conservation forest (taman hutan raya sultan syarif hasyim, siak) and pekanbaru, riau showed a different type of fronds. both fertile and sterile pinnae are located in one frond, the lower part of lamina are consisted of sterile pinnae that gradually narrower forming fertile pinnae on the tip of leaves. the other morphological characters are similar to s. palustris. our detail observation of morphological characters of these specimens, brings us to a conclusion to a new stenochlaena species, stenochlaena riauensis sp. nov. stenochlaena riauensis sofiyanti, iriani, fitmawati & roza, sp. nov. (fig. 2). diagnosis: stenochlaena riauensis morphogically differs from its closest related species s. palustris (burm. f.) bedd by being monomorphic, and having both fertile and sterile pinnae located on one frond, the lower part of lamina consisted of sterile pinnae that gradually narrower 1corresponding author. department of biology, faculty of mathematics and natural sciences, university of riau, kampus bina widya jl. bangkinang-pekanbaru km 12.5 panam, pekanbaru, riau, indonesia. email: nery_yusuf@yahoo.com 138 sofiyanti et al. towards apex, forming fertile pinnae on the tip, and the acrotischoid sori with monolete and reniform (bean-shaped) spores. types: indonesia. riau province: taman hutan raya sultan syarif hasyim, 11 june 2012, n. sofiyanti, fitmawati & a.a. roza, str2 (holotype: anda); pekanbaru, 3 december 2014, n. sofiyanti & fitmawati, strpku1 (paratype: anda). fig. 1. distribution map of stenochlaena species in riau, indonesia. terrestrial, scrambling. rhizome creeping or climbing, stout, 5−8 mm in diameter, light brown, covered by brown scales, especially towards the apex. frond up to 90 cm long, pinnate. stypes up to 20 cm long, glabrous, greenish brown at the base, green towards laminae. rachis glabrous, dark green, c. 4 mm in diameter, having grove along the rachis. laminae purplish red when young, dark green at maturity, c. 60−70 cm long, 1-pinnate, consisted of 17 pinnae. pinnae sterile at the base of laminae, gradually narrower towards the apex and form fertile pinnae. sterile pinnae 8 per frond, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, mostly cuneate, papery, glabrous on both surfaces, c. 11 cm long, 3 cm wide, rounded at the base, shortly stalked, blackish green, stalk c. 3 mm long, tip acute, serrate margin, veins anastomosing and forming single row of areoles along each side of costa. fertile pinnae 9 per frond, started from the middle of laminae toward the apex, pinnae gradually reduce towards the apex of lamina, shortly stalked, form elongated fertile pinnae on the tip, usually asymetric at the base, the reduced sterile pinnae glabrous on both surfaces, c. 7 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, blackish green stalk c. 2.0−2.5 mm long, margin serrate, veins anastomosing and forming single row of areoles along each side of costa, at the fertile parts become yellowish green and narrower, linear, the top pinnae is the longest (c. 8 cm long, 2 mm wide), margin curve forming a linear groove at ventral surface. sori cover the dorsal surface forming acrotischoid sori, brownish yellow. spores monolete, reniform or bean-shaped. etymology: the specific epithet refers to the type locality, riau province of indonesia. stenochlaena riauensis sp. nov. (blechnaceae) 139 fig. 2. stenochlaena riauensis sofiyanti, iriani, fitmawati & roza, sp. nov. a. mature frond; b. alternate pinnae arrangement; c. sterile pinna; d. fertile pinna; e. dorsal surface of fertile pinnae; f. ventral surface of fertile pinna; g. leaf base of fertile pinnae showing symetric pinna; h. leaf base of sterile pinnae, showing asymetric pinna; i. serrate leaf margin; j. spore (scale bar = 10 µm). distribution: stenochlaena riauensis was first found between 75 m and 150 m in conservation forest, taman hutan raya sultan syarif hasyim, riau province, sumatera island, indonesia. this forest is a low land tropical forest that dominated by dipterocarpaceae species, such as shorea acuminata dyer (meranti rambai), shorea leprosula miq. (meranti pirang), shorea parvifolia 140 sofiyanti et al. dyer (meranti bunga), parashorea aptera slooten (meranti batu), and dipterocarpus sp. (kruing). this species is also recorded from pekanbaru district, riau. habitat: this species commonly grows in open area or partly shaded area and mostly in streetside, at riau province, indonesia. note: in riau province, s. riauensis shares the same distribution area with s. palustris (fig. 1). however, s. palustris is more abundant than the new species, and sometime is found as epiphyte on the oil palm tree (sofiyanti, 2013) or other woody species, as well as in the open space area or partly shaded area (sofiyanti et al., 2014). morphologically, these two species have close similarity, especially when young. both species have purplish red fronds when young, usually covered by scales, 1-pinnate lamina, short stalked pinnae, with broadly rounded base of fertile pinnae, usually cuneate, serrate margin of sterile pinnae, with acuminate tip. the veins of sterile pinnae are anastomosing and forming single row of areoles along each side of costa. the sori type and spore characteristic are also the same. a comparative account of s. riauensis sp. nov. with its closely related species, s. palustris, is presented in table 1. table 1. comparison of diagnostic morphological characters of stenochlaena riauensis sp. nov. with s. palustris. characters s. riauensis s. palustris type of frond monomorphic dimorphic position of sterile pinnae at the base of laminae at the sterile frond number of sterile pinnae 8 17−29 position of fertile pinnae at the upper part of laminae at the fertile frond number of fertile pinnae 9 16−28 lower part of fertile pinnae broader at the base, green linear, brown upper part of fertile pinnae gradually narrower toward the apex forming linear structure linear most of stenochlaena species usually have acrosticoid sori and lack true indusium (chamber, 2013) with monolete spores (holttum, 1932; chamber, 2013). the spore investigation of six stenochlaena species conducted by chamber (2013), presented the similar spore shape and ornamentation. their spores are monolete spores with a single line indicating the splitting axis of mother spore with thin perispore, as observed in other blechnaceae genus, i.e. blechnum l. (mendoza-ruiz and perez-garcia, 2009). these characteristics are also found in newly described s. riauensis. the genus stenochlaena was previously reported as strongly dimorphic fern, with distant fronds (holttum, 1932, 1971; chamber, 2013; wang et al., 2013). usually, the sterile pinnae are shorter and wider than fertile pinnae. however, s. riauensis is not dimorphic fern, because the sterile and fertile pinnae are located in the same frond. sterile pinnae are located at the base of laminae, and gradually narrower and reduced toward apex. the narrow tips are elongated forming fertile pinnae. the reduced sterile pinnae is located of the base of pinna, usually with asymetric base. this is the strong characteristic of s. riauensis to be treated as a distinct stenochlaena species. acknowledgements this study, led by the first author, was supported by penelitian unggulan perguruan tinggi (pupt) research grant from directorate general of higher education 2015, indonesia. the authors thank the forestry department of riau province for giving permit to conduct the research. stenochlaena riauensis sp. nov. (blechnaceae) 141 they are also grateful for the support of many people during the field work, especially forestry staff from taman hutan raya sultan syarif hasyim, riau. references chamber, t.c. 2013. a review of the genus stenochlaena (blechnaceae, subfamily stenochlaenoideae). telopea 15: 13−36. holttum, r.e. 1932. further notes on the stenochlaena, lomariopsis and tetophyllum. gard. bull. str. sett. 9: 139−144. holttum, r.e. 1971. the genus stenochlaena j. smith with the description of new taxa. amer. fern j. 61: 119−123. mendoza-ruiz, a. and perez-garcia, b. 2009. morphogenesis of the gametophytes of eight mexican species of blechnum (blechnaceae). acta bot. mex. 88: 59−72. piggot, a.g. 1996. fern of malaysia in colour. tropical press sdn. bh. kuala lumpur, 486 pp. sofiyanti, n. 2013. the diversity of epiphytic fern on the oil palm tree (elaeis guineensis jacq.) in pekanbaru, riau. jurnal biologi xvii (2): 51−55. sofiyanti, n., iriani, d. and roza, a.a. 2014. morfologi tumbuhan paku di taman hutan raya sultan syarif hasyim, riau. unri press. pekanbaru, riau, 96 pp. (in indonesian). wang, f.g., xing, f.w., dong, s.y. and kato, m. 2013. blechnaceae. in: wu, z.y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.y. (eds), flora of china, vols. 2 & 3 (pteridophytes). science press, beijing; missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 411–417. (manuscript received on 7 june 2015; revised on 6 november 2015) microsoft word 09. pollen of begonia.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 191-200, 2012 (december) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of begonia l. (begoniaceae) in nepal sangeeta rajbhandary1, mark hughes2 and krishna k. shrestha central department of botany, tribhuvan university, kirtipur, kathmandu, nepal keywords: begonia l.; nepal; pollen morphology; sem. abstract the pollen morphology of 28 begonia species of nepal has been examined by scanning electron microscopy (sem). comparative pollen analysis was made based on size, shape in polar and equatorial views, p/e ratio, aperture, and exine ornamentation. in this study, four types of pollen ornamentation morphology have been identified. among nepalese begonia, b. roxburghii (section sphenanthera) has the smallest pollen (11.212.8 × 6.4-7.0 µm) and b. flagellaris (section diploclinium) has the largest pollen (24.330.6 × 11.4-12.0 µm). presence of margo in the pollen ornamentation is a distinguishing character that separates begonia section platycentrum from all other sections of nepalese begonia. introduction the genus begonia l. (begoniaceae) is the sixth largest genus of flowering plants (frodin, 2004). the genus was previously represented by 18 species in nepal (hara et al., 1978; doorenbos et al., 1998; press et al., 2000), one new record (rajbhandary and shrestha, 2009) and three new species (rajbhandary et al., 2010) bring the current number of begonia species known from the country to 22. there are seven endemic species in nepal: b. tribenensis c.r. rao, b. minicarpa h. hara, b. flagellaris h. hara, b. leptoptera h. hara, b. nuwakotensis s. rajbhandary, b. panchtharensis s. rajbhandary and b. taligera s. rajbhandary. nepalese begonia are placed within five different sections: diploclinium (lindl.) a.dc., monopteron (a.dc.) warb., platycentrum (klotzsch) a.dc., putzeysia (klotzsch) a.dc. and sphenanthera (hassk.) warb. (smith et. al., 1986; doorenbos et al., 1998). the variation in ultrastructural characteristics and surface morphology of pollen grains is often of valuable assistance in delimiting taxonomic relationships, particularly at higher taxonomic ranks for family level: euphorbiaceae (perveen and qaiser, 2005), tiliaceae, sterculiaceae and malvaceae (husseini, 2006), cucurbitaceae (perveen and qaiser, 2008), campanulaceae (erkara et al., 2008), for generic level in sambucus (tamas et al., 2009), but also between species as in pedicularis (bano et al., 2012). scanning electron microscopy (sem) is a valuable tool which can reveal many of these taxonomically useful characters, and have the potential to reveal relationships that are obscure and difficult to demonstrate by other means. although pollen morphology is important in taxonomic research, very few studies have been carried out in this regards on begonia species. erdtman (1966) noted the small size, the prolate and perprolate shape of the begonia pollen and a very thin exine which did not show much stratification. van den berg (1985) carried out an sem study of the pollen morphology of african begonia to shed light on sectional delimitation in the genus. there has been no study regarding both american and asian species, including nepalese begonia. in some works on pollen morphology (wodehouse, 1935; erdtman, 1966) a few of the indigenous plants of southeast asia 1corresponding author. email: imogine3@gmail.com 2royal botanic garden edinburgh, 20a inverleith row, edinburgh eh3 5lr, united kingdom. 192 rajbhandary et al. have been described, but none from mainland asia or nepal. recognition of pollen types may lead to a better understanding of the relationships of the taxa within the genus (van den berg, 1984). the objective of this paper is to provide a detailed account of the pollen morphology of nepalese begonia as highlighted through sem. materials and methods pollen of 28 begonia species in nepal belonging to four sections, namely diploclinium, monopteron, platycentrum and sphenanthera were examined from the herbarium specimens collected in nepal and deposited in tuch, kath, e, and k herbaria. due to lack of male flowers on specimens of begonia gemmipara (section putzeysia), the pollen morphology of this species could not be studied. morphological variation in pollen includes the size, p/e ratio, aperture and ornamentation (table 1). pollen data obtained in this study are based on observations using sem. pollen grains were mounted on agar scientific adhesive carbon tabs 12 mm in size placed on aluminium stubs. the pollen on the stubs was then sputter-coated with 250 nm platinum particles using an emitech k575x sputter coater at one runs of 2 min. the prepared specimens were examined in a leo supra 55vp scanning electron microscope at a voltage of 5kv and a working distance 6 mm. the sem images were captured at a resolution of 2048 × 1536 pixel and saved in tif format. the sem was carried out at the royal botanic garden edinburgh, uk. results and discussion the pollen grains in begonia are single, isopolar and 3-zono-colporate (fig. 1a-b). the shape ranges from prolate to perprolate and the polar axis measures from 11.2-28.9 µm and the equatorial diameter from 1.7-3.1 µm. the outline of begonia pollen is mostly somewhat elliptic. the long sides though usually convex, can be straight or even concave, the poles can be rounded or somewhat pointed. the outline in the polar view can be either circular (b. flagellaris fig. 2 ab; b. minicarpa fig 4. m-n; b. flaviflora fig. 5 c-d) or triangular with interaxillary apertures in majority of species. the ecto-apertures are very long and closed by a granular colpus membrane. the striate ornamentation continues up to the margin of the colpus and in some species a margo of deviating not-striate ornamentation is present along the colpus. the pollen of b. anisanthera ined., b. manangiensis ined., b. cathcartii, b. flaviflora and b. roxburghii are prolate while rest of the taxa studied have perprolate pollen (table 1). among nepalese begonia, b. roxburghii (section sphenanthera) has the smallest pollen (11.2-12.8 × 6.47.0 µm) and b. flagellaris (section diploclinium) has the largest pollen (24.3-30.6 × 11.4-12.0 µm). the shape and type of aperture in the pollen grains in the begonia species studied proved to be of little systematic significance, as most of the species have perprolate pollen with only a few species having prolate pollen. even so, within the taxa and even within the samples a certain amount of variability is still encountered, especially in size, shape, and apertures. the nature of surface ornamentation is the most important feature which is of systematic significance. the sculpture on the surface of the grains is formed by a pattern of exine elements separated by spaces. the exine elements are called muri. the striate pattern shown by begonia pollen can be defined as a regular pattern of approximately parallel muri. more in particular in striate grains or the ridges of exineous material, is termed as lirae and the grooves in-between the ridges as striate (van den berg, 1984). depending on the width of the lirae and striae, the striate pattern can be designated as finely or coarsely striate. a number of minute perforations are present pollen morphology of begonia l. (begoniaceae) 193 table 1. comparison in pollen size, aperture and ornamentation of 28 begonia taxa in nepal. species pollen size (µm) p/e ratio aperture ornamentation sl. no p (µm) e (µm) section diploclinium 1. b. anisanthera s. rajbhandary ined. 13.6-13.8 7.2-7.4 1.8-1.9 prolate coarsely striate 2. b. bryophila s. rajbhandary ined. 21.6-22.8 9.3-10 2.3-2.5 perprolate coarsely striate 3. b. dioica buch.-ham ex d. don 24.2-26.2 9.4 2.6-2.8 perprolate fine faint striate ornamentation with pores 4. b. dolichoptera s. rajbhandary ined. 23.8-24.8 10.2-10.4 2.3-2.4 perprolate fine faint striate ornamentation with pores 5. b. flagellaris h. hara 24.3-30.6 11.4-12 2.0-2.6 perprolate coarsely striate 6. b. josephii a. dc. 24.8 9.8 2.5 perprolate fine faint striate ornamentation with pores 7. b. leptoptera h. hara 26.0 8.6-9.4 2.7-3.0 perprolate fine faint striate ornamentation with pores 8. b. manangiensis s. rajbhandary ined. 19.6-20.8 9.4-10.4 2.1 prolate coarsely striate 9. b. minicarpa h. hara 17.4-18.2 7.6-8.0 2.2-2.3 perprolate fine faint striate ornamentation with pores 10 b. oedotheca s. rajbhandary & k.k. shrestha ined. 22.0-23.0 11.0 2.0-2.1 perprolate coarsely striate 11. b. ovatifolia a. dc. 18.4 6.8-7.2 2.5-2.7 perprolate fine striate 12. b. picta sm. 22.0-23.2 7.4 2.9-3.1 perprolate fine faint striate ornamentation with pores 13. b. rubella buch.-ham. ex d. don 17.6-21.6 7.4-8.6 2.3-2.5 perprolate fine striate 14. b. sinwaensis s. rajbhandary ined. 20.8-21.9 8.2-8.8 2.4-2.7 perprolate coarsely striate 15. b. staintonii s. rajbhandary & k.k. shrestha ined. 25-26 11.0 2.3-2.4 perprolate fine faint striate ornamentation with pores 16. b. tribenensis c.r. roa 19.6-21.4 7.5-8.9 2.4-2.6 perprolate fine striate section platycentrum 17. b. annulata k. koch. 19.4-23.0 8.6-9.75 2.2-2.3 perprolate fine striate with margo 18. b. cathcartii hook. f. & thomson 17.4-17.6 9.2 1.8-1.9 prolate coarsely striate with margo 19. b. flaviflora h. hara 14.4-19.5 8.4-10.0 1.7-1.9 prolate coarsely striate with margo 20. b. hatacoa buch.-ham. ex d. don 16.0-18.6 8.0 2.0-2.3 perprolate fine striate with margo (table contd.) 194 rajbhandary et al. table 1 contd. species pollen size (µm) p/e ratio aperture ornamentation sl no p (µm) e (µm) section platycentrum 21. b. megaptera a. dc. 23.0-23.4 8.4 2.7-2.8 perprolate fine striate with margo 22. b. nuwakotensis s. rajbhandary 22.0-22.5 7.6-8.4 2.7-2.8 perprolate fine striate with margo 23. b. palmata d. don 21.6-25.1 8.4-8.9 2.6-2.8 perprolate fine striate with margo 24. b. panchtharensis s. rajbhandary 16.8-21 8.0-10.0 2.1 perprolate fine striate with margo 25. b. sikkimensis a. dc. 24.6-28.9 8.8-10 2.6-2.8 perprolate fine striate with margo 26. b. taligera s. rajbhandary 17.4-20 8.0 2.1-2.5 perprolate coarsely striate with margo section monopteron 27. b. nepalensis (a. dc.) warb. 19.6-20.0 8.2-8.6 2.3-2.4 perprolate fine striate section sphenanthera 28. b. roxburghii (miq.) a. dc. 11.2-12.8 6.4-7.0 1.7-1.8 prolate fine striate fig. 1. general morphology of begonia pollen equatorial view. 1a. pollen without margo; 1b. pollen with margo. p = polar axia; e = equatorial diameter; 1 = striate ornamentation; 2 = margo; 3 = colpus membrane; 4 = endoaperture. pollen morphology of begonia l. (begoniaceae) 195 fig. 2. pollen with fine striate ornamentation with or without pores and absence of margo. a-b. begonia tribenensis (rajbhandary & poudyal s1); c-d. b. roxburghii (chand 5998); e-f. b. nepalensis (stainton 8906); g-h. b. rubella (rajbhandary et al. s34); i-j. b. ovatifolia (williams & stainton 8317). in some species. a striking feature that was found in the pollen is the presence of a margo, which was very useful to separate begonia sections platycentrum from diploclinium, sphenanthera and monopteron. within begonia sections diploclinium, sphenanthera, monopteron and platycentrum exine ornamentation varies among species and four types of ornamentation morphology have been identified: (a) pollen with fine striate ornamentation with or without pores and absence of margo (fig. 2); (b) pollen with coarsely striate ornamentation with few scattered pores and absence of margo (fig. 3); (c) pollen with faint fine striate ornamentation with pores and absence of margo (fig. 4) and (d) pollen with striate ornamentation with or without pores and presence of margo (fig. 5). 196 rajbhandary et al. fig. 3. pollen with coarsely striate ornamentation with few scattered pores and absence of margo. a-b. begonia flagellaris (rajbhandary & bista 10); c-d. b. oedotheca ined. (stainton, sykes & williams 8419); e-f. b. anisanthera ined. (emak 6); g-h. b. manangiensis ined. (m. mikage et al. 9470411); i-j. b. sinwaensis ined. (rajbhandary & bista s43); k-l. b. bryophila ined. (rajbhandary & bista s45). there is complete absence of pores and margo (fig. 2) in b. roxburghii (section sphenanthera) and b. nepalensis (section monopteron). b. tribenensis, b. rubella and b. ovatifolia have more pores near the polar region and on the poles (fig. 2). the pores in b. dolichoptera ined. (fig. 4 a-b) and b. josephii (fig. 4 c-d) of section diploclinium and in b. annulata (fig. 5 a-b) and in b. megaptera (fig. 5 g-h) of section platycentrum are larger in size and very distinct at the polar region. pollen morphology of begonia l. (begoniaceae) 197 fig. 4. pollen with fine faint striate ornamentation with pores presented more towards the pole and absence of margo. a-b. begonia dolichoptera ined. (keke 248); c-d. b. josephii (rajbhandary & bista s56); e-f. b. picta (rajbhandary & bista s02); g-h. b. leptoptera (rajbhandary et al. s19).; i-j. b. dioica (rajbhandary & bista s42); k-l. b. staintonii ined. (stainton 1414); m-n. b. minicarpa (williams & stainton 8319). the pollen types sharing coarsely striate ornamentation differ in other characters such as size, shape and aperture (fig. 3). in most of the species in this category, the ectoaperatures are very long with wide colpi and straight margin and closed by a granular colpus membrane which becomes coarser in the endo-apertural area (fig. 3). 198 rajbhandary et al. fig. 5. pollen in section platycentrum, with striate ornamentation with or without pores and presence of margo. all pollens are photographes at same scale (2 µm but in different magnification). a-b. begonia annulata (shrestha s75); c-d. b. flaviflora (adhikari et al. 146) ; e-f. b. cathcartii (noshiro 9241006); g-h. b. megaptera (kshretri 76); i.-j. b. palmata (rajbhandary et al. s27); k-l. b. nuwakotensis (rajbhandary et al. s31); m-n. b. sikkimensis (rajbhandary et al. s14); o-p. b. panchtharensis (rajbhandary s74); q-r. b. taligera (rajbhandary & adhikari s52); s-t. b. hatacoa (rajbhandary s4). the poles can be rounded, or somewhat pointed. the outline in polar view can be circular or rounded (b. flagellaris, b. anisanthera ined., b. flaviflora, b. manangiensis ined. and b. minicarpa), but most of the begonia species have a somewhat triangular profile with interaxillary pollen morphology of begonia l. (begoniaceae) 199 apertures (figs 2-5). in all the taxa the ending of the colpi are acute and approach each other closely at the polar axis. therefore, the invaginating colpi often gives a lobate impression in the polar view. pollen with faint fine striate ornamentation shows large pores on the polar region, very clearly seen in b. dolichoptera ined. and b. josephii (fig. 4). the pollen of b. minicarpa is totally different (fig. 4 m-n), with smooth spherical polar region and scattered pores and very different in shape, which separates it from other species. pollen grains in sections diploclinium, sphenanthera and monopteron of begonia lack margo, but margo is present in all the species in section platycentrum (fig. 5). from this it can be pointed out that the exine ornamentation is a more significant character than the apertures and shape of pollen to separate the sections of nepalese begonia. based on the present study, it appears that there is considerable variation in pollen morphology, especially in the exine and its sculpturing as revealed under sem, which is of systematic value in the delimitation of some species and also sectional delimitation. presence of margo in the pollen ornamentation is a distinguishing character that separates begonia section platycentrum from all other sections of nepalese begonia, as it is completely lacking in other sections. the observations presented here on the utility of pollen characters in section delimitation match that found in studies of african begonia (van den berg, 1984). the characters agree well with those reported earlier for begoniaceae (erdtman, 1966; van den berg, 1984; ma and li, 2006). pollen morphology, especially the exine ornamentation, has supported placing seven undescribed species within begonia section diploclinium: b. anisanthera ined., b. bryophila ined. b. manangiensis ined., b. oedotheca ined., b. sinwaensis ined. (fig. 3), b. dolichoptera ined. and b. staintonii ined. (fig. 4) with absence of margo. this sectional placement is consistent with other macro-morphological characters of these species, especially those of the fruit and tepals. acknowledgements the authors thank the curators of e, k, kath and tuch for allowing access to herbarium materials. we sincerely thank the staff of the royal botanic garden edinburgh (rbge) and frieda christie (rbge) especially for sem technical support. the m.l. macintyre begonia trust, the sibbald trust and fergusson bequest and their trustees are thanked for providing financial support for this work. references bano, a., ahmad, m., khan, m.a., zafar, m., sultana, s. and ullah, z. 2012. pollen morphology of four endemic species of pedicularis l. from alpine zone of the deosai plateau, himalayan range. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 1-5. doorenbos, j., sosef, m.s.m. and de wilde, j.j.f.e. 1998. the sections of begonia, including descriptions, key and species lists (studies in begoniaceae vi). wageningen agricultural university papers,wageningen, the netherlands. erdtman, g. 1966. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy. hafner publishing company, new york and london. erkara, i.p., ocak, a. and pehlivan, s. 2008. pollen morphology of some turkish campanulaceae spp. and their taxonomic value. bangladesh j. bot. 37(1): 33-42. frodin, d.g. 2004. history and concepts of big plant genera. taxon 53: 753-776. hara, h., stearn, w.t. and williams, l.h.j. 1978. an enumeration of the flowering plants of nepal. vol. i. british (natural history museum), london. p. 154. husseini, n.e. 2006. pollen morphology of tiliaceae juss. and sterculiaceae vent. and their relations to malvaceae juss. in egypt. int. j. agri. biol. 8(6): 844-847. 200 rajbhandary et al. ma, h. and li, h. 2006. begonia guaniana (begoniaceae) a new species from china. ann. bot. fennici. 43: 466-470. perveen, a. and qaiser, m. 2005. pollen flora of pakistan–xlvii. euphorbiaceae. pak. j. bot. 37(4): 785796. perveen, a. and qaiser, m. 2008. pollen flora of pakistan-lvi. cucurbitaceae. pak. j. bot. 40(1): 9-16. press, j.r., shrestha, k.k. and sutton, d.a. 2000. annotated checklist of the flowering plants of nepal. natural history museum, london. rajbhandary, s. and shrestha. k.k. 2009. begonia flaviflora h. hara (begoniaceae), new record for flora of nepal. j. jap. bot. 84(1): 16-18. rajbhandary, s., hughes, m. and shrestha, k.k. 2010. three new species of begonia sect. platycentrum from nepal. gardens’ bulletin singapore. 62(1): 151-162. smith, l.b., wasshausen, d.c. golding, j. and karegeannes, c.e. 1986. begoniaceae. part i: illustrated key, part ii: illustrated species list. smithsonian contributions to botany, no. 60. smithsonian institution press, washington. tamas, m., pop, c., martian, a. and barbu-tudoran, l. 2009. morphological research on indigenous sambucus species pollen. not. bot. hort. agrobot. cluj. 37(1): 65-69. van den berg, r.g. 1984. pollen characteristics of the genera of the begoniaceae. agricultural university wageningen papers 83(9): 55-66. van den berg, r.g. 1985. pollen morphology of the genus begonia in africa. agricultural university wageningen papers 84(3): 5-94. wodehouse, r.p. 1935. pollen grains. their structure, identification and significance in science and medicine. mcgraw-hill, new york, london. (manuscript received on 8 october 2012; revised on 31 october 2012) microsoft word 15. 88 bjpt 16 88_editmk.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 215-222, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists palynological study of some iranian species of scabiosa l. (caprifoliaceae) ebadi-nahari mostafa1 and nikzat-siahkolaee sedigheh2 department of biology, faculty of science, azarbaijan shahid madani university, tabriz, iran keywords: caprifoliaceae; pollen characters; scabiosa; sem; taxonomy; upgma. abstract the pollen morphology of six species of scabiosa l. (caprifoliaceae) from iran has been examined by scanning electron microscopy (sem). pollen grains were tricolpate in s. columbaria and triporate in the rest studied species. two types of exine ornamentation were revealed: spinulate and gemmate. the pollen shape in polar view varied from triangular to circular among investigated taxa. statistical analysis showed that some quantitative morphological features such as polar axis (p), equatorial axis (e) and aperture diameter were main characters in identification of the taxa studied. these taxa were separated from each other using cluster analysis and placed within two clusters. our result based on upgma analysis is in agreement with morphological classification and recent findings on taxonomic position of the scabiosa. introduction scabiosa l. belonging caprifoliaceae includes approximately 80 annual or perennial herbs, distributed in europe and the mediterranean basin, southern africa and eastern asia (reveal and chase, 2011). some of the species are known as a source of herbal medicine for the treatment of many human diseases (bonet et al., 2007). few scabiosa species are cultivated as ornamental plants. linnaeus (1753) distinguished three genera that include scabiosa l., dipsacus l. and knautia l. later on, scabiosa sensu linnaeus was segregated into different genera: pterocephalus adans, succisa haller, cephalaria schrad. ex roem & schult. after remaining species of scabiosa in different sections, were raised to new genera: lomelosia raf, sixalis raf, pseudoscabiosa devesa, pterocephalidium g. lopez (greuter and raus, 1985; adanson, 1763; haller, 1768; devesa, 1984a, b; lopez-gonzales, 1987). rechinger and lack (1991) did not accept the nomenclatural changes suggested by greuter and raus (1985). jamzad (1993) maintained a traditional and broad concept of genus scabiosa too. taxonomic problems and species complexity are very common in this genus. hybridization is common and, as a result, the number of reported species (and subspecies) has widely varied (bobrov, 1957; grossman, 1975; jasiewicz, 1976).since taxonomic position of some species is ambiguous, finding various remarkable characters will be useful to determine the taxonomic status of species. pollen morphology has been able to reposition several disputed genera and interpret problems related to the origin and evolution of many taxa (nair, 1980) and to derive classification of angiosperms (cronquist, 1981). pollen morphology of this family has been studied by various authors (ting, 1949; nowicke and skvarla, 1979; feng et al., 2000). erdtmann (1952) studied 35 genera of dipsacaceae, and results showed the presence of two types of pollen apertures in this family: porate and colpate.                                                              1 corresponding author , email: ebadi2023@yahoo.com 2 faculty of biological sciences, shahid beheshti university, tehran, iran. email: nikzat.sedighe@gmail.com 216 mostafa and sedigheh caputo and cozzolino (1994) divided dipsacaceae into two major clades based on morphological and palynological characters. khalik (2010) studied various genera of dipsacaceae and proved the taxonomic value of pollen characters. pollen shape, size, exine ornamentation, number and features of apertures represent useful characters for distinguishing among species. there are 22 species of scabiosa recorded in the flora iranica (rechinger, 1989) that species are divided into two subgenera (scabiosa and asterocephalus) and three sections including scabiosa, asterocephalus and olivierianae. greuter and raus (1985) treated iranian species of scabiosa into two genera as lomelosia (= scabiosa sect. astrocephalus and sect. olivierinae) and scabiosa s. str. (scabiosa s. l sect. scaboisa). the taxonomic grouping of the genera scabiosa and lomelosia is exactly unknown (mayer and ehrendorfer, 1999). for example on the basis of the plant list (2013), situation of many iranian species is unresolved (l. flavida, l. calocephala, l. bicolor, l. esfandiarii, l. prophyroneura, l. schimperiana, l. machrochaete, l. kermanensis and l. leucactis) and some of them are accepted names as scabiosa (s. rotata, s. micrantha, s. argentea). as well as, l. caucasica and l. olivieri accepted as genus lomelosia and s. persica and s. columbaria accepted as genus scabiosa. as the circumscription of these groups are not obvious completely and it has not been stabilized yet, in this work only the genus scabiosa sensu rechinger and lack (1991) has been subject of studies. there are no reports on pollen morphology of the scabiosa from iran. the present study aims to survey the pollen morphology of six iranian species of scabiosa l. (belonging to three sections) as s. columbaria l., s. micrantha desf., s. persica boiss., s. calocephala boiss., s. olivieri coult. and s. flavida boiss. & hausskn. using scanning electron microscopy and evaluating its significance in taxonomy of the genus. materials and methods the plant samples for the study were collected from natural populations in different regions of iran during spring and summer of 2013. four to five individuals were collected randomly from each locality. details of localities are given in table 1. the voucher specimens were deposited in herbarium of shahid beheshti university (hsbu). table 1. localities and voucher numbers of the taxa studied. genus species locality voucher no. scabiosa l. s. columbaria l. mazandaran, siahbisheh hsbu4004 s. micrantha desf. north khorasan, 45 km of bojnurd hsbu4005 s. persica boiss. west azarbaijan, piranshahr hsbu4000 s. alocephala bioss. tehran, sorkhhesar park hsbu4001 s. olivieri coult. tehran, telo hsbu4003 s. flavida boiss. & hausskn north khorasan, 45 km east of bojnurd hsbu4002 for sem, pollen samples were mounted on stubs using double-sided adhesive tape. macro and microphotographs which showed general view of pollen surface were taken by phenomprox sem at an accelerating voltage 10.0 kv. for measurements “image tools ver. 3.00” software with high degree of accuracy and confidence was used. some palynological characteristics, such as palynological study of some iranian scabiosa species 217 equatorial diameter (e), polar axis length (p), p/e, log p/e, exine ornamentation and pore dimensions, were described for each sample. in order to show relationships of species, we performed a cluster analysis based on euclidean distances with un-weighted pair-group method with arithmetical mean (upgma) method by using the program past ver. 2.17c (hammer et al., 2001). results palynological characters were randomly measured by using minimum 20 pollen grains. the quantitative and qualitative palynological data of six investigated taxa were shown in table 2. table 2. evaluated pollen characters in the studied taxa. s. columbaria s. micrantha s. persica s. calocephala s. olivieri s. flavida pollen type tricolpate triporate triporate triporate triporate triporate polar axis (p) 80.71 ± 3.24 28.44 ± 2.86 27.01 ± 2.02 22.04 ± 2.46 93.55 ± 4.12 90.32 ± 3.59 equatorial axis (e) 58.07 ± 5.23 68.26 ± 3.61 98.42 ± 4.82 87.65 ± 4.46 121.39 ± 6.13 117.44 ± 5.15 (p/e) 1.38 0.41 0.27 0.25 0.77 0.76 pollen shape prolate preoblate preoblate preoblate suboblate suboblate polar view circular circulartriangular triangular triangular circulartriangular circulartriangular aperture linear circular elliptic elliptic circular circular aperture diameter 40.67 ± 2.96 14.33 ± 1.27 15.69± 1.56 15.19 ± 2.05 15.02 ± 0.92 15.89 ± 1.08 exine ornamentation spinulatespinuloid spinulatespinuloid gemmatespinuloid gemmatespinuloid spinulatespinuloid spinulatespinuloid there are two major types of pollen grain apertures. it varies from tricolpate in s. columbaria to triporate in the rest studied species (fig1) as s.persica and s. calocephala have elliptical pore and s. micrantha, s. flavida and s. olivieri have circular pores (table 2). the size of the pollen grain of studied taxa ranged from 28 × 68 µm (p × e) in s. micrantha to 93 × 121 µm (p × e) in s. olivieri. the ratio between the mean polar axis (p) and the mean equatorial diameter (e) can be used to assign the pollen grains to shape classes as of erdtmann (1952). the shape of the pollen grain in equatorial view varied from preoblate to prolate among investigated taxa. the pollen shape in polar view varied from triangulate in s. persica and s. calocephala, circular in s. colembaria to circular-triangular in the rest of the species (fig. 1). two types of exine ornamentation found in studied taxa. gemmate type was observed in s. persica and s. calocephala as so that, between the gemmate are numerous low irregularly spaced spinuloid (fig 2). spinulate type was observed in s. colembaria, s. flavida, s. micrantha and s. olivieri as beset with numerous similar small conical spinuloid (fig. 2). the taxa investigated were separated from each other in a upgma tree (fig. 3). cluster analysis showed that species placed in two clusters. s. olivieri and s. flavida placed in one cluster and the remained taxa placed in other cluster. this cluster divided to two sub-clusters: subcluster i included s. micrantha, s. persica and s. calocephala and subcluster ii contained s. columbaria. principal component analysis (pca) shows that the polar axis (p), equatorial axis (e) and aperture diameter are main characters in grouping of species (fig. 4). 218 mostafa and sedigheh fig. 1. pollen electron micrograph of studied taxa. a: s. columbaria, b: s. micrantha, c: s. persica, d: s. calocephala, e: s. olivieri and f: s. flavida. fig. 2. pollen surface ornamentations in studied taxa. a: s. columbaria, b: s. micrantha, c: s. persica, d: s. calocephala, e: s. olivieri and f: s. flavida. palynological study of some iranian scabiosa species 219 fig. 3. upgma dendrogram showing the relationship among studied scabiosa species based on palynological characters. fig. 4. principal component analysis (pca) among the studied scabiosa species based on palynological characters. discussion there are lots of debates on taxonomy of the genus scabiosa and undoubtedly the genus has been the subject of the various taxonomic studies. taxonomic classification of scabiosa species is still unresolved. because of morphological similarities between scabiosa species are very high, so it seems that the application of pollen morphology can help us to resolve the taxonomical 220 mostafa and sedigheh problems between the species. previous studies show that pollen characters can be used for solving taxonomic problems (khalik, 2010). in this study, palynological characters varied among the investigated taxa and were useful in identification of taxa. for example, s. columbaria can be distinguished from the other taxa based on aperture types. p/e ratio was useful in identification of s. micrantha from s. olivieri and s. flavida, where their exine ornamentation is very similar. various palynological studies on different species of the dipsacaceae have confirmed that pollen characters were important to species identification. perveen and qaiser (2011) studied palynological characteristic in some species of dipsacaceae from pakistan. their results indicated that pollen characters may be used to delimit the species. aperture types are the most significant pollen characters. on the basis of aperture types, scabiosa is divided into two pollen types including tricolpate and triporate. s. columbaria was tricolpate while the rest studied taxa were triporate. scabiosa is divided into two subgenera, including scabiosa and asterocephalus, based on morphological characters (such as presence of groove or pit on epicalyx tube) (rechinger, 1989) and according to present study, they have tricolpate and triporate apertures, respectively. perveen and qaiser (2011) divided the pakistani species of the family dipsacaceae into three pollen types on the basis of aperture viz., dipsacus inermis–type, pterocephalus gedrosiacus–type and scabiosa candollei–type. our results are in agreement with those of perveen and qaiser (2011) who have also observed triporate pollen in pakistani scobiosa species. s. columbaria species complex has long posed for a complex taxonomic issue. hybridization is common and, as a result, the number of reported species (and subspecies) has varied widely (bobrov, 1957; grossman, 1975; jasiewicz, 1976). a revision of the species limits in s. columbaria is much needed. the upgma dendrogram based on palynological characters is in concordant with morphological classification. mayer and ehrendorfer (1999) investigated differentiation of the epicalyx, the corona, the epi-diaphragm, calyx, pollen, chromosome number and their taxonomic importance in genus scabiosa s.l and concluded that these features could be helpful in circumscribing of this genus. s. persica and s. calocephala have similar characters including: number of corona vein, epicalyx tube pits (oblong shape), presence of sulcus between pits, hidden bristle rather to corona. these two species are different in leaves, leaflets, number of involucre bracts (jamzad, 1993). s. olivieri and s. flavida have small dipsacaceoushead and thus they are different from other species. these two species have triangle pits, short corona, evident bristles rather to corona, lack of sulcus between pits. there is radiant flower in s. flavida but not in s. olivieri. s. micrantha have oval shape dipsacaceoushead in contrast with other species. this specieshas oblong shape pits, sulcus between pits, and evident bristles rather to corona. despite other species (five above mentioned species), s. columbaria has 8-grooves along epicalyx tube (jamzad, 1993). morphological similarity between these taxa is approved by pollen characteristics (fig 3). s. micrantha have some characters of s. olivieri group (s. olivieri and s. flavida) and some of s. persica group (s. persica and s. calocephala). hence, on the basis of pollen features, s. micrantha located between them. taxonomic status of s. calocephala is unresolved but some data suggest that it is synonymous with lomelosia calocephala. s. calocephala and s. micrantha based on the presence of pits on epicalyx tube, are placed in sect. asterocephalus. the upgma dendrogram showed that this species were very similar to s. persica. therefore, taxonomic status of s. calocephala does not change according to pollen morphology. s. olivieri and s. flavida were previously classified within the genus scabiosa, based on the calyx characters (tackholm, 1974; rechinger, 1989; boulos, 2000). mayer and ehrendorfer palynological study of some iranian scabiosa species 221 (1999) separated all species of scabiosa set. olivierianae into lomelosia. in general, our results agree with those of mayer and ehrendorfer. caputo et al. (2004) studied phylogenetic relationships among 17 species of dipsacaceae and they divided dipsacaceae into two major clades: one including lomelosia and pycnocomon, both in a sister group relationship with a clade including scabiosa, sixalix and pterocephalus, and the other including the rest of species. unlike other studies, in this work exine ornamentation was not useful to distinguish among closely related genera such as scabiosa and lomelosia. the exine ornamentation of s. micrantha is very similar to s. olivieri and s. flavida while our results showed that s. micrantha was grouped in sect. asterocephalus in accordance with flora iranica classification. feng et al. (2000) studied pollen of 17 species of the genus dipsacus and divided the genus into three pollen types based on exine ornamentation viz., dispinulate-reticulate, spinulatefoveolate and dispinulate or rarely smooth. he further reported that pollen morphology was little helpful at specific level. the results of this study showed that pollen morphology provided facile and reliable characters for taxonomic studies of scabiosa. references adanson, m. 1763. familles des plantes. vincent, paris. 2: 152. bobrov, e.g. 1957. dipsacaceae. in: flora of the ussr, vol. 24 (ed. by b.k. shishkin). akademii nauk sssr, moscow. bonet, m.a. and vallès, j. 2007. ethnobotany of montseny biosphere reserve (catalonia, iberian peninsula): plants used in veterinary medicine. journal of ethnopharmacology 110(1):130–147. boulos, l. 2000. flora of egypt. 2. cairo. caputo, p. and cozzolino, s. 1994. a cladistics analysis of dipsacaceae (dipsacales). plant system.evol. 189: 41–61. caputo, p., cozzolino, s. and moritti, a. 2004. molecular phylogenetics of dipsacaceae reveals parallel trends in seed dispersal syndromes. plant system. evol. 246: 163–175. cronquist a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of angiosperms. columbia university press, new york. devesa, j. a. 1984a. revisidn del genero scabiosa en la peninsula ibrrica e islas baleares. lagascalia. 12: 143-212. devesa, j. a. 1984b. pseudoscabiosa, genero nuevo de dipsacaceae. lagascalia 12: 213-221. erdtmann, g. 1952. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy. chronica botanica co., massachusettes; copenhagen. feng, x.f., ai, t.m. and xu, h.n. 2000.a study on pollen morphology of dipsacus. zhongguo zhong yao zazhi. 25(7): 394-401. greuter, w. and raus, t. 1985. conservatoire et jardinbotaniques de la ville de gene`ve, gene`ve. medchecklist notulae: 11. willdenowia 15: 61–64. grossman, f. 1975. morphologisch-o¨kologischeuntersuchungenan scabiosa columbaris l. s.l. immittleren und westlichen alpengebiet. vero¨ffentlichungen des geobotanischen institutes der eth, stiftung ru¨bel. 25: 1–125. haller, a. 1768. historiastirpiumindigenarum helvetiae, societatis typhographicae, bern. 1: 87. hammer ø, harper dat, ryan pd. 2001. past: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. palaeontologia electronica 4: 9. http://palaeo-electronica.org/ 2001_1/past/issue1 _01.htm. jamzad, z. 1993. scabiosa l. in: assadi, m., khatamsaz, m. and maassoumi, a.a. (eds.) flora of iran, vol. 8. islamic republic of iran, ministry of jahad-e sazandegi, research institute of forests and rangelands, tehran, pp. 63–106. 222 mostafa and sedigheh jasiewicz, a. 1976. scabiosa. in: t.g. tutin, v.h. heywood, n.a. burges, d.h. valentine, s.m. walters and d.a. webb (eds). flora europaea, vol. 4. cambridge university press, cambridge, pp. 68–74. khalik, k.a. 2010. a palynological study of the family dipsacaceae in egypt and its taxonomic significance. j. bot. taxonomy & geobotany 121(3-4): 97-111. linnaeus, c. 1753. species plantarum, exhibentesplantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis,locis natalibus, secundum systema sexualedigestas, impensis laurentii salvii, stockholm 1: 98. lopez-gonzalez, g. 1987. pterocephalidium, unnuevogrneroibrrico de la familia dipsacaceae. anales jard. bot. madrid. 43: 245-252. mayer, v. and ehrendorfer, f. 1999. fruit differentiation, palynology, and systematics in the scabiosa group of genera and pseudoscabiosa (dipsacales). pi. syst. evol. 216: 135-166. nair, p.k.k. 1980. pollen morphology of angiosperms.vikas publications, new delhi. nowicke, j.w. and skvarla, j.j. 1979. pollen morphology: the potential influence in higher order systematics. ann. mo. bot. gard. 66: 633-699. perveen, a. and qaiser, m. 2011. pollen flora of pakistan-dipsacaceae lxviii., pak. j. botany 42(6): 28252827. rechinger, k. h. 1989: scabiosa sect. olivierianae, sect. nova (dipsacaceae). willdenowia 19: 137–151. rechinger, k. h and lack, h. w. 1991. dipsacaceae. in: rechinger, k. h., (ed.): flora iranica. 168, pp. 1 67. reveal, j. l. and chase, m. w. 2011. apg iii: bibliographical information and synonymy of magnoliidae. phytotaxa 19: 71–134. tackholm, v. 1974. students’ flora of egypt. beirut, cairo university. the plant list 2013. version 1.1. published on the internet; <www.theplantlist.org>.accessed 1st january. ting, s.u. 1949. illustration of pollen grains of some chinese plants. bot. notiser. 4: 277-282. (manuscript received on 3 august 2016; revised on 6 september 2016) microsoft word 13. s-3. new comb of chionanthus_revised_1.10.14_ee.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon, 21(2): 197-198, 2014 (december) short communication © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists two new combinations in the genus chionanthus l. (oleaceae) bui hong quang, ritesh kumar choudhary1, vu tien chinh, tran the bach, tran thi phuong anh2 and joongku lee3,4 department of botany, institute of ecology and biological resources, vietnam academy of science and technology, 18 hoang quoc viet, caugiay, hanoi, vietnam keywords: oleaceae; chionanthus; new combinations; vietnam. the genus chionanthus l. is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of america, africa, asia and australia, and is represented by 80 species (mabberley, 2008). indeed, the species number of this genus increased considerably by the merger of the genus linociera swartz, based on the survey of morphological and palynological characters by stearn (1976). later, chang et al. (1996) in flora of china accepted the reduction of linociera with chionanthus although the former are deciduous and found in temperate asia and north america and the later are evergreen and pantropical. in vietnam, the genus chionanthus s.l. is represented by 15 species (ho, 2000; ly, 2003). though most of the species described under the genus linociera were found to be transferred to chionanthus, two species linociera robinsonii gagnep. and l. subcapitata merr. described in the year 1933 and 1942 respectively from indo-china (vietnam) are yet to be transferred formally, which necessitates the following new combinations. chionanthus robinsonii (gagnep.) b.h. quang, comb. nov. basionym: linociera robinsonii gagnep. bull. soc. bot. france 79: 787 (1933). type: vietnam. nha trang and vicinity: (amamite) yacnai, small tree at 100 m elevation, 11 march 2011, c.b. robinson 1419 (holotype: p-photo!). notes: chionanthus robinsonii is endemic to vietnam and needs utmost attention for conservation. chionanthus subcapitata (merr.) b.h. quang, comb. nov. basionym: linociera subcapitata merr., j. arnold arbor. 23: 189 (1942). type: vietnam. ven 1200 m (mau son) province de lang son tonkin, 1925, a. ptelot 1720 (holotype: k-photo!; isotype: vnm!). notes: chionanthus subcapitata is also endemic to vietnam and scarcely distributed throughout its altitudinal limits. more floristic surveys are required to know its real population status. 1agharkar research institute, g.g. agarkar road, pune-411004, india 2vietnam national museum of nature, vietnam academy of sciences and technology, 18 hoang quoc viet, nghia do, caugiay, hanoi, vietnam 3international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, 125 gwahak-ro, yuseong-gu, daejeon, south korea 4corresponding author. email: joongku@kribb.re.kr 198 quang et al.   acknowledgements we are thankful to the curator of herbarium vnm for allowing us to examine the voucher specimens.we also acknowledge the research funding granted by the vietnam national foundation for science and technology development (nafosted) under grant number 106.112012.37; and korea research institute of bioscience & biotechnology, korea under project on ‘bio-prospecting on biological materials of vietnam’. references chang, m.c., qui, l.q., wei, z. and green, p.s. 1996. oleaceae. in: wu, z. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china, vol. 15. science press, beijing, china and missouri botanical garden, missouri, usa, pp. 272319. ho, p.h. 2000. oleaceae. in: an illustrated flora of vietnam.vol. 2. mekong press, montreal, pp. 883-886. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant-book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. cambridge university press, england, 1004 pp. ly, t.d. 2003. checklist of plant species of vietnam, vol. 2. agricultural publishing house, hanoi, 1169 pp. stearn, w.t. 1976. union of chionanthus and linociera (oleaceae). ann. miss. bot. gard. 63(2): 355-357. (manuscript received on 21 april 2014; revised on 1 october 2014) microsoft word 05. dimeria_final_15jun.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 47–54, 2015 (june) © 2015 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a revised infrageneric classification of dimeria r. br. (poaceae: andropogoneae) m.s. kiran raj 1, m. sivadasan 2,5, j.f. veldkamp 3, a.h. alfarhan 2 and a.s.m. amal tamimi 4 department of botany, sree narayana college, cherthala 688 582, alappuzha, kerala, india keywords: dimeriinae; new subspecies; new synonyms; panicoideae; sectional classification; typification. abstract the four sections of the little known genus dimeria r. br. of the rather anomalous paleotropical subtribe dimeriinae hack. (poaceae–panicoideae– andropogoneae) are revised. a key is provided. three peninsular indian species, viz. dimeria sivarajanii, d. idukkiensis and d. borii are treated here as subspecies of d. bialata, d. kurumthotticalana and d. mooneyi respectively; and five, viz. d. chelariensis, d. copei, d. eradii, d. jayachandranii and d. kollimalayana are reduced to synonymy. introduction dimeria r. br. (poaceae) is a little known genus with about 65 species (teerawatananon et al., 2014). they are adapted to arid habitats and range from india to china, korea, indonesia, micronesia, and northern australia and to sri lanka and madagascar (bor, 1953; clayton et al., 2006; kiran raj and sivadasan, 2008; kiran raj et al., 2013a, b; kiran raj et al., 2015) (fig. 1). it used to be the only genus of the rather anomalous paleotropical subtribe dimeriinae hackel (1889) until nanooravia kiran raj & sivad. (kiran raj et al., 2013a, b) was described from india. the subtribe is distinguished by espatheate inflorescences consisting of 1−11 digitate racemes with tough raches and strongly laterally flattened solitary spikelets by which it differs from all other andropogoneae dumort. (clayton, 1972). brown (1810) placed it between imperata cirillo and ischaemum l. endlicher (1836) included it in the andropogoneae between zoysia willd. and pleuroplitis trin. (= arthraxon p. beauv.). steudel (1854) treated six species in andropogoneae between euklaston steud. (= andropogon l.) and pterygostachyum nees ex steud., psilostachys steud. (synonyms of dimeria) and amblyachyrum hochst. ex steud. (= apocopis nees). bentham (1881) included it in the subtribe arthraxonae j. presl together with apocopis nees and arthraxon p. beauv., but in 1883 in the andropogoneae s.l. (bentham, 1883). hackel (1889) had 12 species, 2 subspecies, and 10 varieties and regarded it as close to the sacchareae dumort., and very much to the tristegineae nees. for a discussion on the latter tribe see veldkamp (2015). 1formerly at: department of botany, university of calicut, p.o. box 673 635, kerala, india 2department of botany & microbiology, college of science, king saud university, p.o. box 2455, riyadh 11451, kingdom of saudi arabia 3naturalis biodiversity center, p.o. box 9517, 2300 ra leiden, the netherlands 4department of biology, college of science, princess nora bint abdulrahman university, p.o. box 87991, riyadh 11652, kingdom of saudi arabia 5corresponding author. email: drmsivadasan@gmail.com 48 kiran raj et al. roberty (1960) found the genus dimeria so homogeneous, that in his “cohors” dimeriastreae he accepted only a single species, d. avenacea (retz.) c.e.c. fisch., with not less than 22 subvarieties all with invalid names, because he did not follow the linnean infraspecific classification. fig. 1. distribution of dimeria r. br. clayton and renvoize (1986) regarded it as derived from the ischaeminae j. presl by suppression of the sessile spikelet. this might as well be loss of the pedicelled ones, as was observed by miquel (1851: “rudimentary pedicels”), but by no one else. kellogg and watson (1993) in their phylogenetic analysis based on morphological data treated dimeria as a sister group of cleistachne benth. of the subtribe sorghinae bluff et al. with both genera nesting in a clade. estep et al. (2014) in a nuclear molecular study found dimeria nested in a clade within ischaemum, but with little basal support, so a reduction of dimeria to ischaemum seems premature. the majority of the species (34 out of 65: table 1) is confined to peninsular india (hackel, 1889; hooker, 1896; bor, 1953; kiran raj, 2008; kiran raj et al., 2013a, b) indicating it to be at least a centre of speciation of the subtribe. in southeast asia, approximately 14 species have been reported for indo-china, malesia and china (camus and camus, 1922; ridley, 1925; jansen, 1953; schmid, 1958; henty, 1969; gilliland, 1971; lazarides, 1980; chen and phillips, 2006; teerawatananon et al., 2014). sectional classification of dimeria by bor (1953) the first infrageneric classification of the genus was by bor (1953), who treated the species for india, sri lanka (ceylon), and myanmar (burma) as belonging to three sections viz. dimeria sect. annulares bor, sect. capillares bor, and sect. loriformes bor and the sections were recognized based on rachis and pedicel characters. as the type species, d. acinaciformis r. br., is from australia, he did not mention a section dimeria in his treatise. a revised infrageneric classification of dimeria 49 table 1. the sections of dimeria r. br. and their peninsular indian taxa. i. dimeria sect. dimeria dimeria acutipes bor d. agasthyamalayana kiran raj & ravi d. aristata (hack.) senaratna d. avenacea (retz.) c.e.c.fisch. d. connivens hack. d. copeana sreek.,v.j.nair & n.c. nair. (= d. chelariensis ravi, syn. nov.) d. fuscescens trin. d. kanjirapallilana jacob d. lehmannii hack. (= d. alata hook. f.) d. orissae bor d. ornithopoda trin. d. trimenii hook. f. ii. dimeria sect. annulares d. veldkampii kiran raj & sivad. d. woodrowii stapf iii. dimeria sect. capillares d. gracilis nees ex steud. (= d. laxiuscula thw. & trimen) d. hohenackeri hochst. ex miq. d. stapfiana c.e. hubb. ex pilg. d. stapfiana var. blatteri (bor) m.r. almeida iv. dimeria sect. loriformes d. balakrishnaniana k. ravik., sreek. & v. lakshm. d. bialata c.e.c. fisch. d. bialata subsp. sivarajanii (n. mohanan & ravi) kiran raj & sivad., comb. & stat. nov. (=dimeria sivarajanii n. mohanan & ravi, rheedea 6(2): 47.1996) d. kalavoorensis ravi (=d. copei ravi, syn. nov.) d. deccanensis bor (=d. kollimalayana m. mohanan & a.v.n. rao, syn. nov.; =d. jayachandranii arisdason & p. daniel, syn. nov.) d. fischeri bor d. jainii sreek., v.j. nair & n.c. nair d. josephii ravi & n. mohanan d. kurumthotticalana jacob (=d. ceylanica bor; =d. sreenarayanae ravi & anil kumar) d. kurumthotticalana subsp. idukkiensis (ravi & anil kumar) kiran raj & sivad., comb. & stat. nov. (dimeria idukkiensis ravi & anil kumar, rheedea 2(2): 104. 1992) d. kurzii hook. f. d. lawsonii (hook. f.) c.e.c. fisch. d. mahendragiriensis ravi, h.o. saxena & brahmam d. mooneyi raizada d. mooneyi subsp. borii (sreek. et al.) kiran raj & sivad., comb. & stat. nov. (dimeria borii sreek., v.j. nair & n.c. nair, j. econ. taxon. bot. 3(2): 657.1982) d. namboodiriana ravi & n. mohanan d. pubescens hack. d. raizadae v.j. nair, sreek. & n.c. nair (=dimeria eradii ravi, syn. nov.) d. raviana kiran raj & sivad. d. thwaitesii hack. 50 kiran raj et al. bor (1953) pointed out the necessity of a further detailed study of more specimens of all species for a better understanding of diversity and extent of intraspecific variation. after 1953, a fairly large number of new species have been described, and it was found after field work and morphological examinations in the herbarium that some could not be properly assigned to a section. also, the capillares and loriformes contained species with strictly triquetrous racemerachises, overlapping spikelets, and pedicels closely appressed to the rachis. dimeria acinaciformis is characterized by the presence of triquetrous raceme-rachises and compressed pedicels. considering all the above aspects, a revised infrageneric classification of dimeria is proposed here. the raceme structure of the representative taxa of the sections is illustrated in fig. 2 as an aid for easy understanding of the diagnostic characters. fig. 2. portions of racemes and rachises of representative taxa of the sections of dimeria. a & a1. dimeria avenacea (sect. dimeria); b & b1. d. woodrowii (sect. annulares); c & c1. d. hohenackeri (sect. capillares); d & d1. d. balakrishnaniana (sect. loriformes). (drawings by m.s. kiran raj) a revised infrageneric classification of dimeria 51 i. dimeria r. br. sect. dimeria type: dimeria acinaciformis r. br. annuals or perennials. racemes 2 or 3, rarely 1; rachis of raceme triquetrous, trigonous in cross section, occasionally zigzag, usually wingless, if winged, only at the internodes; spikelets closely packed on the rachis, usually overlapping; raceme internodes c. 0.5 mm long; glumes slightly diverging at anthesis; pedicels 0.3−0.5 mm long, trigonous to flat, closely appressed to the rachis. distribution: widely distributed in tropical asia to north australia. notes: there are 12 species in peninsular india of which seven, viz. d. acutipes bor, d. avenacea (retz.) c.e.c. fisch., d. connivens hack., d. lehmannii (nees & steud.) hack., d. ornithopoda trin., d. orissae bor and d. trimenii hook. f. were included by bor (1953) in sect. loriformes. dimeria chelariensis ravi (1995) is a synonym of d. copeana sreek. et al. (table 1). according to art. 22.1. of the icn (mcneill et al., 2012), an autonym is required and the correct name is dimeria sect. dimeria. ii. dimeria r. br. sect. annulares bor type: dimeria woodrowii stapf annuals. racemes 2 or 3, peduncle bent downwards or erect at maturity; rachis of raceme compressed, trigonous on one side and convex on the other, straight when young and curved at maturity to form a ‘globule’, or a single or double ‘ringlet’ carrying the spikelets along the inner side; raceme internodes up to 1 mm long; spikelets distantly arranged along the rachis; upper glume distinctly winged, or minutely winged, or wingless; pedicels terete, not compressed. distribution: two species in peninsular india (table 1), and so far known only from lateritic plains of the northern western ghats. iii. dimeria r. br. sect. capillares bor lectotype: dimeria hohenackeri hochst. ex miq. (here designated) annuals or perennials. racemes 3 to 5, rarely up to 11; rachis of raceme capillary and very thin, nearly triangular or circular in cross section, not winged; spikelets very distantly arranged along the rachis, late disarticulation from the pedicels; raceme internodes 2.5−3.5 mm long; glumes widely diverging at anthesis; pedicels 0.5−1.5 mm long, terete, not compressed. distribution: restricted to indian subcontinent (western ghats region of peninsular india, sri lanka and myanmar); three species in peninsular india (table 1). notes: bor (1953) included seven species in dimeria. sect. capillares, and the type was not designated and hence the present lectotypification. in the present classification, three species are transferred to sect. dimeria (table 1). iv. dimeria r. br. sect. loriformes bor lectotype: dimeria pubescens hack. (here designated) mostly annuals. racemes 1 or 2, rarely 3; rachis of raceme compressed; dorsally flattened in cross section, winged; spikelets compactly arranged along the rachis, early disarticulation from the pedicels; raceme internodes 0.5−1.0 mm long; pedicels 0.3−0.5 mm long, distinctly compressed, flat, appressed to the wing and axis of rachis. distribution: peninsular india, myanmar and sri lanka; mostly occurring in peninsular india with 17 species. 52 kiran raj et al. notes: bor (1953) did not designate a type for the section and hence it is lectotypified here. seven species are excluded from bor’s loriformes, and here placed in dimeria sect. dimeria. three peninsular indian species, viz. dimeria sivarajanii n. mohanan and ravi (1996), d. idukkiensis ravi and anil kumar (1992) and d. borii sreek. et al. (1982) are reduced to subspecies of d. bialata c.e.c. fisch. (1933), d. kurumthotticalana jacob (1947) and d. mooneyi raizada (1950), respectively (table 1); two species, viz. d. copei ravi (1996) and d. eradii ravi (1995) are reduced to d. kalavoorensis ravi (1996) and d. raizadae v.j. nair et al. (1983), respectively; two species, viz. d. kollimalayana m. mohanan and a.v.n. rao (1984) and d. jayachandranii arisdason and p. daniel (2009), are regarded as conspecific with d. deccanensis bor (1953), and they are treated as new synonyms (table 1). key to the sections of dimeria in peninsular india 1. racemes divergent; rachis of raceme always straight, never coiled; spikelets arranged along the outside and exposed. 2 racemes non-divergent; rachis of raceme coiled to form a ‘globule’ or ‘ringlet’; spikelets arranged along the inner side of rachis. dimeria sect. annulares 2. rachis of raceme capillary and filiform, thin, wingless, angled to terete in cross section; spikelets distantly arranged on rachis, not readily disarticulating with pedicels; pedicles 1.0−1.5 mm long, terete, glabrous. dimeria sect. capillares rachis of raceme not capillary, stout, winged or not, trigonous or compressed in cross section; spikelets compactly arranged on rachis, easily disarticulating with pedicels; pedicels 0.5−1.0 mm long, flat, often ciliate at the outer margin. 3 3. spikelet usually overlapping; rachis of raceme triquetrous, 0.5−0.7 mm wide, often minutely winged at the internode, scaberulous to sparsely ciliate along margin; pedicels compressed but not flat, completely appressed to the raceme-rachis. dimeria sect. dimeria spikelets never overlapping; rachis of raceme abaxially flat, 0.8−1.5 mm wide, distinctly winged, glabrous to ciliate along margin; pedicels flat, basal half appressed to raceme-rachis and upper half attached to wing of rachis. dimeria sect. loriformes acknowledgements the first author is indebted to the council of scientific and industrial research (csir), new delhi for the award of senior research fellowship in 2001, the international association for plant taxonomy (iapt), vienna for the plant systematics research grant award in 2007 while working earlier at the university of calicut, kerala, india, and the university grants commission (ugc), new delhi for granting a minor research project in 2013. sincere gratitude is expressed towards prof. n. ravi, an eminent agrostologist of kerala and former head of the department of botany, sree narayana college, kollam, india for constant encouragements and comment on the manuscript. the authors are grateful towards the curators of ahma, bm, blat, bsi, cal, mh and k for permitting to study the specimens available at their respective herbaria, and providing necessary literature and cibachrome photographs of specimens. the second and fourth authors thankfully extend their appreciation to the deanship of scientific research at the king saud a revised infrageneric classification of dimeria 53 university for encouragements and support extended through the research group project no. rgpvpp-135. references arisdason, w. and daniel, p. 2009. dimeria jayachandranii (poaceae), a new species from the western ghats, india. kew bull. 64: 345−347. bentham, g. 1881. notes on gramineae. j. linn. soc., bot. 19: 67. bentham, g. 1883. gramineae. in: bentham, g. and hooker, j.d., genera plantarum 3: 1128. reeve & co., williams & norgate, london. bor, n.l. 1953. notes on asiatic grasses xi. the genus dimeria r. br. in india and burma. kew. bull. 1952(7): 553−592. brown, r. 1810. prodromus florae novae hollandiae et insulae van diemen, 1. j. johnson, london, 204 pp. camus, e.g.and camus, a. 1922.graminées. in: lecomte, h. and humbert, h. 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(poaceae) from kollimalai, south india. j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 80(3): 615−617. mohanan, n. and ravi, n. 1996. dimeria sivarajanii (poacaeae), a new species from kerala, india. rheedea 6(2): 47−50. nair, v.j., sreekumar, p.v. and nair, n.c. 1983. dimeria raizadae – a new species of poaceae from kerala, india. indian j. for. 6(2): 163−165. raizada, m.b. 1950. dimeria mooneyi. in: mooney, h., supplement to the botany of bihar and orissa. catholic press, ranchi, p. 263. ravi, n. 1995. two new species of dimeria r. br. (poaceae) from kerala, india. rheedea 5(1): 37−42. ravi, n. 1996. another two new species of dimeria r. br. (poaceae) from kerala, india. blumea 41(1): 251−256. ravi, n. and anil kumar, n. 1992. new and interesting species of dimeria r. br. (poaceae) from kerala, india. rheedea 2(2): 101−107. ridley, h.n. 1925. the flora of the malay peninsula, 5. reeve & co. ltd., london, pp. 1−470. roberty, g. 1960. monographie systématique des andropogonées du globe. boissiera 9: 396−402. schmid, m. 1958. flore agrostologique de l'indochine. l’agronomie tropicale. office de la recherche scientifique et technique outre-mer (orstom), paris, pp. 1−703. sreekumar, p.v., nair, v.j. and nair, n.c. 1982. dimeria borii (poaceae): a new species from kerala, india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 3(2): 657−658. steudel, e.g. 1854. synopsis plantarum glumacearum, 1. j.b. metzler, stuttgart, pp. 1−474. teerawatananon, a., boontia, v., chantarasuwan, b., hodkinson, t.r. and sungkaew, s. 2014. a taxonomic revision of the genus dimeria (poaceae: panicoideae) in thailand. phytotaxa 186: 137−147. veldkamp, j.f. 2015. arundinella (gramineae) in malesia with notes on other taxa and on aluminium accumulation. blumea 59: 167−179. (manuscript received on 20 april 2015; revised on 2 june 2015) microsoft word s-2. solieria robusta.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 97-99, 2014 (june) short communication © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists solieria robusta (greville) kylin new record of a marine red alga for bangladesh abdullah harun chowdhury1 environmental science discipline, khulna university, khulna 9208, bangladesh keywords: solieria robusta; rhodophyceae; new record; bangladesh. in bangladesh islam (1974) first reported 55 species of marine red algae under 36 genera from the bay of bengal. later on, islam and aziz (1982) added four species of marine red algae and chowdhury and ahmed (2007) reported one red alga from st. martin’s island. the total number of red algae reported from bangladesh so far is 91 (ahmed et al., 2009; aziz and islam, 2009; islam et al., 2010). a benthic marine algal specimen was collected by the author on 19 february, 2009 during low tide from south-east beach of dakshin para area of the st. martin’s island of bangladesh. that was an uncommon specimen showing poor abundance. the algal material has been identified as solieria robusta (greville) kylin. solieria robusta (greville) kylin as well as the genus solieria j. ag. are being reported here for the first time from bangladesh. solieria is represented by 9 species (guiry and guiry, 2014). the samples of solieria robusta were preserved in 5% formalin in the sea water and kept in coastal environment laboratory, environmental science discipline, khulna university, khulna, bangladesh. a detailed description and illustration are given on the basis of fresh and preserved materials. class: rhodophyceae, order: gigartinales, family: solieriaceae genus: solieria j. ag. thalli erect, irregularly radially branched, branches terete to only slightly compressed, basally constricted and tapering gradually above; holdfast fibrous, branched. structure multiaxial, with each axial cell producing a single periaxial cell, successive periaxials orthostichous, developing a lax, filamentous medulla of longitudinal filaments, cross linking filaments and rhizoids, and a pseudoparenchymatous cortex. solieria robusta (greville) kylin (figs 1-3). (srinivason, 1969; yoshida, 1998; huisman, 2000; sahoo et al., 2001; oliveira et al., 2005). synonyms: dumontia robusta greville (1830), rhabdonia robusta (greville) j. agardh (1851), solieria australis harvey (1855), rhabdonia umbellata zanardini (1874). vegetative structure: thallus deep-red to purple-red, 4-6 cm in height, tufted, irregularly branched at intervals of 1-4 cm, branches relatively soft, almost erect, terete to slightly compressed, basally constricted and tapering above to rounded. main axis/stipe 2-3 mm thick, slender and thinner branches 1-2 mm thick and branches abruptly attenuate at base to form a short stipe, elsewhere of almost same thickness, almost cylindrical, tapering slowly to an acute apex. apex with tuft of short rudimentary branches. holdfast fibrous, branched, 4-6 mm across, epilithic. structure multiaxial, with 4-10 apical cells, each subapical cell cutting off a single periaxial cell with successive periaxials orthostichous, developing a broad medulla of mainly longitudinal slender filaments connected by short lateral filaments and with abundant rhizoids, and 1email: aharunc_ku@yahoo.com 98 chowdhury a pseudoparenchymatous cortex 5–6 cells thick, inner cells irregularly ovoid with numerous secondary pit-connections, oblong, rounded, polygonal cells 30-80 µm in diameter, outer or epidermal cells 8-14 µm in diameter, rounded, loosely arranged. reproductive structure was not seen in the specimen. figs 1-3. solieria robusta (greville) kylin. 1. whole plant, 2. an enlarged part of branch, 3. c.s. of thallus: 3a. middle portion of an axis, 3b. lower portion of an axis, 3c. outer cortex. (bar: a-b = 1mm; c = 0.03 mm). habitat: this red alga grows on rocks and dead corals, found in bangladesh only on the south-east coast of st. martin’s island, in the intertidal to deep-water conditions and relatively sheltered by rocks/corals. distribution: australia, fiji and new zealand (huisman, 2000), india (srinivason, 1969), japan (yoshida, 1998), kenya, kuwait, madagascar, mauritius, singapore, south africa, sri lanka, yemen (chiovitti et al., 1999), pakistan (hayee-memon and shameel, 2006), the philippines (ganzon-fortes et al., 2006), and tanzinia (oliveira et al., 2005). solieria robusta (greville) kylin 99 references ahmed, z.u., khondker, m., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a. and rahman, a.k.a. (eds). 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 4. algae, charophyta rhodophyta (achnanthaceae-vaucheriaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 543 pp. aziz, a. and islam, s. 2009. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. vii. acrochaetium nurulislamii sp. nov. and new records of acrochaetium (rhodophyceae). bangladesh j. bot. 38(2): 145-151. chiovitti, a., bacic, a., kraft, g.t., craik, d.j. and liao, m.l. 1999. pyruvated carrageenans from solieria robusta and its adelphoparasite tikvahiella candida. proc. intl. seaweed symp. 16: 401-409. chowdhury, a.h. and ahmed, r. 2007. neurymenia fraxinifolia (mert.) j. ag. a new record of a marine red alga for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 81-83. ganzon-fortes, e.t., montano, m.n.e. and mendoza, w.g. 2006. first documented report on solieria robusta (greville) kylin (gigartinales, rhodophyceae) in the philippines. coastal marine science 30: 238-239. guiry, m.d. and guiry, g.m. 2014. algaebase. world-wide electronic publication, national university of ireland, galway. http://www.algaebase.org; retrieved on 24 april 2014. hayee-memon, a. and shameel, m. 2006. phycochemistry of solieria robusta (ceramiophyceae shameel) from karachi coast. int. j. phycology & phycochemistry 2: 71-76. huisman, j.m. 2000. marine plants of australia. university of western australia press, nedlands. 309 pp. islam, a.k.m.n. 1974. a preliminary list of benthic marine algae from the bay of bengal. bangladesh j. bot. 3(1): 83-91. islam, a.k.m.n. and aziz, a. 1982. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. ii. brown, red and blue-green algae. nova hedwigia 36: 643-657. islam, s., aziz, a. and chowdhury, a.h. 2010. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. viii. new records of red algae (rhodophyceae). bangladesh j. bot. 39(1): 87-96. oliveira, e., österlund, k. and mtolera, m.s.p. 2005. marine plants of tanzania. a field guide to the seaweeds and seagrasses numerous coloured illustrations and line drawings. botany department, stockholm university, stockholm, 267 pp. sahoo, d., nivedita and debasish. 2001. seaweeds of indian coast. a.p.h. publishing, new delhi, 304 pp. srinivasan, k.s. 1969. phycologia indica: icones of indian marine algae. botanical survey of india, vol.1, pp. 1-52. yoshida, t. 1998. marine algae of japan. uchida rokakuho publishing, tokyo, 1247 pp. (manuscript received on 9 november 2013; revised on 24 april 2014) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 171-172, 2006 (december) short communication on the occurrence of didymosperma nanum h. wendl. & drude (arecaceae) in bangladesh mohammad zashim uddin1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: arecaceae, didymosperma nanum, bangladesh during the exploration of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary located in tarap hills area under sylhet forest division, bangladesh, an interesting palm specimen was collected that could not be matched with any other species so far reported from this region. later it was identified as didymosperma nanum h. wendl. & drude through consultation with the iucn south-east asian palm expert, dr. s. k. basu. the genus didymosperma consists of eight species, distributed in assam (india) to ryukyu islands (japan), and west malaysia (airy shaw 1966). didymosperma nanum was earlier reported by hooker (1892) from assam and khasia hills. as this genus and species were not reported earlier in any of the relevant literature of bangladesh territory, viz. prain (1903), heinig (1925), raizada (1941), sinclair (1955), khan and banu (1969), mia and khan (1995), uddin et al. (1998) and rahman (2004), it is now being reported here for the first time from bangladesh. a detailed descriptive note, as given below, is prepared on the basis of studies on the living collection, maintained in dhaka university botanic garden, and herbarium specimen preserved at the salar khan herbarium at the university of dhaka. didymosperma nanum h. wendl. & drude in kerchov. palm.: 243 (1878) (fig. 1) a rhizomatous, stemless palm, clothed with rusty leafsheath. leaves pinnatisect, leaflets 5, terminal, flabelliform, lateral, opposite, obliquely trapezoid-lanceolate, acuminate, not caudate, irregularly lobed and toothed, pale beneath. inflorescence a spadix, interfoliar, stout and simple, branched, rustily scurfy dense flowered, spathes many, sheathing the peduncle. male flowers symmetric, calyx cupular, 3-fid, imbricate, petal coriaceous, valvate, stamens 10-30, anthers linear, erect, pistillode absent. female flowers sub-globose, sepals rounded, coriaceous, petals thick, triangular, incurved, valvate, staminode absent, ovary depressed, 3-gonous, 2-3 celled, stigma conical, ovules basilar. fruit a drupe, oblong, greenish-white, 1-2 celled, stigmas terminal. seeds erect, oblong, plano-convex, albumen equable, embryo dorsal. growing at the foothills near stream. petiole used to make mat. fruits are irritating to the skin. specimen examined: habiganj district: kalenga forest beat, chunarughat thana under sylhet forest division, 9.12.1998, zashim uddin 520 (salar khan herbarium, university of dhaka). 1corresponding author. 172 uddin and hassan fig. 1. didymosperma nanum h. wendl. & drude. a. young plant, b. leaf and fruits. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to dr. s. k. basu (iucn south-east asian palm expert) for confirming the identity of the species. references airy shaw, h.k. 1966. a dictionary of flowering plants and ferns by j.c. willis ed. 7. cambridge university press, england, p. 354. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. pp. 1-84. hooker, j.d.1892. flora of british india. 6: 420. ind. repr. 1973. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1969. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-1. j. as. soc. pak. 14(2): 217-222. mia, m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants'. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. 2: 663-1319. ind. repr. 1981. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. rahman, m.o. 2004. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants': series 1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67: 245-254. sinclair, j. 1955. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 84-116. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. (manuscript received on 20 november 2006; revised on 25 november 2006) microsoft word s-2. didymodon_final_11june.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 63–66, 2015 (june) short communication © 2015 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists didymodon rigidulus var. subulatus (thér. & bartram ex e.b. bartram) r.h. zander, new to the moss flora of mongolia and asia dong-ping zhao1, tsogiin tsegmed2 and xue-liang bai department of biology, inner mongolia university, hohhot 010021, p.r. china keywords: asia; didymodon; mongolia; new record; pottiaceae. in the 1970s, extensive botanical exploration was made to collect moss specimens from mongolia (abramov and abramova, 1983; abramova and abramov, 1976, 1978, 1983; abramova and tsegmed, 1987, 1989, 1994; tsegmed, 1988, 2001). based on these collections, tsegmed et al. (2010) published moss flora of mongolia, in which 20 species of didymodon hedw. were recorded. in 2013, the first and third authors of this paper were invited by dr. tsegmed to visit the bryophyte herbarium at the academy of science of mongolia, and had the opportunity to study specimens of didymodon. two of the specimens labelled as d. vinealis (brid.) r.h. zander attracted their attention. after studying numerous specimens of d. vinealis from spain, mongolia and china, and consulting the relevant literature (e.g. saito, 1975; magill, 1981; zander, 1993, 2007; bai, 1997, 2010; li et al., 2001; jiménez et al., 2005; jiménez, 2006; zhao et al., 2013, 2014), it was concluded that the samples do not correspond to d. vinealis, but to d. rigidulus var. subulatus (thér. & bartram ex e.b. bartram) r.h. zander, representing a new addition to the asian moss flora. this mongolian record is floristically and phytogeographically important as it extends the known distribution of d. rigidulus var. subulatus and represents a bridge between east asia and the americas. the present paper describes and illustrates the taxa and discusses its relationship with related taxa. didymodon rigidulus var. subulatus (thér. & e.b. bartram ex e.b. bartram) r.h. zander, cryptog. bryol. lichénol. 2: 395 (1981). didymodon mexicanus var. subulatus thér. & e.b. bartram ex e.b. bartram, bryologist 29: 1. pl. 1 (1926) (figs 1 & 2). type: united states. arizona: pima, 28 jan 1925, e. b. bartram 174 (mo). plants 0.5–1.0 cm high, growing in dense turfs, green. stems erect, simple or branched, without hyalodermis, central strand differentiated. rhizoidal tubers absent. leaves monomorphic, appressed when dry, erect-patent to spreading when moist, ovate-lanceolate, gradually narrowed to the apex, not keeled, 1.1–1.7 mm long; lamina 2-stratose in distal 1/2, with bistratose patches in the upper middle of the leaf; apex acuminate, not deciduous; margins entire, plane, sometimes lightly recurved in the lower middle of the leaf, bistratose in distal, unistratose or bistratose in the upper middle of the leaf. costa long-excurrent in a subula, not spurred, ventral cells of the costa, in the upper middle of the leaf, rectangular to subquadrate, smooth, without a band of translucent cells below the apex, dorsal cells of the costa, in the upper middle of the leaf, rectangular, smooth; in transverse section at midleaf, semicircular; with 3 or 4 guide cells in 1 layer, 0 or 1 layer ventral stereids, 1–3 layers of dorsal stereids, without hydroids, ventral epidermis differentiated, not bulging, smooth, dorsal epidermis differentiated, smooth. upper and middle laminal cells round, 1corresponding author. email: topalizdp@aliyun.com 2 institute of botany, academy of science of mongolia, ulaanbaatar 51, mongolia 64 zhao et al. quadrate or oblate, 5.2–7.8 × 2.6–5.2 µm, smooth, lightly thick-walled; basal cells weakly differentiated medially, rectangular, 7.8–26.0 × 5.2–10.4 µm, not hyaline, smooth, thick-walled, not pitted. gemmae absent. dioeicous. sexual condition unknown. sporophyte unknown. specimens examined: mongolia. khovd province: bulgan sum, 14 jul 1984, ts. tsegmed 8655 (himc, ny, uba,). möst sum, 15 jul 2004, ts. tsegmed 13691 (himc, uba). distribution and habitat: bolivia (churchill et al., 2009), mexico (zander, 1994), peru (churchill et al., 2000), united states of america (bartram, 1926; zander, 2007). new record to mongolia. the sub-species grows together with carex l. on wet soil near a rivulet in the altai mountain range of khovd province in mongolia. fig. 1. didymodon rigidulus var. subulatus a. plant when dry; b. plant when moist; c & d. leaves; e. leaf apex; f. upper laminal cells and ventral cells of the costa; g. middle laminal cells; h. basal cells. scale bar: a & b = ruler scale in mm; c & d = 0.5 mm (as in d); e–h = 50 µm (as in h) notes: didymodon rigidulus var. subulatus has long been considered endemic to north america until recently reported from peru and bolivia. the presence of this variety in mongolia is probably most likely due to the long distances dispersal of spores (crum, 1972). however, the migratory route is currently unknown; so the collection of more specimens and molecular phylogenetic analysis would be of interest. the outstanding features of the variety from mongolia are the same as that from the americas. the features include ovate-lanceolate leaves (figs 1c, d), costa excurrent into a smooth, more or less flexuose subula (fig. 1e), upper laminal cells bistratose in distal 1/2 (fig. 2b), and guide cells in 1 layer (fig. 2d). didymodon rigidulus var. subulatus 65 fig. 2. didymodon rigidulus var. subulatus a. transverse section of stem; b. transverse section at the leaf apex; c. transverse section at the upper leaf; d. transverse section at midleaf; e. transverse section near leaf base. scale bar: a−c = 50 µm (as in b); d & e = 50 µm (as in e) the variety subulatus differs from didymodon rigidulus hedw. var. rigidulus in the longer subula, ovate-lanceolate leaves and bistratose patches in the upper middle of the leaf. among the species that occur in mongolia plateau, namely d. baii d.p. zhao, j.n. wang & x.d. zhao, d. ditrichoides (broth.) x.j. li & s. he and d. icmadophilus (schimp. ex müll. hal.) k. saito, resemble the variety in having similar leaf shape and long-excurrent subula. nevertheless, the variety subulatus can be separated readily from them by its bistratose lamina and margins in the upper leaf, and smooth laminal cells. acknowledgements the authors wish to thank dr. jesús muñoz and the keepers of ma for sending the duplicate of spain specimens of didymodon vinealis. this research was supported by the national natural science foundation of china (nos 31170497, 31260046). the authors express their sincere thanks to xiu ling zhang for language editing. 66 zhao et al. references abramov, i.i. and abramova, a.l. 1983. conspectus of the moss flora of the mongolian people’s republic. nauka, leningrad, pp. 1–221. abramova, a.l. and abramov, i.i. 1976. on the moss flora of mongolia. nov. sist nizsh. rast. 13: 193−208. abramova, a.l. and abramov, i.i. 1978. on the moss flora of mongolia ii. nov. sist nizsh. rast. 15: 194– 207. abramova, a.l. and tsegmed, t.s. 1983. the rare and interesting moss species of mongolia. nov. sist nizsh. rast. 20: 173–179. abramova, a.l. and tsegmed, t.s. 1987. additions to the moss flora of mongolian narodnoi republic. nov. sist nizsh. rast. 24: 88–91. abramova, a.l. and tsegmed, t.s. 1989. on the bryoflora of mongolian altai. nov. sist nizsh. rast. 26: 136–147. abramova, a.l. and tsegmed, t.s. 1994. the new genera and species of the moss flora of mongolia. bot. zhurn. 79(10): 138–143. bai, x.l. 1997. flora bryophytarum intramongolicarum. inner mongolia university press, hohhot, pp. 1– 541. bai, x.l. 2010. bryophyte flora of helan mts. ningxia people’s press, yinchuan, pp. 1–281. bartram, e.b. 1926. a variety of didymodon mexicanus besch., in arizona. bryologist 29: 1–2. churchill, s.p., griffin iii, d. and muñoz, j. 2000. a checklist of the mosses of the tropical andean countries. ruizia 17: 1–203. churchill, s.p., sanjines, n. and aldana, c. 2009. catálogo de las briofítas de bolivia: diversidad, distribución y ecología. missouri botanical garden & museo noel kempff mercado. la rosa editorial, santa cruz de la sierra, pp. 1–340. crum, h.a. 1972. the geographic origins of the mosses of north america’s eastern deciduous forest. j. hattori bot. lab. 35: 269–298. jiménez, j.a. 2006. taxonomic revision of the genus didymodon hedw, (pottiaceae, bryophyta) in europe, north africa and southwest and central asia. j. hattori bot. lab. 100: 211–292. jiménez, j.a., ros, r.m., cano, m.j. and guerra, j. 2005. a revision of didymodon section fallaces (musci, pottiaceae) in europe, north africa, macaronesia, and southwest and central asia. ann. missouri bot. gard. 92(2): 225–247. li, x.j., he, s. and iwatsuki, z. 2001. pottiaceae. in: li, x.j. and crosby, m.r. (eds), moss flora of china, vol. 2. science press, beijing, missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 114–249. magill, r.e. 1981. sphagnaceae-grimmiaceae. in: leistner, o.a. (ed.), flora of southern africa. fasc. 1. botanical research institute, department of agriculture and fisheries, pretoria, pp. 1–291. saito, k. 1975. a monograph of japanese pottiaceae (musci). j. hattori bot. lab. 39: 373–537. tsegmed, t.s. 1988. the mosses of botanico-geographic regions khentei and mongolian dauria. izv. akad. nauk mongolskoi narodnoi resp. 2: 40–44. tsegmed, t.s. 2001. checklist and distribution of moss in mongolia. arctoa 10:1–18. tsegmed, t.s., ignatov, m.s. and ignatova, e.a. 2010. moss flora of mongolia. izdatel’stvo sel’khozakademii. moscow, pp. 1–634. zander, r.h. 1993. genera of the pottiaceae: mosses of harsh environments. bull. buffalo soc. nat. sci. 32: 1−378. zander, r.h.1994. didymodon. in: sharp, a.j., crum, h. and eckel, p.m. (eds), the moss flora of mexico. new york botanical garden, new york, pp. 299–319. zander, r.h. 2007. pottiaceae. in: flora of north america editorial committee (ed.), flora of north america north of mexico. vol. 27. oxford university press, new york, pp. 476–642. zhao, d.p., bai, x.l., wang j.n. and liu, y. 2013. didymodon cordatus jur. (pottiaceae), new to the moss flora of china. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 259–261. zhao, d.p., wang, j.n. and zhao, x.d. 2014. didymodon baii (pottiaceae), a new moss species from china. ann. bot. fenn. 51(3): 185–188. (manuscript received on 11 march 2015; revised on 27 april 2015) microsoft word 04. onopordum_myriacanthum_re-revised_13..doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 139-145, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists onopordum myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum comb. & stat. nov. (asteraceae: cardueae) s. mesut pinar1 and lütfi behçet2 yüzüncü yıl university, faculty of science, department of biology, 65080, van/turkey keywords: nomenclature; asteraceae; onopordum bracteatum; o. myriacanthum; taxonomy. abstract turkish endemic taxon onopordum bracteatum boiss. & heldr. var. arachnoideum erik & sümbül is transferred to o. myriacanthum boiss. as o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum (erik & sümbül) pınar & behçet comb. & stat. nov. it is characterized by the phyllaries with densely and persistently arachnoid hairs both inside and outside, and upper stem leaves are 2–8 cm far from capitulum. in addition, the pollen characteristics and achene features are presented. the conservation status of o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum has been assessed according to iucn criteria. a distribution map of o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum and its related taxa is also presented. introduction the genus onopordum l. (asteraceae, cardueae) is distributed in the western and central asia, europe, northern africa and the canary islands, comprising c. 60 taxa (susanna and garciajacas, 2007). danin (1975) reported 17 species of onopordum for the flora of turkey. after the publication of this flora, 1 new taxon and 3 new records were added in the subsequent works (davis et al., 1988; tuzlacı, 2000; özhatay et al., 2009; pınar and behçet, 2014). currently, the genus onopordum is represented by 21 taxa in turkey, of which 7 are endemic. within the scope of the phd study of the first author, o. bracteatum var. bracteatum, o. bracteatum var. arachnoideum and o. myriacanthum specimens have been collected from different localities for revision of onopordum in turkey. in this study, we aimed to explore the similarity and variation among these taxa and to accurately determine their taxonomic status. materials and methods during an expedition carried out in 2010–2011, the endemic taxon o. bracteatum boiss. & heldr. var. arachnoideum erik & sümbül was collected from the type locality, kazancı (ermenek) district in central anatolia. this taxon was first collected by mecit vural in 1978 and identified as o. bracteatum. afterwards, it was collected by hüseyin sümbül in 1984 and described as a new variety (erik and sümbül, 1986). these collections are compared with the type photo of o. bracteatum and o. myriacanthum, which were obtained from g, k, bm herbaria, and samples deposited in ege, gazi, hub, knya, aef and ank herbaria. after a careful examination it is concluded that this taxon considerably differs from o. bracteatum s.l. based on the morphological, palynological and geographical evidences presented in this study, we propose the collected taxon as new combination onopordum myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum. the examined specimens of o. bracteatum, o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum and o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum from different localities are also cited. 1corresponding author. e-mail: mesutpinar@hotmail.com 2bingöl university, science and art faculty, department of biology, 12000, bingöl/turkey. 140 pinar and behçet pollen and achenes of o. bracteatum, o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum and o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum were studied with both light microscope (lm) and scanning electron microscope (sem). the pollen materials were obtained from either fresh or dried specimens. for lm studies, wodehouse technique was followed for the preparation of the pollen slides (wodehouse, 1935). for the sem investigations, the achenes and pollen were mounted to aluminium stubs, coated with gold in a sputter-coater, and examined under leo 440 sem. the descriptive terminology of pollen was adopted from erdtman (1969), faegri and iversen (1975) and punt et al. (2007), and for the seed terminology koul et al. (2000), tantawy et al. (2004) and hacıoğlu et al. (2012) were followed. results and discussion onopordum myriacanthum boiss. subsp. arachnoideum (erik & sümbül) pınar & behçet, comb. & stat. nov. (figs 1-3). o. bracteatum boiss. & heldr. var. arachnoideum erik & sümbül in notes roy. bot. gard. edinburgh 44: 155 (1986). type: turkey. [c4 konya] ermenek, around of kazancı, 650-850 m, 21.6.1984, h. sümbül 3024 (holotype: hub!). onopordum myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum differs from o. bracteatum s.l. in having phyllaries with densely and persistently arachnoid hair on both sides. in addition, plant is longer, upper stem leaves are 2-8 cm far from capitulum, with smaller and sparse arrangement in upper stem leaves, longer peduncle and presence of glands in corolla lobes. o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum differs from the typical subsp. myriacanthum, by having densely arachnoid hairy phyllaries both inside and outside, more intensive inflorescence (not sparse) and larger capitulum and phyllaries. comparison of morphological characters of the related taxa o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum, o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum, and o. bracteatum is shown in table 1. onopordum bracteatum belongs to the irano-turanian element and is distributed mainly in central and southwestern anatolia, between 150-1500 m. o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum belongs to the irano-turanian element and is a local endemic to south of central anatolia, confined to karaman province. it grows in rocky slopes and pinus brutia glades, associated with picnomon acarna l., euphorbia aleppica l., centaurea solstitialis l. subsp. solstitialis, quercus trojana webb, between 600-1200 m altitude. o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum in comparison, belongs to the mediterranean element and is distrubuted mainly in west and southwestern anatolia; grows on edge of the field, roadside, glades at 100-1000 m (fig. 2). specimens examined: onopordum myriacanthum boiss. subsp. arachnoideum (erik & sümbül) pınar & behçet, comb. & stat. nov.: turkey. ermenek, kazancı, özlüce village, 1150 m, 11.7.1978, m. vural 1094 (paratypes: ank!, knya!, gazi!); ermenek, ermenek-kazancı, pinus brutia glade, 1000 m, 12.7.1989, h. sümbül 3408, j. venter (hub!); ermenek, kazancı, around of çavuşköy, slopes, 785 m, 20.7.2011, 36°33'294" n, 32°58'689" e, m. pınar 3205 (vanf!). o. myriacanthum boiss., diagn. ser. 2(6): 114 (1859) subsp. myriacanthum – syntypes: greece. in regione media montis malevo laconiae, orphanides 55 (g photo!, bm photo!); in regione media parnassi inter rachova et gourna, heldreich 3203 (g photo!, k photo!); turkey. b1 i̇zmir: bergama, kozak paşa, around of çeşme, 21.7.1962, k. karamanoğlu (aef!); b1 manisa: turgutlu, 2 km west of turgutlu, roadside, 100 m, 8.8.2011, 38°29'309" n, 27°40'007" onopordum myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum comb. & stat. nov. 141 e, m. pınar 3377 (vanf!); c2 denizli: çukurköy-serinhisar (kisilhisar), 10 km away from çukurköy, edge of field, 985 m, 22.7.2011, 37°37' 098" n, 29°14'442" e, m. pınar 3292 (vanf!); çukurköy-kızılhisar, 13.7.1947, davis 13285 (ank!); çukurköy, denizli river, 14.7.1947, davis 13460 (ank!) c2 muğla: fethiye, south slopes of babadağ, around of kozaağaç, glade, 750 m, 10.8.2011, 36°31'288" n, 29°09'284" e, m. pınar 3420 (vanf!); baba dağ, 610 m, davis 13666 (ank!). fig. 1. habit and capitulum of onopordum bracteatum (a, b), o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum (c, d) and o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum (e, f). fig. 2. distribution map of onopordum bracteatum (■), o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum (□) and o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum (∆) in turkey. 142 pinar and behçet onopordum myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum comb. & stat. nov. 143 o. bracteatum boiss. & heldr. in boiss., diagn. ser. 1(10) : 91 (1849) – holotype: turkey. c3 burdur: in saxosis prope aglansoun (ağlasun) ad radices montis boudroun pisidiae, heldreich 1130 (g photo!); b3 konya: southwest of akşehir lake (yeniköy), around of lake, roadside, 1050 m, 7.8.1982, m. küçükodük 170 (knya!); b3 afyon: sultandağı, west of sultandağı, steppe, 1340-1370 m, 1.8.1993, a. dönmez, m. ekici, z. aytaç 6425 (gazi!); b3 isparta: akşehir-isparta, around of bağıllı, 5 km before gelendost, roadside, 980 m, 22.7.2011, 38°08'507" n, 31°03'726" e, m. pınar 3271(vanf!); c2 denizli: acıpayam, abbas, davis 13470 (ank!); c2 muğla: marmaris, kozcakara dağ, 150 m, 15.7.1960, khan et al 64 (ank!); marmaris, marmaris-muğla, çetibeli pass, edge of field, 550 m, 10.8.2011, 36°56'515" n, 28°15'577" e, m. pınar 3416 (vanf!); c3 isparta: eğirdir, barda mount, 1150-1250 m, 8.9.1982, y. gemici, l. bekat 607 (ege!); ş. karaağaç, between kıyakdede and göztepe mountains, 1200-1300 m, 23.7.1994, b. mutlu 998 (hub!); eğridir, 10 km before eğridir, edge of lake, 1200 m, 22.7.2011, 37°52'583" n, 30°54'282" e, m. pınar 3276 (vanf!); c3 burdur: ağlasun, east of ağlasun, steppe, 1130 m, 22.7.2011, 37°38'499" n, 30°31'271" e, m. pınar 3286 (vanf!); c3 konya: seydişehir, north of koyucak mount, oak gap, 1500 m, 27.7.1983, h. ocakverdi 1652 (knya!); beyşehir, hoyrankurucaova, steppe, 1160 m, 22.7.2011, 37°35'305" n, 31°33'540" e, m. pınar 3266 (vanf); çumra-bozkır, around of dinek, slopes, 1100 m, 20.7.2011, 37°20'532" n, 32°36'418" e, m. pınar 3181 (vanf!). the pollen polar axis average is 57.52 µm and equatorial axis 59.19 µm, p/e ratio 0.97, exine thickness 9.69 µm, colpus length 32.62 µm and colpus width 19.69 µm. pollen shape is oblatespheroidal, the ornamentation microreticulate and sculpture is echinate in o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum. the achenes are greyish white, average size is 5.58 × 2.96 mm. usually achenes shape are obovate and transversely rugose. sculpture ornamentation of achene surface finely and irregularly undulate. a comparative account of palynological and achene properties of o. bracteatum, o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum and o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum are shown in tables 2 and 3. table 2. comparison of pollen characters of onopordum bracteatum, o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum and o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum (max.: maximum, min.: minimum, m: mean, sd: standard deviation). onopordum bracteatum o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum characters min. max. (m ±sd) min. max. (m ±sd) min. max. (m ±sd) polar diameter (p) (µm) 54.87–58.84 (57.14 ±0.99) 53.98–57.85 (56.60 ±1.01) 54.85–60.60 (57.52 ±1.53) equatorial diameter (e) (µm) 55.36–60.48 (58.27 ±1.06) 55.79–59.41 (57.83 ±0.93) 56.07–62.41 (59.19 ±1.37) p/e ratio 0.96–0.99 (0.98±0.01) 0.95–0.99 (0.97±0.01) 0.94–0.99 (0.97±0.01) exine thickness (µm) 8.91–9.70 (9.44 ±0.23) 9.15–10.10 (9.67 ±0.24) 9.23–10.09 (9.69 ±0.23) colpus length (µm) 29.40–31.41 (30.79 ±0.48) 33.67–36.43 (34.79 ±0.80) 32.15–33.22 (32.62 ±0.27) colpus width (µm) 17.38–19.82 (18.28 ±0.63) 19.68–21.48 (20.63 ±0.37) 18.60–20.44 (19.69 ±0.40) table 3. comparison of the achene characters of onopordum bracteatum, o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum and o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum. characters onopordum bracteatum o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum length (mm) 5.7–6.2 (5.91 ± 0.10) 5.2–6.0 (5.60 ± 0.24) 5.3 –6.1 (5.58 ± 0.21) width (mm) 2.8–3.1 (2.96 ± 0.09) 2.5–3.5 (3.04 ± 0.30) 2.5 –3.5 (2.96 ± 0.32) shape oblong-obovate obovate obovate surface ornamentation transversely rugose transversely rugose transversely rugose colour cream greyish brown greyish white 144 pinar and behçet fig. 3. sem micrographs of pollen grains and achenes of onopordum bracteatum (1), o. myriacanthum subsp. myriacanthum (2) and o. myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum (3): a. polar view of pollen; b-c. equatorial view of pollen; d. ornamentation of pollen; e. gneral view of achenes; f. surface of achenes. onopordum myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum is a local endemic taxon, with an estimated occupancy area of less than 10 km2 [criterion b2ab(i)]. the population is endangered, with less than 100 individuals [criterion c2a(ii)]. therefore, it should be classified as “critically endangered (cr)” based on the criteria of the iucn red list categories (iucn, 2011). acknowledgements the authors would like to thank yüzüncü yıl university (project no: 2010-fbe-d0131) for its financial support. we are grateful to dr. laurent gautier, head curator of g (geneve herbaria) for the detailed type photographs of o. bracteatum and o. myriacanthum. we also thank the curators of aef, ank, ege, hub, iste, istf, knya and gazi herbaria for allowing us to study their onopordum specimens. references danin, a. 1975. onopordum l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 5, edinburgh univ. press, edinburgh, pp. 356-369. davis, p.h., mill, r.r., tan, k. 1988. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands (supplement 1). edinburgh univ. press, edinburgh, pp. 317-550. erdtman, g. 1969. handbook of palynology. hafner publishing co., new york, pp. 21-77. erik, s. and sümbül, h. 1986. three new taxa from turkey. notes roy. bot. gard. edinburgh 44(1): 151156. faegri, k. and iversen, j. 1975. textbook of pollen analysis. fourth edition, john wiley and sons, new york, pp. 283-284. hacıoğlu, b.t., arslan, y., subaşı, i̇. katar, d., bülbül, a.s. and çeter, t. 2012. achene morphology of turkish carthamus species. australian j. crop sci. 6(8): 1260-1264. iucn 2011. guidelines for using the iucn red list categories and criteria. version 9.0. prepared by the standards and petitions subcommittee, gland, switzerland. onopordum myriacanthum subsp. arachnoideum comb. & stat. nov. 145 koul, k.k., ranjna, n. and raina, s.n. 2000. seed coat microsculpturing in brassica and allied genera (subtribes brassicinae, raphaninae, moricandiinae). ann. bot. 86: 385-397. özhatay, n., kültür, ş. and aslan, s. 2009. checklist of additional taxa to the supp. flora of turkey iv. turk. j. bot. 33: 191-226. pınar, s.m. and behçet, l. 2014. onopordum hasankeyfense (asteraceae), a new species from south-eastern turkey. turk. j. bot. 38: 226-233. punt, w., hoen, p.p, blackmore, s., nilsson, s. and thomas, a. 2007. glossary of pollen and spore terminology. review of palaeobotany and palynology 143: 1-81. susanna, a. and garcia-jacas, n. 2007. tribe cardueae cass. in: kubitzki, k. (ed.), families and genera of vascular plants, vol. viii, flowering plants, eudicots, asterales. springer-verlag, berlin, pp. 123-146. tantawy, m.e., khalifa, s.f., hassan, s.a. and al-rabiai, g.t. 2004. seed exomorphic characters of some brassicaceae (lm and sem study). international j. agri. biol. 6(5): 821-830. tuzlacı, e. 2000. onopordum l. in: güner, a., ozhatay, n., ekim, t. and baser, k.h.c. (eds), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, (supplement 2). edinb. univ. press, edinburgh, pp. 160-161. wodehouse, r.r. 1935. polen grains. mcgraw-hill, new york. (manuscript received on 1 april 2014; revised on 21 november 2014) microsoft word 10. 70-13 angiosperm_munshiganj ok 4_20.12.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 213-231, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiosperm flora of sadar upazila of munshiganj district, bangladesh m. oliur rahman1, momtaz begum and md. wajib ullah department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: floristics; angiosperms; munshiganj; taxonomy. abstract investigation to make inventory of the angiosperm species diversity in the local flora of sadar upazila of munshiganj district has been made. a total of 240 taxa in 186 genera under 68 families are recognized, and enumerated citing each species with updated nomenclature, bangla names, habit, habitat, phenology, potential value, status of occurrence in the area and voucher specimens. of these 240 taxa, magnoliopsida is represented by 195 taxa in 146 genera and 55 families, whereas liliopsida by 45 taxa under 40 genera and 13 families. the local people of the area use over 50 medicinal plants as sources of medicine for their primary health care. some species are assessed as rare to this local flora which need to be brought under conservation management for environmental sustainability of the area. introduction munshiganj sadar, an administrative upazila of munshiganj district comprises an area of 160.79 sq. km., and is consisted of 9 administrative unions, namely adhara, bajra jogini, char kewar, char siloi, mahakali, mollakandi, panchasar, rampal and rekabi bazar. the upazila witnesses the same climatic condition as other parts of the district. the hot summer, the long rainy season and the pleasant spring-cum-winter are the main noticeable seasons prevailing in the locality. the temperature of the area fluctuates between 12.7˚c and 33.7˚c throughout the year. monthly average relative humidity varies from 62 to 83%, and monthly rainfall ranges from 7.7 to 373.1 mm throughout the year (bbs, 2011). there are three types of soil in the adjoining areas of munshiganj sadar upazila, viz., heavy clayey soil that prevails over the major part of the study area, light clayey soil which occupies the second position in the area, and heavy loamy soil prevails over small area. the upazila presents diverse habitats including scrub jungles, homesteads, char lands, riparian, roadsides and wetlands. over the last few decades several attempts have been made on the floristic studies in bangladesh, particularly in the forest and protected areas (khan and afza, 1968; khan and banu, 1972; khan and hassan, 1984; rahman and hassan, 1995; rahman and uddin, 1997; uddin and rahman, 1999; khan and huq, 2001; uddin and hassan, 2004; tutul et al., 2009, 2010; arefin et al., 2011; uddin and hassan, 2012). studies on angiosperm flora in different upazilas of bangladesh are limited (islam et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2012; moniruzzaman et al., 2012; rahman and alam, 2013), however, there has been no floristic study on munshigonj sadar upazila. the main objectives of the present study are to explore, identify and document the angiosperms of munshiganj sadar upazila. 1corresponding author. email: dr_oliur@yahoo.com 214 rahman et al. fig. 1. map of munshiganj sadar upazila showing the sampling sites of different unions. materials and methods the work is based on fresh materials collected from sadar upazila of munshiganj district from may 2012 to april 2013 (fig. 1). plant specimens were collected from different areas within nine unions of the upazila and processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972). collected plant specimens were critically studied, examined and identified at the department of botany, university of dhaka. identification was confirmed by experts, by comparing with herbarium specimens deposited both at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), and by consulting standard floras and literature, viz., hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), khan (1972-1987), dassanayake and fosberg (1980-1985), khan and rahman (1989-2002), siddiqui et al. (2007), ahmed et al. (2008a,b, 2009a,b,c,d) and rashid and rahman (2011, 2012). the identified families are arranged according to cronquist’s angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila 215 system of plant classification (cronquist, 1981), and the genera and species under each family are arranged in an alphabetical order. each species is furnished with updated nomenclature, bangla names (wherever available), habit, habitat, phenology, potential value, status of occurrence in the area and voucher specimens. voucher specimens are deposited in dush. results and discussion taxonomic study of angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila has revealed a total of 240 angiosperm taxa under 186 genera and 68 families (table 1). among them magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) is represented by 195 taxa belonging to 146 genera and 55 families, whereas liliopsida (monocotyledons) having comparatively less representation, only 45 species under 40 genera and 13 families. the study has revealed that magnoliopsida constitutes about 81% of the total, while liliopsida constitutes 19% of the total angiosperm flora. in magnoliopsida, asteraceae appears as the largest family comprising 13 species under 13 genera followed by euphorbiaceae, moraceae, fabaceae and mimosaceae. in liliopsida, poaceae is the largest family with 23 species under 19 genera followed by araceae, arecaceae, commelinaceae and cyperaceae. in the study area the number of species in the families varies from 1 to 23. out of 68 families recorded, each of 27 families is represented by a single species. five largest genera of dicotyledons are ficus (7 species), amaranthus (4 species), persicaria (4 species), syzygium (4 species) and ipomoea (3 species); while that of monocotyledons are commelina, echinochloa, leptochloa and brachiaria, each with 2 species. among the total flora herbs are represented by 141 taxa, shrubs by 26 and trees by 73. out of 68 families recorded, 10 dominant families are poaceae, asteraceae, euphorbiaceae, moraceae, fabaceae, mimosaceae, solanaceae, myrtaceae, malvaceae and rubiaceae. the dominant families along with the number of species and genera are shown in figure 2. these ten families comprise 105 species that represent about 44% of the total species identified. the remaining 58 families with a total 135 species represent 56% of the total. one of the important phenomena of the study area is that the sadar upazila presents char land. the major angiosperms of the char are alternanthera paronychyoides st. hill., a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex. roem & schult., brassica napus l. (cultivated), chenopodium album l., citrullus lanatus (thub.) matsumura & nakai (cultivated), cyanotis cristata (l.) d. don, glinus oppositifolius (l.) a. dc., gnaphalium luteo-album l., grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. and oxalis corniculata l. the common riparian plants are brachiaria decumbens stapf, coix aquatica roxb., crateva magna (lour.) dc., ipomoea fistulosa mart. ex choisy, operculina turpethum (l.) s. manso, persicaria barbata (l.) hara, p. lapathifolia (l.) s. f. gray, phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud. and saccharum spontaneum l. the common roadside plants include albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. & hook., a. procera (roxb.) benth., commelina benghalensis l., euphorbia hirta l., ficus benghalensis l., f. racemosa l., sida acuta burm. f. and spilanthes calva dc. the upazila provides several aquatic habitats including ponds, beels, jheels, rivers, etc. which offer luxuriant formation of angiosperm flora. some common aquatic angiosperms are barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn., eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms, enhydra fluctuans lour., hygrorhyza aristata (retz.) nees, ipomoea aquatica forssk., lemna perpusilla torrey, ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara, l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell apud a. & r. fern., nymphaea nouchali burm. f., n. pubescens willd., n. rubra roxb. et andr., nymphoides hydrophylla (lour.) o. kuntze, ottelia alismoides (l.) pers., panicum paludosum roxb., persicaria barbata (l.) hara, p. lanata (roxb.) hassan, p. orientalis (l.) spach, phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud., pistia stratiotes l. and vallisneria spiralis l. 216 rahman et al. angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila 217 218 rahman et al. angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila 219 220 rahman et al. angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila 221 222 rahman et al. angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila 223 224 rahman et al. angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila 225 226 rahman et al. angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila 227 228 rahman et al. angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila 229 0 5 10 15 20 25 poaceae asteraceae euphorbiaceae moraceae fabaceaemimosaeae solanaceae myrtaceae malvaceae rubiaceae number of genera number of species fig. 2. raddar diagram showing the 10 largest families in munshiganj sadar upazila. the present study identifies over 50 medicinal plants used by the local people of munshiganj sadar upazila for their primary health care. they use the medicinal plants for treatment of several common diseases including dysentery, diarrhoea, diabetes, fever, cold and cough, asthma, ulcer, constipation, abdominal pain, indigestion, gonorrhoea, jaundice, stop bleeding, piles, scabies and rheumatic pain. some of the important medicinal plants used by the local people are abroma augusta (l.) l. f., acalypha indica l., aloe vera (l.) burm. f., alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br., azadirachta indica a. juss., calotropis procera (ait.) r. br., centella asiatica (l.) urban, coccinia grandis (l.) voigt., mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson, phyllanthus niruri l., saraca asoca (roxb.) willd., terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. and vitex negundo l. apart from medicinal uses some species are used by local people in their religious festivals, viz., aegle marmelos (l.) correa, areca catechu l., bauhinia purpurea l., butea monosperma (lamk.) taub. and cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. the study has also identified some rare plants in munshiganj sadar upazila, i.e. alternanthera paronychyoides st. hill., diospyros montana roxb., dipteracanthus prostratus (poir.) nees, operculina turpethum (l.) s. manso, persicaria lanata (roxb.) hassan and tiliacora acuminata (lamk.) hook. f. & thoms. though the study area has a moderately rich resource of angiospermic flora, it witnesses some threats which might cause this resource to extinct. observations and group discussion with local people during field works resulted in identifying some major threats which include urbanization, modern agriculture, lack of awareness, exotic plantation and river erosion. therefore, efforts should be undertaken to safeguard the plants through ex situ and in situ approaches, public awareness should be built up, and protection of habitats of the species should be ensured. acknowledgement we thank prof. md. abul hassan of the department of botany, university of dhaka for his help and cooperation during the course of this study. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceae – asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1408. 230 rahman et al. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 12. angiosperms: monocotyledons (orchidaceae – zingiberaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-552. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2009a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. angiosperms: dicotyledons (balsaminaceae – euphorbiaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-546. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2009b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 8. angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae – lythraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-478. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds) 2009c. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 9. angiosperms: dicotyledons (magnoliaceae – punicaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-488. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds) 2009d. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperms: dicotyledons (ranunculaceae – zygophyllaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-580. arefin, m.k., rahman, m.m., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2011. angiosperm flora of satchari national park, habiganj, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 117-140. bbs (bangladesh bureau of statistics) 2011. monthly statistical bulletin. statistics division, ministry of planning, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia univ. press, new york. dassanayake, m.d. and fosberg, f.r. (eds) 1980-1985. a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, vols. 1-5. amerind publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhi. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india, vols. 1-7. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. hyland, b.p.m. 1972. a technique for collecting botanical specimens in rain forest. flora malesiana bulletin 26: 2038-2040. islam, m.r., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2009. an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 115-140. khan, m.s. (ed.) 1972-1987 flora of bangladesh. nos. 1-39. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. khan, m.s. and afza, s.k. 1968. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of teknaf and st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 16: 35-37. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on the angispermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-2. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh 17(2): 63-68. khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 1984. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of st. martin's island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 32(1): 76-78. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s. and rahman, m.m. (eds) 1989-2002. flora of bangladesh. nos. 40-53. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. moniruzzaman, m., hassan, m.a., rahman, m.m., layla, s. and islam, m.r. 2012. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora of daulatpur upazila in kushtia district, bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 38(1): 53-65. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants, vols. 1-2. botanical survey of india, calcutta. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1997. assessment of plant diversity of sitakunda in chittagong. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur (bangladesh). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. angiosperm flora of munshiganj sadar upazila 231 rahman, m.o. and alam, m.t. 2013. a taxonomic study on the angiosperm flora of trishal upazila, mymensingh. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 22(1): 63-74. rahman, m.o., antara, r.t., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2012. floristic diversity of dhamrai upazila of dhaka, bangladesh with emphasis on medicinal plants. bangladesh j. bot. 41(1): 71-85. rashid, m.e. and rahman, m.a. 2011. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f., the flora of british india: volume-i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 177-197. rashid, m.e. and rahman, m.a. 2012. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f., the flora of british india: volume-ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 173-190. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 3 june 2013; revised on 5 november 2013) a new species of leiorreuma (ascomycota, ostropales) from great nicobar islands, india bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 9–12, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species of leiorreuma (ascomycota, ostropales) from great nicobar island, india pushpi singh, t.a.m. jagadeesh ram 1 and k.p. singh 2 botanical survey of india, central regional centre, 10-chatham lines, allahabad211 002, india. keywords: ascomycota; lichenized fungi; new species; taxonomy; sundaland. abstract leiorreuma nicobarense pushpi singh, jagadeesh and kr. p. singh, a new species from great nicobar island, india is described and illustrated. it is characterized by its sessile lirellae with widely exposed densely whitish pruinose disc, inspersed hymenium, 8-spored asci with 6-locular ascospores and presence of stictic, constictic and hypostictic acids. key to species occurring in india is provided. introduction introduction great nicobar island, the largest island of the nicobar group, about 145 km north of sumatra and about 1,300 km south-east of the indian mainland covering a geographical area of 1044 sq. km and a part of the sundaland biodiversity hotspot (mittermeier et al., 2005) is situated between 6.45°n and 7.15°n, 93.37°e and 93.56°e and forms the southernmost point of india. it offers congenial habitats for the luxuriant and rich growth of crustose lichen biota because of the tropical evergreen coastal and mangrove forests, always in contact with moisture laden sea winds and high annual rain fall (over 3000-3500 mm) and humidity. while studying some collections of lichens made by botanical survey of india team from the island under revisionary studies of indian graphidiod graphidaceae, an interesting species of leiorreuma eschw. as new to science was discovered. the genus is characterized by its immersed to sessile lirellae with opened disc, basally well-developed laterally often thin carbonized exciple, inspersed hymenium with brown, transversely septate or muriform ascospores and presence of stictic, hypostictic or nornotatic acids or absence of lichen compounds. the genus is represented by c. 18 species (staiger, 2002; archer, 2006; lendemer, 2008; lendemer et al., 2009; moon et al., 2008; dubey et al., 2010; poengsungnoen et al., 2014; wang et al., 2015) in the world, of which 3 species (singh and sinha, 2010; dubey et al. 2010) occur in india. in the present communication, a new species leiorreuma nicobarense is described together with a key of all species known so far, from indian territories to facilitate their identification. material and methods specimens collected from nicobar islands, deposited in pbl herbarium were examined morphologically, anatomically and chemically. morphological characters of thallus, reproductive structures, colour, size and shapes were examined under stereomicroscope (nikon smz 1500). thin hand-cut sections of thalli and ascomata were mounted in water and koh and examined under a compound microscope (nikon eclipse 50i). all anatomical measurements were made in water mounts. ascospores were stained with lugol’s solution to check the amyloid reaction. 1botanical survey of india, andaman and nicobar regional centre, port blair–744 102, andaman and nicobar islands, india. 2corresponding author. email: krishna.p.singh@gmail.com doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33000 10 singh et al. secondary metabolites were identified by thin-layer chromatography (tlc) following standard procedures (orange et al., 2001). results leiorreuma nicobarense pushpi singh, jagadeesh and kr. p. singh sp. nov. (fig. 1a-d) myco bank no. : mb 820636 diagnosis: the new species leiorreuma nicobarense differs from l. exaltatum (mont. & bosch) staiger and l. taiwanense m. nakan., kashiw. & k.h. moon in chemistry, from l. melanostalazans in sessile lirellae, constantly 6-locular ascospores and presence of constictic and hypostictic acids. type: india, andaman and nicobar islands, great nicobar island, north south road, sastri nagar, 6o48'39.6'' n and 93o 53'27.7'' e, alt. 15 m, on the bark of artocarpous lakoocha, 09 february 2014, k. p. singh and t.a.m. jagadeesh ram 2978 (holotype: pbl). thallus crustose, corticolous, irregular, pale fawn to greyish fawn, continuous, glossy, smooth to wrinkled, 6–7 cm across, 75–100 μm thick; prothallus indistinct; photobiont green, trentepohlia, algal cells 8-10 μm across. ascomata lirelliform, numerous, sessile, elongate, sparsely branched, straight to irregularly curved or flexuous, 2–8 mm long, 0.3–0.7(–1) mm broad, rounded at the ends, covered laterally by thick thalline margin; disc widely exposed, concave to flattened, brownish-black, heavily whitish pruinose; labia divergent, entire; exciple completely carbonized, basally 100–180 µm thick, lateral exciple typically surrounded by large calcium oxalate crystals; epihymenium dark brown, granulose, 9–14 μm thick; hymenium hyaline, inspersed, 80–130 μm high, i–; paraphyses simple, c. 1.5 μm thick; asci 8-spored, cylindrical, 64–100 × 10–20 μm; ascospores brown, oblong to fusiform, transversely septate with constantly 6-locular (mature ones), 18–25 × 6–7.2 μm (n=25), i+ reddish-brown. etymology: the specific epithet refers to its inventory from the nicobar island. chemistry: thallus k + yellow, c–, kc–, p– and uv–; tlc: constictic, stictic, (major), hypostictic (trace) acids. distribution and habitat: leiorreuma nicobarense is known so far, from habitation area seashore in great nicobar island of the nicobar islands, part of the sundaland biodiversity hotspot. it grows in shady and open place on the trunk of cultivated artocarpous lakoocha and can be spotted easily by its large, sessile and broad lirellae with whitish pruinose disc. notes: the new species is characterized by its distinct sessile lirellae, covered laterally by thick thalline margin with widely exposed densely whitish pruinose disc; inspersed hymenium; 8spored asci; ascospores constantly 6-locular (18–25 μm long) and presence of constictic, stictic and hypostictic acids. in morphology and anatomy, it closely resembles leiorreuma taiwanense m. nakan., kashiw. & k.h. moon which contains hypoprotocetraric and 4'-o-demethyl-notatic acids (moon et al., 2008). morphologically, it also closely resembles leiorreuma exaltatum (mont. & bosch) staiger and l. subpatellulum dubey, upreti & nayaka but later species differ in having 6–8-locular, 20–34 µm long (staiger, 2002) and 7–13-locular, 40–46 μm long (dubey et al., 2010) ascospores respectively and absence of lichen substances. in chemistry, it also closely resembles leiorreuma melanostalazans (leight.) a.w. archer, which contains immersed lirellae, epruinose to finely pruinose disc, 8–9-locular, larger (25–37 × 8–10 µm) ascospores and absence of constictic and hypostictic acids (archer, 2006). a new species of leiorreuma (ascomycota, ostropales) 11 fig. 1. a-d. leiorreuma nicobarense. a. habit; b. cross section of apothecium, c-d. ascospores. scale bars: a=1 mm; b=200 µm; c-d=20 µm. key to the indian species of leiorreuma 1. ascospores 6-locular; lirellae sessile; constictic, stictic and hypostictic acids present; ascospores 18–25 × 6–7.2 μm l. nicobarense ascospores more than 6-locular 2 2. stictic acid present; lirellae immersed in the thallus; ascospores 8–9locular, 25–37 × 8–10 µm l. melanostalazans lichen substances absent; lirellae erumpent to prominent 3 3. ascospores 6–8 locular, 20–34 × 6–9 µm l. exaltatum ascospores 7–13 locular, 40–46 × 8–10 µm l. subpatellulum 10 singh et al. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the director, botanical survey of india, kolkata for encouragement and to head of office, botanical survey of india, central regional centre, allahabad and botanical survey of india andaman and nicobar regional centre, port blair for facilities. one of the authors (ps) is thankful to the authorities of botanical survey of india, for financial assistance under the ‘flora of india project’. references archer, a. w. 2006. the lichen family graphidaceae in australia. biblioth. lichenol. 94: 1–191. dubey, u., upreti, d.k. and nayaka, s. 2010. a new species of leiorreuma eschw. from india. lichenologist 42: 711–713. lendemer, j.c. 2008. studies in lichens and lichenicolous fungi: notes on some taxa from eastern north america. mycotaxon. 104: 325–329. lendemer, j.c., kocourkova, j. and knudsen, k. 2009. studies in lichens and lichenicolous fungi: more notes on taxa from north america. mycotaxon. 110: 373–378. mittermeier, r.a., gil p.r., hoffman m., pilgrim j., brooks t., mittermeier c.g., lamoreux j. and de fonseca g.a.b. (eds). 2005. hotspots revisited: earth’s biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregions. mexico: cemex, 392 pp. moon, k.h., nakanishi, m. and kashiwadani, h. 2008. notes on species of graphidaceae (ascomycotina) eastern asia with three new species. mem. natl. sci. mus. (tokyo) 45: 85–91. orange, a., james, p.w. and white, f.j. 2001. microchemical methods for the identification of lichens. british lichen society, uk, pp.1–101. poengsungnoen, v., manoch, l. mongkolsuk, p. and kalb, k. 2014. new species of graphidaceae from loei province, thailand. phytotaxa 189: 255–267. singh, k.p. and sinha g.p.. 2010. indian lichens: annotated checklist. kolkata: botanical survey of india, 571 pp. staiger, b. 2002. die flechtenfamilie graphidaceae: studien in richtung einer naturlicheren gliederung. biblioth. lichenol. 85: 1–526. wang, x.h , xu, l.l. and jia, z.f. 2015. the lichen genus leiorreuma in china. mycotaxon. 130: 247–251. (manuscript received on 31 august 2016 ; revised on 27 march 2017) microsoft word 02. morphometric merremieae _ee_8.12.14.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 121-128, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphometrics of the tribe merremieae austin (convolvulacae) from india s. a. deshmukh and vinod b. shimpale1 department of botany, the new college, kolhapur416 012, (ms), india keywords: convolvulaceae; merremieae; numerical taxonomy; principal component analysis. abstract sixteen species of the tribe merremieae austin (convolvulaceae) from india were morphometrically analyzed with the help of principal component analysis (pca) and cluster analysis to explain the relationship between them. pca showed that quantitative characters like corolla breadth, fruit breadth and length of paracot leaf play important role in bringing together all the species in the same tribe while the characters like leaf length, leaf breadth, petiole length, pedicel length, calyx length and calyx breadth play vital role in the delimitation of taxa within the tribe merremieae. cluster analysis and dendrogram revealed that, the genus operculina s. manso is segregated from merremia denns. ex endlich.; genus hewittia wight. & arn. is very close to merremia, probably originated from m. aegyptia (l.) urban and m. dissecta (jacq.) hall. f. cluster and genus xenostegia austin & staples is isolated in the separate cluster. introduction the convolvulaceae is one of the largest families of angiosperms consist of 52 genera and 1650 species (mabberley, 2008) and mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. some members of the family convolvulaceae are medicinally as well as economically important (austin, 1982; chopra et al., 1995; kamalutheen et al., 2009; sahu and gupta, 2014). the tribe merremieae austin is a diverse tribe in the family convolvulaceae. due to many overlapping characters in the members of tribe merremieae, their proper identification is confusing, which may be due to the lack of sound morphological characters to define it and increase in the number of published species in this tribe. the tribe possesses four genera, viz., hewittia r. wight & arnott, merremia dennst. ex endl., operculina silva manso and xenostegia austin & staples. the genus hewittia is represented by a single species, merremia by 70 species, operculina by 15 species and xenostegia by only two species in the world (mabberley, 2008). the present study reveals that, in india the genus hewittia is represented by a single species, while the genera operculina and xenostegia consist of two species each, and the genus merremia is represented by 11 species. numerical taxonomy plays important role in segregation of taxa. cluster analysis (ca) and principal component analysis (pca) techniques are commonly used in determining the phylogenetic relationships among different taxa. applying various methods of numerical taxonomy many authors, e.g. sneath and sokal (1973), chiapella (2000), gomez-campo et al. (2001), sonibare et al. (2004), henderson (2006), soladoye et al. (2010), rahman et al. (2013) and many others have interpreted interrelationship among different genera and families of flowering plants. according to sonibare et al. (2004) cluster analysis provides a hierarchical classification of entities (taxa) based on the similarity matrix, while pca is a second method used for reducing the dimensions of the original data which allows visual interpretation of the relationships. 1corresponding author. email: shimpale@yahoo.com 122 deshmukh and shimpale using macromorphological data and seedling character variations the present study aims to delimit the following 16 species of the tribe merremieae and to evaluate systematic relationships within the tribe. materials and methods plant specimens: sixteen species of the tribe merremieae are listed in table 1. freshly collected as well as herbarium specimens deposited in bsi, bamu, pbl, suk and herbarium of the the new college, kolhapur were used in this study. fresh specimens were collected from different localities of india during 2005 to 2011. some morphological characters are based on herbarium specimens (table 1). the species were identified and authenticated with the help of relevant literature (hooker, 1885; cooke, 1958; austin and staples, 1980; johari, 1983; gamble, 1986; bhandari, 1995; biju, 1997; almeida and almeida, 2001; singh et al., 2001; bhagat et al., 2009). all the specimens are deposited in the herbarium of the new college, kolhapur (nck), india. table 1. list of species of the tribe merremieae along with voucher specimens. no. species specimens examined 1 hewittia malabarica (l.) suresh maharashtra: ratnagiri, bhatia beach, 2.11.2011, shimpale 9835 (nck) 2 merremia aegyptia (l.) urban maharashtra: sangali, miraj, 8.11.2006, shimpale 3998 (nck) 3 m. dissecta (jacq.) hall. f. maharashtra: osmanabad, kasabe tadawale, 25.1.2009, shimpale 4098 (nck) 4 m. gangetica (l.) cuford. maharashtra: kolhapur, rankala, 12.12.2012, shimpale 5620 (nck) 5 m. hederacea (burm. f.) hall. f. maharashtra: pune, baramati, 12.11.2008, shimpale 2209 (nck) 6 m. peltata (l.) merr. great nicobar island: dwivedi 17024 without date (pbl) 7 m. quinquefolia (l.) hall. f. maharashtra: kolhapur, sarnobatwadi, 9.2.2010, shimpale 5629 (nck); karnataka belgaum district, nipani, 23.3.2010, vbs 63 (suk) 8 m. rajsthanensis bhandari rajsthan: jodhpur, sardarsamand, 29.8.1975, bhandari 1976 (cal) 9 m. rhyncorhiza (dalz.) hall. f. karnataka: belgaum, kankumbi, 17.8.2008, shimpale 3342 (nck) 10 m. tuberosa (l.) rendle maharashtra: kolhapur, tarabai park, 29.12.2009, shimpale 2629 (nck) 11 m. umbellata (l.) hall. f. maharashtra: kolhapur, dajipur, 22.3.2006, shimpale 269 (nck) 12 m. vitifolia (burm.f.) hall. f. maharashtra: kolhapur, dajipur, 22.3.2006 shimpale 276 (nck) 13 operculina tansaensis sant. & patel maharashtra: thane, thansa lake, 28.11.2010, shimpale 3229 (nck) 14 o. turpethum (l.) s. manso maharashtra: ratnagiri, dapoli, 16.1.2008, shimpale 998 (nck) 15 xenostegia filiformis (thunb.) almeida karnataka: khanapur, 2.1.2001, shimpale 794 (nck) 16 x. tridentata (l.) hall. f. maharashtra: sindhudurg, malvan, 12.11.2009, shimpale 754 (nck); nanded district, dharmabad, 12.12.1993 madhukar 6716 (bamu) morphometrics of the tribe merremieae 123 morphometric studies: morphometric studies were carried out on freshly collected as well as herbarium specimens that are deposited in bsi, bamu, pbl, suk and the new college, kolhapur (nck). measurements were taken for 19 selected quantitative characters e.g. leaf length, leaf breadth, petiole length, pedicel length, calyx length, calyx breadth, corolla length, corolla breadth, stamen length, filament length, anther length, ovary length, style length, fruit length, fruit breadth, seed length, seed breadth, apical notch length, paracot length, and recorded on record sheets using as many as numbers of specimens were available for each taxonomic operational unit (otu). the mean and standard deviation values for all the 19 quantitative characters were calculated and processed for pca and ca (kovach, 1999) by keeping data standardized at similarity matrix and tolerance of eigen analysis set at 1e-010. results and discussion nineteen parameters of 16 species of the tribe merremieae from india were examined using numerical methods. the morphological features employed for delimitation of the 16 species with their means and standard deviations are shown in table 2. similarity matrix based on correlation of merremieae species (table 3) shows that close resemblance of species could be observed when certain characters are employed. it is observed that, there is significant correlation between leaf length and corolla breadth, leaf length and corolla length, leaf breadth and petiole length, leaf breadth and calyx length, petiole length and calyx length, petiole length and corolla breadth, pedicel length and paracot length, calyx length and calyx breadth, calyx breadth and fruit breadth, corolla length and corolla breadth, corolla length and style length, corolla breadth and style length, stamen length and paracot length, filament length and paracot length, style length and fruit breadth, style length and seed length, fruit length and seed length, fruit length and fruit breadth. cluster analysis shows that xenostegia tridentata distinctly differs from hewittia malabarica and merremia aegyptia while both the species of the genus xenostegia, distinctly differs from m. dissecta, m. hederacea, m. peltata, m. quenquifolia, m. rajsthanensis, m. rhyncorhiza, m. tuberosa, m. vitifolia, operculina tansaensis and o. turpethum (table 4). merremia tuberosa distinctly differs with h. malabarica, m. aegyptia, m. gangetica, m. quenquifolia, m. rajsthanensis and m. umbellata. it was also determined that operculina turpethum is closely related with the o. tansaensis, m. vitifolia, m. rhyncorhiza, m. dissecta and m. aegyptia, while m. vitifolia closely relate with m. umbellata, m. rajsthanensis, m. quenquifolia, m. dissecta and h. malabarica. the relationships among the species of the tribe merremieae is shown in figure 1. fig. 1. dendrogram showing relationship among the species of tribe merremieae 124 deshmukh and shimpale morphometrics of the tribe merremieae 125 126 deshmukh and shimpale morphometrics of the tribe merremieae 127 upgma dendrogram based on cluster analysis, mean character difference and constrained clustering strategy reveals that, greater affinity exists in between operculina tansaensis and o. turpethum (fig. 1). it is also pointed out that, in dendrogram, 16 species clearly forms distinct two clades i.e. i and ii. clade i is divided into subclade a and subclade b. subclade a comprises hewittia malabarica, m. aegyptia, m. dissecta, m. gangetica and m. hederacea, while subclade b comprises m. peltata, m. quenquifolia, m. rajsthanensis, m. rhyncorhiza, m. tuberosa, m. umbellata, m. vitifolia, o. tansaensis and o. turpethum. clade ii comprises xenostegia filiformis and x. tridentata. on the basis of dendrogram it is clear that both the xenostegia species distantly differs with the remaining species of tribe merremieae, which supports austin and staples (1980) segregation of the genus xenostegia from merremia. the present study is the first report depicting correlation between the members of the tribe merremieae from india and also predicts the phylogenetic relationship within the members of the tribe. acknowledgements authors are thankful to the head of the botany department and principal, the new college, kolhapur for laboratory facilities. thanks are due to the following persons and institutes for permitting to consult their herbaria. the director, botanical survey of india, calcutta; dr. p. g. diwakar ex-deputy director, bsi, pune; prof. s. r. yadav head of the botany department, shivaji university, kolhapur; dr. a. s. dhabe, bamu, aurangabad and dr. m. y. kamble, scientist, bsi, port blair. references almeida, m.r. and almeida, s.m. 2001. convolvulaceae in: flora of maharashtra. st. xavier college, mumbai, vol. iii b, pp. 303-350. austin, d.f. 1982. operculina turpethum (convolvulaceae) as a medicinal plant in asia. economic botany, 36(3): 265-269. austin, d.f. and staples, g.w. 1980. xenostegia, a new genus of convolvulaceae. brittonia 32(4): 533-536. bhagat, r.b., shimpale, v.b. and deshmukh, r.b. 2009. convolvulaceae in: flora of baramati. bhagat publications, pune, pp. 212220. bhandari, m.m. 1995. convolvulaceae in: flora of the indian desert. mps reports, jodhpur, pp. 216-237. biju, s.d. 1997. taxonomic and morphologic studies in family convolvulaceae of southern peninsular india. unpublished ph. d. thesis, university of calicut, india. chiapella, j. 2000. the deschampsia cespitosa complex in central and northern europe. a morphological analysis. bot. j. linn. soc. 134: 495-512. chopra, r.n., nayar, s.l. and chopra, i.c. 1995. glossary of indian medicinal plants. council of scientific and industrial research, new delhi, p. 330. cooke, t. 1958 (repr. ed.). convolvulaceae in: the flora of the presidency of bombay, vol. 2. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 290-331. gamble, j.s. 1986. convolvulaceae in: flora of the presidency of madras. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india, pp. 901-930. gomez-campo, c., herranz-sanz, j.m. and montero-riquelme, f. 2001. the genus coincya rouy (cruciferae) in south-central spain revisited: a morphometric analysis of population structure. bot. j. linn. soc. 135: 125-135. henderson, f.m. 2006. morphology and anatomy of palm seedlings. bot. rev. 72: 273-329. hooker, j.d. 1885. flora of british india, vol. 4. l. reeve & co. ltd., london, pp. 179-228. johari, s.c. 1983. genus ipomoea l. in india, ph. d. thesis (unpublished). university of rajasthan, jaipur, india. 128 deshmukh and shimpale kamalutheen, m., gopalakrishnan, s. and syed ismail, t. 2009. anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic activities of merremia tridentata (l.) hall.f. ejournal of chemistry 4: 943-948. kovach, w.l. 1999. mvsp-multivariate statistical package for windows, version 3.1, pentraeth wales, uk. kovach computing services. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberly’s plant book – a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses (third edition). cambridge university press, cambridge, uk, pp. 1-1021. rahman, m.o., rahman, m.z. and begum, a. 2013. numerical taxonomy of the genus senna mill. from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 77-83. sahu, p.k. and gupta, s. 2014. medicinal plants of morning glory: convolvulaceae juss. of central india (madhya pradesh and chhattishgarh). biolife 2(2): 463-469. singh, n.p., lakshminarasimhan, p., karthikeyan, s. and prasanna, p.v. (eds). 2001. convolvulaceae in: flora of maharashtra state 2: 454 473. botanical survey of india, calcutta. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r. 1973. numerical taxonomy: the principles and practice of numerical classification (2nd edition), san francisco: freeman, pp. 1-573. soladoye, m.o., sonibare, m.a. and chukwuma, e.c. 2010. morphometric study of the genus indigofera linn. (leguminosae-papilionoideae) in south-western nigeria. int. j. bot. 6(3): 343-350. sonibare, m.a., jayeola, a.a. and egunyomi, a. 2004. a morphometric analysis of the genus ficus linn. (moraceae). afr. j. biotechnol. 3: 229-235. (manuscript received on 9 march 2014; revised on 4 november 2014) microsoft word 06. bjpt 16 93_edt 10.4.17re-18-04-2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 39–47, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological variability of evergreen oaks (quercus) in turkey yilmaz aykut*, uslu emel1 and babaç m. tekin1 department of molecular biology and genetics, faculty of science and arts, uşak university, 64200 uşak, turkey keywords: ilex; morphometric, upgma; turkey. abstract the genus quercus l. has a problematic taxonomy because of widespread hybridization among them. evergreen quercus contain three species in section ilex loudon namely, q. ilex l., q. coccifera l. and q. aucheri jaub. et spach in turkey. here, two species, q. coccifera and q. aucheri are usually confused with each other. however, q. coccifera and q. calliprinos are accepted as different species but this subject is still controversial. morphometric leaf and fruit variations of q. ilex, q. coccifera and q. aucheri in 26 populations were measured for 25 characters. variations within and among populations of species were detected by cluster analysis and principal component analysis. this study shows that populations of q. coccifera from the south region of turkey form a second group within q. coccifera. secondly, q. coccifera show more similarity to q. aucheri than q. ilex, and finally there are two groups within q. coccifera, which may be evaluated as q. coccifera and q. calliprinos. introduction the genus quercus l., popularly known as oaks shows highest morphological variations among species and populations (hokanson et al., 1993; kremer and petit, 1993), especially its leaf characters are the most valuable in the classification and delimitation of species (borazan and babaç, 2003). the major reason for the phenotypic diversification of oaks is the high frequency of hybridization among species (borazan andbabaç, 2003; jensen, 1995). leaves are good indicators of putative hybridization and oaks can be easily identified by their leaves. the leaves of hybrid species have typically asymmetric shapes and are irregular (jensen, 1995). because of common interspecific hybridization in the genus quercus, individuals that exhibit intermediate morphological characters can be seen widely. sometimes, it is not possible to identify oak species due to high morphological variation. in this case, acorns are secondary important materials in oaks for classification and determination of hybridization (jensen, 1988). in turkey three evergreen quercus species exist, viz. q. aucheri, q. coccifera and q. calliprinos. q. aucheri is not very widely distributed, it only exists in the south western anatolia region of turkey and in the greek islands like rhodos. q. coccifera is confused with q. calliprinos webb. (toumı and lumaret, 2001) because of small or medium shrub formation and acorn shape and evergreen nature. these two species may be evaluated within q. coccifera as q. coccifera subsp. coccifera and q. coccifera subsp. calliprinos (webb) holmboe as two different species. this subject is still controversial (salvatore and paola, 1976; toumı and lumaret, 2001). q. ilex the last member of ilex section has two morphological types. these are the rotundifolia type containing small and round leaves and the ilex type containing big pointed leaves. the *corresponding author: email:aykutyilmaza@gmail.com 1department of biology, faculty of science and arts, abant izzet baysal university, bolu, turkey. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33004 40 aykut et al.   rotundifolia morphotype exists in north africa and the interior region of spain (tutın et al., 1964). the ilex morphotype exists along the atlantic coast of france. these two morphotypes are two different species (tutın et al., 1964) or two subspecies (saenz de rıvas, 1967) or only two varieties (maıre, 1961). additionally, the presence of intermediate forms for these two morphotypes is reported in the mediterranean region of france and in the north and east coasts of spain. the aims of the present study were firstly to examine the morphological relationships among the populations sampled and their potential hybrids in turkey, secondly to designate the status of confused two species, q. coccifera and q. calliprinos, and finally to evaluate and compare results provided from the leaf and acorn character. materials and methods the populations sampled are located in the 17 provinces that include the regions of north west, west, south and south west of turkey. a total of 26 populations belonging to three species of ilex section, namely quercus coccifera, q. ilex and q. aucheri were collected. while 16 populations were designated to reveal variations within q. coccifera (table 1 and fig. 1). q. aucheri and q. ilex were sampled in 5 populations owing to their distributions in a restricted region. table 1. study populations with population number, location, coordinates and altitude (c = q. coccifera, a = q. aucheri, i = q. ilex) q. coccifera (c), q. aucheri (a) and q. ilex (i). q. coccifera (c), q. aucheri (a) and q. ilex (i) pop. no. location coordinates altitude (m) n e c1 i̇zmir-balıkesir border area, altınova barrage road 39012.903 026049.302 70 c2 i̇zmir-between dikili-çandarlı, 20 km. to çandarlı 39001.253 026055.505 40 c3 manisa-between kırkağaç-akhisar, 1-2 km. after çandarlı 39005.800 027040.257 190 c4 çanakkale-ezine-bozcaada pier 39047.950 026012.115 50 c5 gökçeada-between gökçeada-dereköy 40009.689 025049.586 60 c6 mersin-5-10 km. after seratvul 36050.997 033018.402 1400 c7 karaman-between mut-ermenek, 45 km. before ermenek 36037.276 032055.182 1300 c8 antalya-between korkuteli-bucak, 25 km. before bucak 37015.582 030019.362 920 c9 aydın-eski çine, ovacık village 37032.889 028005.310 300 c10 aydın-söke, between bağarası-akçakaya village 37°40.350 027°31.347 40 c11 muğla-between muğla-kale, 59 km. before kale 37008.142 028032.157 800 c12 denizlibetween kale-tavas, 1-2 km. before tavas 37°33.069 029°03.150 940 c13 uşak-between sivaslı-uşak, 12 km. after sivaslı 38°34.259 029°36.303 825 c14 gaziantepbetween yavuzeli-araban 37022.975 037033.292 740 c15 kahramanmaraşbetween k.maraşgöksun 37043.514 036040.038 1075 c16 hatay-between kırıkhan-hassa 36036.554 036023.591 350 a1 antalya-between kemer-kumluca 36025.429 030025.447 530 a2 aydın-çine,across from the cemetery kuruköy 37033.558 028004.047 180 a3 aydın-priene-söke 37044.967 029016.369 90 a4 i̇zmir-selçuk-zeytinköy 37059.569 027017.226 65 a5 muğla-between milas-bodrum, dörttepe village 37011.242 027037.142 8 i1 zonguldak-alaplı, sabırlı village 41008.901 031023.147 180 i2 zonguldak-between alaplı-düzce 41°08.443 031°20.596 4 i3 düzcebetween yığılca-alaplı 41009.136 031023.627 60 i4 i̇stanbul-between anatolian fortrees-kavacık 41004.220 029005.085 65 i5 gökçeada-between gökçeada-dereköy 40009.689 025049.586 60 morphological variability of evergreen oaks 41   fig. 1. distribution of studied populations of q. coccifera, q. ilex and q. aucheri in turkey. leaf and fruit samples for identification and statistical analyses of each population were collected from 260 trees. in total, 2600 leaf and fruit materials were measured.all leaf samples were collected at the same height and location after leaf growth had stopped to avoid seasonal and positional variations as reported by blue and jensen (1988). fruit samples were selected from mature acorns and cupules were also used as fruit characters. ten characters of leaves (table 2 and fig. 2) ad 15 characters from fruits (table 3 and fig. 3) were used. most of the leaf characters were adopted from different sources (bruschı et al., 2000; kremer et al., 2002; borazan and babaç, 2003; bruschı et al., 2003; gonzalez-rodrıguez et al., 2004; ponton et al., 2004; boratynskı et al., 2008). table 2. the leaf characters used in the morphological analysis. ll : lamina length pl : petiole length mwl : maximal width of lamina mw : middle width of lamina dtw : the distance between the widest point and the leaf tip dbw : the distance between the widest point and the leaf base tll : total leaf length (ll+lp) p% : petiole length (pl) x 100/total leaf length (tll) mw% : middle width of lamina (mw) x 100/total leaf length (tll) mwl% : maximal width of lamina (mwl) x 100/total leaf length (tll) table 3. the fruit characters used in the morphological analysis. nut characters cupsule characters stalk characters index characters 1. nut length 2. nut diameter 3. nut scar diameter 4. cupule outer diameter 5. cupulethickness 6. cupule scale length (maximum) 7. cupule depth 8. cupule length 9. stalk length 10. stalk thickness 11. cupule length/nut length 12. cupule depth/cupule length 13. nut diameter/nut length 14. cupule thickness/cupule outer diameter 15. acorn mass 42 aykut et al.   the fruit characters were also selected from literature (nikoliç and orloviç, 2002; tılkı and alptekin, 2005). arithmetic means of all trees were calculated for each character. then, means of the populations were calculated for each characters. principal component analysis (pca) and cluster analysis (ca) using statistical version 8.0 were carried out for the analysis of variations in leaf and fruit samples. fig. 2. morphological leaf characters fig. 3. morphological fruit characters with character number. morphological variability of evergreen oaks 43   results the upgma cluster analysis performed on the populations for leaf characters recognized two main groups one contains all populations of q. ilex and another group consisted of 21 populations belonging to q. coccifera and q. aucheri. (fig. 4) when the first group having the populations of q. ilex is evaluated, it can be stated that populations of q. ilex tend to form more morphologically discrete group than q. coccifera and q. aucheri populations and geographically close populations show more similarity like i̇1 and i̇2 populations (fig. 4). differences in geographical distribution are effective on species diversity. the biggest difference in the populations of q. ilex is observed in i̇5 population and the locality of this population is an island in aegean sea. fig. 4. phenogram resulting from cluster analysis with upgma for the leaf materials. the largest variation in second main group comprising of 21 populations is observed in c7 population of q. coccifera that occurs at high altitude (table 1 and fig. 4). except c7 population, the second main group is divided into two sub-groups, one consists of all populations of q. aucheri and only c16 and c5 populations of q. coccifera, while other sub-group consists of complete populations of q. coccifera (fig. 4). the highest variation within this sub-group are observed in c14, c15 and c2 populations. populations of q. aucheri show the differences from populations of q. coccifera within the second main group but this difference is not clear as in q. ilex. pca results (fig. 5) show the high similarity with ca (fig. 4) results. pca analyses clearly separate the q. ilex populations from others. similarly, two main groups are observed from pca analysis. while one of these groups consists of populations belonging to q. ilex, other two species are evaluated in the second group. c14, c15 and c16 populations show the most differences within q. coccifera. results revealed that fruit characters, q. ilexis is separated from the other two 44 aykut et al.   species (figs 6 & 7). ca results show clearly the presence of two main groups. the first main group consists of populations of q. ilex and the second main group consists of the populations of q. coccifera and q. aucheri. this result shows the high similarity with the results of leaves. fig. 5. resulting projection of principal component analysis for the leaf materials. fig. 6. phenogram resulting from cluster analysis with upgma for the fruit materials. morphological variability of evergreen oaks 45   populations c10, c14, c15 and c16 form a discrete group with q. aucheri in the ca graph (fig. 6). however, remaining populations of q. coccifera form other group (fig. 6). similar results showing differences among the species are observed in pca (fig. 7). fig. 7. resulting projection of principal component analysis for the fruit materials. discussion the present study revealed that pca and ca analyses could be used to solve taxonomic problems and to understand the relations among three species belonging to ilex section of the genus quercus. leaf materials were generally used for the comparison of the oaks (borazan and babaç, 2003; bruschı et al., 2003; ponton et al., 2004; gonzalez-rodrıguez and oyama, 2005; franjıc et al., 2006; boratynski et al., 2008) but here, for the first time the fruit materials together with the leaf materials were examined in detail. the results of morphometric studies provided the satisfactory findings for phenetic groupings of taxa in ilex section. the most significant differences were found on the q. ilex populations. this species was separated from the remaining species on the basis both leaf and fruit. however, q. coccifera populations were grouped next to q. aucheri populations. on the other hand, the results of q. coccifera and q. aucheri are not clearly separated from each other. especially, due to similar leaf and fruit characters in both taxa, they showed introgression with each other in both ca and pca plots (figs 4-7). however, these results draw attention to the presence of a group away from q. coccifera. the first group consists of the populations sampled from north west, west and south west regions of turkey. the populations sampled from the south region of turkey such as c14, c15 and c16 was included into the second group showing the similarity to the populations of q. aucheri. result from the leaf and fruit studies supported these groupings. similar results are also observed by salvatore and paola (1976), toumı (1995),toumıandlumaret (2001)and yılmaz et al.(2013). 46 aykut et al.   geographically separation of q. coccifera suggests that there are variation within this species. the restricted group of q.coccifera located only in the south region of turkey is geographically closer to syria, israel and palestine. in palestine there are two subspecies q. calliprinos webb. viz. q. calliprinos sub sp. coccifera and q. calliprinos sub sp. calliprinos (zohary, 1966). our results suggested that the two groups showing geographical differences within q. coccifera may be quite possibly strengthen the existence of two species as q. coccifera and q. calliprinos (yılmaz et al., 2013). acknowledgements the authors would like to thank abant i̇zzet baysal university directorate of scientific research projects (bap) for providing financial support. references boratynskı, a.,marcysıak, k., lewandowska, a., jasınska, a., iszkulo, g. and burczyk, j. 2008. differences in leaf morphology between quercus petraea and q. robur adult and young individuals. silva fenn. 42: 115–124. borazan, a. and babaç, m.t. 2003. morphometric leaf variation in oaks (quercus) of bolu,turkey. ann. bot. fenn. 40: 233–242. bruschı, p.,vendramın, g.g., busottı, f. and grossonı, p. 2000. morphological and molecular differentiation between quercus petraea and quercus pubescens (fagaceae) in northern and central italy. ann. bot. 85: 325–333. bruschı, p., vendramın, g.g., busottı, f. and grossonı, p. 2003. morphological and molecular diversity among italian populations of quercus petraea (fagaceae). ann. bot. 91: 707–716. gonzalez-rodrıguez, a., arıas, d.m.,valencıa, s. and oyama, k. 2004. morphological and rapd analysis of hybridization between quercus affinis and q. laurina (fagaceae), two mexican red oaks. am. j. bot. 91: 401–409. gonzalez-rodrıguez, a. and oyama, k. 2005. leaf morphometric variation in quercus affinis and q. laurina (fagaceae), two hybridizing mexican red oaks. bot. j. linn. soc .147: 427–435. hokanson, s.c., isebrands, j.g., jensen, r.j. and hancock, j.f. 1993. isozyme variation in oaks of the apostle islands in wisconsin: genetic structure and levels of inbreeding in quercus rubra and quercus ellipsoidalis (fagaceae). am. j. bot. 80: 1349–1357. jensen, r.j. 1988. assesing patterns of morphological variation of quercus spp. in mixed-oak communities. am. midl. nat. 120: 120–135. jensen, r.j. 1995. using leaf shape to identify taxa in a mixed-oak community in land between the lakes, kentucky. proc. sixth symposium nat. hist. lower tennessee and cumberland river valleys 177-188. center field biol., austin peay state univ., clarksville. kremer, a., dupouey, j.l., deans, j.d., cottrell, j., csaıkl, u., fınkeldey, r., espınel, s., jensen, j., kleınschmıt, j., van dam, b., ducousso, a., forrest, i., de heredıa, u.l., lowe, a.j., tutkova, m., munro, r.c., steınhoff, s. and badeau, v. 2002. leaf morphological differentiation between quercus robur and quercus petraea in stable across western european mixed oak stands. ann. forest sci. 59: 777–787. kremer, a. and petıt, r.j. 1993. gene diversity in natural populations of oak species. ann. forest sci. 50: 186–202. maıre, r. 1961. flore de l’afrique du nord, vol. 7. ed lechevallier, paris. nıkolıc, n.p. and orlovıc, s.s. 2002. genotypic variability of morphological characteristics of english oak (quercus robur l.) acorn. proceeding for natural sciences 102: 53–58. morphological variability of evergreen oaks 47   ponton, s., dupouey, j.l. and dreyer, e. 2004. leaf morphology as species indicator in seedlings of quercus robur l. and q. petraea (matt.) liebl.: modulation by irradiance and growth flush. ann. forest sci .61: 73–80. saenz de rıvas, c. 1967. estudios sobre quercus ilex l., quercus rotundifolia lamk. anales del instituto botanico a. j. cavanilles 25: 243–262. salvatore, g. and paola, g. 1976. ‘‘quercus calliprinos’’ webb e ‘‘quercus coccifera’’l.:ricerche sull’anatomia fogliare e valutazioni tassonomiche e corologiche. gıornale botanico italliano 110: 89– 115. tılkı, f. and alptekın, c.u. 2005. variation in acorn characteristics in three provenances of quercus aucheri jaub. et spach and provenance, temperature and storage effects on acorn germination. seed sci. technol. 33: 441–447. toumı, l. 1995. etude de la structure genetique et introgressions eventuelles chez les chenes sclerophylles mediterraneens a l’aide de marquers alloenzymatiques. ph. d. thesis, university of aix-marsielle iii, marsielle. toumı, l. and lumaret, r. 2001. allozyme characterization of four mediteranean evergreen oak species. biochem. syst. ecol. 29: 799–817. tutın, t.g., heywood, v.h., burges, n.a., moore, d.m., valentıne, d.h., walters, s.m. and webb, d.a. 1964. flora europaea. cambridge university press, london. yılmaz, a., uslu, e. and babaç m.t. 2013. molecular diversity among turkish oaks (quercus) using random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) analyses. afr. j. biotechnol.12: 6358-6365. zohary, m. 1966. flora palaestina. jerusalem academic press. israel. (manuscript received on 11 august 2016; revised on 16 april 2017) microsoft word 01. elatostema_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 1-8, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new species of elatostema j.r. forst. & g. forst. (urticaceae) in limestone caves from guangxi and guizhou, china yi-gang wei, fang wen, long-fei fu1 and wen-tsai wang2* guangxi institute of botany, guangxi zhuang autonomous region and chinese academy of sciences, guilin 541006, china keywords: elatostema; new species; china. abstract three new species of elatostema j.r. forst. & g. forst. from guangxi and guizhou, china are described and illustrated. they are e. atrostriatum w.t. wang & y.g. wei, which is most similar to e. stewardii merr.; e. jingxiense w.t. wang & y.g. wei, which is most similar to e. malacotrichum w.t. wang & y.g. wei, and e. schizodiscum w.t. wang & y.g. wei, which is most similar to e. angulaticaule w.t. wang & y.g. wei. introduction elatostema j.r. forst. & g. forst. is a specialized genus for adapting to humid and dark habitats, e.g. dense forests, deep gorges and caves. it is one of the biggest genera in the family urticaceae comprising at least 500 species all over the world, and mainly occur in tropical and subtropical asia, africa and islands of oceania (chen et al., 2003). accompanying with the further field investigations on south and south-west china, more and more new taxa of this genus were discovered and published, including new series, series albopilosoides q. lin & l.d. duan (lin and duan, 2008), series neriifolia w.t. wang & zeng y. wu (wu et al., 2012), nearly 50 new species (duan, 2010; lin et al., 2011; wang, 2010a, b, 2011a, b, 2012; wei et al., 2011; wei and wang, 2011a, b; wu et al., 2011a, b, 2012) and 4 new varieties (wang, 2010b, 2012; wu et al., 2011a). bi et al. (2011) described new taxa of elatostema from thailand and india. recently three unknown specimens belonging to the genus elatostema were collected from guangxi and guizhou. after critical examination of these specimens and carefully consulting relevant literature, they were identified as new species. 1. elatostema atrostriatum w.t. wang & y.g. wei sp. nov. (fig. 1). type: china. guangxi: jiayou village, lingyun county, 1 april 2009, y.g. wei 103 (holotype: pe, isotype: ibk). diagnosis: species nova haec est similis e. stewardii merr., quod foliis majoribus, apice cuspidatis, captitulis pistillis receptacula majorbus, bracteis pistillatis triangulatibus, dense puberulis, apice corniculatis, non striatis differt. herbs perennial, terrestrial. stems c. 3 clumping, 100-135 × 1-2 mm, erect, simple, glabrous. stipules subulate, 1-7 × 0.1-0.3 mm. leaves distichous, alternate, short petioled, petioles 1-4 mm long, glabrous; leaf blades 28-105 × 10-34 mm, oblique, narrowly obovate, leathery, nerves pinnate, broader-half lateral nerves 3-6, 30-70° to the midrib, narrower-half lateral nerves 4-6, 3070° to the midrib; upper surface cystoliths dense, conspicuous or inconspicuous, rod-shaped, *corresponding author. email: wentsaiwang@yeah.net. 1college of life sciences, guangxi normal university, 541004, guilin, china. 2 wei et al. 2state key laboratory of systematic and evolutionary botany, institute of botany, the chinese academy of sciences, cn-100093 beijing, china. fig. 1. elatostema atrostriatum w.t. wang & y.g. wei: a. flowering stem; b. pistillate capitulum; c. two pistillatae bracts; d. three pistillate bracteoles and two pistillate flower (drawn by y.b. sun from holotype). 0.1-0.25 mm long, lower surface cystoliths absent; base asymmetrical, broader-half rounded and narrower-half cuneate, margin entire or denticulate, basal ≤1/2 entire, apex acuminate or blunt; new species of elatostema from china 3 staminate capitulum not seen. pistillate capitulum 1-3 axillary, sessile; receptacle inconspicuous; subtended by marginal bracts, bracts c. 5, equal, membranous, semi-transparent, narrowly ovate or broadly linear, 0.8-1.0 × 0.15-0.4 mm, glabrous, with 2-3 black-brown longitudinal stripes; bracteoles numerous, dense, membranous, semitransparent, narrowly linear, 0.6-1.0 mm long, glabrous, with 1 black-brown longitudinal stripe. pistillate flower short peduncled, tepal inconspicuous; pistil c. 0.7 mm long; ovary narrowly ellipsoid, 0.4 mm long; stigma 0.3 mm long. infructescence not seen. habitat: limestone cave, 20 individuals. etymology: elatostema atrostriatum is named after pistillate bracts with 2-3 black-brown longitudinal stripes. vernacular name: heiwen louticao (china). note: elatostema atrostriatum is morphologically similar to e. stewardii merr. but differs in leaves, pistillate receptacle, bracts and bracteoles (table 1). table 1. morphological comparison between elatostema atrostriatum and e. stewardii characters e. atrostriatum e. stewardii leaves 28-105 × 10-34 mm, apex acuminate or blunt 70-125 × 28-45 mm, cuspidate pistillate receptacle small, inconspicuous subquadrate, c. 3 mm long pistillate bracts narrowly ovate or broadly linear, glabrous, not corniculate with 2-3 black-brown longitudinal stripes triangular, densely pubescent, corniculate with no stripes pistillate bracteoles glabrous, with 1 black-brown longitudinal stripe margin densely pubescent with no stripes 2. elatostema jingxiense w.t. wang & y.g. wei sp. nov. (fig. 2). type: china. guangxi: jingxi, dizhou, limestone cave, 22 march 2009, wei yigang g067 (holotype: pe, isotype: ibk). diagnosis: species nova haec est similis e. malacotrico w.t. wang & y.g. wei, quod plantis totis siccitate nigrescentibus, cauli staminati foliis normaliter evolutis eis cauli pistillati majoribus cystolithis densis praeditis, involucri staminati bracteis paucioribus ca. 8 depresse orbicularibus dorso puberulis distinguitur. herbs perennial, terrestrial, dioecious. male plant: stems 150–500 × 2–3 mm, erect, dark brown when fresh, simple, densely puberulent, the hairs c. 0.1 mm long, 3-4 densely degraded microphyll at the top of the stem, underneath staminate capitulum bearing at naked nodes. stipules lanceolate-linear, 3-4 mm long, glabrous. leaves distichous, alternate, sessile or short petioled; leaf blades 12-14 × 4-16 mm, chartaceous, oblique ovoid, nerves pinnate, lateral nerves 4 or 6 paired, 45-60° to the midrib, upper surface sparsely hispid, hairs c. 0.5 mm long, weakly curved, appressed, cystoliths absent, lower surface nerves densely hispid, hairs c. 0.5 mm long, weakly curved, cystoliths absent; base asymmetric, broader-half oblique, broadly cuneate, narrower-half cuneate; margin dentate, apex acuminate, acumen entire. female plant: stems 450-550 × c. 5 mm, erect, green when fresh, simple, densely puberulous, hairs c. 0.1 mm long; leaves distichous, alternate, short petioled, petiole 4-20 mm long; leaf blades 50-160 × 35-65 mm, chartaceous, oblique oblong or elliptic, nerves pinnate, lateral nerves 5 or 6 paired, 45-60° to the midrib, upper surface sparsely hispid, hairs c. 0.5 mm long, weakly curved, appressed, cystoliths absent, lower 4 wei et al. surface nerves densely hispid, hairs c. 1 mm long, weakly curved, cystoliths absent; base asymmetric, broader-half rounded, narrower-half obliquely cuneate; margin dentate, broader-half fig. 2. elatostema jingxiense w.t. wang & y.g. wei: a. staminate stem; b. staminate capitulum; c. staminate bracteoles; d. staminate flower; e. upper part of pistillate stem; f. pistillate capitulum; g. two pistillate bracteoles and pistillate flower (drawn by y.b. sun from holotype). new species of elatostema from china 5 basal ≤1/3 entire, narrower-half basal ≤1/2 entire, apex acuminate, acumen entire. staminate capitulum solitary or didymous, axillary, short pedunculate, c. 6 mm long, puberulent; receptacle subround, c. 10 mm in diam., puberulent, subtended by marginal bracts, the bracts c. 15, membranous, triangular, c. 1 mm long, glabrous; bracteoles dense, membranous, semi-transparent, linear, 0.8-2.0 mm long, glabrous, with 1-3 brown stripes. staminate flowers short peduncled, tepals 5, broadly ovate, c. 1 mm long, subapical appendage c. 0.4 mm long, corniculate, glabrous. pistillate capitulum didymous, axillary, sessile; receptacle elliptic, c. 3.0 × 2.5 mm, puberulent, subtended by marginal bracts, bracts c. 25, narrowly triangular or linear, 0.3-0.5 mm long, puberulent or sometimes glabrous; bracteoles numerous, dense, membranous, cymbiform or linear-lanceolate, 0.5-0.8 mm long, puberulent or glabrous. pistillate flower short peduncled, tepals inconspicuous; pistil 0.65 mm long; ovary ellipsoidal, c. 0.25 mm long; stigma 0.4 mm long. habitat: limestone cave, 20 individuals. etymology: elatostema jingxiense is named after the type locality near jingxi county. vernacular name: jingxi louticao (china). note: elatostema jingxiense is morphologically similar to e. malacotrichum w.t. wang & y.g. wei but differs in colour of whole plant when dying, leaves of male stem and staminate bract (table 2). table 2. morphological comparison between elatostema jingxiense and e. malacotrichum characters e. jingxiense e. malacotrichum whole plant turning black while dying? no yes leaves of male stem much smaller than those of pistillate stem and lacking cystoliths larger than those of pistillate stem and bearing numerous dense cystoliths staminate bracts c. 15, triangular and glabrous c. 8, depressed-orbicular and puberulous abaxially 3. elatostema schizodiscum w.t. wang, & y.g. wei sp. nov. (fig. 3). type: china. guizhou province, anlong county, dushan town, limestone cave, 29 march 2010, f. wen 1036, (holotype: pe, isotype: ibk). diagnosis: species nova haec est similis e. angulaticauli w.t. wang & y.g. wei, quod foliis eorum nervis secundariis 6-8-jugis et eorum cystolithis minoribus, 0.05–0.1 mm longis, capituli pistillati receptaculo indiviso, floribus pistillatis ad receptaculum totum dense crescentibus, stigmatibus subglobosis recedit. herbs perennial, terrestrial. stems c. 350 × 4 mm, decumbent, dark green, lower part drying 4-sulcate, distal part cystoliths dense, rod-shaped, 0.1-0.4 mm long, branched, glabrous. stipules caducous. leaves distichous, alternate, short petioled, petioles 2 mm long, glabrous; leaf blades 60-150 × 30-35 mm, oblique elliptic or oblique ovoid, chartaceous, nerves pinnate, lateral nerves 6-8 pairs, 45-60° to the midrib, above sunken, beneath bulged out, conspicuous, upper surface sparsely hispid, hairs c. 1 mm long, weakly curved, cystoliths small, dense, rod-shaped or punctiform, 0.05-0.1 mm long, lower surface glabrous, cystoliths absent; base asymmetrical, broader-half broadly cuneate or oblique rounded and narrower-half cuneate; margin serrate, the apex of serrate blunt or rounded; apex long acuminate or acuminate, acumen entire. staminate inflorescence not seen. pistillate capitulum didymous, axillary, c. 5 mm wide, sessile; receptacle white, 2-partite, glabrous, lobes oblong or subquadrate, c. 2 mm long, undivided or 3-partite, apex 6 wei et al. bearing flowers dense, glabrous, subtended by bracts, bracts 3, white, broadly triangular, c. 1 mm long, glabrous, bracteoles white, narrow, c. 0.7 mm long, glabrous. pistillate peduncle white, c. 0.7 mm long, glabrous, tepals c. 2, equal, narrowly linear, c. 0.3 mm long, glabrous; ovary elliptic, c. 0.22 mm long, stigma subglobose. achene brown, narrowly ovate, c. 0.7 ×0.3 mm, with 4 longitudinal ribbs; staminodium c. 3, white, narrowly ovate, c. 0.3 mm long, glabrous. fig. 3. elatostema schizodiscum w.t. wang & y.g. wei: a. flowering pistillate stem; b. pistillate capitulum; c. pistillate bracteoles and pistillate flower; d. achene; e. fruiting pedicel and staminodes (drawn by y.b. sun from holotype). new species of elatostema from china 7 habitat: limestone cave, 35 individuals. etymology: elatostema schizodiscum is named after receptacle 2-parted. vernacular name: lietuo louticao (china). note: elatostema schizodiscum is morphologically similar to e. angulaticaule w.t. wang & y.g. wei but differs in leaves, cystoliths, pistillate receptacle and stigma (table 3). table 3. morphological comparison between elatostema schizodiscum and e. angulaticaule characters e. schizodiscum e. angulaticaule leaves lateral nerves 6-8 pairs lateral nerves 4-6 pairs cystoliths 0.05-0.1 mm long 0.1-0.3 mm long pistillate receptacle 2-parted, flowers densely growing on apex of receptacle undivided, flowers growing on the whole receptacle stigma subglobose penicillate acknowledgements we thank mr. ying-bao sun for the drawing, and prof. fa-nan wei for help. we also like to acknowledge the support of the national natural science foundation of china (grant no. 3116039), the science research foundation of guangxi institute of botany (guizhiye11001), and the science research foundation of guangxi institute of botany (no. 10004) supporting the fieldwork. references bi, h.y., yang, z.r. and lin, q. 2011. new taxa of elatostema (urticaceae) from thailand and india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 149-152. chen, c.j., lin, q., friis, i., wilmot-dear, c.m. and monro, a.k. 2003. urticaceae. in: wu, z. and raven, p.h. (ed.), flora of china, vol. 5. science press, bejing, pp. 76-189. duan, l.d. 2010. elatostema cataractum (urticaceae), a new species from guizhou province, china. ann. bot. fenn. 47: 229-232. lin, q and duan, l.d. 2008. two new species and a new series of elatostema (urticaceae) from china, bot. j. linn. soc. 158: 674-680. lin, q., shui, y.m. and duan, l.d. 2011. elatostema oppositum (urticaceae), a new species from yunnan, china. novon 21(2): 212-215. wang, w.t. 2010a. new taxa of pellionia and elatostema (urticaceae) from china. guihaia 30: 1-12. wang, w.t. 2010b. notes on the genus elatostema (urticaceae). guihaia 30(6): 713-727. wang, w.t. 2011a. two new species of elatostema (urticaceaa) from southeastern yunnan. guihaia 31(2): 143-147. wang, w.t. 2011b. six new species of elatostema (urticaceae) from gaoligong shan, yunnan. plant divers. resour. 33: 145-156. wang, w.t. 2012. four new species and one variety of elatostema (urticaceae) from china. plant divers. resour. 34(2): 137-144. wei, y.g., monro, a.k. and wang, w.t. 2011. additions to the flora of china: seven new species of elatostema (urticaceae) from the karst landscapes of guangxi and yunnan. phytotaxa 29: 1-27. wei, y.g. 2009. notes on elatostema j. r. et g. forst (urticeceae) from guangxi. guihaia 29(6): 711-718. wei, y.g. and wang, w.t. 2011a. elatostema xanthotrichum and e. bamaense (urticaceae), two new species from guangxi, china. ann. bot. fenn. 48: 93-95. 8 wei et al. wei, y.g. and wang, w.t. 2011b. elatostema recurviramum (urticaceae), a new cave-dwelling species from guangxi, china. novon 21(2): 281-284. wu, z.y., wang, w.t., wang, h. and li, d.z. 2011a. elatostema densistriolatum sp. nov., e. latistipulum sp. nov. and e. cyrtandrifolium var. hirsutum var. nov. (urticaceae) from southwest china. nord. j. bot. 29: 227-232. wu, z.y., wang, w.t., wang, h. and li, d.z. 2011b. two new species of elatostema (urticaceae) from southeast yunnan, china. phytokeys 7: 57-62. wu, z.y., li, d.z., wang, h. and wang, w.t. 2012. one new series with its only new species of elatostema (urticaceae) from southeast yunnan, china. plant divers. resour. 34(2): 151-154. (manuscript received on 11 october 2012; revised on 20 march 2013) microsoft word sc-1. phlogacanthus _ galley proof_approved 13.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 71-74, 2016 (june) short communication © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new variety of phlogacanthus curviflorus (wall.) nees from assam, india barnali dutta1 and s.k. borthakur department of botany, gauhati university, guwahati781014, assam, india keywords: phlogacanthus curviflorus; new variety; assam. the genus phlogacanthus nees placed under the tribe andrographideae of the family acanthaceae (endlicher, 1839) and was established by nees von esenbeck and christian gottfried daniel published in “plantae asiaticae rariories” in 1832. the genus comprised of about 49 species and is confined to south east asian countries such as bangladesh, bhutan, china, indonesia, india, myanmar and vietnam. (scotland, 1992; scotland and vollesen, 2000; mabberley, 2008; mc dade et al., 2008). clarke (1886) in hooker’s “flora of british india” described 10 species and p. curviflorus var. brevicalyx c.b. clarke as variety from indian subcontinent. in india the genus is mainly reported from the subtropical himalayan belts up to 1500 m msl and distributed in meghalaya and assam (hooker, 1886). kanjilal et al. (1939) reported 8 species from assam. during field investigation for taxonomic studies of the genus phlogacanthus nees in assam in 2014-2015 several interesting specimens were collected from nagaon district of assam. on perusal of relevant literature (nees, 1832; anderson, 1867; kurz, 1877; clarke, 1884), critical examination and scrutiny of specimens deposited in assam (bsi, eastern regional circle shillong), k (royal botanic gardens kew) and jstor global plants has resulted in identification of the specimens as p. curviflorus (wall.) nees. however, the specimens differ from p. curviflorus in certain characters. consulting the pertinent literature this specimens were identified as a new variety of p. curviflorus (wall.) nees. this paper describes this new variety as p. curviflorus (wall.) nees. var. menchanensis barnali dutta & s.k. borthakur. detailed taxonomic description along with other relevant information is provided herewith for easy recognition of the new taxon. phlogacanthus curviflorus (wall.) nees var. menchanensis barnali dutta & s.k. borthakur, var. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: phlogacanthus curviflorus var. menchanensis is closely related to p. curviflorus var. curviflorus but can be distinguished from the latter by its smaller height, longer inflorescence, epicalyx number and absence of staminode. types: india, assam, nagaon, menchan gaon, 04.01.2014, 26034.049′ n, 093003.871′ e; alt72 m, barnali dutta & s.k. borthakur 55 (holotype: gubh; isotype: assam). india, assam, jorhat district, homesteads of hollongapar, near gibbon wildlife sanctuary, 28.03.2015, 26042.240′ n; 094020.295′ e, alt100m, b. dutta 58 (paratype: gubh). shrubs, 2-3 m tall. stems woody and stout, glabrous, puberulous towards apex, nodes roughly pubescent, distance from the base of the inflorescence to the first node 4.5-5.0 cm, from first to second node 6.8 7.0 cm, from second to third node 11.0 11.7 cm. leaves 25-36 × 15-19 cm, 1corresponding author. email: barnalidutta10@gmail.com 72 dutta and borthakur   fig. 1. phlogacanthus curviflorus var. menchanensis barnali dutta & s.k. borthakur, var.nov. a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. warty stem with axillary inflorescence; d. complete flower; e. calyx; f. bract; g. corolla with androecium; h. gynoecium. a new variety of phlogacanthus curviflorus 73   entire, elliptic-oblanceolate, apex acute to acuminate, narrowed at base, cuneate, dark green above and light green underneath, petiolate; petiole purplish green, 5-11 cm long; leaf blade with punctulate cystoliths on both surfaces, glabrous; primary veins more prominent on the abaxial surface; secondary veins 11-16 pairs, prominent on both the surfaces, subparallel forming 45º with 1º vein, 0.5-0.8 cm apart. inflorescence mostly terminal but sometimes two smaller axillary inflorescences also arises from the base of the petiole, 23-25 cm long, densely pubescent. flowers pedicellate, pedicel about 0.2 cm long; bract green in colour, linear, 0.4-0.5 cm long. calyx 5lobed, c. 0.5 cm long, dark red in colour, pubescent, linear; epicalyx 2, c. 0.4 cm long, dark red in colour, also present at the base of the inflorescence. corolla bilabiate with glandular hairs, 2.7-2.8 cm long, tubular, dark red, upper lip 2-fids, lower lip deeply 3-fids. stamens 2, inserted at the base of the tube; anthers 2-celled, glabrous, dorsifixed. gynoecium 2.5-2.6 cm long; ovary green; stigma and style pink in colour. capsule about 2.5 cm long, linear, elongate. seeds many, compressed. flowering: december-february; fruiting: february-april. etymology: the varietal epithet ‘menchanensis’ is based on the name of the collecting place menchan gaon. distribution: the new variety is distributed in menchan gaon of nagaon district and homesteads of hollongapar, near gibbon wildlife sanctuary of jorhat district. habitat: roadside and as forest undergrowth between 72-100 m above sea level. notes: phlogacanthus curviflorus var. menchanensis is morphologically close to its type p. curviflorus var. curviflorus by its distinctly terminal inflorescence and obovate leaves but differs mainly in terms of height of the plant, length of inflorescence, number of epicalyx, absence of staminode and colour of stigma and style. table1 provides diagnostic morphological characters of phlogacanthus curviflorus var. menchanensis, var. nov. and p. curviflorus var. curviflorus. table 1. diagnostic morphological characters of phlogacanthus curviflorus var. menchanensis, var. nov., and p. curviflorus var. curviflorus. characters p. curviflorus var. menchanensis var.nov. p. curviflorus var. curviflorus habit shrub, 3 m long shrub, 5 m long inflorescence 23-25 cm long 12-15 cm long flower colour brick red brick red length of sepals 0.5 cm long 0.4 cm long epicalyx number 2, equal in size 3, middle one larger staminode absent present uses: the tender leaves and flowers of phlogacanthus curviflorus var. menchanensis are cooked and eaten as vegetable. many ethnic communities use the plant in the treatment of cold, fever and sore throat. hot poultice is used to treat swellings and dark bruises. basal portion of the stem yields a red dye used mainly for dyeing yarn but commonly cotton and eri silk yarn. decoction of leaves is used to cure muscular pain. its roots are used in the treatment of malaria. acknowledgements authors are thankful to the authority of the department of botany, gauhati university for providing the necessary laboratory facilities to carry out the work successfully. 74 dutta and borthakur   references anderson, t. 1867. an enumeration of the indian species of acanthaceae. j. linn. soc. bot. 9: 425–526. clarke, c.b. 1884. in: hooker, j.d. (ed.), flora of british india. vol. 4. indian reprint 1973, bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india, pp. 510–513. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c., das. p. and de, r.n. 1939. flora of assam. vol 3. . govt. of assam, shillong, india, pp. 441–445. kurz, w.s. 1877. forest flora of british burma, calcutta. vol. 2. office of the superintendent of govt. print., calcutta, india, 246 pp. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant-book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. 3rd edition, cambridge university press, cambridge, 1021 pp. mc dade, l.a., daniel, t.f. and kiel, c.a. 2008. towards a comprehensive understanding of phylogenetic relationships among lineages of acanthaceae s.l. (lamiales). am. j. bot. 95: 1136–1152. nees von esenbeck, c.g. 1832. acanthaceae indiae orientalis. in: wallich, n. (ed.) plantae asiaticae rariories vol. 3. treuttel, würtz, richter, london. pp. 70–112. scotland, r.w. 1992. pollen morphology of andrographideae (acanthaceae). review of palaeobotany & palynology 72: 229–243. scotland, r.w. and vollesen, k. 2000. classification of acanthaceae. kew bull. 55: 513–589. (manuscript received on 27 november 2015; revised on 3 april 2016) microsoft word s-3. gynura nepalensis.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 101-104, 2014 (june) short communication © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists gynura nepalensis dc. (asteraceae) a new angiosperm record for bangladesh sumona afroz1, mohammad zashim uddin and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: gynura nepalensis; new record; bangladesh. a perennial, terrestrial herb with yellow flowers was collected from kendua under netrokona district of bangladesh in the month of march 2006 by a research student of the department of chemistry, dhaka university and later from comilla district in 2011, which after critical studies, has been identified as gynura nepalensis dc., by referring to the descriptions of hooker (1882), davis (1979) and hajra et al. (1995). the genus gynura cass. consists of about 40 species distributed in tropical asia and africa (airy-shaw, 1897). from indian subcontinemt, gynura nepalensis was earlier reported by hooker (1882) from temperate himalaya and hajra et al. (1995) from himalayas and the north-east regions of india. as this genus and any species belonging to the genus was not reported earlier in any of the relevant floristic literature covering bangladesh territory, viz., prain (1903), heinig (1925), cowan (1928), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1956), khan and banu (1972), khan and hassan (1984), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), rashid et al. (2000), khan and huq (2001), uddin et al. (2003), rahman (2004a, b) and ahmed et al. (2008), it is therefore being reported as a new generic and species record for bangladesh. based on fresh specimens collected from dhaka university botanical garden (planted earlier from the specimen of kendua), a detailed descriptive note, illustration and photographs are given below. the voucher specimen has been preserved at the dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). gynura cass. in f. cuvier, dict. sci. nat. 34: 391(1825), nom. cons. succulent herbs, rarely undershrubs, glabrous or hispid. leaves alternate, entire, toothed or pinnatisect. heads solitary or corymbose, bracteate at the base, homogamous, disciform, yellow or purplish. involucre cylindric or subcampanulate; bracts 10-12, 1-seriate. anther bases entire or subauricled. stylar arms slender, tips long, subulate, hispid. achenes narrow, many-ribbed; pappus hairs copious, slender, white. the genus is distributed from tropical africa to south asia eastward through southern china, japan, southeast asia and new guinea into northern australia (vanijajiva, 2009). gynura nepalensis dc., prodr. 6: 300 (1838). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 3: 300 (1881). gynura foetens wall. ex dc., prodr. 6: 300 (1838). gynura nepalensis dc. var. thomsoni c.b. clarke, comp. ind.: 171 (1876). (fig. 1, plate 1). type: nepal, noakote, wall. cat. no. 3146 (holotype: k-w!; isotype: bm!, k!). perennial herb, hoary pubescent. roots fibrous. stems corymbosely branched above, lower part decumbent, c. 30-45 cm tall, woody at the base, c. 10 mm in diam. leaves obovate or rhomboid, acute, margin incised with mucronulate teeth or shallow angular lobes, 3-20 × 1-6 cm, 1corresponding author. email: binidu@yahoo.com 102 afroz et al. canescent or with scattered white hairs on the upper surface, base cuneate, petioles 0.5-5.0 cm long, upper leaves transitional to the bracts, becoming sessile and narrowing to linear. inflorescence a discoid capitulum, campanulate, loosely arranged in terminal corymb, capitula 3-7 per corymb, 1.5-2.0 cm in diam. on peduncle with few linear bracts, peduncle 1-10 cm long, pubescent. invulucre campanulate, 10-13 × c 10 mm, with 7-8 linear calycular bracts, slightly longer than broad, bracteolate, bracteoles half the length of the involucral bracts, linear, subulate with spreading white hairs on the margin. phyllaries uniseriate, 13-14, linear-lanceolate, 8-10 × 13 mm, densely fulvous tomentose or subglabrous, sometimes sessile glandular hairy, margin scarious, apically acuminate. florets 25-45, orange-yellow; corolla 8-12 mm long; tube 4-5 mm long, slender; limb dilated, lobes triangular-ovate. anthers 2.0-2.5 mm long, collars elongated, obtuse at base, filaments 2 mm long. stylar arms 3.0-3.5 mm long, branch tip conical, papillose. fruit an achene, dark brown, cylindrical, 3-6 mm long, glabrate, deeply many ribbed. pappus 1012 mm long, white or dirty white. flowering and fruiting: march to august. fig. 1. gynura nepalensis dc. (a) habit (×0.5), (b) hermaphrodite floret (×3), (c) l.s. of a hermaphrodite floret (×2), ), (d) androecium (×7), (e) phyllaries (×0.5), (f) t.s. of ovary (×16). gynura nepalensis dc. (asteraceae) 103 plate 1. gynura nepalensis dc. (a) habitat, (b) an inflorescence. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 27.3.2007, sumona 30 (dush); bcsir garden 26.3.2014, nasima 1 (dush). distribution: native to nepal, distributed in india, china, myanmar, bhutan and thailand. uses: in hawaii, anecdotal evidence of its cholesterol lowering effects has given it ‘miraclecure’ status. flower extract of gynura nepalensis is used for treatment the of hyperlipidemia along with its hepatoprotective effect (nigam et al., 2012).the juice of the plant is applied to heal cuts and wounds (manandhar, 2002). in bangladesh, the leaves of the plant are used in diabetes. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., and khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceae-asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 408 pp. airy-shaw, h.k. 1897 (reprinted 1980). a dictionary of the flowering plants and ferns by j.c. willis (ed. 8). cambridge university press, england. cowan, j.m. 1928. the flora of chakaria sundarbans. rec. bot. surv. ind. 11: 197-225. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1110. davis, f.g. 1979. the genus gynura (compositae) in eastern asia and the himalayas. kew bull. 33(4): 633634. hajra, p.k., rao, r.r., singh, d.k. and uniyal, b.p. 1995. flora of india,vol. 12. botanical survey of india, calcutta, india, 454 pp. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts, darjeeling. 84 pp. hooker, j.d. 1882. the flora of british india, vol. 3. l. reeve and co. ltd., kent, england, p. 333. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts2. j. asia. soc. bangladesh 17(2): 59-88. 104 afroz et al. khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 1984. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of st. martin’s island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 32(1): 71-84. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focusing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. manandhar, n.p. 2002. plants and people of nepal. timber press, oregon, usa, 599 pp. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 24-45. nigam, v., paarekh, p.m., singh, s., goyanar, g., upmanyu, n. and banweer, j. 2012. hypolipidaemic and hepatoprotective activity of gynura nepalensis dc. flower extract in streptozotocin induced diabetic mice. world j. pharm. res. 2(1): 12-131. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants, vol. 2. (indian reprint 1963). botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 666667. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakund in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants”series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants”series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rashid, m.h., rahman, e. and rahman, m.a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43-63. sinclair, j. 1956. the flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 84-116. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2003. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh ii.a: magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 79-94. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. vanijajiva, o. 2009. the genus gynura (asteraceae: senecioneae) in thailand. thai journ. bot. 1(1): 25-36. (manuscript received on 16 april 2014; revised on 1 june 2014) microsoft word 06. pyrostria_final_14jun.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 55–58, 2015 (june) © 2015 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pyrostria triflora, a new species of vanguerieae (rubiaceae) from luzon, philippines a.h. arriola1,3, p.d. camacho3, m.j.a. calaramo2 and g.j.d. alejandro3 college of science and research center for the natural & applied sciences, university of santo tomas, españa, manila 1015, philippines keywords: ixoroideae; malesia; new species; philippines; vanguerieae. abstract pyrostria triflora, a new species of the tribe vanguerieae of rubiaceae from the philippines is described and illustrated. the new species is unique from other representatives of the genus by its strictly 3-flowered inflorescences and geographic distribution. introduction vanguerieae is a monophyletic tribe of rubiaceae recognized by its swollen stylar knob for pollen presentation (verdcourt, 1987; verdcourt and bridson, 1991). the group is widely distributed in tropical asia, africa, madagascar and the pacific thriving in various habitats and environments (razafimandimbison et al., 2009). infrageneric classifications within the tribe have been very difficult due to the unnaturalness of several genera, such as canthium lam., pyrostria comm. ex juss. and vangueria juss. (bridson, 1987, 1992). however, morphological and molecular phylogenetic works of various authors (bridson, 1992; lantz et al., 2002; lantz and bremer, 2004, 2005; razafimandimbison et al., 2009) have resulted in the reinstatement of several genera [e.g., afrocanthium (bridson) lantz and bremer, bullockia (bridson) razafim., lantz & bremer, canthium sensu stricto, keetia e. phillips, psydrax gaertn. and pyrostria comm. ex juss.] as well as establishment of clearer synapomorphies among these taxa. this taxonomic amendment has now in general resulted in morphologically clearly defined and monophyletic genera within the tribe. in an effort to revise the philippine vanguerieae (arriola and alejandro, 2013) owing to various nomenclatural changes within the tribe, we recollected all the endemic philippine representatives of the vanguerieae. an interesting specimen of vanguerieae was collected in the mountain ranges of ilocos norte, luzon, the philippines. the plant material showed distinguishing characters of pyrostria based on recent circumscription of the genus by razafimandimbison et al. (2009) by having large connate peduncular bracts that enclose the young inflorescences, fleshy corolla with numerous moniliform hairs inside the throat and dioecious sexuality. after examination of various herbarium specimens (l, pnh and ust) and checking various databases, our specimen showed no exact match with the currently recognized species under pyrostria. further, combined molecular sequence data from its (nrdna) and trnl-f (cpdna) revealed a phylogenetic position of our material in the pyrostria clade. therefore a new species of pyrostria is described and illustrated. 1corresponding author. department of biological sciences, college of arts and sciences, university of the east, 2219 c.m. recto ave, manila 1008, philippines. email: arriolaaxel@yahoo.com 2northwestern university ecotourism park and botanic gardens, airport avenue, laoag city, ilocos norte, philippines 3the graduate school, university of santo tomas, espana, manila 1015, philippines 56 arriola et al. materials and methods this study was based on field observations and examinations of collected materials from mount palemlem, adams ilocos norte in the island of luzon, the philippines. herbarium specimens and spirit collections (persevered in 70% ethanol) were submitted to the pnh and usth. all measurements were taken using a graduated vernier caliper (disston). detailed examinations of all vegetative and reproductive parts were examined using the lw scientific dissecting microscope. available herbarium specimens (l, pnh and usth) were examined and online database were checked for possible match of our materials. results pyrostria triflora arriola, calaramo & alejandro, sp. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: pyrostria triflora is distinguished from other species of the genus by its strictly 3flowered inflorescences and geographic distribution. type: philippines. luzon, ilocos norte province: municipality of adam, 13o47.8’n, 123o40.0’e, 623 m, 26 mar 2013, arriola, calamaro and alejandro 13098 (holotype: pnh!; isotype: usth!). fig. 1. pyrostria triflora arriola, calaramo & alejandro, sp. nov. (from the holotype). a. single branch; b. persistent peduncular bract; c. male inflorescence; d. male flower; e. l.s. of calyx. pyrostria triflora, a new species from philippines 57   shrub, 0.5−1.0 m high; branches terete and glabrous. leaves lanceolate, 2−8 × 1−3 cm, glabrous on both sides; apex attenuate; base attenuate; visible lateral nerves 5 or 6 on each side of the midrib; petiole 1−2 mm, glabrous. stipules ovate to triangular, 3 × 1 mm, glabrous on both sides. male inflorescence axillary on 0.8−1.0 mm long peduncles, 3-flowered; peduncular bracts present, 3.5−4.5 mm long, triangular to broadly triangular, glabrous on both sides, enclosing the young inflorescence; pedicels erect, 4.5−5.0 mm long at flowering, persistent. male flowers: calyx glabrous; tube 0.8−1.2 mm long; lobes broadly triangular, 0.2 × 0.4 mm. corolla 4-merous, white, glabrous outside; tube tubular, 0.8−1.2 mm long, moniliform hairs present at the throat; lobes broadly triangular, 2.0−2.5 × 1.0−1.2 mm, recurved. stamens attached to corolla tube adjacent to the throat; anthers narrowly ovate to ovate, 0.3 mm long, exserted. style including stigmatic knob 3.0−3.9 mm long; stigmatic knob 1 mm long, with a shallow cleft above, style not recessed into the stimatic head; disk glabrous. fruits not seen. phenology: flowers from april to june. distribution and habitat: pyrostria triflora thrives in lowland forest at 200–300 m of adam, ilocos norte, philippines. etymology: the specific epithet was based on the strictly 3-flowered male inflorescence of the species. notes: although pyrostria triflora approaches the subsessile inflorescence of p. subsessilifolia (merr.) arriola & alejandro (alejandro et al., 2013), several features (size of leaf blades, leaf apex and base, and longer peduncular bracts) delineate the former from the latter. the inflorescence of our material approach that of the madagascan pyrostria pendula lantz, klack. & razafim. (lantz et al., 2007), however, p. triflora is exceptional from the madagascan species with its strictly 3-flowered inflorescence and a different geographical distribution. acknowledgement we thank the commission on higher education, philippine higher education research network (ched-phernet) for the funding. references alejandro, g.j.d., arenas, e.h., cremen, c.m. and arriola, a.h. 2013. a new record of pyrostria (vanguerieae – rubiaceae) from the philippines inferred from molecular and morphological data. phil. j. syst. bot. 7: 1–12. arriola, a.h. and alejandro, g.j.d. 2013. a new species of psydrax (vanguerieae, rubiaceae) from luzon, philippines. phytotaxa 149(1): 27–30. bridson, d.m. 1987. studies in african rubiaceae – vanguerieae: a new circumscription of pyrostria and a new subgenus, canthium subgen. bullockia. kew bull. 42: 611–639. bridson, d.m. 1992. the genus canthium (rubiaceae – vanguerieae) in tropical africa. kew bull. 47: 353– 401. lantz, h. and bremer, b. 2004. phylogeny inferred from morphology and dna data: characterizing wellsupported groups in vanguerieae (rubiaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 146: 257–283. lantz, h. and bremer, b. 2005. phylogeny of the complex vanguerieae (rubiaceae) genera fagodia, rytigymia, and vangueria with close relatives and a new circumsumption of vanguerieae. plant syst. evol. 253: 159–183. lantz, h., andreasen, k. and bremer, b. 2002. nuclear rdna its sequence data used to construct the first phylogeny of vanguerieae (rubiaceae). plant syst. evol. 230: 173–187. lantz, h., klackenberg, j., razafimandimbison, s.g. and mouly, a. 2007. three new species of vanguerieae (rubiaceae) from madagascar. adansonia 29(1): 129–136. 58 arriola et al. razafimandimbison, s.g., lantz, l. mouly, a. and bremer, b. 2009. evolutionary trends, major lineages and new generic limits in the dioecious group of the tribe vanguerieae (rubiaceae): insights into the evolution of functional dioecy. ann. mo. bot. gar. 96: 161–181. verdcourt, b. and bridson, d. 1991. rubiaceae (part 3). in: polhill, r.m. (ed.), flora of tropical east africa. rotterdam/ brookfield, a.a. balkema, pp. 749–956. verdcourt, b. 1987. notes on african rubiaceae: vanguerieae. kew bull. 42: 123–199. (manuscript received on 25 march 2015; revised on 3 june 2015) microsoft word 02. nutlet of mentha_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 9-18, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists nutlet morphology and its taxonomic significance in the genus mentha l. (lamiaceae) from turkey gül tarimcilar, özer yilmaz, ruzi̇ye daşkin1 and gönül kaynak department of biology, faculty of arts and science, uludag university, 16059 görükle bursa, turkey keywords: nutlet morphology; taxonomy; sem; mentha; lamiaceae; turkey. abstract the nutlet morphology of 11 taxa of mentha l. (m. pulegium, m. aquatica, m. × piperita, m. x dumetorum, m. spicata subsp. spicata, m. spicata subsp. tomentosa, m. × villoso-nervata, m. longifolia subsp. longifolia, m. longifolia subsp. typhoides, m. × rotundifolia and m. suaveolens) distributed throughout turkey was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (sem). the shape of all studied nutlets was broadly oblong or ovoid. nutlet size ranged from 0.54 to 0.97 mm in length and from 0.37 to 0.66 mm in width. the smallest and biggest nutlets were found in m. × villoso-nervata and m. aquatica, respectively. the mentha taxa studied can be divided into three groups, based on nut sculpturing type such as distinctly bireticulate, inconspicuously bireticulate and reticulate. this study has shown that some nutlet morphological characteristics can be utilised as additional diagnostic characteristics in delimitations of mentha at the species and infraspecific levels. introduction mentha l., one of the most important genera of the family lamiaceae, has worldwide distribution and it consists of perennial aromatic herbs. some mentha species, such as m. pulegium l., m. longifolia (l.) huds., m. spicata l., m. × piperita l. and m. × villoso-nervata opiz, are traditionally used in folk medicine (baytop, 1999). mint oil and their constituents obtained from different species of mentha are also used in perfumery, cosmetics and food industries (kokkini, 1994). mentha is a taxonomically difficult genus because of extensive hybridization, vegetative propagation, polyploidisation and cultivation (harley, 1972; harley and brighton, 1977; tucker et al., 1980). the genus comprises 18 species and 11 hybrids placed into four sections, namely pulegium, tubulosae, eriodontes and mentha according to the latest taxonomic treatment (tucker and naczi, 2007). harley (1982) recognized 11 mentha taxa belonging to two sections (pulegium and mentha) from turkey and then two hybrids have been added to flora of turkey (tarimcilar and kaynak, 1997a, b). in this study, the treatment of harley (1982) has been followed for the nomenlature of mentha. there are some studies about monophyly of mentha and phylogenetic relationships within the genus (gobert et al., 2002; bunsawat et al., 2004; shasany et al., 2005). saric-kundelic et al. (2009) investigated the utility of morphological, anatomical and phytochemical characters for the identification of mentha species, hybrids, varieties and cultivars in bosnia-herzegovina and slovakia. in various genera of family lamiaceae, the nutlet morphology, anatomy, pericarp structure and their taxonomic significance have been reported by some studies (husain et al., 1990; marin et al., 1994; ryding, 2010). however, accounts on the mericarp morphology of some 1corresponding author. e-mail: ruziyeg@uludag.edu.tr 10 tarimcilar et al. taxa of mentha examined in this study are rather limited (duletic-lausevic and marin, 1999; moon et al., 2009). we aim in this study, with the aid of scanning electron microscope (sem), to provide detailed data on nutlet morphology of 11 mentha taxa found in turkey and to determine which characteristics of their nutlets may be used for taxonomic purposes. materials and methods plant materials: nutlets of 11 taxa of mentha collected from different parts of turkey were investigated. the materials used in this study were composed mainly of herbarium specimens, which were deposited in the herbarium of uludag university (bulu). the specimens used for sem micrographs were presented in table 1. nutlet size and sem analyses: for nutlet length and width, 50 nutlets were measured per taxon. however, at least 10 nutlets were measured for hybrids. in order to ensure that the nutlets were of normal size and maturity, they were examined using a stereomicroscope. for sem, nutlets of taxa were transferred directly to a double-sided tape-affixed stub and were coated with gold-palladium, using a bal–tec scd 005 sputter. the micrographs were obtained from a carl zeiss evo 40 sem using a voltage of 20 kv at the microscopy laboratory of science and art faculty of uludag university. the micrographs were used to describe surface sculpturing type of nutlets. the terminology for nutlet shape and surface sculpturing mainly follows that of barthlott (1981) and stearn (1983). table 1. list of taxa used for sem micrograph (gtgül tarımcılar). no. taxon collection data vouchers 1 m. aquatica l. a2 bursa: fadilli village, 9 m, 3.9.2004 gt 30514 2 m. × dumetorum schult. a1kirklareli: babaeski, 60 m, 23.8.2003 gt 30448 3 m. pulegium l. a2 istanbul: cavusbasi, 16.8.2005 gt 30533 4 m. longifolia (l.) huds. subsp. longifolia a2 bursa: gemlik, hayriye village, 10 m, 8.9.2006 gt 30592 5 m. longifolia (l.) huds. subsp. typhoides (briq.) harley a2 istanbul: sile, 15.8.2005 gt30530 6 m. × piperita l. a2 istanbul: cavusbasi, kavaklık, 16.8.2005 gt 30535 7 m. × rotundifolia (l.) huds. b1 balikesir: bandırma to erdek, 130 m, 27.8.2004 gt 30508 8 m. spicata l. subsp. spicata a1 tekirdag: 1 km to hayrabolu, 70 m, 23.8.2003 gt 30452 9 m. spicata l. subsp. tomentosa (briq.) harley a2 bilecik: pazaryeri, bahcesultan, 1050 m, 6.9.2006 gt 30562 10 m. suaveolens ehrth. a2 yalova: sultaniye, 25 m, 7.6.2006 gt 30570 11 m. × villoso-nervata opiz. b1canakkale: saros, kocacesme village, 35 m, 25.8.2004 gt 30470 results and discussion the characteristics of nutlet (i.e. size, colour, presence or absence of trichomes and surface sculpturing) are summarized in table 2. micrographs of nutlets belonging to all studied taxa are presented in figures 1-4. we found that the shape of all studied nutlets was broadly oblong or ovoid and that nutlet colour varied from pale to dark brown. the nutlets of m. pulegium, m. aquatica and m. dumetorum were pale brown, while those of m. × piperita, m. × villoso-nervata nutlet morphology in mentha 11 and m. × rotundifolia were dark brown. however, the colour of the nutlets in m. spicata subsp. spicata, m. spicata subsp. tomentosa, m. longifolia subsp. longifolia, m. longifolia subsp. typhoides and m. suaveolens varied from chestnut brown to dark brown. moreover, short or long trichomes were observed on the surface of nutlets of m. aquatica, m. × dumetorum, m. spicata subsp. tomentosa and m. longifolia subsp. longifolia. nutlet size ranged from 0.54 to 0.97 mm in length and from 0.37 to 0.66 mm in width. the smallest nutlet was found in m. × villoso-nervata and the biggest nutlet was found in m. aquatica (table 2). fig. 1. sem micrographs of nutlets of mentha aquatica (a-c); m. × dumetorum (d-f); ventral view (a, d); dorsal view (b, e); surface sculpturing (c, f). scale bars: a, b, d, e = 100 µm; c, f = 20 µm. under sem, three types were observed in the mentha taxa based on surface sculpturing pattern: type i. distinctly bireticulate: a surface with pentaor hexagonal-shaped small cells, and the walls of these cells are high, irregular and having depressions. this sculpturing pattern was seen in m. aquatica and m. × dumetorum (fig. 1c, f). 12 tarimcilar et al. table 2. nutlet characteristics of the studied taxa of mentha l. length (mm) width (mm)taxon mean± sd mean± sd sculpture presence/ absence of trichomes colour figures m. aquatica 0.9± 0.07 0.6± 0.05 type i short hair pale brown fig. 1a-c m. × dumetorum 0.8± 0.15 0.6± 0.06 type i short hair pale brown fig. 1d-f m. pulegium 0.7± 0.01 0.5± 0.04 type ii absent pale brown fig. 2a-c m. × piperita 0.7± 0.04 0.5± 0.04 type ii absent dark brown fig. 2d-f m. spicata subsp. spicata 0.8± 0.02 0.6± 0.01 type ii absent chestnut to dark brown fig. 2g-i m. spicata subsp. tomentosa 0.7± 0.01 0.5± 0.01 type iii scarcely hair chestnut to dark brown fig. 3a-c m. longifolia subsp. longifolia 0.6± 0.06 0.5± 0.07 type iii long hair chestnut to dark brown fig. 3d-f m. longifolia subsp. typhoides 0.7± 0.01 0.5± 0.03 type iii absent chestnut to dark brown fig. 3g-i m. × villoso-nervata 0.6± 0.02 0.4± 0.03 type iii absent dark brown fig. 4a-c m. suaveolens 0.6± 0.02 0.5± 0.02 type iii absent chestnut to dark brown fig. 4d-f m. × rotundifolia 0.6± 0.02 0.4± 0.01 type iii absent dark brown fig. 4g-i type ii. inconspicuously bireticulate: a surface covers inconspicuously pentaor hexagonalshaped small cells, and these cells having various walls. m. pulegium, m. × piperita and m. spicata subsp. spicata exhibited this type of sculpturing. only in m. pulegium, the nutlets with cells having rigid cell boundary and having star-shaped extensions at their centres (fig. 2c). the nutlets of m. × piperita and m. spicata subsp. spicata with cells having wrinkled or often unclear walls (fig. 2f, i). type iii. reticulate: a surface with pentaor hexagonal-shaped cells having large lumen and smooth, regular walls and forming a net-like appearance on their surface. the nutlets of m. spicata subsp. tomentosa, m. longifolia subsp. longifolia, m. longifolia subsp. typhoides, m. × villosonervata, m. suaveolens and m. × rotundifolia exhibited this type (figs 3c, f, i; 4c, f, i). when the nutlet characteristics of the investigated mentha taxa were compared with previous literature (ball, 1972; borisova, 1977; tarimcilar and kaynak, 2002), our results are more or less similar to their findings. the shape of nutlets examined in this study was broadly oblong or ovoid. borisova (1977), harley (1982) and tarimcilar and kaynak (2002) have reported that the nutlet shape of the genus mentha varies from globose to ovoid or obovoid. duletic-lausevic and marin (1999) found nutlet dimensions 0.7 × 0.5 mm in m. pulegium and m. longifolia, 0.8 × 0.6 mm in m. aquatica, 0.6 × 0.4 mm in m. spicata and m. × rotundifolia, and 0.6 × 0.5 mm in m. suaveolens. moon et al. (2009) examined nutlet characteristics (i.e. size, colour, shape and surface sculpturing) of mentha aquatica, m. longifolia, and m. suaveolens and reported the length and width measurements (mm) as 1±0.05 × 0.7±0.02, 0.6±0.03 × 0.5±0.02 and 0.6±0.03 × 0.4±0.02, respectively. nutlet shape of these taxa is widely elliptic, surface sculpturing type is reticulate, and colour varies from yellowish brown to reddish dark brown (moon et al., 2009). according to our results, the nutlets of m. aquatica, m. × dumetorum, m. spicata subsp. tomentosa and m. longifolia subsp. longifolia have trichomes. the presence or absence of trichomes on nutlet is an important character to discriminate m. longifolia subsp. longifolia and subsp. typhoides which have the similar nutlet size, sculpturing and colour (table 2). on the other nutlet morphology in mentha 13 hand, duletic-lausevic and marin (1999) stated that the nutlets of m. spicata, m. rotundifolia and m. suaveolens lack trichomes and that m. aquatica and m. longifolia exhibit nutlets with or without trichomes. fig. 2. sem micrographs of nutlets of m. pulegium (a-c); m. × piperita (d-f); m. spicata subsp. spicata (g-i). ventral view (a, d, g); dorsal view (b, e, h); surface sculpturing (c, f, i). scale bars: a, b, d, e, g, h = 100 µm; c, f, i = 20 µm. 14 tarimcilar et al. fig. 3. sem micrographs of nutlets of m. spicata subsp. tomentosa (a-c); m. longifolia subsp. longifolia (d-f); m. longifolia subsp. typhoides (g-i). ventral view (a, d, g); dorsal view (b, e, h); surface sculpturing (c, f, i). scale bars: a, b, d, e, g, h = 100 µm; c, f, i = 20 µm. nutlet morphology in mentha 15 fig. 4. sem micrographs of nutlets of m. × villoso-nervata (a-c); m. suaveolens (d-f); m. × rotundifolia (g-i). ventral view (a, d, g); dorsal view (b, e, h); surface sculpturing (c, f, i). scale bars: a, b, d, e, g, h = 100 µm; c, f, i = 20 µm. mentha taxa employed in this study can be divided into three informal groups, with regard to nutlet characteristics basically sculpturing patterns. group i includes m. aquatica, m. × dumetorum (m. aquatica × m. longifolia) and they are similar to each other both in terms of the morphological features and the nutlet characteristics. however, m. × dumetorum differs from m. aquatica in its more oblong spikes and narrower leaves (tarimcilar and kaynak, 1997a, 2002). 16 tarimcilar et al. group ii consists of m. pulegium, m. spicata subsp. spicata and m. × piperita (m. aquatica × m. spicata). of the studied mentha taxa, only m. pulegium is located in sect. pulegium, whereas the others are included in sect. mentha. sect. pulegium is distinguished from sect. mentha by its bracts similar to leaves, tubular calyx, weakly 2-lipped, with distinctly unequal calyx teeth, hairy within calyx throat, gibbous corolla tube. sect. mentha have variable bracts, calyx tubular or campanulate, with more or less equal calyx teeth, glabrous calyx throat and straight corolla tube (harley, 1982). moreover, the inflorescence of m. × piperita is morphologically similar to m. spicata in that it forms a terminal spike, but it differs from m. aquatica in its more lanceolate leaves that have shorter petioles (3-9 mm or rarely more). group iii includes m. spicata subsp. tomentosa, m. longifolia subsp. longifolia, m. longifolia subsp. typhoides, m. × villoso-nervata, m. suaveolens and m. × rotundifolia. the nutlet surfaces of this group are covered with pentaor hexagonal-shaped cells that form a particularly net-like appearance. m. × villoso-nervata (m. spicata × m. longifolia) is morphologically different from the parents in its narrower spikes and smaller leaves and calyx (tarimcilar and kaynak, 1997b, 2002). m. × rotundifolia (m. suaveolens × m. longifolia) resembles m. suaveolens in its pale green and strongly rugose leaves, but it differs in that its leaves are more oblong and have an acute apex (harley, 1982; tarimcilar and kaynak, 2002). hybrids can be distinguished from their parental species in terms of some nutlet features. as seen in table 2, m. × dumetorum mainly differs from m. aquatica and m. longifolia with its smaller and distinctly bireticulate sculpturing nutlet. the nutlets of m. × piperita are smaller than those of m. spicata subsp. spicata, but they are more similar to m. spicata than m. aquatica in terms of nutlet characteristics. they are easily distinguishable from m. aquatica due to its inconspicously bireticulate, glabrous and dark brown nutlet. m. × villoso-nervata differs from m. longifolia subsp. longifolia and m. spicata subsp. spicata by its glabrous, dark brown and reticulate nutlet, respectively. the nutlet characteristics of m. × rotundifolia and m. suaveolens display a great similarity with each other. a key can be established based on nutlet chacteristics for turkish mentha taxa: 1 nutlet sculpturing bireticulate 2 nutlet sculpturing reticulate 6 2 nutlet sculpturing distinctly bireticulate 3 nutlet sculpturing inconspicously bireticulate 4 3 nutlets at least 0.83 mm long m. aquatica nutlets at least 0.65 mm long m. × dumetorum 4 nutlets 0.78-0.82 mm long m. spicata subsp. spicata nutlets shorter than 0.78 mm 5 5 nutlet cells with star-shaped extensions at their centres m. pulegium nutlet cells without star-shaped extensions at their centres m. × piperita 6 nutlets without hair 7 nutlets with hair 10 7 nutlets 0.47-0.53 mm wide 8 nutlets 0.37-0.43 mm wide 9 8 nutlets 0.69-0.71 mm long m. longifolia subsp. typhoides nutlets 0.58-0.62 mm long m. suaveolens nutlet morphology in mentha 17 9 nutlets at least 0.39 mm wide m. × rotundifolia nutlets at least 0.37 mm wide m. × villoso-nervata 10 nutlets 0.69-0.71 mm long m. spicata subsp. tomentosa nutlets 0.54-0.66 mm long m. longifolia subsp. longifolia the utility of nutlet characters, i.e. shape, size, presence or absence of hairs, nature of indumentum, surface sculpturing, exocarp cellular morphology and anatomy of the nutlet has been shown at various taxonomic levels in different genera of lamiaceae (husain et al., 1990; marin et al., 1994; duletic-lausevic and marin, 1999; moon and hong, 2006). our findings also showed that the nutlet size, presence/absence of trichomes, surface sculpturing pattern are valuable diagnostic characteristics for separating closely related taxa of mentha. in conclusion, we can say that nutlet morphological characteristics combined with other morphological characters can be used for delimination of taxa at the species and infraspecific levels in the genus mentha. furthermore, this study provides the detailed data on the nutlet features of turkish mentha taxa. acknowledgements we thank research foundation of uludag university (project numbers f-2003/3 and f2005/4) for financial support. references ball, p.w. 1972. mentha l. in: tutin, t.g., heywood, v.h., burges, n.a., moore, d.m., valentine, d.h., walters, s. and webb, b.a. (eds), flora europaea. vol. 3. cambridge univ. press, cambridge, pp. 183186. barthlott, w. 1981. epidermal and seed surface characters of plants: systematic applicability and some evolutionary aspects. nord. j. bot. 1: 345-355. baytop, t. (ed.). 1999. türkiye’de bitkiler ile tedavi, nobel kitabevleri, pp. 302-304. borisova, a.g. 1977. mentha l. in: shishkin, b.k. (ed.), flora of the u.s.s.r. vol. 21. translated from russian israel program for scientific translations, jerusalem, pp. 427-449. bunsawat, j., elliott n.e., hertweck, k.l., sproles, e. and alice, l.a. 2004. phylogenetics of mentha (lamiaceae): evidence from chloroplast dna sequences. syst. bot. 29: 959-964. duletic-lausevic, s. and marin, p.d. 1999. pericarp structure and myxocarpy in selected genera of nepetoideae (lamiaceae). nord. j. bot. 19: 435-446. gobert, v., moja, s., colson, m. and taberlet, p. 2002. hybridization in the section mentha (lamiaceae) inferred from aflp markers. amer. j. bot. 89: 2017-2023. harley, r.m. 1972. notes on the genus mentha l. (labiatae). bot. j. linn. soc. 65: 250-253. harley, r.m. 1982. mentha l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 7. edinburgh univ. press, edinburgh, pp. 384-394. harley, r.m. and brighton, c.a. 1977. chromosome numbers in the genus mentha l. bot. j. linn. soc. 74: 71-96. husain, s.z., marin, p.d., silic, c., qaiser, m. and petkovic, b. 1990. a micromorphological study of some representative genera in the tribe saturejeae (lamiaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 103: 59-80. kokkini, s. 1994. herbs of the labiatae. in: macrae, r., robinson, r.k. and sadler, m.j. (eds), encyclopedia of food science, food technology and nutrition, vols. 1-8. academic press, london, pp. 2342-2348. marin, p.d., petkovic b.p. and duletic, s. 1994. nutlet sculpturing of selected teucrium species (lamiaceae): a character of taxonomic significance. plant syst. evol. 192: 199-214. moon, h. and hong, s. 2006. nutlet morphology and anatomy of the genus lycopus (lamiaceae: mentheae). j. pl. res. 119: 633-644. 18 tarimcilar et al. moon, h., hong, s., smets, e. and huysmans, s. 2009. micromorphology and character evolution of nutlets in tribe mentheae (nepetioideae, lamiaceae). syst. bot. 34: 760-776. ryding, o. 2010. pericarp structure and phylogeny of tribe mentheae (lamiaceae). plant syst. evol. 285: 165-175. saric-kundelic, b., fialova, s., dobes, c., olzant, s., tekelova, d., grancai, d., reznicek, g. and saukel, j. 2009. multivariate numerical taxonomy of mentha species, hybrids, varieties and cultivars. sci. pharm. 77: 851-876. shasany, a.k., darokar, m.p., dhawan, s., gupta, a.k., shukla, a.k., patra, n.k. and khanuja, s.p.s. 2005. use of rapd and aflp markers to identify interand intrasepecific hybrids of mentha. j. heredity 96: 542-549. stearn, w. t. (ed.) 1983. botanical latin. 3rd rev., david & charles inc., vermont. tarimcilar, g. and kaynak, g. 1997a. a new record for the flora of turkey. turk. j. bot. 21: 247-249. tarimcilar, g. and kaynak, g. 1997b. a new record for the flora of turkey. lagascalia 20: 113-115. tarimcilar, g. and kaynak, g. 2002. a morphological study on mentha l. (labiatae) taxa of black sea region. süleyman demirel üniv. fen bil. enst. derg. 5: 194-229. tucker, a.o., harley, r.m. and fairbrothers, d.e. 1980. the linnean types of mentha (lamiaceae). taxon 29: 233-255. tucker, a.o. and naczi, r.f.c. 2007. mentha: an overview of its classification and relationships. in: lawrence, b.m. (ed.), mint: the genus mentha. crc press, london, pp. 3-4. (manuscript received on 23 february 2012; revised on 4 november 2012) wedelia trilobata (l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 173-175, 2006 (december) short communication aleuritopteris grisea (blanford) panigrahi : a new pteridophytic record for bangladesh momtaz mahal mirza1, muhammad nur-e-alam siddiquee2 and rezina ahmed3 bangladesh national herbarium chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh key words: aleuritopteris grisea, new record, bangladesh while collecting plants from bandarban district, for the taxonomic study of the flora of bangladesh, a pteridophytic specimen was collected from the shady hill slope. the specimen was critically examined and tried to match with herbarium specimens housed at the bangladesh national herbarium, but could not be matched with any of them. after consulting various literature, the specimen was identified as aleuritopteris grisea (blanford) panigrahi of the family sinopteridaceae. it was further confirmed by the revisionary work of this genus done by ghosh et al. (2004) from india. aleuritopteris grisea was not recorded from bangladesh by earlier workers viz., prain (1903), sinclair (1956), mirza and rahman (1997) and dixit (1984). it was not found in kew collections made from bangladesh by wallich (mirza 1999), hooker and thomson (mirza et al. 2000), and clarke (mirza 2000). previously another species of the genus aleuritopteris albo-marginata (clarke) ching was recorded by pasha and chakraborty (1984) from chittagong. the differences between a. grisea and a. albomarginata are: (1) a. albomarginata is a spreading herb, whereas a. grisea is a tufted herb with dimorphic frond; (2) sterile stipe is hairy in a. albomarginata, but in a. grisea hairy only on the adaxial side of the stipe; (3) fertile stipe of a. albomarginata is hairy, but fertile stipe of a. grisea is smooth and black; and (4) sori are continuous and not powdery mass in a. albomarginata, whereas sori are discontinuous and powdery mass in a. grisea. the dissimilarities reveals that a. albomarginata and a. grisea are two different species. the genus aleuritopteris is widely distributed in the eastern and western himalayas: sikkim, west bengal, meghalaya, arunachal pradesh, nepal, bhutan, myanmar thailand, china, taiwan and japan with about 25 species (copeland 1985, ghosh et al. 2004), and only two species are so far known to occur in bangladesh. aleuritopteris albomarginata and a. grisea, both the species are popularly known as silver ferns: the former grows on moist shaded rocks, but the latter grows terrestrially on clay or humus soil in ravines or on stream banks, and damp walls. 1corresponding author. 2institute of education and research, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 3encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh project, asiatic society of bangladesh, 5 old secretariat road (nimtali), ramna, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 174 mirza et al. a detailed taxonomic study of a. grisea based upon the specimen collected from bandarban, is appended below. the material is preserved at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). aleuritopteris grisea (blanford) panigrahi in bull. bot. surv. ind. 2 (2&4): 321 (1960). pichi-sermolli, ind. fil. 4 : 8(1965) (plate 1) synonyms: cheilanthes grisea blanford, simla nat. hist. soc. (1886); hope, j. bomb. nat. hist. soc. 13: 251 (1900); cheilanthes farinosa var. grisea blanford, j. asiat. soc. 57: part 2(4): 302 (1888). plate 1. aleuritopteris grisea (blanford) panigrahi (a) habit (×0.75), (b) fertile frond showing the arrangement of the sori (×1.125). aleuritopteris grisea (blanford) panigrahi 175 a small tufted herb. rhizome erect, up to 2.5 cm thick, short, densely scaly, scales 4 cm long and 0.5 mm broad, lanceolate, dark at the centre, pale brown at the periphery. stipe tufted, up to 14 cm long, purplish brown, round, scaly at the very base, densely hairy on the adaxial side throughout. fronds slightly dimorphic; sterile fronds slightly longer than fertile ones. lamina bipinnatifid, up to 10 cm long, pinnae deltoid-lanceolate, 5-8 pairs, upper part pinnatifid, subcoriaceous, under surface covered with white powder. fertile fronds smaller than sterile fronds. stipe smooth, black. venation free, completely hidden. sori linear, borne on the edge of the margin, which are discontinuous. specimen examined: bandarban : roangchari, 15.11.2005, muhammad nur-e-alam and rezina ahmed (dacb). ecology: a terrestrial fern grows on the hill slope. distribution: india and china. references copeland, e.b. 1985. genera filicum. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, 23-a connought place, dehradun, india. pp. 67-68. dixit, r.d. 1984. a census of the indian pteridophytes. botanical survey of india, delhi, 177 pp. ghosh, s.r., ghosh, b., biswas, a. and ghosh, r.k. 2004. the pteridophytic flora of eastern india. bot. survey of india, kolkata, 591 pp. mirza, m.m. 1999. an index to wallich’s collection of ferns and fern-allies from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(2): 85-89. mirza, m.m. 2000. an enumeration of c.b. clarke’s pteridophytic collections from bangladesh at kew. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(2): 9-20. mirza, m.m. and rahman, m.m. 1997. an annotated check list of ferns and fern-allies of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2): 47-69. mirza, m.m., rashid, s.h. and hossain, a.b.m.e. 2000. an enumeration of hooker and thomson’s pteridophytic collections from bangladesh territory preserved at kew. bangladesh j. life sci. 12(1& 2): 23-34. pasha, m.k. and chakraborty, r. 1984. ferns of bangladesh 11. pteridaceae. chittagong university studies, part 2, 6: 71-85. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. 2: 1237-1270. indian reprint 1981. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. sinclair, j. 1956. flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 114-115. (manuscript received on 19 september 2006; revised on 28 november 2006) aleuritopteris grisea (blanford) panigrahi : a new pteridophytic record for bangladesh momtaz mahal mirza1, muhammad nur-e-alam siddiquee2 and rez bangladesh national herbarium chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 143-146, 2015 (december) short communication allium phanerantherum subsp. involucratum (amaryllidaceae), a new subspecies from turkey gülnur ekşi1, mehmet koyuncu and mehmet bona ankara university, faculty of pharmacy, pharmaceutical botany department, tandoğan 06100, ankara, turkey keywords: allium; endemic; new taxon; turkey. allium l. is an extremely polymorphic and taxonomically difficult genus with a natural distribution in the northern hemisphere. the most recent classifications of allium are based on morphological characters and molecular data, in which c. 850 species in 15 subgenera and 56 sections are recognised (friesen et al., 2006; koyuncu and eker, 2011; celep et al., 2012; genç and özhatay, 2013). in turkey, allium is represented by 177 species, of which 72 are endemic (özhatay, 2000; güner, 2012). in the flora of turkey and the east agean islands the genus is classified into 14 sections, and section allium is the largest among them (kollmann, 1984). during the field work in august 2013, the first and the third authors collected some interesting allium specimens from c6 hatay: antakya, above kisecik, radar road, trackside. the specimens were critically studied and compared with specimens deposited in aef, ank, iste, gazi, e and k. the flora of turkey and the floras of the neighbouring regions, including iraq, iran and syria, were also consulted (boissier, 1882; feinbrun, 1948; wendelbo, 1971, 1985; kollmann, et al., 1983; kollmann, 1984; mathew, 1996; özhatay, 2000). detailed study and observations revealed its distinctness from the known taxa, and is described here as new subspecies allium phanerantherum subsp. involucratum. allium phanerantherum subsp. involucratum ekşi, koyuncu & m. bona, subsp. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: spathe 1–valved, caducous; bracteoles present, producing an involucre-like structure at the base of umbel; pedicels scabrid at the apex; bulblets few, attached to the bulb. holotype: turkey. hatay: antakya, above kisecik, trackside, c. 900 m, 22 aug 2013, g. ekşi & m. bona (aef26318). bulb spherical-ovoid, 1–2 cm in diameter; outer tunic membranous, greyish; bulblets few, white, attached to the bulb. stem 70–100 cm long, sheathing lower half of the stem. leaves 2–5, shorter than stem, 20–35 cm long, 2–5 mm broad, fistulose, canaliculate, scabrid, shorter than the inflorescence, scabrid on the veins and scabrid-ciliate on the margin; sheaths smooth. spathe 1valved, whitish, membranaceous, 1.0–1.5 cm long, short mucronate, caducous. umbel spherical, 2–5 cm in diameter, dense. pedicel 1–2 cm long, minutely papillose in upper part; bracteoles present, producing an involucrum like structure at base. perigon tubular, ovoid; purplish red or purple in upper part, darker at the midvein; outer tepals c. 5 × 1.5–2.0 mm, ovate-elliptic, subacute at apex, boat-shaped; inner tepals c. 5 × 2 mm, ovate, sub-acute at apex. stamens longer than perigon; filaments 5.0–5.5 mm, ciliate at base, longer than or equal to perigon; median cusps (1.5– 2.5 mm) from equal to about half of lateral cusps (1.5–2.8 mm); basal lamina 2.5–3.5 × 0.75–1.25 mm. ovary ovate-elliptic, c. 3 mm long, smooth; pistil 5.5–6.5 mm long; style c. 3 mm long, reddish-purplish. capsule 4.0–4.5 mm, spherical-ovoid, valves emarginate, apex sometimes irregularly lobed. seeds 3.2–3.5 mm long, black. phenology: flowering from june to august; fruiting from july to september. 1corresponding author. email: gulnur_eksi@yahoo.com mailto:gulnur_eksi@yahoo.com 144 eksi et al. fig. 1. allium phanerantherum subsp. involucratum ekşi, koyuncu & m. bona, subsp. nov. a1&2. habit; b. flower; c. flower longitudinal section; c1&2. outer tepal; c3&4. inner tepal; d. pistil; e. capsule; f. seed; h. leaf cross section; g. top of leaf sheath and base of leaf lamina with ligula; i. dropped spathe. (drawn from aef26318) allium phanerantherum subsp. involucratum 145 etymology: the name of the new subspecies derived from the involucre-like structure formed by the bracteoles. distribution: the new subspecies in distributed in the south anatolia of turkey as an eastern mediterranean element. habitat: this subspecies grows on dry hillsides, on limestone and serpentine, between 800 and 2200 m altitude. notes: in allium, spathe and bracteole morphology provide some of the most important diagnostic characters for the differentiation of taxa. the principal drivers of speciation in turkish allium are geographical isolation, varied topology, microclimates, geology and soils, resulting in a high percentage of endemism (koyuncu and eker, 2011). a comparative account of a. phanerantherum subsp. involucratum subsp. nov. with its related a. phanerantherum subsp. phanerantherum boiss. & hausskn. and a. phanerantherum subsp. deciduum kollman & koyuncu is given in table 1. table 1. comparison of allium phanerantherum subsp. involucratum subsp. nov. with related subspecies. characteristics a. phanerantherum subsp. involucratum a. phanerantherum subsp. deciduum a. phanerantherum subsp. phanerantherum spathe caducous, 1-valved persistent, 2–3-valved persistent, several-lobed bracteoles present, united, producing an involucrelike structure at the base of inflorescence present, solitary at the base of each pedicel absent acknowledgements the authors thank dr. sabina knees for her help in improving to manuscript. this study is financially supported by the edinburgh botanic garden (sibbald) trust and the scientific and technological research council of turkey (tübi̇tak). references boissier, p.e. 1882. flora orientalis sive enumeration plantarum in oriente a graecia et aegypto ad indiae hucus que observatarum 5(1). h. georg, basel, geneve, belgium, switzerland. celep, f., koyuncu, m., fritsch, r.m., kahraman, a. and doğan, m. 2012. taxonomic importance of seed morphology in allium (amaryllidaceae). syst. bot. 37: 893–912. feinbrun, n. 1948. further studies on allium of palestine and the neighbouring countries. palestine j. bot., jerusalem ser. 4: 144–157. friesen, n., fritsch, r.m. and blattner, f.r. 2006. phylogeny and new intrageneric classification of allium (alliaceae) based on nuclear ribosomal dna its sequences. aliso 22: 372–395. genç, i̇. and özhatay, n. 2013. allium cyrilli complex (sect. melanocrommyum) in turkey. turk. j. bot. 37: 39–45. güner, a. 2012. tütkiye bitkileri listesi (damarlı bitkiler). i̇stanbul, nezahat gökyiğit botanik bahçesi ve flora araştırmaları derneği yayını, 1290 pp. kollmann, f. 1984. allium l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, vol. 8. edinburgh university press, basel, geneve, uk, pp. 182–184. kollmann, f., özhatay, n. and koyuncu, m. 1983. new allium taxa from turkey. notes roy. bot. gard. edinburgh 41: 263. koyuncu, m. and eker, i̇. 2011. allium arsuzense sp. nov. and a. roseum subsp. gulekense subsp. nov. from turkey. nord. j. bot. 29: 391–396. mathew, b. 1996. review of allium section allium. royal botanic garden kew, london, uk, 176 pp. 146 eksi et al. özhatay, n. 2000. allium l. in: güner, a., özhatay, n., ekim, t. and başer, k.h.c. (eds), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, vol. 11. edinburgh university press, edinburgh, uk, pp. 224–232. wendelbo, p. 1971. alliaceae l. in: rechinger kh. (ed.), flora iranica, vol. 76. akademische druck und verlagsanstalt, graz, austria, pp. 1−100. wendelbo, p. 1985. allium l. in: townsend, c.c. and guest, e. (eds), flora of iraq. vol. 8. ministry of agriculture republic of iraq, baghdad, iraq, pp. 137−177. (manuscript received on 18 may 2015; revised on 9 september 2015) microsoft word 04. elatostema_final_10june.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 43–46, 2015 (june) © 2015 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists elatostema magni-auriculatum (urticaceae), a new species from china lin-dong duan, yun lin1, mingtai an2 and hai-yan bi3 shaoyang university, shaoyang 422004, hunan, p.r. china keywords: elatostema; guangxi; limestone hill; new species; urticaceae. abstract elatostema magni-auriculatum, a new species from guangxi zhuangzu zizhiqu, china is described and illustrated. the species is related to e. myrtillus (lévl.) hand.mazz., but differs from the latter by stems longitudinally angled, stipules linearlanceolate, leaf blade obliquely ovate or obliquely ovate-elliptic, and staminate perianth lobes oblong-cymbiform. introduction the genus elatostema j.r. forster & g. forster is one of the largest genera in the family urticaceae, consisting of approx. 500 species and is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of africa, asia and oceania (wang, 2014). southern and southwestern china is a centre of distribution for elatostema. so far, about 280 species have been recorded in china (wang, 2014). in the recent years, a series of taxonomic studies on elatostema have been published including several new taxa (lin and duan, 2008; duan and lin, 2010; bi et al., 2011; lin et al., 2011a, b; yang et al., 2011). during an expedition in longzhou county, southwest guangxi zhuangzu zizhiqu, southwest china in november 2011, and march and april 2012, previously unknown specimens of elatostema were collected from evergreen broad-leaved forests in limestone hills at altitudes of 450−550 m, in latitude 22o39’ n, longitude 106o49’ e. after critical examination of the specimens and carefully consulting relevant literature (wang, 1995, 2012, 2014; lin et al., 2003; wei et al., 2011, 2013a, b; fu et al,. 2012; wu et al., 2013), it was identified as a new species of elatostema. this paper describes and illustrates the new species as elatostema magni-auriculatum l.d. duan & yun lin. elatostema magni-auriculatum l.d. duan & yun lin, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: elatostema magni-auriculatum is morphologically most similar to e. myrtillus (lévl.) hand.-mazz. it however differs from the latter in stems herbaceous, longitudinally angled (vs carnose, terete in e. myrtillus); leaf blade obliquely ovate or obliquely ovate-elliptic, 1.5−4.0 cm long, 1−2 cm wide (vs obliquely narrowly ovate, 1−3 cm long, 0.5−1.0 cm wide); staminate perianth lobes oblong-cymbiform, 2.2−3.0 mm long (vs obovate, 1.2−1.5 mm long); female bracts 2 (vs 6); achenes fusiform (vs narrowly ovoid). type: china. guangxi zhuangzu zizhiqu: longzhou county, jinlong town, gaoshan village, altitude 450−550 m, on rocks or between rock crevices in evergreen broad-leaved forests in limestone hills, 25 nov 2011, ♂, l.d. duan & q. lin 5422 holotype: husy (herbarium, shaoyang university, hunan, china); isotypes: bjm, gzac, hufd (herbarium, hunan food 1hunan food and drug vocational college, changsha 410208, hunan, p.r. china 2forestry college, guizhou university, guiyang 550025, p.r. china 3corresponding author. email: rubybi@126.com. beijing museum of natural history, beijing 100050, p.r. china 44 duan et al. and drug vocational college, hunan, china), husy, k, kun, mo, p, pe, 5420 (paratypes: hufd, husy); same locality, 25 mar 2012, ♀, l.d. duan & q. lin 5427 (paratypes: hufd, husy), ♀, 5430 (paratypes: hufd, husy); same locality, 3 apr 2012, ♀, l.d. duan & q. lin 5436 (paratypes: hufd, husy), ♀, 5438 (paratypes: hufd, husy). fig. 1. elatostema magni-auriculatum l.d. duan & yun lin, sp. nov. a. male habit; b. portion of stem; c. leaf blade; d. staminate inflorescence; e. male flower; f. female habit; g. achene (a–e: drawn from l.d. duan & q. lin 5422, husy; f & g: drawn from l.d. duan & q. lin 5427, husy). elatostema magni-auriculatum, a new species 45 perennial herbs, glabrous, monoecious, 15–60 cm tall. stems herbaceous, longitudinally angled, ascending or decumbent, ramose, ferrugineous-furfuraceous. leaves distichous, alternate, sessile; stipules 2, linear-lanceolate, 1.5–2.0 mm long, 0.3–0.5 mm wide, caducous; leaf blade herbaceous, or papyraceous, deep-green after drying, obliquely ovate or obliquely ovate-elliptic, 1.5–4.0 cm long, 1–2 cm wide, major basal lateral veins both arising at base of leaf blade, base with broader half auriculate (auricle 4–8 mm long) and narrower half cuneate; margin serrate, lower broader-half basal 2/3–3/4 entire and narrower-half basal 2/3 entire; apex acuminate to obtuse; cystoliths conspicuous, dense or sparse, linear, 0.5–1.0 mm long, random on adaxial surface, sparse on abxial surface; nanophylls absent. male and female inflorescences borne on male and female stems respectively, or male inflorescence borne towards the stem apex and female inflorescence borne towards the stem base. male inflorescence axillary, solitary, simple, nearly globate, 3–5 mm in diam.; sessile; receptacle very small; bracts 6, connate, unequal, 2 outer ones cymbiform, 2.0–2.5 mm long, 4 inner ones narrowly ovate-cymbiform; bracteoles linear, c. 2 mm long; male flowers 4–7, perianth lobes 5, white, oblong-cymbiform, 2.2–3.0 mm long, 0.8–1.0 mm wide, connate, stamens 5. female inflorescence axillary, solitary, simple, nearly globose, 2–3 mm in diam.; peduncle up to 0.5 mm; receptacle very small; bracts 2, connate, ovate-cymbiform, c. 1.5 mm long, 1.2 mm wide; bracteoles linear. achenes fusiform, 0.6−0.8 mm long, 6or 7ribbed. fig. 2. elatostema magni-auriculatum l.d. duan & yun lin, sp. nov. a. male plant (l.d. duan & q. lin 5422); b. female plant (l.d. duan & q. lin 5436), the arrow shows a longitudinally angled stem. phenology: flowering from november to march, fruiting from april to may. etymology: elatostema magni-auriculatum is named after the big auricle base with broader half of leaf blade. vernacular name: juer louticao. distribution and habitat: elatostema magni-auriculatum is only known from its type locality, gaoshan village, jinlong town, longzhou county, southwest guangxi zhuangzu zizhiqu, 46 duan et al. southwest china. this species grows on rocks or between rock crevices in evergreen broad-leaved forests in limestone hills at altitudes of 450–550 m, comprises about 1200 individuals growing in more than eight populations within a nature reserve. acknowledgements thanks are due to the curators of herbaria, namely gxdc, gxmg, gxmi, gzac, hgas, ibk, ibsc, kun and pe for permission to examine the specimens. this work was supported by the project of the education department in hunan province (grant no. 11a109) and plant specimen digitization and chinese virtual herbarium establishment (grant no. 2005dka21401). references bi, h.y., yang, z.r. and lin, q. 2011. new taxa of elatostema (urticaceae) from thailand and india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 149–152. duan, l.d. and lin, q. 2010. elatostema cataractum (urticaceae), a new species from guizhou province, china. ann. bot. fenn. 47: 229–232. fu, l.f., he, c.x., wang, w.t. and wei, y.g. 2012. two new species of elatostema (urticaceae) from guangxi, china. ann. bot. fenn. 49: 397–401. lin, q. and duan, l.d. 2008. two new species and a new series of elatostema (urticaceae) from china. bot. j. linn. soc. 158: 674–680. lin, q., friis, i. and wilmot-dear, c.m. 2003. elatostema (urticaceae). in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china, vol. 5. science press, beijing & missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 127– 163. lin, q., shui, y.m. and duan, l.d. 2011a. elatostema oppositum (urticaceae), a new species from yunnan, china. novon 21(2): 212–215. lin, q., yang, z.r., duan, l.d. and gao, t.g. 2011b. miscellaneous taxonomic notes on elatostema (urticaceae) from china and its adjacent area. nord. j. bot. 29: 590–597. wang, w.t. 1995. elatostema j.r. forster & g. forster. in: wang, w.t. and chen, c.j. (eds), flora of reipulicae popularis sinicae, tomus 23, no. 2. science press, beijing, pp. 187–317. wang, w.t. 2012. nova classificatio specierum sinicarum elatostematis (urticaceae). in: fu, d.z. (ed.), paper collection of w.t. wang. vol. 2. higher education press, beijing, pp. 1061–1178. wang, w.t. 2014. elatostema (urticaceae) in china. qingdao publishing house, qingdao, pp. 1–393. wei, y.g., monro, a.k. and wang, w.t. 2011. additions to the flora of china: seven new species of elatostema (urticaceae) from the karst landscapes of guangxi and yunnan. phytotaxa 29: 1–27. wei, y.g., wen, f., fu, l.f. and wang, w.t. 2013a. three new species of elatostema j.r. forst. & g. forst. (urticaceae) in limestone caves from guangxi and guizhou, china. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 1–8. wei, y.g., monro, a.k. and wang, w.t. 2013b. additions to the flora of china: three new species of elatostema (urticaceae) from guangxi. phytotaxa 147(1): 1–12. wu, z.y., li, d.z., wang, h. and wang, w.t. 2013. two new species and one new variety of elatostema (urticaceae) from china. ann. bot. fenn. 50: 75–78. yang, z.r., duan, l.d. and lin, q. 2011. elatostema scaposum sp. nov. (urticaceae) from guizhou, china. nord. j. bot. 29: 420–423. (manuscript received on 23 january 2015; revised on 27 may 2015) microsoft word 13. 64 bjpt 16 64_edited_manuscript.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 199-207, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists numerical taxonomic analysis in leaf architectural traits of some hoya r. br. species (apocynaceae) from philippines jess h. jumawan1 and inocencio e. buot, jr institute of biological sciences, university of the philippines, los bańos, college, laguna, philippines keywords: cluster analysis; multivariate analysis; numerical taxonomy; principal coordinate analysis. abstract the present study examines the leaf variations in leaf traits of four hoya r. br. species from philippines namely: (1) h. buotii kloppenburg, (2) h. halconensis kloppenburg, (3) h. mindorensis schlechter red bearing flowers; and (4) h. mindorensis schlechter yellow bearing flowers. leaf samples (n= 30 leaves) were collected from each plant group and measured with nine architectural traits. the results showed variability in the leaves using univariate and multivariate analysis. data ordination depicted variations in leaf morphology. the two plant groups h. mindorensis red bearing flowers and h. mindorensis yellow bearing flowers were consistently variable as supported by principal coordinate analysis, cluster analysis and two way anova (p<0.001). the variability of the two plant groups could be due to developmental instability, plasticity or taxonomic identity, one being the subspecies of the other. hence, a closer study to investigate the significant variability of the two plant groups was recommended. distinct separation of h. buotii and h. halconensis was detected being regularly mistaken as one species. the study demonstrated the applicability of multivariate analysis as effective tool in numerical taxonomy. multivariate analysis can be employed to demonstrate likelihood of relationship among various hoya species. introduction most hoya species of philippines were considered endemic to the country with several new discoveries for the past decade. the genus hoya, is commonly known as wax plant belong to family apocynaceae, was considered to be taxonomically complex (wanntorp et al., 2006). the estimated number of hoya species in the country ranges from 80 – 104 (kloppenburg et al., 2012 and aurigue et al., 2013). the philippines was considered as one of the richest and most diverse range of hoya species which are located all throughout the archipelago (kloppenburg and siar, 2008). identification of hoya species largely depend on traditional taxonomy that put emphasis on reproductive characters. descriptions on qualitative and quantitative characteristics of inflorescence, corolla, corona and pollinarium were very significant in identification of hoya species (kleijn and van donkelaar, 2001; omlor, 1996; forster and little, 1996). nomenclature issues were still largely unresolved for various taxa (rodda and juhoneweb, 2013). many species were documented to exhibit phenotypic plasticity in morphological characters (tungmunnithum et al., 2011). the structure of many hoya species was described to possess complex corona morphology (kunze, 2008). many of these problems in hoya taxonomy had risen due to dependence on reproductive parts. reproductive features are not present all the time and makes difficulty in identification.                                                              1corresponding author. email: jehoju@gmail.com 200 jumawan and buot dna barcode was the method suggested to properly identify the endemic philippine hoya species (maranan and diaz, 2013). the technique was regarded as an effective tool for species identification but considerably weak attempt to discovery and description of species (wheeler, 2004). aside from being an expensive method for species identification, dna barcoding is insufficient in terms of theoretical basis of traditional taxonomy (lipscomb et al., 2003). leaves of philippine hoya species are present throughout the year and can be used extensively for detecting variations. leaf characters were proven to be valuable in taxonomic studies of tropical plants which seldom produce flowers and angiosperm remains as fossils (hickey and taylor, 1991; dilcher, 1974). leaf morphological characters of gunneraceae were subjected to multivariate analysis to support genus monophyly (fuller, 2005). leaf morphometric data are important and the variation displayed by morphological traits reflects the evolutionary arrangement manifested as morphological changes (otte and endler, 1989). multivariate analysis is a tool in the examination of leaf morphometric traits, an important component in the field of numerical taxonomy. the main objective of the study was to examine the variations of the leaf morphometric traits of the selected hoya species namely: hoya buotii, hoya halconensis, and hoya mindorensis. materials and methods plant materials the hoya species were acquired from the propagated plant collections of dr. i. e. buot jr., professor and curator of ibs herbarium, pbd in uplb. there were 3 species of hoya included in the study which were hoya buotii, hoya halconensis, and hoya mindorensis. however, it was noticed that h. mindorensis bears two flower types: the red bearing plants and the yellow bearing plant. for the purpose of this examination, the analyses were conducted in four plant groups: (1) h. buotii, (2) h. halconensis (3) h. mindorensis red bearing flowers; and (4) h. mindorensis yellow bearing flowers. the selected hoya species usually encountered confusion in proper taxonomic identification. leaf character selection and measurements the selection of leaf morphometric characters were based from manual of leaf architecture with modifications (leaf architecture working group, 1999). a total of nine morphometric traits were chosen in the study. the description and illustration of the parameters considered for leaf morphometric measurements were shown in table 1 and fig. 1. table 1. parameters of leaf morphometric measurements used in the analysis. code description of characters ll lamina length lw lamina width pw petiole width wl width in left side of lamina wr width in right side of lamina vl number of secondary veins in left side of the lamina vr number of secondary veins in right side of the lamina lr leaf ratio (ll/lw) la leaf area (ll x lw x 2/3) numerical taxonomic analysis in some hoya species 201 fig. 1. the illustration of the parameters taken for leaf morphometric measurements. data analysis there were four plant groups, nine leaf morphometric data, and thirty leaf sample replicates which has a total of 1,080 data sets. the data generated from the leaf morphometric traits were subjected to univariate and multivariate statistical analyses. the univariate data comprised the minimum value, maximum value, mean and standard deviation. the univariate data sets were plotted in a box and whisker to evaluate the distribution of data. the multivariate data matrix was subjected to similarity matrix using morisita index of similarity. the similarity matrix was explored using data ordination technique. ordination refers to projection of multivariate data sets in a two dimensional space to detect patterns upon visual inspection (pielou, 1984). principal coordinate analysis (pcoa) or also known as metric multidimensional scaling was implemented as data ordination (gower, 1966). pcoa reduces the dimensionality of the data similar to principal component analysis but the advantage of pcoa is that it may be used with all types of variables (legendre and legendre, 1998). cluster analysis was performed combining quantitative data into clusters in constructing a dendrogram. the resulting pattern generated from multivariate analysis detected variations in leaf morphometric traits. an inference on the sources of leaf morphometric variation was tested using two way analysis of variance (anova). it was investigated if the significant variation could be attributed by the leaf characters, the species, and the interaction of leaf characters and species. post hoc analysis was conducted when p<0.05 using tukey’s test. the past (paleontological statistical software) software (hammer et al., 2009) was used in analyzing univariate and multivariate analysis. results the univariate statistics of the morphometric traits of the plant groups are shown in table 2 and fig. 2. the results indicated that the leaf area and leaf length were the most variable among the measured leaf characters. the least variable traits were petiole width and leaf ratio. the rest of the leaf traits were relatively similar to the four plant groups. 202 jumawan and buot numerical taxonomic analysis in some hoya species 203 fig. 2. box and whisker plot on the univariate metrics of leaf morphometric traits of the four plant groups. the results in pcoa accounted 4 effective coordinate axis with a total of 68.09% of the cumulative variance (table 3). axis 1 and axis 2 contributed 36.30% and 59.02% of variances respectively. the components in axis 1 and axis 2 were analyzed and used to project into a two dimensional plane (table 4 and fig. 3). the highest values generated in axis 1 and axis 2 was largely attributed to the leaf morphometric traits of h. mindorensis red bearing plant. the lowest values on the other hand were attributed to leaf traits of h. mindorensis yellow bearing plant. it can be viewed that leaf traits of the two h. mindorensis plants were highly variable. the leaf traits from h. buotii and h. halconensis were less variable. table 3. the eigenvalue of the principal coordinate axis and the respective accounted variance in the pcoa. axis eigenvalue percent variance cumulative variance 1 0.033984 36.301 36.301 2 0.021271 22.721 59.022 3 0.0047677 5.0928 64.1148 4 0.003722 3.9759 68.0907 the data ordination of pcoa clearly displayed the variation of the leaf morphometric traits between the two h. mindorensis plant groups (fig. 3). the red bearing flower h. mindorensis occupied quadrant 1 and quadrant four of the orthogonal plane. the yellow bearing flower h. mindorensis largely occupied quadrant 2. the rest of the values were distributed closely in quadrants 3 and 4. another technique employed in the exploratory analysis of the morphometric data was cluster analysis. the dendrogram also revealed a similar pattern observed in pcoa. again, the two h. mindorensis plant groups were located on the opposite ends of the dendrogram. it indicated that the two plant groups were highly variable. the h. mindorensis yellow bearing flower was more 204 jumawan and buot morphometrically similar h. buotii but their euclidean distance was still far. this indicated variability of leaf morphometric traits. the h. mindorensis red bearing flower was very similar to h. halconensis in terms of the measured leaf traits. in general, the four plant groups revealed distinct leaf characteristics as indicated by the clusters in the dendrogram (fig. 4). table 4. the principal coordinate scores of the two highest accounted variances in axis1 and axis 2 on the nine morphometric traits derived from the four plant groups. (legend: the first three letters comprise the plant groups as hal = h. halconensis ; buo = h. buotii; red = h. mindorensis (red); and yel = h. mindorensis (yellow). the last two letters comprise the code characters of the leaf in table 1). leaf traits axis 1 axis 2 leaf traits axis 1 axis 2 redla 0.1130 0.0470 buoll -0.0025 -0.0007 redll 0.0374 0.0153 halwl -0.0059 -0.0333 buopw 0.0336 0.0051 yelvr -0.0068 0.0120 redwr 0.0296 0.0097 halwr -0.0083 -0.0357 redpw 0.0294 -0.0007 hallr -0.0085 0.0114 redlw 0.0287 0.0102 hallw -0.0092 -0.0361 redwl 0.0281 0.0107 halll -0.0101 -0.0223 buowr 0.0167 -0.0050 yelvl -0.0112 0.0137 halpw 0.0166 -0.0258 yellr -0.0141 0.0086 buowl 0.0138 -0.0076 buolr -0.0177 -0.0064 buola 0.0101 -0.0027 halla -0.0206 -0.0796 redvr 0.0082 -0.0100 yelwl -0.0244 0.0156 redvl 0.0077 -0.0126 halvr -0.0248 -0.0034 buolw 0.0065 0.0001 yelpw -0.0276 0.0078 redlr 0.0020 0.0025 yellw -0.0279 0.0154 buovl 0.0001 -0.0040 yelwr -0.0321 0.0154 halvl -0.0018 -0.0019 yelll -0.0385 0.0268 buovr -0.0024 -0.0087 yella -0.0869 0.0691 the emerging pattern generated in data exploration using multivariate analysis suggested variability and resemblances on the leaf morphometric traits. to detect if the variation was significant or not, two way anova was conducted. the sources of variation were generated from the leaf characters, four plant groups and the interaction between leaf characters and four plant groups. the two way anova detected a highly significant differences among the mentioned sources of variation. post hoc analysis was conducted using tukey’s test in the four plant groups only. it was not conducted to the leaf characters as it may give irrelevant output (e.g. leaf area is obviously significantly different to petiole width). the tukey’s test revealed that h. halconensis and h. mindorensis red bearing flower were more similar compared to other comparison. the h. mindorensis red bearing flower and h. mindorensis yellow bearing flower was highly significantly different. other combinations of plant group comparisons showed highly significant differences in their leaf morphometric traits. the summary on the two way anova table was shown in table 5 and 6. numerical taxonomic analysis in some hoya species 205 fig. 3. the data ordination on the nine morphometric traits contributed by the four plant groups using pcoa. fig. 4. single linkage or nearest neighbor cluster dendrogram on the nine morphmetric traits from the leaves of the four plant groups. table 5. two way anova table on the sources of variation in leaf morphometric traits. source sum of squares df mean squares f ratio p value leaf characters (a) 985.8 8 123.2 f (8, 232) = 2530 p < 0.0001 species (b) 9.887 3 3.296 f (3, 87) = 25.86 p < 0.0001 interaction: a x b 62.51 24 2.605 f (24, 696) = 52.17 p < 0.0001 residual 34.75 696 0.04993 206 jumawan and buot table 6. pair wise comparison on the different plant groups using tukey’s test. multiple comparisons test mean diff. 95% ci of diff. summary h. halconensis vs. h. buotii 0.1244 0.04389 to 0.2048 *** h. halconensis vs. h. mindorensis (red) -0.0312 -0.1116 to 0.04931 ns h. halconensis vs. h. mindorensis (yellow) -0.1443 -0.2248 to -0.06386 **** h. buotii vs. h. mindorensis (red) -0.1555 -0.2360 to -0.07506 **** h. buotii vs. h. mindorensis (yellow) -0.2687 -0.3492 to -0.1882 **** h. mindorensis (red) vs. h. mindorensis (yellow) -0.1132 -0.1936 to -0.03269 ** discussion the study was conducted to examine the variations of the leaf morphometric traits of the four plant groups consisting hoya species. the univariate statistical analysis showed pronounced variability in leaf area and laminar length. on the other hand, less variability was observed in petiole width and leaf ratio. leaf variation was more conspicuous to parts of the leaf with bigger morphometric values. the multivariate analysis generated a pattern that the h. mindorensis red bearing flower and h. mindorensis yellow bearing flower were highly variable. this was supported by results on cluster analysis and the comparison using tukey’s test as post hoc analysis to two way anova. the detected variability of the two plant groups, although belonging to the same species could be attributed to environmental stress (van valen, 1962). the effects of environmental stress can eventually lead to developmental instability manifested in variability of leaf traits (valentine and soule, 1973). hoya species were known also to exhibit phenotypic plasticity (tungmunnithum et al., 2011). leaf variations of the two plant groups could be phenotypic variation attributed to plasticity. on the other hand, a closer investigation should be conducted to consider other leaf parameters or another vegetative part of the plant. the variation of leaf traits between the two plant groups was highly significant, as also indicated by difference in the colour of the flowers. the possibility that they were taxonomically different, as a subspecies probably is at large. hence, it is recommended that a separate study should be conducted that would incorporate many characters in the analysis. in general, the multivariate analysis was able to detect variations of the morphometric traits on the leaves of selected philippine hoya species. the detected variation was statistically tested to discriminate one plant group to another. this study confirms the distinct separation of hoya buotii and hoya halconensis that had been always mistaken to be one species (aurigue, 2013). this study demonstrated the applicability of multivariate analysis as a tool in numerical taxonomy. the technique detected variations in leaf morphometric traits and can further be employed to demonstrate likelihood of relationship among the hoya species. acknowledgement the authors would like to thank the philippine government agency dost-asthrdp for the support in the conduct of the study. references aurigue, f.b. 2013. a collection of philippine hoyas and their culture. philippine council for agriculture, aquatic and natural resources and development dost, laguna, philippines 195p. aurigue, f.b., sahagun, j. r., and suarez, w. m. 2013. hoya cutis-porcelana (apocynaceae): a new species from samar and biliran islands, philippines. journal of nature studies. 12(1): 12-17 dilcher, d.l.1974. approaches to the identification of angiosperm leaf remains. bot. rev. 40: 1-156. numerical taxonomic analysis in some hoya species 207 forster, p.i. and little, d. j. 1996. flora of australia. 28: 231-237. csiro, canberra. fuller, d.q. 2005. systematics and leaf architecture of the gunneraceae. the botanical review 71(3): 295353. gower, j.c. 1966. some distance properties of latent root and vector methods used in multivariate analysis. biometrika 53: 325-338. hammer, o., harper, d.a.t., and ryan, p.d. 2009. past version 1.91: paleontological statistical software package for education and data analysis. paleontologia electronica 4 (1):94. hickey, l.j. and taylor, d.w. 1991. the leaf architecture of ticodendron and application of foliar characters in discerning its relationships. ann. missouri. bot. gard., 78: 105-130. kleijn, d. and van donkelaar, r. 2001. notes on the taxonomy and ecology of the genus hoya (asclepiadaceae) in central sulawesi. blumea 46: 457–483. kloppenburg, r.d., guevarra, m.l.d., carandang, j.m. and maranan, f.s. 2012. new species of hoya r. br. (apocynaceae) from the philippines. journal of nature studies 11(1&2): 34-48. kloppenburg, r.d. and siar s.v. 2008. three new species of hoya r.br. (apocynaceae) from the philippines. asia life sciences 17(1):57-70. kunze, h. and wanntorp, l. 2008. corona and anther skirt in hoya (apocynaceae, marsdenieae). plant syst. evol. 271: 9–17. legendre, p. and legendre, l. 1998. numerical ecology. 2nd english edition. elsevier, amsterdam. lipscomb, d., platnick, n. and wheeler, q.d. 2003. the intellectual content of taxonomy: a comment on dna taxonomy. trends in ecology and evolution 18(2): 65–66. leaf architecture working group. 1999. manual of leaf architecture – morphological description and categorization of dicotyledonous and net-veined monocotyledonous angiosperms. washington, dc. maranan, f.s. and diaz, m.g.q. 2013. molecular diversity and dna barcode identification of selected philippine endemic hoya species (apocynaceae). the philippine agricultural scientist 96 (1): 86-92. omlor, r. 1996. notes on marsdenieae (asclepiadaceae) a new, unusual species of hoya from northern borneo. novon 6: 288–294. otte, d. and endler, j.a. 1989. speciation and its consequences. sunderland, massachusetts. sinauer associates, pp 28-59. pielou, e. c. 1984. the interpretation of ecological data: a primer on classification and ordination. wiley, new york. rodda, m. and juhoneweb, n. s. 2013. the taxonomy of hoya micrantha and hoya revoluta (apocynaceae, asclepiadoideae). webbia: journal of plant taxonomy and geography 68: (1) 7–16. tungmunnithum, d., kidyoo, m. and khunwasi, c. 2011. morphological variations in hoya siamica craib (asclepiadaceae) in thailand. tropical natural history 11(1): 29-37. valentine, d.w., and soule, m. 1973. effect of p,p’-ddt on developmental stability of pectoral fin rays in the grunion, leuresthes tenuis. fisheries bulletin 71: 921-926. van valen, l. 1962. a study of fluctuating asymmetry. evolution 16: 125-142. wanntorp, l., kocyan, a. and renner, s.s. 2006. wax plants disentangled: a phylogeny of hoya (marsdenieae, apocynaceae) inferred from nuclear and chloroplast dna sequences. molecular phylogenetics and evolution 39: 722–733. wheeler, q.d. 2004. taxonomic triage and the poverty of phylogeny. philosophical transactions of the royal society of london, b 359: 571–583. (manuscript received on 1 june 2016; revised on 31 august 2016) microsoft word 07. bjpt 16 95_edt_ka-april 16, 2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 49–52, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists oberonia jhae: a new species of orchid from arunachal pradesh, india krishna chowlu1 and kera serbi rab2 botanical survey of india, arunachal pradesh regional centre, senki view, itanagar-791111, arunachal pradesh, india keywords: arunachal pradesh; india; oberonia; new species; orchids. abstract a new species oberonia jhae chowlu et rab (orchidaceae) is described and illustrated from india. this species is allied to oberonia emarginata king & pantl, but differs from it in plant height, densely flowered inflorescences, ovate and entire sepals and very short column and lanceolate, acute petals. introduction genus oberonia (orchidaceae), established by john lindley in 1830 is characterised by epiphyte or rarely lithophytes, medium-sized plants with coriaceous or fleshy, flat, ensiform leaves; sub-erect or drooping inflorescence with many densely arranged small-sized flowers; subsimilar sepals and petals; entire or 3�lobbed lip; very short column and 4 pollinia. this genus comprises of more than 200 species with main concentration in tropical asia and further extending to the pacific islands and australia, and with a single species in madagascar and topical africa (chen et al., 2009; chowlu et al., 2014, 2015). in india, it is represented by c. 66 species (misra, 2007; chowlu et al., 2014, 2015) of which c. 39 species are found in northeast india (rao, 2007; chowdhery, 2009; chowlu et al,. 2014, 2016), 22 species in arunachal pradesh (chowlu et al., 2015) and with this addition the number increases to 23. during a routine visit to papum pare district of arunachal pradesh, a few oberonias were collected by the authors in bud stage and brought under cultivation in the garden of botanical survey of india, arunachal pradesh regional centre, itanagar in papum pare district of arunachal pradesh. the plant was critically studied and compared with literature of oberonia (holttum, 1964; seidenfaden, 1968, 1978, 1992; dockrill, 1964; ansari and balakrishnan, 1990; seidenfaden and wood, 1992; pearce and cribb, 2002; averyanov, 2007, 2013; lucksom, 2007; chen et al., 2009). herbarium material deposited at orchid research centre, tipi, apfh, arun, assam, cal were also studied. after these critical studies it was clearly found that the present species is very much different from the so far known species in various floral characters. hence, it is described here as a new. moreover, we also agree with the opinion expressed by bunpha et al. (2013) that all species of the concern genus reported from various countries are to be verified before reaching a conclusion of novelty of a particular taxon, instead of referring only to the floras of the regional and adjacent countries. 1 corresponding author. email: krishnachowlu@gmail.com 2 state forest research institute itanagar, chimpu -791111, arunachal pradesh, india. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33005 50 chowlu and rab   oberonia jhae chowlu et rab sp. nov (fig. 1). diagnosis: oberonia jhae is closely allied to oberonia emarginata, but differs in having shorter leaves (1.5-3.2 cm); smaller flowers, c. 0.5 mm across; sepals, equal, ovate-lanceolate; petals lanceolate, acute, minutely erose-dentate. type: india, arunachal pradesh, papum pare district, kheel (642 m, 27°13'20.82'' & 93°41'55.91'', 2 may 2016) chowlu-40164a (holotype arun). stem c. 1 cm long, enveloped by leafy base. leaves not jointed, 8-9, 1.5-3.2 × 0.4-0.6 cm, bilaterally flattened, linear-oblong, acute to sub-acute, erect, fleshy. inflorescence longer than the leaves, 4-7 cm long; peduncle wingless, 0.5-1.0 cm long, erect, with many whorled, triangularoblong, acute, green sterile bracts; rachis sub-erect or drooping, flowers in a whorl, many flowered; floral bracts 0.8-0.9 × 0.5-0.6 mm, lanceolate, apex long acuminate, minutely papillose. flowers very minute, c. 0.5 mm across, green; pedicel with ovary 0.5-0.6 mm long, green, shorter than the floral bracts. sepals sub-equal, c. 0.4 × 0.2 mm, lanceolate, acute, green. petals c. 0.4 × 0.2 mm, lanceolate, acute, minutely thinner than the sepals. lip simple, c. 3.5 × 0.3 mm, ellipticlanceolate, apiculate apex, margin entire. column short, erect. pollinia 4. flowering: may-june fig. 1. oberonia jha chowlu et rab sp. nov. a. habitat; b. bract; c. flower; d. dissected parts; e. pollinia. oberonia jhae: a new species of orchid from arunachal 51   etymology: the specific epithet is given in honour of first author’s teacher, subash chandra jha who is very supportive and a great enthusiast orchid. note: the new species oberania jhae is closely allied to o. emarginata but differs from the latter by its leaves, flowers and lip. the comparison between these species is provided in table 1. table 1. distinguishing characters between oberonia jhae and oberonia emarginata. characters oberonia jhae sp. nov. oberonia emarginata leaves 8-9, 1.5-3.2 × 0.4-0.6 cm, linear-oblong 4-5, 1-5 × 0.4-0.9 cm, linear-ensiform flower c. 0.5 mm across c. 1.0 mm across sepals equal, ovate-lanceolate, acute broadly ovate, acute, minutely papillose petals lanceolate, acute, minutely erose-dentate ovate, recurved, entire lip elliptic-ovate, simple, margin entire, apiculate at apex quadrate, 3-lobed, basal part entire and apical part erose-dentate margins minutely mucronate at apex flowering may july conservation status: oberonia jhae is endemic to arunachal pradesh, india which is collected from a single locality kheel. intensive survey yielded only 3 mature individuals spread over an area of 1 sq.km of semi-shaded forest patch which is a community forest under the management of local people. the habitat is subjected to high degree of human encroachment for agricultural practices. moreover, the habitat is close to road side so construction of road like broadening and repairing is another factor for threat. the jhum cultivation is practiced by local tribal people involving tree cutting, burning and clearance of the forest posing serious threat to the natural habitat. this is an epiphytic species which is very slow in growth. climate change is another factor for species threat. references ansari, r. and balakrishnan, n.p. 1990. a revision of the indian species of oberonia. orchid monographs 4: 21-82. rijksherbarium, leiden, netherlands. averyanov, v.l. 2007. new species of orchids from vietnam. taiwania 52: 287–306. averyanov, v.l. 2013. th e orchids of vietnam illustrated survey, part 4. vol. 16, subfamily epidendroideae (tribes arethuseae and malaxideae ), pp. 5–163. bunpha, k., henrik ærenlund pedersen and kitichate sridith. establishing species distributions in large plant genera: insights from twelve new thai records of oberonia (orchidaceae). blumea 58: 71–76. chen, q., liu, z.j., zhu, g.h.k., lang, y., ji, z.h., luo, y.b., jin, x.b., cribb, p.j., wood, j.j., gale, s.w., ormerod, p., vermeulen, j.j., wood, h.p., clayton d. and bell. a. 2009. in: raven, p.h. & hong, d.y. (eds), flora of china, vol. 25: 1–505. science press, beijing & missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. chowdhery, h.j. 2009. orchid diversity of india. jour. orchid soc. india 23(1-2): 19–42. chowlu, k.y. nanda and rao, a.n. 2014. oberonia acaulis griff. var. latipetala (orchidaceae) a new variety from manipur, india. bangladesh jour. plant taxon. 21(1): 93–95. chowlu, k., nanda, y., rao, a.n., angela, n., bishwajit, h.and akimpou, g. 2015. oberonia manipurense sp. nov. (orchidaceae) from manipur, india. nord. jour. bot. 33: 42–44. chowlu, k. 2016. erratum to oberonia manipurensis sp. nov. from manipur, india. nord. jour. bot. 34: 384. 52 chowlu and rab   dockrill, a.w. 1964. australian indigenous orchids 1. r. bot. gard. sydney. holttum, r.e. 1964. flora of malaya. vol. i. orchids of malaya. govt printing office, singapore. king, g. and pantling, r. 1898. the orchids of the sikkim himalaya. royal botanical garden calcutta, india. lucksom, s.z. 2007. the orchids of sikkim and northeast himalaya. spectrum house, siliguri, pp. 688–772. misra, s. 2007. orchids of india. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india, pp. 279–320. pearce, n.r. and cribb, p.j. 2002. the orchids of bhutan. royal botanic garden edinburg, edinburg and royal government of bhutan, pp. 221–233. rao, a.n. 2007. orchid flora of north east india an update analysis. bull. arunachal forest research 23(1&2): 6–38. seidenfaden, g. 1968 the genus oberonia in mainland asia. dansk bot. ark. 25(3): 1–125. seidenfaden, g. 1978. orchid genera in thailand vii. oberonia lindl. and malaxis sol. ex sw. dansk bot. ark. 34(1): 1–23. seidenfaden, g. 1992. the orchids of indochina. opera bot. 114: 1–505. seidenfaden, g. and wood, j.j. 1992. orchids of peninsular malaysia and singapore. olsen & olsen, fredensburg. 44. (manuscript received on 18 august 2016; revised on 25 january 2017) microsoft word 02. bjpt 12-19_ovule refflesia.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 109-117, 2012 (december) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphology of ovule, seed and pollen grain of rafflesia r. br. (rafflesiaceae) nery sofiyanti1 and choong chee yen2 department of biology, faculty of mathematics and natural sciences, university of riau, kampus bina widya panam, pekanbaru, riau, indonesia keywords: rafflesia; ovule; seed; pollen grain. abstract the ovules, seeds and pollen grains of 24 rafflesia specimens from nine species were examined. the ovules and seeds of all specimens showed similar shapes and structures. rafflesia ovules are j-shaped and incompletely anatropous, while the seeds are chestnut-shaped. the pollen grains are small (10-25 µm in diameter), prolate-spheroidal and subprolate, monoporate, with a smooth surface and no ornamentation. introduction rafflesia r. br. is a parasitic genus comprising 33 species (summarized from nais, 2001; susatya et al., 2006; mat-salleh et al., 2010; wiriadinata, 2010; barcelona et al., 2011). this genus grows in limited localities in the tropical rainforest of southeast asia (wong, 1992; hidayati et al., 2000; balete et al., 2010; barcelona et al., 2011) including sumatera, java, borneo, peninsular malaysia, southern thailand and the philippines (barcelona et al., 2006, 2007; ghazally et al., 1988). as a holoparasitic plant, no members of rafflesia have vegetative part, the only visible part is the reproductive part that emerges from its specific host, tetrastigma (vitaceae) (meijer, 1997; nais, 2001). rafflesia is characterized by five perigone lobes which are orange to reddish in colour (nais, 2001) and thought to mimic rotting flesh flower (barkman et al., 2008). since the discovery of first species in bengkulu, sumatera (brown, 1821), rafflesia has astounded the scientific community and caused a sensation in the botanical world (banzinger, 1991). this genus includes the largest flower in the world, and according to barkman et al. (2008) the flower diameter of rafflesia is 10 to 100 times larger than those of most other flowering plant genera. this plant with gigantic flower has fascinated and baffled researchers, and become a public interest. as other rafflesiaceae genera, the flowers of rafflesia are very rare (banzinger, 2004). some reasons for their rarity are: 1. the parasitic way of life, it needs a specific host (tetrastigma); 2. most of the species are dioecious (male and female flowers do not usually simultaneously bloom); 3. imbalanced sex ratio (the overall male and female flower ratio is 7:1); 4. fruit set percentage among female is low, 35.71% (nais and wilcock, 1998); 5. high bud mortality, 4091% in some cases up to 100 % (nais, 2001) and 6. long life cycle up to five years from seed to seed in rafflesia arnoldii (meijer, 1997). therefore, the biology of rafflesia remains largely unknown. the study of ovule, seed and pollen morphology is limited in rafflesia. very few studies had been conducted on micromorphological aspects (brown, 1834; olah, 1960; takhtajan et al., 1985; bouman and meijer, 1994). most of these studies deal with a single or few species only. here, we describe the morphology of the ovules, seeds and pollen grains of nine species of rafflesia from 1corresponding author. email: nery_yusuf@yahoo.com 2school of environmental and natural resource sciences, faculty of science and technology, national university of malaysia, bangi selangor 43600, malaysia 110 sofiyanti and yen pahang, perak (peninsular malaysia), sabah (east malaysia), north sumatera, bengkulu and riau (indonesia). materials and methods table 1 shows the materials examined in this study. this small sample size is due to the rarity of rafflesia. moreover, studying micromorphology of this genus is very destructive. all materials were observed using a scanning electron microscope (sem). the specimens were fixatived in 2.5% glutaraldehyde, followed by a series of ethanol dehydration. a critical point drier 7501 was used to dry the dehydrated tissues. the samples were then sputter-coated with gold-palladium for 5 minutes using thermo ug scientific polaron. the measurement and morphological observations were made with a phillips xl 30 microscope, based on 20 samples per specimen to perform statistical analyses. for ovules and seeds, we measured the following: microphyle diameter (md), micropylar part length (mpl), micropylar part width (mpw), funiculus width (fw), funiculus length (fl), raphal width (rw), and raphal length (rl). some pollen grains were also observed using light microscope (lm) meiji mx microscope assisted with olympus e 330 camera in unstained glycerin jelly. the terminology of pollen used in this study is based on ertdman (1972). results and discussion ovules and seeds the ovules and seeds of all specimens examined (fig. 1) have similar shapes and structure but differ in their sizes. therefore, due to this morphological homogeneity, the descriptions of ovules and seeds given below are based on the summary of all specimens examined, while detailed measurements are presented in table 2. description of ovule white when fresh, j-shaped and irregularly attached to the placenta. placenta has a polygonal cell wall. the structure can be divided into three parts, the funiculus, raphal and microphylar parts. funiculus: cross-section is rose-shaped, has rudimentary cells at outer integument; raphal part: irregularly shaped, rudimentary cells at outer integument, located at the middle part of ovule, no clear distinction with funiculus. micropylar part: outer wall presents irregular rows, the width is almost the same from tip to base, the tip is donut-shaped. bouman and meijer (1994) indicated that species with wider flower diameter usually have bigger ovules. fig. 1 presents the sem photographs of ovules of r. azlanii (fig. 1a-c), r. kerrii (fig. 1d-e), r. hasseltii (fig. 1f), r. cantleyi (fig. 1g), and r. tuan-mudae (fig. 1h-j). in this study, r. kerrii had the biggest flower while r. tuan-mudae had the smallest flower among the taxa examined. according to meijer (1997) and nais (2001) the open flower diameter of r. kerrii ranges from 50 to 70 cm. mat ros (pers. comm.) recorded the widest flower of r. kerrii from peninsular malaysia, up to 111 cm. however, the ovule of r. kerrii examined in this study was smaller than r. azlanii, r. hasseltii and r. cantleyi as presented in table 2. this may be due to the ovule of r. kerrii used in this study was collected from female bud, and hence the size was smaller because the ovule is not yet well-developed. the probably size of the matured ovules should be greater than ovules of r. cantleyi examined in this study. the flower diameter of r. tuan-mudae according to nais (2001) is 26-33 cm, smaller than r. hasseltii, r. cantleyi and r. azlani. its ovules are also smaller than these three species. but surprisingly, the microphyle diameter of r. tuan-mudae (fig. 1i) is the widest among the species examined (46.22 ± 04.01 µm) and quite unique. ovule, seed and pollen grain of rafflesia 111 112 sofiyanti and yen ovule, seed and pollen grain of rafflesia 113 114 sofiyanti and yen fig. 1. sem photographs of rafflesia ovules (a-j) and seeds (k-p ). a c. r. azlanii, b. outer integument, c. cross section of funiculus, d-e. r. kerrii, e. microphyle, f. r. hasseltii, g. placenta wall of r. cantleyi, h-j. r. tuan-mudae, i. microphyle, j. outer integument of microphylar part, k. r. azlanii, l. r. kerrii, m. r. pricei, n-o. r. arnoldii, n. microphylar part, o. inner integument with pores, p. r. cantleyi. rafflesia has an incomplete anatropous ovules with the microphyle facing downward and situated near the base of funiculus, but the apical part is not bound to the raphe. sometimes the distinction between raphal and funiculus is not clear, because the funiculus of ovule was not well developed, and its width was almost the same as raphal width. the placenta of rafflesia consisted of polygonal cell walls (as seen in fig. 1g). the cross-section of the funiculus showed the empty cell (fig. 1c). the ovules of all the species studied here were unitegmic. this result was in accordance to that of bouman and meijer (1994), who observed the same type of ovules in all the genera of rafflesiaceae (rafflesia, rhizanthes and sapria). according to takhtajan (2009), the unitegmic ovule could have resulted from the congenital fusion of inner and outer integuments or due to the abortion of one of the integuments. the embryo sac of rafflesia is a monosporic type as the single surviving megaspore undergoes three rounds of mitotic nuclear division without any wall formation. the type of embryo sac of rafflesia is polygonum type, which is found in 81% of the angiospermae (mauseth, 1988). ovule, seed and pollen grain of rafflesia 115 rafflesia seeds are usually chestnut-shaped, brown when fresh. the funiculus shows a different outer integument from raphal and micropylar part. this part can be easily distinguished from the raphal part. raphal part has a curvature, unequal shape and swollen at the middle. the micropylar part is located near the funiculus due to the curvature of raphal part, the middle portion has the largest integument cell, whereas the rounded microphyle is located on the tip. the outer integument is reduced, visible only as a broad, insignificant rim proximal to the base of the inner integument and consists of polygonal cell wall. the inner integument is u-shaped in cross section and has many pores as seen in r. arnoldii seed (fig. 1o). figure 1 k-p present the seeds of all species studied, while table 2 shows the measurements of the different seed parts. the highest values of total measurement were observed in r. arnoldii. this species is known as the widest flower in the world (nais, 2001) with open flower diameter ranging at 70-150 cm. fig. 2. sem (a-k) and lm (l-n) photographs of rafflesia pollen grains. a. r. tuan-mudae, b. r. hasseltii, c. and d. r. azlanii (c. azlp-1, d. azlp-2), e-i. r. cantleyi (e. canp-1, f. canp-2, g. canp-3, h. canp-4, i. canp-6), j. r. keithii, k. r. kerrii (kerp-1), l. r. lawangensis, m and n. r.cantleyi (canp-5). 116 sofiyanti and yen pollen rafflesia pollen is not released as a single grain, but adhered to each other due to a sticky yellow mush. sem and lm photographs of pollen are shown in fig. 2. the pollen grains of all species observed in this study have one pore (monoporate pollen) and a smooth surface without ornamentation. however, two distinct shapes were observed, subprolate and prolate-spheroidal. subprolate shape is describing the shape of a pollen grain in which the ratio between the polar axis and the equatorial diameter (p/e ratio) is 1.14-1.33, while prolate-spheroidal shape has p/e ratio ranging from 1.00 to 1.14 (erdmant, 1972). subprolate pollen was found in r. tuan-mudae (fig. 2a), r. hasseltii (fig. 2b), and one r. cantleyii specimen (can 6). but the common shape is prolate-spheroidal, which is found in r. azlanii (fig. 2c and d), r. cantleyi (can 1-5) (fig. 2eh and m-n), r. keithii (fig. 2j), r. kerii (fig. 2k) and r. lawangensis (fig. 2l). prolatespheroidal pollen grains in this study have p/e ratio ranging from 1.02 to 1.12, and the p/e ratio for subprolate is from 1.17 to 1.22. usually species with wider flower diameter has bigger pollen grains, however in this study we find an interesting result, r. lawangensis from north sumatera (indonesia) shows the bigger pollen size than r. keithii and r. kerrii eventhough its flower diameter is smaller (63 cm) than both species (table 1). acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the late prof. dr. kamarudin mat-salleh; minister of forestry, indonesia; rafflesia team members ukm malaysia (mat ros, nor zuhaillah, agus susatya, donna jackson, ridha mahyuni, siti munirah, m. faizi, jessica, jazreen, mira, khairul, tan ai lee, nida). this study was funded by tpsdp (dikti indonesia); malaysian government research grant (irpa grant no 09-02-02-0035ea131 led by the late prof. mat-salleh). many thank to international association of plant taxonomy (iapt, vienna) for providing a field trip research grant in 2006. references balete, d.s., pelser, p.b., nickrent, d.l. and barcelona, j.f. 2010. rafflesia verrucosa (rafflesiaceae), a new species of small-flowered rafflesia from eastern mindanao, philippines. phytotaxa 10: 49-57. banzinger, h. 1991. stench and fragrance: unique pollination lure of thailand’s largest flower, rafflesia kerrii meijer. natural history bulletin of siam society 39: 19-52. banzinger, h. 2004. studies on hitherto unknown fruits and seeds of some rafflesiaceae, and a method to manually pollinate their flowers for research and conservation. linzer biology beitr 36(2): 1175-1198. barcelona, j.f., cajano, m.o. and hadsall., a.s. 2006. rafflesia baletei, another new rafflesia (rafflesiaceae) from the philippines. kew bull. 61(2): 231-237 barcelona, j.f., pelser, p.b. and cajano, m.o.. 2007. rafflesia banahaw (rafflesiaceae), a new species from luzon, philippines. blumea 52: 345-350 barcelona, j.f., fernando, e.s., nickrent, d.d., balete, d.s. and pelser, p.b. 2011. an amended description of rafflesia leonardi and a revised key to philippine rafflesia (rafflesiaceae). pytotaxa 24: 11-18. barkman, t.j., bendiksby, a.m., lim, s.h., mat-salleh, k., nais, j., madulid, and schumacher, t. 2008. accelerated rates of floral evolution at the upper size limit for flower. current biology 18: 1508-1513. bouman, f. and meijer, w. 1994. comparative structure of ovules and seeds in rafflesiaceae. plant systematics and evolution 193: 187-212. brown, r. 1821. an account of a new genus of plant named rafflesia. transaction of the linnean society of london 13: 201-234. brown, r. 1834. description of the female flower and fruit of rafflesia arnoldii, with remarks on its affinities and an illustration of the structure of hydnora africana. transaction of the linnean society of london 19: 221-238. ovule, seed and pollen grain of rafflesia 117 erdtman, g. 1972. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy. new york: hafner pub. com. ghazally, i., mat-salleh, k., ali, l. and adlin, t.d.z. 1988. rafflesia of sabah: a case for conservation. sabah society journal 9: 437-456. hidayati, s.n., meijer, w., baskin, j.m. and waick, j.l. 2000. a contribution to the life history of the rare indonesian holoparasite rafflesia patma (rafflesiaceae). biotropica 32(3): 408-414. mat-salleh, k., mahyuni., r., susatya, a. and veldkamp, f. 2010. rafflesia lawangensis (rafflesiaceae), a new species from bukit lawang, gunung leuser national park, north sumatra, indonesia. reinwardtia 13(2): 159-165 mauseth, j.d. 1988. plant anatomy. california: the benjamin/cummings publishing company, inc. meijer, w. 1997. rafflesiaceae. flora malesiana 13: 1-42. nais, j. 2001. rafflesia of the world. kota kinabalu: natural history publications. nais, j. and wilcock, c.c. 1998. the rafflesia conservation incentive scheme in sabah, malaysian borneo. sabah parks nature journal 2: 111-120. olah, l.v. 1960. cytological and morphological investigations in rafflesia arnoldii. bulletin of the torrey botanical club 87(6): 406-416. susatya, a., arianto, w. and mat-salleh, k. 2006. rafflesia bengkuluensis (rafflesiaceae), a new species from south sumatera, indonesia. folia malaysiana 6: 139-152.46 takhtajan, a.j., meyer, n. and kocenko, v.n. 1985. pollen morphology and classification in rafflesiaceae. botahniecknn kyphan 2: 153-164. takhtajan, a.j. 2009. flowering plants. springer verlag. wiriadinata, h. 2010. a new species of rafflesia from north sumatera. reinwardtia 13(2): 95-100. wong, m. 1992. kerr's rafflesia: a rare botanical gem. nature malaysiana 17(4): 124-125. (manuscript received on 1 march 2012; revised on 18 october 2012) microsoft word 06. ephedra_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 51-60, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a numerical analysis of ephedra l. based on reproductive features yong yang1 state key laboratory of systematic and evolutionary botany, institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, 20 nanxincun, xiangshan, beijing 100093, china keywords: ephedra; morphology; cluster analysis; principal coordinates analysis. abstract a numerical analysis of ephedra l. was conducted based on 29 characters of reproductive organs. the results indicate that species are not grouped according to their geographic ranges, sect. alatae is in one group, sect. asarca excluding e. cutleri and e. viridis consists of a eu-asarca group while sect. ephedra plus e. cutleri and e. viridis of the traditional sect. asarca make up a third expanded ephedra group. the old world sect. monospermae including e. rhytidosperma, e. equisetina, e. nebrodensis, e. monosperma and e. procera was rediscovered in this study while those himalayan endemic species (e.g. e. minuta, e. likiangensis, e. saxatilis, e. dawuensis and e. gerardiana) used to be grouped in the old world sect. monospermae are clustered together with sect. scandentes including e. foeminea, e. ciliata, e. altissima and e. fragilis. this study further confirms that the adaptive seed dispersal syndromes of sect. asarca have originated for not only once. some new features are introduced as related to dispersal, e.g. weight and size of seeds, and nature and thickness of the outer envelope. introduction phylogeny of ephedra l. has not been well resolved. traditionally, botanists use one or few morphological characters to subdivide the genus into sections or groups. meyer (1846) grouped 20 species of ephedra known at that time into two sections, namely ephedra sect. discostoma and ephedra sect. plagiostoma. subsequent botanists paid no attention to this classification because meyer’s subdivision does not mirror the interspecific relationships. stapf (1889) classified the genus into 3 sections, viz. sect. alatae, sect. asarca, sect. pseudobaccatae (= sect. ephedra), and 7 “tribus” (= subsection or series), viz. tropidolepides, habrolepides, asarca, scandentes, pachycladae, leptocladae and antisyphiliticae based on both reproductive and vegetative morphology. soskov (1968) believed that smooth branchlets are correlated with uniovulate cones while rough branchlets are correlated with biovulate cones, and proposed thereby two new evolutionary lines of ephedra and established two new subsections, namely ephedra subsect. glabrae soskov (including ephedra equisetina bunge, e. procera c. a. meyer, e. monosperma gmel. ex c. a. meyer, e. gerardiana wall. ex stapf, and e. fedtschenkoae paulsen) and ephedra subsect. scabrae soskov (including e. intermedia schrenk ex c. a. meyer, e. tesquorum nikitin, e. sinica stapf, e. distachya l., e. regeliana florin, and e. minuta florin). at the same time, soskov (1968) recombined “tribus scandentes stapf” (= e. subsect. scandentes) into subsect. scandentes (stapf) soskov. pachomova (1969, 1971) argued that roughness of branchlets is not correlated with the seed number of a female cone, and rejected soskov’s two new subsections (e. subsect. glabrae soskov and e. subsect. scabrae soskov), but those species with scrambling habits within e. sect. ephedra were segregated into a new section (e. sect. scandentes) and those with frequent uniovulate cones were ascribed into a new section (e. sect. monospermae). 1email: ephedra@ibcas.ac.cn 52 yang mussayev (1978) developed stapf’s classification and proposed a detailed classification of the genus including five sections based on female cone characters and biogeographic characters, viz. sect. alatae, sect. asarca, sect. ephedra, sect. monospermae and sect. scandentes. shen (1993), however, maintained stapf’s classification and believed that the two new sections of pachomova (1969, 1971) are worth two subsections within sect. ephedra. freitag and maier-stolte (1994) divided the old world species into four groups, the group alatae includes three old world species bearing membranous bracts of female cones, the group sarcocarpae consists e. transitoria, e. sarcocarpa, e. lomatolepis, the group fragilis comprises members of traditional scandentes of stapf, the group distachyae was again subdivided into two subgroups, the subgroup distachyae includes e. distachya, e. regeliana, e. intermedia and e. fedtschenkoae, the subgroup leptocladae includes e. pachyclada, e. major, e. monosperma and e. saxatilis. yang (2011), and ickert-bond and rydin (2011) recognized three clear-cut morphological groups in ephedra based on cuticular characters of seeds, they are the transverse lamellar type (e.g. e. rhytidosperma pachomova), the papillate type (e.g. e. equisetina bunge), and the smooth-striate-reticulate type (e.g. e. sinica stapf). this makes the controversy of classification of the genus more serious. despite limited sampling of species and low resolution of molecular characters, modern molecular systematic studies have consistently suggested that the genus ephedra can be subdivided into three groups according to geographic ranges of species and bract nature of female cones can not be used for classification of the genus because they are adaptive features with high probability of parallel evolution (huang and price, 2003; ickert-bond and wojciechowski, 2004; rydin et al., 2004; huang et al., 2005; ickert-bond et al., 2009; rydin and korall, 2009). additional study suggests that ephedra has three distinct seed dispersal syndromes including membranous bracts, coriaceous bracts, and fleshy bracts, and sect. asarca was evolved and diversified perhaps because of presence of a more diverse assemblage of seed-catching rodents in north america than other continents (hollander & wall, 2009). using one or few morphological characters in classification may bias the results, while using only molecular characters has low resolution and bootstrap supports. a possible solution to current situation of taxonomy of ephedra may integrate a set of morphological characters into phylogenetic analyses. vegetative organs of ephedra gave rise to few useful characters, and a few species groups can not be clearly clarified due to complicated variation of vegetative characters. on the contrary, reproductive morphology is important to taxonomy of the genus. this study is to reanalyze those “potentially important” morphological characters and to test the traditional classifications and molecular results using a phenetic analysis based on overall resemblance. materials and methods plant samples: forty six species of ephedra are used in this study (table 1). reproductive characters of ephedra in this study are directly from observations of herbarium specimens (mo, pe), but male characters are coded according to herbarium observations and information from literature. over 2000 specimens were observed. characters and character states: altogether 29 characters of 46 otus (operational taxonomic units) were analyzed, including 23 characters from seeds, four characters from bracts of female cones, and two characters from male cones (table 2). among the 29 characters, 13 are quantitative. for measurements of weight (g), electronic balance ar2130 (ohaus corp., pine brook, nj, usa) was used. for measurements of size, e.g. length, width, and thickness, vernier caliper with an accuracy of 0.02 mm was used under normal indoor temperature (around 25 oc). numerical analysis of ephedra 53 table 1. list of ephedra species employed in the present study. no. species specimens and storage 1 ephedra alata decaisne e. cosson s.n., apr 8th, 1958 (mo) 2 e. altissima desf. reading univ/bm exped. 428 (mo) 3 e. americana humb. & bonpl. ex willd. benkt sparre 13640 (mo) 4 e. antisyphilitica berl. ex c.a. meyer ds correll 29249 (mo) 5 e. aspera engelmann ex s. watson s. b. & w. f. parish s.n., june 1882 (mo) 6 e. breana phil. e. werdermann 1031 (mo) 7 e. californica s. watson james henrickson 5559 (mo) 8 e. chilensis k. presl e. werdermann 1250 (mo) 9 e. ciliata c.a. meyer n. androssov 448 (herb. no. 00017451, pe) 10 e. clockeyi cutler marcus e. jones s.n., mar 17th, 1932 (mo) 11 e. compacta rose z.s. debreczy, g.y. biro, i. racz & y.h. zhao 39069a (pe) 12 e. cutleri peebles h. c. cutler 2169 (mo) 13 e. dawuensis y. yang w. k. hu 13049 (pe) 14 e. distachya l. qinghai-xizang exped. 1111 (pe) 15 e. equisetina bunge y. yang nm06070502 (pe); y.yang 99016 (pe) 16 e. fasciculata a. nelson lm shultz & js shultz 8330 (mo) 17 e. foeminea forssk. 1526: 1983 (pe-seed bank) 18 e. fragilis desf. 1633: 1990 (pe-seed bank); 3708: 1989 (pe-seed bank); 5290: 1990 (pe-seed bank); 1080: 1989 (pe-seed bank) 19 e. frustillata miers j. krach 7433 (institut fuer systematische botanik muenchen); a. donat 42 (mo) 20 e. funerea coville & morton rf thorne, b. prigge et al. 51414 (mo); sb & wf parish 1385 (mo) 21 e. gerardiana wall. ex c.a. meyer qinghai-xizang exped. 76-8734 (pe); c. y. wu 75341 (pe) 22 e. glauca regel xinjiang exped. 666 (pe) 23 e. gracilis phil. ex stapf l. r. landrum, and s. s. landrum 7554 (mo) 24 e. intermedia schrenk & c.a. meyer taohe exped. 3741 (pe); pc kuo & wy wang 11729 (pe); qinghai-xizang exped. 12981 (pe) 25 e. likiangensis florin nanshuibeidiao exped. 6335 (pe); tsui yu-wen, 4329c (pe) 26 e. major host j. lewalle 9642 (mo) 27 e. minuta florin smith h 11822 (pe); x. li 71811 (pe); c. s. liu 1347 (pe); sichuan exped. 1492 (pe); h.l. tsiang 11002 (pe); k.c. kuan & w.t. wang 787 (pe); c.w. wang 69441 (pe) 28 e. monosperma gmel. ex c.a. meyer q. q. wang 7636 (pe); a. j. li & j. n. zhu 6427 (pe). 29 e. nevadensis s. watson b.f. harrison & e. larson 7747 (mo); w.p. cottam 12823; s.d. mckelvey 2253(arizona, pe) 30 e. nebrodensis tineo unknown collector s.n. (k); b. f. harrison & e. larson 7747 (mo) 31 e. ochreata miers isla deljabali, rincon del banco, 13235 (mo) 32 e. pedunculata engelmann ex s. watson hb parks 3199 (mo) 54 yang table 1 contd. no. species specimens and storage 33 e. procera fisch. & c.a. meyer stutz 626; pe herb. no. 1341644 (pe) 34 e. przewalskii stapf y. z. zhao s. n., sept. 18th, 2000 (pe) 35 e. regeliana florin k. c. kuan 1067 (pe) 36 e. rhytidosperma pachom. y. c. hou 2985 (pe); y. yang 20060606, 2004002, 20060620 (pe) 37 e. rituensis y. yang qinghai-xizang exped. 12981 (pe) 38 e. rupestris benth. h. balslev, g. pazymino and ss renner 69131 (mo) 39 e. saxatilis (stapf) royle ex florin mt. zhumulangma exped. 592 (pe); qinghai-xizang exped. 750775 (pe); g. forrest 5564 (pe); nanshuibeidiao 6335 (pe); r.c. ching 31011 (pe) 40 e. sinica stapf y. yang 9977-1 (pe); h. h. zeng 238 (pe) 41 e. strobilacea bunge 0679: 1961 (pe-seed bank); a. michelson s.n., 15. june, 1912, (pe); w.h. lipsky 4181 (pe); pe herb. no. 200087(pe) 42 e. torreyana s. watson e. payson 353 (mo) 43 e. triandra tul. j. west 8297 (mo) 44 e. trifurca torrey. ex s. watson w. hess, s. vuono, k. bolger 8006 (mo); a.e. skjot-pedersen s.n. 31 march, 1928 (pe) 45 e. tweediana fisch. ex c.a. meyer g. herter 1010 (mo) 46 e. viridis coville m. s. taylor 2048 (mo) table 2. characters and their scoring employed in the present study. no. characters character states 1 seed protective layer thin (0), thick with many layers of fibre (1) 2 seed sculpture character smooth (0), papillate (1), transverse lamellar (2) 3 seed number per cone 3 seeds (0), usually 2 seeds (1), usually 1 seed (2) 4 seed glossy yes (0), no (1) 5 seed color purplish black (0), yellowish brown (1), greyish (2) 6 seed shape ovoid to narrow ovoid (0), ellipsoid (1), lanceolate (2) 7 seed dorsal ridge present (0), absent (1) 8 seed cross section triangular (0), circular or nearly so (1), four angled or three angled with an adaxial ridge (2) 9 seed dorsal lateral furrows present (0), absent (1) 10 seed micropylar tube short and straight as that in e. minuta (0), longer and/or slightly curved as that in e. sinica (1), contorted or coiled as that in e. intermedia (2), unknown (3) 11 female cone: bract insertion bracts decussate and opposite (0), ternately whorled (1) 12 female cone: bracts nature membranous (0), coriaceous (1), fleshy (2) 13 female cone: bracts whorl 3 whorls or less (0), 4-5 pairs/whorls (1), 6 or more (2) 14 female cone: connation of the uppermost whorl of bracts in mature female cone free (0), lower than 1/3 (1), 1/3-2/3 (2), 2/3 or more (3) 15 male cone: bract whorls lower than 3 (0), 4-6 (1), more than 6 (2), unknown (3) 16 male cone: synangia number less than 4 (0), 5 or more (1), unknown (2) numerical analysis of ephedra 55 table 2 contd. no. characters character states 17 seed average weight (g). (for each species, mature seeds were sampled as many as possible and weighed together. the seed average weight is the value of the weight of these seeds divided by number of seeds). this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 18 seed length minimum (mm) this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 19 seed length maximum (mm) this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 20 seed length mean (mm). the mid-point between minimum and maximum length this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 21 seed width minimum (mm) this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 22 seed width maximum (mm) this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 23 seed width mean (mm). the mid-point between minimum and maximum width. this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 24 seed thickness minimum (mm) this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 25 seed thickness maximum (mm) this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 26 seed thickness mean (mm). the mid-point between minimum and maximum thickness this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 27 seed length/width this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 28 seed length/thickness this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. 29 seed width/thickness this is a numeric character which was used directly in the analysis. data analysis: for analyses, analytic tools integrated in mvsp ver. 3.1.3 were applied. in cluster analysis, data transformation using log e was done before conducting unified analysis of both qualitative and quantitative characters. dendogram was constructed using upgma (unweighted pair grouped method with arithmetic mean). pco (principal coordinates analysis) analysis was done to show overall resemblance of species of three sections. scatter plots were dotted after all axes were extracted. for correlation analysis of quantitative characters, graphic function of scatter plots was applied. results cluster analysis using upgma: a numerical analysis of reproductive characters including 16 qualitative and 13 quantitative characters generated one dendrogram using upgma (fig. 1). three major groups and eight 56 yang subgroups are recognized. the first major group consists of all five species of sect. alatae involved in this study. the north american e. trifurca and e. torreyana are closely related and sister to an old world group including e. strobilacea and e. alata. ephedra przewalskii is basal within this alatae group. the second major group includes five species of sect. asarca with ephedra cutleri and e. viridis excluded from this group, which forms eu-asarca group. ephedra clockeyi and e. funerea are clustered together which sister to e. aspera and e. fasciculata, e. californica is basal within this major group. the third major group is an expanded sect. ephedra with ephedra cutleri and e. viridis of traditional sect. asarca included. within this major group, eight subgroups are recognized, they are numbered as groups from 4-11. in the fourth group, ephedra cutleri and e. viridis are clustered together with two south american species, viz. e. tweediana and e. triandra. the fifth group includes e. ciliata and e. altissima of traditional sect. scandentes. the sixth group is a mixed group of traditional sect. monospermae from himalaya, viz. e. dawuensis, e. minuta, e. saxatilis, e. gerardiana, e. likiangensis, and sect. scandentes, viz. e. foeminea and e. fragilis. the seventh group consists of american species, e. americana and e. chilensis from south america and e. pedunculata from north america. the eighth group includes two species from north america, viz. e. nevadensis and e. antisyphilitica. the ninth group rediscovered partial of the old world sect. monospermae that includes e. rhytidosperma, e. monosperma, e. nebrodensis, e. procera and e. equisetina. ephedra monosperma, e. nebrodensis, e. procera and e. equisetina bear 1-seeded cone, but e. rhytidosperma bears biovulate cones in which one ovulate organ frequently aborted forming 1-seeded cones. in the tenth group, species bearing 2-seeded cones from both the old world and new world are clustered together, with species related to each according to their geographic ranges, e.g. e. glauca is close to e. regeliana, e. sinica is close to e. distachya, e. rupestris is near to e. frustillata, and e. compacta is close to e. gracilis. the eleventh group includes species frequently bearing 3-seeded cones, e.g. e. ochreata, e. intermedia and e. rituensis, the south american e. ochreata sisters to the old world e. intermedia and e. rituensis. pco analysis: the overall resemblance of reproductive organs of ephedra does not show three clear-cut groups, but suggests that species in one section are inclined to cluster together (fig. 2). ephedra funerea is closer to sect. alatae than to sect. asarca. sect. asarca is intermediate between sect. alatae and sect. ephedra. discussion systematic evaluation: the dendrogram shows only branching hierarchy and the level of similarity but is not rooted, as a result, this study does not intend to analyze character evolution in ephedra or to give a convincing conclusion on phylogeny of ephedra, but tries to give an overview of phenetic relationships of the genus based on overall resemblance of 29 reproductive characters. different hypotheses of classification of the genus ephedra were proposed. traditionally the genus was classified into morphological groups, e.g. stapf (1889), mussayev (1978), and freitag and maier-stolte (1994), but modern molecular studies suggests that living species of ephedra are grouped basically according to their geographic ranges (ickert-bond and wojciechowski, 2004; rydin et al., 2004; huang et al., 2005). phylogeny of the genus ephedra has not been well resolved because traditional classifications were mainly based on one single or few characters on the one hand, and recent molecular studies did not have high bootstrap supports on the other. this numerical analysis of ephedra 57 fig. 1. upgma dendrogram showing resemblance of ephedra species based on 29 reproductive characters. 58 yang fig. 2. scatter plots showing phenetic relationships of species of ephedra based on pco analysis, dot line circle showing the three major groups of upgma dendrogram different from the traditional three sections. study based on 29 reproductive characters does not agree well with all these classifications, but shows certain similarities to those traditional classifications. both upgma (fig. 1) and pco (fig. 2) analyses support the group sect. alatae. sect. asarca is not a monophyletic group according to this study. altogether seven species of sect. asarca are involved in this study, but they were subdivided into two parts. five species including e. californica, e. funerea, e. clockeyi, e. aspera, e. fasciculata form the second major group, which is named here as eu-asarca because this is a rediscovered group of the section. the other two species ephedra cutleri and e. viridis are excluded from this major group but show close resemblance with two south american species e. tweediana and e. triandra. traditionally, e. fragilis, e. foeminea, e. ciliata and e. altissima were ascribed into sect. scandentes (stapf, 1889; mussayev, 1978). this, however, is not confirmed in this study. ephedra ciliata and e. altissima are clustered together, but e. fragilis and e. foeminea are related to the himalayan group used to be classified into sect. monospermae, e.g. e. saxatilis, e. dawuensis, e. likiangensis, e. gerardiana and e. minuta (group 6 in this study). sect. scandentes has long been believed to be primitive in the genus ephedra because of their longer leaves and scrambling habits (soskov, 1968; mussayev, 1978; shen, 1995). it is highly impossible because all species of sect. scandentes bear quite reduced female cones with 2-3 pairs of bracts and the innermost pair connate for 2/3 or more. this study indicates that sect. scandentes is quite close to the himalayan species used to be ascribed into subsect. monospermae in reproductive morphology. the mixed group of sect. scandentes and sect. monospermae shows resemblance to some new world species that belongs to the seventh and the eighth group in this study. numerical analysis of ephedra 59 though those himalayan species of subsect. monospermae are demonstrated to be mixed with sect. scandentes, this study does rediscover a group including the old world subsect. monospermae, e.g. e. rhytidosperma, e. monosperma, e. nebrodensis, e. major and e. equisetina. grouping of these species is also corroborated by molecular studies (rydin et al., 2004; wang et al., 2005). despite the resolution and the bootstrap supports were low, recent molecular studies suggested that species of ephedra were not grouped according to bract nature of ripe female cones or other reproductive characters but according to their geographic ranges, viz. the old world clade, the north american clade, and the south american clade (ickert-bond and wojciechowski, 2004; rydin et al., 2004; huang et al., 2005). though our study is based on reproductive morphology, and the tree dendrogram is fundamentally different from those based on molecular, some groups in our study do show geographic pattern, e.g. all species of the second major group, the eighth group, and the fourth group in this study belong to the new world; the fifth, sixth, ninth group comprises species all from the old world. seed dispersal syndromes and their multiple origin: morphological differences of reproductive organs can account for adaptive differences in the type of pollinators or seed dispersers that interact with plants (thomoson and wilson, 2008). three morphological types of female cones are present in ephedra which may conform to three different seed dispersal syndromes. sect. alatae has large membranous wings and light seeds, and is dispersed by wind; sect. asarca has dry coriaceous bracts but heavy seeds, and is dispersed by rodents and sect. ephedra has fleshy bracts and variable sized seeds and is assumed to be dispersed by birds (hollander and wall, 2009). recent molecular studies suggested that bract nature of female cones at maturity in ephedra is a kind of adaptive feature and may have originated for multiple times (ickert-bond and wojciechowski, 2004; rydin et al., 2004; huang et al., 2005). our study shows that seven species of sect. asarca fall within two groups, one constituting the eu-asarca while the other clustered with species of sect. ephedra from south america. this observation confirms the conclusion from molecular systematics that origin of the adaptive seed dispersal syndromes of sect. asarca might be multiple. predation of rodents maybe the active selection pressure that push the derivation of seed cone type of sect. asarca. other features of seeds of ephedra may also be dispersal syndromes that interact with dispersers. according to our analyses, seed weight of ephedra is positively related to seed length, width and thickness in general. compared with sect. ephedra and sect. asarca, sect. alatae usually has lighter and longer seeds, the only exception is e. przewalskii which have smaller and lighter seeds. sect. ephedra and sect. asarca have no obvious deviation in seed weight and length. this might also be an adaptive feature. sect. alatae is dispersed by wind, which is clearly different from the zoochorous seed dispersal syndromes in sect. ephedra and sect. asarca. in addition, seeds of sect. alatae usually have thin and fragile protection (viz. the outer envelope) while seeds of sect. ephedra and sect. asarca have thick protection with many layers of fibres. acknowledgement this work was supported by the national natural science foundation of china (30970177, 30600035), and a project on a new checklist of gymnosperms. references freitag, h. and maier-stolte, m. 1994. ephedraceae. in: browicz, k. 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(manuscript received on 25 june 2012; revised on 10 november 2012) microsoft word 07. rhododen 2nd proof.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 119-123, 2015 (december) rhododendron leigongshanense (ericaceae), a new species from china cheng-hua yang, zheng-guo xie1, yong-fu yu1 and zhi-rong yang2 forestry academy of guizhou province, guiyang 550005, guizhou, people’s republic of china keywords: china; ericaceae; new species; rhododendron. abstract rhododendron leigongshanense, a new species from leishan county, guizhou province, china, is described and illustrated. the new species is close to r. magniflorun w.k. hu and r. glanduliferum franchet, but differs by having stipitatus glands on leaf abaxial surface, corolla trumpet-shaped with 7 lobes, 7.5–8.0 cm long, 8–10 cm in diameter and calyx 7lobed. introduction the genus rhododendron l. is one of the largest genera of the family ericaceae with many ornamental species with high horticultural value (fang, 1999). the genus consists of about 1000 species and is distributed in asia, europe and north america. so far, 574 species have been recorded in china, of which 409 are endemic (fang et al., 2005). the southwest-central region of china, including guizhou province is possibly the region of the geographic origin of the genus rhododendron (fang and ming, 1995). leigongshan national nature reserve is located at southeast guizhou province, china, which has rich natural plant resources, including approximately 24 species of rhododendron. in 2011 and 2012, the authors conducted an intensive taxonomic survey of rhododendron in this area, when a previously unknown specimen belonging to rhododendron was found. the plant grew in evergreen broad-leaved forests on limestone hills (latitude 26°21′50″n, longitude 108°08′29″e) at an altitude of 1,400 m. after critical examination of herbarium specimens from gf, hgas, gzac and pe herbaria and carefully consulting relevant literature (zhou and yao, 1989; zhang and chen, 1990; hu and fang, 1994; fang et al., 1999; fang et al., 2005; zhang and zhang, 2007; chen et al., 2010a, b; chen et al., 2012; yang et al., 2012 ), this species was very distinct when compared with its morphologically closest matches. thus it is described and illustrated herein as rhododendron leigongshanense sp. nov. rhododendron leigongshanense c.h. yang, z.g. xie, y.f. yu & z.r. yang, sp. nov. (figs 1& 2). diagnosis: the new species is morphologically similar to r. magniflorum and r. glanduliferum, but differs by its leaf abaxial surface with stipitatus glands, corolla trumpet-shaped with 7 lobes, 7.5–8.0 cm long, 8–10 cm in diameter, and calyx 7-lobed. more detailed morphological differences among these three species are given in table 1. types: china. guizhou: leishan county, leigongshan national nature reserve, huxiongpo, 26°21′50″n, 108°08′29″e, altitude 1400 m, 25 june 2012, chenghua yang 7590 (fl) (holotype: gf; isotypes: hgas, pe). 1administrative bureau of leigongshan national nature reserve, leishan 557100, guizhou, people’s republic of china. 2corresponding author. state key laboratory of systematic and evolutionary botany, institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, beijing 100093, people’s republic of china. email: zry@ibcas.ac.cn 120 yang et al. paratypes: china. guizhou: leishan county, leigongshan national nature reserve, huxiongpo, 3 july 2011, chenghua yang & zhengguo xie 7667 (fl) (gf); ibid. 8 july 2011, chenghua yang & zhengguo xie 7751 (gf); ibid. 8 september 2011, chenghua yang & yongfu yu 9232 (fr.) (gf). fig. 1. rhododendron leigongshanense c.h. yang, z.g. xie, y.f. yu & z.r. yang, sp. nov. a. flowering branch; b. corolla (displaying); c. leaf blade (adaxial surface); d. capsule; e. ovary (ampliate); f. leaf blade abaxial surface (ampliate). rhododendron leigongshanense sp. nov. (ericaceae) 121 fig. 2. rhododendron leigongshanense c.h. yang, z.g. xie, y.f. yu & z.r. yang, sp. nov. a. habitat and habit; b. leaf blade showing stipitatus glands on leaf abaxial surface; c. flower, showing trumpetshaped corolla with 7 petals; d. capsule. table 1. comparison of morphological characteristics among rhododendron leigongshanense sp. nov., r. magniflorum and r. glanduliferum. characters r. leigongshanense sp. nov. r. magniflorum r. glanduliferum leaf blade oblong-elliptic oblong oblong-lanceolate or oblanceolate leaf surface abaxial surface stipitate, glandular-hairy abaxial surface smooth abaxial surface smooth lobes of calyx 7 5 7 or 8 lobes of corolla 7 5 7 or 8 corolla size 7.5–8.0 cm long 9.5–10.0 cm long 5–6 cm long corolla shape trumpet shaped tabulate funneliform funneliform campanulate 122 yang et al. evergreen small tree, 5 m tall, c. 16 cm in diameter; branchlets thick, cylindrical with stipitate glands. leaf blade leathery or thick-leathery, 6–9 leaves on branch-top, pendulous; young leaves violet, densely stipitate glands and floccose; leaf blade oblong-elliptic, apex acute, base broadly cuneate, slightly asymmetry, 15–21 × 5.0–7.5 cm, margin revolute, abaxial surface stipitate glands; midrib, veins and lateral veins slightly grooved adaxially, midrib and lateral veins prominent abaxially, lateral veins 15–18 pairs. petiole 2–4 cm long, glandular. inflorescence racemose, 10 or 11-flowered, rachis light brown, 7.0–9.5 cm long, densely stipitate glands; bract lanceolate, abaxial thinly stipitate or non-stipitate glands, adaxial densily glands and villous; pedicels 3.5–4.5 cm long with densely long glands. calyx 7-lobed, lobes semi-circle, disparate, 2– 4 mm long, abaxial glandular, adaxial smooth. corolla trumpet-shaped, 7-lobed, white, 7.5–8.0 × 8.0–10.0 cm, succulent, aromatic, rotund, abaxial stipitate or non-stipitate glands. stamens 16, unequal, 4–6 cm long, filaments bald. ovary conoid, 5–8 mm long, densely glands; style thick, 5– 8 cm long, faint green, densely stipitate or non-stipitate glands to the tip; stigma pale, disk-like, 2– 3 mm in diameter. capsule cylindric, 3.0–3.5 × 1.0–1.2 cm, slightly curved, densely stipitate or non-stipitate glands. phenology: flowering from june to july; fruiting from october to november. etymology: the specific epithet is named after the type locality leigongshan. vernacular name: leigongshan dujuan. distribution: so far, this species is only known from the type locality leigongshan nature reserve, leishan county, guizhou province, southwest china. habitat: this species grows in evergreen broad-leaved forests on limestone hills at 1,400 m. iucn red list category: since only one population and a total of 50 mature individuals of this species were found in the area from where the type collections were made, the species seems to be very rare and restricted in distribution. a preliminary conservation assessment for the species gave it critically endangered (cr) status, based on criterion d (population less than 50 mature individuals) of the iucn red list criteria (iucn, 2011). therefore, careful protection of the species is warranted. acknowledgements this work was supported by the national natural science foundation of china (grant no. 31370657), through the projects 'study on magnoliaceae plant in guizhou' and 'study on wetland plant in guizhou'. the authors are grateful to curators of the herbaria gf, hgas, gzac and pe for allowing them to access their collections. they also thank prof. rui-zheng fang for revising the morphological description, prof. zu-pei liu for revising the english and mr. hua xie for preparing the original line drawings. the authors also appreciate the support given by administrative bureau of leigongshan national nature reserve and the assistance rendered by xiao-yong dai and yun-li jiang during fieldwork. references chen, x., laurie, c., huang, j.y. and chen, x. 2010a. new taxa of rhododendron (ericaceae) from china. ann. bot. fennici. 47: 397−402. chen, x., huang, j.y., laurie, c. and chen, x. 2010b. two new species of rhododendron (ericaceae) from guizhou, china. novon 20(4): 386−391. chen, x., yang, c.h., xie, h. and chen, x. 2012. a new species of rhododendron (ericaceae) from china. j. trop. subtrop. bot. 20(5): 513−516. [in chinese]. fang, m.y., fang, r.c., he, m.y., hu, l.z., yang, h.b. and chamberlain, d.f. 2005. rhododendron. in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china, vol. 14. science press, beijing & missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 260−331. rhododendron leigongshanense sp. nov. (ericaceae) 123 fang, r.c. 1999. flora republicae popularis sinicae. tomus 57, no. 1. science press, beijing, pp. 13−15. [in chinese]. fang, r.z. and ming, t.l. 1995. the floristic study on the genus rhododendron. acta botanica yunnanica 17: 359−379. [in chinese, with english abstract] hu, l.ch. and fang, m.y. 1994. flora republicae popularis sinicae. tomus 57, no. 2. science press, beijing, pp. 7−40. [in chinese]. iucn 2011. iucn red list categories and criteria, version 9.0. prepared by the iucn species survival commission. iucn, gland, switzerland, and cambridge, united kingdom. yang, c.h., yang, c.d. and mu, j. 2012. one new species of rhododendron (ericaceae) from guizhou, china. guizhou. sci. 30(1): 95−96. [in chinese] zhang, h.h. and zhang, x. 2007. study on the biological diversity of the leigongshan nature reserve. science press of guizhou, guiyang, pp. 49−50. [in chinese] zhang, x.s. and chen, x. 1990. rhododendron. in: flora of guizhou editorial committee (eds), flora of guizhou. vol. 3. the people’s press of guizhou, guiyang, pp. 195−233. [in chinese] zhou, z.x. and yao, m.s. 1989. scientific survey of the leigong mountain nature reserve. the people’s press of guizhou, guiyang, pp. 147−174. [in chinese] (manuscript received on 24 september 2015; revised on 2 november 2015) microsoft word 09. new lichens from turkey ok 4.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 207-211, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new lichen records from turkey kenan yazici1, ali aslan2 and andré aptroot3 biology department, faculty of science, karadeniz technical university, 61080, trabzon, turkey keywords: ascomycota; lichen; burdur; turkey. abstract three lichen species, namely cladonia grayi g. merr. ex sandst., pertusaria subventosa malme var. subventosa, and parmelia squarrosa hale are reported as new to turkey as a result of a lichenological survey in the burdur region of the country. descriptions are presented, including geographic distribution, substrate, chemistry, and comparisons with morphologically similar taxa. introduction although many lichen taxa have recently been recorded for turkey (aptroot and yazici, 2009, 2012; arslan et al., 2011; candan and halıcı, 2011; karagöz et al., 2011; karagöz and aslan, 2012; kınalıoğlu and aptroot, 2011; osyczka et al., 2011; vondrák et al., 2012; yazıcı et al., 2010a, b, c), the lichen biota of turkey is still incompletely known, as is in many parts of the world. therefore, more studies are needed to achieve a complete lichen flora of turkey. burdur in turkey has a continental mediterranean climate with cold, snowy winters and very hot, long and dry summers. the mean annual temperature is 15ºc and the temperature ranges from -16°c to 39°c. the mean annual rainfall is about 468 mm and the average humidity is 51.2% (akman, 1999). only 25 lichenized fungi have thus far been reported for this region (çobanoğlu, 2005; öztürk et al., 2005; pišút and guttová, 2008; şenkardeşler, 2009). the visited areas, bucak, and altınyayla districts, are mountainous with much forest dominated by abies, cedrus, ficus, fraxinus, juniperus, olea, pinus, pistacia, prunus, quercus (especially altınyayla district), rhus species and alternating streams, lakes, dams (e.g. yapraklı dam in altınyayla district and karacaören dam in bucak district) (baytop and denizci, 1963). the underforest flora is very abundant in these areas where the bedrock consists mainly of marble. this paper presents first reports of lichenological exploration in the region of burdur, southwestern turkey. materials and methods lichen samples were collected on 28 29 june 2012, air-dried and examined with a nikon smz1500 stereomicroscope and a nikon eclipse 80i compound light microscope. for the identifications relevant keys were consulted (archer and elix, 1993; brodo et al., 2001; goward, 1999; messuti et al., 2007; smith et al., 2009). thin layer chromatography (tlc) analyses were carrried out when needed for cladonia grayi and pertusaria subventosa var. subventosa (orange et al., 2001). vouchers are stored in the herbarium of the biology department, karadeniz technical university, trabzon, turkey (ktub). the descriptions are based on turkish specimens and completed with data from the indicated literatures (archer and elix, 1993; brodo et al., 2001; dobson, 2005; duncan, 1970; goward, 1999; hale, 1973; hyvönen, 1985; wirth, 1995). 1corresponding author. email: kcagri_1997@yahoo.com 2biology department, kazım karabekir education faculty, atatürk university, erzurum, turkey. 3abl herbarium g.v.d. veenstraat 107, nl-3762 xk soest, the netherlands. 208 yazici et al. results cladonia grayi g. merr. ex sandst., sandstede: clad. exs. no.: 1847 (1929). (fig. 1). primary tallus squamulose, shrub-like, mostly curved upwards; upper surface corticate, ± green; rhizines and isidia absent, soralia ± present; upper surface verruculose, minutely wartedsquamulose; podetia pale, 1.0-1.5(-1.7) mm high, not blackening; proliferations present and arising strictly from cup margins; podetial squamules few; the cup margins pinkish, rim ± even, not pointed-crownlike; apothecia brown to dark brown; hymenial ascoma 1.0-2.0 mm, stalked; ascospores oblong, with obtuse tips 9-12 × 2-3(-4) µm, without septa, hyaline, colourless; perispore and epispore absent; conidia falcate; fumarprotocetraric acid and grayanic acid present; photobiont asterochloris. primary thallus c–, k–, kc–, p ± red, medulla p– or yellow, uv+ iceblue. [some morphological and chemical characters taken from goward (1999)]. habitat: cladonia grayi is a holarctic species, found on soil rich in humus, more rarely on conifer wood, peat, dead leaves, turf, rotting wood, mosses over mineral soil. distribution: costa rica, north america, japan, spain, italy, russia, germany, the netherlands, norway, estonia, finland, new zealand and usa. new to turkey. specimen examined: turkey. burdur: altınyayla, between i̇becik-altınyayla, main roadside, 36º58'07.19"n / 29º26'17.70"e, 1348 m, on soil, 29.06.2012, k.yazici (ktub 2340). notes: cladonia grayi is similar to c. chlorophaea (flörke ex sommerf.) spreng., and cladonia merochlorophaea asahina but c. grayi has podetia with few detachable microsquamules on the lower half, while these occur abundantly in c. merochlorophaea. the presence of fumarprotocetraric acid together with grayanic acid in c. grayi helps to distinguish it from c. chlorophaea with the exclusive presence of fumarprotocetraric acid (goward, 1999; smith et al., 2009). accompanying species: cladonia humilis. parmelia squarrosa hale, phytologia 22(1): 29 (1971). (fig. 2a,b). thallus foliose, adnate or ± adnate on its substrata, whitish-grey, greenish or greenish-grey; lobes divaricate, contiguous or imbricate, 0.7-2.5 mm wide. upper surface plane or foveolate with laminal and marginal pseudocyphellae forming a reticulate network; isidia present, fine and cylindrical, up to 0.5 mm tall and becoming more concentrated in older central areas of the thallus and marginal parts of the lobes. rhizines squarrose, but mostly simple at the margins of lobe. apothecia absent. cortex k+ yellow, medulla k+ yellow turning red, c–, p+ orange. [some morphological characters taken from hale (1971)]. habitat: parmelia squarrosa commonly grows as epiphyte on deciduous and coniferous trees near the coast and rarely on rock and decayed wood. distribution: mostly found in oceanic areas in temperate and boreal regions. distributed in america, asia (japan, china, korea, nepal, russia), canada and europe (the alps of western austria and southern switzerland). this species is new to turkey. specimen examined: turkey, burdur: bucak, between beşkonak-kocaaliler, 3 km to kocaaliler, 37º20'52.64"n / 30º44'12.45"e, 846 m, on pinus sp., 17.07.2012. accompanyig species: lepraria sp., parmelia sulcata, p. saxatilis and p. tiliacea, k.yazici (ktub–2339). notes: parmelia squarrosa is similar to p. saxatilis but p. squarrosa has squarrosely branched rhizines at least in part, while they are always simple or sometimes furcately dichotomously branched in p. saxatilis. the upper cortex in p. squarrosa is whitish, greenish or greenish-grey while p. saxatilis has a shiny, bluish-grey or brownish-grey upper cortex, which is often browning at the tips of lobe (hale, 1973). the lobes in p. saxatilis are more branched and new lichen records from turkey 209 broader (3-4 mm) than those of p. squarrosa (0.7-2.0 mm). the isidia in p. squarrosa are mostly on marginal parts of the lobes than those of p. saxatilis. figs 1-3: 1. cladonia grayi (cups bottom), cladonia humilis (cups above), habitus (scale = 1 cm). 2a. parmelia squarrosa (with squarrosely branched rhizines), habitus (scale = 1 mm). 2b. parmelia squarrosa (upper surface of thallus), habitus (scale= 1cm). 3. pertusaria subventosa var. subventosa, habitus (scale = 1mm) pertusaria subventosa malme var. subventosa, ark. bot. 28a (no. 9): 7 (1936). (fig. 3). thallus crustose, up to 6 cm in diameter, white to greyish-white or dark drey, thick, cracked and areolate, smooth. soralia present, ± conspicuous, white, numerous, 0.5-1.8 (-2.0) mm in diameter, scattered or confluent away from the margin, subglobose, occasionally slightly stipitate. apothecia absent. soralia k + yellow, kc+ violet, c–, p+ yellow, uv+ bright yellow, containing lichexanthone (major), thamnolic acid (major) and picrolichenic acid (major), rarely with additional norstictic acid. [some morphological and chemical characters taken from archer and elix (1993)]. habitat: pertusaria subventosa var. subventosa is a holarctic species, growing mostly on calcareous rocks. distribution: australia, brazil, china and new zealand. new to turkey. specimen examined: turkey, burdur: altınyayla, between i̇becik-altınyayla, main roadside, 36º58'07.19"n/29º26'17.70"e, 1348 m, on soil and calcareous rock, 29.06.2012, k.yazici (ktub 2338). 210 yazici et al. notes: pertusaria subventosa has morphologically identical three varieties distinguished by the k– reaction of the soralia. the k+ yellow reaction of the soralia caused by the presence of thamnolic acid in p. subventosa var. subventosa differentiates it from the other two varieties lacking this substance on them. accompanying species: lepraria cf. lobificans. acknowledgements this study was supported by tubitak (project 111t857). references akman, y. 1999. i̇klim ve biyoiklim (biyoiklim metodları ve türkiye i̇klimleri). 1. baskı, kariyer matbaacılık ltd. şti., ankara. pp. 350. aptroot, a. and yazıcı, k. 2009. opegrapha pauciexcipulata, a new corticolous lichen from turkey. mycotaxon 108: 155-158. aptroot, a. and yazıcı, k. 2012. a new placopyrenium (verrucariaceae) from turkey. lichenologist 44: 739-741. archer, a.w. and elix, j.a. 1993. additional new taxa and a new report of pertusaria (lichenized ascomycotina) from australia. mycotaxon 49: 143-150. arslan, b., öztürk, s. and oran, s. 2011. lecanora, phaeophyscia and rinodina species new to turkey. mycotaxon 116: 49-52. baytop, a. and denizci, r. 1963. türkiye’nin flora ve vejetasyonuna genel bakış. ege üniversitesi matbaası, i̇zmir. pp. 43. brodo, i.m., sharnoff, s.d. and sharnoff, s. 2001. lichens of north america. new haven, conn. yale university press, london. pp.795. candan, m. and halıcı, m.g. 2011. new cercidospora records for turkey. turkish j. bot. 35: 625-629. çobanoğlu, g. 2005. lichen collection in the herbarium of univ. istanbul (istf). turkish j. bot. 29: 69-74 dobson, f.s. 2005. lichens. an illustrated guide to the british and irish species.the richmond publishing co.ltd., slough. pp. 480. duncan, u.k. 1970. introduction to british lichens. arbroath: t.buncle & co. ltd., printers and publishers. market place. pp. 292. goward, t. 1999. the lichens of british columbia illustrated keys part 2 fruticose species. special report series 9. ministry of forests research program. british columbia. pp. 319. hale, m.e. 1971. parmelia squarrosa, a new species in section parmelia. phytologia 22: 29. hale, m.e. 1973. fine structure of the cortex in the lichen family parmeliaceae viewed with the scanningelectron microscope. smithson. contr. hot. 10: 1-13. hyvönen, s. 1985. parmelia squarrosa, a lichen new to europe. lichenologist 17(3): 311-314. hue, a.m. 1899. lichenes extra-europaei (suite). nouv. arch. mus. hist. nat. paris 4: 27-220. karagöz, y., aslan, a., yazıcı, k. and aptroot, a. 2011. diplotomma, lecanora, and xanthoria lichen species new to turkey. mycotaxon 115: 115-119. karagöz, y. and aslan, a. 2012. floristic lichen records from kemaliye district (erzincan) and van province. turkish j. bot. 36: 558-565. kınalıoğlu, k. and aptroot, a. 2011. carbonea, gregorella, porpidia, protomicarea, rinodina, solenopsora, and thelenella lichen species new to turkey. mycotaxon 115: 125-129. messuti, m.i., becker, u. and archer, a.w. 2007. new or interesting saxicolous pertusaria species (pertusariales: pertusariaceae) from zimbabwe. lichenologist 39: 227-230. orange, a., james, p.w. and white, f.j. 2001. microchemical methods for the identification of lichens. the british lichen society, london. pp.101. osyczka, p., yazıcı, k. and aslan, a. 2011. note on cladonia species (lichenized ascomycota) from ardahan province (turkey). acta societatis botanicorum poloniae 80: 59-62. new lichen records from turkey 211 öztürk, ş., güvenç, ş. and aydın, s. 2005. floristik lichen records from isparta and burdur provinces. turkish j. bot. 29: 243-250. pišút, i. and guttová, a. 2008. contribution to the lichen flora of anatolia, turkey. sauteria 15: 403-415. smith, c.w., aptroot, a., coppins, b.j., fletcher, a., gilbert, o.l., james, p.w., wolseley, p.a. and orange, a. 2009. the lichens of great britain and ireland. the british lichen society, london. pp.1046 şenkardeşler, a. 2009. lichens from turkey collected by vašák. acta botanica hungarica 51: 427-436. vondrák, j., halıcı, m.g., kocakaya, m. and ondrakova, o.v. 2012. teloschistaceae (lichenized ascomycetes) in turkey. 1. some records from turkey. nova hedwigia 94: 385-396. wirth, v. 1995. die flechten baden-württembergs. teil 1-2. ulmer, stuttgart. yazıcı, k., aptroot, a., aslan, a., etayo, j., spier, l. and karagöz, y. 2010a. lichenized and lichenicolous fungi from nine different areas in turkey. mycotaxon 111: 113-116. yazıcı, k., aptroot, a. and aslan, a. 2010b. three lichenized fungi new to turkey and the middle east. mycotaxon 111: 127-130. yazıcı, k., elix, j.a. and aslan, a. 2010c. some parmelioid lichens new to turkey and asia. mycotaxon 111: 489-494. (manuscript received on 21 may 2013; revised on 4 november 2013) microsoft word 05. bjpt 16 90 edt_ka-april 16, 2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 33–38, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species of ischaemum l. (poaceae) from kerala, india c.n. sunil, v. nithya madhanan, c.r. remya krishnan, v.v. naveen kumar1, m.s. simi and k.j. jyothi post graduate & research department of botany, s.n.m. college, maliankara, ernakulam district, kerala, india key words: ischaemum; new species; poaceae; kerala; india abstract ischaemum sreenarayanii, a new species of ischaemum l. is described and illustrated with detailed notes on distribution, conservation status and phenology. the new species is similar to i. santapaui and i. nairii but differs in number of attributes having up to 1.3 cm long filiform tip of the leaf apex, villous pseudopetiole of upper leaves and 4-6 conspicuous annular transverse ridges and winged margins of the sessile spikelet. introduction the genus ischaemum l. belongs to the family poaceae. all the species of ischaemum are distributed in warm and tropical regions of the world especially in asia (mabberley, 2008) with about 81 species (plant list, 2013). the genus ischaemum was treated in different ways by various authors in india. sur (2001) recognized 51 taxa in india. later, singh and rao (2008) proposed changes in status for some species and new combinations. thus in their study, only 36 taxa were reported including two new additions to the indian flora. srivastava and nair (2010) worked on indian ischaemum and reported 56 taxa, indicating that they overlook the changes made by sing and rao (2008). in india, the genus is mostly represented in southern western ghats, especially in kerala. sreekumar and nair (1991) identified 28 species, 3 varieites and 2 sub-varieties including 11 new species. nayar et al. (2006) included 39 taxa of ischaemum in ‘flowering plants of kerala’ and srivastava and nair (2010) reported 40 taxa from kerala state. after the publication of ‘genus ischaemum (poaceae) in india’ (srivastava and nair, 2010), two new species were described from india viz. i. kasaragodensis dileep and g.g. nair (dileep and geetha, 2015) and i. sayajiraoi raole and r.j desai (vinay et al., 2011). hence the total number of ischaemum in india becomes 58 and that of kerala is 41. during the floristic studies in central kerala, authors collected interesting specimens of ischaemum from wetland areas of thrissur and palakkad districts of kerala. critical studies using relevant literature and type materials of similar species revealed its novelty and distinctness from the hitherto known species and described here as new species ischaemum sreenarayanii. ischaemum sreenarayanii sunil, nithya and remya sp.nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: ischaemum sreenarayanii is similar to ischaemum santapaui bor. in its tall and robust habit with stilt rooted lower nodes, glabrous glumes, narrowed and tapering base of lower leaves and rounded base of upper leaves but differs in having large bulbous-pilose leaves with 1corresponding author. email: naveenkumar2389@gmail.com doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33003 34 sunil et al. fig. 1. ischaemum sreenarayanii sunil, nithya and remya: a. habit; b. a portion of upper leaf base showing ligule & villous pseudopetiole; c. rachis. a new species of ischaemum l. (poaceae) 35 fig. 2. ischaemum sreenarayanii sunil, nithya and remya: a. paired spikelet; b-h sessile spikelet: b & c. dorsal & ventral view of lower glume; d. upper glume; e. lower lemma; f. lower palea; g. upper lemma; h. upper palea; i-o pedicelled spikelet: i&j. dorsal & ventral view of lower glume; k. upper glume; l. lower lemma; m. lower palea; n. upper lemma; o. upper palea; p. stamen; q. pistil; r. lodicules; s. grain. long filiform apex, villous pseudopetiole on upper leaves, long and appressed raceme, lower glume of the sessile spikelet with 4-6 conspicuous annular transverse ridges and winged margins, long awned upper lemma of sessile spikelet and well developed pedicelled spikelets. the new species is also shows some similarities with ischaemum nairii nair sreekumar in its robust habit, tubercle based hairy leaves, glabrous glumes but differs in having stilt root, leaf apex with up to 1.3 cm long filiform tip, villous pseudopetiole on upper leaves, 4-6 conspicuous upwardly 36 sunil et al. directed annular transverse ridges and winged margins on one side of lower glume of sessile spikelet, shorter lower palea of sessile spikelet, long upper lemma of sessile spikelet with 1824 mm long awn, pedicel 1.0-1.5 mm long and less than one-third length of lower glume of sessile spikelet. type: india, kerala: thrissur district, kombazha, ±11 m, 100 34′ 38.5″ n 760 23′ 50.0″ e, 8 december 2015, sunil & nithya 9007 (holotype: mh!; isotypes: cali!, snmh!). densely tufted and deep-rooted perennials. culms robust, erect to decumbent, up to 160 cm long, 2.5-7.0 mm across and stilt rooted at the base, generally reddish-brown, glaucous below the node; nodes densely villous. leaves all along the culm; blade 8-40 × 1.0-2.7 cm, linear-lanceolate to linear-elliptic, lower ones tapering into a short pseudopetiole, upper ones rounded with densely villous up to 3 mm long pseudopetiole, scaberulous on margins, acuminate with up to 1.3 cm long filiform apex, mid-vein thickly prominent below, canaliculate above, bulbous-pilose on both surfaces; ligule sub-coriaceous, 1-10 mm long, oblong, rounded to truncate at apex, sparsely pilose; sheath 8-20 cm long, rounded on the back, bulbous-pilose along margins. inflorescence of two racemes, exserted, 8-14 cm long, appressed to give the appearance of a single raceme; joints of rachis 34 × 1.52.0 mm, triquetrous, clavate-turbinate to linear-clavate, crustaceous, fistular, strawcoloured, ciliate on the outer angle and glabrous otherwise. sessile spikelet 5.0-5.5 × 2.0-2.2 mm, elliptic-oblong, awned, lower floret male, upper floret bisexual; callus ca. 0.5 mm long, longvillous with hair up to 2 mm long. lower glume 4.5-5.5 × 2.0-2.2 mm, elliptic-oblong, acute at apex, crustaceous in the lower ½ 2/3 regions with 4-6 conspicuous upwardly directed annular transverse ridges, thickly coriaceous and smooth above, laterally2keeled with incurved margins and the keel winged on one side towards apex, scaberulous on the margin of the wing, weakly 1113-nerved. upper glume 4.55.5 × 1.8-2.0 mm, lanceolate, boatshaped, acute at apex, keeled on back and humped below middle, shortly incurved on sparsely ciliate margins, coriaceous, strawcoloured, 5-7-nerved. lower lemma 4-5 × 1.2-1.6 mm, ellipticlanceolate, acute at apex, hyaline, 3nerved, margins incurved and shortly ciliate on upper half. lower palea 3-4 × 1.0-1.2 mm, elliptic-lanceolate, obtuse to truncate at apex, hyaline, 2-nerved, infolded along the nerves and minutely scaberulous along keel. upper lemma 4.0-4.5 × 1.2-1.4 mm, elliptic, cleft to the middle with acuminate lobes, awned from the sinus, hyaline, glabrous, 3-nerved; awn 18-24 mm long, geniculate with a column of 8-10 mm long, scaberulous except on the chestnut brown column. upper palea 2.5-3.0 × 1.0-1.2 mm, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate at apex, hyaline, 2-nerved, infolded along the nerves. pedicelled spikelet 4.5-5.5 × 2.0-2.5 mm, oblong-elliptic, acute at apex, with rudimentary awn or awnless; lower floret male or empty, upper bisexual; pedicels 1.0-1.5 × ca. 1 mm, triquetrous, long ciliate on the outer angle and glabrous otherwise. lower glume 4.3-5.4 × 2.0-2.5 mm, obliquely oblong-elliptic, acute at apex, thickly sub crustaceous with 2 – 4 annular transverse ridges or nodulose in the lower half, coriaceous-herbaceous above, laterally keeled with incurved margins and the keel broadly winged on one side and narrowly winged on the other, scaberulous on the margin of the wing, 11-13– nerved, glabrous. upper glume 4-5 × 1.41.6 mm, lanceolate, boatshaped, acute at apex, coriaceous, straw -coloured, minutely keeled on back, not humped, shortly incurved on margins with the margins sparsely ciliate or glabrous, 5-7nerved. lower lemma 3.5-4.5 × ca. 1 mm, elliptic-lanceolate, acute to acuminate at apex, hyaline, 3nerved, incurved on the margins, minutely scabrid on keels and sparsely ciliate on the margins. lower palea 3-4 × ca. 1 mm, elliptic-lanceolate, acute at apex, hyaline, 2nerved, incurved along the nerves, minutely scabrid on keels towards apex. upper lemma 2.7-3.4 × ca. 1 mm, ovatelanceolate, shortly notched at apex and imperfectly awned with an awn up to 2 mm long from the sinus or entire and unawned, hyaline, glabrous, 3nerved. upper palea 2-3 × 1.0-1.2 mm, ovate a new species of ischaemum l. (poaceae) 37 table 1. distinguishing characters of ischaemum sreenarayanii from ischaemum santapaui bor. and ischaemum nairii v.j. nair and p.v. sreekumar. characters i. santapaui i. sreenarayanii sp. nov. i. nairii stilt root present present absent leaves 0.4 – 1.0cm wide, glabrous, scabrid on both side, acute at apex, upper ones shallowly cordate at the base without a villous pseudopetiole 1.02.7 cm wide, bulbous – pilose on both sides, acuminate with up to 1.3 cm long filiform tip at apex , upper ones rounded at the base with up to 3 mm long densely villous pseuodopetiole 12 cm wide, densely villous with tubercle based hairs, acuminate, upper ones round or shallowly cordate without a villous pseudopetiole joints of rachis long hairy on one angle, smooth and glabrous on the other two ciliate on the outer angle and glabrous otherwise long villous along  margins and dorsal  angles raceme in fascicles, upto 7.5 cm long, divergent not fascicled, 8-14 cm long, appressed not fascicled, 5-12 mm long, appressed lower glume of the sessile spikelet coriaceous, flat in the lower 3/4 region, herbaceous above, margins not winged, 10-11nerved crustaceous in the lower ½ 2/3 regions with 4-6 conspicuous upwardly directed annular transverse ridges, coriaceous above, margins winged on one side towards apex, 11-13 nerved crustaceous in the lower 1/3 2/3 regions with several side nodules joined by sharp ridges, scabrid above, not winged, 9-11nerved upper glume of the sessile spikelet mucronate at apex, scabrid on dorsal surface, rounded on back below middle acute, not mucronate at apex, not scabrid on dorsal surface, humped on back below middle acute, tip minutely winged and scabrid, smooth, coriaceous,humped on back below middle lower palea of the sessile spikelet ca. 3.0 mm long 3-4 mm long 4.5-5.4 mm long upper lemma of sessile spikelet 3.5-4.0 mm long; awn 1015 mm long, column ca. 6 mm long 4.0-4.5 mm long; awn 18 24 mm long, column 810 mm long 3.5-4.0 mm long; awn 14-16 mm long, column 6-7 mm long pedicel of pedicelled spikelet ca. 2 mm long, more than 1/3 rd length of lower glume of sessile spikelet 1-1.5 mm long, less than 1/3 rd length of lower glume of sessile spikelet 2-2.5 mm long, more than 1/3 rd length of lower glume of sessile spikelet pedicelled spikelets lower glume of pedicelled spikelet rudimentary, with rudimentary glumes without lemma or if present smaller in size glumes rudimentary often a small scale not winged well developed with well developed glumes and lemmas broadly winged on one side and narrowly winged on the other well developed with well developed glumes and lemmas narrowly winged on one margin 38 sunil et al. lanceolate, margins scabrid, truncate at apex, hyaline, 2nerved infolded along the nerves. lodicules 2, 0.50.8 × 0.8-1.0 mm, obovate, obliquely truncate and wavy at apex, broadly cuneate at base,hyaline.stamens 3; filaments 2.5-3.5 mm long; anthers 1.82.2 mm long, oblong, yellow. ovary ca. 1.0 × 0.4 mm, ovoid; style 1.0-1.4 mm long; stigmas 1.5-2.0 mm long, feathery, purple. grain 22.5 × 1.0-1.2 mm, oblong-ellipsoid, obtusely trigonous, smooth, straw-coloured. flowering and fruiting: november – march. habitat and associated species: ischaemum sreenarayanii was found to grow in abandoned paddy fields and other marshy localities in association with hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl., isachne miliacea roth., ammania baccifera l., fimbristylis littoralis gaudich., leersia hexandra sw., ludwigia hyssopifolia (g. don) exell etc. conservation status: the new species was observed in two localities with very few populations. the extent of occurrence is estimated to be about 34 km and distributed as isolated patches. this was found to grow in the wetlands near the road side; hence the chance for getting extinction is more. the human encroachment and developmental activities leads to the demolition of the natural habitat of this species. by following iucn criteria (cr b1 ab (i,ii,iv); 2ab (i,ii,iv); d) for assessing the status of rare and threatened plants, ischaemum sreenarayanii is assessed as belonging to critically endangered (cr) category (iucn 2014). etymology: the species is named in the honour of the great saint and social reformer, sree narayana guru, in whose name a number of educational institutions have been established all over kerala. additional specimens examined (paratype): india, kerala: palakkad district, alathur, padur ±16 m 22 november 2014, c.n. sunil 4928 (snmh!); thrissur district, kombazha ±11, 27 january 2016, remya & sunil 8237 (cmpr!). acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the principal & staff of the department of botany, s.n.m. college, maliankara. references dileep, p. and geetha, g.n. 2015. i. kasaragodensis (poaceaepanicoideae), a new species from western ghats, india. annals of plant sciences 4(10): 1199–1201. iucn 2014. iucn red list categories and criteria, ver. 3.1. iucn species survival commission. mabberley, d.j. 2008. the plant book. cambridge university press. nayar, t.s., rasiya beegam, a., mohanan, n. and rajkumar, g. 2006. flowering pants of kerala. tropical botanical garden and research institute , thiruvananthapuram, india singh r.k. and rao, p.s.n. 2008.genus ischaemum l. (poaceae) in india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 32(4): 797–835. sreekumar, p.v. and nair, v.j. 1991. flora of kerala – grasses. botanical survey of india, calcutta. srivastava, s.k and nair, v.j. 2010. genus ischaemum l. (poaceae) in india. nelumbo 52: 63–92. sur, p.r. 2001. a revision of the genus ischaemum l. (poaceae) in india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 25: 407–438. the plant list. 2013. ver. 1.1. published on the internet; http: //www.theplantlist.org/ accessed 28 july 2016. vinay, m.r., rinku, j.d. and veldcamp, j.f. 2011. i. sayajiraoi, a new species of poaceae from gujarat, india. kew bulletin 66: 303–306. (manuscript received on 5 august 2016; revised on 9 february 2017) microsoft word 14. s-1. colubrina javanica_revised_4.11.14-ee.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 199-202, 2014 (december) short communication © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists colubrina javanica miq. (rhamnaceae) – a new angiosperm record for bangladesh mohammad sayedur rahman1, gazi mosharof hossain, saleh ahammad khan and sarder nasir uddin2 department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342, bangladesh keywords: colubrina javanica; new record; bangladesh. colubrina rich. ex brongn. floristically is the least specialized members of the rhamnaceae (johnston, 1971) and consist of 23 species distributed in tropical areas of africa, south asia, australia, pacific islands and south america (yilin and schirarend, 2007). hooker (1875) recorded 3 species of this genus, viz. c. asiatica (l.) brongn., c. pubescens kurz, and c. travancorica, from indian subcontinent. roxburgh (1832) reported this genus as ceanothus l., and described one species ceanothus asiatica l. from singapore. prain (1903) reported the occurrence of c. asiatica in the indian coast without specifying any particular area and suggested for searching this species in the sundarbans. hooker (1875) and johnston (1971) reported colubrina javanica miq., as a synonym of c. asiatica but recently yilin and schirarend (2007) separated that species from c. asiatica on the basis of differences in indumenta and length of fruiting pedicels. the genus colubrina has never been mentioned in any publication on the flora covering the present territory of bangladesh (heinig, 1925; raizada, 1941; khan and banu, 1972; chaffey et al., 1985; alam, 1988; karim, 1994; mia and khan, 1995; siddiqi, 2001; hossain, 2003; rahman, 2004; rashid et al., 2008; hassan, 2009; hossain, 2013). recently, the first author, while inventorying the flora of sundarbans under his ph.d. project, collected few specimens of colubrina from katka area and after a critical taxonomic study the specimens have been identified as c. javanica miq. hence, the genus colubrina and the species c. javanica are reported here as the new angiosperm records for bangladesh. the specimens are deposited at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the detailed description and illustration of the species based on herbarium material are given below. colubrina javanica miq., fl. ned. ind. 1(1): 648 (1856). colubrina asiatica var. subpubescens (pit.) m.c. johnst., brittonia 23: 48 (1971); c. pubescens kurz, j. asiat. soc. bengal 2: 301 (1872); c. pubescens var. subpubescens pit., fl. indo-chine 1(8): 931 (1912) (fig. 1). an evergreen branched shrub. stem 2.5-6.0 m tall, 10-12 cm in diameter, branches long, slender, slightly flexuose, youngest ones pubescent. stipules minute, 0.7-0.8 mm long, lanceolate. leaves alternate; petioles 7-15 mm long, sparsely pubescent; lamina 3.2-6.0 × 1.8-3.6 cm, ovate to broadly ovate, occasionally elliptic to oblong, thinly papery, abaxially glabrous, glabrascent or pubescent on veins, adaxially glabrous, secondary veins 2-4 pairs, base rounded and entire, margin serrulate to slightly undulate, apex acuminate or acute to truncate. inflorescence axillary thyrse, 5-10 flowered, peduncles 1-2 mm long. flowers bisexual, 5-merous. pedicels 2.0-3.2 mm long. 1corresponding author. email: sayedur27bcs@gmail.com 2bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh 200 rahman et al. fig.1. colubrina javanica miq. (a) habit: a part of flowering branch; (b) inflorescence; (c) a calyx lobe; (d) a petal; (e) a cucullated petal partly covering a stamen; (f) a stamen; (g) a style with stigma; (h) t.s. of ovary; (i) fruits. colubrina javanica miq. (rhamnaceae) 201 calyx tube hemispherical, sepals 5, green, 1.0-1.1 mm long, 1.1-1.2 mm wide at the base, triangular, adaxially distinctly keeled. petals 5, yellow to light green, 0.7-0.9 × 0.8-1.0 mm at maturity, as long as stamen at bud stage, obovate, cucullate, clawed. stamens 5, 1.2-1.5 mm long, each surrounded by a petal; filament 0.9-1.2 mm long; anthers partly exserted in mature flower, 2lobed, dorsifixed, 0.2 × 0.3 mm. ovary sub-inferior, with broad rugose yellow rounded disc, immerged to calyx tube, 3-loculed, each locule with 1-ovule, placentation basal; style up to 1 mm long, attached with yellow rounded disc, distinctly 3-fid up to the middle; stigmas convex, scabrous. fruits globose, 3-furrowed, 7-8 mm in diameter, basally surrounded by the remains of calyx tube, loculicidally dehiscent at maturity, locule 1-seeded. seeds triangular, 4-5 × 5-6 mm, greyish brown; fruiting pedicels 6-10 mm long. flowering and fruiting period: april december. ecology: bushy area besides the coast. specimen examined: bagerhat: sundarbans east forest division, katka, near forest station, 21.12.2012, m.s. rahman 1081 (juh); 22.4.2014, g.m. hossain 651 (juh); 22.4.2014, m.s. rahman 1512 (dacb). distribution: china, indonesia, malaysia, myanmar and thailand. uses: the crushed leaves of colubrina possess lathering properties. in samoan and fijian islands, the leaves are used as a detergent and shampoo. it is used to cure burns caused by centipede or millipedes. in the bahamas, colubrina is used as a digestive aid, anti scorbutic, tonic, laxative, and as a febrifuge. in the philippines, extract of the leaves is used as a remedy for skin diseases. in sri lanka, a cottage industry has been developed based on colubrina stem (mccormick, 2007). acknowledgement the first author gratefully acknowledges the ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh for awarding the national science and technology (n.s.t.) fellowship. references alam, m.k. 1988. annotated checklist of the woody flora of sylhet forests. bulletin 5, plant taxonomy series. forest research institute, chittagong, pp. 1-153. chaffey, d.r., miller, f.r. and sandom, j.h. 1985. a forest inventory of the sundarbans, bangladesh. main report, overseas development administration, england, 196 pp. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india, pp. 1-84. hooker, j.d. 1875. the flora of british india. vol. 1. l. reeve and co., london, pp. 642-643. johnston, m.c. 1971. revision of colubrina (rhamnaceae) brittonia 23(1): 2-53. hossain, a.b.m.e. 2003. the undergrowth species of sundarban mangrove forest ecosystem (bangladesh). the final report on sundarban biodiversity conservation project, iucn, dhaka, bangladesh (unpublished), 102 pp. hossain, g.m. 2013. ecosystem health status assessment of the sundarbans mangrove forest in bangladesh. ph.d. thesis, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh (unpublished), 212 pp. karim, a. 1994. vegetation. in: hussain, z. and acharya, g. (eds), mangroves of the sundarbans, vol 2. iucn, bangkok, thailand, pp. 43-75. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-2. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh 14(2): 59-88. 202 rahman et al. mccormick, c. 2007. colubrina asiatica (lather leaf) management plan. printed by south florida water management district west palm beach, florida, pp. 1-63. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants'. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. prain, d. 1903 (reprint 1994). flora of the sundribuns. allied book centre, dehra dun, india, 367 pp. rahman, m.o. 2004. second list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's 'flora of british india' and prain's 'bengal plants': series 1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. hassan, m.a. 2009. in: ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds), encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperms: dicotyledons (rhamnaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 7-14. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67: 245-254. roxburgh, w. 1832. flora indica. vol. 1. parbury, allen and co. london, pp. 15-616. rashid, s.h., böcker, r., hossain, a.b.m.e. and khan, s.a. 2008. undergrowth species diversity of sundarban mangrove forest (bangladesh) in relation to salinity. ber. inst. landschafts pflanzenökologie univ. hohenheim, pp. 41-56. siddiqi, n.a. 2001. mangrove forestry in bangladesh. institute of forestry and environmental sciences, university of chittagong. 201 pp. yilin, c. and schirarend, c. 2007. rhamnaceae in: wu, c.y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.y. (eds), flora of china, vol. 12. science press, beijing and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp, 115-168. (manuscript received on 17 june 2014; revised on 4 november 2014) microsoft word s-2. prismatomeris_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 147-149, 2015 (december) short communication prismatomeris fragrans e.t. geddes (rubiaceae) a new record for the flora of viet nam tran the bach1, bui hong quang, ritesh kumar choudhary2, do van hai, tran thi ngoc diep3 and joongku lee4 institute of ecology & biological resources, viet nam academy of science and technology, 18hoang quoc viet, cau giay, hanoi, viet nam keywords: prismatomeris; new record; rubiaceae; viet nam. prismatomeris thwaites is a small genus consisting of 15 species in the family rubiaceae and is distributed throughout asia (mabberley, 2008; chen and taylor, 2011). in viet nam, the genus is represented by four species (ho, 2000; tran, 2005). while exploring the flora of honba nature reserve in khan hoa province of the country, the authors came across an interesting specimen of prismatomeris which, after critical examination and with help of relevant literature (pitard, 1924; ho, 2000; tran, 2005; chen and taylor, 2011) and type specimens, identified as p. fragrans e.t. geddes. this species was so far reported from north west laos and thailand, but never from viet nam. hence, this is reported as a new distributional record for the flora of viet nam. a detailed description and colour photographs are provided for easy identification of the species. prismatomeris fragrans e.t. geddes, bull. misc. inform. kew 1927(4): 173 (1927); craib in fl. siam. en. 2(2): 182 (1934); johansson, opera bot. 94: 42 (1987). (fig. 1). medium-sized tree, up to 12 m high. bark grey, texture rough. leaf blades coriaceous, obovate to elliptic, 6−15 × 2−5 cm, base cuneate, apex acute to acuminate, glabrous, margin entire; lateral veins 6−12 pairs; petioles 1−3 cm long; stipules caducous, 2−4 mm long. inflorescence umbellate, 1−7 flowered. flowers fragrant, pentamerous; pedicels 1.5−4 cm long. calyx shortly denticulate, tube 3−4 mm long, teeth c. 1 mm long, with tufts of straight hairs up to 0.4 mm long. corolla white, thick; tube 1.5−2.0 cm long and c. 2 cm in diameter; lobes recurved at maturity, about as long as the tube. stamens included, inserted in the upper third to upper half of the corolla tube; filaments c. 0.5−2.5 mm long; anthers c. 4−5 mm long. ovary up to 1 mm long, glabrous; style 7(−14) mm long, stigmas 3(−5) mm long. drupe green, shiny black when mature, subglobose, c. 1 cm in diameter. flowering period: april. fruiting period: may to june. specimens examined: viet nam: khanh hoa province; hon ba nature reserve, 9 apr 2011, j. lee et al. hikk-008; l.c., you-mi, lee et al., 10 apr 2011, hikk-254; hikk-371 (hn, krib). thailand: chon buri (si racha, ban dan, lectotype: marcan 1381, k-photo!, bm), rayong, chanthaburi. distribution: north-west laos, thailand (puff et al., 2005), and viet nam.                                                              1duy tan university, da nang province, viet nam & iebr, vast, viet nam. 2agharkar research institute, biodiversity & palaeobiolgy group, g.g. agarkar road, pune 411 004, india. 3hung vuong university, nong trang ward, viet tri city, phu tho province, viet nam. 4corresponding author. department of environment & forest resources, chungnam national university, 99 daehak-ro, daejon 34134, south korea. email: joongku@cnu.ac.kr   148 bach et al. fig. 1. prismatomeris fragrans e.t. geddes a. habit; b. bark; c, d. abaxial and adaxial portion of leaf; e. stipules; f. inflorescence; g. calyx (top) with tufts of straight hairs (bottom); h. flower buds; i. corolla lobes; j. corolla tube; k. anther and filament; l. ovary, style and stigma. prismatomeris fragrans e.t. geddes 149 habitat: exposed hillocks (800−1000 m above sea level); semi-evergreen forests. note: prismatomeris fragrans is morphologically close to p. memecyloides craib and p. filamentosa craib by its distinctly pedicellate flowers, but different in having denticulate calyx with tuft of hairs. uses: the plant is also known for its medicinal properties. in thailand, decoction of root is traditionally used by the ethnic communities to cure kidney dysfunctions (wongsatit et al., 2002). moreover, potential antimalarial, antifungal and anti-tuberculosis bio-chemicals have also been isolated from the plant (kanokmedhakul et al., 2005). conservation status: authors could observe only 10−15 individuals growing well within the reaches of hon ba nature reserve of viet nam. they were under the close monitoring of forest officials and hence, no immediate threat to the population could be seen. in thailand, the plant has been reported from the northern, north-eastern, eastern and south eastern areas (puff et al., 2005). in laos, it is known only from the north-western part. however, quantitative population data of this taxon could not be found, preventing assessment under any specific criteria. therefore, we recommend this to be kept under data deficient (dd) category of iucn red list (iucn, 2012). acknowledgements funding support received from viet nam national foundation for science and technology development (nafosted) vide grant number 106.11-2012.37 and korea national arboretum for this study is greatly acknowledged. logistic support provided by the forest administration of hon ba nature reserve is also acknowledged. references chen, t. and taylor, c.m. 2011. prismatomeris. in: zhengyi, w., raven, p.h. and hong, d. (eds), flora of china, vol. 19. science press (beijing) & mbg press, missouri, pp. 64. ho, p.h. 2000. rubiaceae. in: cay co viet nam (an illustrated flora of vietnam). vol. 3. nha xuat ban tre, tp. ho chi minh, vietnam, pp. 217−218. [in vietnamese] iucn 2012. guidelines for application of iucn red list criteria at regional and national levels: version 4.0. gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk, iii + 41 pp. kanokmedhakul, k., kanokmedhakul, s. and phatchana, r. 2005. biological activity of anthraquinones and triterpenoids from prismatomeris fragrans. j. ethnopharmacol. 100(3): 284−288. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classifications, and uses. cambridge university press, uk, 1040 pp. pitard, j. 1924. rubiaceae in: lecomte, m.h. (ed.), flore générale de l’indochine, vol. 3. masson et cie, paris, pp. 427−430. puff, c., chayamarit, k. and chamchumroon, v. 2005. rubiaceae of thailand. a pictorial guide to indigenous and cultivated genera. the forest herbarium, national park, wildlife and plant conservation department, bangkok, 245 pp. tran, n.n. 2005. rubiaceae. in: ban, n.t., khoi, n.k. and phuong, v.x. (eds), checklist of plant species of vietnam, vol. 3. vietnamese acad. sci. technol., missouri bot. garden & hanoi nat. univ., agri. publ. house, hanoi, pp. 192−193. wongsatit, c., promchit, s. and boonpleng, a. 2002. medicinal plants used in the loengnoktha district, yasothon province, thailand. thai j. phytopharmacy 9(2): 24−46. (manuscript received on 26 may 2014; revised on 21 september 2015) microsoft word sc. 03. bjpt 17-14 gonatophragmium mori_edited.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 125–127, 2017 (june) short communication © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new record of gonatophragmium mori (sawada) deighton on ficus hispida l. from bangladesh shamim shamsi1, sarowar hosen and momtaz begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: gonatophragmium mori; hyphomycetes; ficus hispida l.; new record. anamorphic fungus gonatophragmium belongs to the class hyphomycetes comprises 16 species (crous et al., 2014). the genus is characterized by its effuse, grey or olivaceous colonies; partly superficial mycelium; macronematous, branched, thin-walled conidiophores and solitary, cylindrical to clavate, pale brown conidia. infected leaf samples of ficus hispida l. was collected from shariatpur district of bangladesh on 30 december 2015. ficus hispida is a medicinally important moderate-sized tree belonging to the family moraceae (ahmed et al., 2009). traditionally, different parts of the plant are used for the treatment of ulcers, psoriasis, anemia, piles jaundice, vitiligo, hemorrhage, diabetes, convulsion, hepatitis, dysentery, biliousness and as lactagogue and purgative. it contains wide varieties of bioactives under different phytochemical groups such as alkaloids, carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids, sterols, phenols, flavonoids, gums and mucilage, glycosides, saponins and terpenes (ali and chaudhury, 2011). the fungus associated with leaf samples was critically studied and isolated following “tissue planting method” (cab, 1968) on pda medium. morphological structures of the plant parasitic fungus were recorded in detail with the aid of camera lucida. after critical examination the fungus was identified as gonatophragmium mori (sawada) deighton using a standard literature (ellis, 1971). a detailed survey of literatures revealed that gonatophragmium mori has not been reported in any relevant literature (siddiqui et al., 2007; shamsi and yasmin, 2007, 2009, 2013; shamsi and sultana, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012; shamsi et al., 2008, 2010, 2015, 2016; shamsi and naher, 2014; jahan and ahmed, 2016; kibria et al., 2016; shamsi and hosen, 2016). hence, gonatophragmium mori (sawada) deighton is reported here as a new record from bangladesh. gonatophragmium mori (sawada) deighton, mycol. pap.117: 13-30 (1969). (fig. 1). colonies effuse, greyish. mycelium partly superficial, partly immersed. stroma none. setae and hyphopodia absent. conidiophores pale brown, branched, flexuous, thin-walled, smooth, with nodose swellings which often proliferate as short lateral branches, up to 500 µm long, 3-5 µm thick. conidia usually 3, transversely septate, pale brown, solitary, cylindrical to clavate, often slightly curved, thin-walled, smooth, 9-23 × 4-5 µm. specimen examined: noriaupazila, shariatpur district, 30 december 2015, s. shamsi 3085. on leaf of ficus hispida the fungus developed enlarged distinctive, zonate spot, 1corresponding author. email: prof.shamsi@gmail.com doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33040 126 shamsi et al.   fig. 1. gonatophragmium mori: a). conidiophores bearing conidia, b). conidia, c). camera lucida drawing of conidia (a) and conidiophores (b). (bar = 50 µm). references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds) 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 9. angiosperms: dicotyledons (magnoliaceae−punicaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 488 pp. ali, m. and chaudhary, n. 2011. ficus hispida linn.: a review of its pharmacognostic and ethnomedicinal properties. pharmacogn. rev. 5(9): 96–102. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau), 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. 1st edition. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, 267 pp. new record of gonatophragmium mori (sawada) 127   crous, p.w., wingfield, m.j., schumacher, r.k., summerell, b.a., girald, a., gené, j., guarro, j., wanasinghe, d.n., hyde, k.d., campores, e., jones, e.b.g., thambugala, k.m., malysheva, e.f., malysheva, v.f., acharya, k., álvarez, j., alvarado, p., assefa, a., barnes, c.w., bartlett, j.s., blanchette, r.a., burgess, t.i., carlavilla, j.r., coetzee, m.p.a., damm, u., decock, c.a., den breeÿen, a., de vries, b., dutta, a.k., holdom, d.g., rooney-latham, s., manjón, j.l., marincowitz, s., mirabolfathy, m., moreno, g., nakashima, c., papizadeh, m., fazeli, s.a.s., amoozegar, m.a., romberg, m.k., shivas, r.g., stalpers, j.a., stielow, b., stukely, m.j.c., swart, w.j., tan, y.p., van der bank, m., wood, a.r., zhang,y. and groenewald, j.z. 2014. fungal planet description sheets. persoonia 33: 212–289. ellis, m.b. 1971.dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, 608 pp. jahan, n. and ahmed, f.a. 2016. first record of xylaria vasconica j. fournier & m. stadler from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 255-257. kibria, a., hossain, k.s., akhtar, n., jahan, m.a.a., sarker, m.a.m. and begum, m.n. 2016. new records of seven fungal species for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 1-6. shamsi, s. and hosen, s. 2016. new record of monochaetia karstenii var. gallica (stey.) sutton on brassica napus l. from bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 42(1):127-128. shamsi, s. and naher, n. 2014. boll rot of cotton (gossypium hirsutum l.) caused by rhizopus oryzae went & prins. geerl. – a new record in bangladesh. j. agril. res. 39(3): 547-551. shamsi, s. and sultana, r. 2008. gibberella zeae (schw.) petch – a new record of ascomyceteous fungus for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 163-165. shamsi, s. and sultana, r. 2008. trichothecium roseum link a new record of hyphomycetous fungus for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1):77-80. shamsi, s. and sultana, r. 2010. new records of two hyphomycetous fungi monodictys putredinis (wallr) hughes and stachybotrys atra corda for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon.17:101-103. shamsi, s. and sultana, r. 2012. new records of two species of corynespora on sesame (sesamum indicum l.) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant pathol. 27(1&2):75-76. shamsi, s. and yasmin, a. 2007.curvularia harveyi shipton: a new hyphomycetes record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon.14 (1): 67-69. shamsi, s. and yasmin, f. 2013. bipolaris hawaiiensis (bugnicourt ex m.b. ellis) uchida & aragak e– a new record of human pathogenic species of bipolaris in bangladesh. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 22(2):175-178. shamsi, s. and yasmin, z. 2009. bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama – a new dematiaceous hyphomycetes record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon.16 (1): 91-93. shamsi, s., hosen, s., manun, m.a. and begum, m. 2016. report on mycoflora associated with infected fruits of momordica cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 181-188. shamsi, s., nahar, n., momtaz, s .and chawdhury, p. 2010. new records of ascomycetes on aromatic rice variety-kataribhog. bangladesh j. pl. pathol. 26(1&2): 77-78. shamsi, s., naher, n. and azad, r. 2015.mycoflora of cotton plant (gossypium hirsutum l.) with three new records of deuteromycetes from bangladesh. j. bangladesh. acad. sci. 39(2):213-221. shamsi, s., sultana, r. and azad, r. 2008. new record of phyllactenia dalbergae piroz. and its anamorph ovulariopsis sissoo sp. nov. on dalbergia sissoo roxb. from bangladesh. bangladesh j. of plant pathol. 24 (1&2): 87-89. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 2. cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 415 pp. (manuscript received on 31 january 2017; revised on 3 april 2017) microsoft word 02. bjpt 17-60_synechococcus _final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 137–147, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists synechococcus salsus sp. nov. (cyanobacteria): a new unicellular, coccoid species from yuncheng salt lake, north china hong-rui lv, jie wang, jia feng, jun-ping lv, qi liu and shu-lian xie1 school of life science, shanxi university, taiyuan 030006, china keywords: new species; china; synechococcus salsus; dna barcodes; taxonomy. abstract a new species of the genus synechococcus c. nägeli was described from extreme environment (high salinity) of the yuncheng salt lake, north china. morphological characteristics observed by light microscopy (lm) and transmission electron microscopy (tem) were described. dna barcodes (16s rrna+its-1, cpcba-igs) were used to evaluate its taxonomic status. this species was identified as synechococcus salsus h. lv et s. xie. it is characterized by unicellular, without common mucilage, cells with several dispersed or solitary polyhedral bodies, widely coccoid, sometimes curved or sigmoid, rounded at the ends, thylakoids localized along cells walls. molecular analyses further support its systematic position as an independent branch. the new species synechococcus salsus is closely allied to s. elongatus, c. nägeli, but differs from it by having shorter cell with length 1.0–1.5 times of width. introduction synechococcus c. nägeli (synechococcaceae, cyanobacteria) was first discovered in 1849 and is a botanical form-genus comprising rod-shaped to coccoid cyanobacteria with the diameter of 0.6–2.1 µm that divide in one plane. it is a group of ultra-structural photosynthetic prokaryote and has the close genetic relationship with prochlorococcus (johnson and sieburth, 1979), and both of them are the most abundant phytoplankton in the world’s oceans (huang et al., 2012). the genus is a taxon of unicellular cyanobacteria with an ongoing debate concerning its revision into several genera (rippka et al., 1979). the genus synechococcus is surely heterogeneous and its taxonomy needs to be solved by ultrastructural features and methods of molecular taxonomy (komárek et al., 2014). the genetic diversity and phylogeny of synechococcus in freshwater were determined by nucleotide sequence such as 16s rrna gene, 16s-23s rrna gene internal transcribed spacer (its-1) and cpcba-igs (phycocyanin operon) (jasser et al., 2011). 16s rrna gene is the most widely used gene sequence in the classification of cyanobacteria. due to its highly conserved structure, it is only appropriate for evolutionary studies at the level of genera and above (long and chen, 2006). with the high variability and the rapid rate of change in molecular evolution, the internal transcribed spacer is often used to study the phylogenetic relationships at the taxa of genus, species, subspecies and so on (garcía-martínez et al., 1996). in addition, cpcba-igs, the phycocyanin operon, can be used as the classification basis in identifying the level of species and the following (bolch et al., 1996). yuncheng salt lake is located in southern suburbs of yuncheng city where the algal distribution has its particularity. on the north of beach of yuncheng salt lake, there were nearly 2 × 105 m2                                                              1 corresponding author: email: xiesl@sxu.edu.cn 138 hong-ruilv et al. waters extensively appeared rosy during june, 2015. in order to find the reasons why the water turns red, we specifically took water samples and a coccoid strain with flickering red light of synechococcus species was isolated. in the present paper, we describe synechococcus species isolated from yuncheng salt lake as a new species synechococcus salsus sp. nov. and discuss its taxonomic position based on morphological property observed by light microscopic and transmission electron microscopic, molecular data of 16s rrna gene with the adjacent its, cpcba-igs and flanking regions were also used to support the entity as a new species. materials and methods sample preparation and culture-dependent method the unicellular, coccoid strain in this study was collected from yuncheng salt lake, shanxi province, north china, in june 2015. it was preliminarily identified belonging to the genus synechococcus through light microscopic examination (olympus bx-51, tokyo, japan). we prepared bg-11 medium and then added it to a 24-well cell culture plate, each hole with 2 ml. pasteur micropipette was used to pick individual cells (rippka, 1988). cyanobacteria were isolated into unialgal culture and they were inoculated on the medium in the 24-well cell culture plate after washing eight times by sterile water. then, it was cultured in a light incubator (bsg300, shanghai, china) at 25°c under a 12 h/12 h light/dark photoperiod. the light intensity was 25 µmol·m-2·s-1. three weeks later, they reached exponential phase, then we examined them with microscope. in the case of growing well and axenic culture, the homogenates were transferred to conical flasks with 200 ml bg-11 liquid medium. similarly, they were placed in the same culture condition for large scale culture. to make them fully absorb nutrients and equally distribute, we manually shook the conical flasks every two days. the unialgal strain was deposited in algae culture collection at shanxi university. morphological observations morphological characteristics were examined under a light microscope when the cyanobacteria in large scale culture reached stationary phase. photographs of main characters were taken with a digital camera (camedia c5060wz, olympus) and a ccd camera (dp72, olympus) mounted on the microscope. moreover, transmission electron microscope (jem-1011, jeol, tokyo, japan) was used to observe the ultrastructure through the process of centrifuging, fixation, dehydration, embedding, sectioning and dye (lim et al., 2012). molecular analyses genomic dna was extracted from 10 ml axenically exponential phase cultures according to the modified cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (ctab) method (doyle, 1987).pcr was carried out in 20 µl reaction volume containing 12.3 µl of double-distilled water, 2 µl of 10×taq polymerase reaction buffer (takara, dalian, china), 0.2 µl of easytaq dna polymerase (5 u/µl, takara, china), 1.5 µl of each primer (10 µm), 2 µl dntp mix (2.5 mm each; takara) and 0.5 µl of undiluted genomic dna. part of the 16s ribosomal rna gene (16s rrna) and all of the 16s23s rrna internal transcribed spacer region (16s-23s its) were amplified using the primers p1 (5’-ctc tgt gtg cct agg tat cc-3’) and p2 (5’-ggg gaa ttt tcc gca atg gg-3’) as described by boyer et al. (2001). the cpcba-igs region of the phycocyanin operon were amplified with the cyanobacterium-specific primer pairs (crosbie et al., 2003a) cpcbf (5’-tag tgt aaa acg acg gcc agt tgy ytk cgc gac atg ga-3’) and cpcar (5’-tag cag gaa aca gct atg acg tgg tgt arg gga ayt t-3’). polymerase chain reaction (pcr) was performed in a my cycler thermal cycler (bio-rad, hercules, ca, usa). the program consisted of the following condition: 5 min at 95 °c, 35 cycles of 45 s at 94 °c, 45 s at 55 °c, 1 synechococcus salsus sp. nov. (cyanobacteria): a new unicellular 139 min at 72 °c, and a final extensionstep of 10 min at 72 °c. sequencing was carried out from purified pcr products by bgi (beijing, china). sequences generated from the research were deposited in genbank (accessions ku925869 for 16s rrna gene+its-1, ku925870 for phycocyanin operon). sequences were aligned using bioedit and then manually adjusted. phylogenetic trees were constructed from the aligned gene sequences using neighbor-joining (nj), maximum likelihood (ml), and bayesian (bi) methods. nj, ml and bi analyses were performed through mega 5.0 (tamura et al., 2011), phyml 3.0 (guindon and gascuel, 2003) and mrbayes version 3.1.2 (ronquist and huelsenbeck, 2003), respectively. best fit models were selected under the akaike information criterion (aic) using modeltest 3.7 (posada and crandall, 1998). for nj analyses, evolutionary distances were computed using the kimura 2-parameter method with 1000 bootstrap replicates. treeview was used to view the phylogenetic trees. final graphic refinement of all trees was done in adobe illustrator cs5 (adobe systems, san jose, ca, usa). results and discussion the information and genbank accession numbers for synechococcus salsus sp. nov. and the other eighty-nine strains analyzed in this study were listed in table 1. for the 16s rrna+its-1 sequences, 44 strains of cyanobacteria were used and the aligned sequence dataset comprised 1321 nucleotides, of which 515 (38.99%) were variable sites and 455 (34.44%) were parsimonyinformative sites. the aligned phycocyanin operon (cpcba-igs) dataset was 449 bp long. fortyeight aligned cpcba-igs sequences had 307 (68.37%) variable sites and 281 (62.58%) parsimony-informative sites. the best fit model used for each locus was presented in table 2. for both the 16s rrna+its-1 and the cpcba-igs data, tree topologies resulting from three methods had some similarities and differences. based on 16s rrna+its-1 sequences, the tree derived from the bi analysis is presented in figure 1 to explain the relationships between synechococcus salsus sp. nov. and the other accessions. leptolyngbya sp. kiost-1 was chosen as out group. s. salsus sp. nov. is grouped together with many synechococcus strains. they are in a well-supported clade. nevertheless, the bootstrap value by nj method is less than 50%. the phylogenetic tree recovered by bi analysis of cpcba-igs is shown in figure 2. cyanidium caldarium was chosen as outgroup. in this topology, s. salsus sp. nov. and many other synechococcus strains also constitute one cluster. the strain synechococcus pcc9005 af223465 was confirmed as closely related to s. salsus sp. nov., but the support value was low. synechococcus salsus h. r. lv et s. l. xie, sp. nov. (fig 3). diagnosis: lm observations-unicellular, cells solitary or agglomerated in groups (figs a, b), but without common mucilage. cells widely coccoid, sometimes curved or sigmoid, rounded at the ends, with a mean diameter of 2.0–3.5 µm and a length of 3–5 µm, usually pale blue-green, rarely olive-green, bright blue-green or pinkish, division always by binary fission, perpendicular to the longer axis of the cell, reproduction by solitary cells (figs c, d). tem observations-cells with several dispersed or solitary polyhedral bodies, thylakoids localized along cells walls, photosynthetic pigments attached to it (figs e, f).the new species is closely allied to s. elongatus c. nägeli, but differs from it by having shorter cell with length 1.0–1.5 times of width, and cell length of s. elongatusis 1.5–3.0 times of width. type: china. shanxi: yuncheng city, yuncheng salt lake, 21 june 2015, jie wang & chaoyan gong, sas15yc (holotype: sxu). 140 hong-ruilv et al. table 1. strains information and genbank accession numbers for synechococcus salsus h. lv et s. xie. and other taxa analyzed in phylogenetic comparison based on 16s rrna+its-1 and phycocyanin operon (cpcba-igs). taxon strain/isolate 16s rrna + its-1 phycocyanin operon arthrospirafusiformis (voronikhin) komárek&j.w.g. lund ab2002/11 ay575929 arthrospiraindica desikachary & n. jeeji bai pd1997/ram ay575931 arthrospira maxima setchell & n.l. gardner fachb-438 fj826622 arthrospira platensis gomont fachb-834 fj826623 cyanidium caldarium (tilden) geitler s77125 cyanobium sp. ns01 kf528824 sai001 gu935387 sai004 gu935390 sai005 gu935391 leptolyngbya boryana (gomont) anagnostidis & komárek utex 'b 488' ef429295 leptolyngbya corticola j.r. johansen, kovácik, cassamata, fucikova & kastovsky ccala 085 ef429299 leptolyngbya saxicola (n.l. gardner) anagnostidis bdu 91391 dq829688 leptolyngbya tenerrima (hansgirg) komárek utcc 77 ef429288 leptolyngbya valderiana (gomont) anagnostidis & komárek bdu 30501 aj973264 bdu 20041 aj973263 bdu 40231 dq829696 bdu 41001 dq829697 bdu 80221 dq829698 bdu 91712 dq829699 bdu 140441 aj973265 leptolyngbya sp. kiost-1 jx401929 ha4237-mv6 kj939031 merismopedia sp. aicb1014 kj746509 aicb1015 kj746510 microcoleus chthonoplastes thuret ex gomont sag 2209 ef654055 microcystis aeruginosa (kützing) kützing 2009-a jn226767 h107 kf840319 pcc7806 af195177 uam-marb5 eu643824 uam-vma12 eu643811 microcystis botrys teiling h179a kf840323 microcystis sp. cyn06 ef634465 cyn10 ef634466 kll-c018 kp726243 kll-c005 kp726246 kll-c019 kp726247 uwocc q af195179 nostoc calcicola brébisson ex bornet & flahault ind30 jf923546 nostoc commune vaucher ex bornet et flahault nc3-k1 eu586723 nc5 eu586728 wy1kk1 eu586733 nostoc linckia bornet ex bornet & flahault pacc 5085 ay466120 synechococcus salsus sp. nov. (cyanobacteria): a new unicellular 141 taxon strain/isolate 16s rrna + its-1 phycocyanin operon nostoc muscorum c. agardh ex bornet & flahault ind33 jn402387 nostoc punctiforme hariot nc6 eu586731 nostoc spongiaeforme c. agardh ex bornet & flahault ind42 jf923547 nostoc sp. cavn2 kj511230 cavn10 kj511236 ha4355-mv2 hq847576 ha4356-mv1 hq847577 hk-01 jf740675 knua003 jf740672 mcc2741 kt166439 os-1 kp001508 pcc 6720 jf740673 uam 307 hm623782 pannus brasiliensis c.f.da silva malone et al. ccibt3594 kf668649 phormidium cf. terebriformis ab2002/07 ay575933 spirulina subsalsa oersted ex gomont fachb-351 fj826621 pd2002/gca ay575935 synechococcus salsus h. lv et s. xie. sas15yc ku925869 ku925870 synechococcus sp. act 0613 hq859449 act 0616 hq859452 act9701 gq888569 be0807f fj763770 be0807g fj763772 be0807h fj763791 be0807l fj763778 ccy9201 ef513488 ec-lc05pc eu413956 ec-lm05pc eu420180 ma0607e fj763807 mi0608f fj763799 mw97c4 ay151223 nibb 1026 ab610894 nibb 1070 ab610895 nibb 1071 ab610896 pcc 7918 af223462 pcc9005 af223465 ps673 af223434 suigetsu-cg2 ab610891 wh8101 kf528825 synechocystis sp. aicb51 kj746512 lscb 01 kj018112 pupccc 62 kf573457 sai001 gu935367 sai002 gu935368 gu935393 uncultured synechococcus sp. mb11e09 ay033308 uncultured synechocystis sp. clone af1037-c9 jq410261 uncultured marine bacterium spotsoct00 5m10 dq009323 spotsoct00 5m14 dq009324 142 hong-ruilv et al. table 2. model selection results for each phylogenetic dataset. best fit models were selected under the akaike information criterion (aic) using modeltest 3.7. gene model selected base frequencies substitution model gtr + i + g r(a) [a-c] = 0.8415 lnl = 10568.6123 freqa = 0.2750 r(b) [a-g] = 2.0325 k = 10 freqc = 0.2136 r(c) [a-t] = 1.1733 aic = 21157.2246 freqg = 0.2855 r(d) [c-g] = 0.5105 ( i ) = 0.5199 freqt = 0.2259 r(e) [c-t] = 2.9532 16s rrna+its-1 (g ) = 0.7675 r(f) [g-t] = 1.0000 tim+i+g r(a) [a-c] = 1.0000 lnl = 5649.5356 freqa = 0.2653 r(b) [a-g] = 2.5283 k = 8 freqc = 0.2977 r(c) [a-t] = 1.6029 aic = 11315.0713 freqg = 0.1944 r(d) [c-g] = 1.6029 ( i ) = 0.2250 freqt = 0.2426 r(e) [c-t] = 3.8615 phycocyanin operon (cpcba-igs) (g ) = 1.2670 r(f) [g-t] = 1.0000 etymology: the specific epithet refers to its living environment with the high salinity. habitat and distribution: synechococcus salsus was discovered in yuncheng salt lake in shanxi province, north china, which is located at 34°48′ to 35°30′ n and 110°12′ to 111°41′ e. the lake is about 1.3×108 m2 in area, with a salinity of 6.8%and ph 7.54 in june. note: the genus synechococcus belongs to cyanobacteria, cyanophyceae, synechococcophycideae, synechococcales, synechococcaceae. synechococcus is polyphyletic and currently recognized as a distinct genus. the synechococcus species are unicellular and rodshaped to coccoid. such tiny cells can be identified through the fluorescence of the main pigments phycoerythrin (pe) they contain, which is the evidence with respect to the phenomenon that yuncheng salt lake appears rosy during june, 2015. according to algae base (http://www.algaebase.org/), 38 species have been flagged as currently accepted taxonomically. zhao et al. (2010) studied spatial and temporal patterns of plankton assemblage structure of the saline lake namuka co in northern tibet and found synechococcus strain. in the study of taxonomic and functional diversity in the saline qinghai lake, huang et al. (2014) pointed out that synechococcus was the dominant genus. among the reports about cyanobacteria in yuncheng salt lake region, only one synechococcus species (s. aeruginosus nägeli) was reported (li and xie, 2006). however, it is generally accepted belonging to the genus cyanothece komárek, namely c. aeruginosa (nägeli) komárek. synechococcus salsus sp. nov. has no homology with it. synechococcus is an important type genus and species of this genus grow well in many different mediums. most are freshwater species, and some grow within mats and colonies of other algae, or form fine colonies on wet substrates including mud, wood, stones, etc. a group of species is known from the metaphyton and periphyton of thermal and mineral springs (dor, 1967), and few are described from aerophytic sites (skuja, 1964). there are also some marine species (jao, 1948; komárek, 1956). interesting picoplanktonic or planktonic species were found in oceans as well as in freshwater reservoirs (lakes) (komárek and anagnostidis, 1995). in the past, the classification of cyanobacteria only relied on traditional morphological criteria. however, it is difficult to distinguish the members of synechococcus because of their small differences, and its taxonomy should be resolved by help of ultrastructural procedures and synechococcus salsus sp. nov. (cyanobacteria): a new unicellular 143 molecular approaches. with the development of electron microscope technique and molecular phylogeny, the accuracy of describing the phylogenetic relationship about cyanobacteria has been greatly improved (komárek, 2010). fig. 1. phylogenetic tree reconstructed using bayesian inference from the aligned 16s rrna+its-1 sequence. numbers at nodes represent maximum likelihood bootstrap/neighbor-joining bootstrap/bayesian posterior probabilities values. support values less than 50% are not shown. scale bar represents 0.1 substitutions per site. 144 hong-ruilv et al. fig. 2. phylogenetic tree reconstructed using bayesian inference from the aligned cpcba-igs sequence. numbers at nodes represent maximum likelihood bootstrap/neighbor-joining bootstrap/bayesian posterior probabilities values. support values less than 50% are not shown. scale bar represents 0.1 substitutions per site. 16s rrna gene encodes the small subunit ribosomal in prokaryote. because of its high conservation and the largest database available for comparison, it has been widely chosen as one of the molecular markers for phylogeny (gupta, 2009). however, even for species with distinct physiological differences, 16s rrna does not have enough distinguishing ability in solving the relationship problems (jaspers and overmann, 2004). its (internal transcribed sequences) with relatively high mutation rate, when it comes to some closely related species, is quite effective. despite three pure cultures of synechococcus strains and a prochlorococcus strain was close to each other in the phylogenetic tree based on the 16s rrna, but the length of their its sequences differ greatly (laloui et al., 2002). rocap et al. (2002) also indicated that the length of the its synechococcus salsus sp. nov. (cyanobacteria): a new unicellular 145 sequences and g+c content vary greatly among different strains. it is always used to distinguish synechococcus strains with highly similar sequences but different in physiological characteristics (e.g. different pigment composition, of light and nutrients of different growth response, etc.). the phycocyanin operon is composed of the two genes (cpcb and cpca) that code for phycocyanin, a short and quite variable intergenic region (igs) and three linker polypeptides (belknap and haselkorn, 1987). it can avoid many non-specific amplified products when used to study the diversity of synechococcus. fig. 3. lm and tem of synechococcus salsus h.r. lvets.l. xie. a. cells agglomerated in groups. b. cells solitary. c-d. cells usually pale blue-green, rarely olive-green, bright blue-green or pinkish, widely oval or coccoid, sometimes curved or sigmoid (s, arrowhead), rounded at the ends (r, arrowhead). cell division (pinching or cleavage) always by binary fission (d, arrowhead). e-f. thylakoids localized along cells walls (t, arrowhead). photosynthetic pigments attached to it. cells with dispersed or solitary polyhedral bodies (p, arrowhead). 146 hong-ruilv et al. this study relatively accurately evaluated the taxonomic status of s. salsus sp. nov. based on the 16s rrna+its-1 gene sequence and phycocyanin operon (cpcba-igs). based on 16s rrna+its-1 sequences, the tree showed the relationships between synechococcus salsus sp. nov. and the other accessions. the members of synechococcus are gathered together into one cluster, which is in a well-supported rate. but in the synechococcus-clade, it is quite obvious that s. salsus sp. nov. is separated from the other synechococcus strains and alone in a small clade. on the phylogenetic tree recovered by bi analysis of cpcba-igs, the genus synechococcus is not a monophyletic group. the strain synechococcus pcc9005 af223465 was confirmed as closely related to s. salsus sp. nov., but the support values were weak. from the above, it is reasonable to make it as a new synechococcus species. finally, salt lake (salinity > 0.5 g/l) is a special habitat. although the salinity cannot be a criterion to justify a new species (anagnostidis and komarek, 2005), it may indeed contain many special organisms. acknowledgements this study was supported by the national natural science foundation of china (no.31170193 to shulian xie) and the foundation of plate form construction project of infrastructure for science and technology of shanxi (no. 2015091004-0102 to shulian xie). references belknap, w.r. and haselkorn, r. 1987. cloning and light regulation of expression of the phycocyanin operon of the cyanobacterium anabaena. embo j.6: 871–884. bolch, c.j.s., blackburn, s.i., neilan, b.a. and grewe, p.m. 1996. genetic characterisation of strains of cyanobacteria using pcr–rflp of the cpcb aintergenic spacer and flanking regions. j. phycol. 32: 445–451. boyer, s.l., flechtner, v.r. and johansen, j.r. 2001. is the 16s–23s rrna internal transcribed spacer region a good tool for use in molecular systematics and populations genetics? a case study in cyanobacteria. mol. biol.evol. 18: 1057–1069. dor, i. 1967.algues des sources thermales de tibériade. bull.sea fish. res. stat. haifa 48: 1–29. doyle, j.j. 1987. a rapid dna isolation procedure for small quantities of fresh leaf tissue. phytochem. bull. 19: 11–15. garcía-martínez, j., martínez-murcia, a., antón, a.i. and rodríguez-valera, f. 1996. comparison of the small 16s to 23s intergenic spacer region (isr) of the rrna operons of some escherichia coil strains of the ecor collection and e. coil k-12. j. bacteriol. 178: 6374–6377. guindon, s. and gascuel, o. 2003. a simple, fast, and accurate algaorithm to estimate large phylogenies by maximum likelihood. syst. biol. 52: 696–704. gupta, r.s. 2009. protein signatures (molecular synapomorphies) that are distinctive characteristics of the major cyanobacterial clades. internat. j. syst. evol. micr. 59: 2510–2526. huang, q., briggs, b.r., dong, h., jiang, h., wu, g., edwardson, c., de vlaminck, l. and quake, s. 2014. taxonomic and functional diversity provides insight into microbial pathways and stress responses in the saline qinghai lake, china. plosone 9: 1–10. huang, s., wilhelm, s.w., harvey, h.r., taylor, k., jiao, n. and chen, f. 2012. novel lineages of prochlorococcus and synechococcus in the global oceans. internat. soc. micr. ecol. j. 6: 285–297. jao, c.c. 1948. the marine myxophyceae in the vicinity of friday harbor, washington. bot.bull. acad. sin. 2: 161–177. jaspers, e. and overmann, j. 2004. ecological significance of micro-diversity: identical 16s rrna gene sequences can be found in bacteria with highly divergent genomes and ecophysiologies. appl. envir. micr.70: 4831–4839. synechococcus salsus sp. nov. 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(manuscript received on 10 june 2017; revised on 25 october 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 91-96, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists eleocharis neglecta (cyperaceae), a new species from konkan region of maharashtra, india d.b. borude, a.n. chandore1, a.r. gholave2 and s.r. yadav2 department of botany, abasaheb marathe arts and new commerce, science college, rajapur 416702, district ratnagiri, maharashtra, india keywords: cyperaceae; eleocharis; india; konkan; new species. abstract eleocharis neglecta borude, chandore, gholave & s.r. yadav, a new species from konkan region of maharashtra, india is described and illustrated. this species belongs to eleocharis subgen. limnochloa (p. beauv. ex lestib.) torr. and it is closely allied to eleocharis dulcis (burm. f.) trin. ex hensch. in having terete and septate culms. introduction the genus eleocharis r.br. (cyperaceae) is distributed worldwide with c. 200 species (gonzalez-elizondo and peterson, 1997) however; recently govaerts et al. (2016) have reported c. 300 species for the world. the genus is widely distributed from tropical to temperate regions of both hemispheres. in india, it is represented by about 21 species (prasad and singh, 2002; wadoodkhan, 2015). recently eleocharis wadoodii s.r. yadav, lekhak & chandore and eleocharis konkanensis chandore, borude, kambale & s.r. yadav have been described from the state of maharashtra. (yadav et al., 2009; chandore et al., 2016). another species of eleocharis i.e. e. khandwaensis mujaffar, chandore & s.r. yadav has been described from state of madhya pradesh (mujaffar et al., 2014). similarly, one more species of eleocharis i.e. e. setifolia (a. rich) raynal has been recorded for india by wadoodkhan (2015). therefore the present account of eleocharis in india is about 25 species including 3 new species and one addition. during our floristic survey, some specimens of eleocharis were collected along with eleocharis dulcis from estuaries of ansure, dandaansure, tulsunde and vengurle of konkan region of maharashtra, india. careful observations were made on the specimens in field as well as in laboratory under stereo-zoom microscope. after examination of relevant literature (cook, 1996; koyama, 1985; wadoodkhan, 2015) and critical analysis of plant specimens revealed that it is to date undescribed species of eleocharis. hence, it is described and illustrated here as a new species. eleocharis neglecta borude, chandore, gholave & s.r. yadav, sp. nov. (figs 1-3). diagnosis: the new species is similar to eleocharis dulcis (burm. f.) trin. ex hensch., but differs in its subrigid culms (vs. soft culms); culms slender after pressing and drying (vs. culms flat after pressing and drying); spikelet angular, 15–35 flowered, distinctly wider than culms (vs. cylindrical, 60–120 flowered, not wider than culms); sterile glumes ovate, acute at apex, (vs. obovate, acuminate at apex); fertile glumes fairly imbricate, c. ½ portion overlap by other glumes, persistent (vs. closely imbricate, c. ¾ portion overlaps by other glumes, deciduous); epidermal cells on achene surface longitudinally oblong–hexagonal (vs. epidermal cells on achene surface isodiametrically hexagonal to pentagonal). 1corresponding author. email: arunchandore@gmail.com 2department of botany, shivaji university, kolhapur 416004, maharashtra, india. mailto:arunchandore@gmail.com 92 borude et al. types: india. maharashtra, ratnagiri district, rajapur, on the way of dandansure road, 16°33'736''n, 73°21'412''e, altitude 13 m, 30 august 2015, a.n. chandore 1951 (holotype: cal; isotypes: bsi, k, suk). fig. 1. eleocharis neglecta borude, chandore, gholave & s.r. yadav, sp. nov. a. habitat (network of young culms); b. habitat; c. spikelets; d. roots & stolon; e. t. s. of culm; f. flower; g. achene; h. achene (sem) (all from a.n.chandore 1951). photo plate by a.n. chandore. eleocharis neglecta (cyperaceae), a new species 93 fig. 2. a. eleocharis neglecta habitat; b. e. dulcis habitat; c. & e. e. neglecta spikelets; d. & f. e. dulcis spikelet; g. e. neglecta culm; h. e. dulcis culm; i. e. neglecta fertile glume; j. e. dulcis fertile glume; k. e. neglecta sterile glume; l. e. dulcis sterile glume; m. e. neglecta achene; n. e. dulcis achene; o. e. neglecta epidermal cell on achene surface; p. e. dulcis epidermal cell on achene surface. photoplate by a.n. chandore. 94 borude et al. fig. 3. eleocharis neglecta borude, chandore, gholave & s.r. yadav, sp. nov. a. habitat (young culms); b. habit; c. t. s. of culm; d. spikelet; e. glume; f. flower; g. achene. (all from a.n. chandore 1951, drawn by d.b. borude). perennial herbs with elongated stolons, terminated by small tubers; tubers 1–3 mm thick, whitish to brown. rhizome short with fibrous roots. culms tufted, terete, septate, 8–15 culms per plant, erect, 40–60 cm in height, 1.5–2.2 mm in diam., yellowish to pale green, leafless; sheaths 2 per culm, outer sheath small, 4–5 cm long, dark brown, oblique, acute at apex; inner sheath membranous, 10–14 cm long, oblique at mouth, sheath apex acuminate. spikelet solitary, terminal, straight, elongated, angular, 1.5–2.5 cm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide, distinctly wider than the culms, acute, many flowered, straw brown; rachilla persistent. glumes 20–30 per spikelet; lower glumes sterile, ovate, acute at apex, 5.0–6.0 × 3.0–4.0 mm, margin membranous; fertile glumes oblong-ovate to elliptic, 4.5–5.0 × 1.8–2.0 mm, faintly striations, imbricate, persistent, convolute when dry, obtuse at apex, scarious along margins towards the apex, mid-nerve prominent. eleocharis neglecta (cyperaceae), a new species 95 hypogynous bristles 6 to 7, unequal, two to three times longer than achene, retrorsely barbed throughout, linear, gradually narrowed upwards, slightly connate at base, pale brown, c. 4 mm long. stamens 3; anthers linear, c. 3 mm long, apiculate, yellowish brown; filament up to 7 mm long, translucent or whitish. style 3-branched, c. 3.2 mm long; style base conical, persistent on the nut, c. 0.6 × 0.6 mm, as wide as the narrowed annular apex, brown to dark brown, flattened; stigmas 3, c. 3 mm long, scaberulous. achene obovoid, biconvex, swollen at middle, 1.4–1.7 × 0.8–1.0 mm (excluding style-base), narrowed at base, yellowish to light brown, brown at maturity, surface appearing smooth; but under high magnification epidermal cell minute arranged in several vertical rows on each face, cells longitudinally oblong–hexagonal. phenology: flowering and fruiting from august to october. etymology: the specific epithet neglecta is given because it was a neglected species. distribution: india. maharashtra, konkan region, sindhudurg districtvengurle; ratnagiri districtansure, dandaansure, tulsunde. habitat: eleocharis neglecta borude, chandore, gholave & s.r. yadav grows along side of estuaries of konkan and road side at an altitude of about 7-50 m in associations with cyperus rotundus l., eleocharis dulcis (burm. f.) trin. ex hensch., e. geniculata (l.) roem. & schult., fimbristylis acuminata vahl, f. dichotoma (l.) vahl, f. tomentosa vahl, zoysia matrella (l.) merr., etc. additional specimens examined (paratypes): india. maharashtra, konkan, ratnagiri district, ansure, 30 august 2015, a.n. chandore 1959 (suk); ratnagiri district, tulsunde, 31 august 2015, a.n. chandore 1960 (suk); sindhudurg district, vengurle, 13 september 2015, a n. chandore 1971 (suk). note: eleocharis neglecta borude, chandore, gholave & s.r. yadav generally grows in association with eleocharis dulcis; therefore earlier workers might have neglected this species or wrongly identified it as e. dulcis. a comparative account of e. neglecta borude, chandore gholave & s.r. yadav with e. dulcis (burm. f.) trin. ex hensch., is given in table 1. table 1. comparison between eleocharis dulcis (burm. f.) trin. ex hensch., and e. neglecta borude, chandore, gholave & s.r. yadav. characters e. dulcis e. neglecta sp. nov. culms soft, deep green, flat after pressing and drying subrigid, yellowish to pale green, slender after pressing and drying culm size 5.0–9.0 mm in diameter, 50–100 cm in height 1.5–2.2 mm in diameter; 40–60 cm in height inner sheath 15–25 cm long 10–14 cm long spikelets cylindrical; 3.0–5.5 cm long, 4.0 – 6.0 mm wide, not wider than culms angular; 1.4–2.8 cm long, 1.5–2.5 mm wide; distinctly wider than culms sterile glumes obovate, acuminate, 4.0–5.0 × 5.0–6.0 mm ovate, acute at apex, 5.0–6.0 × 3.0–4.0 mm fertile glumes closely imbricate, c. ¾ portion overlaps by other glumes, deciduous fairly imbricate, c. ½ portion overlap by other glumes, persistent flowers 15–35 flowers per spikelet 60–120 flowers per spikelet style 2-branched (rarely 3-branched) 3-branched achene obovoid to suborbicular, 1.8–2.0 × 1.0–1.2 mm obovoid, 1.4–1.7 × 0.8–1.0 mm surface of achene (high magnification) epidermal cells isodiametrically hexagonal to pentagonal epidermal cells longitudinally oblong– hexagonal 96 borude et al. acknowledgements we are thankful to the head, department of botany, shivaji university, kolhapur for providing necessary facilities. the authors are grateful to director, botanical survey of india for permission to consult eleocharis herbarium. anc & dbb are thankful to serb, department of science and technology (dst), new delhi for financial assistance (file no.:-sr/ft/ls82/2012), under dst fast track young scientist scheme. dr. anc is thankful to the principal, abasaheb marathe arts & new commerce science college, rajapur, for laboratory facilities. references chandore, a.n., borude, d.b., kambale, s.s. and yadav, s.r. 2016. eleocharis konkanensis, a new species of cyperaceae from the konkan region of western ghats, india. phytotaxa 252 (2): 154–158. cook, c.d.k. 1996. aquatic and wetland plants of india. oxford university press, london, pp 126–131. gonzalez-elizondo, m.s. and peterson, p.m. 1997. a classification of and key to the supraspecific taxa in eleocharis (cyperaceae). taxon 46: 433–449. govaerts, r. 2016. world checklist of cyperaceae, <http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do>. royal botanic gardens, kew. retrieved on 13 january 2016. koyama, t. 1985. eleocharis r.br. cyperaceae in: dassanayake m.d., fosberg f.r. (ed.) a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon 5. oxford & ibh, new delhi, india, pp. 255–267. mujaffar, s., chandore, a.n., and yadav, s.r. 2014. eleocharis khandwaensis sp. nov. (cyperaceae) from the madhya pradesh, india. nordic journal of botany 32: 710–712. prasad, v.p. and singh, n.p. 2002. sedges of karnataka (india). reprinted from j. econ. taxon. bot. addl. ser. no. 21. scientific publisher, jodhpur, 137 pp. wadoodkhan, m.a. 2015. cyperaceae of western ghats, west coast and maharashtra. dattsons publishers, nagpur, pp. 126–148. yadav, s.r., lekhak, m. and chandore, a.n. 2009. a new species of eleocharis (cyperaceae) from western ghats, india. rheedea 19: 37–40. (manuscript received on 26 january 2016; revised on 14 august 2016) http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/qsearch.do microsoft word 05. persicaria lankeshanensis_revised-9.9.14_ee.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 147-152, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists persicaria lankeshanensis (polygonaceae: persicarieae), a new species from guangdong, china tong-jun liang and bo li1,2 lushan botanical garden, jiangxi province and the chinese academy of sciences, jiujiang, 332900, china keywords: new species; persicaria lankeshanensis; china; micromorphology. abstract persicaria lankeshanensis, a new species of polygonaceae from the lankeshan nature reserve, guangdong province of china, is described and illustrated. persicaria lankeshanensis is similar to p. taquetii but differs from the latter by having stems, leaves, and ocreae densely pubescent, pedicels shorter than bracts, smaller flowers and achenes, and achenes opaque and minutely granular-striate. a comparison of achenes, pollen and abaxial leaf epidermis between the two species is provided. introduction persicaria [tourn.] ex mill. contains c. 150 species of prostrate or twining annual or perennial herbs, and are distributed mainly in northern temperate and tropical regions (brandbyge, 1993). it is characterized by many-flowered, spike-like or capitate inflorescence; usually entire, ciliate, or pectinate ocreae; 4–5-parted perianths; tepals with trifid venation; the presence of nectaries; 4–8 stamens (haraldson, 1978; ronse decraene and akeroyd, 1988); and mostly rectangular to elongated tepal epidermis cells with straight or slightly undulating anticlinal walls (hong et al., 1998). within persicaria, haraldson (1978) recognized four sections, viz. cephalophilon (c. 16 species), echinocaulon (c. 21 species), persicaria (c. 60 species), and tovara (c. 3 species). qaiser (2001) accepted this treatment, while freeman (2005) included rubrineva (c. 2 species) and hou (2006) excluded tovara. during a field trip in september 2009 in the lankeshan provincial nature reserve in guangdong province of china, a slender persicaria with completely interrupted spike-like inflorescence, densely pubescent stems, leaves, and ocreae, and tiny flowers and fruits was collected. the plants superficially resemble p. taquetii (h. lév.) koidz., but can be distinguished by a suite of morphological and micromorphological characters. after critical study we recognized it as a new species, persicaria lankeshanensis sp. nov. materials and methods morphological comparisons of the new species and its related taxa were carried out based on both herbarium specimens and live plants. characters were measured using a micrometer and a stereomicroscope. field studies were carried out from 2009 to 2011. for scanning electron microscopy (sem) observations, samples of achenes and pollen were removed from mature fruits and unopened flowers, respectively, from the herbarium specimens. after cleaned in 95% ethanol, mounted onto cupreous stubs, and coated by jfc-1100e sputter coater (jeol led., janpan), samples were examined under jsm-6360lv sem (jeol led., japan) at a voltage of 15 kv. terminology for achenes and pollen follows hou (2006) and zhang and zhou (1998), respectively. 1laboratory of subtropical biodiversity, jiangxi agricultural university, nanchang, 330045, china 2corresponding author. email: hanbolijx@163.com 148 liang and li for light microscopy (lm) investigation of leaf epidermis, samples were taken from mature leaves of live plants, fixed in faa solution (18 formalin:1 acetic acid:1 ethanol), dissected under a zeiss stereoscope, and stained in a solution of 1% safranin before being mounted in glycerine jelly. measurements and counts were conducted randomly from 5 areas in the prepared slide per species under lm. stomatal density was calculated using the formula s/m × 100%, where s is the number of stomata in a given area (m). terminology follows zhu et al. (2007). persicaria lankeshanensis t. j. liang & b. li, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: species p. taquetii (h. lév.) kodiz. affinis, sed caules, folia, ochreae dense pubescens, perianthia 0.7-1.0 mm, achenia striato–granulatis, 0.7–1.0 × 0.5–0.7 mm differt. type: china. guangdong: zhaoqinq city, lankeshan provincial nature reserve, growing in wet grassy slopes along river side, altitude 200 m, 23°08′38″n, 112°35′20″e, 24 sep 2009, bo li 0075 (holotype: ibsc; isotype: jxau). annual herbs. stems erect, prostrate, or ascending at base, 15-35 cm tall, slender, densely pubescent, much-branched from base, rooting at proximal nodes. leaves: ocreae tubular, 4-6 mm long, membranous, densely pubescent, apex truncate, cilia 3-5 mm long; petioles nearly absent; leaf fig. 1. persicaria lankeshanensis t. j. liang & b. li, sp. nov. a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. bract; d. ocrea and leaf (all from the type, bo li 0075, ibsc). a new species of persicaria from china 149 blades narrowly lanceolate, 15-30 × 4-8 mm, both surfaces densely pubescent, base narrowly cuneate, or slightly rounded, margin entire, ciliate, apex acute. inflorescence terminal or rarely axillary, spike-like, erect, 1.5-2.5 cm long, slender, interrupted. bracts green, funnelform, 1.5-2.0 mm long, densely pubescent, margin submembranous, ciliate, each 2-3-flowered. pedicels 0.8-1.3 mm long, much shorter than subtending bracts. perianth white, 5-parted, lobes (or tepals) elliptic, 0.7-1.0 mm long. stamens 7, included. styles 3, included, connate to below middle; stigmas capitate. achenes included or slightly exserted from persistent perianth, brown-black, minutely granular-striate, opaque, ovoid, trigonous, 0.7-1.0 x 0.5-0.7 mm. phenology: flowering: august october; fruiting; september november. etymology: the specific epithet is derived from the type locality. distribution and habitat: persicaria lankeshanensis is known only from two nearby localities in lankeshan provincial nature reserve, guangdong province of china, from where it was first collected in 2009. it grows in wet, grassy slopes along river sides at an altitude of 100-200 m. notes: persicaria lankeshanensis bears a superficial resemblance to p. taquetii in having very slender and completely interrupted inflorescence, tiny flowers and fruits, 7 stamens, small and narrowly lanceolate leaves, and slender stems. however, p. lankeshanensis differs from p. taquetii in plant indumentum, pedicel length, tepal length, and achene size and surface texture (table 1; fig. 3a vs. e). fig. 2 persicaria lankeshanensis t.j. liang & b. li, sp. nov. a. habit; b. a part of stem with ocrea showing pubescence; c. pubescence of adaxial surface of leaf blade; d. inflorescence. 150 liang and li in persicaria, achenes (yang et al., 1991; ronse decraene et al., 2000; qu et al., 2006), abaxial leaf epidermis (meng et al., 1997; zhu et al., 2007; yasmin et al., 2010a), and pollen (hedberg, 1946; wang and feng, 1994; zhang and zhou, 1998; yasmin et al., 2010b) have been proved to be useful characters for the species delimitation. in this study, we found that p. lankeshanensis and p. taquetii also can be distinguished from each other by the epicarp sculpturing of the achenes, the shape of the epidermal cells on the abaxial leaf surface, the type of stomata, and pollen size and ornamentation (table 1, fig. 3). table 1. comparison of persicaria lankeshanensis sp.nov. with p. taquetii. characters p. lankeshanensis sp. nov. p. taquetii plant indumentum stems, leaves, and ocreae densely pubescent leaves and ocreae sparsely pubescent or rarely glabrous, stems glabrous pedicel 0.8-1.3 mm long, much shorter than bracts 1.8-2.7 mm long, obviously longer than bracts tepal 0.7-1.1 mm long 1.4-1.6 mm long achene size (l × w) 0.8 (0.7-1.0) × 0.6 (0.5-0.7) mm 1.5 (1.3-1.6) × 0.8 (0.7-1.0) mm surface opaque, minutely granular striate shiny, smooth epicarp sculpturing with irregular ridges formed by oblate tubercles following a longitudinal pattern with irregular hollows leaf abaxial epidermis epidermal cell shape and anticlinal wall polygonal, straight or curved irregular, sinuolate stomatal type anisocytic paracytic, rarely anisocytic stomatal density 88.1 / mm2 168.5 / mm2 pollen size 31.1-36.7 µm 37.5-56.8 µm width between two adjacent pores 8.2-12.3 µm 11.2-17.4 µm lumen number across the diameter 9-12 6-9 lumen size 3.8-4.7 µm 6.4-10.1 µm granules in a lumen obscure, undeveloped 25-40, well developed number of coarse granules of murus in cross-section under lm 18-22 14-17 width between two adjacent granules under lm 3.9-5.3 µm 8.2-11.3 µm additional specimens examined: china. guangdong province: zhaoqinq city, at the boundary of the lankeshan provincial nature reserve, 23°08′15″n, 112°34′58″e, alt. 15 m, 8 oct 2010, bo li and zhu-qiu song 201002 (ibsc). conservation status: persicaria lankeshanensis is only recorded from the lankeshan provincial nature reserve, guangdong, china. given the species was observed only in two nearby localities in a about 5 km2 area at the nature reserve, we propose to categorize it as vulnerable (vu) on the iucn red list, according to the criteria d2 (iucn, 2001). a new species of persicaria from china 151 fig. 3. micromorphology of persicaria lankeshanensis (a–d, i, k) and p. taquetii (e–h, j, l). a,b,e,f. achene morphology under scanning electron microscopy (sem); a,e. lateral view; b,f. epicarp sculpturing, c,d,g,h. pollen morphology under sem; c,g. whole view; d,h. lumen and granules inside; i,j. pollen morphology under light microscopy (lm); k,l. leaf abaxial epidermis under lm. scale bars: a,e = 100 µm; b,f,k,l = 50 µm; c,g,i,j = 10 µm; d,h = 5 µm. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to prof. an-jen li of the institute of botany, chinese academy of science, for identifying specimens, to ms. yun-xiao liu and ms. xiao-ying hu, south china botanical garden, chinese academy of sciences, for the illustrations and sem observations, respectively, and to mr. zhu-qiu song for field assistance. references brandbyge, j. 1993. polygonaceae. in: kubitzki, k. and bittich, v. (eds), the families and genera of vascular plants. vol. 2. springer verlag, berlin, pp. 531-544. freeman, c.c. 2005. polygonaceae. in: flora of north america editorial committee, flora of north america. vol. 5. oxford university press, new york, pp. 574-594. haraldson, k. 1978. anatomy and taxonomy in polygonaceae subfam. polygonoideae meisn. emend jaretzky. symb. bot. upsal. 22: 1-95. hedberg, o. 1946. pollen morphology in the genus polygonum l. s.l. and its taxonomical significance. sven. bot. tidskr. 40: 371-414. 152 liang and li hong, s.p., ronse decraene, l.p. and smets, e. 1998. systematic significance of tepal surface morphology in tribes persicarieae and polygoneae (polygonaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 127: 91-116. hou, y.t. 2006. systematic studies on the tribe polygoneae of china. shandong normal university, jinan, 306 pp. iucn 2001. iucn red list categories and criteria, v. 3.1. iucn species survival commission, switzerland. meng, r.x., zhou, z.z. and wang, s.l. 1997. a study on foliar epidermis of genus polygonum in anhui. anhui univ. nat. sci. edit. 21: 81-93. qaiser, m. 2001. polygonaceae. in: nasir, e. and ali, s.i. (eds), flora of pakistan. vol. 205. department of botany, karachi university & missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 1-190. qu, c.y., hou, y.t., li, a.l., lu, f.j. and li, f.z. 2006. fruit shape and pericarp micromorphological characteristics of polygonum section persicaria from china. bull. bot. res. 26: 275-285. ronse decraene, l.p. and akeroyd, j.r. 1988. generic limits in polygonum and related genera (polygonaceae) on the basis of floral characters. bot. j. linn. soc. 98: 321-371. ronse decraene, l.p., hong, s.p., and smets, e. 2000. systematic significance of fruit morphology and anatomy in tribes persicarieae and polygoneae (polygonaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 134: 301-337. wang, j.x. and feng, z.j. 1994. a study of the pollen morphology of the genus polygonum l. in china. acta phyt.. sin. 32: 219-231. yang, j., li, y.h. and wang, j.w. 1991. a primary study on the microstructural features of achene surfaces and its taxonomic importance to polygonum. acta bot. boreali-occidentalia sin. 11: 1-7. yasmin, g., khan, m.a., shaheen, n. and hayat, m.q. 2010a. taxonomic significance of leaf epidermal anatomy of selected persicaria mill. species of family polygonaceae from pakistan. afr. j. biotechnol. 9: 3759-3768. yasmin, g., khan, m.a. and shaheen, n. 2010b. pollen morphology of selected polygonum l. species (polygonaceae) from pakistan and its taxonomic significance. pak. j. bot. 42: 3693-3703. zhang, x.p. and zhou, z.z. 1998. a study on pollen morphology and its phylogeny of polygonaceae in china. university of science and technology of china press, hefei, 235 pp. zhu, l.t., lu, f.j. and hou, y.t. 2007. micro-morphology of leaf epidermis and its taxonomical significance of polygonum section cephalophilon in china. j. wuhan bot. res. 25: 136-142. (manuscript received on 17 april 2014; revised on 9 september 2014) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 111-118, 2015 (december) molecular evolutionary relationships of euphorbia scordifolia jacq. within the genus inferred from analysis of internal transcribed spacer sequences fahad m.a. al-hemaid, m. ajmal ali1, joongku lee2, soo-yong kim3 and m. oliur rahman4 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh 11451, saudi arabia keywords: euphorbia scordifolia; euphorbiaceae; its; genotyping. abstract the present study explored molecular phylogenetic analysis of 28 species of euphorbia l. for the identification and establishment of molecular evolutionary relationships of euphorbia scordifolia jacq. within the genus based on the internal transcribed spacers (its) sequences (its1-5.8s-its2) of nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna). the sequence similarity search using basic local alignment search tool (blast) of the its sequence of e. scordifolia showed the closest sequence similarity to e. supina raf. the analysis of its sequence data revealed four major clades consistent with subgeneric classifications of the genus. molecular data support placement of e. scordifolia in the subgenus chamaesyce. introduction the genus euphorbia l. (euphorbiaceae) comprising ca. 2000 species, which is one of the largest genera of the flowering plants (frodin, 2004; riina et al., 2013). the main molecular phylogenetic studies of euphorbia species have addressed the overall phylogeny of the genus, with its four subgeneric clades of rhizanthium, esula, euphorbia, and chamaesyce (steinmann and porter, 2002; bruyns et al., 2006; park and jansen, 2007; zimmermann et al., 2010). in saudi arabia, the genus euphorbia is represented by 38 species. of them, e. scordifolia jacq. is distributed in cape verde island, ethiopia, somalia, sudan, yemen and also in western region of saudi arabia (abedin et al., 2001). the morphological characters of e. scordifolia overlap with e. supina raf. (abedin et al., 2001). the internal transcribed spacers (its) sequence of nuclear ribosomal dna region including the 5.8s gene is the most widely used molecular marker to infer phylogenetic relationships among plant species (baldwin et al., 1995; ali et al., 2014). although reliance on nrdna its sequence as the sole source of phylogenetic evidence has come under criticism because of certain features of its evolution; however, it remains the most efficient locus for generating species-specific phylogenetic inferences and genotyping in most groups of plants (ali et al., 2013, 2014, 2015). while searching for dna sequences of e. scordifolia in genbank as a part of a research for genotyping of unresolved taxonomic status of flowering plants of saudi arabia, it was found that e. scordifolia have not previously been sequenced. a perusal of taxonomic literature revealed that 1corresponding author. email: majmalali@rediffmail.com 2department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, 99 daehak-ro, yuseong-gu, daejeon 34134, south korea. 3international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon 305 806, south korea. 4department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. mailto:majmalali@rediffmail.com 112 al-hemaid et al. the molecular evolutionary relationships of e. scordifolia distributed in saudi arabia is also unknown. therefore, the present study aims at molecular genotyping of e. scordifolia based on its sequence of nrdna. materials and methods taxon sampling: leaf materials of e. scordifolia were collected from the herbarium specimens [voucheralrawshan, altitude 1122 m, 19.08.1978, don bermant 146] housed at national herbaium & genebank, national agriculture & animal resources research center, ministry of agriculture, riyadh, saudi arabia (riy); and the taxonomic identification was confirmed through consultation of flora of saudi arabia (abedin et al., 2001). dna extraction, amplification and sequencing: total genomic dna was extracted using qiagen dneasy plant mini kit (valencia, ca, usa). its sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna were amplified using accupower hf pcr premix (bioneer, daejeon, south korea) and primer its1 (5/-gtccactgaaccttatcattt ag-3/) and its4 (5/-tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3/) of white et al. (1990) via polymerase chain reaction (pcr). each 20 μl volumes of pcr premix contained 2 μl of 10x buffer, 300 μm dntps, 1 μl of a 10 pm solution of each primer and 1 unit of hf dna polymerase. one round of amplification consisted of denaturation at 94 °c for 5 min, followed by 40 cycles of denaturation at 94 °c for 1 min, annealing at 49 °c for 1 min and extension at 72 °c for 1 min, and a final extension for 5 min at 72 °c. pcr products were purified with the solgent pcr purification kitultra (solgent, daejeon, south korea) prior to sequencing. the sequencing reaction was performed in a 10 µl final volume with the bigdye terminator cycle sequencing kit (perkinelmer, applied biosystems). cycling conditions included an initial denaturation at 94 °c for 5 min, followed by 30 cycles of 96 °c for 10 s, 50 °c for 5 s, and 60 °c for 4 min. the sequenced products were precipitated with 17 µl of deionized sterile water, 3 µl of 3 m naoac, and 70 µl of 95% etoh. the capillary gel electrophoresis was conducted with long ranger single packs (fmc bioproducts) by an abi 3100 automated dna sequencer (perkin-elmer, applied biosystems). the sequences were analyzed by abi sequence navigator (perkin-elmer/applied biosystems). nucleotide sequences of both dna strands were analyzed to ensure accuracy. the sequences were subjected to blast-searched (altschul et al., 1990) by ncbi server (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast.cgi). phylogenetic analysis: its sequences of nrdna of 28 species of euphorbia (table 1) were retrieved from genbank database of national center for biotechnology information (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). neoguillauminia cleopatra and dichostemma glaucescens were chosen as outgroup taxa according to previous work (barres et al., 2011) and were retrieved from genbank (table 1). sequence alignment was performed using clustal x version 1.81 (thompson et al., 1997). sequence alignment was subsequently adjusted manually using bioedit (hall, 1999). gaps were treated as missing data in phylogenetic analyses. the generated sequences were submitted to genbank (table 1). the boundaries between the its1, 5.8s and its2 gene for e. scordifolia were determined in the aligned data matrix, and were exported as a nexus file and subsequently analysed using maximum parsimony (mp) and maximum likelihood (ml) methods by mega5 (tamura et al., 2011). the distribution and pattern of nucleotide substitution in all sequences was investigated using hypermut (rose and korber, 2000). http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast.cgi). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). molecular evolutionary relationships of euphorbia scordifolia 113 table 1. plant accessions used for the molecular phylogenetic analysis of euphorbia scordifolia. group subgenus taxon genbank accession no. ingroup rhizanthium euphorbia antso denis af537579 euphorbia atrispina n.e. br. af537568 euphorbia balsamifera ait. af537571 euphorbia clava jacq. af537569 euphorbia namuskluftensis l.c. leach af537562 euphorbia obesa hook. f. af537566 esula euphorbia aphylla brouss. af537540 euphorbia dendroides l. af537539 euphorbia peplus l. af537532 euphorbia schimperi c. presl af537537 euphorbia schimperiana hochst. ex a. rich. jn207816 euphorbia euphorbia abdelkuri balf. f. af537458 euphorbia beharensis leandri aj508983 euphorbia cylindrifolia marn.-lap. & rauh aj508955 euphorbia drupifera thonn. af537480 euphorbia epiphylloides kurz af537484 euphorbia milii des moul. aj508974 euphorbia ramipressa croizat af537481 euphorbia supina raf. eu659773 euphorbia teke schweinf. ex pax af537485 chamaesyce euphorbia fulgens karw. ex klotzsch af537404 euphorbia graminea jacq. af537410 euphorbia heterophylla l. gu214931 euphorbia ipecacuanhae l. af537397 euphorbia leucocephala lotsy gu214932 euphorbia misera benth. af537383 euphorbia pulcherrima willd. ex klotzsch gu214943 euphorbia scordifolia jacq. kr704890 euphorbia sphaerorhiza benth. af537412 outgroup neoguillauminia cleopatra (baill.) croizat af537581 dichostemma glaucescens pierre af537584 results and discussion the combined length of its region (its1-5.8s-its2) in e. scordifolia was 642 bp. the its1 region was 266 bp (gc content 53%), the 5.8s gene was 162 bp long (gc content 56%), and the its2 region was 213 bp (gc content 58%). the blast search of its sequence of e. scordifolia showed high identity level (95%) with e. humifusa willd. followed by e. glyptosperma engelm., e. maculata l., e. tettensis klotzsch and e. meganaesos featherm. parsimony analysis of the entire its region resulted in five maximally parsimonious trees, the consistency index was 0.491, the retention index was 0.709, and the composite index was 0.367 (0.348) for all sites and parsimony-informative sites (in parentheses). there were a total of 499 114 al-hemaid et al. positions in the final dataset, of which 223 were parsimony informative. the phylogenetic tree recovered by the analyses provided a clear resolution of taxon included in the analysis at the subgeneric level. eupphorbia scordifolia nested within the clade of the subgenus chamaesyce. the ml analyses recovered tree topology similar to mpt; and therefore, only the ml topology is presented here (fig. 1). a total of 36 specific nucleotide differences, i.e. 19 in its1 and 17 in its2 region were detected between e. scordifolia and e. supina (table 2). table 2. differences of dna base pairs between the its sequences of euphorbia supina and e. scordifolia. specific nucleotide differences its1 its2 position in sequence alignment e. supina e. scordifolia position in sequence alignment e. supina e. scordifolia 18 g a 3 t c 41 t t 22 c t 45 c g 25 t c 56 g t 37 g 93 c t 49 c t 106 t 56 a r 113 c t 74 t c 135 a c 94 t c 136 a t 126 t c 137 a t 146 a g 147 t c 151 c a 148 g t 163 c t 149 c t 170 t a 208 c t 173 g a 212 c t 174 a t 215 c t 191 t c 232 t c 192 g a 254 g a 258 g a the tandem repeats finder (benson, 1999) was used to detect repeats in the its sequences. differences in substitution rates can discriminate functional forms of pseudogenes (buckler and holtsford, 1996a,b). the analysis using the program hypermut showed excessive levels of g =>a mutations which indicates that all differences arose from a single substitution sequence. the result was compared to the reference sequences and their physical locations along the sequences were graphically illustrated (fig. 2). the use of dna sequences to identify organisms has been proposed as a more efficient approach than traditional and morphological taxonomic parameters (tautz et al., 2003). in fact, the recent development in dna molecular systematic techniques including molecular hybridization, cloning, restriction endonuclease digestions and dna sequencing and phylogenetic theory have changed the epitome of species identification as well as our understanding of the relationships among organisms at various levels in the tree of life which has been advanced greatly molecular evolutionary relationships of euphorbia scordifolia 115 fig.1. a maximum likelihood (ml) tree inferred from analysis of sequence data of internal transcribed spacer (its) region of nuclear ribosomal dna. bootstrap values (1000 × replicates) are indicated. 116 al-hemaid et al. fig. 2. schematic illustration of the distribution of substitution sites across the its region obtained from 29 species of euphorbia, using dichostemma glaucescens as reference (red = gg > ag, cyan = ga > aa, green = gc > ac, magenta = gt > at, black = not g > a transition, yellow = gap). (ali et al., 2014). from the first report of the utility of the nrdna its sequence in plants (baldwin, 1992), it has been extensively used to distinguish even very closely related species (chen et al., 2010; yao et al., 2010). moreover, during the last two decades, the nrdna its sequence has gained much attention as smartest gene available for the molecular signature of a taxon (ali et al., 2013). the present study is the first report of inferring the nrdna its based molecular genotyping of the e. scordifolia. since, the majority of the species of the genus euphorbia have to be sequenced; the present study will nevertheless help in dna barcoding / molecular identification of e. molecular evolutionary relationships of euphorbia scordifolia 117 scordifolia as well as it will also participate in addressing the complete phylogeny of the genus euphorbia. the dna barcodes show promise in providing a practical, standardized, species-level identification tool that can be used for biodiversity assessment, life history, ecological studies and forensic analysis (szabó et al., 2005; mansour et al., 2009; gyulai et al., 2012; ali et al., 2014, 2015). hence, the nrdna its sequence of e. scordifolia will be of immense importance in barcoding of the genus euphorbia in particular, and in the analysis of plant biodiversity of saudi arabia in general. acknowledgement the authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the deanship of scientific research at king saud university for funding this research through the research group project no. rgp-vpp-195. references abedin, s., mossa, j.s., al-said, m.s. and al-yahya, m.a. 2001. euphorbiaceae. in: chaudhary, s. 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(manuscript received on 11 september 2015; revised on 22 october 2015) microsoft word 12. jpt 17 114_131217.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 227–231, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists two new records and one rediscovery of angiosperms for bangladesh khandakar kamrul islam1 and naimur rahman bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh keywords: new records; rediscovery; angiosperm; bangladesh abstract two species of angiosperms, spiradiclis bifida kurz (rubiaceae) and strobilanthes urticifolia wall. ex kuntze (acanthaceae ) are being reported as new records for bangladesh. one species, corymborkis veratrifolia (reinw.) blume belonging to the orchidaceae has been rediscovered from hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary after about 90 years of last record. these species are described with updated nomenclature, synonyms, taxonomic description, ecology and geographical distribution. illustrations with field photographs are also provided. introduction during recent botanical explorations in hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary, under chittagong forest division, chittagong district the authors collected three plant specimens belonging to the families rubiaceae, acanthaceae and orchidaceae. on examining the specimens under rubiaceae, acanthaceae and orchidaceae housed at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research, chittagong (bcsirh), herbarium of bangladesh forest research institute (bfrih), dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and herbarium of chittagong university (hcu)) the specimens did not matched with any specimens stored at those herbaria. later, these were identified as spiradiclis bifida kurz (rubiaceae), strobilanthes urticifolia wall. ex kuntze (acanthaceae) and corymborkis veratrifolia (reinw.) blume (orchidaceae). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh described a total of 107 taxa of the family acanthaceae (begum et al., 2008) and a total of 170 taxa of the family rubiaceae (rahman and das, 2009) for the flora of bangladesh. das et al. (2009, 2012 and 2013) and das and rahman (2010, 2011) added another 16 species to the account of rubiaceae. rahman and das (2009) recorded only one species under the genus spiradiclis and begum et al. (2008a) recorded fourteen species under the genus strobilanthes. these two species, spiradiclis bifida kurz (rubiaceae) and strobilanthes urticifolia wall. ex kuntze (acanthaceae) were not previously recorded from the territory of bangladesh in the relevant works of hooker (1880, 1884), kurz (1877), prain (1903), heinig (1925), cowan (1926), cowan and cowan (1929), kanjilal et al. (1939), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1956), rahman and das (2009), begum et al. (2008), islam (2009), uddin and rahman (2015), and rahman et al. (2015). these were recorded by hooker (1880, 1884 ) from khasia mountains, upper assam and cachar in india and from pakistan, nepal and india respectively. on the other hand, huda (2008) described a total of 179 taxa of the family orchidaceae for the flora of bangladesh. corymborkis veratrifolia (reinw.) blume belonging to the orchidaceae was recorded from chittagong and the chittagong hill tracts by hooker (1890), prain (1903) and heinig (1925). since then it has neither been collected nor recorded to occur else where in 1 corresponding author. e-mail: orchidcu.islam@gmail.com 228 islam and rahman bangladesh. recently it has been rediscovered from hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary by the authors after about 90 years of last record. hence, the species spiradiclis bifida kurz and strobilanthes urticifolia wall. ex kuntze are new records and corymborkis veratrifolia (reinw.) blume is a rediscovery for bangladesh. materials and methods specimens of each species encountered in flowering and fruiting condition were collected and preserved at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the photographs of fertile specimens in natural habitat were taken during the field trips. both fresh materials and herbarium specimens were studied and examined by using long arm steriomicroscope. all available taxonomic resources viz. literatures, herbarium specimens and botanical illustrations were taken under consideration to identify the species. digital images of the species are also used to supplement plant identification and document their habitats. unnamed specimens were identified and described by consulting relevant floristic literatures of hooker (1880, 1884), prain (1903), rahman and das (2009), begum et al. (2008), huda (2008) and wu et al. (2011). taxonomic enumeration of these two new records and one rediscovery are prepared. in the enumeration, each species is cited with updated nomenclature, commonly known synonyms, taxonomic description, ecology, geographical distribution and citation of voucher specimens deposited at dacb. results 1. spiradiclis bifida kurz, j. asiat. soc. beng., pt. 2, nat. hist.. 41(2): 310 (1872). hook. f., fl brit. india 3: 76 (1880). (figs. 1a & 1b) herbs, up to 48 cm tall, apparently perennial. stems slender. leaves 10–19× 3–7 cm., blade drying thinly papery, elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate; apex acute or shortly acuminate or subcaudate, cuneate at base, adaxially sparsely pilose to subglabrous, abaxially pubescent along veins, secondary veins 15–19 pairs. petiole 1.5–3.0 cm long, pubescent. stipules subulate. inflorescence paniculate, up to 18 cm, simple or bifid axes numerous, 1.0 –1.5 cm, scorpioid. flowers 5-merous, pale creamy, 0.3–0.5 cm long. calyx glabrous or subglabrous. ovary 2 locules. fruits a capsule, c 0.2 cm in diam., glabrous or subglabrous, valves 4. seeds black. flowering and fruiting: january to december. habitat: grows in wet places in deep forest at the slope of the hill about 76–152 m altitude. distribution: india (khasia mountains, upper assam, naga hills and cachar), southern china, java and indonesia. specimen examined: chittagong: hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary; 5.11.2015, k.k. islam and n. rahman, kki573 (dacb). note: this newly recorded species is nearer to s. cylindrica wall. ex hook. f., having leaves 3.0–6.5 cm long with 7–9 pairs of secondary veins, and white flowers with glabrous sepals. 2. strobilanthes urticifoliawall. ex kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 2: 499 (1891). strobilanthes alatus nees, in dc. prodr. 11:194(1847) (non blume 1826); hook. f., fl brit. india 4: 464 (1884). (figs. 2a & 2b) a small erect shrub, up to 1.2 m tall, with sticky hairy branches, round to 4-angled. leaves on 2.3-7.9 cm long branchlets, upper leaves sessile and lower ones long petioled, petiole 2.5–6.4 cm linear or winged upwards, lamina ovate, 7.5–15 × 4.0–7.5 cm, base cordate, rounded or attenuate, acuminate, serrate. flowers 5-merous, 2.7–3.8 cm long, dark-blue, glandular-pubescent two new records and one rediscovery 229 figs 1-3: 1a. spiradiclis bifida, 1b. spiradiclis bifida (illustration), 2a. strobilanthes urticifolia, 2b. strobilanthes urticifolia (illustration), 3a. corymborkis veratrifolia, 3b. (a-g). corymborkis veratrifolia: a. habit; b. leaf; c. inflorescence; d. flower; e. lip with column; f. front view of column; g. fruit. paniculate spikes, c. 2 cm across, in lax, upper flowers soon in distant pairs, not capitate, tube cylindrical below as long as calyx, limb petals open. bracts ovate, glandular, deciduous. calyx 0.6–1.0 cm, deeply divided, linear, obtuse, green, sepals 5, unequal, ligulate, blunt, viscous-hairy, enlarged and accrescent in fruit, one much larger than the rest. stamens 4, glabrous,staminal filaments dilated. petals 5, about 1.0–1.3 cm long, ventricose, mouth curved. ovary 230 islam and rahman glandular,hairy;style very remotely minutely hairy; stigma linear c. 0.8-0.9 cm. capsule c. 1.9 cm long, narrowly elliptic-oblong, glandular-hairy, 4-seeded. seeds about 0.9 cm long, hairy ,ovate. flowering and fruiting: november to january. habitat: grows as undergrowth at the top of the hill about 275–305 m altitude. distribution: pakistan, afganistan, nepal and india. it is also found in the himalayas at altitudes of 2,000–3,500 m. specimen examined: chittagong: hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary; 2.12.2015, k.k. islam and n. rahman, nr29 (dacb). note: this newly recorded species is nearer to s. dalhousieanus (nees) c.b. clarke, having elliptic or ovate-elliptic leaves, flowers in capitate heads or condensed spikes and bracts equal to calyx. 3. corymborkis veratrifolia(reinw.) blume, coll. orch. arch. ind.: 125(1859). huda, ency. fl. fa. bangladesh 12: 32 (2008). corymbis veratrifolia (reinw.) rchb. f., flora 48: 184 (1865), hook. f., fl brit. ind. 6: 91 (1890), prain, beng. pl. 2: 772 (1903), hysteria veratrifolia rein., syll. pl. nov. 2: 5 (1826). (figs. 3a & 3b) a rigid terrestrial herb about 1 m tall. stem erect, thick, subterete, 0.7–1.3 cm in diameter. leaves large, 26–40 × 5–10 cm, narrowly elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, caudate-acuminate, abaxially often brown scurfy, apex long acuminate, scattered with sheathing bases, basal sheaths 4–10 cm long. inflorescence a panicle, 10–29 or more flowered, 8–12 cm long, 2–6 branched; bracts at branch base lanceolate, 1.0–1.5 cm, floral bracts ovate, 0.2–0.4 cm. flowers fragrant, axillary, 2–3 cm across, tubular or campanulate, greenish-white, c. 0.4–0.6 cm. sepals and petals subsimilar, oblanceolate-linear or narrowly, 3.0–3.7 cm, with the upper one-third deflexed. lip similar in size with the sepals and other petals, narrowly clawed which encloses the column and flares into an ovate blade with crenulate margin, blade of lip lanceolate, acuminate, apical lobe orbicular or broadly ovate-elliptic with 2 longitudinal ridges. column c. 3 cm long, subcylindric, shorter than lip. pollinia 2, soft, elongated. rostellum bifid, c. 0.3 cm. flowering and fruiting: may to november. habitat: near the streams bank in the dense shade of the deep forest about 15–76 m altitude. distribution: bhutan, cambodia, india, indonesia, japan, laos, malaysia, n. australia, sri lanka, sw. pacific islands, taiwan, thailand and vietnam. in bangladesh, the plant was recorded from chittagong and chittagong hill tracts. specimen examined: chittagong: hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary, 4.11.2015, k.k. islam and n. rahman, kki463 (dacb). acknowledgements the authors express their gratitude and sincere thanks to dr. sarder nasir uddin, principal scientific officer, bangladesh national herbarium for his kind cooperation to identify these plant specimens. the authors are also grateful to dr. mostafa kamal pasha, former professor, department of botany, university of chittagong for his kind cooperation for article preparation. references begum, m., afroz, s., sultana, n. and hassan, m.a. 2008. acanthaceae. in: ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceae-asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–75. cowan, j.m. 1926.the flora of the chakaria sundarbans. rec. bot. survey india. 11(2): 197–225. two new records and one rediscovery 231 cowan, a.m. and cowan, j.m. 1929. the trees of northern bengalincluding shrubs, woody climbers, bamboos, palms and tree ferns. bengal secretariat book dept., calcutta. pp. 1–178. das, s.c., rashid, m.h. and rahman, m.a. 2009. taxonomic revision of the genus pavetta l. (rubiaceae) of bangladesh. plant archives 9(2): 813–820. das, s.c. and rahman, m.a. 2010. notes on the rubiaceae 3: five new records for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 39(2): 215–222. das, s.c. and rahman, m.a. 2011. taxonomic revision of the genus morindal. (rubiaceae) in bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 40(2): 113–120. das, s.c., dev, p.k. and rahman, m.a. 2012. notes on the rubiaceae 4: five new records forbangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 41(1): 21–28. das, s.c., dev, p.k. and rahman, m.a. 2013. notes on the rubiaceae 5: five new records for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 42(2): 257–264. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull.bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1-110. heinig, r.l.1925. list of plants of the chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india. pp. 1–89. hooker, j.d. 1890. orchidaceae. in: hooker, j.d. (ed.),the flora of british india, vol. 6. the oast house, brooke, ashford, kent, england. p. 91. hooker, j.d. 1880. rubiaceae. in: hooker, j.d. (ed.), the flora of british india, vol. 3. the oast house, brooke, ashford, kent, england. p. 76. hooker, j.d. 1884. acanthaceae, in: hooker, j.d. (ed.), the flora of british india. vol. 4. the oast house, brooke, asford, kent, england. p. 464. huda, m.k. 2008. orchidaceae. in: ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 12. angiosperms: monocotyledons (orchidaceae-zingiberaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. p. 32. islam, k.k. 2009. diversity, ecology, ethnobotany of orchids of madhupur sal forest and their conservation. bangladesh. the university of chittagong, chittagong. m.s. thesis (unpublished). pp. 1218. kanjilal, u.n., das, a., kanjilal, p.c., and de, r.n. 1939 (repr. 1982). flora of assam, vol. 3. a von book company, ajmeri gate, delhi, india. pp. 11–95 and 408–457. kurz, s. 1877 (repr. 1974). forest flora of british burma, vol. 2. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. pp. 4–76 and 239–248. prain, d. 1903 (repr. ed. 1963). bengal plants, vol. 1&2. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. rahman, m.a. and das, s.c. 2009. rubiaceae. in: ahmed, z.u., hassan m.a., begum z.n.t., khondaker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds.). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperms: dicotyledons (ranunculaceae-zygophyllaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 38–159. rahman, m.s., hossain, g.m., khan, s.a. and uddin, s.n. 2015. an annotated checklist of the vascular plants of sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 17–41. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245–254. sinclair, j. 1956. the flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 84–116. uddin, s.n., and rahman, n. 2015. notes on occurrence of the genus mycetia reinwardt (rubiaceae) in bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4:103–110. wu, z. y., raven, p. h. and hong, d. y. (eds.) 2011. flora of china. vol. 19. science press, beijing and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. (manuscript received on 19 october 2017; revised on 6 november 2017) microsoft word 01. astragalus.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 1-12, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists relationships of astragalus l. in section sesamei based on morphological criteria and molecular markers sherif m. sharawy1,2 and abdelfattah badr3 botany department, faculty of science, ain shams university, cairo, egypt keywords: astragalus; fabaceae; issr; rapd; section sesamei. abstract the relationships among five species and two varieties of astragalus l. in the section sesamei (fabaceae) from egypt and saudi arabia have been reassessed based on morphological variation and molecular polymorphism as revealed by rapd and issr fingerprinting. the analysis of morphological variation delimited the examined taxa into two groups; one comprising samples representing a. sinaicus, a. asterias and a. schimperi, and the other is comprised of two samples of a. stella and six samples representing a. tribuloides. the grouping of a. asterias and a. schimperi based on morphological criteria indicates affinities between them that were not reflected in their previous treatments. both morphological criteria and molecular markers indicated considerable distance between the samples of a. stella and a. tribuloides. the multiform nature of a. tribuloides is confirmed as a. tribuloides var. mareoticus is clearly differentiated from the type a. tribuloides and a. tribuloides var. minutus. introduction astragalus l. is the largest and most diverse genus of all angiosperms with more than 2,500 species distributed in arid and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere and south america (podlech, 2008). it is particularly abundant in south western (sw) and south central (sc) asia, western north america and south america (maassoumi, 1998). the centre of origin and diversity of the genus is the drier mountainous parts of sw and sc asia and the himalaya (maassoumi, 1998; wojciechowski, 2005). in egypt, astragalus is represented by 32 species (boulos, 1999) and in saudi arabia by 25 species (migahid, 1996). the species in both countries are distributed in different phytogeographical regions and are delimited in several sections. in the first comprehensive classification of the genus astragalus presented by bunge (1868), the annual species were assigned to two subgenera, trimeniaeus bunge and pogonophace bunge based on glabrous and barbellate stigma, respectively. in that classification subgenus trimeniaeus included most of the species while subgenus pogonophace contained only seven species. in recent taxonomic treatments of the genus, all annual species of astragalus in the old world were classified under subgenus trimeniaeus, which has been considered to be monophyletic (taeb et al., 2007). podlech (2008) classified the annual species of astragalus into 14 sections including the section sesamei dc. the section sesamei is represented by five species in egypt and five species in saudi arabia (migahid, 1996; boulos, 1999). the molecular approaches to the taxonomy of astragalus have been useful in constructing phylogenetic clades that help understand the evolutionary relationships and diversification in the genus (wojciechowski, 2005; kazempour osaloo, et al., 2005). wojciechowski et al. (1999) have shown that some of the species-rich sections are monophyletic but other works indicated that none of the subgenera and large sections of the genus are monophyletic (kazempour osaloo, et al., 2005). 1corresponding author. e-mail: sherifsharaawy@yahoo.com 1current address: biology department, faculty of science, hail university, hail, saudi arabia 3botany and microbiology department, faculty of science, helwan university, cairo, egypt 2 sharawy and badr random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) and inter simple sequence repeat (issr) markers are used for detecting genetic variation and species relationships (williams et al., 1990; zietkiewicz et al., 1994). in the genus astragalus l., rapd and issr markers have been applied in recent studies at the intraand inter-specific relationship. issrs were chosen to assess genetic differentiation among population of the endemic species astragalus oniciformis barneby in the upper snake river plain of central idaho in the usa (alexander et al., 2004). intraand interspecific relationships within the astragalus microcephalus complex were studied using rapd (mehrina et al., 2005). high levels of genetic diversity were observed in three morphological types of astragalus membranaceus (fisch.) bge. var. mongholicus (bge.) hsiao as revealed by issr (xie et al., 2009). comparative analysis of molecular diversity of astragalus adsurgens germplasm from north china was made using rapd and issr markers (huang et al., 2009). anand et al. (2010) used issr, rapd and damd (directed amplification of mini-satellite dna) to address the relationships among four closely related species of the astragalus rhizanthus complex (i.e. a. rhizanthus, a. candolleanus, a. malacophyllus and a. pindreensis) from different parts of the indian himalaya and proved that these markers are potential to distinguish the closely allied species and to analyze the genetic diversity within and between the species of astragalus. the objective of the present study is to clarify the systematic status of some taxa of astragalus section sesamei growing in egypt and saudi arabia based on rapd and issr polymorphism in addition to morphological variations. materials and methods plant materials and scoring of morphological traits the materials used in this study include 14 samples representing seven taxa of astragalus section sesamei collected from different localities in egypt and saudi arabia (table 1). the plant specimens have been identified following boulos (1999) and migahid (1996). the specimens of the examined taxa are deposited at the herbarium of botany department, faculty of science, ain shams university, cairo, egypt and at the museum of biology department, faculty of science, hail university, hail, saudi arabia. a total of 45 morphological characters were considered, which include 32 two-state characters and 13 multi-state characters. the measurements and description of these characters were scored from at least five plants of each taxon. the characters and their states for morphological analysis are appended in table 2. dna extraction for dna extraction, seeds of bulked samples of each of the studied taxa were germinated at 20ºc for 15 days. young seedlings were collected on ice and dna was extracted from fresh young leaves using the ctab method following the protocol of saghai-maroof et al. (1984). rapd fingerprinting rapd fingerprinting was performed using 20 arbitrary 10-mer random primers (operon technologies, inc., usa). however, only ten primers gave clearly defined fingerprinting which are shown in table 3. pcr was carried out using a biocycler tc-s thermal cycler from hvd, austria. the pcr reactions were developed in a total volume of 50 µl with the following components: 5 µl of 10x reaction buffer (75 mm tris hcl, ph 9.0, 50 mm kcl, 20 nm (nh4)2so4 and 0.001% bovine serum albumin), 2 µl of 25 mm of each primer, 1 µl of taq dna polymerase (1u/µl), and 2 µl template dna. the volume was completed to 50 µl with deionizied diethylpyrocarbonate (depc) water. the following pcr program was used: an initial denaturation of dna was carried out at 94ºc for 1 min, followed by 40 cycles of annealing at relationships of astragalus l. taxa 3 37ºc for 1 min, extension at 72ºc for 2 min and a final extension at 72ºc for 7 min. the rapd products were resolved in 1.4% agarose gel in tae buffer (0.04 m tris-acetate, 1 mm edta; ph=8) at 100 volt for 60 min. a molecular size marker ranging from 530 to 1950 bp was used to estimate the size of resolved rapd products. the gels were stained in 0.2 µg/ml ethidium bromide and photographed using a gel documentation system (gel doc biorad 2000). each experiment was repeated twice and only stable bands were scored. table 1. list of astragalus l. taxa of the section sesamei examined along with their locality. sl. no. taxon locality 1. astragalus asterias stev. ex ledeb. 1 burg el-arab, egypt 2. a. asterias stev. ex ledeb. 2 hail-al jouf road, saudi arabia 3. a. schimperi boiss. 1 saint catherine, south sinai, egypt 4. a. schimperi boiss. 2 aja mountain, hail, saudi arabia 5. a. sinaicus boiss. 1 wadi el arish, north sinai, egypt 6. a. sinaicus boiss. 2 aja mountain, hail, saudi arabia 7. a. stella l. 1 wadi el arish, sinai, egypt 8. a. stella l. 2 al madinah-makkah road, saudi arabia 9. a. tribuloides del. 1 alexandria-matruh road, egypt 10. a. tribuloides del. 2 hailal madinah road, saudi arabia 11. a. tribuloides var. mareoticus sirj. 1 alexandria-matruh road, egypt 12. a. tribuloides var. mareoticus sirj. 2 hema faid region, hail, saudi arabia 13. a. tribuloides var. minutus boiss. 1 saint catherine, south sinai, egypt 14. a. tribuloides var. minutus boiss. 2 al madinah-makkah road, saudi arabia issr fingerprinting eight issr primers manufactured by the ubc (university of british columbia, canada) were used in the present study; the sequences of these primers are listed in table 3. the amplification of issr markers was performed according to nagoka and ogihara (1997). the reaction mixture consisted of 12.5 µl hot start master mixture, 2.0 µl of primer (10 mm), 1.0 µl of template dna (50 mg/µl), and filled up to 25 µl by ddh2o. amplification was carried out in a hvd thermocycler programmed as follows: 40 cycles after an initial cycle for 5 min at 94°c and each cycle consisted of a denaturation at 94°c for 2 min, annealing at 36°c for 1 min, extension at 72°c for 1 min followed by a final extension at 72°c for 7 min. the issr products were resolved in 1.5% agarose gel in tae buffer (0.04 m tris-acetate buffer, ph=8) at 100 volt for 60 min. a 1 kb ladder was used as dna molecular size standard. issr bands were visualized on uv-transilluminator and photographed using gel documentation system (gel doc-biorad 2000). each experiment was repeated twice and only stable bands were scored. data analyses the relationship among the examined taxa was estimated based on differences among them in morphological traits as well as issr and rapd fingerprinting separately and in combination. the morphological traits were given codes ranging between 0 and 3 depending on the variation in the average value for the measured traits (table 2). the rapd and issr bands were scored as '1' and '0' for presence or absence, respectively. in order to construct trees elucidating the relationships among the examined taxa, the coded data were analyzed using upgma (sokal and michener, 1958) and the neighbor-joining (saitou and nei, 1987) methods based on a distance matrix. all analyses were performed with ntsys-pc (rohlf, 2000). 4 sharawy and badr table 2. morphological characters and their state used in the numerical analysis.   no. characters characters states 1. habit erect herb (0), prostrate herb (1) 2. length (cm) 0 – 10 (0), 10.1 – 20 (1), > 20 (2) 3. stem hairness tomentose (0), canescent (1), appressed (2), villous (3) 4. colour of stem hairs white (0), white and black (1) 5. stipule length (cm) 0.5 (0), 0.51 – 1 (1), > 1 (2) 6. stipule width (cm) 0.1 – 0.5 (0), > 0.5 (1) 7. adnation of stipules free (0), adnate (1) 8. shape of stipules ovate (0), lanceolate (1), triangle (2) 9. stipule apex acute (0), acuminate (1) 10. stipule hairs white (0), white and black (1) 11. leaf length (cm) 1 – 10 (0), > 10 (1) 12. leaf width (cm) 0.1 – 1 (0), > 1 (1) 13. leaf rachis imparipinnate (0), paripinnate (1) 14. colour of leaf hairs white (0), white and black (1) 15. leaflet length (cm) < 0.5 (0), 0.51 – 1 (1) 16. leaflet width (cm) 0.1 – 0.5 (0), > 0.5 (1) 17. leaflet upper surface glabrous (0), hairy (1) 18. leaflet arrangement opposite (0), alternate (1) 19. leaflet shape ovate (0), elliptic (1), lanceolate (2) 20. leaflet apex obtuse (0), acute (1), notched (2) 21. number of leaflets 1 – 10 (0), 11 – 20 (1), > 20 (2) 22. inflorescence type raceme (0), capitate (1) 23. peduncle length (cm) 0.1 – 5.0 (0), > 5 (1) 24. inflorescence hairs white (0), black and white (1) 25. flower colour white (0), purple (1), violet (2) 26. flower length (cm) 0.1 – 1 (0), 1.1 – 1.5 (1), > 1.5 (2) 27. calyx length (cm) < 0.5 (0), 0.51 – 1.0 (1) 28. colour of calyx hairs white (0), white and black (1), 29. stamen length (cm) 0.1 – 0.5 (0), 0.5 – 1 (1), > 1 (2) 30. ovary length (cm) 0.1 – 0.5 (0), 0.5 – 1 (1), > 1 (2) 31. ovary width (cm) 0.1 (0), 0.2 (1) 32. pod length (cm) 0.1 – 2 (0), > 2 (1) 33. pod width (cm) 0.1 – 0.5 (0), > 0.5 (1) 34. pod pedicel absent (0), shorter than pod (1), longer than pod (2) 35. pod texture glabrous (0), hairy (1) 36. pod surface membranous (0), wrinkled (1) 37. pod dorsal suture obtuse (0), grooved (1), furrowed (2) 38. pod ventral suture obtuse (0), furrowed (1) 39. pod apex acute (0), beaked (1) 40. number of seeds 1–10 (0), > 10 (1) 41. seed length (cm) 0.1 – 0.2 (0), > 0.2 (1) 42. seed width (cm) 0.1 – 0.2 (0), > 0.2 (1) 43. seed shape reniform (0), quadrate (1) 44. seed colour yellow (0), brown (1) 45. seed surface smooth (0), irregular (1) relationships of astragalus l. taxa 5 table 3. rapd and issr primers used for dna fingerprinting in astragalus l. taxa. rapd primers issr primers .no primer code primer base sequence .no primer code primer base sequence 1 a14 5′tct gtg ctgg 3′ 1 ubc808 (ag)8c 2 b17 5′agg gaa cgag 3′ 2 ubc809 (ag)8g 3 opa01 5′cag gcc cttc 3′ 3 ubc810 (ga)8t 4 opb07 5′gct gac gcag 3′ 4 ubc812 (ga)8a 5 opb20 5′gga ccc ttac 3′ 5 ubc 830 (tg)8g 6 f01 5′acg gat cctg 3′ 6 ubc840 (ga)8ct 7 o04 5′aag tcc gctc 3′ 7 ubc848 (ca)8ag 8 o06 5′cca cgg gaag 3′ 8 ubc855 (ac)8ct 9 o08 5′cct cca gtgt 3′ 10 o16 5′tcg gcg gttc 3′ results and discussion rapd and issr fingerprinting analyses a total of 91 rapd bands were generated by 10 primers in 14 samples of astragalus taxa investigated. of these 68 bands are polymorphic and 23 are monomorphic. the polymorphic bands include 12 unique bands that have been revealed by seven primers (table 4). the highest number of both total bands (20) and polymorphic bands (17) was produced by the primer opb07. the rapd fingerprints generated by the primer opb07 is shown in fig. 1. the primer a14, on the other hand, produced the highest number of monomorphic and unique bands (table 4). the least number of bands (4 bands) was generated by two primers, namely o04 and o08; the number of polymorphic bands was 2 for the primer o04 and only 1 for the primer o08 with 50% and 25% polymorphism respectively (table 4). fig. 1. rapd fingerprints of the studied 14 samples of astragalus l. as revealed by the primer opb07. the lane to the left is a molecular size marker. numbers on lanes 1-14 correspond to the serial numbers of samples as numbered in table 1. first arrow indicates a monomorphic band, second arrow indicates polymorphic band, other arrows indicate unique band. 6 sharawy and badr the number of amplified bands generated by rapd markers and their molecular size are given in table 5. the primer a14 generated the highest number of bands ranging from 11 in a. stella and the varieties of a. tribuloides to 13 in a. schimperi and a. sinaicus. opb07 generated a total of 121 bands ranging from 6 in a. asterias to 12 in a. tribuloides var. minutes. in contrast, the least number of bands were produced by the primer o06 (table 5). table 4. number and types of amplified rapd bands generated in the examined 14 samples of astragalus l. rapd primers and number of bands types of bands a14 b17 opa01 opb07 opb20 f01 o04 o06 o08 o16 total monomorphic 4 2 3 2 2 3 2 1 3 1 23 unique 4 1 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 11 polymorphic 10 4 5 17 9 4 2 3 1 4 59 total bands 18 7 9 20 13 7 4 5 4 6 93 % of polymorphism 77.8 71.4 66.7 90 84.6 57.1 50 80 25 83.3 75.3 eight issr primers produced a total of 37 bands including only 14 polymorphic bands (table 6; fig. 2). the number of bands ranged from 3 as revealed by the three primers 809, 848 and 855 to 7 revealed by the primer 810; all of the bands produced by the two primers 809 and 812 were monomorphic. the primer 830 (fig. 2c) produced a band that in all taxa except the two samples fig. 2. issr fingerprints for 14 samples of astragalus l. as revealed by six issr primers; primer codes are as follows: a = primer ubc810, b = primer ubc812, c = primer ubc830, d = primer ubc840, e = primer ubc848, f = primer ubc855 (see table 4). short arrows to the lane m indicate 250 bp and long arrows shows bands unique to one species. number on lanes 1-14 correspond to the serial numbers of astragalus taxa as numbered in table 1. relationships of astragalus l. taxa 7 8 sharawy and badr of a. asterias (lanes 1&2); the same primer, produced a band in the profile a. sinaicus (lanes 5 & 6) that were absent in the profile of other taxa. the two samples of the same species are also clearly distinguished by two bands in profile of primer 840 (fig. 2d). in the profile of primer 848 (fig. 2e), one band was evident in the issr profile of the two samples of a. stella (lanes 7-8) and the six samples representing the three varieties of a. tribuloides (lanes 9-14) and was absent from the profile of the taxa representing a. asterias, a. schimperi and a. sinaicus (lanes 1-6). in the profile of primer 855 (fig. 2f), it is apparent that the issr profiling clearly differentiated a. sinaicus (lanes 5 & 6) by the presence of two bands that are absent in all other taxa. a glimpse on the issr profiling in all samples indicates that a. asterias (lanes 1-2) is characterized by the absence of one band in the profile of primer 830 (fig. 2c) and a. sinaicus (lanes 5-6) is distinguished by presence of three unique bands in profile of primers 830, 840 and 855. table 6. number and type of amplified bands generated by the eight primers in astragalus section sesamei. issr primers and number of bands total types of bands 808 809 810 812 830 840 848 855 monomorphic 4 3 2 4 2 4 2 2 23 unique 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 polymorphic 1 0 5 0 4 2 1 1 14 total bands 5 3 7 4 6 6 3 3 37 % of polymorphism 20 0 71.4 0 66.7 33.3 33.3 33.3 37.8 relationship among astragalus taxa based on morphological variation: the 14 samples of astragalus are clearly divided into two groups in the upgma tree (fig. 3), one comprising the taxa of a. sinaicus, a. asterias and a. schimperi and the other is comprised of taxa representing a. stella and the six samples representing a. tribuloides and its two varieties a. tribuloides var. mareoticus and a. tribuloides var. minutus. in the former group, the two samples of a. sinaicus are clearly delimited from the four samples representing a. asterias and a. schimperi. in the other group, the two samples representing a. stella are delimited from the other six samples representing a. tribuloides, a. tribuloides var. mareoticus and a. tribuloides var. minutus. the level of distance that separates the taxa of a. tribuloides exceeds the levels that separate the taxa representing a. asterias and a. schimperi (fig. 3). relationship among astragalus taxa based on rapd and issr polymorphism: the analyses of rapd and issr data show that the two samples representing a. sinaicus are clearly delimited from the other taxa (fig. 4). the other 12 samples are divided into two subgroups; one comprised of four samples representing the two species a. asterias and a. schimperi. the second subgroup includes the two samples representing a. stella and the six samples representing a. tribuloides. in this subgroup the two samples of the former species are clearly separated from the six samples representing a. tribuloides at the distance of 4.80. the two samples representing a. tribuloides var. mareoticus are separated from the four samples representing a. tribuloides and a. tribuloides var. minutus at a distance of 3.70. the separation of the two samples representing a. sinaicus is clearly associated with the presence of three issr bands that are confined to material of this species and absent in the other taxa (fig. 2c, d & f). relationships of astragalus l. taxa 9 fig. 3. upgma tree illustrating the relationships among astragalus taxa based on morphological characters. fig. 4. neighbour joining tree illustrating the relationships among astragalus taxa based on rapd and issr markers. 10 sharawy and badr relationship among astragalus taxa based on morphological variation and molecular polymorphism: relationships among astragalus taxa studied based on morphological variation and molecular polymorphism is shown in the upgma tree (fig. 5). in this tree, the two samples representing a. sinaicus are clearly delimited from the other taxa. the other 12 taxa are clearly divided into two groups at a distance of 1.15, one comprising the four taxa of a. asterias and a. schimperi and the other is comprised of the two samples representing a. stella and the six samples representing a. tribuloides. it is noted that the two samples of a. schimperi, in the first group, are delimited at a relatively high distance of 0.81 indicating considerable morphological variation among material of this species from egypt and saudi arabia. in the other group, the two samples representing a. stella are delimited from the other six samples representing a. tribuloides, a. tribuloides var. mareoticus, a. tribuloides var. minutus at a distance of 1.15 on the distance scale. the two samples of a. stella are also distinguished from each other at a distance of 0.70 indicating considerable variation among material of this species from egypt and saudi arabia. fig. 5. upgma tree showing the relationships among astragalus taxa based on morphological characters and molecular markers. podlech (1991) suggested that a. sinaicus is not existent in egypt and assumed that the type may be from greece and was erroneously attributed to sinai by boissier (1872) and may be considered as a. tribuloides which is a multiform species. this view was contradicted by sharawy (2001) based on evidence derived from morphological and anatomical characters. astragalus sinaicus was also clearly distinguished from the species of section sesamei including a. stella, based on cytological evidence, as it has longer chromosomes and more symmetric karyotype compared to the other species (badr and sharawy, 2007). the analysis of morphological variation in the present study delimited a. sinaicus in a major group that also includes a. asterias and a. schimperi but remained distinguished as a separate identity. the distinction of this species is also clearly reflected in the relationship based of the analysis of issr and rapd fingerprinting polymorphism. relationships of astragalus l. taxa 11 the grouping of a. asterias and a. schimperi based on morphological variation and molecular polymorphism is congruent with their grouping together based on the analysis of seed protein electrophoretic profile (al-nowaihi et al., 2002). however, evidence from seed protein electrophoretic analysis also indicated the grouping of a. asterias with a. tribuloides (al-nowaihi et al., 2002) that is not supported by molecular evidences expressed by the analysis of morphological variation and molecular polymorphism which is correlated with similarities between these two species in spermoderm characteristics (sharawy, 2001). a. asterias possesses sessile leaves and fruits with double indumentum (sharawy et al., 2003) that distinguish it from other species in section sesamei, which can also be distinguished based on pollen characters (saad and taia, 1988). gazer (1993) divided the species of section sesamei into four groups; i.e. astragalus asterias group, a. schimperi group, a. sinaicus group and a. stella group; the latter group also comprised a. tribuloides. in the present investigation, the recognition of a. sinaicus and a. stella as distinct groups is supported by the relationships as expressed in the upgma trees based on morphological and molecular evidences. both morphological criteria and molecular markers indicated considerable distance between the two samples of a. stella and the six samples of a. tribuloides and its two varieties, i.e. a. tribuloides var. mareoticus and a. tribuloides var. minutus. the distance levels among these varieties confirm the observations by boissier (1872) and podlech (1986) that a. tribuloides is a multiform species. in the present investigation a. tribuloides var. mareoticus is clearly distinct from a. tribuloides and a. tribuloides var. minutus. references alexander, j.a., liston, a. and popovich, s.j. 2004. 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(manuscript received on 4 january 2013; revised on 8 may 2014) microsoft word 01. 14-13 primulina crassirhizoma ok-4.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 129-134, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists primulina crassirhizoma sp. nov. (gesneriaceae) from a limestone area along the boundary of sino-vietnam bo zhao, xin hong1, shi-lian huang2 and fang wen3,4 guilin botanic garden, guangxi institute of botany, guangxi zhuang autonomous region and the chinese academy of sciences, cn-541006, guilin, china. keywords: gesneriaceae; new species; primulina crassirhizoma; limestone flora; china. abstract primulina crassirhizoma f. wen, bo zhao & xin hong, a new species from a limestone area along the boundary of sino-vietnam, is described and illustrated. it is similar to p. linearifolia and p. longgangensis in leaf and flower shape, but can be distinguished by extremely strong rhozime, with conspicuous internodes, leaf blade adaxial surface nitid, sparsely appressed strigose, lateral veins 6–8 on each side of midrib, calyx narrowly triangular to narrowly ovate, corolla pale purple to bluish purple, c. 3.5 cm long, tube nearly tubular, adaxial lip c. 6 mm, abaxial lip 8-9 mm, glabrous anthers and staminodes 3. introduction the distribution and differentiation centre of primulina hance (gesneriaceae) located to south and south-west china and north vietnam (wei et al., 2010), and many species and varieties of this genus are usually endemic to china, especially in the limestone areas of guangxi zhuang autonomous region. very recently some taxa of primulina hance have been newly described from guangxi, china, viz. p. purpurea fang wen, bo zhao & y.g wei (wen et al., 2012a), p. hochiensis var. rosulata f. wen & y.g. wei (wen et al., 2012b) and p. fengshanensis fang wen & yue wang (wen et al., 2012c). in 2004, shi-liang mo, a tourist first collected some “primulina”-like plants from longbang town, jingxi county, guangxi, china. later on, we found this particular unknown species near the top of limestone hills along the boundary of sino-vietnam in 2005. after five years, prof. hai he and prof. li-bing zhang collected many specimens of this particular species with flowers from pingan town, jingxi county in 2010. although this unknown taxon looks like primulina linearifolia (w.t. wang) y.z. wang (wang and pan, 1982; wang et al., 2011) and p. longgangensis (w.t. wang) y.z. wang (wang and huang, 1982; wang et al., 2011), we could easily distinguished three species by the characters of leaves and flowers. after consultation of relevant literatures (wang et al., 1990, 1998, 2011; li and wang, 2004; wei et al., 2010; weber et al., 2011; xu et al., 2012), and examination of the specimens deposited in different herbaria (anu, bjfu, cdbi, hn, ibk, ibsc, kun, pe, vmn, ctc, mo, cdbi), we concluded it as a new species, primulina crassirhizoma sp. nov. the new species is described and illustrated here. 1college of life sciences, anhui normal university, cn-241000, wuhu, china. 2college of life sciences, guangxi normal university, guilin cn-541004, china 3guangxi institute of botany, guangxi zhuang autonomous region and the chinese academy of sciences, cn-541006 guilin, china. 4corresponding author. email: wenfang760608@139.com 130 zhao et al. primulina crassirhizoma f. wen, bo zhao & xin hong, sp. nov. (fig. 1, fig. 2 a-f). diagnosis: haec species nova similis primulina linearifoliae et p. longgangensis, sed differ rhizomate incrassato et robusto, conspicue internodiis, laminis supra nitidis, sparse appresso strigosis, lateralis nervis 6-8, calyce anguste triangulo et anguste ovato, corolla pallido purpurata usque caesie purpurata, ca. 3.5 cm longa, tubis fere tubulari, labio postico ca. 6 mm longo, eo antice 8-9 mm longo, filamentis ca. 0.9-1.1 cm longis, antheris glabris, staminodiis 3. type: china, guangxi zhuangzu autonomous region: jingxi county, longbang township, near tunhong village, growing in the crevices of rock, under evergreen broad-leaved forest or bamboo bushes, near to the top of limestone hills, 22°52′37.78″n, 106°21′35.80″ e, 781.5 m, 26 november 2006, fang wen & xin hong 0169 (holotype: ibk; isotype: anu). perennial, acaulescent. rhizome subterete, erect or ascending, single, in very thick and strong trunks, woody, brown, with conspicuous internodes, up to 30 cm long, 1.0-1.5 (-4) cm in diam. leaves 6-16 or more, congested at the apex of rhizome, opposite on upper half of rhizome; petiole 2-5 × 4.5-6.0 cm; leaf blade thickly coriaceous, narrowly elliptic, oblanceolate to oblong, 8-12 × 2.2-3.0 cm, adaxial surface nitid, sparsely appressed strigose, abaxial sparsely strigose, extremely short brownish pubescent along veins, apex acute, base attenuate to slightly obliquely cuneate, margin with inconspicuous obtusely dentate from the middle to the apex, revolute, lateral veins 68 on each side of midrib, slightly impressed adaxially, prominent ribs abaxially. cymes 2-6 or more on one stem, axillary, (1-) 3-16-flowered; peduncle 9-16 cm long, 0.1-0.2 cm in diam., densely erect, dark purple glandular puberulent; bracts linear-lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate, 5-8 mm long, 2.0-2.5 mm in diam., puberulous outside, glabrous inside; pedicel 0.6-2.2 cm long, c. 0.1 cm in diam., glandular-pubescent. calyx 5-partite to the base, lobes narrowly triangular to narrowly ovate, 2.6-3.5 × 1.1-1.4 mm, brownish red, pubescent abaxially, glabrous adaxially, acute, entire. corolla c. 3.5 cm long, c. 0.9 cm in diam. at the orifice, c. 0.4 mm in diam. at the base, pale purple to bluish-purple, outside glandular pubescent, inside glabrous; tube nearly tubular, c. 2 cm long; limb distinctly 2-lipped, upper lip 2-lobed near base, lobes ovate-rounded to rounded, c. 6 × 8 mm, retroflexed, lower lip 3-lobed to near two-third, central lobe orbicular, lateral ones obliquely ovate, 8-9 × 9-10 mm. stamens 2, adnate 1.1-1.3 cm above the corolla base; filaments 0.9-1.1 cm long, upper parts geniculate, scattered glandular pubescent; anthers fused by their entire adaxial surfaces, elliptic or reniform, c. 2 mm long, glabrous; staminodes 3, lateral ones c. 2.6 mm long, adnate up to c. 0.8 cm above the corolla base, apex inflated, scattered glandular pubescent, middle one adnate, up to c. 0.6 cm above the corolla base, very small, capitate, c. 0.3 mm long, glabrous. disc 1.5-2.0 mm long, margin repand, glabrous. pistil c. 2 cm long; ovary linear, c. 1.5x 0.2 cm, densely puberulent with both glandular and eglandular hairs; style c. 0.5 cm long, c. 1 mm in diam., glandular-puberulent; stigma obtrapeziform, c. 0.4 cm long, 2-lobed to middle. capsule straight, 4.0-5.5 cm long, c. 4 mm in diam., glandular-pubescent and sparsely pilose. phenology: it flowers from november to early december. ecology: at least five populations have been found for the new species around the border of china (tunhong village of longbang town, jingxi county, guangxi) (fig. 3). besides, some plants of this new species were introduced and cultivated in royal botanic gardens, kew in past ten years from vietnam, but they are lack of specific information of vietnamese locality, and known only from cao bằng province of north vietnam. all known populations in china are growing at the crevices in evergreen limestone broad-leaved forest or bamboo-bushes near the peak of limestone hills. etymology: the specific epithet is derived from its extremely thick and robust rhizome. primulina crassirhizoma sp. nov. (gesneriaceae) 131 fig. 1 a-f. primulina crassirhizoma f. wen, bo zhao & xin hong sp. nov. a) habit; b) back of leaf blade; c) corolla, dissected to show stamens and staminodes; d) pistil, dissected calyx lobes and disc; e) stigma; f) stamens and anthers. (all from the type, fang wen and xin hong 0169, ibk). note: primulina crassirhizoma is morphologically similar to p. linearifolia (w.t. wang) y.z. wang and p. longgangensis (w.t. wang) y.z. wang, but it differs from these species in having thick and strong rhizome, with conspicuous internodes; adaxial surface of leaf blade nitid, sparsely appressed strigose; lateral veins 6-8 on each side of midrib; calyx narrowly triangular to narrowly ovate; corolla pale purple to bluish-purple, c. 3.5 cm long; tube nearly tubular, adaxial lip c. 6 mm; abaxial lip c. 8-9 mm; filaments ca. 0.9-1.1 cm long; anthers glabrous; staminodes 3. the differences of three relatives are shown in table 1 and fig. 2. 132 zhao et al. fig. 2 a-f. primulina crassirhizoma f. wen, bo zhao & xin hong sp. nov. a) habitat; b) habit; c) cymes and flowers; d) front view of flower and bud; e) lateral view of flowers and calyx lobes; f) pistil; g. stigma; h. back of leaf blade; i-l. p. longgangensis i) habit; j) cymes and flowers; k) front view of flower; l) lateral view of flower and calyx lobes; m-p. p. linearifolia m) habit; n) cymes and flowers; o) front view of flower; p) lateral view of flower and calyx lobes. primulina crassirhizoma sp. nov. (gesneriaceae) 133 table 1. diagnostic morphological characters of primulina crassirhizoma, p. longgangensis and p. linearifolia. characters p. crassirhizoma p. longgangensis p. linearifolia rhizome 1.0-1.5 (-4) cm in diam., internodes conspicuous 0.4-0.7 cm in diam., internodes conspicuous 0.4-1.0 cm, internodes inconspicuous indumentum of leaf blade adaxial surface nitid, sparsely appressed strigose densely appressed puberulent and pilose appressed pubescent lateral veins 6-8 on each side of midrib 3-6 on each side of midrib 4 or 5 on each side of midrib calyx narrowly triangular to narrowly ovate, 2.6-2.8 × 0.30.5 mm lanceolate-linear, 5-8 × 0.9-1.5 mm linear-lanceolate, 3.2-4.0 × 0.6-1.1 mm color of corolla pale purple to bluish purple white to red–purple white to pale bluish corolla size c. 3.5 cm long c. 4 cm long c. 2.4 cm long tube shape nearly tubular narrowly funnelform narrowly funneliform lips of corolla adaxial lip c. 6 mm; abaxial lip c. 8-9 mm adaxial lip c. 8 mm, abaxial lip c. 1.2 cm adaxial lip c. 4 mm, abaxial lip c. 9 mm filaments 0.9-1.1 cm long c. 1.4 cm long c. 1 cm long anthers glabrous bearded bearded staminodes 3 3 2 flowering time november to december september to december april fig. 3 distribution of primulina crassirhizoma f. wen, bo zhao & xin hong sp. nov. (a) and its related species, p. longgangensis (w.t. wang) y.z. wang (b) and p. linearifolia (w.t. wang) y.z. wang (c) in china. 134 zhao et al. additional specimens examined: china. guangxi zhuangzu autonomous region: jingxi county, pingan town, guobu village, on the precipice of limestone hills, 23°00′02.20″n, 106°12′13.35″ e, 1010 m, 02 november, 2010, zhang li-bing, he hai & wang yu 5543 (ctc, mo, cdbi); pingan town, longjin village, similar habitat, 22°59′29.89″n, 106°11′00.91″ e, 980 m, 2 november 2010, zhang li-bing, he hai & wang yu 5517 (ctc, mo, cdbi). acknowledgements the authors are grateful to prof. fa-nan wei for checking the latin diagnosis, prof. xin-hu guo for checking the specimens and reviewing the description of this new species, and mr. qi wei for drawings. this study was supported by key foundation of education department of anhui province (kj2011a129), provincial key laboratory of biotic environment and ecological safety in anhui (2004sys003), science research foundation of guangxi institute of botany (guizhiye11003), director fund project of guangxi key laboratory of functional phytochemicals research and utilization (zrjj2012-9), the guangxi natural science foundation (2011gxnsfb018050), science research foundation of guangxi academy of sciences (no. 12yj25zw013) and west light foundation of the chinese academy of sciences. references li, z.y. and wang, y.z. 2004. primulina, chirita and chiritopsis. in: li, z.y. and wang, y.z. 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(manuscript received on 30 january 2013; revised on 26 october 2013) leaf micromorphological features of the genus cordia l bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 119-131, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists leaf micromorphological features of the genus cordia l. (boraginaceae) from egypt wafaa amer, rim hamdy 1 and riham mahdy 2 department of botany & microbiology, faculty of science, cairo university, giza 12613, egypt keywords: cordia; trichomes; stomata; sem; egypt. abstract foliar epidermal characters of nine cordia l. species found in egypt are investigated. glandular trichomes are observed in c. boissieri a. dc. and c. cylindristachya (ruiz & pav.) roem. & schult., while eglandular trichomes are predominant in all studied species. different stomatal characters were examined including: shape, size, rims, stomatal level, aperture, cuticular deposition and wax ornamentation. the retrieved results showed a great variation among the studied species. the observed trichomes and stomata were used to construct two different taxonomic keys. introduction cordia l. is a large pantropical genus growing across the tropical and subtropical areas of america, africa, asia and oceania (al-shehbaz, 1991) with 320 species of trees and shrubs. the genus is represented in the flora of egypt by eight cultivated and one wild species. cordia myxa l. was recorded in ancient egypt (täckholm, 1961; lucas, 1962; darby et al., 1977 and manniche, 1989). its fruit was eaten fresh and used to make wine. it may also have been raised for the production of birdlime (van der veen, 2011). cordia sinensis lam. is the only relict species in its wild form; traced in moist ground in oases and gebel elba (täckholm, 1974; boulos, 2009). it was also raised in the israel-palestine area and in the arabian peninsula (feinbrundothan, 1978). taxonomic treatments of cordia l. have long been recognized by many workers (johnston, 1930; kazmi, 1970; taroda and gibbs, 1986; al nowaihi et al., 1987; warfa, 1988; verdcourt, 1991; el mahi, 2012 and mehrabian et al., 2014). metcalfe and chalk (1950) described the general anatomical properties of the family including some details of the genus cordia and underlined the taxonomic value of trichomes and stomata and their involvement in systematics. the micromorphological characters of the epidermal system (stomata, trichomes, epidermal wax deposits) have been received much attention in the recent past years. according to rejdal (1991); monographs are considered incomplete without micromorphology of the epidermis. in the context, however, little attention was given to the genus cordia. recently ventrella and marinho (2008) studied foliar micromorphological of c. verbenacea dc from brazil, sharma et al. (2013) made identification of cordia macleodii hook. through stomatal index. as the earlier studies confirmed the importance of epidermal micromorphology in taxonomy (stockey and taylor 1978 a, b; stace, 1984; palmer and gerbeth-jones, 1986 and 1988; yoon 1994; hassan, 2004; özcan, 2002). it reveals that foliar epidermal characters are important in taxonomic identification and species relationships in cordia species. despite the previous studies, genus cordia l. received very little attention in egypt. therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the features 1corresponding author: email: rimhamdy@yahoo.com 2timber trees and forestry department, horticulture research institute, agriculture research center, giza, egypt. mailto:rimhamdy@yahoo.com 120 amer et al. of foliar trichomes and stomata in the genus cordia l. growing in egypt and to assess these characters for specific and interspecific delimitation. it was also aimed to construct two differential keys on the trichomes and stomatal characters to identify cordia species from egypt. materials and methods nine species of cordia used in this study are c. africana lam., c. boissieri a. dc., c. crenata delile, c. cylindristachya (ruiz & pav.) roem. & schult., c. dentata poir., c. dichotoma g. forst., c. myxa l., c. sebestena l. and c. sinensis lam. the localities of these species along with the voucher numbers are appended in table 1. fresh specimens collected and studied from different gardens as well as herbarium specimens deposited in cairo university herbarium (cai), the agriculture research centre, flora of phytotaxonomy herbarium (caim) and orman garden herbarium. leaf material was examined by scanning electron microscopy (sem). small pieces (c. 7 mm2) of dried mature leaf material were fixed to sem stubs using double-sided adhesive tape, coated with gold in a sputter coat (spi-module), examined and photographed with a jeol (jsm-5500 lv) using high vacuum mode at the electron microscope unit, regional center of mycology and biotechnology at azhar university, cairo (egypt). terminology of trichomes used are according to al-shammary and gornell (1994); bigazzi et al. (1999) and taia (2006), while for stomata terminology wilkinson (1983 &1992) and el hadidy (2004) were followed. table 1. list of species of cordia l. along with voucher specimens used in the present study. no. species voucher specimens 1 cordia africana lam. aswan: aswan botanic garden, 20. 2. 1996, h. rafaeel 29135 (caim) giza: mazhar botanic garden, baragile, 24. 8. 2014, r. mahdy s.n. (cai) 2 c. boissieri a. dc. giza: villa el maghraby, 30. 4. 2004, t.labib (orman garden herbarium) giza: mazhar botanic garden, baragile, 24. 8. 2014, r. mahdy s.n. (cai) 3 c. crenata delile sudan: jebel dambobei, karora, 25. 12. 1966, m. kass, m. mobarak& h. omar 1166 (cai) 4 c. cylindristachya (ruiz & pav.) roem. & schult. giza: faculty of agriculture, 5. 6. 1976, b. diwan s.n. (orman garden herbarium) 5 c. dentata poir. giza: orman garden, 5. 6. 1933, khattab g1349 (caim) giza: zoolgical garden, 22. 5. 2014, r. mahdy s.n. (cai) 6 c. dichotoma forst.f. giza: mazhar botanic garden, baragile, 6. 5. 2011, m. el said s.n. mazhar herbarium giza: mazhar botanic garden, baragile, 24. 8. 2014, r. mahdy s.n. (cai) 7 c. myxa l. aswan: aswan botanic garden, 12. 5. 1998, h. rafaeel, 29366 (caim) giza: zoolgical garden, 22. 5. 2014, r. mahdy s.n. (cai) 8 c. sebestena l. giza: orman garden, 28.7. 2007, mostafa (orman garden herbarium) giza: mazhar botanic garden, baragile, 24. 8. 2014, r. mahdy s.n. (cai) 9 c. sinensis lam. giza: orman garden, 10.7.1933, j. shabetaig1354 (caim) giza: zoolgical garden, 22. 5. 2014, r. mahdy s.n. (cai) leaf micromorphological features of cordia 121 results and discussion the genus cordia offers different types of trichomes and stomata are summarized in tables 2 and 3. both glandular and eglandular trichomes are found in cordia (table 2). glandular trichomes are observed only in c. boissieri (40-46 µm, fig.1a) and c. cylindristachya (33-38 µm, fig.1b); the earlier possess clavate head while the later posses globular head. eglandular trichomes are evident in all species, however they vary in density and distribution; presence or absence of basal part (cell), with circular rim or pluricellular, shape of upper part (apical cell); with cylindrical, flattened or conical, their length and ornamentation. the eglandular trichomes are simple unbranched; the majorities are medium-long sized upper part. their length ranges from 108-833 µm. these eglandular trichomes may be without basal part as in cordia dichotoma (fig. 1c) or with basal part. the basal part either in circular rim as in c. africana (fig. 1d), in one pluricellular (c. myxa fig. 2f and c. crenata fig. 2a, b), or in more than one row of cells as shown in c. dentata (fig. 2g). the eglandular trichomes in the studied taxa appeared cylindrical in c. africana (fig. 1d), or flattened in c. dentata (fig.1f), rarely conelike as in c. crenata (fig. 2a). trichome surface in the studied taxa appeared with variable surface namely: smooth (in c. dichotoma, fig. 1c), granulate (in c. africana, fig.1d), scaly (in c. dentata, fig. 1f) or echinate (in c. boissieri, fig. 1e). trichomes of the upper leaf surface of the studied taxa ranges from sparse (number of hairs / 1cm2, <300) in cordia africana, c. myxa, c. dichotoma and c. dentata (table 2). cordia sinensis and c. sebestena possess moderate (≥300-600). the dense (≥600) appeared in c. boissieri, c. cylindristachya and c. crenata, while in the lower surface trichomes appeared dense in most of the studied species, sparse in c. dentata and very dense in c. boissieri (table 2). the following key was constructed on the basis of trichome features of the studied cordia species as shown under sem: 1 eglandular and glandular present 2 only eglandular trichomes present 3 2 glandular with clavate head c. boissieri glandular with globular head c. cylindristachya 3 basal part absent c. dichotoma basal part present 4 4 formed of circular rim c. africana formed of pluricellular cells 5 5 pluricellular base formed of more than two rows c. dentata pluricellular base formed of one row 6 6 distinct in cylindrical upper part c. crenata not distinct in cylindrical upper part 7 7 scaly upper part c. myxa granulate upper part 8 8 granules coarse c. sinensis granules fine c. sebestena the epidermal and stomatal features of the studied cordia species are summarized in table 3. stomata as seen under sem showed high diversity in stomatal shape: round (l= 1-1.2w) in c. africana, c. boissieri and c. cylindristachya (fig. 3a, b & fig. 4c, d, e, f); narrowly elliptic 122 amer et al. leaf micromorphological features of cordia 123 124 amer et al. (l= 1.8-1.9w) in c. sinensis, c. myxa and c. dichotoma (fig. 3e, f & fig. 5a,b,c,d); while broadly elliptic (l=1.4-1.6w) in c. sebestena, c. crenata and c. dentata (fig. 3c,d, fig. 4a, b & fig. 5e,f). the stomatal size ranged from 15-33 µm long and 8-20 µm wide. the largest in c. myxa and c. dichotoma while the smallest in c. sebestena. some of the stomata show raised level as in c. africana, c. boissieri and c. cylindristachya, while other species are in the same level. fig. 1. sem micrographs showing foliar trichomes in cordia species. a-b glandular trichomes: a. clavate head of c. boissieri. and b. globular head of c. cylindristachya. c-f eglandular trichomes: c. without basal part, cylindrical upper part of c. dichotoma, with smooth surface. d-e circular rim basal part: d. cylindrical upper part of c. africana, with granulate surface, e. c. boissieri, with echinate surface. f. flattened upper part of c. dentata with scaly surface. leaf micromorphological features of cordia 125 fig. 2. sem micrographs showing foliar trichomes in cordia species. a-g eglandular trichomes with pluricellular basal part: a-f. in one row cells, a, b. c. crenata, a. conical upper part, b. cylindrical upper part, c. cylindrical upper part of c. sebestena, d. cylindrical upper part of c. sinensis, with granulate surface, e, f cylindrical upper part of c. myxa, with scaly surface and g. pluricellular basal part in more than two rows of c. dentata. the presence of stomatal rim is a diagnostic feature: single in c. africana (fig. 3b), c. sebestena (fig. 3d), c. sinensis (fig. 3f), c. cylindristachya (fig. 4f), c. myxa (fig. 5b) and double in c. crenata (fig. 4a), c. boissieri (fig. 4d), c. dichotoma (fig. 5d) and c. dentata (fig. 5f). 126 amer et al. fig. 3. sem micrographs showing the stomatal pattern and magnified stomium in cordia species. a, b: c. africana, c, d: c. sebestena, e, f: c. sinensis. stomatal opening (aperture) is variable among the studied taxa: long (average length >10 µm) in c. dichotoma, c. myxa, c. crenata, c. cylindristachya and c. sinensis; short (average length ≤10 µm) in c. africana, c. boissieri, c. dentata and c. sebestena. cuticular deposits are observed in the form of striations or ridges; striations forming lateral wings perpendicular to the long axis of the subsidiary cells are observed in c. sinensis (fig. 3e, f). sometimes these striations radiating extend across more than one epidermal cell as in c. sebestena (fig. 3c,d) and c. dentata (fig. 5e,f). striations distinguished c. crenata (fig. 4a, b) and c. sinensis (fig. 3e, f) from the rest of the studied species. however in c. africana the stomata are enclosed by undulated rim. also striations extend across more than one epidermal leaf micromorphological features of cordia 127 cells (fig. 3a, b). these striations sometimes form short lateral wings perpendicular to the long axis of the subsidiary cells in c. boissieri (fig. 4c, d). cordia cylindristachya can be distinguished from the other studied species with the presence of stomata located on epidermal ridges forming lateral wings perpendicular to the long axis of the stomatal cells (fig. 4e, f). these ridges are crescentic and mostly parallel (occasionally perpendicular) to the long axis of the subsidiary cells as observed in c. myxa (fig. 5a, b) while appears crescentic perpendicular to the long axis of the subsidiary cells in c. dichotoma (fig. 5 c, d). fig. 4. sem micrographs showing the stomatal pattern and magnified stomium in cordia species. a, b: c. crenata, c, d: c. boissieri, e, f: c. cylindristachya. 128 amer et al. fig. 5. sem micrographs showing the stomatal pattern and magnified stomium in cordia species. a, b: c. myxa, c, d: c. dichotoma, e, f: c. dentata. the sem of the epidermal system showed the presence of special wax structures (filaments, particles, flakes and granules, table 3) in the studied taxa. particles are observed in c. cylindristachya, c. sebestena and c. sinensis. these particles mixed with flakes in c. myxa (fig. 5 b) or mixed with granules in c. crenata (fig. 4b), while flakes and granules are observed in c. dentata (fig. 5f) filaments and granules in c. dichotoma (fig. 5d). the following key was constructed on the basis of the stomatal and epidermal features of the studied taxa as shown under sem. leaf micromorphological features of cordia 129 1 obvious epidermal striations 2 obscure epidermal striations 5 2 stomata with cuticular rim c. africana stomata without cuticular rim 3 3 cuticular deposition with unconspicuous striations extending across more than one epidermal cell c. sebestena cuticular deposition with conspicuous striations, not extending across more than one epidermal cell 4 4 striations only perpendicular to the long axis of the subsidiary cells c. sinensis striations radiating all over the stomata c. crenata 5 stomata round 6 stomata elliptic 7 6 stomata on ridge without stomatal rim c. cylindristachya stomata not on ridge, with stomatal rim c. boissieri 7 stomata broadly elliptic c. dentata stomata narrowly elliptic 8 8 epidermis with dense waxy filaments c. dichotoma epidermis not so c. myxa in our study cordia myxa and c. dichotoma have been found closely related (verdcourt, 1991) as attested by the following shared characters: lamina broadly ovate to suborbicular, inflorescence dichotomous branching, flowers salverform and white, stigma flattened and subfoliaceous with irregular or erose-denticulate margin, fruit yellowish orange. however the epidermal features do not support a close association between them, using micromorphological characters during this study to distinguish both species; the eglandular trichomes without basal part is observed in c. dichotoma (fig. 1c) while basal part is pluricellular in c. myxa (fig. 2f). also wax ornamentation is formed of particles in addition to flakes in c. myxa (fig. 5a, b) and filaments and granules in c. dichotoma (fig. 5c, d). stomata in cordia are usually confined to lower side (metcalfe and chalk, 1950). the results outlined in table (3), indicate that stomatal rim and wax ornamentation is found to be significant characters; stomatal rim was double in c. boissieri, c. crenata, c. dentata and c. dichotoma and single in c. africana, c. cylindristachya, c. myxa, c. sebestena and c. sinensis (figs.3, 4,5). wax ornamentation is formed of particles and granules in c. crenata (fig. 4a, b), c. myxa with particles and flakes (fig. 5a, b), c. dichotoma with filament and granules (fig. 5c, d) while c. dentata characterized flakes and granules (fig. 5e, f).these results are in accordance with that of akcin et al., (2013), who claimed that, the stomatal rims and wax ornamentations are important characters for delimiting fourteen species of onosma l. cordia cylindristachya was distinguished from other species, by stomata located on epidermal ridge (fig. 4e, f) which was confirmed earlier by metcalfe and chalk (1950) on some cordia species. finally, we conclude that the micromorphological characters of cordia species such as presence of eglandular and glandular trichomes, presence or absence, shape and ornamentation of 130 amer et al. basal trichome part, stomatal rim and wax ornamentation possess diagnostic taxonomic value which can delimit cordia species. references akçin ö.e., şenel g. and akçin, y. 2013. leaf epidermis morphology of some onosma (boraginaceae) species from turkey. turk. j. bot. 37: 55-640. al-nowaihi, a.s., khalifa, s.f. and hamed, k. 1987. a contribution to the taxonomy of boraginaceae. phytologia 62: 107-125. al-shammary, k.i.a., and gornall, r.j. 1994. trichome anatomy of the saxifragaceaes. l. from the southern hemisphere. bot. j. linn. soc. 114: 99-131. al-shehbaz, i.a. 1991. the genera of boraginaceae in the southeastern united states. j. arnold arb. suppl. 1: 1-169. bigazzi, m., selvi, f. and fiorini, g. 1999. a reappraisal of the generic status of gastrocotyle, hormuzakia and phyllocara (boraginaceae) in the light of micromorphological and karyological evidence. edinb. j. bot. 56(2): 229-251. boulos, l. 2009. flora of egypt checklist, el hadara publishing, cairo, egypt, 410p. darby, w., ghallioungui, p., griffith, l. 1977. food: the gift of osiris. vol. 1 & 2, academic press, london, new york, san francisco. dasti, a.a., bokhari, t.z., malik, s.a. and akhtar, r. 2003. epidermal morphology in some members of family boraginaceae in baluchistan. asian j. plant sci. 2(1): 42-47. el hadidy, a.m.h. 2004.morphological studies on fruits and seeds of the genus lotus l. in egypt, proceedings of first international conference on strategy of egyptian herbaria march 9-11, 2004; 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(amaranthaceae) from iran m. assadi, s.m.m. hamdi1 and f. fajani2 research institute rangelands and forests, tehran, iran keywords: amaranthaceae; anabasis; exine ornamentation; palynology; iran. abstract the paper presents pollen micromorphology by scanning electron microscopy of seven anabasis l. species namely, a. haussknechtii bge., a. aphylla l., a. calcarea (charif & allen) bokhari & wendelbo, a. eugeniae iljin, a. eriopoda (shrernk) volkens, a. annua bge. and a. setifera moq. from iran. pollen grains in all studied species are peripolyporate, spherical and are of two basic types based on pores diameter inner of holes. the study showed that the sculpturing of exine provides valuable characters in species delimitation, sometimes even for closely related ones. an artificial key based on pollen characters for seven species is provided. introduction amaranthaceae comprises of approximately 163 genera and 1825 species (kadereit et al., 2003 and apg iii, 2009). anabasis belonging to the tribe salsoleae s.l. is one of the largest tribes in amaranthaceae, includes one-third of the genera currently recognized in the family (ku¨hn et al., 1993), distributed throughout arid, semiarid, saline, and hypersaline ecosystems of temperate and subtropical regions (pyankov, et al., 2001; kadereit et al., 2003 and akhani et al., 2007). anabasis is distributed in iran by 10 species and 2 varieties (freitag, 1997 and assadi, 2001). iran is one of the distribution centers for anabasis (akhani et al., 2007). tsukada (1967) studied amranth-chenopoid pollens by electron microscope and used pollen characters like pores, shape, size and conical tubercle as key characters. there is no study on the pollen micromorpholgy on anabasis from iran. the present study aims to investigate the pollen micromorpholgy of anabasis, to evaluate its taxonomic value and to prepare an identification key for seven anabasis species from iran based on pollen micromorphological characters. materials and methods this study includes seven anabasis species from iran based on materials deposited in the national herbarium of iran, research institute of forests and rangelands (tari) and islamic azad university garmsar herbarium (iaugh) and also collected from different localities of iran during 2013-2014 (table 1). pollen grains of 7 species of the genus anabasis were studied by scanning electron microscope. samples were obtained mostly from fresh collected herbarium specimens. the voucher and the pollen specimens, deposited in tari herbarium, are listed under table 1. for sem, were used the protocol explained by davies (1999) with some modifications. the specimens were mounted on 12.5 mm diameter stubs and attached with sticky tabs and then coated in a sputter coater with approximately 25 µm of goldpaladium. pollens were examined and photographed by a philips scanning electron microscope model xl. following quantitative                                                              1 central tehran branch, islamic azad university, tehran, iran. corresponding author. email. m.hamdi@iauctb.ac.ir 2 garmsar branch, islamic azad university, garmsar, iran. 248 assadi et al. parameters were recorded: polar and equatorial pollen, p/e, pore diameters inner and outer, number of conical tubercle, pore high, distance between of centers of the adjacent pores and pores number. the terminology used for describing the pollens features followed in general by moore et al. (1991) and punt et al. (1994). table 1. distribution of species of anabasis l. studied. species locality collector altitude (m) herbarium number herbarium name anabasis setifera moq. tehran-eyvaneky, roude shour fajani 780 5899 iaugh a. annua bge kerman, 45 km to mahan, assadi & amirabadi 2300 66521 tari a. aphylla l. tehran, 31 km south of firouzkouh, pirdeh fajani 2200 5900 iaugh a. haussknechtii bge. semnan, 10 km, s.-e. semnan, near aella village fajani 1050 5901 iaugh a. eugeniae iljin azerbaijan, 34 km from alamdar toward khodaafarin, between ahmadabad and siahroud assadi and shahsavari 700 65828 tari a. eriopoda (shrenk) volkens protected of touran area, westnourth of dochah, in road of chah jaam feritag 1150 14103 tari a. calcarea (charif&aellen) bokhari and wendelbo semnan, 25 km east-south of masnan in road of taroud wendelboo and foroughi 1120 18684 tari results the main features of the investigated of pollen are summarized in table 2. our studies show that the sculpturing of exine provides valuable characters for separating the species, sometimes even for closely related ones, and delimitation of species. pollen grains of all studied species are peripolyporate, spherical, having 32-83 conical tubercles on pore of pollen surface, polar length 12.4-26.10 µm, equatorial length 9.83-25 µm, number of pores 8-25 on pollen surface, 23-85 conical tubercle per 5 µm, distance between the center of adjacent pores 4.84-10 µm, pores diameter (outer) 3.5-10.2 µm, pores diameter (inner) 2-6 µm, pores height 0.1-0.35 µm and tectal of conical tubercle length 0.2-0.6 µm. following punt et al. (1994) two basic types of pollen grains are distinguished based on holes pore diameters (inner), such as, type a: pore diameter of holes (inner) on the exine is less than 3 µm² and type b: pore diameter of holes (inner) on the exine is more than 3 µm (table 2). type a includes a. eriopoda, a. haussknechtii, a. annua and a. aphylla; and type b includes a.eugeniae, a. calcarea and a. setifera. on the basis of the exine sculpturing at proximal face, two main pollen types, as faveat tectum and faweat tectum are recognized (table 2, figs. 1& 2). palynological studies on some species of anabasis 249 250 assadi et al. fig. 1. micrograph of pollen grains in anabasis (amaranthaceae). a-b, faveat tectum at the proximal face in a. setifera pollen with faveat ornamentation of exine. c-d, faweat tectum at the proximal face in a. annua pollen with faveat ornamentation of exine. e-f, faweat tectum at the proximal face in a. eriopoda pollen with faveat ornamentation of exine. g-h, faweat tectum at the proximal face in a.eugenia. pollen with faveat ornamentation of exine. scale bars: a, c, e & g= 10 µm; b, d, f, h = 1 µm. palynological studies on some species of anabasis 251 fig. 2. micrograph of pollen grain in anabasis (amaranthaceae). i-j. faveat tectum at the proximal face in a. calcarea pollen with faveat ornamentation of exine. k-l. faweat tectum at the proximal face in a. aphylla pollen with faveat ornamentation of exine. m-n. faweat tectum at the proximal face in a. hausskanchtii pollen with faveat ornamentation of exine. scale bars: i, k & m = 10 µm; j, l & n = 1 µm. discussion the basic palynomorphological characters of anabasis in all studied species are the occurrence of spherical shape and peripolyporate pollens. the importance of pore number and c/d ratio in the chenopodium l. species was emphasised by andrews & swanson (1967) and uotila (1997). the present study does not show any correlation between pore number and pollen size. 252 assadi et al. the present study confirms the findings of pinar & inceoglu (1999) and hamdi et al. (2009) that the pollen morphology of the salsola l. and chenopodium species in general shows uniform type characteristics by pollen micromorphology. pollen grains in the anabasis can be grouped into two groups as found in amaranthaceae by tsukada (1967). pollen morphological characters of the anabasis species are closely related to salsola, suaeda forssk. ex scop., chenopodium, halocharis moq. , sarcobatus nees , traganum delile of amaranthaceae, as well as to the pollen morphology type found in portulacaceae, phytolacaceae and caryophyllaceae (tsukada, 1967; uotila, 1974; skvarla & nowicke, 1976), youngjae & lee, 1995; borsch, 1998); pinar & inceoglu, 1999; hamdi et al., 2009 and nikolaevna toderich et al., 2010). there is variation in distance between the centers of the adjacent pores and corresponding pore number (mc andrews & swanson, 1967). nikolaevna toderich (2010) noted the correlation between length of the polar and equatorial axes and size of the flower in salsola. this study suggests that there are significant differences in pollen size, tubercles on surface exine, distance between the centers of the adjacent pores and pore numbers on surface exine within anabasis species. the results of this study show that pollen micromorphology can be used in delimiting species of this genus. based on pollen morphological characters following key is provided in indentifying seven species in anabasis from iran key to iranian anabasis species based on pollen characters 1. pore diameter (inner) of holes on the exine less than 3 µm 2 pore diameter (inner) of holes on the exine more than 3 µm 5 2. pore diameter (outer) of holes on the exine less than 4 µm a. haussknechtii pores diameter (outer) of holes on the exine more than 4 µm 3 3. pore height less than 0.3 µm a. eriopoda pore height more than 0.3 µm 4 4. number of conical tubercle on holes 80-83 a. annua number of conical tubercle on holes 32-35 a. aphylla 5. pore diameter inner less than 0.5 µm a. setifera pore diameter inner more than 0.5 µm 6 6. number of conical tubercle on holes 46-49 a. eugeniae number of conical tubercle on holes 80-85 a. calcarea references akhani, h., edwards, g. and roalson, e.h. 2007. diversification of the old world salsoleae s.l. (chenopodiaceae): molecular phylogenetic analysis of nuclear and chloroplast data sets and a revised classification. int. j. plant. sci. 168:931–956. apg iii (angiosperm phylogeny group). 2009. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg iii. bot. j. linn. soc. 161: 105–121. assadi, m., 2001. chenopodiaceae. in assadi, m. (ed.), flora of iran. research institute of forests and rangelands press, teheran, 38: 27-65. borsch, t. 1998. pollen types in the amaranthaceae. morphology and evolutionary significance. grana 37: 129-142. davies, h.a., 1999. general preparation of material and staining of sections. methods mol. biol., 117:1-11. freitag h. 1997. salsola l. (chenopodiaceae). in: rechinger, k.h. (ed.) flora iranica, akademische druck und verlagsanstalt, graz. 172:154–255. palynological studies on some species of anabasis 253 hamdi, s.m.m., malekloo, m., assadi, m. and nejadsatari, t. 2009. pollen micromorphological studies of the genus chenopodium l. (chenopodiaceae) in iran. asian. j. of plant sciences. 8(2): 129-137. kadereit, g., borsch, t., weising, k. and freitag, h. 2003. phylogeny of amaranthaceae and chenopodiaceae and the evolution of c4 photosynthesis. int. j. plant sci. 164:959–986. ku¨hn, u., bittrich, v., carolin, r., freitag, h., hedge, i.c., uotila, p. and wilson, p.g. 1993. chenopodiaceae. in: kubitzki, k., rohwer, j.g., bittrich, v. (eds) the families and genera of vascular plants. springer, berlin, 2: 253–281. mc andrews, j.h. and swanson, a.r. 1967. the pore number of periporate pollen with special reference to chenopodium. rev. paleobot. palynol. 3: 105-117. moore, p.d., webb j.a. and collinson m.e. 1991. pollen analysis. well scientific publication oxford. nikolaevna toderich, k., viktorovna shuyskaya e., ozturk m., juylova a. and gismatulina l. 2010. pollen morphology of some asiatic species of genus salsola (chenopodiaceae) and its taxonomic; pak. j. bot., special issue (s.i. ali festschrift) 42: 155–174. pinar, n.m. and inceoglu o. 1999. pollen morphology of turkish chenopodium l. (chenopodiaceae). turk j. bot. 23(3): 181-189. punt, w., blackmore, s., nilsson, s. and le thomas, a. 1994. glossary of pollen and spore terminology. utrech: lpp foundation. pyankov, v.i., artyusheva e.g., edwards g.e., black c.c. and soltis p.s. 2001. phylogenetic analysis of tribe salsoleae (chenopodiaceae) based on ribosomal its sequences: implications for the evolution of photosynthesis types. am. j. bot. 88:1189–1198. tsukada, m. 1967. chenopod-amaranth pollen: electron microscopic identification. science, 157: 80-82. uotila, p. 1974. pollen morphology in european species of chenopodium section chenopodium with special reference to c. album and c. suecicum. ann. bot. fennici 11: 44-58. uotila, p. 1997. chenopodium. in: flora iranica no. 172, rechinger, k.h. (ed.) akademische drucku, verlagsanstalt, graz, pp: 24-59. youngjae, c. and s. lee. 1995. pollen morphology of some korean chenopodiaceae. korean j. plant taxon. 25(4): 255-276. (manuscript received on 13 december 2015; revised on 09 august 2016) microsoft word 11. primulina lechangensis_revised_24.11.14_ee.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 187-191, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists primulina lechangensis (gesneriaceae), a new species from a limestone cave of northern guangdong, china shou-biao zhou1, xin hong2, wen ma and fang wen2,3 college of life sciences, anhui normal university, cn-241000, wuhu, china keywords: primulina lechangensis; new species; gesneriaceae; karst cave flora; china. abstract primulina lechangensis (gesneriaceae), a new species from northern guangdong province in southern china is described and illustrated. its morphology suggests affinities to p. longicalyx, but can be distinguished from similar taxon by several distinct characters including: smaller leaf blade (2.0-3.5 × 1.0-1.2 cm), base cuneate-attenuate; smaller bracts (1.0-1.5 × c. 0.15 cm); shorter calyx lobes (0.8-0.9 cm long) tuberculate inside; smaller corolla tube (c. 2 cm long), inflated in the middle and contracted near the mouth; shorter glabrous filaments (0.3-0.4 cm long), inserted 1.3-1.5 cm from base of corolla; stamens and staminodes glabrous; pistil 1.4-1.5 cm long, and capsule c. 1.5 cm long. this species is further exemplified by photographs, and a distribution map is presented. introduction the expanded primulina hance (1883) (gesneriaceae) comprises more than 150 species, of which the distribution and differentiation center is located from southwest china to north vietnam (wei et al., 2010). in late autumn of 2011, we collected some primulina specimens in fruits from crevices of a carbonate sedimentary rocky hill along a roadside near lechang, shaoguang, guangdong of southern china. the living plants were introduced and cultivated in the nursery of the gesneriad conservation center of china (gccc) for future floral examination. after a year of careful cultivation, plants flowered in spring of 2013. the shape of the corolla tube (inflated in the middle, contracted near the mouth) is unusual in this genus, which can be readily distinguished from other species in northern and northwestern guangdong. after consulting the local flora and relevant literature (wang et al., 1990,1998; li and wang, 2004; wei et al., 2010; hong et al., 2012; chung et al., 2013; liang et al., 2013; lu et al., 2013; ning et al., 2013; wen et al., 2013; xu et al., 2013; zhao et al., 2013; li et al., 2014; wen and wei, 2014; zheng and deng, 2014; zhou et al., 2014) and herbarium specimens deposited at anu, bjfu, cdbi, ctc, gh, hn, ibk, ibsc, kun, nu, ph, pe, us and vmn, we identified the collected specimens as a new species, primulina lechangensis. the new species is described and illustrated along with its distribution map. primulina lechangensis x. hong, f. wen & s.b. zhou, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: primulina lechangensis resembles p. longicalyx but differs from the latter by having leaf blades with cuneate to attenuate bases, smaller inflorescence bracts, the corolla tube inflated in the middle and contracted near the mouth, and glabrous filaments. 1the key laboratory of conservation and employment of biological resources of anhui, cn-241000, wuhu, china 2gesneriad conservation center of china, guangxi institute of botany, guangxi zhuang autonomous region and the chinese academy of sciences, cn-541006, guilin, china 3corresponding author. email: wenfang760608@139.com 188 zhou et al. type: china. guangxi province, cultivated in the nursery of gesneriad conservation center of china (gccc), introduced from lechang, shaoguang city, 430 m a.s.l., growing in damp crevices of limestone rocks in a limestone cave, 6 may 2013, wf13050601 (holotype: ibk!, isotype: anu!). acaulescent perennial herb; rhizome internodes inconspicuous. leaves 6-8, basal, opposite, petiole cylindrical, 1-2 × c. 0.1 cm, pubescent; leaf blade slightly oblique, ovate to elliptic, 2.0-3.5 × 1.0-1.2 cm, chartaceous when dry, apex acute to obtuse, margin crenate from base, base cuneate to attenuate, adaxially appressed puberulent, abaxially densely velutinous. lateral veins 3-4 on each side of midrib, adaxially impressed, abaxially conspicuous. cymes axillary, 1-2 or more, unbranched, commonly 4-flowered; peduncle 2.5-3.0 cm long, c. 0.1 cm wide, densely glandular puberulent. bracts 2, free, 1.0-1.5 × c. 0.15 cm, lanceolate-ovate, entire, densely puberulent. pedicels c. 0.2 cm long, densely puberulent, intermixed with glandular puberulent. calyx 5-partite from base, segments equal, lanceolate-linear, 0.8-0.9 × c. 0.1 cm, densely puberulent outside, tuberculate inside, margin entire, apex attenuate. corolla whitish lilac to bluish purple, with mauve lines, c. 2 cm long, puberulent or glandular puberulent outside, glandular puberulent only on veins inside where filaments and staminodes fused to a tube, tube swollen, 1.4-1.5 cm long, contracted near the mouth, orifice c. 1.4 cm in diameter, inflated in the middle, c. 1.6 cm in diameter, base constricted; limb distinctly 2-lipped, adaxial lobs 2-partite to the base, divaricate, c. 0.5 × 0.3-0.4 cm, lobes oblong; abaxial lobes 3-partite to the base, divaricate, c. 0.6 cm long, c. 0.3 cm in diameter, oblong. stamens 2, adnate to corolla tube c. 0.3 cm above the base; filaments white, geniculate about 0.2 cm above point of attachment, 0.3-0.4 cm long, glabrous; anthers c. 0.2 cm long, dorsified, glabrous. staminodes 3, translucent, the central one capitate, c. 0.5 mm long, inserted c. 0.1 cm from base of corolla, lateral ones short linear, glabrous, c. 0.2 cm long, inserted c. 0.3 cm from base of corolla. disc annular, margin entire, 0.1-0.2 mm high. pistil nearly as long as corolla tube; the transition between ovary and style conspicuous. ovary linear, c. 2 mm long, c. 1 mm in diameter, densely glandular-puberulent and puberulent; style 7-9 mm long, c. 0.5 mm in diameter, densely puberulent; stigma pale green, obtrapeziform, apex 2-lobed to about half of the stigma, c. 1 mm long, lobes ligulate. capsules linear, c. 1.5 cm long. flowering period: april may. fig. 1 a-d. primulina lechangensis x. hong, f. wen & s.b. zhou, sp. nov. a. habit; b. opened corolla showing stamens and staminodes; c. pistil; d. adaxial and abaxial calyx lobes (all from the type, wf13050601, ibk). distribution: only known from the type locality lechang, shaoguang city, northern guangdong province, china ( fig. 3). primulina lechangensis sp. nov. (gesneriaceae) 189 habitat: primulina lechangensis grows in damp, shady cervices at the foot of a carbonate sedimentary rock hill in the north of guangdong, china, at 430 m a.s.l. it is locally abundant and grows in subtropical evergreen seasonal rain forest. etymology: the species is named after the type locality lechang in guangdong province. vernacular name: china: lechang baochunjutai. fig. 2 a-k. primulina lechangensis x. hong, f. wen & s.b. zhou, sp. nov. a. habitat; b. plant with flowers; c. cyme; d. frontal view of cyme; e. frontal view of a flower; f. lateral view of flower; g. opened corolla; h. anthers; i. pistil; j. stigma; k. capsule. 190 zhou et al. additional collections: china. guangdong province: shaoguang, lechang, c. 430 m, 27 november 2012, wen & hong 20121116 (ibk!). note: primulina lechangensis is morphologically close to p. longicalyx (j.m. li & y.z. wang) mich. möller & a. weber based on the shape of leaf and flower, but it can be easily distinguished by some additional characteristics. a detailed comparison of the diagnostic characters between p. lechangensis and p. longicalyx is shown in table 1. fig. 3. distribution of primulina lechangensis x. hong, f. wen & s.b. zhou, sp. nov. (a) and its related species, p. longicalyx (j.m. li & y.z. wang) mich. möller & a. weber (b) in china. table 1. diagnostic morphological characters of primulina lechangensis and p. longicalyx. characters primulina lechangensis p. longicalyx leaf blade 2.0-3.5 × 1.0-1.2 cm, base cuneate-attenuate 8-25 × 3.5-8.0 cm, base broadly cuneate bracts 1.0-1.5 cm long 2.5-3.0 cm long calyx 0.8-0.9 cm long, tuberculate inside, glabrous 1.5-2.5 cm long, inside with dense eglandular hairs corolla size c. 2 cm long 5.0-5.6 cm long tube shape swollen tubular, inflated in the middle, contracted near the mouth tubular tube size 1.4-1.5 cm long, orifice c. 1.4 cm in diameter 3.8-4.0 cm long, orifice c. 1.8 cm in diameter filaments 0.3-0.4 cm long, inserted c. 0.3 cm from base of corolla, glabrous c. 1.4 cm long, inserted 1.3-1.5 cm from base of corolla, slightly puberulent indumentum of anthers glabrous densely bearded indumentum of staminodes glabrous laterals puberulent pistil 1.4-1.5 cm long 3.9-4.3 cm long capsule c. 1.5 cm long 2.2-2.8 cm long ab primulina lechangensis sp. nov. (gesneriaceae) 191 acknowledgements the authors are grateful to prof. yi-gang wei for checking the specimens. the authors also thank ms. xiao-ming xu for the illustration. this study was supported by key foundation of education department of anhui province (kj2011a129), provincial key laboratory of biotic environment and ecological safety in anhui (2004sys003), project of national college students innovation and entrepreneurship of anhui normal university, the guangxi natural science foundation (2013gxnsfaa019071), national natural science foundations of china (31270236) and international s & t cooperation projects of guangxi (guikehe 1347004-4) and guilin (20130412). references chung, k.f., huang, h.y., peng, c.i. and xu, w.b. 2013. primulina mabaensis (gesneriaceae), a new species from a limestone cave of northern guangdong, china. phytotaxa 92: 40-48. hance, h.f. 1883. primulina tabacum hance. j. bot. 21: 165-170. hong, x., zhou, s.b. and wen, f. 2012. primulina chizhouensis sp. nov. 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(manuscript received on 19 september 2014; revised on 24 november 2014) microsoft word 12. 63 bjpt 16 -63_editmk 25.11.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 195-198, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ephedra yangthangensis (ephedraceae), a new species from himachal pradesh, india prabha sharma1 and rita singh2 department of botany, university of delhi, delhi 110 007, india keywords: ephedra; gymnospem; himachal pradesh; india; new species; taxonomy. abstract a new species ephedra yangthangensis prabha sharma & rita singh is described, and illustrated from himachal pradesh, india. this new species is most similar to e. intermedia schr. & meyer, from which it is distinguishable by its smaller male strobili, shorter length and curved synangiophore, yellowish orange fleshy bracts of bigger female strobili, fade orange scale leaves and light green robust stem as compared to the other flourishing species e. intermedia. introduction ephedra l., commonly known as joint fir, is the single genus of the family ephedraceae. ephedra is one of the few gymnosperms adapted to extreme aridity and, as such, is highly reduced vegetatively and a morphologically distinct genus of ca. 50-65 species of climbers, shrubs or rarely small trees (price, 1996). it is widely distributed in temperate areas of eurasia, northern africa, southwestern north america, and western south america and is often abundant in dry and open habitats such as deserts, rocky slopes, grasslands and maritime areas (stapf, 1889; price, 1996). eight species have been described to occur in india (sahni, 1990). four additional species e. pangiensis singh & sharma, e. kardangensis sharma & uniyal , e. khurickensis sharma & uniyal, e. sumlingensis sharma & uniyal have recently been added from the western himalaya (sharma and uniyal, 2008; sharma et al., 2010; sharma and singh, 2015). extensive field explorations during the past thirteen years were carried out. each population of ephedra from uttarakhand, himachal pradesh ladakh has been surveyed and documented. during field studies in 2004 some populations near yangthang to ka, leo, nako, chango, chulling, sumdo, hoorling and lira (district kinnaur), himachal pradesh, found to be unique in morphological features. these unusual populations of ephedra could not be assigned to any of the existing western himalayan species. at this elevation, e. intermedia is a dominant species but, these unusual populations differ from that species. on the basis of several critical morpho-anatomical features of vegetative and reproductive parts, these unusual ephedra populations of the yangthang are hereby segregated as a new taxon. ephedra yangthangensis prabha sharma & rita singh, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: ephedra yangthangensis can be distinguished from e. intermedia by its smaller male strobili, shorter length and curved synangiophore, yellowish orange fleshy bracts of bigger female strobili, orangish scale leaves and light green robust stem as compared to the other species e. intermedia that flourishes in this area. 1 corresponding author. email: sharmaprabha3@gmail.com 2 university school of environment management, guru gobind singh indraprastha university, sector 16 c, dwarka, new delhi, delhi 110078, india. 196 sharma and singh type : india, yangthang, kinnaur district, 2 september 2004, freitag, singh & sharma 0219 (holotype: ipuh; isotypes: dd, duh ). plant dioecious, about 1.0 m in height, erect, with dark brown bark and light green branchlets, ca. 2.5 mm in diameter, internodes, ca. 3–5 cm. leaves triangular, two, opposite decussate, sometimes 3 to 4 arranged in whorls, confined to nodes, open part of the leaves triangular and obtuse, orange, becoming dark brown scaly at maturity, ca. 2.5–3.5 mm in length, ½ connate. male strobili sessile, 10–12 arranged in whorls at the nodes, ovoid, ca. 3.5–5.0 × 2 mm, 4–5 pairs of flowers, 4–5 pairs of bracts, bracts, ca. 2–4 × 2–3 mm, mucronate with hyaline margins, connate, connation of bracts varied ¼ lower and middle, ½ upper, perianth obtuse with elevated apex, ca. 2.0 × 1.5 mm bearing synangiophore with synangia, ca. 3.5–4 × 0.3 mm, exserted, synangia ca. 6–8, sessile. pollen grains golden yellow, polymorphic, ellipsoidal or broadly ellipsoidal, polyplicate. female strobili ca. 10–12 in number, occur in whorls at the nodes, sessile, very broadly ovoid, ca. 5.5–6.0 × 6.0 mm, with four pairs of mucronate bracts having white hyaline margins, ca. 8–10 mm, connate, ½ lower, middle and upper, at maturity becomes fleshy yellowish orange in colour. tubillus twisted, exserted, ca. 3–5 mm in length. seeds two, light to dark brown, ovate, ca. 4.0–4.5 × 2.0 mm. fig. 1. ephedra yangthangensis prabha sharma & rita singh growing in natural habitat. phenology: flowering august; fruiting – september october etymology: the specific epithet of the new taxon is based on the locality of occurrence yangthang. distribution: india. himachal pradesh : yangthang to ka, leo, nako, chango, chulling, sumdo, hoorling and lira (district kinnaur). ephedra yangthangensis, a new species from india 197 habitat: open; dry loose gravel soil, as well as rock crevices, above 3500 m elevation in the north west himalaya. most of the studied populations grow in association with artimisia (asteraceae ) and chenopodium ( chenopodiaceae), fig. 2. ephedra yangthangensis prabha sharma & rita singh. a. a twig showing male strobili arranged in whorls at the nodal region. b. a twig showing female strobili arranged in whorls at the nodal region. c. stem with scale leaf (front view). d. stem with scale leaf (side view). e. surface view of epidermis showing external pore (p). f. surface view of epidermis, furrow region showing stomata (st). g. surface view of epidermis, ridge region showing prominent papillations (pp). h. t.s stem e. intermedia var lutea (diagrammatic). i. t.s stem e. intermedia var lutea.a portion enlarged, cucuticle, st-stomata, epepidermis, sefsubepidermal fibres, co-cortex, cf – cortical fibres, pfpericyclic fibres, ph-phloem, x-xylem, pt-pith, rsresinous substance. j. male strobilis. k. perianth. l. synangiophore with synangia (front and side view). m. normal striate ellipsoidal pollen grain with highly undulated ridges. n. an abnormal monocolpate pollen grain. o. a diad. p. a triad. q. pollen grains in a joint tetrad. r. female strobilus. s. female strobilus enclosing two seeds with twisted tubillus. t. seed (upper surface with twisted tubillus). u. seed (lower surface with twisted tubillus). 198 sharma and singh key to the identification of some of the ephedra species 1. climber, branches slender, scale leaves filiform, pith non-resinous, male strobili with 8-9 pair of flowers having 3 synangia, female strobili with fleshy cream beige coloured bracts with straight tubillus e. foliata shrub or herb, scale leaves triangulate, pith resinous, male strobili with 4-6 pairs of bracts having 6-8 synangia, female strobili with fleshy coloured bracts. 2 2. female strobili with fleshy yellowish orange coloured bracts e. yangthangensis sp. nov. female strobili with fleshy red coloured bracts. 3 3. seeds having twisted tubillus, medullary fibre cells present in the stem. 4 seeds having straight tubillus, medullary fibre cells absent in the stem. 5 4. pollen grains with protrusion at the meridional poles (45 – 50 × 20.0 – 22.5µm) e. pangiensis pollen grains without protrusions at the meridional poles ( 37.5 – 55.0 × 17.5 – 27.5µm). e. intermedia 5. pollen grains small ( 37.5 – 40.0 × 15 – 25 µm ) having reticulation in the furrows, seeds shiny black ( 3-4 × 2.0 – 2.5µm ). e. regelina pollen grains having undulations on the ridges, seeds reddish dark brown ( 5 – 6 × 2.0 – 2.5 µm ). e. gerardiana acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the ministry of environment and forests, govt. of india for providing financial aid during the tenure of this work under all india co-ordinated project on taxonomy (aicoptax) d.o.no.j-22018/54/2000 – csc (bc) –17th november 2000. the authors also extend their thanks to mr. pratap chand negi, mr. ajit singh negi and mr. satish sharma for their generous help provided during the field work. the in-charge of herbaria of forest research institute, dehradun (dd) and botanical survey of india, dehradun (bsi) are duly acknowledged for permitting to study the herbaria. references price, r.a. 1996. systematics of the gnetales: a review of morphological and molecular evidence. international journal of plant sciences 157: s40–s49. sahni, k.c. 1990. gymnosperms of india and adjacent countries. bishen singh mahendra pal singh dehra dun, india. stapf, o. 1889. die arten der gattung ephedra. denkschr. kaiserl. akad. wiss., wien. math.-naturwiss. kl. 56: 1 – 112. sharma, p. and uniyal, p.l. 2008. ephedra sumlingensis (ephedraceae) sharma & uniyal a new species from himachal pradesh, india. bulletin of the botanical survey of india 50: 179–182. sharma, p., uniyal, p.l. and hammer, ø. 2010. two new species of ephedra (ephedraceae) from the western himalaya. systematic botany 35: 730–735. sharma p. and singh r. 2015. a new species of ephedra (ephedraceae, ephedrales) from india. phytotaxa 218(2): 189–192. (manuscript received on 29 may 2016; revised on 26 july 2016) microsoft word 07. 34-13 rhododendron_ ok_ee 12.12.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 185-199, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of rhododendron l. and related genera and its taxonomic significance a.k.m. golam sarwar1 and hideki takahashi2 laboratory of systematic botany, graduate school of agriculture, hokkaido university, japan. keywords: pollen morphology; rhododendron; infrageneric classification; generic delimitation; rhodoreae. abstract pollen grains of 40 taxa of rhododendron l. and its closely related genera, therorhodion l. and menziesia sm., were examined by means of light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (sem), or sem alone. pollen tetrads of r. japonicum, r. schlippenbachii, r. tsusiophyllum and m. pentandra were examined also with transmission electron microscopy. in all the genera studied, 3-colporate, oblate to suboblate pollen grains are arranged in tetrahedral tetrads. the apocolpial pollen wall is composed of the exine well developed tectum, columellae, foot layer and endexine, and the intine. on the contrary, the septal exine is composed of fragmentary tectum, and the two foot layers of adjacent grains are sometimes connected by columellae and endexine. among different infrageneric taxa only the subsect. ledum (sect. & subgen. rhododendron) was characterized by small sized pollen tetrads, higher 2f/d value and rugulate exine sculpture. the pollen morphological characteristics overlapped each other in all other taxa. thus palynological features showed little usefulness in the infrageneric classification of rhododendron, however, they gave additional support to the individual generic status of menziesia and tsusiophyllum, and the sister relationship between rhododendron and therorhodion. introduction the genus rhododendron l., one of the largest and diverse genera of ericaceae (ericoideae, rhodoreae), comprises over 1000 species (chamberlain et al., 1996). the centre of diversity of the genus is in the himalaya, but rhododendron sect. vireya (blume) copel. f. is also diverse in malesia (sleumer, 1966). since linnaeus (1753) established rhododendron, this large genus has posed systematic problems in terms of infrageneric circumscription and rank (for details see kurashige et al., 2001). rhododendron and closely related genera are included in the tribe rhodoreae (kron et al., 2002). the taxonomic history of the rhodoreae is complex (gillespie and kron, 2010), but a brief introduction may help to illustrate the variations in generic composition of this group. according to stevens (1971), tribe rhodoreae comprises the genera rhododendron, therorhodion, ledum, tsusiophyllum and menziesia. the genus therorhodion was hypothesized as sister to menziesia + tsusiophyllum + rhododendron (including ledum) (kron and judd, 1990). in contrast, chamberlain et al. (1996) recognized only 2 genera, namely rhododendron and menziesia. the recent classification of the ericaceae (kron et al., 2002) recognized four genera in this tribe, namely diplarche, menziesia, rhododendron (including ledum and tsusiophyllum) and therorhodion. therorhodion is often placed in rhododendron (chamberlain et al., 1996; kurashige et al., 2001; goetsch et al., 2005); the cladistic analyses of molecular data 1department of crop botany, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh 2202, bangladesh. e-mail: drsarwar@bau.edu.bd. 1the hokkaido university museum, n10 w8, sapporo 060-0810, japan. 186 sarwar and takahashi also support reduction of the genus therorhodion to a subgenus within the genus rhododendron (kurashige et al., 2001; gao et al., 2002a; goetsch et al., 2005). recently craven (2011) has suggested the inclusion of diplarche and menziesia to rhododendron, that will make the tribe rhodoreae monogeneric. pollen morphology has been shown to be useful for taxonomic and phylogenetic analysis of some ericaceous taxa (kron et al., 2002; sarwar, 2007). the pollen of rhododendron has also been studied by many researchers for taxonomic purpose as well as a part of regional flora (huang, 1972; vasanthy and pocock, 1987; fuhsiung et al., 1995; mao et al., 2000; terzioğlu et al., 2001; gao et al., 2002b, c; wang et al., 2006; zhang et al., 2009; miyoshi et al., 2011). all these results showed that pollen tetrads of rhododendron were diverse in size and exine sculpture; sometime sufficient to differentiate the sections (gao et al., 2002b; zhang et al., 2009), but insufficient to differentiate the subgenera (gao et al., 2002c; wang et al., 2006). moreover, our knowledge of pollen morphology and ultrastructure is still very limited for such a large genus as rhododendron. therefore, the objectives of this study were to clarify the differences of the pollen grains among rhododendron and closely related genera of the tribe rhodoreae, and to study the systematic significance of the micromorphology of pollen grains for the genus rhododendron. materials and methods pollen morphology of a total of 40 taxa of rhododendron and its closely related genera of the tribe rhodoreae, rhododendron (34 spp.), therorhodion (2 spp.) and menziesia (4 spp.), was examined by means of light microscopy (lm) and scanning electron microscopy (sem), or sem alone (table 1). the pollen tetrads of r. japonicum, r. schlippenbachii, r. tsusiophyllum and m. pentandra were examined with transmission electron microscopy (tem) to study the exine stratification of respective genera. polliniferous materials used in this investigation were taken from the dried specimens from the herbaria c, gb, saps, sapt and tus. abbreviation of the herbarium names except for sapt (the botanic garden, hokkaido university, sapporo) are according to the index herbariorum (holmgren et al., 1990). table 1. list of taxa used in this study along with their voucher specimens. no. taxa voucher specimens 1. rhododendron albrechtii maxim. japan: hokkaido, inaho pass, 22.05.1983, takahashi 3975 (saps) 2. r. arborescens torr. usa: no locality, (herb. arbor. harvard univ.) fl. 28.06.1892. unknown s.n. (saps) 3. r. aureum gergi. japan: hokkaido, mt. daisetsu; mt. asahi-dake, 20.06.1982, takahashi 2512 (saps) 4. r. brachycarpum d. don japan: honshu, mt. zao, 08.07.1983, takahashi et al. 40 (saps) 5. r. dauricum l. japan: hokkaido, iburi-shicho, hobetsu-cho, 11.05.2004, kanayama et al. 04-9050 (saps) 6. r. davidsonianum rehd. & wils. scotland: royal botanic garden, edinburg, noday, 05.1971, c9180 (gb) 7. r. decorum franch. china: prov. sze-chuan, teng-hsiang-ying, 20.05.1922, smith 2016 (gb) 8. r. degronianum carr. japan: nagano pref., mt. kimpu-san, 22.06.1975, iketani 1763 (tus 129348) 9. r. dilatatum mig. japan: yamanashi pref., minamitsuru-gun, 01.05.1983, togashi s.n. (sapt) 10. r. diversipilosum (nakai) harma japan: prov. mutsu, mt. hakkoda, 30.06.1978, takahashi 206 (saps) pollen morphology of rhododendron 187 table 1 contd. no. taxa voucher specimens 11. r. formosanum hemsl. taiwan: taichung co., gukan-chinsan, 16.03.1985, murata 17561 (tus) 12. r. groenlandicum (oeder) kron & judd greenland: godthabsfjord, ilulailik, igdlorssuit, 17.7.1976, hansen & fredskild 1007 (sapt) 13. r. hidakanum hara japan: hokkaido, hidaka, syoya, 10.5.1977, tateishi & togashi s.n. (tus 66107) 14. r. indicum sw. japan: tokyo, cult., no day.05.1882, miyabe s.n. (saps) 15. r. japonicum (a. gray) suring. japan: nagano pref., bet. shirakaba-ko and mt. tateshina-yama, 29.05.1983, takahashi 3998 (saps) 16. r. kaempferi planch. japan: miyagi pref., mts. abukuma, wariyama pass, 10.05. 1986, iketsu et al. 95 (sapt) 17. r. keiskei miq. japan: kagoshima pref., yaku is., mt. tachudake, 10.05.1984, murata et al. 17861 (tus) 18. r. lapponicum (l.) wahlenb. canada: manitoba, churchill, 26.06.1984, gillett 1835 (c) 19. r. macrosepalum maxim. japan: shokoku isl., kagawa pref., kida-gun, 05.05.1982, takahashi 1033 (saps) 20. r. macrostemon maxim. japan: hondo, yamamoto in settsu, cult., 10.05.1953, togasi 688 (saps) 21. r. maddeni hook. f. bhutan: thimphu–nimchling–tanalum bridge–bunakha–chima khothi, 01.06.1967, kanai et al. 346? (tus 57346) 22. r. mucronulatum turcz. var. ciliatum nakai korea: keisho-nando, 20.05.1039, yokoyama 299 (saps) 23. r. nudipes nakai. japan: shiga pref., mts. hirasan, 06.05.1981, murata 10910 (sapt) 24. r. parvifolium adams. japan: prov. nemuro, ochii-shi, 16.06.1934, tatewaki 20940 (saps) 25. r. quinquefolium bisset et moore japan: rikuzen, mt. funagata, 06.05.1972, ogura 1637 (tus 68874) 26. r. schlippenbachii maxim. japan: hokkaido, sapporo-shi, hokkaido university campus, cult., 18.05.2004, sarwar & takahashi s.n. (saps) 27. r. semibarbatum maxim. japan: kyushu, mts. sobo-kutamuki, 07.07.1979, murata 7987 (tus 57400) 28. r. subarcticum harmaja japan: hokkaido, mt. taira-yama, 30.06.1982, takahashi et al. 2643 (saps) 29. r. trinerve fr. japan: niigata, iwafune-gun, takanosu-yama, 10.07.1974, togashi s.n. (tus 67214) 30. r. tschonoskii maxim. japan: honshu, mt. zao, 08.07.1983, takahashi et al. 33 (saps) 31. r. tsusiophyllum sugim. japan: hakone, mt. koma, 31.07.1926, sawada s.n. (c) japan: sagami, komagatake in mt. hakone, 10.08.1927, asahina & hisauchi s.n. (tus 4578) 32. r. viscistylum nakai var. amakusaense tak. ex yam. japan: kumamoto pref., mt. nokogiridake, 30.04.1978, minamidani 29613 (tus 100748) 33. r. wadanum makino japan: prov. rikuzen, sendai-shi, aoba-yama, 29.04.1977, takahashi 550 (saps) 34. r. weyrichii maxim japan: shikoku, kagawa pref., goshikidai, 28.04.1973, shimamura et al. s.n. (sapt) 35. therhodion camtschaticum (pall.) small japan: hokkaido, mt. chiroro, 07.08.1985, takahashi et al. 5836 (saps) 36. t. redowskianum (maxim.) hutch. russia: south sakhalin, poronaysk, 15.7.1937, yoshimura & hara s.n. (saps) 37. menziesia cilicalyx (miq.) maxim. japan: shiga pref., mt. anzouyama, 03.05.1988, tateishi & hoshi 13689 (tus) 38. m. goyozanensis kikuchi japan: iwate pref., mt. goyozan, tatamiishi–top, 07.07.1984, mieno 445 (tus) 39. m. multifora maxim. japan: prov. rikuzen, miyagi-gun, izumigatake, 14.06.1978, takahashi 767 (saps) 40. m. pentandra maxim. japan: hokkaido, sapporo-shi, mt. muine, 06.07.1982, takahashi 2687 (saps) 188 sarwar and takahashi pollen grains were acetolysed following sarwar and takahashi (2012a). for lm, the dehydrated (in an ethanol series) pollen was mounted in silicone oil (viscosity 3000 cs), and examined and measured with a nikon eclipse e200 microscope. the dimensions “d”, “p”, “d(e)” and “2f”, corresponding to the tetrad diameter, polar length, equatorial length and colpus length of pollen grain were measured, and the d/d, p/e and 2f/d ratio was calculated (oldfield, 1959). the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and the maximum and minimum values were calculated using the xlstat 2009.3 program. pollen slides of all collections are deposited at the hokkaido university museum, sapporo, japan. pollen size and shape classes were used following erdtman (1986) and descriptive terminology follows sarwar et al. (2006) and punt et al. (2007). for sem, the acetolysed pollen samples were dehydrated in an ethanol series, mounted and air dried on aluminum stubs from 70% ethanol, and sputter coated with platinum-palladium using a hitachi e102 ion sputter. subsequently, these were examined and photographed with a jeol jsm-5310 lv scanning electron microscope operated at 15 kv. the sem micrographs of apocolpial exine sculpture from similar positions were used for the purpose of description and comparison. for tem, material from herbarium specimens was rehydrated in 3% aerosol-ot solution for more than one week, and then fixed overnight in 1% osmium tetraoxide solution. fixed materials were dehydrated through an ethanol series and embedded in epon 812 epoxy resin. sections were cut using a reichert-jung ultracut n ultratome, and post-stained with saturated uranyl acetate and lead acetate solution for 23 min (20 min and 3 min, respectively), and observed and photographed using a hitachi h-800 transmission electron microscope operated at 75 kv. results pollen morphology of rhododendron: pollen grains are in tetrahedral tetrads, rarely compact or lobed, grains somewhat shrunk in some species (severly in r. groenlandicum), rarely with other configurations, sometimes in giant dyads in r. tsusiophyllum; viscin threads present; d 30.9-67.1 µm, p 16.3-35.8 µm, e 21.8-47.5 µm, d/d 1.31-1.51, p/e 0.66-0.81, oblate or suboblate; 3-colporate, rarely 4-colporate in r. kaempferi, finely demarcated, 2f 14.5-30.4 µm, w 0.7-2.2 µm, 2f/w 6.59-35.43, 2f/d 0.31-0.54, costae present, distinct or indistinct, colpus margin distinct; endocracks present; endoaperture lalongate, 0.6-2.6 µm long, 6.8-15.2 µm wide; apocolpial exine 1.7-3.6 µm thick, septum 0.6-3.6 µm thick; tectate, apocolpial exine sculpture from verrucate to rugulate (table 2). in sem, the pollen surface varies from uneven and rugged to flat, primary apocolpial exine sculpture indistinct, secondary sculpture finely (0.1-0.25 µm) to moderate (0.25-0.4 µm) gemmate-pilate (type gp; figs. 1f, g, i-o, 2a-d, g-o, 3a-e); or surface rugged to flat, apocolpial exine sculpture coarsely rugulate, grooves distinct (type r; figs 2e, f, 3f); or intermediate (fig. 1h); colpus membrane granulate to granuloid or rarely smooth. three species of rhododendron, viz. r. japonicum, r. schlippenbachii and r. tsusiophyllum were studied with tem. the apocolpial exine is composed of ektexine and endexine (figs 4a i). sexine is c. 1.1-1.3 µm thick, tectum canalized in r. japonicum (fig. 4e), and a total exine is c. 1.8-2.1 µm thick. the septum is c. 0.9-1.9 µm thick. the intine is almost evenly thick around the pollen tetrad, showing lower electron density than the endexine beneath both the apocolpial and septal exine. pollen morphology of therorhodion: pollen of t. redowskianum was studied only with sem. pollen grains are in lobed tetrahedral tetrads; viscin threads present; d 50.0 µm, p 26.5 µm, e 35.0 µm, d/d 1.43, p/e 0.76, suboblate; pollen morphology of rhododendron 189 3-colporate, colpi short and narrow in t. redowskianum, 2f 14.8 µm, w 2.9 µm, 2f/w 5.1, 2f/d 0.3, costae present and distinct, colpus margin distinct; endocracks present; endoaperture lalongate, 1.7 µm long, 9.7 µm wide; apocolpial exine 2.2 µm thick, septum 1.4 µm thick; tectate, apocolpial exine sculpture from verrucate to rugulate (table 2). fig. 1. lm and sem micrographs of rhododendron pollen. a) r. formosanum (murata 17561); b) r. maddeni (kanai et al. 346?). c) r. tsusiophyllum (sawada s.n.); d) r. aureum (takahashi 2512); e) r. kaempferi (iketsu et al. 95); f) r. aureum (takahashi 2512); g) r. brachycarpum (takahashi et al. 40); h) r. decorum (smith 2016); i) r. degronianum (iketani 1763); j) r. formosanum (murata 17561); k) r. macrostemon (togasi 688); l) r. viscistylum var. amakusaense (minamidani 29613); m) r. semibarbatum (murata 7987); n) r. arborescens (unknown s.n.); o) r. albrechtii (takahashi 3975). pollen tetrads at polar view (a-d); tetrads with viscin threads (a, b, d); pollen tetrad at equatorial view with viscin threads (e); micrographs with apocolpial exine sculpture details (f-o). 190 sarwar and takahashi in sem, pollen surface is uneven and rugged, primary apocolpial exine sculpture indistinct, secondary sculpture finely (0.1-0.25 µm) to moderate (0.25-0.4 µm) gemmate-pilate (type gp; figs 5d-e); colpus membrane granuloid or smooth. fig. 2. sem micrographs of rhododendron pollen. a) r. quinquefolium (ogura 1637); b) r. schlippenbachii (sarwar & takahashi s.n.); c) r. lapponicum (gillett 1835); d) r. parvifolium (tatewaki 20940); e) r. diversipilosum (takahashi 206); f) r. subarcticum (takahashi 2643); g) r. dauricum (kanayama et al. 04-9050); h) r. mucronulatum var. ciliatum (yokoyama 299); i) r. davidsoniaum (c. 9180); j) r. keiskei (murata et al. 17861); k) r. dilatatum (togashi s.n.); l) r. hidakanum (tateishi & togashi s.n.); m) r. wadanum (takahashi 550); n) r. weyrichii (shimamura et al. s.n.); o) r. indicum (miyabe s.n.). micrographs with apocolpial exine sculpture details (a-o); base of viscin threads attached with apocolpial exine (tectum) (a). pollen morphology of rhododendron 191 pollen morphology of menziesia: pollen of m. cilicalyx and m. goyozanensis was studied only with sem. pollen grains are in tetrahedral tetrads, lobed or compact; viscin threads commonly absent except in m. pentandra; d 34.3-36.7 µm, p 17.4-18.7 µm, e 24.0-27.5 µm, d/d 1.33-1.43, p/e 0.68-0.73, oblate; 3-colporate, 2f 15.4-17.6 µm, w 1.1-1.7 µm, 2f/w 9.06-16.0, 2f/d 0.42-0.51, costae present and distinct, colpus margin distinct; endocracks present; endoaperture lalongate, 1.0-1.8 µm long, 6.2-8.7 µm wide; apocolpial exine 1.7 µm thick, septum 1.0-1.2 µm thick, with faint perforations in m. pentandra; tectate, apocolpial exine sculpture finely verrucate (table 2). fig. 3. sem micrographs of rhododendron pollen. a) r. japonicum (takahashi 3998); b) r. kaempferi (iketsu et al. 95); c) r. macrosepalum (takahashi 1033); d) r. nudipes (murata 10910); e) r. trinerve (togashi s.n.); f) r. tsusiophyllum (sawada s.n.). micrographs with apocolpial exine sculpture details (a-f). in sem, pollen surface is flat, primary apocolpial exine sculpture indistinct, secondary sculpture unit narrowly straight-edged striate (type ns; figs 5i, k); or coarsely rugulate, lirae striate (type r; fig. 5l); colpus membrane granuloid to smooth. in tem of m. pentandra, the apocolpial exine is composed of ektexine and endexine (figs. 5m-o). sexine is c. 1.0 µm thick, and the total exine is c. 1.9 µm thick (fig. 5n). the septum is c. 1.3-1.9 µm thick. the intine is almost evenly thick around the pollen tetrad, showing lower electron density than the endexine beneath both the apocolpial and septal exine. discussion the genus rhododendron is stenopolynous, having 3-colporate and medium pollen tetrads with viscin threads. a continuous and serial variation was revealed in all quantitative palynological characters within the genus (tables 2 & 3). the size of rhododendron pollen tetrads varies widely between 30.9 µm and 67.1 µm (table 2). no distinct difference in tetrad size was observed among the subfamilies, however, the subgenera hymenanthes and pentanthera produced relatively larger (48 µm) pollen tetrads (table 3). variations in ploidy level might be one of the probable causes of this wide variation in pollen size among rhododendron species. in rhododendron, enormous species diversification has 192 sarwar and takahashi pollen morphology of rhododendron 193 194 sarwar and takahashi fig. 4. tem micrographs of rhododendron pollen. a-c) rhododendron schlippenbachii (sarwar & takahashi s.n.); d-f) r. japonicum (takahashi 3998); g-i) r. tsusiophyllum (sawada s.n.). whole tetrad (a, d, g); apocolpial exine showing thick canalized tectum with supratectal fine gemmae-pila, thick columellae, thick foot layer and thin endexine (b); in septum, tectum fragmentary, two foot layer of adjacent grains sometimes connected by columellae, endexine thick (c); apocolpial exine showing canalized thick tectum with supratectal fine gemmae-pila, thick columellae, thick foot layer and thin endexine (e); in septum, tectum lacking, two foot layer of adjacent grains connected by thin or rudimentary columellae, endexine thick (f, i); apocolpial exine showing thick tectum, columellae, thick foot layer and endexine with (endo) cracks (h). clearly occurred at the diploid level (2n=26), and polyploidy occurs among one third of cytologically examined lepidote species, the degree of polyploidy ranging from triploids (2n=3x=39) to dodecaploids (2n=12x=156) (janaki ammal, 1950). aneuploidy (2n=30) has been reported in one case (jones and brighton, 1972) and two species namely, r. wallichii hook. f. (as r. campanulatum var. wallichii hook. f.) and r. grande wight were reported to have n=12 (i.e. 2n=24) (mehra, 1976), although the number of rhododendron species having diploid level (2n=24) should be increased after the inclusion of therorhodion (kron and judd, 1990). cockerham and galletta (1976) reported that the mean pollen diameter was 11% larger in the tetraploids compared to that in the diploids in certain vaccinium species. pollen morphology of rhododendron 195 viscin threads occur among the pollen tetrads in rhododendron and therorhodion, and presumably play a role in pollen removal from the anthers and its adhesion to pollinators. any pollen material with viscin threads points to the highly specialized (entomophilous) pollination mode. it has been suggested that viscin threads increase the efficiency of pollination, and their presence implies highly specific pollinators for accurate delivery of pollen to stigma (hesse et al., 2000). the viscin threads would also play a role in pollen presentation. according to skvarla et al. (1978) there is significant association between the structure of viscin threads in onagraceae and the pollen vector: beaded viscin threads associated with birds and moth pollinated taxa whereas smooth ones occur in bee pollinated taxa. no viscin threads were found in menziesia (despite reports to the contrary in copeland, 1943; wood, 1961), except in m. pentandra (table 2). viscin threads are not to be expected in species with urceolate or tubular corollas, since there they might obstruct cross-pollination (stevens, 1971). thus they are found in m. pentandra, which has broadly urceolate (to campanulate) corollas, but not in other species of the genus with urceolate and/or tubular corollas. table 3. variation in pollen characters of different subgenera of rhododendron showing minimum maximum (mean) value in µm. d: tetrad diameter, 2f: aperture length, w: aperture width. name of subgenera d 2f w exine sculpture reference azaleastrum 39.18 56.93 8.89 23.92 0.86 2.36 gp gao et al. (2002b) candistrum 37.97 39.95 13.80 1.29 1.38 gp gao et al. (2002b) hymenanthes 48.50 65.20 16.53 20.20 0.70 2.90 gp, r this paper; gao et al. (2002c) mumeazalea 35.85 39.95 16.10 1.85 1.98 gp gao et al. (2002b) pentanthera 49.04 67.10 18.70 30.40 1.56 3.44 gp this paper; gao et al. (2002c); zhang et al. (2009) rhododendron 30.29 54.84 9.63 20.23 0.80 1.50 gp, r this paper; gao et al. (2002c) tsutsusi 35. 00 63.20 13.97 22.60 0.70 2.20 gp, r this paper; gao et al. (2002c); zhang et al. (2009) usually, apocolpial exine is thicker than the septal exine, but thinner apocolpial exine has been observed in r. formosanum (table 2). similar relatively thinner apocolpial exine also has been observed in some taxa of the subfamily vaccinioideae (sarwar and takahashi, 2006; sarwar et al., 2006) and it may have some taxonomic value in the infrageneric classification of the respected genera. in the lobed tetrads of r. formosanum, single pollen grains might be loosely attached together and the septum has not been reduced. a similar cause for comparatively thicker septum has been discussed for tetrads of the family annonaceae (le thomas et al., 1986). however, no significant correlation was found between compactness of tetrad and septum thickness in the present study or published literature (kim et al., 1988). the apocolpial exine sculpture can be divided into two distinct groups pollen surface is uneven and rugged to somewhat flat, apocolpial exine sculpture of type gp (figs 1f, g, i-o, 2ad, g-o, 3a-e); and pollen surface flat or rugged, apocolpial exine sculpture of type r (figs 2e, f, 3f). the latter type of exine sculpture characterized rhododendron subsect. ledum, and all other species have almost similar exine sculpture except r. tsusiophyllum (fig. 3f). the subsect. ledum was also characterized by smaller pollen tetrads (30.9-31.8 µm) and a higher value of 2f/d ratio (0.52-0.54) (table 2). neither tetrad size nor exine sculpture was able to be used to differentiate among the subgenera and/or sections of rhododendron (tables 2, 3). thus, palynological characters showed little usefulness in the infrageneric classification of 196 sarwar and takahashi rhododendron (goetsch et al., 2005), but could be used for identification of individual rhododendron species (table 2; gao et al., 2002b, c). generic delimitation of the tribe rhodoreae is a subject of dispute until now (gillespie and kron, 2010). the phylogenetic analyses of rhododendron based on molecular data did not support the individual generic status of menziesia and therorhodion, or even diplarche (craven, 2011), but suggested their inclusion within the genus rhododendron (kurashige et al., 2001; goetsch et al., 2005). the results of this palynological study added some new points of disagreement within the present generic alignment of this tribe (gillespie and kron, 2010). as expected, the quantitative palynological features vary to a large extent in a large genus like rhododendron, and give a little support for the individual generic status of menziesia, rhododendron and therorhodion (table 2). however, the specialized exine sculpture of type ns and perforated septum of menziesia, clearly distinguish the genus from other two genera of this tribe, rhododendron and therorhodion (table 2; figs 1-3, 5; gao et al., 2002c; miyoshi et al., 2011). both the exine sculpture and septum with perforations have already been identified as taxonomically important characters in different ericaceous genera (sarwar, 2007). along with other morphological and molecular characters (kron et al., 2002; gillespie and kron, 2010), the exceptional exine sculpture may also give additional support to the individual generic status of menziesia (sarwar and takahashi, 2012b; takahashi and sarwar, 2013). palynological features of the other two genera, rhododendron and therorhodion are very similar (table 2; figs 1-3, 5), and they might support the sister relationship between these two genera as identified by gillespie and kron (2010). the pollen morphological features e.g., tetrad size, exine sculpture, etc. of r. tsusiophyllum of sect. tsutsusi are different from those of other members of the same section as well as subgen. tsutsusi (table 2; type gp; figs 2k-o, 3a-e vs. type r; fig. 3f). taking pollen morphology into account r. tsusiophyllum might be transferred from the subgen. tsutsusi (chamberlain et al., 1996) to subsect. ledum of the subgen. rhododendron (table 2; type r; figs 2e, f). similar transfer of r. huadingense from sect. brachycalyx of the subgen. tsutsusi to subgen. pentanthera has also been proposed based on palynological features (zhang et al., 2009). in tem, the pollen wall structure of r. tsusiophyllum especially the thickness of the columellae and the sexine-nexine ratio also showed a distinct difference (data not shown) compared to the two other taxa of rhododendron (fig. 4). when considering the differences in the breakdown of the separating wall of the pollen sac, opening of the anther during maturity and the three-locular ovary as well as differences in other morphological characters between r. tsusiophyllum and other rhododendron species (stevens, 1969; yamazaki, 1991); r. tsusiophyllum might be recognized as a separate monotypic genus tsusiophyllum; t. tanakae maxim., which is sister to whole of rhododendron (including ledum) (kron and judd, 1990). the recent molecular phylogenetic study of subfamily ericoideae (gillespie and kron, 2010) may also support this supposition. rhododendron tsusiophyllum forms a clade with menziesia pilosa, which is well-supported in bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses, instead of other rhododendron species (figs 1, 3 in gillespie and kron, 2010). based solely on molecular data, the classification and evolutionary relationship between plants is not always completely reliable (stace, 2005), especially in genera like rhododendron where polyploid species are a common phenomenon (janaki ammal, 1950). hörandl (2006) also suggested that clades retrieved by phylogenetic analyses should not be used solely as a basis for classification, but should be regarded primarily as information for a better understanding of relationships. so, detailed phylogenetic analyses, using morphological, palynological and molecular data with larger number of specimens, are necessary to clarify generic circumscription of rhododendron and its relationship with other closely related genera. pollen morphology of rhododendron 197 fig. 5. lm, sem and tem pollen micrographs of therorhodion (a-f) and menziesia (g-o). a, b) therorhodion camtschaticum (takahashi et al. 5836); c) t. redowskianum (yoshimura & hara s.n.); d) t. camtschaticum (takahashi et al. 5836); e, f) t. redowskianum (yoshimura & hara s.n.). g) menziesia pentandra (takahashi 2687); h) m. multiflora (takahashi 767); i, j) m. cilicalyx (tateishi & hoshi 13689); k) m. multiflora (takahashi 767); l) m. pentandra (takahashi 2687); m-o) m. pentandra (takahashi 2687). pollen tetrads at polar view (a, b, g, h); pollen tetrads at equatorial view showing aperturate (c); micrographs with apocolpial exine sculpture details (d, e, i, k, l); micrograph with mesocolpial exine sculpture details (f, j); whole tetrad (m); apocolpial exine showing tectum with narrow straight-edged striae, columellae, foot layer and thin undulated endexine (n); septum with tectum, and well defined columellae and foot layer of two adjacent grains (o). 198 sarwar and takahashi acknowledgments the authors thank the directors and curators of the herbaria c, gb, saps, sapt and tus for allowing them to examine and/or send the specimens on loan and sample polliniferous materials. the first author is thankful to mext (japanese ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology) scholarship during the period of this study. references chamberlain, d.f., hyam, r., argent, g., fairweather, g. and walter, k.s. 1996. the genus rhododendron – its classification and synonymy. roy. bot. gard. edinburgh, uk, 192 pp. cockerham, l.a. and galletta, g.j. 1976. a survey of pollen characteristics in certain vaccinium species. j. amer. soc. hort. sci. 101: 671-676. copland, h.f. 1943. a study, anatomical and taxonomic, of the genera of the rhododendroideae. am. midl. nat. 30: 533-625. craven, l.a. 2011. diplarche and menziesia transferred to rhododendron. blumea 56: 33-35. erdtman, g. 1986. pollen morphology and plant taxonomy angiosperms. e. j. brill, leiden. 553 pp. fuhsiung, w., nanfen, c., yulong, z. and huiqiu, y. 1995. pollen flora of china. 2nd ed. institute of botany, academia sinica. 461 pp. + 205 plates (in chinese). gao, l-m., li, d-z., zhang, c-q. and yang, j-b. 2002a. infrageneric and sectional relationships in the genus rhododendron (ericaceae) inferred from its sequence data. acta bot. sin. 44: 1351-1356. gao, l-m., zhang, c-q., li, d-z. and wei, z-x. 2002b. pollen morphology of rhododendron subgenus azaleastrum. j. wuhan bot. res. 20: 177-181 (in chinese with english abstract). gao, l-m., zhang, c-q., li, d-z. and wei, z-x. 2002c. pollen morphology of rhodoreae (ericaceae) and its systematic implication. acta bot. yunn. 24: 471-482 (in chinese with english abstract). gillespie, e. and kron, k.a. 2010. molecular phylogenetic relationships and a revised classification of the subfamily ericoideae (ericaceae). mol. phylogen. evol. 56: 343-354. goetsch, l., eckert, a.j. and hall, b.d. 2005. the molecular systematics of rhododendron (ericaceae): a phylogeny based on rpb2 gene sequences. syst. bot. 30: 616-626. hesse, m., vogel, s. and halbritter, h. 2000. thread-forming structures in angiosperm anthers: their diverse role in pollination ecology. plant syst. evol. 222: 281-292. holmgren, p.k., holmgren, n.h., and barnett, l.c. 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(manuscript received on 26 february 2013; revised on 20 october 2013) microsoft word 03. bjpt 17-61_edt_231117_desmodium_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 149–154, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists genetic variation and molecular relationships among eight taxa of desmodium desv. based on rapd markers m. oliur rahman1, md. zahidur rahman, sonia khan sony2 and mohammad nurul islam department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: desmodium desv.; rapd; genetic diversity; upgma; bangladesh. abstract genetic variation and molecular relationships among eight taxa of desmodium desv. were assessed on the basis of random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) markers. the banding patterns of eight taxa namely, desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc., d. heterocarpon (l.) dc., d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc., d. motorium (houtt.) merr., d. pulchellum (l.) benth., d. triflorum (l.) dc., d. triquetrum (l.) dc. and d. triquetrum subsp. alatum (dc.) prain were compared. a total of 81 dna fragments were detected by 11 primers. among the taxa studied d. triquetrum and d. triquetrum subsp. alatum were found to be most closely related followed by close proximity between d. gangeticum and d. motorium. the highest genetic distance was observed between d. triflorum and d. heterophyllum followed by d. heterocarpon and d. heterophyllum. upgma dendrogram was constructed to show the genetic relatedness among the taxa employed and the tree revealed a close proximity among d. pulchellum, d. gangeticum and d. motorium. in contrast, d. heterophyllum was found distantly related with rest of the taxa. introduction desmodium desv. belongs to the family fabaceae comprises about 280 species widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions (puhua and ohashi, 2010). in bangladesh desmodium is represented by 19 taxa (ahmed et al., 2009). they are annual to perennial herbs, undershrubs or shrubs, and characterized by possessing unior tri-foliolate leaves, simple raceme or panicle inflorescence and distinctly jointed pods. the systematics of the genus desmodium is confusing and not yet resolved completely (ohashi and mill, 2000). several taxonomic studies on desmodium were carried out based on morphology and anatomy (pedley and rudd, 1996; shaheeen, 2008; puhua and ohashi, 2010). recently, rahman and rahman (2012) conducted a morphometric study of desmodium and showed interspecific relationships among 14 species of the genus. however, molecular studies employing different dna markers on this genus are very scanty (yue et al., 2010; ahmad haji et al., 2016). recent progress in dna marker technology have augmented the marker resources for genetic analyses of a wide variety of genomes. the development of random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) markers generated by polymerase chain reaction (pcr) using arbitrary primers has resulted in alternative molecular markers for the detection of nuclear dna polymorphism (williams et al., 1990). rapd markers have application in many fields including dna fingerprinting (elavazhagan et al., 2009), assessment of genetic diversity (bodo slotta and porter, 2006), cultivar identification (sipahi et al., 2010), estimation of population genetics (sales et al.,                                                              1corresponding author. email: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 2department of botany, university of barisal, barisal 8200, bangladesh 150 rahman et al. 2001), hybridization (caraway et al., 2001), systematics (vilatersana et al., 2005), phylogeny reconstruction (ahmed et al., 2005), and genome mapping (krutovaskii et al., 1998). in legume species, rapd markers have proven to be a useful tool in studies analyzing genetic variation (yamaguchi and jabadi, 2004; bisoyi et al., 2010). previous studies on desmodium using isozymes were conducted mainly with species which are important as forage (smith and schaal, 1979; imrie and blogg, 1983). application of rapd markers for detecting genetic variation and interspecific relationships of desmodium is very limited. bedolla-garcia and laracabrera (2006) applied rapd markers to detect genetic variation within and among five population of desmodium sumichrastii from mexico. very recently, singh et al. (2016) employed rapd analysis for dna fingerprinting of only two species of desmodium, viz., d. gangeticum and d. laxiflorum. however, no detailed study based on rapd markers for detecting genetic diversity and interspecific relationships in desmodium was carried out so far. therefore, the aims of the present study are two-fold: i) to detect the genetic diversity among eight desmodium taxa, and ii) to infer the relationship among these taxa of desmodium based on rapd analysis. materials and methods plant materials eight taxa of desmodium were collected from different places of bangladesh, viz., desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc., d. heterocarpon (l.) dc., d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc., d. motorium (houtt.) merr., d. pulchellum (l.) benth., d. triflorum (l.) dc., d. triquetrum (l.) dc. and d. triquetrum subsp. alatum (dc.) prain (table 1). leaf samples were used for dna isolation and were preserved at -80°c until further use. the voucher specimens are deposited at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). table 1. list of desmodium desv. taxa used for rapd analysis. no. taxa habit voucher specimens 1. desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. undershrub dhaka: 27.9.2011, zahid 85 (dush); munshigonj: 1.1.2011, zahid 7 (dush). 2. d. heterocarpon (l.) dc. undershrub cox’s bazar: teknaf, 24.4.2011, zahid 28 (dush); gazipur: rajendrapur, 5.11.2011, zahid 91(dush). 3. d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc. herb gazipur: rajendrapur, 15.7.2011, zahid 50 (dush); cox’s bazar: pekua, 21.8.2011, zahid 74 (dush). 4. d. motorium (houtt.) merr. undershrub dhaka: 23.12.2010, zahid 02 (dush). 5. d. pulchellum (l.) benth. shrub gazipur: rajendrapur, 15.7.2011, zahid 48 (dush). 6. d. triflorum (l.) dc. herb cox’s bazar: kutubdia island, 17.7.2011, zahid 63 (dush); narsingdi: wari boteshwar, 10.11.2011, zahid 96 (dush). 7. d. triquetrum (l.) dc. shrub cox’s bazar: teknaf, 24.4.2011, zahid 31(dush). 8. d. triquetrum subsp. alatum (dc.) prain shrub cox’s bazar: teknaf, 19.7.2011, zahid 73 (dush). genomic dna isolation dna was isolated from leaves using the ctab (cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide) method following doyle and doyle (1987). the isolated dna was preserved in te buffer and stored at –20°c. genetic diversity and relationships among desmodium taxa 151   rapd amplification the oligonucleotide primers tested for rapd analysis were presented in table 2. these primers were chosen by their number and consistency of amplified fragments for analyzing desmodium taxa. the amplification reaction contained 50 ng of genomic dna, 0.5 unit of taq dna polymerase, 0.5 µl of each dntps, 10 mm mgcl2, 1µl decamer random primers (operon biotechnology, germany) and 2.5 µl 10x amplification buffer in a total volume of 25 µl. the amplifications were performed in triplicate using pcr thermal cycler (biometra unoii, germany) with initial denaturation of 5 min at 94°c, followed by 42 cycles at 94°c for 5 sec, 33°c for 1 min and 72°c for 2 min with final extension of 5 min at 72°c. the amplified products were separated on 1% agarose gel containing ethidium bromide, and photographed under uv light. table 2. list of primers used in rapd analysis. primer code sequence (5΄-3´ ) g + c content (%) opa-1 opa-2 opa-3 opa-6 opa-7 opa-8 opa-9 opa-10 a15 b14 bo6 tgccgagctc tgccgagctg agtcagccac ggtccctgac gaaacgggtg gtgacgtagg gtgatcgcag gtgatcgcag ttccgaaccc tccgctctgg tgctctgccc 70 70 60 70 60 60 60 60 60 70 70 data analysis rapd bands were recorded in a binary data matrix scored as presence (1) or absence (0). the score obtained using all primers in the rapd analysis were then combined to create a single data matrix. the size of amplification products were estimated by comparing the migration of each amplified fragments with that of a known size fragments of 1 kb molecular weight marker. genetic linkage distance was determined using the data matrix. upgma (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic means) dendrogram was constructed to show the genetic relationships among the species (sneath and sokal, 1973). all analyses were performed using the statistica program. results and discussion a total of 81 rapd bands were scored with eleven rapd primers in eight desmodium taxa. the highest number of fragments was detected in desmodium heterophyllum (31) followed by d. triflorum (20) and d. heterocarpon (7), while the lowest band observed in d. motorium (1). the highest number of fingerprints were generated by the primer opa-8 and least number in opa-1. the rapd markers have been found efficient to detect genetic variation in desmodium. the highest dissimilarity (41.0) was observed between d. triflorum and d. heterophyllum followed by d. pulchellum and d. heterophyllum (35.5) and d. heterophyllum and d. heterocarpon (35.0) (table 3). the lowest genetic distance (1.0) was found between d. gangeticum and d. motorium indicating that these species are very closely related (table 3). 152 rahman et al. cluster analysis of the genetic similarity estimates from rapd markers was performed to generate the upgma dendrogram for showing genetic relationship among the taxa of desmodium (fig. 1). the dendrogram revealed that d. pulchellum, d. gangeticum, d. motorium, d. triquetrum, d. triquetrum subsp. alatum, and d. heterocarpon grouped together and formed a cluster showing a close relationships among them. this cluster further consisted of two subclusters, the first one contained d. pulchellum, d. gangeticum and d. motorium showing a close affinity between these three species, while the second sub-cluster comprised d. triquetrum subsp. alatum, d. triquetrum, and d. heterocarpon. the highest relatedness was observed between d. gangeticum and d. motorium among all the taxa employed in this study. the rapd analysisalso shown that d. heterophyllum and d. triflorum retained ungrouped and they are distantly related from other taxa of desmodium. table 3. genetic variation among studied taxa of desmodium. taxa d. pulchellum d. triflorum d. heterocarpon d. heterophyllum d. triquetrum subsp. alatum d. triquetrum d. gangeticum d. motorium d. pulchellum 0 d. triflorum 28.3 0 d. heterocarpon 14.1 32.2 0 d. heterophyllum 35.5 41.0 35.0 0 d. triquetrum subsp. alatum 8.0 26.3 14.1 33.5 0 d. triquetrum 8.0 26.3 12.1 33.5 8.0 0 d. gangeticum 6.0 24.3 12.1 33.6 6.0 6.0 0 d. motorium 5.0 25.4 11.1 32.6 5.0 5.0 1.0 0 fig. 1. upgma dendrogram showing the genetic relationship among studied desmodium taxa based on rapd markers. genetic diversity and relationships among desmodium taxa 153   the rapd method is popular because of its technical simplicity and speed. the present study reveals that rapds are useful markers in identifying desmodium species. the rapd data shows that d. gangeticum and d. motorium are genetically closely related. this result is congruent with the previous study based on morphological characters such as unifoliolate, lanceolate leaves and triangular stipules (ahmed et al., 2009); and also supported by foliar anatomical investigation (data not shown). bedolla-garcia and lara-cabrera (2006) studied genetic variation within and among five populations of desmodium sumichrastii from mexico based on rapd analysis. singh et al. (2016) employed rapd approach for the genetic fingerprinting of desmodium gangeticum and d. laxiflorum and found 60-65% similarity between these two species. irshad et al. (2009) studied three species of desmodium, viz. d. gangeticum, d. triflorum and d. velutinum (willd.) dc. and compared with commercial samples of various origin. among these d. triflorum appears closer to d. gangeticum reflecting narrow genetic diversity. however, the present study shows that d. triflorum and d. gangeticum are distantly related. very recently, malgaonkar et al. (2016) determined the genetic relatedness and diversity among accessions of four desmodium species using rapd markers, namely d. dichotomum (willd.) dc., d. laxiflorum dc., d. scorpiurus (sw.) poir. and d. triflorum. a close affinity has been observed between d. laxiflorum and d. scorpiurus. in the present study d. pulchellum has been found close to d. gangeticum and d. motorium indicating that these three species are closely related. d. triflorum and d. heterophyllum are closely allied as evidenced by anatomical study (data not shown), however, this affinity is not supported by rapd analysis. in order to have better understanding about genetic relatedness and interspecific relationships inclusion of more taxa with additional markers is necessary. acknowledgements the first author gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance provided by the biotechnology research centre of the university of dhaka for carrying out the research. the authors are grateful to prof. rakha hari sarkar and prof. md. imdadul hoque, department of botany, university of dhaka for their cooperation during the course of the study. thanks are also due to dr. sujay kumar bhajan of the department of botany, university of dhaka for his help and cooperation. references ahmad haji, r.f., tiwari, s., gandhi, s.g., kumar, a., brindavanam, n.b. and verma, v. 2016. genetic diversity analysis among accessions of desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. with simple sequence repeat (ssr) and internal transcribed spacer (its) regions for species conservation. j. biodivers. biopros. dev. 3: 159. ahmed, s.m., verma, v., qazi, p.h., ganaie, m.m., bakshi, s.k. and qazi, g.n. 2005. molecular phylogeny in indian tinospora species by dna based molecular markers. plant syst. evol. 256(1-4): 75–87. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t. khondoker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 10 june 2016; revised on 21 november 2017) microsoft word 08. 46-13 ranunculus_revised_ ok 4.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 201-205, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new ranunculus species (ranunculaceae) from shaanxi, china min-rong luo1 and liang zhao2 college of life sciences, northwest a&f university, yangling, shaanxi, 712100, china keywords: ranunculus shanyangensis; new species; china. abstract ranunculus shanyangensis m.r. luo & l. zhao, a new species of ranunculaceae from shaanxi, china, is described and illustrated. ranunculus shanyangensis is morphologically similar to r. repens, however, it differs from the latter due to the following characters: longer adventitious roots, wholly creeping stems with no branches, longer rachis, fewer floral organs and pollen wall sculpturing. sem micrography of the pollens for r. shanyangensis and r. repens are presented along with distribution map. introduction ranunculus is the largest genus within ranunculaceae including about 600 species, primarily distributed in temperate to arctic or subantarctic zones, but a few species are also found in high montane regions of the tropics (tamura, 1995). wang and gilbert (2001) revised the genus ranunculus in china and recognized 125 species in china, of which 66 are endemic. when we were carrying out a fieldwork survey in may 2009 in shaanxi province, china, we came across a distinct population of ranunculus. this population grew in slightly moist region in the qinling mountains. notable morphological characteristics that distinguish this population from other species include longer adventitious roots, longer rachis, wholly creeping stems that lack branches and fewer floral organs. based on literature review (davis, 1965; timokhina, 1993; tutin, 1993; whittemore, 1997; wang and gilbert, 2001; kadoto, 2006; tzvelev, 2007) and examination of specimens from several herbaria, we have determined that individuals of this population are similar to r. repens l. however, combination of characteristics distinguishes this population as new species, r. shanyangensis. here we describe this new species. materials and methods the specimens of ranunculus repens from several herbaria (pe, wuk, nas, ifp, lbg, ibsc, ibk) have been examined representing collections made in china as well as europe and north america. flowers and fruits were rehydrated and measurements were taken for each character. palynological investigation was conducted to determine whether unique characteristics were present in r. shanyangensis. pollen samples were obtained from dried herbarium specimens and suspended in distilled water, after acetolysis, fixed on sem specimen holders, which had been cleaned with acetone. the specimens were sputter-coated with gold for 1.5 min and photographed using a hitachi s-4800 scanning electron microscope. palynological terminology follows santisuk (1979). 1college of horticulture, northwest a&f university, yangling, shaanxi, 712100, china 2corresponding author. email: biology_zhaoliang@126.com 202 luo and zhao ranunculus shanyangensis m.r. luo & l. zhao sp. nov. (figs 1, 3). diagnosis: species nova r. repenti l. similis est, a quo caule toto tranversaliter repente, simplice, flaccido, ad nodos radicante, radicibus tenuibus, 5-10 cm longis, pedunculo longiore 1315 cm longo, staminibus 35-40 per florem, granis pollenis pantocolpatis, carpellis 15-20 differt. type: shanyang county, shaanxi province, north-west china; altitude 1100 m; 33°25′20"n, 110°08′00"e, 15 may 2009, liang zhao 20090501 (holotype: wuk; isotype: wuk, pe). fig. 1. ranunculus shanyangensis m.r. luo & l. zhao sp. nov. (a) habit, (b) flower apical view, (c) flower lateral view, (d) petal, (e) stamen, (f) fruit. a new ranunculus species 203 perennial herbs. adventitious roots 5-10 cm long. stems wholly creeping, 20-50 cm long, slender, c. 1.0-1.2 mm in diameter, hirsute, rooting at the nodes, old petiole persistent on nodes. leaves mostly basal, or in nodes of stolons (2-4); petiole 5-18 cm long; blade ternate, reniform to pentagonal; both surfaces hirsute; central leaflet broadly rhombic, 2.0-2.6 × 2.0-2.5 cm; base broadly cuneate, secondary lobes lobed or partite; lateral leaflets oblique, unequally 2or 3-lobed or partite; petiolule 0.5-2.0 cm long. cauline leaves smaller. flowers (1-2) in loose cyme, axillary; rachis 13-15 cm long; bracts 3-lobed or undivided, lanceolate to linear. flowers 1.4-1.7 cm in diameter; pedicels 5-7 cm long, hirsute. receptacle hirsute. sepals 5.5-6.0 × 2-4 cm, navicular at anthesis, hirsute on abaxial surface. petals 5-8 × 4-5 mm, obovate or widely obovate; claw 1 mm long; nectary covered by a scale, c. 1 mm long. stamens 35-40; anthers c. 1.5 mm long; filaments c. 2.0 mm long. carpels 15-20. achene bilaterally compressed, obliquely obovate, c. 2.2×2.0 mm, glabrous, narrowly marginate; beak c. 0.5 mm long. phenology: it sprouts in late february, and the aboveground parts die in early november. flowering occurs in may august and fruiting in june september. specimens examined: shaanxi, shanyang county, in slightly moist areas, 1100 m, 15 may 2009, liang zhao 20090502 (sanu); ibid., 1105 m, liang zhao 20090503 (sanu ), liang zhao 20090504 (sanu), liang zhao 20090505 (sanu ), liang zhao 20090506 (sanu ), liang zhao 20090507 (sanu ), liang zhao 20090508 (sanu ); ibid., liang zhao 20090509(pe), liang zhao 20090510 (pe). distribution: ranunculus shanyangensis is found in the moist area in shanyang county, shaanxi province, north-west china (fig. 2). recent observations suggest that the population of this new species has a narrow geographic distribution, and possibly endemic to this site. after intensive field investigation in qinling mountains from 2009 to 2010, we only found one population with about 200 individuals. fig. 2. distribution of ranunculus repens (●) and r. shanyangensis (■) in china. 204 luo and zhao conservation status: using the iucn categories and criteria (iucn, 2001), we suggest ranking of ranunculus shanyangensis as ‘critically endangered’ (cr), which is based on the size of this population and its close proximity to urban and agricultural areas. etymology: the specific epithet refers to shanyang county where the type collections were made. notes: ranunculus shanyangensis is morphologically similar and possibly closely related to r. repens l. both have creeping stems, rooting at the nodes; smooth, bilaterally compressed and narrowly marginate achenes; and the petal nectary pit is covered by a scale. however, r. shanyangensis differs from r. repens in adventitious root (5-10 cm vs. 1-3 cm), stem (wholly creeping, no branched vs. ascending or suberect, branched above), rachis (13-15 cm vs. 5-8 cm) , stamens (35-40 vs. c. 50), carpels (15-20 vs. 30-35) and pollen (stephanocolpate vs. tricolpate) characters. fig. 3. pollen morphology under scanning electron microscopy (sem). (a, b) ranunculus shanyangensis, (c, d) r. repens. scale bar: a, b, c, d = 10 µm pollen morphology: in our examination of the pollen in r. repens from china, europe and north america, we note that all of them are tricolpate (fig. 3c) with small and sparsely spaced spinules (fig. 3d). this character is in accord with the results of erdtman et al. (1961), whose material was collected from scandinavia. however, the pollen of ranunculus shanyangensis is pantocolpate (fig. 3a) and bears densely spaced spinules (fig. 3b). acknowledgements we are grateful to professor wen-tsai wang, institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, china for his help. we thank dr. mare nazaire, washington state university, united a new ranunculus species 205 states, and dr. jeremy lundholm, saint mary’s university, canada for their helpful comments and correcting the english. we also thank mr. yin-hou xiao for his assistance in taking sem photographs. this project was supported by the fundamental research funds for the central universities (no. qn2012020), the specialized research fund for the doctoral program of higher education of china (no. 20120204120032) and the national natural science foundation of china (31300158 and 31100141). references davis, p.h. 1965. ranunculus l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey. vol. 1. edinburgh university press, pp. 146-197. erdtman, g., berglund, b. and praglowski, j. 1961. an introduction to a scandinavian pollen flora. grana 2: 1-92. iucn 2001. iucn red list categories and criteria, version 3.1. iucn species survival commission, switzerland. kadoto, y. 2006. ranunculus l. in: iwatsuki, k., boufford, d.e. and ohba, h. (eds), flora of japan. vol. 2(a). kodansha, tokyo, pp. 310-322. santisuk, t. 1979. a palynological study of the tribe ranunculeae. opera bot. 48: 1-74. tamura, m. 1995. ranunculaceae. in: hiepko, p. (ed.), die natürlichen pflanzenfamilien, 2nd ed. vol. 17a (4). duncker und humblot, berlin, pp. 1-556. timokhina, s.a. 1993. ranunculus l. in: malyschev, l.i. and peschkova, g.a. (eds), flora of siberia. vol. 6. science publishers, inc., enfield, nh, usa, pp. 162-195. tutin, t.g. 1993. ranunculus l. in: tutin, t.g., burges, n.a., chater, a.o., edmondson, j.r., heywood, v.h., moore, d.m., valentine, d.h., walters, s.m. and webb, d.a. (eds), flora europaea. vol. 1. 2nd edition. cambridge university press, pp. 269-186. tzvelev, n.n. 2007. ranunculus l. in: tzvelev, n.n. (ed.), flora of russia. vol. 10(a). taylor and francis / balkema. ak leiden, the netherlands. pp. 116-188. wang, w.t. and gilbert, m.g. 2001. ranunculus l. in: wu, z.y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.y. (eds), flora of china. vol. 6. science press & missouri botantical garden press. pp. 391-431. whittemore, a.t. 1997. ranunculus l. in: flora of north america editorial committee, flora of north america. vol. 3. oxford university press, pp. 88-134. (manuscript received on 30 march 2013; revised on 11 october 2013) microsoft word s-1. oberonia acaulis.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 93-95, 2014 (june) short communication © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists oberonia acaulis griff. var. latipetala (orchidaceae) a new variety from manipur, india k. chowlu1, y. nanda and a. nageswara rao centre for orchid gene conservation of eastern himalayan region, kvk-sylvan campus, hengbung-795129, manipur, india keywords: new variety; oberonia; orchid; india. the genus oberonia is characterised by fleshy, flat, ensiform leaves; sub-erect or drooping inflorescence with many densely arranged flowers; sub similar sepals and petals; entire or 3-lobed lip; very short column and 4 pollinia. it comprises of about 150-200 species centered in tropical south and south-east asia further extending to the tropical africa, madagascar, the mascarene islands, the philippines, new guinea, north-east australia and south-west pacific islands across tahiti (chen et al., 2009). in india, it is represented by 65 species (misra, 2007) out of which about 38 species are in north-east india (rao, 2007; choudhery, 2009) and 11 species are reported so far from manipur (kumar and kumar, 2005; chowlu et al., 2012). during a field exploration in hengbung area, senapati district of manipur in november 2011, some oberonia plants have been collected in vegetative condition and brought under cultivation at the centre for orchid gene conservation of eastern himalayan region (cogcehr), hengbung, senapati district, where they flowered during june-july 2012 and critically studied. based on the literature (seidenfaden, 1968, 1978; ansari and balakrishnan, 1990; pearce and cribb, 2002; chen et al., 2009) it is proved to be distinct from oberonia acaulis griff. in having thin leaves and broad petals with glandular dots. hence it is described as a new variety oberonia acaulis griff. var. latipetala chowlu, nanda & nageswara rao var. nov. oberonia acaulis griff. var. latipetala chowlu, nanda & nageswara rao var. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: oberonia acaulis var. latipetala is more allied to oberonia acaulis but differs in having longer inflorescence, broader and not reflexed petals whereas in oberonia acaulis inflorescence is only up to 9 cm long, petals narrow-oblong and reflexed. further, the present new variety flowers during june to july, while the variety flowers during october to november. type: india. manipur, senapati district, hengbung, 25°25.40' n and 94°13.47' e, 1298 m, 20 june 2012, chowlu 00368 (holotype. cogcehr herbarium). stem 3-7 mm long, tufted, enveloped by leaf base. leaves 8-20 × 0.3-0.7 cm, jointed, ensiform, acuminate, slightly falcate, very unequal in size. inflorescence 20-30 cm long, slender, much decurved; peduncle 1.5-2.0 cm long, terete, naked; rachis 18.5-28.0 cm long, with many flowers in whorls; pedicellate ovary 1.0-1.7 mm long, green; floral bract 2.2-2.7 × 0.5-0.7 mm, lanceolate, acuminate, margin erose, yellowish-green. flowers 1.5-1.7 mm across, green. sepals subequal; dorsal sepal 1.1-1.3 × 0.7-0.9 mm, lanceolate-elliptic, obtuse; lateral sepals 1.2-1.4 × 0.7-0.9 mm, lanceolate-elliptic, acute. petals 1.1-1.3 × 0.9-1.1 mm, subacute, green with glandular dots, slightly serrate at margin. lip 1.2-1.3 × 1.0 mm, green, 3-lobed; lateral lobes 0.3-0.4 × 0.3 mm, rectangular, truncate; mid lobe c. 0.6 mm long, divided into two lobules separated by a sinus in the middle. anther cap c. 0.25 × 0.20 mm, creamy, 2-chambered. pollinia c. 0.15 mm long, yellow, subglobose. 1corresponding author. e-mail: krishnachowlu@gmail.com 94 chowlu et al. flowering: june july. habitat: the present new variety is found on moss covered tress branches in subtropical forest, at 1298 m in association with other orchids and fern species. etymology: the varietal epithet indicates the species unique character broad petals. fig. 1. oberonia acaulis griff. var. latipetala chowlu, nanda & nageswara rao, a. habit, b. bract, c. flower, d. dissected parts, e. lip, f. colum with pedicel ovary, g. anther cap, h. pollinia. oberonia acaulis griff. var. latipetala (orchidaceae) 95 table 1. morphological variations of oberonia acaulis and oberonia acaulis var. latipetala. characters oberonia acaulis oberonia acaulis var. latipetala var.nov. inflorescence 5-9 cm long, decurved 20-30 cm long, much decurved petals c. 0.1 × 0.5 mm, reflexed, no glandular dots 1.1-1.3 × 0.9-1.1 mm, not reflexed, glandular dots present flowering october december june july acknowledgements sincere thanks are due to mr. h. kipgen, president, feeds, hengbung, for facility and encouragement. thanks are also due to the serb division, department of science and technology, government of india, new delhi for financial support to carry out the study on orchids of the eastern himalayan region. thanks also to imbeng kuinamei for his help in the tour. references ansari, r. and balakrishnan, n.p. 1990. a revision of the indian species of oberonia. orchid monographs 4: 24−30. rijksherbarium, liden, netherlands. chen, q., liu, z.j., zhu, g.h.k., lang, y., ji, z.h., luo, y.b., jin, x.b., cribb, p.j., wood, j.j., gale, s.w., ormerod, p., vermeulen, j.j., wood, h.p., clayton d. and bell. a. 2009. in: raven, p.h. and hong, d.y. (eds), flora of china, vol. 25: 1-505. science press, beijing & missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. chowdhery, h.j. 2009. orchid diversity of india. jour. orchid soc. india 23(1-2): 19-42. chowlu, k., rao, a.n. and vij, s.p. 2012. oberonia jenkinsiana griffith ex lindley (orchidaceae) an addition to the flora of manipur, india. pleione 6(2): 406-408. kumar, c.s and kumar, p.c.s. 2005. orchid digest of manipur, northeastern india. rheedea 15(1): 1-74. misra, s. 2007. orchids of india. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india, pp. 279-320. pearce, n.r. and cribb, p.j. 2002. the orchids of bhutan. royal botanic garden edinburg, edinburg and royal government of bhutan, pp. 221-233. rao, a.n. 2007. orchid flora of north east india an update analysis. bull. arunachal forest research 23(1&2): 6-38. seidenfaden, g. 1968 the genus oberonia in mainland asia. dansk bot. ark. 25(3): 1-125. seidenfaden, g. 1978. orchid genera in thailand vii. oberonia lindl. and malaxis sol. ex sw. dansk bot. ark. 34(1): 1-23. (manuscript received on 10 february 2014; revised on 10 may 2014) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 195‒199, 2020 (june) short communication © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists evaluation of the field performance and genetic diversity of 23 varieties of okra from bangladesh using rapd markers md. anowar hossain*, md. sajjad hossen, arifur rahman munshi, kazi zahidur rahman1, md. rezaul karim and yoshinobu kimura2 department of biochemistry and molecular biology, university of rajshahi, rajshahi-6205, bangladesh keywords: abelmoschus esculentus, genetic diversity, polymorphic information content, yellow vein mosaic virus, enation leaf curl virus. okra (abelmoschus esculentus l.) is a globally cultivated, economically important vegetable, and the most used species of malvaceae family. it is grown mostly in tropical, sub-tropical and mediterranean region of the world (kumar et al., 2015). its cultivation is challenged due to severe attack by yellow vein mosaic virus (yvmv) and enation leaf curl virus (elcv), through an insect vector namely white fly (bemisia tabaci). the loss in marketable yield has been estimated at 50‒94% depending upon the crop growing stage at which the infection occurs (kumar et al., 2015). the relationship among okra germplasm and their genetic variability study may play important role in plant breeding program for biotic and abiotic stress tolerance (gulsel et al., 2007). rapd (pronounced ‘rapid’), for random amplification of polymorphic dna, is a type of molecular marker system in which random primers of short length (10 bp) are used to amplify the genomic dna by polymerase chain reaction (hossain et al., 2020; roslan et al., 2017). there are few reports on field performance and genetic diversity study of okra by rapd on local and foreign germplasm cultivated in bangladesh. as a part of genetic improvement program of okra we aimed to evaluate field performance against virus incidence and estimate genetic relatedness among a set of 23 okra genotypes using rapd primers. twenty-three okra genotypes collected from different regions of bangladesh were used to assess their performance in an open filed condition (table 1). plots were prepared for okra cultivation according to local agronomic practice and maintained (irrigation, weeds cleaning, plant enemies, environmental factors observation etc.) properly. seeds were sowed with randomized complete block design with three replicas. spacing, plant space: 30 cm  50 cm was maintained. each of the plot size was 3 m  1 m and 45 cm was left for irrigation and drainage between two beds. manures and fertilizers were applied as recommended by bangladesh agricultural research institute. no pesticide was applied during the experimental studies. twenty plants of each plot from each variety were selected for data collection. the yield per plant and virus incidence was recorded every two weeks during the period of cultivation over 120 days. young and healthy 3‒4 days aged leaves of 23 okra varieties were collected in aluminium foil and washed before air-drying. a total of 100-110 mg leaves of each variety was used to extract genomic dna according to the modified protocol of doyle and doyle, 1987. pcr amplification of dna extracted from all the 23 varieties of okra was carried out using 20 rapd primers of opa series (opa-1 to opa-20). pcr reaction was performed in a 10 µl volume containing a mixture of 2x gotaq master mix (5 µl), template dna 1 µl (approximately 40‒50 ng/ µl), 10 mm rapd single primer (0.5 µl), and 3.5 µl of nuclease-free water. *corresponding author, email: mahossain95@hotmail.com 1institute of biological science, university of rajshahi, rajshahi-6205, bangladesh. 2department of biofunctional chemistry, graduate school of environmental and life science, okayama university, okayama-700-8530, japan. mailto:mahossain95@hotmail.com 196 hossain et al. table 1. morphological characters of 23 genotypes of okra. name of variety plant height (cm) no of branches/ plant no of leaves/ plant no of flowers/ plant no of fruits/ plant fruits weight (gm) no of seeds/ plant per 100 seed weight yield (gm/ plant) sb 102.42 3.00 30.53 1.0 24.00 19.93 70.52 6.89 478.32 mc 93.78 3.27 29.96 1.16 20.11 18.91 61.82 6.21 380.28 oa 81.88 3.51 33.82 1.0 19.56 17.03 60.57 4.98 333.10 sh 85 .44 3.00 33.12 1.12 18.72 17.25 48.21 5.76 322.92 oai 86.00 3.24 32.52 1.33 20.51 16.43 55.75 5.98 336.97 ssd 85.58 3.86 31.94 1.13 19.98 18.63 59.29 5.87 372.22 ib 75.73 3.31 30.45 1.03 19.57 15.96 51.47 5.04 312.33 b1 81.31 3.52 32.18 1.31 8.28 19.78 60.68 5.91 401.13 kb 93.48 3.23 32.47 1.00 20.53 13.55 52.90 6.65 278.18 dc 80.66 3.72 31.51 1.13 19.34 15.82 59.33 6.54 305.95 had 79.65 3.25 25.67 1.23 10.23 17.67 52.89 6.34 320.98 he 81.30 3.67 36.78 1.56 15.67 19.56 56.58 5.97 410.23 hhk 76.80 3.89 30.23 1.34 18.89 18.90 65.80 6.66 450.67 nd 83.60 3.12 37.98 1.54 15.90 16.89 59.10 6.12 390.61 hgg 70.62 2.60 26.89 1.67 17.91 19.01 66.89 6.73 399.89 hs 84.60 3.63 32.68 1.29 20.56 18.73 64.70 6.19 440.67 ha 79.90 2.90 25.70 1.56 21.00 16.34 60.80 6.33 401.90 hg 78.65 3.00 31.99 1.10 12.45 18.90 66.70 6.71 389.90 hp 82.56 3.36 35.58 1.35 18.90 16.60 62.79 6.77 420.56 hds 85.68 2.99 38.90 1.50 16.78 18.45 67.70 6.57 410.56 wo 95.60 5.00 56.90 1.00 7.99 11.56 40.10 5.00 250.89 ch1 90.20 3.65 38.60 1.99 16.89 17.90 61.50 6.63 460.80 ch2 92.67 3.50 33.78 1.90 13.56 18.76 65.19 6.19 450.09 lsd0.05 5.38 0.89 6.21 0.31 6.05 3.91 5.4 0.11 21.47 sd 7.290 0.480 6.246 0.285 4.196 2.011 7.06 0.56 61.328 se (±) 0.086 0.141 0.1865 0.217 0.242 0.114 0.118 0.09 0.161 cv % 1.532 0.117 1.291 0.112 0.887 0.413 1.453 0.11 12.80 n.b; [sb, shamol bangla; mc, mahira cross; oa, orka anamika; sh, shomy hybrid; oai, orka anamika india; ssd, sobuj sathi; ib, iron bhendi; b1, bari-1; kb, kolatia bhendi; dc, dheros chamak; had, hybrid dheros alok; hge, hybrid green energy; hhk, hybrid hira kamal; nd, nowdapara dheros; hgg, hybrid green glowry; hs, hybrid sumi; ha, hybrid alif; hg, hybrid godhuli; hp, hybrid padma; hds, hybrid dheros sumona; wo, wild okra; co1, chinese okra-1; co2, chinese okra-2.] during preparation, the mixtures were kept on ice. pcr amplification was performed in a thermocycler (gene atlas) under the following conditions: initial denaturation at 94°c for 5 min followed by 46 cycles of denaturation at 94°c for 1 min, primer annealing at 36°c for 30 sec, elongation at 72°c for 3 min and final elongation at 72°c for 10 min. the reaction was then cooled and held at 4°c for 10 min. after the completion of pcr, the amplified products were run evaluation of the field performance and genetic diversity 197 using 1% agarose gel electrophoresis stained with ethidium bromide. the bands were viewed and photographed by gel documentation system. the rapd banding pattern for each primer was scored manually by visual observation. for phylogenetic analysis of all the rapd bands, a binary matrix was prepared on the basis of presence or absence of bands in a particular locus of all the genotypes. the presence of band was scored as 1 and the absence was scored as 0. thus the 0 and 1 binary matrices were used to produce a phylogenetic tree of all the 23 okra varieties. a dendrogram was prepared using an online software package called "dendro upgma" and the clustering was done using the jaccard coefficient index (jaccard et al., 1908). the yield performance and virus incidence were calculated at 90 days which are as follows: i) total yield: shamol bangla was recorded as the highest yielding variety followed by chinese 1, hybrid hira kamol and chinese okra 2. inspite of having highest branch, leaves, and virus tolerances, wild okra yielded the lowest among the 23 varieties (table 1). ii) yvmv incidence: no variety was found to be virus resistant or immune. virus incidence was very high in some varieties. dheros chamak was found to be the most susceptible variety to yvmv followed by sobuj sathi and chinese 2 (data not shown). wild okra was observed as the most tolerant variety. iii) elcv incidence: elcv incidence was also observed in all the okra genotypes and it was found that virus incidence was very high in hybrid dheros alok and orka anamika. on the other hand, elcv incidence was found to be the lowest in wild okra (data not shown). out of the 20 rapd primers, used to analyze the genetic diversity among 23 okra genotypes 14 primers gave clear and scorable bands. a rapd profile generated by opa 1 is shown in fig. 1. 80 rapd alleles were amplified by the 14 rapd primers and 66 of them were found as polymorphic. 82.50% polymorphism was obtained among the 23 okra varieties (data not shown). martinello et al. (2001) identified 103 amplified bands in okra by 31 random decamer primers. fig. 1. rapd profiles of 23 okra genotypes on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis using primer opa01. lane m, 1kb dna marker; lane 1-23 represents the genotypes in the same order as listed in table 1. the number of bands obtained per primer varied from 10 (opa 03) to 3 (opa 04 and opa 15). in some other studies, amplified allele numbers have been reported from 2-6 (gulsen et al., 2007), 7‒9 (saifullah et al., 2010) and 8‒12 alleles (aladele et al., 2008). size of the amplified bands for all primers also varied from 200 bp to 1500 bp (fig. 1). the polymorphic information content (pic) value ranged from 0.101 (opa-2) to 0.429 (opa-5) with an average of 0.289 (data not shown). 198 hossain et al. genetic dissimilarity value ranges from 10 to 56%, which suggests a narrow genetic distance within different okra varieties studied. saifullah et al., 2010 observed genetic distance value from 0.00 to 0.66 among okra accessions while 86 to 100% genetic similarity was found by gulsen et al., 2007 using sequence related amplified polymorphism. the highest genetic distance 0.56 was obtained between hg and oa, which indicated that these two varieties are genetically more distinct. the lowest genetic distance (0.10) was obtained between he and had which is an indication that these two varieties are genetically more similar than any other varieties. crosspollination might be the reason for the narrow genetic distance of okra. bertini et al. (2006) also reported a narrow genetic distance in cotton. prakash et al. (2011) studied the genetic diversity of okra by rapd marker and reported narrow genetic distances. the dendrogram for the 23 individuals of okra was constructed using an online software package called dendro upgma and clustering was performed using jaccard index (jaccard et al., 1908). the dendrogram placed the 23 okra genotypes into three main clusters depending on the basis of similarity (fig. 2). these clusters included 3, 9 and 10 genotypes with an out-group. cophenetic or correlation was found to be 0.94, which suggests that the cluster analysis strongly represents the similarity matrix. similar correlation was obtained by other scientists (gulsen et al., 2007; kaur et al., 2013). fig. 2. upgma-neighbour joining unrootedphyogentic tree. dendrogram showing the genetic diversity among 23 okra accessions using cluster analysis of rapd data (for 1 to 23 accessions ref. table 1). figure 2 shows the genetic relationship of 23 varieties of okra with an out group representative hg. cluster 1 consisting of three okra genotypes including two chinese okra and one wild type okra variety (fig. 2). nine genotypes included in cluster 2 which are hp, ha, hs, hds, hgg, nd, hhp, he and had. subcluster included 2 genotypes from the dendrogram, it evaluation of the field performance and genetic diversity 199 was clear that hp and ha are more similar to each other than hs (fig. 2). in the other subcluster 2, he and hda were found to be more similar than the other genotypes of this group (fig. 2).ten genotypes were found in cluster 3 and these varieties are ssd, sh, b1, oal, dc, kb, ib, oai, mc, and sb. among the varieties ssd and sh were grouped into one subcluster and diverged from the other genotypes of this clusters. in another subcluster 3, sb variety was found to be the most diverged from the other variety of this subcluster. dc and kb are also found to be the most similar among all the varieties. the results obtained from this genetic diversity study will be useful to breed okra germplasm with desired traits for crop improvement program. acknowledgement authors are thankful to grant for advanced research in education (gare), ministry of education, government of bangladesh for funding this research project (pcn no: ls201628). references aladele, s.e., ariyo, o.j. and de lapena, r. 2008. genetic relationships among west african okra (abelmoschus caillei) and asian genotypes (abelmoschus esculentus) using rapd. afri. j. biotech. 7(10): 1426‒1431. bertini, c.h., schuster, i., sediyama, t., barros, e.g.d. and moreira, m.a. 2006. characterization and genetic diversity analysis of cotton cultivars using microsatellites. gen. mol biol. 29(2): 321-329. doyle, j.j., doyle, j.l. 1987. a rapid dna isolation procedure for small quantities of fresh leaf tissue. phyt. bull. 19: 11‒15. gulsen, o., karagul, s. and abak, k. 2007. diversity and relationships among turkish okra germplasm by srap and phenotypic marker polymorphism. biol. 62(1): 41‒45. hossain, m.a., hossen, m.s. and karim, m. r. 2020. molecular markers: indispensable tools for genetic diversity analysis and crop improvement biotechnology. int. j. plant breed. crop. sci. 7(1): 613‒623. jaccard, p. 1908. nouvellesrecherchessur la distribution florale. bull. soc. vaud. sci. nat. 44: 223‒270. kaur, a., kaur, p., singh, n., virdi, a.s., singh, p. and rana, j.c. 2013. grains, starch and protein characteristics of rice bean (vigna umbellata) grown in indian himalaya regions. food res. int. 54(1): 102‒110. kumar, a., verma, r.b., solankey, s.s. and adarsh, a. 2015. evaluation of okra (abelmoschus esculentus) genotypes foryield and yellow vein mosaic disease. indian phytopath. 68(2): 201‒206 martinello, g.e., leal, n.r., amaral, jr. a.t, pereira, m.g. and daher, r.f. 2001. march. comparison of morphological characteristics and rapd for estimating genetic diversity in abelmoschus spp. international symposium on molecular markers for characterizing genotypes and identifying cultivars in horticulture. 546: 101‒104. prakash, k., pitchaimuthu, m. and ravishankar, k.v. 2011. assessment of genetic relatedness among okra genotypes [abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench] using rapd markers. electron. j. plant. breed. 2(1): 80‒86. roslan, h.a., hossain, m.a., othman, n.q., tawan, c.s. and ipor, i. 2017. sequence characterized amplified region markers for species-specific identification of three threatened aquilaria species. chiang mai. j. sci. 44(4):1304‒1310. saifullah, m., rabbani, m.g. and garvey, e. j. 2010. estimation of genetic diversity of okra (abelmoschus esculentus l. moench) using rapd markers. saarc. j. agri. 8(2): 19‒28. (manuscript received on 3 march 2019; revised on 9 may 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 1‒10, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54204 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular evidence for the status of bidens connata muhl. ex willd. and b. decipiens warnst. in the old and new world maria galkina*, olga razumova¹, igor yatsenko², olga yatsenko³ and yulia vinogradova⁴ laboratory of molecular systematics of plants, n.v. tsitsin main botanical garden of russian academy of sciences, botanicheskaya street, 4, moscow, russia keywords: bidens connata, b. decipiens, hybrids, its 1–2, trnl–trnf, rpl32– trnl. abstract earlier, we have established that the european blackjack, which in many literary sources is cited as an invasive north american bidens connata, was described by carl warnstorf back in 1895 as b. decipiens and had a hybrid origin (b. frondosa × b. cernua). in this study, we continue to compare the genomes of b. connata and b. decipiens by molecular genetics and cytological methods. the objects are the f1 offsprings of b. frondosa, b. connata, and b. cernua collected in 2018 from minnesota and wisconsin (usa), grown from seeds in the greenhouse conditions of n.v. tsitsin main botanical garden of russian academy of sciences, as well as samples of b. decipiens, b. frondosa and b. cernua collected from eastern europe (belarus and european russia). the nucleotide sequences of nuclear (its 1–2) and chloroplast (trnl– trnf and rpl32–trnl) dna were studied. analysis of the its 1–2 site showed that b. connata individuals of north america are not hybrids. analysis of the chloroplast dna regions confirmed that both taxa, b. connata and b. decipiens, are evolutionarily close to b. cernua. introduction bidens connata muehl. ex willd. is a north american species with a natural range from alaska in the north to mexico in the south (strother and weedon, 2006). at home, this species has high polymorphism, and several of its varieties are described that include b. connata var. ambiversa fassett, var. anomala farwell, var. fallax (warnstorf) sherff, var. gracilipes fernald, var. inundata fernald, var. petiolata (nuttall) farwell, var. pinnata s. watson, var. submutica fassett (sherff, 1937, 1962). these varieties differ in color and sculpture of seed wall, and in the shape of leaves and cypselae. in the second half of the xx century, american botanists based on the morphological characters suggested the hybridogenic nature of b. connata. they thought that the parental species of b. connata were b. frondosa l. and b. cernua l. (crowe and parker, 1981). bidens decipiens warnst. was described by carl warnstorf in 1895 from the european samples, but later on the plants with a set of similar characteristics were defined by european botanists as *corresponding author. e-mail: mawa.galkina@gmail.com 1laboratory of dendrology, n.v. tsitsin main botanical garden of russian academy of sciences, botanicheskaya street, 4, moscow, russia 2laboratory of tropical plants, n.v. tsitsin main botanical garden of russian academy of sciences, botanicheskaya street, 4, moscow, russia 3laboratory of flora, n.v. tsitsin main botanical garden of russian academy of sciences, botanicheskaya street, 4, moscow, russia 4laboratory of applied genomics and crop breeding, all-russia research institute of agricultural biotechnology, moscow 127550, russia. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54204 mailto:mawa.galkina@gmail.com 2 galkina et al. “b. connata” and classified as an alien species of north american origin, although significant differences in morphology between european and american individuals were noted (andreau and vilà, 2010; mayorov and vinogradova, 2013). in current time, b. decipiens is recorded as a synonym of b. connata in the plant list and powo databases (royal botanic gardens kew sources). the type specimens collected by carl warnstorf for the european herbarium project were sent out as an exiccatae to the herbaria of edinburgh (e), frankfurt (fr) and charles university in prague (prc) (global plants, 2019). we studied the morphological characters of b. decipiens in russia previously. we have discovered that characters of that species are transitional between the north american invasive b. frondosa l. and the native b. cernua l. (galkina et al., 2015), which may indicate a hybrid origin of b. decipiens. thus, the achenes of b. decipiens are covered with two types of hairs – duplex, consisting of two cells (as in b. frondosa), and simple multicellular (as in b. cernua). in addition, the achenes of b. decipiens are tetrahedral, have four spines (as in b. cernua), and are covered with warts (as in b. frondosa). the heads of b. decipiens are similar to those of b. frondosa in size and shape, and its leaves are entire, as in b. cernua. on the basis of these data, we hypothesized the hybrid origin of b. decipiens (vinogradova and galkina, 2015). our studies of b. decipiens samples and its presumed parental species collected in eastern europe confirmed the point of view above (galkina and vinogradova, 2019). analysis of the its 1–2 and trnl – trnf nucleotide sequences of european plants made it possible to prove that b. decipiens is a hybridogenic taxon, with maternal species b. cernua, and the paternal species b. frondosa with a high probability (galkina and vinogradova, 2019). at the same time, according to the analysis of issr fragments, the paternal species (b. frondosa) population itself has a high genetic diversity in the secondary distribution range (vyšniakienė et al., 2018). for the asteraceae family, hybridogenic activity has also been established within other genera, for example, sunflower hybrids helianthus annuus × h. tuberosus. in the case of hybrids, the chromosomes of one of the parents (or portions of these chromosomes) may be lost in favor of the chromosomes of the second parent (kantar et al., 2014). the possibility of a hybrid origin of b. connata in north america requires further study. if this taxon was indeed a hybrid of b. frondosa and b. cernua, then it would be impossible to speak unambiguously about the european origin of b. decipiens. also, there would have been an alternative to the introduction of a hybridogenic taxon into europe. this study aims to compare the genomes of north american b. connata and european b. decipiens by molecular and cytological methods to confirm the non-identity of these taxa. materials and methods plant material seeds of b. frondosa, b. сonnata and b. cernua were collected during an expedition in october 2018 in the states of minnesota and wisconsin (usa) in three locations: vicinity of rochester, minnesota arboretum, and irrigation dam in the spooner (table 1). the micromorphological features of achenes were studied using a keyence vhx 1000 e digital electron microscope. to measure morphometric features, a sample of 50 achenes was taken for each collection point. achenes collected in the usa without stratification were sown on october 26, 2018 in a warm greenhouse of the mbg ras. the obtained seedlings were the main material of our research. for comparative analysis, samples of b. decipiens, b. frondosa, and b. cernua, collected from eastern europe (belarus and the european part of russia), were also used. molecular evidence for the status of bidens connata 3 table 1. samples of the studied taxa of bidens l. species dna sample no. gb accession no. place and date of collection its 1–2 rpl32–trnl trnl–trnf b. frondosa fr_a3 mt126645 mt265305 mt150078 seeds from usa, minnesota, vicinity of rochester, 2018. 44.02 n 92.47 w plants were grown in the greenhouse (moscow), 2019 fr_a31 mt126646 mt265306 mt150079 seeds from usa, wisconsin, spooner, 2018 45.84 n 91.88 w plants were grown in the greenhouse (moscow), 2019 fr_a32 mt126647 mt265307 mt150080 fr_a11a mt671434 mt702807 mt702814 seeds from usa, wisconsin, spooner, 2018, plants were grown in the greenhouse (moscow), 2020 fr_a11b mt671435 mt702808 mt702815 fr_a11c mt671436 mt702809 mt702816 fr_a11d mt671437 – – fr_5a мк559780 mt265308 mk575581 russia, vladimir oblast, vicinity of tasinskiy village, 2014, n55.567° e40.172° fr_5b мк559781 mt265309 mk575582 fr_10a мк559783 – mk575584 belarus, dziaržynsk, 2018 n53.693° e27.165° fr_10b мк559784 mt265310 mk575585 b. connata cona15a mt671432 mt702805 mt702812 seeds of plants from minnesota arboretum plants were grown in the greenhouse (moscow), 2020 cona15b mt671433 mt702806 mt702813 con_a2 mt126648 mt265311 mt150081 seeds from usa, minnesota, vicinity of rochester, 2018, 44.02 n 92.47 w plants were grown in the greenhouse (moscow), 2019 con_a2-20 – mt702804 mt702811 seeds from usa, minnesota, vicinity of rochester, 2018, 44.02 n 92.47 w plants were grown in the greenhouse (moscow), 2020 con_a22 mt126649 mt265312 mt150082 seeds from usa, minnesota, vicinity of rochester, 2018, 44.02 n 92.47 w plants were grown in the greenhouse (moscow), 2019 con_a23 mt126650 mt265313 mt150083 b. decipiens de_1a мк559763 mt265314 mk575566 russia, kaluga oblast, milyatinskoe water reservoir, 2013 n54.4914° e34.3393° de_1b мк559764 mt265315 mk575567 de_4a мк559774 mt265316 mk575575 russia, vladimir oblast, vicinity of tasinskiy village, 2014 n55.567° e40.172° de_4b мк559775 mt265317 mk575576 de_11a мк559776 mt265318 mk575577 belarus, dziaržynsk, 2018 n53.693° e27.165° de_11b мк559777 mt265319 mk575578 b. cernua cer_a1 mt126651 mt265320 mt150084 seeds from usa, minnesota, vicinity of rochester, 2018, 44.02 n 92.47 w plants were grown in the greenhouse (moscow), 2019 cer_a12 mt126652 mt265321 mt150085 cer_a14 – mt702803 mt702810 seeds of plants from minnesota arboretum plants were grown in the greenhouse (moscow), 2020 cer_8a мк559757 mt265322 mk575561 russia, vladimir oblast, vicinity of tasinskiy village, 2014 n55.567° e40.172° cer_8b мк559758 mt265323 mk575562 cer_9a мк559760 mt265324 mk575563 belarus, dziaržynsk, 2018 n53.693° e27.165° cer_9b мк559761 mt265325 mk575564 4 galkina et al. molecular data dna was extracted from silicagel dried leaves of bidens taxa following the method of rogers and bendich (1985). the herbarium specimens of european plants are stored in the herbarium of the tsitsin main botanical garden (mha). pcr was carried out in a dna engine dyad peltier thermal cycler amplifier (bio-rad, united states). for the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1–2 (its1–2), nnc18s10 (forward) and c26a (reverse) primers with an annealing temperature of 50°с were used. for the chloroplast dna, primers were used at the annealing temperature from 0.3 to 65°с (shaw et al., 2007). for the chloroplast locus rpl32–trnl we used primers rpl32 f (forward) and trnl uag (reverse). for the chloroplast locus trnl–trnf we used primers c (forward) and f (reverse). purification of the pcr product for sequencing was carried out in a mixture of ammonium acetate with ethanol. the nucleotide dna sequences were determined on an automatic sequencer (syntol). analysis of molecular data further processing of the nucleotide sequences was carried out in the bioedit program. sequences was aligned using clustalw than modified manually. its1–2 and chloroplast regions were analyzed separately. the data were submitted to genbank (ncbi, 2020), in which these nucleotide sequences can be found by their accession numbers (table 1). phylogenetic tree was constructed in the splitstree4 program by neighbor-joining algorithm with bootstrap support. haplotype networks were constructed using tcs. chromosome preparations and analysis of chromosomal data for chromosome preparations the actively growing young plants root were used. approximately 1.5–2.0 cm long root tips were harvested separately from the plants and immediately pre-treated with a 2 mm aqueous solution of 8-hydroxyquinoline for 4 h at room temperature (rt) in the dark. a 3:1 ethanol/glacial acetic acid (v/v) mix was used for fixation. meristems of 2 mm length were cut from fixed root tips and digested in a 10 μl enzyme solution (0.5% cellulase onozuka r-10 (serva, germany) and 0.5% pectolyase y-23 (seishin corp., japan)) in 10 mm citrate buffer (ph = 4.9) for 1 h at +37°c. suspended cells were used for chromosome preparation as described by kirov et al. (2014) with some modifications. an axioscope a1 fluorescent microscope (zeiss) with phase contrast was used to observe chromosome preparations. the metaphase plates were photographed with a monochrome axiocam 503 mono camera and visualized using zen software (zeiss). in each experiment, at least 20 mitotic metaphase plates from each plant were analyzed. results and discussion the morphological diagnostic characteristics of the studied samples are summarized in the table 2. analysis of the its 1–2 site showed that b. frondosa in the primary range has a rather high polymorphism: all three accessions have substitutions that differentiate them from each other. at the same time, the samples from wisconsin have a high similarity, though, they have many ambiguous readings of the sequence in several positions (y – c or t, r – a or g, w – a or t, k – g or t). on the chromatograms obtained from sequencing, such readings appear as double peaks (fig. 1). this indicates their heterozygous origin and a high polymorphism of b. frondosa in its natural range. american specimens of b. connata do not have ambiguous readings of the sequence at all, which does not confirm the possibility of their hybrid origin. moreover, the european b. decipiens has ambiguous readings in several alignment positions, while the nucleotides of the putative molecular evidence for the status of bidens connata 5 parents (b. frondosa and b. cernua) in these positions, firstly, differ, and secondly, do not have ambiguous readings, which speak in favor of the hybrid origin of this taxon (fig. 2, table 3). the chromosomes of all studied species were small (<5~ μm) and similar in morphology. chromosome numbers were established for some samples. they were diploid and 2n = 48 for b. connata (sample from rochester), b. frondosa and b. decipiens, and 2n = 24 for b. cernua. haplotype networks were built (fig. 3) based on the result of the analysis of the nuclear (its 1–2) and chloroplast regions (rpl32–trnl and trnl–trnf) of the dna of all studied samples. fig. 1. fragments of electropherograms of sequences of samples bidens frondosa from north america. fig. 2. fragments of electropherograms of sequences of two samples bidens connata (from north america) and two samples b. decipiens (from eastern europe). “42” and “58” – number of nucleotide substitutions in table 3. 6 galkina et al. as for the its 1–2 region, the plants in total formed 7 haplotypes. b. frondosa is a very polymorphic taxon, so its all samples were divided into 4 haplotypes, while the common haplotype (№4) included european and american individuals. all b. connata samples were assigned to one haplotype along with the majority of b. cernua and b. decipiens specimens (№1). the haplotypes №2 and №3 are very close to haplotype №1 and include some individuals of b. cernua (cer_8a and cer_8b) and b. decipiens (de_4b). table 2. the main diagnostic characteristics of the studied bidens specimens. species leaf head (inflorescence) cypselae b. frondosa blades pinnately compound (3–5 petiolate leaflets) heads erect, diameter 7–15 mm, rays 0 cypselae with 2 awns, tuberculate, 5,08±0,15 × 1,82±0,07 cypselae with 2 awns, tuberculate, 8,40±0,19 × 3,17±0,07 b. cernua leaves sessile, blades simple heads large (diameter 11– 20 mm) and droop, rays 6– 8 cypselae with 4 awns, nontuberculate, 3,83±0,04 × 1,54±0,02 mm b. connata leaves petiolulate, blades simple or margins coarsely incised (lobes 3–5) heads erect, diameter 8–13 mm, rays 0–5 cypselae with 4 awns, tuberculate, 5,60±0,17 × 2,41±0,09 mm b. decipiens leaves simple, petiolulate, margins dentate or serrate heads erect, diameter 8–13 mm, rays 0 cypselae with 2-4 awns, tuberculate, 5,32±0,16 × 2,38±0,08 mm molecular evidence for the status of bidens connata 7 regarding the chloroplast site, three similar haplotypes (№ 1, 2, and 3) can be distinguished, which included individuals of b. cernua and b. decipiens, as well as some samples of b. connata. other individuals of b. connata (cona_15a, cona_15b, cona_22, cona_23) formed two separate closely related haplotypes (№ 4 and 5) and turned out to be significantly closer to b. frondosa than to b. cernua and european b. decipiens. for example, in the phylogenetic tree constructed using method of the neighbor-joining, all of b. connata samples were divided into two clades – some formed a separate clade (with a bootstrap support of 94%), while others were placed together with all specimens of b. cernua and b. decipiens with 100% bootstrap support (fig. 4). we did not build the tree using algorithms that assume the use of an external group. in this case, it would have been preferable to take as an external group a close species growing both in the old world and in the new world, which was not possible. almost all b. frondosa samples were included in one haplotype, except fr_a3, which formed a separate haplotype also in the analysis of the nuclear region, and also emerged from the general clade in phylogenetic tree based on chloroplast regions (figs. 3-4). fig. 3. haplotype network of different bidens taxa from north america and europe, a – its 1–2, b – chloroplast (rpl32–trnl and trnl–trnf). cer = b. cernua, con = b. connata, de = b. decipiens, fr = b. frondosa. the individuals of b. connata (neither close to b. cernua and european b. decipiens, nor close to b. frondosa in chloroplast regions) do not have ambiguous readings of the sequence. and not only in the positions differentiating b. frondosa and b. cernua, but also in others, as, for example, in some american specimens of b. frondosa. analysis of the its region does not even confirm the heterozygous origin of american b. connata plants. therefore we cannot establish their hybrid origin. 8 galkina et al. fig. 4. the neighbor joining tree of bidens taxa from north america and europe based on rpl32–trnl and trnl–trnf data. cer = b. cernua, con = b. connata, de = b. decipiens, fr = b. frondosa. table 3. b. connata and b. decipiens and its putative parents polymorphism in the its 1–2 sequences. sample № position in the alignment 28 42 58 76 90-94 196 425 fr_a3 c t t t cc a g fr_a31 c a t t yy c r fr_a32 c a t t yy c r fr_a11a c a t t yy m a fr_a11b c a t t yy m a fr_a11c c a t t yy m a fr_a11d c a t t yy m a fr_5a c w t t tctc m a fr_5b c w t t tctc m a fr_10a c w t t tctc m a fr_10b c w t t tctc m a cona15a t t c c c a g cona15b t t c c c a g con_a2 t t c c c a g con_a22 t t c c c a g con_a23 t t c c c a g de_1a y w c c c m g de_1b y w y y c m g de_4a y w c c y m g de_4b y w y y y m g de_11a y w y c y a g de_11b y w y y y m r cer_a1 t t c c c a g cer_a12 t t c c c a g cer_8a t t c c c a g cer_8b t t c c c a g cer_9a t t c c c a g cer_9b t t c c c a g molecular evidence for the status of bidens connata 9 we could assume that b. connata could still get to europe, and then it immediately entered hybridization process with b. cernua, and in almost a century and a half, “pure” b. connata did not remain at all. this hypothesis is supported by the fact that we have established only one of the parents of b. decipiens – b. cernua. the other parent being b. frondosa is our assumption with a high probability (galkina and vinogradova, 2019). but this hypothesis is contradicted by the fact that in some areas in russia, b. decipiens was found far from roads (both railways and highways), and b. frondosa and b. cernua also grow in these habitats. additionally not a single collection of american b. connata was recorded from europe either in the 19th or in the 20th century. in our opinion, if this hypothesis was correct, then there would be at least an isolated finding of plants with the features of b. connata. therefore, we still adhere to the points that b. decipiens arose in europe independently, and the hybridogenic nature of its origin is confirmed. our study concludes that (i) b. decipiens, native to europe, is of hybrid origin, unlike b. connata, native to north america, (ii) both b. connata and b. frondosa show high polymorphism in their natural range in north america, (iii) chloroplast dna data support two clades within b. connata, in one of which b. decipiens and b. cernua are nested, and (iv) b. connata, b. cernua, and b. decipiens are phylogeneticly close. b. cernua is an older species, and b. connata separated from it in america, most likely, several centuries ago. later, in the 19th century, b. decipiens (= b. frondosa × b. cernua) emerged in europe independently by hybridogenic way. since the species is a hybrid, its name can be written as b. × decipiens. acknowledgements the studies were carried out within the framework of the state budget service of main botanical garden, russian academy of sciences, "hybridization in plants in nature and culture: fundamental and applied aspects" (no. 19-119012390082-6) with the partial financial support of the russian foundation for basic research (project no. 19-54-26010). the authors of this article are very grateful to the chief of the lab of molecular systematics of plants ivan a. schanzer for valuable advice and assistance in data interpretation. references andreau, j. and vila, m. 2010. risk analysis of potential invasive plants of spain. j. nat. conserv. 18(1): 34–44. crowe, d.r. and parker, w.h. 1981. hybridization and agamospermy of bidens in north-western ontario. taxon. 30(4): 749–760. galkina, m.a., vinogradova, yu.k. and shantser i.a. 2015. biological and morphological features and microevolution of invasive species of the genus bidens l. izv. akad. nauk, ser. biol. 4: 382–392. galkina, m.a. and vinogradova, yu.k. 2019. on the issue of hybridogenic origin of bidens × decipiens warnst. russian journal of biological invasions 10(4): 315–324. global plants, 2019. global plants database on jstor. https://plants.jstor.org. accessed on 27 february 2020. kantar, m.b., betts, k., michno, j.m., luby, j.j., morell, p.l., hulke, b.s., stupar, r.m. and wyse, d.l. 2014. evaluating an interspecific helianthus annuus × helianthus tuberosus population for use in a perennial sunflower breeding program. field crops research 155: 254 –264. kirov, i., divashuk, m., van laere, k., soloviev, a. and khrustaleva, l. 2014. an easy “steamdrop” method for high quality plant chromosome preparation. molecular cytogenetics 7(1): 21. mayorov, s.r. and vinogradova, yu. k. 2013. formation of secondary distribution range and intraspecific variability of bidens connata. proc. 12th reunion on ecology and management of alien plant invasions, september 22-26, 2013, pirenopolis, 119 pp. https://plants.jstor.org. 10 galkina et al. ncbi, 2020. nucleotide. the nucleotide database is a collection of sequences from several sources, including genbank, refseq, tpa and pdb. genome, gene and transcript sequence data providethe foundation for biomedical research and discovery. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore. accessed on 30 march 2020. powo, 2021. plants of the world online. royal botanic gardens kew. https://www.powo.science.kew.org accessed on 22 may 2021. rogers, s.o. and bendich, a.j. 1985. extraction of dna from milligram amounts of fresh, herbarium and mummified plant tissues. plant mol. biol. 5: 69–76. shaw, j., lickey, e.b., schilling, e.e. and small, r.l. 2007. comparison of whole chloroplast genome sequences to choose noncoding regions for phylogenetic studies in angiosperms: the tortoise and the hare iii. am. j. bot. 94(3): 275–288. sherff, e.e. 1937. the genus bidens. publ. field mus. nat. hist., bot. ser. 16: 16–74. sherff, e.e. 1962. further notes on the distribution of bidens connata vars. pinnata and gracilipes. rhodora 64(757): 23–28. strother, j.l. and weedon, r.r. 2006. bidens linnaeus, in flora of north america. oxford, pp. 205–206. the plant list, 2021. a working list of all plants species. https://www.theplantlist.org. accessed on 22 may 2021. vinogradova, yu. k. and galkina, m.a. 2015. on the possibility of hybrid origin of bidens connata. proc. xiii moscow phylogeny meet. “50 years without k.i. meier,” moscow, february 2-6, 2015, moscow, pp. 64–69. vyšniakienė, r., rančelienė, v., naugžemys, d., patamsytė, j., sinkevičienė, z., butkuvienė, j. and žvingila, d. 2018. genetic diversity of populations of bidens genera invasive and native species in lithuania. zemdirbyste-agriculture 105(2): 183–190. (manuscript received on 14 december, 2020; revised on 18 may, 2021) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore. https://www.powo.science.kew.org https://www.theplantlist.org. microsoft word 04. new subspecies of dimeria_gallley proof_approved 13.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 27-31, 2016 (june) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri hochst. ex miq. (poaceae) from india m.s. kiran raj, m. sivadasan1*, p. dileep2 and a.h. alfarhan1 department of botany, sree narayana college, cherthala, s. n. puram p.o., alappuzha–688 582, kerala, india keywords: dimeria hohenackeri subsp. kodaguensis; endemic taxon; peninsular india; poaceae. abstract a new subspecies, viz. dimeria hohenackeri hochst. ex miq. subsp. kodaguensis kiran raj, sivad. & dileep from south karnataka of the southern western ghats in peninsular india is described and illustrated. it mainly differs from d. hohenackeri hochst. ex miq. subsp. hohenackeri in having mat-forming habit with leaves crowded at culm-base, spikelets 3–4 mm long and glumes not widely divergent during anthesis. introduction the palaeotropical genus dimeria r. br. with about 65 species is mainly adapted to humid or semi-arid habitat and distributed from indian subcontinent to malesiana, northern australia and madagascar (bor, 1960; clayton et al., 2006; kiran raj and sivadasan, 2008; kiran raj et al., 2013, 2015a; teerawatananon et al., 2014). the genus is most peculiar in the tribe andropogoneae by its solitary, laterally compressed spikelets and flat or filiform rachis without joints. majority of the taxa (ca. 34 spp., 3 subspp. and one variety) are confined to peninsular india with 26 endemics (kiran raj et al., 2015b). moreover, the monotypic genus nanooravia kiran raj & sivad. belonging to the bitypic subtribe dimeriinae, is also endemic to this region, indicating it to be the centre of diversity of the subtribe (kiran raj, 2008; kiran raj et al., 2015b).the infra-tribal classification of andropogoneae and especially the systematic position of dimeriinae are enigmatic and still controversial (clayton and renvoize, 1986; simon, 2007) due to the lack of sufficient data from the representative taxa. interesting specimens of dimeria were collected during botanical explorations in southern western ghats in karnataka, india, and detailed study showed them to be representing new taxon related to dimeria hohenackeri. it is described herein as a new subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri hochst. ex miq. the species belongs to dimeria sect. capillares, with distribution extending from lowland grassy slopes of western ghats in maharashtra through karnataka to kerala in peninsular india. dimeria sect. capillares is distinguished by capillary raceme-rachis with distantly arranged spikelets, and is endemic to indian subcontinent (kiran raj et al., 2015b). detailed description of the new subspecies with other relevant information including illustration is provided for easy identification of taxon in field. a key to the subspecies of d. hohenackeri in india is also provided. *corresponding author. email: drmsivadasan@gmail.com 1department of botany & microbiology, college of science, king saud university, p.o. box 2455, riyadh– 11451, kingdom of saudi arabia. 2department of botany, regional institute of education (rie), mysore-570 006, karnataka, india. 28 kiran raj et al. dimeria hohenackeri hochst. ex miq. subsp. kodaguensis kiran raj, sivad. & dileep, subsp. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: dimeria hohenackeri subsp. kodaguensis closely resembles subsp. hohenackeri, but differs in having mat-forming culms and branching at the extreme lower nodes, leaves crowded at culm-base, racemes 2–3 in number, spikelets 3–4 mm long and glumes not widely divergent during anthesis. type: india, karnataka: kodagu dist., chettalli, on the way to madikeri from siddapura, 3 dec 2002, kiran raj cu 92982 (holotype: cali!; isotype : kfri!). paratypes: india, karnataka: shimoga dist., jersopa, + 250 m, 28 dec 2003, kiran raj cu 92880 (cali!); shimoga dist., jersopa, 13 dec 2013, p. dileep 9311 (mh!). annuals. culms procumbent, 12–25 cm long, crowded at base and mat-forming, nodes bearded at upper half of culm. leaves confined to base of culm; sheath much shorter than internodes, keeled in the upper half, rounded below, striate, smooth, shining and glabrous in the lower two thirds, pilose in the upper third with bulbous-based hairs; ligules membranous, up to c. 1 mm long, truncate and fimbriate at apex; leaf blade linear-acuminate, 3–5 × 0.2–0.4 cm, abaxially keeled on the midrib with the keel continuous with that of the sheath, acuminate at apex, rounded at base, coarsely scabrid on the nerves on both surfaces and margins, bulbous-based hairs on upper surface and margins. racemes 2–3, sub-digitate, 4–6 cm long, peduncle long exserted from spatheole; rachis terete or angled, c. 0.2 mm wide, glabrous, tough, with alternately arranged pedicelled spikelets; pedicels c. 1 mm long, lip cupuliform, terete below, glabrous; each raceme with 15–20 spikelets. spikelets linear-oblong, 3–4 mm long; callus very short, c. 0.3 mm long, densely bearded, often spreading at right angles to the rachis; lower glume coriaceous, oblongacuminate, 3.0–3.5 mm long, abaxially rounded and keeled towards apex, not winged, sparsely hairy along the keel towards apex, margins hyaline; upper glume coriaceous, linear-acuminate, 3.5–4.0 mm long and 1.0–1.5 mm wide, strongly compressed, straight on back, keeled at apical one-third, wingless, with few long hairs along the keel at apex; glumes not widely divergent during anthesis. lower floret empty; lower lemma very hyaline, oblanceolate, c. 1.5 mm long, 1nerved, margin ciliate towards apex. upper floret bisexual; upper lemma elliptic, 2.0–2.5 mm long, bifid at apex with acute lobes, sub-hyaline, awned from the sinus, awn up to 12 mm long with a dark twisted c. 3.5 mm long column; palea lanceolate, c. 0.5 mm long, hyaline; lodicules 2, small, truncate, apically toothed. stamens 2; anthers 1.2–1.5 mm long, yellowish brown. ovary oblong; styles 2; stigmas plumose. grain 1.5–1.8 mm long, oblong-elliptic, slightly compressed, hilum basal, linear-punctiform; embryo about one-third the length of grain, without epiblast and with a scutellate tail. flowering and fruiting: october–december. habitat: grassy slopes along the forest margins, alt. 250–300m. distribution and conservation status: india, southern western ghats in karnataka. known only from the type locality. in the absence of data on distribution and abundance, it is currently categorized as belonging to data deficient (dd) (iucn, 2012; iucn, 2014). etymology: the infraspecific epithet is indicative of name of the type locality – kodagu, in karnataka state, india. notes: dimeria hohenackeri is quite distinct from all other species of the genus by its characteristic 3–5 slender racemes, capillary rachis, distantly placed, stalked spikelets and slender awns. dimeria hohenackeri subsp. kodaguensis mainly differs from d. hohenackeri subsp. hohenackeri in having mat-forming culms with leaves crowded at culm-base and racemes 2–3 in number. distinguishing morphological features of the two subspecies are provided in table 1, and a key to the subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri is provided below. a new subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri 29 fig. 1. dimeria hohenackeri hochst. ex miq. subsp. kodaguensis kiran raj, sivad. et dileep, subsp. nov.: a. habit with inflorescence; b. junction of leaf-sheath and lamina showing ligule; c. a portion of rachis with pedicels; d. spikelet; e. lower glume; f. upper glume; g. lower lemma; h. upper lemma with awn; i. palea; j. lodicules, stamens & pistil; k. grain (drawings by kiran raj from holotype). 30 kiran raj et al. table 1. distinguishing morphological features of the subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri. characters d. hohenackeri subsp. hohenackeri d. hohenackeri subsp. kodaguensis habit culm up to 60 cm long, slender, erect, not tufted. culm up to 25 cm long, crowded, procumbent, mat-forming. leaves scattered all along the culm crowded at base of the culm pedicel c. 1.5 mm long c. 1 mm long glumes widely divergent during anthesis, lower glume 4.0–4.5 mm long not widely divergent during anthesis, lower glume 3.0–3.5 mm long key to the subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri 1. culm 35–60 cm long, slender, erect; leaves scattered along the culm; racemes 3–5; spikelets 30–40 in each raceme; glumes widely divergent during anthesis, lower glume 4.0–4.5 mm long. d. hohenackeri subsp. hohenackeri – culm 12–25 cm long, profusely crowded, procumbent; leaves crowded at base of culm; racemes 2–3; spikelets 15–20 in each raceme; glumes not widely divergent during anthesis, lower glume 3.0–3.5 mm long. d. hohenackeri subsp. kodaguensis acknowledgements authors are grateful to dr. j. f. veldkamp, naturalis biodiversity center, leiden, the netherlands for providing copies of relevant literature. the first author is indebted to the university grants commission (ugc), new delhi for granting a minor research project in 2013 and to dr. k. anirudhan, principal, sree narayana college, cherthala for constant encouragement. the second and fourth authors gratefully acknowledge encouragement and support by the deanship of scientific research, king saud university, through the research group project no. rgp-135. the third author is thankful to the head, department of studies in botany, university of mysore, india and also to the principal, regional institute of education, mysore, karnataka for providing necessary facilities. references bor, n.l. 1960.the grasses of burma, ceylon, india and pakistan. pergamon press, london, 137 pp. clayton, w.d. and renvoize, s.a. 1986. genera graminium: grasses of the world. kew bull. additional ser. 13: 1–389. clayton, w.d., vorontsova, m.s., harman, k.t. and williamson, h. 2006 (onwards). grass basethe online world grass flora. http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db.html. accessed on 23august 2015. iucn.2012. iucn red list categories and criteria: version 3.1. second edition. iucn, gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk, iv+32 pp. iucn. 2014. iucn standards and petitions subcommittee (2014). guidelines for using the iucn red list categories and criteria. version 11. prepared by the standards and petitions subcommittee, 87 pp. available from:http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/redlistguidelines/ (accessed 7 september 2015) kiran raj, m.s. 2008.taxonomic revision of the subtribe dimeriinae hack. of andropogoneae (poaceaepanicoideae) in peninsular india. ph.d. thesis (unpublished). university of calicut, india, 409 pp. kiran raj, m.s. and sivadasan, m. 2008. a new species of dimeria r. br. (poaceae-panicoideaeandropogoneae) from goa, india. novon 18(2): 183–186. a new subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri 31 kiran raj, m.s., sivadasan, m., alfarhan, a.h. and veldkamp, j. f. 2015a. dimeria raviana (poaceaepanicoideae), a new species from south western ghats, india. phytotaxa 195: 193–196. kiran raj, m.s., sivadasan, m., veldkamp, j.f., alfarhan, a.h. and amal tamimi, a.s.m. 2015b. a revised infrageneric classification of dimeria r. br. (poaceae-andropogoneae). bangladesh j. plant taxon.22(1): 47–54. kiran raj, m.s., sivadasan, m., veldkamp, j.f., alfarhan, a.h. and thomas, j. 2013.nanooravia gen. nov., subtribe dimeriinae (poaceae-panicoideae-andropogoneae) from india. nord. j. bot. 31: 161–165. simon, b.k. 2007. grass phylogeny and classification: conflict of morphology and molecules. aliso 23(1): 259–266. teerawatananon, a., boontia, v., chantarasuwan, b., hodkinson, t.r. and sungkaew, s. 2014. a taxonomic revision of the genus dimeria (poaceae: panicoidea) in thailand. phytotaxa 186: 137–147. (manuscript received on 5 november 2015; revised on 17 december 2015) microsoft word 03. sundarban_final_13jun15.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 17–41, 2015 (june) © 2015 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists   an annotated checklist of the vascular plants of sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh mohammad sayedur rahman1, gazi mosharof hossain, saleh ahammad khan and sarder nasir uddin2 department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka 1342, bangladesh keywords: mangrove; sundarban; vascular plants. abstract the study revealed the occurrence of 528 species of vascular plants belonging to 356 genera and 111 families in the sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh. among these species, 24 were pteridophytes and the rest were angiosperms, of which only 24 were true mangroves and 70 were mangrove associates. magnoliopsida and liliopsida were represented by 373 and 131 species, respectively. these species belonged to 345 herbs, 89 shrubs and 94 trees. sixty-four species were climbers, 14 were epiphytes, 6 were parasites, and 7 were palms. the species number per family varied from 1 to 42. in pteridophytes, pteridaceae with 4 genera and 5 species was the largest family. in angiosperms, fabaceae with 24 genera and 42 species and poaceae with 27 genera and 42 species were the largest families, respectively, in magnoliopsida and liliopsida. most of the species included in this checklist were found in oligohaline zone, sarankhola range and the forest margins, and recognized as economically important. eleven species categorized as threatened in bangladesh were found to occur in this mangrove forest. introduction the sundarban, located in south of the tropic of cancer at the northern limits of the bay of bengal and covering a vast area of about 10,029 sq km in the territory of bangladesh and india (hussain and acharya, 1994), is the world’s largest single chunk of productive mangrove forest ecosystems (das and siddiqi, 1985). the major part (62%) of this mangrove forest belongs to bangladesh. sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh (smfb) is remarkably important for its floristic and faunal composition, wildlife habitats, and ecological values due to which it was declared as the world’s 560th ramsar wetlands site in 1992 and the 798th world heritage site by the unesco in 1999 (nishorgo, 2008; hossain et al., 2015). the sundarban is a unique ecosystem in the world (biswas et al., 2007) and one of the biodiversity rich sites in bangladesh (prain, 1903). the forest of bangladesh sundarban is serving as a natural barrier against different natural calamities, like storms, cyclones and tidal bores for a large part of coastal settlements. the smfb has drawn attention of the people through different socio-economic contributions to this country, especially supporting many industries, local economy and communities by supplying various raw materials, and its fantastic natural beauty. floristic composition of this mangrove forest is considered as very rich compared to other mangroves in the world due to its geo-physical location near the indo-burma global prime hotspot region (mittermeier et al., 1998). before and after prain (1903), nobody, however, is known to conduct a detailed floristic study on the vascular plants surveying most of the areas of this mangrove that harbours diverse wildlife and parts of which are usually inaccessible due to very adverse weather in summer and monsoon. 1corresponding author. email: sayedur27bcs@gmail.com 2bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh 18 rahman et al.   hooker (1872−1897) studied the flora of the then british india including many areas that belong to the present political boundary of bangladesh. prain (1903) for the first time studied the flora of both indian and bangladesh sundarban concurrently. after that, a small part of the flora or plant diversity of this mangrove was inventoried sporadically without providing information on plant specimens examined (e.g. chapman, 1976; chaffey et al., 1985; das and siddiqi, 1985; karim, 1994; rashid et al., 2008; islam et al., 2014). rahman et al. (2012, 2014) and hossain et al. (2015) studied particular plant groups of this mangrove providing the lists of specimens examined. since no complete floristic study was carried out throughout the smfb after prain (1903), it is completely unknown if any change in the floristic composition of this mangrove has occurred over the last more than one hundred years. on the other hand, the smfb belongs to one of the world’s most risk-prone areas where the plant diversity is increasingly being depleted due to overextraction and destruction of natural resources, and on-going and predicted adverse impacts of climate change (hussain, 2014). therefore, there is a great need for conducting a detail floristic study throughout this mangrove forest. in the present study, an annotated checklist of vascular plant species of the smfb has been constructed based on a thorough taxonomic inventory conducted throughout the area and examination of the representative plant specimens to provide the updated information on the floristic composition and distribution in the smfb and a way of focusing and stimulating further work in this mangrove forest. materials and methods the smfb lies between the latitudes 21°30′n and 22°30′n and longitudes 89°00′e and 89°55′e (hussain and acharya, 1994; hoq, 2008). the total area of smfb is about 6,017 sq km that is composed of the landmass of 4,143 sq km (katebi, 2001) and water bodies of 1,874 sq km in the forms of complex network of rivers, canals and tidal creeks (iftekhar and islam, 2004). it consists of about 4.07% of total land mass of the country and 40% of total forest land (bfd, 2015). this study, conducted during 2010−2014, was based on a thorough taxonomic inventory on wild, planted and cultivated vascular plants growing in the smfb. a total of 3,103 representative specimens were collected during 15 extensive field trips, each consisted of 12−15 days, covering all types of forests and habitats of most of the areas throughout the smfb (fig. 1). these specimens were carefully examined in plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory of jahangirnagar university and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), dhaka. the freshly collected specimens were properly processed and managed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; jain and raw, 1977) and deposited at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). besides, the first and second authors' own collections and the herbarium specimens previousely collected from the same area by different collectors and deposited at the juh and the dacb were also examined. all plant specimens were identified through consulting the experts, and matching with relevant voucher specimens preserved at the juh and the dacb, taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literatures (hooker, 1872−1897; prain, 1903; nasir and ali, 1980−2005; wu et al., 1995−2013; siddiqui et al., 2007, 2008; ahmed et al., 2008−2009; watson et al., 2011) and clear type images available on the websites of different international herbaria. nomenclatural information was incorporated following index kewensis, recent taxonomic publications (viz., nasir and ali, 1980−2005; flora of north america editorial committee, 1993−2014; wu et al., 1995−2013; watson et al., 2011) and the nomenclatural databases of ipni (2008) and tropicos (2010). true mangrove and mangrove associate species were recognized following fao (2007), giesen et al. (2007) and barik and chowdhury (2014). the families of pteridophytes have been an annotated checklist of the sundarban 19 placed first according to the classification system of pichi (1977), whereas, the angiosperm families have been arranged following the classification system of cronquist (1981). the genera and species under each family have been arranged alphabetically. distribution of the species has been mentioned in three saline zones, i.e. oligohaline (<5 ppt), mesohaline (5−10 ppt) and polyhaline (>10 ppt) zones, as categorized by karim (1988). fig.1. map of the sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh (smfb) showing specimen collection sites 20 rahman et al.   results and discussion the study revealed the occurrence of 528 species belonging to 356 genera under 111 families of vascular plants in the smfb. among the species enumerated, 504 (95.46%) were angiosperms and the rest 24 (4.54%) were pteridophytes (table 1). twenty-four species were true mangroves, 70 were mangrove associates and 434 were non-mangrove species (table 2). thirty-two species of mangrove associates and all non-mangrove species included in this checklist were previousely reported from the bangladesh territory (siddiqui et al., 2007−2008; ahmed et al., 2008−2009). table 1. taxonomic enumeration of major plant groups of sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh. plant group family genus species pteridophyta 14 20 24 magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) 77 260 373 liliopsida (monocotyledons) 20 76 131 in this study, 48 families were found as monogeneric and monospecific and only 15 families were found to be comprised of 10−42 species. pteridaceae with five species was found as the largest family of pteridophyta in the smfb followed by polypodiaceae with four species and salviniaceae with three species. fabaceae with 42 species was recorded as the largest dicotyledonous family in the smfb followed by euphorbiaceae with 29 species and asteraceae with 27 species. in monocotyledons, poaceae was the largest family with 42 species followed by cyperaceae with 39 species and orchidaceae with 9 species. the specimen sayedur18 (juh) of pteridophyta and sayedur551 (juh) of magnoliopsida are recognized here as dubious taxa. in the smfb, 345 species (65.34%) were found as herb followed by trees (94 species or 17.80%) and shrubs (89 species or 16.86%). a total of 251 species were found to be distributed exclusively in oligohaline zone, 103 species in mesohaline zone, 57 species in polyhaline zone, and 120 species in more than one saline zone. sarankhola forest range haboured 447 species, khulna range 250 species, chandpai range 151 species, satkhira range 130 species, and 108 species were found in all four forest ranges of the smfb. throughout the smfb, the forest margins were found as the most common habitat harbouring a total of 255 species, of which 47 were planted and six were cultivated. all of the planted and cultivated species were found to grow only on the uninundated areas and some of these species were found to be naturalized there (e.g. acacia nilotica (l.) willd. ex delile, pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. and syzygium cumini (l.) skeels). the genus colubrina rich. ex brongn. and its species c. javanica miq. of family rhamnaceae were recently reported as new angiosperm records for bangladesh (rahman et al., 2014). most of the species found in the smfb are economically important, especially as sources of timber, fuel wood, fruits and vegetables, and also as fodders, medicinal plants, ornamental plants and soil binders. a large number of species were recorded as weeds (fig. 2). eleven species, viz., asplenium polyodon g. forst., dendrobium anceps sw., dolichandrone spathacea (l. f.) seem., drypetes assamica (hook. f.) pax & k. hoffm., indigofera trifoliata l., luisia brachystachys (lindl.) blume, merope angulata (willd.) swingle, murdannia vaginata (l.) g. brückn., pelatantheria insectifera (rchb. f.) ridl., trias oblonga lindl. and zeuxine strateumatica (l.) schltr., recognized as threatened in bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007, 2008; ahmed et al., 2008−2009; ara et al., 2013), were found in the sundarban. the number of threatened plant species in the smfb might be much higher in the near future if effective conservation initiatives are not properly implemented. an annotated checklist of the sundarban 21 248 142 51 47 31 31 26 25 22 0 50 100 150 200 250 weed medicinal fuel wood ornamental fodder vegetable timber fruit soil binder ec on om ic c at eg or ie s number of species   fig. 2. economic categories of vascular plant species found in sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh (smfb). several species had more than one economic uses. the total number of species recorded in this study for bangladesh sundarban (i.e. 528 species) was higher than that (334 species) of prain (1903) who recorded for both bangladesh and indian parts of sundarban. out of prain (1903)’s 334 species, no fewer than 123 species occured in bangladesh sundarban according to karim (1994). the present study has confirmed the occurance of 220 species of prain (1903)’s 334 species in the smfb. among the remaining 114 species, 82 and 15 species were reported to occur in bangladesh and indian parts of sundarban, respectively, five were mentioned as rare, and 12 were suggested to ‘look for’ in the sundarban by prain (1903). the number of plant species recorded for the smfb by the previous studies conducted after prain (1903) was much lower (e.g. 65 and 48 species of true mangroves, mangrove associates and non-mangroves, respectively, by chaffy et al., 1985 and rashid et al., 2008) than that of the present study. the consideration of a number of quadrat sampling plots on selected areas (chaffy et al., 1985; rashid et al., 2008) or only a particular plant groups (e.g. undergrowths by rashid et al., 2008) in those studies might be the potential reasons for this notable differences in the findings. in comparison with the species composition of other forests of bangladesh (e.g. uddin et al., 1998; uddin and hassan, 2004), the total number of species found in smfb seems to be lower in respect to its area. impacts of salinity, water logging, tidal action, poor humus, and natural disaster on the smfb might be the reasons for comparatively lower species richness (chowdhury, 2001). the present checklist is an attempt to list down all vascular plant species currently occurring in the smfb, thus updating our floristic knowledge of this unique ecosystem. it can be considered as an important database as well as baseline to track changes in the floristic composition of the smfb in course of time, especially in the light of the introduction of new species and/or loss of the current species as a result of different biogeographical processes or risks, especially by multifarious anthropogenic activities and different natural hazards operating there. this checklist may further stimulate research and management in the smfb by serving as a valuable ‘snapshot’ of the flora of this globally important mangrove. 22 rahman et al.   table 2. list of vascular plants of the sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs pteridophyta psilotaceae j.w. griff. & henfr. *psilotum nudum (l.) p. beauv. psilotum nms herb, ep mz; sr pb m sayedur1242 selaginellaceae willk. selaginella vaginata spring selaginella nms herb, p az; sr, kh ml m sayedur1223 ophioglossaceae martinov ophioglossum reticulatum l. sharpa jihba nms herb, e pz; kh, st gl, ml v, m sayedur603 salviniaceae martinov salvinia cucullata roxb. indur kani nms herb, a oz, pz; sr, st wt om sayedur1198 s. molesta d.s. mitch. pani dhekia nms herb, a oz; sr wt om sayedur1085 s. natans (l.) all. pani dhekia nms herb, a oz, mz; sr wt om mosharof421 azollaceae wettst. azolla pinnata r. br. lal khudipana nms herb, a oz, mz; sr, ch wt bf mosharof414 marsileaceae mirb. marsilea quadrifolia l. susni shak nms herb, cr mz, pz; sr, kh wt v mosharof143 lygodiaceae m. roem. lygodium flexuosum (l.) sw. dhekia lata nms herb, c oz, mz; ch, sr wd, fm m sayedur187 pteridaceae e.d.m. kirchn. *acrostichum aureum l. hodo ms herb, e az; ar wd, fm v, m sayedur1123 adiantum tenerum sw. biddapata nms herb, p mz; sr ml o sayedur1197 ceratopteris pteridoides (hook.) hieron. pani dhekia nms herb, a pz; st wt v sayedur1107 *c. thalictroides (l.) brongn. pani dhekia nms herb, a az; ar wt v sayedur396 *pteris vittata l. dhekia nms herb, p oz, pz; sr, kh ml m sayedur261 vittariaceae ching *haplopteris elongata (sw.) e.h. crane unknown mas herb, ep az; ar tt m sayedur1256 polypodiaceae j. presl & c. presl *drynaria quercifolia (l.) j. smith pankhiraj nms herb, ep az; ar tt o, m sayedur17 *microsorum punctatum (l.) copel. gucha patra nms herb, ep az; ar tt o, m sayedur360 *pyrrosia nuda (giesenh.) ching unknown nms herb, ep az; ar tt m sayedur16 blechnaceae newman *stenochlaena palustris (burm.f.) bed. dhekia lata mas herb, c oz, mz; sr, ch wd, fm v sayedur336 (contd.) legend: mc (mangrove classification): ms = true mangrove species, mas = mangrove associate species, nms = nonmangrove species; habit: a = aquatic, c = climbing, cr = creeping, e = erect, ep = epiphytic, l = large, m = medium, ph = prostrate, ps = parasitic, s = small, sc = scandent, wc = woody climber; distribution: ar = all range, az = all zones, mz = mesohaline zone, oz = oligohaline zone, pz = polyhaline zone; ch = chandpai range, kh = khulna range, sr = sarankhola range, st = satkhira range; habitat: cl = cultivated, fm = forest margin, gl = grassland, ml = marginal land, os = open scrub, pb = on plant base, pc = on plant canopy, pl = planted, rb = river bank, sd = sandy dune, tb = on tree branch, tt = on tree trunk, wd = woodland, wt = wetland; use: aw = aquatic weed, bf = bio-fertilizer, d = dye, du = domestic uses, f = fibre, fd = fodder, ff = fish feed, fn = furniture, fr = fruit, fw = fuel wood, hp = honey production, ju = juice, m = medicine, mn = manure, mt = mat, o = ornamental, oi = oil, om = organic manure, p = pulse, sb = soil binder, sp = spice, sw = soft wood, t = timber, v = vegetable, w = weed; rs = representative specimen; * = previously reported by prain (1903). an annotated checklist of the sundarban 23 table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs thelypteridaceae ching ex pic. serm. *ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel. dhekia shak nms herb, p oz, mz; sr, ch ml m sayedur1326 cyclosorus crinipes (hook.) ching bish dhekia nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, ch ml o sayedur1258 c. dentatus (forssk.) ching bish dhekia nms herb, e oz, mz; sr ch ml o sayedur1327 aspleniaceae newman *asplenium polyodon g. forst. bon dhekia mas herb, ep oz, mz; sr tt o, m sayedur1037 athyriaceae alston *diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. dhekia shak nms herb, e oz; sr, ch ml v sayedur963 magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) annonaceae juss. polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites debdaru nms tree, l oz; sr ml (pl) o sayedur269 lauraceae juss. litsea glutinosa (lour.) robin. menda nms tree, s oz; sr os m sayedur301 piperaceae giseke peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth luchipata nms herb, e oz; sr ml m sayedur356 aristolochiaceae juss. *aristolochia indica l. ishwarmul nms herb, c az; ar fm m sayedur486 nymphaeaceae salisb. nymphaea nouchali burm. f. nilshapla nms herb, a oz; sr wt m, o sayedur198 n. rubra roxb. ex andrews lalshapla nms herb, a az; ar wt m, o sayedur1114 ceratophyllaceae gray *ceratophyllum demersum l. kantajhanjhi nms herb, a oz; sr wt aw sayedur348 ranunculaceae juss. nigella sativa l. kalijira nms herb, e pz; kh ml (cl) m sayedur686 menispermaceae juss. stephania japonica (thunb.) miers nimukha nms herb, c oz, mz; sr, ch fm, os m sayedur411 *tinospora sinensis (lour.) merr. china gulancha nms herb, c oz; sr ml, rb m sayedur338 ulmaceae mirb. *trema orientalis (l.) blume banjiga nms tree, s az; ar os, gl w mosharof210 moraceae link artocarpus heterophyllus lam. kanthal nms tree, m oz; sr, ch ml (pl) fr; t sayedur1296 ficus benghalensis l. bot/jhuribot nms tree, l az; ar ml o, fw sayedur1137 f. benjamina l. bot nms tree, m oz; sr rb fw sayedur892 f. elastica roxb. ex hornem. rubber nms tree, m az; ar ml (pl) o sayedur1926 f. heterophylla l. f. lotabot nms herb, c oz; sr ml w sayedur817 f. hispida l. f. kakdumur nms tree, s oz; sr, ch fm, ml fr, fw sayedur759 *f. microcarpa l.f. jir/kamrup mas shrub mz; kh ml fw n1176 f. racemosa l. jagdumur nms tree, s oz, sr rb, fm m, fw sayedur965 *f. religiosa l. assawath nms tree, l oz; sr, ch ml o, fw mosharof100 *streblus asper lour. sheora nms tree, m oz, mz; sr, kh fm, os fw sayedur695 (contd.) 24 rahman et al.   table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs urticaceae juss. gonostegia sp. unknown nms herb, e oz; sr ml m sayedur566 pilea microphylla (l.) liebm. latamaricha nms herb, p az; ar ml w mosharof170 pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. & r.br. kullaruki nms herb, e az; ar ml w sayedur973 casuarinaceae r. br. *casuarina equisetifolia l. jhaw mas tree, l mz; sr ml (pl) o sayedur1201 nyctaginaceae juss. boerhavia diffusa l. punarnava nms herb, p oz; sr, ch ml m mosharof30 bougainvillea spectabilis willd. baganbilash nms shrub, s az; ar ml (pl) o sayedur1898 nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. shiuli nms shrub mz; sr ml (pl) o sayedur1158 aizoaceae martinov *sesuvium portulacastrum (l.) l. sagornunia mas herb, e az; sr, kh ml w sayedur623 chenopodiaceae vent. chenopodium album l. botuashak nms herb, e oz; sr ml m, v sayedur875 amaranthaceae juss. achyranthes aspera l. apang nms herb, e oz; sr ml m sayedur521 alternanthera paronychioides a. st.hil. jhuli khata nms herb, a oz; sr, ch wt w sayedur1310 a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. helencha nms herb, a az; ar wt v sayedur1257 *a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex dc. sachi shak nms herb, a oz; sr, ch wt v, w sayedur383 amaranthus spinosus l. katanoty nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, ch ml v, w mosharof16 a. tricolor l. lalshak nms herb, e az; ar ml (cl) v sayedur1103 *a. viridis l. notey shak nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, kh ml v sayedur2226 celosia argentea l. morogful nms herb, e oz; sr ml w mosharof33 portulacaceae juss. *portulaca oleracea l. nunia shak nms herb, p az; ar ml o sayedur65 basellaceae raf. *basella alba l. puishak nms herb, cr az; ar ml (cl) v sayedur1330 polygonaceae juss. persicaria barbatum (l.) hara bishkathali nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, kh fm, ml w sayedur779 p. glabra (willd.) gomez de la maza lal kukri nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, st ml m, w n1277 p. hydropiper (l.) spach bishkathali nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, kh wt, ml m, w sayedur1064 p. serrulata (lag.) webb & moq. polygonum nms herb, e oz, mz; sr ml w sayedur492 p. tomentosa (schrank) e.p. bicknell bishkathali nms herb, e oz; sr ml w sayedur493 polygonum effusum meisn chemtishak nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, kh ml w sayedur2249 rumex maritimus l. gang palong nms herb, e oz, mz; sr wt, ml m, w sayedur788 plumbaginaceae juss. *aegialitis rotundifolia roxb. nunia ms shrub pz; st wd, fm fw sayedur409 (contd.) an annotated checklist of the sundarban 25 table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs clusiaceae lindl. calophyllum inophyllum l. punnal mas tree, m az; ar fm, ml o, w sayedur1115 tiliaceae juss. *brownlowia tersa (l.) kosterm. latasundri ms shrub az; ar rb, wd f, fw sayedur364 *corchorus aestuans l. titpata nms shrub pz; kh ml w sayedur1062 triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. banokra nms shrub oz; sr ml w sayedur540 sterculiaceae vent. *heritiera fomes buch.-ham. sundari ms tree, l az; ar wd t, m sayedur13 pterygota alata (roxb.) r. br. buddhanarikel nms tree, l mz; sr ml (pl) t sayedur656 sterculia foetida l. baxobadam nms tree, l oz; sr ml (pl) t, f sayedur874 bombacaceae kunth bombax ceiba l. shimul nms tree, l oz, mz; sr ml, fm f, m sayedur870 ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. burma shimul nms tree, m oz; sr ml (pl) f, fw sayedur1309 malvaceae juss. abelmoschus moschatus medik. mushak dana nms shrub pz; kh ml m sayedur81 *abutilon indicum (l.) sweet gol-peari nms shrub oz; sr ml w sayedur260 gossypium arboreum l. karpash nms shrub pz; st ml (pl) f, m sayedur859 *hibiscus tiliaceus l. bhola mas shrub, s az; ar rb, wd fw, m sayedur459 sida acuta burm. f. kureta nms shrub oz, mz; sr, kh ml, os w mosharof191 s. cordata (burm. f.) borss. waalk. pitberela nms herb, e az; ar ml, os w sayedur1159 s. cordifolia l. jhunka nms herb, e oz; sr ml, os w sayedur641 s. rhombifolia l. berela nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, ch ml, gl w sayedur136 *thespesia populnea (l.) sol. ex corrêa pareshpipul mas shrub pz; st fm m, fw sayedur1117 urena lobata l. banokhra nms shrub oz; sr, ch ml, os w sayedur515 lecythidaceae a. rich. *barringtonia racemosa (l.) spreng. hijol mas tree, m oz; sr rb, wd m, fw sayedur226 flacourtiaceae rich. ex dc. *flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. kataboichi nms shrub oz, mz; sr, kh os, ml w, fw sayedur654 tamaricaceae link *tamarix indica willd. nona jhaw nms tree, s az; ar wd, fm m, fw sayedur1475 passifloraceae juss. ex roussel passiflora foetida l. jhumkalata mas herb, c oz; sr os, fm w sayedur619 caricaceae dumort. carica papaya l. papaya nms shrub az; ar ml (pl) fr, v sayedur367 cucurbitaceae juss. *coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha nms herb, c oz; sr ml, fm m, w sayedur519 *luffa cylindrica (l.) m. roem. jhinga nms herb, c oz; sr ml (cl) v sayedur639 *momordica charantia l. korola nms herb, c az; ar ml (cl) v, m sayedur1089 (contd.) 26 rahman et al.   table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs capparaceae juss. *cleome viscosa l. hurhuria nms herb, e oz; sr ml, gl w sayedur490 *crateva magna (lour.) dc. borun/banny nms tree, s oz, mz; sr fm fw, m sayedur1402 brassicaceae burnett rorippa indica (l.) hiem. bansarisha nms herb, e oz; sr ml, os w mosharof181 moringaceae martinov moringa oleifera lam. shajna nms tree, m oz, mz; sr ml (pl) v, m sayedur532 sapotaceae juss. madhuca longifolia (j. koenig ex l.) j.f. macbr. mohua nms tree, m az; ar ml (pl) o sayedur1111 manilkara zapota (l.) p. royen sofeda nms tree, s mz, sa ml (pl) fr sayedur740 ebenaceae gürke diospyros blancoi a. dc. bilatigab nms tree, m pz; st ml (pl) fr sayedur2243 *d. peregrina gürke. gab mas tree, m oz, mz; sr, kh wd, rb m, fr sayedur890 myrsinaceae r. br. *aegiceras corniculatum (l.) blanco kholshi ms shrub mz, pz; kh, st wd, rb hp, fw sayedur884 ardisia solanacea roxb. banjam mas shrub oz; sr wd, rb m, fw sayedur968 crassulaceae j. st.-hil. kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers. pathorkuchi nms herb, e oz; sr ml (pl) m sayedur361 mimosaceae r. br. acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. akashmoni nms tree, l pz; st ml (pl) t sayedur1448 a. catechu (l. f.) willd. khoir nms tree, m mz; sr ml (pl) m, fw sayedur531 *a. nilotica (l.) willd. ex delile babla nms tree, m az; ar ml (pl) t, fw sayedur114 albizia niopoides (spruce ex benth.) burkart raj shirish nms tree, l oz; sr wd (pl) t sayedur1134 a. procera (roxb.) benth. koroi nms tree, l oz; sr wd (pl) t sayedur301 *entada phaseoloides (l.) merr. gila lata mas shrub, wc oz, mz; sr, ch wd, fm m sayedur299 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit. ipil ipil nms tree, m pz; kh ml t, fw mosharof131 mimosa pudica l. lazzaboti nms shrub az; ar gl, ml w, m sayedur530 pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. khoia babla nms tree, m pz; st ml (pl) fw, fr sayedur 846 samanea saman (jacq.) merr. raintree nms tree, l oz; sr wd, ml t mosharof187 caesalpiniaceae r. br. *caesalpinia bonduc (l.) roxb. nata mas shrub, sc mz; sr ml, os m sayedur513 *c. crista l. kutumkanta mas shrub, sc mz, pz; sr rb, ml m sayedur1135 *cassia fistula l. sonalu nms tree, s oz, mz; sr os, ml o, m sayedur1019 *cynometra ramiflora l. shingra ms shrub oz, mz; sr, kh wdl fw sayedur1211 delonix regia (bojer ex hook.) raf. krishnachura nms tree, m oz, mz; sr ml (pl) o sayedur1241 *intsia bijuga (colebr.) kuntze. bhaila mas tree, s oz, mz; sr, kh wd, rb m, fw sayedur365 *senna occidentalis l. barakolkasuna nms shrub oz; sr ml w, m mosharof40 (contd.) an annotated checklist of the sundarban 27 table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs s. siamea (lam.) h.s. irwin & barneby minjiri nms tree, m oz; sr ml fw, t sayedur328 *s. tora (l.) roxb. chakunda nms herb, e oz, mz; sr ml, os w mosharof190 *tamarindus indica l. tetul nms tree, m az; ar ml (pl) fr, fw sayedur964 fabaceae lindl. *abrus precatorius l. kuch/rati mas herb, c oz; sr fm, os m sayedur1233 aeschynomene indica l. kathshola nms shrub oz; sr ml w, fw sayedur714 *aganope heptaphylla (l.) polhill pan-nata mas shrub, wc mz; sr, kh rb, os w sayedur520 alysicarpus sp. unknown nms herb, p pz; kh ml w sayedur1156 *cajanus scarabaeoides (l.) thouars kukshim nms herb, c oz; sr ml, os w sayedur626 *canavalia cathartica thouars kalosim mas herb, c oz, pz; sa rb f sayedur1270 *c. maritima thouars banshim mas herb, c mz; sr sd, rb w sayedur522 crotalaria mysorensis roth misori jhonjhoni nms shrub pz; kh ml, gl w n4690 *c. pallida aiton jhonjhoni nms shrub oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w sayedur1163 *c. retusa l. bil jhonjhoni nms shrub pz; kh ml, gl w sayedur473 *c. verrucosa l. boro jhonjhoni nms shrub oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w sayedur674 *dalbergia candenatensis (dennst.) prain chanda lata mas shrub,wc az; ar rb, fm w sayedur61 *d. spinosa roxb. kutumkanta nms shrub,wc oz, mz; sr, kh rb, fm w sayedur598 *derris scandens (roxb.) benth. mahajoni lata mas shrub,wc az; ar wd, fm f, w sayedur54 *d. trifoliata lour. kalia lata mas herb, c az; ar wd, fm w, m sayedur931 desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. salpani nms shrub oz; sr ml, gl w sayedur582 d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc. bon motorshuti nms herb, p pz; kh os, ml w sayedur121 d. microphyllum (thunb.) dc. chotomodi nms herb, p pz; kh os, ml w n4683 d. triflorum (l.) dc. kodaliya nms herb, p az; ar gl, ml w sayedur664 erythrina fusca lour. patiymandar nms tree, s oz; sr rb, ml o, fw sayedur879 *e. variegata l. jalmandar mas tree, s oz; sr rb, ml o, fw sayedur2189 indigofera trifoliata l. ban nil nms shrub oz, pz; sr, kh ml, os w n1207 lablab purpureus (l.) sweet shim nms herb, c az; ar ml (pl) v n1368 lathyrus sativus l. kheshari nms herb, c oz; sr ml p sayedur770 medicago polymorpha l. treful nms herb, e mz; sr ml, os w n4887 melilotus albus medik. sada methi nms herb, e oz; ch ml, os w sayedur1292 *mucuna gigantea (willd.) dc. bara alkushi nms herb,c oz, mz; sr, ch wd, rd m, w sayedur374 m. pruriens (l.) dc. alkushi nms herb, c pz; kh os, ml m, w sayedur89 phaseolus coccineus l. begunilat shim nms herb, c oz; sr ml p sayedur747 *pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre koromja mas tree, m oz, mz; sr, ch wd, ml m, fw sayedur620 (contd.) 28 rahman et al.   table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs rhynchosia minima (l.) dc. minibhatraj nms herb, c mz; sr ml, os w n4685 r. rufescens (willd.) dc. shimbhatraj nms herb, c mz; sr ml, os w n4689 tadehagi pseudotriquetrum (dc.) h. ohashi ram manda nms shrub pz; kh os, ml w, m sayedur1005 t. triquetrum (l.) h. ohashi luri manda nms shrub pz; kh os, ml w, m sayedur1004 vicia hirsuta (l.) gray masurchana nms herb, c oz; sr ml p sayedur665 v. sativa l. bonmoshur nms herb, c oz; sr ml w sayedur213 *vigna adenantha (g. mey.) maréchal bon borboti nms herb, c mz; sr, kh ml, os w sayedur1179 *v. luteola (jacq.) benth. holdeymug nms herb, c oz, mz; sr, ch ml w sayedur1188 v. marina (burm.) merr. nonta shim nms herb, c pz; st ml w n1300 v. radiata (l.) r. wilczek. hanimug nms herb, c mz; sr ml, os w n4688 *v. trilobata (l.) verdc. mugani nms herb, c oz, mz; sr, kh ml w sayedur87 zornia reticulata sm. unknown nms herb, e mz; sr ml w sayedur500 sonneratiaceae engl. *sonneratia apetala buch.ham. kewra ms tree, l az; ar rb, wd fr, m sayedur851 * s. caseolaris (l.) engl. choila/ora ms tree, m oz, mz; sr, ch rb fr, m sayedur229 lythraceae j. st.-hil. *ammannia verticillata lam. niatai nms herb, e oz, mz; sr wt w sayedur1317 lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. jarul nms tree, m oz; sr wd, rb t, o sayedur611 lawsonia inermis l. mehedi nms shrub az; ar ml (pl) m, d sayedur916 rotala indica (willd.) koehne deshi ghurni nms herb, e mz; sr wt w sayedur701 myrtaceae juss. callistemon citrinus (curtis) skeels bottle brash nms shrub az; ar ml (pl) o sayedur38 *psidium guajava l. pyera nms tree, s az; ar ml (pl) fr sayedur621 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels kalo jam nms tree, l az; ar ml (pl) fr, t sayedur1043 *s. fruticosum roxb. ex dc. khudi jam nms tree, m oz, mz; sr, ch ml, os fr, t sayedur891 onagraceae juss. ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara keshordom nms herb, a az; ar wt w sayedur1113 l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell panilong nms herb, e az; ar wt w sayedur161 l. perennis l. amorkura nms herb, e mz; sr wt w n1237 combretaceae r. br. combretum acuminatum roxb. patuinia nms herb, c oz; sr wd w sayedur290 *lumnitzera racemosa willd. kirpa/cirpa ms tree, s pz; st wd, fm m, fw sayedur462 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun nms tree, m az; ar ml (pl) m sayedur1144 (contd.) an annotated checklist of the sundarban 29 table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs t. belerica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera nms tree, l az; ar ml (pl) m, t sayedur818 t. catappa l. kathbadam mas tree, l az; ar ml (pl) fw, fr sayedur1148 rhizophoraceae pers. *bruguiera gymnorhiza (l.) savigny kakra ms tree, l mz, pz; kh, st wd t sayedur416 *b. sexangula (lour.) poir. lal kakra ms tree, m mz, pz; ch, st wd t, fw sayedur60 *ceriops decandra (griff.) w. theob. goran ms shrub az; ar wd m, fw sayedur1119 *kandelia candel (l.) druce bhatkathi ms shrub mz, pz; kh, st fm, rb m, fw sayedur885 *rhizophora apiculata blume bhorajhana ms tree, m mz, pz; kh, st fm, rb m, fw sayedur53 *r. mucronata lam. jhana ms tree, m mz, pz; kh, st fm, rb m, fw sayedur37 loranthaceae juss. dendrophthoe falcata ettingsh. porgacha mas shrub, ps az; ar tb w sayedur408 macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) tiegh. porgacha mas shrub, ps az; ar tb w sayedur351 *scurrula parasitica l. porgacha nms shrub, ps az; ar tb w sayedur387 *viscum monoicum roxb. ex dc. banda mas shrub, ps az; ar tb w sayedur1941 celastraceae r. br. *salacia chinensis l. choita boroi mas shrub, sc az; ar wd, fm fr, m sayedur442 euphorbiaceae juss. *acalypha indica l. muktajhuri nms herb, e oz; sr ml m mosharof5 bischofia javanica blume. kainjal nms tree, m oz; sr rb fw sayedur329 breynia retusa (dennst.) alston silpati nms shrub oz; sr os, ml w sayedur466 *b. vitis-idaea (burm. f.) c.e.c. fisch. vita salpoti nms shrub oz; sr os, ml w sayedur725 *bridelia stipularis (l.) blume harinhara nms shrub oz; sr os, ml w sayedur953 *chrozophora oblongifolia (del.) adr. juss. ex spreng. khudiphora nms herb, e mz; sr ml w sayedur648 *c. plicata (vahl) a. juss. ex spreng. khudiokra nms herb, e oz; sr ml w sayedur1229 croton bonplandianus baill. bon croton nms herb, e oz; sr ml, gl w sayedur512 c. caudatus geiseler. nanbhantur nms shrub oz; sr os w mosharof66 c. tiglium l. jamalgota nms herb, e mz; sr ml w sayedur509 *drypetes assamica (hook. f.) pax & k. hoffm. bon bokul nms shrub mz; sr os fw sayedur688 *euphorbia hirta l. dudhiya nms herb, p az; ar ml w, m sayedur547 e. hispida boiss. lomahori nms herb, p az; sr, kh ml w sayedur1013 e. prostrata aiton sijhori nms herb, p pz; kh ml w sayedur2169 e. serpens kunth balumadur nms herb, p pz; kh ml w sayedur28 *e. thymifolia l. swetkerui nms herb, p mz, pz; sr, kh ml w sayedur849 *excoecaria agallocha l. gewa ms tree, m az; ar wd m, sw sayedur429 flueggea virosa (roxb. ex willd.) voigt chitka lata nms shrub oz; sr ml, rb w sayedur775 *mallotus repandus (rottler) müll. arg. gunti nms shrub oz, pz; sr, kh ml w sayedur647 pedilanthus tithymaloides poit. chitta nms herb, e oz; sr ml o sayedur2184 (contd.) 30 rahman et al.   table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs phyllanthus emblica l. amloki nms tree, s az; ar ml, os fr, m sayedur687 *p. niruri l. bhuiamla nms herb, e az; ar ml, gl w sayedur1091 p. reticulatus poir. chitka nms shrub oz; sr ml, os w sayedur907 p. urinaria l. kalochitki nms shrub oz, pz; sr, kh ml w sayedur485 p. virgatus g. forst. chitki nms shrub oz, pz; sr, kh ml w sayedur1088 ricinus communis l. venna/reri mas shrub oz; sr ml, os m, oi sayedur823 *shirakiopsis indica (willd.) esser hurmui mas tree, s oz, mz; sr, kh wd, rb m, p sayedur671 suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. bob naringa nms shrub oz; sr os, fm fw sayedur673 *trewia polycarpa benth. & hook.f. pitali nms tree, m oz, mz; sr ml, os t, fw sayedur2005 rhamnaceae juss. colubrina javanica miq. bon boroi nms shrub, s mz; sr os m sayedur1081 *ziziphus oenopolia (l.) mill. bon boroi nms shrub, s oz; sr os, wd fw sayedur 672 *z. mauritiana lam. boroi nms tree, s az; ar ml, os fr, fw sayedur3093 leeaceae dumort. *leea indica (burm. f.) merr. kakjangha nms shrub oz; sr fm, rb m, w sayedur1258 vitaceae juss. *ampelocissus latifolia (roxb.) planch. unknown nms herb, c oz, mz; sr fm, os w sayedur810 cissus assamica (m.a. lawson) craib. angurlata nms herb, c oz, mz; sr rb, os w sayedur1031 cayratia japonica (thunb.) gagnep. golgotilata nms herb, c oz; sr fm, os w sayedur323 *c. trifolia (l.) domin angurlata nms herb, c az; ar fm, os m sayedur949 polygalaceae hoffmanns. & link polygala chinensis l. meradu nms herb, p oz, pz; sr, kh ml w sayedur1191 p. erioptera dc. teradudhi nms herb, p pz; kh ml w sayedur162 sapindaceae juss. *allophylus cobbe (l.) raeusch. chita mas shrub oz; sr os w sayedur613 *cardiospermum halicacabum l. phutki nms herb, c oz; sr ml, os m sayedur1152 dodonaea viscosa jacq. paniaphul nms tree, s mz, pz; sr, st fm, wd m, fw sayedur1250 lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. horina nms shrub oz; sr fm, wd fr, m sayedur811 l. senegalensis (juss. ex poir.) leenh. gotahorina nms shrub oz; sr fm w sayedur296 anacardiaceae r. br. *lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga/jeol nms tree, s oz, mz; sr os, ml m, fw sayedur902 mangifera indica l. aam nms tree, m az; ar ml (pl) fr, t sayedur2227 spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz boonoamra nms tree, m mz; sr fm m, fw sayedur1202 meliaceae juss. *aglaia cucullata (roxb.) pellegr. amur ms tree, s az; ar wd, rb t, fw sayedur424 aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r. parker. roina/pitraj nms tree, s oz; sr fm, os m, fw sayedur344 azadirachta indica a. juss. nim nms tree, m az; ar ml m, t sayedur1017 swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. mehagoni nms tree, l az; ar ml (pl) t sayedur2228 toona ciliata m. roem. tun nms tree, l oz; sr ml, wd t sayedur1049 (contd.) an annotated checklist of the sundarban 31 table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs * xylocarpus granatum j. koenig dhundal ms tree, m mz, pz; kh, st rb, wd t, m sayedur1120 * x. moluccensis (lam.) m. roem. poshur ms tree, l az; ar wd t, m sayedur417 rutaceae juss. *aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel nms tree, m az; ar ml (pl) m, fr sayedur1149 citrus maxima (burm.) merr. jambura nms tree, s az; ar ml (pl) fr sayedur1291 c. medica l. panilebu nms shrub mz; sr ml fr sayedur1290 feronia limonia (l.) swingle kodbel nms tree, m pz; st ml (pl) fr sayedur223 *glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc. motkila nms shrub oz, mz; sr os, ml m, fw sayedur294 *merope angulata (willd.) swingle bonlebu mas shrub oz, mz; sr fm w sayedur646 oxalidaceae r. br. *oxalis corniculata l. amrul nms herb, p oz; sr ml, gl w, m sayedur1297 apiaceae lindl. nms centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni nms herb, cr az; ar ml, gl m sayedur754 eryngium foetidum l. bilatedhoniya nms herb, e az; ar ml (cl) v, sp sayedur946 oenanthe benghalensis (roxb.) kurz bondhoniya nms herb, e oz; sr ml w sayedur1279 o. thomsonii c.b. clarke unknown nms herb, e oz; sr ml w sayedur2166 pimpinella heyneana (dc.) benth. pimpin nms herb, e oz; sr ml w sayedur1314 gentianaceae juss. *hoppea dichotoma willd. hoppia nms herb, e mz; sr fm w sayedur707 apocynaceae juss. alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chatim nms tree, m oz; sr ml, fm m sayedur709 catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don nayantara nms herb, e oz, mz; sr ml, os m sayedur649 *cerbera odollam gaertn. dahur/dakur mas tree, s oz, mz; sr, ch rb, wd m sayedur117 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w.t. aiton dudhia lata nms herb, c oz; sr os m mosharof118 *parsonsia alboflavescens (dennst.) mabb. pasonsi nms herb, c az; ar fm, rb w sayedur216 tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult togor nms shrub mz; ch ml (pl) o, m sayedur350 thevetia peruviana (pers.) k. schum. kolkeyful nms tree, s mz, pz; kh, st ml (pl) m sayedur878 asclepiadaceae borkh. *calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t. aiton akond mas shrub oz, mz; sr ml m sayedur653 c. procera (aiton) w.t. aiton swetakond nms shrub oz, mz; sr ml m sayedur249 ceropegia lucida wall. lucipega nms herb, c mz, pz; sr, st fm w sayedur588 (contd.) 32 rahman et al.   table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs *dregea volubilis (l.f.) benth. ex hook. f. titakunja lata nms herb, c oz, pz; sr, kh wd, rb w sayedur1280 *finlaysonia obovata wall. mamakola mas herb, c az; ar wd, rb w sayedur440 *hoya parasitica wall. ex wight futki lata mas herb, ps oz, mz; sr, ch, kh tt w sayedur400 *pentatropis capensis (l.f.) bullock panchpis nms herb, c pz; kh fm w sayedur469 *sarcolobus carinatus wall. bawali lata mas herb, c az; ar wd, fm m sayedur885 *s. globosus wall. bawali lata mas herb, c az; ar wd, fm m sayedur888 tylophora indica (burm. f.) merr. anatamul nms herb, c mz, pz; sr, kh fm, ml m sayedur630 *t. tenuissima (roxb.) wight & arn. nishimul nms herb, c pz; kh fm, ml w sayedur1007 solanaceae juss. capsicum frutescens l. morich nms shrub az; ar ml (pl) sp sayedur1169 datura metel l. dhutra nms shrub oz; sr ml, os m sayedur1302 nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. bantamak nms herb, e oz; sr ml w sayedur72 physalis minima l. kapalphutki nms herb, e oz; sr ml m sayedur586 solanum aculeatissimum jacq. akuli begun nms herb, p oz; sr ml, os w sayedur2205 s. americanum mill. tit begub nms herb, e oz; sr ml, os w sayedur1323 s. violaceum ortega phuti begun nms shrub oz; sr ml, os m, v sayedur2111 *s. nigrum l. kakmachi nms herb, e oz; sr ml w sayedur215 s. sisymbrifolium lam. kata begun nms herb, p oz, mz; sr ml w mosharof199 s. torvum sw. titbegun nms shrub oz; sr ml, os w sayedur339 *s. virginianum l. kantikari nms herb, p mz, pz; sr, st sd, fm w sayedur471 convolvulaceae juss. aniseia martinicensis (jacq.) choisy shadamati nms herb, c pz; st ml w n1367 *argyreia nervosa (burm. f.) bojer. bijtarak nms herb, c oz; sr fm, ml m mosharof22 bonamia semidigyna (roxb.) hallier f. gandabhadi nms herb, c mz; sr fm, os w sayedur655 *cuscuta reflexa roxb. sharnalata nms herb, ps az; ar pc w, m sayedur853 evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. khetpapra nms herb, cr oz; sr ml, gl w sayedur1087 hewittia malabarica (l.) suresh hiwet nms herb, c oz, mz; sr os, ml w sayedur571 *ipomoea aquatica forssk. kolmishak nms herb, a az; ar wt v sayedur26 i. batatas (l.) lam. shakalu nms herb, cr pz; kh ml (pl) v sayedur253 i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy dholkolmi nms shrub oz, mz; sr, kh wt, ml w mosharof121 i. littoralis blume gang kolmi nms herb, c mz; sr fm, os w n1378 i. marginata (desr.) verdc. bankalmi mas herb, p pz; kh gl w sayedur146 i. obscura (l.) ker gawl. kura kolmi nam herb, c oz; sr ml w sayedur542 *i. pes-caprae (l.) r. br. chagalkhuri mas herb, cr mz; sr sd m mosharof43 operculina turpethum (l.) s. manso dudh kolmi nms herb, c oz, mz; sr rb, fm w sayedur745 *stictocardia tiliifolia (desr.) hallier.f. bon kolmi nms herb, c oz; sr fm, ml w sayedur1271 menyanthaceae dumort. *nymphoides indicum (l.) kuntze chandmala nms herb, a oz, mz; sr, ch wt w sayedur172 hydrophyllaceae r. br. *hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl. pani agra nms herb, a mz; sr wt w sayedur1228 (contd.) an annotated checklist of the sundarban 33 table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs boraginaceae juss. *cordia dichotoma g. forst. bohala/boula mas tree, m oz, mz; sr fm, os m sayedur461 heliotropium curassavicum l. unknown nms herb, e oz, mz; sr ml w sayedur1142 *h. indicum l. hatishur nms herb, e oz; sr ml m sayedur627 verbenaceae j. st.-hil. *avicennia marina (forssk.) vierh. morichabaen ms tree, m pz; sr, kh, st rb t, m sayedur410 *a. officinalis l. baen ms tree, m az; ar wd, rb t, m sayedur52 *clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhati nms shrub oz, mz; sr fm w sayedur1227 c. inerme (l.) gaertn. sitka vat mas shrub az; ar fm, os w, m sayedur1121 c. serratum spreng. barangi nms shrub oz; sr fm, rb w sayedur222 c. viscosum vent. vhat/ghetu nms shrub oz, mz; sr ml, os w, m sayedur617 clerodendrum sp. borositka vat nms shrub oz, mz; sr, kh rb w sayedur1205 gmelina arborea roxb. gamari nms tree, m oz, mz; sr, kh ml (pl) t sayedur999 *lippia alba (mill.) n.e. br. ex britton & p. wilson motmoti nms shrub oz; sr ml w sayedur757 *phyla nodiflora (l.) greene bhuiokra nms herb, p oz; sr ml w sayedur838 *premna serratifolia l. gambari mas shrub oz, pz; sr, st fm, os m sayedur957 *vitex negundo l. nishinda nms shrub oz, pz; sr, st fm, os m sayedur484 lamiaceae martinov *anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze gobura nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh ml w sayedur26 hyptis capitata jacq. holkhusha nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh ml, os w sayedur1166 h. suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh ml, os m sayedur1151 leucas aspera (willd.) link swetadran nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w sayedur103 *l. lavandulifolia smith dondakolosh nms herb, e pz; kh ml w sayedur563 *ocimum americanum l. ban tulshi nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh ml, os m sayedur1538 *o. sanctum l. tulshi nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh ml, os m sayedur514 plantaginaceae juss. *limnophila aromatica (lam.) merr. pani karpur nms herb, a oz, mz; sr wt aw sayedur694 mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small. mikardan nms herb, p az; ar ml w sayedur1010 scrophulariaceae juss. adenosma indianum (lour.) mirr. borokesuti nms herb, e mz; sr ml w n1198 *bacopa monnieri (l.) pennell brammi nms herb, p mz, pz; sr, kh ml, wt m sayedur1161 centranthera tranquebarica (spreng.) merr. pashmicentra nms herb, p mz-pz; sr, kh gl w sayedur689 lindernia anagallis (burm. f.) pennell. panighas nms herb, p oz-mz; sr, kh ml, gl w sayedur503 l. antipoda (l.) alston, sada panighas nms herb, p oz, mz; sr, kh ml w sayedur1226 l. ciliata (colsm.) pennell bhuijui nms herb, p oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w sayedur231 *l. crustacea (l.) f. muell. chapraghas nms herb, p oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w sayedur585 l. procumbens (krock.) borbás bakpuspa nms herb, p oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w mosharof136 l. pusilla (willd.) bold. pusichapra nms herb, p oz, pz; sr, kh ml w sayedur498 *scoparia dulcis l. misridana nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w sayedur777 (contd.) 34 rahman et al.   table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs acanthaceae juss. *acanthus ilicifolius l. hargoza ms shrub az; ar fm, rb m, w sayedur832 *a. volubilis wall. lata hargoza mas herb, c mz; kh fm, rb w sayedur366 *hemigraphis hirta (vahl) t. anderson buripana nms herb, p oz; sr ml w sayedur886 *hygrophila erecta (burm. f.) hochr. filareck nms herb, e mz, pz; kh, st wt w sayedur1155 h. polysperma (roxb.) t. anderson alai kali nms herb, p mz, pz; kh, st wt w sayedur727 *h. quadrivalvis (buch.-ham.) nees. unknown nms herb, p mz, pz; kh, st wt w sayedur15 justicia adhatoda l. bashak nms shrub oz; sr ml m mosharof123 j. diffusa willd. pitapapra nms herb, p oz; sr ml w mosharof124 nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul nms herb, p oz, mz; sr ml w sayedur391 bignoniaceae juss. *dolichandrone spathacea (l.f.) seem. garshingia mas tree, s oz, mz; sr fm, rb m sayedur1265 pajanelia longifolia k. schum. pajanelia nms tree, m oz; sr fm, rb m sayedur926 campanulaceae juss. sphenoclea zeylanica gaertn. unknown nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, ch wt w sayedur1312 rubiaceae juss. dentella repens (l.) j.r. forst. & g. forst. bhuipat nms herb, p az; sr, kh gl, ml w sayedur1235 d. serpyllifolia wall. ex craib bhuipat nms herb, p az; sr, kh gl, ml w sayedur889 gardenia jasminoides j. ellis gondhoraj nms shrub mz; ch ml (pl) o sayedur1133 hedyotis biflora (l.) lam. unknown nms herb, p az; sr, kh gl, ml w sayedur1054 *h. diffusa willd. panki nms herb, p az; ar ml m, w sayedur445 *hypobathrum racemosum (roxb.) kurz peetunga nms tree, s oz, mz; sr fm, rb w, fw sayedur310 ixora pavetta andrews swet rangon nms shrub az; sr, kh, st fm, os w, o sayedur465 *morinda citrifolia l. borochand mas shrub oz; sr fm, rb w sayedur1268 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadam nms tree, l oz; sr ml t, fw sayedur1330 oldenlandia corymbosa l. khetpapra nms herb, p oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w sayedur232 asteraceae bercht. & j. presl acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen surja konnya nms herb, p az; ar ml m, w sayedur334 *ageratum conyzoides l. fulkuri nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh ml m, w sayedur355 *blumea bifoliata (l.) dc. unknown nms herb, p mz, pz; kh, st gl, ml w sayedur369 b. lacera (burm. f.) dc. shialmutra nms herb, e az; ar ml m, w sayedur394 b. membranacea dc. unknown nms herb, e mz; sr gl w sayedur610 b. oxyodonta dc. katapata nms herb, e oz, mz; sr ml w sayedur863 chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m. king & h. rob. boroshialmuti nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh ml w sayedur368 *conyza semipinnatifida wall. ex dc coniza nms herb, p mz, pz; kh, st gl w sayedur568 eclipta alba (l.) hassk. kalokeshi nms herb, p oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w sayedur1294 (contd.) an annotated checklist of the sundarban 35 table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs elephantopus scaber l. hostipado nms herb, e oz; sr ml w mosharof89 emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. mechitra nms herb, p oz; sr ml w mosharof91 enhydra fluctuans lour. helencha nms herb, a oz, mz; sr, ch mt v, aw sayedur378 *grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. namuti nms herb, p oz; sr ml w sayedur1320 launaea asplenifolia hook. f. tikdana nms herb, p pz; kh, st gl w sayedur581 *l. sarmentosa (willd.) kuntze menthosdana nms herb, p pz; kh gl w sayedur483 mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l. rob. assam lata nms herb, c oz, pz; sr, kh fm, ml m, w sayedur1298 pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (l.) hilliard & b.l. burtt barakamra nms herb, e oz, mz; sr ml w sayedur725 sonchus oleraceus l. unknown nms herb, e oz; sr ml, gl w sayedur2128 s. wightianus dc. unknown nms herb, e oz; sr ml, gl w sayedur 288 *sphaeranthus africanus l. gangasag nms herb, p oz; sr ml w sayedur1325 s. indicus l. mundi nms herb, p oz; sr ml w sayedur 720 *sphagneticola calendulacea (l.) pruski bhimraj nms herb, p oz; sr ml o sayedur2173 tridax procumbens l. tridhara nms herb, p oz, pz; sr, kh ml, gl w mosharof212 *vernonia cinerea (l.) less. kuksim nms herb, e az; ar ml, gl w sayedur1100 v. divergens (dc.) edgew. bichutivernon nms herb, e mz; sr, kh ml, os w sayedur64 *wollastonia biflora (l.) dc. wedella mas herb, p oz; sr ml m sayedur996 xanthium indicum j. koenig ex roxb. ghagra nms herb, e oz; sr, ch ml m, w mosharof239 liliopsida (monocotyledons) alismataceae vent. sagittaria trifolia l. chhotokut nms herb, a oz, mz; sr wt fd sayedur171 hydrocharitaceae juss. *hydrilla verticillata (l. f.) royle jhangi nms herb, a oz, mz; sr, ch wt ff sayedur1295 *vallisneria spiralis l. pataseola nms herb, a az; ar wt aw sayedur759 aponogetonaceae planch. aponogeton echinatus roxb. ghecu nms herb, a oz; ch wt v sayedur1195 najadaceae juss. *najas minor all. boro jhaji mas herb, a pz; st wt ff sayedur1929 arecaceae bercht. & j. presl *areca catechu l. supari nms tree, l az; ar ml (pl) m sayedur2194 borassus flabellifer l. tal nms tree, l az; ar ml (pl) fr, du sayedur163 *calamus tenuis roxb. sachi bet nms herb, c oz, mz; sr wd, fm fn, du sayedur307 *cocos nucifera l. narikel nms tree, l az; ar ml (pl) fr, du sayedur41 * nypa fruticans wurmb golpata ms tree, s az; ar wd fr, du sayedur423 * phoenix paludosa roxb. hental ms tree, s az; ar wd du sayedur712 p. sylvestris (l.) roxb. khejur nms tree, l az; ar ml ju, du sayedur392 (contd.) 36 rahman et al.   table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs pandanaceae r. br. *pandanus foetidus roxb. keya kanta nms shrub az; sr, ch, st rb, fm m, w sayedur229 *p. tectorius parkinson keya mas tree, s mz, pz; sr, st fm w sayedur499 araceae juss. alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g. don mankachu nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, ch ml v, m sayedur1333 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kochu mas herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh ml, wt v, m sayedur358 *cryptocoryne ciliata (roxb.) fisch. ex wydl. kerali mas herb, e oz, mz; sr, kh wt aw sayedur369 lasia spinosa (l.) thwaites kanta kachu mas herb, e oz; sr wt v, m sayedur312 *pistia stratiotes l. topapana nms herb, a oz; sr wt m sayedur652 typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. ghetkachu nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh ml v sayedur1318 lemnaceae martinov lemna perpusilla torr. khudipana nms herb, a pz; st wt ff, mn sayedur1104 commelinaceae mirb. *commelina benghalensis l. kanchira nms herb, p az; ar gl, ml m sayedur63 c. longifolia lam. pani kanchira nms herb, p az; ar gl, ml w sayedur1307 murdannia blumei (hassk.) brenan nil murdan nms herb, p mz; sr gl, ml w sayedur206 m. loriformis (hassk.) r.s. rao & kammathy lori murdan nms herb, p pz; kh gl, ml w sayedur164 *m. nudiflora (l.) brenan kanduli nms herb, p mz; sr gl, ml w sayedur141 m. vaginata (l.) g. brückn. dhaka murdan nms herb, p pz; kh gl, ml w sayedur108 flagellariaceae dumort. *flagellaria indica l. abeti mas herb, c oz, mz; sr fm, rb m sayedur200 cyperaceae juss. bulbostylis barbata (rottb.) c.b. clarke bulbobata nms herb, e mz; sr gl sb sayedur182 cyperus articulatus l. joraghasi nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh wt du sayedur227 c. compressus l. chanch nms herb, e mz; sr gl w sayedur165 c. cuspidatus kunth sagormukhi nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl w sayedur166 c. difformis l. behua ghasi nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl w n1215 c. digitatus roxb. hath ghasi nms herb, e oz, mz; sr wt aw sayedur268 *c. exaltatus retz. tata ghasi nms herb, e oz; sr wt mt sayedur270 c. involucratus rottb. sata ghasi nms herb, e pz; kh gl o sayedur1153 c. iria l. barachucha nms herb, e pz; st wt fd, m sayedur42 *c. javanicus houtt. java ghasi mas herb, e az; sr, kh gl sb sayedur214 *c. malaccensis lam. shumati pati mas herb, e az; ar wt du sayedur191 c. rotundus l. nagarmutha nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh gl m, w sayedur167 c. tenuiculmis boeckeler tonimutha nms herb, e pz; st wt aw sayedur 43 eleocharis dulcis (burm. f.) trin. ex hensch. mishti ghasi mas herb, e pz; st wt v sayedur1503 e. geniculata (l.) roem. & schult. jora ghasi nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh gl w sayedur183 *e. spiralis (rottb.) roem. & schult. ghurni ghasi mas herb, e pz; kh wt aw sayedur562 (contd.) an annotated checklist of the sundarban 37 table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs fimbristylis acuminata vahl chosa fimbry nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl sb sayedur683 f. autumnalis (l.) roem. & schult. fimbry nms herb, e mz; sr gl sb sayedur1277 f. cymosa r. br. mosa fimbry mas herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh gl w sayedur622 f. dichotoma (l.) vahl bara nirbishi nms herb, e az; ar gl w sayedur487 f. disticha boeckeler tika fimbry nms herb, e oz, pz; sr, kh gl w sayedur199 *f. ferruginea (l.) vahl gini fimbry mas herb, e az; ar gl, wt w, sb sayedur837 f. littoralis gaudich. litto fimbry nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl sb n1234 *f. ovata (burm. f.) j. kern marmari nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl w sayedur168 f. quinquangularis (vahl) kunth pachkona fibmry nms herb, e pz; kh gl w sayedur126 f. bisumbellata (forssk.) bubani dula fimbry nms herb, e pz; kh gl w sayedur169 f. squarrosa vahl zumka chech nms herb, e mz; sr gl w sayedur194 f. tetragona r. br. tetra fimbry nms herb, e pz; kh gl w sayedur86 f. tristachya r. br. trista fimbry nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl w sayedur650 fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. poshmi ghasi nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh wt aw sayedur186 f. umbellata rottb. chati ghasi nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh wt aw sayedur682 kyllinga brevifolia rottb. shabujnirbish nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl fd sayedur204 k. nemoralis (j.r. forst. & g. forst.) dandy ex hutch. & dalziel subasinirbish nms herb, e mz; ch ml fd sayedur170 *pycreus polystachyos (rottb.) p. beauv. pikppli ghasi nms herb, e az; ar gl, wt w, sb sayedur836 p. sanguinolentus (vahl) nees ex c.b. clarke paikram ghasi nms herb, e pz; kh wt aw sayedur85 p. uniloides (r. br.) urb. paikol ghasi nms herb, e az; ar ml, gl w sayedur3 schoenoplectus articulatus (l.) palla chechra nms herb, a mz, pz; sr, kh wt fd, m sayedur679 *s. supinus (l.) palla supipotpoti nms herb, a oz; ch ml w sayedur1305 scleria biflora roxb. riaflora ghasi nms herb, e mz; sr gl fd n1231 poaceae barnhart arundo donax l. baranal nms herb, e mz; ch wt fd, du sayedur935 axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv. balla ghas nms herb, cr az; ar gl sb sayedur272 *bothriochloa bladhii (retz.) s.t. blake gandha gourni nms herb, p mz; sr gl fd n1188 brachiaria distachya (l.) stapf cori ghas nms herb, p pz; kh ml fd sayedur132 b. ramosa (l.) stapf jhopa ghas nms herb, p oz; sr gl w sayedur320 *chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. premkanta nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl w sayedur90 *c. zizanioides (l.) roberty bena nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl w, sb sayedur218 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba mas herb, cr az; ar gl m, sb sayedur219 *dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. makra nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh gl fd, sb sayedur123 digitaria abludens (roem. & schult.) veldkamp chirichira nms herb, p pz; kh gl w, sb sayedur1879 (contd.) 38 rahman et al.   table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs d. ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira nms herb, p pz; sr, kh gl w, sb sayedur2406 d. fuscescens (j. presl) henrard fusche ghas nms herb, p pz; kh gl w sayedur220 diplacrum caricinum r. br. plukram ghas nms herb, p mz, pz; sr, kh gl w n1200 *echinochloa colona (l.) link shama ghas nms herb, e az; sr, kh wt fd sayedur278 *e. crus-galli (l.) p. beauv. barashama ghas nms herb, a az; ar wt fd sayedur997 e. stagnina (retz.) p. beauv. parua ghas nms herb, a mz, pz; sr, kh wt fd sayedur998 *eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. malanga kuri nms herb, e oz, pz; sa, st ml sb sayedur11 eragrostis gangetica (roxb.) steud. chirakoni nms herb, p mz, pz; sr, kh gl sb n1230 *e. tenella (l.) p. beauv. ex roem. & schult koni ghas nms herb, p mz; sr gl sb n1274 e. unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud. chira ghas nms herb, p mz; sr gl mn, sb n1208 eriochloa fatmensis (hochst. & steud.) clayton motanol nms herb, p oz; sr gl w sayedur345 hemarthria vaginata buse chalia nms herb, p oz; sr gl w sayedur753 *imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. var. cylindrica chhon nms herb, e az; ar gl sb sayedur1542 *leersia hexandra sw. aralia ghas nms herb, p oz; sr wt fd sayedur2195 *myriostachya wightiana (nees ex steud.) hook. f. balya ghas mas herb, e mz, pz; ar wt, rb fd sayedur45 oplismenus compositus (l.) p. beauv. gohur nms herb, p oz; ch ml fd sayedur1306 panicum cambogiense balansa panicombo nms herb, e mz; sr ml fd sayedur324 p. maximum jacq. gini ghas mas herb, e oz; sr wt fd sayedur115 *p. paludosum roxb. borali nms herb, e mz, pz; sr, kh wt fd sayedur84 *p. repens l. dhani ghas nms herb, e az; ar gl, ml fd sayedur995 paspalum conjugatum p.j. bergius moishya ghas nms herb, e oz, mz; sr gl fd sayedur266 *p. distichum l. gitta ghas nms herb, p oz, mz; sr, ch gl sb, fd sayedur285 *p. scrobiculatum l. khodadhan nms herb, e mz; sr wt fd sayedur195 p. vaginatum sw. gina ghas mas herb, p az; ar gl, wt fd, sb sayedur47 *phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud. nal khagra mas herb, e oz, mz; sr wt fd, du sayedur516 *porteresia coarctata (roxb.) takeoka dhansi nms herb, e az; ar wt, rb sb, fd sayedur73 rottboellia cochinchinensis (lour.) clayton bara swati nms herb, p mz; sr gl w sayedur201 *saccharum spontaneum l. kash nms herb, e mz; sr gl sb sayedur741 sporobolus indicus (l.) r. br. ailbela ghas nms herb, e pz; kh gl w sayedur578 *s. tremulus (willd.) kunth jhola durba nms herb, p mz; sr wt aw n1196 themeda intermedia (hack.) bor medimedaghas nms herb, e oz, mz; sr wt fd sayedur277 *zoysia matrella (l.) merr. baissa ghas mas herb, p az; ar gl, wt sb, fd sayedur56 (contd.) an annotated checklist of the sundarban 39 table 2. contd. scientific name bangla name mc habit distribution habitat use rs typhaceae juss. *typha domingensis (pers.) poir. ex steud. hogla mas herb, e oz; sr wt mt sayedur748 zingiberaceae martinov *alpinia nigra (gaertn.) b.l. burtt tara nms herb, e oz; sr wt, rb m sayedur2219 curcuma longa l. haldi nms herb, e az; ar ml (pl) sp, m sayedur 573 cannaceae juss. canna indica l. kolabati nms herb, e pz; kh ml o, m sayedur1150 pontederiaceae kunth eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms kachoripana nms herb, a oz; sr wt fd, mn sayedur1014 monochoria hastata (l.) solms baranukha nms herb, a mz; sr wt fd sayedur265 m. vaginalis (burm. f.) c. presl ex kunth nukha nms herb, a mz; sr wt fd sayedur211 liliaceae juss. *crinum asiaticum l. bara kanur mas herb, e az; ar ml o, m sayedur252 c. defixum ker gawl sukhdarshan nms herb, e oz, mz; sr, kh wt, rb o, m sayedur363 c. latifolium l. sukhdarshan nms herb, e mz; sr ml o sayedur241 curculigo orchioides gaertn. talmuli nms herb, e mz; sr ml m sayedur157 smilacaceae vent. smilax ovalifolia roxb. kumarilata nms herb, c oz; sr fm m sayedur713 dioscoreaceae r. br. dioscorea bulbifera l. mou alo nms herb, c pz; kh fm, os m, v sayedur1154 orchidaceae juss. *acampe ochracea (lindl.) hochr. kampera nms herb, ep mz, pz; ch, kh tt o sayedurb352 *dendrobium anceps sw. ansirium nms herb, ep oz; sr tt o, m sayedur723 geodorum densiflorum (lam.) schltr. bhuiphul nms herb, e mz; sr ml o sayedur239 *luisia brachystachys (lindl.) blume brac luci nms herb, ep pz; st tt o sayedur1452 *l. teretifolia sensu hook. f. lanka luci nms herb, ep az; ar tt o sayedur224 *oberonia gammiei king & pantl. gami orchid mas herb, ep mz; sr tt o sayedur1940 * pelatantheria insectifera (rchb. f.) ridl. rongila pata nms herb, ep oz, mz; sr tt o sayedur2083 *trias oblonga lindl. trias orchid mas herb, ep mz; sr, ch tt o sayedur2070 zeuxine strateumatica (l.) schltr. setguli nms herb, e pz; kh gl, ml o sayedur556 acknowledgements the authors gratefully acknowledge the ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh for awarding the national science and technology (nst) fellowship to the first author for conducting his ph.d. research project on the smfb. thanks are also due to the chief conservator of forests, conservator of forests of khulna circle, divisional forest officer of sundarban east forest division and sundarban west forest division, and all field officials of sundarban forest division for their cooperation during the field surveys all over the smfb. 40 rahman et al.   references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 5 march 2015; revised on 10 may 2015) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 241-255, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnobotanical uses and informant consensus factor of medicinal plants in barisal district, bangladesh uzzal hossain and m. oliur rahman1 department of botany, university of barisal, barisal-8200, bangladesh keywords: ethnomedicinal plants; informant consensus factor; citation frequency; fidelity level; barisal. abstract an ethnobotanical study was carried out to identify ethnomedicinally important plants of barisal district of bangladesh, document their traditional uses, and determine the consensus factor among the folklore medicinal practitioners (fmps). a total of 106 ethnomedicinal species under 55 families have been identified from barisal district, which are used for treating 51 ailments with 120 formularies. among the species, herbs constituted 59%, shrubs 15% and tress 26% of the total. leaf was found to be the most frequently utilized plant part (44.33%), and most of the medicines were prepared in the form of juice (36%). the factor of informants consensus (fic) value ranged from 0.622 to 0.951 and the highest fic value was found in cut, wound and bleeding. the highly cited species for these ailments are mikania cordata (burn.f.) robinson, cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. and chrozophora tinctoria (l.) a. juss. citation frequency (cf) ranged from 20.93 to 67.44, and 11 species were found to have over 50% of cf value. fidelity level (fl) value ranged from 69 to 100% and 17 species attained 100% fl value. our findings could provide baseline data to establish a tie between the traditional health practitioners and scientific communities, and finding out potential bioactive compounds for novel drug discovery. introduction bangladesh is endowed with wealth of ethnomedicines that includes ayurveda, unani, homeopathy, folk medicines and tribal medicines. over 80% of the world’s population depends on herbal and alternative medicines for their primary health care (who, 2001; kong et al., 2009). moreover, herbal medicines have entered into the mainstream of global economy (unep, 2001). traditional and alternative medicines reform health sector globally. folk medicine is probably the most common among the aforesaid traditional medicinal practices and folk medicinal practitioners (fmps) depend mainly on medicinal plants. medicinal plants used for treatment of particular disease varies considerably among fmps. in bangladesh, studies investigating documentation and the sustainability of the commercial trade in medicinal plants are at an initial stage. for documentation of the practices along with plants used by fmps, ethnomedicinal surveys among various fmps and tribal medicinal practitioners of bangladesh are in progress. ethnomedicinal knowledge of plants has been decreasing at alarming rate from the nature before proper documentation and evaluation (udddin et al., 2015). in bangladesh, several attempts have been made to document traditional knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants, and folk medicine has experienced a revival since last two decades (hassan and khan, 1986; mia and huq, 1988; alam, 1992; alam et al. 1996; yusuf et al., 2006; uddin and hassan, 2014). all those studies listed medicinal plants of particular community, particular diseases or particular areas of 1department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. corresponding author: e-mail: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 242 hossain and rahman bangladesh (uddin et al., 2015). however, many unexplored areas and communities remain in the country and many more medicinal plants used as sources of herbal drugs by the ethnic, fmps and local people of bangladesh yet to be revealed. in this context, no study has been carried out on documentation and quantitative analyses of ethnomedicinal plants used by rural people and folk medicinal practitioners of barisal district. therefore, the objectives of the present study include: to identify the most and frequently used medicinal plant species used by the local people and fmps in barisal district through informant consensus factor, to document their traditional uses, to determine the consensus of medicinal uses, and finally to make a basis for future investigation for potential drug candidates through quantitative analyses. materials and methods study area: barisal as one of the riverine southern district of bangladesh lies between 22º27´ and 22º52´n and 90º01´ and 90º43´e. the district is demarked by madaripur, shariatpur and chandpur districts on the north, patuakhali, barguna and jhalkhati districts on the south, bhola and lakshmipur districts on the east, and pirojpur, jhalkhati and gopalganj districts on the west. barisal district consists of 10 upazillas, viz., agailjhara, babuganj, bakerganj, banaripara, barisal sadar, gaurnadi, hizla, mehendiganj, muladi and wuzirpur. the area enjoys tropical climate with high rainfall during monsoon period. the soil texture of the area is clay loam and saline in habitat (shil and saleque, 2016). though there is no any natural forest in barisal except the governmental planned afforestation program in coastal belt, banks of rivers and all homesteads are usually covered by dense green foliage of wide variety of both native and exotic species resulting in vegetation enrich in biodiversity. plant samples and data collection: plant samples were collected from the study area during field surveys in different seasons from may 2017 to april 2018. the data of medicinal uses were gathered through semistructured interviews, key informant discussions and informal conversations with folk medicinal practitioners (fmps) called herbal practitioners or locally known as kabiraz (alexiades, 1996). a total of 43 informants mostly male with the age ranging from 24 to 75 years of old were interviewed. education levels of the informants were from secondary school certificate (ssc) to bachelor of science (bsc) degrees. some of the informants were diploma trained in folk medicinal practice from ayurveda or unani college at home or abroad. professionally they were mostly farmers, small shopkeepers, street hawkers, school teachers and volunteer fmps. information on uses of plants for treating different ailments, parts used and mode of preparation as well as administration was gathered during the field study. specimens of each medicinal plant were collected, critically studied and identified by experts and using standard literature (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; dassanayake and fosberg, 1980-1991; ahmed et al., 2008-2009). voucher specimens were prepared using standard protocol (hyland, 1972; alexiades, 1996) and preserved at the department of botany, university of barisal. data analysis: factor of informant consensus (fic): factor of informant consensus (fic) was computed using the following formula: fic = where, nur is the number of use reports in each category and ntaxa is the number of species in each category (heinrich et al., 1998). nur – ntaxa nur – 1 ethnobotanical uses and informant consensus factor 243 citation frequency of medicinal plants (cf %): cf values are useful to determine most common medicinal plants in the study area. citation frequency values of medicinal plants were estimated using the formula: citation frequency (cf %) = ×100 where, n refers to number of people interviewed citing species, n refers to total number of people interviewed (friedman et al., 1986). fidelity level (fl %): the percentage of informants claiming the use of a plant species for the same major purpose was estimated using the fidelity level index as determined by the following formula: fidelity level (fl %) = x100 where ip denotes to number of informants who indicate use of a species for the same major ailment, iu refers to total number of informants who mentioned the same plant for any other use (friedman et al., 1986). results and discussion diversity of medicinal plants habit, habitat and parts used: the present study revealed identification and documentation of 106 medicinal plant species belonging to 96 genera and 52 families from barisal district used by local folklore medicinal practitioners (fmps) for 51 ailments with 120 formularies (table 1). in the present study, the highly reported species were herbs (59%) followed by trees (26%) and shrubs (15%) (fig. 1a). several authors reported the common use of herbaceous medicinal plants (addo-fordjour et al., 2008), and the herbs attributed to their wide range of bioactive ingredients (gazzaneo et al., 2005). herbs, and trees are most commonly used as medicine by the traditional healers (uniyal et al., 2006), which were supported by our study. among the species reported 47.16 % was found to be cultivated, 33.01% wild and 19.81% wild but cultivated in home gardens. the study area represents diverse habitats including homestead gardens, roadsides, arable lands, river side, wastelands, muddy area etc. and medicinal plants were collected from those habitats. the highest number of ethno-medicinal plants were collected from homestead garden representing 24% followed by arable lands covering 23% of the total species (fig. 1b). the family asteraceae was found to be the highest represented family in terms of number of species (5.7%), followed by apocynaceae and rutaceae (4.7% each). the families apiaceae, arecaceae, convolvulaceae and euphorbiaceae constitute 3.8% each of total species, while acanthaceae, caesalpiniaceae, combretaceae, cucurbitaceae, lamiaceae, myrtaceae and poaceae represent 2.8% each of the total ethnomedicinal plants identified from the study area. the other families provide less than 2% representation of the species. with respect to the parts used, the study showed that plant parts used by the local fmps of barisal for treating different diseases were mainly leaves, fruits and seeds. in the case herbaceous plants aerial parts or sometimes the whole plant was employed. leaf was found to be most frequently utilized plants part (44.33%), followed by fruits (24.5%), stems (8.5%), roots, flowers and stem barks (5.7% each), and latex, whole plant and seeds (4.7% each) (fig. 2). the predominant use of leaf used by the folk medicinal practitioners for different therapies has been attested by other studies. in an ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants of two villages of gaurnadi upazila in barisal district, biswas et al. (2011) showed that leaves constituted the major part of plants used by the folk medicinal practitioners. while conducting an ethnobotanical survey in the garo ethnic community ramatullah et al. (2009) found that leaves formed the major plant part used followed 244 hossain and rahman ethnobotanical uses and informant consensus factor 245 246 hossain and rahman ethnobotanical uses and informant consensus factor 247 248 hossain and rahman ethnobotanical uses and informant consensus factor 249 by whole plant and fruits. recently, uddin et al. (2015) reported leaf as frequently used plant part for folk medicine preparation. in addition, several tribal communities utilized leaves for preparation of herbal medicines (prabhu et al., 2014; vijaykumar et al., 2015). leaves are used mostly in herbal preparation because collection of leaves is easier than underground parts, flowers or fruits (giday et al., 2009). our results were found consistent with other studies where leaf was reported as frequently used plant part for folk medicine preparation (yigra, 2010; ullah et al., 2013). however, ribeiro et al. (2014) reported that stem bark had the highest number of citations, followed by leaves, fruits and roots. this could be explained by the fact that the prime use of stem bark is common among people in the semi-arid region for different ailments, even when other structures, for instance leaves, are obtainable (albuquerque et al., 2012). during this ethnobotanical survey it was observed that the demand for folklore medicine is increasing day by day. as a result, a good number of medicinal plant species or plant parts are being used by the fmps. excessive use of roots, flowers, fruits, seeds and sometimes whole plant may destroy the plant or make hindrance in regeneration, and have impact on population existence. for sustainable use of these medicinal plants conservation measures through both in-situ and exsitu methods to be adopted, and traditional healers to be very cautious during harvesting these parts at least keeping some plants for sustainable regeneration. fig. 1. comparative analysis of ethnomedicinal plants of barisal district. a. percentage of habit; b. percentage of habitat. modes of preparation and administration: the modes of preparation of herbal medicines were in the forms of paste, powder, decoction, juice, raw and fumes. the majority of the plant remedies was prepared by juice (36%) followed by raw (17%), powder (13%), boiled (12%), decoction (10%), paste (8%) and seed oil (4%) (fig. 3a). in terms of administration, oral administration was found as the principal mode of intake of medicine (65%) followed by administration of dermal (19%), nasal (9%) and others (7%) (fig. 3b). we have found that, fmps in the investigated area often mix water as a solvent for preparation of juice after crushing, and sometimes milk or honey is added as a solvent to increase the viscosity of the preparation. it has also been reported that different parts of some toxic plants are boiled into water to wash out the toxic substances and mixed with milk to make medicines. in an ethnoveterinary study parthiban et al. (2016) showed that paste was the frequently used mode of preparation, which was found inconsistent with the present study. b a 250 hossain and rahman fig. 2. use report of different parts of ethnomedicinal plants of barisal district for treating different ailments. fig. 3. mode of preparation and administration of ethnomedicinal plants of barisal district. a. percentage of mode of preparation; b. percentage of routes of administration. factors of informant consensus (fic): factors of informant consensus were calculated to evaluate use diversity of the medicinal plants and to determine which plants are particularly interesting in search for bioactive compounds. table 2 showed that the calculated fic value varied from 0.622 to 0.951. the highest fic value was found in cut, wound and bleeding (0.951) and subsequently in rheumatic pain (0.935), oral diseases (0.912), hypertension (0.902), hair tonic (0.857), dysentery and diarrhoea (0.847), abdominal pain (0.833), diabetes (0.818), dermatological diseases (0.813), cough, cold and fever (0.792), jaundice (0.769), urogenital and venereal problems (0.768), parasitic disease (0.706), and constipation and appetite loss (0.622) (table 2). the highest fic value for cut, wound and bleeding are noted in very few number of plant species. the highly cited species for cut, wound and bleeding are mikania cordata, cynodon dactylon, and chrozophora tinctoria and a large proportion of people employ these species to treat these ailments. results obtained from this study were found consistent with uddin et al. (2015) where b a ethnobotanical uses and informant consensus factor 251 they reported high fic value for the ailments cut and wound in a survey in feni district of bangladesh. in a quantitative ethnobotanical study among indigenous communities in bandarban district of bangladesh, faruque et al. (2018) found fic value of the cut and wound ailment category as 0.59. they reported the highest fic value in the digestive system disorders including gastritis, diarrhoea, ulcers, constipation, digestive aid, piles, carminative, flatulence, indigestion, colic and anthelmintic, which was not supported by the present study. variation in fic value might be due to availability and diversity of medicinal plants and its associated knowledge in a particular locality, restriction in exchange of ethnobotanical knowledge from one generation to another and one locality to other. the highest number of ethnomedicinal species were used to treat constipation and appetite loss (29 species) followed by treatment of urogenital and venereal diseases (17 species). only two species were documented for treatment of rheumatic pain. table 2. consensus of agreement on the uses of medicinal plants among informants. ailments no of use reports (nur) no. of taxa (ntaxa) fic value constipation and appetite loss 75 29 0.622 parasitic diseases 18 6 0.706 urogenital and venereal 70 17 0.768 jaundice 27 7 0.769 cough and cold fever 54 12 0.792 dermatological diseases 65 13 0.813 diabetes 67 13 0.818 abdominal pain 25 5 0.833 dysentery and diarrhoea 60 10 0.847 hair growth and tonic 22 4 0.857 hypertension 42 5 0.902 oral diseases 35 4 0.912 rheumatic pain 32 3 0.935 cut, wound and bleeding 82 5 0.951 citation frequency (cf ): the citation frequency in the investigated ethnomedicinal plants ranged from 20.93 to 67.44. eleven species were found to have over 50% of cf value, viz., adhatoda zeylanica, aegle marmelos, andrographis paniculata, bryophyllum pinnatum, ficus racemosa, gynura procumbens, mikania cordata, ocimum tenuiflorum, piper chaba, spondias pinnata and syzygium cumini (table 3). the high cf value of medicinal plants is the signal of popular and common species in the study area which can be employed for further analysis to find out new drugs. fidelity level (fl): the fidelity level value is useful for identifying the informants’ most preferred species in use for treating certain ailments. the analyzed results represented that fidelity level value ranged from 69 to 100%. a total of 17 species were found to have 100% fl value and these are: vitex negundo, azadirachta indica, piper chaba, paederia foetida,, ocimum tenuiflorum, aegle marmelos, dillenia indica, mikania cordata, gynura procumbens, syzygium cumini, bryophyllum pinnatum, spondias pinnata, elaeocarpus robustus, abroma augusta, azadirachta indica, calotropis gigantea and senna alata (table 4). these high fidelity level values indicate that the informants do have inclination to rely on one specific plant species for treatment of one particular disease rather than several diseases. 252 hossain and rahman table 3. citation frequency of some selected medicinal plants of barisal district. ailments species number of informants (n) citation frequency (%) abortion hibiscus rosa-sinensis 12 27.90 vitex negundo 15 34.88 abscess azadirachta indica 17 39.53 allergy tinospora crispa 10 23.80 piper chaba 21 48.84 paederia foetida 18 41.86 appetizer terminalia chebula 21 48.84 adhatoda zeylanica 22 51.16 cold and cough ocimum tenuiflorum 24 55.81 aegle marmelos 23 53.48 dillenia indica 17 39.54 constipation carica papaya 14 32.55 mikania cordata 26 60.46 cynodon dactylon 16 37.20 cut, wound and bleeding chrozophora tinctoria 14 32.55 dandruffs lawsonia inermis 9 20.93 gynura procumbens 29 67.44 ficus racemosa 24 55.81 syzygium cumini 22 51.16 diabetes azadirachta indica 18 41.86 diarrhoea plumbago indica 10 23.25 piper chaba 22 51.16 digestion carica papaya 17 39.53 glycosmis arborea 13 30.23 dysentery holarrhena antidysenterica 19 44.18 ananas comosus 17 39.53 clerodendrum viscosum 16 37.20 fever andrographis paniculata 24 55.81 fertility aegle marmelos 25 58.13 gallbladder stone bryophyllum pinnatum 23 53.48 aloe vera 15 34.88 hair tonic eclipta prostrata 21 48.84 spondias pinnata 13 30.23 elaeocarpus robustus 17 39.53 hypertension garcinia cowa 11 25.58 aegle marmelos 14 32.55 aloe vera 14 32.55 holarrhena antidysenterica 12 27.90 impotence abroma augusta 13 30.23 saccharum officinarum 16 37.20 averrhoa carambola 11 25.58 jaundice eclipta prostrata 9 20.93 loose motion musa paradisiaca 20 46.51 pox azadirachta indica 17 39.53 calotropis gigantea 14 32.55 rheumatic pain anthocephalus chinensis 14 32.55 ringworm senna alata 15 34.88 spondias pinnata 23 53.48 scurvy spilanthes acmella 13 30.23 mangifera indica 10 23.25 stomach pain dillenia indica 19 44.18 citrus grandis 9 20.93 vomiting cinnamomum tamala 12 27.90 ethnobotanical uses and informant consensus factor 253 table 4. fidelity level (fl %) of frequently cited plant species with major uses. ailments species number of informants (ip) total number of informants (iu) fl (%) abortion hibiscus rosa-sinensis 12 15 80 vitex negundo 15 15 100 abscess azadirachta indica 17 17 100 allergy tinospora crispa 10 14 71 piper chaba 21 21 100 appetizer paederia foetida 18 18 100 adhatoda zeylanica 22 24 92 cold and cough ocimum tenuiflorum 24 24 100 aegle marmelos 23 23 100 constipation dillenia indica 17 17 100 mikania cordata 26 26 100 cynodon dactylon 16 18 89 cut, wound and bleeding chrozophora tinctoria 14 17 82 gynura procumbens 29 29 100 ficus racemosa 24 26 92 syzygium cumini 22 22 100 diabetes azadirachta indica 18 20 90 diarrhoea plumbago indica 10 12 83 piper chaba 22 24 92 digestion carica papaya 17 20 85 glycosmis arborea 13 16 81 dysentery holarrhena antidysenterica 19 23 83 ananas comosus 17 19 89 clerodendrum viscosum 16 19 84 fever andrographis paniculata 24 24 100 fertility aegle marmelos 25 26 96 gallbladder stone bryophyllum pinnatum 23 23 100 aloe vera 15 17 88 hair tonic eclipta prostrata 21 24 88 spondias pinnata 13 13 100 elaeocarpus robustus 17 17 100 hypertension garcinia cowa 11 13 85 aegle marmelos 14 15 93 holarrhena antidysenterica 12 14 86 impotence abroma augusta 13 13 100 jaundice saccharum officinarum 16 18 89 loose motion musa paradisiaca 20 22 91 pox azadirachta indica 17 17 100 calotropis gigantea 14 14 100 rheumatic pain anthocephalus chinensis 14 16 88 ringworm senna alata 15 15 100 spondias pinnata 23 26 88 scurvy spilanthes acmella 13 15 87 mangifera indica 10 13 77 stomach pain dillenia indica 19 22 86 citrus grandis 9 13 69 vomiting cinnamomum tamala 12 16 75 the present investigation is the first ethnobotanical effort to document and carry out quantitative analyses of medicinal plants used by the local folk medicinal practitioners in barisal district. the study revealed that barisal district has a plenty of medicinal plants and the amazing 254 hossain and rahman update is that a great portion of medicinal plants are found in homestead. the local people of the investigated area still depend on traditional medicine despite the modern medical facilities are accessible indicating the importance of traditional medicines. documentation and preservation of traditional knowledge on indigenous medicinal plants is not only indispensable for the communities, but also valuable for ethnopharmacological studies. in novel drug discovery our findings could provide baseline data to launch a bridge between the scientific communities and traditional health practitioners. in this regard, further scientific investigation on these medicinal plants for phytochemical, biological and clinical studies is greatly needed. acknowledgement the first author acknowledges financial support from the university of barisal for this survey. the authors are grateful to local folk medicinal practitioners of barisal district for providing information on ethnomedicinal uses of the plants. references addo-fordjour, p., kofi anning, a., durosimi belford, e.j. and akonnor, d. 2008. diversity and conservation of medicinal plants in the bomaa community of the brong ahafo region, ghana. j. med. plants res. 2: 226–233. ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., 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(manuscript received on 28 july 2018; revised on 22 october 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 191‒194, 2020 (june) short communication © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists utricularia geminiscapa benj. (lentibulariaceae): a new angiospermic record for bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane*, rauf ahmed bhuiyan and moniruzzaman khan eusufzai1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: utricularia geminiscapa benj.; lentibulariaceae; new record; bangladesh. utricularia l. is an insectivorous genus comprises of 214 species. utricularia is distributed throughout the world with the highest species richness in the tropical regions (taylor, 1989). freshwater lentibulariaceae of bangladesh represented by eight species, namely utricularia aurea lour., u. bifida linn., u. caerulea linn., u. gibba linn., u. inflexa forsk., u. minutissima vahl, u. scandens benj. and u. stellaris l.f. (ahmed et al., 2009). the plant materials of this study were collected through a hydrobiological expedition carried out from february 2019 to january 2020 in a natural baor of bangladesh namely baluhar baor at kotchandpur upazilla under the district of jhenaidah, bangladesh. the location of the baor is 23°27′ to 23°50′ north latitude and 88°55′ to 89°05′ east longitudes. baluhar baor (ox-bow lake) is an immemorial and immense water reservoir. the total area of the baor is 282 ha having a mean depth of 5.88 ± 0.701 m. it is a perennial water body and mostly rain fed. well managed aquaculture has been carried out in the baor. the sample was collected from 0.5 m depth of the middle point area of the baor with other submerged vegetation. the collected plant samples was then put in a large air tight ice bag with some water inside. it was then transported to the phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. some fresh materials were preserved as a herbarium sheet in this laboratory. the remaining plant sample was transferred in a concrete house (1 × 0.5 m length, depth 0.40 cm) in the botanical garden, department of botany, university of dhaka for ex-situ conservation and further detailed study. the specimen has finally been identified as utricularia geminiscapa benj., consulting fassett, 1957; subramanyam, 1979; oliver, 1859; clarke, 1884; kamienski, 1895; barnhart, 1916; taylor, 1989; crow, 1992. gamble, 1924; komiya, 1972. utricularia geminiscapa benj. was not reported earlier in the previous studies or literature, viz. hooker (1888), prain (1903), datta and mitra (1953), khan and halim (1987), uddin et al. (2000), rahman (2005) and ahmed et al. (2009) from the areas that now fall under the territory of present bangladesh. hence, it is reported here as a new record for bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic account along with photographs of the species has been furnished based on the fresh specimen (fig. 1). utricularia l., sp. pl. 1, 18 (1753) utricularia geminiscapa benj., linnaea 20(3), 305 (1847), berlin (syn. u. clandestina nutt. ex a.gray, manual (gray) 287 (1848) english name: hiddenfruit bladderwort plants perennial, suspended aquatic, glabrous; stolons filiform, sparingly branched. stems up to 58 cm long, c. 0.5 mm diam., internodes < 10 mm long. bladders on the scattered leaves. leaves without spines except at the tips of the divisions. leaves 10‒24 mm long, divided from *corresponding author, email: mujaddade@yahoo.com 1senior scientific officer, river research institute, faridpur, bangladesh. mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 192 alfasane et al. fig. 1. utricularia geminiscapa benj.; a. whole plant; b. bladders on the scattered leaves c-d. branch and leaves with filiform segments; e. bladder bearing leaves forking at the base; f. leaves without spines except at the tips of the divisions with showing flower; g. winter bud. utricularia geminiscapa benj. (lentibulariaceae) 193 base into 2 primary filiform segments, each divided into numerous secondary segments, the ultimate segments capillary and slightly flattened, minutely and sparsely setulose laterally and apically. cleistogamous infloresences lacking a peduncle; minute flowers which do not open scattered along the stem at the base of the scape, pedicels arise directly from the stolon, are up to 9 mm long, 2-3 flowered, without scales; bracts without basal lobes, calyx 1.0‒1.4 mm long, corolla minute or absent. buds 2-5 mm in diameter. region of origin: the east coast of north america, from north carolina (united states) north to new foundland (canada), and west to iowa (united states) and ontario (canada) (haber 1979; http:// plants.usda.gov). a small population is present near westport in new zealand where the species is thought to have recently naturalizedit was first recorded in this area in 1975 (heenan et al. 2004). it is assumed that utricularia geminiscapa may be the disjunct distribution in bangladesh. ecology: u. geminiscapa can easily be distinguished from the other species by the cleistogamous flowers. this plants species were also grown in the habitats of shallow wetlands, slow moving streams, reservoirs or canals, edges of lakes, ponds, sloughs, peatland pools. it can also grow in higher water levels and high-nutrient. the habitat of u. geminiscapa in new zealand is very similar to that in north america where it occurs in low altitude, shallow acid water of peat bogs, ponds, and lakes (haber 1979; taylor 1989). in bangladesh, it was found in the middle area of the baor with other submerged vegetation. the species was grown under the following physicochemical condition ranges from air temperature 28.5‒38.5ºc, water temperature 23.0‒33ºc, turbidity 1.6‒8.55 ntu, ph 6.5‒8.1, conductivity 18.5‒55.9 μs/cm, alkalinity 0.4‒0.6 meq/l, do 3.5‒12.4 mg/l, tds 12.4‒18.8 mg/l, srs 1.53‒18.9 mg/l, no3 -n 0.005‒0.35 mg/l, srp 2.3‒84.9 μg/l. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 8, angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae-lythraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 478 pp. barnhart, j.h. 1916. segregation of genera in lentibulariaceae. mem. new york bot. gard. 6 : 39‒64. clarke, c.b. 1884. lentibulariaceae. in: hooker, j. d., flora of british india 4. london. crow, g.e. 1992. the genus utricularia (lentibulariaceae) in costa rica. brenesia 38: 1‒18. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1– 110. fassett, n.c. 1957. a manual of aquatic plants. the university of wisconsin press, madison, 405 pp. gamble, j.s. 1924. flora of the presidency of madras 2. london. haber, e. 1979: utricularia geminiscapa at mer bleue and range extensions in eastern canada. canadian field naturalist 93: 391‒398. heenan, p.b., de lange, p.j. and knightbridge, p.i. 2004. utricularia geminiscapa (lentibulariaceae), a naturalised aquatic bladderwort in the south island, new zealand, new zealand journal of botany, 42(2): 247‒251 hooker, j.d. 1888. flora of british india, vol.5. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. pp. 463–686. kamienski, f. 1895. lentibulariaceae. in: engler, a. and prantl, k. a. e. die naturlichen pflanzenfamilien iv, 3b, leipzig. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1987. aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. 120 pp. komiya, s. 1972. systematic studies on the lentibulariaceae. dissertation, nippon dental college, tokyo. oliver, d. 1859. the indian species of utricularia. j. linn. soc. bot. 3: 170‒190. http:// 194 alfasane et al. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. volume 2. indian reprint 1963. calcutta. rahman, m.o. 2005. a taxonomic account of utricularia linn. from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 63‒70. subramanyam, k. 1979. studies on the indian utricularia, a review. j. ind. bot. soc. 58: 1‒16. taylor, p. 1989. the genus utricularia – a taxonomic monograph. kew bull. add. ser xiv: 1-724. hmso, london. uddin, m. z., khanam, k., hassan, m. a. and khan, m. s. 2000. utricularia minutissima vahl (lentibulariaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh jour. plant taxon. 7(1): 65‒67. (manuscript received on 03 march 2020; revised on 20 may 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 183–195, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists distribution and characterization of aegilops cylindrica host from iran behnam bakhshi1, mohammad jaffar aghaei2, eissa zarifi3, mohammad reza bihamta4, ehsan mohseni fard5 and mohammad reza naroui rad1 horticulture crops research department, sistan agricultural and natural resources research and education center, areeo, zabol, iran keywords: remote relatives; wheat; cytogenetics; chromosome; genetic diversity. abstract jointed goatgrass (aegilops cylindrica host; 2n = 4x = 28, ccccdcdc) is a tetraploid remote relative of bread wheat (triticum aestivum l; 2n=6x=42, aabbdd) with two genomes and 28 chromosomes. the diversity center of this species is in the fertile crescent and in central asia and could also be found in many places in iran. in this experiment, 359 accessions provided by national plant gene bank of iran (npgbi) were used. based on the geographical distribution, the highest distribution of a. cylindrica is found in north, west and north-west regions of iran. the data on the distribution of a. cylindrica showed that its distribution centers in iran are more than those reported in the previous studies. chromosome counting showed that all a. cylindrica accessions are tetraploid (2n=4x=28). results of factor analysis for nine morphological chromosome traits showed that karyotypic variation within accessions are related to the length of chromosomes and there is difference between the accessions for their total chromosome length, but the karyotype of different accessions are almost the same for the symmetry. low coefficient of variation in morphological traits as well as symmetric karyotypes of a. cylindrica species observed in this study could lead us to predict that a. cylindrica could be a recently evolved species among the remote relatives of bread wheat. introduction jointed goatgrass, originated from two species, is native to the mediterranean, middle east, asia, and was also introduced to the great plains and the pacific northwest of the united states (kimber and feldman, 1987; van slageren, 1994). it is a winter annual grass weed that infests over three million ha of winter wheat in the pacific northwest and great plains regions of the usa (dewey, 1996). it reduces winter wheat yields by interference and lowers harvested grain quality. average yield loss due to aegilops cylindrica infestations has been estimated to be 25% (anderson, 1993; donald and ogg jr, 1991). it has also been estimated that the economic cost of a. cylindrica to winter wheat producers in the western united states is $145 million annually (ogg, 1993). jointed goat grass and winter wheat are closely related. therefore, the development of selective herbicides to control this weed in winter wheat has been problematic. a. cylindrica is a bushy type plant with 20-40 cm long culms. it is characterized by narrow, 4-5 cm long, and glabrous to sparsely hairy leaves, a narrow, lanceolate and 6-9 cm long spike, almost ended with two incomplete spikelets. each spike consists of 6-11 spikelets and breaks off 1corresponding author: behnam.bakhshi@gmail.com, b.bakhshi@areeo.ac.ir 2vegetable research center, horticultural sciences research institute, agricultural research, education and extension organization (areeo), karaj, iran. 3seed and plant improvement institute (spii), agricultural research, education and extension organization (areeo), karaj, iran. 4department of agronomy and plant breeding, faculty of agricultural science and engineering, college of agriculture and natural resources, university of tehran, karaj, iran. 5department of agronomy and plant breeding, faculty of agriculture, university of zanjan, zanjan, iran. mailto:behnam.bakhshi@gmail.com, mailto:b.bakhshi@areeo.ac.ir 184 bakhshi et al. entirely or disintegrates into segments at maturity. each spikelet holds one to three seeds that are reddish-brown in color and reach maturity in mid-summer, fig. 1). fig. 1. spike and spikelet of a. cylindrica. the genomic constitution of a. cylindrica was determined by the analyses of chromosome pairing, storage proteins, isozymes, and differences in restriction length patterns of repeated nucleotide sequences (linc et al., 1999). linc et al. (1999) identified the diploid species a. caudata l. (2n=2x=14, cc) and a. tauschii coss. (2n=2x=14, dd) as the donor of the c and the d genome of a. cylindrica, respectively. previously, the cytoplasm of a. cylindrica was shown to be contributed by a. tauschii (maan, 1976; tsunewaki, 1989) but, more recent analysis with chloroplast microsatellite markers has shown that both a. tauschii (d-type cytoplasm) and a. markgrafii (greuter) k. hammer. (c-type cytoplasm), now a synonym of a. caudata, have contributed their cytoplasms to a. cylindrica (gandhi et al., 2005). high genome homology shared between a. cylindrica and its progenitor species and low intra-species polymorphism in a. cylindrica indicated it as a new species with little chromosome changes. the d genome chromosomes of a. cylindrica species are more similar to a. tauschii biotypes and dcr2 genome of hexaploid cytotype of a. crassa boiss. than d genome of bread wheat (badaeva et al., 2002; caldwell et al., 2004). these results indicate that there are different versions of d genomes for both a. cylindrica and t. aestivum l. species. a. cylindrica has wide distribution from western europe to east asia and even north america. the diversity center of this species is in the fertile crescent and in central asia and could also be found in many places in iran (van slageren, 1994). a. cylindrica has spreaded westward to greece, bulgaria, romania, kosovo, montenegro, serbia, and hungary. northwards, distribution and characterization of aegilops cylindrica 185 it is distributed in the caucasus region and along the black sea coast. though rare, this species is also present in the western arc of the fertile crescent involving lebanon, jordan, syria, northern iraq, and northwestern iran (van slageren, 1994). the geographic distribution of a. cylindrica encompasses and extends beyond areas, where it’s diploid progenitors, a. tauschii and a. markgrafii can be found (fig. 2). fig. 2. maps showing the distribution of collections of a. tauschii (a), a. markgrafii (b), and a. cylindrica (c). the geographic coordinates were obtained from the system-wide information network for genetic resources (singer; http://singer.cgiar.org/). throughout its range of distribution, a. cylindrica is considered as a weedy species, particularly in common wheat fields, where it chronically infests fields in the mediterranean, the middle east, europe, and the united states of america (dewey, 1996; ogg and seefeldt, 1999; van slageren, 1994). jointed goatgrass has also been suggested as a source of genetic variation for wheat improvement (bouhssini et al., 1998; farooq et al., 1992; iriki et al., 2001) because it is a close relative of common wheat and both species carry the d genome donated by a. tauschii (kimber and zhao, 1983; riley and law, 1965). in addition, natural hybridization between wheat http://singer.cgiar.org/). 186 bakhshi et al. and jointed goatgrass suggests a potential for gene flow between these species under field conditions (gandhi et al., 2006; zemetra et al., 1998). thus, there is considerable interest in understanding various aspects of the evolution of a. cylindrica for its better management and use. the d genome of hexaploid wheat has been shown to be more closely related to the d genome of a. tauschii subsp. strangulata (eig) tzvelev than to a. tauschii subsp. tauschii coss. (dvorak et al., 1998; lubbers et al., 1991; pestsova et al., 2001), whereas the d-type plastome and the d genome of a. cylindrica are more closely related to a. tauschii subsp tauschii than to a. tauschii subsp. strangulata (gandhi et al., 2005). although molecular genetic diversity and ploidy level of a. tauschii has been reported before (bakhshi et al., 2010; levan et al., 1964), no extensive study has been done to identify cytogenetic and morphologic characteristics of this species. we have collected many accessions from different regions of iran that it could be remarkable to identify potential genetic diversity among these accessions. in this study, we analyzed chromosomes features of a. cylindrica as well as distribution and morphological characteristics of this species which is widely distributed in iran. since this species is a relative of bread wheat it is important to identify available genetic diversity in this species to be used in necessary condition in bread wheat breeding programs. materials and methods plant material: 359 accessions were used in this experiment, which were provided from national plant gene bank of iran (npgbi). these accessions were collected from sixteen provinces of iran viz., west azarbaijan, east azarbaijan, ardebil, zanjan, qazvin, kurdistan, hamedan, kermanshah, ilam, lorestan, chaharmohal bakhtiari, mazandaran, tehran, esfahan, semnan and khorasan. a total of 23 traits were evaluated, 16 of which were qualitative and seven were quantitative. evaluation of all traits was conducted using three replications of each accession. the mean and mode was calculated for quantitative and qualitative traits, respectively. estimated statistical parameters traits were calculated for quantitative traits. shannon and weaver diversity index were calculated for measuring qualitative traits. non-standard values of diversity index (hc) and standard diversity index (sdi) was calculated as follows (hennink and zeven, 1990): in this formula, for certain traits, such as c, n, including the number of phenotypic classes and pi is equal to the frequency of bushes. chromosome counting: following the technique, developed at international maize and wheat improvement center (cimmyt) institute (mujeeb-kazi and miranda, 1985), root tips were collected between 9 am to 10:30 am, and then placed in a petri dish, on a filter paper moistened with α-bromonaphthalene pre-treatment solution. the samples were pre-treated about 2.5 to 3.5 hours, but generally 3 hrs as pre-treatment time was used, that resulted satisfying chromosome contraction and high mitotic index. after pre-treatment, the root tips were transferred to vials, containing 0.2% aceto-orcein and refrigerated (4°c) until they were being used. afterwards, the root tips were transferred to 2% aceto-orcein, in order to intensify the staining for 2 days before squashing. after staining the aceto-orcein was removed from the vial and 45% acetic acid was added to fill about a quarter of the vial. vial was heated over a flame to bring the contents to a slow boiling. after boiling, the vial contents (45% acetic acid + root tip) were transferred into an evaporating dish. distribution and characterization of aegilops cylindrica 187 a root tip was taken from it and placed over on filter paper to remove extra acetic acid. apical root tip measuring 2-2.5mm was cut and placed on dry microscope slide. the root tip was squashed by an arrow-head needle, and a small drop of 45% acetic acid was quickly added to the squashed tissue. the slide was then slightly warmed and a cover glass was placed gently over the macerated cellular area. the cover glass slides were gently dabbed with coarse filter paper, the slide was heated slightly, placed between folded filter paper on a flat surface and thumb pressure applied directly to the cover glass. after squashing, the slide was suitable for observing chromosomes by microscope. karyotype preparation: in order to prepare karyotypes of a. cylindrica, 12 accessions of a. cylindrica were used (table 1). table 1. accessions of a. cylindrica used in karyotype study. province city accession no. longitude latitude seconds degree seconds degree west azarbaijan naghadeh 50 45 22 36 57 lorestan borujerd 96 57 20 37 28 zanjan zanjan 363 48 29 36 40 kermanshah songhor 286 47 34 36 47 east azerbaijan maragheh 406 46 16 37 24 east azerbaijan hashtrud 408 47 4 37 28 ilam shirvan 312 46 34 33 46 ardabil ardabil 332 48 17 38 15 kermanshah west islamabad 379 46 32 34 7 east azerbaijan urmia 45 45 2 37 32 kermanshah javanrud 381 46 22 35 3 hamadan hamadan 393 48 31 34 48 study of karyotypes: chromosomes were named according to the location of centromere in the chromosome (levan et al., 1964). in this study, comparison between karyotypes in different accessions of a species was performed by comparing their symmetry. the stebbins method (stebbins, 1971) has been used for determining the degree of symmetry. additionally total form percentage index (tf) (forni-martins, 1994), the relative percentage of the longest chromosome to the shortest chromosomes (s) (bennardello, 1994), coefficient chromosomal length variations (cv) (sheidai et al., 1996, the average ratio of long to short arm (r) (bennardello, 1994) and range of chromosome length variation (v) (datta and agarwal, 1992) were calculated. evaluation of karyotype evolution was calculated using dispersion index (di) to show a few differences that were not visible in stebbins indicators (lavania and srivastava, 1999). factor analysis for morphological features of chromosomes based on principal component analysis and varimax rotation was also conducted. for measuring different parts of the chromosomes and analyzing morphological data of chromosomes, micromeasure software (reeves, 2001) and the spss software were used, respectively. results and discussion geographical distribution of a. cylindrica accessions in iran: investigation on collecting location and geographical distribution of a. cylindrica accessions reveals that this species predominantly grows in the range of 800 to 2000 meters altitude. thus this species is adapted to mountainous ecosystems and not to low altitude ecosystems of caspian shores, southern shore, 188 bakhshi et al. khuzestan and ilam. the results of the geographical distribution using ilwis software also showed that the highest distribution of a. cylindrica was in north, west and north-west regions, including east azarbaijan, west azarbaijan and kermanshah provinces, contrasting to that of the southern and southeast regions which showed the lowest distribution (fig. 3). however, it may be found anywhere on the mountainous areas of alborz and zagros. some populations could even be found on briny margins of urmialake and semnan, northern khorasan and around qom. whereas, a. cylindrica doesn't grow on salty deserts of central and southern iran. while, it is abundant in central iranian land, a. cylindricais usually found in the more elevated northern strip of the central iranian desserts and not in the more arid region of southern and central areas. fig. 3. geographical distribution of a. cylindrica in iran. the present investigation on the geographical distribution of a. cylindrica showed that the distribution centers are more than that reported in a previous study conducted in iran (gandhi et al., 2005). in the present study, in addition to north, west and northwest, northeast and southwest of iran have also been identified as distribution centers for this species. the results also showed that this species mostly present in mountain ecosystems and it is not found at low altitude ecosystems such as the margins and the southern coast ecosystems of caspian sea. previous studies indicated that the evolution of bread wheat occurred in high altitudes of caspian sea ecosystems (jaaska, 1981; nakai, 1978). on the other hand, the results of this study showed that the a. cylindrica species has a wide distribution in this region. with this explanation, the possibility of challenging unproven hypothesis that a. cylindrica had a potential to be as a donor of hexaploid wheat d genome (asghar et al., 2001) might be more acceptable. statistical parameters for the traits of a. cylindrica species: rachis width, spikelet seed number, plant height, kernel width and leaf number of rachis traits showed the highest phenotypic coefficient of variation, with 13.14, 11.33, 10.85, 10.43 and 10.11 percent, respectively. most of these traits have been also observed among traits with high diversity in other collected accessions in iran including a. tauschi and a. crassa (aghaei et al., 2008; ranjbar et al., 2007). furthermore, maturity date, spikelet length and length of spikelet glume indicated the lowest phenotypic coefficient of variation with 4.80, 5.02, and 5.61 percent. most standard deviations were also related to plant height, flowering date and maturity date and the lowest standard deviation were related to rachis width, spikelet width and width of spikelet glume (table 2). white and flour form kernel, brown and glabrous glumes, moderate distribution and characterization of aegilops cylindrica 189 fragility spikes, brown stamens and standing bushes were predominantly observed in the research field. furthermore, growth habit showed the most variation using non-standard and standard diversity index of shannon-weaver (peet, 1974). thus, according to shannon-weaver diversity index, growth habit could be introduced as the most effective qualitative trait to distinguish a. cylindrica populations (table 3). relatively low level of phenotypic variation coefficients for different traits were obtained in this study showing that this species is relatively new. however, high genetic diversity has been observed for a. tauschi in northern area of iran (aghaei et al., 2008). table 2. statistical parameters for quantitative traits evaluated in the collection of a. cylindrica. mean mod middle minimum maximum range of variation standard deviation variance coefficient of variation plant height 59.67 59.00 60.33 38.33 89.67 51.33 6.47 41.88 10.85 flowering date 65.12 67.00 66.00 58.00 93.00 35.00 4.34 18.82 6.66 maturity date 89.23 87.00 88.00 58.00 98.00 40.00 4.28 18.32 4.80 leaf number of rachis 3.46 3.33 3.33 2.67 4.33 1.67 0.35 0.12 10.11 spikelet seed number 2.04 2.00 2.00 1.33 3.00 1.67 0.23 0.05 11.33 spikelet number/spike 9.28 9.00 9.33 6.67 11.67 5.00 0.85 0.73 9.18 node number of rachis 2.92 3.00 3.00 2.00 3.67 1.67 0.21 0.04 7.14 kernel width 7.08 6.83 7.07 5.47 9.10 3.63 0.52 0.27 7.39 spike length 8.65 9.00 8.67 6.00 10.33 4.33 0.74 0.54 8.53 spikelet length 11.72 11.73 11.73 8.20 14.47 6.27 0.59 0.35 5.02 length of spikelet glume 9.28 10.17 9.83 8.23 11.23 3.00 0.55 0.30 5.61 kernel width 2.33 2.40 2.33 1.63 5.63 4.00 0.24 0.06 10.43 spikelet width 2.69 2.67 2.67 2.27 3.63 1.37 0.17 0.03 6.51 width of spikelet glume 2.88 2.87 2.87 2.40 4.27 1.87 0.19 0.04 6.70 rachis width 1.27 1.17 1.27 0.83 1.90 1.07 0.17 0.03 13.14 spike width 2.82 2.83 2.80 2.30 4.30 2.00 0.22 0.05 7.67 table 3. statistical parameters for qualitative traits evaluated in the collection of a. cylindrica. mod range of variation minimum maximum standard diversity index non-standard diversity index kernel tissue 3 0 3 3 0 0 stamen color 3 2 1 3 0.10 0.17 kernel color 3 0 3 3 0 0 glume color 2 0 2 2 0 0 spike-axis fragility 3 2 3 5 0.04 0.07 grows habit 1 4 1 5 0.58 0.92 glume hairs 1 6 1 7 0.06 0.11 karyotype analysis of accessions: chromosome counting showed that most of a. cylindrica accessions are tetraploid (2n = 4x = 28). furthermore, cytogenetic studies showed no aneuploid and b chromosome, but difference in chromosome length. collecting place and accession numbers are 190 bakhshi et al. presented in table 1 and chromosomes count, satellites count in karyotype and karyotypic formulae are shown in table 5. the metaphase cell and ideogram of various accessions are presented in figs. 4-15. all investigated accessions had a satellite in the short arm of chromosomes no. 8. the presence of satellite in the same pair of chromosomes is also reported (karataglis, 1989). considerable variation was observed in total length of chromosomes (tlc) and the average length of chromosomes (c). high variation in length of chromosomes may be a sign of genome adaptation of this species to those places from where they have been collected. the largest chromosome (11.33 micrometer) was found in zanjan accession and the smallest chromosome (4.87 micrometer) in urmia accession and both of them were sub-metacentric. maximum and minimum of long arm to short arm ratio was observed in islam abad gharb (2.129) and in shirvan (1.78) accessions, respectively. for total form percentage index (tf), the maximum (35.32) and minimum (31.18) tf was observed in ardabil and zanjan accessions, respectively. this data shows that karyotypes of ardebil and zanjan accessions have the highest and the lowest symmetry. the highest coefficient of variation (cv) was found in accessions from naghadeh and the lowest in the javanrud accessions. all of the accessions that were collected from the northwest and the west of iran, belonged to a2 position of the stebbins table, indicating a relatively symmetrical karyotype for recently evolved species with short evolutionary history. also, distribution index of chromosome (di) showed that the hashtrud accession had the highest di (7.43) and zanjan accession had the lowest di (18.5). this observation indicated that the hashtrud accession had the highest symmetry in contrast to zanjan accession. di could be more reliable than other indicators because three important karyotypic criteria, including variation in chromosomes length, centromere position and relative size of chromosomes, are involved in di calculation (table 6). table 5. collecting place, chromosomes count, satellites count and karyotypic formula of a. cylindrica. collecting place chromosomes count satellites count karyotypic formula naghadeh 28 1 2m* + 6sm* + 6st* borujerd 28 1 1m + 8sm + 5st zanjan 28 1 2m + 6sm + 6st songhor 28 1 4m + 4sm + 6st maragheh 28 1 2m + 9sm + 3st hashtrud 28 1 1m + 9sm + 4st shirvan 28 1 5m + 8sm + 1st ardabil 28 1 3m + 9sm + 2st west islamabad 28 1 3m + 6sm + 5st urmia 28 1 1m + 12sm + 1st javanrud 28 1 1m + 10sm + 3st hamadan 28 1 2m + 7sm + 5st * m; metacentric chromosome, sm; submetacentric chromosome and st; subtelocentric chromosome. range of chromosome length variation, total length of chromosome, average of chromosome length, total length of chromosomes (tlc), centromere index, and standard deviation of chromosome length traits had the largest factor coefficients in the first factor. because most of these traits depend on the chromosomes length, this factor is named length of chromosomes. this factor presents 65.83 percent of the total variance that shows there is great diversity for traits related to chromosome length among accessions. in the second factor, cv of chromosome length, minimum of short arm to long arm ratio percentage and distribution index distribution and characterization of aegilops cylindrica 191 figs 4-9: 4. metaphase chromosomes picture and ideogram of naghadeh population. *white flash shows satellites. 5. metaphase chromosomes picture and ideogram of broujerd population. 6. zanjan population. 7. songhor population. 8. maragheh population. 9. hashtroud population. 192 bakhshi et al. figs 10-15: 10. metaphase chromosomes picture and ideogram of shirvan population. 11. ardebil population .12. islam abad gharb population. 13. orumia population. 14. javanroud population. 15. hamedan population. distribution and characterization of aegilops cylindrica 193 the results of factor analysis of 9 chromosomal morphological traits showed that the first two factors had eigen values greater than one with 65.83 to 88.39 percent variance and these two factors were responsible for diversity in the accessions (tables 7-8). traits had the largest table 6. karyological characteristics of a. cylindrica accessions. collecting place stebins index cv of chromosome length distribution index of chromosome centromere index minimum of short arm to long arm ratio percentage total length of chromosomes (tlc) av. of short arm to long arm ratio av. of chromosome length total length of chromosome range of chromosome length variation naghadeh 2a 13.48 6.46 0.32 65.01 32.36 2.09 8.68 121.61 3.77 borujerd 2a 12.09 5.84 0.32 66.51 32.54 2.07 7.57 105.97 3.12 zanjan 2a 11.45 5.19 0.31 68.42 31.19 2.20 9.22 129.16 3.57 songhor 2a 11.90 5.65 0.32 67.77 32.21 2.10 7.46 104.46 2.95 maragheh 2a 12.84 6.41 0.33 67.13 33.31 2.00 8.43 118.12 3.41 hashtrud 2a 15.06 7.44 0.33 60.76 33.07 2.02 7.70 107.88 3.87 shirvan 2a 12.88 7.25 0.23 65.38 32.19 1.78 9.13 127.89 3.89 ardabil 2a 11.19 6.12 0.35 69.74 35.33 1.83 6.76 94.64 2.49 west islamabad 2a 12.99 6.10 0.31 64.19 31.96 2.13 8.27 115.87 3.71 urmia 2a 11.15 5.93 0.34 69.07 34.73 1.88 5.85 81.94 2.18 javanrud 2a 11.04 5.62 0.33 69.75 33.75 1.96 6.76 94.68 2.43 hamadan 2a 12.98 6.61 0.33 65.82 33.71 1.97 6.45 90.38 2.77 table 7. eigen values, percentage of variance and cumulative variance factor. factors eigen values percentage of variance cumulative variance factor 1 5.93 65.83 65.83 2 2.03 22.56 88.39 table 8. the first two factors derived from factor analysis for morphological traits of chromosomes. traits name factors 1 2 range of chromosome length variation 0.822 0.554 total length of chromosome 0.970 0.138 average of chromosome length 0.970 0.138 total length of chromosomes (tlc) -0.906 -0.023 minimum of short arm to long arm ratio percentage -0.284 -0.910 centromere index -0.713 -0.187 standard deviation 0.806 .0568 cv of chromosome length 0.244 0.947 distribution index of chromosome -0.007 0.923 factor coefficients. thus, the second factor was named as karyotype symmetry duo to all of these traits indicated karyotype symmetry of the accessions. the second factor accounted for 22.55 percent of the total variance, indicating that there was no great difference between accessions in terms of symmetry and confirming the placement of accessions at the 2a position of the stebbins table. therefore, the results of factor analysis show that karyotypic variation 194 bakhshi et al. within accessions is related to the length of chromosomes and there is difference between accessions for their total chromosome length; but the karyotype of different accessions are same for their symmetry and they are relatively symmetrical. as morphological studies were conducted, low coefficient of variation coupled with symmetric karyotype indicates a. cylindrica as a recently evolved species. a. cylindrica diversity centers are mostly located in the northwest regions where the highest numbers of collection sites are distributed. we also observed that a. cylindrica accessions of iran should be treated as a recently 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(manuscript received on 6 june, 2019; revised on 10 december, 2019) microsoft word 04. 15-13 repr biol magnolia ok 4.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 163-170, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists reproductive biology of seven taxa of magnolia l. in the south of russian far east lyubov a. kameneva and inna m. koksheeva1 botanical garden-institute, far eastern branch of russian academy of sciences (bgi feb ras), vladivostok, russia. keywords: magnolia l.; pollen; seed germination; stratification; seed productivity. abstract this paper presents the phenology of seven taxa of the genus magnolia l., pollen biology on germination and storage conditions, seed productivity, germinating ability of seeds and its dependence on stratification and germination conditions. it has been found that m. kobus dc, m. kobus var. boreales sarg., m. obovata thurb., m. officinalis rehd. et wils., m. salicifolia (sieb. et zucc.) maxim., m. sieboldii k. koch. and m. tripetala l. in cultivated condition produce pollen at a low viability rate (9.4 31.7%). real seed productivity of the taxa being studied is less than their potential productivity. however, m. obovata, m. officinalis and m. tripetala are characterized by high seed germinating ability, up to 94%. optimal germination conditions for seeds of m. tripetala, m. officinalis and m. obovata require protected ground (greenhouse) and stratification at 4ºc during 30 days. the high germinating ability of m. sieboldii seeds in the open ground is explained by stratification duration and temperature required for this species. sarcotesta effects on higher seed germinating ability have been observed in m. obovata only. introduction magnolia, belonging to the family magnoliaceae juss. includes over 80 species, and is distributed in southeast asia, north and central america (low, 1996). the only magnolia species that occurs in russia is magnolia obovata thunb., growing in kunashir islands (barkalov, 2009). primorsky krai has favourable climatic conditions for the cultivation of representatives of the genus magnolia (turkenya, 1991).this fact has made it possible to bring some other magnolia species under cultivation in this area. the collection of magnolia in the botanical garden-institute, far eastern branch of russian academy of sciences (bgi feb ras), vladivostok (russia, far east, primorsky krai), dates back to 1972 and at that time some seeds of m. sieboldii k. koch. were brought from the pyongyang botanical garden (north korea). forty years later, there are 20 magnolia species successfully cultivated in the botanical garden institute feb ras. prospects for bringing plants under cultivation are assessed by correspondence of plant phenology with climatic conditions in which they grow. knowledge of pollen quality, pollination and fertilization issues and production of quality seed material has both theoretical and practical importance. pollen quality is important for prediction of seed productivity of plants and for hybridization studies (termena, 1972; koksheeva, 2004; pshennikova, 2007; liza et al., 2010). production of quality seed material is an indicator of reproductive capacity of plants which depends on a number of factors: morphogenetic, genetic, physiological and ecological. 1 corresponding author. email: koksheeva@yandex.ru 164 kameneva and koksheeva individual questions of reproductive biology of some species of magnolia in different climatic conditions have been studied by several authors (minchenko and korshuk, 1987; kikuzawa and mizui, 1990; ishida, 1996; grigorenko, 1998; hirayama and ishida, 2005; korshuk and palagecha, 2007; setsuko et al., 2008; han and long, 2010; wang, 2010). the present work deals with comprehensive study of the genus magnolia in the russian far east, including the study of phenology, pollen germination, seed productivity and seed germination. materials and methods seven taxa of magnolia growing in the botanical garden institute in vladivostok (russian far east, primorsky krai) are appended in table 1. observations on phenology have been made using the methodology of lapin (1967). table 1. list of taxa of magnolia l. used in the present study. beginning taxa locality origin material h/d (m) flowering (year) fruiting (year) m. kobus central and northern japan, southern part of the korean peninsula ukraine, kiev, institute of botanical gardens, 1984, seedlings 4.5/5.0 9 9 m. kobus var. borealis japan, hokkaido ukraine, kiev, institute of botanical gardens, 1984, seedlings 05.0/5.0 14 26 m. obovata japan, kuril islands, russia ukraine, kiev, institute of botanical gardens, 1986, seedlings 3.0/3.0 13 24 m. officinalis central china ukraine, kiev, institute of botanical gardens, 1989, seedlings 4.5/5.0 16 20 m. salicifolia central and northern japan czech republic, 1996, seeds 63.5/3.5 13 15 m. sieboldii japan, china, the korean peninsula north korea, pyongyang, the botanical gardens, 1974, seeds 04.0/6.0 9 14 m. tripetala the southern part of north america ukraine, kiev, institute of botanical gardens, 1988, seedlings 4.0/2.0 12 22 h = height of stem, d = diameter of crown of tree. pollen was collected during mass flowering period. three growth medium varieties were used for study of pollen germination: 5%, 10% and 15% glucose solutions, with distilled water used for control purposes (golubinsky, 1974). pollen was germinated in a thermostat at 24ºc and laboratory temperature 18ºc to 20ºc. specimens were observed through a microscope through 24h after pollen was sown. the number of germinated pollen grains was counted in five microscope fields of view for each specimen. the length of pollen tubes was measured as an indicator of pollen viability. an optimal growth medium was assumed in which germinated pollen percentage was at its highest and corresponded to maximum length of pollen tubes. reproductive biology of seven taxa of magnolia 165 three storage methods were used to determine optimal conditions of pollen storage: storage in laboratory conditions at 18ºc to 20ºc, storage in a household refrigerator at 4ºc and storage in a freezing cabinet at –18ºc. pollen was stored for 7 days in tight sealed test tubes. seed productivity and productivity rate were determined using the method of rabotnov (1960). potential seed productivity (psp) is number of seed buds per one fruit aggregate. real seed productivity (rsp) is number of mature seeds per one fruit aggregate. productivity rate (pr) is the ratio of potential and real seed productivity expressed in per cent. seed productivity studies were based on 60 fruit aggregates taken for each plant. seed and fruit parameters were also measured: length, width and weight (weight of 1,000 seeds with/without sarcotesta). seed germinating ability was determined by sowing seeds in the open ground and in the protected ground (greenhouse) and further natural lengthy (mean air temperature in winter varying from –5ºc to –27.2ºc) stratification and artificial stratification (at 4ºc during 30 days). also, seeds were germinated with and without sarcotesta. studies were based on 90 seeds of each species taken for each experimental condition. results and discussion phenology of plants: vegetative period of magnolia species begins with swelling of generative buds (20 april 2012) at temperature around 5.4ºс. vegetative buds swell later (5-28 may 2012). for all the seven magnolia taxa studied, flowering period normally begins 10-20 days after commencement of generative bud swelling and continues for 17 to 40 days (fig. 1a-c). the flowering of early flowering magnolia species occurs before leaf unfolding period and mass flowering occurs in mid-may at 9.7ºс. mass flowering of late flowering magnolia species, which flower after leaf unfolding, occurs in mid-june at 14.5ºс. in the south of primorsky krai, seeds ripen in late september or in first ten-day period of october (16.5ºс). vegetation period duration for the species being studied is 169-179 days (table 2). table 2. phenology of the genus magnolia l. in cultivated condition. flowering generative bud swelling vegetative buds swelling leaf unfolding budding start mass stop fruit formation fruit ripening defoliation vegetation period (days) taxa date m. kobus 20.04 16.05 27.05 29.04 05.05 15.05 22.05 02.10 16.10 03.11 179 m. kobus var. borealis 23.04 16.05 27.05 30.04 03.05 18.05 25.05 01.10 18.10 28.10 173 m. obovata 9.05 22.05 28.05 5.06 16.06 18.06 9.07 3.10 12.10 26.10 172 m. officinalis 10.05 28.05 29.05 6.06 14.06 17.06 9.07 8.10 13.10 26.10 169 m. salicifolia 21.04 05.05 10.05 28.04 03.05 19.05 03.06 02.10 13.10 25.10 175 m. sieboldii 29.04 08.05 20.05 24.05 6.06 20.06 18.07 27.09 08.10 25.10 169 m. tripetala 7.05 19.05 5.05 13.06 19.06 20.06 12.07 27.09 9.10 27.10 175 pollen germination biology: seed productivity of plants is known to be largely dependent on pollen viability. pollen quality is governed by many factors, viz. species particulars, climatic conditions for growing and pollen maturity. pollen germination results for seven taxa of magnolia genus on various growth mediums are shown in table 3. pollen germination in laboratory conditions at temperature 166 kameneva and koksheeva 18-20ºc revealed that its viability does not exceed 4.8%. because of that, further pollen germination studies were continued in a thermostat at 24ºc. this temperature increase resulted in a higher percentage of pollen viability and longer pollen tubes (fig. 1l). fig. 1. development stages of the genus mognolia: magnolia sieboldii (a. budding; f. flower; h. fruit); magnolia officinalis (b,c. budding; e,g. flowers; k. seeds); magnolia kobus (d. flower); magnolia kobus var. borealis (i. fruit; l. pollen); magnolia obovata (j. fruit). pollen germination results for magnolia taxa in a thermostat at 24ºc on various growth mediums showed that the optimal medium is a 5% glucose solution in which the percentage of reproductive biology of seven taxa of magnolia 167 germinated pollen was at its highest and corresponded to the maximum length of pollen tubes. in general, the taxa being studied are characterized by low pollen viability from 9.4% to 31.7%. among these species, highest viability data were registered for pollen of m. kobus var. borealis (31.7%) with a pollen tube length of 8.2 µm. low pollen viability data were observed for m. kobus (9.4%), with its flowering period occurring in early may (9.7ºc). these data are supported by minchenko and korshuk (1987) showing that the main reason for poor pollen viability (in a cultivated condition in kiev, ukraine) may be low temperatures during flowering period preventing complete maturation of pollen. table 3. magnolia pollen viability in different growth medium. glucose concentration (%) taxa 5 10 15 m. kobus 9.246 2.14.9 ± ± 9.15.5 8.01.6 ± ± 9.18.5 6.05.3 ± ± m. kobus var. borealis 6.23.34 8.27.31 ± ± 8.18.5 6.22.10 ± ± 17.4 6.02.5 ± ± m. obovata − ± 4.13.11 − ± 9.01.6 − ± 6.04.3 m. officinalis − ± 7.18.13 − ± 3.17.11 − ± 7.07 m. salicifolia 2.162 2.14.10 ± ± 3.13.5 09.106.7 ± ± 1.102.5 4.03.1 ± ± m. sieboldii 5.12.8 4.16.19 ± ± 09.09.3 1.12.14 ± ± 3.02.2 8.06.5 ± ± m. tripetalla in the numerator pollen viability (%), denominator the length of pollen tubes (µm); «-» not examined. pollen ability to be stored during a long time is an important feature for hybridization studies. results of pollen storage of magnolia for different temperature conditions showed that pollen of all taxa being studied rapidly loses its viability at 18-20ºc (fig. 2). highest pollen viability data were observed for m. officinalis (8%) when stored in a freezing cabinet at –18ºc. however, this temperature of –18ºc adversely affected pollen viability during storage for the rest taxa being studied. therefore, an optimal pollen storage condition for the majority of species is a lowered above-zero temperature of 4ºc. pollen storage results for magnolia species are confirmed by data of minchenko and korshuk (1987) who indicated that even five-day-long storage of magnolia pollen reduces its viability twice and more and that such pollen cannot be used for hybridization. seed productivity: results of seed productivity studies for seven taxa of magnolia in a cultivated condition in the south of the russian far east are presented in table 4. potential seed productivity of the species being studied is defined by the number of seed buds per one fruit aggregate, being an upper limit of a species’ seed productivity, and characterizes its potential that is little dependent on environmental conditions. potential seed productivity varies depending on species and is equal to 48-210 ovules per one fruit aggregate. real seed productivity was found by the number of seeds beginning to develop in a fruit. it amounted up to 55 seeds per one fruit aggregate which is much lower than potential seed productivity. despite low real seed productivity, productivity rate for m. sieboldii and m. tripetala is above 50%. the lowest productivity rate was registered for m. salicifolia (1.7%). 168 kameneva and koksheeva table 4. seed productivity of seven taxa of magnolia in cultivated condition. psp rsp pr (%) taxa min max mean min max mean min max mean m. kobus 26 66 74 9 31 11 15.4 61.3 14,8 m. kobus var. borealis 50 78 62 2 32 15 10 55.1 24,2 m. obovata 36 158 120 9 69 47 11.2 47.8 39.1 m. officinalis 166 240 210 6 65 31 8.4 25.3 14.7 m. salicifolia 40 55 60 1 1.7 m. sieboldii 26 52 48 6 39 28 13.4 64.2 58.2 m. tripetala 74 112 96 4 86 55 4.1 86.8 57.5 psp = potential seed productivity, rsp = real seed productivity, pr = productivity rate. characteristics of seeds and fruits of magnolia taxa are presented in table 5. large fruit aggregates (8.7-15.0 cm) and seeds (0.8-1.3 cm) are typical in m. officinalis, m. obovata and m. tripetala, while small ones (3.2 cm) are observed in m. salicifolia (fig. 1h-k). fig. 2. viability of magnolia pollen after storage at different temperatures. 1. m. kobus, 2. m. kobus var. borealis, 3. m. obovata, 4. m. officinalis, 5. m. salicifolia, 6. m. sieboldii. seed germination: seed germination of magnolia taxa in a cultivated condition in the south of russian far east showed that high germinating ability (67-94%) is typical in m. tripetala, m. officinalis and m. obovata (table 6). despite a high productivity rate of m. kobus, germinating ability of its seeds is low, 3.0% to 4.4%. seed germination in the open ground and in the protected ground showed that optimal conditions for seeds of m. tripetala, m. officinalis and m. obovata are artificial stratification at 4ºc during 30 days and further germination in the protected ground. optimal conditions for m. sieboldii seeds are in the open ground (long-time stratification at 0ºc to –27ºc). the present study revealed that a favourable effect on seed germinating ability was observed for m. obovata only 57.3% without sarcotesta and 94.3% with sarcotesta. no sarcotesta effects on seed germination were registered for other species. 0 2 4 6 8 10 1 vi ab ili ty o f p ol en , % 1 2 3 4 5 6 taxa v ia bi lit y of p ol le n (% ) = 18-20ºc = 4ºc = –18ºc reproductive biology of seven taxa of magnolia 169 table 5. morphometric characteristics of the fruits and seeds of seven taxa of magnolia. fruit seed taxa length (cm) width (cm) weight (g) length (cm) width (cm) weight (s) 1000 (g) weight (ws) 1000 (g) m. kobus 7.2 ± 0.8 2.1 ± 0.06 9.5 ± 0.7 0.9 ± 0.01 0.8 ± 0.02 323 169 m. kobus var. borealis 4.5 ± 0.1 2 ± 0.1 8.9 ± 0.9 0.8 ± 0.02 0.7 ± 0.02 226.9 122 m. obovata 8.7 ± 0.3 4.6 ± 0.12 43.3 ± 3.3 1.1 ± 0.02 0.9 ± 0.01 262.5 152.6 m. officinalis 15 ± 0.5 4.9 ± 0.07 108.8 ± 8.5 1.3 ± 0.01 1.1 ± 0.02 528.2 399.3 m. salicifolia 3.2 ± 0.7 1.2 ± 0.6 2.2 ± 0.4 0.8 ± 0.01 0.7 ± 0.01 – – m. sieboldii 5.3 ± 0.9 2.07 ± 0.02 3.4 ± 0.1 0.5 ± 0.02 0.48 ± 0 52.7 39.5 m. tripetala 7.2 ± 0.2 3.9 ± 0.09 40.3 ± 2.2 0.8 ± 0.02 0.7 ± 0 151.98 99.5 s = seeds with sarkotesta, ws = seeds without sarkotesta, – = not examined. table 6. seed germination of seven taxa of magnolia in different condition. % of seeds germination in greenhouse % of seed germination in the open ground taxa with sarcotesta without sarcotesta with sarcotesta without sarcotesta m. kobus 3 0 4.4 ± 0.1 0 m. kobus var. borealis 0 0 0 0 m. obovata 94.3 ± 5.7 57.3 ± 4.7 59.8 ± 12.6 45.5 ± 7.8 m. officinalis 70.1 ± 11,8 47.3 ± 1,3 61±5.9 45.5 ± 6.1 m. salicifolia – – – – m. sieboldii 37.7 ± 2.3 56.7 ± 5.7 42.4 ± 3.9 52 ± 6.1 m. tripetala 67.3 ± 11.6 56 ± 5.8 66.6 ± 15.04 47.8 ± 9.4 ‘0’ denotes not germinated, ‘–’ denotes not examined. the present study addresses phenology of seven taxa of the genus magnolia l., pollen biology of germination and storage conditions, seed productivity, germinating ability of seeds and its dependence on stratification and germination conditions. it was found that the flowering period of the taxa being studied occurs in may – june at a time of low air temperatures varying from 9ºc to 14.5ºc, which has adverse effects on pollen viability. due to this circumstance, m. kobus, m. obovata, m. officinalis, m. tripetala, m. salicifolia and m. sieboldii are characterized by low pollen fertility (9.4-31.7%) in the south of the russian far east which affects their seed productivity. real seed productivity of these taxa is considerably lower (1-55 seeds per one fruit aggregate) than their potential seed productivity (48-210 ovules per one fruit aggregate). despite their low pollen viability and productivity rate, m. tripetala, m. officinalis and m. obovata in a cultivated condition produce seeds with high germinating ability (67-94%). at the same time, m. sieboldii features a high productivity rate but low seed germinating ability. seed germination results showed that optimal conditions for species with high germinating ability such as m. tripetala, m. officinalis and m. obovata are artificial stratification, presence of sarcotesta and protected ground conditions. we believe that low germinating ability of m. sieboldii and m. kobus in the protected ground can be explained by stratification duration and temperature. sarcotesta effects on higher seed geminating ability were observed for m. obovata only. 170 kameneva and koksheeva references barkalov, v.y. 2009. flora of the kuril islands. dalnauka, vladivostok. 54 pp. golubinsky, i.n. 1974. biology of germination of pollen. naukova dumka, kiev. 368 pp. grigorenko, i.v. 1998. flowering ecology of the family magnoliaceae juss. in the industrial city of the south-east of ukraine. problems dendrology, floriculture, horticulture. abstracts of the vi confer. yalta. pp. 12-17. han, c.-y. and long, c.-l. 2010. seed dormancy, germination and storage behavior of magnolia wilsonii (magnoliaceae), an endangered plant in china. acta bot. yun. 32(1): 47-52. hirayama, k. and ishida, k. 2005. effect of pollen shortage and self-pollination on seed production of an endangered tree magnolia stellata. ann. bot. 95(6): 1009-1015. ishida, k. 1996. beetle pollination of magnolia praecocissima var. borealis. plant species biology 11: 199206. kikuzawa, k. and mizui, n. 1990. flowering and fruiting phenology magnolia hypoleuca. plant species biology 5: 255-261. koksheeva, i.m. 2004. on the methods of determining the viability of the pollen in the genus rhododendron l. (ericaceae). bot. journal 89(6): 147-150. korshuk, t.p. and palagecha, r.m. 2007. magnolia l. kiev university. ukraine. 207 pp. lapin, p.i. 1967. seasonal rhythm of woody plants and its significance for the introduction. bull. gbs. 65:13-18. law, y.w. 1996. magnoliaceae. flora reipublicae popularis sinicae 30(1): 151-194. liza, s.a., rahman, m.o., uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and begum, m. 2010. reproductive biology of three medicinal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 69-78. minchenko, n.f. and korshuk, t.p. 1987. magnolias in ukraine. nauk. dumka, kiev. 184 pp. pshennikova, l.m. 2007. lilac, cultivated in the botanical garden-institute feb ras. dalnauka, vladivostok. 113 pp. rabotnov, t.a. 1960. methods of study of seed reproduction of herbaceous plants in the communities. geobotany field. publishing house of the academy of sciences of the ussr, moscow-leningrad 2: 20-40. setsuko, s., tamaki, i., ishida, k., and torami, n. 2008. relationships between flowering phenology and female reproductive success in the japanese tree species magnolia stellata. botany 86: 248-258. termena, b.k. 1972. about flowers and fruits of magnolia soulangia in bukovina. bull. gbs. 84: 82-84. turkenya, v.g. 1991. biological aspects of the monsoon climate zone of the far east. vladivostok: far eastern branch of the academy of sciences of the ussr. 203 pp. wang, r. 2010. flowering and pollination patterns of magnolia denudata with emphasis on anatomical changes in ovule end seed development. flora 205: 269-265. (manuscript received on 30 january 2013; revised on 9 october 2013) microsoft word 05. revised-amorphophallus.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 135-153, 2012 (december) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. conophallus (schott) engl. (araceae) in india v. abdul jaleel1, m. sivadasan2,3, ahmed h. alfarhan2, jacob thomas2 and a. a. alatar2 department of botany, university of calicut, calicut university p. o., 673 635, kerala, india keywords: araceae; amorphophallus; endemic species; india; revision; conophallus abstract the diagnostic characters of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. conophallus (schott) engl. is amended based on detailed studies of characteristics of the constituent species. in india the section is represented by six species, viz. a. bognerianus sivad. et jaleel, a. bulbifer (sims) blume, a. carnosus engl., a. commutatus (schott) engl., a. nicolsonianus sivad. and a. oncophyllus prain ex hook. f. the species a. commutatus forms a complex with three varieties, viz. var. commutatus, var. anmodensis sivad. et jaleel, and var. wayanadensis sivad. et jaleel. keys to the species and varieties have been provided to facilitate easy identification. amorphophallus carnosus has been rediscovered after more than 100 years of its first discovery and collection. amorphophallus bulbifer has comparatively wider distribution in india with extended distribution in bangladesh and myanmar. the species a. bognerianus, a. carnosus, a. commutatus, a. nicolsonianus and a. oncophyllus are exclusive endemics of india. introduction the genus amorphophallus blume ex decne. is represented by more than 200 species (mayo et al., 1997; jaleel et al., 2011). engler (1911) recognized 11 sections under the genus based on 78 species, and additional 12 species were treated as doubtful or not at all known. many new species have been discovered and recognized since then. the sectional classification of engler (1911) has several drawbacks as per the present taxonomic standards. a brief account on the taxonomic history of indian species of amorphophallus has very recently been provided by jaleel et al. (2011) and it contained reference to earlier relevant works of hooker (1894), bogner et al. (1985), sivadasan (1986, 1989), sivadasan et al. (1994), hetterscheid et al. (1994), bogner (1995), mayo et al. (1997), sivadasan and jaleel (1998a, b, 2000a, b, 2001, 2009) and yadav et al. (2009). the genus is reported to be under revision and is supposed to include pollen morphology, odour biochemistry and pollination biology, and molecular data (van der ham et al., 2005). in india the genus is represented by 3 sections (sensu engler, 1911), and revision of one of the three sections, viz. amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus which is the largest in india has been published recently (jaleel et al., 2011). the present paper deals with revision of amorphophallus sect. conophallus (schott) engl. which is the second largest in india. as the present revisionary study deals with the species confined only to india and a worldwide revision of the genus is expected to ensue, any attempt on sectional re-classification based on indian taxa would be inappropriate, and hence the sectional name as used by engler is retained here for convenience with amendments to the diagnostic characters of the section under study. 1 present address: department of botany, sir syed college, taliparamba, kannur 670 142, kerala, india 2 department of botany & microbiology, college of science, king saud university, p. o. box 2455, riyadh -11451, kingdom of saudi arabia 3 corresponding author: e-mail: drmsivadasan@rediffmail.com 136 jaleel et al. materials and methods exhaustive field explorations were made all over india including the andaman and nicobar islands at different seasons for collection of specimens in vegetative and reproductive phases; and all relevant data have been recorded, and photographs taken. the present taxonomic revision was based on both the specimens collected during the study and those available in major indian and international herbaria. the methodology as mentioned by jaleel et al. (2011) has been followed. specimens of indian species available at various major indian and international herbaria, viz. assam, bsa, bsd, bshc, bsi, cal, cali, dd, gh, jcb, k, kfri, l, m, mh, pbl, tbgt and us were examined; but citations were limited to few representative specimens to restrict the length of the article. taxonomic treatment amorphophallus blume ex decne., nouv. ann. mus. hist. nat. 3: 366 (1834), nom. cons. [taxon 31: 310 (1982)]. type: amorphophallus campanulatus decne. [= a. paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson]. amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. conophallus (schott) engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (heft 48): 79 (1911), emend. sivad. mut. char. (conophallus schott, syn. aroid. 34 (1856) = proteinophallus masters, gard. chron. 610 (1873); tapeinophallus baill., dict. bot. 1. (fasc. v), ic. sine desc. (1877); hydrosme engl., bot. jahrb. xv: 456 (1892), p.p.) tuberous herbs; tubers subglobose, globose, depressed-globose, cylindric or obconoid. leaves solitary; lamina with leaflets sessile or rarely petioluled, base usually unequal and decurrent on rachis or not; venation reticulate with secondary lateral veins united below margin forming sub-marginal collective vein. flowering without leaves; inflorescence with peduncle short or long, usually identical with petiole in colour and pattern of mottling, basally surrounded by 3-7 cataphylls; spathe with a basal convolute tube and erect or bent limb. spadix long or shorter than spathe, usually non-stipitate or stipitate, with a basal female zone, a continuous middle male zone, and a terminal sterile appendix. female flowers crowded, spirally or subspirally arranged, ovary 1-3-locular, stigma sessile, or very short styled, entire or lobed; ovule 1 per locule. male flowers free, dense; dehiscence by apical slit or pore. spadix-appendix erect, elongate-ovoid, ellipsoid, fusiform or cylindric with tapering tip. key to the indian species of amorphophallus sect. conophallus 1. leaves bulbiliferous, epiphyllar bulbils produced at junction of petiole with rachises and at axils of branches of rachises; spadix ovoid, or elongate obpyriform, creamcoloured. 2 leaves not bulbiliferous. 5 2. peduncle short, usually 11-15 cm long; spathe-limb apically fornicate. a. bognerianus peduncle long, usually 38-68 cm long, spathe-limb apically erect, not fornicate. 3 3. spathe without a constriction between basal tube and limb, c. 39.5 cm long, with indistinct blotches outside; spadix sessile. a. carnosus spathe with or without a constriction between basal tube and limb, c. 14-25 cm long with distinct blotches outside; spadix stipitate. 4 4. petiole and peduncle dark green with light greenish blotches and minute greenish white mottles in between blotches; leaflet-margin green; spathe with distinct constriction between tube and limb. a. oncophyllus petiole and peduncle pinkish green to brownish green with cream to white irregular vertical linear stripes; leaflet-margins light pinkish; spathe without constriction between tube and limb. a. bulbifer a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. 137 5. tuber cylindrical in reproductive phase, small and obconic in vegetative phase; petiole and peduncle turgid and brittle; peduncle 21-31 cm long; spathe 10.6-12.0 cm long, greenish brown to greenish purple with light green mottles and dark purple spots outside; greenish yellow and smooth within, sometimes very light pinkish green tinged with purple spots at base within. a. nicolsonianus tuber subglobose in reproductive and vegetative phases; petiole and peduncle not brittle; peduncle 38-56 cm long; spathe 15-32 cm long, dark brownish or purplish green outside, dark purplish inside with short rounded bumps. a. commutatus amorphophallus bognerianus sivad. et jaleel, aroideana 32: 136 (2009). (fig. 1) type: india, arunachal pradesh, bhalukpong, alt. 217 m, 8.6.1999, abdul jaleel ria 371 (holotype k). tubers depressed globose, 7.0-14.5 cm in diam. and 4.5-10.5 cm thick in vegetative phase, c. 9 cm in diam. and c. 4.5 cm thick in reproductive phase. petiole 77-105 cm long, dark greenish with pale green irregular ovoid to oblong, horizontal mottles and minute pale green lines also within mottles. leaflets oblong to elliptic, acuminate at apex, leaflets 6-26 x 3-8 cm. bulbils c. 0.6-3.5 cm in diam., 0.5-1.5 cm thick. peduncle c. 11.0-15.5 cm long. spathe broadly lanceolate, 13-25 cm long, with a basal convolute tube and an upper expanded limb without constriction in between, convolute basal tube apically dilated, funnel-shaped, 2.0-2.6 cm in diam. at base, 3.5-4.0 cm in diam. at top, limb 8.5-13.0 cm broad at centre, tip acute and fornicate, pale pinkish outside with narrow horizontal brownish green patches at basal convolute part, patches vertical on the limb portion, brownish green mottles towards tip, pinkish inside, minutely muricate at base within, smooth and paler above. spadix subsessile, shorter than spathe, 9.5-13.0 cm long; stipe 0.2-0.3 cm long, pale pinkish; female zone 2.5-2.9 cm long; male zone 2.1-2.5 cm long; appendix 4.5-7.5 cm long. female flowers dense, each c. 2.5-3.0 mm high, ovary c. 1 mm high, dark reddish, 1 or 2loculed; style very short, c. 1 mm long; stigma discoid, 2 or 4-lobed. male flowers dense, each c. 3 mm high, cream-coloured. spadix-appendix fusiform or ellipsoid, cream or yellow with slight brownish minute spinescent projections at maturity, especially towards tip. fruits elongateellipsoid, 1.5-1.7 cm long. seeds 1.1-1.2 cm long. phenology: flowering: may-june; fruiting: august-september. specimens examined: arunachal pradesh: balukpong, alt. 217 m, 2.10.1997, abdul jaleel ria 199 (cali); ibid., 2.10.1997, abdul jaleel ria 200 (cali); [kerala state, calicut university botanical garden, 13.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 370 (cali); ibid., 8.6.1999, abdul jaleel ria 371 (cali) (originally collected from balukpong, arunachal pradesh and introduced in the calicut university botanical garden)]. notes: amorphophallus bognerianus is related to a. bulbifer (sims) blume, but differs in having the inflorescence with short peduncle and erect fornicate spathe-limb. it also differs from a. bulbifer in having a different mottling of petiole and peduncle, and spadix shorter than spathe and spadix-appendix, more or less equals to the length of fertile portion of spadix in contrast to the condition in a. bulbifer where the spadix-appendix is longer than the length of the fertile portion of spadix. distribution: hitherto known only from the type locality in arunachal pradesh. amorphophallus bulbifer (sims) blume, rumphia 1: 148 (1837); kunth, enum. pl. 3: 34 (1841); engl. in dc., monogr. phan. 2: 317 (1879); hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 515 (1893); prain, bengal pl. 2: 1110 (1903); cooke, fl. pres. bombay 2: 825 (1908); engl. in engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c(48): 98 (1911); haines, bot. bihar and orissa 3: 903 (1924); c.e.c. fisch. in gamble, fl. pres. madras: 1587 (1931); nicolson in saldanha & nicolson, fl. hassan dist.: 783 (1976); 138 jaleel et al. fig. 1. amorphophallus bognerianus sivad. et jaleel. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence side view; d. spadix; e. a small basal inside portion of spathe; f. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; g. female flower; h. one-loculed female flower l.s.; i. two-loculed female flower -l.s.; j. one-loculed ovary c.s.; k. two-loculed ovary c.s.; l. stigma of one-loculed flower; m. stigma of twoloculed flower; n. male flower view from broad side; o. male flower view from top; p. male flower l.s.; q. male flower c.s. a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. 139 karth., jain, nayar & sanjappa, fl. ind. enum. monocot.: 6 (1989). arum bulbiferum roxb. [hort. beng. 65 (1814), nom. nud.] ex sims, curtis's bot. mag. 46: t. 2072 (1819), ibid. 51: t. 2508 (1824); roxb., fl. ind. 3: 510 (1832); wight, icon. pl. ind. or. 3: 783 (1844). pythonium bulbiferum (sims) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot.: 18 (1832). conophallus bulbifer (sims) schott, syn. aroid.: 34 (1856). conophallus tuberculiger schott, bonplandia 7: 28 (1856). amorphophallus tuberculiger (schott) engl. in dc., monogr. phan. 2: 317 (1879); hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 517 (1893). amorphophallus bulbifer var. marmoratus engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 99 (1911). amorphophallus bulbifer var. atroviridimaculatus engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 99 (1911); karth., jain, nayar & sanjappa, fl. ind. enum. monocot.: 6 (1989). amorphophallus bulbifer var. tuberculiger (schott) engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 99 (1911); karth., jain, nayar & sanjappa, fl. ind. enum. monocot.: 6 (1989). (fig. 2) type: illustration of arum bulbiferum, t. 2072, published by sims in bot. mag. vol. 46 (1819). tubers sub-globose, c. 6 cm in diam. and 3.0 cm thick in vegetative phase, 9-16 cm in diam. and 6-9 cm thick in reproductive phase. petiole 60-82 cm long, pinkish green to brownish green with cream to white irregular vertical linear patches. leaflets 4-18 x 2.0 4.5 cm sessile, ovate-oblong lanceolate, apex acuminate; greenish above and paler below, extreme margin pale pinkish. bulbils 0.7-0.9 cm in diam., 0.3-0.5 cm thick. peduncle 6068 cm long. spathe ovate-obtuse, erect, 18-22 cm long, basal convolute tube 5.5-6.0 cm in diam., pale green to greenish yellow outside with white to cream rounded blotches, pinkish at base and paler at top within. spadix longer than spathe, 20-24 cm long, with a stipe of c. 0.5 cm long; female zone 2.5-3.0 cm long; male zone 4.0-4.5 cm long; appendix 12-14 cm long. female flowers dense, each with ovary c. 1.5 mm high, pale purplish, 1-2-locular; style 1.0-1.5 mm long, pale yellowish; stigma c. 2.5 mm in diam., yellowish green. male flowers dense, pale pinkish, each 2.0-2.5 cm high. spadixappendix elongate-ovoid, buff-coloured, smooth. fruits broadly ovoid, 1.0-1.4 cm long. seeds 1-3, 0.8-0.9 cm long. phenology: flowering: may-june; fruiting: july-november. specimens examined: kerala: malappuram dist.: nilambur ghat, july 1937, barnes s.n. (dd); palghat dist.: manthampotti, 8.6.1979, sivadasan cu 21463 (cali); nelliyampathy, karappara, 15.8.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 125 (cali). goa: anveldem (malem), 18.9.1970, mudaliar, acc. no. 124346 (cal); dodamarg, 5.6.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 71 (cali). maharashtra: poona, ambowne, 6.9.1964, venkata reddi, acc. no. 99013 (cal); tungar hill, mandi range, 22.7.1968, billore acc. no. 116331 (cal); amboli ghat, 8.6.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 75 (cali). madhya pradesh: bilaspur, paranta pendra, 14.7.1973, murti, acc. no. 19128 (bsa). orissa: koraput dist., jeypore circle, papadahandi, (?).9.1966, das 40 (dd). west bengal: lower bengal, 21.5.1896, davies s.n. (dd); lower bengal, 4. 6.1896, prain, acc. no. 496661 (cal). sikkim: ‘sikkim’, (specific loc.?),7.1894, pantling, acc. no. 496648 (cal); munghoo, (?), 7.1894, pantling s.n. (dd). assam: ‘assam’, 6.5.1897, prain, acc. no. 496735 (cal); n. kanrup dist.: s.d., panigrahi, acc. no. 9491 (cal); dermukh reserve forest, 16.5.1966, verma 46372 (assam). manipur: manipur, 4.1.1994, sinha 10772 (bshc). tripura: tripura, shipaijak, 4.6.(19)59, s. coll. 1792 (infl.) (cal). 140 jaleel et al. fig. 2. amorphophallus bulbifer (sims) blume. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. spadix; d. a small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. 141 notes: a. bulbifer closely resembles a. bognerianus but the latter differs by having the inflorescence with short peduncle, erect fornicate spathe limb and spadix shorter than spathe. it resembles a. oncophyllus, but differs in having different colour and pattern of mottling of petiole and peduncle, and erect limb of spathe without any constriction between the basal convolute tubular portion and the upper expanded limb. in a. oncophyllus the mature inflorescence is with a deflexed spathe-limb in contrast to the erect limb of a. bulbifer. distribution: india, bangladesh and myanmar. in india it is found in kerala, karnataka, andhra pradesh, goa, maharashtra, madhya pradesh, orissa, bihar, west bengal, sikkim, assam, arunachal pradesh, manipur, meghalaya and tripura. amorphophallus carnosus engl., pflanzenr. iv 23c (48): 93 (1911); srivast. & rao in higher pl. ind. subcont. iv: 32 (1993); sivad. & jaleel, rheedea 10(1): 63 (2000). (fig. 3) type: india, andamans, march 1899, prain's collector, s.n. (holotype cal). tubers subglobose, 2.5-7.5 cm in diam. and 2-6 cm thick in vegetative phase, c. 20 cm in diam. and 14 cm thick in reproductive phase. petiole 70-108 cm long, dark greenish brown with few minute pale green mottling. leaflets sessile, 5-23 x 2.6-8.0 cm, ovate to elliptic lanceolate, tip long-acuminate, twisted in mature leaflets, margin undulate, green above and paler below; veins depressed above and projected below, secondary laterals close. bulbils pale greenish, c. 0.5 cm in diam. and 0.1 cm thick. peduncle c. 68 cm long. spathe c. 39.5 cm long, ovate-oblong with basal convolute tube and an upper expanded erect limb, pale green outside with few minute white mottling, and dark green minute mottling towards margin, basal portion with dark green dense mottling; spathe-tube c. 15.5 cm long and 7.5 cm in diam., rough within with irregular verrucogranulate protuberances; limb margin undulate, tip obtuse, purplish orange inside, reddish pink above with small ovate yellow mottling, mottling sparse towards margin, closely oriented vertical veins prominent on outer surface of spathe. spadix slightly longer than spathe, sessile, c. 41 cm long; female zone c. 9 cm long; male zone about half the length of female zone, c. 5.5 cm long; appendix c. 28 cm long. female flowers dense, sub-spirally arranged, irregular towards base; each flower c. 4 mm high, ovary sub-globose, c. 1.5 mm high, reddish, 2-locular; style very short, c. 1.0 mm long, pale red; stigma inconspicuously 2 or 4-lobed, yellowish. male flowers dense, sessile, each c. 2 mm high, inconspicuously 2-lobed, yellowish. spadix-appendix obpyriform with narrowed tip, cream-coloured, slightly rough with minute depressions at base, and smooth towards the top. fruits ovoid, or ellipsoid, 1.2-1.5 cm long. seeds 1-2, 0.9-1.1 cm long. phenology: flowering: may-june; fruiting: september-october. specimens examined: south andaman: ograbraj, 9.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 335 (cali); ibid., 9.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 336 (cali); ibid., 31.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 369 (cali). notes: amorphophallus carnosus, a little known rare and endemic species, has been rediscovered from andaman after it was first collected by prain's collector in the year 1899 and no later collections were available from the islands (srivastava and rao, 1993). after over 100 years, during may 1999 the species was rediscovered and collected both in flowering and vegetative stages from its type locality – andaman islands and the rediscovery was reported by sivadasan and jaleel (2000a). a. carnosus is quite remarkable in having large-sized plants and inflorescence with erect spathe of about 39.5 cm long with prominent pale green colour outside and purplish orange at base, and reddish pink above within. it resembles a. oncophyllus, but differs in its large size, erect spathe, male zone about half the length of the female zone and an elongate obpyriform spadix-appendix with narrow tapered tip. distribution: so far known to occur only in andaman islands, india. 142 jaleel et al. fig. 3. amorphophallus carnosus engl. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. spadix; d. a small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. 143 amorphophallus commutatus (schott) engl. in dc., monogr. phan. 2: 319 (1879); hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 515 (1893); engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 95 (1911); cooke, fl. pres. bombay 2: 826 (1908); karth., jain, nayar & sanjappa, fl. ind. enum. monocot.: 6 (1989); shetty & singh, fl. rajasthan 3: 69 (1993). conophallus commutatus schott, bonplandia 7: 28 (1859). dracontium polyphyllum graham, cat. bombay pl.: 229 (1839), non l. (1753). pythonium wallichianum kirt., j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 7: 312 (1893), non schott (1832). amorphophallus sylvaticus dalz. & gibs., bombay fl.: 289 (1861), non kunth (1850). type: bombay (no date), anonymous (dalzell?), s.n. (k). tubers sub-spherical, smooth, often produce short cylindric offsets, skin smooth. petiole pale green to pale brownish with numerous elongate to irregular brown to dark brown spots; basal portion of rachises naked without decurrent bases of leaflets. leaflets elliptic, elongate-elliptic or more or less oblong, upper leaflets with base long decurrent on rachis, apex acuminate. inflorescence long or short peduncled; peduncle resembles petiole in colour and pattern of mottling. spathe erect, ovate-oblong or narrowly elongate-triangular, acute or acuminate, with or without a shallow constriction between tube and limb, purplish or brownish green or pale yellowish brown outside, inner side verrucose or with rounded bumps and with or without unicellular silvery hairs at base. spadix usually longer than spathe, sessile or stipitate. distribution: kerala, karnataka, tamil nadu, goa, maharashtra, gujarat, madhya pradesh and rajasthan. key to the varieties of amorphophallus commutatus 1. peduncle 8-10 cm long; tubular portion slightly compressed obovoid, inner side slightly purplish and pale yellow towards base, verrucose with unicellular silvery hairs at base; male zone of spadix cylindrical. var. anmodensis peduncle 20-95 cm long; tubular portion slightly obovoid or cylindric, with or without unicellular silvery hairs at base within; male zone of spadix fusiform or obconic. 2 2. spathe without constriction between tube and limb; tube cylindric, inner side at base dark purplish brown, verrucose with short unicellular silvery hairs. var. commutatus spathe with constriction between tube and limb; tube slightly compressed obovoid, inner side purplish at top and pale yellowish to light purplish with bluntbumps at base without unicellular silvery hairs. var. wayanadensis amorphophallus commutatus (schott) engl. var. anmodensis sivad. et jaleel, rheedea 12(2): 159 (2002). (fig. 4) type: india, goa, anmod ghat, 4.6.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 67 (holotype k). tubers 8-10 cm in diam. and 5-7 cm thick, offsets 2-3, each c. 4-5 cm long. petiole 50.0-52.5 cm long, blackish brown with white mottling. leaflets ovate acuminate to oblong acuminate, 5.016.5 x 3.0-6.5 cm, dark green above and paler below. peduncle 8-10 cm long, pale yellowish. spathe ovate-acute, 17-18 x 4-5 cm, basal tube slightly compressed obovoid, 2.5-3.0 cm long, limb expanded, erect, pale yellowish brown outside and pale brownish towards margin, inner side slightly purplish and pale yellowish towards base, verrucose with unicellular silvery hairs at base. spadix sessile, 23-25 cm long; female zone c. 1.5 cm long; male zone cylindrical, c. 3 cm long; appendix 18-20 cm long. female flowers c. 2.5 mm long, ovary sub-globose, c. 1.5 mm high, pale greenish, unilocular; style very short or absent; stigma yellowish orange, inconspicuously 3-lobed 144 jaleel et al. fig. 4. amorphophallus commutatus (schott) engl. var. anmodensis sivad. et jaleel. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. spadix; d. a small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. 145 with a bigger median lobe, c. 1.5 mm in diam., narrower than the ovary, obliquely oriented towards axis and with a notch at abaxial side. male flowers pale yellowish, dense, sessile, each c. 1.2 mm high and 1.2 mm broad, inconspicuously 2-lobed. spadix-appendix cylindric, tapering towards tip, apex rounded, pale-yellowish brown to dark purplish brown. infructescence not observed. phenology: flowering: june; fruiting: not observed. specimens examined: goa: anmod ghat, 4.6.1997, abdul jaleel ria 68 (cali); ibid., 25.8.1998, abdul jaleel ria 322 (cali). notes: amorphophallus commutatus var. anmodensis resembles var. wayanadensis in general appearance of spathe and spadix, but differs by having a short peduncle of c. 8-10 cm long, male zone cylindrical and less than twice the length of the female zone, and the spathe-tube slightly purplish and verrucose with unicellular hairs at base within. distribution: a narrow endemic known to occur only in anmod ghat, goa in india. amorphophallus commutatus (schott) engl. var. commutatus (fig. 5) type: same as that of the species. bombay, (no date), anonymous (dalzell?), s. n. (k). tubers 6-14 cm in diam. and 4.5-5.5 cm thick, offsets 4-5; each offset c. 5-10 cm long. petiole 40-65 cm long, greenish yellow with dark green patches. leaflets ovate-acuminate, 8-13 x 3.5-5.0 cm, upper side dark green, lower side pale green. peduncle 20-40 cm long. spathe erect, ovate acuminate, 10-23 x 3.5-5.6 cm, basal portion convolute forming a tube of 2.5-5.0 cm long, limb expanded, erect, greenish brown with white mottles and dark pinkish towards margin, inside tube dark purplish brown at base, verrucose with short unicellular silvery hairs. spadix shortly stipitate, 8-20 cm long, stipe c. 0.5 cm long; female zone 1.8-2.0 cm long; male zone c. 2.8-3.0 cm long; appendix c. 10-12 cm long. female flowers sub-spirally arranged, each with ovary c. 1.5 mm high, pale green and purplish at top, unilocular; style absent or very short, c. 0.2 mm long, purplish; stigma disciform, pale orange. male flowers dense, each c. 2 mm high, pale pinkish. spadix-appendix cylindric, tapering to apex, smooth or with inconspicuous rhomboidal projections at base, pale yellowish or rarely light reddish-brown. fruits sub-globose to ellipsoid, reddish, c. 0.8-0.9 cm long. seeds 0.7-0.8 cm long. phenology: flowering: may-june; fruiting: july-august. specimens examined: karnataka: uduppi, 24.5.1997, abdul jaleel ria 56 (cali); ibid., 3.7.1999, abdul jaleel ria 372 (cali). goa: anmod ghat, 4.6.1997, abdul jaleel ria 67 (cali). maharashtra: poona, ambauni taluk, near forest rest house, 6.9.1964, venkata reddi 99014 (cal); khurvada r.f., bodhi range, 11.1.1968, billore, acc. no. 113449 (cal); kolhapur, amba ghat, 7.6.1997, abdul jaleel ria 74 (cali). notes: amorphophallus commutatus var. commutatus resembles the other two varieties, viz. a. commutatus var. anmodensis and var. wayanadensis in general appearance of the spathe and spadix. but it differs from the above two in having a cylindric basal tube of spathe without constriction between tube and limb, spadix with male zone obconical, more than twice or more or less thrice the length of female zone, and female flowers with purplish colour at upper portion of ovary. distribution: karnataka, goa and maharashtra. 146 jaleel et al. fig. 5. amorphophallus commutatus (schott) engl. var. commutatus. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe partially removed showing spadix; d. a small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. 147 amorphophallus commutatus (schott) engl. var. wayanadensis sivad. et jaleel, rheedea 12(2):163 (2002). (fig. 6) type: india, kerala, wayanad ghat, 29.4.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 62 (holotype k). tubers 10-16 cm in diam. and 4.5-6.5 cm thick. petiole 85-100 cm long, light greenish with whitish mottles and dark green dots, extreme base bluish green. leaflets ovate-oblong, 4.5-18.0 x 2.2-5.5 cm, acuminate, base cuneate; upper surface dark green and lower surface light green, margin entire. peduncle c. 75-95 cm long. spathe ovate-oblong, equaling the length of spadix, c. 26-32 x 9-12 cm, basal portion convolute forming a slightly compressed obovoid tube of c. 5-7 cm long, slightly constricted at the mouth, limb expanded, erect, apex acute, margin incurved, purplish at the top, greenish purplish at base with white mottles; inside tube purplish at top, pale yellowish to light purplish with short rounded bumps at base. spadix sessile, c. 27-30 cm long; female zone c. 2.3-2.5 cm long; male zone c. 3.7-4.0 cm long, appendix c. 20.5-23.0 cm long. female flowers with ovary sub-globose, 1.5-1.8 mm high and c. 0.2 mm in diam., green, unilocular; style very short or absent, light purplish; stigma discoid, orange-coloured. male flowers sessile, loosely arranged, each flower c. 2 mm high, inconspicuously 2-lobed, pale yellowish with connectives purplish or completely purplish. spadix-appendix cylindric, tapering to tip with rounded apex, smooth, reddish brown, base with inconspicuous, irregularly elongate rhomboid projections. fruits broadly ovate, red-coloured berries, c. 1.2 cm long. seeds c. 0.8 cm long. phenology: flowering: may-june; fruiting: july-august. specimens examined: kerala: palghat dist.: mukkali, 29.5.1966, vajravelu 27711 (mh); manthampotti, 16.5.1977, sivadasan cu 19174 (cali); dhoni hills, 26.1.1978, sivadasan cu21434 (cali); wayanad dist.: vaithiri, 13.9.1975, sivadasan cu 7815 (cali); wayanad ghat, 29.4.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 62 (cali). notes: amorphophallus commutatus var. wayanadensis reselmbes var. anmodensis in its general appearance of the spathe and spadix. but it is distinct in having a long peduncle of about 75-95 cm, tube of spathe yellowish with slight purplish colour at base with warts or verrucae and absence of unicellular silvery hairs within. distribution: so far known only from kerala. amorphophallus nicolsonianus sivad., pl. syst. evol. 153: 165 (1986); manilal, fl. silent valley: 330 (1988); sasi. & sivar., fl. pl. thrissur for.: 483 (1996); sivad. in manoharan, biju, nayar & easa, silent valley-whisp. reas.: 230 (1999). (fig. 7) types: kerala state, palghat dist., silent valley dam site, alt. ca. 1000 m, 3.1.1983, sivadasan cu 21516-a (holotype k), sivadasan cu 21516-b (isotype k), sivadasan cu sivadasan cu 21516-c, sivadasan cu 21516-d (isotypes us), sivadasan cu 21516-e (isotype cal), sivadasan cu 21516-f (isotype m). tubers more or less obconical to napiform or sub-cylindrical, c. 3.0-5.5 cm long and 1.5-3.5 cm in diam. in vegetative phase; cylindric, 10-17 cm long and 1.5-4.0 cm in diam. in reproductive phase; skin smooth. petiole 18-50 cm long, 0.5-1.2 cm in diam. at base, green with pale green mottles and small dark purplish spots, extreme base white; rachises without decurrent leafletbases; petiole and rachises very turgid, breaking easily when bent without becoming crushed. leaflets 4.0-16.5 x 1.6-5.0 cm, margin undulate, upper surface dark green and glossy, lower surface pale green; basal leaflets with distinct petiolules or rarely sessile. peduncle c. 21-31 cm long. spathe erect, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, c. 10.6-12.0 x c. 5 cm, basally convolute, tubular; 148 jaleel et al. fig. 6. amorphophallus commutatus (schott) engl. var. wayanadensis sivad. et jaleel. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe partially removed showing spadix; d. a small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. 149 fig. 7. amorphophallus nicolsonianus sivad. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. spadix; d. a small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i, stigma; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. 150 jaleel et al. limb expanded, erect, usually two halves of the limb longitudinally reflexed at maturity, greenish brown to greenish purple with light green mottling and dark purple spots outside, greenish yellow and smooth within, sometimes very light pinkish-green tinged and with purple spots at base within. spadix sessile, c. 11-12.5 cm long, slightly longer than spathe; female zone c. 1.2-1.4 cm long; male zone c. 2.0-2.5 cm long; appendix c. 7.2-8.5 cm long. female flowers loose or dense in sub-spirals, each with ovary sub-globose, c. 2 mm high, pale yellowish, unilocular; style very short, c. 0.5 mm long, greenish; stigma capitate, more or less discoid, 1.5 mm in diam., greenish. male flowers dense, sessile, each c. 1.2 mm high, cream-coloured, inconspicuously 2-lobed. spadix-appendix sessile, terete, tapering to the tip, pale yellowish green, blunt-spinescent or with irregular-shaped vestiges of staminate flowers and irregular longitudinal furrows at base, becoming completely corrugated, creamy or light yellowish on ageing. fruits ellipsoid, dark red at maturity, 1.0-1.3 cm long. seeds ellipsoid, c. 1 cm long. phenology: flowering: december-february; fruiting: february-april. specimens examined: kerala: thiruvananthapuram dist., bonaccord, 16.2.1991, mohanan 10333 (tbgt). palghat dist.: silent valley, 1.1.1977, sivadasan cu 19184 (cal); silent valley, walakkad, 1700 m, 28.2.1983, sathish kumar sv 10797c (cali); silent valley, 6.2.1998, abdul jaleel ria 251 (cali). kozhikode dist.: thenpara forest, 26.12. 1997, abdul jaleel ria 241 (cali). wayanad dist.: meppadi, 27.12.1997, abdul jaleel, ria 243 (cali). kannur dist.: walathode, kannavam forest, 24.12.1984, sabu & sivadasan cu 36578 (cali). notes: amorphophallus nicolsonianus differs from all other indian species by having a cylindrical tuber in reproductive phase, turgid and brittle petiole and peduncle, and the two halves of the limb of the spathe longitudinally reflexed at maturity. distribution: so far known to occur only in kerala state in india. amorphophallus oncophyllus prain ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 516 (1893); hook. f., curtis’s bot. mag. 119 (ser. 3, v. 49): t. 7327 (1893); srivast. & rao in higher pl. ind. subcont. iv: 32 (1993). (fig. 8) types: ‘birma, great cocos island’, 1889/1890, prain s.n. (holotype cal; isotypes cal, k). tubers sub-globose, c. 2.5-4.5 cm in diam. and 2-3 cm thick in vegetative phase; c. 7.5-9.0 cm in diam. and 4.5-6.5 cm thickness in reproductive phase; root scars annuliform. petiole c. 52.5-96.0 cm long, dark green blotched with elongated greenish white and minute greenish white mottles in between blotches, extreme base pale purplish. leaflets ovate-elliptic to lanceolate, 4.222.5 x 2.2-7.2 cm, acuminate, secondary lateral veins close; upper surface glossy green, lower surface pale green. bulbils c. 0.6-1.5 cm in diam. peduncle smooth, 38-56 cm long. spathe broader than long, broadly ovate-obtuse, c. 14-26 x 18-22 cm; basal convolute tube c. 6-7 cm long and 3.2-4.0 cm in diam., limb expanded, orbicular-ovate, c. 10 cm long with a slight constriction between tube and limb, initially erect, reflexed and horizontal at maturity, tip obtuse or broadly acute; pale greenish brown with irregular elongate greenish white blotches and dark minute spots in-between outside; inside extreme base pale pinkish, muricate, middle purplish with oblong to ovoid blotches, pale green with small green blotches at apical portion. spadix slightly longer than spathe, exserted, c. 16.5-20.0 cm long, stipitate; stipe pale greenish, c. 0.5-1.0 cm long; female zone c. 3.5-4.0 cm long; male zone c. 4.0-4.5 cm long; appendix c. 8.0-10.5 cm long. female flowers loosely arranged in sub-spirals, each c. 4 mm high; ovary c. 2 mm high, sub-globose, much broader than stigma, reddish, 2-locular, rarely 3-locular; style very short, c. 1.2 mm long; stigma 2-lobed, rarely 3-lobed, yellowish, c. 2.2 mm in diam. male flowers dense, each c. 2 mm long, yellowish. spadix-appendix fusiform or elongate-ellipsoid, pale yellowish, basal most part with slight rhomboid projections. fruits ellipsoid, c. 1.5-1.8 cm long. seeds 1-3, ellipsoid, c. 1.11.3 cm long. a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. 151 fig. 8. amorphophallus oncophyllus prain ex hook. f. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe partially removed showing spadix; d. a small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. 152 jaleel et al. phenology: flowering: april-june; fruiting: july-december. specimens examined: andaman and nicobar islands: south andaman: port mount, hill jungle, 2.6.1893, dr. king's collector, acc. no. 496692 (cal); calcutta, botanical garden div. nursery (cultivated) (originally collected from andaman islands), 16.4.1894, s. coll., acc. no. 496695 (cal); guptapara, 28.11.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 216 (cali); gunnighat, 29.11.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 217 (cali); dandras point, 29.11.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 218 (cali); ograbraj, 9.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 334 (cali). middle andaman: baratang, 30.4.1999, abdul jaleel ria 332 (cali); north andaman: lamia bay, 13.12.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 235 (cali). notes: amorphophallus oncophyllus more or less resembles a. bulbifer, but the colour and pattern of mottling of petiole and peduncle are quite different. the spathe limb in the latter is erect and lack a constriction between tube and limb whereas in a. oncophyllus the spathe-limb is reflexed at maturity. distribution: endemic to the andaman and nicobar islands taxonomic analysis hooker (1894) in his flora of british india recognized 17 species under four genera, viz. amorphophallus, synantherias, thomsonia and plesmonium which according to the present generic delimitation belong to one genus amorphophallus; and out of those, only eight species were recorded as occurring in india. out of the eight species, three, viz. a. bulbifer, a. commutatus and a. oncophyllus and one species described as new by engler (1911), viz. a. carnosus were the indian species included under the sect. conophallus by engler (1911) in his treatment of amorphophallus under the subfamily lasioideae as part of his monographic work of araceae. amorphophallus bognerianus, a. commutatus var. anmodensis, a. commutatus var. wayanadensis, and a. nicolsonianus are the other taxa now included under the section which are described after engler’s treatment. hetterscheid and ittenbach (1996) listed fourteen indian species of amorphophallus in their treatment of the genus and treated a. carnosus and a. oncophyllus as synonymous with a. muelleri blume, a javanese species; but detailed studies during the present investigation do not corroborate their view, and treat them as distinct species. a. bulbifer is the only widely distributed species in india with extended distribution in bangladesh and myanmar. this species was reported to have four varieties (engler, 1911) viz., var. bulbifer, var. atroviridimaculatus engl., var. marmoratus engl. and var. tuberculiger (schott) engl., and in the present investigation those varieties are considered as representing variations of a single species. the present investigation shows that the maximum species diversity of the section is in kerala belonging to the western ghats area which is one of the world’s ten "hottest biodiversity hotspots" (myers et al., 2000). there are four species, viz. a. bognerianus (arunachal pradesh), a. carnosus (andaman islands), a. oncophyllus (andaman islands) and a. nicolsonianus (kerala state), endemic to india and they are considered to be endangered. the indiscriminate habitat destruction poses threat to the existence of the endemic species. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to dr. wilbert l. a. hetterscheid, netherlands for thorough review of a manuscript on revision of indian amorphophallus of which the present paper forms a part. the first two authors wish to thank the authorities of the university of calicut, kerala, india for logistics during the execution of field work. the facilities provided by the authorities of various national and international herbaria mentioned under methodology for the study of herbarium specimens are thankfully acknowledged. the authors appreciate with gratitude the valuable a taxonomic revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. 153 services rendered by mr. v. b. sajeev, ernakulam, kerala for the illustrations. the last four authors gratefully acknowledge the encouragements and support extended by the deanship of scientific research, king saud university, through the research group project no. rgp-vpp-135. references bogner, j. 1995. a remarkable new amorphophallus (araceae) from india. kew bull. 50: 397-400. bogner, j., mayo, s.j. and sivadasan, m. 1985. new species and changing concepts in amorphophallus. aroideana 8(1): 14-25. engler, a. 1911. araceae-lasioideae. in: engler, a. (ed.), das pflanzenreich 48 (iv. 23 c). wilhelm engelmann, leipzig, pp. 1-130. hetterscheid, w.l.a. and ittenbach, s. 1996. everything you always wanted to know about amorphophallus, but were afraid to stick your nose into ! aroideana 19: 7-131. hetterscheid, w.l.a., yadav, s.r. and patil, k.s. 1994. notes on the genus amorphophallus (araceae) 5. amorphophallus konkanensis, a new species from india, and taxonomic reflections on amorphophallus section rhaphiophallus. blumea 39: 289-294. hooker, j.d. 1894. amorphophallus. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india, vol. 6. l. reeve & co. ltd., london, pp. 513-519. jaleel, v.a., sivadasan, m., alfarhan, a.h., thomas, j. and alatar, a.a. 2011. revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. rhaphiophallus (schott) engl. (araceae) in india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 1-26. mayo, s.j., bogner, j. and boyce, p.c. 1997. amorphophallus. in: the genera of araceae. royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 235-239. myers, n., mittermeier, r.a., mittermeier, c.g., da fonseca, g.a.b. and kent, j. 2000. biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. nature 403: 853-858. sivadasan, m. 1986. amorphophallus nicolsonianus (araceae), a new species from india. pl. syst. evol. 153: 165-170. sivadasan, m. 1989. amorphophallus smithsonianus (araceae), a new species from india and a note on a. sect. synantherias. willdenowia 18: 435-440. sivadasan, m. and jaleel, v.a. 1998a. rediscovery of amorphophallus longistylus (araceae), a little known rare endemic species from middle andaman, india. rheedea 8(1): 103-106. sivadasan, m. and jaleel, v.a. 1998b. rediscovery of amorphophallus longiconnectivus bogner, a little known rare endemic species of araceae. rheedea 8(2): 243-247. sivadasan, m. and jaleel, v.a. 2000a. rediscovery of amorphophallus carnosus (araceae), a rare and narrow endemic species from south andaman, india. rheedea 10(1): 63-67. sivadasan, m. and jaleel, v.a. 2000b. amorphophallus hirsutus teysm. et binn. (araceae): a new report from india. rheedea 10(2): 143-147. sivadasan, m. and jaleel, v.a. 2001. amorphophallus mysorensis e. barnes et c.e.c. fisch. of amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus (araceae) in india with notes on related species. aroideana 24: 94-99. sivadasan, m. and jaleel, v.a. 2009. amorphophallus bognerianus (araceae), a new species from india. aroideana 32: 136-141. sivadasan, m., mohanan, n. and rajkumar, g. 1994. amorphophallus bonaccordensis, a new species of araceae from india. blumea 39: 295-299. srivastava, s.k. and rao, p.s.n. 1993. the family araceae in andaman and nicobar islands. in: gupta, b.k. (ed.), higher plants of indian subcontinent, vol. 4. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 23-38. van der ham, r., grob, g., hetterscheid, w.l.a., star, w. and van heuven, b.j. 2005. notes on the genus amorphophallus (araceae) 13. evolution of pollen ornamentation and ultrastructure in amorphophallus and pseudodracontium. grana 44: 252-265. yadav, s.r., kahalkar, v.i. and bhuskute, s.m. 2009. a new species of amorphophallus bl. ex decne. (araceae) from bhandara district, maharashtra state, india. aroideana 32: 132-135. (manuscript received on 3 june 2012; revised on 24 october 2012) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 1-11, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floral polymorphism in polygonum bistorta l. ming-lin chen1, xiao-yu wang and aubrey l. funke2 provincial key laboratory of biotic environment and ecological safety in anhui, anhui normal university, wuhu 241000, anhui province, china keywords: polygonum bistorta; tristylous like flowers; sem; evolution; style morph ratios. abstract in the present study, new type of floral polymorphism (tristylous-like flowers) in polygonum bistorta l., i.e., l-, m-, and s-styles (long, medium and short, respectively) is reported. this tristylous was not only present in different populations but also in a single inflorescence. although the heights of styles and anthers in the three morphs of flowers differed, their ancillary tepal size, pollen polymorphism, and stigma polymorphism were found similar. the ratio of m-flowers was far lower than those of land s-flowers. unlike the solid nectar of other polygonum species, fluid nectar was present in polygonum bistorta, which reflects its specialized state. different from most of other hetereostylous species with tubular flowers and polygonum jucundum with open distylous flowers, polygonum bistorta contains semi-open flowers. our findings suggest that p. bistorta represents special floral polymorphism in polygonum and is an ideal plant species for studying the evolution of floral breeding system in polygonum. introduction heterostyly is a floral polymorphism in which the various morphs differ in terms of the sequence of heights at which the anthers and stigmas are presented within its flowers. in these flowers, the sex organs are spatially separated and reciprocally arranged in the morphs; two levels of reproductive organs are present in distylous species, and three levels are present in tristylous species (lloyd et al., 1990). tristyly, which occurs in only seven angiosperm families, is thought to be one of the most complex breeding systems in plants (barrett, 1993; naiki, 2012). traditionally, tristyly was thought to only occur in different individuals or in different populations, and three morphs of flowers (with long, medium and short styles) were never found in the same inflorescence. tristyly inheritance involves two diallelic loci (s and m), with the s-locus epistatic to the m-locus (nowak et al., 2015). heterostyly in polygonaceae was first documented in fagopyrum esculentum (hildebrand, 1867). subsequently, many distylous species have been reported for the genera oxygonum and aconogonum (hong, 1999). the genus polygonum, which includes over 300 species worldwide (li and bao, 2003), is seldom reported to be heterostylous. reddy et al. (1977) reported the first distylous p. chinense in polygonum. recently, some distylous species in polygonum were described (chen and zhang, 2010; chen, 2012), and style-stamen dimorphism in this genus was also reported (hassan and khan, 1987), but to date, other new floral polymorphisms have never been reported in the genus. polygonum bistorta l. is a perennial herb that reaches up to 90 cm tall. this plant blooms from late spring to autumn, producing tall stems ending in single terminal racemes comprising club-like spikes, 5–7 cm long, which contain rose-pink flowers. p. bistorta is distributed in the americas, western and central asia, and northern and central europe, including britain and the mountains of 1corresponding author. email: jesschen28@126.com 2college of engineering, forestry and natural sciences, northern arizona university, usa mailto:jesschen28@126.com 2 chen et al. southern europe. most studies of this species have focused on its physiology (kumar et al., 2012), ecology (egory starr et al., 2000), and medical applications (demiray et al., 2009). to date, floral polymorphisms have never been described in detail in this species. therefore, this species provides unsurpassed opportunities for performing integrated evolutionary studies. the objectives of the current study include: (i) to examine the characteristics of floral polymorphisms and to determine whether p. bistorta is tristylous or exhibits anomalous heteromorphisms; (ii) to investigate the relationship between the reproductive system of p. bistorta and its insect visitors; and iii) to explore the systematic and evolutionary significance of floral polymorphism in polygonum. material and methods studied species and population sampling this study was conducted in 2013-2016 in china and in 2014 in flagstaff, arizona, usa. herbarium specimens or living materials from thirteen populations of p. bistorta in anhui (china) and arizona (usa) were used in this study (table 1). all vouchers were deposited at the herbarium of anhui normal university, china and northern arizona university (nau), usa. some voucher specimens for surveying l-, m-, and s-flower ratios of the species (deposited at nau herbarium) were also collected. morphometrics floral morphological characters were observed in the field and in the laboratory. to characterize floral polymorphism in p. bistorta, tepal height, stigma and anther heights, and the size and number of pollen grains were measured. since the stamens were present at different positions and angles, their heights were measured in the natural state instead of measuring the length of single dissected stigmas, stamens, and tepals (measure after fully matured so as to rule out the possibility of developmental changes) (fig. 1). the floral traits recorded included the following: (i) corolla height; (ii) style length (from the basal ovary to the stigmatic surface); (iii) stamen height (from the basal ovary to the midpoint of each anther); (iv) style-nearer anther separation (snas); and v) long-short anther separation (lsas) (fig. 1). the flowers were slit longitudinally and measurements were made from digital photos using the image analysis 5.0 software. forty flowers were randomly sampled from three separate populations (fs1: 14 flowers; fs2: 13 flowers; fs3: 13 flowers) in flagstaff. all photographs were taken under a zeiss discovery v8 stereomicroscope. fig. 1. l-, m-, and sflowers of p. bistorta. st=style; ia=inner anther; oa=outer anther; snas=style-nearer anther separation; lsas=long-short anther separation. floral polymorphism in polygonum bistorta 3 size and number of pollen grains to measure pollen size, samples were collected from fresh flowers. one long (l)-, medium (m)-, and short (s)-level anther was chosen per bud from 25 flowers. pollen was mounted on each slide in a drop of glycerol and photographed under a zeiss axio scope a1 optical microscope (200x). the polar and equatorial diameters of 75 pollen grains (three moderately sized pollen grains per flower) were measured based on photographs taken with analysis 5.0 software. to determine the number of pollen grains produced, anthers from 75 flowers per type (l, m, and s) from the flagstaff populations were placed on individual microscope slide. using standard methods (chen and zhang, 2010), the number of pollen grains per flower was counted using a light-emitting microscope (lem), the number of pollen grains in 75 flowers from three populations (25 flowers per population) was counted, and the number of pollen grains from outer and inner anthers was compared. pollen counts for flowers with different style sizes were compared using student’s t-test. community ecology 1 m × 1 m sample was selected in 13 study populations, respectively. plant species compositions, altitude and habitats were recorded for each sample. some species occurred in populations were recorded as 1, or 0. sem observation to characterize pollen shape, samples from l-, m-, and sflowers stored in 70% ethanol were prepared according to the acetolysis method (erdtman, 1960). pollen grains were mounted in glycerine jelly and sealed with paraffin. the pollen was then observed under a zeiss supra 40 vp scanning electron microscope (sem) operated at 20 kv. the shape and exine ornamentation of pollen grains from each sample were observed. fresh stigmas and seeds were mounted on double-sided carbon tape and observed under sem. table 1. populations of polygonum bistorta l. employed in the present study. codes sites habitat altitude (m) experiments qlf1 qingliangfeng, china grassy slopes 1650 sr, ce qlf2 qingliangfeng, china broadleaved deciduous forest 1450 ce qlf3 qingliangfeng, china broadleaved deciduous forest 1250 ce qlf4 qingliangfeng, china mixed forest 1050 ce qlf5 qingliangfeng, china mixed forest 850 ce bsh1 bashang 1, china uplands 1700 sr, ce bsh2 bashang 2, china uplands 1500 sr, ce bsh3 bashang 3, china mixed forest 1300 ce bsh4 bashang 4, china mixed forest 1100 ce bsh5 bashang 5, china mixed forest 900 ce fs1 flagstaff, arizona, usa slope wastelands 2100 sr, ma, ps, pn, sem, ssr, ce fs2 flagstaff, arizona, usa mountain forest 2100 sr, ce fs3 flagstaff, arizona, usa mountain forest 2100 sr, ce ma: morphometric analysis; ps: pollen size; pn: pollen number; sr: style morph ratios; ssr: seed setting rate; ce: community ecology. 4 chen et al. surveys of style morph ratios and seed set the relative frequencies of the three morphs of flowers were determined in six populations of p. bistorta, as shown in table 1. at the same time, 24 mature inflorescences were harvested from each individual in the fs1, fs2 and fs3 populations (eight per population) to survey the style morph ratios. seed set was recorded under natural or bagged conditions in the fs1 and fs2 populations (ten inflorescences were selected in each study population). results flower morphometrics the present study reveals that the mature p. bistorta flowers are semi-open, and this plant exhibits an unusual type of floral polymorphism, i.e., l-, m-, and sflowers are present not only in different populations, but also in a single inflorescence. anthers and stigma are spatially separated in a flower and reciprocally arranged in the morphs, with three levels observed in this species (fig. 2a, b, c). normally, eight stamens are positioned at the base of the tepals in two whorls, with five stamens present in the outer whorl and three in the inner whorl. the inner whorl filaments are stronger than the outer whorl filaments, and the basal filaments of the inner whorl are red and inflated compared with those of the outer whorl (fig. 2d). fluid nectar was found at the base of the stamen and tepal (fig. 2e). the stigma and anther heights of the three morphs of flowers are shown in table 2 and figure 3. there was no obvious difference in tepal size between the long-, medium-, and short-styled flowers (table 2; lm: t78 = 1.81, p> 0.05; ls: t78 = 1.66, p> 0.05; ms: t78 = 0.25, p> 0.05) (note: here after, flowers with different style-morphs are referred to as l-, m-, and s-flowers and the anther levels are referred to as l, m, and s.) the stigma height of l-flowers was longer than the l anther height of m-flowers (t78 = 14.14, p< 0.05) and the l anther height of s-flowers (t78 = 10.27, p< 0.05). the stigma height of m-flowers was shorter than the m anther height of l-flowers (t78 = 3.44, p< 0.05) and the m anther height of s-flowers (t78 = 13.89, p< 0.05). the stigma height of s-flowers was longer than the s anther height of l-flowers (t78 = 3.70, p< 0.05) and the s anther height of m-flowers (t78 = 2.09, p< 0.05). the lsas of m-flowers was the largest among the three morphs of flowers (ml: t78 = 71.28, p< 0.05; ms: t78 = 19.51, p< 0.05), while the snas of m-flowers was smaller than those of l-flowers (t78 = 29.02, p< 0.05) and s-flower (t78 = 14.27, p< 0.05). there were no obvious differences in pollen number and size among the three morphs of flowers. the stigma height differed among l-, m-, and s-flowers of p. bistorta (fig. 4a, b, c). the stigmas of the three morphs of flowers were present in a spherical, cerebriform pattern. there were no obvious differences in stigma surface ornamentation among the three morphs of flowers (fig. 4d, e, f). anthers of p. bistorta are of the adnate type, pink to purple in colour, and elliptical to oblong in shape. the pollen type of p. bistorta is 3-zonocolporate, and is elliptical to slightly rectangular in the equatorial view and triangular, angles obtuse, apertures in convex sides in the polar view, and the exine is reticulate. however, many perforations of unequal size and smaller columellae were observed in two polar views and near the colporate pollen. both the shape and size of pollen were similar in l-flower and s-flower (fig. 4g–l). surveys of style morph ratios and seed set the style morph ratios of l-, m-, and s-flowers were approximately 237:18:33 among the studied populations (table 3). no m-flowers in the fs1 population were found. however, in a single inflorescence, some inflorescences composed entirely of long-styled flowers were often found, and some inflorescences which mainly composed of medium-, and short-styled flowers were rarely found (fig. 5a, b). the most common flowers were land s-styled morphs. l-flowers were always situated in the upper part of the inflorescence, while s-flowers were always found in the lower part floral polymorphism in polygonum bistorta 5 of the inflorescence (fig. 5c). the ratio of l-, m-, and s-type flowers was approximately 103:4:49 among the inflorescences investigated (table 3). the ratio of m-styled flowers was far lower than those of l-, and s-styled flowers. under natural conditions, the seed sets were 36.6 ± 8.45%, but under bagged conditions, the seed sets were 0 indicating cross pollination. fig. 2. l-, m-, and s-flowers of p. bistorta. a=l-styled flower; b=m-styled flower; c=s-styled flower; d=inner anther (ia) and outer anther (oa); e=fluid nectar at the base of the tepal (l: long anther; m: medium anther; s: short anther; fn: fluid nectar). fig. 3. characteristics of flowers of p. bistorta ranked by style height to illustrate the reciprocal correspondence of stigma and anther positions in the l-, m-, and s-flowers. positions of stigmas are indicated by solid rectangles (■); positions of long and short anther are indicated by solid triangles (▲) and open triangles (∆), respectively. 6 chen et al. fig. 4. micromorphological characteristics of p. bistorta (sem). a=pistil of l-styled flower; b=pistil of m-styled flower; c=pistil of s-styled flower; d=stigma of l-styled flower; e=stigma of m-styled flower; f=stigma of s-styled flower; g=inner anther; h=pollen of inner anther; i=exine ornamentation of pollen of inner anther; j=outer anther; k=pollen of outer anther; l=exine ornamentation of pollen of outer anther. bars: a,b,c=1 mm; d,e,f,h,k=10 μm; g,j=100 μm; i,l=1 μm. fig. 5. inflorescences of p. bistorta showing different flowers. a: l-styled; b: s-styled; c: land s-styled (note: l: long; s: short). floral polymorphism in polygonum bistorta 7 table 2. measurement of floral characters of l-, m-, and s-flowers of p. bistorta. differences between the means were analyzed by student’s t-test. [mean  standard error (se)]. floral characters l-flower m-flower s-flower n p< height of tepal (mm) 5.02±0.286a 4.91±0.249 a 4.93±0.228 a 40 height of l-anther (mm) 4.34±0.366 a 5.97±0.261 b 6.09±0.48 c 40 0.01 height of s-anther (mm) 3.53±0.419 a 3.69±0.312 b 5.20±0.415 c 40 0.01 height of stigma (mm) 7.19±0.482 a 4.09±0.292 b 3.84±0.309 c 40 0.05 snas (mm) 2.85±0.291 a 0.395±0.196 b 1.37±0.281 c 40 0.01 lsas (mm) 0.81±0.212 a 2.27±0.347 b 0.88±0.28 c 40 0.05 pollen long-diameter (µm) 49.5±5.01 a 48.6±4.94 a 50.0 ±4.74 a 75 p/e ratio c. 1.42 c. 1.41 c. 1.43 75 pollen number per flower 40248 a 39558 a 38749 a 90 note: different letters in the same row indicate significant differences between values.snas: style-nearer anther separation; lsas: long-short anther separation. community ecology thirteen populations of p. bistorta were surveyed. based on data matrix, cluster group was constructed using canoco for windows 4.5 software. the populations 11, 12 and 13 were clustered together, and the populations 1, 2, 6 and 7 were clustered together, while the other populations were clustered together (fig. 6). we also found that there was no p. bistorta in population 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, whereas p. bistorta could be found in the former two cluster groups. fig. 6. pca analysis for species compositions from 13 studied populations of p. bistorta. 8 chen et al. table 3. style morph ratios of p. bistorta among populations and among inflorescences. scopes l-styled m-styled s-styled n among populations 237.17±47.34 18.17±6.18 33±5.77 6 among inflorescences 103.38±7.60a 4.21±0.58b 49.21±3.87c 24 note: different letters in the same row indicate significant differences between values (p<0.05) discussion various stochastic and deterministic factors can cause biased morph ratios in tristylous populations. founder events and genetic drift in small populations are a common cause of anisoplethy and morph loss (barrett, 1993). theoretical studies have indicated that the s-morph should be lost most often and the l-morph least often (costa et al., 2016). however, in the present study, we found that l-, m-, and s-flowers of p. bistorta not only could be found in different populations but also in a single inflorescence. this phenomenon is difficult to explain based on the traditional supergene locus control theory (naiki, 2012). clearly, p. bistorta is an intriguing plant material for studying the floral polymorphism. in trimorphic species, a 1:1:1 style morph ratio (i.e., isoplethy) is expected in populations at equilibrium (costa et al., 2016), but in field populations, many species present altered morph ratios (lloyd et al., 1990). for example, no l-morphs are present in tristylous oxalis corymbosa in china (chen et al., 2007), while in the self-compatible, perennial decodon verticillatus (lythraceae), populations commonly lack style morphs, particularly m-styled flowers (eckert and mavraganis, 1996), which may provide this transitional variation. we found that the l-styled ratio of p. bistorta in populations was the largest in a field population, and inflorescences composed primarily of m-styled morphs were seldom found in field populations. darwin (1877) hypothesized that the function of the stamen-style polymorphism in heterostylous plants is to increase the likelihood of pollen transfer between sexual organs at the same level. in typical tristylous species, the style height of l-morph is usually approximately the same as that of the l stamen of m-morph and s-morph, and the style height of m-morph is approximately same as that of the m stamens of l-morph and s-morph. the same scenario occurs in eichhornia azurea (alves dos santos and wittmann, 2000). however, this scenario was not detected in p. bistorta. we found that the style height of l-morph was higher than that of the l stamen of m-morph and s-morph. therefore, the increased reciprocal placement between sexual organs of sand l-styled floral morphs is expected to have occurred during the evolution of p. bistorta. in addition, two whorls of stamens are often the same height in distylous taxa of polygonum (chen and zhang, 2010; chen, 2012), while in p. bistorta, the inner whorl stamens are higher than those of the outer whorl, which suggests that the change in stamen height may have occurred in an evolutionary event. there are no heterostylous taxa in the basal angiosperm groups and basal ‘eudicots’ (naiki, 2012), and heterostyly has always been found in medium evolutionary-state tubular flowers (darwin, 1877; lloyd and webb, 1992), with the exception in polygonaceae and turnera (barrett, 1992). the polygonaceae frequently have dish-shaped corolla, which is true for the heterostylous genera, fagopyrum and polygonum. for example, the distylous flowers of polygonum jucundum are broadly open (chen and zhang, 2010), but based on the present study, p. bistorta flowers are semi-open, which represents a specialized form during petal evolution in polygonum. along with the generalistic pollination phenomenon of this species, the formation of floral tubes in heterostylous flowers might have coevolved with specialistic pollinators during later evolution. typical heterostylous species are always dimorphic or trimorphic for the intrinsic features of style height, anther height, and a series of ancillary characteristics, such as pollen size, exine sculpturing, pollen number and production, and stigma exine ornamentation (gettys and wofford, floral polymorphism in polygonum bistorta 9 2008). however, in p. bistorta, except for the intrinsic feature of style and anther heights, we observed no difference in these ancillary characteristics. moreover, eight yellow nectaries are present at the base of the perianth in distylous species such as p. jucundum (chen and zhang, 2010) and p. hastato-sagittatum (chen, 2012), but fluid nectar rather than solid nectaries are present in p. bistorta. based on the results of community ecology, we found all populations of p. bistorta were occurred in high altitude. both of the findings reflected the specialization in this species and its adaptation to the high altitude, which is consistent with the molecular evidence (sanchez et al., 2011). the rate of seed set, which is closely correlated with ovule development, can reflect the degree of successful reproduction in a species (zhou et al., 1996). however, because we occasionally found two or three morphs in a single inflorescence, it was difficult to survey the seed sets of each morph, and we only obtained two sets of data (0 and 36.5% under bagged and natural conditions, respectively). this result demonstrates that this species can reproduce under natural conditions. as mentioned above, the results demonstrate that p. bistorta is not a typical tristylous species, but it has tristylous-like flowers, which have not previously been found in angiosperms. therefore, it would be important to investigate the origin and evolution of floral polymorphism in this species. heterostylous polymorphisms provide opportunities for ecological and genetic investigations into the evolution of plant sexual systems (barrett, 1992). although elucidating the evolutionary origins of heterostyly continues to be difficult (barrett, 1993), significant progress has been made towards understanding these evolutionary pathways (weller, 1992). at present, several hypotheses about the evolutionary mechanisms favouring heterostyly have been proposed. according to darwin (1877), heterostyly can be considered as a strategy for reducing the likelihood of selfand intramorph pollination and for promoting legitimate intermorph pollination. barrett (2002) stated that reciprocal sex-organ positions in style-morphs help increase male fertility by actively promoting more precise pollen dispersal among plants than would occur in populations with uniform sexual organs and herkogamy. however, in the present study, the heights of stigmas and anthers of l-, m-, and s-morphs in p. bistorta did not exactly coincide. lloyd and webb (1992) proposed a model describing how heterostyly is established, from approach herkogamy to style polymorphism, followed by reciprocal herkogamy (heterostyly). their model demonstrates that heterostyly could be established from a population that exhibits continuous phenotypic variation, which is not the case in p. bistorta. the evolution of distyly from tristyly was investigated in populations of oxalis alpina (weller et al., 2007), and the evolutionary shift from tristyly to distyly appears to have been particularly frequent in the lythraceae (weller, 1992). two of the largest genera (nesaea and lythrum) contain both tristylous and distylous taxa, and some of these distylous taxa have retained features that suggest a tristylous ancestry (ornduff, 1979). elsewhere in this family, distylous pemphis acidula appears to have evolved distyly through loss of the mid-styled morph from a tristylous ancestor (lewis, 1975). in the evolutionary model from tristyly to distyly in pemphis, the m anthers of the l-morph are closer to the s level, whereas the m anthers of s-morph are closer to the 1 level (lewis and rao, 1971). similar patterns were also evident in p. bistorta, as we found that the m anthers of l-morph were shorter than the tepals of l-morph, while the m anthers of s-morph were longer than the tepals of s-morph. the hypothesis of the evolution of floral polymorphism toward distyly predicts divergence in m anther position between the land s-morphs (ms > ml) in dimorphic populations, which is also found in p. jucundum and p. hastato-sagittatum (chen and zhang, 2010; chen, 2012). thus, we argue that heterostyly may arise from floral polymorphism in a single population, followed by heterostyly in different populations, and that p. bistorta appears to represent a specialized state from floral polymorphism to heterostyly in polygonum. 10 chen et al. acknowledgements the work was supported by grants from natural science foundation of anhui province (1808085mc76), the restoration of degeneration ecosystem in the city belt along the yangtze river in anhui project and the research platform project fund (comparative study on breeding system of five species of polygonum) at ahnu, china. we also thank dr. russell benford and nashelly menese of northern arizona university, usa for all of their help with fieldwork. references alves dos santos, i. and wittmann, d. 2000. legitimate pollination of the tristylous flowers of eichhornia azurea (pontederiaceae). plant syst. evol. 223: 127–137. barrett, s.c.h. 1992. heterostylous genetic polymorphisms: model systems for evolutionary analysis. in: barrett, s.c.h.(ed.), evolution and function of heterostyly. berlin: springer-verlag, pp. 1–29. barrett, s.c.h. 1993. the evolutionary biology of tristyly. in: futuyma, d. and antonovics, j. 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(manuscript received on 15 july 2017; revised on 28 march 2018) microsoft word 14. 80 bjpt_16_-_80__editmk.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 209-213, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists cheilolejeunea vittata (steph. ex g. hoffm.) r.m. schust. & kachroo (lejeuneaceae: marchantiophyta) – a newly recorded species from india shashi kumar and sushil kumar singh1 botanical survey of india, eastern regional centre, shillong-793003, india keywords: cheilolejeunea vittata; lejeuneaceae; new record; india. abstract cheilolejeunea vittata (steph. ex g. hoffm.) r.m. schust. & kachroo is reported and described for the first time in indian bryoflora from manipur. introduction lejeuneaceae is the largest family of the liverworts with more than 1000 species in the world belonging to 68 genera. the genus cheilolejeunea (spruce) steph. is one of the largest genera under the family lejeuneaceae, contains c. 80-100 species, pantropical in distribution (thiers, 1997; ye et al., 2015) belonging to nine sections, namely anomalolejeunea (schiffn.) w.ye, gradst. & r.l. zhu, cheilolejeunea, cyrtolejeunea w.ye, gradst. & r.l. zhu, euosmolejeunea w.ye, gradst. & r.l. zhu, leucolejeunea w.ye, gradst. & r.l. zhu, paroicae w.ye, gradst. & r.l. zhu, omphalanthus w.ye, gradst. & r.l. zhu, strepsilejeunea w.ye, gradst. & r. l . zhu and xenolejeunea b. thiers. however, in recently published “world checklist of hornworts and liverworts”, the number varies to 169 species (incl. 10 uncertain species) belonging to four subgenera viz., subg. cheilolejeunea, euosmolejeunea (spruce) kachroo, renilejeunea r.m.schust. and xenolejeunea kachroo & r. m. schust. (söderström et al., 2016). the genus is characterized by 1) pale green to yellowish green colour, 2) thin stems with a 2(4) cells wide ventral merophyte and enlarged epidermis cells, 3) leaf lobules with 1(-2) teeth and a hyaline papilla present distal side of the second tooth, 4) leaf cells with 1 – 3(-5) usually large, coarsely segmented oil-bodies, 5) underleaves usually bifid rarely entire, 6) gynoecia without or with 1 – 2 lejeuneoid or pycnolejeuneoid innovations, 7) perianth with 3 – 5 smooth keels, rarely pluriplicate or without plicae (zhu et al., 2002; ye et al., 2015). in india, the genus represented by 21 species (singh et al., 2016) with prevalence in eastern himalayan bryo-geographical territory (15 species) followed by western ghats (12 species). andaman and nicobar territory is represented by five species and central india by 2 species, while four bryo-geographical territories have no representations of the genus. following söderström et al. (2016) subgeneric concept, the indian species belong to three subgenera cheilolejeunea (6 species), euosmolejeunea (11 species), and xenolejeunea (4 species). three species namely, cheilolejeunea ghatensis g. asthana, s.c. srivast. & a.k. asthana, cheilolejeunea orientalis (gottsche) mizut. and cheilolejeunea udarii g. asthana, s.c. srivast. & a.k. asthana are endemic to india. materials and methods plant materials were collected from the forest along pung-pung river of chandel district, manipur, north-east india. the plants were growing as epiphyte in moist places. critical morpho                                                             1  corresponding author: email: sksbsinc@rediffmail.com 210 kumar and singh taxonomic investigation of the specimens was performed under microscopes (binocular olympus sz 51 stereo zoom microscope & trinocular olympus cx 41 biological microscope). the specimens were identified based on the literature. a brief taxonomic description and line drawing illustration is provided. nomenclature follows söderström et al. (2016). table 1. morphological and anatomical comparison of cheilolejeunea trapezia cheilolejeunea ceylanica and cheilolejeunea vittata. characters cheilolejeunea trapezia (dey & singh, 2012) cheilolejeunea ceylanica (zhu & so, 2001; mizutani, 1980) cheilolejeunea vittata ( our plant) plant length & width 18-25 mm long & 1.5-1.9 mm wide 5-15 mm long& 0.7-1.3 mm wide 8-12 mm long; 0.9 – 1.4 mm wide no of cortical & medullary cells in stem cort. 9-12 & med. 15-18 cort. 7 & med. 9-13 cort. 7 (-8) & med. 9-11 ventral merophyte 2-4 cells wide 2 cells wide 2 cells wide leaf shape & size ovate, 0.8-1.1 mm long & 0.60.75 mm wide triangular-ovate , 0.4-0.6 mm long & 0.3-0.4 mm wide ovate, 0.50.7 mm long, 0.4 -0.5 mm wide vitta in leaf lobe absent often distinct, 3-7 cells long & 3-5 cells wide distinct, 12 -16 cells long & 6-11 cells wide leaf lobule 3/5-2/3 of leaf length 3/5-2/3 of leaf length (2/5-) 1/2 of leaf length second tooth of leaf lobule 1-4 (-5) cells long, erect or slightly curved, as long as the apical portion of leaf lobule near lobe attachment 4-7 cells long, usually curved at apex of leaf, as long as the apical portion of leaf lobule near lobe attachment 1-4 cells long, erect or occasionally slightly curved, usually shorter than the apical portion of leaf lobule near lobe attachment taxonomic description cheilolejeunea vittata (steph. ex g. hoffm.) r.m. schust. & kachroo, j. linn. soc. bot. 56: 509. 1961; mizutani, j. hattori bot. lab. 47: 321. 1980. pycnolejeunea vittata steph. ex hoffm., ann. bryol. 8: 115. 1935. plants small, pale green; shoots 8 – 12 mm long, 0.9 – 1.4 mm wide; branching irregulary, lejeunea-type; cross-section of stem subglobose – oval in outline, 78.6 – 105.0 × 66.5 – 80.0 µm, 5 – 6 cells across the diameter; cortical cells in a layer of 7 ( –8) cells, subquadrate – rectangular, 15.0 – 32.5 × 10.0 – 20.0 µm, thick-walled, medullary cells 9 – 11, polygonal, 10.0 – 22.5 × 7.5 – 12.5 µm, thick-walled; ventral merophytes 2 cells wide. leaves imbricate, widely spreading; leaf lobes ovate, 0.51 – 0.70 mm long, 0.41 – 0.52 mm wide, antical margin arched, postical margin straight or sometimes curved, apex rounded, margin entire; marginal leaf cells towards apex small, subquadrate – quadrate, 7.5 – 12.5 × 5.0 – 7.5 µm; median leaf cells pentagonal – hexagonal, 15.0 – 30.0 × 10.0 – 22.5 µm; basal leaf cells elongated hexagonal – polygonal, 17.5 – 45.0 × 10.0 – 30.0 µm; cells thin or slightly thick-walled, with nodular trigones and intermediate thickenings prominent in median and basal leaf cells; vitta about 3/4 the length and 2/5 – 3/5 the cheilolejeunea vittata 211 fig. 1. cheilolejeunea vittata (steph. ex g. hoffm.) r.m. schust. & kachroo: a. a portion of plant in dorsal view; b. the same in ventral view; c – e. cross-sections of stem; f – j. leaves; k. marginal leaf cells; l. median leaf cells; m. basal leaf cells; n, o. leaf lobules; p – t. underleaves. 212 kumar and singh width of the leaf lobe, 12 – 16 cells long, 6 – 11 cells wide; cuticle slightly mammillose; oilbodies not observed; leaf lobules inflated, rectangular, 1/2 (-2/5) as long as the lobe, 0.25 – 0.35 mm long, 0.15 – 0.18 mm wide, apex truncate, first tooth obsolete, second tooth elongated, 1 (-2) – 4 cells long in a row, hyaline papilla small, present at the distal side of second tooth. under leaves distant, suborbicular, 2 – 3 times as wide as the stem, 0.20 – 0.33 mm long, 0.18 – 0.31 mm wide, bilobed to 3/5 of its length, lobes triangular, apex acute, sinus “v”-shaped, margin entire. androecial and gynoecial branches not observed. habitat: epiphytic, growing in moist and shady places. distribution: india [manipur – present study], china (zhu & so, 1999; zhu et al., 2002), indonesia (söderström et al., 2010), malaysia (chuah-petiot, 2011), papua new guinea (grolle & piippo 1984), sri lanka (rubasinghe & long, 2014), thailand (lai et al., 2008; pócs & podani, 2015), philippines (mizutani, 1980), australia (thiers, 1992, 1997). specimen examined: manipur, chandel district, pung-pung river, 24°15´36.3´´n, 94° 17´ 37.2´´e, 220 m, 22.06.2014, shashi kumar, tsli – 194, 195, 215 (assam). notes: cheilolejeunea vittata (belongs to subg. xenolejeunea) is characterized by its leaf lobe cells forming a vitta (about 3/4 the length and 2/5 – 3/5 the width of leaf lobe, 12 – 16 cells long, 6 – 11 cells wide) and with sub-nodular – nodular or bulging trigones and few, small – prominent intermediate thickenings; leaf lobules rectangular, (2/5-) 1/2 as long as lobe with elongated 1 – 4 cells long, erect or slightly curved apical tooth which usually shorter than the apical portion of leaf lobule. however, it shows affinity with cheilolejeunea ceylanica in having similar habit of plants, similar arrangement of leaves, robust leaf lobule with elongated apical tooth and under leaf structure, but the latter differs from the former in having comparatively larger leaf lobule 2/3 as long of the leaf lobe length with very long apical tooth which is 5 – 7 cells long and curved toward apex, usually as long as the apical portion of leaf lobule, leaf lobes usually triangular-ovate with elongate median and basal cells often forming a distinct (or indistinct) vitta (extending to the middle portion) vitta 3 – 7 cells long (zhu & so, 2001). it also shows similarity with cheilolejeunea trapezia in large leaf lobule, and lobular tooth (1 – 4 cells long, erect or occasionally slightly curved), but latter differ from the former in its leaf cells which is not forming vita and ventral merophyte 2 – 4 cells wide (zhu & so, 2001; see also table 1). acknowledgements the authors are thankful to director, botanical survey of india, kolkata and head of the office, bsi, eastern regional centre, shillong for facilities and encouragement; to the officials of forest department, manipur for permission and help rendered during field exploration. one of us (shashi kumar) is also grateful to the director, bsi, for financial assistance under 'flora of india' project. references chuah-petiot, m. s. 2011. a checklist of hepaticae and anthocerotae of malaysia. polish bot. j. 56(1): 1–44. dey, m. and singh, d. k. 2012. epiphyllous liverwort of eastern himalaya. bsi, kolkata. grolle, r. & piippo, s. 1984. annotated catalogue of western melanesian bryophyte. i: hepaticae and anthoccrotue. acta bot. fenn. 125: 1–86 lai, m. j., zhu, r.l. and chantanaorrapint, s. 2008. liverworts and hornworts of thailand: an updated checklist and bryofloristic accounts. ann. bot. fenn. 45: 321–341. mizutani, m. 1980. lejeuneaceae from the philippines. j. hattori bot. lab. 43: 127–136. pócs, t. & podani, j. 2015. southern thailand and bryophytes ii: epiphylls from the phang-nga area. acta bot. hung. 57(1-2): 183–193. cheilolejeunea vittata 213 rubasinghe, s. c. k. & long, d.g. 2014. liverworts and hornworts of sri lanka: a revised checklist. ceylon j. sci. (bio. sci.) 43(1): 1–36. söderström, l., hagborg, a., von konrat, m., bartholomew-began, s., bell, d., laura briscoe, l., brown, e., cargill, d.c., costa d.p., crandall-stotler b.j., cooper e.d., dauphin, g., engel, j.j., feldberg, k., glenny, d., gradstein, s.r., he, x.-l., heinrichs, j., hentschel, j., ilkiu-borges, a.l. katagiri, t., konstantinova, n.a., larraín, j., long, d.g., nebel, m., pócs, t., puche, f., reiner-drehwald, e., renner, m.a.m., sass-gyarmati, a., schäfer-verwimp, a., moragues, j.g.s., stotler, r.e., sukkharak, p., thiers, b.m., uribe, j.m., váňa, j., villarreal, j. c., wigginton, m., zhang, l. & zhu, r.-l. 2016. world checklist of hornworts and liverworts. phyto keys 59: 1–828. söderström, l., gradstein, s.r. and hagborg, a. 2010. checklist of the hornworts and liverworts of java. phytotaxa 9: 53–149. thiers, b.m. 1992: a re-evaluation of cheilolejeunea subgenus xenolejeunea. trop. bryol. 5: 10–21. thiers, b.m. 1997. cheilolejeunea in australia: description of new taxa and key. j. hattori bot. lab. 82: 321–328. ye, w., gradstein, s.r., shaw, a. j., shaw, b., ho, b.-c., schäfer-verwimp, a., pócs, t., heinrichs, j. and zhu, r.-l. 2015. phylogeny and classification of lejeuneaceae subtribe cheilolejeuneinae (marchantiophyta) based on nuclear and plastid molecular markers. cryptog. bryol. 36: 313–333. zhu, r.l. and so, m. l. 1999. additions of lejeuneaceae taxa to the hepatic flora of yunnan, china. ann. bot. fenn. 36: 219–229. zhu, r.l. and so, m.l. 2001. epiphyllous liverworts of china. beih. nova hedwigia 121: 1–418. zhu, r.l., so, m.l. and wang, y.f. 2002. the genus cheilolejeunea (hepaticae, lejeuneaceae) in china. nova hedwigia 75: 387–408. (manuscript received on 11 july 2016; revised on 28 september 2016) microsoft word 06. senna_final 4-6-14 r.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 43-51, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists stomatal and trichome diversity in senna mill. from bangladesh ayesa begum, md. oliur rahman1 and momtaz begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: senna; stomata; trichomes; taxonomy; bangladesh. abstract foliar epidermal characters of ten species of senna mill. found in bangladesh are investigated. anisocytic, anomocytic, paracytic, tetracytic and haxacytic stomata are found across the species. anisocytic and paracytic stomata are common in all species. in addition to anisocytic and paracytic types, anomocytic stomata are found in senna sophera and hexacytic stomata are observed in s. auriculata. anticlinal wall is straight in s. alata, s. hirsuta, s. occidentalis, s. siamea and s. tora, curved in s. auriculata, s. sophera and s. siamea, and undulate in s. hirsuta and s. occidentalis. glandular trichomes are observed in s. hirsuta and s. occidentalis, while non-gladular trichomes are predominant in the remaining species. introduction senna mill. is a large, widespread genus and exhibits a high diversity of habits including herbs, shrubs, treelets, tall trees and lianas. the genus comprises 350 species and about 80% of its species occur in the american continent, while most of the remaining members are found in tropical africa, madagascar and australia, and only a few species occur in south-eastern asia and pacific island (irwin and barneby, 1982; marazzi et al., 2006). species of senna were formerly included in cassia l. s.l. (irwin and turner, 1960). subsequent taxonomic treatments subdivided the cassia s.l. into three distinct genera, viz., cassia s. str., chamaecrista moench and senna mill. (irwin and barneby, 1981, 1982). senna mill. are characterized by presence of extrafloral nectaries, ebracteolate pedicels, straight or simply incurved filaments, flattened or cylindrical, irregularly dehiscent pods and areolate seeds, while in cassia l., no extrafloral nectaries present, pedicels 2-bracteolate, filaments sigmoidally curved towards the base, pod indehiscent, and there is no areole on seed surface. chamaecrista moench is distinct by ciliolate anther-thecae along the suture, elastically dehiscent pod, smooth or pitted seed coat and absence of aerole on seed surface (irwin and barneby, 1982). the separation of senna mill. from cassia l. was further established by taxonomic (singh, 2001), phenetic (boonkerd et al., 2005) and molecular studies (acharya et al., 2011). in bangladesh, senna mill. is represented by 11 species (rahman et al., 2013). taxonomic relevance of vegetative anatomy in delimitation of taxa and establishment of itergeneric or interspecific relationships is well reported (tomblinson, 1961; stace, 1965; kotresha and seetharam, 2000; tschan and denk, 2012). foliar anatomical features play an important role in distinguishing different groups of plants. leaf is considered as the most varied organ anatomically in angiosperms which provides a variety of anatomical features that can be employed as useful taxonomic characters (metcalfe and chalk, 1950; metcalfe, 1968; stace, 1984). foliar anatomical characters such as stomata and trichomes have been found instrumental in solving taxonomic problems. the taxonomic and phylogenetic significance of stomata and trichomes have long been recognized by various workers (dilcher, 1974; naik and nirgude, 1981; stace, 1984; devi et al., 2013). *corresponding author. email: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 44 begum et al. despite several studies based on foliar micromorphology have been made in defferent genera, viz., polygonum (lersten and curtis, 1992), eugenia (fontenelle et al., 1994), bauhinia (kotresha and seetharam, 1995), hibiscus (shaheen et al., 2009), fagopyrum (yasmin et al., 2010) and cynoglossum (akçin et al., 2012), the genus senna mill. received very little attention in this regard (ogundipe et al., 2009). therefore the present study was undertaken in order to explore the features of stomata and trichome in the genus senna mill. occurring in bangladesh and to evaluate these characters for species delimitation and interspecific relationship. materials and methods ten species of senna mill. used in this study are senna alata (l.) roxb., s. auriculata (l.) roxb., s. hirsuta (l.) irwin & barneby, s. obtusifolia (l.) irwin & barneby, s. occidentalis (l.) link, s. siamea (lam.) irwin & barneby, s. sophera (l.) roxb., s. surattensis (burm. f.) irwin & barneby, s. timoriensis (dc.) irwin & barneby and s. tora (l.) roxb. the localities of these species along with the voucher numbers are appended in table 1. plant materials collected from different parts of the country as well as herbarium specimens deposited in dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) were studied. leaf samples were cut into small square pieces and soaked in a petridish containing koh solution for 7-8 days. then they were washed with tap water followed by treatment with hydrogen peroxide for 3-4 days till clearing of leaves. after that they were treated with 50% alcohol for 2 hours and then with safranin for 16-18 hours. the leaf tissues were treated again with 70% alcohol for 2 hours. finally, the samples were treated with a mixture of alcohol and xylol in a 3:1 ratio and mounted in 70% glycerin. the samples were prepared in clean, dry and oil free slides and observed under compound microscope. photomicrograph of each species was taken using nikon eclipse 200 camera in addition to the line drawing of stomata. table 1. list of species of senna mill. along with voucher specimens used in the present study. no. species voucher specimens 1 senna alata (l.) roxb. dhaka: dhaka university campus, 23.12.2011, ayesa 65 (dush) 2 s. auriculata (l.) roxb. dhaka: sher-e-bangla agricultural university compound, 26.1.2011, ayesa 07 (dush) 3 s. hirsuta (l.) irwin & barneby gazipur: gazipur, 30.6.2011, ayesa 40 (dacb) 4 s. obtusifolia (l.) irwin & barneby cox’s bazar: teknaf, mouchuni, 24.4.2011, ayesa 32 (dush) 5 s. occidentalis (l.) link dhaka: dhaka university campus, 26.12.2010, ayesa 02 (dush) 6 s. siamea (lam.) irwin & barneby dhaka: tejgaon, old airport, 27.12.2011, ayesa 74 (dush) 7 s. sophera (l.) roxb. dhaka: dhaka university campus, 30.4.11, aeysa 33 (dush) 8 s. surattensis (burm. f.) irwin & barneby dhaka: dhaka university campus, 20.12.2011, ayesa 47 (dush) 9 s. timoriensis (dc.) irwin & barneby chittagong hill tracts: ruma p.s., changnakra, 25.1.1965, m. s. khan 1166 (dacb). 10 s. tora (l.) roxb. dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 26.12.2011, ayesa 69 (dush) stomatal and trichome variation in senna 45 results and discussion the genus senna offers different types of stomata and trichomes. the shape of epidermal cells, nature of anticlinal walls, types of stomata and number of stomata per microscopic field are presented in table 2. the epidermal cells are irregular or polygonal in outline. polygonal cells are observed in s. obtusifolia, s. siamea and s. tora, while irregular types of cells are evident in s. sophera. the remaining species bear both irregular and polygonal cells (table 2). the anticlinal walls are straight, undulate and curved across the genus. straight anclinal walls are found in s. obtusifolia, s. siamea and s. tora; anticlinal walls are curved in s. auriculata, s. sophera and s. surattensis, and they are undulate, curved and straight in s. hirsuta and s. occidentalis. stomata are mostly paracytic and anisocytic, however, tetracytic, anomocytic and hexacytic stomata have also been documented. paracytic and anisocytic stomata are observed in all species, while anomocytic stomata are found only in s. sophera, and hexacytic stomata only in s. auriculata along with other types. paired anisocytic and paired tetracytic stomata are present only in s. auriculata. paired paracytic stomata are observed in s. sophera and s. hirsuta (table 2; figs 1&2). amphistomatic stomata have been observed in all species employed, while hypostomatic stomata is found only in s. siamea. fig. 1. line drawings of different types of stomata found in senna mill., a) senna alata, b) s. auriculata, c) s. hirsuta, d) s. obtusifolia, e) s. occidentalis, f) s. siamea, g) s. sophera, h) s. surattensis, i) s.tora. 46 begum et al. stomatal and trichome variation in senna 47 fig. 2. different types of stomata in senna mill. a) senna alata, b) s. auriculata, c) s. hirsuta, d) s. obtusifolia, e) s. occidentalis, f) s. siamea, g) s. sophera, h) s. surattensis, i) s. tora, j) s. timoriensis. the study reveals that both glandular and non-glandular trichomes are found in senna. the trichomes observed in senna vary in structure, form and distribution. glandular multicellular trichomes are evident only in the abaxial surface of s. hirsuta and s. occidentalis. the number of 48 begum et al. cells varies from 5 to 7. however, no glandular unicellular trichomes are found in any species employed in the present study (table 3). non-glandular trichomes are evident in all species except s. occidentalis. non-glandular multicellular trichomes are distinct in s. hirsuta, s. obtusifolia and s. tora, whereas, non-glandular unicellular trichomes are observed in eight species. in s. alata, s. hirsuta and s. siamea unicellular trichomes are sparsely noticed. non-glandular unicellular trichomes may be conical or papilose. very rarely uncinate trichomes are found only in s. alata. non-glandular multicellular trichomes are consisted of 2-8 cells, which also vary greatly in size, shape and number of cells.verrucose type of trichome wall are documented in s. tora, s. obtusifolia, s. siamea, s. surattensis and smooth walled trichomes are seen in s. hirsuta, s. auriculata, s. timoriensis (fig. 3). the longest type of multicellular trichomes are present with up to 8 cells, comprising two or more basal cells ended by a much elongated apical cell in s. hirsuta. the pedastal cells might vary from 4 to 7. multicellular verrucose trichome present in s. tora and s. obtusifolia. the cells of the stalk are almost equal in length. smooth walled non-glandular multicellular trichomes are present in s. hirsuta, consisting of 2-6 cells and the cells may be equal or unequal in size. the upper cells always larger than the basal ones and become narrower towards the apex. s. occidentalis and s. hirsuta can easily be distinguished from the other species of senna by presence of glandular multicellular trichomes. table 3. trichome variation in senna mill. species employed in the present study. glandular trichome non-glandular trichome unicellular multicellular unicellular multicellular species adaxial surface abaxial surface adaxial surface abaxial surface adaxial surface abaxial surface adaxial surface abaxial surface senna alata – – – – + (very few) + (very few) – _ s. auriculata – – – – ++ ++ _ – s. hirsuta – – – + (very few) – + (very few) +++ (2-6 celled) +++ (2-4 celled) s. obtusifolia – – – – ++ – – ++ (1-7 celled) s. occidentalis – – – ++ (5-7 celled) – – – – s. siamea – – – – + (very few) + (very few) – – s. sophera – – – – ++ ++ – – s. surattensis – – – – ++ ++ – – s. timoriensis – – – – ++ +++ – – s. tora – – – – – – – ++ (2-4 celled) – = absent, + = sparsely present, ++ = moderately present, +++ = densely present. the taxonomic value of leaf epidermal characters have been received much attention in the recent past, even the taxonomic monographs are now considered incomplete without micromorphology of the epidermis (rejdali, 1991). in this context, however, little is known in the genus senna. recently ogundipe et al. (2009) and shaheed and illoh (2010) studied foliar micromorphology of six species of senna from nigeria. the present study bridges the gaps in our knowledge of the some additional species of the genus senna after ogundipe et al. (2009) and shaheed and illoh (2010). stomatal and trichome variation in senna 49 fig. 3. trichome diversity in senna mill., a) senna alata, b) s. auriculata, c,d) s. hirsuta, e) s. obtusifolia, f) s. occidentalis, g) s. siamea, h) s. sophera, i) s. surattensis, j) s. tora., k) s. timoriensis. the present study reveals that the foliar epidermal characters are important in taxonomic identification and species relationships in the members of the senna examined. in our study s. obtusifolia and s. tora have been found closely related as evidenced by their epidermal cells which are polygonal in shape, and anticlinal walls are straight both in s. obtusifolia and s. tora. moreover, paracytic and anisocytic stomata are common in these two species indicating a close relationships among them. in a morphometric study of the genus senna rahman et al. (2013) showed that s. obtusifolia and s. tora are very closely related as attested by the following shared characters: leaflets obovate, stipules linear, falcate, inflorescence short-racemose, axillary, ovary ribbed, style glabrous, stigma truncate and pod linear or subtetragonous, which has been found 50 begum et al. consitent with our study. morphologically s. alata and s. auriculata are closely allied, however, the epidermal features do not support a close association between them. s. auriculata is characterized by presence of hexacytic stomata, while s. sophera is distinct by presence of anomocytic stomata. saheed and illoh (2010) observed that in s. alata, the adaxial epidermal cells are polygonal or irregular, while the abaxial cells are irregular in shape, and this species exhibited non-glandular trichomes. our study presenting similar types of epidermal cells and non-glandular trichomes in s. alata support the work of saheed and illoh (2010). s. obtusifolia is characterized by presence of polygonal epidermal cells, straight anticlinal walls, and paracytic and anisocytic stomata, however, no anomocytic stomata were found in this species as documented by saheed and illoh (2010). the study also unveils a close relationship between s. hirsuta and s. occidentalis as they share the following common characteristics: both polygonal and irregular epidermal cells, straight and undulate anticlinal walls in the adaxial surface, straight and curved walls in the abaxial surface, paracytic stomata in the adaxial surface, and both paracytic and anisocytic stomata in the abaxial surface (table 2). s. hirsuta and s. occidentalis can also be differentiated from the remaining species by presence of multicellular glandular trichomes as observed in the abaxial surface (table 3). while studying on the nigerian senna species ogundipe et al. (2009) showed that s. hirsuta and s. occidentalis are closely allied as they bear paracytic and anisocytic types of stomata, and the epidermal cells are polygonal and irregular in both species. results obtained from the present study have been found congruent with that of ogundipe et al. (2009). the close affinity between s. hirsuta and s. occidentalis is also evidenced by cytological investigation where the somatic chromosome number 2n=28 was reported for these species (bir and kumari, 1980). acknowledgement we would like to thank prof. dr. md. abul hassan, department of botany, university of dhaka for his cooperartion during the course of the study. thanks are also due to the authority of bangladesh national herbarium for allowing us to examine the herbarium materials. references acharya, l., mukherjee, a.k. and panda, p.c. 2011. separation of the genera in the subtribe cassiinae (leguminosae: caesalpinioidae) using molecular markers. acta botanica brasilica 25(1): 223-233. akçin, o.e., çoşkunçelebi, k. and şenel, g. 2012. foliar anatomy of cynoglossum l. (boraginaceae) from north anatolia, turkey. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 101-108. bir, s.s. and kumari, s. 1980. cytological evolution of the leguminous flora of the punjub plain. in: bir, s.s. (ed.), recent researches in plant science. kalyani publishers, ludhiana, india, pp. 261-271. boonkerd, t., pechsri, s. and baum, b.r. 2005. a phenetic study of cassia s.l. (leguminosae caesalpinioideae: cassieae: cassiinae) in thailand. plant syst. evol. 252: 153-165. devi, n.j., padma, y., narasimhudu, c.l. and raju, r.r.v. 2013. diversity of stomata and trichomes in euphorbia l. – i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 27-38. dilcher, d.l. 1974. approaches to the identification of angiosperm leaf remains. bot. rev. 40: 1-157. fontenelle, g.b., costa, c.g. and machado. r.d. 1994. foliar anatomy and micromorphology of eleven species of eugenia l. (myrtaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 116: 111-133. irwin, h.s. and turner, b.l. 1960. chromosomal relationships and taxonomic considerations in the genus cassia. am. j. bot. 47: 309-318. irwin, h.s. and barneby, r.c. 1981. tribe 2. cassiae bronn (1822). in: pohlhill, r.m. and raven, p.h. (eds), advances in legume systematics, part 1. royal botanic gardens, kew, uk, pp. 97-106. irwin, h.s. and barneby, r.c. 1982. the american cassiinae. memoir. new york bot. gard. 35: 1-918. stomatal and trichome variation in senna 51 kotresha, k. and seetharam, y.n. 1995. epidermal studies in some species of bauhinia l. (caesalpinioideae). phytomorphology 45(1&2): 127-137. kotresha, k. and seetharam, y.n. 2000. epidermal micromorphology of some cassia l. (caesalpiniaceae). phytomorphology 50(3&4): 229-237. lersten, n.r. and curtis, j.d. 1992. foliar anatomy of polygonum (polygonaceae): survey of epidermal and selected internal structures. plant syst. evol. 182(1-2): 71-106. marazzi, b., endress, k.p., de queiroz, l.p.and conti, e. 2006. phylogenetic relationships within senna (leguminosae, cassiinae) based on three chloroplast dna regions: patterns in the evolution of floral symmetry and extrafloral nectaries. am. j. bot. 93(2): 288-303. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1950. anatomy of the dicotyledons, vol. 2. oxford, pp. 1014-1024. metcalfe, c.r. 1968. current development in systematic plant anatomy. in: heywood, v.h. (ed.), modern methods in plant taxonomy. academic press, london, new york, pp. 45-57. metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. 1979. anatomy of the dicotyledons, second edition, vol. 1. clarendon press, pp. 63-75. naik, v.n. and nirgude, s.m. 1981. anatomy in relation to taxonomy of chlorophytum (liliaceae). indian j. bot. 4(2): 48-60. ogundipe, o.t., kadiri, a.b. and adekanmbi, o.h. 2009. foliar epidermal morphology of some nigerian species of senna (caesalpiniaceae). indian j. sci. & tech. 2(10): 5-9. rahman, m.o., rahman, m.z. and begum, a. 2013. numerical taxonomy of the genus senna mill. from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 77-83. rejdali, m. 1991. leaf micromorphology and taxonomy of north african species of sideritis l. (lamiaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 107: 67-77. saheed, s.a. and illoh, h.c. 2010. a taxonomic study of some species in cassiinae (leguminosae) using leaf epidermal characters. not. bot. hort. agrobot. cluj 38(1): 21-27. shaheen, n., ajab, m., hayat, m.q. and yasmin, g. 2009. diversity of foliar trichomes and their systematic relevance in the genus hibiscus (malvaceae). int. j. agric. biol. 11: 279-284. singh, v. 2001. monograph on indian subtribe cassiinae (caesalpiniaceae). scientific editions, jodhpur, india. stace, c.a. 1965. cuticular studies as an aid to plant taxonomy. bull. br. mus. nat. hist. 4: 1-78. stace, c.a. 1984. the taxonomic importance of the leaf surface. in: heywood, v.h. and moore, d.m. (eds), current concepts in plant taxonomy. academic press, london, pp. 67-94. tomblinson, p.b. 1961. anatomical approach to the classification of the musaceae. bot. j. linn. soc. 55: 779-809. tschan, g.f. and denk, t. 2012. trichome types, foliar indumentum and epicuticular wax in the mediterranean gall oaks, quercus subsection galliferae (fagaceae): implications for taxonomy, ecology and evolution. bot. j. linn. soc. 169: 611-644. yasmin, g., khan, m.a., shaheen, n. and hayat, m.q. 2010. micromorphological investigation of foliar anatomy of fagopyrum mill. and rumex l. of polygonaceae. pak. j. bot. 42(1): 47-57. (manuscript recieved on 12 may 2013; revised on 29 may 2014) microsoft word 07. cucurbit spermaderm_14.6.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 61-65, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic significance of spermoderm pattern in cucurbitaceae m. ajmal ali1, fahad m.a. al-hemaid, arun k. pandey2 and joongku lee3 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia. keywords: cucurbitaceae; sem; spermoderm; testa. abstract studies on spermoderm using scanning electron microscope (sem) were undertaken in 12 taxa under 11 genera of the family cucurbitaceae sampled from india, china and korea. the spermoderm pattern in the studied taxa varies from rugulate, reticulate to colliculate type. the spermoderm shows rugulate type in benincasa hispida and sicyos angulatus; reticulate type in citrullus colocynthis, cucumis melo var. agrestis, diplocyclos palmatus, hemsleya longivillosa, luffa echinata, momordica charantia, m. cymbalaria, schizopepon bryoniifolius, and trichosanthes cucumerina; and colliculate type in gynostemma laxiflorum. the present study clearly reveals that the testa features greatly varies across the genera which can be used as micromorphological markers for identification as well as character states for deducing relationship of the taxa within the family. introduction spermoderm refers to the pattern present on the seed coat of mature seeds. seed characteristic, particularly exomorphic features as revealed by scanning electron microscopy, have been used by many workers in resolving taxonomic problems (koul et al., 2000; pandey and ali, 2006) and evolutionary relationships (kumar et al., 1999; segarra and mateu, 2001). cucurbitaceae, with c. 800 species under 130 genera (schaefer and renner, 2011) are among the economically most important plant families (kirtikar and basu, 1975; chakravarty, 1982; ali and pandey, 2006). of the 130 genera, c. 50 contains single species, which illustrates the difficulties in deducing relationships within the family. jeffrey (2005) divided the family cucurbitaceae into 11 tribes under two subfamilies viz., the nhandiroboideae (zanonioideae, with 60 species under 19 genera) and cucurbitoideae (with c. 740 species under 111 genera). nhandiroboideae are characterized by a gynoecium with three or rarely two, free styles, while cucurbitoideae have the styles united into a single column. the most important diagnostic characters for the genera and tribes of cucurbitaceae come from androecium and gynoecium morphology, type of tendril branching, pollen structure and seed coat (jeffrey, 2005). recently schaefer and renner (2011) have divided the family cucurbitaceae into 95 genera in 15 tribes. the testa of cucurbitaceae is formed by the outer integument and consists of a lignified epidermis, a hypodermis is of one or many layers of sclerotic cells, and an inner one-layered protective cover that in mature seeds is heavily lignified (singh and dathan, 2001). 1corresponding author. email: majmalali@rediffmail.com 2department of botany, university of delhi, delhi-110007, india. 3international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon305806, south korea. 62 ali et al. seed coat exhibits complex and highly diverse morphology and anatomy, providing valuable taxonomic characters. despite seed coat morphology were studied in different groups of plants, no detailed work on spermoderm morphology in the systematics of cucurbitaceae was conducted so far. the main objective of the present study is to evaluate taxonomic significance of spermoderm pattern in some members of the family cucurbitaceae. materials and methods the seeds for the present investigation were collected from nature during field trips or were procured from herbarium specimens (table 1). dry mature seeds were directly mounted on double-sided carbon tape which was affixed on aluminum stub. seeds were then coated with very thin layer of gold in a sputter coater unit (hitachi e-1010), and observed with a hitachi s3400-n scanning electron microscope at 20 kv. scanning electron microscopy was performed at korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon, south korea. renner and pandey (2012), lu et al. (2011) and park (2007) were followed for taxon nomenclature. for terminology of spermoderm, radford et al. (1974), barthlot (1990) and barthlot et al. (1998) were followed. results and discussion in the present study, three different patterns of spermoderm (i.e. rugulate, reticulate and colliculate) were observed in the studied taxa (table 1). the spermoderm pattern in benincasa hispida was found rugulate, rugae were unevenly distributed and compactly arranged. some rugae were raised at certain places and were larger or smaller in appearance (fig. 1). in citrullus colocynthis the spermoderm pattern was reticulate with thin walled polygonal reticulae. the reticulae were compactly arranged and the testa cell surface showed transverse striation (fig. 2). in cucumis melo var. agrestis the spermoderm pattern was reticulate type. the testa cells were rectangular and compactly arranged. the flakes of waxy deposition were observed sporadically over the surface (fig. 3). diplocyclos palmatus showed the reticulate pattern of spermoderm with distinct anticlinal and periclinal walls. the testa cells were polygonal with small protuberances covered with crystal like structures. these structures were unique to this species and were not found in any other cucurbits studied presently. each testa cell presented small protuberances over which crystal like structures were formed (fig. 4). in gynostemma laxiflorum the spermoderm pattern was strongly colliculate type and the seed surface showed raised projections due to overgrowth of the testa cells and distributed throughout the seeds surface. the testa cells were smooth in appearance due to thin film of wax (fig. 5). hemsleya longivillosa exhibited reticulate type of spermoderm where the testa cells were thick walled, hexagonal, lack up of wax deposition, compactly arranged and the cell surface were granulated (fig. 6). luffa echinata presented reticulate type of spermoderm pattern. the reticulae were compactly arranged and at certain places they were superimposed in such a way that the spermoderm appeared to be rugulate (fig. 7). in momordica charantia the spermoderm was reticulate with thick walled testa cells. testa cell wall was more or less filling the cells which gave a reticulate-punctate appearance (fig. 8). m. cymbalaria shows reticulate type of spermoderm pattern. the testa cells were hexagonal, compactly arranged and were covered with thin layer of wax or sometimes globular granules spread over the testa cell surface or on the testa cell wall which masking the nature of spermoderm (fig. 9). in schizopepon bryoniifolius the spermoderm pattern was of reticulate type and the reticulae were thin walled. the testa cells were elongated and polygonal. some of the testa cells were transversely septate (fig. 10). sicyos angulatus showed the rugulate type of spermoderm with prominent rugae which anastomose each other giving an interwoven appearance. the rugae were separated from one another by deep spermoderm pattern in cucurbitaceae 63 grooves. the spermoderm shows a few sporadically distributed waxy flakes (fig. 11). in trichosanthes cucumerina the spermoderm was reticulate and the reticulae were large, polygonal and prominent with thick layer of wax giving smooth appearance to the surface (fig. 12). table 1. origin of taxa included in the present study and spermoderm pattern. no. species locality voucher specimen spermoderm 1 benincasa hispida (thunb.) cong bhagalpur, bihar, india ali and pandey 1001 (bhag) rugulate 2 citrullus colocynthis (l.) schard. kishanganj, bihar, india ali and pandey 1050 (bhag) reticulate 3 cucumis melo var. agrestis naud. purnia, bihar, india ali and pandey 1009 (bhag) reticulate 4 diplocyclos palmatus (l.) jeffrey bhagalpur, bihar, india ali and pandey 1083 (bhag) reticulate 5 gynostemma laxiflorum c.y. wu & s.k. chen anhui, china x.f. gao 390 (kun) colliculate 6 hemsleya longivillosa c.y. wu & c.l. chen yunnan, china s.n., acc. no. 0362096 (kun) reticulate 7 luffa echinata roxb. katihar, bihar, india ali and pandey 1093 (bhag) reticulate 8 momordica charantia l. bhagalpur, bihar, india ali and pandey 1111 (bhag) reticulate 9 m. cymbalaria fenzl ex naudin andhra pradesh, india s. karuppusamy 28631 (sku) reticulate 10 schizopepon bryoniifolius maxim. gangwon-do, korea hyeong-kyu lee 00859 (krib) reticulate 11 sicyos angulatus l. gyeonbsanguk-do, korea g.y. chung s.n. (krib) rugulate 12 trichosanthes cucumerina l. bhagalpur, bihar, india ali and pandey 1113 (bhag) reticulate herbaria: bhag (department of botany, tilka manjhi bhagalpur university, bhagalpur, bihar, india); krib (korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon, south korea); kun (kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, china); sku (sri krishnadevaraya university, anantapur, andhra pradesh, india). the systematic application of seed surface features, as observed under scanning electron microscope is tremendous considering that seed characters are only slightly influenced by environmental conditions. high structural diversity of seed provides most valuable criteria for classification at species and family level (barthlott, 1984); therefore, spermoderm surface patterns have been extensively utilized as a secondary taxonomic characters (see pandey and ali, 2006). in the present study, the spermoderm pattern in the studied taxa varies from rugulate, reticulate to colliculate. the spermoderm shows rugulate pattern in benincasa hispida, sicyos angulatus; reticulate in citrullus colocynthis, cucumis melo var. agrestis, diplocyclos palmatus, hemsleya longivillosa, luffa echinata, momordica charantia, m. cymbalaria, schizopepon bryoniifolius, trichosanthes cucumerina to strongly colliculate in gynostemma laxiflorum. the results of the present study reveals that even within the similar pattern of spermoderm, the testa features greatly 64 ali et al. varies from genera to genera which can be used as micromorphological markers for identification as well as character states for deducing generic and specific relationship within the family. figs 1-12. scanning electron micrograph of the seed surface in cucurbitaceae: 1. benincasa hispida ×400 (rugulate); 2. citrullus colocynthis ×400 (reticulate); 3. cucumis melo var. agrestis ×400 (reticulate); 4. diplocyclos palmatus ×1000 (reticulate); 5. gynostemma laxiflorum ×600 (colliculate); 6. hemsleya longivillosa ×400 (reticulate); 7. luffa echinata ×1000 (reticulate); 8. momordica charantia ×700 (reticulate); 9. momordica cymbalaria ×1000 (reticulate); 10. schizopepon bryoniifolius ×400 (reticulate); 11. sicyos angulatus ×300 (rugulate); 12. trichosanthes cucumerina ×320 (reticulate). acknowledgements the authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the deanship of scientific research at king saud university for its funding of this research through the research group project no. rgp-vpp-195. spermoderm pattern in cucurbitaceae 65 references ali, m.a. and pandey, a.k. 2006. cucurbitaceae of bihar: diversity and conservation. in: trivedi, p.c. (ed.), global biodiversity status and conservation. pointer publisher jaipur, india, pp. 250-260. barthlott, w. 1984. microstructural features of seed surface. in: heywood, v.h. and moore, d.m. (eds), current concept in plant taxonomy. academic press, london, pp. 95-105. barthlott, w. 1990. scanning electron microscopy of the epidermal surface in plants. in: claugher, d. (ed.), scanning electron microscopy in taxonomy and functional morphology. clarendon press, oxford, pp. 69-94. barthlott, w., neinhuis c., cutler, d., ditsch, f., meussel, i., theisen, i., and wilhelm, h. 1998. classification and terminology of plant epicuticular waxes. bot. j. lin. soc. 126: 237-260. chakravarty, h.l. 1982. cucurbitaceae in: jain, s.k. (ed.) fascicles of flora of india, no. 11, botanical survey of india, calcutta. jeffrey, c. 2005. a new system of cucurbitaceae. bot. zhurn. 90: 332-335. kirtikar, k. and basu, b.d. 1975. indian medicinal plants (reprint edition), vol. ii. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 1106-1115. koul, k.k., ranjan, n. and raina, s.n. 2000. seed coat microsculpturing in brassica and allied genera (subtribe brassicinae, raphaninae, moricandiinae). ann. bot. 86: 385-395. kumar, p.p., rao c.d., rajasegar, g. and rao, a.n. 1999. seed surface architecture and random amplified polymorphic dna profiles of paulownia fortunei, p. tomentosa and their hybrid. ann. bot. 83: 103107. lu, a., huang, l., chen, s.k. and jeffrey, c. 2011. cucurbitaceae. in: wu, z.y., raven, p.h., hong, d.y. (eds), flora of china, vol. 19. missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. pandey, a.k. and ali, m.a. 2006. testa topography in papillionoidae and its taxonomic significance. in: pandey, a.k., wen, j., dogra, j.v.v. (eds), plant taxonomy: advances and relevance. cbs publisher and distributor, new delhi, india, pp. 529-541. park, c. 2007. the genera of vascular plants of korea. academy publishing co., seoul, south korea. radford, a.e., dickison, w.c., massey, j.r. and bell, c.r. 1974. vascular plant systematics. harper and row publishers, new york. renner, s.s. and pandey, a.k. 2012. the cucurbitaceae of india: accepted names, synonyms, geographic distribution, and information on images and dna sequences. phytokeys 20: 53-118. schaefer, h. and renner, s.s. 2011. phylogenetic relationships in the order cucurbitales and a new classification of the gourd family (cucurbitaceae). taxon 60(1): 122-138. segarra, j.g. and mateu, i. 2001. seed morphology of linaria species from eastern spain: identification of species and taxonomic implications. bot. j. linn. soc. 135: 375-389. singh, d. and dathan, a.s.r. 2001. development and structure of seed coat in the cucurbitaceae and its implications in systematics. in: chauhan, s.v.s. and chaturvedi, s.n. (eds), botanical essays: tribute to professor bahadur singh. printwell publishers distributors, jaipur, india, pp. 87-114. (manuscript received on 18 december 2011; revised on 19 february 2013) microsoft word 10. a new nitella ag.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 181-185, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists nitella zamanii sp. nov. (charophyta) from bangladesh nasrin jahan diba, sabrina naz1 and hendrik schubert2 department of botany, university of rajshahi, rajshahi-6205, bangladesh keywords: new species; nitella zamanii; characeae; bangladesh. abstract nitella zamanii has been described and illustrated as a new species from a rice field at charghat upazila in bangladesh. the new species resembles nitella furcata and n. polycarpa but differs by presence of accessory branchlets, spiky dactyls and size of oogonium, oospore and antheridium. introduction nitella ag. had been described by different researchers (islam and sarma, 1976; aziz and tanbir, 2003; islam and irfanullah, 2005; aziz, 2009; naz et al., 2009; diba and naz, 2011) from different parts of bangladesh and morphologically described with their habitats. a new species of nitella is presented in this paper with illustration. this nitella species was collected from a rice field at rajshahi district in bangladesh. a total of seventeen taxa of nitella have been so far reported from bangladesh (naz et al., 2011). specimens were collected from only one location and 10 cm depth of water by hand and preserved in transeau`s solution (transeau, 1916). class: charophyceae; order: charales; family: characeae; genus: nitella ag. nitella zamanii naz, diba & schubert, sp. nov. (figs 1-14; pl. 1). diagnosis: nitella zamnii is closely related to n. furcata and n. polycarpa but differs from them by presence of accessory branchlets, spiky dactyls, size and position of gametangia, size of oogonium and oospore, and rare occurrence of antheridium. type: bangladesh, rajshahi district, charghat, chamta beel, rice field, growing on soft mud, 10 cm of water depth, 4 january 2004, nasrin jahan diba n16 (holotype: pllbdrb). plant monoecious, height 5-6 cm, spiky in appearance, mucus absent, slightly encrusted; lower whorls slightly spreading, stem 250 µm in diameter; internodes 1-2 cm, branchlets 5-8, 172 µm in diameter, height 1-2 cm; furcation irregular; branchlet two types: short accessory branchlet and long branchlets; accessory branchlet few, sometimes curved, primaries 3, of which one is not furcate, two rays again forked into 1 or 2, secondaries two, unequal; dactyls 2-celled, acute; a long unbranched branchlet arise from the base of a whorl and primaries 2-celled, dactyls 2 or 3, unequal, short, acute; long branchlet 1-3 times furcate, primaries 1/3 of the total branchlet, 4-6 in number, forked into 3, 4, 6 secondaries, few are again forked into 3 or 4 tertiaries; dactyls 1-4, different types, abbreviated, spine like, spreading, tapering, 1 or 2 celled, penultimate cell tapering distally to base of end cell, sometimes acuminate, ultimate cell acute; gametangia conjoined; 1corresponding author: email: drsabrina_naz@yahoo.com 2institute of bioscience, university of rostock, albert-einstein-str. 3, d-18059, rostock, germany 182 diba et al. figs 1-14. nitella zamanii naz, diba & schubert, sp. nov. 1. habit; 2. upper portion of a plant; 3-4. a whorl; 5. upper portion of a branchlet; 6−8. dactyls; 9. oogonium; 10. oospore; 11. oospore membrane; 12−14. branchlet node with aggregated gametangia. (scales: 1−4 & 11 = freehand drawing; rest = 0.2 mm) oogonium usually aggregated in all branchlet nodes and at the base of whorl; lateral, short whorl arise from all stem nodes, oogonium 63-287 µm long, 35-208 µm wide, convolutions 6-9; corona two tiers, 39-40 µm long, 40-63 µm wide at the base, upper cell elongated, acute, sometimes unequal; oospore globose, 29-198 µm long, 22-165 µm wide, with 5 prominent ridges; membrane reticulate, antheridia rare, 185 µm in diameter. nitella zamanii sp. nov. from bangladesh 183 habitat: nitella zamanii was collected from a shallow water habitat. this low land was cultivated with different crops, e.g. rice, wheat and sugarcane, in different seasons. after rainy season, charophytes densely grow in this location. water depth ranged 5-15 cm. nitella zamanii was found associated with nitella furcata subsp. furcata f. sieberi (a. br.) r.d.w. distribution: only known from chamta beel, charghat upazila, rajshahi, bangladesh plate 1. nitella zamanii naz, diba & schubert sp. nov. 1. habit; 2. fertile branchlet; 3. tiny, short accessory branchlet; 4. dactyls; 5. short curved accessory branchlet; 6. oospore; 7. stem node and oogonium; 8. a long and unbranched branchlet. (scales = 0.2 mm). 184 diba et al. etymology: nitella zamanii has been named in honour of professor m. zaman, department of botany, university of rajshahi, bangladesh for his lifelong contribution to phycology. notes: the new species nitella zamanii has unique characteristics (table 1). the whole plant is spike like. accessory branchlets arise from the base of whorl and 1st furcation at a branchlet; accessory branchlets are of different types, elongated, short and sometimes curved. dactyls are spine like. fertile specimens of n. zamanii can easily be distinguished from nitella furcata. the gametangia of nitella furcata are restricted to the branchlet nodes (zaneveld, 1940; wood and imahori, 1965), whereas oogonia of nitella zamanii are aggregated at the base of whorl and each branchlet nodes. nitella zamanii is similar to nitella polycarpa which has oogonia at the base of whorls. but it differs from nitella polycarpa (pal et al., 1962; naz et al., 2009) by the presence of accessory branchlets and the whorls of n. polycarpa are diffuse but the whorls of n. zamanii are compact. it is morphologically closely related to another nitella, i.e. nitella furcata subsp. megacarpa f. megacarpa (wood and imahori, 1965). but it differs by the position of gametangia and oospore membrane, the gametangia of nitella furcata subsp. megacarpa f. megacarpa are restricted to the branchlet nodes and oospore membrane is finely to coarsely papillate, appearing incompletely reticulate at lower focus (wood and imahori, 1965). oospore membrane of nitella zamanii is finely reticulate. table 1. comparison of morphological features of nitella zamanii with closely related taxa of nitella. morphological features nitella zamanii n. furcata (zaneveld,1940) n. polycarpa (pal et al., 1962) n. furcata subsp. megacarpa f. megacarpa (wood and imahori, 1965) accessory branchlets present absent absent absent oogonium 63-287 µm long, 35-208 µm wide 240-450 µm long, 220-320 µm wide 480 µm long, 370 µm wide 300-700 µm long, 260-510 µm wide antheridium 185 µm 240-350 µm 275 µm 220-300 (-445) µm oospore 29-198 µm long, 22-165 µm wide 190-300 µm long, 180-270 µm wide 260 µm long, 250 µm wide 280-420 µm long, 245-380 µm wide references aziz, a. 2009. genus nitella (c. agardh) hooker. in: ahmed, z.u., khondker, m., begum, z.n.t., hasan, m.a., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a. and rahman, a.k.a. (eds), encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 4. algae: charophyta-rhodophyta (achnanthaceae-vaucheriaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 15-23. aziz, a. and tanbir, m. 2003. algal flora of some northern districts of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 68-78. diba, n.j. and naz, s. 2011. new record for bangladesh: two species and two forms of nitella agardh. j. plant studies 1(1): 47-59. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2005. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. ii. algal flora (excluding chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 33-52. islam, a.k.m. nurul and sarma, d. 1976. the characeae of bangladesh ii. genus nitella. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh (sci.) 2(1): 43-61. naz, s., diba n.j. and azam, s.m.g.g. 2009. a new record for bangladesh: nitella polycarpa pal. j. life & earth science 3-4: 47-50. nitella zamanii sp. nov. from bangladesh 185 naz, s., diba, n.j. and schubert, h. 2011. monograph on charophytes of bangladesh. vdm verlag dr. müller gmbh & co. kg, pp. 88-127. pal, b.p., kundu, b.c., sundaralingam, v.s. and venkataraman, g.s. 1962. charophyta monographs on algae, vol. 5. indian council of agricultural research, new delhi, pp. 43-76. transeau, e.n. 1916. the periodicity of fresh water algae. amer. j. bot. 3: 121-133. wood, r.d. and imahori, k. 1965. a revision of the characeae. part i. monograph of the characeae. verlag von, j. cramer, weinheim, pp. 357-716 . zaneveld, j.s. 1940. the charophyta of malaysia and adjacent countries. blumea 4(1): 49-109. (manuscript received on 7 july 2014; revised on 24 november 2014) microsoft word 02. new species of polygonatum_galley proof_approved 12.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 7-11, 2016 (june) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species of polygonatum mill. (asparagaceae) from guizhou, china ming-tai an, yun lin1, 2, jia-guo wang, jiang-hua wu3 and min meng4 forestry college, guizhou university, guiyang 550025, guizhou, p. r. china keywords: polygonatum sinopubescens; asparagaceae; yinjiang county; sw china. abstract a new species polygonatum sinopubescens from yinjiang county, guizhou province, south-west china is described and illustrated. this species was found growing in evergreen broad-leaved forests or mixed needle-leaved and evergreen broad-leaved forests on slopes at altitudes of 870-930 m. it is related to polygonatum filipes merr. ex c. jeffrey & mc ewan, but differs from the latter by pubescent stems, petiole, peduncle and pedicel, leaf blade shortly dense pubescent on abaxial surface, 2-3-flowered inflorescences and filaments 7-11 mm long. introduction polygonatum mill. (asparagaceae) comprises of ca. 60 species and distributed in temperate regions of the north hemisphere, mainly from the himalayas to japan having 39 species in china (chen and tamura, 2000). during our expeditions in yinjiang county, northeast of guizhou province, southwest china in may 2014 and may 2015, we collected previously unknown specimens of polygonatum from evergreen broad-leaved forests or mixed needle-leaved and evergreen broad-leaved forests on slopes at altitudes of 870-930 m above sea level, in latitude 27°36′50.6″-27°57′28″ n, and longitude 108°26′15″-108°36′31.9″ e. after critical examination of the specimens deposited at gzac, hgas, ibk, ibsc, kun and pe, and carefully consulting relevant literature (baker, 1875; li, 1966; tang, 1978; chen and liu, 1984; tu, 1986; liang, 1987; wan and gao, 1990; zhu, 1992; chen and tamura, 2000; fu et al., 2002), it was identified as a new species of polygonatum. this paper describes and illustrates the new species as polygonatum sinopubescens m. t. an, yun lin & j. g. wang. polygonatum sinopubescens m. t. an, yun lin & j. g. wang, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: polygonatum sinopubescens is morphologically similar to polygonatum filipes merr. ex c. jeffrey & mc ewan based on moniliform or terete-moniliform rhizome, alternate leaves, oblong-lanceolate to elliptic leaf blade, very slender peduncle, 1.5-2.0 cm long perianth. however, it differs from the latter in stems pubescent, petiole pubescent, peduncle pubescent and pedicel pubescent (vs glabrous in p. filipes), leaf blade shortly dense pubescent on abaxial surface (vs shortly pubescent on abaxial veins in p. filipes), filaments 7-11 mm long (vs 4 mm long in p. filipes). 1hunan medication vestibule school, changsha 410208, hunan, p. r. china. 2corresponding author. email: leoliny@foxmail.com 3guizhou normal college, guiyang 550018, guizhou, p. r. china. 4yinjiang forestry bureau, yinjiang 555200, guizhou, p. r. china. 8 an et al.   type: china. guizhou province: yinjiang county, yangxi nature reserve, alt. 870-930 m in evergreen broad-leaved forests or mixed needle-leaved and evergreen broad-leaved forests on slopes, 16 may 2011, j.g. wang & x.f. li yj 2014-0110 (holotype: gzac, gzac herb. bar code no. 0026320; isotypes: hufd, pe); same locality, 21 may 2015, m.t. an & j.g. wang 2015-0627 (paratypes: gzac, hufd). rhizome moniliform or terete-moniliform, 1.0-1.8 cm thick, up to 30 cm long. stem erect or ascending, 30-60 cm long, pubescent. leaves 5-9, alternate; petiole short or indistinct, pubescent; leaf blade ovate-elliptic, elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 8.0-11.5 cm long, 2.5-4.0 cm wide, base broadly cuneate to rounded, margin entire, apex obtuse to shortly acuminate, shortly dense pubescent on abaxial surface. inflorescence axillary, 2-3-flowered; peduncle slender, 3.0-5.5 cm long, dense pubescent; bracts lanceolate, 2-4 mm long, greenish white, caducous. flowers pendulous; pedicel 1-2 cm long, pubescent. perianth yellowish green or greenish white, cylindric, 1.5-2.0 cm long; lobes 4-5 mm long. stamens 6, 1.5-1.8 cm long; filaments 7-11 mm long, shortly cottony; anthers 3 mm long. ovary obovoid, 4 mm long; style 1.3-1.5 cm long. young berries obovoid, 4-5 mm long, 3-4 mm in diameter. phenology: flowering from may to june, and fruiting from july to september. etymology: polygonatum sinopubescens is named after shortly dense pubescent on abaxial surface of leaf blade, and this species is from china. vernacular name: roumao huangjing habitat: this species grows in evergreen broad-leaved forests or mixed needle-leaved and evergreen broad-leaved forests on slopes at altitudes of 870-930 m above sea level., latitude 27°36′50.6″-27°57′28″ n, longitude 108°26′15″-108°36′31.9″ e, comprises about 200 individuals growing in five populations within the nature reserve. distribution: polygonatum sinopubescens is only known from its type locality, yangxi nature reserve, yinjiang county, northeast guizhou province, southwest china. pharmaceutical value: in traditional chinese medicine the rhizome is used to moisten the lung, nourish the kidney and invigorate the spleen. a comparison between the new species polygonatum sinopubescens and its closely related is appended in table 1. table 1. comparison of morphological characteristics between polygonatum sinopubescens sp. nov. and p. filipes. characters p. sinopubescens sp. nov. p. filipes stem pubescent glabrous leaf petiole pubescent; leaf blade shortly dense pubescent on abaxial surface petiole glabrous; leaf blade shortly pubescent on abaxial veins inflorescence 2-3-flowered; peduncle 3.0-5.5 cm long, pubescent 2-7-flowered; peduncle 3.0-8.0 cm long, glabrous pedicel filament pubescent 7-11 mm long glabrous c. 4 mm long berry obovoid spherical conservation status: polygonatum sinopubescens is known only from the type locality, comprises about 200 individuals growing in five populations within the nature reserve, and is therefore given the assessment of data deficient (dd) according to iucn (2001) criteria. a new species of polygonatum 9   fig. 1. polygonatum sinopubescens m.t. an, yun lin & j.g. wang, sp. nov. a. rhizome; b. habitat of flowering plant; c. branch with node; d. leaf blade pubescence on abaxial surface; e. inflorescence; f. dissected flower; g. stamen. (j. g. wang & x. f. li yj-2014-0110). 10 an et al.   fig. 2. polygonatum sinopubescens m.t. an, yun lin & j.g. wang, sp. nov. a. habitat; b. rhizome; c. stem with pubescent; d. leaf blade, showing shortly dense pubescent on abaxial surface; e. inflorescence; f. berries with bracts. acknowledgements thanks are due to the curators of herbaria, namely gzac, hgas, ibk, ibsc, kun and pe for permission to examine their specimens. this work was supported by application fundamentals major special projects: ecological restoration and its optimal regulation of ecoeconomic system in karst rocky desert area�grant number qian-ke-he jz-no. [2014] 2002,,plant specimen digitization and chinese virtual herbarium establishment (grant number 2005dka21401), and the second investigation on national key protected wild plant resources in guizhou province (grant number lin-hu-fa-no. [2012] 87 and qian-lin-hu-tong-no. [2013] 251). we also thank mr. hua xie for the drawing. a new species of polygonatum 11   references baker, j.g. 1875. revision of the genera and species of asparagaceae. j. linn. soc. bot. 14: 508–630. chen, s.c. and liu, d.q. 1984. two new species of liliaceae from china. acta phytotaxon. sin. 22(5): 417–419. chen, x.q. and tamura, m.n. 2000. polygonatum (liliaceae). in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china. vol. 24. science press, beijing & missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 223–232. fu, l.g., chen, t.q., lang, k.y., hong, t., lin, q. and li, r. 2002. higher plants of china. vol. 13. qingdao publishing house, qingdao, pp. 204–217. iucn. 2001. iucn red list categories and criteria, version 3.1. prepared by the iucn species survival commission. iucn, gland, switzerland, and cambridge, united kingdom. li, p.y. 1966. some new plants of liliaceae from tsinling. acta phytotaxon. sin. 11(3): 251–253. liang, s.y. 1987. two new species of polygonatum mill. (liliaceae) from china. acta phytotaxon. sin. 25(1): 64–66. tang, y.c. 1978. polygonatum (liliaceae). in: wang, f.t. and tang, t. (eds), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. vol. 15. science press, beijing, pp. 52–80. tu, y.l. 1986. polygonatum (liliaceae). in: chang, s.s. (ed), flora guizhouensis. vol. 3. guizhou people’s publishing house, guiyang, pp. 384–390. wan, y. and gao, c.z. 1990. a new species and two varieties from guangxi. guihaia 10(3): 177–180. zhu, z.y. 1992. a new species of polygonatum from emeishan. bull. bot. res., harbin 12(3): 267–269. (manuscript received on 3 october 2015; revised on 29 november 2015)   microsoft word 03. teknaf revised ok 4_20.12.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 145-162, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists diversity in angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary, bangladesh mohammad zashim uddin1, md. fakhrul alam, md. abdur rhaman2 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: angiosperm diversity; teknaf wildlife sanctuary; bangladesh. abstract teknaf wildlife sanctuary has been explored to assess angioperm diversity using traditional taxonomic techniques during 2010 to 2011. the assessment has resulted in recording of total 535 angioperm species under 103 familiies and 370 genera. for each species scientific name, bangla name (whenever available), family and habit are provided. of 535 species, 178 represented by herbs, 110 by shrubs, 150 by trees, 87 by climbers and 10 by epiphytes. in magnoliopsida (dicots), fabaceae is the largest family represented by 38 species, while in liliopsida (monocots), poaceae is the largest family represented by 29 species. introduction teknaf wildlife sanctuary, previously declared as game reserve in 1983 under the bangladesh wildlife (preservation) (amendment act, 1974), is located in the teknaf and ukhia upazilas of cox’s bazar district near myanmar border. geographical position of the reserve is in between 20052”-21009” n and 92008”-92018”e (rosario, 1997). the reserve is bordered by the bay of bengal to the south and west, the naf river to the east and monkhali and thainkhali to the north. the reserve is locally managed by three range offices (teknaf, whykhong and shilkhali ranges) and ten forest bits. the total area of the reserve is about 11651 ha (green, 1987). teknaf wildlife sanctuary in past supported mixed evergreen and semi-evergreen forests which over the period have been substantially altered due to heavy biotic pressure. the topography of sanctuary is very undulating and covered with a linear hill range (elongation north to south reaching an altitude up to 700 m), gently sloping to rugged hills and cliffs running down the central part of the peninsula, with a north-south length of nearly 28 km and an east-west width of 3-5 km. the range has several projections running towards east and west and interspersed by valleys, gullies and streams. these are crossed by numerous streams flowing down to the naf river in the east and the bay of bengal in the west. most of the streams are seasonal and dry up during off-monsoon season. the hills of the sanctuary are composed of upper tertiary rocks (pliocene and miocene epoch) with 3 representative geological series: surma, tipam and dhupitila (choudhury, 1969). the soils vary from clay to clayey loam on level ground, and from sandy loam to coarse sand on hilly land (choudhury, 1969). the sanctuary area enjoys a moist tropical maritime climate and rainfall is frequent and heavy during the monsoon season (may to october) ranging between 130 mm to 940 mm. temperature ranges from 15ºc to 32ºc, whereas humidity ranges from 27% to 99% (bbs, 2011). as the government commitment to the convention on biological diversity (cbd), taxonomists have already started to assess and document the floral diversity of different protected areas of bangladesh. there are a few reports available on the teknaf wildlife sanctuary. a list of 1corresponding author, email: zashim07@yahoo.com 2acf, teknaf wildlife sanctuary 146 uddin et al. important timber yielding plants of the teknaf game reserve has been mentioned in the forestry master plan of cox’s bazar south division (cowan, 1923). many years later, khan et al. (1994) has made an assessment work on teknaf game reserve to focus on ecologically and economically important plant species. although co-management issues of teknaf game reserve have been studied by several authors (bari and dutta, 2004; molla et al., 2004), little is known about the floral diversity of the sanctuary. the sanctuary is very rich in flora and represents different ecosystems including hill forest, mangrove formation and sandune. conservation significance of the sanctuary is also high because of the presence of asian threatened elephant population. currently floral diversity of the sanctuary is under threat due to various pressure including anthropogenic activities and the presence of rohynga refugee along the eastern border. for making proper conservation and management plans of the sanctuary before its complete degradation, data on the floral diversity is essential. in order to provide such information, in the present study an attempt has been made to document diversity of angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary. materials and methods specimen collections have been made in the teknaf wildlife sanctuary at 2-months intervals between november 2010 and december 2011. the collections covered all habitats of the study area including hilltops, slopes, foothills, valleys, sand dune and wet areas including mangrove stretch along the naf river. special attention has been given to locate the species already listed as threatened categories in the country. fertile plant specimens (flowering or fruiting specimens) were collected and processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; alexiades, 1996). the plant specimens were identified by consulting different floras and literature, viz., hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), uddin and hassan (2004), siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008a, 2009a), and by comparing with the herbarium specimens available at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). for updated nomenclature of the species, siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008a,b, 2009a,b,c) were followed. threatened categories of plants were confirmed with the help of khan et al. (2001). some noxious exotic plant species were also identified comparing with the reports of islam et al. (2003), hossain and pasha (2004) and akter and zuberi (2009). cronquist (1981) system of classification has been followed to determine the families. voucher specimens are deposited at dush. results and discussion a total of 535 angiosperm species (wild and cultivated) have been identified and presented based on the present study (collection and observation) in the teknaf wildlife sanctuary. these species have been assigned to 103 families and 370 genera. for each species scientific name, bangla name (when available) and family name are provided (table 1). 46% of the total species are represented by 15 families, whereas the rest 54% by 87 families. in magnoliopsida (dicots) fabaceae is the largest family represented by 38 species, while in liliopsida (monocots) poaceae is the largest family represented by 29 species. each of 31 families is represented by only one species. of 535 species recorded here, herbs are represented by 178 species, 110 by shrubs, 150 by trees, 87 by climbers and 10 by epiphytes including parasites. nineteen species including one gymnosperm (gnetum oblongum) listed as threatened in the red data book of the country have also been detected in this sanctuary (khan et al., 2001). once, the teknaf area has been classified as hill forest dominated by evergreen and deciduous trees. currently maximum area of the forest has been degraded and denuded and exposed to sun. angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary 147 in such a situation some natural and planted forest covers have been observed in shilkhali, shaplapur, kudumgoha and muchani along the road to teknaf range office. the most common first canopy tree species observed in this area are dipterocarpus turbinatus (teliagarjan), d. alatus (duliagarjan,) hopea odorata (telsur), artocarpus chaplasha (chapalish), tetrameles nudiflora (chundul), anisoptera scaphula (bailum), syzygium firmum (dhakijam), mangifera sylvatica (uriam) and swintonia floribunda (civit). the second storey is dominated by bursera serrata, artocarpus lakucha, brownlowia alata, anogeissus acuminata, alstonia scholaris, albizia procera, neolamarckia cadamba, ficus altissima, syzygium cumini, terminalia bellirica, garuga pinnata, elaeocarpus floribunda, lagerstroemia speciosa, toona ciliata, dillenia pentagyna, aphanamixis polystachya, gmelina arborea, zanthoxylum rhetsa, quercus velutina, stereospermum personatum, vitex peduncularis, sterculia villosa, bombax insigne, anacardium occidentale and ficus infectoria. the third storey of the forest is dominated by syzygium fruticosum, suregada multiflora, streblus asper, grewia microcos, mallotus philippensis, litsea glutinosa, pterospermum semisagittatum, tabernaemontana recurvata, erioglossum edulis, glochidion multiloculare, saraca indica, callicarpa arborea, ficus hispida, f. semicordata, maesa indica, flacourtia indica, micromelum minutum, phyllanthus reticulatus, pterospermum semisagittatum, premna esculenta, dalbergia volubilis, randia dumetorum, woodfordia fruticosa, litsea monopetala and antidesma ghaesembilla. the most common species found as the forest undergrowth are mostly the members of acanthaceae, araceae, asteraceae, cyperaceae, euphobiaceae, fabaceae, poaceae, rubiaceae and zingiberaceae. in the degraded area of the hills where tree cover is almost absent, the most common species are clerodendrum viscosum, chromolaena odorata, mimosa pudica, urena lobata, melastoma malabathricum, borreria hispida, triumfettra rhomboidea, ixora javanica, ageratum conyzoides, mikania cordata, osbeckia asperculis, globba multiflora, desmodium triquetrum, crotolaria juncea, leea crispa, sida acuta, ocimum americanum, hyptis sauveolens and also some members of common climber families including dioscoriaceae, combretaceae, vitaceae, convolvulaceae, menispermaceae, apocynaceae, asclepiadaceae and cucurbitaceae. relatively wet areas are dominated by hydrolea zeylanica, ludwigia adscendens, ipomoea aquatica, alternanthera sessilis, tilanthera philoxeroides, monochoria vaginalis, colocasia esculenta, hedyotis scandens, eichhornia crassipes, and also the member’s sedge, grass, aroids. in the edge of forest and on the bank of streams the most common climbers are mikania cordata, ichnocarpus frutescens, merremia umbellata, calycopteris floribunda, derris trifoliata, thunbergia grandiflora, cyclea barbata, cissus adnata, cayratia japonica, stephania harnadifolia, combretum apetalum, acacia concinna, vitis repens, bridelia secandens, smilax zeylanica, dioscorea pentaphylla, dioscorea bulbifera, hoya parasitica and argyreia capitiformis. large canopy trees are special habitats for epiphyte and parasites. the most common epiphytes are aerides odorata, bulbophyllum lilacinum, cymbidium aloifolium, dendrobium aphyllum, luisia zeylanica, vanda teres, pholidota imbricata and rhynchostylis retusa. one threatened gymnosperm gnetum oblongum, is also observed in the area. the most common planted species observed in the area are acacia auriculiformis, acacia mangium, tectona grandis, gmelina arborea, syzygium grandis, terminalia arjuna, aquilaria agallocha and dipterocarpus turbinatus. the common bamboo species are bambusa tulda and melocanna baccifera. among rattans calamus erectus and c. longisetus are found in the forest. in the homestead gardens, common trees are artocarpus heterophyllus, mangifera indica, areca catechu, borassus flabellifer, carica papaya, citrus grandis, cocos nucifera and psidium guajava. 148 uddin et al. table 1. list of species recorded in teknaf wildlife sanctuary (* means cultivated). scientific name family bangla name habit abelmoschus moschatus medic. malvaceae mushak dana herb abrus precatorius l. fabaceae ratti climber *acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. & hook. mimosaceae akashmoni tree a. concinna (willd.) dc. mimosaceae banrita climber *a. mangium willd. mimosaceae belgium tree acanthus ilicifolius l. acanthaceae hergoza shrub achyranthes aspera l. amaranthaceae apang herb actephila excelsa (dalz.) muell.-arg. euphorbiaceae shrub adenia trilobata (roxb.) engl. passifloraceae akandphul climber adina cordifolia hook. f. ex brandis rubiaceae dakrum tree aegialitis rotundifolia roxb. plumbaginaceae nuinna shrub aegiceras corniculata (l.) blanco primulaceae khoilsha shrub *aegle marmelos (l.) corr. rutaceae bel tree aerides multiflora roxb. orchidaceae epiphyte a. odorata lour. orchidaceae epiphyte aerua monsonia mart. amaranthaceae herb a. sanguinolenta (l.) blume amaranthaceae herb ageratum conyzoides l. asteraceae fulkuri herb aglaonema hookerianum schott araceae herb albizia lucidior (steud.) nielsen mimosaceae sil-koroi tree a. procera (roxb.) benth. mimosaceae silkoroi tree allophylus cobbe (l.) raeuschel sapindaceae chita shrub alocasia acuminata schott araceae herb a. macrorrhizos (l.) g. don araceae mankachu herb alpinia malaccensis (burm. f.) rosc. zingiberaceae deotara shrub alstonia scholaris l. apocynaceae chatim tree alternanthera philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. amaranthaceae helencha herb a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex roem & schult. amaranthaceae upathlenga herb amaranthus gangeticus l. amaranthaceae shadamayishk herb a. spinosus l. amaranthaceae kanta-nutia herb a. viridis l. amaranthaceae notey sak herb ammannia multiflora roxb. lythraceae herb amomum aromaticum roxb. zingiberaceae tara shrub amorphophallus bulbifer (roxb.) blume araceae oll herb *anacardium occidentale l. anacardiaceae kaju badam tree anisomeles heyneana wall. ex benth. lamiaceae herb a. indica (l.) o. kuntze lamiaceae gobura herb anisoptera scaphula (roxb.) pierre dipterocarpaceae boilum tree *annona reticulata l. annonaceae ata tree anodendron paniculatum (roxb.) a. dc. apocynaceae climber anogeissus acuminata (roxb. ex dc.) guill. & perr. combretaceae chakua tree antidesma acuminatum wall. euphorbiaceae chukka shrub angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary 149 table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit a. ghaesembilla gaertn. euphorbiaceae khudijam shrub a. roxburghii wall. ex tulasne euphorbiaceae shrub aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r. n. parker meliaceae pitraj tree aporosa dioica (roxb.) muell.-arg. euphorbiaceae patakharolla tree *aquilaria agallocha roxb. thymeliaceae agar tree ardisia elliptica thunb. myrsinaceae shrub a. paniculata roxb. myrsinaceae shrub a. solanacea (poir.) roxb. myrsinaceae shrub *areca catechu l. arecaceae supari tree argyreia capitiformis (poir.) van cheek oostr. convolvulaceae climber a. roxburghii choisy convolvulaceae climber aristolochia tagala cham. aristolochiaceae ishwarmul climber artocarpus chaplasha roxb. moraceae chapalish tree *a. heterophyllus lamk. moraceae kanthal tree arundo donax l. poaceae nal herb *averrhoa bilimbi l. oxalidaceae bilimbi tree *a. carambola l. oxalidaceae kamranga tree avicennia alba blume verbenaceae sada baen tree a. marima (forssk.) vierh. verbenaceae moricha baen tree a. officinalis l. verbenaceae kala baen tree axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv. poaceae dhakagash herb *azadirachta indica a. juss. meliaceae neem tree bacopa monieri (l.) pennell scrophulariaceae brammi herb bambusa balcooa roxb. poaceae barak bash tree b. polymorpha munro poaceae parua bash tree b. tulda roxb. poaceae mitinga bash tree barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. lecythidaceae hizol tree bauhinia acuminata l. caesalpiniaceae kanson shrub begonia roxburghii (miq.) dc. begoniaceae herb blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc. asteraceae kukurmuta herb b. membranacea wall. ex dc. asteraceae shialmutra herb b. virens wall. ex dc. asteraceae herb bombax ceiba l. bombacaceae shimul tree b. insigne wall. bombacaceae bonshimul tree *borassus flabellifer l. arecaceae tal tree borreria articularis (l. f.) williams rubiaceae antharogia herb b. latifolia (aublet) k. schum. rubiaceae ghuiojhill sak herb breynia retusa (dennst.) alston euphorbiaceae silpati shrub b. vitis-idaea (burm. f.) c. e. c. fischer euphorbiaceae shrub bridelia retusa (l.) a. juss. euphorbiaceae kata koi shrub b. stipularis (l.) blume euphorbiaceae pat khowi climber brownlowia elata roxb. tiliaceae massjot tree 150 uddin et al. table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit bruguiera gymnorrhiza (l.) lamk. rhizophoraceae goran tree bulbophyllum lilacinum ridl. orchidaceae parchallow epiphyte butea monosperma (lamk.) taub. fabaceae polash tree byttneria pilosa roxb. sterculiaceae harbanga lata climber caesalpinia bonduc (l.) roxb. caesalpiniaceae nata climber c. crista l. caesalpiniaceae letkanta climber *c. pulcherrima (l.) swartz caesalpiniaceae radhachura tree *cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. fabaceae orhor shrub calamus erectus roxb. arecaceae kadam bet shrub c. longisetus griff. arecaceae udombet climber calliandra umbrosa (wall.) benth. mimosaceae chotto betmar shrub callicarpa arborea roxb. verbenaceae bormala tree c. macrophylla vahl verbenaceae bormala tree calophyllum polyanthum wall. ex choisy clusiaceae keroli tree calotropis procera (ait.) r. br. asclepiadaceae akand shrub calycopteris floribunda (roxb.) lamk. combretaceae guicha lata climber campanumoea lancifolia (roxb.) merr. campanulaceae herb carex indica l. cyperaceae herb *carica papaya l. caricaceae pepe tree cassia fistula l. caesalpiniaceae sonalu tree castanopsis tribuloides (smith) a. dc. fagaceae hingra tree casuarina equisetifolia forst. casuarinaceae jau tree cayratia japonica (thunb.) gagnep. vitaceae climber ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. bombacaceae tula tree celtis timorensis span. ulmaceae datarchua shrub centella asiatica (l.) urban apiaceae thaimonshak herb ceriops decandra (griff.) ding hou rhizophoraceae khemo tree chromolaena odorata (l.) king & robinson asteraceae assamlata shrub chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. poaceae premkanta herb chukrasia tabularis a. juss. meliaceae chikrasi tree cinnamomum iners reinw. ex blume lauraceae tejmul tree cissampelos pareira l. menispermaceae tubaki-lata climber cissus adnata roxb. vitaceae aliangalata climber *citrus aurantium l. rutaceae komala shrub *c. grandis (l.) osbeck rutaceae jambura tree clausena heptaphylla (roxb.) wight & arn. ex steud. rutaceae ponkarpur shrub c. suffruticosa (roxb.) wight & arn. rutaceae panbilash shrub cleome rutidosperma dc. capparaceae herb c. viscosa l. capparaceae hurhuria herb clerodendrum inerme (l.) gaertn. verbenaceae bamjui shrub c. viscosum vent. verbenaceae bhant shrub clitoria ternatea l. fabaceae aparjita climber angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary 151 table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit cnesmone javanica blume euphorbiaceae chutra climber *cocos nucifera l. arecaceae narikel tree colocasia esculenta (l.) schott araceae kachu herb c. heterochroma h. li et z.x. wei araceae herb c. oresbia a. hay araceae herb combretum decandrum roxb. combretaceae sada guicha climber commelina benghalensis l. commelinaceae kanchira herb c. erecta l. commelinaceae jata kanchira herb c. longifolia lamk. commelinaceae pani kanchira herb costus speciosus (koenig ex retz.) smith costaceae keumul herb crateva magna (lour.) dc. capparaceae borun tree crinum amoenum roxb. liliaceae bopiaz herb c. asiaticum l. liliaceae gor-rosun herb crotalaria juncea l. fabaceae junjuni herb c. pallida ait. fabaceae jhunjhni herb curculigo orchioides gaertn. liliaceae talmuli herb c. recurvata dryand. liliaceae satipata herb curcuma amada roxb. zingiberaceae shadi herb c. latifolia rosc. zingiberaceae amada herb c. zedoaria (christm.) rosc. zingiberaceae shoti herb cuscuta reflexa roxb. cuscutaceae shornalata climber cyclea barbata miers menispermaceae patalpur climber cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw. orchidaceae churi epiphyte cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. poaceae durba herb cyperus cyperoides (l.) o. ktze. cyperaceae herb c. iria l. cyperaceae herb c. kyllingia endl. cyperaceae herb c. laxus lamk. var. laxus cyperaceae herb c. pilosus vahl cyperaceae herb c. rotundus l. cyperaceae herb dalbergia rimosa roxb. fabaceae shrub d. sissoo roxb. fabaceae tree d. spinosa roxb. fabaceae shrub d. stipulacea roxb. fabaceae dadbari climber d. tamarindifolia roxb. fabaceae shrub d. volubilis roxb. fabaceae ankilata shrub datura metel l. solanaceae dhatura shrub dehaasia kurzii king ex hook. f. lauraceae modonmosta tree *delonix regia rafin. caesalpiniaceae krishnachura tree dendrobium aphyllum (roxb.) fischer orchidaceae epiphyte derris scandens (roxb.) benth. fabaceae kalilata climber d. trifoliata lour. fabaceae melata 152 uddin et al. table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit desmodium heterocarpon (l.) dc. fabaceae herb d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc. fabaceae herb d. pulchellum (l.) benth. fabaceae juta salpani shrub d. styracifolium (osb.) merr. fabaceae herb d. triflorum (l.) dc. fabaceae kulalia herb d. triquetrum (l.) dc. fabaceae herb d. triquetrum (l.) dc. subsp. alatum (dc.) prain fabaceae herb dichopsis polyantha benth. sapotaceae tali tree digitaria sanguinalis (l.) scop. poaceae makunjill herb d. violascens link poaceae herb dillenia indica l. dilleniaceae chalta tree d. pentagyna roxb. dilleniaceae hargenza tree d. scabrella roxb. ex wall. dilleniaceae ekuish tree dioscorea alata l. dioscoreaceae suprialu climber d. belophylla (prain) voigt ex haines dioscoreaceae climber d. bulbifera l. var. bulbifera l. dioscoreaceae ratal, bon alu climber d. kamoonensis kunth dioscoreaceae climber d. melanophyma prain & burkill dioscoreaceae climber d. oppositifolia l. dioscoreaceae randrealeku climber d. pentaphylla l. dioscoreaceae climber di. trinerva roxb. dioscoreaceae climber dipterocarpus alatus roxb. ex g. don dipterocarpaceae dholi garjan tree d. costatus gaertn. dipterocarpaceae sil garjan tree d. gracilis blume dipterocarpaceae tree d. turbinatus gaertn. dipterocarpaceae kaligarjan tree dracaena spicata roxb. agavaceae dracaena shrub duranta repens l. verbenaceae katamehedi shrub dysolobium dolichoides (roxb.) prain fabaceae climber echinochloa colonum (l.) link poaceae shama grass herb eclipta alba (l.) hassk. asteraceae keshoraj herb eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms pontederiaceae kachuripana herb elaeocarpus floribundus blume elaeocarpaceae belphoi tree e. robustus roxb. elaeocarpaceae jalpai tree elatostema sesquifolium (blume) hassk. urticaceae herb eleocharis palustris (l.) r. br. cyperaceae herb elephantopus scaber l. asteraceae herb eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. poaceae malan kuri herb endospermum chinense benth. euphorbiaceae tree engelhardtia spicata lesch. ex blume guglandaceae zalna tree enhydra fluctuans lour. asteraceae helencha herb entada scandens auct. non benth. mimosaceae gila climber eragrostis tenella (l.) p. beauv. ex roem. & schult. poaceae koni grass herb angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary 153 table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit eranthemum strictum coleb. ex roxb. acanthaceae herb *eryngium foetidum l. apiaceae katkatriabaho herb erythrina fusca lour. fabaceae mandar tree e. indica lamk. fabaceae mandar tree e. ovalifolia roxb. fabaceae mandar tree etlingera linguiformis (roxb.) r. m. smith zingiberaceae shrub euphorbia hirta l. euphorbiaceae dudhia herb e. thymifolia l. euphorbiaceae dudhiya herb evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. convolvulaceae herb excoecaria agallocha l. euphorbiaceae gewa tree ficus altissima blume moraceae bot tree f. benghalensis l. moraceae bot tree f. benjamina l. moraceae jir tree f. fistulosa reinw. ex blume moraceae shrub f. hispida l. f. moraceae dumur herb f. pumila l. moraceae dewall dumar climber f. racemosa l. moraceae jagya dumar tree f. rumphii blume moraceae tree f. scandens buch.-ham. moraceae climber f. semicordata buch.-ham. ex smith moraceae chotochorkigu tree f. virens ait. moraceae pakur tree fimbristylis dichotoma (l.) vahl subsp. dichotoma cyperaceae herb f. miliacea (l.) vahl cyperaceae herb fissistigma polyanthum (hook. f. & thom.) merr. annonaceae climber flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. flacourtiaceae paniala shrub f. inermis roxb. flacourtiaceae shrub flagellaria indica l. flagellariacea climber flemingia macrophylla (willd.) o. kuntze ex merr. fabaceae bara shaphan shrub f. strobilifera (l.) r. br. fabaceae shrub floscopa scandens lour. commelinaceae herb garcinia cowa roxb. ex dc. clusiaceae kau phal tree g. xanthochymus hook. f. ex t. anders. clusiaceae dayphal tree garuga floribunda decne. var. gamblei (king ex smith) kalkman burseraceae jongli jiga tree g. pinnata roxb. burseraceae jeolbhadi tree geissapsis cristata wight & arn. fabaceae herb geodorum densiflorum (lamk.) schltr. orchidaceae herb globba multiflora wall. ex baker zingiberaceae herb gloriosa superba l. liliaceae ulatchandal climber glycosmis mauritiana (lamk.) tanaka rutaceae shrub g. pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc. rutaceae datmajan shrub gmelina arborea roxb. verbenaceae gamari tree 154 uddin et al. table 1 ontd. scientific name family bangla name habit gnetum oblongum l. gnetaceae climber goniothalamus sesquipedalis (wall.) hook. f. & thom. annonaceae shrub gouania tiliaefolia lamk. rhamnaceae climber grewia microcos l. tiliaceae assar shrub gymnopetalum cochinchinense (lour.) kurz cucurbitaceae climber gynostemma pentaphylla (thumb.) makino. vitaceae climber hedyotis scandens roxb. rubiaceae bish lata herb heliotropium indicum l. boraginaceae hatisun herb hemarthria protensa steud. poaceae chalia herb hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br. asclepiadaceae anantamul climber hemigraphis hirta (vahl) t. anders. acanthaceae herb heritiera fomes buch.-ham. sterculiaceae sundari tree heterophragma adenophylla (wall. ex g. don) benth. bignoniaceae dakrum tree *hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. malvaceae joba shrub h. tiliaceus l. malvaceae bolla shrub holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall. ex decne. apocynaceae kurchi shrub holigarna longifolia roxb. anacardiaceae barala tree homalomena aromatica (roxb. ex sim) schott araceae herb hopea odorata roxb. dipterocarpaceae telsur tree hoya parasitica (roxb.) wall. ex wight asclepiadaceae pargacha climber hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl hydrophyllaceae herb hygrophila polysperma (roxb.) t. anders. acanthaceae herb hymenodictyon excelsum (roxb.) wall. rubiaceae bhuikadam tree hyptis brevipes poit. lamiaceae herb h. suaveolens (l.) poit. lamiaceae tokma herb ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r. br. apocynaceae shamalata climber imperata cylindrica (l.) p. beauv. var. latifolia (hook. f.) c. e. hubb. poaceae ulu herb ipomoea aquatica forssk. convolvulaceae kalmi sak climber i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy convolvulaceae dholkalmi shrub i. mauritiana jacq. convolvulaceae huffta alu climber i. pes-caprae (l.) r. br. convolvulaceae chagalkhuri climber i. quamoclit l. convolvulaceae gate phul climber ischaemum indicum (houtt.) merr. poaceae toto grass herb ixora acuminata roxb. rubiaceae shrub i. javanica dc. rubiaceae rangan shrub i. pavetta andr. rubiaceae swet rangan shrub *jasminum auriculatum vahl oleaceae jui climber j. grandiflorum l. oleaceae wild jasmin climber j. scandens vahl oleaceae shrub jatropha curcas l. euphorbiaceae sadajeol tree justicia gendarussa burm. f. acanthaceae nilnishinda shrub angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary 155 table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit j. simplex d. don. acanthaceae jogathmardan shrub kaempferia galanga l. zingiberaceae tiutara herb *lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. cucurbitaceae lau herb lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. lythraceae jarul tree lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. anacardiaceae jiga tree lantana camara l. verbenaceae lantana shrub laportea interrupta (l.) chew urticaceae lal bichuti herb lasia spinosa (l.) thw. araceae kantakachu herb *lawsonia inermis l. lythraceae mehedi shrub leea acuminata wall. leeaceae phupharia shrub l. aequata l. leeaceae shrub l. crispa l. leeaceae banchilata shrub l. indica merr. leeaceae shrub lepidagathis incurva buch.-ham. ex d. don acanthaceae herb lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. sapindaceae baraharina shrub *leucaena leucocephala (lamk.) de wit. mimosaceae ipli-ipil tree leucas aspera (willd.) link lamiaceae dandakalash herb l. lavandulaefolia smith lamiaceae gaochia herb limnophila indica (l.) druce scrophulariaceae pani karpur herb limonia acidissima l. rutaceae koethbel tree lithocarpus elegans var. elegans (blume) hatus. ex soepad. fagaceae barabatna tree litsea glutinosa (lour.) robinson lauraceae menda tree l. monopetala (roxb.) pers. lauraceae kukuchita tree lophopetalum wightianum arn. celastraceae rokton tree ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara onagraceae mulsi herb l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell apud a. & r. fernandes onagraceae herb luffa graveolens roxb. cucurbitaceae pahari dhundul climber luisia zeylanica lindl. orchidaceae epiphyte macaranga peltata (roxb.) muell.-arg. euphorbiaceae bura shrub macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) van tiegh. loranthaceae porgasa parasite maesa indica (roxb.) a. dc. myrsinaceae ramjoni shrub m. ramentacea (roxb.) a. dc. myrsinaceae maricha shrub mallotus philippensis (lamk.) muell.-arg. euphorbiaceae kamela shrub mangifera indica l. anacardiaceae aam tree m. sylvatica roxb. anacardiaceae uriam tree manihot esculenta crantz euphorbiaceae kasava shrub manilkara hexandra (roxb.) dubard sapotaceae khirni shrub mantisia radicalis (roxb.) d. p. dam & n. dam zingiberaceae herb m. spathulata schult. zingiberaceae herb maranta arundinacea l. marantaceae ararot herb melastoma malabathricum l. melastomaceae futki shrub 156 uddin et al. table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit *melia azedarach l. meliaceae ghura neem tree melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz poaceae moli bash tree melochia corchorifolia l. sterculiaceae tiki okra herb m. umbellata (l.) hallier f. convolvulaceae sadakalmi climber michelia champaca l. magnoliaceae champa tree micromelum minutum (g. forster) wight & arn. rutaceae koroiphula shrub mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson asteraceae assamlata climber miliusa globosa (dc.) g. panigr. & mishra annonaceae tasbi climber millettia cinerea benth. fabaceae herb mimosa invisa mart. ex colla. mimosaceae bara lajjabati herb m. pudica l. mimosaceae lajjabati herb mitragyna rotundifolia (roxb.) o. kuntze rubiaceae rang kat tree molineria recurvata (dryand.) herbert. liliaceae herb mollugo pentaphylla l. moraceae khetpapra herb momordica dioica roxb. ex willd. cucurbitaceae bonkorolla climber monochoria vaginalis (burm. f.) presl pontederiaceae nukha herb mucuna pruriens (l.) dc. fabaceae alkushi climber murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. rutaceae kamini tree musa acuminata colla musaceae herb mussaenda frondosa l. rubiaceae kalasonia shrub m. roxburghii hook. f. rubiaceae silchuri shrub nelsonia canescens (lamk.) spreng. acanthaceae parmul herb neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser rubiaceae kadam tree nymphaea rubra roxb. ex andr. nympheaceae lal shaphla herb nypa fruticans wurmb. arecaceae golpata shrub ocimum americanum l. lamiaceae tulsi herb *o. gratissimum l. lamiaceae ramtulsi herb oplismenus burmanii (retz.) p. beauv. poaceae herb opuntia dillenii haw. cactaceae phanimansa herb oreocnide integrifolia (gaud.) miq. urticaceae horhuta shrub ormosia robusta (roxb.) baker fabaceae tree oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz bignoniaceae thona tree osbeckia aspericaulis hook. f. ex triana melastomaceae shrub oxyceros kunstleri (king & gamble) tirveng. rubiaceae moishkanta climber pandanus foetidus roxb. pandanaceae keyakanta shrub p. odorus ridl. pandanaceae keyakanta shrub panicum brevifolium l. poaceae herb p. notatum retz. poaceae herb papilionanthe teres (roxb.) schltr. orchidaceae vanda epiphyte paspalum scrobiculatum l. poaceae kodoa phan herb passiflora foetida l. passifloraceae jhumku lata climber peliosanthes teta andr. haemodoraceae napi gach herb angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary 157 table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit pentatropis capensis (l. f.) bullock asclepiadaceae climber persicaria flaccida (meissn.) h. gross ex loesen. polygonaceae lal-bishkatali herb p. hydropiper (l.) spach polygonaceae lal-kukri herb p. orientalis (l.) spach polygonaceae bara panimorich herb phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet acanthaceae herb phoebe lanceolata (nees) nees lauraceae shrub phoenix sylvestris roxb. arecaceae khejur tree pholidota imbricata hook. f. orchidaceae epiphyte phrynium imbricatum roxb. marantaceae pituli pata shrub phyla nodiflora (l.) greene verbenaceae bakkumgula herb phyllanthus emblica l. euphorbiaceae amlaki tree p. niruri l. euphorbiaceae bhuiamla tree p. reticulatus poir. euphorbiaceae chitki shrub physalis minima l. solanaceae fotka herb pilea melastomoides (poir.) wedd. urticaceae shrub piper betle l. piperaceae pan climber p. sylvaticum roxb. piperaceae ban pan climber pithecellobium angulatum benth. mimosaceae kurmar tree pogonatherum crinitum (thunb.) kunth poaceae herb p. paniceum (lamk.) hack. poaceae choto bush herb polygonum plebeium r. br. polygonaceae mechu sak herb pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre fabaceae tree pothos scandens l. araceae batilata climber pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. urticaceae kulla kuri herb premna esculenta roxb. verbenaceae lallong shrub protium serratum (wall. ex coelbr.) engl. burseraceae gutgutia tree psidium guajava l. myrtaceae piara shrub pterospermum semisagittatum buch.-ham. ex roxb. sterculiaceae ban-assar tree quercus gomeziana a. camus fagaceae batna tree randia dumetorum lamk. rubiaceae mankanta shrub rhaphidophora grandis schott araceae climber rhizophora mucronata poir. rhizophoraceae tree rhynchostylis retusa (l.) blume orchidaceae foxtail epiphyte rhynchotechum ellipticum (diet.) dc. gesneriaceae shrub ricinus communis l. euphorbiaceae reri herb rotala indica (willd.) koehne lythraceae herb r. rotundifolia (buch.-ham. ex roxb.) koehne lythraceae herb rungia pectinata (l.) nees. in wall. acanthaceae pindi herb saccharum arundinaceum retz. poaceae teng herb s. spontaneum l. poaceae kash herb samanea saman (jacq.) merr. mimosaceae pandi korai tree sambucus canadensis l. caprifoliaceae hoklati tree 158 uddin et al. table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit sapindus saponaria l. sapindaceae ritha tree saraca thaipingensis cantley ex prain caesalpiniaceae ashok shrub sarcochlamys pulcherrima gaudich. urticaceae achila shrub sarcolobus carinatus wall. asclepiadaceae baoli lata climber schefflera bengalensis gamble araliaceae climber scoparia dulcis l. scrophulariaceae bandhani herb semicarpus anacardium l.f. anacardiaceae bhela tree senna alata (l.) roxb. caesalpiniaceae dadmordon shrub s. obtusifolia (l.) irwin & barneby caesalpiniaceae chakunda herb s. occidentalis roxb. caesalpiniaceae eski shrub s. sophera (l.) roxb. caesalpiniaceae kalkesunde herb s. tora (l.) roxb. caesalpiniaceae chakunda herb sesbania grandiflora (l.) poir. fabaceae bokful shrub setaria glauca (l.) p. beauv. poaceae bajra herb shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn. f. dipterocarpaceae sal tree sida acuta burm. f. malvaceae nakphul herb s. cordata (burm. f.) borss. malvaceae junka herb s. cordifolia l. malvaceae berela herb s. rhombifolia l. malvaceae lal-berela herb smilax ferox wall. ex kunth smilacaceae kumari lata climber s. laurifolia l. smilacaceae kumari lata climber s. ovalifoila roxb. smilacaceae kumari lata climber s. perfoliata lour. smilacaceae kumari lata climber solanum barbisetum nees solanaceae shrub s. capsicoides all. solanaceae betbegun shrub s. lasiocarpum dunal solanaceae beregul shrub s. nigrum l. solanaceae puti begun herb s. sisymbrifolium lamk. solanaceae shrub s. torvum swartz solanaceae gota begun shrub s. violaceum ortega solanaceae byakur shrub s. virginianum l. solanaceae kanta kari shrub sonneratia alba j. smith sonnertiaceae tree s. apetala buch.-ham. sonnertiaceae keora tree s. caseolaris (l.) engl. solanaceae keora tree spatholobus acuminatus benth. fabaceae bean climber s. roxburghii benth. fabaceae climber sphaeranthus indicus l. asteraceae chagalnadi herb spilanthes acmella auct. non l. thw. asteraceae mathamoriaguinshak herb spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz. anacardiaceae amra tree sporobolus diander (retz.) p. beauv. poaceae bina joni herb s. indicus r. br. poaceae herb stachytarpheta jamaicensis (l.) vahl verbenaceae bina joni herb angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary 159 table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit staurogyne argentea wall. acanthaceae herb stemona tuberosa lour. stemonaceae lalgurania alu climber stephania glabra (roxb.) miers menispermaceae thanda manik climber s. japonica (thunb.) miers menispermaceae muichanlata climber stephegyne parvifolia korth. auct. non roxb. rubiaceae phulkadam tree sterculia foetida l. sterculiaceae jongli badam tree s. villosa roxb. ex smith sterculiaceae bsaket badam tree stereospermum personatum (hassk.) chatterjee bignoniaceae tree steudnera colocasioides hook. f. araceae bishkachu herb streblus asper lour. moraceae sheora shrub strobilanthes polystachia nees.in wall acanthaceae herb strophanthus wallichii decne. apocynaceae shrub styrax serrulatus roxb. styraceae silver bell shrub suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. euphorbiaceae maricha tree swietenia mahagoni jacq. meliaceae mehogoni tree s. floribunda griff. anacardiaceae civit tree symplocos racemosa roxb. symplocaceae climber synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. asteraceae herb syzygium balsameum (wight) walp. myrtaceae bhutijam tree s. claviflorum (roxb.) a.m. cowan & j.m. cowan myrtaceae nalijam tree s. cumini (l.) skeels myrtaceae kalojam tree s. firmum thw. myrtaceae dhakijam tree s. formosum (wall.) masamune myrtaceae panijam tree s. fruticosum dc. myrtaceae bhutijam tree s. syzygioides (miq.) merr. & l. m. perry myrtaceae khaijam tree tabernaemontana corymbosa roxb. ex wall. apocynaceae tagar shrub t. recurvata roxb. apocynaceae tagar shrub tacca integrifolia ker-gawl. taccaceae mati munda herb tamarindus indica l. campanulaceae tentul tree tapiria hirsuta hook. f anacardiaceae herb *tectona grandis l. f. verbenaceae segun tree tephrosia purpurea (l.) pers. fabaceae bon-neel herb *terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. combretaceae arjun tree t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. combretaceae bohera tree *t. catappa l. combretaceae katbadam tree t. chebula retz. combretaceae haritoki tree tetracera sarmentosa (l.) vahl subsp. andamanica (hoogl.) hoogl. dilleniaceae challalata climber tetrameles nudiflora r. br. datiscaceae chundul tree tetrastigma angustifolium (roxb.) planch. vitaceae nekung riubi climber thunbergia fragrans roxb. acanthaceae climber t. grandiflora (roxb. ex rottler) roxb. acanthaceae nekung riubi climber 160 uddin et al. table 1 contd. scientific name family bangla name habit thysanolaena maxima (roxb.) o. kuntze poaceae phuljharu herb tinospora cordifolia (willd.) hook. f. & thoms. menispermaceae ghora gulancha climber t. crispa (l.) hook. f. & thoms. menispermaceae gulancha climber toona ciliata m. roem. meliaceae toon tree torenia vegans roxb. scrophulariaceae herb trema orientalis (l.) blume ulmaceae gobar jiga tree trevesia palmata (roxb.) vis. araliaceae shrub trewia nudiflora l. euphorbiaceae pitali tree triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. tiliaceae banokra herb tylophora tenuissima (roxb.) wight & arn. asclepiadaceae climber uraria lagopoides dc. fabaceae herb u. rufesens (dc.) schind. fabaceae shrub urena lobata l. malvaceae banokra herb u. sinuata l. malvaceae herb urginea indica (roxb.) kunth liliaceae sumudra pyaj herb uvaria hamiltonii hook. f. & thom. annonaceae latkan climber vernonia patula (dry) merr. asteraceae shial lata herb vitex altissima l. f. verbenaceae monwal tree v. trifolia l. f. verbenaceae chotonishinda shrub v. glabrata r. br. verbenaceae ashal tree v. peduncularis wall. ex schauer verbenaceae horina tree vitis repens (lamk.) wight & arn. vitaceae marmaria puta climber walsura robusta roxb. meliaceae bonlichu tree woodfordia fruticosa (l.) kurz lythraceae dhatri-phul shrub xanthium indicum koen. ex roxb. asteraceae ghagra herb xanthophyllum flavescens roxb. xanthophylaceae gandi tree *xanthosoma violaceum schott araceae dud kachu herb zanthoxylum rhesta (roxb.) dc. rutaceae bazna tree *zea mays l. poaceae herb zingiber montanum (koen.) dietr. zingiberaceae paletara herb z. roseum (roxb.) rosc. zingiberaceae laltara herb ziziphus funiculosa buch.-ham. ex lawson rhamnaceae shrub z. glabrata heyne ex roth rhamnaceae jangli kul climber *z. mauritiana lamk. rhamnaceae boroi tree z. oenoplia (l.) mill. rhamnaceae kankra shrub the sanctuary also covered a narrow strip of mangrove vegetation at the eastern face of the hill range towards naf river. such vegetation is dominated by aegialitis rotundifolia, avicennia officinalis, sonneratia apetala, dalbergia spinosa and acanthus ilicifolius. rare occurrence of heritiera fomes, aegiceras corniculata and bruguiera gymnorrhiza are also recoded in the area. a small patch of nypa fruticans vegetation has been observed in north corner of mangrove strip vegetation. tiger fern is also observed in the area. in the western side of hill range a special habitat called sand dune is located and the most common species are ipomoea pes-caprae, vitex trifolia and pandanus foetidus. angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary 161 during the field observations and discussion with foresters and local people, we could identify a number of threats to plant diversity. these are illegal logging, political influence in illegal logging and encroachment, rohynga pressure, brikfield in sanctuary area, cutting of plantlets for betel leaf cultivation, new road constraction, fragmentation, over ambitious foresters, unadequet manpower in the forest department in terms of forest area and minor products collections including fire wood. all such threats are enough to eliminate remaing plant diversity from the sanctuary. for the sustainable conservation of angiosperm diversity in teknaf wildlife sanctuary, the following recommendations have been made. database for all species need to be made first, otherwise we will loss some of the plants before their introduction to science. set priority for species those are sensitive to disturbance and locate them in the habitat using greographical information system (gis) technique. much effort should be given to increae their number using different propagation techniques either in situ or ex situ conditions. effort should be made to give alternate source of income for forest products dependent people. forest and biodiversity protection act should be implemented for over ambitious people who destroy in different ways the ability of ecosystems to support biodiversity. in 2010, the status of area has been shifted to the wildlife sanctuary because of the presence of asian wild threatened elephant. a small part of the sanctuary has also been declared as nature reserve park to gain public support for biodiversity conservation. the present list of plant biodiversity (535 species) is still considered as preliminary. there might be some more species yet to be listed and few specimens remain unidentified. based on the field observations and present preliminary results it may be concluded that the sanctuary is rich in the plant diversity and the sanctuary is the home for so many threatened plant species in context of bangladesh. field observation also confirmed that regeneration of tree species in the habitat is severely hampered because of anthropogenic pressure and minor product collections. invasive species such as urena lobata, mikania cordata, chromolaena odorata etc. are another challenge to future regeneration of forest trees in the disturbed areas. the study suggests for further long term research to focus all aspects of plant biodiversity to help in making proper management plan for this sanctuary. acknowledgement the paper is the outcome of the project entitled “biodiversity monitoring in selected forests of bangladesh” funded by arannayk foundation bangladesh and implemented by the wildlife research group, department of zoology, jahangirnagar university. cooperation of forest department during filed study is duly acknowledged. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceae – asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-408. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 12. angiosperms: monocotyledons (orchidaceae – zingiberaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-552. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2009a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. angiosperms: dicotyledons (balsaminaceae – euphorbiaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-546. 162 uddin et al. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2009b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 8. angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae – lythraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-478. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds) 2009c. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 9. angiosperms: dicotyledons (magnoliaceae – punicaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-488. akter, a. and zuberi, m.i. 2009. invasive alien species in northern bangladesh: identification, inventory and impacts. international j. biodiversity and conservation 1(5): 129-134. alexiades, m.n. 1996. selected guidelines for ethnobotanical research: a field manual. new york botanical garden, new york. pp. 99-133. bari, a. and dutta, u. 2004. co-management of tropical forest resources in bangladesh. secondary data collection for pilot protected area: teknaf game reserve, usaid-bangladesh and ministry of environment and forest, govt. of people's republic of bangladesh. bbs (bangladesh bureau of statistics) 2011. monthly statistical bulletin, december 2011. statistics division, ministry of planning, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh. choudhury, m.u. 1969. working plan of cox’s bazar forest division 1968-69 to 1977-78. forest department, government of east pakistan. cowan, j.m. 1923. working plans for cox’s bazar forest division. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york. green, m.j.b. 1907. world conservation monitoring centre iucn commission on national parks and protected areas, teknaf game reserve, iucn directory of south asian protected areas. pp. 38-43. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india. vols. 1-7. l. reeve & co., kent, england. hossain, m.k. and pasha, m.k. 2004. an account of exotic flora of bangladesh. j. forestry and environment 2: 99-115. hyland, b.p.m. 1972. a technique for collecting botanical specimens in rain forest. flora malesiana bulletin 26: 2038-2040. islam, m.m., amin, a.s.m.r. and sarker, s.k. 2003. in: pallewatta, n., reaser, j.k. and gutierrer, a.t. 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(ind. repr. 1963). botanical survey of india, calcutta. rosario, e.a. 1997. the conservation management plan of the protected areas other than those in sundarban forest in bangladesh. gob/wb forest resource management project in bangladesh. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2007c. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 11. angiosperms: monocotyledons (agavaceae najadaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1-399. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. iucn bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh, 120 pp. (manuscript received on 23 october 2012; revised on 7 february 2013) microsoft word s-2. bjpt 17-11_new variety of dimaria_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 237–240, 2017 (december) short communication © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new variety of dimeria connivens hack. (poaceae) from india k. chandramohan1 and p.v. prasanna2 botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad-500 048, india keywords: dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana; eastern ghats; poaceae; satkosia. dimeria robert brown (1810) is well known paleotropical genus belonging to poaceae (andropogoneae dimeriinae) (clayton and renvoize, 1986). globally, it is represented by c. 65 species distributed in tropical asian region and in india by c. 40 species (bor, 1953, 1960; clayton and renvoize, 1986; clayton et al., 2006; kiran raj, 2008; kiran raj et al., 2015, 2016). dimeria is characterized by equal and divergent binate racemes with laterally compressed spikelets. while exploring the plant wealth of satkosia tiger reserve, first author has collected an interesting dimeria species from banigoccha reserve forest, mahanadi wildlife division. after critical examination of the specimens with available literature and comparison with allied species, it is revealed that the species is distinct from dimeria connivens and therefore, recognized it as a new variety of dimeria connivens hack. a key to the varieties of d. connivens in india is also provided. taxonomy dimeria connivens hack. var. roxburghiana k.c. mohan & prasanna, var. nov. (plate 1). diagnosis: dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana is similar to var. connivens, but differs in habit, number and length of the racemes, broadly winged corky upper glume and linear-lanceolate lower lemma (table 1). type: india, odisha, nayagarh, satkosia tiger reserve, 20° 24' 15.5" n; 084° 44' 09.3"e, 201 masl elevation, 30 september, 2016, chandramohan 8354 (holotype: cal!; isotype: bsid!). annuals. culms erect, 40–50 cm high; nodes hairy, clothed with leaf sheath. leaf sheath terete, margins pilose with tubercle based hairs, 2.0–2.5 cm long, loose, uppermost spathiform; ligule membranous, ciliate at apex, 0.5–0.6 cm long; leaf blade linear-lanceolate, 7–9 × 0.2–0.3 cm, glabrous on both sides and tubercle based hairy along margins, margins more or less wavy, acuminate at apex. racemes 2 or 3, erect,eventually divergent, 4.2–7.0 cm long. rachis narrowly winged, triquetrous, ciliate along margins, 0.9–1.0 mm wide, zig-zag. spikelets solitary, up to 4.1 × 1.2 mm, falling entire at maturity; pedicels thick, 0.3–0.4 mm long, glabrous; raceme internodes 1 mm long; callus oblong, minute, hairy. lower glume linear-lanceolate, 3.5–3.8 × 0.2–0.3 mm long, acute to acuminate at apex, sub-coriaceous, 1-keeled, pilose along keel, margins hyaline, ciliate on outer surface. upper glume elliptic-oblong, 4.1–4.3 × 0.9–1 mm, acute at apex, sub coriaceous, 1-keeled, winged all along the keel, pilose, margins hyaline, ciliate on outer surface. florets 2; lower barren, epaleate, upper bisexual.lower lemma lanceolate, 1.8–1.9 mm, hyaline, acute, margins ciliate towards the apex. upper lemma elliptic, 2.8-3.0 × 0.8-1.0 mm, 2-lobed at apex, awned from the sinus, 1-nerved; awn geniculate, 10-11 mm long. stamens 2; anthers 1 mm long. palea very narrow. caryopsis lanceolate, 2.0–2.4 × 0.2–0.3 mm, brown.                                                              1corresponding author. email: kolaganicm@gmail.com 2botanical survey of india, central national herbarium, howrah-711 103, india 238 chandramohan and prasanna plate 1. dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana var. nov. a. habit; b. rachis; c. spikelet; d. lower glume; e. upper glume; f. upper lemma; g. lower lemma: h. caryopsis. a new variety ofdimeria connivens hack. 239 flowering and fruiting: september – october. etymology: the species is named after william roxburgh, the father of indian botany. distribution and ecology: dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana is collected from the single locality from satkosia tiger reserve with few individuals. it grows in open rocky slopes in deciduous forests in association of dimeria mooneyi and striga angustifolia. conservation status: as per the iucn guidelines version 4.0 (iucn, 2014), the species falls under the category data deficient (dd), as it is known from a single location and its population is scanty. table 1. morphological comparison between dimeria connivens var. connivens and dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana. characters dimeria connivens var. connivens dimeria connivens var. roxburghiana habit culms 10–40 cm long culms 40–50 cm long leaf blades confined to the base of the culms, sometimes all along culms; blade 0.5–7.5 cm long all along culms; blade 7–9 cm long raceme 2, 3–6 cm long 2 or 3, 4.2–7.0 cm long rachis c. 0.5 mm wide; triquetrous in section c. 1 mm wide; more or less circular in section lower glume narrowly ovate linear-lanceolate upper glume oblong, narrowly winged all along keel elliptic-oblong, broadly winged all along the keel lower lemma narrowly obovate, acute at apex, 1.0–1.3 mm long linear-lanceolate, acute at apex, 1.8–1.9 mm long key to the varieties of dimeria connivens 1. rachis c. 0.5 mm wide; lower glume narrowly ovate; lower lemma narrowly obovate, 1.0–1.3 mm long. d. connivens var. connivens rachis c. 1 mm wide; lower glume linear-lanceolate; lower lemma linear-lanceolate, 1.8–1.9 mm long. d. connivens var. roxburghiana acknowledgements the authors are thankful to dr. p. singh, director, botanical survey of india and dr. l. rasingam, scientist in-charge, botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad for facilities. permission and logistic support provided by pccf (wl) and officials of odisha state forest department are gratefully acknowledged. references bor, n.l. 1953. notes on asiatic grasses xi. the genus dimeria r. br. in india and burma. kew bull. 7: 553−592. bor, n.l. 1960. the grasses of burma, ceylon, india, and pakistan (excluding bambuseae). pergamon press, london. brown, r. 1810. prodromus florae novae hollandiaeetinsulae van diemen, 1. j. johnson, london, 204 pp. clayton, w.d. and renvoize, s.a. 1986.genera graminum. grasses of the world. kew bull. add. ser. xiii. 389 pp. 240 chandramohan and prasanna clayton, w.d., vorontsova, m.s., harman, k.t. and williamson, h. 2006 (onwards). grassbase – the online world grass flora.<http://www.kew.org/data/grasses-db.html>. retrieved on 2 march 2015. iucn. 2014. iucn red list categories and criteria, version 2. iucn species survival commission. kiran raj, m.s. 2008. taxonomic revision of the sub-tribe dimeriinae hack.: andropogoneae (poaceae panicoideae) in peninsular india. ph.d. thesis (unpublished).university of calicut, india, pp.1−409. kiran raj, m.s., sivadasan, m., veldkamp, j.f., alfarhan, a.h. and amal tamimi, a.s.m. 2015. a revised infrageneric classification of dimeria r. br. (poaceae: andropogoneae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 47–54. kiran raj, m.s., sivadasan, m., dileep, p. and alfarhan, a.h. 2016. a new subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri hochst. ex miq.(poaceae) from india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 27–31. (manuscript received on 20 january 2017; revised on 25 september 2017) microsoft word 03. diospyros_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 83-86, 2015 (december) diospyros udaiyanii (ebenaceae), a new species from western ghats, india p.s. udayan1, a.v. raghu2, s. noorunisa begum3 and a.k. pradeep4 research centre & p. g. department of botany, sree krishna college, ariyannur 680102, guruvayur, thrissur, kerala, india keywords: kakkayam; ebenaceae; diospyros; new species; western ghats. abstract diospyros udaiyanii, a new species from kakkayam forest of malabar wildlife sanctuary, western ghats of kerala, india is described and illustrated. it is closely allied to d. pilosiusculata g. don. in its stunted habit, smaller, glabrous leaves and large broad 4 or 5 glabrous calyx lobes with long pedicel, the absence of tomentose hairs on twigs, petiole, pedicel, calyx and leaf margin. introduction the genus diospyros l. belonging to the family ebenaceae is mostly confined to the tropics (mabberley, 2008). a total of 607 species have so far been reported, of which ca 300 species occur in asia and the pacific area, 98 species in madagascar and the comoro islands, 94 species in african mainland, ca 100 species in america and 15 species in australia (wallinofer, 2001). in india, diospyros is represented by 66 taxa, including five varieties (singh, 2008). from the state of kerala, nayar et al. (2006) reported 34 taxa. during the course of floristic exploration along the evergreen forests of kakkayam, western ghats of kerala in south india, the authors collected some interesting specimens of diospyros with one population of four trees and only one tree with flowers. the specimens were critically studied and compared with other described species from india and sri lanka, but none of them matched with the collected specimens. the closely related species to the collected specimen is d. pilosiusculata g. don., an endemic species restricted to eastern india and found distributed in west bengal, assam, manipur, meghalaya, nagaland and the andaman and nicobar islands. the collections being unmatched with any of the known species so far described hitherto (wallinofer, 2001; singh, 2008), it is described here as diospyros udaiyanii sp. nov. the differences between the new species with the allied d. pilosiusculata are shown in table 1. diospyros udaiyanii p.s. udayan, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: diospyros udaiyanii can be distinguished from d. pilosiusculata for its smaller height, long pedicel, and bright yellow, globose hairy solitary fruits, absence of tomentose hairs on twigs, petiole, pedicel, calyx and leaf midrib and margin, smaller, glabrous leaves, and large broad 4 or 5 glabrous calyx lobes.                                                              1email: psudayan@rediffmail.com 2corresponding author. kerala forest research institute (kfri), peechi 680 653, thrissur, kerala, india. email: avraghu@kfri.res.in 3indian institute of ayurveda and integretative medicines (i-aim); foundation for revitalisation of local health traditions (frlht); no. 74/2, jarakabande kaval, attur 560 064, bangalore, karnataka, india. 4department of botany, university of calicut 673635, malappuram, kerala, india. 84 udayan et al. table 1. diagnostic morphological characters of diospyros udaiyanii sp. nov. and its closely related d. pilosiusculata. characters d. udaiyanii sp. nov. d. pilosiusculata habit small trees (6 m) trees (8 m) branchlets glabrous densely tomentose petiole glabrous pubescent calyx 15 mm long, glabrous; lobes 4 or 5, ovatelanceolate, acute, spreading, valvate 5−10 mm long, pubescent outside, glabrous within; lobes 4, lanceolate, ciliate peduncle 4−8 cm long, glabrous 0.6−1.0 cm long, pubescent fig. 1. diospyros udaiyanii p.s. udayan, sp. nov. a. habit; b. fruits. diospyros udaiyanii sp. nov. (ebenaceae) 85 types: india, kerala, kozhikode district, malabar wildlife sanctuary, kakkayam, about 750 m, 27 may 2011, p.s. udayan & noorunisa begum 110834 (holotype: mh; isotypes: skc, cali, frlh). paratype: india, kerala, kozhikode district, malabar wildlife sanctuary, kakkayam about 750 m, 08 may 2012, p.s. udayan & a.v. raghu 27801 (kfri). fig. 2. diospyros udaiyanii p.s. udayan, sp. nov. a. habit (from p.s. udayan 110834); b & c. fruiting calyx; d. fruit with calyx; e & f. seeds. small dioecious trees, up to 6 m tall with smooth blackish bark, yellowish-brown inside, young branches glabrous. leaves alternate, bifarious, 8−15 × 1.5−4.0 cm, oblong or lanceolate, abruptly or long acuminate at apex, rounded or cuneate at base, thinly coriaceous, glabrous, canaliculate; lateral nerves c. 9 pairs, oblique towards apex, prominent beneath; petioles 3−5 mm long, terete, glabrous. male flowers not seen. female flowers solitary, axillary, borne on young and old shoots, ebracteate; pedicels glabrous, terete, articulated at the apex with flowers. calyx campanulate, glabrous; lobes 4 or 5, ovate-lanceolate, c. 1.5 cm long, acute, spreading, glabrous, valvate. corolla tubular, 5−8 mm long, silky outside, glabrous within, deeply 4-lobed; lobes lanceolate, contorted. staminodes absent. ovary globose, densely hairy, 4-locular, ovule 1 in each 86 udayan et al. locule; style 1, short, covered with hairs; stigmas 2, glabrous. fruiting calyx deeply lobed, without conspicuous tube at base, fruit seated on a very small disc of flat tube; lobes flattened, lanceolate, 2.5 × 1.5 cm across, enlarged, glabrous within, long ciliate, rigid, reflexed, not touching the fruit, without dilated margin veined. fruits 2.5−3.0 cm in diameter, globose, densely rufous hairy; fruiting pedicels 4−8 cm long, glabrous. seeds few, 2 × 1 cm; endosperm equable. male plants not known. phenology: flowering from january to june; fruiting from july to august. etymology: the specific epithet of the new taxon is in honor of dr. k. udaiyan, professor (retd.), department of botany, bharathiar university, coimbatore, tamil nadu for his valuable contributions to the fields of microbiology, taxonomy and plant pathology. distribution: so far known only from malabar wildlife sanctuary, kakkayam forest (11º 33´ n, 75º 55´ e) in the kozhikode district, kerala, india. only one population of the species with four trees were found, does not face any threat as it occurs within an elephant reserve (malabar wildlife sanctuary). habitat: the species grows in shady, moist places as undergrowth in evergreen forests at about 750 m above sea level. this species is found growing along with other species, namely, alseodaphne semecarpifolia nees, elaeocarpus tuberculatus roxb., humboldtia brunonis var. raktapushpa p.s. udayan, k.v. tushar & satheesh george, orophea sivarajanii sasidh., polyalthia coffeoides (thw. ex hook. f. & thoms.) hook. f. & thoms., syzygium grande (wight) walp., syzygium laetum (buch.-ham.) gandhi and vateria indica l. conservation status: diospyros udaiyanii can be categorized as near threatened (nt) based upon iucn (2012). acknowledgements the authors are grateful to dr. m. sanjappa, botanical survey of india (bsi), kolkata; dr. g.v.s. murthy, botanical survey of india (bsi), coimbatore; and dr. n. sasidharan, kerala forest research institute, thrissur for their help. they are also thankful to department of science & technology, new delhi and kerala state council for science, technology & environment, thiruvananthapuram for the financial support, and prof. d. jayaprasad of sree krishna college, guruvayur, kerala, india for encouragement. the facilities provided by the kerala forest department for the field work are thankfully acknowledged. the illustrations were done by smt. sajeena m.u., sree krishna college, guruvayur. the third author is highly indebted to the advisor, foundation for revitalisation of local health traditions, bangalore for providing facilities and the second author expresses his gratitude to the director, kerala forest research institute, peechi, kerala for encouragement. references iucn 2012. guidelines for application of iucn red list criteria at regional and national levels: version 4.0. gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. 3rd edition. cambridge university press, cambridge, pp. 208−211. nayar, t.s., beegam, a.r., mohanan, n. and rajkumar, g. 2006. flowering plants of kerala a hand book. tbgri publications, thiruvananthapuram, 1069 pp. singh, v. 2008. monograph of indian diospyros l. (persimmon, ebony) ebenaceae. botanical survey of india, kolkata, pp. 8−9. wallinofer, b. 2001. the biology and systematics of ebenaceae: a review. ann. naturlist. mus. wien. 103(2): 485−512. (manuscript received on 22 june 2015; revised on 17 september 2015) microsoft word s-4. 80-13 sc_euonymus leiophloeusok.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 263-266, 2013 (december) short communication © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists euonymus leiophloeus (celastraceae) a new record for the flora of turkey özgür eminagaoglu1 and melahat özcan2 department of forest engineering, faculty of forestry, artvin çoruh university, 08000 artvin-turkey keywords: euonymus; leaf anatomy; new record; taxonomy; turkey. euonymus l. belongs to the subtribe euonyminae benth. & hook., tribe euonymeae dc., and subfamily euonymoideae (dc.) arn. of the family celastraceae (prokhanov, 1974). the genus includes deciduous and evergreen species from low growing shrubs, self-clinging climbers to tall shrubs and small trees. there are approximately 130-200 species of the genus distributed in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions of north and central america, europe, asia and australia (blakelock, 1951). during field work in artvin province, some interesting specimens belonging to euonymus were collected. the specimens were crosschecked with keys provided by boissier (1879), coode and cullen (1967), and prokhanov (1974). after critical study and consultation with relevant literature (cood and cullen, 1967; güner et al., 2000; özhatay et al., 2011; eminağaoğlu et al., 2012), the specimens have been identified as euonymus leiophloeus stev. and reported as a new record for the flora of turkey. the identification was confirmed by comparison with a herbarium specimen housed at batu in georgia. morphological analyses were carried out in living or herbarium specimens. transverse section of leaf blade, midrib and peripheral sections of leaves were investigated (algan, 1981). stomatal lengths were measured and stomatal index was calculated (meidner and mansfield, 1968). plant samples were deposited at the herbarium of artvin coruh university (arth), artvin, turkey. the description, detailed leaf and stem anatomical properties and photographs of euonymus leiophleous stev. are given below: euonymus leiophloeus stev. in bull. soc. imp. naturalistes moscou 29(2): 122 (1856). euonymus leiophloeus stev. var. armasicus gagnidze, fl. gruzii 8: 228 (1983); euonymus leiophloeus stev. var. sempervirens (rupr. ex boiss.) gagnidze, fl. gruzii 8: 229 (1983); euonymus ketzhovelii gatsch., soobshch. acad. nauk. gruz. ssr 10: 232 (1949); euonymus armasica gatsch., soobshch. akad. nauk. gruz. ssr 10: 234 (1949); euonymus sempervirens rupr. ex boiss., fl. orient. 2: 10 (1872); euonymus leiophloea stev., bull. soc. imp. naturalistes moscow 29(2): 122 (1856); kalonymus leiophloea prokh., bull. soc. imp. naturalistes moscow 29(2): 122 (1856). (fig. 1). shrubs, up to 4 m tall. twigs rounded, smooth, yellowish with black lenticels when young, greyish-brown at maturity. buds ovoid-conical, 2-10 mm long. leaves elliptic, obovate or oblong, 2.5-7.0 x 1.5-4.0 cm, rounded or even truncate at base, obtuse or rounded at apex, rarely shortmucronate, crenate-serrate, sometimes subentire above, scarious; petioles 3-5 mm long, not winged. cymes 5-rayed, loose, many-flowered (up to 21). flowers 4-merous, c. 5 mm in diam. sepals 1.0-1.5 mm long. petals 2.0-2.5 mm long, greenish-white. stamens with subsessile anthers. 1corresponding author. email: oeminagaoglu@artvin.edu.tr 2department of biology, faculty of science and arts, artvin çoruh university, 08000 artvin-turkey 264 eminagaoglu and özcan capsule flattened-disciform, 4-5 mm long, 4-lobed, lobes with erect linear wings, gradually acuminate or sometimes conversely tapering at base, wings 10-15 mm long. seeds covered by the orange aril. flowering period: april to june. fruiting period: august to september. fig. 1. euonymus leiophloeus; a) habit, b) capsule specimens examined: turkey: a8 artvin, şavşat, ilıca village, in forest, 1533 m, 03.08.2011, ö.emin. 8750; a8 artvin, şavşat, yeşilce village, in forest, 1443 m, 04.08.2011, ö.emin. 8752; a8 artvin, şavşat, eskikale village, in forest, 1885 m, 05.08.2011, ö.emin. 8754; a8 artvin, şavşat, aşağıkoyunlu village, in forest, 1764 m, 13.08.2011, ö.emin. 8760; georgia: adjara, dandalo village, shuakhevi, in forests, on the rocks, 1400 m, 18.08.1954, davit mandjavidze s.n., batu!; khelvachauri village, kırnati colchic forest, 1350 m, 18.07.2002, nino memiadze s.n., batu!; adjara seaside, river chaqvistskali, chaqvistavi village, national park of mtirala colchic forest, 20 m, 22.08.2003, david krazashvili s.n., batu!. distribution and conservation status: in turkey, e. leiophloeus is distributed in the province of artvin (şavşat) in north-east anatolia. georgia (west transcaucasia, guria mountains) was previously the only known distribution area of the species (prokhanov, 1974). e. leiophloeus, which was known as endemic to georgia, lost this characteristic after the recent assessments. this species is rare in turkey and georgia. by considering its distribution area, lr conservation status is proposed (iucn, 2013). anatomical features: shape of leaf midrib is more or less distinctly protrudes both on the upper and lower sides. there is a single-layered epidermis. in terms of size, upper epidermal cells (16.50 ± 0.79) are slightly taller than those of the abaxial ones (12.33 ± 0.71). one large vascular bundle and two accessory bundles can be seen in the midrib region. lamina is bifacial (dorsiventral) and mesophyll composed of 6 layers of spongy parenchyma and two or sometimes three layers of palisade parenchyma (fig. 2b). lower surface has cyclocytic stomata with 4 or 6 neighbouring cells as a circle (fig. 2b). average of stomatal length and stomatal index is 28.76 ± 0.24 µm and 04.28 ± 0.51, respectively. number of stomata per 1 mm2 is 120.0 ± 15. notes: e. leiophloeus resembles e. latifolius (l.) mill. subsp. cauconis coode & cullen, morphologically, but it differs by erect linear wings (10 -15 mm long), smaller capsules (4-5 mm long) and flowers (4-merous). according to anatomically investigated samples, adaxial epidermal euonymus leiophloeus (celastraceae) 265 fig. 2. leaf anatomy in euonymus leiophloeus; a: midrib, b: lamina, c: adaxial surface, d: abaxial surface. scale bars: (a): 100 µm, (b, c, d): 50 µm. cells are more or less larger than the abaxial ones in two e. latifolius populations, while it is almost equal in e. leiophloeus accessions. in addition, the shape of anticlinal cell walls in adaxial surface is irregular cells with undulate (repand) cell walls in e. latifolius, but more or less straight cell walls are present on the adaxial surfaces of e. leiophloeus. acknowledgements the authors thank the turkish ministry of forestry and water affairs and doğa koruma merkezi (nature conservation centre) for their financial support. references algan, g. 1981. bitkisel dokular i̇çin mikroteknik. i̇stanbul: fırat university science faculty press (in turkish). blakelock, r.a. 1951. a synopsis of the genus euonymus l. kew bull. 6(2): 210-290. boissier, e. 1879. flora orientalis. vol. 4. geneva & basle. coode, m.j.e and cullen, j. 1967. euonymus l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, vol. 2. edinburgh university press. pp. 550-552. 266 eminagaoglu and özcan eminağaoğlu, ö., özcan, m. and kültür, ş. 2012. contributions to the leaf and stem anatomy of tradescantia fluminensis: an alien species new to the flora of turkey. artvin coruh university j. forestry faculty 13(2): 270-277. güner, a., özhatay, n., ekim, t. and başer, k.h.c. (eds). 2000. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 11. edinburgh university press. iucn. 2013. the iucn red list of threatened species, version 2013.1. iucn red list unit, cambridge u.k. website: http://www.iucnredlist.org [accessed 27 oct 2013]. meidner, h. and mansfield, t.a. 1968. physiology of stomata. london: mcgraw-hill. özhatay, f.n., kültür, ş. and gürdal, m.b. 2011. checklist of additional taxa to the supplement flora of turkey v. turk. j. bot. 35: 589-624. prokhanov, y. 1974. euonymus l. in: komarov, v.l. (ed.), flora of the u.s.s.r. vol.14. pp. 432. jerusalem: israel program for scientific translation. (manuscript received on 26 june 2013; revised on 27 october 2013) microsoft word 06. euryops jaberiana galley proof_approved 11.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 45-51, 2016 (june) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists phylogenetic implication of molecular genotyping of euryops jaberiana abedin & chaudhary (asteraceae) m. ajmal ali1, joongku lee2, m. oliur rahman3, fahad s.m. al-anazi, fahad m.a. al-hemaid, a.a. hatamleh, changyoung lee4, b.j. mylliemngap5 and a. bhattacharjee5 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia keywords: euryops jaberiana; asteraceae; nrdna its; genotyping; saudi arabia. abstract the taxonomic status of euryops jaberiana abedin & chaudhary (tribe senecioneae, family asteraceae), endemic to northern saudi arabia was evaluated based on molecular phylogenetic analyses of internal transcribed spacer sequence (its) of nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) in order to ascertain its position within the genus. the phylogenetic tree constructed by the neighbour joining, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses showed a clear resolution of taxon included in the analyses at the level of sections, and e. jaberiana nested within the clade of the section angustifoliae. e. jaberiana showed proximity with the allied species e. arabicus; however, a total number of eight nucleotide differences were evident between e. jaberiana and e. arabicus, indicating e. jaberiana as distinct from its allied species. introduction the genus euryops (cass.) cass. belonging to the tribe senecioneae of the family asteraceae comprises approximately 100 species and displays a restricted distribution in africa to arabia and socotra (devos et al., 2010). euryops is characterized by perennial shrubs (except e. annuus compt.), coriaceous leaves and yellow or orange-flowered capitula on simple peduncles, usually devoid of leaves or bracts. despite the genus was divided into six sections angustifoliae, brachypus, chrysops, euryops, leptorrhiza and psilosteum based on morphology (nordenstam, 1968), its phylogeny and phytogeography based on molecular data remains poorly understood (nordenstam, 1969; nordenstam et al., 2009; devos et al., 2010). in saudi arabia, the genus euryops is represented by only two species, viz. e. arabicus steud. ex jaub. & spach, and e. jaberiana abedin & chaudhary. e. arabicus is the only species found outside of africa and is endemic to arabian peninsula, while e. jaberiana is endemic to northern saudi arabia. morphologically e. jaberiana very closely resembles with e. arabicus (abedin and chaudhary, 2000). therefore, the main objectives of the present study are two-folds: i) to assess the                                                              1corresponding author. email: majmalali@rediffmail.com 2department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, 99 daehak-ro, yuseonggu, daejeon 34134, south korea.  3department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh.    4international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, 111 gwahangno, yuseong-gu, daejeon 305 806, south korea.  5department of biotechnology and bioinformatics, north eastern hill university, shillong 793002, meghalaya, india.   46 ali et al.   phylogenetic relationships of e. jaberiana within the genus, and ii) to shed light on the molecular authentication of e. jaberiana. materials and methods plant material: leaf materials of euryops jaberiana were collected from the herbarium specimens [voucher saudi arabia, jabal shaar near al-muwaylih, n. hijaz, alt. 1400-1500 m, 03 march 1988, s. chaudhary and j. thomas 16873, isotype: (riy)] housed at national herbaium, riyadh, saudi arabia (riy). total genomic dna extraction, amplification of its region and dna sequencing: the total genomic dna was isolated using qiagen dneasy plant mini kit (valencia, ca, usa). the internal transcribed spacer (its) sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) were amplified using forward primer its1 (5/-gtccactgaaccttatcatttag-3/) and reverse primer its4 (5/-tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3/)] of white et al. (1990). the amplified product was sequenced on the abi 3730 xl sequencing platforms by following methods described by al-hemaid et al. (2014) and ali et al. (2015a). phylogenetic analysis: the sequence of e. jaberiana (genbank accession number ku577443) was aligned with a total number of 17 representative sequences belongs to each section of the genus euryops and an outgroup sequence of gymnodiscus capillaris retrieved from genbank (table 1). the alignment was performed using clustal x version 1.81 (thompson et al., 1997). the alignment was manually adjusted using the software bioedit (hall, 1999). the neighbour joining (nj) and also table 1. genbank accession number of plant species used for molecular phylogentic analyses. group species genbank acc. number ingroup 1. euryops annuus compt. eu667487 2. euryops anthemoides b. nord. eu667501 3. euryops arabicus steud. eu667464 4. euryops brachypodus (dc.) b. nord. eu667485 5. euryops brevilobus compt. eu667488 6. euryops dacrydioides oliv. eu667529 7. euryops decumbens b. nord. eu667474 8. euryops ericifolius (bel.) b. nord. eu667519 9. euryops ericoides (l.f.) b. nord. eu667509 10. euryops evansii schltr. eu667471 11. euryops hypnoides b. nord. eu667527 12. euryops jaberiana abedin & chaudhary ku577443 13. euryops montanus schltr. eu667462 14. euryops othonnoides (dc.) b. nord. eu667503 15. euryops pectinatus (l.) cass. eu667514 16. euryops pinifolius a. rich. eu667530 17. euryops speciosissimus dc. eu667717 18. euryops trilobus harv. eu667469 outgroup 19. gymnodiscus capillaris (l. f.) less. eu667515 molecular genotyping of euryops jaberiana 47    the maximum parsimony (mp) and maximum likelihood (ml) analyses were carried out using paup (swofford, 2002) and mega5 (tamura et al., 2011) respectively by the methods as described by pandey and ali (2012), ali et al. (2013, 2015b), and lee et al. (2013). results and discussion the present study revealed that the combined length of its region (its1-5.8s-its2) in e. jaberiana was 645 nucleotide base pair (bp). the its1 region was 260 bp (with gc content 43%), the 5.8s gene was 154 bp long (gc content 54%), and the its2 region was 231 bp (gc content 50%). the nrdna in eukaryotes encodes for ribosome subunits, which occurs in thousands of copies (prokopovich et al., 2003) that simplify the amplification by polymerase chain reaction (pcr). the nrdna consist of both highly variable parts of its region (i.e. its1 and its2) and the conserved 5.8s gene between its1 and its2 (baldwin et al., 1995). although reliance on the use of its sequence of nrdna as the sole source of phylogenetic evidence has come under serious criticism (alvarez and wendel, 2003); even then, it is one of the most common molecular markers used for generating species-specific phylogenetic inferences in most groups of plants, fungi and animals (poczai and hyvönen, 2010; ali et al., 2014) and dna barcoding (chen et al., 2010; yao et al., 2010; ali et al., 2014, 2015c) owing to the patterns of polymorphism and its types which are specific to particular taxon and population (baldwin et al., 1995; feliner et al., 2004; szabo et al., 2005). the its sequence of nrdna has gained much attention as smartest gene available for the genotyping of taxon and the epitome of species identification has thus now been changed due to application of genotyping in systematics (ali et al., 2013, 2014). the blast search (altschul et al., 1990) of the generated nrdna its sequence of e. jaberiana showed 99% identity with e. arabicus. the phylogenetic analyses revealed a total number of 610 positions in the final aligned dataset, of which 35 were parsimony informative. the mp analysis of the entire its region resulted in 82 maximally parsimonious trees (mpts), the consistency index was 0.671, the retention index was 0.727, the composite index was 0.488 and homoplasy index 0.354. the phylogenetic tree recovered by the analyses provided a clear resolution of taxon at the section level which is consistent with previous study (devos et al., 2010). neighbour joining (nj) tree inferred from its sequence of nuclear ribosomal dna of 18 species of euryops revealed that e. jaberiana is phylogenetically most closely related to e. arabicus (fig. 1). the nj analysis recovered tree topology similar to mpt and mlt, and therefore, only the nj topology with bootstrap support at the node is presented in fig. 1. the key morphological features which differentiate e. jaberiana from e. arabicus are: leaves 3-lobed at the tips, pappus hairs transparent or rarely dull white, and achenes glabrescent, while in e. arabicus, the leaves are unlobed, pappus hairs are dull white and achene densely lanate hairy (abedin and chaudhary, 2000). in both the mp and ml analyses, e. jaberiana nested within the clade of the section angustifoliae. e. jaberiana shows proximity with e. arabicus (66% bootstrap support in mpt and 73% bootstrap support in mlt). a total of eight specific nucleotide differences i.e. at the alignment position 93 (a t), 116 (g c), 201 (t c), 443 (c g), 461 (t g), 531 (t c), 573 (c t) and 611 (t c) were detected between e. jaberiana and e. arabicus (fig. 2). thus on the basis of phylogenetic relationships of e. jaberiana within the genus and nucleotide differences, we herein recognized e. jaberiana as a distinct species and different from e. arabicus. 48 ali et al.   fig. 1. the nj tree inferred from neighbour joining analysis of its sequence of nuclear ribosomal dna of 18 species of euryops. the bootstrap (mp/ml) support greater than 50% in 1000 bootstrap replicates shown on the branch. molecular genotyping of euryops jaberiana 49    fig. 2. differences in the nucleotide base pairs position marked with box. lane 1: e. jabriana, lane 2: e. arabicus, and lane 3: clustal consensus. 50 ali et al.   acknowledgement the authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the deanship of scientific research at king saud university for funding of this research through the research group project no. rgp-195. references abedin, s. and chaudhary, s. 2000. euryops. in: chaudhary, s. (ed.), flora of saudi arabia ii (3): 191–192. ministry of agriculture and water, national herbarium, national agriculture and water research center, riyadh, saudi arabia. al-hemaid, f.m.a., ali, m.a., lee, j., gyulai, g. and pandey, a.k. 2014. application of internal transcribed spacer of nuclear ribosomal dna for identification of echinops mandavillei kit tan. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 33–42. ali, m.a., al-hemaid, f.m.a., choudhary, r.k., lee, j., kim, s.y. and rub, m.a. 2013. status of reseda pentagyna abdallah & a.g. miller (resedaceae) inferred from analysis of combined nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast sequence data. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 233–238. ali, m.a., gyulai, g., norbert, h., balázs, k., al-hemaid, f.m.a., pandey, a.k. and lee, j. 2014. the changing epitome of species identification dna barcoding. saudi j. biol. sci. 21(3): 204–231. ali, m.a., lee, j., kim, s.y., park, s.h. and al-hemaid, f.m.a. 2015a. molecular phylogenetic analyses of internal transcribed spacer sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna defined monophyly of the genus phytolacca l. 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(manuscript received on 11 february 2016; revised on 20 april 2016) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 107-117, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists confirming the identity of newly recorded nymphaea rubra roxb. ex andrews discerning from nymphaea pubescens willd. using morphometrics and molecular sequence analyses d.p.g. shashika k. guruge1, deepthi yakandawala2 and kapila yakandawala3 department of botany, faculty of science, university of peradeniya, sri lanka keywords: matk; morphometric analysis; nymphaeaceae; psba-trnh; water-lilies; sri lanka. abstract a multivariate statistical analysis was carried out to evaluate the morphological variation between nymphaea pubescens willd., and a deep purplish red flowered nymphaea that occur in sri lanka. the plant resembles n. rubra roxb. ex andrews, a species that had been sometimes circumscribed as a variety under n. pubescens willd. dna sequences data of matk and psba-trnh regions were used to obtain further support. morphological data were scored from collected samples and analyzed using past software. extracted dna were amplified for matk and psba-trnh gene regions. obtained sequences were matched with the related accessions deposited in the genbank. multivariate analysis supported the recognition of deep purplish red flowered nymphaea as a different species from n. pubescens, and was identified as n. rubra based on literature. genbank accessions for the matk region of n. rubra showed 99% similarity while it gave only a 96% similarity for n. pubescens with query coverage of 97% and 96% respectively, corroborating with the morphological analysis. comparison of the sequence divergence between n. pubescens and n. rubra sequences indicated a 95% similarity for matk gene region while 92% similarity for psba-trnh gene region. the sequences generated during the present study would provide additional reference sequences for the two taxa. introduction the genus nymphaea l. (nymphaeaceae salisb.) or water-lilies comprise of about 40-50 species and is widespread in tropical and temperate regions covering vast extents of natural waterbodies. all are aquatics with perennial or annual rhizomes (jaime et al., 2000). species of nymphaea show a high morphological plasticity where the size of leaves and flowers are thought to be strongly dependent on hydrological and edaphic conditions (polina and alexy, 2007). they grow in open waters of large swamps, lakes, ponds, shallow ditches, and also in marshes. the species of nymphaea may be either dayblooming or night-blooming. the flowers are showy and born solitarily, containing numerous petals, stamens, and many carpels. the genus nymphaea is a taxonomically difficult group; many species are believed to have numerous subspecies, chromosomal races & forms of hybrids and of artificial origin (polina and alexy, 2007). the plants are very popular as ornamental aquatics in the landscape industry. 1postgraduate institute of science, university of peradeniya, sri lanka 2corresponding author. email: deepthiyakandawala@gmail.com 3department of horticulture & landscape gardening, faculty of agriculture & plantation management, wayamba university of sri lanka. mailto:deepthiyakandawala@gmail.com 108 guruge et al. among the diverse members of the family, n. nouchali burm.f., n. rubra roxb. ex andrews, n. pubescens willd, and n. alba l. are some of the most widely spread species in asia (la-ongsri et al, 2009). nymphaea rubra is common throughout the temperate and tropical asia, such as in bangladesh, india, taiwan and thailand, especially in shallow lakes and ponds. the species have somewhat big flowers compared to many other nymphaea species, and it prefers to grow in nonacidic water above 15ºc (hossain et al., 2007).according to the revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, the family nymphaeaceae is represented in sri lanka only by the genus nymphaea, with two species, n. nouchali burm. f., and n. pubescens willd. (dassanayake, 1996). other than these native species, during field visits, a deep purplish red flowered nymphaea species with a morphological resemblance to n. pubescens was also encountered in natural water bodies in the dry lowland of the country. many morphological features that are described under the n. pubescens (dassanayake, 1996) overlap with this nymphaea species. the plant has been referred to as n. pubescens variety rubra by de vlas and de vlas-de jong in 2008. according to the revised handbook to the flora of ceylon (dassanayake, 1996) the flower petals of n. pubescens are white, purplish pink or red, where inner petals are smaller. leaf upper surface is glossy dark green and dark purplish green, velvety on leaf lower surface with very prominent veins. the petiole is red-brown, while the pedicel bears short prickles. however the presence of short prickles on the pedicels is a mis-conception as n. pubescens never poses prickles but nelumbo nucifera, a species belonging to the family nelumbonaceae, instead. the filament colour is described as yellowish white becoming deeper yellow distally, or pale purplish pink to crimson. although the above description is accommodating many characters of n. pubescens, the description seems to include some characters of those of the deep purplish red flower species of nymphaea as well. characters such as redbrown petiole, dark purplish green lower surface with velvety appearance and highly prominent veins are more towards the plants with deep purplish red flowered nymphaea rather than n. pubescens. on the other hand, according to literature, this deep purplish red flowered nymphaea species share morphological similarities with n. rubra, a species that had not been recognized as occurring in the island during the revision of the flora. according to conard (1905), n. rubra possess deep purplish red coloured flowers with cinnabar red stamens, and the reddish leaves becoming greenish with the age, and rarely producing fruits or seeds. mitra and subramanyam (1982), questioned the treatment of n. rubra as a true species at par with other sexually reproducing species because of its failure to set fruits/seeds in nature. according to gupta (1980), n. rubra has two cytotypes, one which is highly fertile and another nearly sterile. further, la-ongsri et al. (2009), describes n. rubra as, leaf dark reddish above and below, nine pairs of prominent and angular veins below, petiole green or reddish-brown, and a deep purplish red flower bearing orange or cinnabar-red stamens, becoming brownish with age. nymphaea pubescens and n. rubra are two closely related taxa (jeremy et al., 2010). hence, a multivariate statistical analysis was carried out to evaluate the morphological variation between the ambiguous taxa and described n. pubescens, and further dna sequences data of matk and psba-trnh regions were used in verification of the identity between n. pubescens and the deep purplish red flowered nymphaea species occurring in sri lanka. the matk is one of the rapidly evolving coding region in the plastid genome, while chloroplast noncoding intergenic psba-trnh spacer has recently become a popular tool in plant molecular phylogenetic studies at low taxonomic levels (biswal et al., 2012). materials and methods sample collection live plant material of the two nymphaea species, including populations with both white and pink flowered n. pubescens, and deep purplish red flowered nymphaea species, were collected confirming the identity of nymphaea rubra 109 from 50 different locations covering all the three major climatic zones of the island. the map showing the field localities are given in fig. 1. from each locality, a minimal of five specimens were collected. all the collected populations were treated separately with a different acronym; dprn (deep purplish red flowered nymphaea species), npw (n. pubescens white) and npr (n. pubescens pink), for easy references. the collected specimens were examined in detail in the laboratory for different morphological characters. fig. 1. the map depicting the locations where specimens were collected for the present study. n. pubescens-white (11 populations),  n. pubescenspink (21 populations),  deep purplish red flowered nymphaea (11 populations) morphological studies vegetative characters such as leaf shape, length, petiole diameter and reproductive characters such as flower size, petal and sepal length, number of stamens were studied either with the naked eye, under a dissecting microscope or under a stereo microscope (leica, 10446322, 2x wd). five individuals from each population were studied in detail where the measurement was averaged. the mean value for up to three measurements of each character was recorded for each specimen. special attention was paid to characters with distinct variations. colour of the lower and upper 110 guruge et al. surfaces of the leaf and petal, stamens, stigmatic segments, and petiole were determined using the royal horticulture society colour chart (rhs colour chart 2001). nineteen quantitative and 21 qualitative characters were coded for 50 representatives of n. pubescens including both white and pink flowered populations and deep purplish red flowered nymphaea species. all qualitative characters were expressed quantitatively by giving a coding value, to avoid misrepresenting the possible range of variation (stevens, 1991). morphometric analyses the multivariate statistical analysis was carried out using the past paleontological statistics program version 2.17 (hammer et al., 2001). cluster analysis, principal component analysis (pca) and principal coordination analysis (pcoa) were performed. the cluster solution was selected from the best suitable similarity measure method and the algorithm; gower similarity measure and 'paired group' option (upgma), which produced the highest co-phenetic correlation value of 0.933 over the other similarity distance methods and algorithms. similarity percentage analysis (simper) was performed to obtain overall average dissimilarity levels of the groups. other than the simper, pca loadings were also used to rank characters regarding their contribution for the separation of clusters, and thereby to find the best vegetative characters to differentiate between the two species. dna studies total genomic dna was extracted using a qiagen dnaeasy plant mini kit, from fresh leaf materials from three selected samples representing deep purplish flowered nymphaea , white flowered and pink flowered n. pubescence. matk (matk-390f 5'-cgatctattcattcaa tatttc-3', and matk-1326r 5' –tctagcacacgaaagtcgaagt3') (cuenoud et al., 2002) and psba-trnh [psba-f 5' –gttatgcatgaacgtaatgctc3' (sang et al., 1997), trnh-r 5'cgcgcatggtggattcacaatcc-3' (tate & simpson, 2003)] regions were amplified using polymerase chain reaction (pcr) technique. amplifications were carried out in 50 μl reaction solutions that contained 1× pcr reaction buffer, 2.5mm mgcl2, 0.2 mm deoxynucleotide triphosphate (dntps), 0.2 μm each forward and reverse primer, 1 u of taq dna polymerase and 0.75–1.5 μl unquantified dna extract. the pcr program was run on a techneflexigene thermal cycler. the program consisted of 3 min of initial denaturation at 94°c, 35 cycles of 30 s denaturation at 94°c, 30 s annealing at 48°c/ 57°c for matk and psba-trnh respectively, 1 min primer extension at 72°c, followed by a final extension for 10 min at 72°c. pcr products were run on a 1% agarose gel stained with ethidium bromide, and visualized on a uv table. the molecular mass of the resulted bands were estimated with a 1kb dna ladder and confirmed the amplification of the primer. obtained pcr products were submitted for sequencing reactions using applied biosystems, 3500 genetic analyzer. consensus for resulted sequences of forward and reverse primers was compiled using bioedit version 7.1.11 and edited visually. sequences deposited in the genbank, for the matk gene region for the two taxa by other literatures were extracted using a blast (basic local alignment search tool). clustalw multiple sequence alignment was also used for sequences alignment and comparison other than the blast. results and discussion the list of characters that were studied in detail together with their character states is given in the table 1. the upgma dendrogram (co-phenetic correlation coefficient = 0.933) resolved two discrete clusters (denoted as cluster a and b), which separated respectively at approximately 0.35 confirming the identity of nymphaea rubra 111 table 1. list of characters together with their character states. character character states diameter of the receptacle mm receptacle height cm flower colour (inner colour of petal) white/yellow/ pink/ deep purplish red flower colour (outer colour of petal) white/ yellow/ pink/ deep purplish red number of petals petal length (outer petals) cm petal width (maximum) (outer petals) at the broadest point in cm petal shape linear-lanceolate/ ob-lanceolate number of veins per petals petal base more or less widen into rectangular shape petal apex-shape and angle acute/ obtuse number of stigmatic segments number of sepals always 4 in number sepal length cm sepal width (maximum) cm sepal shape linear-lanceolate/ ob-lanceolate sepal apex – shape and angle acute/ obtuse number of stamens stamen colour yellow/red stigmatic segments colour yellow/ crimson-red colour pedicel diameter at the end of the receptacle end in cm pedicel shape round/slightly flat/oval pedicel shape in cross section no. of lacunae petiole – cross section no. of lacunae leaf size length/width in cm leaf shape round/ ellipsoid leaf length apex to base in cm leaf width across the mid rob in cm length/width ratio lamina colour (upper) dark green/light green/green lamina colour (lower) brownish-red/ purple/green leaf margin dentate/ strongly dentate leaf venation (lower) number of veins 14 or less / over 14 leaf venation (lower) pattern prominent/ not prominent leaf hairs (lower) long hairs/ short hairs leaf apex division present/ division absent petiole diameter cm shape of the petiole round/oval/ irregular shape petiole colour yellowish-white/ reddish-brown/ green pedicel colour dark-green/ brown/ brownish red hairs on the petiole present/ absent 112 guruge et al. distance units. the otus within each cluster grouped together closely, with none of them exceeding a distance of more than 0.7 units within any given cluster (fig. 2). the scatter plot that resulted from the pcoa is given in fig. 3 (transformation component, c = 2). the first four (principal) eigenvalues recovered from the pcoa (1.3985, 0.2106, 0.1268, and 0.0878) accounted for 71.17% of the total variance (54.53%, 8.27%, 4.95%, and 3.43% respectively). a plot of the first and second coordinates (which provided the greatest separation of otus) returned a result similar to that obtained by the cluster analysis. here the pcoa also resolved two discrete clusters, with each corresponding exactly to one of the clusters indicated by the upgma dendrogram. fig. 2. dendrogram that resulted from morphometric analysis showing the clearly separated groups of n. pubescens and deep purplish red flowered nymphaea species. deep purplish red flowered nymphaea species – dprn, n. pubescens (white) – npw and n. pubescens (pink) – npp. according to the results of pca loading and simper analysis, the number of stamens, leaf length, leaf width, number of petals and number of stigmatic segments are the highly contributed quantitative characters while lamina colour (both upper and lower), leaf venation pattern, petiole colour and stamen colour are the highly contributed qualitative characters for the separation. the character variation of the highly contributing six quantitative characters (number of stamens, leaf width, leaf length, number of stigmatic segments, number of petals and leaf size) between the two major groups; identified in analysis is given in fig. 4 as box plots. the morphometric analysis identifies two main phenetic groups a and b that corresponds to the deep purplish red flowered nymphaea congregated in the cluster a while the cluster b confirming the identity of nymphaea rubra 113 corresponds to n. pubescens. cluster b further branched at a distance of 0.2, where one group encompassed only pink flowered n. pubescens while the larger group consisted of both the white and pink flowered n. pubescens. similarly the scatter plot obtained by pcoa clearly supports to the clustering of the populations into two major phenetic groups as a and b as recognized by the cluster analysis with non-overlapping distribution and the overlapped scattering of the members in group b. the detailed study of the characters of the members of the deep purplish red flowered nymphaea and the character comparison with literature, conard (1905) and la-ongsri et al. (2009), confirmed the identity of the group as n. rubra roxb. ex andrews, a species that has not been recorded before as occurring in the island. fig. 3. scatter plot at 95% ellipse level with eigenvalue scale obtained from pcoa. dna sequence analysis the obtained sequence length of the matk and psba-trnh gene regions were between 916-917 bp and 541-555 bp for deep purplish red flowered nymphaea and n. pubescens respectively. the similarity percentage comparison of the obtained sequences of both n. pubescens (white and pink), with deep purplish red flowered nymphaea with alignment scores obtained from blast search are given in table 2. there were no sequence data deposited in the genbank for both taxa for the psba-trnh gene region. comparison of the obtained sequences with the genbank (n. rubra acc. no. hq592335.1) (jeremy et al., 2010) gave a 99% similarity for the deep purplish red flowered nymphaea for the matk gene region with n. rubra while it gave a 96% similarity for n. pubescens (acc. no. fj597753.1) (jeremy et al., 2010). comparison of the blast sequence divergence between n. pubescens and deep purplish red flowered nymphaea for the sequences that were obtained in the study indicated only a 95% similarity for matk gene region existed between the two, while only 92% similarity for psba-trnh gene region was indicated. further, the comparison of both white and pink flowered n. pubescens sequences with the genbank gave a 99% similarity match with n. pubescens (acc. no. fj597753.1). 114 guruge et al. fig. 4. box-plots of the six highly contributing quantitative characters between the two major groups identified in analysis [n. pubescens (np), and deep purplish red flowered nymphaea (dprn) species]. table 2. percentage similarity obtained from the comparisons of studied sequences and the genbank accession, using blast. blast score compared sequences matk trnh-psba deep purplish red nymphaea (dprn) vs. n. pubescens white (npw) 95% 92% deep purplish red nymphaea (dprn) vs. n. pubescens pink (npp) 98% 92% n. pubescens white (npw) vs. n. pubescens pink (npp) 99% 99% deep purplish red nymphaea (dprn) vs. n. rubra (hq592335.1) 99% na n. pubescens white (npw) vs n. rubra (hq592335.1) 96% na n. pubescens pink (npp) vs n. rubra (hq592335.1) 98% na blast search results, while indicating that the deep purplish red flowered nymphaea is a different taxa from the native n. pubescens, further confirms its identity as n. rubra. comparison of the sequences using clustalw, mismatches accounted for 6 point mutations and 17 insertion/ confirming the identity of nymphaea rubra 115 deletion (indels) events (single base pair) observed in the alignment for the two sequences of matk for the two species, n. rubra and white n. pubescens obtained in the present study while 4 point mutations and 3 indels (4, 5, and 17 bp length) were encountered for psba-trnh sequence alignment. when compare between pink and white n. pubescens, there were only 2 gaps observed for matk and 5 gaps observed for psba-trnh sequence. indels occurred in both matk and psbatrnh gene regions, where the most informative was in the psba-trnh region. the results of both multivariate statistical analyses and the molecular sequences comparison have supported the recognition of the deep purplish red nymphaea as a different species from n. pubescens. the detailed comparison of morphological characters has identified the species as n. rubra roxb. ex andrews while the molecular sequence comparison has further confirmed its identity. according to the literature n. rubra could be easily separated from n. pubescens from the close examination of floral and leaf characters. average dissimilarity value for the separation of n. rubra (dprn) from white flowered n. pubescens (npw) and pink flowered n. pubescens (npp) is 15.31. according to the results, characters such as number of stamens, leaf length and width, and number of petals are good quantitative characters for delimitation of these two species while lamina colour (both upper and lower), leaf venation pattern, petiole and stamen colour are the highly contributed qualitative characters. even though the cluster encompassing n. pubescens (cluster b) initially separates a few individuals with pink flowers in a separate cluster, the remaining group includes both individuals with pink and white flowers once again separating the pink flowered into a sub-cluster. the overall dissimilarity value between the members of the two pink and white flowered groups within n. pubescens is 10.14 according to the simper analysis while the gap was less than 0.2 in distance units (fig. 2). further in both blast and clustalw sequence alignments for both pink and white flowered n. pubescens, the two sequences for both gene regions, showed a very high sequence identities with zero or very few mismatches, implying that they are just two color variations of the same species. table 3. comparison of distinct morphological characters between nymphaea rubra and nymphaea pubescens. characters nymphaea rubra nymphaea pubescens flower size large (35 44 cm) small (28 36 cm) petal colour deep purplish red the colour intensity from apex to base on both adaxial and abaxial surfaces is uniform white or light pink the colour intensity is not uniform on both sides of the petal, showing a gradual fading from apex to base stamen colour cinnabar red yellow stigmatic segments colour crimson red yellow leaf size large (25 48 cm) small (25 30 cm) leaf shape orbicular ovateorbicular leaf colour -adaxial bronzy red while young, turning dark green with age green leaf colour -abaxial dark purple colour brown venation over 9 pairs of very prominent secondary veins 7-9 prominent secondary veins 116 guruge et al. a comparison of the characters between the two species is given in table 3 and fig. 5, and an identification key for the sri lankan nymphaea is given below. 1. leaves pubescent beneath with many short hairs, margin sharply dentatemucronate; stamens without a tongue-shaped appendage beyond the anther or appendage very short 2 leaves glabrous, margin entire to dentate with blunt teeth; stamens with a tongue-shaped appendage beyond the anther to 5 mm long n. nouchali 2. leaf abaxial surface brown, venation pattern less prominent, petiole light green; flowers white, yellowish white or pink; stamens short, yellow; stigmatic surface yellow n. pubescens leaf abaxial surface dark purple, venation pattern very prominent, petiole reddish; flowers deep purplish red; stamen long, cinnabar red; stigmatic surface crimson red n. rubra all water-lily species occur together in large water bodies in both dry and wet zones of the country. however, in many instances n. rubra occurs towards the center of the deep waters in isolation. fig. 5. deep purplish red flowered nymphaea species identified as n. rubra during the present study (a). flowers of n. pubescens, pink (b) and white (c). leaf upper surfaces of n. pubescens (left) and n. rubra (right) (d) cinnabar red colour stamens of n. rubra (e) and yellow colour stamens of n. pubescens (f). the study has resulted in adding a new member to the genus nymphaea in sri lanka enriching the islands biodiversity. nymphaea is a taxonomically difficult group with many natural and man-made hybrids occurring in the nature and therefore, morphological features alone are not sufficient in confirming the identity. the present study provides additional reference sequences for confirming the identity of nymphaea rubra 117 both n. pubescens (pink and white flowered groups) and n. rubra as well as a new gene region, psba-trnh for reference. acknowledgements financial assistance provided by the national science foundation (nrb/2011/rg/03) is gratefully acknowledged. authors wish to thank menaka ariyarathne, n. shanjayan and all others who helped in field collections. references biswal, devendra k., manish debnath, shakti kumar, and pramod tandon. 2012. phylogenetic reconstruction in the order nymphaeales: its2 secondary structure analysis and in silico testing of maturase k (matk) as a potential marker for dna bar coding. bmc bioinformatics 13 (17): s26. conard, h.s. 1905. the waterlilies: a monograph of the genus nymphaea. publications of carnegie institute of washington, washington, usa, 279 pp. cuenoud, p., savolainen, v. and chatrou, l.w. 2002. molecular phylogenetics of caryophyllales based on nuclear 18s rdna and plastid rbcl, atpb, and matk dna sequences. am. j. bot. 89: 132-144. dassanayake, m.d. 1996. nymphaeaceae. in: dassanayake, m.d. & clayton, w.d. (eds.), a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon. oxford & ibh publ. co. pvt., ltd., new delhi, india, pp. 289-292. de vlas, j. and de vlas-de jong, j. 2008. illustrated field guide to the flowers of sri lanka. mark booksellers and distributors (pvt) ltd., kandy, sri lanka. 179 p. gupta, p.p. 1980. cytogenetics of aquatic ornamentals vi. evolutionary trends and relationships in the genus nymphaea. cytologia 45: 307-314. hammer ø., harper d.a.t. and ryan p.d. 2001. past: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. palaeontol. electronica 4 (1): 1–9. http://palaeo-electronica.org/2001_1/past /issue1_01.htm. retrieved on 25 august 2014. hossain, a., kabir, g., ud-deen, m. m., and alam, a. m. s. 2007. cytological studies of nymphaea species available in bangladesh. j.bio-science 15: 7-13. jaime, b.b., alejandro, n., yolanda, h.o. and judith, m.g. 2000. comparative seed morphology of mexican nymphaea species. aquatic botany 68: 189-204. jeremy, d., suman, k., satyawada, r.r. and pramod, t. 2010. molecular phylogenetics and the taxonomic reassessment of four indian representative of the genus nymphaea. aquatic botany 93: 135-139. la-ongsri, w., trisonthi, c. and balslev, h. 2009. a synopsis of thai nymphaeaceae. nordic journal of botany 27: 97-114. mitra, r.l. and subramanyam, k. 1982. is nymphaea rubra roxb. ex. andrews an apomict? bull. bot. surv. india 24: 83-86. polina, a.v. and alexy, b.s. 2007. morphological variation of nymphaea (nymphaeaceae) in european russia. nordic journal of botany 25: 329-338. sang, t., crawford, d.j. and stuessy, t.f. 1997. chloroplast dna phylogeny, reticulate evolution and biogeography of paeonia (paeoniaceae). am. j. bot. 84: 1120–1136. stevens, p. f. 1991. character states, morphological variation, and phylogenetic analysis: a review. systematic botany 16: 553-583. tate, j.a. and simpson, b.b. 2003. paraphyly of tarasa (malvaceae) and diverse origins of the polyploid species. systematic botany 28: 723 –737. (manuscript received on 11 april, 2016; revised on 23 august, 2016) http://palaeo-electronica.org/2001_1/past microsoft word 03. orchids of sylhet_galley proof_approved 13.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 13-25, 2016 (june) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an enumeration to the orchids and their conservation status in greater sylhet, bangladesh m.m. islam, m.k. huda1 and m. halim2 department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: conservation; diversity; orchidaceae; sylhet. abstract the present investigation deals with enumeration including diversity, ecology and conservation of the family orchidaceae of greater sylhet region of bangladesh. extensive field trips were made at 11 different sites of this region during early monsoon, late monsoon and winter seasons. relevant literature and different herbaria were consulted to gather information about the orchids of this region. orchidaceae is represented in greater sylhet by 75 species under 49 genera. out of these, 25 species are terrestrial, 48 are epiphytic, one is saprohytic and one is hemiepiphytic. presence of 37 monotypic genera indicates a narrow diversity in orchidaceae of this area. the present investigation revealed that 26 orchid species are restricted and distributed only in sylhet region in bangladesh. the currently accepted taxonomic nomenclature, synonyms, habit, flowering time, present conservation status and geographical distribution are provided under each taxon. introduction orchidaceae is one of the largest flowering plant families, represented by about 1000 genera and 20,000 species with cosmopolitan distribution, primarily in the tropics and rarely in arctic regions (chowdhery, 1998). a preliminary checklist of family orchidaceae for bangladesh was made by huda et al. (1999) with an enumeration of 160 species and 2 varieties under 63 genera for bangladesh. of them, 106 taxa were epiphytic and remaining 56 were terrestrial. huda et al. (2001) added some new records for the family of orchidaceae from bangladesh. the distribution of terrestrial orchids in bangladesh was compiled as a check list mainly on the basis of previous records, literature survey and herbarium collections (khanam et al., 2001). diversity and ecology of the orchids in the south-eastern part of bangladesh have also been studied by huda (2000). earlier reports indicate that sylhet region was rich in orchid diversity (hooker 1890a, b; prain, 1903). some research works on orchids from bangladesh were done sporadically, viz. huda et al. (1999), huda (2000, 2008, 2008a), ahmed and pasha (1993, 1993a, 1994, 1998, 1998a, 1998b, 1999) as part of their floral exploration but focus has not been given to the diversity and ecology of orchids of sylhet region. valuable herbarium specimens of orchids from the greater sylhet regions, collected by many taxonomists of bangladesh are housed at the different herbaria of bangladesh, viz. bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush), herbarium of chittagong university (hcu), herbarium of bangladesh forest research institute (hbfri) and herbarium of bcsir laboratory (hbcsir). the present study was, therefore, undertaken with a view to examine the previous specimens and relevant literatures, and also to conduct field investigation for collecting specimens of the family occurring in the area, particularly in the greater sylhet region mainly in the forest areas of sylhet,                                                              1corresponding author. email: mkhuda70@hotmail.com 2chittagong education board, chittagong, bangladesh.    14 islam et al.   moulavi bazar, sunamganj and habiganj of bangladesh for a taxonomic treatment of the family orchidaceae. materials and methods study area the floristic study of the family orchidaceae was conducted from july 2006 to january 2010 in lawachara national park, madhabkunda eco-park, bangladesh tea research institute (btri) campus in moulvi bazar; rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary and satchari national park in habiganj; jaflong, tamabil, sripur, jaintapur, tilagarh forest beat in sylhet district and sadar of sunamganj district. eleven different sites in four districts of greater sylhet region were visited to study the diversity and ecology of orchids. collection of specimens orchid specimens with detailed information were collected both in the flowering and nonflowering stage from the study area through eight field trips each consisting of 4 to 5 days in early monsoon (march to may), monsoon (june to july), late monsoon (august to october) and winter (november to february). herbarium and literature survey both living and herbarium specimens were examined and studied carefully at the herbarium of chittagong university (hcu). herbarium specimens of orchids collected in the present study were studied and matched with herbarium specimens available at dacb, dush, hbfri, hbcsir, and hcu. local orchid experts were consulted to identify some specimens and to confirm some critical specimens. in order to compare the description, nomenclature and geographical distribution and uses, roxburgh (1814, 1832) hooker (1890a, b), prain (1903), heinig (1925), bruhl (1926), sinclair (1956), abraham and vatsala (1981), joseph (1987) and huda (2000) were consulted. abundance status was measured based on observation, availability of the species in the field, herbarium specimen preserved at dacb, dush, hcu and hbfri and literature survey following misra (2000) and rao (1998). categories for abundance status based on their availability are mentioned as specimen deficient (no collection or herbarium specimen is available in any herbarium of bangladesh), rare (only one herbarium specimen found but no further collection made after record), scarce (one or two herbarium specimens available and collected once or twice after record), occasional (few herbarium specimens available and collected from one or few localities from other parts of bangladesh also), and common (usually occur in the different areas of greater sylhet and other parts of bangladesh). taxonomic enumeration to the species the present study identified 75 species belonging to 49 genera of orchidaceae in the greater sylhet region. enumeration is presented below alphabetically. an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the species name indicates its occurrence from the greater sylhet region only, on the other hand, another asterisk (*) used at the end of synonym in the enumeration to indicate that it is the first recorded name, if applicable. flowering time (fl.) of the species is presented numerically from 1 to 12 for january to december, respectively. categories of abundance status follows the flowering time. 1. acampe papillosa (lindl.) lindl., fol. orchid. 2 (1853). saccolabium papillosum lindl. (1841); gastrochilus papillosus (lindl.) o. kuntze (1891). reported by its synonym from chittagong and the sundarbans by prain (1903). epiphytic. fl.: 8−9. common. distribution: india orchids and their conservation status 15   and bangladesh (chittagong, cox’s bazar, bandarban, rangamati, khagrachari and greater sylhet). specimen examined: habiganj: rema-kalenga; 25.02.2007, m. islam 01 (hcu). 2. *acanthephippium sylhetense lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl.: 177 (1833). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890a). terrestrial. fl.: 4−5. specimen deficient. distribution: china, fiji island, india and bangladesh (sylhet). 3. aerides crispa lindl., gen. sp. orchid. : 239 (1833). aerides lindleyana wight, ic. t. 1677. (1851). reported by ahmed et al. (1989). epiphytic. fl.: 3−5. rare. distribution: southern india to myanmar, bangladesh (chittagong and sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: lama bazar; 21.3.1988, m. ahmed 122 (hcu). 4. aerides multiflorum roxb., pl. cor. 3: 68, t. 271 (1820). aerides affine lindl. (1833); aerides multiflora var. dactyloides mokter et al. (1989). roxburgh (1832) reported from sylhet. epiphytic. fl.: 5−6. occasional. distribution: india, malaysia, philippines, thailand and bangladesh (cox’s bazar, rangamati and sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: lama bazar (near college road); 21.03. 1986, m. ahmed, 97 (hcu). 5. aerides odoratum lour., fl. cochinch. 2: 525 (1790). aerides cornutum roxb. (1832). reported by its synonym from dhaka by roxburgh (1832). epiphytic. fl.: 5−6. common. distribution: china, india, malaysia, myanmar, nepal and bangladesh (distributed in most of the areas of south-east part of bangladesh and greater part of sylhet). specimens examined: sylhet: jainta bazar; 10.10.81; moyeen 70 (hcu); lawachara; 27. 02. 07, m. islam and m. k. huda 11 (hcu). 6. *aerides suavissima lindl. n. journ. hort. soc. iv. : 263 (1858). hooker, f. (1890b) reported from sylhet. epiphytic. fl.: 5−6. rare. distribution: malaysia, myanmar and bangladesh (sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: tamabil; 23.03.86, m. ahmed 130 (hcu). 7. agrostophyllum khasianum griff. calcutta j. nat. hist. 4: 376, t. 19. (1844). appendicula hasseltii wight. (1851). reported from sylhet by ahmed et al. (1989a). epiphytic. fl.: 4-5. scarce. distribution: india and bangladesh (cox’ bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: sunamganj: bagan bari, sadar; 25.4.1986, m. ahmed 116 (hcu). 8. *anaectochilus roxburghii (wall.) lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl.: 499 (1840). chrysobaphus roxburghii wall. (1826); anaectochilus yungianus hu (1971); zeuxine roxburghii (lindl.) hiroe (1971). lindley (1830−40) reported it from sylhet. terrestrial. fl.: 4−6. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, china, india, laos, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (sylhet). 9. arundina graminifolia (d. don) hochr. in bull. new york bot. gard. 6: 270 (1910). blettia graminifolia d. don (1825); limodorum graminifolia buch.-ham. ex d. don (1825); arundina bambusifolia lindl. (1830); cymbidium bambusifolium roxb. (1832). reported from chittagong by roxburgh (1814, 1832). terrestrial. fl.: 12−3. occasional. distribution: china, india, malaysia, myanmar, philippines, sri lanka and bangladesh (bandarban, chittagong, cox’s bazar, khagrachari, rangamati and sylhet). specimen examined: dhaka: 07.09. 46, s. k. sen (dush). 10. brachycorythis helferi (rchb. f.) summerh. in kew bull. 1955: 235 (1955). gymnadenia helferi rchb. f. (1872); habenaria helferi (rchb. f.) hook. f. (1890b). terrestrial. fl.: 8−9. scarce. distribution: india, myanmar and bangladesh (bandarban and sylhet). uddin et al. (2000) reported it from habiganj. specimen examined: bandarban: chimbuk hills, 08. 09. 99, m.a. rahman et al. 5744c (hcu). 16 islam et al.   11. bulbophyllum lilacinum ridl. in j. linn. soc. 32: 276 (1896). epiphytic. fl.: 10−11. common. distribution: india, malaya peninsula and bangladesh throughout cox’s bazar district (khan and halim, 1987) and sylhet. specimen examined: sylhet: tamabil, 12. 06. 07, m. islam 02 (hcu). 12. *calanthe densiflora lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl.: 250 (1833). alimorchis densiflora (lindl.) kuntze (1891); calanthe kazuoi yamamoto (1930). reported from sylhet by lindley (1830−40). terrestrial. fl.: 10−12. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, china, india, japan, nepal, vietnam and bangladesh (sylhet). 13. *calanthe puberula lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl.: 252 (1833). alismorchis puberula (lindl.) kuntze (1891); calanthe amoena smith (1921); c. lepida smith (1921). lindley (1830−40) reported from sylhet. terrestrial. fl.: 10−12. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, china, india, myanmar, taiwan, vietnam and bangladesh (sylhet). 14. cephalantheropsis gracilis (lindl.) s. y. hu. in quart. j. taiwan mus. 25 (3-4): 213 (1972). calanthe gracilis* lindl. (1833). terrestrial. fl.: 10. rare. distribution: india and bangladesh (bandarban and sylhet). lindley (1830−40) reported from sylhet by synonym. specimen examined: bandarban: teracha mukh; 09. 09. 99, m. a. rahman et al. 5787a (hcu). 15. cleisostoma subulatum blume, bijdr. : 363 (1825). sarcanthus secundus* griff. (1851); sarcanthus subulatus (blume) rchb. f. (1857); saccolabium secundum (griff.) ridl. (1907). reported by its synonym from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 8. rare. distribution: bhutan, cambodia, india, malaysia, myanmar, philippines, thailand and bangladesh (chittagong and sylhet) no specimen examined. 16. coelogyne cristata lindl., coll. bot. : t. 33 (1821). cymbidium speciosissimum don (1825). hooker (1890b) reported it from sylhet. epiphytic. fl.: 3−4. rare. distribution: bhutan, india, nepal and bangladesh (cox’s bazar and sylhet). 17. *coelogyne punctulata lindl., coll. bot.: sub t. 33 (1821). cymbidium nitidum* sensu roxb. (1814). coelogyne ocellata lindl. (1830); c. goweri rchb. f. (1869); c. nitida sensu (roxb.) hook. f. (1890b). reported by its synonym from sylhet by roxburgh (1832). epiphytic. fl.: 3−4. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, india, myanmar, china, nepal and bangladesh (sylhet). 18. cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw. in nov. act. soc. upsal. 6: 73 (1799). epidendrum aloifolium l. (1753); epidendrum pendulum roxb. (1795); cymbidium bicolor lindl. (1833); cymbidium erectum wight (1851). reported from chittagong by heinig (1925). epiphytic. fl.: 4−6. common. distribution: india, myanmar to java, sri lanka and bangladesh (commonly distributed in chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, sylhet and cox’s bazar). specimen examined: habiganj: rema-kalenga national forest, 25. 02. 07, m. islam 03 (hcu). 19. dendrobium amoenum wall in lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl.: 78 (1830). dendrobium egertoniae lindl. (1847); d. mesochlorum lindl. (1847); d. amoena (wall. ex lindl.) kuntze (1891). hooker (1890b) reported it from sylhet. epiphytic. fl.: 6. rare. distribution: india, myanmar and bangladesh (sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: haripur, 08.07.1981, moyeen 57 (hcu). 20. dendrobium aphyllum (roxb.) c.e.c. fischer in gamble, fl. pres. madras 3: 1416 (1928). limodorum aphyllum roxb. (1795); dendrobium pierardi* roxb. ex hook. (1822); d. aphyllum var. cucullatum (hook. f.) sarkar (1984). roxburgh (1832) reported it from chittagong by synonym. epiphytic. fl.: 4−5. common. distribution: india, myanmar and bangladesh orchids and their conservation status 17   (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: jaintapur; 12. 06. 07, m. islam and m. k. huda 12 (hcu). 21. *dendrobium chryseum rolfe in gard. chron. ser. 3, 3: 233 (1888). dendrobium clavatum wall. ex lindl. (1852); callista clavata (wall. ex lindl.) kuntze (1891); dendrobium tibeticum schltr. (1921); d. clavatum var. aurantiacum (rchb. f.) tang & wang (1951). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 6. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, china, india, myanmar, nepal, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (sylhet). 22. dendrobium fimbriatum hook., exot. fl. : t. 71 (1823). dendrobium paxtonii paxt. (1839); d. fimbriatum var. oculatum hook. f. (1890b); callista oculata (hook.) kuntze (1891). reported from chittagong by prain (1903). epiphytic. fl.: 3−5. rare. distribution: india and bangladesh (chittagong hill tracts, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: jaintapur, 23.03.86, m. ahmed 1000 (hcu). 23. dendrobium formosum roxb. ex lindl. in wall., pl. asiat. rar. 1: 34, t. 29 (1830). dendrobium formosum roxb. (1814); d. infundibulum sensu rchb. f. (1887); callista formosa (roxb. ex lindl.) kuntze (1891). reported from sylhet by roxburgh (1832). epiphytic. fl.: 5. rare. distribution: bhutan, india, nepal and bangladesh (chittagong, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimens examined: cox’s bazar: ukhia, 07.05.84, d.k. das and m.k. alam 5015 (hbfri); ukia, 08.08.81; moyeen 63 (hcu).sylhet: tamabil, 19.05.1983, mia 909 (dacb). 24. dendrobium lindleyi steud., nomencl. bot. ed. 2: 490 (1840). dendrobium aggregatum* roxb. (1814); callista aggregata (roxb.) kuntze (1891). reported by its synonym from cox’s bazar by sinclair (1956) and from sylhet by uddin et al. (2002). epiphytic. fl.: 3−5. occasional. distribution: bhutan, china, india, laos, myanmar, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (chittagong hill tracts, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: rangamati: sitapahar, kaptai, 08.01.95, mezanul hoque 7344 (hbfri). 25. *dendrobium macrostachyum lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl. : 78 (1830). dendrobium gamblei king & pantl. (1897). reported from sylhet by hossain (2002). epiphytic. fl.: 5−6. rare. distribution: india, sri lanka and bangladesh (sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: near forest school. 22.03.96, ahmed 96 (hcu). 26. dendrobium moschatum (buch-ham) sw. in schltr. neim. j. bot. 1: 943 (1805). dendrobium calceolaria carey ex hook. f. (1825-26); epidendrum moschatum buch-ham. (1800). reported from chittagong by prain (1903). epiphytic. fl.: 5−7. rare. distribution: india and bangladesh (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: new forest school; 13.03.56, m. s. khan collection number: not available (dush). 27. dendrobium parishii rchb. f. in bot. zeit. 21(31): 237 (1863). callista parishii (rchb. f.) kuntze (1891). epiphytic. fl.: 3–5. scarce. distribution: india, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and bangladesh (bandarban, rangamati and sylhet). specimens examined: rangamati: naniarchar, 26.09.1998, m. k. huda & s. b. uddin 469 (hcu); sylhet: jaflong; 23.02.1986, m. ahmed sn (hcu). 28. *dendrobium pulchellum roxb ex lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl.: 82 (1830). dendrobium pulchellum roxb. (1814); d. dalhausieanum wall. (1844); callista pulchella (roxb. ex lindl.) kuntze (1861). reported from sylhet by roxburgh (1814, 1832). epiphytic. fl.: 2−4. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, india and bangladesh (sylhet). 18 islam et al.   29. *dendrobium ruckeri lindl. in bot. reg. 29: t. 60, misc. 25, no. 38 (1843). dendrobium ramosum* sensu lindl., gen. & sp. orchid pl : 82 (1830). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: not known. specimen deficient. distribution: india and bangladesh (sylhet). 30. didymoplexis pallens griff., calcutta j. nat. hist. 4: 383, t. 17 (1844). leucorchis sylvatica bl. (1849); arethusa ecristata griff. (1851); apetelon minutum wight (1852); gastrodia pallens (griff.) f. mueller (1870); didymoplexis brevipes ohwi. (1937). reported from bengal by hooker (1890b). saprophytic. fl.: 4−5. scarce. distribution: afghanistan, australia, bhutan, india, japan, malaysia to philippines, new guinea, thailand, and bangladesh (comilla, dhaka, gazipur, panchagarh and sylhet by khanam et al., 2001). 31. eria pubescens (hook. f.) lindl. in edw., bot. reg. 11: t. 904 (1825). dendrobium pubescens hook. f. (1890b); eria flava* lindl. (1830). reported by its synonym from cox’s bazar by ahmed et al. (1989b). epiphytic. fl.: 2−4. scarce. distribution: india and bangladesh (chittagong and sylhet). specimens examined: sylhet: jaflong, 22.03.1989, m. ahmed and pasha 135 (hcu); tamabil, 12. 06. 07, m. islam and m. k. huda, 04 (hcu). 32. *erythrodes humilis (bl.) j. j.smith, bull, dep. agric. indes neerl. 13: 11 (1907). physurus humilis bl., orch. archip. ind. 96: t. 27, f. 2 (1859); physurus blumei* lindl. (1840). reported by its synonym from sylhet by lindley (1830 40). terrestrial. fl.: 1−3. specimen deficient. distribution: borneo, india, java, sri lanka and bangladesh (sylhet). 33. gastrochilus calceolaris (buch-ham. ex j. e. smith) d. don, prodr. fl. nepal.: 32 (1852). aerides calceolaris buch.-ham. ex j. e. smith (1819); epidendrum calceolare buch.-ham. (1825); sarcochilus nepalensis spreng. (1826); saccolabium calceolare* (buch.-ham. ex j. e. smith) lindl. (1833); aerides leopardium wall. ex lindl. (1838); a. leopardorum wall. (1890). reported by its synonym from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 3−5. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, china, india, myanmar, nepal, thailand, vietnam to malaysia and bangladesh (cox’s bazar and sylhet). 34. *gastrochilus inconspicuous (hook. f.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 2: 661 (1891). saccolabium inconspicuum hook. f. (1890b); cymbidium incospicuum wall. ex hook. f. (1895); luisia inconspicua hook. f. (1898). reported from sylhet by ahmed and pasha (1998a). epiphytic. fl.: 6−7. rare. distribution: bhutan, india, nepal and bangladesh (sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet, 05.06.81, m. ahmed sn (hcu). 35. geodorum densiflorum (lam.) schltr. in fedde, repert. 4: 259 (1929). limodorum densiflorum lam. (1792); geodorum dilatatum* r. br. (1813); geodorum purpureum r. br. (1813); limodorum candidum roxb. (1814). reported by its synonym from sylhet by roxburgh (1814, 1832). terrestrial. fl.: 4. occasional. distribution: australia, bhutan, china, fiji, india, malaysia, myanmar, new guinea, samoa, solomon island, sri lanka, tonga and bangladesh (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, gazipur, mymensigh, tangail and sylhet). specimens examined: rangamati: kaptai, 30.08.99, m.a. rahman et al. 5365 (hcu). 36. goodyera procera (wall. ex ker-gawl.) hook. f., exot. fl. 1(3): t. 39 (1823). neottia procera wall. ex ker-gawl. (1822); goodyera carnea a. rich. (1841); epipactis procera (kergawl.) eaton (1908). reported from sylhet by lindley (1830) terrestrial. fl.: 3−5. occasional. distribution: bhutan, china, india, japan, malaysia, myanmar, sri lanka, taiwan, philippines and bangladesh (chittagong, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: bandarban: ali kadam; 30.05.98, m.a. rahman et al. 2882b (hcu). orchids and their conservation status 19   37. habenaria digitata lindl. gen. sp. orchid. pl.: 307 (1835). habenaria trinervia wight (1851); h. graveolens duthie (1906). hooker (1890b) reported it from sylhet. terrestrial. fl.: 8– 11. specimen deficient. distribution: india, myanmar and bangladesh (chittagong and sylhet). 38. hetaeria affinis (griff.) seidenf. in oasis, suppl. 2: 9 (2001). goodyera affinis griff. (1851); cerochilus rubens lindl. (1854); rhamphidia rubens (lindl.) lindl. (1857); hetaeria rubens* (lindl.) bentham ex hook. f. (1890). reported by its synonym from chittagong by bruhl (1926). terrestrial. fl.: 3−4. scarce. distribution: bhutan, china, india, myanmar, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (chittagong, mymensingh and sylhet). specimen examined: moulvi bazar: lawachara, 27. 02. 07, m. islam 05 (hcu). 39. luisia filiformis hook. f., fl. brit. india 6(1): 23 (1890). luisia grovesi hook. f. (1890); l. volurcris sensu king & pantl. (1898); l. gamblei durand (1906). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 3−4. scarce. distribution: bhutan, india, laos, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: jaintapur, 12. 06. 07, m. islam 13 (hcu). 40. luisia trichorhiza (hook. f.) bl. rumphia 4: 50 (1849). vanda trichorhiza hook. f. (1825); cymbidium triste sensu lindl. (1833). reported from sylhet by ahmed and pasha (1998b). epiphytic. fl.: 3−5. occasional. distribution: bhutan, india, myanmar, thailand and bangladesh (chittagong, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimens examined: sylhet: lama bazar; 24.03.86, m. ahmed 102 (hcu); cox’s bazar: whykong reserve forest; 10.09.99, m.k. huda et al. 5834 (hcu). 41. luisia volucris lindl., fol. orchid. 1 (1852). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 3−4. rare. distribution: india, sikkim and bangladesh (chittagong and sylhet). 42. malaxis acuminata d. don, prodr. fl. nepal. : 29 (1825). microstylis wallichii lindl. (1830); m. biloba lindl.(1829); malaxis biloba (lindl.) ames (1908); malaxis wallichii (lindl.) deb (1962). reported from sylhet by lindley (1830−40). terrestrial. fl.: 7−9. rare. distribution: bhutan, cambodia, india, java, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, philippines, sumatra, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (sylhet and rangamati). specimen examined: rangamati: kaptai,27.06.98, m.a. rahman et al. 3229 (hcu). 43. *malaxis biaurita lindl., gen. sp. orchid. : 20 (1830). report from sylhet by lindley (1830−40). terrestrial. fl.: 7−10. specimen deficient. distribution: india and bangladesh (sylhet). 44. micropera rostrata (roxb.) balakr. in j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 67 (1): 66 (1970). aerides rostrata* roxb. (1814); camarotis purpurea lindl. (1832); micropera pallida sensu lindl. (1833); camarotis pallida (lindl.) lindl. (1859); c. rostrata (roxb.) roxb. (1864); sarcochilus purpureus (lindl.) benth. ex hook. f. (1890); micropera purpurea (lindl.) pradhan (1979). reported by synonym by roxburgh (1814, 1832) from chittagong and sylhet. epiphytic. fl.: 5−6. occasional. distribution: india, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and bangladesh (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts and sylhet). 45. *nervilia juliana (roxb.) schltr. in bot. jahrb. syst. 45: 402 (1911). arethusa juliana roxb. (1814); epipactis juliana roxb. (1832); pogonia juliana (roxb.) lindl. (1832). reported from sylhet by jayaweera (1981). terrestrial. fl.: not known. specimen deficient. distribution: india, sri lanka and bangladesh (sylhet). 46. *oberonia mannii hook. f. ic. pl. : t. 2003 (1890). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890a). epiphytic. fl.: not known. specimen deficient. distribution: india and bangladesh (sylhet). 20 islam et al.   47. oberonia mucronata (d. don.) ormerod & seidenfaden in seidenfaden, contrib. orch. flora thailand xiii: 20 (1997). stelis mucronata d. don. (1825); cymbidium iridifolium* roxb. (1832); oberonia iridifolia lindl., (1830); malaxis iridifolia (roxb.) rchb. f. (1861); oberonia denticulata var. iridifolia (roxb.) s. misra (1989). reported by its synonym from sylhet by roxburgh (1814, 1832). epiphytic. fl.: 8−9. occasional. distribution: bhutan, china, india, indonesia, malaysia, nepal, philippines and bangladesh (chittagong and sylhet). specimens examined: sylhet: lathitila rain forest, 29.11.83, m. k. alam 4742 (hbfri); lama bazar, 21.03.86, m. ahmed 103 (hcu),: madhabkunda eco park,26. 02. 07, m. islam 06 (hcu). 48. oberonia rufilabris lindl., sert. orch. : t. 8 a (1838). malaxis rufilabris (lindl.) rchb. f. (1861). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890a) and from cox’s bazar by huda (2000). epiphytic. fl.: 8−9. scarce. distribution: bhutan, cambodia, india, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: cox’s bazar: panerchara tulabagan; 30.01.99, m.k. huda et al. 5315 (hcu). 49. oberonia wallichii hook. f. fl. brit. india. 6: 681 (1890). oberonia iridifolia wall. cat. 1948/2 in part. reported from sylhet by hooker (1890a). epiphytic. fl.: not known. specimen deficient. distribution: india and bangladesh (cox’s bazar and sylhet). 50. *paphiopedilum insigne (wall. ex lindl.) pfitz., in engler, bot. jahrb. 19: 41 (1894). cypripedium insigne wall. ex lindl. (1840). reported from sylhet by lindley (1830-1840). terrestrial. fl.: 10−3. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, india and bangladesh (sylhet). 51. *paphiopedilum venustum (wall.) pfitzer ex stein, orchid.buch: 489 (1892). cypripedium venustum wall. (1820); cypripedium pardinum rchb. f. (1869). reported from sylhet by lindley (1830-1840). terrestrial. fl.: 3−5. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, india and bangladesh (sylhet). 52. papilionanthe teres (roxb.) schltr. in orchis 9: 78 (1915). dendrobium teres roxb. (1832); vanda teres* (roxb.) lindl. (1833). reported by its synonym from chittagong by roxburgh (1814, 1832). epiphytic. fl.: 3−4. occasional. distribution: bhutan, china, india, myanmar, nepal, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimens examined: rangamati: kaptai, 23.05.83, m. n. islam sn (hbfri); cox’s bazar: sylhet: madhabkundu, 16.06.07; m. islam, 10 (hcu). 53. pelatantheria insectifera (rchb. f.) ridl. in j. linn. soc. 32: 373 (1896). sarcanthus insectifer rchb. f. (1857). reported from chittagong by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 9−12. scarce. distribution: bhutan, india, myanmar, nepal, thailand and bangladesh (cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: habiganj: rema-kalenga, 25.02.07, m. islam 07(hcu). 54. peristylus goodyeroides (d. don.) lindl., gen. sp. orchid. : 299 (1835). habenaria goodyeroides* d. don (1825). reported by its synonym from sylhet by hooker (1890b). terrestrial. fl.: 5−7. occasional. distribution: china, india, indonesia, malaysia, philippines and bangladesh (chittagong, rangamati and sylhet). specimen examined: rangamati: khajachara, 26. 07. 97, m.a. rahman et al. 1579 (hcu). 55. phaius tancarvilleae (banks ex l “herit) blume, mus. bot. 2: 177 (1856). limodorum tancanvilleae banks in l “herit. (1789); blettia tanearvilleae ait (1813); phajus veratrifolius wall ex lindl. (1831); phaius wallichii* lindl (1831); phaius blumei var. assamica rchb. f. (1882). reported by its synonym from sylhet by hooker (1890b). terrestrial. fl.: 2–3. scarce. distribution: australia, bhutan, china, india, indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, new guinea, pacific islands, sri lanka, and bangladesh (runctia forest, gazni and sylhet). orchids and their conservation status 21   56. *phalaenopsis taenialis (lindl.) e.a. christenson & pradhan in selbyana 9: 168 (1986). aerides taeniale lindl. (1833); doritis taenialis (lindl.) hook. f. (1890); kingiella taenialis (lindl.) rolfe (1917); kingidium taenialis* (lindl.) p.f. hunt (1970). reported by its synonym from sylhet by ahmed et al. (1992). epiphytic. fl.: 5. rare. distribution: bhutan, china, india, nepal and bangladesh (sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: jainta bazar, 24.03.86, m. ahmed sn (hcu). 57. pholidota imbricata hook. f., exot. fl. 2: t. 138 (1825). cymbidium imbricatum* roxb. (1832); coelogyne imbricata (roxb.) rchb. f. (1861); pholidota asamica regel. (1890); pholidota pallida sensu holtum (1964). reported by its synonym from chittagong and sylhet by roxburgh (1814, 1832). epiphytic. fl.: 6−7. occasional. distribution: australia, china, india, laos, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, nicobar island, new guinea, pacific islands, sri lanka, thailand and bangladesh (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: cox’s bazar: whykong reserve forest, 11.09.99, m.k. huda et al. 5848 (hcu). 58. *podochilus khasianus hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 81 (1890). podochilus chinensis schltr. (1924). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 3−5. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, china, india and bangladesh (sylhet). 59. pomatocalpa decipiens (lindl.) j. j. smith, natuurk. tijdscr. ned. indie 72: 33 (1912). cleisostoma decipiens lindl. (1844); saccolabium decipiens (lindl.) alston (1931). reported from habiganj by uddin et al. (1999). epiphytic. fl.: 3. scarce. distribution: sri lanka and bangladesh (sylhet). specimen examined: habiganj: chunarughat, rema kalenga wild life sanctuary, kalega beat, habiganj: 18.03.99 (dacb and dush). 60. rhynchostylis retusa (l.) blume, bijdr. : 286, t. 49 (1825). epidendrum retusum l. (1753); aerides guttatum* roxb. (1832); saccolabium rheedii wight (1851); saccolabium guttatum lindl. (1833); saccolabium berkeleyi rchb. f. (1883). reported by its synonym from dhaka by roxburgh (1814, 1832). epiphytic. fl.: 5−7. common. distribution: bhutan, india, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, philippines, sri lanka and bangladesh (throughout bangladesh). specimen examined: sylhet: shreepur, 12. 06. 07, m. islam 08 (hcu). 61. robiquetia spathulata (bl.) j. j. sm. in nat. tijdschr. ned. ind. 72: 114 (1912). cleisostoma spathulatum bl. (1825); saccolabium densiflorum lindl. (1832); cleisostoma spicatum lindl. (1847). reported from sylhet by seidenfaden (1988). epiphytic. fl.: 5−7. scarce. distribution: china, india, indo-china, indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, singapore, thailand and bangladesh (cox’s bazar and sylhet). 62. robiquetia succisa (lindl.) seid. & garay in bot. tidsskr. 67: 119 ( 1972). sarcanthus succisus lindl. (1826); oecoclades paniculata lindl.(1833); saccolabium parvulum lindl. (1859); s. buccosum* rchb. f. (1871); robiquetia paniculata (lindl.) j. j. smith (1912); sarcanthus henryi schltr. (1919). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 6−7. scarce. distribution: bhutan, cambodia, china, india, laos, myanmar, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts and sylhet). 63. saccolabiopsis pusilla (lindl.) seidenf. & garay in bot. tidsskr. 67: 118, f. 33 (1972). saccolabium pusillum lindl. (1858); saccolabium pumilio* rchb. f. (1890). reported by its synonym from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 4−6. scarce. distribution: bhutan, india, myanmar and bangladesh (rangamati and sylhet). specimen examined: chittagong: gondamara, dhoplachari, chandanaish, 24.07.99, m.k. huda et al. 5152 (hcu). 22 islam et al.   64. *saccolabium cephalotes hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 63 (1890). acampe cephalotes lindl. reported from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: not known. specimen deficient. distribution: india and bangladesh (sylhet). 65. *schoenorchis gemmata (lindl.) j. j. smith in natuurk. tijdschr. ned.-indie. 72: 100 (1912). saccolabium gemmata lindl. (1838); s. geminatum* (lindl.) hook. f.(1890); cleisostoma gemmatum (lindl.) king & pantl. (1898). reported by its synonym from jyantia (sylhet) by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 5−6. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, cambodia, china, india, laos, myanmar, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (sylhet). 66. smitinandia micrantha (lindl.) holttum in gard. bull. singapore, 25: 106 (1969). saccolabium micranthum* lindl. (1833); cleisostoma micranthum (lindl.) king & pantl. (1898). reported by its synonym from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 7−9. scarce. distribution: bhutan, india, laos, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (cox’s bazar and sylhet). 67. *spathoglottis pubescens lindl., gen. sp. orchid. : 120 (1831). spathoglottis pubescens var. parviflora (lindl.) hook. f. (1890). collected from east bengal by griffith, cal5194 (huda et al., 1999) and reported from sylhet by lindley (1830 40). terrestrial. fl.: 6−9. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, china, india, myanmar and bangladesh (sylhet). 68. staurochilus ramosus (lindl.) seidenf., in opera bot. 95: 95 (1988). saccolabium ramosum lindl. (1833); aerides ramosum wall. (1833); cleisostoma ramosum* (lindl.) hook. f. (1890); gastrochilus ramosus (lindl.) kuntze (1891); sarcanthus ramosus (lindl.) j. j. smith (1912); pomatocalpa ramosum (lindl.) summerh. (1948). reported by its synonym from sundarbans by hooker (1888−90) and from cox’s bazar by seidenfaden (1988). epiphytic. fl.: 5. common. distribution: bhutan, india, myanmar, thailand and bangladesh (chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: habiganj: rema-kalenga, 25. 02. 07, m. islam 09 (hcu). 69. *tainia latifolia (lindl.) rchb. f. in bonplandia 5: 54 (1857). ania latifolia lindl. (1831); mitopetalum latifolium (lindl.) bl. (1856); eulophia hastate lindl. (1859); tainia hastata (lindl.) hooker (1890); t. khasiana hook. f.(1890). reported from sylhet by hook. f. (1890a). terrestrial. fl.: 9–11. specimen deficient. distribution: bhutan, china, india, laos, myanmar, thailand, vietnam and bangladesh (sylhet). 70. *tropidia angulosa (lindl.) bl., coll. orchid. : 122 (1859). decasinea angulosa wall. (1832); cnemidia angulosa lindl. (1840); govindova nervosa wight (1853); tropidia govindovii bl. (1858). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890b). terrestrial. fl.: 8–11. rare. distribution: bhutan, china, india, malaysia, myanmar, sumatra, thailand, and bangladesh (sylhet). 71. tropidia curculigoides lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl. : 497 (1840). tropidia squamata bl. (1859); t. assamica bl. (1858); t. graminea bl. (1859); t. formosana rolfe (1895). report from sylhet by hooker (1890b). terrestrial. fl.: 9−12 . occasional. distribution: bhutan, china, india, malaysia, myanmar and bangladesh (cox’s bazar and sylhet). specimen examined: rangamati: kaptai, sitapahar, 03.09.99, m.a. rahman et al. 5591 (hcu). 72. *vanda crisata lindl., gen. sp. orchid. pl. : 216 (1833). aerides cristatum wall. (1832); trudelia cristata (lindl.) senghas (1988). reported from sylhet by hooker (1890b). epiphytic. fl.: 5. rare. distribution: bhutan, india, nepal and bangladesh (sylhet). orchids and their conservation status 23   73. vanilla parishii rchb. f., otia bot. hamb. : 39 (1878). reported from rangamati by prain (1903). hemi-epiphytic. fl.: not known. scarce. distribution: india, myanmar and bangladesh (chittagong, cox’s bazar and sylhet). 74. *zeuxine flava (wall. ex lindl.) trimen, syst. cat. fl. pl. : 90 (1885). etaeria flava lindl. (1832); monochilus flavum wall. ex lindl. (1840). reported from sylhet by seidenfaden (1978). terrestrial. fl.: 5. rare. distribution: bhutan, india, nepal, thailand and bangladesh (sylhet). specimen examined: sylhet: tamabil; 11.03.56, m. s. khan (dush). 75. zeuxine nervosa (wall. ex lindl.) bentham ex c.b. clarke in j. linn. soc., bot. 25: 73 (1889). monochilus nervosum wall. ex lindl. (1840); haplochilus nervosum (wall. ex lindl.) d. dietrich (1852). reported from comilla and sylhet by hooker (1890b). terrestrial. fl.: 3−4. scarce. distribution: bhutan, china, india, philippines, taiwan, and bangladesh (comilla, mymensingh and sylhet). specimen examined: mymensingh; 04.03.77, m. rahman (dacb). discussion a total of 75 orchid species were recorded from greater sylhet, out of which 48 species are epiphytic, 25 species are terrestrial, one is saprophytic (didymoplexis pallens griff.) and another one is hemiepiphytic (vanilla parishii rchb. f.). based on literature and the present field work, 26 species were found to occur in sylhet region only. thirty-seven out of 49 genera are monotypic indicating a narrower diversity of the family in the studied region. herbarium specimens of 53 orchid species are available in different herbaria of bangladesh, namely dacb, dush, hcu, hbfri and hbcsir. only 17 orchid species were found in the present survey and are housed at hcu. 22 orchid species were not found in the last 50 years from greater sylhet region or other parts of bangladesh. fig. 1. abundance status of the orchid species distributed in sylhet. orchids are under great threats to their existence in the natural habitats due to biotic pressures, like illegal felling of large host trees, clearing off forest floor, forest fire and collection of horticultural valuable orchid species. abundance status based on the availability of different orchid species in the natural habitat of the studied area and previous reports is presented in fig. 1. it indicates that 30% orchid species in the sylhet region have no data of their present occurrence and probably locally extinct from this area or critically threatened. so, both in-situ and ex-situ conservation measures along with public awareness programmes need to be undertaken. 0 5 10 15 20 25 common occasional scarce rare critically threatened / locally extinct n o. o f s pe ci es categories 24 islam et al.   references abraham, a and vatsala, p. 1981. introduction to orchids. tropical botanic garden and research institute, trivandram, india, 533 pp. ahmed, m. and pasha, m.k. 1993. a taxonomic account of sarcanthus lindl. (orchidaceae) from bangladesh. j. econ. tax. bot. 17(2): 487–491. ahmed, m. and pasha, m.k. 1993a. a taxonomic account of thrixspermum lour. (orchidaceae) from bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bang. sci. 19(1): 35–42. ahmed, m. and pasha, m.k. 1994. a taxonomic account of hetaeria bl. (orchidaceae) from bangladesh. chittagong univ. stud. part ii: sci. 18(2): 179–182. ahmed, m. and pasha, m.k. 1998. a taxonomic account of eulophia r. br. (orchidaceae) from bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bang. sci. 24(1): 11–22. ahmed, m. and pasha, m.k. 1998a. gastrochilus inconspicuum (hooker, f.) seidenf. (orchidaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 27(2): 143–146. ahmed, m. and pasha, m.k. 1998b. a taxonomic account of luisia gaud. (orchidaceae) from bangladesh. j. bom. nat. hist. soc. 95: 301–306. ahmed, m. and pasha, m.k. 1999. a taxonomic account of robiquetia gaud. (orchidaceae) from bangladesh. j. bom. nat. hist. soc. 96(3): 499–502. ahmed, m., pasha, m.k. and khan, m.a.a. 1989. a taxonomic account of aerides lour. (orchidaceae) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 18(2): 147–155. ahmed, m., pasha, m.k. and khan, m.a.a. 1989a. agrostophyllum khasianum griff. a new record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 18(1): 101–104. ahmed, m., pasha, m.k. and khan, m.a.a. 1989b. eria flava lindl. (orchidaceae) a new record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 18(2): 223–226. ahmed, m., pasha, m.k. and khan, m.a.a. 1992. kingidium taenialis (lindl.) p. f. hunt (orchidaceae) a new record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 21(2): 283–285. bruhl, p. 1926. a guide to the orchids of sikkim. calcutta and simla, thacker, spink & co. 208 pp. chowdhery, h.j. 1998. orchid flora of arunachal pradesh. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, 824 pp. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling, pp. 68–70. hooker, j.d. 1890a. flora of british india (orchideae), reeve & co., kent, england. 5: 667–864. hooker, j.d. 1890b. flora of british india (orchideae), reeve & co., kent, england. 6: 1–224. hossain, a.b.m.e. 2002. a taxonomic report on the genus dendrobium sw. (orchidaceae) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 47–55. huda, m. k., rahman, m.a. and wilcock, c.c. 1999. a preliminary checklist of orchid taxa occurring in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6: 69–85. huda, m. k. 2000. diversity, ecology, reproductive biology and conservation of orchids of south east bangladesh. doctoral thesis. university of aberdeen. uk. 266 pp. (unpublished). huda, m.k. rahman, m.a. and wilcock, c.c. 2001. notes on the orchidaceae of bangladesh-1 : some new records. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 9–17. huda, m.k. 2008. an up to date enumeration of the family orchidaceae from bangladesh. j. orchid soc. india 21(1-2): 35–49. huda, m.k. 2008a. orchidaceae in: ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds), encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 12. angiosperms: monocotyledons (orchidaceaezingiberaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–148. jayaweera, d.m.a. 1981. orchidaceae. in: dassanayakake, m.d. and fosberg, f.r. (eds), flora of ceylon, vol. 2. amerind publishing co. ltd. new delhi, pp. 1-386. joseph, j. 1987. orchids of nilgiris. botanical survey of india, govt. press of india, 186 pp. orchids and their conservation status 25   khanam, m., uddin, m.z., khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 2001. our present knowledge on the terrestrial orchidaceous taxa from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 35–49. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1987. bulbophyllum lilacinum ridley a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 16(2): 203–205. lindley, j. 1830-40. the genera and species of orchidaceous plants. indian reprint 1983. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. misra, s. 2000. untamed orissawild orissa, bhubanswar, orissa in anonymous (ed.) pp-25–30. pasha, m.k. 1984. taxonomic studies of orchids of chittagong division, project report. sponsored by the university grant commission, dhaka, bangladesh. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants, vol. 2. calcutta, pp. 750–777. rao, t.a. 1998. conservation of wild orchids of kodagu in the western ghats, india, pp. 192–230. roxburgh, w. 1814 (reprint 1980). hortus benghalensis. boerhavve press, leiden. roxburgh, w. 1832. flora indica (gynadria monandria). ed.2,2: 609–622. seidenfaden, g. 1978. orchid genera in thailand 6. neottoideae. dansk bot. ark. 32: 1-195. seidenfaden, g. 1988. orchid genera in thailand xiv. fifty nine vandoid genera. opera bot. 95: 1–398. sinclair, j. 1956. the flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 107–108. uddin, m.z., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and khanam, m. 1999. pomatocalpa decipiens (lindl.) j. j. smith a new orchid record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 28(2): 169–171. uddin, m.z., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and khanam, m. 2000. brachycorythis helferi (rchb. f.) summerh. a new orchid record for bangladesh. bang. j. plant taxon. 7(1): 73–75. uddin, m.z., khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 2002. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh –i. liliopsida (monocots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 57–66. (manuscript received on 6 may 2015; revised on 3 october 2015) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 101-106, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists colocasia hassanii (araceae), a new species of aroid from bangladesh hosne ara1 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh keywords: new species; araceae; colocasia hassanii; bangladesh. abstract colocasia hassanii, a new species of araceae from bangladesh, is described and illustrated. c. hassanii is closely related to c. esculenta (l.) schott but differs from the later by the number of constriction (two) in spathe, presence of a sterile male zone in spadix, and bitter in taste. a morphological comparison between c. hassanii and c. esculenta is provided. introduction the genus colocasia schott is represented by 13 species in the world (yin, 2006) and eight species are found in asia and malay archipelago (mayo et al., 1997). in bangladesh, so far this genus was known to contain the following nine species: c. affinis schott, c. esculenta (l.) schott, c. fallax schott, c. gigantea (blume) hook. f., c. heterochroma h. li et z.x. & wei, c. lihengiae c.l. long et k.m. liu, c. mannii hook. f., c. oresbia a. hay and c. virosa kunth. (ara, 2007; ara and hassan, 2012). during the revisionary work on araceae since 1988 from bangladesh the author has made an extensive field survey throughout the country and collected a few number of colocasia schott specimens which did not match with any species previously known. the flowering and fruiting specimens were collected and preserved for identification. the rhizomes were also collected and grown in the garden of bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), dhaka and in the botanical garden of the university of dhaka. the specimens were critically examined and compared with the identified specimens of colocasia schott available at bk, bkf, bm, cal, dacb, k, dush (dhaka university salar khan herbarium), hcu (herbarium of chittagong university), bcsirh (herbarium, bangladesh council for scientific and industrial research) and bfrih (herbarium, bangladesh forest research institute). moreover, consultation of relevant literature (wallich, 1829-1849; roxburgh, 1832; wight, 1843-1845; hooker, 1893; prain, 1903; engler and krause 1920; haines, 1924; heinig, 1925; hill, 1939; raizada, 1941; sinclair, 1956; mitra, 1958; hu, 1968; hotta, 1970; rao and verma, 1976; nicolson, 1976, 1979, 1987; madison, 1978; nasir, 1978; heng, 1979; mayo, 1985; karthikeyan et al., 1989; naithani, 1990; heng and wei, 1993; noltie, 1994; hay, 1996; pullaiah, 1997; toha, 2000; long and liu, 2001; yin, 2006) on the family araceae revealed that collected specimens differed from other described species of the genus colocasia schott. these specimens appeared to be closely related to c. esculenta schott morphologically but differed with some important characters. after critical study these specimens were recognized as to belong a new species, colocasia hassanii sp. nov. 1corresponding author. email: bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com mailto:bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 102 ara results and discussion colocasia hassanii h. ara, sp.nov. (figs 1& 2). diagnosis: colocasia hassanii h. ara is closely related to c. esculenta (l.) schott but can be easily differentiated by the number of constriction (two) present in spathe, presence of sterile male zone in spadix and bitter in taste. bengali name: tita kachu. english name: bitter taro (proposed). holotype: bangladesh, bandarban district, on the way to betchari, 22.9.2004, hosne ara ha 1215, 1216 (dacb). annual herb. underground corm perennial, c. 2.5 cm in diam., and c. 2 cm high; stolons 1–2, trailing horizontally, non-branching, thin, pale green or pale purple, c. 20 cm long, c. 0.5 cm in diam. leaves 4–6, peltate, 15–45×8–30 cm, ovate, acute, cordate, dark green above and light green beneath, base shallowly cordate, glaucous, venation pinnately reticulate, sinus 1–3 cm long; petiole 20–65 cm long, sheathing for about one-third at the base. inflorescence solitary or paired. peduncle 10–14 cm long, shorter than petiole. spathe having two constrictions, 15.0–25.5 cm long, lower convolute part (tube) light green, 4.0–6.5 cm long, c. 2 cm in diam., nearly cylindrical; upper part lanceolate, light yellow, 11–19 cm long. spadix sessile, shorter than spathe, 10–19 cm long. female zone cylindrical, 2.8–3.0 cm long, c. 1 cm in diam.; staminode c. 1.8 cm long, creamy; sterile portion slender, c. 1.8 cm long, c. 0.4 cm broad at the middle, creamy; male portion 2.1–2.8 cm long, 0.4–0.5 cm in diam.; a sterile male portion present below the appendix, 0.4–0.5 cm long, c. 0.2 cm in diam.; appendix 6.5–10.0 cm long, 0.3–0.5 cm in diam. ovary numerous, narrow, green, 3–5×2–3 mm; style very short, green; stigma c. 0.05 cm in diam., yellow, placentation parietal, ovules 6, c. 1.5×1.0 mm; staminode cream in colour, c. 0.15×0.2 cm; male flower 6-8 androus, c. 0.1×0.12 cm. fruit a berry. flowering and fruiting period: june to october. ecology: grows in the hilly areas as undergrowth. distribution: eastern hilly areas of bangladesh (bandarban, khagrachari and rangamati hill districts), cox’s bazar and moulvibazar districts. specimens examined: bandarban: on the way to betchari, 22.9.2004, hosne ara ha 1215, 1216 (dacb); meghla forest area, 23.9.2004, hosne ara ha 1291, 1292 (dacb); cox's bazar: chota inani, 30.9.2005, hosne ara ha 2432 (dacb); bara inani, 30.9.2005, hosne ara ha 2462 (dacb); himchari area, 30.9.2005, hosne ara ha 2522 (dacb); khagrachari: alutilla, 11.7.2003, hosne ara and sarder nasir uddin ha 461 (dacb); jamtoli, 12.7.2003, hosne ara ha 484 (dacb); moulvibazar: adampur beat, kawargola forest, 3.7.2005, hosne ara ha 1747 (dacb); lawachara reserve forest, 4.7.2005, hosne ara ha 1777 (dacb); adampur beat, kawargola forest, 6.10.2005, hosne ara ha 2625 (dacb); rangamati: kaptai, shilsori village, velbapara, 8.7.2003, hosne ara and sarder nasir uddin ha 391 (dacb); kaptai, sitapahar, 14.10.2003, hosne ara ha 711 (dacb); rajbari area, 18.9.2004, hosne ara ha 1122 (dacb); dhaka: bangladesh national herbarium garden (cultivated), 18.6.2015, hosne ara ha 2881 (dacb) [originally collected from bandarban district]. ethnobotanical information: the indigenous people of bangladesh use its petioles in curries. etymology: this species is named in honour of dr. mohammad abul hassan, professor of botany, university of dhaka, who has made outstanding contribution to the taxonomy of flowering plants in bangladesh. note: the chromosome number has been determined for the new species colocasia hassanii. preliminary determination of 2n chromosome number appears as 28. colocasia hassanii, a new species from bangladesh 103 fig. 1. colocasia hassanii h. ara, sp. nov.: a. habit; b. spathe (c1: constriction 1; c2: constriction 2); c. inflorescence; d. spadix (smp: sterile male portion). 104 ara fig. 2. colocasia hassanii h. ara, sp. nov.: a. tuber; b. habit at bnh garden; c. habit at home garden; d. petiole; e.f.g. inflorescence; h.i.j. spadix; k. appendix; l. infructescence. colocasia hassanii, a new species from bangladesh 105 the major morphological differences between c. hassanii sp. nov. and c. esculenta are outlined in table 1. table 1. morphological comparison of colocasia hassanii sp. nov. with c. esculenta. characters colocasia hassanii sp. nov. colocasia esculenta petiole c. 62 cm long, green or purple, spotted c. 100 cm long, green or purple, not spotted spathe two constrictions present between tube and limb one constriction present between tube and limb tube and limb of the spathe both sides of the lower spathe light green and both sides of the limb light yellow and leathery both sides of the lower spathe green and both sides of the limb golden yellow and leathery spadix sterile male portion present sterile male portion absent tip of the appendix pointed obtuse (blunt) taste bitter not bitter conservation status: colocasia hassanii sp. nov., according to iucn red list category (iucn, 2017) is considered as least concern (lc) as the species is found in bandarban, cox’s bazar, khagrachari, moulvibazar and rangamati and seems to be available to the local people. acknowledgements the author is grateful to the authorities of the bk, bkf, bm, cal, dacb, k, dush, hcu, bcsirh and bfrih for providing facilities to consult aroid materials and their libraries. the author expresses her gratitude to professor dr. m. oliur rahman, department of botany, university of dhaka for his encouragement and help during preparation of the manuscript. thanks are also due to ms. mahmuda akter, senior artist-cum-illustrator, bangladesh national herbarium for drawing the illustrations, and the researchers at cytogenetics laboratory of the department of botany, university of dhaka for their cooperation in chromosomal investigation of the new species colocasia hasanii. references ara, h. 2007. araceae. in: siddiqui, k.u., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 23 april 2018; revised on 24 may 2018) http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/redlistguidelines.pdf. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 219‒230, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and anatomical investigation among six variants of canna indica l. nahid sultana, sabiha sultana akhi, md. abul hassan1 and m. oliur rahman1,2 department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka 1100, bangladesh keywords: canna indica l.; taxonomy; root anatomy; stem anatomy; trichome; stomata. abstract the present study explores detailed morphological and anatomical features of six variants of canna indica l. noticeable variations have been recorded in the morphology of six variants of c. indica especially on the basis of their different colours of leaves, flowers, staminodes and fruits. root, stem and leaf anatomy of c. indica revealed little variation among the variants employed in the study. phloem is 5-6 layered in the variant 2 (small red), 4-5 layered in the variant 4 (orange), and 3-4 layered in the remaining variants. the variant 4 (orange) can be distinguished from other five variants anatomically, by presence of 5-7 layers of schlerenchymatous tissue, and morphologically by its green pseudostem, ovate to obovate leaves, orange flowers, green bracts with maroon edges and orange-red staminodes. however, based on morphological and anatomical discrepancies the variants of canna indica cannot be assigned to discrete taxonomic variety. introduction canna l. (cannaceae) is popularly known as an ornamental and medicinal plant which is cultivated extensively for its beautiful, decorative and widely varying flower colours. the commonly cultivated garden cannas are mostly of hybrid origin, with canna indica l. as a principal parent (cronquist, 1981). it is generally native to tropical america, mexico, the caribbean and tropical south america, central america and west indies, now naturalised in many parts of eastern and south-eastern australia. the genus canna is under the order zingiberales which consists of 8 families (i.e. zingiberaceae, strelitziaceae, marantaceae, musaceae, costaceae, cannaceae, heliconiaceae and lowiaceae) with about 1,800 species (cronquist, 1981). canna species are economically and medicinally important throughout the world. the rhizomes of canna are edible and are usually consumed after boiling or cooking in various ways. the black and hard-coated seeds used as beads or made into rosaries. a decoction of root of canna indica is applied for treatment of gonorrheoa and amenorrhoea. the powdered root is used as diaphoretic, diuretic, and demulcent and is administered in fevers and dropsy (de kramer and mass, 2008). in java, pounded seeds are used in a poultice to relieve headache. juice extracted from grated rhizomes is used against diarrhoea. in hong kong, a decoction of fresh rhizomes is prescribed in acute hepatitis. in indo-china, crushed fresh rhizomes are applied topically for traumatic injuries in traditional medicine. in the philippines, a decoction of the rhizomes is used as a diuretic and macerated rhizomes in water are applied to alleviate nose bleeding (ong and siemonsma, 1996). leaves of canna indica are applied for treating malaria and fumigated leaves are reported to have insecticidal properties (de kamer and maas, 2008). 1department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 2corresponding author. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd; prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 220 sultana et al. taxonomic relevance of vegetative anatomy in delimitation of taxa and establishment of intergeneric or interspecific relationships is well reported (tomlinson, 1961; stace, 1965; kotresha and seetharam, 2000; tschan and denk, 2012). foliar anatomical features play an important role in distinguishing different groups of plants. leaf is considered as the most varied organ anatomically in angiosperm which provides a variety of anatomical features that can be employed as useful taxonomic characters (metcalfe and chalk, 1950; metcalfe, 1968; stace, 1984). taxonomically canna indica is a complex and variable species as it possesses different colours of flowers. variations among different hybrids or variants of canna indica has never been studied based on morphology and anatomy in bangladesh. despite its ornamental, economical and medicinal importance, canna indica did not receive much attention. considering this fact the present study has been undertaken with a view to characterize canna indica employing taxonomical and anatomical approaches. materials and methods plant material the taxonomical and anatomical studies were performed based on living materials of canna indica collected from different areas of bangladesh as well as herbarium specimens. the collected specimens were maintained under the controlled climatic condition and planted in the botanical garden of jagannath university, dhaka. these materials were supplemented by the herbarium specimens examined at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush), jagannath university herbarium (jnuh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). taxonomic study plant samples were collected from the botanical garden, department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka. the comprehensive taxonomical study of the six variants of canna indica was carried out and relevant literatures were consulted (baker, 1892; wu and kress, 2000; hassan, 2007; de kamer and maas, 2008). under each variant at least five specimens were investigated. the herbarium specimens deposited at dush and dacb were also studied critically. anatomical study for anatomical analysis free hand sections of stems, leaves and roots were performed following shethi et al. (2017). the sections were stained in safranin and mounted in 20% glycerin. afterwards, permanent slides were prepared from the selected sections, and studied with the help of optika microscope. micro-photographs of the sections were taken using euromax camera attached with computer through image focus 4 software. results and discussion taxonomic treatment canna indica l., sp. pl.: 1 (1753); baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 260 (1892); prain, beng. pl.: 1047 (1903); kränzlin in engl., das pflanzenr. 56 (iv. 47): 1-77 (1912); anglade, tab. ined. : t. 267 (1918); stewart, ann. cat. vasc. pl. w. pak. & kashm.: 66 (1972); kazmi & a. jehan, sultania 3: 61 (1977); ghazanfar, fl. pak. 145: 1-3 (1982); matthew, fl. tamilnadu carnatic 3: 1621 (1983); deb, fl. tri. state 2: 381 (1983); ratter, j.a. europ. gard. fl. 2: 130 (1984); matthew, suppl. ill. fl. palni hills : t. 1158 (1998). canna orientalis rosc., trans. linn. soc. 8: 338 (1807). canna chinensis willd. in ges. naturf. fr. berl. mag. 2: 170 (1808). canna indica var. orientalis rosc., scit. pl. : t. 12 (1824); baker in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 260 (1892); prain, beng. pl.: 1047 (1903). canna coccinea mill., gard. dict. ed. 8. no. 3 (1768); balak., fl. jowai 2: 532 (1983). canna edulis ker-gawler in edw., bot. regist. 9: t. 775 (1824). (fig. 1). morphological and anatomical investigation in canna indica 221 english names: canna, african arrowroot, indian canna, purple arrowroot, queensland arrowroot, sierra leon arrowroot. bengali names: kolabati, sarbajoya. a long-lived, large, perennial herb, growing up to 2 m tall, spreading laterally by means of fleshy underground stems. pseudostem erect, 1-2 m long, green or greenish maroon, cylindrical, unbranched, up to 120 × 4 cm, glabrous. leaves simple, spirally arranged, 12.5-34.0 × 7-14 cm, greenish-maroon or green, ovate-lanceolate, acute, entire, base attenuate, pinnately veined with a distinct midrib, exstipulate, petiolate, petiole 7-11 cm long, with a short open sheath gradually passing into the petiole, upper surface glabrous. inflorescence racemose, raceme simple, 8.5-9.0 cm long. flowers complete, bisexual, irregular, zygomorphic, epigynous, fundamentally trimerous but with a modified androecium; bract 1, c. 11.0-11.5 × 3.0-3.5 cm, upper portion maroonchocolate or green, lower portion maroon or light-green, ovate-lanceolate; bracteoles 3, unequal, outer one largest, c. 2.5-3.0 × 1.5-2.0 cm, other two c. 1.0-1.5 × 0.5-1.0 and 1.2-1.4 × 0.7-0.9 cm, ovate, maroon-chocolate; pedicel short, 0.2-0.3 cm long. sepals 3, maroon, not petaloid, polysepalous, unequal, c. 1.5-1.7 × 0.7-1.0 cm, imbricate, persistent in fruits, glabrous. petals 3, connate in a cylindrical corolla tube, lanceolate, red, equal, c. 6.0-6.5 × 1.0-1.5 cm in each flower, imbricate, glabrous. stamens 5, 1 partially perfect, all petaloid, connate below in a cylindrical fig. 1. canna indica l.; a. habit; b. flower; c. rhizome; d. fruit. 222 sultana et al. corolla-like tube, one with a 1-celled anther, adnate to one of its edge, this stamen rolled, c. 4.0-4.5 × 0.7-0.9 cm; anthers 1.0-1.5 × 0.1-0.2 cm, yellow, the others staminode, unequal, c. 6.2-6.6 × 1.41.6 cm, spathulate, emarginate to apiculate, bright red, glabrous. carpels 3, syncarpous; ovary 3celled, inferior, 0.5-0.6 cm in diameter, margin with soft spines, ovules many in each cell; style 1, petaloid, adnate below to the staminal tube, c. 5.4-5.5 cm long; stigma 1, flat, c. 0.5-0.7 cm in diameter, reddish-yellow, glossy. placentation axile. fruit a warty capsule, ovoid, c. 1.8-2.0 × 2.52.7 cm, maroon, outside with soft spines. specimens examined: chattogram: hazarikhil (west), 31.10.1987, a.m. huq and m.k. mia h. 8622 (dacb). dhaka: shahbagh, ramna park, 04.09.2019, sabiha sultana akhi 15 (jnuh); shahbagh, ramna park, 22.07.2006, nahid sultana 2 (dush); dhaka university botanical garden, 20.02.1980, mahbuba halim 738 (dacb); baldha garden, 23.01.1980, mahbuba, n. zaman and mia m. 469 (dacb); ramna park, 19.02.1980, mahbuba halim 678 (dacb). mymensingh: kishorgonj to katabaira, 13.01.1979, mahbuba halim 364 (dacb). patuakhali: galachipa to ulania, 12.03.1982, rahman and mia r. 1292 (dacb). sylhet: bahamura, 11.10.1973, khan et al. k. 3225 (dacb). morphological variations morphological variations based on size, shape and colour of pseudostem, leaves, bracts, flowers, staminodes and fruits have been found among the six variants of canna indica employed in this study. variations observed in the variants are outlined as follows: variant 1: pseudostem greenish-maroon; leaves obovate-ovate, greenish-maroon; flowers large red; bracts maroon; sepals maroon; petals maroon; staminodes red, c. 11-14 × 3.5-5 cm; fruits maroon (fig. 2a). variant 2: pseudostem green; leaves ovate, green; flowers red and small; bracts green; sepals light green with light red tip; petals light red; staminodes bright red, c. 3.0-5.5 × 0.3-0.7 cm; fruits green (fig. 2b). variant 3: pseudostem green; leaves lanceolate-ovate, green; flowers pink; bract chocolatemaroon; sepals maroon; petals maroon; staminodes pinkish-white, c. 11-14 × 3.5-6.5 cm; fruits maroon (fig. 2c). variant 4: pseudostem green; leaves ovate to obovate. green; flowers orange; bracts green with maroon edges; sepals green; petals green; staminodes orange-red, one orangered with yellow centre, c. 10-13 × 3-5 cm; fruits green (fig. 2d). variant 5: pseudostem green; leaves lanceolate-ovate, green; flowers yellow; bracts green, sepals green; petals light red; staminodes yellow, c. 4.6-7.1 × 1.5-2.0 cm; fruits green (fig. 2e). variant 6: pesudostem green; leaves broadly ovate-lanceolate, green; flowers yellow with red spots; bracts green with maroon tip; sepals light green-maroon; petals reddish-yellow; staminodes reddish-orange with yellow edges, c. 11.5-15.0 × 3.5-5.5 cm; fruits green (fig. 2f). anatomical investigation root anatomy the epidermis of the root is composed of tabular cells with no intercellular spaces. root hairs were also absent in this layer. in all the variants’ roots, immediately beneath the epidermis a massive cortex lies consisting of thin-walled parenchyma cells with sufficiently developed intercellular spaces among them. the endodermis consists of a single layer of barrel-shaped compact cells having no intercellular spaces among them. the pericycle has been found to be uniseriate and composed of thin walled parenchymatous cells. in all the variants vascular bundles are radial, the xylem strands are found to be alternate with the phloem ones, xylem is exarch, and pith is large (fig. 3). morphological and anatomical investigation in canna indica 223 fig. 2. six variants of canna indica l.; a. variant 1 local red; b. variant 2 small red; c. variant 3 pink; d. variant 4 orange; e. variant 5 yellow; f. variant 6 yellow with red spots. stem anatomy a single layered epidermis is found in all the six variants of canna indica with a very thin layer of cuticle on the outside (fig. 4). the epidermal cells are rectangular. no any trichome is observed on epidermis. cortex cells are sufficiently large, 2-layered and polygonal. 224 sultana et al. fig. 3. transverse section of roots of six variants of canna indica l.; a-b. variant 1 local red; c-d. variant 2 small red; e-f. variant 3 pink; g-h. variant 4 orange; i-j. variant 5 yellow; k-l. variant 6 yellow with red spots. ep: epidermis, co: cortex, pe: pericycle, en: endodermis, ph: phloem, xy: xylem, pi: pith. (bar = 100 µm; a,c,e,g,i&k = 4x; b,d,f,h,j&l = 10x). morphological and anatomical investigation in canna indica 225 fig. 4. transverse section of stem of six variants of canna indica l.; a-c. variant 1 local red; d-f. variant 2 small red; g-i. variant 3 pink; j-l. variant 4 orange; m-o. variant 5 yellow; p-r. variant 6 yellow with red spots. ep: epidermis, co: cortex, cht: chlorophyllous tissue, grt: ground tissue, sc: sclerenchymatous cells, mc: mucilage canals, ph: phloem, xy: xylem. (bar = 100 µm; a,d,g,j,m&p = 4x; b,e,h,k,n&q = 10x; c,f,i,l,o&r = 40x). a single layered chlorenchyma is found beneath the cortex consisting of chloroplast bearing cells. the sclerencyma patches with 5-7 layers also remain attached to the chlorenchyma tissue. in the variant 4 of canna indica (orange), the sclerenchyma is 5-7 layered but the remaining five variants contain 6-7 layers of sclerenchyma. the variant 2 of c. indica (small red) has 5-6 layered phloem and the variant 4 of c. indica (orange) contains 4-5 layers of phloem, and other four variants have 3-4 layers of phloem (table 1). the remaining consists of large thin-walled, parenchymatous cells with developed intercellular spaces (ground tissue) cannot be divided into distinct regions. all the six variants possess numerous wide mucilage canals. 226 sultana et al. table 1. stem anatomical characters of six variants of canna indica l. name of the variants trichome cortex sclerenchyma phloem 1. canna indica l. (local red) absent 2-layered 6-7 layered 3-4 layered 2. c. indica l. (small red) absent 2-layered 6-7 layered 5-6 layered 3. c. indica l. (pink) absent 2-layered 6-7 layered 3-4 layered 4. c. indica l. (orange) absent 2-layered 5-7 layered 4-5 layered 5. c. indica l. (yellow) absent 2-layered 6-7 layered 3-4 layered 6. c. indica l. (yellow with red spots) absent 2-layered 6-7 layered 3-4 layered leaf anatomy leaf anatomy of the six variants of canna indica revealed upper and lower epidermis with thin cuticle made up of a single layer of thin walled cells (fig. 5). both upper and lower epidermal cells are rectangular or cubic in shape. the stomata found on both surfaces are almost equal in number. in all the variants the mesophyll is not differentiated into pallisade and spongy parenchyma. all the mesophyll cells are nearly isodiametric and thin-walled as the leaf is isobilateral, and they are compactly arranged with limited intercellular spaces containing numerous chloroplast. trichome is absent in all the variants. fig. 5. transverse section of leaf of six variants of canna indica l.; a-b. variant 1 local red; c-d. variant 2 small red; e-f. variant 3 pink; g-h. variant 4 orange; i-j. variant 5 yellow; k-l. variant 6 yellow with red spots. ue: upper epidermis, cu: cuticle, sc: sclerenchymatous cells, ph: phloem, xy: xylem, le: lower epidermis. (bar = 100 µm; a,c,e,g,i&k = 10x; b,d,f,h,j&l = 40x). morphological and anatomical investigation in canna indica 227 in the bundle sheath of all variants sclerenchyma cells are observed. vascular bundles are embedded in mesophyll and are of rectangular type. in the investigated variants, xylem faces upper surface as phloem faces the lower surface (fig. 6). in all the studied variants of canna indica stomata is surrounded by two subsidiary cells which are parallel to the long axis of the pore and guard cells, and the stomata are of paracytic or rubiaceous type (fig. 7). fig. 6. middle vascular bundles of six variants of canna indica l.; a. variant 1 local red; b. variant 2 small red; c. variant 3 pink; d. variant 4 orange; e. variant 5 yellow; f. variant 6 yellow with red spots. bs: bundle seath, sc: sclerenchyma, ph: phloem, xy: xylem. (bar = 100 µm at 40x). fig. 7. types of stomata in six variants of canna indica l.. a. variant 1 local red; b. variant 2 small red; c. variant 3 pink; d. variant 4 orange; e. variant 5 yellow; f. variant 6 yellow with red spots. sc: subsidiary cells. (bar = 100 µm at 40x). discussion in the present investigation, detailed taxonomic account of canna indica has been provided. based on variations in colours of different flowers as well as other characters canna indica has been described under six variants. aiton (1789) recognized 4 varieties of canna indica on the 228 sultana et al. basis of leaf and flower characters. eichler (1875) stated that 3 sepals of canna indica are slightly unequal, mostly glaucous green, erect, narrowly obovate, narrowly triangular, acute to obtuse and persistent. roscoe (1826) pointed out that the 3 petals of canna indica are mostly erect and narrowly ovate-triangular with acute to acuminate apex. they are basally connate and unequal, one being always smaller than the other two, and the aestivation is imbricate. roscoe (1807) considered the construction of the stamen to be the main character. in the present study, all 5 stamens are petalloid and connate below in a cylindric corolla-like tube, one with a 1-celled anther adnate to one of its edge (4.0 × 0.7 cm), yellow in colour, the other staminodes unequal in size. according to kirchoff (1983) and kress (1990), the androecium of canna indica is composed of 2 essentially trimerous whorl, the outer whorl being episepalous and the inner one epipetalous. the style is petaloid, firm and fleshy and for most of its length connate with the stamen. the styler canal forms a 3-pointed star in cross section (kunze, 1984). the ovary in canna is inferior and 3locular with axillary placentation and each locule contains 2 alternating rows of ovules; 3-sepals nectarises are filling the upper part of the ovary and opening at the top, the lower part of the ovary being the fertile part (vogel, 1969). the present study has been found concordant with those of previous studies. we have found that fruits are warty capsule, ovoid, seeds are numerous, round, up to 8 mm in diameter, black and hard. grootjen and bouman (1988) reported the mature fruit of canna indica as a dry capsule crowned by persistent sepals, and mature seeds are numerous, shiny brown to black, 3.5-10.0 × 2-8 mm, globose to narrowly ellipsoid which is supported by the present study. the study has revealed noticeable variation among the six variants of canna indica, more particularly in colour of leaves, flowers, fruits, staminodes and the size of staminodes per flower, though all of the variants show affinity in terms of pseudostem and leaf shape. anatomical investigation in six variants of canna indica provided little variation. previous studies on some other monocotyledonous plants showed that root cortex contained dense paranchymatous cells (bibi et al., 2014). solereder and meyer (1930) reported compact peripheral layers of small, hexagonal cells in root cortex of c. indica. inner cortex is very uniform and cells are radially arranged including very uniform intercellular spaces. endodermis is slightly u-shaped, and is uniseriate in young roots, while the pericycle is single layered. very recently, gayatri et al. (2018) observed parenchymatous cortex with intercellular spaces in the root of a monocotyledonous triticum aestivum which is in agreement with our investigation as observed in canna indica. tomlinson (1961) found that epidermis of stem of canna indica is thinly cutinized, cells are rectangular to elongated, and walls are slightly thickened. chlorenchyma present as 1-2 layers of small cells separated from the epidermis by 1-2 layers of colourless hypodermal cells. the sclerenchyma patches also remain attached to the chlorenchyma. vascular bundles are irregularly scattered, without sheathing fibres but sometimes with a little thick-walled prosenchyma adjacent to xylem and phloem. mucillage canals apparently restricted to the periphery of the central cylinder are wider and more irregular (solereder and meyer, 1930). leaf epidermis of canna indica contains a very thin cuticle, and the lower epidermis is found to be somewhat irregular with many frequent narrow, costal bands than that of upper epidermis, and the cells of both upper and lower epidermis are rectangular (tomlinson, 1961), and this is supported by the present study. a single layered hypodermis has been observed below the epidermis. upper hypodermal cells serve as expansion cells (löv, 1926). the leaf contains two layers of pallisade parenchyma and spongy parenchyma, and characteristically oblique cells are present with round ends obliquely to the long axis. however, in our experiment we found that mesophyll was not differentiated into pallisade and spongy parenchyma. stomata is occasionally found in the upper surface of leaves, and the type of stomata remains uncertain (tomlinson, 1961). most of the anatomical features of canna indica as revealed from this investigation have been morphological and anatomical investigation in canna indica 229 found consistent with those of earlier studies (solereder and meyer, 1930; tomlinson, 1961; bibi et al., 2014). in conclusion, noticeable morphological as well as anatomical variations have been observed among the six variants of canna indica. the variant 2 (small red) and variant 4 (orange) can be differentiated on the basis of schlerenchyma and phloem characters. however, these variations are not sufficient enough to distinguish all the variants employed in the study. based on morphological and anatomical variations as revealed from the present study the variants of canna indica cannot be assigned to distinct taxonomic variety. therefore, more studies employing additional tools, viz, cytological, palynological and molecular approaches could be undertaken for better understanding of systematics of canna indica and its different forms. acknowledgement the authors are thankful to professor dr. parveen rashid, department of botany, university of dhaka for her cooperation during anatomical investigation of the present study. references ation, w. 1789. hortus kewensis 1: 1–2. george nicol, london. baker, j.g. 1892. scitamineae. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india, reeve & co., london. 6: 260–261. bibi, h., afzal, m., muhammad, a., kamal, m., ullah, i., sohail, rahman, e.u. and asghar, a. 2014. morphological and anatomical studies on some monocot xerophytes of district karak, pakistan. middleeast j. scientific res. 22(6): 843–850. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. colombia university press, new york, 1262 pp. de kamer, h.m. and maas, p.j. 2008. the cannaceae of the world. blumea 53: 247‒318. eichler, a.w. 1875. blüthendiagramme, pp. 172–175. engelmann, leipzig. gayatri, p., chhaya, s. and anju, r. 2018. study of anatomical changes of bread wheat (triticum aestivum) due to different saline conditions. bull. pure & appl. sci. 37: 13–19. grootjen, c.j. and bouman, f. 1988. seed structure in cannaceae: taxonomic and ecological implications. ann. bot. 61: 363–371. hassan, m.a. 2007. cannaceae. in: siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(boraginaceae) from north anatolia, turkey öznur ergen akçin1, kamil çoşkunçelebi2 and gülcan şenel3 department of biology, sciences and arts faculty, ordu university, turkey keywords: foliar anatomy; boraginaceae; cynoglossum; turkey. abstract bracts, basal and cauline leaves of north anatolian representatives of cynoglossum, viz., c. creticum miller, c. officinale l., c. montanum l. and c. glochidiatum wall. were investigated anatomically. foliar thickness, trichome length and types, stomata types, stomata index, the presence of collenchyma and sclerenchyma were found to be important for delimitation of cynoglossum species. all examined species have isobilateral leaf. stomata were anisocytic and anomocytic. all the studied species had trichomes. simple long and short trichomes were seen in leaves of c. creticum. long and short trichomes with cystoliths at the base were seen in all leaves of c. montanum. unicellular and multicellular unbranched trichomes and glandular trichomes were found in leaves of c. officinale. short and adpressed trichomes were seen in leaves of c. glochidiatum. introduction cynoglossum l. (boraginaceae) is represented by eight species in turkey (riedl, 1978). it is taxonomically difficult genus because of the fairly uniformity in external morphology. they generally grow along roadsides, sand dunes or open woodlands (riedl, 1978; sutory, 2005). some species of the cynoglossum are used as remedies in anatolian folk medicines and as ornamental plants in gardens and parks (baytop, 1999). over the last couple of decades, several studies were carried out on cynoglossum based on ecology, seed germination and chemical structure (boorman and fuller, 1984; fisher et al., 1989; stabell et al., 1998), however, very little is known about anatomical properties of this genus. metcalfe and chalk (1979) and watson and dallwitz (1991) highlighted characteristic properties of petiole and leaf anatomy of boraginaceae. dasti et al. (2003) stressed that the epidermal characteristics, such as shape and size of the epidermal cells, types of trichomes and of stomata provide extensive taxonomic data in boraginaceae. riedl (1978) states that most of the turkish cynoglossum representatives are poorly defined and some additional characters are needed for proper identification of cynoglossum. akçin and bilgener (2000) carried out a chemotaxonomic study on some turkish cynoglossum representatives in order to explore their taxonomic value. dasti et al. (2003) examined the epidermal morphology of c. glochidiatum wall. and c. tomentosa (wall.) kazmi. akçin (2008) studied the micromorphology of nutlet and seeds of some cynoglossum species. however, no detailed anatomical studies were carried out so far on turkish cynoglossum species which are often difficult to distinguish from one another morphologically. the present study aims to examine the foliar anatomical properties of four north anatolian species of cynoglossum, namely c. creticum miller, c. officinale l., c. montanum l. and c. glochidiatum wall. and to evaluate their discriminative potential in taxonomy. 1corresponding author. email: oakcin@gmail.com 2department of biology, karadeniz technical university, turkey 3department of biology, ondokuz mayıs university, turkey 102 akçin et al. materials and methods all the four cynoglossum species were collected from north anatolia in turkey during 20012009. voucher specimens were kept at the ondokuz mayıs university herbarium. samples for anatomical studies were fixed in 70% alcohol. cross and surface sections were prepared from the stored leaf materials. cross and surface sections of leaves were excised by hand and they were covered with glycerin-gelatin (vardar, 1987). the photographs were taken with nikon fdx-35 microscope. all measurements were calculated with an ocular-micrometer under light microscope. stomata index was calculated according to meidner and mansfield (1968). table 1. the anatomical properties in cross-section of basal leaves of cynoglossum species. characters c. creticum min.-max. c. montanum min.-max. c. officinale min.-max. c. glochidiatum min.-max. leaf thickness (µm) 250-460 190-220 180-230 340-400 cuticle thickness (µm) 2.5-5.0 5.0-7.5 5.0-7.5 2.5-5.0 trichome length (µm) 100-600 120-1500 120-600 100-270 palisade parenchyma (adaxial /abaxial surface) 2 / 1-2 layered 2 /1 layered 1/1 layered 2/1 layered spongy parenchyma 4-6 layered 3-4 layered 3-4 layered 3-4 layered bundle sheath parenchymatic parenchymatic parenchymatic parenchymatic epidermis cell length (µm) 25-70 35-40 35.0-37.5 30-50 epidermis cell width (µm) 12.5-37.5 22.5-27.5 17.5-30.0 20-40 type of vascular bundle collateral collateral collateral collateral results cynoglossum creticum epidermis consists of a single layer both in abaxial and adaxial surface of basal leaf (table 1, figs 1-3). leaf is isolateral. vascular bundles are surrounded by bundle sheath with big starch grains. collenchymatic cells are located under the adaxial epidermis in the midrib. some parenchymatic cells contain crystal near the median vein. on the abaxial side of the leaves trichome frequency is higher than adaxial side. the stomata are present on both adaxial and abaxial epidermis. stomatal types are of anomocytic and anisocytic, but mainly anomocytic. the stomata index is 20.98 for adaxial surface and 30.66 for abaxial surface. cauline leaf is isolateral. mesophyll consists of 2 layers palisade cells in adaxial surface, 1-2 layers in abaxial surface and 2-3 layers spongy parenchyma cells. vascular bundles are surrounded by a parenchymatic bundle sheath and collateral type. both anomocytic and anisocytic stomata were found. the stomata index is 19.79 for adaxial surface and 23.59 for abaxial surface. there are trichomes on both sides of the leaves and trichomes frequency is almost same (table 2, figs 4-8). in bract, palisade parenchyma cells are 2 layered on adaxial surface and 1-2 layered on abaxial surface. vascular bundles more frequent than in cauline leaves. the number of epidermal cells on adaxial surface is 290352 and these values are nearly same on abaxial surface (table 3, fig. 9). the stomata index is 23.02 for adaxial surface and 28.50 for abaxial surface. foliar anatomy of cynoglossum l. 103 figs 1-17. transverse and surface section of cynoglossum creticum and c. montanum leaves. 1-9. c. creticum. 1-3. basal leaf. 4-8. cauline leaf. 9. bract; 10-17. c. montanum. 10-13. basal leaf. 14-15. cauline leaf. 16-17. bract. eepidermis; ueupper epidermis; lelower epidermis; clcollenchyma; p parenchyma; pppalisade parenchyma; spspongy parenchyma; vbvascular bundle; bsbundle sheath; ststomata; htrichomes. bar: 15 µm (figs 7-8); 20 µm (figs 12-13, 17); 40 µm (figs 10, 14-16); 50 µm (fig. 4); 70 µm (figs 1,3,5-6); 100 µm (figs 2, 9, 11). 104 akçin et al. cynoglossum montanum in basal leaf epidermis consists of irregular shaped cells. leaf is isolateral. mesophyll composed of 2 layered palisade parenchyma cells in adaxial surface, 1 layer in abaxial surface and 3-4 layers spongy parenchyma cells. the stomata are more frequent on the abaxial side when compared to the on adaxial side. stomatal types are anomocytic and anisocytic (table 1, figs 1013). the stomata index is 20.58 for adaxial surfaces and 23.25 for abaxial surfaces. table 2. the anatomical properties in cross-section of cauline leaves of cynoglossum species. characters c. creticum min.-max. c. montanum min.-max. c. officinale min.-max. c. glochidiatum min.-max. leaf thickness (µm) 200-300 130-180 200-250 170-200 cuticle thickness (µm) 5.0-7.5 5.0-7.5 2.5-5.0 5.0-7.5 trichome length (µm) 80-440 180-500 100-300 180-200 palisade parenchyma (adaxial/ abaxial surface) 2/1-2 layered 2/1 layered 1/1 layered 2/1 layered spongy parenchyma 2-3 layered 2-3 layered 3-4 layered 3-4 layered bundle sheath parenchymatic parenchymatic parenchymatic parenchymatic epidermis cell length (µm) 30-50 30-50 15.0-37.5 20.0-37.5 epidermis cell width (µm) 20-30 20.0-22.5 12.5-20.0 22.5-27.5 type of vascular bundle collateral collateral collateral collateral table 3. the anatomical properties in cross-section of bracts of cynoglossum species. characters c. creticum min.-max. c. montanum min.-max. c. officinale min.-max. c. glochidiatum min.-max. leaf thickness (µm) 190-270 200-220 200-300 272-300 cuticle thickness (µm) 5.0-7.5 2.5-5.0 2.5-5.0 2.5-5.0 trichome length (µm) 100-320 40-100 40-250 150-300 palisade parenchyma (adaxial /abaxial surface) 2/1-2 layered 2/1 layered 1/1 layered 2/1 layered spongy parenchyma 3 layered 3-4 layered 3-4 layered 3-4 layered bundle sheath parenchymatic parenchymatic parenchymatic parenchymatic epidermis cell length (µm) 15-30 40.0-42.5 25.0-32.5 25-30 epidermis cell width (µm) 10-20 20-40 20.0-12.5 12.5-22.5 type of vascular bundle collateral collateral collateral collateral cauline leaf is isolateral. bundle sheath is not distinguishable. there are sclerenchymatic cells in the midrib. collenchymatic cells are located under the adaxial epidermis. stomatal types are of anomocytic and anisocytic (table 2, figs 14-15). the stomata index is 20 for adaxial surface and 17.79 for abaxial surface. in bract, mesophyll composed of 2 layered palisade parenchyma cells in adaxial surface, 1 layered in abaxial surface and 3-4 layered spongy parenchyma cells. distinguishable angular collenchyma is present in the median region of leaf (table 3, figs 16-17). the stomata index is 20.45 for adaxial surface and 23.30 for abaxial surface. foliar anatomy of cynoglossum l. 105 figs 18-32. transverse and surface section of cynoglossum officinale and c. glochidiatum leaves. 18-24. c. officinale. 18-19. basal leaf. 20-22. cauline leaf. 23-24. bract; 25-32. c. glochidiatum. 25-26. basal leaf. 27-29. cauline leaf. 30-32. bract. bar: 15µm (fig. 29); 20µ (fig. 22); 40 µm (figs 18, 20, 24); 70 µm (figs 25, 27, 28, 30, 32); 80 µm (figs 19, 21, 23); 100 µm (figs 26, 31). 106 akçin et al. cynoglossum officinale basal leaf is isolateral. the stomata index on the adaxial side is 20.98, on the abaxial side values is 30.68 (table 1, figs 18-19). cauline leaf is isolateral. palisade parenchyma cells are 1 layered in both surface. spongy parenchyma cells are 3-4 layered. stomata type is anomocytic and anisocytic. the stomata index is 15.78 for adaxial surface and 27.27 for abaxial surface (table 2 figs 20-22). in bract, palisade parenchyma cells are 1 layered in both adaxial and abaxial surfaces. spongy parenchyma cells are 3-4 layered. both anomocytic and anisocytic types of stomata were found, but mainly anomocytic type was observed (table 3, figs 23-24). the stomata index is 16.21 for adaxial surface and 24.71 for abaxial surface. figs 33-40. trichomes of cynoglossum species. fig. 33. simple trichomes of c.creticum. figs 34-35 short trichomes with cystolith at the base and long simple trichomes of c. montanum. figs 36-38. unbranced, branched trichomes and glandular trichomes of c. officinale. figs 39-40. simple trichomes of c. glochidiatum. cynoglossum glochidiatum epidermis is single layered on both adaxial and abaxial surfaces of basal leaf. leaf is isolateral. palisade parenchyma cells are 2 layered on adaxial surface and 1-layered on abaxial foliar anatomy of cynoglossum l. 107 surface. spongy parenchyma cells are 3-4 layered. c. glochidiatum have trichomes and stomata both adaxial and abaxial sides. stomata length is 20-25 µm and stomata width is 5-10 µm (table 1, figs 25-26). there is a thick cuticle on cauline leaf. epidermal cells are isodiametric and oval. leaf is isolateral. stomata type is anomocytic and anisocytic (table 2, figs 27-29). the stomata index is 29.41 for adaxial epidermis, 20.45 for abaxial epidermis. in bract epidermis consists of uniserate, rectangular cells. palisade parenchyma cells are 2 layered on adaxial surface and 1 layered on abaxial surface. spongy parenchyma cells are 3-4 layered. collenchymatic cells are located under the epidermis in midrib region. the bundle sheath is parenchymatic (table 3, figs. 30-32). the stomata index is 22.04 for adaxial surfaces and 22.64 for abaxial surface. all the studied species had trichomes. simple long and short trichomes were seen in basal, cauline leaf and bract of the c. creticum (fig. 33). long and short trichomes with cystoliths at the base were seen on the both epidermises on basal and cauline leaves of c. montanum (figs 34-35). unicellular and multicellular unbranced trichomes and glandular trichomes were found in leaves of c. officinale. also branched multicellular with nearly two equal arms trichomes were rarely presented in basal leaf of this species (figs 36-38). usually short and adpressed trichomes were seen in all leaves of c. glochidiatum (figs 39-40). discussion in the present study isobilateral (isolateral) types of leaf were observed in all examined species. metcalfe and chalk (1979) reported that there are centric or isobilateral mesophyll types in boraginaceae. while the row number of palisade cells varies among species, it is very stable in the same species. presence of collenchyma and sclerenchyma in leaves is an important feature (mavi et al., 2011). sclerenchymatic and collenchymatic cells were located in the midrib of c. montanum. the other species had collenchymatic cells. metcalfe and chalk (1979) reported that there are both anomocytic and anisocytic stomata in boraginaceae, but özörgücü et al. (1991) reported only anomocytic stomata in this family. our findings support metcalfe and chalk (1979). it was also found that all species have stomata on both upper and lower surfaces. dasti et al. (2003) reported that anomocyctic and helicocytic stomata were seen in leaves of c. glochidiatum and c. tomentosa. stomata were anisocytic and anomocytic in onosma angustissimum hausskn. & bornm. and o. cassium boiss. (boraginaceae) (akçin and binzet, 2010). the stomata numbers are more in abaxial surface than adaxial surface in the most of examined species. the stomata index differs for the adaxial and abaxial epidermis among four examined species. stomata index is important as the number of stomata may be changed by the age of the leaf, but the stomata index remains constant for a species (trease and evans, 1982). metcalfe and chalk (1979) and watson and dallwitz (1991) reported that crystalloids, especially calcium oxalate crystals were present in the mesophyll of leaves of boraginaceae family. fisher et al. (1989) suggested that nuclear crystalloids were found in high percentage in boraginaceae family and these inclusions could be valuable as a systematic character. in this study, it was found that cystoliths were present in hair base in all studied species. the present study based on foliar anatomical characters supports the traditional taxonomic treatments of cynoglossum. leaves of cynoglossum species contain diagnostic features such as foliar thickness, trichome length, stomata types, stomata index, the presence of collenchyma and sclerenchyma, and their arrangement around the vascular bundles. references akçin, ö.e. 2008. seed coat and fruit surface micromorphology of some cynoglossum l. (boraginaceae) species. bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 115-119. 108 akçin et al. akçin, ö.e. and bilgener, m. 2000. a chemotaxonomical study on the some cynoglossum l. (boraginaceae) species. ondokuz mayıs universty the science journal 11(1):76-84. akçin, ö.e. and binzet, r. 2010. the micromorphological and anatomical properties of onosma angustissimum hausskn. & bornm. and o. cassıum boiss. 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(ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 6. edinburgh university press, edinburgh. stabell, e., upadhyaya, m.k. and ellis, b.e. 1998. role of seed coat in regulation of seed dormancy in hound’s tongue (cynoglossum officinale). weed science 46: 344-350. sutory, k. 2005. a new species of cynoglossum (boraginaceae-cynoglasseae) from eastern turkey. edinburg j. bot. 61:119-126. trease, g.h. and evans, w.c. 1982. pharmacognazi, 11 th edition. cassel and collier, mcmillan publishers ltd., london. 722 pp. vardar, y. 1987. preparation techniques in botany. ege university press, izmir. pp. 1-66. watson, l. and dallwitz, m.j. 1991. the families of angiosperm: automated descriptions, with interactive identification and information retrieval. austr. syst. bot. 4: 681-695. (manuscript received on 16 september 2011; revised on 5 may 2012) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 107-111, 2018 (june) short communication © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists lectotypification of cryptocarya anamalayana gamble (lauraceae) with a note on its fruits k.h. amitha bachan1, a.j. robi2 a.k. pradeep3 and p.s. udayan4 research department of botany, mes asmabi college, p.vemballur post, kodungallur thrissur, kerala 680671, india keywords: cryptocarya anamalayana; lectotype; western ghats; lauraceae. the genus cryptocarya comprises about 350 species, most of which are confined to tropical asia (van der werff, 2008). in the indian subcontinent, the genus is represented by 15 species, of which 6 are known to be distributed in the western ghats of southern india (gangopadhyay and chakrabarty, 2005). during the course of an assessment of the riparian flora of the chalakkudy river basin the authors collected an interesting specimen of cryptocarya from the sholayar, the cryptocarya anamalayana gamble. gamble (1925) described this species based on two specimens from anamalai hills of southern india [anamalai hills, june 1872, r.h. beddome 270 (k000768404, image!) and punachi, coimbatore, may 1903, c.a. barber 6008 (cal!] without any fruiting specimen, and hence recorded "fructus ignotus" (fruit unknown) in the protologue. subsequently, the genus in the indian subcontinent was revised by gangopadhyay and chakrabarty (2005). they also cited both the specimens originally cited by gamble in the protologue simultaneously as types. hence, one among them may be selected to serve as the lectotype of the species according to article 9.2, 9.11 and 9.12 of the icn (mcneill et al., 2012). consequently, the specimen collected by beddome in june 1822 (beddome 270, k000768404, image!) from anamalai hills bearing a determinavita slip, and drawing of its floral parts in gamble’s own handwriting on the sheet is designated here as the lectotype. no mature fruiting specimens of this species were collected or described so far by any of the subsequent authors (mohanan and henry, 1994; sasidharan, 1997; gangopadhyay and chakrabarty, 2005), and hence the morphological features of fruits are described here for the first time based on a specimen collected from a place close to the type locality. lectotype of cryptocarya anamalayana gamble (lauraceae) is designated here along with description of its mature fruits. cryptocarya anamalayana gamble, bull. misc. inform. kew 1925: 126 (1925); fl. madras: 1218 (1925); v. chandras. in a.n. henry et al., fl. tamil nadu 2: 209 (1987); m. mohanan & a.n. henry, fl. thiruvananthapuram: 393 (1994); sasidh., biodiv. doc. kerala: fl. pl.: 397 (2004); m. gangop. & chakrab., j. econ.taxon. bot. 29(2): 278 (2005); p.s.s. rich. & muthuk., check list 8(5): 951 (2012). (figs 1 & 2). lectotype (designated here): india. tamil nadu: anamalai hills, june 1872, 3000 ft, r.h. beddome 270 (k000768404, image!). 1corresponding author. email: amithabmes@gmail.com 2department of botany, bishop abraham memorial college, thuruthicad post, pathanamthitta, kerala689597, india. 3department of botany, university of calicut, calicut university p.o. 673635, kerala, india. 4p.g. department of botany, sree krishna college, ariyannur p.o., guruvayur, thrissur, kerala 680 102, india. mailto:amithabmes@gmail.com 108 bachan et al. evergreen tree, 7–16 m high; bark greyish brown outside, orange-brown inside with creamy white blaze; branchlets golden reddish, dark brown when dry, subterete, tawny-velutinous to fulvous-tomentose. leaves simple, alternate, elliptic, obovate to obovate-oblong, 8–24×4–11 cm, obtusely cuneate to subacute at base, obtusely acute to apiculate at apex, margin entire, dark green, turning dark brown when dry, glossy above, pale greyish green, turning reddish green when dry, glaucous to glaucescent beneath; midrib slightly sunken, tawny-tomentose or velutinous above, fulvous to brown-tomentose or villous beneath; lateral veins 6–10 pairs, impressed above, highly elevated beneath, sub-opposite and subparallel, arcuate and slightly looped towards margin; petiole 6–12×2–5 mm, sulcate above, tawny-velutionous or rusty tomentose; intercostae scalariform and prominent as midrib, finely reticulate, inconspicuous above, highly raised beneath, percurrent. inflorescence axillary or sub-terminal, 2–6 cm long cymose panicles, rusty or tawnyvelutionous or villous; bracts and bracteoles ovate-acute, c. 3.0×1.5 mm, rusty-villous; lateral flowers of the cymes sub-opposite. flowers bisexual, c. 4 mm long, densely rufous-tomentose; perianth tube narrowed towards apex; perianth lobes 6, in 2 whorls (3+3), ovate, 1.5–2.5×c.1.0 mm, acute, densely rufous-tomentose outside, appressed-pilose inside; stamens 9 in 3 whorls (3+3+3), perfect, 1.0–1.6 mm long; anthers ovate, obtuse, 2-locular; filaments up to 1 mm long, slender, densely villous; outer two series eglandular, introrse; third series glandular and extrorse with 2 glands at base; glands sessile, orbicular, c. 0.5 mm; staminodes c. 1 mm long, deeply cordate, shortly stipitate, acuminate at apex, villous at base. ovary c. 1.5 mm long, sessile, glabrous; style c. 1 mm long, slender, glabrous; stigma capitate. berries oblongoid to slightly oblong-obovoid, 2.5-4.0×0.8–1.3 cm, obtuse at ends, longitudinally 10–12-ribbed, sparsely pubescent, light to bright green when young, glossy black when ripe; fruiting pedicels 2–4 mm long, velutinous-tomentose. seed solitary, oblanceoloid, 2.0–3.5×0.5–1.0 cm, obtuse at base, obtusely acute at apex, slightly constricted below the middle, smooth, yellowish brown. flowering and fruiting: april to august. habitat: the species is very rare in evergreen and wet evergreen forests on hillslopes at elevations ranging from 600 to 1200 m in the four locations of southern western ghats. the present collection is only of a few trees growing along wet evergreen forest slopes with streams draining to the river or reservoir. distribution: endemic to southern western ghats (kerala and tamil nadu) at four disjunct locations: thiruvananthapuram (mohananand henry, 1994), shenduruni wildlife sanctuary (sasidharan, 1997), eastern slope of valayar (gangopadhyay and chakrabarty, 2005) and sholayar forests, kerala part of anamalais (bachan, 2011). conservation status: endangered b1+2c, only few trees (12 nos.) were located from the sholayar region, near to the reservoir along stream banks during the present study (iucn, 1998). the species is misspelled in iucn red list as cryptocarya anamallayana gamble. specimens examined: india, kerala: kollam district: kallar, 13 april 1993, n. sasidharan 10361 (kfri); alvarkurichi, 18 february 1995, n. sasidharan 11419 (kfri); thrissur district: sholayar, kerala part of anamalai hills, chandanthodu, 800 m,10.314122°n, 76.783300°e, 28 november 2004, amitha bachan 98740 (cali); ibid., 27 april 2006, amitha bachan 98840; sholayar, chandanthode, 20 april 2010, p.s. udayan et al. 6726, 6734 (cmpr); sholayar, kerala part of anamalai hills, chandanthodu, 808 m, 10.31323° n, 76.77735° e, 19 august 2014, amitha bachan 137305 (cali).tamil nadu: tirunelveli district: eastern slope of valayar, 12 july 1976, bhargavan 47462 (cal). lectotypification of cryptocarya anamalayana gamble 109 fig. 1. lectotype of cryptocarya anamalayana gamble [beddome 270] [© the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew. reproduced with permission] 110 bachan et al. fig. 2. cryptocarya anamalayana gamble. a. habitat; b. rusty tomentose leaf (abaxial surface) and young branchlets; c. fruiting twig; d. bark showing blaze; e&g. mature fruits; f&h. ripened fruits; i. c.s. of fruit; j. seed; k. l.s. of seed; l. distribution map. lectotypification of cryptocarya anamalayana gamble 111 acknowledgements the authors are thankful to kerala state forest department for granting permission to carry out research in the forests, western ghats hornbill foundation and the kadar tribes of vazhachal forests for various help. the first author would like to acknowledge the financial support from ugc minor research, sunya foundation ahemedabad for phd and cepf-atree western ghats small grants for conservation. the second author would like to thank department of science and technology, government of india. thanks are also due to the anonymous reviewers and trustees of the royal botanical garden, kew. references bachan, a.k.h. 2011. riparian flora of the chalakkudy river basin and its ecological significance. phd thesis, calicut university, kerala, 876 pp. gamble, j.s. 1925. new lauraceae from southern india. bull. misc. inform. kew 3(xvi): 126–132. gangopadhyay, m. and chakrabarty, t. 2005. the genus cryptocarya r. br. (lauraceae) in indian subcontinent. j. econ. taxon. bot. 29(2): 274–293. iucn 1998. cryptocarya anamallayana. the iucn red list of threatened species 1998: e.t38783 10144625.http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.1998.rlts.t38783a10144625.en. (accessed on 29 march 2018). mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., buck, w.r., demoulin,v., greuter, w., hawksworth, d.l., herendeen, p.s., knapp, s., marhold, k., prado, j., prudhomme, w.f., reine, v., smith, g.f., wiersema, j.h. and turland, n.j. 2012. international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (melbourne code).adopted by the eighteenth international botanical congress melbourne, australia, july 2011. regnum vegetabile 154: 1–240. mohanan, m. and henry, a.n. 1994. flora of thiruvananthapuram, kerala. botanical survey of india, coimbatore, 621 pp. sasidharan, n. 1997. flora of shendurini wildlife sanctuary. research report, kerala forest research institute, peechi, 267 pp. van der werff, h. 2008. a new species and new combinations in cryptocarya from madagascar. adansonia 30(1): 41–46. (manuscript received on 9 february 2017; revised on 8 april 2018) http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.1998.rlts.t38783a10144625.en. microsoft word 07. brachystelma_galley proof_approved 13.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 53-57, 2016 (june) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists brachystelma seshachalamense (apocynaceae), a new species from andhra pradesh, india k. prasad1 and p.v. prasanna2 botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad 500048, india keywords: brachystelma seshachalamense; new species; asclepiadoideae; ceropegieae; seshachalam hills. abstract brachystelma seshachalamense, a new species belonging to the family apocynaceae, is described from the seshachalam hills of kadapa district of andhra pradesh, india. the new species is closely allied to brachystelma beddomei hook. f., but differs in usually solitary flowers, corolla tube large with a ring of hairs around the corona, corolla lobes spreading with white hairy along the margins and pubescent inside, coronal cup lemon yellow, interstaminal corona shallowly lobed with hairs. introduction brachystelma sims is the second largest genus of the tribe ceropegieae with c. 160 species, distributed mainly in the old world tropics, particularly in sub-saharan africa, india, sri lanka, south east asia and northern australia (prasad et al., 2016). in india brachystelma is represented by 23 species and, 22 of them are endemic to the country (prasad et al., 2016; venu and prasad, 2015). the genus is represented by 8 species in eastern ghats (hooker, 1883; gamble, 1921; rao et al., 2011; prasad and rao, 2013; rasingam et al., 2013; swamy et al., 2013). two species are with twining habit, namely, brachystelma beddomei hook. f. & b. volubile hook. f., which are endemic to tamil nadu and andhra pradesh, respectively. these species were recollected by swamy et al. (2012) (b. volubile, kadapa hills, andhra pradesh) and vijayasankar et al. (2003) (b. beddomei, thiruvannamalai district, tamil nadu). in botanical explorations in the kadapa district of the seshachalam hills, the authors spotted a brachystelma species in the rocky crevices among grasses in dry deciduous forests. a critical study of the specimens, literature (hooker, 1883; gamble, 1921; karthikeyan et al., 2009; venu and prasad, 2015; prasad et al., 2016) and a comparison with herbarium specimens at k, cal, mh, bsid and sku, revealed that the collected specimens did not belong to any of the known species of brachystelma in india and elsewhere. hence, we described here as a new species, brachystelma seshachalamense sp. nov. brachystelma seshachalamense k. prasad & prasanna, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: brachystelma seshachalamense is closely allied to b. beddomei, but differs in having flowers usually solitary, rarely 2-flowered; corolla tube 4.5-5.0 mm long, with a ring of hairs around the corona; corolla lobes spreading, 1.4–1.6 cm long, 2-3 mm long white hairy along the margins and pubescent inside; coronal cup shallow, lemon yellow; interstaminal corona shallowly bilobed with hairs.                                                              1corresponding author. email: prasad.orchids@gmail.com   2central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, acharya jagadish chandra bose indian botanic garden, howrah 711 103, india.   54 prasad and prasanna   type: india, andhra pradesh: kadapa district, seshachalam hills, sanipaya forest range, 14°07'04.7"n, 78°58'09.4"e, 550 m, 27 december 2014, k. prasad 6454 (holotype: cal!, isotype: bsid!) twining herbs, c. 2.5 m high. tubers depressed-globose, 2.0–2.5 x 3.0–3.5 cm, dirty brownish without, white when cut open. stem unbranched, slender, cylindric, glabrous. leaves opposite-deccussate, petiolate; petiole 2–5 mm long, puberulous; lamina linear or linearlanceolate, 4–7 x 0.2–0.6 cm, acute at apex, cuneate at base, margin hairy; midrib prominent below, puberulous, glabrous above. inflorescence extra-axillary, reduced cymes, usually solitary, rarely 2-flowered; peduncle pinkish-green, terete, 2.6–3.0 mm long, pubescent. flowers drooping; floral bract linear, c. 1 mm long, acute, glabrous; bracteoles 2, linear, less than 1 mm long, acute, glabrous; pedicels terete, 6–8 mm long, pubescent. calyx pinkish, glabrous; lobes linear, 2.0–2.4 x 0.8–1.0 mm, acute. corolla spreading; corolla tube campanulate, 4.5–5.0 mm long, a ring of hairs around the corona and pubescent inside, green with pink tinge outside, yellow between the lobes inside; corolla lobes greenish-yellow outside and dark pink inside, broad at base, narrowed progressively towards tip, 1.4–1.8 cm long, acute at apex, pubescent inside, densely white hairy along the margins; hairs 2–3 mm long. corona yellow, biseriate, c. 4 mm in diameter, staminal and interstaminal parts fused to a shallow cup shaped structure; interstaminal corona cupular, 5 angled, c. 0.6 mm long, shallowly bilobed with few hairs; staminal corona lobes 5, incumbent, overlapping the anther lobes, lemon yellow, ovate-oblong, 1.5 mm long, glabrous. pollinia yellow, obovate-oblong, c. 0.2 x 0.1 mm, with pellucid margin and basally attached light-brown, tubular caudicles to a brown corpusculum. carpels 2, c. 1 mm long, narrow, free; style abscent; stigma head pentangular, discoid. flowering: december–january. habitat: rarely distributed in red or black soils of grass dominated dry deciduous open forests, at an of 400–600 m altitude. distribution: the seshachalam hills of kadapa district of andhra pradesh. etymology: the new species is named after the type locality, the seshachalam hills of eastern ghats, andhra pradesh. notes: brachystelma seshachalamense is closely allied to b. beddomei but differs from the latter which are appended in table 1. table 1. comparison of characters of brachystelma seshachalamense sp. nov. and b. beddomei. characters brachystelma seshachalamense sp. nov. b. beddomei inflorescence usually solitary, rarely 2-flowered usually 3-4-flowered, rarely 1flowered corolla tube 4.5-5.0 mm long, a ring of hairs around the corona and pubescent inside, green with pink tinge outside yellow between the lobes c. 3 mm long, glabrous, greenish yellow without and within corolla lobe spreading, 1.4-1.8 cm long, with broad base, 2-3 mm long white hairs along the margins and pubescent inside, greenishyellow outside and dark pinkish inside cohering at apex, 2-3.5.0 cm long, without broad base, glabrous, greenish-yellow outside and purple-brown inside coronal cup shallow deep interstaminal corona shallowly bilobed, with hairs deeply bilobed, glabrous staminal corona colour lemon yellow pinkish-cream brachystelma seshachalamense (apocynaceae), a new species 55     fig. 1. brachystelma seshachalamense k. prasad & prasanna, sp. nov. a. leaves; b. hairs on petiole and margins (close up); c. flower bud; d & e. flower; f. corona (top view). 56 prasad and prasanna   fig. 2. brachystelma seshachalamense k. prasad & prasanna, sp. nov. a. habit; b. calyx; c. flower; d. flower without hairs; e. corona; f. pollinia; g. gynostegium. brachystelma seshachalamense (apocynaceae), a new species 57     key to the twining brachystelma species in india 1. corolla tube base quite flat, bulging limitedly with a constricted neck and in near urceolate shape, more than 1 cm long b. volubile corolla tube campanulate, less than 5 mm long 2 2. corolla tube glabrous; lobes connate at apex, glabrous; interstaminal corona glabrous; staminal corona flesh coloured b. beddomei corolla tube with a ring of hairs around the corona and pubescent inside; lobes spreading, hairy; interstaminal corona with hairs; staminal corona lemon yellow b. seshachalamense acknowledgements the first author gratefully acknowledges department of science and technology (serb-dst), new delhi for financial assistance. authors are thankful to dr. p. singh, director, botanical survey of india (bsi), kolkata and dr. p. venu, scientist–f, botanical survey of india, hyderabad for facilities and support. authors gratefully acknowledge to all the forest officials and field staff of rajampet forest division, andhra pradesh forest department. references gamble, j.s. 1921. brachystelma. in: gamble, j.s., flora of the presidency of madras, vol. 2, adlard & son, london, pp. 850–852. hooker, j.d. 1883. brachystelma. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india, vol. iv. l reeve & co., london. pp. 65–66. karthikeyan, s., sanjappa, m. and moorthy, s. 2009. flowering plants of india: dicotyledons.vol. 1. (acanthaceae–avicenniaceae). botanical survey of india, kolkata. pp. 157–158. prasad, k., prasanna, p.v., meve, u., rao, m.s., and thulasaiah, t. 2016. brachystelma annamacharyae sp. nov. (apocynaceae) from the seshachalam hills of andhra pradesh (india). nord. j. bot. online publication on 29 march 2016. prasad, k. and rao, b.r.p. 2013. brachystelma nallamalayanum sp. nov. (apocynaceae: asclepiadoideae– ceropegieae) from india. j. threatened taxa 5(14): 4904–4906. rao, b.r.p., prasad, k., sadasivaiah, b., basha, k.s., suresh babu, m.v. and prasanna, p.v. 2011. a new species of brachystelma r. br. (apocynaceae: asclepiadoideae–ceropegieae) from india. taiwania 56(3): 223–226. rasingam, l., chorghe, a., meve, u., rao, m.s. and prasanna, p.v. 2013. brachystelma penchalakonense (apocynaceae: asclepiadoideae), a new species from andhra pradesh, india. kew bull. 68: 663–667. swamy, r.k., sandhya rani, s. and pullaiah t. 2013. brachystelma ciliatum (apocynaceae): a new record for eastern ghats of andhra pradesh, india. nelumbo 55: 191–195. swamy, r.k., sandhyarani, s., karuppusamy, s. and pullaiah, t. 2012. the rediscovery of brachystelma volubile (apocynaceae–asclepiadoideae). rheedea 22(2): 107–110. venu, p. and prasad, k. 2015. the existential crisis in indian brachystelmas (apocynaceae). current science 109(4): 680–682. vijayasankar, r., ravikumar, k. and ravichandran, p. 2003. endemic species, brachystelma brevitubulatum (bedd.) gamble (asclepiadaceae), relocated after a century. phytotaxonomy 3: 130–133. (manuscript received on 24 november 2015; revised on 4 april 2016) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 215-226, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological, anatomical and cytological investigations on three taxa of centaurea l. (asteraceae) from turkey nesli̇han taşar, gülden doğan1, yaşar kiran1, m. oliur rahman2 and uğur çakilcioğlu3 munzur university, tunceli vocational school, department of organic agriculture, tunceli, turkey keywords: centaurea; anatomy; cytology; taxonomy; asteraceae; turkey. abstract morphological, anatomical and cytological features of three turkish taxa of centaurea l., viz. c. polypodiifolia boiss. var. polypodiifolia, c. urvillei dc. subsp. urvillei and c. urvillei subsp. armata wagenitz were investigated. stem anatomy revealed the presence of a thick cuticle layer outside the stem, and epidermis with dense hairs was observed in the lower part. investigation on leaf anatomy showed that different types of hairs on the outside of the leaf were very intense. palisade parenchyma was observed below the upper and lower epidermis. in centaurea polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia, chromosome number was found to be 2n=16, while in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and c. urvillei subsp. armata 2n=20. total karyotype length of c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia, c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and c. urvillei subsp. armata was 22.9 µm, 37.84 µm and 40.01 µm, respectively. among the investigated taxa the karyotype asymmetry index was found lowest in c. urvillei subsp. armata. satellite was detected in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and subsp. armata, while it was absent in c. polypodiifolia boiss. var. polypodiifolia. introduction centaurea l. (asteraceae) consists of about 700 species and distributed in the mediterranean region and the near east with a few species reaching northern eurasia, north and east africa, north america, and australia (bancheva et al., 2014; behçet et al., 2017). turkey is one of the main centers of this genus, particularly the southwest and east of the country (wagenitz, 1986), and regarded as the third largest genus in turkey (davis, 1975). in turkey, centaurea is represented by 194 species, of which 118 are endemic (guner et al., 2012). the systematics of the genus centaurea is problematic, and the sectional classification of centaurea relies heavily on the morphology of the appendage of phillary and achenes (garcia-jacas et al., 2001). the taxonomic coplexity of centaurea, especially in the near east, has stirred much research (duran and duman, 2002; türkoglu et al., 2003; yüzbaşıoğlu et al., 2015). the status of species and infraspecific taxa included in centaurea has been revised in several taxonomic treatments (rahiminejad et al., 2010; ranjbar and negaresh, 2013; negaresh and rahiminejad, 2014). in the recent past, several authors concentrated on morphological studies of centaurea alongside describing new species from turkey (kose et al., 2010; hayta et al., 2016; behçet et al., 2017). anatomical and cytological characters play pivotal role in plant systematics, and quite often offer tools for species delimitation. stem and leaf anatomy provide many characters which have 1fırat university, science faculty, biology department, elazığ, turkey. 3department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. 3munzur university, pertek sakine genç vocational school, tunceli, turkey. correspending author. email: ucakilcioglu@yahoo.com mailto:ucakilcioglu@yahoo.com 216 tasar et al. already been proven to be of importance in classification (lu et al., 2008), and have been widely used in taxonomic treatments and systematic studies (noman et al., 2014). though some taxa of centaurea were investigated based on anatomical (ozcan, 2013; uysal et al., 2016) and cytological (martin et al., 2006; uysal et al., 2009) characters, many taxa of this genus occurring in turkey remain unexplored using these important tools. since centaurea is taxonomically a complicated genus as it contains many taxa that show a great degree of morphological variations, anatomical and cytological data should be involved to resolve taxonomic limits. therefore, the present study aimed at exploring the anatomical and cytological features of three centaurea taxa from turkey and to enrich the knowledge of these features for better understanding of systemaics of centaurea. materials and methods plant materials plant materials were collected from natural habitats from 2011 to 2012. the voucher specimens have been deposited at the firat university herbarium (fuh). the taxonomic identifications of the taxa were confirmed following davis (1975). the list of the taxa investigated in this study along with their localities and vouchers are provided in table 1. table 1. list of the investigated taxa with their localities and voucher specimens. taxa locality vouchers centaurea polypodiifolia boiss. var. polypodiifolia b7/elazığ; çemişgezek, danbüken, avşan köyü, 1090 m. 16.07.2012 tasar, 1005 c. urvillei dc. subsp. urvillei b7/elazığ; harput, anguza baba, kayalık alan, 1400 m. 13.06.2011 tasar, 1008 c. urvillei subsp. armata wagenitz b7/ elazığ, baskil, yukarı kuluşağı köyü, kayalık alan, 1400 m. 13.06.2011 tasar, 1009 anatomical investigation cross sections of stem, root, leaf and surface sections of leaf of three taxa of centaurea were made after fixing in 70% ethanol (yakar-tan, 1982). the sections were observed under light microscope olympus bx51 and photographed with olympus camedia c-4000 digital camera. cytological study the cytological studies were conducted on root tips meristematic cells. the seeds were germinated on moist filter paper in petri dishes at 25°c. the actively growing root tips were pretreated with aqueous colchicine (0.05%) for 3–3.5 h at room temperature. afterwards, the root tips were fixed with carnoy (1:3 glacial acetic acid–absolute ethanol) for at least 24 h at 4°c, hydrolysed in 1 n hcl at 60°c for 15 min, then rinsed in tap water for 3–5 min. finally, they were stained in feulgen for 1 h and mounted in 45% acetic acid. digital microphotographs from at least 5 well-spread metaphase plates were taken using an olympus bx51 microscope, and were recorded with an olympus camedia c-4000 digital camera. diploid chromosome number (2n), ploidy level, karyotype formula, chromosome length range and total karyotype length (tkl) were determined. chromosomes were classified according to nomenclature given by levan et al. (1964). the intrachromosomal asymmetry index (a1) and the interchromosomal asymmetry index (a2) followed romero-zarco (1986), while the karyotype symmetry nomenclature followed stebbins (1971). for calculating coefficient of variation of chromosome length (cvcl), coefficient of variation of the centromeric index (cvci) and asymmetry index (ai) paszko (2006) was tailed. morphological, anatomical and cytological investigation of centaurea 217 results and discussion morphological characteristics centaurea polypodiifolia boiss., diagn. pl. orient. ser. 1, 6: 126 (1846), var. polypodiifolia. c. euphratica boiss., diagn. pl. orient. ser. 1, 6: 125 (1845). microlophus polypodiifolius (boiss.) agadshanov, fl. azerb. 8: 443 (1961). (fig. 1a-b). biennial or perennial, 33-44 cm long, with numerous branches and thickened taproot. root 16-23 cm long. stem, branches and lower leaves with crisp articulate hairs, other leaves almost glabrescent. lower leaves 120-180×50-80 mm, median leaves 50-90×10-18 mm. capitula corymbosely arranged, 2.5-3.5 cm long. flowers yellow. appendage very small (0.5-2.5 mm) and easily deciduous, a simple spinule or with 1-2 pairs of minute teeth. involucre 16-20×10-13 mm, rarely broader, upper leaves narrowly lanceolate, not concealing involucre. outer phyllaries 8-12 x 5-7 mm, median phyllaries 10-14×4-7 mm, inner phyllaries 15-18×2-4 mm. achenes 4-5 mm, pappus 5-8 mm long. flowering: june to august. habitat: rocky slopes, steppe, fallow fields, at 800-2500 m above the sea level. centaurea urvillei dc., prodr. 6: 592 (1838), subsp. urvillei. aegialophila longispina cand. in bull. soc. bot. fr. 44: 146 (1897). c. urvillei dc. var. leptacantha bornm. in beih. bot. centr. 38(2): 464 (1921). c. chiosicola beauv. & topali in bull. soc. bot. geneve ser. 2, 26: 156 (1936). (fig. 1c-d). short-lived perennial, 12-28 cm tall. root 3-5 cm long. stem simple or branched from near base, very short or elongate, mostly rather slender. lower leaves 90-12 x30-50 mm, median leaves 150-210 x 23-42 mm, slightly arachnoid to distinctly tomentose, lyrate with triangular, rhombic or oblong-ovate terminal segments, few to numerous lanceolate, lateral segments of leaves entire or dentate. capitula 1-4, c. 5-7 cm long. flowers rose-purple or whitish. appandages (excluding cilia) 2-4(-5) mm broad at the base, rarely more than 20 mm long. involucre 30-40×17-38 mm, ovoid to globose. outer phyllaries 7-12×5-9 mm, median phyllaries 13-15×5-7 mm, inner phyllaries 15-22 × 5-7 mm. achenes 4-6 mm long, pappus 7-12 mm long. flowering: june to july. habitat: rocky slopes, macchie, open pinus forests, at 2000 m above sea level. centaurea urvillei dc., prodr. 6: 592 (1838), subsp. armata wagenitz., willdenowia 6(3): 491 (1972). c. urvillei dc. var. platyacantha bornm. in beih. centr. 38(2): 464 (1921) (fig. 1e-f). short-lived perennial or biennial, 11-20 cm long. root 4-10 cm long. stem simple or branched from near the base, short or elongated, stout. lower leaves 90-120×25-30 mm, median leaves 110-160×30-50 mm, slightly arachnoid to distinctly tomentose, lyrate with triangular, rhombic or oblong-ovate terminal segments, few to numerous lanceolate, oblong or lyrate, interspersed with small lobes. capitulum 5.0-5.5 cm long. flowers rose-purple or whitish. appandages 4-7 mm broad at the base, with 8-12 cilia on each side. involucre 30-35×30-40 mm, ovoid to globose. outer phyllaries 15-24×8-10 mm, median phyllaries 15-18×5-10 mm, inner phyllaries 20-25×6-10 mm. achenes 4-6 mm long, pappus 6-13 mm long. flowering: june to august. habitat: dry stony slopes, scree, rocks, at 50-2800 m above sea level. notes: the present morphological investigation deals with in-depth study including the several quantitative characters of three taxa of centaurea, viz, size of root, lower and median leaves, outher, median and inner phyllaries and capitulum, where these characters are missing in the flora of turkey (davis, 1975). 218 tasar et al. fig. 1. a-b: centaurea polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia; c-d: c. urvillei subsp. urvillei, e-f: c. urvillei subsp. armata; a,c,e: habitat, b,d,f: herbarium specimens. morphological, anatomical and cytological investigation of centaurea 219 anatomical characters root anatomy the outer layer contains a periderm in the form of an epidermis (protective tissue). the crushed epidermis is found below the peridermis. under the epidermis is a cortex layer consisting of small, ovoid, thick-walled parenchyma cells. sclerenchymatous bundles are partially embedded in the cortex layer. under the cortex, there is cambium trapped in a narrow area. next to the cortex there are well developed vascular bundles. although the number of phloem cells is less, xylem cells occupy a broader space. the xylem expanded to cover its own pith region (fig. 2). stem anatomy stem anatomy revealed the presence of a thick cuticle layer outside the stem, and in the lower part of it, epidermis with dense hairs was observed. collenchyma and chlorenchyma occurred in alternating segments below epidermis. there are sclerenchymatous bundles between chlorenchyma and collenchyma. scleranchyma cells are in the order of 4-5, and there are intercellular spaces between these cells. under this layer, phloem and xylem are present, respectively. it has been observed that the vascular bundles under the collenchymatic tissue are larger. the vascular bundles in the stem of studied taxa are arranged in two rings and the type of vascular bundles is bicollateral. the cambium is seen as crushed. the phloem in the inner side of xylem is less visible. the collenchyma tissue was generally located very close to the epidermis with 3-4 rows in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and c. urvillei subsp. armata and 4–6 rows in c. poypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia. in addition, a chlorenchymatous tissue below the epidermis was observed in the stem cortex with 3-4 rows in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and c. urvillei subsp. armata and 4-5 rows in c. poypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia (fig. 2). leaf anatomy investigation on leaf anatomy showed different types of hairs on the outside of the leaf that were very intense. on the outer side, there is a cuticular layer framing the epidermis. under the upper and lower epidermis, there is palisade parenchyma. because the palisade parenchyma is present on both sides, it can be concluded that the leaf type is isolateral (equifacial). between the two palisade parenchyma, there is an irregularly arranged spongy parenchyma which occupies less area. all three taxa have equifacial leaves. in c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia, mesophyll tissue consists of 2-3 layers of palisade and 2-3 layers of spongy parenchymatous cells, whereas in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and c. urvillei subsp. armata it is composed of 3 layers of palisade parenchymatous cells and 2 layers of spongy parenchymatous cells (fig. 3). in surface section, stoma cells were found as amaryllis type. stomata are surrounded by usually 3, and rarely 4 neighboring cells. the type of stomata is anisocytic (fig. 3). cytological characters chromosome numbers and detailed chromosome morphology of three centaurea taxa are reported in this study. in centaurea polypodiifolia boiss. var. polypodiifolia, the chromosome number was found to be 2n=16 and the basic chromosome number of x=8. the shortest chromosome length is 1.92 μm, while the longest is 4.66 μm, and haploid chromosome length is 22.9 μm. the karyotype formula of this taxon is 1m+5m+2sm (table 2). in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei, chromosome number 2n=20 and the basic chromosome number of x=10 is reported. the shortest chromosome length is 2.80 μm, the longest is 5.28 μm and haploid chromosome length is 37.84 μm. the karyotype formula of this taxon is 2m+5m+3sm (table 2). satellite was detected on the short arm of chromosome 5 in this taxon. the chromosome number of c. urvillei subsp. armata is 2n=20, where the basic chromosome number of x=10. the 220 tasar et al. shortest chromosome length is 3.05 μm, the longest 4.74 μm and haploid chromosome length is 41.01 μm. the karyotype formula of this taxon is 2m+5m+3sm (table 2). satellite was detected on the short arm of chromosome 3. other karyotype parameters and asymmetries are given in table 3. somatic metaphase chromosomes and idiograms of all three taxa of centaurea are presented in figures 4 and 5. fig. 2. cross-sections of stems and roots. a. centaurea polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia; b. c. urvillei subsp. urvillei; c. c. urvillei subsp armata. (pd=periderm, e=epidermis, co=cortex, sc=sclerenchyma, ph=phloem, ca=cambium, xy=xylem, pr=pith ray, pi=pith, ch=collenchyma, cl=chlorenchyma). morphological, anatomical and cytological investigation of centaurea 221 fig. 3. cross-sections of leaves of three centaurea taxa. a. c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia; b. c. urvillei subsp. urvillei; c. c. urvillei subsp. armata; d. surface section of leaf of c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia (other two taxa similar) (h=hair, ue=upper epidermis, ch=collenchyma, co=cortex, sc=sclerenchyma, ph=phloem, xy=xylem, pp=palisade parenchyma, sp=spongy parenchyma, le=lower epidermis). fig. 4. somatic metaphase chromosomes of three centaurea taxa. a. c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia (2n=16); b. c. urvillei subsp. urvillei (2n=20); c. c. urvillei subsp. armata (2n=20) (scale bars: 10 μm). 222 tasar et al. table 2. karyological features of three taxa of centaurea studied. cytological characters c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia c. urvillei subsp. urvillei c. urvillei subsp. armata chromosome number (2n) 16 20 20 ploidy level 2x 2x 2x karyotype formule 1m+5m+2sm 2m+5m+3sm 2m+5m+3sm chromosome length (µm) 1.92-4.66 2.80-5.28 4.74-3.05 total karyotype length (tkl) (µm) 22.9 37.84 41.01 intrachromosomal asymmetry index (a1) 0.29 0,31 0.27 interchromosomal asymmetry index (a2) 0.32 0.21 0.14 karyotype symmetry nomenclature followed stebbins (sc) 3b 3a 3a coefficient of variation of chromosome length (cvcl) 32.75 21.70 14.36 coefficient of variation of centromeric index (cvci) 15.02 22.57 19.80 karyotype asymmetry index (ai) 4.92 4.89 2.84 fig. 5. idiogram of three centaurea taxa. a. c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia; b. c. urvillei subsp. urvillei, c. c. urvillei subsp. armata. the present study was carried out in order to provide useful and additional morphological, anatomical and cytological data for three centaurea taxa of turkey, namely c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia, c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and c. urvillei subsp. armata. several attempts have been made to subdivide the genus centaurea (s.l.) comprising about 300 problematic species (garciajacas et al., 2006). wagenitz (1975) placed these taxa in the two distinct sections of the genus centaurea, viz. section acrocentron (c. urvillei subsp. urvillei, c. urvillei subsp. armata) and section microlopus (c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia) in the flora of turkey. centaurea polypodiifolia boiss. is one of the six species included in the section microlophus (cass.) dc., and is divided into three varieties based on length of appendages and width of involucre. the appandages of c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia are very small and easily decidous. the type has narrow upper leaves but larger involucres than most of the other material of this variety and approaches var. szovitsiana in this respect. the appandages of c. polypodiifolia var. pseudobehen morphological, anatomical and cytological investigation of centaurea 223 are very variable and the upper leaves are narrowly lanceolate. the following gathering is almost intermediate between var. polypodiifolia and var. pseudobehen (davis, 1975). centaurea urvillei dc. is one of the seventeen species included in the section acrocentron (cass.) dc. and is a very polymorphic species with five distinct subspecies, connected by transitional forms although the extrems (subsp. urvillei and subsp. hayekiana) look very different and could easily be placed at species rank. the geographical differentiation is only partial, especially where the areas of subsp. urvillei and subsp. armata overlap. c. urvillei is endemic to turkey and closely related to c. lydia and c. raphanina sensu lato (davis, 1975). c. urvillei subsp. urvillei shows considerable variation in the length of the appendages (spines) and appendages have been found shortest in some samples collected from sout-western anatolia of turkey. wagenitz (1975) explained morphological characters in the genus centaurea, and metcalfe and chalk (1979) provided information on anatomical characteristics of the family asteraceae. in addition to some morphological and anatomical investigations, studies on palynology, phytogeographic distribution and ecology of some centaurea s.l. species in turkey were presented (ozler et al., 2009). however, no detailed morphological and anatomical studies of the investigated taxa are available so far. in the present study we investigated root, stem and leaf anatomy of c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia, c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and c. urvillei subsp. armata. the general root, stem and leaf structure are almost similar in all examined taxa, but a few differences were determined as shown in figures 2 and 3. the anatomical characters of all studied taxa have been presented here for the first time. in root of all examined taxa, the crushed epidermis is found below the peridermis. although the number of phloem cells is less, xylem cells occupy a broader space. the xylem expanded to cover its own pith region. the collenchyma tissue was generally located very close to the epidermis with 3-4 rows in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and subsp. armata and 4–6 rows in c. poypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia. it is well established that the position and the average number of row in collenchyma tissue is important for comparative anatomical studies in plants (lersten and curtis, 1997; makbul et al., 2008). additionally, a chlorenchymatous tissue below the epidermis was observed in the stem cortex with 3-4 rows in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and subsp. armata and 4-5 rows in c. poypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia. this tissue was reported in the genus centaurea in some earlier studies (uysal et al., 2005; celik et al., 2005, 2008; kaya et al., 2010). the vascular bundles in stem of centaurea are generally arranged in 2 rings. our investigated taxa revealed 2 rings, however, they are sometimes arranged in 1 ring in some taxa of centaurea. celik et al. (2005, 2008) and kaya et al. (2010) reported that vascular bundles are scattered in a circular manner in a single ring in the stem of some centaurea species. leaf anatomical properties are used as significant distinctive characters in plant taxonomy (uysal et al., 2005; kaya et al., 2010). in cross-sections of leaves we found that vascular bundle was capped by sclerenchymatic fibres at both sides in all the examined taxa (fig. 3). however, the sclerenchymatic fibres were more prominent in c. polypodifolia var. polypodifolia. all studied taxa have equifacial leaves, with a mesophyll tissue that consists of 2-3 layers of palisade and 2-3 layers of spongy parenchymatic cells of c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia, 3 layers of palisade parenchymatic cells and 2 layers of spongy parenchymatic cells in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and c. urvillei subsp. armata, respectively. the importance of karyomorphology in centaurea has long been realized (garcia-jacas and susanna, 1992). in the genus centaurea in turkey the somatic chromosome number varies from 2n=16 to 66 (wagenitz, 1975; martin et al., 2006; inceer et al., 2007). the basic chromosome 224 tasar et al. number of centaurea species varies from x=7 to 16 and four ploidy levels (2x, 3x, 4x, 6x) have been determined (gomurgen et al., 2010; meric et al., 2010; kocyigit and bona, 2013). the cromosome number of c. polypodiifolia var. polypodiifolia in the present study was found to be 2n=2x=16, and this finding was found consistent with ghaffari and shahraki (2001). in c. urvillei subsp. urvillei and subsp armmata 2n=2x=20 were found and our results were supported by previous studies (gardou and tchehrehgosha, 1975; garcia-jacas et al., 1997), although different chromosomal counts for c. urvillei subsp. urvillei (2n=40) have also been made (martin et al., 2009). in this study we found anatomical and cytological characters as useful in the taxonomy of three centaurea taxa in turkey. investigation of anatomical features were first of its nature among the studied taxa. the findings of the present study would be useful for contributing to systematics of this genus centaurea and to infer interspecific relationships based on anatomical and karyological characters. acknowledgements the financial support from the scientific investigation project coordinator of firat university (project number: ff.12.02) is gratefully acknowledged. references bancheva, s., kaya, z. and binzet, r. 2014. morphological, cytological and palynological features of three closely related centaurea species (asteraceae) from turkey. mod. phytomorphol 5: 79–84. behçet, l., ilçim. a. and yapar, y. 2017. centaurea bingoelensis (asteraceae), a new species from turkey. turk. j. bot. 41: 180–188. celik, s., uysal, t., menemen, y. and karabacak, e. 2005. morphology, anatomy, ecology, pollen and achene structure of centaurea consanguinea dc. 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(manuscript received on 31 march 2018; revised on 21 october 2018) microsoft word s-3. didymodon cordatus_6.12.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 259-261, 2013 (december) short communication © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists didymodon cordatus jur. (pottiaceae), new to the moss flora of china dong-ping zhao1, xue-liang bai, jian-nan wang and yang liu2 department of biology, inner mongolia university, hohhot 010021, china keywords: bryophytes; didymodon cordatus; pottiaceae; new record; china. didymodon hedw., represented by approximately 122 species (zander, 1993), is taxonomically one of the most problematic groups in the moss family pottiaceae, and distributed throughout the world and mostly found on rock or soil. in china, li et al. (2001) listed 19 species of the genus, and the most recent treatment of chinese didymodon included 26 species (ren, 2011). recently, we collected one specimen of didymodon from the field from qingshuihe county in inner mongolia autonomous region. the specimen has been identified as d. cordatus jur. following jiménez (2006). the species was listed earlier by redfearn and wu (1986) from china without distributional records, and the author treated it as taxonomic synonym with barbula gigantea funck. it is commonly accepted (e.g., jiménez et al., 2005; jiménez, 2006; zander, 2007) that barbula gigantea, basionym of didymodon giganteus (funck) jur., is a very distinctive species, recognizable by its relatively enormous size and porous basal cells, which is easily differentiated from didymodon cordatus. redfearn et al. (1996) did not include d. cordatus in the updated checklist of chinese mosses owing to a lack of information of chinese locations. moss flora of china may be the most authentic reference for study of chinese mosses, however, li et al. (2001) did not include the species as well. thus, didymodon cordatus is reported here as a new addition to china with exact distributional information. the species is broadly distributed, and it has been reported from north america, europe, asia and sub-saharan africa. the voucher specimen of the species has been deposited at inner mongolia university herbarium (himc). the description and digital photographs of the species based on fresh material are given below. didymodon cordatus jur. bot. zeitung (berlin) 24: 177, 8a (1866). (fig. 1). plants 0.5-1.0 cm high, growing in dense turfs, green to dark green. stems erect, simple, central strand differentiated. leaves appressed and incurved when dry, spreading when moist, oblong deltoid or lanceolate. lamina unistratose; apex broadly acute; margin entire, revolute up to the apex or near it, unistratose or very rarely bistratose near to apex. costa very stout, shortly excurrent in a wide mucro; ventral cells of the leaf quadrate or shortly rectangular, papillose; in transverse section at upper and middle leaves rounded; with 5-8 guide cells in 1 layer, with 3-4 ventral stereids and 2-3 layers of dorsal stereids, without hydroids, ventral epidermis differentiated, not bulging, papillose, dorsal epidermis differentiated, papillose or smooth. upper and middle laminal cells quadrate, rounded or shortly rectangular, with 1-2 papillae per cell; basal cells rectangular or quadrate, not differentiated, smooth, thin-walled; marginal basal cells not differentiated. gemmae absent. sporophyte not seen. specimen examined: china: inner mongolia autonomous region, qingshuihe county, d. p. zhao, j. n. wang and y. liu, z 201306001(himc). 1corresponding author. email:topalizdp@aliyun.com 2college of life sciences, inner mongolia agricultural university, hohhot 010018, china 260 zhao et al. distribution: north america, austria, britain, france, germany, hungary, italy, russia (north ossetia), spain, switzerland, serbia and montenegro, yemen (socotra), kazakhstan and mongolia. fig. 1. didymodon cordatus jur.: a). transverse section of stem, b). leaf, c). upper laminal cells, d). transverse section at upper leaf, e). transverse section at mid-leaf, f). middle laminal cells, g.). basal laminal cells. ecology: didymodon cordatus grows on limestone in wanjiazhai reservoir at loess hill-gully region together with grimmia laevigata (brid.) brid. and another unknown species of didymodon. notes: most authors dealing with didymodon cordatus describe the multicellular gemmae borne on rhizoids in the axils of the leaves (kuçera, 2000; pedrotti, 2001; smith, 2004; jiménez, 2006; didymodon cordatus jur. (pottiaceae) 261 luth, 2006), while the chinese specimens lack such gemmae. didymodon tectorum (müll. hal.) k. saito, a widespread loess hilly taxon, is similar to d. cordatus in appearance but could be differentiated because of its numerous gemmae, strongly differentiated stem central strand, semicircular transverse section of costa, and weakly differentiated ventral stereids. didymodon cordatus is somewhat similar to d. rigidulus, however, it differs from the latter by having margins unistratose or very rarely bistratose near to apex, but never evenly so throughout the leaf. acknowledgements we like to acknowledge the support of the national natural science foundation of china (grant no. 31260046). references jiménez j.a. 2006. taxonomic revision of the genus didymodon hedw. (pottiaceae, bryophyta) in europe, north africa and southwest and central asia. j. hattori bot. lab. 100: 211-292. jiménez, j.a., ros, r.m., cano, m.j. and guerra, j. 2005. a revision of didymodon section fallaces (musci, pottiaceae) in europe, north africa, macaronesia, and southwest and central asia. ann. missouri bot. gard. 92(2): 225-247. kuçera, j. 2000. illustrierter bestimmungschlüssel zu den mitteleuropäischen arten der gattung didymodon. meylania 19: 1-48. li x.j., he, s. and iwatsuki, z. 2001. pottiaceae. in: li, x.j. and crosby, m.r. (eds), moss flora of china. vol. 2. science press, beijing and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 114-249. lüth, m. (ed.). 2006. bildatlas der moose deutschlands. vol. 3. <www.bildatlas-moose.de>. freiburg, germany. retrieved on 10 july 2013. pedrotti, c.c. 2001. flora dei muschi d’italia, sphagnopsida, andreaeopsida, bryopsida. vol. 1. delfino antonio editore, rome. redfearn, p.l. and wu, p.c. 1986. catalog of the mosses of china. ann. mo. bot. gard. 73(1): 177-208. redfearn, p.l., tan, b.c. and he, s. 1996. a newly updated and annotated checklist of chinese mosses. j. hattori bot. lab. 79: 163-357. ren, d.m. 2011. studies of taxonomy and flora of pottiaceae in china. doctoral dissertation, inner mongolia university, hohhot. smith. a.j.e. 2004. the moss flora of britain and ireland. cambridge university press, cambridge, pp. 315333. zander, r.h. 1993. genera of the pottiaceae: mosses of harsh environments. bull. buffalo soc. nat. sci. 32:1-378. zander, r. h. 2007. pottiaceae. in: flora of north america editorial committee (ed.) flora of north america north of mexico, vol. 27. oxford university press, new york. (manusript received on 10 july 2013; revised on 8 october 2013)) microsoft word 05. typification in leucas_galley proof_approved 11.6.16.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 33-43, 2016 (june) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists typification of fourteen names of twelve recognized taxa in leucas r. br. (lamiaceae) and one new combination rajeev kumar singh1 botanical survey of india (bsi), southern regional centre (src), tnau campus, lawley road, coimbatore 641 003, tamil nadu, india   keywords: isolectotype; isoneotype; lectotype; neotype; syntype; leucas. abstract eight binomials of six recognized species of indian leucas r. br. are lectotypified, namely, leucas beddomei (hook. f.) sunojk. & p. mathew, l. diffusa benth., l. helianthemifolia desf., l. nepetifolia benth., l. pilosa benth., l. pilosa benth. var. pubescens benth., l. ternifolia desf. and l. vestita benth. two recognized taxa are neotypified, namely, l. angularis benth. and l. lanata benth. var. candida haines. l. lanata benth. var. candida haines is raised to species rank as l. candida (haines) r.kr. singh. l. pilosa benth. is added to the flora of india. additionally the following four recognized endemic species of leucas of myanmar are also lectotypified, leucas collettii prain, l. helferi hook. f., l. ovata benth. and l. teres benth. introduction during the present study on the systematics of leucas in india, a total of 22 taxa have already been lectotypified (singh, 2015). in the present communication, eight names of six recognized species of indian leucas are lectotypified and two names of two recognized taxa are neotypified here to avoid any ambiguity in the application of these names, because no specific herbarium sheet was cited as holotype in protologue of these taxa and also not lectotypified in earlier works (singh, 2001; sunojkumar and mathew, 2002, 2008; sunojkumar, 2008; singh, 2015). the variety candida haines of l. lanata benth. is raised to species rank and l. pilosa benth., which was earlier considered as endemic to myanmar, is now added to the flora of india. further, during the present study on leucas in india, author studied type specimens of leucas (held at cal and k), which are specimens of species that are endemic to myanmar. these are lectotypified here. while designating lectotypes and neotypes, the guidelines of art. 9.2, 9.23, 9.3(c) and 9.6 and recommendations 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d of the melbourne code (mcneill et al., 2012) were followed. typification of indian leucas 1. leucas angularis benth., pl. asiat. rar. (wallich) 1: 62 (1830). type citation: “ex ceylona. (herb. lindley.)” neotype (here designated): india, tamil nadu, glen fall, kodaikanal hills, 15 oct 1919, jacob 16135 (mh41559!); isoneotype: mh41558!. (fig. 1) distribution: india (kerala and tamil nadu) and sri lanka. notes: the above neotype is required as the original collection or gathering on the basis of which leucas angularis was described is not known to exist. within the protologue, bentham (1830) cited only ‘ex ceylona. (herb. lindley.)’ but did not provide any further information. bentham’s types are held at k and lindley’s at bm, cge and k. however, attempts to locate type 1email: rksbsiadsingh@yahoo.co.in 34 singh   specimens in these herbaria were unsuccessful. since no original material of the species appears to be extant, the specimen from mh41559 is chosen here as the neotype. the specimen selected is well preserved, has mature leaves and well developed flowers. 2. leucas beddomei (hook. f.) sunojk. & p. mathew, rheedea 12(2): 170 (2002). leucas hirta (b. heyne ex roth) spreng. var. beddomei hook. f., fl. brit. india 4: 687 (1885). type citation: “chambra peek, wynaad, alt. 5000 ft., beddome” lectotype (here designated): india, kerala, wynaad [wayanad], chambra peak, 5000 ft., march 1880, beddome s.n. (k000929538!); isolectotype: bm000950511!. (fig. 2) distribution: india, endemic and rare (kerala, restricted to wayanad district). notes: j.d. hooker (1885) described leucas hirta var. beddomei on the basis of specimens collected by beddome from chambra peak, wynaad, but no specific herbarium sheet was designated as the holotype nor did he mention the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. two herbarium sheets, collected by beddome from chambra peek, wynaad, with j.d. hooker’s annotation ‘l. hirta var. beddomei hf’ were traced (bm000950511 and k000929538). of these two, the better preserved k000929538, is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue and also in having dissected flower parts pasted on the sheet. singh (2001) cited the type information as “holotype : india, chambrapeek, wynaad, 5000 ft., beddome s.n. (bm)” and sunojkumar and mathew (2002) as “type: india, kerala, wayanad, chembra peak, 5000 ft., beddome s.n. – type of leucas hirta var. beddomei hook. f. (holotype – k, cibachrome photo!)”. although, they cited bm and k as housing the holotype, but their citation of holotype cannot be corrected to lectotype as per article 9.23 of icn 2012, which state that ‘on or after 1 january 2001, lectotypification or neotypification of a name of a species or infraspecific taxon is not effected unless indicated by use of the term “lectotypus” or “neotypus”, its abbreviation, or its equivalent in a modern language’. they also did not mention the phrase, “designated here” or its equivalent according to article 7.10. 3. leucas candida (haines) r.kr. singh, comb. et stat. nov. leucas lanata benth. var. candida haines, bot. bihar orissa 4: 747 (1922). type citation: “var. candida occurs on the hills of the central provinces”, “it possibly occurs on the higher sirguja mountains.” neotype (here designated): india, tamil nadu, nilgiris district, marappalam–burliar road, 1225 m, 29 apr 1971, rathakrishnan 38130 (mh73387!); isoneotype: mh73388!. (fig. 3) distribution: india, endemic (madhya pradesh, odisha and tamil nadu). notes: the above neotype is required as the original collection or gathering on the basis of which leucas lanata var. candida was described is not known to exist. within the protologue, haines (1922) cited only the locality but did not provide the date of collection, number of collection/gathering and the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. haines’s types are known to exist at k and some at cal, i tried to trace the type specimens in these two herbaria but no specimen was found extant. since no original material of the species appears to be extant, the specimen from mh (mh73387) is chosen here as the neotype. the specimen selected is well preserved, has mature leaves and well developed flowers. typification of twelve recognized taxa in leucas 35   figs 1-4: 1. neotype of leucas angularis benth. (mh, accesssion no. 41559, © botanical survey of india, src, coimbatore). 2. lectotype of leucas beddomei sunojk. & p. mathew (k000929538, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew). 3. neotype of leucas candida r.kr. singh (mh, accession no. 73387, © botanical survey of india, src, coimbatore). 4. lectotype of leucas diffusa benth. (k000929557, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew).    36 singh   key to distinguish leucas candida from l. lanata 1. leaves broadly ovate-rounded, 1.5–7 × 1.3–5.5 cm, veins not impressed above, pubescent above, tomentose beneath, dark above on maturity; petioles 0.8–2 cm long; calyx pubescent, teeth 0.6–0.9 mm long; corolla tube included within calyx, lower lip 1.2–1.3 cm long; nutlets smooth, rounded at apex l. candida − leaves ovate-lanceolate or ovate-oblong, 1–4 × 0.5–1.6 cm, veins distinctly impressed above, tomentose above, silky beneath, grey on maturity; petioles absent in upper leaves, or short (0.3–0.9 cm long) in lower ones; calyx tomentose, teeth 1.3–1.6 mm long; corolla tube usually exserted from calyx, lower lip < 0.8–0.9 cm long; nutlets tuberculate, truncate at apex l. lanata 4. leucas diffusa benth., labiat. gen. spec. : 615 (1834). leucas dimidiata sensu benth, pl. asiat. rar. (wallich) 1: 61 (1830), non (roth) spreng. (1825). type citation: “l. dimidiata. benth. in wall. pi. as. rar. non roth.”, “hab. in indiae orientalis peninsula herb. madr. (h. s. sp. e mus. angl. ind.)” lectotype (here designated): india, penins. indiae orientalis [peninsular india], madras, without date, rottler s.n. (k000929557!). (fig. 4) residual syntypes: without locality, 1829, herb. madr., wallich s.n. (k000929558!); without locality, without date, herb. madr., wallich cat. n. 2528 e (cal362830!). distribution: india, endemic (andhra pradesh, delhi, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu). notes: bentham (1834) described leucas diffusa based on the specimens from peninsular india and herb. madr., but no type was indicated nor did he cite the name of the collector(s), date of collection, collection number and the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. in the protologue, he mentioned that his earlier l. dimidiata in plantae asiaticae rariores (wallich) is l. diffusa now. as per the specifications given in protologues of l. diffusa and l. dimidiata sensu benth. (1830) in plantae asiaticae rariores, it is clear that peninsular india specimen belongs to herbarium rottlerianum and specimens of herb. madr. belongs to wallich cat. n. 2528 e. two specimens of herb. madr. (k000929558 and cal362830) and one of penins. indiae orientalis was traced (k000929557). since bentham worked at k, only the two specimens at k have been considered for lectotypification. the collection k000929557 is better preserved and more complete than the other, it agrees well with the protologue and also has dissected flower parts and short descriptive notes pasted on the sheet. therefore, this collection is here designated as the lectotype. 5. leucas helianthemifolia desf., mém. mus. hist. nat. 11: 2 (1824). type citation: “m. lechenault”, “cette jolie espèce est indigène des la presqu’île de i’inde; elle croît sur la base des montagnes de nelligerry.” lectotype (here designated): india, montagnes de nelliggerry [nilgiri mountains], without date, leschenault 34 (p00738007!). (fig. 5) residual syntype: india, montagnes de nelliggerry [nilgiri mountains], without date, leschenault s.n. (p00215013!). leucas ternifolia desf., mém. mus. hist. nat. 11: 4 (1824). type citation: “m. lechenault”, “elle croît également sur la base des montagnes de nelligerry.” typification of twelve recognized taxa in leucas 37   lectotype (here designated): india, montagnes de nelliggerry [nilgiri mountains], without date, leschenault 206 (p00738006!); isolectotype: p00215014!. (fig. 6) distribution: india, endemic (kerala and tamil nadu). notes: desfontaines (1824) described leucas helianthemifolia based on a gathering by leschenault from nilgiri hills, india but no specific herbarium sheet was designated as the holotype nor did he mention the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. within the protologue, desfontaines gave the precise locality and collector name but did not provide the number and date of collection. two herbarium sheets, collected by leschenault from nilgiri mountains, india are held at p (p00215013 and p00738007). the better preserved sheet, p00738007, is chosen here as the lectotype because the illustration in the protologue is based on this and it agrees well with the protologue. leucas ternifolia was described by desfontaines (1824) on the basis of specimens collected by leschenault from nilgiri mountains, india but no specific herbarium sheet was designated as the holotype nor did he mention the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. in the protologue, desfontaines gave the precise locality and collector name but did not provide the number and date of collection. two herbarium sheets at p (p00215014 and p00738006), collected by leschenault from nilgiri mountains, india were traced. of these, the best one, p00738006, is chosen here as the lectotype because the illustration in the protologue is based on this and it agrees well with the protologue. 6. leucas nepetifolia benth., pl. asiat. rar. (wallich) 1: 62 (1830). type citation: “hab. . . . . (herb. madr.)” lectotype (here designated): without locality, without date, herb. madr., wallich cat. n. 2526 (k001116355!); isolectotype: cal362295!. (fig. 7) distribution: india, endemic and rare (andhra pradesh, karnataka and tamil nadu). notes: in the protologue of leucas nepetifolia, bentham (1830) indicated only ‘hab. . . . . (herb. madr.)’ as type citation but did not provide the name of collector, date of collection, locality, number of collection/gathering and the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. pertaining to the specification given in protologue, two specimens of l. nepetifolia of herb. madr. (cal362295 and k001116355), belonging to wallich cat. n. 2526 were traced and better preserved sheet, k001116355, is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. 7. leucas pilosa benth., pl. asiat. rar. (wallich) 1: 62 (1830). type citation: “hab. α. ad ripas irawaddi.” lectotype (here designated): myanmar, irawaddi, 1829, wallich cat. n. 2058 [1] (k000929509!). (fig. 8) residual syntypes: myanmar, irawaddi, 1826, wallich cat. n. 2058 [1] (k001115020! and cal362482!). leucas pilosa benth. var. pubescens benth., pl. asiat. rar. (wallich) 1: 62 (1830) et labiat. gen. spec. 609 (1834) et prodr. (a. p. de candolle) 12: 526 (1848). type citation: “β rajemahl.” lectotype (here designated): india, jharkhand, rajemahl [rajmahal], 7 aug 1820, wallich cat. n. 2058 [β] (k001115022!). (fig. 9) 38 singh   figs 5-8: 5. lectotype of leucas helianthemifolia desf. (p00738007, © muséum national d'histoire naturelle, paris). 6. lectotype of leucas ternifolia desf. (p00738006, © muséum national d'histoire naturelle, paris). 7. lectotype of leucas nepetifolia benth. (k001116355, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew). 8. lectotype of leucas pilosa benth. (k000929509, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew). typification of twelve recognized taxa in leucas 39   residual syntypes: india, jharkhand, rajemahl [rajmahal], 6 aug 1820, wallich cat. n. 2058 [β] (cal362483!); without locality, without date, wallich cat. n. 2058 [β] (k001115021!). distribution: india (jharkhand, madhya pradesh and uttarakhand) and myanmar. notes: bentham (1830) described leucas pilosa based on the specimens from irawaddi, but no specific herbarium sheet was designated as the holotype nor did he cite the name of the collector, date of collection, collection number and the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. pertaining to the specification given in protologue, three specimens from irawaddi of wallich cat. n. 2058 [1] were known (cal362482, k000929509 and k001115020). only the two sheets at k have been considered here to choose the lectotype for this name because bentham worked at k. the herbarium specimen, k000929509 belongs to herbarium benthamianum and is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. in the protologue of leucas pilosa var. pubescens, bentham (1830) indicated only ‘β rajemahl.’ as type citation but did not provide the name of collector, date of collection, number of collection/gathering and the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. pertaining to the specification given in protologue, three specimens from rajemahl [rajmahal] of wallich cat. n. 2058 [β] were traced (cal362483, k001115021 and k001115022), which should be considered as original material. only the two k specimens are considered as suitable lectotypes specimens for this name. the best one and better preserved sheet, k001115022, is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. j.d. hooker (1885) did not include leucas pilosa benth. var. pubescens benth. in the flora of british india, furthermore, he did not mention the place of occurrence of this variety. he mentioned the occurrence of l. pilosa, only in burma [myanmar]. singh (2001) in monograph of indian leucas did not clearly conclude the identity of var. pubescens and simply wrote that this variety was considered conspecific to l. pilosa by earlier workers and it may probably be a form of l. decemdentata (willd.)  sm., but he mention the species l. pilosa benth. is endemic to myanmar. bentham (1830) described var. pubescens on the basis of specimens from rajmahal, jharkhand state, india. in labiatarum genera et species and in prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis (dc.), he cited royle’s collection from deyra dhoun [dehra dun] and wallich’s collection from rajemahl [rajmahal] for var. pubescens. after study of type specimens of var. pubescens from rajmahal (k and cal) and royle’s collection from dehra dun (dd), it is now concluded that this variety pubescens is conspecific with l. pilosa benth. hence, leucas pilosa benth. is now added to indian flora. 8. leucas vestita benth., pl. asiat. rar. (wallich) 1: 61 (1830), p.p. et labiat. gen. spec. 613 (1834), p.p. et prodr. (a. p. de candolle) 12: 530 (1848). type citation: “hab. in sillet”, “hab. in indiae orientalis provincia sillet wallich ! et peninsulae montibus madurensibus wight ! (h. s. sp. e mus. angl. ind. et comm. a cl. wight.)”, “in indiae orientalis peninsulae montibus madurensibus (wight ! n. 2530).— wight ic. 2, t. 338.” lectotype (here designated): india, peninsula ind. orientalis [peninsular india], without date, wight 2530 (k000929531!). (fig. 10) residual syntype: without locality, without date, 1829, herb. wight, wallich s.n. (k000929529, p.p.!). distribution: india, endemic (andhra pradesh, karnataka, kerala and tamil nadu). notes: in plantae asiaticae rariores (wallich), bentham (1830) indicated only ‘hab. in sillet’ as type citation for leucas vestita, but did not provide the name of collector, date of collection, number of collection and the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. 40 singh   later in 1834 (labiatarum genera et species), he amended the description and cited ‘hab. in indiae orientalis provincia sillet wallich ! et peninsulae montibus madurensibus wight ! (h. s. sp. e mus. angl. ind. et comm. a cl. wight.)’ as type. again in 1848 (prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis), he amended the description and cited type as ‘in indiae orientalis peninsulae montibus madurensibus (wight ! n. 2530).— wight ic. 2, t. 338.’ so, finally l. vestita was correctly described by bentham in prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis (dc.) and it is endemic to south india. pertaining to these specifications, two specimens (k000929529, p.p. and k000929531) from herbarium benthamianum were traced. of these two, the best one, k000929531, is designated here as the lectotype, as it agrees well with the protologue. the herbarium sheet k000929529 is a mixed collection, the upper half plant specimen belongs to herb. wight (syntype of l. vestita benth. var. vestita), whereas the lower half is of beddome from anamallay hills (syntype of l. vestita benth. var. sericostoma hook. f.). two herbarium sheet of wallich cat. n. 2039 (k001114953! and cal362672!) collected from sillet [sylhet] though written as l. vestita benth. by wallich are actually l. ciliata benth. the herbarium sheet k000929542 of wallich cat. n. 2046 [β] collected from sillet [sylhet] was identified as l. vestita by bentham (1834) in labiatarum genera et species and later in 1848 treated as l. ciliata var. hirsuta in prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis (dc.). typification of leucas species endemic to myanmar 1. leucas collettii prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 59(4): 313 (1891). type citation: “upper burma; popah hill, 5000, collett n. 29.” lectotype (here designated): myanmar, popah hill, 5000 ft., dec 1887, collett 29 (cal0000020543!); isolectotype: k000929569!. (fig. 11) notes: prain (1891) described leucas collettii based on the specimens collected from popah hill, myanmar, but no specific herbarium sheet was designated as the holotype nor did he mention the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. only two herbarium specimens of collett 29 are now extant, cal0000020543 and k000929569. of these two, cal0000020543, is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue and also includes short descriptive notes and drawing of flower on the sheet by prain. 2. leucas helferi hook. f., fl. brit. india 4: 681 (1885). type citation: “tenasserim; helfer.” lectotype (here designated): myanmar, tenasserim, without date, helfer 4046 (cal0000020544!). (fig. 12) notes: j.d. hooker (1885) described leucas helferi based on the specimens collected by helfer from tenasserim but no specific herbarium sheet was designated as the holotype nor did he cited the date of collection, collection number and the name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. pertaining to the specification given in protologue only one specimen of l. helferi collected by helfer from tenasserim is extant now at cal (cal0000020544). the types of j.d. hooker’s are known to be at k, sometimes at bm, e and p, but no original materials are found there. although, the specimen cal0000020544 was not examined by j.d. hooker, but was collected by helfer from tenasserim and it is a part of original gathering. so, this should be considered as original material according to art. 9.3(c) of melbourne code (mcneill et al. 2012) and is chosen here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. typification of twelve recognized taxa in leucas 41   3. leucas ovata benth., pl. asiat. rar. (wallich) 1: 61 (1830). type citation: “wall. cat. herb. ind. n. 2057.”, “hab. ad ripas irawaddi.” lectotype (here designated): myanmar, irawaddi, 1829, wallich cat. n. 2057 (k000929508!). (fig. 13) residual syntypes: myanmar, irawaddi, 1826, wallich cat. n. 2057 (k001115019); myanmar, irawaddi, without date, wallich cat. n. 2057 (cal362481!). figs 9-14: 9. lectotype of leucas pilosa benth. var. pubescens benth. (k001115022, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew). 10. lectotype of leucas vestita benth. (k000929531, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew). 11. lectotype of leucas collettii prain (cal0000020543, © central national herbarium, howrah). 12. lectotype of leucas helferi hook. f. (cal0000020544, © central national herbarium, howrah). 13. lectotype of leucas ovata benth. (k000929508, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew). 14. lectotype of leucas teres benth. (k000929483, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew). notes: bentham (1830) described leucas ovata based on the gathering from irawaddi of wallich cat. n. 2057, but no specific herbarium sheet was designated as the holotype nor did he mention the date of collection and name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. pertaining to the specification given in protologue, three specimens from irawaddi of wallich cat. 42 singh   n. 2057 were known (cal362481, k000929508 and k001115019). only the two specimens at k have been considered here to choose the lectotype specimen for this name because bentham worked at k. the herbarium sheet k000929508 belongs to herbarium benthamianum and is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. 4. leucas teres benth., pl. asiat. rar. (wallich) 1: 62 (1830). type citation: “wall. cat. herb. ind. n. 2060”, “hab. ad ripas irawaddi.” lectotype (here designated): myanmar, irawaddi, 1829, wallich cat. n. 2060 (k000929483!). residual syntypes: myanmar, irawaddi, 1826, wallich cat. n. 2060 (k001115024!); myanmar, irawaddi, without date, wallich cat. n. 2060 (k000929482!). (fig. 14) notes: bentham (1830) described leucas teres based on the gathering from irawaddi of wallich cat. n. 2060, but no specific herbarium sheet was designated as the holotype nor did he mention the date of collection and name of herbarium where the specimens were housed. pertaining to the specification given in protologue, three specimens from irawaddi of wallich cat. n. 2060 were known (k000929482, k000929483 and k001115024). of these, the herbarium sheet k000929483, from the benthamianum herbarium, is designated here as the lectotype as it agrees well with the protologue. acknowledgements the author is thankful to dr. p. singh, director, botanical survey of india (bsi), kolkata and dr. g.v.s. murthy, head of office, botanical survey of india, southern regional centre, coimbatore for facilities. i am also grateful to the curators of bm, cal, cge, e, dd, k, mh and p for information and images of type specimens. references bentham, g. 1830. leucas. in: wallich n (ed.), plantae asiaticae rariores: or, descriptions and figures of select number of unpublished east indian plants 1: 60–62. treuttel and würtz, london. bentham, g. 1834. labiatarum genera et species 6: 609, 613 & 615. james ridgway & sons, london. bentham, g. 1848. leucas. in: de candolle ap (ed.), prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis 12: 523–533. sumptibus victoris masson, paris. desfontaines, r.l. 1824. observations sur les genres leucas et phlomis. description de plusieurs espèces. mémoires du muséum d’histoire naturelle, paris 11: 1–10. haines, h.h. 1922. the botany of bihar and orissa 4: 747–748. adlard & son & west newman ltd., london. hooker, j.d. 1885. the flora of british india 4: 680–691. l. reeve & co., london. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant-book: a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. third edition. cambridge university press, cambridge, pp. 485. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., buck, w.r., demoulin, v., greuter, w., hawksworth, d.l., herendeen, p.s., knapp, s., marhold, k., prado, j., proud’homme van reine, w.f., smith, g.f., wiersema, j.h. and turland, n.j. (eds.). 2012. international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (melbourne code): adopted by the eighteenth international botanical congress, melbourne, australia, july 2011. regnum vegetabile 154: 1–274. prain, d. 1891. noviciae indicae. iii. some additional species of labiatae. j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 59(4): 294–318. singh, r.kr. 2015. lectotypification of indian taxa of leucas (lamiaceae). telopea 18: 395–424. singh, v. 2001. monograph on indian leucas r. br. (dronapushpi) lamiaceae. scientific publishers, jodhpur, india. typification of twelve recognized taxa in leucas 43   sunojkumar, p. 2008. taxonomical change in leucas ciliata benth. and leucas vestita benth. (lamiaceae: lamioideae). candollea 63(1): 81-83. sunojkumar, p. and mathew, p. 2002. leucas beddomei (hook. f.) sunojkumar & p. mathew (lamiaceae), a new status and name for leucas hirta var. beddomei hook. f. – a little known endemic from india. rheedea 12 (2): 169-174. sunojkumar, p. and mathew, p. 2008. south indian leucas: a taxonomic monograph. centre for research in indigenous knowledge science and culture, calicut. (manuscript received on 14 october 2015; revised on 30 november 2015)   bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 233–236, 2017 (december) short communication © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists cololejeunea microscopica var. microscopica (marchantiophyta: lejeuneaceae) – a new record for india sushil kumar singh1 and shashi kumar botanical survey of india, eastern regional centre, shillong 793 003, meghalaya, india keywords: cololejeunea microscopica var. microscopica; aphanolejeunea; new record; india. the genus cololejeunea (spruce) schiffn. is one of the largest genera of the lejeuneaceae, represented by 436 taxa in the world dissevered in to 13 subgenera (söderström et al., 2016). the members of this genus are predominantly found in the wet tropics, subtropics and in some oceanic warm temperate areas where they grow mostly in foliicolous condition, but they also grow as epiphyte and on other substratum too (pócs and piippo, 2011). in india, the genus is represented by 56 species and 1 variety (singh et al., 2016; manju et al., 2017). an overview of subgenus aphanolejeunea of cololejeunea was presented by pócs and bernecker (2009) wherein 43 binomials accepted under it. seven taxa of subgenus aphanolejeunea namely, cololejeunea diaphana a. evans [formerly c. truncatifolia (horik.) mizut.], c. grossepapillosa (horik.) pócs, c. hyalina g. asthana & s.c. srivast., c. karnatakensis g. asthana & s.c. srivast., c. microscopica var. exigua (a. evans) bernecker & pócs and c. nilgiriensis g. asthana & s.c. srivast. are described from india (asthana and srivastava, 2003; dey and singh 2012; asthana and srivastava, 2015; singh et al., 2016). earlier, singh and kumar (2016) have recorded 10 species and an unnamed cololejeunea from tripura based on collections made during intensive field exploration tour to the state in october 2015 but mainly from jampui hills in north district and longtarai valley in dhalai district. the detailed study of the unnamed specimen mentioned under specimen examined, confirms their identity as cololejeunea microscopica var. microscopica. the same has been reported and described in present communication. however, it is interesting to note that our studied plants show some variation in lobule size and gemmae which might be due to different ecological and geographical conditions. cololejeunea microscopica (taylor) schiffn., hepat. (engl.-prantl): 122. 1895. jungermannia microscopica taylor in mackay, fl. hibern. 2: 59. 1836. aphanolejeunea microscopica (taylor) a.evans, bull. torrey bot. club 38: 273. 1911. var. microscopica (fig. 1). plants light-green when fresh, pale yellow in herbarium; shoots 2–5 mm long, 0.29–0.42 mm wide; branching irregular; stem cross-section oval–suborbicular in outline, 36.5–46.0 × 34.0–39.0 µm, 3 cells across the diameter; cortical cells in a layer of 5 cells, subquadrate–polygonal, 12.5– 18.0 × 9.5–14.5 µm, thin-walled, medullary cell one, polygonal, 8– 11 × 6– 8 µm, thin-walled; ventral merophyte single cell wide. leaves distant, obliquely spreading; leaf lobes ovate–oblongovate, 0.11–0.16 ×0.10–0.13 mm wide, antical margin slightly convex, postical margin convex, apex plane or rounded–obtuse, margin slightly crenate–entire; marginal leaf cells towards apex subquadrate–polygonal, 12.5–18.0 × 10.0–13.5 µm, median leaf cells pentagonal–hexagonal or rectangular, 14.0–24.0 × 9.5–15.0 µm, basal leaf cells slightly elongated pentagonal–hexagonal or polygonal, 15.0–27.5 × 10 – 18 µm; cells thin-walled, without trigones and intermediate 1corresponding author. email: sksbsinc@rediffmail.com mailto:sksbsinc@rediffmail.com 234 singh and kumar fig. 1: cololejeunea microscopica (taylor) schiffn. var. microscopica: a, b. a portion of plant in ventral view; c–e. cross sections of stem; f–l. leaves; m. marginal leaf cells; n. median leaf cells; o. basal leaf cells; p–s. leaf lobules; t–y. gemmae; z. a gemma showing germination former in having leaf lobes with acute–obtuse apices, papilliose leaf lobe cells, unicellular stylus and 16-celled gemmae with 3 adhesive cells (zhu and so, 2001; dey and singh, 2012). cololejeunea microscopica var. microscopica 235 thickenings; cuticle smooth; oil-bodies not seen; ocelli and vitta absent; leaf lobules large, inflated, (1/2-) 3/4–4/5 as long as the lobe, oblong-ovate, 0.09–0.14 mm long, 0.07–0.10 mm wide, free lateral margin slightly incurved, bordered by 4–6 subquadrate–rectangular cells, apex bidentate, first tooth 1–2 cells long, 1 cells wide at base, second tooth small, unicellular or obsolete, hyaline papilla spherical, on the inner surface of the base of first tooth, keel arched, slightly crenulated– smooth; stylus absent. gemmae discoid, on the margin of leaf lobe, 11–21-celled, 33.5–65.5 × 50– 78 µm, margin entire–crenulated, adhesive cells absent. androecial and gynoecial branches not observed. habitat: epiphytic, growing on bark of trees in moist and shady places. distribution: india (tripura), africa and europe (pócs, 1984). specimen examined: india, tripura, dhalai district, longtarai valley, 5 km after chawmanu towards manu, 23°51'45.5"n, 91°59'53.3"e, 49 m, 30.10.2015, shashi kumar tsli – 1424 (assam). notes and differentiation: among the indian species of the subgenus aphanolejeunea, it resembles cololejeunea grossepapillosa in having very delicate plants, obliquely spreading leaves, thin-walled leaf cells with minute trigones, devoid of intermediate thickenings and leaf lobules with 2 cells long first tooth and unicellular second tooth. but, the latter differs from the former in having leaf lobes with acute-obtuse apices, papillose leaf lobe cells, unicellular stylus and 16-celled gemmae with 3 adhesive cells (zhu and so, 2001; dey and singh, 2012). cololejeunea microscopica var. exigua and cololejeunea sintenisii are the other two taxa which show the affinities with species in discussion, but they are quite distinct. cololejeunea microscopica var. exigua differ from the species in having dimorphic leaves i.e. fully developed leaves with inflated lobules and reduced leaves which are almost elobulate; presence of dorsal papillosity on the leaf cells (asthana and srivastava, 2015). cololejeunea sintenisii differs in having smaller leaf lobules usually less than half of leaf lobe length and usually 1–2-celled falcated1st lobule tooth (pócs et al., 2014). key to the related species (modified after pócs et al., 2014): 1. leaf cells smooth-mammillose; lobe margin of fully developed leaves entire 2 leaf cells more or less papillose or the cells conically protuberant; lobe margin denticulate orcrenate 3 2. lobule always more than half of leaf lobe length (3/4 to 4/5); 1st lobule tooth usually consists of two cells, slightly falcate c. microscopica var. microscopica lobule usually less than half of leaf lobe length (1/4 to 1/2); 1st lobule tooth 1–2-celled, most cases falcate c. sintenisii 3. first lobule tooth straight; dorsal side of lobe and perianth densely covered by conical papillae. many leaves reduced, linear, only 2 cells broad c. grossepapillosa first lobule tooth falcate; dorsal side of lobe and perianth not densely covered by conical papillae. a good number of leaves fully developed, ovate or ligulate, 3–4 cells broad c. microscopica var. exigua 236 singh and kumar acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the director, botanical survey of india, kolkata and head of office, bsi, eastern regional centre, shillong for facilities and encouragement; to officials of forest department, tripura for permission and help during field exploration. we also thank the unknown reviewer for the useful suggestion towards improvement of this manuscript. shashi kumar (spf) is also grateful to director, bsi, for financial assistance under ‘flora of india’ project. references asthana, g. and srivastava, s.c. 2003. indian cololejeunea: a taxonomic study. bryophyt. biblioth. 60: 1– 155. asthana, g. and srivastava, s. 2015. cololejeunea microscopica var. exigua (a. evans) pócs: new to asia. pl. sci. today 2(4): 184–186. dey, m. and singh, d.k. 2012. epiphyllous liverworts of eastern himalaya. botanical survey of india, thiruvananthapuram. manju, c.n.,chandini,v.k. and rajesh k.p. 2017.cololejeunea manilalia (lejeuneaceae, marchantiophyta), a new species from the western ghats of india.acta bot. hung. 59 (1-2): 261–268. pócs, t. 1984. new or little known epiphyllous liverworts iii. the genus aphanolejeunea evans in tropical africa. cryptog. bryol. lichénol. 5: 239–267. pócs, t. and piippo, s. 2011. bryophyte flora of the huon peninsula, papua new guinea. lxxiv. cololejeunea (lejeuneaceae, hepaticae). acta bryolichenol. asiat. 4: 59–137. pócs, t. and bernecker, a.2009.overview of aphanolejeunea (jungermanniopsida) after 25 years. polish bot. j. 54(1): 1–11. pócs, t., bernecker, a. and tixier, p. 2014: synopsis and key to species of neotropical cololejeunea (lejeuneaceae). acta bot. hung. 56(1-2): 185–226. singh, d.k., singh, s.k. and singh, d. 2016. liverworts and hornworts of india: an annotated checklist. botanical survey of india, kolkata. singh, s.k. and kumar, s. 2016. a preliminary study on liverworts and hornworts of tripura, north-east india. nelumbo 58: 130–151. söderström, l., hagborg, a., konrat, m.v., began, s.b., bell, d., briscoe, l., brown, e., cargill, d.c., costa, d.p., stotler, b.j.c., cooper, e.d., dauphin, g., engel., j.j., feldberg, k., glenny, d., gradstein, s.r., he, x., heinrichs, j., hentschel, j., borges, a.l.i., katagiri, t., konstantinova, n.a., larraín, j., long, d.g., nebel, m., pócs, t., puche, f., drehwald, e.r., renner, m.a.m., gyarmati, a.s., verwimp, a.s., moragues, j.g.s., stotler, r.e., sukkharak, p., thiers, b.m., uribe, j., váňa, j., villarreal, j.c., wigginton, m., zhang, l. and zhu, r.l. (2016). world checklist of hornworts and liverworts. phytokeys 59: 1–828. zhu, r.l. and so, m.l. 2001.epiphyllous liverworts of china. nova hedwigia beih.121: 1–418. (manuscript received on 13 june 2017; revised on 16 october 2017) microsoft word 03. bjpt 12-06_breynia_revised.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 119-122, 2012 (december) © 2012 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists nineteen new combinations and a new name in breynia j.r. forst. & g. forst. (phyllanthaceae) from indian subcontinent t. chakrabarty1 and n.p. balakrishnan botanical survey of india, industrial section, indian museum, 1 sudder street, kolkata 700 016, india keywords: phyllanthaceae; breynia; new combinations; new name; sauropus. abstract nineteen new combinations and one new name are proposed in breynia for taxa previously treated in sauropus. introduction the concept of the family euphorbiaceae has changed as a result of evidence obtained from molecular studies and the current trend is to divide the family into several segregate families and merger of several genera. consequent upon the creation of the family phyllanthaceae based on the subfamily phyllanthoideae of euphorbiaceae, the genera breynia, glochidion and sauropus were combined with phyllanthus (hoffmann et al., 2006; kathriarachchi et al., 2006). however, latest molecular studies by pruesapan et al. (2008) indicated the need for a relook into these mergers. pruesapan (2010) has expressed reservations on the advisability of these mergers and made some logical suggestions. it is necessary to quote the statement of pruesapan (2010) as follows: “molecular phylogenetic studies focused on the genus phyllanthus l. (phyllanthaceae) showed that sauropus blume (including synostemon f.muell.) and its related genera breynia j.r. forst. & g. forst. and glochidion j.r. forst. & g. forst. should be united with phyllanthus to create a monophyletic genus. the relationships within sauropus and its relationship with breynia were studied to test/corroborate such a broad definition of phyllanthus. the molecular phylogenetic analyses show that sauropus in the broad sense is composed of two distinct groups, the former australian synostemon and the southeast asian sauropus in the strict sense with the monophyletic breynia embedded in the latter. as the phylogeny of the species rich phyllanthus is still far from completed and the results here strongly support the distinction of monophyletic groups such as glochidion, former synostemon, and sauropus/breynia. these genera are recognizable, while union with phyllanthus (suggested by hoffmann and co-authors in 2006) will turn the latter into an unrecognizable monolithic giant of a genus. it is a much better strategy to use the complete phylogeny of phyllanthus to render it into smaller, monophyletic genera that can be characterized. the present study shows synostemon has to be recognised again on generic level. breynia, the older name, is nested within sauropus, leading us to transfer the latter to breynia. within this broadened breynia, two subgenera and two sections are distinguished, subgenus sauropus and subgenus breynia with section cryptogynium and section breynia under the latter”. 1corresponding author. email: tchakrab@gmail.com 120 chakrabarty and balakrishnan a revision of the family phyllanthaceae for indian subcontinent is nearing completion and the authors favour and accept the concept of pruesapan (2010) which necessitates the transfer of the species of sauropus of indian subcontinent to breynia. the necessary new combinations and a new name proposed here are given below. new combinations 1. breynia androgyna (l.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. clutia androgyna l., mant. pl. 1: 128. 1767. type: “habitat in india”(van welzen, blumea 48: 340. 2003), herb. linn. no. 1206.14 (linn lecto). sauropus androgynus (l.) merr., bull. bur. forest. philipp. islands 1: 30. 1903. 2. breynia assimilis (thwaites) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus assimilis thwaites, enum. pl. zeyl. 4: 284. 1861. type: sri lanka, 1857, thwaites cp 2855 (cal syn, g-dc microfiche! syn, k 000246336 photo! syn, p 00318208 syn). 3. breynia bacciformis (l.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. phyllanthus bacciformis l., mant. pl. 2: 294. 1771. type: "habitat in tranquebaria" (scott in bosser et al., fl. mascareignes 160: 37. 1982), könig s.n., herb. linn. no. 1105.6 (linn lecto). sauropus bacciformis (l.) airy shaw, kew bull. 35: 685. 1980 & 36: 343. 1981. agyneia bacciformis (l.) blume, bijdr. fl. ned. ind. 595. 1826. synostemon bacciformis (l.) g.l.webster, taxon 9: 26. 1960, in adnot. 4. breynia bicolor (craib) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus bicolor craib, bull. misc. inform. kew 1914: 11. 1914. type: thailand, chiengmai, doi suthep, kerr 651 (k lecto; bm, k, a 00135515 isolectotypes). 5. breynia bishnupadae (m. gangop. & chakrab.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus bishnupadae m. gangop. & chakrab. apud chakrab. & m. gangop., j. econ. taxon. bot. 20: 524, 544, f. 2 a–d. 1996. type: india, sikkim, gulma, n.d., modder 114 (cal holo). 6. breynia brevipes (müll.-arg.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus brevipes müll.-arg., linnaea 32: 73. 1863. type: myanmar, prome, 16 sept. 1826, wallich 7918 b (g-dc microfiche! holo, k-wall microfiche! iso). 7. breynia compressa (müll.-arg.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus compressus müll.-arg. in dc., prodr. 15(2): 243. 1866. type: india, sikkim, 1861, j.d. hooker s.n. (sauropus no. 8) (k 000246346–7 photo! syn, g-dc microfiche! syn, p 00237393–4 syn); west bengal, darjeeling dist., pankhabari, j.d. hooker s.n. (k 000246345 photo! syn). s. quadrangularis (willd.) müll.-arg. var. compressus (müll.-arg.) airy shaw, kew bull. 26: 337. 1972. 8. breynia compressa (müll.-arg.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr. var. puberula (kurz) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus quadrangularis (willd.) müll.-arg. var. puberulus kurz, forest fl. burma 2: 350. 1877; type: myanmar, pegu yomah, 25 jan. 1869, kurz 1586 (cal holo). s. compressus var. puberulus (kurz) chakrab. & m. gangop., j. econ. taxon. bot. 20: 528. 1996. 9. breynia garrettii (craib) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus garrettii craib, bull. misc. inform. kew 1914: 284. 1914. type: thailand, doi angka, me wang drainage, 7 sept. 1910, garrett 37 (k holo, bm 000606479 iso, cal iso, l iso). nineteen new combinations and a new name in breynia 121 10. breynia gour-maitii (chakrab. & m. gangop.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus gour-maitii chakrab. & m. gangop., j. econ. taxon. bot. 20: 529, f. 5 a-e. 1996. type : india, kerala, trivandrum dist., way to chamunji, 19 may 1979, mohanan 61883 (cal holo; mh iso). 11. breynia macrantha (hassk.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus macranthus hassk., retzia 1: 166. 1855. type: indonesia, hortus bogorensis, teysmann s.n. (l, n.v. iso). 12. breynia po-khantii (chakrab. & m. gangop.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus po-khantii chakrab. & m. gangop., j. econ. taxon. bot. 20: 531, f. 7. 1996. type: myanmar, tenasserim, mergui dist., chaegleya, 6 may 1932, maung po khant 13451 (cal holo). 13. breynia quadrangularis (klein ex willd.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. phyllanthus quadrangularis klein ex willd., sp. pl. ed. 4, 4: 585. 1805. type: india orientali, klein s.n. (b-willd, herb. cat. no. 17985 microfiche! holo). sauropus quadrangularis (klein. ex willd.) müll.-arg., linnaea 32: 73. 1863 & in dc., prodr. 15(2): 242. 1866. 14. breynia repanda (müll.-arg.) chakrab. & n.p.balakr., comb. nov. sauropus repandus müll.-arg., flora 55: 2. 1872. type: india, sikkim, near nohore, pashok, 2400 4000 ft., t. anderson 922 (b syn, cal right hand side specimen, syn). 15. breynia retroversa (wight) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus retroversus wight, icon. pl. ind. orient. 6: 6, t. 1951(left). 1853. type: sri lanka, walker 2754 (k 000246332 photo! syn); ibid., thwaites cp 3134 (cal syn, g-dc microfiche! syn, k 000246330 photo! syn, p 00318236-7 syn). 16. breynia rigida (thwaites) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus rigidus thwaites, enum. pl. zeyl. 4: 284. 1861. type: sri lanka, 1856, thwaites cp 2135 (k 000246350 syn; cal -2 sheets syn, bm syn, g-dc microfiche! syn, p 0023739897-8 syn). 17. breynia saksenana (manilal et al.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus saksenanus manilal et al., j. indian bot. soc. 64: 294. 1985 (as saksenianus). type: india, kerala, silent valley, nilikkal, 1150 m, 6 aug. 1982, s. v. prasannakumar 10398 (cal holo, cali iso). 18. breynia stipitata (hook.f.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus stipitatus hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 333. 1887. type: india, darjeeling, griffith kd 4827 (cal iso, k 000246337 photo! holo). 19. breynia trinervia (hook. f. & thomson ex müll.-arg.) chakrab. & n.p. balakr., comb. nov. sauropus trinervius hook. f. & thomson ex müll.-arg., linnaea 32: 72. 1863 (as trinervis). type: india, khasi hills, hooker & thomson s.n. (cal syn, g-dc microfiche! syn, k syn). hbc, wallich 7922 a (k 000246342-3 syn). bangladesh, silhet, 1835, wallich 7922 b (cal syn, gdc microfiche! syn, k 000246341-44 photo! syn). 122 chakrabarty and balakrishnan new name breynia macrocalyx chakrab. & n.p. balakr., nom. nov. sauropus rhamnoides blume, bijdr. fl. ned. ind. 596. 1826, non breynia rhamnoides (willd.) müll.-arg. 1866. type: java, montis salak, blume s.n. (l lecto n.v., p 00360994 isolecto). references hoffmann, p., kathriarachchi, h. and wurdack, k.j. 2006. a phylogenetic classification of phyllanthaceae (malpighiales; euphorbiaceae sensu lato). kew bull. 61: 37-53. kathriarachchi, h., samuel, r., hoffmann, p., mlinarec, j., wurdack, k.j., ralimanana, h., stuessy, t.f.. and chase, m.w. 2006. phylogenetics of tribe phyllantheae (phyllanthaceae; euphorbiaceae sensu lato) based on nrits and plastid matk dna sequence data. amer. j. bot. 93(4): 637-655. pruesapan, k. 2010. the rise and fall of sauropus (phyllanthaceae): a molecular phylogenetic analysis of sauropus and allies. doctoral thesis: netherlands centre for biodiversity naturalis (section nhn), pita group, leiden university branch (unpublished). pruesapan, k., telford i.r.h., bruhl, j.j., draisma, s.g.a. and van welzen, p.c. 2008. delimitation of sauropus (phyllanthaceae) based on plastid matk and nuclear ribosomal its dna sequence data. ann. bot. 102(6): 1007-1008. (manuscript received on 23 january 2011; revised on 31 october 2012) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 135-144, 2013 (december) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists micromorphological and anatomical features of four species of elytrigia desv. (poaceae) lin meng1 and peichun mao beijing research and development center for grass and environment, beijing academy of agriculture and forestry sciences, beijing 100097, china keywords: elytrigia desv.; micromorphology; anatomy; sem. abstract the micromorphological and anatomical characters of elytrigia caespitosa (k. koch) nevski, e. intermedia (host) nevski × e. elongata (host) nevski, e. intermedia (host) nevski and e. repens (l.) desv. ex nevski have been studied using scanning electron microscope (sem) to determine interspecific variation. the results show that the root transverse section consists of epidermis, cortex and stele. two rings of vascular bundles and a central pith cavity appear in stem morphology. the leaves of e. caespitosa have either single or twin, horseshoe-shaped short cells born along the costal zone of the upper epidermis, which lack prickle hairs and contain spherical or oblique-shaped papillae. in e. intermedia, the parallel subsidiary cells are distributed on the upper epidermis, and there are no short cells in the leaves. dome-shaped subsidiary cells appear on the upper epidermis of e. intermedia × e. elongata and e. repens, but e. intermedia × e. elongata showes spot-shaped papillae, and its bulliform cells sank into the “hinge cells”. e. repens has no papillae, and its bulliform cells are not sunken into the mesophyll. therefore, the differences in micromorphological characters on the upper epidermis of the leaf could be useful in classifying and determining phylogenetic relationships among the species. introduction plant morphological feature is largely controlled by the genes of a species, but it can also be influenced by the environment (sattler and rutishauser, 1997; liu, 2006). therefore, the micromorphological and anatomical characters of root, stem and leaf can reflect the relationship between habitat and phylogenetics of plants (liu, 2006). elytrigia desv. is a perennial rhizomatous grass of the family poaceae. there are about 50 species of elytrigia throughout the world (chen and jia, 2000; lv et al., 2007), and many of them are ecologically and economically important. elytrigia intermedia is valued for its high quality forage, e. repens for stabilizing slopes and sandy soil (chen and jia, 2000), and e. intermedia and e. elongata for breeding distant hybrids of wheat (lv et al., 2007; webb and alrneida, 1990). several authors have shown that the leaf epidermal morphology of the grass family has taxonomic significance because of the fine morphological structure (chen et al., 1993; cai and guo, 1995). the anatomy of roots, stems and leaves of e. elongata and e. intermedia were examined and analyzed using scanning electron microscope (sem) showing that the two species have significant differences in leaf epidermal micromorphology (shi et al., 2009), e.g. three to four rows of papillae are distributed along the costal zone of e. elongata leaves, but three to four rows of prickle hairs are distributed along the costal zone of e. intermedia. therefore, the present study aims to contribute to the micromorphological and anatomical features of the roots, stems and leaves of the four species, e. caespitosa, 1corresponding author: e-mail: menglin9599@sina.com 136 meng and mao e. intermedia × e. elongata, e. intermedia and e. repens, using scanning electron microscopy (sem), and to evaluate the differences of the micromorphological characters for systematic purposes. materials and methods seeds of elytrigia caespitosa (k. koch) nevski, e. intermedia (host) nevski × e. elongata (host) nevski, e. intermedia (host) nevski and e. repens (l.) desv. ex nevski were collected from the national plant germplasm system (ngps) of usa in 2007; and planted at the experimental sites of the national experiment station of precision agriculture (nespa), xiao tangshan, about 55 km far from beijing (lat. 39°34' n, long. 116°28' e) in 2008. twenty seedlings of each species were planted in 80 cm × 80 cm rows. five healthy individuals for each of the four species were selected at the heading stage in may, 2009. samples were collected by cutting 5 mm segments from the middle sections of the second functional leaves, mature roots, and between the stem stipe of each plant. there were two repetitions totaling 40 specimens. all specimens were pre-fixed for about 3-4 h in 3% glutaraldehyde, and then fixed for more than 12 h in 1% osmic acid (h2oso4). the stationary liquid was formulated using a ph 7.2 phosphate buffer solution (pbs). all specimens were cleaned ultrasonically 3-5 times using pbs, then dehydrated in a 30%, 50%, 70%, 85%, 95% and 100% alcohol solution for 15 min each step by step, and laid in isoamyl acetate. the co2 critical point was obtained using a hcp-2 critical point dryer (hitachi co. ltd., japan), and coated with gold by ib-5 vacuum ion sputter (eiko engineering co. ltd., japan). mature leaves, roots and stems are examined with s-570 scanning electron microscope (hitachi co. ltd., japan), and are analyzed with wd-5 online photo management system for sem (analysis and examination center, wuhan university of china). the characteristics of the epidermal micromorphology of the upper leaves, including the length of long cells, the shape, density and distribution of short cells and papillae, the density and distribution of prickle hairs and the stomata cell parameters, and the leaf transverse section parameters, such as leaf thickness and characteristics of bulliform cells are thoroughly examined and analyzed. root anatomical features, including the number of vascular bundles, diameter of stele, thickness of cortex and diameter of metaxylem, and the stem anatomical features including the density of vascular bundles, thickness of cuticle and diameter of inner cycle vessel, are also examined and analyzed. each index has 10 data points, measured using photoshop, and means are calculated. statistical analyses are conducted using spss, 13.0 version. the standard leaf micro-morphological terminology is mainly adopted from chen et al. (1993), cai and guo (1995), cai (2000), kocsis et al. (2004) and torre (2004), whereas terminology for the morphology of roots, stems and leaf transverse sections are adopted from liu (2006). results and discussion root micromorphological characters: generally, three parts including the epidermis, cortex and stele are found in the root transverse section of four elytrigia species. the epidermis is made up of a layer of tightly packed cells with many epidermal hairs (root hairs). under the epidermis is exodermis with larger 2-3 layered cortex cells, which has thicker cell walls and no intercellular spaces. the endodermis is a single layer of small, tightly packed cells, each of which has five thick sides and are the horseshoe type with the passage cell. there are 2-3 layers of cells adjoining the endodermis to the thick cell wall and the radialized sequence, and the cell volume becomes larger from inner to outer layers. the stele includes the pericycle, vascular bundles and marrow. the pericycle is a layer of micromorphological and anatomical features of elytrigia 137 parenchymatous cells adjoining the endodermis. the exarch vascular bundle is polyarch xylem, and the centre of the stele contains the marrow filled with parenchyma (fig.1). the comparative result of root anatomical features of the four elytrigia species is presented in table 1. table 1. comparison of root anatomical features of four elytrigia species. species no. of vascular bundles diameter of stele (μm) thickness of cortex (μm) diameter of metaxylem (μm) e. caespitosa 13 466.57 ± 5.36 a 102.25 ± 2.56 a 36.13 ± 4.41 a e. intermedia × e. elongata 10 442.43 ± 15.81 a 59.52 ± 7.17 c 31.03 ± 6.38 b e. intermedia 9 456.97 ± 14.09 a 73.76 ± 11.53 b 35.83 ± 2.48 a e. repens 5 323.69 ± 17.77 b 91.90 ± 3.92 ab 29.54 ± 3.61 b different small letters in the same column indicate significant differences at p<0.05. fig. 1. root transverse sections of four elytrigia species. a) e. repens, b) e. intermedia, c) e. intermedia × e. elongata and d) e. caespitosa. rh: root hair; ep: epidenmis; co: cortex; phl: phloem; en: endodermis; me: metaxylem; pi: pith (a, b and d×200, c×150, scale bars = 50 μm). there are approximately 13 vascular bundles in e. caespitosa, which is significantly different than e. repens (p<0.05), that has only 5 vascular bundles. e. intermedia × e. elongata, and e. intermedia have 10 and 9 vascular bundles, respectively, and do not differ significantly (p>0.05). however, the thickness of the cortex of e. caespitosa (about 102.25 µm) is 1.72 times than that of 138 meng and mao e. intermedia × e. elongata. there are no significant differences among stele diameters of e. caespitosa, e. intermedia × e. elongata and e. intermedia (p>0.05), but diameters are significantly larger than those of e. repens (p<0.05), which is only 323.69 µm. table 2. comparison of stem anatomical features of four elytrigia species. species density of vascular bundles (number mm-2) thickness of cuticle (μm) diameter of inner cycle vessel (μm) e. caespitosa 9 ± 0.21 ab 4.01 ± 0.09 a 34.47 ± 0.80 b e. intermedia × e. elongata 8 ± 0.23 b 4.89 ± 0.14 a 35.08 ± 1.01 b e. intermedia 8 ± 0.14 b 5.22 ± 0.09 a 51.67 ± 0.89 a e. repens 10 ± 0.35 a 4.26 ± 0.15 a 31.15 ± 1.08 b different small letters in the same column indicate significant differences at p<0.05. fig. 2. stem transverse sections of four elytrigia species. a) e. repens, b) e. intermedia, c) e. intermedia × e. elongata and d) e. caespitosa. vb: vascular bundle; bs: bundle sheath; icv: inner cycle vessel; cu: cuticle; mc: medullary cavity (×100, scale bars = 50 μm). micromorphological and anatomical features of elytrigia 139 stem micromorphological characters: stem transverse sections of the four elytrigia species consist of four parts: the epidermis, ground tissue, vascular bundles and the medullary cavity (fig. 2). cuticle thickness in the epidermis is only about 4.01-5.22 µm. under the epidermis are two to three layers of sclerenchyma tissue (fiber) with thick cell walls, which are composed of parenchymatous cells. the collateral vascular bundle with sheath and no cambium are arranged in two rings. the outer ring contains small vascular bundles, which are embedded under the fiber and form the mechanical tissue, and parenchymatous cells are presented among the vascular bundles. the inner ring is composed of larger vascular bundles, and these are distributed among the parenchyma between the medullary cavity and the outer mechanical tissue (fig. 2). the cuticle thickness of four species do not differ significantly (p>0.05), but the density of the vascular bundles in e. repens differs from e. intermedia × e. elongata and e. intermedia (p<0.05). the diameter of the inner cycle vessel in e. intermedia is wider than that of e. caespitosa, e. intermedia × e. elongata and e. repens, but there are no significant differences in the inner cycle vessel diameters among the latter three species (table 2). fig. 3. upper leaf epidermis of four elytrigia species. a) e. repens, b) e. intermedia, c) e. intermedia × e. elongata and d) e. caespitosa. lc: long cell; sc: short cell; ph: prickle hair; obp: oblique papillae; ssp: spot-shaped papillae; sds: stomata with dome-shaped subsidiary cell; sps: stomata with parallel subsidiary cell (×200, scale bars = 50 μm). 140 meng and mao micromorphological and anatomical features of elytrigia 141 leaf micromorphological characters: the micromorphology and anatomy of the leaves in the four elytrigia species comprise three layers: epidermis, mesophyll and leaf veins. the epidermis is composed of long cells, subsidiary cells and stomatal and bulliform cells. quadrate long cells with thin or thick cell walls are arranged in parallel along the length of the costal and intercostal zones, and many of them show slight wave bending pattern (fig. 3). the cells of e. repens are the longest (233.33 µm), whereas those of e. caespitosa are the shortest (128.89 μm). the short cells only appear in the epidermis of e. caespitosa at a density of about 78 mm-2. they are saddle shaped, single or twin, and born along the costal zone, but absent in the intercostal zone. three rows of stomatal cells are present in the intercostal zone of the upper epidermis of e. caespitosa, and 1-2 rows appear along each side of the ribs in the costal zone for e. intermedia × e. elongata, e. intermedia and e. repens. the density, length and width of the stomatal cells of the four species are expressed differently, and the subsidiary cells of e. caespitosa and e. intermedia are in parallel, but e. intermedia × e. elongata and e. repens are dome-shaped. the papillae of e. caespitosa are spherical or oblique in shape and are distributed along the sides of the costal rib alternating with the long cells, at a density of about 132 mm-2. e. intermedia × e. elongata and e. intermedia show spot-shaped papillae scattered throughout the costal zone. the density of papillae in e. intermedia × e. elongata is 18 mm-2 but papillae are absent in e. repens. the density of prickle hairs in e. intermedia is 130 mm-2, which is significantly different than that of e. repens (73 mm-2) and e. intermedia × e. elongata (27 mm-2) (p<0.05) (table 3). the transverse section of leaves consists of epidermis, vascular bundles, mesophyll cells and fiber, i.e., sclerenchyma tissue (fig. 4). bulliform cells are present in the intercostal zones of all four species. however, those of e. intermedia × e. elongata are sunken into the mesophyll and form “hinge cells”, whereas those of the other species do not show this pattern. the ratio of leaf thickness of intercostal zones to thickness of bulliform cells of the four species is approximately 17.8-28.8%, and that of e. intermedia × e. elongata and e. repens are significantly different (p<0.05) compared with e. caespitosa and e. intermedia. the average costal and intercostal thicknesses of e. caespitosa and e. intermedia × e. elongata are greater than those of e. intermedia and e. repens (table 4) and the veins are hump shaped. there are two layers of vascular bundles in the veins: smaller, thick cell walls in the inner layer, and larger, thin cell walls in the outer layer. fiber is distributed along each side of the vascular bundles. the mesophyll tissue is made up of parenchymatous cells with large intercellular spaces, and there is no cellular differentiation between the palisade and spongy tissues (fig. 4). table 4. comparison of leaf transverse section of four elytrigia species. species leaf thickness bulliform cell costal zones (μm) intercostal zones (μm) average (μm) characters thickness (μm) ratio of bulliform cell (%)d e. caespitosa 250.33 ± 5.78 b 166.48 ± 3.84 a 208.41 ± 4.81 a not sunken 29.67 ± 0.69 b 17.8 ± 0.41 b e. intermedia × e. elongata 280.04 ± 8.08 a 154.63 ± 4.46 a 217.33 ± 6.27 a sunken into mesophyll and form 'hinge cell' 41.04 ± 1.18 a 26.5 ± 0.76 a e. intermedia 186.74 ± 3.23 c 122.67 ± 2.12 b 154.70 ± 2.68 b not sunken 23.63 ± 0.41 c 19.3 ± 0.33 b e. repens 197.37 ± 6.84 c 100.41 ± 3.48 c 126.89 ± 4.40 c not sunken 28.93 ± 1.00 b 28.8 ± 1.00 a different small letters in the same column indicate significant differences at p<0.05. d means that the ratio of bulliform cell thickness to leaf thickness. 142 meng and mao fig. 4. leaf transverse sections of four elytrigia species. a) e. repens, b) e. intermedia, c) e. intermedia × e. elongata and d) e. caespitosa. bc: bulliform cell; hc: hinge cell; fi: fibre; vb: vascular bundle (×300, scale bars = 50 μm). leaf micromorphological and anatomical characters are useful tool for plant identification and bears taxonomic significance (cai and guo, 1995; shi et al., 2009; cai and zhang, 2006; kahraman et al., 2010). the present investigation of the leaf anatomy of four elytrigia species agree with those in previous studies of e. intermedia and e. elongata (shi et al., 2009). based on leaf micromorphological and anatomical characters of four elytrigia species a dichotomous key is presented below: 1. single or twin short cells born along the costal zone, no prickle hairs on the upper epidermis. e. caespitosa – no short cells, but prickle hairs on the upper epidermis. 2 2. subsidiary cells on the upper epidermis are parallel. e. intermedia – subsidiary cells on the upper epidermis are dome-shaped. 3 3. long cells thick-walled; papillae spot-shaped; bulliform cells sunken into mesophyll forming “hinge cell”. e. intermedia × e. elongata – long cells thin-walled; papillae absent; bulliform cells not sunken into mesophyll. e. repens micromorphological and anatomical features of elytrigia 143 bulliform cells are unique characteristics of the leaves of endemic xerophytic graminaceous plants (cai, 2000). these cells are also known as motor cells, which can cause the leaf blades to curve or spread through the leaf during periods of water loss and absorption. usually, the bulliform cells appear in groups along the interveins in the upper epidermis of grasses. wang and wang (1989) found that the bulliform cells sunk into the mesophyll and formed “hinge cells” on the upper epidermis of bouteloua breviseta, increasing leaf curvature. however, qiang et al. (2007) in carex orbicularis and guo et al. (2007) in blysmus sinocompressus showed that bulliform cells with a little and smaller morphology appeared above the main vein of the leaves. in our study bulliform cells appear in all four elytrigia species, but they are only embedded in the mesophyll into the “hinge cell” in e. intermedia × e. elongata. the parallel or dome-shaped subsidiary cells in the leaves of grasses exhibit plant adaptation to drought and cold (cai and guo, 1995). therefore, having parallel subsidiary cells in e. caespitosa and e. intermedia and domeshaped subsidiary cells in e. intermedia × e. elongata, and e. repens confirm that these species are capable to resist heavy drought and cold. acknowledgements this work was supported by the natural science foundation of china (no. 30571321; no. 31272489), key projects in the national science & technology pillar program in the eleventh five-year plan period (no. 2008badb3b05) and the natural science foundation of beijing (no. 6082009). we are grateful to mr g. d. shi for helping in examining the specimens. references cai, l.b. 2000. leaf epidermical characters of some species of roegneria and their taxonomic significance. bull. bot. res. 20(4): 372-378. cai, l.b. and guo, y.k. 1995. studies on constituent cells of leaf epidermis, systematics and phylogenetic path of the family poaceae. acta botanica boreali-occidentalia sinica 15(4): 323-335. cai, l.b. and zhang, t.l. 2006. genetic relationship between leymus and its related taxa in terms of the anatomical characteristics of their leaves. acta botanica boreali-occidentalia sinica 26(3): 537-543. chen, m.j. and jia, s.x. 2000. forage plants in china. china agriculture press, beijing, china, pp. 125-128. chen, s.l., jin, y.x. and wu, z.j. 1993. leaf epidermal characteristic atlas of the family poaceae. jiangsu science and technology press, nanjing, china, pp. 59-63. guo, m., qiang, k.b. and zhang, x.q. 2007. study on morphological anatomy of leaf in blysmus sinocompressus. j. gansu agri. univ. 42(1): 82-87. kahraman, a., celep, f. and dogen, m. 2010. anatomy, trichome morphology and palynology of salvia chrysophylla stapf (lamiaceae). s. afri. j. bot. 76(2): 187-195. kocsis, m., darok, j. and borhid, a. 2004. comparative leaf anatomy and morphology of some neotropical rondeletia (rubiaceae) species. plant syst. evol. 248: 205-218. liu, m. 2006. morphology and anatomy of seed plant (3rd edition). science press, beijing, china, pp.121268. lv, w.d., xu, p.b. and pu, x. 2007. summary of the situation for applying genetic resources from elytrigia in triticum aestivum breeding. acta prataculturae sinica 16(6): 36-140. qiang, k.b., guo, m. and zhang, x.q. 2007. studies on the morphology and anatomy of leaves of carex orbicularis. acta prataculturae sinica 16(2): 76-83. sattler, r. and rutishauser, r. 1997. the fundamental relevance of morphology and morphogenesis to plant research. annals bot. 80(5): 571-582. shi, g.d., mao, p.c., zhang, g.f., meng, l. and zhang, d.g. 2009. sem observation on anatomical structure of elytrigia elongata (host) nevski and e. intermedia (host) nevski. prataculturae science 26(8): 52-56. 144 meng and mao torre, s. 2004. morphology and anatomy: leaves. in: roberts, a.v. (ed.), encyclopedia of rose science. academic press, london. pp. 497-504. wang, x.l. and wang, j. 1989. plant morphological structure and environment. lanzhou university press, lanzhou, china, pp. 65-148. wang, y.j. 2005. bulliform cell of grass family. biology education 30(11): 7-9. webb, m.e. and alrneida, m.t. 1990. micromorphology of the leaf epidermis in the taxa of the agropyron elymus complex (poaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 103: 153-158. (manuscript received on 17 october, 2012; revised on 29 october, 2013) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 17‒26, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54206 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists rubroboletus himalayensis sarwar & khalid a new mushroom from pakistan samina sarwar*, zeb siddique, ayesha bashir and abdul nasir khalid1 department of botany, lahore college for women university, lahore, pakistan keywords: ectomycorrhizae; himalayan range; its region; macrofungi; molecular phylogeny. abstract rubroboletus himalayensis sp. nov. (boletaceae, boletales, basidiomycota) was collected from diversity rich himalayan range of pakistan and characterised by combination of morphological and molecular methods. its mycochemical screening as well as antioxidant analysis was also done. comparison with closely related species was also done. the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (its) region was sequenced and then the phylogenetic analysis was performed for the focal fungus and its related species. mycochemical analysis of this mushroom indicated the presence of proteins, triterpenoids, flavonoids, tannins and phenolics while absence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, steroids, saponins, anthocyanins. quantitative analysis of mycochemicals revealed that the total phenolic and tannin contents were highest in methanol extracts (7.66 mg gae/g dw and 441.0 mg tae/g dw, respectively) while the flavonoid contents were highest in n-hexane extract (607.0 mg qe/g dw). all the extracts were subjected to dpph radical scavenging assay. maximum antioxidant activity at 1 mg/ml was observed in dichloromethane extract of r. himalayensis that is 98.14%. at 0.125 mg /ml concentration, the highest antioxidant activity was observed for dichloromethane extract (34.43%) and lowest in ethyl acetate (19.66%). the present study results showed that the analysed mushroom is new to science and has medicinal power due to the presence of various mycochemicals and its antioxidant potential. introduction mushrooms including boletes have been used as food as well as acknowledged for their excellent taste, commercial and environmental values, and pharmaceutical properties for many years (sanchez, 2010; vamanu and nita, 2013). they elevate health due to the presence of bioactive compounds (wang et al., 2014; pascua et al., 2016) which can provide curative or nutritious aid to humans. their chemical composition is mainly responsible for the therapeutic properties (bernas et al., 2006). boletes have been demonstrated many pharmacological effects like antitumor, antifungal, antibacterial activities, antioxidant, immuno-modulatory, antiallergic, antiatherogenic, hypoglycemic and haematological properties, along with hormones, pheromones, toxins, carcinogenic enzymes, antibiotics, anticarcinogens and pigment genetically (lucas et al., 1957; palacios et al., 2011) which are useful in preventing many diseases (ribeiro et al., 2006). boletes are an economically important group of basidiomycetous; characterized by having pores instead of gills as their fertile part. they are mostly found in symbiotic association with roots of higher plants. many members in this group are found as edible and of medicinal importance (luo et al., 2012; vamanu and nita, 2013), but there is scarce literature with relevant to pakistan species as well as regarding mycochemical analysis of these fungi (sarwar, 2013). *corresponding author. e-mail: samina_boletus@yahoo.com 1department of botany, university of the punjab, lahore, 54590, pakistan. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54206 mailto:samina_boletus@yahoo.com 18 sarwar et al. boletes should be promoted as an effective food supplements for health maintenance (lemieszek et al., 2016) as it is diverse in its mycochemical components (wang et al., 2014) and advantages are from this investigation with respect to medicinal finding. the present study highlights the finding of a new mushroom belonging to rubroboletus genus from northern areas of pakistan as well as its mycochemical analysis in an effort to contribute the documentation and to put light on the importance of hidden diversity. members of rubroboletus have a grayish red to vivid red or dark red pileus, yellow tubes, an orange red to blood red surface of the hymenophore, dark red to brown reticula (obvious or coarse) on the stipe and a non-amyloid context (singer and kuthan, 1976; alessio, 1985; estadès and lannoy, 2004; muñoz, 2005). mostly members of this genus phylogenetically analysed by its (some unpublished and some published) region but few members were also analysed by other gene markers i.e., nrlsu, tef1-α, rpb1 and rpb2 (zhao et al., 2014). materials and methods sampling and morphological analysis basidioma were collected during the rainy season (june-august, 2009-2011) from himalayan moist temperate forests of pakistan dominated by coniferous trees. macromorphological characteristics were recorded in the field. microscopical characteristics were studied in the laboratory based on dried specimens and were deposited in lahore herbarium, department of botany, university of the punjab, lahore, pakistan (lah). for light microscopy (lm), samples were rehydrated using 5% koh. tissues from hymenophore, pileipellis and stipitipellis were mounted in 1% phloxine for better contrast. melzer’s reagent was used to test for amyloid reactions in basidiospores and measurements of about 50 spores per specimen were determined with scopeimage 9 (5.0) software hdce-x5. spore measurements are presented as the ranges of length and width and extreme values are given in parentheses. the range contains a minimum of 90% of the values. q indicates l/w ratio of individual spore and qm means average q of all spores ± standard deviation. basidiospores were also analysed through scanning electron microscope (sem). molecular and phylogenetic analysis dna was extracted from dried sporocarps following a modified ctab method (gardes and bruns, 1996). primer pairs its1f/its4 (white et al., 1990) for the its region of nuclear ribosomal dna was used for pcr and sanger sequencing. all pcr products were evaluated for successful amplification using sybr green and 1.5% agarose gels with tae buffer for gel electrophoresis. amplicons were prepared for sequencing via enzymatic purification using exonuclease i and shrimp alkaline phosphatase enzymes (werle et al., 1994). purified products were sequenced from macrogen korea. sequencing chromatograms were edited by comparing overlapping reads using bioedit and compared to genbank records using blast. from genbank, its sequences of closely related taxa were retrieved for phylogenetic analysis. the sequence alignment was carried out using muscle alignment software (edgar, 2004). phylogenetic analysis was done with the maximum likelihood algorithm and jukes and cantor (1969) model of sequences evolution using model testing feature of mega5 software (tamura et al., 2011). in the final analysis 28 sequences were used for constructing phylogenetic tree. to avoid taxonomic confusion, the name for the newly described species has been listed with respective genbank accession numbers in the phylogenetic tree (fig. 2). bootstrap consensus tree was inferred from 1000 replicates, and corresponding bootstrap values > 50% are cited in the tree. rubroboletus himalayensis sarwar & khalid a new mushroom 19 mycochemicals extraction and screening extraction of samples was done in soxhlet sequentially using solvents of ascending polarity from nonpolar to polar that ensured the extraction of wide polarity range of compounds. the nhexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol extracts were subjected to standard mycochemical analysis to ensure the presence of different myconstituents (parihar et al., 2015) through specific established tests for each mycochemical including alkaloid, carbohydrates, glycosides, proteins and amino acids, flavonoids, triterpenoids, steroids, phenolics, tannins, saponins, quinones and betacyanins (harborne, 1973). quantitative analysis of mycochemicals present in basidioma was done by following standard methods for different chemicals (ram and mehrotra, 1993). determination of antioxidant activity for estimation of antioxidant activity, 200 µl of sample extracts (at various concentrations 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1mg/ml) was mixed with 2 ml of 0.05 mm methanol solution of dpph and incubated for 30 minutes at room temperature. absorbance of all the reaction mixtures and control (ascorbic acid) was measured at 517 nm in uv-vis spectrophotometer with methanol as blank. the control contained all the reagents except the sample extract. the % inhibition of dpph radical (1%) was calculated by following formula described by hatano et al. (1988). inhibition (%) = 100 x (ao-as)/ ao where, ao = absorbance of the control, as = absorbance of the tested sample. the ic50 value (mg/ml) of each sample was also calculated by linear regression analysis. results and discussion taxonomy rubroboletus himalayensis sarwar & khalid sp. nov. (fig. 1) mycobank no.: mb 831169 genbank no.: mk391936, mk391937 etymology: himalayensis refers to locality (himalayan range of pakistan) from where samples were collected. holotype: pakistan, murree, changla gali, 2559 m a.s.l., on ground, under abies pindrow royle, 19 jul 2009, sarwar s.b. # 05 (lah0709) (holotype). morphological analysis: pileus 15–21 cm in diameter, hemispherical to broadly convex to plane, surface smooth, slightly viscid when wet, shiny, reddish orange to bright red, margin straight or flaring, off–white to whitish, smooth, entire. context light yellowish to creamish to creamish red, slowly turns blue upon exposure. stipe 10–16 cm long, 3– 6.5 cm wide, club shaped, bulbous at base, centric, straight to curved to irregular, yellow toward apex, brownish yellow toward base with orangish red to red fine flecks and scales toward apex, solid, context fibrous, yellow which turns readily blue upon exposure. pore surface yellowish red toward pileus margin, reddish toward stipe, readily bluing upon bruising, pores angular to rounded, 2–3 per mm, tubes yellowish, adnate to adnexed, 8–13 mm deep. basidiospores ellipsoid to fusiform, thick walled, smooth, oil drops visible, 11–13×3–4 µm, (12± 0.7 × 3.4 ± 0.3; qm= 1.9 ± 0.3). basidia thin walled, clavate, 1–4 sterigmate, in meltzer reagent yellowish brown contents, light yellow to hyaline in koh, 25–31×9–11 µm. cystidia cylindrical to slightly clavate, light yellow in meltzer reagent and koh, 34–36×7–8 µm. pileipellis long cylindrical cells, thin walled, no contents visible, 125–127× 16–18 µm, most terminal elements cylindrical, thin walled, 103–108 (–117) × 18–19 µm. chemical reactions pileipellis hyaline to light yellow in koh; spores dark brown in meltzer reagent, yellowish brown in koh. 20 sarwar et al. fig. 1. rubroboletus himalayensis (holotype): a-b. sporocarp, c. hymenium, d. stipe reticula, e-f. sem analysis of basidiospores showing spore features. bars 1 cm. additional material examined: pakistan, khyber pakhtunkhwa, khaira gali, 2347 m a.s.l., solitary, on ground, under pinus wallichiana a.b. jack,19aug 2009, sarwar s.b. # 05a (lah0809); pakistan, sharan (kaghan valley), 2011 m a.s.l., 18 jun 2011, tayiba a. # 42(lah0611). molecular phylogeny (fig. 2) r. himalayensis its sequences when compared with genbank sequences through blast analysis, it showed maximum similarity (85%) with r. lupinus (kr782309) and 83% with r. rubroboletus himalayensis sarwar & khalid a new mushroom 21 rubroboletus_legaliae_ky677925 rubroboletus_legaliae_lt797164 rubroboletus_legaliae_lt797163 rubroboletus_pulcherrimus_eu6693 rubroboletus_haematinus_kt122393 rubroboletus_haematinus_kt122393 rubroboletus_pulcherrimus_eu8372 rubroboletus_rubrosanguineus_ky677929 boletus_sinicus_kj605666 rubroboletus_sinicus_kj951991 boletus_satanas_dq533973 rubroboletus_pulchrotinctus_kr782308 rubroboletus_rubrosanguineus_hm347649 rubroboletus_satanas_ky677931 boletus_satanas_jq685717 boletus_rhodoxanthus_aj419189 rubroboletus_esculentus_ky272126 rubroboletus_esculentus_ky272125 boletus_lupinus_kr782309 rubroboletus_himalayensis_mk391936 rubroboletus_himalayensis_mk391937 rubroboletus_dupainii_kr782304 rubroboletus_latisporus_kj951990 rubroboletus_latisporus_kj951989 boletus_quercinus_ab973737 truncocolumella_rubra_eu697272 boletus_rubripes_kc812296 boletus_subvelutipes_km248925 boletus_subluridellus_km248927 boletus_luridiformis_kj802931 boletus_xanthopus_km198312 boletus_erythropus_km198314 boletus_erythropus_km198315 boletus_pseudosulphureus_km19831 81 100 100 94 58 81 94 75 65 99 58 54 76 86 99 53 99 86 81 99 88 96 84 0.02 dupainii (kr782304). for phylogenetic analysis, 798 genetic characters were used in aligned datasheet containing 474 conserved sites, 294 variable and 183 were parsimony-informative sites. in the its phylogram, the sequences from basidiomata of r. hymalayensis (mk391936 and mk391937) generated during this study form sister clade with r. lupinus and r. dupainii. fig. 2. phylogenetic position of rubroboletus himalayensis with respect to closely related species. tree inferred by maximum likelihood analysis based on rdna sequences, including its region. the numbers against branches indicate the percentage (>50%) at which a given branch was supported in 1000 bootstrap replications. genbank accession number are given at the end of species names. ● indicate species reported from pakistan extraction yield (figs 3-7) extraction yield of extracts obtained in n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol was calculated for each sample. the results indicated highest yield in methanol (3.7 g 32.45%) and lowest in ethyl acetate and acetone (1 g each-8.77 %) in r. himalayensis. mycochemical analysis extracts of selected mushrooms were screened for mycochemical analyses. qualitative analysis of n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol extracts revealed the presence of several mycochemicals viz. proteins (in dichloromethane and methanol extracts), triterpenoids (in all extracts), tannins (in all extracts), flavonoids (in all extracts), phenolics (in all extracts) and quinones (in n-hexane extract) were present. 22 sarwar et al. quantitatively, the total phenolic content on mg per gram dry weight basis was found to be highest in methanol extract (7.66 mg gae/g dw) and lowest in acetone extract (1.86 mg gae/g dw); flavonoid content was found to be highest in n-hexane extract (607.0 mg qe/g dw) and lowest in methanol extract (72.5 mg qe/g dw) and tannin content was found to be highest in methanol extract (441.0 mg tae/g dw) and lowest in acetone extract (59.8 mg tae/g dw). fig. 3. total phenolic contents in different solvent extracts of rubroboletus himalayensis. fig. 4. total flavonoid contents in different solvent extracts of rubroboletus himalayensis. dpph radical scavenging assay n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, acetone and methanol extracts of r. himalayensis were subjected to antioxidant assay at concentrations of 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/ml and the results of % age inhibition were compared with standard ascorbic acid at the same concentrations. the radical scavenging activity against dpph at all the tested concentrations with % age inhibition was ranging between 19-98%. the results showed the dose dependent activity i.e., dpph radical scavenging activity of different solvent extracts of all samples increased with increase in concentration of extract. all the solvent extracts exhibited antioxidant activity of varying intensity indicating that the antioxidants in it are broad spectrum in nature ranging from non-polar to polar. rubroboletus himalayensis sarwar & khalid a new mushroom 23 the ic50 value (mg/ml) of each sample was calculated. it is the concentration of extract which inhibits or scavenges 50% of dpph free radicals. the relation between ic50 value and the efficiency of analysed mushroom is inverse, i.e., the lower the ic50 value the higher is the antioxidant potential. the highest %age of antioxidant activity of r. himalayensis was observed in dichloromethane fraction (98.14%) at 1 mg/ml. at 0.125 mg/ml the highest antioxidant activity was observed for the dichloromethane fraction (34.43%) followed by n-hexane fraction (25.60%), methanol fraction (25.40%), acetone fraction (23.05%) and ethyl acetate (19.66%). all the extracts showed high radical scavenging activity than quercetin. the ic50 values for different extracts in descending order are; ethyl acetate (1.246 mg/ml) methanol ˃ (1.172 mg/ml) ˃ acetone (0.905 mg/ml) ˃ n-hexane (0.768 mg/ml) ˃ dichloromethane (0.436 mg/ml). the lowest ic50 value of dichloromethane (0.436 mg/ml) shows that the mycochemicals in this fraction are most active in scavenging radicals at low concentrations and show strongest antioxidant activity. fig. 5. total tannin contents in different solvent extracts of rubroboletus himalayensis. fig. 6. dpph radical scavenging activity of different solvent extracts of rubroboletus himalayensis. statistical analysis the statistical analysis (t-test) revealed all the extracts of r. himalayensis showed nonsignificant (p ≥ 0.05) difference in antioxidant activity. however, the antioxidant activity of dichloromethane fraction was significantly higher than that of quercetin (p < 0.05). 24 sarwar et al. this research work presented a new taxa (rubroboletus himalayensis) belonging to boletaceae collected from the himalayan moist temperate forests of pakistan. although there is great diversity of this group in pakistan but only few taxa have been reported by corresponding author (naseer et al., 2019; sarwar, 2013). fig. 7. ic50 values of rubroboletus himalayensis and quercetin for dpph assay. in our phylogenetic study based on the its dataset, reported species form distinct position within the clade of r. dupainii, r. lupinus, r. latisporus, r. esculentus and r. rhodoxanthus. these species don’t have prominent reticulated stipe and can be easily separated from r. haematinus, r. legaliae, r. pulcherrimus, r. pulchrotinctus, r. rubrosanguineus, r. satanas and r. sinicus which have obvious reticula on the stipe (both, 1993, 2009; sarwar and khalid, 2013; ŝutara et al., 2009; zhao et al., 2014). morphologically, more closely related species is r. dupainii due to bright red pileus and hymenophore as well as pale yellow context. however, stipe of r. himalayensis is club to irregular shaped with dots only toward apex as compared to equal stipe of r. dupainii. another difference is that r. himalayensis is found associated with conifers while r. dupainii was found associated with oaks. another related species is r. latisporus which can be distinguished from r. himalayensis due to its orange-red to yellow hymenophore when mature, while that of r. himalayensis is blood red to dark red as well as context whitish to greyish in former. r. lupinus can be differentiated by its pale pink to reddish pink pileal surface. r. rhodoxanthus can be easily differentiated due to no colour change of its stipe when injured. r. esculentus has yellow to bright yellow context while newly reported species has creamish context (zhao et al., 2014; zhao and shao, 2017). mycochemical analysis of this newly described species was also done. extraction yield in different solvents indicated highest yield in methanol and lowest in ethyl acetate and acetone. extract yield depends on numerous elements such as the solvent used, polarity of the solvent and mushroom compounds (tibuhwa, 2012). other factors such as ph, length of extraction time, temperature and the chemical composition of the mushroom can likewise incredibly influence the yield obtained (awala and oyetayo, 2015). the qualitative analysis revealed that proteins, triterpenoids, tannins, quinones and phenolics were present in mushroom while alkaloids, carbohydrates, steroids, saponins, flavonoids, anthocyanins were absent (awala and oyetayo, 2015). quantitative analysis for estimation of total phenolic, flavonoid and tannin content was also carried out using spectrophotometric, n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethylacetate, acetone and methanol extracts of analyzed mushroom was subjected to dpph radical scavenging assay at rubroboletus himalayensis sarwar & khalid a new mushroom 25 concentrations of 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 mg/ml to find out antioxidant potential. antioxidant activity at 1 mg/ml concentration (dichloromethane extract) was 98.14% while at 0.125 mg/ml concentrations (dichloromethane extract) it was -34.43%. popescu et al. 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(manuscript received on 21 august, 2020; revised on 19 may, 2021) https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/ microsoft word 09. bjpt 16 69_edt_231117-1.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 205–214, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants associated with a slight change in elevation abeer al-andal, mahmoud moustafa1,2 and suliman alruman1 department of biology, college of science, king khalid university, abha, kingdom of saudi arabia keywords: rapd; issr; mixed rapd; schinus molle l. abstract this study examined the degree of variations in dna fingerprints associated with slight altitudinal change of schinus molle grown in abha region, saudi arabia. seven populations from schinus molle plants located at 2193.0, 2246.0, 2197.7, 2441.0, 2372.0, 2250.6 and 2175.0 meters had been investigated. the degree of genetic variability was evaluated using random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd), mixed rapd and intersimple sequence repeat markers (issr). the genetic similarity coefficients from rapd analysis revealed the maximum similarity value (89.9%) was between population at 2250.6 m and population at 2175.0 m. the genetic similarity coefficients from mixed rapd primers displayed the highest similarity value (87.6%) between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2197.7 m. similarity coefficients from issr analysis revealed the highest similarity value (86.2%) among populations at 2193.0 m, 2246.0 m, 2441.0 m and at 2250.6 m. super tree analysis (rapd + mixed rapd + issr) showed the highest similarity value (85.5%) between population at 2441.0 m and population at 2250.6 m. in conclusion, marker systems including rapd, mixed rapd and issr, alone or combined can be effectively used in determining the genetic relationship among schinus molle plants even at very close populations. introduction abha region has a specialized environmental condition among all other areas in the kingdom of saudi arabia which have an indirect effect on the weed plants growth. s. molle plants (family, anacardiaceae) are among the most common weed in saudi arabia especially in tharawat mountains. the tree of s. molle plant is an evergreen, dioecious, grows up to 20 meters in height. flowers are small, with yellowish white petals and all plant parts especially fruits having strong aroma (lim, 2012). s. molle is common weed in south america and recently into many tropical and subtropical countries (olafsson et al., 1997). in abha region, s. molle tree has been planted in many areas as in valleys, public gardens and for house decorations. after that, the plant became a common weed in many areas of abha city growing beside road and next the wall of houses as it is reproduced by seeds. s. molle plant showed to be resistant to the harsh environmental condition such as high temperature, cold and increasing soil salinity (lim, 2012). in addition, s. molle plants usually used for the restoration of degraded areas and showed tolerance to heavy metals (doganlar et al., 2012; pereira et al., 2016). toward this approach examine the genetic diversity of s. molle plant is highly needed as no reports available. in recent years, a number of randomly amplified polymorphic dna–polymerase chain reaction (rapd-pcr) and inter-simple sequence repeat–polymerase chain reaction (issr-pcr) markers had been used to study genetic diversity among plant species. for example, rapd 1corresponding author. email: mfmostfa@kku.edu.sa 1research center for advanced materials science (rcams), king khalid university, abha, saudi arabia. 2department of botany, faculty of science, south valley university, qena, egypt. 206 al-andal et al. technique was successfully applied genetically to distinguish among ocimum spp. (vieria et al., 2003), to study the genetic diversity in monodora myristica (uyoh et al., 2014) and various population of ziziphus spina-christi l. (moustafa et al., 2016). issr technique was used to study genetic diversity of the lens spp. (fikiru et al., 2007), and genetic relationships of chukrasia spp. (wu et al., 2014). therefore, the aim of this research is to study genetic diversity of s. molle plants growing at close locations in abha region, ksa. to the best of our knowledge, there are few reports indicating the use of mix primer to estimate the genetic diversity among plant /or to study plant dna fingerprint. therefore, this study also aimed to check the status of dan fingerprints using mixed primers. materials and methods plant material seven locations at various elevations in abha region, ksa,include 2193.0, 2246.0, 2197.7, 2441.0, 2372.0, 2250.6 and 2175.0 meters have been selected (fig. 1). at each site, random samples of young fresh leaves from s. molle trees having a height 1500 cm had been collected. fig. 1.sampling sites in abha region, ksa. site (1), (2193.0); site (2), (2246.0); site (3), (2197.7); site (4), (2441.0), site (5), (2372.0), site (6), (2250.6) and site (7), (2175.0 m). taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants 207 extraction the genomic dna from leaves of s. molle plants genomic dna was extracted from fresh young leaves of s. molle plants by using dneasy plant mini kit. dna concentration was estimated by a thermo scientific™ biomate 3s uvvisible at 260 nm. pcr amplification eight rapd, nine issr and eight mixed rapd markers were used in this study (table 1). pcr reaction consists from 1 x gotaq green master mix, 4 µl from each primer, 20 ng of genomic dna and nuclease-free water to get a final 25 µl volume. ptc 200 peltier thermal cycler (mj research usa) adjusted as follows: initial degree at 94°c for 5 minutes followed by forty nine cycles at 92°c for 1 minute, primer annealing temperature at 29°c for 1 minute, extension at 72°c for 2 minutes and final process for primer extension at 72°c for 7 minutes. an equal amount of each amplified product of 20 ul was separated by electrophoresis using 1.3 % agarose gels in 0.5x tbe buffer. stained gel with ethidium bromide was photographed by gel documentation system using uv transilluminator at 365 nm (hashemi et al., 2009). each experiment was repeated three times and molecular weight of rapd-pcr, mixed rapd-pcr and issr-pcr fragments were estimated using marker 1 kb dna ladder between 250 to 10,000 bp. table 1. rapd, mixed rapd and issr primers. rapd primers sequence of primer (5' – 3') oligo 342 gagatccctc oligo 345 gcgtgacccg oligo 349 ggagccccct oligo 33 ccggctggaa opk-8 gaacactggg opj-1 cccggcataa oligo 214 catgtgcttg oligo 213 cagcgaacta mixed rapd primers sequence of primer (5' – 3') oligo 203+oligo 342 cacggcgagt+gagatccctc oligo 203+ oligo 345 cacggcgagt+gcgtgacccg oligo 203+oligo 42 cacggcgagt+ttaacccggc oligo 203+oligo 349 cacggcgagt+ggagccccct oligo 203+oligo 214 cacggcgagt+catgtgcttg oligo 203+oligo 213 cacggcgagt+cagcgaacta oligo 203+oligo 33 cacggcgagt+ccggctggaa oligo 203+opk-8 cacggcgagt+gaacactggg issr primers sequence of primer (5' – 3') primer (3) tggatggatggatgga primer (4) cacacaca cacaca ag ubc 823 tct ctc tct ctc tcc ubc 824 tct ctc tct ctc tcg ubc 826 aca cac aca cac acc hb 14 ctc ctcctc gc primer (1) gagagagagagagagac primer (2) gagagagagagagagagagag hb 11 gtg tgt gt gtgtcc 208 al-andal et al. data analysis all scored fragments gained from rapd-pcr, mixed rapd-pcr and issr-pcr were manually recorded as present (1) or absent (0). matrix of similarity based on binary-double zeros s3, and squared euclidean distance was used to calculate the distances and to generate dendrogram (sneath and sokal, 1973). polymorphism percentage was estimated by calculating polymorphic bands/total number of bands. results rapd analysis rapd primers produced a total of 109 scorable bands from genotypes of s. molle, out of which 23.0 (21.1%) were found to be polymorphic, 1.00 (0.91%) to be monomorphic bands and 85.0 (77.9%) to be unique bands. primer oligo 345, yielded the maximum number of bands (20.0 bands) while the lowest number of bands (3.00 bands) obtained from primer oligo 214. the percentage of polymorphism ranged from 0.00% (primer oligo 33 and primer oligo 214) to 57.1% (primer oligo 342). the maximum number of unique bands (17.0 bands) was recorded from primer oligo 33, while the lowest number of unique bands (3.00 bands) from the primer oligo 342 and primer oligo 214 (table 2 and fig. 2 panel a). the genetic similarity coefficients (table 3) revealed that the maximum similarity value (89.9%) was between population at 2250.6 m and population at 2175.0 m, while the least similarity value (72.5%) between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2372.0 m. dendrogram analysis (fig. 3 panel a) showed that population at 2193.0, 2197.7 and 2441.0 m found to be forming one cluster whereas population at 2246.0 m separated from them in a single cluster while population at 2372.0, 2250.6 and 2175.0 m found to be forming another one cluster. table 2. polymorphism of eight rapd primers. primer id total no. of bands per primer no. of polymorphic bands no. of monomorphic bands no. of unique bands polymorphism % oligo342 7.00 4.00 0.00 3.00 57.1 oligo 345 20.0 7.00 0.00 13.0 35.0 oligo 349 17.0 5.00 1.00 11.0 29.4 oligo 33 17.0 0.00 0.00 17.0 0.00 opk-8 19.0 3.00 0.00 16.0 15.7 opj-1 13.0 1.00 0.00 12.0 7.69 oligo 214 3.00 0.00 0.00 3.00 0.00 oligo 213 13.0 3.00 0.00 10.0 23.0 total 109 23.0 1.00 85.0 20.9 mixed rapd analysis mixed rapd primers generated a total of 100 reproducible bands of which (19.0%) were polymorphic bands, (81.0%) unique bands, and no any monomorphic bands (table 4 and fig. 2 panel b). primer opk-8 produced the highest number of bands (21.0) while primer oligo 42 gave the minimum number of bands (3.00). primer oligo 33 showed the highest percentage value of polymorphism of 50.0% and the zero polymorphism rate gained from the primer oligo 42 and taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants 209 primer oligo 214. the maximum number of unique bands were (18.0 bands) gained from primer opk-8, while the minimum numbers were (3.00) gained from primer oligo 42. table 3. genetic similarity among s. molle plants based on rapd markers. 2193.0 m 2246.0 m 2197.7 m 2441.0 m 2372.0 m 2250.6 m 2175.0 m 2193.0 m 1.00 2246.0 m 0.7614 1.00 2197.7 m 0.8216 0.7821 1.00 2441.0 m 0.7956 0.7684 0.828 1.00 2372.0 m 0.7399 0.7251 0.7753 0.8022 1.00 2250.6 m 0.8404 0.828 0.8705 0.8705 0.8821 1.00 2175.0 m 0.7471 0.7326 0.7821 0.7956 0.7821 0.899 1.00 the genetic similarity coefficients displayed the highest similarity value (87.6%) between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2197.7 m, while the least similarity value (72.6%) was recorded between population at 2372.0 m and population at 2175.0 m (table 5). resulted dendrogram showed that populations at 2193.0, 2246.0 and 2197.7 m found to be forming one cluster whereas population at 2441.0 m and population at 2372.0 m clustered together as well as population at 2250.6 m and population at 2175.0 m (fig. 3 panel b). table 4. polymorphism of eight mixed rapd primers. primer id total no. of bands per primer no. of polymorphic bands no. of monomorphic bands no. of unique bands polymorphism % oligo 342 17.0 3.00 0.00 14.0 17.6 oligo 345 16.0 6.00 0.00 10.0 37.5 oligo 42 3.00 0.00 0.00 3.00 0.00 oligo 349 15.0 1.00 0.00 14.0 6.66 oligo 214 10.0 0.00 0.00 10.0 0.00 oligo 213 8.00 1.00 0.00 7.00 12.5 oligo 33 10.0 5.00 0.00 5.00 50.0 opk 8 21.0 3.00 0.00 18.0 14.2 total 100 19.0 0.00 81.0 17.3 issr analysis a total of 231 counted bands were generated by using the nine issr primers from s. molle genetic materials (table 6 and fig. 2 panel c). sixty-two polymorphic bands (26.8%), 1.00 (0.43%) monomorphic bands, 168 (72.7%) unique bands with polymorphism rate 23.2% were recorded. primer ubc 826 generated the maximum number of bands (63.0), while primer ubc 824 showed the minimum number of bands (6.00). primer (1) showed the highest rate of polymorphism (51.4%) and primer (3) showed the least rate numbers (4.54%). the highest number of unique bands (46.0) was recorded from primer ubc 826, while the least number of unique bands (5.00) resulted from primer ubc 824. 210 al-andal et al. resulted genetic similarity coefficients exhibited the highest similarity value among populations at 2193.0 m, 2246.0 m, 2441.0 m and population at 2250.6 m recording 86.2%, while the least similarity value between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2175.0 m with value of 69.1% (table 7). a dendrogram pattern revealed that population at 2193.0 m and population at 2246.0 m formed one cluster whereas the populations at 2197.7 m, 2441.0 m, 2250.6 m and 2372.0 m found to be in another cluster and population at 2175.0 m formed out-group from the in-group including populations at 2193.0 m, 2246.0 m, 2197.7 m, 2441.0 m, 2250.6 m and 2372.0 m (fig. 3 panel c). table 5. genetic similarity among s. molle plants based on mixed rapd markers. 2193.0-m 2246.0-m 2197.7-m 2441.0-m 2372.0-m 2250.6-m 2175.0-m 2193.0 m 1.00 2246.0 m 0.8701 1.00 2197.7 m 0.8439 0.8764 1.00 2441.0 m 0.8235 0.8439 0.8571 1.00 2372.0 m 0.7654 0.7879 0.8024 0.8372 1.00 2250.6 m 0.7952 0.7879 0.8166 0.8235 0.75 1.00 2175.0 m 0.7578 0.7654 0.8095 0.7879 0.7261 0.8166 1.00 table 6. polymorphism of nine issr primers. primer id total no. of bands per primer no. of polymorphic bands no. of monomorphic bands no. of unique bands polymorphism % primer (3) 22.0 1.00 0.00 21.0 4.54 primer (4) 26.0 5.00 0.00 21.0 19.2 ubc 823 18.0 5.00 0.00 13.0 27.7 ubc 824 6.00 1.00 0.00 5.00 16.6 ubc 826 63.0 16.0 1.00 46.0 25.3 hb 14 30.0 12.0 0.00 18.0 40.0 primer (1) 35.0 18.0 0.00 17.0 51.4 primer (2) 20.0 3.00 0.00 17.0 15.0 hb 11 11.0 1.00 0.00 10.0 9.09 total 231 62.0 1.00 168 23.2 table 7.genetic similarity among s. molle plants based on issr markers. 2193.0 m 2246.0 m 2197.7 m 2441.0 m 2372.0 m 2250.6 m 2175.0 m 2193.0 m 1.00 2246.0 m 0.8621 1.00 2197.7 m 0.8123 0.8123 1.00 2441.0 m 0.8093 0.7906 0.8304 1.00 2372.0 m 0.7969 0.7713 0.7874 0.8392 1.00 2250.6 m 0.8093 0.7713 0.8304 0.8621 0.8333 1.00 2175.0 m 0.7273 0.6912 0.7514 0.7411 0.7131 0.7874 1.00 taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants 211 super tree analysis (rapd + mixed rapd + issr) a combined analysis using pooled rapd, mixed rapd and issr data showed that there are 20.5 % polymorphism among studied population growing at various height. the highest similarity values (85.5%) was found between populations at 2441.0 m and population at 2250.6 m and the lowest similarity values between population at 2246.0 m and population at 2175.0 m (71.9%) table (8). resulted dendrogram revealed that population at 2193.0-m and population at 2246.0-m clustered together whereas populations at 2197.7, 2441.0, 2250.6 and 2372.0 m found to be forming one cluster while population at 2175.0 m separated from them in a single cluster (fig. 3 panel d). table 8. genetic similarity among s. molle plants based on combined analysis. 2193 m 2246 m 2197.7 m 2441 m 2372 m 2250.6 m 2175 m 2193 m 1.00 2246 m 0.8406 1.00 2197.7 m 0.822 0.8204 1.00 2441 m 0.8092 0.7978 0.836 1.00 2372 m 0.7761 0.764 0.7879 0.8298 1.00 2250.6 m 0.814 0.7895 0.8375 0.8557 0.8282 1.00 2175 m 0.7393 0.7191 0.7727 0.7658 0.7338 0.8235 1.00 fig. 2. rapd, mixed rapd and issr profiles of s. molle plants. lane 1, 2193.0; lane 2, 2246.0; lane 3, 2197.7; lane 4, 2441.0; lane 5, 2372.0; lane 6, 2250.6; lane 7, 2175.0; m-1kb dna ladder. 212 al-andal et al. fig. 3.dendrogram based on rapd, mixed rapd, issr and super tree data of s. molle. taxonomic variation among schinus molle l. plants 213 discussion this research article reports the use of the rapd, mixed rapd and issr makers to the s. molle plant and revealed its efficiency to determinate the dna fingerprints. also it revealed that rapd, mixed rapd and issr markers could be used alone or in combination to estimate the genetic diversifications of s. molle plants. polymorphism rate obtained either from rapd, mixed rapd, issr or from combined analysis all showed that there was high genetic variability among s. molle at a very close distance populations. the percentage of polymorphism almost same to that detected in other examined plants that they have a wide genetic variability. for example, adawy et al. (2004) and hussein et al. (2005) found that rapd polymorphism rate in various egyptian date palm cultivars (phoniex dactylifera l.) is in the range of 25.2% and for issr technique in the range of 28.6%. among the studied pistacia vera (l.) various cultivars polymorphism rate based on issr markers was 46.4% and 100% among mangifera indica (l.) based on issr markers (noroozi et al., 2009; souza et al., 2011). radp, mixed rapd and issr showed various degrees in their ability to detect the diversifications among populations of s. molle plants. this variation may be due to that the genome s. molle plants having a considerable number of alleles per locus/or loci that vary in their distribution. izzatullayeva et al. (2014) reported that such difference between rapd and issr markers due to the fact of abundant nature of microsatellites that results from slippage in dna replication. this explains why this plant can be found in various habitats vary from salinity soil to alkalinity soil and in different temperature condition ranging from very low to very high (lim, 2012). in this study, total number of unique bands obtained from issrpcr of s. molle plant more than that of rapd-pcr and mixed rapd-pcr. the results also showed that issr fingerprinting had a high number of scored bands and high polymorphic percentage rate. this in agreement with earlier studies showed that issr fingerprinting was more efficient than the rapd assay in assessing genetic variation in arthrocnemum macrostachyum (saleh, 2011). again this variation among rapd, mixed rapd and issr probably due to that amplified profiles of pcr of rapd, issr, or mixed rapd originated from different variable numbers of repetitive and non-repetitive sequence on the genomes of s. molle plant (thormann et al., 1994). the presence of monomorphic bands from rapd-pcr or from issr-pcr indication to the sharing characters based on the dna fragment in genomic s. molle plants. cluster analysis based on rapd, mixed rapd and issr markers individually or combined showed that the three markers differ from each other in the manner of distributing s. molle populations. in our study, the amount of genetic similarity among various populations of s. molle plants based on rapd markers were in range between 72.5% to 89.9% and for mixed rapd between 72.6% to 87.6% and for issr 69.1% to 86.2% and for the sum of all data between 71.9% to 85.5%. these values to some extent are in accordance with the basis proofed by weier et al. (1982) that operational taxonomic units between 85 to 100% among the same plant species and more than 65% between the same plant genus. in conclusion, our study confirms that there were a wide genetic diversity among s. molle plants that can be evaluated by using rapd, mixed rapd and issr markers. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to king abdul-aziz city for science and technology (kacst) for providing financial support (no.at-36-305). references 214 al-andal et al. adawy, s.s., hussein, e.h.a., el-khishin, d., saker, m.m., mohamed, a.a. and el-itriby, h.a. 2004. genotyping egyptian date palm cultivars using rapd, issr, aflp markers and estimation of genetic stability among tissue culture derived plants. arab j. biotech.8: 99-114. doganlar, z. b., doganlar, o., erdogan, s. and onal, y. 2012. heavy metal pollution and physiological changes in the leaves of some shrub, palm and tree species in urban areas of adana, turkey. chem spec bioavailab 24: 65-78. fikiru, e., tesfaye, k. and bekele, e. 2007. genetic diversity and population structure of ethiopian lentil (lens culinaris medikus) landraces as revealed by issr marker. afr. j. biotechnol. 6: 1460-1468. hashemi, s.h., mirmohammadi-maibody, s.a.m., nematzadeh g.a. and arzani, a. 2009. identification of rice hybrids using microsatellite and rapd markers. afr. j. biotechnol. 8: 2094-2101. hussein, e.h.a., adawy, s.s., ismail, s.e.m.e. and el-itriby, h.a. 2005. molecular characterization of some egyptian date palm germplasm using rapd and issr markers. arab j. biotechn. 8: 83-98. izzatullayeva, v., akparov, z., babayeva, s., ojaghi, j. and abbasov, m. 2014. efficiency of using rapd and issr markers in evaluation of genetic diversity in sugar beet. turk. j. biol. 38: 429-438. lim, t.k. 2012. edible medicinal and non-medicinal plants: volume 1, fruits: schinus molle. springer, netherlands, 153-159 pp. moustafa, m.f., hesham, a., quraishi, m.s. and alrumman s.a. 2016. variations in genetic and chemical constituents of ziziphus spina-christi l. populations grown at various altitudinal zonation up to 2227 m height.genet. eng. biotechnol. 14: 349-362. noroozi, s., baghizadeh, a. and javaran, m.j. 2009. the genetic diversity of iranian pistachio (pistacia vera l.) cultivars revealed by issr markers. bio di con. 2: 50-56. olafsson, k., jaroszewski, j.w., smitt, u.w. and nyman, u. 1997. isolation of angiotensin converting enzyme (ace) inhibiting triterpenes from schinusmolle. planta med. 63: 352-355. pereira, m. p., rodrigues, l. c. a., corrêa, f. f., castro, e. m., ribeiro, v. e. and pereira, f. j. 2016. cadmium tolerance in schinus molle trees is modulated by enhanced leaf anatomy and photosynthesis. trees30: 807-814. saleh, b. 2011. efficiency of rapd and issr markers in assessing genetic variation in arthrocnemum macrostachyum (chenopodiaceae). braz. arch. biol. technol. 54: 859-866. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r. 1973. numerical taxonomy: the principles and practice of numerical classification. w.h. freeman and company, san francisco, california, ca, usa. souza, i.g.b., valente, s.e.s., britto, f.b., de souza, v.a.b. and lima, p.s.c. 2011. rapd analysis of the genetic diversity of mango (mangifera indica) germplasm in brazil. genet. mol. res. 10: 3080-3089. thormann, c.e., ferreira, m.e., camargo, l.e.a., tivang, j.g. and osborn, t.c. 1994. comparison of rflp and rapd markers to estimating genetic relationships within and among cruciferous species. theor appl genet 88: 973–980. uyoh, e.a., umego, c. and aikpokpodion, p.o. 2014. genetic diversity in african ntmeg (monodora myristica) a ccessions from south eastern nigeria. afr. j. biotechol. 13: 4105-4111. vieira, r.f., goldsbrough, p. and simon, j.e. 2003. genetic diversity of basil (ocimum spp.) based on rapd markers. j. amer. soc. hort. sci. 128: 94-99. weier, t.e., stocking, c.r., barbour, m.g. and rost, t.l. 1982. botany: an introduction to plant biology. john wiley and sons, new york. wu, c., zhong, c., zhang, y., jiang, q., chen, y., chen, z., pinyopusarerk, k. and bush, d. 2014. genetic diversity and genetic relationships of chukrasia spp. (meliaceae) as revealed by inter simple sequence repeat (issr) markers. trees 28: 1847-1857. (manuscript received on 6 june 2016; revised on 28 october 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 11‒15, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54205 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of euglenophyceae from sylhet division, bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane*, maliha mehnaz, ashika akhtar, mst. ayesha, shafiul azom shafi, shahima islam1, z.n. tahmida begum and mahmoud moustafa2,3 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: new records, euglenophyceae, sylhet division, bangladesh. abstract a total of 8 species of euglenophyceae where 5 species of euglena namely, euglena lucens günther, e. paludosa mainx., e. gaumei allorge & lefèvre , e. heimii lef., e. mangini lefévre, and 3 species of lepocinclis namely, lepocinclis ovum var. deflandriana (ehrenberg) lemmermann, l. ovum var. globulus ( perty) lemmermann and l. steinii lemmermann from sylhet division which are all new records for bangladesh. introduction studies on the members of euglenophyceae have been made from different fresh water of habitats of sylhet division of bangladesh. so far, there are large number of taxonomic studied of different species of euglenophycean members were reported (alfasane and khondker, 2007; alfasane et al. 2010; gani et al. 2012. khondker and alfasane, 2005; islam and alfasane 2002, 2003, 2004; islam and muniruzzaman, 1981). the members of euglenophyceae are commonly found to grow in different wetland habitats as well as polluted waters and at times they produce blooms of different colors, mostly in shallow, stagnant waters of various sizes. the literatures cited above showed that the members of the euglenophyeae have not been studied from sylhet division of bangladesh. therefore, the present research was undertaken to study this group of organisms from different fresh water habitats of sylhet division of bangladesh. the samples were collected from different parts of shari goyain river, piyain river and madhabpur lake of sylhet division of bangladesh. the present paper deals with 5 species of euglena and 3 species of lepocinclis of which all are new records for bangladesh. the descriptions of the organisms are given below. materials and methods for the description of the studied water bodies and physicochemical data of the study area see alfasane et al. 2020. the samples were collected from may 2017 to february 2020 of the studied water bodies. the water bodies were predominantly fresh and non-polluted. the samples were collected with plankton net of mesh size 20 µm and preserved in 5% formalin. *corresponding author: email: mujaddade@yahoo.com 1department of environmental science and management, school of environment and life sciences, independent university, bangladesh 2department of biology, college of science, king khalid university, 9004, abha, kingdom of saudi arabia. 3department of botany, faculty of science, south valley university, qena, egypt. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54205 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 12 alfasane et al. taxonomy class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: euglena ehrenberg 1. euglena lucens günther (fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 31, 34, 57, pl. 5, fig. 31; wołowski 1998, 40, pl. 9, fig. 1,2) cells 81.0–99.0 μm long, 12.5 μm wide, oblong cylindrical, each cell slightly narrowed at the anterior end, with short tail at the posterior end. forehead strongly tapered and slightly rounded. pellicle slightly striated; chloroplasts large, oval; numerous paramylon grains; nucleus located in the centre of the cell. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-9(1), 05.05.2017, shari goyain river. 2. euglena paludosa mainx. (fig. 2) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 30, 53, pl. 4, fig. 26) cell length 99-114 µm, breadth 34-36 µm, broadly ovate shaped with very short stumped end appendages and elongated. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-1(3), 11.11.2017, madhabpur lake. 3. euglena gaumei allorge & lefèvre (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 31, 57, pl. 5, fig. 30) cell length 55-62 µm, breadth 11-13 µm, end tip 5 µm, regularly spindle shaped. periplast shows an extremely fine left-turning streak. chromatophore approximately numerous in number, parietal, disc shaped with one pyrenoid and paramylon envelop. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-2(2), 05.08.2017, shari goyain river. 4. euglena heimii lefèvre (fig. 4) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 34, 74, pl. 10, fig. 52c,e) cell length 145-170 µm, long, cylindrical often a bit bent, head slightly widened at the front and pulled very weakly at the apex. paramylon exists in two forms. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-7(2), 05.08.2017, shari goyain river. 5. euglena mangini lefèvre (fig. 5) (dillard 2000, 10, 28, pl. 2, fig. 9) cell length 90-110 µm, breadth 18-20 µm, fusiform, posterior end abruptly tapered into a fine, straight, rigid but not sharply pointed tail. flagellum is of two-thirds cell length. pellicular striations are delicate but distinct and widely spaced. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-7(2), 05.08.2018, shari goyain river. class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: lepocinclis petry 6. lepocinclis ovum var. deflandriana (ehrenberg) lemmermann (figs 6-7) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 149, pl. 29, fig. 144; wołowski et al. 2013, 670, fig. 31) cell length 17-33 µm, breadth 13-25 µm. obovoid, anterior margin broadly rounded and ended with short blunt projection; lateral arches slightly arched, chloroplasts small; two large paramylon bodies, ring shaped. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. m-3(2), 06.08.2017, madhabpur lake. new records of euglenophyceae 13 fig. 1-11: 1. euglena lucens günther, 2. e. paludosa mainx., 3. e. gaumei allorge & lefèvre, 4. e. heimii lefévre, 5. e. mangini lefévre, 6-7. lepocinclis ovum var. deflandriana (ehrenberg) lemmermann, 8. lepocinclis ovum var. globulus ( perty) lemmermann, 9. l. steinii lemmerm. (scale = 10 µm) 14 alfasane et al. 7. lepocinclis ovum var. globulus ( perty) lemmermann (fig. 8) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 152, pl. 30 fig. 158; wołowski et al., 2013, 670, fig. 81; philipose 1984, 511, fig. 4h) cell length 20-35 µm, breadth 15-20 µm; obovoid, ended with short blunt projection; chloroplasts small; paramylon occur in coarse in the middle of which there are usually 6 discs. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-2(1), 05.02.2020, shari goyain river. 8. lepocinclis steinii lemmermann. (fig. 9) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 137, 141, pl. 26, fig. 122; dillard, 2000, 40, 41, 44, pl. 7, fig. 12; wołowski et al. 2013, 670, fig. 35a,b, 105; wołowski 1998, 68, figs 215, 216) cell length 19-32 µm, breadth 9-16 µm, end extension upto 4 µm, spindle shaped to ellipsoidal, ratio varying from long to broad, usually slightly pulled forward and truncated; anterior end nearly entire or drawn out into a beak with the very end indented or flattened; with a short conical tail; membrane usually deeply coloured and with longitudinal parallel striae which are uniform or alternate ones thicker; chromatophores numerous, small and polygonal to round or discoid; paramylum 1-3 ringlets or small ovoid granules; eye-spot fairly large. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-11(4), 03.02.2018, shari goyain river. acknowledgements the authors thank the deanship of scientific research at king khalid university for funding (r.g.p2/90/41). references alfasane, m.a., mehnaz, m., akhtar, a., ayesha, m., gani. m.a., moustafa, m., negm, s., islam, s. and begum, z.n.t. 2020. new records of some phytoplankton for bangladesh: class chlorophyceae. bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy 27(1): 79‒83. alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2007. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh: phacus, lepocinclis and pteromonas bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 167‒169. alfasane, m.a., islam, m.s. and khondker, m. 2010. some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1) : 87‒92. dillard, g.e. 2000. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 7. pigmentedeuglenophyceae. bibl. phycol.bd. 106. j. cramer, berlin, stuttgart, 135 pp. +20 pls. gani, m.a., alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m 2012. new records of euglenophyceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 85-88. huber-pestalozzi, g. h. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. euglenophyceen 16(4): 1‒1135 stuttgart (reprinted 1979) islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: i. genus phacus bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 3‒18. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2003. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: ii. lepocinclis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 15‒26. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2004. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh:iii. genus trachelomonas ehr. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 33‒37. islam, a.k.m. nurul and muniruzzaman, k. 1981. euglenophyta of bangladesh. i. genus trachelomonas ehr. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 66(1): 109‒125. khondker, m. and alfasane, m.a. 2005. euglenamorpha hegneri wenrich (euglenaceae): a rare euglenoid from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(1): 41‒43. new records of euglenophyceae 15 philipose, m. t. 1984. contributions to our knowledge of indian algae-iii~ euglenineae part 2. proc. indian acad. sci. (plant sci.). 93: 503‒552. wołowski, k., 1998. taxonomic and environmental studies on euglenophytes of the kraków-cze ˛stochowa upland (southern poland). fragm. flor. geobot. suppl. 6: 3–192. wołowski, k., poniewozik, m. and walne, p.l. 2013. pigmented euglenophytes of the genera euglena, euglenaria, lepocinclis, phacus and monomorphina from the southeastern united states. polish botanical journal. 58(2): 659‒685. (manuscript received on 03 february, 2020; revised on 21 december, 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 47–55, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphological study on some rare allium l. (amaryllidaceae) taxa in turkey birol başer, mehmet firat1 and riza binzet2* department of biology, faculty of arts and science, bitlis eren university, bitlis/turkey keywords: allium; amaryllidaceae; micromorphology; pollen morphology; lm; sem; turkey. abstract the pollen morphology of 10 allium l. taxa, 6 of which are endemic to turkey, were investigated in detail by light and scanning electron microscopy. according to lm and sem, the pollen grains of genera were monad, monosulcate percolate, heteropolar with bilateral symmetry, 25.30 to 53,85 µm long axis (la) and 17.55 to 36.86 µm short axis (sa), the form was prolate (mean of la/sa ratio 1.30 to 1.70 and in polar view boat-shaped. three types of ornamentation were determined. striate-rugulate-perforate type in allium longisepalum, a. oreophilum, a. anacoleum, a. microspathum, a. shirnakiense, a. purpureoviride and a. armenum, rugulate–perforate type in a. pervariense and a. gabardagense and rugulate–reticulate-perforate type in a. arlgirdense. sulcus membrane ornamentations were rugulate or psilate. the sulcus extends from the distal to proximal ends in a. anacoleum, a. arlgirdense and a. pervariense. the present study on some turkish species of allium showed that several morphological pollen characters may possess taxonomical value. introduction the allium l. genus was formerly included in the liliaceae family, but the angiosperm phylogeny group (apg) reassessed the taxonomic position of this genus and finally allium was placed in the amaryllidaceae family (apg iii 2009). the genus allium comprises more than 850 species, making it one of the largest petaloid monocotyledonous genera (fritsch et al., 2010; keusgen et al., 2011; herden et al., 2016). it is a variable group that is widely spread across the holoarctic region from the dry subtropics to the boreal zone (li et al., 2010). turkey has approximately 200 allium taxa in 14 sections, c. one-third of which are endemic to this territory, demonstrating that turkey is a prominent part of the southeastern asian center of allium diversity (koyuncu 2012; eksi et al., 2015; 2016; fırat 2015; 2017; fırat et al., 2018). turkey is very rich in terms of biodiversity. the main reasons are: i) it is the meeting point of three phytogeographical regions. ii) asian part of turkey is a passageway and a migration route between southern europe and the flora of south-west asia allowing the penetration of asiatic elements into south europe. iii) many taxa have their center of origin and/or center of diversity in anatolia. iv) the high endemism ratio, presumably connected with the climatic and topographical diversity of the country (davis, 1965, 1971). the family amaryllidaceae is more or less stenopalynous taxon and pollen grains are generally monocolpate, bilateral symmetrical, boat shaped with subpsilate or rugulate-foveolate rarely reticulate tectum (erdtman, 1952). data on pollen morphology of representatives of allium genus as acquired under lm microscope were given by nair and sharma (1965), radulescu (1973), diez (1987) and el-sadek et al., (1994). in recent years, several researchers have * corresponding author, email: rbinzet@gmail.com, rbinzet@mersin.edu.tr 1 department of biology, faculty of education, yüzüncü yıl university, van/turkey. 2 department of biology, faculty of arts and science, mersin university, 33343, mersin, turkey. mailto:rbinzet@gmail.com, mailto:rbinzet@mersin.edu.tr 48 başer et al. investigated this area, their studies have focused on some selected, constantly very rare species representing guler and pehlivan (2006), namin et al. (2009), neshati et al. (2009), ozhatay and kocyigit (2009), ozler and pehlivan (2010) and maassoumi et al. (2014). pollen morphoplogy of the allium species, which is the most difficult monocotyledon family from systematic and taxonomic point of view (guler and pehlivan, 2006). in order to solve these problems, detailed pollen morphological studies of 10 species of the genus allium have been investigated. further attempts should additionally be undertaken to rate whether earlier not recognized pollen characters may be useful taxonomic markers at infrageneric or even species level in allium. materials and methods pollen sampling pollen samples were taken from specimens deposited in herbarium of van, yüzüncü yıl university (vanf). the complete list of the investigated taxa with sample provenance is reported in table 1. table 1. list of voucher specimens belonging to the genus allium. section taxa localities satus molium g. don ex w.d.j. koch allium longisepalum bertol. turkey. şırnak, gabar mountain, open oak forest, 700 m, 2 may 2014, m. fırat 30635 rare porphyroprason ekberg. a. oreophilum c.a. meyer, verz. turkey. b9 van, başkale discrict, i̇spiriz mountain, rocky places, scree, 3300 m, 7 june 2014, m. fırat 31010 rare a. anacoleum hand.-mazz. turkey. hakkari, sat mountain, rocky region, 2900 m, 8 august 2014, m. fırat 30987 rare a. microspathum ekberg turkey. hakkari, sat mountain, rocky region, 2900 m, 8 august 2014, m. fırat 30985 endemic scorodon c. koch a. arlgirdense blakelock turkey. hakkari, sat mountain, rocky region, 2900 m, 8 august 2014, m. fırat 30986 rare codonoprasum reichb. a. armenum boiss. & kotschy turkey. b9 van, bahçesaray discrict, agirov mountain, rocky places, 2400 m, 1 july 2015, m. fırat 31010 endemic a. shirnakiense l. behçet & rüstemoğlu turkey. c9, şırnak, beytüşşebap district, cevam region, rocky area, 1450 m, 30 may 2014, m. fırat 30843 endemic melanocrommyum webb & berth. a. purpureoviride m. koyuncu & i̇. genç turkey. b7 elazığ, from elazığ to pertek 22 km, near field, 669 m, 13 may 2015 m. fırat 32691 endemic a. pervariense fırat & koyuncu turkey. c9 siirt: pervari, botan river, opposite to bedar (beğendik) village, fields converted from the quercus forests, 1500-1700 m, 4 july 2012. m. fırat 29712 (aef 26722). endemic allium boiss. a. gabardagense fırat turkey. c9 şırnak: cizre, gabar mountain slopes, 410 m, limestone rocks, 01 may 2014, m. fırat. 30515) endemic pollen morphological study on some rare allium 49 for lm studies samples were taken from herbarium specimens. for pollen morphological analysis, pollen grains were prepared according to the methods of wodehouse (1935). the following parameters, as which pollen size i.e. long axis (la) and short axis (sa), sulcus width, exine thickness and intine thickness were measured. in each sample, 30 pollen grains were measured in order to obtain the maximum and average value of the size. photomicrographs were made with a olympus bx31 binocular light microscope. for sem studies for sem study, pollen grains obtained from each specimen were transferred onto stubs and coated with platinum. the sem micrographs were taken with a zeiss supra 55. the terminologies for pollen morphology were used in accordance with kosenko (1991a,b) and hesse et al., (2009). results and discussion pollen morphology of 10 taxa of allium was investigated by lm (fig. 1) and sem (figs 2-3). the following characters were emphasized as important for separating taxa at different taxonomic value: the sulcus, presence or absence of perforations on the pollen surface, size of perforations, size of the pollen grains and the sulcus extends from distal to proximal end. present pollen data is based on 10 species of the genus allium representing 6 sections: sect. molium; a. longisepalum. sect. porphyroprason; a. oreophilum. sect. scorodon; a. anacoleum, a. microspathum, a. arlgirdense. sect. codonoprasum; a. armenum. sect. melanocrommyum; a. shirnakiense, a. purpureoviride. sect. allium; a. pervariense, a. gabardagense. the monosulcate pollen grains, which are regarded as primitive among seed plants, occur widely among the monocotyledons (ozler and pehlivan, 2007; ozhatay and kocyigit, 2009; fırat, 2015; 2017; fırat et al. 2018). the common characteristics of pollen grains were monads, monosulcate, ellipsoidal, and heteropolar in allium genus. in this study the exine ornamentational characteristics observed in their sem micrographs were perforate-striate, perforate-rugulate and perforate-striate-rugulate. these results show that there were several pollen characters of taxonomic significance in allium. in this study, microperforations visible only on sem microgaphs. the number of perforation in 1 µm2 is 2-12, the diameter of perforation in average is 0.10–0.42 µm and the thicknes of lira in average is 0.20–0.60 µm (fig. 3). the diameter of perforation was observed to be the biggest in a. microspathum (fig. 3; 4). the number of perforations in 1 μm2 was more in a. armenum (fig. 3; 6). intine 1.05–0.40 µm thick. the a. longisepalum had thicknest intine while a. microspathum had thinnest one (table 2). some researchers have showed that the sulcus features and the presence of operculum may be a taxonomic value in some families (chanda et al., 1979; kosenko, 1991a,b; güler and pehlivan, 2006; ozler and pehlivan, 2010). in sem photomicrographs, sulcus membranes are psilate in a. pervariense, a. oreophillum, a. arlgirdense, a. armenum and a. shirnakense. rugulate sulcus membrane ornamentation was found in a. microsepalum, a. anacoleum, a. longisepalum, a. gabardagense and a. purpureoviride (fig. 3). the operculum was found to be fragmented on the sulcus membrane (fig 1; 10). similarly, guler and pehlivan (2006), ozler and pehlivan (2010) reported that sulcus membrane ornamentations were psilate, psilate-perforate and rugulateperforate in allium taxa and the operculum was found to be fragmented on the sulcus membrane or sometimes completely covering it. the common characteristics of the pollen grains of allium have been investigated. species showed that their pollen apertures are monosulcate and monosulcate-operculate. the advantage of 50 başer et al. a monosulcate aperture (extended sulcate) in monocotyledons with the inclusion of allium, is underlined by harley and zavada (2000) and ozler and pehlivan (2010). in the present study, biggest pollen size was found in a. longisepalum, whereas the smallest was found in a. arlgirdense (table 2). it was recognized that the sulcus extends from distal to proximal end in a. anacoleum, a. arlgirdense and a. pervariense investigated. the width of the sulcus ranged from 2.75 – 5.77 μm (table 2). the extended sulcus type has been observed on allium and the family fig. 1. lm microphotography of examined allium pollen.1-2: a. longisepalum, 3-4: a. oreophilum, 5-6: a. anacoleum, 7-8: a. microspathum, 9-10: a. arlgirdense, 11-12: a. armenum 13-14: a. shirnakiense, 15-16: a. purpureoviride, 17-18: a. pervariense, 19-20: a. gabardagense (scale 20 µm). liliaceae (guler and pehlivan, 2006; ozler and pehlivan, 2007; 2010). the sulcus ends were sharp in a. arlgirdense, a. anacoleum, a. armenum and a. gabardagense (fig. 2; 6, 10, 12, 20). the sulcus ends were rounded in the other investigated taxa (fig. 2; 4, 8, 14, 16, 18). the longest pollen morphological study on some rare allium 51 sulcus extension dimension was measured in a. pervariense, whereas the shortest dimension was observed in a. arlgirdense (table 2). the widest sulcus dimension was seen in a. pervariense. the longest length dimension of sulcus was seen in a. longisepalum and the shortest dimension was seen in a. arlgirdense (table 2). the thickest exine dimension was found in a. longisepalum and the thinnest exine dimension was found in a. shirnakiense (table 2). according to sem, the exine sculpturing was striate-perforate, striate-rugulate-perforate and rugulate-perforate (table 2, fig 2, 1-19). perforate-striate, perforate-rugulate and perforate-striate-rugulate exine structure have been reported in previous investigations (guler and pehlivan, 2006; ozler and pehlivan, 2007; 2010). fig. 2. sem microphotography of the examines allium pollen.1-2: a. longisepalum,3-4: a. oreophilum, 5-6: a. anacoleum, 7-8: a. microspathum, 9-10: a. arlgirdense, 11-12: a. armenum, 13-14: a. shirnakiense, 15-16: a. purpureoviride, 17-18: a. pervariense, 19-20: a. gabardagense. allium taxa are of three types ornamentational characteristics as follows; striate-rugulateperforate: a. longisepalum, a. oreophilum, a. anacoleum, a. microspathum, a. shirnakiense, a. purpureoviride and a. armenum; rugulate-perforate: a. pervariense, a. gabardagense; rugulate– reticulate-perforate: a. arlgirdense. the main palynological differences have been registered at the section level. these results are similar to the earlier studies (guler and pehlivan, 2006; ozler and pehlivan, 2007; 2010; neshati et al., 2009; ozhatay and kocyigit, 2009). 52 başer et al. pollen morphological study on some rare allium 53 fig. 3. sem microphotography of the pollen ornamentation: 1. a. longisepalum; 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(liliaceae) from turkey. bangladesh j bot. 36(2): 111-120. ozler, h. and pehlivan, s. 2010. pollen morphology of allium l. (lilliaceae) taxa in turkey. bangladesh j bot. 39(1): 37–46. radulescu, d. 1973. recherches morpho-palynologiques sur la famille liliaceae. acta horti bot. bucurest. 193248. wodehouse, r.p. 1935. pollen grains. new york: mcgraw hill press. 439 pp. (manuscript received on 2 february, 2019; revised on 8 may, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 155–164, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular phylogeny of saudi arabian tetraena maxim. and zygophyllum l. (zygophyllaceae) based on plastid dna sequences dhafer ahmed alzahrani1 and enas jameel albokhari2 department of biological sciences, faculty of science, king abdulaziz university, jeddah, saudi arabia. keywords: cpdna; rbcl; trnl-f; phylogeny; saudi arabia; tetraena; zygophyllum; zygophyllaceae. abstract in order to provide a basis for better understanding of phylogenetic relationships of saudi arabian tetraena maxim. and zygophyllum l., 44 specimens representing seven taxa, were reconstructed based on chloroplast dna data of rbcl and trnl-f. the combined chloroplast (rbcl and trnl-f) contributed more phylogenetically informative characters than in individual regions. phylogenetic analysis of the combined chloroplast (rbcl and trnl-f) and in individual regions based on both of maximum parsimony and bayesian criteria showed that the saudi arabian species of tetraena and zygophyllum were monophyletic. zygophyllum fabag l. was nested in one clade with z. xanthoxylum (bunge) engl. (asian species), and all taxa of tetraena were distributed in other clades. introduction the widespread family zygophyllaceae includes five subfamilies viz. zygophylloideae, tribuloideae, seetzenioideae, larreoideae and morkillioideae (sheahan and chase, 2000; beier et al., 2003; bellstedt et al., 2008). the zygophyllum l. and tetraena maxim. belong to zygophylloideae along with fagonia l., augea thunb., roepera (a. juss.) engl. and melocarpum (engl.) beier & thulin (beier et al., 2003; bellstedt et al., 2008). the only detailed examination of the systematics of zygophyllum and tetraena taxa have focused on morphological and anatomical characters (el-hadidi, 1977, 1980; boulos, 1978; engler, 1931; hosny, 1988; hussein et al., 2009; ma and zhang, 1990; takhtajan, 1987; thulin, 1993; van huyssteen, 1937; van zyl, 2000). in contrast, a few studies have used molecular markers to the phylogenetic relationships of the intergeneric of zygophyllaceae (sheahan and chase, 1996, 2000; beier et al., 2003) or to infer the relationships within the genus zygophyllum (bellstedt et al., 2008; hammad and qari, 2010). sheahan and chase (1996) studied the phylogenetic relationships of zygophyllaceae based on morphology, anatomy and the rbcl dna sequence. sheahan and chase (2000) investigated the phylogenetic relationships of 36 taxa of zygophyllaceae including 15 species of zygophyllum l. from africa, australia, and south western asia using nucleotide sequences of the plastid gene rbcl and non-coding trnl-f and found zygophyllum as polyphyletic. they showed that the zygophyllum fabago l. (the type species of zygophyllum) nested with another asian species z. xanthoxylum (bunge) engl., whereas z. simplex l. placed in a strong clade with the genus tetraena and other zygophyllum species, viz. z. album l. f., z. coccineum l., z. cylindrifolium schinz and z. decumbens delile (the last three are 1corresponding author. email: dalzahrani@kau.edu.sa 2department of biological sciences, faculty of applied sciences, umm al-qura university, makkah, saudi arabia. mailto:dalzahrani@kau.edu.sa 156 alzahrani and albokhari distributed in saudi arabia). the study indicated that tetraena is nested within the large and variable zygophyllum and reported that the z. simplex is sister to tetraena. beier et al. (2003) investigated the phylogenetic relationships of zygophyllaceae using trnl plastid dna sequences and morphological data for 43 species of zygophylloideae including the genera zygophyllum, fagonia, augea and tetraena which represent most of the morphological and geographical variations in the subfamily zygophylloideae. they reported that the subfamily zygophylloideae is monophyletic, whereas the genus zygophyllum is paraphyletic, since this genus was spontaneously distributed with the genera of augea, tetraena and fagonia. based on the results of this study, beier et al. (2003) produced a new classification for genera tetraena and zygophyllum, and transferred 35 species from genus zygophyllum to genus tetraena as new combinations. later, bellstedt et al. (2008) assessed the phylogenetic relationships of 53 species of zygophyllum in southern africa employing the sequences of rbcl and trnl-f regions. they included the published sequences of the same genes for other species from different regions and the results supported the subdivision of the genus zygophyllum into subgenera agrophyllum and zygophyllum. they found relatively similar results by conducting the same methods to study the relationships of zygophyllum and tetraena species (cpdna sequences) and similar morphological characteristics (i.e. capsule dehiscence, seed attachment and the presence of spiral threads in the seed mucilage). these species are known from africa and asia. bellestedt et al. (2008) did not agree with beier et al. (2003) for the new classification of tetraena and zygophyllum. however, many authors agreed with this transfer and used the combinations proposed by beier et al. (2003) as valid in their works, including alzahrani (2017), alzahrani and albokhari (2017a, b), azevedo (2014), ghazanfar and osborne (2015), louhaichi et al. (2011), mosti et al. (2012), norton et al. (2009), sakkir et al. (2012). tetraena is represented in saudi arabia by six species, two subspecies and six varieties, while genus zygophyllum is represented by a single species, namely z. fabago (beier et al., 2003; alzahrani, 2017; alzahrani and albokhari, 2017a, b;). saudi arabian tetraena and zygophyllum have never been included in the published phylogenetic studies. the only two studies have used rapd markers data to study genetic variation among and within populations of some saudi arabian zygophyllum taxa (al-arjany, 2011; hammad and qari, 2010). hammad and qari (2010) studied the genetic diversity of 12 populations of zygophyllum coccineum, z. album and z. aegyptium a.i. hosny which were collected from various locations in egypt and saudi arabia using rapd markers employing five random primers. they found that zygophyllum coccineum revealed higher levels of genetic variation and more unique alleles than the other species and z. aegyptium is genetically closely related to z. album later, al-arjany (2011) studied the molecular taxonomy of zygophyllum simplex and z. migahidii using of random pcr (rapd) technology to analyse phylogenetic relationships between both species and found that these species are closely allied to each other. in the present study, phylogenetic relationships of 43 individual specimens of saudi arabian tetraena and zygophyllum species were reconstructed using combined dna sequences data from the rbcl and the trnl-f regions. materials and methods selection of ingroup and outgroup leaf material for 37 individual specimens of saudi arabian tetraena representing six taxa were sampled in the field and from herbarium specimens listed in tables 1 and 2. collected specimens were deposited in kauh (king abdulaziz university herbarium, jeddah, saudi arabia). sequenced data of the 10 tetraena and zygophyllum sequenced by bellstedt et al. (2008) for the two regions (rbcl and trnl-f) were obtained from genbank (table 3). three sequences of molecular phylogeny of saudi arabian tetraena maxim. 157 158 alzahrani and albokhari the two regions (rbcl and trnl-f) from fagonia, the most closely related genus to tetraena and zygophyllum, were downloaded from genbank to use as the out-group (table 3). out-group choice was based on previous work on the genus zygophyllum (bellstedt et al., 2008) and work on the sisters’ genera to tetraena and zygophyllum, which is fagonia. table 2. herbarium specimens used in the present study for phylogenetic analyses. no. taxa collection number collector’s name date country herbarium 1. tetraena hamiensis var. hamiensis e4 m. 8153 miller et al. 13/2/1989 yemen e 2. t. hamiensis var. hamiensis e10 mta 155 abdullah m. 9/5/2012 kuwait e 3. t. hamiensis var. qatarensis e9 21/2 munton 21/1/1985 oman e 4. t. hamiensis var. qatarensis k8 2 vujo, k. j. 4/ 1979 bahrain k 5. t. hamiensis var. qatarensis k9 10953 boules, l. 29/3/1977 qatar k 6. t. propinqua ssp. migahidii e6 6731 s. collenette 27/4/1988 saudi arabia e table 3. sequences obtained from genbank and previously used in the analysis of tetraena and zygophyllum plants (after bellstedt et al., 2008). taxa genbank accession for rbcl genbank accession for trnl-f fagonia cretica l. (out group) aj133855 aj387942 f. indica burm.f. (out group) y15018 aj387943 f. luntii baker (out group) aj133856 aj387944 tetraena mongolica maxim. y15027 aj387959 zygophyllum album l.f. aj133861 aj387963 z. coccineum l. aj133863 aj387965 z. decumbens delile aj133865 aj387967 z. decumbens delile var. decumbens ef655991 ef 656011 z. fabago l. y15030 aj387968 z. sessilifolium l. ef655997 ef656047 z. simplex l. ef655984 ef 656004 z. simplex l. y15031 aj387974 z. xanthoxylum engl. aj133872 aj387975 dna extraction leaf material from field-collected plants and herbarium specimens (tables 1 & 2) were used for dna extraction. leaves were dried and stored in small polythene bags at -20°c. total genomic dna was extracted using the dneasy plant mini kit (qiagen) following the manufacturer’s protocol. the isolated dna was stored at -20c until further use. molecular phylogeny of saudi arabian tetraena maxim. 159 choice of molecular markers the phylogenetic relationship of saudi arabian tetraena and zygophyllum taxa was clarified using two different chloroplast regions (rbcl and trnl-f regions) based on results from the previous work on tetraena and zygophyllum (beier et al., 2003; bellstedt et al., 2008). dna amplification the dna template amplified using pcr (polymerase chain reaction). the pcr used different primers to amplify the rbcl and the trnl-f chloroplast dna (cpdna) regions. the pcr amplifications for each region were carried out in 25 l reactions using 2 l of template dna, 12.5 l 2x biomix (bioline), 2 l of each primer [1-10 mm] and, 6.5 l of distilled water. the rbcl gene was amplified using the forward primer 20bp at 1f (5'atgtcaccacaaacag aaac-3') and reverse primer 26bp at 1460r (5'tccttttagtaaaagattgggccgag-3') based on savolainen et al. (2000a, b). the pcr conditions for the rbcl amplification used the protocol as outlined in bellstedt et al. (2008), with some modifications for some accessions. the reaction condition was 5 min at 94°c, followed by 30 cycles of denaturation at 94°c for 30s, annealing temperature at 50-53°c for 50s, extension at 72°c for 60s, followed by a final extension for 6 min at 72°c. the trnl-f region was amplified using the forward primer 20 bp at c (5'cgaaatcggtagacgctacg-3') and reverse primer f (5'-atttgaactggtgacacgag3') based on taberlet et al. (1991). the pcr conditions for the trnl-f amplifications were used the following program based on bellstedt et al. (2008) which included 5 min at 94°c, followed by 35 cycles of denaturation at 94°c for 60s, annealing temperature at 55°c for 60s, extension at 72°c for 90s, followed by a final extension for 6 min at 72°c. pcr product purification and sequences pcr reactions used an automatic sequencer abi3730xl (macrogen sequencing system, korea) for purification and sequencing. for each sequence, the complementary bi-directional sequence strands were trimmed and assembled into a contig and manually edited using seqman software 6.1, lasergene dnastar 6.1 windows 32 (dnastar corporation, madison, wi, usa). all sequences were aligned automatically by bioedit v.7.0.4.1 (hall, 1999) or clustal x (thompson et al., 1997) followed by extensive manual adjustments. the two alignments were combined in one matrix using macclade v. 4.07 (maddison and maddison, 2003). phylogenetic analyses maximum parsimony: separate analyses of rbcl and trnl-f data, and of combined chloroplast (rbcl and trnl-f) data were performed to infer relationships of saudi arabian taxa of tetraena and zygophyllum using the maximum parsimony approach, implemented with the computer program paup* 4.06 b10 for 32-bit microsoft windows xp (swofford, 2001). bootstrap support analysis (felsenstein, 1985; felsenstein and kashino, 1993) was implemented in paup* 4.06 (swofford, 2001) to estimate the support value of individual and combined data sets with 1000 pseudoreplicates of the data using the heuristic search strategy. bayesian analysis the rbcl and trnl-f and combined chloroplast (rbcl and trnl-f) were analysed to infer relationships of saudi arabian tetraena and zygophyllum plants using bayesian inference (mau et al., 1999; rannala and yang, 1996) of the separate and combined data. bayesian analysis used the markov chain monte carlo (mcmc) simulation programme, mrbayes version 3.1.2 (huelsenbeck and ronquist, 2001; ronquist and huelsenbeck, 2003). the best fit model of molecular evolution for each individual and combined data set was selected using the akaike information criterion (aic), calculated with mrmodeltest 2.2 (nylander, 2004). the general time reversible model with 160 alzahrani and albokhari gamma and proportion of invariable sites of (gtr+i+g) was selected for all partitions as the best fit model. five million generations were performed and 5000 trees were saved (sampling one tree per 1000 generations). runs were repeated twice to confirm results, and typically 0.25% (c. 1250 trees) of the samples were discarded as burn-in. majority rule consensus trees were constructed from the remaining trees to obtain posterior probabilities using paup* programme. results and discussion parsimony analyses the characteristics obtained by parsimony analyses of the individual and combined datasets for the taxa are summarizes in table 4. the trnl-f parsimony analysis of 44 sequences yielded 100 of most parsimonious trees. all trees were saved and the strict consensus was generated (not shown). the rbcl parsimony analysis of 40 sequences yielded 100 of the most parsimonious trees. all trees were saved and the strict consensus was generated (not shown). in case of combined cpdna, the aligned matrix of combined chloroplast (rbcl and trnl-f) sequences was 2505 bp in length. parsimony analysis of 44 sequences produced 100 of the most parsimonious trees. all trees were saved and the strict consensus was generated (fig. 1). fig. 1. one of 100 most equally parsimonious trees from analysis of the combined chloroplast of rbcl and trnl-f data set, using maximum parsimony for 43 saudi arabian tetraena and one zygophyllum accessions. numbers above nodes are bootstrap (bs) support percentage values for clades supported above a 50% bootstrap value from 100000 replicates. sequences of saudi taxa are indicated with different colours and clades are indicated in letters. molecular phylogeny of saudi arabian tetraena maxim. 161 bayesian analyses the best fitting model retrieved by mrmodeltest as the most likely evolutionary model for all individual and combined data sets was the gtr+i+g model. majority rule consensus trees were derived from 5000 trees from each analysis of the separate trnl-f (not shown) and rbcl (not shown) partitions and from combined chloroplast (fig. 2) data sets. burn-in was reached after 1250 generations for all partitions and for the combined matrix. the represent study represents the first molecular phylogenetic study of the genus tetraena and zygophyllum in saudi arabia. maximum parsimony analysis and bayesian criteria of the individuals and combined dataset of the rbcl and the trnl-f chloroplast dna sequences used to study the phylogenetic relationships of tetraena and zygophyllum taxa in saudi arabia. the most notable similarity with respect to the individual and combined analysis regarding the overall topologies of the maximum parsimony and bayesian trees are quite similar. fig. 2. majority-rule consensus tree of the bayesian inference based on the combined chloroplast rbcl and trnl-f data set of 43 saudi arabian tetraena and one zygophyllum accessions. posterior probability values of the nodes are indicated above the branches. sequences of saudi taxa are indicated with different colours and clades are indicated in letters each of the tetraena and the zygophyllum genera appear as a monophyletic group with strong support in all phylogenies. in all phylogenetic analysis, the sequences of t. mongolica maxim. (the type species of tetraena), downloaded from genbank, were nested within the rest of saudi arabian tetraena. this finding agrees with sheahan and chase (2000) and supports the new classification of beier et al. (2003). z. fabago and z. xanthoxylum (asian species) samples that 162 alzahrani and albokhari were downloaded from genbank are nested together in one clade as monophyletic group in all phylogenies of the maximum parsimony and bayesian analysis (figs 1 & 2). molecular phylogenetic results of the rbcl and trnl-f individually or in combination datasets analysis in this study suggested that z. fabago species is differing from other samples. moreover, the strong agreement of the findings of the morphological studies (alzahrani, 2017; alzahrani and albokhari, 2017a, b;) and molecular phylogenetic analysis in this study support the classification of beier et al. (2003) to separate tetraena and zygophyllum plants into two genera. molecular table 4. characteristics of the individual and combined datasets from parsimony analysis. phylogenetic information rbcl trnl combined cpdna number of accession 46 50 50 aligned length 1434 1071 2505 no. of constant characters 1286 792 2078 no. of variable characters 56 134 190 no. of informative characters 92 145 237 no. of most equally maximum parsimony trees 100 100 100 length of shortest trees (steps) 194 457 673 consistency index (ci) 0.8144 0.7287 0.7296 retention index (ri) 0.9032 0.8041 0.8189 rescaled consistency index (rc) 0.7356 0.5859 0.5974 phylogenetic of the cpdna analysis divided saudi arabian tetraena plants into six groups: t. hamiensis (schweinf.) beier & thulin, t. propinqua (decne.) ghazanfar & osborne, t. alba (l. f.) beier & thulin, t. coccinea, t. simplex (l. f.) beier & thulin, and t. decumbens (delile) beier & thulin. acknowledgements we are grateful to the curators and members of the staff of the herbaria k and e for allowing us to study and borrow specimens. thanks are due to king abdulaziz university, jeddah, saudi arabia for providing research facilities references al-arjany, k.m. 2011. molecular taxonomic perspective and eco-physiological variations of some species of tribulus, zygophyllum and fagonia genera of family zygophyllaceae in saudi arabia. master dissertation, king saud university, saudi arabia. alzahrani, d.a. 2017. systematic studies on the zygophyllaceae of saudi arabia: two new subspecies combination in tetraena maxim. saudi j. biol. sci. doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2016.12.022. alzahrani, d.a., and albokhari, e.j. 2017a. systematic studies on the zygophyllaceae of saudi arabia: a new variety and new variety combination in tetraena. saudi j. biol. sci. 24: 1574–1579. alzahrani, d.a. and albokhari, e.j. 2017b. systematic studies on the zygophyllaceae of saudi arabia: new combinations in tetraena maxim. turk. j. bot. 41: 96–106. azevedo, l.b. 2014. development and application of stressor-response relationships of nutrients. ph.d. thesis, radboud university nijmegen, the netherlands. beier, b.a., chase, m.w. and thulin, m. 2003. phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy of subfamily zygophylloideae (zygophyllaceae) based on molecular and morphological data. plant syst. evol. 240: 11–39. molecular phylogeny of saudi arabian tetraena maxim. 163 bellstedt, d.u., van zyl, l., marais, e.m., bytebier, b., de villiers, c.a., makwarela, a.m. and dreyer, l.l. 2008. phylogenetic relationships, character evolution and biogeography of southern african members of zygophyllum (zygophyllaceae) based on three plastid regions. mol. phylogenet. evol. 47: 932-949. boulos, l. 1978. materials for a flora of qatar. webbia 32: 369–396. el-hadidi, m.n. 1977. two new zygophyllum species from arabia. publications from cairo university herbarium 7&8: 327-329. ei-hadidi, m.n. 1980. on the taxonomy of zygophyllum section bipartita. kew bull. 35: 335–340. engler, a. 1931. zygophyllaceae. in: engler a., prantl k. 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(ed.) flora of somalia. royal botanical gardens, kew 1: 176–189. van huyssteen, d.c. 1937 morphologisch-systematische studien über die gattung zygophyllum. dissertation. berlin. van zyl, l. 2000. a systematic revision of zygophyllum in the southern african region. ph.d. thesis, university of stellenbosch, stellenbosch. (manuscript received on 13 june 2017; revised on 21 september 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 197203, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new species records of the genus pinalia lindl. (orchidaceae) for bangladesh mohammed kamrul huda, mohammed mozammel hoque and md. owahidul alam department of botany, university of chittagong, chattogram 4331, bangladesh keywords: pinalia obesa; pinalia spicata; pinalia acervata; orchid; new records; bangladesh. abstract pinalia obesa (lindl.) kuntze, pinalia spicata (d. don) s. c. chen & j. j. wood and pinalia acervata (lindl.) kuntze of the family orchidaceae have been reported here as new angiospermic record for bangladesh flora. detailed examination with description, flowering time, ecology and geological distribution of the species has been provided here with illustration and photographs. introduction orchidaceae represents the highly evolved family comprising 25,000-35,000 species and 600800 genera (dressler, 1993). the largest number of orchids is found in tropical america comprising 360 genera and 8,266 species while tropical asia in second with 250 genera and 6800 species (dressler, 1990). in indian flora this is the second largest family represented with 130 genera and over 880 species distributed mainly in eastern himalayas, western ghats and khasia hills (sharma, 2000). bangladesh is also rich in orchids with 179 taxa under 70 genera (huda, 2008). now the family is recognized to be represented in the flora by 74 genera and 188 species, of these, 117 species under 41 genera are epiphytic in nature and 71 species under 33 genera are terrestrial (rahman et al., 2017). most of the orchid species are distributed mainly in the hilly areas of greater sylhet, chittagong, chittagong hill tract and mymensingh district (alam et al., 1993). the genus pinalia lindl. is one of the larger polymorphic genera of the family orchidaceae. it has about 404 species all over the world (royal botanical gardens, kew 2003) which are divided into 13 to 17 sections according to the nature of pseudobulbs and leaf characters (seidenfaden, 1982; pearce and cribb, 2002). it is now widespread in tropical asia, extending east to new guinea, australia and the pacific islands. from bangladesh, no species of this genus have been recorded so far (huda, 2008). pinalia is characterized by its small flowers in dense or lax, cylindrical or globular; lip with side-lobes and keels; column foot hollowed at its upper side, upward curved distally and firmly connected to the short claw at the base of lip, without a geniculate band or distinct joint (agrawala and lal, 2012). in the present study, three species of the pinalia lindl. have been identified as new record from bangladesh. the vegetative plants of these three species were collected from bandarban district of bangladesh. the collected plants were grown at the orchidarium. after flowering of the both species, the flower of each species were dissected and critically examined under microscope and then identified with the consultation of the relevant literature (lindley 1830-40, hooker 1890, prain 1903, heinig 1925, sinclair 1955, seidenfaden, 1982, pearce and cribb 2002). the voucher specimens of each species have been deposited at the herbarium of chittagong university (hcu). *author for correspondence, email: mkhuda70@hotmail.com mailto:mkhuda70@hotmail.com 198 huda et al. taxonomic description 1. pinalia obesa (lindl.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 2: 679 (1891). eria obesa lindl. in wall. cat. 1976; gen. and sp. orchid. 68; in bot. reg. 1844, bot. reg. sub. t. 29, 53; hooker f.1890, fl. brit. ind. 5: 793; grant, 1895; orchids of burma 143: kranzlin in engler a. (eds.) das pflanzenreicn hfl. 1911, 50: 82; seidenfaden, 1982, opera botanica 62: 105. eria lindleyana griff. 1851, not. 3:300; eria prini briquet 1900, ann. cons. et. jard. bot. geneva. 4:210. trias obesa (lindl.) mason, burmah, ed. 3: 809 (1860). hymeneria obesa (lindl.) m. a. clem. & d. l. jones, orchadian 13: 501 (2002). epiphytic herbs, 15-17 cm high. pseudobulbs very stoutly, clavate ovate, 4-7 cm long, silvery green and with scarious sheaths, leaf sheath 1–1.5 cm long, brown, scarious. leaves shed before the flowering. develop in autumn, about 5–6 leaves and 12 × 1 cm appear before the pseudobulbs started swelling, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate or glabrous; rachis 1 cm long. inflorescence raceme, lateral sub-corymbose, 2–4 in numbers, puberulous. floral bracts up to 3 mm long, ovate, thin, entire, reflexed at the junction of the stalks, acute; pedicel plus ovary 1.4–2 mm long, pubescent. flowers white, 2 cm across in diameter, glabrous. sepals unequal, 1.0–12 cm long; dorsal sepal lenceolate, acuminate, entire, 1–1.2 cm x 2 mm, glabrous with 5 veins. lateral sepals lanceolate, slightly oblique, falcate acuminate 12 × 1.5–3 mm, entire, white, glabrous, thin, 5veins: mentum 1 mm, round, curved, subcoric. petals oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, 10–12 × 2 mm, thin, glabrous and 3 veins; labellum nearly as long as sepals and petals, linear-oblong, obscurely uniformed, thin 3 thickened keels with lateral lobe veins, edges of lobed some with lateral lobe veins, edges of lobed somewhat thin. column 3–4 mm long, 3 mm in diameter, white, glabrous, curved, foot 4–5 mm long, concave; operculum up to 1 mm long, sub-orbicular, thick, pappus at the upper surface, two lobed within 8 chambered; clinandrium collar like, erect posterior acute, 1 dentate; rostellum minute and ligulate. pollinia 8, obovoid, laterally compressed in appendiculate, attached to glandular caudicle; viscidium simple. stigmatic cavity 1.5–3 mm long, curved, low stigma obscured furrow or groove, two long lobes inside the cavity (plate 1; fig. 1). plate 1. pinalia obesa (lindl.) kuntze. three new species records of the genus pinalia 199 fig. 1. pinalia obesa (lindl.) kuntze. a) habit; b) flower; c) lateral view of column with labellum; d) bract; e) spreading of sepal, petal; e1) labellum; f) column; g) operculum. flowering period: january to february ecology: this epiphytic orchid was collected in vegetative stage from litsia polyantha juss. tree at high altitude. this orchid was aggregated in clump and it was also found to associate with ferns and hoya sp. distribution: bangladesh, nepal, north east india, mayarmar and thailand. in bangladesh the species found to occur in nilgiri, bandarban. specimen examined: bandarban; nilgiri, jibonnagar pahar,09.04.2018, m.k. huda, m.m. hoque, and m.o. alam 201(hcu). 2. pinalia spicata (d. don) s. c. chen & j. j. wood, fl. china 25: 354 (2009). eria spicata (d. don) hand.-mazz., symb. sin. 7: 1353(1936); octomeria spicata d. don. prodr. fl. nepal.: 31, 1825; pinalia alba buchanan-hamilton ex d. don, prodr. fl. nepal.: 31, 1825; eria convallarioides lindl. in wall. cat: 1975, 1829; octomeria convallarioides wall. in lindl.,lc. cit., 1830; eria convallarioides var. major lindl.in bot. reg. 33: t. 63 (1847); e. salwinensis hand.-mazz., symb. sin.7: 1352, 1936. 200 huda et al. plants epiphytic, 23–30 cm tall. pseudobulbs tufted, compressed, sheathed when young, 3.5– 12 × 0.8–1.8 cm; sheaths membranous, overlapping, elliptic-lanceolate, acute, 5–7 × 1.5–2 cm. leaves 4–6, elliptic-lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate to oblanceolate, acute, sub coriaceous, manyveined, petiolate, 8–28 × 0.6–4.5 cm; petiole grooved, 1.5–5 cm long. inflorescence axillary, decurved, broadly cylindric, densely many-flowered, glabrous, 5–7 × 1–1.5 mm. flowers subglobose, glabrous, 3–6 mm across, white or pale straw-coloured, lip tinged with yellow, column tinged with red; pedicel and ovary puberulent, 2–4 mm long. sepals sub similar, broadly ovate, obtuse, 3–5 × 1.5–3.5 mm; lateral sepals concave. petals oblanceolate-oblong, spreading, 3– 7 ×1.5–3 mm. lip obscurely 3-lobed, wedge-shaped, concave, apex subacute, 3 mm long; disc lacking lamellac. column slender, 2–4.5 mm long; foot incurved. fruit cylindric-ovoid, 5–9 × 5–6 mm (plate 2; fig. 2). flowering period: march habit: the species was found to grow on the trunk of the host tree garuga pinnata (gaertn.) roxb. distribution: bangladesh, north east india, nepal, myanmar, china and thailand. in bangladesh, the species was found in keokaradung mountain, ruma, bandarban. plate 2. pinalia spicata (d. don) s. c. chen & j. j. wood. three new species records of the genus pinalia 201 fig. 2. pinalia spicata ( d. don) s. c. chen & j. j. wood. a) habit; b) flower; c) pedicel, ovary, sepals, petals, lip, column and foot; d) lip; e) column; f) pollinia. specimen examined: bandarban; keokaradung mountain, ruma, 10.04.2018, m.k. huda, m.m. hoque, and m.o. alam 202 (hcu). 3. pinalia acervata (lindley) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 2: 679. 1891. eria acervata lindley, j. hort. soc. london 6: 57. 1851 pseudobulbs usually 2 or 3, or sometimes 8 closely and regularly arranged into a row, fusiform, sometimes bottle-shaped, sometimes compressed, 2-4 × 0.6-1.5 cm, apex 2-4-leaved. leaves sessile, oblong-lanceolate, 4-10 × 0.8-2 cm, base attenuate, apex obtuse and slightly unequally 2-lobed. inflorescences 1-3, subterminal, 3-6 cm, 4-7-flowered; rachis glabrous; floral bracts ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 0.5-1 cm, margin sparsely denticulate, apex long acuminate. flowers white, sepals tinged green at apex, lip yellow; pedicel and ovary 1 cm. dorsal sepal narrowly ovate, 6 × 2 mm, 5-veined, acuminate; lateral sepals falcate-lanceolate, 7 × 5-6 mm, acuminate. petals lanceolate, 6 × 2 mm, obtuse; lip broadly cuneate in outline, 7 × 6 mm, base attached to column foot at a right angle, 3-lobed; lateral lobes falcate-oblong, 2 mm wide; midlobe orbicular, 3 × 3 mm; disk with 3 keeled lamellae from base to middle of mid-lobe. column 3 mm; foot 4 mm. capsule narrowly cylindric, 2.7 × 0.4 cm (plate 3; fig. 3). 202 huda et al. flowering period: august ecology: the species was found to grow on the trunk of the host tree garuga pinnata (gaertn.) roxb. distribution: bangladesh, bhutan, bhutan, cambodia, ne india, laos, myanmar, nepal, thailand. in bangladesh, the species was found in keokaradung mountain, ruma, bandarban. specimen examined: bandarban; keokaradung mountain, ruma, 10.04.2018, m.k. huda, m.m. hoque, and m.o. alam 211 (hcu). plate 3. pinalia acervata (lindl.) kuntze. fig. 3. pinalia acervata (lindl.) kuntze. a) habit; b) flower; c) lateral view of column with labellum; d) bract; e) spreading of sepal, petal; f) labellum; g) column. three new species records of the genus pinalia 203 acknowledgement the authors gratefully acknowledge the ministry (moe) of education, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh for the financial support under grants for advanced research in education (gare) project to conduct the research and department of botany, university of chittagong for logistic support. the authors are also grateful to mr. amir hossen nayan for his cooperation during collection of the specimens. references agrawala, d. k. and lal, k. 2012. extended distribution of eria spicata (orchidaceae), a curious sympodial orchid from the india subcontinent. www.richardiana.com. pp. 80–91. alam, sk. s., kondo, k. and tanaka, r. 1993. a chromosome study of eight orchid species in bangladesh. la kromosome. pp. 71–72. dressler, r. l. 1990. the orchids natural history and classification, harvard university press, london (2nd edn). dressler, r. l. 1993. phylogeny and classification of the orchid family press syndicate of the university of cambridge, australia. heinig, r. l. 1925. list of plant of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. derjeeling, pp. 68–70. hooker, j. d. 1890. the flora of british india.vol 5. kent (england): l. reeve and co. ltd. pp. 1–910 . huda, m. k. 2008. orchidaceae. in: ahmed, zu, hassan, ma, begum, znt, khondker, m, kabir, smh, ahmad, m, ahmed, ata, rahman, aka and haque, eu (eds.). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka.12: 1–149. lindley, j. 1830-1840. eria. in: the genera and species of orchidaceous plants. london: ridgways. pp. 68– 71. pearce, n. r. and cribb, p. j. 2002. the flora of bhutan. the orchids of bhutan. edinburgh (uk): the royal botanic garden and bhutan. the royal government of bhutan. 2 (3): 643 p. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. india reprint (1966). botanical survey of india, calcuta, 2: 750–772. rahman, m. a., huda, m. k. and rashid, m. e. 2017. orchid species diversity in bangladesh and their revised nomenclatural updates, biodiversity bulletin bangladesh. 10: 1–70. royal botanic gardens. kew.2003. monocot checklist. available: http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/data/monocots via the interner. seidenfaden, g. 1982. orchid genera in thailand x. trichotosia bl. and eria lindl. opera botanica. 62: 157. sharma, o. p. 2000. orchidaceae, in: plant taxonomy. tata mc grew-hill publishing co, rajkamal electric press, new delhi, india. pp. 18–42, 297–301. sinclair, j. 1956. the flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng., calcutta, india. 9(2): 107– 108. (manuscript received on 1 march, 2019; revised on 10 may, 2019) http://www.richardiana.com. http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/data/monocots microsoft word 07. 40 bjpt 16-40_editka.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 161-166, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and anatomical studies of the newly recorded genus plagiopteron griff. (celastraceae) from vietnam vu tien chinh, ritesh kumar choudhary1, tran the bach, bui hong quang, do van hai, sangmi eum2 and joongku lee3* institute of ecology and biological resources, vietnam academy of sciences and technology, hanoi, vietnam keywords: anatomy; celastraceae; new generic record; plagiopteron; vietnam. abstract plagiopteron griff. (celastraceae), collected from bac giang province of vietnam is reported here as a new generic record for the flora of vietnam. it is supposedly an early derived member of the subfamily hippocrateoideae (composed of tribes campylostemoneae and hippocrateeae), within hippocrateaceae. the genus differs from other members of celastraceae by its many bicyclically arranged stamens. leaf anatomical studies have been performed to understand various features such as venation, vascular bundles, collenchyma and stomata. taxonomic notes, description, and photographs are provided, together with short notes on the distribution, ecology and phenology of the species. introduction the family celastraceae is represented by 98 genera and 1264 species and distributed across tropics and subtropics, some in temperate regions of the world (simmons, 2001). in vietnam, they are represented by 13 genera and 80 species (ban, 2003). during a recent field work in an lac village of bac giang province in vietnam (fig. 1), an interesting plant belonging to celastraceae was collected. after examining all the specimens housed in vietnamese herbaria (hn, hnu, vnm) the collected specimens did not match with any known vietnamese genus. critical morphological and anatomical observation, consultation of type specimens and relevant literature studies were carried out and conclusively it was identified as plagiopteron suaveolens griff. the genus differs from other members of the family celastraceae by its many bicyclically arranged stamens. this monotypic genus was hitherto known to occur in south china, myanmar, bangladesh and thailand. the present report is a new distributional record of this genus in vietnam. leaf anatomical studies have been proved useful in the solution of certain taxonomic and phylogenetic problems and delimitation of various genera (robinson, 1969; cutler et al., 2007). the importance of anatomical characters for the celastraceae taxonomy was confirmed by smith & robinson (1971), den hartog et al. (1978) and mennega (1997). smith & robinson (1971) used leaf epidermal features in the definition of species hippocrateaceae occurring in santa catarina. den hartog et al. (1978) supported the expansion of the celastraceae family concept based on the types of stomata and crystal-cells in the leaf epidermis of celastraceae s.l. considering the importance of anatomical studies in celastraceae, we carried out the same for plagiopteron. 1biodiversity & palaeobiology group, agharkar research institute, g.g. agarkar road, pune, india. 2international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon, republic of korea 3department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, daejeon, republic of korea *corresponding author. 162 chinh et al.   fig. 1. distribution map showing location of plagiopteron suaveolens in vietnam. materials and methods the specimens were collected from the natural habitats, thoroughly processed using standard herbarium techniques (jain and rao, 1977) and deposited in herbarium of institute of ecology & biological resources (hn) vietnam and korea research institute of bioscience & biotechnology (krib). inflorescences were fixed in faa (5 ml of formalin: 5 ml of glacial acetic acid: 90 ml of ethyl alcohol) solution and detailed morphological studies were carried out under nikon eclipse ci stereo microscope. photographs were taken using nikon ds-fi2 camera. leaves were fixed in faa and then stored in 70% ethanol to minimize hardening. samples were taken from the main vein and the region between the midrib and margin. cross-sections were performed in a rotary microtome, colored in methylene blue and carmine red, and then assembled according to standard techniques of plant anatomy (johansen, 1940). the anatomical analysis and photographic documentation pertaining to light microscopy were performed under light microscope nikon eclipse ci with ds-fi2 camera. results taxonomic treatment plagiopteron griff. calcutta j. nat. hist. 4: 244, 1844. t. 13. type: china, s.n. (br photo!). scandent shrubs, woody, laticiferous. branches and branchlets densely stellate-pubescent. leaves opposite, simple, pinnately nerved, hairy. inflorescence axillary, paniculate, multiflowered, densely stellate hairy. flowers bisexual, small. calyx (2–) 4 (or 5)-partite, segments unequal in length. petals 3, rarely 4, sepal-like, reflexed. stamens numerous, on a disk; filaments filiform, free; anthers dehiscing transversely. gynoecium 3-carpellary, syncarpous. ovary superior, 3-loculed, sessile, densely tomentose; ovules 2 per locule; style 1, subulate; stigma minutely 3-lobed. fruit a turbinate septicidal capsule with 3 spreading wings ultimately separating into 3 cocci. seeds ovate. morphological and anatomical studies of plagiopteron 163   plagiopteron suaveolens griff., calcutta j. nat. hist. 4: 244 (1843); ya tang & sue zmarzty, fl. china 11: 439 (2007). p. chinensis x.x. chen, acta bot. yunnan 2(3): 331 (1980); p. fragrans griff. calcutta j. nat. hist. 4: 244 (1843) t.13. (fig. 2). type: china, s.n. (br photo!). fig. 2. plagiopteron suaveolens a. habit; b. & c. adaxial and abaxial surface of leaf; d. a flowering twig; e. flowers; f. infructescence; g. fruits. 164 chinh et al.   a large scandent shrub; young parts rusty stellate-pubescent. petiole c. 1.0 1.5 cm long, densely tomentose; leaf blade elliptic, ovate-elliptic, ovate-oblong or nearly round, 3.0 13.5 × 2.5 7.5 cm, papery, abaxially densely brown stellate tomentose, adaxially finally pubescent on veins only, midvein strongly prominent abaxially, raised adaxially, lateral veins 5 or 7 pairs, base rounded or slightly cordate, less often acute to obtusely cuneate, or apparently finely crenate in dried material; margin entire; apex acute to acuminate. inflorescence paniculate, axillary, toward twig apex, usually shorter than leaf blade; peduncle densely brown stellate tomentose, lower unbranched part of peduncle 4.5 5.0 cm long. pedicel flower c. 5.0 6.5 mm long, tomentose; bracteoles lanceolate, 2.0 3.0 mm long. sepals 4, spreading, hairy, unequal in size, lanceolate, 1.0 1.5 mm long, tomentose. petals 3 or 4, nearly round or, narrowly ovate, 2.5 3.5 mm long, outside tomentose, yellow, inside with sparser weak hairs. stamens many, on a disk, slightly united at base, much longer than petals; filaments filiform, slightly dilated above, 2.0 3.0 mm long, glabrous; anthers globose or pyriform, minute, glabrous, dehiscent by apical pores. ovary superior, densely brown pubescent, 3-loculed with 2 basal erect ovules in each locule; style subulate, simple, c. 2.0 mm long, slender, tapering to apex, nearly as long as filaments, tomentose at base; stigma minutely 3-lobed. capsules turbinate, woody, expanded at apex into 3 spreading wings and ultimately separating into 3 cocci; wings spathulate, 2.0 4.0 cm long, unequal with subparallel veins, sparsely stellate hairy. seeds ovate c. 0.3 0.5 mm long. flowering: may to june; fruiting: july. specimens examined: vietnam, bac giang province, son dong district, an lac village, 18 july 2015, c. n21º22'11.1" e106º56'02.8'', 166 masl, t.t. bach, t.d. binh, v.t. chinh, d.v. hai, b.h. quang, d.h. son, vk-6488 (hn, kribb). ecology: plagiopteron suaveolens was found growing in the shade along the streams and at the forest borders of limestone hills at about 166 m asl. however, it has also been reported to occur in the open evergreen forest, secondary forest (evergreen forest type), open deciduous forest, or sometimes at the edge of cultivation from thailand at the altitudinal range of 80-430 m asl (phonsena, 2004). distribution: vietnam (bac giang province, son dong district, an lac village). bangladesh (silhet), china (guangxi), myanmar (tenasserim) and thailand (lampang, kalasin, nakhon ratchasima, sa kaeo). leaf anatomical features leaf anatomical characteristics of plagiopteron suaveolens are described under two headings. (fig. 3). central vein the epidermis cells cover the entire leaf surface and are continuous with the surface of stem to which the leaf is attached. the upper epidermal cells (b) are single layered with some unicellular-hairs (a); the lower epidermis consists of ordinary cells and guard cells (i). the guard cells occur in pair, separated by an opening or pore (stoma). the epidermal cells are continued by plenty of collenchyma-cell layers (c). the transverse section shows the vascular systems in central veins. the vascular bundles extend throughout the leaf. the conducting elements are xylem (e) and phloem (d). some sclerenchyma cells (f) were observed in the central part. leaf blade the upper and lower epidermis cells are continued with those which occur in central veins. morphological and anatomical studies of plagiopteron 165   mesophyll of leaf consists of 3 parts: the sub-epidermis (g); the palisade parenchyma (h) and the spongy parenchyma. the upper epidermis cells are followed by two layers of sub-epidermis and the palisade parenchyma layer with narrow cells (h). the spongy parenchyma (j) extends from the palisade parenchyma (k) to the lower epidermis. cells of the spongy parenchyma are irregular in shape and loosely arranged. fig. 3. detailed leaf anatomical characteristics of plagiopteron suaveolens as seen in transverse section. a. unicellular hair; b. upper epidermis; c. collenchyma cells; d. phloem; e. xylem; f. sclerenchyma cells; g. sub-epidermis; h. palisade parenchyma; i. guard cells; j. spongy parenchyma; k. palisade parenchyma; l. sub-epidermis; m. upper collenchyma; n. upper epidermis. taxonomic notes the genus plagiopteron was earlier placed under the monotypic family plagiopteraceae (bass et al., 1979) however, its woody climbing habit, the presence of large opposite leaves, small flowers in many-flowered terminal cymes, and fruit with acer-like wings pointed out its affinity with celastraceae. further similarities were found in the elastic material of the leaf midrib vascular cylinder. nonetheless, the pollen characters did not support its placement in celastraceae (tang, 1994). recent systematic studies using molecular data placed plagiopteron in the celastraceae, close to the hippocrateoid genera. the genus is supposedly an early derived member of the subfamily hippocrateoideae (composed of tribes campylostemoneae and hippocrateeae), within hippocrateaceae. this relationship has been supported by the molecular studies using 26s nrdna, rbcl, atpb and phyb loci (simmons et al., 2001b; savolainen et al., 2000, 2000b; soltis et al., 2000). this relationship is also consistent with recognition of the embryological similarities between plagiopteron and celastraceae (tang, 1994) and simultaneous analysis of rbcl and morphological characters (nandi et al., 1998). synapomorphies of plagiopteron with hippocrateaceae are extrose, transversely dehiscent stamens that are not versatile. plagiopteron, however differs from other members of celastraceae by its many bicyclically arranged stamens. a synapomorphy of plagiopteron with hippocrateoideae is the distinctive capsular fruits that are deeply lobed between the locules (simmons et al., 2001a). the present report will help to prioritize conservation of this species in vietnam, bangladesh, china, thailand and myanmar. 166 chinh et al.   acknowledgments we are thankful to the institute of ecology and biological resources (iebr), vietnam academy of science and technology hanoi (vast), chungnam national university (cnu), international biological material research center (ibmrc), korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology (kribb), korea and the national foundation for science and technology development (nafosted-106-nn.99-2015.26) for permitting us to carry out this study. rkc (2nd author) acknowledges to the mou between agharkar research institute, india and ibmrc, kribb which facilitated this research. thanks are also due to the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments which helped the manuscript to improve further. references ban, n.t. 2003. celastraceae, in: checklist of plant species of vietnam. vol. 2. agricultural publishing house, vietnam, pp. 1120–1134. baas, p., geesink, r., van heel, w.a. and muller, j. 1979. the affinities of plagiopteron suaveolens griff. (plagiopteraceae). grana. 18: 69–89. cutler, d.f., botha t. and stevenson d.w. 2007. plant anatomy: an applied approach. blackwell publishing, malden, pp. 1–302. den hartog, r.m., tholen, v. and bass, p. 1978. epidermal characters of the celastraceae sensu lato. acta bot. neerl. 27: 355–388. jain, s.k. and rao, r.r. 1977. a handbook of field and herbarium methods. today and tomorrow's printers and publishers, new delhi, pp. 1–157. johansen, d.a. 1940. plant microtechnique. new york, mc. graw hill book. mennega, a.m.w. 1997. wood anatomy of the hippocrateoideae (celastraceae). iawa-journal. 18(4): 331–368. nandi, o.i., chase, m.w. and endress, p.k. 1998. a combined cladistic analysis of angiosperms using rbcl and non-molecular data sets. ann. mo. bot. gard. 85: 137–212. phonsena, p. 2004. plagiopteron suaveolens (plagiopteraceae): an emended description. thai forest bulletin (botany), 32: 123–131. robinson, h. 1969. a monograph on foliar anatomy of the genera connelia, cottendorfia, and navia (bromeliaceae). smithsonian contrib. bot. 2: 1–41. savolainen, v., fay, m.f., albach, d.c., backlund, a., van der bank, m., cameron, k.m., johnson, s.a., lledo, m.d., pintaud, j.-c., powell, m., sheahan, m.c., soltis, d.e., soltis, p.s., weston, p., whitten, m., wurdack, k.j., and chase, m.w. 2000a. phylogeny of the eudicots: a nearly complete familial analysis based on rbcl gene sequences. kew bull. 55: 257–309. savolainen, v., chase, m.w., hoot, s.b., morton, c.m., soltis, d.e., bayer, c., fay, m.f., de brujin, a., sullivan, s., and qiu, y.-l. 2000b. phylogenetics of flowering plants based upon a combined analysis of plastid atpb and rbcl gene sequences. syst. biol. 49: 306–362. simmons, m.p. 2001. celastraceae. in: kubitzki k. (ed.), the families and genera of vascular plants. vol. 6. springer-verlag, berlin, pp. 29–64. simmons, m.p., clevinger, c.c., savolainen, v., archer, r.h., mathews, s. and doyle, j.j. 2001b. phylogeny of the celastraceae inferred from phytochrome b and morphology. am. j. bot. 88: 313–325. smith, l.b. and robinson, h.e. 1971. hippocrateaceas. in: reitz, r. (ed.), flora ilustrada catarinense. itajai, herbario barbosa rodrigues, pp. 1–33. soltis, d.e., soltis, p.s., chase, m.w., mort, m.e., albach, d.c., zanis, m., savolainen, v., hahn, w.h., hoot, s.b., fay, m.f., axtell, m., swensen, s.m., nixon, k.c. and farris, j.s. 2000. angiosperm phylogeny inferred from a combined data set of 18s rdna, rbcl, and atpb sequences. bot. j. linn. soc. 133: 381–461. tang, y. (1994). embryology of plagiopteron suaveolens griffith (plagiopteraceae) and its systematic implications. bot. j. linn. soc. 116: 145–157. (manuscript received on 13 april 2016; revised on 15 september 2016) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 79-91, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists traditional honey production and bee flora of espiye, turkey mustafa karaköse, ridvan polat1, m. oliur rahman2 and uğur çakilcioğlu3 giresun university, espiye vocational school, giresun, turkey keywords: bee flora; honeybee; espiye; turkey. abstract this paper presents potential honey bee plants in espiye (giresun) which can be considered as a guide for beekeepers and researchers. a total of 149 taxa belonging to 125 genara and 48 families were recorded as pollen and nectary sources for honey bee colonies at espiye (giresun) region. among the recorded taxa 58 were phanerophytes, 57 taxa hemicryptophytes, 19 taxa therophytes, 13 taxa cryptophytes and 2 taxa chamaephytes. updated nomenclature along with the families, local names, life form, flowering period and ecological status have been furnished under 94 herbs, 28 shrubs and 27 trees. introduction turkey is one of the countries where the honey production is at the highest level in the world (özturk and erkan, 2010). in the recent past, the forest area in turkey has increased from 20.2 million/ ha to 22.3 million/ha between 1973 and 2015 (ogm, 2013-2015). very recently, the forest general directorate has started to implementing the honey action plan to promote honey production and contribute to rural development (ogm, 2013-2015). as part of the action plan, up to 356 honey forests have been established and now, turkey is in the second row in the world’s honey production and beekeeping.turkey produces 92% of the world’s pine honey, specifically in its west mediterranean and south aegean regions. in turkey, there are 57,000 registered beekeepers and 6.6 million registered hives as of 2014 (duyum and friedman, 2015). sıralı (2009) reported about 300 species of natural or cultivated nectar plants from turkey comprising about 75% of the nectar plant species in the world. the botanic origin of honey is one of the most important parameters of honey quality (tucak et al., 2000, 2004). the taste, smell and colour of honey are changed according to the nectar of the flowers. in nature, bees visit flowers to produce honey and to take food and they collect pollen, nectar or both from plants during their visit to plants. nectar is found in the special part of some flowers or in other organs (stem, leaves etc.). bees visit definite organs of some herbacous and lingeous plants to collect components of honey. therefore, bee plants can not be determined only by palynologcal studies in honey (tew, 1998; tutkun, 2000). turkey is the home of three phyto-geographic regions (euro-siberian, mediterranean and irano-turanian) in terms of plant geography. each floristic region has its own plant composition and this affects the variety, quality and authenticity of the produced honey. furthermore, honey production in turkey has increased to 114.471 tonnes from 54.655 tonnes in the period from 1991 to 2017 (tui̇k, 2018). however, no studies on bee plants have been made in espiye, giresun so far. proper taxonomic identity of bee plants of the country, more particularly in espiye is lacking. 1bingöl university, genç vocational school, bingöl, turkey. 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. 3munzur university, pertek sakine genç vocational school, tunceli, turkey. corresponding author. email: ucakilcioglu@yahoo.com mailto:ucakilcioglu@yahoo.com 80 karaköse et al. therefore, the present study aimed at producing a bee flora of espiye, giresun and preparing a database which will not only contribute to honey producers but also contribute greatly to the determination of honey contents. materials and methods espiye (giresun) is situated in the eastern black sea region (costal and inner parts), surrounded by the gorele and tirebolu in the east, güce and alucra in the south, yağlıdere and keşap in the west and by black sea in the north (fig. 1). espiye is located between 140044’14” to 40058’27” n and 38037’11” to 38048’39” e with an area of c. 21,100 ha. the altitude of the study area is 1600 m asl. approximately 2,500 species have been recorded in the region and this region hosts about 28% of turkey’s flora (dokap, 2000). since there is no meteorological station in espiye, the climatic data of giresun were taken into consideration. the annual average rainfall of giresun is 1,288.4 mm and the average temperature is 14.6 °c (table 1). the climate type of the area is humid based on thornthwaite climate classification (tsms, 2017). fig. 1. map of the study area espiye, giresun. extensive field surveys were conducted over four years from 2012 to 2016 in the villages and rural areas of espiye (giresun) region in different seasons. field visits were made along with beekeepers and a total of 17 beekeepers over middle age were interviewed to collate information on the bee plants. abundance and density of the bee and bee plant populations were observed in bee flora of espiye, turkey 81 the field. plant samples were collected from the field and the collected specimens were critically studied and identified. identifications were confirmed using the flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, and list of turkish plants (davis, 1965-1985; davis et al., 1988; güner et al., 2000, 2012). life forms of these plants were identified according to the raunkiaer’s system (raunkiaer, 1937). the families are arranged alphabetically and the taxa under each family are placed in an alphabetical order. the voucher specimens have been preserved in giresun university herbarium. table 1. average climate values of giresun meteorology station (1929-2016). months jan feb mar apr may jun jul aug sep oct nov dec mean temperature (°c) 7.2 7.1 8.0 11.3 15.5 20.1 22.7 23.1 22.0 16.2 12.6 9.4 14.6 rainfall (mm) 127.5 101.5 97.5 76.1 66.8 77.5 79.4 89.5 129.2 164.7 151.9 126.8 1,288.4 result and discussion a total of 149 plant taxa belonging to 125 genera and 48 families were identified as bee plants (table 2). among the identified taxa herbs are represented by 94 taxa, shrubs by 28 and trees by 27 taxa. asteraceae and fabaceae are the largest families represented by 17 taxa each, followed by rosaceae with 15 taxa, lamiaceae with 12 taxa and ericaceae with 6 taxa (fig. 2). fig. 2. distribution of bee plants according to family showing the number of taxa. the present study revealed that in the study area, 58 taxa are phanerophytes, 57 taxa hemicryptophytes, 19 taxa therophytes, 13 taxa cryptophytes and 2 taxa are chamaephytes. 82 karaköse et al. table 2. bee plants of espiye region along with turkish name, life form, flowering period, status and vouchers. name of the taxa turkish name life form flowering period status voucher specimen adoxaceae sambucus nigra l. ağaç mürver ph 4-7 natural mk 939 aizoaceae mesembryanthemum cordifolium l. f. buz çiçeği ch 5-9 ornamental mk 904 apiaceae daucus carota l. yabani havuç h 4-8 natural mk 857 foeniculum vulgare mill. rezene h 5-9 natural mk 870 pimpinella anisum l. anason th 6-8 cultivation mk 913 smyrnium olusatrum l. deli kereviz h 3-5 natural mk 943 araliaceae hedera helix l. duvar sarmaşığı ch 8-9 natural mk 875 asparagaceae hyacinthus orientalis l. subsp. orientalis sümbül cr 3-5 ornamental mk 878 muscari armeniacum leich. ex baker gavurbaşı cr 3-5 natural mk 905 ornithogalum oligophyllum e.d. clarke kurt soğanı cr 4-7 natural mk 908 scilla bifolia l. orman sümbülü cr 3-6 natural mk 940 asteraceae artemisia vulgaris l. kaba yavşan h 6-9 natural mk 828 bellis perennis l. koyungözü h 3-8 natural mk 825 bidens tripartita l. üç suketeni th 7-9 naturalized mk 830 calendula officinalis l. aynısafa th 1-6 ornamental mk 832 cichorium inthybus l. hindiba h 4-9 natural mk 842 cirsium arvense (l.) scop. köygöçüren h 5-10 natural mk 843 cosmos bipinnatus cav. meksika yıldızı th 6-10 ornamental mk 851 cota tinctoria (l.) j. gay boyacı papatyası h 6-7 natural mk 852 dimorphotheca ecklonis dc. bodrum papatyası h 4-6 ornamental mk 859 erigeron annuus (l.) pers. hemşin şifaotu th 6-9 naturalized mk 866 eupatorium cannabinum l. koyuntırpağı h 7-10 natural mk 869 helichrysum plicatum dc. subsp. plicatum mantuvar h 6-8 natural mk 876 lapsana communis l. subsp. intermedia (m. bieb.) hayek şebrek h 5-10 natural mk 888 solidago virgaurea l. subsp. virgaurea altınbaşak çiçeği h 7-9 natural mk 944 sonchus asper (l.) hill subsp. glaucescens (jord.) ball. gevirtlek h 3-8 natural mk 945 taraxacum laxum hagl. gevşek çıtlık h 4-8 natural mk 949 tussilago farfara l. öksürükotu cr 3-4 natural mk 956 begoniaceae begonia cucullata willd. bahçe begonyası h 7-1 ornamental mk 827 berberidaceae berberis vulgaris l. kızılkaramuk ph 5-6 natural mk 829 betulaceae alnus glutinosa (l.) gaertn. subsp. barbata (c.a. mey.) yalt. kızılağaç ph 2-4 natural mk 823 bee flora of espiye, turkey 83 table 2 (contd.) name of the taxa turkish name life form flowering period status voucher specimen corylus avellana l. var. avellana fındık ph 2-3 natural mk 850 c. maxima mill. tombul fındık ph 3 cultivation mk 849 bignoniaceae campsis radicans (l.) seem. acem borusu ph 4-7 ornamental mk 836 boraginaceae cynoglossum creticum mill. pisiktetiği h 3-7 natural mk 856 echium angustifolium mill. agres h 3-8 natural mk 863 e. vulgare l. subsp. vulgare engerek otu h 5-9 natural mk 862 myosotis laxa lehm. subsp. caespitosa (schultz) hyl. ex nordh. hüthütgözü h 5-8 natural mk 906 trachystemon orientalis (l.) g. don kaldirik cr 3-5 natural mk 951 brassicaceae barbarea vulgaris r. br. subsp. vulgaris nicarotu h 4-5 natural mk 826 brassica oleracea l. lahana h 5-6 cultivation mk 831 cardamine impatiens l. subsp. impatiens sultan kodimotu th 6-8 natural mk 837 c. quinquefolia (m. bieb.) schmalh. hanımgömleği h 3-5 natural mk 838 eruca vesicaria (l.) cav. roka th 3-5 cultivation mk 868 caprifoliaceae lonicera japonica thunb. japon hanımeli ph 4-7 naturalized mk 894 l.orientalis lam. has çakkana ph 5-7 natural mk 895 weigela floribunda c.a. mey. gelin tacı ph 5-6 ornamental mk 963 cistaceae cistus creticus l. laden ph 3-6 natural mk 844 c. salviifolius l. kartli ph 3-5 natural mk 845 commelinaceae tradescantia fluminensis vell. ak telgrafçiçeği cr 5-9 naturalized mk 952 convolvulaceae calystegia sylvatica (kit.) griseb. bürük h 4-8 natural mk 835 convolvulus arvensis l. tarla sarmaşığı h 4-9 natural mk 847 cornaceae cornus mas l. kızılcık ph 4-5 natural mk 848 cucurbitaceae cucumis sativus l. hıyar th 7-9 cultivation mk 854 cucurbita pepo l. sakız kabağı th 7-8 cultivation mk 853 sicyos angulatus l. i̇tdolanbacı th 7-10 naturalized mk 942 ebenaceae diospyros lotus l. hırnık ph 5-6 natural mk 860 ericaceae arbutus andrachne l. sandal ağacı ph 3-5 natural mk 824 calluna vulgaris (l.) hull süpürge çalısı ph 8-10 natural mk 834 erica arborea l. funda ph 3-7 natural mk 865 rhododendron luteum sweet zifin ph 4-9 natural mk 927 r. ponticum l. kumar ph 3-8 natural mk 928 vaccinium arctostaphylos l. likarpa ph 5-7 natural mk 957 84 karaköse et al. table 2 (contd.) name of the taxa turkish name life form flowering period status voucher specimen fagaceae castanea sativa mill. kestane ph 6-7 natural mk 839 geraniaceae geranium asphodeloides burm. f. subsp. asphodeloides yaramerhemi h 4-6 natural mk 872 g. pusillum burm. f. i̇ncegelinçarşafı th 5-6 natural mk 873 g. robertianum l. dağ ıtırı th 4-6 natural mk 874 hydrangeaceae deutzia gracilis siebold & zucc. havlu püskülü ph 4-6 ornamental mk 858 hydrangea macrophylla (thunb.) ser. ortanca ph 5-6 ornamental mk 879 philadelphus coronarius l. filbahri ph 5-6 ornamental mk 911 hypericaceae hypericum androsaemum l. kamaniça cr 6-7 natural mk 880 iridaceae iris lazica albov laz süseni cr 2-4 natural mk 882 i. pseudacorus l. bataklı süseni cr 4-5 natural mk 883 iris × germanica l. göksüsen cr 4-5 ornamental mk 881 juglandaceae juglans regia l. ceviz ph 5 cultivation mk 884 lamiaceae ajuga orientalis l. dağmayasılı h 4-7 natural mk 821 lamium album l. subsp. album balıcak h 5-8 natural mk 885 l. galeobdolon (l.) l. subsp. galeobdolon sarı balıcak h 4-6 natural mk 886 l. purpureum l. subsp. purpureum ballıbaba th 3-5 natural mk 887 prunella vulgaris l. gelinciklemeotu h 5-9 natural mk 920 melissa officinalis l. subsp. officinalis oğulotu h 6-7 natural mk 901 mentha longifolia (l.) l. subsp. longifolia pünk h 6-8 natural mk 902 m. pulegium l. yarpuz h 6-9 natural mk 903 origanum vulgare l. subsp. viridulum (martrin-donos) nyman karakınık h 5-10 natural mk 907 rosmarinus officinalis l. biberiye ph 2-5 natural mk 932 salvia verticillata l. subsp. verticillata dadırak h 6-8 natural mk 938 stachys sylvatica l. hamısırgan h 6-9 natural mk 947 lauraceae laurus nobilis l. defne ph 3-5 natural mk 891 leguminosae acacia dealbata link. gümüşi akasya ph 2-4 ornamental mk 817 albizia julibrissin durazz. gülibrişim ph 7-8 ornamental mk 822 cercis siliquastrum l. subsp. siliquastrum erguvan ph 4-5 natural mk 841 lathyrus laxiflorus (desf.) o. kuntze subsp. laxiflorus deli burçak h 5-8 natural mk 889 lotus corniculatus l. var. tenuifolius l. gazalboynuzu h 4-9 natural mk 896 bee flora of espiye, turkey 85 table 2. (contd.) name of the taxa turkish name life form flowering period status voucher specimen medicago sativa l. subsp. sativa karayonca h 4-9 natural mk 899 melilotus officinalis (l.) desr. kokulu yonca th 5-9 natural mk 900 phaseolus vulgaris l. fasulye th 4-5 cultivation mk 910 pisum sativum l. bezelye th 4-5 cultivation mk 914 robinia hispida l. kıllı akasya ph 4-7 ornamental mk 930 r. pseudoacacia l. yalancı akasya ph 4-6 naturalized mk 929 trifolium campestre schreb. üçgül th 2-4 natural mk 953 t. pratense l. var. pratense çayır üçgülü h 5-9 natural mk 955 t. repens l. var. repens ak üçgül h 3-9 natural mk 954 securigera varia (l.) lassen körigen h 5-8 natural mk 941 vicia cracca l. subsp. stenophylla vel. meşe fiği h 5-7 natural mk 961 wisteria sinensis (sims) sweet çin mor salkımı ph 4-7 ornamental mk 964 lythraceae lythrum salicaria l. hevhulma h 6-8 natural mk 897 malvaceae malva sylvestris l. ebegümeci h 5-10 natural mk 898 tilia rubra dc. subsp. caucasica (rupr.) v. engl. kafkas ıhlamuru ph 6-7 natural mk 950 myrtaceae callistemon viminalis (sol. ex gaertn.) g. don ex loudon fırça çalısı ph 4-6 ornamental mk 833 leptospermum scoparium j.r. forst. & g. forst. okyanus mersini ph 5-9 ornamental mk 892 oleaceae ligustrum japonicum thunb. lügüstrüm ph 5-6 ornamental mk 893 syringa vulgaris l. leylak ph 5-6 ornamental mk 948 onagraceae epilobium angustifolium l. yakıotu h 6-8 natural mk 864 oxalidaceae oxalis articulata savigny pembe ekşiyonca h 6-9 ornamental mk 909 pinaceae picea orientalis (l.) peterm. doğu ladini ph 4-5 natural mk 912 pittosporaceae pittosporum tobira (thunb.) w.t. aiton yıldız çalısı ph 4-6 ornamental mk 915 plantaginaceae plantago lanceolata l. damarlıca h 4-10 natural mk 916 veronica beccabunga l. subsp. beccabunga at teresi cr 5-10 natural mk 959 v. persica poir. cırcamuk th 1-12 natural mk 960 86 karaköse et al. table 2 (contd.) name of the taxa turkish name life form flowering period status voucher specimen poaceae zea mays l. subsp. mays mısır th 6-10 cultivation mk 965 primulaceae primula acaulis (l.) l. subsp. acaulis çuhaçiçeği h 3-6 natural mk 918 p. acaulis (l.) l. subsp. rubra (sm.) greuter & burdet evvelbahar çiçeği h 3-5 natural mk 919 ranunculaceae helleborus orientalis lam. çöpleme h 3-5 natural mk 877 ranunculus constantinopolitanus (dc.) d’urv kâğıthane çiçeği h 5-6 natural mk 924 r. ficaria l. subsp. bulbifera lawalrée buğdaycık cr 3-4 natural mk 925 r. repens l. tiktakdana h 5-7 natural mk 926 rosaceae cerasus avium (l.) moench kiraz ph 3-5 cultivation mk 840 cydonia oblonga mill. ayva ph 5-6 cultivation mk 855 duchesnea indica (andrews) focke sabun çileği h 5-9 naturalized mk 861 eriobotrya japonica (thunb.) lindl. yenidünya ph 10-1 cultivation mk 867 fragaria vesca l. dağ çileği h 4-6 natural mk 871 laurocerasus officinalis m. roem. karayemiş ph 4-6 natural mk 890 potentilla reptans l. reşatınotu h 5-8 natural mk 917 prunus divaricata ledeb. var. divaricata yunus eriği ph 4-5 natural mk 921 pyracantha coccinea m. roem. ateşdikeni ph 4-6 natural mk 922 pyrus communis l. subsp. communis armut ph 4-5 cultivation mk 923 rosa canina l. kuşburnu ph 5-7 natural mk 931 rubus canescens dc. var. glabratus (godr.) davis & meikle çobankösteği ph 5-8 natural mk 933 r. idaeus l. subsp. idaeus ahududu ph 6-7 natural mk 934 r. sanctus schreb. böğürtlen ph 6-8 natural mk 935 spiraea vanhouttei (briot) carrière i̇spirya ph 4-5 ornamental mk 946 rutaceae citrus sinensis (l.) osbeck portakal ph 4-6 cultivation mk 846 salicaceae salix alba l. subsp. alba ak söğüt ph 4-5 natural mk 936 s. caprea l. sorgun ph 4-5 natural mk 937 sapindaceae acer cappadocicum gled. subsp. cappadocicum beşparmak ağacı ph 3-5 natural mk 819 a. heldreichii orph. ex boiss. subsp. trautvetteri (medw.) a.e. murray kafkas akçaağacı ph 3-5 natural mk 818 scrophulariaceae verbascum gnaphalodes m. bieb. uslu sığırkuyruğu h 5-9 natural mk 958 bee flora of espiye, turkey 87 table 2 (contd.) name of the taxa turkish name life form flowering period status voucher specimen simaroubaceae ailanthus altissima (mill.) swingle kokarağaç ph 5-6 naturalized mk 820 violaceae viola odorata l. kokulu menekşe h 4-5 natural mk 962 ph = phanerophytes, ch = chamaephytes, h = hemicryptophytes, th = therophytes, cr = cryptophytes. the current status of honeybee plants in espiye revealed that the identified 149 taxa were clustered into four different ecological groups comprising 69% natural, 16% ornamental, 10% cultivation and 5% naturalized. the majority of species are natural (103 taxa) followed by the ornamental (23 taxa), cultivation (15 taxa) and naturalized (8 taxa). in addition, flowering period of the identified taxa has been determined. as seen in figure 3, the flowering period for plants in the study area is mostly between april and august. in may, many plants can be seen in flowering state in the study area. some important natural, ornamental and naturalized bee plant species of espiye region are shown in figures 4 and 5. fig. 3. flowering period of the honeybee plants of espiye, giresun. honeybees cannot operate below 12-13°c (korkmaz, 2015). honeybees start to collect nectar and pollen in the month of may. flowering in plants reach top level in espiye in may and there is direct correlation between temperature, precipitation and flowering plants. honeybee activity remains during may to october (fig. 6). as seen in figure 6, when flowering in plants accounts reach at the top level temperature is appropriate, and precipitation is at the least level. 88 karaköse et al. fig. 4. some important natural bee plants of espiye region: a. cistus salviifolius; b. laurocerasus officinalis; c. lamium purpureum; d. cistus creticus; e. citrus sinensis; f. ornithogalum oligophyllum; g. primula acaulis; h. fragaria vesca; i. trifolium repens; j. brassica oleracea; k. rhododendron ponticum; l. cerasus avium; m. cardamine impatiens; n. veronica beccabunga; o. castanea sativa; p. rubus sanctus. bee flora of espiye, turkey 89 fig. 5. some important ornamental and naturalized bee plants of espiye region: a. weigela floribunda; b. erigeron annuus; c. dimorphotheca ecklonis; d. wisteria sinensis; e. calendula officinalis; f. sicyos angulatus; g. iris × germanica; h. tradescantia fluminensis; i. robinia pseudoacacia. 90 karaköse et al. fig. 6. correlation between honeybee activity, temperature and precipitation. in the present study 23 ornamental and eight naturalized plant species were identified as visited by the honeybees. the presence of these plants in ecosystems causes changes in the pollen and nectar resources of the honeybees. these changes have caused both the deterioration of the functions provided by the ecosystems and the decrease of the agricultural gains. in addition, this differentiation will also cause a change in the quality of the local honeys. therefore, on the use of mostly local indigenous species there will be a significant share in the conservation of ecosystem balance. references davis, p.h. (ed.). 1965-1985. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, vols. 1–9. edinburgh university press, uk. davis, p.h, mill, r.r. and tan, k. 1988. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 10. edinburgh university press, uk. dokap, 2000. dokap (doğu karadeniz bölgesi gelişme planı), pp.1–9. duyum, s. and friedman, s. 2015. the turkish beekeeping and honey sector, ankara, report no. tr5021. güner, a., özhatay, n. and başer, k.h.c. 2000. flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, vol. 11, supplement-ii. edinburgh university press, uk. güner, a., aslan, s., ekim, t., vural, m. and babaç, m.t. 2012. türkiye bitkileri listesi (damarlı bitkiler). nezahat gökyiğit botanik bahçesi ve flora araştırmaları derneği yayını, i̇stanbul. korkmaz, a. 2015. bal arısı polinasyonu, samsun gıda tarım ve hayvancılık i̇l müdürlüğü yayını, samsun, p. 72. ogm (orman genel müdürlüğü). 2013-2015. türkiye orman varlığı kitabı. orman i̇daresi ve planlama dairesi başkanlığı, no. 115. özturk, f. and erkan, c. 2010. bee plants of van lake basin (turkey). int. j. bot. 6: 101–106. raunkiaer, c. 1937. the life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. clarendon press, oxford. te m pe ra tu re (º c ) bee flora of espiye, turkey 91 sıralı, r. 2009. important honey production regions of turkey. j. beekeeping res. 1: 16–20. tew, j.e. 1998. some ohio nectar and pollen production plants. ohio state university, columbus. tsms. 2017. turkish state meteorological service bulletin. tucak, z., tucak, a., puskadija, z. and tucak, m. 2000. nutritious healing composition of some kinds of honey in eastern croatia. agriculture 6: 129–132. tucak, z., perispic, m., beslo, d. and tucak, i. 2004. influence of the beehive type on the quality of honey. coll antropol. 28: 463–467. tui̇k. 2018. turkish statistical institute. 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(manuscript received on 12 february 2018; revised on 21 march 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 93-99, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of three species and a genus of the euphorbiaceae for bangladesh m. nazim uddin1, m. oliur rahman2 and m. atiqur rahman department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: cleidiocarpon laurinum airy shaw; euphorbia repens k. koch; euphorbia pycnostegia boiss.; first records; euphorbiaceae; bangladesh. abstract three species belonging to two genera of the family euphorbiaceae are being reported here as new records for bangladesh, viz., cleidiocarpon laurinum airy shaw, euphorbia pycnostegia boiss. and euphorbia repens k. koch. the genus cleidiocarpon airy shaw is also a new generic record for bangladesh. one cultivated species, acalypha wilkesiana muell.-arg., is reported as addition to the account of the euphorbiaceae of bangladesh. description and photographs of these species are provided. introduction the euphorbiaceae, one of the largest, most complex and diverse families of angiosperms, is consisted of 334 genera (webster, 1994) and over 8,000 species (radcliffe-smith, 2001). wurdack et al. (2004) opined that as a pantropical family euphorbiaceae (s.l.) is composed of 340 genera and approximately 8,000-9,000 species. the family is known from its latest treatment in the encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh to be represented in the flora of bangladesh by 47 genera and 141 species (ahmed et al., 2008).while examining the collected specimens of the family euphorbiaceae from different districts of the country and specimens preserved at dacb, dush, bfrih, bcsirh and hcu we came across some unidentified specimens, and after critical examination they have been identified as cleidiocarpon laurinum airy shaw, collected from chittagong, cox's bazar and rangamati; euphorbia pycnostegia boiss., collected from khulna, pabna and satkhira; and euphorbia repens k. koch, collected from barisal and khulna districts. these species were neither previously recorded from any part of bangladesh, nor appeared in any previous relevant literature (roxburgh, 1814; hooker, 1886-1888; prain, 1903; heinig, 1925; raizada, 1941; datta and mitra, 1953; sinclair, 1956; khan and afza, 1968; khan and banu, 1972; khan, 1972-1987; alam, 1988; khan and rahman, 1989-2002; khan et al., 1994; rahman and hassan, 1995, 2017; rahman and uddin, 1997; uddin and rahman, 1999; rashid et al., 2000; khan and huq, 2001; rahman et al., 2001, 2012; rahman and khan, 2008; tutul et al., 2010; uddin and hassan, 2010; arefin et al., 2011; rahman et al., 2012, 2013; rahman and alam, 2013; rashid and chowdhury, 2013; rahman et al., 2015; arefin et al., 2017). hence, these species are reported here as new records for bangladesh. materials and methods we collected some interesting specimens belonging to the family euphorbiaceae from barisal, chittagong, cox’s bazar and rangamati districts. all collected specimens and some other unidentified specimens of the family euphorbiaceae preserved at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), dhaka university salarkhan herbarium (dush), herbaria of chittagong university 1department of botany, rangamati government college, rangamati, bangladesh. 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. corresponding author. email: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 94 uddin et al. (hcu), bangladesh forest research institute (bfrih), bangladesh council for scientific and industrial research (bcsirh) were critically studied. examination, identification and description of the specimens were made following standard taxonomic methods and consulting relevant literature (hooker, 1886-1888; prain, 1903; hara et al., 1982; haridasan and rao, 1987; sharma et al., 1993), which resulted in three new angiosperm records for the country. each of these new records is cited with relevant taxonomic data on current name with synonyms, description, ecology, occurrence in bangladesh, global distribution and specimens examined. photograph of each newly recorded species is provided based on herbarium specimen. results and discussion the study resulted in recognition of occurrence of one more genus, cleidiocarpon airy shaw with one species c. laurinum airy shaw, and two more species belong to the genus euphorbia l., viz., e. repens k. koch and e. pycnostegia boiss. in the flora of bangladesh. the occurrence of these species from elsewhere in bangladesh were not reported in any previous taxonomic treatment. the genus euphorbia l. with 20 species were previously recorded from bangladesh (ahmed et al., 2008). however, cleidiocarpon laurinum airy shaw, euphorbia repens k. koch and e. pycnostegia boiss. are reported here as addition to the account of the euphorbiaceae of bangladesh. cleidiocarpon laurinum airy shaw in kew bull. 19(2): 313 (1965). cleidion bishnui chakrab. & m. gangop., j. econ. taxon. bot. 12(2): 473 (1988 publ.1989). (fig. 1). a large shrub or small tree. leaves alternate, lanceolate, acuminate at apex, cuneate at base, margin entire, coriaceous, discoid gland 4-6, near base of lamina; petiole swollen, geniculate. fig. 1. cleidiocarpon laurinum airy shaw three new records of euphorbiaceae 95 flowers small, monoecious or dioecious. male flowers: in long axillary racemes; calyx globose, sepals 3-4, valvate, refluxed, glabrous; stamens numerous; anthers 2-celled. female flowers: solitary, axillary; sepals 3-5, imbricate, thick, ovate; ovary 1-celled; styles 2, very long, each again divided into 2 filiform arms. fruits capsule, deeply 2-lobed. flowering and fruiting: december to april. ecology: rain forests and forest margins. occurrence in bangladesh: chittagong, cox's bazar and rangamati districts. global distribution: myanmar and bangladesh. specimens examined: chittagong: dhopachari, chamachari, 16.9.1998, rahman et al. 3393 (hcu); chandanaish, dhopachari, 14.6.2013, uddin et al.10336 (hcu). cox's bazar: panerchara, tulabagan, 15.10.1998, rahman et al. 3828 (hcu). rangamati: kaptai, rampahar, 5.11.1999, rahman 5945 (hcu). note: the genus cleidiocarpon airy shaw was not known to be represented in the flora of bangladesh and this is the new generic record for the country. euphorbia pycnostegia boiss., cent. euphorb.: 9 (1860). e. pycnostegia boiss. var. zornioides (boiss.) santapau, bull. bot. soc. bengal 8: 11 (1955). chamaesyce zornioides (boiss.) soják, cas. nár. mus., odd. prír. 140: 170 (1972). (fig. 2). an annual, erect, glabrous herb. leaves opposite, leaf blade cordately linear-oblong, obtuse or mucronate, serrulate. flowers distichously imbracting, broadly ovate, cordate. involucres subsolitary, glabrous, lobes fimbriate, limbs of glands large, entire, rosy, cocci, obtusely angled, glabrous. seeds smooth or papillose. fig. 2. habit of euphorbia pycnostegia boiss. 96 uddin et al. flowering and fruiting: january to april. ecology: sandy places. occurrence in bangladesh: khulna, pabna and satkhira districts. global distribution: india and bangladesh. status of occurrence: critically endangered (cr). threat to the species: habitat destruction. specimens examined: khulna: khulna, 4.1.1966, tauhid 18 (dacb). pabna: pabna, 2.1.1966, ali 27 (dacb). satkhira: satkhira, 27.3.1966, salahuddin 81 (dacb). euphorbia repens k. koch, linnaea 21: 728 (1849). tithymalus repens (k. koch) klotzsch & garcke, abh. königl. akad. wiss. berlin 1859: 96 (1860). (fig. 3). a small, prostrate annual herb with branching stems. leaves opposite, small, ovate, margin entire. flower axillary, single on long stalks. cyathia single, axillary, lobes of the involucre white and red, campanulate to turbinate, shortly pilose outside, marginal lobes 5, ovate, glands 4. male flowers: few, slightly exserted from involucre. female flowers: pedicel long; ovary shortly pubescent; style free; stigma 2-lobed. fruits capsule, ovoid, smooth, shortly pubescent. seeds ovoid. fig. 3. habit of euphorbia repens k. koch three new records of euphorbiaceae 97 flowering and fruiting: june to september. ecology: mainly a ruderal weed, preferring rough open ground. occurrence in bangladesh: barisal and khulna districts. global distribution: africa and bangladesh. status of occurrence: critically endangered (cr). threat to the species: habitat destruction. specimens examined: barisal: bogra, shahid zia smreeti road, barisal city corporation area, 18.9.2014, rahman & uddin 11207 (hcu). khulna: near newsprint mill area, 29.6.1973, huq 1034 (dacb). note: it is reported here as a new record. the first collection of this species was made by a.m. huq from khulna in 1973 which is available in dacb. the last collection was made by rahman and uddin from barisal city corporation area in 2014 which is accessible in hcu. in addition to above-mentioned three species reported here as new records for bangladesh, one cultivated species, acalypha wilkesiana muell.-arg., is also recorded as a new addition to the account of the euphorbiaceae of bangladesh. acalypha wilkesiana muell.-arg., prodr. 15(2): 817 (1866). a densely branched shrub, monoecious. leaf blades elliptic-ovate to broadly ovate, obtusely acuminate at apex, cuneate or rounded at base, margin crenate-dentate, many nerved from the base, main veins on both surfaces at first glabrous, later glabrescent, green, coppery or bronze coloured and variously variegated with purple, red, pink, cream-coloured or white or else pinkcream or white margined, lateral nerves in pairs; stipules narrowly lanceolate, acute to acuminate. inflorescence axillary, usually solitary, spicate, unisexual. male flowers: sessile or so, buds tetragonal, reddish; anthers yellowish. female flowers: sessile; sepals ovate; ovary sub-globose, tomentose; style united at the base, deeply laciniate, red. fruits 3-lobed, pubescent. flowering and fruiting: december to april. ecology: cultivated in gardens and along road sides. occurrence in bangladesh: barisal, chittagong and dhaka districts. global distribution: worldwide in (sub-) tropical climates where it is often introduced as an ornamental. status of occurrence: cultivated. medicinal uses: in britain, leaves are used to treat diarrhoea. likewise, fresh or heated leaves are externally applied to relieve rheumatic pain and inflammation. specimens examined: barisal: bogra, shahid zia smreeti road, barisal city corporation area, 18.9.2014, rahman & uddin 11208 (hcu). chittagong: mirsarai forest range, 18.11.1996, islam 5898 (hcu). dhaka: balda garden, 23.1.1980, begum 143 (dacb). acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the authorities of dacb, dush, hcu, bfrih and bcsirh for giving permission to study their preserved specimens of the euphorbiaceae. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khandker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.t. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 7. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 376–488. 98 uddin et al. alam, m.k. 1988. annotated checklist of the woody flora of sylhet forest. bulletin 5. plant taxonomy series, bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong, pp. 35–44. arefin, m.k., rahman, m.m., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2011. angiospermic flora of satchari national park, habiganj, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 117–140. arefin, m.s., hossain, m.k. and hossain, m.a. 2017. plant diversity of sonadia island – an ecologically critical area of south-east bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 107–116. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. bengal. 7(1&2): 25–30. hara, h., chater, a.o. and williams, l.h.j. 1982. an enumeration of the flowering plants of nepal. british museum (natural history), london 3: 139–199. haridasan, k. and rao, r.r. 1987. forest flora of meghalaya. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, 2: 479–480. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government press, darjeeling, india, pp. 55–59. hooker, j.d. 1886–1888. flora of british india, vol. 5. l. reeve and co. ltd., kent, england, pp. 239–477. khan, m.s. (ed.). 1972-1987. flora of bangladesh. fasc. 1–59. bangladesh national herbarium, bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. khan, m.s. and afza, s.k. 1968. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of teknaf and st. martin’s island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 16: 35–37. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-2 (dicotyledons). j. asiat. soc. bang. 17(2): 59–88. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47–64. khan, m.s. and rahman, m.m. (eds). 1989-2002. flora of bangladesh. fasc. 40–53. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a.1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focusing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47–79. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants, vol. 2. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dhera dun, india, pp. 694–716. radcliffe-smith, a. 2001. genera euphorbiacearum. royal botanic gardens, kew, london, 464 pp. rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1997. assessment of plant diversity of sitakunda in chittagong. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17–36. rahman, m.m., rashid, m.h. and rashid, s.h. 2001. assessment of plant biodiversity of sand dune ecosystem along the cox's bazar to teknaf coast. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 27–45. rahman, m.a., uddin, m.n., rashid, m.e. and islam, m.m. 2012. floristic diversity in rampahar reserve forest of kaptai, rangamati. biodiversity bull. 6: 1–31. rahman, m.o. and alam, m.t. 2013. a taxonomic study on the angiosperm flora of trishal upazila, mymensingh. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 22(1): 63–74. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur (bangladesh). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47–79. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2017. new angiospermic taxa for the flora of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 165–171. rahman, m.o. and khan, b. 2008. euphorbiaceae. in: ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khandker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.t. and haque, e.u. (eds), encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 376–488. rahman, m.o., begum, m. and ullah, m.w. 2013. angiosperm flora of sadar upazila of munshigonj district, bangladesh.bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 213–231. three new records of euphorbiaceae 99 rahman, m.o., antara, r.t., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2012. floristic diversity of dhamrai upazila of dhaka, bangladesh with emphasis on medicinal plants. bangladesh j. bot. 41(1): 71–85. rahman, m.s., hossain, g.m., khan, s.a. and uddin, s.n. 2015. an annotated checklist of the vascular plants of sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 17–41. rashid, m.h., rahman, e. and rahman m.a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of moheskhali island. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43–63. rashid, m.h. and chowdhury, m.a.i. 2013. additions to the angiosperm flora in the sitapahar reserve forest of kaptai, rangamati, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 255–257. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245–254. roxburgh, w. 1814. hortus bengalensis (num. nud.). boerhave press, leiden (holland),105 pp. sharma, b.d., balakrishnan, n.p., rao, r.r. and hajra, p.k. 1993. flora of india, botanical survey of india, calcutta 1: 1–467. sinclair, j. 1956. the flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 105–106. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh. ii. magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1) 33–53. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park (bangladesh): a preliminary assessment. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 9–22. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31–68. webster, g.l. 1994. synopsis of the genera and suprageneric taxa of euphorbiaceae. ann. miss. bot. gard. 81: 33–144. wurdack, k.j., hoffmann, p., samuel, r., bruijn, α., van der bank, m. and chase, m.w. 2004. molecular phylogenetic analysis of phyllanthaceae (phyllanthoideae pro parte. euphorbiaceae s.l.) using plastid rbcl dna sequences. am. j. bot. 91: 1882–1900. (manuscript received on 25 march 2018; revised on 30 april 2018) microsoft word 02. senecio.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 13-17, 2014 (june) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists cypselar diversity in four species of senecio l. (asteraceae) tulika talukdar1 and sobhan kumar mukherjee department of botany, university of kalyani, kalyani, nadia 741235, west bengal, india keywords: senecio l.; cypsela; morphology; pappus. abstract the genus senecio l. is one of the largest genera of flowering plants and is an important member of the tribe senecioneae (asteraceae). phenotypic information, including a broad range of morphological characters is very crucial for phylogenetic reconsideration of any family, tribe or genus. in the family asteraceae, very little attention has been paid to cypselar diversity, though it is regarded as taxonomically valuable. a sincere attempt has been made to study detailed cypselas macro and micromorphological features of four species of senecio l. these diacritical features could be used to strengthen current inter-specific concept of senecio l. introduction the genus senecio l. belongs to the tribe senecioneae of the family asteraceae and considered as one of the largest genera of flowering plants carrying c.1000 species in strict sense (nordenstam, 2007). the taxonomic foundation of the tribe senecioneae was initiated by cassini, who distinguished 17 ‘natural tribes’ including senecioneae (“les senecionees”) in his third memoire (cassini, 1816) of the tribal classification of “synantherees” i.e. family asteraceae. the tribe is traditionally characterized by an epaleate receptacle and a pappus of capillary bristles in their cypselas. phylogenetically, the tribe is proposed by small (1919) as the most primitive tribe of the family asteraceae. on the other hand, due to its moderately large size manifested by tremendous number of species and genera [c. more than 3000 species in 151 genera by nordenstam (2007)], almost cosmopolitan distribution and incredible morphological diversity, it is reconsidered as the evolutionary successful one (bremer, 1994). although dna data provide the most reliable information for estimating evolutionary relationships and distances between taxa, these data alone cannot explain how or why a particular plant evolved without phenotypic information, including a broad range of morphological and chemical characters (calabria et al., 2009). therefore, a valid need of morphometric analysis cannot be ruled out. it is really a fact that cypselar morphology in the family has not been received as much attention as it should be. according to heywood et al. (1977), cypsela structure and anatomical features have been studied in details in only a few groups such as anthemideae and cardueae and found to be taxonomically valuable. they opined that “it is difficult to believe that carpological features will prove to be of lesser value in all the remaining tribes.” in this context, our present investigation deals with detailed studies of cypselas macro as well as micro-morphological features of four species of senecio l., namely s. aegyptius l., s. alpinus (l.) scop., s. aquaticus hill. and s. viscosus l. of the tribe senecioneae primarily using light microscope. special emphasises have been given to traditional characters such as size and shape of cypselas, nature and distribution of ribs and furrows, nature of surface pubescence, structure of stylopodium, carpopodium, pappus etc. these diverse cypselar features could be utilized to construct an artificial key and to evaluate infra-generic phylogeny of senecio. 1department of botany, a.p.c. roy govt. college, siliguri, darjeeling, west bengal, india. e-mail: talukdartulip12@gmail.com 14 talukdar and mukherjee materials and methods plant materials (cypselas) for the present investigation were obtained from hortus botanicus hauniensis, denmark (dk) and botanischer garten der universitat zurich (z). macro-morphological studies of cypselas in cases, where intact cypselas were available, the first and foremost step was to mark the posterior and anterior surface of the cypselas. then 10 dry and 10 faa preserved mature cypselas were randomly taken in glass slides and graphed slides and observed under olympus stereo dissecting microscope (dm) and olympus binocular microscope (no. 611062). suitable images were taken using zeiss stemi dv4 camera equipped microscope. shape and direction of cypselas were noted carefully. length and width of the cypselas were measured visually by graphed slides, in few cases they were counted by ocular and stage micrometer. the length of the cypselas in the present study is defined as the length of the body of cypselas from basal meristematic zone (carpopodium) up to apical end excluding pappus. the width of the cypselas was measured at the widest part of the cypselar body. micro-morphological studies of cypselas mature cypselas were dipped in 1-5% naoh solution for 2-7 days depending upon the hardness. then they were transferred into saturated chloral hydrate solution for few hours, repeatedly washed with water and properly stained in 0.2-0.5% aqueous safranin solution. after staining, specimens were placed in 70% phenol glycerine solution and dissected carefully for studying different parts of cypselas. suitable photographs were taken using olympus c-310 zoom digital camera (3.2 megapixel) and zeiss-stereo microscope. nature of ribs, types, distribution and orientation of hairs, nature of surface cells, other epidermal structures and carpopodial cells were critically observed. pappus characters such as nature of pappus bristles, their number, arrangement, length and apex organization were also examined. results and discussion cypselas of all the studied species (figs 1&2) are invariably homomorphic with a length ranging from 1.5 to 8.0 mm. cypselas are generally straight. beside senecio alpinus and s. aquaticus cypselas of other two species bear 7-10, prominent and straight ribs (figs 1a,f,g, 2a). pubescent cypselas have been noted except in s. alpinus (fig. 1f). hairs of all the pubescent species are of twin or duplex type, common in the family (hess, 1938). they are typically threecelled, with two parallel cells and a smaller basal cell. occurrence of few myxogenic hairs having mucilaginous properties when soaked in water have been reported by nordenstam (1977), konechaya (1981) and mukherjee (2001) in the members of senecioneae. sahu (1983) has mentioned that these “achenial hairs” has sharply pointed apex. in the contrary, mukherjee (2001) has pointed out that “tips of the hairs are obtuse or rounded but not sharply pointed”, as mentioned by sahu (1.c.). interestingly, in our observations both the statements are found to be true, as in senecio aegyptius and s. viscosus tips of the hairs are sharply pointed (figs 1c, 2b), while that of s. aquaticus are rounded (fig. 1h). well-developed stylopodium with broaden base have been found in senecio aquaticus (fig. 1g). in other studied species stylopodium is found to be ill-developed or insignificant. carpopodium is symmetric, either well-developed ring-like as found in senecio viscosus (fig. 2a), or ill-developed thickened band-like as in other three investigated species of senecio. carpopodium in all the studied taxa, is made up of rectangular, thick-walled cells arranged in several tangential rows. such findings are well supported by wetter (1983), who mentioned that in cypselar diversity in senecio l. 15   carpopodium of different members of senecioneae “the squarish to rectangular (quadrate) cells were arranged in one to several rows or series. the number of rows which composed of carpopodium was constant in each species.” wetter (l.c.) also documented variation in the number of rows of cells among the species. this variation is also evident in the present observation, as the number of rows is 3-4 in senecio viscosus and 1-2 in other three studied species. haque and godward (1984) have reported the absence of carpopodium in all four species of senecio studied by them. but the present investigation is not in agreement with the above view, as carpopodium are found to be present in all the senecio species studied. fig. 1. cypselar morphology of senecio aegyptius (a-e), s. alpinus (f) and s. aquaticus (g-h). a, f, g. cypsela; b. apex with stylopodium; c, h. twin hair; d, e. parts of pappus bristle. bar: 0.2 mm (a,f,g); 0.1 mm (b); 0.02 mm; (c-e); 0.005 mm (h). 16 talukdar and mukherjee pappus usually represented by many, free, 2-5 mm long, persistent or caducous (as in senecio aegyptius), scabrous or barbellate (as in s. aegyptius), biseriate bristles; with unequal, sharply pointed apical cells. apical cells were two in number in s. aegyptius and three in s. viscosus (figs 1e, 2e). biseriate pappus bristles of the genus senecio have also been noted by drury and watson (1965), who mentioned that the outer series contain minute fimbrillae with retrorsely barbed tips called “fluked”. however, our observation is not similar with the above view. multiseriate pappus bristles also have been marked in senecio viscosus. often pappus bristles is reduced as in senecio aquaticus, where pappus is represented by apical corona. so pappus with all its features can be employed in classification of taxa. fig. 2. cypselar morphology of senecio viscosus. a. cypsela; b. twin hair; c. base of pappus bristle; d. middle part of pappus bristle; e. apical part of pappus bristle. bar: 0.2 mm (a); 0.02 mm (b-e). considering all these cypselar features, an attempt has been made to construct an artificial key to the species. key to the species of senecio l. 1. cypsela pubescent. 2 cypsela glabrous. s. alpinus 2. cypsela truncate at the apex, quadrangular, not ribbed; stylopodium welldeveloped; insertion of cypsela oblique; pappus of apical corona. s. aquaticus cypsela rounded at the apex, cylindrical, 9-10 ribbed; stylopodium illdeveloped; insertion of cypsela straight; pappus of capillary bristles. 3 3. stylopodium conical; carpopodium ill-developed, thickened band-like; pappus caducous, of biseriate barbellate bristles; apex of bristle made of two unequal cells. s. aegyptius stylopodium tubular; carpopodium well-developed, symmetric, circular ringlike; pappus persistent, of multiseriate scabrous bristles; apex of bristle made of three unequal cells. s. viscosus cypselar diversity in senecio l. 17   the present study on detailed macroand micro-morphological features of cypselas of four species of senecio l. is a preliminary attempt to assess the usefulness of cypsela as species delimiting factor. the analysis clearly indicates that in comparison to size and shape of cypsela, nature of carpopodium, presence or absence of rib, trichome tip, pappus features like arrangement of pappus bristle, number of apical cells in bristle etc. are much more reliable characters for interspecific grouping or separation. acknowledgement we extend our special thanks to dr. hans vilhelm hansen, curator, denmark and to dr. peter enz, curator, zurich for their active assistance in despatching the identified mature cypselas for our studies. references bremer, k. 1994. asteraceae. cladistics and classification. timber press, portland. calabria, l.m., emerenciano, v.p., scott, m.t. and mabry, t.j. (eds). 2009. secondary chemistry of compositae. in: funk, v., susanna, a., stuessy, t.f. and bayer, r.j. (eds), systematics, evolution, and biogeography of compositae. smithsonian institution, washington, dc., usa, pp. 369-383. cassini, h. 1816. in: king, r.m. and dawson, h.w. (eds), cassini on compositae, collected from the dictionnaire des sciences naturelles. new york, oriole editions, pp. 535-602. drury, d.g. and watson, l. 1965. anatomy and the taxonomic significance of gross vegetative morphology in senecio. new phytol. 64: 307-314. haque, m.z. and godward, m.b.e. 1984. new records of the carpopodium in compositae and its taxonomic use. bot. j. linn.soc. 89: 321-340. hess, r. 1938. vergleichende untersuchungen uber die zwillingshaare der compositen. bot. jahrb. syst. 68: 435-496. heywood, v.h., harborne, j.b. and turner, b.l. 1977. an overview to the compositae. in: heywood, v.h., harborne, j.b. and turner, b.l. (eds), the biology and chemistry of the compositae. vol. 1. academic press, london, pp.780-802. konechaya, g.y. 1981. carpological and anatomical characters of species of the genus senecio (asteraceae) with reference to their taxonomy. bot. zh. (leningr.) 66(6): 834-842. mukherjee, s.k. 2001. cypselar features in nineteen taxa of the tribe senecioneae (asteraceae) and their taxonomic significance. in: maheshwari, j.k. (ed.), recent researches in plant anatomy and morphology. scientific publishers, jodhpur, india, pp. 253-274. nordenstam, b. 1977. senecioneae and liabeae systematic review. in: heywood, v.h., harborne, j.b. and turner, b.l. (eds), the biology and chemistry of the compositae. vol. ii. academic press, london, pp. 799-830. nordenstam, b. 2007 senecioneae. in: kadereit, j.w. and jeffrey, c. (eds), the families and genera of vascular plants. vol. 8. flowering plants, eudicots, asterales. springer, berlin, pp. 208-241. sahu, t.r. 1983. trichome studies in senecio linn: structure, distribution and taxonomic significance. j. indian bot. soc. 62: 84-89. small, j. 1919. the origin and development of the compositae. v. the pappus. new phytol. 11: 98-123. wetter, m.a. 1983. micromorphological characters and generic delimitation of some new world senecioneae (asteraceae). brittonia 35: 1-22. (manuscript received on 2 february 2013; revised on 28 april 2014) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 149-157, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular identification of lavendula dentata l., mentha longifolia (l.) huds. and mentha × piperita l. by dna barcodes shawkat mahmoud ahmed1 biology department, faculty of education, ain shams university, cairo, egypt keywords: lavendula; mentha; its; its2; rbcl; matk; trnh. abstract five dna barcodes were tested for identification and discrimination of lavendula dentata l., mentha longifolia (l.) huds. and mentha × piperita l. new dna barcodes have been registered for l. dentata from taif, saudi arabia. the separate clading of l. dentata and m. longifolia through the phylogenic analyses proved their endemism to saudi arabia. the phylogenetic trees revealed from the its2, matk and trnh data demonstrated that all mentha species formed monophyletic clusters except hybrid m. × piperita from taif which formed separate clades distinguishing it from the two parents; m. aquatica l. and m. spicata l. dna barcoding could be considered as a good approach for distinguishing and identifying the mint plants, though it was not possible to confirm the relationship between hybrids and their putative parents. introduction the family lamiaceae comprising about 7,173 species under 236 genera possesses medicinal and aromatic herbs such as lavender, basil, mint, rosemary and thyme, that have been widely utilized as teas, spices, traditional medicines or raw material for the food and pharmaceutical industries (theodoridis et al., 2012). lavendula dentata is one of five naturally growing lavender species in saudi arabia that has been known as the main center of origin of the genus (miller, 1985). lavender species as medicinal plants, are distributed in highlands of albaha, asir, and taif and are exploited for the production of high-quality lavender honeys. locally known as habak, al-madinah mint or wild mint, mentha longifolia and peppermint, mentha × piperita are present in the spontaneous flora of saudi arabia but also under cultivation. traditionally, they have been used as medicinal agents to treat colds, cough, headaches, asthma and digestive disorders. recent studies proved the antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer characteristics as therapeutic activities for the extracts derived from mentha species (anwar et al., 2017). hybridization and polyploidy play an important role in the speciation of the members belonging to genus mentha such as m. × piperita that is considered as a hybrid of the two mints; m. spicata and m. aquatica (mogosan et al., 2017) making them good targets for molecular studies. various studies have been performed to identify and classify species of lamiaceae collected from saudi arabia based on anatomical and cytological studies (abdel khalik, 2016) and biochemical analyses (kasem, 2016), however, very little is known about dna barcoding information. dna sequences for the species under study will be compared in a database against retrieved sequences of identified individuals from the genbank. if the query sequence matches with one in the database, this will help in identification, discrimination or gaining a new barcodes for these species (hajibabaei et al., 2007). therefore, the objectives of this research include: 1present address: biology department, faculty of science, ta’if university, ta’if, 5700, saudi arabia. email: shamahmoh@gmail.com mailto:shamahmoh@gmail.com 150 ahmed i) utility of specific dna regions, two nuclear internal transcribed spacers (its and its2) and the plastid dna regions (rbcl, matk and trnh) for developing dna barcodes and subsequently identification for the three species; lavendula dentata, mentha longifolia and m. × piperita occurred in taif highlands of saudi arabia; ii) discriminating between species under study and those retrieved from the genbank and iii) exploring the interspecific variation between m. longifolia and m. × piperita. materials and methods plant materials two wild species, namely lavendula dentata and mentha longifolia, and the hybrid species, m. × piperita belonging to family lamiaceae were collected from taif highlands, saudi arabia. species identification was confirmed following collenette (1999). dna extraction and amplification dna of fresh young leaves was extracted using ctab method as described by doyle and doyle (1987). the purified dna was amplified for its, its2, rbcl, matk and trnh barcodes using universal primers. pcr sequencing the pcr products of the three lamiaceae species for the five dna barcodes were purified and sequenced at macrogen inc., south korea. all sequences of the three species generated in this research were deposited in genbank (accession numbers are listed in table 1). sequences alignment and phylogenetic analyses the sequences of its, its2, matk, rbcl and trnh of l. dentata, m. longifolia and m. × piperita were subjected to blast (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast.cgi) to confirm them from the other related lamiaceae species existing in the genbank database. sequence alignments were performed by muscle algorithm (edgar, 2004; tamura et al., 2013). the equality of evolutionary rate parameters between sequences of the three species under study and the retrieved species from genbank were calculated by tajima's relative rate test (tajima, 1993). nucleotide substitution rates and transition/transversion bias (r) were estimated using maximum likelihood method. the phylogenic trees were constructed by the maximum likelihood bootstrap (mlb) analysis. a total of 1,000 bootstrap replicates were performed. the software of mega6 was used for all operations (tamura et al., 2013). table 1. accession numbers in genbank of sequences of lavendula dentata, mentha longifolia and m. × piperita generated in this study. taxa its its2 matk rbcl trnh l. dentata lc373552.1 lc373553.1 lc373554.1 lc373555.1 m. longifolia lc378378.1 lc378379.1 m. × piperita lc374287.1 lc374288.1 lc374289.1 lc374290.1 results and discussion identification of lavendula dentata sequences of l. dentata for its, its2, rbcl and trnh barcoding loci were submitted to blast at the genbank database, however, any sequence of l. dentata was detected in the database, thus the present study succeeded in registering new dna barcodes for l. dentata from http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast.cgi) molecular identification of lavendula dentata, mentha longifolia and m.× piperita 151 taif. sequences of species belonging to the genus lavendula showing high similarities to those of l. dentata were retrieved for the statistical analyses. its showed the highest sequence length (775 bp) followed by rbcl (537 bp), its2 (358 bp) and trnh (346 bp), whereas, the variable sites percentage after alignment was higher in trnh (24%) than those of its, its2 and rbcl. the gc ratios scored in loci its and its2 (60.1 and 65.9) was found greater than those of rbcl and trnh (table 2). in comparison with the retrieved lavendula species, the rates of transitions to transversions showed notable substitution changes in the sequences of l. dentata (table 2). transitions generally occurred more than transversions. transition/transversion bias (r) was found relatively high and ranged from 1.19 to 2.82 demonstrating a molecular evolution within lavendula genome. this putative evolution in l. dentata was confirmed through tests of tajima relative evolutionary rate that displayed an accelerated rates of evolution (p-values <0.05) for all loci under study. the results revealed that its, its2, rbcl and trnh have sufficient efficiency in sequence quality as well as in species identification across the genome of the genus lavendula. for further identification of l. dentata, sequences of the four loci were used to reconstruct four phylogenetic trees (fig. 1). except the tree revealed from its2, the separate clustering of l. dentata in the phylogenetic trees of its, rbcl and trnh proved its endemism to saudi arabia. the development of different dna barcodes is better than single locus for more accurate results (khan et al., 2013). the identification of species within a community through dna barcodes contributes to the construction of the barcode library for terrestrial plants (burgess et al., 2011). table 2. statistics derived from the sequencing, alignment and blast processes for all loci employed in the present investigation. loci parameters its its2 rbcl matk trnh % variable sites after alignment for lavendula dentata 0.01 0.06 0.01 0.24 % variable sites after alignment for mentha longifolia 0.11 0.12 0.04 % variable sites after alignment for m. × piperita 0.12 0.04 0.29 0.31 sequence length of l. dentata 775 358 537 346 sequence length of m. longifolia 362 347 528 sequence length of m. × piperita 349 540 810 403 gc ratio in l. dentata 60.1 65.9 43.6 28.6 gc ratio in m. longifolia 51.1 66.6 44.1 gc ratio in m. × piperita 67.9 43.7 34.8 31.2 number of the retrieved lavendula species from the genbank 3 2 4 2 number of the retrieved mentha species from the genbank 4 9 9 11 14 identification of mentha longifolia sequences of its, its2 and rbcl were used to identify m. longifolia. its2 recorded the lowest sequence length, whereas, the variable sites (%) and gc ratio of it were greater than those of its and rbcl (table 2). transitions were found to be more than transversions leading to substitution changes in the sequences of m. longifolia (table 3). an evolution within m. longifolia genome was noticed through the high transition/transversion bias (r) that ranged from 3.51 in rbcl to 1.81 in its2. except data of rbcl, tajima relative evolutionary rate displayed an accelerated rates of evolution (p-values <0.05) in m. longifolia (table 4). sequences of m. longifolia for its, its2 and rbcl that submitted to blast at the genbank retrieved 4, 9 and 9 mentha species, respectively (table 2). m. longifolia and the retrieved mentha species reconstructed three phylogenetic trees (fig. 2) which revealed that m. longifolia was represented in separate clade demonstrating variability between it and other mentha species, and proved its 152 ahmed endemism to saudi arabia. similar result was obtained by khan et al. (2013) in senecio asirensis using nrdna its. fig. 1. phylogenetic trees of lavendula dentata and the retrieved species based on four loci. (◊) refers to the outgroup. identification of m. × piperita sequences of its2, rbcl, matk and trnh were used to identify m. × piperita. as found in m. longifolia, its2 showed the lowest sequence length (349 bp) and the highest gc ratio (67.9). whereas, the percentage of variable sites (31%) was detected in trnh locus (table 2). an obvious evolution was also observed within m. × piperita genome through the high transition/transversion bias (r) that ranged from 0.79 in matk to 7.01 in rbcl (table 3). the previous result was supported by tajima relative evolutionary rate that displayed an accelerated rates of evolution (pvalues <0.05) in m. × piperita except that of rbcl (table 4). the null hypothesis of equal evolution rates between m. × piperita from taif and its ancestors; m. spicata and m. aquatica from one hand, and the retrieved m. × piperita from the other hand, was rejected because the pvalues were lower than 0.05 in its2, matk and trnh revealing the accelerated evolutionary rate of m. × piperita from taif and subsequently reflecting the variance among them. m. × piperita and the retrieved mentha species from the genbank library were analyzed to form four phylogenetic trees (fig. 2). the phylogenetic trees from the its2, matk and trnh data demonstrated that all the molecular identification of lavendula dentata, mentha longifolia and m.× piperita 153 154 ahmed mentha species formed monophyletic clusters except the hybrid m. × piperita from taif which formed separate clades. the differences between m. × piperita under study and the other retrieved mentha species could be explained due to an evolutionary process. little divergence in rbcl tree (fig. 2) and the acceptance of the null hypothesis of equal evolutionary rates among mentha species through rbcl data (table 4) could be due to the symmetry in rbcl sequence of mentha species. kshirsagar et al. (2015) reported the same limitation of rbcl gene in closely related species of the two genera ardisia sw. and swertia l. these results were in accordance with those of theodoridis et al. (2012) who showed that matk and trnh were more useful in discriminating lamiaceae species than rbcl. it was noticed that its2, rbcl, matk and trnh distinguished m. × piperita from the two parents, m. aquatica and m. spicata through the phylogentic trees. these genetic differences might be due to most commercial fig. 2. phylogenetic tree diverges between mentha longifolia and m. × piperita based on its2 and rbcl sequences. (◊) refers to the outgroup. molecular identification of lavendula dentata, mentha longifolia and m.× piperita 155 hybrids, i.e. m. × piperita is sterile or subfertile, therefore, crossing with parental or nonparental species is expected. they may also form complex hybrid populations through vegetative propagation and polyploidy. these possibilities lead to great genetic diversity and subsequently to several taxonomic problems (de mattia et al., 2011). table 4. tajima relative rate tests of loci for l. dentata, m. longifolia and m. × piperita. outgroup testing group ri rd ra rb  p value loci (a) (b) its l. angustifolia l. dentata-taif l. stoechas 512 0 36 0 36.0 <0.05 its2 l. angustifolia l. dentata-taif l. stoechas 280 0 2 17 11.8 <0.05 rbcl l. angustifolia l. dentata-taif l. stoechas 529 0 5 0 5.00 <0.05 trnh l. angustifolia l. dentata-taif l. stoechas 126 6 60 16 25.5 <0.05 its m. suaveolens m. longifolia-taif m. spicata 70 0 33 0 33.0 <0.05 m. spicata m. longifolia-taif m. suaveolens 70 0 33 1 30.12 <0.05 its2 m. × piperita m. longifolia-taif m. longifolia 297 0 9 0 9.00 <0.05 m. longifolia m. longifolia-taif m. × piperita 297 0 9 0 9.00 <0.05 rbcl m. × piperita m. longifolia-taif m. longifolia 524 0 1 0 1.00 >0.05 m. longifolia m. longifolia-taif m. × piperita 524 0 1 1 0.00 >0.05 its2 m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. aquatica 272 0 7 0 7.00 <0.05 m. aquatica m. × piperita-taif m. spicata 272 0 7 0 7.00 <0.05 m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. × piperita 296 0 4 0 4.00 <0.05 rbcl m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. aquatica 525 0 1 0 1.00 >0.05 m. aquatica m. × piperita-taif m. spicata 525 0 1 0 1.00 >0.05 m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. × piperita 524 0 1 1 0.00 >0.05 matk m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. aquatica 411 1 263 0 263 <0.05 m. aquatica m. × piperita-taif m. spicata 411 1 263 0 263 <0.05 m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. × piperita 400 1 250 0 250 <0.05 trnh m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. aquatica 177 0 114 2 108.1 <0.05 m. aquatica m. × piperita-taif m. spicata 177 0 114 2 108.1 <0.05 m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. × piperita 178 1 114 1 111.0 <0.05 its2 m. spicata m. longifolia-taif m. × piperita-taif 320 0 3 6 1.0 >0.05 m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. longifolia-taif 320 0 3 6 1.0 >0.05 rbcl m. spicata m. longifolia-taif m. × piperita-taif 524 0 1 1 0.00 >0.05 m. spicata m. × piperita-taif m. longifolia-taif 524 0 1 1 0.00 >0.05 the tajima relative rate test was used to examine the equality of evolutionary rate for l. dentata, m. longifolia and m. × piperita and other relative species with different outgorups. ri is the identical sites in all three sequences rd is the divergent sites in all three sequences ra is the number of unique differences in the sequence a rb is the number of unique differences in the sequence b  test statistic more than 3.841 (p <0.05) indicates accelerated evolution p value greater than 0.05 is often used to accept the null hypothesis of equal rates between lineages discrimination between m. longifolia and m × piperita sequences of its2 and rbcl were used to discriminate between m. longifolia and m × piperita. statistics in table 1 revealed slight differences between them. results of mean nucleotide substitution rates, transition/transversion bias (r) and tajima relative evolutionary rate were similar in these two taxa (tables 3 & 4). its2 and rbcl trees were used to assess genetic divergences between m. longifolia and m × piperita. a suitable divergence was detected in the 156 ahmed two phylogentic trees displaying the efficacy of the two barcodes in distinguishing between them through the maximum likelihood method (fig. 2). thakur et al. (2016) stated that the convenient barcode exhibits large interspecific but little intraspecific divergence and its sequence length must be short enough to be available in a single amplification. this comparability of interspecific sequence variation is a significant aspect for barcoding identification of species in local floras. establishing a local barcode data will be useful in several ecological applications, such as the reconstruction of community phylogenies, palaeoecological studies of ecosystems and analyzing the diets of human and other animals (valentini et al., 2009). depending on these data, the dna barcoding could be considered as a good approach for distinguishing and identifying the mint plants, however, it was not possible to confirm the relationship between hybrids and their putative parents. finally, it could be concluded that the identification and discrimination of l. dentata, m. longifolia and m × piperita were necessary and valuable for their great economic importance. its, matk and trnh were found to be more effective barcodes than its2 and rbcl for the authentication of these species and hybrid. dna barcoding provided new insight that will contribute to the taxonomy of lamiaceae taxa around the world and the conservation of the genetic resources of these valuable taxa occurring in saudi arabia. acknowledgement the technical support from macrogen inc., south korea is gratefully acknowledged. references abdel khalik, k.n. 2016. a systematic revision of the genus plectranthus l. 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(manuscript received on 14 january 2018; revised on 6 november 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 123-133, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists species delineation of the genus diplazium swartz (athyriaceae) using leaf architecture characters jennifer m. conda1 and inocencio e. buot, jr2 department of science and technology-forest products research and development institute, los baños, laguna, philippines keywords: leaf architecture; taxonomic marker; cladodromous; reticulodromous; craspedodromous; cophenetic correlation. abstract the present study was conducted to delineate diplazium swartz species based on leaf architecture. using paleontological statistics (past), a cluster and principal component analysis of leaf architecture characters of 27 selected diplazium species at the philippine national herbarium (pnh) was done. the dendogram (cophenetic correlation = 0.8436) and principal component analysis supported the four clusters of diplazium using leaf architecture characters. at gower distance of 0.25, diplazium species were categorized as: cluster 1 (cladodromous – short stalked, stout and massive 1° vein); cluster 2 (reticulodromous – long stalked, moderate 1° vein); cluster 3 (craspedodromous – long stalked, stout to massive 1° vein); and cluster 4 (craspedodromous – short stalked, stout to massive 1° vein). the unifying characters were apex shape, base symmetry and 1° vein category, while the significant differentiating characters were 2o vein angle of divergence and variation in the 2° vein angle of divergence, 3o vein category, 3° vein angle of divergence, variation in 3° vein angle of divergence, 3° vein spacing and lobation. the successful delineation of diplazium species proved that leaf architecture can be a good taxonomic marker and could be an alternative way of identifying species in the absence of sori. introduction diplazium swartz consists of about 400 species distributed mainly in the tropics and sparingly in temperate forest (kramer et al., 1990). copeland (1947) enumerated 62 diplazium species in the philippines. meanwhile, 49 species of diplazium were listed in co digital flora of the philippines (http://www. philippineplants.org/families/pteridophytes.html). among genera under athyriaceae, diplazium species were always included in ethnobotanical studies (rai et al., 2005; kumari et al., 2011; sujarwo et al., 2014) as sources of food, medicine and decorative materials (vasudeva, 1999). in asian and filipino dishes, diplazium esculentum is served as salad, dietary staple, base for spicy condiments and vegetable (kayang, 2007). as medicine, diplazium species were noted for their antibacterial (amit et al., 2011), phytochemicals (sivaraman et al., 2011), antimicrobial and cytotoxic (akler et al., 2014), analgesic (chawla et al., 2015), and antioxidant properties (pradhan et al., 2015). despite of the well-studied uses of genus diplazium their taxonomic classification and identification is still controversial among taxonomists and pteridologists. some of the problems in accurate identification of the genus included insufficient data (kramer et al., 1990) and continuous changes in taxonomic classification and morphological variations through apparently intermediate 1corresponding author. email: jhen_0421@yahoo.com; jennifermconda@gmail.com 2institute of biological sciences, college of arts and sciences, university of the philippines los baños, los baños, laguna, philippines. http://www. mailto:jhen_0421@yahoo.com; mailto:jennifermconda@gmail.com 124 conda and buot forms, which are commonly regarded as putative hybrids (takamiya et al., 1999). the chance of misidentification is higher especially during field surveys and actual identification because diplazium species are morphologically similar to their sisters athrium and deparia (kato, 1977) and to some members of woodsiaceae and polypodiaceae to which diplazium was formerly circumscribed (smith et al., 2006). unconscious identification of diplazium might lead to collection of wrong specimens, thus cannot satisfied the intent use and worst can be hazardous to human health or even cause death. the lack of knowledge or information when collecting for medicinal purposes, toxin-containing plants can result in misidentification with grave consequences (voncina et al., 2014). thus, several classification system and scholarly works were done to differentiate, delineate and investigate the phylogenetic relationship of diplazium species. these include dna sequencing (wei et al., 2013), spore morphology (praptosuwiryo et al., 2007), stelar anatomy (praptosuwiryo and darnaedi, 2014), and cytology and reproduction (takamiya et al., 1999). takhtajan (1996) pointed out that molecular methods are not necessarily a universal remedy in elucidating the evolution of a certain taxon because molecular characters are also subjected to evolutionary convergence, parallelism and reversal besides random changes in dna sequence. further, molecular studies are expensive and not feasible in low cost-funded projects and inefficient in field surveys where actual identification is necessary. one taxonomic tool useful in differentiating angiosperm taxa and also considered in ferns is leaf architecture, which is defined as the placement and form of elements constituting the outward expression of leaf structure, including venation pattern, marginal configuration, leaf shape, and gland position (hickey, 1973). pacheco and moran (1999) resurrected callipteris in their revision of the neotropical species, and found diagnostic characters such as anastomosing veins and petiole/rachis scales with bifid-toothed margins. recent studies on fern leaf architecture were done in the genus ophioglossum (magrini and scoppola, 2010) and lygodium (shinta et al., 2012). leaf architecture of fern species such as blechnum binervatum, ctenitis falciculata, magalastrum connexum, microgramma squamulosa and serpocaulon catharinae were studied by larcher et al., (2013). though, leaf plasticity had been an issue on the use of leaf architecture as important taxonomic marker it proved its usefulness in differentiating angiosperm. as vascular plants with distinct venation pattern, ferns are expected to have similar stability in terms of venation pattern. in fact, fern stipes are reinforced by a very stiff sclerenchyma consisting of dead cells with nonextensible rigid cell walls (leroux, 2012) providing support and preserving the leaf architecture (larcher et al., 2013). in addition, ferns have persisted through their evolutionary history and represent highly successful forms in both past and present (pittermann, 2010). therefore, this study aims to delineate some diplazium species of the philippines using leaf architecture characters. materials and methods the leaf architecture characters of 27 diplazium species at the philippine national herbarium (pnh) were summarized in table 1 (leaf morphology) and table 2 (venation pattern). the morphological leaf characters and venation pattern (conda and buot, 2017) were used to determine the species delineation of the genus diplazium through cluster and principal component analysis of paleontological statistics (past). the distance measure and clustering method used were gower and unweighted pair-group method of arithmetic mean (upgma), respectively. species delineation of the genus diplazium 125 for data analysis, 21 characters were selected for each species and each character was assigned to a corresponding legend as follows: lo1-6 for leaf organization, blcl1-7 for blade class, sh1-3 for shape, apsh1-2 for apex shape, bash1-4 for base shape, baan1-3 for base angle, basy1-2 for base symmetry, mar1-3 for margin, st1-2 for stalk, lob1-4 for lobation, pvc1 for 1o vein category, pvs1-4 for 1o vein size, svc1-3 for 2o vein category, sad1-6 for 2o vein angle of divergence, svad1-4 for 2o vein, variation in angle of divergence, svs1-3 for 2o vein spacing, tvc1-3 for 3o vein category, tad1-6 for 3o vein angle of divergence, tvad1-3 for 3o vein, variation in angle of divergence, tvs1-3 for 3o vein spacing, and ar1-2 for areole. results and discussion leaf architecture characters of 27 diplazium species are presented in table 1. these characters varied especially in terms of l:w ratio, blade class, base angle and lobation. this interspecific variation illustrated that these characters could be good indicators of identification. the dendrogram (fig. 1) with cophenetic correlation of 0.8436 and principal component analysis (fig. 2) consistently separated diplazium species into four clusters. at gower distance of 0.25, diplazium species were grouped into 4 clusters namely, cluster 1 (cladodromous short stalked, stout and massive 1° vein); cluster 2 (reticulodromous long stalked, moderate 1° vein); cluster 3 (craspedodromous long stalked, stout and massive 1° vein) and cluster 4 (craspedodromous short stalked, stout to massive 1° vein). fig. 1. dendrogram of the 27 diplazium species constructed by unweighted pair-group of arithmetic mean (upgma) clustering and bower using the paleontological statistics software. with cophenetic correlation of 0.8436 and gower distance of 0.25, four cluster were identified: cluster 1 (cladodromous short-stalked, stout and massive 1° vein); cluster 2 (reticulodromous long stalked, moderate 1° vein); cluster 3 (craspedodromous long stalked, stout and massive 1° vein) and cluster 4 (craspedodromous short stalked, stout to massive 1° vein). 126 conda and buot species delineation of the genus diplazium 127 128 conda and buot species delineation of the genus diplazium 129 fig. 2. principal component analysis of 27 diplazium species using paleotological statistics (past) software. four clusters were classified: cluster 1 (cladodromous – short stalked, stout and massive 1° vein); cluster 2 (reticulodromous long stalked, moderate 1° vein); cluster 3 (craspedodromous long stalked, stout and massive 1° vein) and cluster 4 (craspedodromous short stalked, stout to massive 1° vein). cluster 1, the cladodromous short stalked, stout to massive 1° vein: it includes d. williamsii copel, d. crenato-serratum t. moore, d. pallidum t. moore, d. cultratum c. presl., d. cumingii c. chr. and d. xiphophyllum c. chr. sample line drawings of species under cluster 1 (figs. 3a3c) were lifted from conda and buot (2017). based on the illustrations, common leaf architecture characters were: pinnate leaf arrangement, lanceolate shape, acute apex, symmetrical base, entire and serrate margin, unlobed to shallow lobation, short stalked, pinnate 1° vein, stout to massive 1° vein size, cladodromous 2° vein category and absence of areole. in this cluster there is one outlier, d. fraxinifolium, which is reticulodromous. cluster 2, the reticulodromous, long stalked moderate 1° vein: cluster 2 includes d. cordifolium bl. (fig. 3d) and d. forbesii c. chr. (fig. 3e). these species showed pinnate leaf arrangement, lanceolate leaf shape, acute apex, asymmetrical base, entire margin, long-stalked, unlobed blade, mesophyllous blade class, pinnate 1° vein, reticulodromous 2° vein, moderate 2° vein angle of divergence and presence of areole. the two species differed in variation in 2° vein angle of divergence. the former exhibits nearly uniform 2° vein angle of divergence while irregular in the latter. this cluster was found consistent with the classification of diplazium species using stelar anatomy of stipe (praptosuwiryo and darnaedi, 2014) and spore morphology specifically perine ornamentation (praptosuwiryo et al., 2007). 130 conda and buot fig. 3. line drawings of diplazium species with different venation pattern. cladodromous short stalked, stout to massive 1° vein venation pattern: d. crenato-serratum t. moore (3a), d. pallidum t. moore (3b) and d. cutratum c. presl (3c). reticulodromous short stalked, moderate 1° vein: d. cordifolium blume (3d) and d. forbesii c. chr. (3e). craspedodromous long stalked, stout and massive 1° vein: d. lomariaceum (c. chr.) m.g. price (3f) and d. porphyrorachis diers. (3g). craspedodromous short stalked, stout to massive 1° vein: d.oligosorum copel (3h) and d. polypodioides blume (3i). cluster 3, the craspedodromous long stalked, stout and massive 1° vein: this cluster consists of d. lomariaceum (c. chr.) m.g. price (fig. 3f) and d. porphyrorachis diers (fig. 3g). they exhibit pinnatifid lamina, elliptic shape, acute apex, cuneate and asymmetrical base, entire margin, long stalked, deeply lobed, mesophyllous blade class, pinnate 1° vein, craspedodromous 2° vein, right 2° vein angle of divergence, free and forked touching margin 3° vein, moderate 3° species delineation of the genus diplazium 131 vein angle of divergence and absence of areoles. d. porphyrorachis differs by having stout 1° vein size, uniform 2° and 3° vein spacing and upper 3° vein more acute than lower variation in 3° vein angle of divergence. while d. lomariaceum showed a massive 1° vein size, irregular 2° and 3° vein spacing and irregular variation in 3° vein angle of divergence. this group was strongly supported using spore morphology (praptosuwiryo et al., 2007). cluster 4, the craspedodromous short stalked, stout to massive 1° vein: it includes majority of diplazium species (16 individuals) namely, d. griffithii t. moore, d. deltoideum (c. presl.), d. maximum (d. don) c. chr., d. proliferum (lam.) thours., d. esculentum (retz.) sw., d. oligosorum (copel), d. sorsogonense (c. presl.) c. presl., d. magnifium (copel) m.g. price, d. pseudocyatheifolium rosent., d. doederleinii (luerss.) makino, d. whitfordii copel, d. polypodioides (blume), d. vestitum c. presl., d. fructuosum (copel), d. dolichosorum (copel) and d. davaoense (copel). sample drawings (figs. 3h & 3i) from conda and buot (2017) were incorported to emphasize the common leaf architecture characters namely, lanceolate to rarely oblong leaf shape, acute apex, truncate base, obtuse to wide obtuse base angle, asymmetrical base, pinnate 1° vein, stout to massive 1° vein size, upper 2° vein more acute than lower variation in angle of divergence and absence of areoles. at gower distance of 0.19, d. griffithii and d. deltoideum, having oblong pinnule, was separated from the lanceolate group. among the lanceolate group, only d. esculentum and d. proliferum possessed 3° vein forming commissural vein, while the rest have free end in sinuses 3° vein. this cluster coincides mostly with the work of wei et al. (2013) using dna sequencing of diplazium from different geographical areas. most species in this study fell under clade iv, subclade e (diplazium species with short branches connecting deeper nodes and long branches leading to tip – occuring in southeast asia and adjoining regions) of wei et al., (2013) phylogram. the analysis of the leaf architecture characters of d. davaoense, d. esculentum and d. doederlenii (cluster 4) revealed similarities with subclade h (wei et al., 2013) possibly because these species are asiatic in nature. leaf architecture, particularly the venation pattern, is a good taxonomic tool in delineating diplazium species. consistency in groupings with spore morphology, stelar anatomy and dna sequencing proved leaf architecture’s usefulness in the classification system for diplazium species. the dendrogram (cophenetic coefficient = 0.8436) and principal component analyses highly supported the four clusters of diplazium using leaf architecture characters, viz. cluster 1 (cladodromous short stalked, stout and massive 1° vein); cluster 2 (reticulodromous long stalked, moderate 1° vein); cluster 3 (craspedodromous long stalked, stout and massive 1° vein) and cluster 4 (craspedodromous short stalked, stout to massive 1° vein). the unifying characters in the genus are apex shape, base symmetry and 1° vein category, whereas 2o vein angle of divergence and variation in 2° vein angle of divergence, 3o vein category, 3° vein angle of divergence, variation in 3° vein angle of divergence, 3° vein spacing and lobation are the differentiating features. this study has proved that identification of sterile specimen is now feasible with leaf architecture. acknowledgments we would like to thank the department of science and technology and forest products research and development institute for providing scholarship and allowing the senior author to pursue graduate degree studies at the university of the philippines, los baños and the philippine national museum, particularly the philippine national herbairum, for access to their botanical collections. we also extend our deepest gratitude to dr. tito evangelista, john rey callado, emerita r. barile and froilan b. samiano for the assistance during the course of the study. 132 conda and buot references akler, s., hossain, m.m., ara, i. and akhtar, p. 2014. investigation of in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of diplazium esculentum (rets.) sw. international j. adv. pharm. biol. & chem. 3(3): 723–733. amit, s., sunil, k. and arvind, n. 2011. antibacterial activity of diplazium esculentum retz.) sw. phcog j. 3(21): 77–79. chawla, s., ram, v., semwal, v.a. and singh, r. 2015. analgesic activity of medicinally important leaf of diplazium esculentum. afr. j. pharm. pharmacol. 9(25): 628–632. co digital flora of the philippines. http://www.philippineplants.org/families/pteridophytes.html.> retrieved on 17 march 2018. conda, j.m. and buot jr., i.e. 2017. leaf architecture of selected philippine diplazium swartz species (athyriaceae). thnhmj. 11(2): 57–76. copeland, e.b. 1947. genera filicum. waltham ma: chronica botanica company. hickey, l.j. 1973. classification of the architecture of dicotyledonous leaves. am. j. bot. 60(1): 17–33. kato, m. 1977. classification of athyrium and allied genera of japan. bot. mag. 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(manuscript received on 7 june 2017; revised on 11 october 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 271‒276, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54222 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication angiospermic flora of wadi al aqiq in al-madinah almunawarah, saudi arabia wael a. obaid and usama k. abdel-hameed1* department of biology, college of science, taibah university, kingdom of saudi arabia keywords: chorology; plant habit; life forms. floristic investigations are not only essential to know the diversity of plants present in any area, but also are significant socio-economically. floristic elements may provide food and medicine for human beings and other animal species of the area of occurrence (shehata and galal, 2015). surveys on biodiversity, including the floras, are important for determining the phytodistribution data required for analyses and for modeling the plants responses to global climatic changes (llewellyn et al., 2010). as floristic analyses are prerequisite for plant species conservation, it is critical to examine the current status of floristic and species diversity to provide appropriate guidelines for developing effective system of conservation and management. kingdom of saudi arabia with the coordinates of 32º34`n–16º83`n, 34º36`e–56`e contains large arid desert that has an approximate area of 2, 250,000 km² and covers the main portion of the arabian peninsula, where the xerophytes contributes the most plant life form (zahran, 1982). due to its vast area, the kingdom of saudi arabia contains different habitats including salt pans, valleys, mountains, rocky and sandy deserts (alsherif et al., 2013). wadis (viz. wadi al aqiq) resemble physiographic variabilities that lead to great variation in plants distribution (kassas and girgis, 1964). the flora of saudi arabia was comprehensively studied (chaudhary, 1999 and 2001; collenette, 1999), but only few studies on the local or regional floras of limited portions of the country including asir region (hosni et al., 1996), al-qassim region (al-turki, 1997) and hail region (al-turki and al-olayan, 2003; el-ghanim et al., 2010) were conducted. thus the specific floristic inventories in the local areas of saudi arabia are not yet sufficient. despite the previous studies on the flora of saudi arabia, there are no extensive surveys on the plant diversity, life forms and chorology of plants in al madinah region. al madinah region including wadi al aqiq (upstream, midstream and downstream), located between 24°34'34" n and 39°34'58" e, has an area of 151,990 km², mostly coated by bare soil (96%). the region of the current investigation is located in the west of saudi arabia that lies within the nubo-sindian province (zohary, 1973) or nubo-sindian local centre of endemisma subzone of the saharo-sindian region. this zone was typified by a xero-tropical vegetation of desert habitats requiring high temperatures and low rainfall and was considered to be of palaeotropical origin (llewellyn et al., 2010; white and léonard, 1991). its utm position is eh51 and joint operation graphics reference is ng37-15 (fig. 1). al madinah contains little variations in elevation. the average elevation is 610.51m above sea level, while the most remarkable variations in elevation (2019.91m) are found through fifty miles. wadi al aqiq is considered as one of the biggest basins in kingdom of saudi arabia. geologically, it is an important section of the middle-western precambrian arabian shield (el maghraby, 2014). in the study area, winter is short, comfortable, dry and windy, while summer is *corresponding author. e-mail: usama_abdelhameed@sci.asu.edu.eg 1department of botany, faculty of science, ain shams university, egypt. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54222 mailto:usama_abdelhameed@sci.asu.edu.eg 272 obaid and abdel-hameed long, arid and sweltering. in general, temperature is rarely above 114°f or below 47°f. the hot season lasts for 4.6 months (during may to october), while the cool season lasts for 2.9 months (during november to february). the sliding days of rainfall and the perceived humidity level in al-madinah stay around 0.1 inches and 1% respectively and does not vary significantly over the year. fig. 1. a. percentage of the represented families, b. frequency of plant habit, c. life form relative spectrum, d., e., and f. floristic category spectrum of the recorded plants in al madinah region. this study was performed to collect the base-line data on the angiospermic flora of wadi al aqiq, al madinah al munawarah, kingdom of saudi arabia. such data would be useful in the assessment of plant diversity, plant life forms and chorology of the flora and in developing an effective system of conservation and management to help in the ecological restoration of some populated localities within the valley. in this study, the meteorological data were gathered from weatherspark.com and https://www.yr.no/depending on two weather stations: yanbu airport (67%, 84 kilometers, northwest) and prince mohammad bin abdul aziz airport (33%, 126 kilometers, northeast). the identification and authentication of the collected plant taxa (table 1) were performed depending https://www.yr.no/depending angiospermic flora of wadi al aqiq in madinah 273 on (chaudhary, 2001; collenette, 1999; migahid, 1996). voucher specimens were kept in the publicly herbarium of the department of biology at taibah university. life forms were detected according to (raunkiaer, 1934), while the chorotypes were determined according to (zohary, 1973). table 1. plant species and family name that were collected from wadi al aqiq, saudi arabia. no. plant species family name 1. abutilon fruticosum guill. & perr., fl. seneg. tent. 1: 70. 1831 (gci) malvaceae 2. acacia ehrenbergiana hayne, getreue darstell. gew. x. t. 29. (ik) leguminosae 3. acacia tortilis hayne, getreue darstell. gew. ix. i. 31. (ik) leguminosae 4. (ik) ann. mus. natl. hist. nat. 2: 131. 1803, juss. javanica aerva amaranthaceae 5. amaranthus viridis l., species plantarum ed. 2 1763 (apni) amaranthaceae 6. calotropis procera w.t.aiton, hort. kew., ed. 2 [w.t. aiton] 2: 78. 1811 (ik) asclepiadaceae 7. capparis spinosa l., sp. pl. 1: 503. 1753 [1 may 1753] (ik) capparaceae 8. cassia italica lam. ex f.w.andrews, fl. pl. anglo-egypt. sudan ii. 117 (1952). (ik) leguminosae 9. datura innoxia mill., gard. dict., ed. 8. datura no. 5. 1768 [16 apr 1768] (gci) solanaceae 10. fagonia schweinfurthii (hadidi) m.hall, edinburgh j. bot. 68(2): 197. 2011 zygophyllaceae 11. forsskaolea tenacissima l., opobalsamum 18. 1764 [22 dec 1764] (ik) urticaceae 12. leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit, taxon x. 54 (1961). (ik) leguminosae 13. malva parviflora huds., fl. angl. (hudson) 268. 1762 (ik) malvaceae 14. ochradenus baccatus delile, descr. egypte, hist. nat. 236, t. 31. (ik) resedaceae 15. parkinsonia aculeata l., species plantarum 2 1753 (apni) leguminosae 16. phoenix dactylifera l., species plantarum 2 1753 (apni) palmae/(arecaceae) 17. phragmites australis (cav.) steud., nomencl. bot. ed. 2, 1: 143 (1840):. (ik) gramineae 18. prosopis juliflora dc., prodr. [a. p. de candolle] 2: 447. 1825 (ik) leguminosae 19. pulicaria incisa dc., prodr. [a. p. de candolle] 5: 479. 1836 [1-10 oct 1836] (ik) compositae 20. rhazya stricta decne., ann. sci. nat., bot. sér. 2, 4: 80. 1835 (ik) apocynaceae 21. rumex vesicarius l., species plantarum 2 1753 (apni) polygonaceae 22. sesbania sesban britton, brooklyn bot. gard. mem. i. 54 (1918). (ik) leguminosae 23. solanum nigrum l., species plantarum 2 1753 (apni) solanaceae 24. solenostemma oleifolium (nectoux) bullock & e.a.bruce, kew bull. 8(3): 359. (ik) asclepiadaceae 25. suaeda aegyptiaca (hasselq.) zohary, j. linn. soc., bot. lv. 635 (1957). (ik) chenopodiaceae 26. suaeda monoica forssk. ex j.f.gmel., in onomat. bot. compl. 8: 798 (1776). (ik) chenopodiaceae 27. tamarix aphylla (l.) h.karst., deut. fl. (karsten) 641. 1882 [may 1882] (ik) tamaricaceae 28. tribulus macropterus boiss., diagn. pl. orient. ser. 1, 1: 61. 1843 [jan-feb 1843] (ik) zygophyllaceae 29. trichodesma africanum (l.) lehm., pl. fam. asperif. 195. 1818 (ik) boraginaceae 30. zilla spinosa prantl, nat. pflanzenfam. [engler & prantl] iii. 2 (1891) 175. (ik) cruciferae 31. ziziphus spina-christi (l.) willd., sp. pl., ed. 4 [willdenow] 1(2): 1105. 1798 (ik) rhamnaceae 32. zygophyllum coccineum l., sp. pl. 1: 386. 1753 [1 may 1753] (ik) zygophyllaceae 33. zygophyllum simplex l., mant. pl. 68. 1767 = tetraena simplex (l.) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240(1-4): 36 (2003). zygophyllaceae this study identified total 33 plant taxa distributed in 31 genera and 19 families (table 1). leguminosae and zygophyllaceae are the largest families in the study area. the major plant families were leguminosae (fabaceae, mimosaceae and caesalpiniaceae) with seven species, zygophyllaceae with four species, malvaceae, amaranthaceae, asclepiadaceae, solanaceae and chenopodiaceae, each with two species, and the rest of the families (12 families) with one species each. another seven families were existed with two to seven species each (table 1, fig. 1a). few 274 obaid and abdel-hameed species were found to be modified and survived in tough environments and in contrast, it was inferred that few others could not survive and might have been extinct. table 2. plant species that were investigated from the scanned area and their habitats, life forms and chorotypes. no. plant species habitat life form chorotype 1. abutilon fruticosum perennial chamaephyte saharo-arabian 2. acacia ehrenbergiana perennial phanerophyte sudano-zambezian 3. acacia tortilis perennial phanerophyte sudano-zambezian 4. aerva javanica perennial chamaephyte saharo-arabian + sudano-zambezian 5. amaranthus viridis annual therophyte cosmopolitan 6. calotropis procera perennial phanerophyte saharo-arabian + sudano-zambezian 7. capparis spinosa perennial chamaephyte irano-turanian + mediterranean; 8. cassia italica annual chamaephyte sudano-zambezian 9. datura innoxia annual chamaephyte saharo-arabian 10. fagonia schweinfurthii annual chamaephyte saharo-arabian 11. forsskaolea tenacissima annual chamaephyte saharo-arabian + sudano-zambezian 12. leucaena leucocephala perennial phanerophyte pantropical 13. malva parviflora annual therophyte mediterranean + irano-turanian 14. ochradenus baccatus perennial chamaephyte saharo-arabian + sudano-zambezian 15. parkinsonia aculeata perennial phanerophyte pantropical 16. phoenix dactylifera perennial phanerophyte saharo-arabian + sudano-zambezian 17. phragmites australis perennial hemicrytophyte irano-turanian + mediterranean + saharoarabian 18. prosopis juliflora perennial phanerophyte saharo-arabian 19. pulicaria incisa annual therophyte saharo-arabian + sudano-zambezian 20. rhazya stricta perennial chamaephyte saharo-arabian + sudano-zambezian 21. rumex vesicarius annual therophyte mediterranean + saharo-arabian + sudanozambezian 22. sesbania sesban perennial phanerophyte tropical 23. solanum nigrum annual therophyte cosmopolitan 24. solenostemma oleifolium annual chamaephyte saharo-arabian 25. suaeda aegyptiaca annual hemicrytophyte saharo-arabian 26. suaeda monoica annual chamaephyte sudano-zambezian 27. tamarix aphylla perennial phanerophyte sudano-zambezian 28. tribulus macropterus annual therophyte irano-turanian + mediterranean 29. trichodesma africanum annual therophyte saharo-arabian + sudano-zambezian 30. zilla spinosa perennial chamaephyte mediterranean + saharo-arabian+ iranoturanian + europian 31. ziziphus spina-christi perennial phanerophyte saharo-arabian + sudano-zambezian 32. zygophyllum coccineum annual chamaephyte saharo-arabian 33. zygophyllum simplex annual chamaephyte saharo-arabian the plant taxa of the study area were varied between perennial (17 species, 52%) and annuals (48%), the occurrence of which might has been favoured by the relatively higher water content in the valley than that of the surrounding areas. life form spectrum of the studied species showed a wide diversity and reflects the ideal desert vegetation (table 2 and fig. 1c). data on the habit and life form revealed that chamaephytic and therophytic taxa had the largest share to the total flora of the present area. chamaephytes were composed of 14 species (43%), followed by phanerophytes of 10 species (30%), therophytes of seven species (21%), and hemicrytophytes of two species (6%). the high percentage of chamaephytes and therophytes confirmed their adaptation to the dryness and deficiency of rainfall in most of the studied area. angiospermic flora of wadi al aqiq in madinah 275 the taxonomic enumeration of the species per family according to this study is similar to that of the previous surveys in different regions of the kingdom (alatar et al., 2012; alsherif et al., 2013; mosallam, 2007). the record of the occurrence of leguminosae with highest number of species, followed by zygophyllaceae, in the study area, coincides with the finding of el-ghanim et al. (2010) on hail region flora. poaceae, leguminosae, asteraceae represent the biggest share of plant species in kingdom of saudi arabia (al-nafie, 2008). similar findings were reported by different studies on the egyptian flora (el-ghani and el-sawaf, 2004; el-ghani and abdelkhalik, 2006). the ratio of species per genus (1.06) found in this investigation is less than that that (2.6) reported for the flora of saudi arabia (al-nafie, 2008). according to the classification of raunkiaer (1934), chamaephytic species had the superior position, phanerophytic, therophytic and hemicryptophytic species came in the second, third and forth positions respectively. the percentage of chamaephytes, therophytes and hemicryptophytes represent about 70% of the life form spectrum within the studied area, confirming the fact that the ascendancy of chamaephytes and therophytes is due to the hot and dry climatic conditions in addition to the human-animals interference. this agrees with the vegetation spectra in desert habitats in other regions of the kingdom of saudi arabia as previously reported (alatar et al., 2012; gomaa, 2012; osman et al., 2014). the phytogeographical investigation of the studied species displayed the superiority of monoregional taxa (49%), followed by the bi-regional taxa (36%). the pluri-regional taxa constituted only about 9% of all flora in the studied area (table 2, fig. 1d-f). the highest mono-regional elements were recorded in saharo-arabian region, which constitutes about 24%, followed by sudano-zambezian region comprising about 15% of the total recorded species. while the highest bi-regional elements were detected by saharo-arabianand sudano-zambezian regions, which constitutes 28% followed by irano-turanianand mediterranean regions comprising about 9%.the results of chorological analysis of this study revealed that the saharo-arabian region harbours the highest percentage of the total plant taxa (about 39%), which is followed by sudanozambezian region housing 29% for the total studied taxa. moawed (2016) also found that most of the plant species in alaqan area of tabuk region, northwest of saudi arabia, belong to saharoarabian or sudano-zambezian regions. likewise, alsherif et al. (2013) reported that saharoarabian taxa had the highest contribution to the flora of khulais region. additionally, seraj et al. (2014) recorded the ascendancy of saharo-arabian taxa in al soada region. to the best of our knowledge the current investigation is the first floristic study in wadi al aqiq and it has showed the importance of this region as important hotspot in term of plant species composition. further studies are needed for more comprehensive analysis on the fluctuation of plant species composition, diversity and vegetation in the study area. acknowledgments authors deeply grateful to hani aljuhani, zeyad aljuhani and nezar aljuhani; senior students at biology department, college of science, taibah university for helping in sampling collection. references al-turki, t.a. 1997. a preliminary checklist of the flora of qassim, saudi arabia. feddes repert. 108: 259– 280. al-turki, t.a. and al-olayan, h.a. 2003. contribution to the flora of saudi arabia: hail region. saudi j. biol. sci. 10: 190–222. alatar, a., el-sheikh, m.a. and thomas, j. 2012. vegetation analysis of wadi al-jufair, a hyper-arid region in najd, saudi arabia. saudi j. biol. sci. 19: 357–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2012.04.003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2012.04.003 276 obaid and abdel-hameed al-nafie, a.h. 2008. phytogeography of saudi arabia. saudi j. biol. sci. 15: 159–176. alsherif, e.a., ayesh, a.m. and rawi, s.m. 2013. floristic composition, life form and chorology of plant life at khulais region, western saudi arabia. pakistan j. bot. 45: 29–38. chaudhary, s.a. 2001. flora of the kingdom of saudi arabia. ministry of agriculture and water. riyadh 2: 342–354. chaudhary, s.a. and al-jowaid, a.a.a. 1999. vegetation of the kingdom of saudi arabia, riyadh: ministry of agriculture and water press, kingdom of saudi arabia. collenette, s. 1999. wildflowers of saudi arabia. national commission for wildlife conservation and development (ncwcd), kingdom of saudi arabia. el-ghani, m.m.a. and el-sawaf, n. 2004. diversity and distribution of plant species in agro-ecosystems of egypt. syst. geogr. plants 74(2): 319–336. el-ghani, m.m.a.b.d. andabdel-khalik, k.n. 2006. floristic diversity and phytogeography of the gebel elba national park, south-east egypt. turk. j. bot. 30: 121–136. el-ghanim, w.m., hassan, l.m., galal, t.m. and badr, a. 2010. floristic composition and vegetation analysis in hail region north of central saudi arabia. saudi j. biol. sci. 17: 119–128. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.sjbs.2010.02.004 el maghraby, m., masoud, m. and niyazi, b. 2014. assessment of surface runoff in arid, data scarce regions; an approach applied in wadi al hamd, al madinal al munawarah, saudi arabia. life science journal 11(4): 271-289. gomaa, n.h. 2012. composition and diversity of weed communities in al-jouf province, northern saudi arabia. saudi j. biol. sci. 19: 369–376. hosni, h.a., hegazy, a.k. 1996. contribution to the flora of asir, saudi arabia. candollea 51: 169–202. kassas, m. and girgis, w.a. 1964. habitat and plant communities in the egyptian desert: v. the limestone plateau. j. ecol. 52: 107–119. llewellyn, o.a., hall, m., miller, a.g., al-abbasi, t.m., al-wetaid, a.h., al-harbi, r.j., al-shammari, k.f. and al-farhan, a. 2010. important plant areas in the arabian peninsula: 1. jabal qaraqir. edinburgh j. bot. 67: 37–56. migahid, a.m. 1996. flora of saudi arabia, jeddah: king abdul aziz university press. kingdom of saudi arabia. moawed, m.m. 2016. plant flora of alaqan region, tabuk province, saudi arabia, egypt. j. exp. biol. 12: 107–113. mosallam, h.a.m. 2007. comparative study on the vegetation of protected and non-protected areas, sudera, taif, saudi arabia. int. j. agric. biol. 9: 202–214. osman, a.k., al-ghamdi, f. and bawadekji, a. 2014. floristic diversity and vegetation analysis of wadi arar: a typical desert wadi of the northern border region of saudi arabia. saudi j. biol. sci. 21: 554– 565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2014.02.001 raunkiaer, c. 1934. the life forms of plants and statistical plant geography; being the collected papers of c. raunkiaer. life forms plants stat. plant geogr. being collect. pap. c. raunkiaer. seraj, s.s., jrais, r.n., ayyad, s.k. 2014. floristic composition, life form and chorology of plant life at alsaoda, asir region, south-western saudi arabia. j. biol. agric. healthc. 4: 60–65. shehata, h.s. and galal, t.m. 2015. factors affecting the distribution and associated species of m alva parviflora in the n ile d elta, e gypt. weed biol. manag. 15: 42–52. white, f. and léonard, j. 1991. phytogeographical links between africa and southwest asia. flora veg. mundi 9: 229–246. zahran, m. 1982. vegetation types of saudi arabia. king abdel aziz univ. press. jeddah, saudi arab. zohary, m. 1973. geobotanical foundations of the middle east. stuttgart: gustav fischer verlag. (manuscript received on 14 january, 2020; revised on 23 november, 2020) https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2014.02.001 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 97-106, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists checklist of mosses (bryophyta) of gangetic plains, india krishna kumar rawat1, afroz alam2 and praveen kumar verma3 csir-national botanical research institute, lucknow, india keywords: bryophyta; gangetic plains; uttar pradesh; bihar; west bengal abstract an updated account of 79 taxa of mosses of gangetic plains, representing 40 genera and 19 families, is provided. the family pottiaceae with 17 taxa belonging to 9 genera appears most dominant and diversified family in the area while at generic level, the genus fissidens (fissidentaceae) with 19 species shows maximum diversity, followed by hyophila and physcomitrium each with five species. introduction in our earlier publications, boundaries of ‘central indian bryo-geographical zone’ and ‘panjab and rajasthan plains bryo-geographic zone’ were proposed along with a checklist of mosses in these areas (alam et al., 2015; rawat et al., 2015). in present paper the boundaries of ‘gangetic plains bryo-geographic zone’ is redefined for ease in distributional analysis, and provided updated checklist of mosses recorded from here. materials and methods the present compilation is based on the all available literature on mosses of gangetic plains till date and gets its foundation from extra-ordinary work of gangulee (1969-72; 1972-76; 197678), who has provided the most elaborative, informative and reliable data of moss diversity of india. in enumeration, the taxa reported earlier without specific epithet, have been excluded. the summary of various families and genera is followed by alphabetical list of taxa. the accepted names are cited in bold. format of the enumeration of taxa follows alam et al. (2015). the classification scheme broadly follows goffinet et al. (2008).the extant of ‘gangetic plains bryogeographic zone’ described here is broadly based on erenstein et al. (2007), with some modifications. results and discussion earlier, entire uttar pradesh, delhi, bihar (including jharkhand) and almost entire west bengal (except darjeeling) have been broadly treated as part of gangetic plains bryo-geographic zone. however, some parts of this region, due to somewhat different geo-physical properties and climatic conditions, shows more affinity to neighbouring zones, hence need re-assessment and refinement of boundaries of this unique bryo-geographical zone. the extant of ‘gangetic plains bryo-geographic zone’ described in present work is broadly followed erenstein et al. (2007), however, some modifications are made on account of the unique geo-climatic conditions meet in the region. the southern region of uttar pradesh [particularly the bundelkhand region (jalaun, 1 corresponding author. email: drkkrawat@rediffmail.com 2 department of bioscience and biotechnology, banasthali university, rajasthan, india. 3 forest research institute, dehra dun, india. mailto:drkkrawat@rediffmail.com 98 rawat et al. jhansi, lalitpur, hamirpur, mahoba, banda, chitrakoot districts) and sonbhadra district] is a plateau and hence shows contrasting difference from the alluvial plains in geo-physical properties, hence treated in central indian bryo-geographic zone. similarly, purulia district of west bengal, consisting of easternmost segments of chhota nagpur plateau is now treated under central indian bryo-geographical zone (alam et al., 2015). entire uttarakhand state, on the other hand is being treated in western himalayan zone, however, most of the part of haridwar and udham singh nagar districts of uttarakhand is either plain or terai (foot hills), hence need to be incorporated in gangetic plain region. hilly areas of darjeeling districts has been considered as part of eastern himalayan zone, however, jalpaiguri and koch bihar district of west bengal are proposed to be included in brahmputra plains which itself can be treated as a separate bryo-geographic zone, subject to further studies. earlier reports of mosses from gangetic plains (from delhi) have now been transferred to rajasthan and panjab plains zone (rawat et al., 2015). therefore, in present work we propose haridwar and udham singh district of uttarakhand, shahdara zone or east delhi, uttar pradesh (except southern plateau region of uttar pradesh including bundelkhand region and sonbhadra district), bihar and west bengal (excluding purulia, kooch bihar, jalpaiguri districts and plains of darjeeling district) as parts of ‘gangetic plains bryo-geographic’ zone (fig. 1). fig. 1. map of india showing the proposed extant of ‘gangetic plains bryo-geographic zone’. checklist of mosses of gangetic plains 99 the present document provides updated accounts of 105 taxa of mosses reported so far from this zone, out of which 79 are still valid. distributional details with relevant references are also given, which may be useful for future workers and will encourage bryo-floristic studies in neglected areas. taxonomic enumeration archidium birmannicum mitt. ex dixon, j. indian bot. 2: 175. 1921. uttar pradesh: allahabad (lal, 2007; singh, 2013), lakhimpur-kheri, pilibhit, shahjahanpur (sahu and asthana, 2015); west bengal: hoogly, ramnagar (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2007). aulacopilum luzonense e.b. bartram, philipp. j. sci. 68: 169. 1939. west bengal: kolkata, shantiniketan, midnapore (lal, 2007). barbula arcuata griff., calcutta j. nat. hist. 2: 491. 1842. west bengal: kolkata, bihar (lal, 2007). barbula consanguinea (thwaites & mitt.) a. jaegr. → hydrogonium consanguineum (thwaites & mitt.) hilp. barbula constricta mitt. → didymodon constrictus (mitt.) saito barbula gangetica c. muell.→ hydrogonium arcuatum (griff.) wijk. & margad barbula indica (hook.) spreng. nomencl. bot. 2: 72. 1824. tortula indica hook., musci exot. 2, 135. 1819. bihar (lal, 2007); uttar pradesh: allahabad, pratapgarh, raebareli, saharanpur, varanasi (aziz and vohra, 2008) lakhimpur-kheri, pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015); west bengal (lal, 2007). barbula javanica dozy & molk. → hydrogonium javanicum (doz. & molk.) hilp. bartramidula roylei (hook. f.) bruch & schimp., bryol. eur. 4: 55. 1846. gangetic plains (lal, 2005). brachymenium indicum (dozy & molk.) bosch & sande lac. bryol. jav. 1: 141. 1860. bryum indicum dozy ex molk., musci fr. ined. archip. indici 1: 22.1845. west bengal: namkhana, sundarban (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007). bryum apiculatum schwaegr. → bryum mildeanum jur. bryum coronatum schwaegr., sp. musc. frond, suppl. 1(2): 103.1816. west bengal: burdwan, howrah, hoogli, kolkata, midnapore (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007). bryum indicum doz. ex molk., → brachymenium indicum(dozy & molk.) bosch & sande lac. bryum kliggraeffii schimp., höh. crypt. preuss. 81.1858. uttar pradesh: allahabad (lal, 2007). bryum mildeanum jur., verh. zool.-bot. ges. wien 12: 967.1862. bryum apiculatum schwaegr., sp. musc. frond., suppl. 1, 2: 102.1816. gangetic plains (lal, 2005 as b. apiculatum). bryum plumosum dozy & molk. → gemmabryum apiculatum(schwägr.) j.r. spence & h.p. ramsay calymperes calcuttense e.b. bartram & gangulee → syrrhopodon burmensis (hamp.) reese & tan calymperes sundarbanense gangulee → heliconema peguense (besch.) l.t. ellis & a. eddy calymperes tenerum var. tenuicola gangulee, mosses e. india 1: 600.1972, west bengal: kolkata (gangulee 1969-72; lal, 2007). 100 rawat et al. campylodontium flavescens (hook.) bosch. & sande lac., bryol. jav. 2: 128.1865. gangetic plains (lal, 2005). ceratodon purpureus (hedw.) brid., bryol. univ. 1: 480.1826. uttar pradesh: pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015); raebareli (sinha et al., 1990; lal, 2007; singh, 2013). ceratodon stenocarpus bruch & schimp., bryol. eur. 2: 146.1849. uttar pradesh: raebareli (kumar and kazmi, 2004, 2006; singh et al., 2005; singh, 2013). conomitrium bengalense hamp.→ fissidens xiphioides fleisch. diaphanodon blandus (harv.) renauld & cardot, bull. soc. roy. bot. belgique 38(1): 23.1900. west bengal: kolkata (chopra, 1975, lal, 2007). diaphanodon procumbens (müll.) renauld & cardot, bull. soc. roy. bot. belgique 38(1): 24.1900. west bengal: kolkata (chopra, 1975; lal, 2007). dicranella macrospora gangulee, nova hedwigia 8: 145.1964. uttar pradesh: lakhimpurkheri (sahu and asthana, 2015). didymodon constrictus (mitt.) saito, j. hattori bot. lab. 39: 514.1975. barbula constricta mitt., j. proc. linn. soc. bot., suppl. 1: 33. 1859. uttar pradesh: faizabad (singh and kumar 2003 as b. constricta). entodontopsis tavoyense (hook. ex harv.) w.r. buck & r.r. ireland, nova hedwigia 41: 105. 1985. uttar pradesh: pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015). entosthodon nutans mitt., j. proc. linn. soc. bot., suppl. 1: 55. 1859. uttar pradesh: without locality (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007); west bengal: champadanga, howrah, hoogli, kalyani, konnagar, nadia, ranaghat (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007). entosthodon wichurae m. fleisch., musci fl. buitenz., 2:481.1904. uttar pradesh: pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015). erpodium mangifereae müll. hal., linnaea 37: 178.1872. uttar pradesh: allahabad, saharanpur (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007; singh, 2013), lakhimpur-kheri (sahu and asthana, 2015); west bengal: birbhum, hoogli, kalyani, kolkata, midnapore, nadia (gangulee, 1974-78). fissidens bengalensis par. →fissidens zollingeri mont. fissidens bilaspurense gangulee, bull. bot. soc. beng. 11: 66. 1957. west bengal: midnapore (gangulee 1969-72; lal, 2007). fissidens bryoides hedw., sp. musc. frond. 153.1801. uttar pradesh: pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015); west bengal: kalyani, kolkata (gangulee 1969-72; lal, 2007). fissidens ceylonensis dozy & molk., ann. sci. nat., bot., ser. 3, 2: 304. 1844. fissidens perpusillus dozy & molk, j. proc. linn. soc., bot., suppl. 2: 141. 1859. fissidens bicolor thwaites & mitt., j. linn. soc. bot. 13: 322. 1873. fissidens pennatulus thwaites & mitt., j. linn. soc. bot. 13: 325. 1873. fissidens ceylonensis var. jhargramii gangulee, bull. bot. soc. bengal 11: 72. 1957. west bengal: jhargram, tarapheni (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2005). fissidens crenulatus mitt., musc. ind. or. 140. 1859 var. crenulatus. uttar pradesh: pilibhit, sahajahanpur (sahu and asthana, 2015). checklist of mosses of gangetic plains 101 fissidens crenulatus mitt. var. titalyanus (müll. hal.) gangulee, mosses e. india 3: 506. 1972. fissidens titalyanus müll. hal., linnaea 37: 165.1872. west bengal: 24-pargana, dooars, jhargram (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2007). fissidens crispulus var. crispulus brid., musc. rec. suppl. 4: 187. 1819. fissidens sylvaticus var. zippelianus (dozy & molk.) gangulee, mosses e. india 1: 537. 1972. west bengal: jhargram (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2007; both reported as f. sylvaticus var. zippelianus). fissidens curvatoinvolutus dixon, notes roy. bot. gard. edinburgh 19: 279. 1938. uttar pradesh: raebareli, saharanpur (sinha et al., 1990; singh et al., 2005; lal, 2007; singh, 2013). fissidens diversifolius mitt., j. proc. linn. soc., bot., suppl. 2: 140. 1859. bihar: north bihar, west bengal: thakuranpahari (gangulee 1969-72; lal, 2005). fissidens flaccidus mitt., trans. linn. soc. london 23: 56. 1860. fissidens splachnobryoides broth. in schum. & lauterb., fl. deutsch. schutzgeb. suedsee: 81. 1900. uttar pradesh: lakhimpur-kheri, pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015); west bengal: 24-parganas, bolpur, kolkata (gangulee 1969-72; lal, 2007 as fissidens splachobryoides). fissidens involutus wilson ex mitt., j. proc. linn. soc., bot., suppl. 2: 138.1859. uttar pradesh: pilibhit, saharanpur (sahu and asthana, 2015). fissidens kurzii müll. hal., linnaea 37: 163. 1872. north bengal plains (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2005). fissidens orishae gangulee, nova hedwigia 8: 140. 1964. west bengal: belpahari, jhargram, midnapore (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2007). fissidens ranchiensis gangulee, bull. bot. soc. beng. 11: 68. 1957. west bengal: belpahari, jhalgram (gangulee, 1969-72). fissidens semperfalcatus dixon, j. siam soc., nat. hist. suppl. 10: 2.1935.west bengal: jhargram (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2005). fissidens splachnobryoides broth.fissidens flaccidus mitt. fissidens subpalmatus c. muell., linnaea 37: 164.1872. bihar: purnea. west bengal: 24parganas, bolpur, kharagpur (gangulee 1969-72; lal, 2007). fissidens sylvaticus griff. var. calcuttense gangulee, mosses e. india, 2: 538. 1971. west bengal: jhargram, kolkata (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2007). fissidens sylvaticus var. teraicola (müll. hal.) gangulee, mosses e. india, 2: 539.1971. fissidens teraicola müll. hal., linnaea 37: 164.1872. west bengal: kalyani (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2007 as fissidens teraicola). fissidens sylvaticus var. zippelianus (dozy & molk.) gangulee, fissidens crispulus brid. var. crispulus fissidens teraicola müll. hal. →fissidens sylvaticus var. teraicola (c. muell.) gangulee fissidens titlyanus müll. hal. → fissidens crenulatus var. titlyanus fissidens virens thwaites & mitt., j. linn. soc., bot. 13: 324.1873. west bengal: jhargram (gangulee, 1969-72). fissidens xiphioides fleisch. →fissidens zollingeri mont. fissidens zollingeri mont. ann. sci. nat. ser. 3,4: 114.1845. f. xiphioides fleisch., hedwigia 38: 125. 1899. fissidens bengalensis par., index bryol. 461. 1896. conomitrium bengalense hamp., 102 rawat et al. linnaea 39: 364.1896. uttar pradesh: lakhimpur-kheri, pilibhit, shahjahanpur (sahu and asthana, 2015); west bengal: bengal plains (gangulee 1969-72; lal, 2007 as fissidens xiphioides). funaria hygrometrica hedw., sp. musc. frond. 172.1801. uttar pradesh: raebareli (singh et al., 2005; kumar and kazmi, 2006). garckea flexuosa (griff.) margad. & nork., j. bryol. 7:440. 1973. west bengal: midnapore (lal, 2007). garckea phascoides(hook.) c. muell. bot. zeit. 3:865. 1845. west bengal: midnapore (gangulee, 1969-72). gemmabryum apiculatum (schwägr.) j.r. spence & h.p. ramsay, phytologia 87: 65. 2005. bryum plumosum dozy & molk., ann. sci. nat., bot., ser. 3(2): 301. 1844. west bengal: kolkata, howrah (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007 as bryum plumosum). glossadelphus zollingeri (müll. hal.) m. fleisch., musci buitenzorg 4: 1355. 1923. west bengal: howrah (lal, 2007). gymnostomiella vernicosa (hook. ex harv.) m. fleisch., musci buitenzorg 1: 310. 1904. uttar pradesh: allahabad, west bengal: 24-pargana, howrah, kolkata (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007; singh 2013). gymnostomum calcareum nees & hornsch., bryol. germ. 1: 153. 1823. uttar pradesh: pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015). heliconema peguense (besch.) l.t. ellis & a. eddy, j. bryol. 15: 730. 1989. calymperes sundarbanense gangulee, mosses e. india 3: 611. 1972. west bengal: sundarban (gangulee 1969-72 as c. sunderbanense). hydrogonium arcuatum(griff.) wijk. & marg., taxon 7: 289.1958. barbula gangetica c. muell. linnaea, 37: 177.1872. hydrogonium gangeticum (c. muell.) chen, hedwigia 80: 237.1941. uttar pradesh: upper gangetic plains (gangulee1969-72; lal 2005 as h. gangeticum), lakhimpur-kheri, (sahu and asthana, 2015). west bengal: lower bengal, birbhum (as h. gangeticum) (gangulee1969-72). hydrogonium consanguineum (thwaites et mitt.) hilp., beih. bot. centralbl. 50(2): 626.1933 barbula consanguinea (thwaites & mitt.) a. jaegr., ber. thätigk. st. gallischen naturwiss. ges. 1877-78: 490.1880. bihar: darbhanga (aziz and vohra, 2008); uttar pradesh: upper gangetic plains (ganguleee 1969-72), raebareli (kumar and kazmi, 2004, 2006 as b. consanguinea), varanasi (aziz and vohra, 2008); west bengal: howrah, kolkata, midnapore, titlaya (aziz and vohra, 2008). hydrogonium gangeticum (c. muell.) chen → hydrogonium arcuatum (griff.) wijk. & marg. hydrogonium javanicum (doz. & molk.) hilp., beih. bot. centralbl. 50(2): 632.1933. barbula javanica doz. & molk. in ann. sci. nat. bot. ser. 3,2: 300.1884. uttar pradesh: allahabad, kanpur (jajmau), raebareli, west bengal: north bengal plains (gangulee, 1969-72; sinha et al, 1990; singh et al., 2005; kumar et al., 2007; lal, 2007; singh, 2013, all reported as barbula javanica, however, aziz & vohra, 2008 treated b. javanica as synonym of hydrogonium javanicum). hyophila involuta (hook.) a. jaegr., ber. s. gall. naturew. ges. 1871-72: 356.1873. bihar: north bihar; uttar pradesh: upper gangetic plains (gangulee 1969-72), allahabad (lal, checklist of mosses of gangetic plains 103 2007; aziz and vohra, 2008; singh 2013); lucknow (aziz and vohra, 2008; nath et al., 2010; singh 2013); west bengal: lower bengal (gangulee 1969-72). hyophila nymaniana (m. fleisch.) m. menzel, willdenowia 22: 198.1992. uttar pradesh: allahabad, lakhimpur-kheri, pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015). hyophila rosea williams, bull. newyork bot. gard. 8: 341.1941. utar pradesh: allahabad (lal, 2007; singh 2013). hyophila spathulata (harv.) a. jaegr., ber. thätigk. st. gallischen naturwiss. ges. 1871-72: 353.1873. uttar pradesh: allahabad (lal, 2007; singh 2013), lakhimpur-kheri, shahjahanpur (sahu and asthana, 2015). hyophila walkeri broth., rec. bot. surv. india 1: 317.1899. uttar pradesh: faizabad (singh and kumar, 2003). octoblepharum albidum hedw., sp. musc. frond. 50.1801. west bengal: howrah (gangulee, 1969-72; lal, 2007). philonotis falcata (hook.) mitt., j. proc. linn. soc., bot., suppl. 1: 62.1859. west bengal: midnapore (lal, 2007). philonotis hastata (duby) wijk. & margad., taxon 8: 74.1959.west bengal: kolkata, howrah (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007). philonotis mollis (dozy & molk.) mitt., j. proc. linn. soc., bot., suppl. 1: 60, 1859. uttar pradesh: lakhimpur-kheri, pilibhit, shahjahanpur (sahu and asthana, 2015). physcomitrium coorgense broth., rec. bot. surv. india 1(12): 319. 1899. uttar pradesh: allahabad (lal, 2007; singh, 2013). physcomitrium cyathicarpum mitt. physcomitrium immersum sull. physcomitrium eurystomum sendtn., denkschr. bayer. bot. ges. regensburg 3: 142. 1841. uttar pradesh: allahabad (lal, 2007; singh 2013), lakhimpur, pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015); west bengal: burdwan, hoogli (gangulee, 1974-78). physcomitrium immersum sull., manual 648, 1848. physcomitrium cyathicarpum mitt., j. proc. linn. soc., bot., suppl. 1: 54. 1859. bihar: patna; uttar pradesh: allahabad; west bengal: barasat, hoogli, kolkata, nadia (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007; singh 2013; all as physcomitrium cyathicarpum). physcomitrium indicum (dix.) gangulee, bull. bot. soc. bengal 23: 131. 1969. physcomitrellopsis indica dix. in gupta. j. indian bot. soc. 13: 122. 1933. uttar pradesh: unnao (shuklaganj), pratapgarh (kalakankar) (lal, 2007, sinha et al., 1990; kumar and kazmi 2004, 2006; singh et al., 2005), varanasi (gupta, 1933 as physcomitrellopsis indica); west bengal: hoogli, nadia, maldah, murshidabad (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007). physcomitrium japonicum (hedw.) mitt., trans. linn. soc. london, bot. 3: 164. 1891. uttar pradesh: gorakhpur (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007), pratapgarh (kalakankar), raebareli, unnao (shuklaganj) (lal, 2007, sinha et al., 1990; kumar et al., 2007; singh et al., 2005; kumar and kazmi, 2006; singh, 2013). pinnatella alopecuroides (mitt.) m. fleisch. var. culcutensis (m. fleisch.) gangulee. mosses e india 5: 1440. 1976. urocladium calcutense müll. hal., j. bot. 50: 152. 1912. pinnatella calcutensis m. fleisch., hedwigia 45: 84. 1906. gangetic plains (lal, 2005 as pinnatella 104 rawat et al. calcutensis m. fleisch.) west bengal: kolkata “culcutta” (type of urocladium calcutense, however, locality doubted by gangulee 1974-78). pinnatella calcutensis m. fleisch. pinnatella alopecuroides (mitt.) m. fleisch. var. culcutensis (m. fleisch.) gangulee pohlia flexuosa hook., icon. pl. rar. 1: 19. 1836. west bengal: kolkata (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007). semibarbula orientalis (f. weber.) wijk. & margad, taxon 8: 75. 1959. uttar pradesh: lucknow (nath et al., 2010); bengal plains (gangulee, 1969-72). splachnobryum bengalense gangulee, mosses e india 4:865. 1974. west bengal: konnagar (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007). splachnobryum indicum hampe & müll. hal.splachnobryum obtusum (brid.) müll. hal. splachnobryum obtusum (brid.) müll. hal., verh. k.k. zool.-bot. ges. wien 19: 504. 1869. splachnobryum indicum hampe & müll. hal., linnaea 37: 174. 1972. uttar pradesh: allahabad (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007; singh 2013; all as splachnobryum indicum), lakhimpur-kheri, pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015); west bengal: hoogli, howrah, kolkata (gangulee, 1974-78; lal, 2007; singh 2013; all as splachnobryum indicum). stereophyllum tavoyense (hook. ex harv.) a. jaegr., ber. thätigk. st. gallischen naturwiss. ges. 1877-78: 279. 1880. bihar: tropical plains (gangulee, 1978-80; lal, 2007) stereophyllum wightii (mitt.) a. jaegr, ber. thätigk. st. gallischen naturwiss. ges. 1877-78: 279. 1880. west bengal: bengal plains, 24-pargana, maldah (gangulee, 1978-80; lal, 2007) syrrhopodon burmensis (hamp.) reese & tan, taxon 35(4): 693. 1986. calymperes calcuttense bartr. & gangulee, j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 60: 632. 1963. west engal: sonarpur near kolkata (gangulee 1969-72; type of calymperes calcuttense). taxithelium nepalense (schwägr.) broth., monsunia 1: 51. 1899. west bengal: kolkata, howrah, hoogli, nadia (gangulee, 1978-80; lal, 2007). trachyphyllum inflexum (harvey) gepp. in hiren, cat. weln. afr. pl. 2, 21: 299. 1901. uttar pradesh: pilibhit (sahu and asthana, 2015). trachypodopsis serrulata (p. beauv.) fleisch., hedwigia 45: 67. 1906. west bengal: kolkata (chopra, 1975; lal, 2007). trematodon capillifolius müll. hal. ex g. roth., aussereur. laubm. 296: 28. 1911. uttar pradesh: unnao (shuklaganj), kanpur (jajmau), raebareli (dalmau) (sinha et al., 1990; lal, 2007). urocladium calcutensemüll. hal. → pinnatella alopecuroides (hook.) fleisch. var. culcutensis (m. fleisch.) gangulee vesicularia montagnei (schimp.) broth., nat. pflanzenfam. 1(3): 1094. 1908. west bengal: howrah, kolkata (gangulee, 1978-80; lal, 2007). weissia controversa hedw., spec. musc. frond. 67, 1801. uttar pradesh: shahjahanpur (sahu and asthana, 2015). summary of family wise representation of mosses of gangetic plains: archidiaceae: archidium (1) bartramiaceae: bartramidula (1), philonotis (3) checklist of mosses of gangetic plains 105 bruchiaceae: trematodon (1) bryaceae: brachymenium (1), bryum (3), gemmabryum (1) calymperaceae: calymperes (1), heliconema (1), octoblepharum (1), syrrhopodon (1) dicranaceae: dicranella (1) ditrichaceae: ceratodon (2), garckea (2) erpodiaceae: aulacopilum (1), erpodium (1) fabroniaceae: campylodontium (1) fissidentaceae: fissidens (19) funariaceae: entosthodon (2), funaria (1), physcomitrium (5) hypnaceae: glossadelphus (1), vesicularia (1) meteoriaceae: diaphanodon (2), trachypodopsis(1), mniaceae: pohlia (1) neckeraceae: pinnatella (1) plaisiadelphaceae: taxithelium (1) pottiaceae: barbula (2), didymodon (1), gymnostomiella (1), gymnostomum (1) hydrogonium (3), hyophila (5), semibarbula (1), splachnobryum (2), weissia (1) pterigynandraceae: trachyphyllum(1) stereophyllaceae: entodontopsis (1) stereophyllum (2) doubtful records: barbula tenuirostris brid., bryol. univ. 1: 826.1827. lal (2005) listed it in gangetic plains without locality, however, aziz & vohra (2008) did not reported its occurrence in indian region. ganguleea angulosa (broth. & dix.) zander, phytologia 65: 427.1989. uttar pradesh: lucknow (bansal et al., 2015; reported without specimen number and herbarium name, which makes the record dubious) excluded record: archidium birmanicum var. pariharii lal, in nath & asthana, current trends in bryology, 133, 2008. uttar pradesh: allahabad, (lal, 1995, 2007; singh 2013) nom. inval. (icn art.39.1, no latin diagnosis; art. 40.1, no type; art. 40.7, no herbarium specified) acknowledgements the authors are thankful to drs. a.k. asthana and vinay sahu, bryology laboratory, csirnational botanical research institute, lucknow for their kind help during the study. kkr wishes to acknowledge the financial support from gap-3356 by ministry of water resources, govt. of india. one of the authors (aa) is also grateful to professor aditya shastri, vice chancellor, banasthali vidyapith and professor vinay sharma, dean, faculty of science and technology, banasthali university, rajasthan, india, for their kind support for this research work. references alam, a., rawat, k.k., verma, p.k., sharma, v. and sengupta d. 2015. moss flora of central india. plant science today 2(4): 159-171. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14719/pst.2015.2.4.126 http://dx.doi.org/10.14719/pst.2015.2.4.126 106 rawat et al. aziz, n. and vohra, j.n. 2008. pottiaceae (musci) of india. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india. bansal, p., srivastava, a. and nath, v. 2015. occurrrence of ganguleea angulosa (broth. & dix.) zand. in india. geophytology 45(2): 273-276 chopra, r.s. 1975. taxonomy of india mosses. new delhi, pp. 1-631, erenstein, o., hellin, j. and chandra, p. 2007. livelihood, poverty and targeting in the indo-gangetic plains: a spatial mapping approach. cimmyt and rice-wheat consortium for the indo-gangetic plains (rwc), new delhi, india. gangulee, h.c. 1969-72. mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions. vol. i, culcutta, india. gangulee, h.c. 1974-78. mosses of eastern india and adjacent regions. vol. ii, culcutta, india. gangulee, h.c. 1978-80. mosses of eastern india and adjacent region. vol. iii. calcutta, india. goffinet, b, buck, w.r. and shaw, a.j. 2008. morphology and classification of bryophyta. in: bryophyte biology, goffinet, b and shaw, a.j. (eds.) 2nd edition, cambridge university press. pp. 55-138. gupta, k.m. 1933. on the structure of a new species of indian mosses physcomitrellopsis indica dixon, sp. nov. from benaras. journal of indian botanical society 12: 122-128. kumar, a. and kazmi, s. 2004. bryophytes from unchahar, raebareli, u.p. geophytology 34: 121-123. kumar, a. and kazmi, s. 2006. leaf area indices of mosses from unchahar, raebareli, uttar pradesh. geophytology 36: 23-26. kumar, a., shukla, m.and kumar, d. 2007. effect of polluted water on chlorophyll concentration of bryophytes growing in raebareli. in: nath, v. and asthana, a.k. (eds.), current trends in bryology. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, pp. 189-205. lal, j. 1995. archidium birmensis dix. var. pariharii j. lal var. nov. from gangetic plain (musci: archidiaceae). national conference on bryology and symposium on recent advances in bryology, n.b.r.i., lucknow, abstract, pp. 87. lal, j. 2005. a checklist of indian mosses. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. lal, j. 2007. mosses of gangetic plains – a neglected biogeographic zone of india. in: nath, v. and asthana, a.k. (eds.), current trends in bryology, bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india. pp. 131-147. nath, v., sinha, s., sahu, v., govind, g., srivastava, m. and asthana, a.k. 2010. a study on metal accumulation in two mosses of lucknow (u.p.). indian journal of applied and pure biology 25: 25-29. pande, s.k. 1958. some aspects of indian hepaticology. journal of the indian botanical society 37(1): 1-27. rawat, k.k., alam, a. and verma, p.k. 2015. moss flora of rajasthan and punjab plains. plant science today 2(4): 154-158. sahu, v. and asthana, a.k. 2015. bryophyte diversity in terai regions of uttar pradesh, india with some new additions to the state. tropical plant research 2(3): 180-191. singh, m., nath, v. and kumar, a. 2005. the ecological studies on bryophytes, growing on the bank of polluted river sai (raebareli), india. proceedings of national academy of sciences, india 75(b): 41-50 singh, s.k. 2013. a checklist of liverworts, hornworts and mosses of uttar pradesh, india. geophytology 42(2): 163-166. singh, s.k. and kumar, s. 2003. a note on bryophytes of ram nagri (ayodhya), faizabad, uttar pradesh, india. phytotaxonomy 3: 108-111. sinha, a.k., pandey, d.c., kumar, a. and sinha, a. 1990. moss flora of the banks of river ganga between shuklaganj (unnao) and kalakankar (pratapgarh). geophytology 20(1): 37-40. (manuscript received on 6 april 2016; revised on 9 june 2016) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 159-166, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species of glyphis ach. and three new records of graphis adans. (graphidaceae) from bali island, indonesia junita hardini1, rina sri kasiamdari2, santosa and purnomo department of tropical biology, faculty of biology, universitas gadjah mada, jl. teknika selatan, sekip utara yogyakarta 55281, indonesia keywords: glyphis batuana sp. nov.; graphidaceae, new records; taxonomy; bali island. abstract glyphis batuana hardini, kasiamdari & purnomo sp. nov. is a new species of lichenized fungus found on the bark of the frangipani tree (plumeria sp.). the new species from batuan village (gianyar districts), bali island, indonesia is described and illustrated. it is characterized by its lirelliform, unbranched ascomata, entire labia, black, open disc with brown pruina, completely carbonized excipulum, 8-spored asci with 8-10 locular ascospores, and lack of secondary substances. a key to species of glyphis ach. in indonesia is provided. three new records of graphis adans., namely g. conferta zenker, g. immersella mull.arg. and g. nilgiriensis adaw. & makhija are also reported. introduction the island of bali is located in the central part of indonesia, corresponding to the province of the same name. the lowland area of bali has many frangipani trees (plumeria spp., mostly p. rubra l.), native in the neotropics but cultivated world-wide and in indonesia these are planted in open areas for religious ceremonies. frangipani trees have a thin and smooth skin and are often overgrown with crustose lichens, particularly of the family graphidaceae. graphidaceae is the largest family of tropical crustose lichens, and consists of 79 genera, including glyphis ach. and graphis adans. (lücking et al., 2014, 2017). during a survey in the lowland areas of bali (around batuan village in gianyar district), a new species of glyphis was discovered. this genus is characterized by brown-pruinose ascomata and carbonized excipula, together with hyaline, distoseptate, amyloid ascospores. the genus currently includes seven species, namely g. atrofusca (mull. arg) lücking, g. cicatricosa ach., g. dictyospora staiger, g. duriuscula stirt., g. latissima (vain.) zahlbr., g. substriatula (nyl.) staiger, and g. scyphulifera (ach.) staiger (archer, 2009; lücking et al. 2014, 2017). glyphis cicatricosa arc. is the most common and widespread species, with a pantropical distribution. it was reported from singapore (sipman, 2003), the philippines (tabaquero, 2013), and also from hong kong, china (aptroot, 1999), australia (archer, 2004), india (singh and sinha, 2010), bolivia (flakus et al., 2013; kukwa et al., 2013), and venezuela (fuenmayor, 2013). in indonesia, glyphis cicatricosa is reported from bogor and cibodas (sipman, 2003) and from java (groenhart, 1936). other species of glyphis found in indonesia were also reported by groenhart (1936), which are g. verrucosa mont. et bosch (java), g. javanica mull.arg. (java), g. labyrinthica ach. (bogor, gunung gede, java), g. lactea mull.arg (bogor), g. heterostycha hepp. (bogor, cibodas, gunung salak, java), g. heteroclyta mont. (bogor, cibodas, gunung 1department of biology, faculty of mathematics and natural science, udayana university, jl. raya kampus unud, bukit jimbaran, kuta selatan, badung, bali 80361, indonesia. 2corresponding author. email: rkasiamdari@ugm.ac.id mailto:rkasiamdari@ugm.ac.id 160 hardini et al. salak, java), g. leprieurii mont (bogor, cibodas, gunung salak, java), and g. tricosa ach. (java). graphis is one of the largest genera in graphidaceae. groenhart (1936) reported 30 species of graphis found in indonesia, of which four species were recorded from bogor (g. bataviana a. zahlbr., g. bogoriensis a. zahlbr., g. karsteni a. zahlbr., g. schiffneri a. zahlbr.), four species from cibodas (g. curtiuscula a. zahlbr., g. inamoena a. zahlbr., g. overimii a. zahlbr., g. treubii a. zahlbr.) and 22 species from java (g. afzelii ach., g. angustata eschw., g. aphanes mont. et bosch., g. cinerea fee, g. duplicata ach., g. elegans ach., g. flavens müll.arg., g. grammitis fee, g. intricata fee, g. javanica a. zahlbr., g. lineola ach., g. ovata mass., g. radiata nyl., g. regularis müll.arg., g. rimulosa trev., g. schizograpta müll.arg., g. scripta ach., g. stenospora müll.arg, g. subassimilis müll.arg, g. tenella var. flavicans müll.arg, g. vittata müll.arg, g. zollingeri a. zahlbr.). whereas, lücking et al., (2009) reported 20 species of graphis, which were three species from borneo (g. dupaxana vain., g. marginata raddi, g. sarawakensis hale ex lücking), one species from celebes (g. rustica kremp.), 12 species from java (g. assimilis nyl., g. chlorotica a. massal, g. crassilabra müll.arg., g. curtiuscula zahlbr., g. duplicata ach., g. flavens müll.arg., g. hossei vain., g. leptoclada müll.arg., g. regularis müll.arg., g. subassimilis müll.arg., g. submarginata lücking, g. vittata müll.arg.), one species from krakatau (g. filiformis adaw. & makhija), one species from malang java (g. leucaenae aptroot), and also reported were g. schiffneri zahlbr., and g. japonica (mull.arg.) a.w. archer & lücking. lücking et al. (2014) also states that there were still many lichen family of graphidaceae that not yet known and predicted to be mostly found in southeast asia one of which is indonesia. this study aimed to explore lichen graphidaceae in batuan village (gianyar district) and bunutbolong village (jembrana district) and reported lichen taxa which were a new species and a new record for indonesia. further detail observations of morphological characters, anatomy, chemistry in samples of lichen graphidaceae, resulted in a conclusion for new species, glyphis batuana hardini, kasiamdari & purnomo. and newly recorded graphis conferta zenker, graphis immersella mull. arg., and graphis nilgiriensis adaw. & makhija, which were described in this paper. material and methods study area this research was conducted on the bali island with two locations: gianyar district and jembrana district (fig. 1). gianyar district is located at an altitude of 113 m a.s.l., temperature of 40 c, humidity of 40%, and jembrana district is located at an altitude of 491 m a.s.l., temperature 25 c, humidity of 70%. sample collection and identification the specimens were collected in july through december 2014 from the gianyar district and jembrana district, bali island, and deposited in the herbarium of biology museum, faculty of biology universitas gadjah mada, yogyakarta, indonesia. the stereomicroscope (olympus cx22) at magnifications of 7x to 45x were used for observation of morphological features. the anatomical features were studied under a light microscope xsz-107bn at magnifications of 40x to 1000x with optilab microscope digital camera. thin hand-cut sections of thalli and ascomata were observed in water, 10% koh and iodine solutions. lichen substances were identified by thin layer chromatography (tlc) following standard methods in solvent c and color spot tests as described by orange et al. (2010). microcrystals test (hale, 1974; huneck and yoshimura, 1996) was performed by crystallizing reagents: ge (glycerine-acetic acid), gaw new species of glyphis and new records of graphis 161 (glycerine alcohol water), gaot (glycerine alcohol o-toluidin), gaan (glycerine alcohol aniline). the photographs were taken using a nikon coolpix s220 digital camera. morphological work was carried out on the unknown collected specimen and were done by comparison and assessment of voucher specimen of the new taxa with that of the holotypes, isotypes and specimens the herbaria of images the lichen with the field museum (robert lücking, 2008, www.discoverlife.org), images the lichens with the tropical plant guides and discover life. specimens were also identified with the relevant literature, viz. hayward (1977), archer (1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007), sipman (2003) and lücking et al. (2009, 2012, 2014), and then were consulted for identification and confirmation of specimens diagnosed as new taxa with curator for lichens. fig. 1. study area at the bali island. 1. batuan village (gianyar districts); 2. bunutbolong village (jembrana district). results and discussion glyphis batuana hardini, kasiamdari & purnomo, sp. nov. (fig. 2). myco bank no.: 816969 diagnosis: the new species, glyphis batuana differing from g. atrofusca (mull.arg.) lücking in the transversely septate ascospores and completely carbonized excipulum and from g. cicatricosa in the non-pseudostromatic lirellae and smaller ascospores. type: indonesia, bali island, gianyar district, batuan village, on the tree bark of frangipani (plumeria sp.), house plants and plants by the road, altitude 113 m a.s.l., 8°34’59”s 115°16’2”e, july 2014, jun-bg5 (holotype, mby). thallus corticolous, crustose, 3-5 cm, continuous, whitish green, surface smooth to uneven, rough; crystalline, 100-150 thick in cross-section. cortex indistinct. photobiont layer densely interspersed with calcium oxalate crystals, 50-70 um thick. crystalline layer with cluster of calcium oxalate crystals scattered on the thallus surface and the bottom of the algae layers. medulla indistinct. http://www.discoverlife.org), 162 hardini et al. ascomata numerous, lirelliform, erumpent. lirellae lacking thalline margin, short to elongate, 1-4 mm long and 0.15 – 0.30 mm broad, sinuous, unbranched to sparsely branched. labia entire, black. disc exposed, reddish brown with chocolate-brown pruina. excipulum completely carbonized, in upper part 15-20 µm thick, laterally 15-30 µm thick. hymenium hyaline, clear, 8595µm high. paraphyses unbranched, filiform, hyaline, sometimes pale brown at the tips. asci clavate, 8-spored, 75-100 x 7-20 µm, iblue. ascospores hyaline, fusiform, distoseptate, transversely 7-9 septate, about 19-26 x 5-7 µm, halo not seen, iblue. etymology: the specific epithet of glyphis batuana refers to the location where the new taxon was discovered, batuan village. fig. 2. a-c. glyphis batuana hardini, kasiamdari & purnomo sp. nov.. a. habit; b. cross section of ascomata; c. ascospores. scale bars: a = 2 mm, b = 100 µm; c = 10 µm. chemistry: thallus and medulla k–, p–, c–, kc–, no substances detected in thin-layer chromatography. distribution and habitat: the type locality is situated in the lowland area of the bali island (113 m a.s.l.). the region has many frangipani trees for religious ceremonies purposes, are planted in open ground with temperature of 38°c, humidity 40%. the new species is found in the young frangipani tree that has smooth skin and thin. the new species is dispersed in small patches on thin tree bark with other species of graphis and collected at a height of 1-1.5 m from tree base in exposed condition. the region is considered as eastern paleotropics, similar to other regions in singapore, the phillipines, india, vietnam and cambodia. new species of glyphis and new records of graphis 163 notes: the new species glyphis batuana is characterized by brownish green thallus, lirellae erumpent, elongate, sinuous and sparsely branched, thalline margin absent or lacking, labium entire and black, disc pruinose brown and exposed, completely carbonized exciple, transversely septate ascospores of about 19-26 x 5-7 µm, 7-8 septate, 8 spored per ascus, hymenium clear and 85-95 µm thick, no lichen substances found (fig. 2). the organism resembles g. atrofusca (mull.arg.) lücking in having ascomata lirelliform, open, scattered, sometimes branched. all species of glyphis have this pruina and generally a carbonized excipulum and mostly lack substances. g. atrofusca basically differs in the muriform ascospores and laterally carbonized excipulum. another similar species of the group is g. cicatricosa ach., which has disc dark reddish brown, completely carbonized, 8 spores asci, that are comparable to g. batuana, but is distinct in having an ascomata immersed in conspicuous raised white pseudostromata, stromata rounded, richly branched, crowded and covering the surface of the stromata, thicker hymenium of about 120–160 µm, larger ascospores of 32–55 × 8–12 µm (staiger, 2002; archer, 2004). g. scyphulifera (ach.) staiger, has ascomata reddish brown, exciple completely carbonized, 8 per ascus, but differs by its rounded ascomata and muriform ascospores (staiger, 2002). g. substriatula has elongate lirellae with distinct brown pruina along slit and lacking thalline margin (straiger, 2005; lücking et al., 2014). key to the genus glyphis in indonesia 1. ascospores transversely septate 2 ascospores muriform 3 2. ascomata pseudostromatic; ascospores 32-55 x 8-12 µm g. cicatricosa ascomata lirellate, not in pseudostromata; ascospores 19-26 x 5-7 µm g. batuana sp. nov. 3. ascomata rounded, sessile; ascospores 12-15 µm broad g. scyphulifera ascomata lirellate 4 4. excipulum laterally carbonized g. atrofusca excipulum completely carbonized g. substriatula new records of graphis adans. three species of graphis (g. conferta zenker, g. immersella mull.arg. and g. nilgiriensis adaw. & makhija) have been reported for the first time from bali, which are new records for indonesia. there are no previous reports about the collection of these three species of graphis from bali or any other part of indonesia. graphis conferta zenker, pharmaceutische waarenkunde (eisenach) 1(3): 166 (1829). (fig. 3a). thallus corticolous, crustose, brown, smooth surface shiny; ascomata lirellate, black, short, 0.2-3.0 mm, unbranched, sessile, flat labium, disc covered; basal thalline margin, excipulum completely carbonized, yellow hymenium, 100-110 μm high, clear; ascospores hyaline, 8 spored ascus, 20-28 x 5-7 μm, 6-10 septate, i + blue; no subtances. specimen examined: indonesia: bali island: jembrana district: bunutbolong village, 491 m a.s.l., on bark of frangipani (plumeria sp.), july 2014, mby. graphis immersella mull.arg. bull. herb. boissier 3: 319 (1895). t: cairns, qld, 1893, j. f. shirley 1793; lecto: g. fide a.w. archer, telopea 8: 281 (1999). (fig. 3b). synonym: graphis leptalocarpa a.w. archer, (holotype: solomon islands) mycotaxon 83: 364 (2002); g. manhaviensis zahlbr. (holotype: china, handel-mazzetti, h. 1930. symbolae sinica 3:1-254). 164 hardini et al. thallus corticolous, crustose, whitish-grey, surface of thallus uneven; ascomata lirellate, immersed, black, short to elongate, 2-5 mm, sparsely branched, lirellae variable; labia entire, non pruinose; disc exposed; lateral thalline margin; excipulum laterally carbonized; i –ve, yellowish to brownish hymenium, 90-115 µm high, clear; ascospores hyaline, 8 spored ascus, 5-7 septate, i + blue, 19-25 x 5-7 µm; k + yellow, thallus containing stictic acid. the materials examined similar to g. immersella which has been described by archer (1999, 2005) and lücking et al. (2009), but this species has longer lirellae (2-5 mm), some branched dichotom at the end or middle. it has been previously reported in australia (archer 1999), and solomon islands (archer, 2007). specimen examined: indonesia: bali island: jembrana district, bunutbolong village, 491 m a.s.l., on bark of frangipani (plumeria sp.), july 2014, jun-bj12, mby. fig. 3. a. graphis conferta zenker: a1. thallus with apothecia (scale=2 mm), a2. section of apothecium with hymenium, ascus and ascospores (scale=50 μm); b. graphis immersella mull.arg.: b1. thallus with apothecia (scale=2 mm), b2. section of apothecium with hymenium, ascus and ascospores (scale = 50 μm); c. graphis nilgiriensis adaw. & makhija: c1. thallus with apothecia (scale = 2 mm), c2. section of apothecium with hymenium, ascus and ascospores (scale = 50 μm); ap = apothecium. graphis nilgiriensis adaw. & makhija, mycotaxon 96: 59 (2006). (fig. 3c). thallus corticolous, crustose, yellowish-orange, the surface uneven; ascomata lirellate, sessile, black, elongated, irregularly curved, striate, 15 mm long, unbranched; labium entire; disc closed; basal thalline margin; excipulum completely carbonized; yellowish to brownish hymenium, of 74-99 µm high, clear; ascospores hyaline, 8 spored ascus, 5-9 septate, i + blue, 2050 x 5-8 µm; k + yellow, containing stictic acid. this species has been reported previously from india (adawadkar and makhija, 2006). thallus colour of this species is yellowish orange, may be experiencing discoloration due to decomposition of chlorophyll (lücking et al., 2009) and ascomata length 1-5 mm. specimen examined: indonesia: bali island: jembrana district: bunutbolong village, 491 m a.s.l., on bark of frangipani (plumeria sp.), july 2014, jun-bj12, mby. new species of glyphis and new records of graphis 165 acknowledgments we express our thanks to dr. robert lücking (curator for cryptogams: lichens, fungi, bryophytes), botany department, the field museum, chicago, illinois, usa, for many discussions about the taxa of glyphis and graphis (graphidaceae).this study is part of a doctoral dissertation at the biological science program, faculty of biology ugm, and funded by the directorate general of higher education (dghe), ministry of education and culture, republic of indonesia for the scholarship of national graduate study program. references aptroot, a. 1999. annotated checklist of hong kong lichens. trop. bryol. 17: 57–101. archer, a.w. 1999. the lichen genera graphis, and graphina (graphidaceae) in australia 1: species based on australian type specimens. telopea 8: 273–285. archer, a.w. 2000. the lichen genera phaeographis and phaeographina (graphidaceae) in australia 1: species based on australian type specimens. telopea 8: 461–475. archer, a.w. 2004. additions to the lichen flora of fiji and vanuatu based on graphidaceae in the f.r.m. wilson collection at the national herbarium of new south wales. telopea 10: 771–776. archer, a.w. 2005. new combinations and synonymies in the australian graphidaceae. telopea 11: 59–78. archer, a.w. 2007. key and checklist for the lichen family graphidaceae (lichenized ascomycota) in the solomon islands. syst. biodivers. 5: 9–22. archer, a.w. 2009. graphidaceae. in: mccarthy, p.m. (ed.), flora of australia. vol. 57. lichens 5. melbourne: abrs/csiro. flakus, a., sipman, h.j.m., bach, k., flakus, p.r., knudsen, k., ahti, t., schiefelbein, u., palice, z., jablonska, a., oset, m., meneses, q.r.i. and kukwa, m. 2013. contribution to the knowledge of the lichen biota of bolivia. pol. bot. j. 58: 697–733. fuenmayor, g.l. 2013. preliminary inventory of corticolous lichens of the sierra de san luis, venezuela. rev. biodivers. neotrop. 3: 98–105. groenhart, p. 1936. beiträge zur kenntnis der javanischen flechten i-iii. nederlandsch kruidkundig archief. 46: 690–784. hale, m.e. 1974. the biology of lichens. london: edward arnold, pp. 119–129. hayward, g.c. 1977. taxonomy of the lichen families graphidaceae and opegraphaceae in new zealand. new zealand j. bot. 15: 565–584. huneck, s. and yoshimura, i. 1996. identification of lichens substances. springer,berlin, heidelberg, pp. 13– 14, 47. kukwa, m., schiefelbein, u. and flakus, a. 2013. a contribution to the lichen family graphidaceae (ostropales, ascomycota) of bolivia. herzogia 26: 231–252. lücking, r., archer, a.w. and aptroot, a. 2009. a world-wide key to the genus graphis (ostropales, graphidaceae). the lichenologist 41: 363–452. lücking, r., sutjaritturakan, j. and kalb, k. 2012. validation of three species names and description of a new species in the genus graphis (ascomycota: ostropales: graphidaceae). the lichenologist 44: 391– 394. lücking, r., hodkinson, b.p. and leavitt, s.d. 2017. the 2016 classification of lichenized fungi in the ascomycota and basidiomycota–approaching one thousand genera. the bryologist 119: 361–416. lücking, r., johnston, m.k., aptroot, a., kraichak, e., lendemer, j.c., boonpragob, k., caceres, m.e.s., ertz, d., ferraro, l., jia, z.f., et al. 2014. one hundred and seventy-five new species of graphidaceae: closing the gap or a drop in the bucket. phytotaxa 189: 7–38. orange, a., james, p.w. and white, f.j. 2010. microchemical methods for the identification of lichens. london: british lichen society, pp. 1-101. singh, k.p. and sinha, g.p. 2010. indian lichens: annotated checklist. botanical survey of india, kolkata. 166 hardini et al. sipman, h. 2003. key to the lichen genera of bogor, cibodas and singapore. <http:/www. bgbm.org/ sipman/keys/javagenera.htm>. retrieved on 5 june 2013. staiger, b. 2002. die flechtenfamilie graphidaceae: studien in richtungeiner natürlichen gliederung. biblioth. lichenol. 85: 15–26. staiger, b. 2005. how to arrange the diversity of a tropical lichen family? systematics and generic concepts in the lichen family graphidaceae. arch. sci. 58: 53–62. tabaquero, a.l., bawingan, p.a. and lücking, r. 2013. key and checklist of graphidaceae lichens in the kalahan forest reserve, nueva vizcaya, philippines. philippine j. syst. biol. 7: 22–38. (manuscript received on 16 october 2017; revised on 1 november 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 97–106, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists anatomical investigation of four taxa of scutellaria albida l. (lamiaceae) ersin minareci1, sinem pekönür, canan özdemir, mehmet çiçek2 and okan kocabaş manisa celal bayar university, faculty of science and letters, department of biology, muradiye-manisa-turkey keywords: scutellaria albida; four taxa; anatomy; turkey. abstract the root, trunk and leaf anatomy of four taxa of scutellaria albida namely, s. albida subsp. albida, s. albida subsp. velenovskyi, s. albida subsp. colchica and s. albida subsp. condensata were examined. the aim is to determine whether these characters can be used for systematic purposes. the roots displays a typical stele structure in all studied taxa. but their number of pith rays are different in each taxa. the stems of s. albida taxa have square like transection, collateral vascular bundles, parenchymatous pith and show 1-2 layered epidermis coated with thick cuticle. s. albida subsp. condensata has papillate epicuticular wax on its stem cuticle layer. in all taxa angular collenchyma, and cambium forming phloem outward and xylem inward are observed. the leaves are hypostomatic, have single rowed epidermis coated with thick cuticle and show dorsiventral mesophyll in all studied taxa. s. albida subsp. velenovskyi has echinate epicuticular wax on its leaf cuticle layer, but the others have smooth cuticle layer. the midrib shows one collateral bundles in all taxa but the shape of median veins of the leaf blade show variation in each taxa. some of the anatomical characters viz. the number of pith rays of roots, the number of palisade parenchyma layer, plant cuticles covered by wax, the shape of median veins of the leaf blade and stomata index, provide information of taxonomical significance for these taxa. introduction scutellaria l. (skullcap), a member of the lamiaceae family, has approximately 300 species and this genus prefers living in temperate climates (paton, 1990a). scutellaria is viable plant for every continent except for antarctica with its main centre of diversity in irano-turanianregion of asia. eastern mediterranean and the andes are secondary center of the diversity (paton, 1990b, bruno et al., 2002). turkey is accepted as the gene center of lamiaceae family to which the scutellaria genus belongs (başer, 1993). scutellaria is represented by twenty-four species, thirteen subspecies and one hybrid in the flora of turkey. thirteen (%41) of them are endemic to turkey (çiçek, 2008) scutellaria has been used in spices, fragrances, traditional and folk medicines in different parts of the world for centuries. they are well known among people as powerful medicinal herbs which are mild relaxants that affect the neural and muscular-skeletal systems (werker et al., 1985; duke, 1989; zargari, 1990; stojakowska and kisiel, 1999; graham et al., 2000; kim et al., 2001; hui et al., 2002; weber, 2009). a lot of scutellaria species were studied in hygiology. there are lots of scientists who studied their therapeutic activities, for example, inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-hiv, spasmolytic, anti-anticonvulsant, antifungal, antidiarrhea, anticancer, antipyretic, antibacterial, and antiviral activities (chou et al., 2003; shang et al., 2010). 1 corresponding author, email: ersinminareci@gmail.com 2 pamukkale university, faculty of science and letters, department of biology, denizli, turkey. mailto:ersinminareci@gmail.com 98 minareci et al. scutellaria albida subsp. velenovskyi (rech. f.) greuter & burdet was considered as a different species in turkish literature and has named as scutellaria velenovskyi (greuter et al., 1984). çiçek (2008) considered as a polymorphism within the species because of geographic isolation of different populations. few studies of detailed examination and the conflictions mentioned above lead us to study these four taxa anatomy; since anatomical characters play an important role in the taxonomical studies of medical plants (agbagwa and ndukwu, 2004; kharazian, 2007). in this study, anatomical structures of roots, stems and leaves of four taxa of scutellaria albida namely, s. albida subsp. albida l., s. albida subsp. velenovskyi, s. albida subsp. colchica (rech.f.) j.r. edm. and s. albida subsp. condensata (rech.f.) j.r. edm. were examined and compared. the vegetative anatomy was proved to be an important source of additional characters for resolving taxonomic difficulties in scutellaria albida. so, this study aims to clarify the questions on this polymorphic species and add new databases. material and methods plant samples were collected between 2013 and 2014 from their natural environments during their flowering period (table 1). table 1. the location and collection data of the material studiedfrom turkey. taxa specimen location and habitat s. albida subsp. albida kastamonu: from cide to azdavay, between 53 km, asarkaya tunnel entry and exit, 547 m, rock hill, n 41°49.503' e 033°24.035'; 30.07.2013 s. albida subsp. velenovskyi aydın: kuşadası, davutlar, dilek peninsula national park, kalamaki stream, 202 m, dry river bed edges, n 37°40' 46.0" e 027°09' 48.8" ; 07.07.2013 s. albida subsp. colchica artvin: from yusufeli to artvin, between 30 km, 444 m, rock slopes, n 40°55.979' e 041°46.192'; 21.07.2014 s. albida subsp. condensata bitlis: from van to tatvan, between 23 km, 1679 m, quercus sp. slopes, n 38°28' 32" e 042°31' 02"; 19.07.2014 plant samples were stored in the manisa celal bayar university herbarium. the taxonomic descriptions of the species were made according to paton (1990a). the plant specimens were kept in 70% alcohol. the paraffin wax method (algan, 1981) was used in order to fix the materials. then the prepared paraffin blocks were sectioned with a leica rm2125rt rotary microtome. in order to make structural characterization, the transverse sections (5-10 μm thick) were stained with safranin-fast green (johansen, 1940). using entellan, the slides were fixed. finally slides were looked over with olympus bx50 research microscope and photographs were taken on leica dw 3000 with a leica dfc 295 camera. ten peripheral slides were prepared for each taxon and the stomata index was calculated (meidner and mansfield 1968). results and discussion anatomy of roots the outermost surface of root’s transverse sections are made up of the periderm’s cells which are squashed or breaking up in all investigated taxa. there is a multi-layered parenchymatic cortex which has compactly arranged, rectangular, oval or orbicular parenchymatic cells adjacent to the anatomical investigation of four taxa of s. albida 99 peridermis. endodermis layer is seen clearly only in s. albida subsp. condensata (fig. 1d). pericycle located adjacent to the endodermis is sporadically divided with supporting tissue members in s. albida subsp. condensata. above the phloem of all taxa, there is a sclerenchymatical sheath. the root of s. albida subsp. velenovskyi has irregular layered sclerenchymatical cells scattered throughout the cortex (fig. 1b). there is small phloem region in the roots except for s. albida subsp. condensata which has large phloem region and the members of the phloem are seen clearly. 1–3 layered cambium rings are hardly visible and indistinguishable for all taxa of s. albida. a very large area of the transverse section occurs with the component of xylem in all investigated taxa. trachea members are circular or hexagonal and they are regularly settled in increasingly accurate diameter from the centre to the cortex with the exception of s. albida subsp. condensata (fig. 1) because its vessels are irregularly placed. the central vessels are larger than peripheral vessels. pith rays of s. albida subsp. albida and s. albida subsp. velenovskyi are 2–9 layered, s. albida subsp. colchica are 2–4 layered and s. albida subsp. condensata are 1–2 layered (fig. 1). they are heterogeneous. the pith of all taxa investigated is occupied by xylem elements. representative anatomical characters of four taxa investigated are summarised in table 2. fig 1. cross section of the roots. a: s. albida subsp. albida, b: s. albida subsp. velenovskyi, c: s. albida subsp. colchica, d: s. albida subsp. condensata cp::cortex_parenchyma, x::xylem, en: endodermis,,pr::pith_rays, pe: periderm, ph: phloem, , t::trachea,_bar: 50 μm 100 minareci et al. table 2. root features of four scutellaria albida taxa. root anatomical characters s. albida subsp. albida s. albida subsp. velenovsky s. albida subsp. colchica s. albida subsp. condensata peridermis cell width (μm) 41.2 ± 11.49 34.05 ± 10.66 43.33 ± 10.67 31.35 ± 8.90 length (μm) 15.8 ± 4.35 18.99 ± 5.57 19.91 ± 3.69 24.00 ± 5.41 parenchyma cell width (μm) 42.53 ± 14.23 47.33 ± 16.64 37.87 ± 7.70 38.53 ± 10.38 length (μm) 16.95 ± 3.72 26.00 ± 7.02 21.25 ± 4.25 25.43 ± 6.75 vessel (μm) 40.22 ± 13.95 50.19 ± 14.74 38.89 ± 15.12 27.10 ± 8.53 pith rays 2–9 2–9 2–4 1–2 anatomy of stems transverse section of the stem is square like in four taxa of this species. epidermis of all investigated taxa of this paper are coated with a thick cuticle layer. at the corner of s. albida subsp. condensata the cuticle layer is very thick. furthermore, on the cuticle layer of it, papillate epicuticular wax is evident (fig. 2). but papillate epicuticular wax has not been observed on others cuticle layers. the epidermal structure consist of 1–2 layered rectangular, oval or squarish cells. these cells are tabular. limited number of stomata set into the epidermis. on the surface of the protective tissue of four taxa of s. albida, there are plenty of hairs most of which are glandular. adjacent to the epidermal cells, there are multi-layered lamellar and lacunar collenchyma cells at the corners of the stems of all taxa. the cortex region is very narrow in all taxa and composed of irregular ovoidal, circular like or squashed parenchymatic cells with intercellular spaces. measurements of these cells and the number of layers are given in table 3. the sclerenchyma cells (1–3 layers) cover vascular bundles both at the corners and also between the corners of the stem. but, the sclerenchyma cells are indistinguishable between the corners of s. albida subsp. condensata. all vascular bundles located at the corners of stems of s. albida taxa are next to each other; yet, bundles between the corners in the stems are separated from each other by parenchymatic cells. at the corners, the vascular bundles are larger than the bundles between corners for all the taxa. their cambiums are hardly visible. the stem of all taxa investigated in this paper have large pith which are composed of orbicular or hexagonal parenchymatic cells and there are intercellular spaces. the diameter of the cells in the centre of the pith is quite larger than of the cells located under the vascular bundle on four taxa of this species (fig 3). fig. 2a: cross-section of the leaf of s. albida subsp. velenovskyi, b: cross-section of the stem of s. albida subsp. condensata. cu: cuticle with epicuticular wax. bars: 10 μm anatomical investigation of four taxa of s. albida 101 table 3. stem features of four scutellaria albida taxa. stem anatomical characters s. albida subsp. albida s. albida subsp. velenovsky s. albida subsp. colchica s. albida subsp. condensata epicuticular wax epidermis cell absent absent absent papillate width (μm) 23.11 ± 5.68 12.40 ± 3.28 20.08 ± 3.1 20.87 ± 6.80 length (μm) 15.02 ± 2.60 17.50 ± 2.52 15.46 ± 3.42 12.57 ± 1.98 cortex thickness in the corner (μm) 218.12 ± 13.02 257.63 ± 7.22 182.00 ± 7.96 263.81 ± 15.89 cortex thickness in the marginal (μm) 59.31 ± 20.02 52.35 ± 9.87 118.33 ± 12.79 94.14 ± 18.25 number of cortex layer 3–6 3–8 5–8 6–10 corner collenchyma thickness (μm) 66.09 ± 3.24 105.11 ± 34.24 51.06 ± 12.12 103.10 ± 8.61 18.01 ± 2.47 24.20 ± 8.95 27.41 ± 5.98 46.15 ± 12.76 vascular bundle phloem length (μm) xylem length (μm) 206.88 ± 44.61 223.74 ± 33.62 100.9 ± 29.21 198.13 ± 35.62 trachea size (μm) 23.24 ± 5.28 40.96 ± 11.50 22.08 ± 4.54 26.39 ± 6.42 pith cell size (μm) 95.69 ± 25.09 92.02 ± 36.99 71.76 ± 31.17 101.89 ± 37.85 fig. 3. cross-section of the stems. a: s. albida subsp. albida, b: s. albida subsp. velenovskyi, c: s. albida subsp. colchica, d: s. albida subsp. condensata. co: collenchyma, cp: cortex parenchyma, e: epidermis, p: pith, t: trachea. bar: 50 μm 102 minareci et al. anatomy of leaves outer surface of the transverse section of the leaf blade is covered with a thick cuticle layer in the studied taxa. in their upper epidermis cuticle layers are thicker than those of the lower epidermis. only s. albida subsp. velenovskyi has echinate epicuticular wax on the cuticle layer. the others have smooth cuticle layer. the glandular and eglandular hairs are located on both epidermises of all the studied taxa. mesomorph stomata can only be seen in lower epidermis in the studied taxa. their epidermis cells are rectangular, oval or squarish. upper epidermal cells are large and tabular, but lower epidermal cells are small in four taxa of this species (fig. 4). their leaves are bifacial. the mesophyll is made up of elongated rectangular palisade parenchyma and isodiametric spongy parenchyma cells. measurements and number of layers of these cells are given in table 4. while the palisade paranchyma cells are arranged tightly and there are large intercellular spaces between the sponge parenchyma cells. there is one large arc-shaped vascular bundle in the center and vascular bundles are surrounded by a parenchymatic bundle sheaths in all studied taxa. fig. 4. cross-section of the leaves. a,b: s. albida subsp. albida, c,d: s. albida subsp. velenovskyi, e,f: s. albida subsp. colchica, g,h:s. albida subsp. condensata. le: lower epidermis, pp: palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, t: trachea, ue: upper epidermis, vb: vascular bundle. bars: 50 μm anatomical investigation of four taxa of s. albida 103 table 4. leaf features of four scutellaria albida taxa. leaf anatomical characters s. albida subsp. albida s. albida subsp. velenovsky s. albida subsp. colchica s. albida subsp. condensata upper cuticle (μm) 2.25 ± 0.69 3.41 ± 0.59 3.65 ± 1.51 2.40 ± 0.47 lower cuticle (μm) 1.32 ± 0.09 3.71 ± 1.76 2.10 ±1.00 2.89 ± 0.67 epicuticular wax absent echinate absent absent upper epidermis width (μm) 32.30 ± 7.72 30.13 ± 15.09 29.86 ± 9.94 30.73 ± 8.73 length(μm) 24.39 ± 3.41 24.39 ± 4.40 28.62 ± 5.05 22.39 ± 5.91 lower epidermis width (μm) 9.29 ± 4.36 16.00 ± 6.39 11.08 ± 4.59 13.12 ± 4.82 length(μm) 8.35 ± 2.29 14.23 ± 3.11 11.58 ± 2.63 11.00 ± 3.25 number of the palisade cell line 1–3 1–2 1–5 1–3 palisade cell width (μm) 11.72 ± 2.18 13.05 ± 2.39 18.11 ± 3.03 11.38 ± 2.46 length(μm) 24.92 ± 6.34 29.07 ± 6.03 36.35 ± 11.19 30.33 ± 9.31 spongy cell width (μm) 15.28 ± 3.55 17.90 ± 4.28 17.98±3.66 14.49 ± 3.95 length(μm) 12.91 ± 2.81 13.51 ± 2.56 16.22±3.39 09.78 ± 2.64 midrip trachea 08.28 ± 2.15 02.23 ± 0.44 13.09±2.23 15.07 ± 4.09 stomata index 24.19 ± 1.02 25.97 ± 0.93 18.75±0.78 18.51 ± 0.85 members of genus scutellaria can live in various habitats. many species become evident characteristics of moist environments (metcalfe and chalk, 1950). the smallest group of the genera, including scutellaria albida, shows characteristic of arid environments such as xeromorphic characters. this study describes the characteristics of four subspecies obtained from anatomical investigations. the anatomy of four taxa of s. albida is broadly similar, but they also have some important distinctions among the taxa. metcalfe and chalk (1950) studied the root anatomy in some of lamiaceae taxa. they found that the roots of lamiaceae family have 2–12 or more-rowed pith rays. the present findings are congruent with the study made by metcalfe and chalk’s (1950); dinç et al. (2008); baran and özdemir (2009); kahraman et al. (2010a,b); celep et al. (2011). on the other hand, lamium lycium boiss. has 1-4 rowed rays (baran and özdemir, 2009). the pith rays of salvia chrysophylla stapfare composed of 1-24 rows (kahraman et al., 2010a) and the pith rays of salvia ballsiana (rech.f.) hedge are composed of 1–3 (-4) rows (kahraman et al., 2010b). lamium truncatum boiss. has 1-4 rowed rays (celep et al., 2011). the present study indicates that s. albida subsp. albida and s. albida subsp. velenovskyi have 2–9, s. albida subsp. colchica has 2–4 and s. albida subsp. condensata has 1–2 rows of ray cells (fig. 1). therefore, the pith rays number is useful discriminative characters for the subspecies of s. albida. the mechanical supportable tissue is seen in the root of all taxa. these are sclerenchymatical cells located sporadically over the phloem. moreover, roots of studied s. albida subsp. velenovskyi showed irregular layered sclerenchymatical cells scattered throughout the cortex. gönüz and özörgücü (1999) have obtained the similar results for the root of origanumonites l.l.. çobanoğlu (1988), özdemir and şenel (2001) have pointed the same sclerenchymatic ring and sheath on root of salvia palaestina bentham and s. forskahlei l. in the root of scutellaria orientalis subsp. 104 minareci et al. bicolor (özdemir and altan, 2005) sclerenchymatic ring and sheath is observed over phloem. the stems of all taxa of s. albida have sclerenchymatical sheath on phloem. similar results were obtained for the stem of s. orientalis subsp. santolinoides (hausskn. ex bornm.) j.r.edm. and s. orientalis subsp. bicolor (özdemir and altan, 2005). meanwhile, the sclerenchyma is very important supportable tissue as recorded for species of hypenia (mart. ex benth) harley, one of the genera that grow in dry environments (faria, 2008). s. albida taxa are arid environment plants. so, they have some sclerenchymatic cells in roots and in some parts of the stems. having square stem and features of endoderm are diagnostic characteristics of lamiaceae members, as explained in this work for s. albida taxa and also for other species of this genus, such as scutellaria agretis a. st.-hil. ex benth. (oliveria et al., 2013), scutellaria orientalis subsp. pinnatifida (candan and cali, 2012), s. orientalis subsp. bicolor and s. orientalis subsp. santolinoides (ozdemir and altan, 2005; metcalfe and chalk, 1950). evident collenchyma in the four angles is frequently described for lamiaceae (cronquist, 1981). in the studied taxa, there are collenchymatic cells at each corner of the stems. stem epidermises of all investigated taxa are covered with a thick cuticle layer. at the corner of s. albida subsp. condensata the cuticle layer is thicker than the other taxa and papillate epicuticular wax is evident on this cuticle layer. furthermore, outermost surface of the leaf of s. albida subsp. velenovskyi is covered with echinate epicuticular wax. the presence of epicuticular wax is noticed for the first time for the genus. duarte and lopes (2007) observed striate cuticle on plectranthus neochilus schltr (lamiaceae) leaf blade. plant cuticles are covered with waxes, many of which are of great systematic significance and it can be taxonomically useful characteristic for scutellaria. waxes are an essential structural element of the surface and of fundamental functional and ecological importance for the interaction between plants and their environments (barthlott et al., 1998). classification and terminology of epicuticular waxes are proposed based on high resolution sem analysis of 13000 species of seed plants by barthlott et al. (1998). but there is no record of epicuticular wax for the representatives of scutellaria. the function of the epicuticular wax is known to be anti-adhesive, hardly wettable and preventing insect attachment (barthlott et al., 1998). four taxa of s. albida have dorsiventral and hypostomatic leaves. however number of palisade layer shows some differences among the taxa. the mesophyll of s. albida subsp. colchica formed by 1–5 layers of palisade parenchyma. on the other hand, others formed fewer palisade layers (table 4). thick palisade tissue of mesophyll is considered as xerophytic characters. this feature was reported in teucrium sandrasicum o. schwarz (dinç et al., 2008), t. montanum l. and t. polium l. (dinç et al., 2011). stomata may have found on one or both sides of the leaf blade in lamiaceae family (metcalfe and chalk, 1950). s. albida has a hypostomatic leaf. such leaf, it was also described in s. altissima l. (thaler et al., 1992), s. orientalis subsp. bicolor and s. orientalis subsp. santolinoides (ozdemir and altan, 2005). having hypostomatic leaf is also interpreted as xeromorphic type. s. albida exhibits diacyticstomata as predominantly other lamiaceae family member (metcalfe and chalk, 1950). the stomata index showed variation in s. albida taxa. stomata index of s. albida subsp. albida and s. albida subsp. velenovskyi are nearly same, and that of s. albida subsp. colchica and s. albida subsp. condensata are nearly same (table 4). all studied taxa have projective median veins. however, when it is observed at the crosssections of taxa, the shape of median veins of the leaf blade show some differences (fig. 4). s. albida subsp. albida has concave to flat median vein at abaxial side. s. albida subsp. velenovskyi has flat to concavemedian veinabaxial side. s. albida subsp. colchica and s. albida subsp. condensata have concave median vein at abaxial side. therefore, these characters can also be used for distinguishing the subspecies in scutellaria albida. anatomical investigation of four taxa of s. albida 105 acknowledgements the authors wish to thank scientific investigation project to coordinate of manisa celal bayar university (project no. fef 2014-073) for financial support. references agbagwa, o.i. and ndukwu, b.c. 2004. the value of morphoanatomical features in the systematic of cucurbita l. 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(manuscript received on 2 february, 2019; revised on 5 may, 2019) microsoft word 18. taxonomy review paper_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 267-279, 2013 (december) review paper © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists plant taxonomic research in bangladesh (1972-2012): a critical review haseeb md. irfanullah practical action, bangladesh country office, house 12/b, road 4, dhanmondi r/a, dhaka 1205, bangladesh keywords: taxonomists; taxonomy; perception; sustainable development, bangladesh. abstract amid serious concerns over declining taxonomic research world-wide, bangladesh showed positive trends over 1972-2002. some important developments in the global arena over the last decade give a mixed view on the growth of taxonomic research. this demands revisiting bangladesh’s plant taxonomic research to identify major factors guiding its courses. taxonomic papers published in three bangladeshi journals and the flora of bangladesh (1972-2012) were analyzed using a scoring system. the present study reveals a four-fold increase in annual average of integrated taxonomic studies (those use knowledge of other branches of biology) over the last decade compared with the preceding decade. conventional, inventory type taxonomic studies, on the other hand, has reduced by 15%. studies on algae showed 42% increase in annual average, while studies on angiosperms remained unchanged. although unpublished researches like master’s theses increased significantly in recent years, the number of published work has decreased. the possible reasons for such decline are no net increase in plant taxonomists over the last decade, taxonomists struggling to transform researches into publishable manuscripts, and enhanced reputation of bangladeshi journals increasing the proportion of foreign papers (a situation termed as ‘reputational backlash’). the paper envisages that classical taxonomic studies will dominate in bangladesh in the coming decades given the enormous exploratory task awaiting the taxonomists. it concludes that to put taxonomy in the sustainable development discourse, taxonomists must change their perception towards their role in the society and proactively share their work with wider audience. introduction in their recent review, costello et al. (2013a) declared − “taxonomists are not in danger of extinction”. in fact taxonomists’ number has increased over the past couple of decades. increased rate of publication over the last decade also shows taxonomic effort has never been greater. costello et al. (l.c.) are not alone; a few other recent studies have also shared similar positive trends in taxonomic research in recent times (e.g. joppa et al., 2011a; de clerck et al., 2013; tancoigne and dubois, 2013). these analyses overturn the concerns expressed over declining ‘taxonomy’ and ‘taxonomists’ (lee, 2000; godfray, 2002; irfanullah, 2006). in the wake of these worrying scenarios, the flow of recommendations to save taxonomy and the taxonomists has never dried out. offers on the table are diverse − reemphasizing taxonomy course at the universities, training for more professional taxonomists, capitalizing on the strength of amateurs and parataxonomists, shifting in the perception of funding system to invest more in taxonomy, and making alliance with other branches of biology (bramley, 1994; disney, 1998; lee, 2000; boero, 2001; godfray, 2002; irfanullah 2003, 2006; jones, 2008; ebach et al., 2011; pearson et al., 2011; costello et al. 2013a; sluys, 2013). in recent years, these propositions are becoming seemingly radical, aiming at making taxonomy a fast, exciting discipline. figueiredo et al. (2010) advocated for the removal of the mandatory requirement of latin diagnosis while describing a new plant taxon from the 268 irfanullah international code of botanical nomenclature (icbn) – branding it an “unnecessary impediment”. it has also been suggested that, while describing a new species, the peer-review process could be bypassed to speed up information availability (wheeler et al., 2012). the fantastic developments in information and communication technology, access to information on the world wide web and social networking have instigated new ways of thinking. to ease the identification of species, use of automated system (macleod et al., 2010), online system (mcdade et al., 2011), social networking (silvertown, 2010) and semantically (computer programming language) based digital systems (deans et al., 2011) have been proposed for consideration. revolutionary proposals also include a model where a species’ information would be available in web-based repositories and content-management systems before it is formally named as a new species (maddison et al., 2012). in addition to changing rules or capitalizing on recent technological advancements, wider issues, like taxonomy as a profession, have also made the list of taxonomy-saving propositions. taxonomy journals, for example, receive relatively lower impact factors, which have obvious career implications (lee, 2000; valdecasas et al., 2000; ebach et al., 2011; wägele et al., 2011). to increase the impact of taxonomy papers, it was proposed that whenever a species name is used, the author(s) of the species should be included and the original literature source should be cited (werner, 2006; wägele et al., 2011). in addition to increasing the citation of a taxonomic work to a greater extent, this system would duly recognize the contribution of that piece to science. change in our current perception and attitude towards taxonomy profession has also been proposed. to improve the academic assessment system of systematic works, unconventional systems, like online voting by the peers on a scientific contribution, have been proposed (mcdade et al., 2011). taxonomy has, however, always been stringent when it comes to changing established rules and norms. therefore, not many of the above propositions have been widely accepted by the peers or subsequently by the icbn. nevertheless, the xviii international botanical congress, held in melbourne in july 2011, endorsed some end-of-an-era decisions (knapp et al., 2011). from the first day of 2012, latin description or diagnosis required for publishing the name of a new taxon was changed to a requirement for latin or english description or diagnosis. from the same day, icbn started accepting electronic publications in portable document format (pdf) with international standard serial numbers (issns) or international standard book numbers (isbns). but these journeys towards changes have been slow. it took almost two decades, for example, to accept electronic publications since the formation of the first special committee for electronic publication in 1993 at the tokyo congress (knapp et al., 2006). therefore, the apparently drastic propositions mentioned above may take some time to become widely accepted. nevertheless, concerns over declining professional taxonomy are far from over (pearson et al., 2011; de carvalho et al., 2013; sluys, 2013). the developments and mixed trends of taxonomic research drawn above tell us what are going on at a global scale. these are often based upon analyses of enormous datasets. but, can information from relatively smaller scale, say a country, help us to understand the dynamics of taxonomic research better? can such analysis capture something else missed in the bigger picture? in 2003, a review of plant taxonomic research in bangladesh revealed some positive trends during 1972-2002 (irfanullah, 2003). i, therefore, take plant taxonomy of bangladesh as a case to revisit and answer above questions. bangladesh is a useful case to explore because since 2003 several noteworthy developments took place here directly linked with plant taxonomy. first, 28 volumes of encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh (henceforth, the encyclopedia) were published during 2007-2009 under a big project of the asiatic society of bangladesh. almost all practicing plant taxonomists of the country were involved in this project as editors, contributors or plant taxonomic research in bangladesh 269 researchers to produce 11 of those volumes (volumes 2-12). these are cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi (volume 2) (siddiqui et al., 2007a); algae (volumes 3 & 4) (ahmed et al., 2007, 2009a); bryophytes, pteridophytes and gymnosperms (volume 5) (siddiqui et al., 2007b); and angiosperms (volumes 6-12) (siddiqui et al., 2007c; ahmed et al., 2008a, b; ahmed et al., 2009be). these have recorded full descriptions and images of all plant species discovered from bangladesh territory. this long anticipated venture has given bangladeshi taxonomists the opportunity to position themselves in national research and development arena. second, bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy (bjpt) has been published by bangladesh association of plant taxonomists since 1994. it is the only peer-reviewed, indexed journal from bangladesh devoted to plant taxonomy and conservation. in 2007, bjpt started to be indexed by the institute of scientific information (isi). until 2012, it had been indexed by many of the major indexing agencies. the journal is being published on-line (http://www.banglajol.info/index. php/bjpt) since 2008 along with the printed version. in june 2010, it received its first isi impact factor. these developments enhanced the visibility and acceptability of this bangladesh-origin journal, which was less known in the first 12 years of its existence. it is now attracting good number of taxonomists around the globe. in 2006, no foreign manuscript was submitted to bjpt. in 2007, out of 29 submitted manuscripts 10 were foreign (present author’s record). in 2012, 122 manuscripts were submitted to bjpt of which 107 were by foreign authors (md. oliur rahman, personal communication). one volume of bjpt consisting of just above 200 pages is published each year in two issues. bangladesh journal of botany, published since 1972, is another isiindexed plant sciences journal attracting foreign taxonomy papers over the last decade or so. the third development is related to the education and research environment of bangladesh. tremendous development of information and communication technology has now given extensive, quality connectivity through internet technology. access to world journals by the universities and research institutions are much easier now under different global ‘access to information’ projects. both these have changed the face of education and research in bangladesh over the last decade. against this backdrop, the present study first looks into the trends of plant taxonomic research in bangladesh during 1972-2012. based upon the findings, the study further explores i) what important factors are guiding plant taxonomic research in bangladesh; ii) where the current trends are likely to go; and iii) what key issues need to be focused on by the plant taxonomists, especially after the era of millennium development goals (mdgs) ends in 2015. methodology to reveal the trends of plant taxonomic research in bangladesh, both published and unpublished research works were considered. to qualify as a study of bangladesh, the study material(s) (plant or place) must be from bangladesh and should be carried out by one or more bangladeshi scientists inside or outside bangladesh. details of the methodology are given below. published research for published works, the methodology of irfanullah (2003) was followed. taxonomic papers published in three journals during the period of 1972-2012 were considered, with special focus on 2003-2012. these journals are bangladesh journal of botany (bjb, published by bangladesh botanical society since 1972), journal of the asiatic society of bangladesh, science (jasbs, published by the asiatic society of bangladesh since 1975) and bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy (bjpt). bjpt is an exclusively plant taxonomy journal, bjb is a plant sciences journal publishing taxonomy papers, while jasbs is used to be an important science journal for plant taxonomy, especially prior to bjpt. in addition, volumes of flora of bangladesh published by 270 irfanullah bangladesh national herbarium were included as revisions of angiosperm families (see below). data on foreign papers published in bangladeshi journals (2003-2012) were also analyzed to understand wider issues associated with taxonomic research. in the present study, unpublished raw data of irfanullah (2003) were used for some analyses. categories: all taxonomic papers recorded were categorized under two separate schemes. in the first scheme, all papers were classified into two broad categories based upon the nature of the studies. 1. inventory studies: the common feature of these studies is conventional morphological taxonomic approaches (include both morphology and anatomy) were taken to conduct them. this category includes papers on floristic studies (including checklists); new records for bangladesh (or other countries); revisions of taxonomic groups; nomenclature (e.g. new to science and new combinations); micormorphology (using light or electron microscopes); and ethnobotany. the present analysis is different from irfanullah (2003) as the latter considered floristic studies and checklists separately. 2. integrated studies: in these studies knowledge of different branches of biology other than morphology and anatomy were used to elucidate taxonomic problems or to facilitate taxonomic understanding, or showed significant dependency on taxonomy to improve understanding of those branches. these branches are, for example chemistry, cytogenetics (including cytology), ecology (including limnology), and reproductive biology (including a very few papers on vegetative biology and seedling growth). numerical taxonomy was also included in this category. the present category is different from irfanullah (2003) because of extending the definition of cytogenetics and reproductive biology papers. table 1. annual mean scores (± standard error) of different types of taxonomic studies and plant groups published in three journals (bangladesh journal of botany, journal of the asiatic society of bangladesh, science, and bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy) in two periods. definitions and comments on different study types are given in the methodology section. **, value in this column is different from the counterpart at p<0.01. data sources: 1994-2002, based on the raw data of irfanullah (2003); 2003-2012, collected for the present study. study types and plant groups study periods study types 1994-2002 2003-2012 inventory studies 47 ± 4.5 40 ± 3.4 integrated studies 2.3 ± 0.7 10 ± 2.3** plant groups algae 12 ± 2.2 17 ± 2.1 bryophytes 4.9 ± 1.7 4.4 ± 1.3 pteridophytes 3.6 ± 0.8 1.6 ± 0.6 gymnosperms 0.1 ± 0.1 0 angiosperms 27 ± 3.9 27 ± 3.2 mixed group 1.7 ± 0.73 the second scheme is based upon broad plant groups that a paper deals with. these groups are angiosperms, gymnosperms, pteridophytes (fern and fern-allies), bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) and algae (covering freshwater, brackishwater and marine taxa, including cyanobacteria or blue-green algae) (table 1). irfanullah (2003) considered ‘mixed studies’ as a separate group, where papers dealing with more than one plant group were placed. in 2003-2012, plant taxonomic research in bangladesh 271 only a few papers, highly dominated by angiosperms, also had information on other plant groups. these were considered as angiosperm papers. scoring system: the scoring system of irfanullah (2003) was followed − a full paper scored 3 (including each volume of flora of bangladesh), while a short communication scored 1. when a paper fell into more than one category, possible total score was distributed among the categories. total score of a category in a given year was then used for statistical analyses. of all the papers considered for this study, bjpt accounted for 59% of the score, bjb 32%, jasbs 5% and the flora of bangladesh 4%. non-parametric mann-whitney u-tests (social science statistics, 2013) were conducted to determine significant differences between the datasets (table 1). unpublished research taxonomic researches conducted at the universities and research institutions are not always translated into research papers, but remain as unpublished theses. to understand the extent of such research, a questionnaire survey was carried out with the academics of four major public universities of bangladesh teaching and conducting research on angiosperm taxonomy since long. these are university of dhaka, university of chittagong, university of rajshahi and jahangirnagar university. number of master’s, mphil and phd theses submitted to these universities during 2003-2012, along with the number of academic taxonomists, were collected through this survey. results overall trends over the last 40 years plant taxonomic studies in bangladesh has shown significant increase (fig. 1). a steep, almost 10-fold rise was seen between 1990 and 2001, accounted for the publication of bjpt since 1994. if we compare 1994-2002 and 2003-2012 (table 1), the total score increased by 13.4% in the latter period. nonetheless, since the peak of 2001, a slow decline was seen (fig. 1), especially since the middle of the last decade (fig. 2). if we consider all bangladeshi and foreign taxonomy papers of the studied journals, we however find a 54% rise over the last decade (fig. 2). over the last decade, proportion of foreign papers increased significantly in the studied journals. during 2003-2007, foreign papers accounted for 17% score, which rose to 47% during 2008-2012. inventory and integrated studies annual average score of inventory studies by bangladeshi authors has decreased by 15% over the last decade, but not significantly at p<0.05 level (table 1, fig. 2). for 2003-2012, ‘new records’ (annual average score 19.3) was the most prominent inventory studies (fig. 3a). more than 46% of the new record scores came from algal papers and 38% from angiosperm papers. revisionary work was the most dominant type of inventory study during 1994-2002 (annual average score 9.8). this dominance lessened substantially during 2003-2012 (annual average score 7.4). the bangladesh national herbarium, however, published 7 fascicles of flora of bangladesh during 2003-2012, while the number was 4 in 1994-2002. taxonomy in research institutes in four surveyed universities, successful angiospermic research conducted annually by master’s students doubled over 2003-2012 (fig. 4). research for mphil degree has always been very low. phd, on the contrary, showed increasing trend in recent years. interestingly, the total 272 irfanullah number of angiospermic taxonomists in these universities remained around 9 over the last 10 years (fig. 4). a number of experienced taxonomists retired and/or died over this period replaced by young ones. fig. 1. annual scores of inventory, integrated and total bangladeshi taxonomic studies published in three journals and flora of bangladesh (1972-2012). bangladesh journal of botany was first published in 1972, journal of the asiatic society of bangladesh, science in 1975, and bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy in 1994. fig. 2. annual scores of bangladeshi (bd), foreign and total inventory and integrated studies published in three journals and flora of bangladesh (2003-2012). definitions and comments on different study types are given in the methodology section. bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy was first indexed by the isi in 2007, became available on-line in 2008, and received first impact factor in 2010. plant taxonomic research in bangladesh 273 fig. 3. proportions of different types of a) inventory studies and b) integrated studies by bangladeshi authors as the percentage of respective total scores (2003-2012). definitions and comments on different study types are given in the methodology section. fig. 4. annual total master’s, mphil and phd theses on angiosperm taxonomy submitted in university of dhaka, university of chittagong, university of rajshahi and jahangirnagar university, and number of academic angiospermic taxonomists worked in these institutions (2003-2012). 274 irfanullah discussion trends so far irfanullah (2003) described bangladesh as a good example of strong taxonomic studies despite global decline. the present study, however, revealed some important trends in plant taxonomic research in bangladesh over the last 10 years. if we start with the number of academic taxonomists, there is no net change in the number of active angiospermic taxonomist in the studied universities, rather slight decrease. this trend could also be seen in other research institutes. for example, bangladesh national herbarium had 9 taxonomists in 2003, but 5 in 2012. despite the retirement of several experienced, senior taxonomists from the universities, the increased proportion of young academic taxonomists may be one of the reasons why master’s theses number increased significantly over the past decade despite having same number of taxonomists. this may have coupled with recent changes in university curricula and examination system encouraging or compelling more students to do research in taxonomy. the above positive trend contradicts with the recent decline in plant taxonomy papers authored by bangladeshi taxonomists. this decline, however, may not represent the full picture for a couple of reasons. it could be assumed that the rate of manuscript produced by the researchers has increased significantly matching the recent master’s thesis production rate. but, bangladeshi journals usually do not entertain more than one paper by the same author(s) in one issue of a volume because of page limitations. moreover, young taxonomists now have good exposure and are aware of many journals in bangladesh and abroad accepting taxonomy-related papers. it is, therefore, very likely that young researchers are publishing more papers simultaneously in other bangladeshi journals (not considered in the present study) and foreign journals. these assumptions, however, could not be confirmed by the present study, and demands further investigation to understand the research communication dynamics. the third significant trend is related to the indexing of bjpt which has shot up its impact factor (5-year average is 0.427) and has attracted many foreign authors. this emphasizes the importance of taxonomy journals to be indexed with the isi (wägele et al., 2011). increased proportion of foreign papers in bangladeshi journals (bjpt and bjb), however, reduced the proportion of bangladeshi papers. this could also explain the decline of overall bangladeshi papers in the last few years. i am terming this as ‘reputational backlash’ since increased reputation of bangladesh-origin journals causing negative impacts on bangladeshi research publication. increasing the number of issues or pages per volume could be a simple way out. nevertheless, since all bangladeshi journals engage volunteer editors and almost all depends upon external donations or strict budget, such drastic expansion is not always possible. going for totally on-line journal may reduce printing cost. icbn rules updated in 2011 will allow that as well (knapp et al., 2011). but, as mentioned above, the manuscript submission rate of bangladeshi authors is very low (only 12.3% of total submission for bjpt in 2012). this might indicate possible challenges bangladeshi taxonomists are facing in producing quality, publishable manuscripts. the fourth major trend recognized by this study is the dominance of plant groups in taxonomic research. although angiosperm remains the dominant plant group, algal studies increased by 42% in the last decade compared with the previous decade. there are two possible reasons for this. first, while angiosperm taxonomists are mostly full-time taxonomists involved mostly in conventional taxonomy, algal taxonomists are also involved in ecological studies (integrated studies) along with classical taxonomy. second, the rate of discovering algal taxa as new records for bangladesh or new to science is much more than that of angiosperms. for example, a four-season sampling of a couple of water bodies in the tea gardens of srimangal, moulvi bazar district revealed 421 algal taxa (islam and irfanullah, 2006) of which 130 were new plant taxonomic research in bangladesh 275 records and 3 were new to science (present author’s count). there is, however, a historical reason behind these different discovering rates. exploration of angiosperm started in this part of the world more than two centuries back (khan, 1991), but that of algae got momentum around the middle of 20th century (islam, 1991). therefore, the chance of getting a new angiospermic record is much less than algae. it was assumed that preparation of the voluminous encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh could have slowed down the original plant taxonomic research in bangladesh. no such clear connection was found in the present study. instead, since only published papers were considered in the encyclopedia, it was important for the taxonomists to publish their unpublished work. a quick search of the bibliography of the encyclopedia showed that plant taxonomists of some branches successfully did that. it is a fact that the rise of taxonomic study cannot continue indefinitely as journals have annual page restrictions. moreover, length of a paper, number of paper per issue, and ratio of full paper and short communication are some other factors which can influence studies like the present one based upon journal metadata. but changes in proportions − inventory studies versus integrated studies, bangladeshi papers versus foreign papers, among plant groups, among types of study – may happen over the years and can be used to identify major trends. this approach was taken in the present study. the future prof. md. salar khan estimated the total angiosperm taxa of bangladesh would be around 5,000 under 186 families (khan and alam, 1977). the encyclopedia (2007-2009) registered 3,611 taxa of angiosperms from bangladesh territory (irfanullah, 2011a). in a paper presented on 30 september 2013, prof. md. abul hassan proposed that if we consider the current rate of discovering new records for bangladesh (64 species after publishing last volume of the encyclopedia in june 2009) and of describing of species from bangladesh that are new to science (8 species, after june 2009), can explore all the unexplored areas of bangladesh, can examine all specimens from bangladesh territory stored in the global herbaria, and can identify all unidentified specimens of bangladeshi herbaria, the total number of angiosperm species may reach close to 5,000 (hassan, 2013). but the recent pace of addition of angiosperm taxa to the bangladesh flora suggests another 50-60 years would be needed to reach the magic number 5,000 envisaged by prof. khan 36 years back. in case of other plant groups, the encyclopedia recorded 3,002 algal taxa (including cyanobacteria) under 424 genera and 127 families. as mentioned above, full inventory of algae is far from over. therefore, despite the recent significant growth in integrated taxonomic studies in bangladesh, inventory studies are expected to continue dominating bangladesh’s plant taxonomy in the coming years. if we go back to the opening topic of this article − the number of taxonomists − we find three arguments: the number is increasing (costello et al., 2013a), it is decreasing (hopkins and freckleton, 2006) or it is not enough (bacher, 2012; sluys, 2013). the present study places bangladesh in the third trend. nevertheless, these proposed trends depend upon different factors, for example, the taxonomic groups we are considering (irfanullah, 2006; samyn and de clerck, 2012; costello et al., 2013b; de clerck et al., 2013) and their geographical occurrence (joppa et al., 2011b). equally important is the location of the taxonomists. for example, asia and south america are showing relatively greater increase in taxonomic activities in recent decades (wishart and davies, 1998; irfanullah, 2003; tancoigne et al., 2011; costello et al., 2013a). nonetheless, a few simple recent statistics highlight some interesting trends. the reduced number of species described per taxonomist over the last three decades (tancoigne and dubois, 2013) may indicate several taxonomists together describing a single species − the “et al. effect” (costello et al., 276 irfanullah 2013b). increase in interdisciplinary publications (irfanullah, 2006; tancoigne and dubois, 2013) may also indicate that those currently involved in taxonomic work may no longer be full-time taxonomists. therefore, part-timers are probably playing a major role in recent increase in taxonomic research (joppa et al., 2011a; samyn and de clerck, 2012; costello et al., 2013b). recent increase in algal research shown in the present study corresponds to this trend. all these indicate that taxonomy is going through a new time. but, how do we define ‘taxonomists’ in this new era? this may sound a strange question to ask, but probably not a wrong one. many recent studies on trends in taxonomy define taxonomists as individuals who describe new species (e.g. joppa et al., 2011a; costello et al., 2013a). but surely, “describing a species” is not same as “knowing a species” (tancoigne et al., 2011). furthermore, this species-describing image of taxonomy often overshadows taxonomy’s conceptual, analytical, and hypothesis-testing roles in wider biological sciences (de carvalho et al., 2013; sluys, 2013). consequently, undermines the capacity of taxonomists as well. in the design of the present study, i have acknowledged this unique but broader aptitude of plant taxonomists. therefore, the trends identified by the present analyses complement the bigger pictures portrayed by large metadata. investments to develop, to guide and to encourage new taxonomists, both professional and amateur, have been considered one of the major ways out, either for completing the global biodiversity inventory or for saving the taxonomist profession (ebach et al., 2011; pearson et al., 2011; sluys, 2013). in addition to these and other propositions listed in the introduction of this paper, i further emphasize the need for change the way taxonomists perceive their role. let me explain this further by taking post-2015 discourse as an example. on 30 may 2013, a high-level panel of eminent persons proposed 12 universal goals and 54 national targets, on behalf of the united nations, to guide global sustainable development after the mdgs expire in 2015 (united nations, 2013). although eradicating extreme poverty is the main target, gender, education, health, food security, water & sanitation, energy, livelihoods, natural resource management, governance, peace and finance also made this list. the plant taxonomists can directly link their work to the “universal goal 9: manage natural resource assets sustainably”, specifically to two national targets: “safeguard ecosystems, species and genetic diversity” and “reduce deforestation by x% and increase reforestation by y%”. but to contribute effectively to these, plant taxonomists must broaden the way they currently see their discipline. with changed perspective and mindset, plant taxonomists can be able to actively contribute to these global and national agendas. the need for such change in the mindset of biologists of developing countries has repeatedly been talked about in recent years (irfanullah 2011b, 2012). plant taxonomists need to come out of their comfort zone, be innovative in conducting their research, focus more on integrating with other branches of biology, and link their work with real life problems. they also need to be the advocates of their own work, proactively communicating their research to other academics, general mass, decision-makers and policy-makers using different media. taxonomists must capitalize on the positive momentum recently created at national (e.g. publication of encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh and bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy) and global levels (costello et al., 2013a). their changed ways of thinking and of action can place ‘taxonomy’ as a compelling issue in the on-going sustainable development discourse. acknowledgements the author thanks prof. m. atiqur rahman of university of chittagong, prof. saleh ahammad khan of jahangirnagar university, prof. md. oliur rahman of university of dhaka, and dr. a.h.m. mahbubur rahman of university of rajshahi for providing with information on plant taxonomic research in bangladesh 277 taxonomic research of their respective universities. thanks are also due to prof. md. oliur rahman, executive editor of bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy (bjpt) for providing information on bjpt and commenting on an earlier version of this manuscript. the author was the executive editor (2006-2009) and is a member of the editorial board (since 2010) of bjpt. through this paper, the author pays his respect to prof. md. salar khan (1924-2002) and national prof. a.k.m. nurul islam (1928-2006), two legendary figures of plant taxonomic research in bangladesh. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 17 october 2013; revised on 23 november 2013) microsoft word s-2. 94 bjpt 1694_edit_ka_corr.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 259-260, 2016 (december) short communication © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new combination in the genus diplacrum r. br. (cyperaceae) from india k. chandramohan1 botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad-500 048, india keywords: diplacrum; new combination; scleria poklei; sedge. the genus diplacrum r. br. (1810) is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of america, africa, asia, australia and lesser sunda islands and represented by eight (govaerts and simpson, 2007) to nine (www.theplantlist.org) species.the genus was described by robert brown (1810: 240) based on its two glumes which tightly enclose the nutlet and shed with it, nature of female spikelets and their distinctive facies. later, the genus was merged in scleria p. bergius and treated in a separate section diplacrum (bentham, 1878; clarke, 1894; kern, 1961, rao and verma, 1982; wadoodkhan, 1999). however, simpson and koyama (1998) and govaerts and simpson (2007) reinstated robert brown’s diplacrum as a genus. recently, the distinction of diplacrum from scleria as a genus is further corroborated based on three dna markers (bauters et al., 2016). diplacrum, accordingly finds place in the tribe bisboeckelereae (bauters in bauters et al., 2016). in indian floras, three species of scleria, namely s. caricina (r.br.) benth., scleria poklei wad. khan and scleria africana benth. are kept under the sections diplacrum r. br. and sphaeropus (boeck.) respectively by dey and prasanna (2015). of these, one was originally described as diplacrum caricinum r. br. another (s. africana benth.) was also transferred to the genus diplacrum. in the third species, s. poklei, nuts are hidden by glumes and falls off together which so far known from maharashtra, india, needs to be transferred and it is being done here under. diplacrum poklei (wad. khan) chandramohan, comb.nov. basionym: scleria poklei wad.khan in j. econ.taxon. bot. 22(3): 559, t.2. 1998 [publ. 1999], as ‘pokelii’. type: india, maharashtra, gadchiroli district: laheri road, wadoodkhan4703 (holotype: cal-acc. no. 4703-a!; isotype: bsi-acc. no.4703b-d!). note: diplacrum poklei is endemic to maharashtra, india. key to the species of diplacrum in india 1. glumes of nut bearing spikelets to expose the nuts 3-nerved, persistent on rachilla; nuts 0.40.5 mm long, ellipsoid, deciduous alone, acute, glabrous. d. africana glumes of nut bearing spikelets tightly clasping, many nerved, falling together with nut; nuts 0.7-1.0 mm long, subglobose or depressed globose, obtuse, pubescent at apex. 2 2. glumes twice or more longer than the invested nut, spongious or cellularly thickened with in upper half; nuts ca. 1 mm long, densely hispidulous. d. caricina glumes as long as invested nuts, cellular but not thickened with in upper half; nuts 0.7-0.8 mm, sparsely hispidulous at apex. d. poklei 1e-mail: kolaganicm@gmail.com 260  chandramohan    acknowledgements i am thankful to dr. p. singh, director, botanical survey of india, dr. m. ahmedullah, scientist in-charge, botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad and head, dept. of botany, osmania university, hyderabad for facilities. i am also thankful to prof. p. ramachandra reddy, dr. l. rasingam and dr. sangita dey for encouragement; permission and logistic support provided by pccf (wl) and officials of odisha state forest department are gratefully acknowledged. references bauters, k., asselman, p., simpson, d.a., muasya, a.m., goetghebeur. p. & larridon, i. 2016. phylogenetics, ancestral state reconstruction, and a new infrageneric classification of scleria (cyperaceae) based on three dna markers. taxon. 65: 444-466. bentham, g. 1878. scleria. in: bentham, g. (ed.), flora australiensis: a description of the plants of the australian territory 7: 425-427. l. reeve & co, london. http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.16515 brown, r. 1810. novae cyperaceae. prodromus florae novae hollandiaeet insulae van-dieman. london. clarke, c.b. 1894. cyperaceae. in: hooker, j.d. (ed.) flora of british india 6: 635-680. l. reeve & co, london. dey, sangita and prasanna, p.v. 2015. cyperaceae: mapaniodeae; cyperaceae: cyperoideae, tribe schoeneae and sclerieae. in: singh, p. & dey, sangita (eds), fsc. fl. india 27 botanical survey of india, kolkata, pp. 61-65 & 90-92. govaerts, r. and simpson, d.a. 2007. world checklist of cyperaceae. sedges. kew publishing, royal botanical gardens, kew, pp. 413-14. kern, j.h. 1961. florae malesianae procursores xxx. the genus scleria in malaysia. blumea 11: 140-218. rao, a.s. and verma, d.m. 1982. cyperaceae of north east india. pp. 22-26. calcutta. simpson d. & t. koyama 1998.cyperaceae in fl. thailand 6(4): 426-447. wadoodkhan, m.a. 1998 (publ. 1999). novelties in cyperaceae of maharashtra. j. econ. taxon. bot. 22(3): 555-561. (manuscript received on 16 august 2016; revised on 22 september 2016) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 231–247, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnomedicinal study focusing on anti-diabetic plants used by the community living in and around dhaka mohammad zashim uddin1, farhana yesmin mitu, atiya begum rifat and abdullah-al-kaium department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: ethnomedicinal study; anti-diabetic plants; community; conservation; dhaka. abstract the present article mainly focused on the ethnomedicinal plants used by the community living in and around dhaka to manage the diabetes. ethnomedicinal data were collected using semi-structured interviews with key informants during june 2017 to july 2018 followed by field interviews, plant interviews, checklist interviews and group discussion techniques. a total of 92 ethnomedicinal plant species under 46 families have been documented. these species were used to treat 55 ailments through 200 formularies. herbs are the most common medicinal plants in the study area followed by trees, shrubs and climbers. leaf is mostly used for the preparation of herbal medicine. among the total 92 ethnomedicinal plants, 11 species have been used for diabetes management by the community people. disease category diabetes showed maximum factor informant consensus value. most cited ethnomedicinal plant species for the diabetes management are gynura nepalensis dc., coccinia grandis l. voigt, aloe vera (l.) burm. f., syzygium cumini (l.) skeels, swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq., momordica dioica roxb. ex. willd., catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don, streblus asper lour., bryophyllum pinnatum (lamk.) oken, tamarindus indica l. and scoparia dulcis l. the results in the present study for diabetes management were very preliminary and based on which sound conclusion was not possible. further ethnopharmacological study is very essential on such species to validate their efficacy in the management of diabetes. our findings also provide baseline data to establish a connection between the traditional users of medicinal plants and scientific communities, which can be substantial in novel drug discovery. furthermore, ethnomedicinal data is of significant value for conservation managers and policy makers for sustainable management of ethnomedicinal plant species, which are under threat due to rapid urbanization. introduction diabetes is an increasingly serious health disorder to the mankind. it is related to other life killing diseases. the management of diabetes is a global problem until now and successful treatment is not yet discovered. searching for new antidiabetic drugs from natural plants is still attractive because they contain substances which take alternative and safe effect on diabetes. dhaka is the dwelling place for more than 20 million people. due to inappropriate lifestyle, maximum people here in bangladesh have been suffering from diabetes (akter et al. 2014). all diabetic patients have not got access to modern medicines because of high cost and less availability. poor sections of diabetic patients are bound to look for medicinal plants as an alternative source of medicine. they even get medicinal plants from vendors selling in the footpaths of dhaka city. unfortunately, knowledge on medicinal plants in and around dhaka city is hard to be found in written form. however, some knowledge has been transferred orally from 1corresponding author: zashim01@gmail.com mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 232 uddin et al. one generation to another. habitats of medicinal plants in and around dhaka city is in a fragile state because of rapid urbanization, globalization, introduction of modern culture and anthropogenic pressures. maximum ethnomedicinal plants will be lost before proper documentation and scientific evaluations for the welfare of mankind. research on ethnomedicinal plants used for the treatment of diabetes has been carried out in the indian subcontinent, by the native americans, chinese, south americans and asian indians (mentreddy et al., 2005, grover et al. 2002, mukharjee et al. 2006). recently, there has been a growing interest in the herbal medicine in care and management of diabetes both in developing and developed countries, due to their natural origin and less side effects (modak et al. 2007, hasani-ranjbar et al. 2009). in bangladesh a good number of ethnobotanical works have been done in different upazilas, districts, and communities. most noteworthy works are mia and huq (1988), hassan and khan (1986, 1996), alam et al. (1996), uddin et al. (2001), khan et al. (2002), yusuf et al. (2002), uddin et al. (2004), uddin et al. (2006), yusuf (2006), yusuf and uddin (2006), uddin and roy (2007), roy et al. (2008), emily et al.(2010), uddin et al. (2012), sajib and uddin, (2013), haque et al. (2014) and uddin and hassan (2014), uddin et al. (2015a), uddin et al.(2015b), uddin at al. (2017), haque et al.(2017), uddin and haque (2018), shethi and uddin (2018), uddin et al. (2019). no such works have covered ethnobotanical study focusing antidiabetic plants in and around dhaka city. in order to save the knowledge of medicinal plants for the future drug research for diabetes management, an attempt has been made to record ethnomedicinal plants used by community living in and around dhaka, to determine most cited medicinal plants for diabetes management and threats of medicinal plants with suggesting their conservation. materials and methods dhaka district is located in between 23°53' and 24°06' n and in between 90°01' and 90°37' e. the total area of the district is 1,464 km². it is bounded by gazipur and tangail district to the north, munshiganj district to the south, narayanganj district to the east, manikganj and rajbari to the west. dhaka is the capital city of bangladesh and mainly stands on the bank of buriganga river. turag, shitalakhya and balu rivers encircle the city. it has been estimated that dhaka city had 20 million people in 2018 and is one of the largest cities of the world. the area enjoys hot, wet and humid tropical climate. the public health and quality life in dhaka city are severely affected by traffic congestion and air pollution. water bodies and wetlands around dhaka city are facing destruction as these are being filled up to construct multistoried buildings and other real estate developments. dhaka has no natural forest cover but a good number of exotic tree species are planted in and around dhaka city including parks, gardens, road dividers, footpaths and house yard. luxuriant growth of seasonal herbs, aquatics and climbers were observed in and around dhaka city during growing season. some native tree species were also found in dhaka. a good number of people possess traditional botanical knowledge and they use such plant species in their primary health care management. the selected spots including kamrangirchar, keraniganj, atibazar, ashulia, mirpur, gulishtan, sher-e-bangla nagar, purbachal, uttara, boldagarden, ramna park and du campus area were visited during different seasons of 2017 and 2018.the data have been recorded through semistructured interviews, key informant discussions and informal conversations with community people and herbal practitioners (alexiades 1996). during the field survey, information on uses of plants to treat humans, parts used, modes of preparation and administration have been documented along with vernacular names. a total of 162 people have been interviewed for the study age ranged between 20 to 80. among the informants majority are muslims and the rest are from other ethnomedicinal study focusing on anti-diabetic plants 233 religions. education level is up to ssc and professionally they are farmers, day laborers, house wives, herbal practioners and small shopkeepers. voucher specimen for each medicinal plant has been collected and processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland 1972, alexiades 1996). the specimens have been identified consulting different floras viz., hooker 1872-1897; prain 1903; uddin and hassan 2004; siddiqui et al. 2007 and ahmed et al. 2008a, 2008b, 2009a, 2009b, 2009c, 2009d. specimens available at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium have also been consulted in identifying the collected plant specimens. voucher specimens have been deposited at dush. in order to estimate use diversity of the medicinal plants and to determine which plants are particularly interesting in the search for bioactive compounds, factor of informant consensus (fic) was calculated (heinrich et al. 1998). citation frequency (cf) values are also been determined for most common medicinal plants in the study area. cf values of medicinal plants were estimated using the formula:(number of people interviewed citing species/the total number of people interviewed) x100 (friedman et al. 1986). results and discussion a total of 92 ethnomedicinal plant species under 46 families have been recorded from the study area. these are used against 55 ailments through 200 formularies. the present results are the indication of rich ethnomedicinal plants with use diversity in the study area. though dhaka city is devoid of natural forests nowadays but urban people have still some link with natural ethnomedicinal plants for their primary healthcare. this is proved from the current research results. apart from this explanation community living around dhaka city is still in primitive mode of lifestyle in practices. for each species scientific name, local name, family, parts used, ailments and mode of treatment are presented (table 1). among the total plants, 11 species have been used for diabetes management by the community people (table 2). table 1. diversity of ethnomedicinal plants with local uses in the study area. scientific name local name family parts used ailments treatment mode abroma augusta (l.) l. f., z68 ulotkambal sterculiaceae stem constipation stem soaked in water for whole night then the extract is taken leaves body cooling juice is taken acacia catechu (l. f.) willd., z-41 khoirkata mimosaceae root dysentery root juice is taken achyranthes aspera l., z-22 apang amaranthaceae root jaundice root juice is taken acorus calamus l., z-39 boss araceae root reduce cholesterol cooked root is eaten adhatoda zeylanica medic., z-07 bashok acanthaceae leaves cough leaves chewed directly cough and cold decoction is taken leaf juice mixed with basil is taken 1 spoon each time aegle marmelos (l.) corr., z-52 bel rutaceae fruit dysentery juice is taken allium sativum l., z-58 roshun liliaceae bulb pain one cube is taken in the evening 234 uddin et al. table 1 contd. scientific name local name family parts used ailments treatment mode bulb heart disease bulb is eaten in empty stomach tonic juice is taken aloe vera (l.) burm. f., z-13 alovera crassulaceae leaves stomachache dysentery diabetes leaf juice is taken inner mucilage of leaves is taken inner mucilage of leaves is taken latex skin disease latex juice is applied jaundice latex juice is taken hair treatment paste is applied diabetes latex is taken constipation latex is taken alternanthera sessilis (l.) r. br.ex roem & schult., z-70 haicha amaranthaceae leaves antioxidant cooked leaves are taken amaranthus spinosus l. , z74 katanote amaranthaceae root menstruation root juice is taken diabetes root is eaten for 1 month anacardium occidentale l., z-62 kajubadam anacardiaceae fruit heart disease fruits are eaten directly bone fracture fruit is eaten directly andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees, z08 kalomegh acanthaceae leaves female disease juice is taken cough leaves are chewed cold leaves are chewed blood purifier paste is taken areca catechu l., z-110 supari arecaceae fruit heart disease raw young fruit is taken artocarpus heterophyllus lamk., z-78 kathal moraceae latex ring worm latex is applied directly fruit antioxidant fruit is eaten asparagus racemosus willd., z-19 shatamuli liliaceae stem liver complain inner part is eaten root gastritis powdered root is taken azadirachta indica a. juss., z-47 neem meliaceae leaves stomach pain powder is taken skin disease decoction is used for taking bath pesticide decoction is sprayed high blood pressure leaves powder is taken hair treatment paste is applied for killing lice diabetes juice is taken baccaurea ramiflora lour. , z-102 lotkon euphorbiaceae fruit cold treatment juice is taken ethnomedicinal study focusing on anti-diabetic plants 235 table 1 contd. scientific name local name family parts used ailments treatment mode bombax ceiba l. , z-48 shimul bombacaceae root gonorrhoea cold extract is taken in empty stomach in the morning calcium deficiency inner part is taken brassica campestris l. , z-61 ryesorisa brassicaceae seed skin disease seed oil is applied bryophyllum pinnatum (lam.) oken , z-27 pathorkuchi crassulaceae leaves stomach pain leaves are chewed joint pain leaves juice is taken gastritis leaves are chewed three times in a day gallbladder juice is taken dysentery leaves are chewed cuts and wounds paste is applied constipation leaves are chewed cold paste is applied cholera paste is applied whole plant acne diabetes jaundice paste is applied directly juice is taken leaf juice is taken cajanus cajan (l.) millsp., z-85 orhor fabaceae leaves jaundice juice is taken in empty stomach cold extract is taken juice is taken calotropis gigantea (l.) r. br., z-55 akanda asclepiadaceae leaves pain juice is taken catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don, z-14 noyontara apocynaceae flower diabetes flowers are chewed in empty stomach twice per day leaves half cup leaves juice is taken twice per day cassia alata l., z-29 dadmardan caesalpiniaceae leaves eczema leaves juice is taken centella asiatica (l.), urban, z-106 manik pata apiaceae leaves stomach treatment juice is taken stomach pain leaves paste is taken with ginger and salt dysentery juice is taken in empty stomach diarrhoea juice is taken leaves juice is taken constipation leaves paste is taken brain promoting leaves are chewed cinnamomum camphora (l.) j. presl, z-63 korpur lauraceae fruit antibacterial fruits are taken clerodendrum viscosum vent., z-15 vat verbenaceae leaves liver control 4-5 leaves are chewed worm leaves paste is taken until cure 236 uddin et al. table 1 contd. scientific name local name family parts used ailments treatment mode coccinia grandis (l.) voigt, z-01 telakucha cucurbitaceae leaves stomach pain cooked leaves are eaten diabetes leaves are chewed leaves juice is taken cooked leaves are eaten fruit diabetes cooked fruits are eaten cocos nucifera l., z-99 dab arecaceae fruit body cooling fruit juice is taken jaundice juice is taken digestion juice is taken colocasia esculenta (l.) schott, z-107 kochu araceae leaves snake bite paste is applied directly paste is applied directly chest burning cooked leaves are taken flower body pain cooked flowers are eaten crinum asiaticum l., z-45 bonrosun liliaceae root asthma juice is taken cuscuta reflexa roxb., z-16 sunnalota cuscutaceae whole plant jaundice juice is taken one spoonful twice a day worm juice is taken one spoonful twice a day leaves jaundice juice is taken cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., z-53 durba grass poaceae leaves diabetes juice is taken cuts and wounds paste is applied directly datura metel l., z-10 datura solanaceae leaves skin disease cooked leaves are taken leaves paste is applied madness leaves juice is taken eclipta prostrata (l.) mant., z-31 keshoraj asteraceae leaves hair treatment paste leaves is applied leaves juice is applied to hair eupatorium odoratum l., z-43 fulkuri asteraceae leaves cuts and wounds leaves paste is applied ficus racemosa l., z-72 jogdumur moraceae fruit diabetes fruits are eaten glinus oppositifolius (l.) a. dc., z-71 geemashak molluginaceae leaves antioxidant cooked leaves are taken glycosmis arborea (roxb.) a. dc. , z-108 motkila rutaceae leaves worm leaves are juice applied gynura nepalensis dc., z25 gynura asteraceae leaves diabetes leaves juice is taken leaves are chewed morning and afternoon leaves are chewed in the morning and evening 2-3 leaves are chewed heliotropium indicum l., z18 hathishur boraginaceae leaves insect bite paste is applied directly eye treatment leaves juice is taken ethnomedicinal study focusing on anti-diabetic plants 237 table 1 contd. scientific name local name family parts used ailments treatment mode hibiscus rosa sinensis l., z-51 roktojoba malvaceae flower women disease cold extract is taken menstruation dysentery cold extract is taken for 1 week flowers are taken leaves fever leaves are chewed diabetes juice of 5 leaves is taken in the morning and night powder of seed, bark of arjun, fenugreek, tokma, and usufgul are taken hygrophila auriculata (schum.) heine, z-93 talmakhna acanthaceae fruit kidney treatment juice is taken in empty stomach in the morning and afternoon hylocereus undatus (haworth) britton & rose, z-111 dragon fruit cactaceae fruit heart disease fruit is taken hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., z-100 tokma lamiaceae leaves stomachache leaves juice is taken seed body cooling cold extract is taken ipomoea aquatica forssk., z-105 kalmisak convolvulaceae leaves antioxidant cooked leaves are eaten lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr., z-103 jiga anacardiaceae bark dysentery juice is taken with green banana , guava and barks of mango and stone apple constipation cold extract is taken leucas aspera (willd.) link, z-80 dondokolosh lamiaceae leaves cold treatment cooked leaves are taken litsea glutinosa (lour.) robinson, z-28 peepul tree lauraceae leaves diabetes decoction is taken mangifera indica (l.), z73 aam anacardiaceae young leaf diabetes juice is taken mentha arvensis l. , z-17 pudina lamiaceae leaves cold treatment leaves juice is taken mikania cordata (burm. f.)robinson, z-83 japanilata asteraceae leaves cuts and wounds paste is applied stem cuts and wounds paste is applied mimosa pudica l., z-02 lajjabati mimosaceae stem women disease root is applied leaves heart disease cold extract is taken mirabilis jalapa l., z-59 sondhamalati nyctaginaceae flower cold treatment flowers are eaten raw momordica dioica roxb. ex. willd., z-46 titakorolla cucurbitaceae fruit diabetes juice is taken in empty stomach cold extract is taken moringa oleifera lam., z65 shajna moringaceae leaves pain paste is taken with black cumin and garlic deworming paste is taken constipation cooked drumstick is taken with black cumin and garlic fruit constipation cooked fruit is eaten 238 uddin et al. table 1 contd. scientific name local name family parts used ailments treatment mode murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. , z-75 kamini rutaceae leaves toothache decoction is taken musa sapientum l., z-50 kacha kola musaceae latex skin disease latex is applied inner part heart disease cooked inner part is taken gastric diabetes 1 fruit with 4/5 bed bugs is taken juice is taken fruit digestion juice is taken cold treatment fruits are taken directly nigella sativa l., z-49 kalojira apiaceae fruit heart disease black cumin with honey is taken for 1 month hair treatment paste is applied ocimum gratissimum l., z-06 ramtulsi lamiaceae leaves asthma leaves juice is taken ocimum sanctum l., z-05 tulsi lamiaceae leaves cough leaves are chewed cold treatment young leaves juice is taken paederia foetida l., z-32 gondhovadali rubiaceae leaves dysentery leaves juice is taken phyllanthus emblica l., z-95 aamloki euphorbiaceae fruit heart disease mixture of amla , myrobalan and beleric cold extract are taken phyllanthus reticulatus poir. , z-104 chitki euphorbiaceae leaves diabetes cold extract is taken plantago ovata forssk. , z-88 usufgul plantaginaceae seed coat pressure cold extract is taken diabetes cold extract is taken constipation cold extract of seeds is taken psidium guajava l. bat., z-67 peara myrtaceae leaves toothache decoction is applied fruit toothache fruits are eaten rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz, z-04 sharpagandha apocynaceae root madness treatment root juice is taken heart disease powder is taken after meal twice per day deworming powder is taken after meal twice per day blood pressure powder is taken after meal twice per day saccharum spontaneum l. , z-40 gandari poaceae whole plant jaundice one glass juice is taken twice per day saraca asoca (roxb.) de wild., z-26 ashok fabaceae bark anti leukemia cold extract is taken in empty stomach scoparia dulcis l., z-34 chinigura scrophulariaceae whole plant dysentery diabetes juice is taken powder is taken in empty stomach in the morning leaves diarrhoea juice is taken ethnomedicinal study focusing on anti-diabetic plants 239 table 1 contd. scientific name local name family parts used ailments treatment mode all disease cooked leaves are taken senna alexandrina mill. , z-97 sonapata caesalpiniaceae leaves gastric cold extract is taken weight loss cold extract is taken spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz, z-87 amra anacardiaceae fruit heart disease fruits are eaten streblus asper lour., z-42 sheora moraceae leaves diabetes leaves juice is taken bone fracture cooked leaves are taken root bone fracture root paste is applied latex acne latex is applied strychnos nux-vomica l. , z-84 kuchila loganiaceae leaves jaundice cold extract is taken swertia perennis l. chirata gentianaceae leaves fever cold extract is taken blood purifier paste is taken swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq, z-03 mahogany meliaceae seed pesticide cold extract is sprayed joint pain crushed seed is taken after meal twice per day diabetes juice is taken in empty stomach crushed seed mixed with fenugreek is taken twice per day syzygium cumini (l.) skeels, z-82 kalojam myrtaceae seed jaundice juice is taken leaves diabetes powder of black berry with fenugreek fruits are mixed with water and then is taken 1 teaspoon once a day, fruit taken directly leaves are chewed tagetes patula l., z-101 gada asteraceae leaves antiseptic leaf paste is applied tamarindus indica l., z66 tetul caesalpiniaceae fruit urine infection cold extract is taken high pressure fruit juice is taken diabetes juice is taken in empty stomach terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn., z09 arjun combretaceae bark high pressure juice is taken in empty stomach heart disease powdered bark is taken in empty stomach early in the morning 240 uddin et al. table 1 contd. scientific name local name family parts used ailments treatment mode heart disease powdered bark mixed with amla and beleric then is taken 1 spoon twice per day terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb., z-109 bohera combretaceae fruit gastric cold extract is taken in the morning terminalia citrina (gaertn.) roxb. ex fleming , z-94 horitaki combretaceae fruit heart disease cold extract is taken in the morning tinospora cordifolia (wild.) hook. f. & thoms., z-91 aamkuruj menispermaceae stem diabetes cold extract is taken trigonella foenumgraeceum l., z-81 methi fabaceae leaves diabetes cold extract is taken vitex negundo l., z-24 nishinda verbenaceae leaves insomnia leaves are kept under pillow vitis quadrangularis wall. ex wight & arn., z60 harvanga vitaceae stem bone fracture paste is applied vitis vinifera l., z-98 angur vitaceae fruit diabetes 100gm is taken in the morning and night wedelia chinensis (osbeck) merr. , z-37 vingoraj asteraceae leaves hair treatment leaves paste is applied withania somnifera (l.) dunal, z-44 orshogondha solanaceae root energy tonic root powder is taken xanthosoma violaceum schott, z-64 dudkachu araceae leaves diabetes cooked leaves are taken zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc., z-96 bajna rutaceae fruit gastric, weakness one glass of juice is taken, oil is taken zingiber officinale rosc., z-54 ada zingiberaceae rhizome gastric juice is taken the medicinal plants used for the diabetes management are not equally important. some species are more important than others. widely cited species for particular purpose by the community people are considered popular species. according to community people most cited medicinal plant species for the diabetes management are gynura nepalensis dc., coccinia grandis l. voigt, aloe vera (l.) burm. f., syzygium cumini (l.) skeels, swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq momordica dioica roxb. ex. willd., catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don, streblus asper lour., bryophyllum pinnatum (lamk.) oken, tamarindus indica l. and scoparia dulcis l. such citations are the indication of importance of ethnomedicinal plants in the study area. most cited species are also good candidate for further ethnopharmacology studies to find new compounds. life form of medicinal plant species showed variations. in our study herbs are the common ethnomedicinal plants followed by trees, shrubs and climbers (fig. 1). this pattern of life forms was found in the previous research (uddin et al. 2017). in case of parts used, leaf is always dominant parts used for the preparation of herbal medicine by community people found in the present study (fig. 2). such use trend is the indication of sustainable resource exploitation from the nature. ethnomedicinal study focusing on anti-diabetic plants 241 table 2. most cited medicinal plant species for diabetes management. species local name parts used ailments treatment mode citation gynura nepalensis dc., z-25 gynura leaves diabetes leaf juice is taken, leaves are chewed morning and afternoon 103 coccinia grandis l .voigt., z-01 telakucha leaves, fruit diabetes leaves are chewed directly, leaf juice is taken, cooked leaves area eaten, cooked fruits are eaten 100 aloe vera (l.) burm. f., z-13 alovera leaves diabetes inner mucilage of leaves is taken 60 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels, z-82 kalojam leaves, fruit, seed diabetes leaves are chewed, pulp of fruit is taken, powder of seed mixed with water is taken 45 swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq, z-03 mahogany seed diabetes seed powder is taken in empty stomach, crushed seed mixed with fenugreek and is taken twice per day 44 momordica dioica roxb. ex. willd., z-46 korla fruit diabetes juice is taken in empty stomach 42 catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don, z-14 noyontara flower diabetes flower is chewed in empty stomach twice per day, half cup leaves juice is taken twice per day 40 streblus asper lour., z-42 sheora leaves diabetes leaf juice is taken 33 bryophyllum pinnatum (lamk.) oken , z-27 pathorkuchi leaves diabetes juice is taken 32 tamarindus indica l., z-66 tetul fruit, leaves diabetes juice is taken in empty stomach, leaves are chewed 32 scoparia dulcis l., z34 chinigura leaves diabetes powder is taken in empty stomach in the morning 27 fig. 1. life forms ethnomedicinal plants. fig. 2. diversity of parts used. 242 uddin et al. fic values have been calculated to know the consensus of local people in use of ethnomedicinal plants. the disease category diabetes attained highest fic value followed by respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, heart disease, dermatological, teethache, diarrhea, dysentery, hair tonic, jaundice, cuts and wound, bone, menstruation, fever and bodyache, urinary tract, impotence and others (table 3). diabetes is managed by 11 ethnomedicinal plant species. most cited medicinal plants for the management of diabetes are gynura nepalensis (gynura), coccinia grandis (telakucha), aloe vera (alovera), syzygium cumini (kalojam), swietenia mahagoni (mahogany) and momordica dioica (titakorolla). these six species are very popular and in some cases are sold in the market for diabetes management. table 3. values of factor of informant consensus (fic) disease categories number of taxa used report fic values diabetes 11 589 0.983 respiratory tract 12 232 0.952 gastrointestinal tract 17 312 0.949 heart disease 25 361 0.933 skin disease 9 112 0.928 toothache 2 13 0.917 diarrhoea and dysentery 11 95 0.894 hair tonic 6 48 0.894 jaundice 9 60 0.864 cuts and wound 7 41 0.85 menstruation 5 21 0.8 fever and bodyache 8 29 0.75 urinary tract 2 3 0.5 impotence 8 12 0.363 others 15 86 0.835 gynura (gynura nepalensis) also called diabetic plant was reported as new record from bangladesh (uddin et al. 2015). as gynura proved to be an ethnomedicinal plant species for diabetes management, plantlets of this species is sold in the local market. leaves of this plant are used by the people without further process. according to community people, the plants with bitter and sour taste are suitable for diabetes. in the present research gynura was cited by maximum people for the management of diabetes in dhaka city. telakucha (coccinia grandis) is a native wild climber growing everywhere in the roadsides and fallow lands. due to unsustainable collection from the nature, the species has become vulnerable. as the species is important for diabetes management, distribution status in the country needs to be assessed. a further pharmacological study is necessary to find active chemical from this wonderful ethnomedicinal plant species. in our study telakucha showed second highest citation in the use for diabetes treatment. a good number of ethnobotanical studies conducted in bangladesh was supported telakucha used to reduce blood sugar (roy et al. 2008, uddin et al. 2015, 2017). the species ethnomedicinal study focusing on anti-diabetic plants 243 telakucha also used for gonorrhea and skin disease (islam et al. 2010). it is also used for burning (roy et al., 2008). alovera (aloe vera) is a wonderful herbaceous medicinal plant used in healthcare purpose from ancient time. the species is now sold in the commercial super market. a group of farmers cultivated this species in natore upazila. alovera jel mixed with other medicinal plant parts is used to make energy drink in the urban footpath. poor section of people in dhaka city particularly rickshaw pullers, day laborers and enthusiastic people used to take this drink with faith to get relief from diabetes and other stomach related diseases and even to improve body energy. during our study a good number of people cited this species to be used in diabetes management. alovera is also used for impotence in bangladesh (uddin et al. 2015, 2017). kalojam (syzygium cumini) is a native plant species of bangladesh. it grows well in the natural forests and as well as homestead areas. community people believed that fruits of kalojam may purify human blood and seed powder also reduces blood sugar. it has been sold in the urban markets. in the present study many people cited that both fruits and seeds of kalojam are used in diabetes management in dhaka city. this type of result is also supported by previous research done in bangladesh (uddin et al. 2004). kalojam is also used for jaundice in many parts of bangladesh (uddin et al. 2001, khan et al. 2002). it is also used for toothache, and blood dysentery (uddin et al. 2004). mahogoni (swietenia mahagoni) is an exotic timber yielding species naturalized in bangladesh from long before. the plants produced oval shaped large fruits on the branch top. it contains huge number of seeds in each fruit. the pulp of the seeds is bitter in test. community people claimed that cold extraction of seeds can reduce blood sugar but over intake may cause poison to human body. in the present study we found mahogany was used in diabetes management by the people in and around dhaka city. this finding is supported by previous research work done in bangladesh (haque et al. 2017). titakorolla (momordica dioica) is a very popular vegetable always sold in the all markets of bangladesh. in our survey many people cited that titakorolla used to manage diabetes by both urban and rural people. same use of titakorolla for diabetes management was reported from feni district (uddin et al. 2015). the present finding of titakorolla to manage diabetes is accordance with previous findings. during data collection we saw a good number of vendors sitting along the footpath of the dhaka city roads and were selling crude medicinal plant parts and juice of mixture of those parts. poor people are confident enough on such mixture and they regularly take it for caring of diabetes. in some cases, a good number of people were watching the vendor but they were refrained from take it because of hygienic question. long term research is necessary to evaluate and validate the traditional practices displayed in the city footpath. observations in the field and discussions with local people, a good number of threats to ethnomedicinal plants have been identified. the most serious threats are exotic timber species plantation in and around homestead, fallow lands, roadsides and even in cultivated lands. acacia auriculiformis, acacia mangium, eucalyptus camadulensis, samanea saman, dalbergia sissoo, laeucaena leucocephala, swietenia mahagoni and cassia siamea are most preferred plant species for plantation. according to community people perception such species are very selfish plants and they do not support native species under their canopy. medicinal plants and their traditional knowledge are in very rare in practice because of less availability in the area. as there is no written documentation on the medicinal plants, with the extinction of senior people traditional medicinal knowledge also eliminated from the urban society. they also informed us urbanization in and around dhaka city is another challenge to ethnomedicinal plants habitats. there is ample opportunity to work on this issue but the project is very small budgeted. the current work is very preliminary. lack of awareness among the community people is another threat to ethnomedicinal plants in the study area. people are careless to plant resources in some extend. they only care 244 uddin et al. timber, ornamental and fruit plants. currently they also started to care plants in roof garden. availability of the modern medicines which promotes the negligence of use of herbal medicines among the community people in the study area is also threats to medicinal plants. senior people with herbal knowledge do not like to share their knowledge with juniors. due to sudden death of such people, herbal knowledge of the area lost forever. a list of suggestion has been made based on present survey results and observations. distribution map can be made for all culturally important medicinal plant species in the study area. population status of such species across the habitats can be measured. current rate of exploitation of ethnomedicinal plants by the community people could be calculated. if it seems vulnerable in the natural habitats, necessary measures for ex situ conservation could be taken. awareness programs among the local influential persons who can make change can be created. culturally important and most cited ethnomedicinal plants should be brought under plantation programs. conclusion diabetes is a life killing disease to the mankind. it has no permanent and final treatment in our hand. diabetes can be controlled through management and maintenance of lifestyle activities including changing in food habit, regular exercise and proper sleeping time. in the present study documentation of total 92 ethnomedicinal plant species under 46 families in and around dhaka city is the indication of rich ethnomedicinal plants with use diversity. among them 11 species are used for the management of diabetes. however, all of these 11 species are not equally important in the management of diabetes. most cited medicinal plant species for diabetes management are gynura nepalensis dc., coccinia grandis l. voigt, aloe vera (l.) burm. f., syzygium cumini (l.) skeels, swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq, momordica dioica roxb. ex. willd., catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don, streblus asper lour., bryophyllum pinnatum (lamk.) oken, tamarindus indica l.and scoparia dulcis l. the present result is very preliminary and based on which sound conclusion is not possible. further ethnopharmacological study is very essential on such species to prove their efficacy in the management of diabetes. our findings also provide baseline data to establish a connection between the traditional health practitioners and scientific communities, which could be substantial in novel drug discovery. furthermore, ethnobotanical data is of significant value for conservation managers and policy makers for sustainable management of medicinal plant species, which are under threat due to over exploitation. acknowledgement the authors acknowledge university of dhaka and university grants commission bangladesh for the financial support and also acknowledge the community people living in and around dhaka who helped us a lot during data collection. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a.,rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 3 may, 2019; revised on 10 november, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 87-98, 2015 (december) numerical taxonomy of abelmoschus medik. (malvaceae) in india pravin patil1, shrikant sutar2, surendra kumar malik, joseph john3, shrirang yadav2 and kangila venkataraman bhat national bureau of plant genetic resources, pusa campus, new delhi 110012, india keywords: abelmoschus; phenetics; species relationships; india. abstract in the present study, numerical taxonomy approach has been used for the first time to access the taxonomy and species relationships of abelmoschus. sixteen abelmoschus taxa were subjected to cluster analysis using 52 diagnostic characters related to root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit and seed. in this analysis, the first six principal components (pcs) accounted for the total variance of 79.22%. similarity values for all 17 operational taxonomic units (otus) ranged from 0.18 to 0.82 with an average of 0.34. abelmoschus sagittifolius showed maximum similarity value of 0.82 with a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus. on the other hand, minimum similarity values (0.18) were observed between a. tuberculatus and a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus, a. tuberculatus and a. sagittifolius, a. palianus and a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus, and a. palianus and a. sagittifolius. neighbour joining (nj) cluster analysis clearly discriminated 17 otus into four major clusters. the present study also validates the utility of morphometric analysis of abelmoschus with respect to the taxonomy and species relationships. introduction over the years, taxonomy has found important practical applications in various fields of science such as theoretical and applied biology including agriculture, evolutionary study, forestry, public health, biodiversity management and environmental issues (godfray, 2002). adanson (1763) proposed that classification should be based on characters covering all aspects of plant such as leaf, flower, fruit, seed, and each character should be given equal importance. as a consequence, a mathematical approach has been established by taxonomists called numerical taxonomy (sokal and sneath, 1963). morphological data are considered significant in systematics because variation exhibited by morphological traits is supposed to be categorized by gaps between taxa which reflect their evolutionary arrangement emerged through morphological changes (otte and endler, 1989). taxonomy of abelmoschus medik. has a complex history with uncertainty in the generic status and composition of the genus as well as the species concept applied within the genus. the taxonomic treatment for some species of abelmoschus is not consistent. abelmoschus manihot (l.) medik. and a. moschatus medik. are the most polymorphic species (hamon and charrier, 1983). hochreutiner (1924) described 14 species of abelmoschus, in which a. moschatus and a. manihot constitute several varieties. however, sivarajan and pradeep (1996) did not consider infra-specific classification of a. manihot produced by van borssum-waalkes (1966). paul and nayar (1988) and paul (1993) therefore treated a. manihot as a single species without any infra-specific classification. bates (1968) also suggested that all subspecies and varieties of a. manihot should 1corresponding author. email: pravin.patil99@gmail.com 2botany department, shivaji university, kolhapur 416004, india. 3national bureau of plant genetic resources regional station, kau po, thrissur 680656, india. mailto:pravin.patil99@gmail.com 88 patil et al. be compressed in one group. later, vredebregt (1991) pointed out that a. manihot subsp. manihot, a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. tetraphyllus and a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. pungens complex lack discrete species boundaries among them, which further contradicts hochreutiner (1900), van borssum-waalkes (1966), paul and nayar (1988) and paul (1993). infraspecific taxonomy of a. moschatus is also a matter of debate as many subspecies and varieties have been recognized by masters (1874), hochreutiner (1900) and van borssum-waalkes (1966). wild species of abelmoschus comprise still larger unexplored variability, not even 2−3% of them have been studied beyond recognizing them as valuable reservoirs of untagged genes of agronomically useful traits (sandhu et al., 1974). therefore, a thorough and robust hypothesis is urgently needed on morphological variation and species relationships among all taxonomically valid species of abelmoschus which may provide the species-wise perspective that will be used in okra [a. esculentus (l.) moench.] breeding strategies and effective germplasm management. the main objective of this study were to examine the morphological variation related to root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit and seed characters of abelmoschus taxa by means of numerical taxonomy in order to resolve their relationships. materials and methods taxon sampling and taxonomic treatment on the basis of distribution data obtained from literature survey, several field trips were undertaken during 2010−2012 to collect and study different taxa of abelmoschus occurring in india (table 1). confirmation of collected specimens was ensured with the help of information gathered from floras, published reports (van borssum-waalkes, 1966; paul and nayar, 1988; sivarajan and pradeep, 1996) and the herbarium specimens. a standard procedure of using herbarium material was applied (edlley et al., 2012). morphological characters of plants related to root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit and seed were described from their natural habitats, to avoid any ambiguity in the characters due to environmental effect. seed related characters were taken from patil et al. (2015). character selection and data analysis species and in some cases their populations were used as operational taxonomic units (otus) for numerical taxonomy based on morphological data. characters selected for morphological description of abelmoschus species were those reported by bisht et al. (1993, 1995), sivarajan and pradeep (1996) and based on field observations. a total 52 diagnostic characters related to habit, stem, leaf, flower, fruit and seed were chosen and scored for each otu (table 2). the characters were converted into binary states and multi-states (interval) code. standardization to µ = 0 and σ = 1 of morphological data were done based on ybar option with the software ntsyspc ver. 2.10e (rohlf, 1992). neighbour joining tree was constructed using euclidean distance with the same software. principal components (pcs) analysis was performed to analyze non-hierarchical relationship among the otus. this analysis was executed by calculating the eigenvectors and eigen values from eigen programme in the ntsys software. morphometric analyses of quantitative data related to leaf, flower and fruit were done using spss version 11.5 for windows. results morphological observations morphological evaluation of abelmoschus species demonstrated that characters related to root, pubescent stem, leaf, flower, fruit and seed were significantly different between species. root of a. enbeepeegearense john et al., a. crinitus wall. and a. sagittifolius (kurz.) merr. ss., was numerical taxonomy of abelmoschus medik. 89 tuberous, while rest of the species was non-tuberous. abelmoschus enbeepeegearense, a. crinitus, a. manihot (l.) medik. subsp. tetraphyllus (roxb. ex hornem.) borss. var. pungens (roxb.) hochr. and a. moschatus medik. subsp. moschatus, had conspicuous stem, while rest of the species had glabrous stem. flowers of a. ficulneus and a. angulosus var. angulosus had white corolla, while a. angulosus var. purpureus had pink corolla. on the other hand, rest of the species table 1. studied taxa of abelmoschus along with their codes, accession numbers, places of collection (latitude/longitude) and altitude. sl. no. taxon code accession/ collector no. place of collection (latitude/longitude) altitude (m) 1. abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench. aes var. aa na na 2. a. caillei (a. chev.) stevels aca nmb2924 n5o 26.860’/e20o 88.221’ 1012 3. a. moschatus medik. subsp. moschatus (odourless seed) amo ec316073 na na 4. a. moschatus medik. subsp. moschatus (musk scented seed) amm ic141056 n8o 38.999’/e77o 03.698’ 124 5. a. moschatus medik. subsp. tuberosus atr ic324070 na na 6. a. sagittifolius (kurz.) merr. ss. asg w357 n19o 17.265’/e77o 30.977’ 487 7. a. tuberculatus pal & singh atb ic550656 n19o 24.909’/e78o 03.337’ 432 8. a. ficulneus (l.) wight &arn. afi ic141001 n15o 30.040’/e74o 59.587’ 644 9. a. crinitus wall. acr n/ss2759 n19o 43.478’/e78o 17.201’ 470 10. a. manihot (l.) medik. subsp. manihot amn tcr2305 n16o 40.857’/e74o 12.759’ 569 11. a. manihot (l.) medik subsp. tetraphyllus (roxb. ex hornem.) borss. waalk. amt ic141019 n23o34.630’/e78o 33.261’ 1828 12. a. manihot (l.) medik. subsp. tetraphyllus (roxb. ex hornem.) borss. var. pungens (roxb.) hochr. amp nmb2933 n19o 11.795’/e73o 42.307’ 904 13. a. angulosus var. grandiflorus thwaites aag ic470751 n12o 26.429’/e75o 39.666’ 694 14. a. angulosus var. purpureus thwaites aap ap1 n13o 25.799’/e75o 44.921’ 1606 15. a. angulosus var. angulosus sivrajan & pradeep aaa aa1 na na 16. a. enbeepeegearense john et al. aen jrn/09/25 na na 17. a. palianus sutar et al. apa sua54 na na *na = not available 90 patil et al. table 2. description of 52 morphological characters used in the cluster analysis of 16 taxa of abelmoschus. sl. no. character code description/value habit: 1 growth habit grh erect (0) medium (1) procumbent (2) root: 2 root type rot non-tuberous (0) tuberous (1) stem: 3 branching habit brh non-branched (0) branched only at base (1) branched evenly (2) branched only at top (3) 4 stem pubescence stp glabrous (0) slight (1) conspicuous (2) 5 stipule shape sts long linear (0) linear lanceolate (1) triangular (2) short linear (3) leaf: 6 leaf colour lec green (0) green with red veins (1) dark green (2) light green (3) 7 leaf length lel in cm 8 leaf width lew in cm 9 leaf length : width ratio llw 10 no. of lobes nln 5 (0) more than 5 (1) less than 5 (2) 11 leaf texture ltx glabrous (0) slight (1) conspicuous (2) wooly (3) 12 leaf margin lmr crenate (0) dentate (1) undulate (2) entire (3) serrate (4) serrulate (5) flower: 13 flower stalk fst straight (0) drooping (1) 14 pedicel length pdl in cm 15 no. of epicalyx segment nes in no. 16 shape of epicalyx segment she linear (0) lanceolate (1) triangular (2) ovate (3) broadly lanceolate (4) deltoid (5) 17 persistence of epicalyx pee caducous (0) partially persistent (up to seven days) (1) persistent (2) 18 flower length fll in cm 19 flower diameter fdm in cm 20 flower length : diameter ratio fld 21 flower length : pedicel length ratio flp 22 no. of petals npt 5 (0) more than 5 (1) 23 petal colour ptc yellow (0) light yellow (1) dark yellow (2) red (3) pink (4) white (5) 24 length of style lst in cm 25 no. of stigma lobes nsl 5 (0) 6 to 8 (1) 26 stigma colour sco red (0) dark red (1) light red (2) white (3) pink (4) fruit: 27 fruit colour fco green (0) dark green (1) yellow green (2) numerical taxonomy of abelmoschus medik. 91 sl. no. character code description/value 28 fruit shape fsh lanceolate (0) ovoid (1) lanceolate-ovoid (2) broadly ovoid (3) widely elliptic (4) 29 fruit beak fbe non-beaked (0) beaked (1) 30 fruit length frl in cm 31 fruit width frw in cm 32 fruit length : width ratio flw 33 fruit pubescence fpb tomentose (0) glandular hairy (1) soft strigulose (2) densely hispid (3) hirsute (4) tuberculate hairy (5) 34 fruit tuberculation ftb non-tuberculate (0) tuberculate (1) 35 fruit dehiscence fdh laterally (0) apically (1) seed: a. macromorphology 36 seed odour sod odourless (0) musk scented (1) 37 seed size sds large (0) medium (1) small (2) 38 seed shape ssh obovate (0) globose (1) reniform (2) sub-reniform (3) 39 seed colour sco dark brown (0) brown (1) greenish (2) blackish (3) 40 seed texture stx glabrous (0) pubescent (1) 41 hilum position hlp terminal (0) sub-terminal (1) 42 hilum shape hls ovate (0) broad ovate (1) triangular (2) round (3) b. micro-morphology 43 trichome trc absent (0) present (1) 44 trichome density trd sparse (0) dense (1) 45 trichome type trt spiral (0) non-spiral (1) 46 seed sculpture ssc reticulate (0) reticulate-foveate (1) 47 epidermal cell shape ecs polygonal (0) tetra-hexagonal (1) pentagonal-hexagonal (2) 48 anticlinal wall shape aws undulate (0) striate (1) 49 anticlinal wall thickness awt thin (0) thick (1) 50 anticlinal wall level awl raised (0) grooved (1) 51 periclinal wall level pwl convex (0) concave (1) flat (2) 52 periclinal wall texture pwt tuberculate (0) smooth (1) wavy (2) not noticeable (3) had yellow corolla. abelmoschus angulosus var. grandiflorus thwaites, a. angulosus var. angulosus thwaites, a. angulosus var. purpureus thwaites, a. ficulneus (l.) wight & arn., and a. sagittifolius had ovoid fruits, while a. palianus fruits were broadly ovoid. fruits dehiscence was apically in a. ficulneus, a. tuberculatus pal & singh, a. manihot, a. palianus sutar et al. and a. crinitus, while rest of the species laterally dehiscence. seeds of a. moschatus subsp. moschatus had musk scent, and the remaining species were odourless. using the seed morphological characters, the studied taxa of the abelmoschus revealed two basic types of seeds i.e., type i: seeds with deciduous trichomes and type ii: seeds with persistent trichomes. abelmoschus esculentus, a. caillei, a. crinitus, a. moschatus subsp. moschatus, a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus and a. enbeepeegearense belong to the type i. in contrast, type ii comprises a. ficulneus, a. tuberculatus and a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. pungens, a. manihot subsp. manihot, a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. tetraphyllus, a. angulosus var. grandiflorus, a. angulosus var. purpureus, a. angulosus var. angulosus and a. palianus. 92 patil et al. numerical taxonomic analysis the ratio of leaf length to leaf width and flower length to flower diameter did not show variation among the studied otus. pearson’s correlation analysis was done to determine the correlation among leaf, flower and fruit characters (table 3). the highest positive correlation value (rp) was observed between fdm to fll (0.878) followed by lew to lel (0.862) and frl to lel (0.816) at 0.01 level of significance. on the other hand, the lowest positive correlation value was observed between pdl to lel (0.041) followed by flp to lel (0.052) and frw to fld (0.070). however, negative correlation was also observed between llw to lew (-0.437), frw to flp (-0.538) and flp to pdl (-0.741). analysis of the 52×17 correlation matrix data set resulted in 14 eigenvectors (pcs). out of 14 pcs, first six pcs were retained because they had eigenvalues of equal or higher than 1. for each pc, a component loading of more than 0.05 was considered as being significant. in this analysis, the first six pcs (pc1 = 23.48%, pc2 = 19.34%, pc3 = 12.13%, pc4 = 10.28%, pc5 = 7.47% and pc6 = 6.52%) accounted for the total variance of 79.22% differentiating the 17 otus. the first axis (pc-1) was highly influenced by sts, she, nsl, ftb, sod, sco and hls, and defined 23.48% of the overall variance. these characters show considerable significant values of taxonomic importance with respect to the species differentiation. for the second axis (pc-2), the characters contributing to the total variability were brh, fco, flw, sds, sod and hlp with 19.34% of variance. in the third axis (pc-3), characters such as grh, lec, nln, lmr, npt, awl and pwl showed significant value of taxonomic importance to discriminate the 17 otus. similarity values of all 17 otus ranged from 0.18 to 0.82 (table 4). abelmoschus sagittifolius showed maximum similarity value of 0.82 with a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus, whereas minimum similarity value (0.18) was observed between a. tuberculatus and a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus, a. tuberculatus and a. sagittifolius, a. palianus and a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus, and a. palianus and a. sagittifolius. neighbour joining (nj) cluster analysis clearly discriminated 17 otus producing four major clusters (fig. 1). cluster i: a. esculentus, a. caillei, a. tuberculatus and a. ficulneus cluster ii: a. moschatus subsp. moschatus (musk scented seed), a. moschatus subsp. moschatus (odourless seed), a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus, a. sagittifolius, a. crinitus, a. enbeepeegearense and a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. pungens cluster iii: a. angulosus var. grandiflorus, a. angulosus var. angulosus, a. angulosus var. purpureus and a. palianus cluster iv: a. manihot subsp. manihot and a. manihot var. tetraphyllus discussion plant species have been considered as the central units of ecological and evolutionary studies, and therefore, the identification of boundaries among closely related species is an essential target of current systematic studies (edlley et al., 2012). in this study, morphological variation based on 52 characters (qualitative and quantitative) related to habit, root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit and seed were analyzed, which gave new insights into their potential taxonomic values for the species differentiation in the genus abelmoschus. focusing on the root type in abelmoschus species the present study revealed that there are only three species, which have tuberous root and others are non-tuberous. the characters such as shape of stipule, number of lobes in leaf, leaf margin, shape and nature of epicalyx segment, petal colour, number of stigma lobe, fruit colour, fruit tuberculation, seed odour, seed colour and seed size significantly contributed to separating the studied taxa and have always been central diagnostic characters in the genus abelmoschus (medikus, 1787; van borssum-waalkes, 1966; numerical taxonomy of abelmoschus medik. 93 94 patil et al. numerical taxonomy of abelmoschus medik. 95 fig. 1. dendrogram obtained from neighbour joining (nj) method showing the relationships of abelmoschus taxa employed in the study. paul and nayar, 1988; vredebregt, 1991; sivarajan and pradeep, 1996; john et al., 2012; sutar et al., 2013). the large positive correlation value as observed between leaf length and fruit length, pedicel length and fruit width, flower length and flower diameter were found to be most important and can be useful in a combination for more precise identification of abelmoschus species. 96 patil et al. in relation to the origin of cultivated okra, a. tuberculatus was found to be closely related to the a. esculentus in nj tree, which further supports the hypothesis of masters (1875) and joshi et al. (1974). on the basis of species relationships as revealed by nj tree, it is also assumed that a. ficulneus might have contributed to the a. esculentus genome as a second parent. the conspicuous presence of trichome on the seeds of a. tuberculatus is in partial agreement with van borssumwaalkes (1966) who treated it as a wild form of a. esculentus since it generally grows along the roadsides and grassy slopes. among the cultivated okra a. esculentus and a. caillei have great similarities in reproductive features. these species generally pose challenge for identification. the results of this study confirmed that cultivated species a. esculentus (asian genotype) and a. caillei (introduced genotype) are morphologically distinct and easy to recognize. rapd based characterization (sunday et al., 2008) revealed significant differences between a. esculentus and a. caillei accessions which further confirms our findings about their differentiation. owing to the close relationships within the species in cluster ii, we observed some common features, such as seed shape and remnants of trichomes on concentric rows in a. moschatus subsp. moschatus, a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus, a. enbeepeegearense and a. crinitus. these characters are confined to these species only indicating their taxonomically diverse nature. investigations further revealed the remarkable variations in seed coat patterns of two very close taxa, i.e. a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus and a. moschatus subsp. moschatus supporting bates (1968), who proposed to elevate a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus to the specific rank. taking only taxonomic treatment into consideration, the present study also assumed that a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus and a. sagittifolius are not two separate entities but same, since both taxa have tuberous root type and yellow flower. seed odour was found to be distinguishing characters for the correct identification of a. moschatus subsp. moschatus from other species of abelmoschus. another interesting new entity a. enbeepeegearense recently described by john et al. (2012) from the southern western ghats showed intermediate characters (seed shape and seed colour) of a. moschatus subsp. moschatus, a. moschatus subsp. tuberosus and a. crinitus. however, seed coat features present in this taxon fully support its elevation as a separate species. among the species complex in abelmoschus, a. manihot has been considered a highly variable taxa. interestingly, for perennial taxa a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. pungens, the present findings contradict with hochreutiner (1900), van borssum-waalkes (1966), paul and nayar (1988) and paul (1993) who treat it as a variety of a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus. in the nj dendrogram obtained from 52×17 data matrix, this taxon showed distant position from a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. tetraphyllus and a. manihot subsp. manihot. vredebregt (1991) also demonstrated that a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. pungens was not much different from var. tetraphyllus. in contrast, a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. pungens was the only taxon which showed triangular hilum when it was rounded in a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. tetraphyllus. thus, hilum shape played a decisive role in differentiating these two taxa. in view of taxonomic significance, epidermal cell features differentiate a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. pungens from widely distributed a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. tetraphyllus and a. manihot subsp. manihot. apart from morphological variability in a. manihot complex, species reflected great distinctness in seed micro-morphological characters which implies a need to study the specimens of a. manihot subsp. manihot, a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. tetraphyllus and a. manihot subsp. tetraphyllus var. pungens using advance molecular markers for precise species differentiation and ranking. the result obtained confirms the usefulness of seed morphology for identification and categorization of sub-specific taxa of a. angulosus. based on variation in flower color, sivarajan and pradeep (1996) defined three varieties of a. angulosus, namely a. angulosus var. grandiflorus (yellow corolla), a. angulosus var. angulosus (white corolla) and a. angulosus var. purpureus numerical taxonomy of abelmoschus medik. 97 (pink corolla). the present study significantly provides two more important seed characters which differentiate these varieties: a. angulosus var. grandiflorus (epidermal cell– tetra or pentagonal, elongate), a. angulosus var. angulosus (epidermal cell– polygonal) and a. angulosus var. purpureus (epidermal cell– tetra or pentagonal, not elongate) and therefore, confirm the treatment of sivarajan and pradeep (1996). the present study also confirms the uniqueness of recently described a. palianus (sutar et al., 2013). as observed in nj tree, a. palianus was found to be closely related to a. angulosus. in conclusion, classical taxonomy i.e. morphological descriptors, floras, type designations, and identification keys are still important and therefore the present study on abelmoschus provides primary means and promotes further investigations in systematics and genomics. acknowledgments this work was conducted with funding from national agriculture innovation project of indian council of agriculture research, government of india. the facilitation of work by director, nbpgr, new delhi is duly acknowledged. references adanson, m. 1763. familles des plantes, partie i., paris. bates, d.m. 1968. notes on the cultivated malvaceae. 2, abelmoschus. baileya 16: 99–112. bisht, i.s., patel, d.p., mahajan, r.k., koppar, m.n., thomas, t.a. and rana, r.s. 1995. catalogue of wild abelmoschus species germplasm, nbpgr, new delhi. bisht, i.s., patel, d.p., mahajan, r.k., koppar, m.n., thomas, t.a. and rana, r.s. 1993. catalogue on okra [a. esculentus (l.) moench] germplasm. part iii, nbpgr, new delhi. edlley, m.p., marccus, a., anderson, a.a., clarisse, p.s. and fabio, p. 2012. integrating different tools to disentangle species complexes: a case study in epidendrum (orchidaceae). taxon 61: 721–734. godfray, h.c.j. 2002. challenges for taxonomy. nature 417: 17–19. hamon, s. and charrier, a. 1983. large variation of okra collected in benin and togo. plant genetic resources newsletter 56: 52–58. hochreutiner, b.p.g. 1900. revision du genre hibiscus. conservatoire et jardin botaniques gene´ve. annuarie 4: 23–191. hochreutiner, b.p.g. 1924. genres nouveaux et genres discutes de la famille des malcacees, candollea 2: 79–90. john, k.j., scariah, s., nissar, v.a., bhat, k.v. and yadav, s.r. 2012. abelmoschus enbeepeegearense sp. nov. (malvaceae), an endemic species of okra from western ghats, india. nord. j. bot. 30: 1–6. joshi, a.b., gadwal, v.r. and hardas, m.w. 1974. evolutionary studies in world crops. in: hutchinson, j.b. (ed.), diversity and change in the indian sub–continent. cambridge university press, london, pp. 99– 105. masters, m.t. 1874. malvaceae. in: hooker, j.d. (ed.), flora of british india, vol. 1, london, pp. 317–353. masters, m.t. 1875. flora of british india, ashford kent. hooker, j.d. (ed.) 1: 320–348. medikus, f.k. 1787. uebereinigekunstlichegeschlechteraus der malvenfamilie, den der klasse der, monadelphien. 45–46. otte, d. and endler, j.a. 1989. speciation and its consequences: sunderland, massachusetts: sinauer associates, pp. 28–59. patil, p., malik, s.k., sutar, s., john, j., yadav, s. and bhat, k.v. 2015. taxonomic importance of seed macroand micro-morphology in abelmoschus medik. (malvaceae). nord. j. bot., doi: 10.1111/njb.00771. paul, t. and nayar, m.p. 1988. malvaceae. flora of india, fascicle 19: 61–73. paul, t.k. 1993. malvaceae. in: sharma, b.d. and sanjappa, m. (eds), flora of india, vol. 3, calcutta, pp. 257–394. rohlf, f.j. 1992. ntsys-pc: numerical taxonomy and multivariate analysis system, version 2.0. stony brook: state university of new york. 98 patil et al. sandhu, g.s., sharma, b.r., singh, b. and bhalla, j.s. 1974. sources of resistance to jassids and white fly in okra germplasm. crop impr. 1: 77–81. sivarajan, v.v. and pradeep, a.k. 1996. malvaceae of southern peninsular india. daya pub. house, delhi, india, pp. 44–73. sokal, r. and sneath, p.h. 1963. principles of numerical taxonomy. w.h. freeman, san francisco, 359 pp. sunday, e.a., ariyo, o.j. and robert, l. 2008. genetic relationships among west african okra (abelmoschus caillei) and asian genotypes (abelmoschus esculentus) using rapd. afr. j. biotechnol. 7: 1426–1431. sutar, s.p., patil, p., aitawade, m., john, j., malik, s., rao, s., yadav, s., bhat, k.v. 2013. a new species of abelmoschus medik. (malvaceae) from chhattisgarh, india. genet. resour. crop evol. 60: 1953–1958. van borssum–waalkes, j. 1966. malesian malvaceae revised. blumea 14: 89–105. vredebregt, j.h. 1991. taxonomic and ecological observations on species of abelmoschus medik. in: report of an international workshop on okra genetic resources held at nbpgr, new delhi, india, 8–12 october 1990, pp. 60–76. (manuscript received on 13 march 2015; revised on 19 september 2015) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 385‒393, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57134 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists seed macroand micro-morphology of some species of kickxia dumort, scrophularia l. and plantago l. from saudi arabia luluah m. al masoudi*, najat a. bukhari2 and mona al whibi2 department of biology, faculty of science, taif university, taif, saudi arabia keywords: seed morphology; sem study; kickxia; scrophularia; plantago; saudi arabia. abstract the seed macroand micro-morphological characters of 13 species belonging to three genera; kickxia dumort, scrophularia l. and plantago l., collected from different localities of saudi arabia, were studied using a stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscope for evaluating their taxonomic relationships. three macro-morphological characters of seeds were shape, size, and color while three diagnostic micromorphological characters were seed coat sculpture, the anticlinal and periclinal wall., the seed shape seems to be specific in plantago l. (peltate, angled) than the two other genera while the color and seed size show little importance. the plantago l. has a specific rugose sculpture while the other two genera have either tuberculate or alveolate. so plantago l. was possessed no affinities to kickxia dumor or scrophularia l.. this observation gives extra support to the earlier taxonomic views that suggested the retention of two genera in the traditional family scrophulariaceae and maintaining plantago l. in a separate monogeneric family plantaginaceae detailed analysis of seed characters of more species is needed to clarify the systematic relationships between the three genera. a key to the identification of studied species based on seed microand macro-morphological characters is provide. introduction scrophulariaceae is a large worldwide family (miranda, 1988), with approximately 222 genera and 4480 species (willis, 1973), mostly found in temperate zones of the northern hemisphere (heywood, 1985). the kickxia dumort (scrophulariaceae) is one of the most important genera, with roughly 47 species (mabberley, 1997). the genus is represented in saudi arabia by 10 species (chaudhary, 2001), the majority of which are found in the south and west of the country. scrophularia l. (scrophulariaceae) is another major genus with over 300 species represented in both the ancient and modern worlds (lersten and curtis, 1997). it is represented by four species in saudi arabia (chaudhary, 2001). since ancient times, many species of this genus have been utilized as traditional medicine. the plantaginaceae is a worldwide family of three genera: plantago, littorella, and bougueria, which grow in a variety of environments (bentham, 1846; wettstein, 1891; dahlgren, 1975; cronquist, 1981; heywood, 1993; takhtajan, 1997). plantago l. (plantaginaceae) is a perennial herb with a rosette of leaves at the base of the plant (chiang et al., 2002). the herb can be used to treat a variety of ailments. it is used to treat hypercholesterolemia and lower blood sugar levels (haddadian et al., 2014). it is also used to treat cancer (souri et al., 2008; pourmorad et al., 2006).it is represented by at least 12 species in saudi *corresponding author, email: lm.al-masoudi@tu.edu.sa 2department of botany and microbiology, faculty of science, king saud university, riyadh, saudi arabia. email: najatab@ksu.edu.sa; malwhibi@ksu.edu.sa https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57134 mailto:lm.al-masoudi@tu.edu.sa mailto:najatab@ksu.edu.sa; mailto:malwhibi@ksu.edu.sa 386 masoudi et al. arabia (chaudhary, 2001). plantaginaceae and scrophulariaceae have a tight link, according to several scientists (takhtajan, 1980; heywood, 1993; mabberley, 1997). the notion of plantaginaceae was broadened in judd et al. (1999) and apg (2009) classifications to cover numerous taxa that were previously classified to the scrophulariaceae based on molecular criteria. the existence of certain closely related families, such as plantaginaceae, orobanchaceae, and acanthaceae, may further make the bounds of the scrophulariaceae problematic. the links between the traditional plantaginaceae family and other families are still murky and need to be clarified (heywood, 1993; albach et al., 2004). the purpose of this study is to describe the seed morphological features in details to assess their utility in understanding the relationships among the three taxa analyzed (kickxia, scrophularia and plantago). the findings are reviewed in considering the various classification systems. materials and methods the seeds of 12 species from two genera, kickxia and scrophularia of the family scrophulariaceae and one species from plantago of the plantaginaceae were studied. the fresh seeds were collected from different localities of the saudi arabia as well as from preserved specimens available at the herbarium of collage of science, king saud university (table 1). the study was conducted at the central laboratory of science and medicine department, king saud university. table 1. list of studied species and their collected locations. s/n name of species localities 1 kickxia abhaica d. a. sutton wadi alus, rejal almaa, abha 2 k. acerbiana (boiss.) tackh. & boulos yanbu-omlog road 3 k. aegyptiaca (l.) nab. al sheheia, alqassim 4 k. corallicola d. a. sutton farasan island, jizan 5 k. elatine (l.) dumort. herbarium of ministry of environment, water & agriculture 6 k. hastata (r. br. ex. benth.) dandy herbarium of ministry of environment water, & agriculture 7 k. petiolate d. a sutton herbarium of botany & microbiology department, collage of science, king saud university 8 k. pseudoscoparia v. w. smith & d. a. sutton al sail alsageer, taif 9 k. scalarum d. a. sutton herbarium of ministry of environment water & agriculture 10 k. spartioides (brouss. ex. bush janch.) herbarium of botany & microbiology department, collage of science, king saud university 11 plantago major l. wadi darak – al mandaq 12 scrophularia deserti del. bani saad, taif-albaha road 13 s. peyronii post hebarium of ministry of environment. water & agriculture the external macro-morphological characters of the mature seeds were investigated with the aid of a stereomicroscope. for seed size and width, the mean value of three seeds of each species were measured by a micrometer. seed macroand micro-morphology of some species 387 for scanning electron microscopic (sem) examinations, mature dried seeds were selected, mounted on stubs using double side adhesive tape, coated in auto fine coater (jfc-1600) with gold by a zeiss scanning electron microscope, model (jeol-jsm-6060 lv) at the electron microscope unite in the central laboratory of science and medicine department, king saud university. these were then examined and photographed with an accelerating voltage 15kv. terminology of seed coat sculpturing basically following stearn (1992) and juan et al. (1997, 2000). for numerical analysis we used the ntsys-pc 2.2. software package according to the method of rohlf, (2009) and then generated a cluster analysis of the similarity and dissimilarity matrix between the species under study to construct a dendrogram. results and discussion the macro-morphological characters of the studied species presented in table 2 revealed that the seed shape was varied from reniform in kickxia abhaica, k. scalarum and k. spartioides, prismatic cylindrical in k. aegyptiaca, ovate in k. elatine, oblong ovate in the two scrophularia species, peltate angled with rounded apical scar in plantago major, rounded in kickxia petiolate while ellipsoide in the remaining four species. the seed size ranges from large seeds (more than 500 µm long) in kickxia acerbiana (866 x 591.6 µm) to small (less than 500 µm) in k. spartioides (367.08 x 243.0 µm), k. petiolata (367.3 x 282.1 µm) followed by k. hastata (367.7 x 234.5 µm). the rest of the studied species possessed medium sized seeds (414-571 µm) long. the seed color showed low variation from brown in kickxia acerbiana, k. elatine and k. spartioides to dark brown in the remaining studied species. table 2. the macro-morphological seed characters of the studied species. s/n taxa seed shape size length x width color 1 kickxia abhaica reniform 571.7 x 358.1 dark brown 2 k. acerbiana, ellipsoid 866.0 x 591.6 brown 3 k. aegyptiaca prismatic/cylindrical 447.5 x 304.5 dark brown 4 k. corallicola ellipsoid 440.4 x 283.8 brown 5 k. elatine ovate 532.1 x 380.1 brown 6 k. hastata ellipsoid 367.7 x 234.5 dark brown 7 k. petiolate rounded 367.3 x 282.1 dark brown 8 k. pseudoscoparia ellipsoid 558.3 x 381.9 dark brown 9 k. scalarum reniform 416.1 x 336.8 dark brown 10 k. spartioides reniform 367.1 x 243.0 brown 11 plantago major peltate angled with apical rounded scar 414.6 x 289.1 dark brown 12 scrophularia deserti oblong ovate 490.2 x 289.9 brown 13 s. peyronii oblong ovate 504.9 x 402.5 dark brown the results also revealed that the variations of seed shape and size are of great importance in taxa delimitation while seed color of little importance. also, the seed shape of plantago major (peltate/angled with apical rounded scar) diagnostic and clearly separated it than the other two genera. 388 masoudi et al. esau (1977), barthlott (1984), werker (1997), abdel khalik and maesen (2002), akbari and azizan (2006), abdel khalik (2010), kaya et al. (2011), abdel khalik and hassan (2012), bona (2013), ghimire et al. (2017) stated that, the seed morphology and anatomical characters are of taxonomic importance at both sub generic and sub familial levels. the micro-morphological characters investigated by sem of the studied species presented in table 3 and figs 1-13 revealed that the shape of the epidermal cells are penta-hexa-polygonal except in kickxia corallicola which is ill-defied, while it is irregular in plantago major. table 3. micro-morphological seed characters of the studied species. s/n taxa cell shape anticlinal wall periclinal wall seed coat sculpture 1 kickxia abhaica pentagonal channeled raised with acute apex tuberculate/cristate (tubercles with obtuse conical apex). 2 k. acerbiana, pentagonal channeled raised with obtuse apex tuberculate with obtuse apex. 3 k. aegyptiaca polygonal levelled raised with broad apex tuberculate/ verrucose with broad base and globes cells 4 k. corallicola ill-defined levelled raised with broad apex tuberculate /verrucose with broad base and globes cells 5 k. elatine hexagonal raised/un dulate concave reticulate/ ridged or undulate 6 k. hastata pentagonal levelled raised with obtuse apex tuberculate with obtuse apex. 7 k. petiolate pentagonal levelled raised with obtuse apex tuberculate tubercles conical 8 k. pseudoscoparia pentagonal levelled raised with acute apex tuberculate tubercles papillate 9 k. scalarum pentagonal levelled/ undulate raised with acute apex tuberculate tubercles conical, long 10 k. spartioides pentagonal levelled raised with acute apex tuberculate tubercles conical, long 11 plantago major irregular slightly / raised concave/ striated rugose/reticulate 12 scrophularia deserti hexagonal raised with wax flat/ribbed alveolate-vesicles absent 13 s. peyronii pentahexagonal raised with wax flat/ribbed alveolate-vesicles present anticlinal wall boundaries: these boundaries are well developed and indicated by channels in kickxia abhaica and k. acerbiana, raised without wax in k. elatine and plantago major, raised with wax in the two scrophularia species, levelled in the remaining studied species. periclinal cell wall: are flat ribbed in the two scrophularia species, concave striated in plantago major, concave without stria in kickxia elatine while raised in the remaining studied species. it was raised with obtuse apex in k. acerbiana, k. hastata and k. petiolate, raised with acute apex in k. abhaica, k. pseudoscoparia, k. scalarum and k. spartioides while raised with broad base and globose cells in k. aegyptiaca and k. corallicola. seed macroand micro-morphology of some species 389 figs. 1-13. sem seed characters of studied species:1 a, b. kickxia abhaica; 2 a, b. k. acerbiana; 3 a, b. k. aegyptiaca; 4 a, b k. corallicola; 5 a, b k. elatine; 6 a, b k. hastata; 7a, b k. petiolate; 8 a, b. k. pseudoscoparia; 9 a, b. k. scalarum; 10 a, b. k. spartioides; 11 a, b. plantago major; 12 a, b. scrophularia deserti; 13 a, b. s. peyronii. a-general seed shape, bseed coat surface. seed coat sculpture: scanning electron microscope (sem) has been providing detailed and useful data on the fine structure of the seed coat in various genera of scrophulariaceae (canne, 1979, 1980; elisens and tomb, 1983; sutton, 1988). also, according to molau (1990) the morphology of the seed coat provides a major diagnostic and significant features at tribes and subtribes of scrophulariaceae. 390 masoudi et al. all the studied kickxia species except k. elatine, show tuberculate/ cristate seed coat sculpture with different tubercles or crista. the tubercles either small with obtuse apex or with broad base and globose cells or short papillated or long conical in shape. fig. 14. evolutionary relationship tree of 13 species based on seed phenotypes. the presence of seed surface with developed protuberances seems to have adaptive advantages for these seeds. barthlott (1981) stated that such seeds with tubercles are much less to be contaminated by pathogens than smooth ones. also, the rough surface could help to control the temperature in sunlight and have hydration ability which could create microclimate for the seeds to avoid drying damage as indicated by hedge (1970). with respect to plantagomajor and kickxiaelatine, the seed coat characterized by rugosereticulate sculpture. this result in accordance with shehata and loutfy (2006) with respect to plantago. pijl (1982) stated that, reticulate seed coat has often been related to water dispersion due to that these seeds having the ability to trap air, thus can float easily. the results were cleared that, the seed coat sculpture could be useful in separation between the three studied genera. this in accordance with attar et al. (2007) who stated that seed surface ornamentation can used for species delimitation in verbascum (scrophulariaceae). the results cleared that; the seed coat sculpture as shown in the sem micrographs varied in their appearance among the three studied genera. only, the two scrophularia species have seed coat with alveolate-reticulate sculpture, the alveoli arranged in longitudinal rows with vesicles in s. peyronii and without vesicles in s. deserti. this result in agreement with sutton (1988). in conclusion, this study revealed that, some seed morphological characters are presented as a taxonomic criterion for genera delimitation. it was separated plantago major than the two other studied genera based on seed shape and seed coat sculpture. also, the dendrogram (fig. 14) showed clearly that plantago major was separated in independent cluster away from the rest of the seed macroand micro-morphology of some species 391 studied species through significant characters; seed shape, epidermis, cell shape, periclinal and anticlinal walls as well as seed sculpture. while k. elatine combined with the two scrophularia species in one cluster. the results in accordance with hamed et al. (2014) and confirms the earlier views of some authors (wettstein, 1895) and others for maintaining plantago as a separate monogeneric family (plantaginaceae) while grouping the other two genera kickxia and scrophularia in family scrophulariaceae. however, this result contradicts with albach et al. (2005) finding, who grouped kickxia in tribe: antirrhineae while plantago in tribe: plantagineae under new circumscribed family plantaginaceae. despite the progression in the molecular and phylogenetic studies that has been made toward a new circumscription of plantaginaceae and scrophulariaceae, several important problems remain obscured and unsolved. for more accurate assignment of some genera of the two families, more studies on many species are still needed. based on these macro and micro-morphological characters of seeds, an identification key to the studied species is prepared as follows. key to the species + seed length long (866 µm), seed shape ellipsoid kickxia acerbiana + + seed length short (367 µm) ● seed shape ellipsoid k. hastata ● ● seed shape rounded k. petiolata ● ● ● seed shape reniform k. spartioides + + + seed length moderate size (414 – 571 µm) 1. seed shape prismatic/ cylindrical k. aegyptiaca 2. seed shape peltate, angled with apical rounded scar plantago major 3. seed shape ovate k. elatine 4. seed shape oblong ovate a. seed coat sculpture alveolate with vesicles scrophularia peyronii b. seed coat sculpture alveolate without vesicles s. deserti 5. seed shape reniform ● anticlinal cell wall channel, seed coat sculpture with obtuse apex k. abhaica ● ● anticlinal cell wall levelled, undulate, seed coat sculpture with long conical tubercles k. scalarum 6. seed shape ellipsoid ♦ seed sculpture tubercles with broad base and globose cells k. corallicola ♦ ♦ seed sculpture with papillate tubercles k. pseudoscoparia conclusion and recommendation the morphological characteristics of the seed surface are important in defining, separating, and studying the evolutionary relationships between taxa. this observation gives extra support to the taxonomic views that suggest the retention of the kickxia in the family of scrophulariaceae s.l. and maintaining plantago in a separate monogenetic family of plantaginaceae using a stereo and scanning electron microscope. 392 masoudi et al. references abdel khalik, k. and maesen, l. 2002. seed morphology of some tribes of brassicaceae (implications for taxonomy and species identification for the flora of egypt). blumea 47(2): 363–383. abdel khalik, k. 2010. seed coat morphology its systematic significance in juncus l. 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(manuscript received on 8 july 2021; revised on 3 december 2021) https://doi.org/10.1006/anbo.2000.1188 https://doi.org/10.3906/bot-1010-99 https://doi.org/10.2307/2446461 https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.19981090507 https://www.jstor.org/stable/4353970 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 129-136, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60453 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists first report of the ectomycorrhizal status of clavariadelphus pakistanicus hanif & khalid based on morphotyping and molecular evidence muhammad hanif*, bushra arshad, samina sarwar1 and nousheen yousaf department of botany, gc university, lahore, pakistan keywords: aphyllophorales; basidiomycetes; khanspur; morphotypes; nrdna; symbiosis. abstract the ectomycorrhizae of a newly described club fungus clavariadelphus pakistanicus hanif & khalid were collected from ayubia, khyber pakhtunkhwa, pakistan and described morpho-anatomically. its pinus wallichiana associated ectomycorrhizae have been characterized by dichotomously branched, reddish brown color of mature and dark brown to blackish young ectomycorrhizal tips with frequent unbranched and septate emanating hyphae. during molecular and phylogenetic analyses, these mycobionts showed maximum similarity and were clustered with basidiocarps sequences of c. pakistanicus. hence it was confirmed that these ectomycorrhizae belong to c. pakistanicus and being first time reported from pakistan. introduction clavariadelphus donk is widely distributed in the temperate forests and has 20 species worldwide (methven, 1990; kirk et al., 2008; hanif et al., 2014). clavariadelphus is generally considered to be an element in the biota of the northern coniferous forest and several species in north america are confined to mixed deciduous coniferous forests (methven, 1990). little is known about the nutritional status of the clavariadelphus species. pines are generally considered as ideal hosts for many of the ectomycorrhizal (ecm) fungi (hanif et al., 2012; hanif, 2012). there are many reports that indicate the ectomycorrhizal nature of pines. some examples from literature are: visser (1995) determined coltricia perrinis, thelephora spp., suillus brevipes, cenococcum geophillum, cortinarius spp., lactarius spp., russula spp., tricholoma spp. as ecm fungi with pinus banksiana. guo et al. (2020) reported 104 ectomycorrhizal operational taxonomic units (otus) from pinus sylvestris roots. zhao et al. (2020) claimed to isolate 805 otus from the same host. hilszczańska et al. (2011) reported ectomycorrhizal symbiosis in p. sylvestris with suillus luteus, thelophora terrestris, tomentella spp., dermocybe palustris and dermocybe spp. margit et al. (2010) reported the different mycobionts (amphinema byssoides, wilcoxina sp. flexipes, suillus ploranus and tomentella) in different host plants including p. cembra. hawley et al. (2008) reported the ecm of phialocephala tortnii and hymenocyphus ericae with pinus patula. chung et al. (2003) reported many ectomycorrhizal fungi with p. densiflora and p. rigita. koizumi and nara (2019) reported 154 ecm fungal species from the root tips of p. pumila. niazi et al. (2010) reported the ecm of cantharellus cibarius with p. wallichiana from the himalayan temperate forest of pakistan. tyub et al. (2018) reported 33 fungal taxa associated with p. wallichiana out of which 23 were ectomycorrhizal and rest were non-mycorrhizal. murata et al. (2017) reported 42 putative ecm *corresponding author, email: dr.mhanif@gcu.edu.pk 1department of botany, lahore college for women university, lahore, pakistan. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60453 mailto:dr.mhanif@gcu.edu.pk 130 hanif et al. fungi in association with p. amamiana. clavariadelphus species are reported as mycorrhizal with diverse hosts i.e., clavariadelphus americanus is reported as mycorrhizal with oaks and pines (corner, 1950; methven, 1989, 1990; kuo, 2007), c. occidentalis with conifers (methven, 1989). mostly ectomycorrhizal mushrooms including clavariadelphus are widely distributed in the moist temperate forests of the world. pakistan also has diversity rich hotspot areas in himalayan moist temperate region and many mushrooms along with their mycobionts have been documented from this region (niazi, 2008; hanif, 2012; sarwar, 2012; ilyas, 2013; jabeen, 2016) but unfortunately very little is known about complete picture of diversity of these fungi. previously, niazi (2008) described the ecm of clavariadelphus truncatus with p. wallichiana. some club fungi fruiting bodies have been reported by hanif (2012) but their ectomycorrhizae are not well reported from pakistan. in the present investigation, fruiting body of the c. pakistanicus and its ecm is illustrated and described morpho-anatomically and phylogenetically from the roots p. wallichiana. it is the first report of the mycorrhizal status of c. pakistanicus from pakistan. materials and methods isolation and clearing of ectomycorrhizae the sampling was carried out during the rainy season (july–august) from the coniferous forests of pakistan located at an elevation of around 2200 m.a.s.l. ectomycorrhizae of clavariadelphus pakistanicus associated with pinus wallichiana were sampled by tracing the rhizomorphs extending from the base of fruiting bodies towards plant roots. soil blocks with roots were dug and packed in polythene bags and brought in laboratory for further analyses. the sampled roots were cleaned with running tap water and mycorrhizal roots were separated from non-mycorrhizal roots. the unramified ends of ectomycorrhizal morphotypes were cut in such a way to retain the particular system. these were then preserved in 2% ctab buffer. the ectomycorrhizal systems were studied morpho-anatomically with the help of stereo microscope (for morphological studies) and compound microscope (for anatomical studies). morphological studies the ectomycorrhizal system was studied under stereo microscope for length of mycorrhizal system, length of unramified ends, diameter of unramified ends, diameter of axis, branching system, shape of unramified ends, distinct features of mantle surface and the color of system following agerer (1991, 1987–2002) anatomical description mantle was peeled off under stereo microscope in one drop of lactic acid and observed under compound microscope to study anatomical features of mantle surface like hyphal arrangement, shape and size of cells and dimensions of hyphal cells and drawn with camera lucida. molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis dna was extracted from ecm root tips by following a modified ctab method (gardes and bruns, 1996). primer pairs its1f/its4 (white et al., 1990) for the its region were used for pcr and sanger sequencing. all pcr products were evaluated for successful amplification using sybr green and 1.5% agarose gels with tae buffer for gel electrophoresis. amplicons were prepared for sequencing via enzymatic purification using exonuclease i and shrimp alkaline phosphatase enzymes (werle et al., 1994). purified products were sequenced through macrogen company (seoul, south korea). sequence chromatograms were trimmed, edited, and assembled using sequencher4.1 (gene codes, ann arbor, mi). consensus sequences were analyzed using blast searches at ncbi (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). the most similar sequences for its http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). first report of the ectomycorrhizal status of c. pakistanicus 131 region were retrieved from genbank. these its sequences were then aligned using muscle alignment tool to generate alignments (edgar, 2004). mega5 software was used for phylogenetic analysis with maximum likelihood criterion by following algorithm and jukes and cantor (1969) model of sequences evolution (tamura et al., 2011). one thousand bootstrap iterations were performed with rapid bootstrapping significant support was considered to be ≥70%. all phylogenetic analyses were performed on the cipres portal v. 3.1. (miller et al., 2010). results and discussion morpho-anatomical characterization of ectomycorrhizal system of clavariadelphus pakistanicus ectomycorrhizal system dichotomous, main axis 44.5mm long, axis 0.5mm in diameter. unramified ends bent, 1mm long and 0.5mm in diameter, younger unramified ends reddish brown, older ends blackish brown. texture of the system was smooth, host tissues not visible under the sheath; mantle surface smooth or cottony; rhizomorphs absent. emanating hyphae were common, concentrated around the sides of unramified ends, honey brown in colour (fig. 1a-d). fig. 1. ectomycorrhizae of clavariadelphus pakistanicus, a. ecm (habit) showing important morphological features; b. pseudoparenchymatous (type m) outer mantle; c. pseudoparenchymatous (type m) inner mantle; d. emanating hyphae. scale bar: for a= 0.7cm; b = 0.41μm; c = 0.52 μm; d = 0.29 μm. 132 hanif et al. outer mantle layer pseudoparanchymatous, cells 6.24 μm in length and 1.35μm wide, matrix material pale yellow, densely packed round lobed cells, epidermoid cells of pale yellow colour, hyphae compactly packed and forked. inner mantle layer also pseudoparanchymatous, gelatinous matrix material visible, cells 7.9μm long and 1.2μm wide, cells were same in size as the outer mantle, cells contents not clear (fig. 1 (a-d). rhizomorphs absent, emanating hyphae common, clamps absent, septate, unbranched, cylindrical hyphae, not constricted at the septa, cell content clear, cells 0.58μm width and 38.6μm long, cells thick walled. molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis the morpho-anatomic identification of ectomycorrhizae was supported by rdna-its sequence based molecular identification. sequences originated from the its region were used as a reference to blast against genbank data. all sequences showed maximum similarity (100%) with clavariadelphus pakistanicus sequences of sporocarp (hq379937). similar sequences were retrieved from genbank and aligned with pakistani ectomycorrhizal sequences reported during this study. final data set for phylogenetic tree included 20 sequences. tree was constructed through maximum likelihood criterion and showed highest log likelihood (-2451.4566). phylogram consisted of 2 major clades and a few independent leaves (fig. 2). ectomycorrhizae of c. pakistanicus clustered with its basidioma (mh99, mh126, mh129), the above ground partner with strong bootstrap percentage (99%). all sequences of c. pakistanicus nested within clade of species that were previously reported as ectomycorrhizal with various photobionts. placement of all these species with c. pakistanicus indicates ectomycorrhizal status. fig. 2. phylogenetic position of of clavariadelphus pakistanicus ectomycorrhizae from pakistan with respect to other related spp. tree inferred by maximum likelihood analysis based on rdna sequences, including its region. the numbers against branches indicate the percentage (>50%) at which a given branch was supported in 1000 bootstrap replications. genbank accession numbers are given at the end of species names.■ indicate species reported from pakistan. first report of the ectomycorrhizal status of c. pakistanicus 133 interaction between photobionts and mycobionts is the archetype of symbiosis or mutualism (ågren et al., 2019). these mycorrhizal associations are beneficial to the plant. the identification of ectomycorrhizal morphotypes based on morphological criteria is difficult to disseminate species. therefore, the use of molecular techniques is an effective alternative. during present work ectomycorrhizal morphotype of a novel club fungus clavariadelphus pakistanicus (hanif et al., 2014) has been reported from pakistan growing with pinus wallichiana. this is the first report of ectomycorrhizae of this fungus from the world. previously ectomycorrhizal association of clavariadelphus ligula (quel.) donk was found at hurpora and yusmarg with cedrus deodara and pinus wallichiana (itoo and reshi, 2014). ectomycorrhizal morphotypes of c. pakistanicus were collected by tracing method and identified through its rdna-its sequence following landeweert et al. (2003) and characterized by morphotyping method (agerer, 1991; agerer, 1987–2002; mello et al., 2006). clasen et al. (2018) reported that molecular tools based on sequencing of rdna-its could be effective in species characterization and phylogenetic analysis. their ectomycorrhizae have dichotomous ectomycorrhizal systems with bent unramified ends (reddish brown when young and blackish brown when old). literature showed that mostly pinus associated ectomycorrhizae have dichotomous branching pattern (agerer, 1987–2002). rhizomorphs were not recorded although some rhizomorphs like structures were present but their morphology and anatomy not support them as rhizomorphs. emanating hyphae were frequent. mantle organization in both outer and inner view was pseudoparanchymatous. these basic structure features may resemble with pinirhiza lactariosimilis associated pinus sylvestris (golldack et al., 1997) but p. lactariosimilis may have some structural differences as well. ecm of c. pakistanicus has large (4-4.5mm) ectomycorrhizal system than p. lactariosimilis (2.7mm). both these morphotypes also differed in cell size, smaller in later (2.5µm) and larger in earlier (6.24μm). the ecm of c. pakistanicus was also compared with the ecm of other related species. ectomycorrhizae of both c. trancatus (niazi et al., 2010) and c. pakistanicus have dichotomous branching. the ramification pattern in c. pistillaris was reported as monopodial pinnate associated with fagus sylvatica (iosifidou and raidl, 2006). rhizomorphs absent in c. pakistanicus whereas present in c. trancatus and c. pistillaris (iosifidou and raidl, 2006; niazi, 2008; niazi et al., 2010). all these three species have emanating hyphae. mantle organization was pelectenchymatous in c. trancatus (niazi et al., 2010). there are very few reports about mycorrhizal status of the species in genus clavariadelphus. c. americanus was reported to form ecm with oaks and pines (corner, 1950; methven, 1989, 1990), c. occidentalis and c. unicolor with pines (corner, 1950; smith et al., 1981; methven, 1989, 1990). the ectomycorrhizae of genus clavariadelphus were also reported with quercus spp. and many other deciduous trees (izzo et al., 2005; iosifidou and raidl, 2006; smith et al., 2007; morris et al., 2008). c. mucorantus and c. ligula were reported in association with pseudotsuga menziesii (smith et al., 2002). the ectomycorrhizae of this fungus may increase the nutrients supply to the host. same is reported by corrales et al. 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(manuscript received on 01 january, 2021; revised on 03 december, 2021) microsoft word 09. bjpt 16 105 _edt_ka-18-04-2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 65–81, 2017 (june) camellia (theaceae) classification with support vector machines based on fractal parameters and red, green, and blue intensity of leaves w. jiang1, z.m. tao1, z.g. wu1, n. mantri2, h.f. lu* and z.s. liang college of life science, zhejiang sci-tech university, hangzhou 310018, china keywords: camellia; classification; fractal analysis; rgb; svm. abstract leaf traits are commonly used in plant taxonomic applications. the aim of this study was to test the utility of fractal leaf parameters analysis (fa) and leaf red, green, and blue (rgb) intensity values based on support vector machines as a method for accurately discriminating camellia (68 species from five sections, 11 from sect. furfuracea, 13 from sect. paracamellia, 15 from sect. tuberculata, 24 from sect. theopsis and 5 from sect. camellia). the results showed that the best classification accuracy was up to 96.88% using the rbf svm classifier (c = 16, g = 0.5). the linear kernel overall accuracy was 90.63%, and the correct classification rates of 40.63% and 93.75% were achieved for the sigmoid svm classifier (c = 16, g = 0.5) and the polynomial svm classifier (c = 16, g = 0.5, d = 2), respectively. a hierarchical dendrogram based on leaf fa and rgb intensity values was mostly on agreement with the generally accepted classification of the camellia species. svm combined with fa and rgb may be used for rapidly and accurately classifying camellia species and identifying unknown genotypes. introduction camellia l. is a commercially important genus of family theaceae. it is cultivated globally, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions of east and southeastern asia (ming, 2000; gao et al., 2005; lu et al., 2012). some camellia species are used to produce tea, others are cultivated as ornamental plants, and the seeds of some species are used for making edible oils (chen et al., 2005; vijayan et al., 2009; jiang et al., 2012). currently, there are number of discrepancies in relation to classification of species from this important genus. there are three popular camellia monographs developed by sealy (1958), chang (1998) and ming (2000) that differ significantly in species, section and subgenus arrangement. all these taxonomic classifications are based on the morphology. many studies have shown that classifications purely based on the traditional morphological characteristics are insufficient for closely related species because low divergence prevents having reasonable qualitative features to support the taxonomic systems (bari et al., 2003; lu et al., 2008a,b; pandolfi et al., 2009; jiang et al., 2010). as a result, there is no concordance in the method for classification of camellia and further taxonomic research is necessary (pi et al., 2009). leaf characters have been successfully exploited to solve plant taxonomy problems (plotze et al., 2005, lin et al., 2008; ye and weng, 2011). traditionally, leaf traits such as shape (ming, 2000), morphology research (barthlott et al., 2009), and leaf anatomy (pi et al., 2009; jiang et al., 2010) have been used for classification. recently, several researchers have used fractal parameters * corresponding author. email: luhongfei0164@163.com 1 zhejiang institute of subtropical crops, zhejiang academy of agricultural sciences wenzhou 325005, china. 2 school of applied sciences, health innovations research institute, rmit university, melbourne 3000, victoria, australia. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33034 66 jiang et al. for plant identification (mancuso et al., 2003; azzarello et al., 2009; pandolfi et al., 2009). mancuso (1999) highlighted the importance of the leaf fractal geometry for fingerprinting plants. in addition, leaf colour information provides useful data for judging maturity of agricultural products (gunasekaran et al., 1985), detecting diseases (howaith et al., 1990), and fruit sorting (harrell et al., 1989). thus, the leaves really provide plenty of characteristics that can be used as a source of data for plant taxonomy (yang and lin, 2005). supervised techniques are one of the most effective analysis tools in classification field currently (lu et al., 2012). these tools apply available information about a category membership of samples to developed model for classification of the genus. support vector machines (svm) is a supervised pattern recognition technology which has the algorithm developed in the machine learning community and is capable of learning in high-dimensional feature spaces (cortes and vapnik, 1995; lu et al., 2011). the standard svm takes a set of input data and predicts, for each given input, which of two possible classes the input is a member of, which makes the svm is a non-probabilistic binary linear classifier. recently, svm has been used in a variety of areas like information retrieval (jain et al., 1999), object recognition (pontil and verri, 1998), food bruise detection (lu et al., 2011), qualitative assessment of tea (chen et al., 2008), and fruit classification (zheng et al., 2010). chen et al. (2007) demonstrated that svm fixes the classification decision function based on structural risk minimum mistakes instead of the minimum mistake of the misclassification on the training set to avoid over-fitting problem. compared to other pattern recognition tools such as artificial neural networks (anns), svm is a powerful method with a higher training speed and can avoid overtraining (jack and nandi, 2002; kumar et al., 2011). in addition, burges (1998) suggested that svm could get the best solution of data set with better ability of generalization. so far there is no knowledge about the utility of leaf image analysis and machine learning as a taxonomic toolkit for classification of genus camellia. in this study, we combine the fractal leaf parameters and leaf red, green, and blue intensity values with svm to analyze the taxonomical classification of camellia plants. the main objective of this work was to (a) develop and evaluate the effectiveness of svm for identifying 68 species in genus camellia, and (b) confirming these relationships based on fractal parameters and red, green, and blue (rgb) intensity values of leaves. our purpose is to provide a potential tool for accurate classification of camellia species. material and methods materials all plant materials were collected from the international camellia garden in jinhua, zhejiang province (29°07′ n, 119°35′ e, 40 m in altitude) in july 2011. all plants share the same environment in this garden which reduces the major effect of geographical distribution on leaf development. healthy leaf samples following chang’s taxonomic treatment (1998), 11 species from sect. furfuracea, 13 species from sect. paracamellia, 15 species from sect. tuberculata, 24 species from sect. theopsis, and five species from sect. camellia, for a total of 68 species were examined, and split into two groups: 36 for training phase of svm model construction and the other 32 for the validation phase (table 1). all samples were taken from the third mature leaves that was fully exposed to sunlight and horizontally arranged on the two-year-old branches of the plants. at least three plants per species were selected. means of data were obtained using sas version 9.0 (sas institute, cary, nc, usa). voucher specimens for all species were deposited in the chemistry and life science college of zhejiang normal university (zjnu) (see appendix 1 for voucher details). camellia (theaceae) classification with support vector 67 image acquisition and fractal parameters a canon eos 50d camera with a canon ef-s 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 is lens at 50 mm, was used to acquire leaf images. all image acquisition was carried out at least in five and the lighting for images was entirely from natural light on a sunny summer morning. leaf fractal parameters were calculated using fractal image analysis software (harfa, harmonic and fractal image analyzer 5.4) as previously described by mancuso (2002), pandolfi et al. (2009) and zheng et al. (2011). briefly, figure 1 shows schematic diagram of harfa output and five parameters in detail. the basic procedure was as follows: (1) each camellia leaf image was split into the constituent color channels (red, green, blue); (2) each channel was set for a threshold color value between 0 and 255; (3) the fractal dimension (d) for red, green, and blue channel was calculated by box counting method; (4) then the d which is presented as a function of thresholding condition in fractal spectrum was plotted against the colour intensity to obtain the fractal spectra of the three channels; (5) determining the baseline (d = 1) that separates the fractal (d > 1) from the nonfractal (d < 1) zone of the spectrum. for this study, we selected d = 1.2 as the baseline. (6) finally, the five fractal parameters (x1, x2, x, y, and s) were determined by origin lab (version 8.0). additionally, average rgb intensity values from camellia images were assessed using the colour histogram tool of image j (national institutes of health, bethesda, md). cluster analysis as a method of grouping data based on attributes of given population into similar and dissimilar groups, we conducted clustering analysis to classify 68 species in genus camellia based on 15 fractal parameters and average rgb intensity values of leaf and compared it to chang’s (1998) results. a hierarchical dendrogram was constructed using unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean analysis (upgma). the gower general similarity coefficient was applied to address multi-dimensional scaling. the multivariate statistical package (version 3.13n, kovach computing services) was used to conduct the cluster analysis. svm analysis support vector machine (svm) was first proposed for pattern recognition applications by vapnik (1995) based on statistical learning theory. the classification mechanism of svm can be described as simple as: svm tries to create an appropriate boundary (hyperplane) that meets the requirements of classification, the distance between the boundary and the nearest data points (support vectors) are maximal while the classification precision is also guaranteed. theoretically, svm can realize the optimal classification of linearly separable data. in order to solve non-linear problem, svm converts the data from a low dimension input space to a high dimension feature space through a transformation function (kernel function). all svm algorithms are implemented with libsvm (version 3.0) under matlab software (the mathworks, inc., natick, ma, usa, version 7.9 r2009b). the libsvm is a library for support vector machines (2001). results the fractal dimension and rgb intensity values of species as shown in the flow chart (fig. 1), for each species, the five fractal parameters (x1, x2, x, y, s) were derived from the fractal spectra of each (red, green, and blue) colour channels (15 variables). the fractal values obtained for different camellia species belonging to sections furfuracea, paracamellia, tuberculata, theopsis, and camellia are shown in figs. 2-4). these rgb intensity values were shown in table 2. thus, 18 input variables were obtained for modeling. 68 jiang et al. fig. 1. schematic diagram of the experimental protocol used to get fractal parameters and rgb intensity values from the image analysis of camellia leaves. unsupervised cluster analysis the relationship between the 68 camellia species was examined by constructing a dissimilarity dendrogram using the 18 variables described above (fig. 5). the species classified under sect. theopsis by chang (1998) clustered together (number 40 to 63) in the current study. further, species number 12 to 24 and number 28 grouped together as an independent branch, which is also mostly congruous with chang’s treatment of sect. paracamellia. species number 1 to 11 belonging to sect. furfuracea according to chang’s taxonomy also clustered together. however, two species, viz. c. tuberculata and c. obovatifolia from sect. tuberculata also clustered with them. the other sect. tuberculata species clustered together apart from c. rhytidophylla that clustered with sect. paracamellia. finally, species from sect. camellia clustered together apart from c. xiafongensis that clustered with sect. theopsis. support vector machine (svm) classification accuracy the training set and test set of svm model is presented in table 1. the class designation is important for training of svm algorithms. the 68 species analyzed in the current study were divided into five categories, so the class designation followed the predefined chang’s (1998) taxonomy. two svm parameters namely regularization parameter (c) and kernel parameter (g), which are the keys to obtain good model performance, are optimized by cross validation. in current work, log2c and log2g were distributed from -5 to 5 with increments of 0.5. as seen in fig. 6, the highest average accuracy of 83.33% was achieved when c = 16 and g = 0.5 for the training data set. the parameter of polynomial svm were the combinations of another polynomial degree (d) with { }9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2∈d . the classification results of linear, radial basis function (rbf), and camellia (theaceae) classification with support vector 69 fig. 2. scatter plot of fractal parameters used for svm models in this study. the five fractal parameters (x1, x2, x, y, s) derived from the samples using red channel are shown. numbers in the figure correspond to the species numbers in table 1. 70 jiang et al. fig. 3. scatter plot of fractal parameters used for svm models in this study. the five fractal parameters (x1, x2, x, y, s) derived from the samples using green channel are shown. numbers in the figure correspond to the species numbers in table 1. camellia (theaceae) classification with support vector 71 fig. 4. scatter plot of fractal parameters used for svm models in this study. the five fractal parameters (x1, x2, x, y, s) derived from the samples using blue channel are shown. numbers in the figure correspond to the species numbers in table 1. 72 jiang et al. fig. 5. upgma dendrogram of genus camellia based on fractal parameters and rgb intensity values. sect. furfuracea (●), sect. paracamellia (○), sect. tuberculata (▲), sect. theopsis (�), sect. camellia ( ). sigmoid svm models, with optimal parameters of c and g are presented in fig. 7. the rbf svm classifier offers the best conformance to chang’s classification with 96.88% accuracy rate (sect. furfuracea-100%, sect. paracamellia-100%, sect. tuberculata-85.71%, sect. theopsis-100%, sect. camellia-100%). the only misclassification was in sect. tuberculata, it suggested species number 12 (c. grijsii) belongs to sect. furfuracea. table 3 reveals that the classification results obtained by rbf svm classifier approach in the training set is 100%, which highlights the good camellia (theaceae) classification with support vector 73 table 1. species assessed, as classified by chang (1998). notes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 represent the sample labels (categories) used in svm model. species without parenthesis are training set, which are followed by parenthesis are test set. the numbers in parenthesis is the number of species in test set. samples sect. furfuracea1 1. c. pubifurfuracea 2. c. latipetioata 3. c. crapnalliana 4. c. multibracteata 5. c. furfuracea 6. c. oblata 7. c. gaudichaudii (1) 8. c. gigantocarpa (2) 9. c. octopetala (3) 10. c. parafurfuracea (4) 11. c. connatistyla (5) sect. paracamellia2 12. c. grijsii 13. c. yuhsienensis 14. c. confusa 15. c. kissi 16. c. brevistyla 17. c. hiemalis 18. c. maliflora 19. c. shensiensis (6) 20. c. puniceiflora (7) 21. c. miyagii (8) 22. c. weiningensis (9) 23. c. odorata (10) 24. c. phaeoclada (11) sect. tuberculata3 25. c. tuberculata (12) 26. c. lipingensis (13) 27. c. rhytidocarpa 28. c. rhytidophylla 29. c. leyeensis 30. c. anlungensis 31. c. rubituberculata 32. c. atuberculata 33. c. obovatifolia 34. c. rubimuricata 35. c. parvimuricata (14) 36. c. hupehensis (15) 37. c. zengii (16) 38. c. pyxidiacea (17) 39. c. crassifolia (18) sect. theopsis4 40. c. macrosepala (19) 41. c. cuspidatevar. synapidate (20) 42. c. cuspidata 43. c. forerrestii 44. c. lipoensis 45. c. buxifolia 46. c. minutiflora 47. c. acutissima 48. c. dubia 49. c. handelii 50. c. costei 51. c. tsaii 52. c. rosthorniana 53. c. euryoides 54. c. trichoclada (21) 55. c. parvilimba (22) 56. c. parvilimba var. brevipes (23) 57. c. septempetala (24) 58. c. elongate (25) 59. c. campanisepala (26) 60. c. parvi-ovata (27) 61. c. lancicalyx (28) 62. c. parvicaudata (29) 63. c. tsofui (30) sect. camellia5 64. c. jinshajiangica 65. c. semoserrata var. albiflora 66. c. xiafongensis 67. c. chekiangoleosa (31) 68. c. lienshanensis (32) table 2. the rgb intensity values derived from samples used for svm models in this study. sect. furfuracea sect. paracamellia sect. tuberculata sect. theopsis sect. camellia rgb inten sity range (minmax) mean ± sd range (minmax) mean ± sd rang (minmax) mean ± sd range (minmax) mean ± sd range (minmax) mean ± sd r 15.6133.39 23.54± 5.25 12.1617.85 14.25± 1.77 15.5226.63 18.81± 3.38 13.3425.08 19.22± 3.55 15.6519.19 17.35 ±1.26 g 18.2839.97 27.65± 6.10 13.5218.99 15.86± 2.01 17.8932.94 22.54± 4.15 18.3634.07 25.82± 4.31 19.6923.95 22.08 ±1.78 b 12.5424.96 18.02± 3.77 9.9113.76 11.55± 1.21 11.0420.82 14.03± 2.49 9.614.57 12.14± 1.45 10.3215.68 12.80 ±2.20 74 jiang et al. table 3. the classification results in the training set of rbf svm classifier. samples sample number classification results total accuracy sect. furfuracea sect. paracamellia sect. tuberculata sect. theopsis sect. camellia sect. furfuracea 6 6 0 0 0 0 sect. paracamellia 7 0 7 0 0 0 sect. tuberculata 8 0 0 8 0 0 100% sect. theopsis 12 0 0 0 12 0 sect. camellia 3 0 0 0 0 3 table 4. the predicted classification of the polynomial svm under different degrees with the optimal parameters (c=16, g=0.5). subset samples number polynomial degree 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 sect. furfuracea 5 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 80% 80% 80% sect. paracamellia 6 100% 83.33% 66.67% 66.67% 66.67% 66.67% 66.67% 66.67% sect. tuberculata 7 71.43% 71.43% 57.14% 57.14% 57.14% 57.14% 57.14% 57.14% sect. theopsis 12 100% 100% 100% 100% 91.67% 91.67% 91.67% 91.67% sect. camellia 2 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% total accuracy (%) 93.75% 90.63% 84.38% 84.38% 81.25% 78.13% 78.13% 78.13% performance of the rbf svm classifier. the linear svm classifier for five sections shows correct classification rate of 90.63% (sect. furfuracea-100%, sect. paracamellia-100%, sect. tuberculata-57.14%, sect. theopsis-100%, sect. camellia-100%), but the sigmoid kernel overall accuracy for the test data set is worse than any other classifiers with only 40.63% (sect. furfuracea-0%, sect. paracamellia-33.33%, sect. tuberculata-0%, sect. theopsis-91.67%, sect. camellia-0%). for polynomial classifiers, in fact, it is a linear classifier when polynomial degree d = 1. the classification results of polynomial svm classifier with different degrees from 2 to 9 are shown in table 4. the polynomial svm classifiers with d =2 achieved the best overall classification accuracies (93.75%) of the five sections (sect. furfuracea-100%, sect. paracamellia-100%, sect. tuberculata-71.43%, sect. theopsis-100%, sect. camellia-100%). in addition, the active effect on the classification accuracies was very less when d was greater than 2, with increasing polynomial degree, the classification accuracies take on a descending trend (table 4). camellia (theaceae) classification with support vector 75 fig. 6. average classification accuracy in different kernel parameter (c) and regularization parameter (γ) by cross-validation. table 5 .summary of the supervised techniques, materials, factors, and accuracies for chang (1998)’s camellia classification. classification techniques materials factors accuracy reference demerit cluster analysis 63 species and 2 varieties in 4 sections fourier transform infrared data of leaves 84.7% lu et al. 2008a expensive cluster analysis 21 species from 4 sections fourier transform infrared data combined with leaf anatomy 85.7% lu et al. 2008b wasting time, money and lowefficiency particle swarm optimization-aided fuzzy cloud classifier 24 species from 3 sections 23 quantitative features cover the characters of flower, fruit and leaf 98.0% lu et al. 2009 laborious and time consuming pattern recognition techniques 93 species from 5 sections 31 variables from leaf morphological and venation characters lvq1-ann for 60% lvq2-ann for 91.11% dan2 for 91.11% svm for 97.78% lu et al. 2012 heavy workload cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis 19 species from 2 sections 28 variables from floral morphology characters 84.2% jiang et al. 2012 poor repeatability back-propagation neural networks 47 species from 3 sections 7 leaf anatomy attributes 86.36% jiang et al. 2013 time consuming 76 jiang et al. fig. 7. the classification results of linear (a), rbf (b) and sigmoid (c) svms with the optimal parameters. camellia (theaceae) classification with support vector 77 discussion plant numerical taxonomy applies numerical methods or supervised techniques like svm in the classification of taxonomic units. it converts the information content of taxa to numerical quantitative and its aim is in its objectivity. thus, developing a taxonomic toolkit is becoming an indispensable aid in modern systematics. traditionally, leaf characters have been used as a basis for plant taxonomy and they have been successfully used to solve plant classification problems (linnaeus, 1753). contemporary classification especially for genus camellia, have involved use of advanced technology tools. some examples are, classification within genus level based on simulated annealing aided cloud classifier (pi et al., 2011); use of genetic information with molecular biotechnology tools; fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ftir) combined with shape and anatomy analysis of camellia leaves (lu et al., 2008b; shen et al., 2008), which suggested that the chemical method also had important taxonomic significance. however, as shown in table 5, some of these methods are laborious and expensive, and do not always guarantee satisfactory results. moreover, a defect common to all the approaches (table 5) is that they get quantitative features of plant is based on damaging leaves. however, fractal analysis and rgb intensity values combined with support vector machine (svm) used in our study are not only non-destructive, but are simple, and easily performed. the fractal spectrum was introduced as a botanical identification key by mugnai et al. (2008). actually, leaf colour is a very special characteristic but often ignored by taxonomists. camellia species are both trees and shrubs, and plant height and leaf feature may interfere with plant photosynthesis. the chlorophyll content in turn is correlated to the leaf colour (du et al., 2009). moreover, the long-term evolution of camellia species have made them a stable system, therefore they can be classified based on leaf traits like chlorophyll content. chang (1998) and ming (2000) are two comprehensive floras prominently used by camellia researchers. people often turn to flora to identify a new species; however, traditional information retrieval processes is frequently cumbersome. further, some basic characteristics can only be manually identified which needs experience and is often subjective. these limitations can be overcome by developing an automated method of plant identification which is rapid and efficient. we have developed an automated method using leaf fractal parameters in svm model to classify 68 camellia species. the taxonomic results are very encouraging allowing us to achieve accuracy of up to 96.88% using the rbf fractal values. as a modern pattern recognition tool, the svm is advantageous over other methods like back-propagation artificial neural network (bp-ann). the common problem with neural networks is the networks structure; bp-ann may suffer from the over-fitting problem because its approaches are based on the empirical risk minimization principles. comparatively, the over-fitting can be easily controlled in svm by choosing a suitable margin to get the best resolution of entire data set (burges, 1998). in addition, svm does not need a great quantity of training sets for developing model. our results were mostly congruent with chang’s (1998) classification of camellia species with some differences. however, it should be noted that other researchers have also reported deviations from chang’s classification. for example, when our results are compared to camellia classification by vijayan et al. (2009), the general agreement in classification of the 68 camellia species indicates the usefulness of fractal parameters and rgb intensity in detecting phylogenetic relationships. for the plants from sect. furfuracea and sect. theopsis, all collected species from two sections were joined and intermixed respectively (fig. 5), which is in agreement with the classification by vijayan et al. (2009). in addition, our results support the grouping of c. yuhsienensis (no. 13, from sect. paracamellia) and c. rhytidophylla (no. 28, from sect. rhytidophylla) together as reported by vijayan et al. (2009). this is however different from chang’s (1998) treatment of these two species. further, as shown in fig. 5, species from sect. 78 jiang et al. paracamellia grouped together, whilst vijayan et al. (2009) taxonomic treatment advocates these species as three clades. in analyzing results from the svm classifiers, we found that the species number 12 (c. grijsii) from sect. paracamellia was incorrectly classified as a species from sect. furfuracea by all svm classifiers [linear, rbf, sigmoid, and polynomial (d = 2) classifiers]. the deviation from this classification needs further investigation to see if this misclassification is due to the underlying algorithm’s fitting of the data, or c. grijsii really has a close relationship with sect. furfuracea. in addition, high quality seeds are the key to develop the modern agriculture, it is necessary to select good seed varieties for improvement of crops yield. an elite variety with greater benefits should replace the variety with inferior quality seeds. bacchetta et al. (2011) identified sardinian species of astragalus section melanocercis by seed image analysis. developing countries are still using traditional manual seed separation method. in this context, the application of svm based on fractal leaf parameters analysis (fa) and leaf red, green, and blue (rgb) intensity values used in the present study is not only proposed as a complementary method for botanical identification, but also proposed as a modern method of good seed selection. the svm-fa-rgb system is very simple to establish and requires only a personal computer and an optical scanner. therefore it could potentially replace old methods that are complicated, labour-intensive and expensive. conclusion we have developed a system for automatic binary classification of 68 camellia species into five sections based on svm and discussed the important features of this classification. the hierachical dendrogram based on fractal parameters and rgb intensity values confirms the morphological classification of the five sections proposed by chang’s (1998) research. the linear, polynomial (d = 2), rbf svm classifier with c = 16, g = 0.5 work well in the classification of the genus camellia. especially rbf svm classifier showed encouraging results that obtaining a correct classification rate of 96.88%. the above results indicate that fractal parameters and rgb intensity values analysis using svm, particularly rbf kernel, can be effectively used to distinguish the camellia at genus level, or even at higher taxa level. in addition, the svm-fargb system could be used to select high quality seeds in agriculture breeding programs. acknowledgements the study was partially supported by grants from the science and technology research plan of jinhua city, china (no. 2009-2-020). the authors thank mr. bin wang, ms. jingjing lou and ms. zhihui zhu (zhejiang normal university) for collecting living species and assistance with the experiments. references azzarello, e., mugnai, s., 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(manuscript received on 7 september 2016; revised on 10 october 2016) camellia (theaceae) classification with support vector 81 appendix 1 table a1. collection localities and vouchers of studied specimens taxon; vouchers; accession number (all specimens from china, zhejiang, jinhua international camellia species garden) c. pubifurfuracea; h.e. tian; 200610170901 (zjnu). c. latipetiolata; h.e. tian; 200610171001 (zjnu). c. crapnalliana; h.e. tian; 200610171101 (zjnu). c. multibracteata; h.e. tian; 200610171201 (zjnu). c. furfuracea; h.e. tian; 200610171301 (zjnu). c. oblate; q.f. peng; 200610221401 (zjnu). c. gaudichaudii; h.e. tian; 200610171501 (zjnu). c. gigantocarpa; q.f. peng; 200610221601 (zjnu). c. octopetala; q.f. peng; 200610221701 (zjnu). c. parafurfuracea; h.e. tian; 200610171801 (zjnu). c. connatistyla; h.e. tian; 200610171901 (zjnu). c. grijsii; j.b. shen; 200701122001 (zjnu). c. yuhsienensis; j.b. shen; 200701122102 (zjnu). c. confusa; j.b. shen; 200612232201 (zjnu). c. kissi, j.b. shen; 200701122302 (zjnu). c. brevistyla; j.b. shen; 200612232501 (zjnu). c. hiemalis; j.b. shen; 200612232602 (zjnu). c. maliflora; j.b. shen; 200701122802 (zjnu). c. shensiensis; j.b. shen; 200701122901 (zjnu). c. puniceiflora; j.b. shen; 200701123001 (zjnu). c. miyagii; j.b. shen; 200701123001 (zjnu). c. weiningensis; s.s. hong; 2011040139 (zjnu). c. odorata; x.y. lin; 20070128350 (zjnu). c. phaeoclada; j.b. shen; 200701123602 (zjnu). c. tuberculata; q.f. peng; 05112301 (zjnu). c. lipingensis; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070101 (zjnu).c. rhytidocarpa; b. jiang; 06111201 (zjnu). c. rhytidophylla; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070102 (zjnu). c. leyeensis; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070103 (zjnu).c. anlungensis; q.f. peng; 05112302 (zjnu). c. rubituberculata; b. jiang & q.f. peng; 06062302 (zjnu). c. parvimuricata; b. jiang & q.f. peng; 06090404 (zjnu). c. hupehensis; q.f. peng; 05112303 (zjnu). c. zengii; b. jiang & q.f. peng; 06061201 (zjnu). c. pyxidiacea; b. jiang & q.f. peng; 05112304 (zjnu). c. crassifolia; s.s. hong; 2011040104 (zjnu). c. macrosepala; s.s. hong; 2011040107 (zjnu). c. cuspidatevar. synapidate; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070104 (zjnu). c. cuspidate; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070105 (zjnu) c. forerrestii; s.s. hong; 2011040109 (zjnu). c. lipoensis; s.s. hong; 2011040110 (zjnu). c. buxifolia; s.s. hong; 2011040111 (zjnu). c. minutiflora; s.s. hong; 2011040112 (zjnu). c. acutissima; s.s. hong; 2011040114 (zjnu). c. dubia; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070106 (zjnu).c. handelii; s.s. hong; 2011040115 (zjnu). c. costei; s.s. hong; 2011040116 (zjnu). c. tsaii; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070107 (zjnu). rosthorniana; s.s. hong; 2011040117 (zjnu). c. euryoides; s.s. hong; 2011040118 (zjnu). c. trichoclada; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070108 (zjnu).c. parvilimba; s.s. hong; 2011040119 (zjnu). c. parvilimba var. brevipes; s.s. hong; 2011040120 (zjnu). c. septempetala; s.s. hong; 2011040121 (zjnu). c. elongate; s.s. hong; 2011040122 (zjnu). c. campanisepala; s.s. hong; 2011040123 (zjnu). c. parvi-ovata; s.s. hong; 2011040124 (zjnu). c. lancicalyx; s.s. hong; 2011040125 (zjnu). c. parvicaudata; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070109 (zjnu). c. tsofui; s.s. hong; 2011040126 (zjnu).c. jinshajiangica; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070110 (zjnu). c. semoserrata var. albiflora; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070111 (zjnu). c. xiafongensis; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070111 (zjnu) c. chekiangoleosa; q.f. peng & b. jiang; 2006101111 (zjnu). c. lienshanensis; b. wang & w. jiang; 2011070112 (zjnu) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 57–68, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphoanatomical profile of five species of piper l. from bangladesh and its taxonomic significance kishwar jahan shethi1, parveen rashid, momtaz begum and m. oliur rahman2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: piper l.; taxonomy; anatomy; stomata; trichome; idioblast. abstract the present study explores detailed morphoanatomical features of five species of piper l., viz. p. betle l., p. longum l., p. nigrum l., p. retrofractum vahl and p. sylvaticum roxb. each species is supplemented by detailed updated nomenclature, vernacular names, diagnostic characters, phenology, ecology and representative specimens. maximum number of cortical and medullary vascular bundles have been observed in p. nigrum and p. retrofractum, respectively. in contrast, minimum number of cortical and medullary vascular bundles have been found in p. sylvaticum. glandular trichomes are found on the midrib of p. betle, p. longum, and p. sylvaticum, whereas trichomes are lacking in p. nigrum and p. retrofractum. the highest number of collateral vascular bundles have been found in p. retrofractum followed by p. nigrum, while p. betle and p. longum contain single collateral vascular bundle. p. betle can easily be distinguished from other species by its oval stem, non-glandular multicellular trichome with pointed tip, and presence of idioblasts and oil droplets. p. longum is distinct from remaining species by its diacytic stomata. keys to the species based on morphological and anatomical characters are provided for easy identification of the studied species. introduction the genus piper l. (piperaceae) consists of over 1,000 species and distributed pantropically, and the greatest diversity of piper species occurs in the american tropics followed by southern asia (jaramillo and manos, 2001). the centers of piper species diversification are southeast asia, southern mexico, the andes, the choco, amazonia and the atlantic forest of brazil (jaramillo and callejas, 2004). this is the best known genus of the family piperaceae probably for its scientific and commercial importance (murty, 1973). the species of piper are suitable for studying natural history, molecular biology, natural products biochemistry, community ecology and evolutionary biology (greig, 2004). hooker (1886) listed 45 species of piper from indian subcontinent of which 6 were documented from the present territory of bangladesh. later, prain (1903) recognized 8 species of this genus from the then bengal where he listed 6 species from the area of present bangladesh. recently, habib (2009) listed 10 piper species from bangladesh, viz. piper attenuatum buch.-ham. ex wall., p. betle l., p. hamiltonii c. dc., p. longum l., p. nigrum l., p. peepuloides roxb., p. retrofractum vahl, p. rhytidocarpum hook. f., p. sylvaticum roxb., and p. sylvestre lamk.; among them some are regarded as very rare and vulnerable. many piper species are rather uniform morphologically, with simple, alternate leaves and jointed stems with enlarged nodes (greig, 2004). moreover, some of these species are monoecious or dioecious, and it is sometimes difficult to identify and classify them by using only morphological characteristics. other alternative methods, therefore, are needed for systematics of piper (chaveerach et al., 2002). in this context, anatomical studies have significant role to provide 1 corresponding author, email: kishwar.botany@du.ac.bd 2 email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd ; prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com mailto:kishwar.botany@du.ac.bd mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 58 shethi et al. additional data for solving taxonomic problems. despite the varied importance of this genus, little anatomical studies have been done on different species of piper across the world (ravindran and rameshree, 1998; lakshmi and naidu, 2010; raman et al., 2012; machado et al., 2015; trueba et al., 2015; bertocco et al., 2017; silva et al., 2017). most of the anatomical studies are concentrated on economically important and widely known species, e.g. p. nigrum, p. betle and p. longum. however, no investigation on the micromorphology of p. retrofractum and p. sylvaticum has been documented so far. moreover, no anatomical study on the available and economically important species of piper from bangladesh has been conducted so far. among the 10 reported species of piper, five species have been selected primarily for anatomical investigation in the present study because of their availability. two of these are economically important e.g. p. nigrum, which is the source of black pepper, the world’s most widely used spice and p. betle, leaves of which are chewed along with lime (calcium) after meals as a digestive aid. p. longum and p. retrofractum are used locally as condiments or medicinal and found to possess significant antitubercular and antibacterial activity, respectively (ghani, 2003). however, p. sylvaticum is very little known economically, though sinha (1996) demonstrated that fruits of this species are used as carminative and appetizer in manipur, india. considering the morphological similarities among different species of piper, and the fact that there has been no comparative anatomical study of the aforesaid five piper species, the present study aims to explore morphology of these piper species along with their detailed anatomical features of leaf and stem for delimitation of the species and interspecific relationships. materials and methods plant materials plant specimens of five piper l. species, viz. p. betle, p. longum, p. nigrum, p. retrofractum and p. sylvaticum have been collected from different districts of bangladesh, critically studied and identified. identifications were confirmed by consulting standard relevant literature (hooker, 1886; prain, 1903; hubert, 1987; yongqian et al., 1999), experts and matching with the properly identified herbarium specimens deposited at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). specimens belonging to these five species housed at dush and dacb were also studied. updated nomenclature of the species are confirmed with consulting encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh (habib, 2009), and the nomenclatural databases of the plant list (2013) and tropicos (2017). anatomical investigation fresh specimens were collected from the botanical garden and medicinal plants garden, department of botany, university of dhaka for the study of the internal structures of the studied species of piper. vegetative organs namely, stem and leaf were chosen as they might provide discrete anatomical features of taxonomic importance. free hand sectioning of stem and leaf was made with the help of a razor blade. the sections were stained with safranin and mounted in 20% glycerin (shethi et al., 2017). after that, selected sections were prepared as permanent slides. the permanent slides were studied under a compound light microscope (carl zeiss lab a1 microscope) fitted with digital camera (axiocam erc 5s). micrographs were taken from various regions of the sections using different magnifications through axio vision release 4.8.2 software. morphoanatomical profile of five species of piper l. 59 results and discussion morphological investigation of piper l. the members of the genus piper l. are climbing herbs or shrubs with swollen nodes, often glandular and aromatic. they are characterized by their palmate, alternate leaves, often oblique; minute unisexulal flowers in spike, peltate bracts and absence of perianth. male flowers with 1-4 stamens, short filament and 2-celled anthers, while female flowers with unilocular ovary and 2-5 stigmas. fruits are ovoid or globose drupe. key to the species of piper employed in this study based on morphological characters: 1. perennial herbs, prostrate or ascending. piper longum twining or woody climbers or shrubs. 2 2. flowers yellow; leaf base deeply cordate with lobed. p. sylvaticum flowers greenish-white or pinkish-white; leaf base not lobed. 3 3. female spikes densely pubescent; stamens never more than 2. p. betle female spikes glabrous; stamens more than 2. 4 4. leaf base rounded, apex acute, densely glandular-dotted; spikes pendent. p. nigrum leaf base oblique, apex acuminate, glabrous; spikes erect. p. retrofractum piper betle l., sp. pl.: 28 (1753). hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 85 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 668 (1903); heinig, list pl. chitt. coll. & ht: 56 (1925); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 105 (1956); habib in ahmed et al. (eds), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 9: 372 (2009). chavica betle (l.) miq., syst. piperac.: 228 (1843). p. pinguispicum c. dc. & koord., excurs. fl. java 2: 24 (1912). (fig. 1a). vernacular names: pan (b); betel-leaf (e). perennial, stout twining climbers, branches with swollen nodes; short adventitious roots present at the nodes. leaves simple, alternate, petiolate, lamina cordate or ovate-oblong, base cordate or oblique, acuminate, entire. bracts orbicular, peltate. spike pendulous, cylindrical. rachis of female spikes fleshy, densely pubescent. drupe small, ovoid or globose, fleshy. seeds suborbicular. flowering and fruiting: december – may. ecology: dry shady place in well-drained, friable loamy and clayey soil. representative specimens: gazipur: kaliakoir, hijoltoli, 13.09.2013, r. tabassum 3051 (dush). patuakhali: golachipa, nolubabhi, 31.03.1999, m. sultana 231 (dush). piper longum l., sp. pl.: 29 (1753). hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 83 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 668 (1903); habib in ahmed et al. (eds), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 9: 373 (2009). p. latifolium hunter in asiat. res.: 9 (1809). chavica roxburghii miq., syst. piperac.: 239 (1843). (fig. 1b). vernacular names: pipul, pipla-mul, morich (b); indian long pepper, long pepper (e). perennial, creeping or rambling, dioecious herbs, rooting at the nodes. leaves simple, alternate, petiolate, lamina lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, base cordate, apex acute or acuminate. male spikes 5–10 cm long. female spikes 2–3 cm long. flowers small, white or pinkish-white. stamens 2; filaments short; anther cells inclined. ovary sunken in thick rachis; stigmas 3-4, large. drupe large, pungent. seeds cylindrical. flowering and fruiting: june – september. 60 shethi et al. ecology: shaded areas of forest bed. representative specimens: gazipur: sripur, borkol, 21.06.2010, r. tabassum 1139 (dush). mymensingh: sin loc., 25.01.1999, m. m. rahman 3505 (dush). netrokona: bijoypur, durgapur, 14.06.2015, m. o. rahman (dush). patuakhali: sadar upazila, joinkathi, 25.09.1999, m. sultana 397 (dush). piper nigrum l., sp. pl.: 28 (1753). hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 90 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 669 (1903); heinig, list pl. chitt. coll. & ht: 56 (1925); habib in ahmed et al. (eds), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 9: 374 (2009). p. aromaticum lamk., tabl. encycl. 1: 79 (1791). (fig. 1c). vernacular names: gol morich, kali morich (b); black pepper, round pepper (e). perennial woody climbers, branches with swollen nodes, rooting at the nodes. leaves simple, alternate, petiolate, petioles up to 5 cm long, lamina ovate-lanceolate, oblique to rounded at the base, acuminate, entire, glabrous, densely glandular dotted beneath, coriaceous. flowers greenish in interrupted spikes. spikes appearing opposite the leaves on plagiotropic branches, 3–15 cm long, 50–150 flowered. male spikes slender, stamens 2–4. female spikes cylindric, ovary superior; stigmas 3–5. drupe globose, red when ripe. seeds globose. flowering and fruiting: august – december. ecology: shaded places. representative specimens: chittagong hill tracts: ruma, 25.01.1965, m.s. khan 1129 (dush). gazipur: sripur, boherar chala, 21.10.2013, r. tabasum 3379 (dush). piper retrofractum vahl, enum. 1: 314 (1804). habib in ahmed et al. (eds), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 9: 376 (2009). p. chaba hunter, asiat. res. 9: 391 (1809); hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 83 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 668 (1903); heinig, list pl. chitta. coll. & ht: 55 (1925). p. officinarum (miq.) c. dc., prodr. 16(1): 356 (1869). (fig. 1d). vernacular names: choi, chab, choitro (b); javanese long pepper (e). perennial climbing shrub with short adventitious roots at the swollen nodes. leaves simple, petiolate, alternate, lamina ovate-oblong, base cordate, oblique, apex acuminate, entire, glabrous. spikes erect or patent, peduncles 1–3 cm long; bracts broadly ovate. male spikes 2–6 cm long, stamens 2–3; filament short, persistent; anthers broadly ellipsoid. female spike 2–4 cm long, ovary superior, ovule 1; style short; stigmas 2–3, ovate, acute, recurved. drupe broadly round, hard, pungent. seeds globose. flowering and fruiting: almost throughout the year. ecology: moist shady places. representative specimen: jessore: 26.12.2017, momtaz begum 103 (dush). piper sylvaticum roxb., fl. ind. 1: 158 (1820). hook. f., fl. brit. india 5: 84 (1886); prain, beng. pl. 2: 668 (1903); habib in ahmed et al. (eds), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 9: 377 (2009). chavica sylvatica miq., syst. piperac. : 248 (1843). (fig. 1e). vernacular names: pahari pipul, bon pan (b); bulpan (ch); borongpatui (tr). small climbing shrub with short, erect branches. leaves simple, alternate, petiolate, petioles 1.0–2.5 cm long, lamina 7–13 × 3–7 cm, broadly ovate-lanceolate, base cuneate or rounded, apex acuminate, 5-veined at the base. flowers in axillary spikes, yellow. male spikes subsessile, slender, erect, bracts peltate; stamens 4; filament short; anthers reniform, 2-celled. female spikes morphoanatomical profile of five species of piper l. 61 cylindric, peduncles short; ovary superior, globose, 1-celled, ovule 1; style short; stigmas 2-3. drupe globose, 3-4 mm long, densely arranged, 1-seeded. seeds globose. flowering and fruiting: may – september. ecology: shaded areas of forest bed. representative specimens: gopalganj: tungipara, 29.09.2018, momtaz begum 262 (dush); chilkabari, momtaz begum 321 (dush). fig. 1. habit of five piper l. species investigated: a. piper betle; b. p. longum; c. piper nigrum; d. p. retrofractum; e. p. sylvaticum. anatomical investigation of piper stem anatomy transverse section of stem reveals variation among the five species of piper investigated. the contour of stem is round in p. longum, p. nigrum, p. retrofractum and p. sylvaticum (fig. 2a–d), while oval in p. betle (fig. 2e). margin of the studied species has ridges and furrows except in p. retrofractrum. except p. retrofractrum, all the studied species of piper contain nonglandular, unicellular and conical shaped trichomes (fig. 2g) other than p. betle. in p. betle, nonglandular trichomes are multicellular and typically 4-celled with pointed tip, less frequent and present in regular intervals of 2-3 groups (fig. 2h). raman et al. (2012), and lakshmi and naidu (2010) reported similar trichome in p. betle which is congruent with the present study. small, numerous, non-glandular unicellular trichomes are distributed on the stem of p. longum and p. nigrum, while very few are observed in p. sylvaticum. cuticle of the epidermis of stem of the investigated species of piper is thick (fig. 2f). in general, epidermal layer is followed by cortex, and the cortex possesses three types of cells collenchyma, chlorenchyma and parenchyma. outer cortex is collenchymatous, where layers of cells varied among the species depending on maturity. 62 shethi et al. fig. 2. transverse section of stem showing contour and detailed anatomical characters of five species of piper: a. p. betle (4x); b. p. longum (4x); c. p. nigrum (4x); d. p. retrofractum (4x); e. p. sylvaticum (4x); f. p. nigrum (40x); g. trichome of p. nigrum (100x); h. trichome of p. betle (100x); i. p. retrofractum (10x); j. p. nigrum (100x); k-l. p. betle (100x). ep: epidermis, oc: outer cortex, ic: inner cortex, cvb: cortical vascular bundle, mvb: medullary vascular bundle, p: pith, mc: mucilage canal, cu: cuticle, col: collenchyma, chl: chlorenchyma, par: parenchyma, scl: sclerenchyma, tri: trichome, sgr: starch grain, od: oil duct. bar = 100 µm. morphoanatomical profile of five species of piper l. 63 outer collenchymatous cortex is followed by sclerenchyma layer of cells forming continuous ring beneath the epidermis only in p. retrofractum (fig. 2i). however, in other four species outer collenchymatous layer is interrupted and separated by the extension of inner cortex, which are usually the chlorenchymatous layer of cells (fig. 2j). except the extension, cells of inner cortex of all the species are parenchymatous in nature. a comparative account of stem anatomical characters among the five species of piper has been depicted in table 1. the highest number of cortical vascular bundles are found in p. nigrum followed by p. betle and p. longum, while the lowest number is noticed in p. sylvaticum. the number of medullary vascular bundles remains the same in p. longum and p. nigrum showing a close affinity among these species. piper betle can easily be distinguished from other species by its oval shaped stem, non-glandular, multicellular trichomes with pointed tip, and presence of idioblasts and oil droplets (table 1). table 1. comparative anatomy of stem of five species of piper l. features p. betle p. longum p. nigrum p. retrofractum p. sylvaticum shape and outline oval, outline with ridges and furrows round, outline with prominent ridges and furrows round, outline with prominent ridges and furrows round, no ridges and furrows in outline round, with negligible ridges and furrows in outline trichome non-glandular, multicellular (4-celled) with pointed tip, less frequent non-glandular, unicellular, frequent nonglandular, small, unicellular, frequent absent non-glandular, unicellular, small, scarcely present no. of cortical vascular bundle 25 25 26 22 15 no. of medullary vascular bundle 8 6 6 10 4 mucilage canal 1 central, 3 between medullary and cortical vascular bundle 1, central 1, central 1, central 1, central idioblasts and oil droplets numerous absent absent absent absent anomalous secondary structure in the stem anatomy is a diagnostic feature of the family piperaceae. vascular bundle type in the studied species of piper stem was conjoint, collateral, open and arranged in two rings, i.e. the outer cortical/peripheral ring and the inner medullary ring (fig. 2a-e). the bundles of the cortical ring are always greater in number than the medullary ring and are not uniform in size (murty, 1973). number of vascular bundles in both rings are different among the studied species (table 1). maximum number of cortical and medullary vascular bundles are observed in p. betle followed by p. nigrum and p. retrofractum. on the other hand, minimum number of cortical and medullary vascular bundles are found in p. sylvaticum. the number of vascular bundles in both rings in p. longum and p. nigrum is incongruent with earlier studies (murty, 1973; ravindran and rameshree, 1998). similar number of cortical vascular bundles (25) are observed in p. betle which is consistent with murty (1973). the medullary vascular bundles are larger than the cortical/peripheral vascular bundles. 64 shethi et al. the vascular bundles in the peripheral ring consist of small and large bundles arranged alternately. below the peripheral vascular bundle area, a continuous wavy band of several layered (number of layers might vary according to the species and age) sclerenchymatous conjunctive tissue is observed, and the lower part of xylem region merges with these layers. secondary thickening is restricted to the peripheral vascular bundles only (fig. 2i). xylem of both the vascular bundles is highly lignified but the newly produced metaxylem elements are unlignified. the centre of the stem is occupied by a large, lysigenous type of mucilage duct/canal in the studied species. in addition, p. betle has three more mucilage duct between the ring of peripheral and medullary vascular bundles (fig. 2k). however, both central and cortical mucilage canal are reported in p. nigrum (ravindran and rameshree, 1998). the pith is larger, and occupies much of the volume of stem; composed of parenchyma cells that contain much starch grains (fig. 2l). starch grains are present in other tissue of the stem of the piper species, and p. betle contains more starch grain than other species. in the present investigation deposition of secretory idioblasts (orange in colour and generally known as oleoresins) and oil droplets are observed frequently in different tissues of p. betle stem (fig. 2k–l). though oil droplets are present occasionally in different tissues of the stem of other studied species, no oleoresins are present in other species. however, occurrence of such compounds are reported to be common in other species of piper by many workers (silva et al., 2014; machado et al., 2015; santos et al., 2015; bertocco et al., 2017). leaf anatomy transverse section of the dorsiventral leaves of the five species of piper provides diverse anatomical features in both leaf blade and midrib region. comparative leaf anatomical features have been presented in table 2. glandular trichomes are found on the midrib of p. betle, p. longum, and p. sylvaticum, whereas trichomes are absent in p. nigrum and p. retrofractum. the highest number of collateral vascular bundles is noticed in p. retrofractum (4) followed by p. nigrum (3), while single collateral vascular bundle is present in p. betle and p. longum. numerous idioblasts are observed in p. betle but absent in p. longum and p. sylvaticum. leaves of the studied species of piper are found to be hypostomatic although amphistomatic is reported in p. hispidinervum c. dc. (gogosz et al., 2012) and p. sarmentosum roxb. (raman et al., 2012). different types of stomata viz., diacytic, paracytic, anomocytic, tetracytic and anisocytic are observed in all the studied species of piper. p. longum can easily be differentiated from remaining species by its diacytic stomata (table 2). tetracytic stomata are common in piper species (santos et al., 2015; bertocco et al., 2017). however, due to the presence of multiple types of stomata in case of interand intraspecies this feature may not be helpful in the delimitation of species (santos et al., 2018). in our studied species of piper the epidermis of midrib and lamina is uniseriate and covered with thin and smooth cuticle. several studies have shown that leaf of piper species exhibits single layered epidermis (raman et al., 2012; santos et al., 2015, 2018). however, multiple layered epidermis have been reported in piper species (gogosz et al., 2012; raman et al., 2012). midrib shape and vascular pattern are useful markers to differentiate and identify piper species (santos et al., 2018). although midrib shape was biconvex in all the examined species, each of them has some variations on either surface (table 2). diversification in the shape of midrib is also precisely demonstrated in figures 3a-e. however, raman et al. (2012) reported flat-convex midrib in p. betle. other shape such as concave-convex has also been found in piper (santos et al., 2015). as shown in figure 3f generally in the adaxial surface beneath the epidermis, several layered angular collenchyma cells are present and the palisade parenchyma cells become gradually shorter toward the middle region. morphoanatomical profile of five species of piper l. 65 fig. 3. transverse section of leaf presenting anatomical features in the midrib and lamina of piper species: a. p. betle (10x); b. p. longum (10x); c. p. nigrum (10x); d. p. retrofractum (10x); e. p. sylvaticum (10x); f. p. nigrum (40x); g. p. retrofractum (40x); h. p. longum (40x); i-j. p. nigrum (40x); k-l. p. betle (40x); m. p. nigrum (40x); n. trichomes of p. longum (100x); o. trichomes of p. sylvaticum (100x). uep: upper epidermis, lep: lower epidermis, vb: vascular bundle, mc: mucilage canal, col: collenchyma, pp: palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, hy: hypodermis, ol: oleoresins, od: oil droplets, ep: epidermis, tri: trichome. bar = 100 µm. the vascular system is represented by collateral vascular bundle in the ground parenchyma except in p. sylvaticum where it is bicollateral. three discrete vascular bundles are found more or less in a straight line in p. nigrum (fig. 3c), and in p. retrofractum three larger vascular bundles 66 shethi et al. form a line, and the smallest vascular bundle is situated near the middle one (fig. 3d). crescent shaped sclerenchyma cells are observed surrounding the vascular bundle of p. retrofractum only (fig. 3d). in case of laminar portion, immediately beneath the upper and lower epidermis distinct hypodermal layers of hyaline parencyhmatous cells are notified. nakamura et al. (2015) opines that the origin of the sub-epidermal layers or hypodermis in piper leaves is the ground meristem. the number of hypodermal layers is considered by many authors as a taxonomic character to identify piper species (raman et al., 2012; machado et al., 2015; santos et al., 2015; bertocco et al., 2017). the present investigation also confirms variable numbers of hypodermis on both surfaces across the species (table 2). p. betle and p. retrofractum have similar number of hypodermis (fig. 3g, k), while p. longum and p. sylvaticum have similar pattern of hypodermis (fig. 3h). however, p. nigrum differ from the remaining species by possessing maximum number of hypodermis (fig. 3i). in the studied species of piper, 2 layers of palisade and 3–5 layers of spongy parenchyma with no or small intercellular spaces are observed (fig. 3j). however, the number of layers of palisade and spongy parenchyma may vary in different species (santos et al., 2015). table 2. comparative anatomy of leaf of five studied species of piper l. features p. betle p. longum p. nigrum p. retrofractum p. sylvaticum trichomes (glandular) 1-3 celled, only on abaxial surface 1-3 celled, only on abaxial surface absent absent unicellular, many on abaxial and few on adaxial surface midrib shape biconvex, abaxial square shaped with ridges and furrows, adaxial more angular biconvex, abaxial semi-circled with no ridges and furrows, adaxial angular biconvex, abaxial semicircled, flattened with no ridges and furrows, adaxial angular biconvex, abaxial bean shaped with no ridges and furrows, adaxial less angular biconvex, abaxial semi-circled somewhat flattened, slightly wavy, adaxial angular hypodermis upper 2layered, lower 3-layered both upper and lower 2-layered upper 2layered, lower 4-layered upper 2-layered, lower 3-layered both upper and lower 2-layered mucilage canal small, single, present on midrib vb towards adaxial surface absent large, single, present on midrib vb towards adaxial surface present on midrib vb and also in lamina on adaxial side absent vascular bundle single, collateral single, collateral 3, collateral 4, collateral single, bicollateral idioblasts and oil droplets numerous absent occasionally present occasionally present absent stomata anomocytic, anisocytic diacytic anomocytic, tetracytic paracytic paracytic, tetracytic individual secretory cells (idioblasts) containing orange lipophilic content and resin (oleoresins) as well as oil droplets are abundant in the lamina as well as midrib region of p. betle (fig. 3k–l) and occasionally appeared in p. nigrum and p. retrofractum. on the contrary, only oil droplets are observed in p. retrofractum, p. longum and p. nigrum (fig. 3g–i). such idioblasts morphoanatomical profile of five species of piper l. 67 have additional secretory functions and reported from many other species of piper (raman et al., 2012; machado et al., 2015; nakamura et al., 2015; santos et al., 2015; bertocco et al., 2017). conical shaped, non-glandular, unicellular to multicellular trichomes have been observed in the leaf of piper species (table 2). significantly, trichomes are confined only in the midrib region of the leaf. p. betle and p. longum have multicellular, glandular trichomes (fig. 3a,l & b,n) confined only to the abaxial surface of midrib zone; whereas, unicellular trichomes are distributed on the midrib of both surfaces of p. sylvaticum (fig. 3o). trichomes are absent in p. nigrum and p. retrofractum leaf. based on anatomical characteristics a key to the investigated species of piper is presented below: 1. stem oval in shape; idioblasts and oil droplets numerous. piper betle – stem round in shape; idioblasts and oil droptels absent. 2 2. ridges and furrows absent in the outline of stem; leaf vascular bundles 4. p. retrofractum – ridges and furrows present in the outline of stem; leaf vascular bundles 1 or 3. 3 3. upper hypodermis 2-layered, lower ones 4-layered; mucilage canal present on midrib vascular bundle; vascular bundles 3. p. nigrum – both upper and lower hypodermis 2-layered; mucilage canal absent; vascular bundle 1. 4 4. leaf vascular bundle collateral; stomata diacytic. p. longum – leaf vascular bundle bicollateral; stomata paracytic and tetracytic. p. sylvaticum the present study on morphoanatomical profiles of five piper species from bangladesh is the first of its nature. trichomes primarily serve as defense tissue, and provide worthy anatomical features to characterize the studied species of piper. besides, other anatomical traits, viz. section contour, number of vascular bundles, presence of mucilage canal in case of stem and layers of hypodermis, midrib shape, idioblasts and stomata of leaf are considered as distinctive characters for delimitation of the piper species investigated. inclusion of additional species employing additional tools would throw more light on better understanding of species delimitation and interspecific relationships of the genus piper. references bertocco, a.r.p., migacz, i.p., santos, v.l.p., franco, c.r.c., silva, r.z., yunes, r.a., cechinel-filho, v. and budel, j.m. 2017. microscopic diagnosis of the leaf and stem of piper solmsianum c. dc. microsc. res. tech. 80: 831–837. chaveerach, r., kunitake, h., nuchadomrong, s., sattayasai, n. and komatsu, h. 2002. rapd patterns as a useful tool to differentiate thai piper from morphologically alike japanese piper. science asia 28: 221– 225. ghani, a. 2003. medicinal plants of bangladesh (second edition). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh, 603 pp. gogosz, a.m., boeger, m.r.t., negrelle, r.r.b. and bergo, c. 2012. anatomia foliar com-parativa de nove espécies do gênero piper (piperaceae). rodriguésia 63: 405–417. greig, n. 2004. introduction. in: dyer, l.a. and palmer, a.n. (eds), piper: a model genus for studies of phytochemistry, ecology, and evolution. kluwer academic/plenum publishers, new york, pp. 1–4. habib, m.a. 2009. piperaceae. in: ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondoker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds), encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 9, angiosperms: dicotyledons (magnoliaceae-punicaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 370–378. 68 shethi et al. hooker, j.d. 1886. the flora of british india. vol. 6. l. reeve & co., london, uk, pp. 78–99. hubert, h. 1987. piperaceae. in: dassanayake, m.d. and f.r. fosberg (eds), a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, vol. 6. amerind publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhi, india, pp. 272–300. jaramillo, m.a. and callejas, r. 2004. current perspectives on the classification and phylogenetics of the genus piper l. in: dyer, l.a. and palmer, a.d.n. (eds), piper: a model genus for studies of phytochemistry, ecology, and evolution. kluwer academic/plenum publishers, new york, pp. 179– 198. jaramillo, m.a. and manos, p.s. 2001. phylogeny and patterns of floral diversity in the genus piper (piperaceae). am. j. bot. 88(4): 706–716. lakshmi, b.s. and naidu, k.c. 2010. comparative morphoanatomy of piper betle l. cultivars in india. annals biol. res. 1(2): 128–134. machado, n.s.o., pereira, f.g., santos, p.r.d., costa, c.g. and guimarães, e.f. 2015. comparative anatomy of the leaves of piper lepturum (kunth) c. dc. var. lepturum and piper lepturum var. angustifolium (c. dc.) yunck. hoehnea 42: 1–8. murty, y.s. 1973. studies in the order piperales. iv. a contribution to the study of vegetative anatomy of three species of piper. proc. nat. inst. sci., india 25(b): 31–38. nakamura, a.t., simão, e., silva, l. and torres, g.a. 2015. origin of the sub-epidermal tissue in piper l. leaves. braz. j. biol. 75: 368–371. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants, vol. 2. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 267–269. raman, v., galal, a.m. and khan, i.a. 2012. an investigation of the vegetative anatomy of piper sarmentosum, and a comparison with the anatomy of piper betle (piperaceae). am. j. plant sci. 3: 1135–1144. ravindran, p.n. and remashree, a.b. 1998. anatomy of piper colubrinum link. j. spices & aromat. crops 7(2): 111–123. santos, v.l.p., franco, c.r.c., amano, e., messias-reason, i.j. and budel, j.m. 2015. anatomical investigations of piper amalago (jaborandi-manso) for the quality control. rev. bras. farmacogn. 25: 85–91. santos v.l.p., raman, v., bobekc, v.b., migaczc, i.p., franco, c.r.c., khan, i.k. and budel, j.m. 2018. anatomy and microscopy of piper caldense, a folk medicinal plant from brazil. rev. bras. farmacogn. 28: 9–15. shethi, k.j., begum, m. and rashid, p. 2017. comparative anatomy of momordica dioica roxb. ex willd. and m. cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. bangladesh j. bot. 46(2): 725–732. silva, r.j.f., aguiar-dias, a.c.a. and mendonca, m.s. 2014. rosetas e concrescên-cias cristalinas silicificadas em piper (piperaceae): registros inéditos demacropadrões. acta amaz. 44: 435–446. silva, r.j.f., aguiar-dias, a.c.a., faial, k.c.f. and mendonca, m.s. 2017. morphoanatomical and physicochemical profile of piper callosum: valuable assessment for its quality control. rev. bras. farmacogn. 27: 20–33. sinha, s.c. 1996. medicinal plants of manipur. mass and sinha, manipur cultural integration conference palace compound, imphal, india, 288 pp. the plant list, 2013. the plant list, a working list of all plant species. version 1.1 < http://www.theplantlist.org/>. accessed on 2 february 2019. tropicos, 2017. tropicos.org. <www.tropicos.org>. missouri botanical garden, saint louis, missouri, usa. accessed on 2 february 2019. trueba, s., rowe, n.p., neinhuis, c., wanke, s., wagner, s.t. and isnard, s. 2015. stem anatomy and the evolution of woodiness in piperales. j. plant sci. 176: 468–485. yongqian, c., nianhe, x. and gilbert, m.g. 1999. piperaceae. flora of china, 4: 110–129. (manuscript received on 3 february 2019; revised on 6 may 2019) http://www.thehttp://www.tropicos.org microsoft word 10. bjpt 16 121 _edt_ka-18-04-2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 83–89, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three lichen taxa new for turkey kenan yazici1 and andré aptroot2 biology department, faculty of science, karadeniz technical university, 61080, trabzon, turkey keywords: ascolichen, lecanoraceae, hymenchiaaceae; verrucariaceae. abstract three lichen taxa viz. – aspicilia asiatica (h. magn.) yoshim., lecanora subcarnea (sw.) ach. var. soralifera h. magn., and thelidium minutulum körb. were identified as new to turkey as a result of a lichenological survey in the bitlis and muş regions turkey. in addition, lecanora subcarnea var. soralifera is also new to asia. a detail taxonomic account, notes on known distribution, substrates, and chemistry under each taxon and comparisons with morphologically similar taxa are furnished under each taxon. introduction recently, a lot of lichen taxa have been recorded for turkey since the surveys about lichen flora are poor (aptroot and yazici, 2012; arslan et al., 2011; yazici et al., 2010a, b, c, 2011a, b, 2012, 2013; karagöz and aslan, 2012; karagöz et al,. 2011; kinalioğlu and aptroo, 2011; osyczka et al., 2011) but more surveys are still needed of unexplored regions in the country. aspicilia a. massal (hymeneliaceae) contains approximately 230 species (nordin et al., 2010). lecanora ach. (lecanoraceae) comprises about than 600 species (mccarth and mallett, 2004), while thelidium a. massal (verrucaraceae) has about 100 lichen taxa (orange, 1991). from turkey 42 taxa of aspicilia, 105 taxa of lecanora, and 4 taxa of thelidium have thus far been reported. of approximately 1650 lichen taxa that have been recorded for the country only 6 lichenized fungi have been reported from muş province (yazici and aslan, 2016a,b). on the other hand, 31 lichen species were noted from bitlis region (çobanoğlu, 2005; çobanoğlu and yavuz, 2007; vondrak et al., 2012). the present study aims at exploring the lichens in the regions of muş and bitlis, eastern turkey. we report here three lichen taxa which are new records for turkey and asia. materials and methods the present study is based on collections from the bitlis and muş regions made in 2015-2016. air-dried samples were examined with a nikon smz1500 stereomicroscope and a nikon eclipse 80i compound light microscope. relevant keys were consulted (dickhäuser et al., 1995; ceynowa-giełdon and adamska, 2014; orange, 2008; thüs and nascimbene, 2008; poelt and wirth, 1968; poelt and vězda, 1981) for the identifications. vouchers are stored in the herbarium of the biology department, karadeniz technical university, trabzon, turkey (ktub). the diagnosis are based on turkish specimens. study area muş: center, mostly formed by vast areas of meadow and steppe, and high mountains, are mountainous by quercus l. communities locally and salix l. trees are rarely seen in some areas in this region (baytop and denizci, 1963). muş region has a climate characterized by very cold and 1corresponding author. email: kcagri_1997@yahoo.com 2abl herbarium g.v.d.veenstraat 107 nl-3762 xk soest, the netherlands. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33035 84 yazici and aptroot very snowy winters, and hot, dry and short summers, with temperatures ranging from –29 to 41.6°c. annual rainfall ranges from 350–1000 mm and the average humidity is 60.3% (akman, 1999). bitlis region (tatvan: nemrut mountain and adilcevaz) are mountainous with vast open areas, large plain and sometimes quercus, populus and salix trees are seen in some places. nemrut mountain is a second large extinct crater of the world. there is a lake, many rocks and trees such as quercus and populus (baytop and denizci, 1963). thence crustose and foliose lichens are predominantly seen. collecting localities are well-lit, windswept, treeless areas with gently sloping terrain containing streams, grass, and calcareous and siliceous rocks. the climate is characterized by very cold snowy winters and short hot dry short summers, with a temperature range of -21.3°c to 37°c, a mean annual rainfall is around 822.9 mm, and mean annual humidity of 61% (akman, 1999). results aspicilia asiatica (h. magn.) yoshim., nov.sist. niz. rast. 9: 286 (1972). (fig. 1). thallus crustose, up to 5 cm diam, ± cycloid or ± elliptic, gray, gray-beige, with deep cracked, and areolate; areoles uneven, blistered, corrugated, areolae up to 800 µm diam; lobes thin and narrow towards the ends, ± contiguous, or with light space, sometimes ± partly overlapping, rarely dichotomic, about 165 µm, bulky, lobe tips black-brown as if burned. apothecia up to 1.25 mm diam, regular or sometimes irregular and with depressed proper margin, aggregated mostly in the middle, scarce towards the lobes, constricted at the base, one per even fertile areol; thallin exciple more or less distinct, thick, 125 µm diam, gray, concolorous with the thallus, large; disc concav, pruinose, dark red or dark brown-black, to 900 µm diam; epihymenium yellow-brown; hypothecium 50-60 µm, yellow brown-gray; hymenium 90-100 µm; paraphyses contiguous, apices subglobe, upper part filiform. asci 8-spored, clavate, 65-75 × 18-20 µm; ascospores 17 × 10 µm, more or less ellipsoid thallus and medulla k-, c-, kc-, p-, under upper cortex k more or less yellow-orange. a detailed description is provided by oxner (1972). aspicilia asiatica grows on calcareous rocks. previously known from austria, afghanistan, altai-sayan, china, mongolia, tajikistan, kazakhstan, kyrgyzstan (poelt and wirth, 1968; abbas et al., 2001; bredkina and makarova, 2005; sedelnikova, 2013). new to turkey. specimen examined: turkey. muş: center, between üçevler and muş mainroad, roadside, 38°40′49.85″n 41°25′30.87″e, 2585 m, on calcareous rock, 29.05.2015, leg. k.yazici. (ktub– 2452). accompanying species were: aspicilia cinerea (l. körb.), acarospora fuscat (nyl.) th. fr., acarospora impressula th. fr. var. hospitans (h. magn.) clauzade & cl. roux, candelariella vitelline (hoffm.) müll..arg., immersaria athroocarpa (ach.) rambold & pietschm., protoparmeliopsis muralis (schreb.) m. choisy, rhizocarpon geographicum (l.) dc., rhizoplaca melanophthalma (dc.) räsänen, rinodina milvina (wahlenb.) th. fr. and xanthoria elegans (link) th. fr. lecanora subcarnea (sw.) ach. var. soralifera h. magn., bot. notiser: 433 (1932). (fig. 2). thallus crustose up to 5 cm diam, thick, more or less gray, grayish or yellowish white, epruinose, deeply cracked, areolate; areola blistered, more or less verrucose, surface uneven, margins indistinct. apothecia up to 1.25 mm diam.; disc light red-brown, light brown or redbrown, slightly pruinose, slightly concave, p+ orange-red, c-; soralia 0.5-0.7 mm, blue-grey, ± new aspicilia, lecanora and thelidium species 85 hemisphaerical, occurring on areola, side of apothecia, also on exciple and disc hymenium 90-95 µm high, yellow, yellow-gray, hyaline, clear; paraphyses with thickened upper cells; epihymenium greenish gray-brown; hypothecium hyaline, 150-190 µm, not oil droplets thallin exciple concolous with the thallus, smooth, entire, prominent (fig. 2a); asci clavate, 8-spored, 40-45 × 8-10 µm; ascospores simple, hyaline, ellipsoid, 9-15 × 6-8 µm (fig. 2c).thallus kor slightly yellowbrown, c-, kc-, p + orange-red. medulla k-, c-, kc, p-. disc p+ orange-red. soralia spot tests are negative. fig. 1. aspicilia asiatica, a). thallus with lobes. scale = 1 mm, b). apothecia with pruinose disc. scale = 1 mm, c). section through apothecium with hymenium, epihymenium, hypothecium, ascus and ascospores. scale = 50 µm, d). section of apothecium with hymeniıum, ascus and ascospores. scale = 50 µm. lecanora subcarnea var. soralifera is a mild-temperate to mediterranean species, mostly growing on calcareous rock, sometimes on walls. previously known from austria, germany, sweden, norway, north america (berger and priemetzhofer, 2014; dickhäuser et al.,1995; eichler et al., 2010). new to turkey and asia. a detailed descriptions are provided by dickhäuser et al., (1995), poelt and vězda, (1981). specimen examined: turkey, bitlis: tatvan, nemrut mountain, 38°36′08.60″n 42°15′ 35.18″e, 2360 m, on calcareous rock, 29.06.2016, leg. k.yazici. (ktub–2458). thelidium minutulum körb., parerga lichenol. (breslau) 4: 351 (1863). (fig. 3). thallus crustose, epilithic, thin to moderately thick 50-100 µm, continuous, grey, partly greybrown, margin indistinct, up to 5 cm diam, lightly cracked, uneven, rough, corrugated, granular or 86 yazici and aptroot   rimose, also cracked surroundig perithecia; perithecia small, about 150-325 µm diam., 320 µm immersed in the thallus, 160 µm on the thallus, or 0.5 mm immersed 0.35 mm on the thallus, more or less globose to ovate, basal part bounded by algae layer; periphyses present; involucrellum absent or very thin; exciple dark-brown to black, about 100-180 µm diam; asci 8-spored, more or less clavate, 85-90 × 21-23 µm; ascospores colourless, ellipsoid, 17−21 × 6−8 µm, 2-celled (fig. 3d). all spot tests are negative. fig. 2. lecanora subcarnea var. soralifera, a). thallus with apothecia and blue-gray soralia. scale = 1 mm, b). cross-section of apothecium with hymenium, epihymenium, hypothecium. scale = 500 µm, c). section of apothecium with hymenium, ascus and ascospores. scale = 500 µm. a detailed description is provided by orange (2008). thelidium minutulum is a widespread, cool-temperate to arctic-alpine, circumpolar lichen, occuring on calcareous or siliceous rocks, metal-rich, old walls, often vertical faces, limestones, rarely on soil, sterile and grows on steeply inclined faces (ceynowa-giełdon and adamska, 2014; adamska, 2010; 2012; ceynowa-giełdon, 2001). it is known from throughout the europe. asia (taiwan) and north america, (freire et al., 1999; thüs and nascimbene, 2008; redchenko et al., 2010; vondrák et al., 2010; coste ,2011; pykälä et. al., 2012; toetenel et al., 2012; ceynowagiełdon and adamska, 2014). new to turkey. specimen examined: turkey, bitlis: adilcevaz, karşıyaka village, surrounding sodalı lake, 38°49′26.29″n 42°57′16.60″e, 1712 m, on calcareous rock, 17.07.2016, leg. k.yazici (ktub– 2460). notes: some members of thelidium minutulum can be confused with thelidium rehmii zschacke, but the thallus in t. minutulum is more granular than that of t. rehmii. the photobionts new aspicilia, lecanora and thelidium species 87 in t. minutulum are in small aggregated groups, while those of t. rehmii distributed irregularly in the thallus. habitat of these two speceis are also different (ceynowa-giełdon, 2001). moreover this species is morphologically confused with verrucaria bryoctona (th. fr.) orange. however t. minutulum can be distinguished from v. bryoctona in having 2-celled ascospores and structure of excipulum (aslan and yazici, 2013). accompanying species was verrucaria nigrescens pers. fig. 3. thelidium minutulum, a). thallus with perithecia, habitus. scale = 1 mm. b). perithecium covered by algae in small group, periphyses, indistinct brown wall of perthecium, ascus and ascospores. scale = 50 µm, c). section through perithecium coverd by algae, ligth distict brown wall of perithecium, exciple, periphyces, ascus and ascospores. scale = 50 µm, d.section of perithecium with periphyses, ascus and ascospores. scale = 50 µm. acknowledgements this study was supported by tubitak (project 114z892). references abbas, a., mijit, h., tumur, a. and jinong, w. 2001. a checklist of the lichens of xinjiang, china. harvard papers in botany 5 (2): 359–370. adamska, e. 2010. biota of lichens on the zadroże dune and its immediate surroundings, ecological questions 12: 51–28. adamska, e. 2012. protected and threatened lichens in the city of toruń. in lipnicki, l. 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(manuscript received on 4 november 2016; revised on 25 march 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 37‒65, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora of four districts of bangladesh: magnoliopsida goutam kumer roy* and saleh ahammad khan department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342, bangladesh keywords: homestead flora; magnoliopsida; threatened species; four districts; bangladesh. abstract this study has documented the contemporary taxonomic information on the species of the class magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) extant in the homestead areas of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts of bangladesh. in these areas, the dicotyledons are comprised of total 455 species under 302 genera belonging to 78 families. fabaceae with 41 species is the largest family and solanum and lindernia are the largest genera. total 238 species are herbs followed by 129 species of trees and 88 species of shrubs. total 332 species are economically useful. the composition and distribution of the species of this plant group are remarkably variable in the homestead areas of the four districts. the current status of seven threatened species viz., abroma augusta, andrographis paniculata, aniseia martinicensis, mucuna bracteata, pterocarpus santalinus, rauvolfia serpentina and tournefortia roxburghii, included in the red data book of bangladesh and extant in the study area, has been evaluated and described. this study has identified some threats to the homestead flora and formulated some recommendations for the conservation of threatened and declining native plant species of the study area. the data provided by this study will serve as an important baseline to track the trend of changes in the floristic composition and diversity and sustainable development of plant genetic resources in the homesteads of the study area. introduction dicotyledons are the most successful and dominant plant group (heywood, 1993). they comprise about 62.5% of the total angiosperm species (ca. 400000) recorded from this planet so far (leitch and leitch, 2008). dicots are the major biotic component of almost all ecosystems and essential for human being as the source of food, cloths, shelter, medicines, fodder and many other substances used in different puroses worldwide. bangladesh is endowed with about 5,000 species of flowering plants, of which more than two third are dicotyledonous (khan, 1972-1987). dicot plants dominate the forests, village groves and woodlands of bangladesh (khan and afza, 1968; khan and banu, 1969; khan, 1972-1987). homesteads are privately owned dwellings in the rural and semi-urban settings that typically consist of a living area, kitchen, backyard, front yard, and sometimes a pond and patio (muhammed et al., 2011). a homestead forest, or “homegarden”, is usually a complex mixture of deliberately planted vegetation and designed to produce natural products for the household uses or market sale. it is an operational unit, in which a number of crops are grown with livestock, poultry and fish production mainly for the purpose of the farmer’s basic needs (leuschner and khaleque, 1987). bangladesh has 15.4 million homesteads occupying 0.3 million hectares of land that are providing major requirement of food, fruit, vegetables, timber and fuel wood (abedin and quddus, 1990). plants of the homesteads are receiving increasing attention from scientists, practitioners and policymakers because of their social, economic, ecological and environmental benefits (alam, 2011). *author for correspondence, email: roy_kbd@yahoo.com mailto:roy_kbd@yahoo.com 38 roy and khan in bangladesh, there is no specific management plan for the homestead forests (fao, 2010) and the household owners are traditionally managing these. it is estimated that about 70% of timber, 90% of firewood, 48% of sawn and veneer logs, and almost 90% of bamboo requirements are met from homestead forests (uddin et, al., 2002). during the last 40–50 years, the relative importance has shifted from the traditional forestry to homestead plantation (roy et al., 2013). previousely some detail floristic studies (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; khan, 1972-1987; ahmed et al., 2008-2009) were carried on covering the political boundary of bangladesh. many taxonomic inventories (khan et al., 1977; khan et al., 1985; huq, 1986, 1988; alam et al., 2006; rahman et al., 2012; rahman, 2013; rahman et al., 2013; rahaman et al., 2015; shetu et al. 2018; tabassum, 2015) were also performed in different urban and rural areas of this country. however, these studies do not provide specific data on the homestead forests or floras of the study area. a good of number studies (bashar, 1999; uddin et al., 2002; alam et al. 2005; masum et al., 2008; kabir and webb, 2009; miah and hussain, 2010; alam, 2011; muhammed et al., 2011; muhammed et al., 2013; islam et al., 2013; rahman et al., 2013; roy et al., 2013; islam et al., 2015; rahaman et al., 2015; sajib et. al., 2016) were carried out on the homestead forests in different regions of bangladesh. however, the homestead floras of dhaka, manikganj, gazipur and tangail regions are not yet studied. this study was carried out to provide basic and recent taxonomic information on the species of the class magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) extant in the visited homestead areas of bangladesh. materials and methods the study area lies in dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts, that are located in central bangladesh, in between 23º38'-24º48'n and 89º41'-90º42'e and composed of an area of about 8067.97 sq km. this study was conducted during 2013 to 2018 based on a thorough taxonomic inventory involving 240 field trips to 1120 representative homestead areas belonging to 40 villages of 20 upazilas under the four districts in different seasons (fig. 1). following a preliminary reconnaissance survey, four categories of homesteads viz., old joint, old isolated, and new joint and new isolated, were selected from each district for better representation. the selected old homesteads were more than 20 years to 80 years old and the new ones were more than five years to less than 20 years old. the homesteads of each district were equal in number, more or less homogenous and from plain land areas to promote the reasonable comparision. representative specimens with flowers and fruits were collected during the field trips. routine herbarium methods (jain and rao, 1977) have been followed in collecting, preparing, pressing, drying, mounting, and storing the plant specimens. all plant specimens were identified through consulting with the experts, taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literature (hooker, 1872−1897; wu et al., 1995−2013), and matching with relevant voucher specimens preserved at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh), and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). nomenclatural information were verified through consulting tropicos (2010), the plant list (2013), international plant names index (2015) and the recent floras (wu et al., 1995−2013; watson et al., 2011). the families have been arranged following cronquist (1981). the families phyllanthaceae and putranjivaceae, not included in cronquist (1981)’s system, are placed besides their close family euphorbiaceae. all genera and species are presented alphabetically. all voucher specimens are housed at juh. the similarities in species composition in the homesteads of four districts have been measured following jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). the threatened status of the species in the homsteads of the study area was recognized based on their existing population preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 39 size, distribution range, and regeneration in the area, collections, interviews with elderly local people, and consulting the relevent iucn guidelines (iucn standards and petitions committee, 2019). fig. 1. map showing the location of the the study area (tangail, gazipur, manikganj and dhaka districts) and sampling sites. results and discussion this study recorded total 455 species of magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) under 302 genera and 78 families from the the visited homestead areas of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts (table 1). twenty three of the families were represented by single species each, 39 families by 2-10 species and only 13 families by 11-20 species. the homesteads of four districts 40 roy and khan table 1. taxonomic checklist of the species of magnoliopsida extant in the homestead areas of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts. scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse annonaceae annona reticulata l. nona d, g, m, t t ah, fp c fl. may-jul fr. sep-jan fr gkr2262 a. squamosa l. ata d, g, m, t t ah c fl. apr-may fr. aug-nov fr gkr0671 miliusa velutina (a.dc.) hook.f. & thomson gandhigajari g, m t ah, fp o fl. dec-may fr. u fw gkr1679 polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites debdaru d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. mar-may fr. jul-sep t gkr0697 p. suberosa (roxb.) thwaites hamjam; murmuri d, g, m, t s fp, rs c fl. sep-mar fr. u w gkr1106 uvaria littoralis blume gagh-ranga g s fp o fl. jul-aug fr. u w gkr1133 lauraceae cinnamomum tamala (buch.-ham.) t. nees & eberm. tejpata d, m t ah o fl. feb-oct fr. u s gkr0172 c. zeylanicum blume daruchini m, t st ah o fl. apr-jun fr. u s gkr1572 litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b.rob. kukurchita d, t t ah, rs o fl. apr-may fr. u w gkr2895 l. salicifolia (j. roxb. ex nees) hook. f. bara shiyalbuka, digloti d, m t rs o fl. apr-may fr. u w gkr0145 piperaceae peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth luchipata d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. sep-dec fr. u we gkr0512 piper betle l. pan m, t h ah o fl. apr-may fr. u m gkr1571 p. longum l. pipul d, t h ah, fp o fl. aug-jan fr. u m gkr0045 p. peepuloides roxb. wild pepper m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. nov-dec fr. u w gkr1125 p. peploides (kunth) poir. pipul d, m t ah o fl. jun-aug fr. nov-dec w gkr1272 p. sylvaticum roxb. pahari pipol d h rs o fl. aug-sep fr. u w gkr1544 aristolochiaceae aristolochia indica l. ishwarmul g, m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. jul-mar fr. u m gkr0038 ranunculaceae ranunculus sceleratus l. palik, podika m h fp o fl. feb-may fr. u m gkr0062 menispermaceae cocculus hirsutus (l.) w. theob. doipata, jhaljamani g h fp o fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr0334 stephania japonica (thunb.) miers nimukha, aknadi d, m s ah, fp, rs o fl. mar-sep fr. u m gkr0095 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 41 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse tiliacora acuminata miers baghlata g, m, t s ah, fp, rs o fl. apr-dec fr. u m gkr0122 tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thomson gulancha d s rs o fl. feb-jun fr. u m gkr1344 t. sinensis (lour.) merr. china gulancha g, t s ah, fp o fl. feb-jun fr. u m gkr0304 ulmaceae holoptelea integrifolia planch. nata karanja g t ah, fp o fl. & fr. decmar fw gkr0359 cannabaceae cannabis sativa l. gaza m, t h fp, rs o fl. aug-mar fr. u m gkr0139 trema orientalis (l.) blume jibon d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. sep-dec fr. u m, fw gkr0570 moraceae artocarpus heterophyllus lam. kanthal d, g, m t ah, rs o fl. jan-jun fr. u fr, t gkr 0174 a. lacucha buch.-ham. dewa d, g, m, t t ah, fp, rs c fl. feb-may fr. u fr, fw gkr2082 ficus benghalensis l. bot d, g, m, t t fp c fl. may-jul fr. u m, fw gkr0310 f. carica l. dumur, anjir d, g, m, t t ah, fp c fl. may-aug fr. u m gkr0079 f. heterophylla l. f. bhuidumur d, g, m, t s ah, fp, rs c fl. nov-jan fr. u fw gkr0033 f. hispida l. f. kakdumur d, g, m, t t ah, fp, rs c fl. sep-may fr, fw gkr0577 fr. u f. racemosa l. jogo dumur d, g, m, t t ah, fp, rs c fl. feb-may fr. u fr, fw, m gkr1763 f. religiosa l. ashatha d, g t ah, fp o fl. & fr. nov-feb m gkr3132 f. rumphii blume pakur d, m t ah, rs o fl. mar-nov fr. u fw gkr1324 morus alba l. tut m st rs o fl. apr-aug fr. u m gkr1243 premna bengalensis c.b.clarke koya-jarul d t fp o fl. may-nov fr. u w gkr1607 streblus asper lour. sheora d, g, m h bb, ep, fp o fl. & fr. feb-jun m gkr1822 urticaceae gonostegia hirta (blume ex hassk.)miq. unknown g, m st ah, fp, rs o fl. jun-jul fr. aug-sep m, fd gkr0175 laportea interrupta (l.) chew bichuti d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jul-sep fr. u w gkr0861 pilea microphylla (l.) liebm. rockweed t h ah o fl. aug-nov fr. u we gkr1065 pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. bilati luchipata d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. aug-dec fr. u w gkr1072 (table contd.) 42 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse nyctaginaceae boerhavia diffusa l. punarnova g, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. nov-feb fr. u m gkr2156 mirabilis jalapa l. sandhyamaloti g, m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. jun-oct fr. u or gkr0046 chenopodiaceae chenopodium album l. bathuashak d, g, m, t h ah, fp c fl. feb-mar fr. u v gkr0620 c. ambrosioides l. chandanbeto d, t h ah, fp o fl. & fr. throughout the year v gkr0553 amaranthaceae achyranthes aspera l. apang, bilaiachra d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jan-aug fr. u m gkr0297 alternanthera paronychioides a.st. hil. jhuli khata d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jun-aug fr. u w gkr0051 a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. haicha, malancha d, g, m h ah, fp, rs o fl. jan-sep fr. u v gkr0083 a. sessilis (l.) r.br. ex dc. chanchi d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl.& fr. throughout the year v gkr0439 amaranthus blitum l. boutuni d, g, m, t h ah, fp c fl. mar-jun fr. u v gkr0174 a. gangeticus l. data shak d, m h ah, fp o fl. jun-sep fr. u v gkr0547 a. spinosus l. katanotey d, g, m, t h fp, rs c fl. jun-dec fr. u v gkr0461 a. viridis l. notey shak d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jul-dec fr. u v gkr0507 atriplex hortensis l. red mountain spinach d h fp o fl. jul-sep fr. u m, or gkr0656 celosia argentea l. swetmorogph ul d h ah, fp o fl. apr-may fr. u or gkr0568 cyathula prostrata (l.) blume chhoto apang d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. sep-apr fr. u m gkr0166 enhydra fluctuans dc helencha d h fp o fl. & fr. dec-jan v gkr0637 portulacaceae portulaca oleracea l. nunia sag g h rs o fl.& fr. throughout the year v gkr0388 p. grandiflora hook. time flower m h rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year or gkr0126 basellaceae basella alba l. pui sak d, g, m, t h ah, fp c fl. nov-feb fr. u d, v gkr2614 molluginaceae glinus lotoides l. duserasag d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. apr-may fr. u v gkr0173 g. oppositifolius (l.) aug. dc. gima-sak d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. feb-apr fr. u m, v gkr0024 mollugo pentaphylla l. khetpapra d, m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year w gkr1110 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 43 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse caryophyllaceae dianthus caryophyllus l. jatasalpar g, m h fp, rs o fl.nov-jan fr. u or gkr2903 polycarpon prostratum (forssk.) aschers. & scheinf. gima g, m h fp, rs o fl. mar-jun fr. aug-sep w gkr0178 stellaria wallichiana haines commom chickweed g h ah o fl. feb-aug fr. u m gkr2037 polygonaceae persicaria assamica (meisn.) soják bishkathali d h rs o fl. jun-sep fr. u m gkr0154 p. barbata (l.) h.hara bishkathali m, t h fp, rs o fl. nov-feb fr. u m gkr0169 p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre bishkatali d, m h fp, rs o fl. mar-jul fr. u m gkr0428 p. lanata (roxb.) tzvelev bishkatali d h ah, rs o fl. jun-sep fr. u w gkr1363 p. minor (huds.) opiz. bishkatali m, t h rs o fl. jan-mar fr. u w gkr0116 p. orientalis (l.) spach bara panimarich d, g, t h fp, rs o fl. jun-oct fr. u w gkr0442 polygonum chinense l. bishkatali d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. nov-mar fr. u m gkr1843 p. effusum meissn. chemti sag d h ah, rs o fl. mar-oct fr. u w gkr1029 p. plebeium r. br. khudi bisakamtali d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. mar-apr fr. u w gkr0586 p. flaccidum meisn. lalbishkatali d, m h fp, rs o fl. aug-oct fr. u m gkr2372 rumex dentatus l. banpalong d h ah, fp o fl. may-jun fr. u w gkr0446 r. maritimus l. gang palong d, g h ah, fp, rs o fl. feb-may fr. u w gkr0515 plumbaginaceae plumbago zeylanica l. chitrak, chita d s ah o fl. nov-mar fr. u m gkr1266 dilleniaceae dillenia indica l. chalta d, g, m, t t ah, bb c fl. jun-aug fr. u fr, m gkr1057 elaeocarpaceae elaeocarpus floribundus blume jalpai d, g, m, t t fp, hy, rs o fl. jul-aug fr. u fr, o gkr0067 e. tectorius (lour.) poir t t fp o fl. may-jun, fr. aug-oct fr,o gkr1496 tiliaceae corchorus aestuans l. banpat d, g h fp o fl. aug-feb fr. u we gkr0239 grewia tenax (forssk.) fiori chhoto assar d, m s fp, rs o fl. feb-aug fr. u h gkr1275 (table contd.) 44 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. banokra d, g, m, t s ah, fp, rs c fl. sep-nov fr. u fb, m gkr0305 sterculiaceae helicteres isora l. rajot, atmora g s fp o fl. & fr. sep-mar m gkr0332 malvaceae abelmoschus moschatus medik. mushakdana, musk okra d h ah, fp o fl. jun-oct fr. u m gkr1390 abroma augusta (l.) l.f. ulat kambal t s ah, fp ce fl. jun-oct fr. u m gkr2090 abutilon indicum (l.) sweet potari d, m, t s ah, fp, rs o fl. sep-apr fr. u or gkr0140 bombax ceiba l. shimul d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. jan-mar fr. u fb, t gkr1006 corchorus capsularis l. pat d s ah, fp, rs o fl. oct-dec, fr. feb-mar fb gkr0556 fioria vitifolia (l.) mattei ban-carpus d s fp o fl. fr. apr-dec w gkr1662 gossypium arboreum l. karpas m t fp o fl. jun-jul fr. u fb gkr2623 grewia multiflora juss. panisara d, t st rs o fl. jul-sep fr. u fw, w gkr1335 g. nervosa (lour.) panigrahi assar/ datoi g st rs o fl. aug-apr fr. u fw, m gkr0744 hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. joba d, g, m, t s ah, fp c fl. & fr. throughout the year or gkr1526 h. sabdariffa l. chukair, chukur g s rs o fl. apr-jul fr. u fb, v gkr1954 malvastrum coromandelianum (l.) gracke broom weed m h rs o fl. mar-sep fr. u m gkr1247 melochia corchorifolia l. banpat d, g, m, t s ah, fp, rs c fl. jul-apr fr. u fb gkr0059 pentapetes phoenicea l. morich joba d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. & fr. jun-jan fb, or gkr0204 sida acuta burm. f. kureta d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. sep-may fr. u m gkr0184 s. cordifolia l. jhunka m h rs o fl.& fr. throughout the year m gkr1824 s. mysorensis wight & arn. berela g h fp, rs o fl. oct-feb fr. u m gkr0242 s. rhombifolia l. berela d, g, m, t h fp, rs c fl. jul-dec fr. u m gkr0287 urena lobata l. ghagra d s fp, rs o fl. jan-apr fr. u w gkr0081 lecythidaceae barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal d, g, m, t t ep, fp, rs c fl. mar-may fr. u bb, cw, rp gkr0699 caricaceae carica papaya l. pepe d, g, m t ah o fl.& fr. throughout the year fr, m, v gkr0006 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 45 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse cucurbitaceae bryonia cochinchinensis lour. boti-jhinga g h fp, rs o fl. may-jul fr. u m gkr1430 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. dec-mar fr. u m gkr1642 cucumis callosus (rottler) cogn. tita bangi d h fp, rs o fl. jul-jan fr. u fr gkr1369 c. sativus l. sosha d h fp o fl. sep-mar fr. u fr,v gkr1316 luffa cylindrica (l.) m. roem. dhundul d h ah o fl. feb-dec fr. u v gkr1348 momordica charantia l. ucche d, m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. jun-sep fr. u m, v gkr0580 m. cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. kakrol g h ah o fl. jun-aug fr. u v gkr0296 m. dioica roxb. ex willd. dharkarolla d, g, m h ah, fp, rs o fl. jul-dec fr. u v gkr0794 m. subangulata blume kakrol d, t h ah, fp o fl. jun-aug fr. u v gkr0662 mukia maderaspatana (l.) m. roem. agmukhi, bilari d, m h fp o fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr1647 trichosanthes cordata roxb. chichinga, rekha d h fp o fl. jul-aug fr. u v gkr1688 t. dioica roxb. potol t h rs o fl. feb-sep fr. u v gkr1557 t. tricuspidata lour. makal m h ah o fl. & fr. throughout the year w gkr1394 zehneria japonica (thunb.) h.y. liu rakhalshasha m h rs o fl. apr-jul fr. u m gkr0084 z. thwaitesii (schweinf.) c.jeffrey unknown m h ah, fp o fl. aug-dec fr. u w gkr2503 salicaceae flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. beuchi, katai d, g s rs o fl. & fr. nov-mar w gkr1535 f. jangomas (lour.) raeus. lukluki d, g, m st ah, fp o fl. mar-apr. fr. aug-oct fr gkr0342 salix tetrasperma roxb. boishakhi, panijama m t ah o fl. jan-feb fr. u fw gkr0158 capparaceae capparis zeylanica l. asarilata, g, t s ah, fp, rs o fl. mar-may fr. u m gkr0375 cleome rutidosperma dc. begunihurhure y d, g h ah, fp, rs o fl. may-nov fr. u w gkr0491 crateva magna (lour.) dc. bonna d, g, m, t t ep, rs c fl. mar-apr fr. u fw gkr1528 brassicaceae brassica napus l. sorisha g, m h ah, fp o fl. mar-aug fr. u o gkr0151 (table contd.) 46 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse b. nigra (l.) k.koch kalo sarisha, rai sarisha d, g, m h ah o fl. mar-may fr. u o gkr0718 rorippa indica (l.) hiern bon sorisa d, g, m h ah, fp, rs o fl. mar-apr fr. u w gkr0455 moringaceae moringa oleifera lamk. sajna d t ah, ep, fp o fl. jan-mar fr. u m, v gkr0572 sapotaceae chrysophyllum cainito l. star apple d, m t ah, rs, o fl. jul-aug fr. u fr, fw, t gkr1331 madhuca longifolia (j.koenig ex l.) j.f.macbr. mohua m t hy o fl. mar-may fr. u m gkr1932 manilkara zapota (l.) p.royen safeda d, g, m, t t ah, fp c fl. aug-oct fr. u fr gkr0118 mimusops elengi l. bokul d, g, m, t t ah c fl. mar-jun fr. u or gkr1702 ebenaceae diospyros discolor willd. bilati gab d, g, m, t h bb, fp, rs c fl. may-aug fr. u fr, t gkr0034 d. montana roxb. tomal d, t t fp, rs o fl. mar-apr fr. u t gkr0658 d. malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab d, g, m, t t ah, bb, fp c fl. may-jun fr. u fr, m, t gkr0715 d. peregrina (gaertn.) gürke gab m t ah o fl. jan-feb fr. u d, m gkr1586 d. philippinensis a.dc bilatigab d, t t fp, rs o fl. apr-jun fr. u fr gkr1498 myrsinaceae ardisia humilis vahl banjam g, m s fp, rs o fl. mar-dec fr. u m gkr0019 primulaceae androsace umbellata (lour.) merr. unknown d, m h rs o fl. feb-apr fr. u w gkr0125 crassulaceae kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers. patharkuchi d, g, m h ah o fl. jan-mar fr. u m gkr2490 rosaceae rosa chinensis jacq. golap d s ah o fl. apr-sep fr. u or gkr1526 mimosaceae mimosa pudica l. lajjabati d, g h fp, rs o fl. nov-mar fr. u m gkr0414 caesalpiniaceae senna occidentalis (l.) link barakalkasund a d, g s fp, rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr0721 s. sophera (l.) roxb. chhotokalkasu nda d, g h fp, rs o fl. nov-feb fr. u m gkr0232 s. tora (l.) roxb. kalkasunda d, g, m, t h fp, rs c fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr1118 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 47 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse fabaceae acacia auriculiformis benth. akashmoni d, g, m t fp, rs o fl. dec-mar fr. u t gkr1067 a. nilotica (l.) delile babla g, m t fp, rs o fl. jul-dec fr. u m gkr2014 albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. sirish, kalokoroi d, g, m t ah, rs o fl. mar-may, fr.aug-oct t gkr0508 a. lucida benth. motor koroi, potka siris d, g t rs o fl. jun-jul fr. u t, fw gkr0336 a. procera (roxb.) benth. sada siris,koroi d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. sep-feb fr. u t gkr0641 a. richardiana (voigt) king & prain gagansirish, rajkoroi d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. mar-may fr. u t gkr1705 a. saman (jacq.) merr. raintree d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. mar-jun fr. u t gkr1246 alysicarpus ovalifolius (schum.) leonard false moneywort t h fp, rs o fl. jun-sep fr. u w gkr1071 arachis hypogea l. cheenabadam d h fp o fl. jul-aug fr. u o gkr1367 bauhinia acuminata l. kanchan d, g, m, t s fp, rs c fl. apr-may fr. u m gkr1525 butea monosperma (lam.) taub. palash g, m, t t ah o fl. feb-apr fr. u m, re gkr2047 cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. arhar g, m, t h ah, rs o fl. dec-mar fr. u c gkr0164 canavalia ensiformis (l.) dc. jack bean d h ah o fl. may-oct fr. u v gkr1630 cassia fistula l. sonalu, bador lathi d, g, m, t h fp c fl. mar-sep fr. u m, or, t gkr1564 clitoria ternatea l. oporazita m h rs o fl. mar-may fr. u m, or gkr1839 crotalaria juncea l. jhunjuni d, t h rs o fl. jul-sep fr. u fb gkr1678 c. pallida ait. jhunjuni d, g, t h fp, rs o fl. sep-jan fr. u w gkr1675 dalbergia sissoo dc. sissoo d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. mar-jul fr. u t gkr1673 delonix regia (hook.) raf. krishnachura d, g, m, t t bb, fp, rs c fl. mar-oct fr. u or gkr1089 desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. salpani d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. oct-dec fr. u m gkr0299 d. motorium (houtt.) merr. turup chandal m h fp o fl. oct-jan fr. u m gkr1864 d. triflorum (l.) dc. kulaliya d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jul-dec fr. u w gkr1059 erythrina fusca lour. palita mandar m, t t ah, rs o fl. feb-apr fr. u w gkr1840 e. orientalis murray mandar/parijat d, g, m, t t ah, fp, rs c fl. jul-nov fr. u w gkr0953 (table contd.) 48 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse e. stricta roxb. mandar d, g t ah, fp o fl. jan-may fr. u w gkr1317 lablab purpureus (l.) sweet shim g h fp o fl. jul-sep fr. u v gkr1992 lathyrus aphaca l. kasari m h rs o fl. feb-apr fr. u c gkr0220 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit ipil-ipil d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. apr-jul fr. u fw gkr1396 medicago lupulina l. t h ah, fp o fl. apr-aug fr. u w gkr1633 mucuna bracteata dc. ex kurz unknown d s rs e fl. jan-apr fr. u w gkr1270 m. pruriens (l.) dc. alkushi g h fp o fl. sep-oct fr. oct-nov m gkr1997 pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. gilapi fal d, m t ah, rs o fl. dec-feb fr. u fd, fw gkr1386 pterocarpus macrocarpus kurz gumbury d, g t rs o fl. feb-apr fr. u t gkr1703 p. santalinus l.f. raktachandan m t ah ce fl. feb-apr fr. u d, m, o gkr2510 senna obtusifolia (l.) irwin & barneby chakunda, gol eski m, t h rs o fl. jul-dec fr. u m gkr2101 sesbania cannabina (retz.) poir. dhainchi d h ah o fl. jul-dec fr. u w gkr1282 s. sesban (l.) merr. dhancha d s fp o fl. & fr. sep-dec fo gkr1327 tamarindus indica l. tentul d, g, m t bb, fp, rs o fl. apr-jun fr. u fr, t gkr1610 tephrosia purpurea (l.) pers. jangli neel d h fp o fl. oct-dec fr. u w gkr1670 uraria lagopus dc. chakuley, chakulia g h rs o fl. sep-nov fr. u w gkr0260 vigna mungo (l.) hepper maskolai d, m h ah, fp o fl. nov-dec fr. u c gkr1163 lythraceae ammannia multiflora roxb. many-flower ammannia t h fp, rs o fl. & fr. sep-dec w gkr2161 a. baccifera l. banmarich m h rs o fl. sep-dec fr. u w gkr0214 lagerstroemia indica l. chhotojarul g, m, t t fp, rs o fl. jun-sep fr. u t gkr2288 l. parviflora roxb. tilajarul g, t t rs o fl. feb-may fr. u t gkr2869 l. speciosa (l.) pers. pannyajarul g t rs o fl. jun-aug fr. u t gkr0281 lawsonia inermis l. mehedi d, g, m, t t ah c fl. jan-apr fr. u d gkr0311 rotala rotundifolia (buch.ham. ex roxb.) koehne unknown m h rs o fl. & fr. sep-mar w gkr0156 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 49 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse myrtaceae eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnhardt eucalyptus d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. jul-feb fr. u t gkr1167 psidium guajava l. peyara d, g, m t ah o fl. mar-may fr. u fr, m gkr0030 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels jam d, g, m, t t ah c fl. mar-may fr. u fr, t gkr3248 s. fruticosum dc. putijam d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. mar-apr fr. u w gkr4668 s. samarangense (blume) merr. & l.m.perry jamrul d, g, m, t t fp c fl. feb-mar fr. u fr gkr2108 s. jambos (l.) alston golapjam d, g, m t ah, fp o fl. feb-apr fr. u fr gkr1940 punicaceae punica granatum l. anar d, g, m, t st ah, hy c fl. may-jul fr. u fr gkr3094 onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara keshordam g h ah, fp o fl.& fr. throughout the year we gkr0837 l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell panimarich d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. dec-jan fr. u aq we gkr0524 l. perennis l. banlong m, t h fp, rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year we gkr0086 combretaceae quisqualis indica (thunb.) gagnep. madhobilata d, t s fp, rs o fl. mar-nov fr. u or gkr1542 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun m t rs o fl. apr-jul fr. u m gkr1861 t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera d, g t rs o fl. apr-may fr. u m gkr2006 t. chebula retz. haritaki d, g, m, t t ah, fp, rs c fl. mar-may fr. u m gkr0330 t. catappa l. kat badam d, m, t t fp, rs o fl. mar-jun fr. jul-sep m, t gkr0664 cornaceae alangium salviifolium (l.f.) wangerin aikha d, g, m, t t bb, fp c fl. mar-aug fr. u fw gkr1153 olacaceae olax acuminata wall, ex benth. unknown m, t st rs o fl. mar-sep fr. u m gkr0282 loranthaceae dendrophthoe falcata (l. f.) etting. maandaa, bandha, pharulla t s rs o fl. jan-feb fr. u m gkr2221 helixanthera cylindrica (jack ex roxb.) danser unknown d h fp, rs o fl. jun-aug fr. u w gkr1606 putranjivaceae putranjiva roxburghii wall. putranjiva m t rs o fl. mar-aug fr. u m gkr1238 (table contd.) 50 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse euphorbiaceae acalypha ciliata forssk. muktajhuri d, m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. nov-aug fr. u m gkr1337 a. indica l. muktajhuri d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. mar-oct fr. u m gkr0467 baliospermum montanum (willd.) muell.-arg. dandi, danti d s fp, rs o fl. aug-mar fr. u m gkr0510 bridelia tomentosa blume khoi, serai g, t s rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year w gkr0250 chrozophora rottleri (geiseler) a. juss. ex spreng. khudi ojra d, g h rs o fl. feb-aug fr. u m gkr0394 c. plicata (vahl) a.juss. ex spreng. karu, kadu, chireta d, m s fp, rs o fl. feb-sep fr. u m gkr0040 codiaeum variegatum (l.) rumph. ex a.juss. pata bahar d, g, m, t t ah, fp c fl. mar-jun fr. u or gkr0149 croton bonplandianum baill. banmarich d, g, m, t h fp, rs c fl. nov-may fr. u m gkr0478 c. roxburghii balakr. baragachh, mashimud, putla g, t h rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr0339 c. caudatus geiseler climbing croton t s rs o fl. mar-may fr. u m gkr0140 euphorbia cotinifolia l. red spurge t s rs o fl. mar-jun fr. nov-jan or gkr2190 e. heterophylla l. milkweed d h fp o fl.& fr. throughout the year w gkr0493 e. hirta l. dudhia d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr0486 e. milii des moul. kontok mukut g s rs o fl. apr-aug fr. u m gkr0509 e. prostrata ait. red euphorbia d, g h ah, fp, rs o fl. mar-jun fr. u m gkr0416 e. thymifolia l. swetkarni, swetkan d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. nov-may fr. u we gkr0482 e. tirucalli l. lankasij g s rs o fl. may-jul fr. u m gkr0798 excoecaria bicolor (hassk.) zoll. ex hassk. laily majnu m s rs o fl. jan-apr fr. u or gkr0005 flueggea microcarpa blume shikori, sitka, sitki m s rs o fl. mar-sep fr. u w gkr0082 glochidion assamicum (müll . arg.) hook. f. poniatori, dostomi m s fp, rs o fl. nov-feb fr. u m gkr0136 hevea brasiliensis (willd. ex a.juss.) müll.arg. rubber d, g, m, t t bb, fp, rs c fl. may-aug fr. u r gkr1628 jatropha curcas l. baghbherenda d s rs o fl. apr-jul fr. u m, o gkr1626 j. gossypifolia l. lalbherenda d s rs o fl. jul-sep fr. u m gkr1653 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 51 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse j. panduraefolia andri joyti m s fp, rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year or gkr2089 macaranga denticulata (blume) müll.arg. bura, ratabura m, t t fp, rs o fl. apr-jun fr. may-oct fw, w gkr1668 m. indica wight chakkulla d, g t fp o fl. oct-dec fr. u fw, w gkr0571 m. peltata (roxb.) müll.arg. chakkula, burna d, g, m t fp, rs o fl. jan-feb fr. u fw, t gkr0352 mallotus philippensis (lam.) müll.-arg. sindur, kingul,kamala t t rs o fl. jan-mar fr. u m gkr0295 m. repandus (willd.) muell.arg. bon notoy g, t h ah, fp o fl. mar-may fr. u m gkr0290 pedilanthus tithymaloides (l.) poit. rangchita m, t h fp o fl. jun-aug fr. u or gkr0918 phyllanthus niruri l. bhui amla d, t s rs o fl. jul-oct fr. u m gkr1015 ricinus communis l. venna, reri d, g, m, t st ah, fp, rs c fl. may-jun fr. u o gkr0475 suregada multiflora (a. juss.) bail. ghotlatkon g t rs o fl. mar-may fr. u fw gkr2026 trewia nudiflora l. latim d, g, m, t t rs c fl. & fr. maynov w gkr0123 phyllanthaceae antidesma ghaesembilla gaertn. black currant tree m s rs o fl. mar-sep fr. jun-dec fr gkr2075 a. acidum retz. mutta,mathag ach m s rs o fl. mar-oct fr. jun-jan w gkr0219 baccaurea motleyana (müll.arg.) müll.arg. lotkon,bhubhi d, g, m, t t ah, bb, fp c fl. mar-oct fr. u fr gkr0789 emblica officinalis gaertn. amlaki m t ah o fl. feb-may fr. jun-sep m gkr1918 phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels orboroi d, g, m, t t ah, hy c fl. jan-jun fr. jun-aug ch, m gkr0065 p. reticulatus poir. chitki, panseuli d, g, m, t s ah, fp, rs c fl. jul-sep fr. u w gkr0087 p. urinaria l. hazarmani g, m, t h fp, rs c fl. jul-oct fr. u m gkr1968 rhamnaceae ziziphus mauritiana lamk. kul, boroi d, t t rs o fl. jul-nov fr. u fr gkr1611 z. rugosa lam. bon boroi t st rs o fl. jan-apr fr. u w gkr0283 vitaceae ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch. jarila-lahari m h rs o fl. mar-sep fr. u m gkr0138 a. latifolia (roxb.) planch. gowalia lata, pani-lata g, m h ah o fl. may-jun, fr. oct m gkr0047 cayratia japonica (thunb.) gagnep. bushkiller d, t h ah, fp o fl. mar-jun fr. u m gkr1540 (table contd.) 52 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse c. trifolia (l.) domin amal-lata d, g, m, t s ah, fp, rs c fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr0100 cissus adnata roxb. alianga lata, bhatia-lota. g s fp o fl. jun-jul. fr. aug-sep m gkr0889 leea acuminata wallich ex clarke kukur-jihwa d s fp o fl. aug-oct fr. u w gkr1692 l. macrophylla roxb. ex hornem. dholsamudra, hathikani d s rs o fl. jul-sep fr. u m gkr1259 l. robusta roxb. unknown d, t s ah o fl. jul-dec fr. u w gkr1961 tetrastigma bracteolatum (wall.) planch. golgoti lota d s fp o fl. & fr. aug-oct w gkr1683 t. leucostaphylum (dennst.) alston indian chestnut vine d s fp o fl. mar-aug fr. u w gkr1680 vitis vinifera l. angur m h ah o fl. may-jul fr. u fr gkr0121 linaceae linum usitatissimum l. tisi m h rs o fl. jun-aug, fr. jul-oct o gkr0049 sapindaceae cardiospermum halicacabum l. latapatkari, kapalphutki d h rs o fl. jul-feb fr. u m gkr1349 dimocarpus longan lour. kath litchi d, g t ah o fl. apr-aug fr. u fr gkr0354 lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. bon lichu, kakjam/ horina g, t t rs o fl. mar-may fr. u m gkr0281 l. senegalensis (poir.) leenh. gotahorina d, g t ah, rs o fl. nov-jun fr. u m gkr0728 litchi sinensis sonner lichu d, g, m t ah, fp o fl. jan-mar fr. u fr gkr1103 burseraceae garuga pinnata roxb. kapila, jum d t rs o fl. feb-may fr. u w gkr2604 anacardiaceae lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga, jika, jeol d, g t fp, rs o fl. & fr. jan-may re, t gkr2997 mangifera indica l. aam d, g, m t fp, rs o fl. jan-mar fr. may-jun fr, t gkr0079 spondias mombin l. amra d, g, m t ah, fp o fl. jan-may fr. u fr, m gkr0239 meliaceae aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.parker roina, pitraj d, g, m, t t ah, rs c fl. oct-feb fr. u o, t gkr0328 azadirachta indica a. juss. neem d, g t rs o fl. feb-apr fr. u m gkr0412 cedrela odorata l. cedar d t ah, rs o fl. jan-jun fr. u t gkr2339 dysoxylum excelsum blume. dingori t t rs o fl. dec-jul, fr. jun–jul t gkr0958 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 53 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse khaya anthotheca (welw.) c.dc. lambu d, g, m t fp, rs o fl. sep-dec fr. u t gkr1021 swietenia mahogani l. mehagoni d, g, m t fp o fl. apr-may fr. u t gkr0924 toona ciliata m.roem. tun m t rs o fl. & fr. feb-may w gkr0032 rutaceae aegle marmelos (l.) corr. bel d, g, m, t t ah, fp, rs c fl. mar-jun fr. u fr, m gkr1372 citrus limon (l.) osbeck. goralebu, baralebu d, g, m, t st ah, fp c fl. & fr. throughout the year m, o gkr1572 c. grandis (l.) osbeck jambura d, g, m t ah, hy o fl. feb-apr fr. u fr, m gkr1743 c. reticulata blanco kamla t st fp o fl. sep-nov fr. u fr, m gkr1342 feronia elephantum corrêa kodbel d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. feb-mar fr. u fr, m gkr2962 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc. motkila, asheora d, g, m, t s ah, fp, rs c fl. feb-apr fr. u fw, m gkr0054 murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. curry pata m s ah, rs o fl. mar-may fr. u m gkr1866 m. paniculata (l.) jack kamini m, t st ah, rs o fl. mar-may fr. u pi gkr2382 zanthoxylum rhetsa dc. bajna g t rs o fl. mar-nov fr. u o gkr0338 oxalidaceae averrhoa carambola l. kamranga m, t t ah o fl. & fr. throughout the year fr gkr2535 oxalis corniculata l. amrul d, g, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. jun-aug fr. u we gkr0445 apiaceae centella asiatica (l.) urban thankuni d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. apr-may fr. u m gkr0018 coriandrum sativum l. dhonia m h rs o fl. dec-apr fr. u s gkr0182 eryngium foetidum l. bilatidhania d, m, t h fp, rs o fl. apr-may fr. u s gkr0729 oenanthe crocata l. waterhemlock d, t h fp o fl. jun-sep fr. u p gkr3404 apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chhatim d, g, m, t t ep, fp, rs c fl. oct-feb fr. u fw, t gkr0754 carissa carandas l. koromcha d, t s ah o fl. jan-jun fr. u fr gkr0320 gymnema inodorum (lour.) decne. unknown d s fp o fl. jun-aug fr. u m gkr0141 holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall kurchi d, g s rs o fl. apr-oct fr. u m gkr0353 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w.t.aiton dudhilata d, m s fp, rs o fl. aug-dec fr. u m gkr0058 (table contd.) 54 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse nerium oleander l. korobi g, t s hy, rs o fl. apr-sep fr. u m gkr1223 plumeria obtusa l. kathgolop t st rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year or gkr1078 rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz sarpagandha d, m h ah, rs e fl. apr-oct fr. u m gkr1277 tabernaemontana coronaria (jacq.) willd. tagar g, m, t s fp, rs o fl. apr-sep fr. u or gkr1984 t. dichotoma roxb. ex wall. kath maloti d, m st ah o fl. apr-jul fr. u or gkr2077 thevetia peruviana (pers.) k. schum. kalkephul, halde korobi t st rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year or gkr2223 asclepiadaceae calotropis procera (aiton) dryand. akonda d, g, m, t s ah, rs c fl. nov-feb fr. u m gkr0109 gongronema nepalense (wall.) decne. unknown t s fp, rs o fl. jun-jul fr. u w gkr0278 marsdenia tenacissima (roxb.) moon chitti, jitti, siti g s rs o fl. aug-dec fr. u m gkr1987 solanaceae capsicum frutescens l. morich m, t h ah, fp o fl. & fr. throughout the year s gkr1905 datura metel l. kalo datura d, m, t s fp, rs o fl. mar-dec fr. u m gkr0223 d. stramonium l. datura d, m, t s ah, fp, rs o fl. jul-sep fr. u m gkr0490 nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. bantamak d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. mar-aug fr. u we gkr0002 physalis angulata l. unknown m, t h fp, rs o fl. jul-dec fr. u m gkr0980 p. minima l. tepari/kapalp hutki d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. nov-feb fr. jul-oct m gkr0458 solanum capsicoides all. tita begun g s ah o fl. jun-aug fr. u v gkr0255 s. melongena l. begun d h rs o fl. apr-dec fr. u v gkr1287 s. nigrum l. titbegun d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. dec-mar fr. u w gkr0435 s. sisymbrifolium lamk. kanta begun g h ah o fl. may-aug fr. u w gkr0384 s. surattense burm. f. kantikari d h fp o fl. dec-mar, fr. jul-sep m gkr0646 s. torvum sw. tit begun d, m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. feb-apr, fr. aug-nov w gkr1265 s. indicum l. phutki begun d h fp, rs o fl. feb-apr, fr. aug-nov m gkr1663 s. xanthocarpum schrad. & h. wendl. kantikari d, g, m h ep, rs o fl. jun-aug fr. u m gkr0479 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 55 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse convolvulaceae aniseia martinicensis (jacq.) choisy shadamati m h fp ce fl. sep-nov fr. u w gkr2578 argyreia capitiformis (poir.) ooststr. unknown g, m s ah, fp o fl. sep-dec fr. u m gkr0365 cuscuta chinensis lam. china swarnalata m h fp, rs o fl. nov-mar fr. u m gkr0198 cuscuta reflexa roxb. swarnalata g, m h fp, rs o fl. & fr. dec-feb m gkr2533 evolvulus nummularius (l.) bhuikamri, bhuiokra d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. & fr. throughout the year we gkr0055 ipomoea alba l. moonflower m, t h rs o fl. jul-oct fr. u w gkr0904 i. aquatica forssk. panikalmi d, g, m, t h ah, rs c fl. jun-aug fr. u v gkr0189 i. batatas (l.) lamk. misti alu g, m h fp, rs o fl. may-jul fr. u v gkr0211 i. mauritiana jacq. bhumikumra d, g h ah o fl. aug-sep fr. u m gkr1256 operculina turpethum (l.) silva manso teorimul d, m h ah, rs o fl. mar-dec fr. u m gkr0576 merremia emarginata (burm. f.) hallier f. indurkani g h fp, rs o fl. & fr. dec-apr m gkr0791 m. hederacea (burm. f.) hallier f. sapussunda d h fp o fl. fr. oct-jan m gkr1635 menyanthaceae nymphoides indicum (l.) kuntze chandmala m h rs o fl. jul-sep fr. u aq we gkr1169 boraginaceae cordia dichotoma g.forst. bowla d, g, m, t t ah, ep, fp c fl. mar apr, fr. jul aug fw, m gkr0176 c. fragrantissima kurz kaladuti t t fp o fl. feb-mar fr. u w gkr1966 heliotropium indicum l. hatisur d, g, m, t h fp, rs c fl. sep-mar fr. u m gkr0454 tournefortia roxburghii c. b. clarke shamshog m s rs ce fl. feb-nov fr. u w gkr1176 verbenaceae duranta repens l. golden dewberry g s ah, fp o fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr0345 lippia alba (mill.) n.e.br. ex britton & p.wilson motmoti, motkhori d, g, m s ah, fp, rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year w gkr0090 phyla nodiflora (l.) greene bhui okar d, m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. nov-dec fr. u m gkr0559 lamiaceae callicarpa arborea roxb. bormala, makanchi d t fp o fl. may-oct, fr. oct-dec m gkr1694 clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhati d, m s fp, rs o fl. sep-dec fr. u m gkr0465 c. infortunatum l. bhant m, t s rs o fl. dec-feb fr. u m gkr1828 (table contd.) 56 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse gmelina arborea roxb. gamar d, g, m t fp, rs o fl. feb-apr fr. may-jun t, mi gkr2977 hyptis capitata jacq. bilatitukma m s fp o fl.sep-jan fr. u m gkr0216 h. suaveolens (l.) poit. tukma, bilatti tulas d, m h ah, fp, rs o fl. aug-feb fr. u m gkr0488 leonurus sibiricus l. raktodrone d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jul-sep fr. u m gkr0690 leucas aspera (willd.) link. dandakalos d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. nov-feb fr. u m gkr0248 l. indica (l.) sm. swetdron g, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. mar-jul fr. u m gkr0407 l. vestita benth. tita dron d h fp o fl. nov-feb fr. u m gkr1370 mentha piperita l. pudina, mentha d, m, t h ah o fl. apr-jan fr. u m gkr2393 ocimum americanum l. kalo-tulashi d, g, t h ah, fp o fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr1614 o. gratissimum l. ram tulsi d, m, t h ah, fp o fl. aug-dec fr. u m gkr1260 o. sanctum l. krishnatulsi d, m, t h ah, fp o fl. sep-mar fr. u m gkr0613 pogostemon crassicaulis (benth.) press jui-lata t h fp o fl. sep-dec fr. u m gkr2171 tectona grandis l.f. segun d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. aug-sep fr. u t gkr1281 teucrium viscidum blume unknown m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. jun-nov fr. u w gkr1060 vitex negundo l. nishinda d, g, m, t s ah c fl. feb-jul fr. u m gkr0077 v. peduncularis wall. ex schauer boruna, horina g st ah o fl. feb-apr fr. u m gkr0354 hydrocharitaceae hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl kaschera, bishlanguli t h ah, fp o fl. nov-dec fr. u we gkr2203 ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panikola d h fp, rs o fl. aug-oct fr. u aq we gkr1625 vallisneria spiralis l. patajhanji d, m h fp o fl. jun-oct fr. u aq we gkr0150 plantaginaceae emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. ex dc. sadimodi m h rs o fl. jul-dec fr. u m gkr0209 limnophila aromatica (lam. ) merr. belem m h rs o fl. jun-aug fr. u or gkr0249 mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small garurbramhi d, m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. jun-sep fr. u we gkr0075 oleaceae jasminum officinale l. jui m s ah o fl. may-sep fr. u or gkr0385 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 57 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse j. scandens (retz.) vahl paharijui g, m s ah, fp o fl. jun-aug fr. u w gkr0185 nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. shefali, shiuli d, g, m t ah, fp o fl. sep-oct fr. u d gkr0480 scrophulariaceae lindenbergia indica vatke basanti m h ah o fl. oct-jan fr. u m gkr0179 lindernia anagallis (burm.f.) pennell panighas d, g, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. jul-dec fr. u we gkr0426 l. antipoda (l.) alston sada panighas m h ah, fp, rs o fl. aug-oct fr. u we gkr0057 l. crustacea (l.) f. muell. chapraghash g, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. jul-aug fr. u we gkr0751 l. elata (benth.) wettst. unknown m, t h fp o fl. jul-oct fr. u we gkr0148 l. hyssopioides (l.) haines unknown g, t h ah o fl. mar-sep fr. u we gkr0235 l. parviflora (roxb.) haines unknown d h fp o fl. aug-dec fr. u we gkr0623 l. rotundifolia (l.) alston unknown t h ah, fp, rs o fl. aug-nov fr. u we gkr0978 l. viscosa (hornem.) merr. unknown m, t h rs o fl. jul-oct fr. u we gkr1766 mazus rugosus lour. unknown m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. aug-dec fr. u we gkr1048 scoparia dulcis l. jangli-dhone, misridana d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr0274 acanthaceae andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) nees. kalomegh, mohateeta d, g, m h ah, fp, rs v fl. mar-dec fr. u m gkr0074 dipteracanthus patulus (jacq.) nees spreading ruellia g h rs o fl. & fr. oct-feb we gkr2038 d. prostratus (poir.) nees unknown d, g h ah, fp, rs o fl. & fr. oct-apr we gkr0348 ecbolium ligustrinum (vahl) vollesen green shrimp plant m h fp, rs o fl. jan-may fr. u m gkr2138 hemigraphis hirta (vahl.) t.anderson buripana, boratighas d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jan-may fr. u w gkr0013 hygrophila polysperma (roxb.) t. anders. murmuri d, g, m, t h fp, rs c fl. oct-mar fr. u or gkr1332 h. phlomoides nees filamo g h ah o fl. apr-aug fr. u we gkr2022 h. schulli (buch.-ham.) m. r. & s. n. kulekhara g h rs o fl. sep-apr fr. u m gkr0247 h. difformis (l.f.) blume jaljanti g h ah o fl. aug-mar fr. u we gkr2005 justicia adhatoda l. bashok d, g, m s ah, fp, rs o fl. & fr. dec-jun m gkr0737 j. gendarussa burm.f. jagotmadan, nilnishinda d, g, m, t s ah, fp, rs c fl. jan-apr fr. u m gkr 0311 (table contd.) 58 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul g h ah, fp o fl. jan-mar fr. u m gkr0236 phlogacanthus curviflorus (wall.) nees tamropuspi basok m s fp o fl. oct-feb fr. feb-may m gkr0053 ruellia tuberosa l. patpati d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. & fr. throughout the year we gkr0466 rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. nov-feb fr. u we gkr0035 pedaliaceae sesamum indicum l. til d h ah, fp, rs o fl. jun-jul fr. u o gkr1411 bignoniaceae oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz sona, kanaidinga d, m, t t ah, fp, rs o fl. jul-dec fr. u fw, m gkr1257 tecoma gaudichaudii dc. hoimonti m, t s rs o fl. feb-apr fr. u or gkr2105 t. stans (l.) juss. ex kunth chandaprabha m s rs o fl. dec-feb fr. u or gkr2093 rubiaceae dentella repens (l.) j. r. & g. forst. bhuipat d, t h ah, fp o fl. mar-apr fr. u we gkr0481 gardenia jasminoides j.ellis gandharaj d, g, m, t s ah c fl. apr-aug fr. u or gkr1011 hedyotis axillaris gardner ex thwaites unknown d, t h ah, fp o fl. jul-oct fr. u we gkr0170 h. racemosa lam. unknown m h ah, fp o fl. jan-sep fr. u we gkr0071 h. hermanniana r.m.dutta unknown m h ah, rs o fl. jun-dec we gkr0020 fr. u ixora coccinea l. rangon g, m, t s fp, rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year m, or gkr0464 meyna pubescens (kurz) robyns mainphal m, t s fp, rs o fl. mar-apr fr. u w gkr2140 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadam d, g, m, t t fp, rs c fl. apr-aug fr. u o, pi gkr1209 oldenlandia corymbosa l. khet papra d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jul-aug fr. u we gkr0471 o. diffusa (willd.) roxb. pitpapra d, g, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. aug-nov fr. u we gkr0862 o. biflora l. damanpapra m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. & fr. throughout the year we gkr0500 ophiorrhiza harrisiana var. rugosa (wall.) hook. f. jari ful, kalashona d, t h rs o fl. jun-aug fr. u m gkr0665 paederia foetida l. gandhyabhadu li m h rs o fl. jun-aug fr. u m gkr0218 pavetta indica l. kukurchura/ju i m, t s ah, rs o fl. apr-jul fr. u or gkr2915 psilanthus bengalensis (roxb.) leroy ban coffe d, g, t s rs o fl. feb-may fr. u m gkr0333 (table contd.) preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 59 scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse richardia scabra l. taraphul d, m h ah, fp, rs o fl. nov-feb fr. u we gkr0056 spermacoce articularis l. f. bhagajongla g h fp, rs o fl. oct-dec fr. u m gkr0357 s. exilis (l.o.williams) c.d.adams ex w.c.burger & c.m.taylor unknown g h ah, fp o fl. sep-oct fr. u w gkr0836 s. latifolia aubl. ghuijil d, g h fp, rs o fl. aug-oct fr. u w gkr0840 asteraceae acmella radicans (jacq.) r.k.jansen surjakonnya g, m h ah, fp, rs o fl. sep-jan fr. u m gkr1093 ageratum conyzoides l. phulkuri d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. & fr. throughout the year m gkr0165 blumea lacera (burm.f.) dc. shealmutra, shealmoti d, g, m h ah, fp, rs o fl.& fr. throughout the year m gkr0063 caesulia axillaris roxb. fuiltaghas d, m, t h fp, rs o fl. sep-nov fr. u we gkr0196 chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king & h.rob. assamlata d s fp o fl. nov-may fr. u m gkr0673 eclipta alba (l.) hassk. kalokeshi, kesaraj d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. aug-sep, fr. oct-dec m gkr0459 elephantopus scaber l. hastipadi d, g h fp, rs o fl. oct-jan fr. u m gkr0244 gnaphalium luteo-album l. bara kamra g h rs o fl. jun-aug fr. u we gkr0427 g. pensylvanicum willd. silvalomi m h rs o fl. dec-jul fr. u we gkr0101 grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. nimuti d, g, m h ah, fp, rs o fl. jan-aug fr. u we gkr0157 gynura procumbens (lour.) merr. diabetes plant m h ah o fl. mar-apr fr. u m gkr1957 mikania cordata (burm. f.) b.l.rob. assam lata d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jun-aug fr. u m gkr0434 m. scandens (l.) willd. climbing hemp g, m h ah o fl. jun-aug fr. u fd, or gkr0399 parthenium hysterophorus l. bish gach m h rs o fl. jun-sep fr. u p gkr1228 pseudelephantopus spicatus (b.juss. ex aubl.) rohr ex c.f.baker dog's-tongue g, m, t h ah, fp, rs o fl. oct-dec fr. u we gkr2031 sonchus arvensis l. dhudia m h fp o fl. jul-oct fr. u w gkr0103 spilanthes calva dc. marhatitiga d, m, t h fp, rs o fl. feb-apr fr. u m gkr1128 s. acmella (l.) l. surjakonnya d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl. jun-sep fr. u m gkr0675 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. nakphul d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl.& fr. throughout the year we gkr0474 (table contd.) 60 roy and khan scientific name bangla name district habit habitat occ. fl./fr. time use rse tagetes erecta l. ganda d, m h fp o fl. nov-mar fr. u or gkr1890 tridax procumbens (l.) l. tridhara d, g, t h ah, fp, rs o fl.& fr. throughout the year we gkr0484 vernonia cinerea (l.) less. kukurshunga d, g, m, t h ah, fp, rs c fl.& fr. throughout the year we gkr0064 wedelia biflora (l.) dc. beach sunflower d h fp o fl.& fr. throughout the year or gkr0666 w. chinensis (osbeck) merr. mahavringaraj . d h fp, rs o fl.& fr. throughout the year or gkr0654 xanthium indicum koen. ex roxb. ghagra, banokra d, g, m h fp, rs o fl. mar-dec fr. u m gkr0517 youngia japonica (l.) dc. unknown m, t h fp, rs o fl. feb-dec fr. u or gkr0195 legend: district: d = dhaka, g = gazipur, m = manikganj, t = tangail; habit: h = herb, s = shrub, t = tree; habitat: rs = road side, ah = adjoining open area except house yard, bb = bamboo bush, hy = house yard, ep = edge of the pond, fp = fallow place; occ. (= occurance): c = common, ce = critically endangered, e = endangered, o = occasional, r = rare, v = vulnerable; fl./fr. time: fl. = flowering time, fr. = fruiting time, u = unknown; use: bb = boatbuilding, c = cerals, ch = chutney, cw = cabinet work, d = dye, fb = fiber, fr. = fruit, fw = fuel wood, r = rubber, re = resin, rp = rice pounders, t = timber, w = wild, we = weed, m = medicinal, mi = musical instrument, aq we = aquatic weed, p = poisonus, pi = perfume industry, s = spice, o = oil, or = ornamental, fd = fodder, h = hedge, v = vegetable, wo-wood; rse = representative specimens examined (all housed in juh). were dominated by the herbs (238 species; 52.31%) followed by trees (129 species; 28.35%) and shrubs (88 species; 19.34%). among these species, 47 were climbers, six vines and four parasites. these data indicate that the homestead areas of central region of bangladesh still harbour a large number of dicot species and they can serve as the hotspots of the flora and biodiversity of bangladesh. the taxonomic enumeration of the species of dicotyledons in the homestead areas of the four districts reported by this study seems lower than the record (605 species) of tabassum (2015). this is due to the reason that tabassum (2015) studied this plant group of whole gazipur district consists of homestead and different non-homestead areas, the total land area of this district is much higher than that of the 1120 homesteads of four districts under this study, and in these homesteads, a good number of the species were overlapping and common. most of other relevant studies conducted in plain land areas of this country mention the taxonomic account of angiosperm species instead of dicot species. the enumeration of angiosperm species by few of these studies (kabir and webb, 2009) are relatively higher, whereas, that of few other studies (begum et al., 2013; islam et al., 2013; muhammed et al., 2011, 2013; rahman et al., 2009) are relatively lower than that of the dicot species by this study. in the homesteads of the study area, fabaceae with 41 species of 28 genera was recognized as the largest family that was followed by euphorbiaceae with 34 species under 19 genera and asteraceae with 26 species belonging to 22 genera. solanum l. and lindernia all. with eight species each was found as the largest genus in the study area, which was followed by ficus l and euphorbia l. with seven species each, persicaria mill. with six species and albizia durazz., diospyros l. and piper l. with five species each. the composition and distribution of dicot species in the homestead areas of the four districts were remarkably variable. in the homesteads of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts, the occurance of total 283, 243, 285 and 223 species, respectively, was confirmed. among these species, a total of 52, 35, 53 and 20 species were found to occur exclusively in the homesteads of preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 61 dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail, respectively. whereas, total 231, 208, 231 and 203 species, respectively of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts, were recorded as overlapping in the remaining three districts. only 110 species were commonly found in the homesteads of four districts. the similarity between and among the four districts in species composition of their homesteads measured by jaccard coefficient shows that (fig. 2), it is more than 60% in between any two of these districts, whereas, it is only 41% if all of the four districts are considered. the highest similarity in species composition (72%) was found in between gazipur and tangail districts, and the lowest (63%) in dhaka and manikganj districts. fig. 2. similarity in species composition in homesteads of the four districts based on jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). the study has recognized a total of 332 species from the homesteads of the study area of central bangladesh as economically useful. the major categories of these economically useful species were medicinal (184 species), timber (34 species), fruit (38 species), ornamental (36 species), vegetable (30 species), fuel wood (26 species), oil (14 species), spice (five species) and fiber (eight species). among the economically useful species of the study area, total 53 species were useful in two and seven species in three economic categories. among these, at least 96 tree species (e.g. albizia lebbeck, alstonia scholaris, aphanamixis polystachya, barringtonia acutangula, bombax ceiba, lagerstroemia speciosa, lannea coromandelica, miliusa velutina, polyalthia longifolia, syzyzium cumini, tamarindus indica, tectona grandis, and trema orientalis), used as wood or timber, are now native to bangladesh. moreover, a good number of medicinal (e.g. abroma augusta, azadirachta indica, cinnamomum tamala, c. zeylanicum, ficus racemosa, f. religiosa, holarrhena antidysenterica, moringa oleifera, ocimum sanctum, ricinus communis, terminalia arjuna, t. belerica, t. chebula, tiliacora acuminata, tinospora crispa, vitex negundo, and zanthoxylum rhetsa) and fruit yielding (e.g. aegle marmelos, annona reticulata, a. squamosa, artocarpus heterophyllus, averrhoa carambola, baccaurea motleyana, carica papaya, citrus grandis, c. limon, dillenia indica, diospyros peregrina, flacourtia jangomas, mangifera indica, manilkara zapota, elaeocarpus floribundus, phyllanthus acidus, p. reticulatus, psidium guajava, punica granatum, syzygium cumini, and tamarindus indica) species, harboured in the homesteads of the study area, are also 62 roy and khan native to bangladesh. the occurrence of a good number of timber and fruit species in the homestead areas of the study area is supported by bashar (1999). but in contrast, the population of about 28% of the native tree species (e.g. holarrhena antidysenterica, terminalia belerica, t. arjuna, diospyros montana, pithecellobium dulce, macaranga indica, mallotus philippensis, elaeocarpus tectorius, piper peploides, tabernaemontana dichotoma, miliusa velutina, diospyros peregrina) were found to be declining in the homestead areas of the four districts. this study has provided field data on the current status of seven threatened species, included in the red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001; ara et al., 2013), in the study area (table 2). the existing population size, number of localities, and estimated extent of occurrence (eoo) and area of occupancy (aoo) of these species were very narrow (table 2). moreover, all of these species were observed with poor regeneration and their localities were under the threats of continuous habitat destruction. based on these facts, abroma augusta (l.) l.f., aniseia martinicensis (jacq.) choisy, pterocarpus santalinus l.f. and tournefortia roxburghii c.b. clarke have been estimated as critically endangered (ce), mucuna bracteata dc. ex kurz and rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz as endangered (e), and andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) nees. as vulnerable (v) in the homeatead areas of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts. table 2. estimated threatened status of seven dicot species included in red data book bangladesh in the homestead areas of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts. species name total no. of individuals no. of locality district eoo (km2) aoo (km2) estimated threatened category abroma augusta 04 01 tangail 28 08 critically endangered andrographis paniculata 450 07 dhaka, gazipur and manikganj 1040 35 vulnerable aniseia martinicensis 05 01 manikganj 35 09 critically endangered mucuna bracteata 45 02 dhaka 38 20 endangered pterocarpus santalinus 01 01 manikganj 24 06 critically endangered rauvolfia serpentina 144 02 dhaka and manikganj 270 10 endangered tournefortia roxburghii 01 01 manikganj 24 06 critically endangered this study provides basic taxonomic information on all species of dicotyledones including seven threatened species currently occurring in the homesteads area of central region of bangladesh, which might serve as an important baseline to track the trend of changes in the floristic composition and biodiversity conservation in the homestead areas in course of time and different biogeographical processes. the data provided by this study might be useful in planning, management, conservation and sustainable development of homestead plant genetic resources in bangladesh. the increased human population and associated development activities in the last few decades has resulted directly in depletion of natural vegetation, which in turn increase the pressure on the homestead forest especially in the developing countries to meet various needs of the human beings (alam et. al., 2005). this observation is found to be true in the homestead areas of the four preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 63 districts studied. additionally, habitat fragmentation and depletion, intrusion of exotic (e.g. parthenium hysterophorus, mikania cordata, chromolaena odorata, acacia auriculiformis and eucalyptus camaldulensis) and parasitic species (e.g. cuscuta reflexa, dendrophthoe falcata, and helixanthera cylindrica), vegetation clearing, unnecessary firing, unplanned agricultural extension, over exploitation of natural resources, lack of awareness in the local people including the homestead owners, and lack of proper management and protection systems homestead forests etc. are also the functional threats to the homestead flora, especially the threatened and declining native plant species, of the study area. therefore, appropriate planning, management strategies and measures, and awareness building programs should be effectively launched for the conservation of plant genetic resources in the homestead areas of this region. performing studies on the natural regeneration, biogeography, and pollination, breeding and dispersal mechanisms of the threatened species threatened and declining native species of the region are very crucial for their sustainable conservation. besides, effective attempts including the provision of incentives for involving the local people in conservation programs in the region is highly recommended. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the authorities of the bangabandhu fellowship on science and ict project for funding this study as a part of first author’s phd program, ministry of science and technology, bangladesh forest department and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) for their cooperation during conducting this study. the authors are thankful to the chief editor and the reviewers of the journal for their critical review of the manuscript. references abedin, m.z. and quddus, m.a. 1990. household fuel situation, homegarden and agroforestry practice at six ageo-ecologically different locations of bangladesh. in: abedin, m. z.; 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(manuscript received on 18 november 2019; revised on 11 may 2020) http://www.t http://www.tropicos.org bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 441‒449, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57139 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists stem anatomical descriptors of four sesbania scop. species and their systematic implication sontosh c. chanda1, md. ashik mia, ashaduzzaman sagar and a.k.m. golam sarwar* laboratory of plant systematics, department of crop botany, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh 2202, bangladesh keywords: sesbania bispinosa; s. cannabina; s. rostrata; s. sesban; vascular bundle; ahc. abstract stem anatomical features of four sesbania scop. species viz. s. bispinosa (jacq.) w. wight, s. cannabina (retz.) poir., s. sesban (l.) merr., and s. rostrata bremek. & oberm., were examined to add some insights for identification of these species using quantitative anatomical descriptors. sesbania stem is composed of epidermis, cortex, vascular tissues – phloem, cambium zone and xylem, and pith, which exhibit significant variations among the species in terms of their area and thickness. sesbania sesban showed the largest area and widest epidermal cells. the close relationship between s. bispinosa and s. rostrata was found in the stem anatomical descriptors. moreover, s. rostrata and s. cannabina were closer to some extent according to some anatomical descriptors; also rationalizing the external morphological similarities of these species. a dichotomous key of the studied sesbania species was made. dendrograms based on agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis of stem anatomical descriptors also confirmed close relationships identified in previous phylogenetic analyses. introduction the genus sesbania scop. includes about 70 species of which 27 species produce nodules (de faria et al., 1989; farruggia et al., 2018). sesbania can fix atmospheric nitrogen through legumerhizobium symbiosis and form nitrogen-fixing nodules on its roots, surprisingly s. rostrata forms nodules both on root and stem (allen and allen, 1981). the sesbania species are broadly used and cultivated in agroforestry for soil improvement, as green manures and other products (evans, 1990). the economic importance of sesbania, especially in africa and asia, comprises shade plants, windbreaks, cover crops, ornamentals, fish poisons (source of isoflavones), fibre sources, construction materials, food and medicinal uses for both humans and livestock (gillett, 1963; powell et al., 1976; laladhas et al., 2010; mythilli and ravindhran, 2012), and bioremediation of lead, zinc and copper from industrial discharged sites and contaminated soils as well (qadir et al., 2002; sahi et al., 2002; yang et al., 2003; branzini et al., 2012). in bangladesh, sesbania is represented by 5 species viz. s. bispinosa (jacq.) w. wight, s. cannabina (retz.) pers., s. grandiflora (l.) pers., s. javanica miq. and s. sesban (l.) merr. (ahmed et al., 2009); among these, three species viz. s. sesban, s. bispinosa and s. cannabina, and an exotic species, s. rostrata bremek. & oberm., are widely cultivated as green manure crops. the first three species are commonly known as dhaincha and the last one is african dhaincha (sarwar et al., 2015). however, the identification of three native dhaincha species, especially s. bispinosa and s. cannabina is very difficult and confusing to separate in the field based on morphological features. *corresponding author, email: drsarwar@bau.edu.bd 1agricultural training institute, ishwardi, pabna, bangladesh https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57139 mailto:drsarwar@bau.edu.bd 442 chanda et al. several plant micro-morphological features including stem anatomical structure provide evidence connecting to the interrelationships of higher taxonomic groups, such as families, sections and tribes and serve to generate true resemblances of genera having indecisive taxonomic status (metcalfe and chalk, 1950; aziagba and okeke, 2017); although many anatomical characters are influenced by environmental factors (metcalfe and chalk, 1950). anatomical features of the stem, leaf and other plant parts are used for identification and inferring taxonomic relationships among the taxa in many plant families including leguminosae (barykina and kramina, 2006; aziagba and okeke, 2017; nwachukwu et al., 2017). several studies have been made on the utility of different morphological descriptors for the better identification of sesbania species (prodhan et al., 1998; prodhan and sarkar, 2002; sarkar and prodhan, 2001; sarwar et al., 2015; chanda et al., 2018, 2019a,b, 2020a,b, 2021). the present study was undertaken to investigate quantitative stem anatomical descriptors to add new insight for the identification of closely related sesbania species. materials and methods healthy mature seeds of four sesbania species were collected from the laboratory of plant systematics, department of crop botany, bangladesh agricultural university. seeds were previously collected from the field during field surveys, multiplied, identified and maintained/stored in the laboratory. the plants were raised in the field laboratory of the department of crop botany in 2017 following chanda et al. (2020a). stem samples, of 60 days old, of four sesbania species were collected from the experimental field and preserved in vials containing faa solution for further anatomical studies (ruzin, 1999). for anatomical exploration, both freehand sectioning and paraffin methods of microtechniques were followed (prodhan and sarkar, 2002). the paraffin sections were made habitually on the outcome of hand sections. after proper dehydration with ethyl alcohol and clearance with xylene, the sections were stained with safranin and fast green and mounted in canada balsam (ruzin, 1999; sarkar and prodhan, 2001; prodhan and sarkar, 2002). three cross-sections from at least three different individual plants of each species were measured for each sample to assess the constancy of anatomical features. the length/width and size were measured under × 4, 10 and 40 magnifications using an optical microscope with carl zeiss primo star camera model axiocam erc5s. ten replicated measurements focusing lengths/width and size (area) were done on each slide and thirty (3x10) measurements for individual descriptors (fig. 1). for individual cell lengths/width, measurements were done at three positions (central and two sides from the centre) and the average value was used as a single replicate. the diameter was measured through the longest axis of the xylem vessel. the collected data were analyzed following the anova using the statistical computer package program mstat-c. the mean differences of different parameters among the species were adjudged with duncan’s new multiple range test (dmrt) (gomez and gomez, 1984). the agglomerative hierarchical cluster (ahc) analysis was performed on the dissimilarity of accession characteristics and the dendrogram was generated using the xlstat software program (https://www.xlstat.com/en/). results and discussion sesbania species stem comprises four distinct layer/region(s) – epidermis, cortex, vascular zone, and pith, which are common phenomena of dicot stem ultrastructure (fig. 2a–d). however, significant variations were observed in different stem anatomical components (table 1). https://www.xlstat.com/en/). stem anatomical descriptors of four sesbania scop. 443 table 1. dimensions of anatomical descriptors in stem of four sesbania species. species thickness of cuticle (µm) epidermal cell hypodermal cell general cortex cell endodermal cell size (µm2) width (µm) wall thickness (µm) width (µm) size (µm2) width (µm) wall thickness (µm) size (µm2) width (µm) s. bispinosa 6.02 c 857.9 ab 23.6 b 3.50 b 113.6 c 740.2 bc 32.3 b 2.05 c 1060.2 b 24.3 bc s. cannabina 7.56 a 667.8 b 22.3 b 1.52 c 163.5 ab 814.1 b 62.2 a 2.94 a 1220.8 a 32.7 a s. rostrata 7.19 ab 693.2 b 23.4 b 4.27 ab 177.4 a 627.1 c 31.03 b 2.25 bc 1029.4 b 29.2 ab s. sesban 6.44 bc 999.8 a 28.3 a 4.82 a 144.2 b 968.7 a 33.08 b 2.64 ab 1061.1 b 21.7 c level of significance * * * ** ** ** *** * * ** lsd0.05 1.04 223.0 3.09 1.24 23.6 146.9 3.94 0.53 132.5 5.36 right side of the table. vascular cylinder width (µm) bundle cap width (µm) phloem width (µm) sieve tube cambial layer thickness (µm) xylem thickness (µm) xylem vessel diameter (µm) size of pith cell (µm2) size (µm2) wall thickness (µm) metaprotoperipheral central 187.48 a 30.18 32.41 a 872.3 a 3.20 ab 27.8 bc 118.28 a 93.0 a 43.3 a 158.7 a 387.6 a 173.99 b 30.78 28.17 b 640.9 c 4.16 a 22.4 c 92.98 b 39.7 d 26.6 b 181.4 a 312.0 b 190.99 a 30.23 26.40 b 720.7 b 4.15 a 32.2 ab 121.65 a 74.4 b 27.5 b 164.5 a 295.1 b 154.19 c 28.44 28.13 b 414.6 d 2.98 b 35.9 a 85.17 c 62.2 c 40.1 a 115.9 b 295.8 b *** ns *** *** * ** *** *** * * *** 5.23 2.32 2.06 39.5 0.97 5.90 3.9 7.17 12.2 36.9 30.8 in a column figure (s) with the same letter do not differ significantly at 5% level by lsd test; * = significant at 5% level, ** = significant at 1% level, *** = significant at 0.1% level; lsd = least significant difference. fig.1. schematic diagram of transverse section of a sesbania sp. 444 chanda et al. epidermis the transverse section of the stem of all sesbania species showed a single-layered epidermis covered with a thick cuticle. the epidermal cells are more or less square or slightly rectangular in shape (fig. 2c). the result of previous studies, the single layer of epidermis with slightly rectangular cells, of sesbania spp. were in an agreement with the present study (prodhan and sarkar, 2002; sarkar and prodhan, 2002). statistically, the largest epidermal cell area was observed in s. sesban (999.8 µm2) followed by s. bispinosa (857.9 µm2) and the lowest in s. cannabina (667.8 µm2) followed by s. rostrata (693.2 µm2) (table 1). furthermore, the width of epidermal parenchyma cells was preeminent in s. sesban (28.3 µm) whereas lowest in s. cannabina (22.3 µm). in the case of an epidermal cell wall, the maximum value was recorded in s. sesban and it was statistically similar to s. rostrata. however, statistically significant results were found in s. rostrata, s. bispinosa and s. cannabina in thickness of epidermal cell wall. the thinnest epidermal cell wall was observed in s. cannabina (1.53 µm). on the contrary, the thickest cuticle was observed in s. cannabina and it was statistically insignificant to s. rostrata and significant to s. bispinosa (table 1). from table 1, it is evident that s. bispinosa and s. rostrata exhibited similar results followed by s. cannabina and s. sesban in terms of their epidermal characteristics which supported the taxonomic evidence and cladistics relationship of different sesbania species (farruggia et al., 2018). in addition, s. rostrata and s. cannabina were also closer according to their epidermal attributes that also justifies the observations reported by chanda et al. (2020b) for the identification of sesbania species based on external morphological descriptors. fig. 2. transverse section (ts) of sesbania stem. a. s. cannabina, b. s. sesban, c. s. rostrata, d. s. bispinosa. ep: epidermis; hy: hypodermis; gc: general cortex; en: endodermis; bc: bundle cap; ph: phloem; ca: cambium; xy: xylem and pi: pith. stem anatomical descriptors of four sesbania scop. 445 cortex just beneath the epidermis, the position belongs to the cortex. it is a few to several cells in thickness. the cortex comprises (i) the hypodermis, (ii) the general cortex and (iii) the endodermis, which is located next to the vascular bundle cap (fig. 2c). the number of cortical layers varies according to the age, size and level of secondary growth of the organ concerned (prodhan and sarkar, 2002). the collenchymatous hypodermal layers varied from two to six among the species. the cortex, especially the endodermis, is disorganized and disintegrated due to the stress of secondary growth (fig. 2). results revealed that the thickest hypodermal layer was found in s. rostrata (177.4 µm) followed by s. cannabina (163.5 µm), s. sesban (144.2 µm) and s. bispinosa (113.6 µm) (table 1). there were significant variations of individual hypodermal cell areas among the sesbania species. the largest hypodermal cell was observed in s. sesban and the smallest in s. rostrata (table 1). the thickness of the general cortex was highest in s. cannabina whereas the other three species exhibited statistically similar and lowest thickness. in addition, the thickness of the cell wall of ground tissue exhibited highest in s. cannabina and lowest in s. bispinosa. lots of tanniniferous cells are found in the middle zoned cortex (fig. 2, sarkar and prodhan, 2001). secretory cells are common in the cortex of many plants. the endodermis is a wavy layer of one cell in thickness. it lies at the innermost boundary of the cortex (fig. 2). from table 1, s. cannabina exhibited the largest endodermal cell (1220.8 µm2) which was statistically different from other species. the width of the endodermal parenchyma cells was also statistically significant and the highest width was found in s. cannabina (32.7 µm) whereas the lowest was in s. sesban (21.7 µm). results from the cortical area brought to light that statistical similarities were found among s. bispinosa and s. rostrata in most of the cases. with some exceptions, s. rostrata and s. cannabina were statically identical according to their hypodermal thickness and width of the endodermis. these anatomical findings justified the phylogenetic relationships among the sesbania species and the external morphological similarities among the species (farruggia et al., 2018; chanda et al., 2020b). chanda et al. (2020b) reported close similarities in stem base diameter of s. rostrata and s. bispinosa which confirmed the present results of the anatomical measurements. vascular bundle the vascular bundles, consisting of bundle cap, phloem, cambium and xylem, are arranged in a ring as seen in the transverse section of sesbania species (fig. 2). the vascular bundles are of two types – large and small, and they were positioned alternately. however, one or two small vascular bundles in between two large bundles were also observed in sesbania (sarkar and prodhan, 2001). the large vascular bundle contains 4-5 strands of xylem (fig. 2). the number of xylem strands in the small vascular bundle is one or two. the xylem strand consists of protoand meta-xylem vessels. protoxylem vessel remains towards the centre while metaxylem vessel towards the periphery. the vessels are arranged radially. the vessels are round or oval with prominent secondary thickening (fig. 2). the widest vascular cylinder was observed in s. rostrata (190.99 µm) and it was statistically identical in s. bisponosa (187.48 µm) however, the lowest value (154.19 µm) was observed in s. sesban. phloem thickness was maximum in s. bispinosa (32.41 µm) while the other three species exhibited identical results. the thickness of the sieve tube wall was highest in both s. cannabina and s. rostrata and it was statistically insignificant to s. bispinosa, however, it was statistically identical with s. sesban (table 1). the primary phloem consists of several sieve elements and a lot of parenchymatous cells. the first phloem appears in the external parts and xylem in the internal part of a pro-cambial filament. new phloem elements appear closer to the middle of the stem and the xylem differentiates oppositely. the vascular cambium arising in the two positions are called fascicular and inter-fascicular cambium (prodhan 446 chanda et al. and sarkar, 2002; sarkar and prodhan, 2001). prodhan and sarkar (2002) stated that a large vascular bundle consists of a lot number of sieve tubes and parenchymatous cells while in the small bundle are parenchymatous tissue with or without functional sieve element. just beneath the endodermis, there was a discontinuous bundle cap (fig. 2). the thickness of the bundle cap was statistically significant and the highest bundle cap thickness was found in s. cannabina which was statistically identical to s. rostrata and s. bispinosa whereas the lowest thickness was found in s. sesban (table 1). at maturity, the cambial zone is composed of 1-3 layers of cells (fig. 2). cambial thickness was the maximum in s. sesban and it was statistically similar to s. rostrata, however, s. cannabina exhibited minimum cambial thickness. prodhan and sarkar (2002) reported that at an early stage, the cambium becomes active and gives rise to secondary phloem and secondary xylem. in the active stage, the cambial zone consists of 4-5 layers of cells consisting of cambial initiates and their derivatives. xylem thickness was the highest in s. rostrata (121.65 µm) which was statistically identical to s. bispinosa (118.28 µm) and the lowest (85.17 µm) in s. sesban (table 1). the thickness of the metaxylem vessel showed statistically significant results among the four species. the highest value was found in s. bispinosa (93.0 µm) followed by s. rostrata (74.4 µm), s. sesban (62.2 µm) and s. cannabina (39.7 µm). the protoxylem vessel thickness was highest in s. bispinosa which was statistically similar to s. sesban and lowest in s. cannabina. prodhan and sarkar (2002) reported that the increase of secondary xylem was a result of secondary growth. they further stated that the secondary phloem lies abaxial to the cambial zone. the secondary phloem consists of sieve elements, phloem parenchyma and phloem fibre. among the elements of secondary phloem, axial parenchyma has been found to occupy the major area. the phylogenetic (cladistics) relationship of different sesbania species manifested that s. bispinosa and s. rostrata are closer species (farruggia et al., 2018) which are in an agreement considering most of the anatomical vascular features of these taxa (table 1). chanda et al. (2021) explained the morphological and physiological characteristics of different sesbania species and gave information about the close similarities of s. rostrata and s. bispinosa according to their stem base diameter. these findings also supported the close anatomical relationship between the s. bispinosa and s. rostrata. from the same study, the highest biomass yield was obtained from s. bispinosa (chanda et al., 2020a) which also justifies the highest vascular cylinder, bundle cap, phloem, xylem, protoand metaxylem vessel thicknesses of s. bispinosa. the larger vascular components helped to transfer water and minerals from soil to leaves, and photosynthates from source to sink, which might be the inherent cause of higher biomass yield in s. bispinosa. pith pith occupies the central portion of the stem. the area of pith peripheral cell was statistically significant in s. cannabina, s. bispinosa and s. rostrata, however, insignificant in s. sesban (table 1). the highest significant area of the pith central cell was found in s. bispinosa (387.6 µm2) and other sesbania species showed identical results. prodhan and sarkar (2002) reported that the pith is the central core of the stem and is composed of thin-walled parenchymatous cells. a dichotomous key of four sesbania species based on stem anatomical descriptors – 1a. epidermal parenchyma cell 850-1010 µm2, cuticle thickness 6.0-6.5 µm, hypodermal collenchyma width 110-145 µm, endodermal parenchyma width 20-25 µm, protoxylem vessel diameter 40-45 µm – 2 1b. epidermal parenchyma cell 650-700 µm2, cuticle thickness 7.0-7.7 µm, hypodermal collenchyma width 160-180 µm, endodermal parenchyma width 26-35 µm, protoxylem vessel diameter 25-30 µm – 3 stem anatomical descriptors of four sesbania scop. 447 2a. epidermal parenchyma cell width 27-29 µm, epidermal parenchyma cell wall thickness 4.5-5.0 µm, hypodermal collenchyma cell 960-970 µm2, vascular cylinder width 150-160 µm, sieve tube cell 410-420 µm2, xylem thickness 80-90 µm – s. sesban 2b. epidermal parenchyma cell width 23-24 µm, epidermal parenchyma cell wall thickness 3.3-3.7 µm, hypodermal collenchyma cell 735-745 µm2, vascular cylinder width 180-190 µm, sieve tube cell 865-875 µm2, xylem thickness 110-125 µm – s. bispinosa 3a. epidermal parenchyma cell wall thickness 1.45-1.60 µm, hypodermal collenchyma cell 810-820 µm2, cortical parenchyma cell width 60-65 µm, endodermal parenchyma cell 1200-1250 µm2, vascular cylinder width 170-180 µm, sieve tube cell 630-660 µm2, xylem thickness 90-100 µm – s. cannabina 3b. epidermal parenchyma cell wall thickness 4.2-4.4 µm, hypodermal collenchyma cell 620630 µm2, cortical parenchyma cell width 30-35 µm, endodermal parenchyma cell 1000-1050 µm2, vascular cylinder width 185-197 µm, sieve tube cell 710-730 µm2, xylem thickness 118-125 µm – s. rostrata fig.3. agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis dendrogram based on quantitative stem anatomical descriptors. multivariate analysis of quantitative stem anatomical descriptors agglomerative clustering is the most common type of hierarchical clustering used to group objects in clusters based on their similarity, resulting in a tree-based representation of the objects, named dendrogram. the dendrogram, based on stem anatomical descriptors, identified two distinct clades indicating the close relationships between s. bispinosa and s. sesban vs. s. cannabina and s. rostrata (fig. 3). the close relationships were also well represented in both morphological (chanda et al., 2020b) and molecular data (farruggia et al., 2018). farruggia et al. (2018) also s. c an na bi na s. ro st ra ta s. b is pi no sa s. s es ba n 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 d is si m ila rit y 448 chanda et al. concluded that s. rostrata might be a probable ancestor of s. bispinosa and s. sesban, although the closest similarity in morphological descriptors between s. bispinosa and s. cannabina in the field. sesbania sesban possessed a relatively lower amount of lignified xylem, phloem fibres and xylem fibres which made it more digestible as animal forage (guines et al., 2003). from the results, it is evident that s. bispinosa and s. rostrata exhibited more or less similar results in terms of stem anatomical descriptors – epidermal, cortical and vascular bundle, which is also an indication of the close phylogenetic relationship of these two taxa. in addition, s. rostrata and s. cannabina were closer to some extent according to some anatomical descriptors that also justifies the external morphological similarities of these species. it might be concluded that quantitative stem anatomical descriptors could be useful to identify sesbania species especially phenologically and floral morphologically similar, s. bispinosa and s. cannabina. anatomical variations observed in sesbania species need further studies, mainly from eco-physiological points of view, for a better understanding of plant adaptations to diverse ecosystems. acknowledgements we acknowledge the financial support of the ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh. we thank anonymous reviewer(s) for careful readings, helpful suggestions and engaging discussion, which improved the text considerably. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 8. angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae– lythraceae). asiatic soc. bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 171-175. allen, o.n. and allen, e.k. 1981. the leguminosae: a source book of characteristics, uses, and nodulation. university of wisconsin press: madison, wi, usa. pp. 1-806. aziagba, b.k. and okeke, c.u. 2017. taxonomic significance of stem and petiole anatomy of three white varieties of vigna unguiculata (l.) walp. arch. agric. environ. sci. 2: 109-112. barykina, r.p. and kramina, t.e. 2006. a comparative morphological and anatomical study of the model legume lotus japonicus and related species. wulfenia 13: 33-56. branzini, a., gonzález, r.s. and zubillaga, m. 2012. absorption and translocation of copper, zinc and chromium by sesbania virgata. j. environ. manag. 102: 50-54. chanda, s.c., abdullah, m.r., razzak, m.a. and sarwar, a.k.m. golam. 2021. morphological and physiological characterization of sesbania genotypes. legume res. 44: 1087-1091. chanda, s.c., hossain, m.a., rahman, m.m., shamsuzzaman, a.n.m. and sarwar, a.k.m., golam. 2019a. regional variation in agro-morphological descriptors of sesbania bispinosa (jacq.) w. wight. bangladesh j. bot. 48: 289-295. chanda, s.c., prodhan, a.k.m.a. and sarwar, a.k.m., golam. 2018. morphological descriptors of seed and seedling for identification of dhaincha (sesbania spp.) accessions. bangladesh j. bot. 47: 237-246. chanda, s.c., razzak, m.a., hossain, m.a. and sarwar, a.k.m. golam. 2020a. biomass yield enhancement of dhaincha (sesbania species) through cultural practices. agron. res. moldavia 53(2): 160-176. chanda, s.c., razzak, m.a., haque, m.e. and sarwar, a.k.m. golam. 2020b. multivariate analysis of morphological descriptors for identification of sesbania scop. accessions. bangladesh j. sci. indus. res. 55: 215-220. chanda, s.c., sagar, a., islam, m.m., hossain, m.a. and sarwar, a.k.m., golam. 2019b. phenology and reproductive biology of three sesbania species. int. j. minor fruits med. arom. plants 5: 29-37. de faria, s.m., lewis, g.p., sprent, j.i. and sutherland, j.m. 1989. occurrence of nodulation in the leguminosae. new phytol. 111: 607-619. stem anatomical descriptors of four sesbania scop. 449 evans, d.o. 1990. what is sesbania? botany, taxonomy, plant geography and natural history of the perennial members of the genus. in: macklin, b. and evans, d.o. 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(manuscript received on 8 july 2020; revised on 1 december 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 335-343, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of seaweeds from south-eastern coasts of cox’s bazar district, bangladesh abdul aziz* and md. almujaddade alfasane department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: caulerpa chemnitzia (esper) j.v. lamouroux var. irregulare aziz & alfasane var. nov.; c. fergusonii g. murray; c. sertularioides (s.g. gmelin) m. howe var. robusta aziz & alfasane var. nov.; gracilaria tenuistipitata var. liui zhang et xia; ulva linza linnaeus; st. martin’s island; bangladesh. abstract gracilaria tenuistipitata var. liui zhang et xia from sand-flat at nuniachara, cox’s bazar, ulva linza linnaeus from west coast of naf river at noapara, teknaf and fishary ghat in the river bakkhali, at cox’s bazar and caulerpa fergusonii g. murray from st. martin’s island (smi) have been newly recorded and illustrated from bangladesh. caulerpa chemnitzia (esper) j.v. lamouroux var. irregulare aziz & alfasane var. nov. and c. sertularioides (s.g. gmelin) m. howe var. robusta aziz & alfasane var. nov. from smi, cox’s bazar district, bangladesh are new to science. total number of marine algal taxa recorded from bangladesh coasts till 2020 is 210. introduction in the last quarter of 20th century significant contributions have been made on the seaweed flora of the indian subcontinent and adjacent regions. in bangladesh, national professor akm nurul islam was the pioneer on algal researches and published the monumental work “contribution to the study of the marine algae of bangladesh” in 1976 where 69 genera with 140 taxa of seaweeds were reported. later the first author joined with prof. islam and a number of students over the years did m. s. theses on seaweeds under the supervision of the first author and also with prof. islam adding 65 seaweed taxa including sub-littoral seaweeds collected with the help of bangladesh navy in 2013 till 2015 making the total number of taxa 205 along bangladesh coasts mainly smi (aziz, 2015). billah et al. (2018) investigated relative abundance of 11 greens, 14 browns and 12 red sub-littoral seaweeds collected from january to june in 2007 (but five seaweeds reported as new records were all reported earlier by islam (1976) and aziz et al. (2015). recently, seaweed cultivation researches in bangladesh extended to the evaluation of nutrients and extraction of phycocolloids from a few of them for use as food and in industries (hassan, 2018; roy, 2018). in view of the importance mentioned taxonomic studies of the concerned seaweeds and some other related species collected were found to be new records for bangladesh and created two new varieties of green seaweeds which are described and illustrated. materials and methods gracilaria tenuistipitata var. liui zhang et xia from a sand-flat (300 m east-west × 2000 m north-south) at nuniachara (21º 28′ 07″ n 91º 56′ 58″ e to 21º 28′ 37″ n 91º 58′ 02″ e) south-east of moheshkhali channel and east of sonadia, ulva linza linnaeus from west coast of naf river estuary, noapara, teknaf (21º 06′ 48″ to 21º 06′ 58″ n and 92º 12′ 07″ to 92º 12′ 17″e) and bakkhali river, at fishery ghat, about 3 km north-east of nuniachara, cox’s bazar, caulerpa *corresponding author, e-mail: dr.aziz.botany@gmail.com 336 aziz and alfasane fergusonii g. murray, c. chemnitzia (esper) j.v. lamouroux var. irregulare var. nov. and c. sertularioides (s.g. gmelin) m. howe var. robusta aziz & alfasane var. nov. from west coast of the smi (20º 34′ 26″ to 20º 39′10″ n and 92º 18′ 51″ to 92º 18′ 51″ to 92º 20′ 17″ e) of cox’s bazar districts growing abundantly in winter and spring seasons were collected, pressed onto herbarium sheets, photographed alive and also preserved in formaldehyde. habitat and ecology, geographical distribution and other descriptions are given at the end of each taxon. results and discussion a total of five seaweeds such as g. tenuistipitata var. liui zhang et xia, ulva linza linnaeus and caulerpa fergusonii g. murray have been identified, described and illustrated as new records for bangladesh. caulerpa chemnitzia (esper) j.v. lamouroux var. irregulare aziz & alfasane var. nov. and c. sertularioides (s.g. gmelin) m. howe var. robusta aziz & alfasane var. nov. have been identified, described and illustrated as new taxa from the smi, bangladesh. phylum: rhodophyta, class: rhodophyceae, order: gigartinales, family: gracilariaceae genus: gracilaria 1. gracilaria tenuistipitata var. liui zhang et xia (figs 1a-k) (zhang et xia 1988, figs 1, 3-9) plants thalloid dark-red, slender, axis with tapered delicate lateral branchlets (terete fronds) short or long present in loose spirals attaining about 50 cm long, 0.25 to 1.0 mm wide in natural habitat (figs 1a-c, f-g). the seaweed from the base produces lateral branches firmly attached deep inside the semi-solid tube-worm cases lodged in the intertidal sand-flat (figs1a-f) but no disc or any vertical threads are visible like other species for attachment, in other words attachment organ not specifically developed (fig. 1f) even while culturing in circulating aquarium (fig. 1h). the bases of branches distinctly narrowed, <0.5mm wide for about 2 mm distance and then gradually widen to 0.50 to about 1.00 mm (figs 1f-g). branch tip possesses four to five ellipsoidal apical meristem cells side by side (fig. 1i) and cross-sections consist of several very large medullary cells (central axial cell absent) derived from the apical cells called multiaxial growth/construction, followed by one, some part with two layers of smaller cortical cells ending with radial rectangular epidermal cells covered by cuticle (figs 1j-k). the repeatedly curled flagelliform tapered branches in laboratory cultured seaweeds using circulator (fig. 1h) are exactly similar to the holotype (haikou, hainan island, guangdong province, china, zhang et xia, ast 85-652, april 1, 1986) with narrowed base of branches as observed by zhang et xia 1988, fig. 1). the habit of the present plant variety are close to g. tenuistipitata by having enormous morphological variations but constriction at the base of branches are not found (barufi et al. 2010, fig. 1a; song et al. 2015); type specimen contains urnshaped cystocarp (zhang et xia 1988, fig. 4) but not found in the present natural and laboratorygrown plants. identification of gracilaria species is difficult due to lack of sexual reproduction in most of the species (lewmanomont, 1996). in the present study plants collected every month from nature during the growing period did not produce any cystocarp, propagation was vegetative. however, aziz et al., (2002) reported gracilaria dura (ag.) j. ag., g. spinuligera börg. and a related seaweed gracilariopsis rhodotricha dawson from coasts of smi during march in mid 1990’s. habitat and ecology: g. tenuistipitata var. liui grew abundantly attached to tube-worm cases (figs 1a-c) on an intertidal sand-flat at nuniachara, north of cox’s bazar airport, south-east of moheshkhali channel and north-east of sonadia is., having 1.5 to 2.0 m high tides (pcr, 2019). new records of seaweeds from south-eastern coasts 337 the plant growth is severely affected by silt deposition due to dredging in the moheshkhali channel on the sand-flat destroying its habitat when tube-worms moved on to the shore (figs 1de) severely decreasing the population. physical and chemical conditions of the seawater were 25 to 33º c temperature, turbidity ranging from 20 to 27 (>40) ntu and 22 to 30‰ salinity. there are reports of occurrence of the seaweed at salinity as low as 7.00‰, temperature 34º c on sandy mud in south china (lewmanomont, 1996). the base of a plant appears to be immerged into the worm case, not visible from outside. during rainy season (rain water degrades the exterior part of the plan on tube-worm) bases of the plant persisted deep inside the case and grow by mid september having little or no rain and turbidity, salinity about 26‰ and temperature about 30º c continued up to april next year. zhang et xia (1988) frequently found the type variety in fish ponds and shallow intertidal areas in muddy substrate of south china from november to april each year. figs 1a-k.gracilaria tenuistipitata var. liui zhang et xia: (a) sand-flat at nuniachara, cox’s bazar with dark-brown bunches of the seaweed during lowest tide (red crabs roaming around); (b) about a dozen plants attached to over 6 cm long tube-worm case (inset shows the shiny head of the worm inside the tube); (c) plants on the sand-flat attached to a tube-warm case; (d) foot-print showing extent of silt deposited on the seaweed; (e) tube-worms moved on to shore due to silt deposits; (f) semi-dried plant mildly spread on herbarium sheet without pressing (0.3 ×), inset shows constricted base of a branch (2 ×); (g) a portion of the non-pressed main axis enlarged showing curly branches; (h) a portion of the cultured seaweeds sowing branching pattern (0.7 ×); (i) a magnified branch tip; (j-k) t. s. (manually) of an axis (figs 1c-e, h-i, after pcr, 2019). phylum: chlorophyta class: chlorophyceae, order: ulvales, family: ulvaceae, genus: ulva 2. ulva linza linnaeus (figs 2a-f) (van patten 2006, guiry and guiry 2020) plants bright “spring” yellow-green colour, unbranched, two layered thick leaf-like and flattened tube at old age with ruffled edges, 3-5 cm long, 1-2 cm wide, several growing 338 aziz and alfasane gregariously from a point and attached by haptera consisting of numerous rhizoids (figs 2a-d). upper part of mature plants produces spores released by decomposition (fig. 2e); fully developed slender inflated fronds with ruffled edge developed in old laboratory cultures (fig. 2f). figs 2a-f. ulva linza lin.: (a) leafy plants on upper littoral clayey sandy soil, noapara, during lowest tide; (b) plants of different ages on a brick surface, 0.4× bakkhali r.; (c) a bunch of 8 thalli from the brick surface spread on herbarium sheet (scale in mm); (d) three plants aggregated and attached by haptera (arrow) in culture; inset showing numerous haptera at the base; (e) herbarium of a mature plant with decomposed upper part producing spores, four young plants developed at the base, 1.5×; (f) fully developed slender fronds inflated with ruffled edges from old laboratory cultures spread on a petri dish immersed in culture medium, 1.5× (figs 2d-f, after pcr, 2019). islam (1976) reported ulva lactuca from smi, while aziz et al. (2008) described and illustrated ulva lactuca l. var. rigida (c. ag.) le jolis from inani beach, cox’s bazar, including which the total number of taxa under ulva is now three. van patten (2006) recorded dimension of ulva linza 40 cm by 5 cm from long island sound, usa. many species of ulva are difficult to identify because of their simple morphologies and high plasticity, thus ecological properties like salinity preference and phenology have been reported for a limited number of species (ogawa et al., 2013). u. linza is called “mini sea lettuce” by americans, in english “slender sea lettuce”, japanese “usaba aonori” (guiry and guiry, 2020), and used as garnish on “seaweed salad” in fancy restaurants (van patten 2006). habitat and ecology: the seaweed was first found on clayey sandy soil west coast of naf river estuary, upper intertidal zone (figs 2a, e) beside salt producing ponds from january to june, noapara, teknaf (pcr, 2019), salinity 24-31 ‰, ph 7.5-7.8, turbidity 20-31 ntu (>40). later it was found growing abundantly on bricks at fishary ghat, along intertidal zone of bakkhali river, cox’s bazar (figs 2b, c), from september to april and rotten during june-august, salinity ranging from 17-30‰, ph <8.00. new records of seaweeds from south-eastern coasts 339 geographic distribution: kang et al. (2016) described u. linza, brackish water green seaweed dissociates from substrata facilitating the initiation of blooms, and the subsequent movement of fronds from estuaries to the inshore, then to offshore environment. ogawa et al. (2013) found it among four marine ulva species by analyzing the internal transcribed spacer regions of 125 marine specimens and 1169 from seven brackish sites, and phenologically some species appeared only for a few months, and others were found at all times of the year. phylum: chlorophyta, class: ulvophyceae, order: bryopsidales; family: caulerpaceae, genus: caulerpa 3. caulerpa chemnitzia (esper) j.v. lamouroux var. irregulare aziz & alfasane var. nov. (figs 3a-b) plants bottle-green and bushy; rhizomatous part and branches or fronds are relatively tough or hard, fronds 5.0 to 7.0 cm tall, about 1.7 cm wide at the apex and gradually narrowed (0.5 cm) basally. pinnae of the frond apex are saucer-shaped large up to 8 mm wide and <1.0 mm thick margin, each attached by a solid stalk of about 1.0 mm broad at the base which gradually broadened upwardly into funnel-shaped structure supporting each pinna. pinnae are arranged in irregular raceme on the solid axis. rhizoids developed from lower side attaching with calcarious materials, such as dead fronds of halimeda discoidea. aziz et al. (2015) considered the specimen as caulerpa chemnitzia (esper) j.v. lamouroux a syn. of c. racemosa (forssk.) c. ag. var. peltata (lamx.) eubank. the present material is based on collections made on 08 march 2013 from south of cheradia, smi and from west of bangladesh coast guard office on 06 march 2016. the size or width of pinnae gradually reduced towards base and arrangement of pinnae was highly irregular raceme compared to other varieties and has been considered as a new variety. figs 3a-b. caulerpa chemnitzia (esper) j.v. lamouroux var. irregulare aziz & alfasane var. nov.: a) a whole plant 0.8×, collection on 06 march 2013; (b) a portion of another plant enlarged 2×, collected in 06 march 2016, inset: terminal part showing asymetric stalked saucer-like pinnae 4×. etymology: axis and branches irregular and tough with distal pinnae up to 8 mm wide, smaller basally, saucer-shaped top with <1.0 mm thick margin, stalk short, solid 3 mm long, 1.0 mm wide at the base gradually broad acentrically to about 3 mm wide attached to saucer shaped pinna which are also arranged in irregular raceme on the solid frond. specimens examined: aziz & alfasane, 1382(plhl), 08.03.2013; 1472(plhl). 06.03.2016. 340 aziz and alfasane holotype: bangladesh, aziz & alfasane, 1382(plhl), 08.03.2013; herbarium of national prof. akm nurul islam phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. distribution in bangladesh: st. martin’s island (smi), abundant on rocky sub-littoral zone and widely distributed (islam 1976, as c. peltata, figs 50-52) and aziz and alfasane collected the seaweed from two locations: south of cheradia, roughest rocky coast at depths of 1.5 to 7.0 m on 08 march 2013, fig. 3b, facing the bay of bengal, and west of bangladesh coast guard office, moderately rough area at 3.0 m depth on 06 march 2016, fig. 3a, both at smi. geographical distribution: south-west coast of mexico, coast of salvador, south coast of nicaragua, costarica and panama, south-west coast of columbia and west coast of western australia. 4. caulerpa fergusonii g. murray (figs 4a-e) (bold systems: taxonomybrowser,v3.boldsystems.org;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/caulerpa fergusonii; https://www.algaebase.org/search/species/detail/?species_id=3753; as c. cactoides in islam 1976, 18, pl. 12, figs 94-95; pl. 14, fig. 103) plants thalloid, coenocytic, colourless stolon producing rhizoids from below and erect olive green branches or fronds from above, 4.0 to 9.0 cm tall, 1.0 to 1.5 cm wide; fronds may produce single to several lateral branches from an axis spreading about 18 cm tall in february collections, pinna consists of an axis of series of pyriform or ob-pyriform (balloon-like) 10 up to 30 segments each producing a pair of relatively larger pyriform or balloons called pinnae up to the tip, no internodal cells found (figs 4a-d); pinnae 5 to 6 mm long and 3 to 4 mm wide; during reproductive phase, pinnae of the upper part become spherical when the whole olive-green cell content of lower half of fronds moves on to the upper half filling lower half of each pinna and axial segments (fig. 4e). islam (1976, pl. 12, figs 94-95; pl. 14, fig. 103) published the coenocytic figs 4a-e. caulerpa fergusonii g. murray: (a) herbarium of a plant with repeatedly branched fronds, 0.3×; (b) videography of submerged vegetation, south of cheradia, smi using underwater communication system. (c) a frond from the video enlarged showing axial segments each producing a pair of pinnules distally; (d) a plant with two fronds and an enlarged portion on the top (after islam 1976, fig. 94) 1×; (e) upper half of a frond in reproductive stage where all segments possess gamete producing cytoplasm occupying about 50% space>1× (figs 3a, e, after pcr 2019). seaweed with similar body structure to the above description without internodal cells but identified as c. cactoides (turner) c. ag. literature review revealed that c. cactoides is characterized by short inter-nodal segments occurring all along the frond’s axis alternating with nodal segment each https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/caulerpa%20fergusonii https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/caulerpa%20fergusonii new records of seaweeds from south-eastern coasts 341 producing oppositely placed paired pinnae (guiry md, 2013). these features are lacking in the illustrations by islam (1976, p. 18, fig. 94-95, 103). therefore, the present material (figs 3a-b, e) and the illustrations by islam (1976, figs 94-95) in fig. 3d are the same and identified as c. fergusonii g. murray (guiry md, 2013) in this report. dominic et al. (2007) remarked that there are two known extra-australian records of c. cactoides, from bangladesh (islam, 1976) and sumba island in indonesia (coppejans and van reine, 1992), which is a wrong identification for bangladesh part. habitat: rocky littoral or upper littoral zones of west coast of smi. islam (1976) recorded it as c. cactoides also from rocky littoral zone of the island. the alga was also recorded in the sublittoral zone of extreme south of cheradia forming submerged meadow at a depth of over 2.0 m (fig. 3b). geographic distribution: point lonsdale, rock pool, victoria, australia environment (guiry md 2013). the seaweed is found around finch of asia (india, srilanka, indonesia, philippines, etc.) and the pacific islands as well as new zealand. 5. caulerpa sertularioides (s.g. gmelin) m. howe var. robusta aziz & alfasane var. nov. (figs 5a-b) the plant is dark-green, fronds stout, short feather-like and upright, 2.0-3.0 cm high, about 2.0 cm wide consisting of nearly straight 3 to 11 mm long, 1 to 1.5 mm wide needle-like pinnae oppositely developed from robust midrib, closely associated without spaces in between attached by narrow short stalk, slightly upwardly directed giving broadly (fig. 5a) to narrowly (fig. 5b) conical apex with extended pointed midrib; stolons stout, more or less straight cylindrical 2 to 2.5 mm diameter and creeping up to about 2 metres; branched rhizoids from below penetrate the sandy substrate. figs 5a-b. caulerpa sertularioides (s.g. gmelin) m. howe var. robusta aziz & alfasane var. nov.: (a) submerged creeping plants beside asparogopsis taxiformis bush (1.0 ×), inset showing an enlarged frond attached to stolon, 1.0×; (b) fronds growing upright with halimeda discoidea bush (1.0 ×). etymology: plants dark-green, short stalked stout feather-like fronds attached to straight and stout straight stolon which creeps up to about 2 metres; pinnae wide needle-like and stout, but slightly upwardly directed giving broadly (fig. 5a) to narrowly (fig. 5b) conical apex with extended pointed midrib unlike the species itself and has been considered as a new variety. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/rhizoid 342 aziz and alfasane holotype: bangladesh, aziz & alfasane, 1383 (plhl), 08.03.2013; herbarium of national prof. akm nurul islam phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. habitat: it grows on sandy floor at a depth of 2 to 3 meters, sub-littoral along with asparagopsis taxiformis and halimeda discoidea bushes, west coast of smi in march 2013. geographic distribution: north carolina to florida, also found throughout the caribbean around bermuda, bahamas, greater and lesser antilles and in the gulf of mexico and in the southern atlantic ocean to brazil; the pacific ocean along the in australia, western australia, papua new guinea, philippines and palau. islam (1976) described and illustrated 11 species/taxa of caulerpa from smi and aziz and rahman (2011) later added c. sertuluroides fa corymbosa to the list. including the present three species, total caulerpa species till 2020 is 15 of which caulerpa chemnitzia (esper) j.v. lamouroux var. irregulare aziz & alfasane var. nov. and caulerpa sertularioides (s.g. gmelin) m. howe var. robusta aziz & alfasane var. nov. are new to science. total seaweed taxa occurred along bangladesh coast till 2020 stand at 210, the absolute majority are from the smi. acknowledgements in the herbaria of seaweeds collected over several decades national prof. akm nurul islam identified red seaweed as hypnea musciformis and also published caulerpa cactoides (islam, 1976). during visit of seaweed specialist dr. lawrence liao, hiroshima university, japanin february 2018 the first author presented a seminar of seaweed flora of bangladesh. dr. liao identified the two organisms as g. tenuistipitata var. liui and caulerpa fergusonii, respectively for which the author is grateful to him. authors are grateful to bangladesh navy authority specially commander m zahid hossain (tas) psc co bns saikat for providing scuba divers with underwater photographic and communication systems. references aziz, a. 2015. seaweeds, the future revenue of bangladesh’s coastal waters. in: pre-proposal training workshop on seaweed cultivation (manual), pp. 6‒21. 12 december, 2015. bangladesh agricultural research council, farm gate, dhaka. aziz, a. and rahman, m.t. 2011. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh. xii. new records of red and green algae. bangladesh j. bot. 41(1): 41‒45. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m.n. and jahan, a. 2002. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. iv. new records of red algae. bangladesh j. bot. 31(2): 113‒116. aziz, a., shahima, islam and alfasane, m.a. 2008. ulva lactuca lin. var. rigida (c. ag.) le jolis (chlorophyceae) from inani beach, cox’s bazar, 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(manuscript received on 11 may 2020; revised on 21 november 2020) https://www.researchgate.net/journal/0031-8884_phycologia bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 79‒83, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of some phytoplankton for bangladesh: class chlorophyceae md. almujaddade alfasane*, maliha mehnaz, ashika akhtar, mst. ayesha, md. ataul gani1, mahmoud moustafa2, sally negm3, shahima islam 4 and z.n. tahmida begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: new records; phytoplankton; chlorophyceae; bangladesh. abstract the paper records 6 species of phytoplankton under the class chlorophyceae namely, pteromonas golenkiniana pascher belonging to family phacotaceae; pediastrum biradiatum var. biradiatum meyen.belonging to family hydrodictyaceae; scenedesmus alternas var. indicus hortob. and scenedesmus quadricauda var. inermis playfair belonging to family scenedesmaceae ; teilingia excavata (rafls) bourelly and cosmarium vexatum w. west var. vexatum w. west belonging to family desmidaceae from sylhet division of bangladesh which are all new records for bangladesh. introduction studies on phytoplanktonic members of chlorophyceae have been made sporadically from fresh water of sylhet division of bangladesh. so far, there are large number of taxonomic studied of different species of phytoplankton under class chlorophyceae made (alfasane et al. 2019; abdel-kareem, 2009; ahmed et al. 2008; khondker et al. 2008; islam and alfasane2001a,b; 2002a,b; 2005; islam et al. 1992; islam 1973; islam and begum, 1970). the literature cited above showed that the members of the chlorophyceae have not been studied from sylhet division of bangladesh. islam and irfanullah 2005 have explored some of the genera of tea gardens at srimangal. the samples were collected from different parts of shari goyain river, piyain river and madhabpur lake of sylhet division. but no detailed study on the class chlorophyceae has not been done yet of these places. therefore, the present research was undertaken to study this group of organism from fresh water habitats of sylhet division of bangladesh. the present paper deals with 6 species of phytoplankton under the class chlorophyceae which all are new records for bangladesh. the descriptions of the organisms are given below. materials and methods the samples were collected from may 2017 to december 2019, from shari goyain river and piyain river of sylhet district and madhabpur lake of moulvibazar district under sylhet division. the water of the sampling spots was fresh and non-polluted. the samples were collected with plankton net of mesh size 20 µm and preserved in lugol’s iodine. the water temperature of these places varied from 18.8‒32.5˚c, 18.5‒32.5˚c and 25.0‒33.0˚c, respectively and ph ranged from 6.9‒8.5, 6.9‒9.8 and 6.8‒8.5, respectively. *corresponding author, email: mujaddade@yahoo.com 1department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka 1100, bangladesh 2department of biology, college of science, king khalid university, 9004, abha, kingdom of saudi arabia (ksa). 3life sciences department, college of science and literature mahyel aseer, king khalid university, abha, saudi arabia 4department of environmental management, school of environmental science & management, independent university, bangladesh. mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 80 alfasane et al. taxonomy class: chlorophyceae; order: chlamydomonadales; family: phacotaceae ; genus:pteromonas seligo 1. pteromonas golenkiniana pascher (fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi 1961, 581, pl. 118, fig. 823b) unicellular, biflagellate, covered with a bipartile lorica. flagella two, inserted at the anterior end through openings in the loricae. cell length 26‒29 µm, breadth up to 25 µm, anteriorly tapered, 2 contractile vacuoles at the anterior end. sides slightly elongated. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s‒4(1), 05.05.2017; s‒8, 13.09.2019; shari goyain river. class: chlorophyceae; order: sphaeropleales; family: hydrodictyaceae; genus:pediastrum meyen 2. pediastrum biradiatum meyen var. biradiatum meyen. (fig. 2) (huber-pestalozzi 1983, 304, 307, pl. 92, fig. 2a-c; pasztasleniec and poniewozik 2004, 42, fig. 8) (syn. pediastrum lobatum nit., p. tetrapodum moroz.-vodj.) coenobia circularin outline, with regular holes, sometimes as great as cell diameter, with 8‒ 32 cells, individual cell 9‒10µm, perforated as the sides of the cells are emarginated. the diameter of coenobium from 64.2‒106.2 µm (usually about 75 µm). cell walls with developed sculpture. marginal cells 9‒25 × 10‒25 µm with two lobes in the middle divided into secondary lobes each. inner cells ×shaped with diameter from 12‒23 µm. only grown together with their corners. cell wall with fine, irregular granulation. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. p-4(3), 11.11.2017; p-8, 12.05.2019; piyain river. class: chlorophyceae; order: sphaeropleales ; family: scenedesmaceae ; genus: scenedesmus meyen 3. scenedesmus alternas var. indicus (hortobagyi) kirjakov (fig. 3) (ling and tyler 2000, 110, pl. 50, fig. 7) coenobia 4‒8 cell, loosely 2 rows, straight with regularly alternating cells, which laterally touch each other with their proximal, rounded ends, but in 2 cell coenobias cells are almost parallel. cells elongated, irregularly spindle-like or elongated oviform, sometimes slightly asymmetrical and curved, with wart-like thickenings at the distal ends. cell length 7.5‒11.5 µm, breadth 5‒8 µm, ellipsoid to broadly oval. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. m‒3(4), 04.02.2018; m‒15, 17.11.2019; madhabpur lake. 4. scenedesmus quadricauda var. inermis playfair (fig. 4) (ling and tyler 2000, 114, pl. 50, fig. 18) coenobia 4 cell, one row, straight with a series, which longitudinally touch each other with their proximal, rounded ends and parallel. cells elongated, spindle-like or elongated oviform, cell length 12‒18 µm, breadth 3‒6 µm, ellipsoid to broadly oval. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. p-3(4), 11.11.2017; p-14, 10.10.2019; piyain river. new records of some phytoplankton 81 figs 1-6: 1. pteromonas golenkiniana pascher, 2. pediastrum biradiatum var. biradiatum meyen., 3. scenedesmus alternas var. indicus hortob., 4. scenedesmus quadricauda var. inermis playfair, 5. teilingia excavata (rafls) bourelly, 6. cosmarium vexatum w. west var. vexatum w. west. class: chlorophyceae; order: zygnematales; family: desmidaceae; genus: teilingia bourrelly 5. teilingia excavata (rafls) bourrelly (fig. 5) (ling and tyler 2000, 279, pl. 151, figs. 11‒13) cell length 12‒16 µm, breadth 9-18 µm, medium, about 1.1‒1.2 times broader than long, deeply constricted in the middle. semi cells ellipticoblong with a slightly elevated. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-8(4), 03.02.2018; s-17, 12.04.2019; shari goyain river. genus: cosmarium corda 1834 6. cosmarium vexatum w. west var. vexatum w. west (fig. 6) (yamagishi and akiyama 1995, 15: 27, figs 1‒4) cells medium in size, slightly longer than broad, deeply constricted in the middle, sinus narrowly linear but somewhat open at the extremity; semicells pyramidal-trruncate, basal angles 82 alfasane et al. rounded, lateral margin convex and with six to seven undulations, apex straight or slightly undulate, intra marginal granules sparse and sub concentrically arranged gradually diminishing in size toward a smooth central area. cell length 40‒42 µm, breadth 54‒58 µm, isthmus 14 µm broad, deeply constricted in the middle. cell wall punctate. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-5(2), 04.08.2017; s-11, 08.10.2019; shari goyain river. acknowledgements the authors would like to extend their sincere thanks to the deanship of scientific research at king khalid university for funding this work through, grant no. (g.r.p/150/40). it is the part of the research on preparation of bio-products from aquatic flora. references abdel-kareem, m.s. 2009. new algal records from the arabian gulf coast of saudi arabia. bot. res. int, 2(4): 268-276. ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 3. algae, chlorophyta (aphanochaetaceae-zygnemataceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 812. alfasane, m.a., chowdhury, m.m.k. and mehnaz, m. 2019. molecular characterization and new reports of two green algae from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 39‒45. huber-pestalozzi, g.h. 1961. das phytoplankton des süßswassers. systematik und biologie. teil: 5 chlorophyceae (grünalgen), ordnung: volvocales. e. schweizerb. verlagsb. (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany. 5: pp. 744 + pls. 157. huber-pestalozzi, g.h. 1983. das phytoplankton des süßswassers. systematik und biologie. teil: 7. 1 hälftechlorophyceae. schweizerb. verlagsb. (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany. 7: 1044. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2001b. new records of some green planktonic algae for bangladesh: phacotus, planktosphaeria and nephrochlamys. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(2): 51‒56. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2005. notes on two green plankton found in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 97‒99. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2001a. new records of some freshwater planktonic algae for bangladesh: species of treubaria, goniochloris, tetraedriella and tetraplektron. bangladesh j. bot. 30(2): 131‒134. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002a. new records of motile green algae for bangladesh: phacotus, pteromonas and thoracomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 15-18. islam, a.k.m., begum, a. and akter, n. 1992. study of the desmids (chlorophyta) from cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 21(1): 43‒51. islam, a.k.m.n. 1973. freshwater algae of bangladesh i. chlorophyceae, xanthophyceae and chrysophyceae. dacca univ. stud. part b. 21(1): 69‒84. islam, a.k.m.n. and alfasane, m.a. 2002. new records of motile green algae for bangladesh: phocotus, pteremonas and thoracomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(1): 15‒18. khondker, m., alfasane, m.a. and bhuiyan, r.a. 2008. cylindrocystis menegh. (chlorophyta) : a new record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 189‒191. islam, a.k.m. nurul and begum, z.t. 1970. studies on the phytoplankton of dacca district. jour. asiatic soc. pak. 15(3): 227‒271 + 8 pls. islam, a.k.m.n. and irfanullah, h. 2005. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. iii. chlorophyceae (excluding desmids). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 19‒37. new records of some phytoplankton 83 ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 2000. australian freshwater algae (exclusive of diatoms). bibl. phycol. bd. 105. j. cramer, berlin. pp. 643. pasztasleniec, a. and poniewozik, m. 2004. pediastrun species (hydrodictyaceae, sphaeropleales) in phytoplankton of sumin lake (łęcznawłođawa lakeland). actasocietalisbotanicorumpoloniae. 73(1): 39‒46. yamagishi, t. and akiyama, m. 1995. (ed.) photomicrographs of the fresh water algae.uchida rokakuho pub., tokyo, japan. 15: pp.100. (manuscript received on 30 december 2019; revised on 12 april 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 259‒268, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological, palynological and phylogenetic relationships of glaucium mill. in turkey fatma mungan kiliç*, kemal yildiz1, muhammet burak batir1, murat kiliç1 and i̇lker büyük2 department of crops and animal production, kızıltepe vocational training high school, artuklu university, kızıltepe, mardin, turkey key words: glaucium; matk; its3-6 dna; phylogeny; subsection; turkey. abstract glaucium taxa were investigated in terms of their morphological, palynological and phylogenetical characteristic. the results of this study show differences between the taxa in some of these characteristics, especially in micromorphology and formation of clades in phylogenetic trees based on the matk and its3-6 dna sequence data. based on the findings of the molecular analyses supported by morphological data (stem’s trichomes), the genus glaucium of turkey was divided into subsections glabrousae and pubescentae. introduction glaucium mill. (horned poppy), belonging to the family papaveraceae, is represented by a total of 25 species worldwide, and especially distributed throughout western, northern and eastern asia, europe, northern africa, and australia. the distribution of glaucium species relatively widely covers western asia and the mediterranean region and is decreased from central asia to the european countries. as a country, iran harbors relatively more species of the genus glaucium (17 species) and hence, this country is considered as the hot spot of the genus. the genus glaucium consists of annual, biennial, and perennial herbaceous plants and grows mostly in saline soils and by the sea. glaucium is represented by a total of 10 taxa in turkey, namely g. corniculatum (l) rud. subsp. corniculatum; g. corniculatum (l) rud. subsp. refractum (nab.) cullen; g. grandiflorum boiss & huet var. grandiflorum; g. grandiflorum boiss. & huet var. torquatum cullen; g. grandiflorum var. haussknechtii (bornm. & fedde) parsa; g. flavum crantz; g. leiocarpum boiss.; g. acutidentatum hausskn. & bornm.; g. cappadocicum boiss. and g. secmenii yıldırımlı, four (g. grandiflorum var. torquatum, g. acutidentatum, g. cappadocicum, g. secmenii) of which are endemic (seçmen et al. 1998; yıldırımlı, 2012). turkey ranks second with respect to having the maximum number of species following iran. a lot of chemical studies have been carried out on the genus. mory (1979) classified 22 species belonging to the genus into two sections, namely acropetale and glaucium. the section acropetale was more primitive than the section glaucium. a micro-macromorphological study on 18 glaucium taxa was carried out by gran and sharifnia (2008) based on 28 qualitative and 37 quantitative characters. in the study performed by vorniceanu et al. (2002), the number of chromosomes of g. flavum was measured as 2n = 12, and the chromosome lengths of the metaphase stage were measured as 1.30 to 1.78 µm. in this study, the chromosomes were separated into two groups, and five pairs were identified as metacentric and one pair as submetacentric. ivanovska and philipov (1996) revealed that the family papaveraceae had a *for correspondence: e-mail: fatmamungankilic@artuklu.edu.tr 1department of biology, faculty of science and arts, celal bayar university, manisa, turkey. 2department of biology, science faculty, ankara university, ankara, turkey. mailto:fatmamungankilic@artuklu.edu.tr 260 mungan kiliç et al. rich content of isoquinoline alkaloids such as aporphine, protopine, protoberberine and proaporphine. in a phytochemical study performed by vorniceanu et al., 2004, on the species of papaveraceae, including g. corniculatum and g. flavum, from which many alkaloids were isolated and identified. the aim of our study was to identify the widespread distributionof glaucium taxa in turkey, to generate detailed descriptions identifying its macro-micromorphological and, palynological properties, to reconstruct its phylogeny through molecular studies (fig. 1). fig.1. the areas with dense distribution of glaucium taxa. ( = species distributed in turkey; = g. corniculatum, g. grandiflorum, = g. secmenii, = g. flavum, = g. leiocarpum, = g. acutidentatum and =g. cappadocicum) materials and methods the specimens of glaucium taxa were collected from natural populations, necessary field data were recorded and photographs were taken during field vists. aditionally, the specimens of glaucium housed in turkey's major herbaria were studied and significant characters were recorded. the necessarydrawings of taxa were also constructed (figs 2-3). for sem, seed and pollen samples were mounted on stubs using double-sided adhesive tape, coated with gold using a polaron sc7620 sputter, and then examined and photographed with leo 440 sem. seed analysis was performed according to stearn (1996) and pollen analysis was performed according to punt and hoen (2007). dna isolation: the leaf pieces (30 mg) of ten glaucium and two papaver taxa were grinded with the help of microtube pestle in combination with liquid nitrogen in the different 1.5 ml mücrotubes.. total genomic dna isolation of the grinded leaf samples were performed with the “gene matrix plant and fungi” kit according to the manufacturer’s protocol. isolated dna concentration of each sample was quantified by nano drop nd-1000 spectrophotometer. stock dnas were kept at –20 °c. morphological, palynological and phylogenetic 261 fig. 2. fruits of glaucium taxa of turkey. a. g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum; b. g. grandiflorum var. torquatum; c. g. corniculatum subsp. corniculatum; d. g. corniculatum subsp. refractum. fig. 3. plant parts of some glaucium taxa used for diagnosis: a. sepal of g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum;b. sepal of g.leiocarpum; c. fruit of g. leiocarum; d. fruit of g. flavum; e. stem of g. grandiflorum var. haussknechtii; f. stem of g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum. 262 mungan kiliç et al. pcr amplification and sequencing: matk and its3-6 sequences of ten turkish glaucium taxa were analyzed. the matk region of the chloroplast dna was amplified with the matk_390f and matk_1326r primers and its3-6 region of the nuclear dna was amplified with the its-3f and its-6r primers (cuénoud et al., 2002). pcr study was performed with a total 50 µl standard reaction volume for each sample. optimum amplification conditions were obtained with 100 ng genomic dna, 1 × reaction buffer, 2.5 mm mgcl2, 20 µm dntps, 0.4 µm for matk_390f and matk_1326r primers, 2 u hot start taq dna polymerase (solisbiodyne) and a pcr mix was prepared in accordance with the seamounts. amplification was performed in a techne progene thermal cycler (barloworld scientific, staffordshire, u. k.). the reaction mixtures were heated in an initial step of 94 °c for 15 min and then subjected to 35 cycles of the following program: 95 °c for 45 s, 57 °c for 45 s, and 72 °c for 1 min. after the last cycle, the temperature was maintained at 72°c for 10 min. the amplification products were analyzed by electrophoresis on 1.5% agarose gel containing ethidium bromide and the product sizes were determined on gels by nucleotide size marker (100 bp ladder; solis biodyne). the pcr products were sequenced with a big dyecycle sequencing kit (applied biosystems, foster city, california) using an abi 3130 xl genetic analyzer (applied biosystems). sequence analysis: the amplified fragments were in duplicate conditions. alignment of the matk sequences was generated using the muscle algorithm of mega 6 software with default settings (edgar, 2004; tamura et al., 2011). ends of the alignment were trimmed to make all the sequences in the final data set equal in length. the evolutionary history and molecular phylogenetic analysis were inferred using the maximum likelihood (ml) method based on the tamura–nei model via mega6 software (tamura et al., 2011). the percentage of replicate trees in which the associated taxa were clustered together in the bootstrap test (1000 replicates) is shown next to the branches. the evolutionary distances (pair-wise distances) were computed, using the maximum composite likelihood model, in units of the number of base substitutions per site (tamura et al., 2004). the analysis involved 20 nucleotide sequences. results and discussion a total of 10 glaucium taxa were analyzed in terms of their morphological, palynological, and phylogenetic characters. although some of the morphological characters of the taxa examined were following the information contained in flora of turkey (cullen, 1965), it was noticed that some of their properties were different. in addition, the data yielded from mory’s (1979) study and those yielded as a result of our measurements were compared. in this comparison, the major similarity was observed in terms of the morphological and palynological characters. in a micromacromorphological study performed by gran and sharifnia (2008) of 18 glaucium taxa, the species g. haussknechtii has been recognized as synonymous with g. grandiflorum based on the analyses of 28 qualitative and 37 quantitative characters. as a result of our detailed analyses of morphological, seed, pollen and phylogenetic data, it was revealed that these two species were different. in this study the glaucium taxa were divided into two groups with respect to stem hairs. taxa with pubescence stems were g. corniculatum subsp. corniculatum and g. corniculatum subsp. refractum, g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum, g. grandiflorum var. torquatum, g. grandiflorum var. haussknechtii and g. secmenii, while the taxa with hairless stems were g. flavum, g. leiocarpum, g. acutidentatum and g. cappadocicum. the petals of the taxa included in the hairy group were red, or reddish-orange, whilethose with hairless group were yellow or yellowish-orangethe seeds were separated by thin prominent sections. the testa outline of the seeds of taxa with hairy stemswere clearly arch shaped, and morphological, palynological and phylogenetic 263 curved (undulate) (figs 4-5); while that of the taxa with hairless stemswere smooth or less curved (figs 4-5). sem analysis showedthat the taxa included in the hairy group were variable in pollen shape. pollens of g. corniculatum subsp. corniculatum and g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum were suboblate, and that of g. grandiflorum var. torquatum was prolate. the taxa of g. corniculatum subsp. refractum, g. grandiflorum var. haussknechtii and g. secmenii included in the hairy group had spheroidal pollens (fig. 5, table 1). arch shape of testa outline (undulate) smooth shape fig. 4. testa outline of the seeds of taxa with hairy, i.e. pubescentae (a) and hairless i.e. glabrousae (b) stem. it was observed that in the ml tree based on matk dna sequences (fig. 6), the glaucium taxa were resolved into the moderately to strongly supported g. flavum-g. leiocarpum-g. acutidentatum-g. cappadocicum clade with glabrous stem and the weakly supported or unsupported clade of rest of the taxa studied (g. corniculatum subsp. corniculatum, g. corniculatum subsp. refractum, g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum, g. grandiflorum var. torquatum, g. grandiflorum var. haussknechtii, g. and g. secmenii) with pubescent stem. in the ml tree based on its3-6 dna sequences (fig. 7), the g. flavum-g. leiocarpum-g. acutidentatum-g.cappadocicum clade was strongly resolved, but clade of rest of the taxa studied was unsupported though g. secmenii and g. corniculatum subsp. refractum were resolved in to a moderately supported clade. the results of phylogenetic analyses showed that the glaucium taxa were grouped into two main clades in the ml trees based on the matk and its3-6 dna sequences (figs 6-7), which is in compatible with the hairness of their stems, petal color and testa outline of the seeds. the taxa included in these two sub-clades were also compatible with ovary tubercle. however, we weren’t able to observe the formation of these two sub-clades when we analyzed the its3-6 dna sequences snd the sub-clades of glaucium taxa based on these morphological characters were not clearly supported by pollen characters, like pollen lenght (p),equatorial width (e), p/e ratio and pollen shape etc., that were mostly overlapping. for example, in g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum pollens were suboblate, and p/e was 1.51, g. grandiflorum var. torquatumpollens were prolate and p/e was 0.78, and in g. corniculatum subsp. corniculatum pollens were suboblate, and p/e was 0.83. in all other glaucium taxa, pollens were spheroidal, and p/e values falled within the p/e range of above-mentioned taxa. 264 mungan kiliç et al. hairy stem taxa hairless stem taxa hairy stem taxa hairless stem taxa pubescentae glabrousae pubescentae glabrousae fig. 5. glaucium seeds (a1, b1, c1, d1, e1, f1, g1,h1, ı1, k1) and pollen (a2, b2, c2, d2, e2, f2, g2,h2, ı2, k2) sem views, a1, a2: g. corniculatum subsp. corniculatum b1, b2: g. flavum c1, c2: g. corniculatum subsp. refractum d1, d2: g. leiocarpum e1, e2: g. secmenii f1, f2: g. acutidentatum g1, g2: g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum h1, h2: g. cappadocicum ı1, ı2: g. grandiflorum var. torquatum k1, k2: g. grandiflorum var. haussknechtii. it was foundthat g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum and g. grandiflorum var. torquatum constituted a small sub-clade and the difference between them was minimal. they were also morphologically separated from each other in terms of the position of the fruit’s pedicel, and the pollen’s shape. the fruit’s pedicel of g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum was vertical, and the morphological, palynological and phylogenetic 265 pollen’s shape was suboblate while the fruit’ pedicel of g. grandiflorum var. torquatum was curved, and the pollen’ shape is prolate. g. corniculatum subsp. refractum and g. secmenii constituted a sub-clade in the ml tree based on its3-6 dna sequences, but not in that based on matk dna sequences.both taxa’s fruit pedicels were curved and their pollens were spheroidal. to know the relationship between these two taxa needs further study. table 1. the comparative pollen properties of glaucium taxa. pollen properties taxa pollen lenght (p) min-max mean (sd) µm equatorial width (e) min-max mean (sd) µm p/e ratio pollen shape g. corniculatum subsp. corniculatum (465-2) 24-35 32,96 (2.12) 37-41 39,53 (1.19) 0.83 suboblate pubescentae g. corniculatum subsp. refractum (467) 28-33 30,73(1.28) 32-35 33,73(1.01) 0.91 spheroidal g. secmenii (587) 19-30 24,5(2,59) 20-34 25,5(2,75) 0.91 spheroidal g. grandiflorum var. grandiflorum (416) 27-37 29,1 (2.00) 34-46 37,06(2.21) 0.78 suboblate g. grandiflorum var. torquatum (354-1) 29-34 29,5 (1.49) 18-23 18,5(1.13) 1,51 prolate g. grandiflorum var. haussknechtii (456) 28-35 30,26(1.55) 32-40 34,26 (1.76) 0.88 spheroidal g. flavum (460) 31-37 33,4 (1.67) 33-40 37,46 (1.67) 0.89 spheroidal glabrousae g. leiocarpum (415) 30-37 33 (1.41) 28-38 34.5 (3,53) 0.94 spheroidal g. acutidentatum (440) 25-31 29.5 (1.87) 28-40 31.9 (2.10) 0.92 spheroidal g. cappadocicum (449) 25-36 30,3 (1.88) 26-37 33,06(2.06) 0.91 spheroidal mory (1979) divided glaucium taxa into two sections (acropetale and glaucium). glaucium taxa into two sections are supported by our study, and our all glaucium taxa belong to mory’s section glaucium. in our research, it was determined mory's section glaucium we can be divided into two sub-sections. since these subsections clearly differ from each other, it was concluded that the nomenclature should be cited as subsection glabrousae k. yıldız & mungan and subsection pubescentae k.yıldız & mungan. 266 mungan kiliç et al. according to these results, the identification key of glaucium species that have grown in flora of turkey was performed as follows: fig. 6. ml tree based on matk dna sequence of the subsections pubescentae and glabrousae. pubescentae; a. seed surface b. pollen e. morphological appearance, and glabrousae; c. seed surface d. pollen f. morphological appearance. fig. 7. ml tree based on its3-6 dna sequences of the subsections pubescentae and glabrousae. morphological, palynological and phylogenetic 267 1. stem and ovary pilose with adpressed or subspreading hairs 2. fruiting pedicels shorter than the leaves subtending them 3. sepals 1-2.7 cm; petals 1.5-3.5x1.4-2.8…..……..………….1. corniculatum 3. sepals 0.7-2.5 cm; petals 1.2-2.2x 1-2.1……………………2. secmenii 2. fruiting pedicels exceeding the leaves subtending them…………..3. grandiflorum 1. stem glabrous, ovary tuberculate or glabrous never pilose 4. ovary papillosetuberculate, at least near the apex 5. upper leaves sinuate-dentate with obtuse or rounded lobes; fruit neither torulose nor attenuate at the apex, petals yellow…………………………………… 4. flavum 5. upper leaves pinnatifid, with acute segments; fruit somewhat torulose, attenuate at the apex, …………….…………………………………..………………5. leiocarpum 4. ovary smooth, etuberculate 6. radical leaves deeply pinnatifid; sepals greyish-black…............ 6. acutidentatum 6. radical leaves obovate-runcinate, dentate; sepals green……………7. cappadocicum references cuénoud, p., savolainen, v., chatrou, l.w., powell, m., grayer, r.j. and chase, m.w. 2002. molecular phylogenetics of caryophyllales based on nuclear 18s rdna and plastid rbcl, atpb, and matk dna sequences. american j of bot. 89: 132–144. cullen, j. 1965. glauciummill. in davis ph.editors.flora of turkey and the east aegean islands, vol. 1.1st ed. edinburgh, uk. edinburgh university press. pp. 219–236. edgar, r.c. 2004. muscle.a multiple sequence alignment method with reduced time and space complexity. bmc bioinformatics 5: 113. gran, a. and sharifnia, f. 2008. micro-macromorphological studuies of the genus glaucium (papaveraceae) in iran. iran. j. bot.14: 23–38. ivanovska, n. and philipov, s. 1996. comparative study on the immunological activity of a series of isoquinoline alkaloids. phytotherapy research. 10: 62–65. mory, b. 1979. beiträge zur kenntnis der sippenstruktur der gattung glaucium miller (papaveraceae). feddes repertorium.89: 499–544. punt, w. and hoen, p.p. 2007. blackmore s., nilsson s., le thomas a. glossary of pollen and spore terminology. review of palaeo botany and palynology. 143: 1–81. seçmen, ö., gemici, y., görk, g., bekat, l., leblebici, e. 1998. tohumlu bitkiler sistematiği, ege üniv. basımevi, bornova-i̇zmir. pp. 236-240. stearn, w.t. 1996. david & charles, fourth edit. botanical latin. london. 489–491. tamura, k., nei, m. and kumar, s. 2004. prospects for inferring very large phylogenies by using the neighbor-joining method. proceedings of the national academy of sciences usa. 101: 11030-11035. tamura, k., peterson, d., peterson, n. and stecher, g. 2011. nei m., kumar s. mega5: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis using maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximum parsimony methods. molecular biology and evolution 28:2731–2739. the global biodiversity information facility. website: http:// www.gbif.org/species/2888419 [accessed 10 february 2014]. the plant list, a working list of all plant species website: http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/ 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(2n=12) and chelidonium majus l. (2n=12) species. analele stiintifice ale universitatii" alexandru ioan cuza" din iasi sec. ii a. genetica si biologie moleculara. 5: 1. vorniceanu, c., vatui, m., ionescu, a. and zamfirache, m.m. 2004. bara i. contributions to the chemical study of some papaveraceae species capsulesn.ii. glaucium flavum, glaucium corniculatum and chelidonıum majus annals of the ''alexandru ioan cuza'' university sect. ii a. genetics and molecular biol. 5. yıldırımlı, ş. 2012. türkiye’nin jipizçin bitki çeşitliliği cenneti: kepen, sivrihisar, eskişehir, 13 yeni üye, türkiye, ot sistematik botanik dergisi.19: 34–38. (manuscript received on 7 july, 2019; revised on 8 december, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 205–218, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists dna barcoding and morpho-anatomical characters of two forms of convolvulus arvensis l. (convolvulaceae) grown in asir region, saudi arabia mahmoud moustafa*, saad alamri1, ali shati, mohmed al-kahtani, sulaiman alrumman and abdelraheem tawfek2 department of biology, college of science, king khalid university, 9004, abha, kingdom of saudi arabia (ksa) keywords: convolvulus arvensis l.; rbcl; matk; its. abstract dna barcoding and morpho-anatomical characters of two forms of convolvulus arvensis l. growing in asir region, saudi arabia were studied. we applied three molecular markers, its, rbcl and matk for phylogenetic reconstruction in combination with 24 morpho-anatomical characters to provide proposal for the recognition of its population under two forms. plant samples were collected from ten various populations of c. arvensis supposed to be of two different forms, and finally these have been found to be of two new forms (small leaf) and form (large leaf) for the flora of saudi arabia. twinspan results showed that there was negative group with twenty one objects including stem length, stem thickness, seed shapes, petiole length, leaf apex, leaf length, petal circumference, leaf width, capsule length, capsule width, stamen length, anther width, anther length, carpel length, venations type, pollen grains shape, t.s of stem, root and leaf, stigma shape and anther base surface and positive group including hairs, stomata and anther shape. dendrogram upon morpho-anatomical characters resolved two main clusters, one cluster of form (large leaf) and the other of form (small leaf). amplified gene region for the form (small leaf)-rbcl showed 100% identity with c. lineatus; form (small leaf)-matk and form (large leaf)-matk had 99% identity with calystegia sepium (l.) r. br. form of (small leaf)–its had 100% identity with that of c. arvensis; form (large leaf)-rbcl had 100% identity with those of c. arvensis and c. lineatus. form (large leaf)–its had 99% identity with that of c. arvensis. the results of molecular phylogenetic analyses based on certain morphological and rbcl data support two main clusters within c. arvensis which is consistent with two forms, form (small leaf) and form (large leaf). introduction convolvulus arvensis l. is one of the most common weeds all over the world found mostly in about 54 countries distributed in 32 different economic crops (holm et al., 1997). it was named as a field-bind weed due to its extensive deep root system together with long-term seed bank that were considered as key features to the noxious weed status (gianoli, 2001). c. arvensis plants are native to europe and grows extensively in mediterranean climates, temperate and tropical regions and in many other climatic zones (lyons, 1998). field bindweed was considered as a perennial vine of the glorious family convolvulaceae which spreads by rhizome or/and seed and its prostrate weak -stem, often twine forming tangled dense mats (wiese and phillips, 1976; gleason and *corresponding author. email: mfmostfa@kku.edu.sa. 1prince sultan bin abdulaziz center for environmental and tourism research and studies-king khalid university (ksa). 2department of botany, faculty of science, south valley university, qena, egypt. mailto:mfmostfa@kku.edu.sa. 206 moustafa et al. cronquist, 1963). its underground rhizomes can extend between 5 cm and 2.6 m and deeply penetrate the lands and its climbing stems can reach up to 1.5 meter. till now, no infraspecific category for c. arvensis has been reported in saudi arabia (collenette, 1985; migahid, 1978 and 1996) while one variety has been registered in the north america, namely c. arvensis var. obtusifolium choisy (robinson and fernald 1908). gray (1970) also opined that there were two forms of field bindweed, one had leaves with broad basal lobes and on wide cordate base named as form cardifolius lasch. and the other one had acute ear-shaped lobes on the base of the leaves and an oblong, linear, or lanceolate blades named as form auriculatus descr. in europe more than sixty varieties of c. arvensis have been characterized and the description used to sort out among them have been attributed to environmental conditions (kogan, 1986). in usa, it has been found that there were many intermediate characteristics to the identified varieties of c. arvensis, however, researchers were discouraging to apply specific name to them (brown, 1946). the kingdom of saudi arabia (ksa) contains one of the most diverse floras among the surrounding countries due to its various climatic regime such as mediterranean, semiarid, and arid climates and cold climate in high altitude areas of 2700 m above sea level. these environmental conditions in ksa might affect c. arvensis populations to be splitted in to two or more forms, and based on this ground we contemplate to examine whether two or more forms of c. arvensis are growing in ksa. in the past, the study of plant taxonomy was based to a large extent on the morphological characters of the floral parts. recently, an application of molecular techniques in taxonomy is being increasingly used to interpret the phylogenetic relationship among plant taxa. molecular techniques have emerged as an accurate additional tool in providing authentic and unambiguous identification of specific taxa and to study boundaries among specific species (kaukas and rollinson 1997). dna sequence data have notably helped with a high level of accuracy in reconstruction of the phylogeny of different groups of organisms presenting totally new understandings on their taxonomy and phylogeny (friesen et al., 2006; asmussen et al., 2006; lefébure et al. 2006). also, many data previously obtained from different sources other than genetic materials are being neglected. hence, this study was carried out to evaluate the morphological, anatomical and molecular variations in c. arvensis of asir region, ksa, in order to investigate the existence of any infra specific taxon and understand the phylogenetic relationships within this species based on dna sequence data obtained from matk, rbcl and its regions. materials and methods morpho-anatomical character states vegetative characters including stem length, stem thickness, petiole length, leaf apex, leaf length, petal circumference, leaf width, capsule length, capsule width, stamen length, anther width, anther length, carpel length, venations type, pollen grains shape, stigma shape, anther base surface, hairs, stomata, anther shape, seed shape, transverse section in stem, in root and in leaves, were studied either with the naked eye or under a stereo microscope (leica, 10446322, 2x wd). five populations for each of the two forms viz. form (small leaf) and form (large leaf) were selected and characteristics of five individuals from each of this population were investigated. the measurement was considered as an averaged plus/minus maximum and minimum for various quantitative parameters. according to stevens (1991) all described characters were quantitatively and qualitatively expressed by denoting a coding value, to prevent misrepresentation of the possible variation among the investigated plants. dna barcoding and morpho -anatomical characters 207 statistical analysis the multivariate statistical analysis for morpho-anatomical characters was carried out using community analysis package (cap) statistics program, version 5. cluster analysis for the morpho-anatomical characters including (euclidean ward's (nath et al., 2014; ward, 1963), twinspan (two way indicator species analysis, manhas et al., 2009) and jaccard‘s similarity coefficient were performed. dna barcoding genomic dna from form (small leaf) and form (large leaf) from healthy fresh leaf were extracted using a qiagen dnaeasy plant mini kit. matk forward (5'-acccagtcc atctggaaatcttggttc-3'), and matk reverse (5'–cgtacagt acttttgtgtttacga g-3') and rbcl forward (5'–atgtcaccacaaacagagactaaagc-3'), rbcl reverse (5'–gt aaaatcaagtccaccrcg-3') and its4 (5'-tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3') (costion et al., 2011;yuan et al., 2015) regions were amplified by applying polymerase chain reaction (pcr) technique. 50 μl reaction solutions having, 1×pcr reaction buffer, 0.2 mm deoxynucleotide triphosphate (dntps), 2.5 mm mgcl2, 0.2 μm each primer, 1 u of taq dna polymerase and 0.75–1.5 μl genomic dna of two examined extracts for amplifications process. pcr program was adjusted as followings: 3 min at 94°c for initial denaturation, 35 cycles of 30 sat 94°c for denaturation, 30 s at 48°c/ 57°c for annealing, 1 min at 72°c for primer extension, and a final extension for 10 min at 72°c. all products gained from pcr and stained with ethidium bromide were visualized on 1% agarose gel and a uv table. by using 1kb dna ladder the amplification of the primer had been confirmed and estimated. the amplified bands were introduced for sequencing by using applied biosystems, 3500 genetic analyser. resulted sequence from primer was compared with each other by using bio edit version 7.1.11 and clustal w multiple sequence alignment to investigate molecular phylogenetic analysis (tamura et al., 2011; grimm et al., 2006). obtained sequences from the matk, rbcl and its regions for the two taxa were compared by other relevant sequences using blast (basic local alignment search tool). a split is a bipartition in a species set, that divides all dataset of species into two groups: a functional out-group and a functional in-group (huson et al., 2010). results and discussion morpho-anatomical features the list of morphological and anatomical characters that were investigated together with their character states is shown in the figs 1.1 1.5 and table 1. the resulted dendrogram based on these characters was resolved in two main discrete clusters of form (small leaf) and form (large leaf) for the ten populations of which were separated at linkage distance of 52.9. while five populations of form (small leaf) were further resolved in to two sub-clusters at 1.2 (fig. 2). the jaccard‘s pairwise similarity coefficient values for ten populations of c. arvensis ranged from 0.0833 to 1.0, whereas those among the populations of form (small leaf) varied from 0.96 to 1.00 and of form (large leaf) didn’t vary, rather remained always highest (1.00) (table 2). these values between the populations of two forms (small leaf) and form (large leaf) ranged from 0.0833 to 0.125. whereas, this coefficient was 0.0833 between p2 and p4 of forms (small leaf) and p1-p5 of forms (large leaf) and it was 0.125 between p1, p3 and p5 of forms (small leaf) and p1-p5 of forms (large leaf, table 2). twinspan output for the classification of ten populations revealed that there was negative group with twenty one characters including stem length, stem thickness, seed shapes, petiole length, leaf apex, leaf length, petal circumference, leaf width, capsule length, capsule width, 208 moustafa et al. stamen length, anther width, anther length, carpel length, venations type, pollen grains shape, transverse section (ts) in stem, in root, in leaf, stigma shape and anther base surface. also it showed that there was positive group of three characters comprising hairs, stomata and anther shape. fig.1.1. filed images of habit (a1), leaf (a2) and venations (a3) of c. arvensis form small leaf and habit (b1), leaf (b2) and venations (b3) of c. arvensis form large leaf. fig.1.2. hairs (a1), stomata (a2) and leaf apex (a3) of c. arvensis l. form small leaf and hairs (b1), stomata (b2) and leaf apex (b3) of c. arvensis form large leaf. fig.1.3. anther (a1); anther base surface (a2); bifid stigma (a3) and stigma rod (a4) of c. arvensis form small leaf and anther (b1); anther base surface (b2); bifid stigma (b3) and stigma rod (b4) of c. arvensis form large leaf. fig. 1.4. pollen grains (a1, a2 and a3) of c. arvensis l. form small leaf and (b1, b2 and b3) of c. arvensis form large leaf. dna barcoding and morpho -anatomical characters 209 fig.1.5. transverse section (t.s.) of stem (a1); root (a2 and a3); leaf (a4) of c. arvensis l. form small leaf and t.s. of stem (b1); root (b2 and b3); and leaf (b4) of c. arvensis form large leaf. as the morpho-anatomical characters of c. arvensis from saudi arabia showed distinct variation between the two forms, namely form (small leaf) and form (large leaf). therefore, these variations can be used to clearly distinguish between some closely related subspecies, varieties, and forms. fig. 2. dendrogram based on morpho-anatomical characters from ten populations of c. arvensis form (small leaf (sl)) and form (large leaf (ll)) of c. arvensis. 210 moustafa et al. table 1. morphological and anatomical characters for c. arvensis form (small leaf) and c. arvensis form (large leaf). characters characters states of c. arvensis form (small leaf) from five populations characters states of c. arvensis form (large leaf) from five populations stem length 99.45 cm (max 105 cm ± min 90 cm) almost prostrate 224.57 cm (max 270 cm ± min 190 cm) climbing stem thickness 0.97 ml (max 1.1ml ± min 0.88 ml) 1.21 ml (max 1. 28 ml ± min 1.15 ml) seed shapes short (small)-3 seeds beared shaped long-3 seeds – beared shaped petiole length shortened, 6.7 ml (max 7.1 ml ± min 6.00 ml) (fig 1.1.a2) flattened, 25.72 ml (max 26.0 ml ± min 25.0 ml) (fig 1.1.b2) leaf apex acuminate on the upper side (fig.1.2. a3) mucronate on the upper side (fig.1.2. b3) leaf length 46.32 ml (max 47.7 ml ± min 45 ml) (fig 1.1. a2) 111.47. ml (max 115 ml ± min 110 ml) (fig 1.1.b2) petal circ. 64.31 ml (max 65.49 ml ± min 60.92 ml) (fig 1.1. a1) 94.33 ml(max 97.03 ml ± min 90.34 ml) (fig 1.1. b1) leaf width 15.08 ml (max 15.3 ml ± min 14.8 ml) (fig 1.1. a2) 40.40 ml(max 41.2 ml ± min 39.98 ml) (fig 1.1.b2) capsule length 5.58 ml (max 5.9 ml ± min 5.1 ml) 9 ml (max 9.7 ml ± min 9.4 ml) capsule width 3.26 ml (max 3.4 ml ± min 3.10 ml) 5.26 ml (max 5.50 ml ± min 5.10 ml) stamen length 9.25 ml (max 9.4 ml ± min 9.1 ml (fig.1.3. a2) 11.49 ml (max 13.0 ml ± min 10.1 ml (fig.1.3. b2) anther width 0.09 ml (max 0.10 ml ± min 0.08 ml) (fig.1.3. a1) 0.12 ml (max 0.14 ml ± min 0.12 ml) (fig.1.3. b1) anther length 2.16 ml (max 2.22 ml ± min 2.12 ml) (fig.1.3. a1) 2.28 ml (max 2.41 ml ± min 2.23 ml) (fig.1.3. b1) carpel length style: 11.4 ml (max 11.5 ml ± min 11.1 ml; (fig.1.3. a3); stigma: 3.16 ml (max 3.23 ml ± min 3.10 ml) (fig.1.3. a4) style: 12.24 ml (max 12.4 ml ± min 12.1 ml); (fig.1.3. b3); stigma: 3.26 ml (max 3.33 ml ± min 3.20 ml) (fig.1.3. b4) venations from 6 to 7; nearly even pinnate (fig.1.1. a3) from 7 to 8; alternate (fig.1.1. b3) pollen grains in cluster with three grooves (fig. 1.4. a1, 2 and 3) solitary or in triplex with prominent three grooves (fig. 1.4. b1, 2 and 3) anther shape sagitate (fig. 1.3. a1) sagitate (fig. 1.3. b1) stigma shape bifid (fig. 1.3. a3) bifid (fig. 1.3. b3) anther base surface cylindrical (fig. 1.3. a2) cylindrical (fig. 1.3. b2) hairs many types mainly compounds (fig.1.2. a1) many types mainly compounds (fig.1.2. b1) stomata kidneys shapes of stomata (fig.1.2. a2) kidneys shapes of stomata (fig.1.2. b2) t.s in stem fig.1.5. a1 fig.1.5. b1 t.s. in root fig.1.5. a2 and a3 fig.1.5. b2 and b3 t.s. in leaf fig.1.5. a4 fig.1.5. b4 dna barcoding and morpho -anatomical characters 211 table 2. jaccard‘s similarity coefficient among 24 characters of two forms (small leaf (sl)) and (large leaf (ll)) of c. arvensis. p1. form (sl) p2. form (sl) p3. form (sl) p4. form (sl) p5. form (sl) p1. form (sl) 1.0000 p2. form (sl) 0.9583 1.0000 p3. form (sl) 1.0000 0.9583 1.0000 p4. form (sl) 0.9583 1.0000 0.9583 1.0000 p5. form (sl) 1.0000 0.9583 1.0000 0.9583 1.000 p1. form (ll) 0.125 0.08333 0.125 0.08333 0.125 p2. form (ll) 0.125 0.08333 0.125 0.08333 0.125 p3. form (ll) 0.125 0.08333 0.125 0.08333 0.125 p4. form (ll) 0.125 0.08333 0.125 0.08333 0.125 p5. form (ll) 0.125 0.08333 0.125 0.08333 0.125 table 2. (contd.) jaccard‘s similarity coefficient among 24 characters of two forms (small leaf (sl)) and form (large leaf (ll)) of c. arvensis. p. form (ll) p2. form (ll) p. form (ll) p4. form (ll) p5. form (ll) p1. form (sl) p2. form (sl) p3. form (sl) p4. form (sl) p5. form (sl) p1. form (ll) 1.0000 p2. form (ll) 1.0000 1.0000 p3. form (ll) 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 p4. form (ll) 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 p5. form (ll) 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 this conclusion is consistent with sa`ad (1967) who distinguished between the morphologically very similar species c. valentinusis and c. supinus on the light of the minor variations in their leaf shapes and the presence or absence of hairs on both sides of their leaves . dna sequence analysis the resulted sequence length of the matk, rbcl and its regions for the two forms of c. arvensis were in between 577-862 bp for form (large leaf) -rbcl and form (small leaf)-matk respectively (table 3). the gc content ranged between 33.874 for form (small leaf)-matk to 56.086 for form (small leaf)-its. form (small leaf)-rbcl showed 100% identity with c. lineatus (kt178135.1) and c. arvensis (km360729.1), (100%). form (small leaf)-matk and form (large leaf)-matk had 99% identity with c. arvensis (kt176616.1), c. arvensis (mg946999.1), calystegia sepium (jn894556.1) and calystegia sepium (fj395438.1). form (small leaf)-its had 100% identity with c. arvensis (ay560274.1), c. arvensis (ay558826.1), c. arvensis 212 moustafa et al. (kc528905.1), c. arvensis (kj021876.1) and c. arvensis (jq062475.1). form (large leaf)-rbcl had 100% identity with c. arvensis (kt178135.1), c. lineatus (mf158799.1) and c. arvensis (km360729.1). form (large leaf)-its had 99% with c. arvensis (ay560274.1), c. arvensis (ay558826.1), c. arvensis (kc528905.1), c. arvensis (kj021876.1), and c. arvensis (jq062475.1). table 3. read length, gc content and blastn report of rbcl, matk and its regions of form (small leaf) and form (large leaf). form name read length gc content blastn report (description –accession no. and identities pct.(%) form (small leaf) rbcl 582 45.70446735395189 c. arvensis (kt178135.1), (99 %) c. arvensis (mg946887.1), (99 %) c. lineatus (kt178135.1), (100 %) c. arvensis (km360729.1), (100 %) c. arvensis (ay100993.1), (99 %) form (small leaf)matk 862 33.874709976798144 c. arvensis (kt176616.1), (99 %) c. arvensis (mg946999.1), (99 %) calystegia sepium (jn894556.1), (99 %) c. cneorum (hq384565.1), (98 %) calystegia sepium (fj395438.1), (99 %) form (small leaf)its 690 56.086956521739125 c. arvensis (ay560274.1), (100 %) c. arvensis (ay558826.1), (100 %) c. arvensis (kc528905.1), (100 %) c. arvensis (kj021876.1), (100 %) c. arvensis (jq062475.1), (100 %) form (large leaf)rbcl 577 45.407279029462735 c. arvensis (kt178135.1), (100 %) c. lineatus (mf158799.1), (100 %) c. arvensis (mg946887.1), (99 %) c. arvensis (km360729.1), (100 %) c. arvensis (ay100993.1), (99 %) form (large leaf)matk 856 33.8785046728972 c. arvensis (kt176616.1), (99 %) c. arvensis (mg946999.1), (99 %) calystegia sepium (jn894556.1), (99 %) c. cneorum (hq384565.1), (98 %) calystegia sepium (fj395438.1), (99 %) form (large leaf)its 680 55.88235294117647 c. arvensis (ay560274.1), (99 %) c. arvensis (ay558826.1), (99 %) c. arvensis (kc528905.1), (99 %) c. arvensis (kj021876.1), (99 %) c. arvensis (jq062475.1), (99 %) the output of identity matrix sequences resulted from rbcl, matk and its are shown (figure 3 and table 4).the sequence identity matrix revealed that the highest identity matrix ranged between 100% among form (large leaf)-its, form (small leaf)-rbcl and form (small leaf)-rbcl, dna barcoding and morpho -anatomical characters 213 followed by 99.3% among form (large leaf)-matk and form (small leaf)-matk. the next highest sequence identity matrix 97.8% was found among form (large leaf)-its, form (small leaf)-rbcl and form (small leaf)-its. the lowest sequence identity matrix 26.3% was recorded among form (small leaf)-its and form (large leaf)-rbcl (table 4). fig. 3. sequence alignment for rbcl, matk and its region forms (small leaf (sl)) and form (large leaf (ll)) of c. arvensis. 214 moustafa et al. table 4. sequence identity matrix for rbcl, matk and its genes region of form (small leaf(sl)) and form (large leaf (ll)) of c. arvensis. form (sl) rbcl form (ll) -rbcl form (sl) -matk form (ll) -matk form (sl) -its form (ll) -its form (sl) -rbcl id 0.263 0.352 0.355 0.978 1.000 form (ll) -rbcl 0.263 id 0.283 0.285 0.258 0.263 form (sl) -matk 0.352 0.283 id 0.993 0.354 0.352 form (ll) -matk 0.355 0.285 0.993 id 0.356 0.355 form (sl) -its 0.978 0.258 0.354 0.356 id 0.978 form (ll) -its 1.000 0.263 0.352 0.355 0.978 id the maximum likelihood (ml) analysis was based on rbcl, matk and its regions of two forms of c. arvensis (figure 4). the ml tree was resolved in to two clusters of the two forms. cluster 1 formed at the branch length of 0.8 was consisted of form (small leaf)-rbcl + its and form (large leaf)-its. cluster 2 at branch length of 0.3 was consisted of the clade of form (large leaf)-matk and form (small leaf)-matk. the branch length of the out-group form (large leaf)-rbcl was 0.8. fig. 4. ml tree generated through maximum likelihood analysis of rbcl, matk and its sequence data of two forms (small leaf (sl)) and form (large leaf (ll)) of c. arvensis. the nucleotide composition resulted from rbcl, matk and its regions of two forms of c. arvensis are shown in (table 5). the average of all the three nucleotide sequences had a total of 724 positions, in the final data set, for pos #1 (241), for pos #2 and for pos #3 (240). it revealed that form (small leaf)-rbcl had the highest guanine (g) content (28.7%) and lowest adenine (a) (20.6%), while form (large leaf)-rbcl had the highest thymine (t) and adenine contents of 27.4% and 27.2% respectively and lowest cytosine (c) content of 22.0. form (small leaf)-matk and form (large leaf)-matk had the highest thymine (37.7%) and lowest guanine (15.9%). form (small leaf)-its and form (large leaf)-its had high amount of guanine (287%) and low amount of adenine (20.6%). the degree of bias showed avraiation depends upon the codon composition. at the first codon position for form (small leaf)-rbcl, the usage of g was 33.3%, and those of the other bases were 25.4% (c), 19.3% (a) and 22.0% (t). at the second codon position, the content dna barcoding and morpho -anatomical characters 215 of t was 23.00% and those of the other bases were 28.6% (c), 22.00% (a) and 26.4% (g). at the third codon position, the base usage was t (26.00%), c (27.6%), a (20.4%) and g (26.2%) (shrivastava et al., 2013). the detailed numbers of codon composition for form (large leaf)-rbcl, form (small leaf)-matk, form (large leaf)-matk, form (small leaf)-its, form (large leaf)its are shown in table 5. table 5. nucleotide composition of rbcl, matk and its regions of form (small leaf (sl)) and form (large leaf (ll)) of c. arvensis. source t(u) c a g total t-1 c-1 a-1 g-1 pos #1 form (sl)-rbcl 23.5 27.2 20.6 28.7 680.0 22 25.4 19.3 33.3 228.0 form (ll)-rbcl 27.4 22.0 27.2 23.4 577.0 34 20.9 27.2 18.3 191.0 form (sl)-matk 37.7 18.0 28.4 15.9 862.0 37 15.3 29.6 18.1 287.0 form (ll)-matk 37.7 18.0 28.4 15.9 856.0 37 15.1 29.8 17.9 285.0 form(sl)-its 23.2 27.2 20.7 28.8 690.0 22 25.0 19.8 33.2 232.0 form (ll)its 23.5 27.2 20.6 28.7 680.0 22 25.4 19.3 33.3 228.0 avg. 29.6 22.9 24.6 22.9 724.2 29 20.7 24.5 25.3 241.8 table 5. (contd.) nucleotide composition of rbcl, matk and its regions of form (small leaf (sl)) and form (large leaf (ll)). source t-2 c-2 a-2 g-2 pos #2 t-3 c-3 a-3 g-3 pos#3 form (sl)-rbcl 23 28.6 22.0 26.4 227.0 26 27.6 20.4 26.2 225.0 form (ll)rbcl 21 18.7 25.9 34.2 193.0 27 26.4 28.5 17.6 193.0 form (sl)-matk 36 17.7 27.1 18.8 288.0 40 20.9 28.6 10.8 287.0 form (ll)matk 36 17.8 26.9 18.9 286.0 40 21.1 28.4 10.9 285.0 form (sl)its 23 28.7 22.2 26.5 230.0 25 28.1 20.2 26.8 228.0 form (ll)its 23 28.6 22.0 26.4 227.0 26 27.6 20.4 26.2 225.0 avg. 28 23.0 24.5 24.5 241.8 31 24.9 24.7 19.1 240.5 phylogenetic relationships based on molecular and morphological properties have been considered in many taxa (bernardi and crane, 2005; ward et al., 2005). also, combinations between dna sequencing and morphological characters including leaf anatomy and macromorphology had been conducted to investigate the generic and subgeneric relations (soh and parnell, 2011). interestingly in this work, we found concordant results from the analyses of molecular data and morphological and anatomical characters. we found variations in morphological and anatomical characters accompanied with nucleotide sequences of two forms of c. arvensis. such variations may be due to the differences in the gc percentage, nucleotide length, nucleotide bases differences, and number of gaps in each nucleotide region (singh et al., 2016). these differences in each form of c. arvensis can be mainly ascribed to the varying numbers of repeat, alignment gaps, deletions, copy number sand base 216 moustafa et al. substitutions and/or additions. base additions and substitutions are featured by very high c content that might form pure poly c structures (shrivastava et al., 2013). therefore, all of these factors individually or altogether will lead to a consequence of mutations in the lineage of c. arvensis forms according the prevailing environmental conditions. variation in the amount of gc content and other nucleotides a, t and c in the first, second and third position is same to that of some other plant groups, for example, triticeae tribe (bieniek et al., 2015) and pisum sativum varieties (moustafa et al., 2019). comparison the obtained sequences from rbcl, matk and its regions with the sequences in the genbank gave various similarity percentage with other species of convolvulus plants. for example, form (small leaf)-rbcl and form (large leaf)-rbcl gave a 100% similarity with c. lineatus and c. arvensis. there was no 100% similarity was obtained from form (small leaf)matk, and form (large leaf)-matk, though form (small leaf)-its gave 100% similarity with c. arvensis. also, the molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that form (large leaf) –rbcl clustered alone than other nucleotide sequences generated from matk and its regions. therefore, rbcl can be applied to address the problems of plant phylogeny in lower taxa, even at the level of form, since it could separate form (large leaf) from form (small leaf) and in concomitant with morphoanatomical characters of these two forms. however baldwin et al. (1995), found that its could reconstruct phylogenetic relationships precisely among plant species. li et al. (2011) found that its effectively resolved the problems of species by sorting out 6,286 samples from 1,757 of seed plant species. an application of its was also questioned. the sequencing and amplification rate of its primer was relatively low (i.e. 71.00% and 86.20% respectively) which might be as a result from some second-level structures on it (huang et al., 2015; desalle, 2007; waugh, 2007). additionally, xing et al. 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(manuscript received on 4 june, 2019; revised on 8 december, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 61‒73, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54208 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists issr markers and population differentiations in erodium ciconium (l.) l'hér ex aiton xi fei*1, ruan xuejun2 and amir abbas minaeifar3 nanjing university of finance & economics, college of art and design, jiangsu nanjing, china keywords: erodium ciconium; gene flow; genetic differentiation; issr. abstract erodium ciconium is an important grazing plant and a source of protein supplements to straw for ruminants in semideserts and wastelands of the middle east. there is no information on its population genetic structure, genetic diversity, and morphological variability in iran. we performed molecular data for knowing the population differentiation in this species. for this study, we used 110 randomly collected plants from 15 geographical populations in 6 provinces of iran. amova test revealed significant genetic difference among the studied populations and also revealed that, 63% of total genetic variability was due to within population diversity while, 37% was due to among population genetic differentiation. mantel test showed positive significant correlation between genetic distance and geographical distance of the studied populations. networking, structure analyses revealed some degree of gene flow among these populations. introduction genetic diversity is a basic component of biodiversity and its conservation is essential for long term survival of any species in changing environments (mills and schwartz, 2005; tomasello et al., 2015). change in environmental conditions often leads to variation in genetic diversity levels among different populations and populations with low variability are generally considered less adapted under adverse circumstances (falk and holsinger, 1991; olivieri et al., 2016). in the same way, most geneticists consider population size as an important factor for maintaining genetic variation (ellegren and galtier, 2016; turchetto et al., 2016). this is very important in fragmented populations because they are more vulnerable due to the loss of allelic richness and inbreeding depression (increases homozygosity within populations, frankham, 2005). therefore, knowledge of the genetic variability and diversity within and among different populations is crucial for their conservation and management (cires et al., 2012, 2013; meloni et al., 2015; peñas et al., 2016; esfandani-bozchaloyi et al., 2018 a, b, c, d). in arid and semi-arid regions, the genus erodium aiton (geraniaceae) includes 74 species and is distributed on all continents, excluding antarctica (fiz et al., 2006). a major center of diversity is observed in the mediterranean basin (62 species). in iran, erodium is classified in two sections viz., plumosa boiss. and erodium boiss. and three subsections namely, absinthioidea brumhard, malacoides lange and cicutaria lange (schönbeck-temesy 1970). erodium species are found in different parts of iran (esfandanibozchaloyi et al., 2017 a, b, c, d; schönbeck-temesy, 1970; eig, 1931; zohary, 1950; leonard, 1989; white and léonard, 1991; akhani, 2007). *corresponding author. e-mail: 2069180899@qq.com 1 nanjing university of finance & economics, college of art and design, jiangsu nanjing, china 2nanjing institute of mechatronic technology, humanity and sociology department, jiangsu nanjing, china 3department of biology. payame noor university. p.o. box19395-3697 tehran. iran. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54208 mailto:2069180899@qq.com 62 fei et al. genus erodium comprises 15 species in different parts of iran (schonbeck–temesy, 1970). erodium ciconium is distinguished from other members of its genus by its lobed cotyledons, with sinuses almost reaching the midvein and dense appressed hairs on the mericarp (dahlgren, 1980). the tricolpate pollen grains have a striate-reticulate exine morphology (verhoeven and venter 1987; perveen and gaiser 1999; shehata, 2008). some species of erodium are of medicinal importance while some are well known weeds. erodium ciconium (l.) l'hér. is best adapted to mediterranean climates, but is found globally in temperate areas with hot summers (greuter et al., 1986; hulte´n and fries, 1986). although the species requires moisture from rainfall or irrigation for optimal germination (blackshaw and harker, 1998; busso et al., 1998; brooks and berry, 2006). e. ciconium has had some importance as a forage plant on ranges in california (anonymous, 1939; busso et al., 1998; george et al., 2006); and is an important grazing plant and source of protein supplements to straw for ruminants in semideserts and wastelands of the middle east (al-masri, 2007; bilgir, 1982). the entire plant is edible with a flavor similar to sharp parsley if picked young (camazine and bye, 1980). molecular markers play a significant role in protection of biodiversity, identification of promising cultivars, quantitative trait loci (qtl) mapping, etc. different pcr based dominant markers, such as issr, scot, srap, etc. have been effectively used for quantification of genetic diversity (anonymous, 1939; busso et al., 1998; george et al., 2006). recent issr studies of natural populations have demonstrated the hypervariable nature of these markers and their potential use for population-level studies (hulte´n and fries, 1986). limitations of the issr technique, as is the case for random amplification of polymorphic dna (rapd; esfandani-bozchaloyi et al., 2019), are that the bands are scored as dominant markers and the genetic diversity estimates are based on diallelic characters. in the present study, issr markers were employed to analyze genetic diversity in 110 e. ciconium accessions belonging to 15 different populations for the first time in the iran. materials and methods plant materials a total of 110 individuals were sampled representing 15 natural populations of e. ciconium from east azerbaijan, lorestan, kermanshah, mazandaran, guilan and ardabil provinces of iran during july-agust 2018 (table 1). for morphometric and issr analysis, we used 110 plant accessions (four to twelve samples from each populations) belonging to 15 different populations. more information about the geographical distribution of the accessions are given in table 1. different literatures were used for the correct identification of the samples of e. ciconium (davis, 1967; schönbeck-temesy, 1970; zohary, 1972; janighorban, 2005). environmental variables during this study, data on elevation, latitude and longitude etc. were recorded at each site using an electronic gps. the climate variable data of mean annual temperature, mean maximum temperature (°c), mean minimum temperature (°c), annual rainfall (mm), number of frost days were collected from http://www.worldclim.org. (table 1). soil ph (1:2.5 v/v soil/water mixture; ly/t 1239–1999) for each population was measured using a digital ph meter (phs-3c, shanghai leici equipment factory, china). dna extraction and issr assay fresh leaves were used randomly from four to twelve plants in each of the studied populations. these were dried by silica gel powder. ctab activated charcoal protocol was used to extract genomic dna (esfandani-bozchaloyi et al., 2019). the quality of extracted dna was examined by running it on 0.8% agarose gel. 10 issr primers viz., (agc)5gt, (ca)7gt, http://www.worldclim.org. issr markers and population differentiations 63 64 fei et al. (agc)5gg, ubc810, (ca)7at, (ga)9c, ubc807, ubc811, (ga)9t and (gt)7ca commercialized by the university of british columbia (ubc) were used. pcr reactions were performed in a 25μl volume containing 10 mm tris-hcl buffer at ph 8; 50 mm kcl; 1.5 mm mgcl2; 0.2 mm of each dntp (bioron, germany); 0.2 μm of a single primer; 20 ng genomic dna and 3 u of taq dna polymerase (bioron, germany). the thermal program was carried out with an initial denaturation for 1 min at 94°c, followed by 40 cycles in three segments: 35 s at 95°c, 40s at 47°c and 55s at 72°c. the amplified products were observed by running on 1% agarose gel, followed by the ethidium bromide staining. the fragment size was estimated by using a 100 bp molecular size ladder (fermentas, germany). data analyses molecular analyses the issr profiles obtained for each samples were scored as binary characters. parameter like nei’s gene diversity (he), shannon information index (i), number of effective alleles, and percentage of polymorphism (p% =  number of polymorphic loci/number of total loci) were determined (weising et al., 2005; freeland et al., 2011; peakall and smouse, 2006). nei’s genetic distance among populations was used for neighbor joining (nj) clustering and neighbor-net networking (freeland et al., 2011; huson and bryant, 2006). mantel test checked the correlation between geographical and genetic distances of the studied populations (podani, 2000). these analyses were done by past ver. 2.17 (hammer et al., 2012), darwin ver. 5 (2012) and splitstree4 v4.13.1 (2013) software. amova (analysis of molecular variance) test (with 1000 permutations) as implemented in genalex 6.4 (peakall and smouse, 2006), and nei,s gst analysis in genodive ver. 2 (2013) were used to show genetic difference of the populations (meirmans and van tienderen, 2004). moreover, populations, genetic differentiation was studied by g'st est = standardized measure of genetic differentiation (hedrick, 2005), and d_est = jost measure of differentiation (jost, 2008). to assess the population structure of the e. ciconium, a heuristic method based on bayesian clustering algorithms were utilized. the clustering method based on the bayesian-model implemented in the software program structure (pritchard et al., 2000; falush and stephens 2007) was used on the same data set to better detect population substructures. this clustering method is based on an algorithm that assigns genotypes to homogeneous groups, given a number of clusters (k) and assuming hardy-weinberg and linkage equilibrium within clusters, the software estimates allele frequencies in each cluster and population memberships for every individual (pritchard et al., 2000). the number of potential subpopulations varied from two to ten, and their contribution to the genotypes of the accessions was calculated based on 50,000 iteration burn-ins and 100,000 iteration sampling periods. the most probable number (k) of subpopulations was identified following evanno et al. (2005). in k-means clustering, two summary statistics, pseudo-f, and bayesian information criterion (bic), provide the best fit for k (meirmans, 2012). gene flow (nm) were calculated using popgene (version 1.31) program (yeh et al., 1999). results and discussion population’s genetic diversity genetic diversity parameters were determined in 15 geographical populations of e. ciconium are presented in table 2. the highest value of percentage polymorphism (47.18%) was observed in gilan: langerud, chaff population number (pop. no. 7), which shows high value for gene issr markers and population differentiations 65 diversity (0.144). and i (0.155). population mazandaran: karaj-chalus (pop. no. 4) has the lowest value for percentage of polymorphism (8.44%) and the lowest value for i (0.049), and he (0.013). population genetic differentiation amova (phipt = 0.59, p = 0.0010) revealed significant difference among the studied populations (table 3). it also revealed that 63% of total genetic variability was due to diversity within population and 37% was due to genetic differentiation among population. table 2. genetic diversity parameters in the studied populations e. ciconium. pop n na ne i he uhe %p pop1 10 0.388 1.081 0.068 0.046 0.056 19.76 pop2 5 0.318 1.058 0.050 0.034 0.045 9.24 pop3 6 0.835 1.206 0.179 0.119 0.132 35.12 pop4 4 0.541 1.118 0.049 0.013 0.084 8.44 pop5 8 0.718 1.162 0.147 0.097 0.106 29.41 pop6 7 0.918 1.225 0.197 0.132 0.159 35.29 pop7 5 0.576 1.144 0.155 0.144 0.095 47.18 pop8 11 0.329 1.036 0.087 0.079 0.021 45.71 pop9 7 0.647 1.182 0.152 0.103 0.111 27.06 pop10 6 0.506 1.104 0.090 0.061 0.067 18.47 pop11 6 0.694 1.131 0.126 0.081 0.087 27.06 pop12 5 0.482 1.090 0.077 0.052 0.059 14.12 pop13 12 0.459 1.115 0.089 0.062 0.068 12.29 pop14 7 0.329 1.036 0.087 0.079 0.021 45.71 pop15 11 0.718 1.162 0.147 0.097 0.106 29.41 n = number of samples, na= number of different alleles, ne = number of effective alleles, i= shannon’s information index, he = gene diversity, uhe = unbiased gene diversity, p%= percentage of polymorphism, populations). table 3. analysis of molecular variance (amova) of the studied populations. source df ss ms est. var. % φpt among pops 12 496.576 38.327 4.062 37% 37% within pops 60 594.767 8.530 8.630 63% total 72 991.342 13.613 100% df: degree of freedom; ss: sum of squared observations; ms: mean of squared observations; ev: estimated variance; φpt: proportion of the total genetic variance among individuals within an accession (p < 0.001). the pairwise comparisons of ‘nei genetic identity’ among the populations of e. ciconium (table 4) have shown a higher genetic similarity (0.91) between populations lorestan: borujerd (pop. no. 5) and kermanshah: bijar (pop. no. 11), while the lowest genetic similarity value (0.55) occurs between lorestan:visian (pop. no. 8) and mazandaran: karaj-chalus (pop. no. 4). 66 fei et al. issr markers and population differentiations 67 population’s genetic affinity nj tree and neighbor-net network produced similar results, and therefore, only neighbor-net network is presented and discussed (fig. 1). we find almost complete separation of the populations in the network, supporting amova result. the populations lorestan: borujerd (pop. no. 5) and guilan: lahijan (pop. no. 14) are distinct and stand separate from the other populations with great distance. the pop. no. 3 and pop. no. 6, as well as pop. no. 11 and pop. no. 13 show closer genetic affinity and are placed close to each other. in general, the findings of fig. 1 is more or less consistent with figure 3, but it is totally in conflict with structure. fig. 1. neighbor-net network of populations in e. ciconium based on issr data. genetic divergence and separation of pop. no. 1-6, as well as pop. no. 11 and pop. no. 15 from the other populations is evident in mds plot of issr data after 900 permutations (fig. 2). the other populations showed close genetic affinity. mantel test after 5000 permutations produced significant correlation between genetic distance and geographical distance in these populations (r = 0.52, p = 0.001). therefore, the populations that are geographically more distant have less amount of gene flow and isolation by distance (ibd) in e. ciconium. population’s genetic structure k = 2 reveal the presence of 2 genetic groups. similar result was obtained by evanno test performed on structure analysis which produced a major peak at k = 2 (fig. 3). both these analyses revealed that e. ciconium populations show genetic stratification. structure plot based on k = 2 (fig. 3), revealed genetic difference of populations (pop. no. 1-7) (differently colored) with other populations. but it showed genetic affinity between populations 1-7 (similarly colored), as well as populations 8-15. 68 fei et al. fig. 2. mds plot of populations in e. ciconium based on issr data. fig. 3. structure plot of e. ciconium populations based on k = 2 of issr data. issr markers and population differentiations 69 the mean nm = 0.32 was obtained for all issr loci, which indicates low amount of gene flow among the populations and supports genetic stratification as indicated by k-means and structure analyses. however, the reticulogram generated through the least square method (fig. 4) revealed some amount of shared alleles among pop. no. 5, 6 and pop. no. 1, 2 and between pop. no. 14 and pop. no. 7 also between pop. no. 11, and pop. no. 9 and 10. this result is in conflict with grouping obtained from mds plot, as these populations were placed close to each other. as evidenced by structure plot based on admixture model, these shared alleles comprise very limited part of the genomes in these populations and all these results are not in agreement in showing high degree of genetic stratification within e. ciconium populations. fig. 4. reticulogram of e. ciconium populations based on least square method analysis of issr data. (population numbers are according to table 1). the present study provides interesting data on genetic variability, genetic stratification and morphological divergence in e. ciconium of north and west part of iran. the studied populations have a low level of genetic diversity (he = 0.013-0.144). low genetic variability may occur due to small size of the populations and genetic drift (dahlgren, 1980). the genetic diversity is of fundamental importance in the continuity of a species as it is used to bring about the necessary adaptation to the cope with changes in the environment (warburg, 1938; guittonneau, 1972). degree of genetic variability within a species is highly correlated with its reproductive mode, and the higher degree of open pollination/cross breeding brings about higher level of genetic variability in the studied taxon (knuth, 1908). considerable morphological and genetic variability has previously been reported within e. ciconium (webb and chater, 1968; dahlgren, 1980). martin et al., (1997) showed genetic diversity within and among populations of a threatened species e. paularense fern. gonz. & izco using rapd markers. alarcón et al. 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(manuscript received on 12 january, 2019; revised on 10 june, 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 149‒156, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of three species and a genus of angiosperms for bangladesh gazi mosharof hossain1, saleh ahammad khan, mohammad sayedur rahman2, sandeep sharma3, md. abdur rahim and md. rakibul islam khan4 department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka 1342, bangladesh. key words: cayratia maritime; leptadenia reticulate; oberonia disticha; new records; sundarban; bangladesh. abstract three species viz., cayratia maritima jackes of family vitaceae juss., leptadenia reticulata (retz.) wight & arn. of apocynaceae juss. and oberonia disticha (lam.) schltr. of orchidaceae juss. have been reported here for the first time from sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh. the genus leptadenia r.br. is a new addition to the angiosperms of bangladesh. taxonomic description, photographs and illustrations of these species have been provided. introduction bangladesh harbors a total of 3715 species of angiosperms (ahmed et al., 2008-2009; rahman et al., 2016; rahman and hossain, 2017; islam and rahman, 2017; sourav et al., 2017; ara, 2018; ara and hassan, 2018; uddin et al., 2018; alfasane et al., 2019). during the botanical explorations in sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh conducted in 2016-2018 by the authors, some specimens of angiosperms were collected which did not match with any known plant species of bangladesh. following detailed taxonomic investigation, these specimens were identified as to belong to three species namely, cayratia maritima, leptadenia reticulata and oberonia disticha of family vitaceae, apocynaceae and orchidaceae, respectively. these species and the genus leptadenia were never appeared previously in any taxonomic literature covering the flora of bangladesh (e.g., hooker, 1875-1885; prain, 1903a, b; heinig, 1925; khan, 1972-1987; khan and rahman, 1989-2002; rahman and hassan, 2017; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; uddin and hassan, 2010; arefin et al., 2011; rahman et al., 2015; haque et al., 2018). therefore, the species cayratia maritima, leptadenia reticulata and oberonia disticha and the genus leptadenia are reported here as the new records for bangladesh. materials and methods the plant specimens were collected from kotka, supati, dublar char and nilkomol areas of sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh during the floristic exploration conducted from 2016 to 2018. the freshly collected specimens were processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; jain and raw, 1977) and preserved at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). the taxonomic investigation on the morphological characters of these specimens was conducted in plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory of jahangirnagar university. the taxonomic 1 corresponding author. email: gazibotju@gmail.com 2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh 3 smithsonian conservation biology institute, washington dc, usa. 4 procurement officer, geological survey of bangladesh, ministry of energy and mineral resources. mailto:gazibotju@gmail.com 150 hossain et al. identification of these specimens was confirmed through matching their characters with the relevant taxonomic literatures (bullock, 1955; devis and cullen, 1965; geesink et al., 1981; hooker, 1875-1885; prain 1903a; wu et al., 1995-2009, siddiqui et al., 2007 and 2008; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ali, 2019), voucher specimens housed at bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh), and clear images available in the websites of few international herbaria (e.g., k, p and mo). nomenclatural information was incorporated following recent taxonomic publications (ali, 2019; wu et al., 1995-2009) and the nomenclatural databases of the plant list (2018) and tropicos (2018). the voucher specimens have been deposited at juh. the taxonomic descriptions including images and illustrations have been produced based on the specimens collected from sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh. results and discussion cayratia maritima jackes, austrobaileya 2(4): 366 (1987). type: australia: queensland, cook pastoral district, lakefield national park, lakefield, seasides, 26 june 1982, b.r. jackes s.n. ht (bri), it (mel, a, l, canb, dna, nsw). (fig. 1). scrambling vine, stems angular, ca. 3-10 m long, young stems with simple hairs at nodes; tendrils bior tri-furcate, glabrous; leaves alternate, trifoliate, succulent; stipules 2, triangular, caduceus, leaving a broad scar; petioles 2-3.8 cm long, glabrous; leaflets glabrous abaxially and adaxially, central leaflets ovate to rhomboid, ca. 2.5-4.5 cm × 1.5-2.3 cm, usually larger than the lateral leaflets, lateral leaflets oblique, sometimes lobed, ca. 2-3.5 cm × 1.2-2.0 cm, apices acuminate, margins with obtuse teeth; inflorescence axillary, about as long as the compound leaves, corymbose; flowers 4-merous, small, actinomorphic, hypogynous; sepals 4, papillose; petals 4, ca. 1.8-2.0 mm, whitish, valvate, spreading, papillose; stamens 4, antipetalous, filaments 1-1.5 mm long, anthers oval, up to 0.5 mm long, dorsifixed, dehiscing longitudinally; floral disc 4lobed; carpels 2, syncarpus, ovary superior, embedded in the disk, placentaion nearly basal, style simple, connate; fruits berry, (sub-)globose, ca. 1 cm in diam., dark purple to black when matured; seeds 2-4 per fruit, about 5-6 × 4-5 mm. 2n = 40 (okada and tsukaya, 2003). flowering and fruiting: flowering occurs during december to may and fruiting during june to september. ecology: found to grow near sea level to 100 m. but usually grows in forest margin or gallery and often near permanent depression areas of forest. uses: local people use this plant in curing the stomach upset of cattle. distribution: distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical africa, asia, australia, and the pacific islands. indonesia, new guinea, taiwan and neighboring pacific islands. in bangladesh, this species is found to occur in sundarban mangrove forest. representative specimen examined: bagerhat: shorankhola, kotka, 14.10.2016, mosharof 2103 and 2104 (juh); dublar char, 26.09.2017, mosharof 3285 (juh). the genus cayratia juss., consisting of 63 species (jackes, 1987), is distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical africa, asia, australia, and the pacific islands (hus and kuoh, 1999) and characterized by axillary inflorescences with bisexual, tetramerous flowers. only three species of cayratia viz., c. japonica (thunb.) gagnep., c. pedata (lam.) juss. ex gagnep. and c. trifolia (l.) domin were previously reported from bangladesh (hooker, 1875; prain, 1903a; ahmed et al., 2009). c. maritima differs from c. japonica by its tri-foliate leaves, and marginally obtusely toothed and abaxially glabrous lamina in contrast to 5-7 foliate leaves and marginally sparsely serrate and abaxially sparsely pubescent to pilose lamina of c. japonica. it differs from c. trifolia by its 2-3 new records of three species 151 branched tendrils, glabrous and obtusely toothed leaves in comparison to 3-5 branched tendrils, adaxially strigulose and avbaxially pilose and sharply dentate leaves of c. trifolia. it is different from c. pedata by its tri-foliate and glabrous leaves in contrast to c. pedata’s 5-7 foliate and adaxially or adaxially and abaxially sparsely pubescent to pilose leaves. fig. 1. cayratia maritima jackes: a. a partial view of habit (× 0.71); b. a part of a branch with a tendril (×0.8); c. an unopened flower (×12.5); d. petals (×12.5); e. calyx cup (×22); f. position of stamens (×12.5); g. a stamen (×14.5); h. ls of an ovary (×15); i. fruits (×4). leptadenia reticulata (retz.) wight & arn. in: wight, contr. bot. india. 47 (1834). trimen, handb. fl. ceylon, 3:164 (1895); lace, list trees, shrubs, etc. burma, ed. 2 (rodger), 117 (1922); gamble, fl. madras, 2(5): 850 (1924); press, et al., annotated checklist of the flowering plants of nepal (2000). (fig. 2). 152 hossain et al. cynanchum reticulatum retz.; c. asthmaticum butch.-ham. ex hook, fl. brit. india, 4:63(1883). perennial, much branched, laticiferous, twining climber; stems pale yellowish when mature but younger ones are greenish, glabrous, contain watery sap; leaves simple, opposite, ovate or ovate-oblong, gradually acute at apex, base truncate or shallowly cordate, coriaceous, and finely pubescent; petioles 1.5-2.5 cm long; lamina 4.5-7.0 cm × 2.5-3.5 cm; inflorescences axillary umbellate cymes; peduncles 4-5.5 mm long, finely pubescent; flowers yellowish green, bisexual, pedicels 3.5-4.0 mm long, pubescent; calyx five-lobed, sepals ovate, oblong or sub-acute (2-2.5 mm × 1-1.2 mm), silky with small hairs on surface; corolla rotate with short tube, corolla tube fig. 2. leptadenia reticulata (retz.) wight & arn.: a. a partial view of habit (×1.5); b. a part of a flowering twig (×0.33); c. an inflorescence (×0.75); d. ls of a flower (× 1.18); e. a part of flower showing pollinia and corona (× 1.23). shorter than the calyx, petals 5, gamopetalous, ovate or sub-acute (3.5-3.8 mm × 1.3-1.5 mm) with small hairs on surface; corona in double series, inner series reduced, outer series of 5 short, fleshy parts attached to the throat of corolla tube alternating with the corolla lobes; staminal column new records of three species 153 short, stamens 5, filaments fused with the stigmatic head to form a five-angled disc or gynostegium, anthers incumbent on stigma with pellucid curved appendages at the tip; ovary bicarpellary with marginal placentation; fruits follicular, horned shaped and slender, bluntly acute at both ends; seeds lanceolate and comose. flowering and fruiting: flowering occurs during july to october and fruiting during september to december. ecology: on sandy soil beside the forest margin and along the sand dune. uses: the plant is galactogogues and used as eye tonic. it is used to prevent prolapse of uterus and vulva in controlling habitual abortion in women (anjaria et al., 1975). it is useful to cure eyediseases (sivarajan and balachandran, 1994), seminal debility, general weakness, cough, dyspnoea, fever, asthma, constipation, sore throat, and gonorrhea. extracts of roots and leaves of the plant act as antibacterial and anti-fungal agent (patel and dantwala, 1958). distribution: native to africa, including madagascar, mauritius, as well as southwest asia and the indian subcontinent (gibbs et al., 1987; bruyns and forster, 1991). representative specimen examined: khulna: nilkomol, balirgang, 12.10.2016, mosharof 2094 and 2095 (juh). the genus leptadenia r.br., with about 10 species, is native to africa, including madagascar, as well as southwest asia and the indian subcontinent (abeywickrama, 1973; gibbs et al., 1987; bruyns and forster, 1991). the genus leptadenia was never reported from bangladesh previously. hooker (1883) provided an account of this genus (as cynanchum l.) for few areas of british india that do not cover bangladesh. l. reticulata seems similar to l. arborea (forssk.) schweinf. from which it is differentiated by its corolla tubes that are shorter than the calyx in contrast to the those of l. arborea that are longer than the calyces. oberonia disticha (lam.) schltr., repert. spec. nov. regni veg. beih. 33: 132 (1924). epidendrum distichum lam.; iridorchis equitans (thouars) kuntze; malaxis brevifolia (lindl.) rchb.f.; oberonia brevifolia lindl.; pleurothallis disticha (lam.) a.rich. (fig. 3). small epiphytic herb, 4-12 cm long, usually pendent, sometimes forms clumps; roots arising from the base of plant, fine, <1 mm in diameter; stems few to many, in cluster, 3-12 cm long; leaves several, 4-5 × 0.8-1.2 cm, distichous, usually imbricate, bilaterally flattened, succulent, light green, 2-5 × 0.5-1 cm, lanceolate, acute to acuminate, decreasing in size towards the stem apex; inflorescence terminal racemose, densely many-flowered, 4-10 cm long, cylindrical, tapering; flowers <2 mm in diameter, yellowish orange; sepals 0.6-0.7 × 0.4-0.5 mm, ovate, obtuse; petals 0.4-0.5 × 0.2 mm, elliptic to oblong, obtuse, lips 0.9-1.0 × 0.7 mm, oblongpandurate, deflexed; column 0.5-3 mm long. flowering and fruiting: january to march. ecology: epiphytic in riverine or evergreen forest and woodland with high rainfall, at 4301250 m alt. this species can grow in pots filled with a mix of fine bark chips and coarse pit and in the outdoors with moderate temperatures and high humidity (wodrich, 1997). uses: this species can be used as an ornamental. distribution: central, east and southern africa, madagascar, the comoro and mascarene islands. representative specimen examined: bagerhat: shorankhola, shupati, 10.02.2016, mosharof 2142 and 2149 (juh); shupati, 30.09.2017, mosharof 3370 (juh). 154 hossain et al. fig. 3. oberonia disticha (lam.) schltr.: a. habit (×1); b. a part of an inflorescence (×18); c. front view of a flower (×15); d. dorsal view of a flower (×18.5); e. a lip (×25.6); f. a sepal (×20.8); g. dorsal view of a petal (×10.35); h. ventral view of a petal (×12). the genus oberonia lindl. consists of about 300 species, distributed from south africa through asia to australia and the pacific islands. in bangladesh, five oberonia species viz., o. falconeri hook. f., o. gammiei king & pantl., o. mannii hook. f., o. mucronata (d. don) ormerod & seidenf., o. rufilabris lindl. have so far been described (hooker, 1894; prain, 1903a; ahmed et al., 2008), from which o. disticha can be differentiated by its leaf characters. o. disticha has bilaterally flattened and compressed, and distichous leaves arranged at the base to the lower part of the stem in contrast to sobulate to (sub-) falcate leaves of o. gammiei, linear and ensiform leaves of o. mannii, and narrowly oblong leaves (narrowly obovate lip with two basal threadlike segments) of o. rufilabris jointed at the base. new records of three species 155 references abeywickrama, b.a. 1973. a revised hand-book to the flora of ceylon. vol. 1. university of ceylon, pp. 1–114. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(eds.). 1995-2009. apocynaceae, vitaceae, and orchidaceae, flora of china. vols. 12, 16 & 25. science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. (manuscript received 7 june, 2019; revised on 5 december, 2019) https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-017-9689-2. http://www.theplantlist. http://www.tropicos.org microsoft word 16. 97 bjpt 1697_editka.corrected.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 223-235, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular systematics of some bifurcate hairy sections in astragalus l. (fabaceae) as inferred from nuclear and chloroplast dna sequences reza sheikhakbari-mehr1 , ali asghar maassoumi2 and shahrokh kazempour osaloo3 department of biology, faculty of science, university of qom, qom, iran keywords: astragalus; cpdna; fabaceae; nrdna its; phylogeny. abstract in this study, 38 species belonging to some bifurcate hairy sections of astragalus l. were analyzed phylogenetically, using nuclear and plastid dna sequences. based on our results, astragalus sect. dissitiflori dc. with the inclusion of the members of section erioceras bunge, formed a monophyletic group. the members of sect. ornithopodium bunge and onobrychoidei dc. were located together within a highly supported monophyletic clade, apart from other sections studied, on the basis of the present molecular data.the positioning of the enigmatic, recently established species, a. juladakensis maassoumi, within the sect. dissitiflori was verified. in addition, our results showed that a. pravitzii podl., which had been already transferred to sect. ornithopodium, belongs to the section dissitiflori. introduction astragalus l. (family fabaceae, subfamily faboideae) is among the largest genera of the flowering plants containing up to 3000 species of herbs and small shrubs (maassoumi, 2005; lewis et al., 2005).the south-western and central asia are considered as the main centers of biodiversity for the old world astragalus (lock and simpson, 1991). infrageneric and sectional classification of astragalus was first carried out by de candolle (1825) with the description of 14 sections, a number then increased by boissier (1843).however, the first comprehensive classification of the old world astragalus was presented by bunge (1868), with the description of 150 sections in 10 subgenera. the current distinction of 150 and 93 sections belonging to the old world and new world astragalus respectively indicates that astragalus is a complex genus within angiosperms (barneby, 1964; podlech, 1986). these sections are distinguished based on some morphological characters such as stem features, stipules connation, leaf shape, inflorescence and legume features (maassoumi, 2000). there are more than 800 species of astragalus in iran, which has a high endemism rate of 65% (podlech, 1999; maassoumi, 2005). astragalus sect. dissitiflori dc is one of the largest sections among bifurcate hairy astragalus, with more than 150 species in the world (ranjbar, 2004) and about 20 species in iran (podlech et al., 2010). ghahreman et al., (1996) transferred a. viridis bunge and a. dendroproselius rech. f. from dissitiflori to the section cystodes bunge. later on, these two species along with a. aestimabilis podlech were moved to sect. corethrum bunge (maassoumi, 2005). according to maassoumi (2005), sect. corethrum bunge is closely related to sect. dissitiflori but differs from that especially in having oblong elliptic pods and long spreading hairs                                                              1 corresponding author. email: r.sheikhakbari@qom.ac.ir; reza.sheikhakbari@gmail.com 2 botany division, research institute of forests and rangelands, tehran, iran. 3 department of botany, faculty of biological sciences, tarbiat modares university, tehran, iran. 224 sheikhakbari-mehr et al. on fruit. therefore, this section was recorded for iran by transferring three aforementioned species from sect. dissitiflori based on their fruit characteristics (maassoumi, 2005). astragalus sect. erioceras bunge is closely related to the dissitiflori and has been probably evolved by shortening of stem in the latter (ranjbar and karamian, 2002). the species of sect. erioceras are xerophytes and more or less caespitose in contrast to many other bifurcate hairy sections. sect. cytisodes bunge which was originally established by bunge (1868) with one species is now presented by 17 species (podlech, 2010). this section was included in flora of iran after discovery of a new species, a. gigantirostratus maassoumi et al., (1999). later on, podlech (2004) published another new species belonging to sect. cytisodes in iran. recently maassoumi (2005) transferred a. zoshkensis ghahremani, from section dissitiflori to the cytisodes. however, according to the latest revision of astragalus in flora iranica, section cytisodes has only two species in iran (podlech et al., 2010). the only inclusive molecular phylogenetic analyses of the old world astragalus, using nrdna its and in part plastid gene ndhf sequences are those of kazempour osaloo et al., (2003, 2005). based on these studies, large sections of astragalus such as incani dc., cenanthrum bunge and ammodendron bunge formed monophyletic groups. in contrast, sections chlorostachys bunge, hystrix bunge, heterodonthus bunge, hymenostegis bunge, acidodes bunge, rhacophorus bunge and iranian endemic section leucocercis bunge are not monophyletic. moreover, monophyly of sections dissitiflori dc., erioceras bunge, laguropsis bunge, macrocystis popov, stenonychium bunge, and onobrychoidei dc. remained unresolved (kazempour osaloo et al., 2005). the aims of this study were: 1) to evaluate the phylogenetic status of sections dissitiflori and erioceras in iran, on the basis of nrdna and cpdna sequences, and 2) to find the correct position of some problematic species i.e. a. juladakensis maassoumi (2007), a. pravitzii podlech (2001), and a. zoshkensis ghahremani-nejad (2003)) related to these sections. materials and methods taxon sampling a total of 38 taxa were chosen as in-group for nrdna its, and cpdna trnh-psba, matk (as partial), and trnt-trny sequence analyses (table 1). the in-group mainly belonged to sections dissitiflori and erioceras. in order to determine the situation of some controversial species, a number of representatives pertaining to the closely related sections such as ornithopodium bunge, onobrychoidei, and cytisodes were introduced in the analyses. astragalus stocksii bunge and a. frigidus (l.) a. gray was chosen as outgroups following previous molecular phylogenetic studies in the old world astragalus (kazempour osaloo et al., 2003, 2005; sheikh akbari-mehr et al., 2012a, 2012b). the cpdna sequences for majority of in-group and its for 16 species (marked with an asterisk at table 1) are published here for the first time. dna extraction, pcr and sequencing total genomic dna was extracted from dry leaves of individual plants, deposited in central herbarium of iran (tari) and ferdowsi university of mashhad herbarium (fumh), following the modified ctab procedure of doyle and doyle (1987). the complete nrdnaits+5.8s region was amplified using primers its4 of white et al., (1990) and its5m of sang et al., (1997). the cpdna matk (partial), trnh-psba and trnt-trny regions were amplified using primers trnk-f and matk-r (wojciechowski et al., 2004), trnh and psba (tate and simpson, 2003) and trnt and molecular systematics of some sections of astragalus 225 table 1. taxa included in the molecular analyses and their voucher specimens. sequences obtained from genbank marked with an asterisk. genbank accession no. species voucher no. its trnt/y trnh/psba matk astragalus argyroides beck. mozaffarian & freitag, 28538(tari) *ab721936 lc129368 lc129321 *ab727543 a. aucheri boiss. mottaghi, 1061(tari) *ab721937 lc129319 a. argentocalyx ali ex podl. ghahremaninejad & joharchi, 34738(tari) lc129287 lc129323 lc129310 a. eburneusborn. & gauba mozaffarian, 44936(tari) *ab721938 lc129353 lc129318 lc129299 a. husseinovii rezazade maassoumi & safavi, 8721(tari) *ab721939 lc129341 lc129308 a. juratzkanus freyn & sint. maassoumi & pakravan, 72351(tari) *ab721940 lc129366 lc129347 lc129306 a. melanocalyx boiss. & buhse noruzi & feizi, 5860(tari) *ab721941 lc129357 lc129335 lc129298 a. baraftabensis maass.& podl. tayebi, 4458(tari) *ab721942 lc129352 lc129317 lc129307 a. nigrolineatus sirj. & rech.f. faghihnia & zangooee,29042(fmuh) *ab721943 lc129367 lc129324 lc129297 a. pravitzii podl. foroughi,2183(tari) *ab721944 lc129358 lc129332 *ab727544 a. ruscifolius boiss. mozaffarian & freitag, 28640(tari) *ab721945 lc129369 lc129320 *ab727545 a. sitiens bge. wendelbo & foroughi, 11270(tari) *ab721947 lc129362 lc129333 lc129305 a. saadatabadensis podl. grant, 15784(tari) *ab721946 lc129330 lc129292 a. sumbari popov wendelbo & foroughi, 11063(tari) *ab721948 lc129370 lc129316 a. xiphidium bge. youssefi, 7611(tari) *ab721949 lc129336 lc129296 a. juladakensis maassoumi maassoumi, 39383 (tari) *ab721950 lc129340 lc129295 a. aestimabilis podl. dehshiri, 38523(tari) *ab721951 a. dendroproselius rech.f. dehshiri, 30231(tari) *ab721952 lc129322 lc129293 a. viridis bunge. moussavi, 1152(tari) *ab721953 lc129345 a. zoshkensis f. ghahremani mozaffarian, 77059(tari) *ab721954 lc129360 lc129331 lc129294 a. gigantirostratus maassoumi et al., maassoumi & al., 72339(tari) *ab721955 lc129338 a. anacamptus bunge. emadzadeh & al., 35908(fumh) * ab721956 lc129365 lc129327 lc129311 a. djenarensis sirj. & rech.f. joharchi & zangooee, 1100(tari) *ab721957 lc129355 lc129342 lc129303 a. stocksii bunge. foroughi, 10802(tari) *ab051966 *ab741437 *ab741345 a. frigidus(l.) a. gray 5732(tari) *am943381 *ab741412 *ab741320 226 sheikhakbari-mehr et al. table 1 contd. species voucher no. genbank accession no. its trnt/y trnh/psba matk a. bifoliolatus sirj. & rech.f. asadi & amirabadi, 9342(tari) lc129283 lc129361 lc129309 a. alamliensis rech.f. asadi, 84461(tari) lc129284 lc129334 a. catacamptus bunge dini & bazargan, 5328(tari) lc129288 lc129329 lc129312 a. keredjensis podl. asadi, 82404(tari) lc129291 lc129355 lc129328 a. neosytinii ranjbar asadi, 84571(tari) lc129280 lc129354 lc129343 lc129301 a. nubicola podl. wendelbo, 11165(tari) lc129289 lc129339 a. pakravaniae podlech & maassoumi asadi & maassoumi, 55534(tari) lc129286 lc129337 a. pentanthus boiss. maroofi, 1917(tari) lc129290 lc129363 lc129325 lc129302 a. sympiliecarpus rech.f. asadi & maassoumi, 83362(tari) lc129285 lc129351 lc129344 lc129300 a. versipilus rech. f. & koie asadi & amirabadi, 84615(tari) lc129281 lc129356 lc129346 lc129313 a. brachyodontus boiss. asadi & wendelbo, 27666(tari) *ab727530 *ab727537 a. jodostachys boiss. & buhse abuhamzeh & maassoumi, 45496(tari) *ab727532 *ab727539 a. gotkschaicus grossh. asadi & foroughi, 13756(tari) *ab727515 lc129372 lc129350 lc129315 a. teheranicus boiss. & hohen. babakhanlou & amin, 15069(tari) *ab727523 lc129371 lc129349 lc129314 a. ahangarensis zarre & podl. abbasi & amirabadi, 4416(tari) lc129282 lc129359 lc129326 lc129304 trny (demesure et al., 1995), respectively. the total volume of amplification reaction was 25 µl, made up of 18 µl deionized water, 2.5 µl of 10× pcr buffer, 2.5 µl of 2.5 mm dntps, 0.5 µl of each primer (5 pmol µl-1), 0.25 µl (5 units per µl) of taqdna polymerase and0.75 µl of template dna. the pcr profile for its consisted of 2.5 min at 95°c for pre-denaturation followed by 27cycles of 1 min at 95°c for denaturation, 45 sec at53.7°c for primer annealing and 50 sec at 72°c for primer extension, and a final primer extension of 7 min at 72°c.pcr procedure for amplification of three cpdna regions was as follows: 3 min at 94°c, 35 cycles of 1 min at 94°c, 1 min at 51–64°c, 1.5 min at72°c, and terminal elongation of 7 min at 72°c.pcr products were directly used for sequencing reactions. sequencing of the nrdna its and cpdna fragments were performed using an abi 3130genetic dna analyzer (applied biosystems, usa). sequence alignment sequences of nuclear and plastid dna were edited by bioedit package version7 (hall 1999). the sequence alignment was carried out using clustalx (larkin et al., 2007) and adjusted manually. indel positions were treated as missing data. molecular systematics of some sections of astragalus 227 phylogenetic analyses maximum parsimony sequenced nuclear and plastid fragments were analyzed separately and in combination, using maximum parsimony method (mp) as implemented in the paup* version 4.0b10 (swofford, 2002). multiple tree searches were conducted using heuristic search options that included random addition sequences (100 replicates), holding five trees per replicate, and tree bisectionreconnection (tbr) branch swapping with retention of multiple parsimonious trees (maxtrees = 25000). bootstrap (bp) support values (felsenstein, 1985) were calculated using a full heuristic search with 1000 replicates, each with a simple addition sequence and tbr branch swapping. uninformative characters were excluded from analyses. parsimony trees were not shown here. bayesian analyses all datasets separately and in combination, were analyzed using bayesian inference (bi) as implemented in mrbayes version 3.1.2 (ronquist and huelsenbeck, 2003). the incongruent length difference (ild) test was performed to evaluate the combinability of the all dna regions studied (farris et al., 1995). appropriate evolutionary models for analyzing sequences were selected using the mrmodeltest2 (nylander, 2004) based on the akaike information criterion (aic) (posada and buckley 2004). k80+i+g, gtr+i+g, gtr+i, and f81+g were chosen as the models that best fit the datasets of nrdna its, trnh-psba, matk and trnt-trny respectively. in combined dataset, various sequences were included as separate partitions. bi analyses were run for two million generations, using markov chain monte carlo search. mrbayes performed two simultaneous analyses starting from different random trees (n runs=2) each with four markov chains and trees sampled at every 100 generations. in all analyses average standard deviation of split frequencies had dropped significantly below 0.01 after completion of the generations. once reaching the stationary phase, trees were collected and after burning in one fourth of them, used to build a 50% majority rule consensus tree accompanied with posterior probability (pp) values. trees were showed using treegraph2 (stöver and müller, 2010). results and discussion nrdna its dataset analyses the average length of aligned nrdna its fragment was 596. three nucleotide sites, of which 60 sites were parsimony informative. the bayesian tree with posterior probabilities (pp) and bootstrap values is similar to that of mp analysis (fig. 1). based on these analyses, four species belonging to the sections ornithopodium and onobrychoidei were located at the base of tree as a sister group to a large assemblage of five subclades. astragalus juladakensis was placed at the base of this group. members of sections dissitiflori and erioceras plus cytisodes were well intermixed and formed several subclades within a large monophyletic group (fig. 1). although relationships among these subclades were not resolved, each one is supported with moderately to highly bootstrap or pp values. cpdna and combined datasets analyses parsimony trees obtained from three single cpdna and the combined cpdna plus its datasets, were topologically identical to those of bayesian analyses. the length and composition of dna sequences as well as the tree statistics from the single and combined analyses have been summarized in table 2. in trnh-psba tree, a. tehranicus boiss. & hohen. and a. goktschaicus grossh. belonging to the sect. onobrychoidei were united in a highly supported subclade (pp= 1) and placed at base of the tree as a sister to the remaining species (fig. 2). again, the members of 228 sheikhakbari-mehr et al. fig.1. fifty percent majority rule consensus tree resulting from bayesian analysis of the nrdna its dataset. numbers above and below branches are bootstrap values and posterior probabilities, respectively. sections dissitiflori and erioceras plus some controversial species (i.e. a. zoshkensis, a. aestimabilis podl., a. dendroproselius rech. f. and a. viridis bunge) were intermixed within a large polytomic assemblage (fig. 2). in the matk tree, species sampled from two sections onobrychoidei and ornithopodium revealed a highly supported group (bs= 80%, pp= 0.95) and placed as a sister to the members of other sections. the remaining species, in this tree as well as two other cpdna trees, placed together within a polytomic large clade (fig. 3). trnt-trny region was not amplified in some of in-groups due to difficulties with the pcr. however, the topology of the tree obtained from this sequence was similar to the other trees in general (tree not shown here). molecular systematics of some sections of astragalus 229 table 2. dataset and tree statistics from separate and combined analyses of the nuclear and three chloroplast regions. data sets its trnt/trny trnh/psba matk combined nucleotide sites (average) 596.3 629 397.7 931 2554 variable sites 120 76 82 61 337 informative characters 60 58 44 18 178 number of mpts 10 39 6494 68 398 length of mpts 86 74 80 29 335 ci of mpts 0.756 0.824 0.637 0.828 0.670 ri of mpts 0.882 0.911 0.839 0.891 0.719 fig. 2. fifty percent majority rule consensus tree resulting from bayesian analysis of the trnh/psba dataset. numbers above and below branches are bootstrap values and posterior probabilities, respectively. 230 sheikhakbari-mehr et al. ild test suggested that the four datasets were slightly incongruent (p=0.01). following the suggestions of several authors that the ild test may be unreliable (seelanan et al., 1997; wiens, 1998; yoder et al., 2001), we decided to combine these datasets. the dna fragments which had not been sequenced for some species in this study were treated as missing data in the combined dataset. the topology of the resulted tree (fig. 4) was roughly the same as those of single dataset trees, with the exception that resolution, bootstrap and pp values were higher. the combined tree fig. 3. fifty percent majority rule consensus tree resulting from bayesian analysis of the cpdna matk dataset. numbers above and below branches are bootstrap values and posterior probabilities, respectively. molecular systematics of some sections of astragalus 231 was composed of two obvious clades among in-groups studied. at base of the tree, four species belonging to the sections onobrychoidei and ornithopodium were separated from other in groups and formed a highly supported clade as a sister group to the remaining species (fig. 4). the next main clade was composed of two clades, each of successive subclades including the members of sections dissitiflori and erioceras and their closely related taxa. the relationships of these subclades were well resolved (fig. 4). fig. 4. fifty percent majority rule consensus tree resulting from bayesian analysis of the nrdna and cpdna combined dataset. numbers above and below branches are bootstrap values and posterior probabilities, respectively. 232 sheikhakbari-mehr et al. among different datasets analyzed here, relationships of species were well resolved on the its and combined trees. astragalus sect. dissitiflori is one of the largest sections of the genus including more than 40 species in the iranian plateau (podlech et al., 2010). among bifurcate hairy astragalus, the members of dissitiflori are distinguished by some features including stem with long internodes, linear pod and asymmetrical and gibbous calyx at the base (ghahremaninejad, 2004; sheikh akbari et al., 2012a). it seems that this section belongs to a group of medifixed hairy astragalus including a. sect. cystodes, a. sect. erioceras, a. sect. cystium bunge, a. sect. cremoceras bunge and a. sect. trachycercis bunge (ranjbar 2004). this idea is also supported partially with molecular evidences (kazempour osaloo et al., 2005; sheikh akbari et al., 2012b). molecular phylogenetic analyses of the present study showed that the members of sections erioceras and cytisodes in iran, were intermixed with those of section dissitiflori and located within a large assemblage (fig. 4). a. juladakensis, which was recently introduced as a new species belonging to the section dissitiflori (maassoumi, 2007), revealed some affinity to the members of onobrychoidei based on its sequences and nested at the base of its tree, as a sister to the remaining species (fig. 1). based on our previous phylogenetic study on the sect. dissitiflori (based on its), this species revealed a separated position among other members of the section and its affinity to the sect. dissitiflori remained questionable (sheikh akbari mehr et al., 2012b). despite these results, a. juladakensis, was placed beside the other members of sect. dissitiflori on the basis of our cpdna and combined datasets analyses (fig. 4). on the other hand, this species along with a. husseiovii rezazade was united within a moderately supported subclade within sect. dissitiflori, based upon morphological features (sheikh akbari et al., 2012a); hence, the positioning of this species within the section dissitiflori is verified. a. pravitzii podl. and a. saadatabadensis podl. formed a sister subclade within section dissitiflori, on the basis of its and combined trees. after introducing a. pravitzii as a new species from sect. dissitiflori (podlech, 2001), podlech and sytin (2010) moved it to the sect. ornithopodium. in accordance with previous morphological data analysis (sheikh akbari mehr et al., 2012a), our present molecular data revealed that this taxon is a member of sect. dissitiflori (figs 1, 4). according to gontscharov et al. (1946) and maassoumi (2005), a. sect. corethrum is closely related to the sect. dissitiflori but differs with that in having asymmetrical long hairs on calyx and pod shape. three species (a. aestimabilis, a. dendroproselius and a. viridis) belonging to the sect. dissitiflori were separated from the section and introduced as the members of newly recorded section corethrum for iran, based on having ovate-elliptic pods and asymmetrical standing indumentum on calyx (maassoumi, 2005). however, in accordance with podlech and zarre (2013), our present molecular dataset analyses revealed that these taxa belong to the sect. dissitiflori. sect. erioceras is characterized by a short stem, prostrate habit, asymmetrical long hairs, oblong elliptic pods and rupturing of calyx (maassoumi, 2005). it seems that sect. erioceras has been evolved by reducing of stem length in sect. dissitiflori (ranjbar and karamian, 2002). however, our results obtained from single and combined molecular datasets revealed no distinction between two sections. the members of sect. erioceras have adapted to arid and windy sub-mountainous regions. they are distributed in arid central and north-eastern of iran. the evolution of prostrate habit and dense and long hairs within section erioceras is likely an adaptive behaviour due to its environmental conditions. section cytisodes is a small section among bifurcate hairy astragalus and is distinguished by their short stem internodes, calyx with standing hairs and long beak on the pod (bunge, 1868). maassoumi et al. (1999) introduced a new species from eastern part of elburz mountains, showing the features of sect. cytisodes, and named a. gigantirostratus. occurrence of this species in the molecular systematics of some sections of astragalus 233 hyrcanian province astonished the authors, because known species of the section are all confined to the turkestanian floristic province of the irano-turanian region. later on, podlech (1999) introduced a. neyshaburensis podl. as a new species from sect. cytisodes in iran. maassoumi (2005) moved a. zoshkensis from section dissitiflori to the cytisodes based on calyx hairs and pod features. however, in agreement with a recent morphological study (sheikh akbari mehr et al., 2012a), our present molecular results revealed that these species are placed within section dissitiflori and it is recommended that section cytisodes is best to be retreated after complementary studies. in summary, different genomic sequences revealed that the sect. dissitiflori with the inclusion of the members of section erioceras as well as members of cytisodes in iran, formed a monophyletic group. the present results indicated that taxa which had been transferred from sect. dissitiflori have to be returned to the section, and from this point of view, sect. corethrum has no representative in iran and this result is in accordance with podlech et al., (2010) and podlech and zarre (2013) classifications. our findings showed that delimitation of sect. dissitiflori needs to be revised. indeed, beside the increase of samples, the analysis of type specimen of aforementioned sections seems to be necessary to assess exact taxonomic situation of taxa discussed above. acknowledgments we are grateful to the directors and curators of the central herbarium of iran (tari) and herbarium of ferdowsi university (fumh) for the loan of materials and collections. references barneby, r. 1964. atlas of north american astragalus. memoirs of the new york botanical garden 13: 1-1188. boissier, e. 1843. diagnoses plantarum orientalium novarum, ser. i, part. 2. typographia ferd ramboz, genevae, pp. 1-115. bunge, a. 1868. generis astragali species gerontogeae. académie impériale des sciences, st. pétersburg, pp. 1-254. de candolle, a.p. 1825. prodromus systematis naturalis, regni vegetabilis, vol 2. astragaleae. argentorati et londii, parisiis, pp. 1-644. demesure, b., sodzi, n. and petit, r.j. 1995. a set of universal primers for amplification of polymorphic non-coding regions of mitochondrial and chloroplast dna in plants. molecular ecology 4: 129-131. doyle, j.j. and doyle ,j. l. 1987. a rapid dna isolation procedure for small quantities of fresh leaf tissue. phytochemical bulletin 19: 11-15. ekici, m., akan, h. and aytac, z. 2011.taxonomic revision of astragalus section onobrychoidei dc. 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(rubiaceae) from korea and japan based on chloroplast dna sequence keum seon jeong, jae kwon shin1, masayuki maki2 and jae-hong pak3 division of forest biodiversity, korea national arboretum, pocheon, gyeonggi-do 487-821, korea keywords: chloroplast dna; korean-japan galium; molecular data; phylogeny. abstract the present paper deals with the phylogeny and inter-and intragenic relationships using four chloroplast dna sequences within 19 galium l. species from korea and japan. maximum parsimony and bayesian analyses were conducted to clarify the relationships among the section and species. the strict consensus tree had three main clades. clade i comprises of the only individuals of g. paradoxum maximowicz (sect. cymogalia), which is distinguished by opposite leaves in the genus, supported by the 100% bootstrap value (pp: 0.98); clade ii consists of members of eight sections (sect. galium, sect. hylaea, sect. kolgyda, sect. trachygalium, sect. leptogalium, sect. orientigalium, sect. aparine, and sect. leiogalium); clade iii comprises members of eight sections (sect. baccogalium, sect. lophogalium, sect. platygalium, sect. relbunium, sect. depauperata, sect. aparinoides, sect. leiogalium and trachygalium). the sect. leptogalium which includes two taxa namely g. tokyoense makino and g. dahuricum var. lasiocarpum (makino) nakai is paraphyletic. four taxa of trachygalium group (g. trachyspermum a. gray, g. gracilens (a. gray) makino, g. pogonanthum franch. & sav., g. koreanum nakai) were placed from sect. cymogalia to sect. platygalium based on molecular and morphological data. introduction galium l., the largest genus of the tribe rubieae in the family rubiaceae (robbrecht and manen, 2006), is taxonomically diverse and comprises over 650 species (govaerts, 2006). galium is divided into 16 sections based on characters of leaf and fruit by ehrendorfer et al. (2005). the species of galium are distributed centrally in temperate regions and are mostly annual and perennial herbaceous plants. the genus is characterized by more than two leaf-like whorls, number of divided petal, rudimentary calyx and a two locular ovary. phylogenetic relationships among species of tribe rubieae including eleven genera have been studied by many researchers (ehrendorfer et al., 1994, 2014; manen et al., 1994; manen and natali, 1995; natali et al., 1995, 1996; soza and olmstead, 2010). molecular phylogenetic studies using chloroplast dna atpb-rbcl intergenic region have shown monophyly of the tribe rubieae with seven major clades, and confirmed that genera asperula and galium is not a monophyletic group (manen et al., 1994; natali et al., 1995, 1996). soza and olmstead (2010) conducted more clearly molecular phylogenetic analysis of tribe rubieae using three chloroplast dna makers and their results indicated that galium is polyphyletic, and species of galium occur in three major clades (clades iii, v, vii). recently, phylogenetic relationships study of tribe rubieae including 1 division of forest resource conservation, korea national arboretum, pocheon, gyeonggi-do 487-821, korea. 2 division of ecology and evolutionary biology, graduate school of life sciences, tohoku university, aoba, sendai 980-8578, japan. 3 research institute for dok-do and ulleung-do island, kyungpook national university, daegu 702-701, korea. corresponding author. email: jhpak@knu.ac.kr mailto:jhpak@knu.ac.kr 238 jeong et al. some galium species by ehrendorfer et al. (2014) has evaluated that genus galium is paraphyletic. although there have been several phylogenetic study to investigate relationships of tribe rubieae, very little is known about phylogenetic relationships among korean species of galium. soza and olmstead (2010) determined the phylogenetic relationships among rubieae including members of galium but this study included only three common species distributed in korea and japan. in korea, twenty taxa of seven sections are currently recognized (lee, 1995; lee, 1979; lee, 2004). g. koreanum nakai, g. verum var. asiaticum for. pusillum (nakai) m. park are endemic to korea and latter species is restrictedly distributed in mt. halla of jeju island. g. kikumugura ohwi is broadly expanded to japan. jeong and pak (2009, 2012) conducted morphological and somatic chromosome number counts of korean galium. these studies however, provided very little phylogenetic relationships among the species. therefore, further studies are needed to understand their phylogenetic relationships among korean galium species and taxonomic position of korean and japan taxa within the galium spp. occurring worldwide. this study aims to clarify inter-and intragenic relationships within korean and 10 japanese galium species, and to determine the taxonomic position of korean endemic taxa within the closely related galium spp. using the chloroplast dna sequences. materials and methods plant materials total 19 species of galium distributed in korea and japan were collected (table 1). we selected two outgroup taxa [ didymaea alsinoides (cham. and schltdl.) standl., and rubia cordifolia l.] based on the results of the analyses of soza and olmstead (2010). the sequences of galium and outgroups obtained from national center for biotechnology information (ncbi) database with the exception of sequences of sample from korea-japan. all sources and voucher specimens of materials were deposited at the herbarium of kyungpook national university (knu). dna extraction, amplification and sequencing total genomic dna was extracted from fresh leaf tissues and field-collected silica-gel dries tissue using the 2 % hexa decyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (ctab) procedure (doyle and doyle, 1987). we amplified the rpob-trnc region and trnc-ycf6 region with primers designed by demesure et al. (1995). the trnl-trnf-ndhj region was amplified using primers published in taberlet et al. (1991) and shaw et al. (2007) (table 2). polymerase chain reaction (pcr) conditions were an initial denaturation of 94ºc for 5 min, 35 cycles of 94ºc denaturation for 30 s, 48ºc-57ºc annealing for 30 s extension for 1m, and final extension at 72ºc for 10 min. pcr products were purified using the qiaquick pcr purification kit following the instructions of the manufacturer. sequencing reactions were carried out for the purified pcr products using big dye terminator cycle sequencing reagents (applied biosystem, foster city, ca, usa). for sequencing, we used the same primers as those used for pcr. all sequences have been deposited in genbank (table 1). data analysis the dna sequences were aligned with clustal x (thompson et al., 1997). all chloroplast regions were combined and analyzed using maximum parsimony (mp) and the bayesian analyses. gaps introduced from the alignment were treated as missing characters in subsequent analyses. mp analyses were conducted in a paup* (version 4.0b 10; swofford, 2003) using a heuristic searches with tbr branch swapping and multrees option. relative support of various monophyletic groups revealed in the most parsimonious trees was examined with the bootstrap phylogeny of galium l. (rubiaceae) from korea and japan 239 table 1. sampling sites of plant materials used for phylogenetic analyses. genbamk acc. no. taxon locality voucher trnc-ycf6 trnf-ndhj trnl rpob-trnc sect. aparine galium spurium var. echinospermon chilgok-gun, korea j20050310 kc339150 kc339020 kc339085 lc062539 sect. aparinoides g. trifidum jeju-si, korea tokyo metro, japan j20060807 m20100501 kc339148 kc339149 kc339018 kc339019 kc339083 kc339084 lc062537 lc062538 sect. cymogalia g. paradoxum pyeongchang-gun, korea jeongseon-gun, korea muju-gun, korea j20090814 j20050618 j20100844 kc339164 kc339163 kc339162 kc339034 kc339033 kc339032 kc339099 kc339098 kc339097 lc062552 lc062551 lc062550 sect. hylaea g. trifloriforme ulleung-gun, nari, korea ulleung-gun, korea ulleung-gun, taehwa, korea miyagi, japan j20080621 j20080635 j20080603 j20100748 kc339204 kc339203 kc339205 kc339206 kc339074 kc339073 kc339075 kc339076 kc339139 kc339138 kc339140 kc339141 lc062581 lc062580 lc062582 lc062583 g. japonicum ulleung-gun, nari, korea ulleung-gun, nari, korea jeongeup-si, korea jeju-si, korea miyagi, japan yamagata, japan j20080611 j20080612 j20100845 j20070901 j20100758 j20100759 kc339207 kc339151 kc339209 kc339210 kc339211 kc339212 kc339077 kc339021 kc339079 kc339080 kc339081 kc339082 kc339142 kc339086 kc339144 kc339145 kc339146 kc339147 lc062584 lc062540 lc062585 lc062586 lc062587 lc062588 sect. leptogalium g. dahuricum var. lasiocarpum namyangju-si, korea pyeongchang-gun, korea yeongwol-gun, korea seongju-si, korea jecheon-si, korea yamagata, japan j20100897 j20090807 j20080926 j20100658 j20091021 j20100708 kc339189 kc339192 kc339155 kc339188 kc339190 kc339194 kc339059 kc339062 kc339025 kc339058 kc339060 kc339064 kc339124 kc339127 kc339090 kc339123 kc339125 kc339129 lc062569 lc062571 lc062543 lc062568 lc062570 lc062573 g. kikumugura mt. zao, japan j20100765 kc339200 kc339070 kc339135 lc062577 g. pseudoasprellum miyagi, japan j20100789 kc339202 kc339072 kc339137 lc062579 g. tokyoense pocheon-si, korea pocheon-si, korea tokyo metro, japan. j20070938 j20090808 m20090503 kc339195 kc339193 kc339197 kc339065 kc339063 kc339067 kc339130 kc339128 kc339132 lc062572 lc062574 lc062575 sect. platygalium g. boreale yeongwol-gun, korea mongolia j20050625 l20090830 kc339152 kc339153 kc339022 kc339023 kc339087 kc339088 lc062541 lc062542 g. gracilens sunchen-si, korea hwasun-gun, korea j20090801 j20090830 kc339181 kc339180 kc339051 kc339050 kc339116 kc339115 lc062566 lc062565 g. kamtschaticum var. yakusimense jeju-si, korea j20070907 kc339166 kc339036 kc339101 lc062553 g. koreanum sancheong-gun, korea j20100808 kc339186 kc339056 kc339121 lc062567 g. kinuta yeongwol-gun, korea j20050626 kc339167 kc339037 kc339102 lc062554 g. pogonanthum hamyang-gun, korea jeju-si, korea j20090504 j20050706 kc339172 kc339171 kc339042 kc339041 kc339107 kc339106 lc062559 lc062558 g. trachyspermum inje-gun, korea andong-si, korea gyeongju-si, korea geoje-si, korea miyagi, japan yamagata, japan j20080906 j20070751 j20100913 j20090327 j20100723 j20100747 kc339170 kc339157 kc339159 kc339156 kc339160 kc339161 kc339040 kc339027 kc339029 kc339026 kc339030 kc339031 kc339105 kc339092 kc339094 kc339091 kc339095 kc339096 lc062546 lc062545 lc062547 lc062544 lc062548 lc062549 sect. galium g. verum var. asiaticum geoje-si, korea jeju-si, korea fukui, japan j20100524 j20090685 m20100503 kc339173 kc339174 kc339176 kc339043 kc339044 kc339046 kc339108 kc339109 kc339111 lc062563 lc062562 lc062561 g. verum var. trachycarpum f. nikkoense ulsan metro., korea tokushima, japan j20050830 j20100732 kc339198 kc339177 kc339068 kc339047 kc339133 kc339112 lc062576 lc062564 g. verum var. asiaticum f. pusillum jeju-si, korea j20050807 kc339175 kc339045 kc339110 lc062560 240 jeong et al. method (felsenstein, 1985). bootstrap values were calculated from 1,000 replicates with the random addition and heuristic search options. the bayesian phylogenetic analyses were conducted with mrbayesver 3.1.2 (ronquist and huelsenbeck, 2003). the suitable model was determined to be gtr+i+g for combined sequence data by mrmodeltest 2.3 (nylander, 2004). each morkov chain was started from a random tree and run for 1,000,000 generations, sampling a tree every 100 generations. burn-in time was estimated from the plot of likelihoods generated using the ‘sump’ command in mrbayes. posterior probabilities (pp) were based on analysis of post-burn-in tree. nodes were considered highly supported when pp values were higher than 0.95 (felesenstein, 1985). results and discussion sequence characteristics the total of 4,341 lengths of the aligned sequences was used for phylogenetic analysis. of a total of investigated character sites, 2,793 characters were constant and 824 characters were parsimony informative including out groups. the parsimony analyses generated 10,620most parsimonious trees with a total length of 2,970 steps, a consistency index of 0.65 and a retention index of 0.88.the mp tree with bootstrap values(bp) and pp are shown in fig. 1. phylogenetic analyses the strict consensus tree had three main clades (clade i, clade ii and clade iii). clade iv is highly supported by the 100% bootstrap value (pp: 0.98) and was sister to the rest of the species, which were grouped in two other clades. this clade was only composed of the individuals of g. paradoxum maxim. clade iia is supported 99% bootstrap value (pp<0.95). clade iib consists of two highly supported subclades (subclade iia and iib). subclade iia included three taxa: g. dahuricum var. lasiocarpum (makino) nakai., g. pseudoasprellum makino and g. triflorum michx. comprising of group b. g. triflorum (sect. trachygalium) was sister to g. dahuricum var. lasiocarpum from korea-japan and g. pseudoasprellum from japan (99% bootstrap value). subclade iib is supported by 91% bootstrap value (pp<0.95). this subclade contained 8 taxa from korea-japan. it was further divided into group c and d. group c contained members of three sections (sect. galium, sect. leiogalium and sect. leptogalium) which are identified by soza and olmstead (2010), g. tokyoense makino, g. kikumugura, and three species belonging to sect. galium from korea-japan. but the g. verum group from korean and japanese were not well resolved. in the group d, g. japonicum (maxim.) makino & nakai from korea and japan is monophyletic, although the individuals of g. trifloriforme kom. did not form monophyletic group. these two taxa share its most recent common ancestor with g. spurium var. echinospermum (wallr.) hayekand g. odoratum (l.) scop (61% bootstrap value (pp: 0.96)). clade iii is supported by 91% bootstrap value (pp: 0.97), comprising eight sections; sect .baccogalium, sect. lophogalium, sect. platygalium, sect. leiogalium, sect. trachygalium, sect. relbunium, sect. depauperata, sect. aparinoides. the members of sect. depauperata, and sect. aparinoides are sister to the rest of the species within this clade. g. trifidum l. is paraphyletic and unresolved within the clade. group a in clade iii included four taxa from g. trachygalium group (g. gracilens (a. gray) makino, g. koreanum, g. pogonanthum franch. & sav. and g. trachyspermum a. gray) and members of sect. platygalium (bs: 80%, pp<0.95). the previous classification based on morphological study of the four taxa of the g. trachygalium group was not resolved (jeong and pak, 2009). the individuals from the same taxa did not even form the monophyletic. g. kinuta nakai & hara belonging to sect. platygalium with g. boreale l. was resolved as paraphyletic. phylogeny of galium l. (rubiaceae) from korea and japan 241 242 jeong et al. fig. 1. strict consensus tree of genus galium based on chloroplast dna data, bootstrap values and posterior probabilities are shown above and below branches, respectively. different shapes were used for sectional treatments (taxon without shape “represents not classified”). species in black represent the taxa sampled in this study. phylogenetic relationships of korean-japanese galium the phylogenetic relationships among korean galium and some of japanese galium were, for the first time, assessed in this study. we confirmed that the cpdna phylogeny has significantly higher resolution and better support than previous study in korean-japanese galium using morphological and chromosome number data by jeong and pak (2009, 2012). in some of taxa, our data were incongruent with previous classifications of korean-japanese galium based on morphological data. phylogeny of galium l. (rubiaceae) from korea and japan 243 g. paradoxum was sister to the group consisting of the rest of the galium species (fig 1). it also support the study of ehrendorfer et al. (2014) using the plastid dna sequences. the species is a perennial herb with opposite leaves, a pair of scale-like small stipules, one vein, white petiole and corolla, and rotate flowers. g. paradoxum was placed into a sect. cymogalia based on the characters of inflorescence and hairs of a fruit (pobedimova et al., 2000; ehrendorfer et al., 2005). its main distributions is in eastern asia (ehrendorfer et al., 2014), and mainly occurs in moist high elevations in mountain forests. the taxa in the clade ii have whorls of six or eight leaf-like organs. the five taxa from koreajapan are contained in group c. the taxa of g.verum group (sect. galium; g. verum var. asiaticum nakai, g. verum f. nikkoense var. trachycarpum (nakai) ohwi and g. verum var. asiaticum f. pusillum) showed polytomies in the mptree with weak pp. g. verum var. asiaticum is widely distributed throughout korea and japan. in our study, g. verum var. asiaticum have five chloroplast types from five individuals. but we cannot find morphological variation among the individuals. the three taxa are erect and have whorls of six or more than leaf-like organs, inflorescences of branched panicles with white or yellow flowers, and glabrous fruits. these three taxa don’t exhibit significant morphological differences. but the plant and leaves size of g. verum var. asiaticum f. pusillum are smaller than those of other two taxa, and korean endemic species in mt. halla on jeju island (lee, 2004). it formed a clade with g. verum f. nikkoense var. trachycarpum from ullsan-si (eastern part of korea) with weak bs. it could provide crucial information for origin of korean endemic, g. verum var. asiaticum f. pusillum. it needs additional study to investigate the origin and in these evolutionary relationship among these taxa. the four taxa of g. dahuricum group from korea-japan; g. dahuricum var. lasiocarpum, g. kikumugura, g. tokyoense, and g. pseudoasprellum, are have been included into sect. trachygalium (ehrendorfer et al., 2005). there is no study of phylogenetic using molecular makers before. the four taxa of g. dahuricum group occur in east asia, and have serious identification problems and taxon delimitation due to severe variations in the morphology of leaves, seed hairs and flower and inflorescences (chen and enrendorfer, 2011). we confirmed the phylogenetic relationship among these taxa, for the first time. g. kikumugura and g. tokyoense were included in group c. g. kikumugura having whorls of four leaf-like organs and fruit with generally hooked hairs were closely related to g. tokyoense, morphologically (yamazaki, 1993). lee (1995) reported the distribution of g. kikumugura in korea but we could not find the distibution during the this study although the species is widely distributed in japan. we also could not confirm g. kikumugura specimens collected from korea at korean and japan herbria. therefore we assumed that the distribution report of this taxa by lee (1995) was based on misclassification. g. pseudoasprellum was treated as synonyms of g. dahuricum by ehrendorfer et al. (2005), but in our results did not support his opinion. g. pseudoasprellum is similar to g. dahuricum var. lasiocarpum, morphologically but it can be distinguished from g. dahuricum based on leaf shapes, which whorl of 6 elliptic or lanceolate leaves. g. tokyoense has glabrous fruit and white flower compare with g. dahuricum var. lasiocarpum. previous studies based on morphology (yamazaki, 1993; pobedimova et al., 2000; chen and ehrendorfer, 2011) were argument for classification of g. tokyoense. we confirmed that the g. tokyoense and g. dahuricum var. lasiocarpum were polyphyletic. also our result is supported that previous classification that g. tokyoense be regarded as a species. g. kamchaticum steller ex schultes & j. h. schultes and g. kamchaticum var. yakusimense (masamune) yamazakiwere place to clade� with polytomy at mp tree with weak pp value. g .kamchaticum is distributed in an alpine meadow of worldwide with centers of the diversity in eastern asia and eastern north america (ehrendorfer et al., 2005). g. kamchaticum var. yakusimense is smaller leave and tall than g. kamchaticum. this species is 244 jeong et al. erect, with round leaves, one vein, whorls of four leaf-like organs, 4-parted white, and a fruit with generally hooked hairs. we confirmed that g. kinuta is closer to g. boreale. two taxa usually occur in northern part of korean peninsula, especially in the mountain forests in lower elevation. the somatic chromosome number of g. kinuta and g. boreale were 4x (2n=44) and/or 2x (2n=11), respectively (jeong and pak, 2009). g. kinuta is erect, four leaf-like organs, three veins, branched panicles of inflorescences, and white flowers. g. kinuta and g. boreale are generally very similar in morphology and can be distinguished by the characters of leaf-shape. table 2. primers used for amplification of cpdna regions in this study. region primer sequence (5’-3’) annealing temperature (ºc) references trnc-ycf6 trncgcaf ycf6r ccagttcraatcygggtg gcccaagcragacttactatatccat 52 demesure et al. (1995) demesure et al. (1995) trnf-ndhj ndhj tabe atgccygaaagttggatagg ggttcaagtccctctatccc 57 shaw et al. (2007) taberlet et al. (1991) trnl intron c d cgaaatcggtagacgctacg ggggatagagggacttgaac 55 taberlet et al. (1991) taberlet et al. (1991) rpob-trnc rpobb rpobd cggatattaatakmtacatacg gttggggtttacatatact 55 soza and olmstead (2010) soza and olmstead (2010) the g. trachygalium group consisted of four species; g. trachygalium, g. pogonanthum, g. gracilens, which occur in both korea and japan, and g. koreanum endemic to korea. although, the four taxa placed into group a, our data did not provide insights into the specific phylogenetic relationships among g. trachygalium group species. these taxa are characterized by whorls of four leaf-like organs, cymose inflorescences with several terminal flowers, 4-parted rotate flowers and tuberculate fruit. the identification and delimitation of these species are usually difficult because they are very similar in morphology. the four species are distinguished by the differences in leaf size, shape, and fruit hairs (jeong and pak, 2012). these taxa usually occur in the near or same population, and share a common habitat. the somatic chromosome number of these species are 2x (2n=22) and/or 4x (2n=44) (jeong and pak, 2009). this inconsistencies phylogeny can be explained the speciation processes of the g. trachygaliumgroup. but it is yet to be determined whether incomplete lineage sorting of ancestral polymorphisms in the population, or chloroplast capture by hybridization and introgression. it needs additional study to understand origin and clear relationship among these taxa. g. trachyspermum, g. pogonanthum and g. gracilens previously been placed into a sect. cymogalia by yamazaki (1993) but our data showed that these four taxa including g. koreanum, are more closely related to members of sect. platygalium (table 1). we suggest that the four taxa have to be transferred to sect. platygalium based on molecular and morphological data. acknowledgement this research was supported by basic science research program through the national research foundation of korea (nrf) funded by the ministry of education (2016r1a 6a1a05011910). references chen, t. and ehrendorfer, f. 2011. rubia.vol 19. in: wu zy, raven ph, hong dy(eds). flora of china. beijing: science press; st. louis: missouri botanical garden press. pp. 104-141. phylogeny of galium l. 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(manuscript received on 2 october 2015; revised on 1 november 2016) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 125‒130, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54212 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular authentication of euphorbia schimperiana scheele using internal transcribed spacer sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna mesfer m. alqahtani1*, m. ajmal ali2*, m. oliur rahman3, fahad m. al-hemaid, sidanand v. kambhar4 and joongku lee5 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia keywords: molecular signature; euphorbia schimperiana; its; nrdna; phylogenetic relationships. abstract the internal transcribed spacers (its) sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) are commonly used in plant molecular phylogenetics for the molecular based taxonomic identification and dna barcoding because of shorter length and easy to amplify by using the universal primers, and further has discrimination ability to distinguish the taxon at lower taxonomic level. the present molecular phylogenetic analysis of its nrdna sequences focuses to determine the taxonomic status of an unresolved medicinally important species euphorbia schimperiana scheele of the family euphorbiaceae reported from saudi arabia. the combined length of the entire its region in e. schimperiana is 644 nucleotides. the study reveals that e. schimperiana shows a close proximity with the members of the subgenus esula. introduction the euphorbiaceae is a large family of flowering plants with about 300 genera and 7,500 species. the genus euphorbia l. sensu lato belonging to the family euphorbiaceae comprises nearly 2,000 recognized taxa with global distribution. it is considered as the largest genus of flowering plants (govaerts et al., 2000; frodin, 2004). in saudi arabia, euphorbia is represented by 42 species (abedin et al., 2001). the four main molecular phylogenetic studies of euphorbia to date have revealed the overall phylogeny of the genus, with a major point of consensus being the recognition of four subgeneric clades: rhizanthium, esula, euphorbia, and chamaesyce (steinmann and porter, 2002; bruyns et al., 2006; park and jansen, 2007; zimmermann et al., 2010). the internal transcribed spacers (its) of nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) in plants is being extensively used for phylogenetic studies, molecular discrimination of raw drug material and dna barcoding (ali et al., 2014). the dna sequence of euphorbia schimperiana has not been done before and is not available in the genbank, moreover, the molecular evolutionary 1department of biological sciences, faculty of science and humanities, shaqra university, p.o. box 1040, ad-dawadimi 11911, saudi arabia (mesferalqahtani@hotmail.com) 2corresponding author. email: ajmalpdrc@gmail.com, majmalaliksu@gmail.com 3department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 4post graduate department of botany, kle society’s, basavaprabhu kore college, chikodi-591 201, belagavi, karnataka, india 5department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, daehak-ro, yuseong-gu, daejeon, republic of korea *the first and second authors contributed equally to this study https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54212 mailto:(mesferalqahtani@hotmail.com) mailto:ajmalpdrc@gmail.com, mailto:majmalaliksu@gmail.com 126 alqahtani et al. relationships of the saudia arabian e. schimperiana is lacking; thus molecular evolutionary study on e. schimperiana from saudi arabia is very much needed. hence, this study has been undertaken to determine evolutionary relationships and molecular signature of the medicinally important e. schimperiana based on nrdna its sequences. materials and methods plant materials: leaf material of e. schimperiana was collected from the herbarium specimen [voucher information: al-baha, 26.10.1978, a. r. dawood s.n. (riy)] lodged at national herbaium and genbank, national agriculture and animal resources research center, ministry of agriculture, riyadh, saudi arabia, and the taxonomic identification of the species was confirmed through the consultation of flora of saudi arabia (abedin et al., 2001). extraction of genomic dna, amplification and sequencing of nrdna its gene: the leaf material was crushed with liquid nitrogen using ‘qiagen tissue lyser’ (# 85300). the robotic workstation ‘qiacube’ (# 9001292) using ‘dneasy plant mini kit’ (# 69104) was used for automated purification of the total genomic dna. the nuclear ribosomal dna its sequences (its1-5.8s-its2) were amplified in the thermal cycler (applied biosystems veriti) via polymerase chain reaction (pcr) using the primers (white et al., 1990) [forward primer its1 (5’gtccactgaaccttatcatttag3’) and the reverse primer its4 (5’tcctccgcttatt gatatgc3’)] and pcr mix (# k-2011, bioneer, daejeon, republic of korea). the dna sequencing of the amplified product was performed using kit (# 4337455, bigdye terminator cycle sequencing kit, perkin-elmer, applied biosystems) in dna analyzer (perkin-elmer, applied biosystems, # abi prism 3730xl). phylogenetic analyses: its sequences of nrdna of 34 species of the genus euphorbia including two sequences of outgroup (table 1) were retrieved from genbank database of national center for biotechnology information (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). the sequence alignment was performed using clustal x version 1.81 (thompson et al., 1997), and then the alignment was subsequently adjusted manually using bioedit (hall, 1999). the gaps in the sequence alignment were treated as missing data in phylogenetic analysis. the sequence generated in the present study was submitted to ncbi genbank (accession number kc432622). the maximum parsimony (mp) analysis with 1000 bootstrap replicates was performed using mega x (kumar et al., 2018). results and discussion the combined length of the entire its region (its1, 5.8s and its2) in euphorbia schimperiana was 644 nucleotides. the length of the its1 region and gc contents were 256 nucleotides and 63% respectively, the 5.8s gene was 162 nucleotides long, and the length of the its2 region and the gc contents were 226 nucleotides and 68% respectively. the length of the its1 region and gc contents in e. schimperiana was found consistent with some other earlier studies on the family euphorbiaceae (steinmann and porter, 2002; barres et al., 2011). the parsimony analysis of the whole its region resulted into two maximally parsimonious trees (mpts) with a total length of 1,335 steps, a consistency index (ci) of 0.495 (0.490 ci excluding uninformative characters), a homoplasy index (hi) of 0.522 (0.510 hi excluding uninformative characters), rescaled consistency index (rc) of 0.362 and a retention index (ri) of 0.731. one of the mpts is shown in fig. 1 in which the numbers above the lines indicate the http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). molecular authentication of euphorbia schimperiana 127 bootstrap support in 1000 replicates. the taxa included in the analyses are from all the four subgenera of euphorbia i.e. rhizanthium, esula, euphorbia, and chamaesyce. a perusal of phylogenetic tree clearly indicates that the ingroup is monophyletic, and all the subgeneric clades are well resolved with strong bootstrap support, and e. schimperiana nested within the clade of the subgenus esula (fig. 1). table 1. list of taxa used for phylogenetic analyses with accession number retrieved from ncbi genbank. group subgenus taxon genbank accession number ingroup rhizanthium 1. euphorbia antso denis af537579 2. e. atrispina n.e. br. af537568 3. e. balsamifera ait. af537571 4. e. clava jacq. af537569 5. e. namuskluftensis l.c. leach af537562 6. e. obesa hook. f. af537566 esula 7. e. aphylla brouss. ex willd. af537540 8. e. characias l. gu984304 9. e. dendroides l. af537539 10. e. exigua l. gu984325 11. e. mauritanica l. af537531 12. e. orthoclada baker dq204876 13. e. peplus l. af537532 14. e. regis-jubae j. gay af537541 15. e. schimperi c. presl af537537 16. e. schimperiana scheele jn207816 euphorbia 17. e. abdelkuri balf. f. af537458 18. e. beharensis leandri aj508983 19. e. cylindrifolia marn.-lap. & rauh aj508955 20. e. drupifera thonn. af537480 21. e. epiphylloides kurz af537484 22. e. milii des moul. aj508974 23. e. ramipressa croizat af537481 24. e. teke schweinf. ex pax af537485 chamaesyce 25. e. fulgens karw. ex klotzsch af537404 26. e. graminea jacq. af537410 27. e. heterophylla l. gu214931 28. e. ipecacuanhae l. af537397 29. e. leucocephala lotsy gu214932 30. e. misera benth. af537383 31. e. pulcherrima willd. ex klotzsch gu214943 32. e. sphaerorhiza benth. af537412 outgroup 33. dichostemma glaucescens pierre af537584 34. neoguillauminia cleopatra (baill.) croizat af537581 128 alqahtani et al. fig. 1. molecular phylogenetics of euphorbia schimperiana inferred from nrdna its sequences using the maximum parsimony method. in the present investigation of the nrdna its sequence of e. schimperiana with the members of sect. tirucalli, subsect. pachycladae, sect. aphyllis, sect. cymatospermum, sect. esula, sect. paralias, sect. chylogala, sect. helioscopia and sect. myrsinites belonging to the subgenus esula reveals the grouping of the taxon in the phylogenetic tree according to previously recognized sections of the subgenus esula, and this result is found to be congruent with the previous study of molecular phylogeny of euphorbia subg. esula sect. aphyllis (barres et al., 2011) based on nrdna and cpdna markers. in the present study, e. schimperiana shows a close proximity with the members of the subgenus esula. this is the first report of inferring the nrdna its based phylogenetic relationships and establishment of molecular signature of the e. schimperiana, a medicinally important plant reported to be used as a laxative and vermifuge (abulafatih, 1987). recently, four bioactive molecular authentication of euphorbia schimperiana 129 compounds were isolated from e. schimperiana and the species was found to possess potential antioxidant activity (shaker et al., 2015). therefore, the molecular authentication of e. schimperiana will be of immense importance in molecular validation of raw herbal drug material. the proper identification of medicinal plants is required to ensure the purity, quality and safety of drugs (jayasinghe et al., 2009). hence, in addition to the morpho-taxonomical key based conventional methods of identification of raw plant drug materials, the dna-based methods have been developed for the proper identification of medicinal plants (sucher and carles, 2008). the attempts are being made to use several candidate dna barcode regions to identify species. in absence of a universal plant dna barcode as in animal systems, a number of candidate genes located in the chloroplast genome such as psba-trnh have been suggested to be used as dna barcodes (kress et al., 2005; shaw et al., 2005; chase et al., 2007; kress and erickson, 2007). the its2 region has been suggested to use as a standard dna barcode (chen et al., 2010; yao et al., 2010). the assessments of 871 species in 66 genera of the family euphorbiaceae have demonstrated that its/its2 is a potential barcode in delimitation of euphorbiaceous species (pang et al., 2010), and in our study its has been found instrumental in molecular signature of e. schimperiana. acknowledgement joongku lee is thankful to chungnam national university, daejeon, republic of korea for the support. references abedin, s., mossa, j.s., al-said, m.s. and al-yahya, m.a. 2001. euphorbiaceae. in: chaudhary, s. 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(manuscript received on 9 march, 2021; revised on 19 may, 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 79-84, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60449 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists tropaeolaceae: a new family record for the flora of saudi arabia sami asir al-robai*, haidar abdalgadir mohamed1, abdelazim ali ahmed2 and maha ahmed kordofani2 department of biology, faculty of science, albaha university, albaha, saudi arabia. key words: tropaeolaceae; new family; flora of saudi arabia abstract the family tropaeolaceae was reported for the first time in saudi arabia. the new record (tropaeolum majus l.) from the tropaeolaceae family was found in damp and exposed semi-shaded habitats between roughly 1800 and 2132 m elevation in southwestern saudi arabia. illustrations, photos, taxonomic description, distribution map, key and information about the habitat of the plant were given. this study suggests that the new record is an introduced alien plant into saudi arabia. introduction the number of genera in topaeolaceae (neotropical family) is three (sparre and andersson, 1991) or one genus (topaeolum, 110 species) of two sections (andersson and andersson, 2000). the genus tropaeolum has heteromorphic ciliated petals on the margin. its leaf is peltate either deeply incised or entire and each flower has a prominent calycine spur (bulacio, 2013). tropaeolum majus (nasturtium) which is native to south america (negi and joshi, 2018) is the most commonly grown species of the family tropaeolaceae and can spread across gardens. it is possibly the plant originates as a hybrid of two species; t. minus and t. ferreyrae which are native to ecuador and peru (sparre and andersson, 1991). the plant was introduced into many countries such as albania, bangladesh, lebanon – syria, mauritius, france, bolivia, bulgaria, jamaica, cuba, korea, romania, algeria, tunisia, eritrea, and ethiopia (powo, 2021). t. majus is an annual climbing or creeping plant growing in shady habitats and does not need highly fertile soil (garzón and wrolstad, 2009; jakubczyk et al., 2018). different varieties of t. majus having different structures, sizes and colours of flowers have been reported in previous studies (jakubczyk et al., 2018). it is easy to distinguish t. majus from other species because it has a circular or oblate leaf, a peltate petiole, a slightly lobed leaf margin or entire and a large flower (sparre and andersson, 1991). the plant is rich in bioactive compounds such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids, anthocyanin, cucurbitine and scorbic acid (bazylko et al., 2013). therefore, it is commonly used in the food industry or for human health (as anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and anti-depressive) (garzón and wrolstad, 2009; melo et al., 2018). checking and revising of the published texts of the flora of saudi arabia (chaudhary 1999, 2000, 2001) and other systematic resources revealed that the family tropaeolaceae is not reported in the kingdom before this study. therefore, the collected plant described in this study is the first record of the species tropaeolum majus l., genus tropaeolum l., and family tropaeolaceae juss. ex dc. in saudi arabia. *corresponding author: dr.alrobai@gmail.com 1medicinal and aromatic plants research institute, national centre for research, sudan. 2department of botany, faculty of science, university of khartoum, sudan. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60449 mailto:dr.alrobai@gmail.com 80 al-robai et al. materials and methods the plant was collected during a surveying course of floristic study in the southwestern area of saudi arabia (20°03ʹn, 41°28ʹe). a herbarium specimen was kept in biology department, faculty of science, albaha university. results and discussion tropaeolum majus l. sp. pl. 1: 345; 2: errata (1753) (ipni, 2022) (fig. 1) synonyms: cardamindum majus (l.) moench; nasturtium indicum garsault; tropaeolum atrosanguineum gordon; t. chaixianum é. morren; t. elatum salisb.; t. hybridum l.; t. naudinii é. morren; t. pinnatum andrews; t. quinquelobum p.j. bergius; t. repandifolium stokes; t. scheuerianum é. morren; t. schillingii b.verl.; t. zanderi a. dietr.; t. atrosanguineum (gordon) kuntze; t. chaixianum (é. morren) kuntze; t. majus (l.) kuntze; t. naudinii (é. morren) kuntze; t. pinnatum (andrews) kuntze; t. scheunerianum (é. morren) kuntze; t. zanderi (a. dietr.) kuntze (powo, 2021) diagnosis: leaves circulate to oblate, entire to slightly undulate, the petioles attached near the centre of the lamina; flowers with the upper petals 2 – 3 cm. fig. 1: a. tropaeolum majus in humid bushy and grassy habitat. b. a solitary flower showing orange petals with coronal appendages and nectar guides. c. a flower with a prominent spur. d. a tricarpel fruit. tropaeolaceae: a new family record 81 taxonomic description: herb, somewhat fleshy, glabrous, climber or procumbent, pale green or coloured, up to 100 cm long, up to 6 mm thick. leaves: peltate, shield-shaped more or less circular, exstipulate, slightly lobbed margin, alternate arrangement, peppery flavour, upper surface dark green-glaucous, lower surface pale green, digitately pinnate, straight or coiled long-petiole (7 – 17 cm) pilose at the base served as a tendril, 6 – 8 prominent veins per blade. flowers: perfect, zygomorphic, orange trumpet-shaped, hypogynous, unscented, at the axil of the leaf, solitary with spiral arrangement on the stem, peduncle 10 – 22 cm long, flowering time most of the year. calyx: gamosepalous, elliptic, yellow or green, obtuse or acute apex, quincuncial aestivation, conspicuously curved spur (1 – 3 cm long) on the posterior sepal, green or orange, up to 3 cm long. petals: heteromorphic, unequal, 5 petals up to 3.5 cm in length, 3 clawed ciliated petals and 2 spathulate petals bear honeyguides. stamens of 8 different sizes (1 – 1.5 cm long), anther creamy yellow bi-lobed (2 – 6 mm long). style: short style (2.2 – 2.7 mm) with 3 unequal branches at the apex. ovary: superior, green, ovoid-shaped, tri-lobed, 3 locules joined on the basis, 1 ovule per locule, ovule bitegmic, apical placentation. fruits: dark or pale green, ribbed on one side, schizocarpic, indehiscent, tri-carpels, one-seeded carpel, 1.5 – 2.5 cm in diameter, apical placentation (figs 1‒2). fig. 2. (a) ventral surface of the leaf, (b) dorsal surface of the leaf with conspicuous veins, (c) a flower bud showing a prominent spur, (d) a longitudinal section in a flower, (e) a clawed ciliated petal, (f) a spatulate petal bearing honey-guides, (g) a short stamen with large anther, (h) a long stamen with small anther, (i) a transfer section in schizocarpic fruit showing the three carpels with seeds, (j) a longitudinal section in a carpel. 82 al-robai et al. habitat and distribution: the new taxon was found growing on disturbed waste places rich in decaying leaf litter near roadsides of albaha city, southwestern saudi arabia (fig. 3). the associated and surrounding vegetation consist of herb plants such as rumex steudelii, euphorbia helioscopia, tripteris vaillantii, erodium cicutarium, avena barbat and lepidium virginicum. the plant has restricted geographic distribution, scattered only in highland places under the canopy of small and large tress such as ficus palmate and trema orientalis. fig. 3. distribution map of tropaeolum majus. conservation status: t. majus was observed distributed in a few locations at high altitude places in albaha region. only a few individuals were found scattered in wetter, waste, and disturbed sites. the plant is not recorded as endangered species in iucn (2019) and detailed data regarding its conservation status is not available. more field works are necessary for accurately assessing the rareness and vulnerability of this species. tropaeolaceae: a new family record 83 the southwestern region of saudi arabia, in which the new record was spreading, receives more rainfall during almost all seasons when compared to other regions of the country. it is exposed to moist air masses coming from the red sea and mediterranean sea (al-ahmadi and alahmadi, 2014). this region is characterized by its high plant species diversity and many new taxa and records have been reported in this region (al-zahrani and el-karemy, 2007; fayed and alzahrani, 2007; thomas et al., 2014, 2015; al-robai et al., 2018; el-shaboury et al., 2018; remesh et al., 2019; basahi and masrahi, 2019; alharbi and al-qthanin, 2020). in central and south america, t. majus is considered as a perennial plant because it grows very well in the mountains of these regions. due to its economic value as an edible and medicinal plant, it has been intensively cultivated in many countries. it is readily naturalized from these cultivations and has been reported as a naturalized plant on the north coast of madeira and as an alien invasive species in some countries (christenhusz, 2012). because the new taxon has a high ability to grow fast in moist habitats and is widely used in folk medicine and as a decorative plant worldwide (bazylko et al., 2013); it is expected to spread widely in highland localities in southwestern regions of saudi arabia. references al-ahmadi, k. and al-ahmadi, s. 2014. spatiotemporal variations in rainfall–topographic relationships in southwestern saudi arabia. arab. j. geosci. 7(8): 3309-3324. alharbi, s.a. and al-qthanin, r.n. 2020. new records of indigofera cordifolia heyne ex roth. 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(manuscript received on 13 november, 2021; revised on 03 june, 2022) http://www.ipni.org, http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/ https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 129‒136, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists mycoflora associated with symptomatic leaves of rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz. in bangladesh zuhra yasmin and shamim shamsi* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: mycoflora; symptomatic leaves; rauvolfia serpentina; bangladesh. abstract fifteen fungal species representing 12 genera were found to be associated with leaf spot and anthracnose diseases of rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz. which were collected from different habitats of bangladesh. fungi were isolated following ‘tissue planting’ and ‘blotter’ method. the isolated fungi were alternaria alternata (fr.) keissler, aspergillus flavus link ex fr., a. niger van tieghm, colletotrichum gloeosporioides (penz.) sacc., curvularia lunata (wakker) boedijn, fusarium sp.1. fusarium sp. 2, macrophoma sp., nigrospora sphaerica (sacc.) mason, penicillium digitatum saccardo, penicillium italicum whemer, pestalotiopsis guepinii (desm.) stay, pseudocercospora libenbergii (syd.) deighton, rhizopus stolonifera vuillemin. toney, trichoderma viride pers. during the present investigation, pseudocercospora libenbergii is a new record for bangladesh. introduction rauvolfia serpentina is an evergreen shrub that is a member of the dogbane or apocynaceae family. it is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including europe, africa, asia, australia, and the central and south americas. it is naturally grows in the moist, deciduous forests of southeast asia, including india, burma, bangladesh, sri lanka, and malaysia. all parts of the plant, including the stem and leaves, contain indole alkaloids, but they are found in highest concentration in the bark of the root (ahmed et al., 2008). the identified indole and indole alkaloids include ajmalidine, ajmaline, ajmalinine, ajmalicine, aricine, canescine, coryanthine, deserpidine, isoajmaline, isoserine, isoserpiline, lankanescine, neoajmaline, papaverine, raubasine, raucaffricine, rauhimbine, rauwolfinine, recanescine, rescinnamine, reserpiline, reserpine, reserpinine, sarpagine, serpentine, serpentinine, thebaine, yohimbine, and yohimbinine. reserpine is a potent alkaloid first isolated from this plant which is being widely used as an antidote for high blood pressure and an anti hypersensitive drug (yusuf et al., 2009). the root extract of this plant is very useful in disorder of gastrointestinal tract viz., diarrhea, dysentery and cholera and coli. reserpine is distributed throughout the body to the brain. liver, spleen, kidney, and adipose tissue. it has been studied for the treatment of mental diseases, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, epilepsy and seizures, and of insomnia, sleep problems and anxiety (kapoor 1990 and lobay, 2015). aqueous extract of whole plant, stem and roots of r. serpentina were evaluated for antifungal activity. the aqueous root extract of the plant showed significant higher antifungal activity against alternaria alternata and aspergillus flavus than the other extracts under study (thakur et al., 2015). international union for conservation of nature (iucn) has placed this plant under endangered status (mabberley, 2008). the roots of r. serpentina contain numerous alkaloids. its indiscriminate use and poor method of conventional propagation have led this *corresponding author, e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com 130 yasmin and shamsi species to be included in the list of endangered plants. most of the research work carried out on it falls under phytochemical, pharmacological, biochemical and antimicrobial disciplines (ghani, 2003; panda, 2004; bunkar, 2017). but research about its fungal diseases is inadequate (yasmin and shamsi 2015). aanthracnose and leaf spots are two common diseases of r. serpentina in bangladesh. chandra (1957) was reported the leaf blotch disease of r. serpentina including anthracnose and leaf spot, mukerji and bhasin (1986) was also reported target leaf blotch, cercospora leaf spot, die-back, powdery mildew and fusarium wilt, and root–knot diseases of r. serpentina from india. the main purpose of the present study was conducted to find out the existence and identification of mycoflora living on infected r. serpentina phylloplane. materials and methods for the present investigation sampling area were field plots of botanical garden, curzon hall campus, dhaka university; lawachara, sylhet; botanic garden, chittagong university campus and mymensingh of bangladesh. two types of symptoms viz., anthracnose and leaf spot were recorded from leaves of r. serpentina during the tenure of 2007 to 2013. infected leaf samples were placed in clean brown paper bag, labeled properly and preserved at 4ºc in refrigerator for future studies. the fungi associated with the collected samples were isolated following ‘tissue planting’ method on pda (potato dextrose agar) medium and ‘blotter method’. isolation procedure was followed by (yasmin and shamsi, 2015). detailed morphological studies of the fungal isolates were made in order to determine their identification. the microscopic structural characters of the isolated fungi were recorded under nikon d 5000 digital camera. then isolates fungi were identified based on following standard literatures (barnett and hunter, 1972; booth 1971; ellis 1971, 1976; ellis and ellis 1997; thom and raper 1945; raper et al. 1949 and sutton 1980). the experiment was conducted in the laboratory of mycology and plant pathology, department of botany, university of dhaka and all the specimens were preserved in this laboratory. results and discussion fifteen fungal species representing 12 genera were found to be associated with leaf spot and anthracnose diseases of r. serpentina namely, alternaria alternata (fr.), aspergillus flavus, a. niger, colletotrichum gloeosporioides, curvularia lunata , fusarium sp.1, fusarium sp.2, macrophoma sp., nigrospora sphaerica, penicillium digitatum, p. italicum, pestalotiopsis guepinii, pseudocercospora libenbergii, rhizopus stolonifera and trichoderma viride. of these, pseudocercospora libenbergii is a new record for bangladesh. taxonomic treatment of fungal taxa 1. alternaria alternata (fr.) keissler 1912. beih. bot. zbl. 29: 433 (fig. 1a) colony usually black or olivaceous black, sometimes grey. conidiophores golden brown, smooth, up to 50 × 3 – 6 µm. conidia formed in long, often branched chains, obclavate, obpyriform, ovoid or ellipsoidal, often with a short conidial or cylindrical beak, pale to mid golden brown, smooth or verruculose, with up to 8 transverse and usually several longitudinal or oblique septa, 29.6–65.6 (75.6) µm, 6–20.4 µm thick in the broadest part; beak pale, 2.4-5 µm thick. specimen examined: isolates from leaf spot symptom of rauvolfia serpentina, dist.dhaka, zy, 18, 23 april 2007. mycoflora associated with symptomatic leaves 131 2. aspergillus flavus link 1809. magazin der gesellschaft naturforschenden freunde berlin 3(1): 16 (fig. 1b) colonies effuse greenish. mycelia well developed, septate, hyaline and profusely branched. conidiophores 300-600 µm. conidia greenish, catenulate, globose or pyriform, smooth, 3 – 5 µm in diameter. specimen examined: isolates from anthracnose symptom of r. serpentina, dist – dhaka, zy 141, 3 august 2008. 3. aspergillus niger van tieghem 1867. ann. sci. nat. bot. ser. 5, 8: 240. (fig. 1c) colonies effuse, black. conidiophores brown 200 – 400 × 7 – 10 µm. vesicles globose or sub globose, thick walled, commonly 20 – 50 µm, occasionally up to 100 µm in diameter. foot cell present. sterigmata 20 – 30 × 6 – 8 µm. conidia dark brown, one celled, globose, 2 – 4 (5) µm in diameter. specimen examined: isolates from anthracnose symptom of r. serpentina, dist – dhaka, zy 21, 23 april 2007. 4. colletotrichum gloeosporioides (penz.) sacc., fung. agrum. 2:6 (1882) (fig. 1d) colony cottony, white, grayish, reverse grayish black at maturity. setae absent. the waxy acervuli, that are produced in infected tissue, are subepidermal, typically with setae, and simple, short, erect conidiophores. masses of conidia appear pink or salmon colored. the fungus produces hyaline, onecelled, ovoid to oblong conidia, comparatively large, straight, obtuse at the apex, 14.8-24.4 × 3.6-5.2 µm. appressoria abundant, pale to medium brown, circular or slightly irregular. specimen examined: isolates from anthracnose symptom of r. serpentina, distdhaka, zy 51, 15 july 2007. 5. curvularia lunata (wakker) boedijn 1933. bull. jard. bot. buitenz. 13(1): 123 (fig. 1e) colonies effuse grayish black, hairy, cottony or velvety. conidiophores solitary, unbranched, straight or slightly undulating, geniculate, mid brown, septate, 3764 × 9.2-14.4 µm. conidia dark brown, mostly 3-septate, mostly curved, third cell from the base is broader and darker then others, broader cells mid brown, other cells paler, smooth, 22.5 – 31.2 × 9.3 – 12.6 µm. specimen examined: isolates from anthracnose symptom of r. serpentina, dist –dhaka, zy 127, 16 april 2008. 6. fusarium sp. 1 sheldon 1904. rep. neb. agric. exp. stn 17: 23-32 (fig. 1f) mycelium extensive and cottony, white, often with some tinge of pink. reverse pinkish yellow. mycelia hyaline, profusely branched, septate. conidiophores hyaline 0-2 septate. phialides hyaline, 16 20 × 3 4 μm. conidia hyaline, variable, microconidia 1-celled, ovoid or oblong, borne singly or in chains, 5 15 × 2 3 μm. specimen examined: isolates from leaf spot symptom of r. serpentina, dist –dhaka, zy 15, 27 march 2007. 7. fusarium sp. 2 sheldon 1904. rep. neb. agric. exp. stn 17: 23-32 (fig. 1g) mycelium extensive and cottony, white. reverse pinkish yellow. mycelia hyaline, profusely branched, septate. conidiophores hyaline 0-2 septate. phialides hyaline, 3.6 10 × 3 4 μm. conidia hyaline, variable. microconidia 1-celled, ovoid or oblong, borne singly or in chains, 5 10 × 2 3 μm. 132 yasmin and shamsi specimen examined: isolates from leaf spot symptom of r. serpentina, dist -dhaka, zy 68, 5 august 2007. fig 1. conidiophores and conidia of a. alternaria alternata, b. aspergillus flavus, c. a. niger and d. colletotrichum gloeosporioides, e. curvularia lunata, f. fusarium sp.1, g. fusarium sp. 2 and h. pycnidia of macrophoma sp. (bar = 50 µm). 8. macrophoma sp. berl. and vogl. (fig. 1h) pycnidia dark, ostiolate, globose, erumpent ; conidiophores simple, short or elongate ; conidia hyaline, 1-celled, over 15 microns long, ovoid to broadly ellipsoid ; parasitic. specimen examined: isolates from anthracnose symptom of r. serpentina, dist -dhaka, zy 10, 27 march 2007. 9. nigrospora sphaerica (sacc.) manson, 1927, trans.br.mycol soc, 12:158 (fig. 2a) conidiophores 4-8 µm thick. coridiogenous cells 8-11 µm diam. conidia 14-20 (mostly 1618) µm diam. mycoflora associated with symptomatic leaves 133 specimen examined: isolates from anthracnose symptom of r. serpentina, dist –chittagong, zy 146, 3 august 2009. 10. penicillium digitatum (fr.) sacc. 1910. bur. anim. ind., bul. 118: 31-33 (fig. 2b) colony small, cottony, greenish, reverse creamy. hyphae creeping, septate, branched, hyaline. conidiophores erect, apically irregularly verticillate-penicillately branched, 15 28 × 3.5 5.0 μm. conidia catenulate, spherical or elliptical, smooth, white in mass, commonly 3.5 5.0 μm. specimen examined: isolates from leaf spot symptom of r. serpentina, dist –chittagong, zy 147, 3 august 2009. 11. penicillium italicum wehmer, hedwigia 33 : 211214. 1894 (fig. 2c) colonies on pda medium growing restrictedly, often marked by a few shallow furrows, with margins usually its inner surface pale graygreen shades. penicilli asymmetric, often comparatively long up to 50-70 µm and 3-5 µm width, bearing tangled chains of conidia. strigmata 3-6 in a whole 8-10 × 3.5 µm. conidia one celled with greenish tinge, 4-5 × 2535 µm. specimen examined: isolates from leaf spot symptom of r. serpentina, dist – mymensingh, zy 135, 24 april 2008. 12. pseudocercospora liebenbergii sydow. ann. mycol. 33: 235. 1935 (fig. 2e-f) leaf spots subcircular to irregular, single or confluent, 510 mm, in diameter, at first uniformly red to reddish brown, after which the center gradually becomes dingy gray, fruiting amphigenous but more abundant on the upper leaf surface, stromata dark brown, globular to elongate, 30-50 µm, fascicles dense to very dense, conidiophores in mass dark brown singly pale to very pale olivaceous brown, paler and more narrow toward the tip which occasionally is bifurcate, seldom septate, 0-1 geniculate, small spore scar at the narrowly rounded tip, 3-5 × 5-35 µm, base sometimes wider; conidia subhyaline to pale olivaceous, cylindro – obclavate, shortest ones may be distinctly cylindric, straight to curved, indistinctly multiseptated, base long obconically truncate, tip obtuse to conically acute, 2.5-4 × 2570 µm. specimen examined: i isolates from leaf spot symptom of r. serpentina, dist dhaka, zy 125, 15 march 2008. 13. pestalotiopsis guepinii (desm.) stay. bulletin du jardin botanique de ietat a bruxelles 19(3): 312 (fig. 2d) colonies white, cottony. mycelia hyaline, septate, profusely branched, fruiting structure black, shining, conspicuous, condiomata 200 μm. conidiophores short, hyaline, 10 15 × 1 2 μm, mostly aseptate with 1-2 proliferation. conidia blackish brown, mostly three septate with 2 5 hyaline appendages at the apex and short hyaline appendage at the base, apical appendages 16 33 μm long and basal appendage 4 12 μm long. specimen examined: isolates from leaf spot symptom of r. serpentina, dist –chittagong, zy 79, 20 august 2007. 14. rhizopus stolonifera (ehrenb.: fr.) vuillemin 1902. toney bot. clup. 69: 592 616. (fig.2g) colonies grayish, fluffy. reverse light gray. mycelium coenocytic, well developed, branched and fluffy. mycelium produces long conidiophores, 300-700 μm long and 3-4 μm in width, many aerial stolons also develop rhizoids at certain points. directly above the rhizoids one or more sporangiospores are produced. the top of each sporangiophores becomes swollen as the latter 134 yasmin and shamsi reaches maturity and a sporangium is developed. columella present. sporangium produces non motile, brownish sporangiospores, 4 – 6 μm in diameter. specimen examined: isolates from leaf spot symptom of r. serpentina, dist –sylhet, zy 55, 15 july 2007. fig 2. conidiophores and conidia of a. nigrospora sphaerica. b. penicillium digitatum, c. penicillium italicum and d. acervuli, conidiophores and conidia of pestalotiopsis guepinii, e-f. pseudocercospora liebenbergii, g. rhizopus stolonifer and h. trichoderma viride (bar = 50 µm). 15. trichoderma viride pers. 1794. neues magazin fur die botanik 1: 92 (fig. 2h) colony effuse, light green, hyphae elongate. conidiophores hyaline, upright, much branched, bearing phialides single or in groups. conidia hyaline, powdery mass, globose, 1-celled, ovoid, borne in small terminal clusters 3.5 5 μm, usually easily recognized by its rapid growth and green patches or cushions of conidia. specimen examined: isolates from anthracnose symptom of r. serpentina, dist – mymensingh, zy 78, 20 august 2007. mycoflora associated with symptomatic leaves 135 a detailed survey of literature revealed that pseudocercospora libenbergii has not been reported in any relevant literature of bangladesh (talukar 1974, siddiqui et al., 2007; shamsi 2017 and 2018). hence, pseudocercospora libenbergii deighton reported here as a new fungal record for bangladesh. acknowledgement the first author (zy) gratefully acknowledges the financial support by the ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh through nsict fellowship. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a and khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed. m., ahmed, a.t. a., rahman, a.k.a and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledones (acanthaceae-asteraceae) asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 408. barnett, h.l. and hunter, b.b. 1972. illustrated genera of imperfect fungi. 4th edition.pub. co. the american phytopathological society, st. paul, minnesota. pp.185. booth, c. 1971. the genus fusarium. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surry, england. pp. 273. bunkar, a. r. 2017. therapeutic uses of rauwolfia serpentina. international journal of advanced science and research. 2(2): 23-26. chandra, v. 1957. leaf blotch disease of rauvolfia serpentina. sci. cult., 23: 99-99. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp 608. ellis, m.b. 1976. more dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp.608. ellis, m.b. and ellis, j.p. 1997. micro fungi on landplants. an identification handbook. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp. 868. ghani, a. 2003. medicinal plants of bangladesh. asiatic society of bangladesh. pp.603. kapoor, l.d. 1990. crc handbook of ayurvedic medicinal plants.crc press, inc. boca raton florida pp.416. lobay , d. 2015. rauwolfia in the treatment of hypertension. integr med (encinitas). 14(3): 40–46. mukerji, k.g. and bhasin, j. 1986. plant diseases of india. a source book. tatta mc.grew-hill publishing company ltd. new delhi, pp. 467. panda, h. 2004, medicinal plants cultivation and their uses, delhi, asia pacific business press, pp. 550. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabbeevly’s plant book, a portable dictionary of plants their clarification and uses, 3rd edn. cambridge university press, cambridge.xviii+1021. raper, k. b. and thom, c. and. fennel. l.1949. a manual of the penicillium. the willium and wilkins. company, baltimore, u. s. a. pp.875. shamsi, s. 2017. checklist of deuteromycetous fungi of bangladesh i. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 41(2): 115-126. shamsi, s. 2018. morphological and molecular detection of fungi in bangladesh. trends in biochemistry and molecular biology. nova science publishers. new york. pp. 419. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khandker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.), 2007. encyclopedia of flora and faana of bangladesh. vol.2. cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 415 pp sutton, b.c. 1980. the coelomycetes. fungi imperfecti with pycnidia, acervuli and stromata. commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england. pp 696. talukdar, m.j. 1974. plant diseases in bangladesh. bangladesh j. agric. res. 1(1):61-86. 136 yasmin and shamsi thakur, n., jagota, k., shama, b. and sareen, n. 2015. evaluation of in vitro antifungal potential of rauvolfia (l.) benth. ex kurz. against phytopathogenic fungi. i.j.s.n., 6(2): 165-168. thom, c. and raper, k.b. 1945. a manual of the aspergilli. the williams & wilkins company. baltimore. pp. 373. yusuf, m. begum, j. and chowdhury, j.u. 2009. medicinal plants of bangladesh. bcsir laboratories, chittagong. pp. i-x+ 794. yasmin, z. and s. shamsi.2015. report on anthracnose of rouwolfia serpentina (l.) benth ex kurz caused by colletotrichum gloeosporioides (penz.) sacc. from bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh. sci. 41(2): 183-192. (manuscript received on 06 june 2019; revised on 12 june 2020) microsoft word 05. medicobotany of swandip_16.5.13.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(1): 39-49, 2013 (june) © 2013 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists medico-botanical studies of sandwip island in chittagong, bangladesh noor hassan sajib and s.b. uddin1 department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh. keywords: ethnobotany; medicinal plants; sandwip; bangladesh. abstract a study of the plant diversity of sandwip island has been conducted during july 2008 to april 2011 in order to document plant species used as traditional herbal medicine. a total of 111 species under 93 genera of 53 families have been documented which are used for the treatment of 48 diseases/illness. the local people of the island mostly depended on herbal medicine for their primary health care. twenty one recorded medicinal plant species are used for the treatment of various types of pain, 14 each for dysentery and rheumatism, 8 each for cough and haemorrhages, 7 for skin diseases, 6 for worms, 5 for boils, 4 each for jaundice and fracture, 3 each for chicken pox, fever and diabetes and 54 for other diseases. introduction sandwip island is an upazila in chittagong district of bangladesh with an area of 762.42 sq km (banglapedia, 2006). most of the people directly or indirectly depend on plant resources of the area for their livelihood. in some areas of the island people are mostly dependent on the surrounding plants for their food, medicine, tools and crafts, fishing and agricultural tools. bangladesh though is a small country has a valuable heritage of herbal remedies. due to very low side effect, the use of medicinal plants is getting importance day by day. over the past two decades several ethnomedicinal and ethnobotanical studies in bangladesh have been carried out (mia and rahman, 1990, uddin et al., 2006; yusuf et al., 2006, 2007; partha and hossain, 2007; rahman et al., 2007; roy et al., 2008; alom et al., 2011; faruque and uddin, 2011; chowdhury et al., 2011; mohiuddin et al., 2012; uddin et al., 2012). however, there is very limited information (mia and rahman, 1990) on the ethno-medicinal plants used by the sandwip island communities. this study aims to document ethno-medicinal plants used for the treatment of different diseases/illness and to prepare conservation strategy for the medicinal plants of the island. materials and methods the ethnomedicinal data was documented following the direct observation, field interview and group interview from july 2008 to april 2011. a total of ten field trips were made for documentation. during the field interview, the information was noted in the documentation data sheet. all the information regarding plant species, biological forms, habitat, local names and uses was documented. ethnomedicinal information was obtained through informal interviews following semi-structured and open-ended techniques (alexiades, 1996) from knowledgeable persons particularly kabiraj (local herbalist) and elderly people. all voucher specimens were collected during documentation and deposited in the chittagong university herbarium (hcu). the specimens were identified consulting with the experts, by comparing herbarium specimens and available literature (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; heinig, 1925; sinclair, 1956, siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008, 2009; rashid and rahman, 2011, 2012). 1corresponding author. email: roben68@gmail.com 40 sajib and uddin results and discussion a total of 111 medicinal plant species belonging to 93 genera under 53 families are used for the treatment of 48 diseases/illness. the scientific names, family names, local names, parts used, mode of use and uses are enumerated in table 1. asteraceae is used most frequently as per the number of species. the most frequently used species for the treatment of different diseases are acampe papilosa, achyranthes aspera, amoora rohituka, azadirachta indica, calotropis gigantea, cassia alata, chromolaena odorata, clitoria ternetea, coccinea grandis, commelina benghalensis, cynodon dactylon, datura metel, eclipta alba, justicia adhatoda, lawsonia inermis, lygodium japonicum, mikania cordata, ocimum sanctum, oroxylum indicum, psidium guajava, ricinus communis, scoparia dulcis, spilanthes calva, swietenia mahagoni, terminalia arjuna and vitex negundo. regarding life form, herbs were 41.44%, shrubs 16.22%, trees 29.73% and climbers 12.61%. the most utilized plant parts for the preparation of herbal medicine is leaf, constituting 40% followed by fruit, stem, bark, and roots amounting 14.4%, 11.2%, 7.2%,6.4%, whole plant 4% and others (thorn, bulb, rhizome, flower, seed, tuber, petiole, bud and node) 16.8% respectively. among the recorded medicinal plants to treat several diseases/illness 21 species are used to treat various types of pain, 14 each for dysentery and rheumatism, 8 each for cough and haemorrhages, 7 for skin diseases, 6 for worms, 5 for boils, 4 each for jaundice and fracture, 3 each for chicken pox, fever and diabetes and 54 for others. the present study reveals that both external (27.34%) and internal (72.66%) methods of application of herbal medicine are prescribed. the dose and duration of application of these medicinal preparations vary from informant to informant. most of the extracts are taken in the morning. it may be required 1-7 days to cure/control the diseases and in some cases it may take up to 3 months. medicines administered orally include those claimed to be used mainly for treating fever, cough, diabetics, jaundice, worms, diarrhoea, dysentery and gastritis. on the other hand, medicines recommended to be applied externally include treating boils, skin disease, eye disease, ear-ache, body swelling, headache, bruising, fracture and rheumatism. mia and rahman (1990) reported 26 ethnomedicinal plants from sandwip where they have cited only two plants as fish poison with no medicinal uses, while the present study recorded 111 species. from the study it is revealed that the community of sandwip is rich in knowledge of medicinal plant use information. in the present study 17 species have been found same from the previous study, of which 8 species have the same uses with the present study with additional medicinal use information of 3 species. the remaining 9 species have been found to be used for different diseases, but in previous study no medicinal uses of these species were reported. the present study identifies some rare medicinal plants, viz., abrus precatorius l., acampe papilosa (lindl.) lindl., cissus quadrangularis l., oroxylum indicum (l.) vent, rauvolfia serpentina benth., r. tetraphylla l. and rhynchostylis retusa (l.) bl. the biodiversity of the island is decreasing rapidly with the disappearing the land in the sea because of climate change. as a result, the island tradition of medicinal plant use information is at risk. on the other hand, the establishment of modern medicinal health centres is in progress in many villages of the upazila that may gradually change the existing pattern of indigenous knowledge system of healthcare. in modern days, they are losing their previous glorious heritage of plant use knowledge in an alarming rate because of urbanization, rapid shrinkage and degradation of forests. on the other hand, present generation lost the interest to continue their parental profession as it does not provide them proper financial support for their livelihood. it is necessary conserve the threatened medicinal plants from extinction and to document plant use information before disappearing permanently. medico-botanical studies of sandwip island 41 42 sajib and uddin medico-botanical studies of sandwip island 43 44 sajib and uddin medico-botanical studies of sandwip island 45 46 sajib and uddin medico-botanical studies of sandwip island 47 48 sajib and uddin acknowledgements the authors express their deep sense of gratitude to the informants for their help during the field work. authors are grateful to prof. m.k. pasha, department of botany, university of chittagong for his valuable suggestions during preparation of the manuscript, and to identify some critical specimens. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a .k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 15 july 2011; revised on 25 january 2013) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 249–257, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morpho-molecular characterization of ceratobasidium sp.: a mycorrhizal fungi isolated from a rare epiphytic orchid gastrochilus calceolaris (j. e. sm.) d. don mohammad musharof hossain department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: orchid mycorrhiza; its sequencing; gastrochilus calceolaris; ceratobasidium. abstract a mycorrhizal fungus, ceratobasidium sp. gc (ncbi gene bank accession no gq369961) associated with the roots of an epiphytic orchid gastrochilus calceolaris was investigated by cultural morphology, microscopic features and molecular analysis of internal transcribed spacer (its) regions sequences of nuclear ribosomal dna. the colony appearance of the fungal endophyte was fluffy growth pattern and the colour of the young colony was milky white on both surfaces that turned in to brown at maturity on the upper surface and deep brown on reverse surface. the microscopic features of the fungus i.e. hyphal diameter, multi-nucleate vegetative cells, right angle branching pattern with slight constriction at branching point and a dolipore septum near the branching point were observed. all the characters corroborated the identity with anamorphic rhizoctonia like fungi. the its regions sequences of nrdna and phylogenetic analysis based on the neighbor-joining method showed clustered with rhizoctonia like fungi, and the maximum identity (98.28%) with ceratobasidium rr and ceratobasidium fpub isolated from rhynchostylis retusa and dactylorrhiza hetagera, respectively. thus, the its of nrdna sequences validated the morphological data. this is the first report of orchid mycorrhizal fungi from bangladesh. introduction mycorrhizal fungi are fundamental in orchid growth and metabolism, and influence the distribution and rarity of these delicate plants. the existence of mycorrhizal associations has been established since long in orchids with certain heterogeneous groups of fungi (hadley, 1982). it is a biotrophic mutualistic symbiosis prevalent in more then 90% of the higher plants in which both partners benefited in terms of nutrients exchange, evolution and fitness. it is one of the most significant events in the successful colonization of land by plants and the evolution of biotrophic root-inhabiting symbioses. now-a-day, it is the most interesting area of research throughout the globe. seed germination in orchids is totally dependent on mycobionts due to lack of sufficient food reserves (smith and read, 1997). orchids are categorized as myco-heterotropic, holomycotropic and mixotropic based on their nutritional dependency on fungal partner (dearnaley, 2007). the orchids which depend on mycorrhizal fungi during seed germination stages only are referred as mycoheterotropic. the achlorophyllous orchids entirely depend on mycorrhizal fungi for nourishment throughout their life cycle are categorized as holomycotropic. the third orchid nutritional mode exists mixotrophy. such orchids are photosynthetic at the adult stage but augment their nutrition requirements specially carbon via mycorrhizal fungi (dearnaley, 2007). mixotrophic orchids may be an evolutionary step between autotrophic and mycoheterotropic orchids (julou et al., 2005). nevertheless, all orchids are mycoheterotrophic during their early stages of growth, development and survival in nature. mycorrhizal fungi *corresponding author: email: musharof20bd@yahoo.com mailto:musharof20bd@yahoo.com 250 hossain colonizing roots of terrestrial orchids were well investigated for their beneficial effects on seed germination, growth and ecological fitness of the host plants (currah et al., 1987; bidartondo, 2005). only limited information is available for mycorrhizal fungi in epiphytic orchids which constitute a majority of orchids (pereira et al., 2003). therefore, isolation and identification of mycobionts is of interest for understanding orchid-fungus relationship in epiphytic orchids. from the foundation work of orchid mycorrhiza, rhizoctonia spp. was considered to be the only fungal partner associated with orchids. afterward a number of fungi identified from orchids which showed resemblance to anamorphic rhizoctonia spp. in many aspects, hence are collectively called rhizoctonia–like fungi (ramsay et al., 1987; andersen and staplers, 1994, andersen, 1996; shan et al., 2002, sharon et al., 2008). the rhizoctonia species associated with orchids include free–living saprophytes (burgeff, 1959) and opportunistic soil pathogens. thus, it is essential to establish the true biological entity of the mycobionts. conventionally the rhizoctonia-like fungi are characterized based on the cultural morphology, cytomorphology of the hyphae, development of asexual resistant propagule i.e. monilioid cells, number of nuclei in the cells, branching pattern, nature of septum, anatosmosis group (ag) etc. (shan et al., 2002). the conventional approaches for identifying orchid mycorrhizal fungi have some limitations as the majority of fungal partners are mycelia sterilia necessitating application of molecular techniques for their accurate identification (shan et al., 2002; dearnaley, 2007; yagame et al., 2008). fungal molecular systematics have been instrumental for the identification of orchid mycorrhizal symbionts because it overcomes the limits associated with in vitro isolation and morphological characterization of orchid endophytes. the aim of this study was to characterize morphologically and molecularly of the mycorrhizal fungi ceratobasidium sp. gc isolated from gastrochilus calceolaris and to test the coincidences between morphological and molecular characterization which will facilitate to isolate and accurate identification of mycorrhizal fungi in other orchids as well. materials and methods sample preparation and isolation of fungal endophyte roots of gastrochilus calceolaris (j. e. sm.) d. don were collected from the naturally grown plants from bandarban district of chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh (21°11' and 22°22' n latitudes and 92°04' and 92°41'e longitudes; 300 500 m amsl) in june-july (rainy season) and november-december (winter season) were used for isolation of fungal symbionts. three roots sampled from five plants were studied for estimating the percentage of cells with fungal colonization. several transverse sections were cut at different portions of the roots attached to the tree trunk. five thin sections taken randomly from each root were stained with lactophenol triglycero-cotton blue and observed for colonization under labophot microscope (nikon corp., japan). the incidence of fungal colonization and formation of pelotons in the root sections was calculated by following formula: × 100 the root portions showing presence of fungal pelotons were surface sterilized in 4% sodium hypochlorite for 3 min, dipped in 70% ethanol for 1 min, and washed thoroughly with double sterile distilled water. the root sections 1.01.5 mm thick were aseptically transferred onto potato number of cells colonized 20x microscope field view total number of cells 20x microscope field view morpho-molecular characterization of ceratobasidium 251 dextrose agar (pda) supplemented with 0.75 g/ml streptomycin sulfate and incubated in dark at 25 °c until hyphal growth was started from explants onto the medium. the fungal endophytes those started growing from the cortex cells of the root section were considered to be putative mycorrhizal fungi. pure cultures were obtained by successive sub-culturing of small portion of the fungal mat from the fast growing zone to fresh pda. study of cultural characteristics of fungal endophyte colony surface and reverse colours were recorded at young and mature stages. the hyphal diameter was measured in lactophenol triglycero-cotton blue mounts on glass slides under nikon e600 microscope (nikon corp., japan). culture growth rates were determined by inoculating uniform mycelium bits at the centre of pda plates and measuring radial increments in colony size at 48 h interval over two weeks in three replications. study of microscopic features of fungal endophyte nuclei number in vegetative cells was determined using slightly modified method of shan et al. (2002). a small portion of the mycelial mat was fixed in 2% formaldehyde for 2 min on a glass-slide and rinsed with distilled water for 1 min, followed by staining with gold antifade reagent with diamidino-2-phenylindole (dapi, prolong®, invitrogen ltd., eugene, or, uk) for 10 min, de-stained with distilled water for 2 min, and observed using 50% glycerol under nikon e600 microscope equipped with fluorescence mode. isolation of dna and pcr amplification for extraction of dna 1g mycelial mat from 7 days old cultures was ground under liquid nitrogen using qiagen dneasy plant kit according to the instruction provided by the manufacturer (qiagen, ca). the amplification of its 1, 5.8s rrna gene and its 2 was achieved using the its1 (5tccgtaggtgaacctgcgg) and its4 (5gctgcgttca tcgatgc) primers (white et al., 1990). the pcr reaction was performed in 50 µl reaction mixture containing 50 ng genomic dna, 10 pmol of each primer, 0.5 mm of dntps, 1× pcr buffer with 1.5 mm mgcl2, and 3 u taq polymerase. the thermocycling conditions consisted of an initial denaturation at 94ºc for 2 min, followed by 35 amplification cycles at 94ºc for 1 min, 54ºc for 1 min and 72ºc for 2 min, and a final extension at 72ºc for 8 min. the sequencing of pcr product was done by abi prism big dye terminator v. 3.1 cycle sequencing kit (applied biosystem, ca, usa). phylogenetic analysis the sequences were analyzed using the gapped blastn http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov search algorithm and phylogenetic tree was constructed using the treecon software package using kimura’s two-parameter model (kimura, 1980) after aligning the sequences with clustal w version 1.83 (thompson et al., 1994). the its region sequences (~600 bp) of the fungal isolate were deposited in the ncbi genbank database under the accession numbers gq369961 for ceratobasidium sp. strain gc (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/btast). results and discussion fungal infestation in roots the fungal endophytes showed colonization in the cortex cells with peloton formation in the mature roots of the orchid (fig. 1a). colonization was observed only in the root portions attached with the substratum but no pelotons were found in the root tips. colonization was absent the in aerial roots. in the colonized roots the pelotons were appeared as loose coils surrounded by live hyphae in the outer-cortex while brownish in the inner cortex. the frequency of root colonization http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/btast). 252 hossain was significantly higher (75%) in june-july than november–december (50%) (cd = 1.02 at p = 0.05). seasonal variation in fungal infestation with higher colonization during the summer and rainy season of active growth and flowering as compared to the winter season of slow growth corroborated the earlier reports of higher colonization by fungi to meet the nutrient requirement for active growth and phenology of the orchids (masuhara and kutsuya, 1994; siddique and raghuvanshi, 1993; chang, 2007). fungal hyphae were penetrated through root hair and passed through epidermis to the cortex and proliferated in the middle and inner layers of the cortex, forming pelotons in the cortical region of host’s roots. both young and mature pelotons were found in the root’s cortex cells. connections between the pelotons in the adjacent cortical cells through the cell wall were observed (fig. 1a), which is a typical orchid mycorrhizal feature (thakur et al., 2018). it was also observed that hyphae did not penetrate to the endodermis and pith. initially pelotons showed loosely coiled hyphae in the cortex cells (the ‘host’ phase), followed by the hyphae collapsing into the centre of the cell (the ‘digestive’ phase, thakur et al., 2018). morphological characterization of fungal endophyte morphological features of the fungus isolated from the roots of g. calceolaris showed resemblance to the rhizoctonia-like orchid endophytes. the young colonies were cottony white that turned into light brown on upper surface and deep brown on reverse at maturity (fig. 1b, c and d). a slight constriction at branching point and a dolipore septum was observed near the branching point of the new hypha (fig. 1e). microscopic features of the fungal endophyte are summarized in table 1. the vegetative cells of this endophyte were multinucleate (fig. 1f) without monilioid cells were observed during the course of study even the cultures were kept for one month in growth chamber. conventionally, rhizoctonia-like fungi have been identified based on some common anamorphic features such as their cultural morphology, colony colour, mycelial characteristics i.e. a slight constriction at branching point of the hypha, dolipore septa, nuclear number per cell, development of monilioid cells and sclerotia (currah et al., 1987, 1988; shan et al., 2002; pereira et al., 2003; zhu et al., 2008). the characteristics of the fungal endophyte isolated from g. calceolaris was, therefore, corroborated the identity with rhizoctonia-like fungi belonging to the genus ceratobasidium. rhizoctonia-like fungi represent an assemblage of taxonomically diverse groups that differ in cultural and morphological features, including anamorph and teleomorph stages (currah et al., 1987). the formation of asexual resistant propagules (monilioid cells), dolipore septum, constriction at branching point of the hypha, bior multinucleate vegetative and monilioid cells are the common anamorphic features of rhizoctonialike fungi widely reported as orchid mycorrhizal fungi (currah et al., 1997; sneh et al., 1991; otero et al., 2002; shan et al., 2002). nuclear number per cell varies from uni-, bito multinucleate in different orchid mycorrhizal fungi and even in different strains of the same species (sneh et al., 1991; otero et al., 2002; pereira et al., 2014). this framework adopted by several researchers for identifying orchid mycorrhizal fungi offers a taxonomically correct and justified approach to define taxa (shan et al., 2002). sexual structures are generally more informative for taxonomy and systematics than the vegetative structures. however, fungi placed under the form-genus rhizoctonia seldom reveal their basidiocarps, hence often referred to and identified by their anamorphs. rhizoctonia-like fungi represent the genera ceratorhiza, epulorhiza, monilioipsis, rhizoctonia, ceratobasidium, thanatephorus, tulasnella, and sebacina (warcup and talbot, 1966). species concepts within these genera can be corroborated based on finer culture characteristics such as mycelial morphology on specific media (currah et al., 1990; zelmer and currah 1995; andersen, 1996). morpho-molecular characterization of ceratobasidium 253 fig. 1. a) fungal pelotons in the t.s. of root of g. calceolaris, b) five days old young colony of fungal endophyte on pda surface, c-d) fifteen days old mature colony front view and reverse view respectively, e) fungal hyphae showing constriction and dolipore septum near the branching point (arrow), and f) showing multinucleate vegetative cells after dapi staining. phylogenetic analysis the blastn search of its region sequences of nrdna of the fungal isolates from g. calceolaris showed maximum identity with ceratobasidium spp. reported as the widespread fungi developing mycorrhizal association with orchids (otero et al., 2002). the phylogenetic tree was 254 hossain constructed based on the its region sequences of the fungal isolates and their closely related species formed distinct taxonomic group (fig. 2). the its region sequences of ceratobasidium sp. gc showed 98.28% similarity with ceratobasidium sp. rr and 98.27% similarity with ceratobasidium sp. fpub 168, rhizoctonia sp. m2ao1, rhizoctonia sp. abn1b and rhizoctonia sp. onv6. these fungi were isolated from rhynchostylis retusa, dactylorrhiza hatagirea, aerides oradaia, aranda brite ng, oncidium varimyce  oncidium nona, respectively (ma et al., 2001; otero et al., 2004; aggarwal et al., 2007, hossain et al., 2013). the its of nrdna sequences data validated the morphological data and reconfirm the identity of the fungal endophyte isolated from g. calceolaris as rhizoctonia-like fungi, ceratobasidium sp. table 1. morphological characteristics of ceratobasidium sp. str. gc isolated from gastrochilus calceolaris. parameter characteristics colour of young colony (surface) cottony white colour of young colony (reverse) brownish white colour of mature colony (surface) light brown colour of mature colony (reverse) deep brown colony appearance fluffy growth pattern colour of vegetative hyphae hyaline diameter of vegetative hyphae 8-12 μm shape of monilioid cells not found dimension of monilioid cells branching pattern right angle with slight constriction at the branching point colony growth rate (mm/hr) 0.0330.045 nature of septum dolipore septum spore absent nuclear condition in vegetative cell multinucleate the conventional approaches for identifying orchid mycorrhizal fungi have limitations as most of the fungal endophytes are mycelia sterilia. consequently, the broad vegetative criteria for identification have resulted in paraphyletic taxonomy with various unrelated fungi being grouped together necessitating the application of molecular techniques for accurate identification (otero et al., 2002; shan et al., 2002; dearnaley, 2007; yagame et al., 2008). its region sequencing is the common and powerful molecular technique for accurate identification of orchid mycorrhizal fungi (kuninaga et al., 1997; taylor and bruns, 1999; salazar et al., 2000; gonzalez et al., 2001; pope and carter, 2001; sharon et al., 2008). the its region has several features that make it a strong candidate for a universal ‘barcode’ for fungal identification as it is easy to amplify due to high copy number and relatively few primer sets are needed as a result of the highly conserved ssu (small sub-unit) and lsu (large sub-unit) flanking regions, and varies relatively little within species but dramatically between species, and far better represented in genbank than other loci in fungi (taylor and mccormick, 2008; zettler and corey, 2018). the its region characterization of the endophytes isolated from g. calceolaris confirmed the identity with ceratobasidium spp. morpho-molecular characterization of ceratobasidium 255 fig. 2. phylogenetic tree showing relationship among ceratobasidium sp. strain gc and representatives of some related taxa based on its region analysis. numbers on the nodes indicated bootstrap values. fusarium oxysporum atcc 96285 was used as the out-group. bar, 0.1 substitution per site. conclusion the mopho-molecular identification technique established for the root endophytic fungi ceratobasidium sp. from g. calceolaris will help in easy and accurate identification of other orchid mycorrhizal fungi as well. this is also the first report on isolation, characterization and phylogentic analysis of orchid mycorrhiza from bangladesh. conflict of interest: the author has no conflict of interest. references aggarwal, s., rahi, p., gulati, a., vij, s.p. and dua, i.s. 2007. symbiotic seed germination and development of seedling in dactylorhiza hatagirea (d. don) soo a critically endangered high value medicinal orchid. fungal diversity: impact and exploitation and 34th annual meeting of mycological society of india, department of biotechnology and environmental sciences, thapar university, patiala, october 56, 2007. andersen, t.f. 1996. a comparative taxonomic study of rhizoctonia sensu lato employing morphological, ultrastructural and molecular methods. mycol. res. 100: 1117–1128. andersen, t.f. and staplers, j.a. 1994. a check-list of rhizoctonia epithets. mycotaxon 51: 437–457. bidartondo, m.i. 2005. the evolution of mycoheterotrophy. new phytology 167: 335–352. burgeff, h. 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(manuscript received on 10 may, 2019; revised on 10 december, 2019) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7771-0_2. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 53–63, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists foliar epidermal, stem and petiole anatomy of meghalayan dioscorea l. (dioscoreaceae) and its systematic implication nilofer sheikh1 and yogendra kumar botany department, north eastern hill university, shillong-22, india keywords: anatomy; dioscorea ; cluster analysis; principal component analysis; systematics. abstract a comparative anatomical study of eight species of dioscorea l. from meghalaya, north east india was carried out in order to evaluate the taxonomic significance of anatomical characters to differentiate the species. characters were coded and analyzed by pca and cluster analysis. the combination of selected qualitative and quantitative anatomical characters of foliar epidermis, stem and petiole were significant for identification of species. the characters that contributed most to the separation of the species were type of stomata, length of stomata, stomatal index, leaf epidermal hairs, stem epidermal hairs, layer of stem sclerenchyma, number of vascular bundle in outer ring and inner ring of stem, paired or unpaired metaxylem, presence of phloem at both ends or at one end, presence or absence of starch grain in stem, petiole epidermal hair and presence or absence starch grain and crystal in petiole. an indented dichotomous key based on anatomical characters was constructed to distinguish and identify the species. introduction dioscorea l., with about 602 species (coursey, 1967) in the tropical and subtropical regions, regarded as the core genus of the family dioscoreaceae is a pivotal taxon in the evolution of liliopsida and occupies a basal position among all extant monocotyledonous plants (chase et al., 2006; dahlgren, 1989). about 50 species of dioscorea in india (anonymous, 1952) and approximately 28 species are distributed in north east india (sharma and hore, 1995). meghalaya, one of the eight hot spots of north east india has wide range of distribution of dioscorea species in wild habitat. only a few species of dioscorea are consumed as food and also used as medicines by the indigenous people of this area in spite of its wide range of distribution. identification of dioscorea species has always presented a challenge to taxonomists due to its morphological diversity, dioecy and small flowers. kunth (1924) divided dioscorea into four subgenera based on seed morphology. burkill (1960) divided the genus into 23 sections based on seed characters, tuber characters and male inflorescence morphology. coursey (1967) divided the genus into 70 sections based on underground tuber. several authors studied the floristics of the genus including miege (1968), milne-redhead (1975), n’kounkou (1993), tellez and schubert (1994), miege and sebsebe (1998) and ding and gilbert (2000). morphological approaches provide a workable system of taxonomy, yet it cannot be denied that data from other field like anatomy, cytology, palynology, molecular studies etc., provide evidences for the accurate delimitation of the species. anatomical parameters play an important role in plant taxonomy (metcalfe and chalk, 1957). anatomical characters have proved to be more useful for delimitation of higher taxonomic ranks, such as genera and families. few researchers studied foliar epidermal anatomy of different species of dioscorea (abdulrahman et al., 2009; 1corresponding author. email: nilofersheikh83@gmail.com doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33033 mailto:nilofersheikh83@gmail.com 54 sheikh and kumar aina and atumeyi, 2011; shah and gopal, 1972), however, no concrete data of anatomical analysis used in taxonomic delimitation of this genus have been conducted earlier. therefore, in the present study an attempt has been made to investigate the anatomical features of foliar epidermis, stem and petiole of different species of meghalayan dioscorea and to single out distinctive anatomical characters potentially useful for infrageneric classification. materials and methods plant material fresh material of eight species of dioscorea viz., d. pentaphylla l. (nehu-11946), d. alata l. (nehu-11944), d. belophylla (prain) haines (nehu-11950), d. glabra roxb. (nehu11937), d. pubera bl. (nehu-11949), d. oppositifolia l. (nehu-11941), d. lepcharum prain et burk. (nehu-11942) and d. bulbifera l. (nehu-11935) were collected from wild habitats of meghalaya. voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium of botany department, north eastern hill university, shillong. foliar epidermal anatomy for foliar epidermal study, fresh leaf epidermal peelings from both the surfaces (adaxial and abaxial) and transverse section of the leaves for epidermal study were made by hand with the help of sharp razor and forceps. ten individual per species were studied. the epidermal peelings and the transverse section of the leaves were cut into suitable size, taken on a clean slide, stained with 5% aqueous safranine, mounted in 50% glycerin and sealed the margins of cover slips with dpx. the prepared slides were observed under a light microscope at x40 magnification and photographs were taken. to calculate the stomatal index, following formula was used: i= x 100 where i = stomatal index, s = number of stomata per unit area, and e = number of epidermal cells per unit area. the terminology adopted by metcalfe and chalk (1950) and metcalfe (1961) was followed to describe the stomatal types. stem and petiole anatomy for the anatomical study of stem and petiole, transverse section of stem and petiole of 10 individual plants per species were made using sharp blade from the fresh material. temporary slides were prepared following o‘brien et al. (1964) using toluidine blue. the stained sections were observed under a light microscope at x10 magnification and photographed. presence and absence of starch grain in stem and petiole was separately analyzed by lugol’s solution (jensen, 1962). the anatomical characters observed under microscopes were recorded. anatomical data recording and statistical analysis a total of 27 characters including both qualitative and quantitative were observed (table 1). the characters or traits that appeared in more than one state and differed among the examined species were coded and assessed through principal component analysis (pca). cluster analysis (ca) was also performed in order to group the species based on the similarity of anatomical characters or traits. both pca and ca were performed using xlstat ver. 2015.4.01.22283 statistical software. foliar epidermal, stem and petiole anatomy of dioscorea 55 table 1. list of anatomical characters of stomata, stem and petiole of different dioscorea species. serial no. traits acronym characters/ descriptors score code-descriptor code stomata 1 par absence/ presence of paracytic absent-0; present-1 2 ans absence/ presence of anisocytic absent-0; present-1 3 ter absence/ presence of tetracyctic absent-0; present-1 4 ana absence/presence of anomocytic absent-0; present-1 5 nosto no of stomata per mm² 1-(95-124); 2-(125-154);3-(155-184) 6 noepi no of epidermal cell per mm² 1-(36-45);2-(46-55);3-(56-65);0->65 7 epih epidermal hairs 0-absent; 1-present 8 stol stomatal index (%) 1-(10-15.5); 2-(16-20.5);3-(21-25.5) 9 lsto length of stomata(µm) 1-(21-30µm);2-(31-40µm);3->40µm 10 bsto breadth of stomata(µm) 1-(1-1.4µm);2-(1.5-1.9µm);3-(2-2.4µm) stem 11 sto stem outline 1-wavy;2-angular; 3round 12 sepih epidermal hair 1-present; 0-absent 13 or v.b in outer ring 1-(6-7 rings);2-(8-9rings);3-(10-11rings) 14 ir v.b. in inner ring 1-(4-5 rings);2-(6-7rings);3-(8-9rings) 15 lc layer of cortex 1:-6 layers; 2:-7 layers 16 lscl layer of sclerenchyma 1:-4 layers; 2:-5 layers;3:-6 layers 17 stg stem starch grain 0-absent; 1-present 18 mxl metaxylem 1-paired; 2-unpaired 19 ph phloem 1-both ends; 2-one ends 20 scr stem crystals 1-present; 0-absent petiole 21 po petiole outline 1-pentagonal; 2-round; 3-others 22 pepih petiole epidermal hair 0-absent; 1-present 23 pcol petiole cortical layer 1:-3 layers; 2:-4 layers; 3:-5 layers 24 psl petiole scherenchyma layer 1:-3 layers; 2:-4 layers; 3:-5 layers 25 v.b. vascular bundle 1-6v.b.; 2-8v.b.; 39 v.b. 26 pcr petiole crystals 0-absent; 1-present 27 pst petiole starch grain 0-absent; 1-present * µm= micrometer. results foliar epidermal anatomy the upper (adaxial) and lower (abaxial) epidermis has one layer of cells and each is covered by a cuticle. the outer epidermis is also characterized by the presence of hairs in some species. stomata are restricted only to the lower surface (hypostomatic). four types of stomata complex were identified namely anamocytic, tetracytic, paracytic and anisocytic (fig. 1). d. alata possessed anisocytic, anamocytic and tetracytic stomata; d. pubera possessed paracytic and tetracytic stomata; d. belophylla, d. pentaphylla and d. bulbifera had paracytic, anisocytic and anamocytic types of stomata; d. glabra with anamocytic and tetracytic stomata; d. lepcharum and 56 sheikh and kumar d. oppositifolia possessed all the four types of stomata. in the present analysis, the stomatal index ranges from 15.3 in d. alata to 24.6 in d. bulbifera. fig.1. foliar epidermal structures of dioscorea species. a) d.bulbifera, b) d. pubera, c) d. alata. (ana anomocytic stomata, ans anisocytic stomata, ter tetracytic stomata). stem anatomy transverse sections of stems are generally circular with longitudinal ridges or wings (fig. 2). the epidermis consists of thin-walled rectangular, cuboidal or rounded cells. the epidermal cells are 1-cell layer thick. the cuticle is generally thin. in d. pubera some epidermal cells contained numerous hairs. the cortex lying just beneath the epidermis is composed of 3-7 layers of cells. the cortical cells are of various size and shapes. the inner boundary of cortex is located at a zone of sclerenchyma with 2-many cells. the pith occupies the central position and composed of thinwall hexagonal parenchyma cells. the vascular bundles of the stem are arranged in two concentric circles. the vascular bundles of the outer circle are smaller than the inner, with 2 metaxylem vessels together with 1 phloem unit at the middle in the bundles. the bundles of inner circle have mostly paired metaxylem vessels with phloem unit present at both ends in all species except but in d. bulbifera, where the bundles of inner circle have unpaired metaxylem with phloem unit at one end. the number of vascular bundles in transverse section varies within the species. foliar epidermal, stem and petiole anatomy of dioscorea 57 fig. 2. anatomy of the stem of dioscorea species at 4x magnification. a) d.alata, b) d.belophylla. (st starch grains, ph phloem, mxl metaxylem, vb vascular bundle). petioles anatomy the cortex is composed of collenchymatous tissues. the vascular bundles are arranged in a ring and are basically collateral with the presences of 2-3 phloem units in each bundle. the number of vascular bundles in each petiole is also variable but constant in each species (fig. 3). fig.3. anatomy of the petiole of dioscorea species at 4x magnification. a) d.alata, b) d. lepcharum, c d. belophylla, d) d. pubera.(v.b. vascular bundle). 58 sheikh and kumar fig.4. dendrogram showing relationships among eight dioscorea species based on anatomical characters. foliar epidermal, stem and petiole anatomy of dioscorea 59 cluster analysis the result of cluster analysis based on unweighted pair group average method (upgma) initially produced two main clusters, cluster a with a single species d. belophylla and the other cluster b at 0.507 level of similarity (fig. 4). within the cluster b, two subcluster c and d are separated at similarity level of 0.54. subcluster c with d. bulbifera is separated from d. pentaphylla and d. oppositifolia. d. pentaphylla and d. oppositifolia forms a clade at 0.74 level of similarity. similarly, subcluster d with d. glabra and d. pubera are separated from d. alata and d. lepcharum which forms a clade at 0.72 level of similarity. fig. 5. a biplot based on first and second principal components of anatomical characters for eight dioscorea species. principal component analysis the first seven principal components explained about 100% of the variation, while the first component (pc1) alone counted for 29.26% of the variability (table 2). characters such as tetracytic type of stomata, presence or absence of leaf epidermal hair, length of stomata, presence of stem epidermal hair, number of vascular bundle present in outer ring of stem, number of schlerenchyma of in stem, presence of epidermal hair in petioles has the highest loading on pc1. the second component (pc2) explained 20.84% of the total variation was highly correlated with paracytic type of stomata, number of stomata, layers of cortex in stem, presence of paired or 60 sheikh and kumar unpaired metaxylem in stem, presence of phloem at one end or at both ends and number of vascular bundles in petioles. the remaining component explained less variability. to assess the scores of the individual species with its characters or traits, pc1 and pc2 were plotted (fig. 5). the group of species on the left side of the biplot is separated from the species on the right side of biplot due to certain combination of anatomical characters, viz., anamocytic and paraytic types of stomata, presence of starch in petiole, number of vascular bundle in petiole, presence of metaxylem paired or unpaired in stem, presence of phloem at one end or at both ends in stem, table 2. eigenvalues, variance, cumulative variance and component scores (eigenvectors) of the first 7 principal components (pc) for anatomical characters of dioscorea species. component scores pc1 pc2 pc3 pc4 pc5 pc6 pc7 eigenvalue 7.900 5.626 4.836 3.554 2.746 1.372 0.965 variance (%) 29.260 20.836 17.912 13.162 10.171 5.083 3.576 cumulative % 29.260 50.096 68.008 81.170 91.341 96.424 100.000 par -0.138 0.548 -0.090 -0.734 0.078 0.270 -0.236 ans -0.742 -0.138 -0.471 -0.360 -0.275 0.043 -0.042 ana -0.863 -0.439 0.043 0.175 -0.109 0.056 -0.124 ter 0.625 -0.302 0.169 0.274 -0.522 0.349 0.143 nosto 0.483 0.525 0.500 0.400 0.094 -0.138 -0.231 noepi -0.150 0.678 0.437 0.518 -0.131 -0.187 -0.081 epih 0.863 0.439 -0.043 -0.175 0.109 -0.056 0.124 stoi -0.493 0.450 0.147 -0.357 0.559 -0.079 -0.294 lsto 0.586 -0.331 -0.530 -0.259 -0.142 -0.197 -0.373 bsto 0.041 -0.799 0.371 0.379 0.013 0.237 -0.147 sto -0.634 -0.169 -0.091 -0.583 0.217 -0.062 0.413 sepih 0.863 0.439 -0.043 -0.175 0.109 -0.056 0.124 or 0.619 -0.389 -0.566 -0.027 -0.017 0.161 -0.343 ir 0.089 -0.225 -0.351 0.848 0.187 0.249 0.047 lc 0.006 0.701 0.571 0.116 -0.224 0.341 -0.052 lscl 0.937 -0.255 -0.002 -0.132 -0.005 0.200 0.013 stg 0.484 -0.278 0.392 -0.207 0.564 0.374 0.183 mxl -0.418 0.584 -0.430 0.400 0.297 0.217 -0.057 ph -0.418 0.584 -0.430 0.400 0.297 0.217 -0.057 scr 0.236 -0.044 -0.802 -0.238 -0.055 0.486 -0.068 po -0.003 0.081 0.856 -0.114 -0.459 0.184 -0.052 pepih 0.863 0.439 -0.043 -0.175 0.109 -0.056 0.124 pcol -0.704 -0.143 0.303 -0.272 -0.529 0.171 -0.095 psl 0.419 0.312 -0.470 0.081 -0.613 -0.316 -0.155 v.b. -0.259 0.880 -0.171 -0.047 -0.124 0.332 -0.028 pcr 0.022 -0.548 0.346 0.138 0.686 -0.071 -0.290 pst -0.265 0.096 -0.742 0.545 -0.044 -0.104 0.246 coefficient in bold indicate descriptors that are highly correlated with the corresponding principal component. foliar epidermal, stem and petiole anatomy of dioscorea 61 whereas species on the right side of the plot is represented with characters such as presence of foliar epidermal, stem epidermal and petiole epidermal hairs, number of petiole schlerenchyma layers, number of stomata per unit area etc. the finding was consistent with the separation of species into four major groups by upgma clustering (fig. 4). discussion the use of anatomical characters or traits for taxonomic studies has proved useful for identification of fragmented plant and herbarium specimens (metcalfe and chalk, 1957). anatomy can provide useful information for establishing interrelations between taxa at the species and supra species levels. sometimes it can also help in individual identifications. the internal structure of leaf is more affected by environmental factors and thus is of little value for delimiting taxonomic groups. other characters of leaf, such as the epidermis and stomata have proved to be much more reliable for taxonomic consideration in many genera (uphof, 1962; dickison, 2000; yang and lin, 2005; strgulc-krajsek et al., 2006). the petiole structure is of considerable taxonomic importance in many genera, since it is less affected by environmental changes (metcalfe and chalk, 1957). the result of the present study allows the selection of some diagnostic anatomical characters for the identification of meghalayan dioscorea species. stebbin and khush (1961) and ayensu (1972) reported that all stomata in dioscorea species were anomocytic which was found in consistent with shah and gopal (1972) and abdulrahaman et al. (2009). our results showing presence of different types of stomata including paracytic, tetracytic and anomocytic etc were found congruent with those of shah and gopal (1972) and abdulrahaman et al. (2009). the present study reveals an anamocytic character trait contributes much towards variability. presence of starch grain in stem and petiole is also an important character trait for differentiating among the species (onwuene, 1978). from the pca analysis, the character trait i.e. presence of starch grain in petiole was another important trait which shows high rate of variability. hence the foregoing analysis and presented illustration clearly show the importance of anatomical data as an additional tool in the taxonomy of the genus and also contributes to the identification of species. the results provided some useful features for future phylogenetic and taxonomic studies. based on these features, an artificial indented dichotomous key is presented hereunder to delimit the species. dichotomous key to the meghalayan species of dioscorea based on anatomical characters. 1. leaf, stem and petiole pubescent d. pubera leaf, stem and petiole glabrous 2 2. absence of tetracytic stomata 3 presence of tetracytic stomata 5 3. layer of schlerenchyma in stem is more than 5; absence of starch grain in stem; vascular bundle in outer ring in stem is more than 9 d. belophylla layer of schlerenchyma in stem is less than 5; presence of starch grain in stem; vascular bundle in outer ring in stem is less than 9 4 4. inner ring of vascular bundle in stem is less than 6; metaxylem in stem is paired; phloem on both ends of vascular bundle d. pentaphylla inner ring of vascular bundle in stem is more than 6; metaxylem unpaired; phloem at one end of vascular bundle d. bulbifera 62 sheikh and kumar 5. presence of starch grain in stem; outer ring of vascular bundle more than 9 6 absence of starch grain in stem; outer ring of vascular bundle less than 9 7 6. inner ring of vascular bundle more than 9; petiole outline mainly pentagonal; layer of cortex in petiole less than 4 d. alata inner ring of vascular bundle less than 9, petiole outline crescent shape; layer of cortex in petiole more than 4 d. lepcharum 7. inner ring of vascular bundle in stem less than 8; presence of paracytic stomata; absence of petiole crystal, layer of cortex in petiole is more than 4 d. oppositifolia inner ring of vascular bundle more than 8; absence of paracytic stomata; presence of petiole crystal, layer of cortex in petiole is less than 4 d.glabra acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the head of botany department, north eastern hill university, shillong for providing the facilities in the department and also to ugc for providing financial support under the scheme of maulana azad minority national fellowship. our sincere thanks to the joint director, botanical survey of india eastern circle, shillong for giving us the facilities during the tenure of this research programme. references abdulrahaman, a.a., egbedo, f.o. and oladele, f.a. 2009. stomatal complex types, stomatal density and the stomatal index in some species of dioscorea. arch. biol. sci., belgrade 61(4): 847–851. aina, o.d. and atumeyi, s. 2011. foliar epidermal anatomy of four species of dioscorea. advances appl. sci. res. 2(4): 21–24. anonymous, 1952. the wealth of india. vol. 3. d-e, csir, new delhi. ayensu, e.s. 1972. dioscoreales. in: metcalfe, c. 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(manuscript received on 23 august 2016; revised on 9 february 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 83‒95, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54210 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists filamentous cyanobacteria from western ghats of north kerala, india v. geethu and mamiyil shamina1 cyanobacterial diversity division, department of botany, university of calicut, kerala, india keywords: cyanobacteria, filamentous, peruvannamuzhi, western ghats. abstract cyanobacteria are gram negative, photosynthetic and nitrogen fixing microorganisms which contribute much to our present-day life as medicines, foods, biofuels and biofertilizers. western ghats are the hotspots of biodiversity with rich combination of microbial flora including cyanobacteria. though cosmopolitan in distribution, their abundance in tropical forests are not fully exploited. to fill up this knowledge gap, the present research was carried out on the cyanobacterial flora of peruvannamuzhi forest and janaki forests of western ghats in kozhikode district, north kerala state, india. extensive specimen collections were conducted during south-west monsoon (june to september) and north-east monsoon (october to december) in the year 2019. the highest diversity of cyanobacteria was found on rock surfaces. a total of 18 cyanobacterial taxa were identified. among them filamentous heterocystous forms showed maximum diversity with 10 species followed by nonheterocystous forms with 8 species. the highest number of cyanobacteria were identified from peruvannamuzhi forest with 15 taxa followed by janaki forest with 3 taxa. the nonheterocystous cyanobacterial genus oscillatoria voucher ex gomont showed maximum abundance with 4 species. in this study we reported planktothrix planktonica (elenkin) agagnostidis & komárek 1988, oscillatoria euboeica anagnostidis 2001 and nostoc interbryum sant’anna et al. 2007 as three new records from india. introduction cyanobacteria are morphologically distinct group of gram negative, photosynthetic and nitrogen fixing microorganisms. they are believed to evolve during proterozoic era between 2.5 and 3.5 billion years ago commonly known as the age of cyanobacteria (hoek et al., 1993) and these prokaryotes made our planet earth oxygenic (gupta et al., 2006). they have constituted the most diverse group of organisms in plant kingdom. they are ubiquitous and highly versatile to grow in various climatic conditions such as freshwater, marine, hot springs, polar deserts, epilithic, epipelic, epiphytic, endophytic, halophytic and thermophilic conditions (halder, 2015, 2016). cyanobacteria are economically important because of their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and are used as biofertilizers (mishra and pabby 2004). besides, it excretes various secondary metabolites and bioactive compounds which are useful in various industries such as pharmaceuticals, biofuels, cosmetics, etc. being rich in phycobiliproteins they are used as natural colorants (pandey et al., 2013). tropical india provides favourable environments for the luxuriant growth of cyanobacteria in her natural ecosystems (thajuddin et al., 2002; chellappa et al., 2004). so far, the cyanobacteria of india have been studied by various workers such as chakraborty et al. (2010), naskar et al. (2008), keshri and chatterjee (2010), ansari et al. (2012), bhosale and dhumal (2012), tiwari 1 corresponding author: email: drshaminam@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54210 mailto:drshaminam@gmail.com 84 geethu and shamina and chauhan (2006, 2008), dhingra and ahluwalia (2007a,b), gupta (2012), haldar and sinha (2013), dey (2012), roy et al. (2014a,b) and datta and keshri (2014). the western ghats of india are one of the richest biodiversity hotspot in the world. western ghats supports a vast vegetation including 7400 species of flowering plants, 493 species of bryophytes, 320 species of ferns and 750 species of fungi. but for cyanobacterial flora, it is believed that the area is least explored and and as a result many cyanobacterial taxa remains undiscovered. to fulfil this knowledge gaps, the present research was undertaken to explore the diversity of filamentous cyanobacteria in peruvannamuzhi forest range of western ghats region. materials and methods the study was conducted in peruvannamuzhi forest and janaki forest of western ghats located in kozhikode district, kerala state, india. this area is a part of malabar wild life sanctuary and this region stretches between 11.5966o n and 75.8232o e covering an area of 74.215015 km2. extensive specimen collection trips were conducted during south-west monsoon (june to september) and north-east monsoon (october to december) in 2019. all specimens were collected using forceps, knife, scalpels, needles, for the habitats like the surfaces of rock, soil, tree bark, etc. for the water bodies or moistened parts plastic bottles were used. all the field observations on habit, habitat and soil ph were noted in the field book at the time of collection. sub-samples from the collected specimens were carefully examined under compound microscope (model-leica dm 1000 compound microscope, germany). all studied specimens were cultured in bg-11 medium (rippka et al. 1979). a part of the cultured specimen was preserved in 4% commercial formaldehyde and deposited in the culture collection at cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, india. classification of cyanobacteria by komarek et al., (2014) was followed in the present study. based on cellular morphology, the cyanobacterial individuals were identified up to the species or genus level consulting monographs and floras of desikachary (1959), anand (1989), john and francis (2013) and komárek and anagnostidis (2005). results and discussion in the present investigation, a total of 18 taxa of filamentous cyanobacteria belonging to the orders oscillatoriales and nostocales were recorded. the detailed taxonomic description of those have been given below. division: cyanophyta; class: cyanophyceae; order: oscillatoriales family: microcoleaceae; genus: microcoleus desmazières ex gomont 1. planktothrix planctonica (elenkin) anagnostidis et komárek (fig. 1a) (anagnostidis & komarek in archiv für hydrobiologie, 80, 416, 1988; dey et al. in flora of australia supplementary series 4: i-vii, 1-276, 1995) filaments blue green, slightly waved; cells 7.4 – 8.2 µm wide, 2.2 – 3.8 µm long, shorter than broad, slightly or not constricted at cross walls; apical cells widely rounded, 3.0 – 5.2 µm long, 7 µm broad; granules present; sheath absent. ecology: attached scum on stone in stream. specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 13 sep 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 158535 filamentous cyanobacteria from western ghats 85 distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india; the netherlands, romania, czech republic; russia, tajikistan; south australia; pacific islands; hawaiian islands. comment: the species has been reported as a first record in india family: oscillatoriaceae; genus: oscillatoria vaucher ex gomont 2. oscillatoria princeps vaucher ex gomont (fig. 1b) (vaucher, historie des conferves d’ eau douce, 190, pl. 15, fig. 2, 1803; gomont, monogr. oscillatorees, 206, pl. fig. 9, 1892; forti in de toni, sylloge algarum, 5 : 150, 1907; fremy, myxo. d’ afr. equat. franc., 208, fig. 175, 1929; geitler, kryptogamenflora, 947, figs. 598a, 601cg 1932) trichome blue green to dark green, straight, not constricted at cross walls, 12.2 14.5 µm broad, 2.9–3.5 µm long; end cell flatly rounded or hemispherical, pale yellow, 3.3 µm long; granules present; necridia present. ecology: attached to stone. specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 21 nov 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 158535 . distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india;the baltic sea, black sea, britain, czech republic, france, georgia, germany, greece, ireland, lithuania, netherlands, romania, scandinavia, slovakia, spain; atlantic islands: canary islands;: arkansas, florida, great lakes, mexico, northwest territories, québec; caribbean islands: cuba;argentina, brazil; africa: ghana, mozambique, sierra leone, sudan,mauritius, bangladesh, india, iraq, israel, kuwait, pakistan, punjab, saudi arabia, sri lanka,china, japan, korea, nepal, russia, south china sea, taiwan, tajikistanthailand, vietnam, australia, new zealand 3. oscillatoria subbrevis schmidle (fig. 1c) (engler’s bot. jahrb., 30, pl. iv [4], fig. 7, 243, 1901; forti in detoni, sylloge algarum, 5, fig. 174, 208, 1907; fremy in myxo. d’ afr. equat. franc., fig. 174, 208, 1929; geitler in kryptogamenflora, fig. 601b, 949, 1932; desikachary in cayanophyta, pl. 37, fig. 2, pl. 40, fig 1, 207, 1959) filaments greenish brown, without sheath 10.3 – 11.9 µm broad, with sheath 11.9 µm broad; trichome 1.3 – 1.9 µm long, 7.9 µm broad, greenish brown; end cell rounded, pale yellow, 2.7 – 4 µm long, 7.9 µm broad; sheath colourless, 0.89 µm thick. ecology: attached scum on stone. specimen examined: kozhikode district, janaki forest, kerala, india: 21 jan 2019, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 167110. distribution: kerala, janaki forest,india,britain, greece, the netherlands, romania, spain,argentina, brazil; africa: sierra leone, sudan,bangladesh, india, iran, china, japan, korea, nepal, singapore, australia, the new zealand. 4. oscillatoria euboeica anagnostidis (fig. 1d) (anagnostidis in preslia, praha 73: 359 – 375, 2001; temraleeva in microbiology, 87: 2, tab, 251, 2018) filaments light green, 8.2 – 9.2 µm broad; cells short, 3.5 – 4.1 µm long, apex curved, constrictions absent; apical cell rounded, pale yellow 3.2 µm long, 6.4µm broad; sheath absent ; granules present. 86 geethu and shamina fig. 1. a. planktothrix planctonica, b. oscillatoria princeps, c. o. subbrevis, d. o. euboeica, e. o. limosa f. lyngbya majuscula g. l. subconfervoides, h. phormidium retzi var. major. ecology: attached to soil. specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 13 sep 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 158537. filamentous cyanobacteria from western ghats 87 distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india. comment: the species has been reported as a first record in india. 5. oscillatoria limosa agardh. ex gomont (fig. 1e) (agardh, dispositio algarum sueciae, 35, 1812; gomont, mongr. oscillatorees, 210, pl. 6, fig. 13, 1892; forti in de toni, sylloge algarum, 5 : 154, 1907) filaments straight, light green; trichome not constricted at cross wall, 9.6 µm broad, 2 – 2.5 µm long; granules present; end cell flatly rounded, pale yellow in colour. ecology: attached to stone. specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 21 nov 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 158537. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india, svalbard, baltic sea, britain, channel islands, czech republic, france, georgia, germany, greece, italy, lithuania, norway, poland, romania, russia, scandinavia, slovakia, spain, sweden, ukraine, arkansas great lakes, mexico, northwest territories, québec, tennessee ,caribbean islands, cuba, argentina, brazil, africa, egypt, south africa, sudanbangladesh, india, iraq, israel, saudi arabia,caspian sea, china, japan, korea, nepal, tajikistan,vietnam; australia the new zealand, australia, pacific islands, , singapore. 6. lyngbya majuscula harvey ex gomont (fig. 1f) (harvey in hooker, english flora, 5, part 1: 370, 1833; gomont, monogr. oscillatoriees, 151, pl. 3, fig. 3, 4, 1892; forti in de toni, sylloge algarum, 5: 268, 1907) filaments yellowish green, 46 µm broad; cells 16 µm broad, 4 – 6 µm long; sheath thick, colourless, lamellated, 11.5 – 12. 9 µm in thick; granules present. ecology: attached to stone on the stream specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 21 nov 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut cu no 167101. distribution: peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india; baltic sea, britain, channel islands, france, france (breizh), greece ireland, romania, russia, scandinavia, spain, canary islands, florida, isla guadalupe, mexico, brazil, colombia, venezuela,djibouti, egypt, eritrea, ethiopia, kenya, madagascar, mauritius, mediterranean sea, mozambique, south africa, sudan, tanzania, indian ocean islands, aldabra islands, chagos archipelago, comoros and mayotte, laccadive islands, maldives, réunion, rodrigues; south-west asia: bangladesh, india, iran, iraq, kuwait, pakistan, saudi arabia, sri lanka, turkey, yemen,china, japan, korea, nepal, south china sea, taiwan,indonesia, malaysia, philippines, singapore, vietnam, australia, the new zealandcentral polynesia, federated states of micronesia, french polynesia, guam, hawaiian islands (hi), line islands, mariana islands, marshall islands, northwestern hawaiian islands, republic of palau. 7. lyngbya subconfervoides borge (fig. 1g) (die von dr. loefgren in sao paulo gessammette susswasseralgen, ark. f. bot. 15(13) : 91,pl. 7, fig. 6, 1918; geitler, kryptogamenflora, 1067, fig. 681, 1932; desikachary in cyanophyta, 321, 1959) filaments long, straight, 26.6 – 35.0 µm broad, bluish green, not constricted at cross wall, cross walls not granulated, 16 .5 µm broad, 6.1 – 7.3 µm long; end cell rounded; sheath thick, colourless, unlamellated, 5.6 µm thick; calyptra absent. 88 geethu and shamina ecology: attached to stones on stream specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 21 nov 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut cu no: 167101. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india; china, japan. 8. phormidium retzi var. major kützing ex gomont (fig. 1h) (myxophyceae of travancore state, proc. indian acad. sci. b, 11 : 122, 1940; desikachary in cyanophyta, 268, 1959; yadhav et al. in asian j. environ. sci., 7: 2, tab. 1, 256, 2012) filaments dull blue green, more or less straight, unconstructed at the cross walls, 9.9 – 10.3 µm broad; trichome shorter than broad, 9.7 – 10 µm broad, 6.4 – 7.2 µm long; septa not granulated; end cell rounded; sheath extention present, sheath, colourless, unlamellated ecology: seen on soil specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 21 nov 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicutcu no: 158537. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india. division : cyanophyta; class: cyanophyceae;order: nostocales family: scytonemataceae; genus :scytonema c.agardh ex é.bornet et c.flahault 9. scytonema pascheri bharadwaja (fig. 2a) (desikachary in cyanophyta. pp. i-x, 1-686, pls 1-139. new delhi: indian council of agricultural research, 1959) filaments brown, 19–22.8 µm broad; cells quadrate, 17 – 21.5 µm long, 12 – 14 µm broad; heterocyst intercalary, rounded, 11.8 µm long, 12.7µm broad; sheath yellowish brown, lamellated, 2.25–4.3 µm in thickness; granules present. ecology: attached scum on stone specimen examined: kozhikode district, chembanoda, kerala, india: 17 mar 2019, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut cu no: 167126. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india; china, bangladesh family: rivulariaceae; genus: rivularia c.agardh ex bornet et flahault 10. microchaete investiens fremy (fig. 2b) (fremy in archives de botanique, memoires, 3: 2, fig. 249, 283, 1930; hirose et al. in illustrations of japanese fresh water algae, 1-933, 1977) filaments long, brown, 6.1–8.1 µm broad; cells elongated, cylindrical or barrel shaped, 5.7– 8.1 µm broad, 6.5 – 11 µm long; heterocyst basal or intercalary, 4–6.3 µm long, 5.6–11 µm broad; granules present; sheath colourless to yellowish, 0.94 µm in thickness. ecology: attached scum on stone specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 13 sep 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 158537. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india; japan filamentous cyanobacteria from western ghats 89 fig. 2. a. scytonema pascheri, b. microchaete investiens, c. microchaete species 1, d. microchaete species 2, e,f. cylindrospermum muscicola. 11. microchaete species 1 (fig. 2c) filaments long, 9.8 µm broad; trichome olive green, barrel shape, 3.5 – 7 µm long, 5.8 – 7.8 µm broad, broader than long towards the base; heterocyst basal, 4.8 – 6.5 µm long, 5.5 – 6.7 µm broad; sheath colourless, 1.72 µm thick, slightly lamellated; granules prominent. ecology: attached scum on stone specimen examined: kozhikode district, chembanoda, kerala, india: 11 mar 2019, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 167121. 90 geethu and shamina 12. microchaete species 2 (fig. 2d) filaments straight or coiled, brown coloured, tip of the filament is rounded; trichome 6.1–6.8 µm broad; cells elongated and cylindrical, 3.6–16 µm long, 4–3 µm broad; heterocysts spherical to hemispherical, basal or intercalary, sometimes 2–3 heterocysts comes together, 5.3–6.0 µm long, 6.0–7.2 µm broad; sheath firm, thin, hyaline, unlamellated, close to the trichome; granules present. ecology: attached scum on stone specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 13 sep 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 158537. family: nostocaceae; genus: cylindrospermum kützing ex é.bornet et c. flahault 13. cylindrospermum muscicola kutzing ex bornet et flahault (fig. 2e,f) (kutzing in phyc. germ., 173, 1845, tab. phycologie, 1, 53, pl. 98, fig. 1, 1849; bornet et flahault in revision des nostocacees heterocystees, 254, 1888; forti in de toni, sylloge algarum, 5, 477, 1907) trichome green, cylindrical or quadrate, 3–5 µm long, 3 µm broad; heterocyst terminal, yellow, 3.2–5 µm long, 4–4 µm broad; granules present; akinete dark brown, 15–21 µm long, 8– 10 µm broad; sheath absent. ecology: seen on soil specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india : 21 jan 2019, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 167109. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india; britain, czech republic, germany, greece, romania, russia, slovakia, spain; north america, arkansas,cuba; south america: argentina, brazil,sudan,bangladesh, india, iraq, israel, pakistan,china, tajikistan, japan, russia, pacific 14. desmonostoc muscorum (agardh ex bornet et flahault) hrouzek et ventura (fig. 3a) (hrouzek et al. in fottea, olomouc, 13:(2), 211, 2013; whitton et al. in a coded list of freshwater algae of the british isles, 2nd edn, 2003) trichome irregularly flexous, green; cells barrel shaped, granulated, 4.7 µm broad, 4.6 – 6.3 µm long; heterocyst rounded or hemispherical, pale green, terminal or intercalary, 4.3 – 5 µm long, 3.5 – 4.3 µm broad; akinetes oval, 8 – 12 µm × 4 – 8 µm. ecology: seen on soil specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 21 nov 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut cu no: 167103. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india; romania, russia, britain, czech republic, france, ireland, scandinavia, slovakia, spain,israel, america, argentina, brazil, bangladesh, india, iraq, pakistan,japan, nepal, taiwan, australia, the new zealand, ghana, sudan. 15. desmonostoc sp. (fig. 3b) trichome yellowish green, rounded, enclosed in a sheath, 5 – 8.3 µm long, 5 – 7 µm broad; heterocyst intercalary, elongated or oval, yellow, 7 – 11.5 µm long, 6 – 7 µm broad; sheath hyaline, colourless, 2 – 2.5 µm thick. ecology: attached to stone. filamentous cyanobacteria from western ghats 91 fig. 3 a. desmonostoc muscorum, b. desmonostoc sp., c-d. nostoc nylstromicum, e. n. commune, f. n. interbryum. specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 21 nove 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 167106. 16. nostoc commune vaucher ex bornet et flahault (fig . 3e) vaucher in historie des conferves d’ eau douce, pl. 16, fig. 1, 222, 1803; bornet et flahault in revision des nostocacees heterocystees, 203, 1888; forti in de toni, sylloge algarum, 5, 404, 1907 92 geethu and shamina colonies macroscopic, gelatinous; trichome olive green; cells spherical or barrel shaped, 6.2 – 7.8 µm long, 6 – 8 µm broad; heterocyst yellow, intercalary or terminal, intercalary ones spherical shaped, terminal one hemispherical, 5 – 7.2 µm broad, 3.8 – 6.5 µm long; granules absent. ecology: attached to stone specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 13 sep 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 158539. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india, arctic, ellesmere island, russia, britain, czech republic, france, georgia, germany, greece, ireland, italy, lithuania, romania,, scandinavia, slovakia, spain, , turkey , alaska , arkansas, argentina, ghana, indian ocean islands, rodrigues island, bangladesh, india, iraq, israel, pakistan, sri lanka,japan, korea, nepal, russia singapore, vietnam,australia and the new zealand, australia 17. nostoc nylstromicum classenn (fig. 3c,d) (claassen in bothalia, 7: 3, pl. 2, fig. 2, 563, 1961; komárek in susswasserflora von mitteleuropa, vol. 19 pp. i-xviii, 1-1130, 2013) filaments yellowish brown; cells barrel or cylindrical, 2.3 µm broad, 2.8 – 3.6 µm long; heterocyst terminal, pale yellow in colour, 3.7 µm long, 2.6 µm broad. ecology: attached to stone. specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 21 nov 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no : 167103. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india. comment: the species has been reported as a first record in india. 18. nostoc interbryum sant'anna et al. (fig. 3f) (anna et al. in hoehnea, 34:1, fig. 1, 96, 2007; werner in catálogo de plantas e fungos do brasil, 1, pp. 356-366, 2010; komarek in susswasserflora von mitteleuropa. cyanoprokaryota: 3rd part: heterocystous genera, 19, pp. i-xviii, 1-1130, 2013) filaments flexous, dark green; cells 4.6 – 5.2 µm broad, 5µm long, rounded or spherical; heterocyst terminal, spherical, pale yellow, 5 – 5.5 µm long , 4.5 – 5.6 µm broad. ecology: attached to soil. specimen examined: kozhikode district, peruvannamuzhi forest, kerala, india: 21 nov 2018, v. geethu, cyanobacterial diversity division, university of calicut, cu no: 167103. distribution: kerala, peruvannamuzhi forest, india. comment: the species has been reported as a first record in india. during the present study of filamentous cyanobacteria in peruvannamuzhi forest and janaki forest of western ghats, a total of 18 species belonging to 9 genera distributed in 4 families such as oscillatoriaceae, scytonemataceae, microchaetaceae, nostocaceae under 2 orders such as oscillatoriales and nostocales were identified. the diversity of filamentous cyanobacteria in this area is very high. both heterocystous and nonheterocystous forms were equally dominating in this region were noticed in this study. about 10 heterocystous species under 5 genera were identified followed by 8 non-heterocystous species under 4 genera. they were found in aquatic, terrestrial and lithophytic habitats. but most of the sampling were done from rocky habitats. they are luxuriantly flourishing in these tropical forest because the litter as well as the alkaline ph of the soil greatly influences its abundance and diversity. in place like kerala, the rainfall is always there around nine months in a year. this also greatly influence in the existence of these microorganisms under undisturbed evergreen forest of western ghats. several studies were filamentous cyanobacteria from western ghats 93 conducted about the tropical cyanobacteria and contributed much from amazon forest of brazil by sant'anna et al. (1991, 2007) and branco et al. (2009) among heterocystous forms, the cyanobacterial genera nostoc and microchaete showed maximum abundance with 3 species each, followed by desmonostoc with 2 species. the heterocystous genera, cylindrospermum and scytonema were represented by single species each and showed least abundance in the study area. among nonheterocystous forms, the genus oscillatoria showed maximum species richness with 4 species followed by lyngbya with 2 species. the genera planktothrix and phormidium showed least abundance represented by single species each (planktothrix planctonica and phormidium retzi ). according to the present study diversity of filamentous forms were more in peruvannamuzhi forest as compared to janaki forest. about 15 taxa of cyanobacteria under 8 genera were identified from peruvannamuzhi forest and 3 cyanobacterial taxa were identified from janaki forest. among 18 taxa 14 cyanobacterial taxa were identified up to species level the remaining 4 taxa were identified up to genus level. the species richness is very high in tropical forests such as western ghats. there are reports on cyanobacteria of western ghats of maharashtra by nikam et al. (2013), many species found in this study were also distributed in other parts of the world. the cyanobacteria are highly adapted to these regions because they occur as thick leathery sheaths or mucilaginous masses which protects it from desiccation is also considered as an adaptation to this prokaryotic organisms. conclusion the cyanobacterial taxonomy has been changing from time to time. due to is microscopic and plasticity in its morphology it is very difficult in its identification, but owing to its varied application in many industries it is important to find out the undiscovered taxa especially from tropical forest because they are the biodiversity hotspots.in the present study we recorded eighteen cyanobacterial taxa out of which three taxa (planktothrix planktonica, oscillatoria euboeica and nostoc interbryum are new to india). this study also helps to understand the geographical distribution as well as the type of habitat which will be beneficial for the further exploration of these organisms. acknowledgement the authors thank the head, department of botany, university of calicut, kerala, india for providing necessary facilities to carry out this research. author contribution m. s. designed the research. g.v. contributed to data acquisition and collection. g.v. and m.s. analyzed and interpreted the results. g.v. and m.s. led the writing. both authors revised and approved the manuscript. additional information the authors declare no competing financial interests. references anagnostidis, k and komárek, j. 1988. modern approach to the classification system of cyanophytes. 3. oscillatoriales. archiv für hydrobiologie supplement 80: 327–472. anagnostidis, k. 2001. nomenclatural changes in cyanoprokaryotic order oscillatoriales. preslia praha 73: 359–375. 94 geethu and shamina anand, n. 1989. hand book of blue green algae of rice field of south india. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, pp. 20–45. ansari, z., tambe, s.s. and nandan, s.n. 2012. biodiversity studies 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algae of the transvaal province. bothalia 7: 559–666. datta, s. and keshri, j.p. 2014. soil and sub aerial blue green algae (cyanoprokaryotes) of burdwan, west bengal. vegetos 27(2): 112–126. desikachary, t.v. 1959. cyanophyta. indian council of agric. research, new delhi. 686 pp. dey, n. 2012. the different members of chroococcales, the blue-green algae from darjeeling himalayas, india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 36(1): 216–222. dhingra, r. and ahluwalia, a.s. 2007a. cyanostylon geitler (cyanophyta) from punjab, india. j. ind. bot. soc. 86(3&4): 22–24. dhingra, r. and ahluwalia, a.s. 2007b. genus phormidium kutzing ex. gomont cyanoprokaryote) from diverse habitats of punjab. j. ind. bot. soc. 86(3&4): 86–94. gomont, m. 1892. monographie des oscillariées (nostocacées homocystées). deuxième partie. lyngbyées. annales des sciences naturelles, botanique, série 7(16): 91-264 gupta, p. 2012. algae of india. a checklist of cyanoprokaryota (cyanophyceae). salt lake, kolkata: botanical survey of india. gupta, r.k., kumar, m. and paliwal, g.s. 2006. glimpses of cyanobacteria. india: new delhi, daya publishing house. halder, n. and sinha, s.n. 2013. diversity of the genera gloeotrichia agardh and rivularia (roth) agardh from hooghly district of west bengal, india. i. j. fund. appl. life sci 3(3): 29–35. halder, n. 2016. chemical composition and antibacterial activity of lyngbya major menegh. ex gomont. appl. sci. rep. 13: 25–28. halder, n. 2015. recollections and taxo-ecological studies of coleochaete scutata bréb., coleochaete pseudosoluta gauthier-lièvre and coleochaete conchata möb., west bengal, india. nepalese j. biosci. 5: 21–25. hoek, v.d.c., mann, d.g. and johns, h.m. 1993. algae: an introduction to phycology. 2nd ed. cambridge university press, cambridge. hrouzek, p., lukešová, a., mareš, j. and ventura,s. 2013. description of the cyanobacterial genus desmonostoc gen. nov. including d. muscorum comb. nov. as a distinct, phylogenetically coherent taxon related to the 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(manuscript received on 28 march, 2020; revised on 25 april, 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 439-446, 2020 (december) short communication © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists useful valuable plants of maithili community in eastern nepal: an ethnobotanical study anand raj mallik*, sujan chaudhary1 and sabitri shrestha department of biology, central campus of technology, tribhuvan university, dharan, nepal keywords: ethnobotany; maithili community; eastern nepal. ethnobotany is considered to include all studies, which focus on the mutual relationship between plants and traditional people (cotton and wilkie 1996; harshberger, 1896). nepal is the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multi-religious nation with diversified culture and tradition. there are more than 123 caste/ethnic groups speaking 123 languages (cbs, 2011). the ethnic communities have significant customary knowledge on utilization of plant and plant parts and there is a long tradition of transferring this indigenous knowledge from generation to generation (acharya and acharya, 2009). however, all the ethnic groups have their own tradition, culture and way of living (chaudhary et al., 2020). various communities in nepal are still giving continuation to the use of plants for their living. till date, several ethnobotanical studies have been carried out in nepal to uncover the uses of plants in several communities and rural places (rajbhandari, 2001; joshi and joshi, 2008; acharya and acharya, 2009; malla and chhetri, 2009; thapa, 2012; malla et al., 2015; chaudhary et al., 2020). maithili community is one of the ethnic groups with the population of 3.1 million which is about 11.67% of the total population of nepal (cbs, 2011). maithili people have developed the diversified use of plants for food, medicine, religious and cultural activities and other purpose. although, many ethnobotanical studies have been conducted in different parts of the country, ethnobotanical studies of maithili community have not been documented yet in nepal. however, jha and jha (1996) have documented ritualistic significance of plants associated with maithili traditions in northern bihar, india. thus, the present study was conducted to identify and record the uses of medicinal and other plant of maithili people in the ramdhuni municipality, sunsari district, nepal. this study has recorded the use of plants in various purposes, nevertheless, the doses and way of plant intake for medicinal use was not mentioned. ramdhuni municipality is situated in the sunsari district, eastern nepal (fig. 1). it lies at 87º10´ e and 26º42´ n, where altitude ranges up to 185 m above sea level and occupies total area of 91.7 km2 and total population 52,328. the average annual rainfall is 1100 mm. the study was conducted in 3 villages of ward number 1 in ramdhuni municipality. before the collection of data, the participants were made sure about proper use of the data. pra method was applied for the collection of data. total 14 peoples (9 females and 5 males) from 2 villages were involved in the study for the collection of data. all the people involved in pra were over 50 years of age. after surveying the area, group discussion was performed with the group of local pujaris, old peoples and farmers to explore local illness and curing beliefs and plants used for medicine, edible purpose and other uses. plant species were collected from the study area and herbarium sheets of each species were prepared (lawrence, 1951). the specimens were carefully studied, identified with *corresponding author, e-mail: mallikraj.anand@gmail.com. 1department of botany, amrit science campus, kathmandu, tribhuvan university, nepal. mailto:mallikraj.anand@gmail.com. 440 mallik et al. the help of experts, and voucher specimens. further confirmation was made by using available literatures (hooker, 1872-1897; hara et al., 1978; siwakoti and verma, 1996). well identified herbarium specimens were preserved in herbarium of central campus of technology, dharan. fig. 1. map of the study area showing nepal, sunsari district and ramdhuni municipality in top right, bottom right and left side of the map respectively. the present study reveals 37 plant species used by maithili community of ramdhuni municipality of sunsari district, nepal. these plants were enlisted with their life forms, scientific names, uses and other informative details (table 1). among 37 plant species, 29 were found to be dicotyledons and 8 were reported as monocotyledons. the common life form among the listed plants was herb (40.5%). however, other life forms have also been reported followed by trees (24.3%) and shrubs (18.9%). herbs are often found to be the most used plant types due to their abundance (shrestha and dhillion, 2003; uprety et al., 2010). uprety et al., (2011) and siwakoti (2006) have also reported the dominance of herbs in their study. maithili community vigorously extracted the leaves for their daily survival followed by whole plants and roots/rhizomes (fig. 2). this might be due to the easy availability of leaves than other plant parts. acharya and acharya (2009) and singh (2017) have also reported similar results in their studies showing vigorous use of leaf than other plant parts. the present study reported most of the plants are used as medicine or food, as previously observed in other areas of nepal (shrestha et al., 2003; uprety et al., 2008). herbs are often found to be the most used plant types for medicinal purpose because of their abundance (shrestha and dhillion, 2003; uprety et al. 2010). total 20 species of present study were known for the medicinal use followed by religious and food purpose (fig. 3). category listed as “others” include the plant used for dye and sedative purpose (fig. 3). among the 20 medicinal useful valuable plants of maithili community 441 442 mallik et al. useful valuable plants of maithili community 443 444 mallik et al. fig. 2. parts of plant species of the study area used for various purposes. fig. 3. useful categories of plant species of the study area. fig. 4. parts of plant species of the study area used for medicinal purpose. 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 leaf root/rhizome stem whole plant s pe ci es n um be r plant parts plant parts used for medicinal purpose 0 5 10 15 20 25 medicine religious food timber household material others s pe ci es n um be r category useful catogories of plants useful valuable plants of maithili community 445 species, 12 species were recognized where leaves were used for medicinal purpose followed by root (fig. 4). the medicinal use of justicia adhatoda, amaranthus spinosus, calotropus gigantean, aegle marmelos, azadirachta indica, centella asiatica and cuscuta reflexa were previously reported for various medicinal purposes like fever, for hastening suppuration, jaundice and stomach pain (acharya and acharya 2009; dangol and gurung 1991; chaudhary et al., 2020). joshi and joshi (2001) have mentioned the use of mentha spicata for diarrhoea and stomach ache. baral and kurmi (2006) has reported the use of cuscuta reflexa for the cure of jaundice. similarly, manandhar (2002) has described the use of zingiber officinale for the treatment of sore, wound, cough and cold. moreover, the food diversity in wild species allowed for variety in family diet and contributes to household food security (balemie and kebebew, 2006). among the 37 plant species, 25 were recorded to have single use category and eight species were reported to have two use values and followed by four species with three use value. malla and chhetri (2009), uprety et al., (2011) and chaudhary et al., (2020) recorded several plant species with more than one use value. although, the previous studies have shown that the multiple use value of plants dominated over one use value, the use of plants in maithili community in fodder is almost negligible because animal husbandry is not popular within maithili community in this region. however, the results of our study resembled with that of the study by chaudhary et al. (2020) conducted on similar altitude, area and geography. the old local people and pujaris of the maithili community have a sound knowledge of the medicinal and other use value of the different plants. however, young aged people were not found to be interested in traditional medicine practices. the plants of this study were found to be important source for the health care and social life of tribal people. although only 37 species were identified during this study, it is believed that there may be other species of plants used as medicines by this maithili community. therefore, further inventories in maithili community of nepal should be conducted to explore more ethnobotanical knowledge that this community has achieved since long period of time. moreover, phytochemical and pharmacological analysis should be performed to ensure the effectiveness of studied medicinal plants. acknowledgements we want to thank local villagers for exchanging valuable information regarding studied plant species. references acharya, r. and acharya, k.p. 2009.ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by tharu community of parroha vdc, rupandehi district, nepal. scientific world. 7(7): 80-84. https://doi.org/10.3126/ sw.v7i7.3832. balemie. k. and kebebew, f. 2006. ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants in derashe and kucha districts, south ethiopia. journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine. 2(1): 53. https://doi.org/10.1186/ 1746-4269-2-53. baral, s.r. and kurmi, p.p. 2006. compendium of medicinal plants in nepal. rachana sharma. central bureau of statistics. national population and housing census 2011. kathmandu: central bureau of statistics. 2011. national planning commission, vol. i, pp. 4. chaudhary, s., magar, g.t., sah, s.n. and parajuli, s. 2020. ethnic plants of tharu community of eastern nepal. international journal of applied science and biotechnology. 8(2): 223-230. https://doi.org/ 10.3126/ijasbt.v8i2.28325 cotton, c.m., and wilkie, p. 1996. ethnobotany: principles and applications (no. sirsi) i9780471955375). chichester: john wiley & sons ltd. baffins lane, chichester, west sussex, england. https://doi.org/10.3126/ https://doi.org/10.1186/ https://doi.org/ 446 mallik et al. dangol, d.r. and gurung, s.b. 1991. ethnobotany of the tharu tribe of chitwan district, nepal. international journal of pharmacognosy. 29(3): 203–209.https://doi.org/10.3109/13880209109082879 hara, h., stearn, w.t. and williams. l.h.j. 1978. an enumeration of the flowering plants of nepal; 1978, a joint project of the british museum (natural history) and the univ. of tokyo-v. 1:(gymnospermae and angiospermae (monocotyledones). london (uk) bm(nh) harshberger, j.w. 1896. the purposes of ethno-botany. botanical gazette.21(3): 146–154. hooker, j.d.1872-1897. flora british india, 1. l, reeve, london. jha, v. and jha, j.s.1996. ritualistic significance of plants associated with maithili traditions in north bihar. rays and ways of indian culture. 193. joshi, k.k. and joshi, s. d. 2001. genetic heritage of medicinal and aromatic plants of nepal himalayas. buddha academic publishers and distributers. 1st eds. putali sadak, kathmandu, nepal. joshi, k. and joshi, a. 2008. swertia l. (gentianaceae) in nepal himalaya: checklist, phytogeography, ethnobotany and conservation status. ethnobotanical leaflets. 1: 43. lawrence, g.h.m. 1951. taxonomy of vascular plants. new york: macmillan. united states, america. malla, b. and chhetri, r.b. 2009. indigenous knowledge on ethnobotanical plants of kavrepalanchowk district. kathmandu university journal of science, engineering and technology. 5(2): 96–109. malla, b., gauchan, d.p. and chhetri, r.b. 2015. an ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by ethnic people in parbat district of western nepal. journal of ethnopharmacology. 165: 103-117.https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2014.12.057. manandhar, n. p. 2002. plants and people of nepal. timber press. portland, america. rajbhandari, k. r. 2001. ethnobotany of nepal. ethnobotanical society of nepal. nepal. shrestha, k. k., tiwari, n. n., rajbhandari. s., shrestha, s., uprety, y. and poudel, r.c. 2003. non timber forest products (ntfps) in the critical bottlenecks and corridors of terai arclandscape nepal: documentation, utilization, trade and people’s livelihood. kathmandu, nepal. wwf nepal programme. shrestha, p.m. and dhillion, s.s. 2003. medicinal plant diversity and use in the highlands of dolakha district, nepal. journal of ethnopharmacology. 86(1): 81–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-8741(03)00051-5. singh, s. 2017. ethnobotanical study of wild plants of parsa district, nepal. ecoprint: an international journal of ecology. 24:1-12. https://doi.org/10.3126/eco. v24i0.20641. siwakoti, m. 2006. an overview of floral diversity in wetlands of terai region of nepal. our nature. 4(1): 83‒90. https://doi.org/10.3126/on.v4i1.506. siwakoti, m. and varma, s.k. 1996.medicinal plant of the terai of east nepal. jnl eco. taxon additional series1996. 12: 423‒438. thapa, s. 2012. medico-ethnobotany of magar community in salija vdc of parbat district, central nepal. our nature. 10(1): 176‒190. https://doi.org/10.3126/on. v10i1.7780. uprety, y., boon e.k. and poudel, r.c. 2008. traditional use of plant resources by bankariya ethnic group in makwanpur district, central nepal. germany: grin publisher. uprety, y., asselin, h., boon, e.k., yadav, s. and shrestha, k.k. 2010. indigenous use and bio-efficacy of medicinal plants in the rasuwa district, central nepal. journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine. 6(1): 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-6-3 uprety, y., poudel, r.c., asselin, h. and boon, e. 2011. plant biodiversity and ethnobotany inside the projected impact area of the upper seti hydropower project, western nepal. environment, development and sustainability. 13(3): 463‒492.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-010-9271-7 (manuscript received on 8 july 2020; revised on 23 november 2020) https://doi.org/10.3109/13880209109082879 https:// https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-8741(03)00051-5. https://doi.org/10.3126/eco. https://doi.org/10.3126/on.v4i1.506. https://doi.org/10.3126/on. https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-6-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-010-9271-7 short communication bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 455‒457, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57141 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists occurrence of limnophila aquatica (roxb.) alston in bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane*, jesmin akhter jolly and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: limnophila aquatica (roxb.) alston; scrophulariaceae; new occurrence; bangladesh. the genus limnophila r. br. is represented in bangladesh by 13 species (rahman, 2009) including l. cana griff. which is endemic to this country (khan et al., 2001). rahman (2009) cited l. aquatica (roxb.) alston referring to datta and mitra (1953), and stated that “this species has not been collected after it was first reported by datta and mitra more than 50 years ago”. however, datta and mitra did not cite the name l. aquatica (roxb.) alston although they recorded seven species of limnophila. the name l. aquatica was established by alston in 1929 based on cyrilla aquatica roxb. (1978). therefore, previous works like hooker (1884), prain (1903) did not include the name but the specimens now known as l. aquatica were treated by them as l. racemosa benth. hooker (1884) mentioned bengal as its occurrence (without any specific locality) whereas prain (1903) mentioned north bengal and central bengal as the places of occurrence but also without indicating any specific locality. datta and mitra (1953) recorded l. racemosa benth. from the then greater dacca. khan and halim (1987) recorded only four species of limnophila, viz. l. cana griff., l. heterophylla (roxb.) benth, l. indica (l.) druce and l. sessiliflora blume but not l. aquatica or l. racemosa. the record of khan and halim (1987) compounded the situation that whether l. aquatica is at all available in bangladesh or it was miss identified for l. indica as both the species bear many identifying characters in common. there is no record of herbarium specimen of l. aquatica or l. racemosa in any of the herbaria of bangladesh. others workers like heinig (1925), sinclair (1955) did not cite neither l. racemosa nor l. aquatica. in february 2019, some specimens of l. aquatica (roxb.) alston were collected from the joydia baor, safdalpur union of kotchandpur upazila of jhenaidah district of bangladesh for the first time. these specimens have finally been considered as the evidence of specific occurrence of l. aquatica (roxb.) alston in bangladesh. the plant materials were collected following alfasane et al. (2020). the collected plant samples were examined and transported to the phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. some materials were preserved as a herbarium sheet in this laboratory. the rest of the samples were cultured in a concrete house (1 × 0.5 m length, depth 0.40 cm) in the botanical garden, department of botany, university of dhaka, for ex-situ conservation. a detailed taxonomic account along with photographs of the species has been furnished based on the fresh specimen (fig. 1). *corresponding author, e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57141 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 456 alfasane et al. limnophila aquatica (roxb.) alston., ann. r. bot. gard. peradeniya 11:205 (1929) synonym: cyrilla aquatica roxb. (1805), diceros aquaticus (roxb.) moon (1824), limnophila hyssopifolia roth (1821), l. racemosa benth. (1835), terebinthina racemosa (benth.) kuntze, ambulia racemosa (benth.) baill. ex wettst. (1891). english name: giant ambulia fig. 1. limnophila aquatica (roxb.) alston. a. a view of habit b. mature plant with flower, c. two types of whorled leaves, d. open flowers with different lobes. e-f. ls of flower with different parts. stem rooting at lower nodes, erect, up to 50 cm high, 7-16 cm width, basal part usually submerged, thick, tumid at nodes. leaves fine, pine-like, bushy, upper leaves crenulate, opposite or in verticals of 3, ovate-lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 2.7-6.8 x 0.7-2.0 cm, rounded and semiamplexicaul at base, acuminate at apex, finely spinulose-serrate, strongly 3-5-nerved at base, occurrence of limnophila aqutica (roxb.) alston 457 glabrous on both surfaces, punctate above; lower leaves whorled, in verticals of more or less 1012, pinnately dissected, up to 6 cm long, frequently deflexed and root-like. terminal racemes 5-18 cm long, peduncles finely glandular-hispid. bracts ovate to broadly lanceolate, 5-7 x 3-4 mm, apex subacuminate, finely glandular-pubescent on both surfaces, bracteoles linear-lanceolate. flowers numerous; pedicels up to 5 mm long, finely glandular-pubescent; calyx segments deltoid-ovate, acute, tubes 2-3 mm long, lobes more or less equal, ovate-lanceolate, 1.8-2.8 x 0.75 mm, long acuminate, scarious at margins; corolla tubes pale greenish, white, 8-11 mm long, finely pubescent, limb whitish pale blue, lobes of upper lip broadly orbicular with pale purple blotch at center, lower lips 8-16 mm across, middle lobes broader than lateral ones; stamens 4, posterior filaments 1.5-2.5 mm long, anterior ones longer; anther cells horizontally placed; styles glabrous. capsules globose, 2.9-3.8 x 2-2.8 mm, enclosed by longer calyx lobes, fruiting calyx not striate. flowering and fruiting: june-april. it grows well in very high to medium sun light, preferably in mud soil and water prominent area. distribution: bangladesh, chinese, indonesia, japan, sri lanka and taiwan (ahmed et al., 2009). specimens examined: jhenaidah: joydia baor, m.a. alfasane, 1721(plhl), 17.07.2019; 1722(plhl), 22.12.2019; 1723(plhl), 07.06.2020; 1724(plhl), 07.04.2021; dhaka: 1725(plhl), 09.09.2020; botanical garden, department of botany university of dhaka. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds). 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperms: dictyledons (ranunculaceae-zygophyllaceae). asiat. soc. bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 229-283. alfasane, m.a., hassan, m.a., and bhuiyan, r.a. 2020. utricularia rosettifolia alfasane & hassan sp. nov. (lentibulariaceae) – a new species from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 205–211. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1– 110. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of the chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling. hooker, j.d. 1884. flora of british india, rd, 4. l. reeve & co., ltd. the oast house, brook, ashford, kent. 780 pp. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1987. aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. 120 pp. khan, m.s., rahman, m. and ali, m.a. 2001. red data book of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, 179 pp. prain, d. 1903. bengal plant (ind. repr. 1981). bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun. india. sinclair, j. 1955. the flora of cox’s bazar. east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. bengal. vol. 9, no.2. botanical society of bengal, calcutta. rahman, m.o. 2009. scrophulariaceae. in: ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds). encyclopedia flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperms: dictyledons (ranunculaceae-zygophyllaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 229-283. roxburgh, w. 1798. plants of the coast of coromandel, pl. coromandel 2: 47 (manuscript received on 3 march 2021; revised on 5 november 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 195‒215, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54217 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe region of mongolia gantuya batdelger1†, badamtsetseg bazarragchaa†, agiimaa janchiv2, ganbold enebish2, seungah yang, woon kee peak3 and joongku lee* department of environment and forest resources, college of agriculture and life sciences, chungnam national university, 34134, daejeon, republic of korea keywords: new record; endemic; relict; life-form; chorological elements. abstract the ulziit mountain has a unique ecosystem which is one of northern branch mountains of khangai mountain range in mongolia. several field survey were conducted in summer in all habitats in different altitudes. a total of 314 taxa were registered belonging to 161 genera from 52 families in ulziit mountain flora. the family asteraceae was found to be the largest with 37 taxa, followed by poaceae with 30 taxa, ranunculaceae with 24 taxa, cyperaceae, caryophyllaceae and rosaceae each with 17 taxa, salicaceae with 16 taxa, and fabaceae with 15 taxa; in total, these comprised 55.1% of all flora complements in this mountain. during the investigation, 5 species were newly recorded in the khangai mountains forest-steppe region. the most represented life forms in the flora are hemicryptophytes (71.97%), which are common for mountain steppe vegetation. in a time of climate change, effective conservation of nature is needed at an ecosystem such as a single mountain particularly for endemic, relict and other salient species. furthermore, such a detailed floristic survey is important for finding new records in the field of plant taxonomy and conservation of nature in these specific areas. introduction the ulziit mountain is the northwestern branch of noyon-khangai mountains in the main ridge that stretches from the northwest to the khangai mountain range (shagdar, 2007). the khangai mountain range is one of the large mountain systems in mongolia which includes the bulnai, tarbagatai, khan-khukhii, and buren mountains (tsegmid, 1969). it is a continuation of the siberian taiga forest, which opens to the steppe and belongs to the khangai mountain foreststeppe based on phytogeographical division (grubov, 1982). regarding the climate of the khangai mountain range, the average minimum temperature is 32ºc in january and the average maximum temperature is lower than 15ºc in july. the annual mean precipitation is 300-400 mm and about 85% of the total precipitation falls from april to september (batima et al., 2005). in the past decades, the mountainous regions mongolia, including larch forest belts are the most affected by climate change and a substantial increase in aridity (batima et al., 2005; dulamsuren et al., 2010) and high mountain vegetation here is the most sensitive to global warming (klinge et al., 2018). *corresponding author, e-mail: joongku@cnu.ac.kr 1botanic garden and research institute, mongolian academy of sciences, 13330, ulaanbaatar, mongolia; bgantuyad@gmail.com 2department of biology, ulaanbaatar state university, 13343, ulaanbaatar, mongolia; ganbold@usu.edu. 3deagu national science museum, 43023, daegu, south korea; peakwk@naver.com †both authors are equally contributed. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54217 mailto:joongku@cnu.ac.kr mailto:bgantuyad@gmail.com mailto:ganbold@usu.edu. mailto:peakwk@naver.com 196 batdelger et al. the vegetation of the khangai mountain forest-steppe region is characterized by elements of the siberian taiga, asian steppe, and daurian (junatov, 1977; ulziikhutag, 1989). this region is mainly composed of mountain forest-steppe, dominated by larch forest and siberian pine forest; the mountain slopes are predominantly grass-forb, forb-grass meadow, with the southern region revealing steppe vegetation for example, fescue and junegrass. the upper elevations of the forests are composed of rocky outcroppings with shrubby vegetation (munkhbayar, 2008). in the flora of mongolia, 2,823 taxa of vascular plants belonging 662 genera and 128 families have been registered (gubanov, 1996). according to the literatures, the flora and vegetation of the khangai mountain range was investigated by earlier botanists; initially grubov (1955) registered 899 species and in 1982 he updated it to 1018 species (grubov, 1982). moreover, the flora of khangai mountain range was specifically investigated by byazrov et al. (1983, 1989) who detected 1468 taxa under 443 genera belonging to 94 families. finally, based on all previous investigations gubanov (1996) updated 1491 taxa, 440 genera and 106 families in the khangai mountain forest-steppe, which includes about 50% of the total flora in mongolia. in general, the flora and vegetation of the whole khangai mountain range has been relatively well investigated; however, there is no detailed investigation in this mountain. dariimaa and mandakh (1984) noted that the outcomes of the detailed taxonomic investigation in certain area can be of great importance for future investigations and munkhbayar (2008) also stated scientists regular investigate specific areas to determine the proper use of natural resources. recently, mongolian researchers have been investigating the flora of vascular plants in specific areas such as protected areas and national parks and continue to record new species (tserendulam et al., 2018; baasanmunkh et al., 2019). we aimed to conduct detailed floral investigations for the ulziit mountain, to clarify this mountain’s specificity of vegetation, plant diversity and ecology. because endemic, glacial relict, threatened and other salient species which have narrow distribution must be carefully investigated for conservation in the face of climate change and human impacts. materials and methods ulziit mountain is located in the northern part of the khangai mountain range (n 47°43’– 47°48”, e 99°11’–99°19’) and 12-15 km from the western part of the center of khangai soum, arkhangai province, at a relative altitude of 2,100–2,600 m above the sea level (asl) and an absolute altitude of 2,953 m asl (fig. 1). this mountain borders untaa–yamaat to the western and noyon-khangai mountain to the east-southern parts. “tsurkhat,” a small lake located along the eastern foothills of ulziit, is fed from this mountain and flows into the terkh river. the investigated area is part of the khangai mountain forest-steppe phytogeographical region of mongolia (grubov, 1982), as shown in fig. 1. in the ulziit mountain, the mean annual temperature is −3.5ºc, with a maximum temperature of 16.0ºc in july and a minimum temperature of −32.4ºc in january. the annual total precipitation is 199 mm, summer precipitation occurs between may and september and accounts for 85%–90% of the total annual rainfall (fig. 2). we conducted field survey in 2015, 2017, and 2019; and collected 450 voucher specimens (in duplicate) from all following habitats including valleys, flat areas, riversides, mountain slopes, larch forest fringe, larch forests, timberline, rock outcrops, rock cliffs, and high mountain meadows (table 1). samples of each taxon was prepared following herbarium collection techniques (maden, 2004) and deposited in the herbarium (uba) of the botanic garden and research institute of the contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe 197 mongolian academy of sciences and mongolian museum of natural history. these specimens were identified using the key to the vascular plants of mongolia (grubov, 1982) and several volumes of flora of mongolia (nyambayar, 2009; urgamal, 2009; dariimaa, 2014a,b; dariimaa et al., 2015; dariimaa and saruul, 2017). all taxa in the floristic nomenclature are given according to plants of the world online (pwo, 2020) and international plant names index (ipni, 2020). in the appendix, family names are listed in alphabetical order and each is presented with the following details: valid name with authority, family name, lifeform, iucn and mongolian red list categories, endemism, relict, and chorotypes. to compare floristic similarities, jaccard’s similarity index was used (niwattanakul et al., 2013). fig. 1. maps of the investigated area (a) including phytogeographical region in mongolia (b). fig. 2. climate diagram of khangai station near ulziit mountain. 198 batdelger et al. the climatic diagram in fig. 2 was prepared using walter et al. (1975)’s method based on the data from the khangai station in khangai soum, obtained between 1999 and 2019 (namem, 2019). the plant lifeform categories are according to the classification by raunkiaer (1937) based on the location of winter buds are ph (phanerophytes), ch (chamaephytes), th (therophytes), h (hemicriptophytes), g (geophytes), and hy (hydrophytes). table 1. the dates and investigation routes. no. dates investigation routes 1 2015 june 15-20 tsurkhat lake → buun mod → top → baits khad 2 2015 august 22-27 terkh river → luutiin am → larch forest → top buun mod 3 2017 july 20-25 mukhariin am → larch forest → top 4 2017 june 23-24 tsurkhatiin uzuur → larch forest → turagiin nuur 5 2017 august 1-3 nariin nuur → mountain rock slope → top 6 2019 july 21-26 tsagaan tolgoi → tsurkhat lake → kharuul tsohio → turagiin nuur → top 7 2019 august 13-20 tsagaan tolgoi → gol asga → davaa nuur a biogeographical analysis was performed according to tolmachev (1974) and ganbold’s (2010) methods based on plant distribution and phytogeographic origin. each taxon was categorized into five large distributional groups; the asian group was divided into 10 subgroups. chorotypes are marked with their abbreviations in appendix 1. threatened status is defined according to the international union for conservation of nature (iucn, 2019), mongolian red book (shiirevdamba et al., 2013), and mongolian red list (nyambayar et al., 2011; tsendeekhuu et al., 2019). the abbreviations for the categories are as follows: endangered (en), vulnerable (vu), near threatened (nt), and least concern (lc). endemism is defined according to urgamal and oyuntsetseg (2017) and urgamal et al. (2014) as endemic (e) and subendemic (se). relict plants are marked rl according to ulziikhutag (1989) and munkhbayar (2008). results and discussion we recorded 314 vascular plants taxa belonging to 161 genera and 52 families for the flora of ulziit mountain (app. 1). these species belong to 26 orders and 4 classes which include 4 taxa of polipodiopsida, 2 taxa of pinopsida, 62 taxa of liliopsida, and 246 taxa of magnoliopsida (table 2). the largest family is asteraceae (37 taxa, 11.78% of total flora), followed by poaceae (30 taxa, 9.55%), ranunculaceae (24 taxa, 7.64%), cyperaceae, caryophyllaceae and rosaceae (each 17 taxa, 5.41%), salicaceae (16 taxa, 5.1%), and fabaceae (15 taxa, 4.78%); these predominant families comprise 55.1% of all floral groups on the mountain (table 3). the most represented genera are carex (16), salix (15 taxa), pedicularis (10), saussurea (9), and artemisia (8); they constitute 18.06% of the flora of ulziit mountain. the largest genera are including taxa following, carex: c. amgunensis, c. bigelowii subsp. ensifolia, c. coriophora, c. dichroa, c. duriuscula, c. eleusinoides, c. ledebouriana, c. macroprophylla, c. melanantha, c. melanocephala, c. microglochin, c. myosuroides, c. norvegica, c. pediformis, c. rupestris, c. stenocarpa; salix: s abscondita, s. berberifolia, s. caesia, s. divaricata, s. glauca, s. saposhnikovii, s. kochiana, s. nummularia, s. pseudopentandra, s. recurvigemmis, s. rhamnifolia, s. rosmarinifolia, s. taraikensis, s. vestita; pedicularis: p. abrotanifolia, p. flava, p. longiflora, p. myriophylla, p. oederi, p. resupinata, p. rubens, p. sibirica, p. tristis, p. verticillata; saussurea: s. alpina, s. contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe 199 arctecapitulata, s. baicalensis, s. controversa, s. involucrata, s. leucophylla, s. parviflora, s. salicifolia, s. schanginiana; and artemisia: a. frigida, a. glauca, a. laciniata, a. leucophylla, a. mongolica, a. palustris, a. phaeolepis, a. pubescens var. monostachya. we newly recorded 5 species (salix abscondita laksch., salix alatavica kar. ex stschegl., silene mongolica maxim., polygonum valerii a.k. skvortsov, and campanula dasyantha m. bieb.) in the flora of the khangai mountain forest-steppe region. table 2. the number of vascular plants distributed in mount ulziit. class order family genus species subspecies variety total taxa magnoliopsida 19 37 125 233 9 4 246 liliopsida 4 9 30 59 3 0 62 polypodiopsida 2 4 4 4 0 0 4 pinopsida 1 2 2 2 0 0 2 total 26 52 161 298 12 4 314 table 3. the most abundant families found in mount ulziit. largest families number genus number species % of flora asteraceae 16 37 11.78 poaceae 19 30 9.68 ranunculaceae 12 24 7.74 cyperaceae 3 17 5.41 rosaceae 8 17 5.41 caryophyllaceae 6 17 5.41 salicaceae 2 16 5.1 fabaceae 8 15 4.78 total 74 173 55.1 the flora of ulziit mountain is similar by 27% to khubsugul mountain-taiga region (region number 1), 23% to the khentei mountain-taiga region (2), 20% to the khangai mountain foreststeppe region (3), and 21% to the khobdo mountain semidesert-steppe region (6) (fig. 3). the life-form spectrum of each taxon is shown in fig. 4 as follows: chamaephytes with 6 taxa (1.91% of the total flora), geophytes 23 (7.32%), hemicryptophytes 226 (71.97%), hydrophytes 2 (0.64%), phanerophytes 26 (8.28%), and therophytes 31 (9.87%). hemicrypto-phytes are the most represented class in the investigated area. fig. 5 shows cosmopolitan chorotype with 4 taxa (1.27%), asia–american 6 taxa (1.91%), holarctic 44 taxa (14.01%), eurasian 88 taxa (28.02%), and asian 172 taxa (54.8%). the most important global distribution occurs in the asian category with 10 subgroups. south siberia mongolian elements represent 48 taxa (15.29% of the total flora), followed by asian endemics 31 (9.87%), east siberia–mongolian 32 (10.19%), eastern asian 15 (4.78%), central asian 10 (3.18%), west siberia mongolian 9 (2.87%), altai–northern mongolian 9 (2.87%), altai– dzungarian mongolian 8 (2.55%), siberia mongolian 7 (2.23%), and mongolian endemic 3 (0.95%). 200 batdelger et al. fig. 3. similarity coefficients of mount ulziit compared to 16 phytogeographical regions (names of 1-16 regions are shown in fig. 1). fig. 4. the life-form spectrum of the vascular flora of mt. ulziit. fig. 5. the species number of chorological elements and asian subgroups to total flora. contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe 201 according to the global red list, a total of 24 taxa are listed on the iucn red list, including one species (allium altaicum pall.) which is categorized as near threatened, and 23 taxa are listed as least concern. also according to the regional red list (nyambayar et al., 2011; tsendeekhuu et al., 2019), 23 taxa have been registered as threatened, which consist of 5 as least concern species (allium lineare, valeriana officinalis, sedum aizoon, gentianopsis barbata, and trisetum sibiricum), 6 as near-threatened species (aconitum turczaninovii, ribes aciculare, silene songarica, spiraea media, taraxacum glabrum, and vicia geminiflora), 5 vulnerable taxa (allium altaicum, armeria maritima subsp. sibirica, artemisia glauca, chelidonium majus, and comastoma pulmonarium) and 7 endangered species (astragalus changaicus, gentiana algida, juniperus pseudosabina, saussurea involucrata, saxifraga hirculus, silene chamarensis, and silene mongolica). in the mongolian red book, saussurea involucrata (kar. & kir.) sch. bip. was categorized in very rare status (like endangered species) (app. 1). of these, three endemic species (astragalus changaicus, silene mongolica, and thymus gobicus), nine subendemic species (allium altaicum, astragalus filiformis, eremogone formosa, oxytropis oligantha, pedicularis abrotanifolia, pedicularis flava, saussurea arctecapitulata, saussurea baicalensis, and vicia geminiflora), and five relict species (allium altaicum, caragana jubata, dryas oxyodonta, ptilagrostis mongholica, and saussurea involucrata) are now registered in the flora of ulziit mountain. in this floristic survey, we registered 314 taxa that constitute 21.39% of the flora of khangai mountain forest-steppe and 11.12% of mongolian vascular flora, which indicates high diversity and specificity of the flora of the ulziit mountain. this biodiversity also shows characters of the phytogeographical region. we found five unrecorded species, salix abscondita laksch., salix alatavica kar. ex stschegl., silene mongolica maxim., polygonum valerii a.k. skvortsov, and campanula dasyantha m. bieb. in the region of the khangai mountain forest-steppe. all of our new records are from the alpine belt in a timberline habitat. according to past literatures (gubanov, 1996; urgamal et al., 2014), salix abscondita laksch. was recorded in the phytogeographical regions of khubsugul, khentei, mongol daurian, great khingan, and gobi– altai; salix alatavica kar. ex stschegl. in the khobdo and mongolian altai; silene mongolica maxim. in the gobi–altai and depression of great lakes regions; polygonum valerii a.k. skvortsov in the khentei, mongol–daurian, great khingan, and middle khalkha; and campanula dasyantha m. bieb in the khubsugul and khentei. in addition, we also found some very important species which are not so common occurring in flora of every high mountain of this phytogeographical region and herbarium collection, for example, salix nummularia anderss., s. vestita pursh., s. recurvigemmis a.k. skvortsov, armeria maritima subsp. sibirica (turcz. ex boiss.) nyman, micranthes hieraciifolia (waldst. & kit. ex willd.) haw., saussurea arctecapitulata lipsch., s. baicalensis b.l. rob. and s. schanginiana (wydler) fisch. ex herder. the different altitudes of ulziit mountain (foothills, mountain slope, larch forest, and alpine) revealed variable ecological conditions in association with vegetation types and species composition. for the similarity coefficient of this mountain flora reveals the similarity of the characteristics of the adjacent area’s phytogeographical region, especially for certain species’ habitats (dariimaa and saruul, 2016). the ulziit mountain flora is most similar to the flora of khubsugul followed by the khentei, mountain-taiga regions and these areas have relatively similar landscapes with high mountains and forest steppe vegetation. from the life form analysis, the most abundant life form group is the hemicryptophytes which is dominant in the high mountain steppe as described by tuvshintogtokh (2014). therophytes are included in the 15 families (eight species belonging to gentianaceae; six species belonging to 202 batdelger et al. brassicaceae; three species belonging to asteraceae; two species belonging each to brassicaceae and polygonaceae; and one species each to caryophyllaceae, euphorbiaceae, lamiaceae, onagraceae, orobanchaceae, papaveraceae, primulaceae, ranunculaceae, rosaceae, and scrophulariaceae), and these therophyte species directly illustrate their ecological relevance. in particular, most of the species of gentianaceae are annual, mesophyte, and usually occur in high mountain meadows, while some annual species of some families (brassicaceae and polygonaceae) are related to the disturbed and degraded areas due to livestock grazing. a majority of these annual species (therophytes) occur in degraded areas. the northern part of ulziit mountain as a whole is the main pasture for households in that soum during the spring, summer and autumn. as ulziikhutag (1989) noted that endemic and neoendemic species mainly occurs in the high mountain regions, it indicates the peculiarity of the mongolian flora. we also found three endemic and five relict species from the ice age on ulziit mountain. relict species are evidence that glacial traces are most likely to be found in the high mountains of mongolia (ulziikhutag, 1989). of those five relict species, allium altaicum pall., caragana jubata (pall.) poir., dryas oxyodonta juz., and saussurea involucrata (kar. & kir.) sch. bip. grow along forest fringes, stone fields, riverbanks, screes, and cliffs in the alpine belt, and one is ptilagrostis mongholica (turcz. ex trin.) griseb. grows in waterside swampy tussock meadows in the forest and alpine belts. all relict species are asian, with two from central asia and others are asian endemic, south siberian-mongolia, and west siberian-mongolia. the study revealed that the ulziit mountain has a unique ecosystem including five new unrecorded taxa and other salient species, in different habitats such as valleys, flat areas, riversides, mountain slopes, larch forest fringe, larch forests, timberline, rock outcrops, rock cliffs, and high mountain meadows. most important species from this mountain flora and plant diversity mainly occur in larch forest, timberline, and high mountain meadow which are very limited for their distribution. in the face of intense climate change, human impacts and livestock overgrazing, effective nature conservation is needed in such specific areas, narrow species distribution, particularly for those endemic, relict, and other salient species. furthermore, our result shows that the importance of the floristic detailed survey in specific areas to reveal new recordings/findings in plant taxonomy, for nature conservation activity and nature conservationist to prevent species extinction. acknowledgement this study was sponsored by the establishment of plant diversity information data base with voucher specimens project (nrf-2017m3a9a5070202). we especially thankful to ms. josie norris (university of vermont, burlington, united states) for english language revision of manuscript. we would also like to thank the botanic garden and research institute of the mongolian academy of sciences and mongolian museum of natural history for depositing the herbarium specimens and also to the team of “green taiga institute” ngo for supporting us. references baasanmunkh, s., oyuntsetseg, b., oyundelger, k., khaliunaa, k., urgamal, m., 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mongolian academy of sciences, institute of general and experimental biology. bembi san press, ulaanbaatar, mongolia, 130 pp. urgamal, m. and oyuntsetseg, b. 2017. atlas of the endemic vascular plants of mongolia. bembi san press, ulaanbaatar, mongolia, 107 pp. urgamal, m., oyuntsetseg, b., nyambayar, d. and dulamsuren, c. 2014. conspectus of the vascular plants of mongolia. admon printing, ulaanbaatar, mongolia, 334 pp. walter, h., harnickell, e. and mueller-dombois, d. 1975. climate diagram maps of the individual continents and the ecological climate regions of the earth. supplement to vegetation monographs. springer-verlag, new york, usa, 36 pp. contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe 205 appendix 1. taxa list for the vascular plant flora of the ulziit mountain, khangai mountain range, mongolia. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolian red list endemism relict chorotypes adoxaceae 1 adoxa moschatellina l. zag-73 g hol. amaryllidaceae 2 allium altaicum pall. bgbe2015-40 g nt vu se rl cent.-as. 3 a. flavidum ledeb. bgbe2015-41 g west-sib.-mon. 4 a. lineare l. ulziit2017-73 g lc eura. 5 a. schoenoprasum l. bgbe2015-42, zag-33 g hol. 6 a. senescens l. bgbe2015-30, bgbe2015-43 g eura. apiaceae 7 aegopodium alpestre ledeb. zag-75 h south sib.-mon. 8 angelica decurrens b. fedtsch. g2017-11 h eura. 9 bupleurum bicaule helm bgbe2015-54 h south sib.-mon. 10 carum carvi l. bgbe2015-61 h eura. 11 neogaya simplex (l.) meisn. ulziit2017-47 g west-sib.-mon. 12 pleurospermum uralense hoffm. bgbe2015-11 h eura. 13 seseli condensatum (l.) rchb. f. g2017-63 h south sib.-mon. asparagaceae 14 maianthemum bifolium (l.) f. schmidt. ulziit2017-23 h eura. aspleniaceae 15 cystopteris fragilis (l.) bernh. ulziit2017-38 h hol. asteraceae 16 artemisia frigida willd. g2017-14 h hol. 17 a. glauca pall. ex willd. bgbe2015-28 h vu hol. 18 a. laciniata willd. ulziit2017-84, zag-3 h eura. 19 a. leucophylla c.b. clarke bgbe2015-50 h alt.-north.-mon. 20 a. mongolica (fisch. ex besser) nakai bgbe2015-27, g2017-16 h cent.-as. 21 a. palustris l. g2017-18 th south sib.-mon. 22 a. phaeolepis krasch. ulziit2017-31 h cent.-as. 23 a. pubescens var. monostachya (bge. ex maxim.) y.r. ling zag-2 h south sib.-mon. noted abbreviations: *new record and life-form: ph (phanerophytes), ch (chamaephytes), th (therophytes), h (hemicriptophytes), g (geophytes), and hy (hydrophytes); iucn and mongolian red list: en (endangered), vu (vulnerable), nt (near threatened), lc (least concern); endemism: e (endemic), se (subendemic); relict: relict (rl); chorotypes: cosmopolitan (cosm.), asia–american (aa), holarctic (hol.), eurasian (eura.), asian (as.); subgroups: south siberia mongolian (south sib.-mon.), asian endemics (as. endem.), east siberia-mongolian (east sib.-mon.), eastern asian (east. as.), central asian (cent. as.), west siberia-mongolian (west sib.-mon.), altai–northern mongolian (alt.-north-mon.), altai–dzungarian mongolian (alt.-dzun.-mon.), siberia-mongolian (sib.-mon.), and mongolian endemic (mon. endem.). 206 batdelger et al. appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes 24 aster alpinus l. bgbe2015-51 h hol. 25 a. biennis ledeb. zag-4 th east. as. 26 a. flaccidus subsp. flaccidus bgbe2015-90, zag-1 h alt.-dzun.-mon. 27 chrysanthemum zawadzkii herbich bgbe2015-65 h eura. 28 cirsium esculentum (siev.) c.a. mey. bgbe2015-12, 66 h eura. 29 crepis chrysantha (ledeb.) turcz. ulziit2017-61 h eura. 30 c. tectorum l. bgbe2015-69 t west-sib.-mon. 31 echinops latifolius tausch. bgbe2015-79 h east-sib.-mon. 32 erigeron flaccidus (bunge) botsch. ulziit2017-42 h as. endem. 33 e. heterochaeta (benth.) botsch. bgbe2015-80 h cent.-as. 34 galatella dahurica dc. zag-6 h eura. 35 hieracium umbellatum l. g2017-55 h cosm. 36 klasea centauroides (l.) cass. ex kitag. bgbe2015-137 h east-sib.-mon. 37 leontopodium ochroleucum beauverd bgbe2015-95, zag-69 h west-sib.-mon. 38 ligularia sibirica (l.) cass. bgbe2015-17, 97 h eura. 39 saussurea alpina (l.) dc. zag-13 h eura. 40 s. arctecapitulata lipsch. zag-9 h se cent.-as. 41 s. baicalensis b.l. rob. zag-10 h se south sib.-mon. 42 s. controversa dc. bgbe2015-20, zag-12 h west-sib.-mon. 43 s. involucrata (kar. & kir.) sch. bip. ulziit2017-93, bgbe2015-133 h en rl west-sib.-mon. 44 s. leucophylla schrenk. g2017-111 h as. endem. 45 s. parviflora (poir.) dc. ulziit2017-14 h eura. 46 s. salicifolia (l.) dc. zag-8 h as. endem. 47 s. schanginiana (wydler) fisch. ex herder ulziit2017-94, zag-7 h as. endem. 48 scorzonera radiata fisch. ex fisch. ulziit2017-101, bgbe2015-136 h as. endem. 49 taraxacum glabrum dc. ulziit2017-57 h nt south sib.-mon. 50 t. officinale f.h.wigg. bgbe2015-142 h hol. 51 tephroseris integrifolia (l.) holub bgbe2015-33, zag-5 h eura. 52 t. pricei (n.d. simpson) holub. ulziit2017-12 h south sib.-mon. berberidaceae 53 berberis sibirica pall. bgbe2015-24, g2017-20 ph sib.-mon. betulaceae 54 betula fruticosa p. hall. ulziit2017-33 ph lc east. as. 55 b. glandulosa michx. zag-98 ph lc south sib.-mon. boraginaceae 56 amblynotus rupestris (pall.) popov bgbe2015-45 h south sib.mon. 57 anoplocaryum compressum ledeb. ulziit2017-3 h east-sib.mon. contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe 207 appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes 58 cynoglossum divaricatum stephan ex lehm. bgbe2015-70 th south sib.mon. 59 eritrichium villosum (ledeb.) bunge ulziit2017-8 h eura. 60 lappula intermedia (ledeb.) popov bgbe2015-23 th east-sib.mon. 61 mertensia davurica (sims) g. don bgbe2015-101 h eura. 62 myosotis krylovii serg. g2017-74 h hol. 63 m. suaveolens waldst et kit. bgbe2015-102, zag-90 h eura. 64 m. sylvatica ehrh. ex hoffm. zag-89 h hol. brassicaceae 65 arabis hirsuta (l.) scop. bgbe2015-47 th east-sib.mon. 66 dontostemon integrifolius (l.) c.a. mey. bgbe2015-75 th east-sib.mon. 67 draba cana rydb. g2017-12 h east-sib.mon. 68 d. nemorosa l. bgbe2015-29, 76, zag-91 th hol. 69 erysimum flavum (georgi) bobrov bgbe2015-81 th south sib.mon. 70 lepidium ruderale l. bgbe2015-4 th eura. 71 sisymbrium heteromallum c.a. mey. bgbe2015-139 th south sib.mon. campanulaceae 72 campanula dasyantha m. bieb.* bgbe2015-55, zag-100 h east-sib.mon. 73 c. stevenii subsp. turczaninovii (fed.) victorov bgbe2015-56, zag-18 h eura. caprifoliacae 74 lonicera caerulea subsp. altaica (pall.) gladkova bgbe2015-3, g2017-68 ph as. endem. 75 patrinia sibirica juss. ulziit2017-111, bgbe2015-108 h eura. 76 valeriana officinalis l. bgbe2015-148 h lc aa caryophyllaceae 77 cerastium pusillum ser. zag-43 h as. endem. 78 dianthus chinensis l. bgbe2015-18, 74 h eura. 79 d. superbus l. g2017-39 h eura. 80 eremogone capillaris (poir.) fenzl ulziit2017-81, bgbe2015-49 h east-sib.mon. 81 e. formosa (fisch. ex ser.) fenzl g2017-12 h se south sib.mon. 82 e. meyeri (fenzl) ikonn. zag-70 h east-sib.mon. 83 sabulina verna (l.) rchb. bgbe2015-14 h south sib.mon. 84 silene apetala willd. zag-74 h hol. 85 s. aprica turcz. bgbe2015-154, g2017-71 th south sib.mon. 208 batdelger et al. appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes 86 s. chamarensis turcz. bgbe2015-138, zag-59 h en south sib.mon. 87 s. jeniseensis willd. g2017-118 h south sib.mon. 88 s. mongolica maxim. ⁕ ulziit2017-113, zag-103 h en e mon. endem. 89 s. repens patrin ulziit2017-11 h eura. 90 s. songarica (fisch., c.a. mey. & avé-lall.) bocquet g2017-72 h nt as. endem. 91 stellaria brachypetala bunge. bgbe2015-140 h alt.-dzun.mon. 92 s. dichotoma l. ulziit2017-97, bgbe2015-141 h south sib.mon. 93 s. longipes goldie ulziit2017-53 h eura. celastraceae 94 parnassia palustris l. ulziit2017-78, bgbe2015-107 h lc hol. crassulaceae 95 orostachys spinosa (l.) a. berger ulziit2017-86, bgbe2015-103 h south sib.mon. 96 phedimus aizoon (l.) 't hart bgbe2015-19 h lc east. as. 97 rhodiola quadrifida (pall.) fisch. & c.a. mey. ulziiit2017-95, bgbe2015-127 h south sib.mon. 98 r. rosea l. bgbe2015-21, 128 h eura. cupressaceae 99 juniperus pseudosabina fisch. & c.a. mey. zag-34 ch lc en south sib.mon. cyperaceae 100 carex amgunensis f. schmidt ulziit2017-64 g eura. 101 c. bigelowii subsp. ensifolia (turcz. ex gorodkov) holub ulziit2017-62 g east-sib.mon. 102 c. coriophora fisch. & c.a. mey. ex kunth g2017-26 h south sib.mon. 103 c. duriuscula c. a. mey. bgbe2015-58 g aa 104 c. eleusinoides turcz. ex kunth bgbe2015-59 h east. as. 105 c. ledebouriana c.a. mey. ex trevir. ulziit2017-74 h south sib.mon. 106 c. macroprophylla (y.c.yang) s.r. zhang ulziit2017-24 g sib.-mon. 107 c. melanantha c.a. mey. zag-31 g sib.-mon. 108 c. melanocephala turcz. bgbe2015-60 g as. endem. 109 c. microglochin wahlenb. ulziit2017-34 g lc hol. 110 c. myosuroides vill. ulziit2017-46 h hol. 111 c. norvegica retz. ulziit2017-35 h lc hol. 112 c. pamirensis subsp. dichroa malyschev ulziit2017-34 g alt.-dzun.mon. 113 c. pediformis c.a. mey. g2017-28 h eura. 114 c. rupestris bell. ex all. ulziit2017-71 g hol. contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe 209 appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes 115 c. stenocarpa turcz. ex v.i. krecz. ulziit2017-65 h as. endem. 116 eriophorum angustifolium honck. zag-32 h hol. equisetaceae 117 equisetum pratense ehrh. ulziit2017-75 h hol. ericaceae 118 arctous rubra (rehder & e.h. wilson) nakai bgbe2015-48 ch east-sib.-mon. 119 pyrola asarifolia michx. ulziit2017-89, g2017-91 h eura. euphorbiaceae 120 euphorbia humifusa willd. zag-56 th eura. fabaceae 121 astragalus changaicus sancz. ex n. ulziykh. ulziit2017-32 h en e mon. endem. 122 a. filiformis poir. ulziit2017-4 h se south sib.mon. 123 a. frigidus (l.) a.gray bgbe2015-52, zag-71 h eura. 124 caragana jubata (pall.) poir. ulziit2017-83, bgbe2015-57 p rl as. endem. 125 hedysarum alpinum l. bgbe2015-89, zag-35, 95 h eura. 126 h. inundatum turcz. zag-69 h east-sib.-mon. 127 lathyrus humilis (ser.) fisch. ex spreng. ulziit2017-5 h eura. 128 oxytropis lapponica (wahlenb.) gay bgbe2015-105 h eura. 129 o. oligantha bunge ulziit2017-58 h se eura. 130 thermopsis dahurica czefr. bgbe2015-143 h east-sib.-mon. 131 trifolium eximium stephan ex ser. bgbe2015-145 h sib.-mon. 132 t. lupinaster l. ulziit2017-70 h eura. 133 vicia amoena fisch. ex ser. ulziit2017-8 h lc east. as. 134 v. cracca l. g2017-128 h eura. 135 v. geminiflora trautv. ulziit2017-9 h nt se east-sib.-mon. gentianaceae 136 comastoma pulmonarium (turcz.) toyok. zag-92 th vu east-sib.-mon. 137 c. tenellum (rottb.) toyok. zag-93 th as. endem. 138 gentiana algida pall. bgbe2015-84 h en as. endem. 139 g. aquatica l. zag-94 th aa 140 g. decumbens l.f. bgbe2015-86 h eura. 141 g. macrophylla pall. ulziit2017-80, g2017-47 h east. as. 142 g. aquatica var. pseudoaquatica (kusn.) s. agrawal bgbe2015-87 th east. as. 143 g. squarrosa ledeb. g2017-48 th as. endem. 144 gentianopsis barbata (froel.) ma bgbe2015-85 th lc eura. 210 batdelger et al. appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes 145 halenia corniculata (l.) cornaz. bgbe2015-151, ulziit2017-26 th as. endem. 146 lomatogonium carinthiacum (wulfen) a. braun bgbe2015-2, 100 th east-sib.-mon. geraniaceae 147 geranium pratense l. ulziit2017-44 h eura. 148 g. pseudosibiricum j. mayer ulziit2017-25 h eura. grossulariaceae 149 ribes aciculare sm. ulziit2017-90, bgbe2015-88 ph nt alt.-dzun.mon. 150 r. petraeum wulfen ulziit2017-104, bgbe2015-129 ph south sib.mon. iridaceae 151 iris humilis georgi ulziit2017-45 h eura. 152 i. lactea pall. bgbe2015-92 h cent.-as. juncaceae 153 juncus castaneus subsp. leucochlamys (v.j. zinger ex v.i.krecz.) hultén zag-66 h east-sib.-mon. 154 juncus triglumis l. bgbe2015-157, zag-38 h eura. 155 luzula multiflora subsp. sibirica v.i. krecz. zag-67 h eura. juncaginaceae 156 triglochin palustris l. zag-36 h cosm. lamiaceae 157 dracocephalum foetidum bunge bgbe2015-77 th alt.-north.mon. 158 d. grandiflorum l. bgbe2015-10, 78, zag-53 h as. endem. 159 lagopsis marrubiastrum (stephan) ikonn.-gal. ulziit2017-79, bgbe2015-1, 93 h alt.-north.mon. 160 nepeta multifida l. zag-65 h eura. 161 thymus gobicus czern. bgbe2015-144, g2017-124 ch e mon. endem. liliaceae 162 gagea pauciflora (turcz. ex trautv.) ledeb. bgbe2015-82 g east-sib.-mon. 163 g. serotina (l.) ker gawl. zag-30 g hol. montiaceae 164 claytonia joanneana roem.et schult. bgbe2015-67, zag-72 h south sib.mon. onagraceae 165 epilobium angustifolium l. bgbe2015-158, ulziit2017-43 h lc hol. 166 e. latifolium l. ulziit2017-67 h hol. 167 e. palustre l. g2017-43 th lc hol. orchidaceae 168 dactylorhiza viridis (l.) r.m. bateman, pridgeon & m.w. chase zag-60 g hol. contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe 211 appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes orobanchaceae 169 pedicularis abrotanifolia m.b. ex steven ulziit2017-22 th se alt.-north.mon. 170 p. flava pall. bgbe2015-109, zag-37 h se south sib.mon. 171 p. longiflora rudolph. bgbe2015-25, 110 h cent.-as. 172 p. myriophylla pall. ulziit2017-54 h south sib.mon. 173 p. oederi vahl ulziit2017-48 h eura. 174 p. resupinata l. ulziit2017-21, 110 h eura. 175 p. rubens steph. ex willd. ulziit2017-109, g2017-76 h east-sib.-mon. 176 p. sibirica vved. g2017-77 h south sib.mon. 177 p. tristis l. zag-83 h as. endem. 178 p. verticillata l. bgbe2015-16, 111 h eura. papaveraceae 179 chelidonium majus l. ulziit2017-66 h vu eura. 180 corydalis sibirica (l. f.) pers. zag-77 th east. as. 181 papaver nudicaule l. bgbe2015-106, zag-55 h as. endem. pinaceae 182 larix sibirica ledeb. bgbe2015-94 p lc eura. plantaginaceae 183 hippuris vulgaris l. bgbe2015-6, g2017-56 hy lc cosm. 184 lagotis integrifolia (willd.) schischk. bgbe2015-155, g2017-62 h west-sib.mon. 185 linaria acutiloba fisch. bgbe2015-99 h hol. 186 l. buriatica turcz. ex ledeb. zag-82 h south sib.mon. 187 plantago major l. bgbe2015-13, 112 h lc eura. 188 veronica ciliata fisch. bgbe2015-7, 149, g2017-131 h south sib.mon. 189 v. incana l. bgbe2015-15 h eura plumbaginaceae 190 armeria maritima subsp. sibirica (turcz. ex boiss.) nyman zag-84 h vu east-sib.-mon. 191 limonium flexuosum (l.) chaz. bgbe2015-98, zag-80 h eura. poaceae 192 agropyron cristatum (l.) gaertn. bgbe2015-38 h eura. 193 agrostis vinealis schreb. bgbe2015-39 h east-sib.-mon. 194 alopecurus brachystachyus m. bieb. bgbe2015-44, zag-20 h east-sib.-mon. 195 a. turczaninovii o.d. nikif. ulziit2017-72 h south sib.mon. 196 anthoxanthum glabrum (trin.) veldkamp ulziit2017-63 h south sib.mon. 197 a. nitens (weber) y. schouten & veldkamp ulziit2017-30 h hol. 212 batdelger et al. appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes 198 arctopoa subfastigiata (trin.) prob. ulziit2017-55 h alt.-dzun.mon. 199 beckmannia syzigachne (steud.) fernald bgbe2015-53 h lc eura. 200 bromus inermis leyss. zag-29 h hol. 201 b. inermis leyss. zag-21 h eura. 202 b. pumpellianus scribn. zag-28 h eura. 203 bromus. pumpellianus scribn. ulziit2017-68 h aa. 204 deschampsia cespitosa (l.) beauv. bgbe2015-73 h hol. 205 d. cespitosa (l.) beauv. ulziit2017-27 h as. endem. 206 festuca lenensis drobow bgbe2015-150, zag-22, zag-44 h south sib.mon. 207 f. ovina l. ulziit2017-60 h eura. 208 f. sibirica hack. ex boiss. ulziit2017-43 h as. endem. 209 helictochloa hookeri (scribn.) romero zarco g2017-51 h eura. 210 helictotrichon desertorum (less.) pilg. zag-26 h east-sib.-mon. 211 hordeum brevisubulatum (trin) link. bgbe2015-91 h lc as. endem. 212 koeleria macrantha (ledeb.) schult. zag-19, 23 h hol. 213 leymus secalinus (georgi) tzvelev ulziit2017-23 h as. endem. 214 phleum phleoides (l.) h.karst. ulziit2017-108, g2017-80 h lc eura. 215 poa attenuata trin. ulziit2017-20 h south sib.mon. 216 p. pratensis l. bgbe2015-113 h eura. 217 p. sibirica roshev. ulziit2017-49 h eura. 218 pseudoroegneria reflexiaristata (nevski) a.n. lavrenko ulziit2017-41 h alt.-north.mon. 219 ptilagrostis mongholica (turcz. ex trin.) griseb. ulziit2017-105, zag-24 h rl cent.-as. 220 puccinellia macranthera (v.i. krecz.) norl. ulziit2017-18, 88 h east-sib.-mon. 221 sibirotrisetum sibiricum (rupr.) barberá bgbe2015-146, zag-25 h lc hol. polygonaceae 222 bistorta alopecuroides (turcz. ex kom.) nakai bgbe2015-114, zag-45 g as. endem. 223 b. vivipara (l.) delarbre bgbe2015-117 g hol. 224 knorringia sibirica (laxm.) tzvelev bgbe2015-115, g2017-83 h alt.-dzun.mon. 225 koenigia alpina (all.) t.m. schust. & reveal ulziit2017-25 h eura. 226 k. divaricata (l.) t.m. schust. & reveal ulziit2017-69 h eura. 227 k. islandica l. ulziit2017-59 th lc eura. 228 persicaria amphibia (l.) delarbre bgbe2015-5, g2017-79 hy lc hol. contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe 213 appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes 229 p. angustifolia (pall.) ronse decr. zag-81 h east-sib.-mon. 230 polygonum aviculare l. ulziit2017-107, bgbe2015-116 t cosm. 231 p. valerii a.k. skvortsov* ulziit2017-112, zag-99 h eura. 232 rheum compactum l. ulziit2017-6 h south sib.mon. 233 r. rhabarbarum l. bgbe2015-32, 126 h east-sib.-mon. 234 rumex acetosa l. ulziit2017-91, bgbe2015-131, zag-58 h hol. 235 r. thyrsiflorus fingerh. g2017-93 h eura. polypodiaceae 236 dryopteris fragrans (l.) schott. ulziit2017-40 h hol. primulaceae 237 androsace chamaejasme wulfen zag-63 h south sib.mon. 238 a. incana lam. g2017-8 h hol. 239 a. septentrionalis l. bgbe2015-9, 46 th eura. 240 a. dasyphylla bunge ulziit2017-29 h as. endem. 241 primula matthioli subsp. altaica (losinsk.) kovt. bgbe2015-68, zag-41 h eura. 242 p. nivalis subsp. subintegerrima (regel) vorosch ulziit2017-87, g2017-88 h east-sib.-mon. 243 p. nutans georgi. bgbe2015-122 h south sib.mon. ranunculaceae 244 aconitum glandulosum rapaics zag-14 h south sib.mon. 245 a. baicalense (regel) turcz. ex rapaics ulziit2017-1 h east-sib.-mon. 246 a. barbatum pers. bgbe2015-35 h south sib.mon. 247 a. turczaninovii worosch. bgbe2015-36 h nt sib.-mon. 248 actaea cimicifuga l. ulziit2017-2 h sib.-mon. 249 anemonastrum crinitum (juz.) holub g2017-10 h south sib.mon. 250 caltha palustris l. zag-62 h east. as. 251 clematis alpina subsp. sibirica (l.) kuntze ulziit2017-37 ph eura. 252 delphinium cheilanthum fisch. ex dc. zag-15 h as. endem. 253 d. dissectum huth. bgbe2015-26, 72, zag-17 h south sib.mon. 254 d. elatum l. zag-16 h eura. 255 delphinium inconspicuum serg. ulziit2017-39 h alt.-north.mon. 256 d. crassifolium schrad. ex spreng. g2017-27 h east-sib.-mon. 257 leptopyrum fumarioides (l.) rchb. bgbe2015-96 th aa 258 pulsatilla turczaninovii krylov & serg. zag-86 h east. as. 214 batdelger et al. appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes 259 p. bungeana c.a. mey. bgbe2015-123 h alt.-north.mon. 260 ranunculus monophyllus ovcz. bgbe2015-124 h eura. 261 r. pedatifidus sm. bgbe2015-125 h alt.-north.mon. 262 r. pseudohirculus (trautv.) schrenk zag-40 h west-sib.-mon. 263 thalictrum alpinum l. g2017-121 h hol. 264 t. foetidum l. ulziit2017-98, g2017-122 h eura. 265 t. petaloideum l. zag-88 h as. endem. 266 trollius asiaticus l. bgbe2015-147 h as. endem. 267 t. ledebourii rchb. zag-87 h east. as. rosaceae 268 chamaerhodos altaica (laxm.) bunge ulziit2017-82, bgbe2015-63 h alt.-dzun.-mon. 269 c. erecta (l.) bunge bgbe2015-64 th as. endem. 270 dasiphora fruticosa (l.) rydb. bgbe2015-71, 120 ph hol. 271 dryas oxyodonta juz. zag-78 h rl south sib.-mon. 272 argentina anserina (l.) rydb. bgbe2015-34, 118 h lc hol. 273 potentilla crantzii (crantz) beck ex fritsch zag-97 h as. endem. 274 p. kryloviana th. wolf. bgbe2015-121 h alt.-north.mon. 275 p. multifida l. ulziit2017-19, 106 h hol. 276 p. sericea l. zag-64 h eura. 277 p. virgata lehm. bgbe2015-119, zag-96 h eura. 278 p. viscosa donn ulziit2017-50 h eura. 279 rosa acicularis lindl. bgbe2015-130 ph lc east. as. 280 sanguisorba officinalis l. bgbe2015-132 h hol. 281 sibbaldianthe adpressa (bunge) juz. ulziit2017-52 h as. endem. 282 s. bifurca (l.) kurtto & t. erikss. ulziit2017-56 h eura. 283 spiraea alpina pall. ulziit2017-96, zag-76 ph cent.-as. 284 s. media schmidt bgbe2015-22, 154 ph nt eura. rubiaceae 285 galium verum l. bgbe2015-83 h hol. salicaceae 286 populus tremula l. bgbe2015-156, g2017-84 ph lc eura. 287 salix abscondita laksch. ⁕ bgbe2015-152, zag-101 ph east. as. 288 s. alatavica kar. ex stschegl. ⁕ bgbe2015-159, zag-102 ph west-sib.-mon. 289 s. berberifolia pall. ulziit2017-77, g2017-96 ch south sib.-mon. 290 s. caesia vill. ulziit2017-51, 103 ph sib.-mon. 291 s. divaricata pall. ulziit2017-50 ph east. as. 292 s. glauca l. g2017-98 ph lc hol. contribution to the flora of ulziit mountain in forest steppe 215 appendix contd. no. scientific name voucher code lifeform iucn red list mongolia n red list endemism relict chorotypes 293 s. saposhnikovii a.k. skortsov ulziit2017-15 ph eura. 294 s. kochiana trautv. g2017-99 ph south sib.-mon. 295 s. nummularia anders. zag-52 ch eura. 296 s. pseudopentandra (flod.) flod. ulziit2017-92, zag-48 ph hol. 297 s. recurvigemmata a.k. skvortsov ulziit2017-76, zag-46 ph eura. 298 s. rhamnifolia pall. zag-51 ph hol. 299 s. rosmarinifolia l. zag-50 ph eura. 300 s. taraikensis kimura zag-49 ph east. as. 301 s. vestita pursh bgbe2015-153, zag-47 ch south sib.-mon. santalaceae 302 thesium refractum c.a. mey. ulziit2017-7 h cent.-as. saxifragaceae 303 chrysosplenium peltatum turcz. g2017-30 g east-sib.-mon. 304 c. sedakowii turcz. ulziit2017-36 g south sib.-mon. 305 micranthes hieraciifolia (waldst. & kit. ex willd.) haw. zag-79 h eura. 306 saxifraga bronchialis l. ulziit2017-13, 102 h eura. 307 s. cernua l. zag-54 h eura. 308 s. flagellaris subsp. setigera (pursh) tolm. bgbe2015-135 h aa 309 s. hirculus l. bgbe2015-134, zag-39, 61 h lc en eura. scrophulariaceae 310 limosella aquatica l. zag-57 t lc east-sib.-mon. solanaceae 311 physochlaina physaloides (l.) g. don bgbe2015-31 h as. endem. urticaceae 312 urtica cannabina l. ulziit2017-10, 99 h alt.-dzun.-mon. violaceae 313 viola biflora l. ulziit2017-100, g2017-129 h hol. woodsiaceae 314 woodsia ilvensis (l.) r. br. bgbe2015-8, g2017-130 h eura. (manuscript received on 23 november, 2020; revised on 17 may, 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 257‒270, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54221 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists mosses of daqahlia province with one new record for africa and three new records for egypt usama y. abou-salama1, gamal m.a. lashin, ekram m. abdelhaliem and gehad a.a. hamouda* department of botany and microbiology, faculty of science, zagazig university, egypt keywords: mosses; new records; egypt. abstract thirty six moss species were recorded from daqahlia province, nile delta. weissia perligulata flow. (pottiaceae) was new record to afr1. in addition, hyophila involute (hook.) jaeg., (pottiaceae), ptychostomum arcticum (r. brown) j. r. spence ex holyoak & n. pederson and p. cyclophyllum (schwagr) j. r. spence (bryaceae) were new records for egypt. fifteen species were new to nile delta. this raised the number of identified moss taxa recorded from egypt up to 192 taxa, from nile delta 51 taxa and daqahlia province 39 taxa. data on the up-to-date classification, habitats, voucher specimens and distribution of the enumerated species and the descriptions of the new records including the photos have been provided. introduction number of moss taxa now from egypt has been quietly increased in the last decade into 188 taxa belonging to 59 genera, 17 families and 10 orders (el-saadawi et al., 2013 a,b; ibrahim et al., 2013; hassan et al., 2017; el-sakaty et al., 2018; khalil and farag, 2018; taha, 2020). the distribution of the 188 moss taxa in the 11 surveyed phytogeographical territories of egypt (out of 13 territories) showed that southern sinai, western mediterranean costal land, cairo, and isthmic desert of egypt are the richest territories regarding the number of recorded moss taxa (elsaadawi et al., 2015). a total of 59 genera and 188 taxa are known from this country (el-saadawi et al., 2015; hassan et al., 2017; el-sakaty et al., 2018; khalil and farag, 2018). the last study on the bryoflora of daqahlia province was accomplished more than 34 years before by el-saadawi et al., (1986) as a part of nile delta moss flora. the present study was aimed to explore the current status of the bryoflora of daqahlia province, nile delta and egypt. materials and methods daqahlia province is located at the north-east of nile delta and bounded by el-sharkia province on the east, el-gharbia and kafr el-sheikh provinces on the west, domietta province on the north-east, el-qalyobia province on the south and the mediterranean coast on the north. it is located in between longitudes 30.5° n and 31.5° n, and latitudes 30° e and 32° e (figs. 1-2). daqahlia has a mild climate that tends to be warm in winter with little rain, which increases in the coast, and is hot in summer, where the average annual temperature ranges between 14 and 28°c. *corresponding author. e-mail: gahamouda@gmail.com 1department of botany, faculty of science, ain shams university, egypt. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54221 mailto:gahamouda@gmail.com 258 abou-salama et al. two hundred and sixty four moss samples were collected from 11 districts of daqhlia province during october 2017 to december 2019, covering all seasons, viz. winter (110 samples), spring (88 samples), autumn (39 samples) and summer (27 samples). all were numbered and kept in caia. identification of the samples were confirmed by comparisons with authentic specimens kept in caia, relevant literatures on the moss flora of egypt and with reference texts of some standard moss floras (flowers, 1973; refai, 1985; lashin, 1990; ibrahim, 2006; taha, 2010, 2014; hamouda, 2016). fig.1. map showing the location of the districts of el daqahlia province (after mandour, 2013). mosses of daqahlia province 259 fig. 2. map showing phytogeographical territories in egypt (after el-saadawi et al., 2003). cai: cairo area; da: arabian desert; dg: galala desert; di: isthmic desert; dl: libyan desert; dn: nubian desert; ge: gebel elba; mm: western mediterranean coastal land (mareotic sector); nd: nile delta; nf: nile faiyum; nn: nile nubia, from kom-omho southwards to egyptian boundaries with the sudan including the areas now inundated by the waters of lake naser since 1965; nv: nile valley, from cairo-giza to kom-ombo; on & ol: oases of the nubian and libyan deserts; r: red sea coastal plains; s: southern sinai massive (sinai proper i.e. relatively high mountains, south of isthmic desert). results and discussion the investigation of 264 samples revealed the occurrence of 36 moss species belonging to 19 genera under six families and four orders in daqahlia province. by adding three moss species, namely, fissidens viridulus (sw.) wshlenb. (fissidentaceae), brum radiculosum brid. (bryaceae) and pohlia melanodon (brid.) a.j. shaw (mniaceae), recorded previously by el-saadawi et al. (1986) but not recorded by the present study, the number of moss elements of daqahlia province was increased to 39 moss species under 20 genera. pottiaceae is the largest family (19 species, 10 genera), followed by bryaceae (11 species, three genera) and funariaceae (four species, three genera), fissidentaceae (three species, one genus), and mniaceae and baratramiaceae (one species, one genus each). three species, namely, hyophila involute (hook.) jaeg., ptychostomum arcticum (r. brown) j.r. spence ex holyoak & n. pederson, and p. cyclophyllum (schwagr) j.r. spence found in daqahlia province during this study, are the new records for the bryoflora of egypt, whereas weissia perligulata flow found in this province is new to africa. 260 abou-salama et al. five out of 36 species (about 13.9%), namely tortula inermis, entothodon muehlenbergii, funaria hygrometica, physcomitrium niloticum and p. pyriforme are fruit yielding, six species (about 16.7%), namely barbula indica, bryoerythrophyllum recurvirostrum, didymodon luridus, gymnostomum aeruginosum, syntrichia fragilis and trichostomum brachydontium are female and one species (about 2.8%), namely fissidens bryoides, is monoecious without fruit, while the remaining 24 species (about 66.7%) are sterile. seven species (about 19.4%), viz. imbribryum alpinum and syntrichia fragilis (with axillary gemmae); bryum argenteum, b. dichotomum, b. gemmiparum and trichostomum brachydontium (with rhizoidal gemmae); philonotis hastata (with bulbils) are recognized as reproducing by asexual propagules. all of the 39 moss species are taxonomically listed, and their voucher specimen(s), locality(ies), habitats, distribution in egypt (el-saadawi et al., 2003), afr1 (ros et al., 2013) and the world (wijk et al, 1959-1969) are given with descriptions and photos of new records. the recorded taxa are briefly described below. order: fissidentales, family: fissidentaceae genus: fissidens hedw. 1. f. arnoldii r. ruthe locality: meet-ghamr. voucher specimen: gh 175. habitat: on red brick walls of water canal, exposed to light. distribution in egypt: di, s, ge. distribution in afr1: alg. distribution in the world: afr1, as5, eur, am1. 2. f. bryoides hedw. localities: meet-ghamr, aga, mainiat el-nasr. voucher specimens: gh 173, gh 266, gh 380. habitats: on red brick walls of water canal & on lime stone of water wheel, in shade. distribution in egypt: cai, dg, di, distribution in afr1: tun. distribution in the world: afr1, eur. 3. f. viridulus (sw.) wshlenb. syn. f. bryoides hedw. spp. viridulus (sw.) kindb. previously recorded, not collected in the present work. distribution in egypt: nn, nv, nf, cai, dg, ge, mm. distribution in afr1: cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, as5, eur. order: pottiales, family: pottiaceae genus: barbula hedw. 4. b. bolleana (mull, hal.) broth. localities: meet-ghamr, el-mansoura, dekerns. voucher specimens: gh 179, gh 164, gh 345, gh 364. habitats: on red brick walls of water basin and water wheel, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: nn, nv, nf. cai, s, mm. distribution in afr1: lby, cha, alg, mor, tyn. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as2, as5, eur, am1, am2, am3, austr1. 5. b. convoluta hedw. locality: aga. voucher specimen: gh 297. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: nn, dg, s. distribution in afr1: lby, cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, as1, as2, as5, eur, am1, am2, austr2. 6. b. indica (hook.) spreng. locality: meet-ghamr. voucher specimen: gh 185. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, exposed to light. distribution in egypt: nv, cai. distribution in afr1: egy. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as2, as3, as4, as5, eur, am1, am2, am3, am4, am5, austr1. mosses of daqahlia province 261 7. b. unguiculata hedw. localities: meet-ghamr, mainiat el-nasr, al-manzalah. voucher specimens: gh 172, gh 384, gh 390, gh 386, gh 389. habitats: on red brick walls of waterway, water basin, a house, in semi-shade and exposed to light. distribution in egypt: nv, nf, cai, dg, mm. distribution in afr1: lby, cha, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as2, as5, eur, am1, am2, am3, austr1. genus: bryoerythrophyllum chen. 8. b. recurvirostrum (hedw.) chen. locality: meet-ghamr. voucher specimens: gh181, gh 162. habitats: on red brick walls of water basin and water canal, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: di. distribution in afr1: cha, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as1, as2, as3, as4, as5, eur, am1, am2, austr1, oc. genus: didymodon hedw. 9. d. luridus hornsch. locality: el-mansoura. voucher specimen: gh 283. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, in shade. distribution in egypt: nf, cai, dg, s, mm. distribution in afr1: lby, cha, cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, as1, as2, as5, eur, am2, am3. 10. d. tophaceus (brid.) lisa localities: meet-ghamr, el-mansoura. voucher specimens: gh 222, gh 347. habitats: on red brick walls of water basin and water wheel, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: nn, nv, nf, cai, dg, s, ge, o, mm. distribution in afr1: lby, cha, cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, as1, as3, as5, eur, am1, am2, am4. 11. d. vinealis (brid.) r. h. zander localities: aga, el-mansoura, dekerns. voucher specimens: gh 264, gh 345, gh 364. habitats: on red brick walls of water wheel and water well, in shade. distribution in egypt: di, s, o. distribution in afr1: lby, cn, alg, mor, mli, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, as1, as2, as3, as5, eur, am1, am2, am4, am6. genus: gymnostomum nees & hornsch 12. g. aeruginosum sm. locality: aga. voucher specimen: gh 279. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, in shade. distribution in egypt: nf, cai, s, o. distribution in afr1: cha, cn, alg, mor, mli, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as1, as2, as3, as5, eur, am1, am2, am3, am6, austr1, austr2, oc. 13. g. calcareum nees & hornsch. locality: meet-ghamr. voucher specimen: gh 233. habitat: on red brick walls of water canal, exposed to light. distribution in egypt:nv, nf, dg, s, ge, mm. distribution in afr1: lby, cha, cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as1, as2, as3, as5, eur, am1, am2, am6, austr1, austr2, oc. genus: hyophila brid. 14. h. involute (hook.) jaeg. (plate 1) plants sterile, olive green, up to 5.5 mm high. stem branched or unbranched, central strand poorly developed, sclerodermis well differentiated. leaves erecto-patent to spreading when moist, oval to oblong, 2.5 to 2.9 mm long, 1 to 1.2 wide, larger leaves at stem apex; apex 262 abou-salama et al. narrowly acute; margin plane, irregularly notched or irregularly toothed; costa ending below apex by 2-3 cells, superficial cells quadrate to elongated, irregular, oval in cross section, with ± two equal stereid bands, with 6 guides, dorsal superficial cells slightly papillose; upper lamina cells quadrate, pentagonal, rounded, basal lamina cells rounded, quadrate to subquadrate. localities: meet-ghamr, mainiat el-nasr. habitats: on red brick walls of water canal and water wheel, in shade. distribution in egypt: new record. distribution in afr1: egypt only. distribution in the world: afr1, as5, eur, am3. specimens examined: meet-ghamr: bashla village, 20.4.2018, gehad hamouda, gh 219, mainiat el-nasr: draksah village, 1.11.2019, gehad hamouda, gh 373, gh 379 (caia) plate 1. hyophila involuta (hook.) jaeg.; 1dry plant (x6), 2fresh plant (x9), 3 & 4leaves (x18,x19), 5leaf apex (x83), 6upper leaf cells (x235), 7basel leaf cells (x93), 8 & 9 t.s. of leaf (x66, x712), 10t.s. of stem (x68). genus: oxystegus (hook. & taylor) a.j.e. sm. 15. o. tenuirostris (hook. & taylor) a.j.e. sm. locality: el-mansoura. voucher specimens: gh 289, gh 344, gh 351. habitats: on red brick walls of water canal and water well, in semi-shade and exposed to light. distribution in egypt: nv. distribution in afr1: alg, mor. distribution in the world: afr1, as1, as2, as4, as5, eur, am1, am2, am4, am5. 9 mosses of daqahlia province 263 genus: splachnobryum müll. hal. 16. s. obtusum (brid.) müll. hal. locality: talkha. voucher specimen: gh 337. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, in shade. distribution in egypt: recorded previously in nd only. distribution in afr1: cha. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as2, as4, eur, am1, am2, austr1. genus: syntrichia brid. 17. s. fragilis (taylor) ochyra locality: meet-ghamr. voucher specimen: gh 183. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: s. distribution in afr1: cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as3, as5, eur, am1, am2, am3, am4. genus: tortula hedw. 18. t. inermis (brid.) mont. locality: el-mansoura. voucher specimen: gh 281. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, in shade. distribution in egypt: di, s. distribution in afr1: lby, cha, cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, as1, as2, as3, as5, eur, am1, am2. 19. t. muralis hedw. locality: belqas. voucher specimen: gh 416. habitat: on red brick walls of a house, in semishade. distribution in egypt: cai, dg, di, mm. distribution in afr1: lby, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr4, as2, as5, eur, am1, am6. genus: trichostomum bruch 20. t. brachydontium bruch localities: meet-ghamr, el-mansoura. voucher specimens: gh 241, gh 244, gh 355. habitats: on red brick walls of water basin, on lime stone wall of water well, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: di. distribution in afr1: alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as1, as2, as3, as4, as5, eur, am1, am2, am3, am4, am5, am6. 21. t. crispulum bruch localities: aga, mainiat el-nasr. voucher specimens: gh 208, gh 383. habitat: on red brick walls of water wheel, in shade. distribution in egypt: di, s, mm. distribution in afr1: lby, cha, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as1, as2, as5, eur, am1, am2. genus: weissia hedw. 22. w. perligulata flow. (plate 2) plants sterile, green to olive green above, yellowish brown to brown below, up to 4.5 mm high. stem usually unbranched, central strand poorly developed, sclerodermis poorly differentiated. leaves erecto-patent to patent when moist, concave, ovate to oblong, with ± decurrent base, 1.5 to 1.7 mm long, 0.5 to 0.6 mm wide; apex rounded; margin plane, strongly papillose above, entire below; costa percurrent, superficial cells oblong, semicircular in cross section, with two unequal stereid bands usually ventral one smaller, with 4 guides; upper lamina cells quadrate, rounded, papillose, basal lamina cells elongate to short rectangular. localities: meet-ghamr, talkha. habitat: on red brick walls of water canal, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: new record. distribution in afr1: egypt only (new record to afr1) distribution in the world: afr1, am3. specimens examined: meet-ghamr: bashla village, 23.11.2018, gehad hamouda, gh 226, talkha: on the high way, 25.12.2019, gehad hamouda, gh 401(caia). 264 abou-salama et al. order: funariales, family: funariaceae genus: entosthodon schwägr. 23. e. muehlenbergii (turner) fife localities: meet-ghamr, belqas, el-sinblawin, talkha. voucher specimens: gh 300, gh 191, gh 416, gh 366, gh 367. habitats: on red brick walls of a house, lime stone wall of waterway, in semi-shade and exposed to light. distribution in egypt: cai, s, ge. distribution in afr1: lby, cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, as5, eur, am1, am2. plate 2. weissia perligulata flow.; 1dry plant (x4.4), 2fresh plant (x6), 3leaf (x33), 4 & 5leaf apices (x110, x137), 6upper leaf cells (x270), 7basal leaf cells (x140), 8 & 9 t.s. of leaf (x140, x133), 10t.s. of stem (x135). genus: funaria hedw. 24. f. hygrometrica hedw. localities: el-mansoura, talkha, belqas. voucher specimens: gh 299, gh 282, gh 399, gh 401, gh 404, gh 406. habitats: on red brick walls of water canal, on clay of cultivated land, on lime stone wall of waterway, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: nn, nv, nf, cai, dg, di, s, o, mm. distribution in afr1: lby, cha, cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as1, as2, as3, as4, as5, eur, am1, am2, am3, am4, am5, am6, austr1, austr2, oc. mosses of daqahlia province 265 genus: physcomitrium (brid.) brid. 25. p. niloticum (delile) müll. hal. localities: el-mansoura, talkha. voucher specimens: gh 296, gh 394. habitat(s): on clay of water basin pipe, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: nv, nf, cai, dg, ge. distribution in afr1: egypt only. distribution in the world: afr1. 26. p. pyriforme (hedw.) bruch & schimp. locality: belqas. voucher specimens: gh 409, gh 411. habitat(s): on red brick walls of water basin, on lime stone wall of waterway, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: nn, cai, dg. distribution in afr1: ch, mor. distribution in the world: afr1, as5, eur, am3. order: bryales, family: bryaceae genus: bryum hedw. 27. b. argenteum hedw. localities: el-mansoura, talkha. voucher specimens: gh 333, gh 288. habitat: on red brick walls of water canal, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: cai, dg, di, s, o, mm. distribution in afr1: cha, cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as1, as5, eur, am1, am6, austr1, austr2. 28. b. dichotomum hedw. localities: meet-ghamr, el-sinblawin, sherbeen. voucher specimens: gh 307, gh 368, gh 239. habitat: on red brick walls of water canal, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: nv, nf, cai, dg, di, s, o, mm. distribution in afr1: lby, cha, cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, as1, as4, as5, eur, am2, austr2. 29. b. gemmiparum de. not. localities: meet-ghamr, el-mansoura. voucher specimens: gh 287, gh 230. habitats: on red brick walls of water basin, on clay of water canal, in shade. distribution in egypt: nf, cai, s, o, mm. distribution in afr1: cha, alg, mor. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as1, as2, as3, as4,as5, eur, am1, am2, am3, am4, am5, am6, austr1, austr2. 30. b. kunzei hornsch. localities: meet-ghamr, aga, al-manzalah. voucher specimens: gh 187, gh 390, gh 230, gh 255. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: cai, mm. distribution in afr1: cha, alg, mor. distribution in the world: afr1, as5. 31. b. radiculosum brid. syn. b. murorum (schimp.) berk. previously recorded, not collected in the present work. distribution in egypt: cai, di, s, o, mm. distribution in afr1: cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, eur, as5. 32. b. subapiculatum hampe locality: belqas. voucher specimen: gh 410. habitat: on lime stone walls of waterway, exposed to light. distribution in egypt: nv, cai, s, o. distribution in afr1: cn. distribution in the world: afr1, as1, as3, as5, eur, am5, austr1, austr2. genus: imbribryum n. pederson 33. i. alpinum (huds. ex with.) n. pederson locality: el-mansoura. voucher specimen: gh 347. habitat: on red brick walls of water wheel, in semi-shade. asexual propagules: axillary gemmae. distribution in egypt: nn, nf, 266 abou-salama et al. cai, s.distribution in afr1: cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, afr3, afr4, as1, as2, as3, as5, eur, am1. genus: ptychostomum hornsch. 34. p. archangelicum (beusch & schimp.) j. r. spence localities: meet-ghamr, aga. voucher specimens: gh 257, gh 235. habitat: on red brick walls of water canal, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: s, o. distribution in afr1: alg, mor. distribution in the world: afr1, as5, eur, am6. 35. p. arcticum (r. brown) j. r. spence ex holyoak & n. pederson (plate 3) syn. bryum arcticum var. helveticum (h. philib.) husn. plants sterile, yellowish green to olive green, up to 3.7 mm high. stem unbranched, angular in cross section, with central strand, sclerodermis highly differentiated. leaves erect appressed to slightly spreading when moist, crowded at stem apex, broadly ovate,± orbicular, 1.5 to 1.8 mm long, 0.6 to 0.7 mm wide, upper lamina cells vermicular at margin, rhomboidal to hexagonal toward costa, basal lamina cells vermicular to linear at margin, oblong and sun-quadrate toward costa, lamina cells chlorophyllose; margin plane, sometimes serrate towards apex, entire below, bordered (2-3 cells) throughout; costa stout, wider downward, excurrent, superficial cells linear-vermicular above, elongated to oblong below, semicircular in cross section, homogenous. plate 3. ptychostomum arcticum (r. brown) j. r. spence ex holyoak & n. pederson; 1dry plant (x8), 2 fresh plant (x14.5), 3leaf (x32), 4leaf apex (x147), 5leaf base (x135), 6 & 7t.s. of leaf (x190, x210), 8t.s. of stem (x100). locality: aga. habitat(s): on red brick walls of water basin, exposed to light. distribution in egypt: new record. distribution in afr1: egypt only. distribution in the world: eur, am3. specimens examined: aga: nawasat el ghait village, 3.3.2019, gehad hamouda, gh 280. (caia) mosses of daqahlia province 267 36. p. capillare (hedw.) holyoak & n. pederson. localities: el-mansoura, al-manzalah. voucher specimens: gh 295, gh 390. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, in semi-shade. distribution in egypt: cai, dg, di, s, o. distribution in afr1: lby, cn, alg, mor, tun.distribution in the world: afr1, afr2, as3, as4, as5, eur, am1, am2, am3, am4, am6, austr1, austr2, oc. 37. p. cyclophyllum (schwägr) j. r. spence (plate 4) syn. bryum cyclophyllum (schwägr) bruch & schimp; bryum tortifolium brid. plate 4. ptychostomum cyclophyllum (schwägr) j. r. spence; 1dry plant (x3), 2fresh plant (x6), 3 & 4 leaves (x43, x46), 5leaf apex (x107), 6upper leaf cells (x215), 7basal leaf cells (x115), 8 & 9 t.s. of leaf (x105, x250), 10 & 11t.s. of stem (x117, x125). plants sterile, pale green above, yellowish brown below, up to 2 cm high. stem unbranched, rounded or angular in cross section, central strand absent, sclerodermis highly differentiated. leaves tumid when moist, strongly concave, ovate or ligulate, 1 to 1.2 mm long, 0.6 0.7 mm wide; apex acute; margin plane, entire; costa ending below apex by 1 to 2 cells, superficial 268 abou-salama et al. cells linear, semicircular in cross section, costa homogenous; upper cells rhomboidal and angular, basal cells oblong and rectangular. locality: sherbeen. habitat: on red brick walls of water basin, exposed to light. distribution in egypt: new record. distribution in afr1: egypt only. distribution in the world: afr1, eur, am3. specimens examined: sherbeen: el hataba village, 28.4.2019, gehad hamouda, gh 322. (caia) family: mniaceae genus: pohlia hedw. 38. p. melanodon (brid.) a. j. shaw syn. mniobryum delicatulun (hedw.) dixon previously recorded, not collected during the present study. distribution in egypt: s. distribution in afr1: cn, alg, mor, tun. distribution in the world: afr1, eur, as5. family: bartramiaceae genus: philonotis brid. 39. p. hastata (duby) wijk & margad locality: mainiat el-nasr. voucher specimens: gh 381, gh 378. habitat: on red brick walls behind water tap, in shade. distribution in egypt: nf, cai, dg, o. distribution in afr1: md. distribution in the world: afr1, as1, as2, as3, as5. comparison and concluding remarks the enumerated bryoflora of the study area, which is a part of nile delta, is nearly similar to that of sinai and cairo, each consists of 22 taxa, than that of the other territories of egypt (elsaadawi et al., 2003). comparison between the enumerated moss elements of the study area and that of afr1 countries (ros, et al., 2013) showed that the highest similarity was with algeria and morocco, each of which with 28 taxa, and tunisia with 24 taxa, while the lowest similarity was with mali, housing two taxa only (el-saadawi et al., 2013b; ros et al., 2013). similarity between bryoflora of europe and the study are may be attributed to the northern wind crossing mediterranean sea carrying moss propagules from europe (zanten and pòcs, 1981) in this regard, el-saadawi et al. (2003) mentioned that 81% of the moss flora of egypt occur in europe, while similarity with as5 might be due to the rapprochement in the floristic composition (ayyad et al., 2000). the moss species weissia perligulata, newly recorded for afr1 and consequently for egypt, was supposed to be disjunct element from am3. twelve disjunct taxa of briyoflora were recorded earlier in egypt; six from mediterranean coast of egypt (el-sakaty, 2009; shabbara, 1990), two from isthmic desert (shabbara, 1999) and four from nile delta (ibrahim, 2006; taha, 2010). this study shows that the disjunct taxa are now increased to 13. to explain these disjunction, there are some factors like continental drift, the fragmentation of a once more continuous distribution and long-distance dispersal (schofield and crum, 1972) and transfer of propagules (within geographical belt) via air currents. in spite of the recent intensive collection, some taxa, which were recorded 35 years ago by elsaadawi et al. (1986), were not appeared during this study. this may be rendered to the disappearance of some taxa and new appearance of the others as a natural phenomenon in all living organisms (okasha, 2010). recently, this variation was increased by the fast ecological mosses of daqahlia province 269 changes and long-term impacts of threats, such as changing habitats by urbanization, road construction, changing soil contents and its acidity and air pollution, affecting all biological resources including mosses (hallingback and hodgetts, 2000; taha, 2010). sterility does not obstruct the reproduction in all mosses, because many mosses have the ability to reproduce by vegetative fragmentation of gametophyte, which is a very effective mean of propagation. rarity of fruiting is famous in mosses, as well as, the presence of a single sex is due to limitation of both ecological tolerance and capacity to adapt to environmental change, including that induced by human activity. rarity of sporophytes in dioecious mosses generally results from spatial separation of male and female plants, often combined with rarity or absence of antheridia, archegonia, or both (longton and schuster, 1983). a hypothesis that would explain this rarity is consistent with the low taxonomic diversity and the disjunct, possibly relict, distribution patterns noted among species. also, early production of asexual propagules was suggested to reduce the immediate selective advantage of producing gametangia and sporophyte (longton and miles, 1982). as the spores are unisexual, male and female plants occur only randomly together after dispersal, and sexual reproduction occurs rarely. therefore, asexually formed propagules functioning ecologically as “spores” and as an effective means of reproduction, play a key role in dispersal ecology and habitat colonization and have a great significance in the dynamic processes of bryophyte communities. in addition, asexual propagules provide possibilities for survival of unfavourable life conditions, and support re-establishment in a habitat after changes in the environmental conditions (frey and kürschner, 2011). note: afrafrica (afr 1n. africa, madeira, azores, canary islands; afr 2central africa, st. helena islands; afr 3madagascar, mauritius, reunion islands; afr 4s. africa, kergulen islands), alg algeria, amamerica (am 1n. america, greenland, allutian islands, bermudez; am 2central america; am 3west indian islands; am 4venezuela, colombia, peru, bolivia, ecuador, galapagos islands; am 5 brazil, paraguay, guinea, trinidad; am 6chile, argentina, urugay, falkland islands, continent of antarctica), asasia (as 1n. asia including sakhalin; as 2china, monogolia, jaban, korea, formosa; as 3india, pakistan, bangladesh, ceylon, burma, siam, indo-china; as 4indonesia, malaya, philippine islands, newguinea; as 5asiatic part of the middle east, including cyprus), austraustralia (austr 1 australia, tasmania; austr 2new zezland), caicairo, caiaain shams university herbarium, cn canary islands, dggalala desert, diisthmic desert, egyegypt, eureurope, gegebal elba, lby libya, mlimali, mmwestern mediterranean costal land of egypt, mormorocco, ndnile delta, nf nile fayium, nnnile nubia, nvnile vally, ooases of the western desert, ocpacific ocean islands, s southern sinai, tuntunisia. references ayyad, m.a., fakhry, a.m. and moustafa, a.a. 2000. plant biodiversity in the saint catherine area of the sinai peninsula. egypt. biodiversity and conservation 9: 265–281. el-saadawi, w.e., badawi, a.a. and refai, m.s. 1986. mosses of the nile delta. lindbergia 12: 106–110. el-saadawi, w.e., shabbara, h., abou-salama, u.y. and refai, m.s. 2003. mosses of different phytogeographical territories of egypt. bocconea 16: 133–146. el-saadawi, w.e., abou-salama, u.y. and taha, m.a. 2013a. mosses of the egyptian conservation areas: iii. two new pottiaceae records to saint catherine protected area and egypt. taeckholmia 33: 37–46. el-saadawi, w.e., shabbara, h. and el sakaty, s. 2013b. mosses of the egyptian conservation areas: ii. omyed protected area. cryptogamie. bryologie 34(1): 1–11. el-saadawi, w.e., shabbara, h., ibrahim, m. and taha, m.a. 2015. an annotated checklist of egyptian mosses. taeckholmia 35: 1–23. el-sakaty, s. 2009. studies on bryoflora of omayed protected area. m.sc. thesis. ain shams university, 350 pp. 270 abou-salama et al. el-sakaty, s., isaac, h.s., shabbara h and aboel-atta m.a. 2018. oxystegus (pottiaceae), a genus new to bryoflora of egypt. the egyptian journal of experimental biology (botany) 14(1): 117–120. flowers, s. 1973. mosses of utah and the west of united state. edited by arthur holmgren. brigham young university, 567 pp. frey, w. and kürschner, h. 2011. asexual reproduction, habitat colonization and habitat maintenance in bryophytes. flora 206: 173–184. hallingbäck, t. and hodgetts, n. 2000. mosses, liverworts and hornworts. status survey and conservation action plan for bryophytes. belgian journal of botany 134: 95–96. hamouda, g.a. 2016. studies on bryoflora in ismailia province. msc. thesis. botany department, faculty of sciences, zagazig university, 238 pp. hassan, y.m., abou-salama, u.y., kamel, w.m. and eldin, e.m.g. 2017. the moss flora of ismailia governorate, egypt with three new records. taeckholmia 36: 30–40. ibrahim, m. 2006. studies on family pottiaceae (music) qaleabiya provice, nile delta, egypt. m.sc. thesis. ain shams university, 194 pp. ibrahim, h., kamel, w., abou-salama, u.y. and gamal eldin, e.m. 2013. the moss flora of saint katherine protected area, south sinai, with eight new records. taeckholmia 33: 19–36. khalil, m.i. and farag, m.a. 2018. additional pottiaceae records from omayed protected area, egypt. the egyptian journal of experimental biology (botany) 14(2): 339–345. lashin, g.a. 1990. studies on bryoflora of suez canal region, egypt. m.sc. thesis. botany department, faculty of sciences, zagazig university, 126 pp. longton, r.e. and miles, c.j. 1982. studies on the reproductive biology of mosses. hattori botanical laboratory 52: 219–239. longton, r.e. and schuster, r.m. 1983. reproductive biology. in: schuster, r.m. 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(manuscript received on 23 december, 2020; revised on 12 may, 2021) microsoft word 06. 40 a fbi volume iii for bjpt_ed oliur.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 143-160, 2016 (december) © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f. the flora of british india: volume iii m. enamur rashid and m. atiqur rahman department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong-4331, bangladesh keywords: j.d. hooker; flora of british india; bangladesh; nomenclature; taxonomic status. abstract one hundred seventy seven species belonging to 88 genera under 14 natural orders are determined to have been recorded in the third volume of j.d. hooker’s, the flora of british india from the area now fall in bangladesh. these taxa are enumerated with updated nomenclature and current taxonomic status following icn and cronquist’s system of plant classification respectively resulting in 169 species under 93 genera and 14 families. collection locality with collector’s name of each species wherever available, as cited in protologue, is also included. introduction the plants from the area of bangladesh included in volumes i and ii of j.d. hooker’s, the flora of british india have already been determined and reported with their updated nomenclature and taxonomic status following icn (rashid and rahman, 2011, 2012). the present report deals with the treatment of the taxa of the volume iii of the flora of british india (1880-1882). this volume includes three parts (vii-ix) published in 3 different dates consisting of a total of 22 natural orders, 354 genera and 2174 species. in this volume, j.d. hooker was assisted by an eminent botanist, c.b. clarke. hooker alone described 4 natural orders while clarke alone described 18 natural orders. among these taxa, described in this volume, 177 species belonging to 88 genera and 14 natural orders are determined to be recorded from the area now in bangladesh. the objective of the study was to update the nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh which have been included in the flora of british india. materials and methods in this study, volume iii of the flora of british india (hook.f., 1880-1882) has been surveyed for determining the taxa recorded from the area now fall in bangladesh following rashid and rahman (2011, 2012). bangladesh gazetteers (ishaq, 1979) has been consulted to ascertain the collection localities fall within the area of bangladesh. in case of bengal and jainta hills, mentioned as collection localities, relevant literature, such as, roxburgh (1814, 1820, 1824, 1832), wallich (1828-1849), kurz (1877), prain (1903), brandis (1906), heinig (1925), cowan (1926), kanjilal et al. (1939), rhaizada (1941) and sinclair (1956) have been consulted to confirm whether the taxon belongs to the area now fall in bangladesh. the current nomenclature of each species was determined by consulting icn (voss, 1983; mcneill et al., 2012), internet sourches (i-iii), brummitt and powell (1992). taxonomic status of the taxa were determined by following cronquist (1981) and to determine the synonyms of respective species relevant literature, viz., ali (1971), hara and williams (1979), hara et al. (1982), rahman and wilcock (1991), brummitt (1992), wu and raven (1994), rahman and 144 rashid and rahman wilcock (1995), mabberley (1997), press et al. (2000), wu et al. (2005), ahmed et al. (2008a, b; 2009a, b, c) and updated kew plant list from internet sources (i-iii) have been consulted. results and discussion the search on the third volume of the flora of the british india revealed a total of 177 species in 88 genera under 14 natural orders from the area now in bangladesh (table 1). table 1, natural orders with contributors and distribution of taxa in the volume iii natural order as in hook.f. (1880-1882) contributor total no. of genera/ species described no. of genera/ species from the area of bangladesh 1. caprifoliaceae c.b. clarke 8/49 1/1 2. rubiaceae j.d. hooker 91/640 31/81 3. valerianeae c.b. clarke 4/17 0/0 4. dipsaceae c.b. clarke 4/17 0/0 5. compositae j.d. hooker 123/634 20/37 6. stylidieae c.b. clarke 1/3 1/2 7. goodenovieae c.b. clarke 1/2 0/0 8. campanulaceae c.b. clarke 13/65 2/5 9. vacciniaceae c.b. clarke 4/50 1/2 10. ericaceae c.b. clarke 9/65 0/0 11. monotropeae c.b. clarke 3/3 0/0 12.epacrideae c.b. clarke 1/1 0/0 13. diapensiaceae c.b. clarke 1/1 0/0 14. plumbagineae c.b. clarke 6/9 1/1 15. primulaceae j.d. hooker 9/80 2/2 16. myrsineae c.b. clarke 11/93 4/6 17. sapotaceae c.b. clarke 8/55 3/3 18. ebenaceae c.b. clarke 2/75 1/7 19. styraceae c.b. clarke 2/70 1/1 20. oleaceae c.b. clarke 10/91 5/11 21. salvadoraceae c.b. clarke 3/5 0/0 22. apocynaceae j.d. hooker 40/149 15/18 total: no 22 contributors 02 genera/species 354/2174 genera/species 88/177 after current nomenclatural treatment, the number of species reduced to 169, while the genera splited to 93. the species included in families vaccinaceae and styraceae have been transfered to ericaceae and symplocaceae respectively. it is determined, so far, that 29 generic names have been changed and 59 remain unchanged. on the other hand, 79 names of species have also been changed and 98 remain unchanged. hence after updated nomenclatural treatment, 169 species and 93 genera under 14 families are recognized from the area of bangladesh so far and presented in table 2. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 145 table 2. list of taxa as in hook.f, the flora of british india volume iii from the area of bangladesh with their current nomenclature and taxonomic status species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 1. sambucus javanica blume natural order: caprifoliaceae east bengal not mentioned 1. sambucus javanica reinw. ex blume in bijdr. fl. ned. ind. 13: 657 (1825). family: caprifoliaceae 2. cephalanthus naucleoides dc. natural order: rubiaceae silhet not mentioned 2. cephalanthus tetrandra (roxb.) ridsdale & bakh.f. in blumea 23: 182 (1976). family: rubiaceae 3. adina sessilifolia hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong roxburgh & c. 3. neonauclea sessilifolia (roxb.) merr. in j. wash. acad. sci. 5: 542 (1915). family: rubiaceae 4. a. polycephala benth. natural order: rubiaceae silhet de silva, griffith and chittagong j.d.h. & t.t. 4. metadina trichotoma (zoll. & mor.) bakh.f., taxon 19: 472 (1970). family: rubiaceae 5. a. polycephala benth. var. microphylla hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae silhet -wallich 4. metadina trichotoma (zoll. & mor.) bakh.f., taxon 19: 472 (1970). family: rubiaceae 6. stephegyne diversifolia hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong roxburgh & c. 5. mitragyna diversifolia (wall. ex g. don) havil. in j. linn. soc., bot. 33: 71 (1897). family: rubiaceae 7. nauclea ovalifolia roxb. natural order: rubiaceae silhet not mentioned 3. neonauclea sessilifolia (roxb.) merr. in j. wash. acad. sci. 5: 542 (1915). family: rubiaceae 8. uncaria ovata br. natural order: rubiaceae silhet wall. cat. 6112 6. uncaria canescens korth., verh. nat. gesch. ned. bot.: 172 (1842). family: rubiaceae 9. u. sessilifructus roxb. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong not mention 7. uncaria sessilifructus roxb., fl. ind. 2: 130 (1824). family: rubiaceae 10. u. homomalla miq. natural order: rubiaceae eastern bengal; jyntea hills wall. cat. 6108 8. uncaria homomalla miq. in fl. ned. ind. 2: 343 (1857). family: rubiaceae 11. u. pilosa roxb. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong roxburgh, j.d.h. & t.t. 9. uncaria scandens (smith) hutch., sarg. pl. wilson. 3: 406 (1916). family: rubiaceae 12. hymenodictyon excelsum wall. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong not mentioned 10. hymenodictyon orixense (roxb.) mabb., taxon 31: 66 (1982). family: rubiaceae 146 rashid and rahman species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 13. wendlandia tinctoria dc. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong not mentioned 11. wendlandia tinctoria (roxb.) dc., prodr. 4: 411 (1830). family: rubiaceae 14. w. paniculata dc. natural order: rubiaceae silhet not mentioned 12. wendlandia paniculata (roxb.) dc., prodr. 4: 411 (1830). family: rubiaceae 15. dentella repens forst. natural order: rubiaceae throughout bengal not mentioned 13. dentella repens j. r. forst. & g. forst., char. gen. pl. ins. mar. austr.: 26, t. 13 (1776). family: rubiaceae 16. hedyotis scandens roxb. natural order: rubiaceae silhet and chittagongnot mentioned 14. hedyotis scandens roxb., fl. ind. 1: 369. (1820). family: rubiaceae 17. h. uncinella hook. & arn. natural order: rubiaceae jyntea hills. wall. cat. 842 15. hedyotis uncinella hook. & arn., bot. beechey voy.: 192 (1833). family: rubiaceae 18. h. auricularia linn. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong not mentioned 16. hedyotis auricularia l., sp. pl.: 101 (1753). family: rubiaceae 19. h. lineata roxb. natural order: rubiaceae silhet and chittagong – not mentioned 17. hedyotis lineata roxb., fl. ind. 1: 369 (1820). family: rubiaceae 20. h. glabra br. natural order: rubiaceae silhet de silva 18. hedyotis insularis (spreng.) deb & r.m. dutta in taxon 32(2): 285 (1983). family: rubiaceae 21. h. hispida retz natural order: rubiaceae chittagong not mentioned 19. hedyotis verticillata (l.) lam., tabl. encycl. 1: 271 (1792). family: rubiaceae 22. h. monocephala br. natural order: rubiaceae silhet – wall. cat. 846 20. hedyotis brunonis merr. in philipp. j. sci. 60: 35 (1936). family: rubiaceae 23. h. thomsoni hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae east bengal j.d.h. & t.t. 21. hedyotis thomsonii hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 63 (1880). family: rubiaceae 24. oldenlandia diffusa roxb. var. extensa hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae silhet wall. cat. 869 & griffith 22. hedyotis diffusa var. extensa (hook.f.) dutta in bot. surv. india (2004). family: rubiaceae 25. o. crystallina roxb. natural order: rubiaceae east bengal griffith, chittagong c.b. clarke 23. hedyotis pumila l.f., suppl. pl.: 119 (1781). family: rubiaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 147 species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 26. o. trinervia retz. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong j.d.h. & t.t. 24. hedyotis trinervia (retz.) roem & schult., syst. veg. 3: 197 (1818). family: rubiaceae 27. o. paniculata linn. natural order: rubiaceae silhet not mentioned 25. hedyotis racemosa lam., encycl. 3: 80 (1789). family: rubiaceae 28. anotis urophilla wall. natural order: rubiaceae jyntea gomez, griffith, & c. 26. neanotis urophylla (wall. ex wight & arn.) w.h. lewis, ann. missouri bot. gard. 53: 40 (1966). family: rubiaceae 29. ophiorrhiza harrisiana heyne natural order: rubiaceae silhet and chittagong not mentioned 27. ophiorrhiza rugosa wall ex roxb., fl. ind. 2: 547 (1824). family: rubiaceae 30. o. harrisiana heyne var. argentea wall. natural order: rubiaceae silhet and chittagong not mentioned 28. ophiorrhiza rugosa var. argentea (wall. ex g. don) deb & mondal in bull. bot. surv. india 24 (1-4): 228 (1983). family: rubiaceae 31. o. trichocarpa blume natural order: rubiaceae chittagong lister 29. ophiorrhiza trichocarpos blume, bijdr.: 977 (1826). family: rubiaceae 32. o. wallichii hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae jyntea hills gomez 30. ophiorrhiza wallichii hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 79 (1880); family: rubiaceae 33. o. villosa roxb. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong hills roxburgh 31. ophiorrhiza villosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 546 (1824). family: rubiaceae 34. silvianthus bracteatus hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae silhet de silva, griffith & c. 32. silvianthus bracteatus hook.f., icon. pl. t. 1048: 36 (1868). family: caprifoliaceae 35. mussaenda roxburghii hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong j.d.h. & t.t. 33. mussaenda roxburghii hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 87 (1880). family: rubiaceae 36. m. glabra vahl natural order: rubiaceae chittagong griffith & helfer 34. mussaenda glabra vahl, symb. bot. 3: 38 (1794). family: rubiaceae 37. adenosacme longifolia wall. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong not mentioned 35. mycetia longifolia (wall.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 289 (1891). family: rubiaceae 38. myrioneuron nutans wall. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong hills c.b. clarke 36. myrioneuron nutans wall. ex kurz, fl. brit. burma 2: 55 (1874). family: rubiaceae 148 rashid and rahman species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 39. m.clarkei hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong j.d.h. & t.t. 37. myrioneuron clarkei hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 96 (1880). family: rubiaceae 40. webera odorata roxb. natural order: rubiaceae silhet de silva and griffith 38. tarenna odorata (roxb.) b. l. rob., proc. amer. acad. arts. 45: 405 (1910). family: rubiaceae 41. w. disperma hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae silhet griffith and j.d.h. & t.t. 39. tarenna disperma (hook.f.) pitard in fl. gen. indo-china 3: 208 (1923). family: rubiaceae 42. w. campaniflora hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong-bruce, seetakoond j.d.h. & t.t. and burkul c.b. clarke 40. tarenna campaniflora (hook.f.) balak., bull. bot. surv. india 22 (1-4): 175 (1982). family: rubiaceae 43. randia tetrasperma roxb. natural order: rubiaceae silhet not mentioned 41. himalrandia tetrasperma (roxb.) yamazaki in jap. j. bot. 45: 340 (1970). family: rubiaceae 44. r. fasciculata dc. natural order: rubiaceae silhet wallich & c. 42. benkara fasciculata (roxb.) ridsdale, reinwardtia 12: 298 (2008). family: rubiaceae 45. r. dumetorum lamk. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong and silhet not mentioned 43. catunaregam spinosa (thunb.) tirveng. in bull. mus. natl. hist. nat., ser. 3, bot. 35: 13 (1978). family: rubiaceae 46. r. longiflora lamk. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong not mentioned 44. oxyceros longiflorus (lam.) t. yamaz. in j. jap. bot. 45: 339 (1970). family: rubiaceae 47. r. wallichii hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae silhet-de silva; chittagongj.d. h. & t.t. 45. tarennoidea wallichii (hook.f.) tirveng. & sastre in mauritius inst. bull. 8(4): 90 (1979). family: rubiaceae 48. gardenia lucida roxb. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong roxburgh & c. 46. gardenia resinifera roth, nov. pl. sp.: 150 (1821). family: rubiaceae 49. g. coronaria ham. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong roxburgh & c. 47. gardenia coronaria buch.-ham. in embassy ava ed. 2, 3: 307 (1809). family: rubiaceae 50. g. turgida roxb. natural order: rubiaceae silhet not mentioned 48. ceriscoides turgida (roxb.) tirveng., bull. mus. natl. hist. nat., ser. 3, bot. 35: 15 (1978). family: rubiaceae 51. g. campanulata roxb. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong and silhet roxburgh, griffith & c. 49. ceriscoides campanulata (roxb.) tirveng, bull. mus. natl. hist. nat., ser. 3, bot. 35: 16 (1978). family: rubiaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 149 species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 52. petunga roxburghii dc. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong and silhet roxburgh & wallich 50. hypobathrum racemosum (roxb.) kurz, prelim. rep. forest pegu app. b: 59 (1875). family: rubiaceae 53. hyptianthera stricta w. & a. natural order: rubiaceae e. bengal not mentioned 51. hyptianthera stricta (roxb. ex schult.) wight & arn., prodr. fl. ind. orient. 399 (1834). family: rubiaceae 54. canthium didymum roxb. natural order: rubiaceae jyntea de silva 52. canthium dicoccum (gaertn.) teijsm. & binn., cat. herb. bogor: 113 (1866). family: rubiaceae 55. c. angustifolium roxb. natural order: rubiaceae sunderbunds, chittagong and silhet roxburgh & c. 53. canthium angustifolium roxb., fl. ind. 2: 169 (1824). family: rubiaceae 56. c. parvifolium roxb. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong wall. cat. 8257 and j.d.h. & t.t. 54. canthium parvifolium roxb., fl. ind. 2: 170 (1824). family: rubiaceae 57. ixora acuminata roxb. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong c.b. clarke 55. ixora acuminata roxb., fl. ind. 1: 383 (1820). family: rubiaceae 58. i. parviflora vahl natural order: rubiaceae chittagong c.b. clarke 56. ixora pavetta andr., bot. repos. 2: t 78 (1799). family: rubiaceae 59. i. villosa roxb. natural order: rubiaceae silhet wall. cat. 6137 57. ixora balakrishnii deb & rout in j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 89: 44 (1992). family: rubiaceae 60. i. cuneifolia roxb. natural order: rubiaceae silhet de silva 58. ixora cuneifolia roxb., fl. ind. 1: 380 (1820). family: rubiaceae 61. i. coccinea linn. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong j.d.h. & t. t. 59. ixora coccinea l., sp. pl.: 110 (1753). family: rubiaceae 62. pavetta subcapita hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae jyntea hills gomez 60. pavetta subcapita wall. ex hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 150 (1880). family: rubiaceae 63. p. naucleiflora wall. natural order: rubiaceae silhet wall. cat. 6171 61. pavetta naucleiflora r. br. ex g. don, gen. hist. 3: 575 (1834). family: rubiaceae 64. coffea bengalensis roxb. natural order: rubiaceae silhet and chittagong not mentioned 62. psilanthus bengalensis (roxb. ex schult.) leroy, bull. mus. natl. hist. nat., b, adansonia 3: 252 (1982). family: rubiaceae 150 rashid and rahman species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 65. c. fragrans wall. natural order: rubiaceae silhet gomez 63. psilanthus fragrans (wall. ex hook.f.) leroy, bull. mus. natl. hist. nat., b, adansonia 3: 256 (1982). family: rubiaceae 66. c. khasiana hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae jyntea hill j.d.h. & t.t. & c.b. clarke 64. nostolachma khasiana (korth.) deb & lahiri, bull. bot. surv. india 17: 162 (1978). family: rubiaceae 67. morinda angustifolia roxb. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong not mentioned 65. morinda angustifolia roxb., pl. coromandel 3: 32 (1815). family: rubiaceae 68. m. persicaefolia ham. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong hamilton 66. morinda persicaefolia buch.-ham., trans. linn. soc. london 13: 535 (1822). family: rubiaceae 69. m. umbellata linn. natural order: rubiaceae east bengal not mentioned 67. morinda umbellata l., sp. pl.: 176 (1753). family: rubiaceae 70. psychotria adenophylla wall. natural order: rubiaceae chittagong j.d.h. & t.t. 68. psychotria adenophylla wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 166 (1824). family: rubiaceae 71. p. calocarpa kurz natural order: rubiaceae chittagong gomez, & c. 69. psychotria calocarpa kurz in j. asiat. soc. bengal, pt. 2, nat. hist. 41(2): 315 (1872). family: rubiaceae 72. p. silhetensis hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae silhet de silva & c. 70. psychotria silhetensis hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 174 (1880). family: rubiaceae 73. p. montana blume natural order: rubiaceae silhet de silva 71. psychotria montana blume, catalogus: 54 (1823). family: rubiaceae 74. p. sphaerocarpa wall. natural order: rubiaceae silhet hills wallich 72. psychotria sphaerocarpa wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 161 (1820). family: rubiaceae 75. chasalia curviflora thw. var ellipsoidea hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae jyntea c.b. clarke 73. chasalia curviflora thw. var. ellipsoidea hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 177 (1880). family: rubiaceae 76. geophila reniformis don natural order: rubiaceae silhet roxburgh and de silva 74. geophila repens (l.) johnst., sargentia 8: 281 (1949). family: rubiaceae 77. lasianthus cyanocarpus jack natural order: rubiaceae silhet and chittagong wallich & c. 75. lasianthus cyanocarpus jack in trans. linn. soc. london 14: 125 (1823). family: rubiaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 151 species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 78. l. wallichii wight natural order: rubiaceae silhet de silva & c. 76. lasianthus attenuatus jack in trans. linn. soc. london 14: 126 (1823). family: rubiaceae 79. l. tentaculus hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae silhet -wall. cat. 8306 77. lasianthus rigidus miq., fl. ned. ind. 2: 321 (1857). family: rubiaceae 80. l. attenuates jack natural order: rubiaceae silhet de silva 76. lasianthus attenuatus jack in trans. linn. soc. london 14: 126 (1823). family: rubiaceae 81. l. tubiferus hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae jyntea hills griffith, & c. 78. lasianthus inodorus blume, bijdr.: 998 (1826). family: rubiaceae 82. l. inconspicuus hook.f. natural order: rubiaceae silhet wallich; wall. cat. 8313l 79. lasianthus lucidus var. inconspicuus (hook.f.) h. zhu, acta bot. yunnan. 20: 154 (1998). family: rubiaceae 83. ethulia conyzoides linn. natural order: compositae silhetnot mentioned 80. ethulia conyzoides l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 1171 (1762). family: asteraceae 84. vernonia thomsoni hook.f. natural order: compositae chittagong, seetakoond j.d.h. & t. t. 81. vernonia thomsonii hook.f. fl. brit. india 3: 232 (1881). family: asteraceae 85. v. saligna dc. natural order: compositae chittagong not mentioned 82. vernonia saligna dc., prodr. 5: 33 (1836). family: asteraceae 86. v. arborea ham. natural order: compositae silhet not mentioned 83. vernonia arborea buch.-ham. ex buch.ham., trans. linn. soc. london 14: 218 (1825). family: asteraceae 87. v. volkameriaefolia dc. natural order: compositae jaintea hills griffith 84. vernonia volkameriaefolia dc., prodr. 5: 32 (1836). family: asteraceae 88. v. scandens dc. natural order: compositae silhet not mentioned 85. vernonia vagans dc., prodr. 5: 32 (1836). family: asteraceae 89. cyathocline lyrata cass. natural order: compositae chittagong not mentioned 86. cyathocline purpurea (buch.-ham. ex d. don) kuntze, rev. gen. pl.: 333 (1891). family: asteraceae 90. erigeron asteroides roxb. natural order: compositae bengal not mentioned 87. erigeron sublyratus roxb. ex dc. in wight, contr. bot. ind.: 9 (1834). family: asteraceae 152 rashid and rahman species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 91. conyza semipinnatifida wall. natural order: compositae soonderbunds at burisal clarke 88. conyza semipinnatifida wall. ex dc., prodr. 5: 382 (1836). family: asteraceae 92. thespis divaricata dc. natural order: compositae silhet not mentioned 89. thespis divaricata dc. in guill. arch. bot. 2: 517 (1833). family: asteraceae 93. blumea amplectens dc. natural order: compositae bengal not mentioned 90. blumea obliqua (l.) druce, rep. bot. excu. club brit. isles 4: 609 (1917). family: asteraceae 94. b. amplectens dc. var. maritima hook.f. natural order: compositae soonderbunds not mentioned 90. blumea obliqua (l.) druce, rep. bot. excu. club brit. isles 4: 609 (1917). family: asteraceae 95. blumea bifoliata dc. natural order: compositae bengal not mentioned 91. blumea bifoliata (l.) dc. in wight, contr. bot. ind.: 14 (1834). family: asteraceae 96. b. sericans hook.f. natural order: compositae chittagong hills clarke 92. blumea sericans (kurz) hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 262 (1881). family: asteraceae 97. b. laciniata dc. natural order: compositae bengal not mentioned 93. blumea laciniata (roxb.) dc., prodr. 5: 436 (1836). family: asteraceae 98. b. oxyodonta dc. natural order: compositae bengal not mentioned 94. blumea oxyodonta dc. in wight, contr. bot. ind.: 15 (1834). family: asteraceae 99. b. myriocephala dc. natural order: compositae chittagong clarke 95. blumea lanceolaria (roxb.) druce, bot. soc. exch. club br. isles 4: 609 (1917). family: asteraceae 100. b. balsamifera dc. natural order: compositae chittagong not mentioned 96. blumea balsamifera (l.) dc., prodr. 5: 447 (1836). family: asteraceae 101. laggera flava benth. natural order: compositae chittagong not mentioned 97. blumeopsis falcata (d. don) merr. in j. arnold arbor. cambridge (1938). family: asteraceae 102. l. aurita schultz-bip. natural order: compositae chittagong not mentioned 98. blumea viscosa (mill.) v. m. badillo, revista fac. agron. (maracay): 7 9 (1974). family: asteraceae 103. pluchea indica less. natural order: compositae sunderbunds not mentioned 99. pluchea indica (l.) less., linnaea 6: 150 (1831). family: asteraceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 153 species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 104. sphaeranthus africanus linn. natural order: compositae silhet not mentioned 100. sphaeranthus africanus l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 1314 (1762). family: asteraceae 105. s. indicus linn. natural order: compositae silhet not mentioned 101. sphaeranthus indicus l., sp. pl.: 927 (1753). family: asteraceae 106. caesulia axillaris roxb. natural order: compositae chittagong not mentioned 102. caesulia axillaris roxb., pl. corom. 1: 64, t. 93 (1798). family: asteraceae 107. enhydra fluctuans lour. natural order: compositae silhet not mentioned 103. enhydra fluctuans lour., fl. cochinch. 511 (1790). family: asteraceae 108. wedelia calendulacea less. natural order: compositae silhet not mentioned 104. wedelia chinensis (osbeck) merr., philipp. j. sci. 12: 111 (1917). family: asteraceae 109. w. biflora dc. natural order: compositae near the sea from bengal-not mentioned 105. melanthera biflora (l.) wild, kirkia: 54 (1965). family: asteraceae 110. cotula hemisphaerica wall. natural order: compositae dry rice field in bengal not mentioned 106. cotula hemisphaerica wall. ex benth. & hook.f. gen. pl. 2: 429 (1873). family: asteraceae 111. artemisia caruifolia ham. natural order: compositae eastern bengal not mentioned 107. artemisia carvifolia buch.-ham. ex roxb., fl. ind. 2: 422 (1820). family: asteraceae 112. senecio obtusatus wall. natural order: compositae jyntea hills de silva 108. senecio obtusatus wall. ex dc., prodr. 6: 367 (1838). family: asteraceae 113. s. ramosus wall. natural order: compositae silhet roxburgh 109. senecio ramosus wall. ex hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 342 (1881). family: asteraceae 114. cnicus arvensis hoffm. natural order: compositae soonderbunds not mentioned 110. cirsium arvense (l.) scop., fl. carn. ed. 2 (2): 126 (1772). family: asteraceae 115. saussurea affinis spreng natural order: compositae silhet not mentioned 111. hemistepta lyrata (bunge) bunge in dorp. jahrb. litt. 1: 222 (1833). family: asteraceae 116. crepis acaulis hook.f. natural order: compositae dinagepore not mentioned 112. launaea acaulis (roxb.) kerr in craib, fl. siam. enum. 2: 299 (1936). family: asteraceae 154 rashid and rahman species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 117. lectuca polycephala benth. natural order: compositae bengal not mentioned 113. ixeris polycephala cass., dict. sci. nat. 24: 50 (1822). family: asteraceae 118. launaea aspleniifolia dc. natural order: compositae soonderbunds not mentioned 114. launaea aspleniifolia (willd.) dc., prodr. 7: 181 (1838). family: asteraceae 119. l. pinnatifida cass. natural order: compositae bengal not mentioned 115. launaea sarmentosa (willd.) sch.-bip. ex kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 1: 350 (1891). family: asteraceae 120. stylidium kunthii wall. natural order: stylidieae chittagong h.f. & t. 116. stylidium kunthii wall. ex dc., prodr., 7: 335 (1839). family: stylidiaceae 121. s. tenellum swartz natural order: stylidieae dacca-clarke and chittagong kurz 117. stylidium tenellum sw., mag. ges. naturf. fr. berlin 1: 51, pl. 2, t. 3, f. 3 (1807). family: stylidiaceae 122. lobelia trigona roxb. natural order: campanulaceae dacca clarke 118. lobelia alsinoides lam., encycl. 3: 588 (1792). family: campanulaceae 123. l. affinis wall. natural order: campanulaceae bengal not mentioned 119. lobelia zeylanica l., sp. pl.: 932 (1753). family: campanulaceae 124. l. terminalis clarke natural order: campanulaceae mymensingh clarke 120. lobelia terminalis c.b. clarke in hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 424 (1881). family: campanulaceae 125. l. rosea wall. natural order: campanulaceae north bengal not mentioned 121. lobelia rosea wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 115 (1824). family: campanulaceae 126. campanomoea celebica blume natural order: campanulaceae chittagong not mentioned 122. cyclocodon celebicus (blume) d. y. hong, acta phytotax. sin. 36(2): 109 (1998). family: campanulaceae 127. agapetes variegata d. don natural order: vacciniaceae chittagong hills not mentioned 123. agapetes variegata (roxb.) d. don ex g. don, gen. hist. 3: 862 (1834). family: ericaceae 128. a. macrantha hook.f. natural order: vacciniaceae chittagong hills roxburgh 124. agapetes macrantha (hook.) benth. & hook.f., gen. pl. 2: 571 (1876). family: ericaceae 129. aegialitis rotundifolia roxb. natural order: plumbagineae bengal not mentioned 125. aegialitis rotundifolia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 111 (1832). family: plumbaginaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 155 species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 130. lysimachia javanica bl. natural order: primulaceae silhet – not mentioned 126. lysimachia decurrens g. forst. in fl. ins. austr. 12 12 (1786). family: primulaceae 131. anagallis arvensis linn. natural order: primulaceae bengal not mentioned 127. anagallis arvensis l., sp. pl.: 148 (1753). family: primulaceae 132. maesa ramentacea a. dc. natural order: myrsineae eastern bengal – not mentioned 128. maesa ramentacea (roxb.) a. dc., trans. linn. soc. london 17: 133 (1834). family: myrsinaceae 133. m. paniculata a. dc. natural order: myrsineae silhet (pundua) h.f. & t. 129. maesa paniculata a. dc., trans. linn. soc. london 17: 133 (1834). family: myrsinaceae 134. embelia nutans wall. natural order: myrsineae silhet wall. cat. 2303 & h.f. & t. 130. embelia nutans wall. in roxb., fl. ind. 2: 290 (1824). family: myrsinaceae 135. ardisia paniculata roxb. natural order: myrsineae dacca -clarke & chittagong roxburgh 131. ardisia paniculata roxb., fl. ind. 2: 270 (1824). family: myrsinaceae 136. a. icara ham. natural order: myrsineae north-east bengal; mudhopoor hamilton 132. ardisia icara wall. ex dc., trans. linn. soc. london 17: 125 (1834). family: myrsinaceae 137. amblyanthus glandulosus a. dc. natural order: myrsineae silhet wall. cat. 2265 133. amblyanthus glandulosus (roxb.) a. dc., ann. sci. nat., bot. ii, 16: 83, t. 6 (1841). family: myrsinaceae 138. chrysophyllum roxburghii g. don natural order: sapotaceae silhet wall. cat. 4160 134. chrysophyllum roxburghii g. don, gen. hist. 4: 33 (1837). family: sapotaceae 139. sideroxylon grandifolium wall. natural order: sapotaceae silhet wall. cat. 4155, 4156a 135. planchonella grandifolia (wall.) pierre, not. bot.: 36 (1890). family: sapotaceae 140. dichopsis polyantha benth. natural order: sapotaceae silhetwall. cat. 4166, 4156 & chittagong h.f. & t. 136. palaquium polyanthum (wall. ex g. don) baill in traite bot. med. phan. 1500 (1884). family: sapotaceae 141. diospyros embryopteris pers. natural order: ebenaceae bengal not mentioned 137. diospyros peregrina (gaertn) guerke in nat. pflanzenfam. 4(1): 164 (1891). family: ebenaceae 142. d. toposia ham. natural order: ebenaceae silhet & chittagong roxburgh & kurz 138. diospyros toposia buch.-ham.in trans. linn. soc. london 15: 115 (1827). family: ebenaceae 156 rashid and rahman species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 143. d. nigricans wall. natural order: ebenaceae silhet wallich 139. diospyros nigricans wall. ex a. dc., prodr. 8: 239 (1844). family: ebenaceae 144. d. lanceaefolia roxb. natural order: ebenaceae silhet – roxburgh 140. diospyros lanceifolia roxb., fl. ind. 2: 537 (1832). family: ebenaceae 145. d. stricta roxb. natural order: ebenaceae silhet and comilla roxburgh 141. diospyros stricta roxb., fl. ind. 2: 539 (1832). family: ebenaceae 146. d. ramiflora roxb. natural order: ebenaceae east bengal roxburgh 142. diospyros ramiflora roxb., fl. ind. 2: 535 (1832). family: ebenaceae 147. d. elegans clarke var. hookeri clarke natural order: ebenaceae chittagong; seetakoond h.f. & t. 143. diospyros elegans c.b. clarke in hook.f., fl. brit. india 3: 571 (1882). family: ebenaceae 148. symplocos caudata wall. natural order: styraceae chittagong; seetakoond h.f. & t. 144. symplocos sumuntia buch.-ham. ex d. don, prodr. fl. nepal. 145 (1825). family: symplocaceae 149. jasminum sambac ait. natural order: oleaceae bengal not mentioned 145. jasminum sambac (l.) sol., hort. kew 1: 8 (1789). family: oleaceae 150. j. scandens vahl natural order: oleaceae chittagong not mentioned 146. jasminum scandens (retz.) vahl, symb. bot. 3: 2 (1794). family: oleaceae 151. j. anastomosans wall. natural order: oleaceae silhet; chattuck h.f. & t. 147. jasminum nervosum lour., fl. cochinch. 1: 20 (1790). family: oleaceae 152. j. anastomosans wall. var. silhetensis blume natural order: oleaceae silhet not mentioned 147. jasminum nervosum lour., fl. cochinch. 1: 20 (1790). family: oleaceae 153. j. subtriplinerve blume natural order: oleaceae silhet wallich 147. jasminum nervosum lour., fl. cochinch. 1: 20 (1790). family: oleaceae 154. j. auriculatum vahl natural order: oleaceae bengal not mentioned 148. jasminum auriculatum vahl, symb. bot. 3: 30 (1794). family: oleaceae 155. j. lanceolaria roxb. natural order: oleaceae jaintea hills griffith, h.f. & t. 149. jasminum lanceolaria roxb., fl. ind. 1: 98 (1820). family: oleaceae updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 157 species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 156. linociera macrophylla wall. natural order: oleaceae silhet wall. cat. 2826 150. chionanthus ramiflorus roxb., fl. ind. 1: 106 (1820). family: oleaceae 157. olea dioica roxb. natural order: oleaceae chittagong hills roxburgh 151. olea dioica roxb., fl. ind. 1: 105 (1820). family: oleaceae 158. ligustrum robustum blume natural order: oleaceae silhet, dacca, chittagong & c. not mentioned 152. ligustrum robustum (roxb.) blume, mus. bot. 1: 313 (1851). family: oleaceae 159. myxopyrum smilacifolium blume natural order: oleaceae silhet and chittagong not mentioned 153. myxopyrum smilacifolium (wall.) blume, mus. bot. 1: 320 (1851). family: oleaceae 160. willoughbeia edulis roxb. natural order: apocynaceae chittagong roxburgh, & c. 154. willoughbeia edulis roxb., pl. corom. 3: 77, t. 280 (1820). family: apocynaceae 161. melodinus monogynus roxb. natural order: apocynaceae silhet not mentioned 155. melodinus cochinchinensis (lour.) merr., trans. amer. philos. soc., n.s. 24: 310 (1935). family: apocynaceae 162. tabernaemontana recurva roxb. natural order: apocynaceae chittagong roxburgh 156. tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult., syst. veg. 4: 427 (1819). family: apocynaceae 163. parsonia spiralis wall. natural order: apocynaceae silhet wall. cat. 1631, 1632, 1633 157. parsonia alboflavescens (dennst.) mabb., taxon 26: 532 (1977). family: apocynaceae 164. vallaris heynei spreng. natural order: apocynaceae silhet not mentioned 158. vallaris solanacea (roth) kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 417 (1891). family: apocynaceae 165. pottsia cantonensis hook. & arn. natural order: apocynaceae silhet de silva 159. pottsia laxiflora (blume) kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 2: 416 (1891). family: apocynaceae 166. wrightia coccinea sims natural order: apocynaceae silhet -roxburgh, de silva & chittagong kurz 160. wrightia coccinea (roxb. ex hornem.) sims., bot. mag. 53: t. 2696 (1826). family: apocynaceae 167. strophanthus wallichii a. dc. natural order: apocynaceae chittagongseetakoond h.f. & t. 161. strophanthus wallichii a. dc., prodr. 8: 418 (1844). family: apocynaceae 168. beaumontia grandiflora wall. natural order: apocynaceae silhet and chittagong not mentioned 162. beaumontia grandiflora wall., tent. fl. nepal 1: 15, t. 7 (1824). family: apocynaceae 158 rashid and rahman species, natural order, recorded area collector’s name/ wall. cat. no. as in hook.f. (1880-1882) current nomenclature with loc. cit. and family as of cronquist (1981) 169. ecdysanthera micrantha a. dc. natural order: apocynaceae silhet kurz 163. urceola micrantha (wall. ex g. don) middlton, novon 4: 51 (1994). family: apocynaceae 170. aganosma marginata g. don natural order: apocynaceae silhet and chittagong not mentioned 164. amphineurion marginatum (roxb.) middleton, taxon 55: 502 (2006). family: apocynaceae 171. a. cymosa g. don natural order: apocynaceae silhet roxburgh & c. 165. aganosma cymosa (roxb.) g. don, gen. hist. 4: 77 (1837). family: apocynaceae 172. a. cymosa g. don var. cymosa hook.f. natural order: apocynaceae silhet not mentioned 165. aganosma cymosa (roxb.) g. don, gen. hist. 4: 77 (1837). family: apocynaceae 173. epigynum laevigatum hook.f. natural order: apocynaceae silhet at pundua wall. cat. 1669 166. anodendron affine (hook. & arn.) druce, rep. bot. soc. exch. club brit. isles 1916: 605 (1917). family: apocynaceae 174. rhynchodia wallichii benth. natural order: apocynaceae silhet de silva 167. chonemorpha verrucosa (blume) middlton, novon 3: 455 (1993). family: apocynaceae 175. anodendron paniculatum a. dc. natural order: apocynaceae silhet not mentioned 168. anodendron paniculatum (roxb.) a. dc., prodr. 8: 444 (1844). family: apocynaceae 176. ichnocarpus frutescens br. natural order: apocynaceae silhet and chittagong not mentioned 169. ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r. br., mem. wern. nat. hist. soc. 1: 62 (1809). family: apocynaceae 177. i. ovatifolius a. dc. natural order: apocynaceae silhet not mentioned 169. ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r. br., mem. wern. nat. hist. soc. 1: 62 (1809). family: apocynaceae acknowledgement we are thankful to professor dr. md. abul hassan, department of botany, university of dhaka for his support to conduct this research. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2008a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh 6: 1408. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2008b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh 7: 1546. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status 159 ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2009a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh 8: 1478. angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae-lythraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a. (eds.). 2009b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh 9: 1-488. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a. 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(manuscript received on 10 march 2016; revised on 10 november 2016) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 113-117, 2018 (june) short communication © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists petrosaviaceae, a new family record for india nazir ahmad bhat, licha jeri1, dilip kr. roy2 and yogendra kumar centre for advanced studies in botany, north eastern hill university, shillong -793022, meghalaya, india keywords: petrosaviaceae; arunachal pradesh; petrosavia sakuraii; india; new record. the family petrosaviaceae hutch. contains two genera, namely japonolirion nakai and petrosavia beccari distributed from japan and china through southeastern asia to borneo (cameron et al., 2003; tobe and takahashi, 2009; remizowa et al., 2017). the genus petrosavia, containing two presently known species namely p. sakuraii (makino) j.j. sm. ex van steenis and p. stellaris beccari, and japonolirion nakai is a monotypic genus with j. osense nakai (ohashi, 2000; cameron et al., 2003; tobe and takahashi, 2009; remizowa et al., 2017). the species p. sakuraii was described in 1903 as miyoshia sakuraii by makino from japan (makino, 1903) and later smith (1934) made the new combination. it occurs on the forest floor of broad-leaved or coniferous trees (takahashi et al., 1993) and is distributed in humid temperate regions of japan, southern china, taiwan, myanmar, northern thailand, vietnam and indonesia (remizowa et al., 2017). p. sakuraii differs from its congener p. stellaris in having racemose inflorescence (vs. umbel or corymbose), capsule with rounded and moderately recurved carpels (vs. laterally flattened and strongly recurved carpels) (remizowa et al., 2017). while studying the floristic account of talle valley wildlife sanctuary of arunachal pradesh, the authors collected some interesting specimens of a small yellow saprophytic plant growing on the decaying leaf litter, under the canopy of dense evergreen forests. after a critical examination of the specimens, consultation of relevant literature (takahashi et al., 1993; ohashi, 2000; cameron et al., 2003; remizowa et al., 2017) and expert scrutiny, its identity was confirmed as petrosavia sakuraii (makino) j.j. sm. ex van steenis. a scrutiny of literature pertaining to the flora of india (karthikeyan, 2000, 2009) revealed that the family petrosaviaceae is hitherto not reported from india. therefore, the present report of this taxon from arunachal pradesh is the first report of the species, genus and family for india. the taxonomic description along with illustration and photographs of this taxon is provided to facilitate easy identification in the field. petrosavia sakuraii (makino) j.j. smith ex van steenis, trop. natur. 23: 52 (1934); masamune, trans. nat. soc. form 28: 48(1938); ohba, j. jap. bot. 59: 108(1984); ohashi, taiwania 45: 266 (2000); remizowa et al., nor. j. bot. 35: 264 (2017). miyoshia sakuraii makino, bot. mag. (tokyo) 17: 145 (1903). (figs 1 & 2). type: japan. mino: foot of mt ena, shady forests, 27 jul 1903, h. sakurai, s.n. (holotype & isotype: mak!). synonyms: petrosavia sinii (k. krause) gagnep., fl. indo-chine 6: 802 (1934). miyoshia sinii (k. krause) nakai, j. jap. bot. 17(4): 191 (1941). type: china. guangxi: yao shan, in a bamboo thicket, 3000 ft, 6 june 1928, s.s. sin and k.k. whang 421 (holotype: b!). 1corresponding author. email: lichajeri2013@gmail.com 2botanical survey of india, eastern regional centre, shillong-793023, meghalaya, india. mailto:lichajeri2013@gmail.com 114 bhat et al. mycoheterotrophic, achlorophyllous, tough, pale yellow, glabrous herbs, 11–28 cm tall. rhizome slender, covered with numerous minute membranaceous scales; scales 1-nerved, entire, lanceolate-ovate, apex acuminate-obtuse, c. 3 mm long. stem erect, 1–2 arising from the rhizome, glabrous. leaves reduced to scales, alternate, 2–3 cm apart, sessile, simple, margin entire, membranaceous, 1-nerved, lanceolate, 2–4 mm long. inflorescence terminal, racemose, 3–15flowered. flower erect, creamy or whitish, bisexual, 3–5 mm in diam.; bract usually longer or equal to pedicels in young flowers but shorter in fruits due to elongation of pedicel, subulate, entire, membranaceous, apex acuminate, 1–2 mm long; bracteole 1, near the centre or base of the pedicel; pedicel erect, ascending, slightly shorter than flower, 2–5 mm long, flowers sometimes paired in the lower part of the raceme. perianth funnel-shaped; outer tepals 3, much smaller and fig. 1. petrosavia sakuraii (makino) j.j. smith ex van steenis: a. habit; b. a portion of stem with scale; c. flower; d. inner tepal with stamen; e. stamen; f&g. capsule front and side view; h. seed. petrosaviaceae, a new family record for india 115 fig. 2. petrosavia sakuraii (makino) j.j. smith ex van steenis: a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. rhizome; d. a portion of stem with scale; e. flower front side; f. flower side view with bract; g. outer tepal; h. inner tepal with stamen; i. stamen; j. seed. 116 bhat et al. narrow than the inner, deltoid-ovate, apex acute, c. 1 mm long; inner tepals 3, ovate, spreading, alternate with outer tepals, obtuse-submucronate at the apex, 1.5–2.0 mm long. stamens 6, shorter than the inner tepal, c. 1.5 mm long; filament subulate; anthers ovate, minute, auriculate at base, dorsifixed, introrse. ovary semi-inferior, 3-locular in the syncarpous region; carpels 3, erect, connate at base and free above the tepal, conical short; style 1 on each carpel, erect, c. 1 mm long; stigma depressed to sub-capitate; ovules numerous. capsule recurved, dehiscing along the adaxial side, c. 3 mm in diam. seeds elliptical to oblong, numerous, small, hyaline wings around the seed body, 0.5–0.8×0.2–0.4 mm. flowering and fruiting: august to september. habitat: p. sakuraii grows mainly on thick, shady moist places of the virgin forests. the species normally grows terrestrial in the decomposed litter but some individuals have been collected from mossy trees as an epiphyte. the exact growing conditions were not specified but it is possible that they grow as a low-level epiphyte in a humid environment. specimen examined: india: arunachal pradesh: lower subansiri district, talle valley wildlife sanctuary, alt. 2012 m, 27º32.977'n, 93º54.395'e, 13 august 2017, n.a. bhat & licha jeri 702 (assam!). distribution: india (arunachal pradesh), vietnam, japan, southern china, taiwan, myanmar, northern thailand and indonesia (northern half of sumatra). conservation status: the population size of the species in the studied site was very low and facing a number of anthropogenic threats. the major threat operating in the area of its occurrence is unsustainable harvesting of orchids and medicinal plants (panax pseudoginseng wall., paris polyphylla sm. and illicium griffithii hook.f. & thomson) for commercial purposes. in order to conserve this extremely rare species from extinction, immediate conservative strategies are needed. along with checking of illegal harvesting, the habitat of the species needs to be strictly protected. as the species have mycoheterotrophic nature, hence is very difficult to cultivate. however, its capacity is to produce large numbers of seeds, therefore scientific methods like ‘in situ’ seed sowing would be the hopeful method to restore the population of the species. it has been provisionally listed as a data deficient (dd) as per iucn guidelines until the populations can be evaluated. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the state forest department, arunachal pradesh for permitting us to work in the wildlife sanctuary. the author (lj) is thankful to the university grant commission (ugc), new delhi for the financial support through maulana azad national fellowship (manf2014-15-chr-aru-35998). we are also grateful to head of office, botanical survey of india, eastern regional centre, shillong for allowing us to consult the herbarium. we are cordially grateful to mr. h. choudhury, for assisting us in illustrations and the help and cooperation received from the local people is also acknowledged. references cameron, k.m., chase, m.w. and rudall, p.j. 2003. recircumscription of the monocotyledonous family petrosaviaceae to include japonolirion. brittonia 55: 214–255. karthikeyan, s. 2000. a statistical analysis of flowering plants of india. in: singh, n.p., singh, d.k., hajra, p.k. and sharma, b.d. (eds), flora of india. introductory vol. part ii. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 201–217. karthikeyan, s. 2009. flowering plants of india in 19th and 21st centuries – a comparison. in: krishnan, s. and bhat, d.j. (eds), plant and fungal biodiversity and bioprospecting. goa university, goa, pp. 19–29. petrosaviaceae, a new family record for india 117 makino, t. 1903. observation on the flora of japan. bot. mag. (tokyo) 17: 145–146. ohashi, h. 2000. petrosavia (petrosaviaceae) in taiwan and hainan. taiwania 45: 263–269. remizowa, m.v., nuraliev, m.s., averyanov, l.v., kuznetsov, a.n. and kuznetsova, s.p. 2017. a revision of the family petrosaviaceae in vietnam. nord. j. bot. 35: 262–271. smith, j.j. 1934. melanthiaceae petrosavia sakuraii (makino) j.j. sm. ex steenis. trop. nat. 23: 52. takahashi, h., nishio, e. and hayashi, h. 1993. pollination biology of the saprophytic species petrosavia sakuraii (makino) van steenis in central japan. j. plant res. 106: 213–217. tobe, h. and takahashi, h. 2009. embryology of petrosavia (petrosaviaceae, petrosaviales): evidence for the distinctness of the family from other monocots. j. plant res. 122: 597–610. (manuscript received on 17 october 2017; revised on 24 march 2018) microsoft word 11. bjpt 16 123_edt_ka-april 26, 2017.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 91–105, 2017 (june) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology and numerical analysis of tamarix l. (tamaricaceae) in egypt and its systematic implication ahmed elkordy1 and ahmed faried2 botany & microbiology department, fac. of science, sohag university, 82524, egypt keywords: tamarix; pollen morphology; numerical taxonomy; upgma cluster; pco, egypt. abstract a palynological and multivariate study of six species of tamarix l. distributed in egypt was carried out. pollen morphology was examined by light microscope (lm) and scanning electron microscope (sem). the systematic study of these species was conducted by means of numerical analysis using upgma clustering and pco analysis based on 33 morphological characters, including life form, vegetative parts, fruits, floral characters, seeds and pollen grains. pollen grains were found to be monads, radially symmetrical, isopolar, small-sized and homocolpate. tamarix nilotica can be easily separated from other taxa by its subprolate pollen shape. two major clades were identified by multivariate analysis of morphological characters; one of them included three species, namely t. amplexicaulis, t. passerinoides and t. macrocarpa. our results indicate that there is a wide range of morphological similarity among the species of section polyadenia. the other clade included t. aphylla, t. tetragyna and t. nilotica from section tamarix and section oligadenia. introduction tamarix l. is one of the four genera of tamaricaceae, and consists of halophytic shrubs and dwarf trees native to europe, asia, southern and northern africa (baum,1978).the taxonomy of tamarix is notoriously complex (bunge, 1852; zohary, 1972; baum, 1978; villar et al., 2014). most of its members show few distinctive external features (baum, 1978) and most taxa are difficult to distinguish in the vegetative state (crins, 1989). hybridization is considered as one of the most important factors which may play a great role in this taxonomic interference (rusanov, 1949; wilken, 1993). the most recent global revision of the genus tamarix by baum (1978) includes three featured sections, viz. tamarix, oligadenia and polyadenia, separated primarily by petal length, number of stamens, shape of androecial disk and attachment of filament insertion on the androecial disk. furthermore, these sections are split into nine series based on several floral and vegetative characters. intermediate forms have been observed for many characters which are used in identification of taxa within the genus, and these characters usually vary seasonally on the same individual (rusanov,1949). species of tamarix cannot be identified without the presence of floral and fruit characters (crins, 1989). according to baum (1978) and crins (1989), morphological characters such as life form and growth morphology, leaf characters (vaginate vs. sessile), number of floral parts and morphology of androecial disk can be used for distinguishing certain species. other characters such as shape of petal and sepal, presence or absence of hairs on the raceme rachis and the nature of filament attachment to the androecial disc are discussed by gaskin and schaal (2003). according to venturella et al. (2007) most taxa of tamarix l. have more or less the same morphological and ecological similarity, infraspecific variability and teratology of floral elements. 1correspondent author. email: elkordy3000@yahoo.com 2botany & microbiology department, faculty of science, assiut university, 71515, egypt. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v24i1.33036 92  elkordy and faried  the difficulties in the identification of tamarix species sometimes give rise to inaccurate descriptions and problems in analytical keys. täckholm (1974) reported five species of tamarix from egypt, namely t. aphylla, t. tetragyna, t. nilotica, t. amplexicaulis and t. passerinoides hosni (2000) added new three taxa to the flora of egypt, viz. t. macrocarpa, t. mannifera and t. arborea. boulos (2000) in his last issue of flora of egypt reduced the number of species to six and treated t. mannifera and t. arborea as synonyms of t. nilotica. moreover, he reported t. macrocarpa from egypt, but still some authors consider t. macrocarpa to be conspecific with tamarix passerinoides; others treat it as a variety of the latter species. baum (1978) treated t. mannifera, t. arabica, t. gallica, and t. arborea as separate good species; while boulos (2000) treated all of them as synonyms of t. nilotica. baum (1978) treated t. meyeri as good separate species, while boulos (2000) considered it as a synonym of t. tetragyna. concerning t. effusa and t. deserti, the two species are considered by baum (1978) and boulos (2000) as synonyms of t. tetragyna (table 1). the objectives of this work are to investigate suitability of pollen morphology for distinguishing egyptian tamarix and by using 33 characters, how do multivariate analyses agree with the sectional placement of the genus tamarix. materials and methods palynological study pollen grains examined for tamarix species in this study were collected from herbarium specimens given in appendix 1. pollen grains were acetolized and mounted on a metallic stub in a few drops of ethanol according to methods outlined in moore et al. (1991). light microscopy of pollen grains was carried out using an olympus type bh-2 research microscope. the measurements were based on at least 20 pollen grains per specimen. photomicrographs were taken under an olympus photomicroscope microscope. for scanning electron microscopy (sem), pollen grains were prepared according to the procedure given by baum et al. (1970). the specimens were coated with gold in an apolaron e1100 ion sputtering device, then viewed at 25–30 kv in a joel jsm 5300 scanning electron microscope. the means of polar axis (p) and equatorial diameter (e) were measured and the p/e ratio was calculated over all specimens. the main morphological characters and terminology and concepts of pollen grains are based on huysmans et al. (2003); punt et al. (2007); erdtman (2013). multivariate analysis of 33 morphological characters plant materials: the multivariate study is based on herbarium specimens borrowed from the following herbaria: cai, caim, astu, w, and shg. in addition, fresh materials of the most species were collected, field observations were made from several localities in egypt. species constituted the otu (operational taxonomic unit) are presented in table 3. in order to broadly sample the morphological variation, the otus consist of a number of collections/accessions (either herbarium specimens or fresh material or both) from different localities in egypt. for some taxa, materials from egypt were not available or limited, so specimens from other countries were used (otus 2 and 4.) morphological character observations: morphological characters and character states scored for plant, seed, and pollen are presented in table 4. a total of 33 characters were measured on each specimen, comprising 15 quantitative and 18 qualitative characters; 3 of the qualitative characters were scored as binary and the rest were scored as multi-state characters. plant morphology, flower and fruit characters: the measurements for all specimens of a taxon were averaged into one otu scored for each of the characters. otu scores for quantitative pollen morphology and numerical analysis of tamarix 93 characters were averages of measurements of at least 10 specimens (where possible). because herbarium specimens cannot be considered to be a random sample of species, we followed wieringa (1999) by calculating the mean of the minimum and maximum measurement of all specimens for species. the complete data matrixes for the numerical taxonomy study, including specimen citations are available as appendixes from the department of botany and microbiology, sohag university, faculty of science, egypt. table 1. synopsis of the egyptian tamarix (according to baum 1978 and boulos 2000). baum (1978) no. taxa sect. series rank boulos (2000) 1. tamarix nilotica good species 2. t. mannifera good sp. 3. t. arborea good sp. 4. t. arabica leptostachyae good sp. 5. t. gallica gallica good sp. syns. of t. nilotica 6. t. aphylla good species 7. thuja aphylla 8. t. orientalis 9. t. articulata tamarix vagianates syns. of t. aphylla 10. t. tetragyna good species 11. t. meyeri good sp. syn. of t. tetragyna 12. t. effuse 13. t. deserti oligadenia anisandrae syns. of t. tetragyna 14. t. passerinoides 15. t. macrocarpa 16. t. amplexicaulis polyadenia pleiandrae good species data analysis two types of analyses were performed with past (paleontological statistics version 3.15) (hammer et al., 2001). first, we performed a cluster analysis using average taxonomic distance and upgma clustering (procedures rho and hamming similarity index) to reduce the effects of different scales of measurement for different characters. secondly a principal coordinates analysis (pco) was performed, using the product-moment correlation as a coefficient. the procedure (rho similarity index) was used to calculate the distance matrix and pco based on stand data. results pollen grains in tamarix species are free (monads), tricolpate, prolate to subprolate pollen grains: in equatorial view to spheroidal in polar view; ranging from 11.92 to 18.56 µm in polar axis length, 7.82 to 12.77 µm in equatorial diameter. the ratio of polar axis to the equatorial diameter (p/e) is between 1.3 and 1.63; they all have small, fine to coarse reticulate sculpturing grains, luminae polygonal in shape. apertures are 3, and simple (table 2). all pollen grains of studied species found to be isopolar and radially symmetrical. they are suboblate, oblate sphenoidal, spheridal, prolate, prolate spheroidal and subprotate in shape (figs 194  elkordy and faried  6). the ratio between the mean polar axis (p) and the mean equatorial diameter (e) can be used to assign the pollen grains to shape classes as follows (punt et al., 2007). pollen grains suboblate when p/e = 0.75–0.875; pollen grains oblate spheroidal when p/e= 0.875–1.0; pollen grains spheroidal when p/e = 1.0; pollen grains prolate spheroidal when p/e = 1.1–1.14; pollen grains subprolate when p/e = 1.14–1.33; pollen grains prolate when p/e= 1.33– 2.0 for each studied species, the mean of polar axis is plotted against the mean equatorial diameter (fig. 7). oblate and peroblate grains would lie above this 45° line, and oblate spheroidal and suboblate above but near this line. perfectly spheroidal grains must lie along the 45° line in fig. 1, with perprolate and prolate grains below this line and subprolate and prolate spheroidal below but near the line. concerning the studied species, there was a tendency for pollen grains to have a prolate shape in all species examined except t. nilotica issubprolate (fig. 3a). the pollen grains seem to be mostly circular in polar view, often slightly lobed due to sunken colpi. pollen grains of studied taxa are comparatively small; the average polar axis value ranges from 11.96 µm in t. nilotica to 16.84 in t. passerinoides; the average e value varies from 9.14 µm in t. nilotica to 11.41 µm in t. aphylla (table 2). all pollen grains are characterized by simple apertures and are zonocolpate; the colpi are narrow to slit-like after acetolysis, they are usually widest at the equatorial view and gradually narrow towards the poles. the number of colpi is always three. pollen grain have the same ornamentation pattern with reticulate tectum, circular to polygonal laminae in shape, 0.46 0.91 µm in length (figs 1b-6b). table 2. morphological data of pollen grain characters of genus tamarix. polar axis (p µm) equatorial axis (e µm) sl. no. species range mean range mean p/e pollen shape aperture no. surface ornamentation 1. t. aphylla 13.30 –18.56 15.91 10.11–12.77 11.41 1.39 prolate 3 reticulate 2. t. tetragyna 14.38 –17.62 16.23 7.82–11.99 10.32 1.57 prolate 3 reticulate 3. t. nilotica 11.92 –11.99 11.96 8.64–9.94 9.14 1.30 subprolate 3 reticulate 4. t. amplexicaulis 14.49 –16.1 15.54 10.71–10.97 10.81 1.40 prolate 3 reticulate 5. t. passerinoides 14.75 –17.91 16.84 8.92–10.90 10.26 1.64 prolate 3 reticulate 6. t. macrocarpa 14.79 – 17.10 15.64 10.92 \–9.18 10.23 1.52 prolate 3 reticulate equatorial diameter (e); polar axis (p); the ratio between the polar and equatorial (p/e) multivariate analysis of 33 morphological characters cluster analysis figure 8 shows the dendrogram of all otus studied, clustered by the upgma method. the cophenetic correlation of distance matrix and tree matrix was 0.9512, indicating a good fit of the dendrogram to the distance matrix, see rohlf (1990) . two clades were identified, namely clade a and clade. clade a is divided into two subgroups: subgroup (i) comprising t. amplexicaulis, and subgroup (ii) comprising t. passerinoides and t. macrocarpa. clade b is also divided into two subgroups: subgroup (iii) comprising t. nilotica and t. tetragyna, while sub group (iv) comprising only t. aphylla. pollen morphology and numerical analysis of tamarix 95 figs 1-4. pollen grains photographs of studied species under scanning electron microscope: aentire pollen grains; b enlargement part of pollen grain exine: 1. t. aphylla, 2. t. tetragyna, 3. t. nilotica, 4. t. amplexicaulis. 96  elkordy and faried  figs 5-6. pollen grains photographs of studied species under scanning electron microscope: aentire pollen grains; b enlargement part of pollen grain exine: 5. t. passerinoides, 6. t. macrocarpa. fig. 7. pollen mean equatorial vs. polar measurements. pollen morphology and numerical analysis of tamarix 97 principal components analysis (pco) the plot of 6 otu’s on the first three principal components is shown in figs 9 and 10. these components interpret 87.788 % of the total observed variation. on the first component (44.523 % of the total variation in figs. 9 and 10) a segregation is demonstrated between two groups. 1) t. amplexicaulis, t. passerinoides and t. macrocarpa; 2) t. nilotica, t. tetragyna and t. aphylla. multivariate analysis of 33 morphological characters cluster analysis figure 8 shows the dendrogram of all otus studied, clustered by the upgma method. the cophenetic correlation of distance matrix and tree matrix was 0.9512, indicating a good fit of the dendrogram to the distance matrix, see rohlf (1990) . two clades were identified, namely clade a and clade. clade a is divided into two subgroups: subgroup (i) comprising t. amplexicaulis, and subgroup (ii) comprising t. passerinoides and t. macrocarpa. clade b is also divided into two subgroups: subgroup (iii) comprising t. nilotica and t. tetragyna, while sub group (iv) comprising only t. aphylla. principal components analysis (pco) the plot of 6 otu’s on the first three principal components is shown in figs 9 and 10. these components interpret 87.788 % of the total observed variation. on the first component (44.523 % of the total variation in figs. 9 and 10) a segregation is demonstrated between two groups. 1) t. amplexicaulis, t. passerinoides and t. macrocarpa; 2) t. nilotica, t. tetragyna and t. aphylla. the main characters explaining this separation (characters with high factor loading 0.6) are life cycle, color of plant bark, leaf shape, leaf base, leaf apex, inflorescence type, inflorescence length, bract apex, sepal length, sepal shape, petal length, petal colour, stamen number, disc presence, filament attachment position to the androecial disk, style number, capsule length, capsule shape, seed length and seed shape. the second (28.688% of the total variation in figs 9&10) and third components (14.577 % of the total variation) do not reveal a divide between studied groups of the otu’s. table 3. list of otu's for the tamarix species used for the studies arranged by section and series according to baum (1978). no. taxon origin no. of individuals baum (1978) 1. t. aphylla egypt 10 section: tamarix series: vagianates 2. t. tetragyna egypt, israel 4 section: oligadenia series: anisandrae 3. t. nilotica egypt 15 section: tamarix series: leptostachyae 4. t. amplexicaulis tunisia 5 section: polyadenia series: pleiandrae 5. t. passerinoides egypt 3 section: polyadenia series: pleiandrae 6. t. macrocarpa egypt 7 section: polyadenia series: pleiandrae 98  elkordy and faried  table 4. characters and character states used in morphometric analysis of the genus tamarix in egypt. characters character states 1. life cycle 1. shrubs 2. trees 2. plant height 1. 1-5 m 2. 5-12 m 3. stem indumentum 1. glabrous 2. papillose 3. papillose to glabrous 4. color of plant bark 1. reddish brown 2. purple to dark brown 5. leaf shape 1. sheath-like 2. oblong-lanceolate 3. ovate-deltoid 4. ovate-deltoid to lanceolate 5. amplexicaul 6. leaf length 1. 1-3 mm 2. 3-6 mm 7. leaf base 1. sessile 2. cordate and clasping 3. amplexicaul 8. leaf apex 1. acute 2. acute to acuminate and not spreading 3. acute to acuminate and spreading 4. short pointed apex 9. inflorescence type 1. raceme 2. simple compact spike 3. paniculate 4. simple raceme or paniculate 10. inflorescence length 1. 3-5 cm 2. 5-10 cm 11. inflorescence width 1. 0.3-0.8 cm 2. 0.8-1.2 cm 12. bract length 1. 1-2 mm 2. 2-3.5 mm 13. bract shape 1. ovate-deltoid 2. triangular 3. narrowly triangular 4. oblong-linear 14. bract apex 1. acute 2. acuminate 3. upper acuminate, lower obtuse 15. pedicel length 1. 0 mm 2. 0.5-1 mm 3. 1-1.5 mm 16. flower diamter 1. 2-4 mm 2. 5-6 mm 17. sepal length 1. 1-1.5 2. 1.5-2 pollen morphology and numerical analysis of tamarix 99 table 4 contd. characters character states 18. sepal shape 1. ovate 2. broadly ovate 3. deltoid-ovate 4. ovate-elliptic 5. outer 2 smaller and broadly ovate to broadly elliptical, the inner larger, broadly elliptical to suborbicular 19. sepal apex 1. acute 2. obtuse 3. outer 2 acute, the inner obtuse 20. petal shape 1. oblong elliptic 2. ovate elliptic 3. obovate elliptic 4. broadly elliptic to ovate 5. oblong, elliptical-oblong to obovate 21. petal length 1. 1.5-3.0 mm 2. 3.0-4.5 mm 22. petal colour 1. white 2. pinkish 3. pink 23. stamen number 1. 4-5 2. 6-10 3. 10-13 24. disc presence 1. present 2. absent 25. position of filament insertion on the androecial disk 1. filament not arising from disc 2. jointed with the deep sinuses of the disc 3. inserted at the entire or retuse disc lobes 4. exserted, inserted in the sinuses of the disc 26. style no. 1. 3 2. 4 27. capsule length 1. 3-6 mm 2. 6-13 mm 28. capsule shape 1. pyriform 2. pyramidal 3pyramidal with 4-valved 4ovoid pyramidal 29. seed length 1. 0.5 mm 2. 1-1.5 mm 30. seed shape 1. oblong 2. ovoid oblong 3. terete 4. cylindrical 31. pollen shape 1. prolate 2. subprolate 32. mean of polar axis 1. 11.96 2. 15.54-16.84 33. mean of equatorial axis 1. 9.14 2. 10.23-11.41 100  elkordy and faried  fig. 8. upgma dendrogram of tamarix speies showing interspecific relationship.method. fig.9. scatter plot of the 6 otus plotted against the first principal component by the second principal component in tamarix species. pollen morphology and numerical analysis of tamarix 101 table 5. vegetative and floral characters on the first three principal coordinates axes showing highest factor loading. factor loading values ≥ ±0.6 are shaded. principal components pc 1 pc 2 pc 3 no. characters factor loading 1. life cycle -0.7856 -0.4095 -0.062791 2. plant height -0.45467 -0.36715 0.72195 3. stem indumentum -0.20668 0.72258 -0.62667 4. color of plant bark 0.64978 0.72503 0.043484 5. leaf shape 0.71333 -0.051789 -0.66075 6. leaf length -0.2465 0.91203 0.17145 7. leaf base 0.9793 -0.13841 -0.085181 8. leaf apex -0.66548 -0.43643 0.5511 9. inflorescence type 0.7604 -0.29822 0.33339 10. inflorescence length -0.9244 0.2937 0.068594 11. inflorescence width -0.2465 0.91203 0.17145 12. bract length -0.2465 0.91203 0.17145 13. bract shape -0.45615 0.84115 -0.18956 14. bract apex -0.74335 0.65303 0.13174 15. pedicel length 0.37491 0.71374 0.018628 16. flower diamter -0.2465 0.91203 0.17145 17. sepal length 0.64978 0.72503 0.043484 18. sepal shape -0.69836 0.28471 0.4677 19. sepal apex -0.51942 0.74201 0.11933 20. petal shape 0.13981 0.10727 0.57966 21. petal length 0.64978 0.72503 0.043484 22. petal colour 0.73988 -0.10203 0.20584 23. stamen number 0.91476 -0.19773 -0.08085 24. disc presence 0.9244 -0.2937 -0.068594 25. position of filament insertion on the androecial disk -0.82778 0.32416 -0.43225 26. style number 0.92759 0.051465 -0.0052335 27. capsule length 0.88406 0.047996 -0.089424 28. capsule shape 0.82411 0.47214 -0.26183 29. seed length 0.7856 0.4095 0.062791 30. seed shape -0.74882 -0.59962 0.18855 31. pollen shape -0.53904 -0.15084 -0.80138 32. mean of polar axis 0.53904 0.15084 0.80138 33. mean of equatorial axis 0.53904 0.15084 0.80138 percentage per pco 44.523 28.688 14.577 percentage total variation for the first three principal components is 87.788 % 102  elkordy and faried  fig. 10. principal component analysis of tamarix species explaining 87.788 % of the variation. discussion tamarix is known as a stenopalynous genus. the morphology of pollen grains is remarkably similar, especially together with the aspects of small tricolpate and reticulate tectum. these results show congruence with those of gaskin et al. (2004) who showed that the genus tamarix is a monophyletic group based on data from the nuclear ribosomal region 18s and chloroplast regions rbcl and trna ser (gcu)/ trna gly (ucc). the pollen grains shape is either prolate or subprolate; they are subprolate in only t. nilotica (fig. 3a), and prolate in the remaining species (figa 1a6a). these results agree with those of baum et al. (1970). the size of pollen grains overlaps for most of studied species, although t. nilotica is easily distinguished by their relatively small grains, against the rest of the species. the number of apertures is commonly 3, and this agree with the results of baum et al. (1970). the ornamentation pattern of exine was found to be reticulate (figs 1b-6b). morphological characters play an important role in taxonomy and to circumscribe taxa. taxonomical problems appear when taxa show a huge amount of variability, due to ecological niches and phenotypic plasticity (van den berg and groendijk wilders, 1999). baum (1978) divided the genus tamarix into sections and series (table 1). baum’s study was based on a small number of morphological characters, either vegetative or floral such as the number of stamen, the length of petal, shape of androecial disk, and position of filament insertion on the androecial disk. in our present work, nearly all characters were scored and numerical methods (upgma and pco) were applied to demonstrate the relationships between studied taxa and approximate the grade of variation among taxa. upgma analysis gives insight into degree of similarity among the otu's and whether they form groups/clusters. pco analysis reflects which characters are important on the axes, and indicates the significant characters based on the highest factor loading (table 5). pollen morphology and numerical analysis of tamarix 103 therefore it becomes clear which characters cause the separation between groups and can be useful to distinguish taxa. in general, the results display congruence between the upgma clustering and pco analyses; two major clades were identified which have been given the names of a and b. clade a included t. amplexicaulis, t. passerinoides and t. macrocarpa. baum (1978) placed these species in section polyadenia series pleiandrae. the results obtained from both upgma and pco analysis confirmed that, the group of t. amplexicaulis, t. passerinoides and t. macrocarpa is a well-distinguished group characterized by amplexicaul or sessile leaves with auriculate bases, racemes 6-10 (-15) mm broad, pentamerous, stamens 6-15 (mostly 10), of these 5 antesepalous and with slightly longer filaments and androecial disc with no nectariferous lobes. our results are congruent with that of baum (1978). clade b included three species, t. aphylla and t. nilotica of section tamarix series vagianates and leptostachyae respectively and t. tetragyna of section oligadenia series anisandrae. the results of both upgma and pco confirmed that the group of t. aphylla, t. nilotica and t. tetragyna is a well-distinguished group with racemes 3-5 mm broad or in dioecious trees 5-7 mm broad, petals 1.02.25 mm long, stamens usually 5 (antesepalous) and disc various. baum (1978) placed t. aphylla and t. nilotica in section tamarix, and t. tetragyna in section oligadenia. moreover, our results placed t. nilotica closer to t. tetragyna than to t. aphylla, which is contrary to baum's sections. arianmanesh et al. (2015) presented a phylogenetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (its) of 15 tamarix samples recognized by recent taxonomic treatments from iran. in addition, 19 previously its sequences from genbank were used. the results of data analysis indicated that, the classification of the genus tamarix into three sections based on some morphological characters by baum (1978) is not supported by that molecular analyses as well as the classification of species according to the morphology of androecial disc, but the morphology of leaf and number of flower parts are useful for the classification and identification of tamarix species. both of morphological characteristics and molecular data will be most effective to determine the evolution of the genus tamarix. according to arianmanesh et al. (2015), two main clades were found; clade (b) included t. nilotica, t. passerinoides t. tetragyna var. meyeri and t. aphylla and clade (c) included t. amplexicaulis and t. tetragyna var. deserti. our results are in matching with those of arianmanesh et al. (2015), in which they support the presence of t. nilotica, t. tetragyna and t. aphylla in one section, and t. amplexicaulis in other section, and disagree with those of baum (1978). our results using the upgma and pco analysis to show the similarities between species indicate that there is some degree of similarity between the species of section polyadenia. acknowledgements we are grateful to the directors and curators of naturhistorisches museum wien (vienna) herbarium (w), kew herbarium (k), leiden herbarium (l) wageningen university herbarium (wag), cairo university herbarium (cai), agriculture museum in dokki (caim), and assiut university herbarium (astu) for the loan of specimens. our great thanks are due to dr. john gaskin; botanist/research leader pmru, usda ars nparl. sidney, usa for going through the manuscript and making valuable suggestions. references arianmanesh, r., mehregan, i., nejadsatari, t., assadi and m. 2015. molecular phylogeny of tamarix (tamaricaceae) species from iran based on its sequence data. eur. j. exp. biol. 5: 44–50. baum, b. 1978. the genus tamarix. israel academy of sciences and humanities. 104  elkordy and faried  baum, b., bassett, i. and crompton, c. 1970. pollen morphology and its relationships to taxonomy and distribution of tamarix, series vaginantes. österreichische botanische zeitschrift 118: 182–188. boulos, l. 2000. flora of egypt (geraniaceaeboraginaceae). al hadara publishing, egypt, pp. 124–130. bunge, a.g.v. 1852. tentamen generis tamaricum species accuratius definiendi. dorpati: ex officina academica viduae jc schuenmanni et c. mattieseni. crins, w. 1989. the tamaricaceae in the southeastern united states. j. arnold arboretum 70: 403–405. erdtman, g. 2013. an introduction to pollen analysis. read books ltd. gaskin, j.f. and schaal, b.a. 2003. molecular phylogenetic investigation of us invasive tamarix. systematic botany 28: 86–95. gaskin, j.f., ghahremani-nejad, f., zhang, d.y. and londo, j.p. 2004. a systematic overview of frankeniaceae and tamaricaceae from nuclear rdna and plastid sequence data. ann. miss. bot. gard. 91: 401–409. hammer, ø., harper, d.a.t., and ryan, p. d. 2001. past: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. palaeontologia electronica 4 (1): pp. 9. available at: http://folk.uio.no/ohammer/past/. hosni, h. a. 2000. tamaricaceae in the flora of egypt. taeckholmia 20: 17–31. huysmans, s., dessein, s., smets, e. and robbrecht, e. 2003. pollen morphology of nw european representatives confirms monophyly of rubieae (rubiaceae). rev. palaeobot. and palynol. 127: 219– 240. moore, p., webb, j. and collinson, m. 1991. pollen analysis, 2nd. blackwell, oxford. punt, w., hoen, p., blackmore, s., nilsson, s., le thomas, a. 2007. glossary of pollen and spore terminology. rev. palaeobot. and palynol. 143: 1–81. rusanov, f. 1949. sredniyeaziatskie tamariksi. tash-kent.[tamarisks of central asia.]. täckholm, v. 1974. students' flora of egypt. cairo university, egypt.pp. 366–369. van den berg, r.g. and groendijk wilders, n. 1999. numerical analysis of the taxa of series circaeifolia (solanum sect. petota). solanaceae iv: advances in biology and utilization. kew: the royal botanic gardens, kew,pp. 213–226. venturella, g., baum, b. and mandracchia, g. 2007. the genus tamarix (tamaricaceae) in sicily: first contribution. flora mediterranea 17: 25–46. villar, j.l., alonso, m.á., vicente, a., juan, a. and crespo, m.b. 2014. the genus tamarix (tamaricaceae) in crete (greece). willdenowia 44: 321–326. wieringa, j.j. 1999. monopetalanthus exit. a systematic study of aphanocalyx, bikinia, icuria, michelsonia and tetraberlinia (leguminosae,caesalpinioideae). wageningen agricultural university, wageningen, netherlands, pp. 320. wilken, d.h. 1993. tamaricaceae. in: hickman, j.c. (ed.), the jepson manual: higher plants of california university of california press, berkeley, los angeles, london, pp. 1080. zohary, m. 1972. tamarix. in: zohary, m. and feinbrun-dothan, n.( eds.), flora palaestina, vol. 2. israel academy of sciences and humanities, jerusalem, pp. 351–364. (manuscript received on 16 november 2016; revised on 26 march 2017) pollen morphology and numerical analysis of tamarix 105 appendix 1. list of pollen grain specimens used in the study of genus tamarix l. by means of light and scanning electron microscope (sem). sl.no. species locality vouchers 1. tamarix aphylla (l) h. karst. egypt, sinai, musa well f. j. breteler 15819, 26.02.2002 2. tamarix tetragyna ehrenb. israel, negev, revivim, ditches j. d. angelis 552, 22.03.1952 3. tamarix nilotica (ehrenb.) bunge egypt, 10 km n. hurghada a. m. cleef s.n., 36.09.2009 4. tamarix amplexicaulis ehrenb. tunisia, bordj el khadra p. goelghebeur 3030, 06.09.1979 5. tamarix passerinoides delil ex desv egypt, fayum kralik, s.n. 14.03. 1848 6. tamarix macrocarpa (ehrenb.) bunge herbarium accession number w 1889. 0320243. (vienna) microsoft word 07. bjpt 16-126_edit_marine diatom_or_26.11.17.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 183–196, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphology and molecular phylogeny of the marine diatom nitzschia dentatum sp. nov. and n. johorensis sp. nov. (bacillariophyceae) from malaysia s.n.p. suriyanti1 and g. usup school of environmental science and natural resources, faculty science and technology, universiti kebangsaan malaysia, 43600 bangi, selangor, malaysia keywords: girdle; hantzschiod; indented valves; jagged; new species; pennate diatom abstract the marine diatom nitzschia dentatum sp. nov. isolated from seawater samples of kudat and n. johorensis sp. nov. isolated from beach sand samples of sibu island, malaysia, have been described in this paper. morphological identification, molecular phylogeny and toxin analyses were executed on the pure non-axenic algal cultures designated as kd89 and ps8, respectively. the main distinguishing feature of n. dentatum sp. nov. compared to other species is the jaggedcingulum structure which is only unique to this species. meanwhile, n. johorensis sp. nov.is strongly characterized by the ‘hantzschioid’and ‘nitzschioid’ symmetry dimorphisms; a common diagnostic feature but rarely described in other nitzschia species. identification of both strains was made based on the frustule diagnostic features and verified using the partial large ribosomal subunit dna sequences. the results have confirmed that these two speciesare independent entities and novel species that have not been documented elsewhere. a notable finding from the maximum likelihood (ml), maximum parsimony (mp) and bayesian index (bi) analyses have also revealed that nitzschia species that have indentation in the middle of valves have been consistently grouped as same clade with high bootstrap values. the extracts of both species did not show detectable amount of domoicacid and have therefore, been classified as non-toxic. this discovery contributes to the documentation of nitzschia species worldwide. introduction nitzschia hassall is represented by 1,405 diatom species worldwide comprising the freshwater, brackish water and marine environments, with only half of it been accepted taxonomically (guiry and guiry, 2017). the species of nitzschia are ecologically important as bioindicator (maznah and mansor, 2002; trobajoet al., 2004; trobajo et al., 2009), endosymbiont (lee, 2011) and also as aquaculture live feed (chu et al., 1996). some nitzschia species from the tropics regions are toxic. the first discovery of toxic nitzschia species was identified from prawn pond samples in vietnam (lundholm and moestrup, 2000) while others have been collected from estuarine sites such as in malaysia (suriyanti and gires, 2015)and lagoon samples from the southwest mediterranean sea (smida et al., 2014). there has been no report of harmful blooms to date that were associated with nitzschia. in malaysia, the distribution of this genus has been listed along with other diatoms during field surveys and studies (cleve, 1901; nather-khan, 1990; shamsudin, 1990; aishah and nooraida, 1994; aishah, 2005; fareha et al., 2011; saifullah et al., 2014). taxonomical                                                              1utm ocean thermal energy centre (otec), ground floor, block q, universiti teknologi malaysia, jalan sultan yahya petra, 54100 kuala lumpur, malaysia. corresponding author. email: sue_0586@yahoo.com.my 184 suriyanti and usup   identification of the diatom nitzschia has been highly dependent on discernable valve characters under light microscopy and the molecular data on the existing nitzschia species was lacking. in molecular phylogeny of microalgae, the d1−d3 domain of lsu rdna has been commonly used and proven as suitable marker for species delineation (ki and han, 2005; sonnenberg et al., 2007; lundholm et al., 2002). currently, 14 species of nitzschia have been compiled from malaysian waters (suriyanti, 2017). in the present research, two species of nitzschia have been identified based on morphological and molecular characteristics and hitherto reported as new to science. this research is part of the results obtained from nitzschia distribution study in malaysia (suriyanti, 2017). materials and methods nitzschia cell isolate kd89 was obtained from marine net haul sample of kudat, borneo and isolatenps8 from sand sediment sample of sibu island, johor, malaysia. both isolates were established into pure non-axenic clonal cultures. all cultures were grown in silica-enriched media modified from swii (iwasaki, 1961) concoction adjusted to 30 practical salinity unit (psu)and maintained at 26 °c under 12:12 hour light : dark photo cycle. the removal of organic matter by acid treatment was done according to renberg (1990).cultured cells were harvested by centrifugation at 8000 revolutions per minute (rpm) for 10 minutes and the supernatant was discarded. hydrogen peroxide (30%) was added to the cell pellet and heated at 85°c for two to three hours. after oxidization, hydrogen peroxide was discarded and the samples were treated with 10% hydrochloric acid for several days at room temperature. after treatment, cells were rinsed two to three times with distilled water and stored in 70% ethanol. the average size of valves was obtained by measuring the specimens from the first batch of clonal cultures to minimize size reduction due to mitotic division. cleaned diatom valves were mounted on a glass slides using naphrax mountant (brunel microscope ltd., u.k.) and viewed under a light microscope (olympus bx51tf, japan) equipped with built-in camera (olympus utv1x, japan)at 20 × magnification. a minimum of 30 cells were randomly selected for length and width measurements by using analy sis life science professional software version 3.0 (build 1243). the ultra-structural valve characteristics for species identification were observed by using electron microscopy. for scanning electron microscopy (leo 1450 vp, united kingdom), cleaned specimens were dried overnight on cover slips and mounted on a stub for gold-palladium coating before viewing. for transmission electron microscopy (philips cm12, netherland), cleaned specimens were mounted on formvar-coated copper grids. the diagnostic features for identification were the valve outlines, internal valves, valve striations, eccentricity of the raphe system and the presence of poroids in the raphe canals. molecular data were obtained from dna samples of fresh specimens of pure clonal cultures. diatom cells from the clonal cultures were harvested by centrifugation at 8000 rpm for 10 minutes. the genomic dna was extracted using gene jet plant genomic dna purification mini kit. targeted lsu rrna gene was amplified using primer set d1r 5’-acc cgc tga att taa gca ta-3’ (scholin et al., 1994) and d3b 5’-tcg gag gga acc agc tac ta-3’ (nunn et al., 1996). total pcr reaction volume of 50µl contained 0.2 g/µl bovine serum albumin, 0.2 mmdntps, 0.5 µm of forward and reverse primers, 1x taq buffer, 1.5 mm mgcl2, 1.25 u taq polymerase (fermentas #ep0402) and dna template. the amplification condition was set atone initial denaturation at 94°c for 2 min, 30 cycles of 94°c for 30s, 60°c for 30s, 72°c for 30s and followed by final extension at 72°c for 2min (lundholm et al., 2002). amplified products morphology and molecular phylogeny of the marine 185 were visualized by electrophoresis on a 1% agarose gel pre-casted with red safe nucleic acid staining solution (intron biotechnology cat. no.21141). purified products were sent to first base laboratories (malaysia) for sequencing using the same primer set. in the analysis of multiple sequence alignment, the quality of dna sequences were checked manually using bioedit version 7.0.9.0 (hall, 1999). reverse sequences were reversecomplemented with the forward sequences using optimal global pairwise alignment. trimmed sequences were saved in fasta file and uploaded to ncbi online database for query using blastx (zhang et al., 2000). other nitzschia lsu sequences were downloaded from the http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ websiteas well. multiple sequence alignment was executed using muscle in mega version 6 (tamura et al., 2013) and clustal x version 1.81 (thompson et al., 1997) and saved in nexus format. phylogenetic analyses were performed using ml and mp algorithm in paup* version 4.0b10 (swofford, 2003). for ml analysis, the best model gtr+g+i was generated using modeltest3.7 (posada and crandall, 1998). heuristic search was used in the mp analysis. tree reliability was estimated using bootstrap method with 1000 replicates of data set for ml and mp. bayesian analysis was used to generate the best phylogenetic tree using prior probability monte carlo markov chains (mcmc) method with 490000 generation in mr bayes version 3.1.2 (ronquist and huelsenbeck, 2003). distance analysis was generated using paup* version 4.0b10 (swofford, 2003). results and discussion nitzschia dentatum suriyanti s.n.p. & g.usup, sp. nov. (figs 1a–l). diagnosis: the outline and valve characteristics of n. dentatum sp. nov. is compatible to species categorized under the section of lanceolatae. translated from cleve and grunow 1830 (as cited in mann, 1978), the section lanceolatae is defined as “lanceolate-linear or rarely oval, highly eccentric keels, keel puncta not prolonged”. many species in this section have cell dimensions close to n. dentatum sp. nov. due to the high variability of the sizes, other features such as the shape of valve and presence of central interspace were used in combination to select the most proximate species from its allies. nitzschia dentatum sp. nov.has slender and narrow cell outlines, most similar with n. inconspicua grunow, n. frustulum (kutzing) grunow and n. pusilla grunowin this section (table 1). n. dentatum sp. nov.lack the central interspace, different from n. frustulum and n. pusilla except n. inconspicua. n. dentatum sp. nov. differs from n. inconspicua and the rest of it allies by its relatively high density of striae (78 in 10 µm); whereby other species only have average maximum number of 30–40 striae in 10µm. the main distinguish features that are only present in this species is the cingulum structure that is jagged which resembles the ‘teeth’ which could be easily distinguished from the cingulum of other species of nitzschia. this feature is similar with the lateral extensions of closed copula in rhabdonema sp. (round et al., 1990), with the exception that n. dentatum sp. nov. has an open-type girdle bands. type: malaysia. kudat, sabah, seawater sample, 6° 51‘ n, 116° 51‘ e, collected 8 december 2013, isolated by capillary washing technique on 10 december 2013, suriyanti and usup. holotype: voucher # kd89, deposited in the marine microbes and biotechnology laboratory, universiti kebangsaan malaysia. ncbi accession no.: kx839243. notes: marine habitat; cells solitary; each cell contains two yellow-brown chloroplasts; valves small and narrow; cell outline lanceolate and tapering towards the apices; rectangular in girdle view; length 17.0–18.0 µm, width 2.5–4.0 µm; apices are slightly capitate; wide pervalvar axis; raphe more or less eccentric; raphe continuous in external view; rectangular fibulae, not widely 186 suriyanti and usup   separated in the middle of valve; jagged structure of the girdle band was observed in each valve; fibulae on the diagonal side of valves (nitzschioid); terminal fissures are slightly hooked to the sameside; 13 fibulae in 10µm; terminal fissures bent towards the same side which end in a large helictoglossa internally; raphe ending at the centre only observable from internal view; it is raised in a simple shallow raphe canal which contains poroids; interstriae are raised externally, striae not interrupted by laternal sterna;78 striaein 10µm;single row of round to rectangular poroids, occluded by simple-type hymen perforation, 9–10 in 1 µm across; single strip of jagged cingulum structure with striae is observed for each valve; 1 row of poroid in the cingulum; jagged strip is lined by striaethat containporoids. etymology: named after the unique jagged structure of the girdle band. ‘dentatum’ is latin for ‘toothed’. figs 1a–l. lm, sem, tem and drawings of n. dentatum sp. nov. voucher #kd89. lm (a–b). a: whole cell in valve view showing two yellow-brown chloroplasts; b: rectangular in girdle view. (scale bar = 10 µm) sem (c–f). c: valve view showing slightly capitate ends; d: wide pervalvar axis of intact valves, showing the position of the jagged cingulum in girdle; e: continuous raphe slit from the external view; f: arrangement of the fibulae, without large central interspace. tem (g–h). g: partially intact dental-like cincture at the margin of the valve; h: fibulae on the diagonal side of the valves (‘nitzschioid’ symmetry). scale bar = 1 µm. illustration (i−l): i: terminal fissure bent towards the same side in both ends; j: terminal raphe ends in helictoglossa internally. k: central raphe ending observed from the internal view; l: close-up of the jagged structure of the girdle with horizontal striae. (scale bar = 1 µm). morphology and molecular phylogeny of the marine 187 nitzschia johorensis suriyanti s.n.p. & g. usup, sp. nov. (figs 2a–i). diagnosis: nitzschia johorensis sp. nov.is relatively small in size and best fit into the section lanceolatae. after acid-treatment, the prominent girdle attachment of the epivalves and hypovalves remained intact, compared to other species whereby the frustules completely disintegrated after the same procedures of acid treatment. observation of the valve symmetry in this species was made possible this way. only small-sized nitzschia species in this section were included for comparison. overall, n. johorensis sp. nov. is most similar with n. fonticola except for habitat origin whereby the latter is strictly confined to the freshwater (foged, 1971; tudesque et al., 2008), has a central interspace and only exist in nitzschioid form (mann, 1978). on the other hand, the valve size of n. johorensis sp. nov.is compatible to the measurements of n. tropica hustedt (tudesque et al., 2008) and n. costei tudesque, rimet et. ector but differs in the shape of valve ends. in addition, n. tropica has widely separated fibulae in the middle (tudesque et al., 2008), a feature not present in n. johorensis sp. nov (table 1). n. johorensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from n. costeiby its thickened and imperforated siliceous marginal wall along the keel towards the apices, whereas n. costeihas a double row of striae near the keel. the main feature in n. johorensis sp. nov. not found in other samples in this study is the nitzschioid and hantzschioid dimorphisms. it is rarely documented in other nitzschia species (mann, 1978; round et al., 1990), but it has been noted insome species such as the heterotrophic n. alba j.c. lewin and r. a. lewin (lauritis et al., 1967), the polar species n. frigid grunow (medlin and hasle, 1990) and the middle-constricted n. dubia smith (mann, 1978).none of those species matched the description of n. johorensis sp. nov. morphologically and ecologically. figs 2a–i. drawings and sem micrographs and of n. johorensis sp. nov. isolate ps8. illustration (a) a: lanceolate valve outline. scale bar = 10 µm. sem (b–i). b: irregular fibulae arrangement and width; c: thick interstriae and margin, poroids more elongated near margin; d: rectangular in girdle view of the intact valves; e: ‘hantzschioid’ symmetry of the raphe; closed-type of girdle band with single row of poroid; f: terminal fissure, valve margin near apical ends without perforation; g: terminal fissure ends in helictoglossa internally; h: raphe is interrupted in the middle; i: raised raphe canal with pores. (scale bar = 1µm). 188 suriyanti and usup   table 1. morphometric data of species that have the closest similarity to nitzschia dentatum sp. nov. and n. johorensis sp. nov. (n.d. = no data). species length (µm) width (µm) fibulae (10 µm) striae (10 µm) central interspace (+/−) reference n. costeitudesque, rimet & ector 8−45 2.5−4.5 9−12 23−27 + tudesque et al. (2008) n. dentatum sp. nov. (n>30) 17.0–18.0 2.5–4.0 11−13 70−78 − present study n. fonticola (grunow) grunow 10.0–55.0 2.5–4.5 n.d. 24–27 + kociolek (2011) 13.5–22.0 4.0–5.0 9–11 22–26 n.d. foged (1971) 7.0–46.0 2.5–5.5 10–12 26–30 + tudesque et al. (2008) n. frustulum (kutzing) grunow n.d. n.d. 8–10 28–30 + mann (1978) 10.8–34.0 3.0–3.9 13.3–15 26.6–30 + trobajo et al. (2013) 12.0−14.0 3.0−4.0 14−15 45−52 + present study n.inconspicua grunow 4.1–15.3 2.3–3.1 8.9–17 23.7–30.4 + trobajo et al. (2013) 12.1–14.4 2.0–3.2 3–4 28−31 − present study n. johorensissp. nov. (n>30) 7.1–11.8 1.8–3.5 11−12 30−33 − present study n. pusilla grunow 18.0–20.0 3.5–8.0 15–16 40–46 − coste and ricard (1980) 7.2–9.7 1.8–3.5 >9 >37 − present study n. tropica hustedt 14.5−44.6 3−3.7 8−10 23−25 + tudesque et al. (2008) nitzschia sp. 1 (pgmky44) 25.7−32.8 2.8−4.6 7−8 n.d. + present study nitzschiasp.2 (kd90) 9.2−13.4 2.2−3.5 8−10 n.d. − present study type: malaysia. pulau sibu (sibu island), johor, beach sand sediment, 2° 12‘ n, 104° 04’ e, collected 5 june 2012, isolated by capillary washing technique on 7 june 2012, suriyanti and usup. holotype: voucher no.ps8,deposited in the marine microbes and biotechnology laboratory, universiti kebangsaan malaysia. ncbi accession no.: kx839235 notes: two chloroplasts at both ends; valve lanceolate, length 7.1–11.8 µm, width1.8–3.5 µm; slightly capitated ends; rectangular in girdle views; valve mantel is a one-row height of elongated poroids; fibulae are either on the same side (hantschioid) or on the diagonal side (nitzschioid) of the complimentary valve; fibulae coarse and wide; irregularly spaced; 11 in 10 µm; interstriae are raised externally, smooth on the internal surface; 33 striae in 10 µm; poroids are round to rectangular; more elongated towards the valve margins; terminal fissure hooked morphology and molecular phylogeny of the marine 189 towards the valve face; valve near the raphe and apices thickened without perforations; helictoglossa ending internally; 1 row of poroids, 3–5 in 1 µm; 3–4 bands of semi-closed girdle type; single row of poroids in the copulae; raphe canal is raised with pores; central nodule in raphe slit; central interspace absent. etymology: the species epithet is named after the state (johor) from where it was found. phylogenetic analyses: the lsu rdna sequences used in the phylogenetic analyses were obtained from 11 nitzschia species (table 2) out of 14 total marine nitzschia species recorded from malaysia (suriyanti, 2017). amplification of the lsu rdna region yielded product length of ca. 800 basepairs. taxa relationship of nitzschia was inferred by the placement of pseudonitzschia americana (hasle) fryxell and fragilariopsis kerguelensis (o’meara) hustedt as out groups. these two genera were previously originated as two subsections in the genus nitzschia beforeclassified as separate genera. the bootstraps (1000 replicates) were shown next to branch. the sequences used for the ml (fig. 3), mp (fig. 3), bayesian analysis (fig. 4) and distance analysis (table 3) were obtained from nitzschia spp. recorded from malaysia and retrieved from the genbank blast query database. those analyses have included 21 partial lsu nucleotide sequences including two out groups. table 2. nitzschia culture strains used in the phylogenetic analyses. species location coordinate strain genbank n. amabilis teluk kumbar, penang 5°17’4”u, 100°14’22’’t tk47 kx839238 nitzschia sp. 1 teluk kumbar, penang pgmky44 kx839237 n. sigma kuala selangor, selangor 3°20’20”u, 101° 14’41”t ks58 kx839241 n. lorenziana kuala selangor, selangor ks55 kx839240 n. navis-varingica sungai pendas, johor 1°23’3”u, 103°37’30”t p22c7 kx839243 n. johorensis sp. nov. pulau sibu, johor 2°13’34”u, 104°3’44”t ps8 kx839235 n. pusilla pulau tioman, pahang 2°47’37”u, 104°12’7”t tmn26 kx839236 n. dentatum sp. nov. kudat, sabah 6°53’12”u, 116°49’31”t kd89 kx839243 nitzschia sp. 2 kudat, sabah kd90 kx839242 n. frustulum kudat, sabah kd92 kx839245 n. inconspicua simpang mengayau, sabah 7°1’26”u, 116°44’34”t tob54 kx839239 all reconstructed phylogenetic trees showed almost identical topologies but differed in bootstrap values. the ml and mp phylogenetic tress were only distinguished in the placement of nitzschia sp. 1. two distinct clades were generated in the trees in which n. soratensise. a. morales et m. l. vis andn. cf. fonticola (grunow) grunow formed as sister clade to other nitzschia spp. n. dentatum sp. nov. dan n. johorensis sp. nov. formed isolated branches on each phylogenetic tree and were supported by bootstrap 63 dan 57 in ml and 66 dan 61in mp, correspondingly. the prior probability in bayesian inference was 0.9939 forn. dentatum sp. nov. and 0.716 forn. johorensis sp. nov. the least genetic distance to delineate these species was estimated at 4.86% (table 3). n. dentatum sp. nov. was grouped into the same clade as n. cf. promare medlin, n. pellucida grunow, n. navis-varingica n. lundholm and ø. moestrup, n. amabilis suzuki, nitzschia sp. 1dan n. lecointei van heurck. on the other hand, n. johorensis sp. nov. formed single branch and did not cluster with any other clades. consistent grouping was 190 suriyanti and usup   observed in a clade comprising n. cf. promare, n. pellucida, n. navis-varingica and n. amabilis in all trees and supported by high bootstrap values (ml: 98, mp: 100, bi: 1). fig. 3. phylogenetic trees of nitzschia spp. reconstructed based on the d1−d3 gene region of lsu rdna using maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony with p. americana and f. kergeulensis as outgroups. bold-lettered strains were obtained from this study (black) and proposed species (green). species that are constricted in the middle valve grouped into the same clade consistently in all tress (blue). bootstrap values with 50% majority are shown (ml/mp). this study proposes two nitzschia species into the section lanceolatae based on morphological diagnoses and molecular evidence using lsu rdna genes. as taxonomic conclusion should not solely rely on the valve characters, molecular characterisation based on the lsu rdna regions was done to verify the phylogeny placement of the two new species. the d1−d3 region of lsu rdna is a highly variable and a suitable marker for species identification (ki and han 2005; sonnenberg et al., 2007; lundholm et al., 2002) amongst the 12 more conserved d-domains. highly conserved ssu marker on the other hand is less desirable in taxonomic purposes, but is helpful in depicting the original lineage of diatom (zimmermann et al., 2011; smida et al., 2014). phylogenetic tree reconstruction showed that the genus nitzschia is not monophyletic, in agreement with its great variationin morphology. based on the tree, n. dentatum sp. nov. is closely related to n. cf. promare, n. pellucida, n. navis-varingica, n. amabilis, nitzschia sp. 1 and n. lecointei.none of these species has jagged girdle bands except for the proposed species n. dentatum sp. nov. girdle character is one of the important features for species delineation (mann, 1978; round et al., 1990; lundholm and moestrup, 2000). furthermore, those species are genetically diverged at 7%−11%, respectively (table 3). morphology and molecular phylogeny of the marine 191 192 suriyanti and usup   morphology and molecular phylogeny of the marine 193 in the other hand, n. johorensis sp. nov. formed an isolated branch giving 9%−13% genetic divergence from other nitzschia species (table 3). the most morphologically similar species n. fonticolaalso clustered into another clade and is 12.3% divergence from n. johorensis sp. nov. apart from that, the dimorphic resemblance of n. alba did not show clear relationship with n. johorensis sp. nov. and there were no genetic data for n. dubia and n. frigida. fig. 4. phylogenetic trees of nitzschia spp. reconstructed based on the d1−d3 gene region of lsu rdna using bayesian analysis with p. americana and f. kergeulensis as out groups. bold-lettered strains were obtained from this study (black) and proposed species (green). species that are constricted in the middle valve grouped into the same clade consistently in all tress (blue). prior probability values are shown. from our observation, entities that have similar outlines tend to group together in the tree. for instance, cells with middle indentations of valves i.e. n. navis-varingica, n. amabilis, n. promare, n. pellucida and n. laevis clustered together as a group. to our knowledge, there are no other cells that have middle indentations located outside of that clade in the tree. n. amabilisis the new nomination of n. laevis (suzuki et al., 2010) and hence is the same species. n. amabilis branches out separately in the phylogenetic tree but it differs from n. laevis (syn. n. amabilis) genetically by 4%. there was no strong evidence to prove them as separate species. n. polaris grunowex cleve and n. neglecta hustedt (medlin and hasle, 1990) are among others that have indentation in the middle, but there were no dna sequences available. 194 suriyanti and usup   the behavior of colony formation also reflects the clustering but was very weakly supported (lundholm et al., 2002). the strains’ habitat, localities, and toxicity were not resolved in the phylogenetic tree. freshwater species n. palea (kützing) w. smith and n. sigma (kützing) w. smith (aishah and nooraida, 1994) grouped with other marine species. likewise, n. amabilis was isolated from tropical water (suriyanti, 2017) while n. promare is a polar species (medlin and hasle, 1990). in terms of toxicity, the da producers n. bizertensis smida, lundholm, sakka and hadj mabrouk and n. navis-varingica lundholmetmoestrupwere also not closely related (smida et al., 2014). both of the newly proposed species in this study are non-toxic. it is indeed very difficult to identify the key traits for the phylogenetic grouping of the genus nitzschia. lengths and widths are not stable characters to differentiate among nitzschia species (suriyanti, 2017) due to measurements that mostly overlap among species. other ultra-structural features such as presence of central nodules, densities of striae and fibulae as well as rows of poroids did not show any distinguishable pattern either (lundholm et al., 2002). the valve outlines, raphe arrangements and presence of central interspace seemed to be persistent in species delineation in this genus (mann, 1978; round et al., 1990; lundholm and moestrup, 2000). inconsistent taxa placement in the tree is observed in species such as n. pusilla, even though most of the strains from genbank have been verified by experts (lundholm et al., 2002). this could indicate the existence of cryptic and pseudo-cryptic species. further studies are required to develop a better insight of relations between the genetic encoding and the morphology of nitzschia. from the morphology and genetic data, it is therefore to affirm that n. dentatum sp. nov. and n. johorensis sp. nov. have not been described elsewhere. the phylogenetic trees inferred usinglsu rdna gene sequences also revealed nitzschia species that have indentation in the middle of valve were grouped into the same clade consistently. further genetic analyses are necessary to clarify the natural groupings within the genus nitzschia. acknowledgements suriyanti s.n.p. was funded under mybrain15 scholarship by the malaysian ministry of higher education. we would like to thank dr. dzulhelmi nasir for his guidance in bioinformatics and mr. zaki for assisting the sem operation. references aishah, s. 2005. phytoplankton. in: sasekumar, a. and chong, v.c. 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revised on 31 august 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 233‒240, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54219 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists two way indicator species analysis of weed species of potato and wheat crop fields of sharqpur tehsil, pakistan sohaib muhammad*, sarah maryam malik, zaheer-ud-din khan, muhammad tayyab, andleeb anwar sardar, muhammad zahid and nimra akram department of botany, gc university, lahore, pakistan (54000) keywords: twinspan; weeds; potato; wheat; crop fields; pakistan. abstract this study was carried out to determine the distribution of the weeds in two important cash crops of pakistan along with their distribution pattern in research area. total of 56 weed species was recorded belonging to 23 plant families by the quadrat method with random sampling in wheat and potato fields of seven different villages from tehsil sharqpur sharif, punjab, pakistan. a multivariate technique, two way indicator species analysis (twinspan), using pc-ord (version-6.22) classified the weeds into groups and associations. the dominant weed communities were cichorium-euphorbiacyperus community, chenopodium-digera-fumaria weed community, poachenopodium-coronopus weed community, parthenium-euphorbia-veronica weed community, euphorbia-achyranthes-brassica community and setaria-polypogonsolanum community. phytodiversity of weeds found in this study, remarkably indicated the variable distribution pattern of weeds in both the crop fields. moreover, communities of weeds emerged can be helpful in better planning of the weed management in crop fields. introduction agriculture in pakistan is renowned across the world for the production of potato (solanum tubersum l.) and wheat (triticum aestivum l.), but the presence of weeds in these crop fields is infesting the problems of crop growth and yield, as the weeds are competing with the crop plants for their nutrients, food, sun light etc. apart from their negative impact on yield of the crop, there are certain weed species which has their ethnomedicinal values and due to irregular agriculture practices, these species also facing a threat for their lives. the composition and richness of the weed communities present along the edges and within the crop fields reduces the quality and quantity of the crops (muhammad et al., 2009; khaliq et al., 2013). identification and distribution pattern of these weed species has its integral importance in crop management and as well as in their economic utility. several scientists worked on the distribution of the weed communities in various crops in various parts of the world, such as nikolic et al. (2013) analyzed the weed flora of potato, in which of thirty nine (39) plant weeds species were found and classified into sixteen (16) families and thirty two (32) genus. khobragade and sathawane (2014) surveyed weeds of wheat crop of bhandara district (m.s.), india. they reported, seventy six (76) weed species which belonged to twenty four (24) dicotyledonous and three (3) monocotyledonous families. muhammad et al. (2015) find out distribution pattern of weeds of some vegetable crops in tehsil gojra, pakistan. forty (40) weeds species were found to be distributed among seventeen different families. ullah et al. (2016) surveyed the lower dir, pakistan. they reported forty (40) weed species growing in the wheat crop, belonged to twenty one (21) different families. they evaluated the plants on the basis of their medicinal values and ecological importance. *corresponding author. email: dr.sohaibmuhammad@gcu.edu.pk https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54219 mailto:dr.sohaibmuhammad@gcu.edu.pk 234 muhammad et al. navagana et al. (2017) surveyed the cotton crops of visakhapatnam district and performed the quantitative analysis on the weeds in the fields. they explored the floristic composition of weed and determine the frequency, density and cover of 55 different weed species of twenty one different plant families. begum and ahmad (2018) studied the weeds of wheat at kohat, khyber pakhtunkhwa. they studied the leaf and life form of the weeds. they collected 60 weed species belonging to 23 families. ali et al. (2019) determined phytoecological aspects of weed flora of wheat in tehsil charsada (kpk), pakistan. they reported 32 weed species belonged to 18 different plant families. from these weed species five dominant weed communities were emerged through their ecological ordination analysis. these weed communities were coronopus-poaanagallis, veronica-coronopus-melilotus, anagallis-euphorbia-veronica, melilotus-coronopuspoa and polygonum-ranunculus-veronica. usman et al. (2020) reported 36 weed species from wheat crop fields of district khanewal (punjab), pakistan, distributed among 15 plant families among which family poaceae was found to be the dominant one with ten different grass species. considering the noxious behavior, their competitive abilities with crop and some useful aspect with respect to their medicinal values, the present project was designed to assess the ecological distribution of weed species of the wheat and potato crop fields of tehsil sharaqpur (punjab) pakistan. materials and methods the research work was carried out in some selected potato and wheat crop fields of tehsil sharqpur, pakistan by selecting seven different villages of the tehsil in which both of these crops were grown. further, in these villages, three fields of almost equal size were selected for both the crops. sampling technique after selecting the crop fields’ random sampling for the collection of the weeds was performed and ecological data was collected. for sampling the quadrat method was used and the size of the quadrat was 1m2 after clements (1905). floristic composition after taking quadrats in respective fields of both the crops, different weeds were collected, preserved, and identified with the help of available literature present in flora of pakistan (nasir and ali, 1970-89; ali and nasir, 1990-92; ali and qaiser, 1992-2007). ecological data ecological data was collected by recording % frequency, density and % cover was recorded as the basic parameters following mcintosh (1962), curtis and mcintosh (1950) and daubenmire (1959), respectively. these three basic parameters lead the basis for more precise ecological calculation in terms of relative frequency, density and cover (muller-dombois and ellenberg, 1974). from these three relative values, the importance value (iv) was calculated (curtis, 1959) which provided the basis for more precise and accurate calculations of the ecological data as importance value index (ivi) (risser and rice, 1971). two way indicator species analysis (twinspan) for determination of weed communities of both the crops, a multivariate technique was used in which the weed communities were emerged on the basis of % cover by using the pc-ord (version-6.22; mccune and mefford, 2010). two way indicator species analysis of weed species 235 results and discussion total fifty four weed species were reported belonging to twenty one different families in potato and wheat as shown in table 1. ecological communities of potato and wheat crop of tehsil sharaqpur are divided into two major groups, i.e. ga (group-a) and gb (group-b). these main groups are further divided into two subgroups, viz. sub-group1 (sg1) and sub-group2 (sg2). these sub-groups were further divided into associations, i.e. association 1 (a1) and association 2 (a2). these groups, sub-groups and associations were developed on the basis of % cover of individual weed species in respective crop fields. table 1. ecological characteristics of weed species of potato and wheat crop fields of tehsil sharqpur (punjab) pakistan. sl. no. families weed species weed species abbreviations r.f. r.d. r.c. ivi 1. amaranthaceae 1. amaranthus viridis l. ama-vir 1.32 1.17 1.43 1.30 2. achyranthes aspera l. acy-asp 3.06 1.84 2.78 2.56 3. digera muricata (l.) mart. dig-mur 6.23 3.88 5.60 5.23 2. asteraceae 1. carthamus oxyacantha m. bieb. car-oxy 0.19 0.7 0.79 0.56 2. cichorium intybus l. cic-int 5.51 2.89 5.35 4.58 3. cirsium arvense (l.) scop. cir-arv 1.36 0.86 0.95 1.05 4. conyza ambigua dc. con-amb 1.17 0.73 0.81 0.90 5. eclipta alba (l.) hassk. ecl-alb 1.07 0.64 0.78 0.83 6. parthenium hysterophorus l. par-hys 4.39 4.39 6.24 5.00 7. sonchus asper (l.) hill son-asp 2.96 1.21 3.31 2.49 3. brassicaceae 1. brassica campestris l. bra-cam 1.46 1.2 1.36 1.34 2. coronopus didymus (l.) smith cor-did 3.47 1.48 4.40 3.11 3. eruca sativa mill. eru-sat 1.27 0.81 0.72 0.93 4. sisymbrium viridis l. sis-vir 0.78 0.28 0.24 0.43 4. cannabaceae 1. cannabis sativa l. can-sat 2.86 1.58 1.92 2.12 5. caryophyllaceae 1. stellaria media (l.) vill. ste-med 1.94 1.49 1.94 1.79 6. chenopodiaceae 1. chenopodium album l. che-alb 5.42 5.56 6.40 5.79 2. chenopodium murale l. chemur 5.01 3.65 5.26 4.64 7. convolvulaceae 1. convolvulus arvensis l. con-arv 3.77 1.66 1.57 2.33 8. cyperaceae 1. cyperus rotundus l. cyp-rot 3.06 5.29 2.46 3.60 9. euphorbiaceae 1. euphorbia helioscopia l. eup-hel 4.19 1.38 6.14 3.90 2. euphorbia hirta l. eup-hir 2.24 3.74 1.94 2.64 3. euphorbia prostrata ait., hort. eup-pro 2.63 2.79 2.04 2.48 10. fabaceae 1. lathyrus aphaca l. lat-aph 1.73 1.68 1.21 1.54 2. medicago denticulata willd. med-den 1.63 0.60 1.24 1.15 3. melilotus indica (l.) all. mel-ind 2.45 1.41 1.73 1.86 4. melilotus sativa mill. mel-sat 0.71 0.19 0.32 0.40 5. vicia sativa l. vic-sat 2.44 1.12 2.2 1.92 11. fumariaceae 1. fumaria indica (hausskn.) pugsley fum-ind 5.52 7.22 7.54 6.76 12. linaceae 1. linum usitatissimum l. lin-usi 0.39 2.64 0.16 1.06 13. malvaceae 1. malva neglecta l. mal-neg 3.68 2.85 1.78 2.77 236 muhammad et al. table 1 contd. sl. no. families weed species weed species abbreviations r.f. r.d. r.c. ivi 14. oxalidaceae 1. oxalis corniculata l. oxa-cor 0.40 0.22 0.28 0.3 15. plantaginaceae 1.veronica agrestis l. ver-agr 1.84 1.40 0.95 1.39 16. poaceae 1. avena fatua l. ave-fet 0.20 0.18 0.22 0.2 2. avena sativa l. ave-sat 1.22 0.39 0.55 0.72 3. brachiaria reptans (l.) gardner & hubb. bra-rep 0.58 3 0.55 1.37 4. bromus japonicas thunb. bro-jap 1.53 0.79 0.66 0.99 5. cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. cyn-dac 1.22 1.47 0.84 1.17 6. dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. dac-aeg 1.46 0.36 0.99 0.93 7. digitaria filiformis (l.) koeler. dig-fil 1.22 1.23 0.76 1.07 8. eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. ele-ind 0.78 0.06 0.39 0.41 9. eragrostis tenella (l.) p. beauv. era-ten 0.48 3.16 0.26 1.3 10. paspalum distichum l. pas-dis 0.19 1.2 0.06 0.48 11. phalaris minor retz. pha-min 3.61 7.27 2.71 4.53 12. poa annua l. poa-ann 4.70 5.35 5.99 5.34 13. polypogonum aritimus willd. pol-mar 4.67 6.38 4.64 5.23 14. setaria verticillata (l.) p. beauv. set-ver 4.60 9.20 6.02 6.60 17. polygonaceae 1. polygonum plebejum r. br. pol-ple 0.97 1.28 0.73 0.99 2. rumex dentatus l. rum-den 1.73 0.65 2.21 1.53 18. primulaceae 1. anagallis arvensis l. ana-arv 3.27 4.55 1.04 2.95 19. ranunculaceae 1. ranunculus muricatus l. ran-mur 2.93 1.05 2.31 2.09 20. solanaceae 1.solanum nigrum l. sol-nig 3.27 2.57 3.86 3.23 21. scorphulariaceae 1. mazus pumilus (burm.f.) steenis maz-pum 1.07 1.83 1.13 1.34 1. verbascum thapsus l. ver-tha 1.32 1.69 2.24 1.75 22. verbenaceae 1. phyla nodiflora (l.) greene. phy-nod 1.17 1.83 2.33 1.77 23. zygophyllaceae 1. tribulus terrestris l. tri-ter 0.48 0.19 0.2 0.29 plant group a: group a was further divided into the two sub-groups (sgs) i.e. sg1 and sg2. the sub group 1 (sg1) is represented by three weed species i.e. vicia sativa, ranunculus muricatus and phalaris minor having importance value index (ivi) as 1.92, 2.09 & 4.53, respectively. presence of these weed species with comparatively high amounts of ivi values confirms the findings of jan et al. (2012). the sub group 2 (sg2) was comparatively a large group and on the basis of association of weeds, it was further divided by two associations i.e. association1 (a1) and association2 (a2) as shown in figure 1. a1 consisted of cichorium intybus, cyperus rotundus, euphorbia helioscopia, malva neglecta and cynodon dactylon having ivi as 4.58, 3.60, 3.90, 2.77 & 1.17, respectively. out of these five species, three weeds were found dominant in this association with respect to their ivi values. these species were c. intybus, e. helioscopia and c. rotundus and it can be represented as cichorium-euphorbia-cyperus weed community as shown in figure 1. the prevalence such two way indicator species analysis of weed species 237 dominant weed species like c. rotundus, e. helioscopia and c. dactylon was confirmed by the findings of the hanif et al. (2004) and hussain et al. (2004). furthermore, in association a2, total eight weed species were found i.e. digera muricata having ivi value 5.23, followed by cannabis sativa with 2.12 ivi value. remaining weed species were sonchus asper (2.49), digitaria filiformis (1.07), chenopodium album (5.79), fig. 1. ecological pattern of weed communities of potato and wheat crop fields of tehsil sharqpur (punjab) pakistan through twinspan. 238 muhammad et al. convolvulus arvensis (2.33), fumaria indica (6.76) and bromus japonicus with 0.99 ivi shown in table1. in this association, chenopodium-digera-fumaria was the dominant weed species community with highest ivi values as shown in table 1. in this weed community with its allied species it was observed that it is the most widespread weed species group having c. album, c. arvensis, f. indica which defines the findings of khan et al. (2019). plant group b: group b was further divided into subgroups (sgs), i.e. sg1 and sg2. the sub group1 (sg1) was represented by two associations i.e. association1 (a1) and association2 (a2). a1 association consisted of nine weed species i.e. coronopus didymus, eruca sativa, melilotus indica, avena fatua, poa annua, melilotus sativa, chenopodium murale, anagallisarvensis and verbascum thapsus with variable ivi values. the dominant weed species were poaannua, chenopodium murale and coronopus didymus with 5.34, 4.64 and 3.11 ivi values respectively. on the basis of these dominant weed species poa-chenopodium-coronopus community was found along with e. sativa, m. indica, a. fatua, m. sativa, a. arvensis and v. thapsus weeds having ivi values as 0.93, 1.86, 0.2, 0.40, 2.95 & 1.75, respectively as shown in table 1. emergence of this weed community with their dominant members was also represented in another study i.e. ali et al. (2019) as two of this community members viz., poa annua and coronopus didymus were present. a2 association consisted of four weed species, viz. parthenium hysterophorus, euphorbia prostrata, medicago denticulata and veronica agrestis having 5.00, 2.48, 1.15 and 1.39 ivi values, respectively, as shown in table1. on the basis of their greater ivi values partheniumeuphorbia-veronica was found as dominant weed species community. in this community, presence of the p. hysterophorus weed with such high ivi value indicated its potential as invader weed species and this could be the one reason that due to its potential to replace local flora, this community of weed had very few members as it confirms the findings of jan et al. (2012) and malik et al. (2012). the sub group 2 was further divided into two associations. association 1 (a1) composed of five weed species (fig. 1), viz. achyranthes aspera, brassica campestris, linum usitatissimum, eleusine indica and euporbia hirta having 2.56, 1.34, 1.06, 0.41 & 2.64 ivi values, respectively, and euporbia-achyranthes-brassica were found as the dominant weed community (table 1). this weed community can be considered as medicinally important as their medicinal utilization is confirmed by ullah et al. (2015), but their competitive behavior with specific crop in terms of its yield and productivity cannot be ruled out. association 2 (a2) consisted of largest group of weeds with twenty two weed species, in which three weed species i.e. setaria verticillata, polypogonum aritimus and solanum nigrum were found dominant with 6.60, 5.23 and 3.23 ivi values that formed the setaria-polypogonsolanum weed community. this weed community had associations with other species in this group. the associated weed species with this community was amaranthus viridis, carthamus oxyacantha, dactyloctenium aegyptium, conyza ambigua, lathyrus aphaca, paspalum distichum, oxalis corniculata, eclipta alba, eragrostis tenella, mazus pumilus, polygonum plebejum, tribulus terrestris, brachiaria reptans, sisymbrium viridis, rumex dentatus, phyla nodiflora, cirsium arvense, avena sativa and stellaria media having importance value index (ivi) as 1.30, 0.56, 0.93, 0.90, 1.54, 0.48, 0.30, 0.83, 1.30, 1.34, 0.99, 0.29, 1.37, 0.43,1.53, 1.77, 1.05, 0.72 and 1.79, respectively as shown in table 1. presence of 22 weed species in this association described its diverse nature and wide distribution pattern and alliance abilities of these species with each other. such association of weeds or plant species confirms the phytosociological/ ecological findings of this study in consistence with hassan et al. (2010), ghahremaninejad et al. (2012) and hadi and ibrar (2015). two way indicator species analysis of weed species 239 the results of present research work indicated that presence of 56 weed species distributed among 23 different plant families not only indicate the diverse nature of the weeds in the area but also the mode of their infestation and how vigorously these weeds are competing with the respective crops for the their yield in the area. some of the taxa, apart from their noxious behavior, possess some medicinal values. the weed species having the medicinal value must be properly managed with existing cropping systems so that sustainable utilization of the plants can be carried out and conservation of the useful and ethnobotanically important plants can be possible, which can be a step forward in conservation of plant diversity along with the improvement of the crop yield. references ali, f., gul, h., naveed, a., muhammad, j.b. and ataullah, j. 2019. phytosociology and some ecological attributes of weed 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kakali sen1 and radhanath mukhopadhyay2 department of botany, university of kalyani, pin-741235, kalyani, nadia, west bengal, india keywords: cheilanthoid fern; cluster analysis; micromorphology; numerical taxonomy. abstract twenty one species belonging to five genera (viz. aleuritopteris fēe, cheilanthes sw., doryopteris j. sm., notholaena r. brown, pellaea link.) of the indian cheilanthoid ferns were studied to develop the new data set of micromorphological details viz. epidermal cells, stomatal morphotypes, venation pattern and spore ultrastructre. cluster analysis was performed by using the twostate of multiple characters that separate the genus aleuritopteris from cheilanthes at the eucladian distance of 5.1, though completely linked with other closely related genera, viz. doryopteris, notholaena and pellaea. the taxonomic conundrum lies within these genera was resolved with numerical taxonomic study. introduction cheilanthoid ferns form an evolutionary group with the strong tendency to be confined in the three large continental/archipelago land areas of america, africa and asia-malaysia. the centre of diversity of the genera is in america and especially in mexico, where about 100 species form the richest xeric fern flora in the world (tryon and tryon, 1982). in india, the distribution range is very wide from the altitudinal variations of plains (100m) to the slopes and small pockets of himalaya (3000 m.), nilgiri and palni hills of south (nayar, 1962; dixit, 1984; pande and pande, 2003; sen and mukhopadhyay, 2011). the group is characterized by the sporangia on the abaxial side of the lamina, covered or not by a marginal pseudoindusium without veins, sporangia approximate in sori or soral lines, stipes at the base with one vascular bundle, sometimes with two, lamina farinose or efarinose, stems with scales, rarely with hairs, base chromosome no. n=29 or 30 (nayar, 1962; tryon and tryon, 1990). cheilanthes and aleuritopteris are old and phylogenetically problematical genera (genus ‘arduum’ of fee) generally included among the gymnogrammeoid or placed in the cheilanthaceae (family nov.) by nayar (1962) or pteridaceae (tryon and tryon, 1982; smith et al., 2006). difficulties in identifying discrete generic boundaries among the cheilanthoids have long been attributed to convergent evolution driven by adaptation to arid environment (tryon and tryon, 1973). the workers frequently echo the comment on that “there is an obvious need for the development of new data which will give a better insight into the evolutionary lines within the group” (tryon and tryon, 1973). and the workers of molecular systematics also inferred for the genus cheilanthes that “it needs redefinition” (smith et al., 2006). among cheilanthoid ferns the depositions of farina are used widely to delineate section aleuritopteris (presence of farina) from section-cheilanthes (absence of farina) though it breaks at the wider geographical scales (nayar, 1962; khullar, 1994). but the potential adaptive significance of the farina has made it a trait of evolutionary interest. 1 corresponding author. email: itskakali@gmail.com 2 cas, department of botany, university of burdwan, pin-713104, burdwan, west bengal, india. present address: 8/3, dinabandhu mukherjee lane, shibpur, howrah, pin-711102, west bengal, india. mailto:itskakali@gmail.com 134 sen and mukhopadhyay to redefine aleuritopteris and cheilanthes and also to regenerate new character sets to resolve the ambiguity of their generic status our present study is attempted to focus mainly the micromorphological characters. on the basis of the multiple dataset of two characterstate, taxa were clustered to establish the interrelationships that exist among them. materials and methods detail list of specimens studied are mentioned in the table 1. for cluster analysis of the 21 taxa studied as many as 9-two state characters (i.e. characters which exist in two alternative forms or states i.e. either present or absent for generic segregation (table 2); for 12 spp. of aleuritopteris, 43-two state characters (table 3) and for 6 spp. of cheilanthes 42-two state characters (table 4), were taken into account to prepare the data matrix. responses of each taxon to each of these characters were coded in a data matrix as ‘1’ and ‘0’ respectively for two alternative states i.e. presence or absence. the data thus recorded were further utilized in finding the overall similarities or rather the distance between taxa and putting them in clusters using the concept of ‘euclidean distance’ for measuring distance and ‘complete linkage’ for amalgamation or linkage. statistical analysis was performed using statistica-6 (sneath and sokal, 1973). images of the standard character-sets used for the analysis were taken in leica qwin 80 microscope and scanning electron microscope, model no. japan hitachi 530. results and discussion the morphometric study was performed to delineate the taxa of the cheilanthoid fern at the generic and infrageneric level. for numerical taxonomic study the suitable characters used at the generic level are mentioned in the table 2. for clustering at the infrageneric level used characters are mentioned in table 3 (genus aleuritopteris) and table 4 (genus cheilanthes) respectively. figure 4(a-i) and fig. 5(a-k) shows the contrasting character states as stated in tables 2-4. previously, all the works performed by various workers (nayar, 1962; tryon and tryon, 1982; khullar, 1994) have given much importance to the farina character, which is a potential synapomorphy and have some evolutionary interest (sigel et al., 2011). but, the wholesome approach of character is giving a better clue of separation at both the generic and infrageneric level (sen, 2014). the works at the molecular phylogeny also found some dispute for this group when the regional basis of works was performed (gastony and rollo, 1995, 1998; zhang, 2007). on the basis of phenetic study of the 5 genera, close relation or affinity with each other was noticed. the genus aleuritopteris fee and notholaena r. brown form a group and doryopteris j. sm and pellaea link. form another group; these two groups are allied with each other and form a broad group with cheilanthes sw. one important ambiguity which persisted so long regarding the generic segregation of aleuritopteris from cheilanthes gets some clear clue from this phenetic study in that they are quite apart from each other in phenogram but are linked. the characters as mentioned by fraser-jenkins and dulawat (2009) to distinguish the genus cheilanthes from aleuritopteris, are narrow stipe scale and narrow leaf segment, which are very vague as is evident from our numerical data enlisted (table 2). to categorise the infrageneric taxa, phenetic study resolves some ambiguity. placement of c. subvillosa hook. under the genus cheilanthes is also corroborated by our study as the taxon possesses similarity in generic characters with cheilanthes. the placement of its synonym aleuritopteris subvillosa (hook.) ching under the genus aleuritopteris by fraser-jenkins and dulawat (2009) is however not in conformity with the present study. indian cheilanthoid fern 135 table 1. list of taxa studied is mentioned here. for each taxon only one specimen is enlisted. sl.no. name of the taxa herbarium details 1. aleuritopteris albomarginata (clarke) ching 52761, 02.05.1975,r.d.dixit,takdah -athmal reserve, darjeeling, west bengal, 9125(cal); 2. a. anceps (blanford) panigrahi 59343,27.03.1985,b. ghosh and s.r. ghosh, k.t. road,950 m. manipur, cal 3. a. argentea (gmel.)fee zwa-kabru, 6958 (cal). 4. a. bicolor (roxb.) fraser-jenkins ks – 183, 12.10.2012; kakali sen, almora, 5. a. bullosa (kunze) ching 1878, zy. king, nilgiri hills,(cal); 6. a. chrysophylla (hook.) ching 08.08.1892, g.a. gammie,lachung, sikkim , 7136 (cal) 7. a. doniana s.k.wu ks -146, 06.10.2010, kakali sen dello kalimpong(burd) 8. a. formosana (hayata)tagawa ks -149,06.10.2010,kakali sen,dello, kalimpong(burd) 9. a.grisea (blanf) panigr. 15205, feb. 1972, panigrahi,bilaspur, m.p. (cal). 10. a. rufa (don) ching ks -204,09.10.2012, kakali sen, samla tal, tanakpur, uttarakhand(burd) 11. a. subargentea ching ex sk. wu july, 1904, j. walton, sangpo valley, 6952 (cal) 12. a. subdimorpha (c.b.clarke and baker) fraser-jenk. ks -157,08.10.2010, kakali sen, bhusuk, gangtok(burd) 13. cheilanthes acrostica (balbis) tod 02.01.1986, b.p.uniyal archi, jammu and kashmir, 80379, (cal); 14. c. belangeri (bory) c.chr. 21.10.1952, rev. b. godfrey, 7088, n.lushai hills, assam (cal); 15. c. keralansis nair and ghosh. 49442, 29.07.1977, a.n. henry, kanyakumari, keeriparai(cal) 16. c. mysorensis wall. ex. hook. 09.11.2001, p. amrutalakshmi, nellore, andhrapradesh, 25119 (cal); 17. c. subvillosa hook. 466, tamilnadu, 9048 (cal) 18. c. tenuifolia (burm.) sw. 8614, 24.09.81, m.k. mama and u.p. samaddar, netarhat, palamau dist., bihar, 936 (cal); 19. doryopteris concolor (langsd. and fisch.) kuhn 04.11.1996, sanchita gangopadhyay, kodaikanal (burd); 20. notholaena marantae (l.)desv. 3673, 18.09.1984, j.f.duthie (burd); 21. pellaea bovinii hook. 7671, december, 1910, a. meeblod, 6000ft, devicolani, s. india, 13487 (cal). table 2. characters taken for generic segregation of cheilanthoid ferns by cluster analysis. character state characters taken (0) (1) 1. indusium absent present 2. farina absent present 3. leaf texture coriaceous membranous or herbaceous 4. pinna sessile stalked 5. vascular commissure absent present 6. indument on leaf surface absent present 7. pinna dissection unipinnate leaf present always more than 1-pinnate 8. pinna margin dissected entire 9. non-perinate spores present absent 136 sen and mukhopadhyay table 3. characters taken for cluster analysis of aleuritopteris spp.(infrageneric level). character state characters taken (0) (1) 1. stipe scale base throughout 2. rachis scale absent present 3. scales present in costae & costule absent 4. rhizome scale non-clathrate clathrate 5. rhizome scale concolorous bicolorous 6. rhizome scale non-glandular glandular 7. stipe scale non-clathrate clathrate 8. stipe scale concolorous bicolorous 9. farina white golden yellow 10. indusial margin entire with fimbriated projections 11. stomatal type polocytic poloand other type 12. position of stomata hypostomatic amphistomatic 13. pinnae opposite alternate 14. pinnae sessile stalked 15. lamina shape lanceolate boat shaped 16. lamina glabrous indument present (except farina gland) 17. petiole color tan black 18. venation open dichotomous not 19. vein ending dilated not dilated 20. dichotomization pattern ≤3 >3 21. vein goes upto the margin not 22. position of sorus sorus at vein tip some distance away from tip 23. epidermal cell surface convex concave 24. epidermal cellwall width ≥5μm <5μm 25. guard cell length ≥30μm <30μm 26. rhizome scale length ≥4mm <4mm 27. rhizome scale width ≥0.5 <0.5 28. stipe scale length ≥4 <4 29. stipe scale width ≥0.5 <0.5 30. stipe/rachis length ratio ≥1 <1 31. blade width ≥5cm <5cm 32. length/width ratio basalmost pinna of basal segments ≥4 <4 33. length/width ratio median pinna of basal segments ≥3 <3 34. length ratio of acroscopic/basiscopic segments of basal pinna ≥0.5 <0.5 35. width ratio of acroscopic/basiscopic segments of basal pinna ≥0.6 <0.6 36. spore dia (p) ≥30μm <30μm 37. spore dia (e) ≥50μm <50μm 38. exine thickness ≥2μm <2μm 39. laesural (l)longest arm ≥25μm <25μm 40. crassimarginate/tenuimarginate crassimarginate tenuimarginate 41. perine not cristate cristate 42. tapetal depositions absent present 43. perisporic strands present absent indian cheilanthoid fern 137 table 4. characters taken for cluster analysis of cheilanthes spp.(infrageneric level). character state characters taken (0) (1) 1. stipe scale base throughout 2. rachis scale absent present 3. scales present in costae & costule absent 4. rhizome scale non-clathrate clathrate 5. rhizome scale non-glandular glandular 6. stipe scale non-clathrate clathrate 7. stipe scale concolorous bicolorous 8. farina white golden yellow 9. indusial margin entire with fimbriated projections 10. stomatal type polocytic polo and other type 11. position of stomata hypostomatic amphistomatic 12. pinnae opposite alternate 13. pinnae sessile stalked 14. lamina shape lanceolate boat shaped 15. lamina glabrous indument present (except farina gland) 16. petiole color tan black 17. venation open dichotomous not 18. vein ending dilated not dilated 19. dichotomization pattern ≤3 >3 20. vein goes upto the margin not 21. position of sorus sorus at vein tip some distance away from tip 22. epidermal cell surface convex concave 23. epidermal cell wall width ≥1μm <1μm 24. guard cell length ≥40μm <40μm 25. rhizome scale length ≥4mm <4mm 26. rhizome scale width ≥0.5 <0.5 27. stipe scale length ≥4 <4 28. stipe scale width ≥0.5 <0.5 29. stipe/rachis length ratio ≥1 <1 30. blade width ≥5cm <5cm 31. length/width ratio basalmost pinna of basal segments ≥4 <4 32. length/width ratio median pinna of basal segments ≥3 <3 33. length ratio of acroscopic/basiscopic segments of basal pinna ≥0.5 <0.5 34. width ratio of acroscopic / basiscopic segments of basal pinna ≥0.6 <0.6 35. spore dia(p) ≥30μm <30μm 36. spore dia(e) ≥50μm <50μm 37. exine thickness ≥2μm <2μm 38. laesural (l)longest arm ≥25μm <25μm 39. crassimarginate/tenuimarginate crassimarginate tenuimarginate 40. perine absent present 41. tapetal depositions absent present 42. perisporic strands present absent 138 sen and mukhopadhyay the placement of the genera hemionitis l., parahemionitis panigrahi and pityrograma link. with cheilanthoid group of ferns (fraser-jenkins and dulawat, 2009) must not be supported as their taxonomic positions were clarified earlier by smith et al. (2006) on the basis of morphology as well as molecular taxonomy in other subfamilies hemionitidae and taenitidae respectively. phenetic study cluster analysis at generic level fig. 1. shows the relationship of cheilanthoid ferns at generic level (abbrev.ale-aleuritopteris; checheilanthes, dor-doryopteris, not-notholaena, pel-pellaea). aleuritopteris (ale) and notholaena (not) have the nearest relation as is revealed from complete linkage at the euclidean distance of c.3.7. there is another closely related cluster formed by doryopteris (dor) and pellaea (pel) at the linkage distance of 4.0 which in its turn show a relationship with the first cluster at the distance of c.4.6 to form a larger cluster which shows a natural affinity with cheilanthes (che) more or less at the euclidean distance of 5.1. all the otus under study, although individually distinct, are thus moderately related because of their overall similarity at the ed of 5.1 cluster analysis at infrageneric level cluster analysis of aleuritopteris spp. a. argentea (aar) and a.subargentea (asr) have the nearest relation as is revealed from complete linkage at the euclidean distance of c.2.8. at the level of the linkage distance of 3.5 as many as 8 clusters can be recognized of which 4 are with solitary otus (operational taxonomic unit), viz. a. rufa (aru), a. chrysophylla (ach), a. formosana (afo), a. subdimorpha (asd). however, at the linkage distance of 4.5 three large clusters are recognizable, viz. aal, aan, aru; aar, asr, ach, abi, ado, afo; abu, agr, asd. the relatedness of the last two clusters mentioned is greater than with the first cluster which is clearly expressed at the distance of 4.7. however all the otus under study, although individually distinct, are linked ultimately at the ed of 4.8 because of their moderate overall similarity. indian cheilanthoid fern 139 fig. 2. shows the infrageneric relationship of aleuritopteris [abbrev.: aalaleuritopteris albomarginata (clarke) ching; aan -a. anceps (blanf.)panigr. aara. argentea (gmel)fee; abia. bicolor (roxb.) fraserjenkins; abua. bullosa (kze)ching; acha. chrysophylla (hook) ching; adoa. doniana s.k.wu; afoa. formosana (hay.) tagawa; agra. grisea (blanf.)panigr; arua. rufa (d.don)ching; asra. subargentea ching ex wu; asda. subdimorpha (clarke et bak.)fras.-jenk.]. cluster analysis of cheilanthes spp. cheilanthes acrostica (balbis)tod (cac) and c. mysorensis wall ex.hook. (cmy) have the nearest relation as is revealed from complete linkage at the euclidean distance of c.2.8. these otus in their turn show a relationship with c. belangeri (bory) c.chr. (cbe) at the distance of 4.0. at the same distance are linked c.keralensis nair and ghosh (cke) and c. subvillosa hook. (csu). however, this cluster shows affinity with c.tenuifolia (cte) more or less at the euclidean distance of 4.5. all the otus under study, although individually distinct, are related because of their overall similarity getting linked slightly above the ed of 5.0. fig. 3. shows the infrageneric relationship of cheilanthes (abbrev.: caccheilanthes acrostica, cbec. belangeri, ckec. keralensis, cmyc. mysorensis, csuc. subvillosa, ctec. tenuifolia). 140 sen and mukhopadhyay fig. 4. lm images of different characters used in cluster analysis. a) concolorous scale of aleuritopteris subdimorpha b)bicolorous scale of a. formosana c) clathrate non-glandular scale of a. rufa d) glandular scale tip-cheilanthes mysorensis e) epidermal cell-a. chrysophylla f) epidermal cell-c. keralensis g) polocytic stomata-c.acrostica h) fimbriated indusial margin-a.rufa (arrowhead shows the fimbriated margin) i) entire indusial margin-a. chrysophylla (arrowhead shows the entire margin). indian cheilanthoid fern 141 fig. 5. lm (a-b) , free hand drawing (c-f) & sem (g-k) images of characters used in cluster analysis. a) commissural vein of doryopteris concolor (arrowhead shows the marginal joining of veins)b) leaf gland of cheilanthes keralensis c-d)ultimate & basal segment of leaf – aleuritopteris albomarginata e-f) ultimate & basal segment of leafa.bicolor g) non-perinous spore-c. tenuifolia h) perisporic strands-pellaea falcata i)tapetal deposits-a.chrysophylla(arrowhead shows the globular deposits) j) convex epidermal surface(adaxial)-a. bullosa k) concave epidermal surface(adaxial)-a.formosana. 142 sen and mukhopadhyay the dendrogram based on phenetic study clearly revealed the interrelationships of five indian cheilanthoid genera of arid region. despite of their homoplasy of characters (tryon and tryon, 1973; sen and mukhopadhyay, 2014; sen, 2014) they can be separated, though linked, clearly by using a multiple sets of characters. present study is the first report describing the correlation between the cheilanthoid ferns of india at generic and infrageneric level and also establishes the generic segregation of aleuritopteris and cheilanthes by doing numerical taxonomic study. acknowledgements prof. ambarish mukherjee, department of botany, university of burdwan, west bengal is acknowledged for his kind care and help to perform this work. also mr. kaushik sarkar, technical assistant, & dr. srikanta chakrabarty, usic, university of burdwan is acknowledged for taking the lm & sem images. two anonymous reviewers are also acknowledged here for their critical comment to improve the manuscript. references dixit, r.d. 1984. a census of the indian pteridphytes. flora india series ivbot. surv. india. pp.1-177. fraser-jenkins, c.r. and dulawat, c.s. 2009. a summary of indian cheilanthoid ferns and the discovery of negripteris (pteridaceae), an afro-arabian fern genus new to india. fern gaz. 18(5): 216-229. gastony, g.j. and rollo, d.r.1995.phylogeny and generic circumscriptions of cheilanthoid ferns (pteridaceae:cheilanthoideae) inferred from rbcl nucleotide sequences. amer. fern. j. 85: 341-360. gastony, g.j. and rollo, d.r. 1998. cheilanthoid ferns (pteridaceae: cheilanthoideae) in the southwestern united states and adjacent mexico – a molecular phylogenetic reassessment of generic lines. aliso 17:131-144. khullar, s.p. 1994.an illustrated fern flora of west himalaya (vol. i). international book distributors, bishen singh and mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, indi, pp.1506. nayar, b.k. 1962. ferns of india, no. vi, cheilanthes. nat. bot. gard. lucknow, pp.1-35. pande, h.c. and pande p.c., 2003. an illustrated fern flora of the kumaon himalaya. vol.i, bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, pp.1-372 sen, k. and mukhopadhyay r. 2011. lm and sem studies on stomatal morphotypes, epidermal characteristics and spore morphology of some indian species of cheilanthes sw. bioresearch bulletin 5: 304-310. sen, k. and mukhopadhyay, r. 2014, new report of vessel elements in aleuritopteris and cheilanthes, taiwania 59(3): 231-239. sen, k. 2014, ph.d. thesis. “studies in the morpho-anatomy & taxonomy of some indian cheilanthoid ferns. department of botany, university of burdwan. sigel, e. m., windham, m. d., huiet, l., yatskievych, g.and pryer, k. m. 2011. species relationships and farina evolution in the cheilanthoid fern genus argyrochosma (pteridaceae). syst. bot. 36(3): 554– 564. smith, a. r., pryer, k.m., schuettpelz, e., korall, p., schneider h. and wolf, p.g. 2006. a classification of extant ferns. taxon, 55: 705-731. sneath, p.h.a. and sokal, r.r.1973: numerical taxonomy. w.h. freeman, san francisco, pp.1-573. tryon, a.f., and lugardon, b., 1990. spores of the pteridophyta: surface, wall structure, and diversity based on electron microscope studies. springer–verlag, new york, pp.1415. tryon, r.m. and tryon, a.f. 1973. geography, spores and evolutionary relations in the cheilanthoid ferns. in: jermy,a.c.,crabbe, j.a. and thomas, b.a.(eds.), “the phylogeny and classifications of the ferns”. academic press, london. pp. 145-153. tryon, r.m., and. tryon. a.f 1982. ferns and allied plants, with special reference to tropical america. springer-verlag, new york, pp.1-857. zhang, g., zhang, x., chen, z., liu, h., and yang, w. 2007. first insights in the phylogeny of asian cheilanthoid ferns based on sequences of two chloroplast markers. taxon 56(2): 369-378. (manuscript received on 8 february 2016; revised on 18 august 2016) microsoft word 05. bjpt 17124_new angiosperm taxa_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 165–171, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new angiospermic taxa for the flora of bangladesh m. oliur rahman1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: new records; new species; angiosperm; flora of british india; bengal plants. abstract this paper presents addition of 89 taxa under 64 genera distributed in 32 families for the flora of bangladesh which are not included in the monumental works flora of british india, bengal plants and encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. updated nomenclature, family name, references to the work and the precise localities have been furnished under each taxon. introduction bangladesh is a reservoir of plant resources comprising 3,611 angiosperm taxa occurring in the country (ahmed et al., 2007-2009). despite several floristic studies were carried out over last four decades after the emergence of bangladesh the botanical expedition throughout the country is yet to be completed. hooker (1872-1897) and prain (1903) made significant contribution on floristic studies in the indian subcontinent and reported many species from the territory of present bangladesh. some regional flora of bangladesh have also been produced by several workers (heinig, 1925; cowan, 1926; raizada, 1941; datta and mitra, 1953; sinclair, 1956). in the recent past several authors paid attention to explore the flora of bangladesh and recorded many taxa as new for the country. mia and khan (1995) published the first list of angiospermic taxa, not included in the flora of british india (hooker, 1872-1897) and bengal plants (prain, 1903), adding a total of 325 species as recorded by several workers up to that time for bangladesh. rahman (2004a, b) added 138 angiosperm taxa to our knowledge on the flora of bangladesh. recently, ahmed et al. (2007-2009) documented all species available in bangladesh in the encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh adding several new angiosperm records for the country. after the momentous contribution made by ahmed et al. (2007-2009) a large number of taxa have been added further, either as new records or as new taxa for the flora of bangladesh. therefore, the present study aimed at preparing a comprehensive checklist of all the new additions published either as new species or new records for the angiosperm flora of bangladesh since ahmed et al. (2007-2009). materials and methods this study was based on published works on new angiosperm records and new species for bangladesh. all the relevant published papers and literature (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; mia and khan, 1995; rahman, 2004a, b; ahmed et al., 2007-2009) have been consulted in order to update and finalize the newly reported taxa of bangladesh. the new taxa are arranged in an alphabetical order and presented along with their updated nomenclature, family name, reference to the work and the precise locality. results a total of 89 taxa under 64 genera belonging to 32 families have been added to the previous lists as new records or new species for bangladesh. despite some other new records or taxa                                                              1corresponding author. email: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 166 rahman and hassan identified for the flora of bangladesh they are yet to be published and are not included in this paper. the taxa recorded here as new for the country are presented below. 1. alchornea mollis benth. ex mull.-arg. (euphorbiaceae). uddin et al. (2015d). p. 89. moulvi bazar: srimangal, harinchara. 2. allophylus samarensis merr. (sapindaceae). uddin et al. (2015c). p. 78. moulvi bazar: madahbkundo eco-park. 3. amorphophallus excentricus helt (araceae). ara and hassan (2012). p. 18. moulvi bazar: madhabkundo forest. 4. amorphophallus krausei engl. (araceae). ara and hassan (2012). p. 18. moulvi bazar: adampur beat, kawargola forest; lawachara reserve forest. 5. ancistrocladus tectorius (lour.) merr. (ancistrocladaceae). uddin et al. (2015d). p. 90. moulvi bazar: kamalganj, lawachara national park; madhabkundo eco-park. 6. argostemma sarmentosumwall. (rubiaceae). das and rahman (2010). p. 216. rangamati: shubalong. 7. aristolochia coadunata back. (aristolochiaceae). uddin et al. (2015b). p. 69. rangamati: pharua reserve forest, bilaichari. 8. aspidopteris tomentosa (bl.) juss. (malpighiaceae). uddin and hassan (2015). p. 35. rangamati: kaptai, rampahar. 9. atalantia kwangtungensis merr. (rutaceae). uddin et al. (2015c). p. 79. moulvi bazar: madahbkundo eco-park. 10. begonia rubella buch.-ham. ex d. don (begoniaceae). uddin and hassan (2015). p. 36. rangamati: kaptai, sitapahar. 11. beilschmiedia sikkimensis king ex hook. f. (lauraceae). uddin and hassan (2015). p. 38. rangamati: kaptai, rampahar. 12. boehmeria aspera wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 2. rangamati: pharua reserve forest, bilaichari. 13. boehmeria clidemioides miq. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 3. east bengal (cal). 14. boehmeria hamiltoniana wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 5. east bengal (cal). 15. boehmeria manipurensis friis & wilmot-dear (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 6. rangamati: sapchari; khagrachari: gomoti, panchari. 16. boeica filiformis clarke (gesneriaceae). uddin et al. (2015c). p. 81. moulvi bazar: madahbkundo eco-park. 17. brachycorythis obcordata (lindl.) summerh (orchidaceae). hoque and huda (2008). p. 193. bandarban: chimbuk. 18. catunaregam longispina (link) tirveng. (rubiaceae). das et al. (2013). p. 258. gazipur: chandra forest; habigonj: chanbari, rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary; sherpur: gajni forest. 19. chlorophytum nepalense (lindley) baker (liliaceae). afroz et al. (2008). p. 193. sherpur: runctia sal forest. 20. colocasia virosa kunth (araceae). ara and hassan (2012). p. 19. moulvi bazar: muraichara beat, ichachara forest. 21. colubrina javanica miq. (rhamnaceae). rahman et al. (2014). p. 199. bagerhat: sundarbans east forest division, katka, near forest station. 22. cryptocarya calderi m. gangop. (lauraceae). uddin and hassan (2015). p. 39. cox’s bazar: dulahazara safari park; rangamati: kaptai, sitapahar. new angiosperm taxa for bangladesh 167 23. cucumis hystrix chakravarty (cucurbitaceae). uddin et al. (2012). p. 205. rangamati: bilaichari, pharua reserve forest. 24. cuphea carthagenensis (jacq.) j.f. macbr. (lythraceae). hossain et al. (2015). p. 115. sylhet: lacctura; shahjalal university of science and technology campus; jaflong. 25. curcuma bakerii rahman & yususf (zingiberaceae). rahman (2012). p. 121. tangail: madhupur sal forest. 26. curcuma hookerii rahman & yusuf (zingiberaceae). rahman (2012). p. 123. chittagong: barabkundu. 27. curcuma roxburghii rahman et yusuf (zingiberaceae). rahman and yusuf (2012). p. 80. rangamati: rangapani. 28. curcuma wallichii rahman et yusuf (zingiberaceae). rahman and yusuf (2012). p. 82. maulvi bazar: srimongal, lawachara rain forest. 29. curcuma wilcockii rahman et yusuf (zingiberaceae). rahman and yusuf (2012). p. 83. tangail: madhupur sal forest, rasulpur; sylhet: tamabil. 30. dianella ensifolia (l.) dc. (liliaceae). uddin and hassan (2009). p. 181. rangamati: kaptai, rampahar. 31. diospyros albiflora alston (ebenaceae). sultana et al. (2010). p. 249. patuakhali: mirjagong. 32. egeria densa planchón (hydrocharitaceae). alfasane et al. (2010). p. 210. bandarban: bogakain lake. 33. elatostema dissectum wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 7. chittagong hill tracts: mynimukh (cal). 34. elatostema ellipticum wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 8. east bengal (k). 35. elatostema griffithii hook. f. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 9. east bengal (k). 36. elatostema obtusum wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 9. east bengal (cal). 37. elatostema procridioides wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 11. east bengal (cal). 38. elatostema subincisum wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 12. chittagong (cal). 39. embelia parviflora wall. ex a. dc. (myrsinaceae). uddin et al. (2015e). p. 96. moulvi bazar: juri forest range, lathitilla forest beat. 40. galium pusillosetosum hara (rubiaceae). das et al. (2013). p. 259. chittagong: baluchara. 41. guazuma ulmifolia lam. (sterculiaceae). mia et al. (2011). p. 154. noakhali. 42. gynura nepalensis dc. (asteraceae). afroz et al. (2014). p. 101. dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden; netrakona: kendua. 43. helicteres viscida bl. (sterculiaceae). mia et al. (2011). p. 154. chittagong: jaldi range, bilaichori. 44. hemiorchis rhodorrhachis schum. (zingiberaceae). srivastava and ghoshal (2005). p. 59. chittagong hill tracts: barkal. 45. hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. (apiaceae). khatun et al. (2010). p. 105. dhaka: azimpur. 46. ilex glomerata king (aquifoliaceae). uddin et al. (2015d). p. 91. moulvi bazar: lawachara national park. 47. illigera khasiana c.b. clarke (hernandiaceae). uddin et al. (2015b). p. 70. rangamati: pharua reserve forest, bilaichari. 48. laportea bulbifera (siebold & zuccarini) wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 13. east bengal (cal). 168 rahman and hassan 49. lindera neesiana (wall. ex nees) kurz (lauraceae). ara and khan (2015). p. 28. east bengal (cal). 50. litsea khasyana meissn. (lauraceae). ara and khan (2015). p. 29. east bengal (cal, k). 51. litsea umbellata (lour.) merr. (lauraceae). ara and khan (2015). p. 29. east bengal (cal). 52. maytenus hookeri loes. (celastraceae). uddin and hassan (2015). p. 40. rangamati: kaptai, rampahar. 53. mitrephora grandiflora beddome (annonaceae). uddin and hassan (2015). p. 42. rangamati: kaptai, sitapahar. 54. mussaenda incana wall. ex roxb. (rubiaceae). das and rahman (2010). p. 217. chittagong: sitakunda, eco-park area; moulvi bazar: srimongal, bhanugach road. 55. mussaenda keenani hook. f. (rubiaceae). das et al. (2012). p. 22. chittagong: korerhat, koila, guichari; rangamati: kaptai, rampahar, madhabchari; moulvi bazar: srimongal, lawachora forest. 56. mycetia listeri deb. (rubiaceae). das et al. (2012). p. 23. chittagong: jamaichari; rangamati: kaptai, rampahar. 57. mycetia malayana (g. don) craib. (rubiaceae). uddin and rahman (2015). p. 104. chittagong: dohazari, lalutia; moulvi bazar: madhabkundo eco-park; rangamati: kaptai, sitapahar west. 58. mycetia mukerjiana deb & dutta (rubiaceae). das and rahman (2010). p. 218. rangamati: kaptai, sitapahar wildlife sanctuary. 59. mycetia sinensis (hemsley) craib (rubiaceae). uddin and rahman (2015). p. 107. moulvi bazar: kamalganj, lawachara national park. 60. mycetia stipulata (hook. f.) o. kuntze subsp. macrostachya (hook. f.) deb (rubiaceae). uddin and rahman (2015). p. 108. east bengal (k). 61. neodistemon indicum (wedd.) babu & henry (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 14. moulvi bazar: madhabkundo eco-park; rangamati: kaptai, rampahar. 62. ophiorrhiza eriantha wight (rubiaceae). das et al. (2013). p. 260. khagrachari: shilchari, alu tila. 63. ophiorrhiza fasciculata d. don (rubiaceae). das et al. (2012). p. 24. chittagong: dhopachari, gondamara; rangamati: kutukchari, chegaiya-chari. 64. oxyceros rugulosus (thwaites) tirveng. (rubiaceae). das and rahman (2010). p. 219. chittagong: hazarikhil; cox’s bazar: teknaf; rangamati: pablakhali; sylhet: jafflong. 65. pellionia heteroloba wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 16. east bengal (cal, k). 66. pellionia heyneana wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 17. rangamati: pharua reserve forest, bilaichari. 67. pellionia repens (lour.) merr. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 18. dhaka: balda garden. 68. phenax mexicanus wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 19. rangamati: kaptai, karnaphuli sadar beat; pharua reserve forest, bilaichari. 69. phyllanthus columnaris muell.-arg. (euphorbiaceae). uddin and hassan (2015). p. 43. rangamati: kaptai, rampahar. 70. pilea anisophylla wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 20. east bengal (k). 71. pilea bracteosa wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 22. east bengal (k). new angiosperm taxa for bangladesh 169 72. pilea insolens wedd. (urticaceae). uddin et al. (2015a). p. 23. east bengal (k, cal). 73. pollia thyrsiflora (bl.) endley ex hassk. (commelinaceae). uddin and hassan (2015). p. 44. rangamati: kaptai, sitapahar, jamaichara. 74. psychotria stipulacea wall. (rubiaceae). das et al. (2012). p. 25. rangamati: kaptai, sitapahar. 75. psydrax umbellata (wight) bridson (rubiaceae). das et al. (2012). p. 26. chittagong: bomariaghona; sylhet: tamabil. 76. pulicaria vulgaris gaertn. (asteraceae). rahman et al. (2011). p. 205. patuakhali: galachipa. 77. pyrenaria diospyricarpa kurz (theaceae). uddin et al. (2015b). p. 71. rangamati: pharua reserve forest, bilaichari. 78. sarcopyramis napalensis wall. (melastomataceae). uddin et al. (2015e). p. 98. moulvi bazar: juri forest range, lathitilla forest beat. 79. sida spinosa l. (malvaceae). shetu et al. (2015). p. 111. dhaka: near kafrul thana, mirpur; khulna: khulna university campus. 80. spermacoce exilis (williams) adams ex burger et taylor (rubiaceae). das et al. (2013). p. 261. chittagong: kumira, dardorir chara; cox’s bazar: himchari, bhangamura; laksmipur: ramgonj; moulvi bazar: srimongal, tea resort; sylhet: tibbi college campus. 81. staurogyne simonsii (anders.) o. kuntze (acanthaceae). uddin et al. (2015e). p. 99. moulvi bazar: juri forest range, lathitilla forest beat. 82. sterculia urens roxb. (sterculiaceae). mia et al. (2011). p. 155. chittagong. 83. steudnera gagei krause (araceae). ara and hassan (2012). p. 20. moulvi bazar:adampur beat, gangpali. 84. tarenna helferi (kurz) n.p. balakr. (rubiaceae). das and rahman (2010). p. 220. rangamati: betbunia, mahajan para; moulvi bazar: srimongal, lawachara forest. 85. tarenna stellulata (hook. f.) ridl. (rubiaceae). das et al. (2013). p. 262. chittagong: sitakunda, chandranath hill. 86. trigonostemon viridissimus (kurz) airy shaw (euphorbiaceae). uddin et al. (2015c). p. 82. moulvi bazar: madahbkundo eco-park. 87. vanilla havilandii rolfe (orchidaceae). uddin et al. (2015b). p. 73. rangamati: pharua reserve forest, bilaichari, monlovi chara. 88. xanthosoma undipes (k. koch) k. kock (araceae). ara and hassan (2012). p. 22. gazipur: kamesshor village. 89. zingiber salarkhanii (zingiberaceae). rahman and yusuf (2013). p. 240. chittagong: sitakundu, chandranath hill; khagrachari: teen tila, marissa road, moulvi bazar: srimongal, lawachara reserve forest. references afroz, s., tutul, e., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2008. chlorophytum nepalense (lindley) baker (liliaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 193–194. afroz, s., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2014. gynura nepalensis dc. (asteraceae) a new angiosperm record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 101–104. ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2007-2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vols. 6-12. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 170 rahman and hassan alfasane, m.a.,khondker, m.,islam, m.s. and bhuiyan, m.a.h. 2010. egeria densa planchón (hydrocharitaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 209–213. ara, h. and hassan, m.a. 2012. five new records of aroids for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 17–23. ara, h. and khan, b. 2015. three new records of lauraceae from bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 27–32. cowan, j.m. 1926. the flora of chakaria sundarbans. rec. bot. surv. ind. 11: 197–225. das, s.c. and rahman, m.a. 2010. notes on the rubiaceae. 3. five new records for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 39(2): 215–222. das, s.c., dev, p.k. and rahman, m.a. 2012. notes on the rubiaceae 4: five new records for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 41(1): 21–28. das, s.c., dev, p.k. and rahman, m.a. 2013. notes on the rubiaceae 5: five new records for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 42(2): 257–264. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1– 110. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of the plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india. vols. 1–7. l. reeve & co. ltd., england. hoque, m.m. and huda, m.k. 2008. brachycorythis obcordata (lindl.) summerh. (orchidaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 199–201. hossain, g.m., khan, m.s.a., rahman, m.s., haque, a.k.m.k. and rahim, m.a. 2015. cuphea carthagenensis (jacq.) j.f. macbr. (lythraceae) – a new angiosperm record for bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 115–117. khatun, b.m., rahman, m.o. and sultana, s.s. 2010. hydrocotyle verticillata thunb. (apiaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 105–108. mia, m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25–45. mia, m.m.k., rahman, m.o., hassan, m.a. and huq, a.m. 2011. three new records of sterculiaceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 153–157. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols. 1&2. (reprint edition 1963). botanical survey of india, calcutta. rahman, m.a. 2012. discovery of new species from bangladesh. plantae discoverie 1: 1–34. rahman, m.a. and yusuf, m. 2012. three new species of curcuma l. (zingiberaceae) from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 79–84. rahman, m.a. and yusuf, m. 2013. zingiber salarkhanii (zingiberaceae) a new species from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 239–242. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s flora of british india and prain’s bengal plants series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77–82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s flora of british india and prain’s bengal plants series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49–56. rahman, m.o., sultana, m., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2011. pulicaria vulgaris gaertn. (asteraceae) -a new species record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 205–208. rahman, m.s., hossain, g.m., khan, s.a. and uddin, s.n. 2014. colubrina javanica miq. (rhamnaceae) – a new angiosperm record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 199–202. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245–254. shetu, s.s., khan, m.s.a. and uddin, s.n. 2015. sida spinosa l. (malvaceae) a new angiosperm species record for bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 111–113. sinclair, j. 1956. flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 92–94. srivastava, s.c. and ghoshal, p.p. 2005. hemiorchis rhodorrhachis schum. (zingiberaceae) a new record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(1): 59–61. new angiosperm taxa for bangladesh 171 sultana, m., rahman, m.o., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2010. diospyros albiflora alston (ebenaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 39(2): 249–251. uddin, s.n and hassan, m.a. 2009. dianella ensifolia (l.) dc. (liliaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 181–184. uddin, s.n., khan, b. and mirza, m.m. 2012. cucumis hystrix chakrav. (cucurbitaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 205–207. uddin, s.n. and hassan, m.a. 2015. discovery of eight angiosperm new records for bangladesh from rampahar and sitapahar reserve forest under rangamati district. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 33–49. uddin, s.n. and rahman, n. 2015. notes on occurrence of the genus mycetia reinwardt (rubiaceae) in bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 103–110. uddin, s.n., khan, b. and hassan, m.a. 2015a. nineteen new records of urticaceae from bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 1–25. uddin, s.n., khan, b. and mirza, m.m. 2015b. discovery of four angiospermic new records for bangladesh from pharua reserve forest under rangamati district. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 67–76. uddin, s.n., khan, b. and khokan, m.e.h. 2015c. discovery of four angiosperm new records for bangladesh from madhabkundo eco-park under moulvi bazar district. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 77–85. uddin, s.n., khokan, m.e.h. and khan, b. 2015d. discovery of three angiosperm new records for bangladesh from lawachara national park under moulvi bazar district. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 87–94. uddin, s.n., khokan, m.e.h., khan, b. and islam, k.k. 2015e. discovery of three new angiosperm records for bangladesh from juri forest range-1 under moulvi bazar district. bull. bangladesh national herb. 4: 95–102. (manuscript received 21 august 2017; revised 13 november 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 1–12, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists comparative morphology and anatomy of seeds of some aethionema w.t. aiton (brassicaceae) taxa from turkey mehmet cengi̇z karai̇smai̇loğlu1 department of biology, faculty of art and science, siirt university, siirt, turkey keywords: aethionema; anatomy; morphology; seed; taxonomy; turkey. abstract seed morphology and anatomy are taxonomically significant in brassicaceae. the seed structures of aethionema from turkey, which include 12 taxa (aethionema syriacum, a. froedinii, a. arabicum, a. eunomioides, a. fimbriatum, a. speciosum subsp. speciosum, a. speciosum subsp. compactum, a. saxatile, a. oppositifolium, a. iberideum, a. armenum, a. grandiflorum) were studied for knowing seed morphological and anatomical features with one-way analysis of variance, cluster analysis and principal component analysis. seed size, shape and color were examined with stereomicroscopy. the surface patterns of seed were observed using scanning electron microscopy (sem). in addition, structure, and thicknesses of testa and endosperm were investigated anatomically. thickness of testa and endosperm were of major significance to illustrate interspecific relations among the examined taxa. introduction the brassicaceae is one of the largest angiosperm families, including ca. 340 genera and 3350 species distributed throughout the world mainly in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere (al-shehbaz, 1986; khalik and maesen, 2002; karaismailoğlu, 2017). taxonomically the genus aethionema w.t. aiton is problematic. turkey is one of the centers of biodiversity and its number in outside anatolia diminishes progressively (davis, 1965; pinar et al., 2007). in turkey, the genus represented with 45 aethionema species, 20 species of which are endemic to turkey (davis, 1965; guner et al., 2012; karaismailoğlu, 2018). the genus is extremely variable in habit, fruit and floral morphology, and chromosome number (appel and al-shehbaz, 2003; al-shehbaz et al., 2006). in addition, genus has a widespread convergence in traditional characters used in taxonomy, especially in fruit (mummenhoff et al., 1997). this factor cause some problems in classification of the genus from time to time; hence additional characters are needed in the classification of the genus. micromorphological features are taxonomically significant in the species delimitation (brochmann, 1992; pinar et al., 2007), in determining evolutionary relationships and solving taxonomic problems (khalik and maesen, 2002). especially, the seed coat variation is very important in infrageneric classification. structures of the epidermal cells are also good diagnostic characteristics for the lower taxonomical categories (barthlott, 1981; khalik and maesen, 2002). likewise, seed and fruit anatomical characters are also used in systematic in determination of the natural limits of the genera (karaismailoğlu, 2015a). however, there are only few taxonomical works on seeds structure of aethionema and they are limited to few characteristics (pinar et al., 2007; atceken et al., 2016). hence, the aim of this work is to test potency morphological and anatomical characters of seeds of some aethionema taxa and their use in the classification within the genus using multivariate analyses and principal component analysis. 1corresponding author, email: biology_61@hotmail.com mailto:biology_61@hotmail.com 2 karai̇smai̇loğlu et al. material and methods the seeds of 12 taxa of aethionema were utilized for the morphological and anatomical studies. the specimens were collected from natural populations and stored in sufaf (siirt university fauna and flora center). 50 ripe seeds of each taxon were taken. all examined taxa are listed in table 1 with their locations. table 1. the examined taxa and their locations. taxa location voucher aethionema syriacum hatay, dörtyol, yahyalı plateau, meadows, 750 m, 19.03.2017 karaismailoğlu 346 a. froedinii gümüşhane, kelkit, akdağ, inclined slopes, 2100 m, 09.07.2015 karaismailoğlu 213 a. arabicum muğla, köyceğiz, ağla-eren villages, roadsides, 1753 m, 05.06.2015 karaismailoğlu 194 a. eunomioides artvin, yusufeli, kılıçkaya, roadside, rocky slopes, 704 m, 22.05.2015 karaismailoğlu 169 a. fimbriatum niğde, çamardı, yelatan village tops, 2083 m, 12.06.2016 karaismailoğlu 275 a. speciosum subsp. speciosum artvin, şavşat, ciritdüzü village, stones slopes, 1182 m, 10.07.2014 karaismailoğlu 67 a. speciosum subsp. compactum muğla, köyceğiz, sandras mount, subalpin regions, slopes, 1819 m, 04.06.2016 karaismailoğlu 260 a. saxatile trabzon, of, roadside, meadows, 10 m, 17.07.2014 karaismailoğlu 94 a. oppositifolium ağrı, airport environments, open fields, meadows, 1600 m, 16.05.2015 karaismailoğlu 164 a. iberideum erzurum, i̇spir-i̇kizdere, rocky slopes, 1154 m, 22.05.2015 karaismailoğlu 170 a. armenum kahramanmaraş, göksun, berit mountain, humid areas, 1750 m, 19.06.2015 karaismailoğlu 206 a. grandiflorum muğla, marmaris, kırzeytin mountain, serpentine stones, 494 m, 05.06.2015 karaismailoğlu 191 macromorphological features such as shape, size, and color of the seeds were studied using olympus zs51 stereomicroscope and kameram imaging software. for micromorphological examinations of seed surface ornamentation, specimens were prepared for scanning electron microscopy by mounting with silver adhesive on the stub, and gold coated, and examined with jeol neoscope-5000 scanning electron microscope (karaismailoğlu, 2015b). the cross sections were taken from the middle part of the seed with an automatic microtome (thermo shonda met finesse). the specimens were placed in faa for a minimum of 24 hrs, then dehydrated through ethanol and xylene series, and stained with hematoxylin (harris-rrsp67-e) in a dyeing apparatus (asc 720 medite), and were mounted with entellan to observe anatomical features (karaismailoğlu, 2015a, b). the anatomical characters (including testa and endosperm thicknesses) were observed and photographed with using olympus cx21fs1 microscope and kameram imaging software. data analyses presented in tables 2 and 3 were made with duncan’s multiple-range test in spss computer program to determine the statistical significance of differentiations among the data to evaluate interspecific relationships (spss, 2006). grouping of taxa was performed using the comparative morphology and anatomy of seeds 3 4 karai̇smai̇loğlu et al. comparative morphology and anatomy of seeds 5 clustering analysis method (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean, upgma) (fig. 3). in addition, coordination and similarity matrix based upon principal component analysis (pca) were done (fig. 4 and table 3). all computations except duncan’s multiple range tests were performed by the mvsp software (kovach, 2007). results and discussion macro and micro morphological data on the seeds of the examined aethionema taxa indicate a wide variation (table 2). color, shape, and size features of the examined taxa were studied macromorphologically. seeds are elliptic (a. syriacum, a. arabicum, a. fimbriatum, a. speciosum subsp. speciosum, a. saxatile and a. oppositifolium) and ovate (a. eunomioides, a. speciosum subsp. compactum, a. iberideum, a. armenum and a. grandiflorum) or broadly ovate (a. froedinii) in shape and light brown (a. froedinii and a. speciosum subsp compactum) or dark brown (a. syriacum, a. oppositifolium and a. grandiflorum), brown-gray (a. arabicum and a. fimbriatum), brown-black (a. speciosum subsp. speciosum) and black (a. iberideum) in color. surface of the seeds is slightly rough or straight (table 2). seed sizes are variable, which range between 1.19 and 2.04 mm in length, and between 0.51 and 1.49 mm in width. particularly, a. arabicum, a. speciosum subsp. speciosum and a. oppositifolium are of the greater variability among aethionema taxa. seed surfaces of the taxa were examined as micromorphologically, and prominent characters such as surface ornamentations and cell types, periclinal and anticlinal cell walls of the seeds were recorded (table 2 and fig. 1). six types of seed surface ornamentations were determined: verrucate in a. syriacum, a. arabicum, a. speciosum subsp. speciosum and a. saxatile, reticulate in a. froedinii and a. iberideum, reticulate-foveate in a. eunomioides and a. grandiflorum, ocellate in a. fimbriatum and a. speciosum subsp. compactum, ruminate in a. oppositifolium, and reticulate-ocellate in a. armenum. the most common type is verrucate, and, the least common types are ruminate and reticulate-ocellate (table 2). this character is found to be taxonomically important in the delimitation of the taxa within the genus. besides, cell shapes on the seed surfaces are very diverse, and consisted of alveolate cells, polygonal, rectangular, or pentagonal and irregular wrinkles. the predominant cell type is alveolate; the rare types are rectangular or pentagonal. at the same time, anticlinal cell walls in examined taxa are sunken or raised and flat or undulated, periclinal cell walls are convex, concave, and flat as well. the outcomes of anatomical studies are given in table 3 and fig. 2. the testa epidermis in the examined taxa is scleranchymatic type and consists of two layers including outer and inner epidermis. the outer epidermis indicated markedly variations among the examined taxa. they are rectangular in a. syriacum, cylindrical in a. froedinii, flat in a. arabicum, a. eunomioides, a. fimbriatum, a. oppositifolium, a. iberideum, a. armenum and a. grandiflorum, ovoid in a. speciosum subsp. speciosum, a. speciosum subsp. compactum and a. grandiflorum, and tuberculate in a. armenum, waved or straight and thick or thin-walled, regular or irregular cells in the cross-sections (fig. 2). however, the inner epidermis is in the form such as cubic in a. syriacum, rectangular in a. froedinii, a. arabicum, a. eunomioides, a. fimbriatum, a. speciosum subsp. compactum, a. saxatile, a. iberideum and a. grandiflorum, flat in a. speciosum subsp. speciosum and a. armenum, and crushed in a. oppositifolium. besides, the mean values of the testa thickness range between 105.49 μm and 31.43 μm. accordingly, testa covers the most location in testa based on other examined anatomical characters. as well as, parenchyma (endosperm) cells in the examined taxa are single-layered and are composed of the flattest, rarely cubic, and rectangular cells. endosperm thickness in examined taxa range between 35.40 μm and 8.26 μm; the widest endosperm is noted in a. froedinii; however, it is the narrowest in a. arabicum (table 3). 6 karai̇smai̇loğlu et al. fig. 1. sem micrographs of the examined taxa: 1-2. a. syriacum, 3-4. a. froedinii, 5-6. a. arabicum, 7-8. a. eunomioides, 9-10. a. fimbriatum, 11-12. a. speciosum subsp. speciosum, 13-14. a. speciosum subsp. compactum, 15-16. a. saxatile, 17-18. a. oppositifolium, 19-20. a. iberideum, 21-22. a. armenum, 23-24. a. grandiflorum. the upgma dissimilarity clustering dendrogram for the studied taxa is shown in fig. 3. a. speciosum subsp. speciosum, a. speciosum subsp compactum, a. saxatile and a. froedinii form cluster a; other eight taxa form cluster b. in cluster a three taxa, a. speciosum subsp. speciosum, comparative morphology and anatomy of seeds 7 a. speciosum subsp. compactum and a. saxatile formed a subclade a, where a. froedinii is distantly related to them. cluster b further formed two distinct subclades. b1 consists of a. iberideum, a. oppositifolium and a. eunomioides; b2 grouped a. fimbriatum, a. armenum, a. arabicum, a. grandiflorum and a. syriacum. fig. 2. the seed anatomical structures of the examined taxa; 1. a. syriacum, 2. a. froedinii, 3. a. arabicum, 4. a. eunomioides, 5. a. fimbriatum, 6. a. speciosum subsp. speciosum, 7. a. speciosum subsp. compactum, 8. a. saxatile, 9. a. oppositifolium, 10. a. iberideum, 11. a. armenum, 12. a. grandiflorum (oe: outer epidermis, ie: inner epidermis, ct: compressed tissue, pa: parenchyma, co: cotyledon, scale bars: 100 µm). as shown in dendrogram, a. froedinii, a. iberideum and a. fimbriatum were prominently different from other taxa based on the examined characteristics (table 2). the clades contained closely related taxa such as a. arabicum-a. armenum and a. syriacum-a. grandiflorum in compatible with the traditional taxonomic rank of aethionema taxa in turkey. it means that the macro and micro morphological and anatomical characteristics of the seeds are suitable with the used characters in the infra-generic separation of the aethionema species in flora of turkey (davis, 1965). 8 karai̇smai̇loğlu et al. pca ordination and dissimilarity matrix in accordance with morphological and anatomical characters of seeds are given in table 3 and in fig. 4. the closest and the most distant taxa are determined. a. arabicum and a. armenum are the most closely related taxa (dissimilarity percentage: 1.15), as a. saxatile and a. iberideum are the most distant taxa (dissimilarity percentage: 19.56) (table 4 and fig. 4). in addition, the cumulative variance value of principal components achieved 59.41% (axis 1: 39.23%, axis 2: 20.18%). fig. 3. upgma of the examined taxa. fig. 4. principal component analysis of the examined taxa. comparative morphology and anatomy of seeds 9 10 karai̇smai̇loğlu et al. the classification of the aethionema taxa is based on fruit morphology (davis, 1965), however; the main differences in fruit morphology and the widespread convergence in this character within family drift into complexity systematics of genus in turkey (mummenhoff et al., 1997). to illuminate this problem, the morphological (macro and micro) and anatomical characters of the seeds, which are rarely referred to systematics of genus and no comprehensive researches have been performed so far, are used as an additional character in this study. the morphological features of the seeds present valuable data in the evolutionary classification of flowering plants (corner, 1976; kaya et al., 2011). the seed morphology of the examined aethionema taxa includes important information in the identification. the seed morphological variations have been found at the species level, especially in seed color and sizes. seed color ranges from light brown, dark brown, brown-black to brown-grey (table 2). seed color is diagnostic at the generic and specific level for some extent. the information of seed color is consistent with some previous studies such as barthlott (1984), pinar et al. (2007, 2009), kasem et al. (2011), kaya et al. (2011) and karaismailoğlu (2016). also, the observed morphological variations in the seed are compatible with the diagnostic characters in flora of turkey (davis, 1965) for aethionema taxa. fruit or seed surface structure have been variously utilized for solving taxonomical problems, interpretation of evolutionary relationship and illumination of the adaptive characters of the fruit or seed surface (sulaiman, 1995; pinar et al., 2007; karaismailoğlu, 2015a). seed coat surface features such as surface ornamentation, anticlinal and periclinal cell wall patterns, and epidermal cell structure, have been found as helpful in delimitation of taxa within some genera in brassicaceae family (murley, 1951; vaughan and whitehouse, 1971; barthlott, 1981; koul et al., 2000; moazzeni et al., 2007; karaismailoğlu, 2016). in this study, seed surface ornamentations, which are verruculate, reticulate, reticulatefoveate, ocellate, ruminate and reticulate-ocellate, can be served as good diagnostic characters at the specific level. the seed surface patterns in a. syriacum, a. froedinii, a. fimbriatum, a. speciosum subsp. speciosum, a. speciosum subsp. compactum, a. saxatile and a. oppositifolium taxa are reported here for the first time. this character found useful in separation of the following taxa, a. speciosum subsp. speciosum and a. grandiflorum taxa. reticulate type is the most common surface ornamentation found among the taxa studied. it has commonly used in generic level in the family brassicaceae (barthlott, 1981; koul et al., 2000; zeng et al., 2004; moazzeni et al., 2007; karaismailoğlu, 2016). the outcomes of this study are congruent with seed surface is reticulate or verrucate in aethionema iberideum, a. eunomioides, a. arabicum and a. armenum (pinar et al., 2007; atceken et al., 2016). this paper is the first report to the ocellate seed surface ornamentations of a. speciosum subsp. compactum, and a. fimbriatum, ruminate ornamentation type for a. oppositifolium (fig. 1). seed surface ornamentation is reported as reticulate-verrucate (pinar et al., 2007) and verrucate (atceken et al., 2016) in a. armenum, while current investigation reports as reticulate-foveate. the unique morphological microcharacters have reflected a correlation between a molecular data and the morphological characters utilized in classification (batur, 2014). characteristics of testa epiderma cells are taxonomically significant at the generic and subgeneric levels (tegel, 2002; karaismailoğlu, 2015a). these characteristics are found inconsistent in the present investigation. the outer epidermal cells are composed of rectangular, cylindrical, flat, ovoid, and tuberculate in forms with thick or thin wall. the inner epidermal cells are cubic, rectangular, flat, and crushed in forms as well. at the same time, the widest testa is noted in a. saxatile, whereas narrowest is in a. iberideum. present investigation reveals that the testa epidermal features can be a helpful taxonomic character in separation of aethionema taxa. comparative morphology and anatomy of seeds 11 current results are compatible with previous studies such as vaughan and whitehouse (1971); meyer (1973, 1979, 1991) and moazzeni et al. (2007). a dendrogram was created to evaluate the morphological and anatomical features of the seeds of the aethionema taxa with upgma of cluster analysis. the morphological and anatomical characteristics of the seeds have supported the features utilized in the separation of aethionema taxa of turkey. principal component analysis may be helpful in providing information about the variability of the used characteristics. the obtained cumulative variance values of principal components indicate that the examined characteristics in aethionema taxa may be utilized in explaining the differences among the taxa because of high variance value. dissimilarity ratios among the taxa were determined. accordingly, the closest relationship was seen between a. arabicum and a. armenum, however, the most distant relationship was found between a. saxatile and a. iberideum. in the present study, significance of some characteristics in the infrageneric delimitation in aethionema has been examined. the application of some seed characters, which are generally related with seed micromorphological and anatomical patterns, can be useful in the systematics of genus, and supportive ancestral characters in the infra generic classification. this is a preliminary investigation of systematic significance of some seed morphological and anatomical characteristics of the genus aethionema; further extensive studies including all taxa of the genus would be helpful in better understanding systematic problems of the genus aethionema. acknowledgements the author thanks the professors in istanbul university, division of botany for providing the facilities of some equipments. references al-shehbaz, i.a. 1986. the genera of lepidieae (cruciferae; brassicaceae) in the southeastern united states. j. arnold. arbor. 67: 265–311. al-shehbaz, i.a., beilstein, m.a. and kellogg, e.a. 2006. systematics and phylogeny of the brassicaceae (cruciferae): an overview. pl. syst. evol. 259: 89–120. appel, o. and al-shehbaz, i.a. 2003. cruciferae. in: kubitzki, k. 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(manuscript received on 14 march 2018, revised on 1 november 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 15‒26, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a comparative anatomical investigation of three taxa of brassica l. from bangladesh faria akbar and kazi nahida begum* department of botany, faculty of life and earth sciences, jagannath university, dhaka-1100, bangladesh key words: brassica l.; root anatomy; stem anatomy; stomata; trichome. abstract in the present study, micromorphology and comparative anatomy of young root, stem and leaf of three economically important taxa of brassica l. viz., b. rapa l. subsp. campestris (l.) clapham, b. juncea (l.) czern. and b. napus l. are investigated in detail for the first time in bangladesh by using light microscopy (lm). in anatomical studies, cross sections of young root, stem and leaf have been examined and biometric measurement of cell and tissues are presented. the micromorphological studies are related to the epidermal surface. in addition, the stomatal index and stomatal index ratio of these taxa have been calculated and presence of simple, non-glandular, unicellular trichome on stems and leaves also been observed except on the stem of b. rapa l. subsp. campestris (l.) clapham. the anatomical study reveals that the investigated taxa have primary growth in roots and stems as well as amphistomatic and bifacial leaves with anisocytic stomata have been noticed. finally, presence of tetrarch or single strand exarch xylem in vascular bundle of root, the size, shape and presence or absence of trichome over stem, shape of midrib of leaf have been considered to provide reliable features for identification of the brassica species. introduction the family brassicaceae consists of 338 genera and 3709 species and dispersed all through the world, basically in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere (warwick et al., 2006; kasem et al., 2011). among the genera, the genus brassica l. includes around 100 economically important species with great hereditary and morphological assorted diversity (jahan et al., 2013). the principal distribution centers of the family are the mediterranean, irano-turanian and saharosindian regions (hedge, 1976). in bangladesh, the brassicaceae family is represented by 12 genera and 24 species (ahmed et al., 2008). the genus is noteworthy for containing more important agricultural and horticultural crops like oilseed, vegetables, medicine and condiments than any other genus (saha et al., 2008). oleiferous brassica species viz. b. rapa, b. juncea and b. napus constitute the world's third most vital source of consumable oils (gupta and pratap, 2007), and are considered as one of the leading oilseed crops in bangladesh (razzaque and karim, 2007). metcalfe and chalk (1957) studied the anatomy of cruciferae and destined the diagnostic anatomical characteristics including epidermal cell type, stomata type and the array of the sclerenchymatic cells around the vascular bundles of the leaves. the quantity of morphological and taxonomic studies in cruciferae has expanded in recent years (khatun et al., 2011; kaya and dirmenci, 2012; bayirli et al., 2014; selvi et al., 2014; hayta et al., 2014; satil et al., 2015). *corresponding author, email: kazinahida@yahoo.com mailto:kazinahida@yahoo.com 16 akbar and begum no micromorphological and anatomical study on the available and economically important species of brassica l. from bangladesh has been conducted so far. therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the anatomical and micromorphological properties of three important taxa of the genus brassica. materials and methods plant materials three species of brassica l. namely, b. rapa l. subsp. campestris (l.) clapham, b. juncea (l.) czern. and b. napus l. were chosen for this study because of their availability and economic importance (fig. 1). among the three brassica l. species, the seeds of b. rapa l. subsp. campestris (l.) clapham were collected from bangladesh institute of nuclear agriculture (bina), mymensingh, bangladesh. seeds of b. juncea (l.) czern. and b. napus l. were collected from the oilseeds research center (orc) of bangladesh agricultural research institute (bari), joydebpur, gazipur, bangladesh. these three species were maintained in the botanical garden, department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka. fig. 1. habit of three species of brassica l. a–b. b. rapa subsp. campestris; c–d. b. juncea; e–f. b. napus; a, c, e: plant morphology; b, d, f: flowers. anatomical investigation fresh specimens were collected for the study of the internal structures of the studied species of brassica. transverse section of the vegetative organs, viz. young root, stem and leaf were chosen as they might provide discrete anatomical features of taxonomic importance. free hand sectioning of young root, stem and leaf was made with the help of a razor blade. the sections were stained with safranin (0.1%) for 15 min. after that the well stained section were mounted in 20% glycerin (shethi et al., 2017) and selected sections were prepared for permanent slides. a comparative anatomical investigation of three taxa 17 stomatal density on abaxial and adaxial surfaces of the leaf was counted under a light microscope. stomatal index was calculated according to the method of meidner and mansfield (1968). stomatal terminology and the leaf epidermal terminology were based on the classification provided by dilcher (1974) and wilkinson (1979), respectively. the trichomes were investigated on the both surface of leaves of all studied species and examined by light microscopy. trichome description and classification followed theobald et al. (1979). the permanent slides were studied under a compound light microscope optica. micrographs were captured from various regions of the sections using different magnifications through euromex camera. measurements of sections were made by using image focus 4 english software. biometric measurements of anatomical characters were made by taking three times measurement of different cells and tissue of each species. results and discussion the comparative anatomy and micromorphology of brassica species growing in bangladesh are thoroughly investigated. the biometric measurements of the anatomical characteristics of b. rapa subsp. campestris, b. juncea and b. napus based on young root, stem and leaf are presented in table 1. comparative anatomical characters of young root, stem and leaf of the investigated species are given in tables 2, 3 and 4, respectively. leaf epidermal surface characters of the studied species of brassica, examined micromorphologically, are shown in table 5. root anatomy in the cross-section of young root, the root exhibits a primary structure. there is epidermis which makes up the outermost layer of the root and consists of single layered, compactly packed, elongated barrel shaped cells, having no cuticle and stomata. the epidermal layer width is the lowest in b. rapa subsp. campestris (51.37 µm), while it is highest in b. napus (85.73 µm) (table 1). on epidermal layer, root hairs are found to be present in b. rapa subsp. campestris and b. juncea but absent in b. napus. immediately beneath the epidermis, there is cortex that consists of 4–9 thin-walled parenchyma cell layers, sometimes having intercellular spaces among them and cells are usually elliptical, circular and oval in shape. below the cortex layer, a distinct endodermis layer is found, consisting of elliptical cells. the pericycle consists of thin walled parenchyma cells, found to be present as uniseriate which makes the outer boundary of the primary vascular bundle of the roots of examined species. the xylem forms four discrete strandsthe tetrarch, alternating with the phloem in b. rapa subsp. campestris and b. napus while b. juncea exihibited with the xylem which is occupied the center. the xylem present in the vascular bundle of root in all the studied species are exarch. the phloem is located under the pericycle and is composed of 4–6 layered overlapping sequence of cells. the parenchymatous conjunctive tissues occur in between xylem and phloem strands. no cambium is observed in the examined species of brassica l. except in b. juncea the central part of the stele is occupied by well-developed pith which is found sclerenchymatous, while the pith is found inconspicuous or absent in b. juncea (fig. 2 and table 2). stem anatomy in the transverse section of stem, a few variations reveal among the three different examined species of brassica. the stems of studied species also exhibit primary structure. the contour of stem is round in b. juncea and ovoid in b. napus (figs. 3c and 3e), while polygonal in b. rapa subsp. campestris (fig. 3a). margin of all the species have ridges and furrows. except in b. rapa subsp. campestris, the other two species, viz. b. juncea and b. napus have sparsely situated trichomes on the outer surface of stem. b. juncea contains very few, small, non-glandular, 18 akbar and begum table 1. biometric measurement of anatomical characters of three species of brassica l. parameters brassica rapa subsp. campestris brassica juncea brassica napus length (µm) width (µm) length (µm) width (µm) length (µm) width (µm) root mean std mean std mean std mean std mean std mean std epidermal cells 76.49 8.97 51.37 6.65 87.86 0.51 78.68 9.87 112 15.57 85.73 9.16 root hair 55.81 1.00 415.33 38.06 cortex layers 68.92 10.99 347.09 33.88 443.45 7.91 endodermal cells 21.60 2.87 11.30 2.72 60.14 16.17 50.24 13.58 73.82 6.77 62.21 8.29 pericycle cells 62.30 11.37 48.04 5.71 64.92 11.90 53.93 6.90 54.63 16.17 49.11 3.92 phloem layers 17.53 3.42 47.94 7.47 40.58 14.31 tracheid cells 7.94 1.02 6.43 0.60 40.47 4.25 36.77 1.92 38.46 3.97 31.77 10.38 stem cuticle 7.01 0.75 7.77 4.49 5.36 1.02 epidermal cells 36.22 2.77 29.45 1.64 32.10 5.36 23.76 7.95 23.75 10.37 16.15 3.77 trichomes 75.25 3.67 342.82 77.97 cortex layers 158.96 77.54 194.70 45.29 198.52 94.66 endodermal cells 29.16 6.17 19.37 2.66 72.84 15.16 51.58 9.42 32.84 8.85 27.13 3.52 pericycle layer 54.86 21.74 40.34 21.62 88.92 30.88 phloem layers 19.38 12.62 28.89 10.00 47.55 13.66 cambium layer 65.08 12.00 69.08 4.21 tracheid cells 27.03 4.74 23.79 4.58 12.68 1.49 11.56 1.70 24.40 2.47 20.67 1.19 pith region 963.89 18.12 694.15 16.46 1147.93 35.23 pith cells 77.42 47.90 73.88 49.16 85.12 28.45 65.08 12.00 67.10 36.09 48.47 35.16 leaf cuticle 3.38 1.38 3.06 1.16 3.40 0.65 trichome 81.75 99.30 510.32 34.97 371.78 41.35 upper epidermis cells 31.70 8.77 14.42 1.87 39.82 20.16 23.48 9.56 46.47 16.53 19.41 5.95 lower epidermis cells 20.90 5.15 12.60 1.41 31.90 15.30 18.25 3.69 29.96 6.69 11.16 3.73 mesophyl layers 169.41 20.84 171.55 16.12 195.40 4.67 palisade parenchyma 28.44 9.92 22.60 2.80 42.44 20.89 29.67 4.43 40.00 15.75 28.21 15.36 spongy parenchyma 39.50 16.76 18.98 2.00 32.33 9.15 20.72 3.47 27.31 17.07 18.16 6.53 unicellular, conical-shaped, blunt tipped trichomes which are present sparsely on the outer surface (fig. 3c). in contrast, long, non-glandular, unicellular, less number of sparsely arranged trichomes with a very pointed tip are found in b. napus (fig. 3e). the epidermis is single layered with thick cuticle on the outside in all the three investigated species. the cuticle layer ranges from 5.36 μm in b. napus to 7.77 μm in b. juncea (table 1). the epidermis is composed of compactly arranged square, rectangular, elliptical or circular cells. the epidermal layer (length) is found highest in b. a comparative anatomical investigation of three taxa 19 rapa subsp. campestris (36.22 μm) whereas it is lowest in b. napus (23.75 μm) (table 1). the epidermis contains anisocytic stomata. the epidermal layer is followed by a single layer of hypodermis, which is made up of collenchyma tissues except in b. juncea (fig. 3d). the cortex layer consists of cortex parenchyma and endodermis. the cortex parenchyma is chlorenchymatic fig. 2. transverse section of root of three species of brassica l. a–b. b. rapa subsp. campestris; c–d. b. juncea; e–f. b. napus; a, c, e: full contour of root (4x); b, d, f: detailed anatomical characters of root (10x). ep: epidermal cell, rh: root hair, co: cortex, en: endodermis, pe: pericycle, xy: xylem, ph: phloem. bar = 100 µm. table 2. young root anatomical characters of three species of brassica l. taxa root hairs cortex pericycle xylem phloem pith parenchyma endodermis strand b. rapa subsp. campestris present 5-7 layered 1 layered 1 layered tertarch 4-6 layered present b. juncea present 4-5 layered 1 layered 1 layered single strand 4-5 layered inconspicuous b. napus absent 7-9 layered 1 layered 1 layered tetrarch 4-5 layered present and is made up of 2–9 layers, thin-walled, with regular oval or circular cells. cortex parenchyma also contains starch granules. the parenchymatous cells of b. rapa subsp. campestris and b. juncea contain more intense starch than b. napus (fig. 3). underneath the cortex parenchyma, there is a single layered rectangular or barrel shaped endodermis surrounding the vascular bundle of the stem. pericycle is usually sclerenchymatic, 1–3 layered and surrounding the phloem layers of vascular bundles. the number of vascular bundles arranged in a ring varies from 7 to 25 in the studied species. 9 to 13 vascular bundles are found in b. rapa subsp. campestris whereas 7 to 12 and 17 to 25 vascular bundles are observed in b. juncea and b. napus, respectively (table 3). inter-fascicular region is located in between vascular bundles of b. rapa subsp. campestris and this region comprises sclerenchymatic cells while a continuous wavy band of multi-layered rectangular, sclerenchymatous conjunctive tissue is observed in b. juncea and b. napus. the type 20 akbar and begum of vascular bundle is conjoint, collateral and open in b. juncea and b. napus (figs. 3d & 3f). the phloem is 2–7 layered and consists of irregular and squashed cells. the cambium is distinct and is located between phloem and xylem elements. the cells of cambium tissue are typically rectangular shaped and are arranged in 2–4 layers. xylems of the vascular bundles are highly lignified. in b. rapa subsp. campestris, vascular bundles are found to be conjoint, collateral and closed (figs. 3a–b and table 3). the pith region located in the center of the stem is composed of large orbicular or polygonal parenchymatous cells and occupies much of the volume of stem in all the three studied species of brassica (figs. 3a, 3c & 3e). a comparative account of stem anatomical characters among the three brassica species has been depicted in table 3. the highest numbers of vascular bundles are found in b. napus followed by b. rapa subsp. campestris, while the lowest number is noticed in b. juncea. it can easily be distinguished from other species by its round shaped stem, small, non-glandular, sparsely located unicellular, blunt-tipped trichomes. b. napus can be identified by its sparsely located unicellular, non-glandular, long trichomes with pointed tips (table 3). table 3. stem anatomical characters of three species of brassica l. taxa trichome cortex pericycle vascular bundle type no. of vascular bundles phloem parenchyma endodermis b. rapa subsp. campestris absent 3-5 layered 1 layered 1 layered closed, collateral 9-13 3-5 layered b. juncea present 2-4 layered 1 layered 1 layered open, collateral 7-12 2-3 layered b. napus present 6-9 layered 1 layered 2-3 layered open, collateral 17-25 4-7 layered fig. 3. transverse section of stem of three species of brassica l. a–b. b. rapa subsp. campestris; c–d. b. juncea; e–f. b. napus; a, c, e: full contour of stem (4x); b, d, f: detailed anatomical characters of stem (10x). cu: cuticle, ep: epidermis, co: cortex, hy: hypodermis, en: endodermis, pe: pericycle, sc: sclerenchyma, ph: phloem, ca: cambium, x: xylem, pt: pith, tr: trichome. bar = 100 µm. a comparative anatomical investigation of three taxa 21 leaf anatomy transverse section of the dorsiventral leaves of the three species of brassica provides diverse anatomical features in both leaf blade and midrib region. in the studied species, there is a single layer of epidermis observed on the adaxial and abaxial surface of the leaf. a thin layer of cuticle present on the upper and lower epidermis ranging from 3.06 µm in b. juncea to 3.40 µm in b. napus (table 1). epidermal cells of the both surfaces of lamina are rectangular to cubic in shape whereas the epidermal cells of midrib are ellipsoidal to oval in shape in all studied species. the laminar epidermal cells are much bigger than epidermal cells of midrib (fig. 4). from the micromorphological observations of leaf epidermal surface, the epidermal cell walls are found irregular in shape and anticlinal cell wall are sinuate and undulating (figs. 5a–5f, table 5). the fig. 4. transverse section of leaf of brassica l. species. a–c. b. rapa subsp. campestris; d–f. b. juncea; g–i. b. napus; a, d, g: leaf section with lamina and midrib (10x); b, e, h: detailed anatomical characters of lamina (40x); c, f, i: detailed anatomical characters of midrib (40x); cu: cuticle, ue: upper epidermis, le: lower epidermis, eh: eglandular hair, vb: vascular bundle, st: stomata, cl: collenchymas, la: lamina, pp: palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, xy: xylem, ph: phloem. bar = 100 µm. 22 akbar and begum abaxial leaf surface of all the three species are covered with simple, non glandular, unicellular trichomes which are straight or curved, stalked, flattened in the lower part and tapering above, long on the midrib and veins, otherwise shorter with straight or hooked tips. trichomes are densely present in b. rapa subsp. campestris and b. juncea, but sparsely found in b. napus (figs. 5g–5i and table 4). amphistomatic types of stomata are observed on epidermal layers of all the studied species. stomata are found to be elliptic in all species. stomata are bigger in b. juncea (24.47 µm), while they are smaller in b. rapa subsp. campestris (19.34 µm) on both surfaces of leaves (table 5). they may be either mesomorphic or higromorphic. the density of stomata is higher in abaxial surface (112.00–184.40) than the adaxial surface (69.28–105.20) in all the studied species (table 5). based on the arrangement of subsidiary cells that enclosing the guard cells, the stomata of the three studied species are anisocytic type (figs. 5a–5f). the stomatal table 4. comparative leaf anatomical characters of three species of brassica l. taxa trichomes palisade parenchyma spongy parenchyma midrib shape middle vascular bundle collenchyma on xylem collenchyma under phloem b. rapa subsp. campestris densly present 2-3 layered 3-5 layered biconvex, adaxial less angular, abaxial square shaped with no ridges and furrows 1-2 rows 3 rows b. juncea densely present 2-3 layered 4-5 layered biconvex, adaxial more angular, semi-circular abaxial with prominent ridges and furrows 4-5 rows 1-2 rows b. napus sparsely present 3-5 layered 4-5 layered biconvex, adaxial angular, abaxial semi-circular, somewhat flattened with no ridges and furrows 3-5 rows 3-4 rows table 5. micro-morphological leaf epidermal surface characteristics of three species of brassica l. characters brassica rapa subsp. campestris brassica juncea brassica napus adaxial abaxial adaxial abaxial adaxial abaxial anticlinal cell wall sinuate sinuate sinuate sinuate undulate undulate shape of epidermis cells irregular irregular irregular irregular irregular irregular stomata type anisocytic anisocytic anisocytic anisocytic anisocytic anisocytic stomatal shape elliptical elliptical elliptical elliptical elliptical elliptical stomata length (µm) 19.91±1.06 19.34±1.90 24.47±3.22 24.47±0.51 22.76±0.25 24.12±2.20 stomata width (µm) 15.47±0.77 15.62±0.44 18.74±2.69 20.02±1.68 16.37±1.37 19.74±0.45 number of stomata (1mm²) 99.60±20.00 146.00±14.03 105.20±17.47 184.40±9.50 69.28±12.70 112.00±14.89 number of epidermis cells 349.00±22.19 585.60±30.00 315.60±24.50 691.20±15.60 349.00±21.00 448.73±18.90 stomata index 22.20 19.96 25.00 21.05 16.55 19.97 stomata index ratio 1.11 0.89 1.19 0.84 0.82 1.21 a comparative anatomical investigation of three taxa 23 index of the studied species ranges from 16.55–25.00 in the adaxial surface and 19.96–21.05 in the abaxial surface, while the stomatal index ratio for adaxial surface is between 0.82 (b. napus) and 1.19 (b. juncea), and for abaxial surface it is between 0.84 (b. juncea) and 1.21 (b. napus) (table 5). in lamina, the mesophyll is bifacial (dorsiventral) in all species (figs. 4b, 4e & 4h). the mesophyll layer consists of palisade and spongy parenchyma cells, where in the palisade parenchyma cells are 2–5 layered and cylindrical to rectangular in shape. the longest palisade parenchymatous cell has been found in b. juncea (42.44 µm) followed by b. napus (40.00 µm), while the smallest palisade parenchyma is noted in b. rapa subsp. campestris (28.44 µm) (table 1). spongy parenchyma cells are 3–5 layered, ellipsoidal or oval with no intercellular space. vascular bundles are embedded in mesophyll and of the closed, collateral type, and are surrounded with a single layer of parenchymatous bundle sheath. although the midrib is biconvex in all the examined species, each of them has some variations on either surface (table 4, figs. 4a, 4d & 4g). in b. rapa subsp. campestris, adaxial surface is found to be less angular, whereas the abaxial surface is square with no ridges and furrows. b. juncea exhibits with more angular adaxial surface and semi-circular abaxial surface with prominent ridges and furrows. in b. napus, adaxial surface is angular whereas abaxial surface is semi-circled, somewhat flattened, with no ridges and furrows. single, closed, collateral vascular bundle has been observed in the midrib of b. rapa subsp. campestris and b. napus. on the contrary, three discrete closed, collateral vascular bundles are present in the midrib of b. juncea. the xylems that present in the middle vascular bundles are more lignified. subsequent collenchyma layers are found to present on the xylem and below the phloem tissues in the middle vascular bundles. no sclerenchymatic tissues are present on phloem layers of vascular bundle (figs. 4c, 4f & 4i). the present study is probably the first as no micromorphology and anatomical investigation of brassica in bangladesh has been made earlier. previously, several anatomical studies of various genera of the family brassicaceae has been carried out to identify the members of brassicaceae (ančev and goranova, 2006; selvi and paksoy, 2013; tekin and martin, 2017). the present study has revealed that stems of three studied brassica species provide the general anatomical characteristics of the cruciferae family (fig. 3) which is in congruent with previous studies where the pith region has been found as parenchymatous and occupies a large proportion of the total diameter of the stem in the cruciferae (metcalfe and chalk, 1957; tekin and martin, 2017). in a comparison of the results stem anatomy of physoptychis haussknechtii bornm., distributed mainly in eurasia (rešetnik et al., 2013), a member of brassicaceae family (tekin and martin, 2017) and our results on examined brassica species, showed the primary structure of stem which depicted with compactly arranged single layered epidermis covered with thick cuticle, followed by parenchymatous cortex layer, endodermis and sclerenchymatous pericycle. beneath the pericycle, a continuous ring of sclerenchymatous cambium formed in between xylem and phloem elements of b. juncea and b. napus. the pith is formed from elliptical or circular parenchymatous cells in the center of stem. the results of our study shows that all the studied species of brassica l. have similar anatomical properties as p. haussknechtii bornm., such as having the stem of the primary structure, however the presence of cambium in b. juncea and b. napus have been found correspond with p. haussknechtii bornm. metcalfe and chalk (1957) stated that the stomata of cruciferae family are of the cruciferous (anisocytic) type. the stomata of brassica species were surrounded by three subsidiary cells of which one is usually much smaller than the other two, the so-called cruciferous (anisocytic) type (figs. 5a–5f). however, occurrence of such type of stomata is reported to be common in other genera, namely ricotia l. and chrysochamela (fenzl) boiss. of the same family by many workers (selvi and paksoy, 2013; çakilcioğlu et al., 2017). due to the presence of same type of stomata in 24 akbar and begum different genera of the same family, this feature may be helpful in delimitation of ranking in taxonomic studies (santos et al., 2018). ančev and goranova (2006) studied trichome morphology of eleven genera of tribe alysseae of brassicaceae and recognized four types, viz. simple, stalked 2 to 5 armed, stellate and dendritic trichomes. in the present study, trichomes found in leaf in all the studied species are simple, straight, stalked, flattened in the lower part, tapering above, long on the midrib and veins, otherwise shorter with straight or hooked tips (figs. 5g–5i). according to ančev and goranova (2006), simple trichomes cover the leaves of lunaria rediviva l. and mixed with stalked 2 to 3armed ones, compose the leaf indumentums of camelina sativa. simple trichomes on the silicules of clypeola jonthlaspi subsp. microcarpa are columnar with transverse furrows. the stem trichomes of brassica juncea are simple, short, unicellular, conical-shaped and blunt at the tip, while it has been found long and tapering above in the stem of b. napus and no trichome been found in b. rapa subsp. campestris. trichomes basically serve as defense tissue and provide worthy anatomical features to characterize species (shethi et al., 2019). therefore, it may be considered that the size and shape and presence or absence of trichomes may provide information to recognize the species of brassica genus. fig. 5. stomata of adaxial surface (a, b, c) (40x) and abaxial surface (d, e, f) (40x) and trichomes (g, h, i) (4x) of brassica l. species. a, d, g. b. rapa subsp. campestris; b, e, h. b. juncea; c, f, i. b. napus. sc: stoma cell, ec: epidermal cell, tr: trichome. bar = 100 µm. results revealed form the present investigation on three brassica species are discussed with previous studies on some other genera, i.e. ricotia l. (selvi and paksoy, 2013) and chrysochamela (fenzl) boiss. (çakilcioğlu et al., 2017) of the same family. in the leaf anatomy of our present studied species showed quite similarities with the species of ricotia l. and a comparative anatomical investigation of three taxa 25 chrysochamela (fenzl) boiss., viz. the epidermis of midrib and lamina is uniseriate and covered with thin cuticle, mesophyll is bifacial, spongy parenchyma is well developed with oval to circular cells with no intercellular space, and palisade parenchyma composed of cylindrical cells. stomata are comparatively tiny and amphistomatic. in chrysochamela (fenzl) boiss., the lower and upper epidermal cells of the middle vascular bundle are bigger than epidermal cells in the mesophyll layer (çakilcioğlu et al., 2017). however, in the studied brassica species, the laminar epidermal cells are much bigger than the upper and lower epidermal cells of midrib. in the midrib, collateral type of vascular bundle (closed collateral) has been found in all the examined species of brassica l. according to pandey (1978), number of xylem strands in the vascular bundle of root, is specific to species. as the studied species are found with tetrarch xylem (except, b. juncea which found with single strand xylem in the center) in root, it may be considered as an important character for distinguishing brassica species. in our study, primary root structure has been found in three brassica species. however, secondary root structure in some other genera of brassicaceae has been noticed in previous studies (orcan and binzet, 2003; tekin and martin, 2017). the present study on anatomical profiles of three brassica species from bangladesh is the first of its nature. besides, other anatomical traits, viz. primary structure and tetrarch or single strand exarch xylem in root, size, shape and presence or absence of trichomes over stem, midrib shape of leaf are considered as distinctive characters for delimitation of the brassica species investigated. inclusion of additional species employing additional tools would throw more light on better understanding of species delimitation and interspecific relationships of the genus brassica. acknowledgment the authors are thankful to bangladesh agricultural research institute (bari), bangladesh institute of nuclear agriculture (bina) for providing the seeds of three species of brassica used in this study. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(brassicaceae) from central anatolia. acta bot. croat. 76(1): 32– 40. theobald, w.l., krahulik, j.l. and rollins, r.c. 1979. trichome description and classification. in: metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. (eds), anatomy of the dicotyledons. vol. 1. oxford university press, amen house, oxford, london, pp. 40–53. warwick, s.i., francis, a. and al-shehbaz, i.a. 2006. brassicaceae: species checklist and database on cdrom. pl. syst. evol. 259: 249–258. wilkinson, h.p. 1979. the plant surface (mainly leaf). in: metcalfe, c.r. and chalk, l. (eds), anatomy of the dicotyledons. vol. 1. clarendon press, oxford, u.k., pp. 97–165. (manuscript received on 20 october 2019; revised on 21 may 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 289–294, 2018 (december) short communication © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists lectotypification of the genus geissaspis wight & arn. (fabaceae papilionoideae) anoop p. balan1, s.v. predeep2, p.s. udayan3 and r. prakashkumar4 malabar botanical garden and institute for plant sciences, ga college p.o., kozhikode, kerala 673 014, india keywords: geissaspis; india; lectotypification; new synonym. two species of geissaspis wight & arn. of indian origin namely, g. cristata wight & arn. and g. tenella benth. are lectotypified. g. tenella var. malabarica sivar. & a. babu is synonymized here under g. tenella. the genus geissaspis was established by wight and arnott (1834) based on collections from indian peninsula. in india, the genus was known by two species and one variety, viz. g. cristata wight & arn., g. tenella benth. var. tenella, and g. tenella benth. var. malabarica sivar. & a. babu. however, a comparative study reveals that g. tenella var. malabarica did not warrant distinction from its typical variety and as such it is proposed here as a new synonym. g. cristata is widely distributed from west bengal to kerala and andaman and nicobar islands, while g. tenella is restricted to central and south india. during our studies of fabaceae in south india, it was noticed that holotypes of these taxa were not designated hence the lectotypification of them become imperative, and the same has been done here. 1. geissaspis cristata wight & arn., prodr.: 218 (1834). (fig. 1a). type citation: ‘g. cristata (w. & a.) wight ! cat. n. 823. zornia disperma graham! in wall.! l. n. 5663. hedysarum bijugum, herb. klein! smithia? cristata, herb. wight! courtallum, in moist soil. malabar, in rice fields’. lectotype (designated here): india, courtallum, herb. wight propr. 823 (k000846467 image!); isolectotype (cal0000012761!, e00174473!, e00174477!, e00174478!, k000846468!, p02936304!) (fig. 2). residual syntype: india. malabar, 26 aug. 1826, wallich cat. n. 5663 (e00174474!, e00174475!, e00174476!, k000846469!, p02936298!). distribution: india (andaman & nicobar islands, goa, gujarat, karnataka, kerala, maharashtra, tamil nadu and west bengal), cambodia, china, myanmar, nepal, sri lanka, thailand and vietnam. geissaspis cristata was originally described by wight and arnott (1834) based on the specimens of robert wight from courtallum. specimens of graham and klein from malabar region were also cited in the protologue. after extensive surveys in various herbaria, we could find eight sheets of herb. wight 823, three sheets at e (e00174473!, e00174477!, e00174478!), two each at cal (two sheets of cal0000012761), and k (k000846467!, k000846468!) and one 1corresponding author. email: anooppb01@gmail.com 2p.g. department of botany, s.v.r.n.s.s. college, t.p. puram p.o., vazhoor, kottayam, kerala 686 505, india. 3p.g. department of botany, sree krishna college, ariyannur p.o., guruvayur, thrissur, kerala 680 102, india. 4jawaharlal nehru tropical botanic gardens and research institute, palode, thiruvananthapuram, kerala 695562, india. mailto:anooppb01@gmail.com 290 balan et al. fig. 1. a. geissaspis cristata wight & arn.; b.&c. geissaspis tenella benth. lectotypification of the genus geissaspis 291 sheet at p (p02936298!). among them, the specimens housed at k are well preserved and more complete than the rest. of the two sheets of herb. wight. 823 at k, k000846467 well displayed the details of the taxon and allows a more complete comparison with the protologue. k000846467 comprises two specimens which is selected and designated here as the lectotype of g. cristata. the other specimens mentioned in the protologue (e00174474!, e00174475!, e00174476!, k000846469!, p02936298!) forms the residual syntypes. 2. geissaspis tenella benth., flora 32: 559 (1849). (fig. 1b & c). type citation: ‘habitat pr. bolma ad vias’. lectotype (designated here): india. bolma, s.coll. 659 (k000846466!) (fig. 3). geissaspis tenella benth. var. malabarica sivar. & babu, journ. econ. tax. bot. 5: 941 (1984), syn. nov. holotype: india. kerala, malappuram, calicut university campus, august 1983, babu 37408 (mh!); isotype: cali (!). bentham (1849) described g. tenella based on specimens from western peninsular india. baker (1876: 141) cited s.coll. 659 as bentham’s original specimen, which is housed presently at k (k000846466). this sheet comprises 3 specimens mounted on a single sheet which is selected and designated here as the lectotype of this taxon. geissaspis tenella benth. var. malabarica was described by sivarajan and babu (1984) based on the flower colour. according to them the typical variety has lemon-yellow flowers and is restricted to the northern districts of eastwhile malabar and is nearly absent from the calicut and malappuram districts where this species is represented by the maroon-coloured form. the authors quoted the opinion of dr. r.m. polhill (pers. comm.) which states that “it is common for the yellow-flowered species in papilionoideae to have fine red veins or markings and if so, then a red flush is quite often seen on old flowers or as variations between plant populations”. the flower colour is not consistent in the plants in calicut and malappuram districts and moreover, the standard petal of g. tenella var. tenella is also tinged with maroon. after critical examination of herbarium (including type) as well as live specimens of both varieties, we did not find any significant differences to separate the two. similarly, palynological studies of both varieties also revealed close resemblance, i.e. 3zonocolpate grains with elliptic and operculate colpi having perforated membrane, prolatespheroidal shape and reticulate exine ornamentation in both varieties. the only difference is observed in the grain size range, i.e. 18.7–26.3 × 16.2–23.2 μm in var. tenella and 18.1–25.9 × 16.4–23.5 μm in var. malabarica, which is not sufficient to distinguish var. malabarica from the typical variety tenella. therefore, g. tenella var. malabarica is proposed to place under synonymy of geissaspis tenella benth. distribution: india (karnataka, kerala, maharashtra and tamil nadu). 292 balan et al. fig. 2. lectotype of geissaspis cristata wight & arn. (k000846467, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew). lectotypification of the genus geissaspis 293 fig. 3. lectotype of geissaspis tenella benth. (k000846466, © the board of trustees of the royal botanic gardens, kew). acknowledgements we are grateful to the curators of e, k and p for permitting to use the virtual images of type specimens and cal, cali and mh for permitting to consult specimens and dr. v.p. prasad, central national herbarium, botanical survey of india, howrah for the help given for locating the type specimens at cal. we express our gratitude to the director, malabar botanical garden and institute for plant sciences, kozhikode for all the facilities provided for this work. first author is indebted to science and engineering research board (serb), department of science and technology, government of india for financial assistance through the project pdf/2016/001936. 294 balan et al. references baker, j.g. 1876. geissaspis. in: hooker, j.d. (ed) flora of british india, vol. 2. reeve and co., london, pp. 141. bentham, g. 1849. geissaspis tenella. in: hohenacker, r.f. (ed) plantae e territoriis canara, mahrattarum australiori et malayalim. flora 32: 559. sivarajan, v.v. and babu, a. 1984. floristic notes on some new elements in indian flora. j. econ. & tax. bot. 5(4): 942. wight, r. and arnott, g.a.w. 1834. prodromus florae peninsulae indiae orientalis. neill & co., 217 pp. (manuscript received on 22 october 2017; revised on 11 novemberr 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 27‒60, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54207 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus a semi-natural area of bangladesh saleh ahammad khan, sharmin sultana, gazi mosharof hossain, shayla sharmin shetu and md. abdur rahim plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: flora; angiosperms; semi-natural; jahangirnagar; bangladesh. abstract this study represents comprehensive taxonomic information on current floristic composition in the semi-natural campus area of jahangirnagar university. this study reveals that this campus area harbours a total of 917 species belonging to 574 genera and 145 families of vascular plants. 70.34% of these species are wild and the rest are cultivated/planted. 63.79% of the species are native and 36.21% are exotic to bangladesh. pteridophytes and gymnosperms are represented by 22 and 12 species, respectively, whereas, angiosperms by 883 species. magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) and liliopsida (monocotyledons) are composed of 618 and 265 species, respectively. the family poaceae with 89 species is the largest, which is followed by fabaceae with 44 species and asteraceae with 40 species. most of the species are herbs (56.16%) and growing in diverse habitats. all species are economically or ecologically important, but mostly as medicinal, ornamental, fodder and forage, fruit, vegetable, timber and fuel wood. the study area houses 15 plant species, previously listed as threatened to bangladesh. thus, the study area is floristically rich in respect to its number of plant species belonging to different groups and its size. this area might serve as a campus-based excellent center of biodiversity conservation by strengthening the existing management and adopting necessary policies and strategies. introduction urbanization is one of the main drivers of ecological, environmental and socio-economical change worldwide (freitas et al., 2020). it is a central component of land-transformation processes and fundamental changes in land use and landscape pattern around the globe, especially in the developing countries. the consequences of urbanization result in drastic changes to the biodiversity and composition of plant communities and even lead to species extinction (mckinney, 2006; freitas et al., 2020). a semi-urban or peri-urban area is a transitional component of urbanization, which is usually resulted through the dynamic and fast transformation of rural land or natural tract into urban land (meeus and gulinck, 2008). in many cases, the semi-urban areas are in the vicinity and under influence of urban cores (cazaux et al., 2007). if a semi-urban area is semi-natural, it may form its own landscapes and may have some intact ecological and biodiversity assemblages that have been substantially modified in their composition, balance, strength or function, largely by human activities. there are immense benefits of conserving the vegetation of urban or semi-urban areas, especially in scientific, social, economic and environment issues (hunter, 2007). open space within such areas has beneficial effects on its microclimate, hydrology, biodiversity and ecological  corresponding author. email: shaylaju819@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54207 mailto:shaylaju819@gmail.com 28 khan et al. processes (goddard et al., 2009). maintaining biodiversity and natural environments in urban or semi-urban areas, is one of the biggest conservation challenges today (kowarik, 2011). however, the first key step to achieve this goal is to compile the updated lists of taxa of these areas (schaminée et al., 2011; sharrock, 2012). the campus of jahangirnagar university (ju) is an eye-pleasing semi-natural semi-urban area in close proximity to savar upazila town and dhaka metropolitan city (fig. 1). once, this campus area was an integrated part of the madhupur tract harbouring the major part of the deciduous ‘sal’ (shorea robusta) forest of this country. the original deciduous forest vegetation of this area has been almost replaced by a mixed type of secondary vegetation and plantation forests. despite not being completely natural, the habitats and ecosystems of this area has high value in term of its rich biodiversity in its diverse ecological habitats, viz. open scrub jungles, grasslands, fallow lands, wetlands, gardens, agricultural lands, and woodlands including the scattered plantation forests and remnants of natural deciduous forest, and the important services it provides. therefore, conducting studies on the biodiversity of this semi-natural area is necessary to know the extent and status of this natural resource and the trend of its changes under various anthropogenic pressures including urbanization, and to estimate the scope of conservation there. in this country, the floristic explorations conducted so far are centered on the forested areas (khan and huq, 2001; uddin and hassan, 2004; uddin and hassan, 2010; rahman et al., 2015; islam et al., 2016; rahman, 2017; rahman et al., 2017; haque et al., 2018). studies on the flora of urban or semi-urban areas has long been neglected by the taxonomists, because the ecosystems of these areas have been regarded as highly disturbed and supporting relatively common species only. however, some taxonomic surveys have been completed on or covering some (semi-) urban areas (alam et al., 2006; sultana, 2012; rahman et al., 2013; tabassum, 2015; shetu et al., 2018; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020). studies on the flora of few campus areas have also been conducted (momen et al., 2006; uddin and hassan, 2016). but so far no attention has been given to conduct a thorough taxonomic inventory on the flora of ju campus, except the listing of some vascular plant species as a part of the ecological studies (hossain et al., 1995; farhana et al., 1997). therefore, the scope of detail taxonomic study on the flora and assessment of plant diversity of this highly diverse campus area, especially in respect to conservation and management aspects, is still remaining. this study was conducted to complete a comprehensive taxonomic inventory on the vascular flora of ju campus area with highlighting the existing conservation and management aspects. materials and methods jahangirnagar university (ju) campus, composed of 282.29 hectares of land, is situated in between 23.8671°-23.8977°e and 90.2588°-90.2731°n, in savar upazila of dhaka district, bangladesh, and 32 km north-west from the dhaka city along the dhaka-aricha highway (fig. 1). the topography of this area is slightly undulating and composed of red lateritic soil. in the study area, monthly average temperature varies from 30°-41°c, 29°-32°c and 19°-25°c, rainfall ranges from 12.1-154.2 mm, 106.42-350.8 mm and 0-19.5 mm and humidity differs from 42-82%, 7498% and 38-67% in summer, rainy and winter seasons, respectively according to the records of last one decade (www.worldweatheronline.com). the trend of monthly total rainfall in this area is decreasing in all seasons, whereas that of monthly mean temperature is increasing in summer but slightly decreasing in rainy and winter seasons conforming to the records of last three decades (http://datalibrary.bmd.gov.bd/maproom/climatology/climate). http://www.worldweatheronline.com). http://datalibrary.bmd.gov.bd/maproom/climatology/climate). floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 29 fig. 1. images on the study area in the years of 2004 and 2020 showing the change in vegetation cover of major (semi-) natural areas (boundaries with arrow marks). the study was based on the representative plant specimens randomly collected from ju campus area in different months and seasons during 2009-2020. besides authors’ own collections, the herbarium specimens sporadically collected from this area by different collectors and deposited at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh) were also used. taxonomic identification of the specimens was done through expert determination (juh; bangladesh national herbarium, dacb), consulting the relevant taxonomic literatures (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009; wu et al., 1999-2013), matching with the pertinent and authentically identified voucher specimens housed at dacb and juh, relevant type images available in the web sites of different international herbaria, such as the royal botanic gardens kew (k), muséum national d'histoire naturelle france, paris (p) and the conservatoire et jardin botaniques de la ville de genève (g), and direct examination at juh. all voucher specimens are preserved at juh. nomenclatural information was collected from wu and raven (1994-2001) and wu et al. (1999-2013), and the nomenclatural data bases (the plant list, 2013; powo, 2020; tropicos, 2021). the families of pteridophyta have been arranged following pichi (1977) and those of gymnosperms and angiosperms following kramer and green (1990) and cronquist (1981), 30 khan et al. respectively, and the genera and species under each family alphabetically. information on the nativeness of the species were collected consulting the literatures (wu and raven, 1994-2001; hossain and pasha, 2001; siddiqui et al. 2007, ahmed et al. 2008-2009, ahmed et al. 2009; hossain et al., 2009; wu et al., 1999-2013) and digitized data of powo (2020). the common names (bangla) were extracted from siddiqui et al. (2007), ahmed et al. (20082009), ahmed et al. (2009), pasha and uddin (2013) and huq (2019). the major categories of uses were recognized based on literatures (ghani, 2003; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 20082009; ahmed et al., 2009). the images on the study area were downloaded from google earth pro 7.3.3.7786 (www.google.com). comments on threat, conservation and management aspects have been made based on direct field observation. results and discussion during this study the campus area of jahangirnagar university (ju) has been found to harbour a total of 917 species belonging to 574 genera and 145 families of vascular plants. the pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms of this area are represented by 22, 12 and 883 species under 17, 7 and 549 genera, respectively. the division magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) is represented by 618 species belonging to 401 genera and 102 families, whereas, the division liliopsida (monocotyledons) by 265 species under 148 genera and 27 families (table 1). a total of 45 families are represented by a single genus and a single species each, whereas, 25 families by at least 10 species each. in dicotyledons, fabaceae with 44 species has been found as the largest family, which is followed by asteraceae (with 40 species) and rubiaceae (29 species). in monocotyledons, poaceae is found as the largest family (with 89 species), which is followed by cyperaceae (34 species), and araceae and arecaceae (24 species each). in this area, total 515 species (56 %) are found as herbs, which are followed by 212 species of trees (23 %), 140 species of shrubs (15%), 24 species of palms (3%), 14 species of liana (2%) and 12 species of bamboo (1%). the species of magnoliopsida is composed of 44.17% herbs, 32.20% trees and 21.36% shrubs, whereas that of liliopsida is consisted of 83.02% herbs, 9.06% palm, 4.53% bamboo, and 1.89% shrubs. all of the species enumerated here are economically or ecologically important. however, total 493 (53.76%) of these species are medicinals, 318 (34.68%) ornamentals, 83 (9.05%) fodders or forages, 62 (6.76%) fruits, 61 (6.65%) vegetables and 46 (5.02%) timbers (table 1 and fig. 2). other species found in this area are economically or ecologically important in different ways, especially as firewood/fuel wood, fibre, handicrafts, spices, soil binder, green manure, dye and oil yielding species. fig. 2. economic and ecological importance of the vascular flora of ju campus area. http://www.google.com). floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 31 among the species of vascular plants, total 586 (63.90%) are native and 331 (36.10%) are exotic to bangladesh (wu et al., 1999-2013; hossain and pasha, 2001; powo, 2020). in pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms, 90.91%, 16.67% and 63.76% species, respectively, are native and 9.09%, 83.33% and 36.24%, respectively, are exotic to bangladesh. many of the exotic species (acacia auriculiformis, ageratum conyzoides, azolla pinnata, chromolaena odorata, eclipta prostrata, eichhornia crassipes, euphorbia hirta, evolvulus nummularius, hyptis suaveolens, imperata cylindrica, lantana camara, mikania cordata, mimosa pudica, oxalis corniculata, parthenium hysterophorus, phyllanthus niruri, salvinia adnata, sphagneticola trilobata, swietenia mahagoni, tridax procumbens) are now completely naturalized in this area. some of the exotic species (c. odorata, i. cylindrica, h. suaveolens, m. cordata, p. hysterophorus, s. trilobata) are found as invasive in the area. in the recent years, about 34 exotic and 24 native species have been introduced in the study area from other regions (table 1). in the study area, 56.27% of vascular plant species including all of the 22 species of pteridophytes and 494 species of angiosperms are found in wild with natural regeneration, whereas, 26.50% of the species including all of the 12 species of gymnosperms and 231 species of angiosperms are recorded as planted and 3.16% of the species, consist of 29 species of angiosperm, are appeared as cultivated. besides, 11.45% and 2.62% of the species, comprising 129 species of angiosperms, are originally planted and cultivated, respectively in the area, but now regenerating there naturally in wild. about 9.92% of 272 planted and cultivated species are seasonal ornamentals but visible in each year in the area. a total of 353 (38.39%) species are distributed in the gardens, 313 (34.13%) in the fallow lands, 284 (30.86%) in roadsides, 199 (21.70%) in the adjacent areas of residential buildings, 173 (18.87%) in grasslands, 165 (18.10%) in the woodlands, 152 (16.68%) in open scrub jungles and 105 (11.45%) in wetlands, and the rest on the lake banks, marginal lands, brick wall or on other plants (table 1 and fig. 3). fig. 3. distribution of plant species in different habitats of ju campus area. this campus area is naturally housing 15 plant species, previously listed as threatened to bangladesh (table 1; ara et al., 2013; khan et al., 2001), three (corypha taliera, ochna pumila and olax nana) of which are cited as critically endangered (cr), one (phoenix acaulis) as endangered (en) and two (careya herbacea and cyperus thomsonii) as vulnerable (vu), which can be considered as the in situ conservation of these species. a comparison with the floristic composition of few campus, (semi-)urban, urban, rural and forest areas of bangladesh, show that the study area harbours relatively higher number of plant species and thus floristically richer in respect to the size of the area (fig. 4). based on the results, it is concluded that a small seminatural area of a semi-urban region like this campus can be rich and diverse in plant species composition if it is maintained properly. 32 khan et al. table 1. list of vascular plants of jahangirnagar university campus, savar, dhaka, bangladesh. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use pteridophyta schimp. selaginellaceae willk. selaginella ciliaris (retz.) spring katagenella fl, rs herb, cr, w native mar 2812 m, o s. vaginata spring nataginella fl, rs herb, cr, w native mar 2813 m, o ophioglossaceae martinov ophioglossum reticulatum l. sharpa jhibba fl, lb, wtl herb, er; w native gmh 5145 m salviniaceae martinov azolla pinnata r. br. khudipana wtl herb, ff; w exotic gmh 5140 gm salvinia adnata desv. chaptakani wtl herb, ff; w exotic gmh 5141 ap, o s. cucullata roxb. indur kani wtl herb, ff; w native gmh 5142 ap, o s. natans (l.) all. bhashan pata wtl herb, ff; w native gmh 5143 ap, o marsileaceae mirb. marsilea minuta l. susni shak fl, lb,wtl herb, cr; w native sss 2169 m, vg lygodiaceae m. roem. lygodium flexuosum (l.) sw. saralata fern fl, rs, sj herb, vi; w native gmh 5144 m pteridaceae e.d.m. kirchn. adiantum capillus-veneris l. venichadda bw1, rs, gr, hs herb, pr; w native sss 2171 o a. philippense l. kalijhat gr, lb herb, pr; w native gmh 5146 o ceratopteris thalictroides (l.) brongn. pani lettuce fl. lb, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2173 o hemionitis belangeri (bory) christenh. belangiri fern lb, rs herb, er; w native sss 2172 m pteris vittata l. imodi pteris bw1 herb, pr; w native gmh 5147 o lindsaeaceae c. presl ex m.r. schomb. lindsaea ensifolia sw. lindoli dheki fl, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5148 o polypodiaceae j. presl & c. presl drynaria quercifolia (l.) j. sm. pankhiraj bw1, hs, op herb, ep; w native gmh 5152 m microsorum punctatum (l.) copel. punctasorum fern bw1,op herb, ep; w native gmh 5153 o pyrrosia lanceolata (l.) farw. atashirossi op herb, ep; w native sss 2175 o p. nuda (giesenh.) ching nudarossi op herb, ep; w native gmh 5154 o thelypteridaceae ching ex pic. serm. ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel. lombo dheki shak fl, ml, lb herb, cr; w native gmh 5149 vg thelypteris dentata (forssk.) e.p. st.john datitila bw1, fl, ml, lb herb, cr; w native gmh 5150 vg athyriaceae alston diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. dheki shak fl, lb, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5151 vg gymnospermae prantl cycadaceae pers. cycas circinalis l. nali cycas gr, hs tree, m; pl exotic gmh 5156 m, o c. pectinata buch.-ham. # moni raj gr, hs tree, m; pl native gmh 5155 m, o c. revoluta thunb. volu cycas gr, hs tree, m; pl exotic gmh 5157 o zamiaceae horan. zamia furfuracea l. f. ex aiton + unknown gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2814 o z. pumila l. + zamia cycad gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2815 o floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 33 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use podocarpaceae endl. podocarpus neriifolius d. don bash pata gr tree, m; pl native gmh 5158 m, t araucariaceae henkel & w. hochst. araucaria heterophylla (salisb.) franco dipati aurocaria gr, hs, rs tree, l; pl exotic sss 2176 o cupressaceae gray juniperus chinensis l. china juniper rs tree, s; pl exotic mar 2716 o thuja plicata donn ex d. don thuja gr, hs tree, l; pl exotic sss 2177 o, t platycladus orientalis (l.) franco thuja jhau gr, hs shrub; pl exotic sss 2178 o pinaceae spreng. ex rudolphi pinus caribaea morelet pine gach gr, rs tree, l; pl exotic sss 2179 m, t p. palustris mill. pine gr, rs tree, l; pl exotic sss 2180 m magnoliopsida brongn. magnoliaceae juss. magnolia champaca (l.) baill. ex pierre champa gr, rs tree, l; pl native sak 2022 m, o m. grandiflora l. udoy poddo gr, hs tree, m; pl exotic sak 2148 m, o annonaceae juss. annona reticulata l. atta gr, hs, fl tree, s; pl-w exotic gmh 5007 fr, fw a. squamosa l. shorifa gr, hs tree, s; pl exotic gmh 5002 fr artabotrys hexapetalus (l.f.) bhandari kathali chapma gr, hs shrub, sc; pl exotic gmh 5005 m, o huberantha pendula (capuron ex g.e. schatz & le thomas) chaowasku weeping debdaru rs tree, m; pl exotic mar 2530 fu, o miliusa velutina (dunal) hook. f. & thomson gandhi gojari wl tree, l; pl native mar 123 t, m polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites debdaru rs, wl tree, l; pl-w exotic mar 132 o, t p. suberosa (roxb.) thwaites barachali fl, wl tree, s; w native ss 358 fr, m lauraceae juss. cinnamomum camphora (l.) j. presl + karpur gr, hs tree, m; pl exotic sak 2005 co, m c. tamala (buch.-ham.) t. nees & eberm. tejpata gr, hs tree, m; pl native sak 2049 co, sp c. verum j. presl darchini gr, hs tree, m; pl exotic sak 2018 sp litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. rob. kukurchita sj, wl tree, m; w native sak 2046 m l. monopetala (roxb.) pers. boro-kukurchita sj, wl tree, m; w native sak 2047 m persea americana mill. + avocado gr tree, m; pl exotic sak 2004 fr piperaceae giseke peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth luchi pata bw1, ml, wl herb, pr; w exotic ss 425 m piper betle l. pan gr, hs herb, vi; cv exotic mar 2531 m p. longum l. pipul fl, wl herb, vi; w native ss 426 m p. nigrum l. golmorich gr, hs herb, vi; cv exotic mar 2532 sp p. sarmentosum roxb. jongli pan gr, sj herb, cr, cv-w exotic mar 2533 m aristolochiaceae juss. aristolochia indica l. ishwarmul sj herb, cr; w native mar 140 m nelumbonaceae a. rich. nelumbo nucifera gaertn. poddo wtl herb, fr; cv-w native mar 2534 m, o nymphaeaceae salisb. nymphaea nouchali burm. f. nil shapla wtl herb, fr; w native ss 397 m, o 34 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use n. pubescens willd. sada shapla wtl herb, fr; w native mar 134 o, vg n. rubra roxb. ex andrews lal shapla wtl herb, fr; w native ss 427 o, vg ceratophyllaceae gray ceratophyllum demersum l. kantajhanjhi wtl herb, sm; w native mar 173 m ranunculaceae juss. clematis gouriana roxb. ex dc. chagalbati sj herb, er; w native ss 428 m ranunculus sceleratus l. palik wtl herb, er; w native mar 2535 m, po menispermaceae juss. cocculus hirsutus (l.) w. theob. huyer sj herb, vi; w native ss 191 m stephania glabra (roxb.) miers thandamanik sj herb, vi; w native mar 126 m s. japonica (thunb.) miers akandi manik sj herb, vi; w native mar 2536 m tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thomson gulancha wl herb, vi; w native ss 399 m t. sinensis (lour.) merr. padma gulancha wl shrub, sc; w native mar 2537 m tiliacora racemosa colebr. baghlata fl, wl shrub, sc; w native mar 2538 m cannabaceae martinov trema orientalis (l.) blume banjiga bw2, sj, wl tree, m; w native ss187 fw moraceae gaudich. artocarpus altilis (parkinson ex f.a. zorn) fosberg + bread fruit gr tree, m; pl exotic mar 2539 fr a. chama buch.-ham. chapalish wl, rs tree, l; pl-w native mar 166 fr, t a. heterophyllus lam. kanthal wl, hs tree, m; pl-w exotic ss 429 fr, t a. lakoocha roxb. dewa wl, gr tree, m; pl-w native mar 2540 fr, fw ficus benghalensis l. bot bw2, wl tree, l; w native ss 430 fw, sd f. benjamina l. jiri pakur gr tree, m; pl native mar 2541 fw, o f. elastica roxb. ex hornem. rubber bot gr, rs tree, m; pl native mar 2542 o f. heterophylla l. f. bhuidumur sj, wl shrub; w native ss 431 fw, m f. hispida l. f. kakdumur bw2, sj, wl tree, s; w native ss 262 m, vg f. pumila l. latabot bw1 herb, cr; pl-w exotic mar 72 o f. racemosa l. jagdumur bw2, sj, fl tree, l; w native mar 73 fr, m f. religiosa l. ashwath bw2, wl, sj tree, l; w native ss 432 o, sd f. rumphii blume khiri bot wl tree, l; w native mar 2543 o, sd morus alba l. + shada tut hs, ml, rs tree, s; pl exotic mar 2544 fr, sf streblus asper lour. sheora sj, wl tree, l; w native ss 193 fw, m urticaceae juss. gonostegia hirta (blume ex hassk.) miq. unknown fl, ml, wtl herb, er; w native mar 2545 m laportea interrupta (l.) chew chotrapatta sj wl herb, er; w native mar 2545 m, po pilea microphylla (l.) liebm. latamaricha bw1 herb, pr; w exotic mar 100 m pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. kullaruki bw1, sj, gl herb, er; w native mar 165 m casuarinaceae r. br. casuarina equisetifolia l. jhau gr, rs tree, l; pl native sss 2003 o nyctaginaceae juss. boerhavia diffusa l. punarnava bw1, fl, sj herb, pr; w native ss 396 m bougainvillea buttiana holttum & standl. halud baganbilas gr, hs shrub, sc; pl exotic sss 2004 o b. glabra choisy baganbilas gr shrub, sc; pl exotic sss 2005 o floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 35 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use b. peruviana bonpl. shuvro baganbilas gr, hs shrub, sc; pl exotic sss 2006 o b. spectabilis willd. shukhbilas gr, hs shrub, sc; pl exotic sss 2007 o mirabilis jalapa l. sandhyamoni sj, gr, hs herb, er; pl-w exotic sss 2008 m, o cactaceae juss. epiphyllum oxypetalum (dc.) haw. night queen gr herb, pr; pl exotic gmh 5161 o selenicereus undatus (haw.) d.r. hun + dragan phal gr herb, vi; pl exotic gmh 5160 fr opuntia ficus-indica (l.) mill. fonimonosha ml, rs shrub; w exotic mar 2710 he, m o. stricta (haw.) haw. nagphana ml, rs shrub; w exotic mar 2711 he, m amaranthaceae juss. achyranthes aspera l. apang gl, fl, wl herb, er; w native ss 124 m alternanthera paronychioides a. st.-hil. jhuli khata gl, fl, rs herb, pr; w exotic mar 2547 vg a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. henchi wtl herb, fr; w exotic ss 353 vg a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex dc. malancha bw1, gl, fl, rs herb, pr; w exotic mar 174 vg amaranthus blitum l. goburanotey gl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 355 vg a. graecizans l. unknown gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 354 vg a. spinosus l. kantanotey gl, fl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 120 m, vg a. tricolor l. lalshak hs, fl, rs herb, er; pl-w native mar 2548 vg a. viridis l. notey shak fl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 133 vg celosia argentea l. morog phul hs, rs herb, er; pl-w exotic ss 356 m, o chenopodium album l. botua shak fl, gr, rs herb, er; w native gmh 2151 m, vg cyathula prostrata (l.) blume shyontula gl, fl, rs herb, pr; w native ss 155 m deeringia amaranthoides (lam.) merr. golamohani sj herb, vi; w native mar 2549 m, vg gomphrena celosioides mart. golkamal gl, fl, rs herb, pr; w exotic mar 2550 m g. globosa l. botam phul hs, rs herb, er; pl exotic mar 2551 o portulacaceae juss. portulaca oleracea l. boronunia bw1, fl, rs herb, pr; w exotic ss 446 m, vg p. grandiflora hook. time phul hs, rs herb, pr; pl exotic gmh 5169 o p. quadrifida l. chhoto nunia hs, rs herb, pr; pl-w native mar 2552 o basellaceae raf. basella alba l. pui shak hs, fl herb, cr; pl-w native mar 2553 vg molluginaceae bartl. glinus oppositifolius (l.) aug. dc. gima shak fl herb, pr; w native gmh 5017 vg trigastrotheca pentaphylla (l.) thulin julpapra fl herb, pr; w exotic gmh 5019 m caryophyllaceae juss. polycarpon prostratum (forssk.) asch. & schweinf. ghima gl, fl herb, pr; w native sss 2009 m polygonaceae juss. antigonon leptopus hook. & arn. valobasha lata gr herb, vi; pl exotic mar 2554 m persicaria barbata (l.) h.hara biskatali fl, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2010 m p. glabra (willd.) m.gómez lal kukri fl herb, er; w native mar 124 m p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre panibishkatali fl, wtl herb, er; w native ss 270 m p. lapathefolia (l.) delarbre panimarich fl, wtl herb, er; w native ss 398 o p. minor (huds.) opiz chhoto-bishkatali fl herb, er; w native mar 135 m p. orientalis (l.) spach bara panimarich fl, wtl herb, er; w native mar 167 m 36 khan et al. table 1 contd,. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use polygonum effusum meisn. rani phul wtl herb, er; w native sss 2011 m p. plebeium r. br. khudi-bishkatali fl herb, er; w native ss 433 m, vg rumex dentatus l. bon-palang fl herb, er; w native sss 2012 m r. maritimus l. dati-palang fl herb, er; w native sss 2013 m dilleniaceae salisb. dillenia indica l. chalta wl tree, m; pl native ss 437 fr, m ochnaceae dc. ochna pumila buch.-ham. ex dc. # bhui chapa wl herb, er; w native mar 107 fr, po o. jabotapita l. konok chapa gr tree, s; pl native mar 2555 m dipterocarpaceae blume dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn. f. teligarjan wl, rs tree, l; pl-w native ss 438 t hopea odorata roxb. telsur wl, rs tree, l; pl-w native ss 439 t shorea robusta roxb. sal wl tree, l; w native ss 440 t theaceae mirb. camellia japonica l. camellia gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2558 o clusiaceae lindl. mesua ferrea l. nageshawr gr, rs tree, s; pl native ss 441 m, o garcinia cowa roxb. ex choisy ++ cawphal gr, hs tree, m; pl native mar 2556 fr g. xanthochymus hook. f. ex t. anderson ++ dephal gr tree, m; pl native mar 2557 fr hypericaceae juss. hypericum japonicum thunb. basanta fl, wtl herb, pr; w native gmh 5010 m elaeocarpaceae juss. elaeocarpus floribundus blume jalpai gr, hs, wl tree, m; pl native mar 2620 fr, oy sterculiaceae vent. abroma augusta (l.) l. f. ulatkambal hs, sj shrub; pl-w native ss 434 fb, m helicteres isora l. atmora sj, wl shrub; w native ss 435a fb, m melochia corchorifolia l. tiki-okra wl shrub; w native mar 151 m sterculia foetida l. baksho badam gr, rs tree, l; pl native gmh 5027 fr, o s. villosa roxb. udal gr, wl tree, l; pl-w native gmh 5015 m, pp bombacaceae kunth. bombax ceiba l. shimul wl, sj tree, l; w native ss 368 fb, m malvaceae juss. abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench dherosh hg herb, er; cv native mar 2561 vg a. moschatus medik. mushokdana sj, fl herb, er; w native ss 443 m abutilon indicum (l.) sweet petari fl, rs , sj shrub; w native sss 2015 m ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. shada shimul gr, hs, rs tree, m; pl exotic mar 2562 fb, t corchorus aestuans l. janglipat sj shrub; w native ss 442 fb, m c. capsularis l. pat hg herb, er; cv native mar 2563 fb, vg durio zibethinus l. + durian gr tree, l; pl exotic mar 2564 fr, m grewia asiatica l. pholsa gr, wl tree, s; pl native ss 221 fr g. glandulosa vahl pathaka sj tree, s; w exotic ss 291 m, fw g. hirsuta vahl kukurbicha rs, sj shrub; w native ss 357 m g. serrulata dc. panisara gr tree, s; pl native mar 2559 m, fw g. tiliifolia vahl raktakussum fl, sj tree, m; w native ss 406 fb, m floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 37 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use hibiscus mutabilis l. sthol poddo gr, hs tree, s; pl exotic sss 2016 m h. rosa-sinensis l. joba gr, hs, rs shrub; pl exotic sss 2017 o h. sabdariffa l. chukar gr, hs shrub; pl exotic sss 2018 m h. schizopetalus (dyer) hook.f. jhumko jaba gr, hs shrub; pl exotic sss 2019 o h. surattensis l. ram bhindi gr, hs shrub; pl native sss 2020 m h. syriacus l. sada joba gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2565 o h. vitifolius l. bonkarpas sj shrub; w native mar 2566 m, o malvastrum coromandelianum (l.) garcke clock plant fl, sj shrub; w exotic mar 2567 m malvaviscus arboreus cav. morich joba gr, hs shrub; pl exotic mar 2568 o pentapetes phoenicea l. bandhuli phul gr, hs shrub; pl native gmh 5012 m, o pterospermum acerifolium (l.) willd. muchkundo gr, wl tree, l; pl native gmh 5029 m, t pterygota alata (roxb.) r. br. budha narikel gr tree, l; pl native gmh 5037 m, t sida acuta burm. f. kureta fl, sj, rs herb, er; w native ss 157 m s. cordata (burm. f.) bross. waalk. pitberela fl, sj, rs herb, er; w native ss 104 m s. cordifolia l. shet-berela fl, rs herb, er; w native mar 2569 m s. rhombifolia l. lal-berela fl, rs herb, er; w native ss 175 fb, m thespesia populnea (l.) sol. ex corrêa porosh pipul gr, hs tree, s; pl native gmh 5025 m triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. bon okra fl, wl, sj shrub; w native sss 2014 fb, m urena lobata l. atlera fl, sj, rs shrub; w native ss 115 fb, m lecythidaceae a. rich. barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal ml, sj, wtl tree, m; pl-w native gmh 5029 m. o careya arborea roxb. kumbi wl tree, l; w native mar 77 m c. herbacea roxb. # bhuidalim sj, wl herb, er; w native ss 230 m couroupita guianensis aubl. naglingom gr, wl tree, l; pl exotic gmh 5022 m, pf gustavia superba (kunth) o. berg + gustav gr, wl tree, l; pl exotic mar 2717 o bixaceae kunth bixa orellana l. belatihaldi gr tree, s; pl exotic mar 2570 dy, m passifloraceae juss. ex roussel passiflora coccinea aubl. jhumko phul gr, hs herb, vi; pl exotic sss 2021 m, o p. edulis sims passion phal gr, hs herb, vi; pl exotic sss 2022 fr, m p. foetida l. jhumka lata sj herb, vi; w exotic ss 227 fr, m caricaceae dumort. carica papaya l. pepe gr, hs tree, s; pl-w exotic mar 2571 fr, vg cucurbitaceae juss. benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. chalkumra hs herb, vi; cv exotic mar 2572 vg citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai tormuj hs herb, vi; cv-w exotic mar 2573 fr coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha bw1, sj, wl herb, vi; w native ss 445 m, vg cucumis melo l. kakur fl, hs herb, vi; cv-w exotic mar 2574 fr, vg c. sativus l. khira fl, hs herb, vi; cv-w native mar 2575 vg cucurbita maxima duchesne kumra fl, hs herb, vi; cv-w exotic mar 2576 vg diplocyclos palmatus (l.) c. jeffrey mama kola fl, sj herb, vi; w native ss 444 m lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. lao fl, hs herb, vi; cv-w exotic mar 2577 vg luffa acutangula (l.) roxb. jhinga fl, hs herb, vi; cv-w native mar 2578 vg 38 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use l. cylindrica (l.) m. roem. dhundal fl, hs herb, vi; cv-w native mar 2579 vg momordica charantia l. korolla fl, hs herb, vi; cv-w native mar 2580 vg m. dioica roxb. ex willd. kakrol fl, hs, sj herb, vi; cv-w native mar 2581 vg mukia maderaspatana (l.) m. roem. agmukhi bw1, gl, sj herb, vi; w native ss 189 m solena amplexicaulis (lam.) gandhi rakhal sosha sj herb, vi; w native gmh 5032 m trichosanthes dioica roxb. potol hs herb, vi; cv native gmh 5047 vg t. costata blume banpatol sj herb, vi; w native ss 376 m t. cucumerina l. chichinga fl, hs herb, vi; cv native mar 2715 vg t. tricuspidata lour. makal fl, hs herb, vi; cv-w exotic gmh 5003 m salicaceae mirb. flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. bauchi bw1, sj shrub; w native ss 200 fr, m capparaceae juss. capparis zeylanica l. katai sj shrub; w native sss 2023 fr, m crateva nurvala buch.-ham. borun wtl tree, s; w native gmh 5039 fw, m cleomaceae bercht. & j. presl cleome houtteana schltdl. hurhuria gr, rs, fl herb, er; pl-w exotic sss 2026 o c. rutidosperma dc. nil hurhurey bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic sss 2027 m c. viscosa l. halud hurhurey bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5057 m brassicaceae burnett brassica juncea (l.) czern. sarisha gr, hs herb, er; cv exotic mar 2581 oy, vg cardamine cf. flexuosa with. unknown fl, gr herb, er; w exotic mar 101 m rorippa indica (l.) hiern bansarisha fl, gr herb, er; w native sss 2024 m moringaceae martinov moringa oleifera lamk. shajna hs, rs tree, m; pl exotic mar 168 m, vg sapotaceae juss. chrysophyllum cainito l. star apple gr tree, m; pl exotic mar 2582 fr, m madhuca longifolia (j. könig ex l.) j.f. macbr. mohua gr, rs tree, m; pl-w native ss 436 m, oy manilkara zapota (l.) p. royen sopheda gr, hs tree, m; pl exotic gmh 5042 fr, m mimusops elengi l. bokul gr, hs tree, m; pl-w native gmh 5035 m, o ebenaceae gürke diospyros discolor willd. bilati gab gr, hs tree, m; pl exotic sss 2025 fr, m d. malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab wl tree, m; w native mar 169 fr, m d. montana roxb. tamal gr, wl tree, s; pl-w native mar 105 m, po myrsinaceae r. br. ardisia solanacea (poir.) roxb. banjam wl shrub; w native ss 264 m, o hydrangeaceae dumort. hydrangea macrophylla (thunb.) ser. + hydrangea gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2583 m crassulaceae j. st.-hil. kalachoe pinnata (lam.) pers. patharkuchi gr, hs herb, er; pl exotic mar 2714 m, o rosaceae juss. eriobotrya japonica (thunb.) lindl. + lokat gr tree, s; pl exotic mar 2655 m *rosa × centifolia l. golap gr, hs shrub; cv exotic mar 2656 m, o r. chinensis jacq. jangli golap gr, hs, ml shrub; pl-w exotic mar 2657 fn rubus armeniacus focke + blackberry gr, hs shrub; pl exotic gmh 5081 fr floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 39 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use *fragaria × ananassa (duchesne ex weston) duchesne ex rozier + stawberry gr. hs herb, cr; cv exotic gmh 5091 fr f. vesca l. + jangli strawberry sj herb, cr; w exotic gmh 5004 m mimosaceae r. br. acacia auriculiformis benth. akashmoni bw2, fl, rs, wl tree, l; pl-w exotic ss 450 t a. catechuoides (roxb.) benth. khoir gr tree, m; pl native mar 2584 m, tn a. concinna (willd.) dc. ++ bon babla sj, wl shrub, sc; w native mar 2585 co, m a. farnesiana (l.) willd. bilatibabla wl tree, m; pl exotic ss 451 fw, m a. mangium willd. mangium gr, wl tree, l; pl exotic ss 452 t a. nilotica (l.) delile babla fl, rs tree, m; w native sss 2028 gu, m adenanthera pavonina l. rakta chandan gr tree, m; pl-w native mar 2586 m, o albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. kalo koroi gr, rs, wl tree, l; pl-w native sss 2029 t a. lucidior (steud.) i.c. nielsen motor koroi wl tree, l; w native sss 2030 t a. procera (roxb.) benth. shada/sil koroi bw2, gr, rs tree, l; pl-w native sss 2031 t a. richardiana (voigt) king & prain raj siris gr, rs tree, l; pl-w exotic sss 2032 m, t a. saman (jacq.) merr. shirish rs, wl, ml tree, l; pl-w exotic sss 2033 t, sd calliandra haematocephala hassk. golapi callandra gr, rs tree, s; pl exotic sss 2034 o leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit ipil-ipil fl, rs, wl tree, l; pl-w exotic sss 2035 fw, t mimosa diplotricha sauvalle baralajjaboti sj, rs shrub; w exotic ss 393 m m. pudica l. lajjaboti gl, fl, rs herb, pr; w exotic ss 110 m caesalpiniaceae r. br. bauhinia acuminata l. sadakanchon gr, rs tree, s; pl-w native ss 219 m, o b. malabarica roxb. kanchon gr, rs tree, m; pl native mar 2587 m, o b. purpurea l. rakto kanchon gr, rs tree, m; pl native mar 2588 m, o b. variegata l. lal kanchon gr, rs tree, s; pl native mar 2589 m, o brownea coccinea jacq. pakhi phul gr tree, s; pl exotic mar 2590 m, o caesalpinia digyna rottler amalkuchi sj shrub, sc; w native ss 369 m cassia fistula l. badarlathi gr, rs tree, m; pl-w native ss 453 m, o c. javanica l. ++ bon sonalu gr, rs tree, m; pl native ss 454 o c. renigera benth. + burmese pink shonalu gr, rs tree, m; pl exotic mar 2591 o c. javanica subsp. nodosa (roxb.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen + burmese shonalu gr, rs tree, m; pl exotic mar 2592 o delonix regia (hook.) raf. krishnachura rs tree, l; pl-w exotic gmh 5067 o peltophorum pterocarpum (dc.) k. heyne radha chura gr, rs tree, l; pl-w exotic gmh 5049 o saraca asoca (roxb.) willd. ashok gr, wl tree, m; pl-w native ss 370 m, o s. indica l. panshi ashok gr, wl tree, m; pl-w exotic sss 2036 m, o senna alata (l.) roxb. dadmardan fl, hs, rs shrub; w exotic ss 455 m s. occidentalis (l.) link barakalkesunda fl, rs shrub; w exotic ss 146 m s. siamea (lam.) h.s. irwin & barn. minjiri fl, gr, wl tree, l; pl-w exotic ss 456 fw, o s. sophera (l.) roxb. kalkeshunda fl, sj, rs shrub; w exotic ss 372 m s. tora (l.) roxb. araj fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 139 m tamarindus indica l. tetul gr, hs, wl tree, l; pl-w exotic mar 2593 fr, t xylia xylocarpa (roxb.) taub. lohakath gr, wl tree, l; pl native sss 2037 t 40 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use fabaceae lindl. abrus precatorius l. kunch sj liana; w native mar 171 m aeschynomene americana l. shola fl, wtl herb, er; w exotic mar 384 fd, fu a. indica l. bhatshola fl, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2038 gm, m alysicarpus vaginalis dc. pinnata gl herb, er; w native mar 136 fd, gm butea monosperma (lam.) taub. palash gr, rs, wl tree, m; pl-w native mar 76 dy, m cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. arhar fl, hs shrub; pl-w exotic sss 2039 m, pu c. scarabaeoides (l.) thouars banurkalki sj herb, tw; w native mar 170 m canavalia gladiata (jacq.) dc. moushim hs, wl liana; pl native sss 2040 m, vg centrosema pubescens benth. ban aparajita sj herb, tw; w exotic ss 247 fo, gm clitoria ternatea l. aparajita gr, hs herb, tw; pl-w exotic sss 2041 m, o codoriocalyx gyroides (roxb. ex link) hassk. codaridis sj shrub; w native ss 383 m crotalaria calycina schrank. kali jhunjhuni fl, rs herb, er; w native ss 168 m c. pallida aiton jhunjhuni fl, rs herb, er; w native ss 381 fb, m c. prostrata rottler ex willd. shyaon jhunjhuni fl, gl herb, pr; w native ss 164 m c. sessiliflora l. silai jhunjhuni gl herb, er; w native ss 382 m dalbergia sissoo dc. sisoo gr, wl, rs tree, l; pl-w native sss 2042 t d. stipulacea roxb. ++ dadbari sj, wl shrub, sc; w native sss 2043 fw, m d. volubilis roxb. ++ angi lata sj shrub, sc; w native sss 2044 m, po derris scandens (roxb.) benth. kalia lata sj, wl liana; w native ss 457 fb, m desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. salpani fl, sj, wl shrub; w native mar 138 m d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc. bonmotorshuti fl, gl herb, pr; w native ss 384 fd, m erythrina fusca lour. kantamandar ml, rs tree, s; pl-w native sss 2045 fn, m e. stricta roxb. raktamandar ml, rs tree, s; pl-w native sss 2046 fn, m e. variegata l. parijat fl, ml, rs tree, s; pl-w native sss 2047 fn, m flemingia macrophylla (willd.) kuntze ex merr. barasalpan sj, wl shrub; w native ss 249 m, mu f. stricta roxb. ex aiton charchara fl, gl shrub; w native ss 386 m gliricidia sepium (jacq.) walp. + basantamanjuri ml, rs tree, m; pl exotic ss 387 fd, gm grona heterocarpos (l.) h. ohashi & k. ohashi kodalia sj, wl shrub; w native ss 387 fd, gm g. triflora (l.) h. ohashi & k. ohashi kulalia fl, gl herb, pr; w native ss 385 m, sb indigofera tinctoria l. ++ nil fl, gl shrub; w native ss 138 dy, m medicago polymorpha l. medla fl, gl herb, pr; w exotic sss 2048 fo, gm millettia peguensis ali ++ tuma gr, rs tree, l; pl native sss 2049 o, t mucuna pruriens (l.) dc. bilaichimti sj, wl liana; w native ss 252 m, po phyllodium pulchellum (l.) desv. jatsalpani wl shrub; w native mar 137 m pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre karach gr tree, m; pl-w native sss 2050 fu, m pterocarpus indicus willd. ++ padauk gr tree, l; pl-w native sss 2051 m, o pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth. mugi kunch fl, sj liana; w native sss 2052 fd sesbania cannabina (retz.) pers. dhonchi fl, hs, ml shrub; cv-w native sss 2053 fb, gm s. grandiflora (l.) pers. bak phul gr, hs, ml tree, s; pl exotic sss 2054 fd, vg spatholobus parviflorus (dc.) kuntze polasia lata sj, wl liana; w native sss 2055 fb, m tephrosia candida (roxb.) dc. bilakshani fl, sj shrub; w native sss 2056 gm, m t. purpurea (l.) pers. bannil fl, sj shrub; w native mar 139 gm, m floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 41 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use uraria lagopodioides (l.) dc. chakulia sj, wl herb; w native ss 388 m vicia hirsuta (l.) gray masurchana gl herb, pr; w native ss 458 fd, m proteaceae juss. grevillea robusta a. cunn. ex r. br. silver oak gr tree, l; pl exotic gmh 5077 fw, o haloragaceae r. br. myriophyllum tuberculatum roxb. kulabahupatri wtl herb, sm; w native mar 141 m lythraceae j. st.-hil. ammannia multiflora roxb. acidpatta fl, wtl herb, er; w native gmh 5087 m cuphea hyssopifolia kunth panica gr herb, er; pl exotic gmh 5183 o lagerstroemia indica l. jarul gr, rs tree, s; pl native gmh 5052 o, t l. parviflora roxb. sidha jarul gr, rs tree, s; pl native gmh 5059 o, fw l. speciosa (l.) pers. jarul gr, ml, rs tree, l; pl-w native ss 459 o lawsonia inermis l. mehedi gr, hs tree, s; pl exotic gmh 5045 dy, m punica granatum l. dalim hs shrub; pl exotic gmh 5087 dy, fr rotala indica (willd.) koehne ghurni fl, ml herb, er; w native gmh 5013 m r. rotundifolia (buch.-ham. ex roxb.) koehne dim ghurni fl, ml herb, cr; w native gmh 5001 m trapa incisa siebold & zucc. paniphal wtl herb, fr, w native gmh 5031 ed, m thymelaeaceae juss. aquilaria malaccensis lam. # agar gr, rs tree, l; pl native gmh 5023 m, pf myrtaceae juss. callistemon citrinus (curtis) skeels bottlebrush gr, rs, hs tree, s; pl exotic gmh 5062 o corymbia citriodora (hook.) k.d. hill & l.a.s. johnson eucalyptus gr, rs tree, l; pl exotic mar 2594 co, m eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. eucalyptus gr, rs tree, l; pl exotic gmh 5003 t, o myrcia bracteata (rich.) dc. hijlimendi sj, wl tree, m; w exotic ss 394 ed, m psidium guajava l. peyara bw2,gr, hs tree, s; pl-w exotic ss 460 fr, m syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry labongo gr tree, l; pl exotic mar 2816 m, sp s. cumini (l.) skeels kalojam rs, wl, hs tree, l; pl-w native ss 461 fr, t s. fruticosum dc. khudi jam bw2, sj, wl tree, m; w native ss 266 fr, m s. grande (wight) walp. dhaki jam wl tree, l; pl native ss 176 t s. jambos (l.) alston golapjam gr tree, l; pl native gmh 5033 fr, m s. nervosum a.cunn. ex dc. botijam sj tree, s; w native gmh 5055 m s. samarangense (blume) merr. & l.m. perry jamrul gr, hs tree, l; pl native mar 2595 fr onagraceae juss. ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara keshordam wtl herb, fr; w native ss 462 m l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell panipalong bw1, fl, ml, wtl herb, er; w exotic ss 463 m l. perennis l. amorkura fl, gl herb, er; w native ss 465 m melastomataceae juss. melastoma malabathricum l. ban tejpata fl, sj, wl shrub; w native ss 166 m combretaceae r. br. combretum grandiflorum g. don brush phul gr, hs liana; pl exotic mar 2596 m, o c. indicum (l.) de filipps madobi lata gr, hs liana; pl native mar 2597 m, o 42 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun gr, rs tree, l; pl-w native ss 466 m t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera gr, rs, wl tree, l; pl-w native ss 467 m t. catappa l. kathbadam gr, rs tree, l; pl-w native ss 468 ed, m t. chebula retz. horitoki gr, rs, wl tree, l; pl-w native ss 469 m cornaceae bercht. ex j. presl alangium salviifolium (l.f.) wangerin ankura gr, sj tree, m, pl native mar 2718 m, fu olacaceae r. br. olax acuminata wall. ex benth. capsul gach sj, wl shrub; w native mar 108 m o. nana wall. ex benth. # unknown sj, wl shrub; w native mar 2598 m santalaceae r. br. santalum album l. shet chandan gr tree, s; pl exotic mar 2719 co loranthaceae juss. dendrophthoe falcata (l. f.) etting. bajrangi op shrub, ps; w native ss 470 m macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) van tiegh. renda op shrub, ps; w native ss 471 m scurrula parasitica l. porgacha op shrub,ps; w native gmh 5072 m viscum monoicum roxb. ex dc. bhanda op herb, ps; w native gmh 5069 m, po euphorbiaceae juss. acalypha ciliata forssk. unknown fl, sj herb, er; w native mar 2599 m a. indica l. muktajhuri bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 472 m, po chrozophora plicata (vahl) a juss. ex spreng. khudiokra fl, gl herb, er; w exotic ss 473 m codiaeum variegatum (l.) rumph. ex a. juss. patabahar gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2603 o croton bonplandianus baill. bandhone fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 240 m c. caudatus geiseler nanvantui fl, sj, rs shrub, sc; w native mar 116 fu, m euphorbia antiquorum l. bajvaran gr, hs, ml shrub; pl-w native mar 2604 m e. heterophylla l. baradudhia fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w exotic mar 2605 m e. hirta l. dudhia bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w exotic ss 127 m e. milii des moul. kata mukut gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2720 o e. neriifolia l. manosha sij gr, hs, ml shrub; pl-w exotic gmh 5097 o, m e. pulcherrima willd. ex klotzsch lalpata gr, hs, rs shrub; pl exotic gmh 5065 o e. tithymaloides l. rangchita gr, hs herb, er; pl-w exotic gmh 5082 m e. thymifolia l. swetkerui fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w exotic mar 80 m excoecaria cochinchinensis lour. lailimajnu gr, rs shrub; pl exotic gmh 5079 o hevea brasiliensis (willd. ex a.juss.) müll.arg. rubber gr tree, l; pl exotic mar 2606 m, r jatropha gossypiifolia l. lalbherenda fl, rs shrub; w exotic ss 241 m j. integerrima jacq. jayoti fl, rs shrub; w exotic mar 2607 o j. podagrica hook. bagbherenda gr, rs shrub; pl exotic mar 2608 o mallotus nudiflorus (l.) kulju & welzen medda wl tree, l; w native ss 475 m, t m. philippensis (lam.) müll.-arg. sinduri sj, wl shrub; w native ss 476 dy, m m. repandus (willd.) müll. arg. gunti sj, wl shrub, sc; w native mar 2609 m manihot esculenta crantz + kasava gr, hs tree, s; pl exotic sss 2058 ed, m ricinus communis l. bherenda fl, hs shrub; w exotic ss 477 m, oy floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 43 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. ++ ban naringa wl tree, s; w native mar 101 fw, m tragia hispida willd. bichuti sj herb, er; w native mar 102 m phyllanthaceae martinov antidesma acidum retz. multa sj, wl shrub; w native mar 160 ed, m a. bunius (l.) spreng. banshialbuka gr tree, s; pl native mar 2600 ed, m a. ghaesembilla gaertn. khudijam sj, wl tree, s; w native mar 2601 fr, m a. montanum blume shialbuka sj, wl tree, s; w native ss 486 ed, m aporosa octandra (buch.-ham. ex d. don) vickery patkhorolla sj, wl tree, s; w native ss 293 dy, fw baccaurea ramiflora lour. latkan gr, hs tree, m; pl-w native sss 2061 fr, m breynia vitis-idaea (burm. f.) fisch. vitasalpoti bw1, sj, wl tree, s; w native ss 239 m bridelia stipularis (l.) blume kalasikori sj, wl shrub; w native ss 186 ed, m b. tomentosa blume khoi sj, wl tree, s; w native mar 2602 ed, m flueggea virosa (roxb. ex willd.) royle khaukra sj, wl shrub; w native ss 379 m phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels arboroi gr, hs tree, s; pl exotic sss 2059 fr, m p. amarus schumach. &thonn. bhuiamla bw1, fl, gl herb, er; w exotic ss 178 m p. emblica l. amloki gr, hs, rs tree, s; pl native sss 2060 fr, m p. multilocularis (roxb. ex willd.) müll. arg. paniatori fl, sj shrub; w native ss 474 m p. niruri l. bhuiamla bw1, fl, gl herb, er; w exotic mar 95 m p. reticulatus poir. chitki bw1, fl, sj shrub; w native ss 197 fu, m p. urinaria l. kalochitki fl, gl herb, er; w native mar 96 m p. virgatus g. forst. sarnapati bw1, fl, gl herb, er; w native ss 244 m putranjivaceae endl. putranjiva roxburghii wall. putronjiba gr, rs tree, l; pl native gmh 5089 m, t rhamnaceae juss. gouania leptostachya dc. harjengagota sj, wl shrub, sc; w native mar 81 m sarcomphalus mauritianus (lam.) raf. boroi gr, hs, wl tree, m; pl-w native ss 220 fr, fw zizyphus oenoplia (l.) mill. bonboroi sj, wl shrub, sc; w native ss 225 fu, m z. rugosa lam. jangliboroi sj, wl shrub; w native mar 102 m leeaceae dumort. leea asiatica (l.) ridsdale banchalita sj, wl shrub; w native ss 389 m vitaceae juss. ampelocissus latifolia (roxb.) planch. angur lata bw2, wl herb, vi; w native ss 478 m causonis trifolia (l.) mabb. & j. wen amal lata bw1, sj, wl herb, vi; w native ss 479 fd, m cissus adnata roxb. bhatia lata sj, wl herb, vi; w native mar 274 m c. quadrangularis l. harjora gr, fl, hs herb, vi; w native mar 2610 m c. repens lam. marmaria pata sj, wl herb, vi; w native ss 480 m tetrastigma angustifolium (roxb.) planch. nekungriubi sj, wl herb, vi; w native ss 294 m malpighiaceae juss. hiptage benghalensis (l.) kurz madhabi lata gr, hs liana; pl native sss 2001 o malpighia coccigera l. kantamalpia gr shrub; pl exotic sss 2002 o polygalaceae hoffmanns. & link polygala erioptera dc. teradudhi fl, gl herb, pr; w native mar 110 m 44 khan et al. table 1 contd. sapindaceae juss. cardiospermum halicacabum l. lataphutki fl, sj herb, vi; w native ss 481 m dimocarpus longan lour. ++ kathlitchu gr, hs tree, m; pl native mar 2611 fr lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. horina fl, gr, wl tree, s; w native gmh 5075 fr, fw nephelium lappaceum l. + rambutan gr tree, m; pl exotic mar 2612 fr litchi chinensis sonn. litchu gr, hs tree, m; pl exotic sss 2062 fr sapindus saponaria l. + ritha gr tree, s; pl exotic gmh 5043 m, co schleichera oleosa (lour.) merr. ++ kusum gach gr tree, s; pl native mar 2613 dy, m burseraceae kunth canarium resiniferum bruce ex king ++ dhup gr, wl tree, l; pl native mar 2721 m anacardiaceae r. br. anacardium occidentale l. kaju badam gr, hs, rs tree, l; pl exotic mar 2614 fr lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga bw2, fl, ml, wl tree, s; w native gmh 5053 fn, gu mangifera indica l. aam gr, hs, wl tree, l; pl-w exotic ss 482 fr, t spondias dulcis parkinson amrah gr, hs tree, l; pl exotic sss 2063 fr meliaceae juss. azadirachta indica a. juss. neem hs, rs, wl tree, m; pl-w native ss 391 m aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r. parker pithraj hs, wl tree, m; w native sss 2064 m, oy chukrasia tabularis a.juss. chikrassi gr, wl tree, l; pl native sss 2065 dy, t dysoxylum excelsum blume ramta rata gr, tree, l; pl native mar 2615 t, m khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. + lombu gr, rs tree, l; pl exotic mar 2616 t melia azedarach l. goranim rs, wl tree, m; pl native gmh 5085 t, m swietenia macrophylla king bara mehagani gr, hs, rs tree, l; pl-w exotic mar 2617 t s. mahagoni (l.) jacq. mehagani gr, hs, rs tree, l; pl-w exotic mar 143 t rutaceae juss. aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel hs, wl tree, m; pl-w native ss 403 fr, m feronia limonia (l.) swingle kadbel gr, hs tree, m; pl native sss 2066 fr citrus aurantiifolia (christm.) swingle lebu gr, hs shrub; pl exotic sss 2067 fr c. hystrix dc. ++ satkora gr tree, s; pl native mar 2618 fr, m c. limon (l.) osbeck gora lebu gr tree, s; pl exotic mar 2619 fr, pi c. maxima (burm.) osbeck batabilebu gr, hs tree, s; pl exotic gmh 5011 fr clausena heptaphylla (roxb.) wight & arn. pan mouri gr shrub; pl native gmh 5095 m glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc. datmajoni fl, sj, wl shrub; w native ss 276 fu, m murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. curry patta fl, gr, wl tree, s; pl-w native mar 91 m, sp m. paniculata (l.) jack kamini gr, rs, wl tree, s;pl-w native gmh 5021 m, o zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. bajna fl, wl tree, m; w native ss 278 m, oy oxalidaceae r. br. averrhoa bilimbi l. bilimbi gr, hs tree, s; pl exotic gmh 5063 fr a. carambola l. kamranga gr, hs tree, s; pl exotic gmh 5041 fr oxalis corniculata l. amrul bw1, gl, rs herb, pr; w exotic mar 92 m, vg o. debilis kunth golapi amrul gr, hs, fl herb, pr; pl-w exotic mar 2621 o balsaminaceae a. rich. impatiens balsamina l. dopati gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2198 o floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 45 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use araliaceae juss. polyscias fruticosa (l.) harms tikosaya pata gr shrub; pl exotic sss 2199 m, o p. scutellaria (burm. f.) fosberg, balbusaya pata gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2622 m, o apiaceae lindl. centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni fl, gl herb, cr; w native ss 360 m, vg coriandrum sativum l. dhonia fl, gr, hs, herb, er; cv exotic mar 2623 m, sp eryngium foetidum l. bilatedhoneya gr, hs herb, er; w exotic gmh 5162 m, sp foeniculum vulgare mill. mouri hs herb, er; cv exotic mar 2624 m, sp oenanthe benghalensis benth. & hook. f. bon-dhonia fl, gl, ml herb, er; w native sss 2068 m gentianaceae juss. canscora alata (roth ex roem. & schult.) wall. dhankuni gl herb, er; w native ss 170 m apocynaceae juss. aganosma heynei (spreng.) ined. malati lata gr liana; pl exotic mar 2722 m, o allamanda cathartica l. ghonta phul gr, hs, rs shrub; pl exotic sss 2068 o alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chhatim rs, wl tree, l; pl-w native ss 236 m calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t. aiton akondo ml, rs shrub; w native sss 2185 fb, m carissa carandas l. karamcha gr, hs, sj shrub; pl-w native sss 2069 fr, pc cascabela thevetia (l.) lippold kolkey phul gr, hs tree, s; pl exotic mar 2626 m, o catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don noyantara bw1, gr, hs, rs herb, er; pl-w exotic gmh 5051 m, o cryptostegia grandiflora roxb. ex r. br. kriptoran gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2627 m hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br. ex schult. anantomul fl, gl shrub; w native mar 2628 fb, m holarrhena pubescens wall. ex g. don kurchi gr, sj, wl tree, s; w native ss 103 fw, m ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) aiton parallia lata bw1, fl, sj, wl liana; w native ss 102 fb, m nerium oleander l. rakta karobi gr, hs, rs tree, s; pl exotic sss 2070 o plumeria alba l. shada kathgolap gr, hs, rs tree, m; pl exotic mar 2629 o p. obtusa l. gorur-champa gr tree, m; pl exotic mar 2630 o p. pudica jacq. nag dahur gr tree, s; pl exotic mar 2631 o p. rubra l. lal kathgolap gr, hs, rs tree, m; pl native mar 2632 o rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz # sarpogondha gr, wl shrub; pl-w native mar 99 m r. tetraphylla l. sharpamul gr shrub; pl exotic gmh 5073 m tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem & schult. tagar gr, rs,sj, wl shrub; w native ss 134 m, o solanaceae juss. capsicum annuum l. morich gr, hs herb, er; cv exotic sss 2074 sp cestrum diurnum l. hasnahena hs shrub; pl exotic gmh 5163 o datura stramonium l. sada dhutra fl, gr, rs shrub; w exotic sss 2071 m nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. ban tamak bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 283 m petunia hybrida e. vilm. petunia gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2200 o physalis angulata l. futka fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 284 m solanum americanum mill. tit-begun bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic sss 2072 m s. melongena l. begun gr, hs shrub; w exotic sss 2073 vg s. torvum sw. gota begun fl, sj, rs shrub; w exotic ss 195 m, vg s. violaceum ortega phutki begun bw1, fl, sj, rs shrub; w native ss 404 m 46 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use s. virginianum l. kantakari fl, rs herb, pr; w native mar 111 m convolvulaceae juss. aniseia martinicensis (jacq.) choisy shadamati fl, gl herb, vi; w exotic mar 129 m argyreia capitiformis (poir.) ooststr. bijtarak sj, wl shrub, sc; w native mar 130 m camonea umbellata (l.) a.r. simões & staples goria lata fl, gl, rs herb, vi; w exotic mar 90 m c. vitifolia (burm. f.) a.r. simões & staples korma lata sj, wl herb, vi; w native mar 215 m evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. bhui okra bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, cr; w exotic ss 483 m, sb ipomoea aquatica forssk. kalmishak fl, wtl herb, cr; pl-w native ss 377 vg i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy dhol kolmi fl, ml shrub; w exotic mar83 pp, sb i. obscura (l.) ker gawl. kura kalmi gr, rs herb, vi; w native mar 2723 fo, m i. quamoclit l. kunja lata gr, hs herb, vi, pl exotic mar 2633 o i. tricolor cav. morning glory gr, hs herb, vi; pl exotic mar 2634 o xenostegia tridentata (l.) d.f. austin & staples ++ prasarini gl, rs herb, vi; w native mar 2724 m cuscutaceae dumort. cuscuta chinensis lam. chinese sharno lata op herb, ps; w native sss 2075 m c. reflexa roxb. sharno lata op herb, ps; w native ss 484 m menyanthaceae dumort. nymphoides cristata (roxb.) kuntze chand mala wtl herb, fr; w native mar 2635 ed n. hydrophylla (lour.) kuntze chand mona wtl herb, fr; w native mar 161 m n. indica (l.) kuntze panchuli mala wtl herb, fr; w native ss 392 ed, m polemoniaceae juss. phlox drummondii hook. + flox gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic mar 2730 o hydroleaceae r. br. ex edwards hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl kasschera wtl herb, pr; w native ss 169 m boraginaceae juss. heliotropium indicum l. hatisur fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 485 m cordia dichotoma g. forst. bohola sj, wl tree, m; w native gmh 5083 gu, m verbenaceae j. st.-hil. duranta erecta l. duranto gr, ml, rs shrub; pl-w exotic sss 2075 o lantana camara l. kutus kanta bw1, rs, sj, wl shrub; w exotic ss 112 m lippia alba (mill.) n.e. br. ex britton & p. wilson pichas-lakri fl, sj shrub; w exotic sss 2076 m petrea volubilis l. + nilmoni lata gr shrub, sc; pl exotic mar 2636 o phyla nodiflora (l.) greene vuiokra fl, gl, rs herb, cr; w native sss 2077 m lamiaceae martinov anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze. gobura fl, wl herb, er; w native ss 135 m clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhatti fl, sj, wl shrub; w native ss 216 m c. infortunatum l. bhat fl, sj, rs, wl shrub; w native mar 162 m c. splendens g. don shum bhat gr shrub; pl exotic mar 2637 m gmelina arborea roxb. gamari gr, wl tree, l; pl-w native sss 2078 t hyptis capitata jacq. tata tokma fl, rs, sj herb, er; w exotic ss 137 m h. suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma fl, rs, sj herb, er; w exotic sss 2079 m floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 47 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use leucas zeylanica (l.) w.t. aiton dondokalosh bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 256 m leonurus sibiricus l. rokto-dron fl, rs herb, er; w native mar 2638 m ocimum basilicum l. bantulsi fl, gr, hs herb, er; pl-w native sss 2080 m o. gratissimum l. ram tulsi gr, hs herb, er; pl-w native sss 2081 m o. tenuiflorum l. kalo tulsi fl, gr, hs herb, er; pl-w native sss 2082 m pogostemon auricularius (l.) hassk. aripachuli fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 258 m plectranthus scutellarioides (l.) r. br. coleus bw1, fl, gr, rs herb, er; w exotic mar 2640 o rotheca serrata (l.) steane & mabb. bamanhati sj, wl shrub; w native ss 217 m salvia splendens sellow ex schult. lal sagi gr, rs, hs herb, er; pl exotic mar 2641 o tectona grandis l. f. shegun rs, wl tree, l; pl native ss 487 t vitex negundo l. nishinda fl, sj, rs shrub; w native gmh 5164 m v. peduncularis wall. ex schauer goda gr, wl tree, m; pl native mar 2642 t volkameria inermis l. shita vat gr, rs shrub; pl-w exotic gmh 5093 m, o plantaginaceae juss. antirrhinum majus l. sonipati gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic mar 2725 o limnophila aromatica (lam.) merr. pani korpur fl, wtl herb, pr; w native gmh 5187 m l. chinensis (osbeck) merr. anguli ghash fl, wtl herb, pr; w native gmh 5188 m l. heterophylla (roxb.) benth. patakutra wtl herb, fr; w native ss 488 m, o l. sessiliflora (vahl) blume bamonkeshori wtl herb, em; w native ss 489 wp mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small micardan fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w exotic gmh 5051 m scoparia dulcis l. bondhone bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 281 m oleaceae hoffmanns. & link jasminum grandiflorum l. chameli gr shrub; pl native sss 2083 m, o j. sambac (l.) sol. jui, beli gr, rs, hs shrub; pl exotic sss 2084 o j. scandens (retz.) vahl paharijui sj, wl shrub; w native ss 203 m nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. sheuli gr, hs tree, s; pl native sss 2085 m, o linderniaceae borsch, kai müll. & eb. fisch. bonnaya antipoda (l.) druce zai ghas fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native ss 222 m lindernia ciliata (colsm.) pennell bhui papri fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native ss 490 m l. crustacea (l.) f. muell. chapra ghas fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native ss 491 m l. parviflora (roxb.) haines parvi chapra fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native mar 2642 m l. procumbens (krock.) borbás bakpuspa fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native mar 144 m l. rotundifolia (l.) alston tan chapra bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native mar 87 m torenia diffusa d. don ushatoren fl, rs herb, pr; w native ss 492 o mazaceae reveal mazus pumilus (burm. f.) steenis tutra fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native sss 2057 m acanthaceae juss. andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) nees # kalomegh gr, hs, wl herb, er; pl-w native mar 2643 m asystasia gangetica (l.) t. anderson ++ gangatara fl, sj herb, pr; w native ss 132 m dicliptera paniculata (forssk.) i. darbysh. nashabhanga rs, gl, wl herb, er; w native ss 348 m ecbolium ligustrinum (vahl) vollesen shial leza fl, wl herb, er; w native sss 2086 m hygrophila erecta (burm. f.) hochr filareck wtl herb, er; w native mar 107 m h. hirta (vahl) t. anderson buripana fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native mar 75 m 48 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use h. polysperma (roxb.) t. anderson alai kalai fl, wtl herb, pr; w native sss 2087 m justicia adhatoda l. basak fl, gr, hs, sj shurb; w native ss 275 m j. gendarussa burm.f. jagotmadan fl, ml, sj herb, er; pl-w native mar 84 fn, m nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul fl, gl, wl herb, pr; w native ss 209 m phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet bhuibashak bw1, sj, wl herb, pr; w native mar 93 m ruellia tuberosa l. chotpotey fl, wl herb, er; w exotic ss 351 m, o rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native gmh 5061 m staurogyne zeylanica kuntze cylongyne fl herb, pr; w native mar 2644 m thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottl.) roxb. neel lata ml, sj, wl herb, vi; w native mar 2712 m t. mysorensis (wight) t. anderson basar lata gr herb, vi; pl exotic mar 2645 o pedaliaceae r. br. sesamum indicum l. til fl, hs herb, er; pl-w native sss 2088 oy bignoniaceae juss. bignonia magnifica w. bull unknown gr, hs liana; pl exotic mar 2646 o jacaranda mimosifolia d. don nil gulmohor gr, rs tree, l; w exotic mar 2647 o mansoa alliacea (lam.) a.h. gentry rasun lata gr, hs liana; pl exotic mar 2648 o oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz kanidingi sj, wl tree, m; w native ss 493 m parmentiera aculeata (kunth) seem. ++ mombati phal gr tree, l; pl native mar 2649 ed, m pyrostegia venusta (ker gawl.) miers sonali lata gr liana; pl exotic mar 2650 m, o tabebuia rosea (bertol.) bertero ex a. dc. + tobebia gr tree, m; pl exotic mar 2651 o tecoma stans (l.) juss. ex kunth + tecoma gr, rs tree, s; pl exotic sss 2089 o spathodea campanulata p. beauv. + rudra polash gr, rs tree, l; pl exotic sss 2090 m, o lentibulariaceae rich. utricularia aurea lour. patajhajhi wtl herb, sm; w native gmh 5165 m, wp campanulaceae juss. wahlenbergia marginata (thunb.) a. dc. kardi lb, wtl herb, er; w native mar 2726 m rubiaceae juss. catunaregam spinosa (thunb.) tirveng. man kanta bw2, sj, wl shrub; w native ss 494 fu, m coffea arabica l. koffee gr shrub; pl exotic sak 2103 bv, m c. benghalensis b. heyne ex schult. bangla koffe sj, wl shrub; w native gmh 5071 m dentella repens (l.) j.r. forst. & g. forst. bhuipat fl, gl herb, pr; w native ss 400 m gardenia coronaria buch.-ham. koinor gr tree, m; pl native sak 2062 o, t g. jasminoides j. ellis gondhoraj gr, hs shrub; pl native mar 2652 m, o g. latifolia aiton papra gr, hs shrub; pl native mar 2653 o haldina cordifolia (roxb.) ridsdale haldu gr tree, m; pl native ss 495 m, t hymenodictyon orixense (roxb.) mabb. bhuikadam gr tree, l; pl native mar 2654 m, t ixora coccinea l. rangon gr, rs, hs shrub; pl native sak 2027 o i. cuneifolia roxb. jangli rangon sj, wl shrub; w native sak 2020 m i. pavetta andr. banrangon sj, wl shrub; w native ss 224 m i. undulata roxb. palkajui sj, wl shrub; w native ss 273 m meyna spinosa roxb. ex link katai sj, wl shrub; w native mar 2654 m mitragyna parvifolia (roxb.) korth. phulkadam gr tree; l; pl native mar 2727 m morinda angustifolia roxb. pandusi sj, wl shrub; w native ss 274 m floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 49 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use mussaenda erythrophylla schumach. & thonn. lal mussenda gr, hs shrub; pl exotic sss 2091 o m. frondosa l. kalasona gr, hs shrub; pl native sss 2092 o m. philippica a. rich. mussenda gr, hs shrub; pl exotic sss 2093 o neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadom bw2, rs, wl tree, l; w native ss 498 o, t oldenlandia corymbosa l. khet papra bw1, fl, gl herb, pr; w native ss 496 m o. diffusa (willd.) roxb. fussa papra fl, gl herb, pr; w native ss 497 m o. verticillata l. notapapra fl, gl herb, pr; w native mar 82 m paederia foetida l. gandhyabhaduli gr, hs, sj herb, vi; w native ss 499 m richardia scabra l. nakli ipecac bw1, fl, gl, rs, wl herb, pr; w exotic sak 2030 m spermacoce articularis l. f. bahos fl, gl, rs, wl herb, pr; w native ss 272 m s. exilis (l.o. williams) c.d. adams ex w.c. burger & c.m. taylor baghajangla bw1, fl, gl, rs, wl herb, pr; w exotic gmh 5168 m tamilnadia uliginosa (retz.) tirveng. & sastre ++ piralu sj tree, s; w native mar 98 fu, m vangueria madagascariensis j.f. gmel. mainakata sj, wl shrub; w exotic ss 402 m asteraceae bercht. & j. presl acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen. surjakonnya bw1, fl, gr, rs herb, pr; w native ss144 m a. paniculata (wall. ex dc.) r.k. jansen mahatitinga gr, rs herb, pr; w native sak 2041 m ageratum conyzoides (l.) l. fulkuri bw1, fl, rs, sj herb, er; w exotic sak 2077 m bidens pilosa l. bidenlosa gr, wl herb, er; w exotic sak 2045 o blumea densiflora dc. nagorfuli fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 146 m b. lacera (burm.f.) dc. barokukshim fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native sak 2026 m b. membranacea wall. ex dc. kukurshinga fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 365 m b. oxyodonta dc. chotokukurshinga fl, gl, ml herb, er; w native mar 74 m calendula officinalis l. + calendula gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2201 o cosmos bipinnatus cav. cosmos gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic gmh 5199 o c. sulphureus cav. cosmos gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2202 o cotula hemisphaerica wall. ex benth. & hook. f. nooney shak gr herb, pr; w native sak 2013 m centipeda minima (l.) a. br. & asch. nakchikni fl, gl, lb herb, pr; w native mar 78 m chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m. king & h. rob. bon motmotia bw1, gl, lb herb, er; w exotic sak 2006 m cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h. rob. shialmutra bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 145 m dahlia imperialis roezl ex ortgies dalia gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2203 o eclipta prostrata (l.) l. kalokeshi fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w exotic ss 182 m elephantopus mollis kunth hastipadi gl, lb, rs, wl herb, cr; w exotic ss 366 m emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. mechitra fl, gl, lb herb, er; w native ss 367 m enydra fluctuans dc. helencha wtl herb, pr; w native sak 2091 m, vg gazania rigens (l.) gaertn. + gaznia gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2204 o gerbera jamesonii adlam + jarbera gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic gmh 5159 o glebionis coronaria (l.) cass. ex spach chandramallika gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic mar 2731 o gnaphalium polycaulon pers. bara kamra fl, gr, gl herb, er; w native mar 172 m grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. namuti fl, lb herb, er; w native ss 231 m gynura procumbens (lour.) merr. ++ gynura gr, hs herb, er; pl-w native sak 2073 m 50 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use launaea asplenifolia hook.f. tik-chana fl, rs herb, er; w exotic sak 2060 m mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l. rob. assam lata fl, ml, sj herb, vi; w exotic sak 2063 fd, m parthenium hysterophorus l. + parthenum fl, rs herb, er; w exotic sak 2074 m, po pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (l.) hilliard & b.l. burtt barakamra fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 183 m pseudelephantopus spicatus (b. juss. ex aubl.) c.f. baker + unknown ml, rs herb, er; w exotic mar 97 m sonchus arvensis l. chashar fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic sak 2038 m sphagneticola trilobata (l.) pruski + mahabhringaraj fl, rs herb, pr; w exotic ss 214 fd, o symphyotrichum laeve (l.) á. löve & d. löve + aster gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic mar 2732 o synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. nak phul fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss 125 m tagetes erecta l. gada, ganda herb, er; pl herb, er; pl exotic gmh 5181 m, o tridax procumbens (l.) l. tridhara bw1, fl, rs, gl herb, er; w exotic ss 181 m xanthium strumarium l. ghagra fl, lb, gl herb, er; w exotic mar 103 m youngia japonica (l.) dc. youngaful fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 131 m zinnia peruviana (l.) l. + zinia gr, rs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2205 o liliopsida batsch alismataceae vent. limnocharis flava (l.) buchenau letuce pana wtl herb, er; w exotic gmh 5109 ap, vg sagittaria sagittifolia l. chotokut lb, wtl herb, er; w exotic gmh 5110 fo, o hydrocharitaceae juss. blyxa japonica (miq.) maxim. ex asch. & gürke japani blyxa lb, wtl herb, sm; w native mar 2658 fo hydrilla verticillata (l. f.) royle kureli wtl herb, sm; w native ss 409 ap, ff najas graminea delile dhanijhaji wtl herb, sm; w native mar 149 nk n. indica (willd.) cham. deshijhaji wtl herb, sm; w native mar 163 ap n. minor all. soto jhaji wtl herb, sm; w native mar 2659 ff nechamandra alternifolia (roxb. ex wight) thwaites rasna-zanji wtl herb, sm; w native mar 2660 nk ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panikala wtl herb, sm; w native mar 150 vg vallisneria spiralis l. patseola wtl herb, sm; w native mar 148 ap aponogetonaceae planch. aponogeton appendiculatus h. bruggen ghechu wtl herb, er; w native sss 2165 vg a. undulatus roxb. dheu-ghechu wtl herb, er; w native sss 2166 vg potamogetonaceae bercht. & j. presl potamogeton crispus l. pata zhanchi lb, wtl herb, sm; w native sss 2094 vg p. nodosus poir. lombu zhanchi lb, wtl herb, sm; w native sss 2095 nk arecaceae bercht. & j. presl areca catechu l. supari gr, hs, rs palm, l; pl exotic ss 500 ed, m attalea cohune mart. cohune palm gr palm, l; pl exotic mar 2661 o borassus flabellifer l. tal gr, hs, rs palm, l;pl-w native ss 501 fb, ju calamus erectus roxb. # kdom bet gr, lb, rs palm, er; pl-w native mar 2662 cc c. guruba buch.-ham. ex mart. # jali bet gr, lb, sj, rs palm, cl; pl-w native mar 182 cc c. latifolius roxb. # sanchi bet gr, lb, rs palm, cl; pl-w native mar 2663 cc c. longisetus griff. # karak bet gr, lb palm, cl; pl-w native mar 2664 cc floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 51 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use c. tenuis roxb. unknown gr, lb palm, cl; pl-w native mar 2665 cc, fr caryota urens l. sago palm gr, rs palm, l; pl exotic sss 2096 o chamaedorea elegans mart. supari palm gr palm, s; pl exotic sss 2097 o cocos nucifera l. narikel gr, hs, ml palm, l; pl-w exotic ss 502 fw, oy corypha taliera roxb. # tali gr palm, l; pl native gmh 5100 o dypsis lutescens (h.wendl.) beentje & j. dransf. areca palm bw2, gr palm, cl; pl exotic mar 2666 cc, o elaeis guineensis jacq. oil palm gr, hs palm, l; pl exotic gmh 5101 oy licuala grandis h. wendl. vanuatu palm gr palm, l; pl exotic mar 2667 o l. peltata roxb. ex buch.-ham. kurkuti gr palm, m; pl native gmh 5102 o l. spinosa wurmb katalicu gr palm, m; pl native mar 2809 o livistona chinensis (jacq.) r. br. ex mart. china tokopata gr palm, m; pl exotic gmh 5103 o phoenix acaulis roxb. # khudi khejur gr palm, s; pl native gmh 5104 o p. canariensis chabaud canarian khejur gr palm, s; pl exotic mar 2728 o p. loureiroi kunth bon khejur sj, wl palm, s; w native gmh 5105 o p. sylvestris (l.) roxb. deshi khejur hs, ml, rs palm, l; pl-w native ss408 hc, ju rhapis excelsa (thunb.) henry gurital gr palm, s; pl exotic sss 2098 o roystonea regia (kunth) o.f. cook bottol palm gr palm, l; pl exotic sss 2099 o pandanaceae r. br. pandanus amaryllifolius roxb. polau pata gr, hs shrub; pl exotic sss 2100 ff p. furcatus roxb. kasiakata gr tree, s; pl native mar 2668 o, m p. odorifer (forssk.) kuntze keya gr tree, s; pl native mar 2669 fb, m p. tectorius parkinson ex du roi keuri kanta gr tree, s, pl exotic mar 2670 fb, ff araceae juss. alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott bish kachu fl, hs, wtl herb, er; w native mar 2671 m a. macrorrhizos (l.) g. don man kachu fl, hs herb, er; pl-w exotic mar 2672 m, vg amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson ol kachu fl, hs herb, er; pl-w native mar 2673 m, vg anthurium andraeanum linden ex andré flamingo gr herb, er; pl exotic sss 2142 o a. crystallinum linden & andré anthurium gr, hs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2181 o caladium bicolor (aiton) vent. diranga kachu gr, hs herb, er; pl-w exotic mar 2674 o c. humboldtii (raf.) schott caladium gr, hs herb, er; pl exotic mar 2816 o colocasia esculenta (l.) schott jangli kachu fl, hs, wtl herb, er; w native ss 503 m, vg dieffenbachia seguine (jacq.) schott segu bet fl, gr, hs herb, er; pl-w exotic mar 2817 o epipremnum aureum (linden & andré) g.s. bunting money plant gr, hs herb, vi; pl-w exotic sss 2101 o e. pinnatum (l.) engl. premnum gr, hs herb, vi; pl-w native sss 2102 m, o lasia spinosa (l.) thwaites kata kachu hs, lb, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2103 m, vg lemna minor l. sujipana wtl herb, ff; w native sss 2104 ff, wp l. perpusilla torr. khudipana wtl herb, ff; w exotic sss 2105 ef, wp monstera deliciosa liebm. makhna gr, hs herb, vi; pl-w exotic ss 407 ed, o pistia stratiotes l. topapana wtl herb, ff; w native ss 504 m pothos scandens l. hati lata op herb, cr; pl-w native ss 505 m scindapsus officinalis (roxb.) schott gaj-pipul op herb, vi; pl-w native sss 2182 m spirodela polyrhiza (l.) schleid. tetulipana wtl herb, ff; w native mar 152 ff, wp syngonium podophyllum schott podolata kachu fl, gr, hs, sj herb, pr; pl-w native sss 2183 o 52 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use typhonium flagelliforme (lodd.) blume ghechu fl, lb, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5106 m t. trilobatum (l.) schott ghet kachu fl, lb, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5107 m, vg wolffia arrhiza (l.) horkel ex wimm. guripana wtl herb, ff; w native sss 2184 ff, wp xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott dudh kachu fl, lb,wtl herb, er; w exotic gmh 5108 m, vg commelinaceae mirb. commelina benghalensis l. kanshira fl, gl, lb, rs herb, cr; w native ss 229 m c. diffusa burm.f. monayna kanshira fl, gl, lb, rs herb, cr; w native ss 506 wd c. erecta l. jata kanchira fl, gl, lb, rs herb, er; w exotic mar 154 wd c. longifolia lam. pani kanshira fl, gl, lb, rs herb, cr; w native mar 104 wd c. paludosa blume kanjia fl, gl, lb, rs herb, er; w native mar 153 wd cyanotis axillaris (l.) d. don ex sweet axinot fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5111 wd c. cristata (l.) d. don. tatakansira fl, gl, lb herb, cr; w native ss 295 m murdannia nudiflora (l.) brenan kureli fl, lb, ml herb, cr; w native mar 155 wd tradescantia pallida (rose) d.r. hunt begunipindo gr herb, er; pl-w exotic sss 2106 o t. spathacea sw. chamapindo gr herb, er; pl-w exotic sss 2107 o t. zebrina bosse zebrapindo gr herb, er; pl-w exotic sss 2108 o eriocaulaceae martinov eriocaulon quinquangulare l. guriguccha lb, wtl herb, er; w native ss 204 wd e. truncatum buch.-ham. ex mart. kataguccha fl, lb, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2109 wd cyperaceae juss. cyperus compressus l. chancha fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native sss 2110 wd c. corymbosus rottb. golamethi fl, gl, lb, rs herb, er; w native ss 206 fb, fo c. cuspidatus kunth sagarmukhimethi fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 156 wd c. cyperoides (l.) kuntze kucha fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 298 ed c. difformis l. behua ghasi fl, gl, lb herb, er; w native sss 2111 fo, wd c. digitatus roxb. hath ghasi gl, lb, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2112 wd c. distans l. f. panimalanga bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss207 fo c. exaltatus retz. tata ghasi gl, lb, wtl herb, er; w native gmh 5112 fb, wd c. haspan l. haspan ghasi fl, gl, wtl herb, er; w native mar 2675 wd c. iria l. barachucha fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 2676 fb, m c. pilosus vahl pashamkathai fl, gl, lb herb, er; w native mar 118 wd c. pulcherrimus willd. ex kunth unknown gl, lb, wtl herb, er; w native mar 2677 wd c. rotundus l. nagarmutha fl, gl, hs, rs herb, er; w native sss 2113 m c. substramineus kük. paikram ghas fl, gl, lb, rs herb, er; w native ss 213 wd c. tenuispica steud. paikamutha gl, lb, wtl herb, er; w native ss 302 sb, wd c. thomsonii boeckeler # sanimutha fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 119 wd diplacrum caricinum r. br. unknown fl, lb, rs herb, pr; w native mar 2678 wd eleocharis acutangula (roxb.) schult. unknown lb, ml, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2114 sb, wd e. dulcis (burm. f.) trin. ex hensch. mishti ghasi fl, lb, ml herb, er; w native sss 2115 ed fimbristylis bisumbellata (forssk.) bubani bisu fimbry lb, ml, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2116 wd f. dichotoma (l.) vahl bara nirbishi bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5113 wd f. ovata (burm. f.) j. kern marmari lb, ml, wtl herb, er; w native mar106 wd f. quinquangularis (vahl) kunth barajavani fl, lb,wtl herb, er; w native mar 2679 wd f. schoenoides (retz.) vahl kesari malanga fl, lb,wtl herb, er; w native sss 2117 wd floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 53 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use f. tetragona r. br. unknown gl, lb, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2118 wd fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. poshmi ghas gl, lb, wtl herb, er; w native ss 212 wd f. umbellata rottb. unknown gl, lb, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2119 ed, wd kyllinga brevifolia rottb. shabujnirbisa fl, gl, lb, rs herb, er; w native ss 305 fo k. nemoralis (j.r. forst. & g. forst.) dandy ex hutch. & dalziel subashinirbisa fl, gl, lb, rs herb, er; w native sss 2120 ed, fo pycreus pumilus (l.) nees paikpami ghasi fl, gl, lb, rs herb, er; w native mar 2680 sb, wd schoenoplectiella articulata (l.) lye chechra fl, lb, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5114 wd s. juncoides (roxb.) lye chechri fl, lb, rs herb, er; w native sss 2121 wd s. supina (l.) lye supipotpoti ghas fl, lb, rs herb, er; w native mar 157 wd scleria levis retz. rialevi ghas fl, lb, rs herb, cr; w native ss309 wd poaceae barnhart alloteropsis cimicina (l.) stapf unknown gl, rs herb, er; w native sss 2122 wd apluda mutica l. matika lb, sj herb, er; w native mar 2681 fo arundinella bengalensis (spreng) druce gangabena gl, lb herb, er; w native ss174 wd axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv. karpet ghas bw1, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic ss412 fo bambusa balcooa roxb. borak bans gr, hs bamboo; pl native sss 2123 bc b. bambos (l.) voss kanta bans gr bamboo; pl native mar181 bc b. multiplex (lour.) raeusch. ex schult. choi bans gr bamboo; pl exotic mar 2682 bc b. nutans wall. ex munro mahal bans gr, hs bamboo; pl native mar 2683 bc b. polymorpha munro parua gr bamboo; pl native sss 2124 bc b. salarkhanii alam jaotha bans gr bamboo; pl native sss 2125 bc b. tulda roxb. mirtinga gr, hs bamboo; pl native gmh 5115 bc b. tuldoides munro ghoti bans gr, hs bamboo; pl exotic mar 2683 bc b. vulgaris schrad. bariala gr bamboo; pl exotic mar 2684 bc b. mutica (forssk.) stapf para ghas gl, rs herb, er; w exotic mar 158 fo, sb b. reptans (l.) c.a. gardner & c.e. hubb. unknown fl, lb herb, er; w native mar 2685 fo chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. prem kanta gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 314 hc c. zizanioides (l.) roberty bena bw1, fl, lb herb, er; w native sss 2128 hc, sb chloris barbata sw. unknown fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 2686 fo c. virgata sw. anguli ghas gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 113 fo coix lacryma-jobi l. tasbi lb, wtl herb, er; w native ss 413 ed, fo cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba ghas fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native gmh 5116 fo, sb cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (hochst. ex steud.) stapf oxycocca ghas fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native sss 2129 fo c. patens (l.) a. camus unknown fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 320 fo cymbopogon citratus (dc.) stapf lemon ghas fl, ml, rs herb, er; cv-w exotic sss 2130 ff, m dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. kakpaya fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5117 sb dendrocalamus giganteus munro budum bans gr bamboo; pl exotic gmh 5118 bc, o d. longispathus (kurz) kurz orah bans gr bamboo; pl native sss 2131 bc desmostachya bipinnata (l.) stapf kusha fl, gl, lb, rs herb, er; w native mar 2687 bc dichanthium annulatum (forssk.) stapf loari bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 2688 fo d. caricosum (l.) a. camus detara fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 2689 fo digitaria bicornis (lam.) roem. & schult. baikochira fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native sss 2132 fo 54 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use d. ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native sss 2133 fo d. sanguinalis (l.) scop. mukurjoli fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native sss 2134 fo d. setigera roth seti ghas bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, pr; w native mar 2713 fo d. stricta roth unknown fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native mar 2690 fo d. ternata (a. rich.) stapf unknown fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native mar 2691 fo echinochloa colona (l.) link. shama ghas fl, ml, wtl herb, er; w exotic mar 121 fo e. crus-galli (l.) p. beauv. barashama ghas fl, ml, wtl herb, er; w native ss 414 fo, m e. stagnina (retz.) p. beauv. parua fl, ml, wtl herb, er; w native sss 2136 fo, ju eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. malankuri bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native sss 2137 sb eragrostis unioloides (retz.) nees koni ghas bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 2692 fo e. cilianensis (all.) janch. dudh-nol fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native ss 415 fo e. ciliaris (l.) r. br. chhotochira ghas fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native mar 2693 ed, fo e. unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud. chirakoni fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native sss 2138 gm hemarthria protensa steud. chaila lb, ml, wtl herb, er; w native mar 180 nk hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees ex wight & arn. jongli dhan lb, ml, wtl herb, er; w native gmh 5119 fo hymenachne amplexicaulis (rudge) nees nordula ghas lb, ml, wtl herb, er; w exotic mar 179 fo isachne globosa (thunb.) kuntze ball ghas fl, gl, wtl herb, er; w native mar 2694 fo, gm imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. chhan bw1, fl, gl, rs herb, er; w exotic gmh 5120 nk leersia hexandra sw. arali fl, wtl herb, cr; w native gmh 5121 fo leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees fulka ghas fl, wtl herb, er; w native ss 208 fo l. panicea (retz.) ohwi mona ghas fl, wtl herb, er; w native mar 2695 fo lophatherum gracile brongn. lophail ghas fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native mar 2696 fo melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz muli bans gr herb, er; w native sss 2139 bc oplismenus burmanni (retz.) p. beauv. jabri durba fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native gmh 5122 fo o. compositus (l.) p. beauv. gohur gl, ml, rs, sj herb, er; w native ss 180 fo oryza rufipogon griff. bunodhan fl, wtl herb, er; w native gmh 5123 fo o. sativa l. dhan fl, wtl herb, er; cv exotic sss 2140 ed, fd ottochloa nodosa (kunth) dandy voyal ghas fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native sss 2141 fo panicum brevifolium l. bashpatighas gl, lb, ml herb, er; w native ss 418 fo p. incomtum trin. panick ghas fl, gl, lb herb, er; w native mar 2697 fo p. notatum retz. panita ghas fl, gl, ml herb, er; w native mar 2698 fo p. paludosum roxb. borati lb, ml, wtl herb, er; w native mar 2699 fo p. repens l. dhani ghas fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 419 fo p. sarmentosum roxb. voya ghas fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native mar 2700 fo paspalum conjugatum p.j. bergius. moisshya ghas gl, hs, rs herb, er; w exotic gmh 5124 fo, sb p. distichum l. chhotogoicha lb, ml, wtl herb, er; w exotic mar 178 fo, sb p. scrobiculatum l. bishmona ghas fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native mar 2701 fo, m pennisetum purpureum schumach. nepi ghas fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; cv-w exotic sss 2143 fo phyllostachys aurea rivière & c. rivière sarna bans fl, gl, ml, rs bamboo; pl exotic sss 2144 bc, o pseudoraphis brunoniana (griff.) pilg. rafi ghas lb, wtl herb, em; w native sss 2145 fo rottboellia cochinchinensis (lour.) clayton boro-sowati ghas lb, wtl herb, er; w native gmh 5125 fo saccharum officinarum l. akh gr, hs herb, er; cv exotic mar 2702 ju, pp s. spontaneum l. kash fl, gl, ml, lb herb, er; w native sss 2146 fo, sb floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 55 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use sacciolepis indica (l). a. chase siltatto ghas lb, ml, wtl herb, er; w native ss 421 fo s. interrupta (willd.) stapf nardula fl, gl herb, er; w native ss 422 fo s. myosuroides (r. br.) a. camus musurdolla ghas fl, gl, wtl herb, er; w native mar 2703 fo setaria barbata (lam.) kunth bashpata ghas fl, gl, ml herb, er; w native mar 382 fo s. flavida (retz.) veldkamp karin ghas fl, gl, rs herb, er; w native ss 420b fo s. palmifolia (j. koenig) stapf urodhan fl, gl, ml herb, er; w native mar 2704 fo s. pumila (poir.) roem. & schult. halde kawn fl, gl, ml herb, er; w native mar 2705 fo sporobolus diandrus (retz.) p. beauv. benajoni fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w native ss 338 fo s. indicus (l.) r. br. ailbelajoni ghas fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w exotic mar 2706 fo thyrsostachys oliveri gamble burma bans fl, gl, ml, rs herb, er; w exotic mar 2707 bc thysanolaena latifolia (roxb. ex hornem.) honda ++ phul jharu gr, hs, ml herb, er; cv-w native ss 340 fo, hc urochloa distachyos (l.) t.q. nguyen, cori ghas gl, rs herb, cr; w native sss 2126 fo, sb u. kurzii (hook.f.) t.q. nguyen, unknown gl, lb, rs herb, cr; w native sss 2127 fo u. panicoides p. beauv. kuridana fl, ml herb, er; w native sss 2147 sb zea mays l. bhutta fl, hs herb, er; cv exotic sss 2148 ed strelitziaceae hutch. ravenala madagascariensis sonn. panthopadap gr tree, s; pl exotic sss 2149 o strelitzia reginae banks behester bulbuli gr herb, er; pl exotic sss 2150 o heliconiaceae nakai heliconia metallica planch. & linden ex hook. swarga pakhi gr herb, er; pl exotic mar 2708 o h. psittacorum l. f. tiathuti gr herb, er; pl exotic mar 2709 o h. rostrata ruiz & pav. chingrinomi gr herb, er; pl exotic mar 2800 o musaceae juss. musa paradisiaca l. kach kola fl, hs, ml herb, er; pl-w exotic ss 508 fr, vg zingiberaceae martinov alpinia calcarata (haw.) roscoe deshi choto elachi gr herb, er; cv exotic sss 2151 m, sp a. conchigera griff. konchi elachi gr herb, er; cv native sss 2152 m curcuma longa l. halud fl, hs herb, er; cv exotic sss 2153 sp c. zedoaria (christm.) rosc. sathi fl, rs, sj, wl herb, er; w native ss 509 m elettaria cardamomum (l.) maton soto elachi gr, hs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2154 sp hedychium coronarium j. könig dolon chapa gr, hs, rs herb, er; cv exotic sss 2155 o zingiber officinale roscoe ada fl, hs herb, er; cv exotic sss 2156 sp z. zerumbet (l.) roscoe ex sm. mohaboribotch fl, hs, sj herb, er; w native sss 2157 m costaceae nakai cheilocostus speciosus (j. koenig) c.d. specht keomul bw2, fl, lb, rs herb, er; w native ss 296 m costus woodsonii maas lipistic plant gr herb, er; cv exotic mar 2801 o cannaceae juss. canna indica l. kolabati gr, hs, rs herb, er; pl-w exotic sss 2158 m, o marantaceae r. br. schumannianthus dichotomus (roxb.) gagnep. pati-pata hs, wtl shrub; cv-w native gmh 5126 hc pontederiaceae kunth eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms kachuripana wtl herb, ff; w exotic ss 345 fo monochoria hastata (l.) solms bara nukha wtl herb, em; w native ss 347 m m. vaginalis (burm. f.) c. presl nukha wtl herb, em; w native mar 159 m 56 khan et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use amaryllidaceae j. st.-hil. allium cepa l. piyaj hs herb, er; cv exotic mar 2807 sp a. sativum l. rashun hs herb, er; cv exotic mar 2808 sp crinum asiaticum l. shukdarshan gr, hs herb, er; pl native ss 411 m, o c. latifolium l. baro-shukdarshan gr, hs herb, er; pl native sss 2161 o scadoxus multiflorus (martyn) raf. agnigolock gr, hs herb, er; cv exotic sss 2162 m, o urceolina × grandiflora (planch. & linden) traub eucharis lily gr herb, er; pl exotic mar 2729 o zephyranthes minuta (kunth) d. dietr. golapi ghash phul gr, hs herb, er; pl exotic sss 2163 o asparagaceae juss. agave americana l. shatabdi udvid gr, hs herb, er; cv exotic mar 2802 o a. vivipara l. unknown gr, hs herb, er; cv exotic mar 2803 o asparagus racemosus wild. shatamuli gr, hs, sj herb, vi; w native ss 410 m cordyline fruticosa (l.) a. chev. agnishwar gr, hs herb, er; cv exotic sss 2159 m dracaena fragrans (l.) ker gawl. gondhi drakan gr, hs shrub; pl exotic mar 2804 o d. spicata roxb. kado drakan gr, hs shrub; pl native mar 2805 o furcraea foetida (l.) haw. gandhohemp gr, hs shrub; pl exotic mar 2806 o sansevieria trifasciata prain sutahara gr, hs herb, er; cv exotic sss 2160 o colchicaceae dc. gloriosa superba l. ulatchandal gr, hs, wl herb, vi; pl-w native ss 510 m hypoxidaceae r. br. curculigo orchioides gaertn. talmuli sj, wl herb, er; w native mar 164 m xanthorrhoeaceae dumort. aloe vera (l.) burm. f. ghritakumari gr, hs herb, er; cv-w exotic sss 2164 m, o smilacaceae vent. smilax ovalifolia roxb. kumarika sj, wl herb, vi; w native ss 313 m s. perfoliata lour. kumari lata sj, wl herb, vi; w native ss 511 m dioscoreaceae r. br. dioscorea alata l. chupri alu hs, sj herb, tw; cv-w native sss 2167 vg d. belophylla (prain) voigt ex haines shora alu hs, lb, wl herb, tw; cv-w native mar 175 m d. bulbifera l. ban alu hs, lb, sj herb, tw; cv-w native mar 2810 m d. esculenta (lour.) burkill mou alu gr, sj, wl herb, tw; cv-w native mar 2811 vg d. hamiltonii hook. f. dud alu gr, sj, wl herb, tw; cv-w native ss 129 m, vg d. pentaphylla l. jhum alu gr, sj, wl herb, tw; cv-w native sss 2168 m, vg orchidaceae juss. acampe ochracea (lindl.) hochr. ++ kampera gr herb, er; w native gmh 5127 o a. praemorsa (roxb.) blatt. & mccann mar gr herb, er; w native gmh 5128 o bulbophyllum lilacinum ridl. ++ gota parchallow gr herb, ep; w native gmh 5129 o b. roxburghii (lindl.) rchb.f. unknown gr herb, ep; w native gmh 5130 o cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw. # tosabak gr herb, ep; w native ss 512 m, o dendrobium anceps sw. asiriam gr herb, ep; w native gmh 5131 m, o d. aphyllum (roxb.) c.e.c. fisch. fasiariam gr herb, ep; w native gmh 5132 m, o geodorum densiflorum (lam.) schltr. sankhamul sj, wl herb, er; w native mar 133 o habenaria diphylla dalzell bhumi orchid gl, lb, wl herb, er; w native mar 185 o luisia brachystachys (lindl.) blume luisia gr herb, ep; w native gmh 5133 o nervilia gammieana (hook. f.) pfitzer unknown wl herb, er; w exotic mar 176 o floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus 57 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habitat habit origin rse use oberonia gammiei king & pantl. ++ unknown gr herb, ep; w native gmh 5134 o papilionanthe teres (roxb.) schltr. paphoteri gr herb, ep; pl native gmh 5135 o rhynchostylis retusa (l.) blume kopou phool gr herb, ep; pl native gmh 5136 m, o vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g. don. rasna op herb, ep; w native gmh 5138 m zeuxine nervosa (wall. ex lindl.) benth. ex trimen ++ nervoxine orchid fl, wl herb, er; w native gmh 5139 m notes: habitat: flfallow land, hshomestead, glgrassland, grgarden, mlmarginal land, lblake bank, bw1on brick wall (with complete life cycle), bw2opon plant (only seedling or sapling stage), rsroadside, sjscrub jungle, wlwoodland, wtlwetland; habit: crcreeper, cvcultivated, ememergent, er-erect, fffree floating, frfloating with rooted, smsubmerged, plplanted pr-prostrate, ps-parasite, vi-vine, l-large, m-medium, s-small, sc-scandant, wwild; use: apaquarium plant, bc-bamboo crafts, bvbeverage, cccane crafts, cocosmetics, dydye yielding, ededible, fbfibre, fdfodder, fffish feed, fnfence, foforage, frfruit, fufuel, fwfuel wood, gmgreen manure, gu gum, hchandicrafts, jujuice, mmedicine, mumulching, oornamental, oyoil yielding, nknot known, pc pickle, pfperfume, pppaper pulp, popoisionous, pupulse, sbsoil binder, sdshade providing, sfsilkworm feed, spspice, ttimber, tntannin, vgvegetable, wpwater purify, wdweed; *artificial/naturalized hybrid; # reported as threatened in bangladesh; +exotic species introduced in the study area in recent years; ++native species settled in the study area in recent years. rse: gmhgazi mosharof hossain, marmd. abdur rahim, saksaleh ahammad khan, sssharmin sultana, sssshayla sharmin shetu. fig. 4. floristic composition in selected campus (du, cu), (semi-)urban (su), urban (mirpur), rural (ghagotia) and forest (ep, np) areas of bangladesh (cuuniversity of chittagong; duuniversity of dhaka; jujahangirnagar university; bgbotanical garden, ececopark, npnational park; su sadar upazila; aangiosperms; ccultivated; ggymnosperms; pplanted; wwild). traditionally, the management of this campus is authoritative, visionary and democratic. the anthropogenic activities throughout the area are monitored and controlled through respective offices, departments and committees under the university authority. in this campus, one botanical garden, one plant conservatory and one wildlife rescue centre (wrc) housing wild, cultivated and planted species have been established. a number of gardens (currently 20) are regularly set up throughout the study area that harbour mostly ornamental and medicinal or different weed species. some open parts of the campus, composed of fallow lands, wetlands, scrub jungles or forest patches and covered with dense vegetation (fig. 1), have been maintained as undemarcated infrastructure or settlement free area since many years. these open parts have recently been demarcated in the master plan of the campus by the administration to maintain and improve their natural features and the bio-ecological resources. besides, a strong public awareness for conservation of biodiversity of the area is prevailing among the inhabitants. 58 khan et al. in course of time, the original vegetation cover of this area has been changed in different magnitudes. however, based on last three decade’s field observation and the comparative images on this area collected from google earth pro, its present status is inferred to be richer in species composition and density in respect to its previous state (fig. 1). it might be due to natural and artificial land transformation, increase in soil fertility, introduction of diaspores of different plant species from different regions of the country through various biotic and abiotic agents, successful adaptation of many exotic species with its diverse ecosystems, effective management of the whole campus including its open infra-structure free semi-natural areas, gardens, conservatory, wrc etc. and existing strong public awareness among the inhabitants for conservation of its biodiversity. the vegetation of this area provides the habitats for various animal groups (mammals, birds, reptiles, molluscs, amphibians, fishes, and insects etc.) including the migratory birds and supports the feeding, nesting sites and breeding ground for many of them (mahony et al., 2009; jahan et al., 2018). in some parts of the study area, different anthropogenic activities including firing, crop and fish cultivation, grazing, leaf litter and fuel wood collection, and huge visits etc. are occasionally and irregularly functional as the major threats to its biodiversity. however, this area is still harbouring a rich biodiversity with a huge number of plant species in its diverse ecosystems and habitats including the 15 plant species threatened in bangladesh due to which it can be considered as an exceptional semi-natural campus of a semi-urban area that can serve as an excellent center of in situ and ex situ biodiversity conservation. to achieve this goal, strengthening and improving the existing management of the campus area with adopting necessary conservation initiatives including policies, legislation, controlling and minimizing anthropogenic interferences, increasing the public awareness, improving the quality of major natural habitats and construction of the remaining boundary wall around the area etc. are highly recommended. adequate protection, conservation and development of natural resources of this area will improve its sustainable socioeconomic and ecological services besides its mainstream institutional contributions. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the authority and department of botany of jahangirnagar university and bangladesh national herbarium for their cooperation in this study and the people who were directly or indirectly involved in conducting and publishing this study. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 05 june, 2020; revised on 21 february, 2021) http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/. http://www. http://www.tropicos.org, microsoft word s-3. bjpt 17 30 edt_scommu_061217.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 241–244, 2017 (december) short communication © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists   a note on astragalus l. section caprini dc. reza sheikhakbari-mehr1 and ali asghar maassoumi2 department of biology, faculty of science, university of qom, p.o. box 37161-46611, qom, iran. keywords: astragalus; iran; phylogeny; taxonomy. astragalus sect. caprini dc. is a probably heterogeneous but mostly easily recognizable section within the genus. the members of this section are distributed in subalpine and alpine areas of iran where that are considered as a secondary center of biodiversity for the section (podlech, 1986; mahmoodi et al., 2012). this section is characterized by having basifixed hairs; unilocular, bilocular, or semi-bilocular pods; and relatively large yellow flowers arranged in rather fewflowered short inflorescences (podlech, 1999). after establishing by de candolle (1825), the section was subdivided into various groups, mainly informal groups, by different authors (bunge, 1869; gontcharov et al., 1965; podlech, 1988). podlech’s comprehensive work on the section caprini led to the subsectional classification each in turn, comprised of several informal groups (podlech, 1988). these infrasectional grouping were not reflected in taxonomic treatment of iranian species of the section, accomplished by maassoumi (2003). based on recent molecular analyses of section caprini and its allies, riahi et al. (2011) concluded that all subsections of sect. caprini in iran are not monophyletic and thus introduced seven groups within section with a distinctive synapomorphy for each one. in a more recent comprehensive taxonomic revision of astragalus in the old world, subsectional classification were not considered by podlech and zarre, so that they put all members of the section within six morphological groups (podlech and zarre, 2013). in the present study, we aim to examine the subspecific classification within iranian native species, a. macropelmatus bunge, using nrdna its sequence. this species belongs to section caprini group purpurascetes, and contains two subspecies in iran (maassoumi, 2003). the plants of this group is characterized by having merely white pilose indumentum or sometimes glabrous, purple flowers and the upper surface of leaflets without indumentum and finely toothed corolla keel (podlech and zarre,2013). the main objective of this study is to evaluate the subspecific ranking validity under a. macropelmatus bunge, based on nrdna its phylogenetic analysis and morphology comparing. a total of 13 taxa belonging to astragalus sect. caprini were included in a phylogenetic analysis using nrdna its sequence (table 1). outgroups were selected according to previous studies (riahi et al., 2011). morphological characteristics, which are used to distinguish subspecies of a. macropelmatus, have been presented in table 2. the length of aligned nrdna its dataset among ingroups was 603 nucleotide sites, of which 26 sites were parsimony informative characters. in order to examine the occurrence of transitions/transversions among intended subspecies, nucleotide pair frequencies were compared and results represented in table 3. the phylogenetic tree obtained from the bayesian analysis with posterior probabilities (pp) and bootstrap values is presented in fig. 1. this tree was similar to that of mp in general topology 1corresponding author: reza.sheikhakbari@gmail.com; r.sheikhakbari@qom.ac.ir 2department of botany, research institute of forests and rangelands, p.o. box 13185-116, tehran, iran; maassoumi@rifr-ac.ir 242  sheikhakbari-mehr and maassoumi    (tree not shown here). based on present result, two subspecies of a. macropelmatus formed a sister group as a subclade at the base of tree (fig. 1). the difference in the branch lengths of the phylogram (fig. 1) indicates different evolutionary rates in the dna sequence. a. citrinus and a. curvipes united together and a. nephtonensis freyn placed as a sister to this group. table 1. taxa included in the nrdna its analysis. taxa locality, voucher genbank accession no. a. macropelmatus (=a. macropelmatus subsp. macropelmatus) isfahan, ghamishloo: yusefi, 980 (tari) lc128065 a. pseudobuchtormensis (=a. macropelmatus subsp. pseudobuchtormensis) baluchestan, zahedan: assadi, 22822 (tari) lc128066 a. citrinus khorasan, kalate naderi: assadi and maassoumi, 55843 (tari) lc128064 a. aegobromus boiss. & hohen. mazandaran, kandavan: maassoumi 55116 (tari) ab051953 a.curvipes trautv. khorasan, quchan: maassoumi 47553 (tari) ab051955 a.nephtonensis freyn gorgan, shahmirzad to sari: maassoumi 55006 (tari) ab051957 a.dieterlei podlech afghanistan, bamian: mirtajaddini 19500 (tari) ab051961 a.vereskensis maassoumi & podlech mazandaran, kiasar: maassoumi 55016 (tari) ab051959 a.peltatus podlech & i.deml afghanistan, kataghan: rechinger 37517 (tari) ab052034 a. multijugus dc. markazi, arak: mozaffarian and maassoumi 47957 (tari) ab051956 a. vulcanicus bornm. mazandaran, polur: maassoumi 55134 (tari) ab051960 a. urmiensis bunge qazvin: maassoumi 55137 (tari) ab051958 table 2. morphological comparison between two subspecies of a. macropelmatus. taxa/morphological feature leaflet shape leaflet size (mm) peduncle calyx length (mm) standard length (mm) wing auricle (mm) pod length (mm) subsp. macropelmatus (= a. macropelmatus) narrow oblong, narrow ovate 4–10 × 1.5–3 subsessile 10–12 17–23 1.5–2.5 15–22 subsp. pseudobuchtormensis (= a. pseudobuchtormensis) ovate, wide elliptic or orbicular 2–5 × 2–3.5 pedunculated 0.5–2 (-5) 13–16 22–29 3–4 20-32 a note on astragalus l. section caprini 243   fig. 1. fifty percent majority-rule consensus tree derived from analysis of the nrdna its sequences of studied taxa, using bayesian method. the numbers above and below branches show posterior probability and bootstrap value, respectively. table 3. nucleotide pair frequencies and discrepancies between two subspecies studied of a. macropelmatus. taxa\domain ii* si sv r tt tc ta tg cc ca cg aa ag gg total a. macropelmatus 597 5 1 5 153 3 0 0 148 0 1 130 2 166 603 *ii = identical pairs, si = transitional pairs, sv = transversional pairs, r = si/sv dna sequences analyzed here, revealed some differences between two subspecies of a. macropelmatus (table 3). širjaev and rechinger introduced a. pseudobuchtormensis, as a distinct species, in 1953. later on, parsa (1966) reduced this species to the variety level of a. buchtormensis pall. as a. buchtormensis var. pseudobuchtormensis (širj. and rech. f.) parsa. eventually, podlech (1988) described a. pseudobuchtormensis as a subspecies under a. macropelmatus. based on present molecular analysis, disparity of sequences observed between two subspecies of a. macropelmatus, could be defined as five transitional plus one transversional nucleotide substitutions (table 3). these differences from a molecular view along with various morphological discrepancies (table 2) persuaded us to return a. macropelmatus subsp. pseudobuchtormensis to its previous specific rank. from the geographical distribution viewpoint, -subsp. macropelmatus is confined to west and central iran and -subsp. pseudobuchtormensisis restricted to the eastern part of iran. taxonomic treatment a. macropelmatus bunge, mem. acad. imp. sei. saint petersbourg 11, 16: 36 (1868) in clave et i.e. 15, 1: 43 (1869). a. rarus širj. and rech. f., anz. math.-nat. kl. österr. akad. wiss. 90: 183 (1953). 244  sheikhakbari-mehr and maassoumi    lectotype: persia borealis: in mont. derbend, th. kotschy 660. a. macropelmatus subsp. macropelmatus podlech, mitt. bot. staatss. munchen 25: 735 (1988). a. pseudobuchtormensis širj. and rech. f., anz. math.-nat. kl. österr. akad. wiss. 90: 183 (1953). a. turbat-haidaiensis širj. and rech. f., l. c.: 162 (1953).a. aitchisonii širj. and rech. f., dan. biol. skr., 9 (3): 67 (1958) non baker. a. subconduplicatus ali, kew bull. 13: 315 (1958). a. macropelmatus subsp. pseudobuchtormensis (širj. and rech. f.) podlech, mitt. bot. staatss. munchen 25: 735 (1988). syn. nov. holotype: persia: khorasan, inter birjand et kain, k. h. rechinger fil. p. aellen and e. esfandiari 4181 (w). acknowledgments we would like to thank to the director and curator of national central herbarium of iran (tari) for giving opportunity to study required specimens. also we wish to thank professor shahrokh, kazempour osaloo for his helpful comments. references bunge, a.v. 1869. generis astragali species gerontogeae. mémoires de l'académie impériale des sciences de st.-pétersbourg 15: 1–254. de candolle, a.p. 1825. notice sur quelques genres et especes nouvelles de legumineuses. ann. sci. nat. 4: 90–103. gontcharov, n., borissova, a., gorskova, s., popov, m., vasilchenko, i., komarov, v. and shishkin, b. 1965. astragalus. in: komarov, v. and shishkin, b. (eds.), flora ussr. israel program for scientifictranslations/smithsonian institution and the national science foundation, jerusalem/ washington, pp. 1–918. maassoumi, a.a. 2003. papilionaceae i (astragalus). in: assadi, et al. (eds.), flora of iran. vol. 43. research institute of forests and rangeland publication, tehran, pp. 1–386. mahmoodi, m., maassoumi, a. and jalili, a. 2012. distribution patterns of astragalus in the old world based on some selected sections. rostaniha 13: 39–56. podlech, d. 1986. taxonomic and phytogeographical problems in astragalus of the old world and southwest asia.proceedings of the royal society of edinburgh. section b. biological sciences 89: 37–43. podlech, d. 1988. revision von astragalus l. sect. caprini dc.(leguminosae). mitt. bot. staatssamml. munch. 25: 1–924. podlech, d. 1999. papilionaceae iii. in: rechinger, k. h. (ed.). flora iranica. vol. 174. akademische drucku verlagsanstalt, wien, austria, pp. 154–335. podlech, d. and zarre, sh. 2013. a taxonomic revision of the genus astragalus l. (leguminosae) in the old world. naturhistorisches museum, wien, austria, pp. 2439. riahi, m., zarre, s., maassoumi, a.a.s. and wojciechowski, m.f. 2011. towards a phylogeny for astragalus section caprini (fabaceae) and its allies based on nuclear and plastid dna sequences. plant systematics and evolution 293: 119–133. (manuscript received 5 march 2017; revised on 26 august 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 97-107, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60451 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists systematic studies of the genus asparagus tourn. ex linn. (liliaceae) in bangladesh sumona afroz1, m. oliur rahman2 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: asparagus tourn. ex linn.; taxonomy; revision; liliaceae; bangladesh. abstract the genus asparagus tourn. ex linn. represented by five species in bangladesh, viz., asparagus adscendens roxb., a. densiflorus (kunth) j.p. jessop, a. officinalis l., a. racemosus willd. and a. setaceus (kunth) j.p. jessop is revised. each species is described with updated nomenclature, important synonyms, phenology, specimens examined, chromosome number, habitat, distribution, economic value and mode of propagation. a dichotomous bracketed key to the species and illustrations along with photographs of four species are provided. introduction the classification of the lilioid monocots has long been problematic (chase et al., 2009). some authors treated all lilioid monocots including the genus asparagus tourn. ex linn. in the single family, liliaceae s.l. (cronquist, 1981). asparagus species are currently grouped within the subfamily asparagoideae sensu apg iv (2016), including species of hemiphylacus s. watson, a former small genus endemic to mexico (rudall et al., 1998). three subgenera are currently recognized within the genus (clifford and conran, 1987): the subgenus asparagus s.s. includes all the dioecious taxa with eurasian distribution; the two other subgenera, protasparagus oberm. and myrsiphyllum willd., contain hermaphroditic taxa occurring mostly in africa. however, this infrageneric subdivision was sometimes rejected (fellingham and meyer, 1995). recent phylogenetic studies on the genus asparagus (kubota et al., 2012; norup et al., 2015) have confirmed the monophyly of this genus with sexual dimorphism and polyploidy as the main force of evolution (castro et al., 2013). all these phylogenetic studies have revealed conflicts between the different classifications, highlighting recurrent questions about delimitation of the currently recognized species. the genus asparagus comprises over 210 species, distributed throughout the world in temperate and tropical regions, with africa and especially southern africa as the main center of diversification (kanno and yokoyama, 2011). they are herbaceous perennials, woody shrubs and vines, characterized by photosynthetic stems (cladodes), leaves reduced to scales, and berries black or red (clifford and conran, 1987). asparagus is remarkable with high variability in reproductive behaviour involving monoecious, dioecious, hermaphroditic, andromonoecious, and in some cases, supermale plants (kanno and yokoyama, 2011). asparagus species are economically and ecologically important. many species of asparagus have nutritional components, and the most significant species of the genus is asparagus officinalis l., which is cultivated globally. several species have long been used in traditional medicines and pharmacopoeia, viz. a. racemosus willd., a. verticillatus l. and a. adscendens kunth, while others are used as ornamental, i.e. a. plumosus baker, a. densiflorus kunth and a. virgatus baker 1present address: bangladesh national museum, shahbagh, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 2corresponding author. email: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com; oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60451 mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com; mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 98 afroz et al. (kumar et al., 2016). ecologically, asparagus species are tolerant to drought and high temperatures growing under forest cover as well as in open habitats including predesertic steppes. they constitute a lianascent layer characterizing the mediterranean forests along with species of other genera, i.e. smilax l. and ruscus l. (schnitzler and arnold, 2010). these lianas play a key role in the ecology and dynamic of forests and may be helpful as indicators for the monitoring and management of forest ecosystems (naidu et al., 2014). in bangladesh, asparagus appears to be the second largest genus in the family liliaceae, represented by five species including both wild and cultivated ones. hooker (1892) recognized 17 asparagus species from the indian sub-continent, of which only three species were reported from the territory of present bangladesh. afterward, prain (1903) listed two asparagus species from the area of current bangladesh. hassan (2007), and afroz and hassan (2008) documented four species of asparagus occurring in bangladesh with inadequate taxonomic description. in the recent past, akter et al. (2017) studied the fluorescent banding in a. racemosus, a. officinalis and a. setaceus in bangladesh with differential banding patterns. despite a few studies on asparagus were conducted earlier based on its morphology and cytology, however, there has been no detailed taxonomic study on this medicinally and ecologically important genus in bangladesh. therefore, the present study aims to revise the genus asparagus in bangladesh for the first time. materials and methods plant samples of different asparagus species were collected from different parts of the country and planted in the dhaka university botanical garden for further study. the collected plant specimens were critically studied and examined, and were supplemented by the specimens housed at the dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). identification of the asparagus species were confirmed in consultation with standard literature (hooker, 1892; deb, 1983; karthikeyan et al., 1989; noltie, 1994; raven and zhengyi, 2000; utech, 2002; hassan, 2007) and matching with authentically identified herbarium specimens deposited at dush and dacb. each species is described with updated nomenclature, important synonyms, english and bangla names, flowering and fruiting period, specimens examined, chromosome number, habitat, distribution, economic value, and mode of propagation. the updated nomenclature has been determined using the plant list (2013), and the plants of the world online (powo, 2022). a dichotomous bracketed key to the species and illustrations with photographs of four species are also provided. the voucher specimens are deposited at dush. results genus asparagus tourn. ex linn., syst. ed. 1 (1735); l., gen. ed. 1: 93 (1737); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 3: 765 (1883); l., sp. pl.: 313 (1753); gen. pl. ed. 5: 147 (1754). asparagopsis kunth, abh. akad. berl. : 35 (1842). elide medic., phil. bot. 2: 71 (1791). hecatris salisb., gen. pl. fragm. : 66 (1866). herbs, shrubs or vines, perennial, form rhizomes, usually with fusiform tubers, often with fern-like appearance. stem erect, straggling or climbing, terete, grooved or angled. roots many, clustered. leaves small, scale-like, membranous or sometimes spiny with hardened base, subtending cladophylls. inflorescence axillary or terminal, racemose or umbellate, paired or solitary; racemes short. flowers bisexual or unisexual; pedicels jointed. perianth greenish, white or yellowish, campanulate to rotate. tepals 6, distinct or shortly connate basally, equal. stamens 6, distinct, equal; filaments free; anthers versatile, oblong, 2-locular, dehiscence introrse. ovary systematic studies of the genus asparagus 99 superior, 3-locular, septal nectaries present; style 3-branched distally. fruits baccate, red or purplish black, globose, often with tepals persisting at base. seeds 1-6, black, globose to angular. key to the species of asparagus 1. inflorescence an axillary raceme; flowers bisexual 2 inflorescence a solitary flower or a cluster of flowers; flowers unisexual or bisexual 4 2. stem suberect; cladodes ascending, erect or recurved a. adscendens stem climbing; cladodes flat 3 3. spines 1.5-2.0 cm on the main stem and 0.5-1.0 cm on branches; lower half of the articulated pedicel longer than the bract a. racemosus spines 0.3-0.5 cm on the main stem and indistinct on branches; lower half of the articulated pedicel shorter than the bract a. densiflorus 4. stem climbing; pedicel articulated near the middle or below a. setaceus stem erect; pedicel articulated above the middle a. officinalis asparagus adscendens roxb., fl. ind. 2: 153 (1832); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 317 (1892); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 337 (2007). asparagopsis adscendens kunth, enum. pl. 5: 102 (2850). english name: asparagus. bangla name: shatamuli. a dioecious evergreen shrub with white tuberous roots. stem tall, stout, suberect, terete, smooth, branchlets grooved, ascending, angled, spines 1.3-2.0 cm long, stout, straight. cladodes 620 nate, 1.3-5.0 cm long, slender, filiform, terete, erect or recurved. inflorescence of racemes, many-flowered, bracts minute. flowers pedicellate, c. 2.5 cm in diam., jointed above or below the middle, bracts minute. perianth segments 6. stamens 6. carpels 3, syncarpous, ovary 3-celled; placentation axile. fruit a berry, 1-seeded. specimen examined: gazipur: sal forest, 10.12.1944, balwant singh, s.n. (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 20 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: sal forests and well-drained moist soils in semi-shady condition. distribution: afghanistan, argentina, bhutan, india, iran and pakistan (gbif, 2020). economic value: tuberous root is a source of nutritious starch. the roots are demulcent, diaphoretic, galactogogue and stimulant, and are useful in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery and general debility (hassan, 2007). propagation: by seeds. asparagus densiflorus (kunth) j.p. jessop, bothalia 9: 51 (1966). asparagopsis densiflora kunth, enum. pl. 5: 96 (1850); asparagus sprengeri regel., act. hort. petrop. 11: 302 (1890); asparagus aethiopicus l., mant. 1 (1767); protasparagus densiflorus (kunth) a.a. oberm., fl. s. afr. 5(3): 49 (1992). (fig. 1. plate 1a). english names: sprenger asparagus, basket asparagus, asparagus-fern, lace-fern. bangla name: shatamuli. 100 afroz et al. evergreen, perennial herb. tuber more or less globose, c. 4 × 2 cm. stem stiff or spreadingarching, up to 20 cm long. larger branches usually bearing minute axillary spines, spines c. 4 mm long. cladodes scale-like, linear, light green, c 1.7 × 0.1 cm, 2-9 nate, clustered at branch nodes. inflorescences arise from the main branch, c. 5-9 flowered. flowers small, bell-shaped, greenishwhite, fragrant; perianth segments 6, c. 2 × 1 mm; pedicel c. 2 mm long, atriculate at middle. stamens 6; filament c. 2 mm long, white; anthers oblong, c. 1 mm long, orange. carpels 3, syncarpous, ovary globose, c. 3 mm long, ovules many; stigma minute; placentation axile. fruit a bright-red berry, oval, c. 8 mm in diam., 1-3 seeded. flowering and fruiting: february-april. specimens examined: dhaka: baldha garden, 23.03.2007, sumona 11 (dush); baldha garden 26.04.2007, sumona 23 (dush). fig. 1. asparagus densiflorus (kunth) j.p. jessop, a) habit (×1); b) flower (×3); c) l.s. of a flower (×6); d) t.s. of ovary (×8). systematic studies of the genus asparagus 101 plate 1. different species of asparagus: a. asparagus densiflorus; b-c. asparagus officinalis; d-e. asparagus racemosus; f. asparagus setaceus. chromosome number: 2n = 20 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: waste places and also cultivated in gardens. distribution: australia, brazil, chile, china, greece, india, mexico, portugal, puerto rico, south africa and spain (gbif, 2020). economic value: an infusion of the leaves is used to treat thrush and ulcers in the mouth, for abdominal pains, as a tonic to boost immunity, as a cleansing agent to rid the body of “poison” and “dirty blood” (mfengwana and mashele, 2019). propagation: by seeds. asparagus officinalis l., sp. pl. 1: 313 (1753); roxb., fl. ind. 2: 163 (1832); noltie, fl. bhutan 3(1): 62 (1994); raven and zhengyi, fl. china 24: 214 (2000); utech, fl. north. america 26: 214 (2002). asparagus polyphyllus steven, bull. soc. imp. natur. mosc. 30(3): 91 (1857). (fig. 2, plate 1b-c). english names: garden asparagus, white asparagus, sparrow grass, common asparagus. bangla name: asparagus. erect herb, 1.0-2.5 m tall; rhizomes fibrous. stem annual, densely branched distally; branches finely dissected, ascending to perpendicular, unarmed; cladophylls in clusters of (2) 4-15(-25) per 102 afroz et al. node, filiform, straight or curved, 1-3 cm long. leaves scale-like, cladodes 0.5-3.0 cm long; blade lanceolate, base hardened. inflorescence axillary raceme, 1-3-flowered. flowers of both sexes solitary or in clusters of 2-4; pedicel 0.8-1.2 cm long, jointed at or above middle. male flowers: perianth yellowish-green, campanulate, c. 5-6 mm long; filaments adnate to perianth segments for about half of their length; anthers c. 1 mm long. female flowers: perianth c. 3 mm long. berries red, 0.6-1.0 cm in diam., 2-3-seeded. fig. 2. asparagus officinalis l., a) habit (×1); b) flower (×5); c) l.s. of a flower (×10); d) t.s. of ovary (×10); e) stamen (×10). flowering and fruiting: may-august. specimen examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 25.09.2016, sumona 109 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 20, 40 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: fields, fence rows and roadsides. the species is cultivated since ancient greek times. systematic studies of the genus asparagus 103 distribution: argentina, australia, austria, canada, denmark, ecuador, france, germany, new zealand, norway, slovakia, spain, sweden, switzerland and ukraine (gbif, 2020). economic value: asparagus officinalis possesses anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, hypolipidemic and antidiabetic properties (snafi, 2015). this is eaten as a green vegetable, and it is widely cultivated for its young shoots. mature asparagus can cause poisoning in cattle. young plants can cause dermatitis, and the red berries are poisonous (utech, 2002). propagation: by dividing the crowns. asparagus racemosus willd., sp. pl. 2: 152 (1799). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 316 (1892); prain, beng. pl. 2: 805 (1903); haines, bot. bih. or.: 1089 (1924); fischer in gamble, fl. pres. madras: 1517 (1928) & rec. bot. surv. ind. 12(2): 146 (1938); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 337 (2007). asparagus dubius decne, nouv. ann. mus. paris 3: 363 (1834). asparagopsis decaisnei kunth, enum. pl. 5: 103 (1850). asparagopsis javanica kunth, enum. pl. 5: 100 (1850). asparagopsis schoberioides kunth, enum. pl. 5: 70 (1850). (fig. 3, plate 1d-e). english name: asparagus. bangla names: shatamuli, satmuli, shaktichara (chakma), mimong tamache (garo). a perennial, slender, scandent shrub-like plant with reflexed spines; root tuberous, many together. leaves scale-like, minute. cladodes present in scale-like leaf axils, 2-6 nate, acicular, triquetrous, falcate, finely acuminate, 1.0-2.5 cm long. inflorescence a raceme, solitary or fascicled, simple or branched. flowers bisexual, greenish-white at initiation, then light pink and finally dark maroon, sweet-scented, bracteate, bracts minute, c. 3 × 1 mm, off white, pedicellate, pedicel c. 4 mm long, green. perianth segments 6, spreading, obovate, c. 4 × 1 mm, off white with vertical green line. stamens 6, adnate to the base of the perianth lobes; filaments free, c. 2 mm long; anthers minute, oblong, purplish. carpels 3, syncarpous, ovary superior, c. 2 mm long, trigonous, 3-celled, 2-several ovules in each cell; stigma 3-fid; placentation axile. fruit a berry, globose, c. 5-8 mm in diam., green, turn red when ripe. flowering and fruiting: november-march. specimens examidned: dhaka: baldha garden, 17.02.1988, rezia khatun 249 (dacb). dhaka university botanical garden, 05.02.1983, m.a. hassan 501 (dush); dhaka university science library compound, 04.02.2006, sumona 1 (dush); science library compound, 01.01.2012, sumona 72 (dush); dhaka university omor ekushey hall compound, 02.12.2006, sumona 4 (dush); dhaka university botanical garden, 21.05.2007, sumona 34 (dush); savar, jahangirnagar university campus, 05.01.2009, sumona 61 (dush). sunamganj: near pashua haor, 23.05.1992, khan et al. k. 8669 (dacb). tangail: madhupur forest, 05.08.1976, huq, rahman & khan k. 4173 (dacb). chittagong: bariyadhala, 17.11.1986, a.m. huq & m.k. mia h. 7992 (dacb); sandwip, horishpur, hazipara, 10.02.1988, mia & mahfuz m. 1522 (dacb); chunati wildlife sanctuary, 25.02.1999, rahman et al. 4029 (hcu). sylhet: chattak, 05.01.1978, huq & rahman h. 3662 (dacb). patuakhali: mirzaganj, subidkhali, 20.11.2004, m. sultana 567 (dush); dumki, srirampur, 17.05.2005, m. sultana 899 (dush); patuakhali sadar, laukathi, 15.05.2006, m. sultana 1262 (dush). cox's bazar: whykeong range, raikeong, 11.09.1999, rahman et al. 5916 (hcu). rangamati: belaichari, 23.07.1999, rahman et al. 5101 (hcu). chromosome number: 2n = 20, 22, 30, 40, 48 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: scrub jungles. distribution: afghanistan, australia, bhutan, india, kenya, liberia, madagascar, nepal, somalia, south africa, spain, tanzania, thailand and uganda (gbif, 2020). 104 afroz et al. fig. 3. asparagus racemosus willd., a) habit (×0.5); b) l.s. of a flower (×5); c) t.s. of ovary (×10); d) bract (×5); e) fruit (×1). economic value: tuberous roots are used as aphrodisiac, alterative, tonic, demulcent and diuretic. ethanol extracts of aerial parts possess anticancer properties (ghani, 2003). the plant is ground with other ingredients, made into pills, and fed to cattle for diarrhoea (alam, 2000). tubers are used as a vegetable (deb, 1983). root is used as antidepressant, anti-diarrhoeal, antibacterial, analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant (hasan et al., 2016). the species can improve the milk production and reproduction capacity of dairy animals (kushwah et al., 2018). ethnobotanical information: tuberous root paste mixed with sesame oil or coconut oil is used as a hair tonic. root taken with milk is useful in gonorrhoea (hassan, 2007). propagation: by seeds and tuberous root with crown. systematic studies of the genus asparagus 105 asparagus setaceus (kunth) j.p. jessop, bothalia 9: 51 (1966); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 338 (2007). asparagopsis setacea kunth, enum. pl. 5: 82 (1850); asparagus plumosus baker, journ. linn. soc. 14: 613 (1875). (fig. 4, plate 1f). english names: climbing asparagus-fern, lace-fern. bangla name: fern asparagus. a woody vine, scrambling or climbing, up to 5 m long, smooth, much branched, branches spreading horizontally, branchlets and cladodes arranged in one plane, like a fern frond. cladodes in fascicles of 10-15 per node, very slender, 4-10 × c. 0.5 mm. leaves membranous, 1-2 mm long, blade forming a short spine with reflexed apex, mostly on the main stem. inflorescence terminally umbellate, 1-4 flowered. flowers bisexual, short pedicellate, pedicel c. 4 mm long. perianth of 6 tepals, c. 3.0 × 1.2 mm, campanulate, spreading, white, fragrant. stamens 6; filament c. 1.5 mm long; anthers oblong, c. 1.0 × 0.5 mm. carpels 3, united, ovary superior, 3-celled, c. 3 × 3 mm; style minute, style with stigma c. 1 mm long; stigma 3-fid; placentation axile. fruit a berry, purplish-black, 5-6 mm in diam., 1-3 seeded. fig. 4. asparagus setaceus (kunth) j.p. jessop, a) habit (×0.5); b) flower (×3); c) l.s. of a flower (×3); d) t.s. of ovary (×5). flowering and fruiting: february-june. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 05.07.2016, sumona 106 (dush); nazimuddin road, 20.1.1956, shaliqehan (dush); baldha garden, 17.2.1988, rezia et al. 249 (dacb). patuakhali: dumki, srirampur, 17.05.2005, m. sultana 900 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 20 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). 106 afroz et al. habitat: waste places. distribution: argentina, australia, bermuda, brazil, china, colombia, ecuador, mexico, new zealand, portugal, south africa and uruguay (gbif, 2020). economic value: aaparagus setaceus is used as a popular ornamental plant because of its attractive characters of extremely feathery, soft leaves, and an elegant posture (li et al., 2020). this species is reported to have multiple uses in traditional oriental medicine (mcgaw and eloff, 2008). ethnobotanical information: foliage is used for decorative purposes by florists (hassan, 2007). propagation: by seeds. references afroz, s. and hassan, m.a. 2008. systematic studies in the family liliaceae from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(2): 115–128. akter, s., begum, k.n., sultana, s.s. and alam, s.s. 2017. karyotype diversity in three asparagus l. species. cytologia 82(5): 551–557. alam, m.b. 2000. medicinal plants for livestock and poultry in disaster prone areas like chilmari, bangladesh. sumul, bangladesh. 104 pp. apg iv. 2016. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg iv. bot. j. linn. soc. 181: 1–20. castro, p., gil, j., cabrera, a. and moreno, r. 2013. assessment of genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in asparagus species related to asparagus officinalis. genet. resour. crop. evol. 60: 1275–1288. chase, m.w., reveal, j.l. and fay, m.f. 2009. a subfamilial classification for the expanded asparagalean families amaryllidaceae, asparagaceae and xanthorrhoeaceae. bot. j. linn. soc. 161: 132–136. clifford, h.t. and conran, j.g. 1987. asparagaceae. in: george, a.s. 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(eds) 2000. flora of china, vol. 24. flagillariaceae through marantaceae. science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 1–431. rudall, p.j., engleman, e.m, hanson, l., chase, m.w. 1998. embryology, cytology and systematics of hemiphylacus, asparagus and anemarrhena (asparagales). plant syst. evol. 211: 181–199. schnitzler, a. and arnold, c. 2010. contribution of vines to forest biodiversity in the mediterranean basin. ecologia mediterranea 36: 7–23. snafi, a.e. 2015. the pharmacological importance of asparagus officinalis a review. j. pharmaceut. biol. 5(2): 93-98. the plant list 2013. the plant list, a working list of all plant species. http://www.theplantlist.org <accessed on 14 april 2022>. utech, f.h. 2002. flora of north america: north of mexico. vol. 26, flora of north america editorial committee (eds), oxford university press, new york. 752 pp. (manuscript received on 12 july 2021; revised on 17 may 2022) http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org http://www.theplantlist.org bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 273-288, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floristic diversity (magnoliids and eudicots) of baraiyadhala national park, chittagong, bangladesh mohammad harun-ur-rashid1, saiful islam and sadia binte kashem department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: plant diversity; baraiyadhala national park; conservation management. abstract an intensive floristic investigation provides the first systematic and comprehensive account of the floral diversity of baraiyadhala national park of bangladesh, and recognizes 528 wild taxa belonging to 337 genera and 73 families (magnoliids and eudicots) in the park. habit analysis reveals that trees (179 species) and herbs (174 species) constitute the major categories of the plant community followed by shrubs (95 species), climbers (78 species), and two epiphytes. status of occurrence has been assessed for proper conservation management and sustainable utilization of the taxa resulting in 165 (31.25%) to be rare, 23 (4.36%) as endangered, 12 (2.27%) as critically endangered and 4 species (0.76%) are found as vulnerable in the forest. fabaceae is the dominant family represented by 75 taxa, followed by rubiaceae (47 taxa), malvaceae (28 species), asteraceae (27 species) and euphorbiaceae (24 species). twenty-three families represent single species each in the area. introduction baraiyadhala national park as one of the important protected areas (pas) of bangladesh that lies between 22040.489´-22048´n latitude and 90040´-91055.979´e longitude and located in sitakundu and mirsharai upazilas of chittagong district. the forest is under the jurisdiction of baraiyadhala forest range of chittagong north forest division. the park encompasses 2,933.61 hectare (7,249 acres) area and is classified under category ii of the international iucn classification of protected areas (hossain, 2015). formerly, it was a part of the reserved forest of chittagong north forest division, and was declared as baraiyadhala national park on 6th april, 2010 by the ministry of environment and forest through a gazzette notification no. moef/forsec-02/02 national park/10/2010/210 dated 06/04/2010 under the provisions of article 23(1) of the bangladesh wildlife (preservation) (amendment) act, 1974; which has now been altered by wildlife (conservation and security) act, 2012 (hossain, 2015). the park comprises three blocks: baraiyadhala and wahidpur blocks under baraiyadhala forest beat, and kunderhat block under bartakia forest beat. the landscape of the forest is characterized by hills, valleys, gullies and numerous water streams and covered mainly by secondary degraded forests and plantations. floristically baraiyadhala national park is rich and diverse. hence, it is very important to take proper steps to conserve this natural forest; and to explore, document and analyze the species diversity occurring in the baraiyadhala national park before disappearing from nature. however, the forest has not been botanized to determine the plant species diversity, their status of occurrence and conservation measures. therefore, the present investigation aims to explore, collect, and document the angiospermic (magnoliids and eudicots) plant resources in the forest, their conservation management and sustainable utilization. 1corresponding author. email: haruncu@gmail.com mailto:haruncu@gmail.com 274 rashid et al. material and methods the survey of the flora has been made through repeated field visits during february 2016 to july 2017 in baraiyadhala national park. random sampling and collections of fertile specimens have been made for identification and voucher specimens have been preserved at herbarium of chittagong university (hcu). collected specimens have been critically examined, studied and identified. identifications have been confirmed by consulting standard literature and specimens and taxonomists of hcu and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). nomenclature has been updated following recent literature (ahmed et al., 2008, 2009a,b,c,d; rashid and rahman, 2011, 2012), and confirmed with consulting the plant list (2013) (http://www.theplantlist.org). families are arranged according to the classification of angiosperm phylogeny group (apg iv, 2016). the taxa are listed alphabetically under each family along with their habit, bangla name, and status of occurrence (table 1). local names of many plants have been noted from local people during field trips and/or consulting prain (1903), heinig (1926), huq (1986), das and alam (2001), and dey et al. (1999). results and discussion the present inventory provides the first systematic and comprehensive account of the floral diversity of the forest and recognizes 528 wild taxa belonging to 337 genera and 73 families (magnoliids and eudicots) in the park (table 1). baraiyadhala national park presents diverse habitat including hills, valleys, gullies and numerous water streams and covered mainly by secondary degraded forests. some patches of the forest are planted with acacia auriculiformis (akashmoni), artocarpus chama (chapalish), chukrasia tabularis (chikrassi), eucalyptus sp. (eucalyptus), gmelina arborea (gamar), dipterocarpus turbinatus (garjan), swietenia mahagoni (mehogini), azadirachta indica (neem), aphanamixis polystachya (pitraj), tectona grandis (segun), hopea odorata (telsur), toona ciliata (toon) etc. the palms, rattans and bamboos mostly occupy the valleys. common shrubs, herbs, grasses and babanas are fragmented to degraded habitats. a few individuals of boilam (anisoptera scaphula), civit (swintonia floribunda) and lohakat (xylia xylocarpa var. kerrii) are still available as characteristic elements of the forest. some epiphytic species of cymbidium, dendrobium, drynaria, raphidophra, and phothos are distributed in the forest area, while luxuriant growth of aroids, begonias, bryophytes and pteridophytes is observed in the natural moist habitats of the park. one of the most characteristic features of this forest is the occurrence of three indigenous gymnospermic species, cycas pectinata buch.-ham., podocarpus neriifolius d. don and gnetum montanum markgr. in bangladesh, baraiyadhala national park is the only home of c. pectinata. the biodiversity of the area is highly imperiled due to anthropogenic activities, including habitat destruction, over-exploitation, unsustainable hunting and all of these three species are critically endangered and are on the verge of extinction in the forest. however, nguyen (2010) categorizes c. pectinata as vulnerable (vu). the park is dominated by trees and herbs consisting of 179 (33.90%) and 174 (32.95%) species respectively, followed by 18% shrub (95 spp.), 14.77% climbers (78 spp.), and two epiphytes. fabaceae appears as the largest family with 75 taxa, followed by rubiaceae (47 taxa), malvaceae (28 spp.), asteraceae (27 spp.) and euphorbiaceae (24 spp.). twenty-three families are represented by single species each in the study area. ten dominant families (fig. 2) constitute 320 species amounting 60.60% of the total species reported from the park, while remaining 63 families comprise only 39.40% of total species. status of occurrence has been assessed for proper conservation management and sustainable utilization of the natural resources of the forest. a total of 165 species (31.25%) are found to be rarely distributed in the forest, while 23 (4.36%) are assessed as endangered, 12 (2.27%) as http://www.theplantlist.org). floristic diversity of baraiyadhala national park 275 table 1. plant diversity in baraiyadhala national park. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth luchi pata h common piper longum l. pipul h rare p. rhytidocarpum hook. f. ban pipul cs common piperaceae p. sylvaticum roxb. ban pan cr common aristolochiaceae aristolochia indica l. ishwarmul cl rare a. saccata wall. ishwarmul cl rare a. tagala cham. ishwarmul wt rare myristicaceae knema erratica (hook. f. & thom.) sinclair t critically endangered magnoliaceae magnolia champaca (l.) baill. ex pierre champa t common annonaceae artabotrys caudatus wall. ex hook. f. & thomson wc endangered desmos chinensis lour. sotoyalang s common d. dumosus (roxb.) saff. wc endangered fissistigma rubiginosum (a. dc.) merr. wc endangered f. wallichii (hook.f. & thom.) merr. wc endangered uvaria dioeca roxb. tasbi t vulnerable u. hamiltonii hook. f. & thom. latkan wc endangered u. littoralis (blume) blume bagh-runga wc vulnerable lauraceae actinodaphne gullavara (buch.-ham. ex nees) almeida tejmatan t common litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. rob. menda t common l. monopetala (roxb.) pers. menda t rare machilus gamblei king ex hook. f. nala-amsi t rare menispermaceae cocculus hirsutus (l.) theob. jaljamani rare parabaena sagittata miers. jaljamani cl common stephania glabra (roxb.) miers musahanilata wc rare s. japonica (thunb.) miers nimukha wc common s. reticulata forman cl common tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thom. gulancha wc endangered sabiaceae meliosma pinnata (roxb.) maxim. attalia t rare proteaceae helicia excelsa (roxb.) blume t rare dillenia pentagyna roxb. banchalta t critically endangered dilleniaceae d. scabrella (d. don) roxb. ex wall. ajuli t common vitaceae ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch. jarila-lahari cs common cayratia japonica (thunb.) gagnep. cl common c. trifolia (l.) domin amal lata cl common cissus assamica (m.a. lawson) craib amasha-lata wc common c. elongata roxb. dhemna cl common c. javana dc. bichitra-lata cl common c. pentagona roxb. sona-lota cl rare leea aequata l. kakjangha s rare l. asiatica (l.) ridsdale mach s rare 276 rashid et al. table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence vitaceae l. guineensis g. don phupharia s rare l. indica (burm.f.) merr. kurkurji t common l. macrophylla roxb. ex hornem. t rare tetrastigma angustifolia (roxb.) deb nekung riubi cl rare t. bracteolatum (wall.) planch. golgoli lata cl rare t. hookeri (m.a. lawson) planch. horina-lata wc common t. leucostaphylum (dennst.) alston nekung wc rare fabaceae abrus precatorius l. kunch wc common a. pulchellus wall. ex thwaites kaichagula ts rare adenanthera pavonina l. raktachandan t common albizia odoratissima (l. f.) benth. tetuya koroi t common a. richardiana (voigt) king & prain gagan siris t common a. saman (jacq.) merr. rendi koroi t common bauhinia acuminata l. sada kancon s common b. purpurea l. devakanchan t common b. scandens l. gendi lata wc common b. variegata l. raktakancan t common butea monosperma (lam.) taub. palash t common caesalpinia bonduc (l.) roxb. natakaranga ss rare c. digyna rottler umulkuchi s rare cajanus scarabaeoides (l.) thouars tw rare calliandra umbrosa (wall.) benth. chotobetmara tree common cassia fistula l. sonalu tree common c. javanica subsp. nodosa (roxb.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen bon-sonalu tree rare c. obtusifolia l. chakunda u common codariocalyx gyroides (link) hassk. s rare c. motorius (houtt.) h.ohashi gorachand s rare crotalaria acicularis buch.-ham. ex benth. h common c. albida roth h common c. bracteata dc s common c. calycina schrank h common c. dubia graham h common c. ferruginea benth. h common c. incana l. chotojhunjhuna h rare c. pallida aiton jhun-jhuni h common c. tetragona roxb. ex andrews h rare c. verrucosa l. bansan u common dalbergia sericea g. don sristi t rare d. lanceolaria l. f. chakemdia t rare d. malabarica prain t rare d. spinosa roxb. ananta kantha ls common d. stipulacea roxb. dadbari t rare d. volubilis roxb. ankilata wc rare dendrolobium triangulare (retz.) schindl. bir jarwar s rare derris robusta (dc.) benth. jangaria t rare floristic diversity of baraiyadhala national park 277 table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence fabaceae d. scandens (roxb.) benth. amkurchi wc common desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. salpani s common d. heterocarpon (l.) dc. s common d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc. bonmotorshuty h common d. laxiflorum dc. s common d. triflorum (l.) dc. kulalia h common entada gigas (l.) fawc. & rendle gila cl rare e. rheedii spreng. gilalata wc rare erythrina variegata l. mandar t rare flemingia macrophylla (willd.) merr. bara salphan ls common f. strobilifera (l.) w.t.aiton sim busak s common gliricidia sepium (jacq.) walp. bashantamanju ri mt rare mimosa diplotricha sauvalle bara lajjabati cs common m. himalayana gamble jharua cs rare m. pudica l. lajja bati h common mucuna monosperma wight soash guri wc rare m. pruriens (l.) dc. al-kushi cl common phyllodium pulchellum (l.) desv. jatsalpani s common pithecellobium jiringa (jack) merr. kuramara gach s common pueraria tuberosa (willd.) dc. shimia h common p. phaseoloides var. subspicata (benth.) maesen h common saraca asoca (roxb.) willd. ashok t rare s. indica l. ashok t common senna alata (l.) roxb. dad mardon s common s. occidentalis (l.) link boro kalkasunda h rare s. siamea (lam.) h. s. irwin & barneby minjiri t common s. sophera (l.) roxb. kalkashunda s common s. tora (l.) roxb. chakunda h common sesbania bispinosa (jacq.) wight. dhaincha h common spatholobus parviflorus (dc.) kuntze goalia lata cl rare tadehagi triquetrum (l.) h. ohashi u common tephrosia candida (roxb.) dc. bilokhoni s common t. purpurea (l.) pers. bon neel h common uraria crinita (l.) dc. dieng-kha-riu s common u. rufescens (dc.) schindl. belai leza s common vicia sativa l. ankari h common xylia xylocarpa var. kerrii (craib & hutch.) i.c. nielsen lohakat t rare salomonia ciliata (l.) dc. h common polygalaceae xanthophyllum flavescens roxb. ajensak t common rhamnaceae gouania napalensis wall. cs common g. tiliifolia lam. ss rare ziziphus glabrata heyne ex roth. pahari boroi s rare 278 rashid et al. table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence rhamnaceae z. oenopolia (l.) mill. banboroi s common ulmaceae trema orientalis (l.) blume jiban t common moraceae artocarpus lakoocha roxb. deua t common ficus benjamina l. pakur t common f. benghalensis l. bot t common f. fistulosa reinwdt. ex blume st common f. tinctoria subsp. gibbosa (blume) corner bot t common f. heterophylla l. f. bhui dumur cs common f. hispida l. f. kakdumur st common f. punctata thunb. cl common f. semicordata buch.-ham. ex sm. jagadumur st common streblus asper lour. sheora t common urticaceae boehmeria glomerulifera miq. borthurthuri s common dendrocnide sinuata (blume) chew s common oreocnide integrifolia (gaudich.) miq. horhuta st common pilea microphylla liebm. mariccha lata h common pouzolzia sanguinea (blume) merr. s common p. zeylanica (l.) benn. kullaruki h common sarcochlamys pulcherrima gaudich maricha ls common fagaceae castanopsis indica (roxb. ex lindl.) dc. batna t endangered betulaceae alnus nepalensis g. don t endangered cucurbitaceae actinostemma tenerum griff. golapata h common citrullus colocynthis (l.) schrad. indrayan cl endangered coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha h common hodgsonia macrocarpa (bl.) cogn. pathligular cl critically endangered thladiantha cordifolia (bl.) cogn. cl rare trichosanthes cordata roxb. bhuikakra cl rare t. tricuspidata lour. makal h rare datiscaceae tetrameles nodiflora r. br. chundul tt rare begoniaceae begonia roxburghii (miq.) a. dc. h endangered euonymus attenuatus wall. ex laws. s rare celastraceae e. glaber roxb. st rare connaraceae connarus paniculatus roxb. katgular wc rare biophytum sensitivum (l.) dc. jhalali h rare oxalidaceae oxalis corniculata l. amrul h common elaeocarpaceae elaeocarpus tectorius (lour.) poir. jalpai t rare clusiaceae garcinia cowa roxb. ex choisy kao-gola mt rare hypericaceae cratoxylum sumatranum subsp. neriifolium (kurz) gogelein nerikath ls common achariaceae hydnocarpus kurzii (king) warb. chaulmoogra t rare adenia trilobata (roxb.) engl. akandaphal cl common passifloraceae passiflora foetida l. jhumka-lata h rare salicaceae flacourtia jangomas (lour.) racusch. paniamala mt endangered euphorbiaceae acalypha indica l. muktajhuri h common astraea lobata (l.) klotzsch h common balakata baccata (roxb.) esser katagola t rare floristic diversity of baraiyadhala national park 279 table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence euphorbiaceae chaetocarpus castanocarpus (roxb.) thwaites bul kakra mt common chrozophora rottleri (geisel.) a. juss. ex spreng. khudi okra h common cnesmone javanica blume paharibichuti wc common croton bonplandianus baill. bondhone h common c. caudatus geisel. nanbhanti s common euphorbia hirta l. dudhiya h common e. thymifolia l. swetkan h rare falconeria insignis royle belua t rare jatropha gossypifolia l. lal bherendha s common macaranga denticulata (bl.) müll.arg. bura, jagra t common m. peltata (roxb.) müll.arg. t common mallotus nudiflorus (l.) kulju & welzen pitali t rare m. philippensis (lam.) müll.arg. kamela st rare m. repandus (willd.) müll.arg. gunti st rare m. roxburghianus müll.arg. nim puteli s rare m. tetracoccus (roxb.) kurz kumari-bura mt rare manihot esculenta crantz kasava s rare ricinus communis l. verenda h common shirakiopsis indica (willd.) esser hura st rare suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. maricha st rare tragia involucrata l. bichuti h rare phyllanthaceae actephila excelsa (dalzell) müll.arg. st common antidesma acidum retz. chutki t common a. bunius (l.) spreng. banshial buka mt rare a. ghaesembilla gaertn. khudijam mt rare a. velutinosum bl. st rare aporosa aurea hook. f. kechuan t common a. octandra (buch.-ham. ex d. don) vickery pat khorulla st common a. wallichii hook.f. karullah t rare baccaurea ramiflora lour. latkon mt rare bischofia javanica bl. kanjalbhadi t common breynia retusa (dennst.) alston silpati s rare bridelia stipularis (l.) bl. pat khowi st common b. tomentosa bl. khoi st rare b. verrucosa haines st common glochidion assamicum (müll.arg.) hook.f. st rare g. lanceolarium (roxb.) voigt bhauri st common g. multiloculare (rottler ex willd.) voigt keotomi st common g. sphaerogynum (müll.arg.) kurz t rare phyllanthus attenuatus miq. panjuli s rare p. niruri l. bhuimala h common p. reticulatus poir. chitka s common p. sikkimensis müll.arg. sikim-amla ls common 280 rashid et al. table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence combretaceae combretum album pers. kali gumuchi ss rare c. apetalum wall. ex kurz dolhara s rare getonia floribunda roxb. guicha lata ss rare terminalia alata heyne ex roth. asal tt rare t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera t rare lythraceae ammannia multiflora roxb. h common lagerstroemia parviflora roxb. baturi mt rare woodfordia fruticosa (l.) kurz dhatriphul s common duabanga grandiflora (roxb. ex dc.) walp. bandarhulla t rare ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara kesardam ch common onagraceae l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell h common syzygium nervosum a. cunn. ex dc. bhutijam t rare myrtaceae s. fruticosum dc. khudijam st rare melastoma malabathricum l. bantejpzta s common melastomataceae osbeckia aspericaulis hook. f. ex tri. s common crypteroniaceae crypteronia paniculata blume goru-mara t rare burseraceae protium serratum (wall. ex colebr.) engl. gutgutya t rare anacardiaceae bouea oppositifolia (roxb.) adelb. uri aam t rare buchanania lancifolia roxb. chikki t rare drimycarpus racemosus (roxb.) hook.f. ex marchand. nala-amshi t critically endangered holigarna caustica (dennst.) oken barola t critically endangered lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga t rare mangifera laurina bl. jangali aam t vulnrerable m. sylvatica roxb. ex wall. uri aam t critically endangered semecarpus subpanduriformis wall. beula t rare spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz amra t rare swintonia floribunda griff. chundul t critically endangered sapindaceae allophylus cobbe (l.) raeusch. chita s common a. villosa (roxb.) blume st common sapindaceae cardiospermum halicacabum l. phutka h common lepisanthes rubiginosum (roxb.) leenh. baraharina st rare l. senegalensis (poir.) leenh. gotaharina s common xerospermum laevigatum radlk. muraillah lichu t rare rutaceae aegle marmelos (l.) corr. bel t rare acronychia pedunculata (l.) miq. bon jamir st rare citrus aurantiifolia (christm.) sw. lebu s common clausena heptaphylla (roxb.) wight & arn. karanphul s common glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc. sheora s common micromelum minutum wight & arn. koroiphula st common paramignya scandens (griff.) craib. bannebu st rare floristic diversity of baraiyadhala national park 281 table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence meliaceae aglaia edulis (roxb.) wall. t critically endangered aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r. parker pitraj t common azadirachta indica a. juss. neem t common chisocheton paniculatus hiern rata t rare chukrasia tabularis a. juss. chikrassi t common melia azedarach l. bokhain t rare swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. mehogini t common toona ciliata m. roem toon t common malvaceae abelmoschus moschatus medik. mushakdana h common abroma augusta (l.) l. f. ulatkambal st common abutilon indicum (l.) sweet petari h common bombax ceiba l. shimul t common b. insigne wall. ban-simul t rare brownlowia elata roxb. masjot t critically endangered byttneria pilosa roxb. harjora-lata wc common ceiba pantandra (l.) gaertn. pahari tula t rare corchorus aestuans l. titapat h rare firmiana colorata (roxb.) r. br. patagota t critically endangered grewia asiatica l. pholsa st common g. laevigata vahl panisara st common g. nervosa (lour.) panigrahi asar st common g. serrulata dc. panisara t rare hibiscus vitifolius l. bon-karpas h common malachra capitata l. bon vindi h rare pterospermum acerifolium (l.)willd. musigondha t endangered p. semisagittatum buch.-ham. ex roxb. bara assar t endangered sida acuta burm. f. kureta h common s. cordata (burm. f.) borss. waalk. jhumka h common s. cordifolia l. berela h common s. mysorensis wight & arn. chatehata h common sterculia foetida l. udal mt endangered s. hamiltonii (kuntze) adelb. st endangered s. villosa roxb. ex smith udal mt endangered triumfetta pilosa roth h common t. rhomboidea jacq. ban okra h common urena lobata l. banokra h common bixaceae bixa orellana l. latkon st rare dipterocarpaceae anisoptera scaphula (roxb.) pierre. boilsur t critically endangered dipterocarpus costatus garjan t rare d. turbinatus gaertn. teli garjan t common hopea odorata roxb. telsur t common capparaceae capparis spinosa l. kabra s rare cleome rutidosperma dc. begunehurhury h common c. viscosa l. holdehurhury h common 282 rashid et al. table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence capparaceae crateva religiosa g. forst. barun st common capsella bursa-pastoris (l.) medik. capsala h common brassicaceae rorippa indica (l.) hiern ban-saruisha h common r. palustris (l.) besser panisarisha h common loranthaceae dendrophthoe pentandra (l.) miq. s rare macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) van tiegh. chota banda s rare scurrula gracilifolia (schult.) danser pargacha s rare s. parasitica l. parula s rare polygonaceae persicaria chinensis (l.) h.gross mohicharan sak h common p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre bishkatali h common p. orientalis (l.) spach panimarich h common polygonum viscosum buch.-ham. ex d. don athalo bishkatali h rare rumex vesicarius l. tokpalong h rare achyranthes aspera l. apang h common alternanthera philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. sachishak h common a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex dc. chanchi h common amaranthus spinosus l. kantanotey h common a. viridis l. notey shak h common celosia argentea l. shet morogha h common chenopodium album l. batua shak s common cyathula prostrata (l.) blume shyontula h common amaranthaceae gomphrena celosioides mart. h common nyctaginaceae boerhavia repens l. punarnava h common glinus oppositifolius (l.) a. dc. gimashakh h common molluginaceae mollugo stricta l. khetpapra h rare portulacaceae portulaca oleracea l. nune shak h common lecythidaceae barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal t common diospyros malabarica (desr.) kostl. deshi gab t rare ebenaceae d. racemosa roxb. gab mt endangered primulaceae ardisia humilis vahl chauldhoa s common a. paniculata roxb. st rare a. sanguinolenta blume st endangered primulaceae a. solanacea (poir.) roxb. bon -jam s common maesa indica (roxb.) a. dc. sirkhi s common m. ramentacea (roxb.) a. dc. naricha st common actinidiaceae saurauia roxburghii wall. bhola kadam s rare rubiaceae canthium angustifolium roxb. katamalli s common ceriscoides campanulata (roxb.) tirveng. tirveng t endangered chassalia curviflora var. ophioxyloides (wall.) deb & b.krishna s rare dentella repens (l.) j.r. forst. & g. frost. bhuipat h common gardenia coronaria buch.-ham. torgular mt rare haldina cordifolia (roxb.) ridsd. kalakadam t rare hedyotis scandens roxb. bish lata h common hyptianthera stricta (roxb. ex schult.) wight & arn. s common floristic diversity of baraiyadhala national park 283 table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence rubiaceae ixora athrorantha bremek. st common i. balakrishnanii deb & rout bhantjhara st common i. cuneifolia roxb. beophul s common i. nigricans r.br. ex wight & arn. nikranga st common i. pavetta andr. swetrangan st common i. pubirama bremek. keamosi s common i. spectabilis wall. ex g. don st common i. subsessilis wall. ex g. don rengchan s common knoxia sumatrensis (retz.) dc. h common lasianthus hirsutus (roxb.) merr. kala long s common meyna spinosa roxb. ex link mainakata st rare mitracarpus hirtus (l.) dc. h common mitragyna diversifolia (wall. ex g. don) havil. phul-kadam t common m. parvifolia var. microphylla (kurz) ridsdale putikadam t near threatened morinda angustifolia roxb. banamali st common m. citrifolia l. ronch st common m. persicifolia buch.-ham. s common mussaenda roxburghii hook. f. sildaura s common neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) boss. kadom t common neonauclea sessilifolia (roxb.) merr. kom t near threatened oldenlandia auricularia (l.) k. sch. mutia lata h common o. corymbosa l. ketpapra h common o. diffusa (willd.) roxb. h common ophiorrhiza mungos l. kalashana h common o. rugosa var. prostrata (d. don) deb & mondal jari h common oxyceros kunstleri (king & gamble) tirveng. maish kata cs rare paederia foetida l. gandha-badali cl common pavetta indica l. banamali st common prismatomeris tetrandra (roxb.) k. schum. chinatita st common psychotria adenophylla wall. baro sudma st common p. calocarpa kurz ranga bhutta u common p. monticola kurz hatichotra s common p. symplocifolia kurz st common spermacoce articularis l.f. ahtharogia h common s. hispida l. ahtharogia h common tarenna companiflora (hook. f.) n.p. balakr. kakra st common tarennoidea wallichii tirveng. & sast. t common uncaria scandens (smith) hutch. vailful lata cl rare wendlandia tinctoria subsp. orientalis cowan tulaload st common exacum tetragonum roxb. kuchuri h rare gentianaceae fagraea ceilanica thunb. st rare 284 rashid et al. table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chaitan t common anodendron paniculatum a.dc. dul wc rare asclepias curassavica l. moricha h rare calotropis gigantea (l.) dryand. akanda s common chonemorpha fragrans (moon) alston gar badero wc endangered gymnema acuminatum wall. khara lata wt rare hemidesmus indicus (l.) r.br. ex schult. anantamul h rare holarrhena pubescens (roth) wall. ex a. dc. kurchi, kuruj st rare hoya globulosa hook. f. pargacha ep rare h. parasitica (roxb.) wall. ex wight pargacha e common ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w. t. aiton syamalota cs rare melodinus cochinchinensis (lour.) merr. wt vulnerable rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz sarpagandha h endangered strophanthus wallichii a. dc. wc endangered tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult. togor s common tylophora hirsuta wight anantamul tw rare vallaris solanacea (roth) kuntze hadpur ss critically endangered wrightia arborea (dennst.) mabb. dudhkurush t endangered cordia dichotoma g. forst. buha t rare boraginaceae heliotropium indicum l. hatisur h common convolvulaceae argyreia argentea (roxb.) choisy. bara rupatola cl common a. capitiformis (poir.) ooststr. vogalata cl rare a. splendens (hornem.) sweet borogandobaduli cl rare calystegia hederacea wall. tw common cuscuta reflexa roxb. swornalata p rare evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. bhui-akra h common hewittia malabarica (l.) suresh cl common ipomoea alba l. dudhikalmi tw rare i. aculeata var. mollissima (zoll.) hallier f. ex oostr. cl rare i. aquatica forssk. kalmishak ah common i. carnea jacq. dholkolmi h common i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy dhol kolmi s common i. hederifolia l. neela-kalmi tw rare i. mauritiana jacq. bhui-kumra tw rare i. pes-tigridis l. languli lata cl common i. pileata roxb. cl common jacquemontia paniculata (burm. f.) hallier f. montilata tw rare merremia umbellata (l.) hallier sadakamni cl common m. vitifolia (burm. f.) hallier f. tw common operculina turpethum (l.) silva manso dudh kalmi tw rare floristic diversity of baraiyadhala national park 285 table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence solanaceae datura metel l. kala datura h common nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. bon tamak h common physalis angulata l. fotka h common p. micrantha link. bantipariya h common p. minima l. phutka h common solanum ilicifolium dunal tepari h common s. indicum l. bon begun s common s. nigrum l. kakmachi h common s. sisymbrifolium lam. kanta begun h common s. torvum sw. tit begun s common s. virginianum l. kantakari h common oleaceae jasminum scandens vahl wc rare ligustrum robustum (roxb.) blume ls rare myxopyrum smilacifolium (wall.) bl. ss rare scrophulariaceae adenosma indianum (lour.) merr. barakesuti h common buddleja asiatica lour. neemda s rare lindernia antipoda (l.) alston h common picria fel-terrae lour. h rare scoparia dulcis l. bandhane h common torenia asiatica l. h common t. diffusa d. don h common t. flava buch.-ham. ex benth. h common acanthaceae andrographis laxiflora (bl.) lindau algatita h rare a. paniculata (burm. f.) nees kalmegh h rare barleria strigosa willd. katapol h rare dicliptera chinensis (l.) juss. h rare ecbolium ligustrinum (vahl) voll. s rare eranthemum pulchellum andrew s common e. strictum colebr. ex roxb. khara murali h rare justicia adhatoda l. basak s common j. gendarussa burm. f. jugmadan u common hygrophila polysperma (roxb.) t. anders h common h. ringens (l.) r. br. ex spreng. kakmasha h common lepidagathis incurva buch.-ham. ex d. don karoggthis h common nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul h common phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet kantasi h common ruellia acuminata l. h common r. tuberosa l. chotpoty h common rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi h common staurogyne argentea wall. h rare strobilanthes auriculatus nees kurinji s rare s. scaber nees h rare thunbergia alata bojer ex sims ghontolata cl rare t. grandiflora (roxb. ex rottl.) roxb. nallata cl common bignoniaceae oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz thona t rare stereospermum chelonoides (l.f.) dc. kam sonalu t rare s. tetragonum dc. dharmara t rare 286 rashid et al. table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence verbenaceae duranta erecta l. kantamehedi ss common lantana camara l. lantana s common lippia alba (mill.) n.e. br. ex britton & p. wilson motmotia s common phyla nodiflora (l.) greene bhuiokra h common lamiaceae anisomeles indica (l.) o. kuntze gobura h common callicarpa arborea roxb. bormala t rare c. macrophylla vahl bormala t rare clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhatti h common c. infortunatum l. ghetu s common c. laevifolium bl. s common gmelina arborea roxb. gamar h common hyptis brevipes poit. h common h. capitata jacq. h common h. suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma h common leonurus sibiricus l. roktodron h rare leucas aspera (willd.) link shetodron h common l. zeylanica (l.) aiton dondokolosh h common ocimum americanum l. bon tulsi h common o. basilicum l. babuitulshi h common pogostemon auricularius (l.) hassk. h common premna esculenta roxb. lalana s common vitex altissima l.f. awalya t rare v. glabrata r. br. ashal t rare v. negundo l. nishinda st common v. peduncularis wall. ex schauer awal st rare campanulaceae cyclocodon lancifolius (roxb.) kurz h rare asteraceae acmella paniculata (wall. ex dc.) r.k. jansen kannaghas h common adenostemma lavenia (l.) kuntze baro-kesuti h common a. viscosum j. r. forst. & g. forst. boro kesuti h rare ageratum conyzoides (l.) l. fulkuri h common blumea fistulosa (roxb.) kurz h common b. lacera (burm. f.) dc. kuksung h common b. lanceolaria (roxb.) druce h common b. virens dc. nilsabus h common blumeopsis flava (dc.) gagnep h common chromolaena odorata (l.) r. m. king & h. rob. assam-lata h common crassocephalum crepidioides s. moore h common cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h. rob. sahadebi h common eclipta prostrata (l.) l. kesraj h common elephantopus scaber l. gejiashak h common emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. ex dc. mechitra h common grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. namuti h rare laphangium luteoalbum (l.) tzvelev dudh ghas h common mikania scandens (l.) willd. tufanilata h common pseudelephantopus spicatus (b.juss. ex aubl.) rohr ex baker kukurgihba h rare floristic diversity of baraiyadhala national park 287 table 1 contd. family taxa bangla name habit status of occurrence asteraceae sonchus wightianus dc. h common sphaeranthus africanus l. gongasag h rare s. indicus l. murmuri h rare s. senegalensis dc. senigalsag h rare spilanthes acmella (l.) l. nag phul h common synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. relanodi h common tridax procumbens l. tridhara h common xanthium strumarium l. ghagra h common brassaiopsis glomerulata (bl.) regel kurila st common araliaceae trevesia palmata (roxb. ex lindl.)vis. vombal ls common centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni h common apiaceae hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam. h common h= herb, cs= climbing shrub, cr= creeper, wt= woody twinner, t= tree, s= shrub, cl= cimber, wc= woody climber, ts= twining shrub, ss= scandent shrub, tw= twiner, u= undershrub, ls= large shrub, mt= medium-sized tree, st= small tree, ch= creeping herb, e= epiphyte, p= parasite, ah= aquatic herb. fig. 2. radar diagram shows ten dominat plant families in the baraiyadhala national park. critically endangered and 4 species (0.76%) as vulnerable. all species belonging to the families anacardiaceae (10 spp.), bignoniaceae (3 spp.), dipterocarpaceae (4 spp.), and meliaceae (8 spp.) are trees and under threat in the forest. rahman (2013) reported artabotrys caudatus of the family annonaceae as possibly extinct in bangladesh. recently this species has been reported from hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary by rahman (2017) and current investigation also reports its distribution in the baraiyadhala national park. the present study reveals that communities around the area depend more or less on forest resources and some organized encroachers are also noticed. furthermore, forest fire, livestock and other unsustainable resource utilization practices degrade the habitat in and around the forest. climate change is an additional threat which may directly affect habitat and biodiversity, as well as indirectly by further increasing human pressure due to migration of peoples from coastal parts of sitakunda and mirsharai to the forest area. development of tourism may enhance a future threat to the park. to address these challenges sustainable management plan for the protected area should be undertaken in the light of national conservation strategy, and proper implementation of the action plan is urgently required with collaboration and cooperation of stakeholders and local administrations. more particularly, the rare and threatened species along with their degraded habitats to be protected by taking proper conservation management programmes. 288 rashid et al. acknowledgements this study was supported by research allocation fund under revenue budget, university of chittagong, bangladesh. we are thankful to prof. dr. m. atiqur rahman, department of botany, university of chittagong for his generous help and cooperation during the course of this study. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceae asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1– 408. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2009a. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. angiosperms: dicotyledons (balsaminaceae – euphorbiaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–546. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2009b. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 8. angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae – lythraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–478. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds) 2009c. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 9. angiosperms: dicotyledons (magnoliaceae – punicaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–488. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds) 2009d. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperms: dicotyledons (ranunculaceae – zygophyllaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–580. apg iv. 2016. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg iv. bot. j. linn. soc. 181: 1–20. das, d.k. and alam, m.k. 2001. trees of bangladesh. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong, pp. 1–342. dey, c.k., rahman, m.a. and wilcock, c.c. 1999. an enumeration of tree species of chittagong. biodiver. bull. bangladesh 1: 1–81. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. darjeeling, india, pp. 1–84. hossain, m.k. 2015. protected area management plan for hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary (hws) and baraiyadhala national park (bnp) for 2015-2025. bangladesh forest department, ministry of environment and forests, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh, pp. 1–109. huq, a.m. 1986. plant names of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, pp. 1–289. nguyen, h.t. 2010. cycas pectinata. the iucn red list of threatened species 2010: e.t42062a10617695. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.20103.rlts.t42062a10617695.en. accessed on 20 august 2018. prain, d. 1903 (reprint 1963). bengal plants. vols. 1 & 2. botanical survey of india, bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, pp. 1–1013. rahman, m.a. (ed.). 2013. iucn red list categories of plants: red data book of flowering plants of bangladesh. vol. 1. published by editor, chittagong, pp. 1-256. rahman, m.a. 2017. plant diversity in hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary of chittagong and its conservation management. j. biodivers. conserv. bioresour. manage. 3(2): 43–56. rashid, m.e. and rahman, m.a. 2011. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f., the flora of british india: volume i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 177–197. rashid, m.e. and rahman, m.a. 2012. updated nomenclature and taxonomic status of the plants of bangladesh included in hook. f., the flora of british india: volume ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 173–190. the plant list 2013. version 1.1. published on the internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed on august 2018). (manuscript received on 20 october 2018; revised on 21 november 2018) http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.20103.rlts.t42062a10617695.en. http://www.theplantlist.org/ bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 429‒439, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57138 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists vegetative and leaf anatomical traits for taxonomic delimitation of salacia l. in sri lanka w.i.n.s. senevirathne*, p.l. hettiarachchi1 and d.m.d. yakandawala2 postgraduate institute of science, university of peradeniya, sri lanka keywords: salacia; multivariate analysis; sri lanka. abstract salacia comprises 200 species throughout the tropical countries. in sri lanka, five species of this genus s. chinensis, s. diandra, s. oblonga, s. reticulata and s. acuminatissima are recorded that are considered as the synonyms under s. diandra by wadhwa in 1996 during the revision of genus. these species are very much similar in vegetative morphology and their flowering is irregular and rare. due to these reasons, their proper identification and determination are difficult and identification of new combinations of taxonomic characters is necessary. a multivariate analysis was conducted for 98 distinct populations using 20 vegetative and 43 leaf anatomical characters including pca, pco, ca, simper and correlation analysis. the results support the recognition of four phenetic groups, which corresponds to species s. chinensis, s. reticulata, s. oblonga and s. diandra. s. acuminatissima that was recognized by kostermans (1992) was not supported by the analysis and formed a cluster together with s. diandra with no support as a separate cluster. the study failed to recognize any distinct vegetative characters to define these taxa but propose a combination of vegetative or leaf anatomical characters and also highlights the necessity of molecular data to supplement the vegetative and leaf anatomical data to resolve the ambiguity between the s. acuminatissima and s. diandra. introduction sri lanka is an island approximately 65,000 km2 in extent, located 29 km south of the southern tip of peninsular india. the island is centrally situated in the indian ocean between latitudes 5 55' 9 51' north and longitudes 79 41' 81 53' east (karunarathne, 2001). despite being a relatively small island, sri lanka is strikingly diverse in ecosystems due to spatial variation of rainfall, altitude and soil (punyawardhana, 2004). these in turn have contributed to the very high biodiversity along with endemic fauna and flora. sri lanka’s biodiversity is significantly important both in a regional and global scale due to highest species density in angiosperms (number of species present per 10,000 sq. km) and 3154 flowering plant species are recorded in sri lanka of which 894 species are endemic to the country (moe, 2012). with the high endemism and the threats associated to the original natural vegetation, sri lanka has been designated as one of the 34 global hotspots of the world along with western ghats of india (gunawardana et al., 2007). the rich diversity in flowering plants of this country has produced large number of plants with immense economic value. over 600 species have been used as medicinal plants and large number of them are used in the indigenous systems of medicine (karunarathne, 2001). among them, the members of the genus salacia, are considered as a medicinally valuable group of plants that has antimicrobial, anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, nephroprotective, and anti-mutagenic properties (chawla et al., 2013; medagama, 2015). *corresponding author, e-mail: nirodha.sewwandi@gmail.com 1department of biological sciences, faculty of applied sciences, rajarata university of sri lanka, mihintale, sri lanka. e-mail: phlakshmi96@gmail.com 2department of botany, faculty of science, university of peradeniya, sri lanka e-mail: deepthiyakandawala@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.5713 mailto:nirodha.sewwandi@gmail.com mailto:phlakshmi96@gmail.com mailto:deepthiyakandawala@gmail.com 430 senevirathne et al. the genus salacia belonging to family celastraceae comprises of about 200 species of woody lianas, scandent or sometimes erect shrubs distributed throughout the tropical parts of india, sri lanka, burma, malaysia, solaman islands and africa (wadhwa, 1996). according to the national red list of flora and fauna 2012 there are five salacia species in sri lanka, namely s. chinensis l., s. diandra thw., s. oblonga wall ex wight & arn., s. reticulata wight. and s. acuminatissima kosterm (plate 1). s.acuminatissima is a species recognized by kostermans in 1992. however, during the revision of the genus in 1996, wadhwa did not recognize the species but considered it as a synonym under s. diandra. during the national red-listing in 2012 (moe, 2012), s. reticulata, s.oblonga, s. acuminatissima and s. diandra were categorized under endangered category (en) while s. chinensis was recognized in the near threatened category (nt). a recent study conducted by the authors to re-evaluate the conservation status of the species using preliminary data, has upgraded s. diandra to the critically endangered (cr) category while the status of s. oblonga and s. reticulata have been downgraded from endangered (en) to near threatened (nt) category (senevirathne et al., 2019). plate 1. habits of (a) s. diandra, (b ) s. acuminatissima, (c) s. chinensis, (d) s. oblonga and (e) s. reticulata with the discrepancy in species limits of the genus salacia in sri lanka, it is important to determine the validity of s. acuminatissima, recognized by kostermans (1992) as a legitimate species as both are endemic to the country. the species is said to be outstanding because of the vegetative and leaf anatomical traits 431 bent, sharp, long fruit acumen which are quite different from other salacia species of sri lanka (kostermans, 1992). salacia members share very similar characters in vegetative morphology. when considering the leaf characters two or three species share similar overlapping characters such as leaf shape, leaf margin, leaf tip, leaf base etc. further, the flowering is irregular and restricted to a very short time period. based on the recent field observations for the past few years, from 2016 to 2020, we have not been able to observe flowers and fruits from few species. due to those reasons, distinguishing one salacia species from another has become a major issue in taxonomic and other studies. therefore, it is important in identifying new characters that would aid in species identification, especially evidence from anatomical features. anatomical data have successively resolved species complexes in many plant taxa (udage and yakandawala, 2017; chitchak et al., 2018). multivariate analysis is a powerful tool for the assessment of the patterns of variation at the specific and infraspecific levels. unlike the phylogenetic methods that aims to reconstruct evolutionary relationships among established taxa, morphometrics is particularly useful for drawing lines between taxa, to ascertain differences between different cytotypes or geographical races, or to discover the most important characters that differentiate taxa (marhold, 2011). therefore, the present study was carried out with the aim of investigating the species limits of salacia occurring in sri lanka, with the aid of multivariate analysis by using morphological and leaf anatomical traits. materials and methods sampling ninety-eight samples (operational taxonomic unit [otus]) were collected from ninetyeight distinct populations covering all the climatic regions as well as all the administrative provinces in sri lanka. collected samples were authenticated using herbarium specimens deposited in the national herbarium, peradeniya, sri lanka and literature (wadhwa, 1996). cording of characters leaf morphological characters: three individuals at similar maturity level were selected from each population and ten measurements were obtained from each of these selected individuals. twenty vegetative characters were recorded by direct observation of specimens. all the scale measurements were taken using a simple ruler. leaf anatomical characters: forty-three leaf anatomical characters were recorded from the ninety eight samples that were used for the vegetative study and five replications were done for each sample. the 3rd leaf from the bud was used to obtain data. firstly, thin cross sections were obtained by hand using sharp blades across the petiole, across the mesophyll region and across the median vascular system. secondly, adaxial and abaxial epidermal leaf surfaces were taken by minimizing the damage to epidermal cells. thirdly, 1 cm × 1 cm matured leaf sections from middle leaf blade area and leaf margin area were cut off and cleared using 0.8 naoh solution. solutions were replaced until leaf sections turned colorless. colorless leaf parts were stained using 0.1% safranin solution. temporary slides were prepared from all types of sections used to record data. observations were taken from cleared leaf samples using low power (10x4), high power 10x40) and the oil immersion lens (10x100). fixed magnification was used for one particular character. microscope (oympus cx21) lenses were calibrated using objective micrometer (0.01mm, erma, tokyo, japan). photographs of all sections were taken (canon, 5x optical zoom, 16 mega pixels). all the recorded vegetative and leaf anatomical characters are presented in tables 1 and 2. 432 senevirathne et al. table 1. qualitative characters and their character states used for the multivariate analysis. character character states leaf vegetative characters 1 petiole nature curved not curved 2 adaxial surface colour dark green pale green 3 lamina shape elliptic lanceolate oblong oblanceolate 4 leaf texure coriaceous sub coriaceous non coriaceous 5 leaf lamina nature flat twisted bend along midrib 6 leaf margin serrulate shallowly crenate crenate entire 7 leaf base attenuate acute rounded 8 leaf apex micronulate mucronate acute caudate obtuse cuspidate 9 prominent veins at the base present absent 10 primary vein size large moderate thin 11 secondary veins prominant in adaxial surface present absent 12 secondary veins prominent in abaxial surface present absent leaf anatomical characters 13 shape of petiole epidermal cells cubic rectangular irregular barrel 14 pattern of vascular system in petiole kidney shaped kidney shape with deep groove kidney shape with circle on top 15 pattern of vascular system in median vascular region kidney shaped kidney shaped with deep groove triangular 16 shape of palisade cells barrel shaped rod shaped thin barrel shaped cubic 17 upper epidermal anticlinal cell wall type irregular beaded buttressed 18 shape of upper epidermal cells polygonal irregular irregular with deep grooves 19 lower epidermal anticlinal cell wall type beaded buttressed 20 shape of lower epidermal cells polygonal irregular radial irregular bilateral 21 nature of marginal veins opened closed 22 fimbricated marginal veins fimbricated not fimbricated vegetative and leaf anatomical traits 433 table 2. quantitative characters used for the multivariate analysis. vegetative leaf petiole median vascular system mesophyll region upper epidermal peel lower epidermal peel cleared leaf 1 av. petiole length thickness of cuticle width of adaxial epidermis thickness of cuticle cell wall thickness of the epidermal cells stomatal number vein islet number 2 av. leaf length height of epidermal cells width of abaxial surface height of abaxial surface no. of epidermal cells per field of vision stomatal index vein termination number 3 av. leaf width width of epidermal cells thickness of cuticle height of adaxial surface epidermal cell width at the widest point av.no. of subsidiary cells 4 leaf l/w ratio no.of cortex cell layers palisade ratio guard cell width 5 leaf tip angle no.of palisade layers guard cell length 6 leaf base angle height of palisade cells l/w ratio of guard cells 7 no. of secondary vein pairs width of palisade cells no. of epidermal cells per field of vision 8 ratio of vein pairs to leaf length l/w ratio of palisade cells epidermal cell width at widest point 9 thickness of palisade area epidermal cell wall thickness of 10 number of spongy layers diameter of stomata complex size 11 thickness of spongy area multivariate analysis twenty vegetative characters (12 qualitative and 8 quantitative) and 43 leaf anatomical characters (10 qualitative and 33 quantitative) were recorded from 98 otus for the multivariate analysis. data were entered into microsoft excel version 10 spread sheets separately as vegetative and leaf anatomical characters and combined into common spread sheet. finally resulted excel sheet was transformed into a file suitable for the multivariate analysis using past 16.0 software. there were 22 qualitative characters and 41 quantitative characters in the final data sheet for the analysis. the quantitative variables were standardized by subtracting the character mean and dividing by the standard deviation (ospina, 2016) to avoid unequal influences on the results due to characters measured at different scales (marhold, 2011). euclidian distance matrix was selected for the quantitative data analysis. then gower distance matrix was selected for both quantitative and qualitative data (mixed data) analysis due to the primary matrix consists of a mixture of binary, multistate qualitative, ordinal and quantitative characters (cupido, 2003; marhold, 2011). 434 senevirathne et al. a principal component analysis (pca) was performed for the quantitative variables. eigen values for each principal component (pcs) was checked and highest values were recorded. then contribution of quantitative variables was represented using the score plot of first two pcs. and most contributed variables for the most prominent pcs were identified using pc loadings. finally, principal coordinate analysis (pco) was performed for both quantitative and qualitative variables (cupido, 2003). to test the repeatability of the phenetic groupings obtained from ordination analysis including pca and pco, a cluster analysis (ca) was performed by using past 16.0 version. cophenetic values were used to present the degree of relationship between the original distance and the tree matrix. out of the results, phenogram with the highest cophenetic value was selected as the best cluster solution. simper analysis (similarity percentage analysis) was performed to check the characters that supported to the grouping obtained from the ca. correlation analysis was performed using quantitative vegetative variables considering each ca groups using corrplot r package. results and discussion ordination analysis based grouping pca for the quantitative variables and pco for the quantitative and qualitative variables were conducted under the ordination analysis. according to the pca, first four principal components with the highest eigen values are accounted for 73.64% of the cumulative variance and individual contribution of pcs are 36.09, 19.24, 12.78 and 5.54%, respectively (table 3). the contribution of quantitative variables was represented using the score plots among most prominent four pcs and score plot of first two pcs was selected as the most justified representation (fig. 1). according to the score plot, factor scores of pc1 and pc2 implies a clear pattern of grouping of salacia with respect to quantitative variables. considering the five clusters generated, three clusters corresponding s. reticulata, s. acuminatissima and s. oblonga were clearly separated while other two clusters corresponding to s.diandra and s.chinensis have formed separate groups that are closely placed with each other. according to the pca loadings of the first four principal components, contribution of each variable for the pcs for the grouping, the width of petiole epidermal cells, no. of epidermal cells per field of vision in upper epidermis and stomata complex size were the characters that contributed most for the first pc while thickness of petiole cuticle, width of abaxial surface in midrib region, width of palisade cells, guard cell length, guard cell l/w ratio, lower epidermal cell width at widest point and cell wall thickness of lower epidermal cells are most contributed factors of the second pc. similarly, the width of palisade cells can be identified as the most contributed factor for pca grouping for the third pc while for the fourth pc, vein islet number, vein termination number, average leaf length, leaf l/w ratio and number of secondary vein pairs to leaf length are the most contributing variables. table 3. eigen values and variance explained by the four principal components. values pc1 pc2 pc3 pc4 eigen value 14.9506 7.9698 5.2930 2.2958 proportion of variance 36.09 19.24 12.78 5.54 cumulative proportion 36.09 55.33 68.10 73.64 vegetative and leaf anatomical traits 435 fig. 1. score plot of first two pcs for quantitative variables. when considering the results of pco analysis (fig. 2), the distribution of otus, between coordinate 2 versus coordinate 1, s. reticulata, and s. oblonga formed clearly separated groups. compared to the pca results, only 2 otus of s. reticulata showed deviation from the mother cluster. although other three clusters corresponding to s. chinensis, s. diandra and s. acuminatissima formed separate clusters, they are closely related to the each other. considering the results of both pca and pco analyses, s. reticulata and s. oblonga formed clearly separated clusters. although s. acuminatissima and s. diandra formed separate clusters they are more closely related to the s. chinensis. cluster analysis-based grouping out of the three phenograms resulted from ca, the phenogram that resulted from the paired group algorithm (fig. 3) was selected as the best representation of the degree of relationship between the original distance matrix and the tree matrixes based on the cophenetic correlation values (table 4). fig. 2. score plot of principal coordinates for quantitative and qualitative variables. 436 senevirathne et al. fig. 3. phenogram depicting the groups within salacia using vegetative and leaf anatomical characters table 4. the cophenetic values obtained using different clustering methods. clustering method cophenetic values single linkage 0.955 paired linkage 0.960 wards method 0.723 based on the phenogram, four distinct phenetic groups named a, b, c and d can be identified along the 0.35 distance level. phenetic group a divides into two distinct sub groups, separating at a distance of 0.23, one corresponding to s. diandra (a1) and the other corresponding to s. acuminatissima (a2). phenetic group b represents s. chinensis where the individuals are very similar to one another and the distance between two individuals is less than 0.01distance value. the phenetic group c representing s. reticulata consists of two distinct sub-clusters, where two otu’s separate early at a distance of 0.3 and the rests cluster closer to each other. the phenetic group d represents s. oblonga. the group is represented by a large number of representatives, from different populations, and is initially divided into two subgroups at a distance values of 0.15. both these subgroups further divides where the distance between any given divisions is less than 0.01distance value indicating a close resemblance of the members within the group. when considering the simper analysis (similarity percentage analysis) that corresponds to the ca grouping and the characters contributing for each cluster, the group a, which is composed of s. diandra (a1) and s. acuminatissima (a2), almost all qualitative and quantitative characters are shared by both groups except the shape of the lower epidermal cells (a1irregular and a2 polygonal) and anticlinal wall pattern of lower epidermis (a1beaded walls and a2 buttressed walls) that contributed for their sub-grouping (a1 and a2). the percentage dissimilarity, which could be used to interpret the degree of differentiation among groups, was calculated using simper. when comparing dissimilarity between the two vegetative and leaf anatomical traits 437 subgroups, a1 and a2, overall average dissimilarity value was recorded as -125.7, which indicates that the dissimilarity between these two subgroups is very low and negligible. salacia acuminatissima, which was described by kostermans in 1992, as a species with the diagnostic characters listed as coriaceous, elliptic leaves, apically broadly acuminate and blunt and, basally shortly cuneate with thin a midrib. in addition ellipsoid, apically narrowed into a long, bent, sharp acumen fruit was also recognized as a diagnostic feature. however, the multivariate analysis with all the said vegetative characters did not support s. acuminatissima as a separate species. this result corroborates wadhwa (1996) where he did not recognize s. acuminatissima as a sperate species during the revision of flora but considered under the s.diandra. however, wadhwa (1996) was with the view that these characters are not strong in delimiting a new species and, therefore, recognized s. acuminatissima under s. diandra with a broader description, where leaves are described as sub-coriaceous, ovate-oblong, basally narrow and apically apiculate or acuminate. during the present analysis using a larger number of morphological and anatomical characters based on simper analysis, leaf shape, leaf base, leaf apex, leaf texture and mid rib nature were not highly contributing characters for the grouping. this supports wadhwa’s (1996) circumscription of merging the two taxa. however, molecular databased analysis would provide additional evidence for a final circumscription of the two taxa. as mentioned before, s. chinensis formed a separate group that subsequently divide into small subgroups. according to the ca, the average dissimilarity value based on simper analysis, between group a and b is recorded as 392.9. both these groups are distinct from one another completely by shape of palisade cells, nature of leaf lamina, pattern of petiole and leaf vascular bundles and nature of marginal veins. group c and group d originate from the same axis and they share more similarity in several quantitative characters such as width of adaxial leaf surface, height of palisade cells and almost all qualitative characters like shape of petiole epidermal cells, leaf apex, leaf base, shape of palisade cells, leaf margin, nature of leaf lamina, leaf texture and anticlinal wall pattern etc. these two groups deviate from one another especially due to the pattern of leaf vascular system and anticlinal wall pattern of upper epidermis. overall average dissimilarity between these two groups is indicated as 169.5. considering the group c that represents s. reticulata with reference to ca, there are two subclusters and simper average dissimilarity value between these two sub-groups are recorded as 140. these sub-groups are formed due to the difference in anticlinal wall patterns and epidermal cell shapes, which could not be considered as strong enough to consider these as different. although group d representing s. oblonga is divided into several sub-groups, all of them show a closer similarity. these results indicate that the species show a higher intraspecific variation. correlation analysis for quantitative vegetative variables the correlation plots for quantitative vegetative characters for clusters recovered in the ca are represented in fig. 4. in these plots positive correlations are displayed in blue and negative correlations are displayed in red while colour intensity and size of the circle is proportional to the correlation coefficient. according to correlation plots in cluster a, number of secondary vein pairs/average leaf length to number of secondary vein pairs (0.92) showed highest correlation followed by number of secondary vein pairs to leaf tip angle (0.91), leaf l/w ratio to average leaf width (0.86), number of secondary vein pairs/average leaf length to leaf tip angle (0.84) and average leaf width to average 438 senevirathne et al. fig. 4. correlation analysis for the quantitative vegetative variables of a) cluster a, b) cluster b, c) cluster c, d) cluster d. leaf length (0.81). the results of the correlation plots further support the results obtained from other analyses in recognizing the cluster a consisting of s. acuminatissima and s. diandra as a single species. within other three clusters namely b, c and d that represent s. chinensis, s.reticulata and s. oblonga respectively, average leaf width and average leaf length showed highest correlation. considering the results of all analyses, pca, pco and ca, the recognition of s. acuminatissima as a distinct species is not supported but it is grouped as a sub-cluster within the main phenetic group a with no supporting evidence from either vegetative or leaf anatomical characters to define it as a separate species. with the widely used molecular sequence data, obtaining support to supplement the vegetative and leaf anatomical data would be the next step to resolve the ambiguity between the taxonomic status of s. acuminatissima and s. diandra. conclusion the multivariate analyses support the recognition of four phenetic groups within the genus salacia in sri lanka, which corresponds to the species s. chinensis, s. reticulata, s. oblonga and s. diandra. the fifth species. s. acuminatissima described by kostermans in 1992 was not supported by the present study. the species delimitation boundries are clear with respect to vegetative and leaf anatomical traits 439 s.chinensis, s.oblonga and s.reticulata. . however, use of molecular data is recommended in deciding the final circumscription of s.diandra and s.acuminatissima. acknowledgement financial assistance of the rajarata university research grant (rjt/rp & hdc / 2013/app/r/01) is greatly appreciated. staff members of taxonomic laboratory, department of botany, faculty of science, university of peradeniya and staff members of botany and zoology laboratories, department of biological sciences, faculty of applied sciences, rajarata university of sri lanka are appreciated for continuous support given throughout the study. staff members of national herbarium, royal botanic gardens, peradeniya are also appreciated for their support. department of wildlife conservation and department of forestry also acknowledged for granting permit to collect specimens. references chawla a., singh, s. and sharma a.k. 2013. salacia oblonga wall: a review on its pharmacognostic, phytochemical and pharmocological aspects. international journal of research in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. 4(4): 12151228. chitchak, n., traiperm, p., staples, g., rattanakrajang, p. and sumanon, p. 2018. species delimitation of some argyreia (convolvulaceae) using phenetic analyses: insights from leaf anatomical data reveal a new species. botany. 96: 1-17. cupido, c.n. 2003. systematic studies in the genus merciera (campanulaceae): a re-assessment of species boundries. adasonia. 25(1): 33-44. gunawardene, n., daniels, i., gunatilleke, n., gunatilleke, c., karunakarana, p.v., nayak, g., prasad, s., puyravaud, j.p., ramesh, b. and subramanian, k.a. 2007. a brief overview of the western ghats sri lanka biodiversity hotspot. current science. 93: 1567-1572. karunarathne, v. 2001. the rich diversity and the potential medicinal value of the sri lankan flora, phyta. 5(1): 23-24 kostermans, a.j.g.h. 1992. salacia acuminatissima kosterm. spec. nov. (celastr) from sri lanka. reinwardtia: a journal on taxonomic botany plant sociology and economy. 11(1): 53 marhold, k. 2011. multivariate morphometrics and its application to monography at specific and infraspecific levels. in: stuessy, t. f. y h. w. lack (eds). monographic plant systematics: fundamental assessment of plant biodiversity. a.r.g. gantner verlag k.g., fl-9491 ruggell. vienna, austria. pp. 75-101. medagama, a.b. 2015. salacia reticulata (kothalahimbutu) revisited; a missed opportunity to treat diabetes and obesity. nutr journal. 14: 21. moe. 2012. the national red list 2012 of sri lanka. conservation status of the fauna and flora, ministry of environment, colombo, sri lanka. 236 pp. ospina-g. j., sylvester, s. and sylvester, m. 2016. multivariate analysis and taxonomic delimitation within the festuca setifolia complex (poaceae) and a new species from the central andes. systematic bot. 41: 727-746. punyawardena, b. 2004. technical report on the characterization of the agro-ecological context in which farm animal genetic resources (fangr) are found in sri lanka. senevirathne, w.i.n.s., hettiarachchi, p.l., yakandawala, d.m.d. and attanayake, a. 2019. reassessment of the genus salacia under iucn threatened categories in sri lanka. ceylon journal of science. 48(4): 319-326. udage, s. &yakandawala, d. 2017. morphometric analysis of the genus monochoria (pontederiaceae) in sri lanka. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 13-22. wadhwa, b.m. 1996. hippocrateacae, in: dassanayake m.d., w.d. clayton (eds). a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, amerind publishing,new delhi, 10: 58. (manuscript received on 6 july 2021; revised on 3 december 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 109-128, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60452 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnomedicinal plant diversity in badalchori vadi sora village common forest of rangamati, bangladesh sajib rudra, md. helal uddin chowdhury, imam hossen1, md. khondakar raziur rahman1, md. arif hossain1, mohammad omar faruque* and shaikh bokhtear uddin* ethnobotany and pharmacognosy laboratory, department of botany, university of chittagong, chattogram 4331, bangladesh keywords: ethnomedicinal; traditional healers; diversity indices; phytosociological attributes and village common forest. abstract a total of 209 species were documented where 181 species were used against 379 diseases/ailments from a village common forest of rangamati, bangladesh. leaves were reported as most utilized plant part while herbs were dominant. diversity indices revealed that the study area was rich in diverse medicinal plants. collected voucher specimens were deposited in the chittagong university herbarium with an accession number. introduction tropical evergreen forest constitutes approximately 52% of the world's forest regarding the conservation of biodiversity (anbarashan and parthasarathy, 2013; baithalu et al.,2013). moreover, there are also evidence that it might play a significant role in keeping global warming under 2oc in line with the paris agreement on climate change (griscom et al., 2017). however, because of overpopulation, rising biotic and abiotic disturbances, forests throughout the world are deteriorating into fragmented marshland and grassland resulting in biodiversity loss (lindenmayer, 2009; uddin et al., 2019). bangladesh is a tropical land with natural forests 84% and 16% plantation, making up 2.253 million hectares of forest area with many forest kinds and notably wetlands, evergreen, semigreen, moist lagoon and mangrove forests (jannat et al., 2018). of them, chittagong hill tracts (cht) is the most biologically diverse place in the country, which covers 40% forest land and ensures 80% of the total biodiversity of the country (mukul et al., 2012; rahman et al., 2016). the indigenous communities of cht have planned conserving their precious natural wealth according with their traditional strategy to resource management, called mouza reserves or village common forest (vcf) (chowdhury et al., 2019). this community based forest management such as vcf has mounting evidence of better management practices than public sector or government institutions facilitate by mutual interaction of developing organizations and researchers with lesser law enforcement agencies involvement (balooni and inoue, 2007; santika et al., 2017; vickers, 2017). village common forests (vcf) are naturally rejuvenated, small forests with an extent between 20 and 120 acres that are commonly referred to as para bon, mouza bon, reserve or mouza reserve. the number of vcfs in the chts remained disputed, although it was found to be between 300 and 800 in literature (islam et al., 2009; saha, 2010). where, each mouza has a *corresponding author: omf@cu.ac.bd 1effective creation on human opinion (echo), chattogram, bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60452 mailto:omf@cu.ac.bd 110 rudra et al. headman who was portrayed with management of the mouza according to of 1900’s cht regulation (uddin et al., 2020). indigenous people have deeper relationship with this mouza management from time immemorial in a margin of 200 long more year times. from ancient era, this underprivileged people also profoundly reliable on forest resources for their medication system, yet they continue to be diagnosed with many of the most lethal diseases using natural resources. several scholarly papers and recent research have mirrored these healthcare principles. for example, to cure 98 maladies, one study quantified 159 medicinal plants in 18 distinct locations of the bandarban area, organized into 132 genera and 62 families (faruque et al., 2018). another research found that the pangkhua people of rangamati district targeted 117 plant species from 104 genera and 54 families as part of their remedial healthcare system (faruque et al., 2019). 40 medicinal plant species belonging to 29 families were utilized by the murong people of khagrachari region to cure a wide range of illnesses (kabir and saha, 2014). modern approaches have verified most of those uses, and some of them have gone through clinical trials to be used in current healthcare. more precisely, as compared to the present pharmaceutical system's "one target and one drug" strategy, this plant-based therapy has synergistic effects of ‘multi-target and multidrug’ benefits (guo et al., 2019; rudra et al., 2020). as reflection those efficacies, these indispensable plants are conserved in their territory or surrounding areas or in vcf for their existence. but unfortunately, as a result of shifting cultivation and over-exploitation caused soil erosion, the government's strategy of settling lowland or plain land settlements, community ignorance and the disintegration of the traditional system; the quantity and quality of vcf has declined over time (halim, 2007; jashimuddin and inoue, 2012). however, some of the light of successful vcf practices for the conservation of endangered species have been reported in china and ethiopia namely village fengshui forest and church forest (hu et al., 2011; wassie et al., 2010). additionally, fresh water abundance, medicinal plants, timber, bamboo and cultural beliefs are some of the elements driving the preservation of vcfs (baten et al., 2009). taken together, we aim to provide a thorough documentation of the ethno-medicinal uses of medicinal plants found in vcfs in chts, and to determine the phytosociological diversity indices of those documented plants. methodology study area a vcf, badalchori vadi sora under upazilla barkal in rangamati district at bangladesh, is selected for the phytosociological diversity analysis of medicinal plants that traditionally used by ethnic people as their primary healthcare management (fig. 1). rangamati is home for a number of indigenous group namely chakma, marma, tanchangya, tripura, chak, khumee, luchei, pankhoa, riang, khumi, mro, santal, monipuri, bome, kheyang, murang and others that constitutes 59.76% of total population where density of population is 101 per km2 (bbs, 2011). this district climatological properties is differ than country’s other district due to its geological position, whereas the temperature range from 34.60c to 13.40c with 3031mm of annual rainfall (khatun et al., 2016). this vcf located in the south-eastern part of bangladesh at 22° 56′ 1.386″n 92° 17′ 10.692″ e co-ordinates in rangamati. study framework and ethnobotanical documentation the diversity of ethno-medicinal plants was determined through quantitative analysis by stratified random sampling plots. phytosociological characters of ethno-medicinal plant species were evaluated by using different quantitative indices. a semi-structured questionnaire was adopted to collect ethnobotanical information from informants. for the assessment of the ethnomedicinal plant diversity in badalchori vadi sora village 111 medicinal plants, stratified random sampling method was adopted. the vcf was split into three segments depending on three topographical placement categories namely bottom, mid, or top slope, and from each location five plots were selected. a total of 15 plots were generated in badalchori vadi sora vcf with 10 m × 10 m quadrat plot size. we studied a ‘dictionary of plant fig. 1. map of the study area. names of bangladesh' book and <www.plantlist.org> to examine plant nomenclature of the recorded species (pasha and uddin, 2013). in collaboration with local guides and a taxonomist, all the plant species were recognized along with plant habit types were scrupulously documented. communities were interviewed in clusters or personally for ethnobotanical documentation followed by semi-structured question technique, and local kabiraj or boiddha (traditional healers) were tracked down to gather published pamphlets and therapeutic information regarding plants. http://www.plantlist.org 112 rudra et al. market and checklist interview were therefore conducted to validate the precision of documentation delivered by the community members, as well as herbalists. the survey was directed from january, 2019 to november, 2019. analytical framework for vcf badalchori vadai sora vcfs were used to construct phytosociological characteristics and diversity matrices for each of the 15 plots. a number of phytosociological characteristics were computed. these included relative density (rd), relative frequency (rf), relative abundance (ra), and important value index (ivi). for determining the abundance, evenness, and richness of the species in the intended vcf study area, we considered four formulae related to diversity indices namely shannon-diversity wiener's index (h), simpson's diversity index (d) and the species evenness index (e) (table 1). upon authentication, all plant species from the studied region were culled and processed for herbarium specimen following standard herbarium protocol and a voucher specimen of that species deposited in the chittagong university herbarium (ctguh) across an accession number for future reference. table 1. statistical formula for phytosociological characteristics determinants and diversity indices. attributes equations citations variable interpretation frequency (x) x= (rudra et al., 2021) a= number of members of a certain species in each plot b = the total number of plots examined c=total number of plots where the species is found. n=a species' population size is in number n=total number of individuals of all the species p = n/n s = total number of species abundance (y) y= (rudra et al., 2021) relative density (rd) rd = × 100 (dallmeier et al., 1992) relative frequency (rf) rf = ∑ × 100 (dallmeier et al., 1992) relative abundance (ra) ra = ∑ × 100 (shukla and chandel 2000) importance value index (ivi) ivi = rd + rf + ra (rudra et al., 2021) shannon-weiner diversity index (h) h = ∑ pi (ln pi) (hill, 1973) simpson diversity index (d) d = ∑ pi2 (colwell, 2009, colwell et al., 2012) species evenness index (e) e = ( ) (pielou, 1966) results and discussion biodiversity and their uses medicinal plants a thorough out exploration of badalchori vadi sora revealed the presence of a huge number of diversify medicinal plants with enlisting their uses as remedial to variable ailments. a total of 209 plant species were documented from the studied area. of them, medicinal plant species were 181 species divided into 145 genera and 65 families. their phytosociological attributes notably relative density (rd), relative frequency (rf), relative abundance (ra) and importance value index (ivi) as well as plants conservation status, habits, plant parts used for the treatment and their application was elucidated in table 2. ethnomedicinal plant diversity in badalchori vadi sora village 113 table 2. enumeration of medicinal plant species identified from badalchori vadi sora village common forests (vcfs) in rangamati district, chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. scientific name, family, habit, accession no. bangla name vernacular name rd rf ra ivi status** ethno-medicinal value abelmoschus moschatus medik. malvaceae-s cuhb 021 mushakdana huney gach (ch) 0.73 0.53 0.98 2.25 ne urinary trouble, itches, anemia, asthma, cold fever, cough, embryopathy, headache, pneumonia, tonsillitis achyranthes aspera l. acanthaceae-s cuhb 025 apang uvolengra (ch) 1.25 1.07 0.83 3.15 ne gastritis, pneumonia, in bites of poisonous animal, jaundice, urinary trouble, abortion, asthma, carbuncle, bronchitis, constipation, cough, diabetes, epistaxis, gastric tumor, gout, gynecological disease, hook worm infestation, hysteria, ill health, lipoma, liver cancer, lumps in the throat, painful micturition, pneumonia, respiratory troubles, steatorrhea, tuberculosis acmella alba (l’hér.) r.k.jansen asteraceae-h cuhb 023 sada acmellara hada ajon-sag (ch) 0.37 0.27 0.98 1.61 ne toothache, throat and dental infections, leucorrhoea actephila excelsa (dalzell) müll.arg. phyllanthaceae-t cuhb 024 lalsa saitalofang (ch) 0.04 0.27 0.1 0.4 lc abortion, fever, indigestion adiantum philippense l. adianthaceae-h cuhb 022 kalijhat kalijhat 5.62 2.13 1.87 9.63 ne febrile convulsion, lipoma, ophthalmia, dysentery, ulcers, erysipelas, burning sensation, epileptic fits, strangury, fever ageratum conyzoides (l.) l. asteraceae-h cuhb 026 fulkuri monimuizza kher (ch) 0.88 0.53 1.17 2.59 ne dysmenorrhea, leishmaniasis, stops bleeding, fever, epistaxis, malaria, hyperacidity, bruise, eczema, gastric ulcer, headache, hysteria, jaundice, leucorrhoea, tumor dysmenorrhea, piles, cough, sterility, vertigo, gastritis albizia chinensis (osbeck) merr. mimosaceae-t cuhb 035 chakua koroi sakko gach (ch) 0.07 0.53 0.1 0.7 ne menostaxis, cuts, scabies, skin diseases albizia procera (roxb.) benth. mimosaceae-h cuhb 029 jat koroi choipang (ma) 0.29 0.27 0.78 1.34 lc insecticide, ulcers, intestinal worms, anal fissure, leprosy alocasia cucullata (lour.) g.don araceae-h cuhb 030 bishkachu bijkachu (ch) 0.11 0.27 0.29 0.67 ne abdominal pain, asthma, colic, gastric tumor, leukoderma, paralysis, rheumatism alpinia malaccensis (burm.f.) roscoe zingiberaceae-h cuhb 031 amli elach bringblei (tr) 0.7 0.27 1.86 2.82 dd sores, stomachache, indigestion alpinia nigra (gaertn.) b.l.burtt zingiberaceae-h cuhb 032 tara krenga (ch) 1.25 0.8 1.11 3.16 lc vomiting, jaundice, gastric ulcers, lumbago, rheumatism, bronchitis, dyspepsia, impotence alpinia zerumbet (pers.) b.l.burtt & r.m.sm. zingiberaceae-h cuhb 033 bara elachi kom hing (mu) 1.03 1.87 0.39 3.3 dd rheumatic pain, fever 114 rudra et al. scientific name, family, habit, accession no. bangla name vernacular name rd rf ra ivi status** ethno-medicinal value alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. apocyanaceae-t cuhb 034 satim sesna (ch) 0.29 0.27 0.78 1.34 lc jaundice, dysentery, gallstone, helminthiasis, paralysis ulcers, rheumatism, constipation, lipoma, remitting fever, stomachache, rheumatoid arthritis, amischotolype mollissima (blume) hassk. commelinaceae-h cuhb 027 molisima boro annul ludi (ch) 0.07 0.27 0.2 0.54 ne malarial fever, epilepsy, hyperacidity, traumatic injury amomum aromaticum roxb. zingiberaceae-h cuhb 036 lobongo elachi pada gro (ma) 0.11 0.27 0.2 0.67 ne shoulder ache, enteric disease, intestinal difficulties, indigestion, vomiting, biliousness, bowels amomum subulatum roxb. zingiberaceae-h cuhb 037 barolock dhewtara (ch) 0.29 0.53 0.39 1.22 dd cough, vomiting amorphophallus bulbifer (roxb.) blume araceae-h cuhb 038 jongle-ol chung-moro (ma) 0.26 0.53 0.34 1.13 ne insect bite, warts angiopteris evecta (g.horst)hoffn. marattiaceae-f cuhb 039 baro dheki gaith (ch) 0.07 0.27 0.2 0.54 ne carbuncle, lipoma, liver cancer, seminal emission, foot wound, arthritis, blood cancer, beriberi angiopteris helferiana c.presl marattiaceae-f cuhb 078 raj dheki dheki gaith (ch) 0.07 0.27 0.2 0.54 ne dysentery, infection, scabies, muscle pain antidesma bunius (l.) spreng. euphorbiaceae-s cuhb 079 banshialbuka gang prejang (ch) 0.15 0.53 0.2 0.88 lc heart disease, coughs, syphilis, gonorrhea, high blood pressure aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.parker meliaceaet cuhb 080 pitraj okhyyang (ma) 0.07 0.27 0.2 0.54 lc astringent, liniment, rheumatism, tumor, abdominal complaints, spleen in liver, ulcers ardisia colorata roxb. myrsinaceae-h cuhb 081 bangla oak nagal-sun-born (ma 0.44 0.53 0.59 1.56 ne diarrhoea, cough, poultice for rheumatism or lumbago, liver diseases argyreia splendens (roxb.) convolvulaceae-c cuhb 082 chottorupatola so kra pong (ma) 0.29 0.53 0.39 1.22 ne ulcers, rheumatism aristolochia tagala cham. aristolochaceae-c cuhb 083 harin-kan shak paranga ludi (ch) 0.07 0.27 0.2 0.54 ne abdominal pain, rheumatic pain, tumors, fever, dysentery, snake bite, traumatic pain baccaurea ramiflora lour. euphorbiaceae-t cuhb 084 lotkon kusumgula (ch) 0.07 0.53 0.1 0.7 ne gastric ulcer, diarrhea, jaundice, ureterolithiasis, flatulence bambusa bambos (l.) voss poaceae-h cuhb 085 kanta bans bhaijjya bacchuri (ch) 1.03 0.53 1.37 2.93 ne laxative, diseases of blood, leukoderma, inflammation, strangury, cough, cold, consumption, asthma, emmenagogue, bleeding begonia roxburghii (miq.) a.dc. begoniaceae-h cuhb 086 gonirakto khartetoi (ch) 0.74 0.53 0.98 2.25 ne tongue abnormalities, jaundice, dysentery ethnomedicinal plant diversity in badalchori vadi sora village 115 scientific name, family, habit, accession no. bangla name vernacular name rd rf ra ivi status** ethno-medicinal value blumea lacera (burm.f.) dc. asteraceae-h cuhb 087 barakukshima monimujja kher (ch) 0.11 0.27 0.29 0.67 ne rheumatism, bone fracture, dropsy, cholera, fever boehmeria nivea (l.) gaud. urticaceae-s cuhb 130 kankhura urmuru gaith (ch) 1.95 2.4 0.58 4.92 ne wound, septic abscess bombax ceiba l. bombaceae-t cuhb 131 shimul lakh pine (ma) 0.04 0.27 0.1 0.4 lc leucorrhoea, fever, diarrhoea, dysentery, menorrhagia and cough, biliousness, impotence, emetic bridelia stipularis (l.) blume euphorbiaceae-t cuhb 132 harinhara bangaribhanga gaas (ch) 0.44 1.07 0.29 1.8 lc allergies, amoebic dysentery, chest pain, constipation, diarrhoea, leukoderma, strangury brownlowia elata roxb. tiliaceae-t cuhb 133 moss mos gach (ch) 0.07 0.53 0.1 0.7 ne poisonous insect sting, diarrhea, syphilis byttneria pilosa roxb. sterculiaceae-c cuhb 134 harjora lata ludi sola (ch) 0.68 0.8 0.55 1.98 ne bone fracture, boils, scabies, dandruff, lice infestation, rheumatalgia, snake bite, syphilis caesalpinia digyna rottler caesalpiniaceae-c cuhb 135 kochoi ketrang shak (ch) 0.26 0.53 0.34 1.13 ne phthisis, scrupulous affections, conjunctivitis, lipoma callicarpa arborea roxb. verbenaceae-t cuhb 136 bormala banitak (ch) 0.07 0.53 0.1 0.7 lc diarrhoea, bone fracture, worm, gout, epilepsy, fever, gingivitis, ill health, malaria, menorrhea, rheumatism cayratia trifolia (l.) domin vitaceae-s cuhb 137 amol lata lodi mallang (ch) 0.07 0.27 0.2 0.54 ne heart disease, abdominal pain, fever cheilocostus speciosus (j.könig) c.specht costaceae-h cuhb 138 kemak ketoki (ch) 1.62 2.13 0.54 4.29 lc boils, paralysis, seminal emission, headache, osteoarthritis, stomachache, itch, snake bite, skin diseases, contraceptive, otitis, rabies, stomachache, jaundice, menstrual disorder, urinary inflammation, paralysis, fever, cough, dyspepsia, worms, skin diseases, rheumatism, food poisoning, chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king & h.rob. asteraceae-s cuhb 139 assamlota mugujuher (ch) 0.74 0.53 0.98 2.25 ne cut, general weakness, wound, gastric ulcer, bleeding, narcotic, influenza, flatulence, fever, diabetes, poisonous insect sting, painful micturition cissus javanica dc. vitaceae-c cuhb 140 rangila lata sugor amila (ch) 0.07 0.27 0.2 0.54 ne boils, flatulence, liver cancer, mental disorder, snake bite cissus pentagona (roxb.) lawson vitaceae-c cuhb 141 panchkona lata harsanga (ma) 0.66 0.53 0.88 2.07 ne skin disease, elephantiasis, filaria clerodendrum viscosum vent. verbenaceae-s cuhb 142 ghelu bhat bake pata (ch) 1.87 1.33 0.997 4.2 ne stomachache, dysentery, diarrhea, abdominal pain, jaundice, scabies, toothache, gastric ulcers 116 rudra et al. scientific name, family, habit, accession no. bangla name vernacular name rd rf ra ivi status** ethno-medicinal value colocasia esculenta (l.) schott araceae-h cuhb 143 kochu billo hugu (ch) 6.32 2.13 2.1 10.6 lc bleeding, bone fracture, poisonous insect sting, tonsillitis, styptic, stimulant, rubefacient, athlet’s foot, bleeding from cuts, tumours, ulcerated polyp, cancer of nose and warts, laxative, piles, congestion of the portal system and alopecia commelina benghalensis l. commelinaceae-h cuhb 006 dholpata batbattey shak(ch) 0.74 0.27 1.95 2.96 lc blistery, demulcent, refrigerant, laxative, emollient, leprosy, otitis media suppurativa, sores, snake-bite commelina diffusa burm.f. commelinaceae-h cuhb 007 monayna kanshira kanaiya aga (ma) 0.55 0.27 1.46 2.28 lc anemia, boils, carbuncle, hordeolum, emetic, laxative, itchy spots, sores, swellings, burns, itches, leucorrhoea, urinary burning, cold, ulcer, gonorrhea commelina erecta l. commelinaceae-h cuhb 00 pitagola (ch)8 khata jatkhanshira haniya ludi (ch) 0.37 0.27 0.97 1.61 lc acne, otitis media, rheumatic arthritis, scabies, weight loss crateva magna (lour.) dc. capparaceae-t cuhb 011 bonna pitagola (ch) 0.07 0.53 0.1 0.7 ne kidney and bladder stones, lipoma, asthma, cirrhosis, jaundice, piles, rheumatism, stomachache, fever, cholagogue, paralysis, demulcent, fever, vomiting. curculigo orchioides gaertn. liliaceae-h cuhb 009 talamuli tam hap-cha (mu) 4.56 2.13 1.51 8.2 ne snake bites, menorrhagia, bitter, tonic, alterative, restorative, dysuria, leucorrhoea, menstrual derangements, piles, jaundice, ophthalmia, indigestion, aromatic, diarrhoea, diuretic, appetizer, colic, pain in the joints, demulcent, gonorrhea, skin diseases, asthma, whitlaws, sexual debility, useful in bronchitis curcuma aromatica salisb. zingiberaceae-h cuhb 010 jongli haldi bon owldi (ch) 0.11 0.27 0.29 0.67 ne tonic, carminative, appetizer, anthelmintic, blood purifier, applied to bruises, sprains, small pox, headache cyanthillium patulum (dryand. ex dryand.) h.rob. asteraceae-h cuhb 012 kukurshunga dando uppon (ch) 0.51 0.27 1.36 2.15 ne conjunctivitis, asthma, diarrhea, herpes, fire burning, poliomyelitis, tetanus, tonsillitis, colic, gout, hysteria, liver cancer, meningitis, otitis media cyathea gigantea (wall. ex hook.) holttum cyatheaceae-h cuhb 013 baro brikkha fern not known 0.29 0.27 0.78 1.34 ne blood clotting, microbial infection, abscess formation cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw. orchidaceae-e cuhb 014 tosabak surimas (ch, ta) 0.11 0.27 0.29 0.67 ne jaundice, cut injury, lesion, tetanus, boils, gout, otitis media, febrifuge dalbergia volubilis roxb. fabaceae-s cuhb 015 ankilata dandauphal (ch) 0.51 1.07 0.34 1.92 ne skin disease, urinary trouble, aphthae, sore throat, gonorrhoea, gastritis dendrobium aphyllum (roxb.) c.e.c.fisch. orchidaceae-e cuhb 016 fasiariam layning (ch) 0.11 0.27 0.29 0.67 lc abnormal head structure, gout, rheumatism ethnomedicinal plant diversity in badalchori vadi sora village 117 scientific name, family, habit, accession no. bangla name vernacular name rd rf ra ivi status** ethno-medicinal value desmodium motorium (houtt.) merr. fabaceae-s cuhb 017 gorachand tardirmaton (ch) 0.04 0.27 0.09 0.4 ne measles, rheumatism, paralysis desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. fabaceae-s cuhb 018 chalani bormajal (ch) 0.55 0.27 1.46 2.28 ne tumors, worm, skin disease, burning sensation, headache, mental disorder, oedema, asthma, piles, fever, typhoid, bronchitis, dysentery, diarrhoea, biliousness, cough desmodium heterocarpon (l.) dc. fabaceae-s cuhb 019 karpo modi koo-shey-dung (ra) 0.44 0.27 1.17 1.88 ne fainting, convulsion, tonic, cough, bone fracture, gastric tumor, hysteria, rheumatism desmodium triflorum (l.) dc. fabaceae-s cuhb 020 kataliya bormajal (ma) 0.44 0.27 1.17 1.88 ne jaundice desmos chinensis lour. annonaceae-t cuhb 051 sotoyalang epey harang (ch) 0.07 0.53 0.09 0.7 ne vertigo, diarrhea, dysentery dicliptera bupleuroides nees acanthaceae-h cuhb 052 klitera kaladharu (ch) 0.51 0.27 1.36 2.15 ne gout, rheumatism, tuberculosis dillenia indica l. dilleniaceae-t cuhb 053 chalta ulu (ch) 0.04 0.27 0.09 0.4 lc cough, cold, dyspepsia, fever and purgative, lipoma, diarrhoea, dysentery, astringent, abortion, hair fall, spermatorrhoea, general weakness, septic sore, traumatic injury, food poisoning dioscorea bulbifera l. dioscoreaceae-c cuhb 054 banalu mo alu (ch) 0.85 1.07 0.56 2.47 ne vasicatories, bronchitis, tonic, diarrhoea, stomachic, expectorant, anthelmintic, piles, dysentery, asthma, astringent to the bowels, dyspepsia, syphilis, urinary discharges, leukoderma, aphrodisiac, ulcers dioscorea pentaphylla l. dioscoreaceae-c cuhb 055 jum alu jhunjhuma lata (ch) 0.33 0.53 0.44 1.3 ne rheumatism, pains, jaundice, tonic, swelling, lice, dropsy, anasarca dipterocarpus turbinatus c.f.gaertn dipterocarpaceae-t cuhb 056 garjan var-lawng (lu) 0.07 0.53 0.09 0.7 vu jaundice, carbuncle, tetanus, pyemia, lesion, fever, otitis media, cut injury eclipta prostrata (l.) l. asteraceae-h cuhb 057 kesuti kalahuna (ch) 0.51 0.27 1.36 2.15 lc brain and hair tonic, female disease, rheumatic fever, boils, jaundice, burning wound, foot mud sore, gout, irregular menstruation, leprosy, pneumonia, vertigo, bronchitis, asthma, leukoderma, anemia, itching, night blindness elatostema sesssile j.r.forst. & j.g.forst. urticaceae-s cuhb 058 sessijhara shilajhar (ch) 0.11 0.27 0.29 0.67 ne abdominal disorders, body ache, boils, pimples 118 rudra et al. scientific name, family, habit, accession no. bangla name vernacular name rd rf ra ivi status** ethno-medicinal value euphorbia hirta l. euphorbiaceae-h cuhb 059 ghaopata dutta ludi (ch) 0.51 0.27 1.36 2.15 ne bowel complaints, helminthiasis, cough, asthma, dysentery, cuts, abdominal pain, diarrhea, chronic bronchitis, otitis, pneumonia, sore on breast, hemostatic, abscesses, inflamed glands, ulcers, edemas, phlegmons, narcotic, fever, amoebiasis evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. convolvulaceae-h cuhb 060 bhuiokra joinka ludi (ch) 0.22 0.27 0.58 1.07 ne painful micturition, ureterolithiasis, gall stone, kidney stone ficus auriculata lour. moraceae-t cuhb 061 kani-bot baro jhogna gaas (ch) 0.15 1.07 0.09 1.31 lc epilepsy ficus benghalensis l. moraceae-t cuhb 176 bot bot gaith (ch) 0.07 0.53 0.09 0.7 ne impotency, biliousness, abscesses, diarrhoea, dysentery, tonic, cooling, aphrodisiac, constipation, vulnerary, maturant, toothache, piles, diabetes, inflamed soles, rheumatic pains, lumbago, inflammations, styptic and aphrodisiac, obstinate vomiting ficus hispida l.f. moraceae-t cuhb 177 dumur dhumur gulu (ch) 0.26 1.87 0.09 2.22 lc child fever, female disease after giving birth of child, swirling of body, purgative, emetic, cooling, astringent, baldness, epilepsy, facial paralysis, menorrhagia, lactogogue, tonic, menstrual hemorrhage, blood pressure ficus rumphii blume moraceae-t cuhb 178 jhula bot gai aswathwa (ch) 0.07 0.53 0.09 0.7 ne bone fracture ficus semicordata buch.ham. ex j.e.sm. moraceaet cuhb 179 sadimadi dumur ududui (mu) 0.04 0.27 0.09 0.4 lc aphthous complaints, leprosy, bladder complaints, visceral obstructions, tiger bite to avoid septic getonia floribunda roxb. combretaceae-s cuhb 180 goachelata chui-daw (ra) 0.26 0.27 0.68 1.22 ne helminthiasis, jaundice, ulcers, malaria fever, leprosy gmelina arborea roxb. verbenaceae-t cuhb 181 gamari gamber (ch) 0.07 0.53 0.09 0.7 lc bitter tonic, galactagogue, piles, abdominal pain, fever, leprosy, ulcer, gonorrhea, cough, blood disease, jaundice, foot mud sore, worm, liver disease, scabies, astringent, diuretic, tonic, aphrodisiac, alterative, anemia, consumption, vaginal discharges, laxative, anthelmintic, stomachic, burning sensations, septic wounds gnetum latifolium blume gnetaceae-c cuhb 182 chorapati netum not known 0.04 0.27 0.09 0.4 lc hysteria grewia nervosa (lour.) panigrahi tiliaceae-t cuhb 183 asar tarani (ma) 0.26 0.27 0.68 1.21 ne indigestion, eczema, typhoid fever, dysentery, small fox, itches, syphilitic ulceration of the mouth, jaundice ethnomedicinal plant diversity in badalchori vadi sora village 119 scientific name, family, habit, accession no. bangla name vernacular name rd rf ra ivi status** ethno-medicinal value haldina cordifolia (roxb.) ridsdale rubiaceae-t cuhb 184 keli kadam dakrum (ch) 0.18 0.27 0.48 0.94 ne flatulence, gastric tumor, headache, vertigo, biliousness, blood purifier, skin diseases, astringent in dysentery, sores, fever, inflammation, strangury helicteres isora l. sterculiaceae-s cuhb 185 mura pichrangi (ch) 0.22 0.53 0.29 1.05 ne eczema, skin diseases, demulcent, astringent, bowels, flatulence, chronic dysentery, intestinal worms, dysentery, diarrhoea, biliousness, cough, asthma, diabetes, stomach affections, expectorant, antigalactagogue, griping, scabies holarrhena antidysenterica (roxb. ex fleming) wall. ex a.dc. apocyanaceae-t cuhb 186 kurchi kuruk gach (ch) 0.04 0.27 0.09 0.4 lc fever, boils, paralysis, stomach pain, itch, diarrhoea, dysentery, chronic bronchitis, jaundice holigarna longifolia buch.ham. ex roxb. anacardiaceae-t cuhb 187 jhawa alom-chata (ma) 0.22 0.53 0.29 1.05 ne polyps in nose homalomena pendula (blume) bakh.f. araceae-h cuhb 188 ghondodula kochu shigon shag (ch) 0.07 0.27 0.19 0.54 ne rheumatic pain hydnocarpus kurzii (king) warb. flacourtiaceae-t cuhb 189 chalmugra balgach (ch) 0.07 0.27 0.19 0.54 dd lipoma, leprosy, skin diseases, cancer, febrifuge hyptis brevipes poit. lamiaceae-h cuhb 062 gol tokma chang kasey (ma) 0.26 0.8 0.22 1.29 ne lipoma hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. lamiaceae-s cuhb 063 tokma chongadana (ch) 0.37 0.53 0.48 1.39 ne fever, boils, headache, stomach pain, itch, constipation, anorexia, asthma, chest pain, dehydration, general weakness, hyperacidity, hysteria, mania infantum, piles, rheumatism, snake bite, spermaturia, tuberculosis ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r.br. apocyanaceae-c cuhb 064 shamlota borduttya (ch) 1.03 1.33 0.54 2.91 ne bone fracture, skin troubles, stimulant, fever, dental caries, lipoma, ostopenia, measles, stone in the bladder, strangury, wounds, eczema, cooling, demulcent, alterative, tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, dyspepsia, diabetes, headaches, sore between fingers, scabies ipomoea pes-tigridis l. convolvulaceae-c cuhb 065 langulilata kalmi padiye (ma) 0.26 0.8 0.22 1.29 ne cut, wound, purgative, boils, carbuncles, dog-bites ixora nigricans r.br. ex wight & arn. rubiaceae-s cuhb 066 kuthi rangan dikranga chuillya (ch) 0.29 0.53 0.39 1.22 ne diarrhoea, ear infection, paralysis, dysentery jacquemontia paniculata (burm.f.) hallier f. convolvulaceae-c cuhb 067 montilata goarung (ma) 0.26 0.27 0.68 1.21 ne ointment, fever, cough 120 rudra et al. scientific name, family, habit, accession no. bangla name vernacular name rd rf ra ivi status** ethno-medicinal value lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. lythraceae-t cuhb 068 jarul buushi (ma) 0.04 0.27 0.09 0.4 ne astringent, stimulant, febrifuge, purgative, aphthae of mouth, abdominal pain, anemia, antenata care, body pain, cold fever, diarrhoea, eczema, flatulence, general weakness, gynecological disease, worm, ill health, paralysis, stomach disorder, tetanus, tonsillitis lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. anacardiaceae-t cuhb 069 bhadi nyapa-bawn (ra) 0.07 0.27 0.19 0.54 lc blood purifier, boils, tympanites leea indica (burm. f.) merr. leeaceae-s cuhb 070 bonfotka hoti gaith (ch) 0.26 0.8 0.22 1.29 ne bone fracture, abscesses, snake biting, boils, rheumatic arthritis, gastric tumor, gout, itch, paratyphoid, bubo, epilepsy leea macrophylla roxb. ex hornem. leeaceae-s cuhb 071 hastikarna ash gaas (ch) 1.14 1.6 0.5 3.24 ne tonsillitis, tetanus, worm, bleeding, gastric tumor, goiter, gout, rheumatism, lipoma, astringent, alexipharmac, obstinate sores, pain lepidagathis hyalina nees acanthaceae-h cub 072 haya not known 0.26 0.27 0.68 1.21 ne chest pain lindernia antipoda (l.) alston scrophulariaceae-h cuhb 073 chhoto helencha zai gaith (ch) 0.4 0.27 1.07 1.75 lc boils *h-herb, s-shrub, c-climber, t-tree, e-epiphyte, f-fern, ch-chakma, mamarma, mu-murang ** as per iucn, dd = data deficient, lc = least concern, ne = not evaluated, vu = vulnerable. where the greatest number of 10 species was belonged to family euphorbiaceae that detected as most prominent plant family in the current vcf. in that order, asteraceae and rubiaceae was the second and third most dominant family by obtaining 9 and 8 species, respectively; sequentially araceae, fabaceae and zingiberaceae were the third most each with 7 species. when it comes to the species density parameter, rd indicates that melocanna baccifera had the greatest rd (9.15%) trailed by colocasia esculenta (6.32%) and adiantum lunulatum (5.62%). among all the recorded medicinal plants in the vcf, most frequently found species was the thunbergia grandiflora (3.2%) preceded by boehmeria nivea (2.4%) and computed 2.13% for adiantum lunulatum, cheilocostus speciosus, colocasia esculenta, curculigo orchioides and melocanna baccifera. on the other hand, a relative abundance (ra) study showed that panicum repens and panicum maximum were the most common with accounting 3.91% ratio in the vcf after that occurred melocanna baccifera (3.04%) and molineria capitulata (1.95). therefore, table 2 divulged that melocanna baccifera was the most important medicinal plant in the present vcf attaining magnitude of 14.3 importance value index (ivi). alongside, the vital plants in the vcf comprised colocasia esculenta, adiantum lunulatum, and curculigo orchioides, with ivi values of 10.6, 9.63, and 8.21, respectively. contrary, lowest ivi value of 0.4 found in actephila excels, bombax ceiba, derris mitis, dillenia indica, ficus semicordata, gnetum latifolium, holarrhena antidysenterica, lagerstroemia speciosa, litsea glutinosa, micromelum hirsutum, m. minutum, phyllanthus emblica, psychotria adenophylla, stephania japonica, sterculia villosa, stereospermum colais, streblus asper, swintonia floribunda, terminalia bellirica, vitex glabrata and ziziphus oenoplia. a sheer portion of those respondents claimed they depended only on herbal remedies to cure a range of illnesses. ethnomedicinal plant diversity in badalchori vadi sora village 121 diversity of plant habits and their parts utilization out of all recorded plants, five diversify plant types had been noted such as herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers, and epiphytes. of them, herbs made up the greatest percentage (34.8% with 64 species) closely behind by trees (25.96% with 48 species), shrubs (23.2% with 42 species), climbers (13.8% with 25 species), and epiphytes (1.1 with 2 species). indigenous communities around this selected vcf treated themselves using 42 different parts of the documented plants. the most used part of which was the leaves (100 species) followed by roots (65 species), barks (46 species), fruits (23 species), stems (19 species), whole plants (18 species) and roots juice (14 species). use of shoot, sprout, bulb, kernel, corn juice, young bud, aerial root, oil of seeds, young twig, inflorescence, root bark, unripe root, capsule, caudex, plant juice, bud, fruit juice, resin and pod had been documented only in a handful number of species. the details information of all that depicted in table 2. indices of plant diversity one way to quantify how often these species in a community are present is to use diversity indices, in which multiple elements of biodiversity (richness and evenness) are represented it statistically into a single number. one of the components of diversity indexes particularly shanonweiners index (h) analysis of this vcf accounted 4.26 indicating the existence of various medicinal plants with absolutely even distribution. according to existing literature on vcf, this diversity is greater magnitude of diversification than others two community-based forest management of renikhayong para vcf in bandarban and komolchori vcf in khagrachari: and almost identical with beganasori and bamer bagechori vcf in rangamati (table 3). consequently, this vcf has a simpson's index (d) value of 0.03, which is significantly lower than the preceding three vcfs' d (simpson’s index) values, implying that this vcf contains a considerably greater diversity of medicinal plants than others. with a value of 0.97 for species evenness index (e), this vcf has almost evenly distribution of all documented species in the forest likely to beganasori and bamer bagechori vcf and heterogeneous to komolchori vcf, renikhayong para vcf. as compare to government-managed forests, this vcf is markedly rich in diversity than forests managed by the bangladesh forest department (bfd) in terms of diversity indices that reflects on the maximum value of h, lower value of d and higher value of e than bfd forest (table 3). iucn red list status we determined the iucn red list status of recorded plant species. our study revealed that out of 181 plant species, vulnerable only one species (dipterocarpus turbinatus), least concern 51 species, data deficit 7 species and 122 species has not been assessed yet. there is ample proof that our predecessors were familiar with therapeutic herbs at least 60,000 years ago. as in ancient civilizations, plants have been used throughout birth to death, and people employ plants in a multitude of ways to live (lamxay et al., 2011; phumthum et al., 2018; pieroni et al., 2017). many of today's contemporary medications were first synthesized or extracted from plant compounds that acted as prototypes. but this traditional knowledge has been attenuated with the progression of globalization and urbanization over time (ragupathy et al., 2008; srithi et al., 2009). because of that documentation and conservation of this ethnobotanical heritage is imperative as this is the finest attempt to understand their brilliance and further upkeep this for human welfare. so, the ethnomedicinal plant diversity of the badalchori vadi sora vcf in 122 rudra et al. rangamati (chts) was therefore identified and assessed in this study through documentation of their herbal knowledge. during the course of our study, we identified 181 diverse medicinal plant species of variable habits under 145 genera and 65 families (table 2), showing a similar level of diversity to prior cht research (faruque et al., 2018, 2019; kabir and saha, 2014). some global studies also analogous to current studies (malik et al., 2018; pala et al., 2019; rana et al., 2019). in this vcf, in terms of number of species the most frequent families are asteraceae and euphorbiaceae followed by rubiaceae, araceae, zingiberaceae and fabaceae although this asteraceae family supremacy may also be seen in adjacent nations such as india's andra pradesh and manipur (khumbongmayum et al., 2005), as well as myanmar's chin state (ong et al., 2018). it is plausible that this is owing to the existence of homologous ecological, edaphic, and climatic factors. there are also a vast number of usage reports and values for such families across the world (ferrier et al., 2015; kankara et al., 2015). as part of the phytosociological assessment, one bamboo table 3. comparison of diversity indices of the study with findings form other community-based village community forests (vcf) and bangladesh forest department (bfd) managed forests. diversity indices this study other studies study sites managing authority shanon-wiener index (h) 4.27 5.04 (rudra et al., 2021) beganasori and bamer bagechori vcf, rangamati solely managed by indigenous community 3.22 (chowdhury et al., 2018) komolchori vcf, khagrachari solely managed by indigenous community 4.01 (jannat et al., 2019) renikhayong para vcf, bandarban solely managed by indigenous community 0.9 (rahman et al., 2016) kaptai national park, rangamati managed by bfd 3.25 (nath et al., 2016) chunati wildlife sanctuary, chattogram managed by bfd added simpson index (d) 0.03 0.09 (rudra et al., 2021) beganasori and bamer bagechori vcf, rangamati solely managed by indigenous community 0.07(chowdhury et al., 2018) komolchori vcf, khagrachari solely managed by indigenous community 0.03 (jannat et al., 2019) renikhayong para vcf, bandarban solely managed by indigenous community 0.37 (rahman et al., 2016) kaptai national park, rangamati managed by bfd 0.09 (nath et al., 2016) chunati wildlife sanctuary, chattogram managed by bfd species evenness index (e) 0.97 0.99 (rudra et al., 2021) beganasori and bamer bagechori vcf, rangamati solely managed by indigenous community 0.47 (chowdhury et al., 2018) komolchori vcf, khagrachari solely managed by indigenous community 0.09 (jannat et al., 2019) renikhayong para vcf, bandarban solely managed by indigenous community 0.62 (rahman et al., 2016) kaptai national park, rangamati managed by bfd 0.72 (nath et al., 2016) chunati wildlife sanctuary, chattogram managed by bfd ethnomedicinal plant diversity in badalchori vadi sora village 123 (melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz) species exhibited its phytosociological dominance in the current investigations, with the greatest ivi value as well as a substantial proportion of rd, ra, and rf values (table 2). therefore, melocanna baccifera, locally known as mulibash, has an enormous value in ecosystem balance, and has socio-economic significance not only for making furniture, handicrafts, housing (nilkanta et al., 2017) but also for food (govindan et al., 2016), industrial chemical components (tripathi et al., 2018; lalhruaitluanga et al., 2011) and medicinal importance (kuddus et al., 2013). many of the people in the village of badalchori vadi ora stated their trust in the use of formulations derived from various sections of medicinal plants to cure around 379 illnesses, which they had learnt from their ancestors and testifying to the synergistic effects (one plants for multiple purposes) of plants as compared to noted species. for example, one recent study postulated that rangamati is incredibly enriched with ethnomedicinal plants containing 144 plants under 52 families for treating 90 ailments categorized into 25 disease categories. another study on the chakma community of rangamati district unearthed that they utilized 50 different species to cure 28 different illnesses (uddin et al., 2014). furthermore, we assessed the herbal formulation components from our investigations to determine the most often utilized plant parts as therapeutic ingredients. our findings revealed that leaves are the most efficiently utilized plant component; unlike shoot, sprout, bulb, kernel, corn juice, young bud, aerial root, oil, oil of seeds, young twig, inflorescence, root bark, and other parts are seldom used plant parts of the badalchori vadi sora peoples. (table 2). leaves are quite often documented to be utilized as herbal medicinal materials in bangladesh (rahman et al., 2007) and other nations (bradacs et al., 2011; mukungu et al., 2016; umair et al., 2017; yemele et al., 2015) due to the presence of diverse bioactive compounds, ease of processing and harvesting, and sustainability (jadid et al., 2020). plant existence is not severely harmed by plucking the leaves material within appropriate limitations, but harvesting other plant components such as stems, roots, or entire plants could be detrimental to plants' survival (zheng and xing, 2009). herbs had been disclosed to be the most prevalent amongst plant habit types, whilst others had noted similar observations (jan et al., 2017; jashimuddin and inoue, 2012; rao et al., 2015; rudra et al., 2021; teklay et al., 2013; ullah et al., 2020). contrary to what is often believed, phytosociological features and a calculation of the plant diversity index revealed that this community-based forest, such as village common forest (vcf), is more diversified and has more uniformly distributed plant species than government-managed forest in bangladesh as evidenced of literature. whereas kaptai national park and chunati wildlife sanctuary of bfd maintained forests have lower diversity indices than the present study (nath et al., 2016; rahman et al., 2016). more precisely, table 3 displayed that community base forest in bangladesh had a considerably higher biodiversity status than bfd managed forests. this was possible by their community's collaborative efforts, in which they implement traditional resource management strategies to preserve forest area for long usage and to ensure a sustainable supply of their livelihood resources. unfortunately, current generation are not interested to practice this traditional knowledge. likewise, natural resources are depleting day by day due to various anthropogenic activities. therefore, it is urgently necessary to document this hidden treasure before going to lost forever as well as to take necessary actions against deforestation in the study area. this study provides comprehensive documentation of all wild medicinal plants available in community-managed natural tropical forest patches in chts. it revealed diversity of medicinal plants as well as their diversified uses in selected vcfs of rangamati in chts. it also unveiled phytosociological attributes and diversity indices along with conservation status. different plant 124 rudra et al. parts are used for the preparation of medicinal doses. understanding and the uses of medicinal plants by indigenous people based on their traditional beliefs. there is a scope to investigate the medicinal properties of plants for proper identification of bioactive compounds which may be helpful in drug designing. they also be included in herbal industries with proper investigation. this study will be an extensive database for pharmaceutical and herbal industries in bangladesh. similar type of study can be carried out to sketch overall medicinal plant resources in all vcfs of chts. biodiversity monitoring study also needed to check the diversity status and to take measures accordingly. the findings of the study will help to monitor diversity status in future. however, conservation of these medicinal plants will be challenging in near future as vcfs are depleting day by day. an in-situ conservation strategy involving local communities is prescribed for sustainable management of vcfs. acknowledgements authors expressed sincere gratitude to the local people and traditional healers for providing valuable information during this study. funding research was funded by effective creation on human opinion (echo), a non-government social development and research organization. chattogram, bangladesh. references anbarashan, m. and parthasarathy, n. 2013. tree diversity of tropical dry evergreen forests dominated by single or mixed species on the coromandel coast of 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(manuscript received on 05 november, 2019; revised on 15 december, 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 173–182, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists primulina wenii (gesneriaceae), a new species from china jian li, xin chen, shu li1 and li-jiao yan2 institute of ecology, college of life sciences, zhejiang university, hangzhou, zhejiang province, china, cn-315008, p.r. china keywords: east of china; flora of fujian; gesneriaceae; new taxon; primulina juliae abstract primulina wenii (gesneriaceae) is described and illustrated here as a new species. morphologically, this new species resembles p. juliae (hance) mich. möller & a. weber, but it is distinct from the latter by some obvious features in leaf blade, bract, indumentum, corolla, filament, stigma and pistil. nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (its) region and plastid trnl-f intronspacer (trnl-f) dna sequence data from the new species and its 22 relatives are used to determine the systematic position of the new species within primulina. molecular evidence suggests that p. wenii is strongly supported as a sister to a clade in which p. juliae is included. the conservation status of p. wenii is assessed as "critically endangered" (cr) according to iucn red list categories and criteria. introduction a great number of new species of primulina have been described since 2011 at present the number has rapidly reached more than 150 species in china (möller et al., 2016). undoubtedly, the limestone areas of south-west and south china and north vietnam are considered to be of the highest biodiversity and differentiation for primulina (gesneriaceae) (wei et al., 2010; wen et al., 2015). it is easily understood that very few species of primulina in fujian province have been recorded. before 1992, there were two species and one variety, namely p. pinnatifida (hand.mazz.) y.z. wang [former chirita pinnatifida (hand.-mazz.) burtt], primulina fimbrisepala (hand.-mazz.) y.z. wang (former chirita fimbrisepala hand.-mazz.) and chirita gueilinensis w.t. wang var. brachycarpa w.t. wang (zhang, 1993). however, chirita gueilinensis var. brachycarpa was brought into chirita juliae hance (wang et al., 1998; li and wang, 2004) based on the similar morphological characters of the two congeners. but soon afterwards, chirita along with several other associated genera, namely almost all the species and chirita sect. gibbosaccus c.b. clarke, two species of wentsaiboea d. fang & d.h. qin (w. renifolia d. fang & d.h. qin (2004) and w. luochengensis yan liu & w.b. xu (2010)) and all the species of chiritopsis w.t. wang (1981) were shifted to primulina hance (li and wang, 2007; wang et al., 2011; weber et al., 2011). it was originally the monotypic genus (hance, 1883). subsequently, a new species of primulina, viz., p. xiuningensis (x.l. liu & x.h. guo) mich. möller & a. weber (former chiritopsis xiuningensis x.l. liu & x.h. guo) (liu and guo, 1989; weber et al., 2011), from fujian, china was discovered and reported formally in recent years (geng et al., 2014). to sum it up, fujian province in east china cannot still be considered to have high biodiversity of primulina because only three species were found in this area. 1gesneriaceae conservation center of china (gccc), guilin botanical garden, guangxi inst. of botany, guangxi zhuang autonomous region and chinese academy of sciences, cn-541006 guilin, p.r. china. 2corresponding author.email: yanljzju@163.com mailto:yanljzju@163.com 174 li et al. in 2012, one of the authors found a population of the peculiar gesneriaceae plants growing on a rocky slope near a stream in a limestone gorge close to fuzhou city, fujian province, china. firstly, we considered it to be prmulina juliae because it is recorded in ninghua county and songxi county of fujian. the next year we re-visited the same location to collect specimens with flowers, and we found that the two similar congeners are actually different. we sent some specimens with flowers and fruits to ibk (dr. fang wen, fw) for identification. he thought they should be an unknown species and have never been seen before. after consulting relevant literature (wang, 1985; wang et al., 1990, 1998; li and wang, 2004; wei et al., 2010; wang et al., 2011; weber et al., 2011; möller et al., 2011, 2016;xu et al., 2012; möller and clark, 2013) and checking herbarium specimens of primulina (some former chirita), ‘world checklist of gesneriaceae’ (skog and boggan, 2007) and ‘the genera of gesneriaceae’ (weber and skog, 2007), and consulting dr. fang wen based on his rich experience and knowledge about the identification and taxonomy of primulina, we found the morphology of these newly discovered plants to be similar to p. juliae (hance) mich. mich. & a. weber (wei et al., 2010). however, they differ significantly in some characters. we have determined that they belong to a new species of primulina viz. p. wenii, sp. nov.the new species primulina wenii is described and illustrated below and compared with the morphologically similar p. juliae and their conservation status is evaluated. material and methods an overview of the genus primulina from south, south-west and east china was made. all the available specimens of primulina stored in the following herbaria in china (anu, bjfc, cdbi, ctc, hgas, hib, ibk, ibsc, kun, pe, sz) were used as material of primulina from recent fieldwork by the re-searching team of authors in south, south-west and east china (thiers, 2015). all the morphological characters were studied under dissecting microscopes, and described using the terminology presented by wang et al. (1990, 1998). leaf material of the new species was collected in the field and dried by silica gel for dna extraction (chase and hills, 1991). the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (its) region and the plastid trnl-f intron spacer (trnl-f) were used as molecular markers. the molecular methods and protocols followed möller et al. (2009, 2011). genbank accession numbers for its and trnl-f of the new species are kx985576 and kx985577, respectively (table 1). to elucidate the phylogenetic affinities of the new species, ingroups (22 species of primulina) and outgroups [ornithoboea wildeana craib, paraboea rufescens (franch.) b.l.burtt] selection were chosen based on recent phylogenetic analyses (li et al., 2007; mölleret al., 2011; weber et al., 2011; kang et al., 2014), and from which sequences were available from genbank (table 1). sequence data were edited and assembled using lasergene navigator 7.1 (dnastar, madison, wisconsin, usa) and then aligned with the mega 5.1 (tamura et al., 2011) with additional manual refinements where necessary. phylogenetic analyses were performed using maximum parsimony (mp) method implemented in paup* 4.0b10. heuristic searches were performed using a starting tree built from stepwise in addition with tbr branch swapping and 1,000 random addition replicates. to assess confidence in clades, bootstrap analyses based on 1,000 replicates with 10 random additions per replicate were used. primulina wenii (gesneriaceae), a new species 175 table 1. list of species along with accession number of trnl-f and its sequences used in this study. species name voucher number trnl-f its ornithoboea wildeana craib jia-mei li ljm-04-44 dq872824 dq865197 paraboea rufescens( franch.) burtt. jia-mei li 0185 dq872825 dq865196 primulina bipinnatifida (w.t. wang) y.z. wang guangxi na/li j.m.na dq872806 dq872842 primulina danxiaensis dxs04 kf498157 kf498050 primulina dryas (dunn) mich. möller & a. weber t.c. godfrey 369 fj501524 fj501348 primulina glandulosa (d. fang, l. zeng & d.h. qin) y.z. wang jia-mei li 054291 dq872804 dq872841 primulina glandulosa var. yangshuoensis (fang wen, yue wang & q.x. zhang) mich. möller & a. weber m. möller mmo 06-912 hq632948 hq633045 primulina heterotricha (merr.) y.z. wang yin-zheng wang 067311 dq872816 dq872826 primulina juliae jxgf01 kf498228 kf498107 primulina linearifolia (w.t. wang) y.z. wang jia-mei li 11121 dq872810 dq872834 primulina longgangensis (w.t. wang) y.z. wang a. takhtajan & n. aruzytov 1975 aj492290 fj501347 primulina minutimaculata (d. fang & w.t. wang) y.z. wang jia-mei li 067134 dq872815 dq872828 primulina mollifolia (d. fang & w.t. wang) y.z. wang jia-mei li 054281 dq872802 dq872847 primulina ophiopogoides (d. fang & w.t. wang) y.z. wang yin-zheng wang 067134 dq872814 dq872829 primulina pinnata (w.t. wang) y.z. wang expedition beijing 896526 fj501526 fj501349 primulinapinnatifida (hand.-mazz) y.z. wang q.j. xie j-037 fj501527 fj501350 primulina pteropoda (w.t. wang) y.z. wang yin-zheng wang 067312 dq872817 dq872827 primulina repanda var. guilinensis ex smithsonian institute 94-083 aj492292 fj501351 primulina spadiciformis (w.t. wang) mich. möller & a. weber ex smithsonian institute 94-087 aj492291 fj501346 primulina spinulosa (d. fang & w.t. wang) y.z. wang yin-zheng wang 067133 dq872813 dq872830 primulina tabacum hance q.j. xie & c.x. ye aj492300 fj501352 primulina weii mich. möller & a. weber jia-mei li, ljm-04-42 dq872811 dq872832 primulina wenii jian li & l.j. yan sp. nov. jian li & f. wen 20130412-01 kx985577 kx985576 primulina wentsaii (d. fang& l. zeng) y.z. wang jia-mei li 11630 dq872812 dq872831 primulina xiuningensis (x.l. liu & x.h. guo) mich. möller & a. weber zjjs01 kf498252 kf498124 176 li et al. results and discussion taxonomical treatment primulina wenii jian li & l. j. yan, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: primulina wenii jian li & l. j. yan differs from its congener, p. juliae (hance) mich. möller & a. weber, by the combination of the following characters: the lateral veins of leaf blade 3 or 4; peduncle densely covered with erectly spreading white eglandular pubescent and villous hairs; bracts 3, outside pubescent and villous, inside pubescent; corolla outside densely white glandular-pubescent, inside sparsely pubescent; filaments glabrous; stigma trapeziform, 2lobed to irregularly lobed (table 2) type: china. fujian province, fuzhou city, rixi town, 26.35139°n, 119.27056°e, 130 m, on moist tufa and the rocky surface of limestone cliff, 12 april 2013, jian li & f. wen 2013041201 (holotype: ibk!; isotype: ibk!). table 2. morphological comparison of primulina wenii sp. nov. and p. juliae. characters p. wenii p. juliae leaf blade indumentum lower surface densely appressed pubescent and veins villous, upper surface densely pubescent and villous both surfaces appressedpuberulent leaf blade margin irregularly serrated in number and size dentate to pinnately lobed basally or crenate, apex acute to rounded lateral veins of leaf blade 3 or 4, abaxially obviously prominent, adaxially conspicuously sunken 4 or 5, abaxially inconspicuously prominent, adaxially inconspicuous peduncle indumentum densely covered with erectly spreading white eglandular pubescent and villous hairs densely covered with spreading puberulent hairs bract number and indumentum 3; outside pubescent and villous, inside pubescent 2; outside puberulent, inside glabrous corolla indumentum outside densely white glandularpubescent, inside sparsely pubescent outside sparsely puberulent, inside nearly glabrous filaments glabrous glabrous to glandular puberulent near apex pistil densely covered with white glandular puberulent hairs puberulent stigma trapeziform, 2-lobed to irregularly lobed narrowly oblong, 2-lobed herbs, perennial. rhizome cylindric, 2–4 cm long, 0.6–1.0 cm in diam. leaves 4–6, basal; petiole compressed, 1.9–2.5 × c. 0.8 cm, densely villous; leaf blade pale green to green, oblong to broadly elliptic, 10–20 × 7–14 cm, herbaceous but chartaceous when dried, lower surface densely appressed pubescent and along veins villous, upper surface densely pubescent and villous, base attenuate to cuneate, margin irregularly serrate, ciliate, apex obtuse; lateral veins 3 or 4 on each side of midrib, abaxially obviously prominent, adaxially conspicuously sunken. cymes 3–4, axillary, 3(5)–7-flowered or more; peduncle green, 8–10 cm long, 2.5–3.0 mm in diam., densely covered with erectly spreading white eglandular pubescent and villous hairs; bracts 3, lateral ones primulina wenii (gesneriaceae), a new species 177 fig. 1. primulina wenii sp. nov. a. habitat; b. habit in flowering; c. leaf blade – adaxial surface; d. leaf blade – abaxial surface; e. cyme, buds and bracts; f. bracts; g. cymes and flowers; h. peduncle and its indumentum; i. front view of corolla; j. upward view of corolla; k. lateral view of corolla; l. stigma with dissected lobes; m. curved immature capsules. a and m: collected from type locality, 22 jul 2013; b–l: photographed in nursery of gesneriad conservation center of china, guilin, 12 apr 2014, by f. wen. 178 li et al. fig. 2. primulina juliae. a. habit; b. leaf blade – adaxial surface; c. front view of corolla; d. lateral view of corolla; e. cyme, calyx lobes and indumentum; f. young straight capsules. a– b and e– f: photographed in type location by j. li; c– d: photographed in nursery of gesneriad conservation center of china by f. wen. primulina wenii (gesneriaceae), a new species 179 conspicuously opposite, green, linear to lanceolate, 14–16 × 2.5–3.0 mm, the central one smaller, 10–12 × 1.3–1.6 mm, persistent at flowering; outside white pubescent and villous, inside white pubescent, margin entire and ciliate, apex acute. calyx 5-partite to base; lobes lanceolate, 14–15 × c. 2.5 mm, nearly equal, outside densely erectly white villous and pubescent, inside sparsely shortly pubescent to nearly glabrous, margin entire, apex acute. corolla outside pale bluish purple, throat with 2 purple stripes, upper portion of inside corolla surface with 2 dark purplish brown swollen spots, 2 swollen spots sparsely covered with short glandular hairs, inside of lobes pale purplish blue with slightly darker purple longitudinal stripes, corolla c. 3.2 cm long, outside densely white glandular-pubescent, inside sparsely pubescent; tube nearly tubular, c. 2.8 cm long, fig. 3. the strict consensus tree of primulina taxa based on a maximum parsimony (mp) analysis of combined its and trnl-f. numbers of the branches indicate bootstrap values > 50% by mp analysis. * indicates the new species. orifice c. 1.7 cm in diam.; limb distinctly 2-lipped; upper lip 2-lobed, lobes triangular to semicircle, 1.0–1.2 cm long; lower lip 3-lobed, lobes oblong to triangle, 1.0–1.3 cm long. stamens 2, adnate to c. 1.2 cm above corolla base; filaments white, c. 1 cm long, geniculate c. 3 mm above insertion, glabrous; anthers reniform, slightly constricted at middle, c. 3.5 mm long; staminodes 3, lateral ones adnate to c. 1 cm above corolla base, white, linear, c. 7.5 mm long, glabrous, apex small capitate, central staminode adnate to c. 0.5 cm above corolla base, punctiform, inconspicuous, c. 0.5 mm long. disk annular, c. 10 mm high; pistil c. 2.3 cm long, densely 180 li et al. covered with white eglandular hairs; style linear, c. 1.3 cm, pubescent; stigma trapeziform, 2-lobed to irregularly lobed, c. 2.5 mm long. fruit c. 5 cm long, straight to slightly curved, hairy. flowering and fruiting period: april – june. etymology: the species epithet ‘wenii’ is used to commemorate a chinese botanist, fang wen, who studied gesneriaceae of china for many years, and is devoted to the conservation and taxonomy of chinese gesneriaceae plants. vernacular name: chinese: wēn shì bào chūn jǜtái. habitat: primulina wenii grows on shaded moist turf of limestone cliff in subtropical limestone evergreen broad-leaf forest on a north-facing slope of a limestone hill at an altitude of about 130 meters. the climate of fuzhou, fujian province is the monsoon of subtropical moist marine climate zone. the average annual temperature of fuzhou is 20.1°c, the average annual precipitation is c. 1718.1 mm. notes: east china is not the area with high biodiversity of gesneriaceae in china. for example, only six new species of gesneriaceae, namely primulina xiziae fang wen, yue wang & g. j. hua (li et al., 2012), p. chizhouensis xin hong, s.b. zhou & f.wen (hong et al., 2012), p. suichuanensis x.l. yu & j.j. zhou (zhou et al., 2016), didymocarpus dissectus fang wen, y. l. qiu, jie huang & y.g. wei (wen et al., 2013), oreocharis striata fang wen & c.z. yang (yang et al., 2015) and beccarinda baolianis q.w. lin (lin, 2016) were discovered and described in the past decade. further, fujian province, belongs to e china, only possesses three species of primulina before this new one was discovered. this also implies that more field investigations will help more discoveries. molecular analysis the combined matrix had a length of 1,670 characters, 672 for its and 998 for trnl-f. of the 254 (15.2%) varied, 257 (15.4%) were parsimoniously informative, including the indels. the maximum parsimony analysis on the combined matrix resulted in two trees of 937 steps in length, a consistency index (ci) of 0.7311, retention index (ri) of 0.6644 and homoplasy index (hi) of 0.2689. the strict consensus tree (fig. 3) was highly resolved and tree topology was consistent with the previous phylogenetic study by möller et al. (2011) and kang et al. (2014). dna analyses of sequence data show that the new species is sister to a clade (bs = 100) comprising of primulina tabacum, p. danxiaensis, p. juliae and p. xiuningensis. of these species the undescribed species is morphologically most similar to p. juliae from which it can be distinguished by certain qualitative and quantitative characters in leaf blade, bract, indumentum, corolla, filament, stigma and pistil. for instance, it is obviously different that the peduncles of p. wenii are densely covered with erectly spreading white eglandular pubescent and villous hairs, the number of bracts is three, filaments are glabrous, and pistil is densely covered with white glandular puberulent hairs. the morphological differences between the two species (p. wenii and p. juliae) are depicted in table 2. acknowledgements the authors would like to thank dr. fang wen and prof. yi-gang wei for identifying specimens and cultivating plants. we also thank some anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper. this study was supported by the guangxi natural science foundation (2015gxnsfbb139004) and the key research and development project of guangxi (guike ab16380053). primulina wenii (gesneriaceae), a new species 181 references chase, m.w. and hills, h. 1991. silica gel: an ideal material for field preservation of leaf samples for dna studies. taxon 40: 215–220. fang, d. and qin, d.h. 2004. wentsaiboea d. fang. & d.h. qin, a new genus of the gesneriaceae from guangxi, china.actaphytotax. sin. 42: 533–536. geng, h.q., ma, q.x., yan, y.h., li, y.f., jiang, q.y., lǘ, l.l., wu, w.h., ding, x. and hou, x.l. 2014. new materials of plants in fujian province (ii).subtrop. plant sci. 43: 24–28. hance, h.f. 1883. new chinese cyrtandreae. j. bot. 21: 165–170. hong, x., zhou, s.b. and wen, f. 2012. primulina chizhouensis sp. nov. 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(manuscript received on 14 october 2016; revised on 28 august 2017) http://www.genera-gesneriaceae.at/. microsoft word 08. bjpt 16 -114_palyn of aethionema_101217.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 197-204, 2017 (december) © 2017 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists palynological features of eleven aethionema taxa from turkey and their systematic implications mehmet cengiz karaismailoglu1 department of botany, faculty of science, istanbul university, 034116 istanbul, turkey keywords: aethionema; brassicaceae; pollen; morphology; turkey; sem; pca. abstract pollen morphology of 11 taxa, including 2 endemic of the genus aethionema w.t. aiton from turkey was examined under light and scanning electron microscopes. the pollens of aethionema are mostly isopolar and bilaterally symmetric; spheroidal, prolate, perprolate and subprolate with the polar axes 14.07-26.41 µm and the equatorial axes 7.85-22.02 µm; mostly tricolpate, rarely 2-colpate; surface ornamentation is micro or macro reticulate. the exine thickness varies between 0.66 and 1.91 µm, and in tine thickness ranges from 0.27 to 0.85 µm. it is found that dimension of pollen grains, surface ornamentation, apocolpidium and amb diameter are taxonomically significant. introduction the family brassicaceae (cruciferae), one of the largest angiosperm families, consists about 340 genera and 3350 species distributed mostly in temperate northern hemisphere (al-shehbaz, 1986; karaismailoglu, 2016). the genus aethionema w.t. aiton represents with about 45 taxa in turkey, including 20 endemic taxa (guner et al., 2012). turkey is one of the biodiversity rich centers of the genus, and its number in outside anatolia declines gradually (davis, 1965; pinar et al., 2007). aethionema having relatively few morphological characters and dimorphism in fruits among individuals of some species poses some taxonomic problems in classification of taxa within the genus (al-shehbaz et al., 2007). besides, some of taxa within genus are of the common convergence in fruits and seeds in the family (mummenhoff et al., 1997). using morphological characters in infrageneric delimitation becomes problematic in the genus. therefore, additional features could make useful contribution to the solution of taxonomical problems in the genus. the significance of palynological information has been stressed by several workers in the family cruciferae, viz. inceoglu and karamustafa (1977), brochmann (1992), pinar et al. (2009), and mutlu and erik (2012). there has been no comprehensive palynological study in the genus aethionema. however, recently atceken et al., (2016) investigated pollen morphology of four species of the genus. therefore, the present investigation aims to enhance current palynological knowledge of the genus and to evaluate their taxonomic significance as taxonomic characters. material and methods plant samples used for investigation were collected from different natural habitats of turkey. a list of studied specimens is given in table 1 with collection localities and collection numbers, and specimens were stored in the istf (istanbul university science faculty herbarium). specimens for scanning electron microscopy were prepared mounting with silver adhesive on the stub, covered by gold, and examined with a jeol neoscope-5000 scanning electron microscope (karaismailoglu, 2015).                                                              1email: cengiz.karaismailoglu@istanbul.edu.tr 198  karaismailoglu   pollen slides for light microscope were prepared following the technique of wodehouse (1935). pollen grains were dyed by safranin, and mounted with a cover slip, examined with olympus cx21fs1 light microscope, and photographed by kameram imaging software. table 1. the examined taxa of aethionema and their locations taxa locality collection no. aethionema froedinii rech. (a1) gumushane, kelkit karaismailoglu 213 a. arabicum (l.) andrz. ex dc. (a2) mugla, koycegiz karaismailoglu 194 a. eunomioides (boiss.) bornm. (a3)* artvin, yusufeli karaismailoglu 169 a. fimbriatum boiss. (a4) nigde, camardi karaismailoglu 275 a. speciosumboiss. et huet ssp. speciosum(a5) artvin, savsat karaismailoglu 67 a. speciosum boiss. et huetssp. compactum hartvig et strid (a6)* mugla, koycegiz karaismailoglu 260 a. saxatile (l.) r. br. (a7) trabzon, of karaismailoglu 94 a. oppositifolium (pers.) hedge (a8) agri, downtown area karaismailoglu 164 a. iberideum boiss. (a9) erzurum, ispir karaismailoglu 170 a. armenum boiss. (a10) kahramanmaras, goksun karaismailoglu 206 a. grandiflorum boiss. et hohen. (a11) mugla, marmaris karaismailoglu 191 *=endemic pollen terminology based on erdtman (1952 and 1969), brochmann (1992) and punt et al. (1994). ten palynological characters have been determined to discriminate the 11 taxa of aethionema genus (table 2), and applied duncan’s multiple range tests for each of them (spss, 2006), and dissimilarity matrix was consisted (table 3). afterwards, the variations of the determined characters are presented in figure 3 with the whisker graph. cluster analysis of taxa was performed in accordance with upgma (fig. 4) (mohammadi and prasanna, 2003). besides, the ordination of taxa is performed with principal component analysis (pca) (fig. 5). computations except duncan’s multiple range tests were made with the mvsp software (kovach, 2007). results and discussion the morphological characters of pollen grains of the examined aethionema taxa are presented in table 2, and photographs are presented in figures 1 and 2. the pollens are isopolar and vary between prolate (prolate (72.73%), perprolate (9.09 %), and subprolate (9.09%) and spheroidal (9.09%). the polar axes range from 14.07-26.41 µm and the equatorial axes 7.85-22.02 µm. their dimensions are smaller in a. arabicum and a. speciosum ssp. compactum, but larger in a. iberideum and a. armenum (table 2, figs 1&2). the most common shape in the examined taxa is prolate (eight taxa), subprolate (one taxon), perprolate (one taxon) and rarely spheroidal (one taxon), respectively (figures 1-2). the result is compatible with the result of mutlu and erik (2012), found in the genus arabis l. of the family cruciferae. the aperture and exine characters of taxa can reflect the major criterion for the determination of the phylogenetic relationships (cronquist, 1968; ocak et al., 2013). the number of aperture ranges from 2 to 4; and aperture type is mostly tricolpate (basic type), however; dicolpate type is palynological features of eleven aethionema taxa 199 200  karaismailoglu   also encountered in some taxa e.g. a. speciosum ssp. compactum (a6), a. saxatile (a7), a. iberideum (a9) and a. armenum (a10). besides, some taxa showed heteromorphic characters such as 90 % tricolpate and 10 % dicolpate in taxa a. speciosum ssp. compactum (a6) and a. saxatile (a7), 95% tricolpate and 5% dicolpate in taxa a. iberideum (a9) and a. armenum (a10). these variations in pollen aperture type are declared as heteromorphy in pollens by inceoglu and karamustafa (1977) and ceter et al. (2013). also, the colpus sizes range from 9.29 (a. eunomioides) to15.21 (a. grandiflorum) µm in length, from 1.08 (a. froedinii) to 4.96 (a. oppositifolium) µm in width. the colpus membranes are more or less granulate (table 2, figures 1&2). table 3. dissimilarity matrix of the examined taxa (for the taxa abbreviations see table 1). taxa a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 a8 a9 a10 a11 a1 0 a2 2.27 0 a3 2.71 2.34 0 a4 1.96 1.35 2.69 0 a5 2.24 1.52 1.30 1.62 0 a6 2.61 0.90 2.23 1.82 1.61 0 a7 2.25 1.41 1.85 1.04 0.72 1.67 0 a8 3.34 2.83 2.69 2.19 2.34 2.97 1.88 0 a9 2.64 3.50 3.29 2.50 2.76 3.85 2.47 2.36 0 a10 4.66 4.65 3.80 4.19 4.13 4.65 3.92 2.65 4.06 0 a11 4.14 3.01 3.21 2.57 2.48 3.26 2.07 1.91 3.07 4.17 0 fig. 1. sem microphotograph of the studied aethionema: a1: 1-3, a2: 4-6, a3: 7-9, a4: 10-12, a5: 13-15, a6: 16-18, a7: 19-21, a8: 22-24 (for abbreviation taxa see table 1). palynological features of eleven aethionema taxa 201 fig. 1. sem microphotograph of the studied aethionema: a9: 25-27, a10: 28-30 and a11: 31-33 (for abbreviation taxa see table 1). fig. 2. light microscope photographs of the studied aethionema: a1:1, a2:2, a3:3, a4:4, a5:5, a6:6, a7:7, a8:8, a9:9, a10:10 and a11:11(scale bars=5 µm) (for abbreviation taxa see table 1). 202  karaismailoglu   fig. 3. correlation among the palynological characters for the studied taxa (for abbreviations of the characters see table 2). fig. 4. upgma clustering of the examined taxa based on palynological characters (for taxa abbreviations see table 1). the exine thickness varies between from 0.66 (a. iberideum) and1.91 (a. grandiflorum) µm, and it frequently seems thicker in aperture. besides, the in tine thickness ranges from 0.27 (a. iberideum) to 0.85 µm (a. oppositifolium). the surface ornamentation in the examined aethionema taxa is reticulate and coarse or micro reticulate with straight or rough muri. lumina includes 4-7 polygonal or irregular cells. its diameter varies between 0.28 (a. iberideum) and 0.89 (a. eunomioides) µm. the pollen exine ornamentations are of a significant role in delimitation of the some closely related taxa in cruciferae (khalik et al., 2002). the present communication reveals that the pollen ornamentations of genus aethionema are reticulate, coarsely reticulate, and micro-reticulate (table 2). anchev and deneva (1997) reported ornamentation of the pollens of cruciferae family is mostly reticulate and foveolate, which confirms the present result. pollen and colpus dimensions and, diameter of the apo and amb figure are remarkably variable to separate taxa, and to be useful for the delimitation of taxa unlike muri, lumina and thickness of intine and exine (fig. 3). the pollen morphology of aethionema taxa shows a close palynological features of eleven aethionema taxa 203 relationship with other genera of the family, for example; arabidopsis heynh.(khan, 2004), hesperis l. (pinar et al.,2009), and arabis (mutlu and erik, 2012). fig. 5. pca of the studied taxa based on palynological characters (for taxa abbreviations see table 1) a dendrogram of cluster analysis of 11 aethionema taxa has been created based on 10 characters. to define the correlation of the dendrogram and the dissimilarity matrix (table 3), the co-phenetic correlation coefficient is measured; the higher relationship reflects more preferable in terms of position in the hierarchy. in the cluster analysis of the studied taxa formed two distinctive clades, clade a and clade b. clade a includes taxa a. oppositifolium (a8), a. iberideum (a9) and a. grandiflorum (a11). clade b includes taxa a. froedinii (a1), a. arabicum (a2), a. eunomioides (a3), a. fimbriatum (a4), a. speciosum ssp. speciosum (a5), a. speciosum ssp. compactum (a6) and a. saxatile (a7). however, taxon a. armenum (a10) remains out the cluster (fig. 4). it is found that the most closely related taxa are a. speciosum ssp. speciosum (a5) and a. saxatile (a7) (dissimilarity ratio: 0.72), while taxa a. froedinii (a1) and a. armenum (a10) are the most distantly related (dissimilarity ratio: 4.66) (fig. 5, table 3).clade b consists of most of the taxa studied, which can be attributed as the taxa of this clade having primitive characteristics within aethionema. the current investigation reveals that palynological data has taxonomic significance, and it offers substantial contribution to the current classification of aethionema. references al-shehbaz, i.a. 1986. the genera of lepidieae (cruciferae; brassicaceae) in the southeastern united states. j. arnold. arbor. 67: 265–311. al-shehbaz, i.a., mutlu, b. and donmez, a.a. 2007.the brassicaceae (cruciferae) of turkey, updated. turk. j. bot. 31: 327–336. 204  karaismailoglu   anchev, m. and deneva, b. 1997. pollen morphology of seventeen species from family brassicaceae (cruciferae). phytol. balcan. 3:75–82. atceken, m.m., dural, h. and yilmaz citak, b. 2016. the morphological, anatomical and palynological investigations on some taxa of genus aethionema a.t. waiton (brassicaceae).biol. diver. conserv. 9: 55–68. brochmann, c. 1992. pollen and seed morphology of nordic draba (brassicaceae): phylogenetic and ecological implications. nord. j. bot.1: 657–673. ceter, t., pinar, n.m., inceer, h., hayırlıoglu-ayaz, s. and yaprak, a.e. 2013.the comparative pollen morphology of genera matricaria l. and tripleurospemum sch. bip. 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(manuscript received on 17 october 2016; revised on 28 august 2017) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 167-173, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists musa × parahaekkinenii (musaceae): a new artificial interspecific hybrid from kerala, india komban parameswaran smisha and mamiyil sabu1 angiosperm taxonomy and floristics division, department of botany, university of calicut, kerala 673 635, india keywords: musa coccinea; musa haekkinenii; wild parents; manual crosses; new artificial hybrid. abstract musa× parahaekkinenii (musaceae), a new manually crossed interspecific hybrid of two wild parent plants musa coccinea andrews (female) and musa haekkinenii n.s. lý & haev. (male), is described and illustrated. a comparison of characters with its parents and a key to the new hybrid m. × parahaekkinenii are provided. introduction the musaceae (commelinids: zingiberales) is a tropical family comprising three genera, namely ensete horaninow, musa l. and musella (franchet) wu. musa l. is the largest genus of the family (ca. 65 species) distributed in tropical asia from southern india to eastern himalayas to northern australia, sri lanka and africa. globally, bananas (musa spp.) form the fourth-most important food crop (novak et al., 2014). moreover, the bananas have got much attention for their medicinal, ornamental and socio-economic value (cordeiro et al., 2004; aziz et al., 2011; joe and sabu, 2016). the two new artificial hybrids of musaceae, musa × georgiana rich. h. wallace (wallace and hakkinen, 2009) and musa × formobisiana h.-l.chiu, c.-t. shii & t.-y.a. yang. (chiu et al., 2017) were developed earlier to explore the breeding relevance and ornamental potential value for the banana breeding programmes and landscaping applications. as part of our studies on reproductive biology of musaceae with the purpose of breeding evaluation and finding potential ornamental value, intra and intersectional hybridization have been done. the paper focuses on the new artificial hybrid, developed from artificial breeding of the scarlet banana m. coccinea andrews (female parent) and m. haekkinenii n.s. lý & haev. (male parent) which shared the vegetative and floral characters of both the parents and expressed some of its own. materials and methods the present study was conducted at calicut university botanical garden (11o25’45’’n, 75o45’50’’e) during 2013–2016. the stigma receptivity of musa coccinea (female parent) and pollen viability of m. haekkinenii (male parent) were assessed at different time intervals from anthesis to flower closing using mtt (dafni et al., 2005) and ttc (shivanna and rangaswamy, 1992) tests, respectively. manual cross pollination was done in a period of maximum stigma receptivity and pollen viability which coincides. the self-compatibility was assessed by a method suggested by dafni et al. (2005). the seed set and seed germination were observed for 3–4 months. the phenological events of new interspecific hybrid were observed with 10 plants of f1 hybrid. morphometric analysis of vegetative and floral characters was done with a scale and 1corresponding author. email: msabu9@gmail.com mailto:msabu9@gmail.com 168 smisha and sabu leica m80 stereomicroscope. colour comparison of new hybrid with that of parents was referred by colour code (kornerup and wanscher, 1978). descriptions of a new hybrid and parent plants were given using inibap musa descriptor list (ipgri-inibap/cirad, 1996). photographs were taken with sony dsc-hx400v digital camera. voucher specimens were deposited at cali and mh. results and discussion musa × parahaekkinenii k.p. smisha & m. sabu, hybrid nov. (figs 1&2). diagnosis: musa × parahaekkinenii differs from the female parent m. coccinea in having orange red bracts (vs. scarlet red) and presence of yellow fruits (vs. creamy fruits). the m. × parahaekkinenii shows distinct characters from the male parent m. haekkinenii by the presence of bracts obliquely erect to axis (vs. bracts curving downward). moreover, the hybrid m. × parahaekkinenii exhibits the presence of horn-like appendages on lateral lobes of compound tepal. these appendages are present on the five lobes of compound tepal of m. coccinea while totally absent in all lobes of compound tepal of m. haekkinenii. type: india, kerala, malappuram district, thenhipalam, calicut university botanical garden (11o25’45’’n, 75o45’50’’e), 09 dec 2016, k.p. smisha 147908 (holotype: cali; isotype: mh). clump forming; plants slender, herbaceous, suckering freely with 8–10 suckers of 10–15 cm long, oriented vertically. mature pseudo-stem slender, 90–100 cm high, 13–15 cm in diam. at the base; sap milky. leaf green, dorsiventral, 100–130 cm length; petiole 28–30 cm long, green with sparse brown blotches at the base, petiole canal margins incurved, narrow, 0.6–0.7 cm wide, scarious, clasping pseudo-stem at the base; lamina oblong-lanceolate, 70–100×23.5–24 cm, apex obtuse, margin corrugated, midrib 70–100×0.6–0.7cm, greyish green adaxially, pale greyish green abaxially, one side rounded and other pointed, adaxial surface dark green and dull, abaxial surface deep green and shiny, insertion point of leaf bases asymmetric on both sides. inflorescence erect; peduncle 5–8 cm long, 5.0–5.5 cm in diam., glabrous, yellowish cream. flag leaf with colourful bract like base and leafy apex persistent, 45–55 cm long. sterile bracts lanceolate, 20–21×4.0–4.5 cm, adaxial surface dull, orange red with yellow tinge at base, abaxial surface shiny, orange red with yellow tinge at base, apex acute, greenish, base greyish orange, small shouldered, persistent. male bracts lanceolate, 11–12×4.3–4.5 cm, bract lifting one at a time, persistent, adaxial surface dull, orange red, abaxial surface shiny, orange red, apex intermediate, green tinted with yellow, base greyish orange, small shouldered, margin not revolute. female bracts lanceolate, 12.5– 13.5×4.0–4.5 cm, adaxial surface dull, orange red, abaxial surface shiny, orange red, apex acute to obtuse, green tinted with yellow, base greyish orange, small shouldered, margin not revolute, lifting one bract at a time, imbricate. basal flowers female, yellow, 1 flower per bract, 4–7 cm long. compound tepal 3–4×1.2–2.3 cm, lower half deep yellow and upper half olive green, ribbed on either side, apex 5-lobed, rounded, with one horn-like appendages on lateral lobes, two lobes larger and exserted, 0.1×0.2 cm, middle and lateral lobes curved backward, 0.1×0.2 cm. free tepal 3.0–3.8×1.0–1.2 cm, ovate, as long as the style, closely appressed to the stigma, translucent, opaque yellow, margin entire, apex corrugated with short acumen, adaxial surface smooth, abaxial surface ribbed. staminodes 5, lanceolate, creamy yellow, 0.8–1.7×0.1–0.2 cm. ovary straight, 2.2–4.0 cm long, lemon yellow, waxy, 3-locular; style straight, 2−3×0.1−0.2 cm, pale yellow with olive green tinge at apex. stigma yellow, terete, 0.8×0.5 cm. male flowers yellow, 2 flowers per bract, 4.7–5.0 cm long. compound tepal 4.5–5 ×1.8–2.3 cm, lower half deep yellow and upper half olive green, ribbed on either side, apex 5-lobed, rounded, with horn-like appendages on lateral lobes, three middle lobes larger and exserted, 0.2×0.1 cm, 3 central lobes curved backward, 0.1×0.1 cm. free tepal 4.5–4.7×1.0–1.3 cm, ovate, 3/4th of compound tepal, translucent, opaque musa ×parahaekkinenii (musaceae) hybrid nov. 169 yellow, margin entire, apex corrugated with short acumen, adaxial surface smooth, abaxial surface ribbed. stamens 5, 4.2–4.3 cm long; anther greyish yellow, fertile, 1.8–2×0.05–0.1cm; filament fig. 1. illustration of musa × parahaekkinenii hybrid nov. a. inflorescence; b. leaf apex; c. leaf base; d. cross-section of petiole; e. flag leaf; f&g. sterile bracts; h. female bract; i. male bract; j. female flower; k. ovary with style and stigma; l&m. compound tepals; n&o. free tepals; p. cross-section of ovary; q. male flower; r. rudimentary ovary with style and stigma; s. stamens; t&u. compound tepals; v&w. free tepals; x. fruit; y. seed. 170 smisha and sabu fig. 2. musa × parahaekkinenii hybrid nov. a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. corm; d. pseudostem; e. crosssection of petiole; f. leaf apex; g. leaf base; h. flag leaf; i. sterile bracts; j. female bract; k. male bract; l. female flower; m. ovary with style and stigma; n. compound tepals; o. free tepals; p. staminodes; q. cross-section of ovary; r. male flower; s. compound tepals; t. free tepals; u. stamens; v. fruit; w. seed. musa ×parahaekkinenii (musaceae) hybrid nov. 171 1.6–2.5×0.1–0.2 cm, light yellow. style rudimentary, straight, 3.5–4.4×0.1–0.2 cm, pale yellow with olive green tinge at apex. stigma rudimentary, terete, yellowish orange, narrowly oblong, 0.6–0.7×0.3–0.4 cm. ovary rudimentary, oblong, 0.5–0.7×0.4−0.8 cm, pale yellow, waxy. fruit berry, 1 per bract, mature fruit narrowly oblong, 5.0–6.5 cm long, yellow, not waxy, straight, bear persistent floral relicts; 3.5–4.0 cm long. seeds numerous, cylindrical, brown, warty, 1.5−2.0 cm long. etymology: the epithet has been named for the bract colour that resemblance with the male parent (m. haekkinenii) at the first appearance. key to the new hybrid musa × parahaekkinenii and its parents 1. bracts obliquely upward to axis. 2 − bracts curving downwards to axis. m. haekkinenii 2. horn-like appendages only on lateral lobes of compound tepal; bracts orange red. m. × parahaekkinenii − horn-like appendages on all lobes of compound tepal; bracts scarlet red. m. coccinea table 1. comparison of characters of musa × parahaekkinenii hybrid nov. with its parents. characters m. haekkinenii m. × parahaekkinenii m. coccinea plant height (cm) 250–300 80–110 150–200 sap watery milky watery sucker number 8–13 9–12 8–10 petiole canal margins wide, erect narrow, erect narrow, erect leaf base one side rounded, one pointed both side pointed rounded female/male bract behaviour persistent, curving downward to axis persistent, obliquely upward to axis persistent, obliquely upward to axis female/male bract bright orange red on both sides bright orange red on both sides deep scarlet red on adaxial and abaxial side female/male flowers per bract 1–4 1–2 1–2 stigma shape flat narrowly flat narrowly flat appendage absent present only on lateral lobes of compound tepal present on all lobes of compound tepal no. of fruit/s per bract and shape 3–4, straight 1, straight 1–2, straight the petiole canal margins are clasping, ovary deep yellow and the seeds barrel-shaped and warty in the parents and the artificial hybrid. a new hybrid musa × parahaekkinenii, developed here by manual cross pollination is highly relevant for breeding application and to explore the potential ornamental value. the reciprocal cross between m. haekkinenii (female parent) and m. coccinea (male parent) also resulted in fruit set and seed production. hybridization experiments of m. coccinea (female parent) with male parents of m. beccarii, m. ornata, m. siamensis, m. laterita, m. velutina and m. markkuana did not result in any fruit set. but the cross between m. haekkinenii (female parent) and m. beccarii (male parent) resulted in both fruit and seed set. 172 smisha and sabu musa coccinea is distributed in indochina and china (leong-škorničková and gallick, 2012). the species is remarkable for its highly attractive scarlet red bracts. the bract is oriented obliquely erect to axis and persistent that improves the potential ornamental value of the species. on the other hand, musa haekkinenii is a native wild banana of vietnam and known only under cultivation (in calicut university botanical garden, kerala, india and suriana botanic garden, penang, malaysia) today. the centre of origin of the species is northern vietnam and no wild population of it so far reported. its existence in the wild is still uncertain. it was recognized as a data deficient species according to iucn red list categories and criteria (lý et al., 2012). the plant has a potential ornamental value because of the presence of highly attractive orange red persistent bract. the new interspecific hybrid m. × parahaekkinenii which express intermediate characters of m. coccinea (♀) and m. haekkinenii (♂) and exhibits new characters also. the basal unisexual female flowers are fertile with receptive stigma and unisexuality is recognized as a unique adaptation for cross pollination. the male flowers are fertile with pollen grain production and recognized as a self-compatible hybrid. however, the new hybrid significantly adds the ornamental value because of the presence of highly attractive persistent bracts and flowers of inflorescence which lasts up to 3–4 months. currently, many newly explored wild musa species are used as staple food, medicine and ornamentals and also got socio-economic relevance. so, the interspecific hybridization between wild species has an immense value for breeding purposes and to explore the aspects of genetic variability which form the basis of genetic diversity. acknowledgements the authors thank kerala state council for science, technology and environment (kscste), providing necessary funds for research work (order no. 402/2015/kscste dated 18.08.2015). references aziz, n.a.a., ho, l.-h., azanari, a., bhat, r., cheng, l.-h. and ibrahim, m.n.m. 2011. chemical and functional properties of the native banana (musa acuminata × balbisiana colla cv. awak) pseudo-stem and pseudo-stem tender core flours. food chem. 128: 748−753. chiu, h.-l., shii, c.-t. and yang, t.y.a. 2017. musa × formobisiana (musaceae), a new interspecific hybrid banana. taiwania 62: 147−150. cordeiro, n., belgacem, m.n., torres, l.c. and moura, j.c.v.p. 2004. chemical composition and pulping of banana pseudo-stems. ind. crops prod. 19: 147−154. dafni, a., kevan, p.g. and husband, b.c. 2005. practical pollination biology. enviroquest ltd., canada, pp. 1–590. ipgri-inibap/cirad. 1996. description for bananas (musa spp.). international plant genetic resources institute, rome, italy/ international network for the improvement of banana and plantain, montpellier, france/ centre de cooperation internationale en rechereche agronomique pour le development, montpellier, france, pp. 1–58. joe, a. and sabu, m. 2016. wild ornamental bananas in india: an overview. sourth ind. j. biol. sci. 2: 213−221. kornerup, a. and wanscher, j.h. 1978. methuen handbook of colour, 3rd edn. methuen, london, pp. 1–252. leong-škorničková, j. and gallick, d. 2012. the ginger garden. national parks board singapore botanic garden, singapore, 114 pp. lý, n.s., lê, c.-k., triệu, t.-d., haevermans, a., lowry ιi, p.p. and haevermans, t. 2012. a distinctive new species of wild banana (musa, musaceae) from northern vietnam. phytotaxa 75: 33–42. musa ×parahaekkinenii (musaceae) hybrid nov. 173 novák, p., hřibová, e., neumann, p., koblížková, a., doležel, j. and macas, j. 2014. genome wide analysis of repeat diversity across the family musaceae. plos one 9: e98918. shivanna, k.r. and rangaswamy, n.s. 1992. pollen biology: a laboratory manual. narosa publishing house, new delhi, pp.1–199. wallace, r. and häkkinen, m. 2009. musa × georgiana, a new intersectional hybrid banana with edible banana breeding relevance and ornamental potential. nordic j. bot. 27: 182–185. (manuscript received on 23 october 2017; revised on 7 november 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 67‒77, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists plectological and molecular identification of economically important wild russulales mushrooms from pakistan and their antifungal potential against food pathogenic fungus aspergillus niger samina sarwar*, tanzeela aziz, muhammad hanif1, sobia ilyas, malka saba2, sana khalid and muhammad fiaz3 department of botany, lahore college for women university, lahore, pakistan keywords: aseptate; biocontrol; macrofungi; micromycetes; mycochemicals. abstract present study deals with the plectological and molecular analysis as well as use of economically important wild russuloid mushrooms against food pathogenic fungus aspergillus niger. three different species of mushrooms viz., russla laeta, r. nobilis, and r. nigricans were collected and identified from himalayan range of pakistan and are found as new records for this country. major objective of this study was to highlight the importance of these wild creatures as antifungal agents against a. niger. for this purpose methanolic extract of selected mushrooms of different concentration levels viz., 1, 1.5, 2 and 3% were used. this activity is also first time reported from pakistan by using this group of mushrooms. results showed that all tested mushrooms exhibit growth inhibition of a. niger and can be used as biocontrol agents. r. nigricans showed maximum inhibition of fungus growth that is 62% at 3% concentrations while minimum inhibition was observed in r. nobilis at same concentration that is 43.6%. introduction many people in pakistan depend on agriculture but various crops are contaminated by phytopathogenic fungi (i.e., aspergillus, fusarium, penicillium) during pre and post-harvesting processes. these pathogenic fungi produce certain chemicals that change the quality of food. due to their toxic effects, resistance to the environment and adulteration in foods and feeds these fungi prove hazardous to the health of all organisms on land (barung et al., 2003). there are many methods to control these fungi but use of mushrooms against these is a cheap and environment friendly technique because mushrooms exhibit antifungal activity. the himalayan range in pakistan is considered as diversity rich hotspot for such wild mushrooms (jabeen et al., 2014). mushrooms (macrofungi) are most abundant in this area, but unfortunately people in these areas are mostly illiterate and have less knowledge about use of these economically important mushrooms. these fungi are also important component of ecosystem as edible, medicinal, ectomycorrhizal and as decomposers. for this work, mushrooms belonging to russula genus were selected due to their high diversity in pakistan (ahmad et al., 1997; niazi et al., 2006; razaq et al., 2014; jabeen et al., 2016) to check their growth inhibition potential against pathogenic fungus. these mushrooms were collected from coniferous forests of pakistan. the main objective of this study was to identify the mushrooms up to species level by morphological and molecular analysis and to find *corresponding author, email: samina_boletus@yahoo.com 1department of botany, government college university, lahore, pakistan. 2department of plant sciences, quaid-i-azam university, islamabad, pakistan. 3department of botany, hazara university, mansehra, pakistan. mailto:samina_boletus@yahoo.com 68 sarwar et al. the potency of wild mushrooms as biocontrol agent and to analyze the potential of their methanolic extracts for checking their latent antifungal potential against food pathogenic fungal species of a. niger. materials and methods sampling and plectological analysis the basidioma were collected from coniferous forests of pakistan during rainy season in july– august 2016. they were photographed in the field. following morphological characters of selected specimens were documented from sporocarps: pileus shape, diameter, colour, texture, ornamentation, bruising reaction of the flesh, margin shape and color, hymenium colour, lamellae tube, size of gills and bruising reactions of gills. stipe dimensions (width and length), color, shape, ornamentation and texture, bruising reaction of the context, stipe attachment with pileus, presence/absence of annulus on stipe were also taken in to consideration. after being dried on a forced air dryer, samples were sealed in plastic bags with unique id number for further analyses. dried sporocarps were used for microscopic examinations. samples were rehydrated using 10% koh for microscopic studies. for microscopic analysis, slides were prepared and observed under microscope (light and scanning electron microscope). measurements were determined for basidiospores, basidia, and other tissues under a light microscope. average measurements are reported based on 30 spores and 10 basidia. spore measurements are presented as length/width (l × w) ratios and extreme values are given in parentheses. the range contains a minimum of 90% of the values. molecular analyses dna was extracted from dried sporocarps following a modified ctab method (gardes and bruns, 1996). primer pairs its1f/its4 (white et al., 1990) for the its region were used for pcr and sanger sequencing. all pcr products were evaluated for successful amplification using sybr green and 1.5% agarose gels with tae buffer for gel electrophoresis. amplicons were prepared for sequencing via enzymatic purification using exonuclease i and shrimp alkaline phosphatase enzymes (werle et al., 1994). purified products were sequenced through macrogen company, korea. sequence chromatograms were trimmed, edited, and assembled using sequencher 4.1 (genecodes, ann arbor, mi). dna sequences generated for this study were deposited in genbank. phylogenetic analyses consensus sequences were analyzed using blast searches at ncbi (http://www. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). the most similar sequences for its region were retrieved from genbank. these its sequences were then aligned using muscle alignment tool to generate alignments (edgar, 2004). mega5 software was used for phylogenetic analysis with maximum likelihood criterion by following algorithm and jukes and cantor (1969) model of sequences evolution (tamura et al., 2011). one thousand bootstrap iterations were performed with rapid bootstrapping. significant support was considered to be ≥70%. all phylogenetic analyses were performed on the cipres portal v. 3.1. (miller et al., 2010). antifungal activity to check the antifungal potential of selected mushroom samples, standard protocols were followed (javaid and samad, 2012). http://www. plectological and molecular identification 69 selection of pathogen pure cultures of aspergillus niger were prepared from available strain by inoculating on malt extract (me) medium. after seven days of inoculation, pure culture of selected fungus pathogen was obtained. preparation of mushroom extracts for this purpose, fresh mushroom samples were dried to lose water content completely. dried samples were cleaned and weighed accordingly (5 g). for soaking, samples had been finely grind to be dipped in 100% methanol for seven days. the extract was filtered and the liquid was fan dried to make up crude extract; further dilutions were made depending on final crude extract mass. to make 60 ml liquid media, 1.6 grams of me medium was used to make final volume by adding dist. water in it. sterilized glassware was used in order to avoid contamination. autoclaved medium was taken in to laminar air flow (laf) where dilutions of crude extracts were added and simmering processes were performed. antibacterial capsules (chloramphenicol 250 mg) were used to depress bacterial growth that may directly affect pure culture strain and ultimately the main objective of study. equal volume for each concentration was made in labelled flasks. checking activity with organic solvents extracts wrapped flasks with aluminium foil were ready for inoculation next day. inoculated flasks were checked after seven days of inoculation, fungal mass was filtered by using filter paper and made them dry in drying oven. the dried mass was weighed to recognize potency of mushroom metabolites against pathogenic fungus a. niger. percentage growth inhibition was measured by using formula: growth inhibition (%) = × 100 statistical analysis the data was analyzed statistically for significance error; least standard deviation (l.s.d.) and duncan’s multiple range test were applied by using software package costate version 3.03 and minilab version 5.17 according to steel et al., (1997). mean values and standard error were calculated. the data was presented as mean + s.e. (mean + standard error). results identification of mushrooms russula laeta jul. schäff. (fig. 1) genbank accession no. mk389376 plectological analysis pileus 3.4 ̶ 4 cm in diameter, ovate, firm, parabolic, slightly striate at margins, pileus not dehiscent, colour variable but mostly orange to light brown; margins smooth, entire, wavy at margins and flesh white, contex change on bruising; gills attachment crowded, lamellae tube attachment adnate, gill space moderate, gills in series, white in colour; stipe 5 cm long, 1.3 cm wide, centrally attached with pileus, clavate/club shaped, tapering to the apex with un swollen base, chalky, white in colour, volva absent, taste not recorded, odour indistinctive. basidiospores 6.3 ̶ 10.7 µm (avg = 6.3 µm) spiny, globose to ellipsoid, symmetrical, thick walled, light grey in 10% koh; basidia 9.9 × 31.8 ̶ 14.1 × 42.4 µm (avw=12.8 µm, avl=37.5 µm) clavate, 2–3 sterigmata, sterigmata long, thin walled with oil granules, without clamp connection, hyaline to light grey in 10% koh; cystidia 5.3 × 28.3 ̶ 10.6 × 38.9 µm (avw=7.6 µm, avl=33.8 µm) clavate, thin walled, without clamp connection, abundant with oil granules, growth in control ‒ growth in treatment growth in control 70 sarwar et al. hyaline to light grey in 10% koh; pileipellis 3.1 µm, loosely arranged, aseptate, accompanied by number of cystidia and spores, cylindrical with clamp connection; stipitipellis 4.5 µm, loosely arranged, aseptate, cylindrical with no clamp connection. fig. 1. macroscopic characters of russula laeta showing pileus (a), gills (b–d), stipe (e), basidiospores sem (f–g) material examined: pakistan khyber pakhtunkhwa, swat miandam, 25 july 2016, under abies pindrow royle, at 1800 meter above sea level (m.a.s.l.), mh032272016. phylogenetic analysis (fig. 4) molecular description of r. laeta was carried out by amplifying its regions of nrdna. after blast analysis, this species showed 100% similarity with r. laeta with accession no. mg679812. among 1042 characters, 315 were conserved, 542 were variable and 189 were parsimony informative sites. in phylogenetic tree, r. laeta sequence formed a clade with r. laeta. russula nobilis velen. (fig. 2) plectological analysis pileus is 9.2 cm in diameter, shape plane with uniform depth, plicate (folded), colour variable but mostly dark red; surface smooth and shiny; margins wavy, splitting at maturity, margin curved to inner side when young, gradually straight with maturity, flesh creamy off white, unchanging on bruising or on exposure; gills attachment curate, gill spacing moderate, attachment with pileus at base, white in colour when young and turns to creamy shade when old; stipe 9.7 long and 2 cm wide, equal in shape, attached centrally with pileus and gradually tapered at base; plectological and molecular identification 71 white to creamy in colour, surface smooth, colour change on bruising, volva absent, annulus absent, taste not recorded, odour indistinctive. fig. 2. macroscopic characters of russula nobilis showing pileus, stipe and gills (a–b), basidiospores sem (c–d) basidiospores 9.9 ̶ 13.8 µm (avg=11.3 µm) spiny, thick walled, epiculated, abundant, light green in 10% koh; basidia 10.6 × 24.7 ̶ 17.7 × 37.1 µm (avw=12.9 µm, avl=30.6 µm) clavate, 3–4 sterigmata, sterigmata long, thick walled, with oil granules, without clamp connection, light green in 10% koh; cystidia 10.6 × 31.8 ̶ 17.7 × 38.9 µm (avw=14.8 µm, avl=34.8 µm) clavate , thick walled, with oil granules, without clamp connection, light green in 10% koh; pileipellis 3.2 µm, loosely arranged, narrow, aseptate, cylindrical with no clamp connection; stipitipellis 3 µm, loosely arranged, narrow, aseptate, cylindrical with no clamp connection. material examined: pakistan khyber pakhtunkhwa, swat miandam, 25 july 2016, under abies pindrow royle, at 1800 m.a.s.l., mh132272016. 72 sarwar et al. russula nigricans bull fr. (fig. 3) genbank accession no. mk389375 plectological analysis pileus 6.75 cm in diameter, convex (outwardly rounded) to umbeliform, smooth entire sulcate, colour shade range from creamy to dark brown, no bruising and no colour change on cut; margins plane and rounded, tuberculately striated, margins incurved when young and remain intact at maturity; gills attachment crowded, lamellae tube free to slightly adnate (gills widely attached to stem), gills in series, subdistant at maturity, split near the pileus margins, first off white and then turning to creamy with age,; stipe 6.8 cm long and 2.75 cm wide, club shaped and broadened at base, white in colour and discolouring to brown, no reticulation, no bruising and no colour change on cut, chalky, contex solid to stuffed in stipe; volva absent; taste not recorded; odour indistinctive. fig. 3. macroscopic characters of russula nigricans showing pileus, stipe and gills (a–b), basidiospores sem (c–d) plectological and molecular identification 73 basidiospores 8.7 × 10.7 µm (avg=9.8 µm) globular, epiculated, thick layered, not abundant, hyaline to light green in 10% koh; basidia 8.5 × 21.2 ̶ 10.6 × 30.0 µm (avw = 8.5 µm, avl = 24.2 µm) cylindrical, 3–4 sterigmata, sterigmata long, thin walled, without clamp connection, hyaline in 10% koh; cystidia 7 × 31.8 ̶ 10.9 × 49.5 µm (avw= 9.3 µm, avl=40.3 µm) cylindrical, thin walled, without clamp connection, hyaline in 10% koh; pileipellis 7µm, loosely arranged, aseptate, cylindrical, abundant cystidia, with no clamp connection; stipitipellis 9 µm, loosely arranged, aseptate, cylindrical with no clamp connection. material examined: pakistan: khyber pakhtunkhwa, swat miandam, 25 july 2016, under abies pindrow royle, at 1800 m.a.s.l., mh212272016. fig. 4. phylogenetic position of russula latea from pakistan with respect to other russula spp. tree inferred by maximum likelihood analysis based on rdna sequences, including its region. the numbers against branches indicate the percentage (>50%) at which a given branch was supported in 1000 bootstrap replications. genbank accession number is given at the end of species names. ● indicate species reported from pakistan. 74 sarwar et al. phylogenetic analysis (fig. 5) molecular description of russula sp. was carried out by amplifying its regions of nrdna. during blast analysis, this species matched 100% with r. nigricans with accession no. kf679819. from genbank, closely related sequence of related species of genus russula was retrieved. among 720 characters, 368 were conserved, 314 were variable and 195 were parsimony informative sites. phylogenetic analysis of russula nigricans showed maximum likelihood with other members from 25 sequences. in phylogenetic tree, russula nigricans sequence formed a clade with r. nigricans. fig. 5. phylogenetic position of russula nigricans from pakistan with respect to other russula spp. tree inferred by maximum likelihood analysis based on rdna sequences, including its region. the numbers against branches indicate the percentage (>50%) at which a given branch was supported in 1000 bootstrap replications. genbank accession number is given at the end of species names. ● indicate species reported from pakistan. antifungal activity (fig. 6) effect of methanolic extract of r. laeta against a. niger the effect of different concentrations of crude extract of r. laeta inspected against food pathogenic fungi a. niger in malt extract (me) liquid medium. extract of mushrooms were plectological and molecular identification 75 prepared in methanol with different concentrations i.e., 1%, 1.5%, 2% and 3%. the triplicates of different concentrations of methanolic mushroom extracts were observed. fungal biomass calculated and compared with control i.e., without methanolic mushroom extract concentrations. four tested methanolic extract concentrations showed 36 %, 43.8%, 46.2% and 60.6% inhibition of pathogenic fungus growth respectively. maximum inhibition was recorded with highest concentration of mushroom extract. effect of methanolic extract of r. nobilis against a. niger the effect of different concentrations of crude extract of r. nobilis inspected against plant pathogenic fungi in malt extract (me) liquid medium. extract of mushroom were prepared in methanol with different concentrations i.e., 1%, 1.5%, 2% and 3%. the triplicates of different concentrations of methanolic mushroom extract were observed. fungal biomass was calculated and compared with control i.e., without methanolic mushroom extract concentrations. four tested methanolic extract concentrations showed 27.8%, 35%, 40% and 43.6% inhibition of pathogenic fungus growth respectively. maximum inhibition was recorded with highest concentration of mushroom extract. effect of methanolic extract of r. nigricans against a. niger the effect of different concentrations of crude extract of russula nigricans inspected against a. niger in malt extract (me) liquid medium. extract of mushroom was prepared in methanol with different concentrations i.e., 1%, 1.5%, 2% and 3%. the triplicates of different concentrations of methanolic mushroom extracts were observed. fungal biomass was calculated and compared with control i.e., without methanolic mushroom extract. four tested methanolic extract concentrations showed 36%, 46%, 58% and 62% inhibition of pathogenic fungus growth respectively. maximum inhibition was recorded with highest concentration of mushroom extract. assessment of antifungal activity results showed that r. nigricans showed maximum inhibition of fungus growth as compare to others selected mushrooms and minimum inhibition was observed in r. nobilis. this result revealed that each mushroom shows different potential against a. niger growth inhibition and also depends upon the concentration used. fig. 6. comparison of antifungal activity of selected mushrooms against test fungus. 36 43.8 46.2 60.6 27.8 35 40 43.6 36 46 58 62 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 1% 1.50% 2% 3%pe rc en ta ge g ro w th in hi bi tio n of a . ni ge r concentrations of methanolic extract of mushroom russula laeta russula nobilis russula nigricans 76 sarwar et al. discussion the present study was conducted to carry out the morphological and molecular identification of mushrooms viz., r. laeta, r. nobilis and r. nigricans belonging to order russulales along with their antifungal activity against food pathogenic fungus. phylogenetic analysis was carried out by amplifying its nrdna using primers (itsi-5.8 and its4) and identified by using literature (kolmakov, 2015; morozova et al., 2012; tschen and tschen, 2005; sarnari, 1998; romagnesi, 1985). present research work also showed that different mushrooms have different potential against tested fungus to inhibit its growth. during this research, crude extracts of russula spp. were examined against the test fungus aspergillus niger. different concentrations of mushrooms extract (1%, 1.5%, 2% and 3%) were applied in vitro against the test fungus. these mushrooms showed pronounced antifungal activity and selected concentrations of the extracts were effective in inhibiting the biomass of target fungus growth up to 62%. results were evaluated by weighing dry mass of fungus growth against extracts of mushrooms with different concentrations. it was found that r. nigricans showed maximum inhibition (62%) of target fungus growth at 3% concentration. the other two mushrooms showed inhibition at same 3% concentration as 60.6% and 43.6% respectively. study conducted by emilija et al. (2005) on wild mushroom extracts viz., russula cyanoxantha, suillus fluryi and tricholoma acerbatum analyzed against selected microorganisms viz., saccharomyces cerevisiae and a. niger and their antifungal activity were screened. the highest antifungal activity was showed by r. cyanoxantha against s. cerevisiae and a. niger. presently, fungal diseases are causing huge problem to yield healthier food. antifungal agents will be useful to stop spreading of disease in future (feng and zheng, 2007). mushrooms contain compounds (i.e., phenols, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, etc.) that have growth inhibitory potential against fungi, bacteria and other microbes and can be a good alternative source against these pathogens. these features enable their use in combating fungi that cause food damage such as alternaria solani (atti-serafini et al., 2002). the methanolic mushroom extracts which are used in present study showed a significant level of antifungal activities depending on concentration used. the determined activities showed that these mushrooms can be used as biocontrol against different pathogenic fungi. this could be a good alternative method to control microbes (abdulrahman and alkhail, 2005). in addition, first time antifungal activity was checked by using mushrooms extracts belonging to order russulales with reference to pakistan. due to high economic value of genus russula along with antifungal and antioxidant value this requires further research to check antifungal activities of these mushrooms against different pathogenic fungi because a large number of species of russula is available and most of them are unidentified or somewhat misidentified due to lack of advance technology by molecular markers and phylogenetic analysis conflict of interest the author(s) declare(s) no conflicts of interest. all the experiments undertaken in this study comply with the current laws of the country(-ies) where they were performed. references abdulrahman, a. and alkhail, a. 2005. antifungal activity of some extracts against some plant pathogenic fungi. pakistan j. biol. sci. 8: 413–417. ahmad, s., iqbal, s.h. and khalid, a.n. 1997. fungi of pakistan. sultan ahmad mycological society, pakistan. plectological and molecular identification 77 atti-serafini, l., pansera, m.r., atti-santos, a.c., rossato, m., pauletti, g.f., rota, l.d., paroul, n. and moyna, p. 2002. variation in essential oil yield and composition of lippia alba (mill.) n. e. br. grown in southern brazil. the revista brasileira de plantas medicinais. 4: 72–74. barung, d., egmond, h., garcia, l.r., osenbruggen, v.t. and visconti, a. 2003. meeting the mycotoxins menace, wageningen, the netherlands. wageningen academic publishers. 4: 11–15. edgar, r.c. 2004. muscle: multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput. nucleic. acids. res. 32: 1792–1797. emilija, m.m., smilja, k., milan, v., drago, s., mladen, b. and verica, v.b. 2005. candida infections of diabetic foot ulcers. diabeto. croat. 34: 29–35. feng, w. and zheng, x. 2007. essential oils to control alternaria alternata in vitro and in vivo. food control. 18: 1126–1130. gardes, m. and bruns, t.d. 1996. its primers with enhanced specificity for basidiomycetes, application to the identification of mycorrhizae and rusts. mol. ecol. 2: 113–118. jabeen, s., niazi, a.r. and khalid, a.n. 2016. first record of russula anthracina and its ectomycorrhiza associated with himalayan cedar from south asia. mycotaxon. 131: 31–44. jabeen, s., sarwar, s., niazi, a.r. and khalid, a.n. 2014. checklist of ectomycorrhizae from pakistan. annals of applied bio-sciences. 1: 10–20. javaid, a. and samad, s. 2012. screening of allelopathic trees for their antifungal potential against alternaria alternata strains isolated from dying–back eucalyptus spp. nat. prod. res. 26(18): 1697–1702. jukes, t.h. and cantor, c.r. 1969. evolution of protein molecules. new york: academic press. pp. 21–132. kolmakov, p. 2015. checklist of fungi of the genus russula from belarusian-valdai lake district [baltarusijos ir valdajaus ežeryno regiono russula pers. genties grybų sąrašas]. bot. lith. 21(1): 22–33 miller, m.a., pfeiffer, w. and schwartz, t. 2010. creating the cipres science gateway for inference of large phylogenetic trees. in proceedings of the gateway computing environments workshop (gce). 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(russulales, russulaceae) a new species from pakistan. sydowia. 66: 289–298. romagnesi, h. 1985. les russules d’ europe et d’ afrique du nord. reprint with supplement. j. cramer, lehre. sarnari, m. 1998. monografia illustrate del genere russula in europa. italy: tromo primo. steel, r.g.d., torrie, j.h. and dicky, d.a. 1997. principles and procedures of statistics, a biometrical approach. 3rd edition, mcgraw hill, inc. book co., new york, 352-358. tamura, k., peterson, d., peterson, n., stecher, g., nei, m. and kumar, s. 2011. mega5: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis using maximum likelihood, evolutionary distance, and maximum parsimony methods. mol. biol. evol. 28: 2731–2739. tschen, e.f.t. and tschen, j.s.m. 2005. three species of russula new to taiwan. fungal science. 20(1&2): 47–52. werle, e., schneider, c., renner, m., volker, m. and fiehn, w. 1994. convenient single–step, one tube purification of pcr products for direct sequencing. nucleic. acids. res. 22: 4354–4355. white, t.j., bruns, t., lee, s. and taylor, j. 1990. amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal rna genes for phylogenetics. in: innis, m. a., gelfand, d. h., sninsky, j. j. and white, t. j. 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(manuscript received on 20 october 2019; revised on 18 may 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 241‒256, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54220 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floristic composition in the ruderal areas of southeast anatolia, turkey zeynep izgördü and hasan akan1 depertmant of biology, art & science faculty, harran university, şanlıurfa, turkey keywords: flora; ruderal plants; şanlurfa; anatolia; turkey. abstract survey on the floral diversity is an important activity to evaluate the existing flora. this study was carried out from 2018 to 2020 to investigate the flora existing in the roadside and ruderal areas between şanlıurfa and bozova, nearby euphrates river. a total of 200 taxa belonging to 138 genera and 41 families were determined. 9 of these taxa are endemic to turkey. among the plants identified, there are 5 geophytes, 1 parasite and 14 cultivated plants. the families with the most taxa are fabaceae (47), asteraceae (30), lamiaceae (15), poaceae (13) and brassicaceae (7). the genera with the dominant taxa are; astragalus (7), medicago (7), trigonella (7), vicia (5) and trifolium (5). in distribution of plants in the study area, the irano-turanian elements (38%, 75 taxa) ranks first, mediterranean elements second (15%, 30 taxa) and euro-siberian elements third (1%, 3). the botanicaland vernacular names and habit categories of the recorded plant taxa are cited systematically. threats to these plants and possible conservation strategies are also discussed briefly. introduction flora is the list of plant species that have a certain boundary and cover an area. in fact, although the term ‘flora’ includes the whole plant community, it is generally used for ferns (pteridophyta) and seed plants (spermatophyta), i.e. the vascular plants (güner et al., 2012). flora of turkey, refers to all plant species growing naturally in turkey. turkey is one of the very rich and interesting country in the world in terms of its flora due to the facts that it belongs to three different phytogeographical regions, it is rich in geological structure and location and climate diversity, and it houses 9996 plant species of 1320 genera under 167 families, including 3649 endemic taxa (ekim, 2000; güner et al., 2012). peter hadland davis, visited turkey many times, collected a lot of plant samples, and publised the nine volumes of "flora of turkey and the east aegean islands" in 1965-1985 (davis, 1965-1985). the 10th volume was published by davis et al. (1988) and the 11th by turkish botanists (güner et al., 2000). davis (1965) stated that turkey serves as a gateway for the spread of southwest asian plants to southern europe, differentiation area for many species and breeds, it is very rich in terms of endemic species and it is the homeland of many cultivated plants. though turkey is very rich in plant diversity and a gene center of many plant taxa, however, as a result of increasing anthropogenic interactions, many identified and unidentified plant species are rapidly disappearing. therefore, the importance of floristic studies for collection of updated data on the plant species of this country is increasing day by day for sustainable use and conservation of its plant resources. south-east anatolia is a “little known” or “unknown” region of turkey, with regard to floristic studies (davis, 1975; çırpıcı, 1987). the research area falls within this “little known” 1 corresponding author, email: hakan@harran.edu.tr https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54220 mailto:hakan@harran.edu.tr 242 izgördü and akan region of turkey. floristic surveys in anatolia region were previously done by different researchers, viz. adıgüzel and aytaç (2001), aydoğdu and akan (2005), akan et al. (2005), türkmen et al. (2005), aslan and atamov (2006), parmaksız et al. (2006), atamov et al. (2007a), atamov et al. (2007b), balos and akan (2008), eker et al. (2008), korkut et al. (2008), akan and balos (2008), doğan (2009), kaya and ertekin (2009), atamov et al. (2009), cevheri (2011), abak and akan (2014), akan and ayaz (2016), şafak (2016), altay and karahan (2017), aslan and akan (2019), and yalçınalp and meral (2019). however, no regular floristic study has been performed in our research area. “ruderal plant” is a general name given to plant species that grow in colonies in areas that are not suitable for the life of plants, such as waste areas (şafak, 2015). roadside vegetation has various species of different life-forms and origins. road construction destroys some parts of the natural habitats and as a result, new man-made habitats are formed (pourrezaei et al., 2017). the structure of the roadside habitat is basically formed by roads and road margins (frenkel, 1977; dogan et al., 2004). roadside habitats differ from surrounding natural areas and support various species with different ecological needs. roads and roadsides are also included in the ‘ruderal habitat’ group (hamel and dansereau, 1949), which is an exceptional type of habitat category. ruderal coenoses develop on walls, ruins, dumps along roadsides and slopes (poldini, 1992). since no study on the florıstıc composıtıon ın the ruderal areas between şanlıurfa and bozova of southeast anatolıa was known from the literatures, it was thought to be valuable to identity the plant taxa of roadsides ruderals of this area of turkey, and as the concept of ruderal area is wide, this study has focused on the roadside ruderals only. the objectives of this study were to explore the floristic composition and recognize the endemic and threatened plant species of the roadsides and ruderal areas of the region between şanlıurfa and bozova road, nearby euphrates river, southeast anatolia. the data obtained as a result of this study will contribute to the floral diversity of roadsides and ruderal areas of turkey. materials and methods this research was carried out between 2018 and 2020. our research area belongs to the region between bozova town and şanlıurfa province, nearby euphrates river (fig. 1). this region is located in c7 square according to davis's grid system (davis, 1965) and in the middle euphrates section according to güner et al. (2012). the distance between the two towns is about 50 km. the altitude varies between 500 and 700 m. the settlements around the study area include kızlar, günışık, korukezen, tülmen, küçük tülmen, kestaş and avlak. the area is consisted of 18584 km² (güzel, 2020). şanlıurfa province is located in between 37'09'35' n and 38'47'23' e, on the south side of the southeastern anatolia region. bozova is located in the western part of the province of şanlıurfa, the east and north of the district is mountainous, the south is flat and lower. general vegetation of bozova district consists of ruderal plants in steppe and flat areas. şanlıurfa has a typical semiarid mediterranean climate character as it is close to the euphrates river. summers are dry and hot, winters are rainy and warm. the average annual temperature of şanlıurfa is 18.7°c. annual rainfall is about 457.8 mm (güzel, 2020). brown soils constitute a large part of our study area between şanlıurfa and bozova road. it is the most common soil group. alluvial soils in the areas carried by the euphrates river and located along the banks of the euphrates river (güzel, 2020). it is suitable for cultivation of various cultivated plants. in our research area, there are mostly habitats such as roadside, field edge and steppe. plant samples (300) were collected during the field studies conducted in the months when the plants coincided with different vegetation periods. these samples were numbered and pressed, floristic composition in the ruderal areas 243 then dried according to the standard herbarium method and adhered regularly to the cartons (thiers, 2019). plant identification were done from flora of turkey (davis, 1965-1985; davis et al., 1988; güner et al., 2000). plant specimens are stored in harran university faculty of arts and sciences herbarium (harran), şanlıurfa, turkey. endemic, rare and under more threat to the threat categories of taxa "turkey plant red data book" (ekim, 2000) and is http://www.tehditaltindabitkiler.org.tr/v2/ benefited from the site. the nomenclatural information are given according to the plant list (2013). turkish names of plant taxa is given according to list of vascular plants of turkey (güner et al., 2012). fig. 1. geographical map of the research area (müdürlüğü, 2020). results and discussion during this study, a total of 200 taxa belonging to 138 genera and 41 families were found in the roadside ruderals of the area between şanlıurfa and bozova of southeast anatolıa (table 1). the gymnospermae of this area is represented by only one species, whereas the angiospermae by 199 taxa. the dicotyledons of this area consist of 172 under 32 families, and the monocotyledons of under nine families. most of these taxa belong to the families fabaceae (47), asteraceae (30), lamiaceae (15), poaceae (13) and brassicaceae (7). astragalus, medicago and trigonella, with seven species each, and vicia and trifolium, with five species each, are are found as the major genera. each taxon is enlisted with botanical name, vernacular name, family name, habit, citing literature and respective voucher specimen (table 1). total 14 plant species of the area, viz. pistaci avera, robinia pseudocacia, morus alba, m. nigra, ficus carica, olea europaea, pinus nigra, punica granatum, persica vulgaris, amygdalus communis, amygdalus moriantalis, rosmarinus officinalis, pyracantha coccinea and vitis vinifera, are recognized as cultivated (table 1). http://www.tehditaltindabitkiler.org.tr/v2/ 244 izgördü and akan table 1. list of plant taxa recorded from the roadside ruderals of the area between şanlıurfa and bozova of southeast anatolıa. sl. no family botanical name habit vernacular name literature cited voucher no 1 amaryllidaceae allium scorodoprasum l. subsp. rotundum (l.) steam h delipırasa doğan et al. (2004), babacan et al. (2017) zi̇ 1117 2 amaranthaceae amaranthus albus l. h kömüşmancarı davis (1965–1988), polunin (1997), doğan et al. (2004) zi̇ 1145 3 anacardiaceae *pistacia vera l. t antepfıstığı zi̇ 1207 4 anacardiaceae rhus coriaria l. s sumak doğan et al, (2004) zi̇ 1205 5 apiaceae artedia squamata l. h karabenek babacan et al. (2017) zi 1066 zi 1101 zi 1182 6 apiaceae coriandrum sativum l. h kişniş doğan et al, (2004) zi 1170 7 apiaceae pimpinella corymbosa boiss. h salkımanason yeşil et al. (2018) zi 1234 8 apiaceae pimpinella eriocarpos banks & sol h meyane yeşil et al. (2018) zi 1095 9 apiaceae scandix iberica m. bieb h atkişnekotu kerar & akan (2019) zi 1244 10 apiaceae tordylium hasselquistiae dc. h ekindavulotu zi 1103 11 apiaceae torilis leptophylla (l.) rchb. f. h i̇ncedercikotu ertekin (2002), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1051 12 araceae biarum carduchorum (schott) engl. h kardi zi 1142 13 asparagaceae hyacinthella nervosa (bertol.) chouard h arapkopçası zi 1000 14 asparagaceae muscari comosum (l.) mill. h morbaş zi 1012 15 asparagaceae muscari neglectum guss. ex ten h arapüzümü zi1001 16 asparagaceae ornithogalum narbonense l. h akbaldır davis (1965–1988) zi 1118 17 asteraceae achillea aleppica dc. subsp. aleppica h tatarcıotu abak & akan (2014) zi 1004 18 asteraceae anthemis hyalina dc. h dermanpapatyası abak & akan (2014) zi 1107 19 asteraceae anthemis pungens yavin h geyikpapatyası abak & akan (2014) zi 1038 20 asteraceae calendula arvensis (vaill.) l. h portakalnergisi davis (1965–1988), doğan et al. (2004) zi 1025 21 asteraceae carduus nutans l. subsp. nutans h eşekdikeni abak & akan (2014) zi 1108 22 asteraceae carduus pycnocephalus l. subsp. breviphyllarius p.h. davis h kilindor abak & akan (2014) zi 1048 23 asteraceae carthamus lanatus l. h sarıdiken abak & akan (2014) zi 1153 24 asteraceae centaurea iberica trev. ex sprengel h deligözdikeni davis (1965–1988), akan et al. (2005), abak & akan (2014) zi 1138 25 asteraceae centaurea rigida banks & sol. h gürbüzdikeni abak & akan (2014) zi 1219 floristic composition in the ruderal areas 245 table 1 contd. sl. no. family botanical name habit vernacular name literature cited voucher no. 26 asteraceae centaurea solstitialis l. subsp. solstitialis h çakırdikeni davis (1965–1988), poldini (1992), doğan et al. (2004), abak & akan (2014), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1204 27 asteraceae chardinia orientalis (l.) kuntze. h çağlaotu davis (1965–1988), abak & akan (2014) zi 1052 28 asteraceae cichorium intybus l. h hindiba davis (1965–1988), ozturk et al. (1990), ozturk & ozcelik (1991), ertekin (2002), doğan et al, (2004), abak & akan (2014) zi 1221 29 asteraceae conyza canadensis (l.) cronquist h selviotu abak & akan (2014), ertekin (2002) zi 1143 30 asteraceae cota altissima (l.) j. gay h köpekpapatyası abak & akan (2014), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1083 31 asteraceae crepis sancta (l.) bornm. h yabankıskısı abak & akan (2014) zi 1041 zi 1140 32 asteraceae crupina crupinastrum (moris) vis. h gelindöndüren babacan et al. (2017) zi 1080 zi 1049 33 asteraceae cyanus depressus (m. bieb.) sojak. h gökbaş babacan et al. (2017) zi 1096 zi 1192 34 asteraceae echinops spinosissimus turra subsp. spinosissimus h eşekköftesi davis (1965–1988) zi 1132 35 asteraceae filago pyramidata l. h ateşpamuğu davis (1965–1988), doğan et al. (2004), abak & akan (2014) zi 1199 36 asteraceae geropogon hybridus (l.) schultzbip. h melezyemlik zi 1026 zi 1036 37 asteraceae gundelia armata (freyn & sint.) fırat h haskenger abak & akan (2014) zi 1109 38 asteraceae notobasis syriaca (l.) cass. h yavan kenger davis (1965–1988), zi 1187 zi 1185 39 asteraceae onopordum carduchorum bornm&beauverd h kavdikeni balos & akan (2008) zi 1136 40 asteraceae senecio vernalis waldst. & kit. h kanarya otu davis (1965–1988), ozturk et al.(1990), ertekin (2002), doğan et al. (2004), aydoğdu & akan (2005), abak & akan (2014) zi 1039 zi 1164 zi 1165 zi 1208 41 asteraceae siebera nana (dc.) bornm h bodurfezaçiçeği tugay & öztürk (2003) zi 1127 42 asteraceae scorzonera kotschyi boiss. h nurteke sakalı zi 1056 246 izgördü and akan table 1 contd. sl. no. family botanical name habit vernacular name literature cited voucher no. 43 asteraceae scorzonera laciniata l. subsp. laciniata h parım zi 1050 zi 1186 44 asteraceae tragopogon porrifolius l. subsp. longirostris (sch. bip.) greuter h helevan davis (1965–1988), doğan et al. (2004) zi 1097 zi 1232 45 asteraceae xanthium strumarium l. subsp. strumarium h kocapıtrak ozturk et al. (1990), ertekin (2002), doğan et al. (2004), abak & akan (2014) zi 1150 46 asteraceae zoegea leptaurea l. h sarıdüğme doğan (2009) zi 1200 47 brassicaceae alyssum strictum willd. h dikkuduzotu doğan (2009) zi 1023 48 brassicaceae capsella bursa-pastoris (l.) medik. h çoban çantası doğan (2009) zi 1160 49 brassicaceae clypeola jonthlaspi l. h akçeotu acar (2001) zi1022 50 brassicaceae eruca vesicaria (l.) cav. h roka zi 1176 51 brassicaceae lepidium draba l. h diğnik balos & akan (2008), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1236 52 brassicaceae sinapis alba l. subsp alba h mamalık davis (1965–1988), doğan et al. (2004) zi 1027 53 brassicaceae sinapis arvensis l. h hardal davis (1965–1988), ozturk & ozcelik (1991), ertekin (2002), doğan et al, (2004) zi 1172 54 boraginaceae alkanna strigosa boiss. &hohen. h havacivaotu yıldırım et al. (2016), aydoğdu & akan (2005), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1044 55 boraginaceae anchusa azurea mill. var. azurea h sığırdili babacan et al. (2017) zi 1092 zi 1058 56 boraginaceae anchusa azurea mill. var. kurdica (guşul.) chamb. h bozok & aksoy (2013) zi 1146 zi 1139 57 boraginaceae heliotropium dolosum de not. h balbulotu davis (1965–1988) zi 1228 58 boraginaceae rochelia disperma (l.f.) k. koch var. disperma h kuşçırnağı zi 1074 59 capparaceae capparis sicula veill. subsp. sicula s delikarpuzu akan et al. (2004), balos & akan (2008) zi 1148 zi 1223 60 caprifoliaceae cephalaria syriaca (l.) schrad h pelemir ertekin (2002), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1099 61 caprifoliaceae scabiosa calocephala boiss. h çayıruyuzotu davis (1965–1988), doğan et al, (2004) zi 1130 62 caprifoliaceae scabiosa persica boiss. h acemzivanı zi 1093 63 caprifoliaceae valerianella vesicaria (l.) moench h kuzugevreği zi 1045 zi 1065 64 caprifoliaceae valerianella pumila (l.) dc. h bağkuzugevreği zi 1105 floristic composition in the ruderal areas 247 table 1 contd. sl. no. family botanical name habit vernacular name literature cited voucher no. 65 caryophyllaceae arenaria sabulinea griseb. ex fenzl h fıratkumotu zi 1163 66 caryophyllaceae dianthus strictus bank & sol. h dimisok zi 1227 67 caryophyllaceae minuartia montana l. h demettıstısı zi 1239 68 caryophyllaceae silene coniflora nees ex otth h çölnakılı davis (1965–1988) zi 1030 zi 1070 69 caryophyllaceae silene crassipes fenzl h tarlanakılı zi 1235 70 caryophyllaceae vaccaria hispanica (mill.) rauschert h ekinebesi zi 1224 71 convolvulaceae convolvulus arvensis l. cl tarlasarmaşığı davis (1965–1988), polunin (1997), doğan et al.(2004) zi 1128 zi 1217 zi 1231 72 convolvulaceae convolvulus dorycnium l. subsp. dorycnium cl bağarcıkurganı zi 1125 73 convolvulaceae convolvulus galaticus rost. ex choisy cl bozsarmaşık ertekin (2002) zi 1054 zi 1230 74 crassulaceae umbilicus horizontalis dc. h kalaba zi 1154 75 cyperaceae cyperus glaber l. h küsnüotu zi 1177 76 cyperaceae cyperus longus l. subsp. longus h karatopalak zi 1218 77 euphorbiaceae euphorbia aleppica l. h haşul davis (1965–1988) zi 1071 78 euphorbiaceae euphorbia cheiradenia boiss. & hohen h şirker babacan et al. (2017) zi 1215 zi 1157 zi 1135 zi 1133 79 euphorbiaceae euphorbia falcata l. subsp. falcata h eğrisütleğen babacan et al. (2017) zi 1094 zi 1089 80 euphorbiaceae euphorbia helioscopia l. subsp. helioscopia h feribanotu zi 1174 81 fabaceae astragalus aduncus willd. h çengelgeven ekici et al. (2015) zi 1110 82 fabaceae astragalus aleppicus boiss. h halepgeveni zi 1246 83 fabaceae astragalus caprinus l. subsp. caprinus h tekegeveni zi 1002 84 fabaceae astragalus scabrifolius boiss. h gövdesizgeven zi 1005 85 fabaceae astragalus suberosus banks & sol. h yemenigeveni babacan et al. (2017) zi 1003 86 fabaceae astragalus triradiatus bunge. h üçgeven zi 1028 87 fabaceae astragalus xylobasis freyn&bornm. h kemaliyegeveni ekici et al. (2015) zi 1111 88 fabaceae coronilla scorpioides (l.) w.d.j. koch h akrepburçağı babacan et al. (2017) zi 1031 89 fabaceae glycyrrhiza glabra l. var. glabra h meyan ertekin (2002), aydoğdu & akan (2005), babacan et al. (2017), balos & akan (2008) zi 1061 zi 1178 90 fabaceae hedysarum varium willd. h batalak zi 1081 248 izgördü and akan table 1 contd. sl. no. family botanical name habit vernacular name literature cited voucher no. 91 fabaceae hymenocarpos circinnatus (l.) savi h pulluot zi 1085 92 fabaceae lathyrus pseudo-cicera pamp. h hatunbaklası zi 1046 93 fabaceae lens culinaris medik. h mercimek zi 1225 94 fabaceae lotus gebelia vent. var. gebelia h gülgazalboynuzu zi 1114 95 fabaceae medicago crassipes (boiss.) e. small h hançeryoncası akan et al. (2009) zi 1011 96 fabaceae medicago fischeriana (ser.) trautv. h mızrakyonca akan et al. (2009) zi 1008 97 fabaceae medicago monantha (c.a. mey.) trautv h dağgurniği akan et al. (2009) zi 1007 zi 1195 98 fabaceae medicago phrygia (boiss. & balansa) e. small h uşakyoncası akan et al. (2009) zi 1010 99 fabaceae medicago polymorpha l. var. polymorpha h kırkyonca polunin (1997), doğan et al. (2004), balos & akan (2008) zi 1033 100 fabaceae medicago radiata l. h hilalyonca zi 1040 101 fabaceae medicago x varia martyn h yabanyoncası zi 1006 102 fabaceae melilotus indicus (l.) all. h otuzluyonca zi 1112 103 fabaceae melilotus officinalis (l.) desr. h kokuluyonca balos &akan (2008), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1180 104 fabaceae onobrychis aequidentata (sibth. &sm.) d urv h dişlekkorunga zi 1084 105 fabaceae onobrychis caput-galli (l.) lam. h pıtrakkorunga davis (1965–1988), polunin (1997), doğan et al. (2004) zi 1113 106 fabaceae onobrychis galegifolia boiss. h darpkorungası zi 1216 107 fabaceae pisum sativum l. subsp. sativum var. arvense (l.) poiret h bezelye ertekin (2002), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1062 108 fabaceae prosopis farcta (banks& sol.) j.f. macbr. h çediotu zi 1152 zi 1201 109 fabaceae *robinia pseudocacia l. t yalancıakasya davis (1965–1988) zi 1212 110 fabaceae scorpiurus subvillosus l. var. subvillosus h koyundücüğü zi 1086 111 fabaceae trifolium nigrescens viv. subsp. nigrescens h yanıküçgül babacan et al. (2017) zi 1073 112 fabaceae trifolium purpureum lois. h morüçgül davis (1965–1988) zi 1102 zi 1104 113 fabaceae trifolium resupinatum l. var. resupinatum h anadoluüçgülü davis (1965–1988) doğan et al, (2004) zi 1079 114 fabaceae trifolium spumosum l. h keseyonca davis (1965–1988) zi 1064 115 fabaceae trifolium stellatum l. var. stellatum h yıldızyonca davis (1965–1988), doğan et al, (2004) zi 1019 zi 1082 zi 1075 floristic composition in the ruderal areas 249 table 1 contd. sl. no. family botanical name habit vernacular name literature cited voucher no. 116 fabaceae trigonella caelesyriaca boiss. h handekok akan et al. (2009) zi 1016 117 fabaceae trigonella filipes boiss. h i̇nceboyotu akan et al. (2009) zi 1035 118 fabaceae trigonella kotschyi fenzl. h akboyotu akan et al. (2009) zi 1009 119 fabaceae trigonella mesopotamica hub.mor. h dicleboyotu akan et al. (2009) zi 1245 120 fabaceae trigonella monspeliaca l. h somçemenotu akan et al. (2009) zi 1196 121 fabaceae trigonella spicata sibth. &sm. h başakboyutu akan et al. (2009) zi 1226 122 fabaceae trigonella spruneriana boiss. h koçboyotu akan et al. (2009) zi 1223 zi 1018 123 fabaceae vicia hybrida l. h melezbakla zi 1060 124 fabaceae vicia narbonensis l. var. narbonensis h kocaçığ zi 1032 zi 1072 125 fabaceae vicia palaestina boiss. h yabaniküşve zi 1015 126 fabaceae vicia peregrina l. h kavli balos & akan (2008) zi 1017 127 fabaceae vicia sativa l. subsp. sativa h fiğ frenkel (1977), doğan et al. (2004), balos & akan (2008) zi 1043 128 geraniaceae geranium tuberosum l. h çakmuz eker et al. (2008), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1068 zi 1175 129 geraniaceae erodium cicutarium (l.) l hér. subsp. cicutarium h i̇ğnelik frenkel (1977), polunin (1997), doğan et al. (2004), aydoğdu & akan (2005) zi 1020 zi 1169 130 hyperıcaceae hypericum perforatum l. h kantaron zi 1115 131 hyperıcaceae hypericum triquetrifolium turra h pırpırotu zi 1155 132 iridaceae crocus cancellatus herb. subsp. damascenus (herb.) b. mathew h pivok zi 1144 133 iridaceae iris persica l. h buzala zi 1171 134 iridaceae iris x germanica l. h göksüsen zi 1100 135 ixioliriaceae ixiolirion tataricum (pall.) schult. & schult. f. var. tataricum h köpekotu zi 1241 136 juncaceae juncus inflexus l. h sazak davis (1965–1988), doğan et al. (2004), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1243 137 lamiaceae ballota saxatilis siebernex c. presl subsp. saxatilis h nemnemotu aydoğdu & akan (2005) zi 1149 138 lamiaceae lamium amplexicaule l.var.aleppicum (boiss. et hausskn) bornm. h baltutan davis (1965–1988), doğan et al. (2004) zi 1076 zi 1173 zi1166 139 lamiaceae marrubium vulgare l. h karaderme davis (1965–1988), polunin (1997), doğan et al. (2004) zi 1116 140 lamiaceae moluccella laevis l. h çanakçiçeği zi 1222 141 lamiaceae phlomis bruguieri desf. h kabaçalba aydoğdu & akan (2005) zi 1124 250 izgördü and akan table 1 contd. sl. no. family botanical name habit vernacular name literature cited voucher no. 142 lamiaceae phlomis kurdica rech.f. h gubel ertekin (2002), aydoğdu & akan (2005) zi 1129 143 lamiaceae phlomis pungens willd. var. pungens h silvanok davis (1965–1988) zi 1141 144 lamiaceae *rosmarinus officinalis l. s biberiye davis (1965–1988) zi 1078 145 lamiaceae salvia multicaulis vahl h kürtreyhanı zi 1087 146 lamiaceae salvia palaestina benth. h sürmelişalba zi 1134 147 lamiaceae salvia syriaca l. h çevrikotu zi 1184 148 lamiaceae salvia virgata jacq. h fatmanaotu davis (1965–1988) doğan et al. (2004) zi 1088 149 lamiaceae teucrium polium l. subsp. polium h acıyavşan babacan et al. (2017) zi 1137 150 lamiaceae ziziphora capitata l. h anuk babacan et al. (2017) zi 1013 151 lamiaceae ziziphora tenuior l. h fareotu zi 1162 152 liliaceae gagea reticulata (pall.) schult. &schult.f. h ağyıldızı davis (1965–1988) zi 1242 153 linaceae linum mucronatum bertol. subsp. mucronatum h sarıketen tugay & öztürk (2003) zi 1063 zi 1229 154 malvaceae alcea acaulis (cav.) alef. h hiro zi 1156 155 malvaceae alcea digitata (boiss.) alef h boyluhatmi balos & akan (2008) zi 1126 156 malvaceae alcea hohenackeri (boiss. &huet) boiss. h hevur zi 1098 157 malvaceae alcea striata (dc.) alef. subsp. striata h yivlihatmi ertekin (2002) zi 1151 zi 1220 zi 1183 158 malvaceae malva neglecta wallr. h çobançöreği davis (1965–1988), ertekin (2002), balos & akan (2008) zi 1181 159 moraceae *ficus carica l. subsp. carica t i̇ncir aydoğdu & akan (2005), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1211 160 moraceae *morus alba l. t dut zi 1147 161 moraceae *morus nigra l. t karadut zi 1213 162 oleaceae *olea europaea l. t zeytin doğan et al. (2004) zi 1238 163 orabanchaceae orobanche egyptiaca pers. h dinlendiren zi 1037 zi 1069 164 orabanchaceae parentucellia latifolia (l.)caruel subsp. flaviflora (boiss.) hand.mazz h sarıüçdilotu zi 1042 165 papaveraceae fumaria parviflora lam. h tarlaşahteresi zi 1067 166 papaveraceae glaucium grandiflorum boiss. & a. huet h develalesi babacan et al. (2017) zi 1119 167 papaveraceae roemeria hybrida (l.) dc. subsp. hybrida h pıtpıtotu zi 1029 zi 1168 168 papaveraceae papaver clavatum boiss. et hausskn. ex boiss. h şıkşıkı davis (1965–1988), balos & akan (2008) zi 1047 zi 1189 floristic composition in the ruderal areas 251 table 1 contd. sl. no. family botanical name habit vernacular name literature cited voucher no. 169 pinaceae *pinus nigra j.f. arnoldsubsp. pallasiana (lamb.) holmboe var. pallasiana f. pallasiana t karaçam zi 1194 170 plantaginaceae plantago lanceolata l. h damarlıca frenkel (1977), davis (1965–1988), ertekin (2002), doğan et al. (2004), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1191 171 plantaginaceae veronica persica poir. h cırcamık davis (1965–1988) zi 1161 172 poaceae aegilops triuncialis l. h üçkılçık doğan et al. (2004) zi 1091 173 poaceae alopecurus arundinaceus poir. h kamıştilkikuyruğu davis (1965–1988) zi 1237 174 poaceae arundo donax l. s kargı doğan et al. (2004) zi 1214 175 poaceae avena barbata pottex link subsp. barbata h narinyulaf frenkel (1977), poldini (1992), doğan et al. (2004) zi 1034 zi 1206 176 poaceae echinaria capitata (l.) desf. h dikenbaşotu zi 1090 177 poaceae hordeum murinum l. subsp. glaucum (steud.) tzvelev h duvararpası davis (1965–1988), polunin (1997), doğan et al. (2004) zi 1197 178 poaceae pennisetum orientale rich. h fıskiyeotu zi 1193 179 poaceae phalaris paradoxa l. h topuzlukanyaş davis (1965–1988) zi 1106 180 poaceae phragmites australis (cav.) trin. ex steud. s kamış doğan et al. (2004) zi 1179 181 poaceae poa angustifolia l. h darsalkımotu zi 1240 182 poaceae poa bulbosa l. h yumrulusalkım frenkel (1977), doğan et al. (2004), aydoğdu & akan (2005) zi 1021 183 poaceae rostraria berythea (boiss. &blanche) holub h maraşgagaotu davis (1965–1988) zi 1053 zi 1188 184 poaceae sorghum halepense (l.) pers.var. muticum (hack.) grossh h ekinsüpürgesi zi 1131 185 primulaceae androsacea maxima l. h tavukkursağı zi 1024 186 punicaceae *punica granatum l. t nar zi 1210 187 resedaceae reseda lutea l. var. lutea h muhabbetçiçeği davis (1965–1988), ozturk et al. (1990), ozturk & ozcelik (1991), doğan et al. (2004), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1158 188 rosaceae *amygdalus communis l. t badem doğan et al. (2004), aydoğdu & akan (2005) zi 1167 189 rosaceae *amygdalus orientalis mill. t payam zi 1202 190 rosaceae *persica vulgaris mill. t şeftali zi 1055 191 rosaceae *pyracantha coccinea m. roem. s ateşdikeni zi 1057 192 rosaceae rubus sanctus schreb. s böğürtlen doğan et al. (2004) zi 1120 252 izgördü and akan table 1 contd. sl. no. family botanical name habit vernacular name literature cited voucher no. 193 rosaceae sanguisorba minor l. subsp. minor h çayırdüğmesi zi 1014 194 rubiaceae callipeltis cucullaris (l.) stevenv h nermik zi 1122 195 rubiaceae galium aparine l. h çobansüzgeci doğan et al, (2004), babacan et al. (2017) zi 1121 196 scrophulariaceae scrophularia peyronii post. h hilvansıracası zi 1059 197 scrophulariaceae verbascum alepense benth. h halep sığırkuyruğu davis (1965–1988) zi 1190 198 scrophulariaceae verbascum stepporum hub.-mor. h urfasığır kuyruğu zi 1159 zi 1123 199 tamaricaceae tamarix parviflora dc. s deliılgın zi 1198 200 vitaceae *vitis vinifera l. cl asma zi 1209 note: the numbers after ‘zi’ indicate the collection number of voucher specimens of the 1st author. ‘*’ sign = the cultivated plants; h = herb, cl = climber, s = shrub, t = tree. fig. 2. some of the common species recorded from the study area; a) alcea striata subsp. striata, b) geropogon hybridus, c) alkanna strigosa, d) tragopogon porifolius, e) silene coniflora, f) convolvulus galaticus, g) crocus cancellatus subsp. damascenus, h) papaver clavatum, i) granium tuberosum, k) linum mucronatum. five geophytes, viz. poa bulbosa, crocus cancellatus subsp. damascenus, iris persica, ixiolirion tataricum and biarum carduchorum belonging to different families were determined from the study area. orobanche aegyptiaca, which belongs to the family orabanchaceae, has been collected as a parasite species. in the study area, nine endemic taxa have been identified (table 2), based on which the endemism rate in the study area has been estimated as 4.5%. since the endemic taxa are generally collected from roadside ruderal areas, they are inevitable under the floristic composition in the ruderal areas 253 threat in the near future. the life forms of plant species collected from the study area according to raunkiaer (1934) are presented in fig. 3. since the terophytes are very common in arid and semiarid climates, it ranks first in the study area with a rate of 50 %. comparison with other floristic researches in the close vicinity of our study area is given in table 3. table 2. endemic taxa of the study area and their estimated threatened categories (ekim, 2000). family name endemic plant name turkish name threat categories asteraceae anthemis pungens yavin yavin nt asteraceae geropogon hybridus (l.) sch.bip. melezyemlik lc asteraceae gundelia armata (freyn & sint.) fırat haskenger en caryophyllaceae arenaria sabulinea griseb. ex fenzl fıratkumotu lc convolvulaceae convolvulus galaticus rost. ex choisy bozsarmaşığı lc fabaceae astragalus scabrifolius boiss. gövdesizgeven cr fabaceae trigonella kotschyi fenzl akboyotu lc papaveraceae papaver clavatum boiss. şıkşıkı lc scrophulariaceae verbascum stepporum hub.-mor. urfasığırkuyruğu en en: endangered, nt: near threatened, lc: least concern, cr:critically endangered. fig. 3. raunkiaer (1934)’s life forms spectrum of plant species collected from the study area. table 3. comparison of taxonomic enumeration and endimism rate recorded by this study with those of few previous studies. our study (2020) (aydoğdu and akan, 2005) (akan and ayaz, 2016) (akan et al., 2005) (atamov et al., 2009) family no 41 39 50 47 32 taxa no 200 238 226 262 192 endemic 9 13 6 10 2 endemism rate (%) 4,5 %5,4 %2,6 %3,8 %1,04 254 izgördü and akan the plant species of the study area belonging to different floristic region has been determined. in the study area, the irano-turanian elements representing 38% of the flora are in first place, which is followed by mediterranean elements with 15% and euro-siberian elements with 1%. the perecent of multi-region or unknown elements is 46%. in the study area, the iran-turan region elements are dominant due to the fact that this area is in arid and semi-arid climates. the high number of multi-region and unknown elenments results from the widespread cosmopolitan species and topographic diversity. according to flora of turkey (davis, 1965-1985), 672 plant taxa occur in şanlıurfa province and only three of them, viz. nigella orientalis, xanthium strumarium subsp. strumarium and anthemis altissima (accepted name is cota altissima) are are ruderal. during this study, nigella orientalis was not found but other two taxa were collected. as shown in table 3, the taxonomic enumeration of plant taxa recorded by this study is close to that reported by akan and ayaz (2016) and atamov et al. (2009), but lower than that by aydoğdu and akan (2005) and akan et al. (2005). the endemism rate recorded in the study area is higher than that reported by akan and ayaz (2016), akan et al. (2005) and atamov et al. (2009) (table 3) and lower than that of aydoğdu and akan (2005). in respect to few previous studies (aydoğdu and akan, 2005; akan et al., 2005), a relatively lower number of taxa is found in the study area because this study mostly covers the roadside ruderal plants. the reason for the high rate of endemism in kalecik mountain (aydoğdu and akan, 2005) are its larger natural areas, higher elevation variation and diverse habitats. the density of factories, oil stations, quarries and vineyard houses established along the şanlıurfa-bozova road have affected the natural vegetation. due to the formation of more cultivated areas, uncontrolled factory establishment and construction of vineyard houses etc., degradation of the natural habitats in the region is continuing that should be minimized for the conservation of the plant resources of the study area. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to maruf balos, mustafa keskin and cahit çeçen for identification of some plant species, to dr. erdal erbil for some technical helpness and to mahmut i̇zgördü for field assistants for his service during field surveys. references abak, f. and akan, h. 2014. the flora of asteraceae family in şanlıurfa/turkey. biological diversity and conservation 7(1): 68‒78. acar, c. 2001. trabzon yöresi değirmendere ve solaklı havzaları yol şevlerinde yetişen yer örtücü bitkiler. kafkas üniversitesi artvin orman fakültesi dergisi 1: 43‒53. adıgüzel, n. and aytaç, z. 2001. flora of ceylanpınar state farm (şanlıurfa-turkey). flora mediterranea 11: 333‒361. akan, h. and ayaz, h. 2016. gölpınar (şanlıurfa-türk ye) mes re yer florası ve etrafındak köyler n etnobotan k özell kler . bağbahçe bilim dergisi 2(3): 19‒56. akan, h. and balos, m.m. 2008. check-list of the genus biarum schott in the flora of turkey, with a newrecord for turkey: biarum syriacum (spreng.) h. riedl. turkish journal of botany 32(4): 305‒310. akan, h., aytaç, z. and ekici, m. 2009. türkiye'nin yabani çemenleri. ece matbaası, ankara. akan, h., eker, i̇. and aslan, m. 2004. kapari (keber) bitkisinin gap bölgesindeki ihracatı ve son populasyon durumu. ot sistematik botanik dergisi 11(1): 105‒118. akan, h., kaya, ö.f., eker, i̇., and cevheri, c. 2005. the flora of kaşmer dağı (şanlıurfa), turkish j. bot. 29(4): 291‒310. floristic composition in the ruderal areas 255 altay, v. and karahan, f. 2017. ruderal vejetasyon üzerine bir ön çalışma: antakya (hatay) örneği. kilis 7 araslık üniversitesi fen ve mühendislik dergisi 1(2): 68‒77. aslan, m. and akan, h. 2019. a study of natural woody plants of forest in şanlıurfa determination of detection and scape values of parks and garden plants. biological diversity and conservation, 12(1): 50‒65 aslan, m. and atamov, v. 2006. flora and vegetation of stonywalls in south-east turkey (sanliurfa). asian journal of plant sciences 5(1): 153‒162. atamov, v., aslan, m. and ayalp, g. 2007a. flora of mezra city (birecik, sanliurfaturkey). asian journal of plant sciences 6: 225‒238. atamov, v., aslan, m. and aydin, n. 2009. direkli tepeleri (şanlıurfa) florası. ot sistematik botanik dergisi 6: 97‒114. atamov, v., aslan, m., cevheri, c. and cetin, e. 2007b. contribution to the flora of fatik mountain (sanliurfa-turkey). asian journal of plant sciences 6(1): 1‒11. aydoğdu, m. and akan, h. 2005. the flora of kalecik mountain (şanlıurfa), turkish journal of botany 29: 155‒174. babacan, e.y., vitek, e. and çakılcıoğlu, u. 2017. contributions to the flora of tunceli (turkey). international journal of nature and life sciences 1(2): 39‒66. balos, m.m., and akan, h. 2008. flora of the region between zeytinbahçe and akarçay (birecik, şanlıurfa, turkey). turkish journal of botany, 32(3): 201‒226. bozok, f. and aksoy, a. 2013. hodul dağı (nevşehir-kayseri) ve çevresinin florası. erciyes üniversitesi fen bilimleri enstitüsü fen bilimleri dergisi 29(1):10‒28. cevheri, c. 2011. çaylarbaşı şanlıurfa’nın çayır vejetasyonu üzerine floristik bir araştırma. harran tarım ve gıda bilimleri dergisi 15(4): 9‒22. çırpıcı, a. 1987. türkiye’nin flora ve vejetasyonu üzerindeki çalışlmalar. doğa tu bot derg 11(2): 217‒232. davis, p.h. 1965. introduction. in: davis, p.h. 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(manuscript received on 18 november, 2020; revised on 14 may, 2021) http://www.theplantlist.org/. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 51-56, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists notes on the genus tylophora r. br. (asclepiadaceae) of india l. rasingam1, j. swamy and s. nagaraju botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, plot. no. 366/1, attapur, hyderguda post, hyderabad-500048, telangana, india keywords: tylophora; new subsp. andamanica; new combination; andaman islands: india. abstract a new subspecies, tylophora perakensis king & gamble subsp. andamanica is described and illustrated from little andaman island, andaman and nicobar islands, india. a new combination, tylophora hookeriana is proposed and the distributional status of t. indica merr. var. intermedia m.a. rahman & wilcock is also discussed based on the fresh collections from andaman islands. introduction the genus tylophora r. br. (asclepiadaceae) consists of c. 60 species, and distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical asia, africa and australia (tseng and chao, 2011; murugan and kamble, 2012). in india, tylophora is represented by 21 species and two varieties (jagtap and singh, 1999; karthikeyan et al., 2009) and recently one more species was described from the andaman and nicobar islands (murugan and kamble, 2012). at present tylophora r. br. is known to be represented in andaman and nicobar islands by four species viz., t. globifera hook. f., t. indica (burm. f.) merr., t. flexuosa r. br. and t. nicobarica murugan & m.y. kamble. while working on the flora of andaman islands, the first author collected an interesting specimen of tylophora r. br. from the evergreen forests of little andaman island. critical examination of the specimens and survey of relevant literature revealed that it is morphologically similar to t. perakensis king & gamble but differs from shape and size of corolla which warrants sufficiently to recognize subspecies of it. hence, it has been described as a new subspecies under t. perakensis king & gamble. tylophora perakensis king & gamble subsp. andamanica l. rasingam & j. swamy, subsp. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: the new subspecies t. perakensis subsp. andamanica is similar to the typical subspecies, perakensis by its vegetative characters, but differs in the broadly ovate, acuminate corolla lobes with 7–9 veins (vs. oblong, obtuse corolla lobes with 3–5 veins). type: india, andaman and nicobar islands, little andaman island, on the way to ramkrishnapur dam, 19.5.2008, l. rasingam 25991 (holotype: cal; isotypes: pbl). paratype: india, andaman and nicobar islands, south andamans, cadell-gunj hill jungle, 25.7. 1891, dr. king s.n. (cal!). a climbing shrub, up to 3 m long; branchlets fleshy, striate, twisted, pale brown when dry; internodes 13–15 cm long, glabrous. leaves simple, opposite-decussate, ovate, 11–15×8–9 cm, apex acuminate; acumen up to 1 cm long, base deeply cordate, margin entire, membranous, glabrous; midrib slender, raised beneath, bearing a small cluster of glands at the base just above the petiole; lateral veins 9 or 10 pairs, curving upwards to anastomose near margin with an obscure looped vein; petiole upto 4.3 cm long, fleshy, glabrous. inflorescence axillary or lateral 1corresponding author. email: rasingam@gmail.com mailto:rasingam@gmail.com 52 rasingam et al. between the petioles, up to 16×14 cm, as long as or longer than the leaves, divaricately branched, glabrous; peduncles 1–3 cm long, pubescent when young, later glabrescent. flowers 5 to 11 in umbellate clusters; bracts minute, c. 0.6 mm; pedicels 6–8 mm long, striate; buds ovoid, c. 3.5×1.5 mm. calyx lobes ovate, c. 1.3×1.1 mm, apex acute, 5–7-veined, margin ciliate. corolla campanulate-rotate; tube 0.6–0.7 mm long; lobes broadly ovate, acuminate, c. 3.5×2.2 mm, 7veined, hairy inside, pubescent outside. corona processes subglobose, c. 1×2 mm, fleshy, shorter than the anthers, point small, appressed to the anthers. anthers slender above; appendages lanceolate, up to 1.1 mm long, acuminate; pollen masses globose, very minute, attached by slender, straight caudicles to the minute pollen-carriers. style apex pentagonal, c. 1.1×1.0 mm, with convex top. gynoecium bicarpellate, c. 1.2×0.1 mm, pubescent. flowering and fruiting: may to august. fig. 1. tylophora perakensis king & gamble subsp. andamanica l. rasingam & j. swamy, subsp. nov. a. flowering twig; b. flower; c. calyx; d. corona process; e. gynoecium; f. pollinia. notes on the genus tylophora 53 habitat: very rare on the edges of inland evergreen forests. distribution: india: andaman and nicobar islands, little andaman and south andaman islands. etymology: the infraspecific epithet is named after the type locality, the andaman islands. nomenclatural notes on tylophora macrantha (wight) hook. f. t. macrantha (wight) hook. f. is an endemic species known from andhra pradesh, kerala, madhya pradesh and tamil nadu (karthikeyan et al., 2009). it was described by robert wight (1834) as a variety under t. fasciculata buch.-ham. ex wight. later, hooker (1883) raised it to species level in his flora of british india without knowing the name t. macrantha hance (1882), has already been used for a species described from hongkong. hence, t. macrantha (wight) hook. f. became an illegitimate later homonym, and for which, kuntze (1891) proposed a new name, vincetoxicum hookerianum. however, while critically studying the morphological features of the type specimen and other voucher specimens housed in cal, mh and bsid herbaria, it is strongly felt that this species should be treated under tylophora rather under vincetoxicum as the diagnostic features fall well within the circumscription of tylophora. therefore, a new combination is proposed here. tylophora hookeriana (kuntze) l. rasingam & j. swamy, comb. nov. basionym: vincetoxicum hookerianum kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 2: 424 (1891). tylophora fasciculata buch.-ham. ex wight var. macrantha wight, contr. bot. india: 50 (1834). t. macrantha (wight) hook. f., fl. brit. india 4: 40 (1883), non t. macrantha hance in j. bot. 20: 79 (1882). type: neelgherry, wight numer. list no.1540 (k, image!). distribution: endemic to india: andhra pradesh, kerala, madhya pradesh and tamil nadu. additional specimens examined: india, telangana, amrabad tiger reserve, mallayalodhi, 22.9.2013, l. rasingam & m. sankara rao 3721 (bsid); andhra pradesh, srisailam tiger reserve, istakameshwaram, 24.9.2014, l. rasingam & m. sankara rao 5771 (bsid); tamil nadu, nilgiri district, pykara fall, june 1884, j.s. gamble 14239 (cal), coimbatore district, dhimbam, 28.5.1905, c.e.c. fischer 63 (cal); north arcot district, vasanthapuram rf, 20.11.1977, e. vajravelu 51989 (mh). note: t. hookeriana resembles t. fasciculata by its habit and vegetative characters but differs by its flower length. the flowers of t. hookeriana are c. 7 mm long, whereas in t. fasciculata the flowers are up to 4 mm long. distributional notes on tylophora indica var. intermedia m.a. rahman & wilcock t. indica (burm. f.) merr. var. intermedia m.a. rahman & wilcock was described from bangladesh and reported from india by rahman and wilcock (1989) based on the collections of wight (without any locality, wight prop. n. 1548) and sedgwick and bell [bihar (kasmar, sandy sea shore, sedgwick and bell 5084, 6746)] preserved at k. while revising the family asclepiadaceae for india, jagtap and singh (1999) doubted about its distribution and stated “as there is no sea shore in bihar state, its distribution is doubtful in india”. further, there is no report on the variety from indian region after it was described. however, during the documentation of floral wealth of mount harriet national park of andaman and nicobar islands the first author had collected this variety from the sea shores of the national park, thus the collection confirms its distribution in india. this variety differs from var. glabra (decne.) h. huber by its pubescent 54 rasingam et al. stems and inflorescences and from its typical variety indica by its glabrous corolla lobes and lower surface of leaves. tylophora indica (burm. f.) merr. var. intermedia m.a. rahman & wilcock in j. econ. taxon. bot. 13(1): 184 (1989); rahman & wilcock in khan & rahman, fl. bangladesh 48: 55 (1995); jagtap & singh, fasc. fl. india 24: 161 (1999). (fig. 2). a climbing shrub, up to 2 m long; branches minutely ridged, pale brown when dry; internodes 7–11 cm long, pubescent, sparsely hairy at nodes. leaves simple, opposite-decussate, ovate or ovate-oblong, 2–5×1.0–2.6 cm, base cordate, asymmetric and hairy, margin entire, apex acuminate and mucronate, glabrous; lateral veins 4 or 5 pairs; petioles terete, 5–8×c.1 mm, sparsely hairy. inflorescence axillary umbels, as long as or slightly longer than the leaves; peduncles angled, 5– 9×0.4–0.5 mm, arising between petioles nearer to one of them, hairy; bracts linear, c. 4.0×0.5 mm, apex acute, sparsely hairy; bracteole subulate, 2.0–2.5×c.0.3 mm, margin sparsely hairy; pedicels filiform, 5–27 mm long, hairy. flowers 6–7×c. 4 mm. calyx lobes 5, free, slightly attached at base, linear-lanceolate, 2.8–3.0×0.4–0.9 mm, hairy outside, 4 or 5-veined. corolla rotate, c. 8.2×9.2 mm; lobes 5, united for 2.0–2.8 mm, ovate, 5.2–6.0×2.6–2.7 mm, apex obtuse, glabrous, c. 10-veined. corona process ovate-oblong, c. 1.2×2.0 mm, uniseriate, 5-lobed, adnate below the staminal column with free points above. stamens 5, c. 1.0×0.6 mm; pollinia 5, pollen masses solitary in each anther cell, c. 190×130 µm, waxy, yellow, attached by c. 80 µm long, brown caudicles; corpusculum c. 110×70 µm, dark brown. gynostegium c. 2.2 mm long; carpels 2, c. 1.6×1.0 mm, glabrous; style apex pentagonal, c. 1.1×0.4 mm. flowering and fruiting: march to september. habitat: very rare along the littoral forests. distribution: india (andaman islands), bangladesh, myanmar and sri lanka. specimen examined: india, andaman and nicobar islands, mount harriet national park, near north bay, 10.3. 2007, l. rasingam 2982 (bsid). key to the tylophora species in andaman and nicobar islands 1. leaves deeply cordate at base t. perakensis subsp. andamanica – leaves truncate, rounded to cordate at base 2 2. flowers small, in much branched panicles or corymbose cymes t. tetrapetala – flowers large, in simple or rarely branched umbellate cymes and racemes 3 3. flowers in simple or branched umbellate racemes t. nicobarica – flowers in simple umbellate cymes 4 4. plants quite glabrous; sepals ovate-lanceolate; coronal scales globose, very large t. globifera – plants pubescent; sepals linear or linear-lanceolate; coronal scales ovoid, small 5 5. lower surface of the leaves and corolla lobes glabrous t. indica var. intermedia – lower surface of the leaves and corolla lobes pubescent t. indica var. indica notes on the genus tylophora 55 fig. 2. tylophora indica (burm. f.) merr. var. intermedia m.a. rahman & wilcock a. flowering twig; b. leaf – adaxial view; c. leaf – abaxial view; d. open flower; e. calyx; f. gynostegium. 56 rasingam et al. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to dr. p. singh, director, botanical survey of india, kolkata and dr. m. ahmedullah, scientist-e, botanical survey of india, deccan regional centre, hyderabad for facilities and encouragements. we are also thankful to the officials and field assistants of andaman and nicobar forest plantation & development corporation ltd., and hut bay for field support. references hance, h.f. 1882. a decade of new hong-kong plants. j. bot. 20: 77–80. hooker, j.d. 1883. asclepiadaceae. in: hooker j.d. (ed.), the flora of british india. vol. 4. l. reeve & co., london, pp. 1–78. jagtap, a. and singh, n.p. 1999. asclepiadaceae and periplocaceae. fascicle of flora of india. fascicle 24: 1–332. botanical survey of india, calcutta. karthikeyan, s., sanjappa, m. and moorthy, s. 2009. flowering plants of india. dicotyledons. volume 1 (acanthaceae–avicenniaceae). botanical survey of india, kolkata. kuntze, o. 1891. revisio generum plantarum: vascular iumomnium at quecellular iummultarum secund umleges nomeclaturae internationales cum enumerationeplantarumexoticarum in itinere mundi collectarum, pars ii. dulau & co, 37, soho square, london, p. 424. murugan, c. and kamble, m.y. 2012. a new species of tylophora (apocynaceae–asclepiadoideae – asclepiadeae) from the nicobar islands, india. rheedea 22(2): 83–87. rahman, m.a. and wilcock, c.c. 1989. notes on tropical asian asclepiadaceae – ii. j. econ. taxon. bot. 13(1): 181–185. tseng, y.h. and chao, c.t. 2011. tylophora lui (apocynaceae), a new species from taiwan. ann. bot. fennici 48: 515–518. wight, r. 1834. asclepiadeae indicae. contributions to the botany of india, parbury, allen & co., london, pp. 29–67. (manuscript received on 18 may 2017; revised on 23 march 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 185‒189, 2020 (june) short communication © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists its gene based molecular genotyping of nepeta sheilae hedge & r.a. king (lamiaceae) endemic to saudi arabia fahad m.a. alzeibr1, m. ajmal ali*2, m. oliur rahman3, fahad al-hemaid2, joongku lee4 and sidanand v. kambhar5 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia key words: nepeta sheilae hedge & r.a. king; lamiaceae; nrdna; its; endemic; saudi arabia. the genus nepeta l. (family lamiaceae), commonly known as ‘catmint’ or ‘catnip’, is represented by c. 300 species (kaya and dirmenci, 2008), distributed in asia, europe, north africa and america (jamzad et al., 2000), morphologically characterized by herbaceous, perennial or annuals, sturdy stem and green to greyish-green cordate leaves (jamzad et al., 2003). in the flora of saudi arabia, the genus nepeta is represented by two species i.e. n. deflersiana schweinf. and n. sheilae hedge & r.a. king. n. sheilae is endemic to saudi arabia, mainly distributed in northern hizaz mountains (chaudhary, 2000). the morphological characters of n. sheilae i.e. woody-based, lamina triangular ovate, inflorescence verticillaster, many-flowered, bracteoles narrowly linear-lanceolate, corolla exerted, curved, nutlets brown, apically verrucose or tuberculate etc. overlap with n. deflersiana (chaudhary, 2000). the morphology of n. sheilae (chaudhary, 2000) resembles with section oxynepeta, and the section oxynepeta is consistent in the generic classification of nepeta proposed by bentham (1848), briquet (1896) and budantsev (1993), which are characterized by herbaceous habit; bracts green, inconspicuous; inflorescence interrupted, verticillaster or lax, pedunculate cymes; middle lobe of the lower lip of corolla concave with dentate margin; pollen bi-reticulate, rarely perforate reticulate; and pollen primary muri well-defined, prominent, while secondary muri inconspicuous (jamzad et al., 2000). though the phylogenetic relationships in the genus nepeta and other related genera of lamiaceae have previously been inferred using its sequences of nrdna, the taxonomic status of n. sheilae is unresolved (jamzad et al., 2003). the nrdna its sequence is well known plant dna barcoding gene widely applied to represent evolutionary relationships at lower taxonomic ranks, notably at the intrageneric ones (ali, 2019); hence, the present study aims to resolve the taxonomic status of n. sheilae using molecular genotyping of its sequence of nrdna. the leaves of n. sheilae for sequencing were collected from the herbarium specimen [voucher information: jabal lakus lauz area, south of haql nw side, 20.5.1990, i.s. collenette 13417 (riy)]. the total genomic dna was isolated using qiagen dneasy plant mini kit (valencia, ca, usa). the nrdna its sequence was amplified using its primer (white et al., 1990), and sequenced using abi prism 3100 dna analyzer (perkin-elmer, applied biosystems). in order to unravel the proximity of n. sheilae with the members of nepetoideae, the *corresponding author, email: ajmalpdrc@gmail.com, majmalaliksu@gmail.com, alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa 1present address: department of biology, faculty of sciences, university of tabuk, tabuk 71491, saudi arabia. 2department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia 3department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. 4department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, daehak-ro, yuseong-gu, daejeon, republic of korea. 5post graduate department of botany, kle society’s, basavaprabhu kore college, chikodi-591 201, belagavi, karnataka, india. mailto:majmalaliksu@gmail.com, mailto:alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa 186 alzeibr et al. nrdna its sequence of n. sheilae was analyzed together with the highly similar sequence revealed from the blast search i.e. n. heliotropifolia, morphologically similar to n. deflersiana, and the representative from six different genera belongs to the family lamiaceae, subfamily nepetoideae, and outgroup paulownia tomentosa (thunb.) steud. (family paulowniaceae) and pedicularis groenlandica retz. (family orobanchaceae) following previous studies (li et al., 2016) retrieved from the genbank. the present study revealed that the length of nrdna its region (its1, 5.8s and its2) in n. sheilae sequenced was found to be 640 nucleotides. the generated sequence of n. sheilae was submitted to genbank (accession number mn907379). among all the nepeta taxa included in the study, n. sheilae showed the highest sequence similarity of 97.66% with n. heliotropifolia (table 1) in the blast-searched (altschul et al., 1990). table 1. results of blast search of nrdna its sequence of nepeta sheilae. sl. no. taxa max. score total score query cover (%) percent identity (%) genbank accession number 1 nepeta heliotropifolia lam. 1099 1099 100 97.66 aj515312.1 2. nepeta congesta fisch. & c.a. mey. 1096 1096 100 97.51 aj515161.1 3. nepeta scrophularioides rech.f. 1077 1077 100 97.04 aj515319.1 4. nepeta cataria l. 1077 1077 100 97.04 aj515313.1 5. nepeta kurdica hausskn. & bornm. 1074 1074 100 96.88 aj515320.1 6. nepeta isaurica boiss. & heldr. ex benth. 1064 1064 100 96.72 aj515306.1 7. nepeta deflersiana schweinf. 1053 1053 100 96.41 kf765442.1 the phylogenetic analyses of the aligned dataset [clustalx v.1.81 (thompson et al., 1997)] using minimum evolution method (rzhetsky and nei, 1992) in mega4 (tamura et al., 2007) were performed. the positions containing gaps and missing data were eliminated from the aligned dataset. there were a total number of 470 positions in the final dataset, out of which 93 were parsimony informative. variation in the base pair between the sequence of n. sheilae and n. deflersiana is shown in fig. 1. the molecular phylogenetic relationships of n. sheilae with its closely related n. heliotropifolia and n. deflersiana, and other members of the subfamily nepetoideae are illustrated in fig. 2. the base pair differences between the sequence of n. sheilae and n. deflersiana, and the close proximity of n. sheilae with n. heliotropifolia (bootstrap 47%) in the phylogenetic tree revealed harmony with the blast search result; thus, we herein recognized n. sheilae as a distinct species and is different from morphologically similar n. deflersiana. its gene based molecular genotyping of nepeta sheilae 187 fig. 1. the differences in the nucleotide base pairs in the alignment (sequence lane 1: nepeta deflersiana; sequence lane 2: n. sheilae; lane 3: clustal consensus). 188 alzeibr et al. fig. 2. the phylogenetic tree showing relationships of nepeta sheilae with its closely related species based on nrdna its sequence data inferred using minimum evolution method. the genbank accession number shown next to taxon. the bootstrap support in 500 bootstrap replicates shown on the branch. acknowledgement the authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the deanship of scientific research at king saud university for the funding of this research through the research group project no. rg-1439-84. references ali, m.a. 2019. molecular authentication of anthemis deserti boiss. (asteraceae) based on its2 region of nrdna gene sequence, saudi j. biol. sci. 26: 155–159. altschul, s.f., gish, w., miller, w., myers, e.w. and lipman, d.j. 1990. basic local alignment search tool. j. mol. biol. 215(3): 403–410. bentham, g. 1848. labiatae. in: candolle, a. (ed.), prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, vol. 12. treuttel and wurtz, paris, pp. 27–603. briquet, j. 1896. nepeta, labiatae. in: engler, a. and prantel, k. (eds), die natürlichen pflanzenfamilien, teil 4, abt. 3a. w. engelmann, leipzig, p. 235. budantsev, a.l. 1993. a synopsis of the genus nepeta (lamiaceae). bot. zhurn. 78: 93–107. [in russian]. chaudhary, s.a. 2000. flora of the kingdom of the saudi arabia, vol. ii. ministry of agriculture and water, riyadh, saudi arabia. jamzad, z., harley, m.m., ingrouille, m., simmonds, m.s.j. and jalili, a. 2000. pollen exine and nutlet surface morphology of the annual species of nepeta l. (lamiaceae) in iran. in: harley, m.m., morton, g.m. and blackmore, s. (eds), pollen and spores: morphology and biology. royal botanic gardens, kew, pp. 385–397. jamzad, z., ingrouille, m. and simmonds m.s.j. 2003. three new species of nepeta (lamiaceae) from iran. taxon 52: 93–98. kaya, t. and dirmenci, t. 2008. nutlet surface micromorphology of the genus nepeta l. (lamiaceae) in turkey. turk. j. bot. 32: 103–112. li, b., cantino, p., olmstead, r. bramley, g.l.c., xiang, c.-l., ma, z.-h., tan, y.-h. and zhang, d.-x. 2016. a large-scale chloroplast phylogeny of the lamiaceae sheds new light on its subfamilial classification. sci. rep. 6: 34343. rzhetsky, a. and nei, m. 1992. a simple method for estimating and testing minimum evolution trees. mol. biol. evol. 9: 945–967. its gene based molecular genotyping of nepeta sheilae 189 tamura, k., dudley, j., nei, m. and kumar, s. 2007. mega4: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (mega) software version 4.0. mol. biol. evol. 24: 1596–1599. thompson, j.d., gibson, t.j., plewniak, f., jeanmougin, f. and higgins, g.d. 1997. the clustal x windows interface: flexible strategies for multiple sequence alignment aided by quality analysis tools. nucleic acids res. 24: 4876–4882. white, t.j., bruns, t., lee, s. and taylor, j. 1990. amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal rna genes for phylogenetics. in: innis, m.a., gelfand, d.h., sninksky, j.j. and white, t.j. (eds), pcr protocols: a guide to method and amplifications. academic press, san diego, california, pp. 315–322. (manuscript received on 03 february 2020; revised on 12 may 2020) microsoft word 01. amorphophallus. re-revised ms. 04-12-2014_ee.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(2): 105-120, 2014 (december) © 2014 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus (araceae) in india v. abdul jaleel1, m. sivadasan2,3, ahmed h. alfarhan2, jacob thomas2 and a. a. alatar2 department of botany, university of calicut, calicut university p. o., 673 635, kerala, india keywords: amorphophallus sect. amorphophallus; araceae; endemics; india. abstract amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus in india is revised. it is the smallest of the three sections in india with five species, viz. a. hirsutus teysm. & binn., a. kachinensis engl. & gehrm., a. longistylus kurz, a. napalensis (wall.) bogner & mayo and a. paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson. amorphophallus paeoniifolius is the widely distributed species in india with two varieties, viz. a. paeoniifolius var. paeoniifolius, and var. campanulatus (decne.) sivad. amorphophallus longistylus is the only species of the section endemic to india. introduction amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus (araceae) is the smallest of the three sections represented in india. revisions of the other two sections, viz. rhaphiophallus and conophallus have been carried out recently by jaleel et al. (2011, 2012). engler (1911) in his revision of the genus treated amorphophallus campanulatus decne. [=a. paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson] under the section cundarum engl. which is a renaming of candarum rchb. ex schott. according to engler (1911), composition of the name ‘candarum’ was improper and he renamed it as ‘cundarum’ stating that the name is derived from the indian name ‘kunda’ (= amorphophallus campanulatus) to which the suffix ‘arum’ was added resulting in ‘kundarum’ and written as ‘cundarum’. he considered it as a new name with his authorship. but as per art. 60.1 of icn (mcneill et al., 2012) the original spelling of a name or epithet is to be retained, and hence the name cundarum engl. is treated as illegitimate. engler (1911) included amorphophallus campanulatus, the type of the genus amorphophallus under the section cundarum engl. as per art. 22.1. of icn, the name of any subdivision of a genus that includes the type of an adopted, legitimate name of the genus to which it is assigned is to repeat that generic name unaltered as its epithet, and accordingly the correct name of the section of amorphophallus that includes amorphophallus campanulatus [=a. paeoniifolius] should have been amorphophallus sect. amorphophallus, and it is used in the present study. out of the seventeen species of amorphophallus included in flora of british india by hooker (1894), only eight were reported to be occurring in india and amorphophallus longistylus kurz ex hook. f., a. campanulatus (=a. penoniifolius) and a. dubius blume (=a. penoniifolius) are among those belonging to the section amorphophallus as per the present standards adopted for species delimitation. engler (1911) in his monographic work included a. longistylus under the section conophallus, and a. napalensis was treated under the genus thomsonia which was later transferred to amorphophallus by bogner et al. (1985). since engler’s work, several new species have been discovered from various parts of india. brief accounts on earlier taxonomic work on indian amorphophallus have been provided by jaleel et al. (2011, 2012). the present article is the third and final part of revision of the genus amorphophallus in india. materials and methods 1present address: department of botany, sir syed college, taliparamba, kannur-670 142, kerala, india 2department of botany & microbiology, college of science, king saud university, p. o. box 2455, riyadh11451, kingdom of saudi arabia 3corresponding author: email: drmsivadasan@rediffmail.com 106 jaleel et al. the methodology adopted in earlier works (jaleel et al., 2011, 2012) have been followed in the present work. extensive and exhaustive field explorations covering all seasons were made all over india for collection and recording relevant data of the specimens. indian specimens available at various major herbaria such as assam, bm, bsa, bsd, bshl, bsi, cal, cali, dd, gh, jcb, k, kfri, l, m, mh, pbl, tbgt and us were consulted, and representative specimens were cited. taxonomic treatment amorphophallus blume ex decne., nouv. ann. mus. hist. nat. 3: 366 (1834), nom. cons. [taxon 31: 310 (1982)]. type: amorphophallus campanulatus decne. [= a. paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson]. amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus, emend. sivad. mut. char. [amorphophallus sect. candarum blume, rumphia 1:139 (1835). amorphophallus sect. cundarum engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 74 (1911), nom. illegit.]. spathe usually campanulate with a basal convolute tube and an upper horizontally spreading limb or with basal convolute tube and erect, oblong or oblong-ovate or ovate limb; appendix usually conoid, hemispheric or cylindric; style always long, equal to or 2-4 times the height of ovary; stigma lobed. key to the indian species of amorphophallus sect. amorphophallus 1. peduncle 3-8 cm long; spathe broadly campanulate with basal convolute tube and horizontally spreading limb; spadix-appendix sub-globose or conoid. 2 peduncle more than 20 cm long; spathe ovate with basal convolute tube and upper erect open limb; spadix-appendix elongate-ovoid or cylindric. 3 2. spadix-appendix with subglobose base and apical short cylindric truncate column bearing short stiff hairs. a. hirsutus spadix-appendix subglobose or conoid, glabrous. a. paeoniifolius 3. petiole and peduncle smooth with even surface; spadix shorter than spathe; appendix elongate-ovoid with irregular longitudinal grooves or fissures, or cylindric with warts; style length more or less equal to the height of ovary. 4 petiole and peduncle smooth with uneven surface having small bumps; spadix longer than spathe; appendix elongate, cylindric with tapered tip, smooth; style 2-3 times the height of ovary. a. longistylus 4. spadix stipitate; appendix elongate-ovoid, surface with irregular longitudinal grooves or fissures; style straight; stigma inconspicuously 3-lobed. a. kachinensis spadix sessile; appendix cylindric, surface rough with short prominent protuberances; style bent towards spadix-axis; stigma 4-lobed. a. napalensis amorphophallus hirsutus teysm. & binn., naturk. tijdschr. nederl. ind. xxiv: 332 (1862); engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 106 (1911); sivad. & jaleel, rheedea 10(2): 143 (2000) (fig. 1). type: west sumatra, soeka menanti, ophir, (no date), buennemeijer 1019 (neotype: bo). tubers depressed-globose, 4.5-8.5 cm diam. and 2.5-5.0 cm thick in vegetative phase; c. 11 cm diam. and 7 cm thick in reproductive phase; root scars thickened, annulate. petiole 73-82 cm revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus 107 long, pale green with small blackish green irregular specks and mottles with minute dark green spots in between, paler towards the tip, extreme base with purplish blue hue; some petioles with pale green background having large irregular blackish green patches with light greyish margin, and minute greenish spots in between, and paler towards the tip. leaflets sessile, ellipticlanceolate, large leaflets 11-17 × 3-5 cm, small 6.2-10.5 × 1.8-4.0 cm, acuminate at apex, base unequal, decurrent on rachis, greenish above and pale below. peduncle short, 3.0-5.5 cm long, greenish in colour. spathe campanulate, broadly triangular-ovate, c. 17.5 × 26.0 cm, basal tube separated from limb by a constriction, tip acute, margin undulate; tube c. 7.5 cm diam. and 5.5 cm fig. 1. amorphophallus hirsutus teysm. & binn. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe partially removed showing spadix; d. small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma view from top; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s.; n. a small portion of apical portion of spadix-appendix showing papillae; o. appendix papillae enlarged. 108 jaleel et al. high, greenish outside with few small white mottling, smooth, pale greenish inside, purplishorange or maroon at extreme base, rough, irregularly and longitudinally rugose and verrucate; limb c. 9.5 cm long spreading, up to c. 12 cm diam., purplish outside and inside. spadix shorter than spathe, c. 12.5 cm long; sessile, female zone c. 3.3 cm long; male zone c. 3.8 cm long; appendix c. 3 cm high and c. 5.5 cm diam. female flowers dense, each flower c. 10 mm high; ovary subglobose, pale greenish, c. 4 mm diam. and 3 mm high, 2-3-locular, each locule with a single basal anatropous ovule; style c. 5 mm long, purplish; stigma 2-3-lobed, c. 2.5 mm diam., pale yellowish. male flowers dense, pale yellowish with purplish tinge at top of connectives; each c. 2 mm high, sessile, inconspicuously 2-lobed. spadix-appendix subglobose, light purplish yellow, rough, abruptly narrowed to a cylindric truncate column of c. 1.8 cm high and 0.9 cm diam., light purplish yellow, rough; cylindric column and its basal surrounding portion covered with stiff slender bulbous-based papillae; papillae on cylindrical column smaller compared to that of basal neighbouring portion; appendix becomes unevenly bullate after anthesis. phenology: flowering: may; fruiting: fruiting specimens could not be collected. representative specimens examined: andaman and nicobar islands: great nicobar island, on the way to east-west road, 17.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 350 (infl.) (cali); ibid., 17.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 351 (tuber and leaf) (cali); ibid., 20.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 355 (tuber and leaf) (cali). kerala: calicut university botanical garden, 17.4.2000, abdul jaleel ria 382 (infl.) (cali) (originally collected from east west road, great nicobar island, and introduced and flowered in the calicut university botanical garden). notes: amorphophallus hirsutus resembles a. paeoniifolius and a. prainii in general vegetative morphology and inflorescence, especially during the early stages. it differs from the latter two by having a subglobose appendix with a cylindric apical column covered with short stiff papillae. there is no other indian species with hairs on the spadix-appendix. distribution: originally collected from java and hetterscheid and ittenbach (1996) reported its occurrence in western sumatra. sivadasan and jaleel (2000) first reported it from great nicobar islands of india where it is rare. amorphophallus kachinensis engl. & gehrm. in engler, pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 91 (1911); hett. & itten., aroideana 19: 87 (1996). (fig. 2). type: upper burma, kachin hills, 20.5.1898, shaik mokim, s.n. (holotype: cal). tubers depressed-globose, 5-30 cm diam. and 3-5 cm thick, skin brownish; produce offsets. petiole c. 20 cm long, smooth, dirty white background with green to reddish brown spots. leaflets elliptic, 6-9 × 2-3 cm, tip acute-acuminate. peduncle 24-80 cm long. spathe more or less boatshaped, slightly convolute at base, 8-29 × 7-14 cm, tip rounded or truncate, green or greenish brown outside with green spots or purplish stripes and spots; light purplish within, with scattered, shallow, punctiform warts at base. spadix much shorter than spathe, 6.5-18.0 cm long, stipitate, stipe 0.2-1.0 cm long; female zone c. 5 cm long; male zone c. 7.5 cm long; spadix-appendix c. 15 cm high. female flowers dense, each c. 2.5 mm high; ovary sub-globose, c. 1.5 mm high, unilocular with basal anatropous ovule; style c. 0.7 mm long; stigma inconspicuously 3-lobed. male flowers dense, each c. 2 mm broad, sessile, inconspicuously 2-lobed. spadix-appendix ellipsoid or ovoid with several irregular longitudinal grooves or fissures. phenology: flowering: april may. representative specimens examined: arunachal pradesh: ziro, 10.4.2006, abdul jaleel ria 424 (infl.) (cali); ibid., 7.8.2006, abdul jaleel ria 430 (leaf) (cali). revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus 109 fig. 2. amorphophallus kachinensis engl. & gehrm. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe cut-opened showing spadix; d. a small basal portion of spathe; e. a small basal inside portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma view from top; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. 110 jaleel et al. notes: amorphophallus kachinensis resembles a. corrugatus n. e. br. and a. yunnanensis engl. (1911) in general morphology but differs in the nature of spadix-appendix by having longitudinal irregular grooves. it also differs from a. yunnanensis in having female flowers with long style and smaller stigma. distribution: northern myanmar (kachin state), northern thailand, laos, china (yunnan) and india. in india, it was collected from arunachal pradesh and present collection of the species forms a new distributional record for india. amorphophallus longistylus kurz (rep. andaman 50.1866, nomen) ex hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 515 (1893); engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23 (48): 83 (1911); sivad. & jaleel, rheedea 8(1): 103 (1998). (fig. 3). types: india, south andaman, (no date), kurz s.n. (holotype: cal; isotype: k). tubers sub-globose, 5.0-6.5 cm diam. and 4-5 cm thick in vegetative phase, c. 6.2 cm diam. and 4.2 cm thick in reproductive phase. petiole 43-71 cm long, surface uneven with white elongated or round thickened swellings or projections; pale greenish with greenish black and white mottles. leaflets sessile, ovate to oblong, apex acuminate, 6.5-12.0 × 2.8-4.6 cm; base of leaflets on secondary rachises decurrent, leaflets on primary rachises usually not decurrent-based; greenish above, paler below with pinkish tinge along the veins, margins and tip; margin undulate. peduncle 30.5-42.5 cm long, 1.0-1.2 cm diam. spathe erect, ovate-lanceolate, 18.5-23.5 × 9.5-10.5 cm, tip acute, basal convolute tube 7.5-14.0 cm high and 3.5-4.0 cm diam.; upper expanded limb portion with longitudinal shallow folds on either side of mid-portion; light purplish with greenish black blotches and small dark spots on outside, more on basal tube; smooth, dark purplish and verrucose at base, pale purplish and smooth above with few light greenish-black blotches above within. spadix longer than spathe, exserted, 24-26 cm long, stipitate; stipe short, 0.2-0.4 cm long; female zone 2.4-3.2 cm; male zone 3.2-3.7 cm long; appendix 17-20 cm long. female flowers 60-80, loosely arranged, each 5-8 mm high, ovary 1.7-2.0 mm high, shallowly 3-5-lobed, greenish yellow, 3-5-locular, each locule with a single basal anatropous ovule; style 3-7 mm long, rarely with longitudinal ridges at upper portion, dark purplish; stigma 3-5-lobed, rarely 2-lobed, creamy. male flowers dense, each c. 2 mm high, sessile, inconspicuously 2-lobed, yellowish-creamy with purplish tinge on connective at top. spadix-appendix cylindric, gradually tapering to tip. phenology: flowering: may june; fruiting: fruits could not be collected. representative specimens examined: andaman and nicobar islands: south andaman, date nil, s. kurz s.n. (cal, k); middle andaman, panchawati, 7.12.1997, jaleel & bobby thomas ria 224 (leaf) (cali); north andaman, ray hill, 26.5.1999, jaleel ria 357 (leaf) (cali). kerala: calicut university botanic garden, 2.5.1998, jaleel & sivadasan ria 275 (infl.) (cali); ibid., 21.5.1998, jaleel & sivadasan ria 227 (leaf) (cali) (originally collected by jaleel and bobby thomas (ria 224) on 7.12.1997 from panchawati, midddle andaman and introduced in the calicut university botanic garden). notes: this is a very rare species and was left unknown until it was re-collected in 1997 from middle andaman about 131 years after it was first collected by kurz (sivadasan and jaleel, 1998). the species is very distinct in having uneven surface of petioles and peduncles with bumps or swellings. distribution: known to occur only in andaman islands. revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus 111 fig. 3. amorphophallus longistylus kurz. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe cut-opened showing spadix; d. small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary with three locules c.s.; i. ovary with five locules c.s.; j. stigma of five-loculed flower view from top; k. male flower view from broad side; l. male flower view from top; m. male flower l.s.; n. male flower c.s. amorphophallus napalensis (wall.) bogner et mayo in bogner et al., aroideana 8(1): 19 (1985); hett. & ittenbach, aroideana 19: 103 (1996). thomsonia napalensis wall., pl. asiat. rar.1: 83, t. 99 (1830); hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 518 (1893); engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 56 (1911). pythonium wallichianum schott in schott & endl., melet. bot. 17 (1832). (fig. 4). type: nepal, in mountain forests, flowering in june, t. 99 (wallich, pl. asiat. rar., 1830). tubers subglobose or depressed-globose, 5.0-8.5 cm diam. and 4.5-6.5 cm thick in vegetative phase, 7.5-10.0 cm diam. and 5-8 cm thick in reproductive phase, offsets produced from tuber 112 jaleel et al. (observed only in tubers of vegetative phase), each offset 3.5-7.5 cm long. petiole smooth, 41.578.0 cm long, pale green with more or less irregular or oval elongate, brown or dark brown patches. leaflets sessile, ovate-lanceolate, large leaflets 12.2-19.2 × 5.3-6.0 cm, small leaflets 5.59.0 × 2.5-4.5 cm, marginal portion undulate, tip long-acuminate; upper surface green, lower surface pale green. peduncle smooth, 67-76 cm long. spathe elongate-obovate with acute tip, 2427 cm long, differentiated into a basal convolute tube and open limb; tube 4.5-6.0 cm long and 5.5-7.0 cm diam., pale green with greenish brown at base outside, pale green within, changes to fig. 4. amorphophallus napalensis (wall.) bogner et mayo. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe partially removed showing spadix; d. small basal inside portion of spathe; e. small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma view from top; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s.; n. a small lateral portion of spadix-appendix. revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus 113 yellowish after male anthesis, mouth of tube wide, limb expanded, become apically cucullate. spadix sessile, shorter than the spathe, 18-20 cm long; female zone 3-4 cm long; male zone 6-7 cm long; appendix 10-12 cm long. female flowers dense, each 4-5 mm high, ovary sub-spherical, greenish, 2.0-2.5 mm high, unilocular with single basal anatropous ovule; style c. 2 mm long, apically bent towards spadix-axis; stigma 4-lobed. male flowers dense, each 2.0-2.5 mm high, inconspicuously 2-lobed, pale yellowish with reddish brown tinge on connective at top. spadixappendix cylindric with obtuse tip, rough with prominent, short cylindric or obovoid warts, greenish when young, brownish yellow when mature, yellowish after anthesis. fruits ovoidelliptic, 1.4-1.5 cm long. seeds ellipsoid, 1.2-1.3 cm long. phenology: flowering: may june; fruiting: july september. representative specimens examined: sikkim: gangtok, deurali, 23.9.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 168 (leaf) (cali); ibid., 24.9.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 171 (infr.) (cali). assam: assam, 29.5.1896, prain, acc. no. 496857 (leaf) (cal); chirapunji, 3.6.1956, rolla seshagiri rao 2697 (infl.) (assam). meghalaya: shillong, woodlands, bsi campus (introduced; exact locality of original collection not known), 15.7.1967, verma 35658 (infl.) (assam); shillong, oakland, 24.6.1998, abdul jaleel ria 289 (infl.) (cali); arunachal pradesh: sessa orchid sanctuary, 27.6.1998, abdul jaleel ria 314 (leaf) (cali). notes: amorphophallus napalensis differs from other indian species in having a verrucate appendix with short, prominent warts, style apically bent towards spadix-axis, and stigma 4-lobed. distribution: bhutan, nepal and india (sikkim, assam, meghalaya and arunachal pradesh). amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson, taxon 26: 338 (1977); nicolson in saldanha & nicolson, fl. hassan dist. app. ii : 7 (1978) ("1976"). dracontium paeoniifolium dennst., schlüssel hort. malab. : 13, 38 (1818); manitz, taxon 17: 449 (1968). arum campanulatum roxb., [hort. beng. : 66 (1814), nom. nud.] pl. corom. 3: 68 (1819), nom. illegit. (incl. type of d. paeoniifolium dennst., 1818); wight, icon. pl. ind. or. 3: 5 (1844). amorphophallus campanulatus decne., nouv. ann. mus. hist. nat. paris 3: 336 (1834). lectotype: rheede's illustration of mulenschena in hort. malab. 11: t. 19 (1692), vide nicolson, taxon 26: 338 (1977). tuber depressed-globose. petiole up to 1.2 m long, smooth or muricate, mottled. inflorescence short-peduncled, elongating after anthesis. spathe broadly campanulate, c. 25 × 28 cm, convolute below and spreading above. spadix sessile, differentiated into basal female portion, a subturbinate or subcylindric male portion and an apical naked sterile, sessile subglobose or elongate-conoid appendix, wrinkled at maturity, spongy within. ovary light purplish or pale yellowish, 2-3-loculed, each locule with single anatropous ovule; style elongate; stigma yellowish, reniform or 2-3-lobed. male flowers creamy-yellow. notes: the close morphological similarities of schena (hort. malab. 11: 35, t. 18. 1692) and mulenschena (hort. malab. 11: 37, t. 19. 1692) of rheede and unawareness of the existence of an earlier legitimate epithet for mulenschena, the name amorphophallus campanulatus decne. had been used for both the cultivated and wild elements represented by schena and mulenschena respectively. realizing the existence of an earliest epithet for amorphophallus campanulatus, nicolson (1977) made a combination of name, viz. amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson, as applying to amorphophallus campanulatus (sensu lato). the wild and cultivated elements differ in many respects even though they resemble in general appearance and many other characteristics; and hence they are treated as two distinct varieties of a. paeoniifolius. backer (1920) recognized the wild and cultivated elements as belonging to two distinct subspecific taxa and assigned the rank ‘hoofdgroep’ which is not valid. backer and bakhuizen van den brink 114 jaleel et al. (1968) replaced the rank ‘hoofdgroep’ with 'forma'. detailed accounts on the identity and nomenclature of rheede’s schena and mulenschena have been provided by suresh et al. (1983). distribution: india, sri lanka and pacific islands. in india, found in almost all states. key to the varieties of amorphophallus paeoniifolius 1. petiole usually purplish brown with light pinkish blotches, strongly muricate especially at basal half; leaflet-bases strongly decurrent on primary rachises to the main junction; spadix-appendix elongate-conoid, height more than breadth; style length about double the ovary height; stigma usually 2-lobed. var. paeoniifolius petiole usually greenish with white blotches, smooth, rarely slightly rough at basal half; leaflet-bases not decurrent to the junction of the primary rachises; spadix-appendix subglobose, breadth more than height; style length 3-4 times the ovary height; stigma usually 3-lobed. var. campanulatus amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson var. paeoniifolius. sivad. in suresh, sivad. & manilal, taxon 32: 128 (1983); karth., jain, nayar & sanjappa, fl. ind. enum. monocot. : 6 (1989); sivad. in manoharan, biju, nayar & easa, silent valley-whisp. reas.: 230 (1999). [mulenschena rheede, hort. malab. 11: 37, t. 19 (1692)]. dracontium paeoniifolium dennst., schlüssel hort. malab.: 13, 21, 38 (1818) ('paeoniaefolium'); manitz, taxon 17: 499 (1968). arum campanulatum roxb. [hort. beng. 65 (1814)], pl. corom. 3: 68 (1820), nom. illegit.; wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 3: 5, t. 785 (as to leaf) (1844). candarum hookeri schott in schott & endl., melet. bot.: 17 (1832), nom. illegit. kunda verrucosa raf., fl. tellur. 2: 82 (1837), nom. illegit. amorphophallus rex prain, j. asiat. soc. bengal 62: 79 (aug. 1893); hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 514 (sept. 1893); engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 75 (1911). amorphophallus campanulatus hoofdgroep sylvestris backer, determ.-tab. jav. amorphophallus: 2 (1920), (rankless name). amorphophallus campanulatus f. sylvestris backer ex backer & bakh., fl. java 3: 112 (1968). (fig. 5). type: same as of the species. [lectotype: rheede's illustration of mulenschena in hort. malab. 11: t. 19 (1692), vide nicolson, taxon 26: 338 (1977)]. tubers depressed-globose, 9-14 cm diam. and 8-11 cm thickness in vegetative phase; 13-20 cm diam. and 7-9 cm thickness in reproductive phase; skin pale brown to dark brown with prominent root scars. petiole rough, 55-105 cm long, dark brownish green with round to ovoid green blotches, extreme base pinkish with minute pale greenish dots above. leaflets sessile, large leaflets 17-20 × 5-6 cm, small leaflets 8-10 × 2.5-3.5 cm, obovate, tip acute, base unequal and decurrent on rachis, greenish above, paler below. peduncle short, rough, 3-6 cm long. spathe margin undulate, tip acute, 10-21 × 12-22 cm; outside greenish yellow with green blotches at base, pale brownish with pale yellow blotches above; brownish green with prominent murications at base within, pale green above. spadix sessile, 15.5-16.0 cm long; female zone 4-5 cm long; male zone 3.5-4.5 cm long; appendix 9.5-10.5 cm long, 7-8 cm diam. at base. female flowers dense, each with ovary c. 2 mm high, sub-globose, style 4-5 mm long, pinkish brown; stigma 2-lobed, rarely inconspicuously 3-lobed. male flowers dense, each 4.0-4.5 cm high, cream-coloured. spadix-appendix dark purplish red. fruits green, reddish at maturity, each 1.6-1.8 cm long. seeds 1-2, each 1.1-1.3 cm long. phenology: flowering: may june; fruiting: july november. revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus 115 representative specimens examined: kerala: pathanamthitta dist.: sabarimala, 18.5.1997, sivadasan cu 19152a (infl.) (cali). thrissur dist.: kuthiran, 20.5.1997, abdul jaleel ria 55 (infl.) (cali). palakkad dist.: walayar, 28.7.1929, raju & ratnavelu 18644 (leaf & infr.) (mh); walayar forest, 15.4.1979, sivadasan cu 21442 (infl.) (cali). malappuram dist.: calicut university campus, 26.6.1997, abdul jaleel ria 96 (infl.) (cali). kozhikode dist.: mukkam, pannicode, 30.3.1997, abdul jaleel ria 65 (infl.) (cali). wayanad dist.: waithiri, 16.5.1977, fig. 5. amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson var. paeoniifolius. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. spadix; d. small basal inside portion of spathe; e. a small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. 116 jaleel et al. sivadasan cu 19175(cali). kannur dist.: taliparamba, 16.5.1982, nair 73916 (infl.) (mh). karnataka: uduppi, padigara, 25.5.1997, abdul jaleel ria 58 (infl.) (cali). andhra pradesh: sreekakulam dist.: 17.5.1979, subha rao 62460 (infl.) (mh). maharashtra: rajpurla, 11.9.1957, jain 24248 (leaf) (cal). madhya pradesh: indore, mandu, 20.9.1964, acc. no. 5980 (bsa). orissa: dandarkarmya, bichacakotta coffee plantation area, 27.5.1959, rao 18585 (infl.) (assam). bihar: borin hb, 13.12.1957, panigrahi 11707 (leaf) (assam); rajasthan: rajputana, chitargo, 29.4.1896, prain acc. no. 496617 (infl.) (cal). west bengal: botanical garden, calcutta (cultivated, originally collected from bhitorgarh, rajputana), 3.5.1895, s. coll., s.n. (spathe) (cal); howrah dist., santra gatchi, 24.4.1896, prain, acc. no. 496599 (infl.) (cal). assam: moshmai falls, 11.11.1938, biswas 3928 (infr.) (cal). tripura: agarthala, 10.5.1915, debbarmar, acc. no. 496616 (leaf) (cal). andaman and nicobar islands: south andaman, ograbraj, 30.11.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 219 (leaf) (cali); north andaman, kalipur, 13.12.1997, abdul jaleel & bobby thomas ria 234 (infr.) (cali); nicobar islands: car nicobar, lapathi – on the way to tip top, 12.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 339 (leaf) (cali); kamorta, nancowry island, 13.5.1999, abdul jaleel ria 342 (leaf) (cali). note: a detailed account on identity of rheede’s (1692) mulenschena was provided by suresh et al. (1983) wherein nomenclatural history of amorphophallus paeoniifolius var. paeoniifolius was elaborated. amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson var. campanulatus (decne.) sivad. in suresh, sivad. & manilal, taxon 32: 130 (1983); nicolson in dassan. & fosb., rev. handb. fl. ceylon 6: 40 (1987); nicolson, suresh & manilal, an interpr. hort. malab. : 274 (1988); karth., jain, nayar & sanjappa, fl. ind. enum. monocot. : 6 (1989). [schena rheede, hort. malab. 11: 35, t. 18 (1692)]. dracontium polyphyllum sensu dennst., schlüssel hort. malab.: 13, 38 (1818), non l. (1753). arum campanulatum sensu auct. in part, not as to type of roxb. (1820), nom. illegit.; roxb., pl. corom. 3: t. 272 (1820); hook., bot. mag. 55: t. 2812 (1828); wight, ic. pl. ind. or. 3: 5, t. 782 (as to infl.) (1844). amorphophallus campanulatus decne., nouv. ann. mus. hist. nat. paris 3: 366 (1834); blume, rumphia 1: 139 (1837); hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 513 (1893); engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 76 (1911). amorphophallus dubius blume, rumphia 1: 142 (1837); hook. f., fl. brit. india 6: 514 (1893); engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 74 (1911). amorphophallus sativus blume, rumphia 1: 145 (1837); engl., pflanzenr. iv. 23c (48): 109 (1911). amorphophallus campanulatus var. blumei prain, bengal pl.: 1109 (1903). amorphophallus campanulatus hoofdgroep hortensis backer, determ.-tab. jav. amorphophallus: 2 (1920). amorphophallus campanulatus f. hortensis backer ex backer & bakh., fl. java 3: 112 (1968). (fig. 6). type: timor, no date, gaudichaud s.n. (p). tubers depressed-globose, 8-12 cm diam. and 7-10 cm thickness in vegetative phase; 16-23 cm diam. and 10-12 cm thickness in reproductive phase (huge-sized tubers are also produced); skin pale brownish, with prominent root scars. petiole 75-150 cm long, green with ovoid to elongate ovoid pale green blotches and minute pale green spots in between, extreme base white. leaflets sessile, long leaflets 18-22 × 5.0-6.5 cm; small leaflets 7.5-10.5 × 3.0-4.5 cm, obovate, tip acute, base unequal and decurrent on rachises, greenish above, paler below. peduncle smooth, 6-8 cm long. spathe tip acute, margin undulate, 19.0-23.5 × 16-19 cm, convolute portion greenish yellow, expanded portion purplish green with white blotches; dark purplish at base within with prominent murications, middle pale green, pale purplish above, margin pale green. spadix sessile, 20.0-21.5 cm long, female zone 4.0-4.5 cm long; male zone 5.5-6.0 cm long; appendix 8.5-9.5 cm long. female flowers dense, each with ovary sub-spherical, pale yellowish, 2.0-2.5 mm high; revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus 117 style 7.0-7.5 mm long; stigma 3-lobed, rarely 2-lobed. male flowers dense, each 2.5-3.5 mm high, yellowish-cream coloured. spadix-appendix hemispherical. fig. 6. amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson var. campanulatus (decne.) sivad. a. tuber with leaf; b. tuber with inflorescence; c. inflorescence spathe partially removed showing spadix; d. small basal inside portion of spathe; e. small basal portion of spathe c.s.; f. female flower; g. female flower l.s.; h. ovary c.s.; i. stigma; j. male flower view from broad side; k. male flower view from top; l. male flower l.s.; m. male flower c.s. phenology: flowering: may june; fruiting: no fruit-setting. representative specimens examined: kerala: kozhikode dist.: areecode, 16.5.1997, abdul jaleel ria 46 (infl.) (cali); vadakara, azhiyur, 9.8.1997, abdul jaleel ria 119 (leaf) (cali). 118 jaleel et al. malappuram dist.: calicut university campus, 10.8.2000, abdul jaleel ria 386 (leaf) (cali). palakkad dist.: athicode, chittur, 10.4.1976, sivadasan cu 13132 (infl.) (cali); kumbalakode, elavancherry, 24.4.1997, sivadasan cu 19170 (infl.) (cali). notes: the confusion in nomenclature of the wild and cultivated varieties of amorphophallus paeoniifolius has been sorted out by suresh et al. (1983) while providing correct identity of aroids described by rheede (1692). amorphophallus paeoniifolius var. campanulatus representing the cultivated variety differs from var. paeoniifolius in texture of petiole, characters of female flowers and spadix-appendix. the former is having smooth or slightly rough greenish petiole with white blotches, leaflet-bases not decurrent to the junction of the petiolules, style of pistil more than thrice the height of the ovary, spadix-appendix round-obtuse to broadly hemispherical with height less than its breadth, and no fruit-setting. the latter is having strongly muricate purplish petiole with light pinkish blotches, leaflet-bases strongly ducurrent usually to the junction of the three main rachises, style more or less double the height of the ovary, spadix-appendix long-conoidal, height more than its breadth, and fruit-setting. distribution: india, sri lanka, java and myanmar. in india, common in all states. widely cultivated for the edible tubers. taxonomic analysis in india the genus amorphophallus comprises three sections, viz. amorphophallus sect. amorphophallus, sect. rhaphiophallus, and sect. conophallus. jaleel et al. (2011) stated the genus to have three sections namely a. sect. candarum, sect. conophallus and sect. rhaphiophallus. but engler’s (1911) inclusion of a. campanulatus (=a. paeoniifolius), the type of the genus under sect. candarum (“cundarum”) rendered the sectional name illegitimate. the sectional name which included the type of the genus has been correctly recognized here as a. sect. amorphophallus. amorphophallus sect. rhaphiophallus is the largest of the three sections of the genus and is represented in india by eight species (jaleel et al., 2011), viz. a. bonaccordensis sivad. & n. mohanan, a. hohenackeri (schott) engl. & gehrm., a. konkanensis hett. et al., a. longiconnectivus bogner, a. margaritifer (roxb.) kunth, a. mysorensis e. barnes & c. e. c. fisch., a. smithsonianus sivad., and a. sylvaticus (roxb.) kunth. amorphophallus mysorensis is with two varieties, viz. var. mysorensis and var. bhandarensis (s. r. yadav, kahalkar & bhuskute) sivad. & jaleel. amorphophallus sect. conophallus is the second largest of the genus in india and comprises six species, viz. a. bognerianus sivad. & jaleel, a. bulbifer (sims) blume, a. carnosus engl., a. commutatus (schott) engl., a. nicolsonianus sivad. and a. oncophyllus prain ex hook. f. the species a. commutatus forms a complex with three varieties, viz. var. commutatus, var. anmodensis sivad. & jaleel, and var. wayanadensis sivad. & jaleel. the third and the smallest section is a. sect. amorphophallus comprising five species, viz. a. hirsutus teysm. & binn., a. kachinensis engl. & gehrm., a. longistylus kurz, a. napalensis (wall.) bogner & mayo and a. paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson. the species a. paeoniifolius is with two varieties, viz. a. paeoniifolius var. paeoniifolius, and var. campanulatus (decne.) sivad. among the species of a. sect. amorphophallus, the two species, viz. a. hirsutus and a. kachinensis are new addition to the flora of india and they have been collected from great nicobar island of andaman and nicobar islands, and arunachal pradesh respectively, and their discoveries formed first reports of their distribution in india. amorphophallus longistylus was rediscovered and collected from andaman islands after 131 years from the time of its first collection. amorphophallus paeoniifolius is the widely distributed species in india represented in all states. during the present study it was found that maximum number of species of the section occur revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. amorphophallus 119 in arunachal pradesh and andaman and nicobar islands. arunachal pradesh has 3 species, viz. a. kachinensis, a. napalensis and a. paeoniifolius, and andaman and nicobar islands have 3 species, viz. a. hirsutus, a. longistylus, and a. paeoniifolius. amorphophallus longistylus is strictly endemic to andaman islands with restricted distribution and according to the criteria d of section v of iucn (2012), it is considered as critically endangered (cr). the fast and indiscriminate deforestation and destruction of natural habitats of the species render most of the endemic species endangered and lead to extinction. proper monitoring of habitats and distribution are essential for conservation of species of the genus amorphophallus which comprised wild relatives of widely used and economically important cultivated species. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to dr. wilbert l. a. hetterscheid, former director of botanical gardens, wageningen university, netherlands for thorough review of a manuscript on revision of indian amorphophallus of which the present paper forms a part. the second author is extremely grateful towards dr. dan h. nicolson, smithsonian institution, washington, d.c., usa for valuable and critical discussions on nomenclatural problems during his work there. the facilities provided by authorities of various national and international herbaria mentioned under materials and methods for study of herbarium specimens are thankfully acknowledged. the authors appreciate with gratitude the valuable services rendered by mr. v. b. sajeev, ernakulam, kerala and mr. jayesh p. joseph, wayanad for the illustrations. the last four authors gratefully acknowledge the encouragements and support extended by the deanship of scientific research, king saud university, through the research group project no. rgp-vpp-135. references backer, c.a. 1920. determinatietabel voor de javaansche soorten van amorphophallus bl. n.v. boekhandel visser & co., weltevreden, i+14 pp. backer, c.a. and bakhuizen van den brink, r.c. 1968. amorphophallus. in: backer, c.a. and r.c. bakhuizen van den brink, flora of java, 3. wolters – noordhoff n.v., the netherlands, pp. 111-113. blume, c.l. 1837. rumphia, 1. c.g. sulpke, leiden, amsterdam, pp. viii+1-204. bogner, j., mayo, s.j. and sivadasan, m. 1985. new species and changing concepts in amorphophallus. aroideana 8(1): 14-25. engler, a. 1911. araceae-lasioideae. in: engler, a. (ed.), das pflanzenreich iv. 23c(48).wilhelm engelmann, leipzig, pp. 1-130. hetterscheid, w.l.a. and ittenbach, s. 1996. everything you always wanted to know about amorphophallus, but were afraid to stick your nose into !!!!!. aroideana 19: 7-131. hooker, j.d. 1894. amorphophallus. in: hooker, j.d., flora of british india, vol. 6. l. reeve & co. ltd., london, pp. 513-519. iucn. 2012. iucn red list categories and criteria: version 3.1. second edition. iucn, gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk, pp. iv+32. jaleel, v.a., sivadasan, m., alfarhan, a.h., thomas, j. and alatar, a.a. 2011. revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. rhaphiophallus (schott) engl. (araceae) in india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(1): 1-26. jaleel, v.a., sivadasan, m., alfarhan, a.h., thomas, j. and alatar, a.a. 2012. revision of amorphophallus blume ex decne. sect. conophallus (schott) engl. (araceae) in india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(2): 135-153. 120 jaleel et al. mcneill, j., barrie, f.r., buck, w.r., demoulin, v., greuter, w., hawksworth, d.l., herendeen, p.s., knapp, s., marhold, k., prado, j., prud’homme van reine, w.f., smith, g.f., wiersema, j.h. and turland, n.j. 2012. international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants (melbourne code) adopted by the eighteenth international botanical congress melbourne, australia, july 2011. regnum vegetabile 154. koeltz scientific books, germany, pp. xxx+1-240. nicolson, d.h. 1977. nomina conservanda proposita: proposal to change the typification of 723 amorphophallus, nom. cons. (araceae). taxon 26: 337-338. rheede, h.a. van, tot draakestein. 1692. hortus indicus malabricus, vol. 11. johannis van someren et joannis van dyck, amsterdam, pp. v+134 pp. + 65 tabs. sivadasan, m. and jaleel, v.a. 1998. rediscovery of amorphophallus longistylus (araceae), a little known rare endemic species from middle andaman, india. rheedea 8(1): 103-106. sivadasan, m. and jaleel, v.a. 2000. amorphophallus hirsutus teysm. et binn. (araceae): a new report from india. rheedea 10(2): 143-147. suresh, c.r., sivadasan, m. and mainilal, k.s. 1983. a commentary on rheede's aroids. taxon 32(1): 126132. (manuscript received on 5 february 2014; revised on 4 november 2014) microsoft word 05. dracocephalum_final.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(2): 99-110, 2015 (december)   pollen morphology of iranian dracocephalum l. (lamiaceae) and its taxonomic significance maryam naderifar1, ali sonboli2 and abbas gholipour1 department of biology, medicinal plants and drugs research institute, shahid beheshti university, tehran, iran keywords: lamiaceae; dracocephalum; taxonomy; pollen; iran. abstract pollen morphology of 11 iranian dracocephalum l. species was investigated using light and scanning electron microscopy to evaluate their taxonomic significance for the infrageneric classification of the genus. pollen grains of all examined taxa were isopolar, hexacolpate, circular in polar view and spheroidal to prolate in equatorial view (p/e = 1.0−2.0). the smallest pollen grains were observed in d. aucheri (p = 29.7 µm, e = 22.6 µm), while the largest pollen was found in d. lindbergii (p = 45.1 µm, e = 33.7 µm). the highest and lowest apocolpium index (ai) were measured in d. aucheri (ai = 0.27) and d. surmandinum (ai = 0.08), respectively. colpus membrane was egranulate in all examined species except for d. multicaule and d. ghahremanii. the main exine ornamentation type was characterized as bireticulate including five different subtypes. the results revealed that the exine ornamentation is a diagnostic character useful for the classification of dracocephalum. introduction the genus dracocephalum l. is the second largest genus in the subtribe nepetinae, tribe mentheae of lamiaceae family. the genus is primarily of the old world and consists of 71 species worldwide, of which 69 species are native to eurasia (budantsev, 1987, 1993; kadereit, 2004), and north africa and north america have one species each. morphologically, dracocephalum is a heterogeneous genus comprising species with calyx glabrous within and not gibbous at base; sinuses between lobes of calyx with swollen folds at base, bracteoles aristately toothed, nutlets elliptic to oblong and areole not curved. the genus dracocephalum was divided into three subgenera by budantsev (1987), viz., subg. dracocephalum including seven sections (stamens included, anthers glabrous), fedtschenkiella (kudr.) schischk. (stamens exserted, anthers glabrous), and ruyschiana (mill.) briq. (stamens included, anthers pubescent). the members of this genus are well-known as medicinal plants with several uses, such as anti-hyperlipidemic, analgesic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anticancer and oxidative stress protective activity (sajjadi et al., 1998; jahaniani et al., 2005; sonboli et al., 2008). rechinger (1982) in his treatment for flora iranica area, recognized 18 dracocephalum species of which eight species are growing in iran. since the publication of the flora iranica, one new species (d. ghahremanii jamzad), a new record (d. lindbergii rech.f.), and a resurrected species (d. oligadenium bornm. & gauba) have been added to the genus (esfandiari, 1985; jamzad, 2012). considering new findings, the number of species now stands 11, of which five species (d. ghahremanii jamzad, d. kotschyi boiss., d. oligadenium bornm. & gauba, d. polychaetum bornm. and d. surmandinum rech. f.) are endemic. 1department of biology, payame noor university, 19395-4697, tehran, iran. 2corresponding author. email: a-sonboli@sbu.ac.ir 100 naderifar et al.   according to the aperture number and number of nuclei, erdtman (1945) divided the lamiaceae into two subfamilies. while lamioideae subfamily comprised tricolpate and binucleate pollen grains, nepetoideae subfamily is characterized by hexacolpate and tri-nucleate pollen grains. investigations of pollen morphology in the lamiaceae have been essential as an aid to classification within this family (erdtman, 1945; harley et al., 1992; abu-asab and cantino, 1994). pollen morphology of different members of lamiaceae and other plant families have been frequently investigated by several authors (moon et al., 2008 ; ozler et al., 2011; badamtsetsg et al., 2012; sarwar and takahashi, 2012, 2013; jamzad and hasani-nejad, 2014) that show its taxonomic and phylogenetic importance. as far as our literature survey could ascertain, there are only a few publications on pollen morphology in dracocephalum. moon et al. (2008) investigated pollen morphology of 12 genera belonging to the tribe mentheae, subtribe nepetineae, including 13 species of dracocephalum, one of which, d. subcapitatum (kuntze) lipsky, grows in northeast of iran. pollen morphology of three dracocephalum species, viz. d. foetidum bge., d. grandiflorum l. and d. ruyschiana l. from mongolia have already been investigated (badamtsetsg et al., 2012). the pollen grain morphology of dracocephalum species growing in iran have not been studied yet. therefore, the main objectives of the present study are to provide a detailed account of the pollen morphology of 11 dracocephalum species in iran by light microscopy (lm) and scanning electron microscopy (sem), and to evaluate its taxonomic significance for the classification of the genus. materials and methods plant specimens of 11 dracocephalum species were collected from their natural habitats between 2007 and 2013 and the voucher specimens were deposited in medicinal plants and drugs research institute herbarium of shahid beheshti university (mph), tehran (table 1). for the lm studies, pollen grains were prepared following the method of erdtman (1960). pollen characteristics, including pollen shape, polar axis (p), equatorial axis (e), colpus length (cl), exine thickness (et), mesocolpium diameter (me), and apocolpium index (ai), were measured from at least 20 mature pollen grains per sample under an olympus bx–51 microscope. results are provided as minimum, maximum and mean ± standard deviations. for the sem studies, pollen grains were transferred directly to stubs with double-sided adhesive tape and micrographs were obtained using kyky–em 3200 sem at an accelerating voltage of 25 kv. some characters, such as number of primary lumina per 100 µm2, shape of primary lumina, diameter of primary lumina, number of perforation in primary lumina, presence or absence of granule on colpus membrane, presence or absence of 1−2 central large hole per primary lumina, and sculpturing type were measured and characterized. the pollen terminology follows faegri and iversen (1989), harley et al. (1992) and punt et al. (2007). results the diagnostic pollen grain characters of 11 species of dracocephalum investigated are presented in tables 2 and 3. photographs of some dracocephalum species in their native habitats are presented in figure 1. the lm and sem micrographs of the studied pollen grains are illustrated in figures 2–4. the measured parameters of the pollen grains are described below. size: the pollen grains were dispersed as monads. the mean size of the polar axis (p) ranges from 29.7 µm in dracocephalum aucheri to 45.1 µm in d. lindbergii; the mean size of the equatorial axis (e) ranges from 22.6 µm in d. aucheri to 33.7 µm in d. lindbergii (table 2). pollen morphology of iranian dracocephalum l. 101   shape: the shape of the pollen grains in equatorial view varies from prolate to spheroidal, whereas their shape in polar view is more or less circular (table 2; figs 2–4). often grain forms vary and co-exist between prolate and subprolate. table 1. collection data and voucher information of dracocephalum species studied. no. species collection data 1. dracocephalum aucheri boiss. tehran: tuchal mountain, 24.06.2008. gholipour 1281 (mph) 2. d. moldavica l. mazandaran: sari, cultivated, 10.06.2009. gholipour 1693 (mph) 3. d. thymiflorum l. mazandaran: siah bishe, karaj toward chalus, allamol, 30.06.2009. sonboli & gholipour 1643 (mph) 4. d. multicaule montbr. & auch. ex benth. west azarbayejan: khoy, qotor, habash, arvin mountain, 01.07.2012. gholipour 824 (spnh) 5. d. kotschyi boiss. * tehran: fasham, shemshak toward dizin, 30.06.2010. sonboli, hadian & moridi 1631 (mph) 6. d. lindbergii rech. f. north khorasan: bojnourd, rein, aladagh mountain, 21.05.2007. sonboli, kanani & gholipour 1737 (mph) 7. d. oligadenium bornm. & gauba * mazandaran: siah bishe, chalus road, allamol village, 09.07.2009. sonboli, hadian & moridi 1627 (mph) 8. d. surmandinum rech. f. * esfahane: semirom toward shahreza, surmand mountain, 18.06.2007. sonboli, kanani & gholipour 1179 (mph) 9. d. polychaetum bornm. * kerman: babini village, hazar mountain, 07.05.2008. kanani, gholipour & mirtajadini 1276 (mph) 10. d. subcapitatum (kuntze) lipsky khorasan-e razavi: mashhad, kalat, after sandugh shekan pass, 10.06.2009. sonboli & gholipour 1626 (mph) 11. d. ghahremanii jamzad * semnan: shahmirzad, chashm, nizva mountain, 12.07.2007. sonboli & gholipour 1219 (mph) * endemic to iran apertures: the examined pollen grains were isopolar and hexacolpate. colpi with their acute ends were distributed symmetrically. the colpus length ranged from 25.5 µm in d. aucheri to 40.2 µm in d. lindbergii, but mesocolpium varied from 7.6 µm in d. ghahremanii to 11.5 µm in d. lindbergii (table 2). the highest apocolpium index (ai) was measured in d. aucheri (ai = 0.27), whereas the lowest ai was found in d. surmandinum (ai = 0.08) (table 2). colpus membrane was egranulate in all examined taxa except for d. multicaule and d. ghahremanii that were granulate (table 3; figs 3 & 4). exine sculpturing: the exine thickness varied from 0.8 µm in d. kotschyi and d. thymiflorum to 1.1 µm in d. multicaule, d. oligadenium, d. surmandinum and d. ghahremanii (table 2). the main and common exine ornamentation type, examined with sem in iranian dracocephalum species studied, was found to be bireticulate. a bireticulum consists of a non-congruent, twolayered reticulum. the main reticulum is referred to as the primary reticulum and the substratum as the secondary reticulum. it can be divided into five subtypes based on shape of primary lumen, the presence or absence of at least one large hole in each primary lumen and the number of secondary lumina per primary lumen (table 3). 102 naderifar et al.   pollen morphology of iranian dracocephalum l. 103   104 naderifar et al.   fig. 1. dracocephalum species in native habitats. a: d. aucheri; b: d. surmandinum; c: d. kotschyi; d: d. ghahremanii; e: d. multicaule; f: d. polychaetum. type i – 1: the exine ornamentation of d. aucheri is characterized by polygonal primary lumina shape, absence of large hole and the number of secondary lumina is less than ten per primary lumen (fig. 3a, b). type i – 2: the shape of primary lumina is polygonal-elongate; without large hole and the number of secondary lumina are over ten per primary lumen which was observed in d. moldavica (fig. 3c, d). pollen morphology of iranian dracocephalum l. 105   fig. 2. lm micrographs of pollen grains of dracocephalum l. a,b: d. aucheri; c,d: d. moldavica; e,f: d. thymiflorum; g−i: d. multicaule; j−l: d. kotschyi; m,n: d. lindbergii; o,p: d. oligadenium; q,r: d. surmandinum; s,t: d. polychaetum; u,v: d. subcapitatum; w,x: d. ghahremanii. scale bars = 10 µm. 106 naderifar et al.   fig. 3. sem micrographs of pollen grains of dracocephalum l.. a,b: d. aucheri; c,d: d. moldavica; e−h: d. thymiflorum; i,j: d. polychaetum; k,l: d. multicaule. scale bars: a−g, i−l = 10 µm; h = 5 µm. type i – 3: in d. thymiflorum the shape of primary lumina was polygonal-rounded with strongly thickened primary muri. the number of secondary lumina is more than ten per primary lumen (fig. 3e−h). type i – 4: the shape of primary lumen was polygonal-elongate, without large hole and the number of secondary lumina are less than ten per primary lumen which was observed in d. polychaetum (fig. 3i, j). type i – 5: this subtype is frequent and common in a group of species, which are morphologically similar too. the primary lumen is polygonal and each primary lumen contains more than 10 secondary lumina and at least one large hole, which was observed in d. ghahremanii, d. kotschyi, d. lindbergii, d. multicaule, d. oligadenium, d. subcapitatum and d. surmandinum (fig. 3k, l, 4a−l). pollen morphology of iranian dracocephalum l. 107   fig. 4. sem micrographs of pollen grains of dracocephalum l. a,b: d. kotschyi; c,d: d. lindbergii; e,f: d. oligadenium; g,h: d. surmandinum; i,j: d. subcapitatum; k,l: d. ghahremanii. scale bar = 10 µm. discussion the present study revealed that all of the examined taxa had isopolar and hexacolpate pollen grains. moon et al. (2008) examined the pollen morphology of 13 dracocephalum species distributed mainly in central asia. among them d. imberbe (p = 31.7 µm, e = 24.7 µm) and d. grandiflorum (p = 54.6 µm, e = 44.0 µm) were found as the smallest and largest taxa, respectively. in another study, size of the pollen grains of d. grandiflorum was found to be large (p = 52.63 µm, e = 29.88 µm), whilst d. foetidum and d. ruyschiana were characterized to be medium (badamtsetsg et al., 2012). 108 naderifar et al.   polar axis and equatorial diameter of d. subcapitatum examined from turkmenistan were reported to be p = 37.8 µm and e = 37.1 µm (moon et al., 2008), while in d. subcapitatum collected from northeast of iran and presented in this study, mean polar axis and equatorial diameter are 38.7 µm and 30.3 µm, respectively. subprolate (sp) and prolate-spheroidal (ps) were characterized as the most common pollen shape in the studied species of dracocephalum by moon et al. (2008), but in the iranian dracocephalum species studied here, subprolate (sp) was found to be the frequent pollen shape followed by prolate (p) (table 2). the colpus length (cl) varied from 25.5 µm in d. aucheri to 40.2 µm in d. lindbergii (table 2). the mean colpus length in d. subcapitatum from iran was 30.8 µm, whereas mean colpus length in d. subcapitatum from turkmenistan (moon et al., 2008) was 32.7 µm. apocolpium index (ai) in the present investigation ranged from 0.08 to 0.27 for iranian dracocephalum species, while it was found 0.08 to 0.31 for the species studied by moon et al. (2008). colpus membranes were granulate in d. multicaule and d. ghahremanii, whilst the remaining taxa were egranulate (table 3; figs 3k,l, 4k,l). microreticulate exine sculpturing was recorded as the dominant type in dracocephalum species studied by moon et al. (2008) except for d. nutans, d. palmatum and d. stamineum, in which bireticulate type was found as the exine ornamentation type. bireticulate was also found as the exine ornamentation type in d. foetidum, while microreticulate was determined for d. grandiflorum and d. ruyschiana (badamtsetsg et al., 2012). it is noticeable that the microreticulate exine sculpturing in the taxa studied from iran was not observed. taxonomic implication of pollen data our investigation on iranian species of dracocephalum revealed that several pollen characters can be of taxonomical value. in some cases, these characters supported the specific concept of formerly described species. for example, the separate taxonomic position of d. oligadenium is usually controversial. esfandiari (1985), based on morphological characters, resurrected d. oligadenium as a distinct species from d. kotschyi. recently, jamzad (2012) considered d. oligadenium as a synonym of d. kotschyi in her treatment of the family lamiaceae for flora of iran. based on pollen data, d. oligadenium shows diagnostic features compared to d. kotschyi such as: smaller polar axis (38.8 µm vs 43.7 µm), colpus length (30.5 µm vs 38.1 µm), exine thickness (1.1 µm vs 0.8 µm), mesocolpium diameter (8.5 µm vs 11.1 µm) and apocolpium index (0.15 vs 0.14), which are useful for separating it from d. kotschyi. considering the results obtained here from palynological data along with diagnostic morphological characters we may propose that d. oligadenium is a distinct species from d. kotschyi and could be resurrected as a separate taxon. according to flora iranica (rechinger, 1982), d. subcapitatum is distributed in khorasan and semnan provinces of iran. based on plants collected from semnan province, which were previously identified as d. subcapitatum, jamzad (jamzad, 2012) introduced the new species d. ghahremanii. previous study based on molecular rapd marker showed that the semnan population of d. subcapitatum is clearly different from other three populations of khorasan (sonboli et al., 2011). the pollen morphological characteristics, i.e. number of primary lumina per 100 µm2 (24 vs 11), diameter of primary lumina (2.97 µm vs 4.0 µm), granulate colpus membrane versus egranulate, provide strong evidence supporting the separate taxonomic position of d. ghahremanii from its close relative d. subcapitatum. moreover, some species, viz. d. moldavica, d. thymiflorum and d. aucheri are morphologically well-characterized from the other species of dracocephalum in iran. these species can also be separated from other species of the genus based on pollen morphology (see table 3). for example, polygonal-rounded lumen shape in d. thymiflorum, the number of primary lumina per 100 µm2 in d. moldavica and exine sculpturing pollen morphology of iranian dracocephalum l. 109   (type-i) in d. aucheri well-characterized these species from the rest, respectively. finally, we can conclude that investigation into pollen morphology helps to characterize the taxa of dracocephalum. studies employing additional taxa of the genus are necessary which might further contribute to utilization of pollen micromorphological characters as significant attributes in classification of the species. acknowledgements the authors thank the research council of medicinal plants and drugs research institute herbarium of shahid beheshti university (mph) for financial support. they also express their gratitude to dr. n. olanj for her kind cooperation. the useful comments of an anonymous referee in improving the manuscript are highly appreciated. references abu-asab, m.s. and cantino, p.d. 1994. systematic implications of pollen morphology in subfamilies lamioideae and pogostemonoideae (labiatae). ann. missouri bot. gard. 81: 653–686. badamtsetsg, b., myoung, l.s. and yuon, l.h. 2012. pollen morphology of the family lamiaceae in mongolia. j. korean nature 5: 169–179. budantsev, a.l. 1987. the system of the genus dracocephalum (lamiaceae). bot. 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(manuscript received on 16 july 2015; revised on 8 october 2015) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 255-257, 2016 (december) short communication © 2016 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists first record of xylaria vasconica j. fournier & m. stadler from bangladesh nusrat jahan and fakhruddin ali ahmed1 department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342, bangladesh keywords: bangladesh; xylariaceae; xylaria vasconica. xylariaceae is one of the largest and most widely distributed families of xylariales (divisionascomycota) with approximately 85 genera and at least 1340 species (chen et al. 2013). xylaria, a cosmopolitan genus, reaching the zenith of its diversity in various tropical and subtropical regions of the world (gonzáles and rogers, 1989). there is a very few report on the genus xylaria in bangladesh. shayesta and rahman (1992) reported the genus xylaria as xylaria sp. from chittagong hill tracts on swintonia floribunda causing white spongy rot. a few years later shayesta et al. (1999) again reported the presence of another xylaria sp. from some unidentified wood logs from sylhet forest. however, the species of the genus remained unsolved. later on, siddiqui et al. (2007) reported xylaria hypoxylon from the forests of dhaka, chittagong, sylhet as well as in village grooves of bangladesh. recently, the authors first time recorded a species of xylaria, namely x. vasconica j. fournier & m. stadler growing on rotten bamboo poles from jahangirnagar university campus. macro and microscopic features along with anamorphic and mycelial characters proved that the newly recorded fungus was x. vasconica as all the findings greatly corroborated with the report of fournier et al. (2011). fresh fruiting bodies of x. vasconica were collected in june 2015, properly processed and deposited at the phytochemistry and herbal medicine research facilities at the department of botany, jahangirnagar university with accession no. jahan 2 as representative voucher specimen. xylaria vasconica j. fournier and m. stadler (2011). (figs 1 & 2). stromata ranged between 55-110 mm tall, where the fertile part is 2-4 mm broad and 30-50 mm high. fertile part shape was cylindrical to slightly fusiform, terete to flattened, solitary, simple to branched from the base by coalescence of the stipe. the apex of stromata is always flattened to mucronate and sterile. stromata whitish at immature state, gradually turning into black at matured fertile state. in well-developed stromata the outer crust is peeling, furrowed longitudinally, deeply wrinkled, pale brown to dark black covering creamy, cheesy and solid interior. asci cylindrical, stipitate, unitunicate in structure, 8 spored. spore bearing part 78.2-101.2 µm long × 4.6-8.05 µm broad with wedge shaped operculum bluing in melzer’s iodine reagent. paraphysis sparse, hyaline, slender, sterile, filamentous thread like with oil droplets, 119.9-136.6 µm length × 2.3-3 µm broad that surround the fertile spore bearing apparatus. ascospore ellipsoidinequilateral, uniseriate overlapping in ascus, light to dark brown, 11.5-16.1 µm long × 4.6-6.9 µm broad, two guttules at matured spore, conspicuous straight germ slit three-fourths to nearly equal a spore length at the flattened side. mycelium white, velvety with fine lobed margins on pda medium at 30° c and ph 6. mycelia covers 9 cm plate after two weeks. after 3 weeks the colony become greyish with black patches. the anamorphic stromata appeared as brownish grey bearing white powdery apices. 1 corresponding author, e-mail: faahmed_ju@yahoo.com mailto:faahmed_ju@yahoo.com 256 jahan and ahmed fig. 1. macroscopic teleomorphic features of x. vasconica. a. mature stromata on natural substrate. b. morphological variation of the stromata of x. vasconica. bar (a = 25 mm). fig. 2. microscopic morphological and culture features of x. vasconica a. perithecia (391-506 µm) containing ascospores in asci in the locule. b. uniseriate overlapping ascospore (11.5-16.1 µm long × 4.6-6.9 µm broad) chain showing straight germ slit. c. biguttulate ascospore with mature and young asci. d. ascal apical amyloid wedge shaped operculum bluing in melzer’s reagent. e-g. mycelial colony (9 cm plate) in oa medium. e. mycelial colony with finely lobbed margin. f. matured colony become grayish after 4 weeks of culture. g. anamorphic stromata in pda medium. bars (a = 80.35 µm, b = 12.14 µm, c = 6.56 µm, d = 12.2 µm, e, f = 15.5 mm, g = 13 mm). first record of xylaria vasconica 257 references chen, j., zhang, l.c., xing, y.m., wang, y.q., xing, x.k., zhang, d.w., liang, h.q. and guo, s.x. 2013. diversity and taxonomy of endophytic xylariaceous fungi from medicinal plants of dendrobium (orchidaceae). plos one 8(3): e58268. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0058268. fournier, j., flessa, f., peršoh, d. and stadler, m. 2011. three new xylaria species from southwestern europe. mycol progress. 10: 33-52. gonzáles s.m.f. and rogers, j. d. 1989. a preliminary account of xylaria of maxico. mycotaxon 34(2):283373. shayesta, b. and rahman, m.a. 1992. wood decay fungi on forest trees and timbers of bangladesh. bulletin 2, forest pathology series. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong. pp. 1-13. shayesta, b., rahamn, m.a. and khisha, s.k. 1999. checklist of host index of parasitic algae, bacteria, fungi and mistletoes on forest trees and timber in bangladesh. bulletin 6, forest pathology series. bangladesh forest research institute, chittagong. pp. 39-44. siddiqui k.u., islam m.a., ahmed j.u., begum z.n.t., hassan m.a., khondoker m., rahman m.m., kabir s.m.h., ahmad m., ahmed a.t.a., rahman a.k.a. and haque e.u. (eds). 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 2: 360-361. (manuscript received on 13 april 2016; revised on 18 september 2016) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 205-211, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists utricularia rosettifolia alfasane & hassan sp. nov. (lentibulariaceae) a new species from bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane1, md. abul hassan and rauf ahmed bhuiyan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: utricularia rosettifolia alfasane & hassan sp. nov.; new species, lentibulariaceae; bangladesh. abstract a new species, utricularia rosettifolia alfasane & hassan (lentibulariaceae), is described with illustration. detailed taxonomic description including information on type specimens, flowering and fruiting time, ecology, and distribution in bangladesh are provided. the diagnostic characters of this species and comparison with its closest one are also provided. introduction utricularia l., an insectivorous genus distributed throughout the world with the highest species richness in the tropical regions, comprises of 214-220 species (taylor, 1989; barthlott et al., 2004; müller and borsch, 2005). so far known, the freshwater lentibulariaceae of bangladesh is represented by nine species, namely utricularia aurea lour., u. bifida linn., u. caerulea linn., u. foliosa l., u. geminiscapa benj., u. gibba linn., u. inflexa forsk., u. minutissima vahl, and u. scandens benj. (hooker, 1888; prain, 1903; datta and mitra, 1953; khan and halim, 1987; uddin et al., 2000; rahman, 2005; ahmed, 2009; alfasane et al., 2020). while exploring aquatic macrophytes throughout bangladesh, we got one interesting utricularia specimen which after critical examination and survey of the relevant documents and literature, appears to be different from all other species of the genus known previously. morphologically it seems apparently similar and closely related to utricularia geminiscapa benj., from which it is clearly distinct. materials and methods the plant materials of this bladderworts were collected from the joydia baor, safdalpur union of kotchandpur upazila of jhenaidah district of bangladesh through a hydrobiological expedition carried out from february 2019 to october 2020. this baor is an oxbow lake, usually generated due to the change of the direction of the river. joydia baor is one of the large baors of bangladesh in respect of area and fish production. it is located between the latitude 23°26´40.6´´n and longitude 88°55´47.4´´e. total area of the baor is around 2.16 square kilometers. the minimum depth is 3.27 m at its southern part and the maximum depth is 9.7 m at the eastern part of its middle portion. it is a perennial water body and mostly rain fed. well managed aquaculture has been carried out in the baor. the sample was collected from 0.5 m depth of the littoral area of the baor. the collected plant samples was then put in a large air tight ice bag with some water inside. it was then transported to the phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. some materials were preserved as a herbarium sheet in this laboratory. the remaining plant samples were planted in a concrete house (1 × 0.5 m length, depth 0.40 cm) in the botanical garden, department of botany, university of dhaka, for ex-situ conservation and further detailed study. 1 corresponding author, e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 206 alfasane et al. the holotype of the species is housed at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and the isotype is preserved at the herbarium of phycology limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. results and discussion after critical studies, the new specimens of utricularia are finally designated as a new species under the name utricularia rosettifolia alfasane & hassan. taxonomic diagnosis, detailed description, photographs, illustration and other relevant information are provided below (figs 1-3). utricularia rosettifolia alfasane & hassan sp. nov. (figs 1-3) diagnosis: u. rosettifolia alfasane & hassan is very closely related to u. geminiscapa benj. due to the presence of cleistogamous and chasmogamous flowers together but it can be easily differentiated from u. geminiscapa by its whorled and rosette leaves; bracts two and opposite; two-lipped petals where the upper lip (up 5 to 8 mm) is longer than the lower lip (up to 3 to 6 mm); unequal and more than 1.8 mm long sepals (table 1). holotype: bangladesh, jhenaidah district, joydia baor, m.a. alfasane, 1686(plhl), 19.02.2019; acc. no. 63594 (dacb) isotype: bangladesh, jhenaidah district, joydia baor, m.a. alfasane, 1686 (plhl), 19.02.2019; herbarium of phycology limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka bengali name: jolojojhajhi aquatic herbs, perennial, suspended, free floating just below water surface, glabrous. rhizoids absent or any other structure that can anchor the plant. stolons filiform, sparingly branched; green, up to 65 cm long, leafy, internodes 7-15 mm long. leaves whorled and rosette, foliar divisions terete, cut into thread-like segments, appearing as peacock feather, leaves 10-30 mm long, divided, each of the divided parts may be further divided, each divided into numerous secondary segments, forked 3-7 times, minutely and sparsely setulose. traps numerous, less than 2 mm across, traps attached with most of the leaves by a short stalk; entrance, or door, or mouth is circular or oval flap, sometimes lateral, extending and curving down; at the dorsal position of the entrance one pair of branched antennae (388 µm), long and short mucilage glandular hair, spine like trigger cells (232 µm), several trigger hairs in the central region (across dia, 240-350 µm); traps wall very thin and transparent, inflexible, upper half and lower half are very flexible by yielding effective hinge, soft stretches helps to seal the door; in the entrance-way of the bladders, there are also secretory (mucilage) hairs that vary in size (85-115 µm × 9-15 µm); each hair possess a stalk, neck cell and a capital or terminal cell; different algae and diatoms are attached with the bladders. inflorescences recemose, 2-5 flowered. scales absent. bracts 2, opposite, attached to the base, lanceolate, 1.5 mm long, apex acute, base round. bracteoles absent. flowers pedicellate, pedicels arise directly from the stolon, green, deflexed, up to 15 mm long, flowers are of two types, non-opening cleistogamous that remain submerged and fully opening chasmogamous that rise above the water, snapdragon-like flowers emerging from the water, nonopening flowers are borne singly on relatively short and thick stalks, up to 10 mm long, lacking of petals. sepals unequal, green to yellowish green, oblong, convex with apex rounded, 1.8-2.5 mm long, upper lobe c. 2.5 mm long, 1.8 mm wide, oblong, convex with apex rounded; lower lobe c. 1.8 mm long, 2.2 mm wide, ovate with apex rounded. petals yellow, two-lipped, upper lip utricularia rosettifolia alfasane & hassan sp. nov. 207 distinctly longer ( 58 mm) than lower lip (3-6 mm), lower lip depressed obovate, with an inflated pouch at the base, i.e. palate, palate raised, pubescent with a marginal rim; spur present below the lower lip, shorter (2.5-5.5 mm) than the lower lip. staminal filaments almost straight or slightly curved, c. 1 mm long, anther thecae confluent, pollen grains small (16 μm), spherical. style short, lower lip of stigma semicircular, shortly ciliate, upper lip obsolete, ovary globose (1 mm), ovules with reticulate integument. capsule globose, 1-2 mm in diam. seeds numerous, dorsiventrally compressed, globose, 0.40.5 mm diam., 0.2-0.3 mm high, the testa cells irregular. bud or turions form at branch tips in september to november, turion formed at the growing tip of each stem, buds rounded, green and elongate up to 5 mm in diameter with small and slender leaves. flowering and fruiting: july to october. ecology: grows on water surface in the littoral zones. distribution in bangladesh: south-western districts of bangladesh. this new species is apparently morphologically similar to u. geminiscapa benj. among the known species of utricularia. the differences between u. geminiscapa and u. rosettifolia are outlined in table 1. table 1. the major morphological differences between two species of u. geminiscapa benj. and u. rosettifolia alfasane & hassan. u. geminiscapa benj. u. rosettifolia alfasane & hassan sp. nov. (a) leaves alternate (a) leaves whorled and rosette (b) bract 1 (b) bracts 2 (c) the upper lip is slightly shorter than lower lip (c) the upper lip is more than 1.5 times longer than the lower lip (d) sepals equal, c. 0.75 mm in length. (d) sepals unequal, ≥ 1.8 mm in length specimens examined: jhenaidah: joydia baor, m.a. alfasane, 1686(plhl), 19.02.2019; 1687(plhl), 18.11.2019; 1688(plhl), 19.02.2020; 1689(plhl), 17.08.2020; 1690(plhl), 10.10.2020, dhaka: botanical garden, department of botany university of dhaka (originally collected from joydia baor, m.a. alfasane 1686(plhl), 19.02.2019). etymology: the species is named after its rosette arrangement of leaves. conservation status: collected only from a single locality of joydia baor, of jhenaidah district. excessive fishing, over harvesting, siltation, construction of flood control embankments, uncontrolled use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, excessive removal of surface water and extraction of groundwater for irrigation, diversion of water courses, poor monitoring etc. are the main threats to the existence of this new species. no conservation initiative is yet undertaken. therefore, both in situ and ex situ conservation measures are strongly suggested for existence of this new species. 208 alfasane et al. fig. 1. a-h. a. sparingly branched u. rosettifolia alfasane & hassan. b-c. rosette and whorled leaves. d. pedicel with two open flowers directly arise from the stolon. e. leaves divided into secondary segments, 3-7 times forking. f. two flowers: one is front view, another is lateral view (left side). g. winter bud. h. matured bladders with densely forked leaves. utricularia rosettifolia alfasane & hassan sp. nov. 209 fig. 2. a-g. a. traps of u. rosettifolia alfasane & hassan in lateral view. b. trap with a short stalk and mouth extending and curving down over the entrance. c. dorsal view of the entrance showing one pair of branched antennae, mucilage glandular hair, spine like trigger cells. d-e, soft stretches helps to seal the door with flexible upper and lower half by yielding effective hinge. f-g. secretory (mucilage) hairs on the entrance. scale bar: a-b = 1 mm. c-g = 100 µm. a: antennae, c: capital cell, d: door, g: gland hairs, s: stalk of bladder trap, t: trigger hairs, n: neck cell, st: stalk of gland hair. 210 alfasane et al. fig. 3. a-h. a. flower in front view of u. rosettifolia alfasane & hassan with upper and lower lip. b. lower lip with spur in lateral view. c. bracts with pedicel base. d. calyx in dorsal view. e. stamen. f. pistil. g. capsule. h. seed. scale bar: a-b = 2 mm; c, d= 1 mm; e-h= 0.5 mm. acknowledgements the authors express their heartfelt gratitude to professor dr. saleh ahammad khan, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka for his critical comments, suggestions, encouragement and help during the final preparation of the manuscript. authors are very much grateful to mr. abdur rahim, technical officer, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka for drawing the illustrations and anik biswas for his nice cooperation during sample collections. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 8, angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae-lythraceae). asiat. soc. bangladesh, dhaka. 478 pp. alfasane, m.a., bhuiyan, r.a. and eusufzai, m.k. 2020. utricularia geminiscapa benj. (lentibulariaceae): a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 191-194. utricularia rosettifolia alfasane & hassan sp. nov. 211 barthlott, w., porembski, s., sein, r. and theisen i., 2004. karnivoren: biologie und kultur fleischfressender pflanzen. ulmer, stuttgart. 224 pp, isbn: 3800141442 9783800141449. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1– 110. hooker, j.d. 1888. flora of british india, vol.5. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. pp. 463–686. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1987. aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. 120 pp. müller, k. and borsch, t. 2005. phylogenetics of utricularia (lentibulariaceae) and molecular evolution of the trnk intron in a lineage with high substitutional rates. plant syst. evol. 250: 39–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-004-0224-1. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. volume 2. indian reprint 1963. calcutta. rahman, m.o. 2005. a taxonomic account of utricularia linn. from bangladesh. bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy, 12(2), 63-70. taylor, p. 1989. the genus utricularia – a taxonomic monograph. kew bull. add. ser xiv : 1-724. hmso, london. uddin, m.z., khanam, k., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2000. utricularia minutissima vahl (lentibulariaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh jour. plant taxon. 7(1): 65-67. (manuscript received on 14 june 2020; revised on 18 november 2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-004-0224-1. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 13-18, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists dimeria kalerii (poaceae: panicoideae), a new species from northern kerala, india p. biju1,3, e.j. josekutty2,3 and augustine jomy3 department of botany, government college, kasaragod, vidyanagar p.o., kasaragod – 671123, kerala, india keywords: dimeria; endemic species; kerala; new species; india. abstract dimeria kalerii, a new species collected from the lateritic plateaus of northern kerala, india is described and illustrated. it is allied to dimeria gracilis in robust habit, densely bearded nodes, lax racemes, long clavate pedicels with cupuliform apex but differs in ciliate apex of ligules, numerous racemes on the peduncles (7-32), hairy pedicels, smaller spikelets (3.8–4.2 mm), shorter cilia on the upper and lower glume, long bristly hairs at the apex of upper glume, hairy column of awns and smaller anthers (1.8– 2.0 mm). introduction dimeria r. br. (brown, 1810) is a widely distributed genus in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. kiran raj et al. (2015) recognized 65 species in their revised infrageneric classification of dimeria r. br. and classified them into four sections. the genus is represented by 40 species in the peninsular india (kiran raj et al., 2008). recently a new species (gosavi et al., 2016) and a new subspecies (kiran raj et al., 2016) were added to the list. the genus can be easily distinguished by solitary, laterally compressed spikelets and flat or filiform rachis without joints (sreekumar and nair, 1991). the laterite plateau of western ghats shows luxuriant growth of dimeria r. br. populations during the post monsoon season and gives characteristic golden yellow colour to the plateau when they dry out. during the floristic exploration of seasonal ponds in northern kerala, india, the authors collected an interesting specimen of dimeria with fascicled racemes. it grows densely inside two seasonal pools with approximately 1,000 individuals in the karakkode lateritic plateau (2 sq. km. area) in kasaragod district, northern kerala. the new grass showed extended distribution in erikkulam lateritic plateau in kasaragod district.the detailed study of specimens from three different collections (biju & jomy 1166, biju & jomy 1193, biju & jomy 2810) of three populations revealed that it is an interesting specimen of dimeria r. br. and differed from all other species of the genus known so far. hence it is described here as a new species, dimeria kalerii. the new species shares many characters of dimeria sect. capillares such as presence of numerous racemes, thin and wingless rachis and distantly arranged spikelets which are not readily disarticulating from the pedicel. 1,3 corresponding author. email: bijuarimba@gmail.com 2,3department of botany, government brennan college thalassery, dharmadam p.o., kannur 670106, kerala, india. 3 department of botany, st. thomas college, pala, arunapuram p.o, pala 686574, kerala, india. mailto:bijuarimba@gmail.com 14 biju et al. results and discussion dimeria kalerii p. biju, e.j. josekutty & augustine jomy, sp. nov. (figs 1-3). diagnosis: dimeria kalerii is allied to d. gracilis in robust habit, densely bearded nodes, lax racemes, long clavate pedicels with cupuliform apex but differs in ciliate apex of ligules, numerous racemes (7–32), hairy pedicels, smaller spikelets (3.8–4.2 mm), shorter cilia on the upper glume and lower glume, long bristly hairs at the apex of upper glume, hairy column of awn and shorter anthers (1.8–2.0 mm). type: india, kerala, kasaragod district, karakkode lateritic plateau, 12°36'18.9"n, 075°00'06.4"e, 75 m above sea level, 12 dec 2014, biju & jomy 1166 (holotype: cal; isotype: mh). fig. 1. dimeria kalerii sp. nov. a. habit; b. junction of leaf sheath and lamina showing ligule; c. a portion of the rachis; d. spikelet; e. lower glume; f. upper glume; g. upper lemma; h. lower lemma; i. stamen; j. lodicule; k. carpel; l. grain. dimeria kalerii, a new species from india 15 tall, robust, tufted, marshy-terrestrial grass; culms 1.2–2.0 m high, branched or unbranched; internodes 10–25 cm long, 2–3 mm in diam., glabrous; nodes densely bearded, hairs white, up to 3 mm long. leaves ascending; sheath 5–13 cm long, hairy above, basal sheaths extends to higher internode, upper sheaths shorter than internodes, laterally flattened, keeled; ligules membranous, 0.8–1.0 mm long, ciliate at apex; leaf blade linear-lanceolate, 15–45×0.4–0.5 cm, covered by long bulbous-based hairs on both sides, hairs 2–3 mm long; tip acuminate; base round-attenuate; margin minutely serrulate with distantly arranged bulbous based hairs, revolute in older leaves; fig. 2. dimeria kalerii sp. nov. a. habitat; b. habit; c. fascicled raceme. 16 biju et al. midrib prominent, keeled on the midrib below. racemes 7–32, usually 18–23, sub-digitate, 4–15 cm long with 34–55 spikelets; rachis thin, trigonous, tough and continuous, up to 0.4 mm wide, glabrous; spikelets oblanceolate, 3.8–4.2 mm long, distantly arranged, 0.5–5.0 mm apart, alternate, distichous, laterally compressed; pedicels 0.5–0.8 mm long, hairy, clavate, apex cupulate, sometimes pedicels curved bringing all the spikelets on the same side; callus short, 0.1–0.2 mm long, truncate at base, covered with golden hairs; hairs 0.5–0.6 mm long; lower glume 3.3–3.6x 0.4–0.5 mm, oblong-linear, single nerved, acute-acuminate, laterally flattened, one side convex, other side concave, coriaceous, hirsute on dorsal side, minutely keeled, long cilia along the keel, margin hyaline, minutely ciliate; upper glume 3.6–4.0×0.8–1.0 mm, elliptic, 2-nerved, coriaceous, round at back, acuminate, hirsute, few long bristly hairs towards apex, margin hyaline, ciliate. florets two, lower floret reduced to lower lemma, oblanceolate, 2.8–3.2×0.5–0.6 mm, thin, hyaline, single-veined, margin minutely ciliate, acute, rarely emarginate; upper floret bisexual, upper lemma 2.0–2.2×0.4–0.6 mm, single-nerved, awned, awn 9.0–9.3 mm long; column 2.7–2.9 mm long, hairy; palea absent; lodicules 2, obovate, 0.1×0.15 mm, bilobed, hyaline; stamens 2; anthers yellow, 1.8–2.0×0.2–0.3 mm; filaments 0.8-1.0 mm long; ovary ovoid-elliptic, glabrous, 0.3–0.4×0.1–0.15 mm; style 0.5–0.7 mm long; stigma plumose, 0.8–0.9 mm long. grain greyish brown, elliptic, 1.0–1.5×0. 4–0.5 mm. fig. 3. dimeria kalerii sp. nov. a. bearded node; b. a portion of leaf blade; c. a portion of rachis with pedicel; d. spikelet; e. lower glume; f. upper glume. dimeria kalerii, a new species from india 17 etymology: the new species is named to honour mr. om prakash kaler, a dedicated conservationist and former chief conservator of forests, kerala, india. additional specimens examined: india, kerala, kasaragod district, karakkode lateritic plateau, 12°33'19.1"n, 075°04'19.7"e, 73 m asl, 20 jan 2014, biju & jomy 1193 (st. thomas college herbarium, pala, kerala, india); kerala, kasragod district, erikkulam lateritic plateau, 12°34'17.4"n, 075°03'21.3"e, 110 m asl, 25 nov 2016, biju & jomy 2810 (st. thomas college herbarium, pala, kerala, india). related species: the new species dimeria kalerii is allied to d. gracilis nees ex steud. (steudel, 1854) but differs in many characters as given in table 1. table 1. distinguishing characters of dimeria kalerii sp. nov. and d. gracilis. characters dimeria kalerii sp. nov. dimeria gracilis culm up to 200 cm long up to 90 cm long leaves up to 45 cm long, densely covered with long hairs; sheaths laterally flattened, hairy above; ligule ciliate at apex up to 25 cm long, sparsely covered with hairs; sheath terete, glabrous; ligule lacerate at apex racemes up to 32 up to 11 spikelets 3.8–4.2 mm long 5.0–5.5 mm long callus very short, up to 0.15 mm long up to 0.5 mm long pedicel hairy, laterally flattened-triangular glabrous, terete lower glume minutely keeled, densely ciliate along the keel; dorsal surface is covered with short white hairs; margin ciliate covered all over with long white hairs or glabrous; margin not ciliate upper glume covered with short white hairs, few long bristly hairs towards the apex; margin ciliate covered with long white hairs, long bristly hairs are absent at the apex, margin not ciliate. awn column up to 2.8 mm, hairy column up to 4 mm, glabrous distribution and conservation status: dimeria kalerii is restricted to the marshy areas and seasonal ponds in the lateritic plateaus of karakkode and erikkulam in kerala, india. the new species has so far been reported only from two localities, so further studies are needed to assess its distribution and conservation status. as per the currently available data the species should be assigned to the category ‘data deficient’ (dd) of iucn (2012). this new species shows healthy populations in two seasonal pools in the type locality. the distribution of this rare, tall and robust endemic grass is limited. the increasing human activities and habitat destruction cause threat to the existence of this rare and interesting species. notes: the new species dimeria kalerii is the largest species of dimeria reported so far in the world. it is a perennial grass showing robust habit and growing up to 2 m high. the culms are 2-3 mm in diameter and the leaves are up to 45 cm long. the inflorescence fascicled with 7-32 racemes, which are up to 15 cm long. it can be easily distinguished from the allied species by its numerous racemes, hairy pedicels, smaller spikelets, long bristly hairs at the apex of upper glumes. acknowledgements the authors are indebted to the principal, st. thomas college, pala, kerala for providing necessary laboratory facilities for the work. the first author is grateful to the principal, govt. college, kasaragod, kerala for providing necessary support for the work. the first and second authors are thankful to university grants commission, government of india for providing financial support. 18 biju et al. references brown, r. 1810. prodromus florae novae hollandiaeet insulae van-diemen vol. 1. j. johnson, london, 204 pp. gosavi, k.v.c., kamble, m.y., chandore, a.n. and yadav, s.r. 2016. a new species of dimeria (poaceae) from andaman and nicobar islands, india. phytotaxa 270(4): 295–300. iucn. 2012. iucn red list categories and criteria: version 3.1. 2nd edition. gland, switzerland and cambridge, uk, iv+ 32 pp. kiran raj, m.s. and sivadasan, m. 2008. a new species of dimeria r. br. (poaceae, panicoideae, andropogoneae) from goa, india. novon 18(2): 183–186. kiran raj, m.s., sivadasan, m., veldkamp, j.f., alfarhan, a.h. and amal thamimi, a.s.m. 2015. a revised infrageneric classification of dimeria r. br. (poaceae: andropogoneae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 47–54. kiran raj, m.s., sivadasan, m., dileep, p. and alfarhan, a.h. 2016. a new subspecies of dimeria hohenackeri hochst. ex miq. (poaceae) from india. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 27–31. sreekumar, p.v. and nair, v.j. 1991. flora of kerala–grasses. botanical survey of india, calcutta, 81 pp. steudel, e.g.1854. synopsis plantarum glumacearum, vol. 1 .j.b. metzler, stuttgart, 413 pp. (manuscript received on 15 july 2017; revised on 22 may 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 257–271, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic revision of the genus crinum l. (liliaceae) of bangladesh sumona afroz, m. oliur rahman1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: crinum l.; taxonomy; revision; amaryllidaceae; bangladesh. abstract the genus crinum l. represented by eight species in bangladesh is revised. the species occurring in bangladesh are crinum amabile donn, c. amoenum roxb., c. asiaticum l., c. defixum ker-gawl., c. jagus (thomps.) dandy, c. latifolium l., c. pratense herb. and c. stenophyllum baker. each species is described with updated nomenclature, important synonyms, english and bangla names, phenology, specimens examined, chromosome number, habitat, distribution, economic value and mode of propagation. a dichotomous bracketed key to the species and illustrations are also provided. introduction the classification of the lilioid monocots has long been problematic (chase et al., 2009). some authors treated all lilioid monocots including the genus crinum l. in one family, liliaceae s.l. (cronquist, 1981). though the genus crinum l. was formerly included in the family liliaceae, the angiosperm phylogeny group (apg) reevaluated the taxonomic position of this genus and placed it in the family amaryllidaceae (apg iii, 2009). linnaeus established the genus crinum in 1737 recognising four species, viz. crinum latifolium, c. asiaticum, c. americanum and c. africanum (nordal, 1977). the pantropical genus crinum l. consists of about 112 species distributed in tropical africa, america, asia and australia (govaerts et al., 2012). the genus is most diverse in africa, particularly sub-saharan africa. biogeographical analyses place the origin of crinum in southern africa (meerow et al., 2003; kwembeya et al., 2007). crinum are perennial herbs with globose to ovoid subterranean bulbs. herbert (1837) divided the genus into two sections on the basis of the degree to which the tepals are patent. baker (1881) provided detailed insight into the genus crinum and divided the genus into three subgenera based on floral characters, viz., stenaster, platyaster and codonocrinum. the actinomorphic flowers with linear petals were placed in the subgenus stenaster; actinomorphic flowers and lanceolate petals were included in the subgenus platyaster, while the subgenus codonocrinum is characterized by funnel-form, zygomorphic flowers and curved tubes. later, baker (1898) submerged platyaster into subgenus stenaster, which must be named subgenus crinum as it contains the type species, c. americanum l. (meerow et al., 2003). in order to resolve the mix-ups in nomenclature in crinum several systematic studies have been carried out (herbert, 1820; baker, 1888, 1896; hooker, 1892; uphof, 1942; verdoorn, 1973; dassanayake, 2000). though identification of crinum species is straight forward, yet there is species complexity in many cases. in the recent past, many species of crinum were placed under some other genera especially under amaryllis, while many species belonging to other genera were transferred to crinum (hannibal and williams, 1998). these snags were mainly due to inadequate research and misinterpretation or misidentifications of the plant specimens (hannibal and williams, 1998). recently, yakandawala and samarakoon (2006) made an attempt to solve the taxonomic ambiguity on species limits of c. latifolium and c. zeylanicum. 1corresponding author. email: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com; oliur.bot@du.ac.bd mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com; mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 258 afroz et al. members of crinum are important for their ornamental, economical and medicinal values. leaf extract is used for treatment for vomiting and for ear-aches. the bulbs are crushed and applied onto piles and abscesses to cause suppuration. in addition, the roasted bulbs are used as a rubefacient in rheumatism (jayaweera, 1981). c. asiaticum possesses antimicrobial activities (win, 2011). phytochemical analysis has recently yielded a vast array of compounds, including more than 150 different alkaloids in the genus crinum (fennell and van staden, 2001). in bangladesh, crinum l. appears to be the largest genus in the family liliaceae represented by eight species including both wild and cultivated. in the indian sub-continent hooker (1892) was the pioneer on the genus crinum l. who recognised 19 species from this area of which 7 species were treated as doubtful or imperfectly known. of these, four species were reported from the area of current bangladesh. later, prain (1903) listed four crinum species from the area of present bangladesh. a very few cytological investigations on some crinum species occurring in bangladesh were made over last two decades. alam et al. (1998) made a karyotype analysis in c. pretense and c. defixum with differential banding patterns. later, ahmed et al. (2004) studied flurescent banding in c. latifolium l., c. asiaticum l. and c. amoenum roxb. those studied were concentrated with orcein, cma and dapi rather than taxonomy of those species. recently, hassan (2007), and afroz and hassan (2008) documented six crinum species occurring in bangladesh with inadequate taxonomic description. there has been no detailed taxonomic studies on this genus in bangladesh. therefore, the present study aims to revise the genus crinum l. in bangladesh. materials and methods plant samples of different crinum l. species were collected from different parts of the country and planted in the dhaka university botanical garden for further study. the collected plant specimens were critically studied and examined which were supplemented by the herbarium specimens housed at the dhaka university salarkhan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). identification of the crinum species were confirmed in consultation with standard literature (hooker, 1892; karthikeyan et al., 1989; raven and zhengyi, 2000; utech, 2002; hassan, 2007) and matching with authentically identified herbarium specimens deposited in dush and dacb. updated nomenclature is determined consulting the plant list (2013), a working list of all plant species. each species is described with updated nomenclature, important synonyms, english and bangla names, flowering and fruiting period, specimens examined, chromosome number, habitat, distribution, economic value, and mode of propagation. a dichotomous bracketed key to the species and illustrations are also provided. the voucher specimens are deposited at dush. results taxonomic treatment genus crinum l., gen. pl. ed. 1: 97 (1737); sp. pl.: 291 (1753); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 3: 726 (1883); bak., handb. amaryll. : 74 (1888); fi. cap. 6: 198 (1896); fi. trop. afr. 7: 373 (1898); phill., gen. ed. 2: 203 (1951); uphof in herbertia 9: 63 (1942); traub, the genera of amaryllidaceae : 60 (1963). crinopsis herb., amaryll. : 270 (1837). erigona salisb., gen. pl. fragm. : 115 (1866). liriamus rafin., fl. tell. 4: 23 (1836). scadianus rafin., atl. journ. : 164 (1833). taenais salisb., gen. pl. fragm. : 115 (1856). tanghekolli adans. fam. 2: 57 (1763). perennial herbs with tunicated bulbs, usually produced at the apex into a short or long false stem. leaves long, lorate or ensiform, spirally arranged, sessile, with smooth or scabrous edges. taxonomic revision of the genus crinum l. 259 peduncle compressed, solid. flowers large, fragrant, umbellate, short-pedicelled or sessile, spathes 2, lanceolate, scarious; bracteoles many, linear. perianth funnel-shaped or almost salver-shaped, tube long, straight or incurved, perianth segments 6, linear-lanceolate or narrowly oblong, red to white, often striped, streaked, or overlaid with red abaxially. stamens 6, adnate to the throat of the perianth tube; filaments free, filiform, declinate or diverging; anthers linear or oblong-linear, dorsifixed. carpels 3, syncarpous. ovary inferior, 3-celled, ovules few in each locule, biseriate; style long, filiform, more or less declinate; stigma small, sub-capitate. fruit a capsule, sub-globose or obovoid, membranous or coriaceous, bursting irregularly. seeds few, large, green, rounded or irregularly compressed. key to the species of crinum l. occurring in bangladesh 1. perianth lobes linear 2 perianth lobes oblong or lanceolate 5 2. umbels more than 15-flowered 3 umbels up to 15-flowered 4 3. scape purplish, shorter than the leaves c. amabile scape green, longer than the leaves c. asiaticum 4. bulbs with a fusiform, stoloniferous base c. defixum bulbs not stoloniferous c. stenophyllum 5. perianth tube erect; stamens spreading 6 perianth tube upcurved; stamens declinate 7 6. leaves acuminate, scabrous; perianth lobes shorter than the tube c. amoenum leaves obtuse or sub-acute; perianth lobes longer than the tube c. pratense 7. leaf margin scabrous; perianth vertically reddish on the back c. latifolium leaf margin smooth; perianth white c. jagus crinum amabile donn, hort. cantabring. ed. 6: 82 (1811). crinum augustum roxb., fl. ind. 2: 136 (1832). (figs 1 & 7a-c). english names: purple spider lily, pink crinum lily, giant spider lily, tiger lily. bangla name: sukhdarshan. a perennial herb with a large tunicated bulb, bulb c. 40 × 12 cm with long stem; roots c. 15 cm long. leaves long, c. 60-170 × 7-20 cm, lorate, entire, acute, glabrous, green in colour. scape solid, 60-130 cm long, purplish, 20-50 flowered umbel, green, glabrous, arise from the side of the stem. flowers large, actinomorphic, bisexual, epigynous, purple, fragrant at night, pedicellate, pedicel c. 3.7 cm long. spathes 2, 15-25 × 7.0-12.5 cm, lanceolate, purplish-green or purple, bracteoles many, linear, c. 10.2 × 0.5 cm, white in colour. perianth segments 6, c. 17 × 3 cm, purple, lower parts forming a long, slightly curved tube, tube c. 13 cm long, purple. stamens 6, adnate to the throat of the perianth tube; filaments filiform, c. 9 cm long, purplish; anthers linear, 1.5-2.5 cm long, dorsifixed, yellow. carpels 3, syncarpous; ovary inferior, c. 1.8 cm long, 3celled, purple; style single, filiform, c. 22 cm long; stigma sub-capitate; placentation axile. fruit not formed. flowering: almost throughout the year. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 15.11.2006, sumona 3 (dush); cantonment, shaheed anwar girls college campus, 15.11.2006, 06.10.2016, sumona 105 (dush). 260 afroz et al. fig. 1. crinum amabile donn: a. habit (×0.1); b. l.s. of a flower (×0.2); c. t.s. of ovary (×2); d. bract (× 0.1). chromosome number: 2n = 33 (ahmed et al., 2004). habitat: cultivated in gardens. distribution: south africa, tropical regions of asia. in bangladesh, the species is cultivated in some private institutions and roadsides. economic value: ornamental. propagation: by bulb separation. taxonomic revision of the genus crinum l. 261 crinum amoenum roxb., hort. beng. : 23 (1814); roxb., fl. ind. 2: 127 (1832); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 282 (1892); prain, beng. pl. 2: 798 (1903); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 340 (2007). crinum himalense royle, ill. bot. himal. mts. (1839); crinum verecundum carey ex m. roem., fam. nat. syn. monogr. : 75 (1847). (figs 2 & 7d-f). english names: himalayan crinum, tiger lily. bangla name: gang kachu. a bulbous perennial herb, bulb globose, 5.0-7.5 cm in diameter. leaves 45-60×2.5-4.0 cm, bright-green, sub-erect, ensiform, tapering from the base to the tip, acuminate, margin subscabrous. scape 30-60 cm long, rather slender, sub-cylindric, greenish-purple. inflorescence of 612 flowered umbels; spathes 2, c. 5 cm long, lanceolate; bracteoles many. flowers sub-sessile. perianth tube green, 7.5-10.0 cm long, lobes 5.0-7.5 cm long, linear-lanceolate, longer than the filaments, white. stamens 6; filaments red, c. 6 cm long, shorter than the perianth lobes; anthers oblong, dorsifixed. carpels 3; ovary 3-celled, inferior, c. 1.6 cm long; placentation axile. fruit a capsule. seeds 1-5, irregularly round. fig. 2. crinum amoenum roxb.: a. habit (×0.2); b. flower (×0.3); c. l.s. of a flower (×0.3); d. t.s. of ovary (×3); e. bract (×0.5). 262 afroz et al. flowering and fruiting: may–august. specimens examined: dhaka: baldha garden, 26.05.2007, sumona 38 (dush); dokkhin middle faidabad, 24.05.2007, sumona 36 (dush). patuakhali: galachipa, rangabali, 23.03.2006, m. sultana 1208 (dush); patuakhali sadar, laukathi, 15.05.2006, m. sultana 1268 (dush). chittagong: chunati, goalmara, 28.06.1997, rahman et al. 663b (hcu). cox's bazar: teknaf, upazila sadar, 25.05.2014, sumona 88 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 18, 22 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: in forests, plain lands and gardens. distribution: tropical himalayas, india (sikkim and khasia hills), nepal and myanmar. in bangladesh, it is distributed in dhaka, patuakhali, sylhet, cox's bazar and chittagong districts. economic value: ornamental. propagation: by seeds and sucker formation. crinum asiaticum l., sp. pl.: 292 (1753); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 280 (1892); prain, beng. pl. 2: 797 (1903); utech, fl. north am. 26: 279 (2002); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 340 (2007). amaryllis carnosa herb. ham. ex hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 280 (1892). crinum albiflorum noronha, verh. batav. genootsch. kunst. 5(art. 4): 12 (1790). crinum angustifolium herb. ex steud., nomencl. bot. ed. 2, 1: 438 1(840). crinum bancanum kurz, tijdschr. nederl. ind. 27: 231 (1864). crinum bracteatum willd., sp. pl., ed. 4. 2(1): 47 (1799). crinum hornemannianum m. roem., fam. nat. syn. monogr. : 71 (1847). crinum macrocarpum carey ex kunth, enum. pl. 5: 553 (1850). crinum plicatum livings. ex hook., bot. mag. 56: t. 2908 (1829). crinum rumphii merr., interpr. rumph. herb. amboin. : 141 (1917). crinum sumatranum roxb., fl. ind. 2: 131 (1832). crinum umbellatum carey ex herb., bot. mag. 47: sub t. 2121, p. 7 (1820). crinum woolliamsii l.s. hannibal, herbert. 43(1): 14 (1987). crinum toxicarium roxb., fl. ind. 2: 134 (1832). (figs 3 & 7g-i). english names: poison bulb, giant crinum lily, crinum lily. bangla names: bara kanur, nagdal, kachori, sukhdarshan, gaerhonar-pata. a perennial herb with a large tunicated bulb. leaves long, 36-48×3-5 cm, lorate, margin entire, acute, wavy, glabrous, green in colour. scape solid, 15-50 flowered umbels, green, glabrous. flowers large, actinomorphic, bisexual, epigynous, white, fragrant at night, pedicellate; pedicel c. 3.3 cm long. bracts 2, c. 6.5×3.2 cm, ovate-lanceolate, acute, greenish-white, bracteoles many, linear, white in colour. perianth segments 6, c. 8×1 cm, white, lower parts forming a long, straight tube, tube erect, greenish, c. 7.5 cm long, equalling the linear lobes, lobes revolute. stamens 6, adnate to the throat of the perianth tube; filaments filiform, c. 4.6 cm long, purplish in upper half and white in lower half; anthers linear, 1.5-2.5 cm long, dorsifixed, yellow. carpels 3, syncarpous, green; ovary inferior, c. 1.5 cm long, 3-celled, placentation axile; style single, filiform; stigma sub-capitate. fruit a capsule, c. 3.0×1.5 cm, sub-globose, beaked, green, bursting irregularly. seeds round, concave. flowering and fruiting: march–november. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 08.08.2007, sumona 43 (dush); ibid, 01.07.1968, mozahar 155; 05.09.1994, m.m. khan 89; uttara, sector no. 8, 12.07.2007, sumona 41 (dush). jhalakathi: chankati, 03.03.1987, huq & mia 6667 (dacb). khulna: sundarban, manderbaria, 21.08.2002, s. nasir uddin n-1386(1); sundarban, kotka, 24.08.2010, sumona 65; kotka, 21.09.2011 sumona 71 (dacb). mymensingh: bhaluka, 03.07.2001, m.s. hossain 229; ishwarganj, 05.07.2001, m.s. hossain 261 (dacb). patuakhali: kalapara, nilganj, 11.03.1999, m. sultana 320 (dush); patuakhali sadar, lohalia, 14.05.2005, taxonomic revision of the genus crinum l. 263 m. sultana 714 (dush); kalapara, gongamoti, 07.01.2006, m. sultana 935 (dush); kalapara, 08.08.2013, sumona 81 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 22 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: homesteads, coastal areas, and also cultivated in gardens. distribution: throughout the tropical parts of india, sri lanka and nepal. in bangladesh, it is common in the sundarbans and coastal areas of chittagong, and also planted in gardens. fig. 3. crinum asiaticum l.: a. habit (×0.1); b. l.s of a flower (×0.4); c. t.s. of ovary (×5); d. bract (×0.3); e. fruit (×1). economic value: widely planted in the gardens for its beautiful flowers. the bulb contains the alkaloids lycorine, crinidine and hamayne (ghani, 2003). the bitter bulb is tonic, laxative, expectorant, used in biliousness and strangury and other urinary complaints. fresh root is emetic, nauseant and diaphoretic. seeds are purgative, diuretic, emmenagogue and tonic. leaves are expectorant, applied to skin diseases and to reduce inflammation (sinha, 1996). tuber is useful in bronchitis and diseases of the chest and lungs, gonorrhoea, night blindness and defective vision, disease of the spleen, urinary conceretions, lumbago, anuria, toothache and snake-bite (kirtikar et al., 1935). ethnobotanical information: leaf juice is used in ear-ache (yadav and bhandoria, 2013). propagation: by bulbs and seeds. e 264 afroz et al. crinum defixum ker-gawl., quart. journ. sci. 3: 105 (1817). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 281 (1892); prain, beng. pl. 2: 798 (1903); cooke, fl. pres. bomb. 2: 749 (1908); haines, bot. bih. or.: 1108 (1924); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 341 (2007). crinum asiaticum roxb., hort. beng. : 23 (1814). crinum viviparum (lamk.) r. ansari & v.j. nair, j. econ. taxon. bot. 11(1): 205 (1988). (figs 4 & 7j). english names: poison bulb, crinum lily. bangla name: sukhdarshan. fig. 4. crinum defixum ker-gawl.: a. habit (×0.2); b. l.s. of a flower (×0.4); c. t.s of ovary (×0.3); d. bract (×0.2). taxonomic revision of the genus crinum l. 265 very stout bulbous herb, bulb with a fusiform stoloniferous base, neck cylindric. leaves 3080×2-3 cm, linear or linear-lanceolate, concave, smooth, entire, obtuse. scape 35-50 cm long, usually shorter than the leaves, compressed, smooth; spathe 2-leaved, bracteoles filiform. flowers in umbels, umbel usually 6-15 flowered, bisexual, large, shortly pedicellate. perianth white, tube cylindric, 6.0-7.5 cm long, segments 6, linear, nearly as long as the tube. stamens 6, adnate to the throat of the perianth tube, spreading, recurved; filaments white or pink, shorter than the perianth lobes; anthers oblong, brown, versatile. carpels 3, syncarpous; ovary inferior, 3-celled; style erect, exserted; stigma simple. fruit a capsule, ellipsoid, c 2.5 cm long, 1-2 seeded. seeds large, rugose. flowering and fruiting: may–august. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden (originally collected from char kukri mukri), 05.07.2017, sumona 110 (dush); savar: jahangirnagar university campus, 30.04.2015, sumona 94 (dush). patuakhali: bhupal, kalaiya, 13.03.1973, m. s. khan k-2843 (dacb); patuakhali sadar, lohalia, 18.11.2004, m. sultana 462 (dush); mirzaganj, subidkhali, 20.11.2004, m. sultana 565 (dush); galachipa, basbunia, 01.03.2005, m. sultana 619 (dush); galachipa, panpotti, 18.12.2010, m. sultana 1860 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 22 (alam et al., 1998); 50, 60 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: swampy river banks and gardens where it is commonly cultivated. distribution: throughout tropical india and sri lanka. in bangladesh, it is well represented in forests and many gardens. economic value: commonly cultivated in the gardens for its beautiful large fragrant flowers. bulb is nauseous, emollient, emetic and diaphoretic. the plant is toxic to cattle (sinha, 1996). bulb and stolon are administered in the treatment of burns and carbuncle. in otitis a few drops of juice of leaves are instilled into the ear. in rema kalenga area of moulvi bazar district bulbs are used for the treatment of stomach complaints of cow (yusuf et al., 2009). propagation: by bulbs. crinum jagus (thomps.) dandy, journ. bot. lond. 77: 64 (1939). amaryllis jagus thomps., bot. displ. : t. 6 (1798); crinum giganteum andr., bot. rep. : t. 169 (1810). (figs 5 & 7k). english name: giant crinum. bangla name: sukhdarshan. a bulbous perennial herb, bulb globose, 12.5-15.0 cm in diameter with c. 7 cm long neck. leaves many, 60-90×7-12 cm, lorate or lanceolate, margin entire, wavy, acute or obtuse. scape 30-90 cm long, green; spathes 2, greenish-white, ovate-lanceolate, c. 9.7×5.9 cm, obtuse; bracteoles 4-8, linear-lanceolate, c. 8.0×0.7 cm, greenish-white. inflorescence of 4-8 flowered umbels, short-pedicelled or sessile. perianth segments 6, c. 11.5×4.0 cm, ovate-lanceolate, fragrant, white, lobes as long as or shorter than the tube, tube c. 19 cm long, green. stamens 6; filaments adnate to the throat of the perianth tube, 6-8 cm long, shorter than the perianth lobes, curved, white; anthers oblong, c. 1.5×0.2 cm, dorsifixed, versatile, spiral after bursting. carpels 3, syncarpous; ovary 3-celled, inferior, c. 2.5×1.5 cm; placentation axile; style with stigma c. 9.5 cm long, green. fruit a sub-globose capsule. seeds not found. flowering and fruiting: april–july. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university campus, science library, 03.05.2007, sumona 25 (dush); near charukala institute, 26.05.2007, sumona 39 (dush); dhaka university btanical garden (originally collected from char kukri mukri), 10.05.2017, sumona 106 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 33 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). 266 afroz et al. habitat: soil rich in organic matter. distribution: native to tropical africa. found in sri lanka, india, myanmar, and malaysia. in bangladesh, it is found to be grown in different gardens. economic value: cultivated in the gardens for its large beautiful flowers. ethnobotanical information: crushed and roasted bulbs are used in rheumatism. leaf juice is used in ear-ache (sinha, 1996). propagation: by bulbs. fig. 5. crinum jagus (thomps.) dandy: a. habit (×0.1); b. l.s. of a flower (×0.1); c. t.s. of ovary (×2); d. bract (×0.1). taxonomic revision of the genus crinum l. 267 crinum latifolium l., sp. pl.: 291 (1753); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 283 (1892); prain, beng. pl. 2: 798 (1903); raven and zhengyi, fl. china 24: 265 (2000); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 341 (2007). crinum ornatum herb., amaryll. : 262 (1837). crinum moluccanum roxb., fl. ind. 2: 140 (1859). crinum zeylanicum l., syst. ed. 12 (1767). (figs 6 & 7l). english name: pink striped trumpet lily. bangla name: sukhdarshan. a bulbous perennial herb, bulb globose, 12.5-15.0 cm in diameter with a short neck. leaves many, 60-90×7-12 cm, lorate, margin sub-scabrid. scape 60-90 cm long, greenish-purple or yellowish-green; spathes 2, reddish-green or purple, lanceolate. inflorescence of 6-12 flowered umbels, short-pedicelled. perianth segments 6, c. 12.2×3.0 cm, perianth tube curved, c. 7 cm long, lobes 7-15 cm long, as long as or shorter than the tube, elliptic-oblong or elliptic-lanceolate, fragrant, white, more or less streaked or tinged with red towards the centre, sometimes red-purple, nearly all over the back. stamens 6, declinate; filaments adnate to the throat of the perianth tube, 6-8 cm long, shorter than the perianth lobes; anthers oblong, 1.3-2.0 cm long, grey, dorsifixed, versatile. carpels 3, syncarpous; ovary inferior, 3-celled, c. 1 cm long; placentation axile. fruit a sub-globose capsule, c. 4.5×3.0 cm, pinkish-maroon. flowering and fruiting: may–september. fig. 6. crinum latifolium l.: a. habit (×0.1); b. flower (×0.1); c. l.s. of a flower (×0.1); d. t.s. of ovary (×2); e. fruit (×0.4). 268 afroz et al. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanic garden, 28.04.2007, sumona 24 (dush); dhaka university campus, science library, 19.09.2007, sumona 44 (dush); ibid. 20.08.2012, sumona 74 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 22, 33 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: soil rich in organic matter. distribution: native to tropical asia. distributed throughout sri lanka, india and myanmar, also in malaysia and africa. in bangladesh, it is cultivated in different gardens. economic value: the bulbs are extremely acidic. in india, when roasted, they are used as rubifacient, or crushed on piles and abscesses to cause suppuration. leaf juice is used for ear-ache (van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2002). crushed and roasted bulbs are used in rheumatism (sinha, 1996). ethnobotanical information: in some parts of india bulbs are used in traditional medicine (kehimkar, 2000). propagation: by bulbs. crinum pratense herb., amaryll.: 256 (1837). hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 282 (1892); prain, beng. pl. 2: 798 (1903); cooke, fl. pres. bomb. : 750 (1908); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 342 (2007). crinum longifolium roxb., fl. ind. 2: 130 (1832). crinum lorifolium roxb. ex ker-gawl., j. sci. arts 3(5): 110 (1817). bangla names: sukhdarshan, bon peyaj. a bulbous perennial herb, bulb ovoid or spherical, 10-13 cm in diameter, neck 5-7 cm across. leaves 45-90 cm long, linear, channelled, sub-erect or declinate, entire, obtuse. scape c. 30 cm or more long, compressed, decumbent; spathe 5.0-7.5 cm long, deltoid-lanceolate. flowers in umbels, white, fragrant, shortly pedicellate, bisexual, epigynous. perianth tube 7.5-10.0 cm long, perianth lobes lanceolate. stamens 6, adnate to the throat of the perianth tube; filaments filiform, red; anthers oblong, dorsifixed, bursting longitudinally. carpels 3, syncarpous; ovary inferior, 3celled; style single; stigma simple. fruit a capsule. flowering and fruiting: may–august. specimen examidned: dhaka: dhaka university botanic garden (originally collected from chanbari beat of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary in habiganj), 01.06.2000, zashim uddin 835 (dacb). chromosome number: 2n = 22 (alam et al., 1998). habitat: plain lands, also on the bank of channel (uddin and hassan, 2004). distribution: plains of india and myanmar. in bangladesh, it is found both in wild and planted in household gardens. economic value: used as an ornamental herb. propagation: by bulbs. crinum stenophyllum baker, gard. chron. 1: 786 (1881); handb. amaryl. : 75 (1888); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 281 (1892); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 342 (2007). herbs. leaves 90×0.6-1.0 cm, linear, flaccid. scape very slender, 2-edged. inflorescence umbel, 4-6 flowered. spathe c. 5 cm long, lanceolate. pedicel c. 0.6 cm long. perianth tube 7-10 cm long, very slender, lobes half as long or longer. specimen examined: no specimen was examined because of unavailability in nature and in any herbarium of bangladesh. taxonomic revision of the genus crinum l. 269 distribution: india, bangladesh and myanmar. notes: j.d. hooker reported this species from sylhet district in 1892. since then there has been no further report of its occurrence from anywhere bangladesh and no specimen available at any herbarium of bangladesh. hence, the species is presumed to be extinct in bangladesh. fig. 7. photographs of crinum l. species: a-c. crinum amabile donn; d-f. c. amoenum roxb.; g-i. c. asiaticum l.; j. c. defixum ker-gawl.; k. c. jagus (thomps.) dandy; 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(manuscript received on 1 august 2018; revised on 11 november 2018) http://www.theplantlist.org/ bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 113‒127, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists genetic diversity of grapevine (vitis vinifera l.) cultivars in al-madinah al-munawara based on molecular markers and morphological traits usama k. abdel-hameed*1, khawla abdelaziz and nahla el-sherif1 biology department, college of science, taibah university, al madinah, kingdom of saudi arabia keywords: ampelography; ampelometric; rapd; issr; scot; jaccard’s coefficient and upgma. abstract grapevine is one of the major fruit trees in the kingdom of saudi arabia. this study aims to discriminate and assess the genetic diversity in three grapevine cultivars in almadinah through the combination of characterization using both classical ampelographic as well as ampelometric studies with molecular markers using randomly amplified polymorphic dna (rapd), inter simple sequence repeat (issr) and start codon targeted polymorphism (scot). for the ampelographic analysis, twelve oiv descriptors were used, and for the ampelometric analysis, the fully expanded mature leaves area were automatedly measured. the genetic distance among the three grapevines cultivars, calculated using jaccard's coefficient, ranged from 0.7577 (between al nakheel and banati) to 0.4501 (between al nakheel and ahmer). the molecular analysis was based on the use of thirty-one primers; ten rapd primers, seven issr primers and fourteen scot primers. rapd primers generated the highest polymorphism (67%), while the level of polymorphism with issr primers was 36% and with scot 44%. all of the three markers generated similar dendrograms, and the genetic distance generated with rapd was higher compared with scot and issr. the three markers rapd, issr and scot were combined and amalgamated with the morphological data, and combined dendrogram was generated and discussed. al nakheel and ahmer cultivars were found to be more closely related to each other than banati which was separated in a different cluster. both methods were effectively efficient for complete identification of grapevine and for studying the genetic diversity between closely related cultivars. introduction grapevine, vitis vinifera l. under subfamily ampelideae and family vitaceae is widely cultivated for its economically valuable fruits. it is native to southwestern asia where wild grapes still grow. furthermore, this species is often divided into two major groups based on geographical region: the eurasian group and the american group, and they hugely differ in their agronomic traits (smith, 2010; christenhusz and byng 2016). as a result of grapevine commercial globalization, the genetic diversity of grapevine has been decreased dramatically due to the dominant of few elite cultivars that are often preferred by consumers over the others; which lead to the spread of these cultivars worldwide and disappear of the wild or local cultivars (myles et al., 2011). genetic erosion or the diversity loss is one of the most serious problems at a global scale that demand considerable efforts to protect, evaluate and select the most productive samples (musayev and akparov, 2013). regardless, of the high number of cultivars that exist now many of them uncommon or endangered (portugal, 2010). *corresponding author, email: usama_abdelhameed@sci.asu.edu.eg 1botany department, faculty of science, ain shams university, cairo, egypt. mailto:usama_abdelhameed@sci.asu.edu.eg 114 abdel-hameed et al. phenotyping characterization is a fundamental procedure for grapevine cultivars identifications as well as for genetic diversity analysis. there are several methods for the analysis either by a morphological description of grapevines vegetative and reproductive parts at different phenological stages (ampelography); or by the morphometry which is based on the precise measurement parameters of the plant parts (ampelometry, rusjan, 2013). traditionally, the approved phenotyping study of identifying and evaluating the grapevine cultivars has been assessed by using a set of morphological characteristics which is known as ampelography (tassie, 2010). over the last decades, these studies have been enriched with using a different type of molecular markers to overcome the limitation of a single methodology (sabir et al., 2009). ampelography studies are the first step in complete grapevine identifications. in fact, in the past decades, it was the main approved scientific methodology that has been used for grapevine description and identification (garcia-muñoz et al., 2011). it has been done based on a defined ampelographic descriptor of cultivars, relying on some visual traits, and these descriptors have been established a hundred years ago by pioneers ampelographers (santiago et al., 2005). the leaf morphological traits have a significant role in grapevine description and identification. grapevine leaves are a very distinctive characteristic, which also, have huge diversity in comparison to other plants (williams, 2016). there are about 50 biometric descriptors for the leaf such as size, lobes, lamina, and shape of teeth, etc. that are recognized by the intergovernmental organization oiv (2009). moreover, these characterizations are useful to provide a base of comparison between the cultivars (bodor et al., 2014). the use of ampelographic description and rapd or issr markers have been successful to evaluate genetic diversity in grapevine (stavrakaki and biniari, 2017; zeinali et al., 2012), this has been already documented by many countries and regions (maletić et al., 2015). in addition, several studies have found that the use of a combination of different markers will provide more comprehensive results (marakli, 2018; tian et al., 2018). moreover, according to mao et al. (2018), study of genetic diversity with a combined markers issr and scot found that the use of both markers give a very effective, reliable and more superior results than the use of single markers. also, other studies have found that scot is very correlated with neutral markers like rapd and issr, and as it is gene-targeted, it might be more effective than the other markers (gupta et al., 2018). biniari and stavrakaki (2019) performed ampelographic and rapd analysis to identify and discriminate between forty-nine greece grapevine varieties. for the ampelographic analysis, twenty-two ampelographic characters were used. while for the rapd molecular analysis, eight polymorphic primers were used. the study’s findings revealed a high level of genetic heterogeneity as well as the degree of genetic similarity among the varieties studied. they concluded that the combination of the ampelographic analysis and molecular analysis rapd is a very efficient method in the identification and discrimination between grapevine cultivars. basheer-salimia and mujahed (2019) studied genetic diversity and characterized thirty-six of local grapevine cultivars in palestine by using seventeen primers of issr markers. a total of fiftyseven loci were scored and then the genetic distance matrix based on jacquard’s coefficient formula result in the average distance range of between 0.05 and 0.76 and the upgma dendrogram was conducted to show the variation between the thirty-six cultivars. therefore, the researcher concluded that the issr is a very efficient tool for grapevine identification and characterizations. ibrahim et al. (2016) analyzed seven egyptian grapevine varieties to assess genetic diversity using scot and ssr markers. for the scot they use 24 primers and the bands that they have genetic diversity of grapevine (vitis vinifera l.) cultivars 115 been generated seventy-seven polymorphic bands. in order to analyze the genetic similarity between the seven varieties, they used dice coefficient and upgma. on one hand, scot analysis was successfully characterized. on other hand, they use seven ssr primers and the genetic relationship among the varieties was identified. therefore, their results demonstrated that both scot and ssr markers have great potential to differentiate between the grapevines varieties. scot technique can successfully target the generic regions across the grapevine genome, which can be used for cultivar selection and identifications. seyedimoradi et al. (2012) conducted a test in twenty-one grapevine cultivars of the iran to study the genetic diversity between them. they study the morphological characters based on the ipgri descriptors and use two molecular markers systems issr and directly amplified minisatellite dna (damd). for the issr, ten primers were used and for damd seven primers were used. the analysis for the issr and damd markers was calculated using nei’s genetic distance and based on that dendrogram contracted by unj (un-weighted neighbor-joining) method. they suggest that the combination of morphological and molecular markers is potential tools to studies grapevine germplasm. upon the lack of the study on al-madinah grapevine cultivars, the scope of the present study was to discriminate and assess the genetic diversity in three grapevine cultivars in al-madinah through the combination of characterization using both classical ampelographic as well as ampelometric studies with molecular markers using randomly amplified polymorphic dna (rapd), inter simple sequence repeat (issr) and start codon targetted polymorphism (scot). materials and methods sampling three grapevine cultivars that are traditionally grown in al-madinah, saudi arabia (al nakheel, banati and ahmer) were obtained from bir uthman farm (24o29’43.946” n, 39o34’49.608” e), in december 2018. the juvenile leaves (fig. 1) were collected and kept in aluminum foil. they were appropriately labeled, sealed in a plastic container and stored at -80°c in order to maintain the integrity of the tissues until dna extraction. for the ampelography analysis, three replicates were used for each cultivar. while for the ampelometric analysis, four fully expanded mature leaves were collected from every three replicates and stored in ziploc bags at 4°c until scanning. fig.1. samples of the measured leaves of the three grapevine cultivars from al-madinah, a: al-nakheel, b: banati and c: ahmer. 116 abdel-hameed et al. morphological investigations the ampelography analysis was done according to the latest oiv descriptors (oiv, 2009). twelve ampelographic characters used in this study are described in tables 1-2. every character was marked by an oiv code and scored by a number. three replicates were used for each studied parameter. table 1. morphological characters, their states and codes of cultivars under investigation. descriptor code oiv descriptors, states of descriptors and their codes. (absent 0, present 1) 1 young shoot: aperture of tip; closed (1), half open (3), fully open (5). 6 shoot: shoot attitude; erect (1), semi-erect (3), horizontal (5), semi-drooping (7), drooping (9). 7 shoot: color of dorsal side of internodes; green (1), green and red (2), red (3) 8 shoot: color of ventral side of internodes; green (1), green and red (2), red (3) 51 young leaf: color of upper side of blade (4 th leaf); green (1), yellow (2), bronz (3), copperreddish (4) 67 mature leaf: shape of blade; cordate (1), wedge-shaped (2), pentagonal (3), circular (4), kidney-shaped (5) 68 mature leaf: number of lobes; one (1), three (2), five (3), seven (4), more than seven (5) 69 mature leaf: color of the upper side of blade; pale green (3), medium green (5), dark green (7) 74 mature leaf: profile of blade in cross section; flat (1), v-shaped (2), involute (3), revolute (4), twisted (5) 76 mature leaf: shape of teeth; both sides concave (1), both sides straight (2), both sides convex (3), one side concave and one side convex (4), mixture between both sides straight and both sides convex (5) 79 mature leaf: degree of opening and overlapping of petiole sinus; very wide open (1), open (3), closed (5), overlapped (7), strongly overlapped (9) 80 mature leaf: shape of base of petiole sinus; u-shaped (1), brace-shaped (2), v-shaped (3) the ampelometric analysis was conducted to measure leaf area (la), by using the fully expanded mature leaves. the leaves were digitally scanned using hp 2950 scanner with 600 dpi resolution, scans containing four leaves of the same cultivar were performed and replicated, and the leaves were arranged to prevent the overlapping. images were saved as jpegs with a file name indicating cultivar name and replicate number. the scanned images of twelve leaves for each cultivar were used to obtain the automated measurements using digimizer (version 5.4image analysis software). molecular investigations dna was extracted from juvenile grapevine leaves using gencatch plant genomic dna purification kit (epoch life science), according to kit protocol. to determine the integrity of the dna, 5 µl of dna with loading dye (thermo fisher scientific) for each sample was electrophoresed on a 1.2 % agarose gel. the purity and concentration were measured by using the nanodrop 2000/2000 spectrophotometer (thermo fisher scientific). dna purity was determined by calculating the absorbance at 260 and 280 nm. a part of the dna stock was diluted with the genetic diversity of grapevine (vitis vinifera l.) cultivars 117 appropriate amount of sterilized deionized water to yield a concentration of 10 ng/μl and then stored at -20°c. the pcr reaction was carried out in the applied biosystems veriti thermal cycler. the program was based on dreamtaq green pcr master mix (2x) (thermo fisher scientific) instructions with some modifications. for rapd, issr and scot pcr analysis, reactions were carried out in 25 µl volume containing 3µl of (30 ng) template dna, 1 µm primer, 8.5 µl of nuclease-free water and 12.5 of dreamtaq green pcr master mix (2x) (thermo fisher scientific) which contained (dreamtaq dna polymerase, 2x dreamtaq green buffer, dntps, and 4 mm mgcl2), and 8.5 µl of nucleasefree water. for rapd, the thermal cycler was programmed for a ‘hot start’ for 3 minutes at 95°c followed by 1-minute denaturation at 94°c, 3 minutes annealing at 33°c and 2-minute extension at 72°c. these steps were repeated for 34 cycles followed by a 10-minute final extension step at 72°c. initial screening was done using the 10 rapd primers (operon technologies) with the dna from the three grapevine cultivars. table 2. ampelographic description of three grapevine cultivars from al-madinah using twelve oiv descriptors of shoot and leaves (the data are the mean of the three replicates). oiv descriptors cultivar al nakheel banati ahmer 1 young shoot: aperture of tip 1 1 1 6 shoot: shoot attitude 3 3 3 7 shoot: color of dorsal side of internodes 2 2 2 8 shoot: color of ventral side of internodes 2 2 2 51 young leaf: color of upper side of blade (4th leaf) 1 1 1 67 mature leaf: shape of blade 4 4 4 68 mature leaf: number of lobes 2 3 3 69 mature leaf: color of the upper side of blade 7 5 5 74 mature leaf: profile of blade in cross section 1 1 1 76 mature leaf: shape of teeth 3 3 3 79 mature leaf: degree of opening and overlapping 7 3 5 80 mature leaf: shape of base of petiole sinus 1 3 1 for issr analysis, thermocycler program for pcr was set to a ‘hot start’ for 3:15 minutes at 94°c followed by 30 seconds denaturation at 94°c, 45 seconds annealing at 43-55°c, 2 minutes extension at 72°c, the program was repeated for 30 cycles at 94°c and 7 minutes final extension at 72°c. to choose appropriate issr primers from fourteen available primer (table 3), an initial screening was performed and only seven polymorphic issr primers out of fourteen were selected. those are: issr-5, issr-7, issr-12, issr-13, issr-14, issr-19 and issr-20. for scot, pcr was programmed as follows: ‘hot start’ for 3 minutes at 94°c followed by 1minute denaturation at 94°c, 1-minute annealing at 50-59°c (the temperature is determined according to gc% content of the primer), 2 minutes extension at 72°c. the program was repeated for 35 cycles followed by a 5-minute final extension step at pcr was programmed as follows: ‘hot start’ for 3 minutes at 94°c followed by 1 minute denaturation at 94°c, 1 minute annealing at 5059°c and 2 minute extension at 72°c. fourteen scot primers were used for the analysis. 118 abdel-hameed et al. all amplified products using the 3 molecular markers were loaded in 1.2% agarose gel and electrophoresed against a 1 kb plus dna ladder (thermo fisher scientific). the gels were documented using a uv light on the omnidoc gel documentation system (cleaver scientific). phenetic analysis ampelographic definitions were used according to the international descriptors (oiv, 2009). phenotypic similarity matrix, based on 12 oiv descriptors with 17 character states (table 1) was constructed. gel images from 31 primers of rapd, issr and scot markers were manually scored into a binary matrix, the presence of a band was scored as “1”, and absence of a band as “0”. the intensity of polymorphic bands was not taken into account during the scoring. each band was considered as a locus. the two sets of data (morphological and molecular) were amalgamated and used for computations by aid of ntsys (numerical taxonomy and multivariate analysis system) version 2.2 software (rohlf, 2000). genetic distance among the studied three grape cultivars was estimated using simqual (similarity for qualitative data) techniques. after that, a dendrogram was constructed by sahn (sequential, agglomerative hierarchical and nested clustering) using upgma (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average) method algorithm due to (sneath and sokal, 1973). results and discussion ampelography and ampelometry the three grapevines cultivars al nakheel, banati and ahmer were analyzed using twelve oiv descriptors (table 2). seven of those characters correspond to a mature leaf and the remainder five to the shoot. the different cultivars were distinguished based on these morphological characters. moreover, the results of the expression of features were defined by oiv descriptors indicating that eight descriptors were scored identical in all cultivars, which includes the closed young shoot tip (oiv 001), the semi-erect shoot attitude (oiv 006), the green and red color of dorsal side of internodes (oiv 007), green and red color of ventral side of internodes (oiv 008), green color of upper side of young leaf blade (4th leaf) (oiv 051), the circular mature leaf blade (oiv 067), the flat mature leaf profile of blade in cross-section (oiv 074) and the convex sides of the teeth on the leaf margin (oiv 076). while the others four descriptors were different, which were related mainly to the mature leaves: number of lobes is three vs. five (oiv 068), color of the upper side of mature leaf is dark green (oiv 069), and degree of opening and overlapping of mature leaf open, closed and overlapped (oiv 079), while the shape of mature leaf base of petiole sinus was ushaped vs. v-shaped (oiv 080). data obtained from the ampelometric measurements of the fully expanded mature leaves area of the three grapevine cultivars are given in table 3 and fig. 1. molecular markers rapd, issr, and scot the results indicated that the used ten rapd primers successfully amplified the template dnas of the three grapevine cultivars (table 4, fig. 2a & b). seven issr primers were selected out of fourteen, and they generated total forty-four amplified bands (table 5, fig. 3 a & b). in addition, fourteen informative scot primers were used to assess the genetic diversity of the three grapevine cultivars (table 6, fig. 4a, b & c). genetic diversity data of the three grapevines cultivars are summarized in table 7. the data were obtained by the combination of three molecular markers rapd, issr, and scot, which genetic diversity of grapevine (vitis vinifera l.) cultivars 119 were in total thirty-one primers and the total bands were 205. among them, 81 bands were polymorphic. table 3. mean values of leaf area measurements of the three grapevine cultivars from al-madinah, three replicate four-leaf for each cultivar. cultivars mean (cm2) standard deviation ± al nakheel 31 1.7 banati 48 3.0 ahmer 40 2.7 fig. 2. gel electrophoresis (1.2 %) profile of the amplified dna fragments of the three grapevine cultivars that generated with rapd primers. a. opa-01, opa-02, opa-03, opa-04 and opa-05. b. opa-06, opa-07, opa-08, opa-09 and opa-10. m: 1 kb dna ladder (thermo fisher scientific). 120 abdel-hameed et al. fig. 3. gel electrophoresis (1.2 %) profile of the amplified dna fragments of the three grapevine cultivars that generated with issr primers a. issr5, issr7 and issr12. b. issr13, issr14, issr19 and issr20 m: 1 kb dna ladder (thermo fisher scientific). table 4. rapd analysis of the bands obtained from gel electrophoresis profile of the amplified dna from the three grapevine cultivars that generated with the ten rapd primers, sd: standard deviation. primer code total no. of bands (bp) monomorphic bands (bp) unique bands (bp) polymorphic bands (bp) polymorphism (%) size range (bp) opa-01 7 1 0 6 86 650-3,000 opa-02 8 1 4 7 88 650-4,000 opa-03 4 2 0 2 50 1000-3,000 opa-04 6 2 2 4 67 850-3,000 opa-05 4 1 1 3 75 400-4,000 opa-06 2 1 1 1 50 1500-3,000 opa-07 5 2 2 3 60 1,200-4,000 opa-08 9 7 1 2 22 850-5,000 opa-09 10 4 2 6 60 400-2,800 opa-10 9 4 2 5 56 500-5,000 total 69 27 15 42 mean 6.9 2.7 1.5 4.2 67 sd 2.6 2.0 1.2 2.0 19.4 genetic diversity of grapevine (vitis vinifera l.) cultivars 121 fig. 4. gel electrophoresis (1.2 %) profile of the amplified dna fragments of the three grapevine cultivars that generated with scot primers. a. scot -2, scot-3, scot-4, scot-5 and scot-11. b. scot-12, scot-14, scot-16, scot-20 and scot-22. c. scot-28, scot-33, scot-35 and scot-36. m: 1 kb dna ladder (thermo fisher scientific). 122 abdel-hameed et al. table 5. issr analysis of the bands obtained from the gel electrophoresis profile of the amplified dna of the three grapevine cultivars that generated with the seven issr primers, sd: standard deviation. primer code total no. of bands (bp) monomorphic bands (bp) unique bands (bp) polymorphic bands (bp) polymorphism (%) size range (bp) issr5 6 3 2 3 50 400-1,500 issr7 4 2 1 2 50 850-4,000 issr12 10 6 2 4 40 400-2,000 issr13 6 4 2 2 33 250-1,500 issr14 5 4 0 1 20 850-2,000 issr19 4 2 1 2 50 450-1,000 issr20 9 8 0 1 11 300-1,300 total 44 29 8 15 mean 6.3 4.1 1.1 2.1 36 sd 2.4 2.2 0.9 1.1 15.8 table 6. scot analysis of the bands obtained from gel electrophoresis profile of the amplified dna of the three grapevine cultivars that generated with the fourteen scot primers, sd: standard deviation. primer code total no. of bands (bp) monomorphic bands (bp) unique bands (bp) polymorphic bands (bp) polymorphism (%) size range (bp) scot-2 8 6 1 2 25 400-2,800 scot-3 6 4 3 2 33 650-2500 scot-4 7 3 2 4 57 500-2,500 scot-5 5 2 0 3 60 750-3,000 scot-11 5 5 0 0 0 850-2,500 scot-12 12 9 1 3 25 600-4,000 scot-14 3 1 1 2 67 1,000-3,900 scot-16 2 0 0 2 100 1,000-1,500 scot-20 7 6 0 1 14 600-3,000 scot-22 12 3 3 9 75 400-3,000 scot-28 6 3 2 3 50 650-2,500 scot-33 4 4 0 0 0 2,500-850 scot-35 10 5 2 5 50 290-2,500 scot-36 5 2 2 3 60 650-1,300 total 92 53 17 39 mean 6.6 3.8 1.2 2.9 44 sd 3.1 2.3 1.1 2.3 29.1 genetic diversity of grapevine (vitis vinifera l.) cultivars 123 phenogram the upgma phenogram (fig. 5) produced upon the amalgamation of molecular analyses with ampelographic and ampelometric studies shows clustering of the studied cultivars into two major lineages, at a reference line of about 0.63, one includes al nakheel and ahmer as sister cultivars at similarity value 0.70, while the other has banati cultivar. fig. 5. phenogram illustrating the genetic relationship among the three grapevine cultivars based on morphological characters (ampelomorphic and ampelometric) and molecular markers (rapd, issr and scot) constructed by upgma with jaccard’s coefficient. morphological analysis most of the grapevine growers in al-madinah identify the cultivars based on a few visible morphological traits. in the present study, twelve oiv descriptors were evaluated and the reason behind choosing this set of descriptors was to identify and study the genetic diversity between the three grapevine cultivars. therefore, two main distinctive characters of the grapevine were selected (shoot and mature leaves). also, the quantitatively measurable traits such as mature leaf number of lobes and leaf area were studied. therefore, the most important characters that were able to discriminate between the cultivars were: oiv 068, oiv 069, oiv 079 and oiv 080 (mature leaf; the number of lobes, the colour of the upper side of the blade, the degree of opening and shape of the base of petiole sinus), while the remaining eight descriptors revealed no significant difference between the cultivars. in a similar study, (di̇lli̇ et al., 2014) studied fourteen grape cultivars using fifty-seven ampelographic characteristics of shoot and leaf, inflorescence, berries and seeds, and their results agree with the results generated in the present study where the differences were most relevant to the mature leaves. this finding was also reported by santiago et al. (2007); ates et al. (2011), where they found that the mature leaf was very informative in discriminating grapevine genotypes, and also it was more stable and objective than other characters. also, according to bodor et al., (2014), description of the leaf has a great importance since it is different from the other morphological characters where the characterization is not limited by a certain time through the year. the ampelometric results were also able to show the difference between the three cultivars where al nakheel was the smallest and ahmer in the middle then banati was the largest. this finding was also reported by many studies (santiago et al., 2005; soldavini et al., 2009) where they also measured the ampelometric traits of grapevine cultivars using digital imaging which was found to be a powerful tool, accurate and objective. alba et al., (2014) stated that in recent years 124 abdel-hameed et al. the ampelometric traits have been very useful in grapevine since they differentiate between the genotypes based on metric scales of the characteristics of a mature leaf, which therefore can be compared with other studies. overall, the present investigations support the observations of sabir et al., (2009) who suggested that classical morphological studies such as ampelographic and ampelometric ones are considered important and useful methods for genetic diversity study and cultivars identification, but still not dependable and therefore need to be used in combination with molecular studies. molecular analysis in the present study, the level of genetic polymorphism between three traditionally grown grapevine cultivars in al-madinah was estimated using a combination of three dominant genetic molecular markers: rapd, issr and scot. the collected data were used to compare the similarity values obtained with these different marker techniques. the polymorphic bands generated by these markers using thirty-one primers showed variance between the three grapevine cultivars. as reported by this et al. (2006) the primers used in the study were found to differ in the pattern of efficiency and reproducibility. besides, they reported that primer selection is very significant in cultivar identifications. in this study, the rapd primer opa-02 revealed a high capacity for grapevine cultivar discrimination. the high number of polymorphic bands with the average percentage 67% was comparable to the results of castro et al. (2016). the average polymorphism among local cultivars was found to be 65.49%, using twenty-five primers. the size of the amplified bands obtained in this study ranged from 400 to 5,000 bp, which was a wider interval than that obtained from the results of basheer-salimia and mujahed (2019), which were 150 to 1,400 bp for different grapevine cultivars in palestine. several similar studies reported the effectiveness of issr for grapevine cultivar discrimination (zeinali et al., 2012; basheer-salimia and mujahed (2019). in this study, the total number of polymorphic bands generated by issr using the seven primers was 15 and the average polymorphism was 36%. the amplified band size ranged from 250 to 4,000 bp. on the other hand, the 14 scot primers amplified 39 polymorphic bands where the average polymorphism was 44% and the average number of bands per primer was 2.9. the bands ranged from 290 to 4,000 bp. in a similar study, ibrahim et al. (2016) used 24 scot primers to evaluate seven grapevine varieties which generated 279 polymorphic bands with an average polymorphism of 77%. the product sizes ranged between 140 and 2,150 bp. therefore, when comparing the results of present study with the previous studies, it must be pointed out that the average polymorphism and the average number of bands per primer in this study were lower than the previously determined polymorphism levels, although, the molecular weight of the bands in this study were higher than the mentioned studies. a comparison of the level of polymorphism of rapd, issr and scot markers was presented in table 7; the higher polymorphism indicates a higher genetic diversity. additionally, the discriminating power and the efficiency of a marker technique depends on polymorphism value. the average number of polymorphic bands of the used markers were largely differed. rapd showed the highest average polymorphism (67%) and this result is agreed with kallamadi et al. (2015), where the rapd level of polymorphism was (54%) which was higher than that obtained with issr (38%) and scot (21%). the average polymorphism obtained with issr was 36% and with scot 44%, the higher level of polymorphism detected by rapd markers than with scot and issr highlights the discriminating capacity of the former. in addition, the average size of rapd bands was larger than that of issr as well as scot and the average band size of these two were nearly the same. the possible explanation for these differences in polymorphism level, as already reported in the literature, is that each marker technique targets different regions of the genome hence this results genetic diversity of grapevine (vitis vinifera l.) cultivars 125 in a different pattern of discrimination in genetic diversity. kallamadi et al. (2015) explained that scot low polymorphism might be due to the very low genetic difference in the conserved regions of the genome. table 7. comparison and total data generated from the three molecular markers rapd, issr, and scot markers. markers rapd issr scot mean of the total number of bands 6.9 6.3 6.6 mean of the total number of polymorphic bands 4.2 2.1 2.9 percentage of polymorphism (%) 67 36 44 phenetic analysis the amalgamation of morphological and molecular traits gave a robust pheneogram that clarified the close relationship between al nakheel and ahmer rather than banati. the combination of the two data sets, morphological and molecular, was efficient and provided more information, clear and accurate way to study the genetic diversity among the grapevine cultivars, this is in accord with seyedimoradi et al. (2012), as well as in other plants by sesli and yegenoglu (2017). it is concluded that, the present study highlights the necessity and importance of morphological analysis (ampelographic and ampelometric) as the first step for characterization, in addition to the molecular analyses (rapd, issr, and scot), in order to carry a complete and accurate characterization of the three grapevine cultivars traditionally grown in al-madinah almunawarah (al nakheel, banati and ahmer). morphological characters, alone, might be insufficient to differentiate the closely related cultivars and might be influenced by environmental factors, thus the need for molecular markers is justified. furthermore, the results demonstrate the potential use of rapd, issr and scot marker systems, which may reflect grapevine evolution and reveal its specific characteristics. the selected primer sets of rapd revealed the highest polymorphism, whereas scot had an intermediate value and the issr were the lowest. according 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(manuscript received on 24 february 2020; revised on 18 may 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 315–324, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists seed micromorphological study on endemic and subendemic species of veronica l. (plantaginaceae juss.) in iran soghra ramzi1 and shahryar saedi-mehrvarz department of biology, faculty of science, university of guilan, rasht, iran key words: micromorphology; endemic; seed; veronica; iran. abstract seed morphology of 12 iranian endemic and subendemic species of veronica was studied using scanning electron microscope (sem). seven qualitative and quantitative characters were measured using sem micrographs and stereomicroscopy. the seed shape of most species is ovate and plano-convex. the size of seeds ranges from 1.25  0.75 mm in v. khorassanica to 2.5  1.75 mm in v. viscosa boiss. the ornamentation of seed coat is reticulate-verrucate in v. khorassanica, v. czerniakowskiana, v. mazanderanae and v. rubrifolia, reticulate-rugate in v. acrotheca, v. aucheri, v. viscosa and v. intercedens, rugose in v. microcarpa, v. chionantha and v. rechingeri, and reticulate-porate in v. gaubae. the testa cells are polygonal in ten species and irregular in two species. micromorphological characters of seeds are useful in specific and subspecific delimitations of iranian veronica. introduction veronica l. (plantaginaceae sensu apg, 2003; formerly scrophulariaceae) is the largest genus within tribe veroniceae bartling. with ca. 450 species (albach et al., 2004a). endemic species are important on both global and local levels, as they provide unique genetic diversity for further studies and provide local people with priceless services (newmark, 2002). fischer (1981) introduced the genus veronica in flora iranica with 56 species and arranged these species in five sections. according to the flora of iran the genus includes 61 species with 18 endemics among them (saeidi-mehrvarz, 2003). alborz and zagros mountains of iran are an important center of speciation of veronica. many endemic species of this genus occur in alborz range, such as v. siaretensis e. lehm., v. rechingeri m.a. fisch., v. mazanderanae wendelbo and v. chionantha bornm. in foothills of kopet-dagh in northeastern iran, some species such as v. khorassanica czerniak. and v. czerniakowskiana monjuschko are endemic (saeidi-mehrvarz, 2005). the distribution range of v. acrotheca bornm. & gauba and v. rubrifolia boiss. is in western iran, whereas v. rechingeri and v. gaubae bornm. occur in northern iran. these endemics of veronica and most of the ones restricted to iran and adjacent regions belong to two subgenera, pocilla (dumort.) m. mart. ort., albach & m.a. fisch. and pentacepala (l. b. moore) garn.-jones. macroand micromorphological characters of seed are of essential systematic importance within veronica (yamazaki, 1957; juan et al., 1994; martínez-ortega and rico, 2001; munozcentento, 2006). several authors such as elisens and tomb (1983) and barthlott (1984) have emphasized the phylogenetic and systematic value of the structural character of the seed coat, due to their low phenetic variation. the shape of seed has been traditionally used in veronica as an important taxonomic character (martínez-ortega and rico, 2001). güld (2013) studied seed morphology of six turkish species of veronica viz. v. bozakmanii m. a. fisch, v. arvensis l., 1corresponding author: s.ramzi91@gmail.com; saeidimz@guilan.ac.ir mailto:s.ramzi91@gmail.com; mailto:saeidimz@guilan.ac.ir 316 ramz and saedi-mehrvarz v. triphyllos l., v. polita fr., v. hederifolia l. and v. cymbalaria bodard by sem. martínezortega and rico (2001) studied seed morphology and its systematic significance in some veronica species (scrophulariaceae), mostly from the western mediterranean. some studies have been carried out on iranian species, seed and fruit micromorphological study (saeidi-mehrvarz et al., 2001a,b). the seed morphology of ten iranian veronica species have been reported by saeidimehrvarz et al. (2001b). i̇t was the first step of seed micromorphological study on veronica of iran. the present study aims to record the seed micromorphological characters of 12 iranian endemic and subendemic species of genus veronica and evaluate their taxonomic significance for the first time. materials and methods this study was mainly based on the specimens deposited in tehran university herbarium (tuh) and guilan university herbarium (guh). approximately 10 seeds from each taxon were analyzed. macromorphological observations were carried out under a stereoscopic microscope (sm). for sem, seeds were directly mounted on metallic stubs using double-sided adhesive tape and then coated with gold for 6 min in a sputtering chamber before observed under sem. the sem examination was carried out under a vega/tescan sem, at an accelerating voltage of 15 kv, in razi metallurgical research center (rmrc) in tehran. the terminology used to describe seed coat surface sculpturing follows mainly juan et al. (1994), martinez-ortega and rico (2001) and mounzu-centento et al. (2006). circumscription of subgenus follows the system by albach et al. (2004a). results and discussion the seed size in the studied iranian veronica ranges from 1 to 3 mm in length and 0.5 to 2 mm in width. seeds of veronica species are ovate, cymbiform, flattened, plano-convex or cyathiform in shape (table 1). color of seeds are dark brown to yellow. the cells are mostly polygonal in studied taxa with exception of v. chionantha and v. rechingeri, where they are irregular. there is some variation in depth, thickness and ornamentation of anticlinal and periclinal walls. periclinal wall mostly was flattened and it may have had ornamentation that forms a secondary sculpture. sculpturing pattern showed four different type: reticulate-verrucate, reticulate-rugose, rugate and reticulate-porate. among the species examined, only v. gaubae showed type of reticulate-porate. the seed morphological characters of the studied taxa are shown in table 1 and figs 1-4. a taxonomic key to the species and subspecies of iranian veronica based on seed characters has been generated for their identification. a taxonomic key to the species and subspecies of veronica of iran. 1 seeds yellow to brown………………………………………………................................. (2) seeds dark brown………………………………………………………………………… (12) 2 seeds cymbiform………………………………………………………………………….. (3) seeds ovate, flattened……………………………………………………………………... (4) 3 seed coat rugate, anticlinal wall with medium depth, periclinal wall concave and smooth, terminal funicular attachment………………………………………...……..…v. microcarpa seed coat reticulate-rugate, anticlinal wall obscure, periclinal wall convex and corrugate, subterminal funicular attachment…………………………………………………..v. aucheri 4 seed coat surface reticulate-verrucate…………………………………………………….. (5) seed micromorphological study on endemic and subendemic species 317 seed coat surface not reticulate-verrucate……………………………………….…………(9) 5 seeds plano-convex, brown……………………………………………………………….. (6) seeds cyathiform or subcyathiform, yellow to brown……………………………………. (7) 6 thick anticlinal wall with medium depth, flat periclinal wall with a large conspicuous central wart…………………………………………………………………..v. khorassanica thin and shallow anticlinal wall, flat periclinal wall with a central wart not very conspicuous…………………………………………………………..….v. czerniakowskiana 7 brown, cyathiform, smooth in dorsal face, thin anticlinal wall, funicular attachment………. …………………………………………………………………….……….v. mazanderanae yellow to brownish, cyathiform or subcyathiform, cristate, thick anticlinal wall, papillate or micro reticulate……………………………………………………………………………..(8) 8 cyathiform, yellow, with deep ridge on dorsal face…………..v. rubrifolia subsp. rubrifolia subcyathiform, brownish, ridge on dorsal face is not deep…………………………………... ………………..……………………………………..…..v. rubrifolia subsp. respectatissima 9 seed coat rugate, irregular cells, indistinct cell boundaries, subterminal funicular attachment……………………………………………………………………….v. rechingeri seed coat reticulate, polygonal cell, anticlinal wall with medium depth, terminal funicular attachment………………………………………………………………………………...(10) 10 flattened to cyathiform, yellow, seed coat reticulate-rugate, periclinal wall without any pore …………...………………………………………………………………………………..(11) plano-convex, brown, seed coat reticulate-porate, periclinal wall with a central pore………. …………………………………………………………………………………...…v. gaubae 11 flattened, with a keel at dorsal face………………………………………………..v. viscosa cyathiform, dorsal face rough and without a keel……………………………..v. intercedens 12 seed coat rugate, irregular cells, ring structures in dorsal face……………….. v. chionantha seed coat reticulate-rugate, polygonal cells, without any special structures in dorsal face………………………………………………………………………………v. acrotheca some authors have determined the genus circumscription of veronica using seed characters (yamazaki, 1957; juan et al., 1994; mortinez-ortega and rico, 2001; munoz-centeno et al., 2006). in all cases these characters were useful at infrageneric rank. seed coat in most species was reported as reticulate-verrucate. this pattern was found as common in veronica and in most species of subg. pentasepala (munoz-centeno et al., 2006). in our study it appears in subg. pentasepala twice, in v. khorassanica and v. czerniakowskiana. it seems that seed coat in the ancestor of subg. pellidosperma (e.b.j. lehm.) assejeva, stenocarpon (boriss.) m.m. mart. ort., albach & m.a. fisch., chamaedrys (w.d.j. koch) m. mart., pocilla and pentasepala was reticulate-verrucate (munoz-centeno et al., 2006). according to albach et al. (2004b) v. czerniakowskiana is a sister clad to a group of veronica species, such as v. jacquinii, v. turrillanaand v. bombycine. these species also show reticulate-verrucate pattern (munoz-centeno et al., 2006). among the species of subg. pentasepala, perennials exhibit reticulate-verrucate in v. aucheri boiss. and v. acrotheca, and rugate in v. chionantha and v. rechingeri. these patterns have been mentioned as rare cases in earlier studies (mortinez-ortego and rico 2001, munozcenteno et al., 2006). v. acrotheca and v. aucheri, despite similar seed coat and shape, are separable in some characters, such as thickness of anticlinal cell wall. 318 ramz and saedi-mehrvarz fig. 1. sem micrographs of veronica seeds. a, d, g ventral face, b, e, h dorsal face, c, f, i seed coat. ac: v. khorassanica, d-f: v. czerniakowskiana, g-i: v. mazandranae. seed micromorphological study on endemic and subendemic species 319 fig. 2. sem micrographs of veronica seeds. a, d, g ventral face, b, e, h dorsal face, c, f, i, seed coat. ac: v. rubrifolia subsp. respectatissima, d-f: v. rubrifolia subsp. rubrifolia, g-i: v. acrotheca. 320 ramz and saedi-mehrvarz fig. 3. sem micrographs of veronica seeds. a, d, g ventral face, b, e, h dorsal face, c, f, i, seed coat. ac: v. aucheri, d-f: v. viscosa, g-i: v. intersedens. dorsal face of seed coat in v. chionantha has a particular structure that is introduced here for the first time. four to five raised rings with a central cavity that form a pillar. among the species from subg. pentasepala only v. rechingeri shows flattened seeds. v. gaubae of subg. pentasepala exhibit a particular pattern in seed coat. it is reticulate-porat because of a periclinal wall with a central pore. this pattern has not been reported so far. v. viscosa and v. intercedens bornm. from subg. pocilla show reticulate-rugate. earlier this pattern was reported in v. stylophora popov and seed micromorphological study on endemic and subendemic species 321 fig. 4. sem micrographs of veronica seeds. a, d, g, j ventral face, b, e, h, k dorsal face, c, f, i, l seed coat. a-c: v. gaubae, d-f: v. microcarpa boiss., g-i: v. chionantha, j-l: v. rechingeri. 322 ramz and saedi-mehrvarz seed micromorphological study on endemic and subendemic species 323 v. capillipes nevski of this subgenus (munoz-centeno et al., 2006). v. intercedens is similar to v. capillipes with a cyathiform seed shape, unlike v. viscosa where it is flattened. the seed shape and seed coat of v. rubrifolia are reported to be cyathiform and cristate at dorsal face (munoz-centeno et al., 2006; hassan and khalik, 2014). in this study, seed shape of v. rubrifolia subsp. respectatissima m.a. fischer is found as sub-cyathiform, though it is cyathiform in v. rubrifolia subsp. rubrifolia boiss. two subspecies of v. rubrifolia differ in ornamentation of periclinal wall. it is papillate in v. rubrifolia subsp. rubrifolia and microreticulate in v. rubrifolia subsp. respectatissima. the finding of reticulate-verrucate seed coat in v. rubrifolia in this study is supported by munoz-centeno et al. (2006) and albach et al. (2008). in v. mazandranae, the only representative of subg. pellidosperma, seeds are sub-cyathiform and smooth in dorsal face. this is accordant with the result of munoz-centeno et al. (2006) who show that the seeds in this subgenus are sub-cyathiform or cymbiform. the finding of seed coat in v. mazandranae as reticulateverrucate is concordant with the observation of munoz-centeno et al. (2006) in subg. pellidosperma. this study indicates that seed characters, such as shape, size, dorsal surface, testa cells, and surface ornamentation etc. are useful in identification and classification of the veronica species studied. micromorphological characters of seeds seem reliable for taxonomic delimitation at both specific and subspecific levels in iranian veronica. further studies on seed morphology of veronica species based on broader species sampling are needed for more comprehensive conclusion. acknowledgements this research was supported by a research fund from guilan university. references albach, d.c., martínez-ortega, m.m., delgado, l., weiss-schneeweiss, h., özgökce, f., and fischer, m. a. 2008. chromosome numbers in veroniceae (plantaginaceae): review and several new counts1. ann mo bot gard 95: 543–566. albach, d.c., martínez-ortega, m.m., fischer, m.a., and chase, m.w. 2004a. evolution of veroniceae: a phylogenetic perspective. ann mo bot gard 91: 275–302. albach, d.c., martínez-ortega, m. m., fischer, m.a., and chase, m.w. 2004b. a new classification of the tribe veroniceae-problems and a possible solution. taxon 53: 429–452. barthlott, w. 1984. microstructural features of seed surfaces. in: heywood, v.h. and moore, dm. (eds.), current concepts in plant taxonomy. academic press, london, pp. 95–105. elisens, w.j., and tomb, s.a. 1983. seed morphology in new world antirrhineae (scrophulariaceae): systematic and phylogenetic implications. plant syst. evol. 14: 23–47. fischer, m.a. 1981. veronica l. in: rechinger k.h. (ed.), flora iranica, vol. 147. akademie der wissenschaften, graz, austria, pp. 25–165. güld, y. 2013. seed morphology studies on some veronica l. species (plantaginaceae) with scanning electron microscopy. rom biotechnol lett 18: 8180–889. hassan, n.m., and khalik, k. n.a. 2014. systematic significance of seed morphology in the genus veronica (plantaginaceae), with special reference to the egyptian taxa. j. syst. evol. 52: 215-230. juan, r., pastor, j., and fernandez, i. 1994. seed morphology in veronica l. (scrophulariaceae) from south‐west spain. bot. j. linn. soc. 115: 133–143. martínez-ortega, m.m., and rico, e. 2001. seed morphology and its systematic significance in some veronica species (scrophulariaceae) mainly from the western mediterranean. plant syst. evol. 228: 15–32. 324 ramz and saedi-mehrvarz munoz-centeno, l.m., albach, d.c., sánchez-agudo, j. a., and martinez-ortega, m. m. 2006. systematic significance of seed morphology in veronica (plantaginaceae): a phylogenetic perspective. ann. bot. london 98: 335–350. newmark, w.d. 2002. conserving biodiversity in east african forests: a study of the eastern arc mountains. springer science & business media 155: 1–205 saeidi-mehrvarz, s., ghahreman, a., and assadi, m. 2001a. fruit structure of some species veronica (scrophulariaceae: veroniceae) from iran. iran. journ. bot. 9: 111–121. saeidi-mehrvarz, s., ghahreman, a., and assadi, m. 2001b. notes on the genus veronica (scrophulariaceae: tribe veroniceae) in iran: seed characters and a new record. pak. j. bot. 33: 143–152. saeidi-mehrvarz, s. 2003. veronica longipedicellata (scrophulariaceae), a new species from iran. nord. j. bot. 23: 559–561. saeidi-mehrvarz, s. 2005. distribution pattern of the genus veronica l. in iran. bangladesh j. bot. 34: 71– 75. saeidi-mehrvarz, s. and kharabian, a. 2005. chromosome counts of some veronica l. (scrophulariaceae) species from iran. turk. j. bot. 29: 263–267. yamazaki, t. 1957. taxonomical and phylogenetic studies of scrophulariaceae-veroniceae with special reference to veronica and veronicastrum in eastern asia. j. fac. sci. u tokyo 37: 92–162. (manuscript received on 4 july 2019, revised on 9 december 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 45-49, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new subspecies of crepis palaestina (asteraceae) from turkey huseyin inceer1 and nursen aksu kalmuk karadeniz technical university, faculty of science, department of biology, 61080 trabzon, turkey keywords: crepis; asteraceae; babcockii subsp. nov.; chromosome number; turkey. abstract crepis palaestina subsp. babcockii inceer & aksu kalmuk subsp. nov. (asteraceae, cichorieae) is described and illustrated. it grows in shady places and red pine forest in southwest anatolia, turkey. the chromosome number of the new subspecies is 2n = 2x = 8. the diagnostic morphological characters that distinguish c. palaestina subsp. babcockii from morphologically similar taxa c. palaestina subsp. palaestina and c. pulchra are discussed, and a conservation status for the new taxon is suggested. introduction crepis l. is a large, critical and taxonomically difficult genus in the tribe cichorieae of the family asteraceae. it comprises over 200 species (bremer, 1994), mainly distributed throughout the northern hemisphere and africa (enke, 2009). ekim (2012) listed 42 turkish taxa of crepis, but our recent taxonomic data obtained from revision of crepis in turkey indicate that the genus together with the inclusion of the new subspecies described here has 40 taxa in turkey, of which 8 are endemic. among the species occurring in turkey, c. palaestina (boiss.) bornm. is one of the rare species and is found only in manavgat of antalya province in southwest anatolia (lamond, 1975). according to a recent taxonomic review of crepis, this species belongs to the section intybellioides froel. (enke, 2009). c. palaestina was reported with a brief description from a single locality, which had no completely mature achenes, in the flora of turkey and the east aegean islands (lamond, 1975). lamond (l.c.) pointed out that the specimens of c. palaestina in turkey differed from east mediterranean specimens in having glandular-pubescent basal leaves. hence, a detailed taxonomic treatment of this species was necessary. during our field work for the taxonomic revision of crepis in turkey, we collected some intriguing specimens of c. palaestina from the antalya province. after studying the morphological characters, examining the specimens deposited in the herbaria ank, bulu, ege, gazi, hub, ist and vanf, and consulting relevant floras and literature (post and dinsmore, 1933; babcock, 1947; lamond, 1975; mouterde, 1983), we concluded that the specimens represented an undescribed subspecies of c. palaestina. material and methods plant material the materials were collected in the field from native populations in the antalya province, turkey. vouchers were deposited in the herbarium at the karadeniz technical university, department of the biology (ktub). 1corresponding author. email: inceer@ktu.edu.tr mailto:inceer@ktu.edu.tr 46 inceer and kalmuk chromosome counts root tips obtained from the germinated achenes were pre-treated with 0.05% aqueous colchicine solution for 3–5 h at room temperature and then fixed in absolute ethanol-glacial acetic acid (3:1) for at least 24 h at 4oc (inceer and hayirlioglu-ayaz, 2007). they were hydrolyzed in 1n hcl at 60oc for 12–15 min. staining was carried out in 1% lacto-propionic orcein for 12–18 h at room temperature and squash preparations were made in 45% acetic acid (inceer et al., 2016). five well-spread metaphase plates were used for chromosome counts. results and discussion crepis palaestina subsp. babcockii inceer & aksu kalmuk, subsp. nov. (fig. 1). diagnosis: crepis palaestina subsp. babcockii closely resembles c. palaestina subsp. palaestina, but differs in having glandular-pubescent basal and cauline leaves (not eglandular-pubescent), small ligule teeth (0.2–0.3 mm long, vs 0.4–1.0 mm), corolla tubes (3.25–3.5 mm long, vs. 5.0–6.5 mm), style branches (1.0–1.2 mm long, vs. 1.4–2.25 mm) and achene morphology (not biform). type: turkey, c3 antalya: manavgat, 10 m, 24 april 2015, inceer 1142 (holotype: ktub!; isotype: ank!). fig. 1. crepis palaestina subsp. babcockii, subsp. nov. a. habit; b. branch with synflorescences; c. cauline leaves; d. capitulum from side; e. capitulum from top side. a new subspecies of crepis palaestina 47 caulescent annual, 65–120 cm long with short caudex. stem erect, slender or robust, terete, striate, glandular pubescent above, ± pubescent near base. basal leaves 15–23×2.0–3.5 cm, soon withering, lyrate-pinnatifid, terminal segment large, reniform, glandular-pubescent, lateral lobes triangular, glandular-pubescent. cauline leaves numerous, 2.0–8.5×0.5–4.0 cm, lowest similar to the basal leaves, middle ones ovate-lanceolate, acute, sessile, auriculate, glandular-pubescent, upper ones ± bract-like. peduncles 2.0–7.5 cm long, strict or arcuate, glandular-pubescent below, glabrous above, swollen near base of fruiting heads. capitula 30–40 flowered. involucre cylindrical, 11.5–15.0×8.0–9.5 mm, dark green, becoming straminous and indurate in fruit, glabrous or the bracts ± pubescent with pale glandless hairs. outer bracts 6–8, minute, 2.5– 4.0×0.5–1.5 mm, ovate, acute, pale-margined; inner bracts 10–13, 12–14×2.0–2.5 mm, lanceolate, acute, appressed-pubescent on inner face, sometimes pale-margined, becoming very prominently carinate dorsally and pale spongy-thickened confluent with base. receptacle areolate, glabrous. ligules yellow, 16–20×2.0–2.5 mm, teeth 0.2–0.3 mm, corolla tube 3.2–3.5×0.2–0.3 mm, densely pubescent. anthers 5, coherent along most of their length and forming a tube 3.0–3.3 mm long around style, yellow, tinged green at summit; filament 0.7–0.8 mm long, appendages 0.4–0.5 mm long, lanceolate, acute. style 7–8×0.1–0.2 mm, dark green below, yellow above, branches 1.0– 1.2×0.05-0.1 mm, dark green, slightly expanded at tip. achenes triform, straminous, 15–20 striate, outermost (marginal) achene 8.8–9.1×0.8-0.9 mm, ± obcompressed, and lateraly alate, narrowly summit, intermediate achene 8.0–8.4×0.5–0.6 mm, densely spiculate, gradually attenuate upward, with slightly expanded pappus disk, ± dilated at the hollow base, innermost achene 8.1–8.5×0.5– 0.6 mm, striate, gradually attenuate upward, with slightly expanded pappus disk, ± dilated at the hollow base. pappus white, 4.1–5.5 mm, multiseriate, fine, soft, flexuous, ± persistent, included in involucre. phenology: april to may. etymology: this new subspecies is named after professor ernest brown babcock, who contributed very much to the taxonomy and genetics of crepis. distribution and habitat: c. palaestina subsp. babcockii is known only from type locality in southwest anatolia. it grows in shady places and pinus brutia (red pine) forest at an altitude of 10 m a.s.l. conservation status: cr: b1ab (i, ii, iii)+2ab (i, ii, iii). the population of c. palaestina subsp. babcockii in the type locality seems to be small and scattered. it should therefore be regarded as critically endangered cr (iucn, 2014) because of its local distribution and small population size. additional specimen examined: turkey, c3 antalya, manavgat, 10 m, 29 may 2014, inceer 1086 (ktub!). taxonomic and cytological notes: c. palaestina subsp. babcockii is also closely related to c. pulchra which is distributed in other regions of antalya, and thus they are sympatric on this region. c. palaestina subsp. babcockii can be easily distinguished from c. pulchra by the shape of fruits (achene-cypsela). c. palaestina subsp. babcockii has lyrate basal leaves with a large terminal lobe, whereas c. pulchra has the basal leaves denticulate to runcinate-pinnatifid (table 1). the present study reveals that c. palaestina subsp. babcockii is a diploid taxon with 2n = 2x = 8 chromosomes (fig. 2). this taxon has the same chromosome number with the members of the section intybellioides such as c. palaestina subsp. palaestina, c. reuteriana, c. pulchra, c. stojanovii and c. pterothecoides (babcock, 1947). 48 inceer and kalmuk table 1. comparison of the diagnostic characters of crepis palaestina subsp. babcockii subsp. nov., c. palaestina subsp. palaestina and c. pulchra. characters c. palaestina subsp. babcockii subsp. nov. c. palaestina subsp. palaestina c. pulchra basal leaves lyrate-pinnatifid, terminal segment large, reniform, glandular-pubescent oblanceolate, obtuse or subacute, lyrate-pinnatifid, terminal segment large, oblong cordate to reniform, eglandularpubescent oblanceolate or obovate, denticulate to runcinately dentate or pinnatifid, on both sides pubescent cauline leaves (middle ones) ovate-lanceolate, auriculate mostly lanceolate, runcinatepinnatifid, broadly auriculate lanceolate, denticulate to subpinnatifid, subamplexicaul, on both sides pubescent, pale glandular hairs ligule teeth 0.2–0.3 mm long 0.4–1.0 mm long 0.1–0.2 mm long corolla tubes 3.25–3.5 mm long 5.0–6.5 mm long 4.0–4.5 mm long style branches 1.0–1.2 mm long 1.4–2.3 mm long 0.8–1.1 mm long achene forms triform biform biform outermost achenes ± obcompressed, laterally alate, narrow summit ± obcompressed, laterally broadly alate, narrow summit ± obcompressed, ± attenuate, spiculate, slightly expanded pappus disk intermediate achenes densely spiculate, gradually attenuate upward, with slightly expanded pappus disk, ± dilated at the hollow base absent absent innermost achenes striate, gradually attenuate upward, ± dilated at the hollow base striate, gradually attenuate upward, conspicously dilated at the hollow base striate, ± attenuate fig. 2. somatic metaphase chromosomes of c. palaestina subsp. babcockii. (scale bar: 10 µm). a new subspecies of crepis palaestina 49 acknowledgements the authors thank the scientific and technological research council of turkey (tubitak project no. 112t132) for financial support. references babcock, e.b. 1947. the genus crepis. part two: systematic treatment. university of california press, berkeley and los angeles. bremer, k. 1994. asteraceae: cladistics and classification. timber press, portland, oregon. ekim, t. 2012. crepis. in: guner, a., aslan, s., ekim, t., vural, m. and babac, m.t. (eds), türkiye bitkileri listesi (damarlı bitkiler), nezahat gökyigit botanik bahçesi ve flora araştırmaları derneği yayını. istanbul, pp. 150–154 (in turkish). enke, n. 2009. contributions towards a revised infrageneric classification of crepis (cichorieae, compositae). willdenowia 39: 229–245. inceer, h. and hayirlioglu-ayaz, s. 2007. chromosome numbers in the tribe anthemideae (asteraceae) from turkey. bot. j. linn. soc. 153: 203–211. inceer, h., aksu kalmuk, n., imamoglu, v.k., duman, o., hayirlioglu-ayaz, s. and arslan, g. 2016. micromorphological, anatomical and cytogenetical studies in endemic crepis macropus boiss. & heldr. (asteraceae) from turkey. acta bot. croat. 75(2): 173–178. iucn 2014. 2014 iucn red list of threatened species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. iucn red list unit, cambridge, u.k. lamond, j.m. 1975. crepis l. in: davis, p.h. (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. vol. 5. edinburgh university press. edinburgh, pp. 814–841. mouterde, p. 1983. nouvelle flore du liban et de la syrie. tome iii. dar el-machreq sarl., beyrouth, liban, pp. 536–544. post, g.e. and dinsmore, j.e. 1933. flora of syria, palaestine and sinai: a handbook of the flowering plants and ferns, native and naturalized from the taurus to ras muhammad and from the mediterranean sea to the syrian desert 2. american press, beirut, pp. 152–157. (manuscript received on 10 april 2017; revised on 22 march 2018) http://www.iucnredlist.org bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 131‒140, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54213 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a taxonomic study on pteris l. (pteridaceae) of bangladesh shi-yong dong*1 and a.k.m. kamrul haque2 key laboratory of plant resources conservation and sustainable utilization, south china keywords: checklist; misidentification; morphology; nomenclature; taxonomy. abstract bangladesh lies in indian subcontinent, an area rich in pteris species. however, so far there is no modern account on the species diversity of pteris in bangladesh. based on a thorough study of literature and limited specimens available to us, we currently recognize 15 species of pteris in bangladesh. among these species, p. giasii is currently known only from bangladesh; p. longipinnula, which has not been collected since 1858, was recently rediscovered in sylhet. pteris cretica, p. pellucida, p. quadriaurita var. quadriaurita, and p. quadriaurita var. setigera are excluded for the fern flora of bangladesh. to facilitate the recognition of species, a key to species and brief notes for each species are provided. introduction the genus pteris l. (pteridaceae) consists of about 250 species, being a natural group of terrestrial ferns across the world with relatively rich species in tropical, warm-temperate, and south-temperate areas (tyron et al., 1990; ppg i, 2016). this group is well represented in east asia with 85 species (nakaike, 1982; liao et al. 2013) and in indian subcontinent with 57 species (fraser-jenkins et al., 2017). in comparison, other regions are not so rich with pteris species. for example, there are 55 species in america (tryon and tryon, 1982), 39 in indochina (lindsay and middleton, 2012; phan, 2010), 24 in tropical africa (kamau, 2012), and only 10 in australia (kramer and mccarthy, 1998). morphologically, the stable characters of pteris include few, narrow scales restricted to rhizome and basal stipe, the marginal and linear sori, and the linear indusia formed by recurved, modified margin of lamina. morphological variations between species lie mainly in leaf architecture (digitate, pinnate-pectinate, tripartite, etc.) and venation (from free, forming only costal areoles, to completely anastomosing) as shown in tryon and tryon (1982: 336–337). to date, no satisfactory subdivision of pteris is available. christensen (1906) divided pteris into three subgenera, i.e., subg. campteria with a row of costal areoles, subg. litobrochia with amply reticulate veins, and subg. eupteris with free veins. ching and wu (1983) proposed three sections, namely 1) sect. pteris with free venation and non-pectinate pinnae, 2) sect. quadriauricula ching with free venation and pectinate pinnae, and 3) sect. campteria (c. presl) ching with anastomosing venation. tryon et al. (1990) suggested two subgenera (subg. pteris and subg. litobrochia) for the genus based mainly on the difference of venation. however, these are all entirely artificial, as fraser-jenkins et al. (2015: 305) commented, “in fact in s asia there are no sections or subgenera within the genus”. recent molecular analyses based on plastid sequences supported pteris to be a monophyletic group but did not support any subdivision previously proposed under this genus (zhang et al., 2014). species relationships within this large genus are still uncertain. *corresponding author, email: dongshiyong@scib.ac.cn 1botanical garden, chinese academy of sciences, guangzhou 510650, china 2department of botany, mohammadpur govt. college, dhaka, bangladesh https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54213 mailto:dongshiyong@scib.ac.cn 132 dong and haque as compared with some countries in indian subcontinent (such as india and nepal), pteris in bangladesh is poorly documented. to know the species diversity of pteris and other ferns in bangladesh, currently the only literature to refer is encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007). however, when consulting this book for the identification of a recent collection of pteris from sylhet, the first author (dong) realizes the inaccuracy and incompletion of pteris recorded in siddiqui et al. (2007). our new collection turns out to be p. longipinnula wall. ex j. agardh, a species which was collected in sylhet probably early in 1850s (hooker, 1858: 179) but was not included in siddiqui et al. (2007). other apparent deficiencies on the pteris in siddiqui et al. (2007) include the problematic spelling or misapplication of some species’ names, such as “p. geminata wall. apud hook.”, “p. longifolia var. vittata roxb.”, pteris quadriaurita retz., and pteris quadriaurita var. setigera bedd., which will be addressed in detail later in this account. in addition, siddiqui et al. (2007) did not provide any taxonomic key to species or any critical description or list of key characters for the purpose of distinguishing species of similar morphology. therefore, we conducted this study, aiming to provide accurate and updated knowledge on pteris from bangladesh in species recognition, nomenclature, and geographical distribution. materials and methods to update a checklist of pteris from bangladesh, we critically reviewed each names recorded in siddiqui et al. (2007) according to the original descriptions, type specimens, and herbarium collections in juh (jahangirnagar university herbarium), taif (taiwan forestry research institute), and us (smithsonian institution) available to us. recent publications of pteris in adjacent regions, especially the checklist of pteris of nepal (fraser-jenkins et al., 2015) and that of india (fraser-jenkins et al., 2017), are also consulted. our recently collected specimens in sylhet were deposited in herbarium of south china botanical garden, chinese academy of sciences (ibsc). result and discussion we recognize 15 species of pteris from bangladesh for the time being. of the 15 species, p. giasii is currently only known in bangladesh and p. longipinnula has not been collected or reported in bangladesh since 1858. an updated taxonomic checklist including a key to the species of pteris of bangladesh is provided below. key to species of pteris in bangladesh 1a. lateral pinnae pectinate, i.e., regularly deeply lobed on both sides of costae (rarely lobed only on basiscopic side) 2 1b. lateral pinnae simple (not lobed), or at most with one to three lobes on one or both sides of costae 10 2a. pinnae 1-pinnate-pinnatifid, at least lowest pinnae with several pairs of pectinate pinnules 10. p. khasiana 2b. pinnae pinnatifid, or at most the lower ones having one to three basiscopic branches 3 3a. fronds pentagonal; lateral pinnae 1–2 pairs, their bases connected with rachis-wings 8. p. grevilleana 3b. fronds oblong to lanceolate; lateral pinnae more than 3 pairs; rachis wingless 4 a taxonomic study on pteris l. (pteridaceae) 133 4a. lateral pinnae pectinate only on basiscopic side of costae 13. p. semipinnata 4b. lateral pinnae symmetrically pectinate on both sides of costae 5 5a. veins anastomosing below sinuses between pinna-lobes, forming costal areoles 6 5b. veins all free (or those below sinuses occasionally anastomosing), not forming costal areoles 7 6a. pinna-lobes entire at margin 2. p. biaurita 6b. pinna-lobes with the distal sterile parts obviously crenate 6. p. geminata 7a. lowest pinnae not forked, without branches on basal basiscopic side 8 7b. lowest pinnae forked, each with one or two short branches on basal basiscopicside 9 8a. frond-axes bright blueish-green; pinna-lobes mucronate at apex 11. p. longipinnula 8b. frond-axes stramineous or brown; pinna-lobes acute, never mucronate at apex 7. p. giasii 9a. fronds herbaceous; costae without spines on the adaxial surface 1. p. assamica 9b. fronds chartaceous; costae obviously with spines on adaxial surfaces 3. p. blumeana 10a. pinnae cordate at base; lower pinnae gradually reduced in length 15. p. vittata 10b. pinnae cuneate at base; lower pinnae not reduced 11 11a. sterile segments entire at margin 12 11b. sterile segments serrate at margin 13 12a. fronds 1-pinnate and becoming 2-pinnate towards base; ultimate segments linear, mostly 1.5–3 cm long 9. p. griffithii 12b. fronds uniformly 1-pinnate; pinnae much longer, 15–20(30) cm long 14. p. venusta 13a. fronds 1-pinnate to 2-pinnate towards base; lateral pinna 3–5 pairs; rachis wingless 5. p. ensiformis 13b. fronds simple, digitate, or consisting of a trilobed terminal part and a pair of lateral segments or pinnae; rachis usually winged 14 14a. fronds digitate to 1-pinnate, segments or pinnae irregularly lobed, producing one to several lobes on one or both sides of costae 4. p. cadieri 14b. fronds simple, or digitate, if digitate or nearly pinnate, the segments linear and simple (never lobed) 12. p. pseudopellucida 1. pteris assamica fraser-jenk. & t.g. walker, taxon. revis. indian subcontinental pteridophytes 118. 2008. —type: india. assam: bor bhil marsh, near digboi, 27 dec 1995, c.r. fraser-jenkins 23943 “f.n. pt. 84” (holotype, bm, not seen). pteris assamica is morphologically similar to p. biaurita but differs in its veins being wholly free (versus forming costal areoles), lamina herbaceous (versus chartaceous) in texture, costae spines lacking (versus present), and the basal basiscopic segments on lowest pinnae usually being asymmetric (versus symmetric) (i.e., long and simple on one of the lowest pair of pinnae whereas normal-sized and pinnatifid on the other in p. assamica, fraser-jenkins, 2008: 118). in bangladesh, it is known from chittagong (c.r. fraser-jenkins 31011, taif). the species was also reported from india, bhutan, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, and thailand (fraser-jenkins et al., 2017). 134 dong and haque 2. pteris biaurita l., sp. pl. 2: 1076. 1753; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 236. 2007.—type: “domingo, martinica, jamaica”, anonymous s.n. (lectotype, linn1246.19, designated by tryon in contr. gray herb. 194: 201. 1964). fraser-jenkins et al. (2015) recognized two subspecies of pteris biaurita, namely subsp. fornicata fraser-jenk. and subsp. walkeriana fraser-jenk. & dominic rajkumar. it seems difficult and unpractical to accept the two subspecies under p. biaurita, since “the subsp. walkeriana is very similar to and slightly overlaps subsp. fornicata” (fraser-jenkins et al., 2015: 319). in addition, one voucher specimen from chittagong (king’s collector 185, us-01480252) morphologically matches well with the type of p. biaurita. therefore, we propose to maintain using only p. biaurita for plants in bangladesh. in bangladesh, it is known from chittagong (p.f. lu et al. 16173, taif). this species is widespread in pantropical areas. 3. pteris blumeana j. agardh, recens. spec. pter. 22. 1839. —pteris quadriaurita retz. var. blumeana c.b. clarke, trans. linn. soc. london, bot. 1: 466, pl. 55. 1880; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 243. 2007. —type: indonesia. java, in 1836, m. blume s.n. (syntype, b-20 0033826). pteris quadriaurita var. setigera auct., non bedd., siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 244. 2007. when originally describing pteris blumeana, agardh (1839: 23) cited blume’s collection from java as the voucher and mentioned its distribution also in india orientale. to locate the type specimens of this species, we so far traced only a sheet containing pinna fragments of blume’s collection in b (barcoded b 20 0033826), which should be considered as a syntype of p. blumeana. pteris blumeana is very similar to p. biaurita in appearance but differs mainly in its free veins, i.e., the lowest veins of pinna-lobes reaching lamina margin above sinuses, never anastomosing (versus veins forming narrow areoles along pinna-costae in p. biaurita). in bangladesh, it is known from chittagong (clarke, 1880: 466). this species is distributed also in cambodia, india, indonesia, laos, myanmar, singapore, thailand, vietnam (lindsay and middleton, 2012; fraser-jenkins et al., 2017). 4. pteris cadieri christ, j. bot. (morot) 19: 72. 1905. —type: vietnam. quang binh: “songgianh” valley, in 1903, l. cadiere 86 (holotype, p-00532183; isotypes: bm-001044188, p00532184). pteris plumbea christ, notul. syst. (paris) 1: 49. 1909; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 241. 2007. —type: china. guangdong: shantou (formerly as swatou), asverus & henry s.n. (lectotype, p-00538980, designated here). the irregular dissection of lamina indicates the hybrid origin of pteris cadieri. according to chao et al. (2015), p. plumbea should be treated as a synonym of p. cadieri which is a complex involving complicated hybridization. when christ (1909) firstly described p. plumbea, he cited three specimens from different localities, one from china and other two from philippines; all the three are syntypes according to icn (turland et al., 2018; art. 9.5,). one of them, asverus & henry s.n. in herbarium p, is here designated as the lectotype of p. plumbea. in bangladesh, it was reported from rangamati district (mirza & rahman, 1997). the species is distributed also in china, philippines, thailand, and vietnam (chao et al., 2015). a taxonomic study on pteris l. (pteridaceae) 135 5. pteris ensiformis burm. f., fl. indica. 230. 1768; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 237. 2007. —type: srilan ka. anonymous s.n. (lectotype, g-00360109, designated by fraser-jenkins et al. in annot. checkl. indian pterid. 1: 286. 2017). it is a distinct species characterized by its dimorphic fronds, pinnae in fertile fronds being linear and almost each pinna bearing a short segment on basal basiscopic side, and those in sterile fronds much shorter and wider, their bases with one or two pairs of pinnules. in bangladesh, it is known from chittagong (p.f. lu et al. 16184 & 16185, taif) and moulvibazar (kamrul 1985, juh; m.a. rahim 2482, juh). the species is widespread in tropical asia, southeast to australia and polynesia (fraser-jenkins et al., 2015). 6. pteris geminata wall. ex j. agardh, recens. spec. pter. 31. 1839. —pteris geminata wall. ex tardieu, fl. madagasc. 5: 101. 1958, later homonym. —type: india. tamil nadu, herb. r. wight s.n. (n. wallich cat. no. 2180) (holotype, k-001057861). siddiqui et al. (2007: 238) recorded pteris geminata wall. ex hook. in bangladesh and indicated the name is from hooker’s species filicum on the page “1: 53 (1846)”. however, there is no such a name in hooker’s species filicum. so far as we know, it is agardh (1839: 31) who firstly validly published wallich’s pteris geminata. thus, the authorship of pteris geminata should be written as “wall. ex j. agardh”. its type (i.e., wallich cat. no. 2180 at k) morphologically resembles p. biaurita but differs in its pinna-lobes being acuminate and serrate towards apexes (versus round and entire). the natural distribution of p. geminata in bangladesh is to be confirmed. in bangladesh, it was reported from chittagong (mirza and rahman, 1997). but according to fraser-jenkins et al. (2017), this species is distributed only in south india and comoro islands. 7. pteris giasii fraser-jenk. & pasha, taxon. revis. indian subcontinental pteridophytes 119. 2008. —type: bangladesh. chittagong: chittagong hill tracts, c.r. fraser-jenkins 30176 (holotype, bm, not seen; isotype, taif-358100). it appears to be a distinct species characterized by its 1-pinnate-pectinate fronds, free veins, and lowest pinnae always being simple (never forked). pteris giasii somewhat resembles p. longipinnula wall. ex j. agardh but differs in its stramineous to brown color frond-axes (stipe, rachis, and costa), pinnae bases broadened, and apexes of pinna-lobes acute and not mucronate. in comparison, p. longipinnula has frond-axes being bright blueish-green, pinnae bases usually apparently narrowed, and apexes of pinna-lobes being round and mucronate. it is currently known to be endemic to bangladesh (chittagong hill tracts) (c.r. fraserjenkins 30177, taif). 8. pteris grevilleana wall. ex j. agardh, recens. spec. pter. 23. 1839; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 239. 2007. —type: bangladesh. sylhet, w. gomez s.n. (n. wallich cat. no. 2680) (holotype, k-000442839; isotypes: b-20 0139511, e-00257673). a species characterized by its digitate fronds, lateral pinnae only 1–2 pairs, and the presence of false veins between true veins. in bangladesh, it is known from sylhet (type locality). this species is distributed also in china, india, myanmar, singapore, thailand, and vietnam (fraser-jenkins et al., 2017). 9. pteris griffithii hook., sp. fil. 2: 170, t. 123a. 1858; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 239. 2007. —type: india. mishmee, w. griffith s.n. (holotype, k001057864). 136 dong and haque a special species characterized by its elongate-triangular lamina, lower lamina being remarkably broadened and 2-pinnate, and all ultimate segments widely spaced. in bangladesh, it is known from moulvibazar (kamrul 1976, juh). the species is distributed also in india, bhutan, and myanmar (fraser-jenkins et al., 2017). 10. pteris khasiana (c.b. clarke) hieron., hedwigia 55: 364. 1914. —pteris quadriaurita var. khasiana c.b. clarke, trans. linn. soc. london, bot. 1: 466, pl. 53. 1880; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 243. 2007.—type: bangladesh. “e sylhet, misit fr. de silva, in 1821”, n. wallich cat. no. 106.5 (lectotype, designated by fraser-jenkins & matsumoto in 2015, k, not seen). a species with completely 2-pinnate fronds, strikingly different from other pinna-pectinate species by its pinnae being 1-pinnate-pectinate (versus uniformly pectinate, sometimes with one or two pectinate segments on lowest pinnae). in bangladesh, it is known from sylhet (locality of the lectotype). this species is distributed also in bhutan, china, india, myanmar, and nepal (fraser-jenkins et al., 2017). 11. pteris longipinnula wall. ex j. agardh, recens. spec. pter. 19. 1839. —type: malaysia. penang, n. wallich cat. no. 108 (holotype, b-20 0127560). (fig. 1). it is a very distinct species with pectinate pinnae. this species is morphologically similar to pteris biaurita but differs in its stipe, rachis and costa being bright blueish-green in color (versus stramineous), lowest pinnae lacking produced basal basiscopic pinnules, pinnae deeply lobed to or nearly to the costae (versus lobed to wide costa-wing), and lowest veins of lobes free and spreading to segment edge above sinuses (versus anastomosing below sinuses). pteris longipinnula was reported in wide range of asia, from ne india, myanmar and china, south to indonesia and southeast to philippines (fraser-jenkins et al., 2015), but was not included in encyclopedia of ferns and fauna of bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007). when sorting out literature on pteris from bangladesh, we found that p. longipinnula had been collected by j.d. hooker and t. thomson from sylhet probably in 1850s (hooker, 1858). since then this species has never been collected or reported in bangladesh. till september 2019 when surveying ferns in sylhet, we found this species (s.y. dong 5190, ibsc) in rain forest of khadimnagar national park. 12. pteris pseudopellucida ching, lingnan sci. j. 15: 395. 1936; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 241. 2007. —type: india. khasia, w. griffith s.n. (holotype, k001057865). a species with variable fronds, ranging from simple, trilobed, to 1-pinnate (i.e., fronds consisting of a trilobed terminal part and a pair of lateral linear pinnae which adjoin to rachis-wing at base). in bangladesh, it is known from moulvibazar (kamrul 1940, 1941 & 1942, juh). this species is distributed also in china, india, laos, myanmar, and vietnam (fraser-jenkins et al., 2017). 13. pteris semipinnata l., sp. pl. 2: 1076. 1753, nom. cons. —type: china. guangdong: guangzhou, gröndal s.n. (conserved type, s-p-5847). pteris semipinnata is unique from other pteris species from bangladesh by its “semi-pinnate” pinnae, namely, pinnae being pectinate only at basiscopic side of costae. a taxonomic study on pteris l. (pteridaceae) 137 in bangladesh, it is known from chittagong (p.f. lu et al. 16231, taif) and moulvibazar (kamrul 1979 & 1980, juh). this species is widespread throughout se asia, northwest to ne india, and naturalized in n australia (fraser-jenkins, 2008). fig. 1. the collection of pteris longipinnula wall. ex j. agardh newly found in sylhet (s.y. dong 5193, ibsc). 14. pteris venusta kunze, bot. zeitung (berling) 6: 195. 1848; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 245. 2007. —type: indonesia. java, h. zollinger 918z (holotype, b20 0127565). pteris pellucida auct., non c. presl, siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 240. 2007. a species characterized by its 1-pinnate fronds and linear, entire pinnae. fraser-jenkins et al. (2015) proposed to recognize a separate subspecies, namely pteris venusta subsp. matsudae (masam.) fraser-jenk. & kandel, from subsp. venusta. we don’t think 138 dong and haque they made clear the difference of morphology and geographic distribution between the two subspecies. as the concept of p. venusta subsp. matsudae sensu fraser-jenkins et al. (2015) is obscure, we tentatively use only p. venusta for the plants in bangladesh. in bangladesh, it is known from chittagong (j.l. lister s.n., us; p.f. lu et al. 16165 & 16211, taif) and moulvibazar (kamrul 1977 & 1978, juh; m.a. rahim 2487, juh). the species is widespread in s & se asia. 15. pteris vittata l., sp. pl. 2: 1074. 1753. —type: china. guangdong: guangzhou, in 1751, p. osbeck s.n. (lectotype, linn-1246.3, designated by tryon in contr. gray herb. 194: 191. 1964). a species with some unique characters, such as fronds being oblanceolate in shape, pinnae numerous (usually 15–35 pairs) and linear in shape with cordate bases, and when young its stipe and rachis bearing copious spreading hairs. pteris longifolia var. vittata roxb. was recorded by siddiqui et al. (2007: 240) as a taxon in bangladesh flora. however, it seems that there is no such a name in science. according to the description of “pteris longifolia var. vittata” given by siddiqui et al. (2007: 240), the taxon should be named pteris vittata. in bangladesh, it is known from chittagong (j.l. lister s.n., us; p.f. lu et al. 16213 & 16219, taif) and moulvibazar (kamrul 1975, juh; m.a. rahim 2485, juh). the species is widespread in tropics and subtopics of the old world. excluded species: 1. pteris cretica l., mant. pl. 130. 1767; siddiqui et al., encycl. flora fauna bangladesh 5: 237. 2007. —type: “habitat in creta, ilva insula”, arduino s.n. (lectotype, linn-1246.7, designated by tryon in contr. gray herb. 194: 192. 1964). in bangladesh, this species has not been found in wild. siddiqui et al. (2007) included this species in encyclopedia flora and fauna of bangladesh just because it was used as ornamental plants in bangladesh. 2. pteris pellucida c. presl, reliq. haenk. 1: 55. 1825.—type: phippines: luzon, t.p.x. haenke 118 (holotype, prc-450304). according to fraser-jenkins et al. (2017), pteris pellucida is a philippine species and has not found in indian subcontinent. the record of plants from indian subcontinent formerly called as p. pellucida is probably due to misidentification of either p. pseudopellucida, a species characterized by sterile segments being finely serrate at margin, or p. venusta with entire pinna-segments. 3. pteris quadriaurita retz. observ. bot. 6: 38. 1791. —type: sri lanka. without locality, könig s.n. (holotype, ld-1221924). according to walker (1960), the name pteris quadriaurita has been wrongly applied to various species and the true p. quadriaurita is distributed only in sri lanka and south india. the recognition of p. quadriaurita in bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007) is probably due to misidentification. 4. pteris tenuissima ching, lingnan sc. j. 15: 394. 1936. —pteris quadriaurita var. setigera bedd., ferns brit. ind., t. 202. 1866. —pteris setigera (bedd.) n.c. nair, bull. bot. surv. india 11: 187. 1971.—type: myanmar. moulmein, on limestone rocks, parish s.n. (lectotype, designated here, k-001057845; isolectotypes: k-001057846, k-001057847, bm001044181). a taxonomic study on pteris l. (pteridaceae) 139 according to fraser-jenkins et al. (2017), pteris tenuissima ching is endemic to myanmar; however, beddome (1876) misapplied p. quadriaurita var. setigera (= p. tenuissima) for the plants from south india. the p. quadriaurita var. setigera sensu siddiqui et al. (2007) is a wrong report of p. blumeana. acknowledgements we thank the curator and staff of herbaria juh (herbarium of jahangirnagar university) and taif (herbarium of taiwan forestry research institute) for allowing access to their collections. m.s. rahman and m.a. rahim assisted the field work in bangladesh. cheng-wei chen helped to check some specimens of pteris from bangladesh in taif. this study was supported by national natural science foundation of china (grant no. 31970218). references agardh, j.g. 1839. recensio specierum generis pteridis. typis berlingianis, lundae, pp. 1–86. beddome, r.h. 1876. supplement to the ferns of southern india and british india. madras: adelphi press, madras, pp. 1–28. chao, y.s., liu, h.y. and chiou, w.l. 2015. taxonomic revision of the pteris cadieri complex (pteridaceae). phytotaxa 230: 130–150. ching, r.c. and wu, s.h. 1983. materials for the pteris flora of china. acta bot. austro sin. 1: 1–16. christ, h. 1909. filices novae chinenses. notul. syst. 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(eds.). 2018. international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (shenzhen code) adopted by the nineteenth international botanical congress shenzhen, china, july 2017. koeltz botanical books, glashütten. walker, t.g. 1960. the pteris quadriaurita complex in ceylon. kew bull. 14: 321-332. zhang, l., rothfels, c.j., ebihara, a., schuettpelz, e., pechon, t.l., kamau, p., he, h., zhou, x.m., prado, j., field, a., yatskievych, g., gao, x.f. and zhang, l.b. 2014. a global plastid phylogeny of the brake fern genus pteris (pteridaceae) and related genera in the pteridoideae. cladistics 2014: 1–18. (manuscript received on 19 july, 2020; revised on 12 april, 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 179–182, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh: division cryptophyta ashika akhtar, mst. ayesha, maliha mehnaz, md. almujaddade alfasane1 and z.n. tahmida begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh key words: new records; phytoplankton; cryptophyta; bangladesh. abstract the paper records 6 species of freshwater phytoplankton from the algal division cryptophyta. the species are cryptomonas pyrenoidifera geitler, c. caudata schiller, c. tetrapyrenoidosa skuja, chroomonas breviciliata nygaard, c. reflexa kiss. and cyathomonas truncata (fres.) fisch hp. these are newly recorded species from sylhet division of bangladesh. introduction the algal division cryptophyta contains a small group of biflagellate organisms which are dorsiventrally flattened, asymmetric and free swimming (bold and wynne 1985). most of them are planktonic and commonly called cryptomonad algae. in bangladesh, a number of studies were carried out on this phytoplankton (islam and khondoker, 1997; khondoker et al., 2007; alfasane et al., 2010; gani et al., 2014). so far, a total of 9 genera and 19 species were reported (ahmed et al., 2009). the present authors while studying some samples of plankton collected from few oligoto meso-eutrophic aquatic habitats of sylhet and moulvibazar districts recognized the occurrence of cryptomonads phytoplankton. further detailed taxonomic study on the samples, 6 species were found belonging to the division cryptophyta and hitherto reported as new to the list of cryptomonads from bangladesh. materials and methods the samples for the present study were collected from different parts of shari goyain river and piyain river of sylhet district and madhabpur lake of moulvibazar district. some water quality characteristics of the studied habitats ranged: water temperature from 17.7-30.7ºc, 17.131. 3ºc and 24.0-32.9 ºc, respectively and ph from 6.8-8.9, 6.9-9.4 and 6.7-7.7, respectively. the samples of plankton were collected by hauling a plankton net of 20 µm mesh size. after collection those were preserved in 5% formalin. the microscopic study was performed with a carl zeiss microscopy gmbh, germany, model: axio lab a1. 1corresponding author: email: <mujaddade@yahoo.com> mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 180 akhtar et al. taxonomy class: cryptophyceae; order: cryptomonadales; family: cryptomonadaceae; genus: cryptomonas ehrenberg 1. cryptomonas pyrenoidifera geitler (fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi, 1968, 45, 64, pl. 8, fig. 47; ling and tyler, 2000, 57, pl. 20, fig. 8 ) cell length 18-20 µm, breadth 7-8 µm, in lateral elevation elliptic to approximately obovate, basal part broadly rounded. cells are seen oblong elliptic to almost cylindrical towards the ends from the back. collection no. s-3(2), 04.08.2017, shari goyain river, sylhet. 2. c. caudata schiller (fig.2) (huber-pestalozzi, 1968, 43, 54, pl. 6, fig. 30a) cell length 15-17 µm, breadth 8 µm, ovate in ventral view narrowing to the rear and suddenly into a small pointed flat appendages starting from the edge is visible. in the cross section almost circular, left lateral contour is stronger than the right curved. collection no. s-8(2), 05.08.2017, shari goyain river, sylhet 3. c. tetrapyrenoidosa skuja (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi, 1968, 45, 62, pl. 7, fig. 45; bourrelly, 1970, pl. 1, figs. 8-9) cell length 30-47 µm, breadth 17-26 µm, thickness 5-17 µm, cells relatively large, oval, on one side convex than on the other, pressed together. each chromatophore is usually provided with 2 pyrenoides on top of each other, sometimes ventral chromatophore lacks, the upper pyrenoid or pyrenoids are greatly reduced. collection no. p-9(3), 11.11.2017, piyain river, sylhet class: cryptophyceae; order: pyrenomonadales; family: chroomonadaceae; genus: chroomonas hansgirg 4. chroomonas breviciliata nygaard (fig. 4) (huber-pestalozzi, 1968, 27, 35, fig. 22a) cell length 15-17 µm, breadth 4-6 µm, pear shaped, rounded front, pointed back and slightly pulled out to the side. pyrenoid 2, equally long. flagella very short. in the apical part furrow and granula lack a contractile vacuole. collection no. m-5(3), 12.11.2018, madhabpur lake, moulvibazar, s-3(2), 04.08.2017, shari goyain river, sylhet. 5. c. reflexa kiss. (figs 5) (huber-pestalozzi, 1968, 27, 32, 34, pl. 3, fig. 21) cell length 26-31 µm, breadth 15-16 µm, ovate with sharpened and background basal end, slope in front end. collection no. s-3(3), 10.11.2017, shari goyain river, sylhet new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh 181 figs 1-6. 1. cryptomonas pyrenoidifera geitler, 2. c. caudata schiller, 3. c. tetrapyrenoidosa skuja, 4. chroomonas breviciliata nygaard, 5. c. reflexa kiss. 6. cyathomonas truncata (fres.) fisch hp. class: cryptophyceae; order: pyrenomonadales; family: cyathomonadaceae; genus: cyathomonas fromentel 6. cyathomonas truncata (fres.) fisch hp. (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi, 1968, 15, 73, pl. 10, fig. 58a) syn. goniomonas truncata (fresenius) f. stein 1878 182 akhtar et al. cell length 15-30 µm, cell a little less wide belly and back line in front and almost parallel in the middle. the contractile vacuole contracts in 3-4 times. collection no. s-3(2), 04.08.2017, shari goyain river, sylhet. references ahmed, z.u., khondker, m., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a. and rahman, a.k.a. (eds) 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 4, algae cryptophyta rhodophyta (achnanthaceae vaucheriaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 543 pp. alfasane, m.a., islam, m.s. and khondker, m. 2010. some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 87–92. bold, h.c. and wynne, m.j. 1985. introduction to the algae. prentice hall inc., london. 720 pp. bourrelly, p. 1970. les algues d’eau douce. initiation à la systématique. tome iii : les algues bleues et rouges les eugléniens, peridiniens et cryptomonadines. edutions n boubée & cie. j. 3 place saintandré-des-arts, paris-vi. 512 pp. gani, m.a., alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2014. new records of phytoplankton from wastewater lagoons of pagla, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 43(1): 87–90. huber-pestalozzi, g.h. 1968. das phytoplankton des süßswassers. systematik und biologie. teil. 3: cryptophyceae, chloromonadophyceae, dinophyceae. e. schweizerb. verlagsb. (nägele u. obermiller), stuttgart, germany. pp. 322. islam, a.k.m.n. and khondker, m. 1997. new records of some flagellate algae for bangladesh. 5. chlamydomonas, pascherina, pyrobotrys, cryptomonas and chilomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(2):13–23. khondoker, m., bhuiyan, r.a., yeasmin, j., alam, m., sack, r.b., huq, a. and colwell, r.r. 2007. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh. 2. cryptophyceae and synurophyceae. bangladesh j. bot. 36(1): 53–59. ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 2000. australian freshwater algae (exclusive of diatoms). bibl. phycol. 105. j cramer, berlin. 643 pp. (manuscript received on 15 june, 2019; revised on 10 december, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 27‒35, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists contribution to the systematic knowledge of endemic aubrieta pinardii boiss. (brassicaceae) from turkey emrah şirin* and mehmet cengiz karai̇smailoğlu1 department of biology, faculty of science, selçuk university, konya, turkey keywords: anatomy, chromosome, cruciferae, morphology, pollen. abstract the aim of this study was to document the taxonomical, morphological, anatomical, palynological and cytological characters, and geographical distribution of endemic aubrieta pinardii boiss. (brassicaceae) from turkey. the description of the taxon was revised as a consequence of comprehensive assessments of many specimens. the surface pictures belonging to seed and pollen of the taxon were obtained by scanning electron microscope. the seed surface ornamentation was rugose. the pollen was radially and isopolar and prolate in forms, with polar axes of 19.52 ± 0.29 µm and equatorial axes of 13.04 ± 0.22 µm, with oval outlines in the equatorial axes, and elliptical in the polar axes. they were three–colpate and colpus sizes varied between 12.98 µm and 13.29 µm in length, and between 1.33 and 2.09 µm in width. also, the anatomical structures of the root, stem and leaf of species were studied. in cytological studies, the chromosome number of species was found as 2n = 16 (x =8). this was the first work including taxonomical, morphological (macro and micro), anatomical and cytological data of endemic aubrieta pinardii. introduction the family brassicaceae has 365 genera and 3250 species worldwide, and it is well-known as a major family having commercial importance (simpson, 2006; tekin et al., 2013; karaismailoğlu, 2017a). turkey with over 650 species is one of the most diversity centers of the family (al shehbaz et al., 2007; güner et al., 2012). the genus aubrieta has 22 species in the world. in turkey, it has 10 species, six of which (a. alshehbazii dönmez, uğurlu & m.a. koch, a. anamasica pesmen & güner, a. ekimii yüzb., al-shehbaz & m.a. koch, a. olympica boiss., a. pinardii boiss. and a. vulcanica hayek & siehe) are endemic (güner et al., 2012; yüzbaşıoğlu et al., 2015; dönmez et al., 2017; karaismailoğlu 2017a). this endemism percentage (50%) indicates that turkey is one of the gene centers of the genus (karaismailoğlu, 2016, 2017a). most of the aubrieta taxa are perennials plants growing on stones in mountainous or subalpine regions between south europe and middle asia (gustavsson, 1986; phitos, 2002; karaismailoğlu, 2016, 2017a; koch et al., 2017). the first exhaustive taxonomic research of aubrieta was given by boissier (1867). afterwards, mattfield (1937) worked on the taxonomical appearance of the genus. al-shehbaz (2010) informed the difficulties in determining reliable morphological characteristics that show variation. the taxonomy of arabideae including genus aubrieta has been compelling due to excessive similarity in macromorphological characters (koch et al., 2017). a number of studies on some aubrieta taxa, like morphology of some bulgarian taxa (ančev and goranova, 2009), morphology, anatomy and cytology of a. canescens subsp. canescens (karaismailoğlu, 2016) and molecular data such as plastid matk and chloroplast gene ndhf of a. deltoidea (koch et al., 2001) were conducted previously. apart from these, there were no systematic studies directly related to the genus. the genus aubrieta need to be studied in detail, owing to the paucity of information on its taxa. *corresponding author, email: emrahsirin@selcuk.edu.tr 1siirt university, faculty of arts and sciences, department of biology, siirt, turkey. mailto:emrahsirin@selcuk.edu.tr 28 şirin and karai̇smailoğlu in this study, taxonomical, macromorphological, micromorphological, anatomical, palynological, and cytological characters of endemic aubrieta pinardii boiss. have been revealed for the first time, and that have contributed to the systematics of the genus. materials and methods specimens were collected by the second author and housed in the herbarium of the science faculty of selçuk university (knya) (locality: konya, beyşehir, başarakavak crossroads, stony places, 1350 m, 11 april 2018, e. şirin 708 h. günal). at least ten seeds or anthers for each species were dehydrated in alcohol series (70%, 80%, 96% and 100%) in sem analyses for cleaning process. seeds were coated with gold under zeiss evo ls-10 model sem highvacuum mode for observing their surface at 30x, 1000x and 2000x magnifications. the terminology of micro characteristics was performed according to stearn (1992) and koul et al., (2000). in addition, the stereo microscope images of the seeds were photographed with the leica dfc295 digital camera attached to the leica s8ap0 microscope. for the anatomical examinations, cross-sections from the root, stem, and leaf were collected using a fully automatic microtome (thermo shonda met finesse). later, they were treated through a ethyl alcohol and xylene series and stained with hematoxylin or methylene blue in a dying apparatus (asc 720 medite) and covered with entellan to examine their anatomical structures (karaismailoğlu, 2015a, 2015b, 2016, 2019). the anatomical characters were observed with utilizing an olympus cx21fs1 microscope and kameram imaging software. primary root meristems obtained by germinating seeds were utilized for chromosomal analyses. the protocol of karaismailoğlu (2016) was followed with some modifications in preparation of the slides. the root tips were pretreated in 5% a-bromonaftol solution for 4 h, allowed to stand 24 h in carnoy (3:1 = ethyl alcohol:glacial acetic acid), hydrolyzed in 1 n hcl for 6-8 min at 60°c, and stained with aceto-orcein for 3 h. eventually, preparations were coated with entellan to make them permanent. the best metaphase images were photographed with an olympus cx21fs1 light microscope (tokyo, japan) attached to a digital camera. results and discussion taxonomic description: densely caespitose herbs. stems 7–11 cm; flowering stems 3–5.5 cm; covered with mixture of stalked pubescent, 3–5-rayed dendroid, simple long setose and forked trichomes. leaves numerous, similar to each other, shortly petiolate, slightly clasping the stem, narrowly oblanceolate, with one pair of teeth on each side or entire, 14–18 × 1–4 mm, obtuse at apex; stalked, 3–6-rayed and densely mixed with stellate, forked and simple bristles on both surface. racemesclose cluster of 3–6 flowers, densely pubescent. sepals lanceolate, 8–10 × 2–3 mm, pedicellate, pubescent, green outside, glabrous inside, inner sepals saccate, apex acute. petals violet, 16–18 × 7–9 mm, well-differentiated into an obovate limb and a claw 7–9 mm. filaments unwinged, white in lower half, violet towards apex; median ones 8–19 mm, lateral 6–7 mm; anthers narrowly elliptic, 0.5–1 mm. fruit siliquiform, 23–30 × 1.5–2 mm (excluding style), mostly straight, compressed parallel to the septum; uniformly pubescent with short-stalked 3–6rayed trichomes, mature valves slightly reticulate-veined; style 2.5–4 mm; stigma capitate, entire. seeds biseriate, c. 15–20 in each locule, broadly elliptic to broadly oblong, pale brown to black, wingless, surface ornamentation rugose, not mucilaginous when wetted, 1.3−1.7 × 0.6−0.7 mm (figs 1-2). pollen morphology: pollens were radially and isopolar and prolate in forms, with polar axes of 19.52 ± 0.29 µm and equatorial axes of 13.04 ± 0.22 µm, with oval outlines in the equatorial axes, and elliptical in the polar axes (amb) (fig. 3). they were three–colpate. also, colpus sizes varied between 12.98 µm and 13.29 µm in length, and between 1.33 and 2.09 µm in width. the contribution to the systematic knowledge of endemic 29 margins were organized. the exine thickness varied between 1.05 and 1.48 µm, and it was usually thicker in the apertural sections. additionally the intine thickness ranged from 0.32 to 0.48 µm. a. pinardii was of coarse reticulate ornamentation type with somewhat meandering muri. the lumina comprised of polygonal or irregular cells; its diameter ranged from 0.48 to 1.52 µm. fig. 1. aubrieta pinardii. a: habit, b: a flower, c: a fruit, d: surface of the fruit, e and f: seed, g: distribution map (localities were taken from dönmez et al. 2017). 30 şirin and karai̇smailoğlu fig. 2. sem pictures of a. pinardii seeds: 1. overview, 2 and 3. surface. fig. 3. pollen morphology of a. pinardii. a: polar axis, b: equatorial axis, c: surface of pollen (sem), d: polar axis, e: equatorial axis (light microscope). fig. 4. the anatomical structures of a. pinardii. 1: root, 2-3: stem, 4-6: leaf (ex: exodermis, co: cortex, ph: phloem, xy: xylem, pi: pith region, pr: pith ray, e: epidermis, pro: protrusion, en: endodermis, cl: chlorenchyma, ue: upper epidermis, le: lower epidermis, pp: palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, vb: vascular bundle, nt: non-glandular trichome, scale bars=100 µm). contribution to the systematic knowledge of endemic 31 root, stem and leaf anatomy: an exodermis, consisting of flat cells with 1-3 layered was placed on the outermost surface of a. pinardii (fig. 4). the thickness of this layer ranged from 21.43 µm to 50.65 µm. under exodermis, cortex contained of multilayer scleranchymatic cells between 15 µm and 38 µm in diameter. endodermis layer is not pronounced. the most enclosed space in the roots was shaped by secondary xylem. pith rays extended from large parenchymatic cells (fig. 4). the palisade parenchyma in the mesophyll layer covers more space than spongy parenchyma. in cross-sections of the stem, 1 layered epidermis consisting of flat or rectangular cells was detected in outermost (figure 4). the dimensions of epidermis cells were recorded as 8-18 µm in length, and 3–6 µm in width. under the epidermis layer, there was a cortex with 5-9 layered, consisting of ovoid or flat shaped cells. its thickness was in 70.59 and 81.96 µm. the xylem and phloem elements were indistinct. the vascular bundle was open collateral type. the vessel member diameter showed variations between 11.72 and 26.08 µm. innermost, there was also a layer consisting of large parenchymatous cells (fig. 4). fig. 5. the chromosomes of a. pinardii in metaphase (2n=16). in the abaxial and adaxial surfaces of the leaf, single-layer epidermis cells consisting of irregularly flat or polygonal cells were detected. the leaf was bifacial. the mesophyll layer was noticed as having 2-4 spongy layers and a thickness of 35–55 µm, and 1 layered palisade parenchyma with a thickness of 65-85 µm. the leaves were of collateral vascular bundles, which were surrounded by parenchymatic cells (bundle sheet) (fig.4). cytology: the chromosome number of a. pinardii, 2n = 16, counted in root tips, is also reported and illustrated for the first time (fig. 5). aubrieta is problematic in terms of its systematics, and frequent field examinations are necessary to define the limit of taxa belonging to the genus (cullen, 1965). description of a. pinardii was very narrow-scope in flora of turkey and it has been updated and revised with intensive field works (table 1). the taxonomic characterization of the species was updated by addition of more characteristics from a significant number of plants taken from the native populations, in comparison with characters in flora of turkey (cullen, 1965). morphological characters reported for the first time are stem and leaves indumentum and measurements, 32 şirin and karai̇smailoğlu filaments, anthers, style, stigma and seeds features (table 1). in this study, information on the distribution of aubrieta pinardii have been provided for the first time. table 1. new characters for the examined taxon (a. pinardii) and their comparison with the relevent descriptions in the flora of turkey (cullen, 1965). characters according to cullen (1965) the obtained outcomes from this investigation stems (cm) – 7–11 flowering stems (cm) – 3–5.5 stem indumentum – pubescent with stalked, 3–5-rayed dendroid, simple long setose and forked trichomes stem leaves (mm) – 14–18 × 1–4 mm stem leaves indumentum – stalked 3–6-rayed and densely mixed with stellate, forked and simple bristles sepals 8–10 mm lanceolate, 8–10 × 2–3 mm, pubescent, green outside, glabrous inside, inner sepals saccate, apex acute petals purple, 18–19 mm violet, 16–18 × 7–9 mm, well differentiated into an obovate limb and a claw 7–9 mm. filaments – unwinged, white in lower half, violet towards apex; median ones 8–19 mm, lateral 6–7 mm anthers – narrowly elliptic, 0.5–1 mm fruits siliquiform, 22–35 × 2–2.5 mm, with an indumentum of stellate hairs siliquiform, 23–30 × 1.5–2 mm (excluding style), mostly straight, compressed parallel to the septum; uniformly pubescent with short-stalked 3–6-rayed trichomes, mature valves slightly reticulate-veined style–stigma – style 2.5–4 mm; stigma capitate, entire seeds – biseriate, c. 15–20 in each locule, broadly elliptic to broadly oblong, pale brown to black, wingless, not mucilaginous when wetted, 1.3−1.7 × 0.6−0.7 mm a. pinardii seems morphologically similar to a. vulcanica and a. parviflora, however, a. pinardii differs from these species by its petal lengths and indumentum of inner sepals (cullen, 1965), toothed leaves and similar to them stellate hairs on fruits. the results obtained from morphological studies are consistent with description given in the cullen (1965), yüzbaşıoğlu et al. (2015) and dönmez et al. (2017). seed coat patterns are used for solving classification problems, establishing evolutionary relationships, elucidating the adaptive significance of the seed coat, and serving as genetic markers for the identification of genotypes in segregating hybrid progenies (el-naggar, 2005; bona, 2013; karaismailoğlu and erol, 2018; gabr, 2018; ozcan and akinci, 2019). seed micromorphology of aubrieta taxa from turkey was studied before by yüzbaşıoğlu et al. (2015; a. ekimii) ), karaismailoğlu (2016; a. canescens subsp. canescens) and dönmez et al. (2017; a. alshehbazii). our study is the first report on the seed micromorphology of a. pinardii. the surface ornamentation of species has recorded as rugose, which is commonly noticed in many genera in the family (murley, 1951; koul et al., 2000; zeng et al., 2004; moazzeni et al., 2007; karaismailoğlu, 2016, karaismailoğlu and erol, 2018). the data about pollen morphological characters can permit us to better recognize the pragmatism of pollen works in separating the correlated taxa. the pollen shape observed in a. contribution to the systematic knowledge of endemic 33 pinardii is the most common type in its family and is consistent with the findings of khalik and maesn van der (2002), mutlu and erik (2012), and karaismailoğlu (2017b and 2019). the aperture and exine features of a. pinardii were explained as the important standard for the categorization of phylogenetic correlation in many studies (kuprianova, 1967; cronquist, 1968; takhtajan, 1980; karaismailoğlu 2019). the pollen surface ornamentation is useful for delaminating some closely-related taxa belonging to various genera in the family (khalik and maesn van der, 2002; karaismailoğlu, 2017b, 2019). the coarse reticulate type of pollen ornamentation found in the studied species is in accordance with the findings of anchev and deneva (1997), mutlu and erik (2012), and karaismailoğlu (2017b, 2019). mutlu and erik (2012) have informed that pollen including coarse reticulate (lumina of more than 1 µm) are generally found in humid areas unlike others, which is supported by the findings of this study. the systematic use of anatomical features is useful in the taxonomy of the family brassicaceae (metcalfe and chalk, 1957). the anatomical characteristics of the root, stem, and leaf of a. pinardii have been given in this study for the first time (figure 4). a. pinardii cortex cells are subsequent to a thin epidermis layer in the stem which seems to be similar to the relevant images of some alyssum, erysimum, aubrieta species (orcan and binzet, 2003; cansaran et al., 2007; karaismailoğlu, 2016) and pachypragma macrophyllum (karaismailoğlu, 2019). chromosome numbers in the brassicaceae are mostly different for taxa within genera and they are important in terms of the evaluation of systematics and evolution in this family (karaismailoğlu, 2018). chromosome numbers of seven out of 12 species of aubrieta in the world is known so far (warwick and al-shehbaz, 2006). the chromosome counts of aubrieta canescens subsp. canescens in turkey reported as 2n = 16 (karaismailoğlu, 2016) is is consistent with our study. acknowledgements we would like to thank especially hasan günal for his kind support and helpfulness during field studies. the specimens were collected during the field trips for a project supported by a grant from scientific investigation project coordinator of selçuk university (project no: 18401090). references al-shehbaz, i.a., mutlu, b. and dönmez, a.a. 2007. the brassicaceae (cruciferae) of turkey, updated. turk. j bot. 31: 327–336. al-shehbaz, i.a. 2010. brassicaceae burnett. in: flora of north america editorial committee, eds. flora of north america north of mexico. new york, 225, vol. 7. 231–234. anchev, m. and deneva, b. 1997. pollen morphology of seventeen species from family brassicaceae (cruciferae). phytol. balcan. 3: 75–82. ančev, m and goranova, v. 2009. aubrieta (brassicaceae) in the bulgarian flora. phytol. balcan. 15(1): 43– 50. boissier, e. 1867. flora orientalis, vol. 1. basel: h. georg. bona, m. 2013. seed-coat microsculpturing of turkish lepidium (brassicaceae) and its systematic application. turk. j bot. 37: 662–668. cansaran, a., ergen akcin, ö. and kandemir n. 2007. a study on the morphology, anatomy an autecology of erysimum amasianum hausskn. & bornm. 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(manuscript received on 12 december 2019; revised on 16 may 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 251-260, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of three species and a variety of angiosperms for bangladesh gazi mosharof hossain*, saleh ahammad khan, mohammad sayedur rahman1 and md. abdur rahim department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka 1342, bangladesh keywords: cleisostoma simondii; volkameria heterophylla; leucas martinicensis; angiosperms; sundarban; gazipur; bangladesh. abstract during the floristic explorations in sundarbans mangrove forest of bangladesh, conducted in 2016-2019, the authors collect some specimens of angiosperms that are finally identified as cleisostoma simondii (gagnep.) seidenf. of orchidaceae and volkameria heterophylla vent. of lamiaceae. specimens of c. simondii are further identified as c. simondii var. guandongense z.h. tsi. the authors collect some specimens of another angiospermic plant in 2019 from gazipur district of bangladesh and confirm their identification as leucas martinicensis (jacq.) r. br. of family lamiaceae. all of these taxa are recorded here for the first time from bangladesh. detailed taxonomic description with notes on ecology, uses, distribution and distinctness from morphologically similar taxa, photographs and illustration are provided. introduction the flora of bangladesh comprises a total of 3873 species of angiosperms including 262 new records (haque et al., 2012; rahman et al., 2016; rahman and hassan, 2017; islam and rahman, 2017; sourav et al., 2017; ara, 2018; ara and hassan, 2018; islam et al., 2018; rahman et al., 2018; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin et al., 2018; uddin 2018; alfasane et al., 2019, 2020; hossain et al., 2019; huda et al., 2019) reported so far after the publication of encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh by siddiqui et al. (2007-2008) and ahmed et al. (2008-2009). in 2016-2019, we conduct botanical explorations in sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh and collect many specimens of vascular plants that are currently housed in the jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). recently, we find some of these specimens that do not match with any known plant species of bangladesh, perform a detailed taxonomic investigation on these specimens and finally identify these as belonging to two angiospermic species namely, cleisostoma simondii (gagnep.) seidenf. and volkameria heterophylla vent. (=clerodendrum heterophyllum) of families orchidaceae and lamiaceae, respectively. the specimens of c. simondii are further identified as cleisostoma simondii var. guandongense z.h. tsi. in 2019, we collect some specimens of another flowering plant during a botanical exploration conducted in kapasia area of gazipur district of bangladesh, and recently we have confirmed their identification as leucas martinicensis (jacq.) r. br. of lamiaceae. these species and the variety have never been reported before in any taxonomic literature covering the flora of bangladesh (hooker, 1885, 1894; prain, 1903a, b; heinig, 1925; khan, 19721987; khan and rahman, 1989-2002; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; uddin and hassan, 2010; arefin *corresponding author, email: gazibotju@gmail.com 1bangladesh national herbarium, ministry of environment, forest and climate change, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh. mailto:gazibotju@gmail.com 252 hossain et al. et al., 2011;rahman et al., 2015; rahman and hassan, 2017; haque et al., 2018; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin 2018). therefore, the species cleisostoma simondii including the variety c. simondii var. guandongense and volkameria heterophylla from sundarbans mangrove forests and leucas martinicensis from gazipur are reported here as the new records of angiosperms for bangladesh. materials and methods the plant specimens were collected, processed, and managed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; jain and raw, 1977). these specimens were critically examined in plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory of jahangirnagar university. their taxonomic identification was confirmed through consulting the experts and taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literatures (hooker, 1885, 1894; prain, 1903a, b; nasir and ali, 19802005; khanam and hassan, 2005; wu, et al., 1994-2011; ahmed et al., 2008-2009) and matching with the voucher specimens of relevant genera and families preserved at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), and clear images of the respective voucher specimens available on the websites of different international herbaria. nomenclatural information and global distribution were fetched from relevant taxonomic publications (moldenke, 1956; chen and gilbert, 1994; li and hedge, 1994; chen et al., 2009; forzza, 2010; yuan et al., 2010) and the nomenclatural databases of ipni (2019), the plant list (2013) and tropicos (2020). all voucher specimens of the three species, one of which is delimited up to a variety, are deposited at juh. the taxonomic descriptions including the photographs and illustration were produced from the specimens in the field and laboratory. results and discussion cleisostoma simondii (gagnep.) seidenf., dansk bot. ark. 29(3): 66 (1975). basionym: vanda simondii gagnep., bull. mus. natl. hist. nat., sér. 2 22(5): 628–629 (1950). type: vietnam: haut-tonkin, rives s.n. (could not be located). synonym: echioglossum simondii (gagnep.) szlach., fragm. florist. geobot., suppl. 3: 137 (1995). cleisostoma simondii var. guangdongense z.h. tsi, bull. bot. res., harbin 3(4): 84 (1983). type: china: hainan, in arborum truncis, 660 m, 17 nov. 1932, c.l. tso & n.k. chun 44273, pe (ht). (fig. 1) a perennial herb, often ascending. stems up to 50 cm long and ca. 3–4 cm in diam., slender, usually unbranched, many leaved, internodes 1–2.5 cm long. leaves terete, 6–11 × ca. 2 mm, slender, fleshy, obtuse. inflorescences lateral, ascending, 4–12 cm, unbranched, 3–6 flowered; floral bracts ovate, minute, ca. 1.5 mm, membranous. flowers epigynous, pedicilate, ca. 5–6 mm, yellowish-green and whitish with purplish veins. sepals 3, free, yellowish-green, oblong, 6–7 × 3– 3.5 mm, rounded, lateral sepals slightly oblique, adnate to lower half of column foot from base. petals 3, lateral petals yellowish-green, obtuse, 4–5 × 3–4 mm; lip comparatively larger, ca. 7 mm × 9 mm, whitish, with purplish spur, mid-lobe of lip yellowish-white, lip lateral-lobes erect, deltoid, mid-lobe ovate-triangular, thickly fleshy, acute, centrally slightly concave, base shallowly bilobed, densely papillate-hairy; spurs sub-globose, laterally compressed, ca. 3–3.5 × 2 mm in diam., apically concave, back wall callus inside spur subquadrate. column ca. 3 mm, densely covered with unicellular elongated, ca. 0.1–0.3 mm, glands at base in front. rostellum 4 × 3.5 mm, broadly triangular, anther cap slightly elongate, 2 × 1.8 mm, sub-truncate at apex. pollinia 4, new records of three species and a variety of angiosperms 253 appearing as 2 unequal masses, sub-globose, 0.8 mm in diam.; stipes semi-circular. viscidium ushaped or saddlelike. overies inferior, tri-locular, elongated, 4–5 mm. fruits a capsule, ca. 18–20 × 5-6 mm in diam., triangular. flowering and fruiting: november to march. ecology: epiphytic on tree trunks in forest or lithophytic on rocks. this species can grow in pots filled with cocodust and coir. uses: this species can be used as an ornamental. distribution: distributed in india, bhutan, cambodia, china, hong kong, eastern himalayas, laos, myanmar, nepal, sikkim, thailand, and vietnam. in bangladesh, this species is distributed in relatively freshwater zone of sundarbans mangrove forest. representative specimens examined: bagerhat: shorankhola, supati, beside supati khal, 10.10.2019, mosharof 3370 (juh); 26.12.2019, mosharof 3504, 3505 and 3506 (juh). fig. 1. cleisostoma simondii var. guandongense. a = a partial view of habit; b = habit (× 0.75); c = inflorescence; d = flower; (× 2.4); e = sepals and lateral petals (× 2); f = column (× 11); g = abaxial view of anther cap (×6.5); h = pollinia with viscidium (× 7.5); i = a fruit (× 1.25). the genus cleisostoma blume is taxonomically very difficult group of orchidaceae family. molecular analyses support the placement of the genus in the subtribe aeridinae, under the tribe 254 hossain et al. vandeae and subfamily epidendroideae of orchidaceae (hidayat et al., 2012; chase et al., 2015; zou et al., 2015). despite its well-supported phylogenetic position, the morphologically delimited genus cleisostoma seems to be polyphyletic (carlsward et al., 2006; hidayat et al., 2012; chase et al., 2015; zou et al., 2015). the number of accepted species of this genus varies around 100 (xinqi and wood, 2009; wood, 2014; govaerts, 2015). it is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the indian subcontinent, south east asia, china, indonesia, new guinea, philippines and pacific island to australia (chen et al., 2009; wood, 2014). in bangladesh, only three species of cleisostoma, viz. c. appendiculatum (lindl.) benth. & hook. f. ex b.d. jacks., c. filiforme (lindl.) garay and c. subulatum blume are described so far (ahmed et al., 2008-2009). the species cleisostoma simondii has never been reported before from bangladesh, and hence it is a new species record for this country. c. simondii seems morphologically similar to c. filiforme but differs by its subglobose and laterally compressed spur, and u-shaped or saddle-like viscidium in contrast to broadly conical and dorsiventrally compressed spur, and suborbicular viscidium as found in c. filiforme. it is distinct from c. subulatum by its terete and slender leaves, yellowish-green colored sepals and petals, and laterally compressed subglobose spur in contrast to 5-nerved, distichous, narrowly linear-lanceolate leaves, red with white or yellowish margin sepals and petals, and conoco-infundibular spur in c. subulatum. c. simondii differs from c. appendiculatum by its whitish or yellowish colored lip where rose-pink colored lip is evident in c. appendiculatum. before this study the variety c. simondii var. guangdongense under cleisostoma was not reported from bangladesh. this study reports it for the first time from this country. it is morphologically very close to c. simondii var. simondii, from which it differs by its yellowish white mid-lobe of lip and subquadrate back wall callus inside spur in contrast to purple-red midlobe of lip and t-shaped back wall callus inside spur of that variety. volkameria heterophylla vent., jard. malmaison, 2: sub pl. 70 (1804), type: mauritius: l'isle de france, riche s.n., g (g00368624)/ bc, (ht; herb. non-desig.). synonym: clerodendrum heterophyllum (vent.) r. br., hortus kew. (ed.2) 4:64 (1812); fl. mauritius & seychells: 254 (1877); h.n. moldenke, verbenacees, fl. madagasc., 174: 1–264 (1956). mold. in dassanayake & fosberg., fl. ceylon 4: 430 (1983); a.j. scott, verbénacées, fl. mascareignes, 137:1–29 (1994). (fig. 2) a low shrub. stems 2–3.5 m high, much-branched, branches twiggy, subterete or obscurely tetragonal, puberulous, glabrescent when matured, nodes often distinctly marked with leaf-scars, internodes short. leaves opposite decussate or more often ternate, crowded, petioles slender, minutely puberulous, 2–8 mm long, leaf-blades linear or narrowly elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic, entire, short-acuminate, 2.5–10.5 × 0.5–3.5 cm, bright green adaxially, light to bright green abaxially, glabrous or puberulous on main nerves beneath. inflorescences axillary, sub-terminal, 2.0–5.0 cm long, usually lax corymbiform cyme, once or twice dichotomously branched, densely greyish-puberulous, primary lateral peduncles 10–25 mm long. flowers pedicellate, pedicels slender, 3–12 mm long, densely puberulous, central flowers often with longer pedicels. calyces distinctly 5-toothed, glandular and sparsely puberulous on the outside and glabrous inside, teeth minute, ovate, acuminate, triangular, 1.5–2.0 × 4–4.5 mm; tube cylindrical, 3–5 × 2–3 mm. corollas white, glandular and very minutely puberulous or almost glabrous outside, villous inside tube, tubes slender, cylindrical, 7–14 mm long, 1–1.3 mm in diam., lobes subequal, oblong or obovate-oblong, obtuse, glabrous and non-glandular on inner surface. stamens purple, exerted, filaments inserted above the middle of corolla-tube, glabrous, filiform, 12–20 mm long, anthers oblong, 1–1.5 mm long. ovaries glabrous, non-glandurar, obovoid-globose, faintly 4-lobed, ca. 1 new records of three species and a variety of angiosperms 255 mm in diam.; styles exerted, surpassing the stamens, filiform, glabrous, 18–32 mm long, stigma minutely bi-lobed. fruits subglobose, glabrous, 12–15 mm in diam. seeds 1 × 0.6 cm, brownishblack. fig. 2. volkameria heterophylla. a = a view of habit; b = habit (× 0.6); c = fruiting twig; d = androecium; (× 2); e = gynoecium (× 1.8); f = ts of a ovary (× 30). flowering and fruiting: july-february. ecology: found usually along tidal river or canal banks. uses: volkameria heterophylla is reported as "employed medicinally as an antisyphilitic. it contains some ethereal oil, but no alkaloides nor glycosides". distribution: this species is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of australia, asia, africa, central and south america and the west indies. in bangladesh, this species is found to occur in sundarban mangrove forest. representative specimens examined: bagerhat: shorankhola, kotka, beside jamtola khal, 07.09.2016, mosharof 2104 (juh), sayedur 3740, 3741 (juh); 28.09.2017, mosharof 2511 (juh); 09.10.2019, mosharof 3488–3493 (juh). volkameria l. is a pantropical genus of the family lamiaceae which is mostly distributed in the coastal areas. briquet (1895) broadly circumscribed the genus clerodendrum l. to include all species now placed in rotheca raf., clerodendrum, volkameria, and ovieda l. this circumscription was followed since many years, mostly due to the confusion and uncertainty regarding this group comprising at least 200 species (yuan et al., 2010). based on molecular phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast dna regions trnt-l, trnl-f, trnd-t, and trns-fm, yuan et al. (2010) showed that most of the clerodendrum species that had been in volkameria were more 256 hossain et al. closely related to aegiphila jacq., ovieda, tetraclea a. gray, and amasonia l. f. than to other species of clerodendrum and finally revived the genus volkameria. in bangladesh, total 16 species of clerodendrum are reported so far (ahmed et al., 2009). among these, two species, namely c. inerme (l.) gaertn. and c. neriifolium (roxb.) king & gamble ex schau are now the synonyms of volkameria inermis l. the species volkameria heterophylla vent., previously circumscribed as c. heterophyllum, was never reported from bangladesh before this study. v. heterophylla seems close to v. inermis, from which it distinctly differs by its longer (10–25 mm) peduncle, shorter (7–14 mm) corolla tube, non-glandular ovary and larger (12–15 mm in diam.) fruit in contrast to shorter (2–4 mm) peduncle, longer (15–40 mm) corolla tube, glandular ovary, and smaller (6–11 mm in diam.) fruit of v. inermis. leucas martinicensis (jacq.) r. br., prodr. : 504 (1810). c.y. wu, p.h. raven & d.y. hong (eds), fl. china 15: 1-387 (1996). basionym: clinopodium martinicense jacq., enum. syst. pl.: 25 (1760). type: west indies. (fig. 3) annual erect herb, 40–60 cm tall. stems retrorse pubescent. leaves opposite, petioles 0.6–1.3 cm long; leaf blades narrowly ovate to lanceolate, 4–5 × 1.5–2.5 cm, reduced upward, densely pubescent, rounded to cuneate basally, coarsely crenate-serrate marginally, acuminate apically, lateral veins 5 pairs. verticillasters 1.5–3.0 cm in diam., many flowered; bracts subulate, ciliate, spinescent, 5–8 mm long. calyces membranous, reflexed in fruit, c. 10–12 mm long, densely villous outside, glabrous inside, veins conspicuous, throat enlarged, mouth constricted, teeth 10, unequal, upper teeth longest, spinescent. corollas white tinged red, slightly exerted, slender, 7–10 mm long, tube 4–6 mm long, slightly dilated in throat, not villous, annulate inside, lower lip subpatent, lobes oblong, c. 2.5 mm long. nutlets dark brown, oblong-ovoid, c. 1.5 mm, shiny. flowering and fruiting: october-february. ecology: grown mainly on dry or disturbed open ground, grassy areas with sandy soil, waste land near habitations, and often as a weed of cultivated lands. uses: the plant is used as mosquito repellant due to its minty odor. it is used traditionally to manage diverse medical ailments including infectious diseases, inflammatory conditions, rashes, diarrhoea, epilepsy and convulsions (timothy et al., 2016). also useful in headache, fever, gonorrhea and anti-vomiting, rheumatism, kidney and urinary disorders (chouhan and singh, 2011). distribution: this species is widespread in tropical america, tropical africa and southern africa, madagascar, arabia, india, southeast asia and australia. representative specimen examined: gazipur: kapasia, 15.02.2019, ma rahim 100045, 100046, 100047 (juh). the genus leucas r. br. was first described by robert brown in 1810 and later on, bentham in 1832-1836 and 1848 recognized six sections under this genus. however, recent phylogenetic studies (scheen and albert, 2009) suggest the segregation of this genus into two different groups: asian leucas s.s. and ‘african leucas’. leucas is one of the largest genera in the subfamily lamioideae under the family lamiaceae. it is composed of about 100 species worldwide, and distributed mainly on dry or disturbed ground in tropical to southern africa, arabian peninsula, iran to south china, taiwan, japan and se asia. northeast tropical africa is considered as the centre of origin of the genus, from here leucas species gradually migrated over arabia to indian subcontinent (ryding, 1998; singh, 2001). new records of three species and a variety of angiosperms 257 fig. 3. leucas martinicensis. a = a view of habit; b = flowering twig (× 1.2); c = bracts (× 3.2); d = calyx (× 2.5); e = upper lip (× 5.5); f = lower lip (× 5.6); g = petal (× 4.5); h = androecium (× 6.2); i = gynoecium (× 6.5); j = fruit; k = seed (×10.6). in bangladesh, eight leucas species, viz. l. aspera (willd.) link, l. biflora (vahl) sm., l. cephalotes (roth) spreng., l. ciliata benth., l. indica (l.) sm., l. mollissima wall. ex benth., l. vestita benth. and l. zeylanica (l.) w.t. aiton are reported so far (hooker, 1894; prain, 1903a; khanam and hassan, 2005; ahmed et al., 2009). l. martinicensis, reported here for the first time from bangladesh, is clearly distinct from these species by its constricted calyx mouth and reflexed fruiting calyx in contrast to non-constricted or dilated calyx mouth and non-reflexed fruit calyx. morphologically, l. martinicensis seems very similar to l. zeylanica and l. cephalotes. l. martinicensis differs from l. zeylanica by its retrorse pubescent stem, 5-pairs lateral veins in leaves and dark brown nutlets, in contrast to hispid-villous or villous-hirsute stem, 3–4 pairs lateral vein in leaves and chestnut brown nutlets in l. zeylanica. on the other hand, it differs from l. cephalotes by its retrorse pubescent stem, longer petioles (7–15 mm), and smaller corollas (ca. 8 mm) and nutlets (ca. 1.5 mm), in contrast to hispid stem, shorter petioles (ca. 5 mm), and larger corollas (ca. 15 mm) and nutlets (ca. 3mm) of l. cephalotes. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 13 april, 2020; revised on 17 november, 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 213-224, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists the anatomical structures of the genus iberis l. (brassicaceae) in turkey burcu yilmaz çitak* and hüseyin dural department of biology, faculty of science, university of selçuk, konya, turkey keywords: anatomy; candytufts; cruciferae; iberis, mustard family; upgma. abstract the present study was designed to analyse the anatomy of the vegetative and reproductive parts of turkish iberis species from a systematic point of view. samples of leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and seeds of each species were collected, fixed, and processed according to the paraffin method for light microscopy. the numerical analysis derived from 11 anatomical characteristics showed that the number and dimensions of vessels in the root, presence of aerenchyma in the leaf, number and dimensions of palisade parenchyma, and mesophyll type were useful for grouping the iberis taxa. the testa was composed of four layers: the epidermis, subepidermis, compact tissue, and parenchyma. the testa thickness was a significant character to distinguish the investigated iberis species. in this study, the traditional classification of turkish iberis species was mostly congruent with the dendrogram generated vegetative anatomical properties. introduction the family brassicaceae, also named as cruciferae in reference to its four crossed petals, is commonly called the mustard family. this family contains 52 tribes, 341 genera, and 3997 species (koch et al., 2012; kiefer et al., 2014; brassibase: https://brassibase.cos.uni-heidelberg.de/, accessed 5 february 2018) distributed worldwide, primarily in temperate regions (al-shehbaz, 1984; al-shehbaz et al., 2006). the family has economic importance (franzke et al., 2011; alshehbaz, 2012; huang et al., 2016), as it includes the well-known model plant species arabidopsis thaliana (linn.) heynhold, many crops (e.g., cabbage, cauliflower, turnip, rapeseed, canola, radish, and wasabi) and ornamentals (e.g., species of lobularia desv., iberis l., hesperis l., and matthiola w.t. aiton). although the family is easily recognised by its morphological aspects, it is often difficult to assign an individual plant to a given genus, and there is tremendous controversy regarding its generic and tribal delimitations (al-shehbaz et al., 2006; al-shehbaz, 2012). more specifically, obtaining plants with mature fruit is highly significant for separating genera in the family brassicaceae. the genus iberis is a small group in crucifers, with a total of 28 species in the world (al-shehbaz, 2012; çilden and zare, 2019). the total number of iberis species in turkey is nine (mutlu, 2012; oskay, 2017; çıtak, 2019). systematic studies based on the anatomy of vegetative and reproductive parts can be useful to discriminate the species of brassicaceae (selvi and paksoy, 2013; atçeken et al., 2016). although quite a few palynological (çıtak, 2019), embryological (prabhakar and vijayaraghavan, 1983), and floral (busch and zachgo, 2007) studies have been carried out on iberis, the investigation of its comparative vegetative and reproductive anatomy remains insufficient for the genus. in order to gain knowledge of the anatomical relationship of turkish iberis species, the first comprehensive study, which included representatives of eight species, was conducted herein to evaluate their practicality in the taxonomy of the genus. *corresponding author, e-mail: burcuyilmaz@selcuk.edu.tr https://brassibase.cos.uni-heidelberg.de/, mailto:burcuyilmaz@selcuk.edu.tr 214 çitak and dural materials and methods collection and storage of the plant materials the plant specimens used in this study were collected during 2015 and 2019 from various localities in turkey. the information about the voucher specimens is given in table 1. the anatomical samples of the examined species were stored in the plant anatomy laboratory of biology department of university of selçuk, konya, turkey. table 1. locations and collector information of the turkish iberis taxa. taxa location collector number iberis sempervirens l. (i1) c4 konya: beyşehir, dumanlı mountain, 1800 m., 07.06.2018 b. çıtak-340 (**) c3 antalya: akseki, atlarkırı mountain, 2100 m., 04.06.2019 b. çıtak-348 i. carnosa willd. (i2) b5 nevşehir: ortahisar, 1300 m., 17.05.2015 b. çıtak-167-a (**) adana: pozantı, horozköy, 1000 m., 22.05.2018 b. çıtak-332 i. odorata l.(i3) c6 kahramanmaraş: pazarcık, 800 m. 23.04.2018 b. çıtak-334 (**) i. simplex dc. (i4) b5 nevşehir, akdağ, 1300 m., 29.05.2016 b.çıtak-180 (**) adana: pozantı, 1000 m. b.çıtak-333 i. carica bornm. (i5) c2 muğla: marmaris, 500 m., 25.05.2019 b. çıtak-345 (**) i. halophila vural & h. duman* (i6) c4 aksaray: eskil, the salt lake, 920-950 m., 19.05.2018 b.çıtak-335-a (**) c4 konya: tersakan lake, 900 m., 10.06.2019 b. çıtak-351 i. saxatilis l. subsp. saxatilis (i7) b1 balıkesir: edremit, kaz dağı, 1600 m., 25.05.2018 b.çıtak-336 (**) i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana oskay* (i8) b1 manisa: soma, 1000 m., 26.05.2018 b.çıtak-337 (**) *endemic taxa, (**) the photographing species. anatomical surveys the paraffin method was used to prepare the permanent anatomical slides (johansen, 1940). for each taxon, five plant samples were used and the experiments were done at least three times. the vegetative parts of the species were cut into small pieces. next, they were treated through an increasing alcohol series to remove the water from the tissues. as the next step, a portion of paraffin was added to small glass flasks. the paraffin blocks were made and 12–16-µm-thick transverse sections were cut using a thermo scientific microtome with disposable blades. under a light microscope (leica dm 1000), the best sections were chosen and photographed at magnifications of 10x, 20x, and 40x. the measurements, which were made with the kameram 21 software programme, were based on at least 30 or more cells per specimen. the mean values of the measurements of all of the investigated taxa were given. the root, stem, leaf, mature fruit and seed were used for anatomical studies. numerical analysis for the numerical analysis, the qualitative and quantitative characters were scored. a total of 11 anatomical characters were used to evaluate the taxonomical similarities of the iberis species (table 2). a data matrix was set using the recorded qualitative and quantitative characters. based on the anatomical characters, the coefficients of correlation among the eight species were determined and these species were grouped using the clustering analysis method (unweighted pair the anatomical structures of the genus iberis 215 group method with arithmetic mean, upgma, dissimilarity, standardised variables). the clustering analysis was based on gower’s (1971) general coefficient similarity (sneath and sokal, 1973), which was used directly with a mixture of character types (binary, qualitative, and quantitative. untransformed, centred, and unstandardized data were used to create a covariance matrix. in addition, principal component analysis (pca) was used to ordinate the variables and identify the valuable all the selected anatomical characters used in taxonomy (table 2). mvsp 3.22 software was used for all of the computations. table 2. anatomical characteristics of turkish iberis species used for the numerical analysis. vegetative organ acronyms definition of anatomical characteristics root a1 root structure type a2 vessel diameter a3 number of vessels stem a4 diameter of pith cells a5 aerenchyma leaf a6 mesophyll thickness a7 length of palisade cells a8 width of palisade cells a9 row of palisade tissue a10 width of spongy parenchyma a11 leaf cross-section shape (triangular: 0, linear: 1) results and discussion the general anatomical descriptions of the root, stem, leaves, fruits, and seeds of the eight taxa were prepared (table 3). the selected anatomical images, which best represented the examined taxa, are shown in figs. 1–8. all scores related to the anatomical characters are given in table 3. table 3. anatomical data of turkish iberis species used for the numerical analysis. species/characters i1 i2 i3 i4 i5 i6 i7 i8 a1 (µm) 652 407.32 459.58 625.66 304.43 1063.06 242.6 279.44 a2 (µm) 112.6 64.6 73.81 86.83 74.5 55.7 26.33 37.16 a3 (µm) 62.83 21.26 30.59 26.83 24.53 30.33 18.5 18.2 a4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 a5 (µm) 42.66 30.84 44.28 41.73 23.96 29.26 21.66 38.24 a6 (µm) 361.9 821 996 34.03 53.96 623.3 335.6 33.1 a7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 a8 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 a9 (µm) 77.3 50.12 36.72 45.8 33.13 48 31.86 32.24 a10 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 a11 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 216 çitak and dural root anatomy the cross-sections of the root had different layers as protective tissue. i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana, i. sempervirens, i. halophila, and i. carnosa had a peridermis, whereas i. carnosa, i. odorata, and i. carica had an epidermis (figs 1-2). the cortex parenchyma was on a small area of the roots in the studied species. only i. halophila had large cavities (aerenchymatic area) in the cortex cells. the phloem and xylem were well-developed. the pith region was fully filled with xylem elements. the vessels were quite reduced in i. halophila. fig. 1. root anatomy of annual or biennial turkish iberis species: a. i. carica, b. i. odorata, c. i. carnosa, d. i. simplex. ep: epidermis, co: cortex parenchyma, ph: phloem, xy: xylem. stem anatomy the transverse sections of the stem had an epidermis, cortex, and vascular bundles and a pith region towards the centre in all of the examined taxa. the epidermis was single-layered with oval– rectangular-shaped cells. the cortex parenchyma had chlorophyll pigments with oval-shaped cells. the ridges in the stem had collenchymatic cells. phloem and xylem elements were found continuously in the stem. there were some sclerenchymatic cells over the phloem in the examined species, except in i. carnosa. the pith region was covered with oval-shaped parenchymatic cells (figs 3-4). the anatomical structures of the genus iberis 217 leaf anatomy the general view of the leaf cross-section showed the presence of an epidermis, mesophyll, and vascular bundles. the epidermis was limited to the leaves from the abaxial and adaxial sides. the cylindrical-shaped palisade parenchyma cells contained abundant chlorophyll pigments and they were arranged in 2 or 3 layers on both sides of the leaves. only i. halophila had a greater number of palisade parenchyma cells in its leaves. vascular bundles were found in a single line and the midvein vascular bundle was larger than the others. the aerenchymal area was developed in i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis (figs 5-6). fig. 2. root anatomy of perennial turkish iberis species: a-b. i. sempervirens, c. i. halophila, d. i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, e-f. i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana. ep: epidermis, co: cortex parenchyma, ph: phloem, xy: xylem, ae: aerenchyma, pl: phellem, s: starch. fruit anatomy the findings of the anatomical studies of the fruit are shown in table 3 and fig. 7. the fruit wall was composed of 4 anatomical layers: the outer epidermis, parenchyma, sclerenchyma and endocarp. the wing contained abundant parenchyma cells. the mesocarp thickness varied in the studied species (table 3). 218 çitak and dural fig. 3. stem anatomy of annual and biennial turkish iberis species: a. i. carica, b. i. carnosa c. i. odorata, d. i. simplex. ep: epidermis, co: cortex parenchyma, ph: phloem, xy: xylem, c: collenchyma, p: parenchyma fig. 4. stem anatomy of perennial turkish iberis species: a. i. sempervirens, b. i. halophila, c. i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, d. i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana. ep: epidermis, co: cortex parenchyma, ph: phloem, xy: xylem, c: collenchyma, p: parenchyma, t: trichome, sc: sclerenchyma, la: lacunae. the anatomical structures of the genus iberis 219 fig. 5. the leaf anatomy of annual and biennial turkish iberis species: a. i. carica, b. i. carnosa, c. i. odorata, d. i. simplex. ue: epper epidermis, pp: palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, le: lower epidermis, vb: vascular bundle. fig. 6. the leaf anatomy of perennial turkish iberis species: a. i. sempervirens, b. i. halophila, c. i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, d. i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana. ue: epper epidermis, pp: palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, le: lower epidermis, vb: vascular bundle, la: lacunae, p: parenchyma. 220 çitak and dural fig. 7. the fruit wall anatomy of turkish iberis species: a. i. sempervirens, b. i. halophila, c. i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, d. i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana. e: the outer epidermis, p: parenchyma; en: endocarp, sc: sclerenchyma. fig. 8. the seed wall anatomy of turkish iberis species: a. i. sempervirens, b. i. halophila, c. i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, d. i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana. e: the outer epidermis, se:subepidermis, p: parenchyma; ct: compressed tissue, co: cotyledon. the anatomical structures of the genus iberis 221 fig. 9. dendrogram based on anatomical traits showing the similarity and distance between iberis species. asterisks indicate endemic taxa. fig. 10. principal component analysis of examined iberis species. seed anatomy the findings of the anatomical investigations of the seeds are shown in table 3 and fig. 8. the seeds of the investigated taxa were composed of epidermis, subepidermis, compact tissue, parenchyma, and endosperm layers. the epidermis and subepidermis cells were oval or rectangular shaped in the examined species. the thickness of the testa was the thickest in i. carnosa and the thinnest in i. sempervirens (table 3). numerical analysis of the anatomical character states the dendrogram derived from the cluster analysis using the upgma based on the 11 anatomical variables of the eight iberis species is presented in fig. 9. this dendrogram reflected the similarities among the examined species. the dendrogram revealed two main groups: group a (with 60% similarity) comprised four perennials of turkish iberis: i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana, i. sempervirens, and i. halophila. group b (with 68% similarity) 222 çitak and dural comprised the remaining four taxa of the annuals and biennials of turkish iberis. group a consisted of two main clusters, which were described further as clusters a1 and a2. cluster a1 included subspecies of i. saxatilis, i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, and i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana (with 88% similarity). cluster a2 included two species: i. halophila and i. sempervirens (with 62% similarity). group b consisted of 2 main clusters: clusters b1 and b2. cluster b1 included 2 subclusters: c1 and c2. c1 contained i. odorata (with 81% similarity). c2 included i. carnosa and i. carica (with 86% similarity). cluster b2 included only i. simplex. the anatomical characteristics of the examination and designation of the family brassicaceae has been based on the study by metcalfe and chalk (1950). in the current study, the diagnostic anatomical traits were determined as mesophyll, via the vessel diameter in the root and the presence of aerenchyma tissue. the species of iberis were herbaceous annual and biennial, and perennial. the genus iberis was not sufficiently identified by hedge (1965). çıtak (2019) wanted to trait the genus by its palynological data. our results supported the discrimination of turkish iberis based on palynomorphological characteristics previously indicated by çıtak (2019). a generally accepted theory by fahn (1990) was that the anatomy of the root was unchangeable, and the taxonomic value of the roots was very limited in many plant genera. the root anatomy of turkish iberis studied here was congruent with the life form of the species. the annual and biennial iberis species had a primary root structure and the perennial ones had a secondary root structure. as can be seen from table 3, the vessel diameter was the largest in i. carnosa, while the smallest was in i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis. the number of vessels was the most crowded in i. halophila because of the characteristics of this halophytic species, not mentioned previously in çilden and zare (2019). çilden and zare (2019) indicated that i. carica had a perennial habit and isolateral leaf anatomy. however in this study, we confirmed that i. carica has a distinct annual herb with primary root anatomy. additionally, i. carica has equifacial mesophyll type different from çilden and zare (2019)’s study. the stem shape was rounded, semi-rounded, rectangle, circular, or irregular in the family brassicaceae (atçeken et al., 2016; qader, 2018). the stem shape in the investigated iberis taxa was circular, in addition to ridges with collenchymatic tissue. cortex parenchymatic cells covered the small area in the cross-sections of stem. however, they contained starch molecules as stored materials. this arrangement has been declared by some researchers previously (selvi and paksoy, 2013; atçeken et al., 2016). sclerenchymatic tissue was found in the studied iberis taxa, except in i. carnosa; however, their dimensions and amount were different among the species (figs 4-5). aerenchyma has generally been reported in the stems of marsh plants (salisbury and ross, 1985; drew et al., 2000) or halophytic plants (akcin et al., 2015). accordingly, in the present study, aerenchymatic tissue was observed only in i. halophila, which grows in salty habitats. yentür (2003) had declared that the arrangement of vascular bundles within the stem can be useful information for comparative anatomical studies. our investigation of the stem cross-sections showed that in most of the taxa characterised by vascular bundles arranged in a ring, only i. halophila also had small cortical bundles among the main large vascular bundles (figs 4e–4h, table 3). in the family brassicaceae, the leaf anatomy has been used to characterise tribes and some genera (selvi and paksoy 2013). interestingly, i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, and i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana had aerenchymatic tissue in the leaf. possibly, the moist habitat of these 2 subspecies could result in the aerenchymatic areas in leaf. in the present study, a unifacial mesophyll was only observed in i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis, which grow in moist areas, while equifacial leaves were observed in the other investigated taxa, which mainly grow in the dry habitats of the iranoturanian phytogeographic region of turkey. according to yentür (2003), equifacial leaves were generally characteristic of xerophytic plants, which was in accordance with the observations made the anatomical structures of the genus iberis 223 herein. accordingly, the number and volume of palisade parenchyma were larger in i. halophila, which grows in the salty habitats of salt lake. the fruit and seed anatomical properties contained essential information about the taxonomy of the family brassicaceae (mummenhoff et al., 2008; mühlhausen et al., 2010; lenser et al., 2016). karaismailoğlu (2019) declared that the testa thickness could be showed a great variation for aethionema genus. in present study, the fruit and seed wall thicknesses of iberis genus has been found as a great potential to separate its species. the upgma dendrogram generated from the anatomical traits of the vegetative parts discriminated the species of iberis according to their life forms. the positions of the iberis species and their similarities reflected in the clusters were found to be agreeable with the previous large scale classification of the genus. iberis saxatilis subsp. saxatilis and i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana, which are local and/or very distinct endemic species, were in the same clade. the two subspecies could be easily separated from each other by the presence-absence of stem indumentum. in i. saxatilis subsp. magnesiana, the stem was retrorsely setulose, while the stem of i. saxatilis subsp. saxatilis was glabrous. iberis sempervirens is a semi-shrub plant that has no close relative and i. halopila, which is a dwarf, perennial species, lives in salty habitats found in the same subclade, because of their similar anatomical characteristics. the other 4 annual or biennial turkish iberis species were positioned in the same clade. this position of the species was congruent with the hedge (1965) classification system in flora of turkey. pca ordination and similarity matrix in accordance with anatomical traits of vegetative parts are shown in fig. 10, in which i. carica and i. halophila are placed as the closest taxa, whereas i. odorata and i. carnosa as the most distant taxa. additionally, the cumulative variance value of principal components achieved 81.8%. in conclusion, vessels in the roots and stems, mesophyll type, aerenchymatic tissue, mesocarp and testa thickness are the most valuable variables for distinguishing iberis species. in further investigations we propose that the systematic problems of iberis taxa should maybe solved by providing morphological and more molecular studies. references akçin, t.a., akçin, a. and yalçın, e. 2015. anatomical adaptations to salinity in spergularia marina (caryophyllaceae) from turkey. proc. natl. acad. sci. india b. 85:625-634. al-shehbaz, i.a. 1984.the tribes of cruciferae (brassicaceae) ın the southeastern united states. j. arnold arbor. 65:343-373. al-shehbaz, i.a.,beilstein m.a. and kellogg, e.a. 2006. systematics and phylogeny of the brassicaceae (cruciferae): an overview. plant syst evol. 259:89–120. al-shehbaz, i.a. 2012. a generic and tribal synopsis of the brassicaceae (cruciferae). taxon 61:931-954. atçeken, m.m., dural, h. and 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(manuscript received on 12 june, 2020; revised on 5 november, 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 75‒81, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54209 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular characterization of canna indica l. based on random amplified polymorphic dna markers sabiha sultana akhi, bivas kumar sarkar, nahid sultana, zakya sultana jui1, r.h. sarker2 and m. oliur rahman2* department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka 1100, bangladesh keywords: canna indica l.; molecular identification; variant; rapd; genetic diversity; upgma. abstract random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) markers were employed for characterization, assessment of genetic variation and inferring relationships among six variants of canna indica l. a total of 198 rapd bands ranging from 200 bp to 3 kbp were generated by all the six variants. among them, most of the bands were found to be polymorphic, four band were unique of which two bands (opa022000 and opa043000) were observed in the variant 2 (small red) and the other two (opa013000 and opa053000) were noticed in the variant 4 (orange), and the remaining bands were found to be monomorphic. the pair-wise genetic distance was determined among the six variants that ranged from 0.1446 to 0.6554. a dendogram was constructed based on the rapd profiling to infer the relationship among the six variants of c. indica that resulted in two major clusters: the first one contained two variants, viz. variant 1 (local red) and variant 2 (small red), while the second cluster composed of the remaining four variants. the results as revealed from the rapd analysis were found congruent with those of morphological and anatomical investigation of the species. introduction the family cannaceae, comprising the single genus canna l. is widely distributed throughout the tropical regions. cannas are worthy garden perennials because of their ornamental value, and the flowering perennial carries an exotic beauty to garden sites with its showy flowers and sometimes with very colourful leaves. in global context, cannas are one of the popular garden plants, and a large horticultural industry depends on this plant. the commonly cultivated garden cannas are mostly of hybrid origin, with canna indica as the principal parent (cronquist, 1981). the genus canna is composed of only 8-10 wild species, and over 1,000 hybrids which are used as garden ornamentals in europe, north america and many tropical countries (patra et al., 2008). canna is considered to be native in mexico, central america, the caribbean and tropical south america, west indies and central america (heywood, 1993). in bangladesh, canna is represented by a single species, canna indica, and is found in almost all over the country as well as planted in many gardens. the genus canna testifies economical, horticultural and medicinal values. the rhizome of cannas is rich in starch with multifarious uses in agriculture. rootstock of canna indica is diaphoretic, diuretic and demulcent, and decoction of root is used in fevers, dropsy and dyspepsia. seed extract is administered for relieving earache (ghani, 2003). young shoots are eaten as green vegetables. the leaves are suitable for wrapping and as plates; both the leaves and the rhizomes 1department of botany, bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman science & technology university, gopalganj 8100, bangladesh. 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. *corresponding author. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54209 mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 76 akhi et al. are used as fodder. fumigated stems and leaves are used as insecticide (ong and siemonsma, 1996). a pure dye is obtained from seeds. fibre is obtained from the stem which is used as a jute substitute. rapds (random amplified polymorphic dnas) are widely used molecular markers where dna fragments are amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (pcr) using short oligonucleotide primers (williams et al., 1990). rapd markers are found to be useful in molecular characterization (islam et al., 2020), dna fingerprinting (hossain et al, 2002), assessment of genetic diversity (karande et al., 2017), cultivar identification (venkatachalam et al., 2008), taxonomic problems (vilatersana et al., 2005), systematic relationships (rahman, 2010), phylogeny reconstruction (poczail et al., 2008), population genetic structure (sales et al., 2001), species hybridization (caraway et al., 2001) and linkage mapping (atienza et al., 2002). in spite of economical, horticultural and medicinal value, a very few systematic studies were carried out to detect variation in canna indica. very recently, sultana et al. (2019) detected six variants of canna indica based on morphological and anatomical investigation. however, molecular studies to assess genetic variation in canna indica are lacking in bangladesh. because of universality and reproducibility the rapd markers were employed to detect genetic diversity of canna indica. the present study aimed at assessing genetic variation and relationships among the six variants of canna indica occurring in bangladesh for the first time. materials and methods plant material: plant specimens of canna indica were collected from different parts of bangladesh and were maintained under the controlled climatic condition, and planted in the botanical garden of jagannath university. these were supplemented by the herbarium specimens examined at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and dhaka university salarkhan herbarium (dush). isolation of genomic dna: dna was isolated from the leaf tissue ranging from 1.0 to 1.5 g using ctab method (doyle and doyle 1987). the isolated dna was dissolved in te buffer and stored at –20°c until further use. rapd amplification: a total of 10 decamer oligonucleotide primers were examined, and based on reproducibility the following five primers were finally chosen for rapd analysis: opa01 (5′-caggcccttc3′), opa02 (5´-tgccgagctg-3´), opa04 (5´-aatcgggctg-3´), opa05 (5´-agggg tcttg-3´) and opa10 (5´-gtgatcgcag-3´). each pcr included 2.0 µl of 25ng genomic dna, 1.0 µl primer, 2.5 µl 10x taq buffer, 0.5 µl of dntp mixture, 0.2 µl taq polymerase enzyme, and 18.8 µl sterile, deionised distilled water up to final volume of 25 μl. pcr reaction was performed in an oil-free thermal cycler (biometra, uno ii) as per following temperature profile: initial denaturation at 94°c for 5 min, denaturation at 94°c for 45s, annealing at 32°c (for 60% gc rich content primer) and 34°c (for 70% gc rich content primer) for 30s, extension at 72°c for 3 min followed by 55 cycles. a final 7 min extension at 72ºc ensured full extension of all amplified fragments. gel electrophoresis: amplified pcr products were separated on 1% agarose gel and stained with ethidium bromide solution. the size of the amplicons was determined using standard 1kb ladder. dna bands were visualized under uv-transilluminator and photographed. molecular characterization of canna indica 77 data analysis: rapd bands were recorded in a binary data matrix scored as presence (1) or absence (0) for each sample. similarity matrix coefficient was used for measuring genetic relationship among the variants analyzed. upgma (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average) tree was generated by clustering the distance matrix. data were analyzed using popgene32 (nei, 1972). results and discussion rapd fingerprints: the present study revealed a total of 198 rapd fingerprints generated by five oligonucleotide primers ranging from 200 bp to 3 kbp in six variants of canna indica. the studied five primers generated reproducible bands in all the variants investigated. the number of bands generated by the primers varied within the investigated variants and showed polymorphisms among them. the primer opa01 (5′-caggcccttc-3′) generated a total of 50 rapd bands in the six variants of canna indica. all the variants presented 4 monomorphic bands each at the same locus (opa012500, opa011550, opa01900 and opa01750). the highest number of bands (11) was generated by the variant 6 (yellow with red spots) of which 4 bands (36.36%) were found to be monomorphic and 7 bands (63.64%) were polymorphic. the variant 1 (local red) produced the lowest number of bands (6) showing 85.71% similarities with the variant 2 (small red), and among the 6 bands produced, 4 were monomorphic, while the other 2 were polymorphic. the variant 2 produced 7 bands of which 4 were monomorphic and 3 were polymorphic. the variant 3 (pink) and variant 4 (orange) produced 9 bands each, among them 4 bands were monomorphic and 5 were polymorphic. the variant 5 (yellow) produced 8 rapd bands at the same locus position of the variant 6 and showed 72.72% similarities with it. out of 9 bands generated by the variant 4 one unique band was detected by the primer opa013000 in this variant (fig. 1a). the primer opa02 (5´-tgccgagct g-3´) generated the highest number of bands (62) in all the six variants. among all the variants, the highest number of bands (12) was observed in the variant 6, of which 7 bands (63.64%) were monomorphic and 4 (36.36%) were polymorphic. the lowest number of bands (9) was found in the variant 1, and among them 7 bands (77.78%) were monomorphic and 2 (22.22%) were polymorphic. the variants 2, 3 and 4 generated 10 bands each, among them the variants 3 and 4 showed the same banding pattern (100% similarities), whereas, the variant 2 displayed 80% similarities with the variant 4. in the variant 5, a total of 11 bands were found of which 7 bands were monomorphic and 4 polymorphic. the variant 5 showed 91.67% affinity with the variant 6. one unique band was found in the variant 2 at the opa022000 position (fig. 1b). the opa04 (5´-aatcgggctg-3´) primer displayed a total of 38 bands among the six variants. the highest number of bands (11) was observed in the variant 2 of which 10 bands (90.91%) were polymorphic and 1 was monomorphic. the lowest number of bands (3) was found in the variant 6 and among them 2 bands (66.67%) were polymorphic and 1 was monomorphic. the variant 1 presented 9 bands of which 8 bands (88.89%) were polymorphic and 1 was monomorphic. the variant 3 displayed 7 bands and among them 6 bands (85.71%) were polymorphic and 1 was found to be common. the variant 4 and the variant 5 both exhibited 4 bands, of which 1 was monomorphic. no unique polymorphic band was generated by the primer opa04 (fig. 1c). the primer opa05 (5´-aggggtcttg-3´) produced a total of 16 bands in six variants. the highest number of bands (7) was found in the variant 4, among them 1 (opa053000) was unique band and 6 were polymorphic (85.71%). no bands were found in the variant 6. the variants 3 and 78 akhi et al. 5 produced only 1 polymorphic band at the same position (opa052500). the variant 1 showed 5 bands, and all of them were found to be polymorphic and showed 71.43% similarities with the variant 4. two polymorphic bands were observed in the variant 2. fig. 1. rapd fingerprints in six variants of canna indica l.: a. opa01; b. opa02: c. opa04; d. opa10. m: molecular marker (1kb); 1. local red; 2. small red; 3. pink; 4. orange; 5. yellow; 6. yellow with red spots. the primer opa10 (5´-gtgatcgcag-3´) generated 32 bands in all the six variants. the highest number of bands (6) was found in the variants 1, 2 and 3, among which 4 bands were found to be common (66.67%) and 2 were polymorphic. the similar banding pattern was identified in the variant 2 and variant 3. the variants 4 and 5 produced 5 bands each, and among them 4 were common and 1 was polymorphic (opa10600). the variant 6 presented 4 bands and all of them were found to be monomorphic. no unique band was observed in any of the variants (fig. 1d). rapd polymorphism, genetic diversity and molecular relationships the present study demonstrated a total of 198 bands generated by 5 primers in all the six variants of canna indica with an average of 39.6 rapd loci per primer. the highest polymorphism (55.56%) was detected in the variant 2, while the lowest (44.83%) was found in the molecular characterization of canna indica 79 variant 5. the other variants showed relatively high level of polymorphism (table 1). the average polymorphism was found to be 51.19%. table 1. rapd fingerprints and polymorphism in six variants of canna indica. name of the variants total no. of bands no. of polymorphic bands % of polymorphism average % of polymorphism 1. canna indica (local red) 35 19 54.29 2. c. indica (small red) 36 20 55.56 3. c. indica. (pink) 33 17 51.53 4. c. indica (orange) 35 19 54.29 51.19 5. c. indica (yellow) 29 13 44.83 6. c. indica l (yellow with red spots) 30 14 46.67 the highly reproducible bands ranging from 200 to 3000 bp were scored for assessment of genetic variation among the six variants of canna indica. among the five oligonucleotide primers employed in the present study, 50 bands were generated by the primer opa01, 62 by opa02, 38 by opa04, 16 by opa05 and 32 bands by opa10 primer. the highest genetic distance (0.6554) was found between the variants 1 and 6, and between the variants 2 and 4 followed by the genetic distance as observed between the variants 2 and 6 (0.6190) the same genetic distance (0.4249) was found between the variants 1 and 4, and 4 and 5. among all the variants, the lowest genetic distance (0.1446) was observed between the variants 5 and 6 indicating a close affinity between these two variants (table 2). table 2. genetic distance among six variants of canna indica. name of the variants var.1 local red var. 2 small red var. 3 pink var. 4 orange var. 5 yellow var.6 -yellow with red spot var. 1local red 0 var. 2 small red 0.2377 0 var. 3 pink 0.4855 0.3403 0 var. 4 orange 0.4249 0.6554 0.4855 0 var. 5 yellow 0.5500 0.5839 0.3677 0.4249 0 var. 6 yellow with red spot 0.6554 0.6190 0.3403 0.3959 0.1446 0 upgma tree constructed from rapd fingerprints showed the inter-relationships among the six variants of canna indica (fig. 2). the upgma analysis in c. indica resulted in two major clusters: cluster 1 contained two variants, viz. variant 1 (local red) and variant 2 (small red), while the cluster 2 composed of the remaining four variants, viz. variant 3 (pink), variant 5 (yellow), variant 6 (yellow with red spot) and variant 4 (orange). in the present investigation, rapd markers were employed to characterize the six variants of canna indica alongside with assessments of genetic variation and to infer molecular relationships among the variants. out of 10 rapd primers investigated, 5 showed significant amplifications in pcr analysis and altogether produced 198 bands, and the size of the bands ranged from 200 bp to 3.0 kbp. considerable genetic variability existed in the variants of canna indica. the present 80 akhi et al. study revealed that the variants 5 and 6 joined together indicating a close relationships between them, and genetic distance between these two variants was found to be 0.1446 (fig. 2, table 2). the study also exposed a close affinity between the variants 1 and 2 where the genetic distance was reported to be 0.2377 (table 2). the variant 4 was found to be distantly related with other variants. out of 198 bands generated by five primers in six variants of canna indica, 102 bands were found to be polymorphic and 96 as monomorphic. fig. 2. upgma dendogram showing genetic relationships among the six variants of canna indica as revealed by rapd markers. the study exhibited four unique bands, viz. opa022000 and opa043000 as found in the variant 2 and opa013000 and opa053000 as noticed in the variant 4. the present investigation demonstrated that the average polymorphism within all the variants was found to be 51.195%. results obtained from the present study were found to be consistent with those of morphological and anatomical investigation among these six variants of canna indica (sultana et al., 2019). in order to have better understanding on genetic variation and molecular relationships large number of taxa should be employed with additional molecular markers, such as aflp, issr and microsatellites which will through more light on the phylogeny of canna indica. references atienza, s.g., satovic, z., petersen, k.k. dolstra, o. and martín, a. 2002. preliminary genetic linkage map of miscanthus sinensis with rapd markers. theor. appl. genet. 105: 946–952. caraway v., carr, g.d. and morden, c.w. 2001. assessment of hybridization and introgression in lavacolonizing hawaiian dubautia (asteraceae: madiinae) using rapd markers. am. j. bot. 88: 1688– 1694. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. colombia university press, new york, 1262 pp. doyle, j.j. and doyle, j.l. 1987. a rapid dna isolation procedure for small quantities of fresh leaf tissue. phytochem. bull. 19: 11–15. ghani, a. 2003. medicinal plants of bangladesh with chemical constituents and uses (second edition). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh, 603 pp. heywood, v.h. 1993. flowering plants of the world. oxford university press, new york, pp. 296–299. hossain, m.b., haque, s. and khan, h. 2002. dna fingerprinting of jute germplasm by rapd. j. biochem. & mol. biol. 35(4): 414–419. islam, m., habib, a., khan, s, akter, s., goswami, b., khan, b. and banu, t.a. 2020. molecular characterization of oil seed brassica using rapd markers. bangladesh j. sci. ind. res. 55(1): 1–8. molecular characterization of canna indica 81 karande, p.t., nandeshwar, b.c., kokane, a.d., chavhan, r.l. and dethe, a.m. 2017. assessment of genetic diversity using rapd marker among different varieties of rice (oryza sativa). international j. trop. agr. 35(3): 509–516. nei, m. 1972. genetic distance between populations. am. natur. 106: 283–292. ong, h.c. and siemonsma, j.s. 1996. canna indica l. in: flach, m. and rumawas, f. (eds), plant resources of south-east asia, no. 9. plants yielding non-seed carbohydrates. backhuys publishers, leiden, the netherlands, pp. 63–66. patra, b., acharya, l., mukherjee, a.k., panda, m.k. and panda, p.c. 2008. molecular characterization of ten cultivars of canna lilies (canna linn.) using pcr based molecular markers (rapds and issrs). int. j. integr. biol. 2(2): 129–137. poczail, p., taller, j. and szabo, i. 2008. analysis of phylogenetic relationships in the genus solanum (solanaceae) as revealed by rapd markers. plant syst. evol. 275: 59–67. rahman, m.o. 2010. use of random pcr (rapd) technology to analyze systematic relationships in terrestrial bladderworts (utricularia l.). bangladesh j. bot. 39(1): 97–102. sales, e., nebauer, s.g., mus, m. and segura, j. 2001. population genetic study in the balearic endemic plant species digitalis minor (scrophulariaceae) using rapd markers. am. j. bot. 88: 1750–159. sultana, n., akhi, s.s., hassan, m.a. and rahman, m.o. 2019. morphological and anatomical investigation among six variants of canna indica l. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 219–230. venkatachalam, l.r., sreedhar, v. and bhagyalakshmi, n. 2008. the use of genetic markers for detecting dna polymorphism, genotype identification and phylogenetic relationships among banana cultivars. mol. phylogenet. evol. 47(3): 974–985. vilatersana, r., garnatje, t., susanna, a. and garcia-jacas, n. 2005. taxonomic problems in carthamus (asteraceae): rapd markers and sectional classification. bot. j. linn. soc. 147: 375–383. williams, j.g.k., kubelik, a.r., livak, k.j., rafalski, j.a. and tingey s.v. 1990. dna polymorphisms amplified by arbitrary primers are useful as genetic markers. nucleic acids res. 18: 6531–6535. (manuscript received on 18 july, 2020; revised on 23 may, 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 107–116, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists comparative chloroplast genomic analyses revealed extensive genomic arrangement in some core and non-core caryophyllales m. ajmal ali1 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia keywords: caryophyllales; cp genome; phylogenomics; mvista; mauve. abstract the order caryophyllales exhibit diverse diversity in morphology to molecules, which leads to taxonomic complexities in circumscribing especially to its families. the comparative analysis of the available chloroplast genome to detect pattern of genomic arrangement and variation is lacking; hence, the alignment pattern and genomic rearrangement across the caryophyllales were detected, and the phylogenetic relationship among the families of the caryophyllales based on maximum cp genes were inferred. the comparison of the caryophyllales cp genomes based on representatives of 10 families with taxillus chinensis as reference genome revealed that coding region were more conserved than the non-coding region; however, clpp, rpl16 and ycf15 were the most divergent coding region among all taxa. further, the genomic rearrangement occurred in gene organization of the taxa among different families of caryophyllales, the extensive rearrangement were observed in amaranthaceae, caryophyllaceae, chenopodiaceae, droseraceae and cactaceae. introduction the order caryophyllales (-the core eudicots) is a diverse clade of angiosperms that includes c. 12,500 species under c.749 genera and c. 40 families [viz. achatocarpaceae, agdestidaceae, aizoaceae, amaranthaceae, anacampserotaceae, ancistrocladaceae, asteropeiaceae, barbeuiaceae, basellaceae, cactaceae, caryophyllaceae, chenopodiaceae, corbichoniaceae, didiereaceae, dioncophyllaceae, droseraceae, drosophyllaceae, frankeniaceae, gisekiaceae, halophytaceae, limeaceae, lophiocarpaceae, macarthuriaceae, microteaceae, molluginaceae, montiaceae, nepenthaceae, nyctaginaceae, petiveriaceae, physenaceae, phytolaccaceae, plumbaginaceae, polygonaceae, portulacaceae, rhabdodendraceae, sarcobataceae, simmondsiaceae, stegnospermataceae, talinaceae, tamaricaceae] (apg, 2016; walker et al., 2018; yao et al., 2019). the members of the order caryophyllales exhibit diverse diversity in morphology to molecules (hernández-ledesma et al., 2015; smith et al., 2018) which leads to taxonomic complexities in circumscribing especially at the family level, and even at the generic and specific level too; hence, investigating the relationship at different taxonomic level was always remained great interest in the era of pre-phylogenetic (behnke, 1976) to phylogeny-based classification (giannasi, 1992; apg 1998, 2003, 2009, 2016; cuénoud et al., 2002, brockington et al., 2009; schäferhoff et al., 2009; arakaki et al., 2011; crawley and hilu, 2012a,b; ruhfel et al., 2014; yang et al., 2015, 2018). as a result the identification and description of new taxa at all the taxonomic levels are done and the circumscription of the order caryophyllales are radically changed now (hernández-ledesma et al., 2015; liu et al., 2015; walker et al., 2018; yao et al., 2019). despite it, many of the relationships among families of caryophyllales still remain 1e-mail: majmalali@rediffmail.com, ajmalpdrc@gmail.com, alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa mailto:majmalali@rediffmail.com, mailto:ajmalpdrc@gmail.com, mailto:alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa 108 ali uncertain, and a comparative analysis of the available chloroplast genome (cp) to detect pattern of genomic arrangement and variation is lacking. hence the present study has been undertaken to infer the alignment and genomic rearrangement across the selected families of the order caryophyllales, and phylogenetic relationship among these families based on cp genes. materials and methods data source the chloroplast genome sequences of c. 37 taxa under 10 out of 40 families of the order caryophyllales are available in the ncbi genbank. out of these, a total of 19 representative taxa under 10 families (viz. aizoaceae, amaranthaceae, cactaceae, caryophyllaceae, chenopodiaceae, droseraceae, montiaceae, polygonaceae, portulacaceae and talinaceae) of the order caryophyllales, and three outgroup taxa [taxillus chinensis (loranthaceae), t. sutchuenensis (loranthaceae) and, erythropalum scandens (erythropalaceae)] from the order santalales were retrieved for the comparative analysis (table 1). comparative analysis of cp genome the retrieved cp genome of the representatives families of caryophyllales were compared with one of the out group taxon t. chinensis (genbanknc_036306.1) from the order santalales as reference genome using the mvista program in shuffle-lagan mode (brudno et al., 2003; frazer et al., 2004), and the genomic rearrangements were detected using mauve (darling et al., 2004; fig. 2). molecular phylogenetic analyses the coding regions of 39 plastid-coding genes (table 2) were extracted from the retrieved assembled cp genome, and aligned using clustal x (thompson et al., 1997). the maximum parsimony (mp) analysis (eck and dayhoff, 1996; nei and kumar, 2000), using bootstrap method (felsenstein, 1985), and the maximum likelihood (ml) analysis using maximum composite likelihood method (tamura et al., 2004) were used to conduct the molecular phylogenetic analyses using the software mega x (kumar et al., 2018). taxillus chinensis (loranthaceae), t. sutchuenensis (loranthaceae), erythropalum scandens (erythropalaceae) from the order santalales were used as outgroup in the phylogenetic analyses. results and discussion comparison of caryophyllales chloroplast genomes the genomic features (viz. total cp genome size base pair (bp), gene size (bp), spacer size (bp), total number of genes, number of trna genes, number of protein encoding genes, number of rrna genes and total gc content (%) of the selected sequences included in the present analysis were compared (table 1). the total cp genome size ranged from 113064 bp in carnegiea gigantea (cactaceae) to 161541 bp in rheum palmatum (polygonaceae). the coding gene size was varied from 68877 bp in carnegiea gigantea (cactaceae) to114159 bp in r. palmatum (polygonaceae). the spacer size was found to be 41173 bp in dionaea muscipula (droseraceae) to 76337 bp in amaranthus hypochondriacus (amaranthaceae). further, except the number of rrna genes which were found in all the analyzed four taxa; the total number of genes, number of trna genes, number of protein encoding genes, and total gc content (%) ranges were 98-113, 20-30, 67-80, and 36-37%, respectively. despite the constancy of genetic content, structures and organization of chloroplast genomes of flowering plants, enormous variation have also been noted especially in the total cp genome coding size, spacer size, total number of genes, number of trna genes and comparative chloroplast genomic analyses revealed 109 110 ali comparative chloroplast genomic analyses revealed 111 number of protein encoding genes (simpson and stern, 2002; raubeson and jansen, 2005; daniell et al., 2016) which could be due to genomic duplications or fractionation (wendel et al., 2016). the comparative genomic analysis revealed that coding region was more conserved than the non-coding region; however, clpp, rpl16 and ycf15 were the most divergent coding region among all taxa (fig. 1). further, the genomic rearrangement occurred in gene organization of taxa among different families of caryophyllales, the extensive rearrangement were observed in the representatives of the families amaranthaceae, caryophyllaceae, chenopodiaceae, droseraceae and cactaceae (fig. 2). the majority of the loss of introns within protein-coding genes have also previously been observed in specific plant groups or species such as in hordeum vulgare (saski et al., 2007), manihot esculenta (daniell et al., 2008), cicer arietinum (jansen et al., 2008) and bambusa sp. (wu et al., 2009). moreover, intron loss (such as that in clpp) occurs in diverse angiosperms including poaceae, onagraceae and oleaceae (jansen et al., 2007). the extensive rearrangement could be due to loos of introns, ir expansion and contraction (daniell et al., 2016). table 2. list of the genes included in the molecular phylogenetic analyses. gene product genes photosystem i psaa, psab, psac, psaj, ycf4 photosystem ii psba, psbc, psbe, psbh, psbi, psbj, psbk, psbn, psbt cytochrome b6/f peta, petg, petn atp synthase atpf*, atph, atpi, atpa, atpb, atpe rubisco rbcl large subunit ribosomal proteins rpl14, , rpl2*, rpl20, small subunit ribosomal proteins rps14, rps18, rps2, rps3, rps4, rps7, rps8 rna polymerase subunit rpob, rpoc2, rpoc1* other proteins envelope membrane protein cema c-type cytochrome synthesis gene ccsa phylogenetic analysis the molecular phylogenetic analysis of aligned combined sequences data matrix had 32374 positions, resulted into most parsimonious tree with the length 20970 (ci: 0.592, ri: 0.700), and the ml tree (with the highest log likelihood -182780.57) whose topology was congruent to mpt (fig 3). the molecular phylogenetic relationships among the major clades /families of the order caryophyllales were well resolved and seem to be strongly supported in the present ml analyses, and were found congruent with the previous recent phylogenomic (yao et al., 2019) and phylotranscrip-tomic (walker et al., 2018) analyses of caryophyllales. the analysis also inferred strong support for the carnivorous clade droseraceae (100% bs) as sister to a clade polygonaceae, and caryophyllaceae as sister to amaranthaceae and chenopodiaceae (100% bs). the molecular phylogenetic studies based on chloroplast markers and extensive sampling (kadereit et al., 2003, 2012) as well as morphological similarities [petaloid tepals, filament tubes, 2-locular anthers; compare with table 5 of kadereit et al. (2003)] place the family caryophyllaceae closer to the amaranthaceae s.s., while in terms of habitat preferences they are more like many members of the chenopodiaceae. the family montiaceae and talinaceae resolved as a grade, and as sister to the family talinaceae, a clade was recovered in which the family cactaceae was sister to a clade of portulacaceae. the placements of all families of the order seem to be strongly supported. 112 ali fig. 1. percent identity plot for comparison of 19 caryophyllales chloroplast genome with taxillus chinensis as reference taxillus chinensis (loranthaceae). alignment lane 1. mesembryanthemum crystallinum (aizoaceae), 2. tetragonia tetragonioides (aizoaceae), 3. amaranthus hypochondriacus (amaranthaceae), 4. carnegiea gigantea (cactaceae), 5. agrostemma githago (caryophyllaceae), 6. colobanthus apetalus (caryophyllaceae), 7. gymnocarpos przewalskii (caryophyllaceae), 8. silene capitata (caryophyllaceae), 9. haloxylon persicum (chenopodiaceae), 10. salicornia bigelovii (chenopodiaceae), 11. aldrovanda vesiculosa (droseraceae), 12. dionaea muscipula (droseraceae), 13. drosera regia (droseraceae), 14. cistanthe longiscapa (montiaceae), 15. fagopyrum dibotrys (polygonaceae), 16.oxyria sinensis (polygonaceae), 17. rheum palmatum (polygonaceae), 18. portulaca oleracea (portulacaceae), 19. talinum paniculatum (talinaceae). comparative chloroplast genomic analyses revealed 113 fig. 2. mauve alignment of representative of 19 caryophyllales chloroplast genomes. the t. chinensis genome is shown at top as the reference. within each of the alignment, local collinear blocks are represented by blocks of the same color connected by lines [1. taxillus chinensis (loranthaceae), 2. mesembryanthemum crystallinum (aizoaceae), 3. tetragonia tetragonioides (aizoaceae), 4. amaranthus hypochondriacus (amaranthaceae), 5. carnegiea gigantea (cactaceae), 6. agrostemma githago (caryophyllaceae), 7. silene capitata (caryophyllaceae), 8. colobanthus apetalus (caryophyllaceae), 9. gymnocarpos przewalskii (caryophyllaceae), 10. salicornia bigelovii (chenopodiaceae),11. haloxylon persicum (chenopodiaceae), 12. drosera regia (droseraceae), 13. dionaea muscipula (droseraceae),14. aldrovanda vesiculosa (droseraceae), 15. cistanthe longiscapa (montiaceae), 16. rheum palmatum (polygonaceae), 17. oxyria sinensis (polygonaceae), 18. fagopyrum dibotrys (polygonaceae), 19. portulaca oleracea (portulacaceae), 20. talinum paniculatum (talinaceae)]. 114 ali moreover, the monophyly of all major clades within the order (e.g., centrospermae, the carnivorous clade, the ftpp clade, the globular inclusion clade, and the portulacineae clade) seem to be supported (fig. 3). additionally, in amaranthaceae clade, caryophyllaceae clade and chenopodiaceae clade extensive genomic rearrangement were also observed (fig. 3). moreover, the rearrangement and gene/intron loss were correlated with ml tree. the protein-coding gene loss, intron loss, intron inversion, 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(manuscript received on 13 february 2019; revised on 16 april 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 57-69, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomy and reproductive biology of the genus zephyranthes herb. (liliaceae) in bangladesh sumona afroz, m. oliur rahman1 and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: zephyranthes herb.; pollination; seed germination; pseudovivipary; pollen viability. abstract the genus zephyranthes herb. is revised along with its pollination mechanism, seed germination and vegetative propagation. detailed taxonomy of four zephyranthes species occurring in bangladesh, namely, z. atamasco (l.) herb., z. candida (lindl.) herb., z. carinata herb. and z. tubispatha (l’her.) herb. ex traub. was studied with their updated nomenclature, important synonyms, phenology, specimens examined, habitat, distribution, economic value and mode of propagation. a dichotomous bracketed key is provided for easy identification of the species. pollination investigation reveals that all studied species of zephyranthes are self-pollinated. minimum five days were required for germination of seeds in z. atamasco, and three days each in z. candida, z. carinata and z. tubispatha. pseudovivipary type of germination has been reported in z. candida and z. carinata for the first time. the maximum number of seeds (30) per fruit are produced in z. tubispatha, whereas the minimum seeds (2) per fruit are found in z. atamasco. vegetative propagation through bulb was found more suitable than seeds in z. atamasco, z. candida and z. carinata. pollen viability has been found 100% in z. candida, and z. tubispatha, whereas, z. atamasco and z. carinata have shown 80% and 98% viability, respectively. introduction the genus zephyranthes herb. (liliaceae) comprises about 70 species and native to diverse areas of the new world including argentina, the caribbean, mexico and north america (chowdhury and hubstenberger, 2006; spurrier et al., 2015). in bangladesh, this genus is represented by four species and found under cultivation. zephyranthes are characterized by linear or lorate leaves, solitary flower, funnel shaped perianth, three carpels and sub-globose or depressed fruits. pharmacological studies of zephyranthes have revealed that the genus has anticancer, antifungal, and antibacterial activities (katoch and singh, 2015). leaf decoction of z. candida is used in south africa as a remedy for diabetes mellitus (pettit et al., 1984). several studies on the genus zephyranthes were carried out based on morphology (spencer, 1973; flagg and flory, 1976; flagg et al., 2002). recently, flagg and smith (2008) studied three closely related species of zephyranthes, i.e. z. atamasca (the correct specific epithet is atamasco), z. treatiae, and z. simpsonii from southern united states, all of which have linear stigmatic lobes, green perianth tubes and white perianth segments. based on cytological, herbarium, and field studies, and on principal component analysis (pca) and scatter diagram analysis, they concluded that all three taxa are distinct at the species level. raina and khoshoo (1972) studied cytogenetics of z. candida and z. sulphurea, while the breeding system of z. atamasco was investigated by broyles and wyatt (1991). studies on reproductive biology disclose the nature of species, adaptation, speciation, hybridization, and systematics (anderson et al., 2002; neal and anderson, 2005). several studies 1corresponding author. email: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com; oliur.bot@du.ac.bd mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com; mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 58 afroz et al. on reproductive biology and pollination mechanism have been conceded in different group of plants (cox, 1990; wyatt and broyles, 1990; singer and sazima, 1999; liza et al., 2010). studies on seed germination in different plants are also well documented, and factors affecting seed germination have been recognized in different species (yang et al., 1999; hassan and fardous, 2003; chauhan and johnson, 2008; rahman et al., 2012; ferdousi et al., 2014). despite the systematic studies of zephyranthes were carried out in different countries (flagg et al., 2002; flagg and smith, 2008; arroyo-leuenberger and leuenberger, 2009) there has been no detailed study on taxonomy of this genus occurring in bangladesh. pollination, seed germination and propagation of zephyranthes have never been investigated. because of medicinal and ornamental value, the members of this genus need to be brought under cultivation, and prior to bring them under cultivation their reproductive biology need to be investigated in detail. the objectives of the present study are to revising the genus zephyranthes and to investigate reproductive biological characteristics including mode of pollination and seed germination of these ornamental and economically important species, which might help in conveying the plants under rapid cultivation. materials and methods plant materials four species of zephyranthes namely, z. atamasco, z. candida, z. carinata and z. tubispatha were collected from different places and planted in the dhaka university botanical garden for further study. the collected specimens were critically examined, and the study was supplemented by the herbarium specimens preserved at the dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). identification of the zephyranthes species were confirmed in consultation with standard literature (karthikeyan et al., 1989; noltie, 1994; hajra and verma, 1996; raven and zhengyi, 2000; utech, 2002; siddiqui et al., 2007) and by comparing with herbarium specimens deposited in dush and dacb. a dichotomous key to the species has been constructed for easy identification of the taxa. the voucher specimens have been deposited at dush. pollination to study pollination the species were meticulously observed after flowering. bagging experiment was conducted to understand the mechanism of pollination (hassan and khan, 1996). bags of 15x12 cm made from fine cloth were used for bagging the flowers of individual plant at a stage, when all flowers were unopened. during bagging if open flowers exist, they were removed manually so that only unopened buds remained in the bags. bagged inflorescence or flowers were kept under continuous observation for fruit formation which was compared with that of the plants kept under control. seed germination seeds were collected from mature fruits and sown in earthen pots of 10 inch in diameter filled up with a mixture of soil and compost (2:1). seeds were sown at regular intervals in the earthen pot and the pots were kept in the semi-shaded position and watered everyday. seeds were sown in different pots in different times of the year to record dormancy (if any), suitable period for germination, percentage and nature of germination. vegetative propagation vegetative propagation was performed through bulbs, separated from main plants. taxonomy and reproductive biology of zephyranthes 59 pollen viability pollen was taken from recently opened flower anthers. a drop of acetocarmine was taken onto the slide. after removing the anther from the flower pollen was touched into the acetocarmine placed on a slide and observed under light microscope. viable pollen takes acetocarmine and the shapes are regular, whereas non-viable pollen remains non-coloured with acetocarmine and were very irregular in shape. results taxonomic treatment zephyranthes herb., app. [bot. reg.]: 36 (1821). argyropsis m. roem., syn. ensat. : 125 (1847); arviela salisb., gen. pl. fragm.: 135 (1866); habranthus herb., bot. mag.: t. 2464 (1824); mesochloa, plectronema and pogonema rafin., fl. tell. 4: 10 (1836); pyrolirion herb., app. [bot. reg.]: 37 (1821). small herbs with tunicate bulbs. leaves simple, linear or lorate, appearing with or after the flowers. flowers solitary, usually at the top of the long scape. perianth funnel-shaped, tube short or long, dilated upward; tepals 6, rarely up to 8, in 2 series of 3 each, united at the base. stamens 6, rarely up to 8, adnate to the perianth base; filaments long; anthers linear, dorsifixed. carpels 3, united, ovary 3-celled, ovules many; style filiform; stigma 3-lobed. fruit a capsule, sub-globose or depressed, loculicidally 3-valved. seeds oblong, black. key to species of zephyranthes 1. leaves terete; spathe covering the ovary z. candida leaves flat; spathe not covering the ovary 2 2. spathe not 2-fid; flowers yellow z. tubispatha spathe 2-fid; flowers pink or white 3 3. outer 3 tepals obtuse, pink in colour z. carinata outer 3 tepals acute, white but turn pink at maturity z. atamasco zephyranthes atamasco (l.) herb., app. reg. 36 (1821); utech, fl. north. america 26: 298 (2002). amaryllis atamasco l., sp. pl. 1: 292 (1753); a. atamasco blanco, fl. filip. : 254 (1837). (figs 1 & 5a). english names: atamasco lily, fairy lily, rain lily, easter lily, zephyr lily. local name: sada ghashphul. a perennial bulbous herb, bulb ovoid, c. 2.5 cm in diam., neck 2.5–5.0 cm long. leaves linear, up to 15 cm long, bright green. flowers solitary, terminal, bisexual; peduncle c. 21 cm long, hollow. spathe simple, c. 3.0×0.6 cm, hyaline, tubular, 2-notched. perianth segments 6, c. 5×2 cm, arranged in two rows, inner 3 smaller than the outer 3, white but lower 2 green in colour, changes from pure white to pink at maturity. stamens 6, outer 3 large, c. 2.5 cm long, inner 3 small, c. 1.7 cm long; anthers linear, yellowish-orange. carpels 3, united; ovary inferior, c. 0.4 cm long, 3-celled, placentation axile; style slender; stigma 3-notched, c. 4 cm long. fruit a capsule, subglobose. flowering and fruiting: april to may. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 11.4.2007, sumona 21 (dush); 10.9.2013, sumona 85 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 12, 24 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: cultivated in gardens. 60 afroz et al. distribution: native to south-east america, naturalized in southern north america (wade et. al., 2014),widely cultivated in many countries including bangladesh. uses: cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens. all parts are toxic especially bulb, may be fatal if eaten (kates et al., 1980). propagation: through bulbs and seeds. zephyranthes candida (lindl.) herb., bot. mag. 53: t. 2607 (1826); hajra & verma, fl. sik. m. 1: 138 (1996); raven & zhengyi, fl. china 24: 265 (2000); utech, fl. north america 26: 302 (2002). hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 351 (2007). amaryllis candida lindl., bot. reg. 9: t. 724 (1823). (figs 2 & 5b). english name: fairy lily. local name: sada ghashphul. a perennial clump-forming bulbous herb, bulb tunicated, ovoid, c. 2.5 cm in diam., neck 2.5– 5.0 cm long. leaves simple, terete, linear, up to 35 cm long and 0.5 cm in diam., hollow, obtuse, glabrous, dark green. inflorescence solitary on terminal leafless scape. flowers bisexual, incomplete, actinomorphic, epigynous, white; peduncle c. 26 cm long; spathe like bract present at the top of a long scape covered the ovary; bract c. 3×1 cm, brown in colour, lanceolate, glabrous. tepals 6, c. 3.7×1.5 cm, free, ovate-lanceolate, white. stamens 6, free, about half as long as the perianth; anthers c. 0.9 cm long, oblong, dorsifixed, yellow; filaments white, glabrous, more or less as long as anthers. carpels 3, syncarpous; ovary inferior, c. 0.5×0.3 cm, 3-celled, ovules many; style slender, c. 1.7 cm long with stigma; stigma 3-notched; placentation axile. fruit a capsule, subglobose, c. 0.8×1.2 cm, yellowish-green, 16–25 seeded. seeds angular, flattened; testa black. flowering and fruiting: august to november. specimens examined: dhaka: science library compound, university of dhaka, 20.9.2007, sumona 46 (dush); nazrul institute compound, university of dhaka, 20.8.2011, sumona 68 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 19, 20, 36, 38, 40, 41, 48, 50 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: gardens, where it is widely cultivated. distribution: originated from argentina and uruguay (bateman et al., 2004). native to south america, naturalized in south china, cultivated in many countries including bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007). uses: used as an ornamental plant in gardens, containers or as a landscape plant. bulb contains cytostatic constituents which can be used in the treatment of cancer (pettit et al., 1990). propagation: through clumps of bulbs and seeds. zephyranthes carinata herb., bot. mag. : t. 2594 (1825); hajra & verma, fl. sik. m. 1: 138 (1996); raven & zhengyi, fl. china 24: 265 (2000); utech, fl. north america 26: 299 (2002). z. grandiflora lindl., bot. reg.: t. 902 (1825); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 351 (2007). (figs 3 & 5c). english names: pink rain lily, fairy lily, zephyr lily, pink storm lily. local names: golapi ghashphul, peyazphul. a bulbous, clump forming perennial herb, bulb tunicated, up to 2 cm in diam. leaves simple, exstipulate, linear, obtuse, entire, glabrous, green, up to 35.0×0.8 cm, appearing with flowers. inflorescence solitary on terminal leafless scape. scape c. 18 cm long, light green, produce a single maroon lipstick-like bud on a top. flowers c. 7.5 cm long, c. 7.5 cm across, spreading, last a taxonomy and reproductive biology of zephyranthes 61 few days, closing up at night. spathe simple, c. 2.0×0.6 cm, hyaline, tubular, 2-notched. perianth segments 6, rarely up to 8, funnel-shaped, rose or pink, 2–4 cm long, sub-elliptic to oblong– lanceolate. stamens 6, sometimes 7–8, adnate to the throat of the perianth; anthers linear, yellow, narrow, dorsifixed; filament up to 2 cm long, white,. carpels 3, syncarpous, ovary 3–celled, ovules many in each cell; style filiform, c. 2.5 cm long, placentation axile; stigma deeply 3–4 fid. fruit a capsule, c. 0.5×0.5 cm, dark green, 6–10 seeded. seeds black. flowering and fruiting: june to october. blooming soon after a heavy rainfall. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 19.9.2007, sumona 45 (dush); dhaka university botanical garden, 24.8.2014, sumona 92 (dush); nazrul institute compound, university of dhaka, 20.8.2012, sumona 76 (dush). chromosome number: 2n = 24, 36, 48 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: well-drained soils. distribution: native of central america and mexico, distributed in warmer parts of america, widely cultivated in many countries with a warm climate (siddiqui et al., 2007). in bangladesh, it is widely grown in many gardens. uses: the species is valued as an ornamental plant, along walkway or at the front of a sunny border. in china, bulbs are used to break fever and a paste of the bulb is used for boils. bulbs possess alkaloids which might be used in the treatment of cancer (wiart, 2012). propagation: propagated by bulbs or seeds. zephyranthes tubispatha herb., app. reg.: 36 (1821); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 6: 277 (1892); prain, beng. pl. 2: 797 (1903); (l’her.) herb. ex traub, taxon 7: 110 (1958); hassan, encycl. flora & fauna of bangladesh 11: 352 (2007). amaryllis tubispatha l’her., sert. angl.: 9 (1789). z. nervosa herb., amaryll. : 172 (1837). (figs 4 & 5d). english names: zephyr lily, fairy lily, rain lily. local name: holde ghashphul. a small perennial herb with underground tunicated bulb, bulb c. 1.5×1.0 cm, grows singly. leaves simple, linear, c. 30 cm long and 3 mm broad, green, entire, obtuse, appearing along with the flowers. flowers solitary, pedunculate; bracts spathe-like, c. 2.3 cm long, situated at the top of a fistular scape, scape up to 28 cm long. perianth segments 6, connate below, free above, funnelshaped, c. 3.7 cm long, yellow. stamens 6; anthers linear, dorsifixed, c. 0.7 cm long, orange, burst longitudinally; filament c. 1.4 cm long. carpels 3, syncarpous, ovary 3-celled, c. 0.5 cm long, ovules many; placentation axile; style 1, c. 2 cm long, white; stigma 3–lobed, short. fruit a subglobose capsule, loculicidally 3-valved, yellowish-green, c. 0.8×1.0 cm, 16–20 seeded. seeds oblong, black, angled. flowering and fruiting: june to september. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 26.5.2007, sumona 37 (dush); dhaka university botanical garden, 10.4.1968, mozahar 101 (dush); uttara, sector-3, 18.8.1998, m. salar khan k 10115 (dacb); dhaka university botanical garden, 30.6.1970, a.m. huq 78 (dacb). chromosome number: 2n = 24 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). habitat: well-drained soils and grassy ground of hilly areas. distribution: native of peru, tropical america and the west indies (siddiqui et al., 2007). this species is planted in gardens and has been naturalized in many countries including bangladesh. 62 afroz et al. uses: used as an ornamental plant. propagation: by bulbs and seeds. figs 1-4. habit sketch of four zephyrnthes species. 1. z. atamasco: 1a. habit (×0.3); 1b. l.s. of flower (×0.2); 1c. t.s. of ovary (×2); 1d. bract (×0.5); 1e. fruit (×1). 2. z. candida: 2a. habit (×0.3); 2b. l.s. of flower (×0.2); 2c. t.s. of ovary (×3); 2d. bract (×0.5); 2e. fruit (×0.5). 3. z. carinata: 3a. habit (×0.3); 3b. l.s. of flower (×0.2); 3c. t.s. of ovary (×5); 3d. bract (×0.5); 3e. fruit (×0.5). 4. z. tubispatha: 4a. habit (×0.3); 4b. l.s. of flower (×0.2); 4c. t.s. of ovary (×2); 4d. bract (×0.5); 4e. fruit (×0.5). taxonomy and reproductive biology of zephyranthes 63 fig. 5. habit of four zephyranthes species: a. z. atamasco; b. z. candida; c. z. carinata; d. z. tubispatha. reproductive biology reproductive biology study on four zephyranthes species revealed that z. atamasco, z. candida, z. carinata and z tubispatha all are self-pollinated. in z. atamasco and z. carinata single fruit sets each under both bagged and un-bagged condition after five days of bagging and no fruit formation occurs from emasculated flowers. in z. candida, the emasculated flowers do not produce any fruit setting, while both bagged and un-bagged plants have single fruit setting after four days of bagging. fruit setting starts after three days of bagging in z. tubispatha, and a single fruit setting has been observed both in bagged and un-bagged plants.seeds were germinated after five days of sowing in z. atamasco and the rate of germination is very low (20%). there is no 64 afroz et al. dormancy period. in z. candida, three to four days were taken for germination of seeds. the germination rate was 100% when they were sown in august through october indicating that these months are most suitable for seed sowing in this species. seeds lost complete viability after three months in z. candida. the minimum three days were taken for germination of seeds in z. carinata and the germination rate was 100% when sown in july. after three months of seeds sowing they were not germinated and seeds lost their viability. the study also revealed that after maturation, viability of seeds decreased gradually. the results showed that three to four days were required for germination of seeds in z. tubispatha and the rate of germination was very high when sown just after seed collection. there is no dormancy period in z. tubispatha. seeds lost their viability after three months. the optimum period of seed germination, minimum days taken for germination and percentage of germination in four zephyranthes species are depicted in table 1. different stages of seed germination in z. atmasco, z. candida, z. carinata and z. tubispatha are shown in figure 6. table 1. data on seed germination of four zephyranthes species. species optimum period of seed germination minimum days taken for germination percentage of germination remark z. atamasco may 5 20 hypogeal z. candida august-october 3 100 pseudovivipary z. carinata july 3 100 pseudovivipary z. tubispatha july-august 3 100 hypogeal in the present study, vegetative propagation in z. atamasco and z. candida through bulb has been found effective and more suitable than seeds. plants propagated from seeds took about three years to bloom, whereas it took around two years from bulb separation. the study revealed that no bulblet was formed in z. tubispatha indicating that seeds are the only means of regeneration in this species. the results showed that propagation through bulb separation took less time than that of seeds. flower initiation took place through bulb is usually one year earlier than blooming through seeds. a comparative account of reproductive characters of zephyranthes species i.e. time taken for seed germination, scape initiation to first flower, fruit formation after flowering, fruit maturation, number of flowers per scape, number of fruits per scape, number of seeds per fruit, time taken for flowering from seed germinated plants and time taken for flowering from bulb transferred plants are presented in table 2. table 2. reproductive characteristics of studied four species of zephyranthes. species time taken for sg time taken for siff time taken for ffaf time taken for fmaf no. of flowers/ scape no. of fruits/ scape no. of seeds/ fruit time taken for ffsg time taken for ffbt z. atamasco 5 days 8 days 4 days 7 days 1 1 2-8 3 years 2 years z. candida 3-4 days 7 days 3 days 6 days 1 1 6-20 3 years 2 years z. carinata 3-4 days 8 days 4 days 7 days 1 1 6-20 3 years 2 years z.tubispatha 3-4 days 7 days 3 days 6 days 1 1 8-30 3 years not possible sg=seed germination; siff= scape initiation to first flowering; ffaf= fruit formation after flowering; fmaf= fruit maturation after formation; ffsg= flowering from seed germination; ffbt= flowering from bulb transfer. z. candida and z. carinata showed pseudovivipary (fig. 7). seeds of these species are germinated inside the capsules after a heavy rainfall. in this process of germination, the hypocotyle elongated and came out of the seed forming a loop and developed narrow, straight taxonomy and reproductive biology of zephyranthes 65 fig. 6. different stages of seed germination in four zephyraanthes species: a-d. z. atamasco; e-h. z. candida; i-l. z. carinata; m-p. z. tubispatha; a,e,i&m: flower; b,f,j&n: fruits; c,g,k&o: seeds; d,h,l&p: seedling. 66 afroz et al. epicotyle. hypogeal type of germination has been noticed in these species. further investigation is needed to explore the mechanism of pseudovivipary in these species. fig. 7. pseudovivipary in zephyranthes: a. z. carinata; b&c. z. candida. pollen viability was tested in this study because of its importance in reproductive biology, and no seed formation takes place without viable pollen. the present investigation revealed that pollen viability ranged from 80 to 100% among the zephyranthes species. the percentage of pollen viability was found 100% in z. candida and z. tubispatha, whereas, z. atamasco and z. carinata exhibited 80% and 98% viability, respectively. the viable pollens of these species are shown in figure 8. fig. 8. pollen viability of four zephyranthes species: a&b. z. atamasco (×10, ×40); c&d. z. candida (×10, ×40); e&f. z. carinata (×10, ×40); g&h. z. tubispatha (×10, ×40). discussion zephyranthes are remarkable for the wide ecological niche they occupy, from xeric to temporarily flooded conditions, having many coveted ornamental characteristics. flowers of taxonomy and reproductive biology of zephyranthes 67 zephyranthes appear in spring through fall after the first rains and they last one to two days, depending on sunlight and temperature, however, new flowers continuously develop for several days (knox, 2009). in the present investigation we studied floral morphology, phenology pollination, seed germination and vegetative propagation of four zephyranthes species occurring in bangladesh, viz., z. atamasco, z. candida, z. carinata and z. tubispatha. among them z. candida can easily be distinguished from the remaining species by its terete leaves and spathe covering the ovary. previous investigations in zephyranthes have indicated that species with styles that are long relative to the stamens are self-incompatible, whereas species with short styles are self-compatible. species with styles as long as the stamens may be either self-compatible or self-incompatible (broyles and wyatt, 1991). studies on breeding system of a long-styled z. atamasco revealed that 5%, 78%, and 92% fruit-set occurred in flowers which were bagged, self-pollinated, or crosspollinated, respectively (broyles and wyatt, 1991). in our study, we found that z. atamasco produced fruit setting in bagged and un-bagged plants, while no fruit formation occurred in emasculated flowers. although it took very short time for germination of seeds, the germination rate is only 20% as observed in z. atamasco. in z. candida, all seeds sown during august to october were germinated only after three to four days of sowing which indicates this period as the most suitable time for seed sowing. seeds lost their viability after three months in z. candida. all seeds of z. carinata sown in july were germinated, while the rate of seed germination was 100% when they were sown in july and august. in case of z. tubispatha the rate of seed germination was 100% when sown in july and august, while this rate decreased to 80% when seeds were sown in september. none of the seeds was germinated in any of the four species of zephyranthes employed in this study when they were sown after october. this indicates that seeds are not germinated after rainy seasons and they lost their viability in this period. pseudovivipary describes plants that produce apomictic or asexual propagules such as bulbils or plantlets in the place of sexual reproductive structures. species with true vivipary tend to inhabit shallow marine habitats, either in mangrove or in seagrass communities, while pseudovivipary is most prevalent among terrestrial plants occurring in strongly seasonal environments, either growing at high altitudes and latitudes, or in semi-arid to arid areas (elmqvist and cox, 1996). all of these habitats are characterized by extraordinarily coarse-grained environments for seedling establishment, even though with major differences in patch size. vegetative propagation through pseudovivipary is known from over 100 species of grasses (poaceae) and this can be caused by genetic factors, injury or unfavourable environmental conditions (milton et al., 2008). this phenomenon has also been reported in members of some dicotyledonous families including crassulaceae (mabberly, 1987), oxalidaceae (van der pijl, 1983) and saxifragaceae (lid and lid, 1994). in liliaceae, pseudovivipary was documented in allium (stebbins, 1950) and crinum viviparum (ansari and nair, 1987). however, this phenomenon has never been described in zephyranthes. our study is the first of its nature reporting pseudovivipary in z. carinata and z. candida. several authors have argued that pseudovivipary has evolved in response to a short growing season, enabling plants to complete the cycle of offspring production, germination and establishment during the few weeks of an arctic or alpine growing season (lee and harmer, 1980). molau (1993) has pointed out that pseudovivipary among tundra plants is mostly prevalent among late-flowering species. the present investigation reveals diagnostic feature of pseudovivipary as noticed in z. candida and z. carinata. in order to understand the mechanism of pseudovivipary in zephyranthes species further detailed study is needed. based on the present investigation, it could be concluded that reproductive biological characters somehow can be used for delimiting zephyranthes species; 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(manuscript received on 12 march 2018; revised on 13 may 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 277‒287, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54223 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists review paper climate change, biosystematics and taxonomy m. khairul alam* bangladesh forest research institute, chattogram, bangladesh key words: adaptation, biodiversity conservation, phenology, phenotypic plasticity, plant functional types, polyploidy. abstract the history of biosystematics research and its impacts on climate goes before political ramifications. climate change is altering the environments and likely to result in changes in the distribution of species, flowering times; migrate and adapt to the new environmental conditions; or extinction. adaptive capacity is the ability of the plants to adapt to the impacts of climate change. adaptation process is going in nature through phenotypic plasticity, natural selection or migration or polyploidization. the options are not mutually exclusive. phenotypic plasticity may be the most efficient way of adaptation to a new environment. polyploidization may increase tolerance to diverse ecological conditions and the high incidence of polyploidy in plants indicates its adaptive significance. population having polyploid pillar complex is a good backup support towards microevolution and speciation, a mode of adaptation. the paper discusses about these biosystematics approaches towards adaptation to new environmental conditions resulting from climate change. it also discusses about the role of taxonomists under the changed circumstances. it is evident from the review that a set of biosystematics data along with other ecological and conservation information needs to be included in flora and monographs. it reveals that it was as far as worked out at the paris botanical congress 1954 and put up by stebbins in a series of proposals, termed as “stebbins’ ten points” that needs further enrichment. introduction climate change is not a new topic in biology. the study of biological impacts of climate change has a rich history in the scientific literature, since long before there were political ramifications (parmesan, 2006). in the nineteenth century a tradition was established of study of variation, in nature and in cultivation, of plant species by botanists such as jordan, kerner and bonnier (davis and heywood, 1963: 387). darwin (1859: 78) also attempted to relate the variation to natural selection and stated, “we shall best understand the probable course of natural selection by taking the case of a country undergoing some slight physical change, for instance, of climate. the proportional numbers of its inhabitants will almost immediately undergo a change, and some species will probably become extinct”. long back scientists had the notion of climate migration of plants (davis and heywood, 1963: 448) and climatic migration theory for plants presumably dates from prof. e. forbes' theory of climatic migrations, published in 1846 (good, 1931). different climatic factors (such as annual and seasonal temperature, annual and seasonal precipitation, atmospheric co2 concentration) and their interactions act on distribution of different plant species, associations and vegetation types. clearly, most of these stimuli will be affected directly or indirectly by climate change, and that is likely to result in changes in the distribution of *e-mail: khairulalam1952@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54223 mailto:khairulalam1952@gmail.com 278 alam species, flowering times etc. rare species will become rarer. the existence of many species in the wild will become threatened because many of them are restricted to a particular range, and because environments will change faster than the most plant species can adapt (hawkins et al., 2008). téllez et al. (2007) noted that most species have only a few alternatives in the face of climate change, they can migrate to appropriate environmental conditions; adapt to the new environmental conditions; or become extinct. evidently, it is expected that the intrinsic capacity of each taxon or group of taxa to respond to climate change will result in different behaviours. plant diversity provides a buffer against the effects of climate change, and a source of raw materials for adaptation. the impacts of climate change on vegetation, plant population and species have great concern on plant taxonomy and biosystematics. the name of a plant is the key to information about its use, conservation status, relationships and place within ecosystems (hawkins et al., 2008) and plant taxonomy deals with naming. biosystematics is a synthesis process and the taxonomy is the ultimate practice that brings floras and monographs. taxonomy and systematics is one of the oldest branches of biology and the linnaean system of classification that is still used today dates back to the 1750s. throughout its history taxonomy has continuously reinvented itself, but today the science is experiencing an unprecedented rate of change. the emerging interest for adaptation of plants for climate change is representing a vital input to taxonomy. this paper attempts to assess the changes in plants’ adaption for climate change and areas that plant taxonomy faces in resolving the emerging issues. climate change and plant adaption in recent decades a great deal of research is being undertaken to assess the effects of climate change on the distribution and abundance of individual species (carey, 1996; parmesan, 1996). this is based on the theory that ultimately the distribution of a species is limited by its physiological responses to climate. one of the earliest exponents of this theory was ronald good’s "theory of tolerance" (good, 1931). evidence from palynology and fossil records have shown that, in the past, plant species have successfully responded to environmental change by 1) remaining within the modified climate by tolerance or adaptation, 2) migrating to track suitable conditions, or most likely a combination of both (engler et al., 2009). climate change is altering the environments in which all organisms develop. plant species can adjust to these novel conditions through phenotypic plasticity, adapt through natural selection or migrate to follow conditions to which they are adapted; these options are not mutually exclusive. phenotypic plasticity for any given plant species or population, determining responses to environmental changes will require an understanding of the environmentally induced variation in the phenotype of individual plants (nicotra et al., 2010). phenotype is simply the manifestations of genotype + environment (stace, 1980). works on plasticity forms some of the basis of earliest biosystematics experiments and dates back to nineteenth century. g. bonnier carried out a wide range of cultivations experiments in 1884 in the alps and the pyrenees (stace, 1980). turesson was the pioneer in the field of biosystematics. since 1916 turesson, initiated experimentation and formulated the ecotype concept (turesson, 1922 as cited in davis and heywood, 1963). his studies revealed that plant populations, even of the broadly ranging species, are often adapted to local environmental condition. plasticity usually refers to environmentally influenced variability in a particular life-stage, or (in plants and colonial invertebrates) to variation in the behaviour, form, physiology, or sequence of modules produced at a particular stage of growth (west-eberhard, 1989). it can play a major role in both the ecological distribution of organisms and their patterns of evolutionary climate change, biosystematics and taxonomy 279 diversification. taxa consisting of adaptively plastic genotypes may inhabit a broad range of environmental conditions (sultan, 2003; chambell et al., 2005). phenotypic plasticity may be the most efficient way in which a plant adapts itself rapidly to a new environment. many plants are able to adapt and grow in a wide range of environments. much of the phenotypic variations in many organisms are the result of the plastic responses of the individuals to factors of the environment. such variations are termed as phenotypic modifications, and this phenomenon is known as phenotypic plasticity, varies greatly in different species (heywood, 1976). stace (1980) emphasized the importance to recognize plasticity by taxonomists. davis and heywood (1963) termed these phenotypic environmental modifications as phenecotypes, and suggested to include their range of variations in the description of the taxon. identification of phenecotypes by taxonomists for particular changed environment will help in conservation. both adaptive and non-adaptive plasticity will play a role in the context of plant responses to climate change (nicotra et al., 2010). species with a greater adaptive plasticity may be more likely to survive in novel environmental conditions, since such changes typically occur too rapidly to allow for an evolutionary (or in some cases a migratory) response (gratani, 2014). "plasticity" and "development" are related terms that are becoming increasingly common in evolutionary biology and ecology. both phenomena have passed through a period of neglect (west-eberhard, 1989). bradshaw (1965, as cited in west-eberhard, 1989) noted that botanists were carefully avoiding any mention of plasticity; environmental effects in experiments were considered "only an embarrassment." in an environment rapidly changing on local and global scales, narrowly adapted populations with low plasticity in selectively important characters might be at a higher risk of extinction. it is evident from various studies that climate change favour high level of phenotypic plasticity in plants (parmesan, 2006; valladares et al., 2007) what the plant taxonomy today should take into consideration. polytopy and distribution range one of the climate change impacts is likely to be the changes in species’ ranges. we already have in-depth understanding of how some species in some parts of the world have moved in the past in response to changing climates and this is being employed to consider what future changes might occur (stace, 1980). when a species occurs in two or more separate areas, it is said to be polytopic (davis and heywood, 1963). the most frequent explanations of polytopy are that disjunct areas have been bridged in the past either by long-distance dispersal or by slow migration. the latter explanation of slow migration being known as climatic migration theory presumably dates from prof. e. forbes' theory of climatic migrations, published in 1846 (good, 1931). according to good’s theory of tolerance, a species is able to exist and reproduce successfully within a definite range of climatic and edaphic conditions. further, an understanding of the climatic tolerances of species seems attainable by matching current distributions with key climatic variables. the resulting bioclimatic envelope gives some idea of species’ climatic tolerances (harris et al., 2006). polytopic differentiation of species or units at lower rate almost certainly occurs (davis and heywood, 1963), and seems to be a good mode of adaptation of plants to climatic changes. future changes in climate could result in extinctions, range shifts, changes in major vegetation types and alterations in feedbacks between vegetation and the atmosphere. indeed, the distribution of many plant species has already altered in response to climate change; some species have shown up to 6 km pole ward migration each year over the past 16–132 years (parmesan and yohe, 2003, as cited in nicotra et al., 2010). 280 alam observations of range shifts in parallel with climate change have been particularly rich in northern european countries, where observational records for many birds, butterflies, herbs, and trees date back to the mid-1700s. since the early part of the twentieth century, researchers have documented the sensitivity of insects to spring and summer temperatures (parmesan, 2006). the change in climate in the coming years will lead to the extinction of some species and appearance of new ones. broad-niched species will dominate, while narrow-niched ones would be eliminated. thus, we have to go further in investigating the change in our flora and how much our plants can cooperate with environmental disorders (taia, 2005), a great concern of plant taxonomy. climate change will place pressure on the natural range and survival of wild populations of plants. we are to understand plant diversity and the way of both internal and external adaptation according to environmental changes, and that needs attention of plant taxonomy. phenology ecological changes in the phenology and distribution of plants and animals are occurring due to change in climatic conditions. phenology is the study of recurring seasonal events, such as flowering and leaf falling in plants and hibernation and migration in animals (hawkins et al., 2008). parameters such as the date and duration of flowering can be compared with climatic parameters such as temperature, rainfall and humidity to see if there is any correlation (http://www.rbge.org.uk/science/plants-and-climate-change/phenology-projects). linnaeus in his philosophia botanica listed dates for first flowering, leafing, fruiting and leaf falling, and recommended that 'floral calendars should be completed every year in every province, according to the leafing, flowering, fruiting and leaf-shedding, with simultaneous observations of the climate, so that it may be ascertained how regions differ among themselves' (linnaeus, 1751, as cited in haper et al., 2004). phenological research at royal botanic garden edinburgh dates back to the 1850s, when the curator, james mcnab first recorded the flowering dates of more than 60 species (harper et al., 2004). evolutionary adaptations to warmer conditions have occurred in species’ ranges, and resource use and dispersal have evolved rapidly at expanding range margins (parmesan, 2006). phenological studies will increase the understanding of the mechanism in plants which responds to climate changes and will enable scientists to predict how plants will respond to these climatic changes. the locality information that accompanies each herbarium specimen would be a valuable source of information regarding the placement of permanent plots (gallagher et al., 2009). however, errors may arise from using of herbarium materials through unresolved taxonomic issues, misidentification or nomenclatural inconsistencies between organisations. these should be taken into consideration and tried to be minimized. despite of limitations, phenological studies have important consequences for conservation, agriculture, horticulture and forestry; what gardeners are able to grow in the future will, without doubt, be influenced by climate change. the range of flowering and fruiting time is recorded in flora and monographs. we should be more specific to monitor impacts of climate change on plant communities with these attributes. polyploidization polyploidization results in multiplication of the genome and an increase in gene content that frequently leads to morphological and physiological differences between polyploids and their diploid progenitors. polyploidy, or whole genome duplication (wgd), is now recognized as a major evolutionary force not only in plants, but also in all eukaryotes (soltis et al., 2014). wgd generally results in instant speciation, increasing biodiversity and providing new genetic material http://www.rbge.org.uk/science/plants-and-climate-change/phenology-projects). climate change, biosystematics and taxonomy 281 for evolution (levin, 1983). the high incidence of polyploidy in plants indicates that it may have important adaptive significance (tate et al., 2005). there are a number of factors that may provide polyploids with adaptive and evolutionary advantages. perhaps most importantly, polyploids can be significantly more heterozygous than their diploid counterparts. the degree of heterozygosity may be a key factor in the growth, performance, and adaptability of a polyploid. the influence of polyploidy on adaptability and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses has been widely studied in crop plants (levin, 1983). polyploids are more frequent at higher elevations, higher latitudes and may be more tolerant to dry conditions, suggesting a fitness advantage for polyploids under those environments. a study sampling 640 endangered and 81 invasive species worldwide has led to the conclusion that endangered species tend to be diploids while invasive species tend to be polyploids, suggesting that polyploidization may increase tolerance to diverse ecological conditions (pandit et al., 2011). polyploidy can also be an important factor in species invasion success through a combination of ‘pre-adaptation’; and the possibility for subsequent adaptation due to a larger genetic diversity that may assist the ‘evolution of invasiveness’ (te beest et al., 2012). polyploidy may drive a population into a new ‘adaptive sphere’ and allow occupying habitats that are beyond of its progenitors (levin, 1983; bayer, 1998). it, particularly when accompanied by hybridization between either different species or different ecotypes of same taxon, is one of the quickest ways for new species or races to become adapted to different ecological circumstances (stebbins, 1984). having multiple ploidy levels, each with its own habitat preference, may thus favour a species in colonizing larger geographic ranges with heterogeneous environmental conditions (ramsey, 2011; te beest et al., 2012; hao et al., 2013). apart from the discussion about whether polyploids have wider distributions, given the influence of polyploidy on plant growth, physiology, gene expression, etc., it is likely that niche differentiation readily occurs between different ploidy levels. cyto-geographical studies show that diploids and polyploids often occupy different parts of the landscape and that polyploids typically replace their diploid parents along ecological gradients, such as moisture gradients, with polyploids generally occupying drier habitats than diploids (te beest et al., 2012). polyploidy may propel a population into a new ‘adaptive sphere’ given the myriad changes that accompany genome doubling (soltis et al., 2014.). quite often morphologically similar units consist of a series of distinct diploid species which has hybridized and become polyploids to produce a range of teraploids, hexaploids and sometimes higher level of ploidy. because of the combination of genomes the distinction between taxa at diploid level blurred with tetraploid and higher levels cannot be recognized. such a situation is described as polyploid pillar complex (davis and heywood, 1963; stace, 1980). population having such complex is a good backup support towards microevolution and speciation, a mode of adaptation. polymorphism may be of evolutionary significance and sometimes worthy of taxonomic recognition (valentine, 1975) but taxonomists have paid little attention to it (stace, 1980). every taxonomist in the course of studies wants to know the variation, but because of continuity tries to avoid the variations in documentation process. plant functional types (pfts) it is being increasingly realized that, in order to understand the interaction of plants and ecosystem processes and their potential response to global environmental changes, groups of species with shared characteristics, known as plant functional types (pfts), need to be identified (duckworth et al., 2000). the concept of plant functional types has a long history, and von humboldt in 1806 first offered the first widely recognized classification of physiognomic plant types following his travels in south america (duckworth et al., 2000). the most important early 282 alam system of functional classification is life-forms system of raunkier (duckworth et al., 2000) and the adaptation of plants to environmental conditions is to some extent expressed in life-form classifications (davis and heywood, 1963). these groupings of plant species on the basis of common biological parameters reduce a wide diversity of species to small number of functional groups, which enables the identification of general principles for the functioning of organisms and can be used for making predictions (duru et al., 2009). pfts provide a valuable tool for the understanding of ecological and biogeographical processes and the prediction of change. this is particularly important in regions where the flora remains largely unknown. functional classifications often cut across taxonomic classifications and may be more meaningful in terms of plant response, in addition to overcoming certain problems associated with the traditional taxonomic species-based approach. they are thus likely being more useful than taxonomic groupings in the interpretation of plant response and resource use. plant functional types are derived from traits based on species morphology, physiology and/or life history, depending on the aims and scale of the research. to enhance the end use values of taxonomic products like local floras, pfts need to be assessed and incorporated. plant functional types and climate change research into the impacts of future climate change is usually considered best carried out at the individual species level. since it will not be possible to develop models and make predictions for every species, woodward and cramer (1996) used the pft approach to assess sensitivity and predict responses to several aspects of climate change (díaz and cabido, 1997). there is a recognized relationship between pfts and climate, particularly at the global or biome scale and pfts seem a promising tool for predicting the direction and rate of changes in vegetation in the face of climate change (duckworth et al., 2000). responses of pfts to climate change are determined by specific trait characteristics (esther et al., 2010) and concerns a deal with plant taxonomy. conservation strategy global climate change may have a serious impact on genetic resources in tropical forest trees. genetic diversity plays a critical role in the survival of populations in rapidly changing environments. furthermore, most tropical plant species are known to have unique ecological niches, and therefore changes in climate may directly affect the distribution of biomes, ecosystems, and constituent species. climate change may also indirectly affect plant genetic resources through effects on phenology, breeding systems, and plant-pollinator and plant seed disperse interactions, and may reduce genetic diversity and reproductive output. as a consequence, population densities may be reduced leading to reduction in genetic diversity through genetic drift and inbreeding (bawa and dayanandan, 1998). so, identification and conservation of populations with polyploid complex is a concern of biosystematics. tropical forest plants may respond to climate change through phenotypic plasticity, adaptive evolution, migration to suitable site, or extinction. however, the potential to respond is limited by a rapid pace of change and the non-availability of alternate habitats due to past and present trends of deforestation. thus climate change may result in extinction of many populations and species. our ability to estimate the precise response of tropical forest ecosystems to climate change is limited by lack of long-term data on parameters that might be affected by climate change. collection of correlative data from long-term monitoring of climate as well as population and community responses at selected sites offer the most cost-effective way to understand the effects of climate change on tropical tree populations. however, mitigation strategies need to be climate change, biosystematics and taxonomy 283 implemented immediately. taxa that are in verge of extinction should be identified and protected through both in-situ and ex-situ conservation programs. in the near future it will be important to collect data by working in the field and, in particular, in primary forests and/or in well-conserved habitats where new stress factors are limited in order to define standard protocols useful for comparative studies in integrated approach in plasticity. among the strategies, environment conservation should protect heterogeneity between and within habitats in order to maintain larger intra-specific variability and, thereby conserving a variety of phenotypic specializations that will be able to buffer future environmental extremities due to climate and land-use changes (wellstein et al., 2013). since species with extensive geographical range have the potential to exhibit large intraspecific variations in physiology, morphology, and phenology, they may be good models for the study of local and regional adaptations (gratani, 2014). further research on this issue regarding forest tree species is needed in order to understand the impact that global climate change may have on the existing populations. phenotypic plasticity is of prime importance to define the ability of the target genotypes to respond to new conditions, and therefore to decide on the best conservation strategies to be applied (chambel et al., 2005). role of plant taxonomy as we are in the twenty-first century, the demand for taxonomy is greater than ever before. the global imperative for the conservation of biodiversity has brought into sharp focus both the need for and the needs of taxonomic research. it will also demand a disciplined and concerted effort to balance the investment of scientific resources among different themes within plant diversity research. but to contribute effectively to these, plant taxonomists must broaden the way they currently see their discipline. with changed perspective and mindset, plant taxonomists can be able to actively contribute to these global and national agendas. the change in environments in the coming years will lead to the extinction of some species and appearance of new ones. broad-niched species will dominate, while narrow-niched ones will be eliminated. thus, we have to go further in investigating the change in our flora and how much our plants can cooperate with environmental disorders (taia, 2005). d’andrea et al. (2009) pooling herbarium data of 24 herbaria from 15 european countries and literature data on floristic investigation from 25 european countries found that the distribution range of lactuca serriola (asteraceae), a species native to the summer-dry mediterranean climate, has expanded northwards during the last 250 years. their work highlights the importance of historical herbarium data for expansion of habitat due to the influence of climate change. herbaria the repository of such historical distributional data can provide valuable information for planning management of contemporary environmental problems such as species responses to environmental change. species of contrasting functional traits and plasticities co-occur in many ecosystems. however, our understanding of the functional implications of phenotypic plasticity in multifactor environments (and all environments are multifactor to one extent or another) is limited. the real adaptive value of plasticity of woody plants in a global change scenario is contingent on the given combination of factors that operates in each habitat, and clearly deserves more attention due to its intrinsic complexity (chambel et al., 2005). in a rapidly changing environment on local and global scales, narrowly adapted populations with low plasticity in selectively important characters might be at a higher risk of extinction. in the near future it will be important to collect data by working in the field and, in particular, in primary forests and/or in well-conserved habitats where new stress factors are limited in order to define 284 alam standard protocols useful for comparative studies. among the strategies, environment conservation should protect heterogeneity between and within habitats in order to maintain larger intraspecific variability and, thereby conserving a variety of phenotypic specializations that will be able to buffer future environmental extremities due to climate and land-use changes (wellstein et al. , 2013). the outputs of research in taxonomy and biosystematics have always had a broad range of end-users. taxonomy was a much applied service science, but as decades went by, less and less attention seems to have been paid to the precise needs of changing consumers (heywood, 1983). over the last three decades there have been huge changes in the way environmental scientists seek to understand and protect the natural world. the convention on biological diversity was signed at the earth summit in 1992 and was reframed in 2010. national and international targets to protect biodiversity have been instituted, many including statutory obligations. over the same time period and in particular spurred by the millennium ecosystem assessment, new thinking based around the concept of ecosystem services has come to the fore. the resource-based economic regime is now in place, in which taxonomy is an integral component in terms of biodiversity protection, remediation, eco-development, product development and quality evaluation (nair, 2004). thus, major constituencies now have been environmental scientists, novel product development enterprises and eco-development agencies. local floras need more information flow analysing 30 local floras from 1738 to 2002, hill (2003) stated that in spite of local floras contain accounts of the environment; information on the distribution and abundance of plants, but there is little flow of information between ecologists and flora writers. hill’s possible explanations are the disparity in the spatial scale of interest, the subtlety of plant life histories, the obscurity of key environmental factors, and the emphasis of floras on rarities rather than on the ecosystem processes. local floras are used by ecologists to a small extent, mainly to provide information on distributional change, and ecological information is included as background in some local floras but not in others (hill, 2003). one of the concluding remarks by stace in 1980 for the end of past century that “the further broadening of the application of very wide range of taxonomic characters to all groups of plants.” still remains valid at the end of the second decade of the current century. heywood (1984) considering the design of floras for the future two interrelated aspects have to be considered: (1) the purpose of flora and audience aimed at, (2) technical aspects of data presentation in a computer oriented world. a critical analysis of dataneeds of environmentalists, conservation biologists and land use planners in changed circumstances are mostly ecological, gen-ecological and eco-physiological. a glance at the accounts written for the biological flora of the british isles shows, that they make extensive use of descriptions of vegetation, but that local floras are little cited. the ecological database of the british isles has been constructed from a wide variety of sources and consists of a suite of over 130 ecological and morphological characteristics, and vice-county distribution in britain, european distribution by country. the data are obtained from the literature and therefore coverage varies greatly between species (fitter and peat, 1994). if we make an overview of biosystematic information it reveals that most of the needs of today’s users of taxonomy concerned with world changes are there, what stebbins rightly made in this series of proposals in about seven decades back. a list of kinds of biosystematic data which monographers should become informed about as far as possible was worked out at the paris botanical congress 1954, and put up by stebbins in a climate change, biosystematics and taxonomy 285 series of meetings in the form of a series of proposals. these proposals termed as stebbins’ ten points (davis and heywood, 1963) are: 1. data on variability in terms of population 2. chromosome numbers adequately obtained and recorded 3. reproductive biology 4. apomixis 5. structural heteozygosity 6. presence and type of polyploidy 7. degree to which species can be crossed 8. presence and extent of introgression 9. detection of homoploid population or species of hybrid origin 10. habitat it was further suggested that flora and monographs indications where possible by word or symbols. the practice of taxonomy involves making decisions on materials and resources available. so, preservation of good voucher herbarium specimens is always needed which allow comparisons to reach to a good decision. notes on descriptions and analysis of environment conditions as far as possible will help identifying the changing scenarios. thus it is evident that there is no alternative of elaborate field notes and field work what is always an accompaniment of field taxonomists. taxonomy has a multitude of end-users, from scientists through applied biologists and to amateur naturalists, and ultimately to the general public. few other sciences have such a broad potential audience. so, whatever product we are producing we are to make them field and practical oriented. thus, major constituencies now have been environmental scientists, novel product development enterprises and eco-development agencies. it will also demand a disciplined and concerted effort to balance the investment of scientific resources among different themes within plant diversity research. but to contribute effectively to these, plant taxonomists must broaden the way they currently see their discipline. with changed perspective and mindset, plant taxonomists can be able to actively contribute to these global and national agendas. references bawa, k.s. and dayanandan, s.d. 1998. global climate change and tropical forest genetic resources. climatic change 39(2): 473–485. doi: 10.1023/a:1005360223639 bayer, r.j. 1998. new perspective into the evolution of polyploidy complexes. in: van raamsdonk, l.w. d. and den nijis, j.c.m. 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(manuscript received on 21 january, 2021; revised on 15 may, 2021) microsoft word 10. hosne ara _bjpt_ 10-12-2018.doc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 227-239, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new species of araceae from bangladesh hosne ara1 and md. abul hassan2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1 dhaka-1216, bangladesh keywords: alocasia hararganjensis; alocasia salarkhanii; typhonium elatum; new species; araceae; bangladesh. abstract three new species belonging to two genera of araceae from bangladesh, namely alocasia hararganjensis h. ara & m.a. hassan, alocasia salarkhanii h. ara & m.a. hassan and typhonium elatum h. ara & m.a. hassan are described and illustrated. diagnostic morphological characters of each of the new species are provided. a comparative morphological characteristic for each new species with their closest described species has also been provided. introduction the family araceae de juss. is represented globally by 3,645 species under 144 genera (boyce and croat, 2011). the family is represented in bangladesh by 27 genera and 109 species, of which 80 species are wild and 29 are cultivated (ara, 2016). during revisionary work of the family araceae from bangladesh the first author made an extensive field survey (137 field trips) throughout the country, especially in the hilly forest areas during 1988-2014 and collected 2,698 aroid specimens. most of the collected specimens were identified by the first author. however, fifteen specimens remain distinct from any previously described and named species by different morphological characters. twelve specimens identified belonging to the genus alocasia (schott) g. don were not identical to any other described species. however, nine specimens of alocasia (schott) g. don are closely related to alocasia fallax schott and remaining three are closely related to a. fornicata (roxb.) schott. rest three specimens were identified as to belonged to the genus typhonium schott. these specimens are morphologically related to typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. these specimens were critically examined and compared with the identified specimens of alocasia (schott) g. don and typhonium schott available at bk, bkf, bm, cal, dacb, k, dush (dhaka university salar khan herbarium), hcu (herbarium of chittagong university), bcsirh (herbarium, bangladesh council for scientific and industrial research) and bfrih (herbarium, bangladesh forest research institute). moreover, consultation of the relevent literatures (wallich, 1829-1849; roxburgh, 1832; wight, 1843-1845; hooker, 1893; jackson, 1893-1955, prain, 1903; engler, 1920; engler and krause, 1920; hu, 1968; nicolson, 1976, 1979, 1987; nasir, 1978; nicolson and sivadasan, 1981; mayo, 1985; karthikeyan et al., 1989; hay, 1991, 1993, 1998, 1999; noltie, 1994; sriboonma et al. 1994; sookchaloem, 1995; mayo et al., 1997; hetterscheid and boyce, 2000; toha, 2000; boyce, 2007; li et al., 2010) on the family araceae revealed that collected specimens differed from other described species of the genus alocasia (schott) g. don and typhonium 1corresponding author, email: bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. 228 ara and hassan   schott. after critical study these specimens were recognized as new species, alocasia hararganjensis sp. nov., alocasia salarkhanii sp. nov. and typhonium elatum sp. nov. the new species are described and illustrated below. results and discussion 1. alocasia hararganjensis h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov. (figs 1 & 2). diagnosis: alocasia hararganjensis h. ara & m.a. hassan is closely related to a. fallax schott but readily differentiated by the leaf shape which are narrowly to ovate sagittate with acute tip; tip of the cataphylls c. 8 cm long; and no sterile male zone above the sterile interstice. holotype: bangladesh, moulvibazar district, gazipur beat, hararganj reserve forest, 21.05.2005, hosne ara ha 1740 (dacb). massive sub-arborescent pachycaul herb, c 3.5 m high. stem erect to decumbent, c. 10 cm in diameter, c 2.3 m long, clothed in the brown remains of old leaf bases. leaves several together in terminal crown, held almost erect or slightly curved; petiole c. 1.2 m long, sheathing c. 1/2 from the base of petiole, eglandular, light green, wing of sheath out-rolled; blade narrowly sagittate to ovate-sagittate, slightly glossy, leathery, glabrous, dark-green adaxially, pale green abaxially, usually bullate, 40-50 cm long, base 40-48 cm in diameter, margin entire to slightly sinuate; anterior lobes 35-42 cm long with apiculate tip c. 1 cm long; anterior costa prominent on both surfaces, glabrous, primary veins 7-11 on each side, prominent on both surfaces, diverging at 450700; secondary veins flush on both surfaces; interprimary collective veins well-defined; submarginal vein c. 3 mm from the margin; glands in the axils of primary veins absent or extremely inconspicuous; posterior lobes 30-35 cm long, rounded, peltate, c. 1.9 cm long; posterior costae straight. inflorescences 10 in the centre of the leafy crown, bloom one after another, subtended by cataphylls; cataphylls 66-68 cm long, tip of the cataphylls pointed, c. 8 cm long, green; peduncle smooth, 50-64 cm long, 1.0-1.5 cm in diameter at the base, green. spathe 18.5-21.0 cm long, constricted at level of sterile zone of spadix; lower spathe 4.5-5.0 cm long, light green, broadly ovoid-cylindric; limb 14-16 cm long, 6.5-7.0 cm in diameter, light greenish yellow, thinly leathery. spadix shorter than spathe, 12-15 cm long, sessile. female zone 1.8-2.0 cm long, 1.5-2.0 cm in diameter at the base, with 120-200 close-packed pistils; ovary green, ovoid to subglobose, 2-3 x 2.0-2.3 mm, unilocular, with basal placenta; style 0.5-0.8 mm long, 0.6 mm in diameter, cream coloured; stigma subglobose, shallowly 3-4 lobed, the lobes rounded, creamy; sterile interstice 2.0-2.5 cm long, with 7-8 whorls of rhombohexagonal synandrodia, the lowermost whorls isodiametric with female zone and resembling connate staminodes; sterile male zone absent above the sterile interstice; male zone creamy, 2.5-3.5 cm long, 1.0-1.5 cm in diameter; synandria creamy, rhombo-hexagonal, 2.0-2.3 mm in diameter, opening through apical slits; appendix ivory, 5.5-7.5 cm long, slightly thicker than the male zone at the base, then tapering gradually to a fine point, smooth to faintly rugose. fruits yellowish (usually does not mature), rather small, 3-4 mm in diameter; fruiting peduncles 40-59 cm long, bend, fruiting spathe whitish, pendulous, 5-6 cm long, the spathe dehiscing longitudinally. flowering period: march to october. ecology: grows on the hill slopes as undergrowth. distribution: north-eastern part of bangladesh, habiganj and moulvibazar districts. specimens examined: habiganj: kalenga beat, kalenga, 03.07.2005, hosne ara ha 1771 (dacb); moulvibazar: gazipur beat, hararganj reserve forest, 07.05.2003, hosne ara ha 315 (dacb); sreemongal, lawachara reserve forest, 15.05.2005, hosne ara ha 1468 (dacb); madhabkundo, 20.05.2005, hosne ara ha 1707 (dacb); gazipur beat, hararganj reserve forest, 21.05.2005, hosne ara ha 1740 (dacb); lawachara reserve forest, 04.07.2005, hosne ara ha three new species of araceae 229   1779 (dacb); gazipur beat, hararganj forest, 05.07.2005, hosne ara ha 1804 (dacb); dhaka: bangladesh national herbarium garden (cultivated), 22.06.2015, hosne ara ha 2885 (dacb) [originally collected from hararganj reserve forest under moulvibazar district]. etymology: the species is named after the type locality-hararganj in moulvibazar district, from where the species was first collected. fig. 1. alocasia hararganjensis h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov.: a. habit; b. cataphyll; c. inflorescence; d. spadix; e. synandrium; f. gynoecium. 230 ara and hassan   fig. 2. alocasia hararganjensis h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov.: a. tuber; b. habit-at bnh garden; c. flower with cataphyll; d. upper portion of the blade; e. lower portion of the blade; f-h. inflorescence; i. spadix; j. male zone; k. synandrium; l. sterile interstice; m. lower portion of the spadix; n. gynoecium, o. appendix; p-q. infructescence. note: the chromosome number has been determined for the new species alocasia hararganjensis, and 2n chromosome number for this species appears to be 30. the major morphological differences between the new species alocasia hararganjensis h. ara & m.a. hassan and its closely allied species alocasia fallax schott are outlined in table 1. three new species of araceae 231   table 1. morphological comparison of alocasia hararganjensis h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov. with alocasia fallax schott. characters alocasia hararganjensis h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov. alocasia fallax schott leaf shape narrowly ovate to ovate sagittate, tip acute round and crisped, tip round cataphyll tip of the cataphylls long pointed, c. 8 cm long tip of the cataphylls shortly pointed, c. 2.8 cm long spadix male zone 2.5-3.5 cm long (not less than 2.5 cm long) male zone c. 1.8 cm long (not more than 2 cm long) sterile male zone absent above the sterile interstice present above the sterile interstice chromosome number (2n) 30 28 (sultana et al., 2011) conservation status: near threatened (iucn, 2017). restricted distribution. both in situ and ex situ conservation measures are suggested. 2. alocasia salarkhanii h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov. (figs 3 & 4). diagnosis: alocasia salarkhanii h. ara & m.a. hassan is closely related to alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott but can be easily differentiated by the colour of petiole and peduncle deep purple; shape of lamina long elliptic; number of inflorescences groups less than 4; length of style c. 0.5 mm long; male zone c. 2.3 cm long; and width of the appendix base and male zone are equal. holotype: bangladesh, moulvibazar district, lawachara reserve forest, 15.05.20005, hosne ara ha 1467 (dacb). small to moderately robust herb. stem erect to decumbent, up to 4 cm in diameter, c. 60 cm long, clothed in the brown remains of old leaf bases. leaves several together, held almost erect or slightly curved; petiole 35-52 cm long, sheathing c. 1/3 from the base of petiole, eglandular, deep purple, wings of the sheath out-rolled; blade hastato-sagittate, rather narrowly triangular, margin entire to slightly undulate, glossy, leathery, dark green, glabrous adaxially, pale green and pubescent abaxially, 31-51 cm long, 14.0-21.5 cm in diameter at the base; anterior lobes 18-33 cm long with apiculate tip 0.6-1.0 cm long; anterior costa prominent on both surfaces, glabrous on both surfaces, primary veins 6 on each side, prominent on both surfaces, diverging at 450-900, secondary venation flush on both surfaces, mostly arising from the primary veins at a wide angle, then deflected towards the margin, forming variously well-defined interprimary collective veins or these absent, interprimary collective veins when present weakly undulating to strongly zig-zag at base broad acute angles; submarginal vein 0.8-1.0 cm from the margin; glands in the axils of primary veins absent or extremely inconspicuous; posterior lobes 13-18 cm long, acute, peltate, 2.3-3.0 cm long; posterior costae straight to incurved. inflorescences 3 in the center of the leaf crown, bloom one after another, subtended by a cataphyll, cataphyll up to 25 cm long, purple; peduncle deep purple, smooth, 26-31 cm long, 0.7-1.3 cm in diameter at the base. spathe c. 15 cm long; lower spathe convolute, c. 4.2 cm long, green; limb c. 11.7 cm long, c. 4.8 cm in diameter, light yellowish with violet or pink mixed on both sides. spadix shorter than spathe, c. 11.5 cm long. lower fertile female zone c. 1 cm long; sterile female zone c. 0.5 cm long, c. 1.3 cm in diameter at the base; pistil closely packed; ovary sub-globose, green, c. 2 x 2 mm, unilocular, with basal placenta; style distirct, stout, c. 0.5 mm long, c 0.8 mm in diameter, light yellow; stigma 3-4 lobed, lobes acute, light yellow; sterile interstice c. 2 cm long, narrower than the fertile zones, 232 ara and hassan   fig. 3. alocasia salarkhanii h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov.: a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. spadix; d. gynoecium. three new species of araceae 233   fig. 4. alocasia salarkhanii h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov.: a. wild habitat; b,c. habit-at home garden; d,e. inflorescence; f. inside of the spathe; g. outside of the spathe; h. spadix; i,j. lower portion of the spadix; k. appendix. 234 ara and hassan   corresponding with the spathe constriction; lower synandrodia often with incompletely connate staminodes, the rest elongate rhombo-hexagonal, flat-topped; male zone cyclindric, somewhat tapered at the base, c. 2.3 cm long, c. 0.8 cm thick, ivory in colour; synandria more or less hexagonal, c. 2 mm in diameter, androus; appendix c. 3.5 cm long, c. 0.8 cm thick at the middle, about the same thickness at the male zone, gradually tapering to a pointed tip, cream coloured. fruit orange-red; fruiting peduncle 33-35 cm long, fruiting spathe ovoid, 4-6 cm long. flowering and fruiting period: may august. chromosome number: 2n = 28 (afroz et al., 2013). ecology: grows on the hilly area as undergrowth. distribution: north-eastern part of bangladesh, moulvibazar district. specimens examined: moulvibazar: lawachara reserve forest, 15.05.2005, hosne ara ha 1467 (dacb); 04.07.2005, hosne ara ha 1781 (dacb); dhaka: khilgaon, tilpapara (cultivated), 07.05.2006, hosne ara ha 2630 (dacb); bangladesh national herbarium garden (cultivated), 30.05.2006, hosne ara ha 2651 (dacb) [originally collected from lawachara reserve forest under moulvibazar districts]. etymology: the species is named in honour of dr. md. salar khan, known as the father of plant taxonomy in bangladesh. the major morphological and cytological differences between the new species alocasia salarkhanii h. ara & m.a. hassan and its closely allied species alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott are outlined in table 2. table 2. morphological and cytological comparison of alocasia salarkhanii h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov. with its closely related alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott. characters alocasia salarkhanii h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov. alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott petiole and peduncle deep purple green leaf blade elliptic hastate inflorescence in groups of up to 3 in groups of 12, up to 25 style c. 0.5 mm long c. 1.0 mm long male zone c. 2.3 cm long c. 1.5 cm long appendix base of the appendix equal to the male zone base of the appendix wider than the male zone chromosome number 28 (22m+6sm) 28 (18m+10sm) cma and dapi cma-band and dapi band absent cma-band and dapi band present m = metacentric chromosome, sm = submetacentric chromosome. conservation status: critically endangered (iucn, 2017). located in a very restricted area, should be conserved both by in situ and ex situ methods. 3. typhonium elatum h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov. (figs 5 & 6). diagnosis: typhonium elatum h. ara & m.a. hassan differs from its closely related species t. trilobatum (l.) schott by its green colour petiole which is more than 50 cm long; peduncle colour light green; length of the spathe c. 40 cm long and shape narrowly lanceolate; spadix length c. 29 cm long; base of the appendix multifurcate and colour of the staminode yellow. three new species of araceae 235   fig. 5. typhonium elatum h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov.: a. habit; b. spathe; c. inflorescence; d. spadix; e. lower portion of the appendix, male zone and lower portion of the sapdix. holotype: bangladesh, sherpur district, samaschura beat, 10.10.2003, hosne ara ha 701 (dacb). tuber c. 5 cm long, c. 4 cm in diameter, developing several offsets. leaf paired; petioles up to 64 cm long, c. 1 cm in diameter, pale green. leaf blade usually deeply trilobed, anterior lobe elliptic-lanceolate, up to c. 25 cm long, c. 13 cm in diameter, posterior lobe c. 19.5 cm long, c. 9 cm in diameter, bright pale green. inflorescence paired. peduncle c. 10 cm long, c. 0.8 cm in diameter, pale green. spathe c. 40 cm long, tube and blade separated by a strong constriction; tube 236 ara and hassan   fig. 6. typhonium elatum h. ara & m.a. hassan sp. nov.: a,b,c. habit at home garden; d,e. inflorescence, f. spadix; g. male zone and lower portion of the appendix; h,i. lower portion of the spadix. three new species of araceae 237   c. 3.5 cm long, outside pale green, inside glossy dark purple; blade c. 36.5 cm long, outside pale green, inside glossy dark purple. spadix shorter than spathe, c. 29 cm long. female zone c. 0.8 cm long, c. 0.8 cm in diameter, flowers congested; sterile zone between female and male zone, 2.74.0 cm long, the lower 0.5-2.2 cm with yellow staminodes, the remainder naked, light pink, longitudinally grooved; male zone cylindrical, c. 1.8 cm long, c. 1 cm in diameter, base and top oblique, flowers congested; appendix very shortly stipitate, narrowly lanceolate, 20-24 cm long, c. 1 cm in diameter at the base, top acute, base multifurcate, with surface shallowly and irregularly furrowed, dark purple, producing a strong unpleasant smell at female anthesis. stamens 0.6-0.9 mm long, light pinkish. staminodes filiform, c. 1.6 cm long, c. 0.5 mm in diameter, dark yellowish, curled. ovary elongate, cylindric, c. 1.5 mm long, 1.1-1.2 mm in diameter, white with a faint pinkish flush near the top, unilocular, with one basal ovule; stigma sessile, depressed, hemispheric, c. 0.8 mm in diameter, c. 0.2 mm high, papillose, pink. fruit not observed, usually die before fruit formation. flowering period: march october. chromosome number: 2n = 18 (huq et al., 2007). ecology: grows on the hilly area as undergrowth. distribution: central parts of bangladesh (sherpur district). specimen examined: sherpur: samaschura beat, 10.10.2003, hosne ara. ha 701 (dacb); ibid, 23.06.2004, hosne ara ha 1060 (dacb); dhaka: khilgaon, tilpapara (cultivated), 02.07.2015, hosne ara ha 2889 (dacb) [originally collected from samaschura beat under sherpur district]. etymology: the species is named after tallness of its habit. the major morphological and cytological differences between the new species typhonium elatum h. ara & m.a. hassan and its closely allied species typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott are presented in table 3. table 3. morphological and cytological comparison of typhonium elatum h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov. with typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. characters typhonium elatum h. ara & m.a. hassan, sp. nov. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott petiole green, ≥ 50 cm long purple, ≤ 45 cm long leaf shape elliptic lanceolate ovate, ovate-lanceolate peduncle light green purple spathe c. 40 cm long, narrow lanceolate 15-18 cm long, ovate to broadly ovate spadix length c. 29 cm long c. 13.5 cm long appendix base of the appendix multifurcate base of the appendix truncate staminodes yellow white ovary c. 1.5 mm long, c. 1.2 mm in diameter, white with a faint pinkish flush near the top c. 1.0 mm long, c. 0.7 mm in diameter, cream colour chromosome number 18 (12m + 6sm) 18 (16m + 2sm) dapi band dapi band 5 dapi band 3 m = metacentric chromosome, sm = submetacentric chromosome. note : although the two species bear same chromosome number, they differ by the karyotype formulae and dapi characters. 238 ara and hassan   conservation status: endangered (iucn, 2017). collected from a single locality, now conserved through ex situ in a home garden. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the authorities of the bk, bkf, bm, cal, dacb, k, dush, hcu, bcsirh and bfrih for providing facilities to consult aroid materials and their libraries. the authors express their gratitude to professor dr. m. oliur rahman, department of botany, university of dhaka for his encouragement and enormous help during preparation of the manuscript. thanks are also due to ms. mahmuda akter, senior artist-cum-illustrator, bangladesh national herbarium for drawing the illustrations, and the researchers at cytogenetics laboratory of the department of botany, university of dhaka for their cooperation in chromosomal investigation of the new species. references afroz, m., sultana, s.s. and alam, s.s. 2013. karyotype and rapd analysis of three morphological forms of alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott. cytologia 78(3): 269−275. ara, h. 2016. taxonomic studies in the family araceae from bangladesh. ph.d. thesis (unpublished), department of botany, university of dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1–524. boyce, p.c. 2007. studies on the alocasia schott (araceae-colocasieae) of borneo: i. two new species from sarawak, malaysian borneo. gard. bull. singapore 58(2): 141–154. boyce, p.c. and croat, t.b. 2011 (onwards). the überlist of araceae, totals for published and estimated number of species in aroid genera. http://www.aroid.org/genera/180211 uberlist.pdf. 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(manuscript received on 11 october 2018; revised on 9 november 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 137‒152, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a survey on the floral diversity of rural areas in udumalpet taluk, tiruppur district, tamil nadu, india p. radha*, r. nagaraj, c. udhayavani and k. sivaranjani siddha clinical research unit, central council for research in siddha, ministry of ayush, govt. of india, palayamkottai, tirunelveli-627 002, tamil nadu, india keywords: biodiversity; floristic; tamil nadu; udumalpet taluk; urbanisation. abstract survey on the floral diversity is an important activity to assess the existing flora. this study was carried out from december 2017 to december 2018 to document the flora existing in the udumalpet taluk, tiruppur district, tamil nadu, india. as a result, a total of 370 taxa belonging to 263 genera of 82 angiosperm families have been documented. 52% of species of them are herbaceous. euphorbiaceae and fabaceae with 23 taxa each, asteraceae with 21 species, acanthaceae with 20 species and amaranthaceae with 18 species are observed as the dominant families. in this article, family, botanical name, habit, vernacular name and various applications of the recorded plants are enumerated systematically. threats to these plants and possible conservation strategies are also discussed briefly. introduction flora of a region is considered as an essential part of the environment that determines the wealth of ecosystem and human health (sandifer et al., 2015). it is highly recommended that, proper utilization of plant resources of a country, state, district, small areas like taluks and villages, has been helpful to maintain the availability and richness of the flora (gurusamy et al., 2016; sarvalingam and rajendran, 2018). documentation on the flora of rural areas are comparatively less than the checklists of flora on the particular hills, green patches, reserve forests, uphill or otherwise focused on particular group of plants or genus of the family etc. (singh, 1982; sinha, 2005; sukumaran et al., 2008; mantosh 2013; vijay and ashok, 2013; ganorkar and kshirsagar, 2013; kumar and ritesh, 2014; anuradha and murugandam, 2016; parthipan et al., 2016; savita and sanjaykumar, 2017). udumalpet taluk was previously included in the coimbatore district, after the bifurcation on 2008, it came under newly formed tiruppur district. floristic survey of this area was previously done by different researchers mainly on anamalai reserve forests and it’s nearby reserve forests, green patches and hillocks coming under this taluk. however, thirumoorthy and amaravathi dams flora was not done extensively (shankaranarayanan and gupta, 1959; balasubramanian et al., 1997; ramachandran, 2007; george et al., 2011; rasingam, 2012; ramachandran et al., 2014; murugeswaran et al., 2014; rajendran et al., 2014; sridharan and kalpana, 2017). since the inhabitants of these areas still rely on plants for medicinal, edible and other commercial/miscellaneous uses, the present work focused to explore the flora existing in the rural areas of udumalpet taluk by conducting frequent field surveys and assess its conservation status. *corresponding author, email: radhasudar@rediffmail.com mailto:radhasudar@rediffmail.com 138 radha et al. materials and methods udumalpet taluk of tiruppur district, tamil nadu (india) lies between 10°24′ 23″n latitude and 77°24′ 45″e longitude. the average altitude of the study area is 368 m. annual temperature varies from an average of 20˚c and 38˚c and the average annual rainfall is 480 to 600 mm. total population of the udumalpet taluk is 1,29,117 of which 64,600 are male and 64,517 are female from 46 villages. banana, coconut, maize, yellow pumpkin are the main crops cultivated in the study area. this area is surrounded by a part of anamalai hills and two major reservoirs namely, thirumoorthy dam and amaravathi dam, a part of indira gandhi wildlife sanctuary and national park (now anamalai tiger reserve) of western ghats crossing tamil nadu. floristic survey of this region was previously done by different researchers mainly on anamalai reserve forests and its nearby reserve forests. no records are found in the rural floras (george et al., 2011; rasingam, 2012; murugeswaran et al., 2014; rajendran et al., 2014; sridharan and kalpana, 2017). for this study, frequent field explorations were conducted from december 2017 to december 2018 to document the flora existing in the different habitats in the rural areas of udumalpet taluk. specimens were collected in triplicate and identified using various flora (gamble and fischer, 1915-1936; nair and henry, 1983; henry et al., 1987, 1989; chandrabose and nair, 1987; matthew, 1981-1983, 1991). the botanical name and vernacular name were verified using reputed websites such as the plant list (2013), frlht etc. the collected plant specimens were processed for herbarium as per the standard herbarium methods (jain and rao, 1977) and deposited in the herbaria of siddha clinical research unit, palayamkottai for future reference. results and discussion a total of 370 taxa belonging to 263 genera spreading over 82 families of angiosperms along with some species of pteridophytes such as selaginella wightii hieron., marsilea quadrifolia l., actinopteris radiata (j. koenig ex sw.) link, azolla sp. etc., bryophytes such as marchantia sp., funararia sp. and a few fungus were documented. in dicotyledons, the sub-class polypetalae comprises 38 families of 103 genera with 147 species, gamopetalae18 families of 99 genera and 134 species, and monochlamydeae 14 families of 36 genera 63 species, whereas monocototyledon 12 families of 25 genera with 26 species (table 1). each taxon is enumerated with botanical name, family, habit, vernacular name and economic importance such as medicine, edible, ornamental and timber yielding plants (table 2). euphorbiaceae and fabaceae are dominant with 23 species each followed by asteraceae (21 species), acanthaceae (20 species), amaranthaceae (18 species), caesalpiniaceae (16 species), solanaceae (15 species), malvaceae (13 species), cucurbitaceae and mimosaceae (12 species each), verbenaceae and lamiaceae (10 species each) and rest of the families comprise less than ten species each (fig. 1). the habit of the species recorded from the study area is broadly classified under four categories viz., herbs, shrubs, climbers and trees. herbs constitute the major portion with 196 species (53%) followed by trees with 82 species (22%), shrubs with 53 (15%) and climbers with 38 species (10%). the tree species such as, adenanthera pavonina l., alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br., ailanthus excelsa roxb., crateva adansonii dc., dalbergia sissoo roxb., delonix elata (l.) gamble, delonix regia (boj. ex hook) rafin., lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr., millingtonia hortensis l.f., azadirachta indica a. juss., muntingia calabura l., pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre, spathodea campanulata beauv., tamarindus indica l., tectona grandis l.f., terminalia arjuna (roxb.) wight & arn., terminalia catappa l., and thespesia populnea (l.) soland ex correa are recorded from the roadsides/highways. some of the common species recorded in the study area were given in the figs 2 and 3. a survey on the floral diversity of rural areas 139 amongst the recorded plants, 332 (75.11%) species are medicinal, 48 (10.85%) species are edible, 30 (6.78%) species are timber yielding, and 27 species (6.10%) are ornamentals. five species are useful in miscellaneous purposes (1.13%). the common seasonal herbs of annuals, biennials, climbers and aquatic species are flourished in the studied area that has been used as medicine for common ailments. however, some interesting species such as caralluma umbellata haw., cymbopogon citratus (dc.) stapf., dodonaea viscosa (l.) jacq. and euphorbia antiquorum l. etc., are found to be dominant along with the other medicinal plants in the small hillocks like perumalmalai, thamburanmalai and perumalpudhur hills. species like ammania baccifera l., bacopa monnieri (l.) pennell, centella asiatica (l.) urban, colocasia esculenta (l.) schott, commelina benghalensis l., cyanotis axillaris (l.) d. don, eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms-laub., pistia stratiotes l., sphaeranthus amaranthoides burm.f. and sphaeranthus indicus l. are recorded from the wetlands. dendrophthoe falcata (l.f.) etting. a stem parasite, striga asiatica (l.) kuntze and santalum album l., the root parasites are also found in the study area. strobilanthes consanguineaus (nees) t. anders. is an endemic species of the southern western ghats (sasidharan, 2004). santalum album l. (santalaceae) is recorded as rare during the study period (iucn, 2018). eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms-laub., lantana camara l. var. aculeata (l.) mold., mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l.rob. and parthenium hysterophorus l. are the exotics species spreading vigorously in the natural habitations and cultivation fields that compete with other important taxa. table 1. numerical representation of the flora of udumalpet taluk, tiruppur district. class sub-class no. of species no. of genera no. of families dicotyledons polypetalae 147 103 38 gamopetalae 134 99 18 monochlamydeae 63 36 14 monocotyledons 26 25 12 total 370 263 82 table 2. list of plants recorded from the study area. sl. no. botanical name family habit vernacular name economic value 1. abrus precatorius l. fabaceae cl kuntumani m 2. abutilon crispum (l.) medicus malvaceae h siruthuthi 3. abutilon hirtum (lam.) sweet malvaceae s vattathuthi m 4. abutilon indicum (l.) sweet malvaceae s thuthi m 5. acacia horrida (l.f.) willd. mimosaceae t anaimullu 6. acacia leucophloea (roxb.) willd. mimosaceae t velvelam m/ti 7. acacia nilotica (l.) willd. ex del. subsp. indica (benth) brenan mimosaceae t karuvelam m/ti 8. acacia planifrons wight & arn. mimosaceae t kodaivelam m /ti 9. acalypha fruticosa forssk. euphorbiaceae h sinni m 10. acalypha indica l. euphorbiaceae h kuppaimeni m 11. acalypha racemosa heyne ex baill. euphorbiaceae h orvisakarappan m 12. acanthospermum hispidum dc. asteraceae h mutthulasi m 140 radha et al. 13. achyranthes aspera l. amaranthaceae h nayurivi m 14. achyranthes bidentata blume amaranthaceae h sennaiyuruvi m 15. adenanthera pavonina l. mimosaceae t aanai kundumani m 16. aegle marmelos (l.) correa rutaceae t vilvam m 17. aerva javanica (burm.f.) juss. ex schultes amaranthaceae h perumpeelai m 18. aerva lanata (l.) juss. ex schultes amaranthaceae h sirupeelai m 19. agave americana l. agavaceae s kathazhai m/o 20. ageratum conyzoides l. asteraceae h pumpillu m 21. ailanthus excelsa roxb. simaroubaceae t perumaram m/ti 22. albizia amara (roxb.) boivin mimosaceae t arappu m 23. albizia lebbeck (l.) willd. mimosaceae t vagai m/ti 24. albizia saman (jacq.) f.v. muell. mimosaceae t thoongu moonji m /ti 25. allamanda cathartica l. apocynaceae cl manjal-patti m/o 26. allmania nodiflora (l.) r. br. ex wight amaranthaceae h kummatikeerai m/e 27. aloe vera (l.) burm.f. lilliaceae h chotthukathazhai m 28. alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br. apocynaceae t yezhilai paalai m 29. alternanthera philoxeroides (c. martiu) griseb. amaranthaceae h m/e 30. alternanthera pungens kunth amaranthaceae h adai otti m 31. alternanthera sessilis (l.) r.br. ex dc. amaranthaceae h ponnanganni m/e 32. alternanthera tenella colla. amaranthaceae h m/e 33. alysicarpus glumaceus (vahl) dc. fabaceae h m 34. alysicarpus vaginalis (l.) dc. fabaceae h kuruthiadakki m 35. amaranthus polygonoides l. amaranthaceae h sirukeerai e 36. amaranthus spinosus l. amaranthaceae h mullukkeerai m/e 37. amaranthus tricolor l. amaranthaceae h thandukeerai m/e 38. amaranthus viridis l. amaranthaceae h kupaikeerai e 39. ammania baccifera l. lythraceae h neermel-neruppu m 40. anaphalis subdecurrens (dc.) gamble asteraceae h 41. andrographis echioides nees acanthaceae h gopuram thaangi m 42. andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall. ex nees acanthaceae h siriyanangai m 43. anisochilus carnosus (l.f.) wall. ex benth. lamiaceae h poochenthira pattai m 44. anisomeles malabarica (l.) r. br. ex sims lamiaceae h peimiratti m 45. annona squamosa l. annonaceae t seetha e 46. antigonon leptopus hook. & arn. polygonaceae cl kodi rose o 47. argemone mexicana l. papaveraceae h bramathandu m 48. aristolochia bracteolata lam. aristolochiaceae h aduthinnappalai m 49. aristolochia indica l. aristolochiaceae cl esuramooli m 50. artocarpus heterophyllus lam. moraceae t palamaram e/ti 51. arundo donax l. poaceae h southai moongil o 52. asparagus racemosus willd. lilliaceae h thaneer vitaan kizhangu m 53. asystasia gangetica (l.) t. and. acanthaceae h silathinayagam m 54. azadirachta indica a. juss. meliaceae t vembu m/ti a survey on the floral diversity of rural areas 141 55. azima tetracantha lam. salvadoraceae s mulsangu m 56. bacopa monnieri (l.) pennell scrophulariaceae h neerbrahmi m 57. barleria acuminata nees acanthaceae h vellai kurinji m 58. barleria buxifolia l. acanthaceae s chunampu korandi m 59. barleria cuspidata heyne ex nees acanthaceae h manjal semmuli m 60. barleria prionitis l. acanthaceae h chemmulli m 61. basella rubra l. basellaceae h pasalai keerai m/e 62. bauhinia racemosa lam. caesalpiniaceae t aathi m/ti 63. bauhinia tomentosa l. caesalpiniaceae t iruvatchi m 64. benkara malabarica (lam.) tirvengadum rubiaceae t matukkarai m 65. blainvillea acmella (l.) philipson asteraceae h m 66. blepharis maderaspatensis (l.) heyne ex roth acanthaceae h nethira moolli m 67. blepharis molluginifolia pers. acanthaceae h m 68. boerhavia chinensis (l.) asch. & schweinf. nyctaginaceae h sambal poondu m 69. boerhavia diffusa l. nyctaginaceae h mookarattai m 70. boerhavia erecta l. nyctaginaceae h seemai mookarattai m 71. borassus flabellifer l. arecaceae t panaimaram m/e/ti 72. bougainvillea glabra choisy nyctaginaceae s kaagitha poo o 73. brassica juncea (l.) czern. & coss. apiaceae h kadugu m/e 74. byttneria herbacea roxb. sterculiaceae h m 75. caesalpinia bonduc (l.) roxb. caesalpiniaceae s kazharchikaai m 76. caesalpinia pulcherrima (l.) sw. caesalpiniaceae s mayil kondrai m/o 77. calotropis gigantea (l.) r.br. asclepiadaceae s erukku m 78. calotropis procera (ait.) r.br. asclepiadaceae s vellerukku m 79. canthium coromandelicum (burm. f.) alston rubiaceae s kaaraichedi m 80. capparis divaricata lam. capparidiaceae s thoratti m 81. capparis sepiaria l. capparidaceae s karunjurai m 82. capparis zeylanica l. capparidaceae s athondai m 83. capsicum annuum l. solanaceae h milagai m/e 84. caralluma adscendens (roxb.) haw. asclepiadaceae h kallimulayan m 85. caralluma umbellata haw. asclepiadaceae h yaanai kallimuliyaan m 86. cardiospermum canescens wall. sapindaceae cl kaattu mudakkaruthaan m 87. cardiospermum halicacabum l. sapindaceae cl mudakotthan m 88. carica papaya l. caricaceae t pappali m/e 89. caryota urens l. arecaceae t koonthalpanai m/o 90. cassia auriculata l. caesalpiniaceae s avaram m 91. cassia hirsuta (l.) irwin & barneby caesalpiniaceae h malaiyavarai m 92. cassia italica mill. caesalpiniaceae h nilvagai m 93. cassia roxburghii dc. caesalpiniaceae t senkondrai o 94. catharanthus pusillus (murr.) g.don apocynaceae h milagai poondu m 95. catharanthus roseus (l.) g.don apocynaceae h nithyakalyani m/o 96. ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. bombacaceae t ilavam m 97. celosia argentea l. amaranthaceae h pannaikeerai m/e 142 radha et al. 98. centella asiatica (l.) urban apiaceae h vallarai m/e 99. cereus pterogonus lem. cactaceae s sippaikalli 100. ceropegia juncea roxb. asclepiadaceae cl pulichakodi m 101. chamaecrista absus (l.) h. irwin & barneby caesalpiniaceae h mulaipalyirai m 102. chenopodium ambrosioides l. chenopodiaceae h mannenaikolai m 103. chloris barbata sw. poaceae h kodai pillu m 104. chromolaena odorata (l.) king & robinson asteraceae s m 105. cissus quadrangularis l. vitaceae cl pirandai m/e 106. citrullus colocynthis (l.) schrader cucurbitaceae h peikkumatti m 107. citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsumura & nakai cucurbitaceae cl kattu thannipalam m 108. citrus limon (l.) burm.f. rutaceae t elumichai m/e 109. citrus medica l. rutaceae t narathai m/e 110. cleome gynandra l. capparidaceae h nalvaelai m 111. cleome monophylla l. capparidaceae h ucivaelai m 112. cleome viscosa l. capparidaceae h nai kadugu m 113. clerodendrum phlomidis l.f. verbenaceae s thazhuthaazhai m 114. clitoria ternatea l. fabaceae cl sangu poo m/o 115. coccinia grandis (l.) voigt cucurbitaceae cl kovai m/e 116. cocculus hirsutus (l.) diels menispermaceae cl kattukodi m 117. cocos nucifera l. arecaceae t thenneimaram m/e/ti 118. coldenia procumbens l. boraginaceae h seruppadai m 119. colocasia esculenta (l.) schott araceae h saeppan kizhangu e 120. commelina benghalensis l. commelinaecae h kanavazhai e 121. commelina diffusa burm commelinaceae h m 122. commiphora berryi (arn.) engler burseraceae t mullu kiluvai m 123. corallocarpus epigaeus (rottl. & willd.) clarke cucurbitaceae cl garudan kizhangu m 124. corchorus trilocularis l. tiliaceae h vazhukkai poondu m 125. cordia sebestena l. boraginaceae t m/o 126. coriandrum sativum l. apiaceae h kothamalli m/e 127. couroupita guianensis aubl. lecythidaceae t nagalingam m 128. crateva adansonii dc. capparidaceae t mavilingam m/ti 129. crinum asiaticum l. amaryllidaceae h vishamoongil m 130. crossandra infundibuliformis (l.) nees acanthaceae h kanakambaram m/o 131. crotalaria globosa wight & arn. fabaceae h 132. crotalaria pallida dryand. fabaceae h m 133. crotalaria pallida dryand. var. obovata (g.don) polhill fabaceae h 134. crotalaria verrucosa l. fabaceae h kilukilupai m/o 135. croton bonplandianum baill. euphorbiaceae h rail poondu m 136. ctenolepis garcinii (burm.f.) clarke cucurbitaceae cl kollankovai m 137. cucumis dipsaceus ehrenb. ex spach. cucurbitaceae cl m a survey on the floral diversity of rural areas 143 138. cucurbita maxima duchesne ex lam. cucurbitaceae cl parangikaai m 139. cuscuta reflexa lam. convolvulaceae cl ammaiyar kuntal m 140. cyanotis axillaris (l.) d. don commelinaceae h valukkai pullu m 141. cylindropuntia ramosissima (engler) knuth cactaceae s uruttai chapathikalli mis. 142. cymbopogon citratus (dc.) stapf poaceae h vasana pullu m 143. cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. poaceae h arugam pullu m 144. dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. poaceae h aricipul m 145. dalbergia sissoo roxb. fabaceae t sisu m/ti 146. datura innoxia mill. solanaceae h oomatthai m 147. datura metel l. solanaceae h karu oomatthai m 148. delonix elata (l.) gamble caesalpiniaceae t vaadhanarayanan m 149. delonix regia (boj. ex hook) rafin. caesalpiniaceae t mayil kondrai m/ti 150. dendrophthoe falcata (l.f.) etting. loranthaceae s pulluruvi m 151. dichrostachys cinerea (l.) wight & arn. mimosaceae t vidathazhai m/ti 152. dicoma tomentosa cass. asteraceae h m 153. diplocyclos palmatus (l.) jeffrey cucurbitaceae cl iyvrali m 154. dipteracanthus prostratus (poir.) nees acanthaceae h pottakanchi m 155. dodonaea viscosa (l.) jacq. sapindaceae s viraali m 156. dolichandrone atrovirens (heyne ex roth) sprague bignoniaceae t m/o 157. echinochloa colona (l.) link poaceae h karumpullu m 158. eclipta prostrata (l.) l. asteraceae h vellai karisalankanni m 159. eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solmslaub. pontederiaceae h vengaaya thamarai m 160. enicostema axillare (lam.) raynal gentianaceae h vellaragu m 161. eragrostiella bifaria (vahl) bor poaceae h oothupul mis. 162. eragrostis unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud. poaceae h 163. euphorbia antiquorum l. euphorbiaceae s sadura-kalli m 164. euphorbia cyathophora murr. euphorbiaceae h poinsettia o 165. euphorbia heterophylla l. euphorbiaceae h paal poondu chedi e 166. euphorbia hirta l. euphorbiaceae h ammanpacharisi m 167. euphorbia thymifolia l. euphorbiaceae h sittrapaladai m 168. euphorbia tirucalli l. euphorbiaceae s tiru-kalli m/o 169. euphorbia tortilis rottl. euphorbiaceae s thirugukalli m 170. evolvulus alsinoides (l.)l convolvulaceae h vishnukarandi m 171. ficus auriculata lour. moraceae t m/o 172. ficus benghalensis l. moraceae t aal m 173. ficus religiosa l. moraceae t arasamaram m/ti 174. glinus lotoides l. aizoaceae h siruseruppadai m 175. glinus oppositifolius (l.) a. dc. aizoaceae h katchanthura m 176. gmelina arborea roxb. verbenaceae t kumizha maram m/o 177. gmelina asiatica l. verbenaceae t nilakkumizh m 178. gomphrena celosioides c. martius amaranthaceae h neer vadamalli e 179. gomphrena globosa l. amaranthaceae h vaadamalli m/o 180. gyrocarpus americanus willd. hernandiaceae t thanakku ti 144 radha et al. 181. hamelia patens jacq. rubiaceae s m/o/e 182. hardwickia binata roxb. caesalpiniaceae t acha maram o/ti 183. heliotropium indicum l. boraginaceae h thael kodukku m 184. heliotropium scabrum retz. boraginaceae h 185. hemidesmus indicus (l.) r.br. asclepiadaceae cl nannaari m/e 186. hibiscus lobatus (murr.) kuntze malvaceae h 187. hibiscus micranthus l.f. malvaceae h sitraamutti m 188. hibiscus vitifolius l. malvaceae s siru thutthi m 189. holoptelea integrifolia (roxb.) planch. ulmaceae t aya ti 190. homonoia riparia lour. euphorbiaceae s kallarali m 191. hybanthus enneaspermus (l.) f. v. muell. violaceae h oridhal thamarai m 192. hygrophila schulli (hamilt.) m.r.almeida & s.m. almeida acanthaceae h neermulli m 193. hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. lamiaceae h kanathulasi m 194. imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. poaceae h dharbai pullu m 195. indigofera linnaei ali fabaceae h cheppunerunjil m 196. indigofera longiracemosa boiv. fabaceae h 197. indigofera tinctoria l. fabaceae h avuri m 198. ipomoea carnea jacq. convolvulaceae s velikaththan m 199. ipomoea hederifolia l. convolvulaceae cl kanavalikkodi m 200. ipomoea obscura (l.) ker-gawl. convolvulaceae cl siru thali m 201. ipomoea sepiaria koen. convolvulaceae cl talikeerai m 202. ipomoea staphylina roem. & schultes convolvulaceae cl onaan kodi m 203. ixora coccinea l. rubiaceae s vetchi m 204. jatropha curcas l. euphorbiaceae s kaatu-amanakku m 205. jatropha glandulifera roxb. euphorbiaceae s vellai adalai m 206. jatropha gossypifolia l. euphorbiaceae s kaatu-amanakku m 207. justicia adhatoda l. acanthaceae s adathodai m 208. justicia tranquebariensis l.f. acanthaceae h thavasi murungai m 209. kedrostis foetidissima (jacq.) cogn. cucurbitaceae cl appakovai m 210. kylinga bulbosa p. beavu. cyperaceae h m 211. lablab purpureus (l.) sweet fabaceae cl avarai e 212. lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. anacardiaceae t odhiya maram m/ti 213. lantana camara l. var. aculeata (l.) mold. verbenaceae s unnichedi m 214. lantana camera l. verbenaceae s unnichedi m 215. lawsonia inermis l. lythraceae s marudhaani m 216. leonotis nepetiifolia (l.) r.br. lamiaceae h murandai m 217. lepidagathis fasciculata (retz.) nees acanthaceae h 218. lepidagathis pungens nees acanthaceae h parkurandi m 219. lepidagathis scariosa nees acanthaceae h sadaikurandi m 220. leucaena leucocephala (l.) gills mimosaceae t soundil mis 221. leucas aspera (willd.) link lamiaceae h thumbai m 222. ludwigia perennis l. onagraceae h musalkathilai m 223. ludwigia peruviana (l.) hara onagraceae s m 224. luffa cylindrica (l.) m.roem. cucurbitaceae cl mozhukupirkanakai m 225. mangifera indica l. anacardiaceae t maa maram m/e a survey on the floral diversity of rural areas 145 226. martynia annua l. pedaliaceae h thael kodukku m 227. melochia corchorifolia l. sterculiaceae h punnakku poondu m 228. merremia tridentata (l.) hall.f. convolvulaceae h avvaiyar koondhal m 229. microstachys chamaelea (l.) muell.arg. euphorbiaceae h kuruvikachedi 230. mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l.rob. asteraceae cl m 231. millingtonia hortensis l.f. bignoniaceae t maramalli m/o 232. mimosa pudica l. mimosaceae h thotaal surungi m 233. mimusops elengi l. sapotaceae t mahilam m/o 234. mirabilis jalapa l. nyctaginiaceae h pattaraschu m /o 235. mitracarpus villosus (sw.) dc. rubiaceae h m 236. mollugo nudicaulis lam. aizoaceae h kuthiraipoondu m 237. momordica charantia l. cucurbitaceae cl pavakaai m 238. morinda coreia buch.-ham rubiaceae t manjanati m 239. moringa concanensis nimmo ex gibs. moringaceae t kattumurungai m 240. moringa oleifera lam. moringaceae t murungai m/e 241. mucuna pruriens (l.) dc. fabaceae cl poonaikaali m 242. mukia maderaspatana (l.) m. roem. cucurbitaceae cl musumusukkai m 243. mundulea sericea (willd.) a. cheval fabaceae t pilavaram m 244. muntingia calabura l. elaeocarpaceae t thenpazham m 245. murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. rutaceae t kariveppilai m 246. musa paradisiaca l. musaceae h vaazhai m/e 247. nicandra physalodes (l.) gaertn. solanaceae h sudakku thakazhi m 248. nothosaerva brachiata (l.) wight amaranthaceae h sirupeelai chakkalathi m 249. nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. nyctanthaceae t parijaatham m/o 250. ocimum americanum l. lamiaceae h nai thulasi m 251. ocimum basilicum l. lamiaceae h thiruneetrupatchai m 252. ocimum gratissimum l. lamiaceae h elumicha tulasi m 253. ocimum tenuiflorum l. lamiaceae h thulasi m 254. oldenlandia umbellata l. rubiaceae h impural m 255. opuntia stricta (haw.) haw. cactaceae h chappathikkalli m 256. opuntia vulgaris mill. cactaceae h chappathikkalli m 257. ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. hydrocharitaceae h neerkuliri m 258. oxalis corniculata l. oxalidaceae h puliyarai m 259. parkinsonia aculeata l. caesalpiniaceae t parankivelamaram m 260. parthenium hysterophorus l. asteraceae h vishapullu m/mis 261. passiflora foetida l. passifloraceae cl siruppunaikali m 262. pavonia procumbens (wall ex. wight & arn.) walp. malvaceae s m 263. pavonia zeylanica (l.) cav. malvaceae h sittramuttti m 264. pedalium murex l. pedaliaceae h yanai nerunji m 265. pedilanthus tithymaloides (l.) poir. euphorbiaceae h kannaadikkallli m 266. peltophorum pterocarpum (dc.) caesalpiniaceae t avalvagai m 267. pentanema indicum (l.) ling asteraceae h mookutthipoondu m 146 radha et al. 268. pergularia daemia (forrsk.) chiov. asclepiadaceae cl vaelipparuthi m 269. peristrophe paniculata (forssk.) brummitt acanthaceae h naganantha m 270. phyla nodiflora (l.) greene verbenaceae h poduthalai m 271. phyllanthus amarus schum. & thonn. euphorbiaceae h kizha-nelli m 272. phyllanthus emblica l. euphorbiaceae t nelli m/e 273. phyllanthus maderaspatensis l. euphorbiaceae h nella nelli m 274. phyllanthus reticulatus poir. euphorbiaceae s kanimpoolanthi m/e 275. physalis minima l. solanaceae h sodakku thakali m 276. pistia stratiotes l. araceae h agasa-thamarai m 277. pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. mimosaceae t kodukkai puli m/e/ti 278. plectranthus amboinicus (lour.) spreng. lamiaceae h karppuravalli m 279. plumbago auriculata lam. plumbaginaceae s neelakkodi vaeli m 280. plumbago zeylanica l. plumbaginaceae h venkodiveli m 281. polyalthia longifolia (sonner.) thw. annonaceae t nettilingam m 282. polycarpaea corymbosa (l.) lam. caryophyllaceae h nilaisedachi m 283. polygonum glabrum willd. polygonaceae h aattralari m 284. pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre fabaceae t punga maram m/ti 285. portulaca oleracea l. portulacaceae h parupu keerai m 286. portulaca pilosa l. portulacaceae h mukkilikeerai m 287. portulaca quadrifida l. portulacaceae h sinnaparupukeerai m 288. pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. urticaceae h kallurki m 289. priva cordifolia (l.f.) druce verbenaceae h aadai otti m 290. prosopis juliflora (sw.) dc. mimosaceae t vaelikaruvai m/ti/mis 291. psidium guajava l. myrtaceae t koyya e/ti 292. pterolobium hexapetalum (roth.) sant. & wagh caesalpiniaceae s karuendu m 293. punica granatum l. punicaceae s madhulai m/e 294. pupalia lappacea (l.) juss. amaranthaceae h adai-otti m 295. randia dumetorum (retz) poiret rubiaceae s marukkarai m 296. rhynchosia minima (l.) dc. fabaceae cl kaliyathuvarai m 297. ricinus communis l. euphorbiaceae s amanakku m 298. rivea hypocrateriformis (desr.) choisy convolvulaceae cl boodhikeerai m 299. rothia indica (l.) druce fabaceae h nurreypitten keerai m 300. rungia repens (l.) nees acanthaceae h kodakasalai m 301. sansevieria roxburghiana schultes & schultes dracaenaceae h marul m 302. santalum album l. santalaceae t sandanam m/ti 303. sarcostemma brunonianum wight & arn. asclepiadaceae cl perum aattlaankodi m 304. scoparia dulcis l. scrophulariaceae h sarakkotthini m 305. sesamum alatum thonn. pedaliaceae h m 306. sesbania grandiflora (l.) poir. fabaceae t agathi m/e/ti 307. sesbania sesban (l.) merr. fabaceae s chittagathi m a survey on the floral diversity of rural areas 147 308. sida acuta burm.f. malvaceae h arival manai poondu m 309. sida cordata (burm. f.) borssum malvaceae h pazhampaasi m 310. sida cordifolia l. malvaceae s nilatutthi m 311. solanum elaeagnifolium cav. solanaceae h m 312. solanum insanum l. solanaceae h mullu kathiri m 313. solanum lycopersicum l. solanaceae h thakkali e 314. solanum nigrum l. solanaceae h milaguthakkali m/e 315. solanum pubescens willd. solanaceae s rameshwarasundai m 316. solanum seaforthianum andr. solanaceae s m 317. solanum surattense burm.f. solanaceae s kandankathiri m 318. solanum torvum sw. solanaceae s chundai m/e 319. solanum trilobatum l. solanaceae cl thoodhuvalai m 320. sonchus oleraceus l. asteraceae h shaadevi m 321. sopubia delphiniifolia (l.) g.don scrophulariaceae h m 322. spathodea campanulata beauv. bignoniaceae t ruthrapalasu maram m/o 323. spermacoce hispida l. rubiaceae h nathaichuri m 324. sphaeranthus amaranthoides burm.f. asteraceae h siva karandhai m 325. sphaeranthus indicus l. asteraceae h kotta karandhai m 326. spilanthes calva dc. asteraceae h palvalipoondu m 327. stachytarpheta jamaicensis (l.) vahl verbenaceae h seemai nayuruvi m 328. striga asiatica (l.) kuntze scrophulariaceae h pulluruvi m 329. strobilanthes consanguineaus (nees) t. anders. acanthaceae h perunkurinji m 330. strychnos nux-vomica l. loganiaceae t yetti m 331. strychnos potatorum l. loganiaceae t thaetraan kottai m 332. swietenia macrophylla king meliaceae t mahagony m/ti 333. synadenium grantii hook.f. euphorbiaceae s m 334. synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. asteraceae h mudiyarthirapachai m 335. syzygium cumini (l.) skeels myrtaceae t navaal m/e 336. tabebuia rosea (bertol.) dc. bignoniaceae t nagasenbagamaram o 337. tamarindus indica l. caesalpiniaceae t puliya maram m/e/ti 338. tecoma stans (l.) kunth bignoniaceae t sornapatti m 339. tectona grandis l.f. verbenaceae t thekku t 340. tephrosia purpurea (l.) pers. fabaceae h kozhinji m 341. terminalia arjuna (roxb.) wight & arn. combretaceae t marutha maram m 342. terminalia catappa l. combretaceae t naattu badaam m 343. terminalia cuneata roxb. combretaceae t neer marudhu 344. thespesia populnea (l.) soland ex correa malvaceae t poovarasu m 345. thevetia peruviana k.schum apocynaceae t ponnarali m 346. tinospora cordifolia (willd.) miers ex hook. f. & thoms. menispermaceae cl seendhil m 347. tithonia diversifolia (hemsl.) a. gray asteraceae s valsuriyagandhi m 148 radha et al. 348. trianthema decandra l. aizoaceae h vellai saranai m/e 349. trianthema portulacastrum l. aizoaceae h saranai m/e 350. tribulus subramanii p. singh, giri & v. singh zygophyllaceae h periyanerunji m 351. tribulus terrestris l. zygophyllaceae h nerinjimul m 352. trichodesma indicum (l.) r. br. boraginaceae h kavil thumbai m 353. trichodesma zeylanicum (burm.f.) r. br. boraginaceae h kaluthai thumbai m 354. tridax procumbens l. asteraceae h vettukayapoodu m 355. typha angustifolia l. typhaceae h sambu m 356. urena lobata l. malvaceae s ottatthi m 357. vernonia anthelmintica (l.) willd. asteraceae h kattu-seeragam m 358. vernonia cinerea (l.) less. asteraceae h mookutthipoondu m 359. vigna trilobata (l.) verdc. fabaceae h panipayir m 360. vitex negundo l. verbenaceae t nochi m 361. waltheria indica l. sterculiaceae h chembudu m 362. wattakaka volubilis (l.f.) stapf asclepiadaceae cl kodipaalai m 363. wedelia chinensis (osbeck) merr. asteraceae h manjal karisalankanni m 364. withania somnifera (l.) dunal solanaceae h amukkira m 365. wrightia tinctoria (roxb.) r.br apocynaceae t vetpaalai m 366. xanthium indicum koen. asteraceae h marul oomatham m 367. ziziphus mauritiana lam. rhamnaceae t illandhai m/e 368. ziziphus oenoplia (l.) mill. rhamnaceae t soorai pazham m/e 369. ziziphus xylopyrus (retz.) willd. rhamnaceae t kottailandhai m 370. zornia gibbosa span. fabaceae h arundhalai otti m hherb; s-shrub; cl-climber; t-tree; m-medicine; e-edible; o-ornamental; ti-timber; mis-miscellaneous. fig. 1. dominant families were recorded from the study area. a survey on the floral diversity of rural areas 149 fig. 2 a-k: some common taxa recorded in phenological stage: a) martynia annua l. b) crotalaria globosa wight & arn. c) euphorbia cyathophora murr. d) pavonia procumbens (wall ex. wight & arn.) walp e) solanum elaeagnifolium cav. f) kedrostis foetidissima (jacq.) cogn. g) cucumis dipsaceus ehrenb. ex spach. h) hygrophila schulli (hamilt.) m.r.almeida & s.m. almeida i) withania somnifera (l.) dunal j) caralluma umbellata haw. k) opuntia vulgaris mill. 150 radha et al. fig. 3 l-q: some common taxa recorded in phenological stage: l) crateva adansonii dc. m) adenanthera pavonina l. n) delonix elata (l.) gamble o) ipomoea carnea jacq. p) arundo donax l. q) pistia stratiodes l. urbanisation affects the natural flora and fauna that imposes to document the existing biodiversity that enable to conserve them from the extinction (dolan et al., 2011). the flora and ecosystem of this region are facing serious threats due to the increased anthropogenic activities. natural flora of udumalpet taluk of tiruppur district are facing serious threats especially because of the growing attention of its tourist places, such as tirumoorthy hills, amaravathy dam, anamalai tiger reserve etc., and due to the constructions of new inns, hotels, and extension of roads etc. it has been noted that, a number of timber yielding and medicinally important trees such as neem (azadirachta indica a. juss.), tamarind (tamarindus indica l.), gulmohar (delonix regia (boj. ex hook) rafin.) are uprooted for road construction and highway extension programmes. frequent documentation are done on the flora of the protected areas (shankaranarayanan and gupta, 1959; vajravelu and joesph, 1971; balasubramanian et al., 1997; fischer, 2004; rasingam, 2012; murugeshwaren et al., 2014; ramachandran et al., 2014; sarvalingam and rajendran, 2018), but little attention is given to the flora of rural and aboriginal areas that are under different threats. urbanization, habitat fragmentation, anthropological pressures, and pollution are the profound reasons for the destruction of the natural vegetation in the rural and aboriginal areas which is considered as an important component of the healthy environment. a survey on the floral diversity of rural areas 151 in tiruppur district, udumalpet taluk is the main source of electricity generated through wind mills and wind turbines. the occurrence of wind mills, affect the natural vegetation as well as cultivated fields. thus, documentation of the existing flora of udumalpet taluk will be helpful for conservation of its important natural plant resources. acknowledgements the authors are thankful to the director general, central council for research in siddha (ministry of ayush, govt. of india) chennai for the constant encouragement and thankful to ccrs for sanctioning and granting the imr project. we also acknowledge the in-charge of scru, palayamkottai for her constant encouragement and support. we thank to mr. c.maharaja and k.karthik field assistants for their service during field surveys. references anuradha, g. and muruganandam, a. 2016. floristic inventory on 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(accessed on 27 december 2018) vajravelu, e. and joesph, j. 1971. addition to the flora of anamalai hills, coimbatore district, tamil nadu. nelumbo. 13(3–4): 264–273. vijay, v.w.and ashok, k.j. 2013. floristic diversity of jhabua district, madhya pradesh, india. acad. j. plant sci. 6(4): 146–167. (manuscript received on 19 august 2019; revised on 13 may 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 311‒315, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57129 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of some euglenoid algae from bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane*, ashika akhtar, maliha mehnaz, mst. ayesha, z.n. tahmida begum and mahmoud moustafa1,2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh key words: euglenoid algae; euglena; phacus; protaspis; strombomonas; trachelomonas; new records; bangladesh. abstract the following taxa belong to eight species under five genera of euglenoid algae, namely, euglena anabaena mainx., phacus glaber pochmann (defl.) posch, phacus indicus skvortzov, protaspis obovata skuja, strombomonas lanceolata (playfair) deflandre, trachelomonas hexangulata (swir) playf., t. obovata var. klebsiana defl. and t. pseudocaudata defl. are described here for the first time for bangladesh. introduction so far, a large number of euglenoid algae have been reported from the different habitats of bangladesh (alfasane and khondker, 2007; alfasane et al., 2010, 2021; gani et al., 2012. khondker and alfasane, 2005; islam and alfasane 2002, 2003, 2004; islam and muniruzzaman, 1981). recently a large number of collections of the euglenoid algae from different fresh water of habitats of sylhet division of bangladesh have been made. the euglenoid species are described here, could not be recorded earlier from the areas selected or any other parts of bangladesh. so these could be considered as new records for bangladesh. the recorded species belonged to the genera euglena, phacus, protaspis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. the samples were collected from different stations of shari goyain river, piyain river and madhabpur lake of sylhet division of bangladesh. the descriptions of the organisms are given below. materials and methods samples for the present paper were collected from shari goyain river and piyain river of sylhet district and madhabpur lake of moulvibazar district of sylhet division between may 2017 and april 2020. samples were collected by sieving 100 l of sub-surface water through a plankton net having a mesh size 20 µm and preserved with lugol’s solution. organisms were photomicrographed with the help of a nikon optiphot, ufx-11a microscope with a nikon fx35wa camera, japan. taxonomy class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: euglena ehrenberg 1. euglena anabaena mainx. (fig. 1) (dillard 2000, 17; pl 6, fig. 8, pringsheim, 1956, 71, fig. a) cell length 55-95 µm, breadth 18-23 µm, bluntly spindle shaped to near cylindrical, anterior end rounded, each cell slightly narrowing at posterior end and attenuated. posterior end tapering rather abruptly to a tail, pellicular striations fine, spirally disposed. chloroplasts 8-14 irregularly lobed discs with pyrenoid, pyrenoid body sometimes elongated. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. p-3(1), 05.05.2017, piyain river. *corresponding author, e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com 1department of biology, college of science, king khalid university, 9004, abha, kingdom of saudi arabia 2department of botany, faculty of science, south valley university, qena, egypt https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57129 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 312 alfasane et al. class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: phacus dujardin 2. phacus glaber (defl.) poch. (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 238, pl. 55, fig. 340; dillard 2000, 57, pl. 8, fig. 10; philipose 1988, 542, fig. 44) syn. phacus hispidulus (eich.) lemm. fa. glabrus defl. cells broadly oval in cross section and elliptic in lateral ribs, anterior end broadly rounded with a median papilla, posterior end abruptly narrowed into a long, awl-like caudus, pellicle with rows of fine punctae, much longer plexiform, end-sting and by the wart less periplast. cell wall smooth; paramylum two lateral pads; chromatophores small, numerous and discoid; cell (including caudus) 26.5 x 14.5µm; caudus alone 7µm. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. m-4(2), 06.08.2017, madhabpur lake, s8(3), 10.11.2017, shari goyain river. 3. phacus indicus skvor. (fig. 4) (huber-pestalozzi 1955,174, 199, pl. 40, fig. 248c; wołowski and walne 2007, 74, fig. 255, 256) syn. phacus caudata var. undulata skv., p. caudata var. volicensis drez. cell length 27-43 µm, breadth 17-22 µm, asymmetric, ovoid front slightly tapered at the center with 1-2 deep notches, each cell oval in outline with few deep incisions at the rim, caudus straight and sharp at the posterior end. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-5(1), 05.05.2017, shari goyain river. class: euglenophyceae; order: desmomastigales; family: protaspidaceae; genus: protaspis skuja 4. protaspis obovata skuja (fig. 2) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 544, pl. 140, fig. 1114c) cell length 26-40 µm, breadth 17-25 µm, reversed ovate to oblong pear shaped, dorsiventral, very little or no flattened more in the posterior part. front rounded, towards the back cells are slightly narrowed. the genus is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. m-3(1), 07.05.2017, madhabpur lake. class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: strombomonas deflandre 5. strombomonas lanceolata (play.) defl. (fig. 5) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 380, pl. 79, fig. 820; alves-da-silva and bridi, 2004) syn. trachelomonas lanceolata playfair, t. fluviatilis swir, bei deflan., t. dangeardi skv., t. curta skv. var pascheri (drez.) skv., t. fluviatilis var. pascheri drez. cell length 23-31 µm, breadth 12-14 µm. body oblong ellipsoidal, leading forward into a short, obliquely truncated and smooth-edged collar, ending behind with a short, strong, pointed caudal spine. cell wall smooth, yellowish-green wall; discoid chloroplasts, pyrenoids present. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. m-1(2), 06.08.2017, madhabpur lake. new records of some euglenoid algae 313 figs 1-8. 1. euglena anabaena mainx., 2. protaspis obovata skuja, 3. phacus glaber pochmann (defl.) posch, 4. phacus indicus skvortzov, 5. strombomonas lanceolata (playfair) deflandre, 6. trachelomonas hexangulata (swir) playf. 7. t. obovata var. klebsiana defl. 8. t. pseudocaudata defl. (scale=10 µm). class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: trachelomonas ehrenberg 6. trachelomonas hexangulata (swir) playf. (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 335, pl. 72, fig. 702, dillard, 2000, 82, pl. 20, fig. 1; philipose 1988, 362, pl. 10, figs 2-6) syn. t. ampullula playf. 314 alfasane et al. cell length 24-30 µm, breadth 10-16 µm. cell in frontal view approximately hexagonal, with rounded corners, sides in the middle part almost parallel. cell collar height 2-5 µm, front and hind ends conical; hind pole more or less truncate or sometimes broadly rounded; collar cylindrical, straight or sometimes with a membrane cone joining the collar wall with the upper margin of the lorica; membrane smooth and light yellowish. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. p-7(4), 03.02.2018, piyain river, s-7(2), 04.08.2017, shari goyain river. 7. t. obovata var. klebsiana defl. (fig. 7) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 316, pl. 69, fig. 618; dillard, 2000, 95, pl. 15, fig. 9) syn. t. reticulata klebs fa. defl.. cell length 23-31 µm, breadth 17-19 µm, broadly or narrowly ovoid, without chromatophores, with or without paramylon, shell narrow or wide egg shaped. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-2(3), 10.11.2017, shari goyain river. 8. t. pseudocaudata defl. (fig. 8) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, 351, pl. 75, fig. 755) cell length 40-42 µm, breadth 21-23 µm, collar 5-6 µm in height, breadth at the base 5-5.5 µm, end extension 3.5-6.5 µm. shell regularly ellipsoidal, densely covered with stalk-shaped blunt spines. pore surrounded by an annular thickening and a distinct cylindrical (5-5.5 µm) collar which may be denticulated or not, posterior end with a short tail (3-4 µm long), sometimes truncated. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-7(2), 05.02.2020, shari goyain river. acknowledgements the authors thank the deanship of scientific research at king khalid university forfunding (r.g.p2/90/41). references alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2007. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh: phacus, lepocinclis and pteromonas bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 167‒169. alfasane, m.a., islam, m.s. and khondker, m. 2010. some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 87‒92. alfasane, m.a., mehnaz, m., akhtar, a., ayesha, m., shafi, s.a., islam, s., begum, z.n.t. and moustafa, m. 2021. new records of euglenophyceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 11‒15. alves-da-silva, s. m. and bridi, f. c. 2004. euglenophyta no parque estadual delta do jacuí, rio grande do sul, sul do brasil. 3. gênero strombomonas defl.. acta botanica brasilica. 18(3): 555‒572. dillard, g. e. 2000. freshwater algae of the southeastern united states. part 7. pigmented euglenophyceae. bibl. phycol.bd. 106. j. cramer, berlin, stuttgart, 135 pp. +20 pls. gani, m.a., alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2012. new records of euglenophyceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 85‒88. huber-pestalozzi, g. h. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. euglenophyceen. stuttgart (reprinted 1979) 16(4): 1‒1135 islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: i. genus phacus. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 3‒18. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2003. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: ii. lepocinclis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon.10(1): 15‒26. new records of some euglenoid algae 315 islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2004. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh:iii. genus trachelomonas ehr. bangladesh j. plant taxon.11(2): 33‒37. islam, a.k.m. nurul and muniruzzaman, k. 1981. euglenophyta of bangladesh. i. genus trachelomonas ehr. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 66(1): 109‒125. khondker, m. and alfasane, m.a. 2005. euglenamorpha hegneri wenrich (euglenaceae): a rare euglenoid from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(1): 41‒43. philipose, m.t. 1988. contributions to our knowledge of indian algae--3. euglenineae part 3. the genera trachelomonas ehrenberg and strombomonas deflandre. proc. lndian acad. sci. plant sr. 98(5): 317‒ 394. pringsheim, e.g. 1956. contribution towards a monograph of the genus euglena. nova acta. leopol. nov. ser. 18: 3–168. wołowski, k. and walne, p.l. 2007. strombomonas and trachelomonas species (euglenophyta) from south-eastern usa, europ. j. phycol. 42(4): 409‒431. (manuscript received on 5 july 2020; revised on 4 july 202) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 317‒328, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57130 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists species relationship and population differentiation in stellaria l. (caryophyllaceae) of iran using scot molecular marker and morphological data jialing li, xin yang1* and shadi hajrasouliha2 college of engineering management, nueva ecija university of science and technology, cabanatuan, philippines keywords: scot; morphology; species identification; structure; iran. abstract recognition of species is essential in a variety of domains, most remarkably biology, biogeography, ecology, as well as conservation. the genus stellaria l. (caryophyllaceae) has over 120 species spread across europe and asia's temperate zones. according to the most remarkable current treatments, nine species recognize stellaria in iran. these species are categorized into two types. despite the broad distribution of several stellaria species in iran, no research on their genetic variability, method of divergence, or dispersion trends is accessible. as a result, we conducted genetic and morphological research on six stellaria species and two of their closest relatives gathered from various habitats in iran. this research aims to 1) can scot markers be utilized to recognize stellaria species? 2) what are the genetic characteristics of the mentioned taxa in iran? and 3) to examine the interrelation of the species. in this research, ten scot markers were employed for molecular analysis, and 112 accessions were utilized for morphological study. the genetic distances were calculated using the jaccard similarity coefficient, and descriptive data on the populations were used to estimate genetic parameters. there were 98 polymorphic bands all over. the integration of morphological and scot data demonstrated that the stellaria species of iran could be delimited and recognized. the stellaria species are genetically unique; however, they share some similar alleles, according to amova and structure analyses. introduction the delimitation of species is significant in various biological fields, including ecology, biogeography, and plant preservation. species delimitation is accomplished using both tree-based and non-tree-based methods. in the first technique, species are classified into distinct clades depending on synapomorphic traits (phylogenetic species concept); however, in the second method, species could be identified using any taxonomic feature and gene flow evaluations. wiens and penkrot (2002) recommended using dna as well as morphological data for species delimitation. in contrast, knowles and carstens (2007) focused on how molecular data (for example, dna sequence data is utilized to generate gene trees) could be utilized to delimitate species. the former writers utilized coalescent simulations for evaluating the species limitations and combined information from numerous loci. they demonstrated the relevance of population genetics in determining the boundaries of a species. *corresponding author, e-mail: smyll090@gmail.com; yaaangx@126.com 1college of bioengineering, chongqing university, chongqing 400030, china 2department of development, faculty of advanced science and technology, tehran medical sciences, islamic azad university, tehran, iran https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57130 mailto:smyll090@gmail.com; mailto:yaaangx@126.com 318 li et al. stellaria l. (caryophyllaceae, alsinoideae) has around 150–200 species worldwide (bittrich, 1993). in iran, nine species in this genus are classified into stellaria and pseudalsine. an unclear part exists in s. blatteri matt., s. scaturiginella rech.f., and s. sarcophylla rech. f (rechinger, 1988). the stellaria section includes two annual species, s. medium (l.) vill in iran. stellaria species are widespread plants that favor humid mountainous slopes; however, some have been discovered growing in deserts. the genus is defined by the existence of five sepals and bifid petals; however, certain species have petals that are much reduced or nonexistent (fior et al., 2006; harbaugh et al., 2010). eurasia is the primary breeding ground for stellaria, with the eastern central asian highlands acting as a major distribution hub. additionally, several species are cosmopolitan in their distribution (bittrich, 1993). there are just a few stellaria chromosomal records throughout the globe. the genus has been reported to contain basic chromosome numbers x=10, 11, 12, and 13. earlier, investigations on the delimitation of species and the linkages between species in this genus have been conducted. the primary focus of these researches was on the taxonomy, seed, as well as pollen morphology, stem, and leaf anatomy of stellaria species (mahdavi et al., 2012; 2014b; esfandanibozchaloyi and keshavarzi, 2014). verkleij et al. (1980) utilize electrophoretically observable variation in isoenzymes to gain insight into the genetic variations between and within the two species and two local subpopulations of s. media. they demonstrated a variation in the isoenzyme pattern between the species s. medium and s. pallida for five enzymes. two of these five enzymes showed interpopulation variation in s. media, and no variability in the isoenzyme structure may be described by the species' persistent autogamous (cleistogamous) condition. there was no indication of polyploidy influencing the isoenzyme pattern of activity. however, no effort has been made to investigate the genetic variation, ecological adaptability, intra-, and inter-specific delineation, and morphometric variation of stellaria of iran. there were 112 specimens of two sections of stellaria collected for morphological and genetic analysis. we point to reply to the taking after questions: 1) are there infrared and interspecific hereditary differing qualities among the stellaria species examined? 2) is there a linkage between genetic and geographical distances among these species? 3) how are populations and taxa genetically structured 4) does gene exchange occur across stellaria species in iran? materials and methods plant materials as mentioned in table one, during 2015-2018, 112 plant samples from six stellaria species of pseudalsine (s. alsinoides) and stellaria (s. media, s. pallida, s. holostea, s. persica, and s. graminea) were gathered from natural habitats of fifteen geographical populations. several sources were examined to ensure that species were correctly identified (rechinger, 1988). the sampling sites details are listed (table 1, fig. 1). the herbarium of azad islamic university (haiu) has voucher specimens. morphological studies morphometry was conducted on five samples of each species. 24 morphological features (9 qualitative, 15 quantitative) were investigated (table 2). according to podani (2000), a euclidean distance estimate was made for clustering and ordination analysis using the given data, which was standardized (mean=0, variance=1). species relationship and population differentiation in stellaria 319 320 li et al. fig. 1. distribution map of the studied species of stellaria. table 2. list of selected characters and their codes in morphological studies. no. characters numerical code 1 plant height mm 2 length of basal leaves mm 3 width of basal leaves mm 4 length of stem leaves mm 5 width of stem leaves mm 6 bract length mm 7 bract width mm 8 pedicel length mm 9 number of seeds per capsule 10 number of flowers per inflorescence 11 number of calyx 12 calyx length mm 13 calyx width mm 14 number of petal 15 petal length mm 16 growth period 0-annual 1perennial 17 bract apex 0-acute 1narrow 2absence 18 state of stem 0-unbranched 1branched 19 state of stem strength 0-thin 1strong 20 stem hairs 1-unilateral hair 2multilateral hair 21 cross-section of stem 1rectangular 2elliptical 22 shape of basal leaves 1linearlanceolate 2lanceolate 3 lanceolate – acuminate 4ovate 23 basal leaves apex 0-acute 1narrow 24 basal leaves petiole 0-absence 1presence species relationship and population differentiation in stellaria 321 table 3. genetic diversity parameters in the studied stellaria species. pop n na ne i he uhe p% sp1 12.000 1.347 1.404 0.381 0.174 0.182 46.91% sp2 8.000 0.429 1.097 0.084 0.056 0.060 16.13% sp3 6.000 0.258 1.029 0.023 0.016 0.010 4.38% sp4 12.000 0.925 1.279 0.233 0.155 0.162 22.09% sp5 11.000 0.784 1.171 0.162 0.104 0.109 36.56% sp6 14.000 0.344 1.039 0.014 0.021 0.023 3.98% sp7 14.000 0.560 1.186 0.098 0.064 0.066 21.51% sp8 10.000 0.441 1.036 0.033 0.022 0.023 6.53% n = number of samples, ne = number of effective alleles, i= shannon’s information index, he = gene diversity, uhe = unbiased gene diversity, p%= percentage of polymorphism, populations. dna extraction and scot assay fresh leaves were randomly utilized from 5-10 plants in each group investigated. silica gel powder was used to dry them. genomic dna was extracted using the ctab activated charcoal technique (doyle and doyle, 1987). a 0.8 percent agarose gel was used to test the extracted dna quality. collard and mackill (2009) created 25 scot primers; ten primers with distinct, expanded, as well as rich polymorphism bands were selected (table 3). the pcr procedures were conducted in a 25μl volume including ten mm tris-hcl buffer at ph 8, 50 mm kcl, 1.5 mm mgcl2, 0.2 mm of every dntp (bioron, germany), 0.2 μm of a single primer, 20 ng genomic dna, as well as 3 u of taq dna polymerase (bioron, germany). the preceding program was used to execute the amplifications and reactions in a techne thermocycler (germany): 5 minutes at 95°c for denaturation, accompanied by 37 cycles of 1 minute at 95°c, 1 minute at 50-56°c, and 1 minute at 72°c. a final extension phase of 5-10 minutes at 72°c concluded the reaction. the ethidium bromide staining was used to determine the amplification products on a 1% agarose gel. a 100 bp molecular size ladder was utilized to estimate the fragment size (fermentas, germany). table 4. analysis of molecular variance (amova) of the studied species. source df ss ms est. var. % φpt among pops 14 727.747 51.327 8.082 58% 58% within pops 67 391.607 5.530 5.530 42% total 81 1119.354 13.612 100% df: degree of freedom; ss: sum of squared observations; ms: mean of squared observations; ev: estimated variance; φpt: proportion of the total genetic variance among individuals within an accession, (p < 0.001). data analyses morphological studies: according to podani (2000), morphological traits were initially standardized (mean = zero, variance = 1) and employed for calculating euclidean distance between taxa. the upgma (unweighted paired group using average) method was utilized to group the plant specimens (podani, 2000). anova (analysis of variance) illustrated the morphological variation across populations. at the same time, the pca (principal component analysis) biplot was employed to discover the most variable morphological features among the analyzed populations (podani, 2000). multivariate statistical analyses of morphological data were performed using past version 2.17 (hammer et al., 2012). 322 li et al. molecular analyses: the scot bands collected were encoded as binary characters (presence = 1, absence = 0). a variety of parameters were calculated, including nei's gene diversity (h), the shannon information index (i), the number of efficient alleles, as well as the polymorphism percentage (weising et al., 2005; freeland et al., 2011). neighbor-joining (nj) clustering and neighbor-net networking depended on nei's genetic distance between populations (freeland et al., 2011; huson and bryant 2006). the mantel test was used to determine the association between the analyzed populations' geographical as well as genetic distances (podani, 2000). these evaluations were carried out using past ver. 2.17 (hammer et al., 2012), darwin ver. 5 (2012), and splitstree4 v4.13.1 (2013) software. the amova (analysis of molecular variance) test (containing 1000 permutations) conducted in genalex 6.4 (peakall and smouse, 2006) and the nei,s gst analysis conducted in genodive ver.2 (2013) (meirmans and van tienderen, 2004) were employed to show genetic differentiation across the populations. furthermore, gst est = standardized measure of genetic differentiation (hedrick, 2005) and d est = jost measure of differentiation were used to study population genetic differentiation (jost, 2008). bayesian model structure analysis and genodive ver. 2's maximum likelihood-based k-means clustering approach (based on maximum likelihood) was used to examine the population's genetic structure (2013). data were evaluated as dominating markers for structure analysis. the admixture ancestry model was utilized with the correlated allele frequency model. the evanno test was applied to the structure result for calculating the appropriate number of k utilizing the delta k value (evanno et al., 2005). two summary statistics, pseudo-f, and bayesian information criterion (bic), are used to identify the best fit for k in k-means clustering (meirmans, 2012). gene flow was calculated by utilizing popgene ver. 1.32 (1997) to calculate nm, and gene flow estimate from gst, as nm = 0.5(1 gst)/gst. this technique assumes that all populations experience an equal amount of gene flow. (ii) population assignment test using maximum likelihood, as conducted in genodive version 2. (2013), the existence of common alleles was assessed via using darwin ver 5 to create a ventriculogram network employing the least square approach (2012). results and discussion species identification and inter-relationship morphometry: anova revealed significant variations in quantitative morphological features (p 0.01) across the species studied. pca analysis was used to discover the most variable characteristics among the species investigated. it was discovered that the top three factors accounted for more than 73% of the overall variation. the parameters length, breadth, hairs, number of sepals, pedicle hair, the width of seed, and capsule form have the strongest correlation (>0.7) in the first pca axis, accounting for 52 percent of total variance. the texture of the leaf, the number of stigmas, the number and size of capsule sutures and length, the number of petals, petal existence, as well as stem branching were all factors impacting pca axis 2 and 3 (figure excluded). numerous grouping and ordination techniques yielded the same findings. figure 2 illustrates a upgma grouping and pca plot of morphological characteristics. plant samples from each species relating to a specific part were grouped and generated clusters separately in general. this study indicates that the morphological parameters examined could distinguish stellaria species. we identified no transitional forms among the specimens we investigated. generally, the upgma tree created two large clusters (fig. 2). the attributes seed shape, size, quantity per capsule, cauline leaves shape, and several stigmas, the mesostemma taxa and myosoton aquaticum created a distinct group in stellaria in the first cluster. two sub-clusters were species relationship and population differentiation in stellaria 323 included in the second main cluster. due to morphological similarity, s. media and s. pallida from the stellaria section and s. alsinoides (pseudalsine section) formed the first sub-cluster. in contrast, s. persica, s. graminea, and s. holostea (stellaria section) formed the second sub-cluster. they were distinguished by hair absence, linear, sessile leaves, ten stamens, 3mer stigma, and deeply. species identification and genetic diversity the entire scot primers obtained polymorphic bands. according to table two, the genetic variation characteristics evaluated in the examined species indicated that s. media (sp1) possessed the greatest amount of genetic polymorphism (46.91 percent), whereas s. alsinoides had the lowest level (3.98 percent) (sp6). s. media also exhibited the greatest effective number of alleles (ne = 1.4) and shannon information index (i = 0.38) values. fig. 2. species delimitation in the stellaria revealed by upgma clustering of morphological characters. 324 li et al. the amova test revealed a substantial genetic difference between the examined species (p = 0.01). it demonstrated that 58% of overall variance occurred across species, and 42% occurred within species (table 4). furthermore, substantial nei's gst (0.41, p = 0.01) and d est values (0.169, p = 0.01) were found to indicate genetic divergence between these species. the nj tree created using nei's genetic distance (not included) revealed that mesostemma taxa and myosoton aquaticum are genetically distant from the other examined species. this dendrogram revealed that s. media and s. pallida had a deep genetic affiliation. likewise, s. persica and s. graminea (both in the stellaria section) were positioned close together, with s. holostea joining them at a distance. in general, correlations between species derived from scot data correlate well with morphological data. this corresponds to amova as well as genetic diversity parameters. the genetic differences between the species are substantial. additionally, the nm study performed by the popgene program yielded a mean nm=0.23, which is regarded as a meager amount of gene flow between the analyzed species. the mantel test containing five hundred permutations revealed a significant association (r = 0.18, p=0.0001) between genetic and geographical distance, indicating that isolation by distance (ibd) happened among the stellaria species tested. the genetic identification of nei and the genetic distance between the examined species were established (table is excluded). these findings indicated that s. media and s. pallida had the greatest degree of genetic similarity (0.90). between mesostemma taxa and myosoton aquaticum, the highest degree of genetic similarity was observed (0.64). the species genetic structure we conducted structure analysis, followed by the evanno test to determine the ideal number of genetic groupings. according to pseudo-f and bic, k-means clustering yielded k = 8 and k = 14, respectively. k = 14 is consistent with the nj grouping and amova. k = 8 indicates the existence of eight genetic collections. ployed the admixture model to show interspecific gene flow or/and ancestrally shared alleles. the same result was achieved using the evanno test on the structure analysis, which revealed a significant peak at k = 8. (fig. 3). fig. 3. structure plot of stellaria species based on scot data. the structure plot (fig. 3) revealed further data about the species genetic structure investigated and common ancestral alleles and gene flow among geranium species. the plot demonstrated the genetic distinction between species 1 and 2 (diversely colored) and between species 7 and 8. this is consistent with the neighbor-joining dendrogram that was previously provided. the rest of the species vary in allele composition and are diverse genetically. the low nm value (0.23) supports genetic stratification as demonstrated by k-means and structure studies, indicating minimal gene flow or ancestrally shared alleles amongst the species investigated. the population assignment test concurred with the nm finding that no evidence of considerable gene flow among the tested species. species relationship and population differentiation in stellaria 325 genetic diversity genetic diversity is a critical component of biological variation for conservation methods (khayatnezhad, and gholamin 2021; gholamin, and khayatnezhad 2020; 2021; guo, et al., 2021). the size of the population is thought to be critical for preserving genetic variety. because of environmental stochasticity, genetic drift, and inbreeding, small people are more prone to extinction than large ones. genetic drift reduces heterozygosity and eventually allele fixation, but inbreeding enhances homozygosity within populations ( hou, et al., 2021; huang, et al., 2021; jia, et al., 2020; karasakal, et al., 2020a; 2020b; khayatnezhad, and gholamin 2020a; 2020b). generally, population size declines may result in a loss of genetic diversity due to genetic drift and inbreeding. in the end, reduced genetic variation may decline fitness and the evolutionary potential to respond to environmental alterations (lande, 1993; ma, et al., 2021a; 2021b; peng, et al 2021; ren, et al, 2021). the conservation and management of small population species rely heavily on characterizing patterns of genetic variability and variation within and across distinct populations. the current research used scot markers to determine the genetic diversity within stellaria. our study shows that s. alsinoiedes exhibited a reduced amount of genetic diversity (p: 3.98 percent, he: 0.021, i: 0.014). natural features, reproductive mode, and breeding system have been identified as significant factors influencing genetic diversity levels. generally, outcrossing species have a far more significant genetic variation than selfing ones (hamrick and godt 1989; nybom 2004). in the past, it was thought that s.'s mating system was mostly self-involved (peterson, 1936). verkleij et al. performed isoenzyme studies on the hypotetraploid s. media and the diploid s. pallida (1980). their findings revealed a variation in isoenzyme pattern between the species s. medium and s. pallida for five enzymes. in s. media, two of the five enzymes exhibited interpopulation variation. in s. pallida, there was essentially no fluctuation in the isoenzyme pattern that could be described by the species' persistent autogamous (cleistogamous) condition. it was not feasible to demonstrate the effects of polyploidy on the isoenzyme pattern and activity. s. medium and s. pallida are primarily self-fertile, and there is a crossing barrier between such species (peterson, 1936), probably owing to s. pallida's diploidy (2n = 22) and s. media's hypotetraploidy (2n=40-44) (scholte, 1978). chinnappa and morton (1984) used isozyme, rflp, and rapd analyses, as well as comparative morphological investigations, to study the genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity that contribute to population divergence within the s. longipes complex. two factors contribute significantly to this species' success: (1) genetic variability resulting from polyploidy, facultative outbreeding, and interspecific gene flow; and (2) the development of phenotypic plasticity because of environmental-induced modifications in the genotypes' physiology and morphological expression. although all genotypes were self– compatible, protandrous, gynodioecious, and partly gynodioecious, individuals were prevalent in the species (philipp, 1975; chinnappa, 1985). chinnappa and morton (1984) confirmed philipp's (1972) and chinnappa and morton's (1984) findings that there is no association between chromosome number and morphology or reproductive biology (1974, 1976). chinnappa and morton (1991), relying on previous research (chinnappa and morton 1974, 1976, 1984; macdonald et al., 1987), advocated that the stellaria taxa in issue be classified into an s. longipes complex with two subspecies: s. longipes goldie subsp. longipes and s. longipes goldie subsp. arenicola (raup). the s. longipes subsp. arenicola's evolution was thought to have begun with the colonization of a dune environment and a likely change in the breeding system to self-pollination. in its native habitat, s. longipes subsp. arenicola is interfertile with other s. longipes populations and intergrades, although field investigations show that s. longipes subsp. arenicola is predominantly self-pollinating (macdonald et al., 1987). otherwise, s. longipes is a single polymorphic species with no well-defined infraspecific taxa (chinnappa and morton, 1991). 326 li et al. conclusions numerous variables influence the genetic structure, breeding frameworks, hereditary float, populace estimate, and natural selection (hamrick and godt, 1990). our genetic structure analysis revealed that the 112 individuals created a distinct divergence between all groups, a finding that is corroborated by the pca (fig. 2). the examination of molecular variance in all populations uncovered that 58% of differing hereditary qualities happened over individuals, whereas 42% occurred inside these bunches (table 4). the current research concludes that scot molecular markers, in conjunction with morphological features, are beneficial for identifying stellaria species. while there are few interspecific genetic mixing in stellaria, the examined species are highly distinct throughout the speciation procedure and invasion of new environments. acknowledgment the authors thank anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on an earlier draft. references bittrich, v. 1993. caryophyllaceae. – in: kubitzki, k., rohwer, j.g., bittrich, v. 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(manuscript received on 2 january 2020; revised on 8 november 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 461-465, 2020 (december) short communication © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists elucidating differences between two confusing shorea contorta s. vid and pentacme mindanensis foxw. species of dipterocarpaceae via leaf morphometrics: an initial investigation kean roe f. mazo* and lowell g. aribal1 forestry department, college of forestry and environmental studies, western mindanao state university, zamboanga city, philippines, 7000, philippines keywords: elliptic fourier analysis; variation; dipterocarps; pentacme; shorea. the dipterocarpaceae is the only timber-producing taxon in the angiosperm, and it is the most important source of timber in southeast asia (soerianegara and lemmens, 1993). dipterocarp trees are influential in their structure and function (brearley et al., 2017). dipterocarps are highly productive (banin et al., 2014) and important storage of above-ground carbon (slik et al., 2013). the taxonomy of several genera of dipterocarpaceae is relatively well defined but the genus shorea remains problematic and has proved most controversial (maury-lechon and curtet, 1998). in the philippines, there are about 45 species of dipterocarps distributed in 6 genera (rojo and aragones jr, 1997). it has been well-studied but the identities of individual species remain ambiguous (rojo and aragones jr, 1997). in mindanao, a species locally known as "malacayan blanco" was originally described by foxworthy (1938) from zamboanga province, and named as pentacme mindanensis. based on foxworthy’s description, p. mindanensis has resemblance with shorea contorta but differs in its large leaves and large fruits. however, ashton (1978) treated p. mindanensis as a synonym of s. contorta, an island endemic, commonest, and widely distributed dipterocarp species (foxworthy, 1938; rojo and aragones jr, 1997). furthermore, there are few detailed morphological, anatomical (pulan and buot, 2014), and molecular (umali, 2016; villarin et al., 2016) studies on s. contorta. until recently, umali (2016) confirmed through molecular characterization that s. contorta and p. mindanensis are two different species. generally, the recent advancement in biosystematics using dna sequences has provided evidences to the resolution in the correct classification of many dubious taxon. however, doubts to the reliability of the system arises because many species with very obvious morphological dissimilarities were merged and considered into one species, for instance, ficus latsonii elmer and ficus variegata blume of moraceae, the former having a distinct brown-orange trunk while the later has whitish. also, for the species melicope monophylla merr. and melicope triphylla (lam.) merr. of rutaceae, the former with simple leaf while the latter having a compound one. in this present study, our longstanding knowledge on these species aside from differing fruits and leaf sizes was based mainly on the color of the inner bark with p. mindanensis having a cream-yellow while s. contorta has white. thus, in support to the work of umali (2016), we aim to provide more striking differences via leaf morphometrics. leaf morphometrics has proved to be effective in resolving taxonomic problems and discriminating species. *corresponding author, e-mail: keanmaze@gmail.com 1forest biological sciences department, college of forestry and environmental science, central mindanao university, bukidnon, philippines, 8714, philippines. mailto:keanmaze@gmail.com 462 mazo et al. the leaves of s. contorta and p. mindanensis were collected from the forest reservation of western mindanao state university, upper la paz, zamboanga city, philippines (fig. 1). geographically, it lies between 7°01' to 7°06' latitude and 121°58' 30" to 122° 02' 30" longitude. thirty (30) fully expanded, mature and non-damage leaves were collected at the first branch from 10 individuals (five trees per species). the identification of the species was based on the key to the philippine species of pentacme by foxworthy (1918) and from the work of fernando (2009) and rojo and aragones jr. (1997). the abaxial leaf surface of the specimen was directly overhead with a canon eos 70d digital camera. the images were converted into black-and-white contour bitmaps in microsoft paint tools. a software package shape ver. 1.3 (iwata, 2006) was used to execute elliptic fouries analysis (efa). leaf images were converted to binary with the chain coder program to obtain the geometry of the shape. then, the chain code was transformed into normalized elliptic fourier file with the chc 2 nef program using the first 20 harmonics to reconstruct the leaf outline. principal component analysis (pca) was performed with the prin comp program using the normalized elliptic fourier coefficients. the difrefences in leaf outline shape were evaluated and subjected to multivariate analysis of variance (manova) and linear discriminant analysis (lda). wilk’ lambda criterion for manova and pairwise comparison using hotelling's test with bonferroni’s correction were performed. all statistical analysis was done using the paleontological statistics (past) software version 4.02. fig. 1. location of the study site. the leaf shape outline variations of p. mindanensis and s. contorta were described by the first 6 pcs which accounted for 91.66 % of the total variance (table 1). fig. 2 explains 47.12% and 17.57% of the total variance based from pc 1 and pc 2, respectively, and shows the effect of shape on each pc. the analysis of pc was based on variance co-variance matrix from elliptic fourier coefficients. the first pc describes the changes in the proximal and distal portion of the elucidating differences between two confusing 463 leaf samples which result to oblong-lanceolate to ovate variation. pc 2 explains the variation along the middle and apical regions, while pc 3 was related to the variation in the basal to the proximal and fine changes in distal to the apical region. pc 4 describes the fine variations of the leaf outline. pc 5 was characterized by the change in the apices of leaf samples from acute to acuminate, whereas pc 6 is related to the insignificant finer variations along the lamina of the leaf (fig. 3). considerable significant differences in the leaf shape outlines derived from effective pcs were also observed. the finding suggests that the variations in leaf shapes between two taxa are supported by their leaf differences according to foxworthy (1918). table 1. leaf shape variability based on the 1st 6 principal components. pcs eigenvalue proportion (%) cumulative (%) 1 7.41 x 10 -04 49.12 49.12 2 2.65 x 10 -04 17.57 66.69 3 2.23 x 10-04 14.75 81.44 4 6.88 x 10-05 4.56 86.00 5 6.06 x 10 -05 4.01 90.01 6 2.49 x 10 -05 1.65 91.66 fig. 2. principal components of the leaf shape outline. the results of the lda of the leaf shape of p. mindanensis and s. contorta based on 6 principal components derived from elliptic fourier data was shown in figure 2. significant differences in the leaf shape were also observed (paired hoteling’s t2 = 86.67; f = 11.86; p = 4.62 x 10-6), with 91.38 % between two taxa were correctly classified. multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences wherein leaf shapes were observed between p. mindanensis and s. contorta (wilks´ lambda = 0.42; p = 3.20 x 10-8; pillai trace = 0.58; p = 3.20 x 10-8). leaf shapes 464 mazo et al. of s. contorta along the discriminant function axis mainly distributed with scores of -10 to 0 showed small overlap with p. mindanensis. fig. 3. reconstruction contour of leaf shape outline variations described by the first 6 pcs. fig. 4. lda of leaf shape between p. mindanensis (black bars) and s. contorta (gray bars). elucidating differences between two confusing 465 the comparison of leaf shape outline with the leaf contour between p. mindanensis and s. contorta using efa showed consistent significant differences. the results of the manova and lda in comparing the two taxa further revealed that the leaf shape could help in discriminating p. mindanensis and s. contorta without considering the leaf sizes. 91.38 % of the leaf samples were correctly assigned to their taxa. however, leaf shape widely varies among dipterocarp species (brearley et al., 2017; ghazoul, 2016; maury-lechon and curtet, 1998) which are mainly attributed by environmental and genetic factors. the small overlap that was noted between two taxa could perhaps explain their genetic background and environmental conditions. acknowledgement we thank the department of science and technology-science education institute (dostsei) for the financial support and to the center of upland and ecosystem management (cuem) of western mindanao state university (wmsu) for the permission to conduct this study. references ashton, p. 1978. flora malesiana precursores: dipterocarpaceae. gardens’ bulletin, singapore, 31: 5–48. doi:=org/10.3897/ab.e1141 banin, l, lewis s.l., lopez-gonzalez, g., baker, t.r., quesada, c.a., chao, k.j. and phillips, o.l. 2014. tropical forest wood production: a cross-continental comparison. journal of ecology, 102(4): 1025– 1037. doi:.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12263 brearley, f.q., banin, l.f. and saner, p. 2017. the ecology of the asian dipterocarps. plant ecology & diversity, 9(5–6), 429–436. doi: org/10.1080/17550874.2017.1285363 fernando, e.s. 2009. habitats of philippine dipterocarps. soil and water conservation foundation. foxworthy, f.w. 1918. philippine dipterocarpaceae ii. philippine journal of science of science, 8(3): 163– 199. foxworthy, f.w. 1938. philippine dipterocarpaceae iii. philippine journal of science, 67: 241–333. ghazoul, j. 2016. dipterocarp biology, ecology, and conservation. oxford university press, new york, iwata, h. 2006. shape. national agricultural research organization. maury-lechon, g. and curtet, l. 1998. biogeography and evolutionary systematics of dipterocarpaceae. in: a review of dipterocarps: taxonomy, ecology and silviculture, pp. 5–44. pulan, d.e. and buot, i.e. 2014. leaf architecture of philippine shorea species (dipterocarpaceae). international research journal of biological sciences 35:19–26. rojo, j.p. and aragones jr., e.g. 1997. botanical indentification handbook on philippine dipterocarps. technology, forest products research and development (frdi) department of science and technology. slik, j.w.f., paoli, g. and mcguire, k. 2013. large trees drive forest aboveground biomass variation in moist lowland forests across the tropics. global ecology and biogeography, 22(12): 1261–1271. doi:.org/10.1111/geb.12092 soerianegara, i. and lemmens, r.h. 1993. timber trees: major commercial timbers. plant resources in southeast asia, 5(1). umali, a.g. 2016. taxonomic characterization of philippine dipterocarps, [thesis] university of the philippines-los banos villarin, r., prinz, k., patindol, t. and finkeldey, r. 2016 cross-species amplification and characterization of shorea microsatellites in shorea contorta vidal (dipterocarpaceae). journal of society & technology, 6: 55–62. (manuscript received on 22 july 2020; revised on 11 november 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 69–81, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists micromorphological and anatomical investigation on six species of onosma l. (boraginaceae) from turkey selami selvi, ridvan polat1, ebru yuce babacan2, m. oliur rahman3 and uğur çakilcioğlu 2,4 balıkesir university, altınoluk vocational school, programme of medicinal and aromatic plants,10870 edremit-balıkesir, turkey keywords: onosma l.; micromorphology; anatomy; sem; turkey. abstract micromorphology and anatomy of six onosma l. species, viz. o. argentata hub.mor., o. neglecta riedl, o. proballanthera rech. f., o. rechingeri riedl, o. sericea willd. and o. stenoloba hausskn. ex riedl from turky were investigated. stem anatomy revealed that cuticle layer ranged from 0.6 µm in o. argentata to 1.7 µm in o. proballanthera. parenchymatous cells of o. neglecta and o. stenoloba possessed more intense starch than the other species studied. in leaf anatomy, the longest palisade parenchyma was found in o. neglecta, while the smallest was noted in o. argentata. mesophyll structure of o. argentata, o. sericea and o. rechingeri was equifacial (isobilateral), while o. neglecta, o. proballanthera and o. stenoloba presented bifacial (dorsiventral) structure. rugose nutlet ornamentation was observed in o. argentata, o. neglecta and o. sericea, whereas reticulate type was found in o. proballanthera, o. rechingeri and o. stenoloba. onosma stenoloba could easily be distinguished from other species by its aesterotrichous indumentum, and in contrary, other species possessed haplotrichous type of indumentum. micromorphological features of nutlet surface, anatomical features of epidermal surface (trichomes and stomata), and lamina mesophyll structure (dorsiventral and isobilateral) could be useful in solving taxonomic problem of the genus. introduction onosma l. belonging to the family boraginaceae consists of about 150 species, distributed mainly in west and central asia and in the mediterranean area, and grows in dry, sunny, rocky, sandy, and steppe habitats (cecchi and selvi, 2009; binzet et al., 2010, kolarcik et al., 2010). onosma are biennial or perennial herbs, characterized by scorpioid cymes, linear or linearlanceolate calyx lobes that are parted to base, corolla without ribs or deep furrows, unappendaged corolla throat, sagittate anthers coherent at base, capitate stigma and ovate to triangular nutlets. cronquist (1981) included the family boraginaceae in the order lamiales of the sub-class asteridae of magnoliopsida. güner et al. (2012) states that the boraginaceae stands the ninth position among the families in turkey in term of number of species, and is represented by 44 genera and 375 taxa in the flora of turkey. one hundred and three endemic taxa represent approximately 50% of the onosma taxa in turkish flora (güner et al., 2012; binzet, 2016). the indumentum of leaves and stem of onosma taxa consists of three separate components: setae (rarely hairs) often slightly raised, or pancake-shaped with multicellular tubercles; setules, sometimes shortened to tiny spinules or produced as hairs, stellately arranged around the base of 1 bingöl universtiy, genç vocatinal school, bingöl, turkey. 2 munzur university, pertek sakine genç vocational school, tunceli, turkey. 3 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 4 corresponding author: ucakilcioglu@yahoo.com mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd mailto:ucakilcioglu@yahoo.com 70 selvi et al. the seta; and tiny hairs forming a pubescent, puberulous or tomentose surface covering between the setae. the setae provide the plant its typically hispid indumentum and they are brittle and easily detached, penetrating the skin and causing an irritant rash (riedl, 1978). the members of onosma are medicinally important and considered as cardiotonic, purgative, anthelmintic, and used for treatment of diabetes, leucoderma, dyspepsia, abdominal pain, and bronchitis (hayta et al., 2014; özgen et al., 2004). in addition, they are economically important for beekeeping because of their attractive flowers, and rich in nectar (dukas and dafni, 1990). taxonomic significance of micromorphology and anatomy in delimitation of taxa and establishment of interspecific relationships are well documented (tschan and denk, 2012; meng and mao, 2013; begum et al., 2014). metcalfe and chalk (1950) studied the anatomy of the family boraginaceae and found setae (hairs), epidermal surface and cystoliths as diagnostic characters. several attempts have been made on micromorphology and anatomy of different turkish species of onosma (akçin and engin, 2001, 2005; akçin, 2004, 2007; binzet and akçin, 2009; akçin and binzet, 2010). micromorphological studies of epidermal and nutlet surface of some onosma taxa highlighted the importance of these features (akçin, 2009; binzet and akçin, 2009; akçin et al., 2013; mehrabian et al., 2014). in the present study, the micromorphological and anatomical structure of six species of onosma, namely o. argentata, o. neglecta, o. proballanthera, o. rechingeri, o. sericea and o. stenoloba from bingöl and its environs of turkey were investigated for the first time. morphological characters are controlled by the genes of a species as well as influenced by phenotypic plasticity, and because of these phenomena proper identification of species sometimes become problematic. in this regard, micromorphology and anatomical studies provide powerful tools for species delimitation and interspecific relationship. the main objectives of the present study are two folds: i) to explore the anatomical features of stem, leaf and epidermal surface of six turkish onosma species, and ii) to investigate stem, leaf and nutlet micromorphology by scanning electorn microscopy of those species which could contribute to the taxonomy of onosma. materials and methods plant materials six onosma species were collected from natural habitats of bingöl, turkey from 2016 to 2017. the taxonomic identity of the species were confirmed following riedl (1967, 1978). the list of the species employed in this study along with their turkish names, localities and vouchers are presented in table 1. the voucher specimens have been deposited at the munzur university herbarium. anatomical studies anatomical studies were carried out on specimens kept in 70% ethanol. cross-sections of stem and leaves were stained with phloroglucinol–hcl, toluidin, safranine and lugol's solution and the chlorophyll pigments in leaves were removed with chloral hydrate (yakar-tan, 1982; selvi et al., 2014). after dyeing, the sections were prepared as permanent slides and examined under the light microscope olympus bx53 with photograph attachment, and the photographs were taken and digitized. stomatal density on abaxial and adaxial surfaces of the leaves were counted under a light microscope. stomatal index were calculated following meidner and mansfield (1968). micromorphological studies epidermal surface (stem and leaves) and nutlet surface of six onosma species were studied by tabletop scanning electron microscopy (sem). for sem, small pieces of leaves and stem with nutlet were fixed on aluminum stubs using double-sided adhesive, and coated with gold palladium micromorphological and anatomical investigation of onosma l. 71 to a thickness of 40−50 nm. the sem micrographs were taken in a neoscope jcm-5000 at an accelerating voltage of 10 kv (selvi et al., 2013). sem studies took place in the basic sciences research and applied center of balıkesir university, turkey. table 1. list of onosma l. species along with their locality and voucher specimens. species turkish name locality vouchers *o. argentata hub.-mor. gümüşemcek turkey, b8 bingöl: between bingöl and elazığ, limestone slopes, 39°34'48.05"n, 39°58'1.07"e, 1505 m, 06.07.2017. uc-2012 *o. neglecta riedl bahaemziği turkey, b8 bingöl: between kuruca and karakoçan, roadsides, 38°55'21.30"n, 40°19'57.28"e, 1540 m, 09.07.2016. uc-2013 *o. proballanthera rech. f. yaylaemziği turkey, b8 bingöl: from bingöl to solhan roadsides, rocky slopes, 38°49'32.90"n, 40°51'33.85"e, 1898 m, 11.07.2016. uc-2016 *o. rechingeri riedl geçmıjmıjok turkey, b8 bingöl: genç town, towards from genç to bingöl, limestone rocky, 38°49'38.12"n, 40°32'38.40"e, 1070 m, 11.07.2016. uc-2015 o. sericea willd. kâğıtemcek turkey, b8 bingöl: between bingöl and elazığ, rocky slopes, 38°56'22.30"n, 40°10'24.28"e, 1460 m, 10.07.2016. uc-2014 *o. stenoloba hausskn. ex riedl tosyaemceği turkey, b8 bingöl: towards from bingöl to ilıcalar village, roadsides, 39°1'12.57"n, 40°44'18.84"e, 1385 m, 12.07.2016. uc-2017 *denotes species endemic to turkey. results and discussion anatomical studies anatomical investigation reveals variation in stem, lamina and midvein structure among the onosma species investigated. a comparative account of biometric measurement of stem anatomy of the investigated species is provided in table 2. at the outermost level, the cuticle layer ranges from 0.6 µm in o. argentata to 1.7 µm in o. proballanthera and o. sericea. the epidermal layer is lowest in o. sericea, while it is highest in o. neglecta. the maximum pith/stem ratio has been observed in o. neglecta (0.69) followed by o. proballanthera (0.68), whereas the minimum ratio (0.59) has been noticed in o. sericea (table 2). though no significant differences in stem cells in the investigated species have been observed, however, these features are found useful to some extent for distinguishing some species. single layered epidermal tissue consisting of oval, cubic or rectangular cells are found below the cuticle. in the epidermis, a few number of eglandular and rarely glandular trichomes are seen. eglandular trichomes comprises 1−3 cells, upright or slightly curled, while glandular trichomes consist of 1−2 capitate stem cells with a round head. cortex layer consists of collenchyma, parenchyma and endodermis, and at the top of the cortex layer 3-6-rows of collenchyma layers are found which is followed by 2−5 layered parenchyma cells. the parenchymatous cells of o. neglecta and o. stenoloba contain more intense starch than the remaining species. in the inner part of the cortex, there are 1−2 layered endodermis, and 3-layered phloem are observed below the endodermis. the cambium between phloem and xylem is often indistinguishable. xylem in the 72 selvi et al. micromorphological and anatomical investigation of onosma l. 73 form of bundles towards pith, along with some regions with phloem is interrupted by the annulus to the pith. the pith region consists of round or polygonal parenchymatous cells with thin walls and fragmented (fig. 1). in the cross section of leaf, the cuticle layer varies from 0.8 µm in o. neglecta to 2.7 µm in o. rechingeri. the longest palisade parenchymatous cell has been found in o. neglecta followed by o. stenoloba. in contrast, the smallest palisade parenchyma is noted in o. argentata. the length of palisade parenchyma remains the same in o. proballanthera and o. sericea (table 3). fig. 1. cross section of stem of six onosma species: a. o. argentata; b. o. neglecta; c. o. proballanthera; d. o. rechingeri; e. o. sericea; f. o. stenoloba. cu: cuticle, ep: epidermis, et: eglandular trichome, col: collenchyma, pa: parenchyma, ph: phloem, xy: xylem, tr: trachea (bar = 50 µm). 74 selvi et al. micromorphological and anatomical investigation of onosma l. 75 the upper and lower epidermis of leaves are covered with a thin cuticule in all the species studied. the upper epidermal cells are more significant than the lower ones. epidermal cells consist of a single-row, tightly lined, rectangular, square and oval-shaped cells. the epidermis is densely covered with eglandular trichomes, and rarely with glandular trichomes. the eglandular trichomes are tubercled, 1−3 celled, straight or slightly curved shape, whereas the glandular trichomes are rare and capitate. the study also reveals variation in mesophyll structure among the species. o. argentata, o. sericea and o. rechingeri exhibit equifacial (isobilateral) type of leaves, while o. neglecta, o. proballanthera and o. stenoloba have bifacial (dorsiventral) leaves (fig. 2). fig. 2. lamina mesophyll layer of six onosma species: a. o. argentata; b. o. neglecta; c. o. proballanthera; d. o. rechingeri; e. o. sericea; f. o. stenoloba. cu: cuticle, ue: upper epidermis, et: eglandular trichome, gt: glandular trichome, pp: palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, vb: vascular bundle, le: lower epidermis (bar = 50 µm). 76 selvi et al. this feature has been found important for distinguishing the species of onosma. in the middle vein region, collateral type of vascular bundle (closed collateral) has been found in all the species. there are several subsequent collenchyma layers at the top of the xylem and below the phloem (fig. 3). fig. 3. lamina middle veins of six onosma species: a. o. argentata; b. o. neglecta; c. o. proballanthera; d. o. rechingeri; e. o. sericea; f. o. stenoloba. col: collenchyma, p: parenchyma, ph: phloem, xy: xylem, tr: trachea (bar = 50 µm). the palisade parenchyma consist of two layers with plentiful chloroplasts which are cylindrical and tight. the spongy parenchyma is oval or round with 2−4 rows, and are loosely arranged. in the middle vein region, there is a wide closed collateral type of vascular bundle. underneath of the xylem there are 2−4 rows of phloem. above of middle vein 1−2 rows of micromorphological and anatomical investigation of onosma l. 77 collenchyma layers are noticed, and 2−4 rows are observed below the middle vein. stomata is found both in upper and lower surface of leaf (amphistomatic). anomocytic and anisocytic types of stomata are found in the investigated species (fig. 4). tissues and cells in stem and lamina of all investigated species have been found to contain calcium oxalate crystals, either in solitary or in clustered form. cystoliths are frequent in the basal parts of hairs. fig. 4. epidermal surface of six onosma species: a. lamina-abaxial surface (o. proballenthera); b. lamina adaxial surface (o. sericea); c. capitate trichome (o. neglecta); d. anomocytic stomata (o. proballenthera); e. anisocytic stomata (o. neglecta); f. capitate trichome on lamina (o. rechingeri); g. base cells of seta (o. argentata); h. eglandular trichomes (setae) on lamina (o. neglecta). st: stomata, ad: adaxial surface, ab: abaxial surface, hd: head cell, stl: stalk, et: eglandular trichome; bc: trichome base cell (bar = 20 µm). micromorphological studies epidermal surface of stem and leaves, and nutlet surface of six onosma species have been investigated by sem. micromorphological studies have shown that both stem and leaves contain dense eglandular and sparsely glandular trichomes. eglandular trichomes are usually 1−2 celled, straight or slightly curled. the glandular trichomes are less common, consisting of a 1−2 stem cells with a round head (fig. 4). trichomes play an important role in identifying the members of the family boraginaceae. metcalfe and chalk (1950) have shown that distribution and forms of trichomes are useful to differentiate between the different genera and taxa of the family boraginaceae. the stem and leaf epidermal surfaces of the onosma species in our study are heavily covered with feathers (setae) and rarely glandular trichomes. tubercled long trichomes on leaves contain 78 selvi et al. beams at the base of o. stenoloba. unlike other species, on the leaf surfaces of o. rechingeri, there are simple hairs with pointed or lying ends. at the bottom of some setae, large cells containing cystolith are observed (fig. 4). the indumentum structure of the stem and leaves differ according to the tubercles of the setae. if the tubercles are glabrous they are haplotrichous, and when tubercles stellately at base are asterotrichous. based on indumentum structure, o. stenoloba can easily be distinguished from all other species as it is asterotrichous, whereas, the remaining onosma species have haplotrichous type of indumentum (fig. 4). the most excessive glandular trichomes have been found in the leaves of the o. rechingeri and o. neglecta. the trichome is made up of a pear-shaped head cell and a single or two-celled stem cell. stomata have been found intensely and usually are of anomocytic in all species, however, anisocytic stomata are found seldomly in o. neglecta and o. stenoloba. akçin et al. (2013) examined the stomata of o. sericea and o. stenoloba and found anomocytic and anisocytic types of stomata in these species. in our study, anisocytic stomata have been found in both of these two species, however, the anomocytic stomata has been observed only in o. stenoloba. the nutlet micromophology of six onosma species are presented in table 4. nutlets of the studied onosma species vary in size and shape. the smallest nutlets (2.5−3.6 × 2.5−3.5 mm) are found in o. stenoloba, while the largest nutlets (3.9−4.3 × 3.2−3.7 mm) are observed in o. rechingeri. different shapes of nutlets are found in the examined species, viz. oblong-ovoid (o. rechingeri, o. stenoloba), ovoid (o. argentata, o. neglecta, o. sericea), and orbicular to ovoid (o. proballanthera). in the nutlets of o. neglecta, o. rechingeri and o. stenoloba sharp ventral keels are seen. two types of ornamentation of nutlets have been determined the rugose type and the reticulate type. rugose type is characterised by the epidermal cells of the nutlet surface having small or fine wrinkles, and this type of ornamentation has been observed in o. argentata, o. neglecta and o. sericea. the reticulate type is characterised by the epidermal cells of the nutlet surface which are formed in a reticulate ornamentation with varied sizes and shapes of mesh, and this type of ornamentation has been found in o. proballanthera, o. rechingeri and o. stenoloba (fig. 5 and table 4). binzet and akçin (2009) found some variations in nutlet surfaces of 14 onosma species and determined four main types of surface ornamentation, viz. ruminate, rugose, reticulate and pusticulate. among those four types we found only rugose and reticulate types of ornamentation in our study. table 4. nutlet characters of six species of onosma l. species nutlet size (mm) shape color epidermal cell o. argentata 3.3-3.8 × 2.7-3.0 ovoid, acute; dorsal side convex, ventral side roof-like brownish rugose o. neglecta 3.5-4.4 × 2.75-3.4 ovoid, with prominent beak; dorsal side convex, ventral side keeled chestnutbrown rugose o. proballanthera 3.7-4.5 × 2.8-3.6 orbicular to ovoid, with prominent beak; dorsal side convex, ventral side weakly keeled light brown reticulate o. rechingeri 3.9-4.3 × 3.2-3.7 oblongovoid, acute; dorsal side convex, ventral side keeled brownish reticulate o. sericea 3.6-4.5 × 2.3-3.5 ovoid, acute; dorsal side convex, ventral side roof-like brownish rugose o. stenoloba 2.5-3.6 × 2.5-3.5 oblong-ovoid, acute; dorsal side convex, ventral side keeled brownish reticulate micromorphological and anatomical investigation of onosma l. 79 micromorphological characters of epidermal surface of stem and leaf as revealed from scanning electron microscopy are shown in fig. 6. eglandular and glandular trichomes have been observed in the stem and leaves of all species investigated. glandular trichomes were less frequent than eglandular trichomes. eglandular trichomes are rigid, unicelluar and patent-setose in all fig. 5. seed micromorphology of six onosma species: a. o. argentata; b. o. neglecta; c. o. proballanthera; d. o. rechinger; e. o. sericea; f. o. stenoloba (bar = 1 mm (general view), 100 µm (surface ornamentation). fig. 6. micromorphology of epidermal surface (stem and leaves) of onosma species by sem: stem (a,b,c), leaves (d,e,f): a. o. argentata; b. o. rechingeri; c. o. stenoloba; d. o. neglecta; e. o. sericea; f. o. proballanthera. (bar = 200 µm). 80 selvi et al. species. glabrous tubercules have been found at the base of stem and leaf of all species except o. stenoloba. the setae surface of those species cover dense or sparse papilae, where setae of o. stenoloba consist of tubercles with pilies at the base. the findings based on anatomical and micromorphological studies were found somewhat consistent with those of akçin and engin (2001), and akçin and binzet (2010). however, our results differs from those earlier studies in terms of number of layers of cells and tissues, the density of trichomes and the types of leaf mesophyll (fig. 6). the present study based on micromorphological and anatomical investigation employing six onosma species, of which five are endemic to turkey, is the first of its nature. though there are similarities in micromorphology and anatomy of stem, leaf and nutlets among the species studied, however, some of these characters have been found useful for delimation of the species. more particularly, micromorphological features of nutlet surface of onosma, anatomical features of epidermal surface (trichomes and stomata), and types of lamina mesophyll (dorsiventral and isobilateral) could be useful in species delimitation and solving taxonomic problem of the genus. acknowledgement the financial support from the scientific investigation project coordinator of munzur university (project number: mftub 015-024) is gratefully acknowledged. references akçin, ö.e. 2004. an investigation on the morphology, anatomy and ecology of endemic onosma bornmuelleri hausskn. ecology 13: 13–19. akçin, ö.e. 2007. nutlets micromorphology of some onosma l. 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(manuscript received on 5 february 2019; revised on 27 april 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 175-183, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70494 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of lichens from khadimnagar national park sylhet, bangladesh. i. abdullah-al-kaium, shamim shamsi*, md. almujaddade alfasane and md. abul bashar department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: new records; lichens; khadimnagar national park; sylhet; bangladesh. abstract an investigation was carried out from january 2021 to december 2022 to study the lichen flora of khadimnagar national park. the present paper deals with 10 new records of lichens, namely, acanthothecis asprocarpa (a.w. archer) a.w. archer, bacidia absistens (nyl.) arnold, caloplaca cinnabarina (ach.) zahlbr., coenogonium implexum nyl., dirinaria leopoldii (stein) d. d. awasthi, echinoplaca campanulata kalb & vězda, metamelanea umbonata henssen, pyrgillus javanicus (mont. & bosch) nyl., ramboldia blastidiata kantvilas & elix and trypethelium ochroleucum (eschw.) nyl. detailed taxonomic description of the newly reported species with photographs are provided. introduction lichens are duplex organisms formed from a symbiotic association of a fungus and an alga. the fungus partner is denoted as mycobiont and the algal partner as photobiont. photosynthetic cells are intertwined in a matrix of fungal hyphae. such a definition sometimes raises the question of whether lichens are technically individual organisms. various aspects of lichen biology have clarified the interactions of these organisms. isolation of these partners, physiological study, and anatomical study offers the scientist a fascinating opportunity to study the components and contribute to understanding of the pattern of the symbiosis in lichens. it is present in a wide range of habitats throughout the world and dominates terrestrial ecosystems (about 8%) (gadd and geoffrey, 2010). a total of 20,000 species of lichens have been reported globally. the indian subcontinent has 2,450 species of lichens (awasthi, 2000). khadimnagar national park (knp) was declared a national park in 2006 under the wildlife preservation act 1974 with an area of 678.8 ha (1676.73 acres) for the preservation of the remaining natural hill forest in khadimnagar reserve forest. the hills are dissected by numerous valleys, separated by ridges up to 50 m in height. the hills are generally low and gently sloping. the soil ranges from clay loams to pale brown (acidic) clay loams on the hills. the landscape has a broken topography comprising of undulating low rolling hills broken by the v-shaped valleys of two main charas (streams) within the national park. knp is characterized by good rainfall and so a large amount of water is drained from the surrounding and inside hills of knp. the area is traversed by numerous creeks. because of deforestation and heavy rainfall, erosion, and gully formation is common in knp, especially along the charas. erosion and landslides adversely affect the flow of water in the charas and sediment loads and flash floods to downstream areas. knp is very much rich in different flora and faunal diversity. it is endowed with 352 species of flora and 83 species of fauna (uddin, 2015). a little information on taxonomic study of lichen flora in bangladesh were found (alam and gafur, 2008; aptroot and iqbal, 2011; kaium and shamsi, 2020). so, the present study has been made to attempt the taxonomic study of lichen flora of khadimnagar national park. *corresponding author. e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70494 mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com 176 kaium et al. materials and methods khadimnagar national park (knp) is located in karimnagar union of sylhet sadar upazila and fatehpur union of guainghat upazila at 24°53′52″ n and 91°52′17″ e. the park is under the authority of khadimnagar forest beat of north sylhet range-1 under sylhet forest division. it is situated approximately 15 km northeast of sylhet city. the park has been divided into three blocks these are north block (1): 24°58'33.6"n24°58'22.6"n and 91°56'33.7"e 91°59'33.8"e; middle block (2): 24°58'22.6"n -24°57'42.2"n and 91°55'53.1"e 91°56‘33.7"e; south-west block (3): 24°57'42.2"n -24°57'07.3"n and 91°54'51.1"e 91°55'53.7"e. the lichen materials were collected from january 2021 to december 2022. the samples were examined and transported to the plant pathology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. several materials were preserved in the herbarium of this laboratory. for collection, preservation and laboratory analyses of the lichen flora the procedure were followed described by kaium and shamsi (2020), hulbert jr. (2011),orange et al. (2001), may (2000), albert (1998), mcfarlin and dey (1991) and cab (1968). the chemical tests were made for the identification of lichens providing the materials as k-potassium hydroxide, c– bleach [ca(ocl)cl], l– iodine (lugol’s solution) and weak acid (lemon juice). the taxonomic identification of lichens were made with consultation of the standard monographs and literature (archer, 2007; awasthi, 1975; ciafré et al., 2020; diederich et al., 2017; elix and mccarthy, 1998; flakus, 2013; galloway, 1985, 2007; gerasimova, 2016; hulbert jr., 2011; kantvilas and elix, 2007; kantvilas et al., 2018; kerr, 2014; lückingl, 1999; nylander, 1869; schultz, 2008; singh and singh, 2012; uyenco, 1963; weber, 1986; woods and coppins, 2012). lichens photographs were taken with the help of nikon d3200, camera. anatomy and other microscopic observation were made with the help of a nikon optiphot, ufx-11a microscope with a nikon fx-35wa camera, japan. results and discussion a total of ca. 40 species of lichens have been recorded during the period of study. of these 10 species of lichens describe here as new records. these lichens have been recorded from different spots in khadimnagar national park, sylhet. detailed taxonomic description, anatomy, photographs, illustration and other relevant information are provided below (plates 1-3). 1. acanthothecis asprocarpa (a.w. archer) a.w. archer (family-graphidaceae) (archer, 2007; diederich et al., 2017) (pl. 1, figs 1a-b) synonym: graphina asprocarpa a.w. archer thallus crustose, corticolous, episubstrate, epiperidermal, up to 8 cm diam; upper surface grey(ish), yellowish-grey to white (ivory, off white, cream-colored); pigmentation is hyaline, sometimes colourless; thallus in section 200–250 μm thick, apothecial indefinite structure. algal colony found inside the cortex cell, photobiont trentepohlia, cells irregular arrangement of cells, 9 –11 × 5 –8 μm, green. fungal spores and mycelial structure are observed in t.s. of the specimen. ascomata irregular in shape, 1–2 mm long, 0.5 –1.2 mm wide, disc exposed, asci clavate, 100 – 105 × 15 –20 μm. ascospores 8 per ascus, ellipsoid, 40 –45×10–15 μm, thin walls and septa. in the spot test koh, bleaching solution and, logul’s solution showed a positive result. specimen examined: recorded on champa (michelia champaca) from north block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, collction no.: aak-12, 05th january 2021. new records of lichens from khadimnagar national park 177 2. bacidia absistens (nyl.) arnold (family-ramalinaceae) (pl. 1, figs 2a-b) (gerasimova, 2016) synonyms: bacidia intermissa (nyl.) malme; lecidea intermissa nyl.; lecidea absistens nyl. thallus crustose, thin, whitish to grey; substrate bark, trunks, twigs; continuous, smooth or granular or warted; upper surface white, marginal upper surface rough. apothecia lecideine, definite structure, 0.5-1 mm across; epithecium blue-violet or purple-brown, rarely green, hypothecium colourless or pale yellowish. asci 8-spored, clavate to cylindrical. ascospores 7-16septate, hyaline, needle-like, conidia thread-like, curved, 8-24 x c. 0.5 μm. primary photobiont observed in the t.s. of the specimen. photobiont chlorococcoid, cells 5-10 μm in diam. spore size vary from 2-3 μm. chemical test showed: thallus k+, p-; conidia formation is detected during anatomical analysis. plate 1. figs 1-4: 1. acanthothecis asprocarpa (a.w. archer) a.w. archer (1a: thallus, 1b:t.s. of the thallus); 2. bacidia absistens (nyl.) arnold (2a: thallus, 2b: enlarge view); 3. caloplaca cinnabarina (ach.) zahlbr. (3a: thallus, 3b: enlarge view, 3c: t.s. of the thallus); 4. coenogonium implexum nyl. (4a: thallus, 4b: enlarge view, 4c: t.s. of the thallus). scale=10 μm. 178 kaium et al. specimen examined: recorded on teak (tectona grandis) from north block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, aak-59, 09th november 2021. 3. caloplaca cinnabarina (ach.) zahlbr. (family-teloschistaceae ) (pl. 1, figs 3a-b) (ciafré et al., 2020) synonyms: caloplaca aequata (hue) zahlbr.; neobrownliella cinnabarina (ach.) s.y. kondr. thallus crustose; substrate bark or trunks; brown to various shades of grays, yellowishorange, blue-grays, and greens; thallus segregated, epi-substrate; upper surface grey to whitish, cracked. apothecial indefinite structure. spores are round shaped, 3-5 μm in diameter. baciliform conidia has been detected, primary photobiont mostly chlorophytaceous (trebouxia spp. and chlorococcoid). transverse septation found in fungal mycelium. chemical test showed positive result. specimen examined: recorded on debdaru (polyalthia longifolia) from north block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, aak-43, 10th april 2021. 4. coenogonium implexum nyl. (family-coenogoniaceae) (pl. 1, figs 4a-b) (kantvilas et al., 2018; uyenco, 1963) synonyms: coenogonium subtorulosum müll. arg.; coenogonium acrocephalum müll. arg.; coenogonium rigidulum müll. arg. corticolous habit; olive-green to greenish or yellow, filamentous, upper surface greenish, hairy structure is found in the upper portion, green pigmentation was observed, thallus threadlike, small, orange-yellow apothecia, scattered, short-fusiform. ascospores 8 per ascus, 1-septate ascospore, 6–10 × 2.5 μm. photobiont trentepohlia, filament cells 2-5 times longer than wide. apothecia scattered, small, 1 mm diam., round, fragmented marginal structure found. spore circular (3-5 μm). specimen examined: recorded on pitraj/rata (aphanamixis polystachya) from north block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, aak-76, 05th january 2021. 5. dirinaria leopoldii (stein) d. d. awasthi (familycaliciaceae) (pl. 2, figs 1a-b) (weber, 1986; elix and mccarthy, 1998; awasthi, 1975; galloway, 1985, 2007; hulbert jr., 2011) corticolous, frequently found, eroded thallus, small red patches, black lower portion, edges tightly adhered, rhizines not found, suborbicular to spreading thallus, 2.5-5.0 cm diam.; mostly found in hard bark, lichen forms discontinuous, shade trees have a rich number in counting. margins loose, mycelium penetrated the bark; lobes dichotomously to irregularly divided, 1.5-2.5 mm wide, apices rounded, upper surface whitish, or yellowish or grey, lower surface black. apothecia infrequent, 0.5-2.0 mm diam., disc black, margins thick. ascospores biseriate, 15-20 × 5-10 µm. cortex k+ yellow; primary photobiont is present. kaium and shamsi (2020) described same organism as parmelia sp. collected from the national botanical garden, mirpur, dhaka which was misidentified. specimen examined: recorded on akash moni (acacia auriculiformis) and mahagoni (swietenia mahagoni) from south-west block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, aak-49, 14th august 2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/taxonomy/browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=info&id=88646&lvl=3&lin=f&keep=1&srchmode=1&unlock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/m%c3%bcll.arg. new records of lichens from khadimnagar national park 179 6. echinoplaca campanulata kalb & vězda (familygomphillaceae) (pl. 2, figs 2a-b) (lückingl, 1999; flakus, 2013) mostly found in hard bark, thallus continuous, crustose type, grey to whitish; marginal upper structure can be easily identified. the apothecial structure is prominent, hyaline pigmentation. mycelium penetrated the bark, hairy structure is found on the upper side. spores oval shaped, 2-3 μm in length. primary photobiont is present. chemical test showed positive result. plate 2. figs 1-4: 1. dirinaria leopoldii (stein) d. d. awasthi (1a: thallus, 1b: t.s. of the thallus); 2. echinoplaca campanulata kalb & vězda (2a: thallus, 2b: enlarge view); 3. metamelanea umbonata henssen (3a: thallus, 3b: t.s. of the thallus); 4. pyrgillus javanicus (mont. & bosch) nyl. (4a: thallus, 4b: t.s. of the thallus). scale=10 μm. https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/henssen 180 kaium et al. specimen examined: recorded on dhaki jam (syzygium grande) from north block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, aak-74, 07th april 2022. 7. metamelanea umbonata henssen (family-lichinaceae) (pl. 2, figs 3a-b) (schultz, 2008; woods and coppins, 2012) synonym: metamelanea umbonata henssen, thallus crustose, substrate bark, cork, plant surface, brownish to black, surface gray to greenish white, glossy, areolate, up to 5 cm wide patches, more or less angular, lobule-like outgrowths, densely arranged photobiont cells surrounded by loose hyphae. apothecia adnate, dark reddish brown margin, well-developed, epithecium brown, hymenium colourless to brownish, k/i+ blue; asci 8-spored, long-cylindrical-clavate, thin-walled, without internal amyloid structures. ascospores 1-celled, hyaline, broadly ellipsoid, 10-12 x 7-8 µm, thin walled. photobiont cyanobacterial chroococcoid, densely aggregated brownish gelatinous sheaths. specimen examined: recorded on tea (camellia sinensis) from north block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, aak-kaium 45, 10th april 2021. 8. pyrgillus javanicus (mont. & bosch) nyl. (family-pyrenulaceae) (pl. 2, figs 4a-b) (singh and singh, 2012) thallus crustose, corticolous, found on bark, trunk, and cork, white-yellowish grey, continuous, smooth to cracked, loose. thallus shape is definite, hyaline pigmentation is found. very thick layer formation has been observed. ascomata scattered, sessile, generally conical with truncate or rounded apices, thick margin; asci not seen, ascospores dark brown, ellipsoid, 3septate, thick-walled, 10–12 × 4–6 µm. photobiont trentepohlioid. specimen examined: mostly grows in tea plants. recorded on tea (camellia sinensis) from north block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, aak-27, 08th april 2021. 9. ramboldia blastidiata kantvilas & elix (family-ramboldiaceae) (pl. 3, figs 1a-b) (kantvilas and elix, 2007) crustose thallus, mostly found on bark, trunk, and twigs; pale greyish to greenish, olive-green to olive-brown, reddish-brown. the outer layer has a creamy whitish rim; occurring mostly on rock and rarely on wood. thallus shape is definite (4-5inch in diameter). photobiont cells 5–15 µm wide, green pigmentation. very thick layer formation has been observed. apothecia round to irregularly rhomboidal, solitary, bright red-brown or dark brown, basally constricted; margin very thin, asci 30–35 × 14–16 µm. ascospores ellipsoidal to fusiform-ellipsoidal, simple, septate, 8.0– 10.0 × 3.0–5.0 µm. apothecial ascoma is observed. pycnidia not seen. chemical test showed k+ yellow to red, p+ yellow. specimen examined: recorded on jack fruit (artocarpus heterophyllus) from north block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, aak-145, 08th november 2022. 10. trypethelium ochroleucum (eschw.) nyl. (family-trypetheliaceae) (pl. 3, figs 2a-b) (nylander, 1869; kerr, 2014) synonyms: verrucaria ochroleuca eschw., astrothelium phlyctaena (fée) aptroot & lücking thallus greyish green, smooth, found on the bark. the thallus is crustose type, continuous, upper surface gray to greenish, thallus shape is definite (width is 3-4 inch), very moderately thick layer formation observed, upper surface smooth, red pigmentation observed. perithecial ascoma has been detected. ascomata largely immersed, ascospores 3-septate, oval shaped spore, width is https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/henssen https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/lichinaceae https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/henssen new records of lichens from khadimnagar national park 181 10-12 μm and length is 22-25 μm, primary photobiont present. secondary metabolites secretion observed. chemical test showed k– result. plate 3. figs 1-2: 1. ramboldia blastidiata kantvilas & elix (1a: thallus, 1b: t.s. of the thallus); 2.trypethelium ochroleucum (eschw.) nyl. (2a: thallus, 2b: t.s. of the thallus). scale=10 μm. specimen examined: recorded on jarul (lagerstroemia speciosa) from north block of khadimnagar national park, sylhet, aak-11, 05th january 2021. 182 kaium et al. acknowledgements the authors would like to acknowledge the nst (ph.d.) fellowship, ministry of science and technology, govt. of the people’s republic of bangladesh for providing the necessary financial assistance. the present paper is also a part of the ph.d. research work of the first author. references alam, n. and gafur, m.a. 2008. lichen flora in chandra sal forest: occurrence, distribution and abundance. bangladesh j bot. 37(1): 61-65. albert, s.1998. a guide to the study of lichens. california state college, 2nd.edn. 302 pp. aptroot, a. and iqbal, s.h. 2011. some lichens of bangladesh. the bryologist 114 (3): 466-468. archer, a.w. 2007. key and checklist for the lichen family graphidaceae (lichenised ascomycota) in the solomon island. systematics and biodiversity 5(1): 9-22. awasthi, d.d. 1975. a monograph of the lichen genus dirinaria. bibliotheca lichenologica 2: 1-109. awasthi, d.d. 2000. a hand book of lichens. shiva offset press, lucknow, india, pp. 87-92. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book.1stedn. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, 267 pp. ciafré, c.m., ladd, d. and braun, a. 2020. caloplaca cinnabarina – a new candidate for missouri’s most colorful lichen. missouriensis 38: 23-28. diederich, p., lücking, r., aptroot, a., sipman, h. j. m., braun, u., ahti, t. and ertz, d. 2017. new species and new records of lichens and lichenicolous fungi from the seychelles. herzogia 30(1): 182–236. elix, j.a. and mccarthy, p.m. 1998. catalogue of the lichens of the smaller pacific islands. bibliotheca lichenologica 70, j. cramer, berlin, stuttgart, 361pp. flakus, a. 2013. foliicolous lichenized fungi of lowland amazon forests in pando, bolivia. polish botanical journal 58(2): 539–554. gadd, g.m. 2010. metals, minerals and microbes: geomicrobiology and bioremediation. j. microbiol. 156: 609643. galloway, d.j. 1985: flora of new zealand: lichens. wellington: pd hasselberg, government printer. 662 pp. galloway, d.j. 2007: flora of new zealand: lichens, including lichen-forming and lichenicolous fungi. 2nd edition. lincoln, manaaki whenua press, 2261 pp. gerasimova, j.v. 2016. bacidia absistens (nyl.) arnold (ramalinaceae, lecanorales) in russia: nomenclature, description, ecology, and distribution. turczaninowia 19(3): 88–93. hulbert jr., r.c. 2011. the lichens of fakahatchee strand preserve state park, florida: proceedings from the 18th tuckerman workshop, the bulletin of the florida museum of natural history 49(4): 127-186. kaium, a.a. and shamsi, s. 2020. lichen flora of national botanical garden, mirpur, dhaka. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 447-451. kantvilas, g and elix, j.a. 2007. the genus ramboldia (lecanoraceae): a new species, key and notes. the lichenologist 38(2): 135–141. kantvilas, g., plata, e.r. and lücking, r. 2018. the lichen genus coenogonium in tasmania. the lichenologist 50(5): 571–582. kerr, a.m. (ed.). 2014. catalogue of the lichens of the mariana islands ex elix & mccarthy's (2008) 'checklist of pacific island lichens'. university of guam marine laboratory technical report, 56 pp. lückingl, r. 1999. líquenes folícolas de la estación biológica la selva, costa rica: inveritiuio, comunidades y comparación florist ֝ica de tipos de vegetación. rev. biol. trop., 47( 3): 287308. may, p.f. 2000. how to collect lichens. farlow herbarium, harvard university, cambridge, massachusetts, 453 pp. mcfarlin, m. and dey, j. 1991. a morphological and chemical study of the lichen genus hypogymnia in north america. 2nd annual john wesley powell student research conference. 21. new records of lichens from khadimnagar national park 183 nylander, w.n. 1869. lichenes in brasilia a glaziou collecti. flora (regensburg)\flora 52: 117–126. orange, a., james, p.w. and white, f.j. 2001. micro-chemical methods for the identification of lichens. british lichen society, london 23: 231-235. schultz, m. 2008. metamelanea umbonata new to the british isles, the lichenologist 40(1): 81–83. singh, k.p. and singh, p. 2012. genus pyrgillus nyl. (lichenized ascomycota: pyrenulaceae) in india. taiwania, 57(4): 391–395. uyenco, f.r. 1963. the species of coenogonium in the united states, american bryological and lichenological society 66(4): 217-224. weber, w.a. 1986. the lichen flora of the galápagos islands, ecuador. mycotaxon 27: 451-497. woods, r.g. and coppins, b.j. 2012. a conservation evaluation of british lichens and lichenicolous fungi. species status 13. joint nature conservation committee, peterborough, 160 pp. uddin, m.z. 2015. plant diversity assessment in khadimnagar national park, sylhet, final report of the flora, bangladesh forest department, ministry of environment and forest, bangladesh, 27 pp. (manuscript received on 26 may 2022; revised on 12 november 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 233-250, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists auto-taxonomy of brassica tournefortii gouan. (brassicaceae) in egypt asmaa abdelhameed, wafaa amer1, walaa hassan* and ayman aboellil department of botany and microbiology, faculty of science, beni-suef university, beni-suef, egypt keywords: brassicaceae; forms; issr; pollen grains; sem. abstract brassica tournefortii gouan. (family brassicaceae) is one of the five species in the egyptian flora. its populations showed notable morpho-plasticity with taxonomic debates, which were not yet resolved. the current study was carried out to assess the species morpho-plasticity and its molecular identity based on issr. the study was applied to 27 herbarium and fresh populations, representing all the species distribution ranges in egypt. the taxonomic revision included 70 morphological characters, revealed five distinct forms (1-5), radical leaf, and fruit provided the major distinguishable traits among the studied 70 morphological characters based on them the morphologic key is provided to delimit these forms. the pollen grain features using sem are a pioneer at the infra-specific level, two shapes observed the subprolate (forms 1& 3) and prolate (forms 2, 4 & 5). furthermore, the exine micro-features possess taxonomic value at the infraspecific level. the cluster analysis based on issr data revealed two clusters congruent to those developed by morphological and pollen traits. the issr results indicated that the species morpho-plasticity is genetically controlled. the study highlights the importance of the multidisciplinary approach to assess the taxonomic identity at the infra-specific level, for the auto-taxonomy of morpho-plastic species. introduction brassicaceae (cruciferae) is a monophyletic family, distributed in all continents with high diversity in irano-turanian, mediterranean, and west n. american regions (taiyan et al., 2001). it includes 3977 species under 351 genera and 52 tribes (the plant list, 2013). genus brassica l. considered one of the most economically important genera of the tribe brassiceae, with highly diverse morphology and wide-ranging utility, represented by 80 accepted species worldwide (the plant list, 2013; amer et al., 2019a). genus brassica l. in egypt includes five species namely: b. rapa l., b. tournefortii gouan., b. nigra (l.) koch, b. deserti danin & hedge, and b. juncea (l.) czernj. & coss. (amer et al., 2019a); the first three species are widespread in egypt, while the others are rare (boulos, 1995, 1999, 2009). the ecological range of b. tournefortii extends from the mediterranean basin and much of the middle east (including egypt) to western india (aldhebiani and howladar, 2013). it was recorded as invasive species outside its ecological range it began to spread quickly throughout the southwest usa, northern & central mexico, and australia (minnich and sanders, 2000; vantassel et al., 2014). various studies were carried out to detect its phenological, ecological impact, and management (marushia, 2009; marushia et al., 2010; marushia et al., 2012; berry et al., 2014; abd el-gawad, 2014; winkler et al., 2018). *corresponding author, e-mail: azmeyw@gmail.com, present address: department of biology, college of science, princess nourah bint abdulrahman university, riyadh, saudi arabia. 1botany and microbiology department, faculty of science, cairo university, cairo, egypt. mailto:azmeyw@gmail.com, 234 abdelhameed et al. in egypt, b. tournefortii distributed in all the phytogeographic regions except the sinai peninsula (boulos, 1995), as a dominant weed in the newly reclaimed land (abd el-gawad, 2014). it possesses rapid phenological diversity compared to its relatives (marushia et al., 2010). worldwide, this infra-specific diversity induced taxonomic debates among four identified varieties (var. dasycarpa o.e. schulz, var. leiocarpa maire. & weiller var. recurvata bornm. and var. sisymbroides fisch. ex dc.) and one forma (f. dentata o.e. schulz), now all of them are grouped as species synonym (the plant list, 2013). this taxonomic uncertainty also extended to egypt where two varieties i.e. b. tournefortii var. dentata o.e. schulz with simple dentate leaves, and var. recurvate bornm. in which the fruit recurved on the stem. later, both varieties were treated as b. tournefortii synonyms (boulos, 2009, 1999). though brassicaceae is a stenopalynous at the family level (al-shehbaz et al., 2006), the pollen characters are useful for assessing phenetic relationships and resolving taxonomic problems at the family, generic, and specific level (anchev and deneva, 1997; carlo and paula, 2004). recently, sem was applied to study the pollen grains at the infra-specific level in both of brassica nigra biotypes (amer et al., 2019a), and capsella bursa-pastoris genotypes (amer et al., 2019b) in egypt. issr markers can differentiate the closely related species, at the interspecies level and assess the genetic relationships (zietkiewicz et al., 1994; amer et al., 2014). brassicaceae was subjected to several molecular studies for generic delimitations and an understanding of its phylogenetic relationships (warwick et al., 2010). liu and wang (2006), applied the issr markers to prove the genomic evolution of brassica allopolyploids in 35 genotypes of brassica sp. this work was carried out to assess the taxonomic identity of the b. tournefortii at the infraspecific level, through a multidisciplinary approach, including macro-morphological, sem-micromorphological traits and the retrieved data confirmed using issr markers. materials and methods plant materials twenty-seven plant samples and their seeds were collected from different populations of brassica tournefortii distributed in various localities in egypt during the spring of 2017 and 2018. the herbarium specimens preserved at cairo university herbarium (cai), assiut university herbarium (astu), and beni-suef university herbarium (bnsu) were also studied. fresh flowering and fruiting specimens of ten representative individuals were preserved in faa (50 ml ethyl alcohol, 10 ml formaldehyde, 5 ml glacial acetic acid, and 35 ml distilled water) for further study. macro-morphological characters macro-morphological characters of the fresh and herbarium specimens, including stem, leaves, inflorescences, flowers, fruits, and seeds were investigated. micro-morphological characters fresh anthers were collected from the floral buds of the representative populations, cultivated in the experimental garden of beni-suef university and investigated pollen morphology using scanning electron microscope (sem) according to punt et al. (1994). molecular investigation genomic dna was collected and purified from juvenile leaf samples of the taxonomically identified five b. tournefortii forms (1-5) grown in gbsu using dneasy plant mini kit (qiagen). five complimentary issr primers 14a (5`-ctctctctctctctcttg-3`), 44b (5`-ctctctcauto-taxonomy of brassica tournefortii 235 tctctctctgc-3`), hb-9 (5`-gtgtgtgtgtgtgg-3`), hb-12 (5`-caccaccacgc3`), and hb-15 (5`-gtggtggtggc-3`) were used to perform amplification of genomic dna according to murray and thompson (1980) and williams et al. (1990). data analysis the retrieved data from the morphology, pollen grains, and issr marker studies were subjected to statistical analysis. for cluster analysis dendrograms were generated by the similarity matrices using “r” software for windows version 3.5.1. genetic similarity coefficient (gs) among the studied forms was carried out by the dice coefficient formula (sneath and socal, 1973): dice formula: gsij = 2a/(2a + b + c) where gsij represents the measure of genetic similarity between forms "i" and "j", "a" is the number of characters shared by forms "i" and "j", "b" is the number of characters present in "form i" and absent in "form j", while "c" is the number of characters present in "form j" and absent in "form i". results and discussion species morphology: annual erect and spreading herb, up to 80 (-95) cm, stem more or less branched from the base. leaves and stem densely covered with stiff retrorse white hairs. radicle (basal) leaves rosette-forming, 4-25 (-40) × 2-6 (-12) cm, shortly to broadly petiolate, pinnatipartite-pinnatisect with 2-15 pairs of patent or slightly recurved oblong-obovate lateral lobes with serrate-dentate margin, obtuse-acute apex, terminal lobe lanceolate winged to broadly ovate and sometimes rhombic with obtuse-acute apex. cauline (upper) leaves sessile-short petiolate, linear lanceolatepinnatisect, entire-denticulate margin. the inflorescence is subtended by sessile petiolate bracts, 46 × 0.5 cm, linear-lanceolate, entire-dentate margin, and acute apex. inflorescence corymbose 1020 flowered, flowers yellow, green calyx or somewhat violet 3-5 × 1-2 mm; petal 5-10 × 1-3 mm, linear-oblong, obtuse, long-clawed, often tinged violet at the throat, sometimes white. ovary c. 15 ovulate. fruit elongated siliqua arranged in a lax raceme; fruit distinguished into three regions: fruit pedicel, fruiting part, beak; fruit pedicel erect, spreading 1-4 cm., the beak of 1-2 × 0.2-0.3 cm, beak non2-seeded; valve with a more or less distinct midrib. seed shiny brown-red light brown, mucilaginous, and 1-2 × 1.2-1.5 mm in diameter. infra-specific diversity morphological diversity morphological diversity among the studied 27 b. tournefortii populations distinguished them into five forms by using 70 macro-morphological characters that were presented in table 1 and figs. 2–5. macro-morphological characters were grouped the studied populations into five distinct forms based on the following key: 1 radicle leaves pinnatipartite-pinnatisect, terminal lobe rhombic-triangular form 3 2 radicle leaves pinnatisect, terminal lobe not so. a leaf with no clear midrib, lateral lobes pseudo-alternate lobes form 2 b leaf with clear midrib, lateral lobes opposite-alternate  terminal lobe cut to midrib (not winged) form 5  terminal lobe not cut to midrib (winged)  terminal lobe mostly lanceolate, fruit pedicel up to 1.5 cm form 1  terminal lobe ovate, fruit pedicel up to 2.5 cm form 4 236 abdelhameed et al. auto-taxonomy of brassica tournefortii 237 238 abdelhameed et al. auto-taxonomy of brassica tournefortii 239 morphological similarity between the identified forms the heat map analysis using 70 macro-morphological characters (as shown in table 1), reveals the dendrogram (fig. 6), in which the five studied forms grouped into two main clusters, one of them includes forms 1 and 3, and the other comprises forms 2, 4, and 5. the last cluster is divided into two sub-clusters, one of which combines forms 4 and 5, while the other subgroup includes form 2. pollen grains micro-morphological characters scanning electron microscopic investigation showed that pollen grains of morphologically identified forms (1-5) are tricolpate reticulate hetero-brochate (irregular lumen shape and size) exine, the five forms belonging to two pollen shapes; subprolate in forms 1 and 3 (p/e= 1.17 and 1.32 µm; respectively) and prolate in forms 2, 4 and 5 where (p/e= 1.34, 1.66 & 1.57; respectively), as outlined in (table 2 and fig. 7). these forms are grouped into two clusters congruent to the morphological cluster; the most significant characters are the muri width and the pollen shape (table 2). fig. 1. distribution map of the studied b. tournefortii populations based on collection and herbaria specimens. table 2. pollen features of the five identified forms of brassica tournefortii (mean value within the brackets). form number polar view (µm) equatorial view (µm) p/e muri (w) (µm) lumen (l× w) µm pollen shape form 1 12.339-14.699 (13.67) 9.954-10.931 (10.32) 1.32 0.275-0.421 (0.35) (0.474-0.906) × (0.2880.620) (0.68 × 0.50) subprolate form 2 13.653-14.888 (14.36) 9.818-11.591 (10.75) 1.34 0.311-0.528 (0.41) (0.541-0.913) × (0.4130.726) (0.77 × 0.53) prolate form 3 13.370-19.141 (17.27) 11.064-16.641 (14.76) 1.17 0.209-0.480 (0.33) (0.638-1.347) × (0.5250.754) (0.88 × 0.63) subprolate form 4 12.630-19.994 (17.98) 8.996-15.303 (10.81) 1.66 0.360-0.664 (0.49) (0.375-0.564) × (0.3150.482) (0.47 × 0.38) prolate form 5 16.184-18.414 (17.24) 10.577-11.324 (10.97) 1.57 0.305-0.494 (0.39) (0.541-0.913) × (0.4130.726) (1.03 × 0.78) prolate 240 abdelhameed et al. fig. 2. morphologic diversity of radical leaves between the five identified b. tournefortii forms; a: form 1, b: form 2, c: form 3, d: form 4 and e: form 5. auto-taxonomy of brassica tournefortii 241 fig. 3. morphologic diversity of cauline leaves between the five identified b. tournefortii forms; a: form 1, b: form2, c: form 3, d: form 4 and e: form 5. molecular analysis: results of infra-specific molecular investigation of the five forms using issr primers to elucidate the molecular identity of forms identified by macro-morphological taxonomic key based characters were depicted in figs. 2-5. the issr primers reveal a total of 38 bands across the five forms (1-5). out of the amplified bands, 20 bands are polymorphic, reflecting an allelic diversity among the morphologically identified forms (tables 3-4). we detected the highest polymorphism (77.77%), in form 1 using primer hb-12, while primers hb-9 and hb-15 showed absence bands with forms 1 and 5 and forms 1 and 3; respectively. 242 abdelhameed et al. fig. 4. morphologic diversity of inflorescences between the five identified b. tournefortii forms; a: form 1, b: form2, c: form 3, d: form 4 and e: form 5. the genetic relationships among the studied five populations were constructed using dice formula (gsij = 2a/ (2a + b + c). the highest similarity value (89%) were recorded between forms 2 and 4. on the other hand, the lowest similarity value (75%) was observed between forms 3 and 5 (table 5). cluster analysis of the dna bands of the studied forms (1-5) by upgma cluster analysis software produced three clusters; the first one includes form 2, while the second cluster comprises both forms 1 and 3, but the last cluster combines forms 4 and 5 (fig. 8). auto-taxonomy of brassica tournefortii 243 fig. 5. morphologic diversity of fruit between the five identified b. tournefortii forms; a: form 1, b: form2, c: form 3, d: form 4 & e: form 5 fig. 6. heat map with hierarchical clustering of studied five forms (x-axis) and the most seven affected morphological characters (y-axis). red indicates a high level of expression; green represents a low level of expression; increasing color intensity is directly proportional to the value of the studied character. 244 abdelhameed et al. fig.7. scanning electron microscope micrographs (i: polar view, ii: equatorial view, and iii: magnified exine) of the b. tournefortii pollen grains of forms 1-5. brassicaceae is characterized by remarkable uniformity in the fundamentals of flower and fruit characters (el naggar, 2000). despite this, the studied 27 populations of brassica tournefortii gouan revealed notable phenoplasticity (table 1 and figs. 2–5). congruent infra-specific diversity was also identified as biotypes by amer et al. (2019b), in egyptian populations of capsella bursapastoris. the phenoplasticity of this species was reported earlier in america, which was grouped under five varieties (maire, 1965). auto-taxonomy of brassica tournefortii 245 table 3. the similarity between the studied forms based on the macro-morphological and pollen characters. form.1 form.2 form.3 form.4 form.5 form.1 100 form.2 95.8 100 form.3 88.5 81.8 100 form.4 97.4 98.2 90.3 100 form.5 97.5 97.5 86.6 98.6 100 fig. 8. heat map with hierarchical clustering of studied five b. tournefortii forms (1-5; x-axis) using issr markers, y-axis representing the developed band. red indicates a high level of expression; green represents a low level of expression; increasing color intensity is directly proportional to the value of the studied character. egyptian forms vs identified varieties the current study used 70 morphological characters (table 1), reveals grouping of the studied 27 populations into five distinct forms (1, 2, 3, 4 & 5; figs 2–5). these forms mainly depend on the shape of radicle leaves with particular reference to terminal lobe and midrib clarity. non, of the identified forms, was related to the earlier described varieties and forms (the plant list, 2013) and those given by täckholm (1974). the identified forms showed notable diversity compared to the other relevant specimens described earlier in relative flora. the plant height of the studied five forms (27 populations), recorded the highest stem length worldwide (95 cm in form 2) that supported by el-habashy et al. (2013) and boulos (1999). also, it measures 70 cm in asian specimens, given by davis et al. (1965), from turkey (zohary, 1966), from palestine and iraq (townsend and guest, 1980). the morphological diversity extends to stem branching; the identified forms show sub-simple stem, basi-branched in forms (2,3,4 & 5), this congruent with specimens of neighbouring areas. while, the samples from arizona (usa), is simple much-branched above, with incredible size variation (felger et al., 2015). here the results described for the first time, the pseudo-dichotomous branching in form 1. 246 abdelhameed et al. auto-taxonomy of brassica tournefortii 247 radicle leaves are the most divergent morphological traits, distinguished the current egyptian b. tournefortii forms, its length up to 40 cm (fig. 2). similar data reported earlier in egypt (boulos, 1999), and palestine (zohary, 1966). felger et al. (2015) reported an extreme leaf length up to 80 cm in b. tournefortii invaded arizona, usa. table 5. similarity values between the studied brassica tournefortii five forms based on issr data. f1 f2 f3 f4 f5 f1 100 f2 78 100 f3 83 82 100 f4 80 89 84 100 f5 85 78 75 86 100 taxonomic significance of the morphological characters zohary (1966) reported the shape of the terminal lobe of radicle leaves that was demonstrated in forms (1, 2, 4 & 5). while the lanceolate and more-less rhombic (form 1 and form 3; respectively), are new records to examined species. the simple leaf in var. dentata (täckholm, 1974), absent in this revision, as the identified forms show pinnate-segments of diverse shape (fig. 2), with dentate margins as reported earlier by boissier (1867); oliver and thiselton-dyer (1868); zohary (1966); boulos (1999); minnich and sanders (2000). the fruit characters in the identified forms (1-5) are linear-terete, erect, and spreading; this is congruent with gabr (2018b), in saudi arabian specimens. while the recurved fruits of var. recurvata mentioned in egypt (täckholm, 1974), lacked in this revision. the fruit beak length, of studied forms, was c. 2.0 cm that supports the earlier report of felger et al. (2015). the length of the fruit pedicel also shows distinct diversity in the identified forms. the number of seeds/fruits was 25-30 in recognised forms. while the fruit beak contained 1-2 seeds/beak in form 2; as reported by zohary (1966) and boulos (1999), while 0-2 seeded in forms 4 and 5, as recorded by gabr (2018b) in b. tournefortii of saudi arabia. on the other hand, forms 1 and 3 showed novel seed/beak diversity with 0-1 seeded. the seed size in the studied forms was 1.19-1.42 × 1.22-1.5 mm, exceeded that recorded earlier (1.0-1.2 mm) by tantawy et al. (2004) and kasem et al. (2011). taxonomic significance of pollen characters: the pollen grains of identified forms of b. tournefortii are were reticulate, tricolpate, heterobrochate (fig. 7) as reported earlier in egyptian and saudi arabian specimens by el-naggar et al. (1993) and gabr (2018a); respectively. the pollens of studied forms were grouped under subprolate and prolate shapes (table 1). el-habashy et al. (2013) detected subprolate pollen in egyptian specimens. el-naggar et al. (1993), reported prolate-spheroidal (p/e <2) in egypt and perprolate (p/e>2) in saudi arabia (gabr, 2018a). despite, the general similarity of pollen in the five identified forms, the micro-features (table 2) signify the taxonomic value of pollen grains at the infra-specific level of b. tournefortii. molecular diversity issr tool was carried out to assess the genetic polymorphism with and within the morphologically identified b. tournefortii forms (1-5). the results revealed low genetic similarity 248 abdelhameed et al. among the studied forms (table 5). this genetic diversity is consistent with the results of winkler et al. (2019), who claimed that the low genetic diversity of b. tournefortii is a result of selffertilization. the retrieved molecular data from the issr tool reflect the presence of genotypic variation in the studied forms (1-5), which is expressed as species morpho-plasticity. this is the first report of the genetic features of b. tournefortii at the infra-specific level. this data will help the other taxonomists and ecologists, who dealing with the origin of the population diversity (phenoplasticity) in this autogamous species, which invaded the new world. acknowledgements this research was funded by the deanship of scientific research at princess nourah bint abdulrahman university through the fast-track research funding program. references abd el-gawad, a.m. 2014. ecology and allelopathic control of brassica tournefortii in reclaimed areas of the nile delta, egypt. turk j bot. 38: 347–357. al-shehbaz, i.a., beilstein, m.a. and kellogg, e.a. 2006. systematics and phylogeny of the brassicaceae (cruciferae): an overview. plant syst. evol. 259: 89–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-006-0415-z. aldhebiani, a.y. and howladar, s.m. 2013. floristic diversity and environmental relations in two valleys, south west saudi arabia. int. j. sci. res. 4: 1916–1925. amer, w.m., soliman, a.t. and hassan, w.a. 2014. genetic diversity and its morphological expression within amaranthus hybridus l. in different habitats in egypt. egypt. j. bot. 99–121. amer, w., shoulkamy, m., faried, a. and el-baset, a. 2019a. auto-taxonomy of brassica nigra (l.) koch (brassicaceae) in egypt. egypt. j. bot. 59: 439–450. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.21608/ejbo.22019. 26375.21254. amer, w.m., hassan, r.a. and abdo, a.s. 2019b. phenoplasticity of the egyptian capsella bursa-pastoris (l.) medik. morphotypes. ann. agri bio res. 24: 201–210. anchev, m. and deneva, b. 1997. pollen morphology of seventeen species from family brassicaceae (cruciferae). phytol. balc. 3: 75–82. berry, k.h., gowan, t.a., miller, d.m. and brooks, m.l. 2014. models of invasion and establishment for african mustard (brassica tournefortii). invasive plant sci. manag. 7: 599–616. boissier, e. 1867. flora orientalis, vol 1. basileae: h. georg, pp. 899–900. boulos, l. 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(manuscript received on 16 july 2020; revised on 14 november 2020) https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5239 https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1126 https://doi.org/doi.org/110.1006/geno. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 187-207, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an annotated checklist of the angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest of moulvibazar, bangladesh a.k.m. kamrul haque1, saleh ahammad khan, sarder nasir uddin2 and shayla sharmin shetu department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka 1342, bangladesh keywords: checklist; angiosperms; rajkandi reserve forest; moulvibazar. abstract this study was carried out to provide the baseline data on the composition and distribution of the angiosperms and to assess their current status in rajkandi reserve forest of moulvibazar, bangladesh. the study reports a total of 549 angiosperm species belonging to 123 families, 98 (79.67%) of which consisting of 418 species under 316 genera belong to magnoliopsida (dicotyledons), and the remaining 25 (20.33%) comprising 132 species of 96 genera to liliopsida (monocotyledons). rubiaceae with 30 species is recognized as the largest family in magnoliopsida followed by euphorbiaceae with 24 and fabaceae with 22 species; whereas, in lilliopsida poaceae with 32 species is found to be the largest family followed by cyperaceae and araceae with 17 and 15 species, respectively. ficus is found to be the largest genus with 12 species followed by ipomoea, cyperus and dioscorea with five species each. rajkandi reserve forest is dominated by the herbs (284 species) followed by trees (130 species), shrubs (125 species), and lianas (10 species). woodlands are found to be the most common habitat of angiosperms. a total of 387 species growing in this area are found to be economically useful. 25 species listed in red data book of bangladesh under different threatened categories are found under lower risk (lr) category in this study area. introduction rajkandi reserve forest (rrf) is located in kamalganj upazilla under moulvibazar district of bangladesh. this forest area consists of ca. 2,450 hectares’ land of rajkandi forest range that lies between the 24º12´-24º17´n and 91º51´-91º55´e, and comprises diverse habitats and ecosystems. this tropical semi-evergreen forest falls within the indo-burma hot-spot of biodiversity (myers et al., 2000). the extensive floristic exploration throughout british india conducted by j.d. hooker (18721897) included the sylhet region of the present political boundary of bangladesh. later, david prain (1903) covered different regions of bangladesh including sylhet under his floristic exploration. kanjilal et al. (1934, 1938-1940) included some areas of sylhet region too. in those studies, any specific or detail information on local distribution and voucher specimens of the taxa described are missing. later on, various sporadic inventories have been completed in different areas of greater sylhet region, such as das (1968), alam (1988), arefin et al. (2011), uddin and hassan (2004) and sobuj and rahman (2011). however, the flora and plant diversity of moulvibazar district, have not yet been explored, except the plant diversity (uddin and hassan, 2010) or a plant group (haque et al., 2016) of a particular area. taxonomic data on the current floristic composition of rrf collected through field inventories and examination of representative plant specimens are still lacking, though such data are important for the sustainable use and 1corresponding author. email: kamrulhaque1234@gmail.com 2bangladesh national herbarium, zoo road, mirpur-1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh. mailto:kamrulhaque1234@gmail.com 188 haque et al. conservation of plant resources and resource-based development of the area. therefore, an inventory on the floristic composition of rrf was conducted with the objectives to produce an annotated checklist of the angiospermic species of the area; to determine the current status of threatened species of angiosperms from bangladesh in this forest; and to collect and preserve representative plant specimens for future reference. materials and methods taxonomic inventories were conducted during 2010 to 2015 through 25 field trips in different seasons throughout the study area (fig. 1). necessary field data and representative plant specimens were collected and preserved following standard herbarium techniques (bridson and forman, 1989; singh and subramaniam, 2008). all plant specimens were preliminarily identified through consulting the experts and matching with relevant voucher specimens preserved at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh), and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). some critical specimens were identified at central national herbarium, howrah, india (cal) during the visit of one of the authors. the identification of the plant specimens were verfied by matching with the images of pertinent type specimens available in the websites of international herbaria and consulting taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literatures (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; wu and raven, 1994-2001; wu et al., 1999-2013). nomenclature of each taxon was verified following flora of china (wu and raven, 19942001; wu et al., 1999-2013) and the nomenclatural databases of the plant list (2013) and tropicos (2017). the common names have been cited based on huq (1986), pasha and uddin (2013) and interview with the local people. the families have been arranged following cronquist (1981), and the genera and species under each family have been arranged alphabetically (table 1). the economic uses of the species were recorded through interviews with the local people during the field surveys, and consulting the relevant literatures (e.g., ghani, 1998; van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2002). status of threatened plant species listed in red data book of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001; ara et al., 2013) was asseesed in context to rrf through field observation on natural distribution and regeneration of each species throughout the area, and iucn threatened category was estimated consulting iucn (2001). the voucher specimens have been preserved at juh and dacb. results and discussion a total of 549 species of angiosperms under 412 genera and 123 families have been recorded from rrf with their natural distribution (table 1). among these families, 98 (79.67%) representing 316 genera and 418 species are identified as dicotyledons (magnoliopsida), whereas, only 25 (20.33%) families consisting of 96 genera and 132 species as monocotyledons (liliopsida). among these families, 46 are represented by single species each and only 10 families by more than 10 (10-33) species. this reserve forest is dominated by the herbs comprising 284 species that are followed by trees of 130 species, shrubs of 125 species, and lianas of 10 species. these data indicate that rajkandi reserve forest is floristically rich. in magnoliopsida, rubiaceae with 30 species of 21 genera is recognized as the largest family in rrf followed by euphorbiaceae with 24 species of 19 genera and fabaceae with 22 species belonging to 17 genera. poaceae consisting of 32 species of 25 genera is found to be the largest family in lilliopsida, followed by cyperaceae with 17 species of nine genera and araceae with 15 species of 13 genera. ficus with 12 species is found as the largest genus in the area, which is angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest 189 followed by ipomoea, cyperus and dioscorea with five species each and maesa, piper, senna, terminalia, phyllanthus, mussaenda, ixora and bambusa with four species each. fig. 1. rajkandi forest range, kamalganj, moulvibazar, bangladesh. (source: modified from haque et al., 2016). the composition and distribution of species in all of the three forest beats of rrf, namely adampur, kurma and kamarchara, were found to be variable remarkebly. a total of 231, 26 and five species were found to occur exclusively in adampur-, kamarcharaand kurma beats, respectively. the occurance of total 538 species in adampur beat, with 231 species exclusive and additional 307 species overlapping in other two beats (240 in kurma and kamarchara, 46 in kurma and 21 in kamarchara), indicates that this forest beat could be considered as a hotspot of biodiversity. in this forest, woodlands were found to be the most common habitats harbouring the highest number of species (157 species), and this might be due to accumulation of nutrient components and humus-rich soil. in contrast, the finding of hill top to harbour relatively lower number of species (16 species) might be due to their poor humus and nutrient components. the total number of angiosperm species (549) found in rajkanndi reserve forest during this study is 15.20% of the total 3,611 species, and that of angiosperm families (123) is 59.42% of the total 207 families reported for bangladesh (ahmed et al., 2008-2009). 190 haque et al. table 1. list of angiosperm species of ranjkandi reserve forest under maulvibazar district of bangladesh. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse magnoliopsida brongn. magnoliaceae juss. magnolia champaca (l.) baill. ex pierre champa tree, m wd all beats t kamrul 594 (juh) annonaceae juss. annona squamosa l. ata tree, s ml (cu) ad fr kamrul 2140 (juh) a. reticulata l. nona tree, s ml (cu) all beats fr kamrul 2085 (juh) alphonsea lutea (roxb.) hook.f. & thomson fonseti tree, s wd ad fr s.n.uddin n4625 (dacb) dasymaschalon longiflorum (roxb.) finet & gagnep. *** kulla shrub wd all beats kamrul 707 (juh) fissistigma bicolor (roxb.) merr. hed-bheduli herb, cl wd, fe all beats kamrul 123 (juh) miliusa velutina (dunal) hook.f. & thomson gandhi gajari tree, m wd ad fr kamrul 1523 (juh) polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites debdaru tree, l ml ka o,t, m kamrul 2127 (juh) myristicaceae r.br. knema cinerea warb. mota pasuti tree, m wd ad kamrul 1574 (juh) lauraceae juss actinodaphne gullavara (buch.-ham. ex nees) m.r. almeida. modon mosta tree, m hs all beats kamrul 647 (juh) cinnamomum tamala (buch.-ham.) t. nees & nees tejpata tree, m sj all beats sp, m kamrul 1285 (juh) dehaasia kurzii kingex hook.f. *** modon-mosto tree, s hs ad kamrul 1022 (juh) litsea monopetala (roxb.) pers. baro kukurchita tree, s wd all beats m, fr, t kamrul 1445 (juh) ocotea lancifolia (schott) mez. dulia tree, s wd ad t kamrul 298 (juh) chloranthaceae r.br. ex sims chloranthus erectus (buch.-ham.) verdc. rantas shrub fv ad o, m kamrul 807 (juh) piperaceae giseke peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth pithapata herb, e ml ad m kamrul 316 (juh) piper betle l. pan herb, cl ml ad m kamrul 11 (juh) p. longum l. pipul herb, cl wd ad m kamrul 2058 (juh) p. nigrum l. gol morich herb, cl wd ad m kamrul 723 (juh) p. sylvaticum roxb. ban pan herb, cr sj, fe ad, ku m kamrul 83 (juh) aristolochiaceae juss. aristolochia tagala cham. iswararmul herb, cl wd, hs ad kamrul 2139 (juh) schisandraceae blume kadsura heteroclita (roxb.) craib kadsuta shrub wd ad m kamrul 1432 (juh) nymphaeaceae salisb. nymphaea nouchali burm. f. nilshapla herb, aq ml ad m kamrul 2233 (juh) n. rubra roxb. ex andrews lal shapla herb, aq ml ad v kamrul 2236 (juh) ceratophyllaceae gray ceratophyllum demersum l. sheola herb, aq ml ad m kamrul 2237 (juh) ranunculaceae juss. nigella sativa l. kala-jeera herb, e ml (cu) ka m kamrul 2234 (juh) menispermaceae juss. cissampelos pareira l. akanadi herb, vi wd all beats kamrul 512 (juh) cyclea barbata miers patalpur herb, cl wd all beats m kamrul 299 (juh) angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest 191 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse diploclisia glaucescens (blume) diels sonatola herb, vi wd ad m kamrul 1295 (juh) pericampylus glaucus (lam.) merr. goria lata herb, cl fe ad, ku du kamrul 1209 (juh) pycnarrhena planiflora miers ex hook. f. & thomson *** henalora shrub ml ad, ku kamrul 505 (juh) stephania japonica (thunb.) miers nimukha herb, cl sj, ml all beats m kamrul 317 (juh) tinospora sinensis (lour.) merr. padma gulancha shrub, cl rb, sj all beats kamrul 82 (juh) sabiaceae blume meliosma pinnata (roxb.) maxim. bativa tree wd ad t, fr s.n.uddin n5025 (dacb) m. simplicifolia (roxb.) walp. dibru tree wd ad t kamrul 1433 (juh) sabia lanceolata colebr. sajba lat herb, cl wd all beats t kamrul 1157 (juh) s. limoniacea wall. ex hook.f. & thomson limo soobja herb, cl wd all beats kamrul 134 (juh) ulmaceae mirb. trema orientalis (l.) blume banjiga tree, m rb ad, ku fw, fd kamrul 312 (juh) moraceae gaudich. artocarpus chama buch.-ham. chapalish tree, l wd all beats t, fr kamrul 2174 (juh) a. heterophyllus lam. kanthal tree, l ml ad, ka t, fr kamrul 2037 (juh) a. lacucha buch.-ham. deua tree, m wd ad fr, t, m kamrul 2070 (juh) ficus benghalensis l. bot tree, l ml ad o, m kamrul 2235 (juh) f. benjamina l. pakur tree, l fe ad, ku o, fw kamrul 841 (juh) f. elastic roxb. ex hornem. rubber gach tree, s ml ad o kamrul 1458 (juh) f. heterophylla l.f. bhui dumur shrub rb all beats m kamrul 440 (juh) f. hirta vahl dadhuri shrub fe ad fd kamrul 138 (juh) f. hispida l.f. kakdumur shrub ml ad fr, m kamrul 303 (juh) f. pumila l. lata dumur herb, c wd ad o kamrul 2179 (juh) f. racemosa l. jagyadumur tree, s ml ad m kamrul 49 (juh) f. religiosa l. ashwath tree, l ml ad o, fr, m kamrul 861 (juh) f. sagittata vahl karat-bot herb, e wd ad, ku kamrul 1368 (juh) f. semicordata buch.-ham. ex sm. sadimadi dumur tree, s wd ad, ku kamrul 806 (juh) f. variegata blume bichitrabat tree, s fv ad fw kamrul 843 (juh) streblus asper lour. sheora tree, s rb all beats kamrul 2180 (juh) cecropiaceae c.c. berg. poikilospermum suaveolens (blume) merr. dolia sat tree, m wd ad kamrul 157 (juh) urticaceae juss. boehmeria glomerulifera miq. borthurthuri shrub wd all beats kamrul 187 (juh) b. macrophylla hornem. ulichara shrub wd ad kamrul 285 (juh) dendrocnide sinuata (blume) chew chutra shrub wd ad fb, fw, m kamrul 172 (juh) elatostema clarkei hook. f. clarkejhara herb, e wd ad, ka kamrul 820 (juh) laportea interrupta (l.) chew lal bichuti herb, e ml all beats m kamrul 2201 (juh) oreocnide integrifolia (gaudich.) miq. horhutta tree, m wd all beats fb kamrul 183 (juh) pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. kullaruki herb, pr ml, gl ad m kamrul 837 (juh) pilea glaberrima (blume) blume glabrum shrub wd all beats kamrul 404 (juh) sarcochlamys pulcherrima gaudich. marich tree, m wd ad fw kamrul 1356 (juh) 192 haque et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse juglandaceae dc. ex perleb engelhardia spicata lesch. ex blume jhumka bhadi tree, l hs, fv all beats sw kamrul 1457 (juh) fagaceae dumort. quercus obtusata bonpl. batna tree, m hs ad kamrul 1228 (juh) nyctaginaceae juss. boerhavia defusa l. punarnava herb, pr ml all beats m kamrul 2183 (juh) bougainvillea spectabilis willd. bagan bilash shrub, c ml ad, ka o kamrul 1147 (juh) chenopodiaceae vent. chenopodium album l. bathua shak herb, cr ml ad m kamrul 1241 (juh) amaranthaceae juss. achyranthes aspera l. apang herb, e fe all beats m kamrul 2128 (juh) alternanthera paronychioides a.st.-hil. jhuli khata herb, a ml ad m kamrul 2100 (juh) a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. henchi herb, a ml ad v kamrul 2137 (juh) a. sessilis (l.) r.br. ex dc. malancha herb, a ml ad v kamrul 2143 (juh) amaranthus spinosus l. kantanotey herb, e ml all beats v, m kamrul 282 (juh) a. viridis l. notey shak herb, e ml ad v kamrul 1639 (juh) cyathula prostrata (l.) blume shyontula herb, pr fv all beats m kamrul 886 (juh) polygonaceae juss. persicaria hydropiper (l.) delarbre biskatali herb, e wd all beats kamrul 38 (juh) polygonum effusum meisn. raniphul herb, e ml, gl ad, ku m kamrul 1716 (juh) p. lapathifolium l. panibishkatali herb, e wd ad, ku m kamrul 903 (juh) rumex maritimus l. bon-palang herb, e wd, rb ad m kamrul 153 (juh) dilleniaceae salisb. dillenia indica l. chalta tree, s ml all beats fr, m kamrul 669 (juh) d. pentagyna roxb. ban chalta tree, s hs ad t, m kamrul 1453 (juh) tetracera sarmentosa (l.) vahl lata chalta herb, cr wd all beats kamrul 804 (juh) dipterocarpaceae blume dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn. kali garjan tree, l hs ad t kamrul 2156 (juh) hopea odorata roxb. telsur tree, l wd ad t kamrul 2158 (juh) shorea robusta gaertn. sal tree, l ht ad, ka t kamrul 1175 (juh) theaceae mirb. eurya acuminata dc. sagoler bori shrub wd ad fw s.n.uddin n4813 (dacb) schima wallichii (dc.) korth. bonak tree, s ht, hs all beats t kamrul 551 (juh) actinidiaceae gilg & werderm. saurauia roxburghii wall. dalup tree, m wd ad fr, co kamrul 534 (juh) clusiaceae lindl. garcinia cowa roxb. ex choisy cowa tree, s wd ad fr kamrul 1075 (juh) mesua ferrea l. nagessawar tree, s wd ad m kamrul 2151 (juh) elaeocarpaceae juss. elaeocarpus petiolatus (jack) wall. *** petipai tree, m wd all beats m kamrul 1246 (juh) tiliaceae juss. corchorus aestuans l. titapat herb, e ml ka m kamrul 2238 (juh) grewia nervosa (lour.) panigrahi pichandi tree, s sj all beats m kamrul 1519 (juh) g. serrrulata dc. pichandi shrub sj ad m kamrul 560 (juh) g. tiliifolia vahl jonli pholsa tree, s sj ad kamrul 784 (juh) triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. bon okua herb, e gl, ml all beats m kamrul 98 (juh) t. pilosa roth plofetta herb, e sj all beats kamrul 1873 (juh) angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest 193 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse sterculiaceae vent. abroma augusta (l.) l.f. ulatkambal shrub sj ad m, fb kamrul 2199 (juh) byttneria aspera colebr. ex wall. liana e ad kamrul 743 (juh) b. pilosa roxb. harjora lata liana e all beats m kamrul 128 (juh) melochia corchorifolia l. tiki-okua herb, e fv all beats m kamrul 382 (juh) pterosprmum acerifolium (l.) willd. kanackchampa tree, m wd all beats o, m, i kamrul 1896 (juh) sterculia villosa roxb. udal tree, m hs all beats fr kamrul 1278 (juh) bombacaceae kunth bombax ceiba l. simul tree, l wd ad sw, fb kamrul 190 (juh) malvaceae juss. abelmoschus moschatus medik. mushak-dana herb, e ml all beats m, v, o kamrul 410 (juh) abutilon indicum (l.) sweet petari herb, e ml, gl all beats m, fb kamrul 1710 (juh) hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. jaba shrub, e ml ad o kamrul 985 (juh) h. macrophyllus roxb. ex hornem. udal tree, m wd all beats kamrul 1771 (juh) h. surattensis l. ram bhindi shrub hs ad m kamrul 1601 (juh) malvaviscus arboreus cav. marich jaba shrub ml ad o kamrul 2171 (juh) sida acuta burm. f. kureta herb, e rs, ml all beats m kamrul 1009 (juh) s. cordata (burm. f.) borss. jumka herb, e ml all beats kamrul 335 (juh) s. rhombifolia l. lal berela herb, e ml, rs ad, ka m kamrul 388 (juh) urena lobata l. banghagra shrub rs, ml all beats m kamrul 685 (juh) lecythidaceae a. rich. barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijol tree, m ml ad m kamrul 2133 (juh) flacourtiaceae rich. ex dc. flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. bauchi shrub sj ad, ka m, fr,t kamrul 1624 (juh) f. jangomas (lour.) raeusch. lukluki tree, s wd all beats fr kamrul 1332 (juh) passiloraceae juss. ex roussel adenia trilobata (roxb.) engl. akandaphal herb, cl wd, sj ad, ku m kamrul 1324 (juh) caricaceae dumort. carica papaya l. pape tree, s ml ad fr, v kamrul 2259 (juh) cucurbitaceae juss. coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha herb, cl gl, rs ad, ku m kamrul 2055 (juh) gynostemma pentaphyllum (thunb.) makino gymnopada herb, cr fv ad m kamrul 466 (juh) hodgsonia macrocarpa (blume) cogn. *** makal maco liana sb ad m kamrul 2153 (juh) luffa cylindrica (l.) m. roem. dhundal herb, cl ht ku v, m kamrul 1569 (juh) momordica charantia l. karola herb, cl ml (cl) ad v kamrul 2053 (juh) m. dioica roxb. ex willd. ghee korolla herb, cl ml (cl) ad v, m kamrul 2054 (juh) mukia maderaspatana (l.) m. roem. bilari herb, cl gl, wd ad m kamrul 1425 (juh) thladiantha cordifolia (blume) cogn. herb, cl sj ad kamrul 1423 (juh) trichosanthes tricuspidata lour. makal herb, cl wd all beats kamrul 1438 (juh) begoniaceae c. agardh begonia annulata k. koch. gonibata herb, e sj ad o, v kamrul 1908 (juh) b. roxburghii (miq.) a.dc. gonorakto herb, e sj all beats o, v kamrul 825 (juh) capparaceae juss. stixis suaveolens (roxb.) pierre madhumaloti herb, cl wd, rb all beats fr kamrul 05 (juh) 194 haque et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse brassicaceae burnett rorippa indica (l.) hiern bansarisha herb, e wd ka kamrul 2240 (juh) sapotaceae juss. madhuca longifolia (j. koenig ex l.) j.f. macbr. mohua tree, m ml, (pl) ad m kamrul 2190 (juh) mimusops elengi l. bokul tree, m ml, (pl) ad m, t kamrul 2192 (juh) ebenaceae gürke diospyros malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab tree, l ml ad m kamrul 2241(juh) styracaceae dc. & spreng. styrax serrulatus roxb. kumjomeva tree, m wd all beats kamrul 486 (juh) symplocaceae desf. symplocos macrophylla wall. ex a.dc. *** barabahuri tree, m hs ad kamrul 536 (juh) primulaceae batsch ex borkh. ardisia sanguinolenta blume shrub wd ad, ka m kamrul 1121 (juh) embelia ribes burm. f. bakul lata shrub fv ad m, fr kamrul 1252 (juh) hymenandra wallichii a. dc. bhau jawa shrub wd ad, ku kamrul 301 (juh) maesa bengalensis mez. banglauni tree, s wd ad kamrul 1411 (juh) m. chisia buch.-ham. ex d. don gangu lata shrub wd all beats kamrul 1660 (juh) m. indica (roxb.) a. dc. sesu shrub wd all beats m, v kamrul 966 (juh) m. ramentacea (roxb.) a. dc. noa-maricha shrub wd all beats m kamrul 544 (juh) crassulaceae j.st.-hil. bryophyllum pinnatum (lam.) oken pathorkuchi herb, cr ml ad o, m kamrul 2242 (juh) rosaceae juss. prunus ceylanica miq. ceylon cherry tree, s sj ad o, sw kamrul 1587 (juh) rubus hexagynus roxb. hirachura shrub hs ad kamrul 1328 (juh) rosa chinensis jacq kata golap shrub ml ad o kamrul 1106 (juh) mimosaceae r.br. mimosa pudica l. lajjaboti shrub ml, sj all beats m kamrul 433 (juh) acacia auriculiformis a.cunn. ex benth. akashmoni tree, l ml (pl) all beats t kamrul 1450 (juh) a. mangium willd. mangium tree, l ml (pl) all beats t kamrul 2112 (juh) entada phaseoloides (l.) merr. gila liana wd all beats m, co kamrul 117 (juh) caesalpiniaceae r.br. cassia fistula l. bandar lathi tree, m wd all beats m, st, t kamrul 1212 (juh) caesalpinia bonduc (l.) roxb. nata shrub, sc sj ka m kamrul 1223 (juh) c. enneaphyllum roxb. nataine herb, e sj ka o kamrul 1014 (juh) delonix regia (bojer ex hook.) raf. kuishnachura tree, m ml (pl) ka o, sw kamrul 2150 (juh) senna alata (l.) roxb. dadmardan shrub ml, rs ka m kamrul 734 (juh) s. siamea (lam.) h.s. irwin & barneby minjiri tree, s rs all beats o kamrul 561 (juh) s. sophera (l.) roxb. kalkashunda shrub ml, sj ka m kamrul 1807 (juh) s. tora (l.) roxb. terasena herb, e ml, rs all beats m kamrul 375 (juh) tamarindus indica l. tetul tree, l ml (pl) ka fr, m,t kamrul 580 (juh) fabaceae lindl. cajanus scarabaeoides (l.) thouars orhor shrub hs ka m kamrul 2134 (juh) dalbergia stipulacea roxb. dadbari herb, e wd all beats m kamrul 1111 (juh) dalhousiea bracteata (roxb.) graham ex benth. *** gupuri shrub rb, wd ad kamrul 1586 (juh) derris robusta (roxb. ex dc.) benth. korai tree, l hs all beats kamrul 1286 (juh) angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest 195 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. chalani shrub rs, ml all beats m kamrul 500 (juh) d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc. bon motorsuti herb, pr rs all beats m kamrul 1006 (juh) d. heterocarpon (l.) dc. karpo modi shrub fe all beats kamrul 752 (juh) d. laxiflorum dc. laximodi shrub wd all beats m kamrul 839 (juh) tadehagi triquetrum (l.) h. ohashi kanimanda shrub hs ad kamrul 1153 (juh) erythrina variegata l. bahari mander tree, m ml ad o, t, m kamrul 1461 (juh) flemingia involucrata benth. vuluk phan shrub wd all beats kamrul 2115 (juh) f. macrophylla (willd.) kuntze ex merr. baro salpan shrub wd all beats dy kamrul 147 (juh) f. strobilifera (l.) w.t. aiton chingri pata shrub ml all beats m kamrul 925 (juh) indigofera zollingeriana miq. gerina nil shrub fe all beats st kamrul 56 (juh) lathyrus sativus l. khesari herb, e ml (cl) ad fd, pu kamrul 1708 (juh) millettia pachycarpa benth. bish lata liana hs ad i kamrul 1388 (juh) mucuna pruriens (l.) dc. alkushi herb, c sj ad m kamrul 392 (juh) pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth. mugi kunch herb, e sj all beats fd, gm kamrul 1091 (juh) spatholobus parviflorus (dc.) kuntze pan lata herb, c sj ad m, du kamrul 1389 (juh) tephrosia candida (roxb.) dc. bilakshani herb, e rs ad m, gm kamrul 1034 (juh) uraria crinita (l.) desv. ex dc. diangleja shrub sj ad m kamrul 424 (juh) vigna mungo (l.) hepper maskalay herb, e ml (cl) ad pu kamrul 1087 (juh) sonneratiaceae engl. duabanga grandiflora (roxb. ex dc.) walp. bandorhola tree, l fv, rb ad t kamrul 1481 (juh) lythraceae j.st.-hil. ammannia multiflora roxb. acidpata herb, e fv ad kamrul 1858 (juh) lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. jarul tree, m ml all beats o, t, m kamrul 289 (juh) lawsonia inermis l. mendi shrub ml ka dy kamrul 1290 (juh) rotala indica (willd.) koehne deshi ghurni herb, cr ml all beats kamrul 1140 (juh) r. rotundifolia (buch.-ham. ex roxb.) koehne dim ghurni herb, cr ml all beats kamrul 6 (juh) thymelaeaceae juss. aquilaria agallocha roxb. *** agar tree, m ml ad, ka pe kamrul 1144 (juh) myrtaceae juss. corymbia citriodora (hook.) k.d. hill & l.a.s. johnson eucalyptus tree, l ml (pl) ka t kamrul 2249 (juh) psidium guajava l. peyara tree, s ml ad, ka fr, m kamrul 2095 (juh) syzygium cumini (l.) skeels kalojam tree, l rs, ml all beats fr, t kamrul 1136 (juh) s. fruticosum dc. ban jam tree, l wd ad, ku fr, t kamrul 2096 (juh) s. grande (wight) walp. dhaki jam tree, l fe ad, ku fr, t kamrul 1020 (juh) onagraceae juss. ludwigia octovalvis (jacq.) p.h.raven bhuikura herb, e ml ad s.n.uddin n4779 (dacb) l. perennis l. amorkura herb, e ml all beats kamrul 144 (juh) melastomataceae juss. melastoma malabathricum l. ban tejpata shrub wd, fe, ml all beats m kamrul 10 (juh) osbeckia nepalensis hook.f. nepaligachi shrub wd, fe ad kamrul 1828 (juh) 196 haque et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse combretaceae r. br. combretum acuminatum roxb. patyuni shrub wd all beats kamrul 2248 (juh) c. roxburghii spreng. kaligaichi herb, e wd ad kamrul 1033 (juh) c. wallichii dc. yunanlata herb, e wd ad kamrul 178 (juh) terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun tree, l wd ka m kamrul 566 (juh) t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera tree, l rs ka m kamrul 582 (juh) t. catappa l. kathbadam tree, l rs ka m kamrul 2152 (juh) t. chebula retz. horitoki tree, l wd ka m kamrul 583 (juh) rhizophoraceae pers. carallia brachiata (lour.) merr. rascow tree, m wd ad t, m kamrul 860 (juh) olacaceae juss. ex r. br. olax acuminata wall. ex benth. capsul gach shrub sj all beats kamrul 349 (juh) loranthaceae juss. helixanthera parasitica lour. xanthric shrub hs ad kamrul 1299 (juh) macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) tiegh. chota banda shrub wd ad kamrul 1104 (juh) scurrula parasitica l. pargacha shrub hs ad kamrul 1088 (juh) celastraceae r.br. bhesa robusta (roxb.) ding hou *** madhu-phal tree, m wd ad t kamrul 1097 (juh) hippocrateaceae juss. salacia chinensis l. vesa shrub, sc wd ad m, fr kamrul 1237 (juh) aquifoliaceae bercht. & j. presl ilex godajam (colebr. ex wall.) wall. ex hook. f. raktim shrub hs ad fw kamrul 1777 (juh) euphorbiaceae juss. acalypha indica l. muktajhuri herb, e ml all beats m kamrul 2159 (juh) actephila excelsa (dalzell) müll.-arg. lalsa shrub hs ku v, m kamrul 1577 (juh) alchornea tiliifolia (benth.) müll.-arg. alkotil shrub sj, fv ad fw kamrul 2162 (juh) antidesma acidum retz. titij am shrub wd all beats fr kamrul 649 (juh) a. ghaesembilla gaertn. khudi jam tree, s wd ad m kamrul 921 (juh) a. montanum blume shial buka shrub wd all beats fr kamrul 366 (juh) aporosa wallichii hook. f. kokua tree, s wd all beats kamrul 154 (juh) bischofia javanica blume kainjal tree, s fe ad t, m kamrul 1396 (juh) bridelia tomentosa blume khoi shrub sj all beats m kamrul 1103 (juh) baccaurea ramiflora lour. latkan tree, m wd ad fr, m kamrul 1476 (juh) chaetocarpus castanocarpus (roxb.) thwaites dhala kakua tree, m wd ad kamrul 143 (juh) cnesmone javanica blume chutra shrub sj, ht all beats m kamrul 383 (juh) croton bonplandianus baill. banmarich herb, e ml, rs all beats m kamrul 481 (juh) baliospermum solanifolium (burm.) suresh chuka shrub rb ad m kamrul 125 (juh) euphorbia hirta l. bara dudhia herb, pr ml, rs all beats m kamrul 2164 (juh) glochidion multiloculare (rottler ex willd.) voigt aniatori shrub hs all beats t kamrul 32 (juh) macaranga indica wight. gulle tree, s wd all beats m kamrul 1231 (juh) phyllanthus emblica l. amloki tree, m sj ka fr, m kamrul 554 (juh) p. niruri l. bhuiamla herb, e ml ad m kamrul 760 (juh) p. reticulatus poir. pankushi shrub sj, rb all beats m kamrul 1499 (juh) angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest 197 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse p. urinaria l. hazarmani herb, e sj ad m kamrul 79 (juh) suregada multiflora (a.juss.) baill. ban naranga tree, s wd ad t kamrul 226 (juh) ricinus communis l. bherenda shrub wd ad m kamrul 2167 (juh) sauropus androgynus (l.) merr. mithapotro shrub wd ad m kamrul 1397 (juh) rhamnaceae juss. gouania tiliifolia lam. herjengota shrub sj ad, ku v kamrul 1901 (juh) ziziphus mauritiana lam. bol boroi tree, s ml all beats m kamrul 571 (juh) z. oenopolia (l.) mill. ban boroi shrub sj all beats m kamrul 482 (juh) leeaceae dumort. leea guineensis g. don. shrub hs all beats kamrul 604 (juh) l. indica (burm.f.) merr. kurkurjhibba shrub fv all beats m kamrul 241 (juh) vitaceae juss. ampelocissus latifolia (roxb.) planch. gowalia lata herb, c rb, sj ad kamrul 2204 (juh) cissus javana dc. dukhu lata liana wd all beats o kamrul 702 (juh) c. adnata roxb. bhatia lata liana wd all beats m kamrul 639 (juh); cayratia japonica (thunb.) gagnep. japani goali lata herb, cl rb ad m kamrul 508 (juh) c. trifolia (l.) domin amal lata herb, cl rb all beats m kamrul 1118 (juh) tetrastigma lanceolarium (roxb.) planch. herb, e ht ad kamrul 1589 (juh) t. leucostaphylum (dennst.) alston horina lata shrub wd ad, ku kamrul 739 (juh) polygalaceae hoffeanns. & link polygala chinensis l. meradu herb, pr hs, sj ka m kamrul 1428 (juh) p. erioptera dc. teradudhi herb, pr ml all beats kamrul 2188 (juh) staphyleaceae martinov turpinia pomifera (roxb.) dc. bhola tree wd ad fd, fw kamrul 1459 (juh) sapindaceae juss. allophylus cobbe (l.) raeusch. chita shrub wd all beats kamrul 719 (juh) lepisanthes senegalensis (poir.) leenh. chita shrub wd ad, ku kamrul 1029 (juh) litchi chinensis sonn. lichu tree, l ml (pl) ad fr kamrul 2189 (juh) burseraceae kunth garuga pinnata roxb. paharijiga tree, m wd all beats t, m kamrul 780 (juh) anacardiaceae r. br. anacardium occidentale l. kaju. tree, m rs ka fr kamrul 1201 (juh) lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga tree, m rs ad m kamrul 1451 (juh) mangifera indica l. aam tree, l ml all beats fr, fw kamrul 1195 (juh) m. sylvatica. roxb. *** jangli aam tree, m wd ad fr kamrul 1444 (juh) holigarna caustica (dennst.) oken. *** jaowa tree, m hs ad t kamrul 220 (juh) rhus succedanea l kakuasingh tree, l wd ad fr kamrul 1377 (juh) pegia nitida colebr. tapir shrub hs, wd ad fr, m kamrul 168 (juh) meliaceae juss. aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.parker pitraj tree, l wd all beats t, m kamrul 850 (juh) azadirachta indica a.juss. neem tree, l ml, rs ad m, t kamrul 1240 (juh) swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. mahogini tree, l ml, rs ad, ka t kamrul 1283 (juh) s. macrophylla king bara mahogoni tree, l ml ad, ka t kamrul 1089 (juh) dysoxylum gotadhora (buch.-ham.) mabb. rata tree, l ht ad, ku t kamrul 1415 (juh) 198 haque et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse toona ciliata m. roem. toon tree, m wd ad t, m kamrul 1078 (juh) walsura robusta roxb. bonlichu tree, m rb ad t kamrul 1358 (juh) rutaceae juss. aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel tree, m ml ad m, fr kamrul 2078 (juh) acronychia pedunculata (l.) miq. bon jamir shrub hs all beats fr, fw kamrul 541 (juh) clausena anisata (willd.) hook. f. ex benth. kalo-maricha shrub wd all beats kamrul 112 (juh) citrus medica l. pani lebu shrub wd ad, ku pe, m kamrul 1171 (juh) glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc. datmajani shrub wd ad, ku m kamrul 815 (juh) micromelum minutum wight & arn. dulia tree, s wd all beats m kamrul 244 (juh) murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. curry pata shrub wd ku fr, sp, m kamrul 1576 (juh) oxalidaceae r. br. oxalis corniculata l. amrul herb, pr op, rs ad, ka v, m kamrul 1155 (juh) averrhoa bilimbi l. bilimbi tree, s ml (pl) ad v kamrul 2184 (juh) a. carambola l. kamranga tree, s ml (pl) ad fr, m kamrul 2186 (juh) araliaceae juss. brassaiopsis glomerulata (blume) regel kurila tree, s wd, hs all beats m, o kamrul 1384 (juh) trevesia palmata (roxb. ex lind.) vis. argoja tree, m hs ad m, o kamrul 1095 (juh) apiaceae lindl. centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni herb, cr ml all beats m kamrul 972 (juh) eryngium foetidum l. bilati dhania shrub ml (cl) all beats sp, m kamrul 1134 (juh) hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam. gimashak herb, cr wv ad kamrul 1581 (juh) buddlejaceae wilh. buddleja asiatica lour. neemda shrub wd all beats m, pe kamrul 775 (juh) gentianaceae juss. canscora andrographioides griff. ex c.b.clarke *** andakuni herb, cr fv, ml ad kamrul 164 (juh) c. alata (roth ex roem. & schult.) wall. dhankuni herb, e ml, rs all beats m kamrul 2068 (juh) c. diffusa (vahl) r.br. ex roem. & schult. fusakoni herb, cr ml ad, ku kamrul 1116 (juh) apocynaceae juss. alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chhatim tree, l wd ka m, sw kamrul 2138 (juh) holarrhena pubescens wall. ex g. don kurchi shrub sj ad m kamrul 1823 (juh) ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w.t. aiton parallia lata herb, c fe all beats m kamrul 431 (juh) rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz *** sarpagandha herb, e ht ad m kamrul 737 (juh) tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r.br. ex roem. & schult. tagar shrub sj all beats m kamrul 21 (juh) asclepiadaceae borkh. gymnema acuminatum wall. nimakumina liana fe ad kamrul 981 (juh) hoya parasitica wall. ex wight pargacha herb, ps wd all beats m kamrul 1276 (juh) solanaceae juss. datura metel l. dhutra shrub sj ad m kamrul 2079 (juh) nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. ban tamak herb, e all beats kamrul 2198 (juh) solanum torvum sw. gota begun herb, e sj all beats kamrul 2196 (juh) angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest 199 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse s. americanum mill. tit-begun herb, e sj all beats m kamrul 1348 (juh) physalis angulata l. futka herb, e rs ad kamrul 2200 (juh) convolvulaceae juss. argyreia argentea (roxb.) sweet boro rupatala herb, c sj all beats kamrul 394 (juh) a. capitiformis (poir.) ooststr. bijtarak herb, c fe all beats m kamrul 124 (juh) cuscuta reflexa roxb. sarnalata herb, ps ml all beats m kamrul 1463 (juh) evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. bhuiokua herb, cr sj ad m kamrul 2146 (juh) ipomoea aquatica forssk. kolmishak. herb, a ml ad v kamrul 2131 (juh) i. alba l. dudh kolmi herb, cr rb ad m kamrul 2130 (juh) i. batatas (l.) lam. shakalu herb, cr rb ad m kamrul 2132 (juh) i. cairica (l.) sweet rail lata herb, cr sj ad kamrul 1049 (juh) i. carnea jacq. dhol kolmi shrub ml ad kamrul 980 (juh) merremia umbellata (l.) hallier f. sada kalmi herb, cr rs, fv all beats m kamrul 17 (juh) menyanthaceae dumort. nymphoides hydrophylla (lour.) kuntze chadmala herb, a ml ad, ku fd kamrul 728 (juh) hydrophyllaceae r. br. hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl kasschara herb, a ml all beats m kamrul 901 (juh) boraginaceae juss. cordia dichotoma g. forst. boula tree, m rb all beats m kamrul 2144 (juh) heliotropium indicum l. hatisur herb, e sj all beats m kamrul 2147 (juh) verbenaceae j.st.-hil. lantana camara l. kutuskanta shrub wd, fe, ml all beats m kamrul 16 (juh) lamiaceae martinov callicarpa arborea roxb. barmala tree ht all beats m kamrul 499 (juh) c. longifolia lam. lamarck shrub wd ad, ku kamrul 1354 (juh) clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhatti shrub wd, fe ad m kamrul 1059 (juh) c. infortunatum l. bhat shrub wd, fe all beats kamrul 13 (juh) c. laevifolium blume mali bong shrub wd, fe ad o kamrul 59 (juh) gmelina arborea roxb. ex sm. gamari tree, m hs all beats t, m kamrul 1219 (juh) gomphostema salarkhaniana khanam & hassan *** kanimala herb, e wd ad kamrul 84 (juh) hyptis brevipes poit. gol-tokma herb, e sj, wd all beats m kamrul 43 (juh) h. suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma herb, e sj ad, ka m kamrul 994 (juh) leucas zeylanica (l.) w. t. aiton dondokalosh herb, e ml all beats m kamrul 256 (juh mosla dianthera (buch.-ham. ex roxb.) maxim. moshla herb, e sj ka m kamrul 1064 (juh) ocimum gratissimum l. ram tulsi shrub ml all beats m kamrul 1131 (juh) o. tenuiflorum l. kalo tulsi herb, e sj ad m kamrul 2061 (juh) pogostemon auricularius (l.) hassk. aripachuli herb, e wt ad, ku m kamrul 37 (juh) rotheca serrata (l.) steane & mabb. bamanhati shrub wd ad m kamrul 120 (juh) oleaceae hoffeanns. & link jasminum sambac (l.) aiton beli shrub fe all beats o kamrul 1004 (juh) j. scandens (retz.) vahl jua shrub hs all beats kamrul 142 (juh) myxopyrum smilacifolium (wall.) blume chiknabizi herb, e wd all beats kamrul 607 (juh) nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. sheuly tree, m wd ad t, m kamrul 1149 (juh) premna esculenta roxb. lalong shrub ht, rs all beats v, o kamrul 323 (juh) tectona grandis l.f. shegun tree, l wd all beats t kamrul 489 (juh) vitex negundo l. nishinda tree, s rb all beats m kamrul 588 (juh) 200 haque et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse v. peduncularis wall. ex schauer awal tree, m ht, hs all beats t kamrul 1257 (juh) v. pinnata l. seliawal tree, m hs, fe ad kamrul 1413 (juh) plantaginaceae juss. limnophila rugosa (roth) merr. bandha keshori herb, e ml all beats m kamrul 1128 (juh) mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small ada birni herb, e ml ad kamrul 135 (juh) scoparia dulcis l. bondhone herb, e ml, rs all beats m kamrul 796 (juh) linderniaceae borsch, kai müll. & eb. fisch. lindernia ciliata (colsm.) pennell bhui papri herb, pr rb, fe, hs all beats kamrul 755 (juh) l. antipoda (l.) alston herb, pr sj, gl all beats kamrul 373 (juh) torenia fournieri linden ex e.fourn. neritoren herb, pr sj all beats o kamrul 19 (juh) orobanchaceae vent. aeginetia indica l. agienata herb, ps hs ad o kamrul 1380 (juh) acanthaceae juss. acanthus leucostachyus wall. ex nees *** kastacha shrub wd ad m kamrul 1217 (juh) andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall. ex nees *** kalomegh herb, e sj ad, ka m kamrul 2081 (juh) blepharis integrifolia (l.f.) e.mey. & drège ex schinz. deshi blephar herb, e sj ad kamrul 1143 (juh) eranthemum strictum colebr. ex roxb. khara murali shrub wd all beats kamrul 1161 (juh) hygrophila polysperma (roxb.) t. anderson murmura herb, e ml ad kamrul 1661 (juh) justicia adhatoda l. bashak shrub fe ad m kamrul 2136 (juh) j. diffusa willd. pitapapra herb, e rs, sj ad kamrul 2135 (juh) lepidagathis incurva buch.-ham. ex d.don linagathis herb, e sj all beats kamrul 905 (juh) nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul herb, e ml all beats kamrul 182 (juh) phlogacanthus curviflorus (wall.) nees agnilora shrub fe ad o kamrul 1163 (juh) p. thyrsiformis (roxb. ex hardw.) mabb. rambasak shrub fe ad m kamrul 108 (juh) p. tubiflorus nees agnibasak shrub fe ad kamrul 121 (juh) phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet hort. kantasi herb, e sj all beats kamrul 2067 (juh) rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi herb, pr ml all beats m kamrul 1975 (juh) staurogyne argentea wall. herb, e hf all beats kamrul 811 (juh) s. polybotrya kuntze polygyne herb, e ml ad kamrul 1124 (juh) s. zeylanica kuntze cylongyne herb, e ht ad kamrul 1579 (juh) strobilanthes scaber nees khaskhasabila herb, e sj all beats kamrul 132 (juh) thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottl.) roxb. neel lata herb, cl sp all beats o kamrul 638 (juh) bignoniaceae juss. stereospermum tetragonum dc. awal tree, l wd ad kamrul 1804 (juh) campalunaceae juss. lobelia zeylanica l. cylon lobel herb, pr sj all beats kamrul 883 (juh) rubiaceae juss. catunaregam spinosa (thunb.) tirveng. mankanta shrub rb ad m kamrul 1322 (juh) dentella repens (l.) j.r. forst. & g.forst. bhuipat herb, pr sj ad, ku kamrul 45 (juh) gardenia coronaria buch.-ham. sitgach tree, m hs ad t, fr kamrul 1254 (juh) scleromitrion scabrum (wall. ex kurz) neupane & n. wikstrom herb, e hs ad, ku kamrul 46 (juh) angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest 201 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse hedyotis scandens roxb. bish lata herb, pr wd all beats m kamrul 1486 (juh) h. verticillata (l.) lamk. herb, pr wd all beats kamrul 1559 (juh) ixora acuminata roxb. nata rangan shrub wd all beats o kamrul 1164 (juh) i. coccinea l. rangan shrub wd ad, ku o kamrul 1288 (juh) i. pavetta andr. ganghalrangan shrub wd all beats kamrul 434 (juh) i. spectabilis wall. ex g.don shum rangan shrub wd ad, ku kamrul 31 (juh) knoxia sumatrensis (retz.) dc sumatranoxi herb, cr wd ad s.n.uddin n4744 (dacb) lasianthus chrysoneurus (korth.) miq. sony lasi shrub wd ad kamrul 1167 (juh) morinda angustifolia roxb. jangli basok tree, s sj all beats m kamrul 171 (juh) mussaenda roxburghii hook. f. sil daura shrub hs all beats m kamrul 1505 (juh) m. frondosa l. nagabali shrub wd all beats m kamrul 1259 (juh) m. macrophylla wall. baropata muchenda shrub wd all beats kamrul 25 (juh) mussaenda sp. shrub, cl wd ad kamrul 630 (juh) mycetia longifolia (wall.) kuntze mycetelon shrub sj ad, ku kamrul 401 (juh) myrioneuron nutans r. br. ex kurz natanuran shrub wd ad kamrul 1518 (juh) mitragyna parviflora (roxb.) korth. dakrom tree, m ht ad kamrul 2243 (juh) neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadam tree, l rs ad, ku o kamrul 297 (juh) ophiorrhiza mungos l. gandahanakuli. herb, e sj all beats m kamrul 23 (juh) pavetta indica l. kathchapa shrub wd ad m kamrul 1309 (juh) p. polyantha (hook.f.) r. br. ex bremek. polinakli shrub wd ad kamrul 1609 (juh) psychotria adenophylla wall. baro sudma shrub wd all beats m kamrul 131 (juh) p. calocarpa kurz ranga bhutta shrub wd ad m kamrul 917 (juh) coffea benghalensis b.heyne ex schult. bonnya kofee shrub hs ad kamrul 1617 (juh) richardia scabra l. nakli ipecac herb, e sj ad kamrul 880 (juh) oxyceros kunstleri (king & gamble) tirveng. ichuri shrub wd ad m kamrul 874 (juh) wendlandia grandis (hook. f.) cowan tulaload tree, l wd ad kamrul 149 (juh) asteraceae bercht. & j. presl acmella caulirhiza delile mahatitinga herb, pr fe all beats kamrul 194 (juh) adenostemma lavenia (l.) kuntze baro-kesuti herb, e fe all beats kamrul 963 (juh) ageratum conyzoides l. fulkuri herb, e rs, sj, ml all beats m kamrul 08 (juh) blumea lacera (burm.f.) dc. barokukshim herb, pr rs, sj all beats m kamrul 1186 (juh) crassocephalum crepidioides (benth.) s. moore duubbecrepi herb, e fe all beats m, v kamrul 417 (juh) chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king & h. rob. rail lata shrub sj, fe all beats m kamrul 923 (juh) cosmos sulphureus cav. tara gada herb, e ml (pl) ka o kamrul 2251 (juh) cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h. rob. shialmutra herb, e ml all beats m kamrul 2142 (juh) eclipta prostrata (l.) l. kalokeshi herb, pr ml, fe all beats m kamrul 357 (juh) elephantopus scaber l. hastipadi herb, e ml, fe, sj all beats m kamrul 567 (juh) enhydra fluctuans lour. helencha herb, aq ml all beats kamrul 2145 (juh) grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. namuti herb, e rb all beats m kamrul 1192 (juh) launaea asplenifolia (willd.) hook.f. tikadana herb, e hs ad kamrul 1604 (juh) mikania micrantha kunth assam lata herb, c ml all beats m kamrul 74 (juh) pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (l.) hilliard & b.l. burtt bara kamra herb, e sj ad m kamrul 155 (juh) synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. nakphul herb, e rs, fe all beats kamrul 2141 (juh) xanthium strumarium l. ghagra herb, e fe ad kamrul 1753 (juh) 202 haque et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse liliopsida batsch hydrocharitaceae juss. blyxa japonica (miquel) maxim. ex asch. & gürke japani blixa herb, aq ml ka kamrul 1503 (juh) ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panikola herb, aq ml ku fr, m kamrul 1504 (juh) arecaceae bercht. & j.presl areca catechu l. supari tree, m ml (pl) ad m, t kamrul 2108 (juh) borassus flabellifer l. tal tree, l ml (pl) ad fr, du, ju kamrul 2110 (juh) caryota urens l. chau-gota tree, m ht ad kamrul 625 (juh) calamus tenuis roxb. jali bet herb, cl wd all beats du kamrul 1558 (juh) c. erectus roxb. *** sungota herb, e wd ad, ku du kamrul 574 (juh) c. longisetus griff. *** bet shrub wd ka du s.n.uddin n4485 (dacb) cocos nucifera l. narikel tree, l ml ad fr, ol, du kamrul 2111 (juh) daemonorops jenkinsiana (griff.) mart. golla shrub hs ad du kamrul 1809 (juh) phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb. deshi khejur tree, m wd ad du, ju kamrul 2212 (juh) pandanaceae r.br. pandanus foetidus roxb. keya kanta shrub fv ad kamrul 1042 (juh) araceae juss. aglaonema hookerianum schott *** nimahook herb, e hs, rb ad m kamrul 1597 (juh) alocasia cucullata (lour.) g. don bishkachu herb, e hs, rb all beats m kamrul 225 (juh) a. macrorrhizos (l.) g. don mankachu herb, e rb, ml ad m kamrul 2073 (juh) amorphophallus bulbifer (roxb.) blume owl herb, e hs, ml ad, ku v kamrul 250 (juh) colocasia esculenta (l.) schott jangli kachu herb, e rb, rf all beats v, m kamrul 1373 (juh) c. gigantea (blume) hook.f. salad kachu herb, e ml ad v kamrul 2031 (juh) homalomena aromatica (spreng.) schott gandhabi kochu herb, e hs ad v kamrul 325 (juh) lasia spinosa (l.) thwaites kanta kachu herb, e wd ad, ku v, m kamrul 624 (juh) pistia stratiotes l. topapana herb, aq ml ku m kamrul 2002 (juh) pothos scandens l. hatilata liana, ep sj all beats m kamrul 9 (juh) epipremnum aureum (linden & andré) g.s. bunting money plant liana ml ad o kamrul 2004 (juh) rhaphidophora glauca (wall.) schott fidoka herb, cl wd ad kamrul 1386 (juh) steudnera colocasioides hook. f. *** biskachu herb, e ml ad v kamrul 2027 (juh) typhonium flagelliforme (lodd.) blume ghechu herb, e sj, wt ad kamrul 2205 (juh) t. trilobatum (l.) schott ghetkul herb, e sj ad v kamrul 2207 (juh) lemnaceae martinov lemna perpusilla torr. khudipana herb, aq wt ad fd, gm kamrul 2244 (juh) commelinaceae mirb. amischotolype mollissima (blume) hassk. molosima herb, pr hs, rb ad, ku kamrul 399 (juh) commelina diffusa burm.f. monayna kanshira herb, e hs, rb all beats m kamrul 764 (juh) c. erecta l. jata kanchira herb, e sj ad v kamrul 283 (juh) floscopa scandens lour. herb, p fv all beats m kamrul 1024 (juh) murdannia nudiflora (l.) brenan kureli herb, e fe, rs all beats kamrul 91 (juh) pollia secundiflora (blume) bakh.f. kandopoli herb, e wd ad kamrul 809 (juh) angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest 203 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse eriocaulaceae martinov eriocaulon quinquangulare l. guri herb, e ml all beats kamrul 762 (juh) juncaceae juss. juncus prismatocarpus r.br. atoshi junca herb, e rb ad kamrul 2247 (juh) cyperaceae juss. bulbostylis barbata (rottb.) c.b. clarke. balbobata herb, e wd all beats kamrul 1607 (juh) cyperus compactus retz. bandorghasi herb, e sj, gl all beats sb kamrul 2109 (juh) c. iria l. barachucha herb, e gl ad sb kamrul 1125 (juh) c. laxus lam. alga ghasi herb, e ht all beats sb kamrul 63 (juh) c. pilosus vahl pasham kathai herb, e fe all beats sb kamrul 193 (juh) c. tenuispica steud. paikamutha herb, e sj, rs all beats sb kamrul 452 (juh) eleocharis geniculata (l.) roem. & schult. joraghasi herb, e fe, gl ad kamrul 447 (juh) fimbristylis schoenoides (retz.) vahl kesari malanga herb, e gl all beats kamrul 1456 (juh) hypolytrum nemorum (vahl) spreng. trumram ghasi herb, e fe, gl all beats kamrul 1269 (juh) kyllinga nemoralis (j.r.forst. & g.forst.) dandy ex hutch. & dalziel subasinirbisa herb, e sj, fe, gl ad fd kamrul 2215 (juh) k. brevifolia rottb. shabujnirbisa herb, e rs, gl all beats fd kamrul 64 (juh) k. bulbosa p.beauv. golanirbisa herb, e rs, gl, ad fd kamrul 2217 (juh) pycreus polystachyos (rottb.) p. beauv. paikpoli ghasi herb, e fv, sj ad sb kamrul 446 (juh) scleria levis retz. rialevi ghasi herb, e gl all beats kamrul 546 (juh) s. biflora roxb. riaflora ghasi herb, e ml, fe ad, ka kamrul 1512 (juh) s. terrestris (l.) fassett dharal ghasi herb, e ml, gl all beats kamrul 731 (juh) rhynchospora corymbosa (l.) britton shonathuti ghasi herb, e ml, gl ad kamrul 1404 (juh) poaceae barnhart. bambusa balcooa roxb. borak bans herb, e ml ad du kamrul 2218 (juh) b. bambos (l.) voss ban bans herb, e ml all beats du kamrul 2219 (juh) b. polymorpha munro parua herb, e hs, ht ad, ku du kamrul 2221 (juh) b. tulda roxb. mirtinga herb, e ml all beats du kamrul 457 (juh) brachiaria kurzii (hook. f.) a. camus kurokti ghas herb, e sj ad, ku kamrul 1550 (juh) centotheca lappacea (l.) desv. centughas herb, e sp all beats fd kamrul 941 (juh) chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. premkata herb, e gl, rs ad, ku sb kamrul 210 (juh) c. zizanioides (l.) roberty khaskhas herb, e rs, gl all beats fd, sb kamrul 1513 (juh) cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba ghas herb, cr ml, rs, all beats o, fd, sb kamrul 2222 (juh) cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (steud.) stapf oxycocca ghas herb, e ml, rs, ad, ka kamrul 209 (juh) c. patens (l.) a. camus patcocca ghas herb, cr gl all beats kamrul 557 (juh) dendrocalamus longispathus (kurz) kurz rupai herb, e ml all beats kamrul 1818 (juh) dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. kakpaya herb, e ml, rs ad kamrul 2057 (juh) digitaria ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira herb, e fe ad kamrul 2572 (juh) eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. malankuri herb, e sj all beats fd kamrul 1129 (juh) eragrostis ciliaris (l.) r. br. lomkoni herb, e ml ad kamrul 1563 (juh) e. unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud. chirakoni herb, e sj all beats fd, gm kamrul 777 (juh) imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. chhan herb, e sj ad fd, m kamrul 211 (juh) hildaea pallens (sw.) c. silva & r.p. oliveira herb, e fv ad kamrul 832 (juh) lophatherum gracile brongn. lolphali ghas herb, e hs, rs all beats fd kamrul 635 (juh) leersia hexandra sw. fulka ghas herb, pr ml ad fd kamrul 1130 (juh) melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz muli herb, e hs all beats v, du kamrul 622 (juh) 204 haque et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse oryza rufipogon griff. bunodhan herb, e ml ad, ka fd kamrul 461 (juh) oplismenus compositus (l.) p. beauv. gohur durba herb, e fe, hs all beats kamrul 2101 (juh) panicum notatum retz. panita ghas herb, e fe all beats kamrul 776 (juh) p. brevifolium l. panibrevi ghas herb, e fe all beats kamrul 2039 (juh) paspalum conjugatum p.j.bergius. moisshya ghas herb, e sj, fe ad, ka kamrul 455 (juh) phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud. khakra ghas herb, er sj, rb ad, ku du kamrul 999 (juh) saccharum spontaneum l. kash herb, e sj ad, ka kamrul 2060 (juh) setaria palmifolia (j. koenig) stapf. urodhan herb, e fe ad, ku fd, m kamrul 858 (juh) thysanolaena latifolia (roxb. ex hornem.) honda jharu phul herb, e fe, sj all beats du kamrul 141 (juh) echinochloa colona (l.) link. shama ghas herb, e iv ad fd kamrul 1409 (juh) bromeliaceae juss. ananas comosus (l.) merr. anarash herb, e ml ad fr kamrul 2087 (juh) musaceae juss. musa paradisiaca l. kola herb, e ml ad, ka fr, v, m kamrul 2080 (juh) m. acuminata colla pahari kola herb, e hs ad fr kamrul 160 (juh) m. ornata roxb. jangli kola herb, e hs ad, ku fr, v kamrul 799 (juh) zingiberaceae martinov amomum aromaticum roxb. *** alachi herb, e hs, sj all beats fr, m kamrul 51 (juh) alpinia malaccensis (burm. f.) roscoe deotara. herb, e hs all beats m kamrul 769 (juh) curcuma aromatica salisb. ban haldi herb, e hs ad m kamrul 2226 (juh) c. caesia roxb. kala holdi herb, e hs ad m kamrul 1234 (juh) c. phaeocaulis valeton shoti herb, e hs all beats m kamrul 2075 (juh) globba bracteolata wall. ex baker dhaki globba herb, e hs ad m kamrul 22 (juh) g. marantina l. maran globba herb, e hs ad, ku kamrul 479 (juh) g. multiflora wall. ex baker *** shukh globba herb, e hs all beats kamrul 247 (juh) hedychium coronarium j. koen. dolon chapa herb, e ml ad o kamrul 2227 (juh) h. thyrsiforme sm. *** pala ada herb, e ml all beats kamrul 611 (juh) zingiber officinale roscoe ada herb, e ml ad, ka sp, m kamrul 2232 (juh) z. zerumbet (l.) roscoe ex sm. bon ada herb, e ml all beats m kamrul 2229 (juh) costaceae nakai. hellenia speciosa (j. koenig) govaerts bandugi herb, e sj ad m kamrul 395 (juh) cannaceae juss. canna indica l. kolabati herb, e ml ad m, o kamrul 2213 (juh) marantaceae r.br. phrynium pubinerve blume pashompitali herb, e fe all beats du kamrul 176 (juh) p. placentarium (lour.) merr. herb, e fe ad, ku du kamrul 618 (juh) schumannianthus dichotomus (roxb.) gagnep. murta shrub fe ad du kamrul 2276 (juh) pontederiaceae kunth. eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms. kachuripana herb, aq ml ad fd kamrul 1904 (juh) monochoria hastata (l.) solms baranukha herb, aq ml all beats fd kamrul 226 (juh) m. vaginalis (burm.f.) c. presl bara nukha herb, aq ml all beats kamrul 445 (juh) haemodoraceae r. br. peliosanthes teta andrews napigach herb, e wd ad kamrul 2253 (juh) angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest 205 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distrib. uses rse liliaceae juss. asparagus racemosus wild. shatamuli shrub sj ad m kamrul 2255 (juh) crinum amoenum ker gawl. ex roxb. gang kachu herb, e hs all beats o, m kamrul 1910 (juh) molineria latifolia (dryand. ex w.t. aiton) herb. ex kurz molinpasna herb, e sj ad kamrul 2258 (juh) gloriosa superba l. ulatchandal herb, c ml ad m kamrul 2257 (juh) molineria capitulata (lour.) herb. satipata herb, e fe ad kamrul 327 (juh) agavaceae dumort. dracaena spicata roxb. kado drakan shrub hs ad, ku kamrul 309 (juh) sansevieria trifasciata prain sutahara herb, e ml ad m, o kamrul 1797 (juh) taccaceae dumort. tacca integrifolia ker-gawl. mati munda herb, e fe, sj all beats o kamrul 158 (juh) stemonaceae caruel stichoneuron membranaceum hook. f. *** koniron herb, e ht, fv ad, ku kamrul 662 (juh) stemona tuberosa lour. lalguraniya alu herb, e fe ad kamrul 640 (juh) smilacaceae vent. smilax ovalifolia roxb. ex d. don kumari lata herb, cl wd all beats m kamrul 33 (juh) s. perfoliata lour. kumarika herb, cl hs ad, ku kamrul 1114 (juh) dioscoreaceae r.br. dioscorea alata l. chupri alu herb, cl wd all beats v kamrul 2028 (juh) d. bulbifera l. sora alu herb, cl fe, sj ad v, m kamrul 2046 (juh) d. glabra roxb. sora alu herb, cl wd all beats m kamrul 1044 (juh) d. hamiltonii hook. f. thakan budo herb, cl sj ad v kamrul 2066 (juh) d. pentaphylla l. jum alu herb, cl sj, rs all beats m kamrul 319 (juh) orchidaceae juss. aerides odorata lour. churi herb, ep wd ad o kamrul 1327 (juh) cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw. *** churi herb, ep wd ad o kamrul 180 (juh) dendrobium lindleyi steud. linrium herb, ep wd all beats kamrul 1190 (juh) peristylus sp. herb, e wd ka kamrul 1585 (juh) vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g.don. rasna herb, ep wd ad m kamrul 584 (juh) legend: habit. cl = climbing, cr = creeping, de = decumbent, ep = epiphytic, e = erect, er = erect reed, l = large, m = medium, pr = prostrate, ps = parasitic, aq = aquatic, s = small, sc = scandent, vi = vine. habitat. cu = cultivated, fe = forest margin, fv = forest valley, gl = grassland, ht = hill top, hs = hill slope, ml = marginal land, pl = planted, rb = river bank, rs = roadsides, sj = scrub jungle, wd = in forest. distrib. = distribution. ad = adampur beat, ka = kamarchara beat, ku = kurma beat. use. co = cosmetics, dy = dye, du = domestic uses, fb = fibre, fd = fodder, fr = fruit, fw = fuel wood, gm = green manure, i = insecticide, ju = juice, m = medicine, o = ornamental, ol = oil, pe = perfume, pu = pulse, st = shade tree, sb = soil binder, sp = spice, sw = soft wood, t = timber, and v = vegetable. rse = representative specimens examined. *** = species listed in red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. in respect to land area, the number of angiosperm species found in rrf during this study seems higher than that reported by few studies on the protected areas of bangladesh, e.g., teknaf game reserve (khan et al., 1994), and chunuti wildlife sanctuary (khan and huq, 2001). in contrast, the number of angiosperm species found in rrf is lower than that of some other protected areas of the country, e.g., rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary (uddin and hassan, 2004), and lawachara national park (uddin and hassan, 2010). these data indicate that this reserve forest houses an important portion of the flora of bangladesh. 206 haque et al. the study recognizes a total of 387 angiosperm species of rrf as economically useful and among these species 82 are useful in two and 17 in three categories. the major categories of these economically useful species are medicinal (231 species), timber (50 species), fruit (49 species), ornamental (47 species), vegetable (34 species), fodder (23 species), domestic uses (19 species), fuel wood (11 species), and soil binder (9 species). the rrf area houses 25 species included as threatened in the red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh (table 1; khan et al., 2001; ara et al., 2013). this emumeration of threatened species is higher in respect to that reported for few forest areas, e.g., lawachara national park (uddin and hassan, 2010) and sundarban mangrove forest (rahman et al., 2016), and on the other hand, lower in respect to that recorded from other forest areas of bangladesh (e.g., rema-kalenga forest; uddin and hassan, 2004). all of these 25 species were found in many localities of rrf with normal natural regeneration and any threat or stress exclusive for these species could not be recognized there, and therefore, they were categorized under the lower risk (lr) category for rajkandi reserve forest. this checklist provides basic information on all angiosperm species currently occurring in the rajkandi reserve forest, which can be considered as an important database as well as baseline to track the trend of changes in the floristic composition of this reserve forest in course of time and different biogeographical processes. this study also informs the current status of 25 threatened species in rrf. these data might be useful in planning, management, conservation and sustainable development of this valuable forest resource of bangladesh. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the authorities of the bangladesh forest department, bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) for their cooperation during conducting this study. the authors are thankful to the chief editor and the reviewers of the journal for their critical 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(manuscript received on 11 march 2018; revised on 23 may 2018) http://www.thehttp://www.tropicos.org bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 83–95, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnomedicinal plants for prevention of cardiovascular diseases in bangladesh mohammad zashim uddin1, atiya begum rifat, farhana yesmin mitu and tahmina haque department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: ethnomedicinal plants; prevention; cardiovascular diseases; bangladesh. abstract cardiovascular diseases (cvd) are the major causes of death globally. the treatment of cvd by using modern medicines is very expensive. the present article mainly focuses the ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in bangladesh. information on the ethnomedicinal uses of plants was collected using semi-structured interviews with key informants during the year of 2017 and 2018. group discussion with local people was also conducted for the promotion of data collection. a total of 41 medicinal plant species was recorded for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. these species belong to 30 families. the most frequently used medicinal plant species for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases were terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn., terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb., terminalia chebula retz., allium sativum l., tamarindus indica l. and alternanthera sessilis (l.) r. br. ex roem. informant consensus factor (fic) has been calculated to determine the agreement of local people in the use of medicinal plants for the cvd. among the ailments categories high fic value was found in case of antioxidant followed by heartache, high blood pressure and blood purifier. comparing with previous research hylocereus undatus (haw.) briton and rose, alternanthera paronychioides klotzsch ex koch and lactuca sativa l. were seem to be newly reported medicinal plants for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in bangladesh. the plant species with high citation, fic and fl values can be subjected to phytochemical investigation to find new class of active compounds for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. the findings of the present study are very preliminary. further long term studies are needed to validate the ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in bangladesh. introduction cardiovascular diseases (cvd) refer to any disorders of the heart and blood vessels. the most common ones are disorder of the heart muscle, strokes, heart failure and those caused by high blood pressure (olorunnisola et al., 2011). worldwide, cvd is assuming an increasing role as a major cause of morbidity and mortality (krisela, 2007). it is estimated at approximately 1.6 million deaths per annum worldwide (who, 2003). between 1990 and 2020, the proportion of deaths from cvd is projected to increase from 28.9 to 36.3% (gowri et al., 2011). moreover, in terms of number of years of life lost, cvd is expected to jump in ranking from the fourth to first, while as a cause of premature death and disability, it will rise from fifth to first (hennekens, 2000). the predisposing factors to cvd include cigarette smoking, elevated cholesterol, hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity and diabetes (olorunnisola et al., 2011). according to the interheart study, bangladeshis had the highest prevalence of cvd risk factor among five south asian countries with the prevalence of self-reported history of hypertension (14.3%), 1 corresponding author, email: zashim01@gmail.com mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 84 uddin et al. abdominal obesity (43.3%), current and former smoking (59.9%), and the lowest prevalence for regular physical activity (1.3%) and daily intake of fruits and vegetables (8.6%) (joshi et al., 2007). in bangladesh, 99.6% male and 97.9% females are exposed to at least one of the established risks of cvd and at risk of cvd at a younger age (below 40 years in men) (el-saharty et al., 2013). the expected high incidence of the diseases, couple with high cost of modern pharmaceuticals and healthcare remedies, makes it all important to search for safe, effective and cheaper remedies from natural world. before the discovery of modern medicines, many plants have been used by human in the management, treatment and the related complications of cvd. in bangladesh a number of plants are reputed to possess cardio protective properties, resulting in their use by traditional healer for treatment of chest complaints, high cholesterol, high and low blood pressure and general heart problems. plants may serve as the alternative sources for the development of new anticoagulant agents due to their biological activities. there is compelling scientific evidences demonstrating that the consumption of dietary anticoagulants or phytochemicals with anticoagulant properties can ultimately reduce or eliminate the risks of thromboembolic diseases (kumar et al., 2011; lee et al., 2012; manicam et al., 2010). currently, ethnomedicinal knowledge of plants has been eroding at alarming rate from the nature before proper documentation and evaluation. in order to protect such knowledge, documentation of ethnomedicinal plants is already started in bangladesh. a number of articles published in this field included mia and haque (1988); hassan and khan (1986, 1996); alam (1992); alam et al. (1996); uddin et al. (2001, 2006, 2012, 2017), khan et al. (2002), ghani (2003), uddin et al. (2004), yusuf and uddin (2006); yosuf (2006); yusuf et al. (2009), uddin and roy (2007); roy et al. (2008); emily et al. (2010); uddin (2013), haque et al. (2014); uddin et al. (2015a,b) and haque et al. (2017). these articles listed a good number of medicinal plants of particular community or particular diseases or particular areas of bangladesh. but there is no record of ethnomedicinal plant species useful for cvd management in bangladesh. in order to document and validate ethnomedicinal plant species for cvd management in bangladesh, an attempt was undertaken to achieve the following objectives: (a) to record, integrate and document all scattered traditional healthcare knowledge on ethnomedicinal plants for cvd management in bangladesh, (b) to determine ethno-medically potential and culturally important and most cited plant species using statistical models, (c) to validate the folk knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants with thrombolytic agents. materials and methods bangladesh is located in between 20°34' to 26°38' n and 88°01' to 92°41' e and total area is 147,570 sq. km. the country is bounded by india to the west, north, east, by myanmar to the south-east corner and by the bay of bangle to the south. bangladesh ornamented by different forest types including hill forest, plain land sal forest, mangrove forest, fresh water swamp forest and homestead vegetations. among the forest types native flora is very diverse due to geomorphological variations. once professor ms khan estimated that the country may have 5000 angiosperm plant species. very recently, the plant taxonomist compiled 3611 species from existing literature. among them, more than 1000 plant species have been used by the local people as medicines. bangladesh is the also dwelling place for a good number of ethnic communities. these communities have their own cultural tradition and heritage in their social life. for the primary health care they have been used native plant species. seven sampling sites have been selected for the data collection in bangladesh. these are thakurgaon, dinajpur, sirajgonj, dhaka, brahmanbaria, feni and bhola. the sampling sites have been visited during the year of 2017 and 2018. visit duration for each site was lasted for 4-5 days. the data on medicinal uses of plants were recorded through semi-structured interviews, key ethnomedicinal plants for prevention of cardiovascular diseases 85 informant discussions and also with the help of herbal practitioners (alexiades, 1996). field interview, plant interview and group discussion with local people were also conducted for the promotion of data collection. during the field survey, information on uses of plants to treat human, parts used, modes of preparation and administration was collected. the vernacular names have been collected with the help of local people whenever available. a total of 166 local informants including 66% males and 34% females were interviewed during the ethnobotanical survey. the local informants were housewives, herbalist, farmers, craftsmen, shopkeepers, teachers and also students. the informants were ranged within 21–70 years old. voucher specimens for each medicinal plant species were collected and processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972). identification of plant species have been done by the experts in both field and laboratory. in case of confusion in identity, standard literature was consulted and the relevant voucher specimens available at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) were also compared. all voucher specimens were deposited at dush. factor of informant consensus (fic), fidelity level (fl) and citation frequency was calculated using bio statistical formulas. factor of informant consensus (fic) was calculated applying the following equation: fic = nur – ntaxa/nur-1, where nur is the number of use reports in each category, ntaxa is the number of species in each category (trotter and logan, 1986; heinrich et al., 1998). citation frequency was calculated using the following formula: frequency of citation for a particular species= (number of citations for that particular species/ number of all citations for all species) x 100 (uddin et al., 2017). the fidelity level, was calculated for the most frequently reported medicinal plant species as: fl (%) = (np / n) × 100; where, np = number of informants that claim a use of a plant species to treat a particular disease; n = number of informants that use the plants as a medicine to treat any given disease (friedman et al., 1986). results and discussion the present ethnobotanical survey recorded a total of 41 medicinal plants belonging to 30 families that were acquired by conducting 166 interviews for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases with 70 formularies from different district of bangladesh (table 1). according to the habit diversity of recorded medicinal plant, 56% was tree, 34% was herb, 5% was shrub and 5% was climber (fig.1). leaves are the most commonly used part for medicinal plants or for the preparation of traditional medicine (fig. 2). similar trend of using leaves for medicinal use has also been reported from other studies from bangladesh (uddin et al., 2012; biswas et al., 2010). according the citation frequency of all medicinal plants, the most frequently used plants were terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn., terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb., terminalia chebula retz., allium sativum l., tamarindus indica l. and alternanthera sessilis (l.) r. br. ex roem. in the present study 41 medicinal plant species have been found for the treatment of cardiac diseases. medicinal plant from the families were found high number of species belong to combretaceae, ceasalpiniaceae and apocyanaceae. the most cited species used to treat such ailments are terminalia aurjuna, terminalia bellirica, alternanthera sessilis, rauvolfia serpentina ,tamarindus indica, allium sativum, zingiber officinale and achyranthes aspera. to calculate the factor of informant consensus (fic) values total ailments were categorized into four groups viz: heartache, antioxidant, blood purifier and high blood pressure. the average fic value for all ailment categories obtained was 0.78. such value indicated that maximum people in the study area were well informed about the medicinal knowledge of plants. among the four categories antioxidant group attained the highest fic values (0.82) followed by heartache, high blood pressure (0.79) and blood purifier (0.74, table 2). 86 uddin et al. ethnomedicinal plants for prevention of cardiovascular diseases 87 88 uddin et al. ethnomedicinal plants for prevention of cardiovascular diseases 89 90 uddin et al. ethnomedicinal plants for prevention of cardiovascular diseases 91 fig.1. habit diversity. fig. 2. proportion of parts used of medicinal plant species. table 2. factor of informant consensus (fic) for each use category related to cardiovascular diseases. category no. of species (ntaxa) no. of use reports (nur) factor of informant consensus (fic) antioxidant 4 18 0.823529 high blood pressure 15 69 0.794118 heartache 32 152 0.793333 blood purifier 11 40 0.74359 table 3. fidelity level (fl %) of most cited plant species. scientific name np n fl% achyranthes aspera l. 5 5 100 terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. 18 19 94.73 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. 42 45 93.33 terminalia chebula retz. 15 18 83.31 tamarindus indica l. 33 38 86.84 rauvolfia serpentina benth. 14 18 77.78 alternanthera sessilis (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult. 11 15 73.33 allium sativum l. 14 20 70 np = number of informants that claim a use of a plant species to treat a particular disease; n = number of informants that use the plants as a medicine to treat any given disease. during ethnobotanical survey the data of the other use of these medicinal plants which showed highest frequency further calculated for fidelity level (table 3). among the most cited ethnomedicinal plant species eight species showed above 70% fidelity level (table 3). achyranthes aspera showed 100% fidelity level but with a low citation frequency (3.012) for the treatment of chest pain. in the present study alternanthera sessilis was highly cited medicinal plant species for antioxidant category which scored highest fic value. this plant is also used for the treatment of pox (uddin et al., 2017), snake bite (khan et al., 2002). in the present study allium sativum (garlic) is used for the treatment of heart disease management. this plant is also used for gastric, cold, fever, chest pain, reduced pressure and ringworm (uddin et al., 2015a,b, uddin et al. 2017). experimental and clinical studies showed that garlic produced hypertensive effects and also induced significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure. 92 uddin et al. terminalia aurjuna is used for the treatment of heartache which is also used for the same purpose reported from different area from bangladesh (uddin et al., 2012, uddin and hassan, 2014). this plant is also used for stomachache, cough, diabetes, menstruation, gastric pain, and dysentery (uddin et al., 2006, 2012, 2017; islam et al., 2014; uddin et al., 2015a,b). terminalia arjuna is a popular indian medicinal plant with its bark been used for over centuries as cardiotonic. the bark has been found to contain several bioactive compounds including saponins and flavonoids (navjot et al., 2014). the cardio protective effects, particularly of bark of terminalia arjuna are well known. such effects include reported protective effects of plant bark against doxorubicin induced cardio toxicity reported significant inotropic and hypotensive effect of bark, also increased coronary artery flow and protection of myocardium against ischemic damage (sing et al. 2008, dwivedi 2007). terminallia bellirica is used for the treatment of heart disease and also reported for stomachache, dysentery, appetizer, anemia, fever, bronchitis, constipation, asthma, vomiting, eye & menstrual disorder (uddin et al., 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017). tamarindus indica is used for reducing blood pressure which is also reported from others studies from bangladesh (uddin et al., 2015, 2017). rauvolfia serpentina is used for controlling high blood pressure and also used for hypertension, mental disorder, stomach ache and gastric (islam et al., 2014; roy et al., 2008; uddin et al., 2004). tamarindus indica is reported for controlling high blood pressure. this plant is also reported for the treatment of reducing pressure, diarrhea, dysentery, appetizer, constipation, impotence, abscess and jaundice (khan et al., 2002; uddin et al., 2012, 2015, 2017). different parts of plant affect the ldl oxidation and macrophage inflammatory response and also nephrotoxic effects and also having antipsychotic potential helpful in preventing delaying clot formation and have immunostimulant activity (narendra and khurana, 2018). compared with previous research (ghani, 2003; uddin et al., 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017; haque et al. 2017; sajib and uddin, 2013; uddin et al., 2013) hylocereus undatus, alternanthera paronychioides and lactuca sativa seem to be newly reported medicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases treatment . among the three plant species lactuca sativa and hylocereus undatus are not native to bangladesh but local people used these plants for cardiovascular diseases. the plant species with high citation, fic and fl values can be subjected to phytochemical investigation to find new class of active compounds for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. the findings of the present study are very preliminary. further long term studies are needed to validate the ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in bangladesh. acknowledgement the authors are acknowledged to bangladesh centre for advanced studies and research in biological sciences, university of dhaka for partial financial support for the research. we are also thankful to the local people who helped us during data collections in the study areas. references alam, m.k. 1992. medical ethno botany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany 46(3): 330– 330. alam, m.k., choudhury, j. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies from bangladesh.bangladesh j. life sci. 8(1): 49–63. alexiades, m.n., (ed.) 1996. selected guidelines for ethno botanical research: a field manual. the newyork botanical garden, new york. ethnomedicinal plants for prevention of cardiovascular diseases 93 biswas, a., bari m.a., roy m. and bhadra s.k. 2010. inherited folk pharmaceutical knowledge of tribal people of chittagong hill tracts, bangladesh. indian journal of traditional knowledge. 9(1): 77–89 dwivedi, s. 2007. terminalia arjuna wight & arn. – a useful drug for cardiovascular disorders. journal of ethnopharmacology. 114: 114–129. el-saharty, ahsan k.z., koehlmoos, engelgau m.m. 2013. tackling non communicable diseases in bangladesh: direstion in development. washington, dc: world bank. license: creative commons attribution cc by 3.0. world bank publications. pp. 1–13. emily, s., rahman m., hossain m . j, nahar n., fazul m. a., islam n., sultana r., akhtar s., haider m. s., islam m.s., rahman m.w., uddin m.z., mondal u.k. and luby s.l. 2010. fatal outbreak from consuming xanthium strumarium seedlings during time of food scarcity in northeastern bangladesh.plos one 5(3) |e9756.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0009756. firedman, j., yaniv, z. dafni, a. and palewitch, d. 1986. a preliminary classification of healing potential plants, based on a rational analysis of an ethno pharmacological field survey among bedouins in the negev desert, israel. journal of ethno pharmacology 16: 275–287. ghani, a. 2003. medicinal plants of bangladesh with chemical constituents and uses (2nd edition). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 1–603 gowri, j,vijay a.a., achi r.s., archunan g. , kalavathy s., sampath k.s. and vijaya k.k. 2011. redemptive benefit of atorvastatin in the risk factors of coronary artery disease. j. pharm. res. 4(3): 627–629. hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 1986. ethnobotanical record of bangladesh-1: plants used for healing fractured bones. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh. 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(manuscript received on 1 february, 2019; revised on 4 may, 2019) https://www.who.int/whr/2003/en/ bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 85-95, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60450 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and genotypic characterization of different lotus (nelumbo nucifera gaertn.) samples available in bangladesh shusanto roy, mahbubah jannat, nadra tabassum and mohammad nurul islam1 plant breeding and biotechnology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: barcoding; nelumbo nucifera; morphology; diversity; germplasm. abstract asian lotus (nelumbo nucifera gaertn.), commonly known as sacred lotus is a basal eudicot. it has been grown and cultivated as food, medicine and for cultural, and religious activities. in the current study, samples were collected from six different locations to evaluate the variation among different lotus germplasm based on external morphological characteristics, as well as, to study the genetic variation and the molecular characterization. analysis of variance showed a higher level of variations among the germplasm for all the morphological features. based on the morphological features, a dendrogram was constructed to assess the linkage among the germplasm. the yellow lotus of cumilla was considered superior among the germplasm studied. to assess the genetic diversity and the correct identification of lotus germplasm, molecular method “barcoding” was performed. to achieve the goal, two plastidial regions: rpob and rpoc1 were employed. the germplasm showing successful pcr were subjected to sequence analysis of their barcode genes. all the selected barcode genes showed successful identification of all the germplasm as n. nucifera in multilocus identification based on their sequences except for the germplasm of rajshahi and also confirmed the yellowish lotus of cumilla considered as a new cultivar n. nucifera ‘gomoti’, newly found in bangladesh. genetic sequences obtained in the context of dna barcoding had also been used to create a phylogenetic tree in which the germplasm were clustered into five main clades. the current study was successful in establishing an efficient protocol for the correct identification of lotus germplasm and was capable of establishing an elite gene source. moreover, future studies are warranted to see the identifying capability and diverging power of the barcodes. introduction lotus (nelumbo nucifera gaertn.) is an aquatic plant that is ecologically, medicinally, economically and ornamentally very important due to its several uses. historically, the lotus has been grown for 5000–7000 years in the far east (wong, 1987) and has been cultivated more than 3000 years ago as food, medicine and for cultural and religious activities (shen-miller et al., 2002). significantly, the longevity of lotus seed is phenomenal, with the world’s record for longterm seed viability (shen-miller et al., 2002). the importance of exceptionally long-term seed viability is the secret of their ability to resist ageing for hundred years – a trait reflected in their possible capability to mend cellular damage (us-dhew, 1974; huang, 1987). this may be important for future research with regard to senescence and ageing. lotus is native to east asia, south asia and southeast asia and is better-known. so, indo-malayan center is considered to be one of the centers of the origin of lotus. regardless of its origin, many lotus variants grow in different areas of bangladesh with great variability. 1corresponding author: e-mail: mnurul@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60450 mailto:mnurul@du.ac.bd 86 roy et al. the lotus diversity can be used for medicinal, economical and aesthetic purposes. lotus is used to treat sunstroke, diarrhoea, dysentery, hemorrhoids, dizziness, blood vomiting, uterine bleeding disorders, promoting conception, improving the skin condition, controlling burning sensation, against infections, cough, hypertension, fever, urinary problems, hematemesis, epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematuria and metrorrhagia etc. (sridhar and rajeev, 2007; ou, 1989) and because of strong antipyretic, cooling, astringent, antioxidant activity, anti-hiv effect and demulcent properties, it is also used as a source of herbal medicine (han et al., 2007a,b; hu and skibsted, 2002; kashiwada et al., 2005; lee et al., 2005; ling et al., 2005; an et al., 2009). lotus can be used in waste water treatment. it is particularly noted for its exceptional water repellency, known as the lotus effect. despite its significance, less and limited information on the genetic characteristics and genomic variation of lotus are available in bangladesh. therefore, an attempt was made to understand the presence of variations in their morphology and molecular level. the published sequencing data of lotus genome showed that varieties of lotus have great variability among them and carry a number of beneficial traits. however, until now, very less or limited information on the morphological characteristics and genomic variation of lotus in bangladesh are available. morphological traits play a vital role in selecting the important characters, variability and genetic relationship among the genotypes (osei et al., 2014). the genus nelumbo consists of two species, nelumbo nucifera gaertn. and nelumbo lutea willd (les et al., 1991; huang et al., 1992; borsch and barthlott, 1994). n. lutea is distributing in south-eastern asia and america and the species n. nucifera is called the indian lotus. appendage of asian lotus is milky white, shape oval, whereas appendage of american lotus is bright yellow, shape boat like (zhang et al., 2019). as the collected germplasm of cumilla morphologically partially appeared like n. lutea, an attempt was taken to molecular identification of the germplasm. the advent of molecular marker based technique which utilized short fragment of dna and correctly assign plant taxa to their taxonomic group, called as dna barcoding. a dna barcode is an aid to taxonomic identification which uses a standard short genomic region that is universally present in target lineages and has sufficient sequence diversity to discriminate among species (herbert et al., 2003, 2004; savolainen et al., 2005; hajibabaei et al., 2007). it refers to a sequence-based identification system that be constructed of one locus or several loci used together as a complementary unit (kress and erickson, 2007). dna barcoding is a relatively new concept that has been developed for providing rapid, accurate and automatable species identification. markers used for dna barcoding are called barcodes and the most important characteristic features of a dna barcode are its universality, specificity on variation and easiness on employment. a good dna barcode should have low intra-specific and high inter-specific variability (herbert et al., 2003) and possess conserved flanking sites for developing universal pcr primers for wide taxonomic application. the purpose of this study was to identify lotus germplasm and to test the utility of dna barcoding for the identification of closely related lotus variants. to assess the identification, two plastidal regions: rpob and rpoc1 were employed. in the present study an attempt was made to confirm morphological variation of lotus available in bangladesh and to identify the germplasm at molecular level by barcoding marker analysis and study genetic linkage among the germplasm. materials and methods to evaluate morpho-molecular diversity, twenty-four germplasm of lotus variants were collected from six different locations throughout bangladesh (table 1, fig. 1). four replica from each landrace were randomly selected and data were recorded on these germplasm for the fourteen morphological traits (table 2). the raw data were purveyed by taking the means for all the replica morphological and genotypic characterization of different lotus 87 for different traits in the experiment. the mean, standard deviation, and minimum and maximum values were calculated for each character in each landrace. analysis of variance was performed to determine morphological variations among germplasm using jmp 4.0 software tool. the data of morphological trails were analyzed by jmp 4.0 software and a dendrogram was constructed based on squared euclidean distance by ward’s method. table 1. list of the germplasm employed for the current study. sampling no. location gps name of germplasm 1 norait beel, vikertek, barishab union, kapasia upazila, gazipur 24.2029072, 90.6645243 kap.w 2 padma beel, kalabari union, kotalipara upazila, gopalgonj 23.0861422, 89.9909445 go 3 bhutiar beel, terokhada upazila, khulna 23.0861422, 89.6965614 khul 4 haram beel, baksimoil union, mohanpur upazila, rajshahi 24.5480723, 88.6380534 mo 5 sarkerpara, aahar, pachandar union, tanore upazila, rajshahi 24.5902671, 88.4878373 raj 6 dakshing gram, rajapur union, burichang upazila, cumilla 23.5755289, 91.1550685 co.p co.y fresh young leaves from each germplasm were collected and washed thoroughly with distilled water and ethanol, and wiped off with clean tissue papers. genomic dna was extracted from the frozen leaves using a modified cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (ctab) method as described by doyle and doyle (1987). concentration of isolated dna was measured through estimating the absorbance of dna using a spectrophotometer (biodrop resolution) at 260 nm. for molecular identification, two plant dna barcodes, rpob and rpoc1 were amplified in 25μl reaction volume, using ½ volume of go taq g2 green master mix, 1.0 μl each primers and (30-40)ng dna template. pcr amplification was performed on a thermal cycler (applied biosystem). the pcr amplified conditions were as follows: initial denaturation at 95 °c for 3min, 30 cycles of 95 °c for 30s, annealing temperature 50°c for 30s and 72°c for 90s followed by a final extension at 72 °c for 2min reported by caprari et al. (2017). the success of pcr amplification was verified by subjecting 10μl of the pcr product to 1% agarose gel electrophoresis in tae buffer at 90w for 30 min and visualized under gel documentation system (csl-mdocuv254/365 1d, cleaver scientific ltd, usa). the pcr products were purified using alcohol precipitation method. purified pcr products were sent to mclab (usa) and sequenced in both directions with the same primers used for pcr. sequences for each region were viewed and edited using bioedit. then, the edited sequences were aligned by clustalw in mega11. bootstrap values were calculated over 1000 replications. the barcode sequences were queried against genbank database (ncbi) using nucleotide blast algorithm boldsystems in order to confirm the barcode gene markers along with their locus in lotus germplasm. 88 roy et al. results and discussion the mean, standard deviation, maximum and minimum values for different morphological characteristics are presented in table 2. in case of leaf length, kap.w showed the highest mean value and khul showed the lowest. go showed the highest mean and khul showed the lowest mean for leaf diameter. in case of petiole length, raj showed the highest mean and co.p showed the lowest. go showed the highest and khul showed the lowest mean value in case of petiole diameter. in case of petiole pickle’s number, co.y showed the highest and go showed the lowest mean. in case of peduncle length, kap.w showed the highest and go showed the lowest mean value among all. kap.w showed the highest mean and khul showed the lowest in case of peduncle diameter. in case of peduncle pickle’s number, co.y showed the highest and kap.w showed the lowest mean value. in case of the number of petals, co.y showed the highest and kap.w showed the lowest mean value. in case of petal length, kap.w showed the highest mean among all the germplasm and co.p showed the lowest. kap.w showed the highest mean value and co.p showed the lowest in case of petal width. in case of number of stamens go showed the highest mean value and kap.w showed the lowest. go showed the highest mean value and co.p showed the lowest in case of length of stamen. in case of the number of seeds, go showed the highest mean value and raj showed the lowest mean value (fig. 2). fig. 1. external morphology (flowering stage) of collected garmplasm, (a) kap.w (kapasia-white); (b) go (gopalganj); (c) khul (khulna); (d) raj (rajshahi); (e) co.p (cumilla-pink); and (f) co.y (cumillayellow). co.y had exceptional yellowish curvy petals. the present experiment was conducted on lotus germplasm on fourteen characters for studying morphological variation where significant diversity was found for ten characters and four characters showed no variation among them at both 1% and 5% probability level. thus, higher level of morphological variations was found among the collected lotus germplasm. based on the data analyses co.y can be considered as superior among the germplasm studied and may be used for producing new variants. morphological diversity analysis was also done by guo et al. (2010) morphological and genotypic characterization of different lotus 89 on 40 lotus genotypes to see the evolutionary path and reported medium level of variations among the samples. table 2. mean, standard deviations (s.d.), f value and p value for each characteristics for all collected germplasm. parameter mean s.d. maximum minimum f value p value leaf length (cm) 39.21 4.71 52.00 29.90 2.2652 0.0918 leaf breadth (cm) 50.48 6.39 65.00 38.00 2.5097 0.0683 petiole length (cm) 124.58 16.27 178.00 91.70 1.9041 0.1436 petiole diameter (cm) 3.63 0.28 4.50 2.20 19.1646 <.0001 petiole pickles’ no. 22.83 4.57 41.00 11.00 5.8474 0.0022 peduncle length (cm) 147.64 15.76 198.00 105.00 8.3333 0.0003 peduncle diameter (cm) 3.25 0.26 4.00 2.20 2.7347 0.0523 peduncle pickles no. 21.21 2.47 37.00 14.00 7.0064 0.0009 number of petals 22.90 4.40 78.00 10.00 39.7521 <.0001 petal length (cm) 11.87 0.83 16.00 7.20 23.6417 <.0001 petal width (cm) 6.78 0.81 8.50 5.50 3.1629 0.0451 number of stamens 224.25 33.45 365.00 151.00 2.8821 0.0592 length of stamen (cm) 3.12 0.29 3.90 2.20 6.6776 0.0027 number of seeds 13.58 1.60 20.00 8.00 17.3831 <.0001 fig. 2. graphical representation of analysis of morphological variation of studied genotypes counting four replications in case of(a) leaf length; (b) petiole length; (c) peduncle length; (d) no. of petals; (e) no. of stamens and (f) no. of seeds. moderate level of variations was found in all cases. 90 roy et al. all the collected lotus germplasm had green to dark-green orbicular leaves except the germplasm collected from khulna (khul) which was brownish-green in colour. the petal colour of kap.w and go were whitish and co.p and khul were pinkish to dark pink. petal of co.y showed distinct yellow colour which is different from other germplasm and also had petals with the shape of boat or curvy whereas other germplasm were elliptical in shape (fig. 1).thus co.y was considered as distinct from other germplasm. hassan et al. (2020) analyzed the same germplasm collected from the same location and found similar differences and concluded the germplasm had many stamen petaloids, considered as a new cultivar n. nucifera ‘gomoti’, newly found in bangladesh. fig. 3. dendrogram based on summarized data on whole morphological differentiation among lotus germplasm according to ward’s method. c1 and c2 indicate cluster 1 and cluster 2 respectively. sc1 indicates sub-cluster 1 and sc2 indicates sub-cluster 2. co.y (cumilla-yellow) was most distantly related with others. for assessing linkage among the germplasm based on their morphological characters, a dendrogram was constructed by ward’s method based on squared euclidean distance in which the germplasm were grouped into two main clusters. the most closely related germplasm was go and co.p and the morphological variations of both the germplasm were minimum among all the germplasm. co.y was most distantly related with other germplasm (fig. 3). so, co.y was morphologically most different from others. the same type of dendrogram was constructed by guo et al. (2010) on selected lotus germplasm and found two clusters by cluster analysis. the lotus is possessing important agronomic traits and the source of important genes which develop through natural selection. for taxonomic identification of all the collected germplasm, morphological and genotypic characterization of different lotus 91 mainly the exceptional yellowish lotus of cumilla and to observe the phylogenetic relationships among lotus germplasm, the molecular method “barcoding” was used in the present study. two barcode genes from plastidial regions: rpob and rpoc1 were employed for multi-locus identification of the lotus germplasm. all the barcodes are not equally efficient to identify the germplasm. they varied in their rate of pcr amplification (fig. 4), sequencing success and aligned sequence length (table 3). pcr success for the barcodes rpob and rpoc1 were respectively 85.72% and 100%. but all the successfully amplified barcodes had 100% sequence success. dang et al. (2021) did barcode of local lotus germplasm from thua thien hue province, vietnam using three barcode genes rbcl, matk and trnh-psba and got 100% pcr success. again dang et al. (2019) did barcode using its4-5 genetic regionand got 100% pcr success. sharma et al. (2012) did a similar experiment on the mexican sedative and anxiolytic plant galphimia glauca with matk, rbcl and rpoc1, and succeeded. fig. 4. results of electrophoresis on 1% agarose gel of pcr products obtained with barcode genesrpob and rpoc1. lane l: dna ladder (1 kb) and lane 1-7: amplified dna of seven germplasm; (a) pcr products ofrpob gene. all except raj showed positive band at ~550 bp; (b) pcr product of rpoc1 gene. all lanes showed positive band at ~550 bp. in multi-locus molecular identification system, kap.w, go, khul, mo, co.p and co.y were successfully identified as n. nucifera with 83.30 to 100% identity. raj was failed to be identified using multi-locus identification system, as it was only identified with rpoc1 locus (table 4). a similar type of study was carried out by dang et al. (2021) for lotus using rbcl, matk and trnhpsba in vietnam. jannat et al. (2020) did similar type multi-locus identification of tomato with all the six barcode primers and succeeded. de vere et al. (2012) did dna barcoding of the native flowering plants and conifers of wales. table 3. characteristics of each single barcodes. marker pcr success (%) sequencing success (%) average aligned length (bp) rpob 85.72% 100% 429.00 rpoc1 100% 100% 366.43 92 roy et al. table 4. multi-locus identification of the germplasm based on sequence analysis of barcode genes. sl. no. name of lotus germplasm sequence similarity found with the nelumbo sp. (accession no., % similarity and query coverage) in ncbi blast search remarks rpob rpoc1 1. kap.w n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 85.61%, 100%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 85.61%, 100%) n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 83.30%, 100%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 83.30%, 100%) n. nucifera 2. go n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 93.59%, 100%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 93.59%, 100%) n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 92.28%, 55%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 92.28%, 55%) n. nucifera 3. khul n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 87.42%, 100%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 87.42%, 100%) n. nucifera (ky046359.1/ ky046358.1 and 8 others, 99.30%, 100%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 99.30%, 100%) n. nucifera 4. mo n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 100%, 100%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 100%, 100%) n. nucifera (ky046359.1/ ky046358.1 and 8 others, 94.22%, 99%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 94.22%, 99%) n. nucifera 5. raj no pcr amplification n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 84.44%, 54%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 84.44%, 54%) molecular identification failed 6. co.p n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 100%, 99%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 100%, 99%) n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 96.17%, 73%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 96.17%, 73%) n. nucifera 7. co.y n. nucifera (km655836.1/ kf009944.1 and 3 others, 99.53%, 100%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/fj754269.1, 99.53%, 100%) n. nucifera (ky046359.1/ ky046358.1 and 12 others, 100%, 28%); n. lutea (jq336992.1/ fj754269.1, 100%, 28%) n. nucifera a neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree was constructed for assessing the linkage among the germplasm based on the sequences obtained with barcode markers rpob and rpoc1. in the neighbor-joining tree, bootstrap values for each node were estimated by 1000 replications. the germplasm made five major clusters regarding their sequences for different markers (fig. 5). dang et al. (2021) also constructed a dendrogram using rbcl, matk and trnh-psba and found two major clusters. jannat et al. (2020) used all the six barcode primers and found similar type five main clades. sharma et al. (2012) worked with matk, rpoc1 and rbcl and constructed a bootstrap consensus phylogenetic tree based on the sequence obtained with the loci tested for. morphological and genotypic characterization of different lotus 93 fig. 5. bootstrap consensus tree generated by neighbor-joining method for rpob and rpoc1 sequences obtained for collected lotus germplasm. evolutionary analyses were conducted in mega 11. numbers below the branches are bootstrap values expressed as percentage of 1000 replicates. it can be concluded that, all the germplasm presented a higher morphological variation and molecular analysis proved all the germplasm of pink, white, yellow as n. nucifera. thus, these morphological variations may be occurred due to environmental effects. again the germplasm co.y was identified as n. nucifera based on multi-locus molecular identification though it was primarily hypothesized as n. lutea. the current study could successfully identify the lotus germplasm based on its barcode sequences. the identified lotus germplasm further could be treated as a donor parent of an elite gene source. in order to conduct research on the lotus, there is an urgent need to enrich the available resources. these research data of genotypic variability can be a useful resource for the construction of high-density genetic maps, improving marker-assisted breeding and transgenic approaches. nowadays, lotus is an endangered species as the wetland areas are shrinking due to population pressure and water pollution is increasing day by day through various anthropogenic activities, therefore, immediate action needs to be taken to conserve the germplasm of lotus. acknowledgements authors are thankful to the ministry of science and technology, for providing grants (financial year 2019-20) and for the nst fellowship to the first author; 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(manuscript received on 01 march, 2022; revised on 01 june, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 1‒14, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of philippine dipterocarpus species (dipterocarpaceae) jonathan o. hernandez1, lerma s.j. maldia, dennis e. pulan2, inocencio e. buot jr.3 and byung bae park1* department of forest biological sciences, college of forestry and natural resources, university of the philippines los baños, college 4031, laguna, philippines keywords: dipterocarpus; leaf architecture; petiole anatomy; taxonomic markers abstract the study investigated the leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of eight dipterocarpus (dipterocarpaceae) species growing in mount makiling forest reserve (mmfr) in the philippines to delineate the species, especially during their non-flowering phase. leaf and petiole samples from mmfr were examined following the manual on leaf architecture studies. freehand technique was used to examine the stomata and petiole characters. a upgma phenogram was then generated to determine the relationships among dipterocarpus species using 26 leaf and petiole characters. the most useful characters to delineate dipterocarpus species are the presence of trichomes, the arrangement of vascular bundles (medullary and outer vascular bundles), areolation, fimbrial vein, and leaf size. other characters viz., the laminar ratio, blade class, laminar shape, base shape, margin type, and intersecondary, and layers and shape of parenchyma and collenchyma cells were useful as unifying characters. therefore, certain characters of the leaf architecture and petiole anatomy may be used as taxonomic markers to delineate and correlate the dipterocarpus species in the philippines particularly during the nonflowering phase of the species. however, further investigations using samples from the wild populations of the species and molecular techniques may be done to elucidate the taxonomic use of the characters presented in this study. introduction leaf characters are considered as important morphological features for taxonomic studies (swaminathan et al., 2012). these include leaf architectural characters, venation patterns (pulan and buot, 2014), and petiole anatomical characters (ruzi et al., 2009; solereder, 1908). although leaves are generally plastic, mostly to environmental conditions, and are sometimes neglected in taxonomy, the leaf architecture and venation patterns have long been considered useful for the taxonomy of different dicotyledonous families, including scrophulariaceae (verghese, 1969), rubiaceae (banaticla and buot, 2004), solanaceae (inamdar and murthy, 1978), apocynaceae (mohan and inamdar, 1982), and even monocotyledonous families (obico et al., 2007; inamdar et al., 1983). recently, the use of leaf architecture characters, such as variation in the 2° vein angle divergence, was also considered a useful taxonomic tool in delineating diplazium swartz (athyriaceae) species (conda and buot, 2018). some of the leaf architectural characters such as leaf areolation, apex, shape, and size have already been described as good taxonomic markers for *corresponding author, email: bbpark@cnu.ac.kr 1 department of environment and forest resources, college of agriculture and life sciences, chungnam national university, republic of korea; bbpark@cnu.ac.kr 2 department of forestry and environmental science, college of agriculture, southern luzon state university, lucban 4328, quezon, republic of the philippines. dennispulan@gmail.com 3 institute of biological sciences, college of arts and sciences, university of the philippines los baños, college 4031, laguna, republic of the philippines; inocencio.buot@upou.edu.ph mailto:bbpark@cnu.ac.kr mailto:bbpark@cnu.ac.kr mailto:dennispulan@gmail.com mailto:inocencio.buot@upou.edu.ph 2 hernandez et al. the description and identification of shorea species (dipterocarpaceae) in the philippines and eastern himalayas (khan et al., 2016; pulan and buot, 2014). in addition, solereder (1908) reported that the petiole anatomy, particularly the arrangement and structure of vascular bundles in the petiole, is useful for the diagnostic of genera of the dipterocarpaceae (ruzi et al., 2009; howard, 1974; metcalfe, 1944). the taxonomic importance of the petiole anatomy in the genus cinnamomum blume (lauraceae) was also described as useful in the species identification (abeysinghe and scharaschkin, 2019). the present study deals with the leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of philippine dipterocarpus c.f. gaertn., the third largest and most diverse among the six genera (others are hopea roxb., parashorea kurz, shorea roxb. ex c.f. gaertn., vatica l.) of the family dipterocarpaceae. dipterocarpus genus is regarded as an ecologically and economically important group of timber trees (under the trade name “keruing”) in lowland rainforests in the philippines with ten species in the country (whitford, 1911). dipterocarpus species are generally indigenous, with one endemic to the philippines, but are also threatened (dao 2017-11). they are perennial shade tolerant and evergreen trees, which can grow up to nearly 40 m. based on our field observation, the branching pattern of dipterocarpus species is distinctly verticellate which conforms to massart’s architectural model (i.e., monopodial trunk and branches with axilliary positions of inflorescences). in terms of seedling architecture, dipterocarpus follows the durian type (cotyledons easily fall off and replaced immediately by early leaves, eophylls). the inflorescences of dipterocarpus species are in short racemes, and their fruits have wings with five elongated sepals. flowers of dipterocarpus are bell-shaped and considerably larger than those of other genera. generally, dipterocarpaceae species have a unique flowering characteristic, i.e., irregular and no distinct flowering patterns (burgess, 1972; sasaki et al., 1979; appanah, 1993; sakai, 2002). harrison et al. (2005) observed that dipterocarpus species flowers supra-annually, predominantly during community-wide general flowering events, posing difficulty for species identification. in view of the ecological and economic significance of philippine dipterocarpus species, it is crucial for forest managers to correctly identify the species in the genus for conservation purposes, especially in the absence of flowers. the reproductive morphology has long been considered very useful in taxonomy, but there are cases in which flowers and fruits are not available for study. the use of leaf architectural and petiole anatomical characters of dipterocarpus may have promising relevance in the taxonomy of the genus. therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of eight dipterocarpus species growing in mount makiling forest reserve (mmfr) in the philippines to delineate the species, especially during their non-flowering phase. materials and methods leaf architecture and morphology mature and healthy leaves from the terminal part of the orthotropic branches were collected from two representative individuals of each dipterocarpus species growing in mount makiling forest reserve (mmfr). these species are d. alatus roxb. ex g. don, d. gracilis blume, d. grandiflorus (blanco) blanco, d. hasseltii blume, d. kerrii king, d. kunstleri king, d. philippinensis foxw., and d. validus blume (fig. 1). a total of 80 leaf samples (8 species × 2 individuals × 5 leaves) were used in the leaf architecture and morphology study. thereafter, leaf architectural characters (i.e., leaf shape, venation, margin, base, apex, area, areolation, blade class, organization, presence of trichomes, and other epidermal appendages/indumentum) were examined following the standard and tested procedures (dilcher, 1974; hickey, 1973). leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of philippine dipterocarpus 3 petiole anatomy and leaf epidermis a total of 40 cross-sections (8 species × 5 sections) of young petiole and leaves were prepared by freehand technique following the procedure of keating (2014). cross-sections of petioles were obtained from the median point using a sharp blade. samples were observed under a compound microscope (euromex 0112987) and were analyzed based on the following characters: area (µm2) and thickness (µm) of vascular bundles, xylem and phloem, and the number of layers of parenchyma, collenchyma, and sclerenchyma cells using an image processing and analysis software (image j. v. 1.5). the shape of the petiole and vascular bundles was also described. to examine the stomatal apparatus, the same leaves were used and subjected to leaf epidermal impressions technique based on the modified procedure of gitz and baker (2009). the type, shape, and area (µm2) of stomata were determined using the same image processing software (image j. v. 1.5). in addition, the shape of the epidermal cells was examined and described. statistical analysis and upgma phenogram significant variations in terms of leaf area, epidermal cells, stomata, and thickness of xylem, phloem, parenchyma, and sclerenchyma across species were determined using anova in r studio statistical software (v 3.4.1) at α =0.05 confidence level. to determine the relationships among the species in terms of characters examined, unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (upgma) phenogram was generated in past software (v. 3.14). a total of 26 leaf characters were considered for the construction of the phenogram. these characters were laminar ratio, blade class, laminar shape, areolation, base angle, apex shape, margin type, intersecondary veins, presence/absence of trichomes, thickness and number of layers of parenchyma, collenchyma, sclerenchyma cells, arrangement, shape, diversity, and position of medullary and outer/peripheral vascular bundles, the shape of petiole, presence/absence of parenchyma cells in the vascular bundles, the shape of epidermal cells, and type of stomata. results and discussion leaf architecture and morphology characteristics the leaves of eight dipterocarpus species are simple in alternate to spiral phyllotaxy, with varying shapes (subcordate, ovate to lanceolate, and oblong) and with a texture of either glabrous or scabrous. among the species, d. validus had the largest mature leaf with leaf area of 498 cm2, while the smallest leaf was d. hasseltii with 45 cm2 leaf area. the laminar ratio (2:1) was similar in all species, except in d. kunstleri (3:1). the leaf base is also variable acute in d. grandiflorus, convex in d. hasseltii, d. kunstleri, and d. kerrii, cordate leaf base in d. alatus, rounded in d. gracilis, and obtuse in d. validus (fig. 1). the leaf apices of d. validus, d. kunstleri, d. kerrii, d. gracilis, d. philippinensis, and d. grandiflorus are acuminate to slightly caudate, while d. alatus and d. hasseltii have acute leaf apex (fig. 2). in terms of leaf margin, d. hasseltii has revolute to erosed leaf margin, and this is distinctly different from that of the other species (i.e., entire). further, only d. validus has fimbrial vein type of marginal venation out of the eight studied species (fig. 4). areoles are the smallest areas of leaf tissues surrounded by veins. paxillate areolation was observed in d. kunstleri, d. kerrii, d. gracilis, and d. hasseltii. the other species have welldeveloped areolation (fig. 3). the major venation pattern conformed to the pinnate type. the highest order found in dipterocarpus species is third-degree. the primary (1o) vein is thickest in the leaf base and narrow toward the leaf apex. the secondary veins (2o or the next smallest order of veins after the primary 4 hernandez et al. vein) are all weak brochidodromous, whose angle of divergence was similar in all studied species. in some cases, the upper secondary veins are more obtuse than the lower ones such as in d. philippinensis and d. grandiflorus. the thickness of these veins is smoothly increasing toward the base and the vein course is generally straight. weak inter-secondary veins were found occasionally in the species of dipterocarpus. tertiary veins (30) are all alternate percurrent, obtuse divergence angle, and all sinous vein path. fig. 1. leaves of eight dipterocarpus species used in this study. (a) d. alatus, (b) d. gracilis, (c) d. grandiflorus, (d) d. hasseltii, (e) d. kerrii, (f) d. kunstleri, (g) d. philippinensis, and (h) d. validus. all species have geniculate (kneed) type of petiole but the length varied across species. the longest petiole (5-10 cm long) was observed in d. grandiflorus, while the shortest (2-3 cm) was observed in d. alatus and d. kunstleri. the other five species have petiole lengths ranging from 35 cm long. petiole anatomy characteristics in this study, the petiole of the eight studied species is concave-convex (fig. 5). the adaxial side is rounded and with prominent convexity on the abaxial surface. except for d. grandiflorus, other species have flat-convex to concave-convex petiole, which is flat or slightly concave on the leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of philippine dipterocarpus 5 adaxial and rounded on the abaxial side (fig. 5). the epidermis of all species is uniseriate. their cortex is composed of 2-4 layers of polygonal angular collenchyma (adaxial surface) and isodiametric and thin-walled parenchyma cells (abaxial surface). fig. 2. leaf apex of (a) d. validus, (b) d. kunstleri, (c) d. kerrii, (d) d. gracilis,(e) d. alatus, (f) d. philippinensis,(g) d. grandiflorus, and (h) d. hasseltii. (bar = 10 mm). fig. 3. leaf areolation of (a) d. validus, (b) d. kunstleri,(c) d. kerrii, (d) d. gracilis,(e) d. alatus, (f) d. philippinensis,(g) d. grandiflorus, and (h) d. hasseltii. (bar = 10 mm). all species have a collateral type of vascular bundles (vbs) (fig. 5). four classifications of vbs were determined in the studied dipterocarpus species (fig. 6). class 1 includes d.gracilis, d. validus, and d. kunstleri. in this group, the petiole consists of medullary vbs (closed system and circular) and outer/peripheral vbs (closed with an interrupted o-shaped ring vbs, fig. 6a). class 2 includes d. grandiflorus, which consists of medullary vbs (closed system with an interrupted oshaped ring of vbs and a few clusters of vbs in the middle) and outer/peripheral vbs (closed system and continuous o-shaped ring of vbs, fig. 6b). the third class includes d. hasseltii and d. kerrii. in this group, the medullary vbs are opened system and u-shaped of several vbs on abaxial 6 hernandez et al. side and the outer/peripheral vbs are closed system with an interrupted o-shaped ring of vbs (fig. 6c). the last class includes d. alatus and d. philippinensis. it is characterized by having closed interrupted medullary vbs that consists of u-shaped vbs on abaxial side and separated vbs on adaxial side and closed interrupted outer/peripheral vascular bundles (fig. 6d). shapes of vbs of d. alatus, d. gracilis, and d. validus are lachrymiform (broad and round towards the abaxial surface). the d. hasseltii, d. kerrii, and d. kunstleri have round-shaped vbs. stellate and oblong vbs were observed in d. grandiflorus and d. philippinensis, respectively. fig. 4. leaf margin of (a) d. validus, (b) d. kunstleri, (c) d. kerrii, (d) d. gracilis, (e) d. alatus, (f) d. philippinensis,(g) d. grandiflorus, and (h) d. hasseltii. the arrow denotes fimbrial vein. (bar = 10 mm). fig. 5. petiole anatomy showing the shape of vascular bundles of (a) d. alatus, (b) d. gracilis, (c) d. grandiflorus, (d) d. hasseltii, (e) d. kerrii, (f) d. kunstleri, (g) d. philippinensis, and (h). d. validus. (bar = 10 µm). inside the vascular bundles are 3-10 layers of round to isodiametric shaped parenchyma cells. these parenchyma cells were very prominent in d. gracilis (3-5 layers), d. grandiflorus (5-10 layers), and d. philippinensis (4-6 layers). lastly, sparsely scattered sclerencyma cells were present around peripheral vascular bundles in all the studied dipterocarpus species. leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of philippine dipterocarpus 7 stomatal and epidermal characteristics six of the eight species have trichomes (i.e., conical, cylindrical, and peltate) (fig. 7). the d. grandiflorus and d. kunstleri are the only two species that lack trichomes. the longest unicellular and cylindrical-conical trichomes were observed in d. validus (10-28 mm) followed by d. philippinensis (10-15 mm), d. gracilis (8-10 mm), d. kerrii (2-8 mm), and d. alatus ( 0.5-2 mm). most of these trichomes are distributed on the surface of the petiole, leaf base, and along the midrib (both abaxial and adaxial sides of the leaf). trichomes of d. philippinensis and d. gracilis can also be observed along the leaf margin. lastly, multicellular peltate trichomes were observed in d. hasseltii (2-6 mm), which consists of a plate or shield-shaped cells attached to a stalk (fig. 7 f). fig. 6. classifications of position and arrangement of medullary vascular bundles (mvb) and outer/peripheriral vascular bundles (ovb) observed in dipterocarpus species showing (a) class 1, (b) class 2, (c) class 3, and (d) class 4. fig. 7. unicellular cylindrical-conical trichomes of (a) d. validus, (b) d. philippinensis, (c) d. gracilis, (d), d. kerrii, (e) d. alatus, and (f) d. hasseltii. 8 hernandez et al. fig. 8. epidermal anatomy of eight dipterocarpus species from mmfr showing the shape of epidermal cells and stomata. (a) d. alatus, (b) a. gracilis, (c) d. grandiflorus, (d) d. hasseltii, (e) d. kerrii, (f) d. kunstleri, (g) d. philippinensis, and (h) d. validus. the bar represents 10 µm. fig. 9. upgma phenogram based on 26 leaf architectural and petiole anatomical characters of the eight philippine dipterocarpus species. leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of philippine dipterocarpus 9 the type and shape of stomata and epidermal cells were also variable across dipterocarpus species (fig. 8). all species are hypostomatic (limited to the abaxial surface). four types of stomata were found, namely; paracytic or parallel celled (d. alatus and d. kunstleri), anomocytic (d. gracilis, d. validus, d. kerrii and d. grandiflorus), anisocytic or unequal celled (d. hasseltii), and hemiparacytic (d. philippinensis). three of the eight species have irregular shape of epidermal cells, including d. gracilis, d. validus and d. kerrii. two species (d. alatus and d. kunstleri) have polygonal to benzene-like ring shape of epidermal cells, while d. philippinensis, d. grandiflorus, and d. hasseltii have plicate, elongated, and pentagonal shapes, respectively. anova and upgma phenogram results of the anova revealed that philippine dipterocarpus species are statistically variable in their leaf architecture and petiole anatomy. significant anova values at α=0.05 (fvalue, p-value) were re-coded in leaf area (22.35, 0.021), epidermal cell area (92.96, 0.021), stomata area (47.92, 0.021), vascular bundle area (21.04, 0.039), xylem conduits thickness (9.76, 0.017), phloem conduits thickness (6.94, 0.026), parenchyma cells thickness (9.03, 0.005), collenchyma cells thickness (3.44, 002), sclerenchyma cells thickness (2.44, 0.021), length of trichomes (5.43, 0.031), and petiole length (3.94, 0.027). however, this result was based on a limited number of samples. lastly, the variation in dipterocarpus species was shown mainly in the upgma phenogram based on 26 leaf architectural and petiole anatomical characteristics (fig. 9). this separated d. grandiflorus from the other species with a similarity of 35.69%. additional four clusters were observed: (1) d. gracilis and d. kerrii with similarity level of 84.84%, (2) d. validus and d. kunstleri with 78. 05%, (3) d. philippinensis and d. alatus with 71.80%, and (4) d. hasseltii was separated from the other members of the genus with a similarity of 71. 57%. distinctive leaf characters across species this paper reports for the first time on distinctive characters of leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of philippine dipterocarpus species. the phenogram showed that d. grandiflorus is distinctly separated from the other studied species, which may be attributed to the absence of trichomes and the presence of elongated epidermal cells. in addition, d. grandiflorus is the only species that belong to class 2 vascular bundles. in this class, the petiole has closed medullary vascular bundles with an interrupted o-shaped ring of vascular bundles in the middle. solereder (1908) reported that diversity in the position, shape, and distribution of medullary (center of the petiole) and peripheral vascular bundles are useful for the diagnosis of genera in the dipterocarpaceae. the arrangement and structure of vascular bundles in petiole has also long been considered useful for classification (ruzi et al., 2009; metcalfe, 1944) and most useful at the genetic level of species identification (howard 1974). munawirah et al. (1991) also mentioned that the presence of medullary vascular bundles in the petiole of dipterocarpaceae species can be used as a taxonomic character. in delimiting taxa, anatomical evidence has already been exploited in many higher plants, and petiole anatomy was one of the important biomarkers (shahri et al., 2016; ingole and kaikade, 2015). the phenogram also showed that d. hasseltii consists of leaf characters that significantly differed from the other species, which can be ascribed to its slightly revolute to erosed leaf margin type, peltate trichomes, and smallest leaf size. in addition, d. hasseltii is the only species that has anisocytic stomata (unequal celled) in combination with paracytic stomata. to our knowledge, no studies have yet been published on the plasticity of the leaf margin. it has been suggested that the use of leaf margin descriptors are useful in the automated leaf identification process (cerutti et al., 2014). khan et al. (2014) reported that stomata type was found not plastic to environmental 10 hernandez et al. changes (e.g., temperature gradient). this is despite the reports on the plasticity of other stomatal characteristics such as size and density to water and temperature manipulations (fraser et al., 2008; bañon et al., 2004). thus, the type of stomata of d. hasseltii may also be used as a taxonomic character in addition to its leaf margin. however, further investigations using leaf samples from other habitat types are necessary to validate or strengthen the presumed taxonomic use of leaf margin and stomata type of d. hasseltii. many studies have described the plasticity of leaf morphology and anatomy to water stress (zhang et al., 2011), temperature gradient (royer et al., 2009; sack et al., 2006), and hydrostatic gradient (cavaleri et al., 2010). most of the leaf morphological characters that were found responsive to environmental factors are leaf shape (e.g., maugarny-calès and laufs 2018), leaf venation (e.g., zhang et al., 2018), and leaf area (e.g., royer et al., 2008), which can influence the overall leaf morpho-anatomical structures, including leaf margin and stomata. the similarity of d. gracilis and d. kerrii may be attributed to the presence of trichomes. all leaf architectural characters used in this study were found similar in d. gracilis and d. kerrii. these characters are laminar ratio (2:1), blade class (mesophyll), laminar shape (lanceolate), areolation (paxillate), base angle (acute), base shape (convex), apex shape (accuminate), margin type (entire), and inter-2 veins (absent). these two species are gregarious and both distributed on the islands of luzon and mindanao in the philippines. further, d. gracilis and d. kerrii are adapted to lateritic soils in seasonally dry lowland dipterocarp forests at 400-800 meters above sea level (pelser et al., 2011). these habitat characteristics of the two species may be expressed in their petiole anatomical structure by the presence of multiple layers of parenchyma or storage cells in addition to having dense layers of trichomes. generally, parenchyma cells are alive at maturity and function for storage and photosynthesis. such thick parenchyma cells may suggest an adaptation of species to dry habitat conditions (hernandez et al., 2016). presumably, d. gracilis and d. kerrii have long acquired such characteristic (i.e., genetically inherent), enabling them to thrive in lateritic soils in seasonally dry lowland areas before they were planted outside their natural habitat. this is considering that the samples used in this study were collected from mmfr (i.e., outside the natural habitat of the studied species). however, the presence of thick strata of parenchyma cells inside the medullary and peripheral vascular bundles may only aid the correct identification of species of dipterocarpus due to plasticity issues. parenchyma cells are typical of many terrestrial plants; hence, the increased layers of the cells in the petiole may have only been due to the species adaptation to a new habitat. recent studies have proven that the presence of parenchyma and collenchyma cells in plant tissues are merely influenced by the environment (radice and arena 2015; guo et al., 2007). hence, further investigations may be needed to validate whether the thick layers of parenchyma cells within the vascular bundles of d. gracilis and d. kerrii are genetically inherent or just a form of structural plasticity. this implies that only the presence of cylindrical trichomes may be considered as a good taxonomic character for d. gracilis and d. kerrii. munawirah et al. (1991) mentioned that type of trichomes served as a useful character in the identification of malaysian dipterocarpaceae species. the presence of simple and unicellular trichomes has long been reported in the family dipterocarpaceae (noraini and cutler 2009; solereder 1908; metcalfe and chalk, 1950). in addition, many taxonomic and systematic uses of trichomes were cited in many studies of problematic genera and families, including lamiaceae (eiji and salmaki 2015), verbenaceae (iroka et al., 2015), and malvaceae (celka et al., 2006). the similarity of d. kunstleri and d. validus may be ascribed to their similarity in blade class (macrophyll), laminar shape (oblong), apex shape (acuminate), leaf margin type (erose to repand), and inter-2 veins (weak). further, these two species have similar types of vascular bundles (i.e., class 1, closed and circular medullary vbs with an interrupted o-shaped ring and closed outer leaf architecture and petiole anatomy of philippine dipterocarpus 11 vbs). d. kunstleri and d. validus are both gregarious and common in primary lowland forests in the philippines. lastly, a good leaf character that can explain the similarity of d. alatus and d. philippinensis may include the type of petiole vascular bundle (opened system medullary vascular bundles with u-shaped bundles on abaxial side). further, they have a similar laminar ratio (2:1), blade class (mesophyll), areolation (well-developed), leaf margin type (entire to erose), and inter-2 veins (weak). the clustering of d. alatus and d. philippinensis is expected because the latter has long been recorded as the synonyms of d. alatus which was first observed in eastern india, cambodia, laos, vietnamn, thailand, and malaysia (smitinand et al., 1993). natural populations of d. philippinensis can be found in primary mixed dipterocarp forest and seasonal dry areas in abra, nueva viscaya, and bataan (pelser et al., 2011; smitinand et al., 1993). another distinctive characters that were found useful as taxonomic characters are the areolation and leaf size. many studies reported that these morpho-architectural characters are useful in identifying or delineating certain plant taxa (pulan and buot 2014; celadiña et al., 2012; laraño and buot 2010). for example, leaf areolation has become one of the useful leaf morphological characters to explain the early evolution, diversification, and biogeographic history of orchid trees, bauhinia l. (lin et al., 2015). the presence of fimbrial vein was also found as a good distinguishing character for the species, which has long been used as one of the leaf architectural characters to determine the phylogenetic affinities of nothofagus blume leaf fossils (jordan and hill, 1999). unifying leaf characters across species the present study also reports for the first time on the unifying features of the philippine dipterocarpus species. these features include: simple leaves, alternate to spiral phyllotaxy, pinnate 1° vein, weak brochidodromous 2° vein, sinuous 3° vein course, symmetrical laminar symmetry, and marginal petiolar attachment, decreasing toward the base 2° vein spacing, vein angle variability that is all increasing basally, and alternate percurrent 4° vein. other characters such as the laminar ratio, blade class, laminar shape, base angle, base shape, margin type, and intersecondary veins were also useful as unifying characters for the genus. the pattern and composition of tissues of the characters such as the uniseriate epidermis, 1-2 layers of angular collenchyma cells and 3-5 layers polygonal parenchyma cells cortex, and a high number of vascular bundles were found nearly similar in all the studied species. conclusions correct identification of dipterocarpus species is very important for their effective in-situ and ex-situ conservation. in the case of dipterocarpus species in mffr, d. alatus, d. gracilis, d. grandiflorus, d. hasseltii, d. kerrii, d. kunstleri, d. philippinensis, and d. validus were found different in terms of the structure of vascular bundles, type of stomata, and presence of trichomes, which are good taxonomic markers for the genus. the unifying features of the studied species were mostly leaf architectural characters. therefore, during the non-flowering phase of the life cycle of dipterocarpus species, these unifying and distinguishing diagnostic character states may be used as good taxonomic markers to delineate the dipterocarpus species in the philippines. however, further investigations using samples from the wild populations of the species and molecular techniques may be done to elucidate the taxonomic use of the characters presented in this study. 12 hernandez et al. acknowledgement the authors would like thank the makiling center for mountain ecosystems office for providing us the permit to collect leaf samples materials for the study. references abeysinghe, p.d. and scharaschkin, t. 2019. taxonomic value of the petiole anatomy in the genus cinnamomum (lauraceae) found in sri lanka. ruhuna j. sci. 10: 1‒17. appanah, s. 1993. mass flowering of dipterocarp forests in the aseasonal tropics. j biosci 18: 457‒474. banaticla, m.c. and buot, i.e. 2004. leaf architecture of the philippine psychortia species, (rubiaceae). philippine sci. 41: 74‒90. bañon, s., fernandez, j., franco, j., torrecillas, a., alarcón, j. and sánchez-blanco, m. 2004. effects of water stress and night temperature preconditioning on water relations and morphological and anatomical changes of lotus creticus plants. sci. hortic. 101: 333‒342. burgess, p.f. 1972. studies on the regeneration of the hill forests of the malay peninsula: the phenology of dipterocarps. malaysian for. 35: 103‒122. cavaleri, m.a., oberbauer, s.f., clark, d.b., clark, d.a. and ryan, m.g. 2010. height is more important than light in determining leaf morphology in a tropical forest. ecology 91: 1730‒1739. celka, z., szkudlarz, p. and biereznoj, u. 2006. morphological variation of hairs in malva alcea l. 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(manuscript received on 07 november 2019; revised on 20 april 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 103‒111, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists preliminary taxonomic survey of aquatic plants of feni district, bangladesh mohammad zashim uddin*and joton chandra pal department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: preliminary; taxonomic survey; aquatic plants; feni district. abstract preliminary taxonomic survey of aquatic plants of feni district was conducted between july 2016 and june 2017. traditional taxonomic techniques and random meander methods were applied to record and collect aquatic plant species. a total of 56 aquatic plant species under 29 families were recorded from feni district. ecological habitats of aquatic plant species showed variations. among them, 30% species prefer to grow near the edge of water, 20% as rooted submerged, 18% as rooted emergent, 16% as free floating, 12% as rooted floating and 4% surface creeper in the aquatic habitat. the uses of aquatic plants were showed that 27% species were used as fodder, 14% as medicinal, 11% as vegetable, 11% as edible fruits, 5% as duck weeds, 2% as artifacts and 30% as others purposes in the study area. abundance of aquatic plant species in the habitat was showed variations. among them 9% was found very abundant, 30% found common and 61% found rare in the study area. based on the field observations and discussion with local people we were able to identify a good number of threats to aquatic plants and also pointed out some conservation measures for them. it was seemed that the species achyranthes aquatica (thuash), oenanthe javanica (painnaadani), and chumannianthus dichotomus (patipata) were found to be limited in distribution outside feni. these rare species need to be given priority for in situ and ex situ conservation. introduction plants living in water play multifarious roles including nutrient rotation, sediment stabilization, and the provision of foods and habitats for a variety of fishes and other animals (chambers et al., 2008; o’hare et al., 2017). aquatics act as engineer species (bouma et al., 2010; bolpagni and piotti, 2015) and their eradication cause drastic effect on trophic and functional status of the habitats with water bodies (scheffer et al., 2003; soana and bartoli, 2014). bangladesh supports a large number of aquatic plant species due to her geomorphological location and also the presence of good number of water bodies and flood plains. these aquatic plant species have the huge potentialities in the sector of ecology, environment and economics. unfortunately less attention was paid on the aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh except khan and halim (1987). for the management of aquatic flora data base is essential. otherwise species will be lost before proper documentation in the scientific world. plant taxonomic survey with aquatic plants has been started in bengal regions. the most noteworthy works were done by khan and halim (1987), alam et al. (2006), seker et al. (2013), mahmuda et al. (2017), mukhopadhyay et al.(2017) and alfasane et al. (2010, 2013, 2019a,b). but no works were found on the aquatic flora of feni district except an ethnobotanical work (uddin et al. 2014).moreover, aquatic plants and their habitats are very fragile because of so many factors including dams and diversion, modern agriculture, irrigation, pollutants and also biological invasion. if research steps are not taken timely, species are going to extinct very rapidly before scientific documentation. that is why in the present study an attempt has been made to achieve the following objectives: to conduct the taxonomic survey of aquatic plants with all relevant data and also to find threats and to suggest some conservation measures for the aquatic plants of feni district. *corresponding author, e-mail: zashim01@gmail.com mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 104 uddin and pal materials and methods feni is a south-eastern district of bangladesh and lies between 22º44´and 23º17´n and between 91º15´and 91º35´ e. the total area of the district is about 990.36 sq. km. the district is bounded on the north by cumilla district and tripura (india), on the east by tripura (india), on the south by chittagong district and on the west by noakhali district. the district consists of 6 upazilas including chhagalnaiya, daganbhuiyan, feni sadar, parshuram, phulgazi and sonagazi. the feni, selonia, kohua and muhuri are the main rivers of this district. there is huge number of manmade ponds present in the district. maximum areas of feni are flooded by four main rivers during monsoon. sea water cannot reach to the cultivated land because of muhuri dam. the area enjoys tropical climate with high rainfall and flush flood during monsoon period. the dry period the area has gone under boro cultivation using water from muhuri project, a dam made in the estuary of feni and muhuri rivers. the vegetation type is similar to the vegetation of the lower gangetic plain and other districts in the southern region of the country (ishaq, 1977). a number of field works for aquatic plants survey (hyland, 1972; alexiades, 1996) were conducted in different seasons of the year between 2016 and 2017. the survey areas were included seasonal and permanent water bodies, flood plains, rivers, ponds, and streams. special efforts were given to find the species of conservation concern including threatened, endemic and rare. maximum identifications were done at the field site and in case of confusion in identity, fertile plant specimens were collected and processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972). the identification and updated nomenclature of the species were confirmed with standard literature (uddin and hassan, 2004; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008a,b; 2009a,b,c,d).threatened categories of plants were recognized following khan et al. (2001). some noxious exotic plant species were also determined comparing with the reports of hossain and pasha (2004). families were determined according to cronquist (1981). voucher specimens were deposited at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). results and discussion a total of 56 aquatic plant species under 29 families were recorded from feni district. among the six aquatic plant families, poaceae is the most common followed by cyperaceae, nymphaeaceae, pontederiaceae, hydrocharitaceae, and najadaceae (fig. 1). for each species, scientific name, bangle name, family, habitat, status, and uses wherever available are provided (table 1). habitats of aquatic plant species were showed variations. among them, 30% species prefer to grow near the edge of water, 20% as rooted submerged, 18% as rooted emergent, 16% as free floating, 12% as rooted floating and 4% surface creeper in the aquatic habitats (fig. 2). fig. 1. six common families of aquatic plants. fig. 2. habitat diversity of aquatic plants. preliminary taxonomic survey of aquatic plants 105 table 1. recorded list of aquatic plant species in feni district. scientific name local name family habitat uses abundance achyranthes aquatica (r.br.) moq. thuash amaranthaceae free floating medicinal + actinoscirpus grossus (l.f.) goetgh. & d.a. simpson motmotigash cyperaceae near edge of water fodder ++ alpinia conchigera griff. taragota zingiberaceae near edge of water medicinal + alternanthera philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. helencha asteraceae near edge of water vegetable ++ alternanthera sessilis (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult haincha amaranthaceae near edge of water medicinal ++ ammania gracilis guill and perr. lythraceae rooted submerged + ammania pedicellata (hiern) s.a.graham& gandhi lythraceae rooted submerged + apanogeton natans (l.) engl. & krause gechu aponogatonaceae rooted submerged + aeschynomene indica l. shola fabaceae rooted emergent fodder + azolla pinnata r. br. kutipana azollaceae free floating duck weed +++ ceratophyllum submersum l. katajhanji ceratophyllaceae rooted submerged fodder + chumannianthus dichotomus (roxb.) gagnep. patipata marantaceae near edge of water artifact ++ colocasia esculenta (l.) schott panikachu araceae near edge of water vegetable ++ cyperus articulates l. cyperaceae near edge of water fodder ++ echinochloa colonum (l.) link. shamagash poaceae near edge of water fodder + echinochloa crusgali (l.) p. beauv. hamagash poaceae near edge of water fodder ++ eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms. kuchripana pontederiaceae free floating fodder +++ eleocharis acutangula (roxb.) schult. chesra cyperaceae rooted emergent + enhydra fluctuens lour. tititdata asteraceae near edge of water medicinal + hemarthia portensa steud. chaillagash poaceae near edge of water fodder ++ hydrilla verticillata (l.f.) royle janji hydrocharitaceae rooted submerged + hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl hydrophyllaceae near edge of water ++ hygrophila phlomoides nees acanthaceae near edge of water medicinal + hygrorrhiza aristata (retz.) nees dolgash poaceae free floating fodder + ipomoea aquatica forssk kolmi convolvulaceae emergent surface creeper vegetable ++ ipomoea fistulosa mart. ex choisy dolkolmi convolvulaceae near edge of water medicinal ++ ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara molsi onagraceae emergent surface creeper medicinal ++ leersira hexandra sw. araligash poaceae rooted emergent fodder ++ lemna minor l. khudipana lemnaceae free floating duck weed +++ limnocharis flava (l.) buchen. in bremen alismataceae free floating + limnophila heterophila (roxb.) bentyh. scrophulariaceae rooted submerged + monochoria hastata (l.) solms boronukha pontederiaceae rooted emergent vegetable ++ monochoria vaginalis (brum. f.) presl nukha pontederiaceae rooted emergent vegetable ++ najas gracillima a. br. ex mangus najadaceae rooted emergent + najas graminea del. najadaceae rooted submerged + najas marina l. najadaceae rooted emergent + nechamandra alternifloia (roxb.) thw. hydrocharitaceae rooted submerged + nymphaea nouchali brum. f. neel shapla nymphaeaceae rooted floating edible + nymphaea pubescens willd. sadashapla nymphaeaceae rooted floating edible + 106 uddin and pal nymphaea rubra roxb. ex andr. lalshapla nymphaeaceae rooted floating edible + nelumbo nucifera gaertn. padma nelumbonaceae rooted floating edible + nymphoides hydrophylla (lour.) o. kunte toktoi menyanthaceae rooted floating fodder + nymphoides indica (l.) o. kuntze chadmala menyanthaceae rooted floating fodder + oenanthe javanica (blume) dc. painnaadani apiaceae near edge of water vegetable + ottelia alsimoides (l.) pers. panikola hydrocharitaceae rooted submerged edible ++ paspalum schorbiculatum l. poaceae near edge of water fodder ++ persicaria hydropiper (l.) spach bishkatali polygonaceae near edge of water medicinal + phragmites karka trin. nolkhagra poaceae rooted emergent fodder + pistia stratiotes l. molapana araceae free floating +++ potamogeton pectinatus l. gechu potamogetonaceae rooted submerged + sagittaria guayanensis kunth. alismataceae rooted floating + schenoplectus articulatus (l.) palla chesra cyperaceae rooted emergent + sesbania sesban (l.) merr. fuligash fabaceae emergent fodder + trapa bispinosa roxb. shingra trapaceae free floating edible + utricularia exoleata r. br. zaji lentibulariaceae rooted submerged + wolffia arrhiza (l.) horkel ex wimmer khudipana lemnaceae free floating duck weed +++ note: + means rare, ++ means common, +++ means abundant. the study was also recorded the uses of aquatic plant species for different purpose of daily life. among them, 27% species were used by local people as fodder, 14% as medicinal, 11% as vegetable, 11% as edible fruits, 5% as duck weeds, 2% as artifacts and 30% as others purposes in the study area (fig. 3). the abundance of different aquatic species in the habitats was not uniform. our overall observations showed that 61% aquatic plant species in the study area were found to be rare, 30% species were common and 9% species were abundant (fig. 4).the results of abundance status of aquatic plant species represented here were based on basically filed observations and discussion with local people in the study area. fig. 3. different use categories of aquatic plants. fig. 4. abundance of aquatic plant species. aquatic plants used as medicines, vegetables and fruits in the present preliminary study, some very interesting local uses and distribution of aquatic plant species have been recorded. achyranthes aquatica locally known as thuash, a free floating aquatic plant is growing on the surface of the ponds and stagnant water bodies. the distribution of this species is very restricted and found only in greater noakhali district and some parts of preliminary taxonomic survey of aquatic plants 107 chittagong, particularly in mirsharai. exploration is needed to find the species in other districts of bangladesh. stems are sold in the local market as vegetable. local people used it to increase appetizer. it has some medicinal properties to cure cough, flue and stomach disorder (uddin et al., 2014). in case of constipation, the stem paste is very effective. we also assumed that the stem of such plant may reduce blood sugar of human body. phytochemical and pharmacognosy research are essential to prove the medicinal properties of this plant species. we saw this plant during childhood in west modhugram of chhagalnaiya upazila. but it is very difficult to find it now in this area. the species can be propagated through stem cutting. as the species has commercial and medicinal values, conservation effort should be given to protect it from extinction. oenanthe javanica, locally called as painnaadani, is an aquatic herb growing near the edge of water. the shoot of this plant is sold in the local market as vegetable. leaves juice is used to cure jaundice (uddin et al., 2014). the status of the species is very rare in the study area. we found it in one location in nature and also saw in the market. enhydra fluctuans, locally called as tititdata, is growing near the edge of water bodies. the species is also sold in the local market as vegetable. it has some medicinal properties. local people used it to cure diabetes and as brain tonic (uddin et al., 2014). status of the species in nature is very rare. we found it in one location during our survey. ludwigia adscendens locally known as molsishak, is an aquatic species growing in the surface of water as creeper. the plant shows some visible adaptive feature (white spongy roots) during creeping on the water surface. people used it to cure dysentery and also used as vegetable. lasia spinosa locally called it katbash/katakachu, is growing in the wet area of fallow lands. population status of this species is very rare in the study area. rhizome of the plant was used by the local people as to cure stomach pain (uddin et al., 2014) and flowers are used as vegetable. alternanthera sessilis locally called it haincha , is growing near the edge of water bodies. local people used as vegetable and also used to cure gastric pain. recent study proved that this species has comparatively better anti-oxygen properties than other less valued wild leafy vegetables (shethi and uddin, 2018). alternanthera philoxeroides locally called as helencha, is growing in the edge of water bodies. the species sold in the local market as vegetable. to cure constipation and stomach pain the plant is also used by the local people. glynus oppositifolius locally called as gimashak, a herbaceous plant growing in the wetlands when water was receded out during dry season. whole plant is sold in the local market as vegetable. it has some medicinal properties. during chest pain cooked plant is used (uddin et al., 2014). nymphaea rubra also called as lalshapla, an aquatic rooted floating herb is growing in water bodies. it has long petiole with large single flower showing above the water. this petiole is edible and sold in the market. local people used it to remove constipation and also to reduce blood sugar. fruits are also edible. in our survey in feni lalshapla was found in only one location that means the species is very rare in the natural habitat. nymphaea pubescens, called sadashapla (designated as national flower), is an aquatic rooted free floating herb is growing in the deep water bodies of wetlands. in the local market the petiole is sold as vegetable. fruits are also edible. people believed that the plant is useful for constipation and diabetes. the population status of this plant species is also rare. during our survey we recorded this species in only one location. nelumbo nucifera also called padma, is an aquatic rooted floating herb growing in water bodies. the flower of the species is very large and showy. the seeds of this species are very favorite to diabetic patients. we spotted this species in one location of feni district. in the last visit 108 uddin and pal we saw the habitat of this species totally altered to urban land for erecting tower building. we assumed that this species is not present other areas of feni district. distribution record of this species should be checked before confirming the status in feni district. trapa bispinosa (singra) is one of the rare aquatic plant species was recorded in the study area. the species was located in only two locations. the population number of this species is very low. over-exploitation of fruits was one of the major causes to make it rare. fruits are edible and sell it in the local market. ottelia alsimoides locally called it panikola is one of the known edible fruits in aquatic ecosystem. this is very rare in the study area. commercially potential plants some ponds and beels of the study area supported profuse growth of duck weeds, particularly lemna minor, wolffia arrhiza and azolla pinnata. local people harvested these plants and sell them in the market for poultry and fish feeds. talking to local people we have learned that these plant species have huge market values. if these duck weeds can be cultivated in a planned way then there is a chance to get a lot of financial benefits from them. no investment required to cultivate these species. more over these species can be grown in the stagnant water bodies naturally. another interesting species is chumannianthus dichotomus locally known it as patipata, an aquatic emergent herb is growing in the edge of ponds and water bodies. the plant has high commercial values. bangladesh forest department introduced it in the commercial plot of wet area of forest lands. fine mat is making from the peel of the stem of this plant. mats are used as bed cover, wall mat and handicraft materials. the plant is growing without care. once planted, the plant can be sprouted from the base of the stem near the root system like bamboos population and continued to grow after generation to generation. leaves juice are used by the local people to cure ear pain. as you all know that sheetolpati is very famous in greater sylhet region. the distribution of this plant is very restricted particularly in few districts. one rare species growing near the water not listed as aquatic calamus guruva (jalibet) is very interesting. this species has been used in different purpose of daily life including binding material. population of this species was very rare in the study area and listed as threatened species of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001). the species was recorded in few locations only. in our survey number species were also observed those can withstand with waterlogged condition. barringtonia acutangula (hizol), crataeva nurvala (barun), pongamia pinnata (karoj), trewia nudiflora (pidali), syzygium fruticossum (bhutijam) and calamus guruva (jalibet) are the best example of such species. these species are doing well near the water and even inside the water bodies. these species were not listed as aquatics. exotics in aquatic ecosystem exotic and invasive species in aquatic ecosystem are great problem to native flora. they have some aggressive features. using such features they always dominated on the native flora for their survival. water hyacinth is the best example of invasive species in aquatic bodies of feni district. this is fast growing aquatic plant quickly covered the surface area of the water bodies and inhibits the growth of light demanding submerged and free floating aquatic plant species. according to local people opinion and our observations revealed that the presence of water hyacinth may create huge problems for other aquatic species including nymphaea nouchali, nymphaea rubra, nymphaea pubescens, ottelia alismoides, hydrila verticillata, potamogeton pectinatus, utricularia exoleata, najas graminea, nymphoides indicum and trapa bispinosa. they also mentioned that water hyacinth has some positive uses including as fodder to domestic cows and preliminary taxonomic survey of aquatic plants 109 buffalos but negative impacts are enormous. in order to maintain native aquatic plant species diversity, water hyacinth should be controlled. during our filed work a number exotic tree species were also observed near the water bodies. these are samanea saman (rain tree), acacia auriculiformis (akashmoni) and eucalyptus camaldulensis (euacalyptus). local people informed that among the exotics rain tree creates more hazards to local aquatic flora. this species produces spreading canopy and provided shade on the water bodies. rotten leaves of this tree in the water may also create problems to aquatic plants as well as fishes. threats to aquatic flora aquatic plants of feni district are in vulnerable to extinction because of so many threats. during our exploration and observations in the study area, consultations were made with local people on this issue of threats. finally a good number of factors were came out those were responsible to make aquatic plants vulnerable to extinction. among the factors modern agriculture, irrigation, muhuri dam, herbicide, pollutants from upstream, exotic plantations, wetland filling, biological invasion and lack of awareness are the noteworthy. muhuri dam is one of the most important threat to the aquatic habitats and aquatic plant diversity and other aquatic animals in the study area as confirmed by our observations and local people opinion. conservation measures conservation is a both the matter of investment and insurance that is sustained in the fields of environment, forestry, agriculture and fisheries. it is multidisciplinary approach involved knowledge of many areas including botany, zoology, social sciences, economics and laws (hunter, 1995). here as plant taxonomist we tried to focus species composition of the study area, importance of such species, their present status and factors responsible for extinction. based on our observations and discussion with local people, a number of suggestions were made for the conservation of aquatic plant species in feni district. first, species those are very rare in the natural habitats need to be located with gis techniques and try to determine their population status and identify the threats and to minimize that immediately. if the rare species will not be survived in nature that case ex situ measure should be taken for that species particularly trapa bispinosa, achyrantehs aquatica, nymphaea pubescens, nymphaea rubra, nymphaea naouchali, nelumbo nucifera, aschynomene indica, oenanthe javanica and ottelia alsimoides. propagation and germination experiments initiative should be undertaken to understand their mode of multiplication in nature. some small areas with full of aquatic plant species should be declared protected for the sources of mother seeds. in this case compensation is necessary for the local people those who own the lands. awareness among the local people should be created for the importance of aquatic plants in our daily and social life. herbicide should be banned in the cultivated land to burn weeds, a new threat added to the aquatic life. we should rethink about the benefits and losses of dams and diversion of water. the dam and diversion of water create huge problems to aquatic life in nature as local people informed us. conclusions the present study in aquatic habitats of feni district was first initiation. the record 56 aquatic plant species is the good indication of species richness. further study in the district may enrich the list of aquatic plants. the finding of some interesting rare aquatic plants with their local uses made the demand for their conservation in the aquatic habitats. it was seemed that the species achyrantehs aquatica (thuash), oenanthe javanica (painnaadani), and chumannianthus dichotomus (patipata) were found to be limited in distribution outside feni. these rare species need to be given priority for the conservation either in natural habitats or at the ponds otherwise it will be lost from the nature before known to scientific world for the evaluation of their medicinal 110 uddin and pal properties. the presence of muhuri dam (an irrigation project) is one of the strongest divers for the elimination of aquatic plant species from the nature. as the results of the present study are very preliminary, sound conclusion was not possible here. further long term study is needed. acknowledgement the principle investigator of the project is greatly acknowledged the financial contribution of the university grants commission and the university of dhaka. he is also thankful to the research assistants and local people during data collection. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(eds) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 11. angiosperms: monocotyledons (agavaceae najadaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1‒399. soana, e. and bartoli, m. 2014. seasonal regulation of nitrification in a rooted macrophyte (vallisneria spiralis l.) meadow under eutrophic conditions. aquat. ecol. 48: 11–21. uddin m.z., kibria, m.g. and hassan, m.a. 2014.study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people of feni district. journal of asiatic society 41(2): 203‒223. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2004. flora of rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary. iucn bangladesh country office, dhaka, bangladesh, vi+120pp. (manuscript received on 01 january 2019; revised on 18 may 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 201‒204, 2020 (june) short communication © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists seedling herbarium: a priority animesh bose* and n.d. paria1 department of botany, vidyasagar college, 39 sankar ghosh lane, kolkata-700006, west bengal, india keywords: herbarium; methodology; seedling morphology; significance. a herbarium is a store-house or collection of dried, pressed plant mounted on sheet bearing a detailed data label and stored in strong cupboard in systematic sequence (stace, 1989). the pressed and dried plant sample is permanently mounted and strapped to a sheet of paper (of standard weight and type, measuring ca. 28 cm x 42 cm) along with a documentation label. concept of herbarium was first given by luca ghini (1490? – 1556), a professor of botany at the university of bologna, italy, who mounted the pressed dried plants on paper to serve as a longterm record (bridson and forman, 1992). herbarium in a single word is the library of the plant world. as of december 1 2017, there are approximately 3,001 herbaria in the world today, with approximately 387,007,790 specimens that document the earth’s vegetation for the past 400 years (thiers, 2018). not only angiosperms, but the other groups, such as gymnosperms, pteridophytes, bryophytes, macro fungi, and macro algae are also represented by herbarium specimens. funk (2004) described utmost 72 different uses of a herbarium related to teaching and research of taxonomy, systematics, ecology, anatomy, morphology, conservation biology, biodiversity, ethnobotany, anthropology, and paleobiology. since inception, the herbarium of angiosperms always uses the adult, reproductive stages as it helps in identification work. however, here we are proposing another stage of flowering plant for herbarium preparation, i.e. the seedling stage or juvenile stage. seedlings usually the most transitory of life history stages, provides opportunities to explore novelties, as well as life continuum features and vulnerabilities and trade-off that, ultimately, are key to population and community dynamics. seedling stage is arguably the busiest phase in plants lifetime (farnsworth, 2008) and a bottleneck in the continuum of a seed plant life cycle as it not only faces unpredictable environment but also have low levels of morphological and physiological defenses. if a plant can be identified in seedling stage, then it can be protected from numerous environmental and anthropogenic hazards of its life processes. this will stop early-stage decline of our biodiversity and promote conservation of the medicinally important plants. numerous literatures dealing with seedling morphology showed its significance in different botanical disciplines (paria, 2014). with such profound importance, the seedling stage of all the habits of angiosperms should be considered as an item of documentation by preparation of herbarium. the methodology for preparation and maintenance of a seedling herbarium specimen is almost similar with the usual herbarium specimen but there are some dissimilarities, which are discussed below: 1. collection of seedling in different stages of growth, from (para)cotyledon stage to first leaf/first two leaves stage to subsequent leaves / next leaves stages (third, fourth, ….. up to that stage the plant gets it matured leaf character). 2. drying and poisoning them as mentioned for usual herbarium specimen. *corresponding author, e-mail: animeshbose24@gmail.com, 1department of botany, school of science, netaji subhash open university, kolkata-700091, west bengal, india. mailto:animeshbose24@gmail.com, 202 bose and paria 3. size of the herbarium sheet and label similar as mentioned for usual herbarium specimen. 4. on the sheet the dried and poisoned seedling plants are pasted in a sequence from (para) cotyledonary stage to first leaf / first two leaves stage to subsequent leaves / next leaves stages (fig. 1). 5. in contrast to the usual herbarium specimen, the seedling specimen has got some different parameters in its label (fig. 2). these parameters are name, family, vernacular name, locality, altitude, seedling type, taproot, hypocotyl, paracotyledon / cotyledon, first leaf / first two leaves, next leaves, habitat, collected by, determined by, field no., and date. the information on germination, tap root, hypocotyl, paracotyledon / cotyledon, epicotyl, first leaf / first two leaves, subsequent leaves of a plant are obtainable through its seedling herbarium that equivalently will help in identification of the plant. for example, the available information for seedling herbarium specimen of clitoria ternatea l. has been described below. clitoria ternatea l., sp. pl. 2: 753 (1753). baker in hook, f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 208 (1876); cooke, fl. bomb. pres, (reprint ed.) 1: 105 (1958). (up to 6th leaf stages) seedling epigeal, phanerocotylar. taproot strongly elongating, 5.0‒5.5 cm long, soft, whitish grey, curved, glabrous; side roots profuse, with nodules. hypocotyl strongly elongating, 4.0‒4.5 cm long, terete, lower part light green and upper part deep green, hairy. paracotyledons two, opposite, oblique, exstipulate, petiolate, fleshy, green; petiole 0.1‒0.2 cm, hairy, flattened; blade oblong (1.6‒1.7 cm × 0.5‒0.6 cm); base oblique, apex rounded, margin entire; primary vein one, semicraspedodromous; surface glabrous. intemodes terete, green, soft, densely hairy; first intemode 2.4‒2.6 cm long, second one 1.7‒1.8 cm long; next intemodes increasing, slender. first two leaves opposite, simple, stipulate (two, free lateral), petiolate, herbaceous; petiole 1.2‒1.5 cm, terete, pubescent; blade ovate (2.4‒2.6 cm × 1.2‒1.4 cm), base obtuse, apex acute, margin entire; primary vein one, semicraspedodromous; surface glabrous. subsequent leaves alternate, compound, unipinnate, imparipinnate, trifoliolate upto sixth to eighth leaves stages, next leaves with 5‒7 leaflets, stipulate, stipellate, petiole base pulvinate, petiolule pulvinate, leaflet blade ovate-elliptic, terminal leaflet larger in size. other characters almost same as that of first of two leaves. (fig. 1). specimens examined: salt lake sector v, kolkata (w. b.), sanyal and paria 1502, dated 11.06.2007; salt lake sector iii, kolkata (w. b.), sanyal and paria 1546, dated 21.06.2007; barasat, north 24 parganas (w. b.), sanyal and paria 1624, dated 06.07.2007. different stages are required as this provide more stable and reliable characters, and also reveal the different stages of maturity of the concerned plant. the heteroblastic development of angiosperm leaves is also revealed through the different seedling stages. the seedling herbarium of clitoria ternatea (fig. 1) is showing heteroblasty in the development of leaves. here the first two leaves are opposite, simple, ovate whereas the next leaves are alternate, compound, trifoliolate. the heteroblasty is a well-known morphological parameter in plant developmental biology, but why and how this variation occur in leaves is a significant topic of investigation in present days. this development is an advantage of a seedling herbarium over a usual herbarium. while dealing with a group of taxa, the available seedling characters can be used to prepare a key, which promote easy identification of plants at seedling stage. not only identification but by protecting the seedlings we can save our biodiversity also, that is the most significant word in research community in 21st century. seedling herbarium: a priority 203 fig. 1. a seedling herbarium of clitoria ternatea l. up to sixth leaf stages. 204 bose and paria as such, a seedling herbarium has got uses like traditional herbarium. so, these should be treated as priority matter beside a usual herbarium in every national and international herbaria as well as in plant research centers. fig. 2. sample of a seedling herbarium label. acknowledgements the author is grateful to the head, department of botany, university of calcutta for providing infrastructural facilities. thanks are due to late dr. sanghamitra sanyal, assistant professor, bethune college to use the seedlings of clitoria ternatea l.; for editorial comments and valuable ideas from the anonymous reviewer’s help in modifying the manuscript. references bridson, d. and forman, l. 1992. the herbarium handbook, revised edition. royal botanic gardens, kew, great britain, pp. 4. farnsworth, e.j. 2008. physiological and morphological changes during early seedling growth: roles of phytohormones. in: leck, m.a., parker, v.t. and simpson, r.l. (eds.), seedling ecology and evolution. cambridge university press, cambridge, uk, pp. 150–171. funk, v. 2004. 100 uses for a herbarium (well at least 72). division of botany, the yale university herbarium, peabody museum of natural history, yale university, pp. 1–4. paria, n.d. 2014. botanical research in india in the domain of seedling morphology in relation to taxonomy. science and culture 80(9-10): 262–270. stace, c.a. 1989. plant taxonomy and biosystematics, second edition. edward arnold, london, pp. 197. thiers, b. 2018. index herbariorum: a global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. new york botanical garden's virtual herbarium. http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/. (manuscript received on 29 march 2019; revised on 13 may 2020) http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 167-181, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63524 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new taxon of salvia (lamiaceae) from türki̇ye özgür eminagaoglu*, melahat ozcan and hayal akyildirim beğen1 department of forest engineering, faculty of forestry, artvin çoruh university, 08000 artvin-türkiye keywords: salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense; artvin; anatomy; lamiaceae; new taxon; türkiye. abstract salvia divaricata montbret & aucher ex benth. subsp. artvinense eminagaoglu, ozcan & akyıldırım is described as a new endemic subspecies from ardanuç (artvin, türkiye). it is related to salvia divaricata montbret & aucher ex benth. and s. tomentosa mill. from which it differs in stem, leaf characters and flower color and numbers. a key is given to distinguish the new subspecies from the other species in the genus salvia. morphology, stem, petiole and leaf anatomy, and nutlet micromorphology were investigated. nearly rounded stem, hemispherical petiole, bifacial leaf with diacytic stomata, and ovoid to rotund nutlet with glabrous and distinctly rough to protuberances ornamentation were determined for this subspecies. taxonomic interpretations of the new subspecies are given using morphological, anatomical and phylogenetic analyses. introduction lamiaceae is one of the largest family with nearly 210 genera and more or less 1000 species of annuals shrubs, perennials and herbaceous (celep et al., 2015). salvia l. belongs to the nepetoideae subfamily. it was determined as a paraphyletic group, well supported by both morphological and molecular data (walker et al., 2004; walker and sytsma, 2007) and 987 living species of salvia are distributed on the world (hassler, 2020). previously, 86 salvia species were determined in turkey by hedge (1982a) and later, the number of species was raised to 100 (davis et al., 1988; vural and adiguzel, 1996; donmez, 2001; celep et al., 2015), 53 of which are endemic in turkey (guner et al., 2012; celep et al., 2015). about half of the species generally found in central anatolia and 23 species are present in ne anatolia (guner et al., 2012). boissier (1879) determined 75 salvia species from turkey. he found out seven sections (salvia (syn. euphace) benth. (1876:1195), hymenosphace benth. (1876:1195), drymosphace benth. (1876:1195), aethiopis benth. (1876:1195), plethiosphace benth. (1876:1195), horminum benth. (1876:1195) and hemisphace benth. (1876:1196), which had been all previously recognized by bentham (1833). the section salvia, represented by 24 species in turkey (celep et al., 2015), has about 600 species in the world (santos, 1995). turkish salvia are shrubs or perennial herbs with a relatively primitive staminal structure. the characteristic features of this section are leaves pinnatisect or simple, stems herbaceous or suffruticose, calyx little enlarging after anthesis and not diverging lips, upper lip of corolla is more or less straight and corolla tube is annulate. staminal connectives are equal or slightly longer than filaments and lower theca is fertile (hedge, 1972). türkiye is one of the major diversity centers for the genus salvia and comprises aproximately 90 species in our country. endemism ratio is 45% (hedge, 1982; davis et al., 1988; hamzaoglu et al., 2005; aktaş et al., 2009). recent studies showed that artvin has the highest plant species *corresponding author. e-mail: oeminagaoglu@artvin.edu.tr 1vocational school of health services, artvin çoruh university, 08000 artvin-türkiye. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63524 mailto:oeminagaoglu@artvin.edu.tr 168 eminagaoglu et al. in turkey. there are lots of floristic studies and new plant records in artvin (anşin et al., 1997; eminağaoğlu and anşin, 2004; eminağaoğlu, 2009; eminağaoğlu, 2012; eminağaoğlu et al., 2012a, b; eminağaoğlu and ozcan 2013, 2014, 2018; eminağaoğlu, 2015; yüksel and eminağaoğlu, 2017; eminağaoğlu et al., 2018; yüksel and akyıldırım beğen, 2018; akyıldırım beğen and yüksel, 2018; eminağaoğlu and eminağaoğlu, 2018). during fieldwork in ardanuç in 2013, it was observed that the specimens were different from other salvia species with morphology and habitat characteristics. detailed studies with herbarium samples and all data about these specimens confirmed the existence of this new subspecies of salvia, salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense in turkiye. materials and methods plant material specimens of salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense were collected from ardanuç province (artvin) during field studies within the scope of the project “determination of native plants in artvin’’ (eminağaoğlu, 2015). morphological characteristics of new subspecies were recorded both in the field and in the laboratory. all specimens collected from area were evaluated and compared with literature (komarov, 1934-78; grossheim, 1939-1967; hedge, 1982a; eminağaoğlu and anşin 2003, 2004) and different resources including flora orientalis (boissier, 1879), flora europaea (hedge, 1972) and flora of the ussr (pobedimova, 1954). also, salvia specimens have been checked in ank, gazi, iste and isto herbaria. samples are deposited in artvin coruh university herbarium (arth). the morphological features of the new subspecies were studied with stereo-binocular microscope. furthermore, photos and notes made in the field were used for description and drawings from different parts of the samples by using stereo microscope (figs 1, 2). anatomical preparations stem and leaf parts of living specimens were used in anatomical observations. different plant parts were stored in 70% alcohol for anatomical studies. transverse sections of stem and leaf, and peripheral sections of upper and lower epidermis of leaves were taken by hand using commercial razor blades, and haematoxylin solution for about 15 min was used for staining. sections were washed in water several times to remove the excess stain (algan, 1981). semi-permanent slides were mounted in glycerin, and well stained sections were examined under a light microscope and photographed using an olympus bx53 microscope with digital camera attachment dp73. micromorphological examinations micro and macromorphological features of the seeds were studied using a stereomicroscope (leica m60 with a digital camera attachment dfc295) and a scanning electron microscope (zeiss evo ls10, acu science-research center). the seeds were first examined using a stereomicroscope to determine size, shape, color and maturity, and were then photographed. for scanning electron microscopy, mature seeds were placed on stubs using double-sided adhesive tape, and coated with gold in a cressington sputter coater 108 auto coating apparatus for 2-3 minutes. seeds were examined and photographed from the middle part of the lateral region. the terminology for cypselar characteristics proposed by stearn (1985) was adopted to describe the fruit coat, size and shape, cell arrangements and primary sculpturing. a new taxon of salvia (lamiaceae) 169 dna extraction, polymerase chain reaction amplification (pcr) and sequencing dna extraction of salvia leaves was applied using kit procedure (purelink genomic dna kits) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. trnl (uag) (5ctgcttcctaagagcagcgt3) / rpl32 (5_ cagttccaaaaaaacgtactt c-3) primers (shaw et al., 2007) were used for pcr amplification. pcr were performed in 50 μl volume containing taq dna polymerase buffer with 6 μl mgcl2 (2 mm), 5 μl 10x tae buffer, 0,5 μl dntp (0.2 mm), 0,5 μl each forward and reverse primer (0.3 mm), 0,2 μl 5 u of taq dna polymerase and 2 μl of genomic dna (20–100 ng). thermocycling was performed with biorad t100 thermal cycler. the temperature profile of amplification included an initial denaturation step of 95 °c for 5 min followed by 37 cycles of 94 °c for 30 s, 51°c for 1 min, 72 =°c for 1 min and a final elongation period of 72 °c for 5 min, then storaged at + 4 °c. pcr products were resolved in 1 % agarose gel by electrophoresis at 85 volts, after a single band was observed, pcr products (50–250 ng/ul) were cleaned and then sequenced both forward and reverse direction at the macrogen. phylogenetic studies the sequences were aligned in bioedit v.7.0.9.0 (hall, 1999) and dnasp v.5.10 (librado and rozas, 2009). this programs were used to determine haplotypes and to estimate haplotype and nucleotide diversities within each species. we used mega 7.0 (tamura et al., 2013) to calculate the genetic distances among sequences of the salvia species, based on the kimura 2parameter (k2p) model of dna substitution (kimura, 1980) and their reliability has been tested with 10,000 bootstrap replications (felsenstein, 1985). phylogenetic trees were constructed using tree analyses: maximum parsimony (mp). s. hylocharis (kc473351) and s. coccinea (kc473345) species were used as an outgroup in the phylogenetic analysis. list of salvia species were given in table 1. all salvia species on the table are genetically the closest species to s. divaricata subsp. artvinense selected by blast (basic local alignment search tool-genebank). table 1. information and genbank accession numbers of salvia species. taxon voucher location genebank accession salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense o.emin 16896 artvin, turkey s. divaricata w620659 npgs ku578226.1 s. tomentosa w020129 sichuan, china ku578214.1 s. aucheri w020132 sichuan, china ku578248.1 s. coccinea na67377 npgs kc473345 s. sclarea w620660 npgs kc473391 s. hylocharis pi440651 sichuan, china kc473351 results and discussion taxonomic treatment salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense eminagaoglu, ozcan & akyıldırım, subsp. nov. (fig.1). type: turkey. artvin, ardanuç, roadside, sloping area, 41°09′26″ n, 42°00′01″ e, 492 m, 19 june 2013, o.emin 16896 (arth 13579, 13580). morphological description: erect, perennial herbs; 40–54 cm tall, with several stems arising from a woody rootstock; stems glabrous; leaves simples, developed towards the base, spreading, petioles 1.1–6 cm long, ciliate; basal leaf blades ovate, 3.2–11 × 0.8–3.5 cm, apex and base 170 eminagaoglu et al. obtuse, margin crenate, upper surface sparsely eglandular pilose, beneath densely tomentose (fig. 3). inflorescences an elongate, widely branched panicle, peduncles 4.5–9 cm long. verticillasters 2-4 flowered, clearly distant. bracts and bracteoles absent or deciduous early at the development of the inflorescence. pedicels 1.8–3 cm long, glabrous, rigid, erecto-patent. calyx tubularcampanulate, green, tube 12–17 mm long, densely glandular pilose and sometimes a few eglandular villous hairs; upper lip obsoletely tridentate; calyx lobes acuminate, posterior lobe 3veined, lobes 5–6 mm long. fig. 1. salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense. a-b. habit. c. inflorescence peduncle and floral bracts. d. calyx lobes and corolla color. e. nutlets. scale bar: 1000 µm. corolla white-yellow or dirty yellow, tube straight below, widening above, 25–30 mm long; posterior lobe of the corolla galeate, with the external surface pubescent, 2–3 cm long; anterior lobe 5–7 (–8) mm long, reflexed, internal basal surface tomentosa pubescent. stamens included; a new taxon of salvia (lamiaceae) 171 filaments 0.8–1 cm long; connectives 3–4 mm long. style 2.5–3.5 cm long, pubescent. stigma forked. seed 69-78,5 x55-62 mm, pale or dark, black, brown, hilum 15-19 mm. fig. 2. drawings. a. inflorescens. b. basal leaves. c. flower. d. calyx. e. dissected flower. f-g. different type leave. scale bars: a, b, d, f, g, h = 1 cm. c = 5 mm. e = 1mm, illustrations were drawn from the holotype (o.emin 16896) by dr. melahat ozcan. distribution and ecology: salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense is endemic to artvin, turkey and only known from the type locality. this species has small population size in the field observation. partly a mixture of terrestrial and mediterranean climate; the summers are warm and dry, while the winters are partly warm and less rainy, characteristic plants such as alyssum artvinense busch., micromeria elliptica k.koch, hedysarum hedysaroides (l.) schinz & thell., satureja hortensis l., colutea armena boiss. & huet., cotinus coggyria scop., teucrium polium l., thymus praecox opiz, capparis sicula subsp. herbacea (willd.) inocencio, d.rivera, obón & alcaraz. 172 eminagaoglu et al. phenology: it has been registered flowering in june and fruiting in september. conservation status: only one populations with nearly 45 individuals of salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense in artvin were determined. the area of occupancy was 8 km2 (less than 10 km2), extent of occurrence was 82 km2 (less than 100 km2) and continuing decline was observed, and number of mature individuals was 45 (less than 250). the population of the species is threatened by extinction because of road construction activities. therefore, the threat category should be assessed as critically endangered [cr: b1+2b (i,ii); c2a(i)] status (iucn, 2021). fig. 3. difference of leaf types between s. divaricata (a-b) and s. divaricata subsp. artvinense (c-d). remarks: salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense resembles s. divaricata, s. tomentosa (sec. salvia), in habit, pedicels long; narrow leaves shapes. however, yellow-white corolla color in salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense differs significantly, whereas the lilac color and taller plant size, smaller pedicel size and lilac corolla of s. divaricata and s. tomentosa are very distinct morphological characters. in addition; s. divaricata subsp. artvinense spreads below 600 m, but s. divaricata is over 1400 m. additional specimens examined (paratypes) salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense: türki̇ye. artvin: ardanuç, 1-2 km to road, 41°09′26″ n, 42°00′01″ e, 483 m, 19 june 2013, o.emin 16896 (arth! 13579); artvin: ardanuç, near road, 41°09′27″ n, 42°00′09″ e, 486 m, 02 june 2017, o.emin 22364 (arth! 13580); s. divaricata: turkey. sivas: between zara-divriği, 1630 m, 15 july 2007, z.aytaç 9543 (gazi̇!); erzincan: i̇liç, pınar village, 03 july 1977, g.arar, m.a. ömür, s.boldağ (i̇ste 116!); nevşehir: cappadoce oriental, 1836, coquebert de montbret, a.f.e., 2379 (k, k000929686!); armenia. type specimen; 1837 aucher-eloy, p.m.r. 1528 (cjb g00156024!); s. tomentosa: türki̇ye. van: i̇. karakısa 1585 (van!). key to the species of salvia (sect. salvia) based on morphological characters 1a. stem quadrangular, verticillate 4-10 flowers s. tomentosa 1b. stem rounded, verticillate 2-4 flowers 2 2a. pedicels 15-30 mm; leaves narrowly oblong, 3.2-7.8 x 0.8-2.7 cm 3 a new taxon of salvia (lamiaceae) 173 2b. pedicels 1.5-7 mm; leaves oblong to ovate, 1.4-13.5 x 0.6-6 cm 4 3a. corolla lilac s. divaricata 3b. corolla white-yellow s. divaricata subsp. artvinense 4a. calyces 12-16 mm; leaves cuneate at base s. aramiensis 4b. calyces 6-8 mm; leaves ± cordate or rounded at base s. aucheri anatomical characteristics stem: anatomical studies reveal that stem is almost rounded and has collenchymatic tissue in the corners. the epidermis contains a single layer of cells. there are simple and multicellular trichomes above the epidermis. parenchymatic cortex has been observing 6-8 series. vascular bundles of corners are larger than others and it is possible to observe small vascular bundles at the interfacicular areas arranged in a one circle. sclerenchymatous caps were present above vascular bundles. cambium is indistinguishable. large pith formed of cylindrical and thin walled big parenchymatic cells are present in the stem (figs. 4a, 6c). leaf: midrib is hemispherical in outline. 2-3 layers of collenchyma are present under a single epidermal layer. one large vascular bundle can be seen in the midrib region. simple densely trichomes or glandular trichomes are observed in upper and lower surfaces. simple trichomes contain 2-4 stalk cells and glandular trichomes with in two shape as capitate and peltate. capitate trichomes have one-two stalk cells and one or two head cells, while peltate trichomes contain one large head. this type trichomes are only present in abaxial surfaces of leaf. there is a singlelayered epidermis. in terms of size, upper epidermal cells are much larger than those of the abaxial ones. lamina is bifacial (dorsiventral) and mesophyll composed of 3-4 layers of spongy parenchyma and two layers of palisade parenchyma (fig. 2c, d). leaf is amphistomatic, and diacytic type stomata are observed in the depths (fig. 5a; upper epidermis, 5b; lower epidermis). petiole: it is hemisperical or more or less triangular in outline. mechanical tissue develops in the corners of triangular outline. petiole is also surrounded by collateral tissue. one large vascular bundle in the center and three-four accessory bundles in the corners are present (fig. 4bb). several simple trichomes with up to four stalk cell and capitate trichomes with different stalk cells encircled the petiol (figs. 4b, 6a, b). mericarp micromorphology mericarp color was brown to blackish. their size varied from 2.57 mm to 4.13 mm in length and 2.0 mm to 3.26 in width. they ranged in length to width ratio from 1.27 to 1.36. shape of the mericarps was broadly ovoid to rotund. the nutlet surfaces are glabrous, distinctly rought with protuberances and undulate. epidemal cells are irregular and anticlinal walls are not distinct and represented by undulate channel. the attachment scar diameter ranges from 0.79 mm to 1.0 mm. their color is dark brown to brackish (fig. 7). molecular analysis a dataset of cpdna sequences with 800 bp was analyzed for 7 taxa. both bayesian and mp analyses produced the same topology. the bayesian inference tree with both posterior probability and maximum parsimony bootstrap support values is shown in fig. 8. both bayesian and mp analyses showed that the ingroup formed a well-supported clade with 0.63 posterior probability and 65% bootstrap value, respectively (fig. 8). the new subspecies is resolved as sister to the s. divaricata confirming its novelty in the genus. 174 eminagaoglu et al. fig. 4. cross sections of s. divaricata subsp. artvinense. a. stem. b. petiole. c. leaf midrib. d. leaf lamina. 1: general appearance, 2: magnified part. scale bars: 1 = 200 µm. 2 = 100 µm. cl: collenchyma, ct: capitate trichome, p: pith, ph: phloem, pp: palisade parenchyma, pt: peltate trichome, s. sclerenchyma, sh: simple trichome, sp: spongy parenchyma, ue: upper epidermis, xy: xylem, vb: vascular bundle. a new taxon of salvia (lamiaceae) 175 fig. 5. peripheral sections of salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense. a. upper epidermis. b. lower epidermis. c. trichomes from upper epidermis. d. trichomes from lower epidermis. see fig. 1 for abbreviations. scale bars: a, b, c2, d2 = 50 µm. c1, d1 = 100 µm. 176 eminagaoglu et al. fig. 6. some trichomes from different parts of salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense. a-b. petiole. c. stem. scale bar: 100 µm. fig. 7. nutlet of s. divaricata subsp. artvinense. a. general appearance. b. 200x. c. 500x. d. 1000x. the new subspecies salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense is smilar to s. divaricata, s. aucheri, s. tomentosa and s. aramiensis (sect. salvia), with some morphological characters but differented by yellow-white corolla color. s. aucheri and s. aramiensis can be separated from s. divaricata subsp. artvinense by various morphological characters including taller plant size, smaller pedicel size and lilac corolla color. s. divaricata subsp. artvinense has narrowly oblong leaves, tubular campanulate calyx shape and 2-4 flowers per node like s. divaricata. in contract, s. divaricata has lilac-pink corolla color, smaller leaf size (4-7 x 0, 8-2 cm) and less pubescence structure upper and lower surface of leaves. s. divaricata subsp. artvinense spreads below 600 m, but s. divaricata is over 1400 m. their differences are given in table 2. a new taxon of salvia (lamiaceae) 177 table 2. morphological comparisons of related salvia species. character s. divaricata subsp. artvinense s. tomentosa s. divaricata s. aucheri s. aramiensis life form herb subshrub herb herb suffruticose stem erect rounded quadrangular decumbent erect erect clump-forming plant size (m) 0.4-0.6 0.4-0.75 0.4-0.5 0.3-1 1 underground perennation structures present -present absent absent pubescence on the stem surface glabrous (above) pilose (below) glabrous above shortly patent hairs glabrous (above) pilose (below) glabrous (above) pilose (below) finely pilose leaf size (cm) 3.2–11 × 0.8–3.5 5–5.5 × 1.5–2 3-8 x 0.8-2.5 4-10x 2-5 1.4-5 x 0.6-1.7 shape narrowly oblong ovate elliptical narrowly oblong elliptic to ovate-elliptic, narrowly oblong to ovate base obtuse rounded or cuneate obtuse -clustered pubescence in the upper surface densely pilose strongly rugose, sparsely covered pilose -- pubescence in the lower surface densely tomentose short fine appressed white hairs tomentose adpressed white pubescent - petiole length (cm) 1.1–6 5-7 1-5 1.5-4 1.7-5.5 inflorescence pedicel size (mm) 18–30 5-10 15-30 3-4 1.5-4(-7) number of flowers per node 2-4 4-10 2-4 2 4-10 flower calyx length (mm) 12–17 12-15 15 6-8 12-16 calyx shape tubular-campanulate --tubularcampanulate ovateto tubularcampanulate campanulate corolla color white-yellow pink-lilac lilac lilac corola tube length (mm) 25–30 24-36 34 25 25-30 flowering time 6-8 6-7 7-10 5-6 elevation range 490-550 m 90-1600m 1500-1800m 550-1350m 250-600m in the flora of ussr, some diagnostic characters of s. trigonocalyx missed, flower colors were not given in its description by woronow (1912). additionally, s. trigonocalyx taxon was indicated as synonym of s. tomentosa, recently (hassler, 2020; banki et al., 2021). till now, s. divaricata was only collected from sivas and erzincan (türkiye). this species was not reported from artvin in recent investigations. by taking the morphological differences observed in stem, leaves, inflorescences and flower colour, s. divaricata subsp. artvinense was distinguished as a new subspecies, after its comparison with all the revised herbarium specimens and data provided in the bibliography. metcalfe and chalk (1972) has previously reported in the family lamiaceae has a quadrangular stem and a well developed collenchyma in the corners. özdemir and şenel (1999) and polat et al. (2017) also reported rectangular stem in s. sclarea l. and in s. divaricata montbret & aucher ex benth, respectively. on the contrary, aktaş et al. (2009) reported rounded stem without collenchyma in the corners for s. tchihatcheffii. cortex consists of three different cell 178 eminagaoglu et al. types as parenchyma, 6-8 layers and collenchyma, only in the corners. simple and multicellular trichomes are observed in epidermal layers. cambium is indistinguishable. large pith formed of thin walled big parenchymatic cells in the pith of stem. our findings about stem chracteristics are similar to the reports for s. sclarea (özdemir and şenel, 1999) and s. divaricata (polat et al., 2017). fig. 8. molecular phylogenetic relationship within salvia with the maximum parsimony bootstrap support values. petiole anatomical structure is very important for the family lamiaceae. several studies were conducted on salvia spp. (özdemir and şenel, 1999; polat et al., 2017). özdemir and şenel (1999) previously reported eglandular and glandular trichomes, parenchymatic cortex and two large vascular bundles with small bundles in the petiole of s. sclarea. polat et al. (2017) also mentioned many glandular and eglandular hairs on the uniseriate epidermal cells. similarly, we found a lot of unicellular simple trichomes and peltate and capitate glandular trichomes in the epidermal layers of petioles. the petiole is triangular in outline and composed of large parenchymatic cortex. in contrast to s. sclarea (özdemir and şenel, 1999), one big vascular bundle in the middle of petiole and four small bundles on the edges can be seen in s. divaricata subsp. artvinense. these results are in accordance with some reports in literatures (nakipoğlu and oğuz, 1990). polat et al. (2017) also reported single median vascular bundle with a crescent appearance but two small bundles on the edges differently from us. in addition, median vascular bundle of s. divaricata subsp. artvinense is smaller than s. divaricata and do not have crescent appearance. s. divaricata subsp. artvinense has bifacial (dorsiventral mesophyll) leaf and diacytic type of stomata. stomata are present both upper and lower epidermal surfaces (amphistomatic leaf). metcalfe and chalk (1972); özdemir and şenel (1999) and polat et al. (2017) also mentioned these characters in some salvia species. like stem and petiole, leaves also have different types of trichomes. eglandular trichomes in all parts are unicellular, but glandular trichomes with in the shapes of capitate and peltate. peltate trichomes with fragrant essential oil are present only in lower parts of leaves in s. divaricata subsp. artvinense and they have previously been reported in s. sclarea (özdemir and şenel, 1999), in s. tchihatcheffii (aktaş et al., 2009) and polat et al. (2017). mericarp length, shape of mericarp and exocarp cells and structure of anticlinal walls have been reported significant diagnostic characters by büyükkartal et al. (2011). hedge (1982) reported rounded, trigonous or rounded-trigonous in the mericarp of some turkish salvia species. özkan et al. (2009) determined three sculpturing in 12 salvia taxa as foveate, reticulate and verrucate. büyükkartal et al. (2011) reported colliculate pattern in some salvia taxa. seed of this new species was ovoid shape, however their surface ornamentation was determined as ruminate. a new taxon of salvia (lamiaceae) 179 our molecular analysis based on cpdna sequences confirmed that s. divaricata subsp. artvinense distinguishable from all other species in the series (fig. 8). in the phylogeny, s. divaricata was resolved as sister to salvia divaricata subsp. artvinense. all data confirmed that s. divaricata subsp. artvinense is distinguishable from all other species in the series (table 2). the population of the species is in danger of extinction due to road construction activities. for this reason, it should be produced by being transported to the botanical garden (eminağaoğlu and eminağaoğlu, 2018), protected and transported to another suitable habitat. acknowledgements the authors sincerely thank to prof. dr. askın akpulat (curators of cufh) and prof. dr. sukran kultur (curators of the iste). these new taxa were collected during the determination of artvin’s native plants project, which is funded by ziraat bank. references aktas, k. özdemir, c. özkan, m. akyol, y. and baran, p. 2009. morphological and anatomical characteristics of salvia tchihatcheffii endemic to turkey. afr. j. biotechnol. 8(18): 4519–4528. akyıldırım beğen, h. and yüksel, e. 2018. alanbaşı ve bakırtepe (yusufeli, artvin, turkey) ve çevresinin florası. turk. j. biod. 1(1): 17–23. algan, g. 1981. bitkisel dokular için mikroteknik. fırat universitesi fen fakültesi yayınları no.1 i̇stanbul matbaa teknisyenleri basımevi. anşin, r. özkan, z.c. abay, g. and eminağaoğlu, ö. 1997. new floristic records from a8 (artvin). ot sist. botan. derg. 4(1): 95–98. bánki, o.r, döring, y., ower, m., vandepitte, g., hobern, l., remsen, d., schalk, d., dewalt, p., keping, r.e., miller, m., orrell, j., aalbu, t., adlard, r., adriaenssens, r., aedo, e., aescht, c., akkari, e., alonso-zarazaga, n. 2021. catalogue of life checklist (version 2021-11-09). catalogue of life. https://doi.org/10.48580/d4t4. bentham, g. 1832–1836. labiatarum genera et species. ridgeway london. 783 pp. bentham, g. 1876. labiatae. in: bentham, g. and hooker, j.d. 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(manuscript received on 18 may, 2021; revised on 21 november, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 413‒428, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57137 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists cyanobacterial diversity and physicochemical characteristics of thermal springs in the kütahya province of turkey sevi̇lay öztürk* department of biology, faculty of sciences and letters, manisa celal bayar university, manisa, turkey keywords: biodiversity; cyanobacteria; thermal springs; rda analyses; turkey. abstract thermal springs are very difficult environments for organisms due to the high temperature, and physicochemical parameters. cyanobacteria, which are photosynthetic prokaryotes, are best adapted to these environments. kütahya is an important thermal area in turkey. the aim of the study was to determine the cyanobacterial flora with a morphologic and ecologic approach in the 11 thermal. the physicochemical properties of the thermal springs in kütahya province were measured. the thermal springs are alkaline (ph6) with an average temperature of 52°c. as a result, 54 cyanobacteria taxa were identified. oscillatoriales were the predominant order in terms of taxa diversity (24 taxa) and biomass size. statistical analyses were conducted to reveal the physicochemical properties of the thermal springs and the distribution of cyanobacteria in detail. according to these analyses, the thermal springs were classified into two main groups with a piper. as a result of the rda analysis under canoco 5.0, the total variation was 55.45455, and the first two axes explained a total of 57.43% of the variance. there was a significant difference (p0.001) in the comparison of the physicochemical parameters including ph, ec, tds, and temperature values of the thermal springs in the kruskal wallis tests. introduction cyanobacteria are ecologically important because of their role in oxygen production and in assimilation of carbon and nitrogen. although life is difficult in thermal springs, the cyanobacteria are the most adapted organisms for this environment. cyanobacteria are the most commonly reported microbial groups constituting thermophilic mats and considered the major primary producers in these type of habitats (castenholz, 1973). due to their abilities, the determination of diversity of cyanobacteria in thermal springs is gaining importance. studies of thermal springs allow us to know which cyanobacterial taxa can adapt to the thermal environment. the diversity of cyanobacteria in thermal springs depends on two basic factors: i) the temperature of the thermal spring, ii) the dissolved chemicals in the thermal spring. there are more than 600 thermal springs in turkey (özsahin and kaymaz, 2013). despite this, studies of the biology of thermal springs are very limited (adıgüzel et al., 2009; yedier et al., 2016). biodiversity studies of thermal algae in turkey began in pamukkale with collected algae (regel and skuja, 1937) and continued with güner (1966, 1967, 1970); aysel et al. (1992); pentecost et al., (1997); ünal (1996); ulcay öztürk et al., (2006; 2007); yüksel et al., (2009); demirel and sukatar, (2011); ulcay and kurt, (2014a,b,c), altunoz et al., (2016); öztürk ulcay and kurt (2017); öztürk ulcay et al., (2017); kalkan et al., (2020) and öztürk, (2020). corresponding author, e-mail: seviozturk@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.5713 mailto:seviozturk@yahoo.com 414 öztürk numerous cyanobacteria taxa have been reported in thermal springs throughout the world. regarding their morphotypes characteristics, sompong et al. (2005) identified 19 genera and 36 cyanobacteria taxa from nine thermal springs (3080°c) in northern thailand. debnath et al. (2009) reported 18 taxa distributed in 12 genera at three geothermal springs in bakreswar in india. in total, 43 taxa belonging to 20 genera of the planktonic cyanobacteria were identified at four hot springs in iran by heidari et al. (2013). roy et al. (2015) identified 16 taxa spread over 14 genera in the bakreswar geothermal springs in india. based on morphology, the distribution of 31 cyanobacteria taxa (3038.2°c) from thermopylae thermal spring in greece were identified by kanellopoulos et al. (2016). singh et al. (2018b) reported 22 taxa under 11 genera based on the morphology at nine thermal springs in the northwestern himalayas. the aim of the study was to determine the cyanobacterial flora of thermal springs in the kütahya province, an important thermal area in turkey including morphological and ecological aspects. in this context, the results obtained by morphological methods have been studied in an attempt to determine species diversity. additionally, the thermal springs in kütahya province measured to determine their physicochemical properties. the piper diagram provided ease in classification and comparison of the thermal springs in kütahya province where the anion and cation of the water taken from 11 thermal springs was compared. in addition to all this, the relationship between the physicochemical parameters, the sampling sites, and the taxa were explored with the redundancy analysis (rda) (canoco 5.0.). kruskal-wallis tests were applied under statistical package for the social sciences (spss) to reveal the statistical significance of differences or similarities of the physicochemical parameters and the taxa numbers of the sampling sites. materials and methods sampling sites kütahya is situated on major fault lines in the western anatolian region of turkey. in this study, a large number of sampling sites with different physicochemical characteristics were selected from 11 thermal springs (fig. 1). these sites were scattered over an area of approximately 2500 km2 ranging from an altitude of 588 m to 1462 m, and most of them had thermal spring facilities like spas or thermal hotels. physicochemical characteristics of the thermal springs water samples were collected in sterile glass bottles from the sampling sites while collecting cyanobacteria samples. the temperature (t-°c), ph, conductivity (ecms/cm), and total dissolved solids (tds-mg/l) were measured using a hanna hi 9812-5 portable ph/ec/tds/temperature meter (europa-romania) in-situ. the water samples were labelled and transported to the laboratory for chemical analysis. fluoride (f), chloride (cl), bromine (br), nitrite (no2 ), nitrate (no3 ), phosphate (po4 3), sulphate (so4 2) analyses were performed by dionex ics-5000 ion chromatography/ppm. other chemical analyses were performed by perkin elemer optima 8000/mg/l for other chemical factors including calcium (ca), ferrous (fe2), potassium (k), magnesium (mg), sodium (na), silicon (si), and manganese (mn). ammonium (nh4 ) analyses were performed by nesslerizasyon/ppm. all chemical analysis were performed at the manisa celal bayar university-applied science research center (manisa, turkey). a piper diagram provides convenience in the classification and comparison of natural springs. the similarities and differences of these thermal springs were investigated with the piper diagram, and the eleven springs were classified according to their chemical composition with the piper cyanobacterial diversity and physicochemical characteristics 415 diagram using gw chart software (usgs) and microsoft excel 2016 (piper, 1944; winston, 2020). fig. 1. thermal spring sample site names and locations in kütahya province. t1gediz-ilica (38°56'22"n 29°15'31"e), t2gediz-murat mountain (38°57'19"n 29°37'14"e), t3tavsanli-göbel (39°29'51"n 29°26'17"e), t4esire (39°12'08"n 29°16'53"e), t5sarpasan (39°12'10"n 29°16'40"e), t6hisarcik-hamam (39°12'07"n 29°16'35"e), t7hisarcik-sefaköy (39°10'33"n 29°15'37"e), t8günlüce-dereli (39°27'46"n 29°15'55"e), t9emet (39°20'32"n 29°15'12"e), t10simav-eynal (39°07'38"n 28°59'33"e), t11naşa (39°08'37"n 28°57'39"e). sampling and identification of cyanobacteria cyanobacteria samples were collected between february 2014 and january 2015. collected samples were placed in 50 ml falcon tubes for morphological identification. all samples were labeled and transported to the laboratory. collected samples were divided into two parts in the laboratory, one used in direct observations, and the other part fixed with 4% formalin solution to prevent degradation of the characteristics of the taxa. microscopic studies were conducted in the laboratory using an olympus bx 50 (phasecontrast) microscope, and taxonomical characteristics were determined and photographed using the sony dsc-tx7 camera for morphological identification. the identification of the taxa was made according to previous studies including komárek and anagnostidis (2000, 2005), john et al., (2002) and komárek, (2013). the nomenclature was checked on the algaebase database (guiry and guiry, 2021). 416 öztürk statistical analysis the relationship between the physicochemical variables of the thermal springs and the distribution of cyanobacteria taxa was assessed by redundancy analysis (rda) and detrended correspondence analysis (dca). the analysis was carried out using canoco 5.0 software for windows (ter braak and smilauer, 2012). initially, a dca was performed to determine the gradient length and which model (linear or unimodal) the studied gradient is suitable for. according to the dca results, it was seen that the available data was suitable for rda analysis. to obtain gradients not associated with the coverable, a forward selection of the environmental variables was performed. physicochemical properties were determined through a monte carlo test (499 permutations), taking into account all canonical axes. kruskal-wallis tests were performed using spss 20.00 software to determine whether the differences (in terms of physicochemical parameters) between the thermal springs were statistically significant. kruskal-wallis is a non-parametric test and is used for multiple data comparisons. the kruskal-wallis test was used to determine the importance of ph, ec, tds, and temperature values of the eleven thermal springs. results and discussion physicochemical characteristics of the thermal springs some chemical parameters of the eleven thermal springs in kütahya as well as the annual average ph, temperature, and ec and tds measurements are shown in table 1. the results indicate that the thermal springs were alkaline (ph6), the average temperature was 52°c, and they were transparent. in addition, it was found that nutrient elements were high, and sulphate and ammonia were below the measurable values in the thermal springs. these physicochemical parameters explain the abundance of cyanobacteria diversity in the thermal springs. in the piper diagram, which is the most acceptable method in classifying and comparing natural springs and ground waters, anions and cations are shown in two separate triangles while all ions are shown from a quadrilateral, and this diagram makes classification and comparison of waters easier (piper, 1944). based on the piper diagram, the thermal springs of the kütahya province were classified into two main groups, one (t2, t4, t5, t6, t7, t9) ca-mg-so4, the other one (t1, t3, t8, t10, t11) na-hco3-so4 (fig. 2). cyanobacteria taxa collected samples were identified based on morphological characteristics. as a result, the 54 cyanobacteria taxa identified were distributed in five orders (table 2). among the identified taxa, oscillatoriales were dominant with 25 taxa. in this study, pseudanabaena minima had the highest diversity in the thermal springs of kütahya. among the sampling sites, gediz ilıca (t1) with 10 taxa and naşa (t11) with one taxon represented the highest and the lowest species diversity, respectively. the most abundant genera was leptolyngbya, which almost dominated in the nine thermal springs. the most common taxon was pseudanabaena minima, which was identified from the three thermal springs. statistical analysis the relationships between the physicochemical parameters, the sampling sites, and the taxa were explored with an rda using canoco 5.0 software for windows. firstly, dca was performed to find a suitable analysis and gradient lengths were assessed (axis 1: 0.00; axis 2: 0.00). among the physicochemical parameters analyzed, five were included in the forward selection (temperature, ph, tds, ec, and po4). in the rda, the physicochemical parameters (t, ph, tds, ec, and po4), the sampling sites, and the taxa were used as explanatory variables. the cyanobacterial diversity and physicochemical characteristics 417 418 öztürk significance of their effect was supported by a monte carlo permutation test (499 permutations, fratio = 1.3, p-value = 0.026). as a result of the rda analysis, the total variation was 55.45455, and the first two axes explained a total of 57.43% of the variance (fig. 3). fig. 2. piper diagram showing the anions-cations and comparison of the thermal springs. in the comparison of physicochemical parameters that cause species diversity and the taxa differences of the thermal springs, the question of whether the difference between them was significant with the kruskal wallis tests was examined. there was a significant difference (p0.001) in the comparison of physicochemical parameters including ph, ec, tds, and temperature values of the thermal springs in this study (fig. 4). kruskal wallis tests showed variations in the physicochemical parameters of the thermal springs and in the cyanobacteria diversity (fig. 5). the frequency of distribution of taxa according to ph, tds, t, and ec values can be seen in fig. 6 (p0.001). besides, the manganese (mn) values of the sampling sites were compared with the kruskal-wallis test in spss (p0.001) as a remarkable value (fig. 7). as a result, 54 cyanobacteria taxa were identified based on morphological characteristics. the physicochemical properties of the thermal springs were measured. in addition, statistical analyses were made to reveal in detail the physicochemical properties of the thermal springs and their comparisons with the cyanobacterial flora. the piper diagram was provided for convenience in the classification and comparison of thermal springs in the kütahya province; thus, the anions and cations of the water taken from the cyanobacterial diversity and physicochemical characteristics 419 thermal springs (fig. 2) were compared. according to the piper diagram, sampling sites t1, t3, t8, t10, and t11 were classified as a na-hco3-so4 type, and sampling sites t2, t4, t5, t6, t7, and t9 were classified as a ca-mg-so4 type. in addition, these thermal springs in kütahya were classified with the piper diagram by different researchers (gemici et al., 2004; güneş, 2006; bello et al., 2014). in the literature, it is noteworthy that the piper diagram has been used less frequently in the determination of cyanobacteria in thermal springs (singh et al., 2018b). table 2. cyanobacteria taxa and sampling sites. taxa code cyanobacteria taxa thermal spring chroococcales 1 gloeocapsa sp. t6 2 gloeocapsopsis cyanea (krieger) komárek & anagnostidis t3, t10 3 chroococcus membraninus (meneghini) nägeli t9 4 cyanosarcina thermalis (hindák) kovácik t6 synechococcales 5 anathece clathrata (west & g.s.west) komárek, kastovsky & jezberová t1 6 arthronema sp. t5 7 romeria chlorina böcher t1 8 planktolyngbya contorta (lemmermann) anagnostidis & komárek t1 9 leptolyngbya boryana (gomont) anagnostidis & komárek t3 10 l. tenerrima (hansgirg) komárek t8 11 l. gelatinosa (woronichin) anagnostidis & komárek t7,t10 12 l. granulifera (j.j.copeland) anagnostidis t1 13 l. thermarum (woronichin) anagnostidis & komárek t10 14 leptolyngbya sp. 1 t6 15 leptolyngbya sp. 2 t5 16 leptolyngbya sp. 3 t4 17 leptolyngbya sp. 4 t4 18 pseudanabaena minima (g.s.an) anagnostidis t1,t7,t10 19 p. lonchoides anagnostidis t8 20 p. thermalis anagnostidis t10 21 p. limnetica (lemmermann) komárek t10 22 pseudanabaena sp. t5 23 limnothrix mirabilis (böcher) anagnostidis t1 24 trichocoleus sociatus (west & g.s.west) anagnostidis t2 spirulinales 25 spirulina subsalsa oerstedt ex gomont t1 26 s. subtilissima kützing ex gomont t9 27 s. labyrinthiformis gomont t5 oscillatoriales 28 geitlerinema nematodes (skuja) anagnostidis t1 29 anagnostidinema amphibium (c.agardh ex gomont) strunecký, bohunická, j.r.johansen & j.komárek t5 30 planktothrix clathrata (skuja) anagnostidis & komárek t8 420 öztürk table 2 contd. taxa code cyanobacteria taxa thermal spring 31 microcoleus autumnalis (gomont) strunecky, komárek & j.r.johansen t3 32 m. lacustris farlow ex gomont t8 33 m. paludosus gomont t2 34 kamptonema jasorvense (vouk) strunecký, komárek & j.smarda t1 35 k. okenii (c.agardh ex gomont) strunecký, komárek & j.smarda t9,t10 36 k. cortianum (meneghini ex gomont) strunecký, komárek & j.smarda t9,t10 37 phormidium incrustatum gomont ex gomont t8 38 p. terebriforme (c.agardh ex gomont) anagnostidis & komárek t5 39 p. thermobium anagnostidis t7,t8 40 p. chalybeum (mertens ex gomont) anagnostidis & komárek t9 41 phormidium sp. t4 42 oscillatoria subcapitata ponomarev ex elenkin t8 43 o. proboscidea gomont t1,t5 44 o. princeps vaucher ex gomont t10,t11 45 o. subbrevis schmidle t5 46 o. curviceps c.agardh ex gomont t2 47 o. sancta kützing ex gomont t8 48 lyngbya martensiana meneghini ex gomont t3 49 l. thermalis kützing ex gomont t2 50 limnoraphis hieronymusii (lemmermann) j.komárek, e.zapomelová, j.smarda, j.kopecký, e.rejmánková, j.woodhouse, b.a.neilan & j.komárková t4 51 blennothrix sp. t4 nostocales 52 nostoc sp. t7 53 calothrix sp. t3 54 hapalosiphon sp. t10 although the t1 and t2 springs appear to be close to each other, the t2 source is located at a much higher altitude than the others. when the physicochemical parameters of the t1 and t2 are examined (table 1), it is seen that the ph and mg values are similar. however, the other parameters, particularly the temperature, are quite different. based on their own studies, singh et al. (2018b) stated that the close proximity of the hot springs does not mean that they may have similar physical and chemical characteristics. however, the physicochemical parameters of the t4, t5, t6, and t7 springs are quite similar, so they are seen to be in the same class in the piper diagram and close to each other in the study area (fig. 2). it has been reported that there are different species compositions in different thermal springs depending on the substratum and the physicochemical parameters of springs (ward and castenholz, 2000; papke et al., 2003). in the literature, there are many studies of the cyanobacterial flora in thermal springs (sompong et al., 2005; debnath et al., 2009; heidari et al., 2013; roy et al., 2015; kanellopoulos et al., 2016; singh et al., 2018a, singh et al., 2018b). when compared with the literature, it may be seen that more cyanobacteria taxa were determined in this study. the main reason for this may be that there are high numbers of thermal springs and sampling sites in this study. another possible reason may be that the thermal springs in the sampling area have different physicochemical properties. cyanobacterial diversity and physicochemical characteristics 421 fig. 3. rda diagram showing the relationship between the cyanobacteria taxa (with full triangle), the thermal springs (with full circle), and the physicochemical variables of thermal water (with arrow) [the cyanobacteria taxa code and the thermal springs where they were sampled are given in fig. 1 and table 2] t: temperature, ec: conductivity, tds: total dissolved solid, and po4 3:phosphate. fig. 4. comparison of the ph, tds, t, and ec values of the sampling sites with the kruskal-wallis test in spss (p0.001). 422 öztürk fig. 5. comparison of the number of taxa and the sampling sites with the kruskal-wallis test in spss. fig. 6. frequency of ph, tds, t, and ec between the taxa (p0.001). cyanobacterial diversity and physicochemical characteristics 423 fig. 7. comparison of the manganese (mn) values of the sampling sites with kruskal-wallis test in spss (p0.001). oscillatoriales were a predominant order with taxa diversity (24 taxa) in this study. similarly, a major component of the thermal spring’s cyanobacterial flora worldwide belongs to order oscillatoriales (pentecost et al., 1997; sompong et al., 2005; mcgregor and rasmussen, 2008; ionescu et al., 2010; arman et al., 2014). nevertheless, leptolyngbya (order synechococcales) were determined frequently in the thermal springs of the kütahya province. also, this taxon is one of the most frequently reported taxa observed in thermal springs (ulcay öztürk et al., 2006; mcgregor and rasmussen, 2008). commonly identified pseudanabaena and spirulina taxa in this study were also reported in other thermal springs (heidari et al., 2013; arman et al., 2014; roy et al., 2015). according to the rda analysis, the affinity of spirulina subsalsa and spirulina subtilissima with temperature was completely different in this study. while s. subsalsa was related to temperature, s. subtilissima was not. krienitz et al. (2003) reported that s. subsalsa and s. subtilissima are closely related and have a wide ecological distribution. in addition, both taxa occur in thermal springs and in mesophilic brackish and marine habitats (geitler, 1932). according to the results of the rda analysis, the presence of cyanobacteria taxa in thermal springs was related to the physicochemical parameters (fig. 3). the rda analysis showed that the most highly determining factor affecting the distribution of the taxa is the temperature (t) in this study (fig. 3). similarly, roy et al. (2015) reported that temperature has been one of the most important factors as far as the distribution and diversity of cyanobacteria are concerned in geothermal springs. also, there are a lot of studies concerning this subject in the literature (sompong et al., 2005; debnath et al., 2009; singh et al., 2018b). pseudanabaena thermalis was collected at 50°c and below from sampling site t10. similarly, this taxon was collected by mcgregor and rasmussen (2008) at 48.6°c from innot hot springs in australia. planktolyngbya contorta was clearly associated with temperature and po4 values in this study. similarly, p. contorta was sampled in the thermal springs in himachal pradesh, india by singh et al. (2018a). 424 öztürk lyngbya thermalis was sampled in the form of dark green and thin mats at 36°c (close to spring mouth) and at 29°c (where the water was discharged) from the sampling site t2. similarly, lukavsky et al. (2011) reported that a deep blue-green growth washed directly with water of 43°c was colonized with l. thermalis; in addition, l. thermalis also dominated near the outlets of hot water of 22°c. arman et al. (2014) sampled l. thermalis at two different thermal springs from a temperatures range of 3742°c. castenholz (1969; 1973) stated that changes in species composition with concomitant changes of temperature occurred along the gradient from the mouth of the thermal springs. based on the rda analysis, gloeocapsa sp., cyanosarcina thermalis, leptolyngbya sp. 1, and nostoc sp. had an affinity with low ph, t, tds, ec, and po4 in this study (sampling sites t6 and t7). despite the results of the rda analysis, c. thermalis was sampled at 4238°c from the t6 in this study. actually, c. thermalis is known as a common taxon at thermal springs (rueda and monroy, 2009; komárek and anagnostidis, 2000; arman et al., 2014; šaraba and krunić, 2017). it has been reported that spirulina labyrinthiformis has a high tolerance for sulfides (pentecost and coletta, 2007; ward et al., 2012). s. labyrinthiformis was not collected in sampling sites with higher sulfate values, but it was sampled from sampling site t5 with 410.52 ppm so4 -2 in this study (tables 1 and 2). similarly, pentecost and coletta (2007) reported that the dominance of this taxon might be related to its tolerance of dissolved sulfide although spirulina is scarce in sampling sites with the highest sulfide. in some hot springs in yellowstone park (52°c or below), a sulfideutilizing s. labyrinthiformis morphotype predominates near the sulfide-rich source (ward et al., 2012). temperature, in combination with the availability of combined nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients, and/or a concentration of free sulfide also determines the cyanobacteria composition (ward and castenholz, 2000; singh et al., 2018b). sulfide rich thermal springs usually contain sulfide tolerant and sulfide utilizing oscillatoria (castenholz and utkilen, 1984; ward and castenholz, 2000; singh et al., 2018b). oscillatoria princeps were sampled from sampling sites t10 and t11 with sulfate values of 587.78 and 436.13 ppm so4 -2. in the literature, o. princeps has similarly been sampled from high sulphate values in thermal springs (heidari et al., 2013; arman et al., 2014). however, this taxon has been recorded in thermal springs with relatively low sulphate values (debnath et al., 2009; roy et al., 2015). in addition, o. princeps was the only taxon detected in sampling site t1, and it had formed large mats. also, this taxon was sampled from t10 (table 2). according to the literature, o. princeps is perhaps cosmopolite (not marine) (komárek and anagnostidis, 2005). when compared to the physicochemical parameters of the sampling sites, the high manganese (mn) value of t11 drew attention. a comparison of the mn values of the sampling sites with the kruskal-wallis test showed significant differences (p0.001) (fig. 7). the reason it was the only taxon in t11 may be that o. princeps can tolerate a high manganese value. mn is an essential micronutrient that may become toxic if present at a high concentration (moura et al. 2019). ward and castenholz (2000) and sompong et al. (2005) reported that ph is as important as temperature for cyanobacteria in thermal springs. in the rda analysis, a negative correlation of pseudanabaena limnetica with ec and a positive correlation with ph was determined in this study. in contrast, altunöz et al. (2016) stated that p. limnetica has the highest affinity with ec and a negative correlation with other environmental variables including ph. cyanobacteria can be considered alkaline since they grow optimally between ph 7.5 and above (brock, 1973). gloeocapsopsis cyanea was sampled from the two sampling sites with the lowest and the highest ph values in this study (t3, ph 6.7; t10, ph 8.7). in conclusion, it can be concluded that the cyanobacterial diversity and physicochemical characteristics 425 ecological valence of the taxon for the ph demand is wide. in the literature, this taxon was reported from different environments (lamprinou et al., 2012; arman et al., 2014; ozturk ulcay et al., 2017; davydov, 2018). also, grimmett and lebkuecher (2017) reported that g. cyanea was among the taxa determined as potential indicators of nutrient-rich areas based on their own data. phormidium incrustatum is known as the common taxa of the limestone/travertine/calcareous substrata (pentecost, 2005; couradeau et al., 2013; kanellopoulos et al., 2016). p. incrustatum was sampled from t8, one of the stations with high carbonate and bicarbonate values in this study. kanellopoulos et al. (2016) noted that trichomes of p. incrustatum are surrounded by a firm sheath of extracellular polymeric substances (eps), constituting the locus of intensive calcification. because many taxa cannot tolerate high temperatures, thermal springs are extreme habitats for living organisms (ozturk ulcay and kurt, 2017). thermal springs are very difficult environments for organisms because of high temperatures and physicochemical parameters. yet, thermal springs create special living environments. the group that has best adapted to these environments is cyanobacteria, which are photosynthetic prokaryotes. in this case, it is important to determine the diversity of cyanobacteria. however, in the literature, no sufficient study of the biodiversity of thermal springs in turkey was found. the kütahya province is very rich in thermal springs, and the primary objective of this study was to determine the cyanobacterial diversity in these springs. in this study, numerous different statistical analyses were performed to reveal the physicochemical properties of the thermal springs and compare them with the cyanobacterial flora. comparison between the physicochemical parameters and the cyanobacteria taxa was made with rda analysis, the piper diagram, and kruskal wallis tests. since physicochemical parameters are important in understanding the ecology of aquatic habitats, many parameters were measured in this study. it is important to perform these statistical analyses to understand the ecology of the thermal springs and the cyanobacteria that prefer these environments. acknowledgements i am appreciate the contributions of dr. oğuz kurt (phd; manisa celal bayar university, turkey). this work was supported by the mcbu bap, manisa, turkey for research, under the project fef 2013107. references adiguzel, a., ozkan. h., baris, o., inan, k., gulluce, m. and sahin, f. 2009. identification and characterization of thermophilic bacteria isolated from hot springs in turkey. journal of microbiological methods 79(3): 321–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2009.09.026 altunöz, m., obali, o., atici, t. and arru, l. 2016. seasonal monitoring of algal flora in the pamukkale travertines and thermal springs (denizli/turkey). biological diversity and conservation 9(1): 116–127. arman, m., riahi, h., yousefzadi, m. and sonboli, a. 2014. floristic study on cyanophyta of three hot springs of hormozgan province, iran. iranian journal of botany 20(2): 240–247. arthur, m. and piper, a. 1944. graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water. analyses 25(6): 914–928. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/tr025i006p00914 aysel, v., çelik, a., yayıntaş, a. and şipal-gezerler, u. 1992. zonguldak-ilıksu kaplıcası alg florası. ege üniversitesi su ürünleri dergisi 9(33–36): 72–82. bello, o.a., ozgur, n. and calıskan, t.a. 2014. hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical and isotope geochemical features of thermal waters in simav and environs, thirty-ninth workshop on geothermal reservoir engineering stanford university, stanford, california, february 24–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2009.09.026 http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/tr025i006p00914 426 öztürk brock, t.d. 1973. lower ph limit for the existence of blue-green algae: evolutionary and ecological implications. science 179(4072): 480–483. castenholz, r.w. 1969. thermophilic blue-green algae and the thermal environment. american society for microbiology, pp. 476–504. castenholz, r.w. 1973. ecology of blue-green algae in hot springs. in: carr ng, whitton ba (ed.) the biology of blue-green algae. blackwell/university of california press. castenholz, r.w. and utkilen, h.c. 1984. physiology of sulfide tolerance in a thermophilic oscillatoria. archives of microbiology 138:299–305. couradeau, e., benzerara, k., gerard, e., esteve, i., moreira, d., tavera, r. and lopez-garcia, p. 2013. cyanobacterial calcification in modern microbialites at the submicrometer scale. biogeosciences 10: 5255–5266. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-5255-2013, 2013. davydov, d. 2018. checklist of cyanobacteria from the european polar desert zone. botanica 24(2): 185– 201. https://doi.org/10.2478/botlit-2018-0018 debnath, m., mandal, n.c. and ray, s. 2009. the study of cyanobacterial flora from geothermal springs of bakreswar, west bengal, india. algae 24(4): 185–193. https://doi.org/10.4490/algae. 2009. 24.4.185 demirel, z. and sukatar, a. 2011. investigation of cyanobacteria molecular identified and toxin isolated form izmir thermals. european journal of phycology 46(1): 127–128. geitler, l. 1932. cyanophyceae. in: rabenhorst, l. 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(manuscript received on 5 july 2021; revsied on 7 december 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 407-425, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora of four districts of bangladesh: liliopsida (monocotyledons) and pteridophyta goutam kumer roy and saleh ahammad khan plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: homesteads; flora; monocotyledon; bangladesh. abstract this study provides basic taxonomic data on liliopsida (monocotyledons) and pteridophyta of the representative homestead areas of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts of bangladesh. the monocotyledons and pteridophytes, growing naturally in the homstead areas, are composed of total 137 and 16 species under 84 and 13 genera belonging to 22 and seven families, respectively. a total of 20, 13, 19 and 17 species respectively, occur exclusively in the homesteads of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts and only 22 species are common there. poaceae with 53 species is the largest family and cyperus with 12 species is the largest genus in monocotyledons. pteridaceae with eight species and pteris with three species are the better represented family and genus, respectively in pteridophytes. total 136 species are appeared as herbs that are followed by 11 species of trees and six species of shrubs. a total of 119 species are documented as economically useful. this study identifies a number of active threats to the flora of the study area, and suggests to launch adequate management and awareness building programs for the homestead people in order to ensure effective conservstion and sustainable use and development of plant genetic resources in the homestead areas of this region. introduction the flora of a region, a country or a geographical boundary represents the overall plant population or all the plants existing there. it variousely contributes in economic, environmental, ecological, social and aesthetic issues locally, regionally and globally in different magnituides. bangladesh harbors a rich flora (approx. 5000; khan, 1977), mostly in its forests, plainlands, hills, and wetlands, however, the floristic composition in some major areas of this country is not yet well-known. homestead is an operational unit, in which a number of crops are grown with livestock, poultry and fish production mainly for the purpose of the farmer’s basic needs (leuschner and khaleque, 1987). homestead represents a land use system involving deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs in intimate association with seasonal vegetables (fernandes and nair, 1990). bangladesh harbors 26.41 million homesteads occupying 0.748 million hectares of land (mannan, 2013). in this country, homestead forests comprise 2% (2951.40 km2) of its total land area, which spreads over 20 million homesteads (salam et al., 2000). it is estimated that about 70% of timber, 90% of firewood, 48% of sawn and veneer logs, and almost 90% of bamboo requirements are met from homestead forests (uddin et al., 2002). the large-scale floristic studies conducted by hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903) and bangladesh national herbarium (khan, 1972-1987), and the encyclopedia of bangladesh flora compiled by ahmed et al., (2008-2009) cover the homestead areas. some sporadic floristic *coresponding author, e-mail: roy_kbd@yahoo.com mailto:roy_kbd@yahoo.com 408 roy and khan inventories have also been carried out in different urban and rural areas of this country that cover the homestead areas too (khan et al., 1985; huq, 1986 and 1988; hassan and mazumder, 1990; alam et al., 2006; rahman, et al., 2009; alam and sarker, 2011; roy et al., 2013; rahaman et al., 2015; haque et al., 2018). however, none of these studies focused on the homestead forests or floras of the study area except haque et al., 2018 who studied the tree species of twelve villages of gopalpur upazila in tangail district. some other studies (uddin et al., 2002; alam et al., 2005; miah and hussain, 2010; muhammed et al., 2013; islam et al., 2015; rahaman et al., 2015; roy and khan, 2020) were carried out on the homestead forests in different regions of bangladesh. but except the recent study of roy and khan (2020) on the dicotyledons of the homestead areas of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts, these studies do not exclusively cover the homestead flora of this region. the region of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts supports a rich homestead flora including herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers, epiphytes, parasites and also a plenty of hydrophytes. besides other plant groups, monocotyledons and pteridophytesare also the important components of homestead flora, biodiversity, natural habitats and ecosystems of this region. many monocotyledons and pteridophytes occurring in this region are important in economic, ethnomedicinal, environmental, social and aesthetic points of view (uddin et al., 1998; uddin et al., 2008; sarker and hossain, 2009). however, the idigenous floristic elements of this region are in risk because of the clearing or eradication of natural vegetion, habitat degradation and fragmentation, lack of awareness in the local people, and absence of proper management strategies and programs. considering these facts, the scope and need of conducting floristic studies on the angiosperms of this region, including monocotyledons and pteridophytes, is rationally prevailing. therefore, this study has been conducted to explore and document the monocotyledons and pteridophytes growing in the homestead areas of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail region, and to prepare a preliminary taxonomic checklist providing the basic information on these plant groups of this region. materials and methods the study area lies in dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts that are located in central bangladesh, in between 23º38'−24º48'n and 89º41'−90º42'e (bbs, 2011). in this study, data were collected from the representative homesteads of these districts from 2013 to 2018, mostly in rainy and winter seasons. a total of 280 homesteads per district, total 1120 homesteads belonging to 40 villages of 20 upazilas of four districts, composing an area of about 4.64 sq km., were visited through 240 field trips (fig. 1, roy and khan, 2020). four categories of homesteads, old joint, old isolated, new joint and new isolated, were selected from each district for better representation of the homesteads following a preliminary reconnaissance survey. the old homesteads selected for this study were 20 years to 80 years old and the new ones were five years to less than 20 years old. the selected homesteads of each of the four districts were equal in number, more or less homogenous and located in plain land areas in order to promote reasonable comparison. representative specimens of each species with flowers and fruits (monocots) or sporangia (pteridophytes) were collected during the field trips. the collection, preparation, pressing, drying, mounting, and storing of representative plant specimens were completed following routine herbarium methods (jain and rao, 1977; hyland, 1972). the collected specimens were identified through consulting the experts, taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literatures (hooker, 1872-1897; wu et al., 1995-2013), and matching with relevant voucher specimens preserved at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh), and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 409 the nomenclatural databases (tropicos, 2010; the plant list, 2013; international plant names index, 2015) and relevant literarures (khan and rahman, 1989-2002; rahman, 2003; rahman and khanam, 2003; khanam and ara, 2007-2008; ara and khan, 2009; huq, 1986a; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008, ahmed et al., 2008-2009; jacson, 1893-1955; wu et al., 1995-2013 and watson et al., 2011) were consulted for knowing the valid and updated nomenclature of each taxon. the families of pteridophytes have been placed first and arranged following the classification system of pichi (1977) and those of the monocotyledons according to cronquist’s system (cronquist, 1981). the families amaryllidaceae and colchicaceae, not included in cronquist (1981)’s system, are placed besides their close family liliaceae. the genera and species under each family have been arranged alphabetically. all voucher specimens are housed at juh. the similarities in species composition in the homesteads of four districts have been measured following jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). results and discussion during this study, a total of 153 species under 97 genera and 29 families of monocotyledons and pteridophytes were found in the visited homestead areas of central region of bangladesh (table 1). among these species, 137 (89.54%) were monocotyledons and the rest 16 (10.46%) were pteridophytes. total 13 of these families were monogeneric and monospecific, 13 families were represented by two or more than two (2−10) species and only three families by more than 10 species. in the homesteads of the study area, the herbaceous species were found in highest number and percentage (136 species; 88.89%), followed by tree (11 species; 7.19%) and shrubby (six species; 3.92%) species. among the herbaceous species, 14 were climber, five were aquatic (in wetlands) and three were epiphytic. the number of monocot species extant in the homesteads of the study area enumerated by this study is higher than the total number of angiosperm species reported from few plain land areas of this country by some studies, such as kibria and anik (2010), begum et al. (2013) and muhammed et al. (2013), but relatively lower than that recorded by kabir and webb (2009) in respect to the size of sampling area. the enumeration of monocot species in the homesteads of the study area seems higher than that reported from few other areas of this country by sajib et. al. (2016), shetu et al. (2018) and uddin and hassan (2012) in respect to the size of sampling area. the number of pteridophyte species found in the homesteads of the study area seems similar to that reported by sarker and hossain (2009) from greater mymensingh district. in contrast, this enumeration is lower than that reported from other areas by some previous studies (rahman et al., 2015; and uddin et al., 2008) that might be due to the relatively smaller homestead area covered by this study, various natural, anthropogenic and biogeographical influences, drivers or threats, functioning in these area, and the approaches and intenseness of the studies as well. in the homesteads of the study area, poaceae with 53 species of 36 genera was recognized as the largest family in monocotyledons that was followed by cyperaceae with 23 species of seven genera and araceae with 12 species belonging to eight genera. cyperus l. with twelve species was found as the largest genus, which was followed by dioscorea l. with six species, eragrostis wolf, fimbristylis vahl and bambusa schreb. with five species each, and brachiaria (trin.) griseb., commelina l. and murdannia royle with four species each. in pteridophytes, pteridaceae with eight species of five genera was recognized as the largest family that was followed by polypodiaceae and thelypteridaceae with two species of two genera each. during this study, the composition and distribution of monocotyledonous species in the visited homestead areas of four districts were found as notably variable. this study has documented a total of 83, 65, 75 and 73 species of monocotyledons in the visited homesteads of 410 roy and khan preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 411 412 roy and khan preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 413 414 roy and khan preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 415 416 roy and khan preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 417 418 roy and khan preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 419 420 roy and khan preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 421 dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts, respectively. among these species, total 20, 13, 19 and 17 species were found to occur exclusively in the homesteads of dhaka, gazipur, manikganj and tangail districts, respectively, and only 22 species were common in these districts. whereas, total 63 species of dhaka, 52 species of gazipur and 56 species of manikganj and tangail districts each were recognized as overlapping in the remaining other districts. the similarity in species composition in the homesteads of four districts (jaccard, 1912) was ≥ 50% in between any pair of these districts, whereas, only 24% when all of the four districts were compared together (fig. 1). the highest similarity in species composition (54%) was appeared in between gazipur and manikganj districts, and the lowest (50%) in dhaka-manikganj and manikganj-tangail districts. the similarities in between the homesteads of any two upazilas of dhaka district in species composition varied from 20.5% (dhamrai and dohar upazilas) to 41.1% (dhamrai and keraniganj upazilas). accordingly, in gazipur district it varied from 13% (sreepur and gazipur sadar upazilas) to 50% (kapasia and kaliakoir upazilas), in manikganj district from 16.1% (saturia and daulatpur upazilas) to 39.2% (ghior and manikganj sadar upazilas) and in tangail district from 14.2% (nagorpur and tangail sadar upazilas) to 46.6% (basail and mirzapur upazilas). the similarity between any of the three pairs of habitats, namely fallow land and road side, road side and open area adjacent to the house (oaah), fallow land and oaah, in species composition was 50−57% (jaccard, 1912), whereas, it was only 34.6% among fallow land, roadside, and oaah (fig. 2). the highest similarity in species composition (57%) was found in between road side and fallow land, and the lowest (3.4%) in bamboo bush and adjoining open area except house yard. fig. 1. similarities in species composition in the homesteads of four districs based on jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). a total of 119 species recorded from the homesteads of the study were documented as economically useful. the major categories of these species were medicine (25 species), fodder (25 species), grass (21 species), ornamental (18 species), vegetable (13 species), fiber (10 species), fence (8 species), poles (5 species), construction material (5 species), fruit (4 species) and oil (3 species) producers. among these economically useful species, only two were useful in four economic categories, seven species in three categories and six species in two categories. at least 25 of these species (adiantum philippense, areca catechu, typhonium flagelliforme, commelina benghalensis, eleocharis dulcis, chrysopogon aciculatus, cynodon dactylon, cyperus exaltatus, dactyloctenium aegyptium, crinum asiaticum, gloriosa superba, smilax ovalifolia and vetiveria 422 roy and khan zizanioides) used as medicinal were observed as naturalized to the study area. besides, a good number of ornamentals (aleuritopteris farinosa, aponogeton appendiculatus, ceratopteris cornuta, cheilosoria tenuifolia, christella dentata, eriocaulon achiton, scadoxus multiflorus and vanda tessellata) and fruit yielding (cocos nucifera, musa acuminata, m. sapientum and phoenix sylvestris) species were also found to grow naturally in the homesteads of the study area with regeneration. in contrast, about 36% of the medicinal plant species (pyrrosia nuda, scindapsus officinalis, eleocharis dulcis, curcuma zedoaria, costus speciosus, crinum asiaticum, dioscorea kamoonensis, gloriosa superba, smilax ovalifolia and s. perfoliata) were found to be declining in the homestead areas of the four districts. fig. 2. similarity between the homestead habitats of the study area in species composition based on jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912; oaah = open area adjacent to the house). homestead flora could appear as an operational means for both economic well-being and biodiversity conservation in bangladesh. the monocotyledons and pteridophytes, growing in diverse habitats, are playing a crucial role in the local economy, environment, ecosystem and society in the homestead areas. the data delivered by this study will be helpful in designing, managing, conservation and sustainable utilization and development of plant genetic resources in the homesteads of bangladesh. continued degredation, and in some cases complete eradication, of indigenous floristic eliments and natural vegetion as the consequences of multifarious anthropogenic activities, especially unplanned urbanization, modern agriculture, industrialization and settlements, direct consumption of plants through massive collection of firewood, timber and herbal plants, and few natural events including soil erosion, rain fall and flood, posed strong threats to the existance, productivity and diversity of the monocotyledonous and pteridophytic species in the visited homestead areas. additionally, habitat destruction and fragmentation by anthropogenic activities and natural events, invasion of exotic species (mikania cordata, parthenium hysterophorus), lack of consciousness in the local people including the homestead owners, and absence of proper management and safeguard systems were distinguished as the functional threats to the monocot and pteridiophytic flora of the study area. in order to minimize these threats, appropriate and adequate management and conservation approaches and strategies, and enough awareness building and motivation programs should be launched for the protection of plant genetic resources, including the monocots and pteridophytes, in the homestead areas of this region. conservation of homestead flora in bangladesh should be of preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora 423 immense importance, because this country has only 11.08% forest area (mannan, 2013), which is far below the international standard (25%), and the rate of decreasing forest cover is higher than that of natural regeneration and artificial formation of new forests in this country. besides, it is also necessary to conduct the revisionary and monitoring studies on the homestead flora of this region periodically to update the information, because the flora of a region is a dynamic resource, and a floristic study is never truly and absolutely completed. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the authorities of the ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh for awarding the bangabandhu fellowship on science and ict to the first author for conducting his ph.d. research project. thanks are also due to mr. abdur rahim, senior technical officer, dept of botany, ju and the local informants who helped me in many ways during the field work. also thankful to bangladesh forest department and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) for their cooperation during conducting this study. the authors are 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(manuscript received on 15 may 2020; revised on 13 november 2020) http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/124103, http://www.t http://www.tropicos.org. short communication bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 459‒463, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57142 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists first record of scytinopogon angulisporus (pat.) corner from bangladesh fakhruddin ali ahmed1 and gazi mosharof hossain department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka 1342, bangladesh keywords: scytinopogon angulisporus; clavariaceae; tengragiri reserve forest; bangladesh. the hot humid climatic conditions of bangladesh are highly congenial for fungi and as such, a rich fungal biodiversity is evident in the country but the fungal flora have not been fully recorded as yet (shamsi, 2019). to record the fungal flora of mangrove ecosystems in bangladesh, the authors conducted several extensive field surveys in different mangrove ecosystems, viz. sundarbans, haringhata (pathorghata, borguan), sonbunia (babuganj, borguna), tengragiri (taltoli, borguna), and gangamoti (kuakata) during 2015-2019. to achieve the objective, an exploration made to the tengragiri mangrove reserve forest in borguna district of bangladesh during august 2017 under a research project funded by bangladesh ministry of science and technology (most). during this exploration, a different looking fungus was collected and after a detailed taxonomic investigation on its macro and microscopic features, the specimens finally identified as scytinopogon angulisporus (pat.) corner that belongs to the family clavariaceae. the species and the genus do not match with any species previously published in relevant literature covering the fungal flora of bangladesh (alam and amin, 2007; alam et al., 2008; rumainul and aminuzzaman, 2016; hosen and li, 2017; tanjim et al., 2019; hosen and ge, 2020; tanni et al., 2020). therefore the genus scytinopogon and the species scytinopogon angulisporus are reported here as the new records for bangladesh. detailed taxonomic description with notes on ecology, distribution, representative specimen examined and photographs including photomicrographs and drawing are provided. fresh fruiting bodies of s. angulisporus were collected, properly processed following the standard procedure described by prance and fechner (2017) and deposited at the department of botany, jahangirnagar university with accession number for voucher specimens. morphological features including shape, size, color etc. were recorded in the field. microscopic studies were carried out in the laboratory on preserved dry and wet samples. dry samples mounted in 5% koh and lactophenol-cotton blue. length and width of basidium, basidiospore and hymenium were measured using ocular micrometer. photomicrographs were taken under 40x and 100x magnification with leica dm500 binocular microscope. for spore measurement, 25 spores from mature collections were studied. the specimen was identified according to corner (1950) and dutta et al. (2012). the taxonomic descriptions along with photographs have been prepared based on both fresh and preserved specimens. scytinopogon angulisporus (pat.) corner, ann. bot. mem. 1: 648 (1950) (fig. 1) syn.: clavaria angulispora pat., in patouillard & gaillard, bull. soc. mycol. fr. 4(1): 41 (1888); scytinopogon angulisporus var. curtus corner, ann. bot., lond., n.s. 16: 701 (1950); s. angulisporus var. gracilis corner, monograph of clavaria and allied genera, (annals of botany 1 corresponding author. email: faahmed_ju@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57142 mailto:faahmed_ju@yahoo.com 460 ahmed and hossain memoirs no. 1): 701 (1950); s. angulisporus var. parvus corner, monograph of clavaria and allied genera, (annals of botany memoirs no. 1): 701 (1950); s. parvus (corner) douanla-meli, biblthca mycol. 202: 119 (2007). systematic position: fungi, basidiomycota, agaricomycotina, agaricomycetes, agaricomycetidae, agaricales, clavariaceae, scytinopogon, scytinopogon angulisporus. basidiomes 3.5-9.5 cm high, solitary, form mats or growing in dense tufts, chalk-white, becoming pale yellow with maturity, develop uniform color after drying, palmately branched from a compressed stipe, branching in one plane but twisted, slightly rugulose; branches flattened and narrowly, spathulate, the upper sides of the branches minutely subtomentose, 0.3-0.5 cm wide in the lower branches, tapering towards the apex, polychotomous below, becoming dichotomous, internodes longer gradually, tips acute to blunt, subulate or subterete, narrowly ligulate; stipe 1.654.49 cm long, 0.22-0.41 cm in diam., sometimes branched from the base, dilated and flattened below the points of branching; basidiospores (3.6-) 4.2-4.8 (5.1) × 5.8-7.2 (-7.6) μm (q = 1.4-1.5), hyaline, ovoid to broadly ellipsoid, often but not always appearing angular in outline, with numerous minute, echinulate outgrowths, hilar appendage up to 1.0 μm long, inamyloid; basidia 24.5-25.2 × 6.1-6.9 μm, clavate, hyaline, biand/ tetra-sterigmatic; cystidia absent; hymenium covered the whole basidiome except the sterile stipe, thickened upwardly, 53.1-120.2 μm; subhymenium well developed, coralloid, composed of narrow hyphae, 4.1 μm wide, closely interwoven; trama subparallel, smooth, with thin-walled hyphae, 11.9-16.2 μm wide, clamped; sterile stipe to 2.2-4.3 μm wide, smooth, thin-walled, clamped, base of sterile stipe covered by loosely interwoven hyphae. ecology: grown on decaying substances in the forest ground. distribution: commonly distributed in tropical and subtropical regions (corner, 1970). in bangladesh, this species found to be grown only in one patch of around 100 m2 area of coastal plantation forest near tengragiri reserve forest in borguna district of bangladesh. representative specimen examined: barguna: taltoli, tangragiri, 14.08.2017, fakhruddin 2044, fakhruddin 2045, gazi 20406 and gazi 20407 (ju). scytinopogon is a genus of several species of clavarioid (coral-like) fungi in the family of clavariaceae with a fundamentally tropical distribution (desjardin and perry, 2015). the etymology of the name scytinopogon refers to its macromorphological resemblance to leather barbs (donk 1954). the principal characteristic of the genus is spore form and ornamentation, but the exceptionally small size of the spores and very fine ornamentation has limited their use in conventional light microscopy as a specific character. s. angulisporus is a common taxon in tropical and subtropical regions (corner, 1970). it has been reported to grow on the forest ground of africa, borneo, brazil, burma, cameroons, congo, cuba, india, japan, java, madagascar, malaysia, mauritius, nigeria, panama, philippines, solomon islands, sumatra, uganda, usa (banerjee, 1947; corner, 1950, 1953, 1966, 1970; meijer, 2006; dutta et al., 2012). the genus scytinopogon morphologically appears to be similar with the genera pterula fr. which is distinguished from the later by the consistency of its basidiomata and the color of its spores (garcía-sandoval et al., 2004). s. dealbatus (rick) corner, s. robustus (rick) corner and s. chartaceum (pat.) r.h. petersen are looks alike to newly recorded s. angulisporus due to their morphometric features. the robust form appears in s. angulisporus and s. dealbatus could be easily confused for their distinction but the presence of flattened branches with hymenium on one side and angular-nodulose basidiospores and lack of agglutination in hyphae of trama clearly separate s. angulisporus from s. dealbatus which corroborated with the findings of corner (1950). furthermore, the robust form and similar basidiome occurs in s. robustus and s. angulisporus but first record of scytinopogon angulisporus (pat.) corner 461 these two species can easily be diagnosed by using both macro and microscopic characters. s. angulisporus differs from s. robustus by the spore size, presence of crystals and the uninflated hyphae (corner, 1950 and 1970; garcía-sandoval et al., 2004). fig. 1. scytinopogon angulisporus. a= natural habitat (bar = 15 cm); b = fresh basidiomata (bar= 1.5 cm); c = dried fruit body; d = monomitic hyphae of hymenium (40x, bar = 20 µm), drawing (inset); e = echinulate basidiospores (40x, bar = 20); f = basidiospores with hilar appendage (indicated with arrow marks (100x, bar = 7µm); g = basidium with spore (40x, bar = 15µm) and h = basidium without spore (100x, bar = 7 µm). another species s. chartaceum is quite similar to s. angulisporus by the color and morphology of the basidiome. s. angulisporus is distinguished from s. chartaceum by its larger internodes, rugulose and sub-tomentose basidiomes, nodulose to verrucose basidiospores and a 462 ahmed and hossain very abundant and compact basal mycelium in contrast to smaller internodes, smooth surface basidiomes, echinulate with long spines basidiospores and a scarce and loosely attached basal mycelium of s. chartaceum. ramaria invali (cott and waket.) donk, an allied species of s. angulisporus was mentioned by alam and amin (2007). moreover, in recent times, tanni et al. (2020) reported ramariopsis kunzei (fr.) corner from dhaka, which is often deceiving to s. angulisporus. though both the fungi belong to clavariaceae family, in r. kunzei, basidiomes are radially branched, hymenium amphigenous and basidiospores not angular whereas in s. angulisporus basidiomes are branching in one plane, mostly flat, hymenium often unilateral and basidiospores angular. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the authorities of bangladesh ministry of science and technology for financial assistance in the research project and bangladesh forest department for their cooperation during conducting this study. references alam, m.n. and amin, s.m.r. 2007. ramaria invali (cott and waket.) donk. in: siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 2. cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp 350. alam, n., amin, r., khan, a., ara, i., shim, m.j., lee, m.w. and lee, t.s. 2008. nutritional analysis of cultivated mushrooms in bangladesh: pleurotus ostreatus, pleurotus sajor-caju, pleurotus florida and calocybe indica. mycobiology 36(4):228–232. banerjee, s.n. 1947. fungus flora of calcutta and suburbs i. bulletin of botanical society of bengal. 1: 37– 54. corner, e.j.h. 1950. a monograph of clavaria and allied genera, oxford university press, london. corner, e.j.h. 1953. addenda clavariaceae. iii. annals of botany london, n.s. 17(66): 47−368. corner, e.j.h. 1966. clavarioid genera and thelephora from the congo. bull. jard. bot. état bruxelles 36(3): 257−279. corner, e.j.h. 1970. supplement to "a monograph of clavaria and allied genera". beihefte zür nova hedwigia 33: 299. desjardin, d.e. and perry, b.a. 2015. a new species of scytinopogon from the island of príncipe, republic of são tomé and príncipe, west africa. mycosphere 6(4): 433–440. donk, m.a. 1954. the generic names proposed for hymenomycetes-iii. “clavariaceae”. reinwardtia 2: 441493. dutta, a.k., pradhan, p., roy, a. and acharya, k. 2012. agaricales of west bengal, india. i. clavariaceae: clavaria and scytinopogon. indian j. applied & pure bio. 27(1): 53-58. garcia-sandoval, r., difuentes, j. and villegas, m. 2004. first record of scytinopogon from mexico, with notes on its systematics. mycotaxon. 89(1) 185-192. hosen, i. and ge, z.w. 2020. clarkeinda trachodes (agaricales, basidiomycetes), first record from bangladesh. mycotaxon 118: 331–336. hosen, i. and li, t.h. 2017. two new species of phylloporus from bangladesh, with morphological and molecular evidence. mycologia 109(2):277–286. meijer, a.a.r. 2006. preliminary list of the macromycetes from the brazilian state of paraná. bol. mus. bot. munic. 68: 1−55. first record of scytinopogon angulisporus (pat.) corner 463 prance, m. and fechner, n. 2017. collecting and preserving fungi specimens, a manual. queensland herbarium, department of science, information technology and innovation, brisbane qld 4001, australia. rumainul, m.i. and aminuzzaman, f.m. 2016. macro fungi biodiversity at the central and northern biosphere reserved areas of tropical moist deciduous forest region of bangladesh. j. agric. ecol. res. intl. 5(4): 1-11. shamsi, s. 2019. checklist of ddeuteromycteous fungi of bangladesh i1. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 43(2): 113-122. tanjim, a., aminuzzaman, f.m., rahaman, m. and tanni, j.f. 2019. biodiversity, distribution and morphological characterization of macrofungi in sylhet and moulvibazar under tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forest regions of bangladesh. int. j. adv. res. 7(11): 567-589. tanni, j. f., aminuzzaman, f.m., ahmed, m. and rahaman, m. 2020. diversity and distribution of macro fungi in some selected parks and gardens of dhaka city, bangladesh. asian j. biol. 9(1): 23-43. (manuscript received on 2 july 2021; revised on 7 december 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 97‒124, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54211 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floristic composition of the coastal district satkhira, bangladesh gazi mosharof hossain1, saleh ahammad khan, md. abdur rahim, mohammad sayedur rahman2 and khandaker mohammad noor islam plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: flora; angiosperms; satkhira; bangladesh. abstract this study presents elementary taxonomic data on the composition of vascular flora in the disaster prone coastal district satkhira of bangladesh. the results of this study show that this district houses 664 species under 468 genera and 133 families of vascular plants. the pteridophytes and gymnosperms are represented by 21 and five species, whereas, the magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) and liliopsida (monocotyledons) of angiosperms by 494 and 144 species, respectively. about 59.64% of these species are herbs, 15.96% shrubs, 21.69% trees, 2.26% palms and 0.45% bamboos. total 73.04% of the species are wild, 19.88% planted and 7.08% cultivated. in this area, fabaceae with 31 species is the largest family, followed by asteraceae with 27 species, apocynaceae with 26 species and malvaceae with 25 and acanthaceae with 22 species. ficus with seven species is recorded as the largest genus, which is followed by solanum, hygrophila, euphorbia, senna, phyllanthus, ipomoea, hibiscus and alternanthera. most of the species are found in fallow lands, roadsides, woodlands, homesteads and scrub jungles and useful as medicine, ornamental, fibre, fruit, livestock feed, soil binder and timber. the floristic composition of this district is still rich, though most of its habitats and ecosystems are vulnerable to natural disasters. effective conservation plan and measures should be adopted for the precious flora of this coastal district. introdfuction knowledge on floristic composition and structure is essential in identifying the important elements and understanding the status, extent, assessment of plant biodiversity (wcmc, 1992). it is also useful in exploration of alternative species, identification and conservation of threatened species and helpful in sustainable utilization of plant biodiversity. thus, studies on floristic composition and structure of different areas and countries throughout the world become imperative due to which large-scale floristic inventories have been conducted in various forest and non-forest areas globally for over a century (ostertag et al., 2014). as a significant part of the south asian mega centre of genetic diversity (chowdhury, 1996), bangladesh houses a rich biodiversity including a huge number of plant species (approx. 5000 species of angiosperms, khan, 1977), though it is one of the countries, most vulnerable to climate change, and ranked as one of the world’s most disaster-prone area (choudhury, 2002; world bank, 2005). however, the floristic composition of this country has so far been partially explored through various kinds of inventories conducted in 18th to 20th centuries. the large-scale floristic studies covering the area of the present political boundary of bangladesh does do not provide habitat-, areaor district-specific detail data on floristic composition (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1 corresponding author. email: gazibotju@gmail.com 2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216, bangladesh https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54211 mailto:gazibotju@gmail.com 98 hossain et al. 1903; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009). most of the small to medium scale floristic studies conducted in this country so far cover mostly the north-eastern and south-eastern highland regions and forested areas of this country (uddin et al., 1998; khan and huq, 2001; rashid and mia, 2001; uddin et al., 2003; islam et al., 2009; arefin et al., 2011; rahman, 2017; haque et al., 2018; uddin and hassan, 2018). some studies in plain land and coastal regions of the country have also been conducted (sultana, 2012; rahman et al., 2015; tabassum, 2015; shetu et al., 2018; rahman et al., 2019; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020). in spite of these studies, the floristic composition in most of the areas of this country is unknown till now. therefore, conducting adequate studies on the floristic composition in these areas are crucial to know the composition, structure and status of their plant resources. satkhira is one of the costal districts of bangladesh that are most vulnerable to the natural disasters, which affect the coastal region frequently, and sometimes severely. this district is one of the most risk prone areas of bangladesh, because most of its habitats and ecosystems are being degraded due to the consequences of different natural disasters and human interventions, and most of its natural vegetation are being replaced by settlements, agricultural expansions, shrimp cultures and other human activities. protecting and maintaining the biodiversity in the coastal areas is one of the biggest conservation challenges today. however, the first key step to achieve this goal is to complete the floristic explorations and compile the updated lists of species extant in these areas (schaminée et al., 2011; sharrock, 2012). but so far, no floristic study is known to be carried out throughout satkhira district based on field inventories and examination of plant specimens. the floristic study of rahman et al. (2015) covers the sundarban mangrove area of this district belonging to its shamnagar upazila but it does not provide specific information on plant species composition and distribution in this administrative area. floristic studies throughout this district are required to generate the baseline taxonomic data on the current composition and status of plant species, help in adopting appropriate conservation initiatives for the threatened or near threatened species, promote the plant resource-based socioeconomic development projects and contribute in future studies on the change in floristic composition, plant species diversity and vegetation in this area. therefore, there is a great scope and need for conducting a detail floristic study throughout this district. this study has been carried out to construct a taxonomic checklist and provide quantitative data on the vascular plants of satkhira district based on thorough taxonomic inventories throughout the area. materials and methods satkhira district, located in between 21°36'-22°54' n and 88°54'-89°20' e, comprises an area of 3,817.29km2, including 1632.00km2 forests, and consists of seven upazilas and 79 unions (population and housing census, 2015). it is bounded by jessore district on the north, the bay of bengal on the south, khulna district on the east, west bengal state of india on the west. the topography of this district is flat, with a maximum elevation range of 17.06 metre and an average elevation above sea level of 6.40 metre. this area is covered by cropland, grassland, wet lands, scrub jungles, mangrove forests and homestead gardens etc. over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 13.89°c to 35°c and is rarely below 11°c or above 37.78°c. since the last decade, the trend of change in maximum, minimum and mean temperature in rainy and summer seasons in satkhira district is increasing, whereas that in minimum and mean temperature in winter season and total rainfall in rainy and summer seasons are decreasing (http://datalibrary.bmd.gov.bd). in the muggiest months, the highest humidity ranges from 73% to 92% (www.world weatheronline.com). http://datalibrary.bmd.gov.bd). floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 99 this study was based on a thorough taxonomic inventory conducted in different seasons of 2017-2020 throughout the satkhira district. the collection, processing, drying and preservation of plant specimens were done following standard herbarium methods and techniques (bridson and forman, 1989; singh and subramaniam, 2008). the representative plant specimens of all taxa were examined at plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory of jahangirnagar university and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). identification of the specimens was completed through consulting the taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literatures (hooker, 18721897; prain, 1903; wu and raven, 1994-2001; wu et al., 1999-2013; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009), and by matching with the respective voucher specimens of dacb and jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). the relevant type images available in the web pages of different international herbaria, such the royal botanic gardens kew (k), and the conservatoire et jardin botaniques de la ville de genève (g) etc., and illustration of flora of china (wu and raven, 1994-2001; wu et al., 1999-2013) were also matched. all voucher specimens have been preserved at juh. nomenclatural information were verified following flora of china (wu and raven, 19942001; wu et al., 1999-2013), the plant list (2013) and tropicos (2017). the bangla names were collected from huq (2019), siddiqui et al. (2007), ahmed et al. (2008-2009) and ahmed et al. (2009), and through interviews with the local people. the families of pteridophytes and gymnosperms have been arranged following pichi (1977) and kramer and green (1990), respectively, and those of angiosperms following cronquist (1981), whereas the genera and species under each family alphabetically (table 1). data on uses of the species were collected through interviews with the local people during the field surveys, and consulting the relevant literatures (ghani, 1998; van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2002; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009). the status of rare and threatened plant species in the study area was inferred through field observation and estimation on population size, distribution range and regeneration of each species in the area. results and discussion during this study the vascular flora of satkhira district was found to be composed of 664 species under 468 genera and 133 families. pteridophytes were represented by 21 species of 18 genera under 12 families and gymnosperms by five species of four genera under four families, and magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) and liliopsida (monocotyledons) of angiosperms by 494 and 144 species of 348 and 98 genera under 92 and 25 families, respectively (table 1 and fig. 1). total 396 (59.64%) of these species were herbs, 144 (21.69%) trees, 106 (15.96%) shrubs, 15 (2.26%) palms and three (0.45%) bamboos. most of the herbs were erect (48.99%), climber (19.19 fig. 1. species composition (number and percent of species) of different plant groups of satkhira district. 100 hossain et al. %) and prostrate (16.92%) that were followed by creeper, parasite, free floating, submerged and epiphyte (fig. 2). all species of pteridophytes were found as wild but those of the gymnosperms as planted, whereas among the angiosperms total 464 (72.73%) species were wild, 127 (19.91%) planted and 47 (7.37%) cultivated. 349 (75.22%) species of the dicots and 115 (24.78%) species of the monocots were wild and the rest were cultivated or planted. in magnoliopsida, fabaceae with 31 species under 19 genera, representing 4.72% of the vascular flora of satkhira district, was the largest family, followed by asteraceae with 27 species of 26 genera, apocynaceae with 26 species of 23 genera, malvaceae with 25 species of 17 genera, acanthaceae with 22 species of 13 genera, rubiaceae with 18 species under 12 genera, cucurbitaceae and lamiaceae, each with 17 species under 12 and 14 genera, respectively, solanaceae with 15 species of eight genera, caesalpiniaceae with 13 species of eight genera, moraceae with 12 species under four genera, and amaranthaceae and mimosaceae, each with 12 species under eight genera. ficus with seven species was recorded as the largest genus, which was followed by euphorbia, hygrophila, solanum, each with six species, hibiscus, ipomoea, phyllanthus and senna, each with five species, and alternanthera, amaranthus, dalbergia, desmodium, ludwigia, oldenlandia, persicaria, sida, terminalia and vigna, each with four species. fig. 2. floristic composition in different life-form categories of satkhira district. in liliopsida, poaceae with 44 species under 30 genera, comprising 6.70% of the vascular flora of this area, was the largest family, and followed by cyperaceae with 22 species under eight genera, arecaceae and araceae, each with 15 species uder 12 and 13 genera, respectively. cyperus with 10 species was the largest genus, which was followed by commelina and paspalum, each with four species and bambusa and calamus, each with three species. in satkhira district, total 403 (60.69%) plant species were found to be distributed in satkhira sadar, 355 (53.46%) in shaymnagar, 334 (50.30%) in kaligonj, 318 (47.89%) in debhata, 315 (47.44%) in kolarowa, 296 (44.58%) in tala and 235 (35.39%) in ashasuni upazila, but most of the species found in each of these upazilas were overlapping with that of other upazila/s. a total of 152 (22.89%) species were found to be distributed in a part of the sundarbans mangrove forest, situated in the southern part of shaymnagar upazila of satkhira district, of which 65 (9.79%) species were exclusively distributed in that mangrove habitat and the rest 87 (13.10%) species were found to overlapping with other upazilas of this study area. floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 101 table 1. list of vascular plant species of satkhira district, bangladesh. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse pteridophyta schimp. selaginellaceae willk selaginella vaginata spring selaginella herb, pr; w ml, wl de, ka, sh+ m gmh 5207 ophioglossaceae martinov ophioglossum reticulatum l. sharpa jihba herb, er; w gl, wl ka, ko, sh+ m gmh 5202 salviniaceae martinov azolla pinnata r. br. khudipana herb, fl; w wtl as, ka, ss, ta gm gmh 5205 salvinia adnata desv. pani dhekia herb, fl; w wtl as, de, ta gm, o gmh 5200 s. cucullata roxb. indur kani herb, fl; w wtl ka, ss, sh+, ta gm, o gmh 5211 marsileaceae mirb. marsilea quadrifolia l. susni shak herb, cr; w af, fl, wtl all upazilas+ vg gmh 5204 lygodiaceae m. roem. lygodium flexuosum (l.) sw. saralata fern herb, cl; w sj, wl de, ka, ko m gmh 5201 pteridaceae e.d.m. kirchn. *acrostichum aureum l. hudo herb, er; w fm, wl sh+ m, tm gmh 5208 adiantum caudatum l. khopa fern herb, ep; w op, obw de, ka, ko o mar 2901 a. tenerum sw. biddapata herb, ep; w op, obw de, ka o mar 2902 ceratopteris pteridoides (hook.) hieron. pani dhekia herb, er; w wtl sh+ vg msr 3321 c. thalictroides (l.) brongn. pani lettuce herb, er; w wtl de, sh, ss, ta vg msr 3310 pteris vittata l. dhekia herb, lp; w obw de, ka, ko m gmh 5203 vittariaceae ching *haplopteris elongate (sw.) e.h. crane viteria herb, ep; w op, wl sh+ m, o msr3 302 polypodiaceae j. presl & c. presl drynaria quercifolia (l.) j. sm. pankhiraj herb, ep; w op, wl all upazilas+ m, o gmh 5210 microsorum punctatum (l.) copel. gucha patra herb, ep; w op, wl de, ka, sh+ m, o gmh 5206 pyrrosia nuda (giesenh.) ching pyrosia herb, ep; w op, wl de, ka, sh+ m gmh 5212 blechnaceae newman stenochlaena palustris (burm. f.) bed. dhekia lata herb, cl; w sj, wl ka, ss, ta m, vg gmh 5209 thelypteridaceae ching ex pic. serm. ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel. dheki shak herb, cr; w fl, fm, wl all upazilas m mar 2903 thelypteris dentata (forssk.) e.p. st.john datitila herb, cr; w fl, fm, wl de, ka o, vg mar 2904 athyriaceae alston diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. dhekia shak herb, er; w fl, fm, wl de, ka, ss vg mar 2905 gymnosperms prantl cycadaceae pers. cycas circinalis l. cycas tree, s; pl hs ss m, o mar 2907 c. revoluta thunb. moniraj tree, s; pl hs ss m, o mar 2908 araucariaceae henkel & w. hochst. araucaria heterophylla (salisb.) franco x-mas tree tree, m; pl hs de, ka, ss o mar 2906 102 hossain et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse cupressaceae gray thuja plicata donn ex d. don thuja shrub; pl hs, ml as, de, ka, ss o gmh 5219 pinaceae spreng. ex rudolphi pinus caribaea morelet pine gach tree, l; pl hs, rs ss o mar 2909 magnoliopsida brongn. magnoliaceae juss. magnolia champaca (l.) baill. ex pierre champa tree, l; pl rs ss m, o sak 2001 annonaceae juss. annona reticulata l. atta tree, s; w hs, sj all upazilas fr sak 2102 a. squamosa l. shorifa tree, s; pl hs de, ka, ss fr sak 2103 artabotrys hexapetalus (l. f.) bhandari kathali chapma shrub, sc; pl hs ka, de, ss m, o sak 2104 huberantha pendula (capuron ex g. e. schatz & le thomas) chaowasku weeping debdaru tree, m; pl rs de, ko, ss o sak 2106 polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites debdaru tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas+ o, t sak 2105 p. suberosa (roxb.) thwaites barachali tree, s; w fl, wl de, ka, ko fr, fw sak 2107 lauraceae juss. cinnamomum tamala (buch.ham.) t. nees & eberm. tejpata tree, m; pl hs ka, ss sp sak 2108 c. verum j. presl darchini tree, m; pl hs ko, ss sp sak 2109 litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. rob. kukurchita tree, m; w sj, wl de, ka, ko m sak 2110 l. monopetala (roxb.) pers. boro-kukurchita tree, m; w sj, wl de, ka m sak 2111 piperaceae giseke peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth luchi pata herb, pr; w gl, sj all upazilas+ m mar 2910 piper betle l. pan herb, cl; cv af de, ka m mar 2911 p. longum l. pipul herb, cl; w fl, wl de, ka, ko m mar 2912 p. retrofractum vahl choi jhal herb, cl; pl hs, wl de, ka m, sp mar 2913 aristolochiaceae juss. aristolochia indica l. ishwarmul herb, cl; w sj ko, ka, ss m mar 2914 nymphaeaceae salisb. nymphaea nouchali burm. f. nil shapla herb, fr; w wtl de, sh, ss, ta m, o gmh 5213 n. pubescens willd sada shapla herb, fr; w wtl as, sh, ss, ta o, vg gmh 5214 n. rubra roxb. ex andrews lal shapla herb, fr; w wtl as, sh+, ss, ta m, o gmh 5215 ceratophyllaceae gray ceratophyllum demersum l. kantajhanjhi herb, sm; w wtl as, ss, sh, ta m mar 2915 ranunculaceae juss. clematis zeylanica poir. irula shrub, li; w sj de m mar 2916 ranunculus sceleratus l. jhumka phul herb, er; w wtl sh, ss, ta m mar 2917 menispermaceae juss. cocculus hirsutus (l.) w. theob. huyer herb, cl; w sj de, ka, ko, ss m gmh 5222 stephania japonica (thunb.) miers akandi manik herb, cl; w sj, wl de, ka, ss m gmh 5216 tinospora sinensis (lour.) merr. gulancha herb, cl; w wl de, ka, ss m gmh 5218 tiliacora racemosa colebr. bagh lata shrub, li; w sj, wl de, ka, ko, ss m, tm gmh 5221 papaveraceae juss. argemone mexicana l. sheyal kanta herb, er; w af, fl, rs as, ko, ss, ta m mar 2918 cannabaceae martinov trema orientalis (l.) blume banjiga tree, m; w sj, wl all upazilas+ fw kmni 001 floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 103 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse moraceae gaudich. artocarpus chama buch.-ham. chapalish tree, l; pl rs, wl ko, ss fr, t mar 2920 a. heterophyllus lam. kanthal tree, m; pl hs, wl all upazilas fr, t mar 2921 a. lakoocha roxb. dewa tree, m; pl wl de, ka, ko, ss fr, t mar 2922 ficus benghalensis l. bot tree, l; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas+ o, fw mar 2923 f. elastica roxb. ex hornem. rubber bot tree, m; pl fl, rs ka, sh+, ss o mar 2924 f. heterophylla l. f. bhuidumur shrub; w sj, wl de, ka, ko m mar 2925 f. hispida l. f. kakdumur tree, s; w sj, wl all upazilas m, vg mar 2926 f. racemosa l. jagdumur tree, l; w sj, fl de, ka, ss m mar 2927 f. religiosa l. ashwath tree, l; w wl, sj de, as, ss m, o mar 2928 f. rumphii blume khiri bot tree, l; w fl, rs, wl ko, sh+, ss, ta m, o mar 2929 morus alba l. shada tut tree, s; pl ml, rs as, ko, ss fr, fw mar 2930 streblus asper lour. sheora tree, l; w sj, wl all upazilas+ fw, m mar 2931 urticaceae juss. laportea interrupta (l.) chew chotrapatta herb, cl; w sj wl de, ka, ss m kmni 002 pilea microphylla (l.) liebm. latamaricha herb, pr; w obw all upazilas+ m kmni 003 pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. kullaruki herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m kmni 004 casuarinaceae r. br. casuarina equisetifolia l. jhaw tree, l; pl ml, rs ko, ss o gmh 5220 nyctaginaceae juss. boerhavia diffusa l. punarnava herb, pr; w fl, rs de, ko, ss m gmh 5217 bougainvillea spectabilis willd. baganbilash shrub, li; pl hs all upazilas+ o gmh 5223 mirabilis jalapa l. sandhyamoni herb, er; pl fl, hs as, de, ko, ss m, o gmh 5224 aizoaceae martinov trianthema portulacastrum l. swetpunarnova herb, pr; w af, fl, rs as, ko, ta m, gm mar 2932 cactaceae juss. opuntia ficus-indica (l.) mill. fhonimonosha shrub; w ml, rs as, de, sh he, m kmni 015 o. stricta (haw.) haw. nagphana shrub; w ml, rs as, sh, ka he, m kmni 016 amaranthaceae juss. achyranthes aspera l. apang herb, er; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas m gmh 5230 aerva lanata (l.) juss. chaya herb, pr; w fl, rs ss, ta m, vg gmh 5225 alternanthera bettzickiana (regel) g. nicholson calico gach herb, pr; w fl, rs ss m, vg mar 2933 a. paronychioides a. st.-hil. jhuli khata herb, pr; w af, fl, rs as, sh, ta m, vg gmh 5366 a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. henchi herb, fr; w af, wtl all upazilas+ gm,vg gmh 5226 a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex dc. malancha herb, pr; w af, fl, rs all upazilas+ m, vg gmh 5227 amaranthus blitum l. goburanotey herb, er; w fl, rs as, de, ss, ta m, vg mar 2935 a. spinosus l. kantanotey herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m, vg mar 2936 a. tricolor l. lalshak herb, er; cv af/apl all upazilas+ vg mar 2937 a. viridis l. notey shak herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 5367 celosia argentea l. morog phul herb, er; pl hs, rs de, ss, ta m, o gmh 5229 chenopodium album l. botua shak herb, er; w af, fl, rs as, ko, ss, ta m, vg gmh 5228 cyathula prostrata (l.) blume shyontula herb, pr; w fl, rs as, de, ka, ss m gmh 5231 gomphrena celosioides mart. bottam phul herb, pr; w gl, fl, rs ss, ta m gmh 5235 portulacaceae juss. portulaca oleracea l. boronunia herb, pr; w af, fl, rs ko, sh+, ss m, vg kmni 005 p. grandiflora hook. time phul herb, pr; pl hs, rs de, ka, ss o kmni 006 104 hossain et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse basellaceae raf. basella alba l. pui shak herb, cr; cv af/apl, hs all upazilas+ vg gmh 5240 molluginaceae bartl. glinus lotoides l. alu ghash herb, pr; w af, fl ka, ko, ss m gmh 5232 g. oppositifolius (l.) aug. dc. gima shak herb, pr; w af, fl ko, ss m, vg gmh 5236 trigastrotheca pentaphylla (l.) thulin khetpapra herb, pr; w af, fl ko, ss m gmh 5239 polygonaceae juss. persicaria barbata (l.) h. hara biskatali herb, er; w fl, wtl de, ko, sh, ss m mar 2938 p. glabra (willd.) m. gómez lal kukri herb, er; w af, fl ka, sh+, ta m mar 2939 p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre panibiskatali herb, er; w af, fl, wtl as, ko, ta m mar 2940 p. orientalis (l.) spach bara panimarich herb, er; w fl, wtl as, ss, ta m mar 2941 polygonum effusum meisn. rani phul herb, er; w wtl ko, ss, ta m mar 2942 rumex dentatus l. bon-palang herb, er; w af, fl, rs ko, ss, sh m mar 2943 r. maritimus l. dati-palang herb, er; w af, fl, rs de, sh, ta m mar 2944 plumbaginaceae juss. *aegialitis rotundifolia roxb. nunia shrub; w fm, wl sh+ fw, m gmh 5233 dilleniaceae salisb. dillenia indica l. chalta tree, m; pl hs, wl de, ka, ss fr, m kmni 007 clusiaceae lindl. *calophyllum inophyllum l. punnul tree, m; w fm, rs sh+ m, oy msr 3320 mesua ferrea l. nageshawr tree, s; pl rs de, ka, ss m, o kmni 008 elaeocarpaceae juss. elaeocarpus floribundus blume jalpai tree, m; pl hs de, ka, ko, ss fr, oy mar 3010 sterculiaceae vent. abroma augusta (l.) l. f. ulatkambal shrub; w hs, sj as, sh, ss fb, m sak 2112 melochia corchorifolia l. tiki-okra shrub; w wl ss m sak 2113 sterculia foetida l. baksho badam tree, l; pl hs, rs ka, sh+ fr, m msr 3319 bombacaceae kunth. bombax ceiba l. shimul tree, l; w rs, wl all upazilas fb, m mar 2949 malvaceae juss. abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench dherosh herb, er; cv af ko, sh, ta vg gmh 5237 abutilon indicum (l.) sweet petari shrub; w fl, rs, sj all upazilas fb, m gmh 5234 *brownlowia tersa (l.) kosterm. lata sundri shrub; w rb, wl sh+ fw, m gmh 5241 ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. shada shimul tree, m; pl hs, rs as, sh fb, t gmh 5249 corchorus aestuans l. janglipat shrub; w fl, rs, sj ko, ss, sh+ fb, m gmh 5245 gossypium arboreum l. karpash shrub; cv af de, ko, sh fb, oy gmh 5242 grewia asiatica l. pholsa tree, s; pl hs, wl ka fr, m mar 2945 g. glandulosa vahl pathaka tree, s; w sj ka m mar 2946 *heritiera fomes buch.-ham. sundri tree, l; w wl sh+ t gmh 5250 hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. joba shrub; pl hs, rs all upazilas o gmh 5246 h. sabdariffa l. chukar shrub; pl hs, ml ko, ss, sh, ta m gmh 5247 h. schizopetalus (dyer) hook. f. jhumko jaba shrub; pl hs, rs ss o gmh 5243 *h. tiliaceus l. bhola shrub, sc; w rb, wl sh+ fb, fw gmh 5244 h. vitifolius l. bonkarpas shrub; w sj ss m, o gmh 5251 malvaviscus arboreus cav. morich joba shrub; pl hs, rs de, ka, ss o gmh 5255 microcos tomentosa sm. asar shrub; w sj, wl ka, ko fw, m mar 2947 floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 105 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse pentapetes phoenicea l. bandhuli phul shrub; pl hs ko, sh, ta o gmh 5466 sida acuta burm. f. kureta herb, er; w fl, sj, rs all upazilas+ m gmh 5260 s. cordata (burm. f.) bross. waalk. pitberela herb, er; w fl, sj, rs all upazilas+ m gmh 5256 s. cordifolia l herb, er; w fl, rs ka, sh, ss m gmh 5252 s. rhombifolia l. lal-berela herb, er; w fl, rs as, de, sh, ta fb, m gmh 5259 *thespesia populnea (l.) sol. ex corrêa porosh pipul tree, s; w fm, rb sh+ fb, m msr 3308 triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. bon okra shrub; w fl, rs, sj as, ko, ss, ta fb, m mar 2948 urena lobata l. banokra shrub; w fl, sj, rs all upazilas fb, m gmh 5257 wissadula periplocifolia (l.) thwaites shada nagmoni shrub; w rs, sj de, ka, ss fb, m gmh 5261 lecythidaceae a. rich. barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal tree, m; w ml, sj, wtl de m, o gmh 5254 tamaricaceae link *tamarix indica willd. nona jhaw tree, s; w fm, wl sh+ fw, m gmh 5262 passifloraceae juss. ex roussel passiflora edulis sims passion phal herb, cl; pl hs ss fr sak 2114 p. foetida l. jhumka lata herb, cl; w sj ka, ko, ta fr, m sak 2115 p. suberosa l. mela jhumka herb, cl; w rs de, ta m sak 2116 turnera ulmifolia l. bashanti herb, er; w rs sh m sak 2117 caricaceae dumort. carica papaya l. papya tree, m; pl af, hs, rs all upazilas+ fr, vg gmh 5263 cucurbitaceae juss. benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. chalkumra herb, cl; cv af, hs ko, ss vg mar 2952 citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai tormuj herb, cl; cv af de, ka, ko, sh fr mar 2953 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha herb, cl; w sj, wl all upazilas m, vg mar 2954 cucumis melo l. bangi herb, cl; cv af ka fr, vg mar 2955 c. sativus l. khira, shosha herb, cl; cv af, hs de, ka, ko fr, vg mar 2956 cucurbita maxima duchesne misti kumra herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas+ m, vg mar 2957 gymnopetalum chinense (lour.) merr. banpatol herb, cl; w sj as, de, ss, ta m mar 2958 lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. lao herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas+ m, vg mar 2959 luffa acutangula (l.) roxb. jhinga herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg mar 2960 l. cylindrica (l.) m. roem. dhundal herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg mar 2961 momordica dioica roxb. ex willd. kakroll herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg mar 2962 m. charantia l. korolla herb, cl; cv af, hs ka, ko m, vg mar 2963 mukia maderaspatana (l.) m. roem. agmukhi herb, cl; w af, fl, sj as, de, ss, ta m mar 2964 solena amplexicaulis (lam.) gandhi rakhal sosha herb, cl; w sj de, ka m mar 2965 trichosanthes dioica roxb. potol herb, cl; cv af, hs de, ko, ta m, vg mar 2966 t. cucumerina l. chichinga herb, cl; cv af, hs de, ka, ko, sh m, vg mar 2967 t. tricuspidata lour. makal herb, cl; w fm, sj de, ka m mar 2968 salicaceae mirb. casearia tomentosa roxb. bhari, chilla tree, s; w fm, wl de fp, m mar 2950 flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. bauchi shrub; w sj, wl de, ko, ss fr, m mar 2951 106 hossain et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse capparaceae juss. capparis zeylanica l. katai shrub, sc; w sj de, ka, ko, ss m gmh 5264 cleomaceae bercht. & j. presl cleome rutidosperma dc. nil hurhurey herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 5268 c. viscosa l. halud hurhurey herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 5271 brassicaceae burnett brassica napus l. sarisha herb, er; cv af, hs de, ko, ta lf, oy mar 2969 b. oleracea var. botrytis l. fulkopie herb, er; cv af ko vg mar 2970 b. oleracea var. capitata l. badhakopie herb, er; cv af ko lf, vg mar 2971 cardamine flexuosa with. bansarisha herb, er; w af, fl ss, ta m mar 2972 daucus carota l. gajor herb, er; cv af de, ka, ko vg mar 2973 raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus (l.) domin mula herb, er; cv af ka, ko ss, ta vg mar 2974 rorippa indica (l.) hiern bansarisha herb, er; w fl, ml ka, sh, ss m, vg mar 2975 moringaceae martinov moringa oleifera lamk. shajna tree, m; pl hs, ml, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 5265 sapotaceae juss. madhuca longifolia (j. könig ex l.) j.f. macbr. mohua tree, m; w rs, wl ka, sh+, ss m, oy sak 2118 manilkara zapota (l.) p. royen sopheda tree, m; pl hs all upazilas+ fr, m sak 2119 mimusops elengi l. bokul tree, m; pl rs de, ka, ss m, o sak 2120 ebenaceae gürke diospyros discolor willd. bilati gab tree, m; pl hs, rs as, de, sh+, ss fr, m sak 2121 d. malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab tree, m; w wl ka fr, m sak 2122 myrsinaceae r. br. ardisia solanacea (poir.) roxb. banjam shrub; w wl ka, ko m, o gmh 5267 primulaceae batsch *aegiceras corniculatum (l.) blanco kholshi shrub; w wl sh+ hp, fw gmh 5266 crassulaceae j. st.-hil. kalachoe pinnata (lam.) pers. patharkuchi herb, er; pl hs de, ko, sh, ss m, o gmh 5270 rosaceae juss. rosa centifolia l. golap shrub; pl hs ss m, o gmh 5420 r. chinensis jacq. jangli golap shrub; pl hs, ml ss he, m kmni 038 mimosaceae r. br. acacia auriculiformis benth. akashmoni tree, l; pl fl, rs, wl all upazilas+ t mar 2976 a. mangium willd. mangium tree, l; pl rs, wl ka, ss t mar 2977 a. nilotica (l.) delile babla tree, m; w fl, rs all upazilas+ gu, m mar 2978 albizia procera (roxb.) benth. sil koroi tree, l; w rs, wl as, de, ka, ta t mar 2979 a. richardiana (voigt) king & prain raj siris tree, l; pl rs as, sh+, ta t mar 2980 a. saman (jacq.) merr. shirish tree, l; pl ml, rs, wl all upazilas+ t mar 2981 *cynometra ramiflora l. shigra tree, s; w fm, wl sh+ fw, m gmh 5268 entada rheedii spreng. gila lata shrub, li; w fm, wl ka m, wp mar 2982 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit ipil-ipil tree, l; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas t kmni 009 mimosa pudica l. lajjaboti herb, pr; w gl, fl, rs all upazilas+ m kmni 010 pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. khoia babla tree, m; w hs, rs as, sh+, ss fr, m gmh 5272 prosopis juliflora (sw.) dc. bilati babla tree, m; w rs sh fw, m gmh 5273 floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 107 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse caesalpiniaceae r. br. caesalpinia bonduc (l.) roxb. nata kanta shrub, sc; w sj, fm ko, ta m, oy sak 2123 cassia fistula l. badarlathi tree, m; w ml, rs as, de, ka, ss m, o sak 2124 c. javanica subsp. nodosa (roxb.) k. larsen & s.s. larsen burmese shonalu tree, m; pl ml, rs ss o sak 2125 delonix regia (hook.) raf. krishnachura tree, l; pl rs all upazilas m, o sak 2126 parkinsonia aculeata l. bilati babla tree, s; pl rs as, sh fw, m sak 2127 peltophorum pterocarpum (dc.) k. heyne radha chura tree, l; pl rs ss, ta m, o sak 2128 saraca asoca (roxb.) willd. ashok tree, m; pl rs, wl ss m, o sak 2129 senna alata (l.) roxb. dadmardan shrub; w fl, hs, rs as, ss, sh m sak 2130 s. occidentalis (l.) link barakalkesunda shrub; w fl, rs as, ko, sh, ta m sak 2131 s. siamea (lam.) h.s. irwin & barn. minjiri tree, l; pl fl, wl as, de, sh, ta fw, o sak 2132 s. sophera (l.) roxb. kalkeshunda shrub; w fl, sj, rs ka, ta m sak 2133 s. tora (l.) roxb. kalkeshunda herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas+ m sak 2134 tamarindus indica l. tetul tree, l; w hs, wl all upazilas+ fr, t sak 2135 fabaceae lindl. abrus precatorius l. kunch herb, cl; w sj ka m gmh 5274 butea monosperma (lam.) taub. palash tree, m; pl rs, wl ss m, o gmh 5275 cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. arhar shrub; cv af, fl, hs de, ko, ta m, pu gmh 5276 c. scarabaeoides (l.) thouars banurkali herb, cl; w sj as, ka, ss, ta gm, m gmh 5277 clitoria ternatea l. aparajita herb, cl; w hs ka, ko, ss m, o gmh 5280 crotalaria pallida aiton jhunjhuni herb, er; w fl, rs ka, ko, sh fb, m gmh 5281 *dalbergia candenatensis (dennst.) prain chanda lata shrub, li; w rb, wl sh+ m gmh 5278 d. sissoo dc. sisoo tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas+ t gmh 5282 *d. spinosa roxb. kutum kanta shrub, sc; w rb, wl sh+ m gmh 5283 *derris scandens (roxb.) benth. mohajoni lata shrub, li; w wl sh+ m gmh 5279 *d. trifoliata lour. kalia lata herb, cl; w wl sh+ fb, m gmh 5284 desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. salpani shrub; w fl, sj, wl all upazilas fb, m gmh 5289 d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc. bonmotorshuti herb, pr; w fl, gl de, ko, sh, ta lf, m gmh 5285 d. laxiflorum dc. laximodi shrub; w fl, rs sh, ss m gmh 5290 erythrina fusca lour. kanta mandar tree, s; pl ml, rs as, de, ka m, o gmh 5286 e. variegata l. parijat tree, s; pl fl, ml, rs ka, de, sh m, o gmh 5287 grona triflora (l.) h. ohashi & k. ohashi kulalia herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas+ gm, m msr 3305 *mucuna gigantea (willd.) dc. bara alkushi herb, cl; w sh+ m gmh 5288 m. pruriens (l.) dc. bichuti lata herb, cl; w sj, wl ka m gmh 5291 lablab purpureus (l.) sweet shim herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas+ pu, vg msr 3309 lathyrus sativus l. khesari herb, cl; cv af de, ko, ta lf, pu gmh 5298 lens culinaris medik. moshur herb, pr; cv af de, ka, ko, ta lf, pu gmh 5299 pachyrhizus erosus (l.) urb. shakalu herb, cl; cv hs, rs sh, ss m, vg gmh 5296 *pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre koroch tree, m; w rb sh m, fw msr 3318 sesbania cannabina (retz.) pers. dhonchi shrub; cv af, fl, ml all upazilas fb, gm gmh 5297 uraria lagopodioides (l.) desv. chakulia shrub; w sj, wl ko m gmh 5292 vicia hirsuta (l.) s.f. gray masurchana herb, pr; w af ko, ta lf, gm gmh 5293 vigna marina (burm.) merr. nona shim herb, cl; w fm, rb ka, sh+ lf, m msr 3315 v. mungo (l.) hepper mashkalai herb, pr; cv af, fl, rs de, ko, ta gm, pu gmh 5294 v. trilobata (l.) verdc. jangli moong herb, cl; w fl, gl ss gm, lf gmh 5295 108 hossain et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse v. unguiculata (l.) walp. borboti herb, cl; cv af, hs ka, ko, ss pu, vg gmh 5300 haloragaceae r. br. myriophyllum tuberculatum roxb. kulabahupatri herb, sm; w wtl sh, ta m mar 2983 lythraceae j. st.-hil. ammannia baccifera l. dadmari herb, er; w af, fl, wtl ka, sh+, ss m gmh 5301 a. multiflora roxb. acidpatta herb, er; w af, fl, wtl sh, ss, ta m gmh 5302 lagerstroemia indica l. jarul tree, s; pl rs as, ss m. o gmh 5303 l. speciosa (l.) pers. jarul tree, l; pl rs, wl as, ss m, o gmh 5304 lawsonia inermis l. mehedi tree, s; pl hs all upazilas+ dy, m msr 3311 punica granatum l. dalim, bedana shrub; pl hs ka, ko, sh, ss dy, fr kmni 062 *sonneratia apetala buch.-ham. kewra tree, l; w rb, wl de, ka, sh+ fr, m gmh 5305 trapa incisa siebold & zucc. paniphal herb, fr; w wtl de, ka, ko, sh fr, m gmh 5306 t. natans l. shingra herb, fr; w wtl de, ko, sh fr, m gmh 5307 myrtaceae juss. callistemon citrinus (curtis) skeels bottlebrush tree, s; pl hs, rs as, ko, sh, ss o msr 3317 eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. eucalyptus tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas+ m, t mar 2984 psidium guajava l. peyara tree, s; pl hs all upazilas+ fr, m kmni 011 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels kalojam tree, l; pl hs, rs, wl ka, ko, sh, ss fr, t kmni 012 s. fruticosum dc. khudi jam tree, m; w ml, wl ka, ko, sh+ fr, t msr 3312 onagraceae juss. ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara keshordam herb, fr; w wtl all upazilas+ m gmh 5308 l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell panipalong herb, er; w af, fl, wtl all upazilas+ dy, m gmh 5368 l. octovalvis (jacq.) p.h. raven bon labonga herb, er; w ml, wtl ta m gmh 5369 l. perennis l. amorkura herb, er; w fl, gl ko, sh, ta m mar 2985 combretaceae r. br. combretum indicum (l.) defilipps madhuri lata shrub, li; pl hs ss m, o mar 2986 *lumnitzera racemosa willd. kirpa tree, s; w fm, wl sh+ dy, fw gmh 5309 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun tree, l; pl rs all upazilas+ m msr 3316 t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas+ m msr 3303 t. catappa l. kathbadam tree, l; pl rs all upazilas+ m, nu msr 3314 t. chebula retz. horitoki tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas+ m msr 3304 rhizophoraceae pers. *bruguiera gymnorhiza (l.) lam. lal kakra tree, l; w wl sh+ dy, t gmh 5310 *b. sexangula (lour.) poir. shobuj kakra tree, l; w wl sh+ dy, t gmh 5311 *ceriops decandra (griff.) w. theob. goran tree, s; w wl sh+ dy, fw gmh 5312 *kandelia candel (l.) druce bhatkathi tree, s; w rb, fm sh+ dy, fw gmh 5313 *rhizophora apiculata blume jhana tree, m; w rb, fm sh+ fw, m gmh 5314 *r. mucronata lam. jhana tree, l; w rb, fm sh+ dy, fw gmh 5315 cornaceae bercht. ex j. presl alangium salviifolium (l. f.) wangerin aikha tree, m; w sj, wl de, ka m, t mar 2987 loranthaceae juss. dendrophthoe falcata (l. f.) etting. bajrangi shrub, ps; w op de, ka, sh+ m msr 3306 macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) van tiegh. renda shrub, ps; w op de, ka, sh+ m msr 3301 scurrula parasitica l. porgacha shrub, ps; w op ka, sh+, m msr 3307 viscum monoicum roxb. ex dc. bhanda herb, ps; w op sh+ m msr 3330 floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 109 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse celastraceae r. br. *salacia chinensis l. choit boroi shrub, sc; w fm, wl sh+ fr, m gmh 5316 euphorbiaceae juss. acalypha ciliata forssk. unknown herb, er; w fl, sj ka, ko, ta m mar 2988 a. indica l. muktajhuri herb, er; w fl, gl, rs ka, ko, ta, ss m mar 2989 baliospermum calycinum müll. arg. danti shrub; w sj, wl de m mar 2990 b. solanifolium (burm.) suresh donti shrub; w sj, wl de m mar 2991 chrozophora rottleri (geiseler) a. juss. ex spreng. khudiphora herb, er; w as, ko, sh, ta m mar 2993 codiaeum variegatum (l.) rumph. ex a. juss. batabahar shrub; pl hs, ml de, ka, ss m, o mar 2994 croton bonplandianus baill. bandhone herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 5317 euphorbia antiquorum l. tiktasij shrub; w hs, ml as, sh m, o gmh 5318 e. hirta l. baradudhia herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m gmh 5319 e. neriifolia l. manosha sij shrub; pl hs, ml as, sh m, o gmh 5320 e. thymifolia l. swetkerui herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m gmh 5321 e. tirucalli l. narasaji shrub; pl hs, rs sh, ss m, o gmh 5322 e. tithymaloides l. bera chita herb, er; w ml, rs de, ka, sh he, m gmh 5323 *excoecaria agallocha l. gewa tree, l; w wl sh+ m, pp gmh 5324 flueggea virosa (roxb. ex willd.) royle khaukra shrub; w sj, wl de, ka, ko m mar 3118 jatropha curcas l. bherenda shrub; pl rs as, ka, ta he, m gmh 5326 j. gossypiifolia l. lalbherenda shrub; w fl, rs as, ka, ko, ta he, m gmh 5327 mallotus nudiflora l. latim, petali tree, l; w fl, ml ka, ta m, t gmh 5336 m. repandus (willd.) müll. arg. gunti, jhanti shrub, sc; w sj, wl ko, ta m gmh 5328 ricinus communis l. bherenda shrub; w fl, hs all upazilas m, oy gmh 5334 *shirakiopsis indica (willd.) esser hurmui tree, s; w fm, wl sh+ m, fp gmh 5335 suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. ban naringa tree, s; w wl ka fw, m kmni 013 tragia involucrata l. chotrapatta herb, cl; w sj ka, ta m kmni 014 phyllanthaceae martinov breynia vitis-idaea (burm. f.) fisch. vitasalpoti tree, s; w sj, wl de, ka m mar 2992 phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels arboroi tree, s; pl hs as, ko, sh, ss fr, m gmh 5329 p. emblica l. amloki tree, s; pl hs, rs all upazilas+ fr, m gmh 5330 p. niruri l. bhuiamla herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas+ dy, m gmh 5331 p. reticulatus poir. chitki shrub; w fl, sj de, ka, ko, ta dy, m gmh 5332 p. urinaria l. kalochitki herb, er; w fl, gl ta m gmh 5333 rhamnaceae juss. gouania tiliifolia lam. harjen gota shrub, sc; w sj, wl de, ka co, m mar 2995 sarcomphalus mauritianus (lam.) raf. boroi tree, m; w hs, wl all upazilas+ fr, m mar 2996 ziziphus oenoplia (l.) mill. bonboroi shrub, sc; w sj, wl de, ko, ta he, m mar 2997 leeaceae dumort. leea aequata l. kukur jihwa shrub; w sj, wl de, ka m mar 2998 l. indica (burm. f.) merr. kurkur shrub; w sj, wl de, ka, ko, ta gm, m mar 2999 vitaceae juss. ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch. jharila herb, cl; w sj, wl de, ka, ss m mar 3000 a. latifolia (roxb.) planch. gowalia lata herb, cl; w wl de, ka, ko m mar 3001 causonis trifolia (l.) mabb. & j. wen angur lata herb, cl; w sj, wl all upazilas+ lf, m kmni 017 110 hossain et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse cissus adnata roxb. bhatia lata herb, cl; w sj, wl ka, ss m kmni 018 c. quadrangularis l. harjora herb, cl; w hs, rs de, ka m kmni 019 tetrastigma angustifolium (roxb.) planch. nekungriubi herb, cl; w sj, wl de, ka, ko, ss m mar 3002 t. leucostaphylum (dennst.) alston horina lata herb, cl; w sj, wl de, ka, ss m mar 3003 sapindaceae juss. allophylus cobbe (l.) raeusch. rakhal chita shrub; w sj, wl ka fw, m gmh 5337 cardiospermum halicacabum l. lataphutki herb, cl; w fl, sj ko, sh, ss, ta m, vg gmh 5338 dimocarpus longan lour. ashphal tree, m; pl hs ka fr mar 3119 *dodonaea viscosa jacq. pani phul tree, s; w fm, wl sh+ fw, m gmh 5471 lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. horina tree, s; w fl, wl de, ka, ko fr, fw gmh 5340 litchi chinensis sonn. litchu tree, m; pl hs ko, ss fr gmh 5341 burseraceae kunth garuga pinnata roxb. kapila tree, l; w wl de fr, t mar 3004 anacardiaceae r. br. lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga tree, s; w ml, rs all upazilas+ he, gu mar 3005 mangifera indica l. aam tree, l; w hs, wl all upazilas+ fr, t mar 3006 spondias dulcis parkinson amrah tree, l; pl hs all upazilas+ fr mar 3007 s. pinnata (l. f.) kurz bon amrah tree, l; pl wl de, ka fr gmh 5467 meliaceae juss. *aglaia cucullata (roxb.) pellegr. amoor tree, s; w rb, wl sh+ m, t msr 3329 aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r. parker pithraj tree, m; w hs, wl de, ka, ko, ta m, oy gmh 5342 azadirachta indica a. juss. neem tree, m; w rs, wl all upazilas+ m, t gmh 5343 khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. lombu tree, l; pl rs all upazilas t gmh 5344 melia azedarach l. ghora neem tree, m; pl ml, rs all upazilas+ m, t gmh 5345 swietenia macrophylla king bara mehagani tree, l; pl hs, ml, rs all upazilas+ t gmh 5346 s. mahagoni (l.) jacq. mehagani tree, l; pl hs, rs as, ka, sh, ss t gmh 5347 toona ciliata m. roem. toon tree, l; w rs, wl de, ka dy, m gmh 5348 *xylocarpus granatum j. koenig dhundal tree, m; w rb, wl sh+ m, t msr 3322 *x. moluccensis (lam.) m. roem. poshur tree, m; w wl sh+ m, t msr 3328 rutaceae juss. aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel tree, m; w hs, ml, wl all upazilas+ fr, m kmni 020 citrus aurantiifolia (christm.) swingle lebu shrub; pl hs all upazilas fr mar 3008 c. maxima (burm.) merr. jambura tree, s; pl ml, hs all upazilas+ fr mar 3009 feronia limonia (l.) swingle kadbel tree, m; pl ml, hs all upazilas+ fr kmni 021 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc. datmajoni shrub; w fl, sj, wl all upazilas m kmni 022 murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. curry patta tree, s; w fl, wl ka, ta m, sp kmni 023 m. paniculata (l.) jack kamini tree, s; pl rs, wl ss m, o kmni 024 oxalidaceae r. br. averrhoa bilimbi l. bilimbi tree, s; pl hs as, ko, sh, ss fr, m mar 3011 a. carambola l. kamranga tree, s; pl hs as, de, sh, ss fr, m mar 3012 oxalis corniculata l. amrul herb, pr; w af, gl, rs all upazilas m, vg mar 3013 floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 111 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse balsaminaceae a. rich. impatiens balsamina l. dopati herb, er; pl hs, ml as, de, ko, ss m, o kmni 063 apiaceae lindl. centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni herb, cr; w af, fl, ml all upazilas+ m gmh 5349 coriandrum sativum l. dhonia herb, er; cv af, fl, hs, ko m, sp gmh 5350 eryngium foetidum l. bilatedhoneya herb, er; w af, hs as, de, sh+, ss m, sp gmh 5351 oenanthe benghalensis benth. & hook. f. bon-dhonia herb, er; w fl, gl, ml as, ka, ta m gmh 5352 apocynaceae juss. allamanda cathartica l. ghonta phul shrub; pl hs, rs as, ss o mar 3014 alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chhatim tree, l; w rs, wl ka, ta m, t mar 3015 calotropis gigantea (l.) dryand. akondo shrub; w ml, rs as, de, ka, ta fb, m kmni 025 c. procera (aiton) dryand. shda akondo shrub; w rs as, ta fb, m kmni 026 carissa carandas l. karamcha shrub; pl hs, sj ss fr mar 3016 cascabela thevetia (l.) lippold kolkey phul tree, s; pl hs de, sh, ss m, o mar 3017 catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don noyantara herb, er; w hs, rs as, sh, ss, ta m, o kmni 027 *cerbera odollam gaertn. dahur tree, s; w fm, wl sh+ fb, m gmh 5353 *ceropegia lucida wall. lucipegia herb, cl; w fm sh+ m msr 3327 dregea volubilis (l. f.) benth. ex hook. f. jukti phul herb, cl; w wl de fb, m gmh 5354 *finlaysonia obovata wall. mamakola herb, cl; w rb, wl sh+ fb, m gmh 5355 hoya lanceolata wall. ex d. don futki lata herb, ps; w op; wl de fb, m gmh 5356 h. parasitica wall. ex traill futki lata herb, ps; w op; wl sh+ fb, m gmh 5357 hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br. ex schult. anantomul herb, cl; w fl, gl de, ka, ta fb, m gmh 5358 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) aiton parallia lata herb, cl; w fl, sj, wl ka, ko, ta fb, m gmh 5359 nerium oleander l. rakta karobi tree, s; pl hs, rs ss m, o gmh 5360 pentatropis capensis (l. f.) bullock panchabrti lata herb, cl; w sj, wl ka m gmh 5361 pergularia daemia (forssk.) chiov. chagalbati herb, cl; w sj, rs sh, ss fb, m gmh 5362 *parsonsia alboflavescens (dennst.) mabb. pasonsi herb, cl; w fm, rb sh+ fb, m gmh 5363 plumeria alba l. shada kathgolap tree, m; pl hs, rs ss m, o gmh 5364 p. rubra l. lal kathgolap tree, m; pl hs, rs ss m, o gmh 5365 rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz sarpogondha herb, er; w wl de m, o gmh 5366 *sarcolobus globosus wall. bawali lata herb, cl; w wl sh+ m, vg gmh 5367 tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem & schult. tagar shrub; w rs, sj, wl de, ko, ta m, o gmh 5368 telosma cordata (burm. f.) merr. kanja lata herb, cl; w sj, wl de m gmh 5370 *tylophora indica (burm. f.) merr. antamul herb, cl; w fm, sj sh+ fb, m gmh 5371 solanaceae juss. capsicum annuum l. morich herb, er; cv af, hs all upazilas+ sp mar 3018 cestrum diurnum l. hasnahela shrub; pl hs ko, sh, ss m, o mar 3019 datura metel l. sada dhutra shrub; w fl, rs sh, ss, ta m mar 3323 lycopersicon esculentum mill. tomato herb, pr; cv af all upazilas+ vg kmni 061 nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. ban tamak herb, er; w af, fl, rs as, sh, ss, ta m kmni 028 petunia hybrida e. vilm. petunia herb, er; pl hs, rs de, ko, ss o kmni 064 112 hossain et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse physalis angulata l. futka herb, er; w fl, gl, rs ko, ss m mar 3020 p. minima l. bon tepari herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas+ m kmni 029 p. peruviana l. tepari herb, er; w af, fl, rs ss m mar 3021 solanum americanum mill. tit-begun herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m mar 3022 s. indicum l. rambegun shrub; w af, fl, rs ss, ta m mar 3023 s. melongena l. begun shrub; w af, hs all upazilas+ vg mar 3024 s. sisymbriifolium lam. katabegun herb, pr; w fl, rs as, sh, ta m mar 3025 s. torvum sw. gota begun shrub; w fl, sj, rs ss, ta m, vg mar 3026 s. virginianum l. kantikari herb, pr; w sd, fm sh+ m, vg msr 3313 convolvulaceae juss. aniseia martinicensis (jacq.) choisy shadamati herb, cl; w ml, rs ka, sh, ss m mar 3027 argyreia roxburghii (wall.) arn. ex choisy argori lata herb, cl; w sj, wl ka m mar 3028 camonea umbellata (l.) a.r. simões & staples goria lota herb, cl; w fl, gl, rs ko, ss, ta m, o kmni 032 evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. bhui okra herb, cr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m, sb kmni 030 ipomoea aquatica forssk. kalmi shak herb, cr; w af, wtl all upazilas+ vg kmni 031 i. batatas (l.) lam. misti alu herb, cr; cv de, ko vg mar 3029 i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy dhol kolmi shrub; w fl, ml all upazilas+ he, sb mar 3030 i. littoralis blume gang kolmi herb, cl; w fm, sj de, ka m, o mar 3031 *i. pes-caprae (l.) r. br. chagalkhuri herb, cr; w af, hs sh+ m, sb gmh 5372 cuscutaceae dumort. cuscuta chinensis lam. sharno lata herb, cl; w op de, ka, sh m gmh 5373 c. reflexa roxb. sharno lata herb, cl; w op all upazilas+ m gmh 5374 menyanthaceae dumort. nymphoides hydrophylla (lour.) kuntze chand mala herb, fr; w wtl as, sh, ss, ta m kmni 033 n. indica (l.) kuntze panchuli mala herb, fr; w wtl as, de, sh, ta m, vg kmni 034 hydroleaceae r. br. ex edwards hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl kasschera herb, pr; w wtl sh, ss m mar 3032 boraginaceae juss. heliotropium curassavicum l. nona-hatisur herb, pr; w fl, rs sh+, ss m, vg gmh 5376 h. indicum l. hatisur herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas+ m gmh 5377 cordia dichotoma g. forst. bohola, bola tree, m; w sj, wl sh fw, m gmh 5378 verbenaceae j. st.-hil. duranta erecta l. duranto shrub; pl ml, rs ka, ko, sh, ss he, m mar 3033 lantana camara l. kutus kanta shrub; w rs, sj, wl de, ka, ko, ta fw, m mar 3034 lippia alba (mill.) n.e. br. ex britton & p. wilson motmotia shrub; w fl, sj ko, sh, ss, ta m kmni 035 phyla nodiflora (l.) greene vuiokra herb, cr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m kmni 036 lamiaceae martinov anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze. gobura herb, er; w fl, wl de, ka, ko, ta m gmh 5379 clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhatti shrub; w fl, sj, wl de, ka, ss m gmh 5380 c. infortunatum l. bhat shrub; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas m gmh 5381 gmelina arborea roxb. gamari tree, l; pl rs, wl as, de, ka, sh m, t gmh 5382 hyptis capitata jacq. tata tokma herb, er; w fl, rs, sj as, ko, ss, ta m gmh 5383 h. suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma herb, er; w fl, rs, sj ko, ss. ta m gmh 5384 leucas lavandulifolia sm. shetodron herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 5385 floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 113 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse leonurus sibiricus l. rokto-dron herb, er; w fl, rs de, ko, ta m gmh 5386 ocimum americanum l. bon tulashi herb, er; w fl, hs de, ka, ss m gmh 5387 o. tenuiflorum l. kalo tulsi herb, er; w fl, hs sh, ta m gmh 5388 pogostemon benghalensis (burm. f.) kuntze jui-lata shrub; w rs de m gmh 5389 premna serratifolia l. gambari shrub; w fm, sj ka, sh+ m gmh 5390 rotheca serrata (l.) steane & mabb. bamanhati shrub; w sj, wl ka, ta m gmh 5391 salvia splendens sellow ex schult. lal sagi herb, er; pl hs, rs ss o gmh 5392 tectona grandis l. f. shegun tree, l; pl rs, wl de, ko, ss t gmh 5393 vitex negundo l. nishinda shrub; w fl, sj, rs sh+, ss, ta m gmh 5394 *volkameria inermis l. shia vat shrub, li; w fm, rb sh+ m, o gmh 5395 plantaginaceae juss. bacopa monnieri (l.) wettst. brahmi herb, pr; w fl, wtl de, sh+ m, vg mar 3037 limnophila heterophylla (roxb.) benth. patakutra herb, fr; w wtl ka, sh ap, m mar 3038 mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small micardan herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m mar 3039 scoparia dulcis l. bondhone herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m mar 3040 oleaceae hoffmanns. & link jasminum sambac (l.) sol. beli shrub; pl hs ko, ss m, o mar 3035 nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. sheuli tree, s; pl hs, rs as, de, sh, ss m, o mar 3036 linderniaceae borsch, kai müll. & eb. fisch. bonnaya antipoda (l.) druce. zai ghas herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs ko, sh, ta m mar 3042 bonnaya ciliata (colsm.) spreng. bhui papri herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs de, ka, ss m mar 3043 lindernia anagallis (burm. f.) pennell pani ghas herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs ko, sh, ss m mar 3041 l. procumbens (krock.) borbás bakpuspa herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m mar 3045 l. rotundifolia (l.) alston tan chapra herb, pr; w fl, rs, wtl ko, sh ap, m mar 3046 torenia crustacea (l.) cham. & schltdl. chapra ghas herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs ko, ta m mar 3044 torenia diffusa d. don ushatoren herb, pr; w fl, rs as, sh, ss, ta o mar 3047 acanthaceae juss. *acanthus ilicifolius l. hargoza shrub; w fm, rb sh+ m gmh 5396 *a. volubilis wall. lata hargoza herb, cl; w fm, rb sh+ m gmh 5397 andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) nees kalomegh herb, er; w wl ka, ss m gmh 5398 *avicennia marina (forssk.) vierh. morichabaen tree, m; w wl sh+ m, t gmh 5399 *a. officinalis l. baen tree, l; w wl sh+ m, t gmh 5400 dipteracanthus prostratus (poir.) nees posta booti herb, pr; w fl, sj, wl as, de, ka, ko m gmh 5401 ecbolium ligustrinum (vahl) vollesen shial leza herb, er; w fl, wl de, ka, ko m gmh 5402 hemigraphis hirta (vahl) t. anderson buripan herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m gmh 5403 hygrophila auriculata (schumach.) heine kulekhara herb, er; w fl ko m gmh 5404 h. difformis blume bagua herb, fr; w wtl ka, ss m gmh 5405 h. erecta (burm. f.) hochr filareck herb, er; w wtl sh+ m gmh 5406 114 hossain et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse h. phlomoides nees gokul kanta herb, er; w fl ko, ss, ta m gmh 5407 h. polysperma (roxb.) t. anderson alai kalai herb, pr; w fl, wtl sh+ m msr 3325 h. ringens var. ringens soza kulekhara herb, pr; w fl, wtl sh+ m msr 3324 justicia adhatoda l. basok shrub; w ml, rs as, ka, sh, ta he, m gmh 5408 j. diffusa willd. pitapapra herb, pr; w fl, sj all upazilas m gmh 5409 j. gendarussa burm. f. jagotmadan herb, er; w fl, ml, sj sh, ss he, m gmh 5410 nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul herb, pr; w fl, gl, wl all upazilas+ m gmh 5411 phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet bhuiba shak herb, pr; w sj, wl ka, ta m gmh 5412 ruellia tuberosa l. chotpotey herb, er; w fl, wl sh, ss, ta m, o gmh 5413 rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ p gmh 5414 thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottl.) roxb. neel lota herb, cl; w fm, wl as, ka, ko m gmh 5415 pedaliaceae r. br. sesamum indicum l. til herb, er; cv af ko m, oy kmni 037 bignoniaceae juss. dolichandrone spathacea (l. f.) seem. gorshinga tree, m; w ml ss m, t gmh 5416 oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz kanaidingi tree, m; w sj, wl as, ka, ko dy, m gmh 5417 tecoma stans (l.) juss. ex kunth tecoma tree, s; pl rs ss o gmh 5418 lentibulariaceae rich. utricularia aurea lour. patajhajhi herb, sm; w wtl as, sh, ta m mar 3048 phrymaceae schauer mimulus orbicularis wall. takabari herb, fr; w wtl sh ap, m gmh 5419 rubiaceae juss. coffea benghalensis b. heyne ex schult. bangla coffee shrub; w sj ka, ko m, o sak 2136 dentella repens (l.) j.r. forst. & g. forst. bhuipat herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas m sak 2137 gardenia jasminoides j. ellis gondhoraj shrub; pl hs ss m, o sak 2138 hedytis diffusa wild. panki herb, pr; w fl, ml, rs all upazilas+ m gmh 5472 hypobathrum racemosum (roxb.) kurz peetunga tree, s; w fm, wl ka, sh+ m gmh 5470 ixora coccinea l. rangon shrub; pl hs, rs all upazilas o sak 2139 i. cuneifolia roxb. jangli rangon shrub; w sj, wl de, ka m, o sak 2140 i. pavetta andr. ban rangon shrub; w sj, wl ka, sh+ m, o sak 2141 meyna spinosa roxb. ex link katai shrub; w sj, wl de, ka, ko m sak 2142 morinda citrifolia l. noni shrub; w rb, wl de, ka m sak 2143 mussaenda erythrophylla schumach. & thonn. lal mussenda shrub; pl hs ss o sak 2144 m. philippica a. rich. mussenda shrub; pl hs ko, ss o sak 2145 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadom tree, l; w rs, wl de, ka, ss m, t sak 2146 oldenlandia biflora l. bhui papra herb, pr; w fl, gl ko, ta m sak 2147 o. corymbosa l. khet papra herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas+ dy, m sak 2148 o. diffusa (willd.) roxb. fussa papra herb, pr; w af, fl, gl ko, sh, ss m sak 2149 o. verticillata l. notapapra herb, pr; w af, fl, gl de, ss, ta m sak 2150 pavetta indica l. oriya, jui shrub; w sj, wl de, ka co, m sak 2151 spermacoce articularis l. f. baghajangla herb, pr; w fl, ml, wl all upazilas m sak 2152 floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 115 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse asteraceae bercht. & j. presl acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen. surjakonnya herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m sak 2153 ageratum conyzoides (l.) l. fulkuri herb, er; w fl, ml, wl all upazilas m sak 2154 blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc. shialmutra herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m sak 2155 blumea membranacea wall. ex dc. kukurshinga herb, er; w fl, gl, rs sh, ta m sak 2156 chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m. king & h. rob. assam-lata herb, er; w fl, fm, wl de, ko, ss, ta m sak 2157 conyza semipinnatifida wall. ex dc. coniza herb, er; w fl, rs sh+ m sak 2158 cosmos bipinnatus cav. cosmos herb, er; pl hs, rs de, ko, ss o kmni 065 cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h. rob. kukshim herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ m sak 2159 dahlia imperialis roezl ex ortgies dalia herb, er; pl hs, rs ko, ss o kmni 066 eclipta prostrata (l.) l. kalokeshi herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ dy, m sak 2160 emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. mechitra herb, er; w fl, gl, rs de, ko, ss, ta m sak 2161 enydra fluctuans dc. helencha herb, pr; w wtl de, sh, ss, ta m, vg sak 2162 glebionis coronaria (l.) cass. ex spach chandramallika herb, er; pl hs, rs ko, ss o gmh 5467 gnaphalium polycaulon pers. bara kamra herb, er; w fl, gl de, ko, ss m sak 2163 grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. namuti herb, er; w af, fl, ml ko, ss, ta m sak 2164 helianthus annuus l. surjomukhi herb, er; pl af, hs as, de, ss, ta o, oy gmh 5468 launaea asplenifolia hook. f. tik-chana herb, er; w fl, rs sh+ m sak 2165 mikania cordata (burm. f.) b.l. rob. assam-lata herb, cl; w sj, fm, wl all upazilas+ m sak 2166 parthenium hysterophorus l. parthenum herb, er; w fl, rs de, sh, ss, ta m sak 2167 pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (l.) hilliard & b.l. burtt barakamra herb, er; w fl, gl, rs ko, sh, ss m sak 2168 sonchus arvensis l. chashar herb, er; w fl, gl, rs ta m sak 2169 sphaeranthus indicus l. mundi herb, pr; w af, fl, rs ko, ss m sak 2170 sphagneticola trilobata (l.) pruski bhringaraj herb, pr; w fl, rs ss gm, o sak 2171 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. nakphul herb, er; w fl, gl, rs ka, ko, ss, ta m sak 2172 tagetes erecta l. gada herb, er; pl hs, rs all upazilas+ m, o gmh 5469 tridax procumbens (l.) l. tridhara herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m sak 2173 xanthium strumarium l. ghagra herb, er; w af, fl, ml all upazilas m, vg sak 2174 liliopsida batsch alismataceae vent. sagittaria sagittifolia l. chotokut herb, er; w af, wtl sh, ta o, lf mar 3070 hydrocharitaceae juss. hydrilla verticillata (l. f.) royle kureli herb, sm; w wtl de, sh, ss ap, m gmh 5421 najas indica (willd.) cham. deshijhaji herb, sm; w wtl de, sh, ss ap, gm gmh 5422 n. minor all. borojhaji herb, sm; w wtl as, de, sh, ss ff, gm gmh 5423 ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panikala herb, sm; w wtl as, ka, ss m, vg gmh 5424 vallisneria spiralis l. patajhangi herb, sm; w wtl sh, ta ap, m gmh 5425 aponogetonaceae planch. aponogeton appendiculatus h. bruggen ghechu herb, sm; w wtl sh, ss ap, m mar 3115 potamogetonaceae bercht. & j. presl potamogeton crispus l. pata zhanchi herb, sm; w wtl sh, ss, ta m, wp mar 3049 p. nodosus poir. lombu zhanchi herb, fr; w wtl as, sh, ss m, wp mar 3050 116 hossain et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse arecaceae bercht. & j. presl areca catechu l. supari palm; pl hs, rs all upazilas dy, m mar 3051 borassus flabellifer l. tal palm; pl hs, rs all upazilas fb, m mar 3052 calamus guruba buch.-ham. ex mart. jalibet palm; pl ml, rb, sj de, ka hc mar 3053 c. longisetus griff. karakbet palm; pl ml de, ka, ko hc mar 3054 c. tenuis roxb. jalibet palm; pl ml ka, ss hc, m mar 3055 caryota urens l. fishtail palm palm; pl ml, rs ss m, o mar 3056 chamaedorea elegans mart. areca palm palm; pl hs, ml, rs ss fb, o mar 3057 cocos nucifera l. narikel palm; pl hs, ml, rs all upazilas+ fb, fr mar 3058 elaeis guineensis jacq. oil palm palm; pl hs , ml de, ka, ss m, oy mar 3059 livistona chinensis (jacq.) r. br. ex mart. china tokopata palm; pl ml, rs ss fb, hc mar 3060 *nypa fruticans wurmb golpatta palm; w rb, fm sh+ m, tm gmh 5426 *phoenix paludosa roxb. hental palm; w fm, wl sh+ fr, hc gmh 5427 p. sylvestris (l.) roxb. deshi khejur palm; w ml, rs all upazilas+ ju, m mar 3061 rhapis excelsa (thunb.) henry gurital palm; pl hs ss o mar 3062 roystonea regia (kunth) o.f. cook bottol palm palm; pl ml, rs ss o, tm mar 3063 pandanaceae r. br. pandanus amaryllifolius roxb. polau pata herb, er; pl fl, hs ss m, pf mar 3064 p. foetidus roxb. keya kanta shrub; w fl, rb de, ka m, o mar 3065 araceae juss. alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott bish kachu herb, er; w fl, wl de, ka, ko, ta m mar 3066 a. macrorrhizos (l.) g. don man kachu herb, er; cv fl, hs all upazilas vg gmh 5428 amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson ol kachu herb, er; cv af, hs all upazilas vg gmh 5429 caladium bicolor (aiton) vent. diranga kachu herb, er; pl hs de, ka, ss o mar 3067 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kachu herb, er; w af, fl, wtl all upazilas+ vg kmni 039 cryptocoryne ciliata (roxb.) fisch. ex wydler kerali herb, er; w fl, rb, wtl de, sh+ m, sb gmh 5430 epipremnum aureum (linden & andré) g.s. bunting money plant herb, cl; w hs, wl ss o mar 3068 lasia spinosa (l.) thwaites kata kachu herb, er; w fl, hs, wtl de, ka, ko m, vg gmh 5431 lemna minor l. sujipana herb, ff; w wtl ss, ta ff, wp kmni 040 l. perpusilla torr. khudipana herb, ff; w wtl all upazilas+ ff, wp kmni 041 pistia stratiotes l. topapana herb, ff; w wtl ko, ss, ta m gmh5 432 syngonium podophyllum schott podolata kachu herb, pr; w fl, hs, sj ka, ss o mar 3069 typhonium flagelliforme (lodd.) blume ghechu herb, er; w af, fl, rs de, ko, ss, ta m gmh 5433 t. trilobatum (l.) schott ghet kachu herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 5434 xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott dudh kachu herb, er; w ml, hs as, ka, ko, sh m, vg gmh 5435 commelinaceae mirb. commelina benghalensis l. kanshira herb, cr; w af, fl, rs all upazilas+ dy, m mar 3071 c. diffusa burm. f. kanshira herb, cr; w af, fl, rs de, ko, ss, ta dy, m kmni 042 c. erecta l. jata kanchira herb, er; w fl, gl, rs as, ko, ss m kmni 043 c. longifolia lam. pani kanshira herb, cr; w fl, gl, rs ko, sh+, ta m kmni 044 cyanotis axillaris (l.) d. don ex sweet baghanulla herb, pr; w af, fl, gl de, ka, ko, ss m mar 3072 c. cristata (l.) d. don. kanai herb, cr; w af, fl, gl de, ko, ta m mar 3073 murdannia nudiflora (l.) brenan kureli herb, cr; w fl, ml all upazilas m mar 3074 floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 117 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse cyperaceae juss. bulbostylis barbata (rottb.) c.b. clarke bulbobata herb, er; w gl sh, ss lf, sb mar 3075 cyperus compressus l. chancha herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas m mar 3076 c. cuspidatus kunth sagarmuthi herb, er; w fl, gl, rs sh, ss, ta m mar 3077 c. difformis l. behua ghasi herb, er; w af, fl ko, ss, ta m mar 3078 c. eragrostis lam. bada ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs ss, ta lf, sb mar 3079 c. exaltatus retz. tata ghasi herb, er; w gl, wtl ta m, tm gmh 5436 c. iria l. barachucha herb, er; w fl, gl, rs ka, sh+, ss, ta m, lf gmh 5437 c. malaccensis lam. shumati pati herb, er; w wtl sh+, ss hc, m gmh 5438 c. pangorei rottb. madurkathi herb, er; w fl, wtl ss, ta hc, lf mar 3080 c. rotundus l. nagarmutha herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas hc, m kmni 045 c. tenuiculmis boeckeler tonimutha herb, er; w wtl sh+ lf msr 3326 eleocharis dulcis (burm. f.) trin. ex hensch. mishti ghasi herb, er; w fl, ml sh+ m, vg msr 3331 fimbristylis dichotoma (l.) vahl bara nirbishi herb, er; w ml, wtl ko, sh+, ss gm, sb gmh 5439 f. ferruginea (l.) vahl gini fimbry herb, er; w gl, wtl sh+ sb, tm msr 3335 fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. poshmi ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, wtl ko, ss, sh, ta lf mar 3080 kyllinga brevifolia rottb. shabujnirbisa herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas lf, m kmni 046 k. bulbosa p. beauv. golanirbisa herb, er; w af, fl, gl as, ka, ss, ta lf, m mar 3081 k. nemoralis (j.r. forst. & g. forst.) dandy ex hutch. & dalziel subashinirbisa herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas lf, m kmni 047 pycreus polystachyos (rottb.) p. beauv. pikppli ghas herb, er; w gl, wtl sh+ lf, sb msr 3340 p. uniloides (r. br.) urb. paikol ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, ml sh+ lf, sb msr 3332 schoenoplectiella articulata (l.) lye chechra herb, er; w af, fl, wtl ko, ss, sh, ta lf, m gmh 5440 poaceae barnhart axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv. karpet ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas+ lf, sb kmni 048 bambusa balcooa roxb. borak bans bamboo; w wl de, ka, ko, ss hc, vg mar 3082 b. nutans wall. ex munro mahal bans bamboo; w wl as, ko, ss, ta pp, tm mar 3083 b. tulda roxb. mirtinga bamboo; w hs, wl ka, ko, ss hc, pp mar 3084 brachiaria distachya (l.) stapf cori ghas herb, cr; w gl, rs all upazilas lf, sb gmh 5441 chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. prem kanta herb, er; w gl, rs all upazilas hc, sb gmh 5442 c. zizanioides (l.) roberty bena herb, er; w fl, ml ka, ss, ta m, sb kmni 049 coix lacryma-jobi l. tasbi herb, er; w fl, wtl ss hc, m kmni 050 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba ghas herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas+ m, sb kmni 051 cyrtococcum patens (l.) a. camus cyrtococcum herb, pr; w gl, rs, wl de, ka lf mar 3085 dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. kakpaya herb, er; w fl, gl, rs as, sh, ss, ta lf, sb gmh 5443 digitaria ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira herb, er; w fl, gl, rs ss, ta gm, sb mar 3086 d. longiflora (retz.) pers. kanka-juriya herb, pr; w af, gl, rs ss lf, sb mar 3087 echinochloa colona (l.) link. shama ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas lf, sb mar 3088 e. crus-galli (l.) p. beauv. barashama ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl sh+, ss, ta lf, m mar 3089 eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. malankuri herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas m, sb kmni 052 eragrostis amabilis (l.) wight & arn. koni ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl de, ka, ss o, sb mar 3090 e. tremula hochst. ex steud. chiranula herb, er; w fl, gl, rs as, ka, ss, ta lf, tm mar 3091 hemarthria protensa steud. chaila herb, er; w ml, wtl ss lf, sb mar 3092 118 hossain et al. table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees ex wight & arn. jongli dhan herb, er; w wtl as, ta lf, m gmh 5444 isachne globosa (thunb.) kuntze isacdana herb, er; w gl, fl ko, ss lf, sb mar 3093 imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. chhan herb, er; w gr, ml, rs all upazilas sb, tm gmh 5445 leersia hexandra sw. arali herb, pr; w wtl as, ss, ta lf gmh 5446 leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees phulka ghas herb, er; w af ss, ta lf mar 3094 *myriostachya wightiana (nees ex steud.) hook. f. balia ghas herb, er; w fm, wl sh+ lf, tm gmh 5447 oplismenus burmanni (retz.) p. beauv. jabri durba herb, er; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas lf gmh 5448 o. compositus (l.) p. beauv. gohur herb, er; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas+ lf gmh 5449 oryza sativa l. dhan herb, er; cv af all upazilas ed, lf mar 3095 panicum brevifolium l. bashpati ghas herb, er; w af, gl, ml ko, ss lf, sb mar 3095 p. repens l. dhani ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas+ lf, sb mar 3096 paspalidium flavidum (retz.) a. camus karing ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, ml ka, sh, ss lf, sb mar 3097 p. conjugatum p.j. bergius. moisshya ghas herb, er; w gl, hs, rs ss, sh+ m, sb mar 3099 p. distichum l. chhotogoicha herb, er; w ml, wtl all upazilas lf, sb mar 3100 p. scrobiculatum l. bishmona ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs as, ko, ss lf, sb mar 3101 p. vaginatum sw. gina ghas herb, pr; w gl, wtl sh+ lf, sb msr 3336 phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud. nal khagra herb, er;w rb, wtl ka, ss hc, sb gmh 5450 *porteresia coarctata (roxb.) tateoka dhanshi herb, er; w rb, wtl sh+ lf, sb gmh 5451 saccharum spontaneum l. kash herb, er; w fl, fm, rs de, ka, ss sb, tm gmh 5452 sacciolepis indica (l). a. chase siltatto ghas herb, er; w ml, wtl ss, ta lf mar 3102 sporobolus indicus (l.) r. br. smut ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs ko, ss m, tm mar 3103 zea mays l. bhutta herb, er; pl af ko, ss ed, lf mar 3104 zoysia matrella (l.) merr. baissa ghas herb, pr; w fl, gl sh+ lf, sb msr 3339 strelitziaceae hutch. ravenala madagascariensis sonn. panthopadap tree, s; pl hs ss o kmni 053 musaceae juss. musa paradisiaca l. kachkola herb, er; w fl, hs, ml all upazilas fr, vg mar 3105 typhaceae juss. typha elephantina roxb. hogla patta herb, er; w wtl sh, ss, ta ed, m gmh 5453 zingiberaceae martinov curcuma longa l. halud herb, er; cv fl, hs all upazilas m, sp kmni 054 c. zedoaria (christm.) rosc. sathi herb, er; w fl, gl, rs as, ka, ko, ta m, pf kmni 055 hedychium coronarium j. könig dolon chapa herb, er; cv hs, rs ss m, o kmni 056 kaempferia angustifolia roscoe ekangi herb, er; w fl, wl de m, o gmh 5454 zingiber officinale roscoe ada herb, er; cv fl, hs ka, ko m, sp kmni 057 z. zerumbet (l.) roscoe ex sm. mohaboribotch herb, er; w fl, hs, sj as, ka, ko, ta m, pf kmni 058 costaceae nakai cheilocostus speciosus (j. koenig) c.d. specht keomul herb, er; w fl, wl ka, ko m kmni 059 cannaceae juss. canna indica l. kolabati herb, er; w fl, hs, rs all upazilas m, o kmni 060 floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 119 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse marantaceae r. br. schumannianthus dichotomus (roxb.) gagnep. shital pati shrub; w hs, wtl ka hc, m gmh 5455 pontederiaceae kunth eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms kachuripana herb, ff, w wtl all upazilas gm, lf gmh 5457 monochoria hastata (l.) solms bara nukha herb, er, w wtl ss, ta gm,vg mar 3106 m. vaginalis (burm. f.) c. presl nukha herb, er; w wtl ss, ta m, vg gmh 5458 amaryllidaceae j. st.-hil. allium cepa l. piyaj herb, er; cv af, hs as, ko, ta m, sp mar 3109 a. sativum l. rashun herb, er; cv af, hs as, ko, ss m, sp mar 3110 crinum americanum l. baro kanur herb, er; w hs, wl as, de, ko, ss m, o mar 3111 c. asiaticum l. shukdarshan herb, er; w hs, wl de, sh m, o mar 3112 scadoxus multiflorus (martyn) raf. agnigolock herb, er; pl fl, hs sh m, o mar 3113 asparagaceae juss. agave americana l. shatabdi udvid herb, er; cv hs ss m, o mar 3107 cordyline fruticosa (l.) a. chev. agnishwar herb, er; cv hs, rs ss m, o mar 3108 hypoxidaceae r. br. curculigo orchioides gaertn. talmuli herb, er; w sj, wl de, ka, ko m gmh 5459 xanthorrhoeaceae dumort. aloe vera (l.) burm. f. ghritakumari herb, er; cv hs ss co, m mar 3114 smilacaceae vent. smilax ovalifolia roxb. kumarika herb, cl; w sj, wl as, de, ka, ss m mar 3116 s. perfoliata lour. kumari lata herb, cl; w sj, wl ko, ss m mar 3117 dioscoreaceae r. br. dioscorea alata l. chupri alu herb, cl; cv hs, sj as, ka, sh, ss m, vg gmh 5460 d. pentaphylla l. jhum alu herb, cl; w sj, wl ko, ss m, vg gmh 5461 orchidaceae juss. *luisia brachystachys (lindl.) blume borolucia herb, ep; w op sh+ m, o msr 3333 *l. tristis (g.forst.) hook. f. lucia herb, ep; w op sh+ o, pf gmh 5462 geodorum densiflorum (lam.) schltr. sankhamul herb, er; w sj, wl de, sh m, o gmh 5463 vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g. don. rasna herb, ep; w op ss m, o gmh 5464 *zeuxine strateumatica (l.) schltr. setguli herb, er; w gl, ml sh+ o gmh 5465 notes: habit: clclimber, crcreeper, cvcultivated, ememergent, epepiphyte, ererect, fffree floating, frfloating with rooted, llarge, liliana, lplithophyte, mmedium, plplanted prprostrate, psparasite, s-small, scscandant, sm submerged, vivine, wwild. habitat: afagri-field, flfallow land, fmforest margin, glgrassland, hshomestead, mlmarginal land, obwon brick wall, opon plant, rbriver bank, rsroadside, sjscrub jungle, wlwoodland, wtlwetland. distribution: asashasuni upazila, dedebhata upazila, kakaligonj upazila, kokolarowa upazila, sh shaymnagar upazila, sssatkhira sadar upazila, tatala upazila. + (plus mark)distribution in sundarban mangrove forest of shaymnagar upazila; * (asterisk mark) species recorded only from the sundarban part of satkhira district. uses: apaquarium plant, cocosmetics, dydye yielding, ededible, fbfibre, fffish feed, fpfish poison, frfruit, fw fuel wood, gmgreen manure, gugum, hchandicrafts, hehedge, hphoney plant, jujuice, lflivestock feed, mmedicine, oornamental, oyoil yielding, pfperfume, pppaper pulp, pupulse, sbsoil binder, spspice, t timber, tmtheaching material, vgvegetable, wpwater purify; rse (representative specimen examined): gmh gazi mosharof hossain, kmnikhandaker mohammad noor islam, marmd. abdur rahim, msrmohammad sayedur rahman, saksaleh ahammad khan. 120 hossain et al. total 147 plant species including 113 species of dicotyledons, 31 species of monocotyledons and three species of pteridophytes were found in all upazilas, but no species of gymnosperms was commonly found in all upazilas. only 71, 44, 14, 12, six and four species were exclusively found in shyamnagar, satkhira sadar, kaligonj, debhata, kolaroa and tala upazila, respectively and no species was exclusively distributed in assashuni upazila. in this district, the plant species were found in diverse habitats, however, most of the species were well-adapted in fallow lands and roadsides, which were followed by, woodlands, homesteads, agricultural fields, scrub jungles, grass lands, wetlands, marginal lands (including forest margins and river banks). some species were also found on few tree species and on brick walls (fig. 3). fig. 3. distribution of plant species in different habitats of satkhira district. all species recorded from satkhira district are economically or ecologically useful and most of these species have more than one uses. most of the species (476; 71.69%) are useful as medicine, which are followed by 112 (16.87%) species of ornamentals, 73 (10.99%) of vegetables, 50 (7.53%) of fruits and livestock feed each, 38 (5.72%) of timbers, 33 (4.97%) of fibres and 26 (3.92%) of fuel woods. additionally, 19 (2.86%) species have been distinguished as useful in producing green manure, 17 (2.56%) in dye yielding, 14 (2.11%) in handicrafts making, 12 (1.81%) as hedge, 12 (1.81%) as thatching material, 11 (1.66%) as spices and 10 (1.51%) as oil yielding. few species have been recognized as useful as pulse, water purifying, perfume, cosmetics, edible, fish feed, paper pulp, fish poison, gum, honey plant and juice plant. in the study area, 17 species, viz. acanthus volubilis (acanthaceae), andrographis paniculata (acanthaceae), baliospermum solanifolium (euphorbiaceae), barringtonia acutangula (lecythidaceae), casearia tomentosa (salicaceae), cerbera odollam (apocynaceae), diospyros malabarica (ebenaceae), dodonaea viscosa (sapindaceae), dolichandrone spathacea (bignoniaceae), geodorum densiflorum (orchidaceae), kaempferia angustifolia (zingiberaceae), luisia brachystachys (orchidaceae), parkinsonia aculeata (caesalpiniaceae), pavetta indica (rubiaceae), rauvolfia serpentina (apocynaceae), scadoxus multiflorus (amaryllidaceae) and zeuxine strateumatica (orchidaceae) were found as rare with small population, poor regeneration and restricted distribution. among these species, a. paniculata and r. serpentina are listed as threatened species for bangladesh (khan et al., 2001). the taxonomic enumeration of angiosperm species reported by this study from satkhira district covering 3,817.29 km² area, is nearly similar to that of narsingdi district composed of 3360.59 km² area (khanam et al., 2020; khanam and khan, 2020), lower than those reported from patuakhali district of 3221.31 km² area (sultana, 2012) and gazipur district of 1806.36 km² area floristic composition in the coastal district of satkhira 121 (tabassum, 2015) and higher than that recorded from rajshahi district situated on 2407.01 km² area (rahman, 2013). on the other hand, the taxonomic account of angiosperm species found in six of the seven upazilas of satkhira district, viz. satkhira sadar, kaligonj, shaymnagar, debhata, kolarowa and tala, are higher than those previously reported from different upazilas of some districts of the country, viz. ramgarh upazila of khagrachhari district (islam et al., 2009), dhamrai upazila of dhaka district (rahman et al., 2012), sadar upazila of munshiganj district (rahman et al., 2013), manikgonj sadar upazila of manikgonj district (sarker et al., 2013), sadar upazila of naogaon district (nahar and rahman, 2016), mahadebpur upazila of naogaon district (rahman and kona, 2016), sreenagar upazila of munshigang district (mahmudah et al., 2017), ishwardi of pabna district (roy and rahman, 2018), and gafargaon upazila of mymensingh district (rahman et al., 2019) (fig. 4). in contrast, this enumeration of angiosperm species is lower than those reported from belabo and shibpur upazilas and nearly similar to those reported from monohordi and sadar upazila of narsingdi district (khanam et al., 2020; khanam and khan, 2020) (fig. 4). fig. 4. angiosperms species composition in different upazilas of satkhira district in comparison to previous records from different upazilas of some districts of bangladesh. satkhira district is a vulnerable coastal area of bangladesh due to both natural disasters and anthropogenic causes (rahman and ferdous, 2017). frequent natural disasters, increasing salinity intrusion in both soil and water, invasion of some exotic species (acacia auriculiformis, eucalyptus camaldulensis, prosopis juliflora), poor regeneration, waterlogging and lack of proper management programs etc. are the critical natural problems and threats for its habitatand ecosystem degradation, the consequences of which are generating colossal negative effects on the local flora and vegetation in this district (kabir and eva, 2014). satkhira is one of the three districts of bangladesh that accommodate around 80% of total shrimp production (chowdhury and muniruzzaman, 2003; karim, 2003). but the widespread and increasing shrimp farming in this district is now a major anthropogenic threat that is likely to bring severe damages to the local environment and ecosystems, and ultimately to the local flora and vegetation (kabir and eva, 2014). however, the flora of the study area is still rich and withstanding through facing frequent natural disasters and severe human interferences, though some of its areas are almost bare. the taxonomic information provided by this study on the vascular plants of satkhira districts, might serve as an important guiding database to track the trend of changes in the floristic composition, plant species diversity and vegetation in course of time, especially due to natural and 122 hossain et al. anthropogenic threats, contribute in undertaking appropriate biodiversity conservation initiatives and plant resource-based socio-economic development, and help in estimating the impacts of climate change in this area. this study highly recommends for regular inventories, monitoring and problem-specific research programs on the flora and plant diversity of this district, conducting intensive research for finding the effective wind and saline tolerant plant species, accomplishment of adequate plantation with appropriate species in the marginal lands of coastaland river bank areas and implementation of adequate measures for conservation of the threatened and depleting plant species of this district. acknowledgements the authors express their sincere thanks to grant for advanced research in education (gare), banbeis, for funding this study. the authors are grateful to all people who were directly or indirectly involved in this study. the authors are thankful to the chief editor and the reviewers of the journal for their critical review of the manuscript. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 10 july, 2020; revised on 20 april, 2021) http://www.t http://www.tropicos.org bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 405-412, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57136 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists thrombolytic potentials of some medicinal plants used by the local people for cardiovascular diseases in bangladesh mohammad zashim uddin1, atiya begum rifat, farhana yesmin mitu, tahmina haque and md. abdul mazid2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. keywords: thrombolytic potentials; medicinal plants; cardiovascular diseases; bangladesh. abstract cardiovascular diseases (cvds) are one of the major causes of death in the world. medicinal plants with thrombolytic properties may be used as an alternative to modern medicines for cvds. the present study was aimed to evaluate the thrombolytic potential of six medicinal plants available in bangladesh using an in vitro clot lysis method where streptokinase and ethanol were used as a positive and negative control, respectively. ethanolic extract at a dose of 10 mg/ml of arjun tree (terminalia arjuna), garlic (allium sativum), elephant apple (dillenia indica), amla (phyllanthus emblica), yellow mombin (spondias pinnata) and burmese grape (baccaurea ramiflora) showed 14.18 ± 1.23%, 10.72 ± 0.78%, 8.25 ± 0.42%, 7.08 ± 0.64%, 5.42 ± 0.47% and 2.47 ± 0.19% clot lysis, respectively, whereas the standard drug streptokinase lysed 41.11±0.31% clot at a dose of 30,000 iu. from the data, it is evident that ethanolic extracts of six selected medicinal plants possess a moderate to insignificant thrombolytic activities. among these plants, arjun tree and garlic exhibited the highest thrombolytic activity and the burmese grape showed the lowest thrombolytic activity. through our study, it could be concluded that arjun tree, garlic, and elephant apple might be used as traditional healing purposes of cvds. however, further animal studies will prove the scientific justification of their uses. conservation efforts should be given for arjun tree, elephant apple, yellow mombin, burmese grape, and amla to save these plants from extinction in nature. introduction the thrombolytic disorder is one of the major causes of morbidity in bangladesh (islam and mojumder, 2013). thrombus development inside the blood vessels inhibits bloodstream through the circulatory system leading to high blood pressure, stroke to the heart, anoxia, atherosclerosis, angina, ischemic heart disease, thromboembolism, myocardial and cerebral infarction (khatun et al., 2016). management of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis patients is highly expensive and widely used thrombolytic drugs have limitations to some extend (ali et al. 2014). in the absence of thrombolytic drugs, local people have long been using medicinal plants for the management of cardiovascular diseases (uddin et al. 2019). in most cases, scientific validation of ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants for cardiac management is less common. moreover, herbal medicines are prescribed by indigenous physicians and play an important role in maintaining primary healthcare in many developing and underdeveloped countries (ghosh, 2003). medicinal plant products are sometimes recognized as safe because they are "natural" (demrow et al., 1995). the convincing proof is that dietary consumption phytoconstituents having anticoagulant properties can lessen the risks of thromboembolic diseases (lee et al., 2012; manicam et al., 2010). 1 corresponding author, e-mail: zashim01@gmail.com 2 department of pharmaceutical chemistry, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57136 mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 406 uddin et al. globally, the researches on antithrombolytic activity of different plant species have been initiated (ijiri et al., 2016; ijiri et al. 2016 and yamamoto et al., 2013). bangladesh as sub-tropical country possesses a number of useful medicinal plant having cardio protective properties. as a result, indigenous physicians recommend their use for treatment of chest diseases, high cholesterol, blood pressure and other cvds (uddin et al., 2019). allium sativum was used for gastric, cold, fever, chest pain, reduced pressure and ringworm (uddin et al., 2015a,b; haque et al., 2017). terminalia arjuna was reported for the treatment of heartache from different area from bangladesh (uddin et al., 2012, uddin and hassan, 2014). baccaurea ramiflora was reported for antioxidant properties (ullah et al., 2012). phyllanthus emblica is used for the treatment of heart disease (khatun and rahman, 2018). verification of scientific validity of local uses of medicinal plants in bangladesh is in preliminary stage. so an ethnobotanical approach for the scientific validations of local uses of medicinal plants for cvds management is essential. in the present study an attempt was taken to evaluate thrombolytic activity of six selected medicinal plant species available in bangladesh using in vitro clot lysis model. materials and methods selection of plant material based on ethnomedicinal information locally used in thankurgaon and dinajpur district, the six most commonly used medicinal plants for the management of cvds were selected. these were arjun tree (terminalia arjuna), burmese grape (baccaurea ramiflora), elephant apple (dillenia indica), garlic (allium sativum), amla (phyllanthus emblica), yellow mombin (spondias pinnata) (plate 1). then bark of arjun tree, bulb of garlic, fruits of burmese grape, elephant apple, amla and yellow mombin were collected from study area and were brought in plant taxonomy laboratory during 2018. identities of these plants were confirmed using traditional herbarium techniques (alexiades, 1996; hyland, 1972). voucher specimens of these species were preserved in dhaka university salar khan herbarium. plate 1. a. arjun tree (terminalia arjuna) b. burmese grape (baccaurea ramiflora) c. elephant apple (dillenia indica) d. garlic (allium sativum) e. amla (phyllanthus emblica) f. yellow mombin (spondias pinnata) thrombolytic potentials of some medicinal plants 407 preparation of plant materials immediately after collection, specified parts (barks, bulbs and fruits) of the plants were washed with clean water to remove filth and dirt materials. after proper washing these parts were cut into small pieces, then shade dried for several days. then these materials were ground into coarse powder using high capacity grinding machine and preserved in a locked container at room temperature for further experimental analysis. streptokinase (sk) the commercially available lyophilized streptokinase (sk) (s-kinase, popular pharmaceuticals ltd., bangladesh) of 15, 00, 000i.u per vial used as a positive control. then, 5 ml of sterile water for injection was added to streptokinase vial and mixed thoroughly. from this suspension 100μl (30,000 i.u) was used as positive control in in vitro thrombolysis assay (prasad et al. 2007). crude extracts preparation at first 100 gm powdered materials from each plant were taken in three clean, round bottomed flasks and soaked in 300 ml of 70% ethanol. the containers with its content were sealed by foil and kept for a period of 5 days with occasional shaking and stirring. the mixture was then filtered with whatman’s filter paper. then the filtered extracts were collected and dried at low temperature employing vacuum to make crude extracts. plant extracts preparation the evaluations of thrombolytic activities of all plant extractives were done using streptokinase (sk) as a reference standard drug (ali et al. 2014). at first 100 mg crude extracts of each plants was suspended in 10 ml of 70% ethanol and the suspension was shaken vigorously with a vortex mixture. then the suspension was kept overnight and decanted to remove the soluble supernatant, which was filtered with whatman’s filter paper. later this preparation from each was added to the microcentrifuge tubes containing the clots for checking thrombolytic activities. collection of blood sample venous blood was drawn from healthy human volunteers irrespective of gender by maintaining aseptic condition. then blood samples were immediately transferred to pre-weighted and pre-labelled sterile microcentrifuge tubes (0.5 ml to each centrifuge tube) to form clots. in vitro thrombolytic activity the thrombolytic activity in terms of in vitro clot lysis was carried as reported earlier (prasad et al. 2007, ali et al. 2014). preparation of clots at first the micro centrifuge tubes along with blood samples were centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 5 min to let the serum separate above the easy removal from the centrifuge tube. then the centrifuge tubes were incubated in simulated body temperature i.e. at 37°c for 45 minutes in temperature-controlled incubator. clot lysis after incubation, blood clot was formed at the bottom of each centrifuge tube. then the serum was completely removed from each centrifuge tube without disturbing the formed clot. after removing the serum, the clot containing tubes were weighted again to determine the clot weight. then weight of clotted blood (∆w) was taken by subtracting the pre-weighted (w1) from the 408 uddin et al. weight of clot containing tube (w2) as, ∆w = w2 -w1 (zaman et al. 2015). the equation for calculating clot weight is as following: clot weight = weight of clot containing tube – weight of empty tube. then 100µl of each extractive was added in each micro centrifuge tubes, where streptokinase was applied as a positive thrombolytic control and ethanol was applied as a negative thrombolytic control respectively. all the centrifuge tubes were again incubated at 37°c for 90min to observe clot lysis. after incubation, the centrifuge tubes were taken out from the incubator and the obtained fluid was removed. the tubes were again weighted to observe the difference in weight after clot lysis. difference obtained in weight taken before and after clot lysis was expressed as percentage of clot lysis (zaman et al. 2015). so, percentage of clot lysis was determined as following equation: % of clot lysis = × 100. statistical analysis the statistical analysis was carried out by jmp version 4. the values were analyzed as mean ± sem and expressed as percentages. all values were expressed as mean ± sem for nine replicates. data were analyzed by one-way anova. a p value ≤ 0.0001 was considered to be statistically significant. results and discussion the results of clot lysis using plant extracts, streptokinase and ethanol were presented in the table 1. the inclusion of 100µl of streptokinase, positive control (30000 iu) to the clot along with 90 minutes of incubation at 37°c temperature obtained 41.11 ± 0.31% clot lysis. when 100 µl of ethanol as negative control was added to clot, it showed negligible amount lysis (1.36 ± 0.02) of clot. the main differences in clot lysis percentage between positive and negative control are statistically very significant. after treatment of blood clots with 10mg/ml of ethanolic extract of arjun tree (terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn.), garlic (allium sativum l.) and elephant apple (dillenia indica l.), it was found that 14.18 ± 1.23% clot has been lysed by arjun extract 10.72 ± 0.78% by garlic extract and 8.25 ± 0.42% by elephant apple extract. on the other hand, amla (phyllanthus emblica l.) extract, yellow mombin (spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz) burmese grape (baccaurea ramiflora lour.) extract lysed 7.08 ± 0.64%, 5.42 ± 0.47%, 2.47 ± 0.19% of clots, respectively (table 1). so compare with the standard it is evident that ethanolic extracts of the former three extract possess a moderate thrombolytic potentials. but the later three extractives exhibited insignificant lysis of clots. among the tested plant extracts, extract of arjun tree and garlic exhibited highest thrombolytic activity and extract of burmese grape showed lowest thrombolytic activity in comparison to native control (table 1). this study seems to be the preliminary attempt to justify the potentials of plants for clots lysis based on ethnobotanical information of medicinal plants. the plants including arjun tree, garlic, elephant apple, amla, yellow mombin and burmese grape used in the research have long been used by the local people in cvds management based on their forefather long experience (uddin et al., 2001; uddin et al., 2004; uddin et al., 2006; roy et al., 2008; yusuf et al., 2009; uddin, 2013; uddin and hassan, 2014; uddin et al., 2017; ghani, 2003; fahad et al., 2014). the local people did not have any scientific evidence of the use of these plants. they followed the knowledge of their ancestors about plant uses as true. among the six plants used in the present study, arjun tree and garlic were most commonly used by locals in the management of cvds which has been proven some extend by the current scientific evaluation. the daily intake of garlic weight of lysis weight of clot before lysis thrombolytic potentials of some medicinal plants 409 is effective for prevention of arterial thrombotic disorders (ijiri et al., 2016), whereas the bark of arjun tree also showed beneficial effect in coronary artery diseases (dwivedi, 2007). apart from these, the use of sour fruits among the local people for the management of cvds could also be noticed (uddin et al., 2019). in the present study we have found some evidences of the ability of clot lysis from elephant apple, amla, yellow mombin and burmese grape which was proved traditional knowledge of local people. table 1. clot lysis values of six medicinal plants (in terms of % of clot lysis). scientific name and voucher number english/bengali name family % of clot lysis after using plant extract terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn., abr-01 arjun tree/arjun combretaceae 14.18 ± 1.23*** allium sativum l., fym-36 garlic/roshun liliaceae 10.72 ± 0.78*** dillenia indica l., abr-12 elephant apple/ chalta dilleniaceae 8.25 ± 0.42*** phyllanthus emblica l., fym-07 amla/amloki euphorbiaceae 7.08 ± 0.64*** spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz, fym-86 yellow mombin/amra anacardiaceae 5.42 ± 0.47*** baccaurea ramiflora lour., abr-87 burmese grape/ lotkon euphorbiaceae 2.47 ± 0.19*** streptokinase 41.62 ± 0.40* ethanol 1.36 ± 0.02** results represented in means ± sem (n = 9); level of significance, *** p<0.0001,** p<0.001, * p<0.05 comparing with standard streptokinase (41.62%). considering the preliminary results of the present research, the potential of the plants can be proved with certainty by carrying out long term research which could be a milestone in the discovery of new medicines for the management of cvds from the medicinal plants. once upon a time, there were plenty of medicinal plants including arjun tree, elephant apple, amla, yellow mombin and burmese grape availalbe in bangladesh. due to anthropogenic pressure, lack of awareness, and development activities, currently, such medicinal plants were not encountered in nature easily. since their folk uses have been proven scientifically to some extend true, it is matter of time before elimination, these plants are to be protected in nature. arjun tree, garlic, elephant apple, amla, yellow mombin and burmese grape can be used in future as an alternative source of medicine to modern drugs if clot lysis power will be proven further using modern scientific tools. from the present evaluation, it can be established that our findings may have substantial implications in cvds management. the results are also supported the medicinal uses of these six medicinal plants in bangladesh. the findings may direct the opportunity of developing new thrombolytic compounds from arjun tree, garlic and elephant apple extracts. this study investigated some medicinal plants and spices to explore their thrombolytic potential. traditionally, medicinal plants, spices, herbs etc. are used from the history of mankind. scientific evaluation of those has yielded many plant derived drugs which are available in the market. it is noteworthy that about one of three drugs is discovered from natural sources (leta et al., 2002; gillman et al., 1995). many studies have been directed by various researchers to find out the herbs, species, plants and natural foods possessing antithrombotic properties. there is 410 uddin et al. evidence that consuming such materials lead to prevention of cvds including coronary thromboembolism and stroke (ratnasooriya et al., 2008; joshipura et al., 1999. liu et al., 2000, bazzano et al., 2002). though there are several commercially available thrombolytic drugs including those obtained by recombinant dna technology, but adverse effects related to some of these drugs have been reported (baruah et al., 2006; gallus, 1998; wardlaw et al., 2004; capstick and henry, 2005). therefore, as an alternative if herbal preparations are taken appropriately may provide better effect in curing many ailments including cvds. but there is also a concern about the toxicities of many plants. such concerns may be overcome by toxicities studies to set up a safe mode of uses of those plants for treatment and preventive purposes (krishnaraju et al., 2006; collen, 1996). applications of drugs in the management of cvds are well established as the complete mechanisms of the commercially available drugs have been confirmed scientifically. on the contrary, though natural products are considered to be safe, in most cases their applications are doubted because there is lacking in the scientific proofs and mode of actions of many traditional medicinal plants. in our finding, ethanolic extract of arjun tree, garlic and elephant apple showed moderate thrombolytic effects while the other three plants extracts exhibited insignificant effects. in conclusion, it can be inferred that consumption of those extracts showed moderate thrombolytic effects may reduce the risk of cvds. however, further studies are needed to set 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(manuscript received on 3 july 2021; revised on 10 december 2021) http://www.ebbd.info. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 19-43, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic revision of saudi arabian tetraena maxim. and zygophyllum l. (zygophyllaceae) with one new variety and four new combinations dhafer ahmed alzahrani1 and enas jameel albokhari2 department of biological sciences, faculty of science, king abdulaziz university, jeddah, saudi arabia keywords: taxonomic revision; tetraena; zygophyllum; new variety; new combination; saudi arabia. abstract the genera tetraena maxim. and zygophyllum l. (zygophyllaceae) present different morphological characters, viz. growth habit, leaf features, flower traits and fruit shape, and have a high diversity of species in africa, australia and asia. six species of tetraena [t. alba (l.f.) beier & thulin, t. coccinea (l) beier & thulin, t. decumbens (delile) beier & thulin, t. hamiensis (schwein f.) beier & thulin, t. propinqua (decne.) ghaz. & osborne and t. simplex (l.) beier & thulin], and one species of zygophyllum (z. fabago l.) have been identified in saudi arabia, most of which grow in sandy soils and saline habitats as shrubs and herbs. one new endemic variety (t. alba var. arabica alzahrani & albokhari) along with four new combinations [t. alba var. amblyocarpa (baker) alzahrani & albokhari, t. hamiensis var. qatarensis (hadidi ex beier & thulin) alzahrani & albokhari, t. hamiensis var. mandavillei (hadidi ex beier & thulin) alzahrnai & albokhari, and t. propinqua subsp. migahidii (hadidi ex beier & thulin) alzahrani & albokhari] are proposed. descriptions, illustrations, distribution maps and a key for identification of the taxa are presented. conservation status has been proposed for the new variety and combinations. introduction the genus zygophyllum l. distributed in saudi arabia received much attention based on morphological and anatomical characters (hadidi, 1978; migahid, 1978, 1996; hosny, 1988; mandaville, 1990; chaudhary, 2001; soliman et al., 2010; waly et al., 2011). however, according to the most recent taxonomic proposal of tetraena maxim. and zygophyllum presented by beier et al. (2003), the most saudi arabian taxa of zygophyllum were transferred to tetraena. zygophyllum and tetraena have similar morphological characters, viz. growth habit, leaf features, flower traits and fruit shape. beier et al. (2003) showed that zygophyllum and tetraena could easily be distinguished from each other by the characters of fruit dehiscence and staminal appendages. zygophyllum propinquum was not included in beier et al. (2003) and it was not mentioned as a synonym under any species in their study. however, ghazanfar and osborne (2015) transferred this species to tetraena propinqua. taxonomically, zygophyllaceae r. br. was placed in different orders by several authors. engler (1964) placed the family in the order geraniales, while cronquist (1968) and hutchinson (1969) positioned zygophyllaceae in the order sapindales. dahlgren (1980) deposited it in the order geraniales, following engler (1964), but takhtajan (1980) positioned the family within rutales. currently, apg iii (2009) placed zygophyllaceae with krameriaceae within a new order 1corresponding author. email: dalzahrani@kau.edu.sa; dhaferalzahrani@hotmail.com 2department of biological sciences, faculty of applied sciences, umm al-qura university, makkah, saudi arabia. mailto:dalzahrani@kau.edu.sa; mailto:dhaferalzahrani@hotmail.com 20 alzahrani and albokhari zygophyllales. these two families are placed with strong support as sister to a clade containing more than two orders. sheahan and chase (2000) analysed both rbcl and trnl-f sequences from 36 taxa of zygophyllaceae and their results were supported by previous classification of zygophyllaceae into the five subfamilies (zygophylloideae, larreoideae, seetzenioideae, tribuloideae and morkillioideae). moreover, sheahan and chase (2000) have indicated that tetraena is nested within the large and variable zygophyllum. the genus zygophyllum was first described by linnaeus (1753) and has been accepted by several authors who worked broadly on systematics of this genus (zumbruch, 1931; van huyssteen, 1937; oltmann, 1971; hadidi, 1978; sheahan and chase, 1996, 2000; van zyl, 2000). linnaeus (l.c.) classified six species within zygophyllum, namely z. fabago l., z. morgsana l., z. sessilifolium l., z. fulvum l., z. coccineum l. and z. spinosum l. based on growth habit, androecium characters and dehiscence of the capsule van huyssteen (1937) split zygophyllum into two subgenera, viz. zygophyllotypus huysst. (= subgenus zygophyllum) and agrophyllum, and further subdivided zygophyllotypus into eight sections and agrophyllum into five sections. in this classification, zygophyllum coccineum, z. album and z. aegyptium were placed in section mediterranea engl., and z. simplex and z. decumbens in section bipartita huysst. z. dumosum was placed in section alata huysst (van huyssteen, 1937). hadidi (1977) recognized eight species of zygophyllum in arabia and all of them belong to section mediterranea, including two new species, i.e. zygophyllum mandavillei hadidi, and z. migahidii hadidi. z. migahidii is closely related to z. propinquum, but they differ in flower and fruit characters. in z. migahidii, the flowers and fruit are solitary at each node, while they are grouped in clusters in z. propinquum, conversely, z. mandavillei can be easily recognized from other species of its section by its glabrous, large long-stalked flowers and sausage-shaped capsule. later, hadidi (1978) described z. qatarense from qatar as a new species. hosny (1988) reported 13 species and three varieties of zygophyllum in arabia and among them10 species and one variety were distributed in saudi arabia. she classified them into two subgenera zygophyllum and agrophyllum (necker) endl. ex van huyssteen following engler (1931) and van huyssteen (1937). according to van huyssteen (1937), two of the saudi species belong to section bipartita, seven species belong to section mediterranea, including z. boulosii a. hosny as a new species, and two species belong to section hamiensia engl. sheahan and chase (1996) studied the phylogenetic relationships of zygophyllaceae based on morphology, anatomy and the rbcl sequence and found fagonia as sister to the rest of the subfamily, while zygophyllum fabago (type species of zygophyllum) is a sister to genus augea, and z. simplex is a sister to genus tetraena and concluded that z. simplex might not belong to zygophyllum. later, sheahan and chase (2000) investigated the phylogenetic relationships of 36 taxa of zygophyllaceae including 15 species of zygophyllum from africa, australia and southwest asia using nucleotide sequences of the plastid gene rbcl and non-coding trnl-f. their results agreed with a high support to the previous results that stated zygophyllaceae needs to be divided into five subfamilies and the subfamily zygophylloideae was further classified into five clades with a high support of bootstrap. also, they concluded that zygophyllum is polyphyletic. zygophyllum fabago was nested with another asian species, z. xanthoxylum, whereas z. simplex was placed in a strong clade with genus tetraena and other species of zygophyllum: z. cylindrifolium, z. decumbens, z. album and z. coccineum (last three are distributed in saudi arabia). moreover, molecular studies have indicated that tetraena is nested within the large and paraphyletic zygophyllum (sheahan and chase, 2000). van zyl (2000) made a revision for 54 species of south african zygophyllum and classified these species into two subgenera zygophyllum and agrophyllum, based on morphological characters, more particularly capsule dehiscence, seed attachment and presence of spiral threads in taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 21 the seed mucilage. the result agreed with classification provided by endlicher (1841) and van huyssteen (1937). takhtajan (1987) separated the genus tetraena from subfamily zygophylloideae and erected tetraenoideae based on morphology of pistil, fruit, pollen grains and chromosomes. species within the genus tetraena can be distinguished by growth habit, plant colour, leaf structure, flower colour, and fruit type and shape (van huyssteen, 1937; hosny, 1988; van zyl, 2000; chaudhary, 2001; beier et al., 2003). based on trnl plastid dna sequences and morphological characters beier et al. (2003) showed that zygophylloideae is monophyletic, whereas the genus zygophyllum is paraphyletic, since it was placed with the genera of augea thunb., tetraena and fagonia l. in addition, they proposed a new classification for tetraena and zygophyllum which is supported by combination of morphological and molecular data, transferring 35 species from zygophyllum to tetraena as new combinations. these species are known from africa and asia. zygophyllum is characterized by a loculicidal capsule and undivided staminal appendages, while tetraena is distinguished by a schizocarp and sometimes bipartite staminal appendages. subsequently, many authors agreed with this transfer and used the combinations proposed by beier et al. (2003) as valid in their works (norton et al., 2009; louhaichi et al., 2011; mosti et al., 2012; sakkir et al., 2012; azevedo, 2014; symanczik et al., 2014). recently, alzahrani and albokhari (2017a) studied phylogenetic relationships of 44 specimens representing seven taxa of saudi arabian tetraena maxim. and zygophyllum l., based on individual and combined chloroplast dna data of rbcl and trnl-f. molecular phylogenetic of the cpdna analysis of this study, divided saudi arabian tetraena plants into six groups: t. hamiensis (schweinf.) beier & thulin, t. propinqua (decne.) ghazanfar & osborne, t. alba (l. f.) beier & thulin, t. coccinea (l.) beier & thulin, t. simplex (l. f.) beier & thulin, and t. decumbens (delile) beier & thulin and one species of zygophyllum (zygophyllum fabago l.). in saudi arabia, zygophyllaceae is represented by eight genera including balanites del., fagonia l., nitraria l., peganum l., seetzenia r. br., tetraena maxim., tribulus l. and zygophyllum l. (collenette, 1985, 1998, 1999; mandaville, 1990; migahid, 1996; chaudhary, 2001). the genus tetraena is widespread in saudi arabia, while the genus zygophylum is only represented by z. fabago in northern parts of saudi arabia. in saudi arabia, a few taxonomic studies on the genera tetraena and zygophyllum using morphological and anatomical characters have been carried out (soliman et al., 2010; al-arjany, 2011;waly et al., 2011) and new combination have been made (alzahrani, 2017; alzahrani and albokhari, 2017b,c). the objective of the present study is to revise the saudi arabian genera tetraena and zygophyllum belonging to the family zygophyllaceae with detailed taxonomic notes. materials and methods the present revisionary study of tetraena maxim. and zygophyllum l. in saudi arabia is based on extensive field survey, literature and analysis of more than 348 specimens, including types and images of types from different herbaria, viz. bm, cai, caim, e, k, kauh, ksu and riy. field surveys were carried out in c. 31 localities, between 2013 and 2014, and 72 collected samples were deposited in kauh (king abdulaziz university herbarium, jeddah, saudi arabia). the collected specimens were critically studied and examined, and identifications were confirmed using standard literature (hosny, 1988; chaudhary, 2001; beier et al., 2003). in each case, several duplicate voucher specimens were made and these were complemented with fresh material preserved in 70% ethanol and stored for further research. a total of 74 morphological traits were found effective to determinate species and new combinations from field collections and herbarium specimens. these characters, including both vegetative and reproductive features, were examined and scored using a novex dissecting 22 alzahrani and albokhari microscope and x10 hand lens. differences between species, subspecies and varieties were supported by distribution maps, diagnostic traits placed in the identification key, and drawings, and evaluation of synonyms. the conservation status for the new variety and combinations was assessed following the guidelines of iucn (iucn, 2014). results and discussion zygophyllum is represented by only one species in saudi arabia, z. fabago. it clearly differs from tetraena species by several morphological characters such as size, shape and colour of leaves, flowers and fruits. the present study reveals that z. fabago is characterized by 2-foliolate, flat leaves, up to 4 cm long, and 2.5 cm wide, creamy flowers, and loculicidal, oblong-cylindrical capsule, up to 3 cm long. this is congruent with beier’s results (beier et al., 2003). based on the morphological traits and morphometric analysis (alzahrani, 2017; alzahrani and albokhari, 2017b, c), this study reported six species of tetraena (e.g. t. alba, t. coccinea, t. decumbens, t. hamiensis, t. propinqua and t. simplex) distributed in saudi arabia. key to the saudi arabian species of zygophyllum and tetraena 1. fruit a loculicidal capsule; leaves 2-foliolate, flat, obovate-elliptic. zygophyllum fabago fruit a schizocarp; leaves simple, 1or 2-foliolate, mostly cylindrical and fleshy, seldom flat. 2 2. staminal appendages bipartite; stems and leaves glabrous. 3 staminal appendages undivided; stems and leaves mostly pubescent. 4 3. fruits obovoid, 5-lobed; flowers yellow; leaves simple, sessile, cylindrical, fleshy. tetraena simplex fruits obconical, 5-ridged; flowers white creamy; leaves 2foliolate, petiolate, obovate, flat. t. decumbens 4. leaves 1-foliolate; fruits oblong-obovate, 5-angled at the upper end to cylindrical. t. hamiensis leaves 2-foliolate; fruits oblong-ovate, obconial or cylindrical, with or without ridges or lobes at the upper end. 5 5. flowers arranged in clusters. fruits obconical, 5-ridged at the upper end. t. alba flowers 1-3 at each node. 6 6. fruits cylindrical, without lobes or angled at the upper end (sausage shaped). t. coccinea fruits ovate-oblong to obconical, 5-angled at the upper end. t. propinqua tetraena alba (l. f.) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240: 35 (2003). (fig. 1). diagnosis: t. alba differs from other species of the genus by its pubescent stem, 2-foliolate, cylindrical with acute apex, fleshy leaves, mostly arranged flowers in clusters, undivided staminal appendages and fruit shape. it occurs in western saudi arabia. three morphological variations are recognized. small shrub, perennial, green or greenish grey, 50–60 cm tall, 40 cm wide. stem pubescent, with unicellular simple trichomes. leaves 2-foliolate, 7–12×3.0–5.5 mm, fleshy, cylindrical or elliptic, apex acute; petiole 10–18 mm; stipules triangular, herbaceous, 1.0×1.5 mm, pubescent. flowers arranged in clusters, sometimes solitary, bisexual, white, 4.0–5.5×3–5 mm, pedicel 1–2 mm long. sepals 5, rounded-obtuse at the apex, herbaceous, yellowish green, obovate, 3–4×2–3 taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 23 mm, pubescent, aestivation imbricate. petals 5, white, spathulate, 3.5–6.0×1–2 mm, aestivation valvate. stamens 10, 3–4 mm long, staminal appendages undivided, 2.0–2.5×1.0 mm; anthers 2lobed, yellow, dorsifixed, dehiscent longitudinally; disc smooth. ovary 5-locular, pubescent; style single, c. 1 mm long. fruit a schizocarp, obconical, oblongobconical or star shaped, acute, with keeled lobes 7–12×(2–6)8–13 mm, pubescent, pericarp extended as wings, peduncle 2–6 mm long, pubescent. fig. 1. tetraena alba: a. flower; b. sepal; c. petal; d. stamen; e. ovary (alzahrani and albokhari, 2017b). tetraena alba consists of three varieties, viz. t. alba (l. f.) beier & thulin var. alba, t. alba (l.f.) beier & thulin var. arabica alzahrani & albokhari, var. nov. and t. alba (l. f.) beier & thulin var. amblyocarpa (baker) alzahrani & albokhari, comb. nov. taxonomy of these varieties are summarized below: tetraena alba (l. f.) beier & thulin var. alba. zygophyllum album l. f., dec. pl. hort. upsal.: 11 t. 6 (1762); z. proliferum forssk., fl. egypt. arab.: 12 (1775). (figs 2a, d & g). diagnosis: this variety can be distinguished by the petiole of the leaflets up to 15 mm long, flowers 4.0–4.5×3–4.5 mm; schizocarps obconical, star-shaped, with thick broad lobes 8–10 mm long, 7–10 mm wide of upper end, 3–6 mm wide of lower end, pedicel up to 3 mm long. type: linnaeus hl544-2 [linn, lectotype designated by el-hadidi in webbia 33: 51(1978)]. vernacular names: rotreyt, qarmal, harm. phenology: february to june. distribution: saudi arabia: along the red sea coast (fig. 3). worldwide: egypt, jordan, tunisia, palestine, somalia, south africa and greece. habitat: found in the salt marshy habitats, coastal and inland saline sandy soils, dunes and sheets, and in saline depressions. specimens examined: saudi arabia: shuaiba (20°52'23''n 39°22'6''e), february 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e110 (kauh); umluj (24°59'05''n 37°17'09''e), march 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e132, d&e134, d&e139 (kauh); umluj (25°03'34.87''n 37°15'50.86''e), may 2014, alzahrani d148, d153 (kauh); coast 12 km north of muweli (27°41'6.02''n 35°29'20.33''e), september 1983, collenette 4521 (riy, k); near umm sidrah 75 km north of jeddah, january 1980, collenette 1518 (k). egypt: sallum east, april 1932, shabetai 1780 (caim); north of helwan, february 1944, davis 6302b (e); helwan, march 1891, 24 alzahrani and albokhari scott elliot 3554 (e). jordan: aqaba, october 1989, leonard 7468 (e). tunisia: monastir, august 1968, davis 48050 (e); southeast tunisia, west of oudref, february 1966, archibald 884 (e). greece: july 1950, davis 18109 (e); ep. ierapetro, october 1966, greuter 7811 (e). tetraena alba (l. f.) beier & thulin var. arabica alzahrani & albokhari, var. nov. (figs 2b, e & h). diagnosis: this variety can be distinguished by its petiole of the leaflets, up to 18 mm long, flowers 5.5×5.0 mm, schizocarps oblong-obconical, star shaped, with narrow lobes, 11–13 mm long, upper end 8–10 mm wide, lower end 2–3 mm wide, pedicel up to 6 mm long. type: saudi arabia, umluj (24°58'19''n 37°17'03''e), march 2013, alzahrani et albokhari 138 (holotype: kauh; isotype: ksu). small shrub, perennial, green or greenish grey, 50–60 cm tall, 40 cm wide. stem pubescent, with unicellular simple trichomes. leaves 2-foliolate, 7–12×3.0–5.5 mm, fleshy, cylindrical or elliptic, apex acute; petiole up to 18 mm long; stipules triangular, herbaceous, 1.0×1.5 mm, pubescent. flowers white, arranged in clusters, sometimes solitary, bisexual, 5.5×5.0 mm, pedicel 1–2 mm long. sepals 5, rounded-obtuse at the apex, herbaceous, yellowish green, obovate, 3–4×2– 3 mm, pubescent, aestivation imbricate. petals white, 5, spathulate, 3.5–6.0×1–2 mm, aestivation valvate. stamens 10, 3–4 mm long, staminal appendages undivided, 2.0–2.5×1 mm; anthers 2lobed, yellow, dorsifixed, dehiscent longitudinally; disc smooth. ovary 5-locular, pubescent; style single, 1 mm long. schizocarp oblong-obconical, star shaped, with narrow lobes, 11-13×(2–3)8– 10 mm, pubescent, pericarp extended as wings, peduncle pubescent, up to 6 mm long. vernacular names: rotreyt, qarmal, harm. phenology: february to june. distribution: endemic to saudi arabia and apparently restricted to its western cost, mainly in umluj (fig. 3). habitat: found in coastal and inland saline sandy soils, and salt marshy areas. etymology: the varietal epithet is derived from arabia, the area of its distribution. conservation status: based on its known distribution (area of occupancy estimated to be less than 10 km2) and abundance (number of mature individuals less than 50), the iucn red list category (iucn, 2014) “critically endangered” is here attributed to this variety. tetraena alba (l. f.) beier & thulin var. amblyocarpa (baker) alzahrani & albokhari, comb. nov. zygophyllum amblyocarpum baker, hooker’s icon. pl. 24: t. 2358 (1895); z. amblyocarpum baker, kew bull. 1894: 339 (1894), nom. nud.; z. album l. f. var. amblyocarpum (baker) elhadidi in webbia 33: 52 (1978); z. album l. f. var. amblyocarpum (baker) el-hadidi in bot. not. 131: 441 (1978). (figs 2c, f& i). diagnosis: this variety is recognized by petiole of leaflets up to 10 mm long, flowers 4×4 mm, schizocarps obconical, acute with keeled lobes 9–13 mm long, 8–12 mm wide at upper end, 2–3 mm wide at lower end and pedicel up to 6 mm long. type: hadramout, al mukalla, shary burrock valley, december 1893; lunt 51 (holotype: k!; isotype: bm). phenology: february to june. vernacular names: rotreyt, qarmal, harm. distribution: saudi arabia: shuaibah (fig. 3). worldwide: south arabia (yemen), tropical east and north africa (egypt). taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 25 habitat: salt marshy areas. conservation status: least concern (lc), locally common on the west coast of saudi arabia, cost of yemen, egypt and somalia. fig. 2. variations in morphological characters of tetraena alba varieties: a. leaf of t. alba var. alba; b. leaf of t. alba var. arabica; c. leaf of t. alba var. amblyocarpa; d. fruit of t. alba var. alba; e. fruit of t. alba var. arabica; f. fruit of t. alba var. amblyocarpa; g. schizocarp lobe of t. alba var. alba; h. schizocarp lobe of t. alba var. arabica; i. schizocarp lobe of t. alba var. amblyocarpa (alzahrani and albokhari, 2017b). specimens examined: saudi arabia: shuaiba (20°51'10''n 39°23'47''e), february 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e107 (kauh). yemen: hadramout, al mukalla, shary burrock valley, december 1893, lunt 51 (k!, holotype); hadramout, 81 km from qusayir along road to sayhut, october 1992, thulin et al. 8247 (k). egypt: jamailia, february 1948, shabetai 7730 (caim); red sea region, may 2005, abdel-ghani et abdel-fattah s.n. (caim); safaga, may 2005, abdel-ghani et abdel-fattah s.n. (caim). 26 alzahrani and albokhari fig. 3. distribution map of tetraena alba varieties in saudi arabia:t. alba var. alba, t. alba var. arabica, t. alba var. amblyocarpa (alzahrani and albokhari, 2017b). tetraena coccinea (l) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240: 35 (2003). zygophyllum coccineum l., sp. pl. 1: 386 (1753); z. desertorum forssk., fl. aegypt.-arab.: 87 (1775); z. berenicense scweinf., fl. egypt iii: 65 (1887); z. coccineum l. var. berenicense (schweinf.) muschl., man. fl. egypt 1: 578 (1912). (fig. 4). diagnosis: t. coccinea with a shrubby habit can be recognized by its cylindrical fruits and persistent triangular stipules. type: inter kahiram & sués, august 1762, forsskål s.n. (holotype: c; isotype: bm! ld). small shrubs, perennial, green, up to 75 cm tall and 100 cm wide. stem pubescent, with unicellular simple trichomes. leaves 2-foliolate, cylindrical, up to 14.0×4.5 mm, fleshy, petiole up to 20 mm long; stipules triangular, herbaceous, 1.5×1.0 mm, pubescent. flowers bisexual, white, 4–7×4–5 mm, pedicel up to 10 mm long. sepals 5, rounded-obtuse at the apex, herbaceous, yellowish green, obovate, 4–6×2–3 mm, pubescent, aestivation imbricate. petals 5, white, spathulate, 5–7×2.0–2.5 mm, aestivation valvate. stamens 10, 3.0–4.5 mm long, staminal appendages undivided, 2–3×1.0–1.5 mm; anthers 2-lobed, yellow, dorsifixed, dehiscent longitudinally; disc smooth. ovary 5-locular, pubescent; style single, 1 mm long. fruit a schizocarp, cylindrical, 9–12×3–6 mm, glabrous, peduncle up to 11 mm long. vernacular names: harm, rotreyt, batbat. phenology: february to june. distribution: saudi arabia: north-west to south-west saudi arabia (fig. 5). worldwide: kuwait, yemen, east and north africa, and palestine. taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 27 fig. 4. tetraena coccinea: a. leaf; b. fruit; c. flower; d. sepal; e. petal; f. stamens. habitat: found in salt marshy areas. specimens examined: saudi arabia: south of jeddah (22°31'11''n 39°10'41''e), february 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e101, d&e102, d&e104, d&e105 (kauh); shuaibah (20°52'23''n 39°22'16''e), february 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e108, d&e11, d&e113 (kauh); north of jeddah (21°50'23''n 39°07'05''e), february 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e114, d&e115, d&e116, d&e117, d&e118 (kauh); south of alleith (19°56'15''n 40°31'17''e), february 2013, alzahrani d&e119, d&e120 (kauh); near rabigh (23°31'35''n 38°40'27''e), march 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e123, d&e124, d&e125, d&e126 (kauh); between rabigh and yanbu (23°53'08''n 38°27'08''e), march 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e127, d&e128 (kauh); yanbu (24°07'23''n 38°02'02''e), march 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e129, d&e130, d&e131, d&e135, d&e136, d&e140, (kauh); farasan island, february 1986, collenette 10357 (riy); tabouk, september 1983, chaudhary h8251 (riy); duqm sabkha, february 1999, someya et wutaid h19036 (riy); oasis near duba, february 1999, someya et wutaid h19035 (riy); rabigh, may 1998, someya et wutaidh19037 (riy); dumsaq, june 1988, chaudhary h14159 (riy); north hijaz, may 1978, collenette 747 (k); red sea near jeddah, october 1983, collenette 5491 (k, e); yanbu al bahr, 1972, collenette 72-203 (k); jabal ohod north of madinah, february 1945, khattab 323 (cai). egypt: the desert road between cairo-faiyum at 40 km, august 1972, abbas et abdel-hay 838 (caim); wadi hamad, april 1944, davis 7165 (e); lower wadi digla, october 1944, davis 7805 (e). yemen: january 1979, wood 2676 (k, e); meidi, march 1944, khattab 681 (caim). 28 alzahrani and albokhari fig. 5. distribution map of tetraena coccinea in saudi arabia. tetraena decumbens (delile) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240: 35 (2003). zygophyllum decumbens delile, descr. egypte, hist. nat. :221, t. 27, fig. 3 (1813); z.decumbens delile var. megacarpum hosny, bot. not. 130: 467-468 (1977). (fig. 6). diagnosis: t. decumbens can be distinguished from other tetraena species by its shrubby habit, 2-foliolate flat leaves, white creamy flowers, bipartite staminal appendages and glabrous stem. it is sympatric to t. alba and t. coccinea in western saudi arabia, but these species have pubescent stem, undivided staminal appendages and different fruit features. type: valée dans i'egaroment; delile 6967 (holotype: mpu; isotype: fl). small shrub, perennial, green, 50 cm tall, 100 cm wide. stem glabrous. leaves 2-foliolate, obovate, flat, up to 21×12 mm, apex rounded, fleshy, petiole 12–15 mm long; stipules triangular, 1.0×1.5 mm, glabrous. flowers bisexual, white-creamy, 5–6×4–5 mm, pedicel up to 7 mm long. sepals 5, rounded-obtuse at the apex, herbaceous, yellowish green, obovate, glabrous, 3×2 mm, aestivation imbricate. petals 5, white-creamy, spathulate, 4.0×1.5 mm, aestivation valvate. stamens 10, 4.0–4.5 mm long, staminal appendages bipartite, 1.5×0.5 mm; anthers 2-lobed, yellow, dorsifixed, dehiscent longitudinally; disc smooth. ovary 5-locular, glabrous; style single, c. 2 mm long. fruit a schizocarp, obconical, 5-ridged, 3–6×1.5–5.0 mm, glabrous, peduncle up to 15 mm long. vernacular names: harm, rotreyt, qarmal, batbat. phenology: february to june. distribution: saudi arabia: western to north-western region (fig. 7). worldwide: oman, yemen, egypt, sinai, sudan, somalia, eritrea, and south africa. habitat: growing in sandy and gravels habitat. taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 29 fig. 6. tetraena decumbens: a. leaf; b. fruit; c. flower; d. sepal; e. petal; f. stamen. specimens examined: saudi arabia: 30 km south of umluj (24°45'06''n 37°19'56''e), march 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e142 (kauh); al wajh (26°20'36.6''n 36°23'13.5''e), may 2014, alzahrani d147, d152 (kauh); wadi al bayda, february 1998, someya et wutaid h19029 (riy); jabal hassan w coast, july 1998, someya et wutaid h19028 (riy); north of muweli between duba and ash sharma, september 1983, collenette 8846 (riy); jaziat qummaah, february 1998, someya et wutaid h19041 (riy); duba north of hedjaz, january 1944, khattab k33 (cai); 12 km north of muweli ash sharma road, september 1983, collenette 4519 (k). oman: dhofar, 25 km south of thumrait on salalah road, september 1984, miller 7654 (k); ayun road 5 km east of turnoff to pools, september 1985, miller 7654 (k); jabal qamar 5 km northwest of janook, october 1979, miller 2621 (k). yemen: shabwah, 2 km northeast of mahfis wadi bottom, october 1992, thulin et al. 7981 (k); shabwa wadi 5 km south of ataq, january 1988, rowaished et al. 2792 (k); hadramout, central plateau 19 km south of sayun along the road to al mukalla, june 1987, boulos et al.17055 (k). egypt: jabal araqa, march 1944, davis 9799 (riy); wadi quseib north galala, march 1964, boulos s.n. (k); in the desert of elsaff south of helwan, april 1959, boulos s.n. (k). 30 alzahrani and albokhari fig. 7. distribution map of tetraena decumbens in saudi arabia. tetraena hamiensis (schweinf.) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240: 35 (2003). (fig. 8). diagnosis: t. hamiensis can mostly be recognized by the presence of 1-foliolate leaves, but when they are 2-foliolate, usually are fleshy, terete or globular, pubescent stem, solitary white flowers and undivided staminal appendages. small shrubs, perennial, green, reddish or yellowish green, up to 80 cm tall, 90 cm wide. stem pubescent, with unicellular simple trichomes. leaves mostly 1-foliolate, sometimes 2-foliolate in upper branches, terete, globular, cylindrical or clavate, 4–9×3–6 mm, fleshy, pubescent or glabrous, petiole equal or longer than leaflets, up to 9 mm long; stipules triangular, herbaceous, 1.0×1.5 mm, pubescent. flowers bisexual, solitary at each node, white, 4–6×3–5 mm, pedicel 3–5 mm long. sepals 5, rounded-obtuse at the apex, herbaceous, yellowish green, obovate, 3–5×2–3 mm, pubescent, aestivation imbricate. petals 5, white, spathulate, 4–6×1.5–2.0 mm, aestivation valvate. stamens 10, 2–5 mm long, staminal appendages undivided, 2–3 mm long, 1.0–1.5 mm wide; anthers 2-lobed, yellow, dorsifixed, dehiscent longitudinally; disc smooth. ovary 5-locular, pubescent; style single, 0.5–1.5 mm long. fruit a schizocarp, oblong-obovate, oblong-obconical, 5-angled or cylindrical, 8–20×(2–3.5)2–5 mm, pubescent or glabrous, peduncle 5-10 mm long, pubescent or glabrous. t. hamiensis comprises three varieties, namely, t. hamiensis (scweinf.) beier & thulin var. hamiensis, t. hamiensis (schweinf.) beier & thulin var. qatarensis (hadidi ex beier & thulin) alzahrani & albokhari, comb. nov. and t. hamiensis (schweinf.) beier & thulin var. mandavillei (hadidi ex beier & thulin) alzahrnai & albokhari, comb. nov. taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 31 fig. 8. tetraena hamiensis: a. flower; b. sepal; c. petal; d. stamens; e. ovary (alzahrani and albokhari, 2017c). tetraena hamiensis (scweinf.) beier & thulin var. hamiensis. zygophyllum hamiense schweinf., bull. herb. boissier vii. app. ii : 277 (1899); t. hamiensis (schweinf.) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240: 36 (2003). (figs 9a & d). diagnosis: t. hamiensis var. hamiensis is distinguished by its green, clavate, 6–9×3–5 mm leaflets, petiole up to 9 mm, pedicel up to 5 mm long, schizocarp oblong-obconical, 5-angled, clearly lobed, 10–13×3–4 mm, pubescent, peduncle up to 10 mm long. type: el hami, east schehr. schweinfurth 182 (isotype: w). vernacular name: harm. phenology: february to june and september to november. distribution: saudi arabia: eastern and south-central region of saudi arabia (fig. 10). worldwide: united arab emirates, oman, kuwait, yemen, iran and somalia. habitat: in sandy and saline soils. 32 alzahrani and albokhari conservation status: t. hamiensis var. hamiensis appears to be distributed in some localities in the eastern and south-central region of saudi arabia. at the international level, this variety is evaluated as least concern (lc) since it also grows in united arab emirates, oman, kuwait, yemen, iran and somalia (iucn, 2014). specimens examined: saudi arabia: al ahsa, qatar road (25°16'30''n 49°41'09''e), may 2013, alzahrani d18 (kauh); al ahsa, qatar road (24°49'54''n 50°40'25''e), 25 km before salwa, may 2013, alzahrani d19 (kauh); al ahsa, qatar road, 10 km before alaudaidah (24°27'32''n 51°02'52''e), may 2013, alzahrani d24 (kauh); al ahsa, dammam road (25°37'33''n 49°31'11''e), may 2013, alzahrani d28 (kauh); alqateef, alsharqia, july 1997, atar 5723 (ksu); aflag, layla, august 1998, atar 5834 (ksu); dhahran, december 1953, baker xi (k). united arab emirates: west side of jabal hafit, january 1983, brown 439 (cai). oman: nizwa agricult inst. firg., november 1981, maconochie 2948 (k); bahala, march 1976, radcliffe-smith 3790 (k); dhufar, 50 km west of mudhai, september 1985, miller 7621 (k). yemen: hadramout, sayun outside the town, weeds in field and road sides, june 1987, boulos et al. 17042 (cai); wadi hajr, 100 km west of mukalla, howtah 11 km north of meifa haga, february 1989, miller et al. 8153 (k, e). iran: southeast iran, zahedan province, 24 miles of rask road to chah bahar, march 1971, grey-wilson et hewer 262 (k). tetraena hamiensis (schweinf.) beier & thulin var. qatarensis (hadidi ex beier & thulin) alzahrani & albokhari, comb. nov. zygophyllum qatarense hadidi, webbia 32 (2): 394 (1978); z. hamiense var. qatarense (hadidi) thomas & chaudhary, flora of the kingdom of saudi arabia 2: 502 (2001); t. qatarensis (hadidi) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240: 36 (2003). (figs 9b & e). diagnosis: t. hamiensis var. qatarensis is distinguished by its reddish or olive green, globular, 4–6×4–6 mm leaflets, petiole up to 8 mm, pedicel up to 3 mm long, schizocarp oblong-obovate, 5-angled, 8–10×2–3 mm, pubescent, partly lobed, peduncle up to 7 mm long. type: qatar, um slal ali, c. 25 km north of doha, march 1977, boulos 10953 (holotype: k!; isotype: cai & fl). vernacular name: harm. phenology: february to june and september to november. distribution: saudi arabia: eastern region and north-central part of saudi arabia (fig. 10). worldwide: qatar, kuwait, bahrain, united arab emirates, oman, socotra, samha isl., abd-alkuri isl. (yemen) and iraq. habitat: found in the saline sand, including beaches, coastal areas, and rocky habitat. conservation status: t. hamiensis var. qatarensis appears to be distributed in some localities in the eastern and north-central region of saudi arabia. at the international level, this variety is evaluated as least concern (lc) since it also grows in qatar, kuwait, bahrain, united arab emirates, oman, socotra, samha isl., abd-al-kuri isl. (yemen) and iraq (iucn, 2014). specimens examined: saudi arabia: al ahsa, qatar road (25°16' 29'' n 49°41'07''e), may 2013, alzahrani d16 (kauh); al ahsa, qatar road (24°48'40''n 50°44'26''e), may 2013, alzahrani d20, d21, d22 (kauh); buraidah, march 1997, alfarhan et thomas 766 (ksu); alahsa, march 1996, thomas 766 (ksu); aljubail, alsharqia, july 1997, atar h5729 (ksu); alsafaneiyah, dammam, february 1981, migahid et alsheikh s.n. (ksu, h19992); umm assahik, alsharqia, july 1997, atar h5748 (ksu); rocky coastal area near batha check point, salwa region, march 1990, chaudhary et al. h13357 (riy); dareen island, may 1987, chaudhary h12190 (riy); abqaiq-hofuf road 87 km from dhahran, april 1982, podzorski 811 (riy); taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 33 nairyah, october 1983, jeha h8711 (riy); 18 km north of dammam, february 1982, naylor 5 (e). qatar: um slal ali, c. 25 km north of doha, march 1977, boulos 10953 (k!, holotype); dukham camp, 12 m waste ground, december 1970, wilcox 38 (k); sheikh khalifa ibn ali al thani garden, april 1977, boulos 11179 (k). kuwait: al-khiran, march 1983, rawi et al. 1550 (cai); roadsides between al-ahmadi and mina abdullah, march 1995, mathew 2531 (k). bahrain: near base of central hills of bahrain main island, april 1984, rezk 103 (k); jerdab, 1985, naguib 404 (k); al-areen wild life park and reserve, april 1985, boulos et hasan 15687 (k). united arab emirates: abu dhabi, march 1981, western bw 20 (k). oman: wahiba sands, january 1986, cope 36 (k); nr zukayt 10 km south-west of izki, september 1979, miller et whitcombe 2017 (k); kuria muria island, al hallaniyah island, february 1993, mcleish 1587 (e). iraq: 25 km south-east of zubair, march 1957, ghiust et al. 16871 (k); 25 km southeast of zubair, march 1957, ghiust, rawi et rechinger 16872 (k); between zubair and safwan, march 1966, alizzi 34353 (k). tetraena hamiensis (schweinf.) beier & thulin var. mandavillei (hadidi ex beier &thulin) alzahrnai & albokhari, comb. nov. zygophyllum mandavillei hadidi, publ. cairo univ. herb. 78: 327 (1977); z. hamiense var. mandavillei (hadidi) thomas & chaudhary, flora of the kingdom of saudi arabia 2: 502 (2001); t. mandavillei (hadidi) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240: 36 (2003). (figs 9c & f). diagnosis: t. hamiensis var. mandavillei is distinguished by its yellowish green, cylindrical, 7– 9×3–5 mm glabrous leaflets, petiole equal to the leaflet, up to 9 mm long, pedicel up to 4 mm long, schizocarp cylindrical, oblong, 16–20×3–4 mm, glabrous, peduncle up to 5 mm long. type: saudi arabia, arrub' al-khali, camp shaybah 9, june 1970, mandaville, 2892 (holotype: bm!; isotype: cai). vernacular name: harm. phenology: february to june and september to november. distribution: saudi arabia: central, eastern, north and eastern arrub' al-khali, doshak island, and south-west region of saudi arabia (fig. 10). worldwide: oman, united arab emirates and yemen (aden desert). habitat: red sands, gravels or saline areas. conservation status: on the current evidence t. hamiensis var. mandavillei appears to be distributed in eastern and southwest region, north-west, northern and eastern of arrub al khali of saudi arabia. this species is evaluated as least concern (lc) since it also grows in oman, united arab emirates and yemen (iucn, 2014). specimens examined: saudi arabia: khurais, al ahsa road (25°13'55''n 48°36'16''e), may 2013, alzahrani d13 (kauh); al ahsa, qatar road (25°16'18''n 49°34'59''e), may 2013, alzahrani d15 (kauh); al ahsa, qatar road (25°16'29''n 49°41'07''e), may 2013, alzahrani d17 (kauh); al ahsa, qatar road 25 km before alaudaidah (24°32'55''n 50°54'16''e), may 2013, alzahrani d23 (kauh); al ahsa, qatar road, 10 km before alaudaidah (24°27'32''n 51°02'52''e), may 2013, alzahrani d25 (kauh); al ahsa, qatar road, alaudaidah (24°26'07''n 51°07'01''e), may 2013, alzahrani d26 (kauh); shedgum, next to the cement factory, al ahsadammam road (25°40'07''n 49°30'31''e), may 2013, alzahrani d30 (kauh); wadi baysh, near sabiya, june 1999, alfarhan et al. h19742 (ksu); near shabita (22°13'n 54°17'e), february 1990, chaudhary et al. h13312 (riy); doshak island, june 1988, chaudhary h15762 (riy); layla lakes, sol layla, march 1987, collenette 6046 (riy, k); 10 km north-west of campus s-3, north-eastern arrub' al-khali, february 1979, mandaville 7085 (e); arrub' al-khali, camp shaybah 9, june 1970, mandaville 2892 (bm!, holotype). oman: near wadi tawsinat, north 34 alzahrani and albokhari dhofar, may 1982, gallagher 6464/26 (e). united arab emirates: sweehan, february 1996, boer 103 (riy). fig. 9. variation in morphological characters of tetraena hamiensis varieties: a. leaf of t. hamiensis var. hamiensis; b. leaf of t. hamiensis var. qatarensis; c. leaf of t. hamiensis var. mandavillei; d. fruit of t. hamiensis var. hamiensis; e. fruit of t. hamiensis var. qatarensis; f. fruit of t. hamiensis var. mandavillei (alzahrani and albokhari, 2017c). fig. 10. distribution map of tetraena hamiensis varieties in saudi arabia. t. hamiensis var. hamiensis, t. hamiensis var. qatarensis, t. hamiensis var. mandavillei (alzahrani and albokhari, 2017c). taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 35 tetraena propinqua (decne.) ghaz. & osborne, kew bull. 70: 38 (2015). (fig. 11). small shrubs, perennial, green, 50 cm tall, 80–100 cm wide. stem pubescent, with unicellular simple trichomes. leaves 2-foliolate, cylindrical, up to 12×4 mm, apex rounded or acute, fleshy, pubescent, petiole up to 14 mm long; stipules triangular, herbaceous, 1.0×1.5 mm, pubescent. flowers bisexual, white or white-creamy, 1–3 at each node, 4–7×3.5–5.0 mm, pedicel 7–14 mm long. sepals 5, rounded-obtuse at the apex, herbaceous, yellowish green, obovate, 3–5×2–3 mm, pubescent, aestivation imbricate. petals 5, white, spathulate, 2.5–6.0×1–3 mm, aestivation valvate. stamens 10, 3–5 mm long, staminal appendages undivided, 2.0–3.5 mm long, 1 mm wide; anthers 2-lobed, yellow, dorsifixed, dehiscent longitudinally; disc smooth. ovary 5-locular, pubescent; style single, 1–2 mm long. fruit a schizocarp, ovate to oblong or obconical, 5-angled, 7–13 × 2.0– 6.5 mm, pubescent, peduncle up to 14 mm long, pubescent. key to the subspecies of tetraena propinqua 1. leaflets apex acute; pedicel up to 7 mm long; schizocarp ovate oblong; peduncle up to 7 mm long. subsp. propinqua leaflet apex rounded; pedicel up to 14 mm long; schizocarp obconical; peduncle up to 14 mm long. subsp. migahidii fig. 11. tetraena propinqua: a. flower; b.sepal; c. petal; e. stamens (alzahrani, 2017). tetraena propinqua (decne.) ghaz. & osborne subsp. propinqua. zygophyllum propinquum decne., ann. sci. nat., bot. sér. 2, 3: 283 (1835). (figs 12a, c & e). diagnosis: t. propinqua subsp. propinqua can be distinguished by its acute leaflet apex, white flowers, up to 7 mm long pedicel, fruits ovate to oblong, 5angled, 9-13 mm long, 4.0-6.5 mm wide at upper end, 2-4 mm wide at lower end, peduncle up to 7 mm long. type: sinai, gallam, tor, june 1832, bovė 172 & 173 (isotype: k!). vernacular names: harm, rotreyt. phenology: february to june. distribution: saudi arabia: western to north-western saudi arabia (fig. 13). worldwide: egypt, sinai, palestine, iraq, iran, afghanistan, pakistan and india. habitat: in sandy and gravel desert. 36 alzahrani and albokhari specimens examined: saudi arabia: shuaibah (20°52'23''n 39°22'16''e), february 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e109 (kauh); umluj (24°59'05''n 37°17'09''e), march 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e133, d&e137, d&e141 (kauh); dhallam, may 1998, thomas 5866 (ksu); 9 km south of khaybar, october 1989, collenette 7287 (k). iraq: on the road near karbala-liwa, july 1962, al-ani et mohamed 12 (k); karbala musseiyib, may 1947, gillett 9968 (k). egypt: sinai, tor, april 1836, bovė 274,275 (isotype: k!); gallam, tor, june 1832, bovė 172, 173 (isotype: k!). fig. 12. variation in morphological characters of tetraena propinqua subspecies: a. leaf of t. propinqua subsp. propinqua; b. leaf of t. propinqua subsp. migahidii; c. fruit of t. propinqua subsp. propinqua; d. fruit of t. propinqua subsp. migahidii; e. schizocarp lobe of t. propinqua subsp. propinqua; f. schizocarp lobe of t. propinqua subsp. migahidii (alzahrani, 2017). tetraena propinqua (decne.) ghaz. & osborne subsp. migahidii (hadidi ex beier & thulin) alzahrani & albokhari, comb. nov. zygophyllum migahidii hadidi, publ. cairo univ. herb. 7 & 8: 328 (1977); z. propinquum subsp. migahidii (hadidi) thomas & chaudhary, flora of the kingdom of saudi arabia 2: 501 (2001); t. migahidii (hadidi) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240: 36 (2003). (figs 12b, d & f). diagnosis: t. propinqua subsp. migahidii is recognized by its rounded apex of the leaflet, whitecreamy flowers, pedicel up to 14 mm long, schizocarps obconical, 5-angled, 9-12 mm long, 3-5 mm wide at upper end, 2-5 mm wide at lower end, peduncle up to 14 mm long. type: saudi arabia, al-hail, migahid, el-sheikh et s. awad 574/a (holotype: cai; isotype: ksu!). vernacular names: harm, rotreyt. phenology: february to june. distribution: saudi arabia: north saudi arabia: nafud desert, west-central saudi arabia: nejd desert and eastern saudi arabia (fig. 13). worldwide: iraq. habitat: sandy salt habitats and gravels desert. taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 37 specimens examined: saudi arabia: alkhasrah, taif-riyadh road (23°24'59''n 43°43'27''e), may 2013, alzahrani d5 (kauh); almuzahmeiah, west of riyadh (24°25'38''n 45°57'32''e), may 2013, alzahrani d6 (kauh); khurais road, 150 km before al ahsa (25°11'47''n 48°19'12''e), may 2013, alzahrani d7 (kauh); al ahsa-dammam road (25°37'33''n 49°32'12''e), may 2013, alzahrani d27 (kauh); shedgum, next to the cement factory, al ahsa-dammam road (25°40'07''n 49°30'31''e), may 2013, alzahrani d29 (kauh); buqaiq, al ahsa-dammam road (26°54'03''n 49°50'09''e), may 2013, alzahrani d31 (kauh); riyadh king khaled international airport road (24°50'57''n 46°44'14''e), may 2013, alzahrani d32 (kauh); alsharamiah, riyadh-taif road (25°40'07''n 49°30'31''e), may 2013, alzahrani d33 (kauh); before alhumiat riyadh-taif road (23°22'41''n 43°37'29''e), may 2013, alzahrani d36 (kauh); dhalam, riyadh-taif road (22°44'17''n 42°12'48''e), may 2013, alzahrani d37 (kauh); beirut street, hail (27°33'48''n 41°43'47''e), may 2013, alzahrani d53 (kauh); wadi tarabah, may 2013, aldahan 1 (kauh); al-qaeid road, hail (27°41'18''n 41°44'38''e), april 2013, asiri1 (kauh); al-hail, may 1976; migahid et al. 574/a (holotype: cai; isotype: ksu!); riyadh, march 1993, thomas 1253 (ksu); al-kharj road, april 1981, noor 2296 (ksu); buraidah, may 1983, chaudhary h7832 (riy); unaizah, may 1978, chaudhary s.n. (riy); chara, may 1985, heemstra 7428 (riy); sulayyil, may 1996, chaudhary h14228 (riy); riyadh, may 1984, chaudhary h8356 (riy); aflaj, june 1984, jahangir h8398 (riy); rawrc, 1984, chaudhary h8489 (riy); aarqah, may 1984, chaudhary 8355 (riy); 30 km southwest harad, november 1987, mandaville 8696 (cai); southern of riyadh, october 1987, collenette 6314 (k, e); 2 km south east of khurmah, riyadh road, july 1991, collenette 7851 (k). iraq. habbanya, june 1966, rawi et alizzi 34453 (k); 40 km south of baghdad, road to karbala, november 1958, rawi 26883 (k). fig. 13. distribution map of tetraena propinqua subspecies in saudi arabia. t. propinqua subsp. propinqua, t. propinqua subsp. migahidii (alzahrani, 2017). 38 alzahrani and albokhari tetraena simplex (l.) beier & thulin, pl. syst. evol. 240: 36 (2003). zygophyllum simplex l., mant. pl.: 68 (1767); z. portulacoides forssk., fl. egypt. arab.: 88 (1775). (fig. 14). diagnosis: t. simplex is an annual herb and differs from other tetraena species by its simple, opposite and sessile leaves, yellow flowers, bipartite staminal appendages and 5-lobed obovoid fruits. type: egypt 1762-1763; forsskål s.n. (holotype: c; isotype: ld herb. retzius). herbs, annual, green, 10–30 cm tall, 50–70 cm wide. stem glabrous. leaves simple, opposite, up to 20×2.5 mm, sessile, cylindrical, fleshy; stipules triangular, membranous, 1×1 mm, glabrous. flowers bisexual, yellow, 2–4×3–5 mm, pedicel 1–2 mm long. sepals 5, rounded-obtuse at the apex, herbaceous, yellowish green, obovate, 2×1 mm, aestivation imbricate. petals 5, yellow, spathulate, longer than sepals, 2.5–3.0×1.0–1.5 mm, aestivation valvate. stamens 10, 2.5–3.0 mm long, appendages bipartite, hyaline, 1.0×0.1–0.3 mm, anthers 2-lobed, yellow, dorsifixed, dehiscent longitudinally; disc smooth. ovary 5-locular, glabrous; style single, 1–3 mm long. fruit a schizocarp, obovoid, 5-lobed, glabrous, 2–3 ×1.5–3.0 mm, peduncle 1–2 mm long. vernacular names: harm, om thoreyb, hamd, qarmal. phenology: february to june and september to november. distribution: saudi arabia: widely distributed throughout the country. worldwide: arabian peninsula, united arab emirates, oman, yemen, iran, jordan, palestine, pakistan, india, and tropical africa (ghazanfar, 2007). habitat: grows in sandy soils. fig. 14. tetraena simplex: a. leaf; b. fruit, c. flower; d. sepal; e. petal; f. stamen. specimens examined: saudi arabia: dhalam, taif riyadh road (22°12'10''n 41°24'19''e), may 2013, alzahrani d1 (kauh); south of jeddah (22°49'52''n 39°04'27''e), february 2013, alzahrani et albokhari d&e103 (kauh); 12 km south of alleith (19°50'10''n 40°30'07''e), february 2013, alzahrani d121 (kauh); bishah, march 2013, al dahhan 2 (kauh); alnuqrah, prince abdul aziz bin muqrin road, hail (27°27'27''n 41°38'59''e), april taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 39 2013, asiri 2 (kauh); wady fatmah, january 1945, khattab k 48 (caim) mahazat al-said reserve area, july 2002, al-abbasi et shalhoub sau-13 (k); musaymir wadi tuban, march 1967, smih et lawranos 25 (k); wadi gdeidat 130 km northwest of mecca near rabeh saabar et johfar, may 2004, al-abbasi 0220802 (k); jizan, 10 km south of baysh from sabya just before wadi guman, march 1996, van slageren et al-sa'doon 261 (k); eastern provinces al-hasa lower south slope of jabal shaban, february 1965, mandaville 375 (k); madina road 30 km north-east from yanbu junction, march 1977, collenette 16 (k). qatar: qatar road to doha, january 1971, wilcox 57 (k); wadi al galaiel toward the southern end of the qatar peninsula, april 1977, boulos h11126 (k); dukhan road, april 1979, batanouny 2462 (k). bahrain: southern jebeh, may 1979, virgo 81 (k); ras noma, february 1970, gauaeher 50 (k); western plains of bahrain main island, april 1984, rezk 119 (k). oman: matrah in wadi behind town, march 1969, dickson 1095 (k); sultan qaboos university campus seeb, april 1987, cope 172 (k); al hallaniyah, kuria muria islands, november 1993, mcleish 3028 (e). united arab emirates: abu dhabi in the vicinity of umm am nar near to the old abu dhabi airport, may 1982, western 292 (cai); persian gulf, march 1937, holmes 346 (k); abu dhabi, march 1972, wilcox 207 (k). yemen: aden, jabal shamsan tower of silence and vicinity, june 1987, boulos et al. 16531 (k); socotra, 1898, grant et expedition 73 (e); socotra, february 1989, miller et al. m. 8498 (e). egypt: ismailia-cairo road, november 1979, costantin et al. 499 (caim). pakistan: baluchistan, bela to uthal, april 1965, lamond 223 (e); baluchistan, makrani; pasni to kappan road to gwadar, april 1965, lamond 445 (e); karachi, october 1949, jafri s.n. (e). india: punjab, january 1886, drummond 21622 (e). namibia: 5.3 km east of goageb along road to keetmanshoop, may 1993, strohbach 2339 (e); omaruru district, uis-barandberg west road 50 km, april 1987, long et rae 757 (e). kenya: august 1938, pole evans et erens 1608 (e). zygophyllum fabago l., sp. pl. 1: 385 (1753). (fig. 15). diagnosis: z. fabago can be distinguished by its compound leaves, with two flat, obovateelliptical leaflets, glabrous ovary and oblong loculicidal capsule. fig. 15. zygophyllum fabago: a. leaf; b. fruit; c. flower; d. sepal; e. petal; f. stamen; g. ovary. 40 alzahrani and albokhari small shrub, perennial, green, up to 75 cm tall. leaves 2-foliolate, leaflets flat, obovateelliptic, 40×25 mm, obtuse, petiole 20 mm long. flowers bisexual, white-creamy, 12×15 mm, pedice l6 mm long. sepals 5, yellowish green, obovate-elliptic, 10×5 mm, aestivation imbricate. petals 5, white, 12×5 mm, aestivation valvate. stamens 10, c. 13 mm long, staminal appendages undivided, 6×1 mm; anthers 2-lobed, yellow, dorsifixed, dehiscent longitudinally. ovary glabrous; style single, 6.5 mm long. fruit a loculicidal, oblong-cylindrical capsule, c. 30×(5)10 mm, glabrous, peduncle up to 10 mm long. vernacular names: rotreyt, qyllab. distribution: saudi arabia: northern region (tabarjal) (fig. 16). worldwide: egypt, palestine, syria, jordan, iraq, iran, pakistan, turkey, spain, georgia, armenia, russia, afghanistan, azerbaijan, france and armenia. fig. 16. distribution map of zygophyllum fabago in saudi arabia. habitat: sandy soils. specimens examined: saudi arabia: al asawia 10 km before tabarjal, april 1988, alaadin, al yahya et al said h19038 (riy). egypt: wadi qoseib, december, 1944, alhabetai z6477 (caim). iraq: abu ghraib, june 1959, rawi 26935 (caim); baghdad, near saadun state, october 1954, haines 72 (e); baghdad liwa, may 1956, polunin et duri 68 (e). iran: kazvin in ditione oppindikeredj, september 1948, rechinger 6841 (e); azerbaijan, moghan, bank of aras river, 40 km from parsabad on road to aslanduz, may 1971, lamond 3182 (e); azerbaijan south of khoi, july 1960, furse et synge 799/2 (e). jordan: azrag, april 1936, dinsmore 11805 (e). syria: july 1890, post s.n. (e); june 1910, haradjian 3406 (e); palmyra small dunes at north end of seat lake, april 1943, davis 5900 (e). turkey: kars, iğdir, state taxonomic revision of tetraena and zygophyllum 41 breeding farm, around boralar tepesi (hill), july 1956, demiris 3301 (e); vily er agri, october 1910, post 2053 (e); prov. sivas, east of susehri, august 1957, davis et hedge 32706 (e). georgia: davit gorgeji, at caves, august 2009, mitchell et al. 52 (e); tbilisi, hill sides near dababane gorge, opposite the tbilisi botanical institute, june 1959, davis 33708 (e); urss géorgie-tbilisi, july 1978, leonard 7155 (e). spain: coastal steppe in the hills between la unión and cartagena, april 1957, stud. biol. rheno-trai 57-535 (cai); almeria, velez blanco, roadside 10 km west of the village (37°38'n 2°6'e), july 1981, gardner et gardner 1501 (e); champs incultes prés de cartagena, july 1852, bourgeau 2050 (e). russia: 1900, kulikowski e (e); july 1896, callier 51 (e). armenia: circa ruinas sanctuarii zvartnoc ad occidentem urbis ervan, july 1975, gabrielian 12853 (e). afghanistan: tashkurghan, septiembre 1937, koelz 13182 (e); samangan tangi taschkurgan streamside, june 1969, ekberg 9072 (e); maymana, halfway between maymana and andkhui, june 1962, hedge et wendelbo w3834 (e). azerbaijan: elisabethpol distr. araeseh geok-tapa, in ruderatis, may 1908, schelkownikow et woronow 312 (e). france: héraull, port de cette, july 1891, bernard s.n. 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(zygophyllaceae) in saudi arabia. life sci. 8: 451–459. zumbruch, h.j. 1931. über die bedeutung des saponins für die systematische gliederung der zygophyllaceen-gattungen. dissertation, berlin. (manuscript received on 13 january 2018; revised on 10 march 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 395‒403, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57135 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphological investigations of salvia l. in southeastern of turkey and its taxonomic implication fatma mungan kiliç* department of crops and animal production, mardin artuklu university, 47200 mardin, artuklu, turkey keywords: salvia; pollen; light microscopy; scanning electron microscopy; turkey. abstract in this study, the pollen morphology and exine structure of nine species of the genus salvia l. (lamiaceae) were investigated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (sem). six micromorphological characters (pollen shape, polar length, equatorial width, exine and intine thickness, colpus length and colpus width) of pollen grains of salvia have been identified. the palynological observations revealed that pollen grains of most studied taxa of salvia were suboblate shape and possess hekzacolpate aperture. tectal surface sculpture was a good criterion to identify particular taxa from salvia. the pollen of which is characterized by reticulate, the pollen ornamentation was similar in all studied taxa. introduction the genus salvia l., the largest genus in the family lamiaceae, contains about 1000 species worldwide. the genus is distributed principally in three regions, ranging from central and south america to western asia, and also into eastern asia (walker and sytsma, 2007). the first revision of salvia in turkey was made by hedge (1982), who recognized 86 species, 1 hybrid and 1 doubtful species. since 2005, as part of a revisional study of salvia in turkey, the authors have carried out extensive field studies and collected a large number of specimens. population sizes and phenological and ecological properties were also observed in the field. the studies have revealed 2 new species (i̇lçim et al., 2009; celep and doğan, 2010), 2 new varieties (celep et al., 2009; celep et al., 2010) and 2 new records (celep et al., 2009; kahraman et al., 2009). pollen morphological characters have long been used to solve taxonomic problems in a number of plant families (castro et al., 2009). additionally, the authors have examined morphology, anatomy, trichome, nutlet, and pollen micromorphology of some turkish salvia species (kahraman et al., 2009; kahraman et al. 2010). pollen morphological properties are used for identification to place a species in the correct taxonomic rank by the taxonomist (ahmad et al., 2018). scanning electron microscopy (sem) has been used for the dissimilarity of species on the basis of exine ornamentation (guimaraes et al., 2018). aktaş et al., 2020 investigated some turkish salvia and they reported that palynological characters are important for differences among studied taxa. salvia is spreading in the province of mardin is one of the important genera represented by four sections and nine species. the aim of this study to investigate quantitative and qualitative morphological characters of pollen of genus salvia in mardin, which is important for taxonomic identification. materials and methods plant specimens were collected (salvia bracteata banks & sol., salvia macrochlamys boiss. & kotschy, salvia suffruticosa montbret & aucher ex benth., salvia trichoclada benth. (sect. *corresponding author, e-mail: fatmamungankilic@artuklu.edu.tr https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57135 mailto:fatmamungankilic@artuklu.edu.tr 396 mungan kiliç salvia); salvia multicaulis vahl (sect. hymenosphace); salvia montbretii benth., salvia palaestina benth., salvia syriaca l. (sect. aethiopis) and salvia russellii benth. (sect. hemisphace)) from different localities in mardin (table 1). voucher samples were deposited at the mardin artuklu university herbarium, turkey. all the pollen grains for light (lm) and (sem) by the standard methods described by erdtman (1945). pollen grains for lm examination were prepared following the standard procedure of wodehouse (1935). they were observed in glycerin-water using a standard isolab microscope with d plan 1.00-1.25 160/0.17 oil immersion objective and nfkx3.3 ld 125 lens. thirty pollen grains per specimen were regarded as sufficient for the palynological analysis. for sem, pollen were removed by distilled water treatment, the air-dried, pollens were directly mounted on stubs using double-sided adhesive tape and uncoated. the photomicrographs were taken with a fei quanta feg 250 scanning electron microscope. pollen shape, size, ornamentation, polar length, equatorial width, exine and intine thickness, colpus length and colpus width for 30 pollen grains were measured under binocular light microscope and polar/equatorial ratios were calculated. the terminology of the pollen follows that of punt et al. (2007). for average, five readings were taken and statistically analyzed by using (ibm spss) statistics 24 software. the values are presented as minimum, maximum and standard deviation, that is represented in table 2. table 1. the location and habitats of studied specimens in salvia. species local name section collection areas and coordinates voucher specimen no s. bracteata çobanşalbası salvia c8 mardin; artuklu, 37o24’41’’n-40o41’13’’e f mungan kılıç. 222 s. macrochlamys çölşalbası salvia c8 mardin: artuklu, 37o19’22’’n-40o46’04’’e f mungan kılıç 204 s. suffruticosa kalınşalba salvia c8 mardin: artuklu, 37023’37’’n-40040’42’’e f mungan kılıç 226 s. trichoclada meşeşalbası salvia c8 mardin; artuklu, 37o24’41’’n-40o41’13’’e f mungan kılıç 225 s. multicaulis kürtreyhanı hymenosphace c8 mardin: mazıdağı 37o27’41’’n-40026’55’’e f mungan kılıç 212 s. montbretii kabaşalba aethiopis c8 mardin: midyat, 37026’13’’n-41021’06’’e f mungan kılıç 209 s. palaestina sürmelişalba aethiopis c8 mardin: kızıltepe 37018’09’’n-40037’23’’e f mungan kılıç 201 s. syriaca çevlikotu aethiopis c8 mardin: mazıdağı 37o28’00’’n-40026’42’’e f mungan kılıç 211 s. russellii kurdeşk hemisphace c8 mardin: midyat, 37025’45’’n-41021’30’’e f mungan kılıç 210 pollen morphological investigations of salvia l. 397 results and discussion pollen morphological analysis the pollen properties of nine species were studied by using lm and sem (fig. 1). the pollen grain characters of the taxa studied are presented in table 2. pollen grains are characterized by radiosymmetric monads and isopolar. fig. 1. pollen grains of salvia using light microscope (lm) and a scanning electron microscope (sem); 1-3) salvia bracteata; 4-6) s. macrochlamys 7-9); s. suffruticosa; 10-12) s. trichoclada; 13-15) s. multicaulis; 1, 4, 7, 10, 13) lm overview; 2, 5, 8, 11, 14) sem overview; 3, 6, 9, 12, 15) details of the exine and colpi using an sem. 398 mungan kiliç pollen size the average size of pollen grains was from 24.8 to 46.2 μm polar length and 30.5 to 56.5 μm in equatorial width (table 2). s. palaestina pollen grains with polar length 46,2 µm and 56,5 µm equatorial width is biggest pollen. s. russellii pollen grains with polar length 24,8 µm and equatorial width 30,5 µm is smallest pollen (table 2, fig. 2). fig. 1 (contd.). pollen grains of salvia using light microscope (lm) and a scanning electron microscope (sem); 16-18) salvia montbretti; 19-21) s. palaestina; 22-24) s. syriaca; 25-27) s. russelli; 16, 19, 22, 25) lm overview; 17, 20, 23, 26) sem overview; 18, 21, 24, 27) details of the exine and colpi using an sem. pollen shape three types of pollen shapes were determined according to p/e ratio result. type 1: oblate (p/e ratio 0,50-0.75 μm); this type is represented by s. suffruticosa with p/e ratio 0,71 μm (figs 1, 3). pollen morphological investigations of salvia l. 399 400 mungan kiliç type 2: suboblate (p/e ratio 0,76-0.88 μm); this type is represented by seven species s. bracteata, s. trichoclada, s.multicaulis, s. montbretti, s. palaestina, s. syriaca, s. russelli with a range of p/e ratio from 0,81 μm to 0,88 μm (figs 1, 3). type 1: spheroidal (p/e ratio 1 μm); this type is represented by s. macrochlamys with p/e ratio 1 μm (figs 1, 3). aperture type: all the species of aperture condition is hexacolpate. colpus length and colpus width mean values were measured 20.0 to 42.0 μm and 5.6 to 9.5 μm, respectively (table 2, fig. 4). ornamentation: the exine sculpturing studied taxa were reticulate-perforate and bireticulate. the bireticulate tectum type was found s. palaestina and s. suffruticosa. the other species were reticulate-perforate. the exine thickness is between 1,54-2,30 μm and intine thickness is 0,7-1 μm.(table 2, fig. 5). fig. 2. polar and equatorial diameter variations of salvia species. fig. 3. p/e index of salvia species pollen morphological investigations of salvia l. 401 fig. 4. colpi length and width variation of salvia species. fig. 5. variation in exine and intine thickness of salvia species. in this study the salvia species which distributed in mardin were investigated for morphological pollen qualitative and quantitative characteristics. the specimens were collected from various localities of mardin. in our present study of salvia section: pollen grains are suboblate, spheroidal and oblate, aperture condition is hexacolpate. polar length 30,7 µm and 47,5 µm, equatorial width 39,4 to 53,2 µm, and reticulate-perforate and bireticulate ornamentation are reported. özler et al. (2011) reported that salvia section’s pollen suboblate to subprolate and aperture condition is hexacolpate and octacolpate, exine structure are reticulate-perforate, reticulate–granulate and bireticulate. s. suffruticosa (sect. salvia) pollen is subprolate and pollen surface bireticulate observed by aktaş et al. (2020). in this study of hymenosphace section: s. multicaulis pollen grain is suboblate, and reticulateperforate sculpture, özler et al. (2013) and özler et al. 2020 reported that s. multicaulis pollen grain is prolate-spheroidal aperture condition is reticulate-perforate. 402 mungan kiliç in our study, aethiopis section’s species s. monbretii, s. syriaca, s. palaestina pollen are suboblate, and aperture condition s. monbretii, s. syriaca are reticulate-perforate, s. palaestina is bireticulate. hassan et al. (2009) investigated seven salvia species in egypt and bireticulate sculpture in s. palaestina, pollen grain is suboblate to spheroidal. moon et al. (2008) reported that bireticulate ornamentation in pollen of aethiopis section. özler et al. (2013) and özler et al. 2020 observed that s. syriaca characterized by reticulate-perforate, s. palaestina is bireticulate exine sculpturing pattern. in this study of hemisphace section: s. russellii pollen grain is suboblate, and reticulateperforate sculpture. ranjbar et al. (2015) indicated that pollen grains of hemisphace were hekzacolpate and reticulate ormanentation. özler et al. (2020) in their study noticed hemisphace species are smaller than the other sections, s. russellii pollen grain is oblate-spheroidal, and bireticulate exine ornamentation. differences were observed between the results obtained in our study, together with the other related studies about salvia. özler et al. (2013) and özler et al. 2020) reported that, different results are obtained when salvia species are examined in terms of shape and size, and they claimed that this differences were due to the tecniques used. in addition, pollen characteristics of the taxa were determined mostly similar each other in our study. there were no significant differences among the palynological properties of the studied taxa. the pollen morphology does not appear to be useful as a taxonomic technique in the identification of salvia species. we believe that the results of the present study are important for taxonomically and evolution in/inter the group concerned. such results will be the base for future biosystematic studies in salvia. references ahmad, m., zafar, m., sultana, s., ahmad, m., abbas, q., ayoub, m. and ullah, f. 2018. identification of green energy ranunculaceous flora of district chitral, northern pakistan using pollen features through scanning electron microscopy. microscopy research and technique 81(9): 1004–1016. aktaş, k., özdemir, c., özkan, m. and baran, p. 2020. pollen morphology of some turkish salvia l. 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(msnuscript received on 12 july 2021; revised on 28 november 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 205-223, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78749 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists complete chloroplast genome sequence of a novel withania somnifera (l.) dunal: comparative genomics and phylogenetic insights nadia mohammad alsuhaimi1, mohammad ajmal ali1,*, mona solaiman alwahibi1, sheikh sunzid ahmed2, m. oliur rahman2*, shankar kumar pandey3, mohamed s elshikh1, sayfi rashed sayfi alshallali4, joongku lee5 and soo-yong kim6 1department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia 2department of botany, faculty of biological sciences, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 3department of botany, ssv college kahalgaon, tilka manjhi bhagalpur university, bhagalpur, bihar, india 4department of pharmacognosy, college of pharmacy, king saud university, riyadh 11451, saudi arabia 5department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, daejeon, republic of korea 6international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon 34141, republic of korea keywords: chloroplast genome; phylogeny; solanaceae; nucleotide diversity; bioinformatics; withania somnifera (l.) dunal var. abhaica nadia, a. ali & m.s. alwahibi, var. nov. abstract this study introduces a novel variety of the highly esteemed medicinal plant withania somnifera (l.) dunal from the family solanaceae. the new variety, withania somnifera var. abhaica nadia, a. ali & m.s. alwahibi, var. nov., is distributed at high altitudes in the abha hills of saudi arabia. the distinct characteristics of the novel variety of w. somnifera include elliptic-elongated leaves that are thick and semisucculent in nature, and a fruiting calyx with a bifurcated tip measuring approximately 0.5 mm in length, with each bifurcated tip being botuliform in shape. using nextgeneration sequencing (ngs) techniques, we investigated the chloroplast genome of this variety. the complete chloroplast genome of w. somnifera var. abhaica from the abha region, saudi arabia, spans 153,621 bp, with a gc content of 37.7%. it includes a large single-copy (lsc) region of 84,972 bp (gc 35.8%), a small single-copy (ssc) region of 18,400 bp (gc 31.7%), and two inverted repeats (irs) of 50,249 bp (gc 43.2%). annotation of the chloroplast genome identified 131 genes, comprising 86 proteinencoding genes (pcgs), eight ribosomal rna genes, and 37 transfer rna genes. repeat analysis identified 38 simple sequence repeats (ssrs) and 50 longer repeat sequences in the plastome. a total of 66 rna-editing sites were detected across 24 pcgs of the plastome. comparative genomic studies including synteny analysis, supported and validated the assembled plastome. nucleotide diversity analysis revealed psbj, psba, ndhf, and ycf1 as the most hypervariable barcodes. phylogenetic analyses suggested the monophyly of the genus withania. moreover, the newly sequenced chloroplast genome of w. somnifera var. abhaica was found to be distinct from the typical w. somnifera. *corresponding authors. email: alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa ; oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78749 mailto:alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 206 alsuhaimi et al. introduction the genus withania pauquy, a member of the solanaceae family, includes 23 species widely distributed across north africa, west asia, and southern europe (olmstead et al., 2008). in saudi arabia, this genus is represented by withania somnifera (l.) dunal, a highly esteemed medicinal plant, commonly known as "indian ginseng" (paul et al., 2021). w. somnifera has been extensively utilized in traditional medicine for centuries, either alone or in combination with other herbs (visweswari et al., 2013). it thrives in a diverse range of habitats, from desert plains to altitudes as high as 2,995 meters in the abha region, including jabal sawda (rahman et al., 2004). this herb exhibits a broad spectrum of biological activities due to its diverse phytochemical composition, including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-tumor, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, and antidiabetic properties (dar et al., 2015). additionally, studies on w. somnifera have demonstrated its efficacy to lower reactive oxygen species, alter mitochondrial operations, control apoptosis, lessen inflammation, as well as improve endothelial function. due to these pharmacological properties, w. somnifera holds significant potential as a therapeutic option for various clinical disorders, specifically those affecting the nervous system (kulkarni and dhir, 2008). w. somnifera var. abhaica is characterized by reduced plant height, elliptic-elongated, thick and puberulous leaves that resemble semi-succulent morphological nature. under a scanning electron microscope, the tip of the fruiting calyx appeared bifurcated, c. 0.5 mm in length, and each bifurcated tip being botuliform in shape (fig. 1). these unique morphological characteristics, which differ from the typical features of w. somnifera, have sparked interest in conducting a chloroplast (cp) genome-based systematic investigation. unveiling the cp genome of w. somnifera var. abhaica holds significant importance, even though the cp genome of w. somnifera is already available (genbank accession mk142783) (mehmood et al., 2020). while the plastome of w. somnifera provides a comprehensive reference for the species, studying the plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica is essential to clarify taxonomic boundaries and confirm its classification as a distinct variety. variations at the genomic level, particularly within the chloroplast dna, can offer critical insights into the evolutionary relationships and genetic divergence between the variety and the typical species. these genomic differences can help resolve ambiguities in taxonomy, ensuring that w. somnifera var. abhaica is accurately classified and distinguished from other closely related taxa. moreover, such studies can reveal unique genetic features of the variety, which may have implications for its ecological adaptation, medicinal properties, and conservation strategies (dobrogojski et al., 2020). chloroplasts (cp) are essential cellular components of angiosperms involved in photosynthesis and the synthesis of important macromolecules, including amino acid and fatty acid. in molecular systematics research, plastome is a crucial element because of its distinctive characteristics and adaptive processes (ahmed and rahman, 2024). typically, the cp genome represents a quadripartite structure, comprising two inverted repeats separated by the large singlecopy (lsc) and small single-copy (ssc) regions. in angiosperms, plastome sizes typically range from 107 kb to 218 kb (wang et al., 2020). diversity in gene content and organization can result from dynamic shifting in this genomic configuration, including contractions, expansions, and even unfolding (ravi et al., 2008). in angiosperms, the plastome is typically inherited through the maternal line, whereas, in certain gymnosperms, it is inherited through the paternal line. the cp genome encodes several groups of genes, including transfer rnas (trnas), protein-coding genes (pcgs), and ribosomal rnas (rrnas), all of which are necessary for chloroplast function. due to the inherent diversity found in cp genomes, expressed through structural variants and polymorphisms, phylogenetic analysis provides new opportunities to resolve systematic complete cp genome sequence of a novel withania somnifera 207 relationships, track the evolution of species, and investigate how species adapt to certain environments (daniell et al., 2016; dobrogojski et al., 2020). advancements in bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing (ngs) technologies have revolutionized genomics, significantly enriching the genbank repository with plastomes (jongsun et al., 2020). bioinformatic tools have streamlined the analysis and assembly of large-scale genomic data, while ngs has accelerated the sequencing process, making it faster, more costeffective, and widely accessible. these advancements have resulted in a swift rise in the number of complete plastomes deposited in the genbank database, providing a valuable resource for comparative genomics, phylogenetics, and evolutionary research. the availability of full plastome sequences has also elevated their role as a "superbarcode" for resolving phylogeny (zhang et al., 2019). unlike traditional barcoding methods that rely on a few gene regions, the full plastome offers a comprehensive genetic blueprint, enabling more accurate and reliable phylogenetic analysis of w. somnifera var. abhaica. this enhanced resolution is particularly crucial for distinguishing closely related species, resolving complex evolutionary relationships, and improving the accuracy of species identification within the solanaceae family (olmstead et al., 2008). fig. 1. morphology of withania somnifera var. abhaica collected from the hilly terrain of abha region of saudi arabia. a. habit, b. flower, c. fruit. given the intriguing morphological features observed in w. somnifera var. abhaica from the abha region, a chloroplast genome-based approach is crucial for uncovering the genetic foundations and elucidating the phylogenetic relationships within this species. in this study, we aim to deepen the understanding of the complete chloroplast genome of this novel variety, focusing on the unique ecological context of the abha hills in saudi arabia, by utilizing a comprehensive ngs-driven bioinformatics approach. 208 alsuhaimi et al. materials and methods specimen collection the plant specimen was collected from the hilly regions of the abha area in saudi arabia (coordinates: 18º17ʹ44ʹʹn, 42º25ʹ40ʹʹe; altitude: 2,491 m). the voucher specimen is preserved at the king saud university herbarium (ksuh) in riyadh, saudi arabia, under the collection code nadia, m.a. & ali, m.a. 2021-1, ecotype (abha hills, saudi arabia). genome sequencing total genomic dna was isolated from silica gel-dried leaves utilizing the qiagen dna extraction kit. paired-end reads of 151 bp were generated with a nextseq 500 sequencer. the ngs (next-generation sequencing) reads were assessed using fastqc tool v.0.12.1 to evaluate phred quality scores (ahmed and rahman, 2024). the raw sequencing data are publicly accessible on ncbi under the sra accession id srr27753935. construction of the plastome and its annotation the high-quality sra data were configured into the cp genome using unipro ugene v45.1 (okonechnikov et al., 2012). annotation of the plastome was carried out employing cpgavas2 server and subsequently verified with cpgview (shi et al., 2019; liu et al., 2023). the manually curated annotation was used to construct the circular plastome diagram employing ogdraw server (greiner et al., 2019). the assembled plastome has been deposited in genbank under the accession number or166175. evaluation of longer repeats and ssrs the reputer server was used to identify longer repeat structures, while ssrs (simple sequence repeats) were identified utilizing the misa-web server (kurtz et al., 2001; beier et al., 2017). for the analysis of longer repeats in reputer, all matching directions were considered. ssrs were analyzed using the default settings of the misa-web server. assessment of rna editing sites and gc skewness the plastome was examined for rna editing sites using the prepact 3.0 server (lenz et al., 2018). the blastx module was utilized to identify forward editing sites (c→u), with nicotiana tabacum l. (solanaceae) as the reference database and an e-value threshold of 0.001. for gc content skewness analysis, the assembled plastome was uploaded in fasta format to the proksee server (grant et al., 2023). after initial processing, gc content and gc skew analysis options were applied to visualize the circular map. genome rearrangement and collinearity analysis the assembled plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica was subjected to comparative genomic analysis using the mauve v.20150226 tool to identify gene order similarities with other taxa (darling et al., 2004). genbank flat files of the relevant taxa were initially imported into the java console to run the progressive mauve module. the analysis employed the hoxd scoring matrix, with gap opening and gap extension penalties set to -400 and -30, respectively. these parameters were optimized to maximize alignment accuracy and synteny detection before initiating the final comparative analysis. for collinearity analysis, the plastome was analyzed using the circoletto server (darzentas, 2010). nucleotide diversity analysis the nucleotide diversity analysis commenced with the alignment of chloroplast genome sequences utilizing the mafft online tool to ensure precise sequence alignment across the studied genomes (katoh et al., 2005). subsequently, nucleotide diversity was assessed with complete cp genome sequence of a novel withania somnifera 209 dnasp v.5 tool. a sliding window approach was employed, with a window length of 600 base pairs and a step size of 200 base pairs, allowing for a detailed examination of nucleotide diversity across the genome (librado and rozas, 2009). the genomic coordinates of each window were then compared with the annotated gene regions of the chloroplast genome to identify and characterize patterns of nucleotide diversity. plastome-wide molecular phylogeny to conduct a comprehensive plastome-wide molecular phylogenetic analysis within the solanaceae family, 36 taxa, including w. somnifera var. abhaica, were chosen and retrieved from the ncbi genbank database. mentha spicata l. and phyla nodiflora (l.) greene were included as outgroup taxa to root the phylogenetic tree and provide context for evolutionary relationships. the sequences were compiled into a multi-fasta file and subsequently aligned using the mafft server to ensure accurate sequence alignment across all taxa. the aligned sequences were then analyzed in mega v.11, where a maximum-likelihood (ml) tree was constructed. the tamura 3parameter model was employed as the nucleotide substitution model, which effectively captures the evolutionary dynamics within the plastomes (ahmed and rahman, 2024). the substitution rates were set to uniform to maintain a consistent rate of nucleotide changes across the sequences. a partial deletion approach was adopted for gap treatment, allowing for the exclusion of gaps that could potentially skew the results. to evaluate the robustness of the phylogenetic relationships, the ml tree was generated with 1,000 bootstrap replicates, providing a measure of confidence for each branch (tamura et al., 2021). results and discussion quality evaluation of ngs reads the sequencing run using the nextseq 500 platform generated approximately 5.6 gb of highquality, adapter-removed reads. analysis of these raw reads revealed a gc content of 43% and an at content of 57%, indicating a balanced nucleotide composition that reflects the genomic characteristics of the sample. quality control metrics further confirmed the reliability of the sequencing process, with 96.6% of the bases achieving a q20 score, indicating a 99% base call accuracy. additionally, 90.8% of the bases reached the q30 threshold, corresponding to a 99.9% base call accuracy, underscoring the overall robustness and precision of the sequencing data obtained. the quality of the raw reads in this study was found to be consistent with a recently published plastome of tribulus macropterus variety, where the phred quality scores were 95.9% and 89.7% for the q20 and q30 indices, respectively (albediwi et al., 2024). genome structure and contents the orbicular quadripartite plastome spanned a total length of 153,621 bp, comprising 84,972 bp in the lsc region, 18,400 bp in the ssc region, and 50,249 bp in the irs regions (fig. 2). the present investigation demonstrated a remarkable consistency with the plastome of w. somnifera as reported by mehmood et al. (2020). the plastome of w. somnifera (mk142783) was characterized by a total length of 154,386 bp, with lsc, ssc, and ir regions measuring 85,688 bp, 18,464 bp, and 50,234 bp, respectively (mehmood et al., 2020). this strong correlation reinforces the validity of the plastome structure for w. somnifera var. abhaica constructed in this study. the comparative analysis of the guanine-cytosine (gc) ratio and adenine-thymine (at) ratio across different compartments of the plastome revealed distinct patterns (table 1). the overall plastome exhibited an at content of 62.26% and a gc content of 37.74%. the lsc region had the highest at content of 64.20%, with a correspondingly lower gc content of 35.80%, reflecting 210 alsuhaimi et al. a higher proportion of adenine and thymine bases. the ssc region further amplified this trend, showing the highest at content of 68.22% and the lowest gc content of 31.78%. in contrast, the inverted repeats (ira and irb) displayed a higher gc content, both around 43.2%, with corresponding at contents of approximately 56.8%. these differences underscore the variability in nucleotide composition across the plastome. fig. 2. complete chloroplast genome of withania somnifera var. abhaica representing gene orders and quadripartite junction sites. an elevated at ratio in the ssc and lsc regions, in contrast to the irs indicates an evolutionary trend where these protein-coding gene-rich regions show a selection for at-rich codons to potentially enhance gene expression and protein function (qian et al., 2013). this increased at content is likely a consequence of higher recombination rates in these dynamic regions, driving nucleotide variability. in contrast, the ir regions, characterized by fewer recombination events, exhibit a lower at content and greater structural stability, resulting in a more preserved nucleotide pattern. this contrast underscores how distinct evolutionary pressures complete cp genome sequence of a novel withania somnifera 211 have shaped the structure and composition of the withania somnifera var. abhaica plastome, reflecting both functional requirements and genomic stability (saina et al., 2018). table 1. proportion of nucleotides in the quadripartite sites of withania somnifera var. abhaica. zones a (%) t (u) (%) c (%) g (%) c + g (%) a + t (%) plastome 30.74 31.52 19.19 18.55 37.74 62.26 lsc 31.43 32.77 18.32 17.48 35.80 64.20 ssc 33.86 34.36 16.65 15.14 31.78 68.22 ira 28.42 28.35 22.43 20.80 43.23 56.77 irb 28.43 28.37 20.77 22.44 43.21 56.79 annotation of genes the annotation of the w. somnifera var. abhaica cp genome revealed a total of 131 genes, comprising 86 pcgs, 37 trna genes, and eight were rrna genes (fig. 2). among the 19 genes associated with photosystems, 14 genes encode photosystem ii, whereas 5 genes are involved with photosystem i. the genes encoding the small subunit of the ribosome (15 genes) outnumbered those encoding the large subunit (11 genes) (table 2). most pcgs were localized in the singlecopy zones, while the inverted repeats predominantly contained rna genes. the ssc region was notable for its high concentration of genes encoding subunits of nadh dehydrogenases. furthermore, the lsc region featured two key dna barcodes, rbcl and matk. in addition, the lsc harbored the cema gene, which encodes the chloroplast envelope membrane protein. the high concentration of pcgs in the single-copy regions highlights their role in essential processes like photosynthesis and metabolism, contributing to functional diversity. the predominance of rna genes in the irs emphasizes their importance in maintaining genomic stability and supporting efficient protein synthesis. additionally, the abundance of nadh dehydrogenase genes in the ssc region underscores its crucial role in energy metabolism and photosynthetic efficiency (dobrogojski et al., 2020). table 2. classification of the protein-coding genes present in withania somnifera var. abhaica plastome. categories gene groups gene names genes for photosynthesis photosystem i psaa, psab, psac, psai, psaj photosystem ii psba, psbb, psbc, psbd, psbe, psbf, psbh, psbi, psbj, psbk, psbm, psbn, psbt, psbz atp synthase atpa, atpb, atpe, atpf, atph, atpi cytochrome b/f complex peta, petb, petd, petg, petl, petn rubisco rbcl nadh-dehydrogenase ndha, ndhb(×2), ndhc, ndhd, ndhe, ndhf, ndhg, ndhh, ndhi, ndhj, ndhk self-replication small subunit of ribosome rps2, rps3, rps4, rps7(×2), rps8, rps11, rps12(×3), rps14, rps15, rps16, rps18, rps19 large subunit of ribosome rpl2(×2), rpl14, rpl16, rpl20, rpl22, rpl23(×2), rpl32, rpl33, rpl36 dna dependent rna polymerase rpoa, rpob, rpoc1, rpoc2 other genes maturase matk envelop membrane protein cema acetyl-coa-carboxylase accd c-type cytochrome synthesis gene ccsa protease clpp unknown conserved open reading frames ycf1, ycf2(×2), ycf3, ycf4, ycf15(×2) 212 alsuhaimi et al. in a recent study, mehmood et al. (2020) identified 86 pcgs, 37 trnas, and eight rrnas in the plastome of w. somnifera. the gene content, organization, and localization in their investigation were congruent with the findings of the present study, showcasing the genetic similarity between w. somnifera and w. somnifera var. abhaica. exon-intron distribution and cis-trans splicing the exon-intron distribution in the plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica revealed a diverse and intricate gene structure across different regions (table 3). in the lsc region, several genes, such as trnk-uuu, rps16, and atpf, have two exons separated by a single intron. the genes ycf3 and clpp exhibit more complex structures, each containing three exons and two introns. notably, the ycf3 gene stands out with its relatively long intron ii of 745 bp. the ira and irb regions display a mirrored arrangement of genes, such as rpl2 and ndhb, both containing two exons separated by a substantial intron. the ssc region includes the ndha gene, which also features two exons and a notably a long intron of 1159 bp. this distribution highlights the complex organization of the plastome, with multiple genes featuring introns, contributing to the regulatory mechanisms of gene expression and the potential for alternative splicing in the plastid genome. the pattern of exon-intron distribution observed in this study aligns closely with that of the plastome of capparis decidua (forsk) edgew (alzahrani and albokhari, 2022). similar to our findings in w. somnifera var. abhaica, c. decidua also exhibited complex structures in the ycf3 and clpp genes within the lsc region, with both genes containing three exons separated by two introns. this resemblance corroborated the accuracy of the exon-intron prediction in the plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica. table 3. exons-introns distribution in the plastome of withania somnifera var. abhaica. location genes exon i (bp) intron i (bp) exon ii (bp) intron ii (bp) exon iii (bp) irb trna-ugc 37 811 36 ira ndhb 775 679 758 ssc ndha 553 1159 539 irb rpl2 391 666 434 irb trne-uuc 32 723 40 irb ndhb 775 679 758 ira trne-uuc 32 723 40 ira trna-ugc 37 811 36 lsc rpl16 9 1028 396 ira rpl2 391 666 434 lsc rpoc1 453 737 1614 lsc ycf3 124 727 232 745 151 lsc trnk-uuu 37 2477 36 lsc petb 6 746 642 lsc petd 8 745 475 lsc trnl-uaa 35 492 50 lsc trnv-uac 36 552 56 lsc rps16 40 855 227 lsc trns-cga 31 674 60 lsc atpf 145 700 410 lsc clpp 71 790 294 632 244 complete cp genome sequence of a novel withania somnifera 213 the plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica unveiled several cis-splicing genes, such as rps16, atpf, rpoc1, ycf3, clpp, petb, petd, rpl16, rpl2, ndhb, and ndha (fig. 3). these genes feature diverse intron-exon structures, with some containing multiple introns and others having a single intron, exhibiting significant variability in intron lengths. this diversity in intron structures and lengths suggests a range of splicing requirements and potential impacts on gene expression and chloroplast function, reflecting adaptations to specific functional needs and environmental conditions (dobrogojski et al., 2020). the rps12 is a trans-spliced gene with exons located in separate regions of the genome (fig. 4). exon 1 is located in the lsc, while exons 2 and 3 are situated in the irs. these exons were transcribed separately and then spliced together to form a mature mrna, which facilitates the correct assembly of the rps12 coding sequence. this transsplicing mechanism is essential for the gene's proper expression, ensuring that exons from distinct genomic regions are combined to produce a functional protein. the plastome of mandragora caulescens c. b. clarke (tribe solaneae) revealed a similar structural organization of cisand trans-spliced genes, supporting the findings of the present investigation (ma et al., 2024). fig. 3. w. somnifera var. abhaica plastome showing genes responsible for cis-splicing. 214 alsuhaimi et al. fig. 4. w. somnifera var. abhaica plastome showing rps12 responsible for trans-splicing. longer repeats and ssrs in the analysis of longer repeats, w. somnifera var. abhaica exhibited 15 forward, eight reverse, 26 palindromic, and one complement repeats (fig. 5a). compared to other species, w. somnifera var. abhaica had fewer forward and reverse repeats than w. coagulans, w. riebeckii, and dunalia obovata. however, w. somnifera var. abhaica had more palindromic repeats than w. riebeckii and w. coagulans, and fewer complement repeats compared to most species, except for d. obovata, which had none. physalis peruviana had one longer repeat, similar to w. somnifera var. abhaica. fig. 5. comparative overview of the repeat structures present in the plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica and allied genera. a. longer repeats, b. simple sequence repeats. the evaluation of ssr profile revealed w. somnifera var. abhaica had 31 mononucleotide repeats, zero dinucleotide and trinucleotide repeats, and seven tetranucleotide repeats (fig. 5b). in comparison, w. somnifera and w. coagulans had more mononucleotide repeats, with 40 each, and d. obovata had the highest number of 43. unlike w. somnifera var. abhaica, which had no dinucleotide or trinucleotide repeats, p. peruviana showed one dinucleotide repeat, and w. complete cp genome sequence of a novel withania somnifera 215 riebeckii had two trinucleotide repeats. w. somnifera var. abhaica was unique in having seven tetranucleotide repeats, a characteristic feature not found in the other species studied. these findings suggest that w. somnifera var. abhaica possesses a unique profile compared to the other analyzed species. ssrs in the plastome exhibit lower mutation rates compared to nuclear ssrs, enhancing their stability and reliability in phylogenetic studies (albediwi et al., 2024). rna-editing sites and gc skewness the rna-editing analysis of the w. somnifera var. abhaica cp genome revealed a varied distribution of editing sites across different regions, with the lsc region comprising 40% of the sites, the ir region 21%, and the ssc region 39% (fig. 6). a total of 66 rna-editing sites were identified in the plastome across various compartments. the ssc region exhibited the highest concentration of rna-editing sites, with the ycf1 gene containing 12 sites, followed by the ndhd gene with 7 sites. in contrast, the lsc region, covering the largest portion of the genome, had a wider range of genes with editing sites, though the rpob gene had the highest count at 5 sites. the ir region showed significant editing activity in the ycf2 gene with 5 sites. overall, the ssc region, despite having slightly fewer editing sites than the lsc, showed a higher frequency in specific genes, such as ycf1 and ndhd compared to the more evenly distributed editing sites among various genes in the lsc and ir regions. fig. 6. distribution of rna editing loci in the plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica. a. distribution across pcgs, b. distribution across compartments. a high concentration of rna-editing sites in the ssc region, as observed in our findings, has also been reported in the chloroplast genome of capparis decidua (alzahrani and albokhari, 2022), where 46 rna-editing sites were detected across 18 genes, including nine sites within the ndhd gene. this pattern of rna-editing is further supported by findings in the plastome of solanum dulcamara l., which exhibited a similar tendency, reinforcing the significance of our results (amiryousefi et al., 2018). analyzing rna-editing sites in the w. somnifera var. abhaica plastome is crucial for uncovering the complex regulatory mechanisms that govern gene expression and photosynthesis in this medicinal plant. variations in rna-editing efficiency across different genes, or even at different loci within the same gene, suggest intricate layers of control that can impact protein structure and function. these modifications have the potential to regulate key physiological processes, including photosynthesis, which is vital for the survival and metabolic activities of this variety (amiryousefi et al., 2018). 216 alsuhaimi et al. skewness analysis revealed a highly similar pattern of gc content and gc skew across all species examined (fig. 7). a positive gc skew indicated that guanine (g) was more abundant than cytosine (c) in the analyzed genome region, whereas a negative gc skew suggested the opposite. the consistent patterns in gc skew and content across these species suggest a conserved dna structure and stability, implying that the mechanisms governing guanine and cytosine distribution have been preserved within the solanaceae family (wang et al., 2023). these metrics provide insights into dna density, as regions with high gc content are more stable and denser due to the stronger hydrogen bonding between g and c pairs. the uniformity observed between w. somnifera var. abhaica and other closely related taxa further supports the evolutionary stability of these species and reinforces the accuracy of the assembled plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica. fig. 7. gc content and skewness analysis of the w. somnifera var. abhaica along with closely related species. complete cp genome sequence of a novel withania somnifera 217 comparative genomic assessments plastome-wide alignment revealed locally collinear blocks (lcbs) with high similarities (fig. 8). gene orders and arrangements were represented by multi-colored mini blocks: white for pcgs, black for trnas, green for intron-containing trnas, and red for rrnas. the high similarity of w. somnifera var. abhaica with other closely related taxa supports the accuracy of its plastome assembly and annotation. the results of the mauve whole-genome alignment are congruent with findings from other similar studies (henriquez et al., 2020; munyao et al., 2020). the collinearity analysis unveiled a high synteny of w. somnifera var. abhaica with other closely related taxa (fig. 9). no significant rearrangements were detected among the taxa studied, highlighting their structural similarity and integrity. sequence identity was notably similar among w. somnifera, w. coagulans, and w. riebeckii. unlike other withania species, p. peruviana and d. obovata exhibited syntenic blocks (red) with over 75% sequence similarity (fig. 9). this high synteny in p. peruviana and d. obovata suggests that, despite belonging to different genera, these species share significant conserved genomic regions. this conservation could be due to evolutionary constraints or functional necessities that have maintained these sequences (ding et al., 2022). table 4 presents a detailed comparative account of the plastomes of various taxa examined in the present study, underscoring differences in chloroplast genome length, gc content, and gene count. fig. 8. mauve progressive alignment of the complete plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica showing resemblances with other closely related taxa within solanaceae. 218 alsuhaimi et al. fig. 9. synteny analysis of w. somnifera var. abhaica with other closely related taxa within solanaceae. nucleotide diversity assessments the nucleotide diversity analysis of the w. somnifera var. abhaica plastome identified several hypervariable sites (fig. 10). the mean pi value across all genomic positions was 0.0048. the most hypervariable site was found in the psbj gene (pi = 0.04844), followed by psba (pi = 0.04222), both located in the lsc region. in the ssc region, the ndhf gene showed the highest variability (pi = 0.3389), followed by ycf1 (pi = 0.3044). nucleotide diversity was lower in the irs compared to the lsc and ssc, reflecting the more conserved nature of the ir regions. our results align with earlier findings for chlorophytum comosum, c. gallabatense, and tribulus macropterus var. arabicus (munyao et al., 2020; albediwi et al., 2024). identifying hypervariable genes in the plastome of w. somnifera var. abhaica is important for developing genetic markers or barcodes. due to their high variability, these genes can serve as accurate genetic identifiers for distinguishing closely related species or even different subspecies within the same species. these hypervariable barcodes enable precise identification and classification of withania species. moreover, these markers can enhance the understanding of unusual mutations within a lineage and help to elucidate evolutionary relationships (breen et al., 2009). complete cp genome sequence of a novel withania somnifera 219 table 4. comparison of plastome features of the taxa analyzed in the current investigation. taxa genbank id total length gc content (%) pcgs trnas rrnas total genes withania somnifera var. abhaica nadia, a. ali & m.s. alwahibi, var. nov. or166175.1 153,621 37.74 86 37 8 131 w. somnifera (l.) dunal mk142783.1 154,386 37.67 84 39 8 131 w. frutescens (l.) pauquy on153173.1 153,771 37.73 89 44 8 141 discopodium penninervium hochst. or400640.1 155,033 37.52 93 38 8 139 nothocestrum latifolium a. gray or400642.1 155,669 37.53 93 38 8 139 physalis peruviana l. nc_026570.1 156,706 37.54 91 37 8 136 p. cordata houst. ex mill. nc_072167.1 157,000 37.51 92 38 8 138 dunalia obovata (ruiz & pav.) dammer nc_026563.1 156,559 37.69 88 36 8 132 capsicum baccatum l. nc_072696.1 157,475 37.64 87 37 8 132 c. lycianthoides bitter nc_026551.1 156,583 37.76 87 36 8 131 jaltomata sinuosa (miers) mione nc_062863.1 156,163 37.91 89 36 8 133 j. bicolor (ruiz & pav.) mione nc_062862.1 155,459 38.03 89 36 8 133 solanum corneliomulleri j.f. macbr. nc_062080.1 155,544 37.85 93 37 8 138 s. huaylasense peralta nc_062081.1 155,571 37.83 93 37 8 138 s. americanum mill. nc_062693.1 155,266 37.95 91 37 8 136 s. scabrum mill. mt621038.1 155,552 37.90 91 37 8 136 s. villosum mill. mt621039.1 155,529 37.89 91 37 8 136 s. nigrum l. mt621037.1 155,446 37.90 91 37 8 136 brugmansia arborea (l.) sweet nc_081500.1 155,939 37.83 86 37 8 131 datura stramonium l. mt610897.1 155,884 37.86 86 37 8 131 d. metel l. ok040953.1 155,934 37.86 86 38 8 132 nicandra physalodes (l.) gaertn. mn165114.1 156,729 37.78 86 38 8 132 mandragora caulescens c.b. clarke nc_086882.1 154,810 37.98 94 40 8 142 atropa bella-donna l. nc_004561.1 156,687 37.56 85 37 8 130 lycium ferocissimum miers mn866909.1 155,894 37.85 86 37 8 131 l. chinense mill. mn102357.1 155,736 37.84 89 37 8 134 l. ruthenicum murray mt955897.1 154,911 37.91 89 37 8 134 l. qingshuiheense jiang & li nc_084119.1 154,945 37.92 87 37 8 132 nicotiana tomentosiformis goodsp. nc_007602.1 155,745 37.79 82 37 8 127 n. tabacum l. nc_001879.2 155,943 37.85 84 37 8 129 n. sylvestris speg. nc_007500.1 155,941 37.85 81 38 8 127 n. attenuata torr. ex watson mg182422.1 155,914 37.86 90 37 8 135 n. undulata ruiz & pav. nc_016068.1 155,863 37.88 89 37 8 134 petunia exserta stehmann mt644125.1 156,597 37.81 88 37 8 133 mentha spicata l. om617844.1 152,048 37.85 88 37 8 133 phyla nodiflora (l.) greene oq673174.1 154,341 39.19 87 34 8 129 molecular phylogenetics a plastome-wide molecular phylogeny within the solanaceae family was reconstructed that supported the systematic position of w. somnifera var. abhaica as a novel variety of w. somnifera (fig. 11). the maximum-likelihood (ml) tree showed a strong bootstrap support across most of the clades and subclades. the family solanaceae consists of seven subfamilies, such as cestroideae, goetzeoideae, nicotianoideae, petunioideae, schizanthoideae, schwenckioideae, and solanoideae (olmstead et al., 2008). however, cp genomes in the ncbi genbank database were 220 alsuhaimi et al. available for only three subfamilies, viz. solanoideae, nicotianoideae, and petunioideae. the reconstructed ml tree provided a well-resolved phylogeny for these three subfamilies, all of which exhibited a monophyletic origin (fig. 11). w. somnifera var. abhaica was found to be closely related to other w. somnifera accessions and grouped with other members of the tribe physaleae within the solanoideae subfamily. tribe physaleae displayed a monophyletic origin with 100% bootstrap support and showed a close relationship with the member taxa of the tribe capsiceae. the tribe solaneae, represented by eight taxa, also demonstrated a monophyletic nature with 100% bootstrap support. similarly, tribe datureae exhibited strong bootstrap support with its two representative genera, brugmansia and datura. the tribes nicandreae and mandragoreae, each represented by one species, formed a cluster. the remaining two tribes, hyoscyameae and lycieae grouped together with robust bootstrap support. the subfamily nicotianoideae was represented solely by the tribe nicotianeae, which depicted a well-resolved monophyletic nature. petunia exserta was the only representative of the subfamily petunioideae, occupying a distinct position in the ml tree. fig. 10. nucleotide diversity of w. somnifera var. abhaica cp genome elucidating hypervariable barcodes across lsc, ssc and irs compartments. the accurate systematic positioning of the w. somnifera var. abhaica plastome justifies its assembly. mehmood et al. (2020) constructed ml-based phylogenetic tree with 23 taxa of solanaceae to validate the assembly of w. somnifera (mk142783). in their analysis, the tribe physaleae exhibited a close affinity with capsiceae tribe, while the tribe hyoscyameae clustered with the tribe lycieae. these tribal relationships are further supported by our current investigation (fig. 11). mehmood et al. (2020) included two species of nicotianoideae, viz. n. sylvestris and n. tabacum in their ml tree. in the present study, we have included five species of nicotiana, where n. tabacum clustered with n. sylvestris, and these consistent findings reinforce the well-resolved phylogeny (fig. 11). given the distinctive characteristics of this novel variety of w. somnifera, including reduced plant height, elliptic-elongated, thick and puberulous leaves resembling semi-succulent morphological nature, a bifurcated fruiting calyx tip, c. 0.5 mm in length, with each bifurcation being botuliform in shape, and robust phylogenetic evidence supporting its uniqueness, we herein complete cp genome sequence of a novel withania somnifera 221 propose that the collected ecotype accession be recognized as a new variety: withania somnifera (l.) dunal var. abhaica nadia, a. ali & m.s. alwahibi, var. nov. this new variety is named after its ‘type’ locality. fig. 11. maximum-likelihood (ml) tree representing plastome-wide phylogenetic relationships of w. somnifera var. abhaica. the complete chloroplast genome presented in this study will contribute valuable new data to the genbank repository, providing an essential resource for comprehensive molecular phylogenetic and dating analyses. the identified hypervariable barcodes will advance dna barcoding efforts, offering precise tools for the taxonomic identification of the medicinally significant taxon. additionally, this study lays the foundation for deeper insights into the evolutionary processes and genetic diversity within the solanaceae family. 222 alsuhaimi et al. acknowledgements the authors extend their appreciation to the researchers supporting project number (rsp2025r306), king saud university, riyadh, saudi arabia. this research was also funded by the korean research institute of bioscience and biotechnology (kribb) initiative program of the republic of korea (kgm4582423). references ahmed, s.s. and rahman, m.o. 2024. deciphering 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(manuscript received on 7 february 2024; revised on 27 november 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 71-78, 2018 (june) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and anatomical studies of the newly recorded rhus chinensis mill. (anacardiaceae) from turkey özgür eminagaoglu1 and melahat ozcan department of forest engineering, faculty of forestry, artvin coruh university, 08000 artvin, turkey keywords: rhus chinensis; anatomy; chromosome number; sem; new records; turkey. abstract rhus chinensis mill. (anacardiaceae) has been reported as a new record for the flora of turkey. detailed morphological description and leaf anatomical properties are provided. capitate glandular and nonglandular trichomes, and also epicuticle hairs have been observed in the leaf surfaces of r. chinensis. fruit micromorphology and chromosome number of this species have also been evaluated. introduction anacardiaceae lindl., the cashew family, includes more than 700 species in the world belonging to 82 genera that are primarily distributed pantropically. the genus rhus l., the sumac genus (spondiadoideae, rhoeae), is one of the most widespread and recognizable genera in the north temperate zone, includes approximately 250 species from subtropical and warm temperate regions of the world. the genus is divided into two subgenera: rhus l. and lobadium (raf.) torr. & a.gray (barkley, 1937; yi et al., 2007). during field survey in artvin province (turkey), some interesting specimens belonging to anacardiaceae were collected. after critical study and consultation with relevant literature (davis et al., 1967; linchevskii, 1974; davis, 1988; güner et al., 2000; hsu and su, 2013; eminağaoğlu, 2015), these specimens were identified as rhus chinensis mill. the species was not reported earlier from turkey (eminağaoğlu and anşin, 2003; eminağaoğlu and anşin, 2004; eminağaoğlu et al., 2008; özhatay et al., 2011; eminağaoğlu and ozcan, 2013, 2014; yuksel and eminağaoğlu, 2017). the number of species of rhus in the flora of turkey is increased to 2 with the addition of this species. in this study, we describe detailed morphological characters of rhus chinensis, and investigate the anatomical and cytological properties of the species. material and methods morphological analysis plant materials were collected from different parts of artvin, turkey, at different altitudes between 2013 and 2017. the collected materials were critically studied. the voucher specimens have been deposited at the herbarium of artvin coruh university (arth), artvin, turkey. anatomical preparation for anatomical investigation leaf samples were stored in 70% alcohol. transverse sections of leaf, and paradermal sections of upper and lower epidermis of leaves were prepared manually using commercial razor blades and stained in haematoxylin for about 15 min. to remove the excess stain, sections were washed in water several times (algan, 1981). semi-permanent slides were mounted in glycerin or permanent slides were covered with glycerin-gelatin (vardar, 1987). 1artvin çoruh üniversitesi, orman fakültesi, orman mühendisliği, orman botaniği anabilim dalı, seyitler yerleşkesi, 08000 artvin, turkey. corresponding author. email: oeminagaoglu@artvin.edu.tr mailto:oeminagaoglu@artvin.edu.tr 72 eminagaoglu and ozcan well stained sections were examined under a light microscope and photographed using an olympus bx-53 microscope with digital camera attachment dp-73. micromorphological analysis micromorphological features of the fruits were studied using a stereomicroscope (leica m60 with a digital camera attachment dfc 295) and a scanning electron microscope (zeiss evo ls 10, acu-biltekmer). for scanning electron microscopy, fruits and seed covered with endocarp were separately placed on stubs using double-sided adhesive tape, and coated with gold in a cressington sputter coater 108 auto coating apparatus for 2 min. fruits and endocarp were examined and photographed from the same region (from the middle part of the lateral region). chromosome count for mitotic chromosome observation, root tips were cut off and pretreated with 1bromonaphtalen at 4 oc for 16 h (ozcan et al., 2011), then fixed in fresh carnoy absolute alcoholglacial acetic acid (3:1) for 24 h at 4ºc. for chromosome counts, root tips were hydrolyzed in 5n hcl for 3-5 min at room temperature and then rinsed with distilled water for 2-3 min. staining was carried out in lacto-propionic orcein at least for 3 h at room temperature. permanent slides were prepared from at least ten well-spread cells. the best metaphase plates were photographed with olympus bx-53 microscope with digital camera attachment dp-73. results and discussion rhus chinensis mill. gard. dict. ed. 8, n. 7 (1768). r. osbeckii carrière, rev. hort. [paris]: 111 (1887); r. osbeckii steud. nomencl. bot. [steudel], ed. 2, 2: 452 (1841); r. semialata murray, commentat. soc. regiae sci. gott. 6: 27, t 3 (1784); schinus indicus burm. f., fl. ind.: 215 (err. typ. 315) (1768). (fig. 1). shrub to small deciduous tree, 2–10 m tall; branchlets ferruginous pubescent, lenticellate. leaves sessile, imparipinnately compound; rachis broadly winged, ferruginous pubescent; leaflets 9-13, leaflet blade ovate to oblong, 7–13×3–7 cm, increasing in size towards apex, adaxially darkgreen, sparsely pubescent or glabrescent, abaxially pale-green, glaucous, and ferruginous pubescent, base rounded to cuneate in terminal leaflet, margin dentate, often crenate, apex acute, lateral veins and reticulate venation impressed adaxially and prominent abaxially; petiole 4–9 cm long, densely pubescent. flowers dioecious; inflorescence panicle, densely ferruginous pubescent. staminate flowers 35–40 mm long, pedicel short, c. 1 mm, minutely pubescent; calyx pubescent, lobes ovate, c. 1 mm long, margin ciliate; corolla obovate-oblong, white, c. 2 mm long; filaments c. 2 mm long; anthers ovoid, c. 0.7 mm; disk annular, yellow; ovary very reduced or absent. pistilate flowers: corolla elliptic-ovate, white, c. 1.6–2.0 mm long; calyx lobes c. 0.6 mm long; staminodes 4 or 5, disk annular, yellow; ovary ovoid, c. 1 mm long, densely white pubescent; styles 3; stigma capitate. drupe globose, slightly compressed, 4–5 mm in diam., mixed pilose and glandular-pubescent, red at maturity. flowering period: june to august; fruiting period: september to november. specimens examined: a8 artvin, hopa, kemalpaşa, damp roadside, grassland, 15m, 27 july 2013, 41°30′33″n, 41°32′15″e, ö. emin. 18677 (arth 5250); artvin, hopa, kemalpaşa, 36m, 29 september 2013, 41°27′52″n, 41°29′9″e, ö. emin. 19101 (arth 5251); artvin, hopa, kemalpaşa, damp roadside, grassland, 10m, 8 may 2014, 41°28′22″n, 41°30′17″e, ö. emin. 19364 (arth 5269); artvin, arhavi, roadside, 40m, 5 june 2017, 41°20′47″n, 41°16′44″e, ö. emin. 22360 (arth 11342). morphological and anatomical studies of rhus chinensis 73 fig. 1. rhus chinensis mill.: a. winged rachis with pinnate leaves; b. flowering branch; c. pistillate flowers; d. staminate flowers; e. fruits. scale bars: a=3 cm, b=5 mm, c=2 mm, d=8 mm, e=2 mm. distribution: china, manchuria, india, thailand, korea, japan, tibet, taiwan, north korea, south korea, malaysia, india, bhutan, myanmar, pakistan, jammu and kashmir, laos, thailand and cambodia (hassler, 2017). new record for turkey. ecology: r. chinensis grows on damp, humid and gravelly soil including roadsides and forest sides at 20-100 m with carex pendula huds., corylus avellana l., equisetum fluviatile l., hypericum xylosteifolium (spach.) n. robson, juncus effusus l., plantago major l., polygonum aviculare l, oxalis corniculata l., sambucus nigra l. and sisyrinchium angustifolium mill. uses: different parts of r. chinensis including root, bark, stem, leaf, flowers, fruit, seed and gall are used in the treatment of hemoptysis, inflammations, cough, dysentery, fever, jaundice, malaria, rheumatism, laryngitis, snakebite, stomach-ache and traumatic fractures. galls on the 74 eminagaoglu and ozcan plant are also used for treatment of diarrhoea, hemorrhage, ulcer of mouth, diabetes, and rectal and intestinal cancer (djakpo and yao, 2010). leaf anatomical characteristics midrib: it is semi-circle and covers a large area. under the upper and lower epidermis, several layers of collenchyma cells are observed. 12-15 collateral vascular bundles arranged in a circle. the larger bundles present near to upper epidermis are thin walled parenchymatous cells filled in the pith. at least one large resin duct is present in each vascular bundle. sclerenchymatous sheath can be visible in phloem of vascular bundle as a cap (fig. 2). fig. 2. leaf anatomy of rhus chinensis: a-b. midrib; c. vascular bundles; d. trichomes; e. veinlet; f. lamina. cl: collenchyma, ct: capitate trichome, eh: epicuticular hair, pc: pith cell, ph: phloem, pp: palisade parenchyma, sc: secretory canal (duct), dc: druse crystals, sp: spongy parenchyma, str: simple trichome, xy: xylem, scale bars: a = 200 µm; b,c,e = 100 µm; d,f = 50 µm. morphological and anatomical studies of rhus chinensis 75 lamina: the leaves show dorsiventral mesophyll. it is composed of single palisade layer and 3-4 spongy layers. the palisade tissue covers in equal areas to spongy parenchyma. epidermis is covered with a thick cuticle. upper epidermal cells with straight walls are distinctly larger than the lower ones (fig. 2f). non-glandular and capitate glandular trichomes are sparsely observed in the adaxial surface, but abaxial one included densely non-glandular multicellular and capitate trichomes with 4-8 head cells and epicuticle hairs. it bears hypostomatic type stomata which are found only in abaxial side of leaf (fig. 3). they are sunken in lower epidermis (fig. 2c, d). fig. 3. paradermal section of leaf. a,b. adaxial epidermis; c,d. abaxial epidemis. eh: epicuticular hair; st: stomata; str: simple trichome. scale bars: a,c. = 100 µm; b,d. = 50 µm. crystals: druse crystal compounds are present in some collenchymatous cells of midrib and inside of the palisade cells of lamina. they are much bigger (fig. 2f) r. chinensis has dorsiventral mesophyll with single layer of palisade cells and 3-4 layers of spongy cells. yanping et al. (2001) investigated formation of gall in this species and showed the differences in the ratio of palisade tissue and spongy tissue. in the present study, we observed three types of trichomes in the leaf of r. chinensis (fig. 3). mobius (1899), and rost and gilg (1912) reported two different types of trichomes (thick-walled bristle hairs and club-shaped trichomes) in r. vernicifera l. and r. toxicodendron l., respectively. liu et al. (2008) found epicuticular hairs in r. chinensis. in the present study, crystal compounds were observed in r. chinensis (fig. 2). mcnair (1921) reported these types of crystals in r. diversiloba torr. & a. gray [toxicodendron diversilobum (torr. & a.gray) greene]. mcnair (l.c.) also reported resin 76 eminagaoglu and ozcan ducts in r. diversiloba. harada (1932) reported resin ducts in the petiole and veinlets of r. succedanea l. in the present study similar results were found for r. chinensis as like in r. diversiloba. therefore our results are in accordance with previous studies. fruit micromorphology fleshy fruit has reddish colour with round shape, and endocarp is laterally compressed. fruit length ranged from 4.5 to 4.7 mm. results of fruit micromorphology are shown in fig. 4. exocarp cells are undulate and more or less inflated with striate surface. epidermal surface was covered with glandular trichomes. endocarp has regular sclerified cells. fig. 4. sem micrography of fruit of rhus chinensis. a-c. fruit; d-f. endocarp. chromosome number somatic chromosome number of r. chinensis has been determined as 2n=2x =30+0-2b (fig.5). fig. 5. somatic metaphase of rhus chinensis. morphological and anatomical studies of rhus chinensis 77 two b chromosome have also been found. in a previous report, shang et al. 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(asteraceae) in turkey burcu yilmaz çitak*, hüseyin dural, tuna uysal and nur münevver pinar1 department of biology, faculty of science, selcuk university, konya. keywords: centaurea; cheirolepis; compositae; palynomorphology; numerical analysis; sem abstract in this paper, the palynomorphology of 17 taxa of section cheirolepis in turkey, were investigated by light (lm) and scanning electron microscope (sem). detailed descriptions of the pollen grains were given for each taxon and a well-resolved dendrogram was generated through numerical analysis of palynological diagnostic features. the pollen grains were found to be radially symmetric, isopolar, and generally 3-zonocolporate, with the exception of c. derderiifolia, c. kotschyi var. floccosa, and c. saligna, which were also 4-zonocolporate. the shape of the pollen grains were prolatespheroidal, with the polar axes of 32.76–46.26 µm and equatorial axes of 31.86–45.82 µm. the sculpturing of the pollen grains was generally scabrate-perforate or rarely microechinate-perforate. the spines were conical with a changing base length. the length and the width of the spines varied between 0.48 and 2.28 µm and 0.4 and 3.39 µm, respectively. the number of perforations at the base of the spines ranged in two or more rows and they varied between 5 and 30. the number of spines was 16–70 in 10 µm2. the results of this study showed that the polar axes, equatorial axes, aperture type, pollen shape, spine length, perforation number, and number of spines in 10 µm2 are essential for distinguishing the studied taxa. the taxa were grouped by clustering analysis of selected pollen characters using the upgma method. introduction one of the largest tribes of the family asteraceae (2400 species) is the tribe cardueae (thistles) with representatives in almost every continent (barres et al., 2013). the main area of distribution of cardueae is the mediterranean region, with the centres of endemism in the eastern and western mediterranean, the western irano-turanian region, and north africa (susanna and garcia-jacas, 2007). the cardueae are traditionally subdivided into the four subtribes echinopinae, carlininae, carduinae and centaureinae (bentham, 1873; hoffmann, 1890-94) and this classification is still accepted. centaurea l. genus is placed in centaureinae subtribes. centaureais a relatively large genus in flora of turkey, comprised of ca. 250 species distributed across eurasia, particularly in the irano-turanian and mediterranean region (anderberg and elden, 2007). recently, the number of taxa belonging to the this genus has reached to 201 taxa, of which 112 are endemic in turkey (uzunhisarcikli et al., 2007; uysal et al., 2007; uysal et al., 2012; uysal et al., 2017; uysal and hamzaoğlu, 2017; armağan and uysal, 2018; sirin et al., 2019) and hence, the endemism rate is about 56%. the cheirolepis section of centaurea is represented by seven taxa in flora of turkey and the checklist of the flora of turkey (wagenitz, 1975; uysal, 2012; uysal et al., 2012). centaurea drabifolia sm. includes four subspecies and centaurea kotschyi boiss. & heldr. includes four varieties. the others can be counted as c. derderiifolia wagenitz, c. deflexa wagenitz, c. nivea (bornm.) wagenitz, c. sericea wagenitz *corresponding author: burcuyilmaz@selcuk.edu.tr 1department of biology, faculty of science, ankara university, ankara mailto:burcuyilmaz@selcuk.edu.tr 132 çitak et al. and c. saligna (c. koch.) wagenitz (uysal et al., 2012). during the last decades, the endemic taxa c. cankiriense duran & dumanand c. glabro-auriculata uysal & demirelma have been described from the same section of centaurea, and the number of species in cheirolepis has now been increased to 15 ( uysal et al., 2007). in flora of turkey, c. ensiformis p. h. davis had been evaluated in ‘incerta sedis’ and c. isaurica huber-morath had been written under the title of ‘imperfectly known’. however, ertugrul et al. (2004) has suggested the section of these two taxa as cheirolepis, according to their morphological and molecular data. with the addition of the last two taxa to section cheirolepis, the number of section has increased to 17, of which sixare known only by their type locality. all the selected and studied species are endemic in turkey except c. kotschyi var. persica (boiss.) wagenitz. there are several reports on chromosome count for the section cheirolepis of centaurea genus (garcia-jacas et al., 1997; romaschenko et al., 2004; uysal et al., 2009; uysal et al., 2015). the basic chromosome numbers of section are x=9, x = 11 with 2n = 18 and 22. karyological traits of the studied species except c. ensiformis and c. glabro-auriculata were reported by the above mentioned researchers. ten of them were counted as 2n=18. c. kotschyi group were counted as 2n=4x=36 (tetraploid), c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa (boiss.) wagenitz & greuter was counted as both 2n=4x=36 and 2n=6x=54. chromosome number of c. deflexa was counted as 2n=6x=54 and those of both c. saligna and c. sericeaas 2n=4x=36. the family asteraceae has remarkable pollen features that attract researchers due to its systematic importance, since the pioneer work of wodehouse (1935) to recent studies of wagenitz, 1955, stix, 1960; wagenitz, 1976; pehlivan, 1995; pınar and i̇nceoğlu, 1996; ozler et al., 2009; punt and hoen, 2009; erkara et al., 2012 and pınar et al., 2016. wagenitz (1955) distinguished eight pollen types based on their morphological structures in serratula, crupina, centaurium, dealbata, montana, cyanus, scabiosa, and jacea pollen types, where serratula was recognized as more primitive and jacea was more evolved. stix (1960) examined 235 species of asteraceae from all over the world and determined 45 types, mainly based on the properties of the sexine, and, in particular, of the echinae. avestisjan (1964) identified five pollen types in centaurea that are found in/reported from jacea, centaurium, scabiosa, serratula, and psephellus’ and six pollen types in jacea that are reported from sulphurea, tomentella, diffusa, alutaceae, pergamacea, and eremopappus. later on pollen studies have been increased with the availability of different magnification systems, for example transmission electron microscopy (tem), and new findings, for example establishment of three principal patterns of exine stratification viz., anthemoid, helianthoid, and senecioid, based on different combination of characters, particularly the presence or absence of a large cavea (space) within the pollen wall, and presence or absence of internal foramina (smaller spaces within individual structural elements). wagenitz (1976) reported that the wealth of other forms of pollen may be explained by the combination of three main trends of evolution: first, is the reduction of the spines, next is the reduction and loss of the inner columellae (with formation of a cavity), and finally, is the formation of a pattern of ridges (lophate or fenestrate pollen). turkish botanists who have studied the pollen morphology of centaurea claimed that the pollen shape, exine structure, presence of singleor double-layer columellae, costa thickness, and sculpturing can be useful for the classification of taxa (pehlivan, 1995; ozler et al., 2009; erkara et al., 2012). punt and hoen (2009) studied 187 species of asteraceae16 of which belonged to the genus centaurea, from northwestern europe and proposed 37 types of pollen based on the apertures, apocolpium index, exine, cavea, costae, ornamentation, and outlines. they divided the species centaurea into three pollen types: c. scabiosa, c. nigra, and c. cyanus. recently, few studieshave been published on section cheirolepis based on pollen morphology (hayta et al., 2017; baser et al., 2019). pollen morphology of section cheirolepis 133 in light of these studies, we studied the pollen morphology of 17 taxa from section cheirolepis of genus centaurea from turkey. with the exception of c. saligna, c. kotschyi var. floccosa, c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa, and c. derderiifolia the pollen features of the remaining species were examined for the first time in the present study. the aims of this report are to compare pollen characteristics of species with an efficient dendrogram and to clarify the usefulness of these features in terms of systematic implications. materials and methods plant materials the plant materials were collected from several localities during their flowering season between 2015 and 2016. moreover, third author also provided us with his collections. all of the specimens used in this research were stored in the selçuk university herbarium (knya). the localities, geographical position, altitude, and the voucher number of the specimens are listed in table 1. table 1. locations and the number of collected samples of cheirolepis (*endemic species). taxa location voucher number *centaurea drabifolia sm. subsp. drabifolia (c1) a2 bursa: uludağ, the summit, above the rocks, 2100-2200 m., 20 august 2016 b. çıtak 250 *c. drabifolia subsp. austrooccidentalis wagenitz (c2) c2 denizli: honaz mountain, the northeast of babatepe, rocky places, 37º41՛154՛՛ n 29º17՛345՛՛ e, 2340-2500 m., 28 july 2016 b. çıtak 218 *c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa (boiss.) wagenitz & greuter (c3) b5 kayseri: pinarbaşı, şirvan mountain, roadside, 2210 m., 5 august 2015 b. çıtak 177 b2 eskişehir: between kütahya-afyon road, side of road, 39º14՛094՛՛ n, 30º07՛046՛՛ e, 1100 m., 30 june 2004 t. uysal 583 c3 konya: derebucak, çamlık town, kızıldağ, 37º21՛250՛՛ n, 31º39՛579՛՛ e, 1350 m., 15 june 2016 h. dural 3566b.çıtak b2 eskişehir: 15 km from bozhüyük to kütahya, side of road, 39º33՛400՛՛ n, 30º03՛842՛՛ e, 905 m., 19 june 2003 t. uysal 501 *c. drabifolia subsp. cappadocica (dc.) wagenitz (c4) b6 sivas: gürün, between gürün-kangal road, böğrüdelik gate, 38°57՛098ʹ՛ n, 37°16՛887ʹ՛ e, 1844 m., 14 july 2015 b. çıtak 171 c5 niğde: bolkar mountain, bulgar mine, 37º27՛507՛՛ n, 34º40՛138՛՛ e, 1900 m., 28 july 2004 t. uysal 854 c5 niğde: ulukışla, bolkar mountain, east side of lake kara, west side of koyunaşağı, rocky places, 2900 m., 01 september 2003 t. uysal 855 c3 konya: beyşehir, doğanhisar-hüyük road, 1800 m., 20 june 2016 h. dural 3573b.çıtak *c. kotschyi var. kotschyi (boiss. & heldr.) hayek (c5) c3 konya: konya-beyşehir road, 1 km to altınapa, droughty stream bed, under the small trees, 37º 53՛ 011՛՛ k, 32º21՛ 668՛՛ e, 15 june 2015 h. dural 3570 b. çıtak c4 karaman: karadağ, 1600 m., 21.07.2015 k. ertuğrul 5016 h. dural c. kotschyi var. persica (boiss.) wagenitz (c6) b5 kayseri: pinarbaşı, şirvan mountain, around stone pit, 38°39.99ʹ n 36°22.97ʹ e, 1844 m.,14 july 2015 b. çıtak 169 c4 konya: 8 km from hadim to korualan, side of roads,1850 m., steppe, 21 july 2015 k. ertuğrul 5006 h. dural c4 konya: hadim, around the gevne valley, 1650-1800 m., k. ertuğrul 5007 134 çitak et al. openings of forest, moving stones, 21 july 2015 h. dural c4 konya: taşkent, 1 km to beyreli village, right side of road, 1762 m., 07 july 2004 t. uysal 696 *c. kotschyi var. decumbens (c7) c4 konya: taşkentalanya, on the tableland, 9 km from taşkent, before belpinar, stony places, 1800 m., 12 july 2003 t. uysal 508 c4 konya: bozkır, sorkun plateau, before dikilitaş plateau, sarnıç region, 1750 m.,15 july 2003 t. uysal 510 c4 konya: around tosmur plateau, 2000-2100 m., 21 july 2015 k. ertuğrul 5009 h. dural *c. kotschyi var. floccosa (c8) b5 kayseri: pinarbaşı, şirvan mountain, roadside, 2210 m., 05 august 2015 b. çıtak 176 *c. derderiifolia wagenitz (c9) b7 elazığ: between elazığ-pertek, 16 km to pertek, saklaya village, yukarı stream region, in vineyard, 38°46ʹ097ʹʹn, 39°12ʹ350ʹʹe, 1002 m., 02 august 2004 t. uysal 902 b6 kayseri: gürün-divriği road, 18 km to divriği, small hills of side of road, 39º16ʹ53ʹʹn, 037º59ʹ27ʹʹe, 1500-1600 m., 27 july 2003. b. çıtak 172 *c. deflexa wagenitz (c10) c4 antalya: gevne valley, küçüklü village, 36°49ʹ710ʹʹ n, 32°27ʹ461ʹʹe, 1750-1800 m., 7 july 2004 t. uysal 693 c4 konya: hadim-taşkent-alanya road, 25 km to taşkent, steppe,1750-1800 m., 21 july 2015 k. ertuğrul 5011 h. dural c4 konya: taşkent-ermenek road, 5-6 km to başyayla fork, loamy hills, 1800 m., 19 july 2012 k. ertuğrul-4699h. dural *c. nivea (bornm.) wagenitz (c11) b3 eskişehir: 20 km from mihaliçik to alpu, the hill with jips, 39°49ʹ592ʹʹ n, 31°16ʹ890ʹʹ e, 940 m., 13 june 2016 b. çıtak 182 *c. sericea wagenitz (c12) c3 eskişehir: bozüyük-kütahya road, openings of pinus forest, 1140 m., 14 july 2016. b. çıtak 207-a. ocak *c. cankiriense a. duran & h. duman (c13) a4 çankırı: atkaracalar-kalfat road, ballı plateau, 40º44՛744՛՛ n, 33º05՛795՛՛ e, 1500 m., 13 july 2016 b. çıtak 201-b. şahin *c. saligna (koch.) wagenitz (c14) c9 hakkari: hakkari-van road, yüksekova fork, bağışlar village, side of road, droughty stream bed, 37°72ʹ597ʹʹn, 44°045ʹ108ʹʹ e, 1800 m., 10 july 2015 b. çıtak 168 b9 erzurum: karayazıgöksu road, göksu valley, stream bed, 34°39ʹ602ʹʹ n, 42°08ʹ529ʹʹe, 2200 m., 30 july 2004 t. uysal 891 b9 muş: 16 km to solhan, 38°56ʹ380ʹʹ n, 41°09ʹ016ʹʹe, 1660 m., 31 july 2004 t. uysal 897 b9 ağrı: hamur, buzhane village, inside the fields, steppe, 1800 m., 26 july 2015 k. ertuğrul 5117 h. dural-t. uysal *c. glabro-auriculata uysal & demirelma (c15) c3 konya: derebucak, kızıldağ, tekneliyatak region, 37º20՛128՛՛ n, 31º29՛465՛՛ e, 1800-1900 m., 07 august 2016. b. çıtak 225-h. dural-h. demirelma *c. isaurica hub.-mor. (c16) c4 konya: bozkır, sorkun village, aşağı sorkun plateu, top of stony places, 2000 m., 13 july 2003 t. uysal 509 c4 konya: hadim, between tosmur valley and gevne valley,1900-1950 m., 27 june 2012 k. ertuğrul 4638 h. dural-t. uysal *c. ensiformis p. h. davis (c17) c2 muğla: köyceğiz, sandras mountain, on serpentin places, 1700 m., 25 july 2016 b. çıtak 193 pollen morphology of section cheirolepis 135 palynological analysis both wodehouse (1935) and erdtman (1960) techniques were used for the light microscopic investigations. however, the figures were given according to first technique (figs 2-7). in the first technique, the pollen grains were obtained from mature anthers, stained with glycerin-jelly and safranin, and covered by a coverslip. in the second technique, the anthers were transferred to glass tubes and treated with potassium hydroxide for 20 min. later, they were mixed in a water bath at 80°c and centrifuged at 4500 rpm. the supernatant was poured off. the acetolysis solution (9:1, acetic acid: sulfuric acid) was added to glass tubes that were carefully heated and centrifuged again. the acetolysis solution was carefully removed, and the pollen grains were washed and centrifuged again. a solution of 50% glycerine was added to the tubes, which was then poured out onto filter paper at room temperature. next, the acetolysed pollen grains were collected from the tubes with a sterile needle and permanent slides were made with glycerine-jelly. all of the pollen slides were photographed using a leica dm 1000 light microscope, which was attached to a leica camera. the measurements were made based on 30 or more pollen grains per specimen. for the scanning electron microscopy (sem) studies, dried non-acetolysis pollen grains were directly transferred onto aluminum stubs and coated with gold. they were photographed with the sem at the advanced technology research and application centre at the selçuk university in konya, and the turkish petroleum international company (tpao). the pollen terminology was followed of the following literature viz., wagenitz (1955), faegri and iversen (1975), punt et al. (2007), punt and hoen (2009) and halbritter et al. (2018). numerical analysis determined total of twenty qualitative and quantitative pollen characters were recorded. out of these, eight pollen characters were used to evaluate the taxonomic grouping and similarities among the taxa of cheirolepis. these characters are listed in table 2. the mean values of recorded qualitative and quantitative pollen characters were included in the data matrix (table 2). the simpson and roe graphical test (van der pluym and hideux, 1977) was used for the statistical calculations (fig. 1). for the pollen characters of the 17 taxa, the coefficients of correlation were determined, and they were grouped using the cluster analysis method (upgma, dissimilarity, standardized variables). for the multivariate analysis, a primary matrix was created the using 17 taxa and 8 characters. the clustering analysis was based on gower (1971) sgeneral coefficient similarity (sneath and sokal, 1973), which can be used directly with a mixture of character types (binary, qualitative, and quantitative characters). the upgma was selected because it is not only the most commonly used method, but it also appears to produce an accurate reflection similarity matrix, as measured by the co-phenetic correlation coefficient of sokal and rohlf (1962) and symmetrical hierarchical structure (mcneill, 1979), and has congruence with the classification derived by traditional methods (ward, 1993). untransformed, centred, and standardised data were used to create a covariance matrix. mvsp 3.22 software was used for all of the computations. results and discussion pollen morphology the palynological properties of the examined taxa of section cheirolepis are given in table 2, and their photographs are shown in figs 2–7. size, symmetry and shape the pollen grains of section cheirolepis were monad, isopolar, and radially symmetrical. the pollen grains of taxa were prolate-spheroidal, with polar axes ranging from 33.77 to 46.26 µm and 136 çitak et al. equatorial axes ranging from 33.77 to 45.82 µm. c. cankiriense were found to be smaller, while c. ensiformis and c. kotschyi var. kotschyi were larger. their equatorial view was elliptic and compressed at the poles, while their polar view was circular, with intruding colpi or was slightly triangular with obtuse angles, and the colpi at the sides were amb inter-semiangular (table 2, figs 2-7). fig. 1. simpson and roe test for the taxa of cheirolepis. a. polar axes (p); b. equatorial axes (e). apertures the pollen grains of cheirolepis section were generally 3-zonocolporate or rarely tetracolporate or syncolporate. some taxa had heteromorphic characteristics. for example, c. derderiifolia and c. kotschyi var. floccosa had 2% 4-zonocolporate pollen grains and 98% 3-zonocolporate pollen grains. the specimens of endemic species c. saligna collected from hakkari and ağrı provinces had 2% tetracolporate and 98% tricolporate pollens, whereas its specimens collected from pollen morphology of section cheirolepis 137 fig. 2. pollen morphology of the section cheirolepis observed under light microscope (lm) according to wodehouse method. 1-4. c. drabifolia subsp. drabifolia, 5-8. c. drabifolia subsp. austro-occidentalis 912. c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa 13-16. c. drabifolia subsp. cappadocica erzurum province had apertures that were 92% 3-zonocolporate, 5% syncolporate, and 3% 4zonocolporate. the colpus was long (24.39–40.66 μm) and narrow (7.23–10.68 μm) and the ora was circular or lolongate in all of studied species. the highest values were observed in c. kotschyi var. kotschyi, c. ensiformis, c. nivea, c. saligna, and c. drabifolia subsp. cappadocica that have the smallest colpus. margins were distinct, straight and ends were acute to obtuse in all examined taxa. the colpus membrane was granulate in all of the taxa (table 2, figs 2-7). exine and intine the thickness of the exine and intine varied from 1.8 to 3.04 µm and 0.73 to 1.18 µm when the spines are excluded, respectively. ectexine wasthicker than endexine without costae and cavea. a large cavea were present in c. deflexa and c. sericea (fig. 4). the other taxa had a narrow and 138 çitak et al. fig. 3. pollen morphology of the section cheirolepis observed underlight microscope (lm) according to wodehouse method. 1-4. c. kotschyi var. kotschyi, 5-8. c. kotschyi var. persica, 9-12. c. kotschyi var. decumbens, 13-16. c. kotschyi var. floccosa. bad visible cavea (figs 2-7). all of the taxa had a costae thickness ranging from 1.5 µm to 2.52 µm (table 2). intratectal columellae weremore distinct under spines than in inter-spinal region. the spines were commonly conical with a broad basis, the sides were straight or slightly convex and had a subacute tapered apical portion. of the studied taxa, 13 had a scabrate-perforate ornamentation with spinule lengths of 0.48–0.9 µm, the remaining had a microechinate-perforate ornamentation with spinule lengths of 1.0–1.19 µm. the width of the spinules varied between 1.73 (c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa) and 4.45µm (c. drabifolia subsp. austro-occidentalis), while the base of the spinules in almost all of the studied species was irregular 1, 2, or 3 seriate with holes of equal size. the number of perforations was 5–10, 15–20, 20–25, 25–30, and 35–50. the distance between 2 spinules was 0.28–3.39 µm and there were 5–70 spinules in 10 µm2 (table 2, figs 2-7). pollen morphology of section cheirolepis 139 fig. 4. pollen morphology of the section cheirolepis observed underlight microscope (lm) according to wodehouse method. 1-4. c. nivea, 5-8. c. sericea, 9-12. c. deflexa, 13-16. c. cankiriense. numerical analysis of the pollen character states the dendrogram obtained from the cluster analysis using the upgma was based on the eight palynological variables viz. polar axes/equatorial axes, the length of spines, number of spins, costae, cavea, apocolpium, amb, and perforation number at base of 17centaurea taxa and is presented in fig. 8. this dendrogram shows the similarities among the taxa being investigated. the dendrogram revealed two main groups with a 54% similarity; the first one contained c. sericea and c. deflexa, which are local and very distinct species with the similar appendage structure in section cheirolepis, and the second one comprised the other 15 taxa. the second group, which consisted of two main clusters, recognized as cluster a and cluster b. cluster a includes c. ensiformis, c. cankiriense, and c. drabifolia subsp. drabifolia with a similarity rate of 69%. cluster b includes 12 taxa with three subgroups, namely b1, b2, and b3. cluster b1 contained only c. derderiifolia, which is a huge and distinctive species without close relatives in section cheirolepis. cluster b2 included c. kotschyi and its varieties. cluster b3 also included two subgroups, namely b3a and b3b. cluster b3a also included two subclusters which contained c. 140 çitak et al. isaurica c. saligna, c. nivea and c. glabro-auriculata with a similarity rate of 83%. cluster b3b included c. drabifolia subsp. cappadocica, c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa and, c. drabifolia subsp. austro-occidentalis subspecies, with a similarity rate of 83%. fig. 5. pollen morphology of the section cheirolepis observed underlight microscope (lm) according to wodehouse method. 1-4. c. derderiifolia, 5-8. c. saligna, 9-12. c. glabro-auriculata, 13-16. c. isaurica 17-20. c. ensiformis. pollen morphology of section cheirolepis 141 the pollen morphology of cheirolepis section taxa show taxonomically significant characters. the main differences have been found at the species level.the pollen grains of the centaurea taxa can be classified as centaurium, dealbata, montana, cyanus, scabiosa, or jacea types, according to wagenitz (1955), centaurea type according to stix (1960) and centaurea nigra l., c. scabiosa l., or c. cyanus l. types according to punt and hoen (2009). pollen shape was prolate-spheroidal in cheirolepis. the examined species pollen grains were determined as jacea pollen type, which, despite a very diverse habit and morphology, was found to be monophyletic in a large group according to wagenitz (1955) as indicated before hayta et al. (2017). the fifteen species which were had narrow cavea placed into centaurea nigra pollentype, and c. sericea and c. deflexa which had broad cavea placed into centaurea scabiosa pollen type according to punt and hoen (2009, figs 2-7). fig. 6. scanning electron microscope (sem) images on the pollen grains of cheirolepis section. 1-2. centaurea drabifolia subsp. drabifolia, 3-4. c. drabifolia subsp. austro-occidentalis, 5-6: c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa, 7-8. c. drabifolia subsp. cappadocica, 9-10. c. kotschyi var. kotschyi, 11-12. c. kotschyi var. persica, 13-14. c. kotschyi var. decumbens, 15-16. c. kotschyi var. floccosa, 17-18. c. nivea, 19-20. c. sericea. 142 çitak et al. fig. 7. scanning electron microscope (sem) images on the pollen grains of cheirolepis, pteracantha, pseudoseridia and cheirolepis-pseudoseridia sections. 1-2. centaurea deflexa, 3-4. c. cankiriense, 5-6. c. derderiifolia, 7-8. c. saligna (t. uysal-891), 9-10. c. saligna (b. çıtak-168), 11-12. c. glabroauriculata, 13-14. c. isaurica, 15-16. c. ensiformis. fig. 8. dendrogram based on pollen morphology of the examined taxa of cheirolepis sectionindicating dissimilarity distance. pollen morphology of section cheirolepis 143 144 çitak et al. pollen morphology of section cheirolepis 145 the chromosome number of the members of cheirolepis section have been determined as 2n=18, 2n=36 or 2n=54 (garcia-jacas et al., 1997; romaschenko et al., 2004; uysal et al., 2009; uysal et al., 2015). with the present study we confirm that the heteromorphy in apertural system of cheirolepis and the presence of cavea reflects chromosomal variation in c. saligna, c. deflexa and c. sericea (table 2, fig. 4). however, the other polyploid taxa does not have such a state. chaturvedi et al. (1990)and brochmann (1992) reported that the size of the pollen grains strongly correlates with the level of polyploidy, however, the data obtained herein does not show such a correlation. the mean values for the p and e in diploid and polyploidy species are very similar (table 2, figs 2-7). similarly, a great variation of p and e in diploid, triploid and tetraploid species of tripleurospermum schultz, carl (karl) hein. and matricaria l. were not observed by ceter et al. (2013). the subapical perforations in the spinules or spine bases in the family asteraceae are a wellspecified taxonomic character for distinguishing the taxa (mesfin et al., 1995; ceter et al., 2013; pinar et al., 2016) . moreover, according to wagenitz (1976), the reduction of the spine is a progressive characteristic for asteraceae. the number of spines varies from species to species in cheirolepis. the smallest spines were found in c. kotschyi var. decumbens, while the biggest were found in c. derderiifolia. although the number of perforations were different, the present paper has shown that the size of the perforations was similar in each taxa. in parallel, some researchers have claimed that the ornamentations between the spines are important pollen characters in asteraceae (mesfin et al., 1995; ceter et al., 2013). however, we found only the perforate ornamentation between the spinesas useful pollen traits. according to kaya (1986), özler et al. (2009) and hayta et al. (2017) c. drabifolia subsp. floccosa, c. kotschyi var. floccosa, and c. derderiifolia have a reduction in their spine length which is evaluated as an advanced pollen character in centaurea. the present study supports this observation. among the studied taxa, 14 of them had 3-zonocolporate aperture. however, c. kotschyi var. floccosa had 98% 3-zonocolporate and 2% 4-zonocolporate apertures. kaya (1986) studied the pollen morphology of c. derderiifolia and c. saligna and claimed a tricolporate aperture, spheroidal, suboblate pollen shape, 38.61±2.22 µm equatorial axes, and 38.6±2.11 µm polar axes in c. derderiifolia, as well as a 40.45±1.88 µm equatorial axes and 41.06±1.83 µm polar axes in c. saligna. the examined species had a similar narrow colpus and distinct porus. in our study, the species c. saligna collected from the hakkari (b. çıtak-168) and ağrı (k. ertuğrul-5117-h. dural & t. uysal) provinces showed apertures that were 98% tricolporate and 2% tetracolporate (fig. 7). the apertures of the specimens, collected from the type locality of c. saligna (erzurum province, t. uysal-891), were mostly tricolporate (92%), which was followed by syncolporate (5%) and tetracolporate (3%) ones (fig. 7). similarly, the apertures observed in c. derderiifolia were mostly tricolporate (98%) and a few tetracolporate (2%, fig. 7). the other observations of kaya (1986) overlap with our records. the upgma dendrogram based on pollen morphological characteristics has been discriminated against the species of cheirolepis. the positions and groupings of the species of cheirolepis reflected as the clusters in the dendrogram were found to be agreeable with the classification made earlier on a large scale (fig. 8). however, c. drabifolia subsp. drabifolia positioned in different subclade has raised the question of whether new taxonomic delimitation of these taxa are required or not. from the findings of the pollen analysis, we could affirm that there was a significant correlation between the previous taxonomical classifications. 146 çitak et al. conclusions the pollen morphology of 17 species of section cheirolepis were observed bylight microscopy and sem, and among the palynological characters, the pollen size and spine length were determined as the most useful for the systematics of genus centaurea. the pollen size and spine characteristics has been proved to be the most useful characters of systematic value in section cheirolepis. the jacea pollen type determined for this section based on wagenitz’s pollen types is more evolved one. the cluster analysis revealed that the taxa could be divided into three main groups according to the pollen morphology. the polar axes, equatorial axes, spine length, apocolpium, amb, the presence of cavea, costae, and number of spines are the most important characters to explain the variations among the taxa studied. different aperture types, and spine size and density among the taxa could be associated with their different dispersal mechanisms or germination requirements, which may have arisen as a result of an evolutionary adaptation independently of different habitat types or microclimatic areas, especially for the endemics. the systematic problems of the section of cheirolepis can be solved more precisely by the combination ofanatomical, macroand micromorphological and molecular data. acknowledgements we would like to thank dr. kuddisi ertuğrul, dr. atila ocak, dr. hakkı demirelma, dr. bilal şahin, and dr. ersin karabacak for their valuable field work, as well as dr. makra laszlo (szeged university, hungary) for his most valuable advice and for checking our manuscript, and finally, the selçuk university scientific research unit for their financial support (project number: 15101010). references anderberg, a.a. and elden, p. 2007. tribe inuleae cass. in:kadereit j.w. and jeffrey c. 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(cardueae: asteraceae) from turkey. bot j linn soc 153: 61–66. van der pluym, a. and hideux, m.j. 1977. application d'une méthodologie quantitative à la palynologie d'eryngium maritimum (umbelliferae). plant syst evol 127: 55–85. wagenitz, g. 1955. pollenmorphologie und systematik in der gattung centaurea l. s. 1. flora 142: 213–279. wagenitz, g. 1975. centaurea l. in: p.h. davis (ed.), flora of turkey and the east aegean islands. edinburg. pp. 513–518. wagenitz, g. 1976. systematics and phylogeny of the compositae (asteraceae). plant syst evol 125: 29-46. ward, j.m. 1993. systematics of new zealand inuleae (compositae-asteraceae) 2 a numerical phenetic study of raoulia in relation to allied genera.new zeal j. bot. 31: 29–42. wodehouse, r.p. 1935. pollen grains. new york: mcgraw-hill press, 439 pp. (manuscript received on 3 april, 2019; revised on 8 december, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 1-11, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60445 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists macroand micro-morphological characteristics of kickxia dumort. and some related taxa in saudi arabia luluah m. al masoudi*, najat a. bukhari1 and mona al whibi1 department of biology, faculty of science, taif university, taif, saudi arabia keywords: kickxia; scrophularia; plantago; morphology; anatomy; saudi arabia. abstract the morphological and anatomical aspects of 13 species belonging to genera kickxia, scrophularia, and plantago of saudi arabia reveal that the species of kickxia and scrophularia are distinct from plantago major. the most notable morphological differences are the absence of adventitious roots and the presence of acaulescent stem in the species of kickxia and scrophularia and the existence of adventitious roots and the absence of acaulescent stem in p. major. the species of plantago possessed rose-shaped radical leaves, whereas the rest of the species studied had cauline leaves or both. the species of kickxia and scrophularia have pentamerous flowers with bilabiate corollas, whereas, p. major has tetramerous flowers with tubular corollas. the separation of p. major from the rest of the studied species is the most obvious result obtained from the dendrogram, and this result is consistent with some traditional taxonomic studies that placed kickxia in the scrophulariaceae species while separating p. major into an independent family plantaginaceae. the anatomical findings revealed that the upper and lower epidermal cells of the leaves were irregular with undulate walls in all analyzed species, except in p. major, where they were polygonal with straight walls. only p. major had amphianisocytic paracytic stomata, but eight kickxia species had anomocytic stomata and k. hastata and k. abhaica, and the two scrophularia species had anisocytic stomata. therefore, this study suggests the retention of the kickxia in scrophulariaceae s.l. and maintaining plantago in plantaginaceae s.s. introduction kickxia dumort. is represented in saudi arabia by nine species under one subspecies (collenette, 1998 1999), which are kickxia abhaica, k. acerbiana, k. aegyptiaca, k. collenetteana, k. corallicola, k. elating subs. crinita, k. hastata, k. petiolata, k. pseudoscoparia, and k. scalarum, while (migahid, 1996) added two more species, which are k. heterophylla and k. spartioides. in broad concept, kickxia s.l. includes 46 species (mabberley, 1997; el-hadidi et al., 1999; ghebrehiwet, 2000), or 50 cosmopolitan species (chaudhary, 2001), while (apg, 2009) listed 25 acceptable species of kickxia. the species of this genus were divided based on the morphological differences in the way of seed capsule opening (jagel and unterladstetter, 2018). (chaudhary, 2001) mentioned that some species of kickxia are endemic plants in saudi arabia, for instance (k. abhaica, k. collenetteana, k. corallicola, and k. pseudoscoparia). concerning the taxonomic position of kickxia, it was included in scrophulariaceae according to the traditional taxonomic systems (bentham and hooker, 1876; cronquist, 1981; engler and prantl, 1895) and others. however, the recent studies (apg, 2009, 2016) transferred it to *corresponding author, email: lm.al-masoudi@tu.edu.sa 1department of botany and microbiology, faculty of science, king saud university, riyadh, saudi arabia. email: najatab@ksu.edu.sa https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60445 mailto:lm.al-masoudi@tu.edu.sa mailto:najatab@ksu.edu.sa 2 masoudi et al. plantaginaceae along with other species that were belonging to scrophulariaceae, due to the molecular characteristics. in studying the relationship between plants and animals, (knerl and bowers, 2013) found that the species kickxia spuria is of the preferred families for the buckeye butterfly. (jeddi and chaieb, 2010; tarhouni et al., 2010) considered the species kickxia aegyptiaca as pastoral plants. kickxia elatine was also considered a pastoral plant by (parlak et al., 2011). the study of (eraud et al., 2015) included the species kickxia elatine in the plants of importance in bird feeding. (adeux et al., 2017) considered kickxia as an agricultural crop and can be used as an alternative to corn. this research aims mainly to study the kickxia species in saudi arabia due to the lack of taxonomic studies on this genus and compare these with the two species of the genus scrophularia l. of scrophulariaceae viz.: scrophularia deserti, scrophularia peyronii, and the species plantago major as the typical representative of plantaginaceae family, by using the morphological and anatomical taxonomic evidence and then analyzing these results statistically to obtain evidence to either endorse or reject the transferring of the species of kickxia from plantaginaceae to scrophulariaceae. materials and methods in the present study, 13 species were collected from different localities in saudi arabia (table 1). the studied taxa include 10 species belonging to kickxia, two scrophularia species in addition to one species from plantaginaceae (plantago major). for recording the morphological characteristics of vegetative and floral organs, the phenotype of both stem and leaves in each species was examined in terms of shape, margin, base, and apex of the blade, the dimensions of the lamina, the distribution of leaves on the stem and leaf veining were also measured, and the floral characteristics were examined using different optical microscopes. photos were taken by camera hawaii mate 20 pro. all results, observations, and measurements have been recorded. for recording the micro-morphological (anatomical) characteristics, the method of al-duaiji et al. (1997) was used to prepare skinned leaves from plant species studied as follows: (i) numbers were given to the samples to be stripped, then the dry leaves were cut and washed with running water to remove the dirt stuck, and then they were washed with distilled water. (ii) the dry leaves taken from the herbarium samples were soaked in distilled water for 24 hours; until the leaves became soft and easy to make a thin strip. (iii) a simple portion was made from the surface of the paper with a sharp mousse, and then, using pointed forceps and very carefully, a thin skin was prepared from the leaf skin. (iv) the stripes were placed on a glass slide making sure that the top was on the outside. (v) the strip was covered with drops of ethyl alcohol for 3-5 minutes to thicken the stripes and make them as transparent as possible. (vi) the stripes were stained with light green or saffron for several seconds, then the stripes were loaded with a drop of glycerin and covered with the slide cover, then placed into a 40 ° c oven for several hours. (vii) the slides were examined by light microscopy and imaged at force (40 ×) by the camera device installed with a light microscope. the relevant terms of metcalfe and chalk (1950) were used to define the cell shapes, while stomatal types were determined from stace (1989). the types of hairs (trichomes) were also determined following prabhakar (2004). macroand micro-morphological characteristics of kickxia 3 table 1. list of the species studied and their varied localities. s/n taxa collection site 1 kickxia abhaica d. a. sutton wadi alus, rejal almaa, abha, collected by the pi during march 2018 18°16′07.4″n 42°19′46.4″e 2 k. acerbiana (boiss.) tackh. & boulos yanbu-umluj road, collected by the pi during march 201824°43′38.9″n 37°20′01.7″e 3 k. aegyptiaca (l.) nab. al sheheia, alqassim, collected by the pi during april 2018 26°18′58.0″n 43°37′26.5″e 4 k. corallicola d. a. sutton farasan island, jizan, collected by the pi during april 2018 16°50′32.7″n 41°55′09.5″e 5 k. elatine (l.) dumort. ministry of environment, water & agriculture herbarium no. 5659, 5660 6 k. hastata (r. br. ex. benth.) dandy ministry of environment water, & agriculture herbarium no., 5957, 8942 7 k. petiolate d. a sutton ministry of environment, water & agriculture herbarium no., 3286, 14476 and herbarium of botany & microbiology department, collage of science, king saud university, no. 9129 8 k. pseudoscoparia v. w. smith & d. a. sutton al sail alsageer, taif, collected by the pi during march 2018 21°30′14.9″n 40°31′01.9″e 9 k. scalarum d. a. sutton ministry of environment water & agriculture herbarium no., 9072, 959 10 k. spartioides (brouss. ex. bush janch.) herbarium of botany & microbiology department, collage of science, king saud university, no 1458 11 plantago major l. wadi darak, al mandaq, collected by the pi during may 2018 20°11′08.9″n 41°17′05.3″e 12 scrophularia deserti del. bani saad, taif-albaha road, collected by the pi during april 2018 20°59′23.7″n 40°44′11.1″e 13 s. peyronii post ministry of environment. water & agriculture herbarium no., 13402 numerical analysis a dendrogram was constructed based on a data matrix using the ntsys-pc 2.2 software package (rohlf, 2009) by using both morphological and anatomical characteristics of the studied species. results and discussion morphological characteristics of vegetative and floral organs the morphological analysis of vegetative, floral, and anatomical aspects of 13 species belonging to genera kickxia, scrophularia, and plantago l. of saudi arabia was carried out. the morphological characteristics of vegetative and floral organs of these species are described below. lifeform: through field trips, it was found that kickxia (table 2) and scrophularia are spread in their environments as distant individuals while plantago major in groups. the plant species differ in their lifeform. there are ephemeral annuals represented by k. elatine and k. hastata, as they are characterized by being small and their roots are shallow and spread horizontally to exploit rainwater and dew drops on the soil surface, and this observation is consistent with the study of wood (1997) and chaudhary (2001). there are sclerophytes, which are shrubs or perennial herbs in most of the species under study, which have adaptations to withstand or avoid the dry season, and among these adaptations observed in some species are the reduction of their vegetative total and the epiphysis surface, rapid leaf fall, and the presence of dense hairs on the plant and leaves which reflect part of the sun's rays and form a moist medium around the leaves so, reduce the process of transpiration. the results of this study agree with fischer (2004) and hamed et al. (2014). 4 masoudi et al. habit: on the habit side, the subshrub was found in the two species of scrophularia, which corresponded to the result of issa and al-ali (2018), while we found woody herb in five species of kickxia (k. acerbiana, k. aegyptiaca, k. elatine, k. pseudoscoparia and k. spartioides). the herb appeared in plantago major, as well as in the other five species of kickxia, and this result was consistent with the results of ghebrehiwet et al. (2000). stem: some species were distinguished by being hairy as in kickxia abhaica, and three species were sparsely hairy, which are: k. elatine, k. acerbiana, k. aegyptiaca, and the species plantago major, while in other species the appearance of the plant was glabrous, and this result was consistent with hamed et al. (2014). all the studied species were distinguished by the caulescent market except for plantago major, the stem was a caulescent (stemless dwarf), this result agreed with bukari (2009), zubair (2010), and hamed et al. (2014). the stem erects also appeared in four species of kickxia: k. acerbiana, k. aegyptiaca, k. pseudoscoparia, k. spartioides and two species of scrophularia, while a week was extended or climbing in other species of kickxia, and this is consistent with what was stated in the study of chaudhary (2001). all the studied species were branched except for the kickxia hastata, which was unbranched this matches what was stated in the study of chaudhary (2001) and hamed et al. (2014). the branching was monopodial for all species except for scrophularia peyronii which was sympodial (limited growth), and this is consistent with a study by issa and al-ali (2018). leaves: the leaves of kickxia species were distinguished by the heterophylly, while this variation was not recorded in p. major and the two scrophularia species which were characterized by identical leaves. this result is consistent with chaudhary (2001) and hamed et al. (2014). also, the leaves of all kickxia species were simple, entire, with reticulate veins, whereas in the two species of scrophularia it was pinnately lobed with reticulate veins. the leaves of the studied species were organized alternate except for the leaves of the scrophularia deserti, which were opposite (issa and al-ali, 2018), while plantago major leaves are broad, clustered at the base of the plant in the form of the rosette and prominent parallel veins, and this result is consistent with weryszko-chmielewska (2012) an haddadian et al. (2014). flowers: in all kickxia species, flowers were solitary, while in plantago major they were regular on one axis in the form of spike inflorescence, and flowers of the two scrophularia species were regular in racemose inflorescence. all the flowers of the studied species were pentamerous and zygomorphic, except for plantago major, which was tetramerous and actinomorphic. the results are consistent with the study of bukari (2009), ianovici et al. (2010) and hamed et al. (2014). hairy flowers appeared in all kickxia species, while they had a glabrous appearance in plantago major and scrophularia. all the flowers of the kickxia species were yellow, while scrophularia species were characterized by a dark red colour, and plantago major flowers were membrane brownish as in bukari (2009), ahmad et al. (2009) and hamed et al. (2014). all the studied samples were distinguished by a continuous calyx with the fruit and free sepals, as well as by transparent membranous edges, which varied in their shapes between filiform and lanceolate. all species of kickxia and scrophularia were distinguished by a corolla with fused petals of a five-bilabiate shape and differed by the presence of a spur in the petals of the species belonging to kickxia, which resulted from the mutation of the front petal and it differs in length according to the species. this result agreed with a study by chaudhary (2001) and hamed et al. (2014). all the studied species contained four fertile stamens, and all the stamens were epipetalous and didynamous except for plantago major, the stamens were equal. this result was consistent with the study of hamed et al. (2014). pollen in the two species of scrophularia was distinguished by the presence of a sterile stamen, and this result agrees with the study of uzunhisarcikli et al. macroand micro-morphological characteristics of kickxia 5 (2015), ranjbar and rahchamani (2018). the stamens are found in all kickxia species inside the corolla tube while they are exerted in the two scrophularia species and plantago major. this result agreed with the study of bukari (2009) and hamed et al. (2014). fruits: all fruits of the studied species were globose, except for kickxia acerbiana and plantago major the fruits were elongated. all the fruits of the studied species were dehiscence, multi-seeded capsule, but they differed in the method of blooming as the fruits of the kickxia species opened with two apical pores, while in plantago major they opened with a cover and with two valves in scrophularia species as in hamed et al. (2014). the results obtained from the dendrogram (fig. 1) and (table 2) separated plantago major in an independent series (si), while the rest of the other species are combined in (sii) due to their similarity in many of the phenotypic characteristics and this result is consistent with many traditional taxonomic systems that include kickxia within the scrophulariaceae (bentham and hooker, 1876; cronquist, 1981; engler and prantl, 1895). this result also matches the opinion of some studies in maintain kickxia and keeping it within scrophulariaceae s.l. (hamed et al., 2014). table 2. data matrix of the morphological characters of the studied taxa and their codes, (0 = absent, 1 = present). s. p ey ro ni i sc ro ph ul ar ia d es er ti pl an ta go m aj or k . s pa rt io id es k . s ca la ru m k . p se ud os co pa ri a k . p et io la te k . h as ta ta k . e la tin e k . c or al lic ol a k . a eg yp tia ca k . a ce rb ia na k ic kx ia a bh ai ca morphological characters 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 annual life form w ho le p la nt 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 perennial 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 herb habit 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 woody herb 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 subshrub 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 glabrous texture 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 hairy 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 adventitious roots 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 long length st em 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 dwarf 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 branching 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 erect strength 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 week 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 heterophylly le af 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 alternate arrangement 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 opposite 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 verticillate 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 simple composition 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 lobed 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 reticulate venation 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 parallel 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 linear shape b as al le av es 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 lanceolate 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ovate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 ellipticovate 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 hastate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 cordate 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 sagittate 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 glabrous texture 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 hairy 6 masoudi et al. 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 petiolate petiole u pp er le av es 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 sessile 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 linear shape 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 lanceolate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 ovate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 hastate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 cordate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 sagittate 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 elliptic 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 glabrous texture 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 hairy 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 solarity aggregation fl ow er 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 inflorescence 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 petiolate pedicel 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 sessile 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 tetramerous number of floral parts 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 pentamerous 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 actinomorphic symmetry 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 zygomorphic 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 petiolate pedicel bract 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 sessile 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 linear shape 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 lanceolate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 ovate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 hastate 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 cordate 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 elliptic 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 glabrous texture 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 hairy 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 glabrous texture sepals 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 hairy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 linear shape 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 lanceolate 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ovate 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 white-margined 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 green colour 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 membranebrownish 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 bilabiate shape corolla 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 rotate 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 glabrous texture 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 hairy 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 presence spur 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 absence 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 yellow colour 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 red 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 colourless 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 unequal (didynamou s) length of stamens androecium 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 equal 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 included in the corolla tube stamens inclusion 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 exerted from corolla tube 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 presence staminode 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 absence 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 globose shape gynoecium macroand micro-morphological characteristics of kickxia 7 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 elliptic 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 simple stigma 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 capitate 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 globose shape fr ui t 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 elliptic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 elliptic-ovate 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 two apical pores dehiscent 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 lid 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 two valves table 3. data matrix of the lamina anatomical characters of the studied taxa and their codes (0 = absent, 1 = present). s . p ey ro ni i s cr op hu la ri a de se rt i p la nt ag o m aj or k . s pa rt io id es k . s ca la ru m k . p se ud os co pa ri a k . p et io la te k . h as ta ta k . e la tin e k . c or al lic ol a k . a eg yp tia ca k . a ce rb ia na k ic kx ia a bh ai ca lamina anatomical characters 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 irregular shape ep id er m is c el ls 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 polygonal 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 undulate wall 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 straight 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 anisocytic type st om at a 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 anomocytic 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 paracytic 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 irregular wall subsid iary cells 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 straight 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 number 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 3-4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 presence tr ic ho m es 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 unbranching 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 glandular type 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 non-glandular 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 bicellular no. of cells 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 multicellular 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 acute terminal cell 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 spherical head micro-morphological (anatomical) characteristics data matrix was constructed from the obtained results (table 3) of the anatomical features of the studied species so that the presence of the trait was expressed by the number (1) and in the absence of the trait by (0) to be used in the numerical analysis, and a dendrogram was created between the plant samples using ntsys-pc 2.2 software package according to the method of (rohlf, 2009), cluster analysis of a matrix of similarity and dissimilarity was implemented among the species under study. it is from the results obtained from the dendrogram (fig. 2) the number of series, clusters and groups between the studied species. the results showed the upper and lower epidermal cells of the leaves are identical on both isodiametric surfaces. they appeared irregular with the undulate surface in all studied species except for plantago major. the results of this study agree with the results of bahadar et al. (2018). 8 masoudi et al. the results also showed the presence of the amphistomatic leaves i.e., the stomata are located on both lower and upper surfaces of the leaves alike, and they were distinguished by three types: the first type: anomocytic (ranunculaceous) stomata observed in eight species of kickxia, and this result is consistent with the results of lahari and rao (2018). fig. 1. dendrogram for the species under study based on the results of the phenotypes. fig. 2. dendrogram for the studied species based on minor anatomical features. the second type: anisocytic (cruciferous) stoma, surrounded by three cells. it was observed in only two species: kickxia abhaica and k. hastata. it was also observed in two species of scrophularia. this result agreed with the results of ranjbar and rahchamani (2018). macroand micro-morphological characteristics of kickxia 9 the third type: amphianisocytic-paracytic. this type was seen only in plantago major, and this result agrees with the results of bahadar et al. (2018) but disagrees with mesquita et al. (2017), where it was mentioned that the stomata in plantago major are anomocytic. most of the studied species were characterised by the absence of hairs on the epidermal leaf surface while the others were distinguished by the presence of non-branching glandular hairs with two and multiple cells arranged in one row and differed in the shape of the terminal cell, so it took the glandular spherical shape in the species k. abhaica, k. acerbiana, k. aegyptiaca, k. elatine, acute while non-glandular in plantago major. thus, it is evident from the anatomical study of the leaves of the studied species that there are some characteristics which distinguish plantago major from the rest of the studied species in terms of the shapes of the polygonal epidermal cells from 4-5 while the rest of the species are irregular in shape, as well as the type of stomata in the plantago major amphianisocytic paracytic, unlike other species. also, by a special type of non-glandular, multicellular, unbranched acute hairs. thus, this study demonstrates that plantago is unique in its anatomical characteristics from the rest of the species under study, which confirms that plantago is kept in a separate family (plantaginaceae) and not included in the scrophulariaceae family, which includes kickxia and scrophularia. this result agreed with the anatomical and morphological study (hamed et al., 2014) on some genera of the scrophulariaceae family with plantago and emphasized the need to keep plantago within a separate family (plantaginaceae) and for more accuracy in separating the species, many studies must be conducted. the other is to create new taxonomic indications that support the separation or not. also, the results obtained from the dendrogram (fig. 2) and (table 3) separated plantago major into an independent series, while the rest of the other species are grouped in another series due to their similarity in many anatomical features; the shape of epidermal cells, the type of stomata, the terminal cell shape of the hair, and this result is consistent with many traditional taxonomic systems that include kickxia within scrophulariaceae (bentham and hooker, 1876; cronquist, 1981; engler and prantl, 1895). also, agree with the opinion of some studies that suggest that kickxia should not be separated and kept within the scrophulariaceae s.l. (hamed et al., 2014). the macro and micro-morphological characteristics of species under study are important in defining, separating, and studying the evolutionary relationships between taxa. this observation gives extra support to the taxonomic views that suggest the retention of the kickxia in the family of scrophulariaceae s.l. and maintaining plantago in a separate monogenetic family of plantaginaceae s.s. acknowledgements we are thankful to suhair al-maliki (instagram: @soso_almaleky)for drawing the research samples. references adeux, g., giuliano, s., cordeau, s., savoie, j. and alletto, l. 2017. low-input maize-based cropping systems implementing iwm match conventional maize monoculture productivity and weed control. agriculture 7(9). ahmad, k., khan, m., ahmad, m., zafar, m. and zulqarnain 2009. morpho-palynological and leaf epidermal anatomy of weeds of district tank, n.w.f.p, pakistan. pak. j. weed sci. res. 15(4): 309-320. 10 masoudi et al. al-duaiji, a., meliji, a. and abdul aziz, m. 1997. basics of plant sample preparation. 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(manuscript received on 11 april, 2021; revised on 01 june 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 135-148, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a comparative study of achene morphology in korean polygonaceae min-jung kong, jun-ho song1, beom-cheol an, sung-won son2, gang-uk suh2, mi-jin chung2 and suk-pyo hong3 laboratory of plant systematics, department of biology, kyung hee university, seoul 02447, south korea keywords: achene surface; fruit morphology; micromorphology; polygonoideae; sem. abstract a comparative macroand micromorphological study was conducted on achenes of korean polygonaceae comprising 45 taxa under 10 genera using a stereo-microscope (sm) and scanning electron microscope (sem) to evaluate the taxonomical relevance of achene morphological characteristics. the achene shape is lenticular, biconvex, trigonous, or spheroidal. the largest achenes are found in fagopyrum esculentum moench (5.80– 6.70 × 3.90–4.40 mm) and rheum rhabarbarum l. (5.00–6.50 × 4.00–5.20 mm), and the smallest is found in rumex maritimus l. (1.17–1.41 × 0.60–0.84 mm). three types of embryo shape (curved, straight, and folded) and two types of embryo position (plane and parietal) can be distinguished. most taxa have a curved embryo shape with plane position. four types of surface patterns (smooth, papillae, tuberculate, or small pits) are observed. the surface sculpture or embryo type is rather consistent at the generic or tribal level, and the comprehensive consideration of achene characteristics is also useful at the species level. the achene morphology is described in detail, compared, and illustrated. the taxonomic significance of the achene morphology is discussed. introduction polygonaceae juss. consists of ca. 1,200 species in 48 genera and has a worldwide distribution (freeman and reveal, 2005). the family polygonaceae is usually divided into subfamilies eriogonoideae arnott and polygonoideae eaton (freeman and reveal, 2005), and the subfamily symmerioideae meisn. was suggested based on recent molecular phylogeny with number of stamens and pyramidal achene (brandbyge, 1993; sanchez et al., 2011). the polygonoideae has been characterized by herb or sub-shrubs, the presence of ochreae and swollen nodes, flowers subtended by bracteoles but not enclosed in involucres, and cosmopolitan distribution (haraldson, 1978; freeman and reveal, 2005; sanchez et al., 2011). the subfamily is also consistently confirmed by molecular sequence data (sanchez et al., 2009, 2011). however, the taxonomic circumstance of intra-subfamily in polygonoideae (e.g., tribal, generic, or sectional level) have been controversial, and new tribal compositions were suggested according to recent molecular phylogenetic studies (freeman and reveal, 2005; sanchez et al., 2009, 2011; schuster et al., 2015). for example, the proposed taxonomic system by these studies consist of five to seven tribes, such as calligoneae c.a. mey, fagopyreae yoneak., oxygoneae t.m. schust. & reveal, persicarieae dumort., polygoneae rchb., pteroxygoneae t.m. schust. & reveal and rumiceae dumort. (matk, ndhf and rbcl, sanchez et al., 2011; its, matk and trnl-f, 1present address: herbal medicine resources research center, korea institute of oriental medicine, naju 58245, korea. 2plant conservation division, korea national arboretum, pocheon 11186, korea. 3corresponding author. email: sphong@khu.ac.kr mailto:sphong@khu.ac.kr 136 kong et al. schuster et al., 2015). the taxonomic composition in the persicarieae or polygoneae is also most controversial as large group within polygonoideae, namely the generic or sectional delimitation of these tribes are constantly changing (hedberg, 1946; haraldson, 1978; brandbyge, 1993; lamb frye and kron, 2003; li et al., 2003; park and hong, 2007; sanchez et al., 2011). for example, persicaria was treated into polygonum s.l. (li et al., 2003; zhu et al., 2007), however recent studies suggested that persicaria is separated as independent genus (haraldson, 1978; ronse decraene et al., 2000; lamb frye and kron, 2003). aconogonon and bistorta were merged into polygonum in some studies (li et al., 2003; park and hong, 2007), while aconogonon and bistorta were usually recognized as independent genera (hedberg, 1946; haraldson, 1978; freedman and reveal, 2005). however, a recent molecular study treated aconogonon as a section of koenigia (schuster et al., 2015). various research approaches have been attempted to clarify the taxonomic positions within the polygonoideae; thus, a comparative study of the morphological characteristics or re-evaluation of recently suggested taxonomic system is necessary to determine taxonomic delimitation. the importance of fruit and seed morphology in flowering plants has been recognized for systematic information at various taxonomic levels; furthermore, several recent studies have shown the phylogenetic value of fruit and seed characteristics (donoghue et al., 2004; jacobs et al., 2008, 2010; choi et al., 2012; song et al., 2015). the description of anatomical features or micromorphology of the achenes of polygonaceae were often performed, but only these were performed on represented taxa or regional taxa (e.g., ronse decraene et al., 2000; yurteseva, 2001; hou et al., 2007; kantachot and chantaranothai, 2011), or were simply described without any taxonomic implications (martin, 1946, 1954). the korean polygonaceae is known to that consist of 85 taxa (10 genera) which belong to the tribes fagopyreae, persicarieae, polygoneae and rumiceae (except calligoneae, oxygoneae and pteroxygoneae) within the subfamily polygonoideae (chang et al., 2014; schuster et al., 2015). however, the study of achene morphology in korean polygoanceae has been mainly in the form of brief notes or only on sectional or generic level (kim et al., 2001; nakayama et al., 2004; lee et al., 2010), and is still lacking comprehensive discussion. thus, the present study aims to investigate and provide detailed descriptions of achene macroand micromorphology in the selected korean polygonaceae, and to evaluate the taxonomic or diagnostic importance of fruit morphological features. materials and methods the achene morphology of 45 taxa from 10 genera in the korean polygonaceae (table 1) was investigated. the achenes were collected from herbarium specimens of kh and khus, and donated from the seed bank of the korean national arboretum, pocheon, south korea [see table 1; abbreviations according to thiers (2018) and continuously updated]. fully matured fruits were selected and observed under a stereomicroscope (sm; stereo discovery.v8; carl zeiss microscopy gmbh, germany) to confirm their normality and taxon identification. cross-sections of the achenes were also taken, and examined under a sm. to observe detailed sculpturing patterns of the achenes, dry fruits were rehydrated overnight in the agepon wetting agent (agepon®:dw = 1:200), and fresh fruits were fixed in faa (formaldehide: acetic acid: alcohol) for 48 h, and stored in 70 % ethanol. prepared achenes were dehydrated through an ethanol series (in 50 %, 70 %, 90 %, and 95 % ethanol for 10 min each and in absolute ethanol for about 20 min) and then replaced ethanol with carbon dioxide for critical point drying achene morphology of korean polygonaceae 137 table 1. voucher specimens of the korean polygonaceae that are examined in the present study (some taxa have only seed bank management number). taxon voucher specimens aconogonon (meisn.) rchb. a. alpinum (all.) schur korea, chungcheongnam-do, oct.2002, g.w. seo and j.y.kim (kh-154) a. divaricatum (l.) nakai ex t. mori korea, gyunggi-do, oct.2004, j.y. kim (kh-l1455) bistorta (l.) scop. b. manshuriensis (petrov ex kom.) kom. korea, gyunggi-do, aug.2006, j.y. kim (kh-l2769) fagopyrum mill. f. esculentum moench korea, is. jeju, oct. 2011, s.h. kang 111024004 (kh) persicaria (l.) mill. p. chinensis (l.) h. gross var. chinensis korea, ls, jeju, nov. 2012, m.j. kongs, n. (khus) p. dissitiflora (hemsl.) h. gross ex t. mori korea, gyungsangbuk-do, sep.2012, s.g. son and h.w.choi (khl10091) p. filiformis (thunb.) nakai korea, gyunggi-do, sep.2005, j.y. kim (kh-l2208) p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre korea, gyunggi-do, oct.2002, g.w. seo and j.y. kim (kh-l153) p. japonica (meisn.) nakai korea, gyunggi-do, nov.2004, j.y. kim (kh-l1835) p. lapathifolia (l.) delarbre var. lapathifolia korea, gyunggi-do, sep.2012, j.y. kim (kh-l10035) p. lapathifolia var. salicifolia (sibthorp) miyabe korea, incheon, nov.2014, s.h. park et al. (kh-l14267) p. longiseta (bruijn) kitag. korea, gyungsangbuk-do, sep.2004, g.w. seo et al. (kh-l1329) p. maackiana (regel) nakai ex t. mori korea, gyungsangnam-do, oct.2012, s.d. lee (kh-l10050) p. muricata (meisn.) nemoto korea, gyunggi-do, oct.2007, j.y. kim (kh-l3238) p. nepalensis (meisn.) h. gross korea, gangwon-do, sep.2011, m.s. kim et al. (kh-l8969) p. nodosa (pers.) opiz korea, gyunggi-do, nov.2004, j.y. kim (kh-l1821) p. orientalis (l.) spach korea, gyunggi-do, oct.2003, j.y. kim (kh-l798) p. perfoliata (l.) h. gross korea, gyungsangbuk-do, aug.2014, g.h. gang (kh-l13798) p. posumbu (buch.-ham. ex d. don) h.gross korea, gyunggi-do, oct.2007, j.y. kim (kh-l3309) p. pubescens (blume) h. hara korea, gyungsangbuk-do, oct.2014, g.h. gang et al. (kh-13817) p. sagittata (l.) h. gross korea, gyunggi-do, oct.2006, j.y. kim (kh-l2914) p. senticosa (meisn.) h. gross korea, gyungsangbuk-do, sep.2012, s.g. son and h.w.choi (khl10094) p. thunbergii (siebold & zucc.) h. gross korea, gyunggi-do, oct.2007, j.y. kim (kh-l3380) p. tinctoria (aiton) h. gross korea, gyunggi-do, oct.2007, j.y. kim (kh-l3236) p. viscofera (makino) h. gross korea, gyungsangbuk-do, aug. 2012, s. g. son and h.y. choi (kh-l10095) p. viscosa (buch.-ham. ex d. don) h. gross ex t. mori korea, gyungsangbuk-do, sep.2012, s.g. son and h.s.kwon (khl10096) p. vulgaris webb & moq. korea, gyungsangnam-do, oct.2012, j.s. kim (kh-l10059) fallopia adanson f. convolvulus (l.) a. löve korea, gyunggi-do, nov.2005, j.y. kim (kh-l2618) f. dentatoalata (f. schmidt) holub korea, jeollabuk-do, sep.2013, g.s. jung and s.j. kwon (khl13170) f. dumetorum (l.) holub korea, gyunggi-do, nov.2005, j.y. kim (kh-l2602) f. japonica (houtt.) ronse decr. korea, gyunggi-do, nov.2005, j.y. kim (kh-l2625) f. koreana b.u. oh & j.g. kim korea, chungcheongbuk-do, oct.2011, g.y. lee (kh-l9470) f. sachalinensis (f. schmidt) ronse decr. korea, is. ulleung, gyungsangbuk-do, oct.2011, m.s.kim et al. (kh-l9025) 138 kong et al. table 1 contd. taxon voucher specimens knorringia (czukav.) tzvelev k. sibirica (laxm.) tzvelev subsp. sibirica korea, incheon, sep.2006, s.h.park 61732 (kh) polygonum l. p. aviculare l. korea, gyunggi-do, oct.2004, j.y.kim (kh-l1772) oxyria hill. o. digyna (l.) hill d.p.r.k., mt. baekdu, aug.1997, k.w.park l-61153 (kh) rheum l. r. rhabarbarum l. mongolia, tariat, jul.2002, s.h. park parksh23435 (kh); rumex l. r. acetosa l. korea, gyunggi-do, jun.2007, j.y. kim et al. (kh-3324) r. acetosella l. korea, gyunggi-do, jul.2005, j.y. kim (kh-l2135) r. conglomeratus murray korea, gyungsangnam-do, jul.2004, j.m. jung and m.h.park (kh1073) r. crispus l. korea, gyungsangnam-do, jul.2004, j.m. jung and j.y.kim (khl1047) r. japonicus houtt. korea, gyunggi-do, jul.2005, j.y. kim (kh-l2126) r. maritimus l. korea, gangwon-do, sep.2004, j.m. jung et al. (kh-l1282) r. obtusifolius l. korea, gyunggi-do, jul.2005, j.y. kim (kh-l2127) r. patientia l. korea, chungcheongbuk-do, jul.2011, e.s. jeon (kh-l8856) herbarium acronyms are in accordance with thiers (2018) [continuously updated] (cpd, spi-13200j-ab). all samples for sem analysis were coated with platinum using an ionsputtering device (e-1045; hitachi, tokyo, japan). samples were examined under a field emission sem (fe-sem; s-4700; hitachi, tokyo, japan) operating at 10 kv with a working distance of 10– 13 mm. a total of 10 achenes for cpd were measured using the magnification 2.0 version software (orbicule, leuven, belgium). we followed the currently accepted taxonomic treatment for the taxa studied to avoid any taxonomic confusion (freeman and reveal, 2005; sanchez et al., 2011). the terminology for fruits and embryos was mainly adopted from ball et al. (1962), brandbyge (1993), and ronse decraene et al. (2000). results and discussion achene shape, size, colour, embryo type, and micromorphology shape: the various achene shapes in korean polygonaceae were lenticular, biconvex, trigonous, and spheroidal (table 2; fig. 1). most of the taxa studied had trigonous achenes, and the lenticular shape was observed in five taxa within persicaria (p. hydropiper, p. japonica, p. lapathifolia var. salicifolia, p. nodosa, and p. orientalis; table 2; fig. 1f). biconvex achenes were found in four taxa (persicaria filiformis, p. nepalensis, p. tinctoria, and oxyria digyna; table 2; fig. 1c, d & m), and spheroidal achenes were only observed in persicaria perfoliata. the longitudinal-section (l.s.) shapes were found to be elliptic (fig. 2c, o & s), elliptic rhomboid (fig. 2g & w), ovoid (fig. 2e, i & k), broadly ovoid (fig. 2a, q & u), and circular (fig. 2m). the cross-section (c.s.) shapes were mostly triangular (fig. 2b, d, f, h, p, t, v & x), but also sometimes narrowly elliptic (fig. 2n), elliptic (fig. 2j), rhombic (fig. 2r), and triangularovoid (fig. 2l). most of the taxa studied had a beak (figs. 1a, b, d, e, f, g, i, j, k, l, n, o, & 2i). some had a prominent beak, such as a caudate or cuspidate (fig. 1b, d, e, f, g, i, & j), but five taxa had achenes without a beak (e.g., persicaria filiformis, p. senticosa, p. thunbergii, achene morphology of korean polygonaceae 139 fallopia dumetorum, rheum rhababarum, rumex acetosa, and r. acetosella; fig. 1c & h). the absence of beak could help to identify some taxa. fig. 1. sem micrographs of achenes of polygonaceae in korea. a. aconogonon alpinum; b. bistorta manshuriensis; c. persicaria filiformis (sect. tovara); d. persicaria nepalensis (sect. cephalophilon); e. persicaria maackiana (sect. echinocaluon); f. persicaria orientalis (sect. persciaria); g. persicaria sagittata (sect. echinocaluon); h. persicaria thunbergii (sect. echinocaluon); i. persicaria nodosa (sect. persicaria); j. persicaria pubescens (sect. persicaria); k. fallopia sachalinensis; l. polygonum aviculare; m. oxyria digyna (beak was broken; see fig. 2i); n. rumex obtusifolius; o. rumex maritimus. 140 kong et al. achene morphology of korean polygonaceae 141 142 kong et al. fig. 2. cross and longitudinal section of achenes of polygonaceae in korea. a, b. aconogonon alpinum (type iii); c, d. bistorta manshuriensis (type iii); e, f. fagopyrum esculentum (type i); g, h. fallopia dentatoalata (type iii); i, j. oxyria digyna (type ii); k, l. persicaria dissitiflora (sect. echinocaulon; type iii); m, n. persicaria lapathifolia var. salicifolia (sect. persicaria; type iii); o, p. persicaria pubescens (sect. persicaria; type iii); q, r. persicaria tinctoria (sect. persicaria; type iii); s, t. polygonum aviculare (type iii); u, v. rumex acetosella (type iv); w, x. rumex obtusifolius (type ii). a, c, e, g, i, k, m, o, q, s, u, and w, longitudinal section of achenes; b, d, f, h, j, l, n, p, r, t, v, and x, cross-section of achenes in investigated taxa. the achene shapes of the taxa studied agreed with the descriptions in earlier studies (ronse decraene et al., 2000; li et al., 2003; freedman and reveal, 2005; lee et al., 2010; kantachot and chantaranothai, 2011). according to previous studies, some taxa showed heteromorphy in their achene morphology of korean polygonaceae 143 achene shape; moreover, collecting season has implications on the achene shape (yurtseva, 2001; li et al., 2003; freedman and reveal, 2005; kantachot and chantaranothai, 2011). for example, persicaria hydropiper has either convex or trigonous achenes (lee, 2003; freedman and reveal, 2005). the achene shape was consistent for each taxon in present study, however, taxonomic application of achene shape could be needed careful application. size: the size of achenes ranged from 1.10–7.45 mm in length and 0.60–5.20 mm in width (table 2). the large achenes were found on fagopyrum esculentum (5.80–6.70 × 3.90–4.40 mm) and rheum rhabarbarum (5.00–6.50 × 4.00–5.20 mm), whereas the smallest achenes were found in rumex maritimus (1.17–1.41 × 0.60–0.84 mm). the taxa in oxyria and rumex had the small achenes compared to other genera (1.10–2.78 × 0.60–1.80 mm). most taxa, except fagopyrum esculentum, rheum rhabarbarum, rumex acetosella and r. maritimus, showed to have similar size ranges of achenes (1.37–5.67 × 0.87–3.40 mm). the achene sizes in the taxa studied were also similar to those recorded in earlier studies (li et al., 2003; kantachot and chantaranothai, 2011). the largest or smallest achene sizes could be used to classify to the genus level. colour: fully matured achenes of most of the taxa were brownish to black, and dull or shiny (table 2); this colour is commonly found in polygonaceae (kantachot and chantaranothai, 2011). the colour of fully matured fruit is usually not an important character to identify genus or species, except for in a few taxa that have odd colours such as grey or greyish green (kantachot and chantaranothai, 2011; sadeghian et al., 2014). most of the taxa studied had glossy achenes except six examined taxa (table 2), which had dull achenes (e.g. fagopyrum esculentum, oxyria digyna, persicaria nepalensis, p. senticosa, polygonum aviculare, and rheum rhabarbarum). the existence of dull achenes is useful for the identification of the species. embryo shape and position: three embryo shapes were observed in this study, viz. curved, straight, and folded (table 2; fig. 2). most taxa studied had curved embryos (e.g. aconogonon, bistorta, fagopyrum, fallopia, knorringia, persicaria, and polygonum; fig. 2a, c, g, k, m, o, q, s & u). while oxyria, rheum, and rumex (except r. acetosella) had straight embryos (fig. 2i & w), and folded embryos were only observed in fagopyrum (fig. 2e & f). the embryo shapes of the taxa studied were similar to those in previously published data (martin, 1946; brandbyge, 1993; freedman and reveal, 2005; sanchez et al., 2011). in the present study, all taxa studied had one shape of embryo; however, embryos of rumiceae were observed to be curved or straight (freedman and reveal, 2005). in this study, rumex acetocella of the rumex subg. acetosella had a different shape from other rumiceae taxa. additionally, two types of embryo position (plane and parietal) were observed (table 2; fig. 2). most of the taxa had aparietal position (fig. 2b, d, h, j, l, n, p, r & t), while oxyria, rheum, and rumex, which belong to the tribe rumiceae, had a plane-positioned embryo (fig. 2v & x). the embryos can be divided into four types based on shape and position: type i – folded embryo (fagopyrum fagopyreae); type ii – straight embryo with plane position (oxyria, rheum, and rumex rumiceae); type iii – curved embryo with parietal position (aconogonon, bistorta, persicaria, fallopia, knorringia, and polygonum persicarieae and polygoneae); type iv–curved embryo with plane position (rumex acetosella). the types are congruent with the delimitation of suggested tribes (sanchez et al., 2011; fig. 4). for example, the type i embryo, which is an unusual type in polygonoideae, was found only in fagopyrum. this genus which was separated into the tribe fagopyreae according to the recent taxonomic system (sanchez et al., 2011), and its embryo type could be considered to be an apomorphy (fig. 4). the persicarieae and polygoneae both show type iii embryos, which could be assumed to be a parallelism of characteristics when compared with current phylogenetic studies (fig. 4). the tribe rumiceae is strongly supported by embryo position; however, embryo shape was varied at generic level. 144 kong et al. achene micromorphology: four types of achene surfaces were recognized: smooth, papillae, tuberculate, and small pits (table 2; fig. 3). most taxa had smooth to rugose surfaces without appendages (fig. 3a, b, h & m). these types had remarkable anticlinal cell walls, generally undulated, and of these, fagopyrum esculentum was characterized by longitudinal grooves on the achene surface (fig. 3c). fig. 3. the surface of achenes of polygonaceae in korea. a. aconogonon alpinum (smooth); b. bistorta manshuriensis (smooth); c. fagopyrum esculentum (smooth); d. fallopia convolvulus (papillae distributed irregularly); e. persicaria nepalensis (sect. cephalophilon; tubercles along the anticlinal cell walls); f. persicaria maackiana (sect. echinocaulon; tubercles distributed throughout entire pericarp); g. persicaria sagittata (sect. echinocaulon; tubercles distributed throughout entire pericarp); h. persicaria nodosa (sect. persicaria; smooth); i. persicaria posumbu (sect. persicaria; tubercles along the anticlinal cell walls); j. persicaria pubescens (sect. persicaria; shallow papillae); k. fallopia japonica (shallow papillae); l. polygonum aviculare (discontinued tubercles along the anticlinal cell walls); m. rumex acetosa (smooth); n. rumex crispus (small pits); o. rumex obtusifolius (small pits). achene morphology of korean polygonaceae 145 tubercles or papillae were divided into two types based on their distribution patterns: type (i), covered the entire achene (fig. 3e & f), and type (ii), distributed along the anticlinal cell walls (fig. 3e, i, j, k & l). type (i) tubercles were observed in three taxa of persicaria, and they were densely or regularly distributed (p. maackiana, p. sagittata, and p. senticosa; fig. 3f & g). type (i) papillae were only observed in fallopia convolvulus (fig. 3d; table 2), and were loosely and irregularly distributed compared to the tubercles. type (ii) tubercles were observed in four taxa (persicaria nepalensis, p. posumbu, polygonum aviculare, and rheum rhabarbarum; fig. 3e, i, j & l). type (ii) tubercles of three taxa showed continuous distribution and were arranged along the anticlinal cell wall (fig. 3e, i & j), while those of polygonum aviculare showed a discontinuous arrangement (fig. 3l). similarly, type (ii) papillae were observed in three taxa of persicaria (p. lapathifolia var. lapathifolia, p. pubescens, and p. vulgaris; fig. 3k), but these structures were represented by collapsed anticlinal cell walls (ronse decrane et al., 2000). yurtseva (2001) suggested that the xerophytic taxa of polygonum subsect. polygonum usually had verrucae on the achene surface, while the taxa that inhabit wet environments did not. although the functions of these verrucae are not clear, smooth and glossy surface increase water repellency and prevent fungal or pathogenic infection (barthlott, 1981; yurtseva, 2001). thus, the verrucae could be related to water absorption. in the present study, some taxa without tubercles or papillae within other genera were distributed through wet valleys (e.g., persicaria muricata); thus this is seemed to support the early suggestion. while there are also taxa which inhabit both environments (e.g., persicaria senticosa also inhabit wet valleys; li et al., 2003; freedman and reveal, 2005). fig. 4. diagrams of embryo characters on most recent cladograms. simplified phylogenetic tree is adopted from schuster et al. (2015). embryo shape was described as rectangular, and embryo position was described as triangular. the dotted line means that various type of embryo shape were observed in this group compared to those found in early studies (e.g., freedman and reveal, 2005; sanchez et al., 2011). small pits were observed to be scattered on the surface of most rumex taxa (r. acetosella, r. crispus, r. maritimus, r. obtusifolius, and r. patientia; table 2; fig. 3n & o). according to a previous study, the small pits were also found in the persicaria sect. tovara (investigated taxa: p. neofiliformis and p. virginiana; ronse decrane et al., 2000); however, the persicaria sect. tovara (p. filiformis) used in this study had a smooth surface (table 2). this difference in surface sculpture could be considered to be interspecies difference. 146 kong et al. taxonomic implication of achene morphology in korean polygonaceae the taxonomic position of aconogonon has been controversial. the aconogonon was usually acknowledged to be an independent genus although it was belonged to polygonum s.l. in early studies (hedberg, 1946; haraldson, 1978; freedman and reveal, 2005). the sister group of the koenigia with aconogonon is bistorta. in comparison with achene morphology, almost all characteristics, such as the shape, size, existence of beak, glossy, embryo and smooth surface, are similar between aconogonon and bistorta. the genus koenigia in previous study had also same embryo type and smooth surface as in aconogonon and bistorta; however, the achene is distinguished from aconogonon–bistorta based on the lack of beak, glossiness and smaller size (cf., 1.10–1.84 ×1.79–1.02 mm; ronse decrane et al., 2000; kong and hong, in prep.). persicaria lapathifolia var. lapathifolia is complicated taxonomically, thus many taxa were treated as synonyms of this taxon (e.g., freedman and reveal, 2005; chang et al., 2014). for example, p. lapathifolia var. salicifolia and p. nodosa, were treated as synonyms of p. lapathifolia var. lapathifolia (freedman and reveal, 2005; chang et al., 2014), or only one of them was treated as synonym (timson, 1963). li et al. (2003) suggested that p. lapathifolia var. salicifolia was admitted independent variety of p. lapatifolia var. salicifolia. the achene morphological characteristics between p. lapathifolia var. salicifolia and p. nodosa appeared to be more similar rather than those between p. lapathifolia var. salicifolia and p. lapathifolia var. lapathifolia (table 2). thus, p. lapathifolia var. lapathifolia and p. lapathifolia var. salicifolia could be separated as independent variety from each other, although the taxonomic position of p. nodosa is still unclear based on its achene characteristics. in conclusion, achene morphological characteristics are useful to recognize certain taxa to the species, generic, or tribal level. of the studied characteristics, the surface micromorphology of achene or embryo characteristics are rather consistent at the generic or tribal level; for example, small pits were found in most rumex taxa, and papillae were only found in fallopia convolvulus. in addition, the comprehensive consideration of achene characteristics are more useful to identify at the species level; for example, dull, broadly ovoid, biconvex and achenes with tubercle walls are characteristics of p. nepalensis, and regularly tuberculate on the whole achene surface and straight embryo in the plane position (type iv) are characteristics of rumex acetosella. this achene morphological study could improve our understanding of korean polygonaceae. a comparative study with molecular phylogeny will further improve our understanding of systematic tendencies in these groups. acknowledgements we are grateful to our colleagues (dr. moon, h.-k. and oak, m.-k.) in the laboratory of plant systematics at kyung hee university, and to our anonymous reviewers and editor. we are grateful to the herbarium keepers of kh for their permission to examine specimens and for the loan of materials. this research was supported by the project ‘studies on the establishment of seed bank base for the asian network’ through the korea national arboretum [grant numbers 20150437 and 20170334], and partially supported by the basic science research program through the national research foundation of korea (nrf) funded by the ministry of education, sciences and technology [grant number nrf-2018r1d1a1a09083715] to s.p. hong. references ball, h.w., exell, a.w., harding, j.p., léonard, j., lewis, j., melderis, a. and vander veken, p. 1962. systematics association committee for descriptive biological terminology. ii. terminology of simple symmetrical plane shapes (chart 1). taxon 11(5): 145–156. achene morphology of korean polygonaceae 147 barthlott, w. 1981. epidermal and seed surface characters of plants: systematic applicability and some evolutionary aspects. nordic j. bot. 1(3): 345–355. brandbyge, j. 1993. polygonaceae. in: kubitzki, k. and bittich, v. 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(manuscript received on 10 september 2017; revised on 10 may 2018) http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/ bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 269‒283, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiospermic flora of gafargaon upazila of mymensingh district focusing on medicinally important species m. oliur rahman1, nusrat jahan sayma and momtaz begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: angiosperm; taxonomy; vegetation analysis; medicinal plants; distribution; conservation. abstract gafargaon upazila has been floristically explored to identify and assess the angiospermic flora that resulted in occurrence of 203 taxa under 174 genera and 75 families. magnoliopsida is represented by 167 taxa under 140 genera and 62 families, while liliopsida is constituted by 36 taxa belonging to 34 genera and 13 families. vegetation analysis shows that herbs are represented by 106 taxa, shrubs 35, trees 54, and climbers by 8 species. in magnoliopsida, solanaceae is the largest family possessing 10 species, whereas in liliopsida, poaceae is the largest family with 12 species. the study has identified 45 medicinal plants which are used for treatment of over 40 diseases including diabetes, ulcer, diarrhoea, dysentery, fever, cold and cough, menstrual problems, blood pressure and urinary disorders by the local people. some noticeable medicinal plants used in primary healthcare are abroma augusta (l.) l.f., coccinia grandis (l.) voigt., commelina benghalensis l., cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., holarrhena antidysenterica flem., glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc., mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson, ocimum tenuiflorum l. and rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. a few number of species are also employed in cultural festivals in the study area. cardamine flexuosa with., oxystelma secamone (l.) karst., phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet, piper sylvaticum roxb., stephania japonica (thunb.) miers and trema orientalis l. have been found to be rare in the investigated area. in order to preserve botanical resources of gafargaon upazila, particularly the rare, threatened and medicinal plants, conservation measures need to be undertaken through both in-situ and ex-situ methods for their sustainable use. introduction gafargaon upazila under mymensingh district is located in 24º15' to 24º33'n and 90º27' to 90º39'e with an area of 401.16 sq. km. the upazila is bounded by trishal and nandail upazilas on the north, kapasia and sreepur upazilas on the south, hossainpur and pakundia upazilas on the east, and trishal, bhaluka, and sreepur upazilas on the west (fig. 1). the climate of gafargaon is moderate as other parts of the district, as it is closer to the himalayas and in the tropical monsoon zone. the temperature of the area varies from 9ºc to 37ºc. the maximum monthly average humidity ranges from 81 to 97%, while the minimum monthly average humidity ranges from 47 to 79% illustrates the monthly variations of humidity in the area (bbs, 2018). the gafargaon upazila presents diverse habitats and ecosystems comprising wetland, cultivated land, char, homestead area, scrub jungles, fallow lands, etc. which support dense formation of angiosperms and play a pivotal role in the local economy, environment and primary healthcare system. however, the ecosystems of gafargaon have been depleted due to anthropogenic interferences over the years. as a result, many plant species have become rare and 1corresponding author. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd; prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd; mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 270 rahman et al. threatened. therefore, it is indispensable to explore, identify, document and preserve the plant wealth of the area for the betterment of mankind especially those plant resources which are used for primary healthcare. fig. 1. map of the study area: a. map of bangladesh, b. district map of mymensingh, c. map of gafargaon upazila showing different sampling locations. in the recent past, several attempts have been made on floristic studies in different parts of the country alongside with some protected areas (khan and huq, 2001; alam et al., 2006; tutul et al., 2010; rahman et al., 2015; arefin et al., 2017; haque et al., 2018; rashid et al., 2018). despite sporadic studies on the flora of some upazilas of the country were carried out earlier (moniruzzaman et al., 2012; rahman and alam, 2013; rahman et al., 2012, 2013, 2019), the flora of gafargaon upazila has never been explored and the potential of its existing flora has not been evaluated. therefore, the present study aimed at exploring and identifying the angiosperm flora of gafargaon upazila, and to focus on the medicinally important plant resources for meeting up the primary healthcare demand of the local people. the study has the potential to collate primary data on the plant diversity of the upazila which will eventually contribute towards logical understanding and conservation of the biodiversity of this region. angiospermic flora of gafargaon upazila 271 materials and methods taxonomic inventories were conducted in gafargaon upazila of mymensingh district through five botanical expeditions covering all seasons from april 2017 to march 2018. plant specimens with flowers and/or fruits were collected, critically studied and preserved following standard herbarium technique (bridson and forman, 1989; singh and subramaniam, 2008). the collected specimens were identified by experts, consulting standard literature, viz., hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), khan (1972-1987), dassanayake and fosberg (1980-1985), khan and rahman (1989-2002), and by matching with already identified specimens housed at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). nomenclature of each taxon has been updated following recent literatures (ahmed et al., 2008-2009), the nomenclatural databases of the plant list (2013) and tropicos (2017). the recognized families are arranged following cronquist (1981), and the genera and species under each family have been placed in an alphabetical order (table 1). bengali name have been cited based on interview with local people, and huq (1986). each species is supplemented by its habit, phenology and representative voucher specimen. the information on the uses of medicinal plants has been gathered through interview of the local people. the voucher specimens are preserved at dush. results and discussion the present study revealed the occurrence of 203 taxa under 174 genera and 75 families in gafargaon upazila of mymensingh district. among them, magnoliopsida is represented by 62 families, 140 genera and 167 taxa, while liliopsida (monocots) is represented by 13 families, 34 genera and 36 taxa. the identified taxa with their bangla name, family name, habit, status of occurrences and voucher specimen are presented in table 1. the present study reveals that largest number of taxa are represented by herbs (106 taxa) followed by trees (54 taxa), shrubs (35 taxa) and climbers (8 taxa). the percentage of identified taxa in gafargaon upazila is shown in figure 2. among the identified taxa 82% has been found as common and 18% as rare. in magnoliopsida, solanaceae is the largest family comprising 10 species under 7 genera, followed by fabaceae (8 species), and asteraceae and amranthaceae (7 species each). in contrast, in liliopsida, poaceae is the largest family with 12 species under 10 genera followed by araceae (6 species) and arecaceae (5 species). fig. 2. pie-chart showing the habitat analysis of identified taxa in gafargaon upazila. the families basellaceae, bombacaceae, molluginaceae, boraginaceae, bromeliaceae, capparaceae, caricaceae, chenopodiaceae, commelinaceae, cuscutaceae, cyperaceae, dilleniaceae, ebenaceae, elaeocarpaceae, hydrocharitaceae, lecythidaceae, lemnaceae, 272 rahman et al. marantaceae, melastomataceae, moringaceae, musaceae, oleaceae, onagraceae, papaveraceae, pedaliaceae, punicaceae, rhamnaceae, rosaceae, salicaceae, sapindaceae, sapotaceae, scrophulariaceae, sterculiaceae, tiliaceae, ulmaceae and vitaceae are represented by a single species. ten dominant families of the study area are poaceae, solanaceae, fabaceae, asteraceae, amaranthaceae, caesalpiniaceae, moraceae, acanthaceae, polygonaceae and nymphaeaceae. the family poaceae is the largest one represented by 12 species followed by solanaceae with 10 species and fabaceae with 8 species (fig. 3). fig. 3. radder diagram showing ten dominant plant families of gafargaon upazila with number of genera and species. in the study area, some climbers, such as cissus adnata, coccinia grandis, cuscuta reflexa, stephania japonica etc. grow in homestead trees. some of the most common trees found in the area include areca catechu, albizia lebbeck, borassus flabellifer, dalbergia sissoo, cocos nucifera and phoenix sylvestris. commonly growing roadside plants are phyllanthus reticulatus, glycosmis pentaphylla, heliotropium indicum, solanum nigrum, croton bonplandianum, dalbergia sissoo, senna tora etc. most common homestead plants are hibiscus rosa-sinensis, litchi chinensis, artocarpus heterophyllus, psidium guajava, lawsonia inermis, averrhoa carambola, swietenia mahagoni and punica granatum. in the investigated area cardamine flexuosa, oxystelma secamone, phaulopsis imbricata, piper sylvaticum, stephania japonica and trema orientalis have been found as rare based on field observation. gafargaon upazila is also endowed with different aquatic habitats including beels, ponds, tanks and other low-lying areas with seasonal water. some of the important aquatic angiosperms are pistia stratiotes, oxystelma secamone, enhydra fluctuans, ipomoea fistulosa, ipomoea aquatica, ottelia alismoides, nymphaea pubescens, nymphaea rubra, lemna perpusilla, ludwigia adscendens and monochoria hastata. angiospermic flora of gafargaon upazila 273 table 1. plant species of gafargaon upazila of mymensigh district with their bengali names, habit, phenology, status of occurrence and vouchers. taxa bengali name habit phenology status of occurrence voucher number magnoliopsida annonaceae annona reticulata l. ata tree oct-jan common nusrat 01 a. squamosa l. sharifa tree mar-dec common nusrat 57 polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thw. debdaru tree mar-sep common nusrat 02 uvaria hamiltonii hook. f. latkan shrub may-oct common nusrat 65 lauraceae cinnamomum camphora prain karpur tree mar-jul common nusrat 28 c. tamala nees & eberm. tejpata tree feb-oct common nusrat 182 litsea glutinosa (lour.) robinson menda tree apr-jan common nusrat 85 piperaceae peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth luchipata herb jul-sep common nusrat 191 piper nigrum l. goolmorich climber aug-dec common nusrat 97 p. sylvaticum roxb. bon pan shrub rare nusrat 192 nymphaeaceae nymphaea pubescens willd. saluk herb jan-dec common nusrat 188 nymphaea rubra roxb. ex salisb. lalsapla herb jul-jan common nusrat 95 menispermaceae stephania japonica (thunb.) miers doipata climber jan-dec rare nusrat 142 tinospora crispa (t.) hook. f. gulonchoe climber jan-jun common nusrat 90 papaveraceae argemone mexicana l. sialkanta herb feb-jun common nusrat 190 ulmaceae nusrat trema orientalis l. jinal tree dec-apr rare nusrat 55 moraceae artocarpus heterophyllus lamk. kanthal tree feb-jun common nusrat 92 a. laucha buch.-ham. dewa tree apr-aug common nusrat 145 ficus benghalensis l. bot tree may-aug common nusrat 38 f. hispida l. f. dumur shrub apr-sep common nusrat 186 f. religiosa l. ashwatha tree mar-sep common nusrat 37 sreblus asper lour. sheora tree feb-jun common nusrat 160 urticaceae laportea crenulata gaud. churapata shrub may-sep common nusrat 112 l. interrupta l. bichuti herb aug-nov rare nusrat 53 nyctaginaceae boerhavia diffusa l. punarnava herb apr-aug common nusrat 39 bougainvillea spectabilis willd. baganbilash shrub jan-dec common nusrat 94 mirabilis jalapa l. shandhamalati herb mar-may common nusrat 147 chenopodiaceae chenopodium album l. bathua-shak herb dec-mar common nusrat 20 274 rahman et al. table 1 contd. taxa bengali name habit phenology status of occurrence voucher number amaranthaceae achyranthus aspera l. apang herb jan-dec rare nusrat 117 alternenthera philoxeroides (mart) griseb. malancha shak herb mar-jun common nusrat 163 a. sessilis (l.) dc. sachi-shak herb jan-dec common nusrat 59 amaranthus blitum l. natiyashak herb oct-nov common nusrat 118 a. spinosus l. katanotay herb jan-dec common nusrat 05 a. tricolor l. denga herb jan-dec common nusrat 164 a. viridis l. notay-shak herb jan-dec common nusrat 60 basellaceae basella rubra l. puishak herb nov-mar common nusrat 173 molluginaceae glinus oppositifolius (l.) a. dc. ghema shak herb jan-dec common nusrat 203 polygonaceae persicaria flaccida (meissn.) h. gross ex loeseeen lal bishkatali herb apr-aug common nusrat 152 p. hydropiper (l.) spach. biskatali herb apr-aug common nusrat 101 p. stagnina (buch-ham. ex meissn.) m.a. hassan bara bishkatali herb apr-dec common nusrat 102 rumex dentatus l. daton herb jan-may common nusrat 196 dilleniaceae dillenia indica l. chalta tree may-feb common nusrat 23 elaeocarpaceae elaeocarpus floribundus bl. jalpai tree mar-dec common nusrat 77 tiliaceae corchorus capsularis l. deshipat herb jun-nov common nusrat 111 sterculiaceae abroma augusta (l.) l. f. ulatkombal shrub jun-dec rare nusrat 159 bombacaceae bombax ceiba l. shimultula tree jan-apr common nusrat 127 malvaceae abelmoschus escunlentus (l.) moench dheros herb jan-dec common nusrat 87 abutilon indicum l. petari herb jul-apr common nusrat 140 hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. joba shrub jan-dec common nusrat 202 sida cordata (burm.f.) borss. junka herb aug-feb common nusrat 184 urena lobata l. bon okra shrub jan-dec common nusrat 31 lecythidaceae barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal tree may-sep common nusrat 138 caricaceae carica papaya l. pape herb jan-dec common nusrat 19 cucurbitaceae benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. chalkumra climber may-nov common nusrat 21 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt. telakucha climber mar-dec common nusrat 132 angiospermic flora of gafargaon upazila 275 table 1contd. taxa bengali name habit phenology status of occurrence voucher number cucumis melo l. baangi climber mar-oct rare nusrat 177 c. sativus l. khira herb apr-oct common nusrat 74 cucurbita maxima duch. ex lamk. mistikumra herb apr-oct common nusrat 75 salicaceae salix tetrasperma roxb panihijal tree nov-mar rare nusrat 51 capparaceae crateva magna (lour.) dc. barun tree feb-may common nusrat 130 brasicaceae cardamine flexuosa with. not known herb feb-jul rare nusrat 173 brassica napus l. sorisha herb mar-jul common nusrat 128 raphanus sativus l. mula herb jan-may common nusrat 16 rorippa indica (l.) hiern bansarisa herb apr-jan common nusrat 69 moringaceae moringa oleifera lamk. sajna tree oct-mar common nusrat 40 sapotaceae manilkara zapota (l.) p.van royen sofeda tree jan-dec common nusrat 156 ebenaceae diospyros malabarica (desr.) kostel deshi gab tree may-aug rare nusrat 133 rosaceae rosa chinensis jacq. golap shrub nov-mar common nusrat 47 mimosaceae acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. akashmoni tree jun-feb common nusrat 185 a. nilotica (l.) willd. ex del. babla tree aug-may common nusrat 143 albizia lebbeck l. koroi tree apr-oct common nusrat 35 a. procera (roxb.) benth silkoroi tree jun-nov common nusrat 91 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit. ipl-ipl tree mar-nov common nusrat 204 mimosa pudica l. lajjaboti herb sep-dec common nusrat caesalpinaceae cassia fistula l. banarlathi tree mar-jun common nusrat 175 delonix regia rafin. krisnochura tree apr-sep common nusrat 70 senna occidentalis roxb. borakalkasuna herb may-oct common nusrat 129 s. sophera (l.) roxb. kalkashunda shrub sep-jul common nusrat 174 s. tora (l.) roxb. chakunda herb jul-dec common nusrat 18 tamarindus indica l. tentul tree apr-dec common nusrat 205 fabaceae arachis hypogaea l. badam herb mar-dec common nusrat 25 cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. orhor shrub dec-apr common nusrat 79 crotalaria pallida ait. jhun-jhuni herb may-dec rare nusrat 180 dalbergia sissoo roxb. sisso tree mar-jun common nusrat 135 desmodium heterophyllum (willd.) dc. kodalia herb jan-dec rare nusrat 26 276 rahman et al. table 1 contd. taxa bengali name habit phenology status of occurrence voucher number lablab purpureus (l.) sweet shim herb nov-mar common nusrat 80 sesbania grandiflora l. bakful tree oct-feb common nusrat 179 vigna mungo (l.) hepper mashkalai herb nov-jan common nusrat 136 lythraceae lawsonia inermis l. mahendi shrub jun-dec common nusrat 30 myrtaceae psidium guajava l. payara tree apr-sep common nusrat 187 syzygium cumini l. kalojam tree apr-jul common nusrat 93 punicaceae punica granatum l. dalim shrub jan-dec common nusrat 197 onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara kesardam herb mar-dec common nusrat 42 melastomataceae melastoma malabathricum l. ban tezpata shrub jan-dec rare nusrat 88 euphorbiaceae baccaurea ramiflora lour. lotkon/bobi tree jun-sep common nusrat 24 croton bonplandianus baill. croton herb jan-dec common nusrat 178 phyllanthus reticulatus poir. chitki shrub mar-oct common nusrat 134 ricinus communis l. verenda shrub jan-dec rare nusrat 78 rhamnaceae ziziphus mauritiana lamk. boroi tree sep-mar common nusrat 153 vitaceae cissus adnata roxb. alingolata climber mar-aug common nusrat 115 sapindaceae litchi chinensis sonn. lichu tree apr-jun common nusrat 107 anacardiaceae mangifera indica l. aam tree jan-jun common nusrat 06 spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz amra tree feb-aug common nusrat 119 meliaceae aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.n. parker baiddiraj tree feb-may rare nusrat 33 azadirachta indica a. juss. neem tree mar-jul common nusrat 89 melia azedarach l. ghoranim tree mar-feb common nusrat 141 swietenia mahagoni jacq. mahagoni tree apr-nov common nusrat 34 rutaceae aegle marmelos (l.) correa bel tree apr-dec common nusrat 48 citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle lebu shrub mar-sep common nusrat 105 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a.dc. motkila shrub jan-dec common nusrat 155 zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. bajna tree mar-sep common nusrat 106 oxalidaceae averrhoa carambola l. kamranga tree sep-mar common nusrat 96 oxalis corniculata l. amrul herb sep-may common nusrat 108 angiospermic flora of gafargaon upazila 277 table 1 contd. taxa bengali name habit phenology status of occurrence voucher number apiaceae centella asiatica (l.) urban thankuni herb apr-dec rare nusrat 61 coriandrum savitum l. dhony herb dec-feb common nusrat 165 foeniculum vulgare mill. pan-mouri herb nov-feb common nusrat 07 apocynaceae alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br. chatim tree oct-jun rare nusrat 166 carissa carandus l. karamcha shrub apr-oct common nusrat 167 catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don noyontara herb jan-dec common nusrat 127 holarrhena antidysenterica flem. kurchi shrub apr-dec common nusrat 08 rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. sarpagandha herb apr-oct rare nusrat 62 tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult. togor shrub may-jan common nusrat 121 asclepediaceae calotropis gigantea l. akondo shrub jan-dec rare nusrat 124 oxystelma secamone (l.) karst. dudhialata herb aug-oct rare nusrat 12 solanaceae capsicum frutescens l. kacha-morich herb jan-dec common nusrat 108 cestrum nocturnum l. hasnahena shrub jan-dec common nusrat datura metel l. datura shrub jan-dec rare nusrat 201 lycopersicon esculentum mill. tomato herb oct-apr common nusrat 50 nicotiana plumbaginifolia willd. ban-tamak herb mar-dec common nusrat 109 physalis angulata l. fotka herb feb-aug common nusrat 52 p. minima l. chotofotka herb jan-dec common nusrat 202 solanum melongena l. begun herb oct-mar common nusrat 158 s. torvum swartz. gotabegun shrub jan-dec common nusrat 110 s. tuberosum l. gol-alu herb jan-mar common nusrat 54 convolvulaceae ipomoea aquatica forssk. kolmishak herb jan-dec common nusrat 176 i. batatas (l.) lamk. misti-alu herb dec-may rare nusrat 73 i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy dholkolmi shrub jan-dec common nusrat 131 cuscutaceae cuscuta reflexa roxb. shornolata parasite aug-mar rare nusrat 22 boraginaceae heliotropium indicum l. hatisur herb jan-dec common nusrat 15 verbenaceae clerodendrum viscosum vent. vat shrub jan-jul common nusrat 199 lippia alba (mill.) briton et wilson gondhapata shrub jan-dec common nusrat 113 tectona grandis l.f. shegun tree jul-nov common nusrat 56 lamiaceae anisomeles indica l. gobura herb oct-jun rare nusrat 181 hyptis suaveolens poit. bilatitulsi herb jan-dec common nusrat 27 leonurus sibricus linn. roktodron herb jan-dec rare nusrat 137 leucas aspera (willd.) link dondokolos herb jan-dec common nusrat 82 mentha viridis l. pudinapata herb jul-jun common nusrat 84 ocimum tenuiflorum l. tulsi herb oct-mar common nusrat 83 278 rahman et al. table 1 contd. taxa bengali name habit phenology status of occurrence voucher number oleaceae jasminum sambac (l.) ait. beli shrub mar-jul common nusrat 189 scrophulariaceae scoparia dulcis l. bandhony herb jan-dec common nusrat 49 acanthaceae andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall. kalomegh herb nov-may common nusrat 116 justicia gendarussa burm. f. jagatmadan shrub dec-may common nusrat 162 j. adhatoda l. basok shrub jan-apr common nusrat 03 nelsonia canescens (lamk.) spreng. para-mul herb jan-dec common nusrat 58 phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet not known herb dec-mar rare nusrat 04 pedaliaceae sesamum indicum l. til herb feb-oct common nusrat 190 rubiaceae ixora coccinea l. rangon shrub jan-dec common nusrat 198 morinda citrifolia l. haldi kachu tree may-nov rare nusrat 104 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) merr. kadom tree jul-nov common nusrat 154 asteraceae ageratum conyzoides l. fulkuri herb nov-jun common nusrat 13 blumea lacera (burm.f.) dc barakukshima herb nov-jul common nusrat 170 chromolaena odorata (l.) king & robinson asamlata herb nov-may common nusrat 171 enhydra fluctuans lour. helencha herb jan-apr common nusrat 125 mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson taralota herb oct-feb common nusrat 68 spilanthus calva dc. marhatatiga herb jan-dec common nusrat 14 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. shialmoti herb jan-dec common nusrat 126 liliopsida hydrocharitaceae ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panikola herb june-dec common nusrat 81 arecaceae areca catechu l. supari tree jan-dec common nusrat 11 borassus flabellifer l. tal tree jan-oct common nusrat 123 calamus gracilis roxb. raton tree apr-oct rare nusrat 66 cocos nucifera l. narikel tree mar-jul common nusrat 169 phoenix sylvestris roxb. khejur tree dec-jul common nusrat 67 alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g. don mankachu herb jul-oct common nusrat 09 amorphollus bulbifer bl. ul kachu herb may-oct rare nusrat 63 colocasia esculenta schott kochu herb may-oct common nusrat 122 pistia stratiotes l. topa-pana herb oct-mar common nusrat 168 typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. ghetkachu herb apr-oct common nusrat 64 xanthosoma violaceum schott. dastorkachu herb apr-oct common nusrat 10 angiospermic flora of gafargaon upazila 279 table 1 contd. taxa bengali name habit phenology status of occurrence voucher number lemnaceae lemna purpusilla torrey khudipana herb sep-dec common nusrat 29 commelinaceae commelina bengalensis l. dholpata herb feb-dec common nusrat 72 cyperaceae cyperus compressus l. chanch herb jan-dec rare nusrat 76 poaceae brachiaria kurzii (hook. f.) a. camus not known herb jan-dec rare nusrat 43 b. mutica stapf para gash herb nov-mar common nusrat 149 chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. premkanta herb jan-dec common nusrat 98 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durbaghas herb jul-dec common nusrat 169 imperata cylindrica (l.) p. beauv ulookash shrub oct-jan common nusrat 150 isachne globosa (thunb.) kuntze not known herb jan-dec rare nusrat 194 oryza latifolia desv. jangli dhan herb jul-feb rare nusrat 99 o. sativa l. dhan herb sep-jun common nusrat 44 panicum repens l. dhanighas herb jan-dec common nusrat 195 paspalum scrobiculatum l. goicha herb jan-dec common nusrat 46 saccharum spontenum l. kash herb jan-dec common nusrat 100 thysanolaena maxima (roxb.) kuntze jharu phul herb sep-apr rare nusrat 151 bromeliaceae ananas comosus (l.) merr. anarosh herb feb-jul common nusrat 17 musaceae musa paradisiaca l. kola herb jan-dec common nusrat 146 zingiberaceae curcuma longa l. holud herb aug-oct common nusrat 200 zingiber officinale rosc. ada herb sep-nov common nusrat 161 marantaceae schumannianthus dichotomus (roxb.) gagnep. patibet shrub dec-mar rare nusrat 32 pontederiaceae eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms kachuripana herb jan-dec common nusrat 45 monochoria hastata (l.) solms jolpana herb jan-dec common nusrat 103 liliaceae allium cepa l. piyaj herb feb-jun common nusrat 183 a. sativum l. rosun herb feb-apr common nusrat 139 zephyranthes tubispatha l. rain lily herb jun-aug rare nusrat 86 potential of the angiospermic flora medicinal plants potential of plant species of gafargaon upazzila has been assessed and medicinal uses of the angiospermic flora by the local people have been recorded during field investigation. the study has identified 45 medicinal plants used for treatment of several diseases by the local people. the medicinal plant species with their part(s) used and uses are presented in table 2. 280 rahman et al. table 2. medicinal plants of gafargaon upazila along with their part(s) used and diseases. species part(s) used diseases abroma augusta root urinary problem & menstrual problems achyranthus aspera root jaundice adhatoda zeylanica leaf cold and cough aegle marmelos fruit, root dysentery and diarrhoea ageratum conyzoides leaf, stem, root fever, chronic ulcers and pneumonia albizia procera leaf, bark insecticide and fish poisoning alstonia scholaris bark asthma and fever amaranthus spinosus leaf, root, stem rheumatism, blood purifier and irregular menstruation a. viridis whole plant snake-bite annona reticulata bark diarrhoea aphanamixis polystachya bark lever diseases and spleen artocarpus heterophyllus root asthma and diarrhoea averrhoa carambola fruit piles blumea lacera root mouth diseases cajanus cajan leaf diabetes and jaundice. centella asiatica whole plant ulcer and dysentery clerodendrum viscosum leaf, roots skin diseases, tumors and snake-bite coccinia grandis leaf skin diseases and diabetes colocasia esculenta leaf, corm astringent, scorpion bites and stimulant commelina bengalensis whole plant urinary burning, sores and itches cuscuta reflexa stem jaundice cynodon dactylon whole plant stop bleeding and toothache. dillenia indica fruit diarrhoea and dysentery ficus hispida fruit diabetes f. religiosa bark toothache and skin diseases glycosmis pentaphylla leaf, stem jaundice and toothache heliotropium indicum leaf fever holarrhena antidysenterica bark dysentery and elephantiasis hyptis suaveolens leaf, seed stomachache litsia glutinosa bark dysentery and diarrhoea melia azedarach leaf small pox, fever and antiseptic mikania cordata leaf wounds, itches and dyspepsia mimosa pudica root jaundice, blood pressure and ulcer moringa oleifera leaf, fruit, bark dysentery, vomiting, cold and cough and abscesses. ocimum tenuiflorum leaf gastric disorder, cold, cough and ring worm oxalis corniculata leaf antiscorbutic and antidote peperomia pellucida leaf asthma phoenix sylvestris fruit fever, heart disease and abdominal complaints piper nigrum fruit fever and bronchitis rauvolfia serpentina root nervous agitation, high blood pressure and sound sleeping scoparia dulcis whole plant kidney problems and diabetes sida cordata fruit, flower burning complaints solanum torvum root cough and toothache spilanthus calva root toothache syzygium cumini leaf, seed, bark diabetes, chronic diarrhoea and sore throats angiospermic flora of gafargaon upazila 281 economically and culturally important plant species the present study shows the role of angiospermic flora in the local communities. the local people rely on surrounding plant wealth not only for their health care, but also for food and other life accessories. apart from medicinal uses several species are economically and culturally important. the species having economic and cultural importance are documented in table 3. table 3. plant species of gafargaon upazila having economic and cultural importance. species parts used economic and cultural importance aegle marmelos fruit, leaf fruits are edible. leaves are used by hindu community in religious festival alstonia scholaris wood used as furniture annona squamosa fruit fruits are edible artocarpus heterophyllus wood used as furniture borassus flabellifer fruit, leaf fruits are edible. fibre is used in making mats, hats, brushes and brooms cocos nucifera fruit, leaf as drinks. fibre is used in making brushes and brooms. also in religious festival fruits are used by the hindu community colocasia esculenta whole plant used as vegetables curcuma longa rhizome the hindu community uses the rhizome in their religious festival dillenia indica fruit fruits are used as vegetable, also used in making pickles ficus banghalelsis leaf leaves are employed by the hindu people in their religious festival f. hispida leaf leaves are used as vegetable f. religiosa leaf leaves are employed by the hindu people in their religious festival glycosmis pentaphylla twig young twigs are used as tooth-brush. lawsonia inermis leaf leaves are employed by the hindu people in their religious festival mangifera indica leaf fruits edible. leaves are used by the hindu people in their religious festival musa paradisiaca fruit, leaf fruits edible. leaves are employed by the hindu people in their religious festival ocimum tenuiflorum whole plant in religious festival the hindu community used this whole plant oxalis corniculata whole plant used as leafy vegetables phoenix sylvestris fruit, leaf fruits are edible. fibre is used in making mats, hats, brushes and brooms solanum torvum used as vegetables syzgium cumini wood used for high class furniture the present study revealed a number of threats based on the observations and group discussion with local people which might lead to cause angiospermic flora to diminish. some of the important threats to the flora are habitat degradation, modern agriculture, urbanization, overexploitation of medicinal plants, lack of knowledge of collection technique, lack of awareness on biodiversity, and exotic plantation. consequently, some species are extinct in the wild and many of them are at the verge of extinction. in order to save the plant resources from further annihilation urgent measures to be adopted for their conservation and sustainable uses including protection of 282 rahman et al. habitats, public awareness on biodiversity conservation, and applying both ex-situ and in-situ conservation approaches for the medicinal and threatened species. acknowledgement the financial support received from the centre for advanced studies in biological sciences, university of dhaka is gratefully acknowledged. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t. hassan m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(eds), the herbarium handbook. royal botanic gardens, kew, 214 pp. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, 1262 pp. dassanayake, m.d and fosberg, f.r. (eds). 1980-1985. a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, vols. 16. amerind publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhi. haque, a.k.m. kamrul, khan, s.a., uddin, s.n. and shetu, s.s. 2018. an annotated checklist of the angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest of moulvibazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 187–207. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india, vols. 1-7. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. huq, a.m. 1986. plant names of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1–289. khan, m.s. 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(indian reprint 1981). bengal plants. vols. 1 & 2. bishen singh mahendra pal singh dehra dun, india, 663 pp. rahman, m.o. and alam, m.t. 2013. a taxonomic study on the angiospermic flora of trishal upazila, mymensingh. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 22(1): 63–74. rahman, m.o., antara, r.t., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2012. floristic diversity of dhamrai upazila of dhaka, bangladesh with emphasis on medicinal plants. bangladesh j. bot. 41(1): 71–85. rahman, m.o., begum, m. and ullah, m.w. 2013. angiosperm flora of sadar upazila of munshiganj district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 213–231. angiospermic flora of gafargaon upazila 283 rahman m.o., hassan, s. and begum, m. 2019. floristic study in lalpur upazila of natore district, bangladesh: identification, distribution and economic potential. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh (sci.) 45(1): 71–91. rahman, m.s., hossain, g.m., khan, s.a. and uddin, s.n. 2015. an annotated checklist of the vascular plants of sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 17–41. rashid, m.h., islam, s. and kashem, s.b. 2018. floristic diversity (magnoliids and eudicots) of baraiyadhala national park, chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 273–288. singh, h.b. and subramaniam, b. 2008. field manual on herbarium techniques. national institute of science communication and information resources, pp. 1–297. the plant list, 2013. the plant list, a working list of all plant species. version 1.1 <http://www. theplantlist.org/>. accessed on 21 october 2018. tropicos, 2017. tropicos.org. <www.tropicos.org>. missouri botanical garden, saint louis, missouri, usa. accessed on 21 october 2018. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiospermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh-2. magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 33–53. (manuscript received on 2 april, 2019; revised on 1 november, 2019) http://www. http://www.tropicos.org bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 193-202, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63526 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists genetic diversity and relationships among medicinal species of malva l. (malvaceae) based on issr markers bakhtiar saadey ghafoor and sahar hussein hamarashid* sulaimani polytechnic university, technical college of applied science, halabja, iraq keywords: malva species; genetic diversity; relationship; issr markers; iraq. abstract the genus malva l., popularly known as mallow, grows spontaneously in almost all of europe and the mediterranean region. this genus is morphologically very diverse and its species are used in the treatment of respiratory, urinary, and digestive problems, but some species are hardly distinguishable based on morphological features. we, therefore, performed a molecular data analysis for this genus. amplification of genomic dna of 90 randomly selected samples of six species of malva using 5 primers produced 83 bands, of which 77 were found to be polymorphic (90.99%). the high average pic and mi values revealed the high capacity of issr primers to detect polymorphic loci among malva species. the genetic similarities of the six collections were estimated from 0.73 to 0.90. issr analysis revealed that malva parviflora and m. vericillata had the lowest similarity whereas, m. neglecta and m. sylvestris had the highest similarity. introduction identifying the accurate boundaries of a species is critical to have a better perspective of any biological studies. therefore, species delimitation is a subject of an extensive part of studies in the framework of biology. however, defining the criterion which could address the boundaries of species is a matter of debate. wild relatives of crops contain genes with great potential for use in breeding programs and constitute a part of their gene pool. in addition, the study of intra-specific levels of genetic variation and investigation of the genetic structure of wild populations is crucial for the development of effective conservation strategies. malvaceae (‘the mallows’) is a family with a rich diversity of species for textile, medicinal, and ornamental purposes. it consists of 2300 species and about 200 genera and mallows present a cosmopolitan distribution, but with a high number of species in the tropics (ray, 1995). the genus malva l., popularly known as mallow, grows spontaneously in almost all of europe and the mediterranean region. it has 25-40 species and it can be considered as an annual and/or biannual herb. flowers with an epicalyx and 8-15 reticulated mericarps are the typical ones. ray (1995) and escobar et al. (2009) relate their similarity to the lavatera l. genus, where the bracteoles of the epicalyces are joined at the base, in contrast to in malva where they are totally separated. although there is inconsistency for some species in relation to the fusion of bracts and other characteristics. molecular studies have also shown that the separation of these two genera based on this morphology is artificial and unsatisfactory (escobar et al., 2009). malva species are potential therapeutic as cicatrizing and analgesic, considered by the ministry of health. within the genus, some species (e.g., m. parviflora, m. pusilla sm., m. nicaeensis, and m. neglecta) are regularly misidentified based on morphological features (della greca et al., 2009). the phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic organization of the malva genus are still unclear. therefore, molecular analysis can be useful in species identification and the *corresponding author: e-mail: sahar.rashid@spu.edu.iq https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63526 mailto:sahar.rashid@spu.edu.iq 194 ghafoor and hamarashid study of the genetic relationships between malva taxa (escobar et al., 2009). several studies have been conducted to clarify the taxonomic affiliation of malva species using different features, such as molecular data (nuclear ribosomal dna (rdna), internal transcribed spacer (its) region, intron–exon splice junction (isj), and inter simple sequence repeat polymerase chain reaction (issr) markers) (celka et al., 2010), differentiation of seed and seed coat structure (el naggar, 2001), the morphology of pollen grains (el naggar, 2004), epidermal structures and stem hairs (akçin and özbucak, 2006), and plant morphological traits (michael et al., 2009). the variability in mallow species is due, at least in part, to hybridization. natural crossings between m. pusilla and m. neglecta, m. alcea l., and m. moschata l. as well as m. sylvestris and m. neglecta were found in europe. ray (1995) stated that hybridization or polyploidy is probably a factor in the evolution of these species, but this aspect has not been investigated so far. the taxonomy and systematics of the malva genus are still unclear and very complicated. taxonomic doubts have appeared because of the high level of homoplasty in morphological traits that are usually used as diagnostic features (escobar garcía et al., 2009). based on the flower structure, dalby (1968) divided the malva genus into two sections: bismalva (with m. alcea, m. excisa rchb., and m. moschata) and malva (m. neglecta, m. pusilla, m. sylvestris, and m. verticillata). a different classification based on its molecular markers as well as fruit morphology and seed structure was reported by ray (1995), and two groups viz., malvoid and lavateroid were distinguished. a similar division was proposed by escobar et al. (2009) based on five its molecular markers (matk, trnk, ndhf, trnl-trnf, and psba-trnh). these genetic relationships and the classification of malva species were also confirmed by celka et al. (2010) and lo bianco et al. (2017) based on its and issr molecular markers along with seed image analysis. most of the malva species are polyploids with the base chromosome number n = x = 7 (3,43). numerous species are hexaploids, where the chromosome number is in the range of 40 to 44, and a few species possess higher numbers of chromosomes. molecular markers provide a powerful tool for studying genetic diversity. among advanced genetic markers, random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) and inter simple sequence repeats (issr) markers have been widely used for diversity analyses. rapd technique is quick, easy and requires no prior sequence information. the technique detects nucleotide sequence polymorphism using a single primer of arbitrary nucleotide sequence. issr marker involves pcr amplification of dna by a single 16-18 bp. long primer composed of a repeated sequence anchored at the 3' or 5' end of 2-4 arbitrary nucleotides. the technique is rapid, simple, inexpensive and more reproducible than rapd. the present investigation has been carried out to evaluate the genetic diversity and relationships among different malva species using new gene-targeted molecular markers, i.e., issr markers. this is the first study on the use of issr markers in malva genus in iraq. in this study we performed a molecular study of 90 collected specimens of six malva species. we try to answer the following questions: 1) is there infra and interspecific genetic diversity among studied species? 2) is genetic distance among these species correlated with their geographical distance? 3) what is the genetic structure of populations and taxa? 4) is there any gene exchange between malva species in iraq? materials and methods plant materials a total of 90 individuals were sampled representing six geographical populations belonging to six malva species of iraq during july-agust 2017-2020. for issr analysis we used 90 plant genetic diversity and relationships among medicinal species 195 accessions (five to twelve samples from each populations) belonging to six different populations with different eco-geographic characteristics were sampled and stored in -20 till further use. morphological studies five to twelve samples from each species were used for morphometry. in total 36 morphological (13 qualitative, 23 quantitative) characters were studied. data obtained were standardized (mean= 0, variance = 1) and used to estimate euclidean distance for clustering and ordination analyses. morphological characters studied were corolla shape, bract shape, calyx shape, calyx length, calyx width, calyx apex, calyx margins, bract length, corolla length, corolla width, corolla apex, leaf length and leaf width, leaf apex, leaf margins, leaf shape, leaf gland and bract margins. dna extraction and issr assay fresh leaves were used randomly from one to twelve plants in each of the studied populations. these were dried with silica gel powder. ctab-activated charcoal protocol was used to extract genomic dna. the quality of extracted dna was examined by running on 0.8% agarose gel. for the issr analysis, 22 primers from the ubc (university of british columbia) series were tested for dna amplification. ten primers were chosen for issr analysis of genetic variability, based on band reproducibility (table 1). pcr reactions were carried in a 25μl volume containing 10 mm tris-hcl buffer at ph 8; 50 mm kcl; 1.5 mm mgcl2; 0.2 mm of each dntp (bioron, germany); 0.2 μm of a single primer; 20 ng genomic dna and 3 u of taq dna polymerase (bioron, germany). the amplification reactions were performed in techne thermocycler (germany) with the following program: 5 min initial denaturation step 94°c, followed by 40 cycles of 1 min at 94°c; 1 min at 52-57°c and 2 min at 72°c. the reaction was completed by the final extension step of 7-10 min at 72°c. the amplification products were observed by running on 1% agarose gel, followed by the ethidium bromide staining. the fragment size was estimated by using a 100 bp molecular size ladder (fermentas, germany). table 1. issr primers used for this study and the extent of polymorphism. primer name primer sequence (5’-3’) tnb npb ppb pic pi emr mi issr-1 dbdacacacacacacaca 17 17 100.00% 0.42 5.66 3.99 4.11 issr-2 ggatggatggatggat 15 12 87.59% 0.35 7.91 4.11 2.13 issr-3 gacagacagacagaca 25 25 100.00% 0.24 2.34 4.55 2.55 issr-4 agagagagagagagagyt 16 16 100.00% 0.21 4.88 3.56 3.22 issr-5 acacacacacacacacc 10 7 77.00% 0.20 5.99 4.99 3.47 mean 18 16 90.99% 0.29 4.5 4.5 3.5 total 83 77 note: tnb the number of total bands, npb: the number of polymorphic bands, ppb (%): the percentage of polymorphic bands, pi: polymorphism index, emr, effective multiplex ratio; mi, marker index; pic, polymorphism information content for each of caat boxderived polymorphism (cbdp) primers data analyses morphological studies: morphological characters were first standardized (mean = 0, variance = 1) and used to establish euclidean distance among pairs of taxa. for grouping of the plant specimens, the upgma (unweighted paired group using average) ordination methods were used. 196 ghafoor and hamarashid anova (analysis of variance) were performed to show morphological difference among the populations while pca (principal components analysis) biplot was used to identify the most variable morphological characters among the studied populations. past version 2.17 (hammer et al. 2012) was used for multivariate statistical analyses of morphological data. molecular analyses: issr bands obtained were coded as binary characters (presence = 1, absence = 0) and used for genetic diversity analysis. the discriminatory ability of the used primers was evaluated by means of two parameters, polymorphism information content (pic) and marker index (mi) to characterize the capacity of each primer to detect polymorphic loci among the genotypes. mi is calculated for each primer as mi = pic × emr, where emr is the product of the number of polymorphic loci per primer (n) and the fraction of polymorphic fragments (β) (heikrujam et al., 2015). the number of polymorphic bands (npb) and the effective multiplex ratio (emr) were calculated for each primer. parameters like nei’s gene diversity (h), shannon information index (i), the number of effective alleles, and percentage of polymorphism (p% = number of polymorphic loci/number of total loci) were determined (weising et al., 2005; freeland et al., 2011). shannon’s index was calculated by the formula: h’ = -σpiln pi. rp is defined per primer as: rp = ∑ ib, were “ib” is the band informativeness, which takes the values of 1-(2x (0.5-p)), being “p” the proportion of each genotype containing the band. the percentage of polymorphic loci, the mean loci by accession and by population, uhe, h’ and pca were calculated by genalex 6.4 software . nei’s genetic distance among populations was used for neighbour-joining (nj) clustering and neighbor-net networking (freeland et al. 2011, huson and bryant, 2006). mantel test checked the correlation between the geographical and genetic distances of the studied populations. these analyses were done by past ver. 2.17 software. amova (analysis of molecular variance) test (with 1000 permutations) as implemented in genalex 6.4 were used to show the genetic difference of the populations. gene flow was determined by (i) calculating nm an estimate of gene flow from gst by popgene ver. 1.32 (1997) as: nm = 0.5(1 gst)/gst. this approach considers the equal amount of gene flow among all populations. results and discussion species identification and inter-relationship morphometry: anova showed significant differences (p <0.01) in quantitative morphological characters among the species studied. in order to determine the most variable characters among the taxa studied, pca analysis has been performed. it revealed that the first three factors comprised over 70% of the total variation. in the first pca axis with 48% of the total variation, such characters as corolla shape, calyx shape, calyx length, bract length and leaf shape have shown the highest correlation (>0.7), leaf apex, corolla length, leaf length, leaf width were characters influencing pca axis 2 and 3, respectively. different clustering and ordination methods produced similar results therefore, pca plot of morphological characters is presented here (fig. 1). in general, plant samples of each species were grouped together and formed separate groups. this result shows that both quantitative and qualitative morphological characters separated the studied species into distinct groups. in the studied specimens, we did not encounter intermediate forms. species identification and genetic diversity: five issr primers were screened to study genetic relationships among malva species; all the primers produced reproducible polymorphic bands in all six malva species. a total of 83 amplified polymorphic bands were generated across 6 malva species. the size of the amplified fragments ranged from 100 to 3000 bp. the highest and lowest number of polymorphic bands was 25 for issr-3 and 7 for issr-5, on an average of 16 polymorphic bands per primer. the pic of the 5 issr primers ranged from 0.20 (issr-5) to 0.42 genetic diversity and relationships among medicinal species 197 (issr-1) with an average of 0.29 per primer. mi of the primers ranged from 2.13 (issr-2) to 4.11 (issr-1) with an average of 3.5 per primer. emr of the issr primers ranged from 3.56 (issr-4) to 4.99 (issr-5) with an average of 4.5 per primer (table 2). the primers with the high emr values were considered to be more informative in distinguishing the genotypes. fig. 1. pca plots of morphological characters revealing species delimitation in the malva species table 2. genetic diversity parameters in the studied malva species. abbreviations: sp n na ne i he uhe %p malva neglecta wallr. 15.000 0.158 1.080 0.304 0.30 0.31 44.50% malva parviflora l. 22.000 0.222 1.325 0.231 0.18 0.23 22.1% malva pusilla sm. 13.000 0.167 1.062 0.24 0.224 0.213 39.73% malva sylvestris l. 10.000 0.499 1.267 0.12 0.101 0.19 19.46% malva vericillata l. 20.000 0.161 1.134 0.372 0.32 0.36 54.15% malva nicaeensis all. 10.000 0.345 1.018 0.25 0.20 0.20 49.22% (n = number of samples, i= shannon’s information index, he = gene diversity, uhe = unbiased gene diversity, p%= percentage of polymorphism, populations). the genetic parameters were calculated for all the six malva species amplified with issr primers (table 2). unbiased expected heterozygosity (h) ranged from 0.19 (malva sylvestris) to 0.36 (malva vericillata), with a mean of 0.26. a similar pattern was observed for shannon’s information index (i), with the highest value of 0.37 observed in malva vericillata and the lowest value of 0.12 observed in malva sylvestris with a mean of 0.25. the observed number of alleles (na) ranged from 0.15 in malva neglecta to 0.499 in malva sylvestris. the effective number of alleles (ne) ranged from 1.018 (malva nicaeensis) to 1.325 (malva parviflora). anova test showed significant genetic differences (p = 0.001) among studied species. it revealed that 83% of total variation was among species and 17% was within species. moreover, genetic differentiation of these species was demonstrated by significant nei’s gst (0.44, p = 198 ghafoor and hamarashid 0.001) and test values (0.311, p = 0.001). these results revealed a higher distribution of genetic diversity among malva species compared to within species. different clustering and ordination methods produced similar results. here, the upgma clustering are presented (fig. 2). in general, plant samples of each species belonging to a distinct section, were grouped together and formed a separate cluster. this result shows that molecular characters studied can delimit malva species in two major clusters or groups. in the studied specimens we did not encounter intermediate forms. in general, two major clusters were formed in the upgma tree (fig. 2), populations of m. neglecta; m. parviflora and m. sylvestris were placed in the first major cluster and were placed with great distance from the other species. the second major cluster included two sub-clusters. plants of m. pusilla comprised the first sub-cluster, while plants of m. vericillata and m. nicaeensis formed the second sub-cluster. fig. 2. upgma tree of issr data revealing species delimitation in the malva species. . in general, relationships obtained from issr data agrees well with species relationship obtained from morphological. this is in agreement with amova and genetic diversity parameters presented before. the species are genetically well differentiated from each other. these results indicate that issr molecular markers can be used in malva species taxonomy. the nm analysis by popgene software also produced mean nm= 0.256, which is considered a very low value of gene flow among the studied species. mantel test with 5000 permutations showed a significant correlation (r = 0.83, p=0.0002) between genetic distance and geographical distance, so isolation by distance (ibd) occurred among the malva species studied. nei’s genetic identity and the genetic distance determined among the studied species (table not included). the results showed that the highest degree of genetic similarity (0.90) occurred between m. neglecta and m. sylvestris. the lowest degree of genetic similarity occurred between m. parviflora and m. vericillata (0.73). the low nm value (0.256) indicates limited gene flow or ancestrally shared alleles between the species studied and indicates high genetic differentiation among and within malva species. genetic diversity and relationships among medicinal species 199 genetic diversity is an important role in the biology of the long-term evolution of a taxon or a population. the basis of existence, growth, and evolution of taxon. thus, the study of the genetic diversity of taxon is fundamental to recognize the taxonomy, origin, and evolution of taxon. moreover, such research will provide a theoretical basis for germplasm resource conservation, development, utilization, and breeding (bi et al., 2021; duan et al., 2022; guo et al., 2021; guo, et al., 2022). the present research revealed interesting data about genetic variability, genetic stratification and morphological divergence in malva in all parts of iraq. the degree of genetic variability within a species is highly correlated with its reproductive mode, the higher degree of open pollination/cross-breeding brings about higher level of genetic variability in the studied taxon (li et al., 2021; sun et al., 2021; xu et al., 2021; zhang et al., 2022). pic and mi characteristics of a primer help in determining its effectiveness in genetic diversity analysis. sivaprakash et al. (2004) suggested that the ability of a marker technique to resolve genetic variability may be more directly related to the degree of polymorphism. generally, a pic value between zero to 0.25 suggest a very low genetic diversity among genotypes, between 0.25 to 0.50 shows a mid-level of genetic diversity and a value ≥0.50 suggests a high level of genetic diversity (tams et al., 2005). in this research, the issr primers’ pic values ranged from 0.21 to 0.42, with a mean value of 0.29, which indicated a mid-level ability of issr primers in determining genetic diversity among the species of malva. all of 5 primer pairs showed a good polymorphism in the taxa of malva. a total 83 alleles were recognized for the studied species. the total number of bands per primer ranged from 7 to 25 polymorphic bands and the mean of the allele number in loci was 16. in most studies, population size is limited to several vegetative accession (uotila, 1996). this population could be showed genetic drift, whose effects are observed in the high level of fis and low level of genetic diversity. the isolation of the population and absence the gene flow led to the fragmentation of the malva population. between genetic diversity parameters and population size were showing positive correlations that confirmed various studies (leimu et al., 2006). there are two reasons for the positive correlation between genetic diversity and population size (leimu et al., 2006). the first reason is a positive correlation could imply the presence of an extinction vortex, where the drop-in population size lowers genetic diversity, which leads to inbreeding depression. the second reason is the fact that plant fitness differentiates populations based on variations in habitat quality (vergeer et al., 2003; peng et al., 2021). according to booy et al. (2000), low levels of genetic diversity could reduce plant fitness and restrict a population's ability to respond to changing environmental conditions through selection and adaptation. genetic diversity (17%) was obtained within populations, whereas 83% of genetic variation was obtained between the evaluated populations. one of the key factors determining the distribution of genetic variation is the breeding system in plant species (duminil, 2007). couvet (booy et al., 2000) revealed that one migrant per generation cannot be existed to guarantee the long-term survival of small populations and that the number of migrants is demonstrated through life history characters and population genetics (vergeer et al., 2003). there are two hypotheses for the absence of differences between isolated populations. the first hypothesis explained that genetic diversity within and between populations demonstrates gene flow processes, which led to the fragmentation of larger populations (dostálek et al., 2010). the second hypothesis presented that geographically proximate populations are more efficiently connected through gene flow than populations separated by a greater distance. malvaceous germplasm has been variously investigated by different molecular marker techniques but the earlier studies either focused on the comparison of the malvaceae with other families in the order malvales or exploring the genetic relationships and diversity within and 200 ghafoor and hamarashid among the population and a limited number of species in the same genus. very little attention has been given to the analysis at interspecific and intergeneric levels. la duke and dobley (1995) have the only worth-mentioning work in this regard. their results showed that, the genetic relationships and diversity within and between 12 malvaceous species belonging to five genera are investigated by using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (aflp). shaheen et al. (2009) using the aflp (amplified fragment length polymorphism) marker explored the phenetic relationships and diversity within and between 13 species under five genera of malvaceae. the primary objective of the study was to evaluate the taxonomic potential, usefulness and applicability of the aflp marker system to reconstruct genetic relationships at an interspecific and intergeneric level in malvaceae. two primer pairs produced a total of 73 bands, of which 70 were polymorphic. according to celka et al. (2010) two categories of dna markers were used to determine genetic relationships among eight malva taxa. the species classified into those sections formed separate clusters. m. moschata was a distinctive species in the section bismalva, as confirmed by previous genetic research based on its and cpdna sequence analyses. the applied markers revealed a very high level of genetic identity between m. alcea and m. excisa and enabled molecular identification of m. alcea var. fastigiata. jedrzejczyk and rewers (2020) applied flow cytometry and inter-simple sequence repeat polymerase chain reaction (issr-pcr) for fast and accurate species identification. genome size estimation by flow cytometry was proposed as the first-choice method for quick accession screening. out of the 12 tested accessions, it was possible to identify six genotypes based on genome size estimation, whereas all species and varieties were identified using issr markers. flow cytometric analyses revealed that malva species possessed very small (1.45–2.77 pg/2c), small (2.81–3.80 pg/2c), and intermediate (11.06 pg/2c) genomes, but the majority of accessions possessed very small genomes. the relationships between the investigated accessions showed the presence of two clusters representing the malvoid and lavateroid group of species. their results showed that flow cytometry and issr molecular markers can be effectively used in the identification and genetic characterization of malva species. in conclusion, the results of this study showed that to evaluate the genetic diversity of the malva genus, the primers derived from issr were more effective than the other molecular markers. also, malva species were clearly separated from each other in the dendrogram and pca, indicating the higher efficiency of issr technique in malva species identification. references akçin, ö.e. and özbucak, t.b. 2006.morphological, anatomical and ecological studies on medicinal and edible plant malva neglectawallr. 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(manuscript received on 18 july, 2021; revised on 19 november, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 85‒101, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an annotated checklist of weed flora in odisha, india taranisen panda*, nirlipta mishra1, shaikh rahimuddin1, bikram k. pradhan and raj b. mohanty2 department of botany, chandbali college, chandbali, bhadrak-756133, odisha, india keywords: bhadrak district; diversity; ecosystem services; traditional medicines; weed. abstract this study consolidated our understanding on the weeds of bhadrak district, odisha, india based on both bibliographic sources and field studies. a total of 277species of weed taxa belonging to 198 genera and 65 families are reported from the study area. about 95.7% of these weed taxa are distributed across six major superorders; the lamids and malvids constitute 43.3% with 60 species each, followed by commenilids (56 species), fabids (48 species), companulids (23 species) and monocots (18 species). asteraceae, poaceae, and fabaceae are best represented. forbs are the most represented (50.5%), followed by shrubs (15.2%), climber (11.2%), grasses (10.8%), sedges (6.5%) and legumes (5.8%). annuals comprised about 57.5% and the remaining are perennials. as per raunkiaer classification, the therophytes is the most dominant class with 135 plant species (48.7%).the use of weed for different purposes as indicated by local people is also discussed. this study provides a comprehensive and updated checklist of the weed speciesof bhadrak district which will serve as a tool for conservation of the local biodiversity. introduction india, a country with heterogeneous landforms, shows great variation from one region to another in respect of climate, altitude and vegetation.the country has 60 agroeco-subregions and each agro-eco-subregion has been divided into agro-eco-units at the district level for developing long term land use strategies (gajbhiye and mandal, 2006). climatic, edaphic and biotic factors prevailing in each of the agro-ecological regions influence the formation of vegetation of that area (rao et al., 2014).the diversity of native flora is an important component of ecosystems that has a primary role in protecting the environmental stability of a region (cunningham et al., 2015). dewet and harlan (1975) classified plants of nature into three categories: i) wild plants (which grow naturally outside the human disturbed habitat), ii) domesticates/ crops (which are artificially propagated and often require cultivation and care by humans in order to grow and make use of environmental resources), and iii) weeds (which thrive in habitats that are continuously disturbed by humans). the terms weed, invader and colonizer have often been used in a conflicting way. the distinctions between them are quite subtle and result from differing viewpoints. according to rejmanek (1995), weeds interfere with human land use; colonizers are successful at establishing following disturbance; and invaders are species introduced into their non-native habitat. there is substantial overlap among these terms. a plant may be considered as only one of these, or it may be included in all of thesecategories. many varying definitions have been developed for weeds, depending on each particular situation where they occur and the plants involved. thomas et al. *corresponding author. email: taranisenpanda@yahoo.co.in 1department of zoology, chandbali college, chandbali, bhadrak756133, odisha, india. 2ex-reader in botany, plot no. 1311/7628, satya bihar, rasulgarh, bhubaneswar-751010, odisha, india. mailto:taranisenpanda@yahoo.co.in 86 panda et al. (2002) stated that a weed as a plant growing where it is not desired, or a plant out of place. according to barbara et al. (2003), a weed is a native or introduced (alien) species that has a perceived negative ecological or economic effect on agricultural or natural systems. navas (1991) defined a weed as "a plant that form populations that are able to enter cultivated habitats,markedly disturbed or occupied by man, and potentially depress or displace the resident plant populations which are deliberately cultivated or are of ecological and/or aesthetic interest". a weed is only a weed under specific circumstances, that the inclusion of a plant into this category is arbitrarily based on human perceptions and that a specific plant species will not always be considered a weed (crawley, 1997b).weeds have some pinpointing characters, such as short seed dormancy, high seed germination rate, environmental plasticity, high seedling growth and reproductive capacity, short life cycle, self-compatibility, efficient and well organized methods of seed dispersal, allelopathy and tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses (el-sheikh, 2013a).furthermore, weeds are able to survive and grow in different ecological habitats, with their occurrence being very sensitive to changes in agricultural practices (fried et al., 2010). due to these reason weeds are becoming dominant all over the world (holm et al., 1997). moreover, the current climate change and natural calamities (cyclones, storms and associated floods) have emerged as the greatest ecological challenge of the 21st century which will affect prevalence of weed species, their distribution and dispersal to invade new ecosystems (kang and banga, 2013; singh et al., 2011). in addition, the effect of human mediated processes on weed species composition cannot be overlooked (hyvonen, 2007).those plants which are susceptible to a particular kind of disturbance decrease in number or even disappear (bergmeier, 2006). negative connotations are commonly invoked by the term weed, when referring to biodiversity assets (martin-fores et al., 2017).indeed, since the beginning of crop production weeds have represented a serious constraint to worldwide agriculture, as when left uncontrolled they can cause severe economic losses by reducing detrimentally crop yield and quality (travlos et al., 2018).weed growth represents a major source of inefficiency, diverting scarce resources (nutrients, water, sunlight and labour) for cultivated crops (nyarko and datta, 1993).they can significantly influence crop disease incidence by acting as vectors or reservoirs of plant pathogens (wisler and norris, 2005).weeds infestation also slow down harvesting operation, increase the cost of production, decrease excellence of fertile lands and germination capability of crops seed due to the phytotoxins or allelochemicals and reduce the market value of crops (algandaby and salama, 2016). however, the benefits of weeds are less well understood.weeds may increase crop growth under certain circumstances. for example, in some dry areas of india, three ‘weeds’ (arnebia hispidissima (lehm.) dc., borreria articularis (l.f.) williams and celosia argentea) increase the growth of millet (bajra, pennisetum typhoideum) (bhandari and sen, 1979). weeds form the basis of the agro-ecosystem food web and provide various ecosystem services, such as provisioning of food, medicine, prevention of soil erosion, and livestock feed (bastiaans et al. 2000; yamaguchi and umemoto, 1996). therefore, it is of a vital importance for every country to keep a record of the diversity and distribution of its weeds, and identify whether they are native or exotic/introduced/ aliens/ invader. potentially serious new weeds are often overlooked until they are widely naturalized and having harmful impact on agricultural production and environment (waterhouse, 2003).thus, there is an urgent need to carry out floristic surveys, especially in regions where the flora is not well documented. fair amount of studies are encountered to document the weed flora of india (bhattacharjya and sarma, 2016; tiwari et al., 2016; sinha and banerjee, 2018). however, very little is known about weed flora of odisha (mallick et al., 2015).to date, published information is not available on weed plant communities of bhadrak district of odisha, india. the main aim of the presented research is to provide the baseline an annotated checklist of weed flora in odisha 87 information on composition and distribution of weed communities prevailing in the bhadrak region. materials and methods study area odisha is the ninth largest state of india by area and the eleventh largest by population. it is located in the east coast of india (17.48º – 22.34º n and 81.24º – 87.29º e) with the bay of bengal forming its eastern and south eastern frontiers. the entire territory lies in the tropical zone as a result of which high temperature is recorded particularly during april-may. however, the sea exercises a moderating influence over the climate of the coastal belt whereas the hill tracts experience an extreme climate.the forest found in this region is tropical moist deciduous (champion and seth, 1968). bhadrak district (20° 4321° 13n and 86° 687° e) is located in northeast odisha. it spreads over 2505 km2 having 1.507 million inhabitants (2011 census). four other districts namely balasore, kendrapara, jajpur and koenjher surround bhadrak district while a part is bounded by the bay of bengal. three distinct annual seasons are the rainy (mid june to mid october), winter (mid october to february) and summer (march to mid june) season. the maximum and minimum temperatures range from 37.4°c to 17.7°c respectively and the annual average rainfall is approximately 1428mm.it is characterized by periodic earth tremors, thunder storms in the rains and dust storms in april and may. the district covers about 1.61 % of the total land area of the state and contributes 3.59 % of the state’s population. about 86.66 % of the inhabitants are villagers and the people are engaged in agricultural practices as their primary occupation. data collection extensive field surveys (june 2015may 2018) were carried out to document and enlist the weed flora in diverse habitats following established and standard procedures (martin, 1995). the information on the weed plants was obtained through questionnaires, complemented by free interviews and informal conversations (martin, 1995). the information regarding the weed species has been gathered mostly from local farmers, elderly and knowledgeable persons. personal interviews and group discussions carried out in the local language revealed specific information about the plants, which were further compared and authenticated by crosschecking (cunningham, 2001).during field study, the economic uses of these species if any were discussed with the local people.weeds were identified with available regional floras (saxena and brahmam 1996).the plant species are enumerated and arranged as per angiosperm phylogeny group iii classification (apg iii, 2009). the lifeforms of plant species were recognized through raunkiaer (1934) classification. the voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium of the department of botany, chandbali college, chandbali. the weed plants were represented alphabetically according to their scientific names, local name if any, family, habit, life span, life form, and uses. results and discussion two hundred and seventy seven species belonging to 198 genera of 65 flowering plant families were recorded in the study area, representing ten superorders and thirty orders as per apg iii classification (table 1). among the reported plants, 43.3% of the taxa were recorded from the superorder lamids and malvids (each with 60 species), 20.2% from superorder commelinids, 17.3% from fabids, and 8.3% from superorder companulids. order poales, carylophyllales, lamiales, sonales, asterales, fabales, malvales and malphigiales accounted for about 75% of the species in the district. twenty seven families are only represented by one species; examples include capparaceae, molluginaceae, oxalidaceae, papaveraceae and vitaceae.the largest family 88 panda et al. table 1. list of weed flora recorded from bhadrak district, arranged according to the angiosperm phylogeny group classification iii. superorder/order family/species common name habit life span life form uses early angiosperms nymphaeales nymphaeaceae nymphaea nouchali burm. f. kain forb p hyd m, e nymphaea pubescens willd. rangakain forb p hyd e euryale ferox salisb. kanta padma forb p hyd m magnoliids piperales aristolachiaceae aristolochia indica l. balbolena climber p cry m piperaceae peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth forb a hem m laurales lauraceae cassytha filiformis l. nirmuli climber p ph m monocots alismatales alismataceae sagittaria sagittifolia l. forb p hyd e aponogetonaceae aponogeton natans (l.) engl. & krause jhechu forb p hyd e aponogeton undulatus roxb. forb p hyd e araceae alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g.don. badasaru forb p cry e amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.)nicolson olua forb p cry e caladium bicolor (aiton) vent. forb a cry nk colocasia esculenta (l.) schott. saru forb a hyd m, e pistia stratiotes l. borajhanji forb p hyd m hydrocharitaceae hydrilla verticillata (l. f.) royle. chingudiadala forb p hyd m ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panikundri forb p hyd m, e vallisneria natans (lour.) hara forb a hyd e lemnaceae wolffia globosa (roxb.) hatog.& plas forb a hyd e pandanales pandanaceae pandanus fascicularis lam. kia shrub p ph bf pandanus foetidus roxb. lunikia shrub p ph biofencing liliales colchicaceae gloriosa superba l. ognisikha climber a cr m asparagales amaryillidaceae crinum asiaticum l. arsa forb p cr m, e asparagaceae bf agave americana l. baramasi shrub p ph bf sansevieria roxburghiana schult. & schult. f. muruga forb p ph an annotated checklist of weed flora in odisha 89 commelinids commelinales commelinaceae aneilema vaginatum (l.) r.br. forb a ch fd commelina benghalensis l. kansiri forb a ch m commelina difusa burm.f. forb a ch m cyanotis axillaris (l.) schult. & schult. f. forb a ch fd murdannia nudiflora (l.) brenan kanduli forb a ch fd pontederiaceae eichhornia crassipes (mart.)solms bilatidala forb p hyd nk monocharia hastata (l.)solm forb a hyd e poales poaceae brachiaria reptans (l.) garde. & hubb. grass a ch fd chloris barbata sw. grass p hem fd chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. guguchia grass p cr m coix lacryma-jobi l. gargara grass a th fd cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. duba grass p hem m,r dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. kakhuriya grass a hem fd digitaria cilliaris retz. koeler grass a ch fd echinochloa colona (l.) link swanghas grass a th e echinochloa crusgalli (l.) p. beauv. dhera grass a th e eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. anamandia grass a hem fd eragrostis ciliata (roxb.)nees grass p cr fd eragrostis gangetica (roxb.) steud. kankra chare grass a cr fd heteropogon contortus (l.) p. beauv. dauria grass p cr fd imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. chhana ghas grass p hem fd isachne globosa (thunb.) kuntze grass a th fd ischaemum rugosum salisb. tuli grass a hem fd leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees bhuru grass a hem fd oplismenus burmanii (retz.) p. beauv. kanguria grass a th fd oryza rufipogon griff. balunga grass p th fd panicum psilopodium trin. grass a th fd panicum repens l. reda grass p th fd paspalum distichum l. grass p th fd phragmites karka (retz.) trin.ex steud. noto grass a th fd saccharum spontaneum l. kashatundi grass p hel fd setaria intermedia roem. & schult. grass a th fd setaria pumila (poir.) roem. & schult. sial legunda grass a th fd setaria verticillata (l.) p. beauv. grass a th fd sporobolus indicus (l.) r. br. kankra chara grass p th nk vetiveria zizanioides (l.) nash. bena grass p th ar xyridaceae xyris indica l. grass a th fd 90 panda et al. cyperaceae bulbostylis barbata (roxb.) c.b.cl. sedge a th fd cyperus alopecuroides rottb. descr. hensuati sedge p th ar cyperus brevifolius (rottb.)hassk. sedge p cr fd cyperus castaneus willd. sedge a th fd cyperus compressus l. sedge a hel fd cyperus difformis l. swonli sedge a ch fd cyperus iria l. sedge a ch fd cyperus rotundus l. mthaghas sedge p hem m eleocharis acutangula (roxb.) schult. & schult. sedge p cr nk eleocharis dulcis (burm. f.) henschef sedge a cr nk fimbristylis dichotoma (l.) vahl sedge a ch fd fimbristylis ferruginea (l.) vahl sedge p hem fd fimbristylis miliacea (l.) vahl sedge a hem fd fimbristylis ovata (burm.f.) j kern. sedge a hem fd fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. sedge a th fd kylinga nemoralis (j.r. & g. forst) dandy ex hutch. & dalz. sedge p th nk scirpus articulatus l. kanri sedge a hem nk scirpus grossus l. santara sedge p cr nk typhaceae typha angustata bory. & chaub hangla forb p ph m core eudicots proteales nelumbonaceae nelumbo nucifera gaertn. padma forb p hyd e ranunculales menispermaceae cissampelos pareira l. akanbindi climber p ch m tiliacora racemosa colebr. kalajati noi climber p ch nk tinospora cordifolia (willd.)hook.f. & thomson guluchilata climber p ch m papaveraceae argemone mexicana l. kantakusuma forb a th m,e rosids vitales vitaceae cissus quadrangularis l. hadabhanga shrub p th m fabids zygophyllales zygophyllaceae tribulus terrestris l. gokhara forb p ch m oxalidales oxalidaceae oxalis corniculata l. ambiliti forb p cr m, e malpighiales euphorbiaceae acalypha indica l. forb a th nk chrozophora rottleri (geisel.) juss. forb a th nk croton sparsiflorus morong nandababuli forb p th m euphorbia hirta l. harharika forb a th m euphorbia heterophyla l. forb a th nk euphorbia thymifolia l. patrasiju shrub p th bf euphorbia tirucalli l. dangulisiju shrub p th bf an annotated checklist of weed flora in odisha 91 euphorbia tithymaloides l. shrub p th bf jatropha curcas l. jara shrub p ph m jatropha gossypiifolia l. baigaba shrub p th m synadenium grantii hook f. shrub p th bf tragia involucrata l. bichhuati forb a ph m linaceae linum usitatissimum l. forb a th m phyllanthaceae breynia vitis-idaea (burm. f.) fischer pohalakuli shrub p th bf phyllanthus amarus schum. &thonn. bhui anla forb a th m phyllanthus urinaria l. bhuiamla forb a th m violaceae hybanthus enneaspermus (l.) f. muell. madan mastak forb a ch m fabales fabaceae abrus precatorius l. kaincha legume a ph m aeschynomene indica l. sola legume a cr fd aeschynomene aspera l. sola legume a cr ar alysicarpus monilifer (l.) dc. legume a th fd alysicarpus vaginalis (l.) dc. legume a th fd caesalpinia bonduc (l.) roxb. gilo climber p ph m caesalpinia crista l. nantei climber p ph nk cassia absus l. forb a th nk cassia alata l. shrub p ph m cassia occidentalis l. kalachakunda forb p ph m cassia tora l. chakunda forb p th m crotalaria juncea l. chanapata legume a th m crotalaria spectabilis roth. jhumka legume p th fd crotalaria prostrata rottl. ex willd. jhumka legume p th fd desmodium triflorum (l.)dc. kaansisna legume a th fd indigofera linnaei ali legume p th fd melilotus indica (l.) all. bana methi legume a th fd mimosa pudica l. lajakuli legume p th m mucuna pruriens (l.) dc. baidanka climber a th m neptunia oleracea lour. legume a hyd m smithia conferta j.e. sm. sanomungo legume a th fd tephrosia purpurea (l.) pers. banakolathi legume p th m vigna trilobata (l.) verdc. legume a cr fd cucurbitales cucurbitaceae benincasa hipsida (thunb) cogn. panikakharu climber a ph e coccinia indica wight & arn. kunduri climber a ph e luffa acutangula (l.) roxb. pitataradi climber a ph m trichosanthes cucumerina. l. banapotala climber a th e trichosanthes tricuspidata lour. mahakal climber p th nk rosales urticaceae urticularia stelaris l.f. bhaturia dala forb a hyd nk 92 panda et al. malvids myrtales onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara jagal forb a hyd m,e ludwigia hyssopifolia (g.don) forb a hyd m, e ludwigia octovalvis (jacq.) raven forb a hyd m ludwigia perennis l. latkera forb a hyd fd lythraceae ammannia baccifera l. ramdauni forb a th fd ammannia multiflora roxb. forb a th fd rotala indica (willd.) koehne forb a th fd brassicales brassicaceae brassica juncea (l.) czern. & coss. raisorisha forb a th e cleomaceae cleome gynandra l. arakasago forb a th m cleome monophylla l. rangasorish forb a th nk cleome rutidosperma dc. forb a th m cleome viscosa l. anasorisho forb a th m capparaceae capparis zeylanica l. asadua shrub p ph m sapindales sapindaceae cardiospermum halicacabum l. kanphuta climber a th m malvales malvaceae abutilon indicum (l.) sweet pedipedika shrub a ph m corchorus aestuans l. bananalita forb a th m corchorus olitorius l. forb a th nk corchorus tridens l. forb a th nk corchorus trilocularis l. forb a th nk hibiscus sabdariffa l. khatakaunria shrub a th e hibiscus vitifolius l. shrub a th nk malachra capitata (l.) l. forb p th nk malvaviscus arboreus cav. lankamandar shrub p th nk melochia corchorifolia l. telpuri forb a th nk pavonia zeylanica (l.) cav. forb a ch nk sida acuta burm.f. sunakhadika forb a th m sida cordata (burm. f.) borss. waalk. bisiripi forb a th m sida cordifolia l. bisiripi shrub a th m sida rhombifolia l. sahabeda shrub a th m sida spinosa l. bajramuli forb a th fd triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. shrub p th nk urena lobata l. shrub a ph nk saxifragales crassulaceae bryophyllum pinnatum (lam.) oken. amarpoi forb p ch nk caryophyllales aizoaceae sesuvium portulacastrum (l.) l. godabani ferb p th bf trianthema portulacastrum l. purinisaga forb a th m polygonaceae antigonon leptopus hook. & arn. climber p th m polygonum barbatum l. nara forb a th e an annotated checklist of weed flora in odisha 93 polygonum glabrum willd bihongi forb a th e polygonum plebeium r.br. muthisaga forb a th m,e molluginaceae glinus oppositifolius (l.) a.dc. pitasaga forb a th m,e amaranthaceae achyranthes aspera l. apamaranga forb a th m aerva lanata (l.) juss. ex sch. paunsia forb a th fd alternanthera philoxeroides (mart) griseb. ghodamadarang a forb p hyd fd alternanthera sessilis (l.)r.br.ex dc. madranga forb p hyd m,e amaranthus gangeticus l. nalikosala forb a th e amaranthus viridis l. leutia forb a th e amaranthus spinosus l. kantaneutia forb a th m, e celosia argentea l. chulia forb a ch m chenopodium album l. bathuasaga forb a th e gomphrena serrata l. suaeda maritima (l.) dumort. forb forb a a th th m nk portulacaceae portulaca oleracea l. badabalbaula forb a ch m, e portulaca quadrifida l. balbaula forb a ch e nyctaginaceae boerhavia diffusa l. puruni forb p th m, e mirabilis jalaba l. chandrakanta forb a th m bougainvillea spectabilis willd. kagajaphula shrub p th bf cactaceae opuntia stricta (haw.) haw. var. dillenii (ker gawl.) l. d. benson nagapheni shrub p ph m, bf pilosocereus arrabidae (lem.) byles & g.d.rowley deulisiju shrub p ph bf plumbaginaceae plumbago zeylanica l. chintamani forb p th m lamids gentianales apocynaceae calotropis gigantea r. br. dhala-arakha shrub p ph m calotropis procera (aiton)w.t. aiton arakha shrub p ph m cathranthus roseus (l.) g. don. sadabihari forb p th m gymnema sylvestre (retz.) r.br.ex schult. gurmari climber p th m pergularia daemia (forssk.) chiov. uturudi climber p th m rubiaceae dentella repens (l.) j.r. & forst. forb a th bf hedyotis corymbosa (l.) lam. jarjati forb a ch m spermacoce articularis l.f. solaganthi forb a ch fd lamiales acanthaceae andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall.ex. nees bhuinnimba forb a th m acanthus ilicifolius l. harkanch shrub p hel m barleria prionitis l. daskeraanta shrub p ch 94 panda et al. hygrophila auriculata heine. koelekha forb p ch m justicia gendarussa burn.f. kalabasanga forb p ch m ruellia prostrata poir. forb p th nk rungia pectinata (l.) nees forb a th nk lamiaceae clerodendrum inerme (l.) gaertn. chinyanrhi shrub p ph m clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze nagri shrub p ph m clerodendrum philippinum schauer. dilbari shrub p ph bf clerodendrum phlomoides l. f. donkari shrub p ph m hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. forb a ph nk leucas aspera (willd.) link gaiso forb p ch m ocimum canum sims forb p th m martyniaceae martynia annua l. baghanakhi shrub a th nk scrophulariaceae bacopa monnieri (l.) pennell brahmi forb a ch m, e lindernia antipoda (l.) alston forb a th fd lindernia crustacea (l.)f.v.muell. forb a th nk plantaginaceae mecardonia procumbens (mills.) small forb a ch nk scoparia dulcis l. chirarita forb p ch nk pedaliaceae pedalium murex l. gokara forb a th m sesamum indicum l. khasa forb a ch m verbenaceae duranta repens l. bilatikanta shrub p ph bf lantana camara l. gandhagauria shrub p ph m lippia javanica (burn.f) spreng naguari forb p ch m phyla nudiflora (l.) greene forb a th fd solanales convolvulaceae argyreia nervosa (burm. f.) boj. mundanoi climber a ph nk cuscuta reflexa roxb. nirmuli climber a hem m evolvulus alsinoides (l.) l. bichhamalia forb p th m evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. forb p th nk ipomoea alba l. kunjalata climber p th nk ipomoea aquatica forssk. kalamasaga climber a hyd m, e ipomoea carnea jacq. amari shrub p cr bf ipomoea hederifolia l. climber a th nk ipomoea marginata (desr.)verdc. climber a th nk ipomoea mauritiana jacq. bhuinkakharu climber a ph nk ipomoea obscura ker.-gawl. climber p th m ipomoea pes-tigridis l. climber a th nk ipomoea quamocit l. climber p th m merremia tridentata (l.) hall. f. climber a th fd merremia hederacea (burm. f.) hall. climber a th nk an annotated checklist of weed flora in odisha 95 hydroleaceae hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl languliya forb a hyd fd sphenocleaceae sphenoclea zeylanica gaertn. panimircho forb a hyd fd solanaceae m datura metel l. kaladudura shrub p ph m datura stramonium l. dudura shrub a ph m physalis minima l. forb p ph m solanum nigrum l. tutguna shrub a ph m solanum surattense burm. f. beji-begun forb p th m solanum torvum sw. shrub p ph m solanum trilobatum l. nabhiankuri shrub a ph nk solanum viarum dunal bhegibaigan shrub p ph m boraginales boraginaceae heliotropium indicum l. hatisundha forb a th m campanulids asterales asteraceae acanthospermum hispidum dc. forb a th m ageratum conyzoides l. poksunga forb a th m bidens pilosa l. forb a th m blumea membranacea wall. ex dc. poksunga forb a th nk chromolaena odorata (l.) king & rob. forb p th nk echinops echinatus roxb. forb a ch nk eclipta prostrata (l.) l. bhrungaraj forb a th m, e emila sonchifolia (l.) dc. sarkara forb a ch nk enydra fluctuans lour. hidmichi forb a cr m, e gnaphalium polycaulon pers. forb a th nk grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. painjari forb a ch nk mikania micrantha kunth climber a ph nk parthenium hysterophorus l. forb a th nk sonchus oleraceus l. forb a th nk sphaeranthus indicus l. bhuikadamba forb a th nk spilanthes paniculata wall. ex dc. forb a ch fd synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. forb a th nk tridax procumbens l. bisalyakarani forb p th m vernonia cinerea (l.) less. poksunga forb a th m xanthium indicum j.koenig. ex roxb. shrub a ch nk menyanthaceae nymphoides hydrophylla (lour.) kuntze forb p hyd e nymphoides indicum (l.) kuntze forb p hyd e apiales apiaceae centella asiatica (l.) urb. thalkudi forb p hem m,e abbreviations: a: annual, p: perennial, ch: chamephyte, cr: cryptophyte, hem: hemicryptophyte, ph: phanerophyte, tel: helophytes, hyd: hydrophyte, th: therophyte, m: medicine, e: edible, bf: biofencing, fd: fodder, r: ritual, ar: artifact, nk: not known. 96 panda et al. was poaceae represented by 29 species while the fabaceae and asteraceae were represented by 23 and 20 species, respectively. habit analysis revealed that forbs were the most represented (50.5%), followed by shrubs (15.2%), climbers (11.2%), grasses (10.8%), sedges (6.5%) and legumes (5.8%). the therophytes was the most dominant class with 135 plant species (48.7%) followed by phanerophytes with 40 species (14.5%), chemaephytes with 36 species (13.0%), hydrophytes with 28 species (10.1%), cryptophytes with 20 species (7.2%), hemicryptophytes with 15 species (5.4%),and helophytes having three species (1.1%) respectively. annuals were the most represented (57.7%) than the perennials (42.3%). many weeds were used by local communities as food, fodder, traditional medicines and other purposes. out of 277, about 41% of the species were used for the treatment of various ailments, such as diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, fever, gynaecology, cardiovascular disorders, skin diseases, rheumatism, and dental caries. prominent among them were andrographis paniculata, bacopa monnieri, catharanthus roseus, centella asiatica, glinus oppositifolius, gymnema sylvestre, ipomoea aquatica, oxalis corniculata, solanum surattense and tridax procumbens. many weeds (27.5%) were collected by the farmers for domestic animal feed. examples include alternanthera philoxeroides, echinochloa crusgalli, hydrolea zeylanica, polygonum glabrum and spermacoce articularis.similarly, 12.4% of the reported plant species were used for edible purposes, for instance alternanthera sessilis, colocasia esculenta, glinus oppositifolius, ipomoea aquatica and oxalis corniculata. weeds like aeschynomene aspera, cyperus alopecuroides, and vetiveria zizanioides were used for various household purposes. likewise, a variety of plant species were used for biofencing pupose. examples include, bougainvillea spectabilis, clerodendrum inerme, duranta repens, euphorbia tirucalli, ipomoea carnea, jatropha curcas and pandanus fascicularis. some of the plants like cynodon dactylon and desmostachya bipinnata, were used for various rituals by the inhabitants of the district. many factors such as increasing atmospheric temperature and co2 level, variation in rainfall pattern and climate change are regarded as important indicator of weed species distribution in a geographical area (patterson et al., 1999; rodenburg et al., 2011). for instance, datura stramonium, which needs high temperature for profuse growth (cavero et al., 1999) and setaria viridis requires warmer conditions germinated later in the (august) season (dekker, 2003), would become a more competitive candidate under the climate change scenarios. a recent study indicated that setaria viridis would be a problematic weed in maize-based cropping systems elsewhere, through synchrony with maize emergence, which is probably due to stimulation by increased temperature (peters and gerowitt, 2014). under such a scenario, the distribution and prevalence of weeds will be problematic in crop ecosystems. the total number of weed species reported in the present study (277 species) is significantly higher compared with those found in nalbari district, assam, india (217 species; bhattacharjya and sarma, 2016), sundargarh district, odisha, india (174 species; mallick et al., 2015), spain (175 species; cirujeda et al., 2011) but lower than the species reported from central europe (381 species; lososova et al., 2008) and greece (278 species; damanakis, 1983).the botanical families with greater representation are the poaceae, followed by asteraceae and fabaceae. the present report draws support from earlier studies (radosevich and holt, 1984; pullaiah, 2015).the predominance of herbaceous plants (forbs 140 species; grasses 30 species and sedges 18 species) found in this study is also reported by irwin et al. (2015).present study revealed the predominance of annual weed species over the perennial ones which is similar to the conclusion of bergmeier (2006). the dominant life forms in biological spectrum of a region indicate the phytoclimate of that region (thakur, 2015). the present observation indicates a higher percentage of the therophytes (49.1%) which is in accordance with the studies of bhattacharjya and sarma (2016). an annotated checklist of weed flora in odisha 97 in this study boerhavia diffusa is found abundantly in cultivated fields, waste lands, roadsides, pathways and gardens. low (1991) reported that, b. diffusa is found in dry sandy nature of soils. abeywardana and hettiarachchi (2001) concluded that b. diffusa is a common weed present in sandy areas, while chopra (1969) stated that b. diffusa grows all over the warmer region up to 2000m an altitudinal range of himalaya and grows easily in fields following the rainy time of year and in wastelands. in the present study, commelina benghalensis is present in abundance that exposed moderate moist condition. kaul et al. (2002) stated that c. benghalensis requires moist soil condition for establishment and after establishment it can also survive dry condition. achyranthes aspera is commonly found in the district. smith (1981) reported that a. aspera grow from sea level up to 900 m. similarly, chenopodium album is found mainly in crop fields. glemnitz et al., (2000) reported chenopodium album from agricultural fields throughout europe independently of climatic conditions. some weeds are causing great concern in many parts of this district. ageratum conyzoides is expanding at an alarming rate, especially in agricultural fields, road sides and even gardens. the weed is harmful to native species and has become a problem in agroecosystems (negi and hajra, 2007). eichornia crassipes is of most nuisance as it causes hindrance by choking all possible water bodies and reducing their utility (cilliers, 1991). similarly, lantana camara is spreading fast all over the district due to its better competitive ability and allelopathic effect (sundaram and hiremath, 2012). mikania micrantha which is a fast growing species, is covering the habitats of the district and suppressing the growth of agricultural crops as well as natural vegetation through competition and allelopathic effects (huang et al., 2009). parthenium hysterophorus, a dominant weed of the study area, especially in wastelands, roadsides, railway tracks and foot paths, is an aggressive colonizer spreading rapidly suppressing native herbaceous flora. this weed is reported to be allergenic causing respiratory problems, dermatitis and asthma (raghubanshi et al., 2005). a number of weeds reported from the study area (40.8%) are used by local people in traditional medicines for their primary health care. for instance, burned root ashes of achyranthes aspera l. are applied topically to reduce the pain of the skin infected with worms as well as to expel the dead worms out. warmed leaves of amaranthus spinosus are applied locally to cure boils and burns. fresh leaf paste of argemone mexicana is applied topically to treat eczema. decoction of whole plant of boerhavia diffusa is used to treat leucorrhoea. juice of cynodon dactylon is used to stop nose bleeding. latex of euphorbia hirta is effective for healing of wounds. glinus oppositifolius is used either in raw or cooked form to cure various types of skin disease like scabies, itches etc. mimosa pudica roots are chewed for toothache. rhizome paste of nymphaea nouchali is administered to regulate menstruation. tender twig of phyllanthus amarus is used to cure dysentery. leaf decoction of tephrosia purpurea is prescribed to women against post natal complications. decoction of tridax procumbens leaf is applied topically on the boils, cuts, sores, wounds and eczema to promote healing. crushed tuber powder of cyperus rotundus is taken orally for jaundice. the present finding draws support from the studies of panda et al. (2014) and mishra (2017). a number of weeds such as alternanthera sessilis, bacopa monneieri, centella asiatica, boerhavia diffusa, commelina benghalensis, eclipta prostrata, enydra fluctuans, and hygrophila auriculata are reported to have both therapeutic and dietary functions and hence are used as medicinal food remedy. this overlap indicates the close relationship between health and food. overlapping between food and medicines is quite well known in traditional societies (mishra et al., 2011). even though agricultural scientists and extension officers recommends eradicatation of the weeds, 89% of the most widespread and aggressive weeds in the world are edible (rapoport et al., 1995). moreover, many of these species have a high nutritional value and medicinal properties (duke, 1992). the consumption of weeds is a world-wide phenomenon that is noted as having an 98 panda et al. important role for human nutrition (duke, 1992; turner et al., 2011). in the study area, weeds like amaranthus spinosus, glinus oppositifolius, ipomoea aquatica, monochoria hastata, nymphaea pubescens, oxalis corniculata, portulaca oleracea and portulaca quadrifida are used for edible purposes by the local inhabitants. the weed species in the present study contained approximately 27.5% fodder plants which are supported by marcelino et al. (2005). a good number of artifact items and household articles are prepared from aeschynomene aspera, cyperus alopecuroides and vetiveria zizanioides by the artisans of the district. similar observations have also been made in earlier studies (tripathy et al., 2014). this paper provides a comprehensive documentation of the weed diversity of bhadrak district along with their socio-economic values.most plant species of the study area are of considerable ecological and economic importance, useful as bioresources to wild fauna and human beings. in contrast, some species recorded from this area are considered to be troublesome as they are invasive and weedy with rapid distribution; and the natural vegetation will be replaced by weeds in few years. bhadrak district, like other areas of india, is developing rapidly, and this development has the potential to put the natural ecosystem under stress through increased human activities such as modern farming (application of fertilizers, irrigation and chemical spray), housing, road construction, and overgrazing; and this would lead to the loss of native species. for these reasons, additional research should be conducted to evaluate the intrinsic ecological values of the local flora and to incorporate characteristics of species composition with ecological functions will provide a baseline for planning and proper conservation measures to safeguard phytodiversity which is facing ever growing biotic stress. references abeywardana, n. and hettiarachchi, j.k.n. 2001. statistics on the national demand for medicinal plants. woodl. ave., kohuwala. algandaby, m.m. and salama, m.e. 2016. management of the noxious weed; medicago polymorpha l. via allelopathy of some medicinal plants from taif region, saudi arabia. saudi j. biol. sci. 25(7): 1339– 1347. apg, iii. 2009. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants. bot. j. linn. soc. 161(2):105–121. barbara, d.b., stephen, d.m. and swanton, c.j. 2003. weed ecology in natural and agricultural systems. cabi publishing, cambridge, usa. bastiaans, l., kropff, m.j., goudriaanb, j. and van laar, h.h. 2000. design of weed management systems with a reduced reliance on herbicides poses new challenges and prerequisites for modeling crop-weed interactions. field crop res. 67: 161–179. bergmeier, e. 2006. the diversity of segetal weeds in crete (greece) at species and community level. annali di botanica vi: 53–64. bhandari, d.c. and sen, d.n. 1979. agroecosystem analysis of the indian arid zone. i. indigofera cordiflora as a weed. agro-ecosystems5:257. bhattacharjya, d.k.and sarma, s.k. 2016. floristic composition and biological spectrum of weeds in agroclimatic zone of nalbari district, assam, india. trop. pl. res. 3(3): 573–585 cavero, j., zaragoza, c., suso, m.l. and pard, a. 1999. competition between maize and datura stramonium in an irrigated field under semi-arid conditions. weed res. 39: 225–240. champion, h.g. and seth, s.k. 1968. a revised survey of the forest types of india. manager of publications, new delhi, india, pp.16–17. chopra, g.l. 1969. angiosperms. systematics and life cycle. s. nagin & co. jalandhar, punjab, india, pp. 361–365. an annotated checklist of weed flora in odisha 99 cilliers, c.j. 1991. biological control of water hyacinth, eichhornia crassipes (pontederiaceae), in south africa. agric. ecosyst. environ. 37: 207–218. cirujeda, a., aibar, j. and zaragoza, c. 2011. remarkable changes of weed species in spanish cereal fields from 1976 to 2007. agron. sustain. dev. 31(4): 675-688. crawley, m.j. 1997b. biodiversity. in: crawley, m.j. 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(in japanese with english summary) (manuscript received on 19 august 2019; revised on 18 may 2020) untitled bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 313-344, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63532 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists plant community structure and biodiversity patterns in chattogram metropolitan city of bangladesh mohammad omar faruque * , sajib rudra 1 , md. khondakar raziur rahman 1 , md. arif hossain 1 , imam hossen 1 , sanatan chandra barman, md. mustakim, md. ikramul hossain and shaikh bokhtear uddin * ethnobotany and pharmacognosy lab., department of botany, university of chittagong, chattogram 4331, bangladesh keywords: diversity indices; vegetation diversity; chattogram metropolitan area; phytosociological attributes. abstract the present study aims at investigating the vegetation in different sites of chattogram metropolitan area following appropriate techniques. in order to enumerate the distribution of species, several diversity indices including shannon-winer index, pielou’s evenness and simpson’s index were employed. a total of 645 species belonging to 414 genera under 120 families were documented from the studied area for the first time. of these, 37 species (5.73%) are pteridophytes, 607 species (94.11%) are angiosperms and single representation of gymnosperm (0.16%). among the recorded species, 384 are medicinal species belonging to 277 genera under 93 families. bacopa monnieri is a dominant species in the forest area with some co-dominant species like eichhornia crassipes, centella asiatica, etc. moreover, this study provides potential sources to the environmental planners, herbalists, ecologists, taxonomists, ethnobotanists, pharmacists, phytochemists and local administration that would help to plan for future green infrastructure and maintain ecosystem function providing long-term benefits for the city dwellers. introduction urban ecosystems, which offer many advantages including defenses against pollution and biodiversity preservation, are significantly influenced by plants. urban ecosystem helps to conserve energy, to reduce urban heat island effect, to improve air and water quality, to conserve biodiversity and to sequestrate carbon level of a metropolitan city (nowak et al., 2006). in instant, urban forest is principal component of urban ecosystem that provide significant environmental benefits and services to the urban environment 1999). a healthy urban ecosystem also improves the quality of microclimate, which acts as an aid for quick recovery from illness by providing natural recreation services and reducing psychological stress, subsequently reduces health cost (mcpherson et al., 1997; maco and mcpherson, 2003). environmental quality within urban areas is highly influenced by urban forest structure and composition (jim and chen, 2003; zhao et al., 2010). one such city is chattogram. the chattogram in bangladesh is a densely populated city. in contrast, the city comprises of highly urbanized area, semi urbanized area with homestead vegetation, hilly urbanized area with scattered forest, semievergreen hilly forest and coastal vegetation along the coast of the bay of bengal. the natural heritage and floristic composition *corresponding author. e-mail: <omf@cu.ac.bd>, < bokhtear@cu.ac.bd>. 1effective creation on human opinion (echo), chattogram, bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63532 mailto:omf@cu.ac.bd mailto:bokhtear@cu.ac.bd 314 faruque et al. of chattogram city attracted plant explorers and taxonomists from prehistoric times and provided a basis to conduct floristic research in that evergreen city (anon, 2003; uddin et al., 2015). however, it is very unfortunate that chattogram city is losing its beauty and biological heritage faster due to the rapid unplanned urbanization (uddin et al., 2015). urbanization, the most concentrated and prompts human-driven factors that peril biodiversity as well as urban ecosystem (kondratyeva et al., 2019). the ecological balance of such type of city is very significant for nature and human being. most importantly, plantation in planned way in chattogram city may protest soil erosion, reduce environmental pollution, reduce ever increasing temperature of a city area, increase rainfall and protest from natural disaster. besides, such forest has huge aesthetic value, which could be an attraction for tourist from home and abroad. therefore, this type forest is also source of traditional medicinal plants, which are source of raw materials of pharmaceutical industries in developed country in present era. previously, some partial and isolated works have been carried out in chattogram city to understand floristic characters of the city. in instant, uddin et al. (2015) conducted research on only tree species and biswas et al. (2021) carried work on only sulakbahar ward of the city. such research is neither complete nor might describe the entire floral scenario of such a big city. nevertheless, these works carry significance that chattogram city consist lots of floral diversity, which are yet to be discovered. documentation of traditional uses of the local plants used by local communities is very important to know local status of the plant diversity and medicinal plants along with their taxonomic and ecological status. this study aimed to record all types of plant species present in the chattogram city since the literature studies are largely bereft on it. therefore, present study intended to record the whole plant diversity of chattogram city to know the total number of plant species as well as total number of medicinal plants species. we also aimed to know whether any threatened/rare species are there which are medicinally important to draw attention to the national policy makers for conservation those species. alongside, we expect to record new species from the study areas, as many areas of the city remain unexplored yet. overall, this research study intended to explore floral diversity, density, conservation status along with threats on floral diversity of the studied areas, which would be useful to develop long-term management plan. the goal of this study is to present the actual scenario of the plant diversity and to make this data available to the stakeholders to protect and preserve them by sustainable planning and management of the city for the current and future generations. materials and methods study area chattogram is a densely populated city of bangladesh. the city comprises of highly urbanized area, semi urbanized area with homestead vegetation, hilly urbanized area with scattered forest, semievergreen hilly forest and coastal vegetation along the coast of the bay of bengal. chittagong city corporation area 160.99 sq km, located in between 22°13' and 22°27' north latitudes and in between 91°40' and 91°53' east longitudes (fig. 1). we selected some floral diversity rich areas of the chattogram metropolitan area for extensive survey: probortok hill, cmc hill , gul pahar, tigerpass hill, crb hill, dc hill, batali hill, jilapi pahar,omar ghoni mes college pahar, hill of biojith link road, plantaion of road side, mothi jorna, aam bagan, pahartali, crw hill, dampara hill, marine dribe, bagh ghona hill, zilaporishod hill, golam miar pahar, joy pahar, kanon dhara residential hill, war cematry, khatal baghan hill and khulshi hill as study area. the fieldwork was conducted from april, 2021 to november, 2021. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 315 fig. 1. map of chittagong city (source google map). sampling methods stratified random sampling method was used for survey of the vascular plants; each site was divided into tree zone based on topography (top, middle and bottom slope). a total of 300 plots were taken from 20 different areas and 5 plots from each zone. all habit types of plant population in each quadrat were recorded. the plot size and identification procedure follow according to methods describe at rudra et al. (2021) identifying medicinal plants with their traditional knowledge and pharmaceutical uses identification of medicinal plant was done by consulting with experts, literature survey, online search, market survey and consulting with local herbalists. pharmaceutical uses and important medicinal plants and their demand in pharmaceutical industries also determine by consulting with expert. ethnomedicinal information was stored to our existing online database at mpbd.cu.ac.bd. 316 faruque et al. quantitative framework diversity indices and phytosociological attributes were calculated for all the plots of chattrogram metropolitan area by using primer v6 software. major phytosociological attributes like relative density, relative frequency, relative abundance, and importance value index including shannon-wiener’s diversity index, simpson’s diversity index, and species evenness index were calculated followed by apporopoate formula (table 1). voucher specimen were prepared following standard herbarium technique and preserved at chittagong university herbarium with accession number for further investigation. table 1. statistical formula for phytosociological characteristics determinants and diversity indices. attributes equations citations variable interpretation frequency (x) x= (rudra et al., 2021) a= number of members of a certain species in each plot b = the total number of plots examined c=total number of plots where the species is found. n=a species' population size is in number n=total number of individuals of all the species p = n/n s = total number of species abundance (y) y= (rudra et al., 2021) relative density (rd) rd = × 100 (dallmeier, 1992) relative frequency (rf) rf = ∑ × 100 (dallmeier, 1992) relative abundance (ra) ra = ∑ × 100 (shukla and chandel, 2000) importance value index (ivi) ivi = rd + rf + ra (rudra et al., 2021) shannon-weiner diversity index (h) h = ∑ pi (ln pi) (hill, 1973) simpson diversity index (d) d = ∑ pi2 (colwell, 2014) result and discussion plant diversity with status of occurance this study has explored the occurrence of 645 vascular plant species belonging to 414 genera under 120 families from chattogram metropolitan area which was consistence with other study at different forest area in bangladesh (heinig, 1925; rahman and uddin, 1997; dey et al.,1999; tutul et al., 2010; uddin et al., 2017; rashid et al., 2018; chowdhury et al., 2019; hossain et al., 2020; rudra et al., 2021) and higher than the other study of different metropolitan area and other side in bangladesh (akber et al., 2011; rahman, 2013; uddin et al., 2015; dutta et al, 2015; rahman et al, 2016; jaman et al., 2017; islam et al, 2021). the documented plants species from the study area are summarized in table 2 along with family, scientific name, local name, habit, medicinal/non-medicinal, the importance value index (ivi), accession number with conservation status. out of the recorded species, 37(5.73%) are pteridophytes, 01(0.16%) are gymnosperms and rest of 607 (94.11%) are angiosperms i.e magnoliopsida and liliopsida (table 2). in this study, the pteridopytic flora revealed the occurrence of 37 (5.73%) species under 31 genera and 13 families. on the other hand, out of the recorded angiospermic plant, dictoyledons (magnoliopsida) has been represented by 453 (70.23%) species belonging to 281 genera under 86 families, whereas the monocotyledons (liliopsida) group occupied 154 (23.88%) species under 97 genera and 20 families (table 2). however, this finding is different from other reports (hossain et al., 2013; rudra et al., 2021; nahar et al., 2016) plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 317 318 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 319 320 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 321 322 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 323 324 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 325 326 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 327 328 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 329 330 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 331 332 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 333 334 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 335 336 faruque et al. plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 337 338 faruque et al. out of the recorded 120 families, dicotyledonous group dominated with the highest number of family (86) followed by monocotyledonous (20), pteridophytes (13) and gymnosperms (01), respectively (table 2). in dicotyledonous group, euphorbiaceae appeared to be the largest family comprised of 33 species under 21 genera followed by asteraceae consisted of 20 species under 18 genera, rubiaceae with 24 species under 16 genera, fabaceae with 28 species under 14 genera, apocynaceae consisting 14 species under 11 genera, verbenaceae with14 species in 10 genera, acanthaceae with 11 species under 8 genera, caesalpiniaceae consisting 17 species under 7 genera, mimosaceae with 15 species under 7 genera and lamiaceae with 11 specis under 7 genera. in monocotyledonous group, poaceae is the largest family having with 41 species under 27 genera followed by araceae, arecaceae, zingiberaceae and so on (table 3). among the all recorded 120 families, the most dominant 10 families are poaceae, euphorbiaceae, asteraceae, araceae, rubiaceae, fabaceae, arecaceae, apocynaceae, verbenaceae, and acanthaceae respectively (tabel 2). in magnoliopsida, euphorbiaceae appears to be the largest family having 33 species and 21 genera whereas, in liliopsida, poaceae appears to be the largest family having 41 species and 27 genera. but in the bangladesh flora, poaceae is the 1st largest family followed by fabaceae, orchidaceae, rubiaceae, asteraceae, cyperaceae and euphorbiaceae. in the bangladesh flora, euphorbiaceae represented by 159 species and 50 genera and poaceae by 342 species and 132 genera (pasha and uddin, 2013). table 3. dominant families of dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous group. dicotyledonous group monocotyledonous group family genus species family genus species euphorbiaceae 21 33 poaceae 27 41 asteraceae 18 20 araceae 17 29 rubiaceae 16 24 arecaceae 12 16 fabaceae 14 28 zingiberaceae 7 10 apocynaceae 11 14 orchidaceae 5 5 verbenaceae 10 14 cyperaceae 4 14 acanthaceae 8 11 commelinaceae 4 7 caesalpiniaceae 7 17 agavaceae 4 5 mimosaceae 7 15 liliaceae 4 5 the largest genus of dicotyledons group holding fourteen species found in ficus followed by sizygium (nine species) desmodium (eight species), senna, ipomoea and solanum (seven species from each). on the other hand, in monocotyledons group, the genus cyperus appeared to be the largest with ten species followed by digitaria (five species), colocasia and calamus (four species from each), alocasia, cleome, musa and bambusa (three species of each). in the study area, bacopa monnieri having an ivi value of 3.36% is dominant in the forest area, some co-dominant species are eichhornia crassipes (2.63%), centella asiatica (2.17%), mimosa pudica (2.09%), cyperus laxus (1.99%), chloris barbata (1.96 %), mirabilis jalapa (1.71%), musa ornata (1.61%), elatostema sessile (1.60%), solanum nigrum (1.57%), pouzolzia zeylanica (1.56%) accordingly (table 2). the common species are axonopus compressus, mikania plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 339 micrantha, sida acuta, urena lobata, solanum torvum, adiantum philippense, achyranthes aspera, phyllanthus niruri, ficus hispida, euphorbia hirta, lantana camara while coccinia grandis. lippia alba, clerodendrum inerme, datura metel, allophylus cobbe, pandanus odorifer, osbeckia stellate, tinospora crispa, tinospora cordifolia and passiflora foetida are rarely found in study area. this study also recorded some threatened and rare species for example, tinospora crispa, diploclisia glaucescens, tinospora cordifolia and wrightia arborea are threatened species (ara et al., 2013) which are popular medicinal plant used by the local people. santalum album l. is a rare species recorded from study area. status of occrence have been determined by field observation and quadrat sampling of the area. status of occurrence has been recorded for proper conservation management and sustainable utilization of the taxa which show 452 (70.08%) to be common, 180 (27.91%) as least concern, 9 (1.40%) as vulnerable, and 4 (0.62%) are found as near threatened in the study area. (table 2). the survey enumerated only one gymnosperm cycas pectinata from the chattogram city area. habitat diversity among the vascular plants herbs represented by 293 (46%) species under 220 genera and 87 family, shrubs 102 (16%) species under 87 genera and 45 family, trees 176 (27%) under 127 genera and 62 family, climbers 59 (9%) under 53 genera and 34 family and epiphytes by 15 (2%) species under 14 genera and 10 family respectively. the habit diversity shows that herbaceous plants are dominating over shrubs, trees and climbers (fig. 2a and b) as also observed by others (jashimuddin and inoue, 2012; uddin et al., 2015; faruque et al., 2018; malik et al, 2018; gumisiriza et al., 2019; durso et al., 2021) fig. 2. habitat diversity of the documented plant species exotic plants are deliberated as a great threat to the native biodiversity and ecosystems due to their deleterious influences on the existence and survival of indigenous plants and wildlife (biswas et al., 2007; dutta et al., 2015). the present study clearly stated that several exotic plants have aggressive growth, also have negative impacts on the growth and development of native plant species. a number of well-established exotic tree species, i.e., acacia auriculiformis, acacia mangium, albizia richardiana, dalbergia sisso etc. and some noxious exotic weeds, e.g., chromolaena odorata, mimosa pudica, duranta erecta, lantana camara etc. were recorded from the plantation sites of different areas. 340 faruque et al. medicinal and non-medicinal this study recorded a total of 384 (60%)) medicinal plant species belonging to 277 genera under 93 families from the study area (fig. 3) while other researchers recorded only 24 nonwoody medicinal plants form sulakbahar ward of chattogram metropolitan area ( biswas et al., 2021). fig. 3. percentage of plants on the basis of their uses. diversity indices the calculated magnitude of shanon-wiener index (3.03) of this study was 3.03 indicating indicates the presence of diverse vascular plants in comparable to the magnitudes of other studies conducted in community managed vcfs as well as government managed forests in bangladesh. the calculated magnitude is lower than the other study in bangladesh (nath et al., 2016a ; chowdhury et al., 2019; jannat et al., 2020; rudra et al., 2021) and comparabley higher than other (rahman et al., 2016) (fig. 3). contrariwise, lower simpson’s index of 0.05 was also on of the key indicator of presence of considerably diverse vegetation in the study areas, which close to the result for other reported vcfs and one government managed forest(nath et al., 2016b; rahman et al., 2016; chowdhury et al., 2019; jannat et al., 2020; rudra et al., 2021) (fig. 4). species evenness index was computed as 0.45 indicating that all species were almost evenly distributed. these outcomes also identical to komolchori vcf in khagrachori and chunati wildlife sanctuary and markedly heterogenous to other two vcfs and bfd managed forest as demonstrated in fig. 4. phytosociological attributes and diversity indices showed elevated results compared to other studies reported from the bfd managed forests and community managed forest (nath et al., 2016b) which indicated that community induced forest management approach is more effective than the government managed forests. this variation in diversity indices among different forest type is attributable to alterations in species biomass, perturbations, and topographical factors. the community works in a collaborative way for the sustainable management of vcf and helps to grow stewardship among the community members. however, the population density in chts is very low compared to other parts of the country and this may be why they exist in rich diverse forest patches. on the other hands, population density in metropolitan area is comparatively higher than it’s of chts. aforementioned statistical analysis indicates that current research field namely chattogram metropolitan hilly areas are still occupied with diversified vegetation and trees but yet there has been significant risk of degrading this diversity due to over growing population pressure, urbanization practices advent of modern technology, unplanned plant community structure and biodiversity patterns 341 forest management practice without involving local peoples, climate change and other factors. to maintain the current plant species variety, the extant plant species diversity richness should be protected by establishing an effective monitoring system and implementing a conservation strategy that is ecologically viable. moreover, flora holds a pivotal role amongst each geographical area's natural wealth affluence. thereby, plant biomass of any place delivers a concise illusion of floristic richness, that either may be convenient for formulating sustainable conservation and management strategies of biodiversity. thus, the forthcoming sustainable protection strategy for the plant resources would be beneficiary to the affordable management and effective protection of the forest ecosystem. fig. 4. comparison of diversity indices in this study (chattogram metropolitan area) with that in other community managed village common forests (vcf) and bangladesh forest department (bfd) managed forests. conclusion forests play an important role as a lung of the whole world. naturally growing forest resources distributed in chattogram city are actively involved to run ecosystem properly and to keep balancing the abiotic and biotic components in a very organized way. for example, carbon sequestration is a long-term process to store/capture carbon from the atmosphere in plants organs through biological, chemical and physical processes, which play an important role to sustain the atmospheric temperature as well as reducing global warming. likewise, to reduce landslide in the hilly regions, plantation could be a solution to overcome this issue. therefore, it is urgently needed to record plant 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(manuscript received on 15 may, 2021; revised on 7 november, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 295‒309, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57128 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists comparative anatomical characteristics of the subgenus cyanus (mill.) hayek (asteraceae) in turkey burcu yilmaz çitak*, emrah şirin, hüseyin dural and kuddisi ertuğrul department of biology, faculty of science, university of selçuk, konya, turkey keywords: morphoanatomy; cyanus; numerical analysis; plant systematics. abstract the identification of species based on anatomical characters is valuable to investigate their taxonomic status, phylogeny and understand their autoecology. the current study analysed the stem and leaf properties of 20 species of the subgenus cyanus (mill.) hayek in turkey. the cyanus species exhibited xeromorphic anatomical features, such as tight palisade parenchyma and induced spongy parenchyma, which indicated adaptations to the arid soil and a forest ecosystem in which they occurred, as well as to high light intensity and precipitation. anatomical features such as the midrib shape and number of vascularization patterns differed among the species. similar anatomical characters were analysed for the investigated species. these properties can provide an important database for future studies including the phylogeny within the subgenus cyanus. introduction the group cyanus (mill.) hayek of the family asteraceae was first described as a genus (miller, 1754), and then later reduced to a section of the genus centaurea l., a position that was accepted by some taxonomists (candolle, 1838; bentham, 1873; stefanov, and gheorghiev, 1931; wagenitz, 1975). however, by some other taxonomists, it was recognized as a subgenus of centaurea based on molecular evidence (susanna and garcia-jacas, 2009; hilpold et al., 2014a, 2014b). however, some botanists also recognized cyanus as a separate genus based on morphological evidence (soják, 1972; greuter, 2003, 2008; hellwig, 2004; wagenitz, 2006; olšavská et al., 2009, 2011; stoyanov, 2016; negaresh, 2018). in turkey, the subgenus cyanus was rearranged as a subgenus (ertuğrul et al., 2018) as a result of molecular studies (susanna and garcia-jacas, 2009; hilpold et al., 2014a, b). the florets of the subgenus cyanus are blue or purplish (rarely creamy or pale pinkish), which are extremely unusual colours in the subtribe centaureinae (boršıć et al., 2011). the appendages that are decurrent and not ending with mucro are characteristic for cyanus, and their involucrum and leaf features are effective in species distinction (wagenitz, 1975). anatomical studies can provide useful characters that could aid in the identification of problematic species, and also establish their taxonomical relationships (metcalfe and chalk, 1957; janaćković et al., 2019a,b; janaćković et al., 2019b). although there have been many studies on the anatomy of centaurea species (metcalfe and chalk, 1950; esau, 1977; metcalfe and chalk, 1979; uysal, 1991; bhattacharya and johri, 1998; kaya et al., 2000; celik et al., 2005; uysal et al., 2005; celik et al., 2008; altundağ and gürdal, 2009; aydin et al., 2013; özcan, 2013; taşar et al., 2018; aydın et al., 2019), there are very few studies regarding cyanus species (çakırlar et al., 2005; ozcan et al., 2014; ozcan, 2018). examining subgenus cyanus species to identify their anatomical characteristics, clarifying the systematic value of their anatomical characteristics by way of numerical analysis, and contributing to the systematic position of the examined taxa were the main objectives herein. *corresponding author, e-mail: burcuyilmaz@selcuk.edu.tr https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57128 mailto:burcuyilmaz@selcuk.edu.tr 296 çitak et al. materials and methods in this study 20 species of subgenus cyanus in turkey have been investigated (table 1). the voucher specimens of each species, collected from at least five individuals, were stored in the herbarium of konya (knya). at least five fully-grown leaves and the middle parts of the stems were used in the analysis. only sections of c. lanigera were taken from the herbarium specimen. all procedures were performed at the plant anatomy laboratory, department of biology, selçuk university, konya, turkey, with either herbarium material or material fixed in 70%. crosssections of the stem, leaf blade and midrib were obtained using a rotary microtome. the paraffin method was applied and the parts of stem and leaf were treated through alcohol and xylene series. the anatomical tissues were stained with safranin-fast green, which was used as an established method (johansen, 1940). the vascularization patterns of the stems and leaves, parenchyma pattern, and arrangement of the midrib vascular system were analysed. the microphotographs of the anatomical slides were obtained using a canon eos450d digital camera (ota city, tokyo, japan) attached to leica 1000 dm light microscope (wetzlar, germany). a total of nine anatomical characters (six quantitative and three qualitative) were measured (µm) or scored using kameram v.21 analysis system software (argenit, istanbul, turkey) (tables 2 and 3). a data matrix was set using the recorded qualitative and quantitative characters. based on the anatomical characters, the coefficients of correlation among the 20 species were determined and these species were grouped using the clustering analysis method (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (upgma), dissimilarity, standardized variables). the clustering analysis was based on gower’s (1971) general coefficient similarity (sneath and sokal, 1973), which was used directly with a mixture of character types (binary, qualitative, and quantitative. untransformed, centered, and unstandardized data were used to create a covariance matrix. mvsp 3.22 software (kovach computing services, anglesey, wales) was used for all of the computations. table 1. locality information of the investigated taxa of cyanus subgenus. acronym collection number species locality c1 **eş-574-mş centaurea reuteriana boiss. var. reuteriana c2 muğla: köyceğiz, sandras mountain, 1763 m, 29.06.2015 c2* **eş-554-mş c. reuteriana boiss. var. phrygia bornm. b3 afyon: sultandağları, 1850 m, 21.05.2015 eş-582-my c. reuteriana boiss. var. phrygia bornm. a4 karabük: keltepe, step, 1800 m, 09.07.2015 eş-562-mş c. reuteriana boiss. var. phrygia bornm. c3 isparta: davraz dağı, stony places, 1800 m, 16.06.2015 c3* **eş-659-mş c. lanigera dc. b5 aksaray: hasan mountain, 1979 m, 29.06.2016 c4 **eş-668-mş c. nigrofimbria (k. koch) sosn. a8 trabzon: çaykara, soğanlı mountain, 2300 m, 12.07.2016 eş-595-ag,hg c. nigrofimbria (k. koch) sosn. a8 trabzon: çaykara: north of soğanlı mountain, steppe, 2300 m, 12.07.2016 c5 **eş-642-mş c. woronowii a9 artvin: ardanuç, 2 km to rabat church, 1273 m, 11.06.2016 c6* **eş-656-mş c. eflanensis (kaya & bancheva) şirin & ertuğrul a4 karabük: bartın-safranbolu road, 1078 m, 15.06.2016 comparative anatomical characteristics of the subgenus cyanus 297 table 1 contd. acronym collection number species locality c7 **eş-605-mş c. thirkei sch. bip. b1 manisa: spil mountain, merdivencik, p. nigra openings, 951 m, 30.04.2016 c8 eş-591-mş c. cheiranthifolia willd. var. cheiranthifolia a9 ardahan: çıldır-aktaş road, 2100 m, 14.08.2015 **eş-672-mş c. cheiranthifolia willd. var. cheiranthifolia a9 ardahan: hanak, aydere village, step, 2326 m, 14.07.2016. c9 **eş-643-mş c. cheiranthifolia willd. var. purpurascens (dc.) wagenitz a9 ardahan: değirmenli village, 2287 m, 11.06.2016 c10 **eş-622-mş c. bourgaei boiss. c4 i̇çel: mut, 1561 m, 15.05.2016 eş-572-mş c. bourgaei boiss. c3 antalya: elmalı, kızlar sivrisi dağcılar şenlik alanı, road sides, 1900 m, 29.06.2015 c11 eş-577-mş c. pichleri boiss. subsp. pichleri a5 amasya: merzifon, 1502 m, 07.07.2015 eş-567-mş c. pichleri boiss. subsp. pichleri c2 antalya: korkuteli, kırkpınar plateau, 1600 m, 17.06.2015 **eş-535-mş c. pichleri boiss. subsp. pichleri c3 isparta: davraz mountain, steppe, 1600 m, 12.05.2015 c12* **eş-635-mş c. pichleri boiss. subsp. extrarosularis (hayek & siehe) wagenitz c5 niğde: demirkazık mountain, 1849 m, 02.06.2016 eş-576-mş c. pichleri boiss. subsp. extrarosularis (hayek & siehe) wagenitz b2 kütahya: murat mountain, near summit, pinus nigra openings, 1850 m, 01.07.2015 eş-613-mş c. pichleri boiss. subsp. extrarosularis (hayek & siehe) wagenitz b3 eskişehir: kütahya eskişehir road, steppe, 820 m, 03.05.2016 eş-616-mş c. pichleri boiss. subsp. extrarosularis (hayek & siehe) wagenitz b5 kayseri: yahyalı aladağ road, redbrown soils, 1727 m, 05.05.2016 eş-568-mş c. pichleri boiss. subsp. extrarosularis (hayek & siehe) wagenitz c4 konya: konya-beyşehir road, turnout of ayışığı at çiftliği, steppe, 1270 m, 27.06.2015 eş-623-mş c. pichleri boiss. subsp. extrarosularis (hayek & siehe) wagenitz c5niğde: niğde/adana; aladağ, narpuz boğazı, steppe, 2224 m, 16.05.2016 c13 **eş-583-mş c. triumfettii subsp. axillaris (čelak.) stef. & t. georgiev b2 kütahya: akdağ, 1610 m, 14.05.2016 eş-579-mş c. triumfettii subsp. axillaris (čelak.) stef. & t. georgiev a4 bolu: mengen, 1 km to arak village, p. nigra forest, 812 m, 08.07.2015 eş-548-mş c. triumfettii subsp. axillaris (čelak.) stef. & t. georgiev a4 çankırı: step, 750 m, 20.05.2015 c14 **eş-645-mş c. huetii boiss. a9 ardahan: çıldır, 1 km to gökbelen village, sides of fields, 1991 m, 12.06.2016 eş-666-mş c. huetii boiss. b7 sivas: divriği, göl mountain, summit, steppe, 1926 m, 01.07.2016 c15* **eş-618-mş c. mathiolifolia boiss. c2 denizli: honaz mountain, 1829 m, 12.05.2016 eş-549-mş c. mathiolifolia boiss. b3 afyon: sultandağı, dereçine-büyükyayla road, road sides, 1350 m, 21.05.2015 eş-599-mş c. mathiolifolia boiss. c2 burdur: from tefenni to korkuteli, stony places, 1351 m, 28.04.2016 298 çitak et al. table 1 contd. acronym collection number species locality eş-561a-mş c. mathiolifolia boiss. c2 isparta: davraz mountain, stony places, 1800 m, 16.06.2015 eş-564-mş c. mathiolifolia boiss. c2 isparta: davraz mountain, around ski resort, steppe, 1600 m, 16.06.2015 c16* **eş-614-mş c. germanicopolitana bornm. a4 çankırı: eldivan, before 3 km to oğlaklı village, road sides, 854 m, 04.05.2016 c17 **eş-547-mş c. depressa bieb. a4 çankırı: hacı ali dinlenme tesisi, road sides, 700 m, 20.05.2015 eş-637-mş c. depressa bieb. a5 amasya: akdağ, near summit, road sides, 1003 m, 09.06.2016 eş-545-mş c. depressa bieb. b3 afyon: sinanpaşa, düzağaç town, road sides, 1150 m, 15.05.2015 eş-557-mş c. depressa bieb. b4 ankara: hacı hasan village, ‘sevgi çiçeği’ protected area, fallow places, 950 m, 28.05.2015 eş-541-mş c. depressa bieb. c2 denizli: 950 m, 13.05.2015 c18 **eş-598-mş c. pinardii boiss. c3 burdur: i̇lyas village, 870 m, 28.04.2016 eş-603-mş c. pinardii boiss. b2 uşak: southwest of uşak, near karabol stream, steppe, 580 m, 29.04.2016 eş-602-mş c. pinardii boiss. b3 afyon: dazkırı, sarıkavak village, edge of fields, 864 m, 29.04.2016 c19* **eş-560-mş c. tchihatcheffii fisch. & c. a. mey. b3 afyon: dazkırı, 864 m, 15.06.2015 c20 **eş-604-mş c. cyanus l. b1 manisa: spil mountain, 647 m, 30.04.2016 *endemic taxa, ** selected taxa. table 2. anatomical traits used in statical analysis of cyanus subgenus. vegetative organ acronyms definition of anatomical traits stem a1 number of vessels a2 diameter of pith cells a3 width of collenchyma leaf a4 sclerenchyma cells on phloem a5 mesophyll type a6 mesophyll thickness a7 length of palisade cells a8 width of palisade cells a9 width of spongy parenchyma/mesophyll a10 row of palisade tissue a11 width of spongy parenchyma a12 the shape of midrib (triangular: 0, linear: 1, oval:2, v-shaped:3) comparative anatomical characteristics of the subgenus cyanus 299 table 3. the anatomical measurements and observations of cyanus subgenus. species/anatomical characters a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 a8 a9 a10 a11 a12 c. reuteriana var. reuteriana 18 93.51 146.43 1 0 690.37 67.39 18.45 0.12 3 88.52 2 c. reuteriana var. phrygia 20 82.19 57.74 1 0 230.76 40.85 12.90 0.46 3 108.44 1 c. lanigera 18 38.25 128.43 1 0 152.79 18.56 7.04 0.27 2 42.41 2 c. nigrofimbria 19 80.71 79.80 1 1 203.39 31.80 20.64 0.31 2 63.35 0 c. woronowii 20 61.58 125.14 0 1 105.23 23.35 13.36 0.28 2 29.71 0 c. eflanensis 16 76.53 103.4 1 0 227.13 32.04 16.55 0.28 2 65.81 2 c. thirkei 20 40.58 97.09 0 0 209.63 25.34 11.07 0.21 3 44.63 0 c. cheiranthifolia var. cheiranthifolia 26 114.73 175.63 1 0 202.09 34.55 16.22 0.28 2 58.53 0 c. cheiranthifolia var. purpurascens 24 82.23 88.72 1 0 421.05 60.37 24.16 0.24 2 103.02 1 c. bourgaei 13 50.05 62.46 1 0 262.81 48.92 14.49 0.17 2 45.41 2 c. pichleri subsp. pichleri 19 57.64 116.33 1 0 165.38 26.22 10.82 0.27 3 44.76 0 c. pichleri subsp. extrarosularis 16 65.31 111.99 1 0 231.94 29.23 14.55 0.22 2 52.53 3 c. triumfettii subsp. axillaris x x x x 0 68.86 21.83 7.89 0.50 2 34.71 2 c. huetii 21 73.64 107.3 1 0 269.87 41.89 15.21 0.21 2 58.18 0 c. mathiolifolia 14 55.93 107.9 1 0 257.08 40.01 14.26 0.21 2 54.83 0 c. germanicopolitana 16 95.15 162.33 1 0 268.47 40.42 21.85 0.12 3 33.87 3 c. depressa 16 101.94 130.21 1 0 230.03 39.81 13.55 0.15 2 34.97 0 c. pinardii 17 68.20 82.46 1 0 354.67 70.98 25.33 0.20 2 72.62 0 c. tchihatcheffii 21 50.79 56.45 0 0 236.21 53.20 18.8 0.14 2 34.83 2 c. cyanus l. 16 81.97 145.26 1 0 217.05 47.30 17.80 0.17 2 38.25 3 results and discussion stem anatomy the stem cross-section varied in size among the species (table 3). in most, it was oval-shaped with leaf blade parts (figs 1-5). in the examined species, the stems were densely covered by unicellular trichomes (figs 1-5). collenchyma was present at protrusion areas in stem crosssections. cortex parenchyma had two types of cells; the first was cylindrical-shaped with abundant chlorophyll, the second was oval-shaped with less chlorophyll. sclerenchyma was placed above the phloem in the cortical parenchyma of most of the species. in all of the species examined, vascular bundles were collateral type, forming either continuous or discontinuous rings, arcs, or rings with arcs inside (figs 1-5). sclerenchymatic caps were found around the vascular bundles in the examined species, except in c. tchihatcheffii, c. woronowii, and c. thirkei (figs 1,3,4). vascular bundles were observed near the abaxial surface of the stems and varied in number among the species. 300 çitak et al. fig. 1. the stem anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view, (b) close view 1. c. reuteriana var. reuteriana 2. c. reuteriana var. phyrgia, 3. c. lanigera, 4. c. nigrofimbria. ep:epidermis, cl:chlorenchyma, co:collenchyma, sc:sclerenchyma, ph:phloem, x:xylem, pi:pith fig. 2. the stem anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view, (b) close view 1. c. woronowii, 2. c. eflanensis, 3. c. thirkei, 4. c. bourgaei. ep:epidermis, cl:chlorenchyma, co:collenchyma, sc:sclerenchyma, ph:phloem, x:xylem, pi:pith comparative anatomical characteristics of the subgenus cyanus 301 fig. 3. the stem anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view, (b) close view. 1. c. cheiranthifolia var. cheiranthifolia, 2. c. cheiranthifolia var. purpurascens 3. c. pichleri subsp. pichleri 4. c. pichleri subsp. extrarosularis. ep:epidermis, cl:chlorenchyma, co:collenchyma, sc:sclerenchyma, ph:phloem, x:xylem, pi: pith fig. 4. the stem anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view, (b) close view. 1. c. triumfetti subsp. axillaris, 2. c. huetii, 3. c. mathiolifolia, 4. c. germanicopolitana. ep:epidermis, cl:chlorenchyma, co:collenchyma, sc:sclerenchyma, ph:phloem, x:xylem, pi:pith 302 çitak et al. fig. 5. the stem anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view, (b) close view. 1. c. depressa, 2. c. pinardii, 3. c. tchihatcheffii, 4. c. cyanus. ep:epidermis, cl:chlorenchyma, co:collenchyma, sc:sclerenchyma, ph:phloem, x:xylem, pi:pith fig. 6. the leaf anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view of midrib, (b) lamina view. 1. c. reuteriana var. reuteriana, 2. c. reuteriana var. phyrgia, 3. c. lanigera, 4. c. nigrofimbria. ue: upper epidermis, le:lower epidermis, pp:palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, vb:vascular bundle comparative anatomical characteristics of the subgenus cyanus 303 leaf blade and midrib the shape of the epidermal cells from the adaxial face was either rectangular or oval (figs 610). the epidermis was uniseriate in all of the species. collenchyma occurred under the midrib epidermis in all of the species. the mesophyll was equifacial in 17 species with well-defined palisade and reduced spongy parenchyma, bifacial in three species: c. woronowii, c. nigrofimbria, and c. reuteriana var. phrygia (figs 6 and 7). palisade parenchyma was composed of two to three layers of elongated cylindrical cells (table 3). cells of spongy parenchyma were predominantly cuboid, variably compressed according to the species. only three species were characterized by loose spongy parenchyma, with larger intercellular spaces. stomata were observed at the level of the epidermal line (figs 6-10) in the species. midrib shape in cross-sectional view also varied among the species (figs 6-10). on the abaxial side, it was convex in all of the species. on the adaxial side, convex (figs 6,7,9), concave (figs 6, 8,10), and planar midribs were found (figs 6,8,9,10). the midrib vascular system was organized into arches that were formed by collateral bundles arranged in groups of 1 or 3. statistical analysis the dendrogram derived from the cluster analysis using the upgma based on the nine anatomical variables of the 20 cyanus species is presented in fig. 11, in which the similarities among the examined species were presented. the dendrogram revealed two main groups: groups a and b. group a (with 58% similarity) comprised one perennial plant, c. reuteriana var. phrygia. group b (with 62% similarity) comprised the remaining 19 taxa of the annuals and perennials of turkish cyanus. group b consisted of two main clusters, which were described further as clusters b1 and b2. cluster b1 included c. germanicopolitana and c. reuteriana var. reuteriana (with 72% similarity). group c consisted of only c. triumfetti subsp. axillaris. cluster d included two main clusters: clusters d1 and d2. cluster d1 included two species: c. cheirantifolia var. purpurascens and c. pinardii. d2 contained two main clusters: groups e and f. group e consisted of two species c. nigrofimbria and c. woronowii (with 84% similarity). cluster f included 10 species in two different subclusters: f1 and f2. sub-cluster f1 comprised two further subclusters: groups g and h. group g contained only c. lanigera. group h included two subclusters: group h1 and h2. group h1 contained c. eflanensis, c. pichleri subsp. extrarosularis, and c. cyanus (with 88% similarity) under two different subclusters. group f2 included two subclusters, namely subclusters f3 and f4. subcluster f3 contained only c. cheiranthifolia var. cheiranthifolia. subcluster f4 comprised c. matthiolifolia and c. huetii and c. depressa under two different smaller subclusters (with 93% similarity). the anatomical findings on the subgenus cyanus herein supported the results of sirin et al. (2017), sirin et al. (2019), and citak et al. (2021), from the point of view of the karyological, palynomorphological, and achene morphological data. the stem anatomical characters were determined to vary among the species; however, patterns allowing distinctions among species were not detected. çakırlar et al. (2005) presented differences in the vascularization patterns of the stems of c. tchihatcheffii and c. depressa, including variations in the vascular bundle type, and number and position of accessory bundles (fig. 5). the shape of the stem cross-sections was rounded, semi-rounded, rectangle, circular, or irregular in the family asteraceae (celik et al., 2005, 2008; aydin et al., 2013; aydin et al., 2019) and also in the subgenus cyanus (çakırlar et al., 2005, özcan et al., 2014, özcan, 2018). the position and the number of layers of the collenchyma tissue are important in plant communities (metcalfe and chalk, 1950; özörgücü et al., 1991; lersten and curtis, 1997; makbul et al., 2008, aydin et al., 2013, özcan et al., 2014). in current study, it was observed that different rows of collenchymatic tissue (3–10 rows) were located under epidermis. the arrangement of the vascular 304 çitak et al. fig. 7. the leaf anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view of midrib, (b) lamina view. 1. c. woronowii, 2. c. eflanensis, 3. c.thirkei, 4. c. bourgaei. ue: upper epidermis, le:lower epidermis, pp:palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, vb:vascular bundle fig. 8. the leaf anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view of midrib, (b) lamina view. 1. c. cheiranthifolia var. cheiranthifolia, 2. c. cheiranthifolia var. purpurascens, 3. c. pichleri subsp. pichleri, 4. c. pichleri subsp. extrarosularis. ue: upper epidermis, le:lower epidermis, pp:palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, vb:vascular bundle comparative anatomical characteristics of the subgenus cyanus 305 fig. 9. the leaf anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view of midrib, (b) lamina view. 1. c. triumfetti subsp. axillaris, 2. c. huetii, 3. c. mathiolifolia, 4. c. germanicopolitana. ue: upper epidermis, le:lower epidermis, pp:palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, vb:vascular bundle. fig. 10. the leaf anatomical photographs of cyanus subgenus. (a) general view of midrib, (b) lamina view. 1. c. depressa, 2. c. pinardii, 3. c. tchihatcheffii, 4. c. cyanus. ue: upper epidermis, le:lower epidermis, pp:palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, vb:vascular bundle. 306 çitak et al. fig. 11. the combined dendrogram according to anatomical characters of cyanus subgenus bundles was found to be in an arc shape in all of the studied species of the subgenus cyanus by çakırlar et al. (2005), özcan et al. (2014), özcan (2018) prior to this study. in the current study, this phenomenon was confirmed. the vascular bundles in the stem were generally arranged as two rings, and especially, those found under the collenchymatic area were bigger than the other vascular bundles. celik et al. (2005, 2008) and kaya et al. (2010) reported that the vascular bundles were scattered in a circular manner as one ring in the stem of some species of centaurea. clustered sclerenchymatic fibers were located on the upper sides of the vascular bundles in the examined taxa, except in c. tchihatcheffii, c. woronowii, and c. thirkei (figs 2 and 5). additionally, a chlorenchymatous tissue below the epidermis was observed in the stem cortex in the examined species. this kind of tissue was reported for the genus centaurea in some previous studies performed by uysal et al. (2005), celik et al. (2005, 2008), and kaya et al. (2010), and the subgenus cyanus by çakırlar et al. (2005), özcan et al. (2014), and özcan (2018). the stem cortex usually consisted of parenchymatic oval cells with thin walls in all of the examined taxa, but it varied from two to four rows. it was found that the mesophyll of 17 species were equifacially oriented, with well-developed palisade parenchyma and reduced spongy parenchyma, and in contrast three species were dorsiventrally oriented. according to the observations of özcan et al. (2014), the mesophyll of c. cheiranthifolia var. purpurascens and c. woronowii were equifacial. the present study confirmed that this was true of the mesophyll of c. cheiranthifolia var. purpurascens (fig. 8); however, it was not true for c. woronowii (fig. 7). in the present study, dorsiventral mesophyll was only observed in c. woronowii (fig. 7), c. nigrofimbria (fig. 6), and c. reuteriana var. phrygia (fig. 6) which grow in moist areas, while equifacial leaves were observed in the other investigated taxa, which mainly grow in the dry habitats of the irano-turanian phytogeographic region of turkey. according to yentür (2003), equifacial leaves were generally characteristic of xerophytic plants, which was in accordance with the observations made herein. the varying midrib shape in cyanus species can really contribute the systematics of this subgenus. özcan et al. (2014) and özcan (2018) reported that there were three vascular bundles in the midrib of c. cheiranthifolia var. purpurascens and c. nigrofimbria, and six in c. woronowii, which was in agreement with the results of the current study. comparative anatomical characteristics of the subgenus cyanus 307 the upgma dendrogram derived from the anatomical traits of the stem and leaf discriminated the species of the subgenus cyanus (fig. 11). the positions of cyanus species and their similarities reflected in the clusters were found to be partially agreeable with the previous classification of the subgenus based on the morphological data. c. nigrofimbria and c. woronowii were in the same clade according to their mesophyll type. the subspecies and varieties were close to each other in the dendrogram; however, their different positions in the different clusters can be explained by different ecological habitats, such as dry areas or forest ecosystems. in conclusion, the number of vascularization patterns in stems, mesophyll type, and midrib shape were the most valuable variables for distinguishing the species of the subgenus cyanus. the foliar and stem anatomical characters can help to improve the knowledge on cyanus, separate its species more effectively, remerge the taxa, and provide an important database for future phylogenetic research within the group. acknowledgments the authors wish to thank the financial unit of selçuk university for their support of this study (project no: 20401103). references altundağ, e. and gürdal, b. 2009. anatomical characteristics of centaurea glastifolia l. 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(manuscript received on 18 july 2020; revised on 4 december 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(1): 119-121, 2018 (june) short communication © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists drechslera dematioidea (bubbák & wróblewski) subram. & jain, a new fungal record for bangladesh mst. selina momtaz1, shamim shamsi2 and tapan kumar dey3 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: hyphomycetes; drechslera dematioidea; wheat variety saurav; new record. drechslera itois is an anamorphic fungus belonging to the class hyphomycetes. the genus comprises 47 species, all of which are pathogenic (ellis, 1976; manamgoda et al., 2014), and are commonly occurred to the angiosperm family poaceae. the genus is characterized by its effuse, grey, brown or blackish brown colonies; immersed mycelium; macronematous, mononematous, straight or flexous, often geniculate, brown, smooth conidiophores; solitary or catenate, simple, clavate, ellipsoidal, fusiform or obclavate, pale to dark brown, pseudoseptate conidia. identification, host range and economic significance of different fungi have been studied by many workers (drechsler, 1923; nisikado, 1928; putterill, 1954; shoemaker, 1962; subramanian and jain, 1966; lutterell, 1969; subramanian, 1970; ellis, 1971, 1976). bplb (bipolaris leaf blight) infected leaf samples of wheat variety saurav was collected from doripara village in joypurhat district of bangladesh on 4 march, 2013. samples were collected during grain filling stage and placed in clean brown paper bag labeled properly and preserved at 4°c in refrigerator for subsequent studies. wheat (triticum aestivum l.) belonging to the family poaceae, is considered as the second most staple food crop next to rice in bangladesh. during 2016-17, total wheat production in bangladesh was 1.335 million tons from 0.435 million hectares of land (bbs, 2017). the fungus associated with bplb infected leaf samples was critically studied and isolated following tissue planting method (cab, 1968) on potato dextrose agar (pda) medium. on the eighth day of incubation, the colonies of the fungus were examined for mycelial growth, colour and nature of the colony and sporulation. morphological structures of the fungus were recorded in detail with the aid of camera lucida. after critical observation the fungus was identified as drechslera dematioidea using standard literature (ellis, 1971, 1976; chidambaram et al., 1973). a detailed survey of literature revealed that drechslera dematioidea has not been reported previously in any relevant literature of bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007; shamsi and yasmin, 2007, 2009; shamsi and sultana, 2008, 2010; shamsi et al., 2008, 2016, 2017; jahan and ahmed, 2016; kibria et al., 2016). hence, drechslera dematioidea (bubák & wróblewski) subram. & jain is reported here as a new fungal record for bangladesh. drechslera dematioidea (bubák & wróblewski) subram. & jain, curr. sci.35: 354 (1966). (fig. 1). on pda medium colony blackish ash to black, reverse black, mycelia fluffy. conidiophores arising singly or in pair, often form mid to dark brown cells which form rather loose stromata. conidiophores light brown, short, straight or flexuous, sometimes geniculate and slender, up to 350×9 µm (usually 60-150×5-6 µm). conidia golden brown to dark brown, straight, cylindrical to clavate, rounded at the ends, broader at the tip, tapering towards the base. the narrowest part is the 1department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka 1100, bangladesh. 2corresponding author. email: prof.shamsi@gmail.com 3senior program specialist (crops) kgf, barc complex, farmgate, dhaka & former director, bari, gazipur, bangladesh. mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com 120 momtaz et al. point of attachment, ending in a wide dark scar, basal cell lighter in colour, smooth, thick walled, with 2-7 (usually 3-4) pseudosepta, 20-70 (36)×10-16 (14.3) µm. fig. 1. drechslera dematioidea: a. culture plate; b. conidiophore and conidia; c. conidia; d. camera lucida drawing of conidia (bar = 11 µm). specimen examined: bplb infected leaves of wheat (triticum aestivum l.), variety saurav, doripara, joypurhat, 4 march 2013, s momtaz 410. acknowledgement the first author (sm) gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh through nst fellowship. references bbs. 2017. statistical year book of bangladesh. bangladesh bureau of statistics. ministry of planning. government of bangladesh. drechslera dematioidea, a new fungal record 121 cab 1968. plant pathologist pocket book.1stedn. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, 267 pp. chidambaram, p., mathur, s.b. and neergaard, p. 1973. identification of seed-borne drechslera species. friesia 10(3): 165–207. drechsler, c. 1923. some graminicolous species of helminthosporium i. j. agric. res. 24: 641–740. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. commonwealth mycological institute, england, 608 pp. ellis, m.b. 1976. more dematiaceous hyphomycetes. commonwealth mycological institute, england, 607 pp. jahan, n. and ahmed, f.a. 2016. first record of xylaria vasconica j. fournier & m. stadler from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 255–257. kibria, a., hossain, k.s., akhtar, n., jahan, m.a.a., sarker, m.a.m. and begum, m.n. 2016.new records of seven fungal species for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(1): 1–6. lutterell, e.s. 1969.curvularia coicis and the nodulose groups of bipolaris. mycologia 51: 1031–1040. manamgoda, d.s., rossman, a.y., castlebury, l.a., crous, p.w., madrid, h., chukeatirote, e. and hyde, k.d. 2014. the genus bipolaris. studies in mycology 79:221-288. nisikado, y. 1928. studies on the helminthosporium diseases of gramineae in japan. ohara inst. agric. res., spec. rept. 4: 111–162. putterill, k.m. 1954. some graminicolous species of helminthosporium and curvularia occurring in s. africa. bothalia 6: 347–378. shamsi, s. and sultana, r. 2008. trichothesium roseum link a new record of hyphomycetous fungus for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 15(1): 77–80. shamsi, s. and sultana, r. 2010. new records of two hyphomycetous fungi monodictys putredinis (wallr) hughes and stachybotrys atra corda for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17: 101–103. shamsi, s. and yasmin, a. 2007. curvularia harveyi shipton: a new hyphomycetes record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(1): 67–69. shamsi, s. and yasmin, z. 2009. bipolaris australiensis (m.b. ellis) tsuda & ueyama a new dematiaceous hyphomycetes record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon.16(1): 91–93. shamsi, s., hosen, s. and begum, m. 2017. new record of gonatophra gmiummori (sawada) deighton on ficus hispida l. from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 125–127. shamsi, s., hosen, s., mamun, m.a. and begum, m. 2016. report on mycoflora associated with infected fruits of momordica cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 23(2): 181–188. shamsi, s., sultana, r. and azad, r. 2008. new records of phyllactenia dalbergae piroz. and its anamorph ovulariopsis sissoo sp. nov. on dalbergia sissoo roxb. for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant pathol. 24(1&2): 87–89. shoemaker, r.a. 1962. drechslera ito. can. j. bot. 40: 809–836. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 2. (cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 415 pp. subramanian, c.v. 1970. some aspects of taxonomy of graminicolous "helminthosporia". plant disease problems. proc. first international symposiumon plant pathology, new delhi, pp. 194–203. subramanian, c.v. and jain, b.l. 1966. a revision of some graminicolous helminthosporium. current science 35: 350–355. (manuscript received on 29 january 2018; revised on 13 april 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 447-451, 2020 (december) short communication © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists lichen flora of national botanical garden, mirpur, dhaka abdullah-al-kaium1 and shamim shamsi* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. keywords: lichen flora;six genera; national botanical garden; bangladesh. an investigation was carried out to study lichen flora of national botanical garden, mirpur, dhaka during may 2018 to april 2019. six genera of lichens namely cladonia, cryptothecia, herpothallon, parmelia, pertusaria and usneawere recorded from15 blocks of the garden. out of six genera usnea and cladonia are new record for bangladesh. most frequently occurring lichen genus parmelia was isolated in pure culture. anatomical study and chemical tests were done in the laboratory of mycology and plant pathology, department of botany, university of dhaka. the present investigation will enrich the knowledge on uses and documentation of lichen flora in bangladesh. lichen is by defination a symbiotic organism. symbiotic partners are phycobiont (algae) and mycobiont (fungi). due to over population and industrial revolution, toxicity and pollution increases day by day in dhaka city. whereas lichen is an eco-friendly symbiont in nature. national botanical garden is a restricted area where indigenous and rare plants are served. in addition, national botanical garden is rich in plant resources. so the location was selected to study lichen flora. considering the above fact, the present investigation has been undertaken with the following objectives: i. collection of lichen from national botanical garden. ii. identification of respective fungus associated with selected lichen. iii. isolation of fungus with most frequently occurred lichen and iv. study of anatomical features of most occurred lichen. national botanical garden is divided into 57 sections and is managed by forest department under ministry of environment and forests, government of bangladesh. lichen were collected from 15 blocks among 57 blocks. twenty four observations were made with the interval of 15 days. collection of lichen was followed by may (2000). d3200 nikon dslr camera was used for spot photography; euro scmex scientific camera and nikon optiphot-2 compound trinocular microscope were used to shoot anatomical features and mycobiont structure. morphological identification was done according to mcfarlin and melinda (1991); albert (1998) and thomas (2008). components of a lichen react with certain test chemicals to give color reactions which assist in the identification of a species. chemical identification of collected lichen samples have been done according to the method described by orange et al. (2001). anatomy of parmelia carried out by following richardson (1960). fungi associated with the lichen were isolated separately following tissue planting method (cab 1968). six genera of lichen were recorded in national botanical garden mirpur, dhaka. they are cladonia, cryptothecia, herpothallon, parmelia, pertusuria and usnea. among the 57 blocks lichen were recorded from 15 blocks of the garden. identification was done by both morphological and chemical test. *corresponding author, e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com 1a part of ms thesis of first author. mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com 448 kaium and shamsi 1. cladonia sp. p. browne l.1.i.id*: 1624-14425 (fig. 1a) kingdom-fungi, divisionascomycota, classlecanoromycetes, orderlecanorales, familycladoniaceae. thallus squamulose, fruticose, shrub-like, beard-like. upper surface bluish green. thallus smooth, plane. lower surface whitish. hyaline or colorless pigmentation observed. spot tests and chemistryk,c, kc and logul’s solution showed positive result. specimen examined: recorded on artocarpus heterophyllus (jackfruit), from block 39 of national botanical garden, mirpur dhaka, a.a. kaium 08, 01 august 2018. 2. cryptothecia sp. stirt. 1876l.l.i.id*:179513699 (fig. 1b) kingdomfungi, divisionascomycota, classarthoniomycetes, orderarthoniales, family arthoniaceae. the body of the lichen forms continuous, circular crust-like patches on dead wood, readily recognizable by the prominent red pigment. it is a crustose lichen, because it grows in the form of a surface crust. central region is covered with red, spherical to cylindrical granules. moving outwards from the center, zones of color was distinguished, the first gray-green, the second white, and finally a bright red cottony rim. it is 0.15–0.30 mm thick, and can be smooth, or have low radiating ridges.spot tests and chemistryk,c, kc and logul’s solution showed positive result. specimen examined: recorded on mangifera indica l. (mango tree) from block 13 of national botanical garden, mirpur dhaka,a.a. kaium 16, 15 december 2018. 3. herpothallon sp. aptroot, lücking & g. thor, 2009l.l.i.id*:1460815358 (fig. 1c) kingdomfungi, divisionascomycota, classarthoniomycetes, orderarthoniales, family arthoniaceae. thallus corticolous, delimited by a compact brown prothallus; thallus surface greyish to greenish white to cottony, in the centre densely covered by pale beige to grayish white. marginal and upper surface present. upper surface rugulose, finely wrinkled. spot tests and chemistryk,c, kc and logul’s solution showed positive result. specimen examined: recorded on artocarpus heterophyllus (jackfruit) from block 9 of national botanical garden, mirpur dhaka,a.a. kaium 22, 01 march 2018. 4. parmelia sp. (l.) ach. (1803) l.l.i.id*: 86049818 (fig. 1d) kingdomfungi, divisionascomycota, classlecanoromycetes, orderlecanorales, family parmeliaceae. the thallus of the parmeliais foliose, large, distinctly branched and lobed.the colors varied from gray to brown mixed with green and bluish-green to brown dark. it was foundon trees, fences and roof of old building. some acquire considerable dimensions, reaching three to four inch in diameter. there is continued marginal growth while the central portion dies away. spot tests and chemistryk,c, kc and logul’s solution showed positive result. specimen examined: recorded on polyalthia longifolia (debdaru) from block 3of national botanical garden, mirpur dhaka, a.a. kaium 12, 15 september 2018. 5. pertusaria sp. dc. (1805).l.l.i.id*: 83118433 (fig. 1e) kingdomfungi, divisionascomycota, classlecanoromycetes, orderpertusariales, family pertusariaceae. it was found on bark. thallus is crustose type. upper surface gray-white.it became more green during rainy season. thallus was about 2-3 cm diameter. spot tests and chemistryk ,c, kc and logul’s solution showed positive result. specimen examined: recorded on artocarpus heterophyllus (jackfruit) from block 51 of national botanical garden, mirpur dhaka,a.a. kaium 22, 01 march 2018. lichen flora of national botanical garden 449 fig. 1.photograph of lichen thallus: a. cladonia sp. b cryptothecia sp, c. herpothallon sp. d. parmelia sp. e. pertusaria sp f. usnea sp. d. parmelia, e. pertusaria and f. usnea 6. usnea sp.dill. ex. adans. (1763)l.l.i.id* 6615-9282. (fig.1f) kingdomfungi, divisionascomycota, classlecanoromycetes, orderlecanorales, familyparmeliaceae. fruticose lichens grown like leafless mini-shrubs or tassels anchored on bark. thallus continues and diffusive. upper surface grayish green. marginal upper surface absent.thallus structure ranges between 0.5-1.0 cm. colorless and hyaline pigmentation observed on the thallus.spot tests and chemistryk,c, kc and logul’s solution showed positive result. 450 kaium and shamsi specimen examined: recorded from block no. 51 of national botanical garden, mirpur dhaka,a.a. kaium 07, 15 may 2018. *l l i id (lias light item description) www.liaslight.lias.net. a lichen database. parmelia sp. (l.)ach. (1803) (fig. 2) colony whitish, reverse brownish.thallus quite large, outside part of the colony is dichotomously branched. upper surface usually smooth, sometimes bearing brownish to whitish. lower surface brown to black.spores typical, 5µm – 13µm diameter. specimen examined: isolate of parmelia lichen, collected from national botanical garden, mirpur, dhaka. a.a. kaium 05,15 may 2018. fig.2a. parmelia sp: a. colony on pda plate, b. mycelial growth and c. spores. (bar= 50 µm). parmelia thallus was taken to study anatomical features of the lichen. lichen thallus were compared with a typical leaf parmelia has a wide thallus that actually bearing photobiont and mycobiont. area follows: upper cortical layerthis consists of a compact tissue of short-celled hyphae. it forms a protective layer for the tissues beneath. the upper portion of this layer is colored, due to a deposit of acid crystals. the function of this colored substance is twofold. the layer was not uniform in thickness. it allowed the algae to approach nearer the surface for the purposes of greater chlorophyllin activity. algal layer-this lies beneath the upper cortical layer, and consisted of a loose network of hypha. in which the algae are suspended. it is the layer in which carbon assimilation is carried on. certain hyphal branches, the haustoria, enclose and even penetrate the algae. medullary layer-this consisted of a very loosened of hyphae. it contains air. the thickness of this layer varies considerably. lower cortical layerwhen resembles the upper cortical layer, usually it is deficient. from the lower surface, whether cortical or not, the rhizoids extend. these are hyphae, either single or in groups, which grow vertically downward into the substratum. the rhizoids are colored black. the cilia at the mars fin of many foliose thalli were morphologically and functionally analogous to aerial rhizoids. the apothecia-the apothecia were the spore-bearing structures developed in or upon the thallus. they were structurally very similar to the spore producing organs of fungi (ascomycetes, sac-fungi). the apothecia were cup like remained within their interior algae, thus acting as assimilating organs. in others, particularly the lower forms, the apothecia retain the structural characters of their fungal ancestors, that is, they do not bear algae, and hence do not take part in the function of assimilation. upon the presence or absence of algae are based the distinctions into fungal and thaliana apothecia. this differs from the foregoing in that the algal layer of the thallus extends into the apothecium, usually forming two layers; one immediately underneath the hypothecium, and the other just above the lower cortical layer of the apothecium. the algae approached quite to the margin of the cup, or they extended http://www.liaslight.lias.net. lichen flora of national botanical garden 451 only a part way up. in fact, there are all gradations, from the purely fungal type to the most highly developed thallus type as it occurs in the parmelia (figs 2-3). fig. 3.t.s. of parmelia sp. thallus: a. apothecia, b. dispersal fragment, c. cortex (outer layer), d. medulla, e. photobiont, f.lower cortex. b. apothecium of parmelia sp. mounted with cotton blue. (bar = 50 µm.) authors extensively studied lichen flora of bangladesh. alam and gafur (2008) reported twelve taxa under twogenera of lichens from sal forest in gazipur. aptroot and hossain (2011) observed fifty one pantropica llichen from bangladesh. a detailed survey of literature revealed the genera usnea and cladonia has not been reported so far in any relevant literature of bangladesh. acknowledgement the first author (aak) gratefully acknowledges the financial support by the ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh through nst fellowship. references cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book.1stedn. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. 267 pp. alam, n. and gafur, m.a. 2008. lichen flora in chandra sal forest: occurrence, distribution and abundance. bangladesh j bot. 37(1): 61-65. albert, s.1998. a guide to the study of lichens.california state college.2nd.edn.pp.302. aptroot, a. and hussain, i.s. 2011. some lichens of bangladesh. the bryologist. 114: 466-468. 10.2307/41289804. friedmann, e.i. 1991. endolithic microorganisms in the antarctic cold desert. science, 215:1045–1053. maypf. 2000. how to collect lichens. farlow herbarium, harvard university, cambridge, massachusetts. pp. 453. mc farlin and melinda 1991 a morphological and chemical study of the lichen genus hypogymnia in north america north of mexico". honors projects. paper 29. orange, a., james, p.w. and white, f.j. 2001.micro-chemical methods for the identification of lichens. british lichen society, london. 23: 231-235 thomas hn 2008. lichen biology. cambridge university press. 2nd edn. pp. 489. (manuscript received on 16 june 2020; revised on 23 november 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 173‒184, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists evaluation of genetic diversity and morphological variability in stellaria media (l.) vill. using rapd marker shahram mehri*, hassan shirafkan-ajirlou and iman kolbadi department of agronomy and plant breeding, parsabad moghan branch, islamic azad university, parsabad moghan, iran keywords: gene flow; morphology; rapd; species relationship; stellaria media. abstract stellaria media (l.) vill., known under the name of chickweed, is an annual medicinal plant in the family caryophyllaceae. this species is distributed in the north regions of iran. in the present study, the random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) technique was used to estimate infraspecific variation in different populations of stellaria media. samples from 11 populations were collected from different regions of the country during spring 2018. for rapd investigations, populations were divided into three geographical regions. this study provides important data on the genetic diversity, population structure and morphological characteristics of stellaria media. the amova and gst analyses showed that the populations of this species are genetically differentiated. nm analysis revealed very low value of genetic diversity among the studied population and mantel test indicated isolation by distance occurred among them. the studied populations of s. media are differentiated in morphological characteristics and genetic content. introduction genetic diversity, one of the basic levels of biodiversity, determines the evolutionary potential of a taxon or population to adapt to variable environmental conditions (morton, 2005). genetic diversity arises from different factors such as mutation or gene flow, while events, for example, genetic drift and directional selection, can decrease the diversity. the family caryophyllaceae comprised of about 81 genera and 2600 species (bittrich, 1993; ullah et al., 2019; esfandani– bozchaloyi et al., 2017a,b,c,d; 2018a,b,c; esfandani -bozchaloyi and sheidai 2018). stellaria l. (caryophyllaceae, alsinoideae) includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants that are widely distributed in the temperate zones of europe and asia (lu and rabeler, 2001; keshavarzi and esfandani–bozchaloyi, 2014a, b; ullah et al., 2019) and about 120 species with worldwide distribution, mainly in the north temperate zone (morton, 2005; ullah et al., 2018). in flora iranica, this genus has nine species under two sections: sect. pseudalsine boiss. consists of one species s. alsinoides boiss. & buhse and sect. stellaria of six species viz., s. holostea l., s. persica boiss., s. graminea l., s. nemorum l., s. media (l.) vill., and s. pallida (dumort.) pire (rechinger, 1988). the main center of diversification for stellaria is eurasia, with a center of distribution in the mountains of central asia. some species are also cosmopolitan (bittrich, 1993; ullah et al., 2018). there are limited chromosome records for stellaria in the world. basic chromosome numbers of x=10, 11, 12 and 13 have been reported for the genus (federov, 1969 1974; moore, 1973; goldblatt, 1981). stellaria media, known as chickweed, are annual and with slender stems, they have hairs on one side of the stem. the leaves are linear or oval, smooth or minutely, 13 to 17 × *corresponding author, email: sh.mehri2000@gmail.com mailto:sh.mehri2000@gmail.com 174 mehri et al. 1.5 to 7 mm. flowers are hermaphrodite. sepals prominently 4 to 6-nerved. the number of stigmas and stamens are 3 each. s. media is common in waste places, open areas, lawns, meadows, and widely distributed to temperate regions of europe, asia and northern america. s. pallida is distributed in the all regions of iran. this plant is edible and nutritious and considered to be a herbal remedy and useful in folk medicine. s. pallida is very similar to s. media. stellaria media has some medicinal properties. this species has been used as to soothe severe itchiness even where all other remedies have failed (slavokhotova et al., 2011). it is considered for rheumatic pains, skin diseases, and period pain as well as for bronchitis and arthritis (slavokhotova et al., 2011). rani et al. (2012) have studied some stem and leaf anatomical features through the pharmacognostical study for quality control of s. media. arora and sharma (2012) did pharmacognostical and phytochemical studies of s. media and showed the presence of epidermis, palisade cells, trichomes and vascular bundles in leaf. s. media possesses significant chemicals known as saponins, which can cause poisoning in cattle (haragan, 1991). many studies have been done on taxonomy, pollen morphology, phylogeny, seed micromorphology, anatomy, trichome and cytology of stellaria species (esfandani-bozchaloyi and keshavarzi, 2014; keshavarzi and esfandani-bozchaloyi, 2014 a, b; ullah et al. 2018). however, genetic diversity of stellaria species have been reported only in a few studies (verkleij et al., 1980; chinnappa and morton, 1984), and outcrossing or inbreeding, genetic structure, genetic variability within/between populations and ecological adaptation in stellaria of iran have not been investigated yet. the molecular markers are extensively used in germplasm characterization, fingerprinting, genetic analysis, linkage mapping, and molecular breeding. rapd (random amplified polymorphic dna) analysis using pcr in association with short primers of arbitrary sequence has been demonstrated to be sensitive in detecting variation among individuals. the advantages of this technique are: a) a large number of samples can be quickly and economically analyzed using only micro-quantities of material; b) the dna amplicons are independent from the ontogenetic expression; and c) many genomic regions can be sampled with a potentially unlimited number of markers (ellis and burke, 2007; esfandani-bozchaloyi et al., 2017a,b,c,d). the present investigation has been carried out to evaluate the genetic diversity and relationships among 11 geographical populations of s. media using rapd markers. this is the first study on the use of rapd markers in s. media; therefore, we performed molecular study of 110 collected specimens of 11 geographical populations. materials and methods morphological studies 110 plant sample were selected from eleven populations located in three provinces of iran. identification of s. media species were based on the descriptions provided by flora iranica (rechinger, 1988). the sampling sites are provided in table 1 and fig. 1. voucher specimens were deposited at the herbarium of islamic azad university, science and research branch, tehran, iran (iauh). dna extraction fresh leaves were used randomly from one to twelve plants in each of the studied populations. these were dried by silica gel powder. ctab activated charcoal protocol was used to extract genomic dna (esfandani-bozchaloyi et al., 2018a,b,c). the quality of extracted dna was examined by running on 0.8% agarose gel. 25 decamer rapd primers of operon technology (alameda, canada) belonging to opa, opb, opc, opd sets were used in this study. 10 primers with clear, enlarged, and rich polymorphism bands were chosen. pcr were carried out in 25 μl evaluation of genetic diversity and morphological variability 175 reactions containing 20 ng of template dna, 0.3 mm dntps, 1μm primers, 1.0 μl of 20×pcr buffer (cinnagen, iran), 1.8 mm of mgcl2 and 5 units of taq polymerase (cinnagen, iran). table 1. location addresses and ecological characters of the stellaria media population locality latitude longitude altitude (m) voucher no. 1 guilan, road to sangar 37° 06 ̍ 57 ̋ ̎ 49˚ 11 ̍ 06 ̎ 47 iauh 201600 2 guilan, bandar anzali, pine artificial woodland 37 ˚27 ̍34 ̎ 49˚ 42 ̍ 40 ̎ -25 iauh 201701 3 guilan, loleman 37˚ 28 ̍ 59 ̎ 49˚ 33 45 ̎ -29 iauh 201702 4 guilan, siahkal, sangar 37˚ 09 ̍ 08 ̎ 49˚ 55 ̍ 02 27 iauh 201603 5 golestan, golerodbar river 37˚ 10 ̍ 05 ̎ 49˚ 56 ̍ 38 ̎ 15 iauh 201604 6 guilan , sheytankouh hill side 37˚ 12 ̍ 04 ̎ 50˚ 03 ̍ 12 ̎ 9 iauh 201605 7 guilan , lahijan , highlands of sheytan kouh 37˚ 11 ̍ 52 ̎ 50˚ 03 ̍ 17 ̎ 159 iauh 201606 8 guilan, bandar anzali, road side 37˚27 ̍ 48 ̎ 49˚22 ̍ 30 ̎ -11 iauh 201707 9 mazandaran, chalosneamatabad 36˚ 49 ̍ 02 ̎ 50˚ 52 ̍ 20 ̎ -16 iauh 201608 10 mazandaran, shirodi ring road 36˚ 51 ̍ 10 ̎ 50˚ 32 ̍ 11 ̎ -18 iauh 201709 11 mazandaran, noshahr 36˚ 35 ̍ 04 ̎ 51˚ 35 ̍ 14 ̎ -20 iauh 201710 fig. 1. distribution map of the studied populations. 176 mehri et al. the amplification was carried out, with programmed as initial pre-denaturation at 95°c for 5 min followed by 36 cycles of denaturation at 94°c for 45 s, annealing at temperature (52-55°c) for 40 s, and extension at 72°c for 1min. a final 5 min. extension at 72°c followed the completion of 38 cycles. data analyses morphological studies for morphological studies, 43 morphological characters including 16 qualitative and 26 quantitative characters were studied following attar et al. (2019, table 2). table 2. list of selected characters and their codes in morphological studies. no. characters numerical code 1 plant height mm 2 length of basal leaves mm 3 width of basal leaves mm 4 length of stem leaves mm 5 width of stem leaves mm 6 bract length mm 7 width bract mm 8 length pedicel mm 9 number of seeds per capsule 10 number of flowers per inflorescence 11 number of calyx 12 length calyx mm 13 width calyx mm 14 number of petal 15 petal length mm 16 petal width mm 17 cleft size of petals mm 18 inter node length mm 19 number of stamen 20 number of stigma 21 capsule length mm 22 seed length mm 23 seed width mm 24 cleft size of capsule mm 25 number suture capsules 26 veins number sepals evaluation of genetic diversity and morphological variability 177 27 growth period 0-annual 1perennial 28 bract apex 0-acute 1narrow 2absence 29 state of stem 0-unbranched 1branched 30 state of stem strength 0-thin 1strong 31 hairs of stem 1-unilateral hair 2multilateral hair 32 cross-section of stem 0-round1rectangular 2elliptical 33 shape of basal leaves 0-linear 1linearlanceolate 34 basal leaves apex 0-acute 1narrow 35 basal leaves petiole 0-absence 1presence 36 hair of basal leaves petiole 0-absence 1presence 37 shape caulin leaves 0linear 1linearlanceolate 38 caulin leaves apex 0acute 1narrow 39 caulin leaves petiole 0-absence 1presence 40 hair of caulin leaves petiole 0-absence 1presence 41 hair of caulin leaves margin 0-absence 1presence 42 hair of caulin leaves lamina 0-absence 1presence 43 shape of bract 0-linear 1linearlanceolate morphological traits were standardized (mean = 0, variance = 1) and used to estimate euclidean distance for ordination analyses (podani, 2000). pca (principal components analysis) biplot and mds (multidimensional scaling) were applied for grouping and identifying the most variable morphological traits among the populations (podani, 2000). we used past version 2.17 (hammer et al., 2012) for multivariate statistical analyses. molecular analyses rapd bands scored as present (1) or absent (0). genetic polymorphism was determined by genetic diversity parameters: shannon information index (i), percentage of polymorphism, the number of effective alleles and nei’s gene diversity (h) (freeland et al., 2011). neighbor-net networking was used for nei’s genetic identity among studied populations (huson and bryant, 2006; weising et al., 2005). we used past ver. 2.17 (hammer et al., 2012), splitstree4 v4.13.1 ,2013 and darwin ver. 5, 2012 softwares for data analysis. for amova (analysis of molecular variance), we used genalex 6.4 software (peakall and smouse 2006; meirmans and van tienderen, 2004) to determine the genetic differentiation of the species and nei,sgst analysis in genodive ver.2 (2013) (hedrick, 2005; jost, 2008) were used to reveal genetic distance of the species. first data were scored as dominant markers so we used from structure analysis for estimation of the parameters that is related to gene flow among studied population. burn-in = 10000, and 10 runs were performed for estimation of the relationship between the genetic structures and geographical distance. maximum likelihood method and bayesian information criterion (bic) was studied by structure analysis (falush and stephens 2007; evanno et al., 2005; meirmans, 2012). gene flow was determined by calculating nm from gst by popgene ver. 1.32, 1997 (pritchard et al., 2000). 178 mehri et al. results and discussion in this study 11 populations of stellaria media were selected from northern regions of iran. genetic diversity parameters revealed that the highest percent of genetic polymorphism (70%) and gene diversity (0.203) exist in mazandaran, chalos neamat abad (population no.9), while the lowest amount of genetic polymorphism (22%) showed in population in mazandaran, noshahr (table 3). table 3. genetic diversity parameters in the studied populations. (n = number of samples, ne = number of effective alleles, i= shannon’s information index, he = gene diversity, uhe = unbiased gene diversity, p%= percentage of polymorphism, populations). pop n na ne i he uhe %p pop1 5.000 0.839 1.134 0.128 0.083 0.092 25.81% pop2 5.000 1.258 1.279 0.248 0.164 0.182 48.39% pop3 5.000 1.097 1.220 0.214 0.137 0.153 45.16% pop4 5.000 1.516 1.406 0.355 0.236 0.263 67.74% pop5 5.000 1.323 1.230 0.220 0.143 0.158 45.16% pop6 5.000 1.516 1.411 0.353 0.238 0.264 64.52% pop7 5.000 1.194 1.248 0.254 0.161 0.179 54.84% pop8 5.000 1.226 1.258 0.257 0.162 0.180 58.06% pop9 5.000 1.452 1.318 0.320 0.203 0.226 70.97% pop10 5.000 0.968 1.085 0.115 0.066 0.073 32.26% pop11 5.000 0.645 1.092 0.101 0.063 0.070 22.58% amova test showed that, 35% of total genetic diversity was within population and 65% was among population. hedrick standardized fixation index makes the genetic distance among the studied populations. we have moderate level for amova produced after 999 permutations (g’st = 0.632, p = 0.001) and hedrick differentiation index (d-est = 0.271, p = 0.001). our results showed that the populations of s. media are differentiated from each other. populations, genetic affinity neighbor-net network and nj tree revealed identitical results but here only neighbor-net network is discussed (fig. 2). this network shows that the populations 3 and 7, as well as populations 4 and 11 are placed close to each other, which indicate that they have closer genetic affinity. the populations 2 and 6 and 8 are differentiated from the other populations. the studied specimen in pcoa plot revealed that they belong to different groups, which is in agreement with the amova results (fig. 3). the relationship between altitude distance and genetic distance indicated by mantel test after 5000 permutations is significant in these populations (r = 0.22, p = 0.001). the isolation in s. media occurred because of low amount of gene flow due to geographically more distant of populations. populations genetic structure the result carried out on structure analyses by evanno test makes a peak at k = 6 (fig. 4). furthermore, structure analyses show genetic identity between populations 3 and 4 evaluation of genetic diversity and morphological variability 179 (similarly colored), populations 5 and 6, like populations 10 and 11. but it indicated genetic difference between populations 1 and 2 (differently colored). fig. 2. neighbor-net network of populations in s. media based on rapd data. fig. 3. pcoa plot of populations in s. media based on rapd data. 180 mehri et al. fig. 4. structure plot of s. media populations based on k = 6 of rapd data. the results of reticulogram (fig. 5), that is based on the least square method, indicates some of shared alleles among populations 3 and 5, 6 and between 8 and 2 and 11, also between 1, 4, 3 and 9 and 10. the mean nm = 0.32 indicates very low level of genetic diversity and supports genetic stratification as showed by structure analyses and k-means. nm result agreed with population assignment test and cannot showed gene flow among these populations. in total, ten issr primers produced 90 bands, fragment size ranged from 150 to 3000 bp. fig. 5. reticulogram of s. media populations based on least square method analysis of rapd data (population numbers are according to table 1). morphometric analyses anova tests for 110 plant specimens from 11 populations were performed. our results indicated significant difference in comparison with the studied populations (p < 0.05). ordination plot and other analyses produced similar results on these populations (fig. 6). our result revealed that among of the studied populations, morphological divergence exist and this divergence was due to quantitative traits. for example, length of stem leaves character separated population no. 2, evaluation of genetic diversity and morphological variability 181 but the populations 4 and 8 separated from the other populations due to difference in calyx length. we performed for both morphological and rapd data-based a consensus tree (fig. 7). it indicates that some populations are different from other populations due to both morphological and molecular characters. fig. 6. pcoa plot of s. media populations based on morphological characters. fig. 7. consensus tree of morphological and molecular data in s. media populations. according to çalişkan (2012) genetic diversity provides information about adaptation to changing environments, understanding of positive influence in the conservation of endangered species, hybridization and gene flow among the populations. this study evaluates the use of rapd markers for comparing the gene flow and relationships within the population of s. media in iran. verkleij et al. (1980) showed that amylases isoenzymes could be successfully applied to assess inter-populational variation in s. media. 182 mehri et al. in this study, we have provided information on current taxonomic, molecular and geographical distance and data about gene flow and genetic structure of s. media in some parts of iran. chickweed can germinate and flower any time of the year. it is mainly self-pollinating, but sometimes cross-pollination occurs by flies and insects. according to chater and heywood (1993) s,. media is a widespread weedy species. there are three subspecies viz., s. media subsp. media, s. media subsp. cupaniana and s. media subsp. postii but some authors showed that subsp. cupaniana (scholte, 1978) and subsp. postii (sinha, 1965) should be included in s. neglecta. according to fedorov (1969) chromosome numbers that have been reported for s. media included 2n = 24, 28, 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44 from many parts of the world. however, chromosome numbers 2n =40, 42 and 44 are the most commonly reported and this species shows a high degree of genotypic variation that is highly correlated with its reproductive characters (freeland et al., 2011). s. media is annual, characterized by the presence of five sepals and petals which are usually bifid. generally, within family caryophyllaceae diversity of morphological features makes taxa complicated to be delineated and identified. s. media is occur on abandoned fields and commonly sensitive to disturbance of its habitat. s. pallida and s. media are self-pollinating and there are crossing barrier between them. this happened due to the presence of polyploidy in s. media (2n = 40-44), in contrast to the diploidy of s. pallida (2n = 22) (scholte, 1978; slatkin, 1993; jolivet and bernasconi, 2007). therefore, breeding systems plays important role in low level of gene flow in s. media (hutchison and templeton, 1999; medrano and herrera, 2008). our results shows that the seed morphologies of stellaria media and s. pallida are similar. seed coat cellsare rounded polygonal and v-shaped margin. based on these characters, we decided that s. media could be differenced from s. pallida. seed coat morphology was observed in 18 species of stellaria by chen (2010). conflict of interests the authors have not declared any conflict of interest. references arora, d. and sharma, a. 2012. pharmacognostic and phytochemical studies of stellaria media linn. journal of pharmcological sciences and researches 4(5): 1819–1822. attar, f., esfandani-bozchaloyi, s., mirtadzadini, m., ullah, f. and zaman, w. 2019. foliar and stem epidermal anatomy of the tribe cynoglosseae (boraginaceae) and their taxonomic significance. microsc res tech. 82: 786‒802. bittrich, v.1993. caryophyllaceae. in kubitzki, k. rohwer, j. & bittrich, v. 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(manuscript received on 24 january 2020; revised on 11 may 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 289‒294, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57127 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new variety of abrus precatorius l. (fabaceae) from bangladesh md. abul hassan, m. oliur rahman1 and sumona afroz2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: new variety; abrus precatorius var. albo-spermum var. nov.; fabaceae; bangladesh. abstract a new variety abrus precatorius l. var. albo-spermum hassan, rahman et afroz, var. nov. is described and illustrated from bangladesh. the new variety is closest to abrus preactorius l., but differs by its white coloured oval shaped seeds, short gynoecium which is half the length of longer filaments and with a short style. introduction the genus abrus (fabaceae) was erected by adanson in 1763 based on glycine abrus l. (breteler, 1960). abrus adans. is a small genus consisting of c. 17 species and widespread in tropical and subtropical regions predominantly in asia, africa and probably introduced in the new world (munsuk et al., 2016). in bangladesh, abrus is represented by two species, viz. abrus precatorius l. and a. pulchellus wall. ex thw. (ahmed et al., 2009). hooker (1876) in his flora of british india reported a. pulchellus form chittagong, whereas prain (1903) documented a. precatorius and a. pulchellus from the present territory of bangladesh. abrus precatorius (redblack seeded form) is distributed almost throughout the country and occurs in diverse habitats including village thickets, natural forests and several protected areas of bangladesh (uddin et al., 2013; rahman, 2017; rashid et al., 2018). in contrary, abrus pulchellus is rare and reported to be found in chattogram, cox’s bazar and sylhet districts (ahmed et al., 2009). in early 2018, a group of botanists from the department of botany, university of dhaka visited the medicinal plants garden of adhi kabirj (an ayurvedic physician) at the village tok under kapasia upazila of gazipur district and collected different plant samples along with some seeds of ‘sada kunch’ (white abrus). the white seeds of abrus were grown in dhaka university botanical garden for further investigation. since then red-black seeded abrus precatorius and purely white-seeded forms have been maintained alongside in the garden for comparison. the white-seeded taxon of abrus displays some distinguishing characters, viz. gynoecium and seed characters which do not match with other known species of abrus (hooker, 1876; prain, 1903; kanjilal et al., 1938; breteler, 1960; deb, 1981; ahmed et al., 2009; wu et al., 2010; munsuk et al., 2016). the white-seeded abrus taxon is closely allied to the red-seeded abrus precatorius in terms of stem, leaf, inflorescence and some floral characters; however, it differs from abrus precatorius by gynoecium and seed characters. after critical examination, the white-seeded form of abrus for its distinct, heritable and discontinuous characters, is recognized as a new variety, abrus precatorius l. var. albo-spermum hassan, rahman et afroz, var. nov. results and discussion abrus precatorius l. var. albo-spermum hassan, rahman et afroz, var. nov. (fig. 1, plate 1). diagnosis: abrus precatorius l. var. albo-spermum hassan, rahman et afroz, var. nov. is distinct by its entirely white seeds, gynoecium length which is half the length of the longer filaments and a short style. 1corresponding author. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd; prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 2present address: national museum, shahbag, dhaka 1000, bangladesh https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57127 mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd; mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 290 hassan et al. type: bangladesh, dhaka, dhaka university botanical garden, m.a. hassan 6001, 24 october 2021 (holotype: dush!) (originally seeds were collected from the village tok of kapasia upazila under gazipur district and maintained in dhaka university botanical garden since march 2018). the holotype is deposited at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). a handsome undershrub with twining stem, and on support grows as a dextrose climber. leaves paripinately compound, alternate; leaflets linear or linear-oblong, usually 10-20 in number, occasionally more, opposite, very sweet in taste. flowers in pedunculate racemes, shortly pedicellate, bisexual, complete; sepals 5, c. 2-4 mm long; petals 5, standard petal 10-11 × 7-8 mm, pinkish-white, wing petal 6-8 × c. 2 mm, keel petal 7-8 × 3-4 mm, elliptic; stamens 9 (alternately long and short, the vexillary filament absent). gynoecium short, c. 2.5-3.5 mm, half the length of longer filaments; style short, c. 0.5-0.8 mm long; carpel 1, placentation marginal. fruits oblong pods, turgid, usually 4-6 seeded. seeds purely white, oval, smooth. fig. 1. a-e. abrus precatorius; f-j: abrus precatorius var. albo-spermum var. nov.; a,f=habit sketch (x1); b,g=androecium vs. gynoecium (x5); c,h= wing petal (x3); d,i= keel petal (x3); e,j=seed (x1). a new variety of abrus precatorius 291 plate 1. a,c,e= abrus precatorius; b,d,f= abrus precatorius var. albo-spermum var. nov. a,b=habit; c.d= fruits with seeds; e,f= seeds. 292 hassan et al. flowering and fruiting: august to october. etymology: the new variety is named after the white colour of the seeds of the new taxon. a comparative account of abrus precatorius l. and the new variety abrus precatorius var. albo-spermum hassan, rahman et afroz, var. nov. are depicted in table 1. table 1. comparison of abrus pracatorius l. and abrus pracatorius var. albo-spermum hassan, rahman et afroz, var. nov. abrus precatorius l. abrus precatorius l. var. albo-spermum hassan, rahman et afroz var. nov. 1. seeds two-third scarlet and the rest jet-black, almost round. 1. seeds entirely pure white, oval. 2. gynoecium long, c. 6-7 mm. 2. gynoecium short, c. 2.5-3.5 mm. 3. gynoecium more or less equal to length of longer filaments. 3. gynoecium half the length of longer filaments. 4. style long, c. 2.5-3.0 mm long. 4. style very short, c. 0.5-0.8 mm long. 5. lower part of the wing petal narrower. 5. lower part of the wing petal broader. 6. keel petal ovate. 6. keel petal elliptic. variation in seed colour: the new variety abrus precatorius var. albo-spermum presents entirely pure white seeds, while the closely related abrus preactorius displays variations in seed colour. in a. precatorius, seeds are usually two-third scarlet or white and the rest jet-black, sometimes whitish, rarely wholly black (kanjilal et al., 1938); seeds scarlet with area around the hilum black, rarely entirely black, whitish or yellowish (de padua et al., 1999); seeds bright scarlet and black or whitish black or mixed black and white (bakshi et al., 1999); seeds red or white with a black cap (panigrahi and murti, 1989); seeds bright scarlet and black, or white, or mixed black and white (hooker, 1876). seed germination: ten seeds of abrus precatorius var. albo-spermum var. nov. were sown on 20 march 2018 and out of 10 seeds sown only 3 seeds germinated on 25 march 2018, and the germination was found to be epigeal. a detailed study on seed germination of abrus precatorius var. albo-spermum var. nov. and abrus precatorius reveals that the process of seed development in both taxa is perhaps the same. however, in the last two weeks of seed maturation in the redseeded abrus precatorius, colour development and colour changes occur. a black spot appears first at the hilum from where a reddish or pinkish colouration gradually coming down as observed on 26 september 2018. on 14 october 2018, it was observed that the black hilum portion became fully black (jet-black) and the lower part was yellowish-pink. after a few days the lower two-third yellowish-pink portion became scarlet when the seeds were fully mature. therefore, the occasional whitish, yellowish, pinkish or fully black seeds found in the pods of abrus precatorius might be due to incomplete final maturation process. a few fully black seeds were also noticed in the pods of this species; however, these black seeds did not germinate when sown. traditional uses and biological activities: the red-seeded abrus precatorius and whiteseeded abrus precatorius var. albo-spermum var. nov. both the taxa are traditionally used in treating different ailments. seeds are purgative, emetic and aphrodisiac, and administered in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery. in ayurvedic medicine, especially the white-seeded form is used as they are thought to be less toxic (panigrahi and murti, 1989; pal and jain, 1998). abrus precatorius leaf is used as laxative, expectorant and aphrodisiac in ayurvedic medicine (bhakta and das, 2020). leaves are applied to cure fever, cough and cold, while the roots are used to treat jaundice and haemoglobinuric bile (garaniya and bapodra, 2014). seed extract is cns depressant a new variety of abrus precatorius 293 and reported to have antibacterial and analgesic properties (yusuf et al., 2009). various pharmacological study reveals that abrus precatorius possesses anti-oxidative (arora, 2011), neuroprotective (premanand and ganesh, 2010), anti-depression (attal et al., 2010), antiinflammatory (kuo et al., 1995) and anticancer (anbu et al. 2011) activities. very recently, antiulcerative efficacy of ethyl acetate extract of abrus precatorius seed in hydrochloric acid/ethanol (hcl/etoh)-induced ulcerative rats via regulation of inflammatory genes has been determined (omoboyowa et al., 2021). references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t. khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a. (eds), 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 8. angiosperm: dicotyledons (fabaceaelythraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 478 pp. anbu, j., ravichandiran, v., sumithra, m., chowdary, s.b., kumar, s., kannadhasan, r. et al. 2011. anticancer activity of petroleum ether extract of abrus precatorius on ehrlich ascitis carcinoma in mice. int. j. pharm. biol. sci. 2: 24-31. arora, r. 2011. phytopharmacological evaluation of ethanolic extract of the seeds of abrus precatorius l. j. pharmacol. toxicol. 6(6): 580-588. attal, a.r., otari, k.v., shete, r.v., upasani, c.d. and nandgude, t.d. 2010. abrus precatorius linnaeus: a phytopharmacological review. j. pharm. res. 3(11): 2585-2587. bakshi, d.n.g., sensarma, p. and pal, d.c. 1999. a lexicon of medicinal plants in india, vol. 1. naya prokash, calcutta, india, 552 pp. bhakta, s. and das, s.k. 2020. the medicinal values of abrus precatorius: a review study. j. adv. biotechnol. exp. ther. 3(2): 84-91. breteler, f.j. 1960. revision of abrus adanson (pap.) with special reference to africa. blumea 10(2): 607-624. de padua, l.s., bunyapraphatsara, n. and lemmens, r.h.m.j. (eds) 1999. plant resources of south-east asia no. 12(1). medicinal and poisonous plants. backhuys publishers, leiden, the netherlands, 711 pp. deb, d.b. 1981. the flora of tripura state, vol. 1 (ophioglossaceae staphyleaceae). today & tomorrow’s printers & publishers, new delhi, india, 509 pp. garaniya, n. and bapodra, a. 2014. ethnobotanical and phytophrmacological potential of abrus precatorius l.: a review. asian pac. j. trop. biomed. 4 (suppl. 1): s27-s34. hooker, j.d. 1876. flora of british india, vo. 2. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent england, p. 175. kanjilal, u.n., kanjilal, p.c. and das, a. 1938. flora of assam, vol. 2. a van book company, delhi, india, 409 pp. munsuk, w., chantaranothai, p. and kongsook, b. 2016. the genus abrus adans. (leguminosaepapilionoideae) in thailand. trop. nat. hist. 16(2): 67-77. kuo, s.c., chen, s.c., chen, l.h., wu, j.b., wang, j.p. and teng, c.m. 1995. potent antiplatelet, antiinflammatory and antiallergic isoflavanquinones from the roots of abrus precatorius. planta medica 61: 307-312. omoboyowa, d.a., omomule, o.m., balogun, t.a., saibu, o.a. and metibemu, d.s. 2021. protective potential of ethyl acetate extract of abrus precatorius (linn) seeds against hcl/etoh-induced gastric ulcer via pro-inflammatory regulation: in vivo and in silico study. phytomedicine plus 1(4): 100145. pal, d.c. and jain, s.k. 1998. tribal medicine. naya prokash, bidhan sarani, calcutta, 317 pp. panigrahi, g. and murti, s.k. 1989. flora of bilaspur district, vol. 1 (ranunculaceae – convolvulaceae). botanical survey of india, 396 pp. prain, d. 1903 (reprinted 1981). bengal plants, vol. 1. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india, p. 369. premanand, r. and ganesh, t. 2010. neuroprotective effects of abrus precatorius linn. aerial extract on hypoxic neurotoxicity induced rats. international j. chem. pharmac. sci. 1(1): 9-15. 294 hassan et al. rahman, m.a. 2017. plant diversity in hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary of chittagong and its conservation management. j. biodiver. conserv. & bioresour. manag. 3(2): 43-56. rashid, m.h., islam, s. and kashem, s.b. 2018. floristic diversity (magnoliids and eudicots) of baraiyadhala national park, chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 273-288. uddin, m.z., alam, m.f., rahman, m.a. and hassan, m.a. 2013. diversity in angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 145-162. wu, z.y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.y. (eds). 2010. flora of china, vol. 10 (fabaceae). science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, 577 pp. yusuf, m., begum, j., hoque, m.n. and chowdhury, j.u. 2009. medicinal plants of bangladesh. bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research laboratories chittagong, bangladesh, 794 pp. (manuscript received on 3 july 2021; revised on 4 december 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 217‒231, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54218 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists epidermal and anatomical studies on chrysophyllum l. (sapotaceae) species of south-eastern nigeria chimezie ekeke1*, joseph ariwaodo2 and solomon odeyemi3 department of plant science and biotechnology, faculty of sciences, university of port harcourt, p.m.b. 5323, port harcourt, rivers state, nigeria keywords: chrysophyllum; epidermis; anatomy; leaf; stem; nigeria. abstract the epidermal characters of leaves and anatomical characters of petioles and young stems of some members of the genus chrysophyllum, viz. c. albidum, c. perpulchrum, c. cainito, and c. delevoyi were analyzed to determine their diagnostic features. paracytic stomata, crystal sand, prismatic crystals, secretory canals occurred in all the species. all the species are hypostomatic except c. perpulchrum. the midribs of all species have an open semi-circular vascular system except in c. cainito with a closed system. midrib and petiole of c. albidum and c. cainito have non-glandular t-shaped trichomes. accessory bundles are only seen in the petioles of c. delevoyi, and in the midribs of c. albidum and c. cainito. the midrib and petiole of c. delevoyi and c. albidum have a central bundle. laticifers, prismatic and sand crystals occur mainly in the cortical cells, pith cells, xylem, phloem, and mesophyll. lamina of all species studied showed uniseriate epidermis except c. cainito which has two layers of the adaxial epidermis. the stomatal index, the ratio of the spongy to palisade mesophyll thickness, the ratio of cortex thickness, outline, number, and arrangement of the vascular bundles in the midrib, petiole, and young stem differ and are valuable diagnostic features in chrysophyllum. introduction sapotaceae is one of the large families of flowering plant and comprises about 60 genera and 1300 species (pennington, 1991; govaerts et al., 2001), 60–70 species of which are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, especially america, west africa, and australia (shailajan and gurjar, 2014). in africa, there are approximately 51 species under 23 genera (hutchinson and dalziel, 1954). 13 species are reported from west africa and seven species from nigeria (hutchinson and dalziel, 1954; keay, 1989). several authors have reported that the members of this family are mainly lowland species, have wide morphological variations, and provide essential resources to native fauna and humans (prasawang and srinual, 2020; felippi et al., 2008; gomes et al., 2008; reis et al., 2013). members of this genus have many health benefits including antidiabetes, anti-inflammation, anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and rheumatoid arthritis properties (koffi et al., 2009; mallikarjun et al., 2011; meira et al., 2014; li et al., 2015; mao et al., 2015; hegde et al., 2016; ningsih et al., 2016; doan et al., 2018; george et al., 2018), cultural, and ethnobotanical uses (inyama et al., 2016; parker et al., 2010; das et al., 2010). the phylogenetic relationship of sapotaceae including chrysophyllum and other genera (petersen et al., 2012; swenson et al., 2013; faria et al., 2017; swenson et al., 2018; borg et al., 2019), and anatomical features of this family (metcalfe and chalk, 1972) and other genera viz. 1*corresponding author: email: ekeke.uche@uniport.edu.ng 2forestry research institute of nigeria, onne sub-station, rivers state, nigeria. email: joseph.ariwaodo@yahoo.com 3forestry research institute of nigeria, umuahia sub-station, abia state, nigeria. email: toyes618@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54218 mailto:ekeke.uche@uniport.edu.ng mailto:joseph.ariwaodo@yahoo.com mailto:toyes618@gmail.com 218 ekeke et al. diploon cronquist (lima et al., 2019), monotheca a. dc. (ehsan et al., 2019), and chrysophyllum (inyama et al., 2016; prasawang and srinual, 2020) have been reported. despite these information, the identification of chrysophyllum is weak and problematic (prasawang and srinual, 2020), because the available identification keys are based on leaf and floral characteristics (chayamarit, 2014). the floral parts of the species are not readily available and most of the species have close morphological resemblance (chayamaritk, 2014). also, the close morphological similarities of the three species of chrysophyllum, viz. c. cainito l., c. albidum g. don and c. subnudum baker have made some scholars to consider c. subnudum as a variety of c. albidum (prasawang and srinual, 2020). in trying to resolve this problem among nigerian species, inyama et al. (2016) have worked on some members of this genus (c. cainito, c. albidum and c. subnudum) and have reported that the species could be differentiated based on the anatomical features of the leaf and petiole. also, metcalfe and chalk (1972), araújo et al. (2010), and almeida-jr et al. (2012) have described the anatomy of the family sapotaceae including chrysophyllum and other genera. in spite of these studies, the anatomy of c. delevoyi de wild. and c. perpulchrum mildbr. ex hutch. & dalziel are yet to be known. considering the morphological similarities among chrysophyllum, the objectives of this work were to examine the epidermal characteristics, petiole, midrib, and young stem anatomy, occurrence and distribution of laticifers and idioblasts in c. albidum, c. cainito, c. delevoyi and c. perpulchrum to determine and provide additional diagnostic information on this genus from nigeria. materials and methods plant materials plant samples of four species of chrysophyllum were collected from live tree growing in forestry research institute of nigeria (frin) sub-stations (umuahia, abia state, and calabar, cross rivers state). the plants were authenticated and voucher specimens were deposited in the university of port harcourt herbarium, nigeria (table 1). table 1. list of chrysophyllum species studied. s/n species name date of collection herbarium number name(s) of collector locality 1 c. delevoyi de wild. 29/07/2020 uph/v/1463 odeyemi & ariwaodo, j frin sub-station, umuahia, abia state, nigeria 2 c. cainito l. 29/07/2020 uph/v/1462 odeyemi, solomon frin sub-station, umuahia, abia state, nigeria 3 c. albidum g. don 29/07/2020 uph/v/1461 ekeke & ogazie frin sub-station, umuahia, abia state, nigeria 4 c. perpulchrum mildbr. ex hutch. & dalziel 03/08/2020 uph/v/1464 ogah, e. & ariwaodo, j. frin sub-station, calabar, cross rivers state. epidermal and anatomical studies on chrysophyllum l. 219 microscopic analysis fresh leaves, petioles, and young stems were harvested and fixed in faa (1:1:3) of formalin (40%), acetic acid (30%), and ethanol (70%). fixation, embedding, sectioning, epidermal mechanical scraping, and staining were done according to the procedures of metcalfe and chalk (1979) and ekeke and agogbua (2019) with suitable modification. the leaf blade and distal parts of the petiole were hand sectioned and stained in 1% safranin o and counter in 1% alcian blue. the slides were then mounted in glycerogelatin and sealed with transparent nail polish (kraus and arduin, 1997). the vascular bundle arrangement in the petiole and midrib were classified according to howard (1979). fifty good slides were observed under research microscope and clear microphotographs of fine sections taken using a trinocular research microscope (t340b) fitted with an amscope digital camera. the images were processed using the analysis document software imaging system. the mean size and standard deviation of the plant cell sizes were calculated using microsoft excel 2010. results and discussion the results of the study on epidermal characteristics, leaf, and stem anatomical features of the four species of chrysophyllum studied are presented in figs 1–13. generally, the species studied contain laticiferous cells, and prismatic crystals in their cortex, pith, and vascular bundles (mainly xylem tissues). chrysophyllum delevoyi epidermis: leaf hypostomatic with a stomatal index of 9.09. the stomata on the abaxial epidermis are mainly paracytic but rarely anisocytic, tetracytic, and with abnormalities (poorly developed stomata, and contiguous stomata) (fig. 1a, b and c). the abaxial surface is hairy with unicellular non-glandular hairs while the adaxial epidermis is glabrous. both adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells are polygonal to irregular in shape, and anticlinal walls are sinus or wavy (fig. 1d). midrib: the midrib has a circular outline, and the adaxial cuticle is convexly raised to form furrows on both arms of the leaf blade (figs 3a and 4). parenchymatous cortex, pith, and xylem tissues contain calcium oxalate (prismatic crystals), tanniferous cells (fig. 3b), and crushed parenchyma in the cortex (fig. 3c). the vascular bundles are arranged in a ¾ circular system (crescent) consisting of adaxial and central (modullary) plates, and two interspersed phloem tissues (figs 3a and 4a) surrounded by patches of fiber (2–4-layered thick) (fig. 3b and c). the adaxial cortex has 9–11 layers of cells (15–18 µm thick), while the abaxial cortex is 8–12-layered (23–31 µm thick). the ratio of the thickness (abaxial/adaxial) is 1.72 (table 3). petiole: transverse section (ts) of the petiole has a circular outline with a v-shaped adaxial cuticle (figs 5 and 12a). the adaxial cortex has 18–22 layers (62–115 µm thick), and the adaxial cortex has 20–21 layers (113–138 µm thick) of cells. the ratio of the abaxial to abaxial parenchymatous cortex thickness is 1.34 (table 3). the vascular bundles formed ¾ circular system with two rib traces, adaxial and central (modullary) bundle plates (fig. 5); surrounded by patches of fibers sclerenchymatous fiber and vessels in radial multiples of 2-8 cells or partly in tangential pairs, and rays 2-3 cell-thick (fig. 12d). calcium oxalate (prismatic crystals and crystal sand), secretory canals, and tanniferous cells are observed in the parenchymatous cortex (fig. 12b and c). young stem: the cortex of c. delevoyi has 10–14 layers of cells (20–32 µm thick) while the pith is 189–214 µm thick. the ratio of the thickness of the pith to the cortex is 8.13 (table 3). 220 ekeke et al. vessels are solitary or in pairs, and rays 1–2-celled thick with patches of fiber outwardly and crushed parenchyma in the cortex (fig. 13a–c). fig. 1. epidermal peels of the chrysophyllum species studied. a-d = c. delevoyi, abaxial (a-c), adaxial (d); ef = c. albidum, abaxial (e), adaxial (f); gh = c. cainito, adaxial (g), abaxial (h); ij = c. perpulchrum (i) abaxial, adaxial (j). c. albidum epidermis: leaf hypostomatic with a stomatal index of 23.8. the stomata on the abaxial epidermis are mainly paracytic but rarely tetracytic (fig. 1e and f). the abaxial surface is hairy with t-shaped non-glandular trichomes while the adaxial epidermis is glabrous. both adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells are polygonal to irregular in shape, with sinus or wavy anticlinal walls. epidermal and anatomical studies on chrysophyllum l. 221 lamina: the lamina has uniseriate abaxial and adaxial epidermis. the mesophyll is characterized by 2 layers of palisade parenchyma (11–12 µm thick), and 4–6 layers of spongy parenchyma (20–23 µm thick). the palisade and spongy mesophylls contain tanniferous cells. the palisade tissue consists of periclinal elongated cells arranged in rows while the spongy parenchyma appeared less regular with large intercellular spaces (fig. 2b). the vascular bundles are embedded mainly in the spongy mesophylls extending to the adaxial epidermis and the ratio of the spongy to palisade mesophyll thickness (s/p) is 1.52 (table 2). fig. 2. leaf lamina of the chrysophyllum species studied. (a) c. delevoyi, (b) c. albidum, (c) c. cainito, and (d) c. perpulchrum (ep– epidermis, bs– bundle sheath, tr-trichome, sp– spongy mesophyll, ar– air space, p– palisade mesophyll). midrib: the midrib is covered with t-shaped trichomes (figs 3d and 6). the adaxial cuticle has a relatively flat surface (fig. 6). calcium oxalate (prismatic crystals) and tanniferous cells were observed in the parenchymatous cortex, pith, and xylem tissues (fig. 3e and f), and crushed parenchyma in the cortex. the vascular system is arranged in a semi-circular arc with adaxial and central plates, and rib traces on both sides of the arc (figs 3d and 6). the adaxial cortex has 9–13 layers of cells (13–15 µm thick), and the abaxial cortex 16–18 layers (47–15 µm). the ratio of the thickness (abaxial/adaxial) is 3.61 (table 3). petiole: transverse section (ts) of the petiole has an oval or circular outline with a concave adaxial cuticle and covered by t-shaped non-glandular hairs (figs 7 and 12e). the vascular bundle has an oval closed system with an abaxial central (modullary) vascular bundle (fig. 7). the parenchymatous cortex contains calcium oxalate crystals (crystal sands, and prismatic crystals), and tanniferous cells including secretary canals in the cortex, and pith (fig. 12f and g). vessels are in radial multiples of 3–9 cells, rays 1–2-celled (fig. 12h). the adaxial cortex is 95–125 µm 222 ekeke et al. thick (27–32 layers), and the abaxial cortex 127–149 µm thick (20–24 layers). the ratio of the abaxial to the adaxial thickness of the cortex is 1.28 (table 3). fig. 3. midrib ts of chrysophyllum species studied. a-c = c. delevoyi; d-f = c. albidum, g-h = c. cainito, i-j = c. perpulchrum (ep– epidermis, ph– phloem, xy– xylem, ps– prismatic crystal, ry– ray, vs– vessels, co– cortex, cs– crystal sand, ca– secretory cavity, and tn– tanniferous cell). young stem: cortex parenchyma is 91–144 µm thick with 28–35 layers of cells. the pith parenchyma is 189–214 µm thick. the ratio of the pith to cortex thickness is 3.52 (table 3). vessels occurred in radial multiples of 2–13 cells, and rays 1–2-celled thick with patches of fiber outwardly, and secretory canals in the cortex (fig. 13d–g). c. cainito epidermis: leaf hypostomatic with an average stomatal index of 20.0. the stomata on the abaxial epidermis are mainly paracytic but rarely anisocytic and tetracytic, and with abnormalities (poorly developed stomata, and contiguous stomata) (fig. 1g and 1h). the adaxial epidermal cells are polygonal to irregular in shape with undulating anticlinal walls while abaxial epidermal cells are polygonal in shape with curved anticlinal walls (table 2). lamina: the lamina has two layers of the abaxial epidermis, and uniseriate adaxial epidermis. the mesophyll is characterized by a 2 layers of palisade parenchyma (11–12 µm thick), and 6–10 layers of spongy parenchyma (20–23 µm thick). the palisade and spongy mesophylls contain tanniferous cells. the spongy parenchyma appeared less regular with large intercellular spaces epidermal and anatomical studies on chrysophyllum l. 223 (fig. 2c). the vascular bundles embedded mainly in the spongy mesophylls and the ratio of the spongy to palisade mesophyll thickness (s/p) is 1.89 (table 2). midrib: the midrib outline is circular, and adaxial cuticle is v to u-shaped or concave. vascular bundle formed a close system, concave towards the adaxial surface with rib trace, and palisade mesophyll extending to the midrib (figs 3g and 8). the abaxial surface is covered with simple t-shaped non-glandular trichomes. cortex, pith, and xylem tissues contain calcium oxalate (sand and prismatic crystals) and tanniferous cells (fig. 3h), and crushed parenchyma. adaxial cortex has 3–9 layers of cells (17–13 µm thick) and abaxial cortex 13–19 layers (13–19 µm thick). the ratio of the abaxial to adaxial cortex thickness is 2.18. vessels are in radial multiples of 3–4 cells, or rarely solitary. vascular bundles are surrounded outwardly by patches of fiber (fig. 3h). table 2. leaf anatomicaland epidermal characteristics in chrysophyllum species studied. plant part taxa c. delevoyi c. albidum c. cainito c. perpulchrum lamina layer(s) of ab and ad 1 1 2 1 thickness 21–23 µm 36–38 µm 42‒44 µm 33–34 µm palisade mesophyll 1 layer, 3–4 µm thick 2 layers, 12–13 µm thick 2 layers, 11–12 µm thick 1 layer, 5–6 µm thick spongy mesophyll 4-6 layers, 14– 17 µm thick 4–6 layers, 19– 20 µm thick 6–10 layers, 20–23 µm thick 8–9 layers, 23‒25 µm thick ratio (s/p) 5.2 1.52 1.89 4.04 adaxial epidermis 2 µm thick 2 µm thick 5–6 µm thick 2–3 µm thick abaxial epidermis 1–2 µm thick 1‒2 µm thick 2–3 µm thick 2–3 µm thick epidermis ad ep shape irregular polygonal irregular irregular ab ep shape irregular polygonal irregular irregular hair type unicellular nonglandular t-shape nonglandular t-shape nonglandular hairs on abaxial surface + +++ + stomata type pa, ani, te, and stomata abnormalities pa, te pa, ani, te, and stomata abnormalities pa, ani, te, ano ab si 9.09 23.8 20 15.38 note: = glabrous, + = hairy, +++ = highly hairy, p = palisade mesophyll thickness, s = spongy mesophyll thickness, si = stomatal index, ab = abaxial, ad = adaxial, ep = epidermis, pa = paracytic, ani = anisocytic, te = tetracytic, ano = anomocytic. petiole: transverse section (ts) of the petiole has an oval or circular outline with a concave or v-shaped adaxial cuticle (figs 9 and 12i). the vascular bundle formed a circular closed system and concave adaxially with scanty or unpronounced fiber cells. the parenchymatous cortex contains many calcium oxalate crystals (crystal sands, and prismatic crystals), and tanniferous cells including secretary canals distributed randomly in the cortex, and pith (fig. 12j–k). vessels partly in tangential pairs but mainly in radial multiples of 4‒10 cells, rays 1–2-celled thick (fig. 224 ekeke et al. 12l). the adaxial and abaxial cortex has 20–24 layers of cells. adaxial cortex 60–90 µm thick, and abaxial cortex 82–102 µm. the ratio of the abaxial to adaxial cortex thickness is 1.17 (table 3). table 3. anatomical characteristics of petiole, midrib, and stem of chrysophyllum species studied. plant part taxa c. delevoyi c. albidum c. cainito c. perpulchrum petiole ad cortex 18–22 layers, 62–115 µm thick 27–32 layers, 95‒125 µm thick 20–24 layers, 60 ‒ 90 µm thick 11–14 layers, 81‒96 µm thick ab cortex 20–21 layers, 113‒138 µm 20–24 layers, 127– 149 µm 20–24 layers, 82–102 µm 12–15 layers, 50‒79 µm tannin + + + + sc + +++ + ab/ad 1.34 1.28 1.17 0.68 vb. close system with adaxial & modullary bundles, and rib traces close system with modullary bundle close system with concave adaxial surface semi–circular arc with adaxial plate midrib ad cortex 9–11 layers, 15–18 µm thick. 9–13 layers, 13–15 µm thick. 3–9 layers, 17–23 µm thick. 7–8 layers, 14– 22 µm thick. ab cortex 8–12 layers, 23–31 µm thick 16–18 layers, 47–51 µm thick 13–19 layers, 36– 48 µm thick 4–9 layers, 14– 26 µm tannin + + + + sc + +++ +++ ab/ad 1.72 3.61 2.18 0.92 vb. ¾ circular with adaxial & modullary bundles, and two interspersed phloem tissues ¾ circular with adaxial & modullary bundles, and rib traces close system with rib trace, and concave adaxial surface close system, oval in shape stem cortex 10–14 layers, 20–32 µm thick. 28–35 layers, 91–144 µm thick 15–18 layers, 28– 47 µm thick 4–9 layers, 16‒20 µm thick pith 189–214 µm thick 291–411 µm thick 146‒162 µm thick 195‒217 µm thick tannin ++ +++ +++ + sc ++ + + p/co 8.13 3.52 4.20 10.78 note: ad = adaxial cortex, ab = abaxial cortex, sc = secretory canal, p/co = pith thickness/cortex thickness, ab/ad = abaxial thickness/adaxial thickness. young stem: cortex parenchyma is 91–144 µm thick with 28–35 layers of cells (fig. 13h–k). the pith parenchyma is 189 –214 µm thick. the ratio of the pith to cortex thickness is 3.52 (table 3). epidermal and anatomical studies on chrysophyllum l. 225 c. perpulchrum epidermis: leaf amphistomatic with an adaxial average stomatal index of 15.38. the stomata on the abaxial epidermis are mainly paracytic, anomocytic, anisocytic, and tetracytic (fig. 1i) and the adaxial surface has anisocytic stomata (fig. 1j). the abaxial surface is hairy while the adaxial epidermis is glabrous. both adaxial and abaxial epidermal cells are polygonal to irregular in shape, with sinus or wavy anticlinal walls (table 2). figs 4‒11. schematic diagram of midrib and petiole showing the vascular bundle arrangements in the chrysophyllum species studied. 4-5 = c. delevoyi, midrib (4), petiole (5); 6-7 = c. albidum, midrib (6), petiole (7); 8-9 = c. cainito, midrib (8), petiole (9); 10-11 = c. perpulchrum, midrib (10), petiole (11). lamina: lamina is 33–34 µm thick with uniseriate abaxial and adaxial epidermis. the palisade and spongy mesophylls contain tanniferous cells. the palisade tissue consists of a layer of periclinal elongated cells (5–6 µm thick) arranged in rows. the spongy mesophyll has 8–9 layers of cells (23–25 µm thick). the vascular bundles are embedded mainly in the spongy mesophylls and the ratio of the spongy to palisade mesophyll thickness (s/p) is 4.04 (table 2). 226 ekeke et al. fig. 12. ts of petiole of chrysophyllum species. a-d = c. delevoy, e-h = c. albidum, i-l = c. cainito, m-o = c. perpulchrum (ep– epidermis, ph– phloem, xy– xylem, ps– prismatic crystal, ry– ray, vs– vessels, co– cortex, cs– crystal sand, ms– mucilage, and tn– tanniferous cell). epidermal and anatomical studies on chrysophyllum l. 227 fig. 13. ts of stem of chrysophyllum species studied. a-c = c. delevoyi, d-g = c. albidum, h-k = c. cainito, l-n = c. perpulchrum (ep– epidermis, ph– phloem, xy– xylem, ps– prismatic crystal, ry– ray, vs– vessels, co– cortex, col– collenchyma, pi– pith, c– crushed parenchyma, and tn– tanniferous cell). midrib: the abaxial and adaxial surfaces are glabrous. the adaxial cuticle formed furrows on both arms of the leaf blade with a convex surface. calcium oxalate (prismatic crystals) and tanniferous cells are contained in the parenchymatous cortex, pith, and xylem tissues (fig. 3i and j). the cortex contains crushed parenchyma. the epidermis is uniseriate, the adaxial cortex 228 ekeke et al. contains 7–8 layers of cells (14–22 µm thick), and abaxial cortex 4–9 layers of cells (14–26 µm thick). the ratio of the thickness of the abaxial to the adaxial cortex is 0.92 (table 3). the vascular bundles consist of an open semi-circular system with an adaxial plate (fig. 10). the vessels are in radial multiples of 3–4 cells or partly solitary. vascular bundle is surrounded outwardly by continuous layer fiber 2–6 cells thick (fig. 3j). petiole: transverse section (ts) of the petiole showed a circular outline with a flat adaxial cuticle (figs. 11 and 12m). the vascular bundle formed an oval closed system (fig. 11). the adaxial parenchymatous cortex has 11–14 layers of cells (81–96 µm thick), while the abaxial parenchymatous cortex has 12–15 layers of cells (50–79 µm thick). calcium oxalate crystals (crystal sands, and prismatic crystals) are found in the parenchymatous cortex, and pith (fig. 12n) with few secretory canals. vessels 1–3 in tangentially or radial multiples of 4–9 cells, and rays are 1–2-celled (fig. 12o). young stem: transverse section of the stem show scanty secretory canals, solitary vessels, crushed parenchyma, and rays 1–2-celled thick (figs. 12l–n). cortex parenchyma is 16–20 µm thick (4–6 layers of cells), and pith parenchyma is 195–217 µm thick. the ratio of the pith to cortex thickness is 10.78 (table 3). anatomy of some members of sapotaceae including chrysophyllum has been described. metcalfe and chalk (1972) recognized laticiferous elements in the leaf mesophyll, cortex, phloem, and pith of stem in the family. furthermore, they reported the presence of two-armed trichomes of varying arm sizes in some species including ranunculaceous (anomocytic) stomata mainly confined to the abaxial leaf surface or rubiaceous (paracytic). they noted that the woods occur in loose radial or oblique lines and often in multiples of 4 or more cells, rays 1–6-celled wide, but most typically 2–3-celled wide. mesophyll with one or more cells and spongy with air spaces. epidermal cells with straight or sinus anticlinal walls, amphistomatic in some members of chrysophyllum. crystals solitary, clustered, or in the form of sand. the pericycle of the young stem usually has a discontinuous, but sometimes continuous layer of fiber, xylem forming continuous cylinder is traversed by narrow rays, vessels often in radial rows, solitary crystals always present and abundant in the cortex of all the species of sapotaceae and sometimes occur in the phloem in argania roem. & schult., manilkara adans., and mimusops l. and the pith of madhuca ham. ex j.f. gmel., pouteria aubl., and sideroxylon l. paracytic stomata was observed in all the species studied while anomocytic stomata was recorded in only c. delevoyi. also, c. delevoyi and c. cainito have the same stomata types but the stomatal index varied significantly among them. furthermore, the stomatal index among all the species studied varied significantly, which is diagnostic. we subsequently recorded t-shaped non-glandular trichomes on the lamina, midrib, and petiole of c. albidum and c. cainito while unicellular non-glandular trichomes in c. delevoyi. also, accessory bundles (rib traces) were seen in the petiole of c. delevoyi, and in the midribs of c. albidum and c. cainito. the midribs and petioles of c. delevoyi and c. albidum have central (modullary) and adaxial bundle plates but the midrib of c. albidum has rib traces. the nature and arrangement of the vascular bundles could be used to differentiate the species studied. similarly, prasawang and srinual (2020) recorded accessory bundles in c. cainito, and lima et al. (2019) observed accessory bundles in the petioles of diploon (sapotaceae) including many laticifers, prismatic crystals, two-layered palisade parenchyma, and t-shaped trichomes. we observed the abundance of laticifers (mucilages), prismatic crystals, and crystal sand among the chrysophyllum but the distribution of these cell inclusions was not diagnostic. prasawang and srinual (2020) concentrated on the wood, lamina, and petiole anatomical attributes of two chrysophyllum (c. cainito l. and c. roxburghii g. don) from thailand. they found that the shape and outline of the epidermal cell wall, presence or absence of t-shaped trichome, presence or absence of inclusions, epidermal and anatomical studies on chrysophyllum l. 229 the shape of the vascular bundle and accessory bundle in the midrib, shape of petiole and vascular bundle, grouping type of vessel, type of axial parenchyma, presence or absence of inclusions in rays, and thickness of fiber walls are diagnostic among the two species studied. in the same way among the species studied, the laticifers occur mainly in the cortical cells, pith cells, xylem, and partly in the phloem and mesophyll cells. the prismatic and sand crystals are found in varying abundance in the cortex and partly in the pith. this result supports the previous findings of metcalfe and chalk (1972), monteiro et al. (2007), almeida-jr et al. (2012), lima et al. (2019), and prasawang and srinual (2020) in chrysophyllum, and other members of sapotaceae, and in citrus l. (ogundare and saheed, 2012). further reference is given by inyama et al. (2016) who worked primarily on the anatomy of three chrysophyllum species from nigeria and concluded that the leaf anatomical features can be useful in delimiting the species. from our study, the species investigated have many similar features such as paracytic stomata, calcium oxalates (crystal sand and prismatic crystals), secretory canals, vessels in radial multiples, and collateral vascular bundles. these anatomical similarities are in line with the findings of metcalfe and chalk (1972), inyama et al. (2016), and prasawang and srinual (2020), and affirm the interspecific relationship among the chrysophyllum studied. we observed that the lamina of all the four species studied showed uniseriate epidermis except c. cainito which has two layers of the adaxial epidermis. also, all the species were hypostomatic except c. perpulchrum. furthermore, the stomatal index and the ratio of the spongy to palisade mesophyll thickness (s/p) (table 2), hairiness, the shape of adaxial petiole and midrib outline, number and arrangement of the vascular bundles in the midribs, layers of the adaxial and abaxial cortex in petioles and midribs, stem cortical thickness and layers, stem pith thickness, and pith to cortex (p/co) ratio are found to be diagnostic among the species studied (table 3). similar observations have been previously reported by struwig et al. (2011) who showed that the number of chlorenchyma rows may be diagnostic in boerhavia l. species. metcalfe and chalk (1972), monteiro et al. (2007), almeida-jr et al. (2012), and prasawang and srinual (2020) have proved that petiole, wood, and lamina anatomy are of greater taxonomic importance in sapotaceae. the midrib adaxial cuticle formed furrows on both arms of the leaf blade with an angular or convex outline in c. delevoyi, relatively flat in c. albidum, and convex or arced in c. perpulchrum. the vascular bundle in the species studied consists of open semi-circular bundles except in c. cainito where it has a closed circular system. on the other hand, the vascular bundles comprised adaxial and central plates with two phloem tissues interspersed between the plates and two rib traces in c. albidum or only an adaxial plate in c. perpulchrum. the petiolar abaxial outlines of all the species are similar but the adaxial outline differed. in c. delevoyi and c. cainito it is v-shaped while in c. albidum is slightly depressed (concave), and in c. perpulchrum it is flat. the vascular bundle in c. delevoyi is distinct forming an ¾ circle, with adaxial and central plate including two rib traces. the vascular bundles formed a closed modulated system in c. albidum, c. cainato and c. perpulchrum but with central vascular bundle in c. albidum, and concave adaxially in c. cainito. the petiole of c. perpulchrum and c. delevoyi are glabrous but hairy in c. albidum and c. cainito. our results show clear distinguishing midrib and petiolar features and agree that it is of great diagnostic value as stated by metcalfe and chalk (1972), metcalfe and chalk (1983), monteiro et al. 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(manuscript received on 18 november, 2020; revised on 19 may, 2021) from the chief editor’s desk on the celebration of 25 years’ of promoting plant taxonomy research i am delighted to say few words on the occasion of publishing silver jubilee volume of the bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy (bjpt). the first volume of the bjpt was published by the bangladesh association of plant taxonomists (bapt) in june 1994. the present 25th volume of the bjpt not only shows the regularity in publication, but also bjpt’s important contributions to plant taxonomy and biodiversity research in bangladesh and beyond. since the publication of the first volume, the bjpt has gained its reputation and present status with very good pace. the bjpt first appeared on the banglajol (bangladesh journals online: https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/bjpt) platform hosted by the international network for the availability of scientific publications (inasp), uk in 2008, which boosted its global linkages in an unprecedented manner. the journal started receiving the journal citation report’s impact factor from 2010. it is now being indexed by numerous scholarly agencies and has been attracting numerous foreign authors to publish their important works in it. the bjpt is now truly an open access journal complying international standards and norms. its articles are now being published under the ‘creative commons cc by license’. in february 2018, the bjpt received ‘two stars’ (of a possible three), according to the ‘journal publishing practices and standards’ (jpps: https://www.journalquality.info/en/) managed by the african journals online and the inasp, demonstrating its high publishing practices. it is to note that, globally, out of 406 journals hosted on five jols (including banglajol), only 43 have received two stars; none has received three stars yet. the bjpt is one of seven banglajolhosted journals out of total 142 journals. these outstanding achievements were only possible due to the able leadership from the editors of bjpt. professor md. salar khan was the first chief editor of the bjpt who continued till his demise in 2002 [volumes 1−9(1)]. after him, professor a.k.m. nurul islam led the journal as the chief editor till his death in july 2006 [volumes 9(2)−13(1)]. professor a.b.m. enayet hossain was the chief editor of the bjpt for volumes 13(2)−14. he was succeeded by professor md. abul hassan [volumes 15−24] who has so far been the longest serving chief editor of the bjpt from 2008 to 2017. i assumed the position of chief editor of bjpt in 2018, starting with editing the silver jubilee volume. the current reputation of the bjpt is due to the collective efforts of all its chief editors, esteemed members of the editorial board, and the executive editors − dr. haseeb md. irfanullah [volumes 13(2)−16 & 22], professor dr. m. oliur rahman (volumes 17−21), dr. md. khairul alam (volumes 23 & 24), and professor dr. mohammad harun-ur-rashid (from volume 25). it was impossible for the journal to achieve its present reputation without the unconditional, voluntary support from its reviewers and the last but not the least – its authors from bangladesh and abroad. i earnestly appreciate their relentless support and contributions. at the time of celebrating 25 years’ of publication of bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy, i sincerely hope that the journal will continue its endeavour of promoting research in plant taxonomy around the world. professor dr. m. oliur rahman chief editor bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 427-433, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists dissecting molecular evolutionary relationship of krameriaceae inferred from phylotranscriptomic analysis mohammad ajmal ali*, m. oliur rahman1, joongku lee2, fahad al-hemaid, sidanand v. kambhar3, meena elangbam4 and arun bahadur gurung5 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia keywords: zygophyllales; zygophyllaceae; krameriaceae; phylotranscriptome; phylogeny. abstract the systematic relationships of krameriaceae have changed considerably. the phylotranscriptomic data sets provide highly informative data for resolving deeper‐level phylogenetic relationships. the phylotranscriptomic analyses to infer evolutionary relationships of krameriaceae in the order zygophyllales using the minimum evolution, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods recovered similar topology and taxon proximity. under the zygophyllales clade, krameria lanceolata torr. of the family krameriaceae nested with tribulus eichlerianus k.l. wilson and larrea tridentata (sessé & moc. ex dc.) coville belonging to the family zygophyllaceae with strong nodal support. the phylotranscriptomic analyses suggest that the family krameriaceae is sister to zygophyllaceae. introduction the order zygophyllales link in the fabids comprises two families viz. zygophyllaceae r. br. and krameriaceae dumort. (apg iv, 2016). the zygophyllaceae commonly known as the ‘caltrop family’, possesses mostly opposite, compound leaves, pinnate or 2-foliolate with paired persistent stipules, flowers with disc, distinct stamens bearing basal scales, polycarpellary syncarpous with 5 carpals and 4-5 loculed ovary. the zygophyllaceae consists of c. 25 genera [e.g. augea thunberg, balanites delile, bulnesia c. gay, fagonia l., gonopterodendron (grisebach) godoy-bürki, guaiacum l., kallstroemia scopoli, kelleronia schinz, larrea cavanilles, melocarpum (engl.) beier & thulin, metharme engler, morkillia rose & painter, neoluederitzia schinz, pintoa c. gay, plectrocarpa gillies, porlieria ruíz & pavón, roepera a. de jussieu, seetzenia r. brown, sericodes a. gray, sisyndite sonder, tetraena maximowicz, tribulopis r. br., tribulus l., viscainoa greene, zygophyllum l.] and c. 325 species under 5 subfamilies (e.g. larreoideae, morkillioideae, seetzenioideae, tribuloideae and zygophylloideae), distributed in dry and warm or cool temperate and tropical regions (beier et al., 2004; brummitt, 2007; apg iv, 2016; godoy-bürki et al., 2018). the monogeneric family krameriaceae (e.g. krameria loefl.) commonly known as ‘rhatany’ is characterized by small-leaved, moderate-sized shrubs to subshrubs with somewhat woody underground stems and roots with the prostrate *corresponding author. email: ajmalpdrc@gmail.com 1department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 2department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, daehak-ro, yuseong-gu, daejeon, republic of korea. email: joongku@cnu.ac.kr 3 post graduate department of botany, kle society’s, basavaprabhu kore college, chikodi591 201, belagavi, karnataka, india 4 department of basic sciences and social sciences, north-eastern hill university, shillong 793022, meghalaya, india 5 genetics laboratory, centre of advanced studies in life sciences, manipur university, canchipur 795 003, india mailto:ajmalpdrc@gmail.com mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd mailto:joongku@cnu.ac.kr 428 ali et al. herbaceous stems and comprises c. 18 species distributed in south and north america, and the west indies (simpson, 1989; simpson et al., 2004) possessing astringent properties (simpson, 1991). the systematic relationships of the zygophyllaceae and krameriaceae have often been debatable (apg iv, 2016). the krameriaceae was considered as a subfamily of fabaceae, or near to polygalaceae (simpson, 1989; simpson et al., 2004); however, aligned as sister to zygophyllaceae based on evidences from the anatomical (gregory, 1994; carlquist, 2005), dna (savolainen et al., 2000; wang et al., 2009) and pollen data (tao et al., 2018). while the wood anatomy (carlquist, 2005) and plastosome analysis (ali et al., 2019) revealed the separation of krameriaceae from the zygophyllaceae, granot and grafi (2014) emphasized the phylogenetic significance of the epigenetic information with reference to zygophyllaceae, and argued that the placement of krameriaceae under the zygophyllales needs to be re-examined. the advances in the next generation sequencing and data analysis during the last decade have made transcriptomics a cost-efficient means for investigating systematic and evolutionary questions at species to larger clades (wickett et al., 2014). transcriptomics refers to the study of the transcriptome the complete set of rna transcripts which are produced by the genome under specific circumstances or in a specific cell by using high-throughput methods. the use of transcriptome data sets provides novel insights into evolutionary history (cannon et al., 2015; smith et al., 2015; yang et al., 2018) for resolving deeper-level phylogenetic relationships which are not obtainable from a handful of loci and with limited taxon sampling (wickett et al., 2014; smith et al., 2018). a handful of loci and limited taxon sampling result in artificially inflated support (seo, 2008). therefore, the present analyses aimed to explore the utility of transcriptome data to infer evolutionary relationships in zygophyllales. materials and methods selection of taxon transcriptome data of tribulus eichlerianus k.l. wilson and larrea tridentata (sessé & moc. ex dc.) coville belonging to the family zygophyllaceae, and krameria lanceolata torr. of the family krameriaceae available in the sra database from the study of ‘one thousand plant transcriptomes initiative’ (leebens-mack, 2019) were retrieved, and analyzed together with rhus radicans l., gleditsia triacanthos l. and polygala lutea l. as representatives from anacardiaceae, fabaceae and polygalaceae, respectively. transcriptome data of tetrastigma obtectum (wall. ex m.a. lawson) planch. ex franch. (vitaceae) was used as the outgroup in the phylotranscriptomic analysis. the representative in group taxon e.g. r. radicans, g. triacanthos, p. lutea and the outgroup taxon were also retrieved from the sra database available from the study of one thousand plant transcriptomes initiative (leebens-mack, 2019) (table 1). the retrieved aligned data were then subjected to phylogenetic analyses using mega x (kumar et al., 2018). phylogenetic analyses all ambiguous positions were removed for each sequence pair (pairwise deletion option). the evolutionary analyses were conducted in mega x (kumar et al., 2018). the evolutionary history was inferred using the minimum evolution method (rzhetsky and nei, 1992), maximum likelihood method based on the jtt matrix-based model (jones et al., 1992) and maximum parsimony bootstrap method (felsenstein, 1985) using the subtree-pruning-regrafting algorithm (nei and kumar, 2000). a timetree inferred using the reltime method (tamura et al., 2012, 2018) and estimates of branch lengths were calculated using the neighbor-joining method (saitou and nei, 1987). molecular evolutionary relationship of krameriaceae 429 table 1. list of species used in the phylotranscriptomic analyses to infer relationship between zygophyllaceae and krameriaceae. sl. species clade order family genbank ingroup 1. tribulus eichlerianus k.l. wilson core eudicots/ rosids /fabids zygophyllales zygophyllaceae ers3670314 2. larrea tridentata (sessé & moc. ex dc.) coville core eudicots/ rosids/fabids zygophyllales zygophyllaceae ers368254 3. krameria lanceolata torr. core eudicots/ rosids /fabids zygophyllales krameriaceae ers1829389 4. rhus radicans l. core eudicots/ rosids/ malvids sapindales anacardiaceae ers1829525 5. gleditsia triacanthos l. core eudicots/ rosids /fabids fabales fabaceae ers631106 6. polygala lutea l. core eudicots/ rosids/fabids fabales polygalaceae ers631118 outgroup 7. tetrastigma obtectum (wall. ex m.a. lawson) planch. ex franch. core eudicots/ rosids vitales vitaceae ers1829368 results and discussion the present study revealed the molecular phylogenetic analyses of 10376 parsimony informative sites (out of a total of 142796 positions in the final transcriptome dataset) of tribulus eichlerianus, larrea tridentata, krameria lanceolata, rhus radicans, gleditsia triacanthos, polygala lutea and tetrastigma obtectum (fig. 1). the evolutionary tree topology and taxon proximity recovered in all the three method i.e. me, ml and mp were found similar (fig. 2). fig. 1. the final transcriptome data set of t. eichlerianus, l. tridentata, k. lanceolata, r. radicans, g. triacanthos, p. lutea and t. obtectum. 430 ali et al. under the zygophyllales clade, krameria lanceolata (krameriaceae) nested with tribulus eichlerianus and larrea tridentata (zygophyllaceae) with strong nodal support having me/ml/mp: 99/100/100 (fig. 2). the equality of evolutionary rate between sequences of t. eichlerianus and k. lanceolata, with sequence of tetrastigma obtectum used as an outgroup in tajima's relative rate test (tajima, 1993) performed using mega x (kumar et al., 2018) revealed 23009 identical sites in all three sequences, 1948 divergent sites in all three sequences, 2098 unique differences in t. eichlerianus (zygophyllaceae), 2005 unique differences in k. lanceolata (krameriaceae) and 3056 unique differences in t. obtectum. fig. 2. the evolutionary history inferred using the minimum evolution method (the optimal tree with the sum of branch length 0.72511142) and maximum likelihood method (the tree with the highest log likelihood 818278.73). tree #1 out of 2 most parsimonious trees having length: 83949, consistency index: 0.704273, retention index: 0.435550, composite index: 0.400719. a timetree inferred using the reltime method and estimates of branch lengths inferred using the neighbor-joining method. the percentage of replicate trees in which the associated taxa clustered together in the bootstrap test (100 replicates) are shown next to the branches (me/ml/mp). the order zygophyllales is distinct by the presence of harman alkaloids (kubitzki, 2007), diversity of lignans and neolignans (sheahan, 2006; simpson et al., 2006), and lack of mycorrhizae; however, arbuscular mycorrhizae have been reported from roots of l. tridentata in the mojave desert (apple et al., 2005); deep cortical or pericyclic (superficial) cork cambium; vessel elements with simple perforation plates; rays (predominantly) uniseriate; transverse stomatal orientation (carlquist, 2005); pollen colpate (tao et al., 2018); micropyle endostomal; seeds more or less exotestal; and lack of endosperm (apg iv, 2016). the systematic relationships of krameriaceae have often been changed. earlier works placed krameriaceae as a subfamily of fabaceae or within fabaceae, or near to polygalaceae (simpson, 1989; simpson et al., 2004). wood anatomy comparison between krameriaceae and zygophyllaceae species showed that they share several wood characters that might reflect ancestral relationships, but significant differences have been noticed in their wood anatomy viz. vessels with non-vestured pits in zygophyllaceae vs vestured pits in krameriaceae; imperforate tracheary elements in all tracheids in zygophyllaceae vs tracheids and fibre-tracheids in molecular evolutionary relationship of krameriaceae 431 krameriaceae; axial parenchyma usually with single cell per strand in zygophyllaceae vs 2–4 cells per strand in krameriaceae; rays paedomorphic type iii in zygophyllaceae vs heterogeneous types ii and iii as well as homogeneous type iii in krameriaceae; storying absent or nearly so in zygophyllaceae vs present in axial parenchyma, sometimes in rays in krameriaceae; and crystals many per cell, of varied sizes, rare in wood but common in axial parenchyma of secondary phloem in zygophyllaceae vs crystals one per cell or septate portion of cell in wood or secondary phloem in krameriaceae (carlquist, 2005). these anatomical variations support the separation of krameriaceae from the zygophyllaceae. in the present phylotranscriptomic analyses, the krameriaceae did not show proximity with fabaceae or polygalaceae, rather proximity of krameriaceae with zygophyllaceae was found consistent with previous reports based on dna data (chase et al., 1993; savolainen et al., 2000; soltis et al., 2000; wang et al., 2009). further, many krameria species are shrubs, inhabiting similar habitats to species of zygophyllaceae, and have the ability to tolerate similarly low water potentials, but they differ from zygophyllaceae species in other respects; krameria species are root parasites and have zygomorphic flowers, and an obligate relationship with oil-collecting centridine bees (simpson, 1989). previous study has shown that k. cistoidea, in contrast to zygophyllaceae species, possesses h3k9me2 binding protein indicating that this unique epigenetic trait might have been developed exclusively in zygophyllaceae or have been lost in krameriaceae during evolution (granot and grafi, 2014). finally, our study based on phylotranscriptomic analyses suggests that the family krameriaceae is sister to zygophyllaceae. acknowledgements the authors extend their appreciation to the deanship of scientific research at king saud university for funding the work through the research group project (rg-1439-84). this study was also supported by the chungnam national university, daejeon, republic of korea. references ali, m.a., elshikh, m.s., kim, s.-y., al-hemaid, f., lee, j., lama, d., chhetri, a. and pan, t.k. 2019. complete chloroplast genome of the hot desert herb fagonia indica (zygophyllaceae) from southcentral arabia. mitochondrial dna part b, 4(2): 3904–3905. apg iv. 2016. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants. bot. j. linn. soc. 181: 1–20. apple, m.e., thee, c.i., smith-longozo, v.l., cogar, c.r., wells, c.e. and nowak, r.s. 2005. arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of larrea tridentata and ambrosia dumosa roots varies with precipitation and season in the mojave desert. symbiosis 39: 131–135. beier, b.a., nylander, j.a.a., chase, m.a. and thulin, m. 2004. phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of the desert plant genus fagonia (zygophyllaceae) inferred by parsimony and bayesian model averaging. mol. phylogen. evol. 33(1): 91–108. brummitt, r.k. 2007. acanthaceae sphenocleaceae. in: heywood, v.h., brummitt, r.k., culham, a. and seberg, o. 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(manuscript received on 13 july 2020; revised on 22 november 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 283-291, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists comparative midrib anatomy of monodora dunal. and isolona engl. (annonaceae) from west-central africa sunday adebunmi adeniran1*, akeem babalola kadiri and james dele olowokudejo department of botany, university of lagos, akoka lagos nigeria keywords: comparative; monodoreae; isolona; monodora; midrib; taxonomy. abstract this article assessed midrib anatomical description of isolona dunal. and monodora engl. (annonaceae) from west-central africa. twelve species of tribe monodoreae were investigated on the basis of micromorphology of midrib characters with the aid of light microscopy. the study provided important taxonomic characters which aid delineation of inter and infrageneric species within the duo genera. the generic features include centrally positioned, open collateral vascular bundle and furrow shaped midribs which are diagnostic to the genera.u shaped vascular bundles are present in most of the species with inviginating or expanded endings while marginal traces vary from 2 to 4. the presence of keel protrusion at abaxial surface established a closer affinity among m. angolensis, m. crispata, and m undulata with additional features species were delimited. other variable useful features of midrib encountered are trichomes, parenchyma, collenchyma and sclerenchyma, and adaxial and abaxial shape. the midrib characters have been used to prepare an indented dichotomous key to delimit the species in the genera studied. introduction annonaceae juss, the custard-apple, is the largest family of the order magnoliales (bremer et al., 2009; smith et al., 2010; zenget al., 2014) and pantropical in distribution consisting of trees, shrubs and lianas (mols and kessler, 2003). the members play an important ecological role in terms of species diversity, especially in tropical rainforest ecosystems and the family is recognized as the most diverse plant family in the tropics (phillips and miller, 2002). there are about 42 genera (couvreur et al., 2012) and 500 species (mols et al., 2004) in africa-madagascar. african genus monodora and afro-malagasy genus isolona with ca. 14 and 21 species respectively (couvreur, 2009) are of the tribe monodoreae/monodoroideae (hutchinson, 1923; fries, 1959;chatrou et al., 2012) in the family annonaceae. they occur in lowland or montane rainforest from west to east africa with and comprise mainly of trees and shrubs up to 30-40m tall (couvreur, 2009). in recent studies, morphological (doyle and le thomas, 1996), palynological (doyle and le thomas, 1994; 1997), and molecular phylogenies (richardson et al., 2004; couvreur et al., 2008) indicated that both isolona and monodora form a well supported clade nested within the long branch clade, one of the two major clade recognized in annonaceae (richardson et al., 2004; couvreur et al., 2008). these genera are easily distinguishable with isolona having one whorl of fused petals that are reflexed, spreading horizontally or recurved over the receptacle and the flower colour varying from bright yellow to bronzy red. in contrast, monodora has two whorls each of three conspicuous petals slightly fused at their bases. the outer *corresponding author, e-mail: debunm11@gmail.com 1department of plant biology, university of ilorin, ilorin nigeria. mailto:debunm11@gmail.com 284 adeniranet al. three petals areusually crisped or undulate and are white to yellow with purple-red streaks. the inner three petals are unguiculate and are sometimes connivent by a network of intricate trichomes or just pressed together over the receptacle to form a pollination chamber (couvreur, 2008; couvreur et al., 2006). african annonaceae are largely understudied like most of the african flora, which partly explain the reported low diversity (couvreur et al., 2006). however, a number of publications have contributed to better understanding the african annonaceae family (couvreur et al., 2006; 2008; couvreur, 2009 ; botermans et al., 2011) but there is a sparse information on the anatomical character, hence the need for this study. this study therefore, will complement already reported taxonomic evidences, provides additional diagnostic features useful for understanding the family and specifically present midrib anatomical characters useful for the inter and intrageneric classification of the syncarpous genera of monodora and isolona. materials and methods twelve isolona and monodora samples were obtained from specimens deposited at the national herbarium yaounde, cameroon, ya (ih). herbarium abbreviation follows holmgren et al. (1990). table 1 shows names of the specimens that were used for the study, collector and dates of collection. table 1. list of species used for the study. s/n taxa collector date of collection 1. isolona campanulata p.t. francis dec. 1945 2. i. congolana westphal 15/5/78 3. i. dewevrei r. letouvzey 8/7/75 4. i. hexaloba r. letouvzey 16/5/63 5. i. thonneri r. letouvzey 23/3/70 6. i. zenkeri endengle elais 1955-1956 7. monodora angolensis r. letouvzey 23/10/54 8. m. crispata j.j. bos 2/02/70 9. m. myristica r. letouvzey 21/4/61 10. m. tenuifolia mpomdenoit 21/11/55 11. m. brevipes r. letouvzey 8/3/84 12. m. undulata d. thomas 25/1/84 six dried species each of both isolona and monodora were used for the study. thin sections were made through free hand sectioning. the sections were obtained transversely and boil for about five minutes then drop of sodium hypochlorite was added for atleast 20-30 minutes; washed in several changes of water and a few drops of concentrated ethyl alcohol were added in order to harden the tissue; then samples were stained in 1% aqueous safranin o for 1 minute. excess stain was washed off with a few drops of concentrated ethyl alcohol. the stained sections were mounted in glass slide and drops of glycerin added then covered with cover-slips and ringed with nail polish to prevent dehydration. specimens were observed at x40 magnification and hand drawings were presented. comparative midrib anatomy of monodora dunal. 285 results and discussion the results of the investigation are presented in tables 2-3 and fig. 1 and described for each species hereunder. isolona campanulata engl. & diels. the shape of midrib of i. campanulata is convex on the adaxial surface while it is flattened dorsoventrally on the abaxial surface. parenchyma cells are polygonal of about4 to 5 cell layers. there are 2 cell layers of collenchymas cells while sclerenchymatous tissue is absent. vascular bundle is positioned centrally with a u shape vascular bundle and open collateral bundles with 2 traces of vascular ring at the marginal axis. trichomes are absent on both surfaces of the epidermis while the outline of the species is slightly uneven (table 2, fig. 1). isolona congolana (de wild. & t.durand) engl. & diels. trichomes are absent on both surfaces of the epidermis. midrib shape on the adaxial surface is convex while on the abaxial surface is crescentiform.a general view of midribis more like a furrow shape structure withslightly uneven outline. the vascular bundle is collateral bundle and polygonal parenchyma cells about 5 to 6 cell layers found around and in-between them. within the medullary of the species towards the adaxial surface is found a bunch of sclerenchymous cell. vascular bundle is more like a crescent and positioned at the center of the midribwith two traces vascular rings. (table 2, fig. 1). an overview of the shape of its midrib is furrow and uneven outlines. isolona dewevrei (de wild.&t.durand) engl. & diels. the midrib shape observed in i. dewevrei is convex at the adaxial surface but crescentiform on the abaxial surface of the epidermis and an uneven outline. vascular bundle pattern is at central position on the cross section of the midrib. the vascular bundle is collateral and crescent shape without traces. trichome is absent on both surfaces while polygonal parenchyma cells make up the pith in this species with about 4 to 5 layers at the perivascular region and up to 2 layers of collenchymas cell. the outline of the midrib of i. dewevrei is uneven with droplet of sclerenchyma cell at the parenchyma region. isolona hexloba (pierre)engl. & diels. the shape of the vascular bundle of this species is u-shape and centrally located without marginal traces while the vascular type is collateral bundles. trichome is absent on the abaxial and adaxial surfaces of the species. the perivascular tissues such as sclerenchyma, collenchymas and polygonal parenchyma cells were observed. parenchyma cell has about 6 to 7 and collenchymas with about 1 or 2 cell layers.there are patches of sclerenchyma cells deposited within the perivascular tissue. on the adaxial surface, midrib shape is slightly convex while the on the abaxial surface, it is deeply crescentiform in shape with an uneven outline on the epidermal layer (table 2, fig. 1). isolona thonneri (de wild.&t.durand) engl. & diels. the perivascular tissue found in i. thonneri consists of both collenchymas and parenchyma cells littered with patches of sclerenchymatous cells. parenchyma cell are polygonal and up to 7 cell layers while collenchyma cells is either a cell or 2. midrib shape is furrowed and its surface is all round even. on the adaxial surface, the midrib shape is convex while on the abaxial the midrib shape is crescentiform. i. thonneri possesses collateral and centrally located vascular bundle which is arched crescent in shape. trichome is not visible on the surface the epidermis (table 2, fig.1). 286 adeniranet al. isolona zenkeri (engl.) dyer. adaxial surface shape of the midrib of this species is slightly flattenend but crescentiform on the abaxial surface of the epidermis. the vascular bundle is centrally positioned and collateral bundle found in i. thonneri. the vascular bundle is u-shaped with an invigorating end and uneven outline on the epidermis. trichome is absent on the both abaxial and adaxial surface of the epidermis (table 2, fig. 1). parenchyma cell are polygonal and 4 to 5 cell layers while collenchymas cells has 2 to 3 cell layers. sclerenchyma cell is absent within the species. monodora angolensis welw. midrib shape of this species is convex on the adaxial surface while the abaxial surface is slightly crescentiform with lumpy keel pointing downward which makes its outline visibly uneven. the shape of the vascular bundles is crescent with 1 marginal trace. trichome is sparingly present on the adaxial while it is absent on the abaxial of the epidermis. pattern of arrangement of the vascular bundle is collateral and centrally located (table 2, fig. 1). parenchyma cell are polygonal and 3 to 4 cell layers while collenchymas cells are up to 2 cell layers. sclerenchyma cell is absent. monodora crispate engl.& diels. in monodora crispata the vascular bundle is central having collateral type vascular bundle. on the adaxial surface, midrib shape is convex while on the abaxial surface, the midrib shape is v shape with protrusion of keel which makes the outline on the epidermal cell to be uneven. vasculation pattern of this species is v-shaped bundles that form an unbroken vascular bundle and two traces of marginal bundles. parenchymal cells are elongated with cell layers as much as 2 to 3 layers. collenchyma cells are also present outside the pith below the parenchyma cells with about 2 layers. trichome isabsent on both surfaces of the epidermis (table 2, fig. 1). monodora myristica (gaertn.)dunal. the transverse section of the species’ midrib is slightly convex on the adaxial surface and crescentiform on the abaxial surface. midrib outline is slightly uneven on the epidermal without trichomes. vascular bundle is collateral and centrally positioned observed on the adaxial surface located. vascular shape is u shape broadly open at the ends. trichome is absent on the surface (table 2, fig. 1). perivascular tissue like parenchyma is polygonal of about 8 to 9 layers of cell and collenchymas of two to three cell layers while sclerenchyma is absent in the species. monodora tenuifolia benth. midrib is convex on adaxial and crescentiform on the abaxial surfaces. vascular bundles are situated at the center with 3 traces, present at the margins. vasculation pattern of the midrib is collateral bundles that form a u shaped expanded endings and open free collateral type. trichome is absent on both adaxial and abaxial surfaces. there are about 4 to 5 layers of polygonal parenchyma cell present in the perivascular tissue and about 2 layers of collenchymas cell. the surface is even at outwardly. monodora brevipes benth. midrib vascular bundle is formed collateral bundle that form a v shape with invaginated ends. the vascular position is central with vasculation pattern that discontinuous. adaxial surface of the midrib is v shape with 4 marginal vascular rings while the abaxial surface is crescentiform. trichome is copiously absent on both surfaces of the epidermis. parenchyma cell is polygonal of 6 to 7 layers of cell while sclerenchyma is absent. comparative midrib anatomy of monodora dunal. 287 fig.1.midrib anatomical characters of 12 species of isolona and monodora from west-central africa a. isolona campanulata, b. i. congolana, c. i. dewevrei, d. i. hexaloba, e. i. thonneri, f. i. zenkeri, g. monodora angolensis, h. m. crispata, i. m. myristica, j. m. tenuifolia, k. m. brevipes, l. m. undulata, scale bar = 50 µm. 288 adeniranet al. comparative midrib anatomy of monodora dunal. 289 monodora undulata (p. beauv) couvreur midrib shape is convex adaxially and crescentiform with a lumpy keel protuberance on the abaxial which discontinue the evenness of the epidermal layers. it has a single trace of vascular bundle with u shape and collateral ring of bundles positioned at the center while the vascular pattern is a continuous. trichome is unarguably absent on both surfaces of epidermis. perivascular tissues are present with polygonal loosely packed parenchyma cells of 4 to 5 layers with about 2 collenchyma cell layers present near the epidermal layer. table 3. identification key based on midrib anatomic 1. vascular bundle u-shape---------------------------------------------2 2. adaxial shape flattened---------------------------------------------i. campanulata 2. adaxial shape crescentiform---------------------------------------3 3. vascular bundle u shape with inviginating end-----------i. zenkeri 3. vascular bundle u shape without inviginating ends------4 4. marginal traces about 4 ----------------------------------------i. tenuifolia 4. vascular bundle u shape, no marginal trace--------------5 5. sclerenchyma present-------------------------------------i. hexaloba 5. sclerenchyma absent--------------------------------------6 6. vascular bundle u shaped, expanded endings--------m. myristica 6. vascular bundle u shaped without expanded endings m. undulata 1. vascular bundle vascular v or crescent-----------------------------7 7. vascular bundle v shape---------------------------------------------8 8. marginal traces up to 4 rings -------------------------------------m. brevipes 8. marginal traces up to 2 rings--------------------------------------m. crispata 7. vascular bundle crescent--------------------------------------------9 9. abaxial surface keel protrusion present--------------------m. angolensis 9. abaxial surface keel protrusion absent ---------------------10 10. marginal leaf traces present----------------------------------i. congolana 10. marginal leaf traces absent-----------------------------------11 11. abaxial outline uneven-----------------------------------i. dewevrei 11. abaxial outline even-------------------------------------- i. thonneri taxonomic significance of anatomical characters as an aid to establishing relationships between taxa has been exploited (davis and heywood, 1963; radford et al. 1976; bacic et al. 1992 and woltz et al. 1987). the midrib anatomy of the twelve species understudied showed marked differences and provided important taxonomic characters which aid delineation of species within monodora and isolona genera from west-central africa. the presence of centrally positioned and open collateral vascular bundle with furrow shaped midrib was shared by all the studied species and has established the interrelationship between duo genera. the report of mantovani et al. (2009) highlighted importance of keel in the identification of anthurium species. possession of keel protrusion in m. angolensis, m. crispata and m undulata on the abaxial surface established a closer affinity among the species and ultimately advance the understanding of the character in classifying the genus. as a result of the keel, the unevenness of the surface is copiously visible in the said species. the occurrence of scanty trichomes on the adaxial surfaces of m. angolensis stands out among other species. metcalf and chalk (1979) reported medullary bundle within a ring of collateral strand in cananga odoratus. the number of 290 adeniranet al. marginal traces varies from two in i. congolana, i. campanulata and m. crispate while three and four traces are seen in m. tenuifolia and m. brevipes respectively at the marginal axis of the adaxial surface. this feature is a unifying character and limited to the five species mention above. many researchers have employed anatomical parameter to solve taxonomic intricacies (olowokudejo, 1987; mantovani, et al. 2009; kadiri and olowokudejo 2010; anorue et al. 2020). u shaped vascular bundles are present in most of the species with inviginating or expanded endings. crescentiform arched shaped vascular bundle clearly separate the trio species of isolona congolana, i. dewevrei and i. thonneri from the other isolona species studied. other helpful characters in distinguishing the species are parenchyma, collenchymas, sclerenchyma; presence and absence of trichomes. the occurrence of perivascular tissues like parenchyma, collenchymas and sclerenchyma played a vital role in adding to the classification criterion. the number of parenchyma layers varies from 3-9 and the shape is more of polygonal except m. crispata that is elongated whereas sclerenchyma layers is between1-4 layers. scanty scattered sclerencymatous cells were present at the parenchyma or collenchymas region of i. campanulata, i. dewevrei, i thonneri, and i hexaloba 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(manuscript received on 12 may 2020; revised on 7 november 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 117–126, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnomedicinal uses of plants by santal tribal peoples at nawabganj upazila of dinajpur district, bangladesh most. rojuba khatun and a.h.m. mahbubur rahman* plant taxonomy laboratory, department of botany, faculty of life and earth sciences, university of rajshahi, rajshahi-6205, bangladesh keywords: medicinal plants; traditional knowledge; nawabganj; dinajpur; bangladesh. abstract ethnobotanical investigation on traditional medicinal plants used by santal tribal people of nawabganj upazila of dinajpur district, bangladesh was documented. frequent field trips were made during january to december 2018 to record ethnobotanical data by interviewing santals of various age group, mostly ranging between 20-76 years, including the traditional healers. a total of 105 plant species under 97 genera belonging to 57 families were recorded which are used by the santals for the treatment of 67 ailments. out of these plant species 44% belonged to herbs, 28% trees, 18% shrubs, 10% climbers. in herbal formulations, leaves were found to be mostly used (29%) followed by roots (12%), fruits (12%), whole plant (10%), seeds (9%), barks (9%), stems (5%), flowers (4%), latex (2%), rhizomes (2%), petioles (2%), gums (2%), bulbs (1%), tubers (1%), pods (1%) and buds (1%). the santal medicinal wealth have been presented with scientific name, family, bangla name, santal name, part(s) used, ailments to be treated and formulations. this study also provides data on diversity, distribution and habitats for conservation and prioritization of the medicinal plants. introduction the use of plants and animals as source of medicine and food is as old as humanity. health and diseases are coeval with life. by necessity man has undoubtedly always been concerned with the question of health and survival and has sought within the framework of his knowledge, solution to problem of illness (rubin, 1960). the herbal occupied a distinct place in the life right from the primitive period to today and the primitive or ethnic populations have their own medical lore, and some of their therapeutic practices have found place in today’s medical knowledge (jain, 1995). this traditional knowledge is useful to develop new food sources. exploration of natural resources and documentation of traditional knowledge is necessary. even today, traditional medicine is still the predominant means of health care in developing countries where about 80% of their total population depends on it for their well being. plants are the basis for the development of modern drugs and medicinal plants have been used for many years in daily life to treat disease all over the world. however, the knowledge of medicinal plant is rapidly dwindling due to the influence of western lifestyle, reducing in number of generations to carry on the use of plant species in traditional medicine which has increased the interest throughout the world. world health organization estimates that 80% of populations from many countries are using traditional of folk medicine to cure various ailments (who, 1991). over the past two decades several medicinal and ethno-botanical studies in bangladesh have been carried out by alam (1992); alam et al. (1996); anisuzzaman et al. (2007); choudhury and rahmatullah (2012); faruque and uddin (2014); khan (1998); khisha (1996) and yusuf et al. (2006, 2009). however, the studies on traditional knowledge of medicinal plants of this country is *corresponding author, email: drrahmanahmm@ru.ac.bd, drrahmanahmm@gmail.com mailto:drrahmanahmm@ru.ac.bd, mailto:drrahmanahmm@gmail.com 118 khatun and rahman very incomplete. the tribal people of nawabganj, dinajpur mostly rely on traditional medicines directly based on plant materials (ali, 1980). the present work is an attempt to explore the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in nawabganj upazila of dinajpur district, bangladesh. in this study the local uses of plants recorded from the traditional practitioners to cure different diseases in nawabganj upazila of dinajpur district, bangladesh are described. materials and methods study area: nawabganj is an upazila of dinajpur district which is one of the northern districts of bangladesh. total area of this upazila is 314.68 sq km, located in between 25°14' and 25°34' north latitudes and in between 88°58' and 89°13' east longitudes. it is bounded by parbatipur upazila on the north, ghoraghat and hakimpur upazilas on the south, pirganj (rangpur), mithapukur and badarganj upazilas on the east, birampur and phulbari upazilas on the west. here annual average highest temperature 33.5o c and lowest 10.5oc and annual rain fall 2,536 mm. (bpc, 2001). data collection: a total of twenty nine field trips were completed for the documentation of medico-botanical knowledge during january to december 2018. during the field interview, the information was noted in the documentation data sheet. all the information regarding plant species, biological forms, habitat, local names and uses were documented. medicinal information was obtained through semi-structured interviews with knowledgeable santals, such as kabiraj and elderly persons. a total of 134 informants having age range of 20–76 years were interviewed using semistructured interview method. professionally they were peasant, day labor, farmer, betel leaf cultivators, house wives, medicine men, small shop keepers etc. among them 58 were female and rest 76 were male. plant specimens were collected with flowers and fruits and processed using standard herbarium techniques (alexiades, 1996). identification: the collected specimens were identified and described up to species with the help of hooker (1872-1897); prain (1903); kirtikar and basu (1987); and ahmed et al. (2008-2009). for plant nomenclature including the bangla names, huq (1986) and pasha and uddin (2013) were consulted. results and discussion a total of 105 plant species under 97 genera belonging to 57 families were recorded which are used for the treatment of 67 disease/ailments. out of these plant species, 44% belonged to herbs, 28% trees, 18% shrubs and 10% climbers (fig. 1). leaves were (29%) the mostly used plant parts in herbal formularies followed by roots (12%), fruits (12%), whole plant (10%), seeds (9%), barks (9%), stems (5%), flowers (4%), latex (2%), rhizomes (2%), petioles (2%), gums (2%), bulbs (1%), tubers (1%), pods (1%) and buds (1%) (fig. 2). the use of these medicinal plants by the santals for the treatment of various disease are shown in table 1. ethnomedicinal uses of plants by santal tribal people 119 fig. 1. recorded plant habit in the study area. fig. 2. recorded plant parts used as medicine. fig. 3. recorded dominant diseases in the study area. 120 khatun and rahman ethnomedicinal uses of plants by santal tribal people 121 122 khatun and rahman ethnomedicinal uses of plants by santal tribal people 123 124 khatun and rahman ethnomedicinal uses of plants by santal tribal people 125 the survey has recorded 67 categories of uses of 105 medicinal plants (table 1). this is the indication of rich knowledge of medicinal uses of plants by the santals in nawabganj upazila of dinajpur district. out of 67 categories of ailments, fever, dysentery, cough, asthma, skin disease and diabetes was dominant diseases in the study area (fig. 3). the most frequently used species for the treatment of different disease are shown in table 1. this finding of common medicinal plant families in this study is in agreement with anisuzzaman et al. (2007); ghani (2003); khan (1998); choudhury and rahmatullah (2012); faruque and uddin (2014); uddin and hassan (2014); uddin et al., (2015), and yusuf et al. (2006, 2009). during the survey, the discussion, interviews and field visits with traditional healers, kabiraj, herbalists, medicine men, indicated that they have enough knowledge of medicinal uses of plant species. traditional knowledge of tribal and local people on human disease is very important to find out new drugs for human health, also the doses and their administration needs to standardization with scientific way. deforestation, civilization, development projects, modernizations and industrialization etc. are largely depleting the biodiversity and natural habitat of these species as well as the traditional knowledge. conservation initiatives with in situ or ex situ conservation activities before these medicinal plant resources lost forever and training of the young generation on use and conservation of these medicinal plants are very necessary. the results of this study will play a role in primary health care of human and be helpful in further ethnobotanical studies. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the ministry of science and technology (most), government of the people’s republic of bangladesh for financial support to complete this research work. the authors are also thanks to the santal tribal practitioners in nawabganj upazila of dinajpur district, bangladesh for their co-operation and help during the research work. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u.(eds). 2008-2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vols. 6–10. asiat. soc. bangladesh, dhaka. alam, m.k. 1992. medical ethno-botany of the marma tribe of bangladesh. economic botany. 46(3): 330–335. alam, m.k.,choudhury,j. and hassan, m.a. 1996. some folk formularies from bangladesh. bangladesh j. life sci. 8(l): 49–63. alexiades, m.n. (ed). 1996. selected guidelines for ethno botanical research: a field manual. the new york botanical garden, new york. 305 pp. ali, m. 1980. dinajpurer adibashi, dinajpur sanskrit academy, dinajpur, bangladesh. anisuzzaman, m., rahman, a.h.m.m., rashid, m.h., naderuzzaman, a.t.m. and islam, a.k.m.r. 2007. an ethnobotanical study of madhupur, tangail. journal of applied sciences research. 3(7): 519–530. bangladesh population census (bpc) 2001. bangladesh bureau of statistics (bbs); cultural survey report of nawabganj upazila 2007. choudhury, a.r. and rahmatullah m. 2012. ethnobotanical study of wound healing plants among the folk medicinal practioners several district in bangladesh. amer.-eur. j. sust. dev.6(4): 371–377. faruque, m.o. and uddin, s.b. 2014. ethnomedicinal study of the marma community of bandarban district of bangladesh. academia j. med. plants. 2(2): 14–25. ghani, a. 2003. medicinal plants of bangladesh. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 126 khatun and rahman hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. flora of british india. vols. 1-7. l. reeve and co. ltd. london, u.k. huq, a.m. 1986. plant names of bangladesh.bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka, bangladesh. jain, s.k. 1995. a manual of ethnobotany.2nd edition. scientific publisher, jodhpur, india. pp. 67–68. khan, m.s. 1998. prospects of ethnobotany and ethnobotanical research in bangladesh. in: r.l. banik, m.k. alam, s.j. pei and a. rastogi (eds.), applied ethnobotany, bfri, chittagong, bangladesh. pp. 24–27. khisha, b. 1996. chakma talik chikitsa. herbal medicine centre committee, rajban bihar, rajbari, rangamati. 136 pp. kirtikar, k.r. and basu, b.d. 1987. indian medicinal plants. vols. 1-4. lalit mohan basu, allahabad, jayyed press, new delhi, india. pasha, m.k. and uddin, s.b. 2013. dictionary of plant names of bangladesh (vascular plants).janokalyanprokashani.chittagong, dhaka, bangladesh. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants.vols. 1-2. botanical survey of india. calcutta, india. rubin, v. 1960. preface in culture, society and health, annals of new york academic science. 84: 783–1060. uddin, m.z., kibria, m.g., and hassan, m.a. 2015. study of ethnomedicinal plants used by local people of feni district, bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 41(4): 735–757. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2014. determination of informant consensus factor ethnomedicinal plants used in kalenga forest, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 21(1): 83–91. who 1991. “guideline for assessment of the herbal medicines” programme on traditional. who, geneva, pp. 56–91. yusuf, m., wahab, m.a., choudhury, j.u. and begum, j. 2006. ethno-medico-botanical knowledge from kaukhali proper and betunia of rangamati district. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(1): 55–61. yusuf, m., begum, j., hoque, m.n. and choudhury, j.u. 2009. medicinal plants of bangladesh-revised and enlarged. bangladesh coun. sci. ind. res. lab. chittagong, bangladesh. (manuscript received on 4 march, 2019; revised on 9 may, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 435-438, 2020 (december) short communication © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists status of occurrence of livistona jenkinsiana griff. in bangladesh mohammad zashim uddin1, md. golam kibria, amit sarker and alokash roy department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: status of occurrence; livistona jenkinsiana griff.; khadimnagar; bangladesh. khadimnagar national park is one of the reserved secondary forests, located in northern side of sylhet sadar upazila, bangladesh. arare, fan-shaped palm species, locally called aanor or chatipata has primarily been located in the park. the plants have yetto bear any flowers and fruits. leaf specimens were collected and studied in plant taxonomy laboratory. the sterile specimens were identified as livistona jenkinsiana griff. based on external morphological characters. further exploration is necessary in bangladesh to find its population status and distribution record of livistona jenkisiana griff. when exploring khadimnagar national park of sylhet forest division in 2015 to find out the plant species of conservation worthiness the authors were encountered with a number of palms in the stream sides at the beginning of two hours trail near the forest beat office. the area is deep forest with no disturbance from humanity dominated by a good number of tree species particularly chapalish (artocarpus chama buch.-ham. ex wall.), champa (michelia champaca l.), agar (aquilaria agallocha roxb.), shegun (techtona grandis l. f.), zybans (bambusa vulgaris schrad. ex wendl.), bushy vegetations, climbers and annual herbaceous plants. wildlife population including hanuman was encountered during the visit. among the palm plants, one palm was identified as pinanga gracilis which was listed earlier as red plant in our country but other one palm with fan-shaped leaves locally called aanor or chatipata could not be identified in the field. the authors observed carefully its vegetative growth form and took a number of images from different angles and also collected plant specimens for further study using traditional taxonomic techniques (hyland 1972; alexiades 1996). the specimens later were brought to plant taxonomy laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka where this was thoroughly examined and studied for all morphological properties. the unknown palm species was identified as livistona jenkinsiana griffith by matching of its properties with the properties given in the flora of china (wu et al., 2007) and major jenkin’s palm in thailand (barfod et al., 2010). identification was confirmed by discussing with professor anders sanchez barfod, department of biological sciences, aarhus university, denmark and also authenticated by comparing with google known images of livistonajenkinsianagriff. the species has primarily been reported as rare species recorded from bangladesh which belongs to the family arecaceae. earlier the species was reported by william griffith in 1845 from assam and he mentioned the species may occur in bangladesh. very recently barfod et al. (2010) also mentioned that the species may occur in bangladesh territory. after w. griffith a good number of works were done on the flora of bangladesh including hooker (1892), prain (1903), rahman and hassan (1995), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), khan and huq (2001), uddin et al. (2002), uddin et al. (2005), rafiqul et al. (2009), tutul et al. (2009), uddin and hassan (2010), arefin et al. (2010), khondker et al. (2010) and uddin et al. (2011, 2013). but no researchers reported this rare species from bangladesh territory. therefore this rare species has primarily been recognized in 1 corresponding author, e-mail: zashim01@gmail.com mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 436 uddin et al. 2015 and now reported scientifically as a rare species from bangladesh. the status of occurrence of this rare species was confirmed with the consultation of the database of dhaka university salar khan herbarium, bangladesh national herbarium, chittagong university herbarium, jahangirnagar uinversity herbarium and rajshahi university herbarium. based on the field observation record and detailed studies in the plant taxonomy laboratory, a short description of the species is given below: livistona jenkinsiana griff. calcutta j. nathist. 5: 334. 1845. a tall, fan-shaped, singly growing palm, height up to 10 meter but at maturity it may reach more than 10 meter. leaves palmate, long up to 480 cm, petiole 340 cm tall, blade or lamina size across 250 cm, split after two-third distance from the base of lamina, segment number 80 to 94, erect at the apices, lamina externally rounded, grayish green abaxially, green adaxially, petiole 30 cm thick, 61 cm width, petiole with two types spines along margins, decreasing in density toward distal end, arranged alternately with long 30 cm tall, after short, 10 cm tall, recurved, tip pointed, both are brown in colour (fig. 1. a-f). fig. 1a-f: a livistona jenkinsiana griff. in natural habitat b. closed view c. adxail view of lamina, d. abaxial view e. petiole with recurved spines f. young lamina and distal end of petiole. status of occurrence of livistona jenkinsiana 437 habitats: the species livistona jenkensiana griff. usually grows in the deep forest, the stream and channel sides and wet areas of forest and needs soil with the mixture of sand clay and silt. the habitats with high rainfall are the favour condition for the growth of this species. specimens examined: sylhet sadar upazila, khadimnagar national park, near forest beat office, beginning of two hours trail in the stream bank, 1909-2020, zashim 415 (dush). in bangladesh, the family arecaceae is represented by 40 species (siddiqui et al., 2007). the number of palm in bangladesh, with addition of livistonajenkinsianagriff., has become 41. distribution: the family arecaceae composed of nearly 3000 species (siddiqui et al. 2007), distributed in tropical and warm-temperate regions of the world. the species livistona jenkinsiana griff.is distributed primarily in india, nepal, bhutan, china, myanmar, thailand and malaysia (wu et al., 2007, barfod et al., 2010). population number of this species in khadimnagar national park is about 15-20. these are all seedling to young plants but mother trees are not present among them. according to local foresters and villagers the leaves of this plant are used in thatching purposes, hats making and rain protectors. assumed that due to over exploitation of leaves for thatching and hats making mother trees became rare or even extinct from the area. further exploration is necessary throughout bangladesh, especially in hilly zones to find its population status and distribution record. acknowledgements the authors acknowledge bangladesh forest department for the arrangement of field trip to khadimnagar national park. they are also thankful to slyhet forest division for local hospitality and cooperation during data collection. references alexiades, m.n. 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(eds) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. 11. angiosperms; monocotyledons (agavaceae-najadaceae). asiat. soc. bangladesh, dhaka. 399 pp. 438 uddin et al. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a 2009.angio spermic flora of runctia sal forest, bangladesh.1 liliopsida (monocots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(1): 83‒90. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park (bangladesh): a preliminary assessment. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 9‒22. uddin, m.z., alam, m. f., rahman, m.a. and hassan, m.a. 2013. diversity in angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 145‒162. uddin, m.z., alam, m..f., rahman, a.s.m. and hassan, m.a. 2011. plant biodiversity of fashiakhali wildlife sanctuary, bangladesh. proceedings: first bangladesh forestry congress. pp. 129‒141. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and hosen, m.m. 2005. a checklist of angiospermic flora of lalmai hills, comilla, bangladesh.bangladesh j. plant taxon. 12(2): 85‒96. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2002. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh-1. liliopsida (monocots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 57‒66. uddin, s.b. and rahman, m.a. 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31‒68. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13‒46. wu, z.y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.h. (eds). 2007. flora of china 23 (arecaceae): 147. science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. (manuscript received on 25 september 2020; revised on 28 november 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 127–130, 2019 (june) short communication © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists myriophyllum aquaticum (vell.) verdc. (haloragaceae): a new angiospermic record for bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane1, ashika akhtar, maliha mehnaz, mst. ayesha and z.n. tahmida begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: myriophyllum aquaticum (vell.) verdc.; haloragaceae; new record; bangladesh. freshwater haloragaceae of bangladesh is represented by two myriophyllum species namely, m. tetrandrum roxb. and m. tuberculatum roxb. so far (khan and halim, 1987; ahmed et al., 2009). the spermatophyte genus myriophyllum is among the foremost species-rich genera of aquatic core-eudicots. myriophyllum encompasses a cosmopolitan distribution with its centre of diversity in australia (> thirty seven endemics). the widespread invasive species of the genus (m. aquaticum, m. heterophyllum, and m. spicatum) have drawn attention from international resource managers. it is very much difficult to identify myriophyllum species using vegetative morphology alone, which commonly is all that is available for these highly clonal plants. the plant materials of this study were collected through a hydrobiological expedition carried out in a semi-natural lake of bangladesh namely madhabpur lake located at the madhabpur union under kamalganj upazila of moulvibazar district of sylhet division in the northeast corner of bangladesh. geographically, the lake is located between 24˚16' 43.154" n to 24˚16' 59.136" n latitude and 91˚48' 46.163" e to 91˚49' 17.178" e longitude (approx.) at an altitude of nearly 46 m above the mean sea level. this lake located at the section 11 (patrakhala) of madhabpur teaestate which is owned by national tea company (ntc). the current research work was carried out from may 2016 to april 2019. the sample was collected from 1 m depth near the shore of the lake with submerged vegetation. the plant sample was collected in a large air tight polyethylene bag with some water inside. it was transported to the phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka within next six hours of collection. some fresh materials were preserved in 4% formaldehyde and few herbarium sheets of the material were prepared and preserved in this laboratory. the remaining plant sample was transferred in a concrete house (1 × 0.5 m length, depth 0.40 cm) in the botanical garden, department of botany, university of dhaka for culturing. the specimen has finally been identified as myriophyllum aquaticum (vell.) verdc., consulting fassett, 1957; subramanyam, 1974; aiken, 1981; orchard, 1981; sutton, 1985; fernandez et al., 1993; sytsma and anderson, 1993; les and mehrhoff, 1999; mabulu, 2005 and hussner et al., 2009. myriophyllum aquaticum (vell.) verdc. was not reported earlier in the previous studies or literatures, viz. hooker (1888), prain (1903), datta and mitra (1953), mia and khan (1995) and rahman (2004 a, b) from the areas that now fall under the territory of present bangladesh. hence, it is reported here as a new record for bangladesh. 1corresponding author, email: mujaddade@du.ac.bd mailto:mujaddade@du.ac.bd 128 alfasane et al. a detailed taxonomic account along with illustrations of the species has been prepared based on the fresh specimens. myriophyllum aquaticum (vell.) verdc. kew bull. 28: 36 (1973) (fig. 1) enydria aquatica vell., myriophyllum brasiliense camb., myriophyllum proserpinacoides gillies ex hook. and arn. common names: brazilian watermilfoil, parrot’s feather, parrot-feather, parrotfeather, parrot feather watermilfoil parrot feather (myriophyllum aquaticum) is a submerged to emergent plant that occupy different aquatic habitats. plants perennial aquatic herbs, glabrous, with slender, sparingly branches. stems stout and blue-green, mostly rooting freely at the lower nodes. when the submerged shoots reach the water surface, plant growth changes and begins to creep along the water surface. extensive branches develop from nodes followed by vertical growth of emergent stems. leaves heterophyllous, both emergent and submerged, numerous, appear feather-like and grayish green, pinnately dissected or cut into thread-like segments and arranged in whorls of 4 to 6 fig. 1. a-d: a, the submerged to emergent habit of myriophyllum aquaticum (vell.) verdc occupying the upper surface of the lake. b-c, branches of the stem with whorled foliage leaves. d. the leaves cut into thread-like segments, appearing as parrot’s feather. myriophyllum aquaticum (vell.) verdc. (haloragaceae) 129 around the stem. the emergent leaves come out up to 25 cm from the water surface, 2–4.5 cm long and have 6–18 divisions per leaf, less divided and greener than the submerged leaves. the submerged leaves 1.5–3.0 cm long with 20–30 divisions per leaf. flowers axillary, inconspicuous in the axils of the emergent leaves during the spring, in between two bracts, 1.5 mm (0.06 in.) long, apetalous, sepals white. different species of myriophyllum look much alike, and some are nearly impossible to distinguish without flowers or fruits. distribution: m. aquaticum is native to south america along the amazon river. it has been introduced into south africa, new zealand, australia, japan and parts of europe. it prefers to inhabit subtropical regions (fernandez et al. 1993). ecology: m. aquaticum can grow in the edges of madhabpur lake. according to sutton (1985), this plants species were also grown in the habitats of shallow wetlands, slow moving streams, irrigation reservoirs or canals, edges of lakes, ponds, sloughs, or backwaters. m. aquaticum can grow in moist soil and tolerates a wide-range of water levels. it can also grow in higher water levels and high-nutrient environments (hussner et al. 2009; sutton, 1985; sytsma and anderson 1993). numerous rooting of m. aquaticum were observed in the bottom sediments of the madhabpur lake. m. aquaticum requires rooting in bottom sediments. under this condition light can penetrate to the bottom of water which favour the growth of the plant and colonization. acknowledgement the authors are indebted to centre for advanced studies and research in biological sciences, university of dhaka for providing fund to conduct the research. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol.8, angiosperms: dicotyledons (fabaceae-lythraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka 478 pp. aiken, s.g. 1981. a conspectus of myriophyllum (haloragaceae) in north america. brittonia 33: 57–69. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1– 110. fassett, n.c. 1957. a manual of aquatic plants. the university of wisconsin press, madison, 405 pp. fernández, o.a., sutton d.l., lallana, v.h., sabbatini, m.r., irigoyen, j.h. 1993. aquatic weed problems and management in south and central america. in: a.h. pieterse, k.j. murphy, eds. aquatic weeds, 2nd edition. oxford university press, oxford, u.k. pp. 406-425. hooker, j.d. 1888. flora of british india, vol.5. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. pp. 463–686. hussner, a., meyer, c. and busch, j. 2009. the influence of water level and nutrient availability on growth and root system development of myriophyllum aquaticum. weed research 49: 73–80. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1987. aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. 120 pp. les, d.h., and mehrhoff, l.j. 1999. introduction of nonindigenous aquatic vascular plants in southern new england: a historical perspective. biological invasions 1(2): 281–300. mabulu, l.y. 2005. myriophyllum aquaticum (aquatic plant). global invasive species database. available:http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=401&fr=1&sts=sss&lang=en. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s flora of british india and prain’s bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 1–33. orchard, a.e. 1981. a revision of south american myriophyllum (haloragaceae), and its repercussions on some australian and north american species. brunonia 4: 27–65. http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=401&fr=1&sts=sss&lang=en. 130 alfasane et al. prain, d. 1903. (ind. rep. 1981). bengal plants, vol. 1. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. 663 pp. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants”-series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77–82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants”-series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49–56. subramanyam, k. 1974. botanical monograph no. 3, aquatic angiosperms, a systematic account of common indian aquatic angiosperms. botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 190. sutton, d.l. 1985. biology and ecology of myriophyllum aquaticum. proceeding, 1st international symposium on watermilfoil (myriophyllum spicatum) and related haloragaceae species. 23–24 july 1985. vancouver, b.c. pp. 59–71. sytsma, m.d. and anderson, l.w.j. 1993. biomass, nitrogen, and phosphorus allocation in parrotfeather (myriophyllum aquaticum). journal of aquatic plant management 31: 244–248. (manuscript received on 3 march, 2019; revised on 6 may, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 345-358, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists bibliographical note on the syntaxonomy of the vegetation of tlemcen, hafir, moutas and its reserve (north-western algeria) naima bouazza*, kouider cherifi, brahim babali1 and mohammed bouazza2 laboratory of plant biodiversity, conservation and valorisation, djillali liabès university, bp 89, haï larbi ben m'hidi, sidi bel abbés 22000, algeria keywords: hafir; moutas reserve; phytoecology; regressive evolution; syntaxonomy; tlemcen. abstract this study provides bibliographical note on the syntaxonomy of the vegetation of tlemcen, hafir, moutas of north-western algeria, including the associations and alliances of the different higher units found in the hafir forest and the moutas reserve. in this work, we observed modifications of forest and pre-forest structures according to bioclimatic variations. however, in this region, the xericity of the climate is not the only factor destroying the plant cover, anthropization is also a degradation factor. while being aware of the negative consequences, man, through their abusive cultivation, illegal logging, overgrazing, urbanization, the depletion of natural resources;, inhibits the evolution of vegetation, participates in the replacement of a rich plant cover by another and more xerophytic plant cover with thorny and/or toxic feature. the landscape is dominated, for the most part, by open and degraded formations based on therophytes and chamaephytes, linked to rosmarinetea and cisto-lavanduletea. the tree structures in hafir and the moutas reserve, still occupy only minimal areas subject to the destructive actions of man and his flock. these formations are still linked to the quercetea ilicis. these ecosystems are marked by a regressive evolution (forest, pre-forest, scrub, scrubland and therophytization). introduction in the mediterranean basin, the forest area requires some ecological and socio-economic importance. in addition, algerian forests, like mediterranean forests, present significant natural resources, including a proven floristic diversity (quézel and médail, 2003). the forest and preforest ecosystem study has the particularity of never ending (quézel, 2000). the status of forest, pre-forest and pre-steppe schrulands structures were clarified in morocco by quézel and barbero (1981), benabid (1985) in tunisia by el hamrouni (1992) and chaabane (1993), in algeria by djebaili (1984, 1990), dahmani (1984), on the mountains of tlemcen and bouazza (1991, 1995), amara and bouazza (2013) on the tlemcen region and babali (2014) on hafir and the moutas reserve. the tlemcen mountains forests offer a very interesting model for studying the flora and vegetation evolution. the variety of landscapes, but also their differences, remain very remarkable, their distribution is conditioned by a large number of ecological factors. they are characterized by mixed groups of holm oak and zeen oak in hafir and zarifet forests. elsewhere, these are degraded groupings (dahmani, 1997). *corresponding author, email: naiman37@yahoo.fr 1laboratory of ecology and management of natural ecosystems, aboubekr belkaid university, tlemcen, algeria. 2bp 18. k tlemcen, algeria. email: lecgen_tlm@yahoo.fr. mailto:naiman37@yahoo.fr mailto:lecgen_tlm@yahoo.fr. 346 bouazza et al it is important to underline that the data relating to vegetation tend to bring the territories closer together, to highlight their affinities and subsequently to better understand their real phytosociological originality. of course, this is linked to the fact that vegetation is the result of the integration of floristic, climatic, geological, historical, geographic, edaphic and anthropic factors. we have tried through this note to synthesize interesting data available from the tlemcen region: hafir and the moutas reserve. materials and methods geographical location of the study site the tlemcen region is located in the western part of northwest algeria (fig. 1). the study area is located between 34°25'and 35°25' north and 0°55'and 2°30' west, with an area of approximately 9000 km2. it is geographically limited: in the north by the mediterranean sea, in the north-east by the wilaya of aïn témouchent, in the east by the wilaya of sidi bel-abbès, to the west by the algerian-moroccan border, and in the south by the wilaya of naâma. fig. 1. geographical map of the study area. the climate the tlemcen region is characterized by a mediterranean type climate: (i) short, cold mild winters run from october to march, characterized by irregular rainfall. (ii) long hot and dry summers: marked by average rainfall and hot weather which ranges from 6 to 8 months. in this region, two bioclimatic stages exist and dominate: the semi-arid and the sub-humid. the monthly and seasonal variations in main climatic characteristics (p and t) depending on the altitude and the distance from the sea, have been highlighted in fig. 2. these variations show a comparison between the old meteorological data (1913, 1938 seltzer, 1946) and the new data (19752016). bibliographical note on the syntaxonomy of the vegetation 347 there is a clear decrease in rainfall and an increase in temperatures (in most stations). these results agree with the hypothesis of climate change in the study stations which evolve towards a more marked aridity (bouazza and benabadji, 2002, 2010; babali et al., 2018). these climatic conditions directly influence the vegetation dynamics in a regressive direction (bouazza and benabadji, 2000). fig. 2. bagnouls and gaussen ombrothermal diagrams. old period (1913-1938: seltzer, 1946); recent period (1975-2016) p: rainfall (mm) and t: temperatures (°c). methodology one hundred surveys were carried out according to the conceptions of phytoecology and the floristic inventory based on the tree, shrub and herbaceous strata. the surveys were made on floristically homogeneous surfaces (guinochet, 1973, 1977). this important notion for the quality of information has been associated with that of minimum area (gounot, 1969). the latter plays a role of first order, because it allows the floristic comparison of spatially dispersed surveys. it varies according to each plant group. in this regard, djebaili (1984) pointed out that the flora richness depends essentially on the number of annual species present at the time of the survey. this, and consequently the minimum area, will also depend on the vagaries of annual and interannual rainfall. according to gounot (1969), the commonly used method consists in listing the species on a plot with a very small surface area. then double this surface (1 + 2) and add the new species that appear. by successive doublings, we are supposed to arrive at a surface (1 +2 +… + n) from which there are no longer (or practically no more) new species appearing. in reality, however, as we add new surfaces to the previous surface, there are always new species that appear more or less sporadically. in our case study, the floristic surveys, on a surface of 100 m² were carried out on the whole of the distribution area of the plant formations lay the favorable periods of the vegetation. as goodall (1952) noted, the method is not statistically correct, because if a species rare in the plant community was encountered in the initial plot, it will appear in all subsequent plots. indeed, it would be more exact to operate on the series of plots of increasing size, taken at random in the community, without the small plots being systematically included in the large ones. this brings us to an average number of species included in the large ones. each of our statements includes: the location of the statement, the list of species, the recovery rate, the altitude, the exposure, the slope, the substrate. 348 bouazza et al we have made a synthesis of two working methods that of the minimal area and the method of transect, this fusion allowed us to have relevant results at the level of the whole station. outside of the study stations, we have adopted the floristic network; which consists in multiplying the surveys in order to get the maximum of information; this helps us to identify rare and endemic species and to complete the floristic list. this choice is motivated by the work speed (to save time) and by the flora richness. results and discussion after consulting the various floristic surveys carried out on the entire study site, the plant formations identified are as follows: class of quercetea ilicis (braun-blanquet, 19) (1947) in this unit are gathered circum mediterranean sclerophyllous formations. we used the work of rivas-martinez (1974), barbero et al. (1981), medail et quézel (1996) quézel and medail (2003) and in particular for algeria and the tlemcen region: dahmani (1984, 1996, 1997), stamboulimeziane (2010), amara and bouazza (2013), babali (2014), belhacini (2015) and bouazza et al. (2015). the characteristic species mentioned by the authors are: arbutus unedo, asparagus acutifolius, arisarum vulgare, bupleurum rigidum, rosa sempervirens, rubia peregrena, smilax aspera and pulicaria odora. of the species encountered in hafir and the moutas reserve, we cite: asparagus acutifolius, arisarum vulgare, juniperus oxycedrus, rubia peregrina, olea europea, phillyrea latifolia, and rosa sempervirens. orders of quercetalia ilicis (braun-blanquet 1947) this order includes the forest formations dominated by sclerophyllous oaks (quercus ilex, quercus suber and quercus coccifera) and (quercus faginea subsp. tlemceniensis) linked to the humid and sub-humid thermo, meso and supra-mediterranean stages. the species of this order are: carex distachya, cytisus arborens, cytisus villosus, moerhingia trinervia subsp. pentandra, phillyrea latifolia, quercus faginea subsp. tlemceniensis, quercus ilex, quercus suber, ruscus aculeatus, teucrium pseudo-scordonia and viburnum tinus. in this region (hafir and the moutas reserve), there are groups linked to two recognized alliances in morocco and tunisia: (i) oleo sylvestis-rotundifolio suberis barbero (quézel and rivas-martinez, 1980; bouazza and benabadji, 2002, 2010). (ii) balansaea globerinaea, quercium rotundifolia babero (quézel and rivas-martinez 1980). in addition, on siliceous substrates we find a western mediterranean alliance: quercion suberis (loisel, 1971) which appears in north africa. to this alliance we must integrate, for hafir and the moutas reserve, cytiso triflori-quercetum suberis, centauretosum taganae, described by dahmani in 1984. we find the following 3 alliances that relate to the quercetalia ilicis in morocco and tunisia: (i) oleo sylvestris-quercion rotundifolio suberis barbero (quézel and rivas-martinez, 1980). (ii) balansaeo globerrinae-quercion rotundifolio barbero (quézel and rivas-martinez, 1980). (iii) medicago tunetanae-crataegion azaroli (el hamrouni, 1992) in algeria, this order is represented by 3 other alliances: (i) querco rotundifoliae-oleion sylvestris barbero (quézel and rivas-martinez, 1980). (ii) balansaeo globerrinae-quercion rotundifolio barbero (quézel and rivas-martinez, 1980). quercion suberis (loisel, 1971). bibliographical note on the syntaxonomy of the vegetation 349 order of pistatio-rhamnetalia alaterni (rivas-martinez, 1974) this order brings together pre-forest structures resulting from intense degradation of forest formations in humid and subhumid bioclimates. in the semi-arid and arid, this is the only potential climax (barbero et al., 1981; dahmani 1997). it is characterized by: ampelodesma mauritanicum, asparagus stipularis, daphne gnidium, chamaerops humilis subsp. argentea, clematis cirrhosa, clematis flammula, jasminium fruticens, osyris alba, pistacia lentiscus, pistacia terebenthus, quercus coccifera, myrtus communis and ephedra fragilis. hadjaj-aoul (1995), bouazza and benabdji (2002, 2010), hasnaoui (2008) and mesli et al. (2009) point out that in oranie, the pre-forest formations are rather integrated into the pistaciorhamnetalia alaterniorder. the following alliances have been recognized in algeria; most are represented in the tlemcen region (hafir and the moutas reserve). (i) asparago-rhamnio oleoïdes (rivas-goday,1964; rivasmartinez, 1974), which groups together certain tetraclinaies (callitris) from western algeria (dahmani, 1984 and hadjadj-aoul, 1988, 1991). (ii) calycotomo intermediae quercion cocciferae (dahmani, 1997), which in oranie brings together pre-forest associations dominated physiognomically by the calycotome intermedia associated to chamaerops humilis. this alliance will replace in western algeria the genisto tricuspidatae calycotmion spinosi (dahmani, 1997) from central algeria. (i) ericion arboreae linked to siliceous substrates with arbutus unedo, erica arborea and buplerum fruticosum. to these alliances, present in the area, we should associate the junipero oxycedri-rhamnion developed in the saharan atlas and the southern slope of the tlemcen mountains; and the alliance with calycotome spinosa and thymus munbyanus subsp. coloratus proposed by gharzouli (1989) in eastern algeria (association bearing chamaerops humilis). in oranie, this alliance is replaced by its vicariant: calycotomo intermediaequercion coccifera (quézel et al., 1992) which brings together the association of calycotomo intermediae quercetum rotundifoliae. the therophytes strong presence, because of the environment anthropization, results in the birth of an association defined by quézel et al. (1992) and quézel and medail (2003): ampelodesmo-mauritanicum-chamaeropetum humilis which extends over the tessala and traras mountains, and in some cases in the tlemcen mountains on the north-east slopes. we also meet it in eastern morocco. within the pistacio-rhamnetalia alaterni; hadjadj-aoul (1995) described a new association: ampelodesmo mauritanicum-tetraclinetum articulatae which in turn contains a sub-association which reflects the pre-forest aspect derived from a green oak tree called chamaeropetosum humilis at altitudes ranging from 700 to 1300 m. the groups subservient to calycotomo-quercion would settle following the deterioration of the tetraclinaie, the cocciferaie or even the green oak of the upper thermo-mediterranean and the lower meso-mediterranean. if calycotome intermedia and ampelodesma mauritanicum characterize the order of pistacio-rhamnetalia alaterni in semi-arid bioclimate; they play a preponderant role in open environments, like the calycotome in the class of cisto-lavanduletea in southern europe. however, as the calycotome is a species very characteristic of relatively open shrubland and heavily degraded scrubland (cherifi et al., 2011, 2017), we would like to link it, as well as chamaerops humilis subsp. argentea to the rosmarinetea class. also, it is absolutely excluded to be able to recognize these two species as characteristics of the pistacio-rhamnetalia alaterni. it is true, that with these two species, the sylvatic atmosphere reigns there in certain cases, but not to the point of excluding them from rosmarinetea. 350 bouazza et al class of rosmarinetea-officinalis: (braun-blanquet 1947; rivas martinez et al., 1991) the intense degradation of the pre-forest groupings favors the installation of shrublands integrating into the classes of rosmarinetea or cisto-lavanduletea according to the limestone or siliceous nature of the substrate. this class includes shrub associations and certain swards based on chamaephytes and therophytes. it is frequent all around the western basin of the mediterranean. in algeria, djebaili (1990) links two orders to this class: (i) rosmarinetalia (braun-blanquet, 1931 and 1952) with a largely oro-mediterranean distribution. (ii) thymoïsti-juniperatalia phoeniceae (el hamrouni, 1978), which is believed to be from the maghreb. two orders have been described in morocco and taken up by dahmani (1997): (i) cisto mauritanici-thymetalia munbyani, (ii) anarrhino fruticosi astragaletalia armati. among the alliances retained in the cisto-mauritanici-thymetalia munbyani, quézel et al (1992) also bring together the tellian shrublands: (i) ulici africani-rosmarinion toumefortii defined by quézel, barbero, benabid, loisel and rivas-martinez in 1992, to characterize the north-western shrublands of algeria. these groups derive from the degradation of the tetraclinaie (hadjadj-aoul 1995; bouazza and benabadji 2002, 2010; hasnaoui 2008; bouazza and benabadji, 1998). (ii) staehelino macrocephalae-genistion pseudoretamoïdes, (quézel et al., 1992; dahmani 1997). this alliance is also present in the continental area with semi-arid climate. it is marked by the presence of genista erioclada, genista spartioïdes subsp. pseudoretamoïdes, staehelina dubia subsp. maeroeephala and thymus mynbyanus var. intermedia. (iii) the genisto atlanticae-cistion villosialliance, described by dahmani (1984), brings together in the region of tlemcen (hafir and the reserve of moutas), the shrublands of the semi-arid continental zone in the mesomediterranean. it brings together the following species: centaurea lagascae subsp.spachii, cistus creticus, cistus villosus, festuea scaberrima subsp. africana, fumana fontanesii, genista erioclada subsp. atlanticae and genista spartioids subsp. pseudoretamoïdes. in this alliance, three units characterizing the stages of pre-forest formationsdegradation are integrated: (iv) helianthemo racemosi-genistetum atlanticae-globularietosum which contains the rosorrinus, globularia and stipa shrublands with some species belonging to quercetea ilicis. (v) helianthemo racemosi-genistetum atlanticae-pinetosum, marked by a rarity of characteristic species. (vi) centaureo ternifoliae genistetum atlanticae stipetosum tenacissimae, which shows the regression towards the steppe groupings at alfa. the order of anarrhino fruticosi astragaletalia armati (quézel et al., 1994), taken up by dahmani (1997) is more steppe, represented by mediterranean-saharan transition species. this order is present in morocco, it is represented by a set of species which characterizes it: anarrhinum fruticosum, astragalus armatus subsp. armatus, atractylis humilis subsp. coespitosa, bupleurum atlanticum subsp. atlanticum, convolvulus valentinus subsp. coespitosus, coronilla juncea subsp. pomelii, echium humile, fumana ericoïdes var. scoparia, genista uniflora, herniaria fontanesii, hippocrepis montana linum austriacum subsp. gaetulum, polycnemum fontanesii, ormenis africana, thymelaea virescens and thymus munbyanus subsp. coloratus. as in morocco, tunisia and algeria, the helianthemo ruficomi-genistion tunetanae alliance is gaining momentum, it is closer to that of pinus halepensis and juniperus turbinata already described by le houerou (1969). the differentiation that exists between the groups of the anarrhino fruticosiastragaletalia armati and those of the lygeo-stipetalia lies in their position in a steppe environment (quézel et al, 1992; bouazza and benabadji, 2002, 2010). the associations selected by dahmani in 1984 and which are developing in the tlemcen region (hafir and the moutas reserve) held our attention. bibliographical note on the syntaxonomy of the vegetation 351 these associations include the following sets of vegetation: helianthemo racemosigenistetum atlanticae: this grouping derives from the degradation of pine forests, green oak groves, with or without kermes and cedar oak (quercus coccifera and tetraclinis articulata): beni saf and the southern slope of the tell and western atlas and tlemcen region (hafir and the moutas reserve). these open formations allow the extension of rosmarinus, globularia, stipa and ampelodesma (hasnaoui, 2008; stambouli-meziane, 2010 and belhacini, 2015). two sub-associations mark the thermophilic aspect: globularietosum alypi which is characterized by ononido-rosmarinetea species such as: (i) globularia alypum, fumana thymifolia, helianthemum pilosum and cisto sericens (ii) pinetosum recognizable by pinus halepensis and its richness in species of therobrachypodietea swards, in connection with the strong degradation of the environment (bouazza and benabadji, 2010 and chiali, 1999). (iii) the helianthemo pilosi-thymetum munbyani group contains in particular the stipa, ampelodesma, asphodelus, genista atlantica, thymus munbyanuslow shrublands; we meet it between the quercus ilex, ampelodesmaformations, with or without the presence of stipa, and the ampelodesmaies or the chamaeropaies. this association stems from the degradation of centaureo temifoliae-genistetum atlanticae, endemicto oranie (dahmani, 1984). the various associations analysis allowed us to take stock of the high degree of degradation, either anthropogenic or ecological (erosion, fire, grazing, etc.), reflected by the penetration of numerous therophytes with a nitratophilic tendency. this class is not easy to read because of its interpenetration with other classes. it is characterized by its open and degraded appearance, something which led us to link all chamaerops humilis subsp. argentea, calycotome intermedia and several chamaephytes. cisto-lavanduletea class the characteristic species are: cistus salvifolius, cistus villosus, lavandula stoechas, lavandula dentata, halimium umbellatum, halimium halimifolium and tuberaria major. this class, well represented in algeria (kabylia), is poorly known in the tlemcen region (hafir and the moutas reserve). this class is characterized by its open and degraded feature, something which led us to link to this class all the species which result from a degradation like chamaerops humilis subsp. argentea and calycotome intermedia, as well as several chamaephytes and therophytes. our region is exposed to a significant degree of degradation, to such an extent that the palatable species disappear quickly and are replaced by others, toxic and thorny. tuberarietea guttatae class this class brings together ephemeral xerophytic swards of mediterranean origin characterized by the species that are frequently encountered in our study area; but few in number compared to therobrachypodietea and, in the same ecological context, it is characterized by the rarity of palatable and non-dominant species: scorpiurus muricatus, atractylis concellata, sideritis montana, lagurus ovatus, medicago minima, evax pygmea, arenaria scipillifolia, hyppocrepis ciliata, leontodon rothii and trifolium stellatum. this class brings together three orders with only the first two which are represented in algeria: (i) brachypodietae distachya (rivas-martinez 1977) (ii) tuberarietalia guttatae braunblanquet (1940) (iii) malcornietalia (rivas-goday 1957). the latter is characteristic of the iberian peninsula. however the order of lygeo-stipetalia braun-blanquet and de bolos (1957) which was always linked to the therobrachypodietea was separated by rivas-martinez (1977) to attach it to the lygeo-stipeteaclass.it seems to us preferable 352 bouazza et al to keep the previous status, because it is well represented at the southern slopes in our area by perennial poaceae (bouazza et al., 2001 and babali et al., 2013). on silica: tuberariaetalia guttatae settles on the southern slope in the study area. the characteristic species are: aira cupaniana, aira tenorei, briza maxima, catapodium tenellum, logfia gallica, limun fugerium, lotus conimbricencis, ornithopus compressus, rumex bucephalophorus, tolpis barbata, trifolium arvensis, trifolium glomeratum, trifolium subterraneum, tuberaria guttata, vulterata gumberata and vuipia myuros. on limestone: brachypodietalia distachyae (rivas-martinez, 1977) settles down and groups therophytic species; they are numerous and we have kept in our area the following species: bromus rubens, brachypodium distiachyum, aegylops triuncilis, linum corumbiferum, xeranthenum inapertum, plantago albicans, medicago rugosa, ammoides verticillatae convoïvulus, bellis annua, trifolium angustifolium, allium triquetum, pallenis spinosa, echium vulgare, malva aegyptiaca, knautia arvensis, convolvulus tricolor, atractylis concellata, buplerum semi-compositum, echinaria capitata, euphorbia exigua, galium parisusus, micropus suminus and trachynia distachya. it is important to note two other alliances: (i) thero-brachypodion northwest of the mediterranean (braun-blanquet, 1925) (ii) stipion capensis north africa and spain (braunblanquet, 1954) nevertheless, it seems likely to us that the calcifuge therophytes, of hafir and moutasreserve, constitute units to be attached to the order of tuberarietalia guttatae. class of lygio-stipetea the lygio-stipetea class (rivas-martinez and izco, 1977) brings together perennial herbaceous associations, very widespread in spain. three alliances characterize the mediterranean steppes and are attached to this order: (i) eremopyno-lygeion: iberian, (ii) stipion retortae: iberomauritanian, (iii) stipion tenacissimae: north african. this class includes the following species: atractylis cancellata, atractylis serratuloïdes, calendula aegyptiaca, echium humile, eryngium ilicifolium, helianthemum apertum, plantago ovata, reichardia tingitana, stipa parviflora, plantago serraria and plantago albicans. the three species of the tlemcen region are marked by different frequencies and are present on both sides. stipa parviflora is observed near rosmarinus and erica in the beni-saf region, to characterize a pre-forest formation. in algeria, and more particularly in the oran tell, guinochet (1973) proposed the atractylostipion alliance which was also reported in tunisia by chaabane (1993). the class of tuberarietea guttatae was also adopted by aime (1991) who, in his work, integrates it among the dry therophytic swards of the thermo-mediterranean.the abundance of these swards in our study area testifies to the intense anthropozoogenic influence (bouazza, 1991 and babali, 2014). two other classes, described by dahmani (1997) in our area, and which are also linked to anthropozoogenic pressure, are: thero-brachypodietea guttatae and stellarietea mediae. the thero-brachypodietea class characteristics are numerous and the characteristic species are: bromus rubens, brachypodium distachyum, aegilops triuncialis, linum corymbiferum, xeranthemum inapertum, plantago albicans, medicago rugosa, ammoid verticillata, convolvulus althaeoid, bellisolifoli triquetrum, pallenis spinosa, echium vulgare, malva aegyptiaca, knautia arvensis and convolvulus tricolor. the ecological range of these taxa is wide; they are bibliographical note on the syntaxonomy of the vegetation 353 encountered from the south of sebdou to the oran coastline, including the hafir and the moutas reserve area, and undoubtedly constitute one of the groupings of the meso and thermomediterranean stages. the tuberarietea guttatae class brings together ephemeral xerophytic swards of mediterranean origin characterized by the species that are frequently encountered in hafir and in the moutas reserve, but few in number compared to thero-brachypcdietea in the same ecological context with a rarity of palatable and non-dominant species: scorpiurus muricatus, atractylis cancellata, sideritis montana, lagarus ovatus, medicago minima and evax pygmea. this class brings together three orders with only the first two which are represented in algeria (dahmani, 1997): (i) brachypodietalia distachyae (rivas-martinez and izco, 1977), (ii) tuberarietalia guttatae (rivas-goday, 1957), (iii) malcolmietalia (rivas-goday, 1957). brachypodietalia distachyae (rivas-martinez, 1977) brings together basiphil therophytes, which become dry in summer, characterized in our area by: atractylis cancellata, xeranthemum inapertum, plantago afra, herniaria hirsuta and trifollium stellatum. in this order, there are 4 alliances: (i) therobrachypodion (braun-blanquet, 1925), (ii) stipion capensis (braun-blanquet, 1954), (iii) seda-ctenopsion gypsophilae (braun-blanquet, 1965), (iv) omphalodion brassicifoliae (rivas-martinez, 1987). only one alliance derives from this set, that of the thero-brachypodion, with the following characteristics (present in hafir and the reserve of moutas): micropus bombycinus, paronychia argenatea, galium mollugo, salvia verbenaca, scabiosa stellatum and hippocrepis multisiliquosa. we have encountered these different species on various types of substrates. we take the example of paronychia argentea found, and healthy, on limestone soil as on siliceous soil, accompanied by scabiosa stellata and trifolium stellatum. tuberarietalia guttatae (rivas-goday, 1957): the characteristic species are therophytic communities which prefer siliceous grounds, and develop on shallow and not very acid soils, with sandy or silty texture. this order is very weakly represented in the groups of our study area. it contains the following species: aira cupaniana. aira tenorei, briza maxima, catapodium tenellum, logfia gallica, linum fugyrium, lotus coninbricensis, ornithopus compressus, tolpis barbata, trifolium arvense, trifolium glomeratum, trifolium ligustieum, trifolium subterraneum, tuberaria guttatae and vulpia geniculata. apart from the briza maxima species, which frequently occur in our surveys (north slope) and which is reported among the tuberarion guttatae (braun-blanquet, 1931), the other species characterizing this order are absent. this alliance has two associations: filago pyramidatae-plantaginetum iagopi (nov. ass.) observed in open holm oak from the tellian atlas to the semi-arid and subhumid meso-mediterranean (traras mountains, tlemcen region, mascara, tiaret, ouarsenis, bougaa and babors). this association is either in the form of ampelodesma mauritanicum fruit trees, hence the sub-association ampelodesmetosum mauritanicum, or in the form of calycotome and quercus ilex suckers, or in the form of herbaceous swards. among the characteristics of this one we have: bachypodium distachyon, hedypnois rhagadioloïdes, filago pyramidata, pallenisspinosa, plantago lagopus, plantago serraria and eryngium tricuspidatum. the latter is also retained as a characteristic of ononido-rosmarinetea: pallenis spinosa, plantago lagopus, plantago serraria also derive from stellarietea mediae which, by their floristic clump, characterize the most accessible areas to herds. 354 bouazza et al echinario capitatae-euphorbietum falcatae (nov. ass.): this association follows the stipaquercus ilex-ampelodesma-juniperus oxycedrus (centaurea tenuifoliae-genistetum atlanticae) formations. the dominant species are more attached to the thero-brachypodion. class of stellarietea mediae also called rudero-secalietae braun-blanquet (1936); it groups nitratophilic annuals and has been the subject of numerous writings: (i) in tunisia: guinochet (1977) and chaabane (1993), (ii) in spain: rivas-martinez and izco (1977), (iii) in algeria: dahmani (1996), abdelkrim (1995) and bouazza (1991, 1995). in our area (hafir and the moutas reserve), this class is characterized by the following species: avena sterilis, calendula arvensis, hordeum murinum, bromus rubens, aegilopstriuncialis, ornithogalum umbellatum. convolvulus althaeoïdes, sinapis arvensis, anagallis arvensis, biscutella didyma, trifolium angustifolium, centaurea pullata, paronychia argentea, allium roseum, bellis annua and erodium moschatumit is likely that this unit will undoubtedly dominate the landscape of hafir and the moutas reserve in the near future. two orders are retained by dahmani (1997) in his work on algerian green oak groves: secalinetalia: brings together the swards associated with crops on limestone soil and characterized by the following species: asperula arvensis, androsace didymas, bunium pachypodium, centaurea pullata, coronilla scorpioïdes, lithospernum arvensis, ornithogallum umbellatum, papaver hybrideus, sinapis arvensis and silene vulgar. brometalia rubenti-tectori: brings together the sub-nitraophilic annuals with the following characteristics: aegilops triuncialis, bromus rubens, reichardia picrioïdes, allysum granatense, bromus teetorum, daucus muricatus, galactites elegans, plantago lagopus, hypochoeris aehryphorus, hinachfeldia, hinachfeldia and hedypnois rhagadioloïdes. the floristic complexity of the vegetation in the tlemcen region appears to be the result of the anthropo-climatic effects which have occurred there over the past thirty years. the use, or even the overexploitation, by man and his herd, of this vegetation, largely contributed to the vegetal cover degradation. however, it is in the most accessible areas (non-accidental relief, tracks, roads) that this process is particularly evident at present. the current plant landscape clearly reflects the heterogeneity of flora imbued with ecological conditions which are often extremely difficult. preforest and shrubland groups, which are most often attached to the pistacio-rhamnetalia and rosmarinetea, undoubtedly dominate. it is obvious that the sylvatic atmosphere still persists in the high altitude areas which should be attached to the quercetea ilicis of which it has some of the characteristics. this situation is the consequence of the mediterranean influence (north side) linked to hydric compensation in relation to an atmospheric humidityhigh rate, but also and above all, linked to orographic contributions. in the current bioclimatic context, the plant structures are distributed between two stages, which vary from the thermoto the meso-mediterranean. the extent of the dry period imposes on the vegetation a strong evapotranspiration and on the landscape a vegetal cover rich in xerophyte species (calyeotome, asparagus, ulex) favoring the fire. on this subject, and with regard to the northern limits, synthesis works have been carried out over the last decades; aime (1991) on the oran coast, bouazza (1991, 1995) and bekkouche (2013) in the tlemcen region; have shown the importance of changes in certain climatic parameters, and especially the rainfall, which generally led barbero and quézel (1995) to a drop in bioclimatic level (emberger, 1955). the progressive increase of the population and its livestock created a need and which could, duringsometime, cause an increase in the plant cover destruction leading imperatively to the bibliographical note on the syntaxonomy of the vegetation 355 constitution of ephemeral swards where dominate the toxic and/or not appetivethorny species such as: centaurea, calycotome spinosa, urginea maritima, ulex boivinii, asphodelus microcarpus, echium vulgare and atractylis humilis. the existence of annual species, most often in the form of a doormat, characterizes strongly anthropized shrublands (scrubland/scrub, cherifi, 2013). in addition to these shrublands, the tuberrarieta guttatae and stellarietea mediae species dominate the landscape. this is clearly understood when we see that the transhumance is done in an early manner from the south to the north and according to the places accessible to the herds (seasonal variations: hape for 1913-1938 and then hpae for 1975-2016). this tendency to seasonal shift in most of the study area has been well sensed by nomadic pastoralists, who are coming earlier in the summer pastures. in addition, on the southern slope, in contact with these shrublands, swards bring to gether the perennial xeric herbaceous associations which dominate, with rigorous vitality, and it is not on the vegetation of the northern slope that we can observe them. on the other hand, this interpretation is further justified by the fact that on the latter hygrophilic species exist but do not dominate, such as for example lonicera implexa, teucrium, muscari neglectum and orchis sp. 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revised on 23 november 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 43-78, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60448 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floristic survey of vascular plants in coastal district bagerhat of bangladesh gazi mosharof hossain*, saleh ahammad khan, shayla sharmin shetu, mohammad sayedur rahman1, fakhruddin ali ahmed2 and md. hassan ali plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: flora; angiosperms; bagerhat; bangladesh. abstract this survey provides the basic taxonomic data on the vascular flora of the disasterprone coastal district of bagerhat. it has explored the occurrence of 964 species of vascular plants under 607 genera and 147 families in this district. about 68.88% of these species are native and 31.12% are exotic to bangladesh. pteridophytes are composed of 32 species under 22 genera of 14 families and gymnosperms of seven species under six genera and five families. angiosperms are comprised of 693 species of 450 genera and 99 families of magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) that represent 71.89% of the flora, and 232 species belonging to 129 genera under 29 families of liliopsida (monocotyledons) that constitute 24.07% of this flora. fabaceae with 58 species is the largest dicot family, followed by asteraceae, euphorbiaceae, apocynaceae, and acanthaceae. poaceae with 68 species is the largest monocot family, followed by cyperaceae, orchidaceae, araceae and arecaceae. the genus cyperus is the largest in the study area, which is followed by fimbristylis, euphorbia, ficus, solanum and ipomoea. the species cipadessa baccifera (roth) miq. of meliaceae is rediscovered in bangladesh. about 63.35% of species of this flora and most of the magnoliopsida and liliopsida are herbs, 18.94% shrubs, 15.63% trees, and 1.55% palms. nearly 70.81% of the species are wild and the rest are planted or cultivated. 17 species are recognized as rare in the study area due to their very restricted occurrence and poor regeneration. most of the species grow in the fallow lands, roadsides, woodlands, homesteads, marginal lands and scrub jungles. the majority of the species have more than one uses, but most are useful as medicinals (70.39%) and ornamentals (25.57%). though the study area is under the stress of different threats, its floristic composition is still rich. we strongly recommend adopting adequate effective measures for the conservation and sustainable development of this rich flora of the coastal region. introduction floristic surveys are essential in understanding the status, extent, and assessment of plant biodiversity (wcmc, 1992). such surveys are helpful in sustainable utilization of plant resources, plant resource-based development, exploration of alternative and closely allied species, identification and conservation of threatened plant species, and assessment, monitoring and mitigation of the adverse impacts of climate change on plant species. due to these implications, floristic studies in various forest and non-forest areas become imperative in different areas and countries throughout the world for over a century (ostertag et al., 2014). *corresponding author, e-mail: gazibotju@gmail.com 1bangladesh national herbarium, ministry of environment, forest and climate change, chiriakhana road, mirpur 01, dhaka-1216, bangladesh. 2phytochemistry and natural products laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60448 44 hossain et al. though it is inferred that bangladesh houses rich biodiversity including approx. 5000 species of angiosperms (khan, 1977), a total of 3886 species are reported from this country through various floristic studies conducted sporadically so far (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; uddin et al., 1998; khan and huq, 2001; rashid and mia, 2001; uddin et al., 2003; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009; islam et al., 2009; arefin et al., 2011; sultana, 2012; rahman et al., 2015; tabassum, 2015; haque et al., 2018; shetu et al., 2018; uddin and hassan, 2018; hossain et al., 2020; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020a, b; ashrafuzzaman and sarwar, 2021; hossain et al., 2021; khan et al., 2021a, b; ashrafuzzaman et al., 2022). it indicates that the floristic composition of many areas of this country has been partially explored or unexplored. besides, bangladesh is one of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change and is ranked as one of the world’s most disaster-prone areas (choudhury, 2002; world bank, 2005) and a good number of plant species in this country are inferred as threatened or under the risk of extinction (khan et al., 2001; ara et al., 2013). some species with distribution in this country, as reported in old literature (hooker, 1872-1897) or documented in herbarium collections, may have already been lost. therefore, conducting adequate floristic surveys in the unexplored or partially explored areas of this country are very crucial to know the composition, structure and status of their plant resources. today’s one of the biggest conservation challenges is to protect and maintain the biodiversity in the coastal areas. the first key step to achieving this goal is to complete the floristic explorations and compile the updated lists of species extant in these areas (schaminée et al., 2011; sharrock, 2012). bagerhat district is a south-western part of the country lying beside the coast of the bay of bengal. this district is one of the most risk-prone coastal areas of bangladesh and most of its habitats and ecosystems are being degraded through the consequences of different natural disasters and anthropogenic interventions, including the replacement of most of its natural vegetation by settlements, agricultural expansions, shrimp cultures and other human activities. but hitherto, this district is floristically unexplored except for its southern part covered with dense forest of sundarban mangrove area, the floristic composition of which is largely reported by rahman et al. (2015). the floristic study of rahman et al. (2015) covers the mangrove areas of this district belonging to its monglaand sarankhola upazilas but it does not provide information on plant species composition and distribution in other parts of these administrative areas. the basic taxonomic information on bagerhat district flora is lacking. in contrast, most of the predominant natural and anthropogenic threats to the flora and plant diversity (ali, 1999; choudhury, 2002; khan, 2008; kulatunga et al., 2012) are functional throughout this coastal district that can cause a heavy loss of its plant diversity and change in its floristic composition. therefore, conducting a floristic survey throughout this district is pivotal, especially for knowing the current species composition and diversity, plant resource-based sustainable development, and providing valuable baseline data required for effective conservation of the threatened species and assessment and monitoring of the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on the plants and ecosystems of this area. therefore, the scope and need for conducting a detailed floristic survey throughout this district are very rationale. this survey was conducted to construct a comprehensive checklist of all vascular plant species extant in the bagerhat district area and provide basic taxonomic data on these species based on thorough floristic inventories and examination of representative specimens. materials and methods bagerhat district, comprising an area of 3959.06 km² including 600.04 km² of forests, is located between 21°49' and 22°59' north latitudes and 89°32' and 89°98' east longitudes (district statistics 2011 of bagerhat, 2013). it is bounded by gopalganj and narail districts on the north, the bay of bengal on the south, gopalganj, pirojpur and barguna districts on the east, and khulna district on the west. this district is composed of nine upazilas (fig. 1) and 75 unions with a total of 156388 floristic survey of vascular plants 45 hectares of cultivable lands, 8978 hectares of fallow lands and 9458 hectares of permanently waterlogged areas. the topography of this district is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 36 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 11 feet. it is covered by agricultural lands, fallow lands, grasslands, wetlands and fish ponds (‘gher’), scrub jungles, mangrove forests and homestead gardens etc. bagerhat has a tropical climate with the average annual temperature varying from a minimum of 12.5°c to a maximum of 33.5°c. the rainy period lasts here from february to november but the most rain falls during july, with an average total of 325 mm. the annual average rainfall is 1710 mm (population and housing consensus-2011, 2015). fig. 1. map of the bagerhat district showing the upazilas and major land-use patterns. this survey was carried out in different seasons from 2017 to 2022 throughout the bagerhat district including the sundarbans area. the collection, processing, drying and preservation of plant specimens were done following standard herbarium methods and techniques (bridson and forman, 46 hossain et al. 1989; singh and subramaniam, 2008). the representative plant specimens of all taxa were examined at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). taxonomic identification of the specimens and verification of the nomenclatural information has been completed, the families and genera have been arranged, data on the uses of the species have been collected and the status of threatened plant species in the study area has been inferred following khan et al. (2021b) and hossain et al. (2021). most of the voucher specimens are stored at juh and some at dacb. data on the uses of the species were collected through interviews with the local people, and consulting the relevant literature (ghani, 1998; van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2001; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009). the rare status of the plant species was inferred through estimation of their current population size, occurrence, distribution range and regeneration in the area based on field observation. results and discussion this survey reveals the occurrence of a total of 964 species of vascular plants under 607 genera and 147 families within the geographical boundary of the bagerhat district for the first time. these species constitute about 24.81% of the total 3886 plant species identified (hossain et al., 2020; ashrafuzzaman and sarwar, 2021; ashrafuzzaman et al., 2022) and 19.28% of the total plant species (approx. 5000 species) estimated for bangladesh so far (khan, 1977). during this study, pteridophytes were found to be composed of 32 species under 22 genera of 14 families and gymnosperms of seven species under six genera and five families. among the angiosperms, magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) were represented by 693 species, including three subspecies and four varieties, of 450 genera and 99 families that constituted 71.89% of the vascular flora of the bagerhat district, whereas, liliopsida (monocotyledons) by 232 species, including one subspecies, belonging to 129 genera under 29 families, which comprised 24.07% of this flora (table 1). about 68.88% (664 species) of this vascular flora are native, whereas, 31.12 % (300 species) are exotic to bangladesh. most of the species (618 species), representing 64.11% of this flora, were found to be distributed in the sundarbans mangrove forests area of this district. table 1. list of vascular plant taxa of bagerhat district, bangladesh. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse pteridophyta schimp. psilotaceae j.w. griff. & henfr. *psilotum nudum (l.) p.beauv. psilotum herb, ep; w op sa m gmh 0061 lycopodiaceae p.beauv. ex mirb. *phlegmariurus phlegmaria (l.) holub fern herb, ep; w op mo, sa o gmh 1503 selaginellaceae willk *selaginella vaginata spring selaginella herb, pr; w ml, wl all upazilas m gmh 1501 ophioglossaceae martinov *ophioglossum reticulatum l. sharpa jihba herb, er; w gl, wl sa m gmh 0237 salviniaceae martinov *azolla pinnata r.br. khudipana herb, fl; w wtl all upazilas gm gmh 1513 *salvinia cucullata roxb. ex bory indur kanipana herb, fl; w wtl all upazilas gm, o gmh 0268 *s. molesta d.mitch. # pani dhekia herb, fl; w wtl all upazilas gm, o gmh 1518 *s. natans (l.) all. pani dhekia herb, fl; w wtl all upazilas gm, o gmh 1502 marsileaceae mirb. marsilea minuta l. susni shak herb, cr; w wtl bs, ka, fa vg gmh 1714 floristic survey of vascular plants 47 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *m. quadrifolia l. # susni shak herb, cr; w af, fl, wtl all upazilas vg gmh 0225 lygodiaceae m. roem. *lygodium flexuosum (l.) sw. saralata fern herb, cl; w sj, wl all upazilas m gmh 0223 l. microphyllum (cav.) r.br. lata dhekia herb, cl; w sj fa, bs m gmh 1798 pteridaceae e.d.m. kirchn. *acrostichum aureum l. tiger fern herb, er; w fm, wl ka, mo, mr, ra, sa m, tm gmh 0003 adiantum capillus-veneris l. hangsapadi herb, ep; pl hs bs, mo o sss 3663 a. caudatum l. khopa fern herb, ep; w op, obw all upazilas o gmh 1790 *a. tenerum sw. # biddapata herb, ep; w op, obw bs, sa o gmh 1504 ceratopteris pteridoides (hook.) hieron. pani dhekia herb, er; w wtl bs, fa, ka vg gmh 1514 *c. thalictroides (l.) brongn. pani lettuce herb, er; w wtl all upazilas vg gmh 0128 *pteris vittata l. dhekia herb, lp; w obw all upazilas m gmh 1512 vittariaceae ching *haplopteris elongata (sw.) e.h. crane fitta fern herb, ep; w op, wl mo, sa m, o gmh 1505 *haplopteris sp. unknown herb, ep; w op, wl sa m, o gmh 1800 polypodiaceae j. presl & c. presl *drynaria quercifolia (l.) j. sm. pankhiraj herb, ep; w op, wl all upazilas m, o gmh 0034 *microsorum punctatum (l.) copel. gucha patra herb, ep; w op, wl all upazilas m, o gmh 0106 *pyrrosia nuda (giesenh.) ching pyrosia herb, ep; w op, wl all upazilas m gmh 0259 p. piloselloides (l.) m.g. price paisa dhekia herb, ep; w op, wl fa m, o gmh 1633 *pyrrosia sp. pyrosia herb, ep; w op, wl sa m gmh 1700 blechnaceae newman *stenochlaena palustris (burm.f.) bed. dhekia lata herb, cl; w rb, sj, wl all upazilas m, vg gmh 0071 thelypteridaceae ching ex pic. serm. *ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel. dheki shak herb, cr; w fl, fm, wl all upazilas m gmh 1506 *christella crinipes (hook.) holttum bish dhekia herb, er; w fl, ml, rs all upazilas m gmh 1511 *thelypteris dentata (forssk.) e.p.st.john datitila herb, cr; w fl, fm, wl all upazilas o, vg gmh 1679 aspleniaceae newman *asplenium polyodon g. forst. # bon dhekia herb, ep; w op mo, sa o, m gmh 1510 athyriaceae alston *diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. dhekia shak herb, er; w fl, fm, wl all upazilas vg gmh 1713 gymnosperms prantl araucariaceae henkel & w. hochst. *araucaria heterophylla (salisb.) franco # x-mas tree tree, m; pl gr, hs all upazilas o gmh 1715 cupressaceae gray juniperus chinensis l. # china juniper tree, s; pl gr, hs bs o gmh 1720 *platycladus orientalis (l.) franco # thuja shrub; pl gr, hs, rs all upazilas o gmh 1507 cycadaceae pers. cycas circinalis l. # cycas tree, s; pl gr, hs bs, ch, fa, ra m, o gmh 1522 c. revoluta thunb. # moniraj tree, s; pl gr, hs bs m, o gmh 1519 pinaceae spreng. ex rudolphi pinus caribaea morelet # pine gach tree, l; pl gr, hs, rs bs, fa o gmh 1791 zamiaceae horan. zamia furfuracea l.f. ex aiton # zamia palm shrub; pl gr bs o sss 3676 magnoliopsida brongn. 48 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse magnoliaceae juss. magnolia champaca (l.) baill. ex pierre champa tree, l; pl rs bs, fa m, o gmh 1602 annonaceae juss. *annona reticulata l. # atta, nona tree, s; w hs, sj all upazilas fr gmh 1508 *a. squamosa l. # shorifa tree, s; pl hs all upazilas fr gmh 1509 artabotrys hexapetalus (l.f.) bhandari # kathali chapma shrub, sc; pl hs bs, fa, mo m, o gmh 1517 *huberantha pendula (capuron ex g.e. schatz & le thomas) chaowasku # weeping debdaru tree, m; pl rs all upazilas o gmh 1525 *monoon longifolium (sonn.) b.xue & r.m.k.saunders # debdaru tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas o, t gmh 1515 polyalthia suberosa (roxb.) thwaites barachali tree, s; w fl, wl all upazilas fr, fw gmh 1750 lauraceae juss. *cassytha filiformis l. akashbel herb, ps; w op sa m gmh 1516 cinnamomum tamala (buch.-ham.) t. nees & eberm. tejpata tree, m; pl hs all upazilas sp gmh 1723 c. verum j.presl # darchini tree, m; pl hs bs, fa, mo, ra sp gmh 1734 *litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b.rob. kukurchita tree, m; w sj, wl bs, fa, ml, sa m gmh 1521 l. monopetala (roxb.) pers. borokukurchita tree, m; w sj, wl bs, fa, ka m gmh 1527 piperaceae giseke *peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth # luchipata herb, pr; w gl, sj all upazilas m gmh 0242 piper betle l. # pan herb, cl; cv af bs, ch, fa, ka m gmh 1520 p. longum l. pipul herb, cl; w fl, wl bs, ch, fa, ka m gmh 1526 p. retrofractum vahl choi, choi jhal herb, cl; pl hs, wl bs, fa m, sp gmh 1550 p. sarmentosum roxb. # jongli pan herb, cr; w gr, sj bs m gmh 1797 aristolochiaceae juss. *aristolochia indica l. ishwarmul herb, cl; w sj sa m gmh 0008 nelumbonaceae a.rich. nelumbo nucifera gaertn. paddo herb, fl; w wtl bs m, o gmh 1523 nymphaeaceae salisb. *nymphaea nouchali burm. f. nilshapla herb, fr; w wtl all upazilas m, o gmh 1600 *n. pubescens willd. sadashapla herb, fr; w wtl all upazilas o, vg gmh 1583 *n. rubra roxb. ex andrews lalshapla herb, fr; w wtl all upazilas m, o gmh 1524 ceratophyllaceae gray *ceratophyllum demersum l. kantajhanjhi herb, sm; w wtl all upazilas m gmh 1786 ranunculaceae juss. clematis terniflora dc. tarajhara herb, cl; pl gr, hs bs, mo o sss 3529 c. zeylanica (l.) poir. chagolbati herb, cl; w fl, sj, wl mr m sss 3476 *ranunculus sceleratus l. jhumka phul herb, er; w wtl all upazilas m gmh 1770 menispermaceae juss. cocculus hirsutus (l.) w. theob. huyer, daikhai herb, cl; w sj bs m gmh 1777 *stephania japonica (thunb.) miers akandi manik herb, cl; w sj, wl all upazilas m gmh 0285 tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thomson gulancha herb, cl; w wl bs, fa m gmh 4073 *t. sinensis (lour.) merr. gulancha herb, cl; w wl bs, fa, sa m gmh 0074 tiliacora acuminata (lam.) hook.fil. & thomson bagbandha lata shrub, li; w sj, wl bs, fa, ml, ra m, tm gmh 4019 papaveraceae juss. argemone mexicana l. # sheyal kanta herb, er; w af, fl, rs ch, fa m gmh 1635 cannabaceae martinov floristic survey of vascular plants 49 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *trema orientalis (l.) blume banjiga, jibon tree, m; w sj, wl all upazilas fw gmh 0292 moraceae gaudich. artocarpus chaplasha roxb. chapalish tree, l; pl rs, wl bs, fa, fr, t gmh 1533 *a. heterophyllus lam. # kanthal tree, m; pl hs, wl all upazilas fr, t gmh 1595 a. lakoocha roxb. dewa tree, m; pl wl bs, ml, ra fr, t gmh 1692 *ficus benghalensis l. bot tree, l; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas o, fw gmh 0180 *f. benjamina l. bot tree, m; pl gr, ml, rs bs, ch, fa, m o gmh 1621 *f. elastica roxb. ex hornem. rubber bot tree, m; pl fl, rs bs, fa, sa o gmh 1637 *f. heterophylla l. f. bhuidumur shrub; w sj, wl all upazilas m gmh 1644 *f. hispida l. f. kakdumur tree, s; w sj, wl all upazilas m, vg gmh 0181 *f. microcarpa l.f. jir, kamrup tree, m; w ml, rb, wl all upazilas o, m gmh 1630 f. pumila l. # latabot herb, cr; w obw bs, fa, sa o gmh 1698 *f. racemosa l. jagdumur tree, l; w sj, fl all upazilas m gmh 0182 *f. religiosa l. ashwath tree, l; w wl, sj bs, fa, mr, sa m, o gmh 0183 *f. rumphii blume khiri bot tree, l; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas m, o gmh 1680 *f. virens aiton shada pakur tree, l; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas fw, m gmh 1625 morus alba l. # shada tut tree, s; pl ml, rs fa fr, fw sss 3545 *streblus asper lour. sheora tree, l; w sj, wl all upazilas fw, m gmh 0286 urticaceae juss. *gonostegia pentandra (roxb.) miq. gonostegia herb, er; w sj sa m gmh 1640 laportea interrupta (l.) chew chotrapatta herb, cl; w sj wl fa, ml, sa m gmh 1718 *pilea microphylla (l.) liebm. # latamaricha herb, pr; w obw all upazilas m gmh 0252 *pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. kullaruki herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0256 casuarinaceae r.br. *casuarina equisetifolia l. jhaw tree, l; pl ml, rs all upazilas o gmh 0124 nyctaginaceae juss. *boerhavia diffusa l. punarnava herb, pr; w fl, rs fa, ra m gmh 0112 bougainvillea buttiana holttum & standl. baganbilas shrub, sc; pl gr, hs bs, fa, mo, ra o gmh 1724 b. glabra choisy # lal baganbilas shrub, sc; pl gr, hs bs, mo, ra o gmh 1704 b. peruviana bonpl. # shada baganbilas shrub, sc; pl gr, hs bs, mo o gmh 1705 *b. spectabilis willd. # baganbilash shrub, sc; pl gr, hs all upazilas o gmh 1706 mirabilis jalapa l. # sandhyamoni herb, er; pl fl, hs all upazilas m, o sss 3548 aizoaceae martinov *sesuvium portulacastrum (l.) l. sagornunia herb, pr; w ml sa m gmh 1747 trianthema portulacastrum l. swetpunarnova herb, pr; w af, fl, rs fa m, gm gmh 1769 cactaceae juss. acanthocalycium spiniflorum (k.schum.) backeb. # cactus herb, er; pl gr, hs, bs o sss 3675 epiphyllum oxypetalum (dc.) haw. # night queen herb, er; pl gr, hs bs, mo o gmh 1771 ferocactus peninsulae (a.a.weber) britton & rose # ferocactus herb, er; pl gr, hs bs, mo o sss 3679 mammillaria compressa dc. # cactus herb, er; pl gr, hs bs, mo o sss 3673 opuntia dillenii (ker gawl.) haw. # fhonimonosha shrub; w ml, rs all upazilas he, m gmh 1740 o. ficus-indica (l.) mill. # fhonimonosha shrub; w ml, rs ch, mr, mo, ra, sa he, m gmh 1751 o. stricta (haw.) haw. # nagphana shrub; w ml, rs ch, mr, ra, sa he, m gmh 1768 50 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse selenicereus undatus (haw.) d.r. hunt # dragan phal herb, cl; cv gr bs, mo fr sss 3544 amaranthaceae juss. *achyranthes aspera l. apang herb, er; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas m gmh 0087 aerva lanata (l.) juss. ex schult. chaya herb, pr; w fl, rs bs, ch, fa m, vg gmh 1702 a. sanguinolenta (l.) blume lal apang herb, er; pl fl, gr, hs bs, ml, mr, ra m, o sss 3672 *alternanthera paronychioides a. st.hil. # jhuli khata herb, pr; w af, fl, rs mr, mo, ra, sa m, vg gmh 0095 *a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. # henchi herb, fr; w af, wtl all upazilas gm, vg gmh 0096 *a. sessilis (l.) r.br. ex dc. # malancha herb, pr; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 0097 *amaranthus blitum l. # goburanotey herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas m, vg sss 3542 *a. spinosus l. # kantanotey herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 0098 *a. tricolor l. lalshak herb, er; cv af/apl all upazilas vg sss 3532 *a. viridis l. # notey shak herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 1773 *celosia argentea l. # morogphul herb, er; pl hs, rs all upazilas m, o gmh 0126 *chenopodium album l. botua shak herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 0129 cyathula prostrata (l.) blume shyontula herb, pr; w fl, rs bs, fa, ml m gmh 1601 *gomphrena celosioides mart. # bottam phul herb, pr; w gl, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1589 g. globosa l. # bottum phul herb, er; pl hs, rs bs, mo, ra o sss 3531 *spinacia oleracea l. # palong shak herb, er; cv af, hs all upazilas vg sss 3657 portulacaceae juss. antigonon leptopus hook. & arn. # anantalata herb, cl; pl gr, hs bs, fa, mr, ra o sss 3671 *portulaca grandiflora hook. # time phul herb, pr; pl hs, rs all upazilas o gmh 1531 *p. oleracea l. # boronunia herb, pr; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 1619 p. quadrifida l. # chhoto nunia herb, pr; cv hs, rs bs, fa, mo o gmh 1628 basellaceae raf. *basella alba l. pui shak herb, cr; cv af, hs all upazilas vg gmh 1612 molluginaceae bartl. glinus lotoides l. alu ghash herb, pr; w af, fl fa, ra, mo m gmh 1657 *g. oppositifolius (l.) a. dc. gima shak herb, pr; w af, fl all upazilas m, vg gmh 1553 trigastrotheca pentaphylla (l.) thulin # khetpapra herb, pr; w af, fl bs, ra, m gmh 1682 caryophyllaceae juss. dianthus chinensis l. # china salpar herb, er; pl gr, rs bs o sss 3528 d. pinifolius sm. # dianthus herb, er; pl gr, rs bs o sss 3534 polycarpon tetraphyllum (l.) l. # gimi herb, er; pl gr, rs ml fo gmh 1774 polygonaceae juss. *persicaria barbata (l.) h.hara biskatali herb, er; w fl, wtl ch, fa, ka, sa m gmh 1726 *p. glabra (willd.) m.gómez biskatali herb, er; w af, fl fa, ka, ml, sa m gmh 1725 *p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre biskatali herb, er; w af, fl, wtl all upazilas m gmh 0244 *p. lapathifolia (l.) delarbre bishkathali herb, er; w af, fl, wtl sa m msr 493 *p. orientalis (l.) spach bara panimarich herb, er; w fl, wtl all upazilas m gmh 0255 *p. salicifolia (brouss. ex willd.) assenov polygonum herb, er; w fl, wtl sa m msr 492 *polygonum plebeium r.br. raniphul herb, er; w wtl all upazilas m msr 2249 *rumex dentatus l. bon palang herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1552 *r. maritimus l. dati palang herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0265 *r. vesicarius l. tok palong herb, er; cv hs bs, fa, mo m gmh 1710 floristic survey of vascular plants 51 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse plumbaginaceae juss. *aegialitis rotundifolia roxb. nunia shrub; w fm, wl mo, sa fw, m gmh 0004 plumbago zeylanica l. shada chita herb, er; pl gr, hs bs m gmh 1544 dilleniaceae salisb. *dillenia indica l. chalta tree, m; pl hs, wl all upazilas fr, m gmh 1549 dipterocarpaceae blume dipterocarpus turbinatus c.f.gaertn. garjan tree, l; pl rs, wl bs, fa t gmh 1538 hopea odorata roxb. telshur tree, l; pl rs, wl bs, fa t gmh 1540 elatinaceae dumort. *bergia capensis l. lal keshuriya herb, er; w wtl sa m gmh 1529 theaceae mirb. camellia japonica l. # camellia shrub; pl gr bs o gmh 1762 clusiaceae lindl. *calophyllum inophyllum l. punnul, punial tree, m; w fm, rs fa, mo, mr, sa m, oy gmh 0017 garcinia cowa roxb. ex choisy cowphal tree, m; pl hs, wl fa fr, m sss 3523 mesua ferrea l. nageshawr tree, s; pl rs fa, ml, mo m, o sss 3527 elaeocarpaceae juss. elaeocarpus floribundus blume jalpai tree, m; pl hs bs, fa, mr fr, oy sss 3549 tiliaceae juss. grewia asiatica l. pholsa tree, s; pl hs, wl all upazilas fr, m sss 3526 g. glandulosa vahl pathaka tree, s; w sj bs, fa m sss 3546 microcos paniculata l. asar shrub; w sj, wl fa fw, m sss 3539 sterculiaceae vent. abroma augusta (l.) l.f. ulatkambal shrub; w hs, sj all upazilas fb, m gmh 1754 melochia corchorifolia l. tiki okra shrub; w wl all upazilas m gmh 1742 *sterculia foetida l. baksho badam tree, l; pl hs, rs bs, ch, fa, sa fr, m gmh 1745 s. villosa roxb. udal tree, l; w wl fa, ch m gmh 1736 bombacaceae kunth. *bombax ceiba l. shimul tree, l; w rs, wl all upazilas fb, m gmh 0113 malvaceae juss. *abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench dherosh herb, er; cv af all upazilas vg sss 3521 *a. moschatus medik. mushak dana shrub; w fl, ml fa, sa m gmh 0083 *abutilon indicum (l.) sweet petari shrub; w fl, rs, sj all upazilas fb, m gmh 0085 alcea rosea l. # alcer, holyhock shrub; pl gr mo o sss 3522 *brownlowia tersa (l.) kosterm. lata sundri shrub; w rb, wl mo, sa fw, m gmh 0012 *ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. # shada shimul tree, m; pl hs, rs bs, fa, sa fb, t gmh 1776 *corchorus aestuans l. jangli pat shrub; w fl, rs, sj all upazilas fb, m gmh 1759 c. capsularis l. bogi pat herb, er; cv af, hs ch, fa, ra fb, vg gmh 1755 *c. olitorius l. tosha pat herb, er; cv af, hs ch, fa fb, vg sss 3519 gossypium arboreum l. # karpash shrub; cv af bs, fa fb, oy sss 3527 *heritiera fomes buch.-ham. sundri tree, l; w wl mo, sa t gmh 0039 hibiscus cannabinus l. # mesta pat herb, er; cv af, hs ch, fa fb, vg sss 3518 h. mutabilis l. # sthol paddo shrub; pl gr, hs bs o sss 3524 *h. rosa-sinensis l. # joba shrub; pl hs, rs all upazilas o sss 3535 h. sabdariffa l. # chukar shrub; pl hs, ml all upazilas m sss 3538 h. schizopetalus (dyer) hook.f. # jhumko jaba shrub; pl hs, rs all upazilas o sss 3550 52 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *h. tiliaceus l. bhola shrub, sc; w rb, wl ch, mo, mr, ra, sa fb, fw gmh 0040 h. vitifolius l. bonkarpas shrub; w sj fa, ra m, o sss 3551 malachra capitata (l.) l. # bondheras herb, er; w fl, hs, rs mo o sss 3553 malvaviscus arboreus dill. ex cav. # morich joba shrub; pl hs, rs all upazilas o sss 3537 *pentapetes phoenicea l. bandhuli phul shrub; pl hs mo, sa o gmh 1787 pterospermum acerifolium (l.) willd. muchkundo tree, l; w ml, wl bs, fa, ml m, t sss 3516 *sida acuta burm. f. kureta herb, er; w fl, sj, rs all upazilas m gmh 0273 *s. cordata (burm. f.) bross. waalk. pitberela herb, er; w fl, sj, rs all upazilas m gmh 0274 *s. cordifolia l. shet berela herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0275 *s. rhombifolia l. lal berela herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas fb, m gmh 0276 *triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. ban okra shrub; w fl, rs, sj all upazilas fb, m gmh 0295 *urena lobata l. ban okra shrub; w fl, sj, rs all upazilas fb, m gmh 0297 lecythidaceae a. rich. barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal tree, m; w ml, sj, wtl bs, ch, fa, ml m, o gmh 1792 *b. racemosa (l.) spreng. shamudra hijol tree, m; w rb, wl mo, sa m, fw gmh 0011 couroupita guianensis aubl. # naglingom tree, l; pl gr, ml bs o sss 3507 bixaceae kunth bixa orellana l. # bixa, shindur tree, s; pl gr bs m, o gmh 1784 tamaricaceae link *tamarix indica willd. nona jhaw tree, s; w fm, wl mo, sa fw, m gmh 0072 passifloraceae juss. ex roussel passiflora edulis sims # passion phal herb, cl; pl hs bs fr gmh 1575 *p. foetida l. # jhumkalata herb, cl; w sj fa, ml, ra fr, m gmh 0241 p. suberosa l. # mela jhumka herb, cl; w rs ka m gmh 1616 turnera ulmifolia l. # bashanti, turan herb, er; w rs bs, fa, ra m gmh 1530 caricaceae dumort. *carica papaya l. # papya tree, m; pl af, hs, rs all upazilas fr, vg sss 3505 cucurbitaceae juss. benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. # chalkumra herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas vg gmh 1789 citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai # tormuj herb, cl; cv af fa, ra, mo fr gmh 1764 *coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha herb, cl; w sj, wl all upazilas m, vg gmh 0138 cucumis maderaspatanus l. agmukhi herb, cl; w af, fl, sj fa, ra, sa m sss 3482 c. melo l. # bangi herb, cl; cv af fa, ra fr, vg sss 3488 c. sativus l. khira, shosha herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas fr, vg gmh 1794 *cucurbita maxima duchesne # misti kumra herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg gmh 1775 *lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. lao herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg sss 3552 *luffa acutangula (l.) roxb. jhinga herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg gmh 1778 *l. cylindrica (l.) m.roem. dhundal herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg sss 3541 *momordica charantia l. korolla herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg gmh 1779 *m. dioica roxb. ex willd. kakroll herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg gmh 1772 solena amplexicaulis (lam.) gandhi ex saldanha & nicolson rakhal shosha herb, cl; w sj bs, fa, ra m sss 3484 trichosanthes costata blume banpatol herb, cl; w sj fa, ml, mr, ra m sss 3543 *t. cucumerina l. chichinga herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas m, vg sss 3487 *t. dioica roxb. potol herb, cl; cv af, hs ch, fa, ml m, vg sss 3501 *t. tricuspidata lour. # makal herb, cl; w fm, sj ch, fa, sa m gmh 1780 salicaceae mirb. floristic survey of vascular plants 53 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. bauchi shrub; w sj, wl bs, fa, sa fr, m gmh 0185 f. jangomas (lour.) raeusch. lukluki tree, s; w fm, wl bs, fa fr, m sss 3458 capparaceae juss. capparis zeylanica l. katai, asaria shrub, sc; w sj fa m gmh 1793 *crateva magna (lour.) dc. borun, banny tree, s; w fm bs, fa, sa m gmh 0142 cleomaceae bercht. & j. presl cleome houtteana schltdl. # hurhurey herb, er; pl gr, rs bs, fa, ra m sss 3459 *c. rutidosperma dc. # nil hurhurey herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1795 *c. viscosa l. halud hurhurey herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 0133 brassicaceae burnett brassica cretica lam. subsp. cretica # fulkopie herb, er; cv af, hs bs, ch, fa, ml vg gmh 1785 *b. napus l. # sarisha herb, er; cv af, hs all upazilas lf, oy sss 3508 b. nigra (l.) w.d.j.koch # rai sarisha herb, er; cv af, hs ch, ml, mr oy sss 3481 b. oleracea l. # badhakopie herb, er; cv gr bs o gmh 1761 *b. rapa l. # shalgom herb, er; cv af, gr, hs all upazilas vg gmh 4022 cardamine flexuosa with. # bansarisha herb, er; w af, fl bs, fa, ml m gmh 1783 *raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus (l.) domin mula herb, er; cv af all upazilas vg sss 3467 rorippa benghalensis (dc.) h.hara bel rai herb, er; w fl, ml ch, fa, mo m sss 3473 *r. indica (l.) hiern bansarisha herb, er; w fl, ml all upazilas m, vg gmh 0263 moringaceae martinov *moringa oleifera lamk. # shajna tree, m; pl hs, ml, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 1796 sapotaceae juss. *madhuca longifolia (j. könig ex l.) j.f. macbr. mohua tree, m; w rs, wl bs, fa, sa m, oy sss 3463 *manilkara zapota (l.) p.royen # sopheda tree, m; pl hs all upazilas fr, m gmh 1788 *mimusops elengi l. bokul tree, m; pl rs all upazilas m, o sss 3472 ebenaceae gürke *diospyros discolor willd. # bilati gab tree, m; pl hs, rs all upazilas fr, m sss 3556 *d. malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab tree, m; w wl all upazilas fr, m gmh 0163 d. montana roxb. tomal tree, m; w rs, wl bs, fa, mo fw, m gmh 1766 myrsinaceae r.br. ardisia paniculata roxb. barochally tree, s; w sj, wl bs m gmh 1578 *a. solanacea (poir.) roxb. banjam shrub; w wl all upazilas m, o gmh 0103 primulaceae batsch *aegiceras corniculatum (l.) blanco kholshi shrub; w wl mo, sa hp, fw gmh 0005 crassulaceae j. st.-hil. *kalachoe pinnata (lam.) pers. # patharkuchi herb, er; pl hs all upazilas m, o gmh 1781 rosaceae juss. fragaria × ananassa (duchesne ex weston) duchesne ex rozier # stawberry herb, cr; cv gr, hs bs, fa, mo fr gmh 1760 *rosa × centifolia l. # golap shrub; pl hs all upazilas m, o sss 3515 r. chinensis jacq. # jangli golap shrub; pl hs, ml bs, fa he, m sss 3540 mimosaceae r.br. *acacia auriculiformis a.cunn. ex benth # akashmoni tree, l; pl fl, rs, wl all upazilas t sss 3457 *a. mangium willd. # mangium tree, l; pl rs, wl bs, ch, ml, mo t sss 3494 *albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. kalo koroi tree, l; w rs, wl all upazilas t sss 3511 54 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse a. lucidior (steud.) i.c. nielsen ex h.hara motor koroi tree, l; w rs, wl bs, fa t sss 3536 *a. niopoides var. niopoides (spruce ex benth.) burkart # raj siris tree, l; pl rs all upazilas t sss 3533 *a. procera (roxb.) benth. shada koroi tree, l; w rs, wl all upazilas t sss 3517 *cynometra ramiflora l. shigra tree, s; w fm, wl mo, mr, ra, sa fw, m gmh 0024 *entada phaseoloides (l.) merr. gila lata shrub, li; w fm, wl sa m, wp gmh 0035 *leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit # ipil-ipil tree, l; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas t gmh 0213 *mimosa pudica l. # lajjaboti herb, pr; w gl, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0218 *pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. # khoi babla tree, m; w hs, rs ch, fa, ra, sa fr, m gmh 0253 *samanea saman (jacq.) merr. # shirish tree, l; pl ml, rs, wl all upazilas t gmh 0269 *senegalia catechu (l.f.) p.j.h.hurter & mabb. khoir tree, m; pl rs bs, fa, sa fw, m sss 3496 *vachellia nilotica (l.) p.j.h. hurter & mabb. babla tree, m; w fl, rs all upazilas gu, m gmh 0086 caesalpiniaceae r.br. bauhinia acuminata l. sada kanchon tree, s; pl gr, hs, rs bs, fa, mo o sss 3497 b. purpurea l. rakto kanchan tree, s; pl gr, hs, rs bs, fa, mo o sss 3674 brownea coccinea jacq. pakhi phul tree, s; pl gr bs o sss 3555 *caesalpinia crista l. kutumkanta shrub, sc; w fm, rb mo, sa m gmh 0016 c. pulcherrima (l.) sw. chotto radhachura shrub; pl gr, rs bs, fa, mo, ra o sss 3479 *cassia fistula l. badarlathi tree, m; w ml, rs all upazilas m, o gmh 0121 c. javanica l. burmese shonalu tree, m; pl ml, rs bs, fa, ra o sss 3504 *delonix regia (bojer ex hook.) raf. # krishnachura tree, l; pl rs all upazilas m, o sss 3480 *guilandina bonduc l. # nata kanta shrub, sc; w sj, fm fa, sa m, oy gmh 0015 *intsia bijuga (colebr.) kuntze. bhaila tree, s; w rb, wl mo, sa m gmh 0042 peltophorum pterocarpum (dc.) backer ex k.heyne # radha chura tree, l; pl rs bs, fa m, o sss 3525 saraca asoca (roxb.) w.j.de wilde ashok tree, m; pl rs, wl bs, fa m, o sss 3547 senna alata (l.) roxb. # dadmardan shrub; w fl, hs, rs all upazilas m sss 3486 *s. occidentalis (l.) link # bara kalkesunda shrub; w fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0122 *s. siamea (lam.) h.s. irwin & barn. # minjuri tree, l; pl fl, wl all upazilas fw, o gmh 0123 *s. sophera (l.) roxb. # kalkeshunda shrub; w fl, sj, rs bs, ch, fa m sss 3485 *s. tora (l.) roxb. # kalkeshunda herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0272 *tamarindus indica l. # tetul tree, l; w hs, wl all upazilas fr, t sss 3530 fabaceae lindl. *abrus precatorius l. kunch, rati herb, cl; w sj all upazilas m sss 3477 adenanthera pavonina l. rakta chandan tree, m; pl gr, rs bs, fa, mo m sss 3655 *aeschynomene indica l. kathshola shrub; w fl, wtl fa, ml, sa fo gmh 0089 *aganope heptaphylla (l.) polhill panpata, satpata shrub, li; w fm, rb sa m gmh 0006 alysicarpus sp. unknown herb, er; w ml, sj bs, fa gm, m sss 3520 arachis hypogaea l. # china badam herb, pr; cv af mo fr sss 3493 *brachypterum scandens (roxb.) miq. mohajonilata shrub, li; w wl mo, sa m sss 3450 butea monosperma (lam.) kuntze palash tree, m; pl rs, wl bs, ch, fa m, o sss 3455 cajanus cajan (l.) huth # arhar shrub; cv af, fl, hs all upazilas m, pu sss 3461 *c. scarabaeoides (l.) thouars banurkalki herb, cl; w sj all upazilas gm, m gmh 0115 floristic survey of vascular plants 55 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *canavalia cathartica thouars kalosim herb, cl; w fm, sj mo, sa m gmh 1782 *c. rosea (sw.) dc. banshim herb, cl; w sd, sj sa m gmh 0018 cicer arietinum l. # chana, chola herb, er; cv af ch, fa, ml gm, pu sss 3469 *clitoria ternatea l. # aparajita herb, cl; w hs all upazilas m, o sss 3451 *crotalaria pallida aiton jhunjhuni shrub; w fl, rs all upazilas fb, m sss 3465 *c. retusa l. bil jhonjhoni herb, er; w fl, gl, ml sa gm, m sss 3489 *c. verrucosa l. boro jhonjhoni herb, er; w fl, gl, ml sa gm, m gmh 0146 *dalbergia candenatensis (dennst.) prain chanda lata shrub, li; w rb, wl mo, sa m gmh 1528 *d. sissoo roxb. ex dc. sisoo tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas t sss 3554 *d. spinosa roxb. kutum kanta shrub, sc; w rb, wl mo, sa m sss 3470 *derris trifoliata lour. kalia lata herb, cl; w wl ch, ml, mo, sa fb, m sss 3471 *erythrina fusca lour. kanta mandar tree, s; pl ml, rs all upazilas m, o sss 3500 e. stricta roxb. rakta mandar tree, s; pl ml, rs all upazilas m, o sss 3498 *e. variegata l. parijat, mandar tree, s; pl fl, ml, rs all upazilas m, o sss 3503 flemingia macrophylla (willd.) kuntze ex merr. barasalpan shrub; w sj, wl ch, fa m sss 3475 *grona heterophylla (willd.) h.ohashi & k.ohashi bon motorshuti herb, pr; w fl, gl all upazilas lf, m sss 3502 *g. triflora (l.) h.ohashi & k.ohashi kulalia herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas gm, m sss 3452 *indigofera trifoliata l. ban nil shrub; w fl, gl, fm sa gm, m rahman et al. 2015 *lablab purpureus (l.) sweet # shim herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas pu, vg sss 3506 lathyrus oleraceus lam. # motor kali herb, cl; cv af, hs ch, fa, ml, sa pu sss 3474 *l. sativus l. # khesari herb, cl; cv af all upazilas lf, pu sss 3483 *leptodesmia microphylla (thunb.) h.ohashi & k.ohashi chotomodi herb, pr; w fl, rs fa, ml gm, m rahman et al. 2015 *leptospron adenanthum (g.mey.) a.delgado bon borboti herb, cl; w fm, sj ch, fa, mo, sa lf, gm sss 3464 *medicago polymorpha l. # treful herb, er; w gl, fm sa gm, m rahman et al. 2015 *melilotus albus medik. sada methi herb, er; w af, fl mo m sss 3460 *mucuna gigantea (willd.) dc. bara alkushi herb, cl; w fm, wl mo, sa m gmh 0049 *m. pruriens (l.) dc. bichuti lata herb, cl; w ml, sj, wl bs, fa, ml m gmh 0231 pachyrhizus erosus (l.) urb. # kesur, shak alu herb, cl; cv hs, rs bs, mr, ra, sa m, vg sss 3490 *phaseolus coccineus l. # begunilat shim herb, cl; w ml sa pu sss 3462 p. vulgaris l. # french sheem herb, cl; cv af, hs ch, ml vg sss 3466 *pleurolobus gangeticus (l.) j.st.-hil. ex h.ohashi & k.ohashi salpani shrub; w fl, sj, wl all upazilas fb, m sss 3499 *pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre koroch tree, m; w rb all upazilas fw, m sss 3453 *rhynchosia minima (l.) dc. mini bhatraj herb, cl; w fm, gl, sj sa m rahman et al. 2015 *r. rufescens (willd.) dc. shim bhatraj herb, cl; w fm, gl, sj sa m rahman et al. 2015 *sesbania cannabina (retz.) poir. dhonchi shrub; cv af, fl, ml all upazilas fb, gm sss 3510 s. grandiflora (l.) pers. # bokphul tree, s; pl ml, rs bs, mr, mo fw, vg sss 3661 sohmaea laxiflora (dc.) h.ohashi & k.ohashi laximodi shrub; w fl, rs bs, fa m sss 3478 tadehagi triquetrum (l.) h. ohashi luri manda shrub; w wl, sj fa, ml gm, m sss 3454 56 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse uraria lagopodioides (l.) dc. chakulia shrub; w sj, wl fa m sss 3514 *vicia hirsuta (l.) gray masur chana herb, pr; w af all upazilas lf, gm sss 3491 v. lens (l.) coss. & germ. # moshur herb, pr; cv af fa, ml, ra lf, pu sss 3509 v. sativa l. ban mosur herb, cl; w af all upazilas lf, gm sss 3512 *vigna luteola (jacq.) benth. holdey mug herb, cl; w fm, sj mo, sa lf, gm sss 3513 v. mungo (l.) hepper # mashkalai herb, pr; cv af, fl, rs fa, ch, mr, ra gm, pu sss 3492 *v. radiata (l.) r. wilczek. hani mug herb, cl; cv af, fl sa gm, pu rahman et al. 2015 *v. trilobata (l.) verdc. jangli mug herb, cl; w fl, gl mo gm, lf sss 3456 *v. unguiculata (l.) walp. # borboti herb, cl; cv af, hs all upazilas pu, vg sss 3495 *zornia reticulata sm. # unknown herb, er; w fl, gl sa m msr 500 lythraceae j. st.-hil. *ammannia baccifera l. dadmari herb, er; w af, fl, wtl fa, mo, mr, sa m gmh 1580 *a. multiflora roxb. # acidpatta herb, er; w af, fl, wtl all upazilas m gmh 0099 cuphea hyssopifolia kunth # panica herb, er; pl gr bs, mo o gmh 1663 *lagerstroemia indica l. jarul, furush tree, s; pl rs all upazilas m. o sss 3580 *l. speciosa (l.) pers. jarul tree, l; pl rs, wl bs, fa, mo m, o sss 3581 *lawsonia inermis l. # mehedi tree, s; pl hs all upazilas dy, m sss 3604 *punica granatum l. # dalim, bedana shrub; pl hs all upazilas dy, fr sss 3609 *rotala indica (willd.) koehne deshi ghurni herb, er; w wtl sa m gmh 1573 r. rotundifolia (buch.-ham. ex roxb.) koehne dim ghurni herb, er; w fl, wtl bs m gmh 1586 *sonneratia apetala buch.-ham. kewra tree, l; w rb, wl ch, ka, mo, mr, ra, sa fr, m gmh 0069 *s. caseolaris (l.) engl. choila, ora tree, m; w rb ch, ka, mo, mr, ra, sa fr, m gmh 0070 trapa incisa siebold & zucc. # paniphal herb, fr; w wtl fa fr, m gmh 1576 t. natans l. shingra herb, fr; w wtl fa fr, m gmh 1579 myrtaceae juss. *callistemon citrinus (curtis) skeels # bottlebrush tree, s; pl hs, rs all upazilas o gmh 1618 *eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. # eucalyptus tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas m, t gmh 1617 *psidium guajava l. # peyara tree, s; pl hs all upazilas fr, m sss 3557 *syzygium cumini (l.) skeels kalojam tree, l; pl hs, rs, wl all upazilas fr, t gmh 0288 s. jambos (l.) alston golapjam tree, m; pl gr, hs bs, fa, mo, sa fr, m sss 3560 s. myrtifolium walp. bahari jam tree, s; pl gr, rs bs, fa, ml, mo, mr o gmh 4077 *s. samarangense (blume) merr. & l.m.perry jamrul tree, m; pl gr, hs all upazilas fr sss 3558 onagraceae juss. *ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara keshordam herb, fr; w wtl all upazilas m gmh 0221 *l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell # pani palong herb, er; w af, fl, wtl all upazilas dy, m gmh 0222 l. octovalvis (jacq.) p.h.raven ban labanga herb, er; w ml, wtl ch, fa, ka, ml m gmh 1536 *l. perennis l. amorkura herb, er; w fl, gl fa, mo, ra m rahman et al. 2015 combretaceae r.br. combretum acuminatum roxb. patuinia shrub, li; w fm sa m gmh 1763 c. indicum (l.) defilipps madobi lata shrub, li; pl hs all upazilas m, o gmh 1765 *combretum sp. unknown shrub, ss; w fm, rb sa m gmh 1535 *lumnitzera racemosa willd. kirpa tree, s; w fm, wl sa dy, fw gmh 0047 floristic survey of vascular plants 57 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun tree, l; pl rs all upazilas m gmh 1532 *t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas m gmh 1541 *t. catappa l. kathbadam tree, l; pl rs all upazilas m, nu gmh 0290 t. chebula retz. horitoki tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas m gmh 1534 t. neotaliala capuron # umbrella tree tree, m; pl gr bs o gmh 1537 rhizophoraceae pers. *bruguiera gymnorhiza (l.) lam. lal kakra tree, l; w wl mo, sa dy, t gmh 0013 *b. sexangula (lour.) poir. shobuj kakra tree, l; w wl mo, sa dy, t gmh 0014 carallia brachiata (lour.) merr. roshkao tree, m; w wl ch, fa fw, m gmh 1673 *ceriops decandra (griff.) w.theob. goran tree, s; w wl mo, sa dy, fw gmh 0020 *kandelia candel (l.) druce bhatkathi tree, s; w rb, fm mo, sa dy, fw gmh 0044 *rhizophora apiculata blume jhana tree, m; w rb, fm mo, sa fw, m gmh 0062 *r. mucronata lam. jhana, garjan tree, l; w rb, fm mo, sa dy, fw gmh 0063 cornaceae bercht. ex j. presl alangium chinense (lour.) harms. marleja gach tree, m; w fl, wl bs, fa fw, m gmh 1678 a. salviifolium (l.f.) wangerin aikha tree, m; w sj, wl bs, fa m, t gmh 1539 loranthaceae juss. *dendrophthoe falcata (l.f.) blume bajrangi shrub, ps; w op all upazilas m gmh 0028 *macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) tiegh. renda shrub, ps; w op ch, sa m gmh 0048 *scurrula parasitica l. porgacha shrub, ps; w op all upazilas m gmh 0067 *viscum monoicum roxb. ex dc. bhanda herb, ps; w op mo, sa m gmh 0078 celastraceae r.br. celastrus paniculatus willd. malkagani, kujri tree, m; w ml, wl bs, fa fw, t gmh 1548 *salacia chinensis l. choit boroi shrub, sc; w fm, wl mo, sa fr, m gmh 0064 euphorbiaceae juss. acalypha ciliata forssk. pasmisur herb, er; w fl, sj bs, ml m gmh 1542 *a. indica l. muktajhuri herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1613 astraea lobata (l.) klotzsch # khajkata croton herb, er; w fl, rs mo m gmh 1546 baliospermum calycinum müll.arg. cup danti shrub; w sj, wl bs, fa, ka m gmh 1658 b. solanifolium (burm.) suresh danti shrub; w sj, wl bs, fa m gmh 1596 *bischofia javanica blume. kainjal tree, m; w ml, rb, wl bs, fa, ka, sa m, t gmh 0110 bridelia stipularis (l.) blume harinhara shrub; w ml, sj fa, ka, sa m gmh 1543 *chrozophora plicata (vahl) a. juss. ex spreng. khudi okra herb, er; w af, fl, rs sa m gmh 1622 *c. rottleri (geiseler) a.juss. ex spreng. khudi phora herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0131 *codiaeum variegatum (l.) rumph. ex a.juss. # patabahar shrub; pl hs, ml all upazilas m, o gmh 1545 *croton bonplandianus baill. # bandhone herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0147 *c. caudatus geiseler. nan bhantur shrub; w ml, sj fa, ml, ra, sa m gmh 0148 *c. tiglium l. jamal gota herb, er; w fl, ml sa m msr 509 *drypetes assamica (hook. f.) pax & k. hoffm. bon bokul shrub; w fm, wl sa m gmh 0165 euphorbia antiquorum l. cactus shrub; w hs, ml all upazilas m, o gmh 1547 e. cotinifolia l. # lalpata shrub; pl gr, rs bs, mo o gmh 1611 *e. hirta l. # bara dudhia herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0177 58 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *e. hispida boiss. lomahori herb, pr; w fl, rs sa m gmh 1697 e. neriifolia l. manosha sij shrub; pl hs, ml bs, ch, fa, mo mr, ra m, o gmh 1703 *e. prostrata aiton # sijhori herb, pr; w fl, rs bs, mo, mr, ra m gmh 1753 e. pulcherrima willd. ex klotzsch # lalpata shrub; pl gr, rs bs o gmh 1551 *e. serpens kunth # balu madur herb, pr; w fl, rs mo, sa m gmh 1615 *e. thymifolia l. # swetkerui herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0178 e. tirucalli l. # narasaji shrub; pl hs, rs all upazilas m, o gmh 1614 *e. tithymaloides l. bera chita herb, er; w ml, rs all upazilas he, m gmh 1603 *excoecaria agallocha l. gewa tree, l; w wl ch, ka, mo, mr, ra, sa m, pp gmh 0036 jatropha curcas l. # bherenda shrub; pl rs bs, mo,ra he, m gmh 1701 j. gossypiifolia l. # lal bherenda shrub; w fl, rs mo he, m gmh 1712 j. podagrica hook. # bag bherenda shrub; pl gr bs, fa o gmh 1554 mallotus nudiflorus (l.) kulju & welzen latim, petali tree, l; w fl, ml ch, fa, mr m, t sss 3559 *m. repandus (willd.) müll.-arg. gunti, jhanti shrub, sc; w sj, wl fa, ml, mo m sss 3575 manihot esculenta crantz # kassava tree, s; pl ml, rs ch, fa, rsa m sss 3568 *ricinus communis l. # bherenda shrub; w fl, hs all upazilas m, oy sss 3574 *shirakiopsis indica (willd.) esser hurmui tree, s; w fm, wl mo, mr, ra, sa m, fp gmh 0065 *suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. ban naringa tree, s; w wl bs, fa, sa fw, m sss 3561 tragia involucrata l. chotrapatta herb, cl; w sj bs m gmh 0262 trewia polycarpa benth. & hook.f. pitali tree, m; w fl, ml, rs all upazilas fw, m gmh 4027 phyllanthaceae martinov *antidesma ghaesembilla gaertn. khudijam tree, s; w sj, wl sa m sss 3573 *breynia retusa (dennst.) alston silpati shrub; w ml, sj sa m gmh 1555 *b. vitis-idaea (burm. f.) c.e.c. fisch. vita salpoti shrub; w sj, wl sa m gmh 1571 *flueggea virosa (roxb. ex willd.) royle khaukra shrub; w sj, wl fa, ka, mo, sa m gmh 0186 glochidion multiloculare (rottler ex willd.) voigt paniatori shrub; w sj, rs fa, ml m sss 3562 phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels # arboroi tree, s; pl hs all upazilas fr, m sss 3572 *p. emblica l. amloki tree, s; pl hs, rs all upazilas fr, m sss 3567 *p. niruri l. # bhui amla herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas dy, m gmh 0247 *p. reticulatus poir. chitki shrub; w fl, sj all upazilas dy, m gmh 0248 *p. urinaria l. kalo chitki herb, er; w fl, gl fa, ml, sa m sss 3566 *p. virgatus g. forst. chitki shrub; w fl, gl sa m sss 3570 putranjivaceae endl. putranjiva roxburghii wall. putronjiva tree, l; w rs, wl all upazilas m, t gmh 1560 rhamnaceae juss. *colubrina javanica miq. ban boroi shrub, sc; w fm, sj sa m gmh 1556 *ziziphus mauritiana lam. boroi tree, m; w hs, wl all upazilas fr, m gmh 0303 *z. oenoplia (l.) mill. ban boroi shrub, sc; w sj, wl bs, fa, ka, sa he, m gmh 0304 leeaceae dumort. leea aequata l. kak jangha shrub; w sj, wl fa, ra m gmh 1669 *l. indica (burm. f.) merr. kurkur jihwa shrub; w sj, wl all upazilas gm, m gmh 0211 vitaceae juss. ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch. jharila herb, cl; w sj, wl ch, fa, ra m gmh 1681 *a. latifolia (roxb.) planch. gowalia lata herb, cl; w wl fa, ml, mo m gmh 1757 *causonis japonica (thunb.) raf. golgoti lata herb, cl; w fl, ml, sj sa m gmh 1741 floristic survey of vascular plants 59 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *c. maritima (jackes) jackes golgoti lata herb, cl; w fm, wl sa m gmh 2104 *c. trifolia (l.) mabb. & j. wen angur lata herb, cl; w sj, wl all upazilas lf, m gmh 0079 cissus adnata roxb. bhatia lata herb, cl; w sj, wl bs, fa m sss 3571 c. assamica (m. a. lawson) craib. angurlata herb, cl; w fm, sj sa m sss 3563 c. quadrangularis l. harjora herb, cl; w hs, rs all upazilas m sss 3569 *tetrastigma angustifolium (roxb.) planch. nekungriubi herb, cl; w sj, wl ch, fa, ra, mo, sa m gmh 0291 t. leucostaphylum (dennst.) alston horina lata herb, cl; w sj, wl fa, ml, ra m gmh 1557 vitis vinifera l. # angur herb, cl; cv hs bs, mr fr sss 3666 polygalaceae hoffmanns. & link *polygala chinensis l. meradu herb, pr; w gr, ml sa m gmh 0254 sapindaceae juss. *allophylus cobbe (l.) forsyth f. rakhal chita shrub; w sj, wl sa fw, m gmh 1574 *cardiospermum halicacabum l. lataphutki herb, cl; w fl, sj all upazilas m, vg gmh 1758 dimocarpus longan lour. ashphal tree, m; pl hs ch, fa, mo, mr fr gmh 1559 *dodonaea viscosa jacq. paniphul tree, s; w fm, wl sa fw, m gmh 0032 *lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. ban horina tree, s; w fl, wl all upazilas fr, fw gmh 1565 *l. senegalensis (juss. ex poir.) leenh. gota horina shrub; w fl, sj, wl all upazilas fw, m gmh 1677 *litchi chinensis sonn. # litchu tree, m; pl hs all upazilas fr sss 3599 anacardiaceae r.br. anacardium occidentale l. # kajubadam tree, m; pl hs fa m, nu sss 3610 *lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga, jeol tree, s; w ml, rs all upazilas he, gu gmh 0209 *mangifera indica l. # aam tree, l; w hs, wl all upazilas fr, t gmh 1620 *spondias dulcis parkinson # amrah tree, l; pl hs all upazilas fr gmh 1756 *s. pinnata (l. f.) kurz bon amrah tree, l; pl wl bs, fa, sa fr gmh 1558 meliaceae juss. *aglaia cucullata (roxb.) pellegr. amoor tree, s; w rb, wl mo, sa m, t gmh 0007 *aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.parker pithraj, royna tree, m; w hs, wl all upazilas m, oy gmh 0101 *azadirachta indica a. juss. neem tree, m; w rs, wl all upazilas m, t gmh 0108 cipadessa baccifera (roth) miq. sibbeki tree, s; w rs, wl bs m gmh 1610 khaya anthotheca (welw.) c.dc. # lombu tree, l; pl rs all upazilas t gmh 1597 *melia azedarach l. ghora neem tree, m; pl ml, rs all upazilas m, t gmh 1609 swietenia macrophylla king # bara mehagani tree, l; pl hs, ml, rs all upazilas t sss 3606 *s. mahagoni (l.) jacq. # mehagani tree, l; pl hs, rs all upazilas t sss 3591 *toona ciliata m.roem. toon, rongi rata tree, l; w rs, wl all upazilas dy, m sss 3603 *xylocarpus granatum j.koenig dhundal tree, m; w rb, wl sa m, t gmh 0081 *x. moluccensis (lam.) m.roem. poshur tree, m; w wl mo, sa m, t gmh 0082 rutaceae juss. *aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel tree, m; w hs, ml, wl all upazilas fr, m sss 3600 *citrus aurantiifolia (christm.) swingle lebu shrub; pl hs all upazilas fr sss 3564 *c. maxima (burm.) merr. # jambura tree, s; pl ml, hs all upazilas fr sss 3585 *glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc. datmajoni shrub; w fl, sj, wl all upazilas m gmh 0188 *limonia acidissima l. kadbel tree, m; pl ml, hs all upazilas fr gmh 1577 *merope angulata (willd.) swingle bonlebu shrub; w fm, rb sa m gmh 1561 murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. curry patta tree, s; w fl, wl bs, fa, ka, ml m, sp gmh 1666 *m. paniculata (l.) jack kamini tree, s; pl rs, wl all upazilas m, o gmh 1670 60 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse oxalidaceae r.br. *averrhoa bilimbi l. # bilimbi tree, s; pl hs bs, ch, fa, ka, mo, mr fr, m sss 3608 *a. carambola l. # kamranga tree, s; pl hs all upazilas fr, m sss 3565 *oxalis corniculata l. # amrul herb, pr; w af, gl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 0238 o. debilis kunth # golapi amrul herb, pr; w gr, hs bs, mo o sss 3669 balsaminaceae a. rich. *impatiens balsamina l. # dopati herb, er; pl hs, ml all upazilas m, o gmh 1582 hydrocera triflora (l.) wight & arn. domuti herb, er; w ml fa m gmh 1662 araliaceae juss. *polyscias fruticosa (l.) harms # tikosaya pata shrub; pl gr, hs bs o gmh 1675 *p. scutellaria (burm. f.) fosberg, # saya pata shrub; pl gr, hs bs, mo o gmh 1651 apiaceae lindl. *centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni herb, cr; w af, fl, ml all upazilas m gmh 0127 *coriandrum sativum l. # dhonia herb, er; cv af, fl, hs, fa, ml, sa m, sp gmh 1562 *daucus carota l. # gajor herb, er; cv af fa, ml, mo, mr vg gmh 1567 *eryngium foetidum l. # bilati dhoneya herb, er; w af, hs bs, mr, ra, sa m, sp gmh 1631 *hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam. kuti thankuni herb, cr; w fl, rs mo m gmh 1676 *oenanthe benghalensis benth. & hook.f. ban dhonia herb, er; w fl, gl, ml all upazilas m gmh 1707 *o. thomsonii c.b. clarke # panturashi herb, er; w af, fl sa m gmh 1737 *pimpinella heyneana (dc.) benth. pimpin herb, er; w fl, ml sa m msr 1314 gentianaceae juss. centaurium centaurioides (roxb.) rolla rao & hemadri unknown herb, er; w fl, rs mo m gmh 1733 *hoppea dichotoma willd. hoppia herb, er; w gr sa m gmh 1568 apocynaceae juss. *allamanda cathartica l. # ghonta phul shrub; pl hs, rs all upazilas o gmh 1752 *alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br. chhatim tree, l; w rs, wl all upazilas m, t gmh 0094 asclepias curassavica l. kakturi herb, er; w fl, rs, sj bs, fa, mo m, o gmh 1664 *calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton akondo shrub; w ml, rs all upazilas fb, m gmh 0119 *c. procera (aiton) w.t.aiton shda akondo shrub; w rs fa, ra, mr, sa fb, m gmh 0120 carissa carandas l. karamcha shrub; pl hs, sj all upazilas fr sss 3578 cascabela thevetia (l.) lippold # kolkey phul tree, s; pl hs bs, ch, mo, mr, ra m, o sss 3598 *catharanthus roseus (l.) g.don # noyantara herb, er; w hs, rs all upazilas m, o gmh 0125 *cerbera odollam gaertn. dahur tree, s; w fm, wl mo, sa fb, m gmh 0019 *ceropegia lucida wall. lucipegia herb, cl; w fm sa m msr 588 *dischidia nummularia r.br. coin plant herb, cl; w op sa m, o gmh 1749 *dregea volubilis (l.f.) benth. ex hook.f. jukti phul herb, cl; w wl fa, ml, ra, sa fb, m gmh 0164 *finlaysonia obovata wall. mamakola herb, cl; w rb, wl mo, sa fb, m gmh 0037 *hoya lanceolata wall. ex d.don futki lata herb, ps; w op; wl sa fb, m gmh 1744 * h. verticillata (vahl) g. don var. verticillata futki lata herb, ps; w op; wl all upazilas fb, m gmh 0196 *hemidesmus indicus (l.) r.br. anantomul herb, cl; w fl, gl bs, fa, sa fb, m gmh 0194 holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall. ex a. dc. kurchi tree, s; w ml, sj, wl fa, mo m sss 3678 *ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w.t.aiton parallia lata herb, cl; w fl, sj, wl all upazilas fb, m gmh 0200 floristic survey of vascular plants 61 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *leptadenia reticulata (retz.) wight & arn. mada herb, cl; w fm, sj sa m gmh 4049 nerium oleander l. # rakta karobi tree, s; pl hs, rs bs, fa, mo, mr m, o gmh 1748 *parsonsia alboflavescens (dennst.) mabb. pasonsi herb, cl; w fm, rb mo, sa fb, m gmh 0055 *pentatropis capensis (l. f.) bullock panchabrti lata herb, cl; w sj, wl sa m gmh 1563 pergularia daemia (forssk.) chiov. chagalbati herb, cl; w sj, rs sa fb, m gmh 1746 plumeria alba l. # shada kathgolap tree, m; pl hs, rs all upazilas m, o sss 3576 p. pudica jacq. nag dahur tree, s; pl gr bs, fa, mo o sss 3662 p. rubra l. # lal kathgolap tree, m; pl hs, rs bs, mo m, o sss 3590 *oxystelma esculentum (l. f.) sm. dudhia lata herb, cl; w fm, sj sa m, o gmh 1581 rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz sarpogondha herb, er; w ml, wl fa m, o gmh 1588 *sarcolobus carinatus wall. bawali lata herb, cl; w fm, wl sa m gmh 1564 *s. globosus wall. bawali lata herb, cl; w fm, wl mo, sa m, vg gmh 0066 *tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r.br. ex roem & schult. tagar shrub; w rs, sj, wl all upazilas m, o sss 3601 telosma cordata (burm. f.) merr. kanja lata herb, cl; w sj, wl fa m sss 3580 *vincetoxicum indicum (burm.f.) mabb. antamul herb, cl; w fm, sj bs, fa, ra, sa fb, m gmh 0076 *vincetoxicum sp. unknown herb, cl; w fm, wl mo, sa m gmh 1590 solanaceae juss. *capsicum annuum l. # morich herb, er; cv af, hs all upazilas sp sss 3602 cestrum diurnum l. # dibahena shrub; pl hs bs, ka m, o gmh 1572 *c. nocturnum l. # hasnahena shrub; pl hs all upazilas m, o sss 3597 *datura metel l. # sada dhutra shrub; w fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0158 *nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. # ban tamak herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0233 petunia hybrida e. vilm. petunia herb, er; pl gr, hs bs o sss 3593 *physalis angulata l. # ban tepari herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0250 p. peruviana l. # tepari herb, er; w af, fl, rs bs, ch, fa, mo m gmh 1584 *solanum aculeatissimum jacq. # akuli begun herb, pr; w fl, ml, rs mo, ra, sa m gmh 1743 *s. americanum mill. # tit begun herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1599 * s. lycopersicum l. # tomato herb, pr; cv af all upazilas vg sss 3577 *s. melongena l. # begun shrub; w af, hs all upazilas vg gmh 1569 *s. nigrum l. kakmachi herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0279 *s. sisymbriifolium lam. # kanta begun herb, pr; w fl, rs bs, mo, mr, ra, sa m gmh 0281 *s. torvum sw. # gota begun shrub; w fl, sj, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 0280 s. tuberosum l. # golalu herb, pr; cv af all upazilas vg gmh 1626 *s. violaceum ortega phutki begun shrub; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0278 *s. virginianum l. kantikari herb, pr; w sd, fm fa, mo, ra, sa m, vg gmh 0068 convolvulaceae juss. aniseia martinicensis (jacq.) choisy # shadamati herb, cl; w ml, rs fa, ml, ka m gmh 1566 argyreia capitiformis (poir.) ooststr. doitta lata herb, cl; w sj, wl fa, ml m gmh 1739 a. roxburghii (wall.) arn. ex choisy argori lata herb, cl; w sj, wl fa m gmh 1711 *bonamia semidigyna (roxb.) hallier f. gandabhadi herb, cl; w fm, sj sa m msr 655 *camonea umbellata (l.) a.r. simões & staples # goria lata herb, cl; w fl, gl, rs bs, fa, ra m, o gmh 1722 *evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. # bhui okra herb, cr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m, sb gmh 0179 *hewittia malabarica (l.) suresh hiwet herb, cl; w fl, fm, ml sa m gmh 1585 62 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse ipomoea alba l. # morning glory herb, cl; w fl, wl bs m, o gmh 1687 *i. aquatica forssk. kalmi shak herb, cr; w af, wtl all upazilas vg gmh 0202 *i. batatas (l.) lam. # misti alu herb, cr; cv af, hs all upazilas vg gmh 1716 i. cairica (l.) sweet kolmi lata herb, cl; w ml fa m, o gmh 1699 *i. carnea subsp. fistulosa (mart. ex choisy) d.f.austin # dhol kalmi shrub; w fl, ml all upazilas he, sb gmh 0203 *i. littoralis blume gang kalmi herb, cl; w fm, sj sa m, o rahman et al. 2015 *i. obscura (l.) ker gawl. kura kalmi herb, cl; w fl, ml bs, fa, sa m gmh 1587 *i. pes-caprae (l.) r.br. chagalkhuri herb, cr; w af, hs sa m, sb gmh 0043 *operculina turpethum (l.) s. manso dudh kalmi herb, cl; w fl, fm, wl bs, ch, fa, sa m gmh 1604 *stictocardia tiliifolia (desr.) hallier.f. ban kalmi herb, cl; w fl, fm, wl fa, mo, sa m gmh 1730 cuscutaceae dumort. *cuscuta chinensis lam. sharno lata herb, cl; w op all upazilas m sss 3579 *c. reflexa roxb. sharno lata herb, cl; w op all upazilas m gmh 0151 menyanthaceae dumort. nymphoides hydrophylla (lour.) kuntze chand mala herb, fr; w wtl bs, fa, mr m sss 3605 *n. indica (l.) kuntze panchuli mala herb, fr; w wtl all upazilas m, vg sss 3607 hydroleaceae r.br. ex edwards *hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl kasschera herb, pr; w wtl sa m gmh 1636 boraginaceae juss. *cordia dichotoma g.forst. bohola, bola tree, m; w sj, wl all upazilas fw, m gmh 0142 *heliotropium curassavicum l. # nona hatisur herb, pr; w fl, rs mo, ra, sa m, vg gmh 1591 *h. indicum l. hatisur herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0193 verbenaceae j. st.-hil. *duranta erecta l. # duranto shrub; pl ml, rs all upazilas he, m sss 3589 lantana camara l. # kutuskanta shrub; w rs, sj, wl mo fw, m sss 3595 *lippia alba (mill.) n.e.br. ex britton & p.wilson # motmotia shrub; w fl, sj all upazilas m gmh 0219 *phyla nodiflora (l.) greene vuiokra herb, cr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0220 lamiaceae martinov *anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze. gobura herb, er; w fl, wl all upazilas m gmh 1629 callicarpa macrophylla vahl boro bormala tree, m; w fl, sj bs m gmh 1593 c. tomentosa (l.) l. bastara tree, s; w fl, sj bs m gmh 1606 *clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhatti shrub; w fl, sj, wl all upazilas m gmh 0135 *c. infortunatum l. bhat shrub; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas m gmh 0136 c. japonicum (thunb.) sweet raktabhat shrub; pl ml, rs bs o gmh 1738 coleus scutellarioides (l.) benth. # coleus herb, er; w gr, rs, hs bs, mo o sss 3596 *gmelina arborea roxb. gamari tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas m, t sss 3581 *hyptis capitata jacq. # tata tokma herb, er; w fl, rs, sj all upazilas m gmh 0198 *leucas lavandulifolia sm. shetodron herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0215 *leonurus sibiricus l. roktodron herb, er; w fl, rs bs, fa, mo, mr, sa m sss 3588 mentha spicata l. # pudina pata herb, pr; cv gr, hs all upazilas m sss 3594 *mesosphaerum suaveolens (l.) kuntze # tokma herb, er; w fl, rs, sj bs, fa, mo, sa m gmh 0199 *ocimum americanum l. tulshi herb, er; w fl, hs all upazilas m gmh 0235 *o. tenuiflorum l. kalo tulshi herb, er; w fl, hs bs, fa, ml m gmh 1608 floristic survey of vascular plants 63 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse pogostemon benghalensis (burm.f.) kuntze jui-lata, bakoha shrub; w rs fa m gmh 1643 *premna serratifolia l. gambari shrub; w fm, sj fa, ka, sa m gmh 0257 rotheca serrata (l.) steane & mabb. bamanhati shrub; w sj, wl fa, mo m gmh 0134 *salvia plebeia r.br. bhuitulsi herb, er; w fl, ml, rb bs, sa m gmh 1592 s. splendens sellow ex schult. # lal sagi, salvia herb, er; pl hs, rs bs, mo o sss 3584 salvia sp. unknown herb, er; w rs mo m gmh 1650 tectona grandis l. f. shegun tree, l; pl rs, wl all upazilas t sss 3592 *vitex negundo l. nishinda shrub; w fl, sj, rs all upazilas m gmh 0301 *v. trifolia l. chotonishinda shrub; w ml, rs sa m gmh 1594 *volkameria heterophylla vent. shia vat shrub, sc; w fm, rb sa m, o gmh 3488 *v. inermis l. shia vat shrub, li; w fm, rb ka, mo, mr, sa m, o gmh 0021 plantaginaceae juss. *adenosma indianum (lour.) mirr. borokesuti herb, er; w gl, ml sa m rahman et al. 2015 *bacopa monnieri (l.) wettst. brammi herb, pr; w fl, wtl all upazilas m, vg gmh 0109 *limnophila aromatica (lam.) merr. pani karpur herb, er; w wtl sa m gmh 1607 l. heterophylla (roxb.) benth. patakutra herb, fr; w wtl all upazilas ap, m gmh 0216 *mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small # micardan herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1605 *scoparia dulcis l. # bondhone herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0271 oleaceae hoffmanns. & link jasminum multiflorum (burm.f.) andrews chameli shrub, sc; pl gr, hs bs, fa, ch, mr m, o sss 3668 j. sambac (l.) aiton # beli, jui shrub; pl gr, hs bs, mo m, o sss 3582 j. scandens (retz.) vahl jui shrub; pl gr, hs bs, mo m sss 3587 *nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. sheuli, shephali tree, s; pl hs, rs all upazilas m, o gmh 1598 orobanchaceae vent. *centranthera tranquebarica (spreng.) merr. pashmicentra herb, pr; w gl sa fo, m gmh 4025 linderniaceae borsch, kai müll. & eb. fisch. *bonnaya antipoda (l.) druce. zai ghas herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1627 *b. ciliata (colsm.) spreng. bhui papri herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0217 *lindernia procumbens (krock.) borbás bakpuspa herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0218 *l. rotundifolia (l.) alston tan chapra herb, pr; w fl, rs, wtl bs, fa, ra, sa ap, m gmh 1660 *torenia anagallis (burm.fil.) wannan, w.r.barker & y.s.liang panighas herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1652 *t. crustacea (l.) cham. & schltdl. chapraghas herb, pr; w fl, gl, ml sa m gmh 1708 t. diffusa d. don ushatoren herb, pr; w fl, rs bs, mo, ra o gmh 1683 *yamazakia pusilla (willd.) w.r.barker, y.s.liang & wannan pusichapra herb, pr; w fl, gl, ml sa m gmh 1709 acanthaceae juss. *acanthus ilicifolius l. hargoza shrub; w fm, rb ka, mo, mr, ra, sa m gmh 0001 *a. volubilis wall. lata hargoza herb, cl; w fm, rb mo m gmh 0002 andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) nees kalomegh herb, er; w wl bs, fa, ml m gmh 1735 asystasia gangetica (l.) t. anderson gangatara herb, er; w fl, rs mo m gmh 1623 *avicennia marina (forssk.) vierh. moricha baen tree, m; w wl mo, sa m, t gmh 0009 64 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *a. officinalis l. shada baen tree, l; w wl mo, sa m, t gmh 0010 barleria cristata l. janti herb, er; pl gr, hs ch, mo m, o gmh 1634 b. prionitis l. kantajanti shrub; pl gr mo m gmh 1717 ecbolium ligustrinum (vahl) vollesen shial leza herb, er; w fl, wl all upazilas m gmh 1688 *hemigraphis hirta (vahl) t. anderson buripana herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1719 hygrophila auriculata (schumach.) heine kulekhara herb, er; w fl all upazilas m gmh 0197 h. difformis (l.f.) blume bagua herb, fr; w wtl ch, fa, mo, ra m sss 3583 *h. erecta (burm.f.) hochr filareck herb, er; w wtl fa, mo, ml, ra m sss 3586 h. phlomoides nees gokul kanta herb, er; w fl ch, fa m sss 3611 *h. polysperma (roxb.) t. anderson alai kalai herb, pr; w fl, wtl all upazilas m gmh 1721 h. ringens (l.) r.br. ex spreng. var. ringens soza kulekhara herb, pr; w fl, wtl bs, fa m gmh 1624 *justicia adhatoda l. basok shrub; w ml, rs all upazilas he, m gmh 0205 *j. diffusa willd. pitapapra herb, pr; w fl, sj all upazilas m gmh 0206 *j. gendarussa burm.f. jagotmadan herb, er; w fl, ml, sj all upazilas he, m sss 3620 lepidagathis incurva buch.-ham. ex d.don karuggathis herb, pr; w fl, rs, sj bs, fa, ml, ra m sss 3643 *nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul herb, pr; w fl, gl, wl all upazilas m gmh 0233 phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet bhuibashak herb, pr; w sj, wl bs, fa, ra m gmh 1655 pseuderanthemum maculatum (g.lodd.) i.m.turner # unknown shrub; pl gr, hs bs, ml, mo o gmh 1671 *rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas p gmh 0260 *ruellia prostrata poir. posta booti herb, pr; w fl, sj, wl all upazilas m gmh 0243 *r. tuberosa l. # chotpotey herb, er; w fl, wl all upazilas m, o gmh 0264 thunbergia erecta (benth.) t.anderson neel ghonti shrub; pl gr mo o gmh 1727 t. grandiflora (roxb. ex rottl.) roxb. neel lata herb, cl; w fm, wl bs, fa m gmh 1632 t. mysorensis (wight) t.anderson # bashar lata herb, cl; pl gr bs, mo, o sss 3667 pedaliaceae r.br. sesamum indicum l. til herb, er; cv af, rs ch, fa, ml, mr m, oy gmh 1732 bignoniaceae juss. *dolichandrone spathacea (l.f.) seem. gorshinga tree, m; w ml mo, sa m, t gmh 0033 oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz bhutum tree, m; w sj, wl bs, fa, ka, ml dy, m gmh 1649 *pajanelia longifolia (willd.) k.schum. pajanelia tree, m; w fm, wl sa m gmh 0053 tecoma stans (l.) juss. ex kunth # tecoma tree, s; pl rs bs, mo o gmh 1731 lentibulariaceae rich. *utricularia aurea lour. patajhajhi herb, sm; w wtl bs m gmh 1639 sphenocleaceae t. baskerv. *sphenoclea zeylanica gaertn. jhil morich herb, er; w wtl sa, mo m msr 1312 rubiaceae juss. coffea benghalensis b.heyne ex schult. bangla coffee shrub; w sj bs, fa m, o sss 3612 *dentella repens (l.) j.r.forst. & g.forst. bhuipat herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas m sss 3628 *d. repens var. serpyllifolia (wall. ex craib) verdc. bhuipat herb, pr; w af, fl, ml sa m sss 3649 *gardenia jasminoides j.ellis gondhoraj shrub; pl gr, hs bs, mo m, o sss 3621 *hypobathrum racemosum (roxb.) kurz peetunga tree, s; w fm, wl bs, fa, mo, sa m gmh 0041 *ixora coccinea l. rangon shrub; pl gr, rs all upazilas o gmh 1667 i. cuneifolia roxb. jangli rangon shrub; w sj, wl bs, fa, ra m, o gmh 1641 floristic survey of vascular plants 65 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *i. pavetta andr. banrangon shrub; w sj, wl all upazilas m, o gmh 0204 *leptopetalum biflorum (l.) neupane & n.wikstr. bhui papra herb, pr; w fl, gl mo, mr, ra, sa m gmh 1659 meyna spinosa roxb. ex link katai shrub; w sj, wl bs, fa, ml, sa m gmh 1654 *morinda citrifolia l. noni shrub; w rb, wl all upazilas m gmh 0230 mussaenda erythrophylla schumach. & thonn. # lal mussenda shrub; pl hs bs, mo o sss 3635 m. philippica a.rich. # mussenda shrub; pl hs all upazilas o sss 3614 *neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadom tree, l; w rs, wl all upazilas m, t gmh 0100 *oldenlandia corymbosa l. khet papra herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas dy, m gmh 0236 o. diffusa (willd.) roxb. fussa papra herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas m gmh 1646 pavetta indica l. shadarangon shrub; w sj, wl fa co, m gmh 1642 paederia foetida l. gandhabaduli herb, cl; pl hs, sj bs, fa, mo m sss 3664 *scleromitrion diffusum (willd.) r.j.wang panki herb, pr; w fl, ml, rs all upazilas m gmh 1661 s. verticillatum (l.) r.j.wang notapapra herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas m gmh 1668 *spermacoce articularis l.f. baghajangla herb, pr; w fl, ml, wl all upazilas m gmh 0283 *s. exilis (l.o.williams) c.d.adams ex w.c.burger & c.m.taylor baghajangla herb, pr; w fl, ml, wl bs, fa, ml, mo m gmh 1656 asteraceae bercht. & j. presl *acilepis divergens (dc.) h.rob. & skvarla # bichutivernon herb, er; w fl, gl, rs sa m sss 3640 *acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen. surjakonnya herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0088 *ageratum conyzoides l. # fulkuri herb, er; w fl, ml, wl all upazilas m gmh 0090 *blumea lacera (burm.f.) dc. shialmutra herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0111 b. lanceolaria (roxb.) druce barotara herb, er; w fl, rs bs m sak 3205 *b. oxyodonta dc. katapata herb, er; w fl, ml sa m gmh 4024 calendula officinalis l. # calendula herb, er; pl gr bs o sak 3209 centratherum punctatum cass. # unknown herb, er; w fl, rs fa, ra m, o sak 3245 *chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king & h.rob. # assam lata herb, er; w fl, fm, wl all upazilas m gmh 0130 chrysanthemum indicum l. chandramallika herb, er; pl gr, hs bs, fa, mo, ml o sak 3220 cirsium arvense (l.) scop shial kata herb, er; w fl, rs bs, ch, fa, mo, ra m sak 3232 conyza semipinnatifida wall. ex dc. coniza herb, er; w fl, rs ch, fa, mo, ra, sa m sak 3201 cosmos bipinnatus cav. # cosmos herb, er; pl hs, rs all upazilas o sak 3211 *cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h.rob. kukshim herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0299 *c. patulum (aiton) h.rob. # kukshim herb, er; w fl, gl, rs sa m sss 3613 dahlia imperialis roezl ex ortgies # dalia herb, er; pl hs, rs all upazilas o sak 3228 *eclipta prostrata (l.) l. # kalokeshi herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas dy, m gmh 0168 *elephantopus scaber l. hastipadi herb, er; w gl, rs, wl bs, fa, ml, mo m gmh 0171 *emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. # mechitra herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0173 *enydra fluctuans lour. helencha herb, pr; w wtl all upazilas m, vg gmh 0174 glebionis coronaria (l.) cass. ex spach # chandramallika herb, er; pl hs, rs bs, mo o sak 3207 *gnaphalium polycaulon pers. bara kamra herb, er; w fl, gl all upazilas m sak 3224 *grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. namuti herb, er; w af, fl, ml all upazilas m gmh 0190 helianthus annuus l. # surjomukhi herb, er; pl af, hs bs, mo o, oy sak 3222 66 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse hemisteptia lyrata (bunge) fisch. & c.a.mey. unknown herb, er; w af ml fo sak 3200 *launaea aspleniifolia (willd.) hook.f. tik chana herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1653 *l. sarmentosa (willd.) sch.bip. ex kuntze menthosdana herb, pr; w fl, gl ch, sa m gmh 0210 *mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l.rob. assam lata herb, cl; w sj, fm, wl all upazilas m gmh 0226 parthenium hysterophorus l. # parthenum herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1729 pluchea indica (l.) less. kokronta shrub; w fl, rs sa m sak 32 p. paniculata (willd.) karthik. & moorthy kukurshinga herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m sak 3216 *pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (l.) hilliard & b.l. burtt barakamra herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0189 sonchus arvensis l. # chashar herb, er; w fl, gl, rs fa, mo, ra, sa m sak 3240 *s. oleraceus l. # titlia herb, er; w ml, rs sa m sak 3216 *s. wightianus dc. bon palang herb, er; w fl, ml, rs mo, sa m sak 3231 *sphaeranthus africanus l. gangasag herb, pr; w af, fl, rs sa m sak 3219 *s. indicus l. mundi herb, pr; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0282 *sphagneticola trilobata (l.) pruski # latadeji herb, pr; w fl, rs all upazilas gm, o gmh 1728 *synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. # nakphul herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0287 *tagetes erecta l. # gada, ganda herb, er; pl hs, rs all upazilas m, o sss 3630 tarlmounia elliptica (dc.) h.rob., s.c.keeley, skvarla & r.chan # akorkata herb, cl; pl gr bs, ka, mr he sss 3670 *tridax procumbens (l.) l. # tridhara herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 0294 *wollastonia biflora (l.) dc. wedelia herb, pr; w fm, ml sa fo gmh 0080 *xanthium strumarium l. # ghagra herb, er; w af, fl, ml all upazilas m, vg gmh 0302 youngia japonica (l.) dc. youngaful herb, er; w fl, gl bs m gmh 1693 zinnia peruviana (l.) l. # zinia herb, er; pl gr bs o sss 3615 liliopsida batsch alismataceae vent. *sagittaria sagittifolia l. # chotokut herb, er; w af, wtl ch, ka, mr, ra o, lf gmh 0267 hydrocharitaceae juss. *hydrilla verticillata (l. f.) royle kureli herb, sm; w wtl bs, fs, ml, sa ap, m gmh 1665 najas indica (willd.) cham. deshi jhaji herb, sm; w wtl bs, fa, sa ap, gm gmh 1689 *n. minor all. bara jhaji herb, sm; w wtl bs, fa, sa ff, gm gmh 1672 *ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. pani kala herb, sm; w wtl all upazilas m, vg gmh 1696 *vallisneria spiralis l. patseola herb, sm; w wtl bs, fs, ml, sa ap, m gmh 1645 aponogetonaceae planch. *aponogeton appendiculatus h.bruggen ghechu herb, sm; w wtl bs, ch, fa, sa ap, m gmh 0102 potamogetonaceae bercht. & j. presl *potamogeton crispus l. pata zhanchi herb, sm; w wtl bs, fa, ka, sa m, wp gmh 1648 p. nodosus poir. lombu zhanchi herb, fr; w wtl bs, fa, ml m, wp gmh 1695 iridaceae bercht. & j. presl iris domestica (l.) goldblatt & mabb. basbichandi herb, er; pl gr bs o gmh 1684 arecaceae bercht. & j. presl *areca catechu l. # supari palm; pl hs, rs all upazilas dy, m gmh 1691 *borassus flabellifer l. tal palm; pl hs, rs all upazilas fb, m gmh 0114 calamus guruba buch.-ham. ex mart. jali bet palm; pl ml, rb, sj ch, fa hc gmh 0117 c. longisetus griff. karak bet palm; pl ml fa hc gmh 1694 floristic survey of vascular plants 67 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *c. tenuis roxb. unknown palm; pl ml all upazilas hc, m gmh 0116 caryota urens l. # fishtail palm palm; pl ml, rs bs, ch, fa, ml m, o sss 3622 *chamaedorea elegans mart. # areca palm palm; pl hs, ml, rs all upazilas fb, o sss 3637 *cocos nucifera l. # narikel palm; pl hs, ml, rs all upazilas fb, fr gmh 0138 elaeis guineensis jacq. # oil palm palm; pl hs , ml bs, fa, mo, ra m, oy sss 3623 livistona chinensis (jacq.) r.br. ex mart. # china tokopata palm; pl ml, rs bs, fa, mo fb, hc sss 3646 *nypa fruticans wurmb golpata palm; w rb, fm mo, mr, ra, sa m, tm gmh 0052 *phoenix paludosa roxb. hental palm; w fm, wl mo, sa fr, hc gmh 0057 *p. sylvestris (l.) roxb. deshi khejur palm; w ml, rs all upazilas ju, m gmh 0246 rhapis excelsa (thunb.) a.henry # gurital palm; pl hs bs o gmh 1685 roystonea regia (kunth) o.f.cook # bottol palm palm; pl ml, rs bs, fa, ml, mo o, tm sss 3648 pandanaceae r.br. *benstonea foetida (roxb.) callm. & buerki keya kanta shrub; w fl, rb fa, mo, sa m, o gmh 0054 pandanus amaryllifolius roxb. ex lindl. # polau pata herb, er; pl fl, hs bs, ch, ml, ra m, pf gmh 1647 araceae juss. alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott bishkachu herb, er; w fl, wl bs, ch, fa, ka m sss 3633 *a. macrorrhizos (l.) g.don # mankachu herb, er; cv fl, hs all upazilas vg gmh 0092 amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson olkachu herb, er; cv af, hs all upazilas vg gmh 1686 caladium bicolor (aiton) vent. # diranga kachu herb, er; pl hs bs o sss 3616 *colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kachu herb, er; w af, fl, wtl all upazilas vg gmh 0139 *cryptocoryne ciliata (roxb.) schott kerali herb, er; w fl, rb, wtl ch, ka, mo, mr, sa m, sb gmh 1674 dieffenbachia seguine (jacq.) schott # dieffenbachia herb, er; pl gr, hs all upazilas o sss 3667 *epipremnum aureum (linden & andré) g.s.bunting # money plant herb, cl; w hs, wl all upazilas o gmh 1813 *lasia spinosa (l.) thwaites katakachu herb, er; w fl, hs, wtl bs, fa, sa m, vg sss 3617 *lemna minor l. sujipana herb, ff; w wtl all upazilas ff, wp sss 3639 *l. perpusilla torr. # khudipana herb, ff; w wtl all upazilas ff, wp sss 3647 monstera deliciosa liebm. # bishal patri herb, cl; pl gr, hs bs, mo o sss 3665 *pistia stratiotes l. topapana herb, ff; w wtl all upazilas m gmh 1826 syngonium podophyllum schott # podolata kachu herb, pr; w fl, hs, sj bs, ch, fa, mo, ra, sa o sss 3650 *typhonium flagelliforme (g. lodd.) blume ghechu herb, er; w af, fl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1803 *t. trilobatum (l.) schott ghetkachu herb, er; w fl, rs all upazilas m, vg gmh 0296 xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott # dudhkachu herb, er; w ml, hs bs, ch, fa, ka, m, vg sss 3644 commelinaceae mirb. *commelina benghalensis l. kanshira herb, cr; w af, fl, rs all upazilas dy, m gmh 0140 *c. diffusa burm.f. kanshira herb, cr; w af, fl, rs all upazilas dy, m gmh 1810 c. erecta l. # jata kanchira herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1802 *c. longifolia lam. pani kanshira herb, cr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1829 cyanotis axillaris (l.) d.don ex sweet baghanulla herb, pr; w af, fl, gl ch, fa, ml m gmh 1806 *murdannia blumei (hassk.) brenan nil murdan herb, pr; w fl, gl, ml fa, ka, mo, mr, sa m gmh 1828 *m. loriformis (hassk.) r.s. rao & kammathy lori murdan herb, pr; w fl, gl, ml fa, ml, mr, sa m gmh 1820 68 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *m. nudiflora (l.) brenan kureli herb, cr; w fl, ml all upazilas m gmh 0232 *m. vaginata (l.) g. brückn. dhaka murdan herb, pr; w fl, rs mo, sa m gmh 1801 tradescantia pallida (rose) d.r. hunt # beguni pindo herb, pr; pl gr, hs bs, mo m, o sss 3618 t. spathacea sw. # chama pindo herb, er; pl gr, hs bs, mo m, o sss 3636 t. zebrina bosse # unknown herb, pr; pl gr, hs bs, mo o sss 3625 flagellariaceae dumort. *flagellaria indica l. abeti herb, cl; w ka, mo, mr, sa ka, mo, mr, sa fb, tm gmh 0038 cyperaceae juss. *bulbostylis barbata (rottb.) c.b.clarke bulbobata herb, er; w gl all upazilas lf, sb gmh 1807 *cyperus alternifolius l. # joraghasi herb, er; w fl, ml mo, sa o gmh 1825 *c. alternifolius subsp. flabelliformis kük. # sata ghasi herb, er; w fl, ml mo, sa o, tm gmh 1823 *c. articulatus l. joraghasi herb, er; w wtl all upazilas fo gmh 1815 *c. brevifolius (rottb.) hassk. shabujnirbisa herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upaqzilas lf, m gmh 0207 *c. compressus l. chancha herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas m gmh 1827 *c. cuspidatus kunth sagarmuthi herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m gmh 1830 c. cyperoides (l.) kuntze bara guthubi herb, er; w fl, rs, wtl bs, fa m gmh 4067 *c. difformis l. behua ghasi herb, er; w af, fl all upazilas m gmh 4032 *c. digitatus roxb. hath ghasi herb, er; w wtl all upazilas m gmh 0154 *c. eragrostis lam. # bada ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas lf, sb gmh 0175 *c. exaltatus retz. tata ghasi herb, er; w gl, wtl all upazilas m, tm gmh 1812 *c. iria l. bara chucha herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m, lf gmh 1805 *c. javanicus houtt. java ghasi herb, er; w gl, ml mo, mr, sa sb, tm gmh 1802 *c. malaccensis lam. shumati pati herb, er; w wtl ka, mo, mr, ra, sa hc, m gmh 0025 *c. mindorensis (steud.) huygh subashi nirbisa herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upaqzilas lf, m gmh 0208 c. pangorei rottb. madur kathi herb, er; w fl, wtl bs, fa, mo hc, lf gmh 1817 *c. polystachyos rottb. pikppli ghas herb, er; w gl, wtl all upazilas lf, sb gmh 1822 c. richardii steud. gola nirbisa herb, er; w af, fl, gl fa, ml, ra, sa lf, m gmh 1816 *c. rotundus l. nagarmutha herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas hc, m gmh 0155 c. sanguinolentus vahl paikram ghasi herb, er; w gl, wtl ch, ml, ra sb gmh 1814 *c. tenuiculmis boeckeler tonimutha herb, er; w wtl all upazilas lf msr 0043 *c. unioloides r.br. paikol ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, ml fa, mo, ml, sa lf, sb gmh 0258 eleocharis dulcis (burm.f.) trin. ex hensch. mishti ghasi herb, er; w fl, ml ch, ml, ra m, vg msr 1503 *e. geniculata (l.) roem. & schult. jora ghasi herb, er; w gl all upazilas fo msr 0183 *e. spiralis (rottb.) roem. & schult. ghurni ghasi herb, er; w wtl ka, mr, ra, sa fo gmh 0170 *fimbristylis acuminata vahl chosa fimbry herb, er; w gl all upazilas sb, fo gmh 1811 *f. autumnalis (l.) roem. & schult. # fimbry herb, er; w gl mo, ra, sa sb, fo gmh 1804 f. bisumbellata (forssk.) bubani dula fimbry herb, er; w gl bs, ch, fa, ml sb gmh 1818 *f. cymosa r.br. mosa fimbry herb, er; w gl mo, mr, ra, sa sb msr 0622 *f. dichotoma (l.) vahl bara nirbishi herb, er; w ml, wtl all upazilas gm, sb gmh 0184 *f. disticha boeckeler tika fimbry herb, er; w gl mo, mr, ra, sa fo, sb gmh 4031 *f. ferruginea (l.) vahl gini fimbry herb, er; w gl, wtl mo, mr, ra, sa sb, tm gmh 1808 *f. littoralis gaudich. litto fimbry herb, er; w gl, wtl sa sb rahman et al. 2015 *f. ovata (burm. f.) j. kern marmari herb, er; w gl, wtl ch, mo, ra, sa sb, fo msr 0168 floristic survey of vascular plants 69 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse f. quinquangularis (vahl) kunth pachkona fibmry herb, er; w gl fa, mr, ra, sa sb, fo gmh 4016 *f. squarrosa vahl zumka chech herb, er; w gl mo, mr, ra, sa sb msr 0194 *f. tetragona r.br. tetra fimbry herb, er; w gl, wtl mo, ra, sa sb, fo gmh 1809 *f. tristachya r.br. trista fimbry herb, er; w gl sa sb msr 0650 *fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. poshmighas herb, er; w fl, gl, wtl mo, mr, ra, sa lf gmh 0187 *f. umbellata rottb. chati ghasi herb, er; w gl, wtl ra, sa fo gmh 1824 *schoenoplectiella articulata (l.) lye chechra herb, er; w af, fl, wtl all upazilas lf, m gmh 0270 *s. lateriflora (j.f.gmel.) lye supipotpoti herb, er; w fl, wtl ch, mo, sa fo, tm msr 1305 *scleria biflora roxb. riaflora ghasi herb, er; w gl sa fo rahman et al. 2015 poaceae barnhart *arundo donax l. bara nal herb, er; w ml, rb sa sb, tm gmh 0105 *axonopus compressus (sw.) p.beauv. karpetghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas lf, sb gmh 0107 *bambusa balcooa roxb. borak bans bamboo; w wl all upazilas hc, vg sss 3619 b. nutans wall. exex munro mahal bans bamboo; w wl bs, ch, fa, ra pp, tm sss 3631 *b. tulda roxb. mirtinga bamboo; w hs, wl all upazilas hc, pp sss 3642 *bothriochloa bladhii (retz.) s.t. blake gandhagourni herb, pr; w gl sa lf, sb rahman et al. 2015 *brachiaria distachya (l.) stapf cori ghas herb, cr; w gl, rs bs, fa, mo lf, sb gmh 1819 *b. ramosa (l.) stapf jhopa ghas herb, pr; w gl sa fo gmh 1821 cenchrus purpureus (schumach.) morrone # nepir ghas herb, er; cv af, rs bs, fa, mo, mr, ra fo gmh 1858 *chloris barbata sw. bata ghas herb, er; w af, fl, rs fa, ml, mo, ra fo gmh 1840 *c. virgata sw. # anguli ghas herb, er; w af, fl, rs ch, mo, ra fo gmh 1851 *chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. prem kanta herb, er; w gl, rs all upazilas hc, sb gmh 0132 *c. zizanioides (l.) roberty # bena herb, er; w fl, ml all upazilas m, sb gmh 0300 coix lacryma-jobi l. tasbi herb, er; w fl, wtl ch, ka, ml hc, m gmh 1855 *cymbopogon citratus (dc.) stapf lenom ghas herb, er; cv gr, hs bs, mo, sa m, sp gmh 0152 *cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba ghas herb, pr; w af, fl, gl all upazilas m, sb gmh 0023 *cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf shonpatacocca herb, er; w gl, rs, wl all upazilas lf sss 3641 *dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. kakpaya herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas lf, sb gmh 0156 dendrocalamus giganteus munro # budum bans bamboo; pl gr, hs bs o, tm sss 3627 *digitaria ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas gm, sb gmh 0161 d. longiflora (retz.) pers. kanka juriya herb, pr; w af, fl, gl, rs ch, fa, ml, ra lf, sb gmh 1831 *diplacrum caricinum r.br. plukram ghas herb, pr; w gl sa fo rahman et al. 2015 *echinochloa colona (l.) link. shama ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas lf, sb gmh 1856 *e. crus-galli (l.) p.beauv. barashamaghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas lf, m gmh 0167 *e. stagnina (retz.) p.beauv. parua ghas herb, er; w wtl mo, ra, sa fo gmh 1841 *eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. malankuri herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas m, sb gmh 0172 eragrostis amabilis (l.) wight & arn. koni ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl bs, ch, fa, mo o, sb gmh 1847 *e. gangetica (roxb.) steud. chira koni herb, pr; w gl fa, mo, mr, ra, sa fo, sb rahman et al. 2015 *e. tenella (l.) p.beauv. ex roem. & schult koni ghas herb, pr; w gl sa fo, sb rahman et al. 2015 e. tremula hochst. ex steud. chiranula herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs ch, mo, ml, ra lf, tm gmh 1853 70 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse *e. unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud. chira ghas herb, pr; w gl all upazilas fo, sb rahman et al. 2015 eriochloa barbatus (trin.) s.yadav & m.r.almeida # mota nol herb, pr; w gl mo, mr, ra, sa fo, sb sss 3629 *hemarthria protensa steud. chaila herb, er; w gl, ml, wtl fa, ml, mo, mr, ra, sa lf, sb sss 3645 hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees ex wight & arn. jongli dhan herb, er; w wtl ch, fa, ml lf, m sss 3624 isachne globosa (thunb.) kuntze isacdana herb, er; w gl, fl fa, ch, mo, sa lf, sb sss 3626 *imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. # chhan herb, er; w gr, ml, rs all upazilas sb, tm gmh 0201 *leersia hexandra sw. fulka ghas herb, pr; w wtl all upazilas lf gmh 0212 leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees fulka ghas herb, er; w af bs, fa, ml lf sss 3634 *myriostachya wightiana (nees ex steud.) hook. f. balia ghas herb, er; w fm, wl mo, mr, ra, sa lf, tm gmh 0051 *oplismenus burmanni (retz.) p.beauv. gohur herb, er; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas lf gmh 1839 *o. compositus (l.) p.beauv. gohur herb, er; w fl, rs, wl all upazilas lf gmh 1833 *oryza coarctata roxb. dhanshi herb, er; w rb, wtl mo, mr, ra, sa lf, sb gmh 0060 o. sativa l. # dhan herb, er; cv af all upazilas ed, lf gmh 1850 *panicum brevifolium l. bashpati ghas herb, er; w af, gl, ml all upazilas lf, sb gmh 1848 p. luzonense j.presl panicombo herb, er; w ml sa fo msr 0324 *p. maximum jacq. gini ghas herb, er; w wtl sa fo msr 0115 *p. paludosum roxb. borali herb, er; w wtl sa fo msr 0084 *p. repens l. dhani ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl all upazilas lf, sb gmh 0239 *paspalum conjugatum p.j.bergius # moisshya ghas herb, er; w gl, hs, rs all upazilas m, sb gmh 1854 *p. distichum l. # chhoto goicha herb, er; w ml, wtl mo, mr, ra, sa lf, sb gmh 1859 *p. scrobiculatum l. bishmona ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs mo, sa lf, sb gmh 0240 *p. vaginatum sw. # gina ghas herb, pr; w gl, wtl fa, mr, ra, sa lf, sb gmh 0056 *perotis indica (l.) kuntze perot ghas herb, er; w gl sa fo, sb gmh 1860 *phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud. nal khagra herb, er; w rb, wtl all upazilas hc, sb gmh 0058 phyllostachys aurea rivière & c. rivière # sarna bans bamboo; pl gr bs hc gmh 1834 *rottboellia cochinchinensis (lour.) clayton bara swati herb, pr; w gl sa fo gmh 1838 saccharum officinarum l. # akh, ikkhu herb, er; cv af, gr, hs all upazilas sb, tm gmh 1844 *s. spontaneum l. kash herb, er; w fl, fm, rs all upazilas sb, tm gmh 0266 sacciolepis indica (l). chase siltatto ghas herb, er; w ml, wtl ch, ml, ra, sa lf gmh 1845 setaria flavida (retz.) veldkamp karing ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, ml bs, fa, mo, mr, sa lf, sb gmh 1852 s. italica (l.) p.beauv. # kawn herb, er; cv af, ml, rs fa, ra fo gmh 1849 s. viridis (l.) p.beauv. kawn herb, er; cv af, ml, rs fa, ra fo sss 3632 sporobolus indicus (l.) r.br. # smut ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs mo, mr, ra, sa m, tm gmh 0284 *s. virginicus (l.) kunth jhola durba herb, pr; w wtl sa fo gmh 1832 *themeda intermedia (hack.) bor medimeda ghas herb, er; w ml, wtl sa fo, tm gmh 1857 thysanolaena latifolia (roxb. ex hornem.) honda phul jharu herb, er; w rs, sj mo fo, tm gmh 1836 zea mays l. # bhutta herb, er; pl af ch, ml, mr, ra ed, lf gmh 1835 *zoysia matrella (l.) merr. baissa ghas herb, pr; w fl, gl sa lf, sb gmh 0307 bromeliaceae juss. ananas comosus (l.) merr. # anaras herb, er; cv gr, hs all upazilas fr, m gmh 1843 floristic survey of vascular plants 71 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse strelitziaceae hutch. ravenala madagascariensis sonn. # panthopadap tree, s; pl hs bs, mo o gmh 1837 heliconiaceae nakai heliconia metallica planch. & linden ex hook. # swarga pakhi herb, er; pl gr bs, mo o gmh 1846 h. rostrata ruiz & pav. # chingrinomi herb, er; pl gr bs, mo o gmh 1842 musaceae juss. musa paradisiaca l. # kachkola herb, er; w fl, hs, ml all upazilas fr, vg sss 3656 typhaceae juss. *typha domingensis pers. hogla herb, er; w wtl sa sb, tm gmh 0077 t. elephantina roxb. hogla patta herb, er; w wtl mo ed, tm sss 3660 zingiberaceae martinov *alpinia nigra (gaertn.) burtt tara herb, er; w rb, wtl fa, sa m gmh 0093 *curcuma longa l. # halud herb, er; cv fl, hs all upazilas m, sp gmh 1869 *c. zedoaria (christm.) rosc. sathi herb, er; w fl, gl, rs all upazilas m, pf gmh 0150 *globba multiflora wall. ex baker shukh globba herb, er; w sj, fm sa m gmh 1877 hedychium coronarium j.könig # dolon chapa herb, er; cv hs, rs bs, fa, mo m, o gmh 1861 zingiber officinale roscoe # ada herb, er; cv fl, hs all upazilas m, sp gmh 1872 costaceae nakai costus woodsonii maas # lipistic plant herb, er; cv gr bs o sss 3651 cannaceae juss. canna glauca l. # holud kolabati herb, er; cv gr, hs bs, mo o sss 3654 *c. indica l. # kolabati herb, er; w fl, hs, rs all upazilas m, o sss 3659 marantaceae r.br. maranta arundinacea l. # barli herb, er; w sj, wl fa m, o gmh 1864 schumannianthus benthamianus (kuntze) veldkamp & i.m.turner pati pata shrub; w hs, wtl bs, fa, hc, m gmh 4041 pontederiaceae kunth *eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms # kachuripana herb, ff; w wtl all upazilas gm, lf gmh 0169 *monochoria hastata (l.) solms bara nukha herb, er, w wtl all upazilas gm, vg gmh 0229 *m. vaginalis (burm. f.) c. presl nukha herb, er; w wtl ra, sa m, vg gmh 1879 amaryllidaceae j. st.-hil. allium cepa l. # piyaj herb, er; cv af, hs all upazilas m, sp sss 3652 a. sativum l. # rashun herb, er; cv af, hs all upazilas m, sp sss 3658 crinum americanum l. # bara kanur herb, er; w hs, wl bs, mo m, o gmh 1862 *c. asiaticum l. shukdarshan herb, er; w hs, wl mo, sa m, o gmh 0143 *c. latifolium l. sukhdarshan herb, er; w ml sa o gmh 0144 *c. viviparum (lam.) r. ansari & v. j. nair gang kochu herb, er; w rb, wtl mo, sa m gmh 0022 scadoxus multiflorus (martyn) raf. agni golock herb, er; pl fl, hs bs m, o gmh 1878 asparagaceae juss. agave americana l. # shatabdi udvid herb, er; cv hs bs m, o gmh 1866 asparagus racemosus wild. shatamuli herb, cl; w fl, rs ra m gmh 1875 *cordyline fruticosa (l.) a.chev. agnishwar herb, er; cv hs, rs all upazilas m, o gmh 1888 dracaena angustifolia (medik.) roxb. chikna drakan shrub; pl gr, hs bs, fa, ml o gmh 1881 d. reflexa lam. dracaena shrub; pl gr, hs bs, mo o gmh 1865 d. spicata roxb. kado drakan shrub; pl gr, hs bs o gmh 1863 72 hossain et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse d. trifasciata (prain) mabb. # snake plant herb, er; cv gr, hs, rs all upazilas o gmh 1865 furcraea foetida (l.) haw. # gandho hemp shrub; pl gr, hs bs, fa, mo o gmh 1882 hypoxidaceae r.br. *curculigo orchioides gaertn. talmuli herb, er; w sj, wl fa, sa m gmh 0149 xanthorrhoeaceae dumort. aloe vera (l.) burm.f. # ghritakumari herb, er; cv hs bs, fa mo, mr, sa co, m sss 3653 smilacaceae vent. *smilax ovalifolia roxb. ex d.don kumarika herb, cl; w sj, wl ch, fa, ra, sa m gmh 0277 s. perfoliata lour. kumari lata herb, cl; w sj, wl fa m gmh 1880 dioscoreaceae r.br. dioscorea alata l. chupri alu herb, cl; w sj, wl all upazilas m, vg gmh 1871 d. bulbifera l. ban alu herb, cl; w sj, wl bs, fa, ra m gmh 0162 d. esculenta (lour.) burkill mou alu herb, cl; cv hs, sj, wl fa, ch, ml, ra, sa vg gmh 1883 *d. hamiltonii hook. f. dudh alu herb, cl; w fm, wl bs, fa, sa m gmh 1868 d. pentaphylla l. jhum alu herb, cl; w sj, wl all upazilas m, vg gmh 1876 orchidaceae juss. *acampe ochracea (lindl.) hochr. kampera herb, ep; w op bs, fa, mo, sa m, o gmh 4018 *a. praemorsa (roxb.) blatt. & mccann rashna, kandori phol herb, ep; w op bs, fa, mo, sa m, o gmh 4030 *a. rigida (buch.-ham. ex sm.) p.f.hunt kampera herb, ep; w op mo, sa m, o gmh 4037 *bulbophyllum oblongum rchb. f. trias orchid herb, ep; w op mo, sa o gmh 0075 *b. roxburghii (lindl.) rchb.f. bulb orchid, bulborox herb, ep; w op mo, sa o gmh 4026 *cleisostoma appendiculatum (lindl.) benth. & hook. f. ex b.d.jacks. appentum herb, ep; w op sa o gmh 4063 *c. simondii (gagnep.) seidenf. # simond orchid herb, ep; w op mo, sa o gmh 3505 *dendrobium anceps sw. ansirium herb, ep; w op mo, sa o gmh 0027 *geodorum densiflorum (lam.) schltr. sankhamul herb, er; w fl, ml sa m, o gmh 4070 *luisia brachystachys (lindl.) blume borolucia herb, ep; w op mo, sa m, o gmh 4055 *l. trichorrhiza (hook.) blume lanka luci herb, ep; w op mo, sa o gmh 4015 *l. tristis (g. forst.) hook.f. lucia herb, ep; w op mo, sa o, pf gmh 4021 *micropera obtusa (lindl.) tang & f.t.wang konepera orchid herb, ep; w op sa o gmh 4060 *oberonia disticha (lam.) schltr. # oberonia herb, ep; w op sa o gmh 3370 *o. gammiei king & pantl. oberonia herb, ep; w op mo, sa o gmh 4033 *o. mucronata (d. don) ormerod & seidenf. nataroni orchid herb, ep; w op mo, sa o gmh 4017 *pelatantheria insectifera (rchb.f.) ridl. pelafera orchid herb, ep; w op mo, sa o gmh 4040 vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g.don rasna herb, ep; w op bs, fa o gmh 4028 *zeuxine strateumatica (l.) schltr. setguli herb, er; w gl, ml sa o gmh 0306 notes: habit: clclimber, crcreeper, cvcultivated, ememergent, epepiphyte, ererect, fffree floating, frfloating with rooted, llarge, liliana, lplithophyte, mmedium, plplanted prprostrate, psparasite, s-small, scscandant, sm submerged, vivine, wwild; habitat: afagri-field, flfallowland, fmforest margin, glgrassland, gr-garden, hs homestead, mlmarginal land, obwon brick wall, opon plant, rbriver bank, rsroadside, sjscrub jungle, wl woodland, wtlwetland; distribution: bsbagerhat sadar upazila; chchitalmari upazila; fafakirhat upazila; ka kachua upazila; mlmollahat upazila; mrmorelgonj upazila; momongla upazila; rarampal upazila; sa-sharankhola upazila; *mark indicating the species distributed in sundarbans mangrove forest area of bagerhat district; # mark indicating floristic survey of vascular plants 73 the species of exotic origin; uses: apaquarium plant, cocosmetics, dydye yielding, ededible, fbfibre, fffish feed, fpfish poison, frfruit, fwfuel wood, gmgreen manure, gugum, hchandicrafts, hehedge, hphoney plant, jujuice, lflivestock feed, mmedicine, nunut, oornamental, oyoil yielding, pfperfume, pppaper pulp, pupulse, sbsoil binder, spspice, ttimber, tmtheaching material, vgvegetable, wpwater purify; rse: gmh gazi mosharof hossain, msrmohammad sayedur rahman, saksaleh ahammad khan, sssshayla sharmin shetu. in pteridophyta, pteridaceae with seven species was the largest, which was followed by polypodiaceae, salviniaceae and thelypteridaceae representing five, four and three species, respectively. each of the families marsileaceae, vittariaceae, and lygodiaceae was represented by two species. the families representing the gymnosperms were cupressaceae and cycadaceae, each with two species, and araucariaceae, pinaceae and zamiaceae, with only one species each. in magnoliopsida, 50.51% of species were comprised of twelve families viz. fabaceae (58 species), asteraceae (46 species), euphorbiaceae (37 species), apocynaceae (34 species), acanthaceae (29 species), malvaceae (28 species), lamiaceae (26 species), rubiaceae (22 species), caesalpiniaceae (18 species), solanaceae (18 species), convolvulaceae (17 species) and cucurbitaceae (17 species) that constituted 36.30% species of the vascular flora of bagerhat district. most of the species of liliopsida (69.83%) were represented by the five families viz., poaceae (68 species), cyperaceae (43 species), orchidaceae (19 species), araceae (17 species) and arecaceae (15 species), which together comprised 16.80% of the vascular flora of this district. the monocot genus cyperus l. composed of 21 species was the largest in the vascular flora of the study area, which was followed by another monocot genus fimbristylis vahl with 13 species, and the dicot genera euphorbia l. and ficus tourn. ex l, each with 11 species, solanum l. with nine, ipomoea l. with eight, hibiscus l. with seven, and hygrophila r.br., phyllanthus l. and persicaria mill., each with six species. fig. 2. floristic composition in different life-form categories of bagerhat district. a total of 612 species (63.35%) of this flora and most of the magnoliopsida and liliopsida were herbs, 183 (18.94%) shrubs, 151 (15.63%) trees, 15 (1.55%) palms and five (0.52%) bamboos (fig. 2). the majority of the herbaceous species were erect (50.33%), which was followed by climber (19.28%), prostate (16.50%), epiphyte (4.9%), creeper (3.27%) and others (floating, 308 118 101 30 20 12 9 9 4 1 8 3 17 123 58 66 59 15 5 erect climber prostrate epiphyte creeper free floating floating submarged parasite on brick wall liana parasite scandant erect large medium small palm bamboo h er b s h ru b t re e o th er number of species l if efo rm c a te g o ry floristic composition in different life-form category 74 hossain et al. submerged and parasite etc.). medium-sized trees were observed at higher percentage (36.07%) than the large (31.69%) or small (32.24%) trees (fig. 2). most of the shrubs were erect and spreading (76.16%), some were scandent (10.60%), and a few were liana and parasites (fig. 2). about 70.81% of the species including most of the magnoliopsida (472 species) and liliopsida (181 species) were found in the wild. the rest of the species were recognized as planted (21.53%) and cultivated (7.66%). all species of pteridophytes were found in the wild but those of the gymnosperms as planted. fig. 3. number and per cent of plant species in different habitats of bagerhat district. the plant species of the bagerhat district were found to grow in 13 different kinds of habitats (fig. 3), in which fallow land harbours the higher percentage (30.43%) of species that was followed by roadsides (29.92%), woodlands (22.57%), homesteads (21.22%), marginal lands (20.08%), scrub jungles (14.29%), agricultural fields (13.87%), grasslands (13.66%) and wetlands (10.77%). the occurrence of some species was recorded from gardens, other plants, river banks and brick walls (fig. 3). the number of species with exclusive distribution in wetlands was 56, in homesteads 36 species, in woodland and on other plants 27 species each, in gardens 23 species, in grassland 21 species, in agricultural fields and roadsides 19 species each, in scrub jungle 14 species, in marginal lands nine species, and in other types of habitats less than four species each. fig. 4. plant species composition in the upazilas of bagerhat district. fig. 5. comparative angiosperm species composition in some districts. 294, 30.43% 289, 29.92% 218, 22.57% 205, 21.22% 194, 20.08% 138, 14.29% 134, 13.87% 132, 13.66% 104, 10.77% 90, 9.32% 39, 4.04% 35, 3.62% 5, 0.52% fallowland roadside woodland homestead marginal land scrub jungle agri-field grassland wetland garden on plant river bank on brick wall number and % of species h a b it a t ca te g o ry species of different habitats species no. species % 284 247 241 226 114 82 78 70 36 384 384 384 384 384 384 384 384 384 n u m b e r o f sp e c ie s upazila species distribution in different upazilas 425 636 638 729 793 833 927 n u m b e r o f sp e c ie s district floristic composition floristic survey of vascular plants 75 in bagerhat, the majority of the species (39.75%) were found to be distributed in all of the nine upazilas. however, sharankhola, fakirhat, bagerhat sadar and mongla upazilas harboured 29.40%, 25.57 %, 24.95 % and 23.40 % of the species, respectively. the occurrence of a relatively lower percentage of the species was found in other upazilas. a total of 100, 43, 20, and 17 species were found to be exclusively distributed in sarankhola, bagerhat sadar, fakirhat and mongla upazilas, respectively. the rest of the upazilas viz., mollarhat, kachua, morelganj, and rampal, harboured less than three species exclusively, i.e., almost all of the species of these upazilas had overlapping distribution in other upazilas of bagerhat district (fig. 4). in the study area, 17 species viz. acanthus volubilis (acanthaceae), andrographis paniculata (acanthaceae), barringtonia acutangula and b. racemosa (lecythidaceae), calamus guruba and c. longisetus (arecaceae), bulbophylllum oblongum, b. roxburghii, cleisostoma appenduculatum, geodorum densiflorum, luisia brachystachys and zeuxine strateumatica (orchidaceae), cipadessa baccifera (meliaceae), dodonaea viscosa (sapindaceae), pajanelia longifolia (bignoniaceae), psilotum nudum (psilotaceae), rauvolfia serpentina (apocynaceae) were found as rare due to their small population, meager regeneration and very restricted distribution and occurrence. among these species, bulbophylllum oblongum, b. roxburghii, and cleisostoma appenduculatum are reported as endangered in this country (ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ara et al., 2013). the species cipadessa baccifera of meliaceae was not reported from this country after its last record by datta and mitra (1953). therefore, cipadessa baccifera is rediscovered in bangladesh by this study. bagerhat district is one of the vulnerable and disaster-prone coastal areas of bangladesh (rahman and ferdous, 2017). conversion of huge natural and agricultural areas for expanded fisheries projects (chowdhury and muniruzzaman, 2003; karim, 2003; kabir and eva, 2014), frequent natural disasters including tidal surges and cyclones, increased urbanization or settlement, construction of highways and railways, unplanned tourism, improper waste management, oil and plastic pollution, increase in salinity and water logging, coal-based power plant establishment, tributary and river bank erosion through increased coastal shipping, invasion of exotic species, and lack of proper management and public awareness etc. are the critical threats for the natural habitats and ecosystems, flora and species diversity in this district. although this district is under the stress of different major threats, its flora is still rich and comparatively in better status than some other districts of the country which might be due to its habitat suitability, landscape structure and continuous flow of fresh water throughout most of its areas through its several major rivers (viz. panguchi, daratana, madhumati, pasur, haringhata, mongla, baleswar, bangra and goshairkhali) and the network of numerous canals, and the occurrence of huge mangrove forests. the data provided by this study on the vascular plants of bagerhat districts will contribute as the baseline for any further study or development plan involving its biological resources. these data might also be useful to track the trend of changes in the floristic composition, plant species diversity and vegetation in course of time, contribute to the undertaking of appropriate biodiversity conservation initiatives, plant resource-based socio-economic development, and in the assessment of the impacts of climate change in this region. to ensure the improvement, conservation and sustainable utilization of the plant resources of the study area, we firmly recommend adopting a master plan for the control and management of the massive anthropogenic interferences and strict enforcement of the forest laws following their necessary updating in this area, implementation of adequate measures for conservation of the threatened and depleting plant species of this area, and strict and adequate management of its protected area. we strongly suggests conducting regular inventories and monitoring programs on the flora and plant diversity of this district. we highly recommend adequate plantation programs, preferably with the windand saline tolerant deep-rooted plant species in the coastal belts and the 76 hossain et al. marginal lands of the riverand tributary banks, especially for the mitigation of the adverse impacts of natural disasters and protection of indigenous biological resources of the coastal area. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to grant for advanced research in education (gare), bangladesh bureau of educational information & statistics (banbeis), ministry of education, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh (gob) for funding this survey. the authors express their sincere thanks to the jahangirnagar university authority for 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(eds). 2001. plant resources of south-east asia. no. 12(2). medicinal and poisonous plants 2, backhuys publishers, leiden, netherlands, 782 pp. isbn 90-5782099-4 wcmc (world conservation monitoring centre). 1992. global biodiversity: status of earth’s living resources. chapman and hall, london, uk. 585 pp. world bank. 2005. natural disaster hotspots: a global risk analysis (disaster risk management series no. 5). washington, dc. 132 pp. (manuscrit received on 12 december, 2021; revised on 28 may, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 37-41, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67040 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of chaetoceros ehrenberg from wetlands of cox’s bazar, bangladesh jesmin akhter jolly, md. almujaddade alfasane*, moniruzzaman khondker and md. sabbir mustafa khan1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: wetlands; diversity; phytoplankton; ecological niche; chaetoceros. abstract eleven species of brackish water chaetoceros ehrenberg newly recorded from bangladesh have been illustrated and described in the present paper. the species are: chaetoceros aequatorialis cleve, c. constrictus gran, c. decipiens cleve, c. denicus cleve, c. didymus ehrenberg, c. diversus cleve, c. pelagicus cleve, c. pendulus karsten, c. pseudobrevis pavillard, c. seychellarus g.h.h. karsten and c. tetrastichon cleve. all of these species have been described here with citation of relevant references and collections examined. introduction chaetoceros ehrenberg is one of the largest genera among marine phytoplankton and is represented globally by nearly 400 species (tomas, 1997). in bangladesh, so far 20 taxa of this genus were described, illustrated and published mostly from the northern bay of bengal (islam and aziz, 1975; 1980). during a recent study on algal diversity in the coastal wetlands of cox’s bazar, 11 taxa of the genus chaetoceros were found to occur, which were not recorded earlier from bangladesh. in this paper, these newly recorded taxa are described and illustrated. materials and methods the present study was carried out in two wetlands of cox’s bazar, a tourism city of bangladesh situated in the northern coasts of the bay of bengal. the studied wetlands were: bakkhali river and reju canal. this two wetland maintains the flow of entire watershed area of the city of cox’s bazar. bakkhali river estuary is located in the southernmost part of cox’s bazar. this river originated from south-eastern hill of mizoram, india. this is the widest and longest river of cox’s bazar. length of bakkhali river within cox’s bazar district is about 67 km. cox’s bazar fish landing center is located in the bank of this river. city wastewater and all sorts of drainage discharges are dumped into it. reju canal is another important river of cox’s bazar originated from north arakan mountain of myanmar. this river produces huge fish and named famous for its marvelous scenario. many eco-resorts are made in the bank of this river. salinity of this river was lower than bakkhali river. a total of 144 phytoplankton samples were collected from september 2018 to august 2020. phytoplankton concentrates were collected with the help of sedimentation technique using lugol’s iodine (wetzel and likens, 2000). in a 1l capacity polystyrene bottle containing 1 ml lugul’s iodine was filled with the sample water and was transported to the national professor a.k.m. nurul islam phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka for analysis. a random *corresponding author: mujaddade@yahoo.com 1department of water resources engineering, bangladesh university of engineering and technology, dhaka 1000, bangladesh https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67040 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 38 jolly et al. checking of the sedimented planktonic material was carried out under light microscope (nikon optiphot, ufx-11a microscope fixed with a nikon fx-35wa camera, japan) at a magnification of 100-400×. the species were imaged along with the measurement of taxonomic features particularly length and breadth of each cell, filament, etc. taxonomic enumeration a total of 11 brackish water species of chaetoceros have been identified as new reports from bangladesh. the illustrated taxonomic descriptions of these taxa are given below. class: bacillariophyceae, family: chaetocerotaceae genus: chaetoceros ehrenberg 1. chaetoceros aequatorialis cleve (fig. 1) (doan-nhu et al. 2014, 171, figs 28-29, 37) straight chain of cells, cells cylindrical, narrow in shape, valve center convex dissimilar, setae of upper valve originating from centre of valve, then running backwardly but slightly convex to outside, lower setae originated from marginal valve and running backwardly and slowly make a sharp end, lower setae larger, apical axis 29.4 µm. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 2. chaetoceros constrictus gran (fig. 2) (doan-nhu et al. 2014,188, figs 98-99) straight chain of cells, cells rectangular, wide in shape, uniform in diameter, setae long, straight, marginal, not very long, upper setae upward and lower setae downwardly directed and other setae spread horizontally, separation disc very prominent, chloroplast make a different pattern, inter cellular setae twisted with each other, chain 34 µm in wide. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 3. chaetoceros decipiens cleve (fig. 3) (cupp 1943, 115, fig. 70; doan-nhu et al., 2014, 176, figs 48-51) syn. chaetoceros grunowii schütt cells 70-75 µm long, 78-80 µm broad, straight chain of cells, unitedly connected cells form a long stiff chain, in girdle view cells rectangular but oval in valves, sizes of cells may slightly vary with season, setae broad, slightly curved, setae without a basal portion, arising at corners of valves perpendicular to chain axis, fusing together in pairs for some distance, terminal setae shorter and thicker than others, cells are relatively large, usually yellow brown in color, plate or disc like chloroplast, numerous in number. collection no. 4 (r1), 8 nov 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 4. chaetoceros denicus cleve (fig. 4) (doan-nhu et al. 2014, 167, figs 17-18) cells tubular in shape, narrow, straight connected to each other make a stiff chain, valves circular, elongated girdle, intercalary band form, setae long, segmented disc like chloroplast seen in setae, from starting point they slightly twisted each other, intercalary band present, greenish brown in color, cells 7-8 µm in diameter, cells size may vary with season and nutrition. collection no. 4 (r1), 8 nov 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. new records of chaetoceros ehrenberg 39 figs 1-11. 1. chaetoceros aequatorialis cleve, 2. c. constrictus gran, 3. c. decipiens cleve, 4. c. denicus cleve, 5. c. didymus ehrenberg, 6. c. diversus cleve, 7. c. pelagicus cleve, 8. c. pendulus karsten, 9. c. pseudobrevis pavillard, 10. c. seychellarus g.h.h. karsten, 11. c. tetrastichon cleve. (figs 1,8,11 magnification ×100; figs 2-7, 9-10 magnification ×400). 40 jolly et al. 5. chaetoceros didymus ehrenberg (fig. 5) (cupp 1943, 121, fig. 75a; simonsen, 1974, pl. 6, fig. 15) straight chain, solitary cells, cells four–cornered in broad girdle view, with concave surfaces, valves with a semicircular protuberance in the centre, visible in broad girdle view. setae arising from corners of cells, crossing each other at their base, both setae arranged downwards, chain 1031 µm in wide. collection no. 6 (r3), 8 sep. 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 6. chaetoceros diversus cleve (fig. 6) (cupp 1943, 132, fig. 87) chain straight, not twisted, usually short, 3-5 cells found in chain, cells square in shape, setae arising from the corner of the cell, two types setae, one larger other shorter, setae twisted at the base or where they originated, small and thin setae more of less curved, often straight, and heavy or long setae almost cup shaped more curved and slightly thinner in ends, chloroplast more prominent and greenish brown in color. apical axis 9.0-11.8 µm. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 7. chaetoceros pelagicus cleve (fig. 7) (subrahmanyan, 1946, 140, fig. 234; cupp 1943, 129, fig. 81) cells cylindrical, narrow, elongated cells straight connected to each other make a stiff chain, short, dumble shaped, uniform in diameter, two types setae, one upward and other downwards, greenish brown in color, cells 16.2 µm in broad, cells size may vary with season and nutrition. collection no. 4 (r1), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 8. chaetoceros pendulus karsten (fig. 8) (cupp 1943, 114, fig. 69) cells always solitary, cells up to 17 µm in width, chain of cells straight, cells rectangular, wide in shape, cells connectedly make a chain, valves unlike, valve center convex, apertures moderately wide, setae very long curved posteriorly, setae started thick but slowly it makes a thin and pointed end, chromatophores very small, distributed far out in the setae, very large in size. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 9. chaetoceros pseudobrevis pavillard (fig. 9) (doan-nhu et al. 2014, 196, figs 123, 132-133.) cells cylindrical, tubular, narrow, elongated cells straight connected to each other make a stiff chain, valves circular, elongated girdle, intercalary band form, setae long, free not twisted, segmented disc like chloroplast seen in setae, from starting point they slightly make pointed tip in setae, intercalary band present, greenish brown in color. apical axis 31-33 µm in long, cell size may vary with season and nutrition. collection no. 4 (r1), 8 nov 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. 10. chaetoceros seychellarus g.h.h. karsten (fig. 10) (doan-nhu et al. 2014, 171, figs 38-39.) long straight chains, robust long setae arch towards end of chain, terminal setae curve a round before arising out of the chain, apical axis 15-32 µm. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct. 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. new records of chaetoceros ehrenberg 41 11. chaetoceros tetrastichon cleve (fig. 11) (cupp 1943, 108, fig. 63) straight chain of cells, cells rectangular, wide in shape, valve center convex, apertures moderately wide, two types of setae, one type long, wide, free other type of setae twisted to each other, curved posteriorly, setae started thick but slowly it makes a thin and pointed end, segmented disc like form found in setae, intercalary band present, cells 19-20 µm in width, robust in size. collection no. 5 (r2), 8 oct 2020, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. adding these 11 newly reported species of chaetoceros in bangladesh, the total number stands 31. there are still ample scopes of carrying out research on this most abundant marine phytoplankton in the vast pelagic region of the bay of bengal situated near the vicinity of bangladesh. acknowledgements the present research is a part of ph.d. thesis of the first author. we highly acknowledge the bangabandhu science & technology fellowship trust under the ministry of science and technology, the government of the people's republic of bangladesh for giving financial assistance of the ph.d. research. references islam, a.k.m.n. and aziz, a. 1975. study of marine phytoplankton from the northeastern bay of bengal, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 4(1-2): 1-32. islam, a.k.m.n. and aziz, a. 1980. studies on the marine phytoplankton of the coast of bangladesh, 1: bacillariophyceae. in 4th and 5th bangladesh science conference, rajshahi (bangladesh), 2-5 mar 1980. baas. cupp, e. 1943. marine planktonic diatoms of the west coast of north america. bull. scripps inst. of oceanography. univ. california press. berkley and los angeles. 5(1): 1-238. doan-nhu, h., nguyen-ngoc, l., anh, n.t.m., larsen, j., and thoi, n.c. 2014. diatom genus chaetoceros ehrenberg 1844 in vietnamese waters. nova hedwigia, beiheft 143: 159-222. subrahmanyan, r. 1946. asystemic account of the marine plankton diatoms of the madras coast. proc. ind. acad. sci. 24b: 85-197. simonsen, r. 1974. the diatom plankton of the indian ocean expedition of r/v meteor 1964-5, “meteor” forschungsergebnisse. reihe d: biologie 19: 1-107. subrahmanyan, r. 1946. a systematic account of the marine plankton diatoms of the madras coast. proc. ind. acad. sci. 24b: 85-197. tomas, c.r. 1997 (ed.). identifying marine phytoplankton. academic press, london. pp. 857. wetzel, r.g., and likens, g.e. 2000. limnological analysis. wb saunders co., philadelphia. 357 pp. (manuscript received on 15 july 2022; revised on 17 may 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 283-296, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63530 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists macromorphological, anatomical and molecular studies of some taxa of araliaceae in egypt mai m wahba*, ashraf s haider1, magdy m mourad2, ia mashaly and ihsan e el-habashy botany department, faculty of science, mansoura university, egypt keywords: morphology; anatomical structure; lamina architecture; stomatography; issr, araliaceae. abstract the present study investigated morphological features, leaf and stem anatomy, leaf architecture, epidermal characteristics, and molecular characters of some taxa of araliaceae to trace out the diversity and the diagnostic significance of these attributes. the studied taxa based on combination of 260 characters representing 182 morphological and 78 molecular characters which were subjected to a numerical analysis using ntsyspc program. the generated dendrogram explained the similarities and the differences between the examined taxa. the specific similarities are discussed and compared with some current classification systems. the generated dendrogram from morphological attributes confirmed the separation of aralieae and schefflerieae as two tribes of araliaceae and supported the separation of simple leaved taxa from compound leaved. introduction araliaceae comprises 47 genera and over 1.350 species (wen et al., 2001) five of the six largest genera with 50 or more species (schefflera j.r.forst., oreopanax decne. & planch, dendropanax decne. & planch., polyscias j.r.forst. and osmoxylon miq.) are best represented in tropical or subtropical zones although several smaller genera (brassaiopsis decne. & planch, panax l., macropanax miq., hedera l., oplopanax torr. & a.gray, and gamblea c.b.clarke) are found in the north temperate zone. araliaceae are also well-developed in the old worldin southeastern asia, the pacific, and indian ocean basins. new world araliads include only a few genera, most of them are also largely the old world such as aralia, oplopanax, panax, pseudopanax k.koch, and dendropanax. after the inclusion of sciadodendron griseb., in aralia by wen (2002), oreopanax is now the only genus in the new world. araliaceae trees or shrubs, sometimes woody vines. leaves simple, palmately compound or 1-3 pinnately compound, lobed. fruits drupe or berry. a significant step was taken in resolving the placement of araliaceae among the main genealogy of the order apiales (plunkett et al., 2004; plunkett et al., 2001a) and in knowing the relationships within and between related genera of araliaceae (eibl et al., 2001; plunkett et al., 2001b; wen et al., 1996). harms (1894–1897) classified the family into three tribes. the tribe aralieae with imbricate aestivation and mackinlayeae and schefflereae with valvate aestivation are separated from one another by petal insertion based on petal aestivation and base insertion. bentham (1867) provided nearly similar tribes mackinlayeae and aralieae, but the genera that placed in schefflereae by (harms, 1894–1897) were treated as tribes panaceae and hedereae (with smooth or ruminate endosperm, respectively), in addition to plerandreae (where stamen number exceeded petal number). *correspondent author: e-mail: maiwahba18@gmail.com 1botany department, faculty of science, tanta university, egypt. 2botany department, faculty of science, ain shams university, egypt. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63530 mailto:maiwahba18@gmail.com 284 wahba et al. based on morphological features by harms (1898) and judd et al., (1994) and anatomical evidence by metcalfe and chalk-vol (1950), araliaceae have been put with apiaceae which is supported by the recent molecular studies (plunkett et al., 1996; plunkett et al., 1997). jacobs et al. (2010) studied fruit set in hedera helix. mourad (2013) showed the separation of simple leaved meryta denhamii from lobed (hedera helix and tetrapanax papyrifer) and compound leaved polyscias spp. amini et al. (2020) studied the micromorphology of hedera species in iran. lestari and elya (2019) made macroscopic studies of polyscias guilfoylei leaves. the essential use of leaf architectural character as an aid in the delimitation of genera and species was performed in paleobotany (dilcher, 1974; mouton, 1966). zhernova et al. (2021) made comparative wood for the anatomy of astropanax seem., and neocussonia (harms) hutch. săvulescu and luchian (2009) studied the diagnostic value of hedera epidermis and epidermis that is made up of one cell layer with polygonal cells and thin lateral wall. studied epidermal cell descriptions of hedera species in iran. kotina et al. (2010) surveyed the bark anatomy of araliaceae and some related taxa. ostroumova et al. (2010) surveyed the leaf anatomy of araliaceae and some related taxa. rout et al. (2007) used rapd and issr markers to study the genetic relationship between polyscias and schefflereae. hoi et al. (2021) used inter simple sequence repeat (issr) markers to assess the genetic diversity of panax bipinnatifidus. araliaceae has a taxonomic problem within and between its related genera. aralieae and schefflerieae were not accurately delimited and leaf forms were represented within the family of araliaceae that have a tremendous array. this study aims to try to find the interspecific similarities of the studied taxa by investigating their morphological, anatomical, and molecular characteristics as well as a numerical evaluation of such traits. materials and methods sampling twelve taxa of araliaceae representing six genera were collected from the botanical garden of mansoura university and orman botanical garden, giza, egypt (table 1). identification was confirmed by comparison with herbarium specimens in the herbarium of ain shams university, faculty of science (caia). voucher specimens of the investigated species were kept in mansoura herbarium, botany department, faculty of science, mansoura university. nomenclature has been updated according to several websites (https://www.ipni.org/). macro-micromorphological investigations macromorphological characters of the leaves, inflorescence, flowers, and fruits were described from the fresh specimens. for the anatomical features, the methods were characterized by johansen (1940) and were adopted by jensen (1962) and peacock (1973). leaf vein architecture was performed according to the usual method of(jesudass et al., 2003). laminaʹs architectural terminology follows (ash, 1999; hickey, 1973). stomatography was performed according to the method of stace (1965). by using a reichert microstar iv microscope, the photomicrographs were taken at the plant taxonomy research laboratory, botany department, faculty of science, ain shams university, cairo, egypt. for scanning electron microscope (sem) small (7 mm2) pieces of the lamina, the material was installed on sem stubs with double-sided tape, coated with gold in spi-module sputter coater, checked, and photographed in jeol jsm 5200 at various magnifications (500x, 1000x). the description of epidermal characteristics terminology based on (ash, 1999; metcalfe and chalkvol, 1950; murley, 1951; prabhakar, 2004). https://www.ipni.org/). macromorphological, anatomical and molecular studies 285 table 1. list of the studied araliaceae taxa and their collection data. location date of collection taxa no. mansoura university garden 5/2020 3/2021 hedera canariensis willd., mag. neuesten entdeck. gesammten naturk. ges. naturf. freunde berlin 2: 171 (1808). synonym: h. grandifolia hibberd, the ivy 96 (1872). 1 // 5/2020 3/2021 h. helix l., sp. pl. 1: 202 (1753). syn: h. donerailensis hort. ex k.koch, dendrologie 1: 680 (1869). 2 orman botanical garden 5/2020 4/2021 meryta denhamii seem., bonplandia 10: 295 (1862). syn: m. macrocarpa baill., adansonia 12: 155 (1878). 3 // 6/2020 2/2021 oreopanax guatemalensis decne. & planch., rev. hort. [paris]. ser. iv, iii. (1854) 108, nomen. syn: o. obtusifolius l.o.williams, fieldiana, bot. 31: 20 (1965). 4 // 5/2020 3/2021 polyscias fruticosa harms, nat. pflanzenfam. [engler & prantl] iii. (1894) 45. syn: aralia tripinnata blanco, fl. filip. [f.m. blanco] 223 (1837). 5 mansoura university garden 5/2020 3/2021 p. guilfoylei l.h.bailey, rhodora 1916, xviii. 153. syn: aralia guilfoylei w.bull, cat. new beautiful rare pl. [w. bull] 83: 4 (1873). 6 // 5/2020 3/2021 p. scutellaria (burm.f.) fosberg, occas. pap. univ. hawaii 46: 9 (1948). syn: aralia cochleata lam., encycl. [j. lamarck & al.] 1(1): 224 (1783). 7 // 5/2020 3/2021 schefflera actinophylla (endl.) harms, nat. pflanzenfam. [engler & prantl] 3(abt. 8): 36 (1894). syn: brassaia singaporensis ridl., j. straits branch roy. asiat. soc. 75: 38 (1917). 8 // 5/2020 3/2021 s. arboricola (hayata) hayata ex merr., lingnan sci. j. 5(1-2): 139 (1928). syn: heptapleurum arboricola hayata, icon. pl. formosan. 6: 23 (1916). 9 orman botanical garden 6/2020 2/2021 s. elegantissima (veitch ex masters) lowry & frodin, baileya 23(1): 9 (1989): (1989). syn: schefflera fagueti baill., adansonia 12: 142 (1878). 10 mansoura university garden 5/2020 3/2021 s. pueckleri (k.koch) frodin, baileya 23(1): 10 (1989). syn: tupidanthus calyptratus hook.f. & thomson, bot. mag. 82: t. 4908 (1856). 11 orman botanical garden 6/2020 2/2021 tetrapanax papyrifer (hook.) k.koch, wochenschr. gärtnerei pflanzenk. 2: 371 (1859). syn: aralia mairei h.lév., repert. spec. nov. regni veg. 13: 342 (1914). 12 286 wahba et al. molecular assessment (issr-pcr analysis) genomic dna was extracted from the twelve samples according to the manufacturer protocol of the gene jet genomic dna purification kit (k0721/ thermo fisher). total genomic dna was amplified through gene amp polymerase chain reaction (pcr) system cycler. pcr for amplified genomic dna was carried out according to(el-assal et al., 2011). issr-pcr reactions were conducted using 6 primers for the genotype (table 2). gel documentation system (geldoc-it, uvp, and england), was applied for data analysis using totallab analysis software (ver.1.0.1), ww.totallab.com. table 2.issr primers names and sequence. no primers sequences 1 ipbs primer 2270 5´-acctggcgtgcca-3´ 2 c1 5´-agggctggaggagggc-3´ 3 g4 5´-actgactgactgactg-3´ 4 psecra5 f-5´-ccagcgtcacctccattatt-3´ r-5´-tcacagccagccactgtatc-3´ 5 pseles1 f-5´-aagttgatggcttcgctcat-3´ r-5´-accaccccaatacaaaacca-3´ 6 psecra3b f-5´-atgtttgtgaattgtgagtgtgg-3´ r-5´-ccccatcttttgtccctca-3´ data analysis the upgma function and sahn program were used by sneath and sokal (1973). all computations were made with the help of ntsys-pc version 2.02 (rohlf, 1998). results and discussion shape of leaves simple in hedera canariensis, meryta denhamii, and oreopanax guatemalensis, lobed palmate in hedera helix, and tetrapanax papyrifer, compound palmate in 4 species of genus schefflera and compound pinnate in 3species of genus polyscias are as shown in fig. 1. stem and lamina anatomy stem investigations stem angled in seven taxa viz., hedera canariensis, meryta denhamii, oreopanax guatemalensis, polyscias fruticosa, schefflera arboricola, schefflera elegantissima, tetrapanax papyrifer and terete in five taxa hedera helix, polyscias guilfoylei, polyscias scutellaria, schefflera actinophylla and schefflera pueckleri. all taxa are not glandular except hedera canariensis. lenticel present in six taxa viz., hedera helix, meryta denhamii, oreopanax guatemalensis, schefflera elegantissima, schefflera pueckleri and tetrapanax papyrifer, but absence in other six taxa, collenchyma may be angular-lamellar in nine taxa, and angular in meryta denhamii, oreopanax guatemalensis and schefflera arboricola. the aspect of vascular bundles is siphonostelic in 11 taxa and distinct in polyscias scutellaria as observed in fig. 2. macromorphological, anatomical and molecular studies 287 fig. 1. (a-d) leaves photographs of some studied taxa; a) simple; b) simple lobed palmate; c) compound pinnate; d) compound palmate. lamina anatomy raised adaxially in 11 taxa and flattened adaxially in schefflera actinophylla happen. all taxa are not glandular except in hedera helix is peltate eglandular, while tetrapanax papyrifer is multicellular branched eglandular. collenchyma annular in five taxa hedera canariensis, hedera helix, polyscias fruticosa, schefflera actinophylla, schefflera elegantissima. in addition, annularlamellar is in 5 taxa meryta denhamii, oreopanax guatemalensis, schefflera arboricola, schefflera pueckleri and tetrapanax papyrifer, angular-lamellar in polyscias guilfoylei and angular in polyscias scutellaria. vascular system partially continuous is in 6 taxa hedera canariensis, hedera helix, oreopanax guatemalensis, polyscias fruticosa, polyscias guilfoylei and schefflera actinophylla and distinct in other six taxa. all taxa have druses-raphides except druses in polyscias scutellaria (fig. 2). lamina vein architecture primary vein pinnate in six taxa viz., meryta denhamii, oreopanax guatemalensis, polyscias fruticosa, schefflera actinophylla, schefflera elegantissima and schefflera pueckleri, suprabasal in hedera canariensis, hedera helix, acrodromous (basal) in polyscias guilfoylei, suprabasal actinodromous in polyscias scutellaria, suprabasal actrodromous in schefflera arboricola, palinactinodromous in tetrapanax papyrifer. secondary vein brochidodromousis in four taxa, namely, hedera canariensis, hedera helix, polyscias guilfoylei, and polyscias scutellaria, 288 wahba et al. reticulodromous in meryta denhamii, schefflera arboricola, festooned brochidodromous in oreopanax guatemalensis, schefflera actinophylla, schefflera pueckleri, weak brochidodromous in polyscias fruticosa, intramarginal vein in schefflera elegantissima, interior (seven basal veins) in tetrapanax papyrifer. third vein category random reticulate in seven taxa, alternate percurrent in four taxa, namely, oreopanax guatemalensis, polyscias fruticosa, polyscias guilfoylei, and polyscias scutellaria, dichotomizing in schefflera elegantissima. 4° vein rpr (regular polygonal reticulate) in 9 taxa, alternate percurrent in meryta denhamii, dichotomizing in schefflera elegantissima, absence in oreopanax guatemalensis. 5° category rpr in five taxa viz., hedera canariensis, hedera helix, meryta denhamii, schefflera arboricola and tetrapanax papyrifer. dichotomizing is in five taxa polyscias guilfoylei, polyscias scutellaria, schefflera actinophylla, schefflera elegantissima and schefflera pueckleri, absence in oreopanax guatemalensis, polyscias fruticosa as fig. 3. fig. 2. (a-i) photographs of some stem anatomy of studied taxa; a) angled, egland unicellular unbranched trichome, siphonostelic vascular bundle; b) terete, lenticel; c) distinct vacular bundle; d) angular collenchyma. e-i) photographs of some lamina anatomy of studied taxa; e) raised adaxially, peltate eglandular trichome, annular collenchyma, druses & raphides crystal, partially continuous vascular bundle; f) druses crystal, angular collenchyma, distinct vascular bundle. g) flattened adaxially; h) multicellular branched eglandular trichome; i) angular & lamellar. abbreviations: tr. trichome; se. sub epidermal periderm; vb. vascular bundle; len. lenticel; ac. angular collenchyma; rc. raphides crystal; dc. druses crystal. pc. palisade cells; rc. raphides crystal; tr. trichome; ac. angular collenchyma. macromorphological, anatomical and molecular studies 289 fig. 3. (a-h) the main categories of lamina vein architecture with lm. a) suprabasal 1°v, brochidodromous 2°v, random reticulate 3°v, regular polygonal reticulate 4°v 5°v; b) pinnate 1°v, weak brochidodromous 2°v, alternate percurrent 3°v; c) acrodromous 1°v, dichotomizing 5°v; d) suprabasal actinodromous 1°v; e) suprabasal acrodromous 1°v, reticulodromous 2°v; f) dichotomizing 3°v, 4°v, 5°v. g) festooned brochidodromous 2°v; h) palinactinodromous 1°v. 290 wahba et al. epidermal cell description cell shape was irregular in 4 taxa, namely, hedera canariensis, hedera helix, meryta denhamii, and tetrapanax papyrifer and polygonal in the rest taxa. anticlinal wall sinuous in four taxa hedera canariensis, hedera helix, meryta denhamii, and tetrapanax papyrifer and slightly curved in 8 taxa. stomatal shape elliptical in all taxa. stomatal type anomocytic and anisocytic is in hedera canariensis and hedera helix. anisocytic in seven taxa, anisocytic and diacytic in polyscias fruticosa, polyscias guilfoylei and schefflera elegantissima. sculpture ruminate in four taxa hedera canariensis, oreopanax guatemalensis, schefflera actinophylla. schefflera pueckleri arepusticulate in hedera helix and meryta denhamii, reticulate-aerolate in polyscias fruticosa, polyscias guilfoylei, and polyscias scutellaria reticulated in schefflera arboricola, favulariate in schefflera elegantissima and striate in tetrapanax papyrifer (fig. 4). fig. 4. (a-c) major categories of stomatography as revealed with lm; a) anomocytic & anisocytic stomata, irregular cell shape, sinuous anticlinal wall; b) anisocytic stomata, polygonal cell shape, slightly curved anticlinal wall; c) anisocytic & diacytic. d-f) major types of lamina surface sculpture with sem; d) ruminate; e) pusticulate; f) reticulate-aerolate. g-i) major types of lamina surface sculpture with sem; g) reticulate; h) favulariate; i) striate. molecular assessment all primers produced 78 monomorphic and polymorphic bands (table 3). primer ipbs primer 2270 produced one monomorphic band and 9 polymorphic bands (7 common and 2 unique), c1 produced one monomorphic band and 14 polymorphic bands (13 common and 1 unique), g4 produced one monomorphic band and 13 polymorphic bands (12 common and 1 unique), psecra5 macromorphological, anatomical and molecular studies 291 produced no monomorphic bands, and 13 polymorphic bands (13 commons). while no unique bands were produced, pseles1 produced no monomorphic bands, and 13 polymorphic bands (13 commons). while no unique bands were produced, psecra3bproduced no monomorphic bands, and 13 polymorphic bands (13 commons), while no unique bands were recorded (fig. 5). table 3. type of bands and percentage of polymorphism of issr primers applied on the studied taxa of family araliaceae. primer monomorphic bands polymorphic bands total bands polymorphism % common unique ipbs primer 2270 1 7 2 10 90 c1 1 13 1 15 93.33 g4 1 12 1 14 92.86 psecra5 0 13 0 13 100 pseles1 0 13 0 13 100 psecra3b 0 13 0 13 100 fig. 5 (a-f) issr profile of the studied taxa of araliaceae generated by a) ipbs primer 2270; b) primer c1; c) primer g4; d) primer psecra5; e) primer pseles1; f) primer psecra3b. 292 wahba et al. numerical analysis the data obtained from the whole plant, stem, and leaf anatomy for the examined taxa were amalgamated with the data that was obtained from lamina architecture and stomatographic analyses. then, they were subjected to numerical analysis to explain and discuss the similarity among the studied taxa based on (182) macro-micromorphological traits that were used for computation and produced dendrogram as shown in fig. 6. the data extracted from issr analysis were subjected to numerical analysis to explain and discuss the similarity among the examined taxa based on (78) molecular traits. these traits were used for computation and produced dendrogram as shown in fig. 7. finally, the data extracted from macro-micromorphological attributes were amalgamated with the data from issr analysis. they were subjected to numerical analysis to explain and discuss the similarity among the studied taxa based on (260) macromicromorphological and molecular traits that were used for computation and produced dendrogram as shown in fig. 8. fig. 6. dendrogram of studied taxa of araliaceae based on morphological characters (182). the resulting dendrogram from morphological attributes is compared with the current system treatments. the dendrogram shows that the taxa under investigation were splitted into two main series (i and ii), three clusters (a, b, and c), and five groups (fig. 6). series i included only one cluster (a) and one group; cluster a included one group of three studied species. series ii involved two clusters (b & c) and four groups and cluster b involved two groups; the first group involved two studied species while the second one involved four studied species. cluster c involved two groups; the first group involved two studied species when the second one involved only one studied species. the similarities among these taxa are summarized as follows. macromorphological, anatomical and molecular studies 293 fig. 7. dendrogram of studied taxa of araliaceae based on molecular characters (78). fig. 8. dendrogram of studied taxa of araliaceae based on morphological and molecular characters (260). series i, group 1 includes hedera canariensis, hedera helix, tetrapanax papyrifer. these results are in agreement with harms (1894-1897 classification systems that put them in the same tribe (hutchinson, 1967; bentham, 1867; chang-jiang et al., 1982) placed them in different tribes. calestani (1905) and viguier (1906) placed tetrapanax papyrifer in the same tribe, but hedera canariensis, hedera helix indifferent tribes. seemann (1868) placed tetrapanax papyrifer in the same family but different tribe and placed hedera canariensis, hedera helix in a different family. 294 wahba et al. series ii, group 2 includes meryta denhamii, oreopanax guatemalensis. these results are in agreement with harms (1894-1897) classification systems that put them in the same tribe. hutchinson (1967), bentham (1867), chang-jiang et al. (1982) and seemann (1868) placed meryta denhamii in the same tribe, but oreopanax guatemalensis in a different tribe. calestani (1905) and viguier (1906) placed oreopanax guatemalensis in the same tribe, but meryta denhamiiin a different tribe. group 3 includes schefflera actinophylla, s. pueckleri, s elegantissima, s. arboricola. these results are in agreement with harms (1894-1897), calestani (1905) and viguier (1906) classification systems that put them in the same tribe. hutchinson (1967), bentham (1867), seemann (1868), chang-jiang et al. (1982) placed them in the same family but in different tribes. group 4 includes polyscias fruticosa, p. guilfoylei. these results are in agreement with bentham (1867), seemann (1868), harms (1894-1897), calestani (1905), hutchinson (1967) and chang-jiang et al. (1982) classification systems that put them in the same tribe. viguier (1906) placed it in the same family but different tribe. group 5 includes polyscias scutellaria. this result is in agreement with bentham (1867); seemann (1868); harms (1894-1897); calestani (1905); hutchinson (1967) and chang-jiang et al. (1982) who put them in the same tribe. viguier (1906) placed it in the same family but in a different tribe. conclusion araliaceae has a taxonomic problem within and between its related genera. aralieae and schefflerieae were not accurately delimited. the numerical analysis interprets the similarities between the studied taxa based on 260 macro-micromorphological and molecular traits. the data of this study resulted from macro-micromorphological traits suggest the separation of aralieae and schefflerieae as two tribes of araliaceae and simple leaved taxa from compound leaved ones. references amini, e., nasrollahi, f., sattarian, a., haji moradkhani, m., boozarpour, s. and habibi, m.j. 2020. micromorphological, anatomical and molecular study of hedera species (araliaceae) in iran. acta biologica szegediensis, 63(2): 91-101. bentham, g. 1867. araliaceae. in: bentham g., hooker j.d. 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(manuscript received on 14 may, 2021; revised on 7 november, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 169177, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and molecular identification of ten plant pathogenic fungi shamim shamsi*, mohammad nurul islam, sarowar hosen, md. al-mamun, pranami chowdhury, mst. selina momtaz, najmun naher, zuhra yeasmin, sadia sultana, amina khatun, abu-al-islam and md. abul bashar department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: pathogenic fungi; tissue planting method; its; pcr amplification; sequence analysis. abstract ten pathogenic fungi of deuteromycetes were isolated from seven angiospermic hosts such as pointed gourd, tomato, rice, wheat, maize, chickpea and jute. morphological characterization and molecular analyses were performed for accurate identification of the isolated pathogenic fungi. the sequence results obtained using the its1 and its4 primers were compared with ncbi genbank and bol database using blast analysis. fusarium chlamydosporum and penicillium pinophilum are recorded first time from bangladesh. introduction plants are extremely important for human and animals. nowadays, diseases have becoming a worldwide problem and highly concerning factor. plant diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses, etc. fungi represent the major pathogenic micro-organisms that infect plants, causing huge economical loss. they constitute the largest number of plant pathogens and are responsible for a range of serious plant diseases. fungal attack can be found on leaves, petioles, stems, pods and seeds of different plants and can cause severe damages in the field as well as in storage condition. fungal diseases are also important constraints in grain legume productions (njambere et al., 2010). cereal crops such as rice, wheat, maize; pulses such as chickpea; vegetable such as pointed gourd and fiber yielding plant such as jute suffer from various kinds of diseases. but correct identification up to species level of a plant pathogenic fungus is important for the development of effective disease control management, quarantine purposes and as a basis for making decisions to protect agricultural crops as well as other natural resources from fungal pathogens (rossman and palm-hernandez, 2008). the identification, taxonomy and epidemiological analyses of fungal pathogens are increasingly dependent on modern molecular techniques, based on pcr amplification of conserved regions of the genome and sequencing of the resulting pcr products (haynes et al., 1996; sandhu et al., 1995; makimura et al., 1994). morphological identification of fungal pathogens is very common but information on molecular identification of fungal pathogens is rare in bangladesh. so, the aim of the study was to investigate the morphological and molecular identification of pathogens associated with some selected cereal crops, pulses, vegetable as well as fiber yielding plant. *author for correspondence: <prof.shamsi@gmail.com>. mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com 170 shamsi et al. materials and methods diseased plant samples such as rice, wheat, maize, chickpea (bangladesh agriculture research institute, joydebpur, gazipur), pointed gourd, tomato (local markets, dhaka) and jute (bangladesh jute research institute, manikganj and farmgate) were collected and used for the present investigation. isolation and morphological identification of fungi pathogens associated with selected samples were isolated with following “tissue planting method” on pda medium (cab, 1968). morphological structures of the pathogens were depicted with the help of camera lucida. identities of the fungal isolates were determined following the standard literature (thom and raper, 1945; raper and thom, 1949; gilman, 1967; booth, 1971; ellis, 1971,1976; barnett and hunter, 1972; sutton, 1980; ellis and ellis, 1997). molecular characterization of fungi molecular identification was done following islam and mukherjee (2011) with some modification. dna extraction fungal mycelia were harvested by scraping the surface of 15 days old cultures with a sterile spatula from the test tube. one gm fungal mycelia were taken in 1.5 ml eppendorf tube and placed in liquid nitrogen. the mycelium was immediately grinded with a homogenizer machine to get fine powder. 750 µl of lysis buffers were added in each eppendorf tube and stir with a vortex to get homogenous mixture. the tubes were transferred to 65ºc preheated water bath for 30 minutes. the samples were taken from the water bath and cooled down to room temperature. 700 µl of chloroform: phenol (1:1) mixture was added and mixed gently. the samples were centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 5 minutes. the aqueous phase was transferred into fresh eppendrof tube and again mixed with 700 µl of chloroform: phenol and centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 5 minutes. the aqueous phase was transferred to new eppendorf tubes and 70 µl of naoac was added. top off the eppendorf tube with 300 µl isopropanol, gently inverted several times. dna ‘ropes’ precipitate was seen here. the samples were centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 10 minutes to form dna pellet. the supernatant was discarded and the pellet was washed with 70% ethanol. the pellets were air dried and dissolved in 100 µl te buffer mixed with rnase a (final concentration 10 mg/ml). the samples were incubated for 30 minutes at 37 ºc. 10 µl naoac was added to the tubes and top off the eppendorf tube with 750 µl absolute ethanol and mixed gently. the samples were centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 10 minutes. the supernatant was discarded completely, washed with 70% ethanol, air dried the pellet and dissolved in 100 µl te buffer. the dna was allowed to dissolve overnight at 4 ºc. pcr amplification molecular identification of the isolates was performed using the internal transcribed spacer (its) regions. pcr amplification was conducted using the its1 (5'-tccgtaggtgaacct gcgg-3') and its4 (5'-tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3') primers for the its regions. the pcr was carried out in 0.2 ml pcr tube with 25 reaction volume containing 2.0 μl template dna, 12.5 μl master mix, 1.0 μl forward primer, 1.0μl reverse primer and 8.5 μl milliq h2o. reaction mixture was vortexed and centrifuged in a microcentrifuge. the pcr was initiated by an initial denaturation step at 94ºc for 5 minutes following 30 cycles of 94, 54 and 72ºc each for 30 sec, with a final extension step of 5 min at 72ºc and ended with 4ºc. pcr amplified products were stored in – 20ºc freezer for analysis by resolving in 1% agarose gel. the gel was prepared using 1.0 g agarose powder containing ethidium bromide. agarose gel electrophoresis was conducted in morphological and molecular identification of ten plant 171 1× tae buffer at 90 volts and 300 ma for 40 minutes. one molecular weight marker 1kb dna ladder was electrophoresed alongside the its reactions. dna bands were photographed by a gel documentation system (model: di-hd, uk). sequencing analysis pcr amplified products were purified by alcohol precipitation and sequenced through automated sequencer in centre for advanced research in sciences (cars), university of dhaka. to identify the genus and species of the isolates, the sequences were analyzed using the blast program (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) of the national center for biotechnology information (ncbi, bethesda, md, usa) as well as bol database. results and discussion morphological identification ten pathogens viz., aspergillus flavus (jute seed), bipolaris oryzae (rice seed), bipolaris sorokiniana (wheat leaves), colletotrichum gloeosporioides (jute stem), corynespora cassicola (tomato leaves), fusarium sp. (maize seed), f. oxysporum (chickpea seed), f. solani (rice seed), penicillium sp. and trichoderma sp. (pointed gourd) were identified morphologically (fig. 1). key morphological features of the isolated fungi are given below: 1. aspergillus flavus link, mag. der ges. naturf. freunde berlin 3(1): 16 (1809). (fig. 1a) colonies effuse, greenish. mycelium well-developed, septate, profusely branched and hyaline. cells multinucleate, conidiophores long. sclerotium present. conidia catenulate, dry, usually globose, smooth, green in color. specimen examined: isolated from the seeds of accession no. a-3047 of corchorus capsularis, bangladesh jute research institute, dhaka, ma mamun 4, 23 september 2014. 2. bipolaris oryzae (breda de haan) shoemaker, canadian j. bot. 37(5): 883(1959). (fig. 1b) colonies greenish grey, reverse light grey, olivaceous with brownish tinge. mycelium fluffy, aerial, cottony, septate. conidiophores septate, solitary or in small groups; straight or flexous, sometimes geniculate; simple; pale to mid-brown; bearing conidia at the end and on sides. conidia olivaceous brown, obclavate, fusiform, straight or curved, prominent hilum with basal scar, 5-9 septate, 39.56-101.89 × 11.96-16.10 μm. specimen examined: isolated from the seeds of oryza sativa, bangladesh rice research institute, joydebpur, gazipur, p chawdhury 192, 2 january 2015. 3. bipolaris sorokiniana (sacc.) shoemaker, canadian j. bot. 37(5): 883(1959). (fig. 1c) colonies olivaceous brown to very dark becoming generally lighter towards the periphery, margin mostly smooth, sometimes wavy with easily recognizable dark band, large number of conidia usually present in the centre, sometimes entire colony covered by black shiny conidia making the colony black and shiny. conidiophores brown, short, erect, in most cases single, bearing 1-6 conidia. ellipsoid, dark brown, mostly straight or slightly curved, wall thick but less towards the ends, broadest in the middle, ends rounded, scar clear within the basal cell. terminal portion of the end cells sub-hyaline, 68.0-98.6 × 17.0-23.8 µ, 6-9 pseudoseptate. specimen examined: isolated from seeds of triticum aestivum, bangladesh agriculture research institute, joydebpur, gazipur, ms momtaz 178, 27 december 2014. http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) 172 shamsi et al. 4. colletotrichum gloeosporioides (penz.) sacc., fung. agrum. 2: 6 (1882). (fig. 1d) colonies effuse, greyish, reverse greyish black. acervuli black, sub-epidermal but later the epidermis are ruptured and expose them. hyphae septate, hyaline. conidia hyaline, straight, obtuse at the apex, 11.2−25.2 × 3.6−5.0 μm. specimen examined: isolated from infected stem of corchorus capsularis l., bangladesh jute research institute, manikgonj, s hosen 22, 25 august 2014. 5. corynespora cassiicola (berk. & curt.) wei, mycol. pap. 34: 5 (1950). (fig. 1e) colonies effuse, greyish, thinly hairy. mycelium mostly immersed; stroma absent. conidiophores pale to mid brown, with up to 9 successive cylindrical proliferations. conidia solitary or in chains of 2-6, very variable in shape. obclavate to cylindrical, straight or curved, sub-hyaline to rather pale olivaceous brown or brown, smooth, with 4−20 pseudosepta, 48.6-131.4 × 12-23 μm. specimen examined: isolated from lycopersicon esculentum, ananda bazar, s shamsi 2878, 6 february 2015. 6. fusarium link, mag. der ges. naturf. fre. berlin 3(1): 10 (1809). (fig. 1f) colonies white in early stage and later changed to violet-purple. monophialides and polyphialides with conidia in chain formation at the head. macroconidia 1-3 septa, a slightly curved apical cell and a scarcely developed base cell. microconidia oval form, with a flat base and no septa. chlamydospores absent. specimen examined: isolated from the seeds of zea mays, bari, joydebpur, gazipur, u sadia 5, 7 august 2014. 7. fusarium oxysporum schltdl., flora berol., pars secunda: cryptogamia: 106 (1824) (fig. 1g) colonies whitish, cottony, with purple tinge at maturity. mycelium hyaline. microconidia borne on simple phialide arising laterally on hyphae. microconidia hyaline, oval-ellipsoid cylindrical, 5-13 × 2.3-4 μm. macroconidia hyaline, straight to curved, 3-5 septate, 25-60 × 3-6 μm. specimen examined: isolated from the seeds of oryza sativa, bari, joydebpur, gazipur, p chawdhury 165, 10 december 2014. 8. fusarium solani (mart.) sacc., michelia 2(7): 296 (1881). (fig. 1h) colonies whitish, cottony. mycelium striate, sparse to dense floccose, at maturity brownish vinaceous pigmentation observed. microconidia developed from lateral conidiophores. phialides narrow slightly towards apex, 40-75 × 2-3.5 μm. microconidia oval shaped, 0-1 septate, 8-17 × 2.5-4.5 μm. macroconidia hyaline, canoe shaped, 0-7 septate, 36-54 × 4.5-6 μm. specimen examined: isolated from the seeds of oryza sativa, bari, joydebpur, gazipur, p chawdhury 192, 18 february 2014. 9. penicillium link, mag. der ges. naturf. freunde berlin 3(1): 16 (1809). (fig. 1i) colonies typically exhibits certain striking characteristics. these include color and color changes, floccose, broadly spreading and wrinkled. conidiophores arising from the mycelium singly or less often in synnemata, branched near the apex to form a brush like conidia bearing structures called phialides. conidia pale green, 1-celled, mostly globose or ovoid, produced basipetally. morphological and molecular identification of ten plant 173 specimen examined: isolated from trichosanthes dioica, ananda bazar, dhaka, aa islam 08, 10 june 2014. 10. trichoderma pers., neu. mag. für die botanik 1: 92 (1794). (fig. 1j) colonies green. conidiophores hyaline, upright, much branched, not verticillate; phialides, single or in groups. conidia hyaline, 1-celled, ovoid, borne in small terminal clusters; usually easily recognized by its rapid growth and green patches or cushions of conidia. specimen examined: isolated from trichosanthes dioica, hatirpool bazar, dhaka, aa islam 09, 18 august 2014. fig. 1. colonies of fungal isolates: a. aspergillus flavus, b. bipolaris oryzae, c. b. sorokiniana, d. colletotrichum gloeosporioides, e. corynespora cassiicola, f. fusarium sp., g. fusarium oxysporum, h. fusarium solani, i. penicillium sp. and j. trichoderma sp. molecular identification in the present investigation, it was difficult to identify some fungal species such as fusarium, penicillium, trichoderma, etc. based on the morphological features. therefore, molecular characterization of the fungal species was conducted for proper identification using sequence analysis of its region. ten isolates were identified by analyzing its regions sequences using the its1 and its4 as forward and reverse primers. in order to confirm at the genomic sequence level, pcr amplified bands (~600 bp) from ten samples were subjected to automated sequencing followed by blast analysis (fig. 2). 174 shamsi et al. morphological and molecular identification of ten plant 175 fig. 2. gel electrophoresis of the pcr product of 10 fungal isolates performed by its1(f) and its4 (r) primers and showing ~600 bp amplification. analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the amplified fragments allowed the identification of the isolates at the species level. its1 and its4 primers depicted the identities of the isolated fungi more than 90% sequence similarity except the isolate number 8 which showed 82% sequence similarity (table 1). its sequences of ten samples were analyzed through ncbi-blast program database search system. results obtained from the blast database showed that 99% nucleotide identities with bipolaris sorokiniana strain nrrl 62783, colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolate pak16 and penicillium pinophilum strain a26; 98% nucleotide identities with b. oryzae isolate bo9, corynespora cassicola isolate e9807c and fusarium oxysporum strain mj-23; 96% nucleotide identities with trichoderma harzianum genomic dna sequence; 94% nucleotide identities with aspergillus flavus genomic dna; 90% nucleotide identities with fusarium solani strain de25 and 82% nucleotide identities with fusarium chlamydosporum internal transcribed spacer 1. table 2. comparison between morphological and molecular identification of ten fungal isolates. isolates no. morphological identification molecular identification 1 bipolaris sorokiniana bipolaris sorokiniana strain nrrl 62783 2 colletotrichum gloeosporioides colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolate pak16 3 bipolaris oryzae bipolaris oryzae isolate bo9 4 fusarium oxysporum fusarium oxysporum strain mj-23 5 corynespora cassiicola corynespora cassiicola isolate e9807c 6 penicillium sp. penicillium pinophilum strain a26 7 trichoderma sp. trichoderma harzianum genomic dna 8 fusarium sp. fusarium chlamydosporum 9 fusarium solani fusarium solani strain de25 10 aspergillus flavus aspergillus flavus genomic dna comparison between the morphological and molecular identification is presented in table 2. out of ten fungal isolates, fusarium sp., penicillium sp. and trichoderma sp. were not be able to identify morphologically up to species level. but with the help of molecular technique the above three fungi identified as species level such as fusarium chlamydosporium, penicillium pinophilum and trichoderma harzianum. 176 shamsi et al. from the perusal of literature, it is revealed that fusarium chlamydosporum and penicillium pinophilum has not been reported in any relevant literature in bangladesh (shamsi et al., 2017, 2018; siddiqui et al., 2007). among the isolated fungi, fusarium chlamydosporum and penicillium pinophilum are new record for bangladesh. hence, fusarium chlamydosporum and penicillium pinophilum are reported here first time from bangladesh. the present investigation suggests that barcode based molecular technique is more accurate, rapid and reliable means of fungal identification. its-based molecular techniques may be a significant complement to traditional mycological detection by culture, which is becoming increasingly important in clinical mycology as well as plant pathology. references barnett, h.l. and hunter, b.b. 1972. illustrated genera of imperfect fungi. burgess pub. co. u. s. a. pp. iii +241. booth, c. 1971. the genus fusarium. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england. pp. 237. cab, (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book.1st edn. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp. 267. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp. 608. ellis, m.b. 1976. more dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp. 608. ellis, m.b. and ellis, j.p. 1997. micro fungi on land plants. an identification handbook. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. pp. 868. gilman, j.c. 1967. a manual of soil fungi. oxford and ibh publishing co., new delhi, 2nd edition (revised). pp. x + 450. haynes, k., westerneng, t. and fell, j. 1996. rapid detection and identification of pathogenic fungi by polymerase chain reaction amplification of large subunit ribosomal dna. j. med. vet. mycol. 33: 319–325. islam, m.n. and mukherjee, s.k. 2011. construction of mymiv based gene silencing vector and its use. isbn: 978-3-8443-8820-6. lap-lambert academic publishing gmbh & co kg. dudweiler landstr. 99, 66123 saarbrücken, germany. makimura, k., murayama, s.y. and yamaguchi, h. 1994. detection of a wide range of medically important fungi by polymerase chain reaction. j. med. microbiol. 40: 358–364. njambere, e.n., attanayake, r.n. and chen, w. 2010. applications of molecular markers and dna sequences in identifying fungal pathogens of cool season grain legumes. gherbawy and voigt (eds.), molecular identification of fungi. springer-verlag berlin heidelberg. pp. 79–91. raper, k.b. and thom, c. 1949. manual of the penicillia. williams and wilkins, baltimore, md, usa. rossman, a.y. and palm-hernandez, m.e. 2008. systematics of plant pathogenic fungi. why it matters. plant dis. 92: 1377–1386. sandhu, g.s., kline, b.c. and stockman, l. 1995. molecular probes for diagnosis of fungal infections. j. clin. microbiol. 33: 2913–2919. shamsi, s., hosen, s. and ahmed, a. 2018. fungi associated with leaves of sonneratia apetala buch. ham and sonneratia caseolaris (l.) engler from rangabali coastal zone of bangladesh. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 27(2): 155–162. shamsi, s., hosen, s. and begum, m. 2017. new record of gonatophragmium mori (sawada) deighton on ficus hispida l. from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(1): 125–127. morphological and molecular identification of ten plant 177 siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 10 february, 2019; revised on 11 december, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 377-389, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a study on wild edible plants for human consumption in hizan county of bitlis, turkey ibrahim demir* department of biology, faculty of arts and sciences, bitlis eren university, bitlis, turkey. keywords: bitlis; hizan; traditional uses; turkey; wild edible plants. abstract this study covers the edible plants in hizan where there is a rich culture of plant consumption. the study was conducted between 2018 and 2019 to record the culture of traditional food plant use of the local people in hizan. in this regard, the face-to-face interviews with the local people were made, and the relevant plants used were collected and identified. a total of 65 species of wild edible plants belonging to 24 families were identified, and their different traditional usages were categorized as cooked, cheese making, rennet, specie and gum producing, and as raw or beverages etc. in addition, the use-value (vu) index was calculated for each species. the mostly used species included rheum ribes l. (uv: 0.70), gundelia tournefortii l. (0.66), silene vulgaris (moench) garcke, rosa canina l. (0.64), urtica dioica l. (0.63), malva neglecta wallr. (0.61), and pistacia khinjuk stocks (0.60). the culture of edible plant use is widespread throughout the anatolia. however, traditional uses of many wild plants have not been recorded yet. therefore, this research will be an important contribution to the preservation of the cultural heritage associated with traditional wild edible plants in this region. introduction wild plants have had an important role in prehistoric communities which supplied their own food needs by hunting and gathering (baytop, 1999). since the early ages, human beings have utilized plants found in their region for different purposes. human beings have learned to make use of plants as food over time and have continued their lives by passing this knowledge from generation to generation and have tended to obtain more efficient and quality products by making the cultivation of highly consumed plants (urhan et al., 2016). however, only a part of the edible plant species found in nature have been cultivated. the number of species grown as food are around 3,000 while the number of wild plant species that have been used as food is over 10,000 (baytop, 1999). wild plants are the cheapest resource of nutrients, providing minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids, enhancing taste and color in diets (turan et al., 2003; green, 1992; bianco et al., 1998). these wild plants used as food can be grown as alternative crops in the future's agriculture and broadly used in human nutrition. there are many evidences in near eastern regions relevant to the plant consumption of neandertals (madella et al., 2002; henry et al., 2001). plant products have always had a vital role in the near east, they have been used as fuel, construction materials and medicines besides as food (nesbitt, 1995). in anatolia, there has been a historical relationship between plant and human. thus, a rich culture of wild plant use developed in anatolia. many wild edible plants that grow naturally, especially in eastern anatolia, are gathered and consumed as food (mükemre et al., 2016; kaval et al., 2015; polat et al., 2015). hizan of bitlis province is a county in eastern anatolia which was *corresponding author, e-mail: hosap65@gmail.com mailto:hosap65@gmail.com 378 demi̇r a home to many civilizations (çiçek, 2016). hizan is also a prominent vegetation area surrounded by high mountains reaching an altitude of about 3000 m (kılıç et al., 2016). wild edible plants can be eaten freshly by public living in rural areas, as well as can be consumed as dry during hard winter periods. along with urbanization, the culture of use of wild edible plants is reducing day by day. for this reason, it is very important that traditional knowledge of the plant use should be recorded before it disappears. this study aims to investigate and record the existing knowledge about wild plants used as food by the indigenous people residing in hizan of bitlis province of turkey. materials and methods study area this research was carried out in the center of in the villages of gayda, aladana, ürünveren, akşar, karbastı, koçyiğit, nurs, sağınlı, oymapınar, ballı and döküktaş (kayaş) of hizan district. hizan is located in eastern anatolia region and it is 1700 meter above average sea level. hizan is neighbour to gevaş and bahçesaray (van) in the east, şirvan and pervari (siirt) in the south and tatvan (bitlis) in northwest (fig. 1). fig. 1. geographical location of the study area. hizan belongs to the iran-turan plant geography region and falls within the b9 grid square according to the grid classification system developed by davis (davis, 1965-1985). according to the results of address-based population census (https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/ medas/? kn=95& locale=tr) conducted in 2019, the total population of hizan district is 33.331. the ethnic composition of the district consists of kurdish people. hizan has been a center of civilization since the hittites. according to historical records, human settlements are known to be present there from the 2000s bc. human settlements started with the hittites and continued under persian, roman, byzantine and arab rule. it was ruled by seljuks in the 11th century and by ottomans period in the 16th century. urartians were probably the first state using the name of "arart" that is encountered on the records as hizan's first name. the https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/ a study on wild edible plants for human consumption 379 name "seherhizan", given later by the persians, means "the wakeners in the dawn". this name, which was later shortened as "hizan", has been recorded in history as "the place of the nation that wakens early" (çiçek, 2016). plant materials the field study was carried out over a period of approximately two years (2018-2019) and a total of 16 area studies were carried out in two years. during this period, plant materials were collected. the collected samples were prepared according to herbarium techniques, and stored in the biology department of facultyof arts and sciences, bitlis eren university. identification of plant taxa, was performed by using flora of turkey (davis, 1965-1985; güner et al., 2000; davis et al., 1988). the scientific names of the plant samples were confirmed by using web site of the plant list (http://www.theplantlist.org). the taxonomic categories (family, species) of the identified samples were arranged in alphabetical order. interviews with native people in 2018 and 2019, the face-to-face interviews were held with participants who have traditional knowledge and experience. the information was obtained through interviews with 110 people, including 62 women and 48 men. interviews were mainly conducted with those who were more informative regarding the subject. the ethnic structure of the district consists of kurds. therefore, the interviews were in kurdish. the questions on local name, parts of the plant used, and preparation procedure of the plant or plant part used were asked to the participants and the answers were recorded. in addition, information about the participants (name, surname, sex, age, education, job, etc.) were recorded. participants generally live in rural areas, but some people usually live in the highlands on a seasonal basis. calculations the use value (uv) index proposed by phillips and gentry (1993) has been widely used to quantify the relative importance of species. the use value (vu) index was calculated for each species using the following formula: uv = u/n uv = the use value of a species, u = the number of citations per species and n = the number of informants. results and discussion taxonomic identification of wild edible plants in this study, 65 taxa belonging to 24 families that are used as food were recorded from hizan district (bitlis). most of these plants belong toapiaceae (14%), followed by asteraceae, lamiaceae, polygonaceae and rosaceae (with 9% each), amaryllidaceae (8%), malvaceae (6%), and boraginaceae (5%). the remaining plant families (total 31%) are represented by only one or two species (fig. 2). the plants were categorized into various groups on the basis of their use in hizan. these uses included those plants that are consumed as cooked vegetables, used in cheese making, used as rennet, spices and gums, and consumed as raw (salads, etc.) or beverages (tea, coffee). in this study, conducted in hizan county (bitlis) during 2018-2019, the recorded uses of wild plants as food are given in table 1 under the headings-edible parts and utilization methods, with the information regarding family, scientific name, voucher number, and vernacular names (kurdish). the largest use category was vegetables consumed by cooking with 29 taxa, followed by those consumed as raw (salads, etc.) with 16 taxa, used in cheese making with nine taxa, used http://www.theplantlist.org). 380 demi̇r as rennet with seven taxa, consumed seasonally with six taxa, and used as gums and beverages with four taxa each. but some species can be used for more than one purpose (such as pistacia khinjuk used for making both coffee and cheese), thus 71 different uses have been determined. fig. 2. the percentages of the used plant families the cooked plant consumption the largest category of wild edible plants used by local people in hizan belongs to the cooked vegetables (29 taxa). this is consistent with the studies conducted in eastern anatolia (mükemre et al., 2016; kaval et al., 2015; polat et al., 2017; özçelik 1994). the use of plants in this category generally very as they are widespread. it can be said that they can grow in almost every habitat (roadside, field etc.). however, most of these plants are harmful, i.e. perform as weed in agricultural areas (tepe, 2014). in the spring, some taxa are freshly picked, boiled and drained, and then they are usually cooked with eggs, or eaten with yogurt (centaurea solstitialis l., anchusa azurea miller, chenopodium album l., papaver clavatum boiss. & hausskn. ex boiss. rumex angustifolius subsp. macranthus (boiss.) rech. f., malva neglecta wallr., eremurus spectabilism. biebetc.). fresh leaves of some taxa are used as packaging material in "sarma" (alcea flavovirens (boiss. &buhse) iljin, alcea remotiflora (boiss. & heldr.) alef., rumex tuberosus l. subsp. horizontalis (koch.) rech, rumex patientia l.). some are dried and stored. some dried plants are consumed in pilaf or added to soup, especially in winter. (allium akaka l., arum rupicola boiss, puschkinia scilloides adams, silene vulgaris (moench) garcke, satureja macrantha c.a. mey. and urtica dioica l.). the fresh shoots of the gundelia tournefortii l. and ferula orientalis l. species, which are widely consumed in bitlis region, are picked and corned, and then stored for winter use. the plants used in cheese making there are extensive sheep and goat breeding in hizan county. the milk of sheep and goats fed in high plateaus is generally used in cheese making, and edible wild plants are a part of this agricultural activity. the cheese made with various wild edible plants is called "herby cheese". many taxa have been used in cheese production in eastern anatolia for centuries. in turkey, herby cheese is produced only in the east anatolian provinces: van, bitlis, siirt, hakkari, bingöl and tunceli (özçelik, 1994). in spring, many taxa are collected from the high plateaus and added a study on wild edible plants for human consumption 381 382 demi̇r a study on wild edible plants for human consumption 383 384 demi̇r a study on wild edible plants for human consumption 385 to cheese. the milk used in cheesemaking is not boiled. these plants are probably used for antibacterial and aroma agent. it is found that plants such as allium vineale and chaerophyllum macropodum used in cheese making had antibacterial activity against the gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (durmaz et al., 2006). nine taxa have been identified in this category in study area. allium scorodoprasum subsp. rotundum (l.) stearn, a. vineale l., pistacia khinjuk stocks, chaerophyllum macrospermum (sprengel) fisch. & c.a. mey., heracleum crenatifolium boiss. and h. persicum desf. taxa are used in cheese making in hizan county. however, fresh leaves of origanum vulgare subsp. gracile (k. koch) ietsw., thymus fedtschenkoi ronniger, and thymus kotschyanus boiss. & hohen var. glabrescensare are chopped and used directly. those used as dairy products yeast intensive cheese production has concurrently brought out the need for rennet. in ancient times, people were making their own rennet themselves. the local people started to use commercial yeasts with the developments in transportation. however, the old method of making rennet in hizan continues rarely (fig. 3b). milk can coagulate by using coagulating enzymes which are naturally found in some plants (say and güzeler, 2016). for this purpose, in hizan county, pimpinella affinis ledeb., pimpinella kotschyana boiss. and arum rupicola boiss, cicer arietinum l., corylus avellana l. and triticum aestivum l. are used. in addition, ficus extract dripped into milk is used to ferment the milk. figs contain two groups of proteolytic enzymes (fadıloğlu, 2001; akar and fadıloğlu, 1999). fig. 3. a. preparation of bıttım coffe, b. preparation of rennet by old methods, the consuming plants as raw (salad etc.) sixteen taxa assessed in this category have been identified. these plants, usually collected in spring, are consumed freshly in the form of snacks. the fresh stem of the plant rheum ribes l. and eryngium billardierei f. is eaten peeled. rheum ribes is consumed too much across eastern anatolia (mükemre et al., 2016; kaval et al., 2015; polat et al., 2015). it is also an important plant used in medicine. they are medically important due to the content of anthracene derivatives within the subterranean parts of the plants (öztürk et al., 2007). the aerial parts of tragopogon buphthalmoides var. latifolius boiss., capsella bursa-pastoris (l.) medik., plantago lanceolata l. and p. major l., are eaten as a snack with salt. numerous authors claim the plantago species can be used for human nutrition (toussaint-samat, 1991; kunkel, 1983; polunin 1977; quer 1990).). 386 demi̇r plantago species are also eaten in anatolia especially for stomach ailments (dalar et al., 2012). children like and eat the sweet roots of the plant hordeum bulbosum l. crataegus species and rubus idaeus l. fruits are also consumed fresh. the fresh leaves of barbarea vulgaris r.br., portulaca oleracea l., rumex scutatus l. are used in salad. beverages the shelled fruits of pistacia khinjuk stocks plant, which is spread naturally especially on the southern sides of the county, are collected and selected. next, it is browned in a wood fire and then crushed to make a molasses-like consistency. this beverage, called "bıttım" coffee, is consumed with and without milk as coffee (fig. 3a). use of this coffee is common in the areas where the plant pistacia spreads naturally (kaval et al., 2014; yeşil and i̇nal 2019; yeşil et al., 2019). pistacia has been known for its medicinal properties since ancient times. they have played important roles in folk medicine and are used in eczema treatment, anti-inflammatory, stomach ache, asthma, as an antibacterial and antiviral (tohidi et al., 2011). rosa canina l. fruits are collected in the summer months and dried, consumed as an antitussive especially by children in winter. thymus fedtschenkoi ronniger and thymus kotschyanus boiss. & hohen var. glabrescens taxas, collected and dried up in the summer, are consumed as a kind of tea in winter. the consumption as spice fresh leaves and shoots of mentha longifolia (l.) huds. subsp. longifolia, origanum vulgare subsp. gracile (k. koch) ietsw., satureja macrantha c.a. mey., thymus fedtschenkoi ronniger, t. kotschyanus boiss. & hohen var. glabrescens and rumex crispus l. collected in the spring are dried and used as a spice to add flavor to soup and some meat dishes in the winter. gums the gum is made with latex obtained from the stem of the belonged to 4 species. these are; pistacia khinjuk stocks, gundelia tournefortii l., scorzonera latifolia (fisch. & c.a. mey.) and s. veratrifolia fenzl. gum is produced with latex obtained by scratching the trunk of the pistacia khinjuk stocks tree. the stems of gundelia tournefortii l., scorzonera latifolia (fisch. & c.a. mey.) dc and s. veratrifolia fenzl. are cut off, and their plant sap is poured on dry ground, then dried, so gum is obtained. characteristics of participants table 2 shows the demographic characteristics of participants. a total of 110 participants (62 men and 48 females) were interviewed face-to-face. the majority of the participants (40.0 percent) were 50 years old or older. the number of young participants was quite low (10.0 percent). this shows that traditional knowledge does not pass from the elderly to the late generations and this cultural heritage is in danger of being forgotten. therefore, it is very important to preserve this traditional knowledge before it is lost. the majority of the participants (41.8 percent) were primary school graduates and illiterate (39.0 percent). the number of university graduates was almost negligible (3 people). all women participants are housewives (62 people) men participants are generally farmers (29 people). vernacular names of plants in hizan the vernacular names of plants used in hizan are derived from kurdish language. it has been found that the local names of some commonly used plants are almost identical to those used near the study area. for example, rheum ribes l. (rewas, rıbez), eryngium billardieri f. (tüsü) and urtica dioica l. (gezınk, dezınk) (mükemre et al., 2016; kaval et al., 2014; kasımoğlu and dirihi 2013). however, some locally used names are specific to hizan, such as amaranthus a study on wild edible plants for human consumption 387 retroflexus l. (tendernik), quercus infectoria oliv. (berüyê hırçê) and plantago major l. (heyiso). table 2. classification of participants according to their demographic features. total people man/women number of people percent (%) gender women 62 56.3 men 48 43.7 ages 30 and less than 30 11 10.0 between 31 and 40 23 21.0 between 41 and 50 32 29.0 over 50 44 40.0 level of education illiterate 43 39.0 elemantary school 46 41.8 secondary school 11 10.0 high school 7 6.4 university 3 2.8 employment farmer 29 26.4 housewife 62 56.3 others 19 17.3 data analysis rheum ribes l. (uv: 0,70), gundelia tournefortii l. (0,66), silene vulgaris (moench) garcke androsa canina l. (0,64), urtica dioica l. (0,63), malva neglecta wallr. (0,61), pistacia khinjuk stocks (0,60), anchusa azurea miller. var. azurea (0,58), ferula orientalis l. and puschkinia scilloidesadams (0,57) were reported to be of the highest use value. this study was done to record information about plants used as food by local people living in hizan county (bitlis). thus, ethnobotanical information of 65 taxa belonging to 24 families was recorded with details. in addition, participants' information was recorded. a culture of edible plant use is widespread throughout the hizan county. however, it is understood that this culture has not been passed much to younger generations since the people giving information are generally 50 years of age or older. young men in particular often migrate to large cities to find a job. few numbers of young people living in the villages do not care much about this traditional knowledge. thus, it signals that the number of people with this information is decreasing day by day and that this traditional information is in danger of disappearing. it is very important to record all ethnobotanical information from the study area as soon as possible. therefore, this research has made an important contribution to the preservation of the cultural heritage associated with traditional wild edible plants in this region. acknowledgement i thank all knowledge providers for sharing their valuable information and reviews with me, and to bebap [office of scentific research projects of bitlis eren university), bitlis/turkey (projectno: 2018.07)] who supported this research financially. 388 demi̇r references akar, b. and fadıloğlu, s. 1999. teleme production by purified ficin. journal of food quality. 22: 671-680. baytop, t. 1999. therapy with medicinal plants in turkey (past and present), nobel medicine publication, istanbul, p.13. bianco, v.v., santamaria, p. and elia, a. 1998. a. nutritional value and nitrate content in edible wild species used in southern italy. proceeding 3rd is on diversification of vegetable crops. acta horticulture. 467: 71-87. çiçek, h. 2016. bir mekân hizan: ilim ve âlim havzası. katre uluslararası i̇nsan araştırmaları dergisi. 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(manuscript received on 28 february, 2020; revsied on 13 november, 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 33-49, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2. 74385 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists exploration of salinity effect on palyno-morphological characteristics of plant species collected from salt range moona nazish1*, fozia bibi2, mona s. alwahibi3, mohamed s. elshikh3 and wajid zaman4* 1department of botany, rawalpindi women university, rawalpindi-46300, pakistan 2department of environmental sciences, allama iqbal open university, islamabad, pakistan 3department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh 11451, saudi arabia 4department of life sciences, yeungnam university, gyeongsan 38541, republic of korea keywords: exine sculpture; pollen size; p/e ratio; pollen viability. abstract this study aims to explore the pollen morphology of 19 plant species from the khewra salt range by using light microscopy (lm) and scanning electron microscopy (sem). plant specimens were collected from various sites in the khewra salt range, identified, and deposited in the herbarium of pakistan. pollen morphology was studied using lm and sem. quantitative characteristics, including polar and equatorial diameter, exine thickness, colpus and spines length and width were studied using lm. the studied pollen taxa exhibited extensive variation in size and sculpture, with potential taxonomic implications. pollen shape of most of the studied species was sub-spheroidal but pollen sizes ranged from 0.98 µm to 14.3µm. symmetry and polarity of pollen grains were observed, contributing to plant species identification. the p/e ratio varied from dichanthium annulatum (0.56) to medicago polymorpha (1.15). scanning electron micrographs revealed diverse exine sculpturing patterns, such as scabrate and echinate. at the same time, nerium oleander (0.7-2.1µm) showed high exine thickness and large size colpus with a length of 7.5µm and width of 8.26µm. the largest spines were observed in vicia sativa (3.7µm long and 1.38 µm wide). the taxonomic key based on palyno-morphological characters offers a tool for quick and precise identification. pollen viability values were determined. highest pollen viability was noted for capparis decidua (97%) that show the species adaptation in salt range. palynological features can aid in resolving taxonomic problems and contribute to further karyological and taxonomic evaluations. this study contributes valuable insights into the palynological diversity of plant species of salt range, emphasizing the importance of pollen morphology in understanding and conserving salt-affected ecosystems. introduction palyno-micromorphological is a useful tool in the phylogenetic and taxonomic classification of plant families (khan et al., 2018; nazish et al., 2019). the comprehensive analysis of pollen grains provides parameters to predict the evolution of problematic and related taxa and to conduct the systematic study of taxa (ullah et al., 2018). palynology is associated with plant taxonomy to improve the taxonomic position of the taxa. the study of pollen characters is a preliminary step in accurately identifying and classifying complicated taxa. palynological studies have proven helpful in solving problems related to plant taxonomy and paleobotany (hayat et al., 2023). *corresponding authors. e-mail: mnbot@f.rwu.edu.pk; wajidzaman@yu.ac.kr https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2. mailto:mnbot@f.rwu.edu.pk; mailto:wajidzaman@yu.ac.kr 34 nazish et al. light (lm) and scanning electron microscopy (sem) techniques are significant for the characterization and identification of pollen taxa at species and genus level (sarwar, 2011). light microscopy is of great interest for taxonomists to investigate several taxonomic features (khan et al., 2017). sem provides ultrastructural details regarding qualitative variations (belhadj et al., 2007). palynologists explained the taxonomic importance of pollen taxa using sem by showing variations in exine sculpturing (andersen and bertelsen, 1972; faegri et al., 1989). the microscopic study is beneficial for differentiation among different types of pollens; therefore, it becomes a vital research technique (arora and modi, 2008). these microscopic techniques are invaluable regarding detailed observation of the surface morphology of different plant parts (nazish et al., 2019). taxonomists utilize sem and lm to study several taxonomic characters with great interest (ullah et al., 2018). the family amaranthaceae is considered as rich family in pakistan in terms of rich diversity in pollen features possess by its members. different scientists have studied palynomorphological characteristics of the family amaranthaceae utilizing lm and sem worldwide (talebi et al., 2016; hussain et al., 2018; nazish et al., 2019). the biometry and pollen morphology of 17 amaranthaceae taxa have been examined by angelini et al. (2014) they reported perforations and echinae on radially symmetrical and spheroidal pollens. nazish and althobaiti (2022) studied pollen morphology of poaceae species from salt range using lm and sem and reported annulus and monoporate pollen apertures in most of the species. the grass distribution in any region depends on the soil chemical and physical nature. grasses act as soil stabilizers and make the soil fertile and productive (ahmad et al., 2009; khan et al., 2017). plants indicate the ecological conditions of any geographic region and are indicators of various soil features (sarir et al., 1984). poaceae taxa have adaptations to adapt to salt range habitat that reduces the inimical effects of salinity. these adaptations include root lignification, presence of hairs and glands on leaf surface to secrete salt, epidermal succulence and reduce leaf area (monteverdi et al., 2008; farooq et al., 2015). landi et al. (2022) contributed new data in the taxonomy and palynology of the boraginaceae family using microscopic techniques. they declared it as a eurypalynous family and depicted similarities in the exine ornamentation and aperture of the heliotropiaceae species. semerdjieva and yankova-tsvetkova (2017) conducted a study on pollen morphology of zygophyllaceae species and reported spheroidal, oblate and colporate pollens. pollen characters have proven invaluable in solving inter-relationship problems among taxa and their status assessment in classification (ahmad et al., 2011). soil salinization is measured as a major key factor in land degradation (milić et al., 2013). salinity affects more than 7% of the total land area of the world and one-third of irrigated land as it is one of the common constraints in irrigated agriculture (flowers and muscolo, 2015). the saline soil mostly occurs under arid and semi-arid regions as 1 billion ha among the total 6.5 billion ha of arid and semi-arid regions is salt affected (wiebe et al., 2005; redden et al., 2015). large regions in different countries are facing the issue of salinization including mexico, pakistan, egypt, india, and south america (khan and qaiser, 2006). pakistan ranks eighth in the case of saline-affected regions (corbishley and pearce, 2007). in pakistan, 6 million ha of soil is saltaffected and 2.7 million ha of this salt-affected soil lies in punjab (alam, 2015). the khewra salt mine is the largest one among the 5 salt mines of pakistan in the salt range of pakistan. it is pakistan’s oldest and largest salt mine. the study area has a distinctive topography with a rich plant species diversity. in pakistan, sparse vegetation is present in salt ranges needs to be explored and identified. in solving taxonomic problems, the investigation of the morphology of pollen grains is gaining vigorous extensive attention as it possesses distinctive taxonomic importance (tellería and daners, 2003; inyama et al., 2015). in plant taxonomy, pollen morphology has proved to be a vital tool in plant identification found in different climates by exploration of salinity effect on palyno-morphological 35 providing valuable confirmation of the additional features of closely related plant species (aftab and perveen, 2006; arora and modi, 2008). there is no documented information on the pollen morphology of taxa in the khewra salt mines of pakistan. pollen examination of selected plant species was conducted from khewra and allied areas for the first time. lm and sem were used to observe the several morphological characteristics of pollen grains such as pollen dimensions, size, type, polarity, symmetry, exine sculpturing, colpi, pore and spines detail study, and pollen viability. the pollen morphological characters investigation showed interesting findings. to identify different salt range taxa quickly and precisely, a taxonomic key was prepared based on palyno-morphological characters. the pollen fertility was also estimated for the selected pollen taxa. the objectives of the current study are to describe the detailed pollen morphology of salt range taxa based on scanning and light microscopy to distinguish their taxonomic levels that will improve the paleoenvironmental analyses in future studies. materials and methods collection and identification of plant species nineteen plant species belonging to 12 families were collected from different sites in different flowering seasons from the khewra salt range from august 2021 to february 2022 for the current study (fig. 1). in pakistan, the khewra salt mine is a subdivision of the jhelum district in the province of punjab. it lies 102 km away from the jhelum. it is located at 32° 38' n and 73° 00' e. the underground part of the salt mine spread over an area of 110 km2. it is the pakistan’s first and the world’s second-largest salt mine. it lies in the mountains of salt range of punjab. five specimens of single plant species were collected from each locality randomly (table 1). the collected plant specimens were identified using flora of pakistan. fig. 1. map of the study area. 36 nazish et al. the voucher numbers were allotted to specimens. to obtain the taxonomic validation, the botanical names of collected plant species were confirmed with the aid of the international plant name index (ipni) (www.ipni.org). collected plant samples were meticulously processed, including shade-drying, pressing, cataloging, and identification. herbarium entries were carefully labeled and archived for future reference. comprehensive records, from botanical names to voucher specimen numbers, were diligently maintained, encompassing growth characteristics and medicinal properties, and kept in the botanical garden for the public via deposition number qauibd-bot-5693400244. the collection of plant material abides by the relevant international, national, and institutional guidelines and legislation. table 1. taxon sampling and their herbarium deposition. taxon accession number collectors locality altitudes (m) capparis decidua (forssk.) edgew. isl.129969 moona nazish khewra 181.01 calotropis procera (aiton) w.t.aiton isl.129965 moona nazish and asif kamal kattas 836.33 carthamus oxyacantha m.bieb. isl.129957 moona nazish dandot 678.26 chenopodium album l. isl.129974 moona nazish wara buland khan 208.00 cymbopogon jwarancusa (jones ex roxb.) schult. isl.129949 moona nazish tobar 648.27 dichanthium annulatum (forssk.) stapf isl.129919 moona nazish and asif kamal kaslian 207.41 dysphania ambrosioides (l.) mosyakin & clemants isl.129952 moona nazish khewra salt mines 181.03 dysphania botrys (l.) mosyakin & clemants isl.129920 moona nazish sodian gujar 223.00 echinochloa crus-galli (l.) p.beauv. isl.129923 moona nazish khewra 181.17 heliotropium europaeum l. isl.129932 moona nazish and asif kamal bhelowal 186.00 lepidium didymum l. moona nazish lilla 228.41 medicago polymorpha l. isl.129942 moona nazish tobar 648.31 nerium oleander l. isl.129924 moona nazish kattas 836.37 peganum harmala l. isl.129929 moona nazish khewra salt mines 181.09 phyla nodiflora (l.) greene isl.129977 moona nazish kaslian 207.38 solanum surattense burm. f. isl.129936 moona nazish pind dadan khan 206.00 tribulus terrestris l. isl.129961 moona nazish and asif kamal kussak 334.00 trichodesma indicum (l.) sm. isl.129960 moona nazish pidh 254.66 vicia sativa l. isl.129938 moona nazish and asif kamal lilla 228.01 light microscopy (lm) the flowers were collected carefully during collection in the field for the study of pollen morphology under light microscopy. in the laboratory, polleniferous material was catalyzed using http://www.ipni.org). exploration of salinity effect on palyno-morphological 37 the following procedure (erdtman, 1960). the dissecting needles were used to remove the autolyzed anthers from filaments of stamen and then placed on a glass slide and crushed to release pollen grains. then, pollen grains were mounted in glycerin jelly using the wodehouse method (ronald, 2000). the fertility of pollen grains was determined using the technique (khan and stace, 1999). the percentage of stained grains was calculated after staining using a mixture of 1% acetocarmine and neutral glycerin in equal amounts. based on the readings of at least 20 grains, several morphological characters were measured (fig. 2). fig. 2. pictorial presentation of studied salt range plant species. (a) peganum harmala (b) capparis decidua (c) calotropis procera (d) trichodesma indicum (e) cymbopogon jwarancusa (f) nerium oleander (g) lepidium didymium (h) tribulus terrestris (i) carthamus oxyacantha (j) medicago polymorpha (k) vicia sativa (l) solanum surattense. 38 nazish et al. detailed quantitative and qualitative pollen parameters were studied using a light microscope (model: mx5300h, meiji techno, japan). various parameters were measured using 40× magnification. pollen micrographs were taken at different resolutions using leica dialux light microscope (model 1000, mannheim, germany). the digital camera fitted on a light microscope was used to take micro-graphs of these mounted pollen grains. the oil emulsion is used during photography with different object lenses. scanning electron microscopy (sem) the mature flowers were used to separate the anthers (ali et al., 2021). the anthers were transferred into eppendorf tubes after crushing on a glass slide with a few drops of acetic acid. a micropipette was used to take pollen samples from eppendorf tubes and place them on metallic stubs. gold palladium (2.3 nm) was used to coat the pollen grains and then examined under sem (model jeol jsm-5910, peabody, usa). statistical analysis the pollen data was analyzed quantitatively with the help of software spss (16.0). the standard error and mean were calculated for all the quantitative characters. the p/e ratio was calculated for each species following the formula of nazish et al. (2019) for the determination of pollen shape. p/e = (1) whereas p and e are the polar and equatorial diameters of the same pollen. the pollen viability was determined using the technique of nazish and althobaiti (2022). pollen viability = (2) whereas f and s are the number of fertile and sterile pollen grains. the measured quantitative pollen morphological traits were polar and equatorial diameter, exine thickness, colpus, and spine length and width. results and discussion the pollens of salt range taxa growing in khewra and surrounding areas were examined. the palynological characteristics of 19 plant species belonging to 12 families (capparaceae, apocynaceae, asteraceae, amaranthaceae, poaceae, boraginaceae, brassicaceae, fabaceae, nitrariaceae, verbenaceae, solanaceae, zygophyllaceae) were investigated quantitatively as well as qualitatively (tables 2 and 3). the studied pollen taxa showed an extensive distinction in sculpture and size that exhibited potential taxonomic significance (figs. 3-4). the largest grains were nerium oleander 11.8 µm and heliotropium europaeum 10.2 µm. the minimum size for pollen grain was found for dichanthium annulatum 0.98 µm (fig. 5). the equatorial diameter varied from 0.84 µm in medicago polymorpha to 14.3 µm in nerium oleander. the remaining taxa have intermediate-size pollens. the polar and equatorial relationship (p/e ratio) was also examined for all the plant species (figs 6-7). dichanthium annulatum is characterized by a low p × 100 e f × 100 f + s exploration of salinity effect on palyno-morphological 39 p/e ratio (0.56), while medicago polymorpha has high p/e ratio (1.15). the highest exine thickness was found in nerium oleander (0.7-2.1 µm) while peganum harmala is characterized by a thin exine (0.3-0.8 µm). in chenopodium album, cymbopogon jwarancusa, dichanthium annulatum, dysphania ambrosioides, dysphania botrys, heliotropium europaeum, nerium oleander, and trichodesma indicum the exine sculpturing is scabrate and psilate in calotropis procera, echinochloa crus-galli, heliotropium europaeum, peganum harmala, solanum surattense, and phyla nodiflora. the perforate pollen types were examined in heliotropium europaeum and carthamus oxyacantha with echinate exine sculpturing. fig. 3. light microscope photomicrographs of pollens of studied taxa. pv = polar view, ev = equatorial view. (a) capparis decidua (ev) (b) calotropis procera (pv) (c) carthamus oxyacantha (pv) (d) chenopodium album (pv) (e) cymbopogon jwarancusa (pv) (f) dichanthium annulatum (pv) (g) dysphania ambrosioides (pv) (h) dysphania botrys (pv) (i) echinochloa crus-galli (pv) (j) heliotropium europaeum (pv) (k) lepidium didymium (pv) (l) medicago polymorpha (pv) (m) nerium oleander (pv) (n) peganum harmala (pv) (o) phyla nodiflora (pv) ( p) solanum surattense (pv) ( q) tribulus terrestris (ev) (r) trichodesma indicum (pv) (s) vicia sativa (pv). 40 nazish et al. the symmetry and polarity of some pollen taxa were also observed. the pollen grains of chenopodium album, dysphania ambrosioides, dysphania botrys, and heliotropium europaeum are isopolar while vicia sativa has heteropolar grains. the apolar pollen grain was observed in echinochloa crus-galli. the spines are small in tribulus terrestris (fig. 4). the spine length varies from 0.9-1.2 µm in tribulus terrestris to 3.3-4 in vicia sativa. the colpi is larger in nerium oleander (6.5-8.1 µm) while the colpi is smaller in solanum surattense (1.1-2.1 µm). the variation in spine morphology is shown in table 2. fig. 4. sem pollen micrographs of plant species. a) capparis decidua b) calotropis procera c) carthamus oxyacantha d) chenopodium album e) cymbopogon jwarancusa f) dichanthium annulatum g) dysphania ambrosioides h) dysphania botrys i) echinochloa crus-galli. exploration of salinity effect on palyno-morphological 41 fig. 5. sem pollen micrographs of plant species. a) heliotropium europaeum b) lepidium didymium c) medicago polymorpha d) nerium oleander e) peganum harmala f) phyla nodiflora g) solanum surattense h) tribulus terrestris i) vicia sativa. pollen viability provides information about pollen fertility and incompatibility. it supports the plant's distribution in their habitat. in this study, the pollen viability data confirm the stability of studied taxa in saline soil. the highest pollen viability was found for solanum surattense (98%) and capparis decidua (97%). the lowest pollen viability was found for carthamus oxyacantha (76%) (tables 3-4). 42 nazish et al. exploration of salinity effect on palyno-morphological 43 44 nazish et al. table 4. pollen viability study of salt range taxa. botanical name no. of viable pollen no. of non-viable pollen viability (%) capparis decidua 67 2 97 calotropis procera 75 8 90 carthamus oxyacantha 53 16 76 chenopodium album 87 11 88 cymbopogon jwarancusa 102 13 88 dichanthium annulatum 86 4 95 dysphania ambrosioides 98 26 79 dysphania botrys 109 5 95 echinochloa crus-galli 116 5 96 heliotropium europaeum 96 18 84 lepidium didymum 108 6 94 medicago polymorpha 95 12 88 nerium oleander 82 6 93 peganum harmala 135 16 89 phyla nodiflora 73 14 84 solanum surattense 91 2 98 tribulus terrestris 110 9 92 trichodesma indicum 66 3 95 vicia sativa 79 5 94 fig. 6. polar and equatorial diameter of pollens of salt range taxa. exploration of salinity effect on palyno-morphological 45 fig. 7. p/e ratio of plants pollens present in khewra salt range. taxonomic key based on pollen morphological characters 1. medium size, prolate, tricolporate with broad colpi, colpus membrane sparsely granulated capparis decidua 2. small size, prolate, long colpi, circular small pores calotropis procera 3. large size, oblate-spheroidal, tricolporate pollen grain with long and broad colpi, small perforations between spines carthamus oxyacantha 4. medium size, spheroidal, polipantoporate pollen grain, surface scabrate with spinules chenopodium album 5. large size, prolate, monoporate, aerolate exine sculpturing cymbopogon jwarancusa 6. large size, spheroidal, tricolporate, and monoporate pollen grain, surface reticulate dichanthium annulatum 7. medium size, spheroidal, perioporate pollen grain, circular pores, surface scabrate with spinules dysphania ambrosioides 8. medium size, spheroidal, polipantoporate pollen grain, circular pores, surface scabrate with conical spinules dysphania botrys 9. small size, prolate and spheroidal, monoporate pollen grain, surface reticuloid to granular echinochloa crus-galli 10. large size, prolate, tricolporate with broad colpi, colpus membrane slightly perforated heliotropium europaeum 11. medium size, subprolate, tricolporate with long and broad colpi, colpus membrane obscurely reticulate lepidium didymium 12. large size, subprolate, monocolpate pollen grain with long and broad colpi, colpus membrane finely granulate medicago polymorpha 13. large size, sub-spheroidal, tri and tetraporate pollen grain, pore exine coarsely scabrate nerium oleander 46 nazish et al. 14. medium size, prolate, tricolporate pollen grain with long and broad colpi, colpus membrane coarsely reticulate peganum harmala 15. medium size, spheroidal, tricolporate with long and narrow colpi, subpsilate tectum phyla nodiflora 16. medium size, prolate and spheroidal, tri and tetracolporate with broad and short colpi at the base and narrow at tip solanum surattense 17. small size, spheroidal, pantoporate, echinate sculpturing with slightly expressed muri tribulus terrestris 18. medium size, sub-spheroidal and prolate, tricolporate pollen grain with long and broad colpi trichodesma indicum 19. large size, spheroidal, tricolporate, spines broad at base and tip is pointed vicia sativa the size of pollen grains plays a significant role in pollen description. based on size, pollen grains can be categorized as small size (10-25 µm) to medium size (25-50 µm) pollen grains and large size (50-100 µm) to extra-large size (100-200 µm) pollen grains (almosawi, 2024). most of the pollen grains were medium and isopolar. the current study presented a large amplitude in palynological characters as the size of pollens of selected taxa ranges from small to large. the size of pollen grains is vital in enhancing insect pollination (ramamoorthy, 1991; bank et al., 2000). in the investigated 19 plant species various pollen types were observed i.e., bicolporate, tricolporate, trizonocolporate, echinate, polipantoporate, monoporate, perioporate, monocolpate, tetraporate, triporate, tetracolporate and pantoporate. the pollen grains of selected salt range taxa are sub-spheroidal and oblate and the size and number of colpus significantly differ among them. the current findings showed a large degree of variations in polar and equatorial shape of pollens and exine sculpturing patterns which were different in all studied pollens of salt range taxa belonging to different families. the diversity in palynological studies is one of the large pieces of evidence regarding exine sculpturing (ashfaq et al., 2018). a variation in exine sculpturing depicts the potential taxonomic value. the pattern of exine sculpturing is of great significance from a phylogenetic and evolutionary point of view (walker and doyle, 1975). it is obvious from the current results that salt range taxa belonging to different families from similar areas possessed a great variety in exine sculpturing patterns. different types of exine sculpturing patterns were observed such as scabrate in the salt range taxa belonging to the family amaranthaceae, boraginaceae, apocynacaeae, and poaceae while the studied plant species belonging to other families such as asteraceae showed echinate sculpturing. present findings show that the tricolporate was the main pollen type in the studied species of salt range. the tricolporate was primitive and basic pollen type (takhtajan, 1959; doyle, 1969; muller, 1970). in plant systematics, the spine morphological traits are valuable taxonomic tools but variation among them is assumed to be large within a population (mauseth, 2006; hunt et al., 2006; řepka and gebauer, 2012; gebauer et al., 2016). spines are lifeless parts of the plant body but have various significant functions (gibson and nobel, 1986). the distinctive spine diversity was observed that exhibits the potential taxonomic significance of taxa in the salt range. palynology with karyology and molecular study is very useful to solve taxonomic problems of taxa particularly at genus level (joujeh et al., 2019). palynological, phylogenetic and karyological study on centaurea species to solve the taxonomic issues of this genus. the evolutionary divergence within a related taxa can be represented by variations in chromosome number. the plants adapted to arid regions could have a reduction in chromosome numbers (uysal et al., 2015). cytological exploration of salinity effect on palyno-morphological 47 features are considered as pivotal tool for delimitation of species in plant systematics (taşar et al., 2018). the highest pollen viability values (%) elucidates the adaptation of studied plant species in the salt range. nazish and althobaiti (2022) also reported echinochloa crus-galli with high pollen viability value in salt range. the role of palynological study in plant taxonomy has evidenced valuable in solving disputed and critical taxonomic issues, therefore, the studied palynological features in the current study would be more useful for further karyological and taxonomic evaluation of salt-tolerant floral diversity. conclusion palyno-morphological characteristics are potential taxonomic tools in plant systematics. this project described the significance of pollen polarity, symmetry, exine sculpturing, and spine morphology that is useful to differentiate pollen types of different plant species of salt range. the findings elucidated the lm and sem significance in the identification and differentiation of agricultural weeds and the taxa colonizing the surrounding hills of khewra salt mine. the differences and similarities in palyno-morphological characteristics of examined taxa can help mark out the different plant families at several taxonomic levels. pollen key based on studied characters has proved useful to the correct taxa identification at species and genus level. this is the first reported study on the pollen 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(manuscript received on 1 january, 2024; revised on 6 june, 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 39–45, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular characterization and new reports of two green algae from bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane1, md. miraj kobad chowdhury2 and maliha mehnaz department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: spirogyra maxima, pithophora polymorpha, molecular characterization, new reports, 18s rdna. abstract this communication portrays the molecular characterization and confirms the new reports of two fresh water green algae namely, pithophora polymorpha wittrock and spirogyra maxima (hassall) wittrock from bangladesh. the samples of these algal species were cultured and partial 18s rdna was sequenced and analysed for their molecular identification. it was found that the primers reported here could sufficiently identify these algae as p. polymorpha and s. maxima. furthermore, the neighbourjoining (nj) tree generated from 18s rdna sequences suggested that spirogyra maxima of bangladesh is distantly related to the cluster of s. juergensii and s. platensis. pithophora polymorpha along with p. roettleri, p. sano and pithophora sp. seems to form a strongly supported monophyletic group. the alga ap1 clusters with pithophora and the alga as1 clusters with spirogyra. this study is the first-time report of molecular identification of bangladeshi algae and a landmark towards the future exploration of the algal biodiversity of bangladesh. introduction algae are one of the important components and the most abundant primary producer of an ecosystem. green algae represent a major biodiversity component of eukaryotic algae in continental water since they provide food by converting carbon dioxide to glucose and generate oxygen during photosynthesis (barsanti and gualtieri, 2014). of them, filamentous green algae are of great economic value as they are the food sources of diverse aquatic animals and can be used to produce different products like paper and fibre despite often they are considered responsible for algal bloom (nhat et al., 2018). pithophora and spirogyra are two common filamentous green algae found in tropical and temperate regions throughout the world including bangladesh (satpati and pal, 2016). they are abundant in a wide range of freshwater habitats like small stagnant water bodies to running waters as they grow rapidly in eutrophic water and produce slimy green masses (sarkar and sekh, 2019). pithophora is a genus of the order cladophorales under the family of pithophoraceae; and spirogyra is a genus of filamentous green algae in the order zygnematales under the family of zygnemataceae (moura-júnior et al., 2016; volkova et al., 2018). pithophora resembles like a tangled mass of wool-like fibre and spirogyra is easily recognized by the presence of spiral chloroplast. about 508 species of spirogyra are now recognized whereas only 21 species of pithophora have been reported (boedeker et al., 2012; stancheva et al., 2013). identification of the pithophora and spirogyra species based only on morphological characteristics can be difficult because of their phenotypic plasticity and vast number of species. thereby, molecular approaches are now in common practice to identify these algae (thomson et al., 2018). such approaches include pcr-rflp, rapd, aflp, and partially or completely 1 corresponding author, email: mujaddade@yahoo.com 2 department of genetic engineering and biotechnology, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 40 alfasane et al. sequencing of a conserved gene or genomic region (manoylov, 2014). among them, sequencing approaches is currently recognized as the best method with the advent of high-throughput technologies, and this tactic can sufficiently differentiate closely related species and even up to variety level in some cases (lin et al., 2017). genes proposed for such identification includes issr markers, rbcl gene, and 18s rdna gene of algae (haddad et al., 2014; wongsawad and peerapornpisal, 2014). bangladesh is enriched with freshwater ecosystem and about 2800 species of freshwater algae have been reported from bangladesh. hence, proper identification of these algae is very important to explore and conserve the algal biodiversity of bangladesh. although molecular identification of algae is now a common practice in different regions of the world, no report is available for the molecular identification of the algae of bangladesh. this study aims to confirm the identification of two green algae from bangladesh and their molecular characterization using partial sequencing of 18s rdna. materials and methods collection and morphological characterization fresh filaments of pithophora were collected from the shoilo propat fall, bandarban (22°10'48" n, 092°13'48" e), and fresh filaments of spirogyra were collected from the sangu river, bandarban (22°08'60" n, 92°12'36" e), bangladesh on 13 march 2017. these specimens were kept in source water and were transferred to the limnology laboratory of the department of botany, university of dhaka within 24 hours of collection. as soon as the specimens arrived at the laboratory, they were examined under a light microscope as wet mounts and photomicrographs were taken using nikon eclipse e200. the cellular length, width, number and shape of chloroplasts as well as the number of granules in each filament were recorded for morphological characterization and taxonomic identification. culture of algae algae were cultured with the method as described before with some modifications (sulfahri et al., 2017). briefly, bold’s basal medium (bbm) was prepared before the collection of algae and was stored at 4oc after sterilization using 0.22 µm filter. the bbm was warmed at 37oc before the culture of the algae. individual filaments were transferred immediately to warmed bbm after microscopic observation for rescuing the algae and for purification of unialgal culture of the collected samples. the culture was incubated at 25oc for five to seven days in an orbital shaker at 125 rpm under 150 µe/m2/s intensity of light with 12:12 light/dark cycle, growth of filaments was observed time to time and the filaments were sub-cultured following the technique mentioned above to purify the algae. dna isolation and pcr for molecular characterization and identification of species, partial sequences of 18s rdna was amplified using the primers: forward 5′-agggc aagtc tggtg ccagcag-3′ and reverse 5′-gttga gtcaa attaa gccgc-3′. genomic dna was extracted using modified phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol method (tabrejee et al., 2018). briefly, individual algal culture was rinsed with distilled water followed by with 70% ethanol. then the filaments were airdried to remove excess ethanol. the filaments were grinded to fine powder using liquid nitrogen. about 100 mg homogenized tissue was mixed with 500 µl of ctab extraction buffer (2% cetyl trimethylammonium bromide, 1% polyvinyl pyrrolidone,100 mm tris-hcl, 1.4 m nacl, 20 mm edta) and was vortexed thoroughly. the homogenate was transferred to a 60°c water bath for 30 minutes. then the homogenate was centrifuged for 5 minutes at 14,000 x g and the supernatant molecular characterization and new reports of two green algae 41 was collected for dna extraction. the dna was estimated using nanodroptm and was used for pcr. the pcr condition includes an initial step of 5 min at 95 °c, then 40 cycles of 30 seconds at 95°c, 30 seconds at 57°c, and 1 min at 72°c, followed by 10 min at 72°c. the pcr products were visualized on 1% agarose gel under uv-transilluminator and photomicrograph was taken. sequencing and phylogenetic analysis to design the primers, multiples sequences of 18s rdna gene (table 1) were aligned using clustal omega. from the alignment, two conserved regions spacing 600-800 bp were selected (fig. 1). sequences from these regions were used for primer design. next, these primers were verified using primer-blast tool. the pcr products were purified using purelinktm pcr purification kit and sequenced at the macrogen, south korea by sanger sequencing. all the raw sequences were processed using finchtv and aligned using clc workbench. these sequences were aligned using basic local alignment search tool (blast) with the 18s rdna sequences database of the national center for biotechnology information (ncbi) for molecular identification and were submitted to genbank with referred accession numbers (mh894274 mh894275). nucleotide compositions of the processed sequences were analysed using mega v5.05. neighbour-joining (nj) tree based on k2p distances was created to illustrate molecular phylogeny using mega v5.05. for this, vampyrella lateritia was used as an outgroup. fig. 1. multiple sequence alignment using different 18s rdna sequences. two conserved regions spacing 600-800 bp were selected for the designing of forward and reverse primer as indicated by arrow. results and discussion here, two different algae from bangladesh were studied in classical morphology method as well as molecular method (barsanti and gualtieri, 2014). these algae were collected and were successfully cultured using bbm. while studied under the light microscope, it was observed that the collected algal filaments were either of pithophora genus or of spirogyra genus. the filaments of pithophora were green to dark brown in color, freely but sparsely branched, and containing intercalary and terminal akinetes (fig. 2a). cells of pithophora were slender and cylindrical with 1100-1450 µm length and 50-120 µm width comprising thin cell wall without layers. each cell contained one reticulated chloroplast with numerous pyrinoids (fig. 2b). terminal cells are conical and rounded. these data were consistent with previous reports (manoylov, 2014; mourajúnior et al., 2016). filaments of spirogyra were light green to green and unbranched. vegetative cells of spirogyra were 70–100 µm wide and 120–230 µm long. cell wall plane was transverse, and each cell contained 5–7 spiral chloroplasts with numerous pyrinoids (fig. 2c,d). brown, multilayered, and reticulated mesospores were present in the filament. often, lenticular zygospores were present in the filaments of spirogyra. such observations were similar to previous findings (manoylov, 2014; volkova et al., 2018). however, confirming the species of these algae based on 42 alfasane et al. such morphological observations was difficult. hence, molecular characterization of these algae was applied based on partial 18s rdna typing to confirm the genus and to identify the species. fig. 2. representative photomicrograph of pithophora and spirogyra filaments. akinetes (a) and reticulated (b) chloroplasts of pithophora filaments, distinct green filaments (c) and spiral chloroplasts (d) of spirogyra. bar = 50 µm. for such molecular characterization, genomic dna was extracted and purified from these samples. the quality and quantity were analysed using nanodroptm and the a260/a280 ratio was around 1.80–1.82, indicating the quality of the isolated dna was quite good. the quantity of isolated dna was 260-420 ng/µl. moreover, when electrophoresed through an agarose gel, little fragmentation or smear was observed indicating that majority of the dna was almost intact or partially fragmented (fig. 3a). when the 18s rdna region was partially amplified from these dna samples by pcr, a distinct band near 650 bp was observed in both cases (fig. 3b). thus, it can be concluded that the isolated dna was in good quality and the partial 18s rdna region can be amplified by the designed primers. fig. 3. agarose gel electrophoresis of isolated genomic dna (a) and partially amplified 18s rdna pcr products (b) of spirogyra and pithophora. a clear band of about 648 bp was observed after pcr amplification. molecular characterization and new reports of two green algae 43 the pcr product was sequenced and aligned with the available 18s rdna sequences at ncbi using blast for molecular identification. the sequences of pithophora matched mostly with the available pithophora polymorpha 18s rdna sequences (identity = 100%; e-value = 0.0). and, the sequences of spirogyra matched mostly with the available spirogyra maxima 18s rdna sequences (identity = 91%; e-value = 8e-127). thereby, it can be concluded that isolated algae were pithophora polymorpha and spirogyra maxima, respectively. the neighbour-joining (nj) tree constructed using the partial sequences of 18s rdna (table 1) showed that the sampled taxa of spirogyra and pithophora clustered separately (fig. 4). in the neighbour-joining (nj) tree, spirogyra maxima of bangladesh seems to form a cluster with alga as1 clusters but distantly related to the cluster of s. juergensii and s. platensis, previously published species of spirogyra (wongsawad and peerapornpisal, 2014). pithophora polymorpha along with p. roettleri, p. sano, pithophora sp. and alga ap1 clusters seems to form a strongly supported larger cluster. table 1. partial 18s rdna sequences and their accession numbers used for multiple sequence alignment for primer designing. sequence accession number spirogyra juergensii jq290272 spirogyra maxima af408236 spirogyra platensis jq290275 spirogyra grevilleana u18523 spirogyra sp. aj853449 pithophora polymorpha fr873097 pithophora roettleri fr719930 pithophora sano ab066646 pithophora sp. km892869 pithophora sp. ku727241 pithophora sp. ku727242 pithophora sp. ku727240 fig. 4. phylogenetic tree (nj) constructed from partial 18s rdna sequences of pithophora (ap1) and spirogyra (as1). scale bar represents genetic distance and vampyrella lateritia was used as an outgroup organism. the alga ap1 clusters with pithophora and the alga as1 clusters with spirogyra. 44 alfasane et al. this study accounts for the first report on molecular characterization of algae found in bangladesh. both the pithophora polymorpha and the spirogyra maxima were successfully identified by analysing partial 18s rdna sequences and these two algae are also new reports for bangladesh. development of a complete dataset on 18s rdna sequences of all the algae found in bangladesh is required for future identification of algal species and for the conservation of algal biodiversity of bangladesh. acknowledgments the authors wish to thank ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh for funding this research. conflicts of interest the authors declare no conflicts of interest. references barsanti, l. and gualtieri, p. 2014. algae : anatomy, biochemistry, and biotechnology, crc press. second edition. pp. 1–361. boedeker, c., o'kelly, c.j., star, w. and leliaert, f. 2012. molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of the aegagropila clade (cladophorales, ulvophyceae), including the description of aegagropilopsis gen. nov. and pseudocladophora. j. phycol. 48(3): 808–825. haddad, r., alemzadeh, e., 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(manuscript received on 2 february, 2019; revised on 28 april, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 141‒154, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54214 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists evaluation of plant species diversity in the road dividers of dhaka city mohammad zashim uddin1, abulais shomrat, md. siddiq hasan, md. robin khan, abdur rahman fahad and md. al-amin department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: evaluation, dominance, road dividers, plant species diversity, dhaka city. abstract the present study aims to evaluate the present status of plant species diversity in the road dividers of dhaka city. a total of 90 plant species under 73 genera and 42 families have been recorded from the road dividers of dhaka city. analysis showed that among the 90 species, the most abundant plant species in the road divider are mimusops elengi (bakul) polyalthia longifolia (debdaru), leucaena leucocephala (epil-epil), tabernaemontana divaricata (togor) and swietenia mahagoni (mahagoni). in case of dominant analysis based important value index showed that mimusops elengi is the top dominant plant species followed by polyalthia longifolia, leucaena leucocephala, tabernaemontana divaricata and swietenia mahagoni respectively. these plant species have also showed the higher relative density, relative frequency and relative abundance. the percentage of native and exotic species was found here 44% and 56%, respectively. most abundant and dominant plant species in the road dividers are exotics including mimusops elengi,polyalthia longifolia, leucaena leucocephala and swietenia mahagoni. species diversity value was found higher in hatirjeel site whereas lowest in baridharabadda site. a number of recommendations are made based on the present results for the management of plant species diversity in the road dividers of dhaka city. some recommended native plant species for plantation according to the width and soil depth in the road dividers are cassia fistula, holarrhena pubescens, firmiana colorata, shorea robusta, miliusa valutina, butea monosperma, alstonia scholaris, toona ciliata, ficus racemosa, bombax ceiba, woodfordia fruticosa, melastoma malabathricum, sterculia villosa, grewia microcos, syzygium cumini, tabernaemontana divaricata, ixora coccinea, terminalia bellirica, terminalia arjuna and also native seasonal flowers. introduction plant species diversity of urban areas has received considerable attention in the last few decades (sukopp, 1990) and urban green spaces are being considered critical for biodiversity conservation (aronson et al., 2017). it was observed that, in floristic terms, the floral diversity of urban areas is richer when compared to the suburbs due to higher habitat heterogeneity and the presence of exotic species (pyšek, 1998). urbanization facilitates the expansion of the introduced species (mckinney, 2008; pyšek and richardson, 2010).sometimes urbanization destroys natural habitats and displaces native biota (smith et al., 2005; marco et al., 2008). as urban areas provide an important depositories of plant resource which has huge benefits for humans and as well as animals, plant diversity in urban areas, particularly in the tropics, needs to be assessed and conserved (singh et al., 2018). a number of research works on plant species diversity of urban areas of dhaka city were conducted. the noteworthy works are datta and mitra (1953); alam (1967); hossain (1966); hossain (2006); huq and begum (1984); hussain (1965); khan and huq (1981); rahman (1966); 1 corresponding author: zashim01@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54214 mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 142 uddin et al. zeauddin (1967); hossain and uddin (2011); uddin and hassan (2016) and uddin et al.(2019). all these works were covered the list of plants species or list of plant species of particular families or groups. unfortunately, no works covered the abundance of urban plant species diversity of road dividers in dhaka city. as the city expands, various types of trees are being planted on the road dividers every year. over the past few years, those trees have become a source of grief for the people of city in some cases (the daily star may 11, 2018; march 8, 2016; march 19, 2017). preliminary observations proved that in most cases biodiversity promotion and native plants conservation issues ignored to some extend or plant taxonomist knowledge was not taken much into account when planting these tree species. now is the time to redecorate our favorite dhaka city with native tree species based on scientific data. for this, it is necessary to know what kinds of trees are currently covered by road dividers in dhaka city. in the present study, attempt has been made with the following objectives: to make an inventory of plant species diversity in the road dividers of dhaka city; to determine the dominant plant species in the road dividers; to confirm whether the dominant species are native or exotics; to measure plant species diversity; to make recommendations for better management of plant diversity in dhaka city. materials and methods study area dhaka is the capital city of bangladesh and growing ever since its independence. geographically, the city is located in between latitudes 23°42' and 23°54'n and longitudes 90°20' and 90°28'e (sayed et al. 2015). as a part of the bengal plain, this city is bordered in the periphery by the buriganga river in the south; the balu and the shitalakhya rivers in the east; tongi canal in the north and the west is bounded by turag and buriganga rivers (banglapedia 2014).believed that once dhaka city was the extend part of natural sal (shorea robusta) forest of bhawalgarh and also with many water bodies. most of the natural vegetation and water bodies of dhaka city have been degraded by rapid urbanization and development activities. currently, no natural forests present in dhaka city. major plantations in the road dividers, footpaths, city parks have been done by different stakeholders of dhaka city including city corporation, rajuk and public work department. lawns of houses were planted by land owners in some cases. remote sensing study proved that about 20% green cover that was present in dhaka city in 1989 has been gradually decreased to 15.5% and 7.3% in 2002 and 2010 respectively (rahman et al. 2011). the city of dhaka experiences a hot, wet and humid tropical climate. the city has a distinct monsoonal season, with an annual average temperature of 27.5 °c. the city experiences about 2000 mm annual rainfall, of which more than 80% occurs during the monsoon season (june-september) (dewan and yamaguchi, 2009). besides tropical nature of vegetation and moist soils characterize the land, which is flat and close to sea level leaving dhaka susceptible to flooding during the monsoon seasons owing to heavy rainfall and cyclones (hough 2004). methods for the plant diversity data collection, quadrates of 5mx 5m were placed at randomly selected sites (table 1) on the road dividers in different areas of dhaka city (krebs, 1989). a total of 452 quadrates were surveyed. the number of quadrates in study area was determined using species area curve (goldsmith and harrison, 1976). plant species with the number of individuals within the selected quadrate was recorded. maximum identification of plant species was done in field by the expert consultation. in case of confusion, images of plants were taken and later were identified by comparing with standard literature (siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008a,b; ahmed et al. 2009 a,b,c,d) and by also comparing with the herbarium specimens available at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). some exotic plant species were determined comparing with the evaluation of plant species diversity in the road dividers 143 reports of pasha and hossain (2004) and akter and zuberi (2009). the families have been determined according to the classification system of cronquist (1981). to determine dominant plant species in dhaka city, importance value index was calculated using biostatistical formulas (krebs 1989). species diversity was determined using shannon-weiner diversity index (shannon, 1948) and margalefindex (margalef, 1957). table 1. roads and name of places where transect lines have been placed. site name of places roads 1 uttara jashimuddin avenue road no. 18 rabindra sarani 2 mirpur darus salam road mirpur road (up to mirpur 14) 3 hatirpulpanthapath katabon road sonargaon road bir uttam kazi nuruzzaman road 4 dhanmondiparliament areaazimpur mirpur road (from nilkhet to aarong lalamatia) manik mia avenue road no. 27 satmasjid road biruttam m. a. rob road azimpur road (up to azimpur bus stand) 5 hatirjheel hatirjheel link road 6 rampurabadda dit road banasree main road (upto block c) bir uttam rafiqul islam avenue 7 baridharabadda progati sarani road (up to kuril flyover) 8 gulshanmohakhali gulshan badda link road bir uttam ak khandakar road shaheed tajuddin ahmed avenue moghbazar road (up to hatirjheel) 9 kamlapur atish diponkor road (from basabo to tt para) kamlapur road outer circular road kamlapur road (from kamlapur railway station to arambagh) 10 fakirapulgulistan toyenbee circular road vip road shahid syed nazrul islam sharani bangabandhu avenue (to hazrat golap shah (rh.) mazar) 144 uddin et al. results and discussion inventory of plant species diversity the presented study has been resulted in recording of total 90 plant species under 73 genera and 42 families from the road dividers of dhaka city. for each species local name, scientific name, family, number individuals of each species (abundance), habit, origin status and usefulness are presented in table 2. plant species representation in the family is not equal. in this case 48% species represented by five families and 62% species represented by 37 families. the most dominant family is caesalpiniaceae followed by moraceae, myrtaceae, apocynaceae and mimosaceae (fig. 1). the recorded plant species was categorized into different habit groups. among them, 78% species are represented by trees, 12% by shrubs, 7% by herbs and 3% by climbers (fig. 2). based on usefulness, the recorded plant species from road divider of dhaka city categorized into several groups. among the groups, ornamental plants category has the maximum plants followed by medicinal plants, wildlife supporting plants, timber yielding plants and fruits bearing plants respectively (fig. 3). 1 2 3 figs 1‒3: 1. dominant families. 2. plant species of different habit groups. 3. plant species of different use groups. evaluation of plant species diversity in the road dividers 145 table 2. plant species diversity in the road dividers of dhaka city. scientific name local name family presence in site abundance habit native or exotic uses accacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. and hool. akashmoni mimosaceae 1,2,4,6,9,10 41 t e t agave americana l. century plant agavaceae 5 3 s e o albizia procera (roxb.) benth. shilkoroi mimosaceae 4,9,10 29 t n t, w albizia richardiana king &prain gogon sirish mimosaceae 3,9,10 6 t e t, w allamanda cathartical. kolkeful apocynaceae 5 4 c e m, o alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chatim apocynaceae 3,10 3 t n m, t, w annona squamosa l. ata annonaceae 6 1 t e f, t, w araucaria heterophylla (salisb.) franco chrismas tree araucariaceae 5 3 t e o artocarpus lakoocha roxb. deoa moraceae 6 1 t n f,t,w artocarpus heterophyllus lam. kanthal moraceae 2,5,6,7 7 t n f, t, v, w azadirachta indica a. juss. neem meliaceae 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7,8,9,10 81 t n m, t, w bauhinia purpurea l. debkanchon caesalpiniaceae 5,8 10 t n m, o bauhinia variegata l. roktokanchon caesalpiniaceae 5 18 t e m,o,t bauhinia variegata var. candida voigt shetrokto kanchon caesalpiniaceae 5 8 t e m,o bombax ceiba l. shimul bombacaceae 5,6 2 t n o, w borassus flabellifer l. taal arecaceae 2,3,5,8,9,10 20 t n f, m, t, w bougainvillea spectabilis willd. baganbilash nyctaginaceae 4,5,6,8,10 73 c e o butea monosperma (lam.) taub. polash fabaceae 5 1 t n o, m caesalpinia pulcherrima (l.) sw. radhachura caesalpiniaceae 5 28 s e o, w callistemon citrinus skeels bottle brush myrtaceae 4,5 12 t e m, o callistemon pallidus dc. golden bottle brush myrtaceae 5 4 t e m, o calotropis gigantea (l.) dryand. akondo asclepiadaceae 5 1 s n m, o canna indica l. kolaboti cannaceae 8 5 h e o, m cassia fistula l. sonalu caesalpiniaceae 5,9,10 5 t n m,o cassia javanica l. lalsonail caesalpiniaceae 5 2 t e o casuarina equisetifolia l. jhau casuarinaceae 2,5,8 48 t e o catharanthus roseus (l.) g.don noyon tara apocynaceae 9 2 h e m,o citrus maxima (burm.) merr. jambura rutaceae 10 1 t e f, m, w clerodendrum inerme (l.) gaertn. bonjui verbenaceae 5 23 c n o, w crinum asiaticum l. sukhdorshon amaryllidaceae 8 1 h n o, m cycas revolute thunb. cycas cycadaceae 5 8 t n o 146 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family presence in site abundance habit native or exotic uses dalbergia sissoo dc. sishu fabaceae 8 4 t e t delonix regia (hook.) raf. krishnachura caesalpiniacae 1,2,4,5,8,9, 10 34 t e o, m diospyros blancoi a.dc. gaab ebenaceae 4 2 t n f, w dracaena spicata.roxb. dracaena agavaceae 9 1 s n o duranta erecta l. duronto verbenaceae 5 4 s e o, m dypsis lutescens (h.wendl.) beentje& j. drans f. areca palm arecaceae 8 3 t e o, w eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnhardt eucalyptus myrtaceae 1,9,10 19 t e t, m euphorbia tithymaloides l. rongchita euphorbiaceae 5,6,8,9 8 h e m, o ficus benjamina l. jirbot moraceae 1,2,4,5 8 t n w ficus rumphii blume pakurbot moraceae 4,5,6,8,9,10 41 t n m, t, w ficus benghalensis l. lal bot moraceae 1,2,3,4,6,7, 9,10 73 t n t, w ficus elastica roxb. ex hornem. rubber bot moraceae 6,9,10 5 t e w ficus religiosa l. ashwath bot moraceae 4,6,8,9,10 22 t n t, w grewia tenax (forssk.) fiori grewia malvaceae 5 35 s e o ixora pavettaandr. shetrongon rubiaceae 8 9 s n o, m ixora coccinea l. rongon rubiaceae 4,5,8,9,10 42 s n o khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. lombu meliaceae 10 1 t e t lagerstroemia indica l. cherry lythraceae 4,5,8 37 t e o lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. jarul lythraceae 5,10 3 t n o leucaena leucocephala (la m.) de wit epil-epil mimosaceae 2,3,4,5,6,7, 8,9,10 244 t e t limonia acidissima groff kodbel rutaceae 6,9 2 t n f, m, w litchi chinensis sonn. lichu sapindaceae 8 1 t e f, t, w litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b.rob. menda lauraceae 1 1 t n m, t madhuca longifolia (j.koeni g ex l.) j.f.macbr. mohua sapotaceae 4 6 t n f, m, w mangifera indica l. aam anacardiaceae 1,2,4,5,6,8, 9,10 37 t n f, m, t, w melia azedarach l. gora neem meliaceae 4 2 t e t, w millettia peguensis ali monihar fabaceae 5 6 t e o mimusops elengi l. bakul sapotaceae 2,3,4,5,6,7, 8,9,10 506 t e m, o, t, w moringa oleifera lam. sajina moringaceae 4,8 2 t e f, m, v, w murraya paniculata (l.) jack kamini rutaceae 2,5,6,8,10 26 t e o, m musa paradisiacal l. kola musaceae 6,9 7 h n f, m, v, w neolamarckia cadamba (ro xb.) bosser kadam rubiaceae 2 3 t e m, o, v, w evaluation of plant species diversity in the road dividers 147 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family presence in site abundance habit native or exotic uses nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. shiuli/shefali oleaceae 5 14 s e m, o, w peltophorum pterocarpum (dc.) k. heyne konokchura caesalpiniaceae 5,6,8,10 18 t e o, w phoenix sylvestris roxb. khejur arecaceae 5,6,7,8,9,10 69 t n f, m, w phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels orboroi euphorbiaceae 6 6 t e f, m, w plumeria alba l. kath golap apocynaceae 5 1 t e o polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites debdaru annonaceae 2,3,4,5,6,7, 8,9,10 456 t e o psidium guajava l. peyara myrtaceae 6,8 3 t e f, m, t, w putranjiva roxburghii wall. putrojib euphorbiaceae 4,8 21 t n m, w ravenala madagascariensis sonn. panthopadok strelitziaceae 5 2 t e o roystonea regia (kunth) o.f. cook royal palm arecaceae 5 20 t e o, t samanea saman (jacq.) merr.. raintree mimosaceae 10 2 t e t senna polyphylla (jacq.) h.s. irwin & barneby ranichura caesalpiniaceae 5 15 s e o streblus asper lour. sheora moraceae 10 1 t n m, w swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. mahogani meliaceae 2,3,4,5,6,7, 8,9,10 125 t e m, t, w syngonium podophyllum schott podolotakochu araceae 8 3 h n o syzygiumfruticosum dc. bhutijam myrtaceae 5 1 t n f,m, t, w syzygium cumini (l.) skeels jam myrtaceae 5,6,8,9,10 16 t n f, m, t, w tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) br. togor apocynaceae 3,4,5,6,7,8, 9,10 172 s n m, o tamarindus indica l. tetul caesalpiniaceae 6,8,9,10 12 t n f, m, t tecoma stans (l.) juss. ex kunth haldeghonta bignoniaceae 5,10 15 t e o tectona grandis l.f. segun verbenaceae 5,6,8 3 t e t terminalia catappa l. kathbadam combretaceae 1,4,5,8,9,10 23 t e f, m, o, w terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight &arn. arjun combretaceae 1,2,9,10 17 t n m,t, w terminalia bellirica (gaertn. ) roxb. bohera combretaceae 1,9,10 5 t n f, m, t, w thuja orientalis l. thuja cupressaceae 5,6,7,10 50 t e o trema orientalis (l.) blume jibon ulmaceae 4,8,9,10 9 t n w ziziphus mauritiana lam. boroi rhamnaceae 1,5,6,7,8,9, 10 71 t n f,m,w (habit: t = tree, h = herb, s = shrub, c = climber) (native or exotic: n = native, e = exotic) (uses: t = timber, m = medicinal, f = fruit, o = ornamental, w = wildlife supporting). 148 uddin et al. dominant plant species one of our objectives is to determine the dominant plant species on the road dividers of dhaka city. plant species with their individual number were collected during the survey. analysis showed that among the 90 species the most abundant plant species on the road dividers are mimusops elengi (bakul), polyalthia longifolia (debdaru), leucaena leucocephala (epil-epil), tabernaemontana divaricata (togor) and swietenia mahagoni (mahagoni, table 3). the reason table 3.top fifteendominant plant species with important value index. scientific name total individuals relative density relative frequency relative abundance importance value index mimusops elengi l. 506 18.10376 14.25563 1.655634 34.01502 polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites 456 16.31485 11.79776 1.802875 29.91549 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit 244 8.729875 8.286523 1.373466 18.38986 tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) br. 172 6.153846 5.828656 1.37645 13.35895 swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. 125 4.472272 4.213486 1.383785 10.06954 azadirachta indica a.juss. 81 2.898032 4.283711 0.881993 8.063737 ficus benghalensis l. 73 2.611807 4.283711 0.794883 7.690401 ziziphus mauritiana lam. 71 2.540251 4.073037 0.813093 7.426381 bougainvillea spectabilis willd. 73 2.611807 2.317418 1.469328 6.398553 phoenix sylvestris roxb. 69 2.468694 2.598317 1.238675 6.305686 thuja orientalis l. 50 1.788909 1.61517 1.44395 4.848029 casuarina equisetifolia l. 48 1.717353 1.123596 1.992651 4.8336 grewia tenax (forssk.) fiori 35 1.252236 0.632023 2.583066 4.467325 ficus rumphii blume 41 1.466905 1.825844 1.047419 4.340168 ixora coccinea l. 42 1.502683 1.193821 1.641007 4.337511 for the abundance of these tree species in the city is their aesthetic value or more availability of seedling of these trees in the nurseries or scarcity of native tree saplings or biodiversity promotion and native plants conservation issues might be ignored in some extend or plant taxonomist’s knowledge was not taken much into account when planting. the widespread presence of these plant species in the city does not reflect the natural heritage of our country. to determine the dominant tree species on road dividers of dhaka city, important value index was calculated. results showed that by mimusops elengi is the top dominant plant species followed polyalthia longifolia, leucaena leucocephala, tabernaemontana divaricata and swietenia mahagoni, respectively (table 3). these plant species have also showed the higher relative density, relative frequency and relative abundance (table 3). it is very unfortunate for us, among the 15 top dominant plant species 9 species are exotic and 6 are native. common recorded native plant species in the road dividers are azadirachta indica (neem), ficus benghalensis (bot), ficus rumphii (pakur), phoenix sylvestris (khejur), tabernaemontana divaricata (togor, table 3). evaluation of plant species diversity in the road dividers 149 exotic plant species origin status of the recorded plants was tried to be explored in the present study. the result showed that 44% recorded plant species are native whereas 56% plant species are exotic (fig.4). the higher number of exotic plant species is perhaps because of availability of sapling during plantation and might also be absence of plant taxonomic knowledge in species selection process during plantation. in most cases plantation program was conducted by contractor. unfortunately, they have no such ability to differentiate between native and exotic plant species. top dominant plant species on the road dividers are exotics including mimusops elengi, polyalthia longifolia, leucaena leucocephala and swietenia mahagoni (table 4). they also showed higher abundance in the distribution on road dividers (table 3). possible origin of dominant exotic plant species are given in the table 4. apart from these other exotic tree species also found planted on the road dividers. most common species are acacia auriculiformis (akashmoni), dalbergia sissoo (sishu), delonix regia (krichnachura), eucalyptus camaldulensis (eucalyptus), peltophorum pterocarpum (konokchura) and terminalia catappa (katbadam). these all are soft wooded trees, prone to break down easily. these plant species may create huge hazard in densely populated city of dhaka during natural disasters and most cases not so friendly with animal diversity though some has aesthetic value. their branching patterns of roots, stems and canopy are not road divider friendly. tree falls occurred in every year during torrential rain with gusty wind and nor’ester which caused huge cost. so, the authority responsible for plantations in the islands and didn’t give enough thought on conserving and planting native plants of bangladesh whereas this city could have been an epitome for displaying the native floral culture, supporting the native birds and satisfying the aesthetic needs of its dwellers, the road dividers have been a failure to some extent. fig. 4. origin status of plant species. table 4. dominant exotic tree species and their origin. local name scientific name origin (pasha and hossain, 2004 and akter and zuberi, 2009). bakul mimusops elengi l. native to india, sri lanka, the andaman islands, myanmar and indo–china debdaru polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites native to southern india and sri lanka epil-epil leucaena leucocephala (la m.) de wit native to southern mexico and northern central america mahagoni swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. native to south florida in the united states and islands in the caribbean including the bahamas, cuba, jamaica, and hispaniola. 150 uddin et al. plant species diversity the diversity measure (expressed by h) was primarily developed within information theory (shannon, 1948) but later the measure was adopted in studies on species diversity (margalef, 1957). in principle, shannon’s h takes into account the proportion of each species in an ecosystem studied; hence, it gives a better description of an ecosystem’s diversity than a plain number of species (konopiński 2020).when the number of species is equal in two locations, the index is capable of distinguishing between sites dominated by a single or only a few predominant species and those where each species has comparable input to the whole biodiversity (margalef, 1957).plant species diversity measured by shannon index (h) values were varied from 3.17 to 1.66 (table 5). the top h value was found in hatirjeel site because the area was recently planted by multiple plant species with more or less equal number of individuals. the h value was found lowest in the baridhara–dadda and hatirpul–panthapath because the area was planted by few species with unequal number of individuals. that means particular species was given high priority during plantation time. the other sites the h values were found more than two. that means in these sites also planted by many plant species were planted with nearly equal number of individuals. table 5. comparative shannon-weiner diversity index values among the study sites. site name number of species number of individuals shannon-weiner diversity index hatirjheel 54 819 3.17 rampura-badda 30 220 2.73 kamlapur 37 322 2.71 fakirapul, 37 299 2.61 gulshan-mohakhali 34 487 2.55 dhanmondi-, parliament area-azimpur 26 221 2.43 mirpur 19 215 2.26 uttara 12 49 2.12 hatirpul-panthapath 9 61 1.85 baridhara-badda 10 89 1.66 recommendations total 90 species of plants have been recorded from the road dividers of dhaka city. this is not uncommon in terms of species diversity but the problem is elsewhere. substantial differences in population numbers can be observed under these species. with a population of few species including mimusops elengi, polyalthia longifolia, leucaena leucocephala and swietenia mahagoni, the whole city is being occupied which is at all not conducive to environment, biodiversity and beautification of dhaka city. moreover, among the abundant, dominant, and common species, all plants are exotics except tabernaemontana divaricata plant. due to the high presence of all these exotic tree species, our native plant species are getting lost day by day. with this loss, our native nature is losing its heritage. even animals, birds, butter flies, honey bees, insect and other pollinators those depend on native plant species are getting lost. the new generations of students are being deprived of opportunity to get acquainted with our native species of flora and fauna. we have many indigenous ornamental plant species that are endangered in their natural habitats today. given the importance of planting these species to enhance the beauty of the evaluation of plant species diversity in the road dividers 151 city, on the one hand, there is a possibility that the species will survive in our country, on the other hand our natural heritage will be protected. we want our favorite city of dhaka to be adorned with ornamental plant of native species. however, with the interest of environment, ecology, biodiversity and beautification, the current status of plant species diversity on the road dividers needs to be rethought. a number of recommendations are made based on the present results for the management of plant diversity on the road dividers of dhaka city. first recommendation is to make a master plan for the beautification of dhaka city using native plant species. in this case local stakeholders including city corporations, parks and gardens authorities, rajuk, forest department and experts should be brought under one umbrella. second, immediate management actions should be taken for those exotic species already planted. existing exotic plant species including mimusops elengi, polyalthia longifolia, leucaena leucocephala, swietenia mahagoni,samanea saman, acacia auriculiformis, dalbergia sissoo, delonix regia, eucalyptus camaldulensis, peltophorum pterocarpum and terminalia catappa should be taken under management plan. if necessary, cutting, trimming and dressing can be done. gradually exotic replacement can be done by planting native multipurpose plant species. third, for the augmentation of wildlife and biodiversity, native, multipurpose and local plant species of dhaka should be given priority for the future plantation programs in this mega city. city people want to acquaint with local environment and natural heritage of native plants and animals. in case of wide road dividers with high soil depth, medium sized native trees with wildlife supporting characters can be planted and those plants must be under regular management program, e.g. butea monosperma (polash), bombax ceiba (shimul), shorea robusta (sal), miliusa velutina (gandhi gazari) alstonia scholaris (chatim), sterculia villosa (udal), neolamarckia cadamba (kadam), azadirachta indica (neem), terminalia chebula (horitaki), terminalia bellirica (bohera), terminalia arjuna (arjun), syzygium cumini (jam), phyllanthus emblica (amloki), tamarindus indica (tentul), diospyros malabarica (deshi gab), toona ciliata (toon), litsea glutinosa (menda), ficus racemosa (jogdumur), crateva nurvala (borun), could be selected for the plantation (datta and mitra,1953). fourth, if road dividers are narrow and low soil depth, priority should be given on native low height shrubby plant species, e.g. holarrhena pubescens (kurchi), grewia microcos (aser), tabarnaemontana divericata (togor) and ixora coccinea (rongon) with different periods of flowering to fulfill the aesthetic need and also small plant species, namely, melastoma malabathricum (datranga), woodfordia fruticosa (dhaiful) and clerodendrum viscosum (bhat) could be planted (datta and mitra 1953). fifth, for aesthetic reason, each and every different road dividers could be ornamented by different native plant species of different flowering seasons. for example, dhanmondi road divider could be ornamented by cassia fistula (sonalu), manik mia avenue by butea monosperma (polash) and bombax ceiba (shimul). sixth, nurseries should be established under forest department to meet the challenge in finding saplings of native plant species. seventh, opinion of plant taxonomists should be taken in the selection process of plant species and plantation sites selection. conclusions the results of present evaluation of plant species diversity recorded from the road dividers of dhaka city provides a basis for future management plan. the record of 90 plant species under 42 families on the road dividers is the indication of richness in floral diversity. unfortunately, few exotic plant species contributed maximum individuals. this is alarming in future for the environment of dhaka city to sustain biodiversity. the most abundant species are mimusops elengi, polyalthia longifolia, leucaena leucocephala and swietenia mahagoni. apart from these, 152 uddin et al. acacia auriculiformis, dalbergia sissoo, delonix regia, eucalyptus camaldulensis, peltophorum pterocarpum and terminalia catappa are observed on the road dividers. mimusops elengi is the top dominant plant species followed by polyalthia longifolia, leucaena leucocephala, tabernaemontana divaricata and swietenia mahagoni. these plant species have also showed the higher relative density, relative frequency and relative abundance in dhaka city. the percentage of exotic plant species was higher than native plant species. most abundant and dominant plant species on the road dividers are also exotics including mimusops elengi, polyalthia longifolia, leucaena leucocephala and swietenia mahagoni. abundance and dominance data of plant species in road dividers may assist concerned stakeholders in their aims to increase native species and reduce exotic plant species. species diversity value was found higher in hatirjeel site and lowest in baridhara-badda site. based on the results of present evaluation of plant species diversity, a number of recommendations were made for the better management plant diversity on the road dividers to fulfill both aesthetic needs and biodiversity conservation in dhaka city. some recommended native plant species for plantation according to the width and soil depth in the road dividers are cassia fistula, holarrhena pubescens, shorea robusta, miliusa valutina, butea monosperma, alstonia scholaris, toona ciliata, ficus racemosa, bombax ceiba, woodfordia fruticosa, melastoma malabathricum, sterculia villosa, grewia microcos, syzygium cumini, tabernaemontana divaricata, ixora coccinea, terminalia bellirica, and terminalia arjuna and also native seasonal flowers. acknowledgement the authors are thankful to the university grants commission (ugc) and university of dhaka for providing financial support to 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(manuscript received on 02 december, 2020; revised on 20 may, 2021) https://www.thedailystar.net/ https://www.thedailystar.net/city/man https://www.thedailystar. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 391-405, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh: class liliopsida robayda khanam and saleh ahammad khan plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: angiosperms; liliopsida; narsingdi; bangladesh. abstract this study provides the taxonomic data on 168 plant species belonging to 96 genera and 23 families of liliopsida (monocotyledons) extant in narsingdi district of bangladesh. these species are mostly comprised of herbs (90.48%), followed by trees and shrubs (4.76% each). poaceae with 66 species under 37 genera is the best represented family, followed by cyperaceae with 26 species of seven genera, araceae with 16 species of 11 genera, commelinaceae with 11 species of four genera and arecaceae with 10 species of eight genera. cyperus with 13 species appears as the largest genus, which is followed by panicum with nine species, digitaria with six species, and commelina and dioscorea with five species each. the six upazilas of this district are 39.77% similar in the species composition of their liliopsida, but the similarity between the pairs of upazilas varies from 6.45% to 32.31%. roadside and fallow land habitats share the highest similarity (36.84%) in species composition. total 117 species are distinguished as economically useful. this study suggests for implementation of necessary measures in order to minimize the major threats to this plant group and to favor its sustainable development in the study area. introduction narsingdi district, situated in central bangladesh, is a densely populated industrial area. the plant genetic-, speciesand ecosystem diversities of this area might have a tremendous influence on the environment of this region. nevertheless, the floristic elements and natural vegetation are rapidly decreasing in this district. most of the areas of this district harboring its flora and plant diversity are being replaced by urbanization with numerous infrastructures, industrialization, habitat fragmentation, agricultural expansion and other human interventions. considering the current trend of destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats, many plant species might disappear from this area before they are recorded and described. after hooker (1872-1897) and prain (1903), some floristic studies covered the area of the present political boundary of bangladesh including this district (siddiqui et al., 2007 and ahmed et al., 2008). many other studies were conducted in different areas of this country (rahman and hassan, 1995; islam et al., 2009; arefin et al., 2011; rahman et al., 2012; rahman, 2013; sarker et al., 2013; rahman et al., 2015; haque et al., 2018; shetu et al., 2018). however, the flora or plant diversity of this district has never been studied before based on detail field inventories and examination of plant specimens, except the checklist of its 468 species of magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) recently published by khanam et al. (2020). thus, the liliopsida and other plant groups of this area are left yet unexplored. therefore, this study was conducted to fetch the basic taxonomic data on liliopsida species extant in narsingdi district, to know their current specific distribution and economic importance, to collect and preserve their representative specimens for future reference, and to identify the existing threats to their species diversity. *corresponding author, e-mail: robaydakhanam@yahoo.com mailto:robaydakhanam@yahoo.com 392 khanam and khan materials and methods narsingdi district, located in between 23º46'n and 24º14ʹn and 90º35ʹe and 90º60ʹe (http://www.narsingdi.gov.bd), is comprised of an area of 1140.76 sq. km (bbs, 2011). the area is administered under six upazilas, namely belabo, monohardi, narsingdi sadar, palash, raipura, and shibpur. it is composed of mostly plain lands including numerous agricultural fields, many industries, a huge fallow lands, many low and wet lands, some small hills, and densely populated homestead areas. this area includes a total of 89045 hectares of cultivable land and 22154 hectares of fallow land. in this area, the maximum and minimum annual average temperature are 36°c and 12.7°c, respectively, and the annual rainfall is 2376 mm (bbs, 2011). the main rivers crossing this district are meghna, arial khan, haridhoa, kalagachhia and paharia. this study was based on field data accumulated by thorough taxonomic inventories comprised of 32 field trips conducted in different seasons of 2014-2019 throughout the study area and laboratory data collected through the examination of representative specimens of each plant taxon. the collection, processing, drying and preservation of plant specimens were done following standard herbarium methods and techniques (bridson and forman, 1989; singh and subramaniam, 2008). all plant specimens of liliopsida collected from the study area were examined at plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory of jahangirnagar university and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the specimens were identified by consulting taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literatures (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; nasir and ali, 19802005; wu and raven, 2000; wu et al., 2006-2010), and by matching with the respective voucher specimens of dacb and jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). additionally, the relevant specimen images including those of types available in the web pages of different international herbaria, especially of royal botanic gardens kew (k), and the conservatoire et jardin botaniques de la ville de genève (g), and pertinent illustration of flora of china (wu and raven, 2000; wu et al., 2006-2010) were matched. the voucher specimens of all taxa studied are preserved at juh. recent literatures (wu and raven, 2000; wu et al., 2006-2010; zuloaga et al., 2008; jørgensen et el. 2014; schatz et al., 2020) and nomenclatural databases (the plant list, 2013; tropicos, 2017; ipni, 2018; madagascar catalogue, 2020) were consulted for nomenclatural verification. the common names were collected from huq (1986), siddiqui et al. (2007), ahmed et al. (2008) and through interviews with local people during field visits. in the checklist, the families are arranged following cronquist (1981), and all genera and species alphabetically (table 1). however, in case of the liliaceae taxa, their new combination under three separate families, viz. hypoxidaceae, amarylidaceae and asparagaceae, and the recent circumscription of aloaceae under asphodelaceae, accepted by apg iv system (angiosperm phylogeny group, 2016), are followed. the economic uses of the species were recognized consulting the relevant literatures (ghani, 1998; van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2002; siddiqui et al., 2007; and ahmed et al., 2008) and through interviews with the local people during the field visits. the similarities in the upazilas of the study area and habitats in species composition were measured by jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). results and discussion this study confirmed the current occurrence of total 168 species of monocotyledons (liliopsida) under 96 genera and 23 families in narsingdi district. all of these species are presented here in the checklist with habit, habitat, distribution within the study area, and representative specimen examined (table 1). among the monocot families documented by this study, only five were represented by more than 10 (10-66) species each and 10 by single species http://www.narsingdi.gov.bd), angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 393 394 khanam and khan angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 395 396 khanam and khan angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 397 398 khanam and khan angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 399 400 khanam and khan angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 401 each. poaceae with 66 species of 37 genera was appeared as the largest family in the study area, followed by cyperaceae with 26 species of seven genera, araceae with 16 species of 11 genera, commelinaceae with 11 species of four genera and arecaceae with 10 species of eight genera. cyperus l. comprising 13 species was the best-represented monocot genus in this area, which was followed by panicum l. with nine species, digitaria haller with six species, commelina l. and dioscorea l. with five species each. rest of the families of the study area were consisted of two or three species each. most of the species (152 species; 90.48%) were herbs, and trees and shrubs comprised only eight species (4.76%) each. the fallow lands harboring the highest number of species (102 species) comprised the most common type of habitat for the monocots in the study area that were followed by roadsides (80 species), scrub jungles (56 species), agricultural fields (55 species), marginal lands (42 species) and wetlands (36 species). thus, these data indicate that narsingdi district is still rich in monocotyledonous species and most of which are herbs and grow in fallow lands and roadsides. the similarities between the habitats of the study area in species composition, measured by jaccard coefficient (fig. 1), shows that roadside and fallow land habitats share the highest similarity (36.84%), whereas the roadsides and wetland the lowest (4.5%). the similarity in species composition in between other pairs of habitats fluctuates from 4.5% (roadside and wetland) to 36.84% (fallow land and scrub jungle). fig. 1. similarity in species composition in different habitats of narsingdi district based on jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). in narsingdi district, total 35 species, were commonly distributed in its all upazilas, 48 species in two upazilas, 27 species in three upazilas and only five species in four upazilas. 14 species were exclusively present in palash, 12 in shibpur, 11 in narsingdi sadar, seven in raipura, six in monohordi and only three in belabo upazila. monohordi upazila accommodated total 84 species, which was followed by palash, shibpur, narsingdi sadar, belabo and raipura upazilas harboring 81, 80, 79, 72 and 64 species, respectively. these data conclude that the monocot flora is richer in palash, belabo, monohordi, and shibpur upazilas, in comparison to that of narsingdi sadar and raipura upazilas. however, if these species enumerations are considered in term of total 402 khanam and khan land areas of these upazilas, then their sequence turns in to palash, followed by belabo, monohordi, shibpur, narsingdi sadar, and raipura upazilas. according to the data from jaccard coefficient (fig. 2), all of the six upazilas of narsingdi district shares 39.77% similarity in their species composition, which indicates that the species composition in these upazilas are more different rather than similar. however, if the similarity is compared in between any pair of the upazilas only, it fluctuates remarkably, from 6.45% (in belabo and raipura upazilas) to 32.31% (in monohordi and belabo upazilas). fig. 2. similarity in species composition in the upazilas of narsingdi district based on jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). the enumeration of monocotyledonous species from the upazilas of narsingdi district seems higher than that from some upazilas of few other districts reported by the previous studies (islam et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2012; rahman et al., 2013; sarker et al., 2013; sajib et al., 2014; mahmudah et al., 2017; rahman et al., 2019). considering the size of the study area, the monocotyledonous flora of whole narsingdi district appears richer in comparison to those of patuakhali district, swandip island and rajshahi district, as reported by sultana (2012), sajib et al. (2015) and rahman (2013), respectively, or even to that of mangrove forests (rahman et al., 2015). whereas, the monocotyledons of this district documented by this study is relatively poorer than those of few forest areas, viz. sitapahar reserve forest (uddin et al., 1998; rashid and chowdhury, 2013), satchari national park (arefin et al., 2011), and rajkandi reserve forest (haque et al., 2018). the total number of monocot species (168) recorded from narsingdi district is 17% of the total 988 species and that of monocot families (23) is 56.10% of the total 41 families reported for bangladesh by siddiqui et al. (2007) and ahmed et al. (2008). it indicates that this floristic element of the study area is not negligible, though these proportions will be lower if the flora of bangladesh is explored completely. most of the monocot species (117 species) recorded from the study area are economically useful. majority of these species are useful as fodder (39 species) and medicinal (22 species), followed by domestic purpose (14 species), vegetable (13 species), ornamental (12 species), soil binding (nine species), spice (five species), oil yielding (four species), timber, fruit and food grain angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 403 (three species each), and juice yielding, green manure, baby food and fish feed (two species each). among these species, 24 can be useful in two to three categories. these data show that the monocot species of the study area can notably contribute in socio-economic purposes and favor sustainable development in the region. the study area harbored many aquatic habitats of different categories (ponds, beels, jheels, low lands, rivers), which appeared suitable for some common monocot species (eichhornia crassipes, sagittaria guayanensis, ottelia alismoides, pistia stratiotes, lemna perpusilla, hygroryza aristata, phragmites karka) and most of them flourished there vigorously. some species (axonopus compressus, cynodon dactylon, commelina benghalensis, colocasia esculenta, murdania nudiflora, eleusine indica, bambusa balcooa, bambusa nutans, imperata cylindrica, curcuma zedoaria, eragrostis unioloides, echinochloa colona) were commonly distributed among the upazilas of the study area with normal natural regeneration. in contrast, geodorum densiflorum, curculigo orchioides, phoenix acaulis, bulbostylis barbata, apluda mutica, and lasia spinosa were occasionally found in this area and assumed to be declining because of their poor regeneration. the major functional threats to the flora of the study area identified during this study are (1) vegetation clearing, industrialization, unnecessary firing, unplanned agricultural extension, over exploitation of natural resources through multifarious human interferences; (2) habitat fragmentation and depletion as the consequence of various anthropogenic activities and few natural events; (3) soil erosion due to clearing of vegetation cover, heavy rainfall and flood; (4) invasion of some exotic species, viz. acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth., chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m. king & h. rob., eichhornia crassipes, eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh., mikania cordata (burm. f.) b.l. rob. and parthenium hysterophorus l; (5) poor regeneration in some species (geodorum densiflorum, curculigo orchioides, phoenix aculis); (6) lack of awareness in the local people about the importance and conservation of plant diversity; and (7) lack of proper management programs in favor of natural regeneration and conservation of plant diversity. considering these facts, this study suggests to conduct adequate inventories, monitoring and research programs on the flora and plant diversity of this district for knowing and improving their status and to implement appropriate conservation measures and management programs in favor of the depleting plant genetic resources of this area in order to contribute for sustainable development there. this study provides important taxonomic data on the monocotyledonous species growing in narsingdi district naturally. these information might be useful as the guiding database to track the trend of changes in species composition, diversity and vegetation of this plant group in course of time due to natural and anthropogenic stresses, contribute in studying animal diversity dependent on monocotyledonous species directly or indirectly, in undertaking appropriate biodiversity conservation initiatives and plant resource-based socioeconomic development and help in monitoring and estimating the impacts of climate change in this area. acknowledgements the authors gratefully acknowledge the university grants commission of bangladesh for awarding the phd fellowship to the first author for conducting her research including this study. they are grateful to the authority of bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) for allowing access to their libraries and relevant herbarium materials. the authors are also thankful to the reviewers of the journal for their critical review of the manuscript. 404 khanam and khan references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 16 june, 2020; revised on 17 november, 2020) http://www.tropicos.org/project/madagascar. http://www. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 157-159, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60455 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication sleeping behaviour of senna alata (l.) roxb. md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: senna alata (l.) roxb.; seed germination; caesalpiniaceae; sleeping attributes. many plants under diverse families show circadian rhythms and circadian refers only to daily rhythms. one such behaviour deals with time. senna alata (l.) roxb. belonging to the family caesalpiniaceae shows a very easily recognizable circadian rhythm regarding the closing and opening of their leaflets, which here is referred to as ‘sleeping behaviour’. the genus cassia l. (s.l.) consists of 500 species (de padua et al., 1999), now segregated into three genera, viz: cassia l. (s.l.), chamaecrista moench and senna mill. consisting of 30, 270 and 260 species, respectively (de padua et al., 1999). the correct name of former cassia alata l., now belongs to the genus senna mill, appears as senna alata (l.) roxb. senna alata (l.) roxb. is originated in south america, but now it is pantropical and naturalized in india, bangladesh, pakistan and south-east asia (de padua, 1999). in bangla, the plant is known as dadmordan, dadmari, meaning which controls or kills ringworm. the plant is popularly known as ringworm bush or ringworm shrub. senna alata is found all over bangladesh (uddin et al. 2008) and is very much important as an ornamental as well as a medicinal plant. its leaves contain anthraquinone, glycosides, rhein, emodin, aloe-emodin, chrysophanol and chrysophanic acid (ghani, 1998). the leaves are specific for ringworm and other skin diseases. senna alata is a soft wooded shrubby plant. leaves are paripinnately compound with 820 (or more) pairs of leaflets per leaf in a mature plant. leaflets are stipulate, almost sessile, oblong, base oblique, apex with a mucro, entire, glabrous, and the terminal leaflets are obovate. inflorescence is usually terminal raceme, up to 30 cm long, stout, and upwardly directed. flowers are bright yellow, medium-sized, bisexual and complete. sepals 5, free. petals 5, free, ovateorbicular. stamens 10 (9), two large, four smaller and 3-4 staminodes. ovary is unilocular, placentation marginal. fruit is tetragonal, winged, and up to 50 seeded. seeds are black, triangular, shiny and beaked. seed germination and leafing behaviour out of five seeds sown on 8.3.2022 (just after collection from fruit), three germinated on 15.3.2022 taking only seven days indicating no dormancy period. the type of germination is found to be epigeal. after two cotyledonary leaves first foliage leaf came out on 21.3.22 and the second foliage leaf on 26.3.22. the number of leaflets per foliage leaf increases in number in the following order: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and so on reaching up to 20 or more pairs in full-grown plants. the sleeping behaviour of senna alata is shown in plate 1. the salient features of sleeping behaviour of s. alata include: i) approximately at 5 pm two leaflets of each pair started to come closer and the process is continued with time; ii) around 6 pm all leaflets of a leaf (and of all leaves) came very close to each other by their ventral (upper) surfaces; iii) lower pair of leaflets, if remotely present towards the base, usually became directed upwards and forwards along the rachis; iv) the closed leaflets of the other pairs usually directed towards the rachis terminal; v) the last but the terminal pair usually directed partially downwards and partially https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60455 158 hassan forward; vi) the terminal pair as there is no rachis part forward, directed downward; vii) when all leaflets of a leaf are completely closed, the whole leaf looks-like a rainbow or a sword; viii) the leaflets of the lower pair enclose the basal parts of the leaflets of the next upper pair; ix) sleeping process starts first in the upper younger leaves and ends in the older lower leaves; x) re-opening of the leaflets starts at the lower older leaves and ends at the upper younger leaves; xi) re-opening starts approximately at 5 am and completely open at about 6 am. plate 1. sleeping behaviour of senna alata (l.) roxb. a. open leaves; b. sleeping leaves; c. leaflets sleeping after leaf was detached from the plant; d. leaflets (detached leaf) re-opened after sleeping on the next morning. sleeping behaviour of senna alata 159 comments the plant remains at sleep for about 12 hours from evening to the next morning. the closing and opening of leaflets are not dependent on the sunset and sunrise. the detached closed leaf reopened the next morning at about 6 am. at 6 pm on the same day, the leaflets of the detached leaf again became 50-60% close and on the next morning reopened again. at 6 pm of the next day, only the terminal leaflets became about 60% close. more or less similar phenomena are observed in mimosa pudica l. (mimosaceae), senna tora (l.) roxb. (caesalpiniaceae), samanea saman (jacq.) merr. (fabaceae), phyllanthus niruri l. (euphorbiaceae), tamarindus indica l. (caesalpiniaceae), oxalis corniculata l. (oxalidaceae) and albizia niopoides var. niopoides (syn. a. richardiana king & prain) (mimosaceae). references de padua, l.s., bunyaprophatsara, n. and lemmen, r.h.m.s. (eds.) 1999. plant resources of south-east asia no. 12(1): medicinal and poisonous plant – 1. prosea, bogor indonesia. ghani, a. 1998. medicinal plants of bangladesh. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. uddin, z.u., hasan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.m., rahman, a.k.m. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 7. angiosperms: dicotyledons (balsaminaceae euphorbiaceae), asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 546 pp. (manuscript received on 08 april, 2022; revised on 08 june, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 295–297, 2018 (december) short communication © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists lectotypification in ardisia alata h.r. fletcher (primulaceae) wannachai chatan1 and wilawan promprom department of biology, faculty of science, mahasarakham university, kantharawichai, mahasarakham 44150, thailand keywords: ardisia alata; myrsinaceae; nomenclature; thailand; typification. the genus ardisia swartz (primulaceae) consists of about 400-500 species (chen and pipoly iii, 1996) and it is pantropical, mainly tropical amercas and asia, a few in temperate japan (ståhl and anderberg, 2004). among these, ardisia alata h.r. fletcher is an endemic species found in takuapa and kapong districts under phangnga province of thailand, as cited in the first protologue. ardisia alata belongs to the subgenus pyrgus mez of the genus ardisia (larsen and hu, 1996). some of the distinguishing morphological characters of a. alata from other members of the subgenus pyrgus include short inflorescence (2-5 cm), branches bearing few florets (1-2 florets) and distinctly winged petiole (larsen and hu, 1996). during a taxonomic revision of the genus ardisia in thailand, we studied both the protologue and the type specimens of a. alata kept in main herbaria (both in europe and thailand), we found that when h.r. fletcher, the author, published the name a. alata as a new species, cited the specimens “kerr 17125” (full collector name written on the herbarium sheet was a. f. g. kerr) as the plant from thailand in phangnga province (takuapa and kapong districts) (fletcher, 1937), but did not designate the holotype. we found that there were four duplicates of the specimens “a.f.g. kerr 17125” kept in bk, bm, e and k. the specimen kept in e is a syntype as a detail notes on the herbarium sheet, but there are no notes on the herbarium sheets of the remaining three specimens and all of them were regarded as syntypes [art. 9.6 of the icn (turland et al., 2018)], so the name a. alata needs a lectotypification. among the three duplicates of a.f.g. kerr 17125, the one kept in k (barcode k000756775) was a perfect match to the description given in the protologue and there were both branches and flowers on the herbarium specimen, and therefore, this specimen is selected as the lectotype. the lectotypification of this name is provided as follows: ardisia alata h.r. fletcher, bull. misc. inform. kew 1937(1): 26 (1937). lectotype (designated here): thailand. phangnga province (takuapa and kapong districts): alt. ca. 100 m., by stream in evergreen forest, 17 feb. 1929, a. f. g. kerr 17125 (k barcode k000756775 [digital photograph!]); isolectotype: bk!, bm [digital photograph!], e [digital photograph!]). 1corresponding author. email: wannachaichatan@gmail.com mailto:wannachaichatan@gmail.com 296 chatan and promprom fig. 1. ardisia alata h.r. fletcher [kerr 17125 (lectotype, k barcode k000756775)]. reproduced with permission of the royal botanic gardens, kew (k). lectotypification in ardisia alata 297 acknowledgements the authors are indebted to the curators and officers in bk, bm, e and k for their help on providing information on the type specimens for the study. the authors are thankful to dr. jolyon dodgson, faculty of science, mahasarakham university for linguistic advice. this research was financially supported by mahasarakham university. references chen, j. and pipoly, j.j. iii. 1996. myrsinaceae. in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds), flora of china. vol. 15 (myrsinaceae through loganiaceae). science press, beijing, and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 1–38. fletcher, h.r. 1937. contributions to the flora of siam, additamentum. xli. bull. misc. inform. kew 1937(1): 26–44. larsen, k. and hu, c.-m. 1996. myrsinaceae. in: larsen, k. (ed.), flora of thailand. vol. 6(2). diamond printing, bangkok, thailand, pp. 81–178. ståhl, b. and anderberg, a.a. 2004. myrsinaceae in: kubitzki, k. (ed.), the families and genera of vascular plants 6. springer, berlin, pp. 266–281. turland, n.j., wiersema, j.h., barrie, f.r., greuter, w., hawksworth, d.l., herendeen, p.s., knapp, s., kusber, w.-h., li, d.-z., marhold, k., may, t.w., mcneill, 70 j., monro, a.m., prado, j., price, m.j. and smith, g.f. (eds) 2018. international code of nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (shenzhen code) adopted by the nineteenth international botanical congress shenzhen, china, july 2017. regnum vegetabile 159. glashütten: koeltz botanical books. (manuscript received on 12 february 2018; revised on 4 november 2018). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 225-231, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic notes on nelumbo adans. with a new cultivar ‘gomoti’ from bangladesh md. abul hassan, md. almujaddade alfasane and mohammad zashim uddin1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: taxonomic notes; nelumbo; new cultivar nelumbo nucifera ‘gomoti’; bangladesh. abstract living specimens of three colour forms (pink, white and yellowish white) of nelumbo nucifera gaertn. were observed in different natural habitats of bangladesh and collected. fresh specimens were studied in the field as well as in the laboratory. after detailed study it was concluded that the three colour forms available in bangladesh belong to the same species, nelumbo nucifera gaertn. however, the yellowish white colour form, having many stamens petaloid, is considered as a new cultivar nelumbo nucifera ‘gomoti’ and reported here as the first lotus cultivar from bangladesh. introduction nelumbo (lotus) belongs to the family nelumbonaceae, which contains only one genus nelumbo with only two species: nelumbo nucifera gaertn. and nelumo lutea willd., which are popularly named as asian lotus and american lotus, respectively. being separated by the pacific ocean, these two species differ in their external morphologies (petal colour and shape, leaf shape and plant size, seed shape and colour), though both of them have chromosome number 2n=16 (lin et al., 2019). appendage of asian lotus is milky white, shape oval, whereas appendage of american lotus is bright yellow, shape sickle like (zhang et al., 2019). nelumbo is a perennial aquatic plant of stagnant water habitats with important value in horticulture, medicine, food, religion and culture. it is rich in germplasm and more than 2000 cultivars have been cultivated through hybridization and natural selection (deng et al., 2013; zhang et al., 2019).: a new cultivar ‘jin dieyu’ with yellow-green colour has recently been published from china (shi et al., 2018). nelumbo is very unique in it’s triads leaf character as the creeping rhizome after a long internode gives a scaly leaf on the lower side, then one on the upper side, immediately followed by a foliage leaf with ochreate stipule, then a long internode again and so on. from the axil of the second scale leaf springs the flower, from that of foliage leaf, a branch (willis, 1960). the genus is also unique in having milky latex, many free carpels arranged in 2-4 cycles, individually sunken in an elongated spongy obconical receptacle and single pendulous ovule. nelumbo also have some other unique features that distinguish it from other plant species. these features include (i) seed longevity (ii) leaf ultrahydrophobicity and (iii) floral thermoregulation (lin et al., 2019). asian lotus, also known as sacred lotus because of its significance in the religions of buddhism and hinduism, has a high variation in morphology at the population level with wider distribution range. nelumbo nucifera gaertn. (asian lotus) is the only species that occurs throughout asia, far east, south west asia and australia, which may be detailed as bangladesh, bhutan, china, india, 1 corresponding author, e-mail: zashim01@gmail.com mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 226 hassan et al. indonesia, japan, korea, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, new guinea, pakistan, philippine, russia (far east), sri lanka, thailand, vietnam, south west asia and australia (dezhi and wiersema, 2001). basic colour forms of lotus american lotus (nelumbo lutea) has a single colour form, yellow. asian lotus (nelumbo nucifera) has two basic colour forms: pink (red) and white. white form is white because of the absence of anthocyanin biosynthesis. through breeding and artificial selection many cultivars with mixed colour have been obtained on the purpose of increasing its ornamental value (lin et al., 2019). lotus cultivars include (i) few-petalled, (ii) semidouble-petalled, (iii) double-petalled, (iv) duplicate-petalled and (v) all double-petalled. semidouble-petalled and all double-petalled are the resultants of stamen petaloid. there also exist pistil petaloid cultivars (lin et al., 2019) comparative transcription studies among petals, stamens petaloid and stamens through rna sequence were conducted, which indentified several candidate genes involved in stamen petaloid phenomenon (lin et al., 2019). usually a lotus flower is self-incompatible because the multiple stigmas of a receptacle mature ahead of the stamens in the same flower. up-to-now, the majority of the lotus has stamens with a few exceptions such as ‘guangyue lou’, ‘miracle’ and the three thousand petalled type asian lotus cultivar ‘qian ban’. ‘yiliang qianban’ and ‘zhizun qiaban’ where the stamens are fully transformed into petals (zhange et al., 2019). like in all other asian countries only nelumbo nucifera (asian lotus) occurs in bangladesh and it is usually found in two colour forms: pink (rose or red) and white (prain, 1903; deb, 1983; hassan, 2009). however, khan and halim (1979) stated its three colour forms: pink, white and rarely yellow. in the present study an attempt was made to confirm taxonomic variation of lotus available in bangladesh, and to confirm the presence of any cultivar in this country. materials and methods last ten years (2011-2020) an attention was paid to find the variations in lotus plants in bangladesh. during this period of time, a number of visits were made in different localities of bangladesh including feni, burichong of cumilla, gazipur, baniachong haor of habiganj, sylhet, shakhawa bazar of netrokona, , satchari, bolakoir beel of gopalganj, ashurar beel of dinajpur, joydia baor of jhenaidah, munshiganj, mymensingh, noakhali, kapasia under gazipur, jahangirnagar university campus of savar, botanical garden and purbachal of dhaka. besides, lotus were also located at different places namely, gapla beel of rupganj at narayanganj, saduptai of gaibandha, ghagutia poddo beel of akhaura at brahmanbaria, chinidanga beel of boraigram at natore, ichhamoti poddo beel of norail, vutiar poddo beel or terokhada poddo beel of khulna, aandhar poddo beel of faridpur, gojaria poddo beel of pangsha at rajbari, dirai poddo beel of sunamganj, baikka beel of srimangal at moulvibazar, tajhat at rangpur and nilphamari in bangladesh (personal communication). traditional herbarium techniques were followed for the data collection (hyland, 1972; alexiades, 1996). pink flower form was located in most of the above mentioned places and white colour form in botanical garden, kapasia under gazipur, joydia baor of jhenaidah, chinidanga beel of boraigram at natore, vutiar poddo beel or terokhada poddo beel of khulna, bolakoir beel of gopalganj, ghagutia poddo beel of akhaura at brahmanbaria and sylhet. yellowish colour form was located only in burichong of cumilla. fertile plant specimens of lotus were collected and processed using standard herbarium taxonomic notes on nelumbo adans. with a new cultivar 227 techniques (hyland, 1972). at least a total of 10 flowers for each colour group of lotus were studied and ranges of data were incorporated in the description. the identification and updated nomenclature of the species were confirmed with standard literatures (prain, 1903; hook, f. 1872; khan and halim, 1979, 1987; deb, 1983; hassan, 2009). voucher specimens were deposited at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). dissection of flowers was done in the plant taxonomy laboratory of dhaka university, examined carefully and the features were recorded and photography of all parts of plants was also made. results and discussion a detailed taxonomic description with photographs of the species based on the fresh and living specimens collected from different habitats from bangladesh is given below: nelumbo nucifera gaertn. nelumbo nucifera gaertn., fruct. 1: 73. t 19. f. 2 (1788). van royen in nova guinea ii. 10 (8): 105 (1962); subramnyam, aqua. angio.: 8 (1962); khan and halim, flora of bangladesh, no. 9: 4 (1979); deb., fl. tripura. ii: 124 (1983); hassan, ency. f and f, bangladesh, vol. 9: 296 (2009). synonyms: nymphaea nelumbo l., sp. pl. 511 (1753); nelumbo indica poir. in lamk., encycl. 4: 543 (1797); nelumbium speciosum willd., sp. pl ed. 4.2 (2): 1258 (1799); roxb., f. ind.: 116 (1872); wight and arn. prod. 1: 16 (1834); hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1:116 (1872); prain, beng. pl.: 214 (1903); heinig, enum.: 40 (1907); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1 (1): 65 (1934). large aquatic herb with milky latex, perennating by stout creeping rhizome. leaves orbicular, peltate, of young plants floating, of older plants raised above the water surface. petioles prickly, as long as the water depth, stipules ochreate, laminas large, size variable, glaucous with waxy coating on the upper surface, entire. peduncles as long as the petioles, prickly. sepals 4, cauducous. tepals large, 11-15 in number. stamens numerous with sterile white appendage. carpels free, many, embedded singly in cavities of the receptacle, arranged in 2-4 cycles, ovule solitary, pendulous. fruits of separate nuts. flowering and fruiting: april to october, chromosome 2n=16 (fedorov, 1969; lin et al. 2019). short description of three colour forms available in bangladesh. (a) pink (most common) (fig. 1) petioles and peduncles armed with scattered prickles. sepals 4, cauducous. petals 11-18, large, up to 12 cm long. stamens 300-377, filaments yellowish, anther yellow, appendage white. carpels 13-22 in two to three cycles. stamens petaloid none except in one flower recently collected from parbatipur. (b) white (less common) (fig. 2) petioles and penduncles armed with prickles. sepals 4, cauducous. petals 11-15, large, up to 11 cm long. stamens 219-300, filaments white, anther yellow, appendage white. carpels 9-18 in three cycles. stamens petaloid none. (c) yellowish-white (only restricted to a single location): cultivar nelumbo nucifera ʻgomotiʼ(fig. 3) petioles and peduncles armed with prickles. sepals 4, cauducous. petals 11-15, up to 11cm long. stamens 236-315. carpels 8-16, in two to three cycles. number of stamens petaloid 1860. number of stamens petaloid up to 60, vary from flower to flower. the more distant it is from the centre, the more petaloid it is. the peripheral ones are almost like smaller petals. it is now known that ii mads-box genes and one apetala2 (ap2) gene are specifically involved in the stamen petaloid phenomenon (lin et al., 2019). 228 hassan et al. fig. 1. flower phenotype of nelumbo nucifera, pink flower. a. flower bud; b. a fully opened flower; c. petals, adaxial view; d .top view of receptacle with stamens and carpels. fig. 2. flower phenotype of nelumbo nucifera, white flower. a. an opened flower; b. l.s. of a flower; c. structure of petals, abaxial view; d. top view of receptacle with stamens and carpel. taxonomic notes on nelumbo adans. with a new cultivar 229 fig. 3. flower phenotype of nelumbo nucifera ʻgomotiʼ, yellowish-white. a-b. a flower bud; c. an unopened flower bud; d. side and top view of a flower; e. top view of a flower; f. an opened flower with receptacle; g. side and top view of receptacle with stamens and carpels; h. l.s of a flower; i. stamens petaloid. the yellowish white lotus does not belong to american lotus because this has all other characteristics distinctive of asian lotus. considering all facts it may be concluded that the yellowish white form growing and maintained in burichang area of bangladesh for about last hundred years may be considered as a 230 hassan et al. new cultivar of nelumbo nucifera that we have named here as ‘gomoti’. it is the first report of lotus cultivar from bangladesh. in the present investigation no unarmed specimen of any colour form could be recognized, although some authors (prain, 1903; subramanyam, 1962) described lotus as unarmed and some authors (khan and halim 1979, 1987) described this as smooth or armed. most of the previous authors (deb, 1983; prain, 1903; khan and halim, 1979, 1987) stated that the petals gradually passing into stamens but in the present investigation no specimen of white form have the petals gradually passing to stamens, only one specimen of pink form seen to have petals passing to stamens. however, all the specimens of yellowish-white form examined have the petals passing to stamens. in the light of the present knowledge petals passing to stamens is not true, but the phenomenon is reverse, stamens transforming to petals. the more is the number of stamens petaloid, the more advance the flower is. flowers with sepals, petals, stamens and carpels are primitive than those with stamens petaloid. therefore, it is very much essential to collect all forms of nelumbo nucifera from all over the country covering all the locations of occurrence and to ascertain their taxonomic status. specimens with unarmed petioles and penduncles, if there is any, should be compared with those with armed ones. the population of lotus species have been disappearing gradually from the natural habitats of the country because of eating of seeds and rhizomes and even the petals by the local people, filling of wetlands and non-awareness of its importance. acknowledgement the authors are very much grateful to mr. carlos magdalena (research assistant of living collection and sustain of lotus from all over the world, royal botanic garden, kew, london) for his critical comments and kind suggestion to name the yellowish white colour form as a new cultivar of nelumbo nucifera. references alexiades, m.n.(ed.).1996. selected guidelines for ethnobotanical research: a field manual. the new york botanical garden, new york. deb, d.b. 1983. the flora of tripura state. voll. 2. today and tomorrow printers and publishers”. pp. 123-127. deng, j., chen, s., yin, x.j., wang, k., liu, y.l., li, s.h. and yang, p.f. 2013. systematic qualitative and quantitative assessment of anthocyanins, flavones and flavonols in the petals of 108 lotus (nelumbonucifera) cultivars. food chem. 139: 307–312. fedorov, a.a. 1969. chromosome numbers of flowering plants. leningrad, ussr: academy of natural sciences of the ussr, 927 pp. hassan, m.a. 2009. nelumbonaceae in: ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker m. kabir s.m.h., ahmed, m. and ahmed a.t.a (eds.) encyclopaedia of flora and fauna bangladesh. vol. 9. angiosperms: dicotylens (magnoliaceae – punicaceae). asiatic society bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 296-297. hook. f. 1872. flora of british india. l. reeve & co. ltd. kent, england, vol. 1: 116. hyland, b.p.m.1972. a technique for collecting botanical specimens in rain forest. flora malesiana bulletin 26: 2038‒2040. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1987. aquatic plants of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium. brac. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1979. flora of bangladesh. no 9. nymphaeaceae. bangladesh national herbarium, barc. lin, z., zhang, c., cao, d., damaris, r.n. and yang, p. 2019. the latest studies on lotus (nelumbonucifera)-an emerging horticultural model plant, int. j. mol. sci. 2019, 20, 3680; doi:10.3390/ijms20153680. dezhi, l. f. and wiersema, j.h. 2001. nelumbonaceae. flora china 6: 114. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vol. l.1. bishen singh mahendra pal sing, 23-a, new connaughat place, dehra dun248001. india: 212. shi, n., liu, x., du, f., chang, y., li, n., ding, y. and dongrui yao, d. 2018. ‘jin dieyu’: a new cultivar of lotus with large, yellow-green, duplicate-layered flowers. hort science, 53(5):732–733. taxonomic notes on nelumbo adans. with a new cultivar 231 subramanyam, k. 1962. aquatic angiosperms. csir, new delhi (reprint 1974). willis, j.c. 1960. flowering plants and ferns. cambridge at the university press. p. 445. zhang, d., chen, q., liu, q., liu, f., cui, l., shao, w., wu, s., xu, j. and tian, d. 2019. histological and cytological characterization of anther and appendage development in asian lotus (nelumbo nucifera gaertn.) int. j. mol. sci. 20(5), 1015; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20051015. (manuscript received on 3 july 2020; revised on12 november 2020 ) https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20051015. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 379‒384, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57133 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists humaria laevispora, a new cryptic species of pezizales (pyronemataceae, ascomycetes) based on morphoanatomical and phylogenetic analysis from pakistan abdul rehman niazi*, ayesha farooqi and najam-ul-sehar afshan institute of botany, university of the punjab, lahore, pakistan keywords: humaria; pezizales; himalayan moist temperate forest; pakistan; nrits; phylogeny. abstract in order to explore the biodiversity of mushrooms from pakistan, authors come across a new humaria sp. associated with pinus wallichiana from pakistan’s part of himalayan moist temperate forests. morpho-anatomical and phylogenetic characterization were used to elucidate their taxonomic affinities. morphological and phylogenetic analysis confirms that it is a new species of humaria. humaria laevispora is subsequently described in detail and compared to closely related taxa humaria hemisphaerica. the analysis also reveals that epigeous humaria sp. is sister to hypogeous genea spp. reflecting epigeous habit in humaria a derived condition. introduction peziza species having hairs and setae on apothecial margins and receptical surface were termed as “lachnea” by fries (1823). the presence or absence of these hairs served as a base for identification under lachnea,while other important characters, like surface morphology, hair origin, shape, color in the ectal excipulum, shape of apothecia, hymenialcolor, ascospore surface morphology and guttulation were ignored by the earlier workers. after 1960’s significant changes have been made in the classification system of the operculate cup-fungi (eckblad, 1968; rifai, 1968; dennis, 1978; eriksson and hawksworth, 1998). peziza hemisphaerica fr. was considered among the lachneae. later, fuckel (1870) transferred p. hemisphaerica to humaria. boudier (1885) raised fries’s genus peziza to the family level, under which he accepted five tribes, including lachneae (as “lachnés”). since boudier (1885) used outer morphology to distinguish suborders, he separated cup fungi into cupules, lenticles, and mitres. by this taxonomic sceme, humaria hemisphaerica (wiggers ex fr.) fuckel, producing cupulate apothecia, was accepted in the tribe lachnes of the family pezizés (under cupules). sixteen species of humaria fuckel have been reported from north temperate regions all over the world. from pakistan, three humaria species have been reported based on morphology viz., h. gregaria, h. hemispaerica and h. woolhopeia (ahmad et al., 1997), while no species on the phylogenetic basis has been documented from pakistan so far. this is the first time from pakistan that one new species of humaria is described based on the molecular and phylogenetic basis. this new species of humaria was collected during monsoon season of 2015 from khanspur, ayubia (kp) of pakistan which lies in moist temperate west himalayan mountainous range. *corresponding author, e-mail: drarniazi.botany@pu.edu.pk https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57133 mailto:drarniazi.botany@pu.edu.pk 380 niazi et al. materials and methods sampling and morpho-anatomical characterization sampling was carried out during the summer rainy season from khanspur, ayubia (kp). apothecia were carefully removed from substrate and collected in paper boxes with proper tagging. field notes were prepared of fresh specimens and colors were designated following color charts of munsell (1975). specimens were dried using fan heater and stored in polythene bags. for further proceedings ascomata were brought back to laboratory. free hand sections of dried specimens were made, placed in rectified spirit for 10 minutes and then rehydrated in water. the sections were mounted in 5% koh & melzer’s reagent to see color reactions. anatomical features were observed using compound microscope and photographed using microscope camera hdcex5 5.0mp. measurements were recorded in 5%koh using carl zeiss jena ocular micrometer. the dimensions of ascospores are given in the form of (a) b–c (d) × (e) f–g (h), [avx, avq] where b–c and f–g include the spore length and width respectively between the 5th percentile and the 95th percentile, (a) and (d) the shortest and the largest spores recorded, (e) and (h) the narrowest and the broadest spores recorded, avx the mean of length by width ± sd (standard deviation), avq the mean of q coefficient (length/width ratio). measurements of other microscopic structures (asci, paraphysis) include the range between the extreme values measured in length and width. line drawings were made using leitz wetzlar camera lucida. voucher specimens were deposited in the lah (herbarium, department of botany, university of the punjab, lahore, pakistan). dna extraction/ amplification/sequencing two different protocols have been employed to extract genomic dna from dried ascomata. modified ctab method brunz (1995) and proteinase k method (100µl lysis buffer and 2.5 µl proteinase k) using ammonium sulphate lysis buffer (0.8m tris-hcl, 0.2m (nh4)2so4, 0.2% w/v tween-2; soils biodyne, tartu, estonia). internal transcribed spacer (its) region of nuclear ribosomal dna including 5.8s was amplified using two sets of primers. one set, its1f/its4 was used for dna extracted from modified ctab method. second set of primers its0f (acttggtcatttagaggaagt) and its4-pyr (tttgccrcttcactcgca) (bengtssonpalme et al., 2013) was used for dna extracted from proteinase k method. its5 (ggaagtaaaagtcgtaacaagg) primer was used for sequencing. both strands of the pcr products were sequenced at bgi–hongkong (china), tsingke (china) or genewiz (uk). the parts of isotype are vouchered in tu under accession tu116929. the sequence is deposited in unite under accession udb02504. sequences of its region of 5.8s nrdna were blast searched. unidentified and ambiguous sequences have been omitted from the analysis. sequences of closely related taxa retrieved from genbank and published data were aligned in muscle and phylogenetic tree was constructed with mega6 using jukes-cantor model at 1000 bootstraps. the evolutionary history was inferred by using the maximum likelihood method (stamatakis, 2006). results and discussion phylogenetic analysis initial blast showed 97% identity with pezizales sp. (hg797009) and 96% with fungal sp. (hg796896) from pakistan with 93% and 94% query cover and 0.0 e value repectively. the analysis involved a final data set of 19 nucleotide sequences. the aligned sequences showed a total of 999 positions, of these 325 characters are conserved, 657 variables, 514 parsim-info and 142 singletons. (fig. 1). it formed two major clades (clade i & iii) and a smaller (clade ii) of wilcoxina rehmii. helvella crispa has been selected as out group. af73 clustered with sub-clade humaria laevispora, a new cryptic species of pezizales 381 of humaria hemisphaerica containing 3 sequences that formed sister clade with genea verucosa, g. harknessi, g. gardnerii. fig. 1. molecular phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood method. drawn from dataset of 18 its sequences belonging to 17 sister species of genus humaria and helvella crispa used as outgroup species. the new species is highlighted in bold. humaria laevispora niazi & farooqi, a sp.nov. unite accession no. udb02504 diagnosis: this species is distinguished from other species by yellow brown to dark brown excipular hairs and their smooth walled spores. etymology: refers to the smooth ellipsoidal ascospores having large central guttule on maturity. fig. 2 (a-g) apothecia: epigeous, inconspicuous, small 0.7-1.7cm, scattered to gregarious, sessile, fleshy, at first cupulate, opening up to somewhat discoid at maturity, interior greyish white, white when over ripe apothecia, exterior brown, hymenium smooth, outer surface hairy, dense mat of brown hairs, margins fringed with light brown hairs, more towards periphery, centrally attached, stipe absent. 382 niazi et al. fig. 2 a-g: humaria laevispora. a. ascocarps b.asci containing ascospores c. paraphyses d. smooth elliptical spores e. part of excipulum f. basal cells of excipular hairs g. excipular hairs of margins with variable bases. bars a: 10mm, b-g: 10µm hairs: excipular hairs at periphery are different from those on outer surface. marginal hairs stiff, pointed, pale yellow brown when immature, maturing to dark brown, thick walled, multiseptate, 3-7 septa , tips sword-blade like, apices are usually sharp pointed, acute but many hairs with obtuse apices, variable near base, mostly with small basal swellings, some with bulbous bases, septum separates the bulbous base from elongated part of hair, originating from humaria laevispora, a new cryptic species of pezizales 383 specialized globose cells, basal cells brown, thick walled, 164-340 (16) µm long, 11-19 (16)µm broad, 3-5 µm wall thickness, not deeply rooted. asci: cylindrical, operculate, eccentric operculum, unitunicate, uniseriate in the ascus, non-amyloid, 8 spored, 238-315 × 14-21 µm, some forked at the base. ascospores: smooth, broadly ellipsoidal, uninucleate, immature spores having two oil droplets, mature spores uniguttulate. (20-)22 -27(-28) × (13-)14 17(-18) µm, avl×avw = 24-15 µm, avq =1.6 µm. paraphyses: slender, filiform, septate, clavate, longer than asci, hyaline, paraphyses tips variable, mostly broadened at the apices having prominent cellular contents, some knob shaped, paraphyses tips 6-10µm broad. excipulum: hyaline to brown, excipular cells that give rise to marginal hairs are globose, dark brown, thick walled, 28-55 µm in diameter, 2-3 cells thick, immediately below are hyaline cells, 161444 µm thick, ectalexcipulum of textura globosa, medullary excipulum of textura angularisglobosa, hyaline,2-3 cells thick. holotype: pakistan. khyber pakhtunkhwa, khanspur village, ayubia, himalayan moist temperate forests, on moist soil penetrated by gymnosperm roots amongst mosses, gregarious, 2575m a.s.l 14 august 2015, a. r. niazi, ayesha farooqi, af73(lah14815), unite accession no: udb02504 phylogram was constructed using closely related sequences retrieved from genbank and published data (perry et al., 2007). as pfister (1984) already pointed out that h. hemispaerica is highly supported epigeous sister group to hypogeous genea, genabea and gilkeya. the epigeous habit of this taxon may be a secondarily derived condition (perry et al., 2007). kimbrough (1994) found that ascospore ontogeny of g. gardnerii was very similar to that observed in h. hemisphaerica. pfister (1984) also noted that some of the tomentose members of genea appeared anatomically more similar to humaria than to jafneadelphus. sequences of h. hemisphaerica included in the phylogenetic tree have american origin associated with quercus alba while pakistani af73 (lah14815) was found to be associated with pinus wallichiana. trichophaea share similar spore ontogeny with mycolachnea as indicated by wu and kimbrough 1992. both the sequences of af73 are separated with 78% bootstrap value from h. hemisphaerica which support our morpho-anatomical findings. af73 is characterized by sessile, cupulate apothecia having exterior brown surface and greyish white interior, pale yellow brown to dark brown excipular hairs, smooth ellipsoidal ascospores having large central guttule on maturity. spore guttulation exhibit fusion like phenomenon, immature spores are characterized by two small guttules which later on fuse and form one large central guttule. excipular hairs are neither swollen nor strictly bulbous near base. similarly, paraphyses tips also show great deal of variation from clavate to knob like apices. h. hemisphaerica on the other hand has elliptic ascospores with coarse warts having two oil droplets. these characters, especially smooth spore wall make it distinct from h. hemisphaerica which is supported from phylogenetic analysis as well suggesting it to be different, altogether new species. acknowledgments authors are very grateful to dr. lehoo tedersoo, who helped in the molecular phylogeny of the specimen and improvement of the manuscript and prof. dr. abdul nasir khalid for providing lab facilities. conflict of interest: authors have no conflict of interest to disclose 384 niazi et al. references ahmad, s., iqbal, s.h. and khalid, a.n., 1997. fungi of pakistan. sultan ahmad mycological society, pakistan. 50 pp. bengtsson-palme, j., ryberg, m., hartmann, m., branco, s., wang, z. and godhe, a. 2013. improved software detection and extraction of its1 and its2 from ribosomal its sequences of fungi and other eukaryotes for analysis of environmental sequencing data. methods ecol evol. 4: 914–919. boudier, j.l.e. 1885. nouvelle classification naturelle des discomycetès charnusconnusgènèralement sous le nom de pezizes. bulletin de la société mycologique de france 1: 91–120. brunz, t.d., 1995. thoughts on the processes that maintain local species diversity of ectomycorrhizal fungi. 63-73, in; hp collins et al. (eds). the significance and regulation of soil biodiversity. springer netherlands. dennis, r.w.g. 1978. british discomycetes. j. cramer, valduz. 585 pp. eckblad, f.e., 1968. the genera of operculate discomycetes: a reevaluation of their taxonomy, phylogeny, and nomenclature. nytt magasin for botanikk 15: 1–191. eriksson, o.e. and hawksworth, d.l. 1998. outline of the ascomycetes: systema ascomycetum 16: 83–301. fries, e.m., 1823. systema mycologicum. vol. 2. ex officina berlingiana, lundae, sweden. 620 pp. fuckel, l. 1870. symbolaemycologicae. beiträgezurkenntnis der rheinischenpilze. jahrbücher des nassauischen vereins für naturkunde, pp. 1–459. kimbrough, j.w. 1994. septal ultrastructure and ascomycete systematics. in: hawksworth dl (ed), ascomycete systematics: problems and perspectives in the nineties. plenum press, new york. pp. 127– 141. munsell, a.h. 1975. munsell soil color charts. macbeth division of kollmorgen corporation. baltimore, maryland. perry, b.a., hansen, k. and pfister, d.h. 2007. a phylogenetic overview of the family pyronemataceae (ascomycota, pezizales). mycol. res. 111(5): 549–571. pfister, d.h., 1984. genea–jafneadelphus d a tuberalean–pezizalean connection. mycologia 76: 170–172. rifai, m.a. 1968. the australasian pezizales in the herbarium of the royal botanic gardens, kew. verh. k. ned. akad. wet., ii, 57(3): 1–295. stamatakis, a. 2006. raxml-vi-hpc: maximum likelihood-based phylogenetic analyses with thousands of taxa and mixed models. bioinformatics 22: 2688–2690 wu, c. g. and kimbrough, j.w. 1992. ultrastructural investigation of humariaceae (pezizales, ascomycetes). i. ascosporogenesis in trichophaea (tribe lachneae). int. j. plant sci. 153 pp. (manuscript received on 5 june 2021; revised on 3 december 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 359-375, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district of bangladesh focusing on medicinal value a.h.m. mahbubur rahman and most. mejanara khatun plant taxonomy laboratory, department of botany, faculty of biological sciences, university of rajshahi, rajshahi-6205, bangladesh keywords: assessment; leafy vegetable taxa; indigenous uses; chapai nawabganj district; bangladesh. abstract leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district of bangladesh was studied from january to december 2019. a total of 111 species belonging to 59 genera under 30 families were recorded, out of which, 52.25% species were wild and 46.84% species were cultivated in this study. status of occurrence has been recorded for proper conservation management and sustainable utilization of the taxa resulting in 81.98% to be common, 17.11% as rare and 0.90% are found as vulnerable in the study area. a total of 93 medicinal plants have been documented with their uses for the cure of more than 53 diseases. the study showed that the people of chapai nawabganj district use leafy vegetables to treat their diseases. therefore, the documented leafy vegetables should be further investigated for their efficacy and safety to be integrated into conventional medicine. further more these leafy vegetables need to be conserved for their sustainable utilization. introduction leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. nearly one thousand species of plants with edible leaves are known (rashid, 1999). leaf vegetables most often come from short-lived herbaceous plants, such as lettuce and spinach. woody plants of various species (moringa oleifera, murraya koinigii, morus alba, toona cilliata etc.) also provide edible leaves (nrc, 2015). they constitute a major portion of our diet and play an important part in alleviating malnutrition. fao (2012) has estimated that about 870 million people are chronically undernourished in the period 2010-12 representing 12.5% of the global population, or one in eight people. in order to arrest the undernourished situation, much attention has been paid on the exploitation and utilization of unusual plant materials for food (kawatra et al., 2001). indigenous (traditional) vegetables are best defined as species that are locally important for the sustainability of economics, human nutrition and health, and social systems. over the last decade, many studies have shown that fresh vegetables constitute important functional food components by contributing vitamins, iron, folic acid, mineral, biologically active compounds and photosysthetic pigments (kmiecik et al., 2001; su et al., 2002; kimura and rodriguez-amaya, 2003). vegetables also contain antioxidants which offer protection against many chronic disease including heart disease and certain types of cancer (saxena, 1999). in bangladesh, people have a long heritage of taking leafy vegetables. however, very little attempt has been made to study the leafy vegetables of bangladesh although they constitute a large proportion of the daily diet of the rural dweller of the country (ali et al., 1977; sarker and 1corresponding author, e-mail: drrahmanahmm@ru.ac.bd mailto:drrahmanahmm@ru.ac.bd 360 rahman and khatun hossain, 2009; hassan, 2010, rahman et al., 2015; khatun et al., 2013; rashid 1999). despite the importance of leafy vegetables in the present day human lives, no systematic work has been carried out in the study area to identify and document the plant species. in view of potential beneficial attributes of leafy vegetables, there is a need to explore, identify and document the leafy vegetables of chapai nawabganj district, bangladesh. materials and methods study area chapai nawabganj is located on the north-western part of bangladesh. it is a part of the rajshahi division and known for its special tone of local dialect. the north and west part of chapai nawabganj is bounded by malda and murshidabad district of india, east is by naogaon district, and south-east is by rajshahi district (bpc, 2001). data collection the work is based on fresh materials collected during twenty three visits to chapai nawabganj distict, bangladesh from january to december 2019 to cover the seasonal variations as well. the visits covered all types of habitats, particular river bank, slope, village grove, fruit gardens and roadsides of the study area. medicinal information was obtained through semistructured interviews with knowledgeable people such as local ‘kabiraj’(local herbal doctor) and elderly people. a total of 161 informants having an age rangeing from 21 to 69 years were interviewed using semi-structured interviewed method (alexiades, 1996). plant parts with either flower of fruits collected using traditional herbarium techniques to make voucher specimens for documentation. plant identification collected specimens have been critically examined, studied and identified. identifications have been confirmed by consulting standard literatures (hooker, 1877; prain, 1903) and herbarium of rajshahi university (hru). nomenclature has been updated following recent literature (ahmed et al., 2008-2009; huq, 1986, and pasha and uddin, 2013). results and discussion documentation of leafy vegetable taxa in chapai nawabganj district of bangladesh was investigated. out of 111 species, 106 belong to angiosperms, and 5 to pteridophytes. among the angiospermic taxa magnoliopsida is represented by 96 taxa and liliopsida is represented by 10 taxa (table 1). distribution of leafy vegetables in the families shows variation. cucurbitaceae is the dominant family represented by 16 species, followed by amaranthaceae (13 species), brassicaceae (9 species), fabaceae (8 species), araceae (8 species), solanaceae (7 species), convolvulaceae (7 species), malvaceae (4 species) and polygonaceae (4 species) (table 1; fig. 3). a single species is represented by 9 families while 2 to 3 species is represented by 12 families. out of recorded species, 52.25% species were wild and 46.84% species were cultivated in the study area (fig. 2). status of occurrence has been recorded for proper conservation management and sustainable utilization of the taxa resulting in 81.98%) to be common, 17.11% as rare and 0.90% are found as vulnerable in the study area (fig. 1). the collected information is comparable with the result of other studies in bangladesh and abroad. in bangladesh, 186 species were recorded as leafy vegetables (khatun et al, 2013). a total of 24 species belonging to 22 genera and 16 families were collected and identified in bogra district (rahman et al, 2015). narayanan and kumar (2007) in india recorded a total of 102 wild edible leaves in paniya, kattunaikka and kuruma tribes, but families consume 88, 43 and 21, leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district 361 table 1. diversity of leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district, bangladesh. scientific name bangla name family status of occurrence flowering time voucher number acalypha indica l. muktajhuri euphorbiaceae common mar-oct mk 91 amaranthus blitum l. notiya shak amaranthaceae common jan-dec mk 29 amaranthus gangeticus l. lal shak amaranthaceae common jun-aug mk 124 amaranthus lividus roxb. gobranotey amaranthaceae common jan-dec mk 31 amaranthus oleracea l. data shak amaranthaceae common jan-dec mk 122 amaranthus polygonoides l. notey shak amaranthaceae common jan-dec mk 33 amaranthus spinosus l. katanotey amaranthaceae common jan-dec mk 120 amaranthus tricolor l. lal shak amaranthaceae common jan-dec mk 35 amaranthus viridis l. notey shak amaranthaceae common jan-dec mk 118 alternanthera sessilis (l.) r. br. sachishak amaranthaceae common mayoct mk 37 alternanthera philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. malancha amaranthaceae common mar-jun mk 116 alternanthera bettzickiana l. malancha amaranthaceae rare mar-jun mk 39 azadirachta indica a. juss. nimpata meliaceae common mar-apr mk 93 alocasia indica schott. mankochu araceae common aug-oct mk 117 amorphophalus bulbifer (roxb.) blume olkochu pata araceae common julaug mk 36 allium cepa l. piaj. liliaceae common feb-apr mk 125 allium sativum l. rasun. liliaceae common feb-apr mk 28 angiopteris evecta (forst.) hoffm. dhekishak angiopteridaceae rare jan-dec mk 127 argemone mexicana l. sialkata papaveraceae common jan-dec mk 133 basella alba l. puishak basellaceae common nov-feb mk 110 benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. chalkumra. cucurbitaceae common may-sep mk 57 boerhaavia repens l. punarnava nyctaginaceae common jan-dec mk 130 brassica alba hook. sada sorisha shak brassicaceae common marmay mk 80 brassica campestris roxb. sorisha shak brassicaceae common marmay mk 75 brassica juncea l. rai sorisha brassicaceae common marmay mk 78 brassica napus l. kalo sarisha brassicaceae common marmay mk 77 brassica oleracea l. var. botrydis fulkopi brassicaceae common dec-feb mk 76 brassica oleracea l. var. capitata badhakopi brassicaceae common dec-feb mk 79 brassica oleracea l. var. gangyloides olkopi brassicaceae common dec-feb mk 74 (contd.) 362 rahman and khatun table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name family status of occurrence flowering time voucher number brassica rapa l. shalgam brassicaceae common jan-mar mk 81 bacopa monnieri (l.) pennel. brahmishak scrophulariaceae rare jun-aug mk 42 chenopodium album l. bathua shak chenopodiaceae common dec-feb mk 128 chenopodium ambrosoides l. bonbothua chenopodiaceae common marmay mk 27 celosia cristata l. moragphul amaranthaceae common jan-dec mk 114 centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni apiaceae common feb-may mk 58 coriandrum sativum l. dhaniya. apiaceae common dec-feb mk 97 capsicum frutescens l. marich solanaceae common jan-dec mk 56 cicer arietinum l. boot fabaceae common jan-dec mk 70 corchorus capsularis l. deshipat tiliaceae common mar-jun mk 102 corchorus olitorius l. pat shak malvaceae common mar-jun mk 98 coccinia cordifolia (l.) cogn. telakucha cucurbitaceae common mar-dec mk 96 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt. telakucha cucurbitaceae common mardec mk 59 cucumis melo l. bangi cucurbitaceae common jan-may mk 94 cucumis sativus l. shosha cucurbitaceae common jandec mk 61 cucurbita maxima duch. mistikumra cucurbitaceae common maraug mk 92 cucurbita sativus duch. kumra cucurbitaceae rare jandec mk 63 cucurbita pepo dc. mistikadu cucurbitaceae common mar-aug mk 90 cucurbita moschata duch. mistikadu cucurbitaceae common maraug mk 65 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kachu araceae common dec-mar mk 119 diplazium esculentum retz. dhekishak athyriaceae frequent jan-dec mk 26 diplazium polypodioides bl. dhekishak athyriaceae frequent jan-dec mk 129 digera muricata (l.) mart. boutibon shak amaranthaceae vulnerable feb-jul mk 41 enhydra fluctuans lour. helencha asteraceae common nov-feb mk 115 glinus oppositifolius (l.) aug. dc. gima-sak molluginaceae common jan-dec mk 45 hibiscus cannabinus l. mestapat malvaceae common apr-aug mk 53 hibiscus sabdariffa l. lalmesta malvaceae common apr-aug mk 100 hygrophila auriculata (schum.) heyne. puninnya shak acanthaceae rare jan-dec mk 113 ipomoea aquatica forssk. kalmi shak convolvulaceae common jan-oct mk 105 ipomoea batatas (l.) lamk. misti alu. convolvulaceae common jan-dec mk 48 ipomoea cairica (l.) sweet rail lata convolvulaceae common jan-dec mk 107 ipomoea fistulosa (mart. ex choisy) dholkolmi convolvulaceae common jan-dec mk 46 (contd.) leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district 363 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name family status of occurrence flowering time voucher number ipomoea indica (burm.) merr. kolmi convolvulaceae rare jan-dec mk 109 ipomoea purpurea (l.) roth. beguni kolmi convolvulaceae rare julsep mk 44 ipomoea quamoclit l. torulata convolvulaceae common jul-sep mk 111 lasia spinosa (l.) thw. kantakachu araceae rare jan-dec mk 34 lactuca sativa l. lettuce asteraceae common jan-mar mk 38 lathyrus sativus l. kheshari fabaceae common jan-mar mk 23 lagenaria siceraria (mol.) stan. lau cucurbitaceae common feb apr mk 88 luffa cylindrica (l.) roem. dhundol pata cucurbitaceae common jun-nov mk 67 lathyrus hirsutus l. bon kheshari fabaceae common janmar mk 85 lathyrus sativus l. kheshari fabaceae common janmar mk 68 lens culinaris medik. musuri fabaceae common jan-dec mk 87 moringa oleifera lamk. sajna moringaceae common jan-dec mk 83 momordica carantia l. karolla cucurbitaceae common mayaug mk 86 momordica dioica roxb. kakrol cucurbitaceae common jul-dec mk 69 momordica cochichinensis roxb. kakrol cucurbitaceae common marsep mk 84 marsilea minuta (l.)mant. susni shak marsileaceae common jan-dec mk 24 marsilea quadrifolia l. susni shak marsileaceae common jan-dec mk 131 malva verticilata l. napashak malvaceae rare jul-sep mk 55 mollugo pentaphylla l. tita shak molluginaceae rare jan-dec mk 108 mollugo spergula l. gima shak molluginaceae rare jan-dec mk 47 oxalis europea l. amrul oxalidaceae common sep-mar mk 60 oxalis corniculata l. amrul oxalidaceae common sep-mar mk 95 portulaca oleracea l. baranunia portulacaceae common mayjul mk 112 portulaca quadrifida l. chotonunia portulacaceae common jan-dec mk 43 pisum sativum l. matar. fabaceae common jan-dec mk 64 phyllanthus niruri l. vuiamla euphorbiaceae common apr-sep mk 62 paederia foetida l. gandhabhaduli rubiaceae common jan-dec mk 40 raphanus sativus l. mula brassicaceae common jan-mar mk 72 rumex vesicarius l. takpalong polygonaceae rare jul-aug mk 106 rumex dentatus l. bon palong polygonaceae common jul-aug mk 49 rumex maritimus l. bon palong polygonaceae common jul-aug mk 104 rumex sanguineus l. bon palong polygonaceae common jul-aug mk 51 sesuvium portulacastrum l. nuna shak aizoaceae common jan-dec mk 25 solanum americanum l. tit begun solanaceae common jan-dec mk 99 (contd.) 364 rahman and khatun table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name family status of occurrence flowering time voucher number solanum nigrum l. tit begun solanaceae common jan-dec mk 54 solanum indicum l. tit begun solanaceae rare jan-dec mk 101 solanum tuberosum l. alu solanaceae common oct-feb mk 52 solanum villosum l. titbegun solanaceae common jan-dec mk 103 solanum filisifolium l. titbegun solanaceae common jan-dec mk 50 spinacea oleracea l. palong shak chenopodiaceae common nov-feb mk 126 trichosanthes anguina l. chichinga cucurbitaceae common nov-apr mk 71 trichosanthes bracteata lam. makal. cucurbitaceae rare jul-dec mk 82 trichosanthes dioica roxb. potol. cucurbitaceae common apraug mk 73 thyphonium trilobatum (l.) schott. ghet kochu araceae rare jan-dec mk 30 vigna mungo (l.) hepper mashkalai fabaceae common nov-jan mk 66 vigna sinensis (l.) endl. borboti fabaceae rare apr-jul mk 89 xanthosoma atrovirens l. moulovikochu araceae rare aug-oct mk 121 xanthosoma sagittifolium l. mukhikachu araceae rare aug-oct mk 32 xanthosoma violaceum l. dudh kachu araceae rare aug-oct mk 123 xanthium strumarium l. ghagra asteraceae common jan-dec mk 136 jan = january, feb = february, mar = march, apr = april, ma = may, jun = june , jul = july, aug = august, sep = september, oct = october, nov = november, dec = december, c = common, vul = vulnerable, r = rare. respectively. in south africa, vorster et al. (2007) recorded the following species: amaranthus spp.; bidens pilosa; chenopodium album; corchorus spp.; cucurbita spp.; momordica balsamina; and vigna unguiculata as some of the more popular leafy vegetables in areas where they are widespread. in east and west usambaras, tanzania, vainio-mattila (2000) documented acanthaceae, amaranthaceae, asteraceae, and brassicaceae as the most important families of wild green leafy vegetables, among 26 reported families. in kenya and other parts of east africa traditional leafy vegetables are used by both rural and urban communities and include several families such as amaranthaceae, basellaceae, brassicaceae, cucurbitaceae, and tiliaceae (abukutsa and onyango, 2005). further, in andhra pradesh, india; reddy et al. (2007) report 69 families of wild food plants, where four families: amaranthaceae (11 species); rubiaceae (9 species); euphorbiaceae (8 species) and papilionaceae (7 species); have a high number of species, with amaranthaceae family having the highest number of species. fleuret (1979) recorded more than 15 species of wild leafy vegetables in her study in the lushoto district, tanzania. woodcook's (1995) studied on indigenous knowledge and forest use in the east usambaras in tanzania documents 25 wild leafy vegetable species. so far the information available, no published data recorded on the leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district, bangladesh. the present study will also help in identifying the important leafy vegetables for future reference. present study demonstrated that there is an urgent need for documentation of traditional knowledge related to the intangible cultural heritage concerning wild vegetables are utilized. the leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district 365 utilization and cultivation of these vegetables should be promoted to maintain the dietary needs of the household in chapai nawabganj district. the study can provide a baseline data that may be helpful for prioritization of conservation through sustainable use and management of the resources. medicinally important leafy vegetables out of 111 species, 93 medicinal plants have been documented with their uses for the cure of more than 53 diseases. the medicinal plants are used by the local people to cure many the diseases, especially for anemia, asthma, burning sensation, blood diseases, bronchitis, cough, chicken pox, constipation, dysentery, diarrhea, diabetes, eczema, fever, headache, itches, jaundice, menstrual disease, paralysis, piles, sex problems, skin diseases, snake-bite, toothache, worm, wound etc. different plant parts of different species are used as medicine for treating various diseases where;leaf of 65.76%, fruit of 17.11%, root of 9.90%, stem of 1.80%, seed of 19.81%, bulb of 1.80%, corm of 2.70%, flower of 2.70% and whole plant of 18.01% species were used as medicine (fig. 4). the survey recorded 53 categories of uses of 93 medicinal leafy vegetables (table 2). out of 53 categories of ailments, dysentery, fever, skin disease, cough, inflammation, fig. 1. recorded status of occurrence in the study area. fig. 2. recorded wild and cultivated leafy vegetables in the study area fig. 3. recorded dominant vegetable families in the study area 366 rahman and khatun leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district 367 368 rahman and khatun leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district 369 370 rahman and khatun leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district 371 372 rahman and khatun leafy vegetables in chapai nawabganj district 373 fig. 4. recorded plant parts used as medicine. fig. 5. leafy vegetables used to treat different diseases recorded from the study. constipation, gonorrhea, piles and rheumatism was dominant diseases in the study area (fig. 5). this finding suggests that the leafy vegetables may possibly contain other phytochemical constituents which need to be investigated in future studies. this finding of common medicinal plant families in this study is in agreement with anisuzzaman et al (2007); ghani (2003); khan (1998), choudhury and rahmatullah (2012), faruque and uddin (2014), uddin and hassan (2014), uddin et al., (2015), and yusuf et.al (2006). the present study revealed that medicinal plants still play an important in the primary health care of the rural communities. the information gathered from the local traditional healers are useful for further researchers in the field of ethnobotany, taxonomy and development of new drug from natural resources. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the local people in chapai nawabganj district of bangladesh for their co-operation and help during the research work. the authors are also thanks to the ministry of science and technology (most), government of the people’s republic of bangladesh for financial support to complete this research work. references abukutsa, m.o. and onyango, j.c. 2005. conservation and seedproduction of african leafy vegetables at maseno university botanic garden, kenya. african crop science conference proceedings 7, 1201-1204. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 14 may 2020; revised on 21 november 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 175-186, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists mericarp morphology of the tribe selineae (apiaceae, apioideae) and its taxonomic implications in korea changyoung lee1, jinki kim, ashwini m. darshetkar2, ritesh kumar choudhary2, sang-hong park3, joongku lee4 and sangho choi5 international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience & biotechnology, 125 gwahak-ro, yuseong-gu, daejeon 34141, south korea keywords: mericarp surface characters; sem; nmds; upgma. abstract mericarp morphology of 24 taxa belonging to nine genera of the tribe selineae (family: apiaceae) in korea was studied by scanning electron microscopy. upgma and nmds analyses were performed based on 12 morphological characters. the mericarp surface characters like mericarp shape, rib number and shape, surface pattern, surface appendages and mericarp symmetry proved useful in distinguishing the genera of the tribe selineae. introduction the family apiaceae comprises about 455 genera and is widely distributed across temperate regions of the world (pimenov and leonov, 1993). many members of apiaceae can be easily distinguished by umbellate inflorescence, fruits consisting of two one-seeded mericarps suspended from a split central column or carpophore and numerous minute epigynous flowers (downie et al., 1998). fruits of apiaceae are known as cremocarps which in the dry state split into two mericarps. each mericarp has a flat commissural and convex dorsal surface. drude (1898) proposed a sound system of classification of apiaceae with three subfamilies hydrocotiloideae, saniculoideae and apioideae and 12 tribes. apioideae is the largest subfamily consisting of 404 genera and about 2,935 species (pimenov and leonov, 1993) and can be distinguished from the other two subfamilies by the synapomorphies like the presence of compound umbels, well-developed vittae (secretory canals) and free carpophores. selineae is one of the tribes of apioideae and is represented by genera angelica l., carlesia dunn., cnidium cusson ex juss., cymopterus raf., dystaenia kitag., glehnia f., libanotis haller ex zinn, ligusticum l., peucedanum l. and ostericum hoffm. species of the tribe selineae are mostly distributed in china, japan and korea (spalik et al., 2004). drude (1898) and many other workers like calestani (1905), koso-poljansky (1916) considered fruit morphology and anatomy as important characters for classification of subfamily apioideae. while heywood (1971), davis (1972), cronquist (1982), doubted the validity of characters considered by drude (1898) to diagnose evolutionary relationships. later, various 1vnu university of science, 334 nguyen trai, thanhxuan, hanoi, 100000, vietnam. 2biodiversity & palaeobiology group (plants), agharkar research institute, g.g. agarkar road, pune 411004, india. 3national institute of ecology, 1210, geumgang-ro, maseo-myeon, seocheon-gun, chungnam, 325-813, republic of korea. 4department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, yuseong-gu, daejeon, 34134, republic of korea. 5corresponding author. e-mail: decoy0@kribb.re.kr mailto:decoy0@kribb.re.kr 176 lee et al. molecular phylogenetic analyses using nrits, and plastid markers like rbcl, matk, rpoc1 provided little supports to classifications based on anatomy and morphology of fruits (kondo et al., 1996; plunkett et al., 1996; downie et al., 1998, 2001). in some analyses, the arracacia clade arose within the angelica clade (plunkett et al., 1996; downie et al., 1998) and downie et al. (2001) suggested that the arracacia clade may eventually be subsumed within the same. both groups comprise many genera that were traditionally placed in tribe peucedaneae subtribes angelicinae and ferulinae (drude, 1898) or tribes peucedaneae and angeliceae (pimenov and leonov, 1993). later, based on nrits data spalik et al. (2004) suggested that the angelica and arracacia clades form a strong monophyletic group. they described it as tribe selineae which consists of 62 genera. however, various attempts to identify structural characters useful for delimiting the species under selineae failed, even those based on molecular data (ajani et al. 2008; feng et al., 2009; zhou et al., 2009). despite the consistent picture of relationships that has emerged in apiaceae by molecular data, it has always been difficult to identify structural characters that could be used to classify and define the clades in apiaceae with a major exception of fruit micromorphology and anatomy (feng et al., 2009). bagchi and srivastava (1989) studied epicarp surfaces of some medicinally important apiaceae members and concluded that the surface characters of epicarp of fruits are useful in distinguishing the species. liu et al. (2006) studied the taxonomic value of fruit wing types in order apiales suggesting that their structural data could complement dna with observable features to recognize and circumscribe taxa. similar studies were carried out by various workers (lee et al., 2001; spalik et al., 2001; liu et al., 2006; liao et al., 2013) which proved that the fruit micromorphology is useful in classifying and identifying taxa of apiaceae. lee et al. (1997), for the first time, studied seed morphology of eight medicinally important species of apiaceae. further, the importance of seed trait in the taxonomy of tribe scandinae was also proved by molecular data (lee et al., 2001). recently, liao et al. (2013) provided new insights into the phylogeny of angelica and its allies based on nrdna, cpdna and morphological characters which included fruit anatomy and micromorphology. in korea, research on selineae have been performed by various workers, but considerably less number of taxa were taken into account (choi et al., 1998; yoon, 2001; koo and kim, 2008). the present study was therefore conducted to analyze the usefulness of mericarp characters in distinguishing genera of the tribe selineae. material and methods the present study includes 20 korean taxa belonging to the tribe selineae and four taxa representing the tribe scandiceae. seeds of collected specimens and herbarium specimens were used for the study and are deposited in krib and kbh. details of voucher deposition are mentioned in table 1. fruits were carefully dissected without removing testa under dissecting microscope (nikon, az100). size and colour of the seeds were noted under dissecting microscope. for micromorphological observations, mature fruits were mounted on stubs using double sided adhesive tape. each sample was coated with a thin layer (20–40 nm) of gold using hitachi e-1010 sputter coater and examined at 20 kv using a hitachi s3400-n scanning electron microscope. for phenetic analysis, 12 qualitative characters of 24 korean taxa were considered as mentioned in table 2. the data was analyzed with the help of paup*4.0 (swofford, 2001) to obtain a phenogram using the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean (upgma) from the data matrix. quantitative values were log-transformed to reduce the effect of zero values. the data was then subjected to non-metric multidimensional scaling (nmds) following quinn and keough (2002). mericarp morphology of the tribe selineae 177 table 1. voucher information of the specimens examined in the study. species place of collection collectors and date of collection accession number angelica anomala avé-lall. namwon-eup, seogwipo-si, jejudo, korea joongku lee et al.; 24.1.2008 krib 0015965 a. cartilaginomarginata (makino ex y.yabe) nakai deokchi-ri, jucheon-myeon, namwon-si, jeollabuk-do, korea; sanbuk-ri, unju-myeon, wanjugun, jeollabuk-do, korea s.m. lee & h.y. lee; 21.10.2009 krib 0029410 a. dahurica (hoffm.) benth. & hook.f. ex franch. & sav. yeongpyeong-dong, jeju-si, jejudo, korea c.s. kim; 7.8.2001 krib 0001002 a. decursiva (miq.) franch. & sav. sikjangsan, sechon-dong, donggu, daejeon, korea changyoung lee; 29.10.2008 krib 0020712 a. genuflexa nutt. oesam-ri, bongseong-myeon, bonghwa-gun, gyeongsangbuk-do, korea geonrae kim & jinki kim; 17.0.2003 kribbsd1040 a. gigas nakai daeamsan, seohwa-myeon, injegun, gangwon-do, korea joongku lee et al.; 6.10.2004 krib 0004085 a. grosseserrata maxim. unjangsan, jeongcheon-myeon, jinan-gun, jeollabuk-do, korea hyeong-kyu lee & taejin kim; 19.7.2001 krib 0001031 a. japonica a. gray geomundo, deokchon-ri, samsanmyeon, yeosu-si, jeollanam-do, korea jinki kim & changyoung lee; 2.2.2009 krib 0029071 a. polymorpha maxim. oebang-ri, sudong-myeon, namyangju-si, gyeonggi-do, korea j.h. kim et al.; 12.11.2007 krib 0013530 a. tenuissima nakai geumdaebong, gohan-eup, jeongseon-gun, gangwon-do, korea hyeong-kyu lee & taejin kim; 12.9.2001 krib 0001020 anthriscus sylvestris (l.) hoffm. ulleungdo, ulleung-gun, gyeongsangbuk-do, korea shinho kang et al.; 14.6.2006 krib 0006619 cnidium japonicum miq. susan-ri, seongsan-eup, seogwiposi, jeju-do, korea c.s. kim et al; 15.11.2006 krib 0007560 c. monnieri (l.) cusson goyang-si, gyeonggi-do, korea w.k. paik; 10.11.2001 krib 0010062 cymopterus melanotilingia (h. boissieu) c.y. yoon gayasan, gaya-myeon, hapcheongun, gyeongsangnam-do, korea s.m. lee & h.y. lee; 1.11.2006 krib 0006906 dystaenia takesimana (nakai) kitag. ulleungdo, ulleung-gun, gyeongsangbuk-do, korea taejin kim; 13.10.2000 krib 0003115 glehnia littoralis (a. gray) f. schmidtex miq. saekdal-dong, seogwipo-si, jejudo, korea j.h. kim et al.; 19.6.2002 krib 0011773 libanotis seseloides (fisch. & c.a. mey. ex turcz.) turcz. baekunsan, mitan-myeon, pyeongchang-gun, gangwon-do, korea jinki kim & sanghong park; 20.10.2005 kbh1053185 ligusticum tachiroei (franch. & sav.) m. hiroe & constance jeombongsan, girin-myeon, injegun, gangwon-do, korea jinki kim & sanghong park; 14.10.2004 kbh1032523 osmorhiza aristata (thunb.) rydb. juwangsan, budong-myeon, cheongsong-gun, gyeongsangbukdo, korea g.y. chung et al.; 22.8.2002 krib 0011782 178 lee et al. table 1 contd. species place of collection collectors and date of collection accession number ostericum sieboldii (miq.) nakai yongsan-ri, doam-myeon, pyeonchang-gun, gangwon-do, korea w.k. paik; 19.10.2000 krib 0010040 peucedanum japonicum thunb. oeyeondo, ocheon-myeon, boryeong-si, chungcheongnam-do, korea changyoung lee; 2.10.2009 kbh1259205 p. terebinthaceum (fisch. ex trevir.) ledeb. daejin-ri, yeonghae-myeon, yeongdeok-gun, gyeongsangbukdo, korea j.h. kim et al.; 12.10.2001 krib 0010050 torilis japonica (houtt.) dc. cheondeungsan, sancheok-myeon, chungju-si, chungcheongbuk-do, korea g.y. chung et al.; 5.8.2002 krib 0011785 t. scabra (thunb.) dc. sanbangsan, sagye-ri, andeokmyeon, seogwipo-si, jeju-do, korea taejin kim et al.: 28.5.2002 krib 0002834 table 2. codes used for for mericarp character analysis. no. mericarp characters 1. mericarp beak: absent (0), present (1) 2. mericarp shape: broadly elliptic or elliptic (0), triangular (1) oblong (2) linear or linear-oblong (3) 3. mericarp surface: irregular reticulate (0), colliculate (1), irregular-winkled (2), granulate-aculeate (3) 4. mericarp surface appendage: absent (0), hair (1), papillate (2), spiny or bristly (3) 5. mericarp rib number: 5 (0), 3-4 (1), 9 (2), absent (3) 6. mericarp rib: not developed (0), dorsal and lateral ribs filiform/inflated (1), dorsal ribs filiform/inflated and lateral ribs winged (2), dorsal ribs and lateral ribs winged (3) 7. dorsal and lateral ribs comparison: rib not developed (0), dorsal and lateral ribs identical (1), dorsal and lateral ribs different (2) 8. secondary ribs: absent (0), present (1) 9. mericarp compressed: compressed laterally or not compressed (0), dorsally compressed (1) 10. mericarp symmetry: homomorphic (0), heteromorphic (1) 11. apex of mericarp: non-emarginate (0), deeply emarginate (1) 12. base of mericarp: non-emarginate (0), deeply emarginate (1) stress values resulting from nmds reflect the match between the pairwise differences originally calculated between the species and the pairwise distances in the ordination. lower stress values indicate a better match (quinn and keough, 2002). this statistical analysis was performed using past (hammer et al., 2001). names and authorities of the species are as per the plant list (2013). terminology to describe the seed coat and seed surface sculpturing follows harris and harris (1994), stearn (1992), and webb and simpson (2001). results and discussion the results obtained from the study are summarized in table 3. photomicrographs of mericarps and mericarp surfaces are presented in figures 1 and 2, respectively. in the tribe selineae, large variation can be seen in sizes of mericarps. the length of mericarp varies from mericarp morphology of the tribe selineae 179 2.7±0.2 to 11.4±0.6 mm (fig. 3), while the width of mericarp varies from 1.4±0.2 to 9.3±0.4 mm (fig. 4). seed size of glehnia littoralis is highly divergent than other species included in the study (figs 3 & 4). three different shapes of mericarp were observed during our study. the genera ligusticum and libanotis are characterized by oblong mericarps, the genus glehnia is characterized by triangular mericarp, while broadly elliptic-elliptic mericarp was observed in the genera cnidium, angelica, ostericum, cymopterus and peucedanum. in all species of selineae, mericarps are symmetrical with five ribs except in cymopterus melanotilingia, where asymmetric mericarps with three or four ribs were observed. fig. 1. sem images of mericarps of 24 taxa of selineae: a. angelica anomala; b. a. cartilaginomarginata; c. a. dahurica; d. a. decursiva; e. a. genuflexa; f. a. gigas; g. a. grosseserrata; h. a. japonica; i. a. polymorpha; j. a. tenuissima; k. anthriscus sylvestris; l. cnidium japonicum; m. c. monnieri; n. cymopterus melanotilingia; o. dystaenia takesimana; p. glehnia littoralis; q. libanotis seseloides; r. ligusticum tachiroei; s. osmorhiza aristata; t. ostericum sieboldii; u. peucedanum japonicum; v. p. terebinthaceum; w. torilis japonica; x. t. scabra. scale bar: 1 mm. three different surface patterns characterize selineae mericarps. the irregular reticulate surface pattern was observed in cnidium, dystaenia, glehnia and angelica cartilaginomarginata, a. genuflexa, a. japonica, a. anomala, a. gigas, and peucedanum terebinthaceum. while 180 lee et al. ligusticum, ostericum, cymopterus, angelica tenuissima, a. polymorpha, a. dahurica, and a. decursiva showed colliculate surface. the irregular-wrinkled surface pattern was observed in libanotis seseloides and peucedanum japonicum. papillate surface pattern characterizes the genus libanotis. hairs were observed on mericarps of glehnia littoralis and peucedanum japonicum (fig. 2). in all species of selineae employed in this study, mericarps are symmetrical with five ribs except in cymopterus melanotilingia, where asymmetric mericarps with three or four ribs were observed. fig. 2. mericarp surface characters of 24 taxa of selineae: a. angelica anomala; b. a. cartilaginomarginata; c. a. dahurica; d. a. decursiva; e. a. genuflexa; f. a. gigas; g. a. grosseserrata; h. a. japonica; i. a. polymorpha; j. a. tenuissima; k. anthriscus sylvestris; l. cnidium japonicum; m. c. monnieri; n. cymopterus melanotilingia; o. dystaenia takesimana; p. glehnia littoralis; q. libanotis seseloides; r. ligusticum tachiroei; s. osmorhiza aristata; t. ostericum sieboldii; u. peucedanum japonicum; v. p. terebinthaceum; w. torilis japonica; x. t. scabra. scale bar: 200 µm. mericarp morphology of the tribe selineae 181 table 3. morphological characters of mericarp of 24 species in the tribe selineae. species length (mm) width (mm) mericarp shape mericarp surface appendage ribs lateral dorsal anthriscus sylvestris 8.2±0.5 1.0±0.1 linear-oblong granulateaculeate absent absent absent a. anomala 5.9±0.5 5.0±0.4 broadly elliptic reticulate absent winged inflated a. cartilaginomarginata 3.3±0.3 1.9±0.3 broadly elliptic or elliptic irregularreticulate absent winged inflated a. dahurica 5.8±0.5 5.2±0.5 broadly elliptic colliculate absent winged inflated a. decursiva 4.8±0.6 3.1±0.4 broadly elliptic or elliptic colliculate absent winged inflated a. genuflexa 6.2±0.6 4.6±0.4 broadly elliptic irregularreticulate absent winged inflated a. gigas 6.4±0.5 4.8±0.4 broadly elliptic irregularreticulate absent winged inflated a. japonica 10.1±0.6 6.1±0.3 broadly elliptic or elliptic reticulate absent winged inflated a. polymorpha 4.2±0.3 3.1±0.2 broadly elliptic colliculate absent winged inflated angelica grosseserrata 5.6±0.7 4.6±0.8 broadly elliptic colliculate absent winged inflated a. tenuissima 5.4±0.5 3.6±0.6 broadly elliptic or elliptic colliculate absent winged inflated cnidium japonicum 3.0±0.2 2.0±0.2 broadly elliptic or elliptic reticulate absent winged winged c. monnieri 2.9±0.2 1.8±0.2 broadly elliptic or elliptic irregularreticulate absent winged winged cymopterus melanotilingia 6.0±0.3 3.1±0.2 elliptic colliculate absent winged winged dystaenia takesimana 5.7±0.6 3.2±0.4 broadly elliptic or elliptic reticulate absent winged winged glehnia littoralis 11.4±0.6 9.3±0.4 triangular irregularreticulate hairy winged winged libanotis seseloides 2.7±0.2 1.4±0.2 oblong irregularwinkled papillate inflated inflated ligusticum tachiroei 4.0±0.2 2.0±0.2 oblong colliculate absent inflated inflated osmorhiza aristata 17.6±1.0 1.0±0.1 linear reticulate bristly filiform filiform ostericum sieboldii 3.8±0.3 2.6±0.2 broadly elliptic or elliptic colliculate absent winged inflated peucedanum japonicum 5.1±0.5 2.1±0.2 elliptic irregularwinkled hairy winged filiform p. terebinthaceum 4.6±0.2 3.3±0.2 broadly elliptic irregularreticulate absent winged inflated torilis japonica 3.8±0.3 1.4±0.1 oblong granulateaculeate spiny filiform filiform t. scabra 5.9±0.5 1.2±0.2 oblong granulateaculeate spiny filiform filiform we found three different mericarp rib shapes in selineae. ligusticum tachiroei and libanotis seseloides have dorsal and lateral ribs which are filiform or inflated. the genera angelica, ostericum and peucedanum are characterized by filliform or inflated dorsal ribs and winged lateral ribs, while the genera cnidium, cymopterus, glehnia and dystaenia showed winged dorsal and lateral ribs. 182 lee et al. fig. 3. length of seeds summarized in boxplot. the boxes represent the second and third quartiles, and the vertical line within each of the boxes represents the median. outliers are identified with asterisks (c. ja: cnidium japonicum; c. mo: c. monnieri; d. ta: dystaenia takesimana; l. ta: ligusticum tachiroei; li. se: libanotis seseloides; a. te: angelica tenuissima; a. ca: a. cartilaginomarginata; a. ge: a. genuflexa; a. po: a. polymorpha; a. ja: a. japonica; a. da: a. dahurica; a. an: a. anomala; a. gi: a. gigas; a. de: a. decursiva; a. gr: a. grosseserrata; o. si: ostericum sieboldii; cy. me: cymopterus melanotilingia; g. li: glehnia littoralis; p. ja: peucedanum japonicum; p. te: peucedanum terebinthaceum). fig. 4. width of seeds summarized in boxplot. the boxes represent the second and third quartiles, and the vertical line within each of the boxes represents the median. outliers are identified with asterisks. (c. ja: cnidium japonicum; c. mo: c. monnieri; d. ta: dystaenia takesimana; l. ta: ligusticum tachiroei; li. se: libanotis seseloides; a. te: angelica tenuissima; a. ca: a. cartilaginomarginata; a. ge: a. genuflexa; a. po: a. polymorpha; a. ja: a. japonica; a. da: a. dahurica; a. an: a. anomala; a. gi: a. gigas; a. de: a. decursiva; a. gr: a. grosseserrata; o. si: ostericums ieboldii; cy. me: cymopterus melanotilingia; g. li: glehnia littoralis; p. ja: peucedanum japonicum; p. te: peucedanum terebinthaceum). mericarp morphology of the tribe selineae 183 emarginated mericarp apex was observed in angelica japonica, a. dahurica, and a. anomala, while in other studied species mericarp apex was non-emarginate. deeply emarginated mericarp base was observed in angelica genuflexa, a. polymorpha, a. japonica, a. dahurica, a. anomala, a. grosseserrata, ostericum sieboldii, cymopterus melanotilingia and glehnia littoralis, while in other species non-emarginated mericarp base was noticed. phenetic analysis upgma phenogram was evaluated to identify characters that distinguish the genera of apioideae. the analysis revealed seven major groups. the genus glehnia can be distinguished from other genera of selineae by triangular mericarp and hairy mericarp surface (pairwise distance 2.474). ligusticum tachiroei and libanotis seseloides appear to be sister groups as oblong mericarps characterize them. both the species can be distinguished by mericarp surface pattern and appendages. ligusticum tachiroei has colliculate surface pattern and lacks appendages (pairwise distance 1.000), whereas libanotis seseloides has irregularly wrinkled and papillate surface. cymopterus melanotilingia can be distinguished from other genera like peucedanum, angelica, ostericum, cnidium and dystaenia as it has asymmetric mericarp and rib number 3-4 (pairwise distance 2.188). cnidium and dystaenia appear to be sister groups (pairwise distance 1.064) and are characterized by winged dorsal and lateral ribs. based on upgma analysis of mericarp surface characters, the genera glehnia, cymopterus, ligusticum, libanotis, cnidium and dystaenia can be distinguished, however, angelica, peucedanum and ostericum cannot be distinguished. nmds analysis of bray-curtis similarity coefficients (fig. 5) calculated from 12 morphological characters showed similar separation of species as in upgma (fig. 6). fig. 5. non-metric multidimensional scaling (nmds) using bray-curtis similarity index of 12 morphological characters. (c. ja: cnidium japonicum; c. mo: c. monnieri; d. ta: dystaenia takesimana; l. ta: ligusticum tachiroei; li. se: libanotis seseloides; a. te: angelica tenuissima; a. ca: a. cartilaginomarginata; a. ge: a. genuflexa; a. po: a. polymorpha; a. ja: a. japonica; a. da: a. dahurica; a. an: a. anomala; a. gi: a. gigas; a. de: a. decursiva; a. gr: a. grosseserrata; o. si: ostericum sieboldii; cy. me: cymopterus melanotilingia; g. li: glehnia littoralis; p. ja: peucedanum japonicum; p. te: peucedanum terebinthaceum). 184 lee et al. to conclude, characters like mericarp shape, rib number, and shape, surface pattern, surface appendages and mericarp symmetry can be considered as useful traits to distinguish the genera of tribe selineae. these results are in congruence with the molecular systematic study of angelica and allied genera based on nuclear dna sequences (feng et al., 2009). fig. 6. upgma phenogram of tribe selineae and scandiceae based on the 12 morphological characters. values above lines indicate pairwise distances. a taxonomic key based on the mericarp characters has been provided below for the easy identification of selineae members in korea. mericarp morphology of the tribe selineae 185 key to the korean taxa of selineae based on mericarp characters: 1. mericarp heteromorphic and rib number 3-4. cymopterus mericarp homomorphic and rib number 5 2 2. mericarp triangular, surface appendage hairy glehnia mericarp broadly elliptic or elliptic or oblong, surface appendage absent or hairy 3 3. mericarp oblong; dorsal and lateral ribs filiform/inflated 4 mericarp broadly elliptic or elliptic; dorsal ribs filiform/winged and lateral ribs winged 5 4 mericarp surface colliculate ligusticum mericarp surface irregularly-wrinkled libanotis 5. dorsal ribs filiform and lateral ribs winged angelica, ostericum, peucedanum dorsal and lateral ribs winged 6 6. dorsal and lateral ribs identical cnidium dorsal and lateral ribs different dystaenia acknowledgements we are grateful to the curator of the herbarium at korea national arboretum (kna), korea for permitting us to study the voucher specimens. this study was supported by korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology research initiative program of the republic of korea. the 3rd (amd) and 4th (rkc) authors acknowledge to the memorandum of understanding between ibmrc, kribb and agharkar research institute, india, that facilitated this research. references ajani, y., ajani, a., cordes, j.m., watson, m.f. and downie, s.r. 2008. phylogenetic analysis of nrdna its sequences reveals relationships within five groups of iranian apiaceae subfamily apioideae. taxon 57(2): 383–401. bagchi, g.d. and srivastava, g.n. 1989. sem of epicarp surfaces of some medicinally important apiaceae. international j. crude drug res. 27(3): 171–177. calestani, v. 1905. contributo alla sistematica delle ombrellifere d’europa. webbia 1(1): 89–280. choi, h.k., kim, y., sun, b.y. and shin, h. 1998. phylogeny of dystaenia in subfamily apioideae (family apiaceae) based on its sequences. korean j. plant taxon. 28(2): 139–149. cronquist, a. 1982. reduction of pseudotaenidia to taenidia (apiaceae). brittonia 34: 365–367. davis, p.h. 1972. umbelliferae. in: davis, p.h. 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(manuscript received on 28 december 2017; revised on 2 november 2018) http://www.theplantlist.org/ bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 157‒168, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology and its systematic implication on some species of artemisia l. from gilgit-baltistan pakistan adil hussain*, daniel potter1, muhammad qasim hayat2, sumaira sahreen3 and syed ali imran bokhari department of biological sciences, international islamic university islamabad, 44000 pakistan keywords: artemisia; asteraceae; pollen morphology; taxonomy; gilgit-baltistan; pakistan. abstract this study was accomplished to scrutinize the pollen morphology of 15 species of the genus artemisia of the family asteraceae from gilgit-baltistan region of pakistan by means of scanning electron microscopy (sem). results revealed pollen grains of artemisia species with tricolporate shape, and characterized by globular symmetry (ellipsoid ball shaped from equatorial side and three lobed rounds from polar view) with few exceptions. additionally, the pollens are marked with reduced spinules on their surfaces which are diagnostic character for the genus artemisia. in this study, seven micromorphological characters of pollen grains of 15 artemisia species viz. shape of pollen, arrangement of spinules, exine sculpture, spinules base, equatorial width and polar length, were employed to construct a dendrogram following the consequential cluster analyses. in the dentrogram, four groups within the studied artemisia species have been recognized. the pollen morphology of artemisia could be a good taxonomic marker to cope with its taxonomic delimitations in combination with other floral and molecular attributes. introduction the genus artemisia l. (asteraceae) possesses five hundred species in the form of herbs and shrubs (valles and mcarthur, 2001). it is a diverse genus of the tribe anthemideae of family asteraceae (martin et al., 2003). some artemisia species have a remarkable economic status due to their antitumor, antispasmodic, antimicrobial, antiseptic, antimalarial, hepato-protective and antirheumatic activities (terra et al., 2007; hussain et al., 2017). the basis of taxonomy of artemisia is its capitular morphology (watson et al., 2002). for example, the ray florets in section seriphidium besser ex hook are reduced to a membranous vestige. its capitulum is without ray florets and only possesses the hermaphrodite disc florets. hence, this capitulum is homogamous. the capitulum in other subgenera (abrotanum besser, dracunculus besser, absinthium mill., artemisia l.) have two types of florets: hermaphrodite or staminate disc florets and ray pistillate florets and this capitulum becomes heterogamous (bremer and humphries, 1993). the taxonomy of this diverse genus is unresolved for many years. it has been years when taxonomists conducted investigations (bremer and humphries, 1993; kornkven et al., 1998, 1999; torell et al., 1999; watson et al., 2002; d’andrea et al., 2003; vallès et al., 2008; sanz et al., 2008; pellicer et al., 2010; garcia et al., 2011; riggins and seigler, 2012; haghighi et al., 2014; *corresponding author e-mail. adil.phdbt31@iiu.edu.pk 1department of plant sciences, college of agricultural and environmental sciences, university of california davis, 95616 us. 2department of plant biotechnology, atta-ur-rahman school of applied biosciences, national university of sciences and technology islamabad, 44000 pakistan. 3botanical sciences division, pakistan museum of natural history islamabad, 44000 pakistan. mailto:adil.phdbt31@iiu.edu.pk 158 hussain et al. malik et al., 2017; hussain et al., 2019b) on this single large genus with 500 species (torrell et al., 1999; martin et al., 2003) and recognized its six subgenera namely dracunculus besser, artemisia tourn., absinthium (mill.) less., tridentatae (rydberg) mcarthur, seriphidium (besser) poljakov and pacifica hobbs. & baldwin. in few investigations, the subgenera artemisia and absinthium were merged under one subgenus artemisia (shultz, 2009) while subgenera seriphidium was separated for the genus artemisa in former studies of bremer and humphries (1993), bremer (1994), ling (1995) and ghafoor (2002). researchers have approved that the critical anatomical analysis of rarer morphological features with molecular phylogenies are fruitful and this combination could become a power tool to resolve taxonomic issues (scotland et al., 2003; perveen and qaiser, 2010) especially the pollen morphology in specific and generic levels of classification of asteraceae family (zafar et al., 2007). the significance of pollen morphology in plant systematics has been authenticated by various researchers. palynological study has been utilized to indicate relationships among the different taxa of asteraceae family (mallick, 2015). stuessy (2009) stated that the data from pollen grains are known to be useful at all levels of the taxonomic hierarchy, and can be helpful in suggesting a relationship. in earlier investigations, edward (1994) proposed two types of pollen structure in asteraceae namely, the caveate and the anthemoid. the anthemoid type was primarily used for the pollen grains of anthemideae. the anthemoid type of pollen grains contains the basal columellae rising from the foot layer, and one or many shorter layers columellae. there are internal tecta which are present above the basal columellae. while the caveate grains have only internal cavity without basal columellae. in the subtribe anthemideae, studies based on pollen data confirmed the presence of two major patterns of pollen. these patterns are essential taxonomic characters in artemisia and its closely related genera, i.e. one genus with long spinules (anthemis) and the other with short spinules (artemisia). it could be authenticated that short spinules in the pollen were evolved from long spinules of pollen on the basis of their order of occurrences in the geological past (martín et al., 2003). in the genus artemisia, investigation of pollen morphology has been started from the time of wodehouse (1926). the following workers such as valles et al. (1987), caramiello et al. (1989), lodari et al. (1989), vezey et al. (1994), martin et al. (2003), jiang (2005), and hayat et al. (2010) elaborated the taxonomic importance with different perspectives of the characteristics of artemisia pollens including the structural organization, shape and size, diversity of sculpture in exine, magnitudes of exine aperture etc. nevertheless, there is a little information available on the pollen morphology of the genus artemisia, most especially from the north region of pakistan. this study provides important data on the micromorphological features of pollen grains of some species of the genus artemisia from gilgit-baltistan region of pakistan in order to establish their availability for future taxonomic works. the cluster analysis of these data gives an understanding on the putative relationships among the species of this genus. materials and methods study area gilgit-baltistan region of pakistan bears a diverse climate and this region is well-known for housing an immense biodiversity of plants. this region is located between latitude 35° to 37° east and longitude 72° to 75° north, and has seven districts namely, gilgit, baltistan, ghizar, ganche, hunza nagar, astore and diamer. samples of artemisia species for pollen study were collected pollen morphology and its systematic implication 159 during extensive field surveys over a period of two years (2016-2017) in different areas of gilgitbaltistan as already given in our preceding papers (hussain et al., 2019a,b). pollen material the pollen material employed in this study was obtained from herbarium specimens as well as from fresh samples collected from different regions of gilgit-baltistan of pakistan. the details of origin and collection of studied artemisia species have been provided in table 1. primarily, the pollen grains of artemisia species were prepared for scanning electron microscopy (sem) by the standard methods described by hayat et al. (2010) and perveen and qaiser (2010). to separate the pollen grains from anthers, stereo microscope was used. table 1. collection details of artemisia species employed in the present study from gilgit-baltistan region of pakistan. taxa latitude longitude location voucher specimen no collectors date artemisia annua l. n-35'54.949 e-74'18.508 barmas paen gilgit pmnh-41582 adil hussain and tanseer 24-06-2016 a. austriaca (vaill.) l. * n-36'01.609 e-74'33.255 bagrote valley gilgit pmnh-41643 adil hussain and tabeer 15-08-2016 a. chamaemelifolia vill.* n-36'09.622 e-74'11.622 naltar valley gilgit pmnh-41630 adil hussain and tanseer 04-08-2016 a. chinensis l.* n-35'26.585 e-75'27.011 shangrilla skardu pmnh-41722 adil hussain and tanseer 02-10-2017 a. campestris l. n-36'08.708 e-74'12.397 naltar valley gilgit pmnh-41619 adil hussain and tabeer 02-08-2016 a. gmelinii weber ex stech. n-36'08.967 e-74'12.112 naltar valley gilgit pmnh-41621 adil hussain and tanseer 02-08-2016 a. herba-alba asso. n-35'54.061 e-74'12.762 kargah nala gilgit pmnh-41599 adil hussain and tanseer 25-07-2016 a. indica willd. n-36'15.250 e-73'24.240 yasin ghizer pmnh-41694 adil hussain and amar 11-08-2017 a. maritima l. ex hook f n-35'52.660 e-74'25.594 minawar gilgit pmnh-41616 adil hussain and tanseer 31-07-2016 a. montana pamp.* n-35'30.883 e-75'40.115 hashupi shigar skardu pmnh-41708 adil hussain and tanseer 28-08-2016 a. pontica l.* n-36'02.121 e-74'35.227 bagrote valley gilgit pmnh-41642 adil hussain and tanseer 14-08-2016 a. rutifolia var. n-36'08.708 e-74'12.397 naltar valley gilgit pmnh-41618 adil hussain and tanseer 02-08-2016 a. scoparia waldst. & kit.* n-35'26.665 e-75'26.960 kachura lake skardu pmnh-41714 adil hussain and tanseer 30-08-2016 a. tournefortiana rachb. n-35'25.493 e-75'44.507 shigar valley skardu pmnh-41704 adil hussain and tanseer 27-08-2016 a. vulgaris l. n-36'20.508 e-74'52.277 shishkat hunza nagar pmnh-41646 adil hussain and tanseer 10-07-2016 the voucher specimen numbers for each species have been obtained from pakistan museum of natural history (pmnh) islamabad pakistan. * rare artemisia species from gilgit-baltistan region of pakistan scanning electron microscopy (sem) for sem analysis, the pollen grains were acetolysed and directly transferred to the sticky carbon disc on metal stub and coated with platinum in a sputtering chamber (pelco auto sputter coater sc-7, ted pella inc). philips xl30 tmp (fei company) electron microscope was used to 160 hussain et al. analyze the samples at 5, 10 and 20 kv (hussain et al., 20019a), at the core electron microscopy core laboratory, tupper hall, university of california davis california usa. light microscopy (lm) micromorphological observations of pollen grains were done with olympus/bx-51 light microscope at department of plant sciences, university of california davis california usa. observations for equatorial diameter (e), polar diameter (p) and p/e ratio were taken according to reitssma (1970) and hayat et al. (2010). cluster analysis a data matrix was generated from the recorded micromorphological characteristics of the pollens of artemisia. this data matrix was then employed for cluster analysis by means of upgma method with euclidean in the mvsp software version 3.21 (kovach, 2007). results and discussion in this study, the characteristics of pollen of 15 artemisia species have been examined in detail using scanning electron microscopy. results of this study found some variation in the pollen structure of the investigated artemisia species. the characteristics of pollen includes equatorial (e) and polar (p) measurements, polar and equatorial ratio (p/e), pollen shape, spinules presence/absence and the ornamentation of exine. the quantitative characteristics of the examined species are given in table 2 and sem micrographs on pollen structures are presented in figs 1-3. the equatorial and polar views of the artemisia pollen are given in figs 1 and 2, respectively. the sculpture of exine surface of artemisia pollens are evident from fig. 3, where the presence of tiny spinules can also be seen. similarly in the spinule densities was varied among different species of artemisia. these spinules are very unique in all investigated artemisia species. few investigated species showed some degenerative tendency in their structure. for example, the spinules in a. chinensis were found to be loosely arranged (fig 3i) as compared to the spinules of other artemisia species pollen (fig. 3). table 2. quantitative characteristics of pollen of different artemisia species from gilgit-baltistan region of pakistan. taxa polar (μm) equatorial (μm) p/e sphericity artemisia annua 15.60 18.79 0.83 a. austriaca 17.20 16.49 1.04 a. campestris 15.55 15.75 0.98 a. chamaemelifolia 20.30 19.04 1.06 a. chinensis 24.24 12.01 2.01 a. gmelinii 16.86 14.90 1.13 a. herba-alba 22.58 18.64 1.21 a. indica 17.65 14.37 1.22 a. maritima 15.59 14.49 1.07 a. montana. 15.45 16.54 0.93 a. pontica 17.86 14.65 1.21 a. rutifolia 16.70 17.43 0.95 a. scoparia 15.12 17.36 0.87 a. tournefortiana 19.08 19.59 0.97 a. vulgaris 15.33 16.93 0.90 pollen morphology and its systematic implication 161 fig. 1. scanning electron micrographs showing the equatorial view of pollens of artemisia species: a, a. annua; b, a. maritima; c, a. rutifolia; d, a. campestris; e, a. chamaemelifolia; f, a. tournefortiana; g, a. indica; h, a. scoparia; i, a. chinensis; j, a. austriaca; k, a. gmelinii; l, a. herba-alba; m, a. pontica; n, a. vulgaris; o, a. montana. scale bar = 2-10μm. from lm and sem observations, the shape of pollen grain was found to be homogeneous with few exceptions throughout the genus and confirms the monophyly of genus artemisia (hayat et al., 2010) as presented the monophyly of artemisia in molecular studies of torrell et al. (1999), watson et al. (2002), hussain et al. (2019a,b). the general features of artemisia pollen recorded in the present study are in high concordance with jiang (2005) and hayat et al. (2010) who found approximate symmetry or globular, 3 lobed spheres in the equatorial view while ellipsoid in the polar side with tricolporate structure in different species of artemisia. 162 hussain et al. fig. 2. scanning electron micrographs showing the polar view of pollens of artemisia species: a, a. annua; b, a. maritima; c, a. rutifolia; d, a. campestris; e, a. chamaemelifolia; f, a. tournefortiana; g, a. indica; h, a. scoparia; i, a. chinensis; j, a. austriaca; k, a. gmelinii; l, a. herba-alba; m, a. pontica; n, a. vulgaris; o, a. montana. scale bar = 2-10 μm. pollen characteristics among the investigated species look similar except in artemisia chinensis. the division of the genus artemisia into subgenera by means of floral morphology and molecular studies could not be recognized by pollen data, because the pollen morphology of the species investigated is very similar in shape, size as well as in exine sculpture with few exceptions. the family asteraceae is eurypalynous, and the genera of this family possess zonocolporate type of pollen (sachdeva and malik, 1986). an important character of pollen is spine present in the exine that can be utilized as diagnostic character in the genera of asteraceae (pinar and donmez, 2000). on the other hand, the morphology of pollen of different asteraceae pollen morphology and its systematic implication 163 genera previously investigated showed that the exine feature of pollen is very significant in taxonomy and classification based on phylogeny (mbagwu and edeoga, 2006). this study also validates that the spinule present in artemisia pollen is very crucial marker for species delimitation and classification. fig. 3. scanning electron micrographs showing the exine sculpture view of pollens of artemisia species: a, a. annua; b, a. maritima; c, a. rutifolia; d, a. campestris; e, a. chamaemelifolia; f, a. tournefortiana; g, a. indica; h, a. scoparia; i, a. chinensis; j, a. austriaca; k, a. gmelinii; l, a. herba-alba; m, a. pontica; n, a. vulgaris; o, a. montana. scale bar = 2-10 μm. 164 hussain et al. a total of seven micromorphological characters of the pollens of different artemisia species, studied by lm and sem, were selected for cluster analysis using upgma (table 3). the data matrix based on pollen features of different artemisia species used for cluster analysis is provided in table 4. table 3. pollen characters and character states for the cluster analysis of artemisia. the numbers in brackets are the codes for character states. the code of plesiomorphic character state is always 0. sl. no. characters character states 1 pollen type anthemis (0), artemisia (1) 2 pollen shape globular (0), oblate (1) 3 spinules arrangement dense (0), loose (1) 4 exine sculpture granular (0), sinuolate (1) 5 spinules base stretching and outward extending (0) normal* (1) 6 polar length >26μm (0), >23-26μm (1), >22-23μm (2), >21-22μm (3), >20-21μm (4), >19-20μm (5), >18-19μm (6), >17-18μm (7), 16-17μm (8), 15-16μm (9) 7 equatorial width >21μm (0), >20-21μm (1), >19-20μm (2), >18-19μm (3), >17-18μm (4), >16-17μm (5), >15-16μm (6) 14-15μm (7) table 4. data matrix used in cluster analysis of artemisia species based on pollen features. sl. no. taxa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 a. annua 1 1 0 1 1 9 3 2 a. austriaca 1 1 1 0 0 7 5 3 a. campestris 1 0 1 1 0 9 6 4 a. chamaemelifolia 1 1 0 1 1 4 2 5 a. chinensis 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 6 a. gmelinii 1 1 0 1 1 8 7 7 a. herba-alba 1 1 1 0 1 9 7 8 a. indica 1 1 1 1 1 7 7 9 a. maritima 1 1 1 0 1 9 3 10 a. montana 1 0 0 0 1 9 5 11 a. pontica 1 1 0 0 1 7 7 12 a. rutifolia 1 0 1 0 0 8 4 13 a. scoparia 1 0 1 1 0 9 4 14 a. tournefortiana 1 1 1 1 1 5 2 15 a. vulgaris 1 0 0 1 0 9 5 in the dendrogram, four groups have been recognized within the genus artemisia. species like a. chinensis, a. chamaemelifolia and a. tournefortiana were clustered in group 1. a. herba-alba, a. pontica, a. gmelinii and a. indica were placed in group 2. a. austriaca, a. scoparia, a. rutifolia, a. montana, a. campestris and a. vulgaris were designated in group 3. the rest two species a. annua and a. maritima were placed in group 4 (fig. 4). the pollen morphological evolutions have the ability to develop more and more degenerative structures (hayat et al., 2010). few characters of pollen like, lobular pollen shape, arrangement dense spinules, broad spinule base, granular exine sculpture, large pollen size, thick exine and broad colpus width, are the plesiomorphic characteristics of artemisia pollen. on the other hand, pollen morphology and its systematic implication 165 in apomorphic condition these pollen characteristics have ability to be transformed to oblate pollen, lose arrangement of spinules, without prominent spinule base, sinuolate exine sculpture, small pollen size and volume, reduced exine thickness and thin colpus. fig. 4. dendrogram based on cluster analysis of pollen micromorphological characters of different species of the genus artemisia. studies authenticated one reason behind this evolution is the patterns of pollination from entomophily to anemophily. while, climate changing patterns with high latitude to low latitude during the relocation from north temperate zone and low evaluation moist regions during the glacial epoch are other major cause of this evolution in pollen of artemisia (jiang et al., 2005). our results are in accordance with the findings of hayat et al. (2010) and martin et al. (2003) who proposed pollen morphology as a diagnostic feature for artemisia and recognized as an excellent taxonomic marker. however, our results are not in agreement with jiang et al. (2005) suggesting that the grouping of artemisia species based on their pollen morphology is very difficult task. we also propose that the arrangement patterns of spinules (dense/loose) are also a good taxonomic character for species delimitation. this study concludes that the pollen characters of genus artemisia could be taxonomically crucial traits for few species with in the genus. together with the data from molecular studies, phytochemistry, karyology and phytogeography, the micromorpholigical traits of pollen can be useful for subgeneric classification of the genus artemisia. 166 hussain et al. acknowledgements the authors are obliged to the higher education commission (hec) of pakistan and the agricultural experiment station of the university of california, davis usa for providing assistance to complete this research work. the authors are indebted to the international islamic university islamabad pakistan and national university of science and technology islamabad pakistan for giving research facilities. the authors are thankful to miss. patricia (pat) e. kysar, cemt, staff research associate sraiii university of california davis california usa for her technical support throughout the scanning electron microscopy. references bremer, k. 1994. asteraceae. cladistics and classification. portland, timber press. bremer, k. and humphries, c.j. 1993. generic monograph of the asteraceae-anthemideae. bull. nat. his. mus. london (bot.) 23: 71–177. caramiello, r., siniscalco, c. and polini, v. 1989. analyses aeroplaynologiques et phenologiquesd’ artemisia. grana. 28: 105–113. d’andrea, s., caramiello, r., ghignone, s. and siniscalco, c. 2003. systematic studies on some of the artemisia: biomolecular analysis. pl. biosyst. 137: 121–130. edward, l. 1994. plesiomorphic and apomorphic pollen structure characteristics of anthemideae (asteroideae: asteraceae). american j. bot. 81: 648–657. garcia, s., mcarthur, e.d., pellicer, j., sanderson, s.c., vallès, j., and garnatje, t. 2011. a molecular phylogenetic approach to western north america endemic artemisia and allies (asteraceae): untangling the sagebrushes. american j. bot. 98: 638–653. ghafoor, a. 2002. asteraceae (i) – anthemideae. in: ali s.i. and qaiser m. 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(manuscript received on 2 february, 2018; revised on 10 december, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 453-459, 2020 (december) short communication © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists first record of leucoagaricus nivalis from pakistan sana jabeen*, bushra waseem, tuba, mughees hamid and aneela yasmeen1 department of botany, division of science and technology, university of education, township, lahore, punjab, pakistan keywords: agaricoid; changa manga; taxonomy. leucoagaricus locq. ex singer is represented by more than 150 species of agaricoid, saprotrophic fungi distributed all over the world (kirk et al., 2008; kumari and atri, 2013; yuan and liang, 2014; nabe et al., 2014; ge et al., 2017; justo et al., 2015; qasim et al., 2015; yu et al., 2016; hussain et al., 2018; usman and khalid 2018; verma and vimal, 2018; sysouphanthong et al., 2018; yang et al., 2019; ullah et al., 2020). only 11 leucoagaricus species have been reported from pakistan so far (ahmad et al., 1997; qasim et al., 2015; ge et al., 2017; hussain et al., 2018; usman and khalid, 2018; ullah et al., 2020). leucoagaricus is characterized by small to medium, fleshy or thin basidiomata, ranging in stature from slender to sturdy; a pileus surface that is radially fibrillose, floccose, squamulose to fibrillose-scaly or granulose (rarely); entire or very short striate margins; a central, equal to bulbous stipe with a membranous, sometimes moveable annulus; metachromatic basidiospores generally lack a welldefined germ pore and are thin-walled and smooth; and the pileipellis is either a trichoderm or a cutis of repent and radially arranged hyphae lacking sphaerocysts. pleurocystidia are absent in most species. clamp connections are absent (singer 1986; vellinga 2001). the present study focuses on morphological and molecular characterization of a leucoagaricus species collected in the changa manga forest, kasur district, punjab, pakistan. this research is an effort to establish the fungal diversity of this forest. during field survey in 2019 for the collection of macrofungi to explore the diversity of these fungi from changa manga. a number of basidiomata of leucoagaricus were collected. field notes were recorded and the samples were air dried and preserved for future analysis. macroscopic descriptions were based on the fresh material. significant characters involve size, shape and color of the pileus; attachment and color of lamellae; presence of annulus on stipe. color codes were given using munsell (1975) color system. for micro-morphology, dried samples were examined using standard microscopic techniques. different chemicals were used as mounting media according to requirements. for rehydration, 5% koh was used, and for staining the walls of hyaline hyphae, congo red was used. the anatomical features were observed under microscope xsz 107bn adjusting at 100× objective lens. measurements were noted using calibrated motic images plus 2.0 software. for basidiospores, [n/m/p] represents n number of spores, measured from m basidiomata and p collections, l × w represents spore dimensions, extreme values are given in parenthesis. q values are given as l × w ratio while definitions of the q values for spores are given following bas (1969). drawings were made from the laptop screen. the examined specimens are deposited in the herbarium (lah), department of botany, university of the punjab, quaid-e-azam campus, lahore, pakistan. for dna extraction, the extract-n-amp™ kit (sigmaaldrich, st louis, mo, usa) was used following the manufacturer's protocol. pcr amplification and sequencing was carried *corresponding author, e-mail: sanajabeenue@gmail.com; sanajabeen@ue.edu.pk 1centre for excellence in molecular biology, university of the punjab, 87-west canal bank road, near thokar niaz baig, lahore, punjab, pakistan. mailto:sanajabeenue@gmail.com; mailto:sanajabeen@ue.edu.pk 454 jabeen et al. out from the sequence service using its1f and its4 primers. sequences obtained were analyzed in bioedit sequence alignment editor version 7.2.5 (hall, 1999). consensus sequences were generated and blast searched at ncbi (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). sequences with closest match were selected from genbank to reconstruct phylogeny. the sequences with incomplete its region were left aside. published sequences of the closest relatives of the species were included to reconstruct phylogeny (hussain et al., 2018; ullah et al., 2020). agaricus bisporus (j.e. lange) imbach (af432886) and agaricus campestris l. (u85307) were chosen as outgroup to root the phylogenetic tree. the sequences were aligned using an online muscle tool at embl-ebi (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/). a maximum likelihood tree was inferred using tamura 3-parameter model (tamura, 1992) by best dna model selection in mega 6 (tamura et al., 2013). the percentage of trees in which the associated taxa clustered together is shown next to the branches. the tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths measured in the number of substitutions per site. the analysis involved a selection of 117 nucleotide sequences. there were a total of 866 positions in the final dataset. the phylogeny was tasted with 1000 bootstrap replicates. blast at ncbi revealed that the complete its sequences from pakistani collections of leucoagaricus showed 99–100% similarity with the sequences from china (ky039573) and pakistan (mk106150–mk106153). these sequences along with other sequences from closely related taxa constituted a final dataset of 117 nucleotide sequences with 866 positions. among these positions, 296 were conserved, 540 were variable, 436 were parsimony informative and 90 were represented as singletons. the phylogenetic tree recovered from this dataset is shown in fig. 1. the sequences from our collections were clustered within a clade including sequences of l. nivalis (w.f. chiu) z.w. ge & zhu l. yang, l. purpureolilacinus huijsman, l. umbonatus hussain et al., and some unidentified taxa. our sequences clustered within the l. nivalis lineage including sequences from changa manga forest pakistan and china with 100% bootstrap value fig. 1. taxonomy: leucoagaricus nivalis (w.f. chiu) z.w. ge & zhu l. yang mycosystema 36(5): 548 (2017) (fig. 2 & 3) pileus 2.3–7.5 cm, broadly convex to flat becoming uplifted when mature, surface smooth to slightly fibrillose, white, slightly umbonate; umbo light yellow (2.5y9/4), margin striate, undulating to dentate or eroded. lamellae free, crowded, narrow to ventrocose, entire, white. lamellulae frequent, of variable lengths. stipe (1.1–)2–4(–11) × (0.2–)0.3–0.5(–0.6) cm, with upto 0.8 cm wide base, slightly narrow towards the pileus, central, cylindrical, sometimes curved, smooth, white. annulus present, inferior, white (2.5y8/4). smell and taste not observed. basidiospores [60/3/3] (7.8–)8.3–12(–12.6) × (5.7–)6.3–7.7(–8) µm, q = (1.3–)1.5–1.7(–2), avq = 1.5, ellipsoid, amygdaliform in side view, ovoid in front view; dextrinoid; apiculus prominent; germ pore absent. basidia (13.8–)13.9–15.5(–17.2) × (5.4–)5.5–6.4(–7.2) µm, clavate, with 2–4 sterigmata. lamellae edge sterile cheilocystidia (11–)14–14.9(–16.1) × (4.2–)4.8–4.9(–5) µm, clavate. pleurocystidia absent. pileipellis hyphae (5–)5.4–8.1(–8.8) µm wide, septate; septa frequent; hyphal terminals at the center of the pileus cylindrical (5.2–)5.4–6(–6.6) µm wide. stipitipellis hyphae (6.2–)9.4–10.8(–12.4) µm wide, septate; septa frequent. clamp connections absent in all tissues. all hyphal walls are transparent in h2o and pink in congo red. specimen examined: pakistan. punjab: lahore division, kasur district, changa manga, 192 m a.s.l., on soil 6 october 2019, sana jabeen sj51cm4 (lah36651; genbank: mt573439); sj53cm5 (lah36652; genbank: mt573440); tuba sj58cm12 (lah36653; genbank: mt573441). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). http://www.ebi.ac.uk/). first record of leucoagaricus nivalis from pakistan 455 fig. 1. molecular phylogenetic analysis of leucoagaricus spp. based on its sequences. sequence generated during this study are marked by ●. scale bar = nucleotide substitutions per site. 456 jabeen et al. fig. 2. leucoagaricus nivalis basidiomata. a. lah36651; b & c. lah36652. scale bars = 2 cm. photos by sana jabeen. first record of leucoagaricus nivalis from pakistan 457 fig. 3. leucoagaricus nivalis (lah36652). a. basidiospores; b. basidia; c. cheilocystidia; d. stipitipellis; e. pileipellis; f. pileipellis terminal hyphae from umbo. scale bars: a–c = 5 µm, d–f = 10 µm. drawings by sana jabeen. comments: leucoagaricus nivalis was described in 1948 as lepiota nivalis w.f. chiu from kunming, yunnan province, china (chiu, 1948). recent studies by yang and ge (2017) revealed that this species belongs to leucoagaricus based on its features of basidiospores and cheilocystidia. leucoagaricus nivalis was morphologically identified based on the type collection and two modern collections from the same area. our collections showed more or less similar features to the type collection of l. nivalis hmas 4237 (yang and ge, 2017). though there are some minor differences that were observed in comparative study. these features include the size of the basidiomata which is smaller (6–7.5 × 3.5–4.5) and the size of the basidiospores in terms of 458 jabeen et al. q value that is slightly larger (1.7) in chinese collections. leucoagaricus nivalis has only been reported from china (chiu, 1948; yang and ge, 2017). already available sequences in genbank belong to collections from changa manga, pakistan (mk106150–mk106153) and modern chinese collection from yunnan province (ky039573). in phylogenetic tree, the sequences generated during this study clustered with these sequences in the same clade supports its taxonomy as l. nivalis. leucoagaricus nivalis has only been validly published from china (chiu, 1948; yang and ge, 2017), occurrence of l. nivalis in pakistan is an addition to the funga of pakistan. acknowledgements sincere thanks to dr. arun kumar thiruvoth kottuvetta (the zamorin's guruvayurappan college, guruvayurappan college, kozhikode, kerala 673014, india) and dr. else c. vellinga (university of california, berkeley, california, usa) for presubmission review of the manuscript. their comments and suggestions greatly helped to improve the document. we are thankful to dr. kiran yasmeen malik, mr. amir ali and mr. muhammad kamran for their help in sampling. references ahmad, s., iqbal, s. h. and khalid, a. n. 1997. fungi of pakistan. sultan ahmad mycological society pakistan pp. 1–248. https://doi.org/10.3852/14-351 bas, c. 1969. morphology and subdivision of amanita and a monograph of its section lepidella. persoonia 5: 285–579. chiu, w. f.1948. the amanitaceae of yunnan. the science reports of national tsinghua university. series b, biological and psychological sciences 3(3): 165–178. ge, z. w., yang, z. l., qasim, t., nawaz, r., khalid, a. n. and vellinga, e. c. 2017. four new species in leucoagaricus (agaricaceae, basidiomycota) from asia. mycologia 107(5): 1033–1044. https://doi.org/ 10.3852/14-351 hall, t. a. 1999. bioedit: a user-friendly biological sequence alignment editor and analysis program for windows 95/98/nt. in nucleic acids symposium series 41(41): 95–98. hussain, s., jabeen, s., khalid, a. n., ahmad, h., afshan, n. s., sher, h. and pfister, d. h. 2018. underexplored regions of pakistan yield five new species of leucoagaricus. mycologia 110 (2): 387– 400. https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2018.1439651 justo, a., angelini, c., bizzi, a. and vizzini, a. 2015. leucoagaricus sabinae (agaricaceae), a new species from the dominican republic. north american fungi 10: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.226.1.9 kirk, p. m., cannon, p. f., minter, d. w. and stalpers, j. a. eds. 2008. dictionary of fungi, 10th edn.cabi, wallingford. kumari, b. and atri, n.s. 2013. new additions of basidiomycetous fungi in indian mycoflora. mycosphere 4(1): 53–59. https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/4/1/4 munsell, a. h. 1975. munsell soil color charts. baltimore, md, usa. nabe, m., kasya, t. and hosaka k. 2014. leucoagaricus viridiflavus (agaricaceae), new to japan. japanese journal of mycology 55(2): 35–40. qasim, t., amir, t., nawaz, r., niazi, a. r. and khalid, a. n. 2015. leucoagaricus lahorensis, a new species of l. sect. rubrotincti. mycotaxon 130(2): 533–541. https://doi.org/10.5248/130.533 singer, r. 1986. the agaricales in modern taxonomy, 4thedn. koeltz scientific books , koenigstein. sysouphanthong, p., bouamanivong, s., salichanh, t., xaybouangeun, n., sucharitakul, p., osathanunkul, m. and suwannapoom, c. 2018. leucoagaricus houaynhangensis (agaricaceae), a new yellowishgreen species from lao people’s democratic republic. chiang mai journal of science 45(3): 1287– 1295. https://doi.org/10.3852/14-351 https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1080/00275514.2018.1439651 https://doi.org/10.11646/phytohttps://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/4/1/4 https://doi.org/10.5248/130.533 first record of leucoagaricus nivalis from pakistan 459 tamura, k., stecher, g., peterson, d., filipski, a. and kumar, s. 2013. mega6: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 6.0. molecular biology and evolution 30: 2725–2729. https://doi.org/10.1093/ molbev/mst197 tamura, k. 1992. estimation of the number of nucleotide substitutions when there are strong transitiontransversion and g + c-content biases. molecular biology and evolution 9: 678-687. ullah, z., jabeen, s., faisal, m., ahmad, h. and khalid, a. n. 2020. leucoagaricus brunneus sp. nov. from khyber pakhtunkhwa, pakistan. mycotaxon 134(4): 601–611. https://doi.org/10.5248/134.601 usman, m. and khalid, a. n. 2018. leucoagaricus pabbiensis sp. nov. from punjab, pakistan. mycotaxon 133(2): 354–363. https://doi.org/10.5248/133.355 vellinga, e. c. 2001. leucoagaricus. in: noordeloos, m.e., kuyper, t.w. and vellinga, e.c. (eds.). flora agaricina neerlandica 5. rotterdam: 85–108. verma, r. k. and vimal, p. h. l. a. 2018. diversity of macro-fungi in central india-xii: leucoagaricus rubrotinctus. van sangyan 5(4): 1–10. yang, z. l., ge, z. w. and liang j. 2019. flora fungorum sinicorum vol. 52. fungi lepiotoidei (agaricaceae). yang, z. l and ge, z. w. 2017. six new combinations of lepiotaceous fungi from china. mycosystema 36(5): 542–551. yu, f., liang, j. f., ge, z. w. and li, y. k. 2016. morphological and molecular evidence for a new species of leucoagaricus from china. sydowia 68: 41–47. yuan y, li, y. k. and liang, j. f. 2014. leucoagaricus tangerinus, a new species with drops from southern china. mycological progress 13(3): 893–898. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-014-0974-2 (manuscript received on 25 august, 2020; revised on 19 november, 2020) https://doi.org/10.1093/ https://doi.org/10.5248/134.601 https://doi.org/10.5248/133.355 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-014-0974-2 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 99-106, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67048 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new fungistic record of boletus himalayensis a morphologically complex porcini mushroom from pakistan hira bashir, samina sarwar1,2*, irmgard krisai-greilhuber2, ayesha hanif3 and abdul n. khalid4 department of botany, women university of mardan, pakistan keywords: biodiversity; bolete; hindu kush; taxonomy; trichoderm. abstract porcini mushrooms (boletus sect. boletus) have both economic and ecological importance. during this study, a specimen of the phenotypically complex species boletus himalayensis was analyzed morphologically and molecular genetically. this bolete species is characterized by a combination of porcini features: whitish pileus margin and context, pore surface and overall basidiomata having a whitish look before maturity and it has a considerably longer stipe compared to the pileus diameter when immature, with whitish reticulation extending longitudinally towards base. the whitish context and the white to white yellowish pore surface both do not change color upon bruising. although the specimen exhibited a long stipe and a small non−cracked pileus as compared to other collections of boletus himalayensis, molecular genetic analysis revealed that it belongs to this species. introduction moist temperate forests of pakistan are considered as one of the biodiversity hotspots. despite their importance, these forests are under of the least studied ones in terms of the diversity of macrofungi (mirjam, 2010). the boletes are no exception, their diversity from the entire himalayan region of pakistan is only represented by some sporadic publications (ahmad et al., 1997; das et al., 2012; das, 2013a, 2013b; das and chakraborty, 2014; sarwar et al., 2011, 2012, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c, 2015, 2016, 2018 a, b, 2021 a, b, hernández−restrepo et al., 2016; naseer et al., 2019). the present work presents a fungistic (=mycofloristic) record of a porcini mushroom from pakistan. porcini (boletus section boletus: boletaceae: boletineae: boletales) are a conspicuous group of wild, edible mushrooms characterized by fleshy fruiting bodies with a poroid hymenophore that is "stuffed" with white hyphae when young (dentinger et al., 2010). together with its ectomycorrhizal plant symbionts they are distributed throughout the northern hemisphere (dentinger et al., 2010; sarwar et al., 2018a). little progress has been made on the systematics of this group using modern molecular phylogenetic tools. molecular genetic analysis supports the monophyly of the porcini group. porcini mushrooms have a high diversity and worldwide distribution and are a group of commercially valuable mushrooms that may provide an economic incentive for conservation and support the hypothesis of a tropical origin of the ectomycorrhizal symbiosis (dentinger et al., 2010; pérez-moreno, 2021). a distinguishing feature of porcini boletes is their young mostly ventricose and later cylindrical stipe sometimes with an enlarged base, and with a raised netted pattern at least over the *corresponding author, e-mail: samina_boletus@yahoo.com 1department of botany, lahore college for women university, lahore, pakistan. 2deptartment of botany and biodiversity research, university of vienna, austria. 3department of botany, university of okara, pakistan. 4institute of botany, university of the punjab, lahore, pakistan. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67048 mailto:samina_boletus@yahoo.com 100 bashi̇r et al. uppermost portion, and a layer of tangled white hyphae that covers the immature tubes (dentinger et al., 2010). the taxonomy and classification of these taxa within this group is still confusing (wang and yao, 2005). species in this group have a wide ecological range and a wide distribution pattern including asia (importantly pakistan, india, and china) (thiers, 1975; bessette et al., 2000; oria de rueda and diez, 2002; leonardi et al., 2005; wang and yao, 2005; águeda et al., 2006, 2008; arora, 2008; beugelsdijk et al., 2008; oria de rueda et al., 2008). research with molecular genetic data has been very useful in understanding morphological complexity, phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic issues within this group (leonardi et al., 2005; dentinger and mclaughlin, 2006; beugelsdijk et al., 2008; dentinger et al., 2010; wu et al., 2014; cui et al., 2015). materials and methods site description and collection of samples during fungal field surveys to the khyber pakhtunkhwa (kpk) area, we collected an interesting bolete sample from the forests of the hindu kush foothills and himalayan. sampling areas included malam jabba valley in swat district and ayubia and nathia galli in abbottabad, khyber pakhtunkhwa province. specimens were collected in early summer (july) and the monsoon season, until the end of september. field notes were done from fresh basidiomata and photographs were taken in their natural habitat. colors were designated following munsell (1975). basidiomata were dried by keeping them near a fan heater and then kept in paper bags for processing in the laboratory. specimens are deposited in the lah herbarium, institute of botany, university of the punjab, lahore, pakistan. macromorphological and microscopic studies samples were studied macroscopically and microscopically in the laboratory following the methods described by bessette et al. (2000), ladurner and simonini (2003), muñoz (2005) and dentinger et al. (2010). the following morphological characters were recorded from fresh fruiting bodies. pileus: diameter, shape, surface color, ornamentation, texture, color and bruising reaction of the context, margin color and shape. stipe: length and width, shape, color, ornamentation and texture, color and bruising reaction of the context, attachment of the stipe to the pileus, presence/absence of annulus on stipe. hymenium: color and size of pores and tubes, and bruising reactions of the pore surface. for plectological analysis a cxrii, labomed, labo america inc., fremont, ca, usa microscope was used. small tissues of each specimen were mounted in lactic acid, koh, trypan blue, and melzer’s reagent and the length, width, shape, and contents of cytoplasm of basidiospores, basidia, hymenial cystidia, pileipellis and its terminal cells, and their color reactions were recorded. for the spore dimensions, the first values present the range of lengths and widths and qm is the mean of q (=length/width ratio of an individual spore). a total of 20 spores from two collections were measured. molecular genetic analyses dna was extracted from dried basidiomata by a modified ctab method (bruns, 1995). the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (its) region was amplified using the primers pairs its1f/its4 (white et al., 1990; gardes and bruns, 1993). pcr conditions were 5 min denaturation at 95 °c followed by 35 cycles of annealing at 94 °c (1 min), 1.5 min at 55 °c, 1.5 min at 72 °c and a final extension at 72 °c for 5 min. after purifying pcr products and sequencing reactions, the sequencing reaction products were sent to tsingke, china services. the sequencing chromatograms obtained were edited by comparing overlapping reads using bioedit a new fungistic record of boletus himalayensis 101 (hall, 1999) and compared to genbank records using blast at ncbi (https://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/). sequences were aligned using the muscle alignment tool. phylogenetic analyses were done with the maximum likelihood algorithm (nei and kumar, 2000) of sequences evolution using the model testing feature of mega6 software (tamura et al., 2011). bootstrap consensus tree was inferred from 1000 replicates, and corresponding bootstrap values >50% are shown in the tree (fig. 3). boletus edulis was used as outgroup. results and discussion morphological analysis boletus himalayensis s. jabeen, s. sarwar & a. n. khalid (figs 1-2) genbank numbers: op817154, op817155 macroscopic character description: pileus 2–9 cm in diameter, pulvinate, convex to plano−convex, brownish red to orangish red, surface dry to slightly viscid, smooth, tomentose, sometimes cracked, whitish towards margin. pileus margin entire, whitish, smooth, rimose, incurved to straight. context whitish, no color change upon exposure or when bruised. stipe considerably longer than pileus diameter, about 15 cm long, 2–3 cm thick, central, cylindrical or gradually becoming thicker towards base, straight or slightly curved near base, base itself tapering, whitish towards base, brownish to brownish red towards apex, whitish reticulated allover and mostly very prominent and composed of isodiametric meshes towards apex becoming longitudinally elongated towards base, solid, context whitish, no color change upon exposure or when bruised. pore surface white, pores 2–3 per mm, circular, adnate and ascending, tubes 9–13 mm long, white to off–white, no color change upon bruising. microscopic character description: basidiospores subfusiform to ellipsoid−elongate, smooth, thick−walled, light brown in koh, inamyloid, with less prominent apiculus, (13.7–) 14.1–16.0 (– 16.7) × (–4.2) 4.8–5.5 (–5.9) µm, [avx= 14.7 ± 0.8 × 5.1 ± 0.4 µm, qm = 6.8, n = 2×20]. basidia clavate, 2–4 sterigmate, sterigma long, thick walled, brown contents visible, 17.9–43.2 × 11.0– 16.3 µm. cheilocystidia 21.8–42.7 × 5.3–10.9 µm, clavate, a few spheropendeculate. pleurocystidia absent. pileipellis 3.4–6.1 µm in diam., consisting of cylindrical generative hyphae, cylindrical elongated cells observed, and, frequently septate and branched, very few subglobose cells also observed, constricted at the septa. stipitipellis hyphae 1.4–8 µm in diam., cylindrical elongated cells observed, parallel and branched hyphae, septate and constricted at septa. material examined: pakistan, khyber pakhtunkhwa province, malakand division, swat district, malam jabba, on soil near broadleaf trees, notably oaks, july 2021, hira bashir, mj–02. genbank op817154. pakistan: khyber pakhtunkhwa, ayubia, 2350 m a.s.l., near abies pindrow royle, solitary, on soil, 19 june 2010, sarwar s.b. # 76(lcwu0710) genbank op817155. molecular phylogenetic analysis (fig. 3) the consensus sequences of the its region obtained during this study and used in phylogenetic analysis were about 700 base pairs long, after trimming. we used mostly published species sequences in the final dataset of 29 samples including our consensus sequences. sequences were blast searched at ncbi and showed maximum similarity (100% or almost 100%) with boletus himalayensis (mf288902) meaning that our samples belong to this species. phylogenetic evaluation the nrits gene shows that the newly generated sequences op817154 and op817155 are nested within a clade containing both b. reticuloceps and b. himalayensis with strong bootstrap values. https://www.ncbi. 102 bashi̇r et al. fig. 1. boletus himalayensis (macroscopic features). a−c, basidiomata (swat and ayubia collection) showing pileus, stipe and hymenium features. scale bars: for a−c = 1 cm. fig. 2. boletus himalayensis (microscopic features). (swat collection) a. basidia; b. cystidia; c. pileipellis; d. stipitipellis; e. basidiospores. scale bar: a−e = 10 µm. a new fungistic record of boletus himalayensis 103 fig. 3. phylogenetic position of boletus himalayensis with related species. tree inferred by maximum likelihood analysis based on nrdna its sequences. the numbers against branches indicate the percentage (>50%) at which a given branch was supported in 1000 bootstrap replications. genbank accession number are given at the end of species names. ■ indicate newly generated sequences. in the present study, boletus himalayensis, which was described in 2018 from the himalayas, could be found again and the analysis shows that it is morphologically quite variable by sometimes having a long stipe and a smooth pileus as compared to the cracked pileus and short stipe in previously reported b. himalayensis specimens, but genetically these collections all belong to this species (sarwar et al., 2018a). other closely related species, both morphologically and phylogenetically, are b. pinophilus and b. reticulatus (sarwar et al., 2018a; thiers 1975, wang and yao, 2005). a special note has to be made about b. reticuloceps. among these taxa, the closest one is b. reticuloceps, but the characters that differentiate b. himalayensis from the former are a rugulose pileus and a gradually broader stipe base in the former as compared to long stipe with narrow base in the latter (wang and yao, 2005). boletus reticuloceps, which appears to be seeminlgy intermixed with b. himalayensis in our phylogenetic analysis, was originally described in the genus aureoboletus, as having a reddish yellow pore surface changing to brownish upon bruising, which is in contradiction to b. himalayensis. one explanation for the observed mix could be that samples of b. himalayensis have been misidentified. the second possibility would be that b. reticuloceps is actually correctly placed in the genus boletus s. str. and thus b. himalayensis boletus persoonii ay680986 boletus edulis ab821457 boletus edulis ab821458 boletus edulis jf899550 boletus edulis ab821455 boletus chippewaensis km248943 boletus cf edulis kc152072 boletus rubriceps nr 137806 boletus rubriceps kc900411 boletus cf edulis mw879315 boletus pinophilus eu554662 boletus reticulatus jn020989 boletus aestivalis dq131611 boletus queletii jf907785 boletus fragrans aj419186 boletus appendiculatus fm958176 boletus speciosus jn903704 boletus subappendiculatus jn9037 boletus appendiculatus jf907786 boletus himalayensis mf288902 boletus himalayensis op817154 boletus himalayensis op817155 boletus reticuloceps jn563882 boletus reticuloceps fj548566 boletus himalayensis on725020 boletus reticuloceps kj131226 boletus reticuloceps kj131225 boletus himalayensis on725039 100 100 99 87 76 100 74 66 100 66 62 60 57 79 99 99 104 bashi̇r et al. would become a later synonym. however, the morphological discrepancy of the different pore color and discoloration would then remain. this taxonomic question can only be resolved by studying the type of b. reticuloceps in the future. anatomically, like other boletus s. str. species, the samples analyzed during this study had sterile tube edges having long, dense clusters of cheilocystidioid elements and a trichoderm, a pileipellis composed of a layer of long, erect cylindrical or few-branched hyphae. molecular phylogenetic analyses based on its provide strong support that our two samples investigated belong to b. himalayensis with some morphological variations. this variability very likely is due to the weather conditions at site with a cracking pileus and short stipe in dry weather conditions and a longer stipe and smooth pileus when moist, mainly due to monsuun season. acknowledgements we are sincerely thankful to higher education commission (hec) pakistsn for providing funds in an srgp project to dr. hira bashir as well as to austrian academy of sciences for providing funds in jesh fellowship to dr. samina sarwar for 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(manuscript received on 7 january 2023 ; revised on 5 june 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 77-88, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67045 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a morphological, anatomical and palynological investigastion on delphinium cilicicum p.h. davis & kit tan and d. petrodavisianum ilarslan & kit tan hakki demi̇relma*, fadiyya nooruldeen saeed hazoo and burcu yilmaz çitak department of biology, faculty of science, university of selçuk, konya, turkey keywords: anatomy; delphinium; ranunculaceae; morphology; micromorphology; palynology; turkey. abstract in the present study, the morphological, anatomical and palynological properties of endemic species delphinium cilicicum p.h. davis & kit tan and d. petrodavisianum i̇larslan & kit tan belonging to the genus delphinium l., ranunculaceae of turkey were investigated. d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum are very similar morphologically. however, in our studies, it has been determined that there are some differences between the two species in terms of morphological, anatomical and palynological aspects. based on the data obtained, the similarities and differences between two species were revealed. the cross-sections taken from the roots of two species have peridermis, cortex, vascular tissue and central region, in cross sections taken from the stem have epidermis, cortex, vascular bundle, and pith. in cross sections taken from the sepal and petal have lower and upper epidermis, parenchyma cells and tracheal cells. through cross-sections of fruit, it was observed that there were two seeds in the fruit and the fruit wall was determined in two species. in palynological research, pollen size, p/e ratio, colpus size, intine-exine thicknesses, amb diameter and distance between colpus were measured. it was revealed that d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum had tricolpate, oblate-spheroidal pollen grains. the results obtained from the pollen grains were similar to each other in examined species. the fruits and seeds of two species were examined using sem microscopy. micromorphological differences and similarities were determined. the fruits of the species are follicle and globose. the seeds are yellowish brown, sub pyramidal and finegrained ornamented. introduction ranunculaceae is a family within the ranales order of the plant kingdom of different medicinal plants of zygomorphic or actinomorphic symmetry (soydan, 2009). it was first recognized in 1789 as a cosmopolitan family (menemen and uzel, 2016). ranunculaceae means "small frog" implying its amphibian properties (simpson, 2012). ranunculaceae is represented by 58 genera and 1758 species worldwide (seçmen et al., 1995). this family has 18 genera and 204 species in our country and the endemism ratio is 25.6% (güner et al., 2012). ranunculaceae includes various plant species with both advanced and primitive properties; advanced properties are finely divided leaves, thyrsus, unisexual and zygomorphic flowers, special spur sepals and petals, syncarpy and achene fruits (agnihotri et al., 2014). the genus delphinium l. is represented by about 370 species in the world. it spreads along cold and temperate belts of the northern hemisphere and highlands of africa (wilde, 1931). delphinium is represented by 31 species in total in turkey, 17 of which are endemic (ertuğrul, 2012). delphinium species is adapted to turkish name with ‘hezaren’ (güner et al., 2012). species of delphinium flowers are known to * corresponding author, e-mail: demirelma@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67045 mailto:demirelma@gmail.com 78 demirelma et al. adapt to form, color, function and blossoming phenology closely and depend on pollination with queen bumblebees (bombus latr. spp.) and hummingbird (macior, 1975). pollen grains are transferred to female organs via water, wind and animals. the surface of pollen grain carried by wind and water is generally smooth, while the surface of that carried by animals like insects or birds in various ornaments and is sinuous. the pollen grains attach to either animals or sinuous surfaces of the female organ’s 4 stigma (yakar and bilge, 1987). furthermore, in some studies not only natural but also commercial pollen grains have been used, and some differences between these two types of pollen grains have been observed (candan and çali, 2015). d. cilicicum endemic to turkey is known as “toros hezareni” (güner et al., 2012). it was first introduced to the world of science by dr. p. h. davis and dr. kit tan in 1988. d. petrodavisianum specific to turkey is known as “gökçe hezareni” (güner et al., 2012). d. petrodavisianum species was first collected and introduced to the world of science by r. ilarslan (tan and ilarslan, 1990). d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum taxa are perennial plants. their flowers are dark or pale blue. it is known that both taxa are close relatives, although there are some differences in their properties (fener and aykurt, 2019). this study aimed to examine macro-morphological, palynological and anatomical characteristics of d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum taxa in turkey. anatomical similarities and differences have been mentioned. pollen grains of the species in question were examined under light and scanning electron microscopes and pollen morphologies were revealed. material and methods plant samples of d. cilicicum species was collected on 24 july 2020 from yelatan village (2-3 km north of yelatan, stony, inclined slopes, height: 1400 m) of çamardı district of niğde province. the samples of d. petrodavisianum taxon was collected on 26 july 2020 in eğiste village (ancient road between eğiste bridge and eğiste village, broken serpantine, oak spaces, height: 1290 m) of hadim district of konya province in their natural habitats during blossoming and fruiting periods under field conditions (figure 1). before collecting plant samples, the species are photographed. collected samples were pressed with the traditional pressing technique, dried, and stored in herbarium of selçuk university faculty of science department of biology (knya). some of the specimens were transferred to plastic bottles filled with 70% percent ethyl alcohol in field conditions. root, stem, flower and fruit of d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum were used for anatomical studies. anatomical studies were completed in 5 stages. these stages are dehydration (removal of water), paraffin saturation, paraffin embedding, sectioning and staining. the method conducted by johansen (1940) was used for anatomical study. pollen materials to be used in palynological studies were obtained from herbarium samples. according to the wodehouse method, reference pollen preparations were made for each species (wodehouse, 1935). equatorial (e) and polar (p) axesses, colpus length and width of pollen grains were measured. p/e ratios of examined species’ pollen grains were calculated and pollen shapes were determined. in addition, exine and intine thicknesses were measured. stereo microscope, light and scanning electron microscope were used for fruit and seed morphology, and micromorphology. they were examined and their photos were taken. fruit and seed ornamentation, and general appearance were examined with sem microscope. a morphological, anatomical and palynological investigastion 79 fig. 1. distribution map d. cilicicum () and d. petrodavisianum () in turkey results and discussion anatomical studies root anatomy in both species, the protective layer around outermost part of the root is found to be made of peridermis elements. the average thickness of peridermal protective tissue of d. cilicicum is 56.99 ± 7.78 µm and 75.15±5.94 µm in d. petrodavisianum. cortex parenchyma is between the peridermis layer and conducting tissue, and is made of parenchymal rectangular cells. cortex tissue thickness is 33.71 ± 13.89 µm in d. cilicicum and 85.16±10.70 µm in d. petrodavisianum. vascular tissue is made of phloem, which is located below the cortex and xylem elements that contain tracheid cells. sap cells are observed in the central area, and the average thickness is 41.80±15.64 µm and 16.20±52.92 µm in d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum, respectively. stem anatomy in the cross sections of the stems of both species, the epidermis, cortex, vascular bundle and pith region were observed from the inside out. outermost epidermal layer cells of d. cilicicum are simple, cubic, and rectangular, while they are oval shaped in d. petrodavisianum. dimensions of epidermal cells are 12.47-21.76×2.51-33.27 µm and 5.52-15.75×8.20-22.30 µm in d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum species, respectively. cuticle thickness are 8.23±1.56 µm and 9.70±1.28 µm in d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum, respectively. the average cortical layer thicknesses are 14.43±2.75 µm and 14.43±2.75 µm in d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum, respectively. vascular bundles are made of phloem and xylem elements. the average dimensions of tracheid cells of xylem elements are 18.92±6.65 µm and 3.36-20.61 µm in d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum. pith regions of both species are round, oval or polygonal and made of parenchymal cells. flower anatomy the outermost ring of the flower is the sepal. the average sepal thicknesses are 55.03 ± 19.83 µm and 113.93±42.99 µm in d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum, respectively. sepal cells of both species are oval, rectangular and cubic, and tracheid cells are apparent. the average dimension of sepal cells in d. cilicicum is 17.69 ± 7.37 µm and cell width is 8.76 × 28.25 µm, while they are 31.78±13.86 µm and 17.44-57.68 µm in d. petrodavisianum. cells are surrounded 80 demirelma et al. fig. 2. the root microphotographs of cross sections of d. cilicicum (a-b) and d. petrodavisianum (c-d) species. a-c: general view of roots; b-d: details of cortex and phloem; pe: peridermis, co: cortex, ph: phloem, x: xylem, m: center of roots. fig. 3. the stem microphotographs of cross sections of d. cilicicum (a,c) and d. davisianum (b,d) ep: epidermis, cu: cuticle, co: cortex, ph: phloem, xs: xylem, sc: sclerenchyma, p: pith cell, pi: pith region, s: starch grains, a morphological, anatomical and palynological investigastion 81 by two layers of the epidermis. dimensions of inner epidermal cells are 10.89-12.78 × 13.56-21.31 µm and those of outer epidermal cells are 6.45-20.41 × 9.16-24.71 µm in d. cilicicum, while they are 8.28-17.02 × 23.78-34.59 µm and 12.02-18.24 × 19.39-31.45 µm in d. petrodavisianum, respectively. the colorful structure of the flower is the petal. the average petal thickness is 209.49 ± 43.85 µm and parenchyma cell is 24.02 ± 12.99 µm in d. cilicicum, while they are 117.30 ± 63.56 µm and 20.20 ± 9.73 µm in d. petrodavisianum, respectively. the parenchymal cells in both species are round and oval. cells are surrounded by outer and inner epidermis. dimensions of inner epidermal and outer epidermal cells in d. cilicicum are 4.88-14.19 × 9.96-22.32 µm and 9.22-24.5 × 8.4-32.19 µm respectively, while they are 4.92-12.01 × 8.37-20.17 µm and 8.07-13.63 × 8.1424.12 µm in d. petrodavisianum, respectively. fig. 4. the anatomical flower parts of d. cilicicum (a,c) and d. petrodavisianum (b,d). (a,b): the cross section of sepals, (c,d): the cross sections of petals. uep: upper epidermis, lep: lower epidermis, me: mesophyll, vb: vascular bundle. fruit anatomy fruit in both species is spheroidal and contains two seeds. d. cilicicum has a fruit wall with an average thickness of 169.68 ± 8.26 µm at the outermost and it is 153.30 ± 17.79 µm in d. petrodavisianum. starch grains are observed in cross-sections of the fruit wall. dimension of mesocarp cell is 20.76-32.91×24.06-43.97 µm in d. cilicicum and 17.59-38.05 ×21.33-66.78 µm in d. petrodavisianum. palynological results pollen types of d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum species are monad. the aperture type of pollen grains of this species is tricolpate. palynological observations and calculations revealed that pollen shape is oblate-spheroidal in both species. 82 demirelma et al. fig. 5. the section microphotograps of fruit of d. cilicicum (a,b) and d. petrodavisianum (c,d). ep: epidermis, me: mesophyll, s: starch grains the polar axes (p) and equatorial axes (e) dimensions of both species are very close, and the amb shapes of both species are triangular. exine structure is tectate and exine sculpture is scabrate-perforate in both species. in addition, clg, clt, amb diameter, the distance between colpus, intine and exine thicknesses are very close (table 1). table 1. the comparative palynological characters of d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum. palynological characters/species d. cilicicum d. petrodavisianum pollen type monad monad aperture tricolpate tricolpate poler axes (p) 20.66 ± 1.48 µm 22.31± 1.09 µm equatorial axes (e) 21.88 ± 1.57 µm 23.01± 1.09 µm p/e 0.94 0.96 pollen shape oblate-spheroidal oblate-spheroidal colpus length (clg) 17.38 ± 1.55 µm 18.07 ± 1.06 µm colpus width (clt) 8.18 ± 1.20 µm 8.96 ± 1.60 µm apocolpium (t) 5.07 ± 2.00 µm 3.92 ± 0.74 µm amb 11.80 ± 2.33 µm 10.78 ± 1.68 µm amb shape triangular triangular exine 1.59 ± 0.34 µm 1.67± 0.38 µm intine 0.64 ± 0.14 µm 0.64 ± 0.13 µm exine structure granulate granulate exine sculpture scabrate-perforate scabrate-perforate a morphological, anatomical and palynological investigastion 83 fig. 6. the sem micrographs of pollen grains of d. petrodavisianum (a-b) and d. cilicicum (c-d). (a,c) equatorial views, (b,d) exine sculpturing fruit micromorphology both fruits are follicle type with 2 seeds and the fruit shape is globose. fruit width and length of d. cilicicum are 3.23±0.66 mm and 4.13±0.52 mm, while those of d. petrodavisianum are 3.24±0.65 mm and 4.16±0.54 mm, respectively. the fruit surface is wavy ornamental in d. cilicicum (figure 7a,b), and papillate-striate ornamental in d. petrodavisianum (figure 7 c,d). seed micromorphology seeds of both species are tawny, and sub-pyramidal. there are longitudinal papillary rectangular cells on seed surfaces. these cells are short and in the form of irregular protrusions, seed coat ornamentation is rugose. seed dimension is 1.18×0.6 mm in d. cilicicum and 1.20×0.9 mm in d. petrodavisianum. it was observed that the peridermis layer and cortex tissue of d. petrodavisianum taxon are thicker than d. cilicicum taxon. the average peridermis thicknesses are 75.15±5.94 µm in d. petrodavisianum and 56.99±7.78 µm in d. cilicicum. cell dimensions are 7.54-17.67×14.56-33.56 µm and 11.50-25.71×18.65-40.16 µm in d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum, respectively. the average cortex tissue thicknesses are 85.16±10.70 µm and 33.71 ± 13.89 µm in d. petrodavisianum and d. cilicicum taxa, respectively. the pith area is prominent and wide in both taxa and is made of rounded cells. cell widths are 16.2-52.92 µm 20.99-66.64 µm in d. petrodavisianum and d. cilicicum, respectively. 84 demirelma et al. fig. 7. the sem micrographs of fruits of d. cilicicum (a,b) and d. petrodavisianum (c,d). a-c: general views of fruits, b-d: fruit coat ornamentations in detail. fig. 8. the sem micrographs of seeds of d. cilicicum (a,b) and d. petrodavisianum (c,d). a-c: general views of seeds, b-d: seed coat ornamentations in detail. a morphological, anatomical and palynological investigastion 85 anatomical studies conducted on root, stem, flower (sepal & petal) and fruit segments of both taxa are shown in table 2. table 2. the comparative anatomical data of d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum taxa. anatomical data of d. cilicicum length (µm) width (µm) organ tissue min max mean ± sd min max mean ± sd root peridermis thickness 46.62 69.61 56.99 ± 7.78 cortex tissue 14.98 57.05 33.71 ± 13.89 cortex cells 7.54 17.67 13.14 ± 3.66 14.56 33.56 23.67 ± 7.20 pith region (parenchyma cells) 20.99 66.64 41.80 ± 15.64 stem epidermis 12.47 21.76 17.25 ± 3.14 2.51 33.27 15.24 ± 7.46 cuticle thickness 6.24 11.81 8.23 ± 1.56 trachea 8.31 27.83 18.92 ± 6.65 cortex thickness 9.4 20.31 14.43 ± 2.75 pith region cells 31.72 72.46 49.65 ± 13.41 collenchyma cells 5.91 9.13 7.32 ± 1.33 sclerenchyma 5.41 20.57 10.73 ± 3.58 fruit fruit wall thickness 161.46 178.79 169.68 ± 8.26 mesocarp cells 20.76 32.91 26.82 ± 5.24 24.06 43.97 36.008 ± 8.07 flower (petal) petal 162.17 280.1 209.49 ± 43.85 parenchyma cells 9.47 42.3 24.02 ± 12.99 upper epidermis 9.22 24.5 15.69 ± 5.83 8.4 32.19 20.04 ± 7.60 lower epidermis 4.88 14.19 10.57 ± 2.92 9.96 22.32 17.86 ± 4.21 flower (sepal) sepal 35.18 92.59 55.03 ± 19.83 parenchyma cells 8.76 28.25 17.69 ± 7.37 upper epidermis 6.45 20.41 13.23 ± 5.03 9.16 24.71 16.97 ± 6.94 lower epidermis 10.89 12.78 11.75 ± 0.70 13.56 21.31 16.13 ± 3.45 right side of the table anatomical data of d. petrodavisianum length (µm) width (µm) min max mean± sd min max mean± sd 66.62 87.97 75.15 ± 5.94 62.97 95.76 85.16±10.70 11.50 25.71 18.34±5.46 18.65 40.16 28.22±7.36 16.2 52.92 30.12±10.71 5.52 15.75 9.60±2.65 8.20 22.30 14.87±4.57 7.50 11.85 9.70±1.28 3.36 20.61 10.20±5.09 13.93 26.98 20.17±4.3 16.44 58.84 35.62±14.25 7.13 12.15 9.78±1.81 3.66 12.39 8.39±2.52 130.52 182.8 153.30±17.79 17.59 38.05 25.15±7.50 21.33 66.78 40.11±12.93 62.98 218.86 117.30±63.56 9.94 34.52 20.20±9.73 8.07 13.63 11.46±2.12 8.14 24.12 15.65±6.15 4.92 12.01 7.15±2.64 8.37 20.17 13.68±3.89 72.53 205.38 113.93±42.99 17.44 57.68 31.78±13.86 12.02 18.24 15.78±2.15 19.39 31.45 26.01±8.71 8.28 17.02 13.34±2.70 23.78 34.59 29.17±3.94 86 demirelma et al. in d. petrodavisianum’s stem, the epidermis is made of protective single cubic, rectangular or oval-shaped cells, with a cell dimension of 5.52-15.75 × 8.20-22.30 µm. dimension of single epidermal cell in d. cilicicum is 12.47-21.76 × 2.51-33.27 µm. d. cilicicum’s cells have a similar shape to d. petrodavisianum’s but are larger. cuticle layers are almost the same. the average thicknesses of a cuticle layer is 9.70 ± 1.28 µm and 8.23 ± 1.56 µm in d. petrodavisianum and d. cilicicum, respectively. the cortex layer is right under epidermis. there are single thin collenchyma cells in cortex layer of d. petrodavisianum and their dimensions vary between 7.13 µm and 12.15 µm. the average cortex layer thickness is 20.17 ± 4.30 µm. there are single, very thin and clear collenchyma cells in the cortex layer of d. cilicicum, whose dimension is 7.32±1.33 µm. the thickness of average cortex layer is 14.43±2.75 µm. as these cells are faint, the cortex layer of d. cilicicum is thinner than d. petrodavisianum. vascular bundles are made of phloem and xylem elements. the phloem is over the xylem. dimensions of tracheid cells, elements of xylem, are 3.36-20.61 µm and 8.31-27.83 µm in d. petrodavisianum and d. cilicicum, respectively. tracheid is more apparent in d. cilicicum. furthermore, sclerenchymatic cells of bundles of taxa are almost the same with dimensions 5.4120.57 µm and 3.66-12.39 µm in d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum, respectively. the pith area is prominent and wide and made of oval or polygonal parenchymal cells. cells closer to the xylem are small, and those close to pith are larger. the average cell dimensions are 35.62±14.25 µm and 49.65±13.41µm in d. petrodavisianum, and d. cilicicum, respectively (table 2). starch grains are observed on stem sections of both taxa. there are 2 seeds inside the fruit. the average fruit wall thicknesses are 169.68±8.26 µm and 153.30±17.79 µm for d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum, respectively. starch grains are observed in fruit wall cross sections. dimensions, the average width and length of d. cilicicum mesocarp cells are 20.76-32.91 ×24.06-43.97 µm, 36.0±8.07 µm, and 26.82±5.24 µm, respectively. dimensions, the average width and length of d. petrodavisianum mesocarp cells are 17.59-38.05 ×21.33-66.78 µm, 40.11±12.93 µm and 25.15 ± 7.50 µm, respectively. the fruits of both species are similar. the average sepal thickness of d. cilicicum is 55.03±19.83 µm and 113.93±42.99 µm in d. petrodavisianum, respectively. sepal cells of both species are oval, rectangular and cubic, and tracheid cells are apparent. the average dimension of sepal cells in d. cilicicum is 17.69 ± 7.37µm and cell width is 8.76 × 28.25 µm, while they are 31.78±13.86 µm and 17.44-57.68 µm in d. petrodavisianum. cells are surrounded by 2 layers of the epidermis. dimensions of inner epidermal cells are 10.89-12.78 × 13.56-21.31 µm and those of outer epidermal cells are 6.45-20.41 × 9.16-24.71 µm in d. cilicicum, while they are 8.28-17.02 × 23.78-34.59 µm and 12.02-18.24 × 19.39-31.45 µm in d. petrodavisianum, respectively. sepal of d. petrodavisianum is thicker than d. cilicicum. the average petal thickness is 209.49 ± 43.85 µm and the parenchymal cell is 24.02 ± 12.99 µm in d. cilicicum, while they are 117.30 ± 63.56 µm and 20.20 ± 9.73 µm in d. petrodavisianum, respectively. parenchymal cells in both species are round and oval. cells are surrounded by outer and inner epidermis. dimensions of the inner and outer epidermis cells in d. cilicicum are 4.88-14.19 × 9.96-22.32 µm and 9.22-24.5 × 8.4-32.19 µm, respectively, while they are 4.92-12.01 × 8.37-20.17 µm and 8.07-13.63 × 8.14-24.12 µm in d. petrodavisianum, respectively. the petal of d. cilicicum is thicker than d. petrodavisianum. fruits of d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum are follicle and globose. sometimes, when follicles become fully mature and open, all seeds in the fruit will not be developed. there are two seeds in the fruit. seeds of both species are tawny and sub-pyramidal. the seed dimensions of both species are very similar. they are 1.18×0.6 mm in d. cilicicum and 1.20×0.9 mm in d. petrodavisianum. there are longitudinal papillary rectangular cells on seed surfaces. these cells a morphological, anatomical and palynological investigastion 87 are short and in the form of irregular protrusions with scaly surfaces and fine-grained ornamentation without well-developed wings. seed coat ornamentation is rugose in both species. seeds of d. cilicicum species are tawny, sub-pyramidal with a dimension of 1.20×0.7 mm and there are rectangular cells on a seed surface. delphinium seeds have been studied before by (i̇larsan et al., 1997. in this study seeds of d. iris species are clear dark brown, sub-pyramidal with dimension 1.1×1.0 mm without longitudinal wings, and they have rectangular cells and irregular scale covered wide crater hilum with side scales and high-density spherical papilla. in the same study, various seeds of species of delphinium genus were examined and seeds of delphinium genus were divided into 4 main groups; sub-pyramidal, sub-globose, e-sub-pyramidal and sectorspheroidal. delphinium species in our study have similar seed micromorphologies. when d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum were morphologically compared, their plant size, immunofluorescence, and dimensions of the spur, sepal and petal were found different, whileflower color and bracht dimensions were similar. anatomical studies on root have revealed that peridermis layer and cortex tissue are thicker, cortex cells are larger in d. petrodavisianum taxon, and pith area is made of round and larger cells in d. cilicicum taxon. anatomical studies on the stem have revealed that there is an epidermis made of protective single cubic, rectangular or oval cells in the outermost layer of the stem. epidermis cells of d. cilicicum are larger than d. petrodavisianum cells, the cuticle layer is almost the same, the cortex layer of d. cilicicum is thinner than d. petrodavisianum, the tracheid is more apparent in d. cilicicum, sclerenchymatic cells of bundles are similar in both taxa, and pith region is wide in both taxa, cells are round, oval or polygonal, and there are starch grains in stem cross sections. anatomical studies have shown that the fruits of both taxa are very close, have two seeds, fruit walls are prominent and wide, and furthermore, and have starch grains in cross-section of the wall. flowers of both taxa are very close, however, sepal of d. petrodavisianum is thicker than d. cilicicum, and the petal of d. cilicicum is thicker than d. petrodavisianum. palynological studies on pollen have revealed that the pollen type of both delphinium species is monad, the aperture type is tricolpate, and pollen shape is oblate-spheroidal. in both species, polar axis (p) and equatorial axis (e) dimensions are very similar, amb shape is triangular, exine structure is tectate and exine is scabrate-perforate, clg, clt, amb diameters, intercolpus distance, intine and exine thicknesses are very close. micromorphological studies on fruit and seed have revealed that fruits of d. cilicicum and d. petrodavisianum are follicular and globose. in both species, seeds are two per fruit; brown and sub-pyramidal, dimensions are very close. the seed surface has longitudinal papillary rectangular cells with a scaly surface and fine-grained ornamentation. however, fine wings are not observed, both species are similar in terms of fruit and seed. acknowledgement this work has been produced from the master's thesis. we would like to thank the selçuk university scientific research projects coordinatorship (bap project number 21201008) for financial support. references agnihotri, p., jena, s.n., husain, d. and husain, t. 2014. perspective of the genus delphinium l. (ranunculaceae) in india. pleione 8(2): 344−352. candan, f. and çali, i.ö. 2015. pollen micromorphology of four taxa of anemone coronaria l. from western turkey. bangladesh journal of botany 44(1): 31−36. 88 demirelma et al. davis, p.h., mill, r.r. and tan, k. 1988. flora of turkey the east aegean islands supplement 10. edinburg univ. pres. edinburgh. ertuğrul, k. 2012. delphinium l. in: güner, a., aslan, s., ekim, t., vural, m. and babaç, m.t. (eds.), türkiye bitkileri listesi (damarlı bitkiler), nezahat gökyiğit botanik bahçesi ve flora araştırmaları derneği yayını, i̇stanbul, pp. 776-778. fener, d. and aykurt, c. 2019. türkiye’ye özgü delphinium cilicicum ph davis & kit tan (toros hezareni) türünün morfolojik özellikleri ve yayılış alanına katkılar. bağbahçe bilim dergisi 6(2): 32−36. güner, a., arslan, s., ekim, t., vural, m. and babaç, m. 2012. türkiye bitkileri listesi (damarlı bitkiler), nezahat gökyiğit botanik bahçesi ve flora araştırmaları derneği yayını, i̇stanbul, 1290 pp. i̇larsan, h., ilarsan, r. and blanché, c. 1997. seed morphology of the genus delphinium l.(ranunculaceae) in turkey. collectanea botanica 23: 79−95. johansen, d. 1940. plant microtechnique, new york & london, mcgraw-hill, 523 pp. macior, l. w. 1975. the pollination ecology of delphinium tricorne (ranunculaceae). american journal of botany 62(10): 1009−1016. menemen, y. and uzel, f. 2016. düğünçiçeğigiller ranunculaceae familyasına ait bazı türlerin polen morfolojileri üzerine bir çalışma. bağbahçe bilim dergisi 3(3): 11−19. seçmen, ö., gemici, y., görk, g., bekat, l. and leblebici, e. 1995. tohumlu bitkiler sistematiği, ege üniversitesi fen fakültesi kitaplar serisi. i̇zmir, 396 pp. simpson, m. g. 2012. plant systematics. academic press. soydan, h.. 2009. sarı-kahverengi çiçekli delphinium peregrinum l. örneği üzerinde farmakognozik araştırmalar. i̇stanbul üniversitesi, i̇stanbul, 104 pp. tan, k. and ilarslan, r. 1990. three new delphiniums from turkey. edinburgh journal of botany 47(3): 283−286. wilde, e. 1931. studies of the genus delphinium. bulletin from the cornell university agricultural experiment station, ithaca, n.y., 519: 1−106. wodehouse, r.p. 1935. pollen grains. their structure, identification and significance in science and medicine. mc. graw-hill, new york. 574 pp. yakar, n. and bilge, e. 1987. genel botanik. (iii. baskı). i̇stanbul üniv. fen fak. yayınları. i̇stanbul, 488 pp. (manuscript received on 2 january 2023; revised on 8 june 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 183-191, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63525 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomy, autecology and distribution of najas marina l. (najadaceae) in bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane*, md. abul hassan, anika-ann-noor rahman, mousumi and mahmoud moustafa1,2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. keywords: taxonomy; autecology; distribution; najas marina l.; bangladesh. abstract detailed taxonomic description of najas marina l. including information on flowering and fruiting time, autecology, and distribution in bangladesh are provided. the diagnostic characters with illustrations and behavioural patterns of different habitats are also provided. presence of najas marina in joydia baor indicates that the water quality of this baor is fairly good and minor human interference of the habitats. introduction najas marina l. (holly-leaved naiad) is an annual, dioecious, mostly robust, spiny naiad, rooted, vascular slender herb which grows as completely submerged in shallow habitats (up to 3 m deep), with rooting extensively into the bottom sediments. najas is the largest hydrophilous genus and contains approximately 40 species (handley and davy, 2000). in different countries of the world, it has become rare. najas marina is listed as vulnerable in the british red data book and in the iucn european red data categories and is therefore specially protected under the wildlife and countryside act 1981 (wigginton, 1999). this species is also enlisted in red data book in germany (huang et al., 2001; rüegg et al., 2017). due to the rarity and lacking of n. marina in britain and europe, detailed information on autecology and life history is absent in this area. there have been no reports of male individuals and the absence of male flower of n. marina in britain, suggested the opinion its prolific seed production is entirely apomictic (stace, 1997; preston and croft, 1997). however, in 2000 discovery of male plants of najas marina l. was reported in britain by handley rj and davy aj and illustrated the features of male flowers. the uncommonness of n. marina in europe is due to the limited availability of appropriate habitats and problems of dispersal mechanism. temperature plays also an important role. n. marina appears to be favoured by a continental climate with relatively warm summers and cold winters (handley and davy, 2005). triest (1988) distinguished 12 subspecies and four varieties under najas marina based primarily on sizes of seed, ovary, style, stigma, and anthers. khan and halim (1987) have mentioned five species of najas from bangladesh that do not include n. marina. hooker (1888) reported najas marina l. under the name naias major all. mentioning its distribution throughout india in fresh and brackish water ascending to 8000 ft in western tibet. he also placed a note that “the indian species of this genus require a very close examination, which i regret to say i have no materials of flowers and fruits sufficient to enable to undertake.” prain (1903) reported najas marina from the then east bengal which actually included the greater mymensingh, dhaka, cumilla, noakhali and barisal area. prof. m salar khan and a.m. huq collected a sterile specimen of this species from fatehpur baor, moheshpur, jessore district in 1991 which was *corresponding author: e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com 1department of biology, college of science, king khalid university, 9004, abha, kingdom of saudi arabia. 2department of botany and microbiology, faculty of science, south valley university, qena, egypt. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63525 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 184 alfasane et al. preserved in bangladesh national herbarium (bnh, col. no. 8445). no taxonomic and ecological publication regarding n. marina specimen has been found in bangladesh so far. the present species of n. marina was collected recently from baor areas of jhenaidah district in 2020 from bangladesh. so far a total of 9 species namely, najas dichotoma, n. foveolata, n. graminea, n. indica, n. kurziana, n. lacerata, n. major, n. marina, n. minor have been reported from bangladesh. in bangladesh, no previous study on taxonomy, autecology and distribution of n. marina has been found. therefore, the present study has been conducted on the taxonomy, autecology and distribution of najas marina in bangladesh. materials and methods the plant materials of this holly-leaved naiad were collected from the joydia baor, safdalpur union of kotchandpur upazila of jhenaidah district of bangladesh through a hydrobiological expedition carried out from june 2020 to july 2022. this oxbow structure of this baor is usually generated due to the change of the direction of the river. joydia baor is a permanent water body which is the largest baor of bangladesh. it is located between the latitude 23°26´40.6´´n and longitude 88°55´47.4´´e. total area of the baor is around 2.16 square kilometers. the minimum depth is 3.27 m at its southern part and the maximum depth is 9.7 m at the eastern part of its middle portion. the macrophyte sample was collected from 0.5 m depth of the littoral area of the baor. the collected plant samples were then put in a large air tight ice bag with some water inside. it was then transported to the phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. plant material was always examined in fresh condition immediately after sampling for morphological characteristics as described here. some materials were preserved as herbarium sheet in this laboratory. the some living plant samples were planted in a concrete house (1 × 0.5 m length, depth 0.40 cm) in the botanical garden, department of botany, university of dhaka, for ex-situ conservation and further study. both in-situ and ex-situ culture were made for detailed taxonomic and autecological study. a total of 24 physico-chemical parameters of water samples were measured for two years study. the water samples were collected between 7.30 am to 9.30 am. after collection, all water samples were preserved in an insulated ice box using cool packs and were transported to phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, university of dhaka for analysis. the preserving temperature was ≥ 10°c. all samples were transported to the laboratory and processed within 24 hours of collection. different autecological parameters were studied with the help of alfasane et al. (2013); golterman et al. (1978) and huq and alam (2005). photographs of internal section of leaf and stem were taken with the help of a compound microscope, nikon (optiphot, ufx-11a) fitted with a camera (nikon fx-35 wa, japan). results and discussion through two years’ long critical studies, detailed data on taxonomic characteristics and autecology of najas marina have been collected with its distribution. the relevant photographs and illustrations are presented in figs 1-3. najas marina l. sp. pl. : 1015 (1753) synonyms: najas gracilis (morong) small, n. major all., n. marina var. recurvata dudley, n. major var. angustifolia a. braun ex k. schum, n. marina var. genuina k. schum. common names: spiny water nymph, spiny-leaf naiad alkaline water-nymph, holly-leaved naiad, saw tooth, sea naiad, marine naiad. taxonomy, autecology and distribution of najas marina 185 bangla name: kanta shewla community structure: n. marina is one of the rare species in joydia baor growing with ottelia alismoides l., ceratophyllum l., myriophyllum l., utricularia l. and vallisneria spiralis l. (fig. 1a). it is mostly robust, spiny, extensive root, slender herb, completely submerged, grown up to 3 m depth. it is only distributed certain restricted area of this baor. taxonomic description morphology (figs 1-3) root: these submerged plants found to be loosely anchored to submerged soil with extensive long roots. roots arise from each internode which lie near the soil surface. root length usually up to 22 cm. young roots are light pink in colour and mature ones are white (fig. 1d). stem: stems are round, much branched, green to brownish, with scattered large spine-tipped prickles. stems up to 150 cm long and the diameter of stem up to 2.5 mm, stem mostly armed with spines on the internodes (fig. 1i, 2a). the main stem is round, deep brown or black in color. stem of the plant is spiny of 2 mm length, most usually 1.5 mm in length. the stem spines are brown, prominent, hard and prickly. many lateral branches arise from the main stem of different length (fig. 1b,c,i,e). all branches have rosette like arrangement of 8 to 9 leaves at the top. every branch has nodes and internodes, the length of each internode 40-60 mm and every connection of nodes that remain in horizontally roots and at each node there is found a group of 6 leaves whorled and a single leaf, these are placed in opposite direction. leaf: leaves in a whorl of 3 or 4 leaves per node, submerged, acute, with spiny teeth on both margins and ventral side on midrib, opposite, green or light green, some are brown in color at maturity. leaf sheaths are round or funnel shaped with minute spine at the two side of the sheath apex and the length of the sheath up to 5 mm. leaf size varies in length, usually 35-47 mm without sheath, 60 to 66 mm long with sheath, leaves breadth with spine 3.0-6.5 mm and without spine the leaves breadth 2.5-4.5 mm. leaves are spiny at both sides and prominent 3 dentate tip at the apex of the leaf tip remains and looks like a minute crown shape structure. leaves with spines on the midrib in the ventral side 2-3 mm in length and 1.5 mm in breadth and 1-7 in numbers are present. leaves broader than 1.5 mm including teeth on both sides, less than 20 leaf teeth on each margin and leaf teeth on excrescences consist of several brown cells; leaf teeth shorter than 2 mm (fig. 1f-h). leaves without septa and fibres. areoles irregularly arranged. flower: najas marina is a dioecious plant. flowers are minute, ellipsoidal or oval, arise singly, or sometimes several together, on a fertile shoot with suppressed internodes within a sheath axil. at young stage bud of flowers are whorled by leaf sheath (fig. 2). male and female flowers are separate on separate plants and also bear different flowers with slight morphological differences. male flower: male flower arises from internodes and has spathe (covered with axial sheath), green/light green in colour but some field observations of male flowers appeared conspicuously pale in colour, apparently because the white pollen grains were visible through the anther wall and thin, membranous perianth (fig. 2c-g). subsequently, darker male flowers were found. the pale flowers were close to dehiscence, with mature pollen. in these flowers the pollen-filled anther was particularly visible, because elongation of the filament prior to dehiscence caused the anther to split the spathe from the apex downwards. the pollen grains are released rapidly from an apical split of the anther. thereafter, pollen is released slowly. a large amount of pollen is dispersed into the water within this short period. when the initial stage of anther dehiscence in n. marina, it has been noticed that the dense clouds of pollen grains being released into the water. the pollen grains are somewhat heavier than water (fig. 2g). 186 alfasane et al. fig. 1 (a-i). a. habitat, b-c. leaf arrangement just after collection, d. showing root and spiny stem, e. node with a whorl leaf and top rosette arrangement, f-g. leaf with dentate tip and margins, h. leaf sheath with spines, i. stem and arrangement of lateral branches with spines. the male flower also possesses small crown like spine at the top. each male flower has single anther with 4 locules in transverse section which is called tetrasporangiate anther (fig. 2f). these 4 locules of the male flower can also be ensured with prominent projection. length of male flower 4.0-6.5 mm and width 2 mm, the crowned tip is 0.5 mm in length. flowers were also found in which the anthers had clearly dehisced, leaving the anther filament and the white viscous matters of the four locules, that dissolved in water. male flowers are similar in size and shape to the maturing fruits of the female plant, and therefore they can be difficult to distinguish in the field. taxonomy, autecology and distribution of najas marina 187 the phase during which the male flowers have a pale colour provides a reliable field diagnostic feature but this was evident only during august of the year (fig. 2c-g). fig. 2 (a-j). a. stem with arrangement of spines, b. leaves showing dorsal spines, c. male flower of najas marina with spathe protruding above the anther to form characteristic spines, d) single flower with characteristic crown, e) longitudinal section of the flower, f) transverse section of the flower showing 4 locules, g) dense clouds of pollen grains being released, h-i) female flowers of najas marina in a fertile shoot, j) fruits producing in the fertile shoot. female flower: female flowers also arise from leaf axils. they are smaller in size than the male flowers, more or less oval shaped. having a single ovule with 2 stigma/style at the top, 188 alfasane et al. stigma/style is brown in colour. the length of female flower is 4.5-5.0 mm and width 1.0-1.5 mm with top stigma/style of 1 mm long (fig. 2h-i). fruit: fruit (achene) with an oval seed, 2.2 to 4.5 mm long, irregularly pitted on the surface, reddish-brown at maturity (fig. 2j). anatomy leaves: there are lower and upper epidermis with hexagonal mesophyll tissue of the transverse section of the leaves (fig. 3a-b). in the margin of the leaves have various brown colour cell where the leaf teeth found. stem: there are various air space present of the cortex in the stem in transverse section. one cell thick epidermis and broad cortex is connected with the middle portion of the stem where vascular bundle present. two vascular bundles are present vis-a-vis position (fig. 3c-d). fig. 3. a) t. s. of leaf of najas marina b) t.s. of leaf specified in midrib c,d) t.s. of stem of the plant najas marina. the easiest way to identify the species, najas marina l. is the visible toothed leaves with scattered prickles along the midrib and on the stems. it is also the only dioecious najas, where the others are monoecious. in june and july, only plants bearing female flowers were observed; despite meticulous examination of a considerable quantity of plant material, male flowers could not be found. plants apparently had only female flowers or no floral structures at all. however, in august both male and female flowers were identified for the first-time on separate plants. the taxonomy, autecology and distribution of najas marina 189 dense beds, with near-continuous cover, and the branching growth form of najas marina at joydia baor jhenaidah combine to create considerable difficulty in distinguishing individual plants. the bases of the stems often become covered in sediment and root at the covered nodes making the identification or collection of individual plants impossible. nevertheless, it was clear that the ratio male flower bearing stems in these beds was high then of female plants perhaps as high as 10: 1, and that male stem cocooned in distinct patches, suggesting that isolated, individual males were surrounded by females. with some care it was possible to collect entire plants of n. marina. autecology: macrophytes have been used as bioindicators for eutrophication assessment in freshwaters required by the european water framework directive (wfd, rüegg et al., 2017). najas marina l. is one of the species used for implementation of the reference condition (equal to high ecological status) is defined as ‘‘natural, undisturbed/minor human impacted’’ and differs according to lake type (wallin et al., 2002) in the european water framework directive (wfd; schaumburg et al., 2004; stelzer et al., 2005). presence of najas marina of this baor indicates the water quality of this baor is fairly good and minor human disturbance of the habitats. najas marina was first found in north america in 1864 in central new york's onondaga lake near salina, new york (stuckey, 1985). this plants can grow up to 3 meter depth in brackish or highly alkaline ponds, lakes, and coastal, inland marshes as well as fresh water habitats. it can reproduce by seed and fragmentation (tarver et al., 1986). studies by vierssen (1982) have shown seed germination of n. marina to be best in decomposing organic matter, at 24°c under dark conditions. flowering and fruiting time from june to october. plants prefer to grow in sandy, loamy and clay as well as acid, neutral and alkaline soils. it can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. joydia baor considered to be a potential source of fish population and this fish population largely depnds on phytoplankton (primary producer) of the baor as well as water quality. a total of 24 physico-chemical parameters were studied to assess the water quality of joydia baor. the range of mean values of physico-chemical parameters of this baor were : air temperature 29.27-30.6 °c; water temperature 28.44-29.95 °c; turbidity 1.93-3.16 ntu; electric conductivity 87.35-172.15 µs/cm; tds 98.21-195.05 mg/l; ph 6.32 to 7.20; alkalinity 2.59-3.52 meq/l; do 8.69-9.59 mg/l; tss 18.86-27.14 mg/l; bod 0.78-1.70 mg/l; no3 -n 0.36-0.42; srs 6.38-7.44 mg/l; srp 34.14-45.41 µg/l; so4 2 21.01-35.11 mg/l; cl 0.89-1.40) mg/l; fl 0.25-0.35 mg/l; no2 0.05-0.09 mg/l; na+ 0.25-0.41 mg/l; k+ 0.39-1.55; nh4 + 0.45-0.89 mg/l; ca2+ 1.22-4.38 mg/l; mg2+ 0.39-0.89 mg/l; mn2+ 0.39-0.89 mg/l and fe2+ 0.25-1.13 mg/l. the ranges of this autecological parameters indicting the water quality is suitable for n. marina growth in this habitat. many free-floating, emergent, and submerged macrophyte species have the potential to improve water quality by binding and removing nutrients, organic contaminants, and even heavy metals (dhote and dixit, 2009). moreover, the narrow ecological niche of certain macrophyte species makes them suitable indicator organisms for classification of the ecological quality of lakes and rivers (melzer, 1976; penning et al., 2008; schneider et al., 2000; søndergaard et al., 2010). distribution: this plant is widely distributed across europe, asia, africa, australia, the americans and many oceanic islands. najas marina has cosmopolitan in distribution, (sculthorpe, 1967; les et al., 2003). in tropical asia, n. marina is widely distributed in china (wang et al., 2010), india (cook, 1996), indonesia (de wilde, 1962), pakistan (cook, 1996), sri lanka (cook, 1996), taiwan (yang, 2000) and thailand (ito, 2016). spiny naiad has a world-wide distribution but a scattered one in north america, considered a rare species in minnesota and introduced in wisconsin, even potentially invasive in some states. in bangladesh, it has been reported from east bengal previously but at present only found in jhenaidah district. 190 alfasane et al. conclusion apart from scientific researches, this baor is a very important natural resource of bangladesh. day by day people is knowing about the scenic beauty of this area and getting more attracted to it. as a result its natural beauty as well as biodiversity is getting severely hampered. as there is no record of its occurrence in any other places in bangladesh, najas marina should be enlisted as endangered species in red data book of bangladesh. from the results of this research work it has become apparent that the joydia baor is a very opulent lake having enormous significance from ecological points of view. but due to lack of appropriate conservation strategies the baor is being subjected to eutrophication. if proper planning and actions are not taken in near future the baor may get polluted or go through the process of succession. therefore, implementing adequate and effective initiatives for the improvement of natural features of the baor is very crucial in order to conserve and develope its plant diversity including najas marina sustainably. references alfasane, m.a., ullah, m.s. and khondker, m. 2013. limnology of lake rainkhyongkain of bangladesh with a new record of marchantia polymorpha l. var. aquatic nees. bangladesh j. bot., 42(2): 223-229. cook, c.d.k. 1996. aquatic and wetland plants of india: a reference book and identification manual for the vascular plants found in permanent or seasonal fresh water in the subcontinent of india south of the himalayas. oxford university press, oxford, uk. de wilde, w.j.j.o. 1962. najadaceae. in: c.g.g.j. van steenis (ed.), flora malesiana ser. i, 6: 157–171. wolters-noordhoff, groningen, netherlands. dhote, s. and dixit, s., 2009. water quality improvement through macrophytes—a review. environ. monit. assess. 152: 149–153. golterman, h.l., clymo r.s. and ohnstad, m.a.m. 1978. methods for physical and chemical analysis of freshwaters. ibp handbook, no. 8. oxford blackwell, 213 pp. handley, r.j. and davy, a.j. 2000. discovery of male plants of najas marina l. 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(manuscript received on 1 august, 2022; revised on 11 november, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 137-156, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60454 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people of raipura upazila of narsingdi district samia islam and mohammad zashim uddin1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: ethnomedicinal plants; local people; raipura upazila; threats; conservation. abstract an ethnomedicinal investigation was conducted from july 2019 to june 2020 in raipura upazila, narshingdi district. the main aim of this study was to record, integrate and document all the scattered distributions of traditional healthcare knowledge of medicinal plants. data collection of ethnomedicinal plants were performed through key informant interviews, field interviews, checklist interviews, plant interviews, semi structured interviews and group discussion. a total of 87 medicinal species with 114 formularies to treat 69 ailments have been recorded. these species belong to 49 families. most frequently used plant species are trees (43%) followed by herbs (31%), shrubs (21%) and climbers (5%). oral consumption is the main mode of treatment in the study area followed by external application. the reported ailments were classified into 15 disease categories. maximum plant species were reported to treat diarrhoea and dysentery. the highest factor informant consensus (fic) value was found in respiratory category (fever, cold, cough, pneumonia).the most cited species for this category are ocimum sanctum l., nigella sativa l. and jasticia adhatoda l. cardiovascular disease showed second highest fic value. the most cited plant species for this category are terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex d.c.) wight & arn., tamarindus indica l. and allium sativum l. in this survey, 8 species scored 100% fl values for different disease categories. these are aerva sanguinolenta (l.) blume, neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser, tamarindus indica l., momordica charantia l., cocos nucifera l., ocimum sanctum l., leucus aspera (willd.) link. and jasticia adhatoda l. therefore, such plant species could be further analyzed for bioactive constituents that can lead to discovery of new and potential drugs. the study also revealed that the medicinal plants and traditional knowledge in raipura upazila are in threatened condition due to different disturbances and some suggestions have been recommended for conservation. introduction ethnomedicine is the study of the traditional medicine practiced by various ethnic groups. ethnomedicinal plants are very much popular for curing various ailments in local and ethnic communities at different parts of the world. the origins of over 50% of all pharmaceutical drugs could be traced back to ethnomedicine (van wyk et al., 1997). according to data from the world health organization (who), about 80% of the world's population, mostly the rural people of developing countries still primarily rely on traditional medicines (islam, 2006). very recent past global herbal medicine market size was estimated to be us$ 83 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach us$ 550 billion by 2030 (https://www.insightslice.com/herbal-medicine-market). before recent past this market was estimated to be us$ 60 billion (breevot, 1998). currently, this market for medicinal plants and plant products has been rising day by day because of easy availability, effective in case of chronic diseases, less side effects, and cost effectively. 1 corresponding author: zashim01@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60454 https://www.insightslice.com/herbal-medicine-market) mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 138 islam and uddin world leaders gathered in rio de janeiro during 1992 to formulate biodiversity conservation policy including agenda 21 which gave emphasis on the documentation and sustainable utilization of traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. most cultures possess a huge store of undocumented traditional knowledge of applying herbal remedies in disease treatment (offiah et al., 2011). the documentation of indigenous knowledge is an important aspect of conservation approach (umair et al., 2017). in addition, documenting the results of scientific research into traditional medicine may also help to conserve an important part of an indigenous people's cultural heritage for the future generations (mahwasane et al., 2013). many articles have been published on medicinal plants included mia and huq (1988), hassan and khan (1986,1996), alam et al.(1996), uddin (2006), uddin et al.( 2001), khan et al.(2002),yusuf et al. (2002), uddin et al. (2004), uddin et al. (2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017), yusuf et al. (2006), uddin and roy (2007), uddin et al. (2011), sajib and uddin (2013), rahman (2013), uddin and faruque (2013), uddin and hassan(2014), rahman and sarkar (2015), kona and rahman (2016), yasmin and rahman (2017) and khatun and rahman (2018). all such articles listed a good number of medicinal plants of particular areas of bangladesh. unfortunately, no such work of ethnomedicinal plants has been recorded in raipura upazila of narshingdi district. in the present study an attempt has been made to record, integrate and document all the scattered distributions of traditional healthcare knowledge of medicinal plants in raipura upazila so that it can provide baseline data for future phytochemical studies to determine potential drugs. materials and methods raipura is an upazila of narsingdi districtbelonging to dhaka division. the area covers 312.77 sq. km. it is bounded by narsingdi sadar, banchharampur and nabinagar upazilas on the south, belabo and bhairab upazilas on the north, brahmanbaria sadar,nabinagar upazilas on the east and shibpur, narsingdi sadar upazilas on the west. raipura upazila consists of 24 union parishads. these are amirganj, adiabad, alipura, banshgari, chander kandi, chandpur, char aralia, char madhua, char subuddi, daukar char, hairmara, maheshpur, morjal, mirzanagar, mirzapur, mirzarchar, musapur, nilakhya, palashtali, paratali, radhanagar, roypura, sreenagar, and uttar bakharnagar. in narsingdi, the wet season is warm, oppressive and cloudy and the dry season is warm and mostly clear. monthly rainfall varies from 6 to 430 mm throughout the year. the study area has been visited five times in different seasons from july 2019 to june 2020. the data of medicinal plant uses have been recorded through key informant interview, field interview, checklist interview, plant interview, semi-structured interview and group discussions. a total of 187 local informants have been interviewed during the ethnomedicinal survey. the informants were in age range of 21-90 years old. education levels of the informants were from illiterate up to bachelor degree. professionally the informants were mostly farmers, traditional healers and shopkeepers. during the survey, information on medicinal plants, their local names, parts used and treatment modes have been recorded. voucher specimen for each medicinal plant has been made using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; alexiades, 1996). the specimens were identified consulting with different floras viz., hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), uddin and hassan (2004), siddiqui et al. (2007c)and ahmed et al. (2008a, 2008b, 2009b, 2009c, 2009d and 2009e). specimens available at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) were also consulted in identifying the collected plant specimens. the updated nomenclature of the species followed siddiqui et al. (2007c) and ahmed et al. (2008a, 2008b, 2009b, 2009c, 2009d and 2009e). voucher specimens were deposited at the dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people 139 in order to estimate the use diversity of the medicinal plants, factor of informant consensus (fic) was calculated (heinrich et al., 1998). citation frequency (cf) values were estimated using the formula: (number of people interviewed citing species/ the total number of people interviewed) x 100 (friedman et al., 1986). the fidelity level (fl) value is useful for identifying the informants most preferred species in use for treating certain ailments (friedman et al., 1986). fl value was calculated using the formula: fl = ip/iu x100, where ip is number of informants who indicate use of a species for the same major ailment, iu is the total number of informants who mentioned the same plant for any other use. medicinal plants that are widely used by the local people for a particular ailment have higher fl values than those which are less popular. results and discussion a total of 87 medicinal plant species belonging to 49 families with 114 formularies has been recorded from the present survey. the results indicate the rich diversity of ethnomedicinal plants with their different uses in the study area. for each species scientific name, local name, family, habit, parts used, ailments and treatment modes have been recorded. it is evident that local people of the study area has a great knowledge about medicinal plants. such knowledge has been inherited from generation to generation. no written documents have been found during the survey. the present results also indicated that people of raipura upazila has emphasized on using medicinal plants with a diversity of application methods. table 1: ethnomedicinal plants and their uses in the study area (s=shrub, h= herb, t=tree, c=climber). scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode abroma augustum (l.) l.f. ulotkombol sterculiaceae t stem weakness stem soaked water is taken stem cold juice is taken stem dysentery stem soaked in water is taken stem constipation stem soaked in water is taken stem urinary disease stem soaked in water with menda stem and water is taken achyranthus aspera l. uphatlenga amaranthaceae h root anthelmintic crushed juice is taken whole plant gastritis chopped parts are boiled and water is taken jasticia adhatoda l. basak acanthaceae s leaf cold leaf juice is taken aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel rutaceae t fruit analgesic fruit juice is taken fruit dysentery fruit juice is taken young fruit indigestion juice is taken leaf stomach pain juice is taken fruit dysentery fruit is soaked in water and juice is taken fruit dysentery fruit juice is taken fruit constipation fruit juice is taken young fruit dysentery chopped and dried fruit is soaked in water and taken young fruit diarrhoea chopped and dried fruit is soaked in water and taken 140 islam and uddin scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode aerva sanguinolenta (l.) blume, bijdr roktopata amaranthaceae h leaf cut/ wound leaf paste is applied allium sativum l. rosun lilliaceae h clove heart disease cooked as jam and eaten clove cold clove is mixed with mustard and applied to hands and feet clove cold clove paste is taken clove body pain externally applied with warm oil clove rheumatic pain cooked as jam and taken clove heart disease clove is taken aloe vera (l.)burm. f. gritkumari aloaceae s leaf antioxidant leaf juice is taken alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g. don fenkochu araceae s leaf rheumatic pain dried leaf is cooked and taken alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br chatim apocynaceae t leaf diarrhoea leaf juice is taken leaf wound latex is applied amaranthus cruentus l. lalshak amaranthaceae h leaf anemia leaf is cooked and eaten ananas comosus (l.) merr. anaros bromeliaceae s leaf anti-worm juice is taken fruit fever fruit is taken andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall. ex nees kalomegh acanthaceae h leaf liver problem leaf juice is taken leaf fever juice is taken leaf dysentery juice is taken stem black fever stem juice is taken neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kodom rubiaceae t bark dysentery juice is taken arachis hypogaea l. badam fabaceae h seed heart disease seed is taken seed cancer seed is taken artocarpus heterophyllus lamk. kathal moraceae t latex skin disease latex is applied asparagus racemosus willd. satamuli liliaceae s root impotence juice is taken root weakness juice is taken root dysentery juice is taken averrhoa bilimbi l. bilombo oxalidaceae t fruit high pressure fruit is taken averrhoa carambola l. kamranga oxalidaceae t fruit high pressure fruit is taken fruit fever fruit is taken azadirachta indica a. juss. neem meliaceae t leaf diarrhoea leaf fried or juice is taken leaf hair fall leaf paste is mixed with oil and applied on hair leaf diabetes leaf paste is taken leaf diabetes leaf juice is taken leaf cold juice is taken leaf allergy leaf paste is applied study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people 141 scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode leaf kidney disease leaf soaked water is taken leaf allergy leaf boiled in water and applied externally leaf allergy leaf paste applied leaf worm leaf fried or juice is taken leaf brone leaf crushed with durba and applied barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijol lecythidaceae t leaf dysentery juice is taken leaf cold leaf boiled, crushed in water and taken leaf cold leaf juice is taken bombax ceiba l. shimul malvaceae t root heart disease root juice is taken root weakness juice is taken root weakness taken as food calotropis gigantea (l.) dryand akanda apocynaceae s leaf fracture leaf is burnt and applied leaf chest pain leaf is boiled and applied to the chest leaf body pain leaf is boiled and applied carica papaya l. pepe caricaceae t fruit constipation fruit is cooked and taken raw fruit gastritis fruit is cooked and taken raw fruit gastritis fruit is taken leaf dengue juice is taken leaf ulcer juice is taken leaf diabetes juice is taken fruit liver problem fruit is taken fruit heart disease fruit is cooked and taken cassia fistula l. shonalu caesalpiniaceae t fruit dysentery fruit pulp is taken catharanthus roseus l. nayantara apocynaceae h flower diabetes flower is chewed centella asiatica l. thankuni apiaceae h leaf leucorrhea leaf juice is taken leaf diabetes juice is taken leaf ulcer leaf juice is taken leaf allergy leaf paste is applied leaf anthelmintic juice is taken leaf impotence leaf juice is taken leaf gastritis juice is taken leaf gastritis leaf crushed with durba and juice is taken leaf jaundice juice is taken leaf memory boosting leaf juice is taken leaf fever juice is taken leaf heart disease juice is taken leaf dysentery juice is taken leaf dysentery juice is taken with goat milk 142 islam and uddin scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode whole plant cold juice is taken chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king & h. rob pishais asteraceae s leaf fracture leaf is boiled and used for fomentation flower toothache juice is taken leaf cut/ wound leaf paste is applied whole plant dysentery plant juice is taken citrus limon (l.) burm. lebu rutaceae t fruit cancer fruit is boiled and taken fruit high pressure juice is taken clerodendrum infortunatum l. bhat lamiaceae s root dysentery juice is taken leaf gastritis juice is taken clitoria ternatea l aparajita fabaceae c flower cold flower is chewed coccinia grandis (l.)voigt kuchila cucurbitaceae h leaf chest pain juice is taken leaf blood purifier leaf cooked with gondhovaduli leaf and eaten leaf piles leaf paste is applied with salt leaf jaundice leaf is cooked and eaten leaf boil leaf paste is applied leaf kidney stone leaf juice is taken leaf dysentery leaf crushed in water then taken leaf juice is taken leaf bone pain paste is cooked with spices is taken leaf body pain leaf fried and taken leaf gastritis paste is cooked with spices is taken leaf diabetes leaf is cooked and taken leaf diabetes leaf juice is taken in empty stomach cocos nucifera l. narikel arecaceae t root toothache root juice is taken colocasia esculenta (l)schott. kochu araceae s root blood dysentery cooked and eaten root piles paste is applied leaf blood coating leaf paste is applied stem cut/ wound paste is applied crateva magna (lour.) dc. borun capparaceae t fruit constipation young fruit is taken leaf rheumatic pain leaf paste is applied cucumis sativus l. shosha cucurbitaceae v fruit heart disease fruit is taken fruit overweight problem fruit is taken study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people 143 scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode curcuma longa l. halood zingiberaceae h rhizo me jaundice paste is taken rhizo me skin disease juice is taken rhizo me skin disease rhizome is crushed with neem leaf and paste is applied cuscuta reflexa roxb. shornolota cuscutaceae p whole plant anti-worm juice is taken with pineapple leaf allergy leaf boiled in water and water is taken leaf allergy leaf boiled in water and water is used for bath cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba poaceae h leaf blood purifier leaf juice is taken leaf constipation leaf juice is taken leaf urinary disease juice is taken leaf dysentery juice is taken whole plant impotence juice is taken for 3 days leaf cut/ wound leaf paste is applied datura metel l. dhutura solanaceae s fruit dog bite fruit paste is applied leaf rheumatic pain leaf paste is applied fruit mental problem fruit crushed with dontokolosh and kamranga leaf and paste is applied on head dillenia indica l. chalta dilleniaceae t fruit high pressure juice is taken fruit dysentery juice is taken leaf dysentery leaf juice is taken eclipta alba l. kehuitta asteraceae h leaf dysentery juice is taken root cavity root is crushed with durba leaf and paste is applied leaf cut/ wound leaf paste is applied cut leaf crushed with arum leaf and applied ficus racemosa l. jogdumur moraceae t leaf cold cooked and taken leaf asthma cooked and taken leaf heart disease cooked and taken fruit cold fruit is taken leaf skin disease leaf paste is applied fruit skin disease fruit paste is applied fruit antioxidant fruit is fried and taken fioria vitifolia l. bonkarpas malvaceae h flower hair tonic flower ash is applied on hair whole plant diarrhoea powdered and taken with cold water whole plant constipation powdered and taken with warm water 144 islam and uddin scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc motkila rutaceae t leaf anti-worm juice is taken leaf anti-worm leaf is chewed leaf diarrhoea juice is taken leaf child diarrhoea leaf crushed with guava and pomegranate leaf and juice is taken leaf cut/ wound leaf paste is applied leaf heart disease leaf juice is taken leaf cavity leaf is crushed and applied on teeth leaf toothache leaf boiled water is used for gargling leaf jaundice leaf juice is taken with goat milk bark heart pain paste is applied on chest leaf weakness leaf juice is taken h leaf ulcer leaf juice is taken leaf gastritis leaf juice is taken stem toothache used as brush gynura procumbens (lour.) merr. diabetes pata asteraceae s leaf diabetes leaf juice is taken heliotropium indicum l. hatisur boraginaceae h root pregnancy juice is taken hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. joba malvaceae s leaf cut injury leaf paste is applied flower infertility flower paste is taken with milk flower miscarriage flower paste is applied to stop bleeding flower leucorrhea flower is crushed with arjun bark and eaten leaf dysentery leaf juice is taken leaf jaundice leaf juice is taken hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma lamiaceae h seed dysentery seed is taken seed constipation seed is taken ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) r. br dudh pata apocynaceae s leaf dysentery juice is taken ipomoea aquatica forssk. kolmi convolvulaceae h leaf insect bite paste is applied kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers pathor kuchi crassulaceae h leaf body pain leaf is used for fomentation leaf kidney disease juice is taken lawsonia inermis l. mehdi lythraceae s leaf seizure leaf soaked water is taken fruit heart disease fruit juice is taken leaf skin disease paste is applied leaf diabetes juice is taken study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people 145 scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode leaf gastritis leaf is boiled and water is taken with sugar leaf dandruff leaf paste is applied on head leaf jaundice leaf soaked water is taken leaf white discharge of female leaf soaked water is taken leaf urinary disease leaf soaked water is taken leucus aspera (willd.) link dontokolosh lamiaceae h leaf cold leaf is cooked and taken flower cold juice is taken with honey flower cold juice is taken litsea glutinosa (lour.) c. b. rob. menda lauraceae t leaf impotence leaf juice is taken leaf constipation leaf is crushed in water and taken leaf seizure juice is taken leaf dysentery leaf is crushed in water and taken bark diarrhoea bark is crushed with mango and blackberry bark and taken bark dysentery bark soaked water is taken bark weakness bark soaked water is taken leaf jaundice leaf juice is taken mangifera indica l. aam anacardiaceae t raw fruit high pressure fruit is taken young fruit diarrhoea juice is taken young fruit body pain powdered and taken bark dysentery juice is taken bark dysentery bark crushed with blackberry bark and juice is taken young leaf gastritis juice is taken young leaf diarrhoea leaf crushed with sajna bark and taken with lime bark jaundice juice is taken leaf dysentery juice is taken stem toothache stem is heated and applied to teeth mentha arvensis l pudina lamiaceae h leaf sexual disease juice is taken with milk for 7 days in empty stomach leaf gonorrhea juice is taken with milk for 7 days in empty stomach 146 islam and uddin scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l. rob. refugee lota asteraceae c leaf blood dysentery leaf juice is taken leaf ulcer leaf paste is taken leaf weakness juice is taken leaf cut/ wound leaf paste is applied stem fracture used for binding leaf headache leaf paste is applied on head leaf gastritis juice is taken leaf boil leaf is applied on boil leaf dysentery leaf crushed in water then taken mimosa pudica l. lajjaboti mimosaceae s leaf cut/ wound leaf paste is applied root dysentery juice is taken root baby delivery problem root paste is e applied leaf dysentery juice is taken momordica charantia l. korola cucurbitaceae v fruit diabetes cooked and eaten moringa oleifera lamk. sajna moringaceae t leaf diarrhoea leaf juice is taken leaf dysentery leaf juice is taken leaf rheumatic pain leaf juice is taken leaf cold curry is taken leaf diabetes dried leaf is cooked and taken bark heart disease bark paste is taken bark cold bark paste is taken bark asthma bark juice is taken bark asthma juice taken for 3 days leaf cold leaf paste is taken leaf indigestion leaf fried and taken bark cold bark cooked with onion and garlic and taken leaf cold leaf fried and taken bark cold boiled and taken as a jam leaf diabetes leaf fried and taken murraya paniculata (l.)jack. kamini rutaceae t leaf toothache used as brush musa acuminata colla. kola musaceae t fruit dysentery fruit is soaked in water and taken with sugar dysentery fruit is taken musa paradisiaca l. kachkola musaceae t fruit liver problem cooked and eaten fruit diarrhoea fruit boiled and water is taken fruit jaundice fruit is cooked and taken fruit diarrhoea fruit is cooked and taken nelumbo nucifera gaertn. poddo nelumbonaceae h leaf seizure leaf juice is taken study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people 147 scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode nigella sativa l kalojeere ranunculaceae h seed rheumatic pain seed paste is taken seed distaste seed is taken seed diarrhoea seed paste is taken seed gastritis paste is taken seed heart pain paste is taken seed cold seed paste is taken nyctanthes arbortristis l. shiuli verbenaceae t leaf piles leaf juice is taken ocimum sanctum l. tulsi lamiaceae h leaf cold leaf juice with ginger taken paederia foetida l. mant. gondhovadali rubiaceae c seed constipation juice is taken leaf sexual problem paste is cooked with spices and taken leaf dysentery juice is taken leaf ulcer juice is taken leaf gastritis juice is taken phyllanthus emblica l. amloki euphorbiaceae t fruit gastritis fruit is taken fruit mouth sore fruit is taken fruit heart pain powdered and taken fruit hair tonic fruit juice is boiled with oil and then applied on hair fruit high pressure fruit is taken psidium guajava l. peyara myrtaceae t fruit heart pain fruit is taken young leaf gastritis leaf juice is applied leaf toothache leaf boiled water is used for gargling young leaf dysentery juice is taken young leaf toothache leaf crushed with mango young leaf and applied punica granatum l. dalim punicaceae t leaf diarrhoea leaf fried and taken leaf child dysentery leaf is cooked and eaten by mothers fruit peel cold boiled with in water and water is taken young fruit diarrhoea fruit is taken leaf pox leaf juice is taken fruit dysentery raw fruit is taken leaf heart pain leaf juice is taken leaf burn leaf ash is applied leaf anti-worm juice is taken leaf dysentery leaf is crushed with neem leaf and tumeric and taken scoparia dulcis l. chinipata scrophulariaceae h leaf cold juice is taken leaf gastritis juice is taken leaf dysentery juice is taken 148 islam and uddin scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode sida cordifolia l. baillodi malvaceae s root headache root juice is taken leaf boil leaf paste is applied root weakness root juice is taken smilax macrophylla roxb. kumari lota smilacaceae v stem sexual disease stem is taken solanum nigrum l. titbegun solanaceae s leaf itching leaf is burnt and applied spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz. amra anacardiaceae t fruit high pressure fruit is taken fruit heart pain fruit is taken fruit diabetes fruit is taken streblus asper lour. sheora moraceae t latex boil latex is applied swietenia mahagoni jacq. mehogony meliaceae t seed diabetes seed soaked water is taken seed diabetes seed powder is taken syzygium cumini (l.) skeels jam myrtaceae t bark dysentery juice is taken leaf gastritis juice is taken seed diabetes powder is taken seed heart pain seed is powdered with mango seed and taken tagetes erecta l. gada asteraceae s leaf cut/ wound leaf paste is applied leaf liver problem leaf juice is taken tamarindus indica l. tetul caesalpiniaceae t fruit high pressure fruit juice is taken terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc) wight & arn. arjun combretaceae t bark constipation bark paste is taken bark dysentery paste is taken bark dysentery bark is crushed with thankuni leaf and paste is taken bark heart disease paste is taken bark heart disease bark soaked in water and both are taken bark diabetes juice is taken bark weakness bark soaked water is taken bark heart disease bark soaked water is taken bark gastritis bark powder is taken with water bark heart disease bark powder is taken with water terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera combretaceae t fruit chest pain fruit powdered with amlaki and haritaki fruit and taken fruit antioxidant fruit powdered with amlaki fruit and arjun bark and taken terminalia chebula retz. haritaki combretaceae t leaf seizure leaf crushed with bohera leaf and taken with water zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) d.c. bajna rutaceae t seed body pain seed oil is applied study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people 149 scientific name local name family habit parts used ailments treatment mode thorn waist pain externally bound on waist thorn cold powder is taken zingiber officinale rosc. ada zingiberaceae h rhizo me gastritis juice is taken with lemon juice rhizo me nausea juice is taken rhizo me heart disease juice is taken rhizo me stomach pain boiled with salt in water and water is orally taken rhizo me cold juice is taken ziziphus mauritiana lamk. boroi rhamnaceae t fruit high pressure fruit is taken leaf old dysentery leaf is crushed with ginger and taken among the medicinal plants, most frequently used plant speci are trees (43%) followed by herbs (31%), shrubs (21%) and climbers (5%). (fig.1). out of 114 formularies, 80% were of internal application and the rest 20% were of external applications (fig. 2). leaf is the most commonly used plant part followed by fruit, root, seed, bark and flower (fig. 3). figs 1-3: 1. different life forms of medicinal plants. 2. application mode of plants. 3. parts used for the preparation of ethnomedicines 150 islam and uddin the factor of informant consensus model was used to determine the use diversity of medicinal plants and to identify the ethnopharmacologically important plant species (heinrich et al., 1998). table 2 shows that the fic values varied from 0.956 to 0.938. the highest fic value (0.956) was obtained in case of respiratory disorders. the second highest fic value (0.955) was found in case of cardiovascular diseases followed by diabetes, gastrointestinal disorders, diarrhea and dysentery, anthelmintic, dermatological disease, muscle and skeletal disorders, kidney disease, dental, gynecological disorder, jaundice and sexual disorder. the most cited species for respiratory category are ocimum sanctum l., nigella sativa l. moringa oleifera lamk. and jasticia adhatoda l. in case of cardiovascular diseases the most cited plant species are terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex d.c.) wight & arn., tamarindus indica l., allium sativum l. fic is comparatively low for sexual disorders indicating that there is low consensus on the treatment of this ailment in the study area. table 2. consensus of agreement on the uses of medicinal plants among informants no. category of disease most cited plants nur ntaxa fic 1 dermatology (hair fall,skin rash, pox, acne, allergy) azadirachta indica a. juss. 176 17 0.908 2 gastrointestinal disorders (gastritis, constipation, stomachache) carica papaya l. 380 25 0.936 3 diabetes coccinia grandis (l.) voigt 194 13 0.937 4 cardiovascular disease (pressure reduce, chest pain, blood purifier) terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex d.c.) wight & arn. 627 29 0.955 5 respiratory disorder(asthma, cough, fever) ocimum sanctum l. 401 19 0.956 6 muscle and skeletal disorders (cuts and wound, body pain, rheumatism) cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. 254 25 0.905 7 jaundice centella asiatica l. 32 11 0.677 8 dental (toothache, cavity) glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. d.c. 59 7 0.896 9 diarrhoea and dysentery punica granatum l. 512 36 0.932 10 gynecological disorder hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. 43 07 0.857 11 anthelmintic disease azadirachta indica (a.) juss. 79 07 0.923 12 sexual disorder mentha arvensis l. 14 07 0.538 13. kidney disease kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers 22 03 0.904 14. others (weakness, memory boosting, epilepsy, anemia, headache, distaste) nigella sativa l. 120 22 0.823 fidelity level (fl) was calculated to identify medicinally important plant species of the study area. the higher fl value of a species indicates the prevalence of a specific disease in an area and the utilization of plant species by the inhabitants to treat it (bibi et al., 2014; srithi et al., 2009). aerva sanguinolenta (l.) blume, neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser, tamarindus indica l., momordica charantia l., cocos nucifera l. jasticia adhatoda l., ocimum sanctum l, leucus aspera (willd.) link. showed 100% fidelity level (fl) values against cut injury, dysentery, high blood pressure, diabetes, toothache and cold respectively. (table 3). study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people 151 table 3. fidelity level (fl) values of frequently cited plant species and their major uses. scientific name ailments ip iu fl (100) aerva sanguinolenta (l.) blume cut injury 25 25 100 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser dysentery 17 17 100 tamarindus indica l. pressure reduce 96 96 100 calotropis gigantea (l.) dryand body pain 19 49 38.77 cucumis sativus l. cardiovascular disease 17 18 94.5 momordica charantia l. diabetes 20 20 100 cocos nucifera l. toothache 17 17 100 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels diabetes 51 86 59.30 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex d.c.) wight & arn., cardiovascular disease 140 205 68.29 litsea glutinosa (lour.) c. b. rob. dysentery 55 70 78.57 ananas comosus (l.) merr. anthelmintic disesase 09 11 81.9 ocimum sanctum l. cough 125 125 100 cuscuta reflexa roxb. skin disease 16 24 66.70 azadirachta indica (a.) juss. skin disease 51 126 40.4 curcuma longa l. skin disease 9 11 81.90 leucus aspera (willd.) link. cough 29 29 100 colocasia esculanta l. cut injury 30 38 78.90 allium sativum l. cardiovascular disease 49 67 73.10 kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers kidney disease 11 13 84.60 calotropis gigantea (l.) dryand cardiovascular disease 28 49 57.10 musa paradisiaca l. diarrhea 19 24 79.10 jasticia adhatoda l cough 34 34 100 hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. gynae 13 34 38.23 citation frequency (cf) of different plant species are shown in the table 4. terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex d.c.) wight & arn. showed highest cf value (74.86%) which indicated that such species is very popular plant species in the study area to treat heart diseases. ocimum sanctum l., tamarindus indica l., carica papaya l., cynodon dactylon (l.)pers, punica granatum l., coccinia grandis (l.) voigt were also the most cited plant species in the study area. these species are considered as important medicinal plants in our country. in the present study maximum number of plant species belonged to rutaceae, lamiaceae, fabaceae, apocynaceae, asteraceae, cucurbitaceae. juice is the most commonly cited mode of medicine preparation by the followed by paste, crushed, decoction, chewed and powdered. the same results were reported in other study performed by uddin et al. (2017). maximum informants preferred oral consumption of medicines rather than external application. this result is similar with other studies from bangladesh (faruque et al., 2018; uddin et. al., 2015). highest fic value (0.956) was found for respiratory disease category (cough, cold, fever). the most cited species used to treat such ailment are ocimum sanctum l. jasticia adhatoda l. which were also reported by uddin et al., (2017) and sajib and uddin (2013, 2015). cardiovascular disease showed second 152 islam and uddin highest fic value (0.955) and the most cited species for this category is terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc) wight & arn. which were also used for the same purpose as reported by uddin et al. (2012) and uddin and hassan (2014). the third highest fic value (0.937) was found for diabetes and the most cited species for this category is coccinia grandis (l.)voigt which is similar with the report of uddin et al. (2015). coccinea grandis is also used for blood purifying, skin disease, jaundice, kidney disease, body ache and dysentery which were reported in different studies (jahan et al., 2013; rahmatullah et al., 2010; dinsesh et al., 2013; rahmatullah et al., 2009). table 4. citation frequency of some selected medicinal plants. scientific name local name ailments citation citation frequency (cf%) ocimum sanctum l., tulshi cough 125 66.80 tamarindus indica l. tetul pressure reduce 96 51.33 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels jam diabetes 51 27.28 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers durba cut injury 67 35.82 nigella sativa l. kalijira cough 59 31.55 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt kuchila diabetes 65 34.75 azadirachta indica a. juss. neem skin disease 51 27.28 carica papaya l. pepe gastritis 84 44.91 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. d.c. motkila toothache 29 15.50 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex d.c.) wight & arn. arjun cardiovascular disease 140 74.86 citrus limon (l.) burm. lebu pressure reduce 42 22.45 litsea glutinosa (lour.) c. b. rob. chapaitta,/menda dysentery 55 29.41 colocasia esculanta l. kochu cut injury 30 16.04 mangifera indica l. aam gastritis 35 18.71 a number of medicinal uses are found to be new after comparison with previous studies (uddin et al., 2006, 2015, 2017; sajib and uddin, 2013, 2015; nahar et al., 2016; yasmin and rahman, 2017; khatun and rahman, 2018; sohel et al., 2016). leucus aspera (willd.) link. was reported to treat cough, amaranthus tricolor l. to treat anaemia, punica granatum l. to treat child diarrhea, datura metel l. to treat dogbite and fioria vitifolia l. was reported to treat hair fall problem. from the present survey, some threats to medicinal plants have been observed. lack of awareness among local people and roadside plantation of exotic species are the major threats in the study area. acacia auriculiformis (a.) cunn. ex benth, switenia mahagoni (l.) jacq., eucalyptus camadulensis dehnh. samanea saman (jacq.) merr. and dalbergia sissoo roxb. are some commonly used exotic plants for roadside plantation. according to local people, these species might posses threats to native ecosystem as no birds sit in these trees and no fish can survive in nearby ponds. to protect valuable medicinal plant species in the present study area, a number of measures should be undertaken. among the measures, nurseries should be developed for propagating important and threatened medicinal plants. distribution map of medicinal plants can be made. ex situ conservation strategies should be applied for the important and threatened plants of the study area. different governmental and non-governmental organizations should study of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people 153 undertake appropriate measures for listing and conserving important medicinal plants of raipura upazila. conclusion the study area has a variety of medicinal plants (87 species) and diversity of health care uses (69 ailments with 114 formularies). respiratory disorders attained highest fic value followed by cardiovascular disease. in this survey cynodon dactylon (l.) pers, tamarindus indica l., momordica charantia l., cocos nucifera l., jasticia adhatoda l., ocimum sanctum l. and leucus aspera (willd.) link. scored 100% fl values. according to the fic, fl and cf values, the most important medicinal plant species in the study area are ocimum sanctum l., cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., curcuma longa l., centella asiatica l., carica papaya l.,coccinia grandis (l.)voigt, aerva sanguinolenta (l.)blume, jasticia adhatoda l., leucus aspera (willd.) link., litsea glutinosa (lour.) c. b. rob., mangifera indica l., terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex d.c.) wight &arn., tamarindus indica l., punica granatum l., mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson, moringa oleifera lamk., syzigium cumini l.and momordica charantia l. the present analysis proved their popularity as important medicinal plants among the local people of raipura upazila. therefore, such plant species can undergo further selection process for future phytochemical studies and also be recommended for drug development. the study also revealed that the medicinal plants and traditional knowledge in raipura upazila are in threatened condition due to different disturbances and some suggestions have been recommended for conservation. acknowledgement the authors acknowledged the ministry of national science and technology for financial support for the research. the authors also remember the contribution of informants in the data collection process during field works in raipura upazila. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t, hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a, rahman a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 07 december 2021; revised on 04 june 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 27–44, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82390 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists complete chloroplast genome of fraxinus griffithii c.b. clarke (oleaceae): insights into genome structure and molecular phylogenetics sheikh sunzid ahmed and m. oliur rahman* department of botany, faculty of biological sciences, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: plastome assembly; simple sequence repeats; nucleotide diversity; phylogenetics; molecular dating; oleaceae. abstract this study deciphers the first complete chloroplast (cp) genome of fraxinus griffithii c.b. clarke (oleaceae), a medicinally important tree species native to bangladesh, providing new insights into its genome structure and phylogenetic relationships. the circular cp genome comprises a total length of 155,683 bp with a large single-copy region (86,466 bp), small single-copy region (17831 bp), and two inverted repeat regions (51,386 bp). the plastome encodes 130 genes, including 86 protein-coding genes, 36 transfer rnas and eight ribosomal rnas. comparative genomic analysis revealed genome divergence, similar genomic architecture, and lack of large rearrangements within the oleaceae family. the plastome harbored 46 simple sequence repeats (ssrs) and 49 longer repeats. among the identified ssrs, mononucleotides (39) were the most frequent, while palindromic repeats predominated among the longer repeats. nucleotide diversity analysis revealed rpl32 and ndhf genes of the ssc region as the most hypervariable dna barcodes. plastome-wide phylogeny supported the systematic position of f. griffithii within the subtribe fraxininae of the tribe oleeae. molecular dating analysis suggests that f. griffithii originated approximately 15.07 million years ago, during the langhian stage of the middle miocene epoch in the neogene period of the cenozoic era. the findings of this study provide the first cp genome data for f. griffithii (genbank accession: pp669282.1), contributing to valuable insights into the evolutionary genomics of the family oleaceae. introduction fraxinus griffithii c.b. clarke (family oleaceae), commonly known as griffith’s ash, is a medicinal tree species native to bangladesh. the family oleaceae encompasses numerous ecologically and ethnobotanically significant species, many of which are distributed across temperate and subtropical regions (huang et al., 2019). f. griffithii occurs a wide geographic range, spanning central, eastern, and southeastern asia, including bangladesh, myanmar, china, vietnam, taiwan, and philippines (macahig et al., 2010). morphologically, this tree is small to moderate in size, with branchlets varying from pubescent to glabrescent. leaves are pinnately compound and consist of 5–9 glossy, lanceolate leaflets. the species possesses terminal or axillary panicles of small white flowers, distinctive samaras type of fruits with elongated wings that facilitate wind dispersal (rahman, 2009). f. griffithii demonstrates considerable medicinal potential, supported by both phytochemical and pharmacological evidence. phytochemical analyses of its leaves have identified 12 bioactive compounds that demonstrated antioxidant properties (macahig et al., 2010). beyond its antioxidant capacity, f. griffithii has shown central nervous system (cns)-modulating effects. the traditional use of its bark and leaf extracts in some *corresponding author. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82390 28 ahmed and rahman regions has been linked to sedative properties (basori, 2004). phytochemical screening revealing saponins, tannins, and glycosides, often associated with bioactivity highlights the potential of this medicinal tree as a source of neuromodulatory or sedative drug candidates, warranting further therapeutic investigation (xiao and bai, 2019). the chloroplast (cp) genome serves as an essential tool for taxonomic identification due to its conserved structure, uniparental inheritance, and relatively slow rate of evolution compared to nuclear genomes, making it especially suitable for phylogenetic studies in plants (dobrogojski et al., 2020). traditional dna barcoding typically targets trnh-psba, matk, rbcl, and ndhf, which are effective for species-level identification and widely used in plant systematics (li et al., 2015). while these markers can provide useful information, however, they often lack sufficient resolution to fully capture the diversity within complex or morphologically variable taxa. in contrast, whole plastome analysis, encompassing all protein-coding genes, trnas, and rrnas, provides a comprehensive genetic dataset that improves species identification accuracy and strengthens phylogenetic inferences (claude et al., 2025). this complete plastomic approach helps resolve ambiguous species boundaries, uncover cryptic speciation, and clarify evolutionary histories that may be overlooked with partial sequences (ahmed and rahman, 2025). furthermore, when integrated with molecular dating techniques, the complete plastome offers additional advantages by enhancing the statistical robustness of divergence time estimates, enabling more precise calibrations and reducing uncertainty in molecular clock analyses. such genome-wide data offers deeper insights into lineage diversification, historical biogeography, and key evolutionary events (zhang et al., 2021a). therefore, utilizing full cp genome may offer a strong molecular framework for accurate identification and classification of f. griffithii within the broader phylogeny of oleaceae. the increasing accessibility of next-generation sequencing (ngs) data has greatly facilitated plastome assembly, annotation and downstream analyses. repurposing these publicly available datasets enables the assembly of complete plastomes for the first time with high accuracy, while eliminating the cost, and technical demands of new sequencing experiments. this approach further facilitates for broad-scale genomic investigations across a wide range of plant species, even those lacking fresh biological materials. the use of existing data also promotes reproducibility and transparency in research, as raw sequences remain accessible for validation and reanalysis. moreover, it unlocks new opportunities for comparative genomics, phylogenetic studies, and evolutionary analysis by leveraging the extensive sequence information already deposited in public repositories (park et al., 2020; ahmed and rahman, 2024). to date, a thorough investigation of the complete plastome of f. griffithii has not been conducted, leaving critical gaps in our understanding of its systematic placement and evolutionary history across geological timescales. in this study, we aim to construct and analyze the complete plastome of f. griffithii for the first time, integrating phylogenetic reconstruction and molecular dating analyses. the resulting insights are expected to refine its genetic classification, illuminate its evolutionary trajectory, and support conservation strategies, while also providing a valuable genomic resource for further studies on its ecological relevance. materials and methods ngs reads acquisition and quality control the illumina reads (srr28778062) of f. griffithii were retrieved from the ncbi sequence read archive (sra) database. the illumina hiseq x platform generated approximately 19.1 million reads, yielding 5.7 gb of bases with a total data size of 2.1 gb. the sequencing library (bop132327) followed a paired-end approach with size fractionation for optimal coverage. data complete chloroplast genome of fraxinus griffithii 29 quality was verified using fastqc v.0.12.1 to confirm read reliability prior to downstream analysis (ahmed and rahman, 2024). assembly, annotation and ncbi submission the complete plastome was assembled from illumina sequencing reads employing the getorganelle tool v1.7.7.0 (jin et al., 2000). coverage depth was assessed through ugene, and gene annotation was performed with the cpgavas2 platform, and further cross-checked by cpgview server (okonechnikov et al., 2012; shi et al., 2019; liu et al., 2023). the annotated plastome was visualized via the chloroplot web-tool (zheng et al., 2020). the finalized organellar genome sequence has been submitted to the ncbi genbank database with the accession number “pp669282.1”. repeats and codon usage analysis simple sequence repeats (ssrs) present in the plastome were detected with the misa-web tool under default parameters, while long repeat elements were identified using the reputer server, considering all possible matching orientations (kurtz et al., 2001; beier et al., 2017). codon usage bias was analyzed with the rscu (relative synonymous codon usage) module in mega v.11 (tamura et al., 2021). the codon usage data were subsequently visualized as a heatmap generated via a python script utilizing the pandas, seaborn, and matplotlib libraries. contraction and expansion of ir structural changes of inverted repeat (ir) regions in f. griffithii were examined using the irscope web-tool (amiryousefi et al., 2018). the annotated genbank file was uploaded alongside plastome annotation files from closely related species to enable comparative analysis of the junction sites. following the generation of the visualization plot, the output was downloaded and analyzed to assess structural deviations in the ir margins and the orientation of adjacent genes. comparative genomics and collinearity study comparative genomic analysis of the assembled plastome was carried out using the mvista platform to evaluate sequence conservation across related species (frazer et al., 2004). to investigate gene order and structural rearrangements, progressive alignment was carried out via mauve v.20150226 (darling et al., 2004). additionally, collinearity relationships within the plastome were explored using the circoletto server, applying default parameters for visualization (darzentas, 2010). nucleotide diversity evaluation the cp genomes of closely related taxa including f. grifithii were aligned with the mafft tool (katoh and standley, 2013). following the alignment, nucleotide diversity was calculated using dnasp v.5 to enable a comprehensive assessment of variability throughout the cp genomes (librado and rozas, 2009). molecular phylogenetic and dating assessments phylogenetic relationships were assessed in mega v.11 employing the neighbor-joining (nj) method (tamura et al., 2021). for molecular dating, the reltime-ml submodule was utilized. the analysis was initiated by importing the aligned plastome sequences, and divergence times were estimated using calibration nodes from the timetree server (kumar et al., 2017). 30 ahmed and rahman results and discussion plastome assembly and annotation the assembled plastome of f. griffithii had a total length of 155,683 bp and displayed the typical quadripartite arrangement characteristic of most angiosperms. it comprised a lsc zone of 86,466 bp, a ssc zone of 17,831 bp, and two identical ir zones, each measuring 25,693 bp (fig. 1). the nucleotide composition of the plastome revealed an overall at-rich pattern, with 62.14% at content and 37.86% gc content (table 1). table 1. nucleotide arrangements of the plastome of f. griffithii. area c (%) g (%) a (%) t (u) (%) c + g (%) a + t (%) ssc 15.03 17.02 33.95 34.00 32.05 67.95 lsc 18.36 17.53 31.51 32.60 35.89 64.11 ira 20.83 22.38 28.53 28.26 43.21 56.79 irb 22.38 20.83 28.26 28.53 43.21 56.79 plastome 19.05 18.81 30.76 31.38 37.86 62.14 the ssc demonstrated the highest at content (67.95%), followed by the lsc (64.11%), whereas both inverted repeats (ira and irb) showed lower at content (56.79%) and comparatively higher gc content (43.21%). irs depicted higher gc content which is a characteristic feature of angiosperm plastome and carries important biological significance. gc enriched region contributes to greater thermodynamic stability of dna, enhancing the structural integrity of the ir regions. this stability is particularly important as the irs often contain functionally essential and highly conserved genes, such as ribosomal rnas (rrnas) and some transfer rnas (trnas), which are essential for plastid gene expression as well as ribosomal function. moreover, the conserved nature and increased gc content of the irs may play a protective role against large-scale genomic rearrangements, thereby maintaining plastome organization and ensuring evolutionary conservation across plant lineages. these variations in base composition across different regions are consistent with the established trends and reflect the conserved yet region-specific nucleotide distribution within the chloroplast genome (ahmed and rahman, 2024, 2025). the coverage analysis of the f. griffithii plastome revealed a high sequencing depth across the genome, ensuring reliable base calling and assembly accuracy. the maximum coverage was recorded at position 121,635, reaching 2,531x, while the minimum coverage occurred at position 12,735, with a depth of 302x (fig. 2). the mean coverage across the entire plastome was 1,824.8x, indicating a robust and uniform sequencing effort. this high average depth not only validates high genomic integrity but also minimizes the likelihood of sequencing errors, thereby enhancing the reliability of downstream analyses, such as gene annotation, phylogenetics, and molecular dating. when compared to the plastome of scaphium scaphigerum, which exhibited a mean coverage of 990.165x, with a coverage ranging from 14x (min.) to 1,350x (max.), the f. griffithii plastome demonstrated substantially higher and more consistent sequencing depth (ahmed and rahman, 2025). notably, the minimum coverage in f. griffithii (302x) was significantly higher than that of s. scaphigerum (14x), suggesting greater uniformity across the genome. additionally, the higher peak coverage in f. griffithii further reinforces confidence in base accuracy, particularly in regions critical for functional annotation and comparative genomic analyses. complete chloroplast genome of fraxinus griffithii 31 fig. 1. orbicular plastome map of f. griffithii illustrating quadripartite junction sites and their gene contents. fig. 2. coverage depth assessment of the complete cp genome of f. griffithii elucidating robust base accuracy and high quality of the assembled plastome. 32 ahmed and rahman the genome annotation of the f. griffithii plastome identified 130 functional genes, comprising 86 protein-coding genes (pcgs), 36 trnas, and eight rrnas. these genes were functionally grouped into categories related to photosynthesis, self-replication, and other essential plastid functions. key genes for photosynthesis included those encoding subunits of atp synthase, photosystems i and ii, nadh-dehydrogenase, cytochrome b/f complex, and rubisco enzyme (table 2). genes involved in self-replication comprised large and small ribosomal subunits, and rna polymerases. additional genes encoded proteins such as maturase (matk), protease (clpp), and various conserved hypothetical reading frames (ycf genes), reflecting the structural and functional completeness of the annotated plastome. table 2. protein-coding genes in the plastome of f. griffithii. category group name of genes genes for photosynthesis subunits of atp synthase atpa, atpb, atpe, atpf, atph, atpi subunits of photosystem ii psba, psbb, psbc, psbd, psbe, psbf, psbh, psbi, psbj, psbk, psbl, psbm, psbn, psbt, psbz subunits of nadh-dehydrogenase ndha, ndhb (×2), ndhc, ndhe, ndhf, ndhg, ndhh, ndhi, ndhj, ndhk subunits of cytochrome b/f complex peta, petb, petg, petl, petn subunits of photosystem i psaa, psab, psac, psai, psaj subunit of rubisco rbcl self-replication large subunit of ribosome rpl14, rpl16, rpl2 (×2), rpl20, rpl22, rpl23 (×2), rpl32, rpl33, rpl36 dna dependent rna polymerase rpoa, rpob, rpoc1, rpoc2 small subunit of ribosome rps2, rps3, rps4, rps7 (×2), rps8, rps11, rps12 (×3), rps14, rps15, rps16, rps18, rps19 other genes subunit of acetyl-coa-carboxylase accd c-type ytochrome synthesis gene ccsa envelop membrane protein cema protease clpp translational initiation factor infa maturase matk unknown conserved open reading frames ycf1, ycf2 (×2), ycf3, ycf4, ycf15 (×2) f. griffithii chloroplast genome uncovered the presence of several cis-splicing genes, each characterized by distinct exon-intron structures that support precise post-transcriptional modification processes within the plastid (fig. 3). the accurate identification of intron-containing genes with defined splice sites confirms the structural completeness of the annotated plastome as well as highlights the complexity of chloroplast gene regulation, which is essential for maintaining organelle functionality and plant development. figure 4 illustrates the trans-splicing arrangement of the rps12 gene within the plastome. in this configuration, exon1 of rps12 is encoded on the negative strand within the lsc, while the other two exons are duplicated and situated in the irs (ira and irb) on opposite strands. two distinct mature transcripts are formed through transsplicing: one joining exon1 with exons 2 and 3 from ira, and another with exons 2 and 3 from complete chloroplast genome of fraxinus griffithii 33 irb. this structure highlights the unique gene architecture of rps12 and its reliance on transsplicing to generate functional transcripts from spatially separated genomic regions. fig. 3. schematic representation of the genes involved in the cis-splicing process of the cp genome of f. griffithii. fig. 4. schematic representation of the gene rps12 involved in the trans-splicing process of the cp genome of f. griffithii. 34 ahmed and rahman repeats and codon usage pattern the ssr analysis of f. griffithii and related fraxinus species revealed varying distributions of simple sequence repeats (ssrs). f. griffithii contained 46 ssrs, predominantly mononucleotide repeats (39), followed by di(3), tetra(3), and one pentanucleotide repeat (fig. 5a). among other species, f. chinensis exhibited the highest number (60) of ssrs with 48 mononucleotide, seven dinucleotide, one trinucleotide and four tetranucleotide repeats. f. griffithii depicted close similarity in ssr contents with f. malacophylla and f. velutina, both of which showed 50 ssrs in total. the variation in ssr number and motif types across species highlights species-specific patterns that can reveal useful phylogenetic markers for evolutionary studies, population genetics, and conservation planning. in particular, the relatively conserved ssr profile observed in f. griffithii, f. malacophylla, and f. velutina suggests a degree of evolutionary closeness, while the higher ssr diversity in f. chinensis may indicate greater plastome variability (wu et al., 2018). the reputer server identified 49 longer repeat structures in the plastome of f. griffithii comprising 16 forward, 11 reverse, 21 palindromic, and one complement repeat (fig. 5b). among these, palindromic sequences were the most frequent, followed by forward repeats. the presence of these repetitive elements may contribute to genome stabilization, structural variation, and plastome evolution. notably, the overall repeat pattern in f. griffithii showed a degree of similarity to other fraxinus species, supporting the accuracy and correctness of the plastome assembly. this concordance suggests that the assembly reflects genuine biological features rather than technical artifacts, thereby reinforcing confidence in subsequent analyses (albediwi et al., 2024). fig. 5. comparative assessment of repeat structures in f. griffithii and its closely related taxa. a. simple sequence repeats, b. longer repeats. complete chloroplast genome of fraxinus griffithii 35 the codon usage analysis of the f. griffithii plastome revealed diversity in the rscu scores among the 64 codons (fig. 6). the highest rscu value was observed for aga (arginine) at 1.94, indicating a strong preference for this codon, while the lowest was for cgc (arginine) at 0.51, suggesting the weakest preference. codons such as aug (methionine) and ugg (tryptophan) showed an rscu value of 1, reflecting their roles as single codons without synonymous alternatives. this pattern was consistent with related fraxinus species, all showing a preference for aga and reduced usage of cgc, highlighting a conserved codon usage bias across the genus. these findings may reflect translational efficiency and evolutionary adaptation in the plastid genomes of fraxinus species. fig. 6. heatmap illustrating codon usage pattern of f. griffithii and closely related species. 36 ahmed and rahman ir expansion and contraction the size of the lsc varied from 86,389 to 86,696 bp, while the ssc ranged between 17,760 and 19,109 bp across the examined taxa (fig. 7). in comparison to syringa villosa, a minor expansion of the irs was observed in f. griffithii and other fraxinus species, suggesting localized shifts in boundary positioning. conversely, when compared to olea europaea and comoranthus minor, the ir regions in f. griffithii exhibited mild contraction. these junctional changes typically involved genes such as rps19 and ycf1, which are often located at or near the ir boundaries. the observed stability and modest variation in ir boundaries within fraxinus support the structural integrity of the assembled plastome and reflect evolutionary constraints acting on the chloroplast genome. expansions or contractions of irs may influence plastome size and have implications for phylogenetic inference and genome evolution (guo et al., 2021). fig. 7. lsc, ssc, and ir regions in the f. griffithii and related plastomes illustrating quadripartite junction sites. numbers displayed above or beside the color-coded genes indicate the distances from each gene to the adjacent junctions. comparative genomics and collinearity the genome divergence study with f. griffithii as the reference, revealed notable sequence variation primarily focused in the single-copy regions, while the irs remained relatively complete chloroplast genome of fraxinus griffithii 37 conserved across all examined taxa (fig. 8). among the aligned genomes, most variations were detected in intergenic spacers and intronic parts of the lsc and ssc, whereas gene-coding sequences showed a high level of conservation, reflecting their functional constraints. this pattern of variation is consistent with established trends in angiosperm plastome and underscores the stabilizing influence of the ir regions. the observed divergence in single-copy regions highlights their potential utility for developing species-specific molecular markers, facilitating phylogenetic reconstruction, and resolving taxonomic ambiguities within the genus (ferguson, 2002), and our results are supported by previous findings (zhang et al., 2021b; albediwi et al., 2024). fig. 8. genome divergence analysis elucidating gene orders, variations and conservation across all the plastome compartments of f. malacophylla, olea europaea, comoranthus minor and syringa villosa, using f. griffithii as the reference genome. the progressive mauve alignment revealed highly similar locally collinear blocks (lcbs) across the compared plastomes, indicating strong conservation of genomic structure among f. griffithii and its closely related species (fig. 9). gene order and arrangement were visualized 38 ahmed and rahman through multicolored blocks, with red representing rrna genes, black for trnas, green for intron-containing trnas, and white for protein-coding genes (pcgs). the absence of major structural rearrangements or inversions further supports the structural integrity of the f. griffithii plastome. this high degree of synteny not only confirms the accuracy of the genome assembly and annotation but also reflects the evolutionary stability of plastid genomes within the genus, providing a reliable basis for phylogenetic and comparative genomic studies. our results are supported by previous findings based on mauve progressive alignments (alsuhaimi et al., 2024; ahmed and rahman, 2025). fig. 9. comparative genomics analysis showing genome-wide collinearity and similar arrangement of the genomic compartments across various plastomes. a. fraxinus griffithii, b. f. chiisanensis, c. f. chinensis, d. f. hupehensis, e. f. malacophylla, f. pennsylvanica, and g. f. velutina. synteny analysis using the circoletto server effectively visualized the conserved genomic blocks between f. griffithii and its close relatives, highlighting substantial levels of sequence similarity and structural conservation (fig. 10). the circular representation revealed strong syntenic relationships, particularly in coding regions, illustrated by well-aligned, colored ribbons connecting homologous loci among the compared plastomes. these conserved syntenic blocks indicate limited genomic rearrangements, underscoring the evolutionary stability of chloroplast genomes within the genus fraxinus. the findings align well with previous reports (alsuhaimi et al., 2024; ahmed and rahman, 2025). the present study revealed the key genomic features of species closely related to fraxinus griffithii, including the highest gc content in ligustrum lucidum, the highest number of protein-coding genes in fraxinus pennsylvanica, and the highest number of trnas in osmanthus cooperi (table 3). employing multiple tools in the present study such as mvista, mauve, and circoletto, ensured a robust and multidimensional validation of the genomic features and evolutionary relationships of the f. griffithii plastome. each tool offers unique analytical strengths: mvista enables fine-scale visualization of sequence divergence across entire plastomes, highlighting variation in coding and non-coding regions (frazer et al., 2004); mauve identifies locally collinear blocks, revealing structural rearrangements and gene order conservation (darling et al., 2004); while circoletto graphically presents synteny and homology across species in an intuitive circular complete chloroplast genome of fraxinus griffithii 39 format (darzentas, 2010). the complementary nature of these platforms enhances analytical reliability by cross-validating genomic patterns from multiple perspectives. this integrated approach not only reinforces confidence in the assembly and annotation of the f. griffithii plastome but also provides deeper insights into its structural conservation and evolutionary dynamics within the oleaceae family. the utility of this multi-dimensional approach is further supported by similar studies (alsuhaimi et al., 2024; ahmed and rahman, 2025). table 3. comparative overview of cp genomes within the family oleaceae. taxa accessions tribe plastome (bp) gc (%) pcgs rrnas trnas total genes abeliophyllum distichum mn127986.1 forsythieae 156,008 37.82 89 8 37 134 chionanthus retusus nc_035000.1 oleeae 155,687 37.76 89 8 37 134 chrysojasminum fruticans mh559274.1 jasmineae 159,404 37.45 88 8 38 134 comoranthus minor mh817901.1 oleeae 155,929 37.79 89 8 35 132 fontanesia philliraeoides subsp. fortunei mg255754.1 fontanesieae 155,992 37.74 88 8 35 131 forsythia mira nc_046065.1 forsythieae 156,485 37.80 89 8 37 134 forsythia suspensa nc_036367.1 forsythieae 156,404 37.79 89 8 37 134 fraxinus chiisanensis mf980720.1 oleeae 155,571 37.89 89 8 37 134 fraxinus chinensis mw599993.1 oleeae 155,610 37.84 89 8 35 132 fraxinus griffithii pp669282.1 oleeae 155,683 37.86 86 8 36 130 fraxinus hupehensis nc_052770.1 oleeae 155,689 37.85 89 8 35 132 fraxinus malacophylla mt663306.1 oleeae 155,621 37.86 88 8 35 131 fraxinus pennsylvanica nc_043874.1 oleeae 155,543 37.84 92 8 36 136 fraxinus velutina nc_082971.1 oleeae 155,610 37.84 90 8 35 133 jasminum sambac mn158204.1 jasmineae 163,315 37.52 89 8 37 134 ligustrum lucidum mh394207.1 oleeae 154,793 38.24 83 8 35 126 myxopyrum hainanense nc_047485.1 myxopyreae 156,064 37.72 86 8 37 131 nestegis sandwicensis nc_042457.1 oleeae 155,565 37.77 89 8 35 132 nyctanthes arbor-tristis pp055962.1 myxopyreae 155,567 37.74 86 8 33 127 olea europaea mt182986.1 oleeae 155,886 37.81 89 8 37 134 osmanthus cooperi nc_053565.1 oleeae 155,262 37.80 82 8 44 134 schrebera trichoclada nc_042268.1 oleeae 155,644 37.80 89 8 35 132 syringa villosa ol414766.1 oleeae 156,630 37.97 88 8 37 133 nucleotide diversity f. griffithii plastome revealed an average diversity (π) value of 0.025334, indicating a moderate level of genetic variation across the genome (fig. 11). the highest nucleotide diversity was observed in the rpl32 (π = 0.11149), followed by ndhf (π = 0.11062), both positioned in the ssc, suggesting this portion harbors the most divergent loci. within the lsc, the accd (π = 0.08432) and trnf (π = 0.06291) showed the highest levels of variability. in contrast, the ira and irb regions exhibited relatively low nucleotide diversity, reflecting their conserved nature. these findings indicate that the ssc and lsc regions contain more polymorphic sites, which may be valuable for molecular evolutionary analysis and the development of phylogenetic markers in fraxinus and its closely related species (alsuhaimi et al., 2024). 40 ahmed and rahman fig. 10. comparative genomic analysis showing syntenic blocks between f. griffithii and other closely related members within the oleaceae. fig. 11. nucleotide diversity assessment of the f. griffithii plastome annotating hypervariable dna barcodes. complete chloroplast genome of fraxinus griffithii 41 molecular phylogenetic and dating endeavor the nj (neighbor-joining) tree supported the assembly of f. griffithii by showing its clustering with other closely related members of the same genus within the subtribe fraxininae of the tribe oleeae (fig. 12). f. griffithii showed a closer relationship with f. malacophylla than with other fraxinus members. within the tribe oleeae, the subtribe fraxinninae exhibited a close affinity with the subtribe oleinae. all four subtribes of oleeae depicted monophyletic origins, with nearly 100% bootstrap support, underscoring the robustness of the phylogenetic tree. similarly, members of the other four tribes, such as fontanesieae, forsythieae, jasmineae, and myxopyreae also showed monophyly. the phylogeny of the members was congruent with earlier reports based on complete chloroplast genomes of f. pennsylvanica and f. malacophylla (yi et al., 2019; duan et al., 2020). fig. 12. neighbor-joining tree illustrating plastome-wide phylogenetic affinities of f. griffithii within the family oleaceae. molecular dating analysis revealed the earliest divergence within the oleaceae occurred approximately 56.50 million years ago (mya) during the thanetian age of the late paleocene epoch in the paleogene period of the cenozoic era (fig. 13). the fraxinus clade diverged around 17.14 mya, during the burdigalian age of the early miocene epoch in the neogene period. f. griffithii showed a divergence time of approximately 15.07 mya, corresponding to the langhian age of the middle miocene epoch in the neogene period. these estimates, derived from complete plastome sequences, provide robust temporal framework for understanding evolutionary events, and offer valuable insights into lineage diversification and historical biogeography within the oleaceae. the application of plastome-wide molecular dating is further supported by its consistency with findings from previous studies (zhang et al., 2021a; ahmed and rahman, 2024, 2025). 42 ahmed and rahman fig. 13. molecular dating analysis elucidating species divergence in million years ago (mya) within the family oleaceae. in this investigation, we report the first complete chloroplast genome sequence of fraxinus griffithii (genbank accession: pp669282.1), thereby filling a significant gap in the plastome data for the genus fraxinus. comprehensive analyses, including genome assembly, annotation, repeat structure, and codon usage profiling, have provided critical insights into the structural and functional features of the f. griffithii plastome. comparative plastomic analyses with related species revealed a conserved genome organization, identified variation hotspots, and uncovered key evolutionary patterns. nucleotide diversity assessment underscored highly variable loci, offering promising targets for future phylogeographic and population-level studies. phylogenetic reconstruction and molecular dating based on full plastome sequences established robust evolutionary relationships and divergence timelines within the oleaceae. collectively, this investigation provides a valuable genomic resource for f. griffithii and contributes to a deeper perception of plastome evolution, systematics, and biogeography within the oleaceae family. references ahmed, s.s. and rahman, m.o. 2024. deciphering 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(manuscript received on 20 january 2025; revised on 3 june 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 299–313, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists minor edible fruits of bangladesh mostafa kamal pasha and shaikh bokhtear uddin* department of botany, university of chittagong, chittagong 4331, bangladesh keywords: minor edible fruits, bangladesh abstract minor edible fruits are the genetic resource of a country, playing a vital role as food, nutrition and medicine. bangladesh having both tropical and sub-tropical climatic condition possesses a large number of species that produce minor edible fruits. the present study represents 255 species of minor edible fruit yielding plants of bangladesh. of them, 242 species belong to 58 families of magnoliopsida and 13 species to three families of liliopsida. the large minor fruit yielding families are euphorbiaceae (20 spp.), myrtaceae (18 spp.), moraceae (15 spp.), arecaceae (11 spp.), sapindaceae (11 spp.), anacardiaceae (10 spp.), annonacae (10 spp.), rutaceae (8 spp.), verbenaceae (8 spp.) and vitaceae (8 spp.). three species are aquatic in nature and about 50 species are herbs, including 31 species of climbers or lianas, and 49 are shrubs and the remaining 156 species are trees. about 48 species are cultivated for fruits and the 35 species are both cultivated and wild. the remaining species are exclusively wild. a total of 53 exotic species are included in the cultivation. in most of the species, pericarp with mesocarp or the whole part of fruit is edible. in few cases either seed or kernel is edible, or in others the non-carpel part of flower. summer is found as the most and winter as the least suitable fruit yielding seasons in a year. introduction fruits are eaten raw and their nutritive value lies in the presence of good amount of organic acids, carotenoids, vitamins and minerals. fruits are an integral part of food needed to meet the mineral requirements of human body and to strengthen body defense mechanisms against various biotic and abiotic stresses and for proper health per capita requirement of fruits is 115 g. on an average, fruits have been contributing to about 4% to human nutrition (apcaem, 2007). utmost rural houses possess a home garden with fruit and timber plants that act as a source of income for many families and became the safety net during in hardship and natural disaster. the planting intensity has increased at least four folds in 65% of households during the last few years (rahman and rahman, 2014). botanically fruit is the matured or ripe ovary. sometimes thalamus, calyx and epicalyx, inflorescence or seeds are also developed as the major part of a fruit. out of about 2,50,000 species in magnoliophyta, about 30,000 species have been identified as edible fruit yielding, of which about 7,000 species have found cultivated in the world (wilson, 1992). minor fruits are those that are consumable to the human beings but are relatively less palatable than other mainstream fruits, which have lesser demand in the market and are grown to a limited extent only (srivastava et al., 2017). many of the minor or under-utilized fruits are important in social, economic, biodiversity and conservation aspects on a regional and local basis. they also provide the source of nutrition of wild animals and birds. many floristic works in this region mentioned about the edible fruits of bangladesh (humphrey et al., 1921; heinig, 1925; siddiqui et al., 2007 and ahmed et al., 2008-2009) and its surrounding areas (grierson and long, 1983-1991; guha-bakshi, 1984; naskar, 1993, and noltie, 1994). *corresponding author. email: bokhtear@cu.ac.bd mailto:bokhtear@cu.ac.bd 300 pasha and uddin the first comprehensive record about the edible fruits of bangladesh was published by khan (1974), who reported 43 species of fruits that are cultivated. das (1982) recorded 60 species of fruits which are growing only in wild state. later on, rashid et al. (1987) recorded 40 cultivated fruits of bangladesh. subsequently begum (2004) reported 55 species, which are only in cultivation. finally, roy (2007) made an extensive record of fruits, which are both cultivated and wild, numbering a total of 120 species. rahim et al. (2011) reported 67 minor fruit yielding plants of bangladesh that are growing in the germplasm centre at bangladesh agriculture university. the minor fruits contributed about 8.38% production of the total fruit yield of bangladesh (bbs, 2011). there are 250 edible fruits in the philippines (hill, 1951). in malaysia, there are about 500 species of fruit plants of which 100 species are cultivated (zakri and mohammad, 1997). on the other hand, joshi (1998) reported 162 species and suresh et al. (2014) reported only 21 species of minor fruit yielding plants from india. new scope and possibility about utilization of wild fruits is increasing. at least 30 species are already known in bangladesh for their therapeutic values apart from their nutrition values (rahman and rahman, 2014). some are antidiabetic and antioxidant. quite a few of these have excellent flavors and attractive colour. many natural food colours, mostly anthocyanins, are now demanding. furthermore, many minor fruits may be valuable for food processing like jam, jelly, sauce, pickles, juice and food additives. a preliminary botanical survey has been done by us and the study indicated that many more species are yet to be recorded or compiled for full listing of the minor fruit yielding plant resource of bangladesh. therefore, this study aims at providing and updating available taxonomic information of the minor edible fruit yielding plants of bangladesh. materials and methods an extensive field survey has been conducted in different localities of 14 districts of bangladesh namely, chittagong, rangamati, bandarban, khagrachari, kumilla, brahmanbaria, mymensingh, khulna, jeshore, satkhira, sylhet, moulavibazar, rajshahi and bogura districts (fig. 1) from 2006 to 2018 following group discussion, household survey and market survey techniques. in addition, primary information on minor and wild fruit was collected from different secondary resources (scientific papers, books, internet etc.). the collected samples were identified by consulting the available relevant literatures. furthermore, the specimens located at the herbaria cuh, bfrih and dacb were also studied. in order to accommodate vast array of information, a small representative list of wild and minor fruits has been prepared with their up-to-date nomenclature (pasha and uddin 2013 and www.theplantlist.org). information on the availability, habit condition and status of the plants was also collected. results and discussion a total of 255 minor edible fruit yielding species belonging to 149 genera under 61 families have been presented alphabetically (table 1). 15 of these species under three families belong to the liliopsida and the remaining species under 58 families belong to mangnoliopsida. the euphorbiaceae is recorded as the largest minor fruit yielding family (20 spp.), which is followed by myrtaceae (18 spp.), moraceae (15 spp.), arecaceae (11 spp.), sapindaceae (11 spp.), anacardiaceae (11 spp.), annonacae (10 spp.), rutaceae (8 spp.), verbenaceae (8 spp.) and vitaceae (8 spp.) families. these ten large families constitute about 47% of the total species found as minor fruit yielding (fig. 2). http://www.theplantlist.org). minor edible fruits of bangladesh 301 fig. 1. map of bangladesh showing the study areas (source: www.mapsofworld.com). euphorbiaceae moraceae myrtaceae rutaceae sapindaceae verbenaceae vitaceae n am e of f am ily fig. 2. the ten large minor fruit yielding families of bangladesh. http://www.mapsofworld.com 302 pasha and uddin table 1. the list of minor fruit yielding plant species of bangladesh. sl. no. botanical name family name local names habit cultivated (c)/ wild (w) indigenous (in)/ exotic (e) 1. acronychia pedunculata (l.) miq. rutaceae bon jamir small tree w in 2. aglaia perviridis hiern meliaceae sabuj amoor medium tree w in 3. alangium salviifolium (l.f.) wangerin alangiaceae ankora, akarkanta medium tree w in 4. aleurites moluccanus (l.) willd. euphorbiaceae akhrot medium tree w ex. 5. allophylus cobbe (l.) raeuschel var. villosa (roxb.) prain sapindaceae chita, rakhal chita, aita chita shrub or small tree w in 6. alphonsea lutea (roxb.) hook.f. & thomson annonaceae fonseti small tree w in 7. a. ventricosa (roxb.) hook.f. & thomson annonaceae fonsetricosa small tree w in 8. ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch. vitaceae jarila lahari herbaceous climber w in 9. a. latifolia (roxb.) planch. vitaceae gowalia lata, govila, peribel herbaceous climber w in 10. ampelygonum chinense (l.) lindley polygonaceae mohicharan sak, kaker bantabhat herbaceous climber w in 11. anacardium occidentale l. anacardiaceae kaju badam small tree c ex 12. annona muricata l. annonaceae muri at small tree c ex 13. a. reticulata l. annonaceae nona ata small tree c ex 14. a. squamosa l. annonaceae sharifa small tree c ex 15. anthocephalus cadamba miq rubiaceae kadam large tree c & w in 16. antidesma acidum retz. euphorbiaceae amrul, chutki small tree w in 17. a. acuminatum wall. euphorbiaceae shial buka small tree w in. 18. a. bunius (l.) spreng. euphorbiaceae banshial buka small tree w in 19. a. khasianum hook.f. euphorbiaceae khasia jam small tree w in 20. a. montanum blume var. montanum euphorbiaceae shial buka small tree w in 21. aporosa octandra( buch.ham ex d.don) vickery euphorbiaceae pat kharolla small tree w in 22. a. aurea hook.f. euphorbiaceae kechuan small tree w in 23. artocarpus chama buch.-ham. ex wall. moraceae chaplash, chambal large tree w in 24. a. lacucha buch.-ham. moraceae deophal large tree w & c in 25. averrhoa bilimbi l. oxalidaceae bilimbi small tree c ex 26. a. carambola l. oxalidaceae kamranga small tree c ex 27. avicennia alba blume verbenaceae sada baen, maricha baen large tree w in 28. baccaurea ramiflora lour. euphorbiaceae latkan, bhubi medium tree w& c in 29. bauhinia vahlii wight & arn. caesalpiniaceae lata-kanchan climbing shrub w & c in 30. bouea oppositifolia (roxb.) meissner anacardiaceae bhallam, uriaam medium tree w in 31. bridelia retusa (l.) a.juss. euphorbiaceae kata kushui, akdana small tree w in 32. b. stipularis (l.) blume euphorbiaceae pat khowi, harinhara climbing shurb w in minor edible fruits of bangladesh 303 table 1 contd. sl. no. botanical name family name local names habit cultivated (c)/ wild (w) indigenous (in)/ exotic (e) 33. buchanania lancifolia roxb. anacardiaceae cheerojee oil plant small tree w in 34. b. lanzan spreng. anacardiaceae piyal small tree w in 35. caesalpinia digyna rottler caesalpiniaceae kochoi, teri pods shrubby climber w in 36. calamus latifolius roxb. arecaceae kerak bet, budum bet extensive climber w & c in 37. c. longisetus griff. arecaceae uddum bet robust shrub w & c in 38. c. tenuis roxb. arecaceae jali bet, sanchi bet climbing shrub w & c in 39. c. viminalis willd. arecaceae bara bet, khor khoijja bet climbing shrub w & c in 40. callicarpa arborea roxb. verbenaceae bormala, khoja, makanchi small tree w in 41. calophyllum polyanthum wall. ex choisy clusiaceae kamdob medium tree w in 42. canarium bengalense roxb. burseraceae dhuna rata buttressed tree w in 43. capparis zeylanica l. capparaceae kalookra large shrub w in 44. carallia brachiata roxb. rhizophoraceae roskao, lotkao, matan small tree w in 45. careya arborea roxb. lecythidaceae kumba bidipata, medium tree w in 46. carissa carandas l. apocynaceae karamcha bushy shrub or small tree c ex 47. c. spinarum l. apocynaceae misti karamcha shrub w in 48. cassytha filiformis l. lauraceae akasbel annual herb w in 49. castanopsis indica (roxb. ex lindl.) a.dc. fagaceae batna, shil batna, khiri badam medium tree w in 50. c. purpurella (miq.) n.p. balakr. fagaceae kata shingu, batna medium tree w in 51. c. tribuloides (sm.) a.dc. fagaceae sili batna, bara hinguri medium tree w in 52. chrysophyllum cainito l. sapotaceae taroka phol medium tree c ex 53. chylocalyx perfoliatus (l.) hassk. ex. miq. polygonaceae kanta tokpata annual herb c& w in 54. citrus assamensis s.datta &s.c.bhattacharya rutaceae ada jamir large shrub c in 55. c. aurantium l. rutaceae satkora, kaffir lime medium tree c in 56. cordia dicotoma g.forst. boraginaceae bohal, kalahuza medium tree w in 57. daemonorops jenkinsiana (griff.) mart. arecaceae golla bet, maj jenkins climbing shrub w & c in 58. dillenia indica l. dilleniacae chalta medium tree w & c in 59. d. pentagyna roxb. dilleniacae banchalta medium tree w in. 60. dimocarpus longan lour. sapindaceae ashphal, kathlichu, medium tree c & w in 61. diospyros blancoi a.dc. ebenaceae beelati gab medium tree c ex 62. d. malabarica (desr.) kostel. ebenaceae deshi gab medium tree w & c in 63. d. melanoxylon roxb. ebenaceae bidipata, tendupata medium tree w in 304 pasha and uddin table 1 contd. sl. no. botanical name family name local names habit cultivated (c)/ wild (w) indigenous (in)/ exotic (e) 64. d. toposia buch.-ham. ebenaceae katgula, toposi, gab gulal medium tree w in 65. dodonaea viscosa (l.) jacq. sapindaceae paniaphul small tree c ex 66. drypetes assamica (hook.f.) pax & k.hoffm. euphorbiaceae ban bokul medium tree w in 67. d. subsessilis (kurz) pax & k. hoffm. euphorbiaceae chato drypet small tree w in 68. duchesnea indica andt. rosaceae jongli strawberry perennial herb w in 69. ehretia serrata roxb. boraginaceae kala huja medium tree w in 70. elaeagnus latifolia l. elaeagnaceae bonjara scandent shrub w in 71. elaeocarpus angustifolius blume elaeocarpaceae rudraksha medium tree w in 72. e. tectorius (lour.) poir. elaeocarpaceae tekopai olive medium tree w in 73. embelia ribes burm.f. myrsinacreae biranga scandent shrub w in 74. eriglossum rubiginosum blume sapindaceae baraharina, pitha, ritha medium tree w in 75. eriobotrya japonica (thunb.) lindl. rosaceae loquat small tree c ex 76. eugenia roxburghii dc. myrtaceae hijli jam, menadi small tree w in 77. euryale ferox salisb. nymphaeaceae makhna, makana, floating herb w in 78. ficus auriculata lour. moraceae baradumur medium tree w in 79. f. benjamina l. moraceae pakur medium tree w in 80. f. hispida l. moraceae dumur, khoksa small tree w in 81. f. lanceolata buch.-ham. moraceae buti dumur, erigachh medium tree w in 82. f. oligodon miq. moraceae oligo dumur medium tree w in 83. f. pumila l. moraceae lata dumur a climbing shrub w in 84. f. racemosa l. moraceae jagya dumur medium tree w in 85. f. rumphii blume moraceae gai aswathwa medium sized tree w in 86. firmiana colorata (roxb.) r.br. sterculiaceae ujal medium tree w in 87. f. obovata wall. sterculiaceae dima huri medium tree w in 88. flacourtia indica (burm.f.) merr. flacourtiaceae boicifol, paniala large shrub w in 89. f. inermis roxb. flacourtiaceae loai small tree w in 90. f. jangomas (lour.) raeusch. flacourtiaceae painna gola, paniala small tree c & w in 91. fragaria vesca l. rosaceae strawberry annual herb c ex 92. f. indica andr. rosaceae indian strawberry annual herb w in 93. garcinia cowa roxb. ex dc. clusiaceae kau, kao-gola medium tree w & c in 94. g. lanceaefolia roxb. clusiaceae thisuru large shrub w in minor edible fruits of bangladesh 305 table 1 contd. sl. no. botanical name family name local names habit cultivated (c)/ wild (w) indigenous (in)/ exotic (e) 95. g. pedunculata roxb. ex. buch.-ham. clusiaceae tikul, tikur, bor thekera medium tree w in 96. g. xanthochymus hook. f. ex t.anderson clusiaceae tamal, dem-gola medium tree w in 97. garuga floribunda decne. var. gambei (king ex w.w.sm.) kilkman burseraceae jongli jiga, garuga medium tree w in 98. glochdion khasicum (muell.arg.) hook.f. euphorbiaceae khasia kachua small tree w in 99. g. zeylanicum (gaertn.) a.juss. euphorbiaceae siloni kachua shrub or small tree w in 100. glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a.dc. rutaceae ash-sheora, datmajani bushy shrub w in 101. gmelina arborea roxb. verbenaceae gamar medium tree w & c in 102. g. asiatica l. verbenaceae bhadhra medium tree c in 103. grewia abutilifolia vent. tiliaceae kowri, notk small tree w in 104 g. asiatica l. tiliaceae phalsa, sakri, pisla, phalsa small tree c in 105. g. hirsuta vahl tiliaceae kukurbicha large shrub w in 106. g. sapida roxb. ex dc. tiliaceae chuhura herb w in 107. g. sclerophylla roxb. ex g.don tiliaceae phalsa large shrub w in 108. g. tiliifolia vahl tiliaceae dhomoni, pholsa small tree w in 109. haematocarpus thomsonii miers menispermaceae agniphol woody climber w in 110. h. validus (miers) bakh.f. ex forman menispermaceae agni foli woody climber w in. 111. helicia erratica hook.f. proteaceae kharo pakan small tree w in 112. hibiscus sabdariffa l. malvaceae lal mesta large herb c & w ex 113. hovenia dulcis thumb. rhamnaceae raisil gaas medium tree w in 114. hylocereus undatus (howorth) britton & rose cactaceae dragon fruit spiny shrub c ex 115. ixora pavetta andr. rubiaceae sweet rangan, gandha irangan bushy shrub w in 116. lantana trifolia l. verbenaceae tinpata lantana perennial herb w in 117. leea crispa l. leeaceae kukura large shrub w in 118. l. indica merr. leeaceae kukur gibba large shrub w in 119. l. macrophylla roxb. ex hornem. leeaceae hostikorno large shrub w in 120. lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. sapindaceae rubiharina small tree w in 121. l. senegalensis (poir.) leenh. sapindaceae gotaharina, amjam small tree w in 122. limonia acidissima l. rutaceae koethbel medium tree c in 123. litsea cubeba (lour.) pers. lauraceae kubahoria large shrub w in 124. l. glutinosa (lour.) l.b. rob. lauraceae kukur chita, menda medium tree w in 306 pasha and uddin table 1 contd. sl. no. botanical name family name local names habit cultivated (c)/ wild (w) indigenous (in)/ exotic (e) 125. maclura cochinchinensis (lour.) corner moraceae china maclur large shrub w in 126. madhuca longifolia (j. koenig ex l.) j.f.machr. sapotaceae mohua, mohwa maul medium tree w & c in 127. maesa chisia buch.-ham. ex d.don myrsinaceae bilouni, gangu loda large shrub w in 128. m. ramentacea (roxb.)a.dc. myrsinaceae moricha, noa moricha small tree w in 129. malpighia coccigera l. malpighiaceae kanta malpighia dwarf shrub c ex 130. m. glabra l. malpighiaceae bushy shrub c ex 131. mangifera sylvatica roxb. anacardiaceae uriaam, jangli large tree w in 132. manilkara hexandra (roxb.) dubard sapotaceae khirni, khir khejur, khiluni large tree w in 133. m. zapota (l.) p.royen sapotaceae sofeda, sapodilla small tree c ex 134. melastoma malabathricum l. melastomataceae ban-tejpata, datranga large shrub w ex 135. meliosma pinnata (roxb.) walp. sabiaceae bativa, adalia small tree w in 136. meyna spinosa roxb. ex link rubiaceae maina, mainakata small tree w in 137. microcos paniculata l. tiliaceae asar, tarah, pesondi, pichunti small tree w in 138. miliusa tomentosa (roxb.) j.sinclair annonaceae lom tasbi erect shrub w in 139. m. velutina (dunal) hook.f. &. thomson annonaceae gandhi gajari, bul gajari small tree w in 140. mimusops elengi l. sapotaceae bokul, elengi medium tree c in 141. mischocarpus pentapetalous (roxb.) radlk. sapindaceae miskaphal medium tree w in 142. monstera deliciosa liebm. araceae makhna epiphytic climber w in 143. morinda citrifilia l. rubiaceae naniphal large shrub c & w in 144. morus alba l. moraceae tunt, tuti small tree c ex 145. m. indica l. moraceae deshi tut large shrub c ex 146. m. macroura miq. moraceae himalyan tut large shrub c ex 147. m. nigra l. moraceae kalo tut large shrub c ex 148. muntingia calabura l. tiliaceae suji phal small tree c 149. murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. rutaceae kari pata bushy shrub w & c in 150. m. paniculata (l.) jack rutaceae kamini, tall shrub c in 151. myrciaria cauliflora (dc.) berg myrtaceae jaboticaba small tree c ex 152. myrica nagi thumb. myricaceae kayphol small tree w in 153. nauclea orientalis (l.) l. rubiaceae nukli erect shrub w in 154. nelumbo nucifera gaertn. nelumbonaceae padma, lotus perennial aquatic herb w & c in 155. nephelium rambutan-ake (labill.) leenh. sapindaceae rambutan medium tree c ex minor edible fruits of bangladesh 307 table 1 contd. sl. no. botanical name family name local names habit cultivated (c)/ wild (w) indigenous (in)/ exotic (e) 156. nypa fruticans wurmb. arecaceae golpata, gulga, gabna erect shrub w in 157. nyssa javanica (blume) wangerin nyssaceae malatilata tree w in 158. olax scandens roxb. olacaceae koko aru climbing shrub w in 159. opuntia dellenii haw. cactaceae phanimanasa under shrub c & w ex 160. ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. hydrocharitaceae panicola perennial aquatic herb w in 161. oxystelma secamone h. karst. asclepiadaceae dudhia lata, dudh lata woody climber w in 162. parkia roxburghii g.don. mimosaceae kuki tetoi, sapota small tree w in 163. passiflora edulis sims. passifloraceae tang, passion fruit, granadilla tendril climber c ex 164. p. foetida l. passifloraceae jhumka lata climbing herb w ex 165. p. quadrangularis l. passifloraceae misriphal large climber c ex 166. persea americana p. mill. lauraceae avocado medium tree c ex 167. phoebe attenuata (nees) nees lauraceae bonsum large tree c ex 168. phoenix acaulis roxb. arecaceae khudi khejur erect shrub w in 169. p. dactylifera l. arecaceae arabi khejur thorny tree c ex 170. p. paludosa roxb. arecaceae hatal, hintal erect shrub w in 171. p. rupicola t.anderson arecaceae kola khejur small tree c ex 172. p. sylvestris (l.) roxb. arecaceae deshi khejur small tree c & w in 173. photinia arguta wall.exlindl. rosaceae fotini small tree w in 174. phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels euphorbiaceae amla, orbori small tree c. ex 175. p. emblica l. euphorbiaceae amloki small tree w & c in 176. p. urinaria l. euphorbiaceae hazarmani annual herb w in 177. physalis minima l. solanaceae fotka annual herb w in 178. p. peruviana l. solanaceae tepari annual herb c ex 179. pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. mimosaceae khai babla, jilapi phul medium tree w & c ex 180. polyalthea cerasoides (roxb.) benth. & hook.f. ex bedd. annonaceae marmi small tree w in 181. polyalthia suberosa (roxb.)thwaites annonaceae murmuri, kukuriam small tree w ex 182. pouteria campechiana (kunth) baehni sapotaceae jaman phol small tree c ex 183. premna bengalensis c.b.clarke verbenaceae banglalatana, koya jarul large shrub w in 184. p. herbacea roxb. verbenaceae bhuijam, mati jam undershrub w in 185. protium serratum (wall. ex coelbr.) engl. burseraceae chitrica, gutgutya, hajna medium tree w in 186. psidium araca raddi myrtaceae tock piyara large shrub w ex / in 187. p. chinense lodd. ex loud. myrtaceae chinese piyara large shrub c ex 308 pasha and uddin table 1 contd. sl. no. botanical name family name local names habit cultivated (c)/ wild (w) indigenous (in)/ exotic (e) 188. pterygota alata (roxb.) r.br. sterculiaceae buddha narical large tree w & c in 189. punica granatum l. punicaceae dalim, bedana, large shrub c ex 190. randia angustissima wall. rubiaceae belong, moncata, piralo tree or large shrub w in 191. r. dumatorium (retz.) lam. rubiaceae moncata, mainphal small tree w in 192. rhaphidophora pertusa (roxb.) schott araceae tusafido epiphytic climber w in 193. rhizophora mucronata lam. rhizophoraceae khamo small tree w in 194. salacia chinensis l. hippocrateaceae madhu phal, chota boroi woody climber w in 195. s. salacioides (roxb.) rolla rao & hemadri hippocrateaceae sala madhu phal woody climber w in 196. sambucus canadensis l. caprifoliaceae american elder erect shrub w ex 197. s. javanica reinw. ex blume caprifoliaceae hoklati small tree w ex 198. s. nigra l. caprifoliaceae sambucas small tree c ex 199. sandoricum indicum cav. meliaceae santol medium tree c ex 200. sarcolobus globosus wall. asclepiadaceae baoli-lata, baoliphal large shrub w in 201. saurauia roxburghii wall. theaceae dalup large shrub w in 202. sauropus androgynus (l.) merr. euphorbiaceae mithapotro large shrub w in 203. schleichera oleasa (lour.) merr. sapindaceae kusum, joyna medium tree c in 204. semecarpus anacardium l.f. anacardiaceae bhela, beda medium tree w in 205. s. nigroviridis thwaites anacardiaceae kattula medium tree e in 206. shorea robusta gaertn.f. dipterocarpaceae shal, gazari medium tree w & c in 207. solanum americanum mill. solanaceae tit begun annual herb w in 208. s. lasiocarpum dunal solanaceae kantha sola herb or undershrub w in 209. s. trilobatum l. solanaceae trikun pata herb or undershrub w in 210. solena amplexicaulis (lam.) gandhi cucurbitaceae kundri, rakhal gota climbing herb w in 211. sonneratia caseolaris (l.) engl. sonneratiaceae ora, orali, orcha, shoila large tree w in 212. spodius dulcis parkinson anacardiaceae bilati amra small tree c ex 213. s. purpurea l. anacardiaceae beelati amra medium tree c ex 214. sterculia foetida l. sterculiaceae jangli-the medium tree w in 215. stixis suaveolens (roxb.) pierre capparaceae madhumalati woody climber w in 216. suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill euphorbiaceae ban naranga medium tree w in 217. syzygium aqueum (burm.f.) alston myrtaceae jamboo, pani jam medium tree w in 218. s. balsameum (wight) wall. ex walp. myrtaceae buti jam large shrub w in minor edible fruits of bangladesh 309 table 1 contd. sl. no. botanical name family name local names habit cultivated (c)/ wild (w) indigenous (in)/ exotic (e) 219. s. claviflorum (roxb.) wall. ex a.m.cowan & cowan myrtaceae lamba nali jam, small tree w in 220. s. cymosum (lam.) dc. myrtaceae khudi jam, khurijam small tree w in 221. s. formosum (wall.) masam. myrtaceae paniya jam, phuljam, natla medium tree w in 222. s. fruticosum (roxb.) dc. myrtaceae ban jam, kak jam, puti jam small tree w in 223. s. jambos (l.) alston myrtaceae gulap jam small tree c ex 224. s. macrocarpa roxb. myrtaceae chalita jam, bon jam medium tree w in 225. s. malaccense (l.) merr. & perry. myrtaceae jamrul medium tree c ex 226. s. nervosum (dc.) a. cunnex dc. myrtaceae boti jam, dapha jam, goda jam small tree w & c in 227. s. oblatum (roxb.) a.m. cowan & cowan myrtaceae gola jam medium tree w in 228. s. praecox (roxb.) rathakr & n.c.nair myrtaceae poora jam medium tree w in 229. s. samarangense (blume) merr. & l.m.perry myrtaceae -medium tree c ex 230. s. tetragonum (wight) wall. ex. kurz myrtaceae gonojam, charjam medium tree w in 231. tamarindus indica l. caesalpiniaceae tentul, tentuli large tree c & w ex 232. tapiria hirsuta hook.f. anacardiaceae lomam scandent shrub w in 233. termilania bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. combretaceae bohera, boyra medium tree w & c in 234. t. catappa l. combretaceae kathbadam small tree c & w ex 235. t. chebula (gaertn.) retz. combretaceae haritoki medium tree w & c in 236. t. citrina (gaertn.) roxb. ex fleming combretaceae hatiyal, haritaki, harra medium tree w in 237. tetrastigma angustifolim (roxb.) planch. vitaceae nekung riubi, sarupatilata herbaceous climber w in 238. t. bracteolatum (wall.) planch. vitaceae golgoli lata herbaceous climber w in 239. t. dubium (lawson) planch. vitaceae kuannia, riam lata climbing herb w 240. t. leucostaphyllum (den.) alston. vitaceae horina lata climbing herb w in 241. t. serrulatum (roxb.) planch. vitaceae koratilata climbing shrub w in 242. trapa bispinosa roxb. trapaceae paniphal floating aquatic herb w & c in 243. t. maximowiczii korshinsky trapaceae paniphal, kata singhara floating aquatic herb w in 244. triphasia trifolia (burm.f.) p. wilson rutaceae cheeninarangi small tree w in 245 uvaria ferruginea buch.-ham. annonaceae bon khajur large shrub w in. 246. vitex glabrata r.br. verbenaceae ashal medium tree w in 247. vitis lanata roxb. vitaceae sonalata, rangobhuttu climbing shrub w in 310 pasha and uddin table 1 contd. sl. no. botanical name family name local names habit cultivated (c)/ wild (w) indigenous (in)/ exotic (e) 248. willoughbeia edulis roxb. apocynaceae lata aam, lati aam climbing shrub w in 249. xerospermum laevigatum radlk. sapindaceae bonlichu small tree w in 250. x. noronhianum (blume) blume sapindaceae bonlichu, noronlichu medium tree w in 251. ziziphus funiculosa buch.ham. ex wall. rhamnaceae bon-boguri large shrub w in 252. z. galabrata heyne ex roth rhamnaceae rata boroi, jangli kul small tree w in 253. z. oenoplia (l.) mill. rhamnaceae sial kul, jangal kul, bon boroi straggling shrub w in 254. z. rugosa lam. rhamnaceae jangli boroi, rug boroi straggling shrub or small tree w in 255. z. xylopyrus (retz.) willd. rhamnaceae jhangli boroi large shrub w in table 2. some promising wild minor fruit yielding plant species of bangladesh. name of the species edible part name of the species edible part 1 alangium savifolium pulp 23 hovenia dulcis pulp 2 antidesma acidum fruit 24 morinda citrifolia thalamus 3 a. ghaesembilla pulp 25 morus macroura ripe fruit 4 arocarpus chama pulp 26 murrya koenigii pulp 5 bauea barmanica pulp 27 paramigyna citrifolia pulp 6 bauhinia vahlii immature seed 28 parkia roxburghii pulp 7 buchanania lanzan fruit & nut 29 passiflora foetida ripe fruit 8 caesalpinia digyna immature seed 30 phoebe attenuta pulp 9 carissa spinarum pulp 31 photina arguta ripe fruit 10 castanopsis indica matured seed 32 physalis minima ripe fruit 11 c. purpurella matured seed 33 randia dumetorium matured fruit 12 cirus assamensis juice 34 r. spinosa matured fruit 13 cleistocalyx operculata seed kernel 35 r. uliginosa matured fruit 14 cordia dichotoma pulp 36 salacia salacioides matured fruit 15 diospyros peregrina pulp 37 sambucus canadensis matured fruit 16 duchesnia indica matured thalamus 38 s. javanica matured fruit 17 erioglossum rubignossum pulp 39 s. nigra matured fruit 18 eryobotrya javanica pulp 40 schleichera oleosa arillous pulp 19 euryale ferox immature seed 41 sterculea foetida kernel 20 firmiana colorata matured seed 42 sysyzium formosum pulp 21 garcinia xanthochymus pulp 43 s. aqueum pulp 22 haematocarpus validus pulp 44 willoubeia edulis pulp minor edible fruits of bangladesh 311 among the species recorded, a total of 50 species are herbs, including 31 species of climbers or lianas, and 49 species are shrubby in nature. the remaining 156 species are trees. about 48 species are cultivated for fruits and the 35 species are both cultivated and wild. the remaining species are exclusively wild. a total of 53 exotic species are included in the cultivation state. only 3 species are found growing in aquatic condition. almost all the species produce true fruits and only five species produce false fruits. few species are considered as nut or kernel producing tree. only 15 species produce fruits that are completely edible and 13 species produce such fruits only the kernel or nut of which are edible. in other cases, all the structural portions except the seed(s) are edible. almost all the exotic species are cultivated and considered as promising fruit yielding plants. some native wild and minor cultivated plants are also found promising fruit yielding in their taste and colour also. in this study, 44 species have been recognized as promising minor fruit yielding species because they are comparatively widely used and popular in consumption (table 2). the flowering and fruiting time of the edible fruit yielding plant species was found as remarkably variable (table 1). the fruits were more or less available throughout the year (fig. 3). the majority of minor fruit yielding plants were found with fruiting in the months between march and september. the richest fruit yielding month was june (11.51%) and the poorest was january (5.50%). fig. 3. availability percentage of the edible minor fruits per month in a year in bangladesh. the edible fruits occur in a vast number of families in the world. hill (1951) recognized the families anacardiaceae, annonaceae, myrtaceae, rutaceae, sapotaceae and sapindaceae as particularly important in yielding the fruits. this study has also found some similar important families. in few reports some minor fruits are evaluated as promising in many aspects (bose, 1985; rahim et al., 2011; frncesca et al., 2012). many of the minor edible fruits are with little pulp and larger seed size with less palatable. however, the edibility and nutritional value and economic value of different minor edible fruits can be improved. on the other hand, most of the major fruits are available in the month of may to july, but minor fruits are available throughout the year. the minor fruits can play a great role in improving the social and economic status of the local people. they also can significantly contribute in the conservation of biodiversity. minor fruit production 312 pasha and uddin may support the livelihood of the producers and side by side can increase the demand of the consumers. many edible minor fruits can contribute as the remarkably promising fruit recourses in multifarious way if proper research is conducted for their exploration, selection, improvement and large-scale cultivation. references ahmed, z.u., hassan m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2008-2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vols. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 12. angiosperms (dicotyledons); vol. 12 angiosperms (monocotyledons). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1408, 546, 478; 488, 580, 399, 552 (respectively). apcaem. 2007. enhancing export competitive of asian fruits. un-escap, beijing, china. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270884737. bbs. 2011. statistical yearbook of bangladesh. bangladesh bureau of statistics, ministry of planning, govt. of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–552 begum, m. 2004. edible fruits of bangladesh. in: khan, m.s. (ed). 2nd ed., asiatic civil military press, dhaka, pp. 1–124. bose, t.k. 1985. fruits of india, tropical and subtropical. naya prokash, calcutta, pp 705. cronquist, a. 1988. the evolution and classification of flowering plants. columbia univ. press, new york, pp. 1–535 das, d.k. 1982. edible fruits of bangladesh forests. bull. 3; plant taxonomy series, forest research institute, chittagong. francesca, g, sara t, josé, a, josé, q, bruno m, and maurizio b. 2012. the strawberry: composition, nutritional quality, and impact on human health. nutrition (burbank, los angeles county, calif.). 28. 9– 19. 10.1016/j.nut.2011.08.009. grierson, a.j.c. and long, d.g. 1983-1991. flora of bhutan (including a record of plants from sikkim). vol.-1 (1, 2, 3) and 2 (1), royal botanic garden, edinburgh. u.k, pp. 1–186, 276, 372. guha-bakshi, d.n. 1984. flora of murshidabad district, west bengal, india. scientific pub., jodhpur, india, pp. 1440 heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of the chittagong collectorate and the hill tracts. the bengal govt. branch press, darjeeling, pp. 1–84. hill, a.f. 1951.economic botany. (2nd. ed.) mcgraw hill book company, 1-new york, pp. 1–560. humphrey, g., carter, a. and dorine, n. 1921. useful plants of the district of lakhimpur, in assam. rec. bot. surv. india, 6: 353–420. joshi, b.d. 1998. indigenous horticultural fruits of the indian himalayas. in: managingagrodiversity (eds. partap, t.and sthapit, b.), international centre for integrated mountain development, kathmandu, nepal, pp. 205–221. khan, m.s. 1974. flowers and fruits of bangladesh. department of publications. ministry of information & broadcasting, govt. of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–75. naskar, k. 1993. plant wealth of the lower gangetic delta. vol. 1 & 2. daya pub. house, delhi, pp. 1–820. noltie, h.j. 1994. flora of bhutan (including a record of plants from sikkim) vol. 3, royal botanic garden, edinburgh, uk, pp. 1–641. pasha, m.k. and uddin, s.b. 2013. dictionary of plant names of bangladesh (vascular plants). janakalyan prashani, andarkilla, chittagong, bangladesh, pp. 1–434. rahim, m.a., alam, a.k.m.a., alam, m.s. and anwar, m.m. (eds.). 2011. underutilized fruits in bangladeash. bangladesh agriculture university, mymenshing, pp.205. rahman, m. and rahman, j. 2014. medicinal value and nutrient status of indigenous fruits of bangladesh. nova j. medical biol. sci., 26: 1–19. rashid, m.m., kadir, m.a. and hossain, m.m. 1987. bangladesher phol (in bangla). rashid publishing house, joydevpur, gazipur, pp. 1–430. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270884737. minor edible fruits of bangladesh 313 roy, m. 2007. bangladesher phol. (in bangla). dibyaprakash, dhaka, pp. 1–315. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol.11, angiosperms (monocotyledons). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 1–399. srivastava, a.; bishnoi, s. k. and sarkar, p. k. (2017). value addition in minor fruits of eastern india: an opportunity to generate rural employment. in: dutta, a. k. and mondal, b. (eds.), fruits for livelihood: production technology and management practices. agrobios (india), jodhpur, india, pp. 395–417. suresh, c.p., bhatia, k.d., sukla, g., pradhan, k. and chakravarty, s. 2014. wild edible tree fruits of sikkim himalayas. j. tree sci., 33(1): 12–33. the plant list 2010. version 1. published on the internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ wilson, e.o. 1992. the dictionary of life. penguin, london, pp. 1–440. zakri, a.h. and mohammad, o. 1997. genetic enhancement in new crops. in: domestication, production and utilization of new crops. (eds. smartt, j. and huq, n.). international centre for underutilized crops. university of southampton, u.k, pp.101–106. (manuscript received on 2 april, 2019 revised on 10 december, 2019) http://www.theplantlist.org/ bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 325-327, 2024 (december) short communication © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78760 nitella stuartii braun: a new record of charophyceae for bangladesh nur e taj jahan tonne, tanvir ahmed and md. almujaddade alfasane* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: nitella stuartii braun; new record; characeae; bangladesh. in bangladesh, a total of 11 taxa of nitella (c. agardh) hooker have been reported so far (ahmed et al. 2009). in this paper, here we are describing nitella stuartii braun as new record from bangladesh. nitella stuartii braun is a species of stonewort in the family characeae, belonging to the freshwater algae group. this species has a broad distribution, including new zealand (north and south islands), south america, australia, and india (pal et al., 1962). the plant sample was collected through a comprehensive research expedition to mithamoin haor in the kishoreganj district of bangladesh. geographically, the haor is located between the latitudes of approximately 24°17'30"n and 24°34'30"n, and longitudes of 90°58'40"e and 91°17'20"e. the sampling was conducted during the pre-monsoon season of 2024. the plant specimen, along with a few other aquatic angiosperms, was gathered from the shallow water area of the haor and placed in a large, airtight polyethylene bag mixed with water. it was delivered within six hours of the sample being collected to the department of botany in phycology, limnology, and hydrobiology laboratory at the university of dhaka. the laboratory maintained voucher specimens and preserved certain fresh materials in 4% formaldehyde. the specimen has been identified as nitella stuartii braun by consulting standard literature (pal et al., 1962; bourrelly, 1972; nieuwland, 1973; prescott, 1982; ling and tyler, 2000; ahmed et al., 2009). no records have been identified in the encyclopedia of flora of bangladesh (ahmed et al., 2009). hence, it is reported here as a new record for bangladesh (fig. 1). division: charophyta, class: charophyceae, family: characeae, genus: nitella, species: nitella stuartii braun. synonym: n. subglomerata var. japonica allen t.f. a submerged aquatic macroalga, nitella stuartii is characterized by its low-growing habit (<0.3 m), often resembling a "bird's nest." it features whorls of forked branchlets, with each whorl producing two levels of branchlets of varying lengths, resulting in a densely branched appearance. the plant is monoecious, with at least four branchlets per node that are bifurcated twice. in the upper whorls, it displays heterochlamy, while fertile branchlets have 5–6 secondary rays that are significantly shortened. the branchlets are tufted, with one-celled dactyls (4–6 in number), equal in length, and acuminate with a narrowed base. fruiting occurs at both branchlet nodes, with oogonia forming in clusters. the oospores are brown, measuring approximately 250 µm in length and 200 µm in width, with a finely reticulate membrane. *corresponding author: mujaddade@yahoo.com 326 tonne et al. fig. 1. nitella stuartii braun, a new record of aquatic plant for bangladesh. acknowledgements the authors would like to thank the funding agency, the 5th phase bas-usda endowment program (cc-22) in agriculture and life sciences, for providing the necessary financial supprot. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., and rahman, a.k.a.(eds.). 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 4. algae, charophyta – rhodophyta (achnanthaceae – vaucheriaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 543 pp. bourrelly, p. 1972. les algues deۥau douce. initiation à la systématique. tome i: les algues vertes. ed. n. boubée and cie, paris, 572 pp. nitella stuartii braun: a new record of charophyceae 327 ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 2000. australian freshwater algae (exclusive of diatoms). bibl. phycol. bd. 105. j. cramer, berlin. 643 pp. nieuwland, j.a. 1973. the american midland naturalist. 90 (2): 1-512. pal, b.p., kundu, b.c., sundaralingam, v.s. and venkataraman, g.s. 1962. charophyta. indian council of agricultural research new delhi. the times of india press, bombay, india, 130 pp. prescott, g.w. 1982 (reprinted). algae of the western great lakes area. otto koeltz sci. publ. koenigstein, germany, 977 pp. (manuscript received on 25 august 2024; revised on 17 november 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 329-347, 2024 (december) review paper © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78761 unlocking the potential of albizia procera: a multifunctional tree for sustainable development and climate resilience syed shaheen shah1, m. nasiruzzaman shaikh2, tanzilur rahman3, md. iftekhar shams4, md. almujaddade alfasane5, syed masiur rahman6, asif raihan6, s.m. abu nayem7 and md. abdul aziz2* 1socio-environmental energy science department, graduate school of energy science, kyoto university, yoshida-honmachi, sakyo-ku, kyoto 606-8501, japan 2interdisciplinary research center for hydrogen technology and carbon management (irchtcm), king fahd university of petroleum & minerals, kfupm box 5040, dhahran 31261, saudi arabia 3department of bioengineering, college of chemicals and materials, king fahd university of petroleum & minerals, dhahran 31261, saudi arabia 4forestry and wood technology discipline, khulna university, khulna 9208, bangladesh 5department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 6applied research center for environment and marine studies, king fahd university of petroleum & minerals, dhahran 31261, saudi arabia 7department of chemistry, jagannath university, dhaka 1100, bangladesh keywords: albizia procera; sustainable development; climate resilience; agroforestry; carbon sequestration. abstract albizia procera (roxb.) benth., a versatile and fast-growing tree species under the family fabaceae, holds substantial potential for advancing sustainable development and climate resilience. this review highlights the taxonomy, ecological benefits, and diverse applications and ecological benefits of a. procera, emphasizing its role in reforestation, agroforestry, and sustainable forestry practices. a. procera is also valued for its highquality timber, contributing to traditional woodworking and modern engineered products like glulam beams, demonstrating its economic value. additionally, a. procera contributes to its carbon sequestration, aligning with climate action goals due to its high biomass productivity. while acknowledging the need for careful management to mitigate risks such as invasiveness, this review underscores the significance of a. procera in fostering ecological restoration, sustainable livelihoods, and climate adaptation strategies. its multifaceted benefits position a. procera as a critical asset in pursuing a sustainable and resilient future. introduction the intensifying challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and the need for sustainable development have placed unprecedented pressure on ecosystems and natural resources. pursuing sustainable and climate-resilient strategies has become a global priority, calling for innovative solutions that balance ecological integrity with socioeconomic growth (nuţă et al., 2024; neira et al., 2023). among the diverse plant species contributing to these efforts, albizia procera (roxb.) benth., a versatile and fast-growing deciduous tree, stands out because of its multifaceted applications and ecological benefits. native to the tropical and subtropical regions of *corresponding author, e-mail: maziz@kfupm.edu.sa https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78761 mailto:maziz@kfupm.edu.sa 330 shah et al. asia and australia, a. procera holds promise in various sectors, from reforestation and afforestation to sustainable forestry practices and bio-based industrial applications. this review delves into the wide-ranging potential of a. procera as a cornerstone species in sustainable development and climate resilience, emphasizing its ecological adaptability, economic uses, and contributions to environmental conservation. a. procera, commonly known as white siris, is a member of the fabaceae family, taxonomically placed under the class magnoliopsida, and is renowned for its adaptability to diverse ecological conditions (kumar et al., 1998). this species exhibits a robust growth rate (khurana and singh, 2000), making it particularly suitable for reforestation and afforestation initiatives to restore degraded land and enhance carbon sequestration (das and maiti, 2016). its ability to thrive in varying soil types, including poor, sandy, and alkaline soils, further underscores its potential for addressing land degradation challenges (hossen and kato-noguchi, 2022). this adaptability is not limited to specific climatic conditions. a. procera has demonstrated resilience in tropical monsoon climates and arid regions, making it a valuable candidate for ecological restoration projects in diverse environments, including the challenging terrains of the middle east. consequently, it aligns well with large-scale environmental initiatives such as saudi arabia's vision 2030, which emphasizes afforestation and sustainable land management as key strategies for combating desertification and mitigating climate change. one of the primary ecological functions of a. procera lies in its ability to improve soil quality through nitrogen fixation (ghabru and rana, 2023), a crucial process for enhancing soil fertility and promoting sustainable agriculture. by enriching soil nutrients, trees support the cultivation of various crops in agroforestry systems, thereby contributing to food security and sustainable farming practices (newaj et al., 2005). integrating a. procera into agroforestry systems also aids in increasing biodiversity (singh et al., 2004), offering habitat and shade for other plant and animal species. its rapid growth and dense canopy provide additional environmental benefits, such as reducing soil erosion and offering a green cover that enhances local microclimates (pachuau et al., 2012). these attributes position a. procera as a key player in combating soil degradation, promoting land reclamation, and fostering ecological resilience. beyond its ecological contributions, a. procera also holds significant economic importance (alam et al., 2005). the tree is widely recognized for its high-quality timber due to its strength, durability, and aesthetic appeal (das et al., 2023). this makes it a sought-after material for various woodworking applications, including furniture, cabinetries, and construction. the mechanical properties of a. procera wood, such as high bending strength and resistance to termite damage, further extend its utility in structural applications, particularly in regions where sustainable timber alternatives are needed (pachuau and mazumder, 2013). the production of glulam beams from a. procera has shown promise as a structural timber product that exhibits superior mechanical properties compared with solid timber (das et al., 2023). this diversification in timber products emphasizes the potential of a. procera to support both traditional and modern industries, providing a sustainable alternative to more vulnerable hardwood species. the versatility of a. procera extends to its role in supporting the livelihoods of communities in rural and urban areas. leaves of the species are rich in essential nutrients, and used as fodder, contributing to the sustenance of pastoral economies. moreover, it has a nurse tree role in agroforestry systems, providing shade, improving soil conditions, and enhancing the productivity of tea, coffee, and other crop plantations. its adaptability to diverse environmental conditions makes it a reliable choice for boundary planting, shade provision, and land stabilization, supporting community-based conservation efforts and improving local resilience to climate change. despite its numerous benefits, a. procera presents challenges that warrant careful consideration. additionally, toxic compounds in certain parts of the tree, such as those used as fish unlocking the potential of albizia procera 331 poisons, call for careful application and management to avoid negative effects on aquatic ecosystems. these aspects highlight the importance of balancing the beneficial applications of a. procera with measures that mitigate potential risks, ensuring that its use remains sustainable across different ecological contexts. one of the primary applications of a. procera is in agroforestry systems. it is recognized for its rapid growth and ability to fix nitrogen, which enhances soil fertility and supports the growth of companion crops (tiwari and dhuria, 2018; shukla et al., 2009). the tree leaves are rich in protein and serve as fodder for livestock, making them an integral part of rural agricultural practices. studies have demonstrated that incorporating a. procera into agroforestry systems can improve soil quality and increase crop yields, particularly in semi-arid regions, for instance, the pruned biomass of a. procera contributes significantly to nitrogen dynamics in the soil, promoting healthier crop growth (gupta et al., 2017; prasad et al., 2016). environmental sustainability is another critical aspect of a. procera's significance. this species plays a vital role in restoring degraded ecosystems through its ability to improve soil structure and fertility, making it suitable for land restoration projects (edrisi and abhilash, 2021). its use in agroforestry not only aids carbon sequestration but also enhances biodiversity by providing habitats for various organisms (brandt et al., 2024). moreover, the tree's adaptability to different soil types, including saline conditions, makes it a valuable species for reforestation and afforestation efforts in challenging environments (paudel and sun, 2022). as research continues to uncover its benefits, a. procera is poised to play an even more significant role in addressing contemporary environmental challenges. the significance of a. procera in sustainable development is particularly evident in its contribution to climate change mitigation efforts. as a fast-growing tree with high biomass productivity, a. procera plays a pivotal role in carbon sequestration, capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide and storing it in its biomass and soil. studies have shown that a. procera-based agroforestry systems can significantly increase biomass and carbon storage, creating carbon sinks in semi-arid and tropical regions (hanif et al., 2023; ahirwal et al., 2020; shah and aziz, 2020; mohamedkhair et al., 2020; aziz et al., 2021; shah et al., 2019; buliyaminu et al., 2020). this characteristic aligns with global climate targets and underscores the potential of this tree to contribute to national and international climate action frameworks. additionally, its use in afforestation projects in regions such as saudi arabia offers a strategic approach to enhancing local carbon stocks and improving soil health in arid landscapes. the diverse applications and benefits of a. procera position it as a valuable species in the quest for sustainable development and climate resilience. its ecological adaptability, economic potential, and contributions to soil fertility, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration make it an asset for efforts to restore degraded ecosystems and support sustainable livelihoods. this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the multiple functionalities of a. procera, exploring its role in ecological restoration, industrial applications, and community resilience. by highlighting the species' versatility and resilience, this study seeks to inform future research, policy-making, and practical applications that leverage the full potential of a. procera in advancing sustainable development goals and addressing the pressing challenges of climate change. a. procera and its various functionalities with reference to nomenclature, a. procera is known by various synonyms viz., acacia procera (roxb.) willd., mimosa elata roxb., and m. procera roxb. in english, it is commonly known as white siris. still, it also goes by several other names, including forest siris, safed siris, sil-koroi, each highlighting a particular aspect of its identity or habitat. these diverse names signify the tree's widespread ecological presence and importance in different cultural contexts. the genus albizia consists of over 160 species thriving in tropical and subtropical regions. among the species, a. procera stands out as a significant species within the fabaceae family and 332 shah et al. mimosoideae subfamily, as classified under the apg ii (2003) and apg iv (2016) systems (group et al., 2016; group, 2003). earlier taxonomic systems, including those proposed by cronquist and dahlgren, categorized a. procera under the family mimosaceae. a. procera is adorned with a lush canopy of green leaves, signifying its healthy and vigorous state (fig. 1). dense and vibrant foliage offers a refreshing verdure often sought in urban landscapes for aesthetic and ecological benefits. beneath the verdant umbrella, the tree trunk is robust and sturdy, displaying the characteristic solidity and hardness of the species. this hardy trunk supports an extensive canopy, indicating the maturity and resilience of the tree. fig. 1. habit of a. procera tree as observed on the king fahd university of petroleum & minerals (kfupm) campus. taxonomy, distribution, and ecological significance a. procera is a deciduous tree, attaining 10-40 m tall, characterized by a straight, unbuttressed trunk and a smooth bark that varies in color from pale grey to brownish grey. it has unbuttressed bole that can be straight or crooked, nearly smooth, bark pale grey to brownish grey, distinctly visible from a distance, as shiny brown, exfoliating in thin flakes, many reddish-brown lenticels present in branchlets. the young shoots were white and silky pubescent. leaves bipinnately compound, stipulate, stipule minute, 0.8 mm long, caducous, rachis about 8-27 cm long, unlocking the potential of albizia procera 333 triangular, glabrous, channeled on the upper side, elongated or oval shaped, sessile, c. 5-8×2-2.5 mm, exist 1.0-3.0 cm above the base of petioles, pinnae 1-6 pairs, c. 11-27 cm long, glabrous, triangular, often with 1-3 small, oblong glands between the bases of upper leaflets pair, leaflets c. 3-10 pairs, opposite to sub-opposite, c. 1.5-5.8 ×1-2.5 cm, shortly stalked, obliquely oblong, ovate to rhomboid-oblong or trapezoid, obtuse or retuse, entire, rigidly chartaceous, midrib diagonal. extended canopy is evergreen, but in the dry season, it is leafless for a short period. inflorescence large, terminal, copious panicles and pedunculate heads, peduncles usually in bunches of 2-5 together or often solitary, c. 0.6-3.0 cm long, each head c. 1.5 cm across, consisting of 16-30 flowers. flowers yellowish-white and sessile. calyx pale green, c. 1.5-2.7 mm long, tubular, teeth 5, small, triangular, acute, unequal, and glabrous outside. corolla c. 4.5-6.8 mm long, funnelshaped, greenish-white, lobes 5, c. 1.2-2.5 mm long, elliptic, acute. stamens extended numerous large, yellow, bilobed, staminal tubes longer than the corolla tube. the ovary is nearly sessile, c. 1.8 mm long, glabrous, has a filiform style, and has stigmas minute. the fruit is a pod, c. 1019×1.3-3.0 cm, linear-oblong, smooth, flattened, shiny reddish-brown with distinct marks over the seeds, dehiscent along lower suture only, fruits long persisting on the tree. seeds 7-13 per pod, c. 6.5×5.0 mm, obovate-elliptic, flattened, c. 2.0 mm thick with areole c. 4.0×3.5 mm (taylor, 2000). the flowering and fruiting period of a. procera spans from may to january, showcasing its extended seasonal cycle. a. procera is a species of remarkable ecological and geographical significance with broad distribution and distinct morphological features. this species predominantly flourishes in bangladesh, especially in the forested regions of the chittagong, chittagong hill tracts, cox's bazar, and dhaka-mymensingh sal forests. it extends its presence to community and village forest areas across the country, but its cultivation is not limited to natural habitats. a. procera is also a prominent component of afforestation initiatives in residential and roadside areas in bangladesh, driven by both public and private entities. globally, a. procera is indigenous to many regions, demonstrating its adaptability and ecological resilience. its native range spans central india across the tropical expanses of asia, including bhutan, myanmar, nepal, pakistan, thailand, and new guinea, and throughout indo-china, taiwan, south china, indonesia, malaysia, laos, cambodia, vietnam, australia, brunei, and the philippines, excluding the malaya peninsula. the species has also been introduced and thrives in various countries such as antigua and barbuda, bahamas, barbados, cuba, dominica, dominican republic, grenada, guadeloupe, haiti, jamaica, martinique, netherlands antilles, panama, puerto rico, st kitts and nevis, st lucia, st vincent and the grenadines, sudan, tanzania, trinidad and tobago, the virgin islands (us), and zimbabwe. this wide-ranging distribution underscores the adaptability of a. procera to diverse ecological environments and highlights its importance in regional ecosystems (rahman and keya, 2015). a. procera (sil koroi) is notable for its wide distribution, distinct morphology, and ability to adapt to various climatic conditions. this species contributes significantly to the ecological diversity of the regions it inhabits and offers extensive potential for sustainable forestry practices and environmental conservation. habitat and propagation a. procera flourishes in environments ranging from lowland rainforests and monsoon forests to more challenging terrains, such as fire-induced grasslands, pyrogenic lands, and stunted and seasonal swamp forests. additionally, it is found in mixed deciduous forests, savannah woodlands, alongside roadsides, dry gullies, and commonly in open secondary forests, demonstrating its ability to adapt to a variety of ecological niches (he et al., 2020). propagation of a. procera is predominantly through its seeds, which exhibit a high germination rate of 90-100% (parvin, 334 shah et al. 2005). these seeds maintain viability for 4–5 months and are potentially longer under optimal conditions. to enhance germination, a recommended practice involves briefly soaking the seeds in boiling water for five seconds, followed by overnight soaking in cool water before immediate sowing. this treatment doubled the germination rate. additionally, scarifying the seed coat before boiling can further improve germination efficiency. direct sowing in the field is preferable to planting in the nursery for healthy seedling development. during the seedling stage, maintaining soil moisture and regular weeding is crucial to minimize soil particle loosening and promote healthy growth. line sowing is effective in facilitating weeding and ensuring optimal growth conditions. the seedlings of a. procera are characterized by the development of thick and long taproots, indicative of their robust nature. regarding seed storage, the species exhibits orthodox behaviour, allowing fresh seeds to remain viable at room temperature for up to 10 months. however, without proper management, the germination rate can decrease to 50% after storage (abdullah et al., 2019). seeds can remain viable for over ten years at room temperature, and airtight storage can preserve seed viability for over three years with a moisture content of approximately 13 ± 2%. apart from seed propagation, a. procera can also be propagated vegetatively through stem or root cuttings, although this is less advisable during the peak of the rainy or dry seasons. layering is another effective method of vegetative propagation, and root suckers can be produced from exposed roots, offering alternative propagation strategies for this species. this adaptability in both habitat preference and propagation methods underscores the versatility and resilience of a. procera, making it a valuable species for ecological restoration and sustainable forestry practices. cultivation techniques a. procera successfully grows at elevations from sea level up to 1,500 m, encompassing tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate zones. the species demonstrates a wide temperature tolerance, ranging from 1-20 °c to 36-48 °c, and is well suited to areas with annual average rainfall between 90 and 5500 mm (tsukada, 1983). a. procera can withstand frost and desert conditions, underscoring its resilience. in terms of soil adaptability, this species is well suited to various soil types, including shallow, fertile, alkaline or acidic, sandy, dry, and stony soils. young plants prefer growth in shaded areas, whereas mature plants are drought-tolerant (park et al., 2006). this species is known for its aggressive growth rate, which can lead to it behaving as a weed in some environments. the annual growth rate in diameter ranges from 1-4.5 cm, enabling the plant to achieve a diameter at breast height (dbh) of 40-65 cm within 30-40 years. in unburned areas, a. procera colonizes alongside the alang-alang (imperata cylindrica) grasslands. this results in canopy closure with a 2.5-3.5 × 0.5 meters spacing in pure stands within approximately three years. owing to its dense canopy, regular weeding is necessary to manage undergrowth. the species can be mixed with other plant species, and for optimal growth, it is recommended to plant at a spacing of 3.25 × 1.25 meters. such mixed planting and pruning in the upper canopy promote plant growth and bushy crown development (potter et al., 2000). thinning practices are advised every alternate nine years. phosphorus has been noted to enhance nodulation and nitrogen fixation, particularly in infertile soils. for timber production, a rotation period of at least 40 years is required, involving the coppicing of the plant. in contrast, a shorter rotation period of approximately 20 years is sufficient for fuelwood production. the cultivation process necessitates weeding twice in the first year and once in the second year, with care not to disturb the deeper soil layers but to focus on eradicating weeds close to the seedlings. as an ornamental plant, a. procera is also planted along avenues and in gardens, adding aesthetic value to these environments. the cultivation status of a. procera varies, including cultivated, unlocking the potential of albizia procera 335 ornamental, semi-cultivated, and wild categories, reflecting its versatility and adaptability to different cultivation practices and environmental conditions (mali and panchal, 2017). economic uses and harmful aspects a. procera is renowned for its diverse economic uses, values, and certain harmful aspects. primarily, this plant serves crucial ecological functions, such as erosion control, providing shade and shelter, and land reclamation. additionally, its ornamental value is recognized, with its use in landscaping for boundary marking, barriers, or support structures. one of the standout economic uses of a. procera is in timber production. in bangladesh, it is celebrated as one of the best-known timber trees owing to its hard, strong, and durable wood. this quality suits various applications, including furniture, cabinet works, pillars, wheels, house buildings, and agricultural implements. it is also used in constructing railway sleepers, sugarcane crushers, bridges, rice pounders, and tea boxes, highlighting its versatility. the leaves of a. procera possess insecticidal properties, adding to its economic value. traditionally, the paste made from its leaves has been applied as a poultice to treat ulcers, indicating its medicinal potential. however, it is important to note that a. procera has been recorded as a fish-poisoning plant in australia. this suggests the need for careful management and consideration of its use in different ecological contexts to prevent unintended harmful impacts on local fauna. a. procera has many economic uses and values, from its robust and versatile timber to its ecological benefits. however, its potentially harmful effects, such as its use as a fish poison, warrant careful utilization and management in various environments (ahlawat and sharma, 1997; halliday, 1984; matin and rashid, 1992; abraham et al., 1995). physical properties an in-depth analysis of its physical properties is essential for understanding the comprehensive profile of a. procera. these properties, crucial for application in various species, have been meticulously documented in the international tropical timber organization (itto) report (itto, 2024). table 1 presents a detailed enumeration of these physical properties, offering valuable insights into the structural characteristics of the species and their potential utility in various industrial and environmental applications. these data enhance our understanding of a. procera's physical attributes and aid in determining its suitability for specific uses, ranging from timber production to ecological restoration projects. table 1. physical properties of a. procera (itto, 2024). properties estimates basic density or specific gravity (o.d. weight/vol. green) (g/cm³) 0.64 air-dry density (weight and volume at 12%mc) (g/cm³) 0.71 total shrinkage tangential (saturated to 0% mc) (%) 6.2 total shrinkage radial (saturated to 0% mc) (%) 3.0 drying defects ease of drying shrinkage during air drying is moderate recommended dry kiln schedule jp-24 dimensional stability ratio (total tangential shrinkage %/total radial shrinkage %) 2.1 336 shah et al. mechanical properties a. procera stands out for its exceptional mechanical properties and versatile wood composition. the sapwood, with its yellowish-white hue, contrasts sharply with the heartwood, which is robust, dense, and varies from light to dark brown, often adorned with walnut-like alternating bands. its straight grain pattern enhances its visual appeal and mechanical performance, while its high propensity for splitting is advantageous for specific woodworking applications. the wood seasons well, further improving its workability and durability, making it a preferred material across various industries. renowned for its strength, elasticity, toughness, and hardness, a. procera wood is extensively used in crafting high-quality cabinets and furniture, as well as construction materials, agricultural tools, and household products (rojas-sandoval, 2016). its adaptability extends to specialized applications such as poles, house posts, truck and bus bodies, packing cases, mouldings, carts, cane crushers, carvings, boats, oars, oil presses, and rice pounders. the wood's resistance to termites-including bifiditermes beesoni, cryptotermes cynocephalus, and coptotermes curvignathus-further enhances its suitability for use in termite-prone regions. however, coptotermes curvignathus is also recognized as a pest of the tree in india, necessitating careful consideration in its cultivation and utilization (abraham et al., 1995). this combination of durability, versatility, and resistance underpins the widespread use and economic importance of a. procera. fig. 2. (a) cross-sectional anatomy of tree wood, highlighting the distinctive layers from the periphery to the core. (b) a. procera glulam beam. reproduced with permission (das et al., 2023). reproduced under the term cc by 4.0. unlocking the potential of albizia procera 337 fig. 2a presents a generalized cross-section of plant wood, detailing the internal structure with distinct layers, including the outer cork, living phloem, vascular cambium, sapwood, and central heartwood, a structure with which a. procera shares more or less. table 2 shows the mechanical properties of a. procera based on the findings of the itto report (itto, 2024). the mechanical properties of a. procera wood, including its strength, elasticity, durability, and resistance to pests, underline its significance as a valuable resource in various industries. its ease of operation and aesthetic and functional qualities make it an ideal choice for a wide range of products, from fine furniture to structural materials. a. procera glulam beams demonstrate superior physical and mechanical properties than solid a. procera timber (das et al., 2023). it exhibited a significant increase in density with a notable decrease in water absorption, linear expansion, and thickness swelling. the mechanical properties, including the modulus of rupture and modulus of elasticity, were also markedly enhanced in the glulam beams, underscoring their potential as reliable structural timber products. fig. 2b illustrates the a. procera glulam beam, offering insights into its structural composition. table 2. mechanical properties of a. procera. properties estimates bending strength (mor),12%mc (kgf/cm²) 1135 stiffness (mor) 12% mc (kgf/cm²) 126781 compression parallel to fibre 12% mc (kgf/cm²) 621 shear strength radial 12%mc (kgf/cm²) 121 janka hardness (side) 12%mc (kgf) 817 janka hardness (end grain) 12%mc (kgf) 677 chemical properties the chemical composition of a. procera, particularly its wood, plays a pivotal role in determining its utility in various industries, notably in producing pulp, paper, boards, and furniture. understanding the chemical properties of this wood is crucial for evaluating its suitability as a raw material in biorefineries and for devising efficient conversion methodologies. a comprehensive analysis of a. procera wood revealed significant contents of primary chemical components essential for industrial applications. the α-cellulose content, a key element influencing the strength and quality of paper and textile fibres, is approximately 37% (alam et al., 2007). this relatively high percentage of α-cellulose indicates the potential of a. procera wood in producing high-grade pulp and paper products. in addition to α-cellulose, the wood of a. procera contains approximately 64% hemicellulose, encompassing the total cellulose and hemicellulose content. this hemicellulose component is instrumental in providing structural integrity and flexibility to wood, making it suitable for various applications in the paper and board industries. the lignin content in a. procera wood is estimated to be approximately 27% (alam et al., 2007). lignin, a complex organic polymer, contributes to the rigidity and resistance to rotting of the wood. this substantial lignin content enhances the durability and longevity of products made from this wood, making it a valuable material for furniture and construction (hossain et al., 2023). furthermore, the solubility of a. procera wood in various solvents has been studied to understand its reactivity and processability. the solubility in cold water is approximately 5%, that in hot water is approximately 8%, and notably higher at 24% in a 1% caustic soda (naoh) solution. these solubility metrics are critical for processing wood in different industrial contexts, especially treatments and finishes. additionally, the benzene-ethanol extractive content of a. procera wood is approximately 6.5%. extractives contribute to wood's colour, odor, and resistance to biological degradation. this relatively high extractive content could influence the properties of wood and its 338 shah et al. processing in various industrial applications (hossain et al., 2023). the chemical composition of a. procera wood, characterized by significant contents of α-cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and extractives, along with its solubility profile, underscores its potential as a versatile and valuable raw material for diverse industrial applications. this detailed understanding of its chemical properties is essential for optimizing its use in biorefinery processes and other fields. a. procera in green synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles because of their incredibly small size and attractive physicochemical properties, nanoparticles are well-suited for various biomedical applications. researchers have examined various possible applications of these special compounds, such as biocatalysis, antiviral therapies, targeted drug delivery, medical imaging contrast agents, biomarkers, and antimicrobial and antibacterial properties (chandni et al., 2013; bindhu and umadevi, 2013). nanoscale antimicrobial materials have potential use in various fields, such as food processing, water treatment, and biodevices, where microbial contamination is common (zada et al., 2024). as a result, the demand for metal oxide nanoparticles (mnps) is rising, leading researchers to investigate novel fabrication techniques to produce mnps with precise structural control (pal et al., 2007; hasan et al., 2022). however, it has been discovered that chemical processes may be hazardous to people because they increase the toxicity and reactivity of particles. utilizing plant extracts is one environmentally responsible way to produce mnps; this process has recently gained favor because it can guarantee a high output while being non-toxic and ecologically beneficial (kuppusamy et al., 2016; nayak et al., 2016; kirankumar and sumathi, 2017). the leaf extract of a. procera contains proteins, glycosides, alkaloids, reducing sugars, phenols, and carbohydrates. (khatoon et al., 2013). fig. 3 illustrates the biosynthesis of ag-nps through reduction by biological sources, followed by nanoparticle growth, and stabilization and capping mediated by bio-compounds from plants, fungi, or bacteria (mikhailova, 2025). a similar procedure was adopted to explore the potential use of alkaloids, particularly phenols, as capping and reducing agents in the synthesis of ag-nps. it was reported that spherical ag-nps, approximately 6.18 nm in size, were capable of eliminating the organic pollutant dye methylene blue (mb) (rafique et al., 2019). they also demonstrated strong antibacterial properties against escherichia coli and staphylococcus aureus. fig. 3. schematic representation of ag-nps biosynthesis. (a) reduction process facilitated by various biological sources; (b) growth and formation of nanoparticles; (c) stabilization and capping involving compounds derived from plants, fungi, or bacteria. reproduced with permission (mikhailova, 2025). reproduced under the term cc by 4.0. unlocking the potential of albizia procera 339 a. procera for the modern household furniture application according to a report by the itto, it has been determined that a. procera can be successfully laminated using both rotary veneer cutting and sliced veneer methods (itto, 2024). moreover, it has been noted that the workability of this particular species ranges from fair to difficult. in planning and moulding, limiting the cutting angle to a maximum of 20° is advisable to minimize the wood's tendency to pick up. the hand tools perform satisfactorily, whereas the finishing process yields commendable results. hence, it can be inferred that a. procera can produce plywood and particleboard. nanomaterials possess diverse potential uses, including their utilization in composite materials and their efficacy as reinforcing agents. the synthesis of nanomaterials from wood entails the fragmentation of wood into constituent components at the nanoscale level. although not a conventional use for a. procera, it is theoretically feasible to extract cellulose nanofibers or other nanoscale constituents from its wood owing to its α-cellulose content of approximately 37% (alam et al., 2007). contribution of a. procera as an organic fertilizer in the agricultural initiative, we ventured to the small village of harriaghop in jashore, bangladesh, to collect leaves from the a. procera plant. to ensure the leaves were impurity-free, they were meticulously washed with clean, drinkable water, removing any mud or unwanted particles. the next step involved transforming these leaves into compost fertilizer. where the leaves were mixed with a small amount of soil and placed in a cave. after patiently waiting for approximately 25 days, our composite fertilizer was successfully produced (fig. 4). using the fertilizer we obtained, we conducted a cultivation experiment involving amaranthus dubius, commonly known as lal shak. we compared amaranthus dubius's growth with applying our composite fertilizer against a control group without any additional fertilizer. the results were striking, revealing the outstanding growth-promoting qualities of our compound fertilizer (fig. 5a & 5b), as opposed to the comparatively minor growth observed in amaranthus dubius without the benefit of our specialized fertilizer (fig. 5a). this experiment highlights the potential of our locally sourced compost to enhance agricultural productivity. fig. 4. preparation of fertilizers using a. procera leaves. 340 shah et al. fig. 5. cultivation of amaranthus dubius using prepared fertilizer (a, b) and without using prepared fertilizer (b). the prospect of reforestation in the vast unused land in saudi arabia as an initiative for the 2030 vision a. procera can grow in a variety of soils. it grows best on moist alluvial soils, well-drained loams, or clay soils. its ability to grow in dry, sandy, stony, and shallow soils makes it a useful species for afforestation of difficult sites. good survival and rapid early growth have been reported in afforestation trials in saline and alkaline soils. a. procera can tolerate a ph of 5.5–7.5 and is moderately tolerant of acid to alkaline soils. a. procera can tolerate annual temperatures ranging from 1 to 18°c to 37–46°c and yearly rainfall of 100–5,000 mm. established plants are droughttolerant. adult plants succeed in full sun and light shade, although young trees require more shade. phosphorus fertilizer can improve nodulation and nitrogen fixation, particularly in infertile soils. the data on soil samples from different locations in the empty quarter (20°n 50°e? / ?20°n 50°e), also known as the no man's land, of saudi arabia, are presented in table 3. these areas are dominated by fine sand, and highly challenging weather prevails throughout the year, mainly in summer, because of the high heat. as a. procera can grow on dry, sandy, stony, and shallow soils, it has the potential to grow in the empty quarter (rub' al khali) of saudi arabia. however, young table 3. results of soil samples from different locations in the empty quarter of saudi arabia (alsabhan et al., 2022; laik et al., 2009).] sample location gravel (%) coarse sand (%) medium sand (%) fine sand (%) silt/clay (%) ph electrical conductivity (mmhos/cm) tukhman area 14.17 21.17 27.48 31.9 5.28 7.46 13.22 mushayeb area 29.93 27.49 14.13 25.64 2.81 7.57 19.01 faydah area 19.25 26.41 17.69 32.67 3.97 8.02 13.33 mulayhah area 13.96 13.33 26.1 43.23 3.38 7.53 30.11 kharif area 18.42 24.58 23.6 31.95 1.44 7.63 4.30 unlocking the potential of albizia procera 341 trees require shade. moreover, the ph value of the soil samples tested in the empty quarter of saudi arabia was neutral to moderately alkaline (range 7.5-8.2). according to the literature, a. procera can tolerate a ph of 7.5. thus, it is crucial to experiment with the soil ph suitability of a. procera in the empty quarter of saudi arabia. the ideal range for soil electrical conductivity (ec) levels is between 1.1 and 5.7 millimhos per centimeter (mmhos/cm). extreme levels of soil ec, whether too high or excessively low, can impede crop growth. low ec levels suggest a scarcity of accessible nutrients, whereas excessive ec levels indicate an abundance of nutrients. the ec in several sample plots inside the empty quarter of saudi arabia had a wider range of values, with greater ec levels observed. alsabhan et al. reported that the soil ec in saudi arabia varies between 2.5 and 37.4 mmhos/cm (alsabhan et al., 2022). elevated ec levels can result in salt stress, disrupting the water balance in plants and impeding nutrient absorption. a. procera can enhance soil quality by decreasing soil ec. laik et al. discovered a notable reduction in soil ec in the afforested areas where a. procera was planted (laik et al., 2009). the breakdown of organic matter, accompanied by the production of organic acids, has reduced the soil conductivity of afforested areas with a. procera. the efficacy of a. procera in enhancing soil quality by reducing its electrical conductivity may be attributed to its inherent resilience to unfavorable soil conditions (laik et al., 2009). investigating climatic conditions is also crucial for assessing the viability of afforestation through a. procera in the empty quarter. the monthly air temperature and precipitation in saudi arabia are shown in fig. 6. the average temperatures in saudi arabia for the coolest months, december through february, are 23°c at jeddah, 14°c at riyadh, and 17°c at al-dammām. from june to august, summers are fiercely hot, with daytime temperatures in the shade exceeding 38° c in almost the entire country. as a. procera can tolerate annual temperatures of up to 37–46° c, it has the potential to grow in the empty quarter of saudi arabia. moreover, the average yearly rainfall in most parts of saudi arabia is below 150 mm throughout the year, except in the southwestern part, where rainfall occurs between 400 and 600 mm annually. as a. procera can survive with a minimum annual rainfall of 100 mm, it has the potential to grow in the empty quarter of saudi arabia. fig. 6. the monthly air temperature and precipitation in saudi arabia are based on data from the years between 1991 and 2022 (bank, 2023). 342 shah et al. a. procera and environmental sustainability: beyond climate change mitigation a. procera extends its influence beyond traditional climate change mitigation and serves as a cornerstone in the broader context of environmental sustainability through its multifaceted benefits and applications. forests play a crucial role in storing atmospheric carbon and mitigating climate change. in a forest ecosystem, carbon is stored in various components, including trees, plants on the forest floor, leaf litter, and decaying soil matter. as plants grow, they capture carbon and release oxygen, leading to carbon sequestration. the more forest biomass grows, the more carbon it holds, creating a valuable carbon stock (keith et al., 2009; shah et al., 2024). additionally, plants on the forest floor contribute to carbon storage. over time, fallen branches, leaves, and other organic materials accumulate on the forest floor, storing carbon until decomposition. soil plays a role by sequestering carbon through root interactions with decomposing plant litter. tree planting is a way to create new carbon sinks through afforestation, reforestation, or other schemes. the role of forest ecosystems as either carbon sinks or carbon sources is determined by the net ecosystem carbon exchange (lal, 2005). this exchange balances the total carbon absorbed through gross ecosystem primary productivity with the carbon released by ecosystem respiration (fig. 7). fig. 7. the process of carbon storage in forest ecosystems. afforestation is crucial for reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, thus mitigating the impact of climate change. additionally, afforestation improves soil quality, prevents erosion, and enhances land fertility. it is also instrumental in reversing or preventing desertification, thereby preserving ecosystems. on the other hand, agroforestry serves as a dynamic natural resource management system. both practices play vital roles in carbon sequestration. a. procera is suitable for afforestation and agroforestry. one of the most important benefits is its ability to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and store it in biomass and soil. a five-year-old agricultural system in a semi-arid region was examined. this system included combinations of a. procera with two different crops: a. procera paired with black gram mustard and a. procera paired with green gram wheat. the biomass measurements in these combinations were 34.77 tc/ha and 35.13 tc/ha, respectively (reang et al., 2021; siarudin et al., 2021). unlocking the potential of albizia procera 343 the carbon sequestration potential of a. procera varies depending on the management system, type of shade tree, and environmental conditions. a. procera can be grown in different agroforestry systems, such as mixed tree-shaded, albizia-shaded, syzygium-shaded, and pure stands (hossen and kato-noguchi, 2022). in an agroforestry study conducted in 2011, biomass and carbon storage were evaluated for a. procera and dalbergia sissoo in irrigated environments and emblica officinalis and hardwickia binata in rainfed conditions. a. procera showed the highest biomass accumulation of 120.42 tons per hectare at 11 years, surpassing dalbergia sissoo's 84.75 tons under irrigation at 17 years. under rainfed conditions, emblica officinalis and hardwickia binata recorded 14.99 and 101.34 tons of biomass per hectare at 15 and 20 years, respectively. a. procera, as a fast-growing tree, had a superior biomass productivity of 10.95 tons per hectare per year, followed by dalbergia sissoo and hardwickia binata. however, emblica officinalis, a fruit-bearing plant, had the lowest biomass productivity. carbon storage was highest in a. procera, followed by dalbergia sissoo under irrigated conditions (reang et al., 2021; siarudin et al., 2021). implementing afforestation programs in arid and semi-arid areas of saudi arabia, specifically focusing on a. procera, offers climate change mitigation benefits. given its ability to grow in dry conditions and its high biomass growth, it could be a key species in saudi arabia's afforestation programs. this initiative aligns with the goals of the saudi green initiative, middle east green initiative, and other environmental strategies aimed at combating desertification and climate change. therefore, its high carbon sequestration capacity should be exploited. policies should support research and implement optimal planting and management practices to maximize carbon capture. considering the adaptability of a. procera to different environmental conditions, afforestation projects should be tailored to local climatic and soil conditions. this includes utilizing their tolerance to saline water in areas with such soil characteristics. the integration of a. procera in mixed farming systems needs to be explored in local conditions. continuous monitoring of afforestation projects is essential. support for ongoing research into the growth patterns, carbon sequestration rates, and ecological impacts of a. procera will inform future policy and management decisions. community involvement in afforestation projects can ensure sustainability and foster a sense of ownership and responsibility towards environmental conservation. coordination with agricultural, environmental, and water resource management policies is crucial for the success of afforestation programs. conclusion and future prospects albizia procera is a multipurpose species with immense potential in sustainable development, ecological restoration, and climate resilience. its fast growth, adaptability to degraded and saline soils, and contributions to carbon sequestration make it invaluable for afforestation and reforestation efforts, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. the species enhances soil fertility and biodiversity in agroforestry systems, supports rural livelihoods through high-quality timber production, and aligns with global initiatives such as the saudi green initiative to combat land degradation and desertification. emerging applications, such as green nanoparticle synthesis, further highlight its role in advancing eco-friendly industrial and biomedical solutions. despite its advantages, challenges such as its potential invasiveness and toxicity in specific contexts necessitate sustainable management and responsible applications to avoid ecological imbalances. addressing these issues through stakeholder engagement and evidence-based strategies is critical for maximizing benefits while minimizing risks. future research should focus on optimizing propagation methods, water-use efficiency, and soil management for a. procera in challenging environments. its integration into agroforestry systems can enhance food security and promote sustainable agriculture by improving soil health and crop productivity. exploring its pharmaceutical potential, including bioactive compounds with therapeutic properties, can lead to 344 shah et al. innovative plant-based therapies. additionally, its use in bio-based materials such as cellulose nanofibers and green nanoparticles offers promising industrial applications aligned with the circular economy. to fully realize the potential of a. procera, a collaborative approach involving researchers, policymakers, and communities is essential. by integrating scientific research with sustainable practices and community participation, a. procera can significantly contribute to combating climate change, restoring degraded ecosystems, and achieving sustainable development goals globally. acknowledgements the funding support provided by the interdisciplinary research center for hydrogen technology and carbon management (irc-htcm), king fahd university of petroleum & minerals, saudi arabia, through the project inhe 2311, is highly acknowledged. references abdullah, m., zulkiffal, m., din, a., shamim, s., javed, a., shair, h., ahmed, j., musa, m., ahsan, a. and kanwal, a. 2019. discrepancy in germination behavior and physico-chemical quality traits during wheat storage. j. food process. preserv. 43(10): e14109. abraham, c.c., sudhakara, k. and ushakumari, r. 1995. occurrence of bruchidius bilineatopygus pic. 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(manuscript received on 25 july 2024; revised on 20 november 2024) https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.0000d49b. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 283-286, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70504 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication study of nitella hyalina (charales) based on oospore wall ornamentation sabrina naz*, md. moniruzzaman 1, nasrin jahan diba 2, arfatun nahar chowdhury 1 and shah md. golam gousul azam 3 *institute of environmental science, university of rajshahi, rajshahi-6205, bangladesh. keywords: nitella hyalina; oospores; sem; characeae; bangladesh. charophytes are ancestors of land plants (laurin-lemay et al., 2012) and multi-cellular, branched, macroscopic filaments from a few centimeters (cm) to several meters in length with colorless rhizoid (urbanik and kwiatkowski, 2019). the main filaments are organized into short nodes forming whorls of branches, and much longer internodal cells (schubert, 2014). general morphology varies with environmental conditions such as temperature, depth of the water, light levels, and amount of wave action (naz et al., 2011). in reproductive structure, oospores are multilayered, pigmented and thick-walled female sex organ (ahmadi et al., 2012), differential deposition in this layer of the wall is frequently sculptured and forms specific oospores wall ornamentation (ray et al., 2001). on the different oospores characters, the ornamentation pattern is considered to be an important taxonomic marker because of its conservative nature ( urbaniak and blaženčić, 2012; casanova and karol, 2008). nitella hyalina (dc.) ag. is a cosmopolitan species and occurs between 70° n and 40° s on all continents (naz et al., 2011), but seems always to be restricted to few locations ( krause, 1997). the aim of this study is to determine the type, size and ornamentation of the o pores of nitella hyalina (dc.) ag. using sem. nitella hyalina (dc.) ag. were collected by hand from a depth of 15-20 cm in july, 2020 from the river padma near the rajshahi city corporation area (24°22´0″ n, 88º 36´0″ e), in bangladesh. specimens were conserved under ex situ conditions for the sem study and identified by relevant cited literature (naz et al. 2011, wood and imahori 1965). the oospores were collected from the living plants, choosing only matured oospores (dark colored or black). oogonia were placed in a plastic pot containing 10-20 ml of distilled water (dw) about 15 days. as a result, the tube cells were removed from the oogonia. oospores were washed several times in dw. the selected mature oospores were placed in a 1:9 solution of liquid detergent in water and kept for 12 hrs in an oven maintained at 50 °c. the oospores were again washed several times in dw. then, oospores were centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 min with dw. oospores were treated with glacial acetic acid (100%) for 10 min and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 min and the acid was decanted off. the oospores were prepared by following (john and moore, 1987) and discarded the unwanted material from the upper portion of the eppendorf tube. glacial acetic acid (100%) was added for the second times and again centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 min and discard the unwanted material from the upper portion of the eppendorf tube. following washing and centrifuging the oospores were then passed through serial grades of alcohol (40% to absolute alcohol) for dehydration and finally stored in absolute alcohol (96%). acetolysed and thoroughly cleaned mature oospores were mounted on specimen stubs having double-sided sticky tapes. the *corresponding author. e-mail: drsabrina_naz@ru.ac.bd 1bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research (bcsir) laboratories, rajshahi-6206, bangladesh. 2baneswar government college, baneswar-6260, rajshahi, bangladesh. 3sarraan english editing services, 116 w university pkwy, baltimore md 21210 usa. mailto:drsabrina_naz@ru.ac.bd 284 naz et al. oospores were coated with gold-palladium by a sputter-coater and observed with a jeol jsm6490 la at an accelerated voltage of 15 kv. the sem photographs were taken whenever desired at different magnifications. morphological features of oospores of nitella hyalina (dc.) ag. were studied based on 20 oospores preserved in 70% ethanol in pyrex glass bottle for further study. largest polar axis (lpa, length) and the largest equatorial diameter (led, width) were measured and then isopolarity index (isi= lpa/led×100) was calculated. the number of ridge, width of fossa, distance from apical pole to led (and) and anisopolarity index (ani=and/lpa×100) were also examined as earlier described (horn af rantzien, 1956). the sem photographs were taken at centre for advanced research in sciences (cars) at university of dhaka, dhaka in bangladesh. all statistical computations (basic descriptive statistics and regression analysis) were performed with the use of ibm spss statistics 20 version. no work had been done earlier on the dimension of oospores at the population level in bangladesh using sem. the present investigation revealed that the oospores wall ornamentation was found to have a bright brown color with a prominent ridges and membrane minutely granule (fig. 1a-c) similar to the findings of de winton et al. (2007). however, the patterns are characterized by a shape, slightly roughened ornamentation due to the presence of numerous irregular pits and pores, the weakly developed striae and small ribbon-like structure found on the striae (fig. 1a-c), but were often completely or was partially detached during cleaning. the projections on the striae were absent as previously reported for nitella hyalina (urbaniak and blaženčić, 2012). under lm, the fossa wall was finely granular, but under (sem), it was fibrous, fig. 1(a-c). a general view of the oospores showing well developed striae and minutely fibrous fossa wall. as previously reported ( casanova and karol, 2008; de winton et al., 2007; sakayama et al., 2005). the oospores were ellipsoidal (isi index 103.818-187.208) and had an ovoid to ellipsoidal shape (ani index 64.676-53.487). lpa ranged from 64.65 97.78, with an average of 80.949±7.477 m, led range appeared to 41.12 to 76.28 with an average of 66.614±8.214 m. there were 8 ridges on the oospores surface; the mean width of fossa was 8.909±1.607 m, as they can be from 6.83 to 13.16 m; the coefficient of variation ranged from 9.237% for oospores length to 18.041% for width of fossa. the mean of apical pole (and) to led was 40.9033.273 m, range of the same was found to be 34.325 to 48.89 and coefficient of variation was 8.002% (table 1). ahmadi et al., 2012, described that the mean value of lpa, led, isi-index, width of fossa and number of ridges are respectively 269.13±1, 208.06±3, 1.29±1, 31.53±1, 8±0.7, which assumes that our samples were small in size than them. the mean value of the macedonian populations of nitella hyalina (dc.) ag. lpa, led, number of ridges, width of fossa, isi index was 330±17.8, 294±8.8, 6±0.5, 45±6.2, 1.16±0.05, respectively. the findings detected from balkan charophytes were dissimilar to our populations (urbaniak and blaženčić, 2012) which is also similar to our findings. the pearson’s correlation between led and lpa was given study of nitella hyalina (charales) based on oospore wall 285 table 1. descriptive statistics of the oospores of nitella hyalina (dc.) ag. features mean sd median min. max. v (%) lpa 80.950 7.477 81.120 64.650 97.780 9.237 led 66.614 8.214 86.275 41.120 76.280 12.331 no. of ridges 8 00 8 8 8 0.00 width of fossa 8.910 1.607 8.595 6.830 13.160 18.041 isi index 122.926 16.530 119.368 103.818 187.208 13.447 and 40.903 3.273 41.278 34.325 48.890 8.002 ani index 50.605 1.500 50.039 64.676 53.490 2.964 and-distance from apical pole to led; ani index-anisopolarity index and/lpax100; isi=isopolarity index lpa/led*100; led-largest equatorial diameter; lpa-largest polar axis; max.-maximum; min.minimum; sd-standard deviation; v-variation coefficient. table 2. pearson’s correlation between led and lpa. r t-test p.value 95% ci 0.633 3.472 0.003 (0.265, 0.840) predictors: (constant), lpa, dependent variable: led table 3. simple linear regression analysis of led on lpa. model estimate standard error t-test p.value r-square intercept 10.30 16.288 0.632 0.535 0.401 lpa 0.696 0.200 3.471 0.003 f-value 12.05 0.003 (a) (b) fig. 2 (a-b). a) normal probability plot (n= 20) showing the deviation from expected and observed data; b) histogram between lpa and led showing the mean and sd value of the population. (r=0.633), r square = 0.401, which implied that only 40.1% of the led was explained by the lpa (table 2). the anova analysis showed that the f-value was 12.051 and p-value (significance value) is 0.003 (p<0.05), which indicated that regression equation was statistically significant in 286 naz et al. linear relation (table 3). table 3 is also, provided the qualification of the relationship between lpa and led. with every increase of one unit in lpa, the led (on the average) increased by 0.696 (95% ci 0.265 to 0.840) units, p<0.05. as indicated in fig. 2(a), most splashes were close to diagonal, which indicated that standardized residuals were obeyed the normal distribution and fig. 2(b) histograms indicated that the distribution of the residual satisfies the normality assumption. acknowledgement we acknowledge the guidance and support of dr. moniruzzaman khondker, professor, department of botany, university of dhaka during carried out the research work. references ahmadi, a., riahi, h., sheidai, m. and van raam. j.c. 2012. a study of the oospore characteristics in some charophytes (characeae) of iran. nova hedwigia 94: 487–504. casanova, m.t. and k.g. karol 2008. monoecious nitella species (characeae, charophyta) from southeastern mainland australia, including nitella paludigenasp. nov. – aust. sys. bot. 21: 201–216. de winton, m.d., dugdale, t.m. and clayyon, j.s. 2007. an identification key for oospores of the extant charophytes of new zealand. new zealand journal of botany, 45(3), pp.463-476. horn af rantzien, h. 1956. morphological terminology relating to female charophyte gametangia and fructifications. bot. not. 109: 212-259. john, d.m. and moore, j.a. 1987. an sem study of the oospore of some nitella species (charales, chlorophyta ) with descriptions of wall ornamentation and an assessment of its taxonomic importance. phycologia 26: 334-355. krause, w. 1997. charales (charophyceae). süsswas serflora von mitteleuropa. band 18. gustav fischer verlag, jena. pp. 202, 77 figs. laurin-lemay, s., brinkmann, h. and philippe, h. 2012. origin of land plants revisited in the light of sequence contamination and missing data. current biology. 22(15): r593-r594. naz, s., diba, n.j. and schubert, h. 2011. monograph on charophytes of bangladesh. vdm verlag dr. müller gmbh & co. kg. pp. 216 . ray. s., pekkari, s. and snoeijs, p. 2001. oospore dimensions and wall ornamentation patterns in swedish charophytes. nord. j. bot. 21: 207-224. sakayama, h., miyaji, k., nagumo, t., kato, m., hara, y. and nozaki, h. 2005. taxonomic reexamination of 17 species of nitella subgenus tieffallenia (charales, charophyceae) based on internal morphology of the oospore wall and multiple dna marker sequences. j. phycol. 41:195–211. schubert, h. 2014. phylogeny and taxonomy of charophytes, good news from a battlefield of concepts. j. phycol. 50(5): 773-775. urbaniak, j. and kwiatkowski, p. 2019. taxonomic studies on the chara section hartmania in poland based on morphological and molecular data. phytokeys 135, p.71. urbaniak, j. and blaženčić, j. 2012. sem study of oospore characteristics in endemic and endangered balkan charophytes. cryptogamie algol. 33: 277-289. wood, r.d. and imahori, k. 1965. a revision of the characeae. part-i. monograph of the characeae. verlag von, j. cramer, weinheim, 904 pp. (manuscript received on 07 october, 2022; revised on 17 october 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 297-312, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63531 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes associated with seeds of selected cotton (gossypium hirsutum l.) varieties amina khatun, shamim shamsi* and ma bashar department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: mycoflora; cotton varieties; its; pcr amplification; sequence analysis. abstract a total of 14 varieties (cb1-cb14) of cotton (gossypium hirsutum l.) seeds were collected from cotton research, training and seed multiplication farm, sreepur, gazipur to detect and identify the seed borne fungi by morphological and molecular techniques. the sequence results obtained using the its1 and its4 primers were compared with ncbi genbank and bol database using blast analysis. in the present investigation, a total of 29 fungal isolates were morphologically identified from different varieties of cotton seeds, of which 19 fungal isolates were identified by molecular techniques. among the isolated fungi, aspergillus subramanianii, a. toxicarius, a. wentii, penicillium aculeatum, p. citrinum, rhizomucor sp. and meyerozyma guilliermondii have been reported as new records for bangladesh. introduction cotton, unique among agricultural crops, provides food and fibre. cotton is major natural fibre crop and also provides us edible oil and seeds by-products for livestock food. cotton is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of more than seventy countries of the world, which represents 2.5% of the all cultivated land. cotton is the second important cash crop in bangladesh and it is also called white gold. cotton is generally propagated by seeds and these are potential harbour of numerous microfungi which may impair seed germination resulting in the production of abnormal seedlings (bateman and kwasna, 1999; khanzada et al., 2002). most cotton diseases are transmitted through seeds which in most cases affect the quality of the fibre and seeds. seed diseases may cause seed rot and damping-off of the seedlings reducing subsequently the number of stands. various fungal seed borne pathogens have been reported in the world which reduce germination percentage and seedling vigour of cotton seeds (jeyalakshmi et al., 1999; eisa et al., 2007; tomar et al., 2012). in bangladesh, so far, a total of 14 diseases of cotton were recorded of which 12 diseases are caused by fungal pathogens (bari, 1990). majority of cotton diseases are seed-borne viz., alternaria blight, bacterial blight, fusarium wilt, myrothecium blight, cercospora blight, exserohilum blight etc. (bari, 1990). in bangladesh, alternaria tenuis, aspergillus flavus, a. niger, a. fumigatus, fusarium moniliforme and rhizopus nigricans were reported to be predominant in cotton seeds (lutfunnessa and shamsi, 2011). aspergillus flavus, a. niger, curvularia lunata, fusarium moniliforme var. subglutinans, f. sporotrichioides and rhizoctonia solani were found to be pathogenic for 3 varieties of hill cotton (gossypium arboreum) in bangladesh (naznin and shamsi, 2018). *corresponding author: e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63531 mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com 298 khatun et al. the correct species name of a plant pathogenic fungi is most important for the development of effective disease control management, quarantine purposes and as a basis for making decisions to protect agricultural crops as well as other natural resources from fungal pathogens (rossman and palm-hernandez, 2008). so far, no molecular identification report is available regarding fungi associated with cotton seeds in bangladesh. therefore, the present research work was undertaken to find out the pathogenic fungi associated with different cotton varieties following morphological as well as molecular identification. materials and methods seed samples of cb1-14 were collected from cotton research, training and seed multiplication farm, sreepur, gazipur after harvesting and kept in clean glass jars, labeled properly and preserved at room temperature for subsequent use. fungi associated with selected rice samples were isolated with following “tissue planting method” on pda medium (cab, 1968), “blotter method” and “paper towel method” (ista, 1996). morphological identification of the isolates was determined following the standard literatures (thom and rapper, 1945; rapper and thom, 1949; subramanian, 1971; barnett and hunter, 1972; benoit and mathur, 1970; booth, 1971; ellis, 1971, 1976; sutton, 1980). molecular identification was done following amer et al. (2011) with some modification. dna extraction for dna extraction, the fungi were grown on pda medium at 25± 2ºc for 15 days. with a sterile spatula one gm fungal mycelia were taken in 1.5 ml eppendorf tubes from the petri plates. the mycelia were immediately grinded with a homogenizer machine in each eppendorf with 400 µl sterile extraction buffers (200mm trishcl, 250mm nacl, 25mm edta, 0.5% sds). then 6 µl of 20 mg/ml rnase was added in each eppendorf. the tubes were placed in 65ºc preheated water bath for 10 minutes. the samples were taken from the water bath and cooled down to room temperature. in each sample, 130 µl of 3m sodium acetate, ph 5.2 was added. samples were vortexed for 30s at maximum speed to mix well and incubated at -20º c for 10 minutes. the samples were centrifuged at 13,000 rpm, 4º c for 15 minutes. the supernatants were transferred to fresh tubes and an equal volume of isopropanol was added to each sample, mixed well and were incubated at 4°c for one night. samples were then centrifuged at 6000 rpm, 4ºc for 20 minutes. white coloured pellet was formed. the supernatant was discarded and the pellet was washed with 700 μl of 70% ethanol in two times. the dna pellets were then air dried in an oven at 40°c for at least 10 min. the resultant dna pellet was then resuspended in 100 μl of 1 x te (10 mm trishcl, 1 mm edta) buffer (ph 8.0). the dna was dissolved overnight at 4 ºc in the refrigerator. pcr amplification molecular identification of the isolates was completed using the internal transcribed spacer (its) region. pcr amplification was conducted using the its1 (5'-tccgtaggtgaacctg cgg-3') and its4 (5'-tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3') primers for the its gene. the pcr was performed in 0.2 ml pcr tube with 25 reaction volume containing 2.00μl template dna, 12.5μl master mix, 1.0μl forward primer, 1.0μl reverse primer and 8.5μl milliq h2o. reaction mixture was vortexed and centrifuged in a micro centrifuge. the pcr was introduced by an initial denaturation step at 94ºc for 5 minutes following 35 cycles of 94, 54 and 72ºc each for 30 sec, with a final extension step of 5 min at 72º c and ended with 4º c. pcr amplified products were stored in – 20º c freezer for analysis by resolving in 1% agarose gel. the gel was prepared using 1.0g agarose powder containing 8μl ethidium bromide. agarose gel electrophoresis was conducted in 1× tae buffer at 90 volts and 300 ma for 60 minutes. alongside the its reactions, one morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes 299 molecular weight marker 1kb dna ladder was electrophoresed. dna bands were then photographed by a gel documentation system (model: di-hd, uk). sequence analysis the pcr amplified products were purified by alcohol precipitation and sequenced through automated sequencer in centre for advanced research in sciences (cars), university of dhaka. the obtained sequences were compared with already available sequences in the national center for biotechnology information (ncbi, bethesda, md, usa) using blast program (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) to identify the genus and species of the isolates. results and discussion morphological identification twenty-nine fungal species, representing 14 genera were found to be associated with 14 varieties of cotton seeds. the isolated fungi were aspergillus aculeatus lizuka, a. flavus link, a. fumigatus fresenius, a. niger van tiegh, a. nidulans eidam, a. subramanianii visagie, frisvad & samson, a. tamarii kita g., a. toxicarius murak, a. wentii wehmer, curvularia lunata (wakker) boedijn, colletotrichum gloeosporioides penz & sacc, c. gossypii southw., chaetomium globosum kunze., fusarium moniliforme j. shelden, f. nivale (fr.) sorauer, f. oxysporum schlechtendal, f. fujikuroi nirenberg, f. solani (mart.) sacc., lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griffon & maubl., meyerozyma guilliermondii (wick.) kurtzman & m. suzuki., mucor sp. p. micheli ex l., penicillium aculeatum raper & fennell, penicillium citrinum thom, rhizoctonia solani khun., rhizopus stolonifer (ehrenb.) vuill., rhizopus oryzae went & prins. geerl., rhizomucor sp. lucet & costantin, syncephalastrum racemosum cohn and trichoderma viride pers. based on morphological characteristics, these 29 fungal isolates were identified provisionally. in the present investigation, some fungal species were unable to identify up to species level based on the morphological features only. hence, molecular characterization of the fungal species was performed for proper identification. for further confirmation of these 29 fungi, its sequence based molecular analysis was performed and 19 were confirmed up to species level. key morphological features of the nineteen fungi identified by molecular analysis: aspergillus aculeatus lizuka, annls sci. nat. (bot.), ser. 5, 8: 240 (1867) (fig. 1a) aspergillus aculeatus is a ubiquitous species that usually isolated from rotting fruits and soil. colonies effuse, brownish black. mycelium well developed, septate, profusely branched and hyaline. cells are multinucleate. conidiophores are very long, often with a foot cell, straight or flexuous, swollen at the apex in to a spherical vesicle. surface of vesicle is covered by closely packed, more or less clavate shaped branches. conidia catenulate, dry, usually globose, echinulate, dark brown in colour. specimen examined : six varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 04, 07 may 2018. aspergillus flavus link. (fig. 1b) colony colour on pda medium is grayish powdery and fast growing. conidial heads are yellow to green became brownish in edge. conidiophores are less than 1.0 mm length and 1020 μm diameter, vesicle was glubose to subglubose. conidia are glubose minutely accumulate and measured 2.5-3.5 μm. mycelia well developed, septate, hyaline and profusely branched. http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) 300 khatun et al. conidiophores 300-600 µm long. cells are multinucleate vesicles 10 35 µm in diameter. sterigmata 8 14 × 3 5 µm. specimen examined: fourteen varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun, 09, 11 september, 2017. aspergillus fumigatus fresenius. beitragezur mykologie 3:81 (1863) (fig. 1c) colonies flat, olivaceous green, mycelia well developed, septate. cells are multinucleate. conidiophores are long, often with a foot cell, straight or flexuous, swollen at the apex into a spherical vesicle. surface of vesicle are covered by closely packed more or less clavate branches. conidia catenulate, dry, usually globose, echinulate and smooth. colonies of the fungus produced thousands of minute pale green conidia 2-3 µm. specimen examined: isolated from fourteen varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun, 07 march 2017. aspergillus subramanianii visagie, frisvad & samson: 66 (1877) (fig. 1d) colonies yellow to yellow-orange, ochraceus or buff, powdery to granular. conidial heads radiate, later splitting into several columns. conidiophores brownish, 1-1.9 µm long, rough walled. vesicles globose and phialides biseriate covering almost the entire surface of the vesicle. conidia spherical to sub spherical, 2.5-3.5 µm in diameter, smooth walled to finely roughen. sclerotia are pink to vinaceous-purple coloured, irregular shaped and up to 1 mm diam. it is a species with rough walled stipes, biseriate conidial heads, yellow to ochre conidia and sclerotia that do not turn black. specimen examined: eight varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 07, 12 december 2017. aspergillus tamarii kita g, in centralb. f. bakt., 37, no. 17/21, pp. 433-452. (1913) (fig. 1e) aspergillus tamarii belongs in aspergillus section flavi, and resembles a. flavus and a. parasiticus, but conidia colour is olive to brown and are larger, with thick, conspicuously roughened walls. colonies on czapek’s solution agar spreading broadly at room temperature with vegetative hyphae mostly submerged, fruiting areas at first colourless, then passing through orange yellow shades to brown in old colonies. not showing true green but often presenting a suggestion of green that is transient and limited to areas of young heads; reverse uncoloured or occasionally pinkish. on afpa, it produces a deep brown reverse coloration, in contrast to the orange yellow of a. flavus and a. parasiticus. conidial heads varying greatly in size in the same fruiting area, from more or less columnar but not completely globose and upto 30µ in diameter, with radiating chains and columns of conidia. conidiophores arising from submerged hyphae upto 1or 2mm. in length, colorless with walls becoming abruptly thinner at the base of the vesicle. vesicles globose to subglobose, 25 to 30µ in diameter. sterigmata, in large heads. conidia ranging from more or less pyriform, through subglobose to globose, commonly ranging from 1.53µ in diameter, specimen examined: twelve varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 04, 05 march 2018. aspergillus wentii wehmer (fig. 1f) aspergillus wentii is an asexual, filamentous, endosymbiotic fungus. it produces single-celled, globose, conidia in unbranched, filamentous chains. spores are smooth, colourless, and ellipsoidal, morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes 301 approximately 1–2 µm in diameter. conidia are darker yellow to brown in colour when mature and have a single wall. the elongating chains of conidia are dispersed through slightly pigmented, vase-shaped structures known as phialides that are around 6-8 µm in diameter. the conidial head or vesicle is yellow to darker coffee-coloured and 6.0–8.0 µm in diameter. the conidiophore can grow anywhere, 3-5 millimeters in length, has a glassy or hyaline appearance and although granular conidiophores have been found. it produces aerial hyphae, white or sometimes yellow in colour that can grow to a few millimeters in length. foot cells have dense walls and are branched. specimen examined: twelve varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 02, 07 july 2017. aspergillus toxicarius murakami, (1971) (fig. 2a) aspergillus toxicarius belongs in aspergillus section flavi, and resembles a. flavus, but conidia of a. toxicarius are coloured olive to yellow, and are larger, with thick, conspicuously roughened walls. conidiophores are less than 1.2 mm length and 1020 μm in diameter, vesicle was glubose to subglubose and 15-30 μm in diameter. colonies effuse yellowish green. mycelia well developed, septate, hyaline and profusely branched. conidiophores 10-18 µm long. cells are multinucleate. vesicles 15 30 µm in diameter. sterigmata 10-14 × 4-5 µm. conidia greenish, catenulate, globose or pyriform, smooth, 4 5 µm in diameter. colonies spreading broadly, dark cress green. specimen examined: eight varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 14, 16 october 2017. curvularia lunata (wakker) boedijn. [cochliobolus linatus nelson & haasis]. ellis mb, mycol. pap. 106: 2-43, 1966. (fig. 2b) colonies are effuse, brown, grey or black, hairy, cottony or velvety. stromata rarely formed in culture, colonies on pda markedly zonate. conidiophores are solitary, mostly unbranched, straight or slightly undulating, mostly flexuous geniculate, mid brown, septate up to 250 µm. conidia are mostly 3-septate, dark brown, mostly curved, third cell from the base is broader and darker than others, broader cells are mid brown and other cells paler, smooth, 20.5 31.78 × 8.5 – 13.5 µm. specimen examined : seven varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun, 06, 07 october 2017. fusarium oxysporum schlecht, flora berol. 2: 139, (1824) (fig. 2c) mycelium are delicate, white in color in the culture plate. microconidia borne on simple phialides arising laterally on the hyphae. microconidia generally abundant, variable, oval, ellipsoid, cylindrical, straight, 5-12 × 2.2-3.5 µm in size and macroconidia are thin walled, generally 3-5 septate, fusoid-subulate and pointed at both ends; 3 septate 7-14 × 3-5 µm, 5 septate 35-60 × 3-5 µm. the most commonly found spores are 3 septate. specimen examined: one variety of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 17 september 2017. fusarium moniliforme sheldon 1904. rep. neb. agric. exp. stn 17:23-32 (fig. 2d) they are extensive and cottony, white, often with some tinge of pink mycelium. reverse pinkish yellow. mycelia are hyaline, profusely branched, septate. conidiophores are hyaline, 0-2 septate. phialides hyaline, 16 20 × 3 – 4 µm in diameter and conidia are hyaline, variable, 302 khatun et al. fig. 1. conidiophore and conidia of different fungi associated with cotton seeds. a. aspergillus aculeatus, b. a. flavus, c. a. fumigatus, d. a. subramanianii, e. a. tamarii and f. a. wentii (bar = 50 µm). morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes 303 fig. 2. conidiophore and conidia of different fungi associated with cotton seeds. a. aspergillus toxicarius, b. curvularia lunata, c. fusarium oxysporum, d. f. moniliforme, e. f. fujikuroi, and f. f. solani (bar = 50 µm). 304 khatun et al. fig. 3. conidiophore and conidia of different fungi associated with cotton seeds. a. lasiodiplodia theobromae, b. mucor sp., c. penicillium citrinum, d. p. aculeatum, e. rhizopus oryzae, f. trichoderma viride and g. meyerozyma guilliermondii (bar = 50 µm). principally of two kinds. microconidia and macroconidia. microconidia hyaline, 1-celled, ovoid or oblong, borne singly or in chains, 5 15 × 2 3 µm. macroconidia hyaline, several-celled, slightly curved or bent at the pointed ends, 3 5 septate, 3 septate conidia 25 35 × 3 4 µm, 5 septate conidia 30 50 × 3 5 µm. morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes 305 specimen examined : three varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 25, 29 july 2017. fusarium fujikuroi gibberella fujikuroi (sawada) wollenw., (1931) (fig. 2e) colonies are white, floccus to slightly felt. conidia are hyaline, fusiform, ovate or clavate; one or two celled, measured 26.7-73.6 × 8.1-17.1 μm. mycelium sparse to densely floccose or felted. conidiophores hyaline, usually 0-2 septate. specimen examined : three varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 03, 05 september, 2017. fusarium solani (mart.) sacc., michelia 2: 296, 1881, emend. snyder & hansen pro. parte, am. j. bot. 26:740, 41. (fig. 2f) cottony whitish mycelium was found at the coller parts of the plant and the surrounding soil was infected wilt the pathogen. growth rate is 3.2 cm; colony greyish-white and aerial mycelium striate, sparse to dense and floccose. microconidia develops abundantly in the fresh isolates after 2-3 days. they are formed from lateral conidiphores. microconidia of f. solani are also broader and more oval in shape with somewhat thicker walls; they are 8-16×2-4 µm. macroconidia develop after four to seven days from initially simple but later from short multibranched conidiophores which soon merge to form effuse sporodochia. they are inequilaterally fusoid with many of the spores having the widest diameter in the penultimate cell. specimen examined: two varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 19, 21 august 2018. lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griff. & maubl, bull. trimest. soc. mycol. fr. 8:136 (1892) (fig. 3a) colonies are greyish brown, cottony, reverse brownish black. hyphae septate, branched, dark chocolate brown. pycnidia globose, dark brown, ostiolate. conidiophore short, hyaline. conidia dark brown, two-celled, ellipsoidal, 16−22 × 8−12 μm. pycnidia formed with septate paraphyses between the conidiogenous cells. the conidia measured 20-21.8 × 9.1-10.9 µm. they are initially hyaline, thin-walled and aseptate, cylindrical to sub ovoid in shape. specimen examined: three varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 07, 11 august 2018. mucor fresen (fig. 3b) colonies are typically white to beige or grey and are fast-growing. older colonies become grey to brown in color due to the development of spores. mucor spores or sporangiospores are simple or branched and form apical, globular sporangia that are supported and elevated by a columnshaped columella. mucor can be differentiated from moulds of the genera absidia, rhizomucor and rhizopus by the shape and insertion of the columella, and the lack of rhizoids. some mucor species produce chlamydospores. they produce mold with irregular, non-septate hyphae branching at wide angles. the tip of the sporangiophore swells to form a globose sporangium that contains uninucleate, haploid sporangiospores. an extension of the sporangiophore called the columella which protrudes into the sporangium. the sporangium walls are easily ruptured to release the spores, which germinate readily to form a new mycelium on appropriate substrates. they may germinate to form hyphae or a sporangium. 306 khatun et al. specimen examined: seven varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 07, 11 may 2018. penicillium citrinum thom in us dept. agr. bur. amin, ind bul. 118, pp. 61-63. fig. 22.1910. (fig. 3c) penicillium citrinum produces septate, hyaline hyphae. colonies are usually fast growing, in shades of green, sometimes white, mostly consisting of a dense felt of conidiophores. microscopically, chains of single-celled conidia are produced in basipetal succession from a specialised conidiogenous cell called a phialide. they are 6.5-12.0 µm in diameter and conidia are 1.5-3.15 µm in diameter. specimen examined: fourteen varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 09, 10, 17 august 2017. penicillium aculeatum raper & fennell (1948). (fig. 3d) it is characterized by very restricted and comparatively deep colonies on czapek agar, variously buckeled and wrinkled, irregular in outline, medium sporing, often with a limited overgrowth of redpigmented hyphae, growing margins 2-3 mm wide, white to slightly pink, odor almost lacking, reverse in vinaceous or purplish red in older areas. conidiophores short, commonly about 50 µ, rarely upto 100 µ, with walls appearing somewhat granular. penicilli are relatively shorter and broader than in the preceding species, usually appearing definitely inflated, sterigmata 9-15 µm by 1.5-3.0 µm and conidia are strictly globose to subglobose, 2-3.5 µm in diameter with walls comparatively heavy and strongly echinulate. specimen examined : four varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 14 may 2018. rhizopus oryzae went & prins. geerl., (1895) (fig. 3e) rhizopus oryzae is a filamentous heterothallic microfungus that occurs as a saprotroph in soil, dung, and rotting vegetation. it differs from r. oligosporus and r. microsporus by its larger columellae and sporangiospores. it has variable sporangiosphoressuch as straight or curved, swollen or branched, and the walls can be smooth or slightly rough. sporangiosphores are pale brown to brown in colour. sporangiosphores grow between 210-250 μm in length and 5-18 μm in diameter. the sporangia in r. oryzae are globose or subglobose, wall spinous and black when mature, 60-180 μm in diameter. the columellae are globose, subglobose or oval in shape. the wall is generally smooth and pale brown in colour. the average diameter growth ranges from 30110 μm. it has abundant, root-shaped rhizoids. the stolons are smooth or slightly rough, almost colorless or pale brown, 5-18 μm in diameter. the chlamydospores are abundant, globose ranging from 10-24 μm in diameter, elliptical and cylindrical. initially colonies are white becoming brownish with age and can grow to about 1 cm thick. specimen examined: three varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 16, 21 may 2018. trichoderma viride pers. (1794) (fig. 3f) colony effuses, light green in colour. conidiophores hyaline, much branched that cluster into fascicles, bearing phialides single or in groups. broad and straight/flexuous branches. they may have conidial pigments that are either white or bright green in colour. conidia are usually hyaline, morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes 307 powdery mass, 1-celled, ovoid shaped and borne in small terminal clusters. it is used in the commercial production of enzyme cellulase. specimen examined: ten varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 12, 14, 17 september 2017. meyerozyma guilliermondii (wick.) kurtzman & m. suzuki (fig. 3g) meyerozyma guilliermondii (formerly known as pichia guilliermondii) is a species of yeast of the genus meyerozyma whose asexual or anamorphic form is known as candida guilliermondii. colonies are flat, moist, smooth and cream to yellow in colour on sabouraud dextrose agar. it does not grow on the surface when inoculated into sabouraud broth. pseudohyphae are short and few in number. cell reproduces by budding, ellipsoidal, ovoidal and clavate, occur singly and in pairs, or short chains, pseudohyphae is formed. colony flat, moist, smooth, cream to yellow in colour. specimen examined: two varieties of cotton seeds (gossypium hirsutum l.) a. khatun 16 august 2018. molecular identification molecular characterization of the fungal species was performed according to amer et al. (2011) with some modifications. for further confirmation of these 29 fungi, its sequence based molecular analysis was performed and 19 were confirmed up to species level (fig. 5). genomic dna was successfully isolated from the nineteen isolates. pcr was conducted using its1 (forward) and its4 (reverse) primers and ~600 bp dna band was amplified (fig. 4). sequence analysis of the amplified dna through blast search in genbank was conducted and found 92.60-99.81% similarity with partial sequence of 18s ribosomal rna gene, complete sequence of internal transcribed spacer 1, internal transcribed spacer 2, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene and partial sequence 28s ribosomal rna gene of different isolates (table 1). analysis of the nucleotide sequences of the amplified fragments allowed the identification of the isolates at the species level (table 1 and fig. 4). its1 and its4 primers depicted isolate species identities more than 90% sequence similarity. all fungal isolates were identified using the sequences obtained through its1 and its4 primers. to confirm at the genomic sequence level, pcr amplified bands (~ 600 bp) from nineteen samples were subjected to automated sequencing followed by blast analysis (fig. 4). its sequences of nineteen samples were analyzed through ncbi-blast program database search system. results obtained from the blast database showed that 99.09% nucleotide identities with aspergillus aculeatus isolate kuasn10; 98.93% nucleotide identities with aspergillus fumigatus isolate hf11 and aspergillus wentii strain cbs 131.49; 97.74% nucleotide identities with aspergillus flavus isolate en14; 96.70% nucleotide identities with aspergillus tamarii isolate mh3; 96.51% nucleotide identities with aspergillus toxicarius strain cbs 129270; 99.11% nucleotide identities with aspergillus subramanianii 18s rrna gene (partial); 99.38% nucleotide identities with curvularia lunata strain ame-83; 98.47% nucleotide identities with lasiodiplodia theobromae strain e42f; 98.31% nucleotide identities with rhizopus oryzae isolate ev62; 97.24% nucleotide identities with penicillium aculeatum strain lp65; 94.97% nucleotide identities with penicillium citrinum isolate 14r-2-f05; 99.74% nucleotide identities with fusarium moniliforme isolate cjbb12-18; 98.15% nucleotide identities with fusarium solani strain guangx9 and fusarium oxysporum isolate fls 4; 92.60% nucleotide identities with fusarium fujikuroi isolate efs3; 92.86% nucleotide identities with mucor sp. isolate 580816; 99.81% nucleotide identities with trichoderma viride strain tvj-s-1 and 98.25% nucleotide identities with meyerozyma guilliermondii strain q2 (table 1). 308 khatun et al. table 1. identification of fungal isolates using its sequence comparison with data from genbank through blast search. isolates no. length (base pair) acc. no. description max score total score query coverage (%) evalue identity (%) 1. 573 mn186997 aspergillus aculeatus isolate kuasn10 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence. 985 985 98% 0.0 99.09 2. 595 mn180857 aspergillus flavus isolate en14 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence 981 981 97% 0.0 97.74 3. 583 gu183175 aspergillus fumigatus isolate hf11 18s ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and 28s ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence 1002 1002 98% 0.0 98.93 4. 608 fr733823 aspergillus subramanianii 18s rrna gene (partial), its1, 5.8s rrna gene, its2 and 28s rrna gene (partial), culture collection ccf<cze>:4008 1013 1013 95% 0.0 99.11 5. 603 mh562046 aspergillus tamarii isolate mh3 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence 952 952 97% 0.0 96.70 6. 611 mh865314 aspergillus toxicarius strain cbs 129270 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence. 942 942 98% 0.0 96.51 7. 589 mh856464 aspergillus wentii strain cbs 131.49 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence 1002 1002 98% 0.0 98.93 8. 620 mg571435 curvularia lunata strain ame-83 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1 and 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, complete sequence; and internal transcribed spacer 2, partial sequence 867 867 79% 0.0 99.38 9. 510 ky425745 lasiodiplodia theobromae strain e42f small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence. 917 917 99% 0.0 98.47 10. 596 mg601177 meyerozyma guilliermondii strain q2 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence 996 996 96% 0.0 98.25 morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes 309 table 1 (contd.) isolates no. length (base pair) acc. no. description max score total score query coverage (%) evalue identity (%) 11. 545 kx958025 penicillium citrinum isolate 14r-2-f05 internal transcribed spacer 1, partial sequence; 5.8s ribosomal rna gene and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence. 873 873 98% 0.0 94.97 12. 590 hq392496 penicillium aculeatum strain lp65 18s ribosomal rna gene, internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, internal transcribed spacer 2, and 28s ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence 454 454 86% 0.0 97.24 13. 568 ky785016 fusarium solani strain guangx9 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence 942 942 98% 0.0 98.15 14. 585 mk371768 mucor sp. isolate 580816 internal transcribed spacer 1, partial sequence; 5.8s ribosomal rna gene and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence 845 845 100% 0.0 92.86 15. 560 kf439055 trichoderma viride strain tvj-s-1 28s ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence. 942 942 100% 0.0 99.81 16. 598 ku671029 fusarium oxysporum isolate fls 4 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence. 942 942 98% 0.0 98.15 17. 586 mh084746 fusarium fujikuroi isolate efs3 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence 911 911 96% 0.0 92.60 18. 576 kc895528 gibberella moniliforme isolate cjbb12-18 18s ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and 28s ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence. 993 993 96% 0.0 99.74 19. 621 mk108436 rhizopus oryzae isolate ev62 small subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence; internal transcribed spacer 1, 5.8s ribosomal rna gene, and internal transcribed spacer 2, complete sequence; and large subunit ribosomal rna gene, partial sequence. 1033 1033 95% 0.0 98.31 from the comparison between morphological and molecular identification, it was clear that out of 19 fungal isolates morphological identification of one fungal isolate did not match with molecular identification. it was aspergillus ochraceous which was identified as aspergillus subramanianii by molecular identification (table 2). besides, there were four species of aspergillus, two species of fusarium and two species of penicillium which were difficult to identify up to species label by morphological identifications. the species name of these fungi were easily identified by this molecular technique. furthermore, one unidentified fungus was detected up to species level employing nucleotide sequences (table 2). 310 khatun et al. table 2. comparison between morphological and molecular identification of 19 fungal isolates. lsolates no. morphological identification molecular identification 1. a. flavus a. flavus isolate en14 2. a. fumigatus a. fumigatus isolate hf11 3. a. ochraceous aspergillus subramanianii 18s rrna gene (partial) 4. aspergillus sp. 1 aspergillus aculeatus isolate kuasn10 5. aspergillus sp. 2 aspergillus tamarii isolate mh3 6. aspergillus sp. 3 aspergillus wentii strain cbs 131.49 7. aspergillus sp. 4 aspergillus toxicarius strain cbs 129270 8. curvularia lunata curvularia lunata strain ame-83 9. fusarium fujikuroi fusarium fujikuroi isolate efs3 10. fusarium oxysporum fusarium oxysporum isolate fls 4 11. fusarium sp. 1 fusarium solani strain guangx9 12. fusarium sp. 2 fusarium moniliforme isolate cjbb12-18 13. lasiodiplodia theobromae lasiodiplodia theobromae strain e42f 14. mucor sp. mucor sp. isolate 580816 15. penicillium sp. 1 penicillium citrinum isolate 14r-2-f05 16. penicillium sp. 2 penicillium aaculeatum strain lp65 17. rhizopus oryzae rhizopus oryzae isolate ev62 18. trichoderma viride trichoderma viride strain tvj-s-1 19. unidentified fungus meyerozyma guilliermondii strain q2 fig. 4. gel electrophoresis of the pcr products of 19 fungal isolates performed by its1 (f) and its4 (r) primers and showing ~600 bp amplification. morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes 311 fig. 5. dna sequences of the pcr products of isolated fungi. among the isolated fungi, aspergillus subramanianii, a. toxicarius, a. wentii, penicillium aculeatum, p. citrinum, rhizomucor sp. and meyerozyma guilliermondii have been reported as new records for bangladesh as these were not documented in relevant literature (siddiqui et al., 2007; shamsi s, 2017; nahar et al., 2019). the present investigation suggests that molecular technique is more accurate and rapid means of fungal identification. its-based molecular identification methods might be an important complement to conventional mycological detection by culture. acknowledgements the first author gratefully acknowledges to the “ministry of science and technology”, people’s republic of bangladesh for providing financial support in her research through nst fellowship. references amer, o.e., mahmoud, m.a., elsamawaty, a.m.a. and sayed, s.r.m. 2011. non liquid nitrogen-basedmethod for isolation of dna from filamentous fungi. african journal of biotechnology. 10(65):1433714341. bari, 1990. survey and monitoring of cotton diseases. plant pathology research. annual report for 198990. pp. 67-69. 312 khatun et al. barnett, h.l. and hunter, s.b. 1972. illustrated genera of imperfect fungi. burgess publishing company, usa. third edition, pp. 44-45. bateman, g.l. and kwasna, h. 1999. effects of number of winter wheat crops grown successively on fungal communities on wheat roots. appl. soil ecol. 13: 271-282. benoit, m.a. and mathur, s.b. 1970. identification of species curvularia on rice seed. proc. inst. seed test. ass. 35(1): 1-23. booth, c. 1971. the genus fusarium. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, england. 267 pp. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. 1st edn. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. 267 pp. eisa, a., el-habbaa, g.m., aboul-ella, m.f. and hassan, s.r. 2007. associated fungi with seeds of some egyptian cotton cultivars and their effect on the plant mortality production and oil content. agric. botany dept., plant pathology branch, fac. agric., benha university, giza, egypt. pp. 1-15. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. 1st edn. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england. 608 pp. ellis, m.b. 1976. more dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england. 507 pp. ista, 1996. international rules of seed testing association. in. proc. int. seed test. assoc. pp. 19-41. jeyalakshmi, c., doraisamy, s. and valluvaparidasan, v. 1999. studies on the seed borne mycoflora of mcu cotton cultivars, their effect and biological control. j. cotton res. dev. 13: 35-39. khanzada, k.a., rajput, m.a., shah, g.s., lodhi, a.m. and mehboob, f. 2002. effect of seed dressing fungicides for the control of seed borne mycoflora of wheat. asian j. plant sci. 1(4): 441444. lutfunnessa, r.j.f. and shamsi, s. 2011. fungal diseases of cotton plant (gossypium hirsutum l.) in bangladesh. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 20(2): 139-146. nahar, m.n., hosen, s. and shamsi, s. 2019. prevalence of fungi associated with seeds of three cotton varieties (gossypium arboreum l.) in storage. biores. commun. 5(1): 642-648. naznin, s. and shamsi, s. 2018. pathogenic potentiality of fungi isolated from seeds of three hill cotton varieties (gossypium arboreum l.). dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 28(2): 187-193. raper, k.b. and thom, c. 1949. a manual of the penicillia. williams and wilkins, baltimore, md., usa. 875 pp. rossman, a.y. and palm-hernandez, m.e. 2008. systematics of plant pathogenic fungi. why it matters. plant dis. 92: 1377–1386. shamsi, s. 2017. checklist of deuteromycetous fungi of bangladesh i. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 41(2):115-126. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., begum, z.n.a., hassan, m.a., khandker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol.2. cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 415 pp. subramanian, c.v. 1971. hyphomycetes. indian council of agriculture research, new delhi, 930 pp. sutton, b.c. 1980. the coelomycetes, common wealth mycological institute, kew surrey, england, 696 pp. thom, c. and raper, k.b. 1945. a manual of the aspergilli. williams and wilkins, baltimore, md., usa, 373 pp. tomar, d.s., shastry, p.p., nayak, m.k. and sikarwar, p. 2012. effect of seed borne mycoflora on cotton seed (jk 4) and their control. j. cotton res. dev. 26(1): 105-108. (manuscript received on 01 january, 2022; revised on 14 october, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 31-41, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60447 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists assessment of genetic variation of genus paracaryum (boraginaceae) by rapd markers dan shen1* and somayeh esfandani-bozchaloyi2 school of design and art, xijing university, xi 'an, shaanxi, 710000, china keywords: gene flow; endemism; random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd). abstract the present study reveals the genetic diversity of iranian paracaryum based on morphological and molecular characters of 12 species from 11 provinces of iran. a total of 118 reproducible bands were generated by 10 of 30 random amplified polymorphic dna (rapd) primers, with an average of 11.8 bands per primer and 49% polymorphism. the largest number of effective alleles (ne), shannon index (i) and genetic diversity (h) higher level of shannon index (i) and genetic diversity (h) were shown by paracaryum persicum. our data depicted the highest similarity between paracaryum cyclhymenium and p. persicum and the lowest between p. sintenisii and p. bungei. p. bungei showed a relatively low level of genetic variation. finally, the neighbor joining (nj) trees based on rapd markers data divided the populations into two different clusters, indicating their genetic difference, which is discussed in detail. introduction the family boraginaceae s.str consists of approximately 131 genera and 2,500 species, distributed throughout the temperate and subtropical regions of the world, but mainly distributed in dry, cliffy and sunny habitats of eurasia, the mediterranean region and western north america (retief and vanwyk, 1997). they are mainly annual, bi-annual or perennial herbs and shrubs, some trees and a few lianes (retief and vanwyk, 1997), with a high distribution in iran. cynoglossoideae weigend. is the largest subfamily having about 900 species and 50 genera. recent molecular studies have shown that a wide range of the previously recognized tribes belong to this subfamily (chacón et al., 2016). the subtribe cynogolossinae dumort. (tribe cynoglosseae w.d.j.koch) is entirely restricted to the old world, with a centre of diversity in western asia and the mediterranean (chacón et al., 2016). the genus paracaryum (dc.) boiss. of the tribe cynoglosseae of this family is herbaceous and includes approximately 67 species, mostly distributed in the irano-turanian phytogeographical region (riedl, 1967). paracaryum is a very complex genus from the point of view of taxonomy and nomenclature and includes 16 species, 12 of which occur in iran (riedl, 1967). this genus is characterized by anthers included in the corolla tube, ebracteate cymes, a four-lobed ovary, an obtuse five-lobed corolla with faucal scales, and winged nutlets. in the light of recent phylogenetic analyses based on rps16 and trnl-trnf dna sequences, the classification of paracaryum is uncertain within the cynoglossum l. s.l. clade and the genus is not monophyletic. amedi et al. (2020) determined meiotic chromosome numbers and meiotic behaviour of six populations belonging to four species of paracaryum growing in iran, namely p. modestum boiss. & hausskn. (2n = 2x = 24), p. persicum subsp. macrocarpum (2n = 2x = 24), p. undulatum (2n = 2x = 24) and p. rugulosum (2n = 2x = 24). all chromosome counts are consistent with a *corresponding author: e-mail: shendan0515@126.com 1school of design and art, xijing university, xi 'an, shaanxi, 710000, china 2faculty life sciences and biotechnology, shahid beheshti university, tehran, iran. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60447 mailto:shendan0515@126.com 32 shen and esfandani-bozchaloyi proposed base number of x = 12. the fatty acid compositions of the fruits of ten paracaryum taxa belonging to three different subgenera were investigated for chemotaxonomic allocation using gas chromatography. among the twenty-two analysed fatty acids, oleic, linoleic and a-linolenic acids were the major fatty acids represented (amedi et al., 2020). for a synthetic approach to the systematics of this family considering both phylogenetic and evolutionary aspects. and in most research fruit morphology has been used as the most important character. the present study has been carried out to evaluate the genetic diversity and relationships among the iranian paracaryum species using rapd markers. this is the first study on the use of rapd markers in the paracaryum genus and aims at answering the following questions: 1) is there infra and interspecific genetic diversity among paracaryum species? 2) is there any genetic distance among these species correlated with their geographical distribution? materials and methods plant sampling a total of 116 individuals were sampled representing 15 distant populations representing 12 paracaryum species in east azerbaijan, kermanshah, esfahan, tehran, hamadan, kurdistan, khorasan, kerman, hormozgan, semnan and fars provinces of iran during july–august 2017– 2019 (table 1). for morphometric and rapd analysis, we used 116 plant accessions (up to twelve samples from each population) belonging to 15 different populations with different ecogeographic characteristics and were sampled and stored at -20°c till further use. more information about the geographical distribution of accessions are in table 1 and fig. 1. . 1. pca plots of morphological characters revealing species delimitation in the paracaryum species; sp1= p. cyclhymenium; sp2= paracaryum persicum; sp3= paracaryum platycalyx; sp4= paracaryum rugulosum; sp5= paracaryum sintenisii; sp6= paracaryum strictum; sp7= paracaryum undulatum; sp8= paracaryum hirsutum; sp9= paracaryum tenerum; sp10= paracaryum bungei; sp11= paracaryum salsum; sp12= paracaryum intermedium. assessment of genetic variation of genus paracaryum 33 table 1. voucher details of paracaryum species in this study from iran. no sp. locality latitude longitude altitude (m) sp1 paracaryum cyclhymenium (boiss.) h. riedl tehran, damavand semnan, 20 km nw of shahrud 38 ˚ 52'37̎ 47 ˚ 23' 92̎ 1144 sp2 paracaryum persicum (boiss.) boiss. subsp. persicum kermanshah, islamabad tehran, road of firozkuh 32°50̍ʹ03ʺ 51°24ʹ28ʺ 1990 sp3 paracaryum platycalyx riedl fars, 7km from evaj to lar 29◦20ʹ07̎ʺ 51° 52ʹ08ʺ 1610 sp4 paracaryum rugulosum (dc.) boiss. hamedan, 20 km s of nahavand azarbaiejan, 48 km from tabriz to marand 38 ˚ 52'373 47 ˚ 23' 92̎ 2234 sp5 paracaryum sintenisii hausskn. ex bornm. azarbaiejan, kaleiybar, arasbaran 33° 57ʹ12ʺ 47° 57ʹ32ʺ 2500 sp6 paracaryum strictum (c. koch) boiss. azarbaiejan, arasbaran hamedan, 20 km s of nahavand 34 ˚ 52'373 48 ˚ 23' 92̎ 2200 sp7 paracaryum undulatum boiss. kordestan, sanandaj hamedan, alvand 38 ˚ 52'373 47 ˚ 23' 92̎ 1144 sp8 paracaryum hirsutum (dc.) boiss. kermanshah, islamabad 35°50ʹ03ʺ 51°24ʹ28ʺ 1700 sp9 paracaryum tenerum kordestan, sanandaj 36°14ʹ14ʺ 51°18ʹ07ʺ 1807 sp10 paracaryum bungei (boiss.) khatamsaz ardestan, taleghan; bandar-abbas; esfahan, ghamishleh, protected area, kooh dojdoon 32◦36ʹ93ʺ 51°27ʹ90ʺ 2500 sp11 paracaryum salsum (boiss.) h.h. hilger & d. podlech tehran, shahrud –bastan; turan 37°07ʹ02ʺ 49°44ʹ32ʺ 48 sp12 paracaryum intermedium (fresen.) hilger & podl. khorassan, kashmar-darvaneh hormozgan, bandar-abbas; 28◦57ʹ22ʺ 51°28ʹ31ʺ 430 morphological studies one to twelve samples from each species were used for morphometric analysis. in total 14 morphological (10 qualitative, 4 quantitative) characters were studied. data obtained were standardized (mean= 0, variance = 1) and used to estimate euclidean distance for clustering and ordination analyses (podani, 2000). calyx length, calyx width, corolla length, corolla shape, corolla colour, faucal appendages, nutlet shape, nutlet length, nutlet surface ornamentation, stamens position, style position, nutlet margin and disc, and sepal indumenta. dna extraction and rapd assay fresh leaves were used randomly from one to twelve plants in each of the studied populations. these were dried with silica gel powder. to obtain genomic dna, the ctab-activated charcoal protocol was used abeshu & zewdu (2020). the quality of extracted dna was examined by running on 0.8% agarose gel. a total of 25 decamer rapd primers of operon technology (alameda, canada) belonging to opa, opb, opc, and opd sets were used. among them, ten primers with clear, enlarged, and rich polymorphism bands were chosen (table 2). 34 shen and esfandani-bozchaloyi data analyses morphological studies morphological characters (mean = 0, variance = 1) were first standardized and used to determine the euclidean distance between taxa pairs (podani, 2000). the ordination methods of upgma (unweighted paired group using average) were used for grouping the plant specimens (podani, 2000). to demonstrate morphological variation between populations. molecular analyses the obtained rapd bands were coded as binary characters (presence = 1, absence = 0) and used for the study of genetic diversity. using two parameters, polymorphism information content (pic) and marker index (mi), the discriminatory capacity of the primers used was evaluated to characterise the ability of each primer to detect polymorphic loci among the genotypes. results and discussion species identification and interrelationship morphometry: anova showed substantial differences (p <0.01) between the studied species in quantitative morphological characteristics. pca analysis was conducted to determine the most variable characters among the taxa analysed. it showed that over 80 % of the overall variance was composed of the first three variables. characters such as nutlet shape, nutlet length, nutlet surface ornamentation, stamens position, and style position have shown the highest association (>0.7) in the first pca axis with 58 per cent of the total variance. characters affecting pca axis 2 and 3 respectively were calyx length, calyx width, corolla length, corolla shape, and corolla colour. different clustering and ordination methods produced similar results, and therefore, pca plots of morphological characters are presented here (fig. 2). plant samples of each species were typically grouped and separate groups were formed. this finding indicates that the studied species belong to different groups based on their quantitative and qualitative morphological features. we did not find intermediate forms in the studied specimens. fig. 2. electrophoresis gel of studied ecotypes from dna fragments produced by opd-02 and opa-06. sp1= p. cyclhymenium; sp2= p. persicum; sp3= p. platycalyx; sp4= p. rugulosum; sp5= p. sintenisii; sp6= p. strictum; sp7= p. undulatum; sp8= p. hirsutum; sp9= p. tenerum; sp10: p. bungei; sp11= p. salsum; sp12= p. intermedium. assessment of genetic variation of genus paracaryum 35 species identification and genetic diversity to study genetic relationships among paracaryum species, ten rapd primers were screened. all the primers generated reproducible polymorphic bands in all 12 paracaryum species. figure 3 shows an image of the amplification of the rapd created by the opd-02 and opa-06 primer. in total, 114 amplified polymorphic bands were formed across 12 species of paracaryum. the size of the amplified fragments ranged from 100 to 3000 bp. the highest and lowest number of polymorphic bands was 15 for opc-04, opd-05 and 7 for opa-06, with an average of 11.4 polymorphic bands per primer. the pic of the 10 rapd primers ranged from 0.34 (opd-03) to 0.56 (opa-05) with an average of 0.49 per primer. mi of the primers ranged from 3.33 (opd011) to 5.66 (opc-04) with an average of 4.5 per primer. emr of the rapd primers ranged from 8.23 (opc-04) to 12.55 (opb-01) with an average of 11.08 per primer (table 2). the primers with high emr values were considered to be more informative in distinguishing the genotypes. table 2. rapd primers used for this study and the extent of polymorphism. primer name primer sequence (5’-3’) tnb npb ppb pic pi emr mi opa-05 5ʹ-aggggtcttg-3ʹ 14 14 100.00% 0.56 5.86 10.55 4.77 opa-06 5ʹ-ggtccctgac-3ʹ 10 7 86.99% 0.43 4.51 9.43 3.85 opb-01 5ʹ-gtttcgctcc-3ʹ 9 9 100.00% 0.54 5.34 12.55 4.44 opb-02 5ʹ-tgatccctgg-3ʹ 12 12 100.00% 0.47 4.18 9.56 3.65 opc-04 5'-ccgcatctac-3' 15 15 100.00% 0.55 5.23 8.23 5.66 opd-02 5ʹ-ggacccaacc-3ʹ 14 13 95.74% 0.47 4.66 8.56 4.67 opd-03 5ʹ-gtcgccgtca-3ʹ 15 12 92.31% 0.34 4.21 8.60 3.55 opd-05 5ʹ -tgagcggaca-3ʹ 13 13 100.00% 0.47 4.32 10.55 3.45 opd-08 5ʹ-gtgtgcccca-3ʹ 10 9 89.89% 0.53 5.56 9.34 4.11 opd-11 5ʹ-agcgccattg-3ʹ 11 11 100.00% 0.39 4.25 11.19 3.33 mean 12.8 11.4 96.78% 0.49 5.2 11.8 4.5 total 128 114 tnb the number of total bands, npb: the number of polymorphic bands, ppb (%): the percentage of polymorphic bands, pi: polymorphism index, emr, effective multiplex ratio; mi, marker index; pic, polymorphism information content for each of cbdp primers the genetic parameters were calculated for all the 12 paracaryum species amplified with rapd primers (table 3). unbiased expected heterozygosity (h) ranged from 0.12 (paracaryum bungei) to 0.34 (paracaryum persicum), with a mean of 0.19. a similar trend was observed for shannon’s information index (i), with the highest value of 0.35 observed in p. persicum and the lowest value of 0.11 observed in p. bungei with a mean of 0.29. the observed number of alleles (na) varied between 0.244 in p. hirsutum and 0.567 in p. intermedium. the effective number of alleles (ne) ranged from 1.011 (p. strictum) to 1.099 (p. persicum). amova test revealed substantial genetic variation (p = 0.01) among the studied species. it showed that 62% of the total variation was among species and 38% was within species (table 4). in addition, genetic differentiation of these species was demonstrated by significant nei’s gst (0.66, p = 0.001) and d_est values (0.348, p = 0.01). compared to within species, these results revealed a greater distribution of genetic diversity among paracaryum species. 36 shen and esfandani-bozchaloyi fig. 3. nj tree of rapd data revealing species delimitation in the paracaryum. table 3. genetic diversity parameters in the studied paracaryum species. sp n na ne i he uhe %p paracaryum cyclhymenium 5.000 0.455 1.077 0.277 0.34 0.22 55.05% p. persicum (boiss.) boiss. subsp. persicum 8.000 0.499 1.099 0.35 0.43 0.34 69.26% p.platycalyx 9.000 0.261 1.014 0.242 0.23 0.23 43.15% p. rugulosum 6.000 0.555 1.021 0.29 0.35 0.31 58.53% p. sintenisii 4.000 0.344 1.042 0.20 0.23 0.20 27.53% p. strictum 5.000 0.369 1.011 0.25 0.18 0.22 42.15% p. undulatum 9.000 0.261 1.014 0.242 0.33 0.23 43.15% p. hirsutum 6.000 0.244 1.032 0.26 0.23 0.18 55.53% p. tenerum 4.000 0.314 1.044 0.26 0.18 0.23 43.38% p. bungei 8.000 0.256 1.066 0.11 0.17 0.12 32.23% p. salsum 5.000 0.341 1.058 0.27 0.27 0.20 53.75% p. intermedium 3.000 0.567 1.062 0.29 0.224 0.213 44.73% n = number of samples, na= number of different alleles; ne = number of effective alleles, i= shannon’s information index, he = gene diversity, uhe = unbiased gene diversity, p%= percentage of polymorphism, populations. assessment of genetic variation of genus paracaryum 37 two major clusters were formed in the nj tree (fig. 3). the first major cluster contained two sub-clusters. five species namely, p. cyclhymenium, p. persicum, p. platycalyx, p. undulatum and p. hirsutum were separated from the rest of the species, joined the others with a great distance and comprised the first sub-cluster. the second sub-cluster comprised four species namely, p. rugulosum, p. sintenisii, p. strictum and p. tenerum. the second major cluster also comprised two sub-clusters: three species including p. bungei; p. salsum and p. intermedium were placed close to each other, while close genetic affinity between other species. relationships obtained from rapd data usually agree well with the relationship of species obtained from morphological data. this is supported by the parameters of amova and the genetic diversity previously presented. the species are genetically well differentiated from each other. the species are well distinguished from each other genetically. these findings show that rapd molecular markers can be used in the taxonomy of paracaryum species. table 4. analysis of molecular variance (amova) of the studied species. source df ss ms est. var. % φpt among pops 33 1801.364 59.789 13.154 62% 62% within pops 142 214.443 4.777 3.888 38% total 175 1955.777 16.060 100% df: degree of freedom; ss: sum of squared observations; ms: mean of squared observations; ev: estimated variance; φpt: proportion of the total genetic variance among individuals within an accession, (p < 0.001). nei’s genetic identity and the genetic distance were determined among the studied species. the results show the highest degree of genetic similarity (0.908) between p. cyclhymenium and p. persicum. the lowest degree of genetic similarity was shown between p. sintenisii and p. bungei (0.711). genetic diversity is a fundamental component of biodiversity and its conservation is essential for the long-term survival of any species in changing environments. genetic diversity is non randomly distributed among different populations and is influenced by various factors such as geography, breeding systems, dispersal mechanisms, life span etc. changes in environmental conditions often lead to variation in levels of genetic diversity among different populations, and under adverse circumstances, populations with low variability are generally considered less adapted (ma, et al., 2021a; 2021b; peng et al., 2021). most authors agree that genetic diversity is necessary to preserve the long-term evolutionary potential of a species (ren et al., 2021). experimental and field research has shown that habitat fragmentation and population decline have reduced the effective population size in the last decade. similarly, most geneticists regard population size as a significant factor in preserving genetic variation. in fragmented populations, it is more vulnerable because of the loss of allelic richness and increased population differentiation via genetic drift (decreases heterozygosity and subsequent allele fixation) and inbreeding depression (increases homozygosity within populations). awareness of genetic variability and diversity between and within different populations is therefore important for their conservation and management (esfandani-bozchaloyi et al., 2018a, 2018b, 2018c, 2017). in our study, data on the genetic diversity in the 12 taxa of paracaryum are given in detail for the first time. the aim of the present study was to find diagnostic features to separate species of paracaryum in iran. morphological characters are considered as a useful tool for the identification of the species, as indicated previously (akcin, 2008). also, fruits and seeds are known to be useful characters in the identification of cynoglossum creticum mill., c. officinale, c. montanum and c. glochidiatum (akcin, 2008). however, due to variation in seed coat and fruit surface, two types of tuberculate and granulate, and two subtypes of granulate-punctuate and granulate-tuberculate were recognized in these species. the reticulate type of seed coat and detailed subtypes of reticulate 38 shen and esfandani-bozchaloyi types were determined based on the ornamentation of the seed coats (akçin, 2008). in previous studies, the micro-morphology of seed and fruit was performed in several species and their importance in plant taxonomy was emphasized (hou et al., 2021; huang, et al., 2021; jia, et al., 2020; karasakal, et al., 2020a; 2020b; khayatnezhad and gholamin, 2020a; 2020b). morphological studies of the studied paracaryum species showed that both the quantitative (the anova test result) and qualitative characters are well distinguished from each other (the pca plot result). furthermore, pca analysis suggests that morphological characters, such as shape and size of leaves, size and indumenta of the calyx, corolla colour, corolla shape, wing and diameter of nutlets, the shape of nutlet and nutlet surface, may be used in the delimitation of species groups. quantitative and qualitative characters were accounted for this morphological discrepancy. paracaryum (mattiastrum) modestum is cited as an unresolved name in http://www.theplantlist.org. the generic distinction (at least in the iranian taxa) between paracaryum and mattiastrum (boiss.) brand is not clear-cut in some taxa. in the former, the margin of the nutlets is distinctly inrolled to form an aperture; whereas in mattiastrum the margin of the nutlet or wing is flat or slightly inrolled and the aperture is not evident. paracaryum modestum was transferred from paracaryum to mattiastrum. genetic structure and gene flow a primer's pic and mi characteristics assist in assessing its usefulness in the study of genetic diversity. sivaprakash et al. (2004) proposed that the ability to overcome genetic diversity by a marker technique could be more explicitly linked to the degree of polymorphism. in general, the pic value between zero and 0.25 indicates a very low genetic diversity among genotypes, a midlevel of genetic diversity between 0.25 and 0.50, and a value of 0.50 indicates a high level of genetic diversity, between 0.25 to 0.50 shows a mid-level of genetic diversity and value ≥0.50 indicates a high level of genetic diversity (khayatnezhad, and gholamin, 2021; guo et al., 2021; das et al., 2021; zhao et al., 2021). in this study, the rapd primers’ pic values ranged from 0.34 to 0.56, with a mean value of 0.49, indicating a moderate level ability of rapd primers in determining genetic diversity among the paracaryum species. somewhat comparable but low pic values have been reported with other markers like rapd and aflp in african plantain (karasakal et al., 2020a, 2020b, khayatnezhad and gholamin, 2020), issr and rapd in salvia species aflp in wheat and scot markers (hou et al., 2021, huang et al., 2021; varamesh et al., 2014; rajaei et al., 2020; fataei et al., 2013, 2014; sadigh et al., 2021). in cbdp markers were found to be more effective than scot markers about the average pic which was higher. in our analysis, the rapd markers were found to be successful in the estimating genetic diversity of paracaryum species in terms of average percentage polymorphism (96.78%), average pic value of rapd markers (0.49), average mi (4.5) and average emr of rapd markers (11.8). however, various marker methods have been found to have a different resolution of the genome regions and the number of loci that cover the whole genome for genetic diversity estimation (zheng et al., 2021, zhu et al., 2021; yin et al., 2021; si et al., 2020, wang et al., 2021; paul et al., 2021; wasana et al., 2021). according to chacón et al. (2016), the phylogenetic analyses based on sequences from three cpdna regions successfully resolved some major issues about the monophyly of the main tribes of boraginaceae and provided more detailed insights into the evolution of the cynoglosseae s.l. detailed taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of subtr. cynoglossinae are required to resolve this complex group (chacón et al., 2016). however, there is a whole range of segregate genera that have been proposed for cynoglossum and their phylogenetic relationships are not at all resolved. some of them may be monophyletic, but at present, all of them appear to be nested in cynoglossum based on chacón et al. (2016). http://www.theplantlist.org. assessment of genetic variation of genus paracaryum 39 omphalodes moench and cynoglossum, were retrieved as either poly or paraphyletic, showing that the morphological characters used in traditional taxonomic classifications are highly homoplasious (weigend et al. 2013). although the polytomies obtained in weigend et al. (2013) are here largely resolved, most nodes have remained unsupported, and lindelofia, mattiastrum, microparacaryum, paracaryum, pardoglossum, rindera, solenanthus and trachelanthus are retrieved as either para-, or polyphyletic and/or nested in cynoglossum s.str. as they also suggested in selvi et al. (2011). according to ahmad et al. (2021) srap marker’s genetic structure revealed that despite the existence of limited gene flow, two distinct ecotypes were produced which may be the consequences of reproductive isolation caused by altitudinal gradient and different niches through parapatric speciation. the heterozygosity (h) and shannon index (i) reflect diversity and differentiation among and within the germplasm collections, respectively and the higher the indices, the greater the genetic diversity. the degree of variability among na, ne, h and i indices using studied rapd markers demonstrated a high level of genetic diversity among and within paracaryum species. in conclusion, the findings of this study showed that the primers derived from rapd were more effective than the other molecular markers in assessing the genetic diversity of the paracaryum. in addition, the paracaryum species in the dendrogram and pca were clearly distinguished from each other, suggesting the greater efficiency of the rapd technique in the identification of the genus. acknowledgement the authors thank anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on an earlier draft. compliance with ethical standards conflict of interest the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. references akcin, o.e. 2008. seed coat and fruit surface micro-morphology of some cynoglossum l. 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(manuscript received on 18 july, 2021; revised on 01 june, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 155-169, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54215 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists genetic diversity, heritability and genetic advance of solanum melongena l. from three secondary centers of diversity debi rani datta1,3, m.y. rafii1,2, azizah misran2, mashitah jusoh2, oladosu yusuff1, nadzirah m. sulaiman1and jalloh momodu2,4 institute of tropical agriculture and food security, universiti putra malaysia, 43400 serdang, selangor, malaysia keywords: genetic diversity; heritability and genetic advance; pcv and gcv. abstract indo-birmanian is considered as the domesticated region and primary center of eggplant diversity from where it spread to other secondary centers of diversity. in this study, the genetic diversity among 56 eggplant genotypes from three secondary centers of diversity (bangladesh, malaysia and thailand) was assessed using 11 morphological traits. the experiment was laid in a complete randomized block design with three replications. a wide significant variation was observed for all the morphological traits, and highly significant differences among the three centers of diversity. high heritability and genetic advance was found for different traits i.e. fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit girth, fruit length to width ratio, average fruit weight, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield per plant, plant height and number of primary branches per plant. the selected best traits i.e. number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight and fruit yield per plant showed high heritability along with high genetic advance and less environmental influence but the high value of pcv and gcv. so these traits could be useful for selection criteria in the future breeding program. these results are relevant for evolutionary studies, breeding programs, and management of eggplant genetic resources. introduction eggplant (solanum melongena l.) is an important vegetable crop belonging to the solanaceae family. it is also known as brinjal, aubergine or guinea squash that are widely cultivated in the tropics, subtropics and temperate regions. the eggplant name is obtained from egg-shaped fruit of some cultivars (akhter et al., 2012). it is a perennial crop but commercially cultivated as an annual vegetable crop for its immature, unripe fruits which are used in making various types of cooked curries. it has high nutritive value, high market demand and the most cost-effective and profitable among other vegetables. it is also known as the “king of vegetables” for its versatility use in indian food (dhaka et al., 2017). some ayurvedic properties also appear in eggplant and it is helpful for diabetic patients (fraikue, 2018). it acts as an excellent medicine for those who suffer from liver trouble (akhter et al., 2012). in spite of the nutritional and economic importance of eggplant, there are limited studies on eggplant breeding program (daunay, 2008). for addressing breeding challenges and improvement of eggplant, the use of wide and exotic germplasm has been extensively adopted (muñoz-falcon et al., 2009) and a significant reduction 1laboratory of climate–smart food crop production, institute of tropical agriculture and food security, universiti putra malaysia, 43400 serdang, selangor, malaysia. 2dept. of crop science, faculty of agriculture, universiti putra malaysia, 43400 serdang, selangor, malaysia. 3bangladesh agricultural research institute, gazipur, dhaka, bangladesh. 4sierra leone agricultural research institute, p.mb.1313, tower hill, freetown, sierra leone. *corresponding author. e-mail: mrafii@upm.edu.my https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54215 mailto:mrafii@upm.edu.my 156 datta et al. in genetic diversity of modern black eggplants cultivars was reported. however, this reduction can be overcome by incorporating black fruit traits from genetically distant materials into the genetic background of elite cultivars thereby increasing the genetic base of this cultivar (rodriguezburruezo et al., 2008). assessment of relationship and diversity of the cultivated genotype helps in the understanding crop evolution, establishment of conservation strategies and utilization of genetic resources. the evolution and domestication of eggplant has been studied using molecular, morphological and historical analyses. eggplant was generally believed to be domesticated in southeast asia from solanum incanum l. the wild relative of commercial cultivar. this hypothesis was supported by molecular, morphological and fertility of f1 hybrids crossed with solanum melongena (muñoz-falcòn et al., 2009). although it is unknown how s. incanum reached in the indo-birmanian center of diversity which is naturally distributed in the middle east and africa. it has been speculated that the dispersal can be intentionally or unintentionally through oceanic current from africa to india (lester and hasan, 1991). as in the case of tomato, domestication outside the area where is the wild ancestor are naturally distributed resulted in an important genetic constriction (daunay, 2008). dispersal of the eggplant from indo-birmanian region which is considered as the primary center of diversity to other regions resulted in the crop diversification due to micro-evolutionary forces such as artificial and natural selection, gene flow, recombination, and mutation has led to the accumulations of genetic variability in numerous secondary centers of diversity (hurtado et al., 2012). therefore, assessment of genetic diversity of distant geographically centers of diversity will assist in understanding the structure of eggplant genetic variability, crop improvement and conservation of genetic resources. similar studies have been performed on several crops such as sorghum (strelchenko et al., 2010), oil palm (myint et al., 2019) and rice (sarif et al., 2020). morphological characterization has proven useful in studying the relationship and diversity of different varieties of eggplant. characterization using agronomic traits is essential in crop improvement breeding programs. the morphological characterization for eggplant has been define by the european eggplant genetic resources network (eggnet) (vander weerden and barendse, 2006) which have been validated and used in characterization of eggplant breeding materials in numerous studies (muñoz-falcòn et al., 2009; rodriguez-burruezo et al., 2008; sulaiman et al., 2020). morphological diversity is the first issue of description and discrimination of genetic resources (smith and smith, 1989; shrestha, 2013). low genetic diversity was reported, among the dark purple to black color eggplant fruits (muñoz-falcòn et al., 2009; boyaci et al., 2015). hence, creation of variation through mutation, hybridization and approaches of biotechnology is a high-priced and time dependent method (boyaci et al., 2015). so, it is necessary to characterize collected germplasm (populations) to identify lines suited for new variety development (boyaci et al., 2015). genetic diversity studies based on quantitative traits are of interest to plant breeders as such traits can be rapidly and easily scored using low cost methods (myint et al., 2019). for this method, no sophisticated equipment is required and the data can be easily recorded without specific biochemical or molecular techniques. heritability is defined as the proportion of the total variation in a given phenotypes within a population that is attributable to genetic variance. the genetic makeup of a plant and the surrounding environment regulate the phenotypic expression of the plant trait (pujer et al., 2017). consequently, the magnitude of variability available in some main profitable characters and their heritability together with genetic advances will be fruitful to the breeders for selecting effectively and constructing sound breeding programs. knowledge regarding heritability assists plant breeders to forecast the nature of the progeny, to create a proper selection and to evaluate the expansion of genetic advancement through selection (khatun et al., 2010). development of superior yielding genotypes not only depends on yield trait but also influenced by many other characters because genetic diversity, heritability and genetic advance of solanum melongena 157 yield is a complex character. the interrelation between yield and yield attributing traits can be determined by correlation coefficient which provides information on nature, extent and selection direction. knowledge on genetic parameters is also important for improvement in crops. the objective of this research was to identify and classify variations among eggplant accessions from three different centres of diversity. these results will be relevant for evolutionary studies, breeding programs, management and conservation of eggplant genetic resources. materials and methods experiment location, design and plant materials `this experiment was done from mid-july to mid-december, 2018 at ladang 15, faculty of pertanian in universiti putra malaysia. this place located geographically between 2°59`north latitude to 101°43`east latitude, with 55 m altitude. the randomized complete block design (rcbd) along with three replications was followed. fifty-six eggplant genotypes seed (table 1) collected from bangladesh, malaysia and thailand were used in this study. eggplant genotypes, seedlings, transplantation and their management seeds were placed on a tray for germination which filled with peat moss soil. each tray containing 104 holes and 1-2 seeds were sown per hole. twenty one days old seedlings were transferred from tray to polybag and kept in net house until transplanting in the field. the polybags were filled with soil and peat moss at 2:1 ratio. forty-five days old seedlings were transplanted in the field. just one seedling was transplanted in each hole. seedlings were transplanted at a distance of 60 cm from plant to plant and 80 cm from row to row. ten seedlings were transplanted per accession per replication. all recommended cultural practices were followed as per package of practices to raise a healthy crop. data collection data were collected from randomly selected three plants of each genotype in every replication for plant height, primary branches per plant, fruit length, fruit diameter, fruit girth, fruit length to width ratio, days to first flowering, days to 50 percent flowering, individual fruit weight, number of fruits per plant and average yield per plant. all of these traits were measured from all accessions at each of replications, as shown in table 2. fruits were harvested at proper maturity stage. maturity stage was determined by firmness and external glossiness of fruits. all data were taken according to eggplant descriptor of international board for plant genetic resources (ibpgr, italy). data analyses all the morphological traits were subjected to analysis of variance (anova) using sas 9.4 software. least significant difference (lsd) was used for mean comparison at 5% level of significance. reml (restricted maximum likelihood) of proc varcomp in sas 9.4 was used to estimate variance components. proc corr of sas command was used to determine simple phenotypic correlation analysis. ntsys-pc software (version 2.1) was used for clustering (upgma) and principal component analysis (pca) to analyze diversity. the different genetic parameters such as phenotypic coefficient of variation, genotypic coefficient of variation, broad-sense heritability and genetic advance as a percentage of the mean (gam), were estimated using the formula given by myint et al. (2019) and pujer et al. (2017). 158 datta et al. table 1. list of selected eggplant genotypes. sl.no. accession code source code collection country 1 bb1 china 3 bangladesh 2 bb3 muktajhuri bangladesh 3 bb4 muktakeshi bangladesh 4 bb5 chinese macra bangladesh 5 bb6 bari eggplant 2 bangladesh 6 bb7 tal begun bangladesh 7 bb8 pahuja seed co. bangladesh 8 bb9 pahuja seed co. bangladesh 9 bb10 laskar seed bangladesh 10 bb11 singhnath bangladesh 11 bb12 bari eggplant1 bangladesh 12 bb13 bari eggplant4 bangladesh 13 bb14 bari eggplant5 bangladesh 14 bb15 bari eggplant6 bangladesh 15 bb16 bari eggplant7 bangladesh 16 bb17 bari eggplant8 bangladesh 17 bb18 bari eggplant9 bangladesh 18 bb19 bari eggplant10 bangladesh 19 bb20 220 bangladesh 20 bb21 217 bangladesh 21 bb22 253 bangladesh 22 bb23 222 bangladesh 23 bb24 275 bangladesh 24 bb26 288 bangladesh 25 bb27 291 bangladesh 26 bb28 311 bangladesh 27 bb30 330 bangladesh 28 bb31 338 bangladesh 29 bb32 317 bangladesh 30 bb33 346 bangladesh 31 bb34 350 bangladesh 32 bb35 262 bangladesh 33 bb36 357 bangladesh 34 bm3 214, mini eggplant malaysia 35 bm4 311, round purple malaysia 36 bm5 330,white eggplant malaysia 37 bm6 418, purple king malaysia 38 bm7 428, nyonya eggplant malaysia 39 bm8 313, little nyonya malaysia 40 bm9 312, super naga malaysia 41 bm10 mte2 malaysia 42 bt1 636/2559 thailand 43 bt2 01387/2552 thailand 44 bt3 1845/2338 thailand 45 bt4 00558/2551 thailand 46 bt5 parquy thailand 47 bt6 969/2560 thailand 48 bt7 01451/2551 thailand 49 bt8 914/2558 thailand 50 bt9 01450/2551 thailand 51 bt10 01166/2551 thailand 52 bt11 762/2556 thailand 53 bt13 1745/2560 thailand 54 bt15 548/2558 thailand 55 bt16 01200/2553 thailand 56 bt17 548/2556 thailand note: bb: brinjal bangladesh, bm: brinjal malaysia, bt: brinjal thailand. genetic diversity, heritability and genetic advance of solanum melongena 159 table 2. list of eleven quantitative characters of eggplants. traits method of evaluation fruit length (fl, cm) the average length of 10 marketable fruits per plant from top to bottom was taken fruit diameter (fd, cm) fruit length to width ratio (flwr, ratio) fruit length to width ratio (flwr) measured along the middle part of 10 harvestable fruit per plant by caliper and finally, the average value was converted into cm the value of fruit diameter was divided by the value of fruit length of individual the value of fruit diameter was divided by the value of fruit length of individual plant fruit girth (fg, cm) measured along the middle part of 10 harvestable fruit per plant by measuring tape and finally, the average value was taken fruit length to width ratio (flwr, ratio) the value of fruit diameter was divided by the value of fruit length of individual average fruit weight ( fw, g) the average weight of 10 harvestable fruit per plant was taken number of fruits per plant (nf, no) total number of fruits harvested from individual plant average yield per plant (ypp, g) total fruits harvested from each selected plant in each replication & each harvest was weighted and summed up days to first flowering (df, days) days from transplanting to the first flowering of every plant of each accession was recorded days to fifty percent flowering (dff, days) days from transplanting to the first flowering of fifty percent plant of every genotype were recorded plant height (ph, cm) length of the main stem from the ground to tip of the stem was measured at 90 days after transplanting (das) number of primary branches (pb, no) number of primary branches of the selected plant was recorded at 90 das these traits include the following formulas: a) phenotypic coefficient of variation (pcv) pcv (%) = ඥ஢ మ୮ ௑ത × 100 here, phenotypic variance i.e. σ2p and x is the mean of a specific trait b) genotypic coefficient of variation (gcv), gcv (%) = ඥ஢ మ௚ ௑ത × 100 here, σ2g is genotypic variance and x is expressed as a mean of a specific trait. pcv and gcv were grouped into as low (0-10%), medium (10-20%) and high (> 20%) by sivasubramanian and menon (1973). c) heritability in broad sense (hb 2), hb 2 = ఙ మ௚ ఙమ௣ × 100 the heritability value was grouped into three categories i.e. low (0 to 30%), moderate heritability from (30 to 60%) and high means (≥ 60%) as given by burton and de vane (1953). 160 datta et al. d) genetic advance of mean (gam), gam (%) = hb 2 × ඥఙ మ௣ ௑ത × k where k is constant (2.06 at 5% selection intensity), x is the mean of a specific trait. it is divided into low (i.e. 0 to 10%) moderate from (10 to 20%) and high value (≥ 20%) (johnson et al., 1955). results and discussion morphological traits all quantitative characters of this research showed a highly significant difference (p ≤ 0.01) among the accessions, countries, and accessions within countries (table 3a-b) except days to first flowering. this result indicates that a significant amount of genetic variation present among accessions, countries, and accessions within countries. the trait days to first flowering showed no significant effect among countries. there was no significant difference in genetic variation among replication except the traits days to fifty percent flowering, number of primary branches per plant and plant height. the mean performance of 56 accessions for different quantitative traits is presented in (table 5).the yield per plant ranged from 127.18 (bb9) to 1545.83 g (bb6). the number of fruits per plant ranged from 0.89 to 47 which were recorded by bb32 and bt15 accessions respectively (table 5). the accession bt6 recorded the lowest fruit weight (7.52 g) while the accession bb15 gave the highest fruit weight (261.20 g). the average weight of fruit in this study was to be 108.29g. table 3a. mean squares of analysis of variance among 56 accessions of eggplant. sov df fl fd fg fw flwr ypp replications (r) 2 1ns 0.04ns 0.41ns 88.08ns 7.94ns 978.43ns accessions (a) 55 70.88** 7.61** 78.19** 11768.5** 139.08** 414451** countries (c) (2) 711.83** 10.87** 109.58** 81393.40** 84.64** 767384.3** [a/c] (53) 46.7** 7.49** 77** 9141.13** 141.13** 401132** error 110 0.92 0.1 1.13 79.22 5.85 2786.81 σ2a 23.32 2.5 25.69 3896.4 44.41 137232 σ2e 0.92 0.1 1.11 79.22 5.85 2754.5 *significant at 0.05, **highly significant at 0.01 and ns= non-significant, sov: sources of variation, fl: fruit length, fd: fruit diameter, fg: fruit girth, flwr: fruit length to width ratio, fw: average fruit weight, ypp: yield per plant, df= degrees of freedom, σ2a= accession variance, σ2e = error variance, [a/c] = accession within countries, estimation of genetic variations the phenotypic variances (σ2p) for all characters were greater than the genotypic variances (σ2g) (table 4). similarly, the pcv (phenotypic coefficient of variation) was also higher than the gcv (genotypic coefficient of variation). the phenotypic coefficient of variation (pcv) and genotypic coefficient of variation (gcv) estimation ranged from 8.55-113.98% and 7.91-110.85 % respectively. the highest pcv was observedfor trait fruit length to width ratio (113.98%) and followed by number of fruits per plant (111.43%) and fruit yield per plant (68.19%). similarly, the maximum gcv was observed for traits number of fruits per plant (110.85%) and followed by the trait fruit length to width ratio (107.14%) and fruit yield per plant (67.51%). the pcv and gcv genetic diversity, heritability and genetic advance of solanum melongena 161 were lowest for days to fifty percent flowering which was 8.55% and 7.91% respectively (table 4). table 3b. mean squares of analysis of variance among 56 accessions of eggplant. sov df pb df dff nf ph replications (r) 2 1.79** 16.79ns 34.47** 0.05ns 76.06* accessions (a) 55 4.95** 144.91** 127.60** 253.63** 615.71** countries (c) (2) 7.23** 13.66ns 123.93** 1195.74** 2027.92** [a/c] (53) 4.86** 149.86** 127.74** 218.07** 562.42** error 110 0.16 6.15 6.74 0.9 16.7 σ2a 1.6 46.25 40.29 84.25 199.67 σ2e 0.16 6.15 6.75 0.89 16.7 *significant at 0.05, **highly significant at 0.01 and ns= non-significant, sov: sources of variation, pb: number of primary branches per plant, df: days to first flowering, dff: days to fifty percent of flowering, nf: number of fruits per plant, ph: plant height, df= degrees of freedom, σ2a= accession variance, σ2e = error variance, [a/c] = accession within countries. table 4. estimated value of genetic parameters of different accessions of eggplant. traits σ2g (%) σ2p (%) hb 2 (%) pcv (%) gcv (%) gam (%) fl 23.32 24.24 96.20 37.88 37.14 75.05 fd 2.50 2.60 96.23 52.21 51.22 103.49 fg 25.69 26.81 95.84 52.24 51.15 103.15 fw 3896.07 3975.26 98.01 58.50 57.92 118.11 flwr 44.41 50.26 88.37 113.98 107.14 207.48 ypp 137230.6 140013.7 98.03 68.19 67.51 137.71 pb 1.60 1.75 91.10 23.65 22.58 44.39 df 46.25 52.40 88.27 9.68 9.09 17.59 dff 40.22 47.12 85.66 8.55 7.91 15.08 nf 84.24 85.14 98.96 111.43 110.85 227.16 ph 199.70 216.41 92.28 19.60 18.83 37.26 pcv: phenotypic coefficient of variation, gcv: genotypic coefficient of variation, gam: genetic advance of mean, σ2p= phenotypic variance, σ2g= genotypic variance, hb2= heritability, fl: fruit length, fd: fruit diameter, fg: fruit girth, flwr: fruit length to width ratio, fw: average fruit weight, ypp: yield per plant, pb: number of primary branches per plant, df: days to first flowering, dff: days to fifty percent of flowering, nf: number of fruits per plant, ph: plant height. heritability and genetic advance estimation of heritability (hb 2) and genetic advance are presented in table 4. heritability and gam values ranged between 85.66-98.96% and 15.08-227.16% respectively. estimates of heritability were high (> 60.00%) for all the traits. the estimates of gam were also high for most of the traits except the traits days to first flowering and days to fifty percent flowering. these two traits showed moderate value of gam. pcv and gcv are also important tools for the selection of 162 datta et al. table 5. mean performance of 56 eggplant accessions concerning quantitative characters. accession name fl fd fg fw flwr (ratio) ypp pb df dff nf ph (cm) (cm) (cm) (g) (g) (no) (days) (days) (no) (cm) bb1 10.87 5.85 18.47 121.08 1.85 337.94 4.33 80.00 83.67 2.22 64.67 bb3 15.42 1.52 4.70 72.36 10.29 1395.10 6.89 69.00 78.00 20.33 86.22 bb4 12.63 3.32 10.84 130.72 3.80 343.12 6.11 81.00 84.33 1.67 76.44 bb5 14.18 6.28 19.96 224.27 2.26 859.75 6.89 74.33 77.33 4.45 87.00 bb6 12.17 3.60 11.65 154.21 3.40 1545.80 6.56 70.67 74.00 8.55 87.44 bb7 10.44 4.32 14.22 64.56 2.42 250.89 5.22 61.33 65.67 2.56 69.67 bb8 18.23 2.68 8.59 122.55 6.86 767.83 4.33 80.33 81.33 9.55 84.89 bb9 12.81 0.82 2.52 44.22 15.70 127.18 4.22 71.33 75.33 3.11 45.11 bb10 15.82 3.59 11.93 138.69 4.45 437.48 7.11 75.76 80.00 1.78 82.22 bb11 17.88 0.38 1.71 64.34 47.41 661.54 6.00 83.33 89.00 8.44 109.22 bb12 11.75 2.22 6.31 53.38 5.31 1418.30 7.67 63.33 74.00 27.67 86.56 bb13 14.30 1.78 5.74 79.83 8.07 918.81 6.56 68.67 75.67 12.00 68.28 bb14 8.82 3.50 11.15 54.22 2.54 166.58 5.22 59.33 64.00 2.33 77.89 bb15 11.93 6.51 20.50 261.20 1.84 1239.70 6.22 84.00 82.67 6.33 83.89 bb16 20.04 1.50 4.80 92.95 13.50 272.91 5.56 73.00 82.00 5.22 102.56 bb17 18.20 2.07 6.19 37.13 8.84 192.57 6.33 90.67 93.33 4.00 74.78 bb18 10.44 4.13 13.16 116.89 2.55 898.15 6.56 76.67 78.67 8.33 70.33 bb19 25.65 2.26 7.26 157.63 11.38 539.23 6.44 78.33 81.33 4.56 89.89 bb20 17.76 4.51 14.54 250.78 3.94 1240.30 6.56 71.67 78.00 13.11 85.22 bb21 10.45 2.53 7.98 82.11 4.17 244.70 4.44 65.33 71.67 3.11 46.72 bb22 17.58 4.96 16.23 234.32 3.54 1215.80 6.67 80.67 86.33 5.22 87.33 bb23 15.01 2.37 7.62 229.38 6.42 405.39 4.67 71.00 74.67 3.44 58.00 bb24 11.55 3.47 10.85 118.40 3.34 138.05 5.11 77.00 79.00 1.22 75.78 bb26 19.17 3.54 11.48 118.72 5.42 1043.20 6.56 67.33 72.67 10.00 91.11 bb27 14.03 5.05 16.48 140.28 2.77 172.50 4.22 87.00 90.00 1.33 65.00 bb28 14.17 3.62 11.52 158.24 3.94 267.44 6.56 77.67 81.67 1.22 77.94 bb30 10.04 3.81 12.43 89.89 2.64 744.29 3.89 79.67 86.33 7.11 57.83 bb31 10.87 5.59 17.81 149.29 1.98 455.13 5.22 67.00 74.33 2.67 75.22 bb32 10.80 5.75 18.79 129.35 1.88 168.73 3.89 73.33 78.33 0.89 66.44 bb33 14.36 0.76 2.26 64.15 20.04 295.12 5.11 77.00 80.00 3.55 99.89 bb34 15.72 2.03 6.54 105.10 7.80 223.14 5.22 71.33 74.00 3.55 73.94 bb35 9.93 1.81 5.81 58.76 5.51 184.49 3.22 78.33 84.33 4.78 71.55 bb36 13.34 4.41 13.87 168.89 3.04 799.23 5.78 79.00 83.67 5.89 81.17 bm3 13.78 1.69 5.81 97.19 8.25 558.68 4.45 75.67 80.67 9.89 76.66 bm4 13.86 3.86 12.22 175.93 3.63 759.79 5.11 62.00 71.67 6.33 85.67 bm5 17.67 2.38 7.45 139.75 7.49 1036.70 4.00 67.67 76.33 7.11 73.78 bm6 21.33 2.60 8.35 182.15 8.33 227.69 5.33 83.00 89.00 2.00 105.66 bm7 21.62 3.54 11.42 126.93 6.15 403.95 5.89 81.33 91.00 2.67 79.56 bm8 16.71 2.48 7.83 78.36 6.78 761.95 5.33 69.00 75.00 8.89 83.89 bm9 18.27 2.42 7.54 126.32 7.85 685.33 4.56 76.00 78.67 5.67 65.22 bm10 11.84 5.86 19.62 170.67 1.96 460.81 5.00 79.00 84.67 3.33 65.89 bt1 10.81 4.53 14.49 135.04 2.40 214.62 3.22 75.00 81.33 2.00 67.56 bt2 5.02 1.48 5.13 12.06 3.39 687.39 9.00 76.00 80.00 47.00 70.33 bt3 12.13 1.53 5.13 66.76 8.04 369.90 5.11 71.67 79.00 6.00 64.00 bt4 6.20 3.45 11.31 60.10 1.80 662.72 4.56 76.00 84.67 11.22 74.67 bt5 7.14 0.87 2.39 27.29 14.70 266.69 5.22 63.33 71.00 15.67 59.89 genetic diversity, heritability and genetic advance of solanum melongena 163 table 5 contd. accession name fl fd fg fw flwr ypp pb df dff nf ph (cm) (cm) (cm) (g) (ratio) (g) (no) (days) (days) (no) (cm) bt6 5.19 1.88 5.78 7.52 2.76 188.15 8.89 82.33 96.00 15.44 60.22 bt7 4.42 0.62 2.09 10.54 7.15 257.47 6.78 76.00 78.00 15.44 69.45 bt8 17.82 2.90 9.44 104.04 6.15 452.27 7.22 78.33 82.00 4.56 83.55 bt9 6.78 2.75 8.82 44.09 2.48 510.79 7.22 77.67 83.67 8.78 80.56 bt10 17.90 2.76 8.58 124.16 6.49 246.24 4.89 80.33 86.33 3.22 87.22 bt11 6.12 2.75 8.83 43.60 2.23 619.48 7.22 78.00 84.67 13.44 62.22 bt13 13.60 1.76 6.38 36.18 7.73 432.05 6.33 69.33 75.67 33.00 44.89 bt15 3.63 0.97 3.25 7.47 3.73 251.53 4.78 63.33 75.00 47.00 55.78 bt16 9.53 5.16 16.06 96.29 1.85 362.28 4.11 88.00 93.67 3.22 78.22 bt17 10.35 5.05 16.32 104.82 2.05 538.91 4.22 76.00 79.33 3.00 46.78 mean 13.18 3.10 9.96 108.29 6.29 552.24 5.60 74.81 80.23 8.44 75.03 lsd 1.55 0.51 1.77 14.40 3.91 85.42 0.64 4.01 4.20 1.54 6.61 note: fl: fruit length, fd: fruit diameter, fg: fruit girth, fw: average fruit weight, flwr: fruit length to width ratio, ypp: average yield per plant, pb: number of primary branches per plant, df: days to first flowering, dff: days to fifty percent of flowering, nf: number of fruits per plant, ph: plant height, lsd: least significant difference superior traits in breeding. all of the traits had high pcv and gcv except the traits days to first flowering and days to fifty percent of flowering. the highest gcv was recorded in the number of fruits per plant (110.85%) and the highest pcv was recorded from the trait fruit length to width ratio (113.98%). all traits assessed showed slightly higher pcv values compared to the corresponding gcv values. this means that there was little environmental influence on the expression of these traits. correlation coefficient simple correlation coefficients of phenotypic characters are shown in table 6. fruit yield per plant (ypp) is directly correlated with all the traits except days to the first flowering of the plant, days to fifty percent flowering of the plant and fruit length to width ratio. the correlation level of yield per plant with other traits ranged from 0.17 0.37. the highest correlation value (0.37) was observed from the correlation between average fruit weight and yield per plant. the second highest correlation (0.34) was between the numbers of primary branches per plant and yield per plant. table 6.phenotypic correlation coefficient among different traits with yield per plant traits rp with yield per plant (ypp) fl 0.20** fd 0.18* fg 0.17* fw 0.37** flwr -0.04ns pb 0.34** df -0.13ns dff -0.13ns nf 0.26** ph 0.33** note: *significant at 0.05. **significant at 0.01 and ns= non-significant, fl: fruit length, fd: fruit diameter, fg: fruit girth, fw: average fruit weight, flwr: fruit length to width ratio, ypp: average yield per plant, pb: number of primary branches per plant, df: days to first flowering, dff: days to fifty percent of flowering, nf: number of fruits per plant, ph: plant height, rp= phenotypic correlation. 164 datta et al. cluster analysis the euclidean distance was estimated by using standardized morphological data. an upgma (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean) dendrogram was constructed using the values of all morphological data for 56 eggplant genotypes. the genetic similarities varied from 0.92 to 7.97. seven main groups were determined among 56 genotypes at a value of 4.45 dissimilarity coefficient (fig. 1) based on multivariate analysis. the value 4.45 was chosen for the convenience of explanation. the maximum number of genotypes (36) was recorded for group i which consisted of 64.28 % of all genotypes in table 7. group ii contained 5 genotypes (table 7). group iii, iv, v, vi, and vii had 4, 4, 4, 2 and 1 accessions respectively (table 7). the highest yield per plant (1350.6 g) was observed in cluster iii (table 8). the highest average fruit weight was observed in cluster iv (242.64 g), in combination with a moderate number of fruits per plant (7.28). cluster vii was ranked third as it had moderate individual fruit weight (64.34 g) with a moderate number of fruits per plant (8.44). cluster vi took place fourth position due to its highest number of fruits per plant (39.00) but the lowest number of average fruit weight (24.12 g). cluster i and cluster ii had the lowest yield per plant 459.12 g and 353.69 g respectively due to their low average fruit weight (table 8). group i had 459.12 g yield per plant due to its secondbest average fruit weight (118.87 g) with the lowest number of fruits per plant (4.58). there was no obvious relation between the geographical area and grouping (table 7). genotypes from bangladesh, malaysia and thailand clustered into the same group i due to their genetic reflection. the other accessions were also divided into groups based on their similarity in genetic variation mindless of their geographical area (table 7). fig 1. cluster analysis of 56 eggplant genotypes based on quantitative traits. genetic diversity, heritability and genetic advance of solanum melongena 165 table 7. eggplant accessions clusters according to the group of origin. group bangladesh malaysia thailand i bb1, bb32, bb27, bb30, bb35, bb4, bb10, bb28, bb24, bb18, bb36, bb19, bb8, bb13, bb34, bb23, bb16, bb33, bb14, bb31, bb7 bm10, bm6, bm7, bm9, bm5, bm8, bm3, bm4 bt1, bt17, bt16, bt4, bt8, bt10, bt3, ii bb17 bt6, bt7, bt9, bt11 iii bb3, bb12, bb6, bb26, iv bb5, bb15, bb22, bb20 v bb9, bb21 bt5, bt15 vi bt2, bt13 vii bb11 note: bb: brinjal bangladesh, bm: brinjal malaysia, bt: brinjal thailand. table 8. clustering and means of their quantitative traits. cluster fl fd fg fw flwr ypp pb df dff nf ph i 14.08 3.38 10.65 118.87 5.40 459.12 4.97 75.33 80.45 4.58 75.78 ii 8.14 2.01 6.34 28.50 4.69 353.69 6.93 80.93 87.13 11.42 69.45 iii 14.63 2.72 8.54 99.67 6.11 1350.60 6.25 67.58 74.67 16.64 87.83 iv 15.36 5.57 17.81 242.64 2.90 1138.92 6.42 77.67 81.08 7.28 85.86 v 8.51 1.30 4.03 40.27 9.57 222.52 4.58 65.83 73.25 17.22 51.88 vi 4.31 1.22 5.76 24.12 5.56 559.72 8.00 72.67 77.84 39.00 57.61 vii 17.88 0.38 1.71 64.34 47.41 661.54 6.00 83.33 89.00 8.44 109.22 note: fl: fruit length, fd: fruit diameter, fg: fruit girth, fw: fruit weight, flwr: fruit length to width ratio, ypp: average yield per plant, pb: number of primary branches per plant, df: days to first flowering, dff: days to fifty percent of flowering, nf: number of fruits per plant, ph: plant height. principal component analysis (pca) the principal component analysis (pca) revealed that the first four components comprised 84.59% of total variation (table 9). the pc1, pc2, pc3 and pc4 showed 31.21, 52.94, 70.15 and 84.59% of the cumulative variation respectively, which were explained in the table 9 (eigenvector and eigenvalue analysis). in case of first principal component analysis, the most contributing traits were df (0.227), fl (0.234), fd (0.471), fg (0.47) and fw (0.458). but for pc2, the most important traits were flwr (0.477), ph (0.462), fl (0.433) dff (0.32) and df (0.314). this research showed huge variation for the studied traits. such considerable variation pointed out the scope for improving the characters concerning high yield. similar results were recorded by yadav et al. (2016) who reported significant variation in yield and yield-related traits of forty eggplant genotypes. analysis of genetic variation for quantitative characters is a precondition in plant breeding programs. from this study, it was found that all the traits showed a higher pcv value than the corresponding gcv value. slightly greater pcv from gcv was also obtained by mili et al. (2014) and rad et al. (2015). it indicates that the environmental influence on any trait is controlled by the enormity of the gap between the phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation; low difference indicates more prevalence of genetic influence. in contrast, large difference reveals a large environmental effect. from the study, all of the traits revealed little 166 datta et al. difference between them (pcv and gcv) indicated that the phenotypic expression of these traits had little environmental influence. it also indicates that the selection of these traits would hold effective for future hybridization. on the contrary, the high difference between pcv and gcv indicates the more environmental influence on the exposure of these traits. the high pcv and gcv was recorded for the traits fl, fd, fg, fw, flwr, nf, ypp, and pb also recorded by the pujer et al. (2017), mili et al. (2014), and rad et al. (2015). the lowest pcv and gcv were recorded for days to fifty percent flowering. this result is closely related with the findings of vandana et al. (2014) and mili et al. (2014). table 9. eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the first four principal components of eleven traits. variable pc1 pc2 pc3 pc4 eigen value 3.43 2.39 1.89 1.59 variation (%) 31.21 21.72 17.21 14.43 cumulative (%) 31.21 52.94 70.15 84.59 fl 0.234 0.433 0.156 0.288 fd 0.471 -0.261 0.036 0.106 fg 0.47 -0.262 0.033 0.106 fw 0.458 0.043 0.226 -0.101 flwr -0.187 0.477 -0.016 -0.247 ypp 0.105 0.064 0.586 0.204 pb -0.12 0.142 0.343 0.522 df 0.227 0.314 -0.396 0.389 dff 0.163 0.32 -0.402 0.438 nf -0.36 -0.085 0.237 0.407 ph 0.153 0.462 0.294 -0.028 note: fl: fruit length, fd: fruit diameter, fg: fruit girth, fw: average fruit weight, flwr: fruit length to width ratio, ypp: average yield per plant, pb: number of primary branches per plant, df: days to first flowering, dff: days to fifty percent of flowering, nf: number of fruits per plant, ph: plant height, pc1: first principal component, pc2: second principal component, pc3: third principal component, pc4: fourth principal component all the variables have high heritability. similar results reported by jirankali et al. (2019) and arunkumar et al. (2013). the gam was also high for fl, fd, fg, flwr, fw, nf, ypp, ph and pb that support to jirankali et al. (2019) and arunkumar et al. (2013). the moderate gam was recorded for df and dff. similar results found from the reporter vandana et al. (2014) and jirankali et al. (2019). the selection for improvement of any character broad-sense heritability and gam knowledge are important. the high heritability and high genetic advance percentage of the mean of the traits indicating, these characters mainly relied on genetic factors and can be acquired on the phenotypic perfection of these traits in crop improvement. so it is good for selection based on phenotypic traits to improve these specific characters. high heritability coupled with high gam is also reported by yadav et al. (2016), mili et al. (2014) and rad et al. (2015) in eggplant. correlation among different traits is very important for breeders because it helps to choose vital traits from the characters studied (chattopadhyay et al., 2011). most of the traits related to yield are controlled by genotype and environment interaction and hence it is easy to plant breeder to do selection based on correlation coefficient (sohrabi et al., 2012). the traits days to the first genetic diversity, heritability and genetic advance of solanum melongena 167 flowering of plants and days to fifty percent flowering showed a negative correlation with total fruit yield per plant. from here, we concluded that delay in first flowering and fifty percent flowering improved fruit yield per plant. fruit diameter and average fruit weight not only showed positively correlated with fruit yield per plant but also these traits are highly and positively significant with each other. similar results were found by rad et al. (2015). so selection based on any traits which are positively and significantly inter-related traits is good to get a desired interrelated response with other traits. the 56 genotypes grouped into seven clusters based on the characters of cluster analysis at a distant coefficient of 4.45 indicate diversity level among the genotypes. group vii, which has one genotype may have different genes as contrasted to others for regulating the characters. the diversity analysis of quantitative characters indicated the most similar accessions such as bb8 and bb4, bb10 and bb33 and bb15 and bb20 based on the distant coefficient, meaning that crossing among these accessions will not be useful. as these accessions have more or less same genetic makeup. however, cross between bb1× bt2, bt10 × bb11 and bb36 × bt6 will be useful, as these accessions were being most dispersive. genetic diversity among 35 genotypes based on d2 statistics grouped into 10 clusters reported by ravali et al. (2017). in this study, bb11 and bt2 for the individual group were distinguished from other accessions of other clusters that had a high genetic distance. hybridization between the accessions of those clusters could be made following the findings of tahir et al. (2013). the accessions of three different countries have the same genetic makeup and could be formed from the identical materials of breeding reported by tahir et al. (2013). the accessions of the same group had genetic similarity and those were distributed randomly in several clusters had diverse though they had identical geographic regions reported by balakrishna et al. (2017). the pca helps to explain how the similar genotypes group as compared to dissimilar genotypes. pca can clarify the results of cluster analysis. the output of pca supports the result of cluster analysis as for more precise and accurate data. strong differences exist among the 56 genotypes in this research and these were also confirmed by pca. four principal components pc1 to pc-4 were extracted from the original data analysis having eigen values more than one reported by kaiser (1960). the principal components of first four attributed to 85% of the variation of whole variation which indicates that a strong correlation exists among all parameters studied. the value of first pc which subscribed 31.21% of the variation alone is most important. the trait fruit diameter (fd) contributed more to variation followed by fruit girth (fg), fruit weight (fw) and fruit length (fl) had the highest loading on pc1 which indicating significant importance of these components. seventy entries of eggplant were studied by sunseri et al. (2010) for determination of genetic diversity using pca and denoted the first three components that attributed for 74% of the total variance which is more or less similar to these research findings (70.15 %). conclusions this research exhibited the presence of genetic diversity among the 56 eggplant genotypes. this study also showed the significant economic traits which are important for the advancement of eggplant research. the aforementioned traits also showed a high genetic advance as a percentage of mean indicating all of these traits could be useful to select suitable accessions for a remarkable advancement in the breeding program. based on yield performance, two groups, group iii and group iv were indicated as proposed groups. depending on the breeding objective, specific accessions would be identified from the core collection and would then be transplanted to the field, rather than maintaining the entire core collection in the field with the requirement to replant it every year. as a result, it will reduce maintenance costs in the field. 168 datta et al. acknowledgments the first author (drd) would like to express her gratitude to the bangabandhu science and technology fellowship to select her as a fellow to continue a ph.d. program at university putra malaysia (upm). the author also would like to express her gratitude to the upm specially institute of tropical agriculture and food security (itafos) for providing research facilities. she also thankful to the bangladesh agricultural research institute authority for approving deputation during her study period. conflicts of interest: authors have no conflict of interests regarding this publication. references akhter, m.s., ahamed, a. and hossain, m.m., 2012. agrobacteria mediated genetic transformation of eggplant (solanum melongena l.). inter. j. pharm. teaching & pract. 2: 275‒280. arunkumar, b., kumar, s.v. and prakash, j.c., 2013. genetic variability and divergence studies in brinjal (solanum melongena l.). bioinfolet-a quarterly journal of life sci. 10(2b): 739‒744. balakrishna, p., pinnamaneni, r., pavani, k.v. and mathur, r.k. 2017.genetic diversity in oil palm genotypes by multivariate analysis. int. j. curr. microbiol. app. sci. 6(8): 1180‒1189. boyaci, h.f., topcu, v., akin, t.e.p.e., yildirim, i.k., mehmet, o.t.e.n. and aktas, a., 2015. morphological and molecular characterization and relationships of turkish local eggplant heirlooms. notulae botanicae horti agrobotanici cluj-napoca, 43(1): 100‒107. burton, g.w. and devane, d.e., 1953. estimating heritability in tall fescue (festuca arundinacea) from replicated clonal material 1. agronomy j. 45(10): 478‒481. chattopadhyay, a., dutta, s. and hazra, p. 2011. characterization of genetic resources and identification of selection indices of brinjal (solanum melongena l.) grown in eastern india. vegetable crops res. bull. 74: 39‒49. daunay, m.c., 2008. eggplant. in: vegetables ii, springer, new york, ny. pp. 163‒220. dhaka, s.k., kaushik, r.a., jat, j. and choudhary, r., 2017. heterosis breeding in eggplant: a review. j. pharm. phytochem. 6: 181‒185. fraikue, f.b., 2018. review of historical, health benefts and uses of eggplants by humankind. asian j. management, 9(1): 471‒474. hurtado, m., vilanova, s., plazas, m., gramazio, p., fonseka, h.h., fonseka, r.and prohens, j., 2012. diversity and relationships of eggplants from three geographically distant secondary centers of diversity. plos one, 7(7): e41748. jirankali, j. p., reddy, n., gangaprasad, s. and manohara, s. n., 2019. genetic variability for quantitative and qualitative characters in brinjal (solanum melongena l.). int. j. curr. microbiol. app. sci. 8(3): 476-484. johnson, h.w., robinson, h.f. and comstock, r.e., 1955. estimates of genetic and environmental variability in soybeans 1. agronomy j. 47(7): 314‒318. kaiser, h.f., 1960. the application of electronic computers to factor analysis. educational and psychological measurement, 20(1): 141‒151. khatun, m. t., bari, m. a. a., zaman, m. a., begum, h. and akter, s., 2010. heterosis estimates in f2diallel population of spring wheat at two different cultural conditions. bangladesh j. agr. res. 35(3): 413‒422. lester, r.n. and hasan, s.m.z. 1991. origin and domestication of the eggplant (solanum melongena) from solanum incanum in africa and asia. solanaceae iii: taxonomy, chemistry-evolution. london: royal botanical gardens kew, pp. 369‒387. mili, c., bora, g.c., das, b.j. and paul, s.k. 2014.studies on variability, heritability and genetic advance in solanum melongena l. 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(manuscript received on 25 december, 2020; revised on 19 april, 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 209-214, 2018 (december) © 2018 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists inclusion of kickxia abhaica d.a. sutton in the genus nanorrhinum (plantaginaceae): evidence from its nuclear ribosomal dna sequences m. ajmal ali1 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia keywords: kickxia abhaica; antirrhineae; nanorrhinum abhaicum; its; nrdna; saudi arabia. abstract the nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) internal transcribed spacers (its) sequences is extensively used in the plant molecular phylogenetics for plant taxonomic identification and dna barcoding purposes because the nrdna its gene is easy to amplify by using the universal primers, its length is shorter and thus easy to sequence, and has strong discrimination power to distinguish the taxon at the species level. the present molecular phylogenetic analysis of its nrdna sequences focuses to determine the taxonomic status of an unresolved endemic taxon kickxia abhaica d.a. sutton (family plantaginaceae, tribe antirrhineae) reported from saudi arabia. the analysis supports the transfer of k. abhaica under the genus nanorrhinum. introduction the tribe antirrhineae which comprises ca. 30 genera (sutton, 1988) has undergone several taxonomic changes during last two decades. the genus kickxia dumort. (family plantaginaceae, tribe antirrhineae) comprises ca. 25 accepted species (apg iii, 2009). based on the mode of dehiscence of capsule, the genus kickxia has been divided into sections i.e. kickxia sect. kickxia and kickxia sect. valvatae (sutton, 1988). the sections kickxia sect. kickxia and kickxia sect. valvatae were raised to the rank of subgenera (smith, 1973). the species with valvate capsules were treated under pogonorrhinum and nanorrhinum (betsche, 1984). ghebrehiwet (2001) considered kickxia and nanorrhinum as two distinct genera on the basis of morphological analysis. the molecular phylogeny of mediterranean genera chaenorhinum, kickxia and nanorrhinum based on nrdna its and rpl32-trnl sequence data also supports the recognition of the clade comprising kickxia sect. valvatae as nanorrhinum; as a result, new combinations i.e. nanorrhinum petranum (danin) yousefi & zarre, nanorrhinum judaicum (danin) yousefi & zarre and nanorrhinum scariosepalum (tackh. & boulos) yousefi & zarre were established from kickxia petrana danin, kickxia judaica danin and kickxia scariosepala tackh. & boulos, respectively (yousefi et al., 2016). the genus kickxia in saudi arabia is represented by nine species and one subspecies [kickxia abhaica d.a. sutton, k. acerbiana (boiss.) tackh. & boulos, k. aegyptiaca (l.) nab., k. collenetteana d.a. sutton, k. corallicola d.a. sutton, k. elatine subsp. crinita greuter, k. hastata (r.br. ex benth.) dandy, k. petiolata d.a. sutton, k. pseudoscoparia v.w. smith and k. scalarum d.a. sutton] described under the family scrophulariaceae (chaudhary, 2001), out of which the taxonomic status of k. abhaica d.a. sutton, k. acerbiana (boiss.) tackh. & boulos and k. hastata (r.br. ex benth.) dandy is still unresolved (http://www.theplantlist.org/), k. abhaica d.a. sutton [rev. antirrhinea: 241 (1988). plate scroph. 17.] have been reported as 1e-mail: ajmalpdrc@gmail.com http://www.theplantlist.org/), mailto:ajmalpdrc@gmail.com 210 ali endemic to saudi arabia (chaudhary, 2001). the present study aims to resolve the taxonomic status of the k. abhaica based on the molecular phylogenetic analysis of its nrdna sequences. materials and methods collection of the leaf material of kickxia abhaica: the leaf material of k. abhaica was collected from the specimen [dharb-abha road, 5-41982, s. chaudhary 3907 (ksuh)] deposited at the herbarium (department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh, saudi arabia). a total of 16 species of kickxia was employed in this study (table 1). the taxonomic identification of the herbarium specimens were reconfirmed with the taxonomic description mentioned in recent flora of the kingdom of saudi arabia (chaudhary, 2001). table 1. the genbank accessions of the ingroup and outgroup taxon included in the molecular phylogenetic analysis of kickxia abhaica. no. taxon genbank acc. no. ingroup 1. nanorrhinum cabulicum (benth.) podlech & iranshahr kt031916 2. kickxia sagittata (poir.) rothm. kt031902 3. k. scoparia (brouss. ex spreng.) g.kunkel & sunding kt031903 4. k. urbanii (pit.) k.larsen kt031915 5. k. scariosepala täckh. & boulos kt031911 6. k. macilenta (decne.) danin kt031908 7. k. petrana danin kt031909 8. k. judaica danin kt031907 9. kickxia lanigera (desf.) hand.-mazz. kx061033 10. k. spuria (l.) dumort. kt031914 11. k. sieberi (rchb.) dörfl. & allan kt031912 12. k. cirrhosa (l.) fritsch kt031896 13. k. aegyptiaca (l.) nab. kt031905 14. k. elatine (l.) dumort. kt031898 15. k. commutate (bernh. ex rchb.) fritsch kt031897 16. k. abhaica d.a. sutton [= nanorrhinum abhaicum (d.a. sutton) ajmal ali comb. nov.] mh628533 outgroup 17. anarrhinum bellidifolium (l.) willd. ay878116 extraction of genomic dna, amplification and sequencing of nrdna its gene: the leaf material was crushed with liquid nitrogen using ‘qiagen tissue lyser’ (# 85300). the robotic workstation ‘qiacube’ (# 9001292) using ‘dneasy plant mini kit’ (# 69104) was used for automated purification of the total genomic dna. the nuclear ribosomal dna its sequences (its1-5.8s and its2) were amplified in the thermal cycler (applied biosystems veriti) via polymerase chain reaction using the primers (white et al., 1990) [forward primer its1 (5’ gtccactgaaccttatcatttag3’) and the reverse primer its4 (5’tcctccgcttatt gatatgc3’)] and pcr mix (# k-2011, bioneer, daejeon, republic of korea). the dna sequencing of the amplified product was performed using kit (# 4337455, bigdye terminator inclusion of kickxia abhaica d.a. sutton in the genus nanorrhinum 211 cycle sequencing kit, perkin-elmer, applied biosystems) in dna analyzer (perkinelmer, applied biosystems, # abi prism 3730xl). molecular phylogenetic analysis of the nrdna its gene sequences: the nrdna its sequences of a total number of 16 species of kickxia s.s. and s.l. and outgroup sequence (table 1) were retrieved from ncbi genbank. the its sequences of nrdna of anarrhinum bellidifolium (genbank accession no. ay878116) was used as outgroup in the molecular phylogenetic analysis because the genus anarrhinum shows close relationships to the genus kickxia (yousefi et al., 2016). the alignment software ‘clustal x v.1.81’ (thompson et al., 1997) was used to align the fasta format dna sequences. the parsimony (maximum parsimony, mp) (nei and kumar, 2000; eck and dayhoff, 1996) analysis using bootstrap method (felsenstein, 1985) and maximum likelihood (ml) analysis using maximum composite likelihood method (tamura et al., 2004) were used to conduct the molecular phylogenetic analyses using the molecular phylogenetic analysis software mega x (kumar et al., 2018). results and discussion the aligned nrdna its data (its1, 5.8s, and its2 region) matrix was 622 bp (base pair) long. the most parsimonious tree out of nine parsimonious trees (length = 84) showed consistency index (ci) 0.781 and retention index (ri) 0.932. the its region (its1-5.8s-its2) of k. abhaica possessed 613 bp [its1: 228 bp, gc content 69%; 5.8s: 164 bp, gc content 54%; its2: 221 bp, gc content 71%]. the present molecular phylogenetic analysis of nrdna its sequences revealed that kickxia s.l. is monophyletic and sister to kickxia s.s. the maximum parsimony phylogenetic tree (fig. 1) showed two main clades i.e. kickxia s.s. clade (bs 96%) and nonorrhinum clade (bs 100%). k. abhaica nested within the kickxia s.l./nonorrhinum clade (bs 90%). the kickxia s.l. (k. scoparia k. urbani k. sagittata) clade forms a distinct group (bs 90%). the ml tree with the highest log likelihood (-1294.69) recovered phylogenetic tree topology similar to mpt (fig 1). the tribe antirrhineae (under scrophulariaceae s.l.), with c. 300 species distributed in c. 30 genera constitutes a major clades of plantaginaceae (albach et al., 2005). the member of the tribe antirrhineae are characterized by their herbaceous habit; two-lipped tubular corolla, 3-lobed lower lip and 2-lobed upper lip, gibbose, sometimes spurred at the base; 5 epipetalous stamens out of which 2 or 4 fertile, 2-carpelled fruits, operculate / valvate capsules (sutton, 1988), and unique antirrhinosides / iridoid glycosides (beninger et al., 2008). the systematic position of both the tribe and genera of the tribe antirrhineae has been much debated (ghebrehiwet et al., 2000), and the generic limits is still unresolved especially in the case of the genera chaenorhinum, kickxia and nanorrhinum (ghebrehiwet et al., 2000; albach et al., 2005). the morphological characteristics of taxon at lower level vary under different geographical and environmental condition; hence, requires sufficient taxonomic expertise for taxon identification based on morphology. in contrast, the dna sequences have least or hardly influence by the geographical or environmental condition, and even remain unchanged during the developmental stages; therefore, the dna barcode sequence such as its, ycf5, rbcl, matk, rpoc1, psba-trnh, ndhf, trnl-f, and rps16 based species identification together with morphological features gaining wide acceptance recently (marcon et al., 2005; liu et al., 2011; rai et al., 2012; ali et al., 2014). the ml tree showed two main clades i.e. kickxia s.s. clade (bs 99%) and nonorrhinum clade (bs 100%). k. abhaica nested within the kickxia s.l./nonorrhinum clade (bs 71%), the kickxia s.l. (k. sagittatak. scoparia-k. urbani) clade forms a distinct group (bs 90%). previously, k. scoparia, k. urbani and k. sagittata were recognized as nanorrhinum 212 ali fig. 1. the phylogenetic tree showing the systematic position of kickxia abhaica [= nanorrhinum abhaicum (d.a. sutton) ajmal ali comb. nov.]. the phylogenetic analysis (1000 bootstrap replicates) was inferred using the maximum parsimony method. the numbers at the nodes are the bootstrap supports in mp (above) and ml (below) analysis. (smith, 1973) under the sect. heterophyllae (yousefi et al., 2016) or as pogonorrhinum (betsche, 1984). the taxonomic status of k. collenetteana (branches prostrate spreading, rigid, leafy; leaves all elliptic to oblong), k. corallicola (branches flexuous, tangled; petiole long, capillary, twining), k. hastata (annual delicate herb), k. petiolata (leaves homomorphic, without any basal lobe; petioles becoming thickened woody; spur coming out from corolla base) and k. scalarum (petioles inclusion of kickxia abhaica d.a. sutton in the genus nanorrhinum 213 prominent capillary, often twining; corolla drying dark) reported from saudi arabia are unresolved, and its dna sequence for any gene are not available in the genbank. therefore, the dna sequencing of these taxon are required to know its taxonomic status within the tribe antirrhineae. moreover, the molecular phylogenetic analysis of nrdna its sequence of k. abhaica [which was described as endemic to saudi arabia (chaudhary, 2000)] supports its transfer to the genus nanorrhinum, and thus the proposed new combinations in nanorrhinum (new generic record for saudi arabia) is as follows. new combination in nanorrhinum nanorrhinum abhaicum (d.a. sutton) ajmal ali, comb. nov. basionym: kickxia abhaica d.a. sutton [rev. antirrhinea: 241 (1988). plate scroph. 17.] acknowledgement research supported by the king saud university, deanship of scientific research, college of science, research center. references albach, d.c., meudt, h.m. and oxelman, b. 2005. piecing together the ‘new’ plantaginaceae. am. j. bot. 92: 297–315. ali, m.a., gábor, g., norbert, h., balázs, k., al-hemaid, f.m.a., pandey, a.k. and lee, j. 2014. the changing epitome of species identification dna barcoding. saudi j. biol. sci. 21(3): 204–231. apg iii (angiosperm phylogeny group). 2009. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg iii. bot. j. linn. soc. 161: 105–121. beninger, c.w., cloutier, r.r. and grodzinski, b. 2008. the iridoid glucoside, antirrhinoside from antirrhinum majus l. has differential effects on two generalist insect herbivores. j. chem. ecol. 34: 591–600. betsche, l. 1984. taxonomische untersuchungen an kickxia dumortier (s.1.). die neuen gattungen pogonorrhinum n. gen. und nanorrhinum n. gen. cour. forsch. inst. 71: 125–142. chaudhary, s. 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(manuscript received on 27 may 2018; revised on 26 september 2018) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 269-282, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63529 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnomedicinal plants and traditional knowledge among local people of sherpur sadar and sreebardi upazilas of sherpur district, bangladesh lutfunnahar suchana, md. abul hassan and m. oliur rahman1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: ethnomedicinal plants, informant consensus factor; citation frequency; fidelity; conservation; sherpur. abstract an ethnomedicinal investigation was carried out in sherpur sadar and sreebardi upazilas of sherpur district to record, and document the traditional knowledge alongside with determining the consensus factor, citation frequency and fidelity level among the folklore medicinal practitioners. a total 51 plant species belonging to 49 genera and 38 families were cited with their mode of application for treating different ailments. the most frequently used plant species were represented by herbs (35.94%) followed by trees (33.33%), shrubs (19.61) and climbers (11.76). leaves were found to be the most utilized part (50%) followed by root (14%), fruit (10%), flower (10%), stem (10%), bark (4%) and seed (2%). the reported ailments were categorized into 14 diseases and the maximum species were employed to treat digestive and gastrointestinal disorders. leaves of eclipta alba (l.) hassk. are used in treatment of cataract without applying in eyes at the initial stage which is the first report for bangladesh, and this species could be further screened for bioactive compound which can lead to discovery of new and potential drugs. many species reported in the current study were found to be very rare which need to be conserved to maximize the sustainable uses of these vital resources in the study area. introduction ethnomedicine refers to traditional medicine practiced by various ethnic communities, and the origin over 50% of all pharmaceutical drugs could be traced back to ethnomedicine (van wyk et al., 1997). many studies have shown that 80% of people in developing countries depend on traditional medicine for their basic primary health care (faruque and uddin, 2014; getu et al., 2015; hanako and tsurho, 2016; rajamurugan et al., 2016). according to who, about 80% of the world's population, mostly the rural people of developing countries still primarily rely on traditional medicines (who, 2001). the global herbal medicine market size was estimated to be us$ 83 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach us$ 550 billion by 2030 (https://www. insightslice.com/herbal-medicine-market). currently, this market for medicinal plants and plant products has been rising day by day because of easy availability, effectiveness in chronic diseases, less side effects, and cost effective. the conference of parties (cop) gathered in rio de janeiro, brazil in 1992 with the agenda 21 in order to formulate biodiversity conservation policy that gave emphasis on the documentation and sustainable utilization of traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. bangladesh is richly endowed with floral diversity and it has been estimated that more than 5,000 angiosperm species exist in the country (rahman, 2020). the traditional medicinal practices have long been in use in bangladesh like ayurveda, unani, folk medicine and home remedies, all 1corresponding author. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63529 https://www. mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 270 suchana et al. of which utilize plants to a major extent for treatment (ghani, 2003). several studies on ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal plants were carried out to document the traditional knowledge in different parts and among different ethnic communities in bangladesh (hassan and khan, 1986, 1996; mia and huq, 1988; alam et al., 1996; uddin m.z. et al., 2006, 2008, 2012, 2015, 2017; yusuf et al., 2002, 2006; uddin s.n. et al., 2004; uddin s.b. et al., 2011; sajib and uddin, 2013; rahman, 2013; ferdoushi et al., 2016; kona and rahman, 2016; hossain and rahman, 2018; khatun and rahman, 2018), however, no any ethnobotanical study was carried out in sherpur sadar and sreebardi upazilas under sherpur district. therefore, the present study aims at recording, integrating and documenting the traditional knowledge of ethnomedicinal species as well as to determine the informant consensus factor, fidelity level and citation frequency of the plants in sherpur sadar and sreebardi upazilas of sherpur district. materials and methods study area: sherpur sadar upazila is located at 24°55' to 25°06' n latitudes and 89°53' to 90°07' e longitudes with an area of 356.12 sq. km. and consists of 14 unions. it is bounded by sreebardi, jhenaigati and nalitabari upazilas on the north, jamalpur sadar upazila on the south, nakla upazila on the east, islampur and melandaha upazilas on the west. sreebardi upazila is situated in 25°03' to 25°18' n latitudes and 89°53' to 90°03' e longitudes with an area of 270.34 sq. km. and comprises 10 unions (fig. 1). the annual average temperature of sherpur district ranges from 12℃ to 33.3℃, while the annual rainfall is 2174 mm (bbs, 2011). garo hill tract also known as shalbon is present in this district where mainly garo tribal people live along with local people. luxuriant growth of seasonal herbs, aquatics and climbers were observed in this area during growing season. some native tree species were also found in sherpur sadar and sreebardi upazilas. a good number of people possess traditional botanical knowledge and they use such plant species in their primary health care management. the tribal people are mainly dependent on plants for their ailments. plant samples and data collection: plant specimens were collected from the study areas during field survey from july 2019 to december 2020. the specimens were critically studied and identified by experts and using standard literature and online databases (ahmed et al., 2008-2009; the plant list 2013; tropicos, 2018). the voucher specimens of the medicinal plants were prepared following standard herbarium protocol (alexiades, 1996) and were deposited at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). data were collated through semi-structured questionnaires (alexiades, 1996). authentic informants were interviewed independently from 54 informants, of which 29 were women and 25 men of 23 to 95 years of ages. the respondents provided plant names, parts used, mode of application and the disease to be treated. data analyses: factor of informant consensus (fic): in order to estimate the use diversity of the medicinal plants, factor of informant consensus (fic) was calculated using the following formula: fic = where, nur denotes the number of use reports in each category and ntaxa refers the number of species in each category (heinrich et al., 1998). ethnomedicinal plants and traditional knowledge 271 fig. 1. maps showing the study area sherpur sadar and sreebardi upazilas of sherpur district. citation frequency (cf%): cf values were estimated using the formula: citation frequency (cf %) = ×100 where, n is the number of people interviewed citing species and n denotes total number of people interviewed (friedman et al., 1986). 272 suchana et al. fidelity level (fl%): the fidelity level value is useful for identifying the informants’ most preferred species in use for treating certain ailments. fl value was computed using the following formula: fidelity level (fl %) = x100 where ip is number of informants who indicate use of a species for the same major ailment, iu is the total number of informants who mentioned the same plant for any other use (friedman et al., 1986). medicinal plants that are widely used by the local people for a particular ailment have higher fl values than those which are less popular. results and discussion the present study has revealed a total of 51 medicinal plant species belonging to 47 genera and 38 families with 60 formularies for treating different ailments indicating that there is rich diversity of ethnomedicinal plants with different uses in the study areas. for each species, updated nomenclature with authority, family names, local name, parts used, diseases to be treated, mode of treatment and voucher numbers have been provided (table 1). the study depicts that local people and folk medicinal practitioners of the study areas have a rich traditional knowledge about medicinal plants that has been inherited from generation to generation. moreover, the present investigation has displayed that people of sherpur sadar and sreebardi upazilas emphasize on using medicinal plants with a discovery of application method. however, the traditional medical practitioners from study area were not much aware in conserving medicinal plants and local people are not also aware to conserve the plants used for sustainable uses. among the species investigated, the most frequently used species are herbs (35.94%) followed by trees (33.33%), shrubs (19.61) and climbers (11.76) (fig. 2). the study revealed that out of all formularies, 72.13% was of internal application and the remaining 27.87% was of external application (fig. 3). leaves were found to be the most utilized plant part (50%) followed by root (14%), fruit (10%), flower (10%), stem (10%), bark (4%) and seed (2%) (fig. 4). factor of informant consensus: the factor of informant consensus (fic) model was used to determine the use diversity of medicinal plants and to identify the ethnopharmacologically important plant species (heinrich et al., 1998). the fic values among the investigated species varied from 0.840 to 1 (table 2). the highest fic value 1 was found in the cases of anthelmintic, jaundice, bone fracture and kidney stone, and the cited species for treating the species are ananas comosus saccharum officinarum, cissus quadrangularis and kalanchoe pinnata, respectively. in case of the second highest fic value category disease i.e. respiratory diseases, the most cited species is justicia adhatoda. the use of ananas comosus as anthelmintic as revealed from the study was found in the same line with that of kadir et al. (2012), saccharum officinarum applied for treating jaundice was found to be consistent with rahim et al. (2012), cissus quadrangularis in bone fracture was found similar to ramachandran et al. (2021), and administration of kalanchoe pinnata against kidney stone was found consistent with islam and uddin (2022). fidelity level: the current investigation displayed 100% fidelity level (fl) in litsea glutinosa, azadirachta indica, justicia adhatoda, zingiber officinale, terminalia arjuna, aloe vera, aegle marmelos, allium sativum, tinospora crispa and clerodendrum viscosum against dysentery, body pain, phlegm-catarrh, gastrointestinal problems, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and fever, ethnomedicinal plants and traditional knowledge 273 274 suchana et al. ethnomedicinal plants and traditional knowledge 275 276 suchana et al. ethnomedicinal plants and traditional knowledge 277 respectively (table 3). the higher fl value of a species indicates the prevalence of a specific disease in an area and the utilization of plant species by the inhabitants to treat that disease (srithi et al., 2009; bibi et al., 2014). table 2. consensus of agreement on the uses of medicinal plants among informants. no category of disease most cited plants no. of use reports no. of taxa fic 1 digestive and gastrointestinal diseases (gastritis, diarrhea, dysentery, appetite, constipation) litsea glutinosa 165 15 0.915 2 muscle and skeletal disorders (swelling, wound, pain in body part, rheumatism, migraine, toothache) azadirachta indica 102 9 0.922 3 dermatalogy (tinea, dandruff, allergy,boil) citrus limon 87 11 0.884 4 cardiovascular diseases (heart problem, blood purifier, hypertension) terminalia arjuna 44 3 0.953 5 fever (normal fever, internal fever, black fever) tinospora crispa 26 5 0.840 6 eye problems (cataract, ophthalmia) eclipta alba 26 3 0.920 7 aesthenia (body weakness) litsea glutinosa 42 7 0.853 8 diabetes syzygium cumini 22 3 0.904 9 cancer moringa oleifera 9 2 0.875 10 respiratory diseases (phlegm, catarrh) justicia adhatoda 39 2 0.974 11 anthelmintic ananas comosus 10 1 1 12 jaundice saccharum officinarum 22 1 1 13 bone fracture cissus quadrangularis 18 1 1 14 kidney stone kalanchoe pinnata 17 1 1 fig. 2. habit-wise categorization showing the percentage of species for treating different ailments. fig. 3. percentage of mode of administration of medicinal plants used by the local people of in the study area. 278 suchana et al. citation frequency (cf): citation frequency of some selected plant species are shown in the table 4. litsea glutinosa showed the highest cf value (94.11) which indicated that this species is very commonly used in the study areas to treat dysentery followed by azadirachta indica, zingiber officinale and justicia adhatoda. in contrast, the lowest citation frequency was found in allium sativum. in the current study, the most commonly cited mode of administration is in the form of juice followed by paste, crushed, decoction, powdered and chewed. our results were found to be concordant with that of previous study (uddin et al. 2017). the maximum informants preferred oral consumption of medicines instead of external application. this finding was also supported by several other (uddin et. al., 2015; faruque et al., 2018; islam and uddin, 2022). table 3. fidelity level (fl) values of frequently cited plant species and their major uses. ailments species no. of informants (ip) total no. informants (iu) % of fidelity level (fl) dysentery litsea glutinosa 48 48 100 body pain azadirachta indica 42 42 100 phlegm-catarrh justicia adhatoda 37 37 100 gastrointestinal problem zingiber officinale 41 41 100 cardiovascular disease terminalia arjuna 31 31 100 gastrointestinal problem aloe vera 25 25 100 dysentery aegle marmelos 15 15 100 hypertension allium sativum 13 13 100 fever tinospora crispa 12 12 100 abdominal pain clerodendrum viscosum 9 9 100 diabetes coccinea cordifolia 17 25 68 cancer moringa oleifera 5 13 60 rheumatism vitex negundo 23 42 54.76 cataract eclipta alba 13 25 52 fig. 4. percentage of plant parts used for medicinal purposes by the local people in shrherpur and sreebordi upazilas of sherpur district. ethnomedicinal plants and traditional knowledge 279 fig. 5. number of taxa used for treating major diseases by the local people in shrherpur and sreebardi upazilas of sherpur district. table 4. citation frequency of some selected medicinal plant species of the study area. species local name ailments citation citation frequency (cf %) litsea glutinosa kharajora dysentery 48 94.11 azadirachta indica neem body pain 42 82.35 zingiber officinale aada gastrointestinal problems 41 80.39 justicia adhatoda basak phlegm-catarrh 37 72.55 terminalia arjuna arjun cardiovascular 31 60.78 aloe vera chokkoira gach gastrointestinal problem 25 49.02 allium sativum roshun hypertension and cancer 13 25.49 the present study has revealed novel information regarding the uses of some species which are not found in previous studies carried out in different parts of bangladesh (uddin et al., 2006, 2015, 2017; sajib and uddin, 2015; nahar et al., 2016; sohel et al., 2016; yasmin and rahman, 2017; khatun and rahman, 2018). a few of the noteworthy and novel findings include: eclipta alba is reported for the first time to treat cataract, moringa oleifera to treat cancer, ficus hispida to reduce water from foot swelling of pregnant women, coccinea cordifolia to treat extreme dandruff and coix lacryma-jobi to treat stomach problems. from the present survey, some threats to the medicinal plant species have come in light including habitat destruction and fragmentation, deforestation, over-exploitation, lack of awareness for conserving the species diversity among local people and plantation of exotic species. according to local people, these species might possess threats to native ecosystem as no birds sit in these trees and no fish can survive in nearby ponds. to protect valuable medicinal plant species in the present study area, a number of protective measures should be undertaken i.e. nurseries should be developed for propagating important and threatened medicinal plants, distribution map with specific longitude and latitude for the important species to be generated, and ex-situ conservation strategies should be applied for conserving the medicinal plants in the study area for their sustainable uses and development. the species with the highest fic value, fidelity level and citation frequency might be phytochemically screened for searching novel bioactive compounds. the study might unveil a new window for 280 suchana et al. drug discovery in future that will have a significant impact on socio-economic development and health sector of bangladesh. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the local people and folklore practitioners of sherpur sadar and sreebardi upazilas of sherpur district, who gave the information about the medicinal use of plants and co-operated during research work. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 20 october, 2021; revised on 10 december, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 45-52, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82391 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new records of mosses from azerbaijan hüseyin erata1, zeynep gizem köroğlu2, aygun vidadi mammadova3, sayyara ibadullayeva3, nevzat batan4* and narmin sadigova3 1 gümüşhane university, kürtün vocational school, gümüşhane, türkiye 2 graduate school of natural and applied science, karadeniz technical university, 61080, trabzon, türkiye 3 institute of botany, ministry of science and education of the republic of azerbaijan, a.abbaszadeh str., entrance 99, baku, azerbaijan 4 karadeniz technical university, faculty of science, department of molecular biology and genetics, trabzon, türkiye keywords: bryophytes; biodiversity; new records; azerbaijan. abstract splachnum ampullaceum hedw., sphagnum capillifolium (ehrh.) hedw., and plagiothecium cavifolium (brid.) z. iwats. have been reported as new for azerbaijan, following a recent bryological expedition to the tugay forest and dilman forest of azerbaijan. of these, splachnum has been recorded as new genus record for bryophyte flora of azerbaijan. brief descriptions, illustrations, geographic distribution, ecology and comparisons with morphologically similar species are presented. introduction zangilan district, located in southeastern azerbaijan along the left bank of the araz river, lies within the lesser caucasus mountain range with an area 730 sq.km. it borders gubadli to the north, jabrayil to the east, iran to the south (the araz), and armenia's mehri and gafan districts to the west. the area features a varied and rugged topography, consisting of midand low-elevation mountains. geologically, both sedimentary and volcanic formations, particularly jurassic and cretaceous deposits, are widespread. mineral resources include building stone, gold, black marble, raw lime, and limestone used in soda production (fig. 1). the region encompasses two climatic zones: temperate-warm and semi-desert with dry winters. summers are hot, winters are mild and dry, with an average annual temperature of 13.3 °c (max. 41 °c, min. –21 °c). annual rainfall averages 600 mm, while evaporation reaches 900 mm. the landscape alternates between plains, hills, and river valleys. four major rivers, araz, okchuchay, hakari, and basitchay, flow through the district, making it the only region in azerbaijan with four permanent rivers. the basitchay river basin hosts a large, ancient forest dominated by eastern plane trees (platanus orientalis l.), considered the largest of its kind in europe and second largest globally. the reserve has an asymmetrical structure: rugged terrain on the right bank and a hilly plateau (700–1000 m) on the left, underlain by alluvial deposits. despite the dry climate, broadleaf forests are well established. the dominant plane tree species is tolerant of poor soils and extreme temperatures, including heat, frost, and drought. bryophytes, non-vascular plants including mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, thrive in diverse ecosystems ranging from deserts to polar regions (cíhal, 2023). they grow on various substrates such as rocks (epilithic), soil (epigeic), water (submerged), and tree surfaces (epiphytic). *corresponding author. email: nevzatbatan@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82391 mailto:nevzatbatan@gmail.com 46 erata et al. bryophytes include about 20,000 species in the world (patiño and vanderpoorten, 2018). in azerbaijan, bryophytes are currently represented by approximately ± 504 taxa (belonging to 152 genera and 57 families (ellis et al., 2021; mammadova et al., 2021; mammadova and abiyev, 2023: mammadova et al., 2024)). the bryophyte flora of azerbaijan is little known. fig. 1. map of reserach area. material and methods numerous bryophyte specimens were collected from the study area in 2024 during a bryological survey conducted in the tugay and dilman forests of azerbaijan by a. mammadova, s. ibadullayeva and n. sadıgova. the collected samples were examined using a carl zeiss stemi 2000-c stereomicroscope and a carl zeiss axio imager a2 light microscope. three new records of mosses from azerbaijan 47 species identification was carried out using standard literature sources (smith, 2004; frey et al., 2006; brugués et al., 2007; guerra et al., 2010, 2018; lüth, 2019). the distributional status of the identified taxa in azerbaijan was assessed through relevant national references (ignatov et al., 2006; gasimov and novruzov, 2017; mammadova et al., 2021; mammadova and abiyev, 2023; hodgetts and lockhart, 2020). taxonomic nomenclature and synonymy follow the treatment of hodgetts and lockhart (2020). voucher specimens are deposited in the private bryophyte collection of a. mammadova at the institute of botany, azerbaijan national academy of sciences (baku, azerbaijan), and in the private collection of n. batan at the department of molecular biology and genetics, faculty of science, karadeniz technical university (trabzon, türkiye). results splachnum ampullaceum hedw. (fig. 2) specimens examined: azerbaijan (baku province): zangilan district, tugay forest, edge of besit stream, on wet soil 39º3'11.07" e, 46º37'14.33" n, altitude: 652 m a. s. l., 24 june, 2022, leg. a. mammadova, s. ibadullayeva, det. a. mammadova, z.g. köroğlu, h. erata, n. batan, batan 1628. fig. 2. splachnum ampullaceum hedw. a) habit, b) shoots (dry), c) capsule, d-e) leaves, f) mid-leaf cells. 48 erata et al. plants tufts, light green or yellow-green, to 4.6 cm high. shoots 0.8–1.24 cm long and with toothed. leaves crowded at stem apices, 3.0 mm long and 1.1 mm wide, long-lanceolate to narrowly oblong-obovate, leaf margins are plane at the below and roughly toothed at the upper part of the leaves. costa ending in or below apex. cells in mid-leaf ± hexagonal. hypophysis (neck of capsule) yellow or pink, pyriform, 3 times as wider as urn. splachnum ampullaceum is similar to splachnum sphaericum hedw. but different in terms of having hypophysis pyriform, 3 times as wider as urn, and leaf margins are plane at the below and roughly toothed at the upper part of the leaves. in contrast, splachnum sphaericum has the leaves are entire or only obscurely toothed and the capsule of does not have an inflated neck. splachnum ampullaceum resembles splachnum vasculosum hedw., however, the former can be distinguished from the latter by its hypophysis pyriform. the latter has hypophysis rounded. ecology: splachnum ampullaceum grows on bogs on dung on wet heaths, moorland and in wet areas (dierben, 2001; smith, 2004). azerbaijan specimens was collected on wet soil, tugay forest, edge of besit stream in bakü province. it is associated with diplophyllum taxifolium (wahlenb.) dumort., solenostoma sphaerocarpum (hook.) steph., plagiothecium succulentum (wilson) lindb., philonotis seriata mitt., imbribryum alpinum (huds. ex with.) n.pedersen. distribution: denmark, faroe islands, finland, norway, sweden, great britain, ireland, northern ireland, france, italy, spain, austria, belgium, czech republic, germany, netherlands, poland, slovakia, switzerland, montenegro, romenia, slovenia, belarus, estonia, kaliningrad, latvia, lithuania, central russia, re russia, rw russia, south urals, ukranie (frey et al., 2006; hodgetts and lockhart, 2020), new to azerbaijan. splachnum ampullaceum has most recently been assessed for the iucn red list of threatened species in 2017. splachnum ampullaceum is listed as near threatened (nt) (baisheva and ignatov, 2019. splachnum ampullaceum (europe assessment). the iucn red list of threatened species 2019: e.t87569778a87761065. accessed on 20 january 2025). sphagnum capillifolium (ehrh.) hedw. (syn: sphagnum capillifolium subsp. capillifolium) (fig. 3) specimens examined: azerbaijan (baku province): zangilan district, tugay forest, edge of besit stream, on wet soil, 39º3'57.72" e, 46º34'33.42"n, altitude: 705 m a. s. l., 24 june, 2022, leg. a. mammadova, s. ibadullayeva, det. a. mammadova, h. erata, n. batan, batan 1629. plant medium-sized up to 15 cm tall, yellowish-green, pale red. capitulum roundish. stems green to red. stem leaves appressed, erect, triangular, 1.1-1.7 mm long, obtuse or acute apex, hyaline cells s-shapedand fibrils usually with conspicuous, occasionally fibrils weak or absent. branches has fascicle with 2-3 spreading and 1-2 pendent. branch leaves, imbricate, ovatelanceolate, 1-1.3 mm long apex narrow. branch leaves usually not markedly 5-ranked. sphagnum capillifolium belongs to the section acutifolia. s. capillifolium is morphologically similar to sphagnum warnstorfii russow, but different in having branch leaves 5-ranked or not and fibrils of stem leaves usually conspicuous. in contrast, sphagnum warnstorfii branch leaves more markedly 5-rankedwith narrower apices, and stem leaves without fibrils. also, s. capillifolium resembles sphagnum girgensohnii russow however, but differs in that it is stem leaves appressed, erect, triangular, obtuse or acute apex. ecology: sphagnum capillifolium grows on high hummocks in bogs, in wet heath lands, at the edge of flushes, on sheltered and somewhat drained banks in woodland and on boulder fields in mountain areas. also it occurs in oligotrophic to weakly mesotrophic drier acid peatlands (blanket bogs), with rather acid, organic soils (daniels and eddy, 1985; dierben, 2001; smith, 2004). three new records of mosses from azerbaijan 49 azerbaijan specimens was collected on wet soil in bogs in wet habitats, tugay forest, edge of besit stream in bakü province. it is associated with chiloscyphus polyanthos (l.) corda., solenostoma sphaerocarpum (hook.) steph., (wilson) lindb., philonotis seriata mitt. fig. 3. sphagnum capillifolium (ehrh.) hedw. a) gametophyte, b) branch leaves, c) stem leaves, d) stem leaf cells from the convex surface, e) branch leaf cells from the concave surface. distribution: denmark, faroe islands, finland, iceland, norway, sweden, great britain, ireland, northern ireland, andorre, azores, corsica, france, italy, prortugal, sardinia, spain, austria, belgium, czech republic, germany, liechtenstein, luxembourg, netherlands, poland, slovakia, switzerland, bosnia‐herzegovina, bulgaria, croatia, hungary, kosovo, montenegro, north macedonia, romenia, serbia, slovenia, türkiye, belarus, caucasus (in europe), estonia, kaliningrad, latvia, lithuania, arctic russia, central russia, re russia, rw russia, south urals, ukranie (frey et al., 2006; hodgetts and lockhart, 2020). new to azerbaijan. sphagnum capillifolium has most recently been assessed for the iucn red list of threatened species in 2017. sphagnum capillifolium is listed as least concern (lc) (schröck 2019. sphagnum capillifolium (europe assessment). the iucn red list of threatened species 2019: e.t87567451a87741728. accessed on 21 january 2025) 50 erata et al. plagiothecium cavifolium (brid.) z. iwats. (fig. 4) specimens examined: azerbaijan (baku province): zangilan district, tugay forest, edge of besit stream, on wet soil, 39º2'23.03" e, 46º38'26.02" n, altitude: 756 m a. s. l., 01 july, 2024, leg. a. mammadova, , s. ibadullayeva, det. a. mammadova, h. erata, n. batan, batan 1630. plants dense mats, in glossy green to yellowish. shoots julaceous, leaves erect or some times spreading imbricate, concave, longitudinally plicate, more or less symmetrical, ovate or oblongovate, shortly tapering to acute or apiculate apex. margins plane, usually entire. costa double and very short. alar cells enlarged, rectangular, other cells linear-rhomboidal. fig. 4. plagiothecium cavifolium (brid.) z.iwats. a) habit, b) leaf, c) lower part of leaf (leaf base and alar cells), d) leaf apex, f) mid-leaf cells. plagiothecium cavifolium is similar to plagiothecium succulentum (wilson) lindb. but different in having leaves concave, longitudinally plicate and the shoots are not or are hardly arranged in one plane. also, this species is distinguished from other plagiothecium species in having shoots julaceous with very concave leaves and narrowly decurrent alar cells distinct. ecology: plagiothecium cavifolium grows on moist usually basic rock ledges in montane area. also it occurs shaded soil or humus overlying boulders and cliffs, rotten logs, stumps, base of trees, on loamy and sandy soil, low to high elevations (dierben, 2001; smith, 2004). azerbaijan specimens was collectedon soil, dilman forest, edge of besit stream in bakü province. it is associated with chiloscyphus polyanthos (l.) corda., mnium spinosum (voit) schwägr., philonotis marchica (hedw.) brid, and amblystegium serpens (hedw.) schimp. distribution: denmark, faroe islands, finland, iceland, norway, sweden, great britain, ireland, andorre, azores, corsica, france, italy, prortugal, sicily, spain, austria, belgium, czech republic, germany, liechtenstein, luxembourg, netherlands, poland, slovakia, switzerland, albania, bosnia‐herzegovina, bulgaria, croatia, greece, hungary, montenegro, north macedonia, romenia, serbia, slovenia, türkiye, belarus, caucasus (in europe), estonia, kaliningrad, latvia, lithuania, moldova, arctic russia, central russia, re russia, rw russia, three new records of mosses from azerbaijan 51 se russia, south urals, ukranie, n. america, japan (smith, 2004; freyet al., 2006; hodgetts and lockhart, 2020). plagiothecium cavifolium has most recently been assessed for the iucn red list of threatened species in 2017. plagiothecium cavifolium is listed as least concern (lc)(sabovljevic, 2019. plagiothecium cavifolium (europe assessment). the iucn red list of threatened species 2019: e.t87467954a87782311. accessed on 21 january 2025). references baisheva, e. and ignatov, m. 2019. splachnum ampullaceum (europe assessment). the iucn red list of threatened species 2019: e.t87569778a87761065. accessed on 20 january 2025. brugués, m., cros, r.m. and guerra, j. 2007. flora brioftica ibérica,voiume i. murcia: uniersidad de murcia, sociedad espanola de briyologia murcia. cíhal, l. 2023. bryophytes in a changing world: understanding distribution patterns, risks, and conservation. diversity 15: 647. daniels, r.e., and eddy, a. 1985. handbook of european sphagna.natural environment research council, institute of terrestrial ecology, huntington. dierben, k. 2001. distribution, ecological amplitude and phytosociological characterization of european bryophytes, bryophytorum bibliotheca, band 56, j. cramer, berlin, stuttgart. ellis, l.t., alataş, m., alba, á.w.r., giraldo, c.a.m., amatov, v., batan, n., infante, b.d.a., burghardt, m., czernyadjeva, i.v. yu kuzmina, e., ya doroshina, g., erata, h., garilleti, r., gradstein, s.r., jukonienė, i., erkul, s.k., keskin, a., ezer, t., lara , f., draper,i., maksimov, a.i., mammadova,a.v., natcheva, r., németh, cs., pantović, j., sabovljević,m.s., papp, b., poponessi, s., cogoni, a., porley, r.d., reiner-drehwald, m.e., schäfer-verwimp,a.,schmotzer, a., šegota,v., alegro, a., rimac, a., ştefănuț, s., szurdoki, e., vilk, e.f., virchenko, v.m., bijlsma, r.j. and callaghan, d.a. 2021. new national and regional bryophyte records, 67. journal of bryology 43(3): 301–311 frey, w., frahm, j.p., fischer, e. and lobin, w. 2006. the liverworts, mosses and ferns of europe. harley books, colchoster. gasimov, t.p. and novruzov, v.s. 2017. noteworthy additions to the moss flora of azerbaijan. institute of botany, azerbaijan national academy of sciences 37: 72-75. guerra, j., brugués, m., cano, m.j. and cros r.m. 2010.flora briofitica ibérica voiume 4.universidad de murcia, murcia: sociedad española de briología murcia, murcia. guerra, j., cano, m.j. and brugués, m. 2018. flora briofitica ibérica voiume 6, universidad de murcia,sociedad espanola de briyologia murcia, murcia. hodgetts, n. and lockhart, n. 2020. checklist and country status of european bryophytes – update 2020.irish wildlife manuals, no. 123. national parks and wildlife service, department of culture, heritageand the gaeltacht, ireland. ignatov, m.s., afonina, o.m. and ignatova e.a. 2006. check-list of mosses of east europe and north asia. arctoa 15: 1-130. lüth, m. 2019. mosses of europe a photographic flora set of 3 volumes, isbn 978-3-00-062952-5, 1360pp. mammadova, a.v., erata, h., atamov, v. and batan n. 2021. new moss records from azerbaijan. anatolian bryology. 7(2): 70-76 mammadova, a.v. and abiyev,y.t. 2023. medicinal moss species distributed in azerbaijan. plant & fungal research 6(2): 57-62 mammadova, a.v., abiyev, y.t. and hasanova a.m. 2024. study of leafy moss diversity of samur-yalama national park:new species for azerbaijan brioflora. plant & fungal research7(1): 68-77 patiño, j. and vanderpoorten a. 2018. bryophyte biogeography, critical reviews in plant sciences 37(2-3): 175-209. 52 erata et al. sabovljevic, m. 2019. plagiothecium cavifolium (europe assessment). the iucn red list of threatened species 2019: e.t87467954a87782311. accessed on 21 january 2025 schröck, c. 2019. sphagnum capillifolium (europe assessment). the iucn red list of threatened species 2019: e.t87567451a87741728. accessed on 25 january 2025. smith, a.j.e. 2004. the moss flora of britain and ireland, cambridge university press. (manuscript received on 5 january 2025; revised on 3 june 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 13-29, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60446 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists species diversity, distribution and standing biomass of sublittoral seaweeds of the st. martin's island, bangladesh abdul aziz, syntheia towhidy and md. almujaddade alfasane* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: species diversity; distribution; standing biomass; sublittoral seaweeds; st. martin’s island; bangladesh. abstract substantial works carried out for over nearly fifty years contributed around 200 taxa under 84 genera along bangladesh coast specially the st. martin’s island (smi) when only intertidal and knee to waist deep seaweeds were collected. sub-littoral seaweed diversity, their distribution and standing biomass along the coast of the smi with the assistance of bangladesh navy using underwater gears, still photography and videography up to a depth of 15 m, were first studied during march and april 2013. it revealed a total of 40 seaweed taxa of which 16 were browns,12 reds and 12 greens including two new variety caulerpa chemnitzia var. irregulare aziz et alfasane and c. sertularioides var. robusta aziz et alfasane. total taxa were low compared to 1990’s and early 2000’s affected by human activities and that some smaller forms were washed away by current and waves during collections. depth profile showed occurrence of a total of 31 (77%) taxa within 1 m and 34 (85%) in the next 1 m (within 2 m) have been considered as highly productive zone; 27 (67%) taxa in the next 1 m (3rd 1m) depth have been considered as the medium productive zone. the lower productivity in the 3rd m depth measured was due to low light (only 16% of surface light 1350 µem-2s-1), high secchi depth and tds, all indicating limited light intensity. the number of organisms at 10 m depth decreased to 17 (42%) taxa and at 15 m depth only 4 (10%) taxa were present. the 10 to 15 m depth studied have been considered as low productive zone for march and april environment. the 4 taxa at 15 m were represented by peyssonnelia polymorpha, caulerpa taxifolia, halimeda discoidea and dictyota atomaria and considered as highly adaptive seaweeds. of these p. polymorpha in particular could grow on bare boulders of upper intertidal zone under direct sunlight during lowest tide. the average wet biomass in march and april was 55 g m-2 and 902 g m-2, respectively where browns had highest (291.00 g m-2) followed by greens (118.6 g m-2) and reds (45.10 g m-2). highest average biomass was at location d (696 g m-2) followed by b (179.90 g m-2), a (175.70 g m-2) and c (74.20 g m-2). total standing sublittoral wet biomass around the smi was estimated to be 148.50 metric ton for each month based on collections from a total of 50 sites and contribute mostly by caulerpa chemnitzia var. irregulare aziz et alfasane, c. sertularioides var, robusta aziz et alfasane, c. furgusonii, caulerpa taxifolia and asparagopsis taxiformis. higher shannon-weiner index of diversity (h') occurred in march at zone c (3.152) followed by a (2.778), d (2.284), e (1.95) and a minimum at zone b (1.53). in contrast, shannon-weiner index of diversity (h') showed the higher values at zone f (2.60) followed by c (1.87), b (1.47), d (1.21) and zone a showed minimum value (<1). green seaweed diversity was higher among the classes. the jaccard similarity index showed slightly higher percentage between zone a and c (28%) than between zone c and d (27%) and their intersecting numbers were found to be eight. *corresponding author: mujaddade@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60446 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 14 aziz et al. introduction bangladesh has a good number of islands along the south coast facing of bay of bengal of which st. martin’s island (smi) occurs in the south-east coast in the cox’s bazar district being surrounded by rocks and boulders in the north-west area extending around cheradia and up to north (east coast) of modhapara in addition to corals supporting growth of seaweeds (islam 1976). in 1980, a large number of samples were collected during scientific expedition to the island (islam and aziz 1982, 1987) along the coasts. subsequent seaweed collections made from the island were from intertidal zone of the smi and studies carried out and published by islam and aziz and their pupils are available in the list of references of taxa published in ahmed et al. (2008, 2009) and aziz et al. (2015, 2020) where so far as many as 207 seaweed taxa under 82 genera have been included of them two varieties are new to science (caulerpa chemnitzia var. irregulare aziz et alfasane and c. sertularioides var, robusta aziz et alfasane, both occurred as common at smi. however, sub-littoral seaweed studies were limited due to lack of scuba diving gears and facilities. the first author took initiative and bangladesh naval authorities provided a ship for seaweed exploration at st. martin’s island bangladesh in march and april 2013. the study aimed at the determining sub-littoral seaweed species diversity, their depth profile and biomass and factors affecting growth and distribution in the st. martin’s island, bangladesh. several investigations on sub-littoral algae especially deep-water seaweeds were made from different bio-geographical regions (ali et al., 2017; pereira and almeida, 2014; satheesh and wesley, 2012; petsut et al., 2012; thakur et al., 2008; rath and adhikary, 2006; sansón et al., 2002; norris and olsen, 1991; chennubhotla et al., 1988; shepherd and wormersely, 1970; dellow, 1954). the taxonomic part of sub-littoral seaweed flora of the st. martin’s island, bangladesh has been published recently (aziz et al., 2015, 2020). the present paper deals with first of its kind, the sub-littoral seaweed species diversity, their depth profile, biomass and factors affecting growth in the st. martin’s island, bangladesh. materials and methods st. martin’s island (narikeldia) is a tiny ( 8.5 km-2) dumb-bell shaped island in the extreme southeast of bangladesh at 20° 34′ 26″ an d 20° 38′ 10″ n and 92° 18′ 51″ and 92° 20′ 17″ e (fig 1). the island is surrounded by stones and boulders except the extreme north-east of narikeldia, where launch ghat is situated. geologist termed it as a ‘coral island’ while biologists call it a ‘living museum’ where a variety of algae and animals inhabit mostly not available along the other part of bangladesh coast (aziz, 2001; aziz et al., 2008).the underwater surveys in the smi were conducted by the first and third authors on two occasions (17-20 march, 2013 and 24-25 april, 2013) taking the help of scuba diving team of the bangladesh navy having underwater still camera, videography facilities and collecting gears. a total of six locations (a-f) around the island were considered in march and five (a-e) in april (table 1; fig. 1). from each location, several samples were collected referred to as sites, using a 1 m quadrate made of iron rods, scalper, chisels and hammer, and each dive was considered as a site and collected samples as wet samples were kept in polybags. identifications and distribution of seaweeds and any instructions to divers were done using videography. some photographs were taken alive and some from herbaria, while small seaweeds were photographed under a microscope. fresh weight of whole seaweeds of each site was measured by top loading balance in the field, and in the laboratory by electronic balance (kern eg, germany). statistical analysis was done using minitab 14 software. several physical and chemical factors were determined: ph by portable hanna ph meter, conductivity by ‘aqua’ conductivity meter, total dissolved solids (tds) by hanna instrument, species diversity, distribution and standing biomass 15 salinity by refractometer, compensation depth by secchi disc, light intensity at various depths by li-cor, usa and light meter using under water probe. the seaweeds were preserved in two forms, adding formaldehyde and also sample of a species were pressed on to herbarium sheets, archived at national prof. akm nurul islam phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. five samples from each location were considered as replicates. seaweeds from near the coast to various depths towards the sea were collected, from a total of 50 sites. at each site depth, gps position, photography and general observations were recorded. map of the smi with six locations and a total of 50 sites are shown elsewhere (fig. 1; aziz et al., 2015). fig. 1. st. martin’s island showing locations of sublittoral seaweed collections made on march (●) and april (■) 2013. boulder-line and depth profile (in meter) around the island and further during low tide is also shown. a survey was done at 15 m depth by video communication system (upper left * indicating 15 m depth, right-gps map of sampling locations). 16 aziz et al. table 1. collection date, locations and number of samples or sites explored with geographic position of each location (fig. 1). date of collections locations no. of samples or sites geographic positions (lat. & long). 18-3-13 a (south of cheradia) 10 20º 34′ 08″ 20° 34′ 27″ n 92° 20′ 05″ 92° 20′ 10″ e 20-3-13 b (north west of dakshinpara) 5 20° 36′ 06″ 20° 36′ 30″ n 92° 18′ 10″ 92° 19′ 17″ e 24-4-13 b (south west of dakshinpara) 6 20° 35′ 13″ 20° 35′ 27″ n 92° 19′ 16″ 92° 19′ 32″ e 17-3-13 c (west of coast guard office) 7 20° 37′ 18″ 20° 37′ 25″ n 92° 18′ 13″ 92° 18′ 58″ e 25-4-13 c (west of coral view guest house) 4 20° 37′ 21″ 20° 37′ 29″ n 92° 18′ 29″ 92° 18′ 58″ e 20-3-13 d (west of light house) 5 20° 37′ 41″ 20° 38′ 14″ n 92° 18′ 24″ 92° 18′42″ e 25-4-13 d (west of light house) 3 20° 37′ 51″ 20° 38′ 00″ n 92° 18′ 32″ 92° 18′ 50″ e 25-4-13 e (north of light house) 3 20° 38′ 38″ 20° 38′42″ n 92° 18′ 50″ 92° 19′06″ e 19-3-13 f (east of dakshinpara) 7 20° 34′ 57″ 20° 36′ 10″ n 92° 20′ 04″ 92° 20′ 20″ e results and discussion several physical and chemical factors showed (table 2, fig. 2) that higher secchi depth were observed at locations a and c followed by b and d in march. on the other hand minimum secchi depth was measured in april. different light intensities at different depth of sea water is in agreement with the higher intensity and production of seaweeds at different depths and locations in march (fig. 2 and tables 3-4). sublittoral seaweeds collected from various depths and localities around the smi were counted and wet wt., length and breadth of plants and plant parts were measured. the values were used to calculate the relative abundance and biomass of 40 taxa of six locations in between months of march and april 2013. the recorded physico-chemical parameters namely, secchi depth, light intensity, ph, salinity, conductivity and tds were ranged from 0.952.52m, 300-900 µem-2s-1, 7.3-7.9, 34-35‰, 42.5-43.3 µs/cm and 11-28.2 mg l-1, respectively during the study period. physical and chemical parameters recorded show that secchi depth (sd) was relatively high 2.52 at location a that directly faces the open sea, the bay of bengal that might cause high turbulence compared to relatively low at locations b and c, about 3 km north having rocky bottom (fig. 1) were 1.0-1.9 and 0.95 – 2.42, respectively (table 2). the sd increased proportionately to light and tds which in the location corresponds to secchi depth. the light quantity (fig. 2) likewise corresponds to sd and tds. the sd increased proportionate to light and tds. the tds in the location corresponds to secchi depth. the loght quantity (fig. 2) likewise corresponds to sd and tds. below 900 µem-2s-1 (66%) in the surface water decreased to 328 µem-2s-1 (21%) at 2 m and 278 µem-2s-1 (278 e µem-2s-1 at 3 m, so good relationship with secchi depth and ph being higher in the surface than at 5m. so, the low tds, and std directly species diversity, distribution and standing biomass 17 correspond to light quantity, so does the seaweed biomass and number. salinity and conductivity do not vary around the smi. a surface light of 1350 µem-2s-1 reduced to 577 (47%), 329 (24%) and 278 (16%) at 1, 2 and 3 m depths (could not measure from the surface due 3 m cord length). rath and adhikary (2006) were reported 21 species of macro-algae (seaweeds) from the coastal region of orissa state. of these 9 species belong to chlorophyta, 10 to rhodophyta and 2 to phaeophyta. they also observed abundance of seaweeds during october to february in the coast of orissa when the air temperature was moderate between 20 to 32°c. their research findings also showed in summer (april to june), when the air temperature was invariably in the range of 35 to 45°c, the quantity of all seaweeds was decreased. they also showed rhodophyta was dominant followed by chlorophyta which is a common phenomenon in the tropical distributional pattern of seaweeds in this region. table 2. physical and chemical parameters in summer (march to april) at three locations of st. martin's island, bangladesh. *light intensities (µem-2s-1) at two secchi depths are shown in parentheses. parameters locations march a b c secchi depth (m) 2.52 1.0-1.90 0.95-2.42 2.50 (180*) 3.00 (159*) ph 7.9 (sarface) 7.3 (5 m depth) 7.8 (surface) 7.6 (5 m depth) 7.30 salinity (‰) 34.00 34 35.00 conductivity (µs/cm) 43.00 43.30 42.50 tds (mg/l) 27.60 11 28.20 fig. 2. light profile in sea water on 17 march 2013, south of cheradia, st. martin's island. at cheradia (location a) a total of 13 taxa have been recorded, the total number of the organisms were 252 having a total weight of 22.837 kgm-2 in 10 sites studied on 18-3-2013. the average overall number of seaweeds was 1.938 m-2 at cheradia (table 4). individually highes 18 aziz et al. species diversity, distribution and standing biomass 19 20 aziz et al. species diversity, distribution and standing biomass 21 22 aziz et al. species diversity, distribution and standing biomass 23 24 aziz et al. number was recorded for halimeda opuntia/incrassata followed by caulerpa peltata, c. cactoides, jania ungulata, etc. on the basis of weight the average overall biomass was 175.70 gm-2 (table 4). individually highest biomass was recorded for sargassum spp. followed by caulerpa cactoides, caulerpa taxifolia, etc. of the three groups greens had highest biomasss followed by reds and browns (table 4). at north west of dakshinpara (location b) a total of 4 taxa have been recorded, the total number of seaweeds were 37 having a total weight of 1.800 kgm-2 in 5 sites in march. in april the total biomass was 8.412 kgm-2 (tables 3-4). the average monthly number of seaweeds was 1.720 m-2. individually highest number was recorded for halimeda discoidea followed by, padina gymnospora and caulerpa sertularioides var. brevipes, halimeda opuntia/incrassata, etc. (table 3). individually highest biomass was recorded for halimeda discoidea followed by halimeda incrassata, padina gymnospora etc. (table 4). on the basis of weight the average monthly biomass was 111.7 g m-2 (table 4). of the three groups greens had highest biomass followed by browns, reds were absent in the location. at west of coast guard office (location c) a total of 19 taxa have been recorded, the total number of seaweeds were 147 having a total weight of 6.708 kg in 7 sites in march (tables 3-4). the average overall number of seaweeds was 1.257 m-2 (table 3). in april the total biomass was 4.36 kgm-2. individually highest number was recorded for halimeda discoidea followed by caulerpa taxifolia, neurymenia fraxnifolia, hypnea boergesenii, asparagopsis taxiformis etc. (table 3). on the basis of weight the average monthly biomass was 54.80 g m-2 (table 4). individually highest biomass was recorded for caulerpa taxifolia followed by halimeda discoidea, sargassum swatzii, spatoglossum asperum followed by neurymenia fraxnifolia, hypnea musciformis, halimeda incrassata, etc. (table 4). of the three groups greens had highest biomass followed by browns and reds. at west of light house (location d) a total of 7 taxa have been recorded, the total number of seaweeds were 80 having a total weight of 21.280 kg m-2 in 5 sites in march (tables 3-4). individually highest number was recorded for spatoglossum asperum followed by caulerpa taxifolia, caulerpa sertularioides var. brevipes, sargassum tenerrimum and dictyopteris australis. the average monthly number of seaweeds was 2.286 m-2. reds were absent (table 3). on the basis of weight the average overall biomass was 608 gm-2 in march and 902 gm-2 in april (table 4). individually highest biomass was recorded for spatoglossum asperum followed by sargassum tenerrimum and caulerpa taxifolia (table 4). of the three groups browns had highest biomass followed by greens. at south west of dakshinpara (location b) a total of 4 taxa have been recorded, the total number of seaweeds were 50 having a total weight of 8.412 kgm-2 in 6 sites in march (tables 34). individually highest number was recorded for spatoglossum asperum followed by dictyopteris australis and halimeda discoidea (table 3). the monthly number of seaweeds was 1.700 m-2 at east of dakshinpara (location f). individually highest biomass was recorded for spatoglossum asperum followed by dictyopteris australis, halimeda discoidea, etc. (table 4). on the basis of weight the average monthly biomass was 248 g m-2 (table 4). of the three groups browns had highest biomass followed by greens and reds. at west of coral view guest house (location c) a total of 10 taxa have been recorded, the total number of seaweeds were 76 having a total weight of 4.360 kgm-2 in 3 sites in april (tables 3-4). the average monthly number of seaweeds was 1.900 m-2 (table 3). individually highest number was recorded for halimeda opuntia/incrassata followed by caulerpa taxifolia (table 3). the average overall biomass was 109.00 g m-2 (table 4). individually highest biomass was recorded species diversity, distribution and standing biomass 25 for halimeda opuntia/incrassata followed by spatoglossum variabile, dictyopteris australis, c. taxifolia, etc. (table 4). of the three groups browns had highest followed by greens and reds. at west of light house (location d) a total of 3 taxa have been recorded, the total number of seaweeds were 54 having a total weight of 8.120 kgm-2 in 3 sites in april (tables 3-4). individually highest number was recorded for spatoglossum variabile followed by dictyopteris australis and halimeda discoidea (table 3). the average monthly number of seaweeds was 6.000 m-2 at location d (table 3). individually highest biomass was recorded for spatoglossum variabile followed by dictyopteris australis, halimeda discoidea (table 4). on the basis of weight the average monthly biomass was 902 g m-2 (table 4). of the three groups browns had highest followed by greens, reds were absent. at north of light house (location e) a total of 7 taxa have been recorded, the total number of seaweeds were 75 having a total weight of 13.640 kgm-2 in 3 sites in april. individually highest number was recorded for halimeda discoidea followed by spatoglossum variabile, dictyopteris australis, etc. (table 3).the average overall number of seaweeds was 3.570 m-2 at north of light house (table 3). individually highest biomass was recorded for spatoglossum variabile followed by halimeda discoidea, dictyopteris australis, galaxura fastigiata, etc. (table 4).on the basis of weight the average monthly biomass was 649 gm-2 (table 4). of the three groups browns had highest followed by greens and reds. at east of dakshinpara (location f) a total of 12 taxa have been recorded, the total number of seaweeds were 115 having a total weight of 9.850 kg m-2 in 7 sites in march (tables 3-4). individually highest number was recorded for halimeda incrassata followed by h. discoidea, h. opuntia (table 3). the average monthly number of seaweeds was 1.172 m-2 at location f (table 3). on the basis of weight the average monthly biomass was 79.10 g m-2 (table 4). individually highest biomass was recorded for dictyota atomaria, halimeda discoidea followed by h. opuntia/incrassata, padina tenuis, caulerpa taxifolia, etc. (table 4). of the three groups greens had highest biomass followed by browns and reds. in the present investigation it has been found that seaweeds occur from 0.2 to 15 m depth (may be further) of the smi. it appeared that average overall number of seaweed taxa in the island varies from 1.505 to 3.40 m-2 (table 3). the highest average overall number was found at locations d, followed by a, b and c. the average monthly number for locations e (sheltered zone) and f were 3.570 and 1.172 m-2, respectively (table 3). a total of 40 taxa were recorded from the six locations (table 3). the total number of seaweed taxa recorded from sublittoral zones appears to be small compared to the taxa reported so far from the smi, bangladesh. this might be due to harsh weather in late spring and early summer months (february in the period of optimum growth); microscopic forms were not considered; smaller delicate seaweeds under turbulent water may have been washed out and microscopic epiphytes were avoided (dsaya, microscopic form came into notice as attached to avrainvillea amdelpha). however, the dominant taxa in the smi in terms of number were spp. of spatoglossum, halimeda opuntia/incrassata, dictyopteris australis, caulerpa taxifolia, h. discoidea, caulerpa chemnitzia var. irregulare aziz & alfasane and spp. of sargassum (tables 3-4). floristic composition in the st. martin’s island was more or less similar to the kerala coastline (chennubhotla et al., 1988). they recorded 35 seaweed taxa from 0.00 to 0.5 m depth covering nearly 580 km. some taxa like caulerpa chemnitzia var. irregulare aziz & alfasane, c. sertularioides, caulerpa taxifolia, spatoglossum asperum and padina gymnospora found in kerala coastline were also found in the smi. occurrence of seaweed taxa in different localities varied. out of 6 locations caulerpa taxifolia, halimeda discoidea and h. incrassata were present in 5 locations where as dictyopteris australis and jania ungulata were present in 4 locations (table 3). browns and greens were found 26 aziz et al. in all the six localities but reds were present in only six occasions. the total biomass of browns was vary high followed by greens and reds. average number of seaweeds m-2 was 1.573, 1.524 and 0.504 for browns, greens and reds, respectively. the average monthly biomass in the present study varied from 54.80 to 902 g m-2 (table 4). the average overall biomass showed almost similar pattern being highest in location d (696 gm-2) followed by b (179.90 gm-2), a(175.70 gm-2) and c(74.20 gm-2). however, average biomass contributed by browns was highest (291.00 gm-2) followed by greens (118.6 gm-2) and reds (45.10 gm-2). the total standing sublittoral biomass around the smi was 148,50 metric ton for both the months separately. the average overall biomass was highest at location d followed by b, a and c. if the average monthly biomass of march is compared with april, the later had highest biomass and largely contributed by large brown seaweeds because of strong thalli (table 4). greens seaweeds however were higher in march compared to april, which might be due to their delicate nature. pereira and almeida (2014) had compiled the seaweeds list of the goa coast-on the basis of fresh collections of which 145 specimens comprising of 64 species of reds, 41 species of greens, and 40 brown algae, the result varied largely with present study where browns had highest followed by greens and reds. they also reported 70 seaweeds species as new records for the goa coast, in contrast only two varieties of caulerpa namely, caulerpa chemnitzia var. irregulare aziz & alfasane., caulerpa sertularioides var. robusta aziz & alfasane were new to science and seven were new records. nine species of sublittoral and deep-water red and brown algae were also reported from the canary islands for the first time (sansón et al, 2002). dellow (1954) reported 241 seaweeds from the gulf region, in contrast to 207 in the smi. a comparison of the seaweeds taxa common to st. martin’s island, bangladesh and coasts of india revealed five taxa of rhodophyceae, fourteen taxa of chlorophyceae and eleven taxa of pheophyceae as common (table 5). ali et al. (2017) were also reported a total of 36 species (16 phaeophyceae, 12 rhodophyta, and 8 chlorophyta) of sublittoral seaweeds from in the coastal waters of sindh (pakistan). total sublittoral seaweed taxa were 40 in the smi higher than kerala, india having 13 taxa (chennubhotla et al., 1988), kudankulam, india having 15 taxa (satheesh and wesley, 2012) and port okha, india having 17 taxa (thakur et al., 2008) indicating rich seaweed diversity. vertical profile of sublittoral seaweeds sublittoral seaweeds collected from various depths and six localities around smi were identified and were plotted as per their depth of occurrence on to the fig. 3. it appears that of the total 40 taxa as many as 28 taxa were present within 1 m depth, whereas 23 taxa within 2 m and 13 taxa up to 3m. it revealed a total of 40 seaweed taxa of which 16 were browns, 12 reds and 12 greens including two new variety caulerpa chemnitzia var. irregulare aziz et alfasane and c. sertularioides var, robusta aziz et alfasane (aziz and alfasane, 2020). total taxa were low compared to 1990’s and early 2000’s affected by human activities and that some smaller forms were washed away by current and waves during collections. depth profile showed occurrence of a total of 31 (77%) taxa within 1 m and 34 (85%) in the next 1 m (within 2 m) have been considered as highly productive zone; 27 (67%) taxa in the next 1 m (3rd 1m) depth have been considered as the medium productive zone). the lower productivity in the 3rd m depth measured was due to low light (only 16% of surface light 1350 µem-2s-1), high secchi depth and tds, all indicating limited light intensity. the number of organisms at 10 m depth decreased to 17(42%) taxa and at15 m depth only 4(10%) taxa were present. the number of taxa decreased substantially in the deeper areas. however this distribution pattern should be considered carefully for the following reasons: (i) it was not possible to collect samples after every 1m depth of each location, (ii) representative species diversity, distribution and standing biomass 27 samples and locations were low (only 5 locations in an island of 8.5 km2) and (iii) possibility of losing small and delicate samples during collections due to waves and current cannot be ruled out. fig. 3. depth profile of sublittoral seaweeds of three classes collected from different sites and locations around the smi during march and april 2013. 28 aziz et al. relative occurrence of the taxa within 3 m depth was determined considering their presence in ≥ 8 places as abundant, 4-7 places as common, 2-3 places as few and only on place as rare. the dominant taxa from 0.2 to up to 3.0 m depth were (in a decreasing order): caulerpa taxifolia, halimeda discoidea, dictyopteris australis, spatoglossum asperum followed by hypnea musciformis, jania ungulata, peyssonnelia polymorpha, halimeda opuntia/incrassata, caulerpa cactoides, c. racemosa var. brevipes, var. clavifera, dictyota atomaria, spp. of padina and galaxura fastigiata. the rare spp. were pocokiella variegata, neurymenia fraxinifolia, vanvoorstia coccinea, codium geppei and avrainvillea amadelpha (table 3). greens and browns appeared to dominant in deeper area though peyssonnelia polymorpha a red alga was found at 15 m depth. petsut et al. (2012) were also investigated species diversity, biomass and distribution pattern of seaweed beds in relation to environmental conditions from january to december 2011 in the trat peninsula, east coast of thailand. they reported 26 taxa of marine benthic algae of which 16 species of red marine algae were the most diverse group. they found that catenella nipae, gracilaria salicornia, gelidium pusillum, hydropuntia changii, hypnea hamulosa, kyrtutrix maculans, laurencia decumbents, lyngbya majuscula, peyssonnelia rubra and ulva clathrata were the most abundant. they also found highest number of seaweeds in march (25 species), on the other hand the lowest in june (12 species). they also reported seaweeds biomass had a maximum value in april (59.50 g/m2 dry weight) and minimum value in july (20.14 g/m2 dry weight). the 10 to 15 m depth studied have been considered as low productive zone for march and april environment. the 4 taxa at 15 m were represented by peyssonnelia polymorpha, caulerpa taxifolia, halimeda discoidea and dictyota atomaria and considered as highly adaptive seaweeds. of these p. polymorpha in particular could grow on bare boulders of upper intertidal zone under direct sunlight during lowest tide. the average wet biomass in march and april was 55 g m-2 and 902 g m-2, respectively where browns had highest (291.00 g m-2) followed by greens (118.6 g m-2) and reds (45.10 g m-2). highest average biomass was at location d (696 g m-2) followed by b (179.90 g m-2), a (175.70 g m-2) and c (74.20 g m-2). total standing sublittoral wet biomass around the smi was estimated to be 148.50 metric ton for each month based on collections from a total of 50 sites and contribute mostly by caulerpa chemnitzia var. irregulare aziz et alfasane, c. sertularioides var, robusta aziz et alfasane, c. furgusonii, caulerpa taxifolia and asparagopsis taxiformis. higher shannon-weiner index of diversity (h') occurred in march at zone c (3.152) followed by a (2.778), d (2.284), e (1.95) and a minimum at zone b (1.53). in contrast, shannonweiner index of diversity (h') showed the higher values at zone f (2.60) followed by c (1.87), b (1.47), d (1.21) and zone a showed minimum value (<1). green seaweed diversity was higher among the classes. the jaccard similarity index showed slightly higher percentage between zone a and c (28%) than between zone c and d (27%) and their intersecting numbers were found to be eight. acknowledgements heartfelt gratitude to the bangladesh navy authority for providing the naval ship and scuba divers with underwater photography and communication systems to carry out the research in the bottom of the sea. special thanks to commander m. zahid hossain, (tas), psc co bns saikat for providing all out help for four days in the sea. authors are grateful to mr. md. monirul islam for giving his continuous support to collection of the samples and preparation of the manuscript. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m.ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript on 16 january 2021; revised on 23 january 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 53-76, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67044 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists quantitative ethnobotanical study in gafargaon sub-district and unveiling drug candidates through molecular docking and dynamics simulation approaches sheikh sunzid ahmed, m. oliur rahman*, mohammad ajmal ali1 and joongku lee2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: ethnobotany; informant consensus factor; fidelity; molecular docking; molecular dynamics simulation; rheumatoid arthritis; jak1. abstract an ethnobotanical investigation was carried out in gafargaon sub-district (upazila) under mymensingh district, bangladesh that unveiled a total of 79 medicinal plant species under 74 genera and 46 families which were used to treat various ailments through 106 formularies. in addition, molecular docking and dynamics simulation studies were performed based on ethnobotanical outcome for the first time in bangladesh to unveil potential drug candidates. the study revealed that most of the species used for primary healthcare were herbs (44.3%) followed by trees (36.7%), shrubs (10.2%) and climbers (8.8%). leaves were found to be the most frequently used part (34%) compared to other plant parts. factor of informant consensus values ranged from 0.975 to 0.984 and the highest value was recorded for respiratory tract disorders (0.984). maximum number of taxa was unraveled to treat digestive and gastrointestinal disorders. fidelity level varied from 41.2 to 100%, where 11 species showed 100% fidelity, and the citation frequency was found above 70% for 15 different ailments. molecular docking study exposed 60% stephania japonica phytocompounds scoring higher than the control drug ibuprofen (-7.0 kcal/mol) targeting rheumatoid arthritis. the phytocompounds oxostephanine, trilobine and epistephanine were identified as lead drug candidates with binding affinity of -9.7, -8.7 and -8.6 kcal/mol, respectively. molecular interactions of these compounds were found significant to identify potential drug surface hotspots. molecular dynamics simulation shed light on regional flexibility profiles and unraveled notable structural stability of the top three phytocompounds. the present study would offer foundational data for identifying potential bioactive compounds that could be utilized in novel drug discovery efforts. introduction plants with medicinal uses have been a quintessential component of traditional healthcare system since antiquity. indigenous therapeutic uses of plants have enriched existing traditional medicinal knowledge (tmk) which in turn, developed the pedestal of modern medicines (pandey and tripathi, 2017; mouele et al., 2022). conservation of this traditional botanical knowledge (tbk) through formal documentation is considered as a key factor to open new avenues for designing and developing novel drugs (yordi et al., 2022). according to world health organization (who), ethnomedicine are still the primary sources of healthcare for approximately 80% of the world’s population, especially in rural areas of developing countries. over 50% of all *corresponding author. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 1department of botany and microbiology, college of sciences, king saud university, riyadh 11451, saudi arabia 2department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, daehak-ro, yuseong-gu, daejeon, republic of korea https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67044 mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 54 ahmed et al. pharmaceutical drugs can be traced back to their origins in ethnomedicine (van wyk et al., 1997; suchana et al., 2022). recently, the use of ethnomedicinal plant-based formularies have gained popularity over the use of synthetic drugs focusing issues, such as safety and efficacy which demands a more rigorous and scientific documentation of indigenous medicinal knowledge (minnady et al., 2022). lack of plant identification skill is a hindrance to this endeavor which might results in inappropriate selection of taxa for specific ailment and at this point taxonomic expertise is very much essential (hadiati et al., 2022). the global market for herbal medicines has prospered as a result of cumulative significance of ethnobotanical research. the worldwide market was valued at approximately us$ 83 billion in 2019, and it is projected to grow significantly, reaching an estimated worth of us$ 550 billion by 2030 (suchana et al., 2022). this brilliant economic outgrowth is endangered due to some factors including continuous decline in traditional medicinal practices, reduced interests of the younger generation toward traditional treatment systems coupled with rural depopulation, mass deforestation, and migrations of traditional medicinal healers to other jobs (faruque et al., 2018). all of these facts further necessitate the need of ethnobotanical research to conserve ethnomedicinal values of plants and cultural heritage. molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation (mds) are in silico techniques which facilitate validation of the ethnobotanical findings at the molecular level to shed light on potential lead candidates of specific taxa to carry out drug design works. molecular docking provides insights into the interactions that occur at the atomic level between a small molecule (referred to as a ligand) and a protein (referred to as a receptor). molecular dynamics simulation is used to inspect the temporal behavior and movement of atoms and molecules employing equations of motion grounded in classical physics. in structure based drug design (sbdd), molecular docking and dynamics simulation approaches help to recognize intermolecular interactions, dynamic behavior of complexes, structural alterations, and properties exhibited by molecular systems which drive rational designing of novel inhibitors targeting a wide range of diseases and disorders. these comprehensive in silico strategies can save time, cost and labor on the contrary of conventional in vitro and in vivo investigations (azim et al., 2020; ahmed et al., 2022). very recently, some ethnobotanical studies have attempted these molecular approaches to signify ethnobotanical findings and led a possible strategy for the development of future therapeutics targeting specific ailments based on peoples’ perception and practical perspectives (vijayakumar et al., 2016; maghfiroh et al., 2021; abdulrahman et al., 2022). janus kinase 1 (jak1) is a tyrosine kinase receptor that plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis when dysregulated via production of pro-inflammatory cytokines which mainly drive disease progression of rheumatoid arthritis (ra). binding of cytokines facilitates phosphorylation of jak1 and it gets activated. this activation results in the formation of stat (signal transducers and activators of transcription) dimer that is translocated to the nucleus, acts as transcription factor and initiates transcription of genes encoding proinflammatory cytokines which ended up with production of malignant protein that causes rheumatoid arthritis. therefore, inhibition of jak1 plays a regulatory role in the jak-stat pathway to prevent the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and consequently to stop the disease progression of ra (tanaka et al., 2022). in bangladesh, several efforts have been made to record and document the traditional knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants, leading to a resurgence in folk medicine over the past two decades (hassan and khan, 1986, 1996; mia and huq, 1988; alam et al., 1996; uddin m.z. et al., 2008, 2015, 2017, 2019; uddin s.b. et al., 2011; sajib and uddin, 2015; hossain and rahman, 2018). these studies shed light on medicinal plants of particular community, specific diseases or certain areas of bangladesh. nevertheless, there are still numerous areas and communities in bangladesh that have not been explored. many more medicinal plants used as sources of herbal ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 55 drugs by ethnic groups, folk medicinal practitioners (fmps), and local people are yet to be uncovered from those unexplored areas and communities (hossain and rahman, 2018). in the recent past, rahman et al. (2019) conducted a floristic survey on the angiosperm flora of gafargaon sub-district, however, there has been no ethnobotanical investigation attempted targeting this sub-district. moreover, molecular docking and dynamics simulation analyses have never been conducted to validate ethnobotanical outcomes in any earlier studies carried out in bangladesh. therefore, the current study aimed to employ ethnobotanical protocol to unravel peoples’ consensus regarding the ethnomedicinal uses of plants in gafargaon sub-district via quantitative analyses. the investigation aimed further to unleash the power of molecular docking and dynamics simulation approaches in ethnobotany for the first time in bangladesh to unveil potential lead phytocompounds targeting particular ailment with specific taxon based on informants’ consensus which would shed light on future drug design and discovery. materials and methods study area: gafargaon sub-district under mymensingh district spans an area of 401.16 sq. km. and is situated between latitudes of 24°15' and 24°33' n, and longitudes of 90°27' and 90°39' e. the subdistrict shares its borders with trishal and nandail sub-districts to the north, kapasia and sreepur sub-districts to the south, hossainpur and pakundia sub-districts to the east, and trishal, bhaluka, and sreepur sub-districts to the west. gafargaon experiences a moderate climate, similar to other parts of the district, as it is located near to the himalayas and falls within the tropical monsoon zone. the temperature in the area varies from 15.1ºc to 34.4ºc, with monthly average minimum and maximum temperatures of 22.3ºc and 31.8ºc, respectively. the average monthly rainfall is 227 mm. there are significant monthly variations in humidity levels, the maximum ranging from 81% to 97%, while the minimum varying from 47% to 79% (rahman et al., 2019; bbs, 2022). the sub-district boasts a variety of habitats and ecosystems, including wetlands, cultivated lands, char (river islands), homestead areas, scrub jungles, and fallow lands. these diverse habitats support a dense growth of angiosperms, which are crucial for the local economy, environment, and primary healthcare system. many individuals in the region possess traditional knowledge about plants and their uses, which they rely on for their primary healthcare management. plant samples and data collection plant samples were collated from the study area through multiple field surveys conducted at various seasons between may 2020 and december 2022. collected voucher specimens were processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; alexiades, 1996) and deposited at the dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). all the specimens were critically studied and identified by experts, using standard literatures and online databases (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; dassanayake and fosberg, 1980-1991; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; the plant list, 2013; powo, 2022; tropicos, 2022). data on medicinal uses of these plants were collected through semi-structured interviews, group interviews, plant interviews, discussions with key informants, and informal conversations with folk medicinal practitioners locally referred to as kabiraz (alexiades, 1996). a total of 51 informants, including 11 female and 40 male individuals, with an average age of 55 years were interviewed. quantitative analyses factor of informant consensus (fic): to estimate use diversity targeting particular ailments, fic values were determined using the following formula (heinrich et al., 1998): 56 ahmed et al. fic = ………………………… (i) here, nur represents number of use reports in each category, and ntaxa represents number of species in each category. citation frequency (cf %): cf values help to identify the most commonly used medicinal plants in the study area. cf values were estimated employing the following formula (friedman et al., 1986): cf = × 100 …………………………. (ii) here, n refers to number of people interviewed citing species, and n represents total number people interviewed. fidelity level (fl %): fl values are useful to identify the plant species that are most preferred by informants for treating specific ailments. fl values were calculated using the following formula (friedman et al., 1986): fl = × 100 ……………………….. (iii) here, ip denotes to number of informants who indicate use of a species for the same major ailment, and iu refers to total number of informants who mentioned the same plant for any other use. active site prediction of the receptor macromolecule castp 3.0 and scfbio webservers have been utilized to predict active sites of the receptor jak1 (kuman et al., 2012; tian et al., 2018). for prediction, the pdb file was uploaded to these servers after retrieving from the protein data bank with pdb id “4k6z”. the castp 3.0 server was utilized for single cavity-based prediction, whereas the scfbio server was employed for making predictions on multiple cavity basis. molecular docking and interaction analyses based on fic (factor informant consensus) value and novelty, stephania japonica was selected for molecular docking analysis targeting rheumatoid arthritis. the receptor protein, jak1 was retrieved from the protein data bank with pdb id “4k6z”. this transferase is frequently targeted to search for novel inhibitors targeting rheumatoid arthritis (singh and singh, 2020). the protein was prepared using autodock mgl tool by deleting water and heteroatoms, adding polar hydrogens and kollman charges and repairing missing atom residues. subsequently, the protein was energy minimized by swiss-pdb viewer following rahman and ahmed (2022). afterwards, 30 bioactive phytochemicals of stephania japonica were retrieved from pubchem database (semwal et al., 2010). ibuprofen, as the control drug, was retrieved from drugbank (grennan et al., 1979). all the phytocompounds and control were prepared as ligands for molecular docking by applying mmff94 (merck molecular force field) force field based on earlier study (ahmed et al., 2023). molecular docking was performed using the blind docking approach in pyrx software version 0.8. docked complexes were visualized using discovery studio visualizer for molecular interaction analysis (ahmed et al., 2023). molecular dynamics simulation the flexibility of the ligand-protein complexes that ranked the highest was assessed using the cabs-flex 2.0 server (http://biocomp.chem.uw.edu.pl/cabsflex2), and the results were http://biocomp.chem.uw.edu.pl/cabsflex2), ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 57 presented using rmsf (root mean square fluctuation). cabs-flex enables rapid simulation of protein flexibility with minimal system requirements showing a strong correlation between the flexibility simulations obtained from this server and nmr results (kmiecik et al., 2016; kuriata et al., 2018). cabs-flex provides high-resolution simulations (10 ns) of protein dynamics in conditions close to their native state, making it a valuable tool for real-time evaluation of proteinligand stability. the simulation in cabs-flex was conducted using the default parameters, consisting of 50 cycles. results and discussion diversity of ethnomedicinal plants: the present study unveiled traditional medicinal knowledge of 79 species belonging to 74 genera and 46 families which were used for 13 major ailments via 106 formularies. a total of 51 informants took part in the participatory rural appraisal (pra) from diverse profession and age groups (table 1). the ethnomedicinally important species alongside families and vouchers, their vernacular names, parts used, mode of administration and ailments treated for each species are documented in table 2. asteraceae was found to be the most dominant plant family containing the highest number of species (7.5%), followed by fabaceae (6.3%), malvaceae (5.1%) and rutaceae (5.1%). the most frequently used species were herbs (44.3%), followed by trees (36.7%), shrubs (10.2%) and climbers (8.8%) (fig. 1a). these findings have been found congruent with several other studies where the dominant ethnomedicinal plants were herbs (uddin et al., 2019; suchana et al., 2022). traditional healers use herbs and trees as the most common sources of medicines (uniyal et al., 2006), which has been supported further by our study. the maximum number of species were prepared as extract (34.9%), followed by paste (21.7%) and decoction (17.9%) prior to administration (fig. 1b). the percentage of plant parts administered for treating different ailments is shown in figure 2. in a study conducted on the ethnomedicinal plants of barisal district, extracts were reported as the principal mode of administration which showed congruence with our findings (hossain and rahman, 2018). however, faruque et al. (2019) reported paste as the chief mode of preparation in bilaichari sub-district of rangamati district, which was found to be inconsistent with our study. this inconsistency might be due to the peoples’ perception driven by geographical isolation and community composition of the two areas. about 76% of the species were recorded for internal use and the remaining 24% showed external application. among the parts used, leaves were found to be the most dominant one (34%), followed by roots (14%), whole plants (13%) and fruits (12%) (fig. 2). table 1. socio-demographic features of the informants in gafargaon sub-district. variables categories percentage variables categories percentage gender male 78.4 religion islam 92.2 female 21.6 others 7.8 age group < 30 5.8 profession traditional healer 25.5 31-50 19.6 farmer 19.6 51-70 64.8 day laborer 13.7 > 70 9.8 small shopkeeper 13.7 education illiterate 33.3 others 27.5 primary 43.1 secondary 17.5 university 6.1 58 ahmed et al. a few other studies have also demonstrated that leaves are predominantly used by folk medicinal practitioners for various therapeutic purposes (hossain and rahman, 2018; uddin et al., 2019). the inclination towards using leaves in the preparation of herbal medicines by healers might be attributed to the year-round availability of leaves and their ease of collection, storage, processing, and handling (faruque et al., 2018). fig. 1. comparative analysis of habits and mode of preparation of the recorded ethnomedicinally important plants. a. classification of species based on habits showing the percentage for treating various ailments; b. different modes of preparation of the recorded species. fig. 2. use report of different plant parts applied to treat various ailments in gafargaon sub-district. a b ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 59 table 2. ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants in gafargaon sub-district with various ailments and mode of administration. taxa and voucher local name parts used ailments mode of application abroma augustum (l.) l.f. (malvaceae); ssa-229 ulot kombol stem constipation, menstrual problems stem aqueous extract is taken after soaking it whole night. root dysentery decoction of root is mixed with root extract of bombax ceiba and taken orally. achyranthes aspera l. (amaranthaceae); ssa-275 uuhutlenga, apang whole plant infertility problem 2 ml decoction is orally taken thrice a day for three months. aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa (rutaceae); ssa-270 bel fruit diarrhoea infusion of fruit pulp is orally consumed. root heart palpitation decoction of roots is taken internally. allium cepa l. (amaryllidaceae); ssa-244 peeaz bulb insect bite extract is applied externally to treat swelling and inflammation. oligomenorrhea half teaspoon of bulb extract is taken orally with honey early morning on an empty stomach for two weeks. allium sativum l. (amaryllidaceae); ssa-212 roshun bulb rheumatoid arthritis extract is often taken orally and sometimes boiled for external application. hyperlipidemia juice is taken internally. amaranthus spinosus l. (amaranthaceae); ssa-245 khoirakata leaf skin inflammation paste is applied externally. root skin allergy decoction is applied externally. whole plant jaundice decoction is taken orally. amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicol. (araceae); ssa-279 oulkachu tuber piles extract is consumed orally at night. ananas comosus (l.) merr. (bromeliaceae); ssa-206 anarosh leaf helminthiasis crushed young leaves are combined with powdered areca catechu roots and mixed with water for oral consumption. annona squamosa l. (annonaceae); ssa-271 ata fruit cardiovascular problem fruit juice is taken orally along with mesosphaerum suaveolens seeds. aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r. parker (meliaceae); ssa-233 pitraj leaf rheumatoid arthritis leaf paste is applied externally. averrhoa carambola l. (oxalidaceae); ssa-276 kamranga fruit anorexia juice is taken orally. azadirachta indica a. juss. (meliaceae); ssa-219 nim leaf allergy leaf paste is applied externally, sometimes consumed orally as small tablets. stem toothache young shoots are used for brushing teeth. bombax ceiba l. (malvaceae); ssa-232 shimul root dhat syndrome decoction of roots is taken internally, sometimes after mixing with root extract of xanthium strumarium. cajanus cajan (l.) huth (fabaceae); ssa-208 aarol, orohor leaf jaundice juice is taken internally along with coconut water. constipation leaf paste is taken internally. calotropis procera (aiton) w.t. aiton (apocynaceae); ssa-268 aahon, akondo leaf asthma body ache boiled leaf is inhaled, sometimes taken orally. leaf juice is taken internally. 60 ahmed et al. table 2 contd. taxa and voucher local name parts used ailments mode of application carica papaya l. (caricaceae); ssa-266 pabda, pepey leaf body ache leaf juice is taken orally. jaundice leaf paste is taken orally. cassia fistula l. (fabaceae); ssa-234 bandor lori seed jaundice seed paste is administered internally early in the morning for five consecutive days. centella asiatica (l.) urb. (apiaceae); ssa-204 dholmanik, thankuni whole plant diarrhoea decoction is taken orally. cold and cough decoction is internally taken. chenopodium album l. (amaranthaceae); ssa-267 bottoua shak leaf body ache leaf paste is orally taken. whole plant constipation boiled or fried as vegetables. chromolaena odorata (l.) king & rob. (asteraceae); ssa-277 boro heyalmuti leaf skin cut and laceration paste of leaves is applied externally for blood clotting and wound healing. cinnamomum tamala (buch.ham.) nees & eberm. (lauraceae); ssa-248 tej pata leaf cold and cough boiled leaf extract is taken internally with tea. clerodendrum infortunatum l. (lamiaceae); ssa-253 bhait leaf chronic dysentery leaf juice is taken orally. flower rheumatoid arthritis flower paste is taken internally along with ash of coconut shell. coccinia grandis (l.) voigt (cucurbitaceae); ssa-203 kauajhingi leaf dyspepsia and flatulence boiled leaf is taken with rice. root diabetes decoction of roots is taken orally. cocos nucifera l. (arecaceae); ssa-213 nairol fruit diarrhoea coconut water is taken orally. colocasia esculenta (l.) schott (araceae); ssa-215 kachu bark skin laceration applied externally for wound dressing. corchorus olitorius l. (malvaceae); ssa-223 naillya seed pox seed paste is applied externally along with seed oil of sesamum indicum. curcuma longa l. (zingiberaceae); ssa-209 oldi, holud rhizome diabetes decoction is taken internally. cuscuta reflexa roxb. (convolvulaceae); ssa-262 swarnolot whole plant helminthiasis extract is orally taken once a day for a few days. cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h. rob. (asteraceae) ssa251 kukshima root dhat syndrome extract is mixed with decoction of xanthium strumarium roots and consumed orally. cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. (poaceae); ssa-264 durba whole plant skin laceration crushed parts are mixed with flower extracts of nymphaea nouchali and applied externally. datura metel l. (solanaceae); ssa-257 dhutura fruit eczema and skin rash raw fruit is eaten in small quantity once a day. dendrocnide sinuata (bl.) chew (urticaceae); ssa-220 chutra leaf skin irritation and itching leaf paste is applied externally. dillenia indica l. (dilleniaceae); ssa-260 chalta fruit asthenia fruit juice is taken thrice a day. leaf dysentery extract is taken twice a day for one week. diospyros malabarica (desr.) kostel. (ebenaceae); ssa-207 gab bark dysentery crushed bark is consumed orally with curd twice a day for three days. eclipta prostrata (l.) l. (asteracae); ssa-205 kalahuta whole plant skin laceration and wound healing applied externally to the affected area, sometimes along with cynodon dactylon. body ache extract is taken internally twice a day. ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 61 table 2 contd. taxa and voucher local name parts used ailments mode of application ficus hispida l.f. (moraceae); ssa-261 kudura fruit diabetes raw fruit is eaten, sometimes fruit juice is taken orally. asthenia juice is consumed regularly. glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc. (rutaceae); ssa-250 motkila stem toothache used to brush teeth, applied externally. heliotropium indicum l. (boraginaceae); ssa-274 aattir shur, hatishur leaf eczema leaf paste is applied externally to the affected part of the body. hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. (malvaceae); ssa-202 joba leaf flatulence infusion of leaves is taken internally. flower dyspepsia infusion of flowers is taken internally. justicia adhatoda l. (acanthaceae); ssa-218 adabasok leaf cold and cough leaf juice is taken orally. kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers. (crassulaceae); ssa235 pathor shila leaf burning sensation and body ache extract is orally taken. lablab purpureus (l.) sweet (fabaceae); ssa-255 shim leaf dermatitis leaf paste is applied externally. lawsonia inermis l. (lythraceae); ssa-239 mendi leaf insect bite leaf paste is used externally to the affected area. dermatitis leaf paste is mixed with banana and calcium hydroxide before external application. leucas aspera (willd.) link (lamiaceae); ssa-216 dol kolosh, dondokolosh leaf rheumatoid arthritis boiled leaf is applied externally. litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. rob. (lauraceae); ssa-256 kharajora leaf chronic dysentery leaf juice is taken orally. mangifera indica l. (anacardiaceae); ssa-221 aam bark jaundice decoction is taken orally along with seed and fruit extracts of syzygium cumini and ficus racemosa, respectively. mikania cordata (burm. f.) b.l. rob. (asteraceae); ssa-247 asam lata leaf diarrhoea extract is taken orally twice a day for a few days. mimosa pudica l. (mimosaceae); ssa-214 lajonti root menstrual problems decoction of roots is taken internally for twice a day. moringa oleifera lam. (moringaceae); ssa-236 sajna leaf rheumatoid arthritis leaf paste is taken, sometimes extract is consumed orally. murraya paniculata (l.) jack (rutaceae); ssa-258 kamini flower body ache infusion is taken internally. murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. (rutaceae); ssa238 karipata root skin inflammation root paste is applied externally. nigella sativa l. (ranunculaceae); ssa-243 kailla jira seed asthenia fried seeds are eaten with rice. nymphaea nouchali burm. f. (nymphaeaceae); ssa-263 haluk flower skin cut and laceration floral paste is mixed with plant extract of cynodon dactylon for wound healing and blood clotting. ocimum sanctum l. (lamiaceae); ssa-201 tulshi leaf acute cough raw leaves are eaten. root chronic cough, sore throat decoction of roots is taken internally. oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz (bignoniaceae); ssa-278 kanaidingi fruit jaundice infusion is taken orally. flower jaundice infusion is taken orally. 62 ahmed et al. table 2 contd. taxa and voucher local name parts used ailments mode of application oxalis articulata savigny (oxalidaceae); ssa-240 khud manik whole plant flatulence extract is taken orally. oxalis corniculata l. (oxalidaceae); ssa-241 khud manik whole plant flatulence extract is taken orally. phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels (phyllanthaceae); ssa-225 orboroi leaf pox leaf paste is applied externally. phyllanthus emblica l. (phyllanthaceae); ssa-265 aamloki fruit anorexia raw fruits are eaten, sometimes fruit juice is taken orally. phyllanthus reticulatus poir. (phyllanthaceae); ssa-272 sitkari stem helminthiasis extract is used internally, sometimes mixed with extract of tinospora crispa. piper betle l. (piperaceae); ssa-227 pan leaf constipation juice is taken orally, especially by children. psidium guajava l. (myrtaceae); ssa-217 hobri, peyara leaf toothache leaf juice is taken internally. ricinus communis l. (euphorbiaceae); ssa-228 bhenna bark nausea bark is wrapped around the neck of children. saccharum officinarum l. (poaceae); ssa-252 aakh stem jaundice juice is taken internally, sometimes accompanied with coconut water. scoparia dulcis l. (plantaginaceae); ssa-231 bondhone leaf diarrhoea leaf juice is taken internally. whole plant diabetes infusion of whole plant is taken regularly to reduce blood sugar level. sesamum indicum l. (pedaliaceae); ssa-224 til seed dysentery crushed seeds are taken internally, sometimes seed oil is consumed. smilax perfoliata a. dc. (smilacaceae); ssa-269 kumarilot root dhat syndrome decoction of root is taken internally. stephania japonica (thunb.) miers (menispermaceae); ssa-211 mochilot whole plant rheumatoid arthritis used to wrap the painful areas of the body, applied externally. leaf body ache leaf paste is applied externally. diarrhoea leaf juice is taken internally. streblus asper lour. (moraceae); ssa-222 sheura root jaundice decoction of roots is consumed with the bark extract of mangifera indica. swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. (meliaceae); ssa-226 mahogoni root diabetes extract is taken internally with plant extract of coccinia grandis. tagetes erecta l. (asteraceae); ssa-242 genda leaf toothache leaf paste is applied externally. tamarindus indica l. (fabaceae); ssa-254 tetul fruit hypertention juice is orally consumed after mixing with allium sativum bulb extract. terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. (combretaceae); ssa-230 arjun bark cardiovascular problem decoction of bark is orally taken with fruit juice of phyllanthus emblica and terminalia bellirica. tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thom. (menispermaceae); ssa-249 padma gurunchi leaf allergy leaf paste applied externally. whole plant helminthiasis infusion of whole plant is taken orally. vachellia nilotica (l.) hurter & mabb. (fabaceae); ssa-273 babla flower gastro-intestinal disorder extract is taken orally to reduce dyspepsia and flatulence. xanthium strumarium l. (asteraceae); ssa-259 ghagra root dhat syndrome decoction of root is often mixed with bombax ceiba root extract and taken orally at night. ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 63 table 2 contd. taxa and voucher local name parts used ailments mode of application xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott (araceae); ssa246 kailla kachu stem skin laceration and wound healing extract is applied externally to the affected area. zingiber officinale roscoe (zingiberaceae); ssa-210 ada rhizome digestive disorder eaten raw, sometimes infusion is taken orally. cold and cough taken orally along with honey and nigella sativa seeds. hypertention raw rhizome is taken with tea. ziziphus mauritiana lam. (rhamnaceae); ssa-237 boroi fruit jaundice juice is taken regularly. quantitative analyses: factor of informant consensus (fic): a total of 13 major ailments were evaluated using fic values that ranged from 0.975 to 0.984 (table 3). for different ailments the number of use reports varied from 102 to 1305, while the number of taxa varied from 3 to 29. among the various ailments, digestive and gastrointestinal disorders exhibited the highest number of taxa (29), followed by skin diseases (23 taxa), and the lowest number of taxa (3) was recorded for anorexia, colorectal problems, and asthenia (fig. 3). table 3. consensus of agreement on the uses of medicinal plants among informants. no. category of diseases most cited species no. of use reports no. of taxa fic 1 respiratory tract disorders (acute and chronic cough, runny nose, sore throat, asthma, bronchitis etc.) justicia adhatoda 506 9 0.984 2 cardiovascular diseases (hyperlipidemia, hypertention, arrhythmia) terminalia arjuna 243 5 0.983 3 helminthiasis cuscuta reflexa 179 4 0.983 4 asthenia (body weakness) dillenia indica 121 3 0.983 5 male sexual disorders (dhat syndrome) bombax ceiba 171 4 0.982 6 colorectal problems (anal fissure, piles) xanthium strumarium 108 3 0.981 7 anorexia (loss of appetite) phyllanthus emblica 108 3 0.981 8 female sexual disorders (oligomenorrhea, labor pain, menstrual problems) mimosa pudica 102 3 0.98 9 rheumatoid arthritis stephania japonica 250 6 0.979 10 digestive and gastrointestinal diseases (gastritis, flatulence, diarrhoea, dysentery, jaundice, constipation, stomach ache) cajanus cajan 1305 29 0.978 11 myalgia (general body ache) and toothache chenopodium album 328 8 0.978 12 skin problems (inflammation, arthropod sting, prickly heat rash, allergies, eczema, acute and chronic dermatitis, laceration, thermal burning) colocasia esculenta 979 23 0.977 13 diabetes curcuma longa 333 9 0.975 64 ahmed et al. in a recent study in sherpur sadar and sreebardi sub-districts, suchana et al. (2022) showed that the highest number of taxa were used in digestive and gastrointestinal disorders which further corroborated our findings. in the present study, the highest fic value was recorded for respiratory tract disorders incorporating acute and chronic cough, runny nose, sore throat, asthma and bronchitis. justicia adhatoda was found to be the most cited species for this disease category. the second highest value (0.983) was observed in three different disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, helminthiasis and asthenia. bombax ceiba was found as the most cited species to treat male sexual disorders which was congruent with previous study (hossain and rahman, 2018). in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, the fic value was recorded 0.979 with stephania japonica as the most cited species which was found to be concordant with mollik et al. (2010) who reported the same use in ashuganj sub-district of brahmanbaria district. fig. 3. number of taxa used to treat major ailments based on informant consensus factor. fidelity level (fl): the present investigation revealed that the fidelity level values ranged from 41.2 to 100% (table 4). a total of 11 species showed fidelity levels of 100%, viz. bombax ceiba, centella asiatica, chenopodium album, colocasia esculenta, cuscuta reflexa, cynodon dactylon, lawsonia inermis, phyllanthus emblica, ricinus communis, streblus asper and terminalia arjuna. the ailments of these top scoring species were anorexia, body ache, cardiovascular disease, dermatitis, dhat syndrome, gastro-intestinal disorder, helminthiasis, jaundice, nausea and skin problems, respectively. higher level of fidelity for multiple species was found concordant with some recently published studies (mitu et al., 2022; suchana et al., 2022). citation frequency (cf): the citation frequency was estimated for all 79 species and amongst them, top 15 scored species were presented in table 5. citation frequency was recorded 100% for justicia adhatoda, bombax ceiba, cajanus cajan, cuscuta reflexa and stephania japonica. citation frequency was found higher than 80% for nine ailments, such as acute and chronic cough, jaundice, skin ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 65 laceration, rheumatoid arthritis, helminthiasis, diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, pox and diabetes (fig. 4). the highest number of taxa was recorded for respiratory tract disorder, while the lowest was found for four ailments including diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, pox and diabetes. maximum informants cited internal application for the most cited species which was in agreement with previous studies (hossain and rahman, 2018; mitu et al., 2022). plants with high citation rates could be explored further for the identification of novel phytoconstituents, which could potentially be utilized in the development and discovery of novel therapeutics. table 4. fidelity level values of frequently cited species along with major ailments. ailments species no. of informants (ip) total no. of informants (iu) fidelity level (%) anorexia phyllanthus emblica 41 41 100 body ache chenopodium album 42 42 100 cardiovascular disease terminalia arjuna 48 48 100 dermatitis lawsonia inermis 47 47 100 dhat syndrome bombax ceiba 51 51 100 gastro-intestinal disorder centella asiatica 51 51 100 helminthiasis cuscuta reflexa 51 51 100 jaundice streblus asper 47 47 100 nausea ricinus communis 45 45 100 blood clotting colocasia esculenta 51 51 100 skin laceration and wound healing cynodon dactylon 51 51 100 rheumatoid arthritis stephania japonica 51 75 68.0 jaundice cajanus cajan 51 78 65.3 toothache glycosmis pentaphylla 36 60 60.0 gynecological disorder mimosa pudica 45 80 56.2 asthenia dillenia indica 43 81 53.0 piles xanthium strumarium 39 75 52.0 diabetes curcuma longa 49 96 51.0 acute and chronic cough justicia adhatoda 51 102 50.0 allergy tinospora crispa 42 102 41.2 fig. 4. number of taxa with citation frequency higher than 80% used to treat various ailments. 66 ahmed et al. table 5. citation frequency (cf) of some selected medicinal plant species of the study area. species ailments no. of citation citation frequency (%) justicia adhatoda acute and chronic cough 51 100 bombax ceiba dhat syndrome 51 100 cajanus cajan jaundice 51 100 cuscuta reflexa helminthiasis 51 100 stephania japonica rheumatoid arthritis 51 100 litsea glutinosa chronic dysentery 49 96.1 curcuma longa diabetes 49 96.1 terminalia arjuna cardiovascular disease 48 94.1 lawsonia inermis dermatitis 47 92.1 mimosa pudica gynecological disorder 45 88.2 ricinus communis nausea 45 88.2 phyllanthus emblica anorexia 41 80.4 xanthium strumarium piles 39 76.4 tinospora crispa allergy 37 72.5 glycosmis pentaphylla toothache 36 70.5 active sites of the receptor macromolecule a single pocket was detected as the active site of the jak1 protein from the castp 3.0 server. the surface area of the active pocket was estimated to be 309.764 å2 and volume to be 209.690 å3. the active site resides were arg27, leu29, gly30, glu31, gly32, val37, ala54, lys56, glu73, leu77, val86, met104, glu105, phe106, leu107, pro108, ser109, gly110, ser111, glu114, tyr115, lys118, arg155, asn156, leu158, gly168, asp169 and phe170. hence, a total of 28 amino acid residues were predicted as active sites by the castp 3.0 server (fig. 5a). scfbio server predicted a total of 39 cavities from where the 8th cavity was considered for current investigation. the volume of the cavity was estimated as 854 å3. the server did not provide any data on the surface area of the cavity. cavity point was provided to be -16.514, -2.456 and -5.108 for x, y and z axes, respectively. the active site residues were met139, asp140, tyr141, leu142, gly143, ser144, gln146, tyr147, val148, arg150, ile176, glu177, thr178, asp179, lys180, glu181, tyr182, tyr183, pro198, glu199, gln203, lys205, phe206, tyr207, ile208, ala209, val212, lys278, glu281, phe282, gln283, pro284, ser285, asn286, thr288, ser289, phe290, gln291, asn292 and glu295. active sites were visualized using discovery studio visualizer as shown in figure 5b. molecular docking and interaction analyses: molecular docking analysis was performed for bioactive phytochemicals of stephania japonica targeting rheumatoid arthritis. s. japonica was selected as it showed a very high level of citation frequency and fic value. the docking analysis unveiled binding affinities ranging from 5.3 to -9.7 kcal/mol. the control drug ibuprofen scored -7.0 kcal/mol. of the 30 phytochemicals investigated, nearly 60% (18) compounds scored higher than the control and the remaining 40% (12) scored lower than the control (table 6). this indicates the potential of stephania japonica as a source of next generation therapeutics targeting rheumatoid arthritis. the compound oxostephanine with a molecular weight of 305.3 g/mol showed the highest binding affinity (-9.7 kcal/mol) followed by trilobine (-8.7 kcal/mol) and epistephanine (-8.6 kcal/mol). two dimensional chemical structures of the top three compounds along with the control ibuprofen are visualized in figure 6. among the top three potential drug candidates, molecular weight was ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 67 found to be highest for epistephanine (606.7 g/mol) followed by trilobine (562.7 g/mol) and oxostephanine (305.3 g/mol). in contrary, the lowest molecular weight was observed in viburnitol (164.16 g/mol) among all the phytocompounds, and this compound also exhibited the lowest binding affinity (-5.3 kcal/mol). the docked complexes for the top three compounds along with the control have been shown in figure 7. fig. 5. active sites of jak1 receptor macromolecule predicted by castp server (a) and scfbio server (b). results of molecular interactions are depicted in table 7. molecular interactions were analyzed to justify drug surface hotspots and to find potential active sites in the janus kinase 1 receptor which are crucial for drug design and future drug development process (ahmed et al., 2023). all the three top scoring compounds showed hydrophobic interactions which are vital to ensure stability when these phytocompounds will bind with receptor macromolecule (rahman and ahmed, 2022). both the oxostephanine and epistephanine showed conventional hydrogen bonding with the jak1 protein except trilobine. oxostephanine interacted with leu29 only, while epistephanine interacted with asn292 and ser289 amino acid residues (fig. 8). these hydrogen bonds play a pivotal role in maintaining stability in ligand-receptor interactions and ensure the specificity of ligand binding (rahman and ahmed, 2022). 68 ahmed et al. fig. 6. two-dimensional chemical structures of three top scoring phytochemicals with the control ibuprofen. a. oxostephanine; b. trilobine; c. epistephanine; d. ibuprofen. fig. 7. three lead phytocompounds of stephania japonica and the control drug with rheumatoid arthritis protein. a. oxostephanine-complex; b. trilobine-complex; c. epistephanine-complex; d. ibuprofencomplex (control). ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 69 hydrogen bonds donating and accepting regions were further visualized (fig. 9). some common residues such as leu29, val37, ala54, met104 and leu158 have interacted with ibuprofen, and two phytochemicals, viz. oxostephanine and epistephanine indicating that these amino acid residues of jak1 could be potential drug surface hotspots for future drug discoveries. fig. 8. two dimensional molecular interactions of the phytochemicals of stephania japonica along with the control. a. oxostephanine; b. trilobine; c. epistephanine; d. ibuprofen (control). molecular docking in conjunction with ethnobotanical research has drawn attention to unveil a new window for drug discovery. in the recent past, molecular docking was applied to a few ethnobotanical studies where abdulrahman et al. (2022) used molecular docking to validate the ethnobotanical outcome targeting measles in northern nigeria. a total of 40 phytocompounds were docked against measles nucleoprotein from 21 ethnomedicinal plant species and the binding affinities ranged from -1.3 to -9.3 kcal/mol (abdulrahman et al., 2022). in our study, both the upper and lower thresholds of binding affinity were higher than that of abdulrahman et al. (2022) which justifies accuracy and potentials of stephania japonica phytochemicals targeting rheumatoid arthritis. vijayakumar et al. (2016) conducted an ethnobotanical-molecular docking 70 ahmed et al. survey of traditional siddha medical practitioners from thiruvarur district focusing hepatoprotective potentials. vijayakumar et al. (2016) docked three commercial drugs and 12 bioactive phytochemicals from different ethnomedicinal plants against hepatitis b virus receptor, where the binding affinities varied from -5.0 to -8.08 kcal/mol, and luteolin (-8.08 kcal/mol) was the best scoring compound. our investigation revealed a significantly higher binding affinity of -9.7 kcal/mol compared to other studies providing additional support to our findings (abdulrahman et al., 2022; vijayakumar et al., 2016). fig. 9. three dimensional molecular interactions of the phytochemicals of stephania japonica and the control drug showing hydrogen bonds donating and accepting regions. a. oxostephanine; b. trilobine; c. epistephanine; d. iburprofen (control). molecular dynamics simulation structural flexibility analysis unraveled satisfactory results for the tested protein-ligand complexes in comparison with the control drug ibuprofen-complex. root mean square fluctuation (rmsf) values were found minimal for all the three lead candidates (fig. 10). for oxostephanine, mean rmsf was recorded as 0.96 å. trilobine and epistephanine revealed mean rmsf values of 0.97 å and 0.90 å, respectively during the 10 ns simulation trajectory. ibuprofen showed mean rmsf of 0.82 å which was slightly lower than the three lead candidates. this close proximity of mean rmsf values indicated nearly same structural stability and flexibility of the tested lead phytocompounds as compared to the control drug. the average rmsf distance in the binding pockets was also estimated that unveiled a mean rmsf of 0.47 å, 0.65 å, 0.76 å and 0.32 å in oxostephanine, epistephanine, trilobine and ibuprofen, respectively. all the values were found below the standard threshold of 2.5 å which denoted very good structural stability of ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 71 table 6. molecular docking analysis of bioactive phytocompounds of stephania japonica targeting rheumatoid arthritis. phytocompounds pubchem cid molecular formula molecular weight (g/mol) binding affinity (kcal/mol) 1. oxostephanine 343547 c18h11no4 305.3 -9.7 2. trilobine 169007 c35h34n2o5 562.7 -8.7 3. epistephanine 5317122 c37h38n2o6 606.7 -8.6 4. isotrilobine 12310578 c36h36n2o5 576.7 -8.4 5. isochondrodendrine 197726 c36h38n2o6 594.7 -8.3 6. stepinonine 135778935 c36h34n2o7 606.7 -8.2 7. cyclanoline 3082134 c20h24no4 + 342.4 -8.2 8. obamegine 441064 c36h38n2o6 594.7 -8.2 9. bebeerine 12300019 c36h38n2o6 594.7 -8.1 10. tetrandrine 73078 c38h42n2o6 622.7 -8.1 11. fangchinoline 73481 c37h40n2o6 608.7 -8.1 12. oxostephabenine 181354 c27h27no8 493.5 -8.0 13. hypoepistephanine 282017 c36h36n2o6 592.7 -8.0 14. insularine 10348927 c38h40n2o6 620.7 -7.7 15. stebisimine 3083913 c36h34n2o6 590.7 -7.6 16. steponine 15432819 c20h24no4 + 342.4 -7.5 17. cycleanine 121313 c38h42n2o6 622.7 -7.4 18. lanuginosine 97622 c18h11no4 305.3 -7.3 19. aknadinine 159966 c20h25no5 359.4 -6.8 20. stepharine 98455 c18h19no3 297.3 -6.6 21. metaphanine 12312776 c19h23no5 345.4 -6.5 22. homostephanoline 627343 c20h25no5 359.4 -6.5 23. aknadicine 442156 c19h23no5 345.4 -6.4 24. oxostephasunoline 621065 c20h25no7 391.4 -6.3 25. stephasunoline 618654 c20h27no6 377.4 -6.2 26. prometaphanine 91895299 c20h25no5 359.4 -6.2 27. oxostephamiersine 101673501 c21h25no7 403.4 -6.1 28. hasubanonine 442246 c21h27no5 373.4 -6.0 29. epistephamiersine 91895297 c21h27no6 389.4 -5.9 30. viburnitol 101715 c6h12o5 164.16 -5.3 ibuprofen (control) 3672 c13h18o2 206.2 -7.0 table 7. molecular interaction analysis of the top scoring three phytocompounds of stephania japonica along with the control drug. ligands residues in hydrogen bonding residues in hydrophobic interactions binding affinity (kcal/mol) oxostephanine leu29 leu29, val37, ala54, val86, met104, leu158 -9.7 trilobine no residues leu29, arg27, glu114, arg155, asn156, asp169 -8.7 epistephanine asn292, ser289 asp140, gly143, glu181, ile208, ala209, phe290 -8.6 ibuprofen (control) ser111, leu158 leu29, val37, ala54, met104 -7.0 72 ahmed et al. the lead compounds in the binding cavity of the receptor macromolecule. this further justified their potentials to be effective drug candidates against rheumatoid arthritis. superimposed simulation structures of each complex have been demonstrated in figure 10. fig. 10. molecular dynamics simulation showing superimposed simulated structures and regional flexibility profiles of stephania japonica phytochemicals – oxostephanine (a), trilobine (b), epistephanine (c) and control drug ibuprofen (d). this present study combines the principles of molecular docking and dynamics simulation with ethnobotanical knowledge in bangladesh, marking the first of its kind in this field of research. the study uncovered some novel findings about the traditional medicinal uses of various ethnobotanical study and molecular docking 73 plants of gafargaon sub-district. remarkably, aphanamixis polystachya leaf paste was found to be effective in treating arthritis; calotropis procera boiled leaf inhalation was used to alleviate asthma symptoms; datura metel raw fruit was traditionally employed to address eczema, and xanthium strumarium root was used to tackle dhat syndrome. the study unveiled several threats to medicinal plant species including habitat destruction and fragmentation, deforestation, overexploitation, insufficient awareness among local communities about the need for conserving species diversity, and the planting of exotic species. our findings further highlight the pressing need for conservation efforts and sustainable management practices to safeguard the future of these valuable medicinal plants. to ensure the preservation of valuable medicinal plant species in the surveyed area, various protective measures should be implemented. these might include establishing nurseries to propagate important and endangered medicinal plants, creating distribution maps with precise coordinates for key species, and employing ex-situ conservation strategies to safeguard the medicinal plants in the study area, thereby promoting their sustainable use and development. species that exhibited the highest citation frequency, fidelity level and fic value could be subjected to in vitro studies for phytochemical screening. in addition, molecular docking and dynamics simulation analyses might open up new avenues for the designing and discovery of novel drugs from stephania japonica phytocompounds to treat rheumatoid arthritis. our findings provide the baseline data to bridge the gap between traditional healers and scientific communities. based on our findings, we recommend conducting additional in vitro, in vivo, and in silico studies on the ethnomedicinal plants identified in this venture, in order to further explore their potential for enhancing healthcare management and drug discovery. acknowledgements the authors extend their appreciation to the researchers supporting project number (rsp2023r306), king saud university, riyadh, saudi arabia. the first and second authors are thankful to the local people and folklore practitioners of gafargaon sub-district of mymensingh district for their cooperation and sharing information about the medicinal uses of plants. references abdulrahman, m.d., bradosty, s.w., hamad, s.w., ibrahim, m.t., lema, a.a., sunusi, n., usman, m., ashiru, i., ahmad, n.b., wada, n. and bussmann, r.w. 2022. traditional methods for treatment and management of measles in northern nigeria: medicinal plants and their molecular docking. ethnobot. res. appl. 23: 1–18. ahmed, s.s., al-mamun, a., hossain, s.i., akter, f., ahammad, i., chowdhury, z.m. and salimullah, m. 2022. virtual screening reveals liquiritigenin as a broad-spectrum inhibitor of sars-cov-2 variants of concern: an in silico study. j. biomol. struct. dyn.: 1–19. ahmed, s.s., rahman, m.o., alqahtani, a.s., sultana, n., almarfadi, o.m., ali, m.a. and lee, j. 2023. anticancer potential of phytochemicals from oroxylum indicum targeting lactate dehydrogenase a through bioinformatic approach. toxicol. rep. 10: 56–75. ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 2 january 2023; revised on 6 june 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 29–37, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in torul district, turkey mustafa karaköse*, sefa akbulut1 and zafer cemal özkan1 giresun university, espiye vocational school, program of medicinal and aromatic plants, turkey keywords: ethnobotany; medicinal plants; informant consensus factor. abstract this study is aimed at reporting some of the plants traditionally used in the treatment of diseases by the local people living in the centre of torul district and its surrounding villages. a face-to-face two-part questionnaire survey was conducted with 82 local people. identification of 29 taxa belonging to 18 families has been confirmed and their medicinal uses have been recorded. in addition, the usage patterns of plant parts and purposes are recognized. plants are mostly used in the treatment of cold and flu, stomach disorders, gynecological, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases. the highest use value (uv) was recorded for rosa canina (0.54) and mentha longifolia subsp. longifolia (0.46) and the highest informants consensus factor (fic) was cited for cold and flu (0.83) followed by stomach disorders (0.75). new information for folklore medicines have been collected from the study area. introduction folk medicine refers to beliefs, attitudes and behaviours about diseases and health. it is expressed as medical practices related to the beliefs, traditions and value judgment of societies or as "home therapy" by some anthropologists (türkdoğan, 1991). ethnobotanical is an important science that provides research opportunities to different discipline. turkey is floristically rich comprising over 12,000 taxa under approximately 1251 genera and 174 families (güner et al., 2012). it has a very rich structure compared to neighbouring and nearby regions. about 30% of the flora is endemic to turkey and this number is higher than the total number of endemic plants of all european countries (davis, 1965-1985; davis et al., 1988; güner et al., 2000). medicinal plants are an important part of local medical systems in the world. the ethnobotanical studies supply a valuable resource for natural drug research and development (farnsworth, 1990). in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use of herbal medicine. however, there are still serious shortcomings in the research data in this area (who, 2009). in the world, especially in rural areas, plants continue to be used in the treatment of diseases (çakılcıoğlu and türkoğlu, 2007; güneş and özhatay, 2011; hossain and rahman, 2018). date of ethnobotanical studies in turkey is not going back many years. researches in turkey on ethonobotany have developed since the beginning of the republican period in 1923 (baytop, 1999). the turkish people living in the countryside still continue to use plants with traditional methods as in the past (saraç et al., 2013; polat et al., 2015). in recent years, many studies have been carried out on medicinal and aromatic plants (çakılcıoğlu et al., 2011; akbulut, 2015; karaköse et al., 2018). though several ethnobotanical studies were carried out in different parts of * corresponding author, email: mustafa.karakose@giresun.edu.tr 1 karadeniz technical university, faculty of forestry, department of forest botany, turkey. mailto:mustafa.karakose@giresun.edu.tr 30 karaköse et al. turkey, no any ethnobotanic studies were conducted in torul district to document the ethonomedicianl plants and their uses. the aims of the present study are to identify the ethnobotanical plants which are used traditionally by the local people of torul district. this study identifies not only the wild plants collected for medicinal purposes by local people of torul district in the north-east of turkey but also uses vernacular names, part used, preparations, and traditional uses of these plants. materials and methods torul is situated in the north-east of turkey and on the transit road of trabzon-iran on the edge of harşit stream with an area of 1049 sq. km and located between 40°33′26″ n and 39°17′31″ e. torul belongs the colchic sector of the euro-siberian flora region and falls within the southern part of a7 grid square according to gird system (davis, 1965-1985). field surveys were carried out between 2015 and 2016. plant materials were collected from alınyayla, altınpınar, güzeloluk, harmancık, kirazlık, köstere, tokçam, yurtköy villages and centre of torul district. in order to identify the collected plant specimens “flora of turkey and the east aegean islands” and “list of turkish plants (vascular plants)” (davis, 1965-1985; davis et al., 1988; güner et al., 2000; güner et al., 2012) was consulted. in addition, international plant name index (ipni: http://www.ipni.org) was consulted for the author names of plant species. endemism of plant species is determined according to ekim et al. (2000). the voucher specimens were deposited in the karadeniz technical university, faculty of forestry herbarium, kato. in the study, a two-part questionnaire was applied to total of 82 informants. surveys were applied face to face interviews (akbulut and özkan, 2014). the first part of the questionnaire aimed to determine the demographic characteristics such as age, gender, education level, occupation. in the second part of the questionnaire were recorded vernacular names, part used, preparation and utilization methods, and traditional uses of the plants. a total 82 informants, 56 males and 26 females, were interviewed face to face. the average age of the participants is 55. some demographic characteristics of the informants are given in table 1. table 1. demographic features of the informants. features number of informants percentage gender male 56 68.3 female 26 31.7 educational level illiterate 11 13.4 primary school 44 53.7 secondary school 21 25.6 high school 6 7.3 age groups 31-40 10 12.2 41-50 23 28.0 > 51 49 59.8 occupation worker 9 11.0 farmer 29 35.4 artisan 11 13.4 officer 7 8.5 retired 26 31.7 http://www.ipni.org) ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants 31 to calculate the homogeneity of information obtained from different local informants, the factor informants consensus (fic) formula developed by trotter and logan (1986) has been used. according to this formula, fic value ranges from 0 to 1, where ‘1’ indicates the highest level of informant consent fic = nur – nt / (nur – 1) where nur denotes number of use reports from informants for a particular plant-use category, nt refers the number of taxa or species that are used for that plant use category for all informants. the use value (uv) was calculated according to the number of plants used and the number of informants (trotter and logan, 1986; albuquerque et al., 2006; abe and ohtani, 2013) using the following formula: uv = u / n where u refers to the number of usage reports for any plant and n is the number of informants. results and discussion in the present study, 29 taxa belonging to 18 families were identified from torul district. one of the identified plants belongs to the pteridophyta and the remaining taxa belong to the magnoliophyta. all taxa under magnoliophyta are in the sub-class magnoliidae and among them herbs are represented by 18 species, shrubs by 3 species, trees by 6 species and 1 by semi-parasite (table 2). the rosaceae, asteraceae and lamiaceae are the most used families. the most preferred usage of plants is infusion (47%), followed by raw (17%) and decoction (15%) (fig. 1). fig. 1. usage of plants in torul district the most commonly used parts of plants include leaf, fruit and flower, respectively (fig. 2). similar results were obtained in another study conducted in neighbouring province of trabzon (akbulut and bayramoğlu, 2014). present findings with reference to parts used were found 32 karaköse et al. consistent with some other ethnobotanical studies in the black sea region (saraç et al., 2013; polat et al., 2015). fig. 2. the amount of usage of plant parts the study reveals that the highest use value (uv) is found in rosa canina (0.54) followed by mentha longifolia subsp. longifolia (0.46), juglans regia (0.40), tilia rubra subsp. caucasica (0.37), crataegus tanacetifolia (0.34), and morus alba (0.33, table 2). the present study documents the use of achillea millefolium subsp. millefolium for gynecological diseases, which was not found in previous studies (polat et al., 2015; çakılcıoğlu and türkoğlu, 2007; çakılcıoğlu and türkoğlu, 2010). carduus onopordioides subsp. turcicus is used for hemorrhoids which was found consistent with earlier studies (hayta et al., 2014; tetik et al., 2013). due to the toxicity of berberis crataegina, it is mixed with auxiliary substances such as honey and melted butter in the treatment of jaundice and stomach diseases. informant consensus factor (fic) ranges from 0 to 1 (table 3). the fic values in the study range from 0.33 to 0.83. cold and flu has the highest fic value 0.83 with 24 use-reports for 5 plant species. the species accountable for the high consensus (0.54) was rosa canina out of the 82 reported cases. the taxa reported for cold and flu are tilia rubra subsp. caucasica and thymus longicaulis subsp. longicaulis. these are followed by stomach disorders (0.75), gynecological diseases (0.67), and skin disorders (0.64). the high fic value for cold and flu maybe showed that this ailment is common in torul due to cold and hard winter months especially december and january in the region. the lowest fic values are for cardiovascular diseases (0.44) and painkiller (0.33). there is no other study in the torul district where the fic value was calculated. the categories cited in the present study and their fic values are not similar to other studies where researchers have found different fic values. for examples, polat et al. (2015) found the highest fic in dermatological disorders (0.62), followed by gastrointestinal disorders (0.56) and respiratory tract problem (0.49). in a study hayta et al. (2014) found that the fic values range between 0.60 and 0.24 and the category skin diseases have the highest fic, followed by throat diseases and diabetes. in a study from west of turkey, gürdal and kültür (2013) showed rheumatism has the highest fic (0.72), while skin disease has the lowest fic (0.27). in the present study, it was found that the fic values range between 0.33 and 0.83. this value is one of ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants 33 34 karaköse et al. ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants 35 the highest fic values in turkey (çakılcıoğlu et al., 2011; polat et al., 2015). however, it is lower than the highest fic values obtained in the studies conducted in various from the turkey are 0.87 and 0.93 for edremit gulf and hatay region, respectively (güzel et al., 2015; polat and satıl, 2012). a similar scenario was observed in the data obtained from the studies conducted on the iberian peninsula: 0.85 and 0.91 for a portuguese and a catalan region, respectively (bonet and valles, 2003; camejo-rodrigues et al., 2003). table 3. factor informant consensus (fic) for each ailment. ailment categories number of use report (nur) number of taxa (nt) fic cold and flu 24 5 0.83 stomach disorders 17 5 0.75 gynecological diseases 10 4 0.67 skin disorders 12 5 0.64 respiratory diseases 19 9 0.56 diuretic 3 2 0.50 jaundice 5 3 0.50 cardiovascular diseases 10 6 0.44 painkiller 4 3 0.33 in this study, data obtained from 82 informants and 29 plant taxa belonging to 18 families used in traditional treatment were evaluated. one of the most preferred species is rosa canina, which is used against colds. this species is quite common and is one of the most appreciated species in the food factories in the region. juglans regia is evaluated in the making of the sugar, called "köme", in addition to its medicinal properties. two endemic plants used by the local people for medical purposes have been identified in the study area. although crataegus tanacetifolia and carduus onopordioides subsp. turcicus are medically important endemic plants, but these characteristics are not known to local people. studies on protection/reuse of these species and their sustainability should be carried out in these regions to ensure that these species never face the threat of extinction. in addition to their medicinal properties, some species that are also important as food and grow naturally have not yet been cultured in the region. some species that have potential to provide significant income to the locality are morus alba, rhus coriaria, rubus canescens, and tilia rubra subsp. caucasica. though the data obtained from this ethnobotanical study is not medical prescriptions, however, these data are the subject of research in the fields of medicine, pharmacy and chemistry for potential drug discovery. acknowledgment the authors thank the torul people and informants for their contributions to the study. references abe, r. and ohtani, k. 2013. an ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants and traditional therapies on batan island, the philippines. j. ethnopharmacol. 145: 554–565. akbulut, s. 2015. differences in the traditional use of wild plants between rural and urban areas: the sample of adana. stud. ethno-med. .9(2): 141–150. 36 karaköse et al. akbulut, s. and bayramoğlu, m.m. 2014. reflections of socio-economic and demographic structure of urban and rural on the use of medicinal and aromatic plants: the sample of trabzon province. stud. ethnomed. 8(1): 89–100. akbulut, s. and özkan, z.c. 2014. traditional usage of some wild plants in trabzon region (turkey). kast. uni. j. forest. fac. 14(1): 135–14. albuquerque, u.p., lucena, r.f.p., montero, j.m., florentino, a.t.n. and almeida, c.f. 2006. evaluating two quantitative ethnobotanical techniques. ethnobot. res. app. 4: 51–60. baytop, t. 1999. therapy with medicinal plants in turkey (past and present), 2nded. nobel medicine publication, istanbul, turkey. bonet, m.a. and valles, j. 2003. pharmaceutical ethnobotany in the montseny biosphere reserve (catalonia, iberian peninsula). general results and new or rarely reported medicinal plants. j. pharm. pharmacol. 55: 259–270. camejo-rodrigues, j., ascensao, l., bonet, m.a. andvalles, j. 2003. anethnobotanical study of medicinal and aromatic plants in the natural parkof “serra de sao mamede” (portugal). j. ethnopharmacol. 89:199–209. çakılcıoğlu, u., khatun, s., türkoğlu, i. andhayta, s. 2011. ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal plants in maden (elazığ-turkey). j. ethnopharmacol.137: 469–486. çakılcıoğlu, u. and türkoğlu, i. 2007. plants used for hemorrhoid treatment in elazığ central district. actahortic. 826: 89–96. çakılcıoğlu, u. and türkoğlu, i. 2010. an ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in sivrice (elazıgturkey). j. ethnopharmacol. 132: 165–175. davis, p.h. 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(asteraceae): a new allien invasive angiospermic record for bangladesh md. hedayet ullah 1 , md. abdur rahim 2* , mahbuba sultana3, saleh ahammad khan 2 and najmun naher 1 1 department of botany, life and earth science group, national university, gazipur-1704 2 department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342 3 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216 keywords: praxelis clematidea; angiosperm; asteraceae; bangladesh. the genus praxelis, comprising 19 species, is moderately predominant in the eupatorieae tribe. this genus originates from south america, particularly in colombia, the guianas, and venezuela, southernmost brazil, and central argentina (dillon and hensold, 1993; freire and espinar, 2014; abreu and esteves, 2017; christ and ritter, 2019). moreover, the genus praxelis was introduced to southeast china, guinea, hainan, malaya, taiwan, and thailand (powo, 2024). despite the fact that species belonging to this genus are commonly viewed as ubiquitous weeds, none of its species have been reported in bangladesh till date (prain, 1903; hossain, 1967, 2008; khan, 1992; rahman et al., 2008; rahman, 2013; uddin and hassan, 2018). currently, the authors, while investigating the flora in the regions of the birulia and keraniganj upajilas of the dhaka district, collected certain specimens that resemble ageratum species but have a pungent aroma when crushed. after a crucial taxonomic inquiry, these specimens have been identified as praxelis clematidea r.m. king & h. rob. since no previous records of this species have been documented within the current geographical region of bangladesh (hooker, 1879; prain, 1903; heinig, 1925; khan, 1992; hossain, 1967, 2008; rahman and hassan, 2017; uddin, 2018; rahman, 2013; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin and hassan, 2018), it has been stated here as a new angiosperm record for bangladesh. the specimens are deposited at the janahgirnagar university herbarium (juh) and the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). a comprehensive description of the species, accompanied by a photograph and illustration, is given below. praxelis clematidea (griseb.) r.m. king & h. rob., phytologia 20: 194 (1970). chrysocoma pauciflora vell. in fl. flumin.: 325 (1829); eupatorium catarium veldkamp in gard. bull. singapore 51: 121 (1999); e. clematideum (wall. ex dc.) sch. bip., jahresber. pollichia 22: 258 (1866).―type: argentina: dec.1872-jan.73, hieronymus & lorentz s.n. (c), e. clematideum griseb. in abh. königl. ges. wiss. göttingen 24: 172 (1879), nom. illeg. ―type: paraguay, 1875, balansa, b. 936 (goet, goet001495, photo!), e. urticifolium var. clematideum hieron. ex kuntze in revis. gen. pl. 3(3): 148 (1898). (fig. 1). bangla name: biral sunghi english names: pussy foot, giant bluetop, praxelis annual or short-lived perennial herb, 0.6–1.0 m tall. stem erect to decumbent, usually with several branches from the base or lower part, cylindrical, eglandular, striated hirsute, rarely glabrescent, with very strong smell. leaves opposite, petiole 0.3–2.0 cm long, hirsute; leaf blade ovate to elliptic rhomboid or filiform, 2–6 × 1–4 cm, apex acute, base attenuate or cuneate, adaxial *corresponding author, e-mail: marahimju@yahoo.com https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:193977-1 https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:193977-1 https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1010795-1 https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:99731-2 https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:99731-2 https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:101176-2 https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:101176-2 182 ullah et al. fig. 1. praxelis clematidea (griseb.) r.m. king & h. rob. (a) habit (× 0.4 cm), (b1) flowering branch (× 0.6 cm), (b2) capitulum, (b3) inner flortet, (c) inflorescence (× 2.3 mm), (d) open receptacle (× 7 mm), (e) achene with pappus (× 3.75 mm), (f) l.s. of corolla of bisexual floret (× 2.5 mm), (g) pappus (× 5 mm), (h) stamens (× 9 mm), (i1) inner bracts (× 2.5 mm), (i2) outer bracts (× 2.5 mm), (j) bisexual floret (× 4 mm), (k) bifurcate style (× 3.4 mm). praxelis clematidea r.m.king and h.rob. (asteraceae) 183 surface hirsute with uniseriate simple hairs, abaxial surface densely hirsute with uniseriate simple and glandular hairs, marginally conspicuously 5–8 toothed on each side. capitula 2–6 or more, terminal, corymbiform, discoid, 1–3 cm long, peduncles 2–10 mm, with long primary and secondary branches, pubescent; involucre usually narrowly campanulate, 4-6 mm in diameter; phyllaries up to 15–25, unequal, 3–4-seriate, imbricate, lanceolate or liner, (1.0–) 4.0–6.0 mm long, apices acuminate or acute, margins entire, ciliate, adaxially usually appressed strigose or pubescent mainly at the upper parts or apices with scattered short simple eglandular hairs at base, deciduous. receptacles conical, epaleate, disc florets 25–57 per capitulum, carpopodium distinct, broad, highly asymmetrical, laterally inserted in the receptacle. disc florets (4.5–) 6.0–8.0 mm long; pappus of 15–40 bristles, 2–5 mm long, scabrid, white, persistent; corolla narrowly tubularfunneliform, purplish, lilac or bluish in upper part, whitish in lower part, shortly 5-lobed, or with cylindrical throat and slightly narrower basal tube, corolla tubes 2–4 mm long, papillose on inner surface, usually glabrous outside. stamens 2.5–5.0 mm long, attached inside the petals; anthers about 1.5 mm long, apex acute, appendages longer than wide, filaments c. 2 mm long. ovary c. 2 mm long; style glabrous, c. 7 mm long, bifurcated, style base not swollen, branches bright lilac-blue, 2.0– 2.5 mm long, coarsely papillose, narrowly linear, more broadened in distal half, densely long papillose. fruits achene, black, c. 2.0–4.5 mm long, 3–4-ribbed, obcompressed, sparsely setuliferous, mainly on the ribs, glabrous in between the ribs. flowering and fruiting: all around the year, but mostly in winter. chromosome number: 2n = 30 (watanabe et al., 1995), n = 31 (veldkamp, 1999). reproduction: this species reproduces by seed and stem cuttings. ecology: grows in waste areas, grasslands, pastures, fallow land, roadsides, walkways, and stream banks. it also encroaches upon cultivated lands and crops. uses: praxelis clematidea possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-ulcer, anti-bacterial, anti-diarrhoeal, and antifungal activities (xiao et al., 2020). distribution: this species is native to brazil, bolivia, peru, paraguay, and northern and central argentina and has been introduced into caroline islands., southeast china, chinese taipei, guinea, hainan, malaya, queensland, the south china sea, taiwan, thailand, and florida (powo, 2024; gbif secretariat, 2023). it seems to be an alien species in bangladesh, as it is reported to have been introduced in asia and africa (powo, 2024). representative specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka metropolitan area, raerbazar, boddho vumi, 30 xi 2019, m sultana dms-3179 (dacb 99086); keraniganj, kalatoli, 20 xi 2023, m sultana and hedayet ullah dms-5102 (dacb 99085); srinagar, taranagar, 16 xii 2023, hedayet ullah and m sultana hu-437 (dacb 99087); savar, dairy farm, 23°52'25.9"n 90°16'49.3"e, 14 vii 2023, m.a. rahim 3996 (juh), jahangirnagar university campus, 11 v 2024, m.a. rahim 10258 (juh); birulia, bara kakar, 23°51'38.1"n 90°20'01.7"e, 18 xi 2023, m.a. rahim, 3994 and 3995 (juh), diabari, muktarpur, 23°52'17" n and 90°14'47"e, 18 xi 2023, m.a. rahim 3997 (juh). moulvibazar: sreemangal, satgaon, 09 iii 2024, m.a. rahim 10257 (juh). note: according to the original description, praxelis clematidea was published as a new combination of eupatorium clematideum griseb., with distribution in argentina and bilovia. balansa, b. 936, collected in 1875 from paraguay, is cited as the type specimen of e. clematideum griseb. in its original description. however, e. clematideum griseb. is an illegitimate name and a replaced synonym of p. clematidea, and e. clematideum (wall. ex dc.) sch. bip. is the earlier legitimate name (tropicos, 2024). e. catarium veldkamp, e. clematideum griseb., and e. urticifolium var. clematideum hieron. ex kuntze are cited as the homotypic synonyms of p. clematidea in powo (2024). p. clematidea is now considered an invasive weed in different 184 ullah et al. countries (intanon et al., 2020; pagad, et al. 2015; united states department of agriculture, 2014; wardini, 2023; zhang et al., 2020). the true identity of this species might have been hidden for a decade due to its striking morphological similarities to a few common weed species of asteraceae found in bangladesh, such as ageratum conyzoides and chromolaena odorata. praxelis clematidea is distinct from ageratum species by its deeply toothed leaves with a pungent aroma similar to the “minty cat urine” smell when crushed, deciduous phyllaries leaving a naked receptacle, pappus of more than 15 setae, and 3–4-ribbed achenes, compared to crenate or scalloped, non-pungent leaves, persistent phyllaries, at least the basal ones, paleaceous receptacle, pappus of 5–6 scales or awns, and 5angled or ribbed achenes of ageratum species. it differs from chromolaena species by its herbaceous habit, conical receptacle, 3–4-ribbed achenes, compared to the undershrub habit, flat to slightly convex receptacle, 5-ribbed achenes. in a number of publications (intanon et al., 2020; pagad, et al. 2015; united states department of agriculture, 2014; wardini, 2023; zhang et al., 2020), praxelis clematidea has been classified as invasive. field observations suggest that praxelis clematidea grows aggressively; in most of the habitats visited during this study, its rapidly expanding population appears to be impeding the growth of other species, and within its population, the individuals of other species were not found. for these reasons, this alien species is inferred to be an alien invasive in bangladesh. the normal growth and spread of native terrestrial plant species in bangladesh may be threatened by the aggressive and mat-forming growth of this alien invading species. acknowledgements the authors express their gratitude and sincere thanks to the authorities of the national university, gazipur; the department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar; and the bangladesh national herbarium, mirpur, dhaka, for their assistance. special thanks to mahmuda akhtar, senior artist and illustrator, bangladesh national herbarium, for drawing a part of the illustration (b1–b3) of the species. references abreu, v.h.r. and esteves, r.l. 2017. a new species of the cerrado in brazil. phytotaxa 303(1): 77–83. christ, a.l. and ritter, m.r. 2019. a taxonomic study of praxelinae (asteraceae – eupatorieae) in rio grande do sul, brazil. phytotaxa 393: 141–197. dillon, m.o. and hensold, n. 1993. asteraceae. in: brako, l. and zarucchi, j.l. (eds), catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of peru, monographs in systematic botany, no. 45. st. louis: missouri botanical garden, pp. 103–189. freire, s.e. and espinar, a.l. 2014. praxelis cass. in: anton, a.m. and zuloaga, f.o. (eds), flora argentina, flora vascular de la republica argentina, dicotyledoneae, asteraceae, vol. 7. buenos aires, estudio sigma srl, pp. 403–406. gbif secretariat, 2023. gbif backbone taxonomy. checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via https://www.gbif.org/species/4221673 on 2024-05-15. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india, pp. 1–84. hooker, j.d. 1881. the flora of british india, vol. 3 (part vii). l. reeve and co. ltd., kent, uk, 243 p. hossain, a.b.m.e. 1967. compositae of dhaka city and its suburbs. m.sc. thesis (unpublished). department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, pp. 1–180. hossain, a.b.m.e. 2008. asteraceae. in: ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(asteraceae) 185 and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceae-asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, pp. 263–359. intanon, s., buntoon wiengmoon, b. and mallory-smith, c.a. 2020. seed morphology and allelopathy of invasive praxelis clematidea. notulae botanicae horti agrobotanici cluj-napoca 48(1):261-272. khan, s.a. 1992. a taxonomic study on the compositae of the eastern region of bangladesh. m.sc. thesis (unpublished). department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342, pp. 1–120. pagad, s., piero genovesi, p., carnevali, l., scalera, r. and clout, m. 2015. invasive species specialist group: invasive alien species information management supporting practitioners, policy makers and decision takers. management of biol. invasions 6(2): 127–135. powo, 2024. plants of the world online. facilitated by the royal botanic gardens, kew. published on the internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/retrieved 15 may 2024. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants, vol. 1. bishen singh mahendra pal sing, dehra dun, india, 433 p. rahman, a.h.m.m. 2013. systematic studies on asteraceae in the northern region of bangladesh. american j. life sci 1(4): 155–164. rahman, a.h.m.m., alam, m.s., khan, s.k., ahmed, f., islam, a.k.m.r. and rahman, m.m. 2008. taxonomic studies on the family asteraceae (compositae) of the rajshahi division. res. j. agric. & biol. sci. 4(2): 134–140. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2017. new angiospermic taxa for the flora of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 24(2): 165–171. rahman, n. and uddin, s.n. 2018. seventy-one new additions to the angiosperm flora of bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 6: 49–70. tropicos. 2024. tropicos.org. <www.tropicos.org>. missouri botanical garden, saint louis, missouri, usa. accessed on 28 april 2024. uddin, s.n. 2018. discovery of seventy-three new records of vascular plants for bangladesh from chittagong and the chittagong hill-tracts area. bull. bangladesh national herb. 6:1–47. uddin, s.n. and hassan, m.a. (eds). 2018. vascular flora of chittagong and the chittagong hill tracts. vol. 3. magnoliopsida: part 2 (hippocrateaceae-asteraceae). bangladesh national herbarium, pp. 1–978. united states department of agriculture. 2014. weed risk assessment for praxelis clematidea r. m. king & h. rob. (asteraceae). animal and plant health inspection service, version 2. https://www.aphis. usda.gov/media/document/34048 /file veldkamp, j.f. 1999. eupatorium catarium, a new name for eupatorium clematideum griseb., non sch.bip. (compositae), a south american species naturalised and spreading in se asia and queensland, australia. the gardens' bulletin, singapore 51(4): 119–124. wardini, t.h., afifa, i.n., esyanti, r.r., astutiningsih, n.t. and pujisiswanto h. 2023. the potential of invasive species praxelis clematidea extract as a bioherbicide for asystasia gangetica. b i o d i v e r s i t a s 24(9): 4738-4746. watanabe, y, irie, k. and matsumoto, k. 1995. yeast rlm1 encodes a serum response factor-like protein that may function downstream of the mpk1 (slt2) mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. mol. cell biol. 15(10): 5740–5449. xiao, l., huang, y., wang, y. xu, j. and he, x. 2020. anti-neuroinflammatory benzofurans and lignans from praxelis clematidea. fitoterapia, 140: 10440. zhang, y., wu, h., hörandl, e., de oliveira franca, r., wang, l. and hao, j. 2021. autonomous apomixis in praxelis clematidea (asteraceae: eupatorieae), an invasive alien plant. aob plants. 2021 jan 29, 13(2): plab007. (manuscript received on 4 april, 2024; revised on 5 june, 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 123-140, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74393 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists systematics and morphometrics of the subfamily byttnerioideae burnett in bangladesh sheikh sunzid ahmed and m. oliur rahman1 department of botany, faculty of biological sciences, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: byttnerioideae; revision; numerical taxonomy; upgma; pca. abstract taxonomic revision and morphometrics are two crucial facets for the proper identification, updating of taxa, and strengthening phenetic relationships of angiosperms. this study focused on the systematics and morphometrics of the subfamily byttnerioideae burnett (family malvaceae) for the first time in bangladesh, revealing eight taxa under seven genera, namely abroma jacq., ayenia l., guazuma mill., kleinhovia l., melochia l., theobroma l. and waltheria l. these seven genera fall into three tribes: byttnerieae, theobromateae, and hermannieae. dichotomous bracketed keys to genera and species were generated. detailed nomenclature, diagnostic characteristics, illustrations, representative specimens, notes on distribution and uses for each species were provided. morphometrics study was conducted employing cluster and principal components analysis (pca). cluster analysis revealed close relationships between theobromateae and hermannieae tribes compared to byttnerieae tribe in the form of upgma dendrogram. similarity matrix revealed the highest affinity between ayenia elegans ridl. and ayenia grandifolia (dc.) christenh. & byng. in the pca analysis, the first two principal components explained approximately 82.26% cumulative variance. pca-derived scatter and projection plots supported the topology and inter-relationships in the cluster analysis. these findings will enhance future conservation strategies, especially for the threatened and medicinally important taxa of byttnerioideae in bangladesh, and support molecular phylogenetic studies of the subfamily byttnerioideae. introduction byttnerioideae is one of the nine subfamilies of the angiosperm family malvaceae (apg iv, 2016), consisting of 650 species belonging to 26 genera worldwide. prior to the angiosperm phylogeny group (apg) classification, members of byttnerioideae were placed under the family sterculiaceae (cronquist, 1981). the 26 genera of byttnerioideae have been incorporated under four tribes: byttnerieae, hermannieae, lasiopetaleae and theobromateae. the member taxa of byttnerioideae inhabit predominantly in the tropical and subtropical regions (lima et al., 2019). in bangladesh, this subfamily is consisted of 8 taxa under 7 genera and 3 tribes (ahmed and rahman, 2022). byttnerioideae is distinct by its simple, lobed or compound leaves, with five petals and numerous stamens, frequently connate at the base. fruits typically manifest as capsules or schizocarps and seeds often adorned with hairs or other appendages (colli-silva et al., 2024). the importance of these species underscores the need for a taxonomic revision of byttnerioideae. such a revision is crucial in plant taxonomy, as it entails a thorough re-examination of a particular group to amend or enhance its description or diagnosis. given that taxa often exhibit phenotypic plasticity, a taxonomic revision serves to update and refine the classification system (baur et al., 1corresponding author, email: prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com; oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74393 mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com; mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 124 ahmed and rahman 2014). in bangladesh, no efforts have been made so far for taxonomic revision of byttnerioideae and thereby, this process is particularly necessary to ensure accurate identification and conservation of economically and medicinally important species within this subfamily. morphometrics, also known as numerical taxonomy or taximetrics, is a multidisciplinary approach that integrates mathematical principles with taxonomy to analyze character states through covariances between morphological variation and other associated or causal variables (sneath and sokal, 1973; bookstein, 1991). morphological data derived from taxonomic revision provides the pedestal of morphometric analysis because the diversity in morphological characters can be classified by the numeric gaps between taxa, which reflects their evolutionary relationships as revealed by morphological changes (otte and endler, 1989). this integrated approach allows for a more precise and quantifiable understanding of species differences and similarities, facilitating deeper insights into the classification and interrelationships of byttnerioideae taxa in bangladesh. there have been limited efforts to elucidate the morphometric relationships of angiosperm taxa in bangladesh, and to date, no studies have focused specifically on the byttnerioideae subfamily (rahman and rahman, 2013; rahman et al., 2013). an integrated approach combining taxonomic revision and morphometric analysis is critical for a detailed understanding of byttnerioideae. taxonomic revision ensures up-to-date classifications, while morphometrics provides detailed analysis of phenotypic variations and interrelationships. with these integrated approaches, we aimed to enhance species identification, update classifications, and clarify morphometric relationships, thereby providing a comprehensive understanding of systematic position of byttnerioideae in bangladesh and supporting conservation efforts for the threatened and medicinally important species. materials and methods taxonomic revision twenty-five field visits were undertaken in different areas of bangladesh to collect plant samples. these specimens were meticulously studied and identified, with confirmations made through consultation of standard literatures (ahmed et al., 2009; ashrafuzzaman and sarwar, 2021). additional voucher specimens of byttnerioideae deposited at the dush, dacb, hcu and bfrih were studied. to facilitate identification, taxonomic keys were generated for genera and species. nomenclature was updated using recent standard floras and trustworthy web-based data sources (www.powo.science.kew.org; www.ipni.org). each species is accompanied by technical descriptions, up-to-date nomenclature, phenology, representative specimens, habitat, global distribution, illustrations and uses. voucher specimens were deposited at dush. morphometric analysis eight species of the byttnerioideae used for morphometric analysis are presented in table 1. thirty-one characters, both qualitative and quantitative, were investigated and analyzed for morphometrics endeavor (table 2). both vegetative and reproductive characters were considered and coded as binary-states using ntedit v.1.2 module of ntsyspc v.2.10e software package (rohlf, 2012). the similarity module was employed to construct similarity matrix using the simple matching coefficient. subsequently, cluster analysis was performed using the upgma method through the sahn module. principal components analysis (pca) was conducted employing the ordination module and eigen package to construct the two-dimensional scattered diagram. the eigen package was used to generate eigenvector and eigenvalues. afterwards, the mod3d tool from the graphics module was implemented to generate three-dimensional diagram of pca. all analyses were conducted using the ntsyspc v.2.10e software package (rohlf, 2012). http://www.powo.science.kew.org; http://www.ipni.org). systematics and morphometrics of byttnerioideae 125 results and discussion taxonomic treatment the subfamily byttnerioideae comprises seven genera and eight species in bangladesh. a dichotomous bracketed key to the genera of byttnerioideae is presented below: 1 ovary stipitate. kleinhovia ovary sessile. 2 2 staminodes absent. 3 staminodes present. 4 3 capsule 5-celled; styles 5, central; stigma slightly thickened; seeds winged, triangular. melochia capsule 1-celled; style 1, excentric; stigma fimbriate; seeds wingless, obovate. waltheria 4 fruits fleshy or drupaceous; cauliflorous. theobroma fruits not fleshy; not cauliflorous. 5 5 staminodes emarginate; fruits 5-winged. abroma staminodes acute or lanceolate; fruits wingless. 6 6 fruits covered with stiff spines and barb; fertile stamens 5. ayenia fruits tuberculate or downy; fertile stamens 10-15. guazuma abroma jacq. hort. vindob. 3: t. 1 (1776); miquel, fl. ind. bat. 1: 182 (1859) benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 224 (1862); merrill, j. straits branch roy. asiat. soc.: 378 (1921); enum. philip. pl. 3: 48 (1923); ridley, fl. mal. pen. 1: 285 (1922). abroma augustum (l.) l.f., suppl. pl.: 341 (1781) (‘ambroma’); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 375 (1874); prain, beng. pl. 1: 191 (1903); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 286 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 179 (1925). theobroma augustum l., syst. nat. ed. 12(2): 233 (1767). abroma fastuosum jacq., hort. bot. vindob. 3: 3 (1776). abroma angulatum lam., encycl. metho. botan. par. 1(1): 126 (1783). abroma elongatum lam., encycl. metho. botan. par. 1(1): 127 (1783). abroma wheleri retz., observ. bot. retzius. 5: 27 (1788). abroma molle dc., prod. syst. nat. reg. veg. 1: 485 (1824). abroma obliquum c. presl., reliq. haenk. 2: 143 (1835). abroma alatum blanco, fl. flip.: 605 (1837). abroma denticulatum miq., pl. jungh. 3: 288 (1854). abroma javanicum miq., fl. ned. ind.1(2): 183 (1859). abroma sinuosum g. nicholson, ill. dict. gard. 4: 482 (1888). (fig. 1a). vernacular names: devil’s cotton (english); ulatkambal (bangla), tambol (chakma), daiya (garo). a shrub, 2.5-4.5 m tall. stem cylindrical, branchlets densely stellate, velutinous when young. leaves simple, alternate; petiole 2.5-3.0 cm, cylindrical, glandular; stipules intrapetiolar, linear, 10 mm long, caducous; lamina cordate or ovate-cordate, occasionally 3-5 lobed, 10-25 x 9-8 cm; margin entire to slightly serrate, pinnately reticulate, 3-7 nerved, membranous, glabrescent adaxially, tomentose or densely puberulent abaxially, veins prominent, apex acute or acuminate, base cordate or obliquely cordate. inflorescence cymose. flowers bisexual, c. 3 cm in diameter, complete, pedunculate, peduncle 1.5 cm long; sepals 5, gamosepalous, c. 2 cm long, lanceolate, aestivation valvate; petals 5, gamopetalous, dark red, scarcely exceeding the sepals, upper lobe 126 ahmed and rahman oblong-ovate, lower lobe narrowed down, obtuse, aestivation valvate; stamens connate to the copular column, epipetalous; anthers extrorse, 2-celled, indefinite; ovary sessile, 5-locular; ovules indefinite. fruit capsule, 4.5 cm long, 5 cm in diameter, obpyramidal, 5-angular, dehisce septicidally. seeds many, rounded; albumen copious; embryo straight. flowering and fruiting: june-december. habitat: open, dry places of the tropical forests and often prefer the edges of forests and clearings, sometimes on the bank of watercourses. grows well in gardens throughout the country. representative specimens: chittagong: korerhat, shonai, 1 aug 1997, m.a. rahman et al. 1633 (hcu); hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary, 13 jun 2022, sunzid 64 (dacb). cox’s bazar: rajarkul botanical garden, ramu, 17 jan 2017, niyamul kabir et al. nk 2471 (dacb). dhaka: naya bazar, old dhaka, 16 sep 2021, sunzid 17 (dush). dinajpur: jagathdal, birganj, 27 aug 1998, mia et al. m 4380 (dacb). faridpur: goulandaghat, 1 jul 1973, a.m. huq 982 (dacb). gazipur: sreepur, 10 apr 1964, m.a. baqui 101 (dush). jamalpur: tulshipur, 18 nov 2019, kanis fatema 1 (dacb). khagrachari: dighinala, 13 aug 2008, bushra et al. b 1003 (dacb). manikganj: taraghat, 6 jun 1978, soejarto et rahman 4976 (dacb). moulvibazar: madhabkunda eco park, 28 mar 2016, naimur rahman nr 129 (dacb). mymensingh: gafargaon, bagbari, 23 sep 2021, sunzid 24 (dush). natore: khandibhita, 8 oct 1990, m.k. huda 6804 (bfrih). nawabganj: rohanpur, 2 sep 2022, rezia et al. ric 3705 (dacb). pabna: madhupur, 27 mar 1978, md. hafizur rahman 13 (dacb). rangamati: shubalong, 5 sep 1999, m.a. rahman et al. 5657 (hcu); barkal, aimachara forest, 7 aug 2017, joyanta et al. jcr 6302 (dacb). sirajganj: s. loc., 20 apr 1994, basak et al. 749 (bfrih). tangail: takurpara, 10 sep 1992, e rahman et m.a. rahman 63 (hcu). distribution: australia, belgium, bhutan, cambodia, cameroon, china, democratic republic of the congo, federative republic of brazil, india, indonesia, ivory coast, jamaica, japan, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, nigeria, philippines, papua new guinea, spain, thailand, united states of america and viet nam. uses: traditionally, a. augustum is used to treat swellings, cuts, sores and bruises. an infusion with stem of a. augustum in cold water is effective in the treatment of gonorrhea. different phytochemicals such as flavonoids, phenolics and alkaloids extracted from the species have been found to inhibit pancreatic lipase activity (gupta et al. 2012). strong bast fibre from the stem is used for making rope, fishing lines, twine and pouches in philippines (ahmed et al., 2009). ayenia l. kongl. svenska vetensk. acad. handl. 17: 24 (1756); byttneria loeft., iter. hisp.: 313 (1758); miquel, fl. ind. bat. 1: 184 (1859); ridley, fmp 1: 286 (1922). buettneria l., syst. veg. ed. 13: 197 (1774); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 225 (1867). key to species of ayenia l. 1 inflorescence densely stellate-pubescent; leaves finely serratedentate; flower buds conical. a. elegans inflorescence minutely puberulous; leaves entire; flower buds ovoid. a. grandifolia ayenia elegans ridl., skvortsovia. byttneria pilosa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 681 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 377 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 151 (1877); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 181 (1925), ‘buettneria’ prain, beng. pl. 1: 192 (1903). commersonia pilosa (roxb.) g. don., gen. hist. 1: 524 (1831). byttneria pilosa var. pellita gagnep., fl. indo-chine 1(5): 517 (1910); systematics and morphometrics of byttnerioideae 127 byttneria elegans ridl., j. sraits roy. asiat. soc. 57: 25 (1911). chaetaea pilosa (roxb.) adelb. in backer, bekn. fl. java 107: 11 (1944). ayenia indica christenh. & byng, global fl. 4: 136 (2018). (fig. 1b). vernacular names: flame tree (english); harjora lata (bangla); kudi-paing (chakma), choloimro-bang (marma), sola ludi (tripura), king kay (murong). a large, woody climber or scandent shrub, branchlets grooved, hispid with spreading hairs or sparsely stellate-hairs. leaves simple, 10-18 x 6-15 cm, suborbicular, palmately lobed, cordate at the base, stellate-pilose on both surfaces, 5-7 main nerves from leaf base; petioles 2-18 cm long, shaggy tomentose. flowers pale yellow, minute, 4-6 mm in diameter, in much-branched axillary umbellate cymes; pedicels slender; bracts and bracteoles subulate; sepals 5, cup-shaped, longer than petals, connate below, tomentose, c. 3 mm long; petals 5, 4-5 x 1-2 mm, yellow, incurved, claw concave and long strap like, limb 2-fid; stamens and staminodes united at the base by a cuplike membrane; anthers 2-lobed, lobes extrorse; ovary 5-locular; styles entire or 5-fid.. fruit a globose capsule, 2.0-2.5 cm across, with sharp spines, septicidally 5-valved, with persistent central column. seeds black, ellipsoid, c. 5 x 2 mm, triangular. flowering and fruiting: septemberfebruary. habitat: occurs in evergreen to mixed evergreen forests. fig. 1. a. abroma augustum (l.) l.f.: a. habit sketch, b. sepal, c. petal, d. dehisced fruit; b. ayenia elegans ridl.: habit sketch. 128 ahmed and rahman representative specimens: bandarban: chimbuk hill, 8 sep 1999, m.a. rahman et al. 5767 (hcu); ruma, bogalake, 3 dec 2018, khandakar kamrul islam kki 3095 (dacb). chittagong: potia, 30 oct 1975, jahir et al. 127 (bfrih); hathazari, sarkarhat, kumarikhal, 23 nov 2016, bashkhali eco park, 29 jan 2018, md. moniruzzaman et al-amin ma 7398 (dacb). cox’s bazar: pekua, barbakia, 9 feb 2017, niyamul kabir et mehedi hasan nk 2755 (dacb); chakaria, fasiakhali, 21 nov 2017, niyamul kabir et al. nk 6444 (dacb); habiganj: satchari forest, 27 may 1999, a. m. huq and harun 10614 (dacb). khagrachari: hatimura, perachara, 28 oct 1997, m.a. rahman et al. 2330 (hcu); panchhari, jugolchhari reserve forest, 2 oct 2017, kowser et al. kh 6764 (dacb). moulvibazar: kamalganj, adampur, dalua chara, 12 sep 2012, s.n. uddin n 5027 (dacb). rangamati: kaptai, baghaichari reserve forest, 8 feb 2017, joyanta et al. jcr 2803 (dacb); sapchari, puramon, morongchori forest, 7 nov 2017, joyanta et al. jcr 6912 (dacb). sherpur: runctia forest, 29 oct 1972, a.m. huq 449 (dacb). distribution: bhutan, china, india, indonesia, lao pdr, malaysia, mongolia, myanmar, thailand and viet nam. uses: the species is traditionally applied for treating scabies, rheumatalgia, syphilis, elephantiasis, and eye infection. it possesses analgesic, thrombolytic as well as anti-diarrheal properties (sikdar et al. 2022). ayenia grandifolia (dc.) christenh. & byng, global fl. 4: 136 (2018). byttneria aspera colebr. in roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 2: 383 (1824); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 377 (1874); prain, beng. pl. 1: 191 (1903); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 160 (1934). byttneria nepalensis turcz., bull. soc. imp. nat. mosc. 31(1): 207 (1858). byttneria integrifolia lace, kew bull. 1915: 396 (1915); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 181 (1925). byttneria grandifolia dc., prod. 1: 486 (1824). (fig. 2a) vernacular names: nilbhutta (bangla). a scandent shrub, longitudinally or spirally close furrowed on old stem, sparsely stellate hairy when young. leaves simple, cordate, 10-18 x 5-15 cm, apex cuspidate, base cordate, margin entire, 5-7 nerved at the base; petioles 5-13 cm long, grooved, puberulous; stipules 8-12 mm long, linear-lanceolate, early caducous. flowers reddish, minute, 4-6 mm across, in much-branched axillary umbellate cymes; pedicels slender; bracts and bracteoles subulate; sepals 5, connate below, hairy on both surfaces, lanceolate; petals 5, claw concave, limb 2-fid; stamens and staminodes united at the base by a cup-like membrane; anthers 2-lobed, lobes extrorse; ovary 5locular; ovules 2 in each locule; styles entire or 5-fid. capsule globose, sometimes ovoid-globose, armed, septicidally 5-valved, with persistent central column. seeds ovate-oblong, black when mature. flowering and fruiting: may-december. habitat: near water course, in the hilly forest areas. representative specimens: bandarban: ruma, maurchara, 25 jan 2017, khandakar kamrul islam kki 1013 (dacb). chittagong: chunati, baroitala, 26 feb 1997, m.a. rahman 814 (hcu). cox’s bazar: eidgaon, bhomarighona, 16 may 1999, m.a. rahman et al. 4904 (hcu); ukhia, thaing-khali, 4 may 2017, niyamul kabir nk 4254 (dacb). moulvibazar: kamalganj, adampur, 19 may 2014, s.n. uddin n 5197 (dacb). rangamati: kaptai, sitapahar, 3 sep 1999, m.a. rahman et al. 5592 (hcu); barkal, choto-horina, jaingachchara, 9 dec 2015, khandakar kamrul islam kki 1928 (dacb). sylhet: jaintapur-tamabil, 5 apr 1988, mahfuz et al. mz. 33 (dacb). distribution: bhutan, cambodia, china, hong kong, india, lao pdr, nepal, thailand and viet nam. systematics and morphometrics of byttnerioideae 129 uses: a. grandifolia leaves possess anticancer property (lalawmpuii et al., 2017). ethnic ladies of chittagong hill tracts wash their hair with macerated young parts and barks (uddin and hassan, 2018). guazuma mill. gard. dict. abridg. ed. 4: 2 (1754); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 225 (1862); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 375 (1874). guazuma ulmifolia lam., encycl. math. bot. 3: 52 (1789). theobroma guazuma l., sp. pl.: 782 (1753). guazuma polybotrya cav., icon. 3: 51 (1795). theobroma celtifolium salisb., prodr. strip. chap. allerton: 387 (1796). bubroma ulmifolia (lam.) oken, allg. naturgesch. 3(2): 1204 (1841). guazuma parvifolia a. rich., hist. fis. cuba, bot. 10: 190 (1845). diuroglossum rufescens turcz., bull. soc. imp. nat. mosc. 25 (2): 157 (1852). guazuma guazuma var. ulmifolia (lam.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 3 (2): 24 (1898). guazuma tomentosa mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 375 (1874); prain, beng. pl. 1: 278 (1903). (fig. 2b). vernacular names: west indian elm (english); juma (bangla). a medium-sized tree, up to 25 m long. leaves ovate or oblong-lanceolate, 7-13 x 3-6 cm, apex acuminate, base obliquely cordate, 6-8 nerved, margin serrate, glabrescent on upper surface, pubescent on lower surface, adaxially dark green, abaxially light green; petiole 0.7-1.2 cm long. inflorescence a panicle. flowers yellow, flower buds globose; sepals 5, reflexed, stellately hairy; petals 5; stamens 10; anthers 2-lobed, divergent; ovary 5-celled, ovules many in each cell; style connate. capsule woody, oblong. seeds albuminous. flowering and fruiting: january-september. habitat: grows in the lowland and forests. fig. 2. a. ayenia grandifolia (dc.) christenh. & byng: a. habit sketch, b. fruit; b. guazuma ulmifolia lam: habit sketch. 130 ahmed and rahman representative specimens: dhaka: govt. nursery, 13 sep 1949, s.k. sen s.n. (dush). jessore: s. loc., 23 feb 1969, s.k. sen s.n. (dush). distribution: argentina, brazil, india, indonesia, mexico, sri lanka, united states of america and viet nam. uses: guazuma ulmifolia is administered for treatment of diarrhea, hemorrhages, inflammatory disorders, and as a uterine contraction stimulant. aerial portions of the plant have been demonstrated to protect the stomach from the harmful effects of nsaids (non-steroidal antiinflammatory medicines), mostly through anti-inflammatory and radical-scavenging processes. flavanocoumarins isolated from g. ulmifolia showed promising anti-cancer effects in-vitro against human monocytic leukemia cell line tph-1 (maldini et al. 2013). kleinhovia l. sp. pl. (ed.2): 1365 (1763), gen. pl. (ed.6): 468 (1764); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 219 (1862). kleinhovia hospita l., sp. pl.: 1365 (1763); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 364 (1874); gagnep. in fl. gen. i.-c. 1: 497 (1911); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 280 (1922). grewia meyeniana walp., nov. actorum. acad. caes. leop.-carol. nat. cur. 19 (suppl. 1): 311 (1843); cattimarus hospitus (l.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 77 (1891). (fig. 3a). vernacular names: guest tree (english); bola, bholla (bangla). a small tree, up to 12 m tall. leaves broadly ovate, 5.5-18 x 5.5-18 cm, abaxially puberulent when young, adaxially glabrous, acuminate or acute at the apex, cordate or subcordate at the base, margin entire or sparsely dentate, axils of venation and midrib sometimes with minute simple hairs, lateral veins 4-6 pairs; petiole 3.0-5.5 cm long, glabrous or with dense, minute simple hairs. inflorescence a thyrse, up to 45 cm long. sepals c. 6 mm long, pink; petals pink, yellow at apex; ovary globose, hairy, ovule 1 in each locule; style glabrous; stigma protruding 1-2 mm long. capsule pyriform to globose, 5-angled, greenish pink at maturity. seeds globose, dark brown or black. flowering and fruiting: february-april. habitat: occurs in hilly or montane forests. representative specimens: dhaka: s. loc, 19 dec 1945, s.k. sen s.n. (dush); sadarghat, 18 sep 1949, atul s.n. (dush). pabna: jamtoli railway station, 1 mar 1980, d.k. das et m.k. alam 3491 (bfrih). distribution: africa, australia, china, india, indonesia, malaysia, philippines, polynesia, sri lanka, taiwan, tonga and thailand. uses: the species is utilized as a traditional remedy for treatment of scabies. the plant contains cyanogenic compounds that are thought to aid in the killing of lice, and extracts of leaves have showed anticancer efficacy against mice sarcomas (arung et al., 2009). melochia l. sp. pl. 1: 674 (1753); miquel, fl. ind. bat. 1: 187 (1859); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 373 (1874). visenia houtt., handl. pl. kruidk. 8: 308 (1777); riedleia dc., prodr. 1: 490 (1824); physodium presl., rel. haenk. 2: 150 (1835). melochia corchorifolia l., sp. pl.: 675 (1753); schumacher, besk. guin. plan.: 297 (1827); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 374 (1874); prain, beng. pl. 1: 190 (1903). melochia supina l., sp. pl.: 675 (1753). melochia concatenata l., sp. pl.: 675 (1753). melochia erecta burm. f., fl. ind.: 143 (1768). melochia truncata willd., sp. pl. (ed.3): 601 (1800). riedlea supina (l.) dc., prodr. systematics and morphometrics of byttnerioideae 131 1: 491 (1824). melochia pauciflora wall., numer. list.: 1199 (1829). melochia burmanni zoll. & moritzi, syst. verz.: 27 (1846). (fig. 3b). vernacular names: chocolate weed (english); tikiokra (bangla); jarbo maresh (chakma), bish karali (marma). herb or subshrub, up to 1 m tall. branches yellow-brown, sparsely stellate puberulent. leaves ovate, oblong-ovate, or lanceolate, 2.5-7.0 long and 1.0-1.3 cm across, thinly papery or membranous, basal veins 5, acute or obtuse at apex, rounded or cordate at base, margin dentate; petiole up to 2.5 cm long; stipules linear. inflorescence a glomerule or cyme, axillary or terminal. sepals 5, triangular, c. 2.5 mm long, villous abaxially, glabrous adaxially; petals 5, oblong, white, reddish, c. 6 mm long; stamens 5, connate at base, free above, opposite to petals; anthers extrorse; ovary densely velutinous, ovules 2 in each locule; styles 5, filiform. capsule 5-angular, globose, villous. seeds ovoid, brown-black, c. 2-3 mm long. flowering and fruiting: march-june. habitat: marshy lands and waste places. fig. 3. a. kleinhovia hospita l.: a. habit sketch, b. sepal, c. fruit; b. melochia corchorifolia l.: habit sketch. representative specimens: chittagong: maheshkhali, 6 mar 1978, m.s. khan k. 482 (dacb); ichanagar beribadh, 9 sep 1987, d.k. das 6105 (bfrih). cox’s bazar: chakaria, fasiakhali, 26 sep 2017, niyamul kabir et al. nk 5241 (dacb). cumilla: lalmai, 9 aug 1988, mahfuz et a.h. huq mz 239 (dacb). dhaka: sher-e-bangla agricultural university compound, 20 sep 2021, sunzid 23 (dush). faridpur: roypur, 22 oct 1961, amjed ali khan 20 (dush). kushtia: meherpur, baradi, 10.6.1974, m.s. khan et a.m. huq k. 3889 (dacb). moulvibazar: 132 ahmed and rahman kamalganj, adampur forest beat, 20 sep 2011, s.n. uddin n. 4701 (dacb). mymensingh: mymensingh university campus, 19 sep 1980, mia et al. m. 404 (dacb). narayanganj: araihazar, 24 sep 2021, sunzid 31 (dush). natore: gurudashpur, chalon beel, 20 sep 1996, m.s. khan & h. rashid k. 9598 (dacb). nawabganj: naehal para, 5 sep 2002, rezia et al. ric 3916 (dacb). patuakhali: kuakata, kolapara, 5 jan 1980, khan et al. k. 5953 (dacb). rajshahi: mirzapur, 27 oct 1989, mia et al. m. 2394 (dacb). rangamati: s. loc., 6 jun 1969, m.s. khan k. 1766 (dush). rangpur: chalahazzi, 17 oct 1976, huq et al. h. 2746 (dacb). sylhet: salutikar, 27 apr 1968, sudhangshu 97 (dush); tamabil to joyantapur, 9 oct 1979, khan et mia k. 5665 (dacb). tangail: mirzapur, 20 sep 2001, harun et rahman sh 620 (dacb). distribution: africa, australia, cameroon, cambodia, china, congo, gambia, ghana, guinea, india, indonesia, japan, kenya, lao pdr, madagascar, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, nigeria, philippines, polynesia, sudan, taiwan, tanzania, thailand, uganda, united states of america and viet nam. uses: fruits are administered for treating several ailments including dysentery, abdominal swelling and small pox. the species is reported to possess antioxidant potential (rao et al. 2013, mamatha et al. 2018). theobroma l. sp. pl. 2: 782 (1753); sesse & moc. ex dc., prodr. 1: 484 (1824); karst., linnaea 28: 447 (1856). cacao gaertn, fruct. sem. pl. 2: 190 (1791). theobroma cacao l., sp. pl: 782 (1753); wallpers et muller, ann. bot. system. 7: 430 (1848). cacao sativa aubl., hist. pl. guiane 2: 689 (1775). theobroma integerrima stokes, bot. mat. med. 4: 83 (1812). theobroma leiocarpum bernoulli, denkschr. schweiz. naturf. ges. 24 (3): 6 (1871). cacao theobroma tussac, fl. antill. 1: t. 13 (1881). theobroma kalagua de wild., bull. herb. boissier 7: 957 (1899). theobroma sapidum pittier, bol. soc. venez. ci. nat. 1: 183 (1932). (fig. 4a). vernacular names: cacao (english); coco (bangla). an evergreen tree, up to 20 m tall. bark thick, dark gray-brown. leaves narrowly ovate to obovate-elliptic, 20-30 x 7-10 cm, glabrous or sparsely stellate on both surfaces, long acuminate at apex, rounded to shallowly cordate at base, texture coriaceous or chartaceous; stipules 5-14 x 0.51.5 mm, subulate, pubescent or puberulous, caducous. inflorescence cymose. flowers c. 18 mm in diam.; pedicels c. 12 mm long; sepals narrowly lanceolate, pink; petals 5, yellowish, reflexed; staminodes linear; ovary obovoid, 5-locular; ovules 14-16 in each locule; style cylindrical. fruits sub-baccate, globose to fusiform, acute. seeds 20-40, ovoid, ellipsoid, amygdaloid. flowering and fruiting: april-december. habitat: the plant thrives in the understory of tropical rainforests that are evergreen. it grows in bunches along river banks, wherein roots are frequently soaked throughout the year. planted in gardens as well. representative specimens: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 30 nov 2021, sunzid 41 (dush). distribution: bolivia, brazil, cameroon, fiji, haiti, ivory coast, india, lao pdr, mexico, nigeria, pakistan, peru, sri lanka and viet nam. uses: cocoa is economically significant as used in various industries, including confectionery, food and beverage, and, more recently, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. it is used for the treatment of cardiovascular problems (rusconi and conti, 2010). systematics and morphometrics of byttnerioideae 133 waltheria l. sp. pl. 2: 673 (1753); gen. pl. ed. 5: 304 (1754); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl.: 224 (1862); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 374 (1874); prain, beng. pl. 1 (reprint): 190 (1963). waltheria indica l., sp. pl.: 673 (1753); wight & arn., prodr. 1: 67 (1834); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 374 (1874); prain, beng. pl. 1: 190 (1903). waltheria americana l., sp. pl.: 673 (1753). waltheria angustifolia l., syst. nat. ed. 10: 1140 (1759). waltheria elliptica cav., mon. cl. diss. dec. 6: 316, t. 171, 2 (1788). waltheria guineensis k. schum, kongl. dansk. selsk. math. afhandl. 4: 69 (1829). waltheria dentosa a. grey, smithsonian contr. knowl. 5(6): 24 (1853). waltheria makinoi hayata, enum. pl. formosa 61: 5 (1906). (fig. 4b). vernacular names: sleepy morning (english); khar dudhi, khar dudha (bangla). erect herb or undershrub, up to 1 m tall. branchlets pubescent and terete. leaves simple, 2.56.5 x 1.5-4.5 cm, ovate, elliptic-ovate, base shallowly cordate to rounded, apex acute to rounded, serrate-dentate, stellate-pubescent on both surfaces. inflorescences cymose, axillary, capitate, peduncles up to 4 cm long. flowers with epicalyx, lobes narrowly lanceolate, up to 5 mm long; sepals 5, triangular, c. 2.5-4.5 mm long; petals yellow, spathulate, c, 4 mm long, apex truncate, veined; stamens 5; staminal cup c. 2 mm long, subconical; ovary sessile, unilocular, puberulent; styles obliquely inserted, fimbriate at the apex; stigmas penicillate. capsules obovoid, c. 3 mm long, hairy. seeds smooth, obovate, very tiny. flowering and fruiting: april-december. fig. 4. a. theobroma cacao l.: a. habit sketch, b. fruit; b. waltheria indica l.: habit sketch. 134 ahmed and rahman habitat: occurs mostly in waste places as a weed, and sometimes is grown as ornamentals. representative specimens: dhaka: s. loc., 17 sep 1949, s.k. sen & h. singh s.n. (dush); nakhalpara, 20 jul 1969, m.m.r. bhuiyan s.n. (dush). distribution: argentina, brazil, cambodia, haiti, honduras, india, mexico, pakistan, sri lanka, taiwan, tanzania, tonga, thailand, uganda, usa, viet nam, yemen, zambia and zimbabwe. uses: the species is valued for its medicinal properties, and administered for sore throat, cough inflammation and asthma. the species is also ethnomedicinally important, and used for rheumatism, diarrhea and infertility (zongo et al., 2013; chitra et al., 2022). morphometric analysis the morphometric analysis of eight taxa within the subfamily byttnerioideae (table 1) yielded insights into their inter-relationships. thirty-one characters, both qualitative and quantitative, were investigated to infer inter-relationships among the taxa employed. the characters and character states of the taxa studied are presented in table 2. to corroborate systematic position of the member taxa of byttnerioideae, a combinatory approach was undertaken with cluster analysis (ca) and principal components analysis (pca), revealing agreeable and congruent results among the member taxa. table 1. list of taxa of byttnerioideae used in the morphometrics endeavor. no. taxa code vouchers 1 abroma augustum (l.) l.f. aba chittagong: rangapani, 30 oct 1978, huq et al. h. 4005 (dacb). dhaka: naya bazar, old dhaka, 16 sep 2021, sunzid 17 (dush). 2 ayenia elegans ridl. aye habiganj: satchari forest, 27 may 1999, a. m. huq and harun 10614 (dacb). sylhet: lawachara forest, 19 jan 1965, m.s. khan 467 (dush). 3 ayenia grandifolia (dc.) christenh. & byng ayg bandarban: ruma, maurchara, 25 jan 2017, khandakar kamrul islam kki 1013 (dacb). rangamati: bilaichari, 26 jul 1999, s.b. uddin 5193 (hcu). 4 guazuma ulmifolia lam. guu jessore: s. loc., 23 feb 1969, s.k. sen s.n. (dush). 5 kleinhovia hospita l. klh dhaka: s. loc, 19 dec 1945, s.k. sen s.n. (dush). pabna: jamtoli railway station, 1 mar 1980, d.k. das et m.k. alam 3491 (bfrih). 6 melochia corchorifolia l. mec dhaka: sher-e-bangla agricultural university compound, 20 sep 2021, sunzid 23 (dush). 7 theobroma cacao l. thc dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 30 nov 2021, sunzid 41 (dush). 8 waltheria indica l. wai dhaka: nakhalpara, 20 jul 1969, m.m.r. bhuiyan s.n. (dush). cluster analysis revealed distinct groupings among the eight species within the byttnerioideae, as shown in the upgma dendrogram. the studied species were grouped into two major clusters: major cluster 1 and major cluster 2 (fig. 5). the major cluster 1 included all the members of the tribe byttnerieae, namely a. augustum, a. elegans, a. grandifolia, and kleinhovia hospita. in major cluster 2, four species from two tribes, theobromateae and hermannieae were grouped together, forming two subclusters within the second major cluster. g. ulmifolia was systematics and morphometrics of byttnerioideae 135 accompanied by t. cacao in the first subcluster, while m. corchorifolia was grouped with w. indica in the second subcluster of the major cluster 2. the similarity matrix indicated the highest affinity (0.935) between a. elegans and a. grandifolia (table 3). table 2. characters and binary states employed in the morphometric study. no. characters character states 1 habit trees or shrubs (1), herbs or climbers (0). 2 leaf type compound (1), simple (0). 3 leaf lobe present (1), absent (0). 4 leaf attachment alternate (1), opposite or crowded (0). 5 leaf margin entire (1), denticulate or serrulate (0). 6 leaf venation pinnately reticulate (1), palmately reticulate (0). 7 leaf texture membranous (1), subcoriaceous (0). 8 shape of lamina cordate or suborbicular or ovate or obovate (1), elliptic or lanceolate or linear-lanceolate (0). 9 leaf apex acute or acuminate (1), obtuse or cuspidate (0). 10 leaf base cordate or obliquely rounded or rounded (1), cuneate or acute or obtuse (0). 11 petiole length < 2.0 cm (1), 2.0-40.0 cm (0). 12 petiole surface glabrous (1), hairy (0). 13 leaf surface glabrous (1), hairy (0). 14 inflorescence axillary (1), terminal (0). 15 flower sexuality unisexual (1), bisexual (0). 16 flower type regular (1), irregular (0). 17 floral symmetry actinomorphic (1), zygomorphic (0). 18 petal present (1), absent (0). 19 staminodes present (1), absent (0). 20 number of stamens 10-15 (1), 5 (0). 21 androgynophore present (1), absent or very short (0). 22 flower complete (1), incomplete (0). 23 stipules linear or lanceolate (1), ovate or subulate or fimbriate (0). 24 ovary shape oblong or globose (1), ovoid or obovoid (0). 25 ovary hair present (1), absent (0). 26 ovary type stipitate (1), sessile (0). 27 carpels united (1), free (0). 28 fruits capsule or drupe (1), follicle or samara (0). 29 seeds winged (1), wingless (0). 30 seed shape oblong or ovoid (1), elliptic or globose (0). 31 number of seeds 1-10 (1), > 10 (0). on the contrary, the lowest morphological affinity (0.516) was observed between m. corchorifolia and k. hospita (fig. 5). the upgma-based cluster analysis was applied to acacia senegal to understand its morphometric relationships in uganda (mulumba and kakudidi, 2010). similarly, this procedure was used to reveal morphological relationships of salvia fruticosa in greece (bertsouklis et al., 2021). these studies validate our choice of using upgma for this morphometric investigation, reinforcing its effectiveness in analyzing and understanding the morphological similarities and variations within byttnerioideae. 136 ahmed and rahman table 3. similarity matrix of eight taxa of byttnerioideae based on simple matching coefficient. species aba ayg aye guu klh mec thc wai aba 1 ayg 0.806 1 aye 0.806 0.935 1 guu 0.677 0.612 0.677 1 klh 0.741 0.677 0.677 0.612 1 mec 0.580 0.645 0.709 0.774 0.516 1 thc 0.709 0.580 0.580 0.774 0.580 0.677 1 wai 0.612 0.741 0.741 0.741 0.548 0.903 0.580 1 aba: abroma augustum, aye: ayenia elegans, ayg: ayenia grandifolia, guu: guazuma ulmifolia, klh: kleinhovia hospita, mec: melochia corchorifolia, thc: theobroma cacao, wai: waltheria indica. fig. 5. upgma tree showing inter-relationships among the byttnerioideae taxa based on simple matching coefficient. the study employing the scatter diagram representing two-dimensional plot resulted in two major clusters, wherein the first major cluster consisted of four taxa belonging to the tribe byttnerieae (fig. 6). the second major cluster comprised another four species belonging to the tribes theobromateae and hermannieae. principal components analysis (pca) revealed groupings of the species consistent with the findings of cluster analysis (fig. 7). the 3d-plot corroborated the findings of the scatter diagram with identification of the two major clusters. similar to scatter plot, the first major cluster represented byttnerieae and the second one showcased theobromateae and hermannieae (fig. 7). in the pca, the first five components displayed eigenvalues of greater than 1 and their contribution rates were found to be 72.71%, 9.54%, 7.60%, 4.21% and 2.41%, respectively. the cumulative contribution rate was 96.50% for the first five components (table 4). when the pca is used to replace the information provided by the original characters, the contribution rate might show the validity of the replacement. usually, the cumulative contribution rate should be greater than 70% in order to accurately reflect how things appear on the surface (mulumba and kakudidi, systematics and morphometrics of byttnerioideae 137 2010). pca, by reducing the dimensionality and noise of multivariate data, enables the adjustment of univariate trait models to specific principal components. it operates by analyzing a data table consisting of observations described by multiple inter-correlated dependent variables. this revolutionary method extracts essential information from the data table and represents it as a series of new orthogonal variables. additionally, pca illustrates the similarity patterns of the data and variables by presenting them as points on maps (uyeda et al., 2015). fig. 6. scatter diagram showing the relationships of the taxa within the byttnerioideae. aba: abroma augustum, aye: ayenia elegans, ayg: ayenia grandifolia, guu: guazuma ulmifolia, klh: kleinhovia hospita, mec: melochia corchorifolia, thc: theobroma cacao, wai: waltheria indica. fig. 7. pca analysis with 3d vector projection plot using the first two principal components showing major clustering patterns in byttnerioideae. aba: abroma augustum, aye: ayenia elegans, ayg: ayenia grandifolia, guu: guazuma ulmifolia, klh: kleinhovia hospita, mec: melochia corchorifolia, thc: theobroma cacao, wai: waltheria indica. 138 ahmed and rahman ca can provide a hierarchical classification of entities using similarity or dissimilarity matrix. this efficacious technique helps to characterize and compare communities (assemblages) of organisms in varied habitats on a geographical and temporal scale. some properties of clustering include high scalability, high dimensionality, algorithm usability with multiple data types and interpretability. different methods are employed for clustering, such as partitioning, hierarchical, density-based, grid-based and constraint-based strategies (kettenring, 2006). in a previous study, the upgma results were compared with pca outcomes to understand the morphometrics of tibouchina hatschbachii and t. marumbiensis, showing consistent findings between the upgma and pca (maia and goldenberg, 2019). another study combined these techniques to understand species delimitation in argyreia using leaf anatomical characters, revealing a new species, argyreia gyrobracteata traiperm & chitchak (chitchak et al., 2018). in our study, the coherence of upgma and pca, therefore, strengthens the inter-relationships of the three tribes of byttnerioideae. table 4. eigen value and percentage of eigen value explained by components. components eigen value percentage of eigen value (%) cumulative percentage (%) 1 5.81 72.71 72.71 2 0.76 9.54 82.26 3 0.60 7.60 89.86 4 0.33 4.21 94.08 5 0.19 2.41 96.50 6 0.14 1.83 98.34 7 0.09 1.26 99.60 8 0.03 0.40 100.00 the current morphometric findings, along with a comprehensive taxonomic revision of byttnerioideae, provide essential insights for future conservation 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(syn. waltheria americana): a review. j. ethnopharmacol. 148(1): 14-26. (manuscript received on 30 december, 2023; revised on 2 june, 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 1-14, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74370 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists unveiling the complete chloroplast genome of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus (hosni) al-hemaid & j. thomas: genome structure, comparative analysis and phylogeny albatool suliman albediwi1, mohammad ajmal ali1*, mona solaiman alwahibi1, sheikh sunzid ahmed2, m. oliur rahman2*, soo-yong kim3, mohamed s. elshikh1 and nadia mohammad alsuhaimi1 1department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia 2department of botany, faculty of biological sciences, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 3international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon 34141, republic of korea keywords: chloroplast genome assembly; tribulus macropterus var. arabicus; simple sequence repeats; nucleotide diversity; phylogenetics; zygophyllaceae. abstract the present investigation unveiled the first complete chloroplast (cp) genome of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus (hosni) al-hemaid & j. thomas (zygophyllaceae), a medicinal herb, indigenous to saudi arabia. the cp genome, comprising a length of 158,179 bp and a gc content of 35.8%, exhibited the typical circular quadripartite arrangement of flowering plants, including two inverted repeat regions (25842 bp) separated by a large single-copy (88873 bp) and a small single-copy region (17622 bp). genome annotation unraveled 132 genes, comprising of 87 protein-coding genes, 37 trnas and eight rrnas. a comparative plastomics approach demonstrated a very similar genome structure and gene organization in closely related taxa. whole-genome alignment indicated that the inverted repeat regions exhibited greater conservation when compared to the single copy zones. repeat analysis of the cp genome identified 80 simple sequence repeats, with the majority (64) being mononucleotides. among the longer repeats, forward repeats were frequent (20) followed by palindromic and reverse repeats. the nucleotide diversity endeavor identified some hypervariable sites (rpl22, cema, trnluag) in the small and large single copies which would offer opportunities to design molecular markers for potential application in taxonomic identification. phylogenetic analysis with rbcl barcode elucidated the distinct position of t. macropterus var. arabicus compared to t. macropterus within zygophyllaceae and further validated the assembly. the findings of this investigation provide significant insights into biological fields, particularly enhancing the current understanding of the genetic and evolutionary variations within zygophyllaceae. introduction the family zygophyllaceae sensu lato predominantly occurs in the arid and semi-arid regions within the tropics and subtropics (sheahan and chase, 2000). in saudi arabia, this family consists of six genera: balanites delile, fagonia l., seetzenia r. br., tetraena maxim., tribulus l., and zygophyllum l. (chaudhary, 2001). the genus tribulus is distinguished by its buttercup-like yellow flowers featuring 5 separate corolla, 5 calyx, and 5 or 10 stamens. the fruits are typically *corresponding authors, email: alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa; oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74370 mailto:alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa; mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 2 albediwi et al. hard and dry, often round-shaped and adorned with wings, tubercles, or spines, occasionally displaying a mixture of these features. the genus tribulus encompasses approximately 30 species globally. within saudi arabia, tribulus includes a total of nine taxa such as t. macropterus var. arabicus (hosni) al-hemaid & j. thomas, t. macropterus var. macropterus boiss., t. macropterus var. mollis (ehr. ex sch.) al-hemaid & j. thomas, t. pentandrus var. bimucronatus (viv.) alhemaid & j. thomas, t. pentandrus var. pentandrus forssk., t. terrestris var. inermis boiss, t. terrestris var. parvispinus (presl.) al-hemaid & j. thomas, t. terrestris var. rajasthanensis (bhad. & shar.) al-hemaid & j. thomas, and t. terrestris var. terrestris l. (chaudhary, 2001). t. macropterus boiss. is an annual herb, non-succulent and xerophytic, thriving within the scorching desert sand dunes of rub' al-khali region in south-central arabia. this species is employed to address sexual dysfunction and cardiac ailments. investigations into the constituents of t. macropterus revealed the existence of different alkaloids and flavonoids. research into its antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic properties has yielded encouraging results (yonbawi et al., 2021). as a variety of t. macropterus, t. macropterus var. arabicus presents an enticing avenue for delving into its chloroplast (cp) genome to unveil significant properties and insights linked to its taxonomic identification, cp genome engineering and biological conservation. the cp genome or plastome, with its unique characteristics and evolutionary dynamics, holds significant importance in phylogenetics. serving as the powerhouse of photosynthesis and facilitating the synthesis of essential biomolecules such as amino acids and fatty acids, the chloroplast plays a pivotal role in plant biology. the cp genome is maternally inherited in angiosperms but paternally in certain gymnosperms. typically ranging from 107 kb to 218 kb in size, the plastome contains a suite of genes crucial for chloroplast function, such as (rrnas, trnas, and protein-coding genes (pcgs) (daniell et al., 2016). structured with a quadripartite architecture comprising two inverted repeat regions separating the large single-copy and small single-copy regions, the plastome undergoes dynamic rearrangements, including contractions, expansions, and even linearization, leading to variations in gene content and organization. exploiting this inherent diversity, cp genome polymorphism has emerged as an important device for phylogenetic inference, taxonomic resolution, and understanding species adaptation to specific environments. by leveraging cp genome sequencing data, it becomes possible to conduct species barcoding, population genetics studies, and conservation efforts for medicinal species. previous studies have successfully utilized complete cp genomes to develop robust molecular markers for phylogenetic reconstruction and species identification (ahmed et al., 2013; nguyen et al., 2018). these markers offer reliability and authenticity, facilitating a deeper understanding of plant evolution and biodiversity. thus, the cp genome stands as a valuable resource in unraveling the intricate tapestry of plant phylogenetics and evolution. deciphering the complete cp genome of t. macropterus var. arabicus, native to the saudi arabian desert holds immense significance for both scientific understanding and practical applications. the unique environmental conditions of the desert, characterized by extreme temperatures, water scarcity, and high levels of salinity, have driven the evolution of specialized adaptations in this variety. this taxon demonstrates remarkable adaptability to harsh environmental conditions, including heat stress (mandaville, 1986). studying the chloroplast genome of various desert plants can uncover the genetic mechanisms underlying their resilience and adaptation strategies, offering valuable insights into plant stress tolerance and survival in arid environments (eshel et al., 2021). moreover, understanding the genetic diversity and evolutionary history of desert flora can aid in conservation efforts, guiding the preservation of native species and their habitats amidst ongoing environmental challenges and human interventions. furthermore, the identification of novel genetic resources within the cp genome may hold promise for biotechnological applications, such as the development of drought-resistant crops or the complete cp genome of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus 3 production of bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical potential (al-juhani et al., 2022; alshegaihi, 2024). thus, unraveling the chloroplast genome of saudi arabian desert plants, particularly t. macropterus var. arabicus, will enriches the current knowledge of desert ecosystems and offer practical avenues for sustainable agriculture and ecosystem management in arid regions. over the recent decades, the extensive utilization of next-generation sequencing (ngs) has revolutionized research on desert plants (shi et al., 2013; dickinson et al., 2018; eshel et al., 2021; zeng et al., 2021). despite these advancements, a notable gap persists in understanding the genetic mechanisms underpinning the environmental adaptability of t. macropterus var. arabicus. furthermore, uncertainties linger regarding the taxonomic classification of this variety. consequently, there is a pressing need to embark on a comprehensive sequencing effort targeting the cp genome of t. macropterus var. arabicus. therefore, in this investigation, we aim to elucidate the genetic makeup of the cp genome using a comparative phylogenomic framework to resolve the taxonomic status and enhance the evolutionary understanding within zygophyllaceae. materials and methods plant sample collection, dna isolation and sequencing tribulus macropterus var. arabicus, thriving in extremely hot desert conditions, was collected [voucher: maa 130 (ksuh)], riyadh, saudi arabia (24°23'07.6"n 46°53'37.2"e). upon collection, it was promptly transported to the laboratory and stored under controlled conditions at 4°c to preserve its integrity. subsequently, the collected samples were desiccated in silica gel, and stored at -80º c until further use for de novo genome sequencing. the vouchers were deposited at the king saud university herbarium (ksuh). identification of the taxon was confirmed with the aid of the flora of saudi arabia (chaudhary, 2001). total genomic dna was isolated from the collected leaf sample using the qiagen dna extraction kit (qiagen inc., crawley, west sussex, uk), followed by generation of the paired-end reads of 150 bp using a novaseq 6000 sequencer (illumina, san diego, ca) at macrogen, south korea. the raw reads have been submitted to ncbi and are publicly accessible with the sra accession id “srr29254160”. the corresponding bioproject and biosample accessions are prjna1119014 and samn41632360, respectively. plastome assembly and annotation the raw reads underwent filtration first employing the fastqc to procure high-quality clean data by eliminating adapter sequences and low-quality reads with a q-value ≤ 20. subsequently, unipro ugene v.45.1 was employed to assemble the high-quality reads (okonechnikov et al., 2012). the assembled cp genome was annotated employing the geseq server (tillich et al., 2017). the annotated genbank file of the plastome served as the basis for constructing a circular gene map using the chloroplot server (zheng et al., 2020). the plastome assembled in this study was submitted to ncbi genbank with the accession id “or750460”. repeat structures and codon usage analysis the presence of repeat elements within the cp genomes of t. marcropterus var. arabicus was assessed employing two distinct servers. the microsatellite identification tool (beier et al., 2017) was utilized for detecting ssrs (simple sequence repeats), while the reputer program (kurtz et al., 2001) was applied to detect longer repeat sequences. the rscu (relative synonymous codon usage) calculations were performed employing mega v.11 software (tamura et al., 2021). inverted repeat (ir) expansion and contraction analysis quadripartite junction sites and the genes located on the junction sites were analyzed utilizing the irscope server (amiryousefi et al., 2018). the manually curated genbank file of t. 4 albediwi et al. macropterus var. arabicus was uploaded to the server while for other taxa, genbank accessions (mk341055.1, nc_066813.1) were used for pursing. following the generation of the plot on the server, it was retrieved to assess the expansion and contraction of the inverted repeat regions. genome divergence evaluation two taxa were considered along with t. macropterus var. arabicus, such as t. terrestris l. and balanites aegyptiaca (l.) delile. with genbank accession numbers mk341055.1 and nc_066813.1, respectively. the sequences were retrieved from ncbi and aligned using the mvista server. shuffle-lagan mode was enabled before running the analysis in mvista (frazer et al., 2004). nucleotide diversity via sliding window technique initially, the cp genome sequences were aligned employing the mafft server (katoh et al., 2002). afterwards, nucleotide variation was estimated using dnasp v.5 software (librado and rozas, 2009). the parameters for window length and step size were set to 600 base pairs and 200 base pairs, respectively. comparative analysis of genomic coordinates for each window was conducted against gene annotations of the cp genome to elucidate the characteristic features of nucleotide diversity indices. molecular phylogenetic analysis for the molecular phylogenetic analyses, rbcl gene sequences of 10 taxa including outgroups, were retrieved from the ncbi genbank (table 1). morkillia mexicana (dc.) rose & painter and sericodes greggii a. gray were used as outgroup taxa in this phylogenetic endeavor. the rbcl gene sequence of t. macropterus var. arabicus was identified from the genbank annotation file and included in the data set. the sequence alignment was conducted using clustalx v.1.81 (thompson et al., 1994), followed by the maximum parsimony (mp) analysis employing mega v.11 (tamura et al., 2021). fig. 1. habit of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus. a. flowering twig, b. fruiting twig. complete cp genome of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus 5 results and discussion genome assembly and annotation total genomic dna was isolated from fresh leaf materials (fig. 1) and proceeded further for illumina sequencing, which yielded approximately 5.7 gb of clean data, accounting for a total of 5,732,394,578 base pairs (bp) from a total of 37,962,878 raw reads. for the raw reads, gc content and at content were 40% and 60%, respectively. quality control analysis revealed 95.9% and 89.7% scores for the q20 and q30 parameters, respectively. table 1. taxon and their rbcl gene sequences used in the phylogenetic analyses to infer taxonomic status of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus. no. taxon genbank accession ingroup 1 balanites maughamii sprague y15016 2 kallstroemia maxima (l.) hook. & arn. y15020 3 kelleronia revoilii (franch.) chiov. y15021 4 neoluederitzia sericeocarpa schinz y15023 5 sisyndite spartea e. mey. ex sond. y15026 6 tribulus macropterus boiss. y15028 7 tribulopis pentandra r. br. aj133860 8 tribulus terrestris l. mn525779 outgroup 9 morkillia mexicana (dc.) rose & painter aj133857 10 sericodes greggii a. gray aj133859 following the assembly of raw reads, the length of the cp genome was found to be 158,179 bp, which exhibited the typical quadripartite structure found in angiosperms, comprising a large single-copy (lsc) region (88873 bp), a small single-copy (ssc) region (17622 bp) and two inverted repeat (ir) regions (25842 bp each) (fig. 2). in the assembled plastome, the gc content was found to be 35.80% and the base frequency was 31.67% (a), 32.54% (t), 18.26% (c) and 17.54% (g). in the lsc and ssc zones, the gc content was lower than that of the ir zones. conversely, the at content was higher in the lsc and ssc regions compared to the ir region (table 2). the observed variation in gc content across the plastome of t. macropterus var. arabicus can be attributed to a combination of factors, including gene density, structural variation, and recombination dynamics. the higher gc content observed in the lsc and ssc regions than in the ir region, is probably attributable to the higher density of protein-coding genes in these regions. genes typically exhibit a higher gc content due to selection pressures favoring gc-rich codons for plastid-encoded proteins (qian et al., 2013). furthermore, the ssc and lsc regions experience more frequent recombination events, leading to greater variability in nucleotide composition, including higher gc content. in contrast, the ir regions, characterized by their conserved sequence and structure, undergo fewer recombination events and thus maintain a more stable nucleotide composition (saina et al., 2018). the plastome contained a comprehensive set of 132 genes, comprising 37 trnas (transfer rna), 8 rrnas (ribosomal rna), and 87 protein-coding genes (pcgs) (fig. 2). within the pcgs, 44 were identified as photosynthesis-related, with 19 specifically linked to photosystem i and ii functions. among the different categories of genes, the highest number falls under protein genes (fig. 3a). the functional emphasis on transcription and translation highlighted 76 6 albediwi et al. genes, primarily comprising trnas. among these, 26 genes were dedicated to ribosomal components, encompassing both small (15) and large (11) subunits. gene duplication was notably prominent within trnas, while equal duplications were observed across all the rrnas (rrn4.5, rrn5, rrn16, and rrn23) (fig. 3b). in the inverted repeats region, trnas and rrnas prevailed, while the ssc region exhibited a prevalence of nadh dehydrogenases. two prominent dna barcodes, such as rbcl and matk, were identified in the lsc region. in addition, the lsc also harbored the gene cema for encoding the cp envelope membrane protein. photosystem i and ii assembly factors (pafi and pafii) shared their positions in the lsc where pafi displayed a counterclockwise direction and pafii showcased a clockwise direction for translation. gene organization and genome structure were consistent with closely related species, i.e., t. terrestris that reported the same number of trnas and rrnas with a very similar number of pcgs (yan et al., 2019). fig. 2. genome map of the complete chloroplast genome of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus. repeat structures and codon usage analysis a total of 80 ssrs (simple sequence repeats) were identified in the plastome of t. macropterus var. arabicus. among the six different types of repeats, only hexanucleotide repeats were absent (fig. 4a). comparative analysis also revealed a very similar organization of ssrs in the plastomes of t. terrestris and b. aegyptiaca, depicting frequent occurrence of mononucleotides complete cp genome of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus 7 fig. 3. gene contents in the complete chloroplast genome of t. macropterus var. arabicus. a. categories and number of genes, b functional groups and names of genes. 8 albediwi et al. than other types of ssrs, and our findings align with other studies (zhang et al., 2021). evaluation of longer repeats revealed a total of 49 sequences classified into three types such as forward, reverse, and palindromic repeats. no complement repeats were observed in the plastome of t. macropterus var. arabicus (fig. 4b). the plastome of t. terrestris also demonstrated zero occurrence of complement repeats but in the case of b. aegyptiaca, a small percentage of complement repeats was observed. abundance of ssrs in the t. macropterus var. arabicus cp genome offers several advantages, including high polymorphism rates, codominant inheritance, and mendelian segregation, making them potential markers for population genetics, phylogenetic studies, and molecular breeding. furthermore, ssrs in the cp genome exhibit lower mutation rates compared to nuclear ssrs, enhancing their stability and reliability in evolutionary analyses (nguyen et al., 2021). table 2. composition of nucleotides and the percentage of at and gc content across the four regions of t. macropterus var. arabicus cp genome. region a (%) t (u) (%) c (%) g (%) c + g (%) a + t (%) cp genome 31.67 32.54 18.26 17.54 35.8 64.2 lsc 32.63 34.19 17.07 16.11 33.18 66.82 ssc 35.39 35.33 15.45 13.84 29.29 70.71 ira 28.58 28.92 22.20 20.29 42.49 57.51 irb 28.92 28.58 20.29 22.20 42.49 57.51 fig. 4. comparative analysis of repeat structures across various cp genomes. a. simple sequence repeats, b. longer repeats. the codon usage analysis unveiled the utilization of 64 distinct codons encoding 20 unique amino acids, with a total codon frequency of 52,726. alanine (gcg) exhibited the lowest codon frequency (217) whereas phenylalanine demonstrated the highest frequency (2473). rscu values ranged from 0.55 to 1.49 for different codons, showcasing varying degrees of usage bias. rscu was recorded highest (6.06) for leucine, followed by arginine (6.00) (fig. 5). interestingly, 32 codons displayed usage frequencies exceeding the expected equilibrium (rscu > 1), while 30 codons showcased usage bias (rscu < 1). of significance, aug (methionine) and ugg (tryptophan) demonstrated unbiased usage, both with an rscu value of 1. in the analysis of the entire cp genome of sophora tonkinensis, leucine emerged with the highest rscu score. except complete cp genome of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus 9 for methionine and tryptophan, all other amino acids showed two to six codons (wei et al., 2020). this finding of codon usage is further supported by the present investigation. fig. 5. relative synonymous codon usage analysis of various amino acids of the cp genome of t. macropterus var. arabicus. inverted repeat (ir) expansion and contraction analysis the cp genome of t. macropterus var. arabicus was compared with two closely related taxa, t. terrestris and b. aegyptiaca, revealing remarkably similar genome structure and gene organization across the lsc, ssc and ir regions. junction site evaluation depicted the variation of the lsc, ssc and ir region within a narrow range (fig. 6). the lsc ranged from 86,562 to 88,864 bp, while the ssc varied from 17,622 to 18,102 bp. irb and ira displayed similar results and justified the assembly of the t. macropterus var. arabicus plastome. among the three studied taxa, the highest similarity was observed between the two tribulus species compared to b. aegyptiaca. the rps19 gene was found closely associated with the lsc/irb border both in t. terrestris and t. macropterus var. arabicus. in t. terrestris, this gene originated from the irb and expanded to the lsc, with an expansion of 294 bp. however, in t. macropterus var. arabicus, the rps19 gene began 16 bp away from the lsc/irb border within the lsc region. the rpl2 gene, when translated counter-clockwise, was marked in the irb zone in all three species, though in b. aegyptiaca, it was slightly deviated (175 bp) from the lsc/irb border. however, in the clockwise direction, rpl2 was observed in the ira zone across all the three species. the gene ndhf was exclusively located in the ssc of b. aegyptiaca. the position of the ycf1 was closely parallel in two tribulus species, where it extended from irb to ssc in a clockwise direction through the irb/ssc border. this gene maintained a counter-clockwise expansion from ira to ssc through the ssc/ira border. the expansion volume matched exactly when moving in a clockwise and counter-clockwise fashion, as marked by 34 bp and 4130 bp, respectively. the positions of psba and trnh genes were alike in the two tribulus taxa. trnh was positioned in the ira/lsc border in b. aegyptiaca (fig. 6). the expansion and contraction of ir were found to be congruent with the findings of previous studies (zhang et al., 2021; nguyen et al., 2021). the presence of conserved ir boundaries suggests closer evolutionary relationships between the two tribulus taxa, while 10 albediwi et al. variations in ir size between tribulus and balanites indicate more distant relationships or lineagespecific evolutionary events. additionally, ir contraction or loss in balanites aegyptiaca may lead to the loss of certain genes (wei et al., 2020). fig. 6. quadripartite structure and junction sites among lsc, ir and ssc regions of t. macropterus var. arabicus and other cp genomes. numeric values positioned above or adjacent to the colored genes denote the distances between each gene and the border edges. genome divergence evaluation whole genome alignment was conducted using the cp genome of t. terrestris and b. aegyptiaca, with the annotated plastome of t. macropterus var. arabicus as the reference. genome divergence and gene organization were very similar between the studied taxa (fig. 7). fig. 7. mvista genome divergence and percent identity plot, representing comparative positions and gene order of t. terrestris and b. aegyptiaca, using t. macropterus var. arabicus as the reference genome. most of the gene variations were encountered in the lsc and ssc regions as compared to ir. on the contrary, the ir regions were more conserved than the lsc and ssc zones. sequences within the coding region exhibited a higher degree of conservation, whereas conserved non-coding complete cp genome of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus 11 sequences (cns) displayed the majority of variations. the features of lsc, ssc, and ir following whole genome alignment were concordant with other studies (zhang et al., 2021; nguyen et al., 2021). nucleotide diversity via sliding window technique the sliding window analysis elucidated variability in the nucleotides and identified some hypervariable sites (fig. 8). the highest nucleotide diversity (π) was recorded for the gene rpl22 (0.17333), located in the lsc region. the second-highest peak was recorded in the lsc zone for the gene cema with a π value of 0.17000. in the ssc, the gene trnl-uag was identified as the most hypervariable site having the highest π value. the nucleotide diversity pattern was almost identical in the two inverted repeat regions. among the two single copies, the lsc displayed a higher number of hypervariable sites than the ssc. in the ir region, π values were less than 0.05, and that justified the conserved nature of the ir over lsc and ssc. the inverted repeat zone within asparagales chloroplast genomes and the cinchonoideae subfamily showcased a notably lower nucleotide diversity (π < 0.05) (munyao et al., 2020; castro et al., 2023). the present investigation reinforces and extends these previously reported observations. fig. 8. nucleotide diversity across the plastome of t. macropterus var. arabicus and its close relatives. the length and step of the sliding window were 600 bp and 200 bp, respectively. molecular phylogenetic analysis molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed clear segregation pattern of the member taxa within zygophyllaceae. the rbcl gene sequences retrieved from genbank at ncbi were used in the phylogenetic analysis. a total of 7 parsimonious trees were generated with 500 bootstrap replicates and the best tree (tree 1) was selected for interpretation and analysis. the mp tree supported the position of t. macropterus var. arabicus as a distinct taxon with good bootstrap support within zygophyllaceae (fig. 9). the tree was well rooted with the outgroup taxa, morkillia mexicana and 12 albediwi et al. sericodes greggii. in the mp tree, the consistency index was found to be 0.984, the retention index was 0.891, and the composite index was 0.798 across all sites, and 0.693 for parsimonyinformative sites. the final dataset comprised a total of 1379 positions, with 41 being parsimoniously informative. the genus tribulus with its three member taxa t. terrestris, t. macropterus, and t. macropterus var. arabicus exhibited a clear monophyletic nature (bootstrap support 96%) within zygophyllaceae. the cladding of t. macropterus var. arabicus with t. macropterus (bootstrap support 50%) further validated the accurate assembly of this variety and depicted that the variety is distinct. the mp tree also illustrated that the genus tribulus is more closely related to kelleronia than to other taxa present in the mp tree (fig. 9). the rbcl gene holds significant importance in the phylogenetics of tribulus due to its widespread presence across zygophyllaceae. the rbcl with its relatively conserved sequence regions coupled with sufficiently variable regions, can act as an ideal molecular marker for evolutionary studies. it encodes a key enzyme involved in photosynthesis, thereby reflecting the evolutionary history of photosynthetic organisms. additionally, the abundance of rbcl sequences in public databases enables extensive comparative analyses, contributing to the current understanding of the evolutionary processes within zygophyllaceae (albert et al., 1994). several other studies have utilized this efficient barcode to delineate phylogenetic relationships within zygophyllaceae, which justified the selection of rbcl to reconstruct the phylogeny of tribulus in the present study (sheahan and chase, 2000; bellstedt et al., 2008; alzahrani and albokhari, 2017). fig. 9. maximum-parsimony (mp) tree with 500 bootstrap replicates showing phylogenetic relationships of t. macropterus var. arabicus based on rbcl gene. the gene sequences of the genus tribulus are inadequately represented in the genbank database at ncbi. the genus tribulus is highly polymorphic and showcases many intermediate forms. the complete cp genome of t. macropterus var. arabicus unveiled in the present investigation will enrich the genomic information in genbank and provide opportunities to conduct large-scale phylogenetic analyses in the future. additionally, the cp genome will facilitate dna barcoding studies for accurate taxonomic identification of this medicinally important taxon and provide a foundation to enhance the current understanding of genetic and evolutionary variation within zygophyllaceae. complete cp genome of tribulus macropterus var. arabicus 13 acknowledgements the authors extend their appreciation to the researchers supporting project (rsp2024r306), king saud university, riyadh, saudi arabia. this study was also supported by the kribb initiative program of the republic of korea (kgm4582423). references ahmed, i., matthews, p.j., biggs, p.j., naeem, m., mclenachan, p.a. and lockhart, p.j. 2013. identification of chloroplast genome loci suitable for 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(manuscript received on 2 january, 2024; revised on 5 june, 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 73-82, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74390 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and molecular identification of fungi isolated from selected brri rice varieties habiba rashid nishi, shamim shamsi* and md. abdullah al noman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: fungi; tissue planting method; its; pcr amplification; sequence analysis. abstract a total of 19 fungal species were isolated from the seeds of selected rice varieties (brri dhan 90 to brri dhan 99) following tissue planting method and blotter method. the isolated fungi were aspergillus niger, a. ochraceus, a. oryzae, a. tamarii, a. terreus, chaetomium globosum, cladosporium oxysporum, colletotrichum gloeosporioides, corynespora cassiicola, curvularia lunata, curvularia soli, daldinia eschscholtzii, fusarium solani, penicillium oxalicum,penicillium sclerotiorum, pestalotiopsis guepinii, pyricularia oryzae and rhizopus stolonifer. fourteen fungi were selected for molecular identification. out of the 19 fungal isolates, 14 were confirmed up to species level through its sequence based molecular analysis. among the isolated fungi pnicillium sclerotiorum and curvularia soli are the new record for bangladesh. association of daldinia eschscholtzii with rice seeds is also recorded first time from world. introduction rice (oryza sativa l.) is the staple food crop for more than half of the global population including bangladesh. it is the second largest cereal crop produced all over the world. it belongs to the family poaceae, mostly grown in tropical and sub-tropical climate. rice suffers from more than 60 different diseases of which fungal disease is one of them (fakir et al., 2002). for establishing effective disease control measure, quarantine measures, protecting agricultural crops from pathogenic fungi, correct identification of pathogenic fungi is very essential. for these purposes molecular identification of pathogenic fungi is important. to distinguish genetic relationships in fungi, various pcr methods such as, dna amplification fingerprinting (bentley et al. 1998 and gerlach et al. 2000), dna sequence analysis (geiser et al., 2004) etc. have been conducted previously. isolation of total genomic dna from fungi suitable for polymerase chain reaction (pcr) amplification and other molecular applications was described by amer et al. (2011). the identification of cochliobolus carbonum was done based on morpho-pathological characteristics and internal transcribed spacer (its) region sequencing analysis by el-shafey et al. (2018). morphological characterization and molecular analysis are performed for correct identification of isolated fungi. the sequence results obtain using its1 and its4 are compared with ncbi genbank and bold database using blast analysis. the aim of the study was to investigate the morphological and molecular identification of fungi associated with selected brri rice varieties. *corresponding author, e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com. a part of ms thesis of the first author. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74390 mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com. 74 nishi et al. material and methods ten varieties of brri rice seeds i.e. brri dhan 90 to brri dhan 99 were collected from bangladesh rice research institute (brri), joydebpur, gazipur. samples were collected during august 2021. isolation and morphological identification of fungi fungi associated with selected brri rice varieties were isolated with following “tissue planting method” on pda medium (cab, 1968). the mycelia and spore observation were done at 40× magnification. the microphotographs of the fungi along with the measurement of spore size were taken by a high-resolution microscope facilitated with camera (nikon optiphot-2 trinocular microscope, japan). identification of the isolates was determined following standard literatures (thom and rapper, 1945; rapper and thom, 1949; benoit and mathur, 1970; booth, 1971; subramanian, 1971; ellis, 1971, 1976; barnett and hunter, 1972; sutton, 1980). the specimens were preserved in the herbarium, mycology and plant pathology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka, bangladesh. molecular characterization of fungi genomic dna extraction was done according to the methods by amer et al. (2011) with minor corrections. dna extraction for genomic dna extraction, monoconidial isolates were grown on pda medium at 28°c for 10 days. fungal mycelium was harvested by scraping the surface of 10 days old monoconidial cultures with a sterile spatula from the petri plates. one gm of fungal mycelium of each isolate was taken in 1.5 ml sterile eppendorf tube. the mycelium was immediately grinded with a homogenizer machine with 400μl sterile extraction buffer (200mm trishci, 250mm nacl, 25mm edta, 0.5% sds) in each eppendorf tube. then 6 μl of 20 mg/ml rnase was added in each eppendorf. tubes were stirred with a vortex mixer so that the mixture became homogenous. the tubes were transferred to 65°c preheated water bath for 10 minutes. the samples were taken from the water bath and cooled down to room temperature. 130 μl of 3m sodium acetate, ph 5.2 was added in each tube. tubes were vortexed for 30s at maximum speed and incubated at -20° c for 10 minutes. the samples were centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 15 minutes. the supernatants were transferred to fresh tubes and equal volume of chloroform: isoamyl alcohol mixture (24:1) was added and mixed by gentle inversion and then tubes were centrifuged at 12000 rpm for 5 minutes. the aqueous (upper) layer was carefully transferred to new tubes and equal volume of cold isopropanol was added to each sample, mixed well and samples were incubated at 20°c for 10 minutes. samples were then centrifuged at 6000 rpm for 20 minutes. the supernatant was discarded and the pellet was washed twice with 700 μl of 70% ethanol. the dna pellets were subsequently air dried in an oven at 40°c for at least 10 minutes. the resultant dna pellet was then resuspended in 100 μl of 1x te (10 mm trishci, 1 mm edta) buffer (ph 8.0). the dna was allowed to dissolve overnight at 4°c. then it was stored at 20°c for further analyses. pcr amplification samples molecular identification of the isolates was performed using the internal transcribed spacer (its) region. pcr amplification was conducted using the its1 (5'tccgtaggtgaacctgcgg-3') as forward and its4（5'tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3') as reverse primers. the pcr was carried out in 0.2 ml pcr tube with 25 reaction volume containing 2.0 μl template dna, 12.5 μl master mix, 1.0 μl forward primer, 1.0μl reverse primer and 8.5 μl milliq h2o. morphological and molecular identification of fungi 75 reaction mixture was vortexed and centrifuged in a microcentrifuge. the pcr was initiated by an initial denaturation step at 94ºc for 5 minutes following 30 cycles of 94, 54 and 72ºc each for 30 sec, with a final extension step of 5 min at 72ºc and ended with 4ºc. pcr amplified products were stored in – 20ºc freezer for analysis by resolving in 1% agarose gel. the gel was prepared using 1.0 g agarose powder containing ethidium bromide. agarose gel electrophoresis was conducted in 1× tae buffer at 90 volts and 300 ma for 30 minutes. one molecular weight marker 1kb dna ladder was electrophoresed alongside the its reactions. dna bands were photographed by a gel documentation system (model: di-hd, uk). sequencing analysis pcr amplified products were purified by alcohol precipitation and sequenced through automated sequencer in centre for advanced research in sciences (cars), university of dhaka. to identify the genus and species of the isolates, the sequences were analyzed using the blast program (http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) of the national center for biotechnology information (ncbi, bethesda, md, usa). results and discussion morphological identification a total of 19 species of fungi were isolated from ten brri rice seeds. they were aspergillus niger van tieghem, a. ochraceus k. wilh., a. oryzae (ahlb.) cohn, a. tamari kita g., a. terreus thom, chaetomim globosum kunze ex fr., cladosporium oxysporum berk. & curt., colletotrichum gloeosporioides penz. & sacc., corynespora cassiicola berk. & curt., curvularia lunata (wakker) boedjin, curvularia soli y. marín & crous, daldinia eschscholtzii (ehrenb.: fr.) rehm., fusarium solani (mart.) sacc., penicillium oxalicum currie & thom, p enicillium sclerotiorum j.f.h. beyma, pestalotiopsis guepinii (desm.) stey., pyricularia oryzae cavara and rhizopus stolonifer (ehrenb.) vuill. key morphological features of the isolated fungi are given below: 1. aspergillus niger van tiegh., ann. sci. nat.,. bot. 8: 240, (1867) [mb#284309] (fig. 1. a-b) colonies effuse, black. vesicle covered by closely packed more or less clavate branches. conidia catenulate, dry, usually globose, echinulate, dark brown in color, 2-4µm in length. material studied: isolated from seven varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 2. aspergillus ochraceus k. wilh., beiträge zur kenntnis der pilzgattung aspergillus: 66 (1877 (fig. 1. c-d) conidial heads radiate, splitting into several columns with age. conidiophore stipes brownish, commonly 3.5-5 µm in length, with roughened walls. vesicles spherical, thin-walled, hyaline. material studied: isolated from only one variety of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 10 december 2021. 3. aspergillus oryzae (ahlb.) cohn, jahresbericht der schlesischen gesellschaft für vaterländische kultur 61: 226 (1884) (fig. 1. e-f) colonies growing rapidly, pale greenish-yellow, olive-yellow or with different shades of green, typically with dull brown shades with age. conidiophore stipes hyaline, up to 4-5 µm in http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) 76 nishi et al. length. vesicles subspherical. conidia spherical to ovoidal, smooth-walled to roughened, greenish to brownish. material studied: isolated from seven varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 4. aspergillus tamarii kita, centralbl. bakteriol., abt. 2: 433 (1913) (fig. 1. g-h) conidial heads compact and spherical or loosely radiate. conidiophore stipes usually 1-3 µm in length, hyaline, usually roughened. conidia echinulate to tuberculate, subspherical. material studied: isolated from six varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 5. aspergillus terreus thom, american journal of botany 5 (2): 85 (1918) (fig. 1. i-j) colonies growing rapidly, cinnamon to orange-brown or brown, velvety smooth-walled, hyaline, conidia globose to slightly ellipsoidal, smooth-walled, mostly 2-3 µm diam, uninucleate. material studied: isolated from two varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 6. chaetomium globosum kunze, mycologische hefte 1:16 (1817) [mb#172545] (fig. 1. k-l) colony is punctiform, greyish, numerous on substrate. hyphae brown septate, profusely branched. perithecia dark brown with long hairy wavy appendages. ascospores lemon shaped, 1114 × 8-11 µm. material studied: isolated from only one variety brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 7. cladosporium oxysporum berk. & curt.,1886, j. linn. soc., 10 (46) : 362 (fig. 1. m-n) colonies effuse, greyish brown, thinly hairy, conidiophore solitary or in fascicles, straight or slightly flexuous, distinctly nobose, pale to mid brown. smooth, 3-6 µm. material studied: isolated from three varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 10 december 2021. 8. colletotrichum gloeosporioides (penz.) penz. & sacc., atti dell´istituto veneto scienze sér. 6, 2: 670 (1884) (fig. 1. o-p) conidiomata acervular, amphigenous, mostly epiphyllous, subepidermal. setae often present on acervuli but sometimes arising alone from stomata, forming dense fascicles and bearing enteroblastic conidia apically. appressoria with entire or sometimes slightly irregularly lobate margin, ovate, globose or ampulliform, brown to medium brown. material studied: isolated from four varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 9. corynespora cassiicola (berk. & curt.) wei, 1950 (fig. 1. q-r) colonies effuse, grey or brown, thinly hairy; viewed under a binocular dissecting microscope the conidiophores appear iridescent. conidia solitary or in chains of 2-6, very variable in shape, obclavate to cylindrical, straight or curved, subhyaline to rather pale olivaceous brown or brown, smooth. morphological and molecular identification of fungi 77 material studied: isolated from only one variety of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 10. curvularia lunata (wakker) boedijn. [cochliobolus linatus nelson & haasis]. ellis mb, mycol. pap. 106: 2-43, 1966. (fig. 1. s-t) colonies effuse greenish black conidiophores solitary, mostly unbranched, straight or slightly undulating, brown, septate up to 37-64 µm long. conidia mostly three septate, brown, slightly curved, third cell from the base in broader and darker than others, smooth. material studied: isolated from six varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. fig. 1. colony on pda medium and conidiophore with conidia under microscope (bar = 50 µm). a-b. aspergillus niger, c-d. a. ochraceus, e-f. a. oryzae, g-h. a. tamarii, i-j. a. terreus and k-l. chaetomium globosum. m-n. cladosporium oxysporum, o-p. colletotrichum gloeosporioides, q-r. corynespora cassiicola, s-t. curvularia lunata, u-v. curvularia soli and w-x. daldinia eschscholtzii. 11. curvularia soli y. marín & crous, studies in mycology 86: 161 (2017) (fig. 1. u-v) conidiophores arising in groups, septate, straight or flexuous, geniculate at upper part, smooth to verruculose, unbranched, conidia verruculose, curved, rarely straight, middle cells disproportionately enlarged, reniform, rarely ellipsoidal, pale brown to brown, apical and basal 78 nishi et al. cells paler than middle cells being subhyaline to pale brown, hila protuberant, flat, darkened, thickened, 1.3–3.5 μm. material studied: isolated from two varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 12. daldinia eschscholtzii (ehrenb.: fr.) rehm, ann. mycol. 2: 175. 1904. (fig. 1. w-x) colonies white to smoky gray. material studied: isolated from only one of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 13. fusarium solani (mart.) sacc., michelia 2 (7): 296 (1881) (fig. 2. a-b) colonies sparse, floccose, greyish-white mycelium. macroconidia developing in 4-7 days from branched and well developed conidiophores, cylindrical to falcate, often slightly wider towards the apex and with a well marked foot cell. chlamydospores globose to oval, smooth to rough walled, 8-9 µm, developing intercalary or terminally. material studied: isolated from five varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 14. penicillium oxalicum currie & thom, journal of biological chemistry 22: 289 (1915) (fig. 2. c-d) colonies growing rapidly, reverse pale to yellow or pinkish. conidiophores smooth, 3-3.5 µm long. metulae appressed. phialides in verticils of 6-10, acerose, 10-15 x 3-3.5 µm. conidia elliptical, smooth (reticulate in sem), very large, 5-5,5 x 3-3.5 µm. material studied: isolated from five varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 15. penicillium sclerotiorum j.f.h. beyma, zentralblatt für bakteriologie und parasitenkunde, abteilung 2 96: 416 (1937) (fig. 2. e-f) sclerotia orange-red, 500700 µm diam, very hard, consisting of hyaline, polygonal cells with very thick walls, surrounded by sterile. asci and ascospores not observed. conidiophores strictly simple, only very rarely with one lower branch-like metula. phialides in compact, with a cylindrical base and at the apex narrowed into a short, conidia ellipsoidal to pear-shaped, smoothwalled or nearly so, commonly a few of them globose, 2-3 µm diam, at first hyaline, later brown, finely roughened. material studied: isolated from three varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 16. pyricularia oryzae cavara, fungi longobardiae exsiccati sive mycetum specimina in longobardia collecta, exsiccata et speciebus novis vel criticis, iconibus illustrata pug. i: no. 49 (1891) (fig. 2. g-h) cultures greyish. conidiophores single or in fascicles, simple, rarely branched, showing sympodial growth. conidia formed singly at the tip of the conidiophore at points arising sympodially and in succession, pyriform to obclavate, narrowed toward tip, rounded at the base, with a distinct protruding basal hilum. chlamydospores often produced in culture, thick-walled, 5-12 µm diam. material studied: isolated from only one variety of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 10 december. morphological and molecular identification of fungi 79 fig. 2. colony on pda medium and conidiophore with conidia under microscope (bar = 50 µm). a-b. fusarium solani, cd. penicillium oxalicum, e-f. penicillium sclerotiorum, g-h. pyricularia oryzae, i-j. pestalotiopsis guepinii, k-l. rhizopus stolonifer, m-n. trichoderma virens. 17. pestalotiopsis guepinii (desm.) stey., bull. jard. bot. état brux. 19(3): 312(1949). (fig. 2. i-j) colonies white, cottony, reverse white. hyphae septate, branched, hyaline. acervuli black, small, shining. conidiophores septate, branched, dark brown, cylindrical or lageniform, conidia fusiform, straight or slightly curved, mostly 3 euseptate: basal cells hyaline, truncate, with an endogenous, cellular, appendage: apical cell conic, hyaline, with 2 or more apica, simple or branched, spathulate or spathulate appendages. material studied: isolated from three varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 18. rhizopus stolonifer (ehrenb.) vuill., revue mycologique toulouse 24: 54 (1902) (fig. 2. k-l) mycelium coenocytic, well developed, branched and fluffy. mycelium produces many aerial stolons that develop rhizoids at certain points. directly above the rhizoids one or more sporangiospores are produced. the central portion of sporangium becomes highly vacuolated and it eventually surrounded by a wall that separates it’s from the peripheral zone. the central portion is the columella. sporangium produces non-motile sporangiospores. material studied: isolated from ten varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 31 october 2021. 19. trichoderma virens pers., (1794). (fig 2. m-n) colony effuse, light green. conidiophores are hyaline, much branched, bearing phialides single or in groups. conidia hyaline, powdery mass, 1-celled, ovoid, borne in small terminal clusters. it is used in the commercial production of enzyme cellulase. 80 nishi et al. material studied: isolated from two varieties of brri rice seeds (oryza sativa l.) collected from brri, joydebpur, gazipur, hn nishi, 10 december. molecular identification among the 19 fungi, some isolates were unable to identify up to species level based on the morphological features only. therefore, molecular characterization of the fungal isolates were conducted for proper identification using its sequence analysis. out of the 19 fungi 14 were confirmed up to species level through its sequence based molecular analysis (table 1). genomic dna was isolated successfully from fourteen fungi. pcr was conducted using its1 (forward) and its4 (reverse) primers and ~550 bp dna band was amplified. sequence analysis of the amplified dna through blast search in genbank was conducted and found 90.43 to 99.60% (fig. 3). 90-99% nucleotides identities with isolated fungi which was presented in table 1. table 1. blast analysis of the amplified sequences from the isolated dna of fungi. sample no. name of fungi max score total score query coverage e value percent identity (%) ncbi gene bank acc. no. n3 aspergillus tamarii 701 701 87% 0.0 94.61% kx610720.1 n13 cladosporium oxysporum 652 652 74% 0.0 96.50% mf511908.1 n12 colletotrichum gloeosporioides 466 466 88% 1e-126 90.43% ok584697.2 n1 corynespora cassicola 883 883 99% 0.0 97.51% mw300948.1 n9 curvularia lunata 815 815 99% 0.0 99.55% mt647915.1 n16 c. soli 883 883 98% 0.0 99.59% mt565489.1 n15 daldinia eschscholtzii 484 484 98% 2e-132 99.60% mt626601.1 n10 fusarium solani 782 782 98% 0.0 98.02% mh684735.1 n7 a. oryzae 268 286 99% 1e-67 99.33% op237512.1 n6 penicillium oxalicum 534 534 96% 3e-147 98.37% lt559084.1 n8 p. sclerotiorum 392 392 98% 1e-104 98.23% mt000475.1 n14 pestalotiopsis guepinii 246 246 98% 0.0 96.69% kf171535.1 n5 pyricularia oryzae 46.1 46.1 79% 0.0 97.30% cp050920.1 n2 trichoderma virens 893 893 90% 0.0 96.38% mz769121.1 fig. 3. gel electrophoresis of the pcr product of 14 fungi performed by its1 (f) and its4 (r) primers and showing ~550 bp amplification. morphological and molecular identification of fungi 81 to confirm identity, the obtained dna sequences of the isolated fungi were matched with the available sequences in ncbi database. results obtained from the blast database among the isolated fungi, penicillium sclerotiorum and curvularia soli are the new record for bangladesh as these were not documented in relevant literature (siddiqui et al., 2007; shamsi s, 2017; nahar et al., 2019; amina et al., 2022). association of daldinia eschscholtzii with rice seeds is also recorded first time from world. this present investigation suggests that molecular technique is more accurate and rapid means of fungal identification. its-based molecular identification methods might be an important complement to conventional mycological detection by culture. table 2. comparison between morphological and molecular identification of 14 fungal isolates. isolates no. morphological identification molecular identification n1 unidentified corynespora cassicola n2 trichoderma sp. trichoderma virens n3 aspergillus sp. aspergillus tamari n5 unidentified pyricularia oryzae n6 penicillium sp. penicillium oxalicum n7 aspergillus sp. aspergillus oryzae n8 penicillium sp. penicillium sclerotiorum n9 curvularia sp. curvularia lunata n10 fusarium sp. fusarium solani n12 fusarium sp. colletotrichum gloeosporioides n13 unidentified cladosporium oxysporum n14 unidentified pestalotiopsis guepinii n15 unidentified daldinia eschscholtzii n16 curvularia sp. curvularia soli acknowledgement the first author expresses her appreciation for the financial support given to her work through the nst fellowship by the ministry of science and technology of the people’s republic of bangladesh. references amer, o.e., mahmoud m.a., el-samawarty, a.r.m.a and sayed, s.r.m. 2011. non liquid nitrogen-basedmethod for isolation of dna from filamentous fungi. african journal of biotechnology. 10(65): 1433714341. amina, k., shamsi, s. and bashar, m.a. 2022. morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes associated with seeds of selected cotton (gossypium hirsutum l.) varieties bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 297-312. barnett, h.l. and hanter, b.b. 1972. illustrated genera of imperfect fungi. burgess pub. co. usa, 241 pp. benoit, m.a. and mathur, s.b. 1970. identification of species curvularia on rice seed. proc. inst. seed test. ass. 35(1): 1-23. bentley, k.g.p., moore, n.y., davis, r.d. and buddenhagen, i.w. 1998. genetic variation among vegetative compatibility groups of fusarium oxysporium f. sp. cubense analyzed by dna fingerprinting. phytopathology 88: 1283-1288. 82 nishi et al. booth, c. 1971. the genus fusarium. commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, pp. 237. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book.1stedn. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, 267 pp. el-shafey, r.a.s., attia, k., elamawi, m. and mostafa, f.a. 2018. incidence and molecular dentification of cochliobolus carbonum a causal organism of rice seedling blight. beni-suef university. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, pp. 608. ellis, m.b. 1976. more dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, pp. 507. fakir, g.a., hossain, i., ahmed, m.u., asad-ud doula, m. and alam, m.n. 2002. quality of farmer's boro and t. aman rice seeds collected from bogra, rajshahi and rangpur district of bangladesh. proceeding: a report for presentation in the review and planning meeting of the rice seed health improvement subproject held at brri gazipur, bangladesh, 1-16 pp. geiser, d.m., jimnez-gasco, m., kang, s., makalowska, i., veeraraghavan, n., ward, t.j., gerlach, s., bentley, n.y., moore, k.g.p. and aitken, a.b. 2004. characterization of australian isolates of fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense by dna fingerprinting analysis. aust. j. agri. res. 51:945-953. nahar, m.n., hosen, s. and shamsi. s. 2019. prevalence of fungi associated with seeds of three cotton varieties (gossypium arboretum l.) in storage. biores. commun. 5(1):642-648. raper, k.b. and thom, c. 1949. manual of the penicillia, williams and wilkins, baltimore, m.d. usa shamsi, s. 2017. checklist of deuteromycetous fungi of bangladesh i. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 41(2):115126. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., begum, z.n.a., hasan, m.a., khandker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmrd, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol.2. cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 415 pp. subramanian, c.v. 1971. hyphomycetes. indian council of agriculture research, new delhi, 930 pp. sutton, b.c. 1980. the coelomycetes. fungi imperfecti with pycnidia, acervuli and thom, c. and raper, k.b. 1945. a manual of the aspergilli. williams and wilkins, baltimore, m.d. usa. (manuscript received on 24 october 2023; revised on 20 may 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 83-99, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74391 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a preliminary study of the pteridophytes, gymnosperms and monocotyledons in the chapainawabganj district's flora of bangladesh muhammad shahidul islam* and saleh ahammad khan plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: flora; vascular plants; chapainawabganj; bangladesh. abstract this study demonstrates that the vascular flora (pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons) of the chapainawabganj district area consists of 247 species with two subspecies under 126 genera and 35 families. the pteridophytes and gymnosperms are represented by 19 and four species, respectively, whereas the monocotyledons (liliopsida) are represented by 224 species. poaceae, with 91 species, representing 36.84% of the flora, appears to be the largest family, followed by cyperaceae 32, araceae 19, asparagaceae 12, and arecaceae 11, which collectively constitute ca. 30% of this flora. cyperus, comprising 18 species, is recorded as the largest genus, followed by fimbristylis, digitaria, panicum, bambusa, urochloa, dracaena, and dioscorea. about 87.55% of this flora’s taxa are herbs, 4.42% are palms, 3.61% are shrubs, and the rest are bamboos and trees. erect herbs, forming 61.04% of the flora, comprise the most common life form. in this flora, almost 74.30% of the taxa are native, and the rest, 25.70%, are exotic. it is found that nearly 74.70% of the taxa are wild, 14.06% are planted, and 11.24% are cultivated. about 23.29% of taxa commonly occur throughout all upazilas in this district. most of the species are harboured in fallow lands, roadsides, gardens, and homesteads. all species of this district's flora are known to be economically useful. most of its habitats and ecosystems are exposed to different threats. adequate measures with effective management plans should be adopted and implemented for the sustainable use, improvement, and conservation of this precious flora. introduction the basis for understanding biological diversity is laid by taxonomic studies, which provide crucial, important, and practical information on the identification, composition, distribution, dispersal, origin, variation, categorization, and relationships of biodiversity. a classical taxonomic study of plants provides the basic and adequate understandings of this biological entity found within a geographical region, a political or administrative area, an ecosystem, or a habitat, which are necessary for the characterization and sustainable use of plant resources, guiding resourcebased development, and resolution of various plant relevant environmental issues. despite the fact that the angiospermic flora of bangladesh is thought to be rich, with an estimated 5000 species (khan, 1977), it has been incompletely inventoried through a variety of sporadic or focused taxonomic studies carried out since 1814 (roxburgh, 1814) to the present day (hooker, 1872– 1897; prain, 1903; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008–2009; ahmed et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2015; haque et al., 2018; uddin and hassan, 2018; khanam and khan, 2020; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020a, 2020b; hossain et al., 2021; khan et al., 2021). as a result, the floristic compositions in many areas of this country are either unknown or inadequately known, and the updated taxonomic knowledge of many plant groups in this country is lacking. *corresponding author, e-mail: shahidul.labiba@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74391 mailto:shahidul.labiba@gmail.com 84 islam and khan the district of chapainawabganj, located in northwest bangladesh, is composed of five upazilas and 45 unions, covering a total area of 1702.54 km2. it is situated between longitudes 88°01' and 88°30' east and latitudes 24°25' and 24°58' north (district statistics 2011 chapainawabganj, 2013; sfd lite report 2022; fig. 1). chapainawabganj's geography is primarily flat, with an average elevation of 25 metres above sea level (https://elevation.maplogs. com). the majority of the land is made up of homestead gardens, croplands, scrub jungles, grasslands, and some wetlands. in the basins of the ganges, mahananda, pagla, and punarbhaba rivers, the soil is primarily (80%) alluvial, with the remainder being barren (https://elevation. maplogs.com). it experiences summertime wet monsoons and humid subtropical conditions (khatun et al., 2016; https://en.climate-data.org). the average annual rainfall is 1,542 to 1862 mm, and the mean temperature ranges from a minimum of 11.2°c to a maximum of 37.8°c (district statistics 2011 chapainawabganj, 2013; khatun et al., 2016; sfd lite report 2022). fig. 1. map of chapainawabganj district with its five upazilas. some taxonomic studies on the flora of several districts of bangladesh have been carried out (sultana, 2012; tabassum, 2015; uddin and hassan, 2018; khanam and khan, 2020; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020a, b; hossain et al., 2021). however, any taxonomic literature on the flora of chapainawabganj district based on field inventories throughout its entire geographical area is not known to have been published so far. a number of taxonomic investigations have been conducted on the flora of several districts of bangladesh (sultana, 2012; tabassum, 2015; uddin https://elevation.maplogs. https://elevation. https://en.climate-data.org). a preliminary study of the chapainawabganj district’s flora 85 and hassan, 2018; khanam and khan, 2020; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020a, b; hossain et al., 2021). however, no taxonomic study based on field inventories spanning the chapainawabganj district's geographic area has hitherto been carried out. taxonomic studies on the flora of chapainawabganj district are necessary to enrich the baseline data on the floristic composition and plant species diversity of this country, especially of its north-western region, to explore the plant genetic resources of this area, to adopt and implement appropriate conservation initiatives for threatened or near-threatened species, and to support future research on the floristic composition, plant species diversity, and vegetation of this area. this study was conducted to generate baseline information on the current composition, status, distribution, and habitats of plant species in this area of chapainawabganj district. materials and methods field surveys were carried out following the walk-through method throughout each of the upazilas of chapainawabganj during the different seasons of 2018–2021. all native and exotic species of vascular plants that are wild, planted, or cultivated have been included in this study. the plant specimens were collected, processed, dried, preserved, and identified following standard herbarium and taxonomic methods. nomenclatural information was confirmed using the techniques outlined in khan et al. (2021) and hossain et al. (2021). every voucher specimen has been stored at the herbarium of jahangirnagar university (juh). the families of monocotyledons are arranged following pichi (1977), kramer and green (1990), and cronquist (1988), respectively (table 1). the apgiv system (angiosperm phylogeny group, 2016) has been used to place the families that are not included in cronquist (1988). the checklist (table 1) includes only the accepted names that are currently in use today, along with recent synonyms. a review of pertinent literature and interviews with locals during field inventories were followed to gather information on the use of the plant species (ghani, 1998; van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2002; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008–2009; ahmed et al., 2009). the jaccard coefficient was used to determine how similar the species compositions of the five upazilas in the research area were (jaccard, 1912). the rare and threatened plant species in the study area were recognised through field observation and estimation based on their population size, distribution range, and regeneration in the area. results and discussion in total, 249 taxa, including 247 species, and two subspecies of 126 genera, and 35 families of three plant groups, viz., pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons (liliopsida), were found to grow within the administrative boundaries of the chapainawabganj district. in this article, 247 species were taken into account for the taxonomic enumeration of the species, genus, and families, while information on 249 taxa was utilised to categorise the taxa according to their habitat, habit, distribution, and economic applications. pteridophytes consist of 19 species under 13 genera, and 7 families make up 7.63% of the species in this district flora, excluding the dicotyledons. gymnosperms, grouped into four genera and three families, comprised only 1.61% of the species. the monocotyledons, or liliopsida, made up of 226 taxa under 110 genera and 25 families, comprised 90.76% of the species in the three plant groups of this district flora (table 1 and fig. 1). the taxa of three plant groups, growing in this district comprised 218 (87.55%) herbs, 11 (4.42%) palms, nine (3.61%) shrubs, eight (3.21%) bamboos, and a meagre three (1.21%) trees. the most common pattern of plant growth found in the district's flora was the erect, which accounted for 61.45% (153 taxa) of the flora and 70.18% of the herbaceous taxa. there were 86 islam and khan different kinds of herbaceous taxa, including vine (18 species), prostrate (15 species), creeper (10 species), free-floating (7 species), emergent (4 species), submerged (4 species), and epiphyte (3 species). most of the flora of the chapainawabganj district (74.30%) was found to be made up of native taxa (185). nonetheless, 64 exotic taxa account for a sizable part (25.70%) of this flora. a total of 186 taxa, or 74.70% of the flora, were found in the wild, while 35 species, or 14.06%, were found to be planted, and 28 species, or 11.24%, were found to be cultivated. with five species, the pteridaceae family was the largest in pteridophyta. aspleniaceae and polypodiaceae, with four and three species each, were the next largest families. there were one or two species in each of the remaining families. the genera adiantum l., pteris l., lygodium sw., and marsilea l. each had two species, while the remaining genera were each made up of one species. the genus thelypteris schmidel contained three species. gymnospermae species were found in one or two families and one species in each of their genera, with the exception of cycas l., which was found to be represented by two species. species of pteridophyte were all herbs that grew naturally, while three species of gymnosperm were trees, and one was a shrub, all of which were planted. in the liliopsida (monocotyledons), poaceae, with 91 taxa belonging to 45 genera, was the largest family, accounting for 36.55% of the chapainawabganj district’s vascular flora, excluding the dicotyledons. cyperaceae, with 34 species of five genera; araceae, with 19 species of 13 genera; asparagaceae, with 13 species of five genera; and arecaceae, with 11 species of 10 genera, were the next large families of lilipsida in this district. these four families combined made up 34.07%, and the families commelinaceae, zingiberaceae, dioscoriaceae, and orchidaceae, each including fewer than 11 species, form only 11.06% of the district flora of these three plant groups (fig. 2). the species names of seven taxa (2.8%) could not be validated because their voucher specimens lacked species-specific key characters, and therefore, only the generic names have been cited for these taxa. with 18 species, cyperus l. was the largest monocot genus. it was followed by fimbristylis vahl with nine species, digitaria haller, and panicum l. with seven species, dracaena vand., bambusa schreb., dioscorea l., and urochloa p. beauv. with six species, table 1. list of vascular plant species of chapainawabganj district, bangladesh. name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse pteridophyta schimp. selaginellaceae willk. 1. selaginella ciliaris (retz.) spring katagenella fl, rs, wl h, er, w gm, sd, sg m, or, r msi-3447 salviniaceae martinov 2. azolla pinnata r.br. lal khudipana wtl h, ff, w all upazilas ff, gn, o msi-3448 3. salvinia cucullata bory indur kanipana wtl h, ff, w sd, sg aq, c msi-3449 marsileaceae mirb. 4. marsilea minuta l. soto susmi shak fl, wtl h, pr, w gm m, gn, o msi-2962 5. m. quadrifolia l.* susmi shak fl, wtl h, pr, w sg m, gn, o msi-0411 schizaeaceae kaulf. 6. lygodium flexuosum (l.)sw. saralata fern, latadekhia fl, rs, sj h, vi, w gm, na, sg m, o msi-1156 7. l. microphyllum (cav.) r.br. lata fern fl, rs, sj h, vi, w sg m, r msi-2986 pteridaceae e.d.m.kirchn. 8. adiantum capillus-veneris l. venichadda bw, rs, gr h, er, w gm, sd, sg m, ed, r msi-3453 9. a. philippense l. kalijhat bw, gr,ml h, pr, w sd, sg m, r msi-2455 10. ceratopteris thalictroides (l.) brongn. pani lettuce fl, wtl h, er, w gm, sd, sg, vh m, ed, o msi-3450 a preliminary study of the chapainawabganj district’s flora 87 name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse 11. pteris ensiformis burm.f. slender braken fl, sj h, vi, w vh m, or, r msi-0820 12. p. vittata l. dhekishak fl, bw h, vi, w sg, vh m, ed, o msi-0160 polypodiaceae j. presl & c. presl 13. drynaria quercifolia (l.)j.sm. pankhiraj op h, ep, w all upazilas m, o msi-3452 14. microsorum punctatum (l.) copel. gucha patra op h, ep, w all upazilas m, ed, o msi-3454 15. pyrrosia glabra (desv.) fraserjenk.; syn: pyrrosia nuda (giesenh.) ching jihba fern op h, ep, w sd, sg or, r msi-3451 aspleniaceae newman 16. diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. dhekishak fl, sj h, vi, w sd vg, o msi-0387 17. thelypteris arida (d.don) c.v.morton; syn: christella arida (d.don) holttum dekishak fl, hs, rs h, er, w all upazilas m, o msi-3456 18. t. dentata (forssk.) e.p.st. john; syn: christella dentata (forssk.) brownsey & jermy bish dhekia fl, rs, sj h, vi, w sg m , c msi-0131 19. t. prolifera (retz.) c.f. reed; syn: ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel. agacha dhekia fl, ml, rb h,vi, w all upazilas vg, r msi-1534 gymnospermae prantl araucariaceae henkel & w.hochst. 20. araucaria heterophylla (salisb.) franco* christmas tree gr, hs t, l, pl all upazilas or, r msi-3455 cupressaceae gray 21. platycladus orientalis (l.) franco* syn: thuja orientalis l. thuja gr, hs sh, m, pl all upazilas m, or, r msi-3406 cycadaceae pers. 22. cycas circinalis l.* nali cycas gr, hs t, m, pl sd, sg m, or, r msi-3383 23. c. revoluta thunb.* volu cycas gr, hs t, m, pl sd, sg m, or, r msi-3384 liliopsida batsch alismataceae vent. 24. sagittaria guayanensis kunth kauathukri wtl h, fl, w sd, sg m, lf, o msi-3321 25. s. sagittifolia l.* chhotokut wtl h, em, w sd, sg m, o msi-0944 hydrocharitaceae juss. 26. hydrilla verticillata (l.f.) royle kureli wtl h, sm, w sd, sg m, lf, c msi-0134 27. nechamandra alternifolia (roxb. ex wight) thwaites patasaola wtl h, sm, w sg, vh ff, r msi-2176 28. ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panikala wtl h, sm, w sg m, ff, c msi-2171 29. vallisneria spiralis l. patseola wtl h, sm, w sd, sg, vh m, ff, o msi-0136 aponogetonaceae planch. 30. aponogeton appendiculatus h.bruggen ghechu wtl h, er, w gm, sd, sg, vh aq, lf, o msi-3326 31. aponogeton crispus thunb. ghechu wtl h, er, w gm, sg aq, o msi-3343 32. aponogeton natans (l.) engl. & k.krause ghechu wtl h, er, w all upazilas aq, o msi-3421 potamogetonaceae bercht. & j.presl 33. potamogeton nodosus poir. panipata wtl h, em, w sd, sg m, o msi-1809 arecaceae bercht. & j.presl 34. areca catechu l.* supari gr, hs, rs plm, l, pl all upazilas m, fu, o msi-3393 35. borassus flabellifer l. tal gr, hs, rs plm, l, pl sd, sg fr, fb, fu, c msi-2509 88 islam and khan name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse 36. calamus erectus roxb. kadambet gr, rb, sj plm, cl, w na, sd, sg m, fb, fr, o msi-3381 37. c. tenuis roxb. jalibet gr, rb, sj plm, cl, w na, sd, sg m, fb, o msi-3380 38. chrysalidocarpus lutescens h.wendl.* syn: dypsis lutescens (h.wendl.) beentje & j.dransf. areca plm gr, hs plm, s, pl gm, sd or, r msi-3357 39. cocos nucifera l. narikel gr, hs, ml plm, l, pl all upazilas m, ol, fb, c msi-3349 40. elaeis guineensis jacq.* oil palm gr, ml plm, l, pl na, sd, sg ol, r msi-1778 41. livistona chinensis (jacq.) r.br. ex mart. china palm gr, rs plm, m, pl sg m, r msi-3388 42. phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb. khejur hs, ml, rs plm, l, w gm, sd, sg m, fr, c msi-3369 43. rhapis excelsa (thunb.) a.henry* gurital, lady palm gr plm, s, pl sd m, or, r msi-3408 44. roystonea regia (kunth) o.f.cook* botol palm gr, rs plm, l, pl sd or, ol, r msi-3410 pandanaceae r.br. 45. benstonea foetida (roxb.) callm. & buerki; syn: pandanus foetidus roxb. keya gr, hs sh, pl sd, sg m, fu, r msi-3405 46. pandanus amaryllifolius roxb. ex lindl.* polao pata hs sh, pl all upazilas sp, r msi-3404 araceae juss. 47. aglaonema commutatum schott* silver bay gr, hs h, er, pl gm, sd, sg m, pd, r msi-3327 48. alocasia acuminata schott bish kachu fl, hs, rs, h, er, w all upazilas m, r msi-3337 49. a. decipiens schott pai kachu hs, rs, sj h, er, w gm, na, sd m, r msi-3329 50. a. fornicata (kunth) schott salu kachu hs, rs, sj h, er, w sd, sg, vh m, r msi-3375 51. a. macrorrhizos (l.) g.don man kachu ag, hs h, er, cv all upazilas m, vg, o msi-2472 52. amorphophallus bulbifer (schott) blume jongle ol hs, sj h, er, w gm, sd, sg, vh m, vg, o msi-3340 53. amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson ol kachu ag, hs h, er, cv all upazilas m, vg, o msi-3342 54. caladium bicolor (aiton) vent.* bahari kochu gr, hs h, er, w all upazilas m, or, r msi-3347 55. colocasia esculenta (l.) schott jangli kachu fl, hs, wtl h, er, w sd, sg, vh m, vg, c msi-1623 56. dieffenbachia seguine (jacq.) schott* diffenbachia, segubet fl, gr, hs h, er, w gm, sd, sg m, r msi-3355 57. epipremnum aureum (linden & andré) g.s.bunting* syn: scindapsus aureus (linden & andré) engl. money plant gr, hs, wl h, cl, w all upazilas or, o msi-0806 58. lemna minor l. soto pana, suji pana wtl h, ff, w na, sd, sg m, ff, o msi-3403 59. l. perpusilla torr.* khudi pana wtl h, ff, w all upazilas gn, o msi-3362 60. pistia stratiotes l. topana wtl h, ff, w sd, sg m, ff, o msi-3307 61. scindapsus officinalis (roxb.) schott gaj-pipal gr, hs h, er, pl sd, vh m, o msi-0805 62. syngonium podophyllum schott* podolata kachu fl, gr, hs, sj h, pr, w gm, sd, sg or, o msi-3370 63. typhonium flagelliforme (g.lodd.) blume ghechu ag h, er, w all upazilas m, o msi-3441 64. t. trilobatum (l.) schott ghet kachu ag, fl, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, vg, o msi-3390 65. xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott* dudhkachu fl, hs h, er, pl all upazilas m, vg, o msi-3371 a preliminary study of the chapainawabganj district’s flora 89 name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse commelinaceae mirb. 66. commelina benghalensis l. kanchira ag, fl, gl, rs h, cr, w all upazilas m, lf, c msi-1206 67. c. diffusa burm.f. kanchira ag, fl, gl, rs h, cr, w all upazilas m, lf, o msi-1359 68. c. longifolia lam. pani kanchira ag, fl, gl, wtl h, cr, w gm, sd lf, r msi-0182 69. c. paludosa blume jata kanchira ag, fl, gl, rs h, cr, w gm, sd, sg m., lf, r msi-1910 70. cyanotis axillaris (l.) d.don ex sweet beguni kanchira fl, gl, rs h, cr, w na, sd m., lf, r msi-2415 71. c. cristata (l.) d.don akasi kanchira fl, gl, rs h, cr, w na, sd m., lf, r msi-2905 72. murdannia nudiflora (l.) brenan kanduli, kureli ag, fl, rs h, cr, w all upazilas m., lf, c msi-1893 73. m. simplex (vahl) brenan* kureli ag, fl, rs h, cr, w gm, na, sd, sg lf, r msi-3364 74. tradescantia spathacea sw.* boat lily gr, hs h, er, pl sd or, r msi-3460 cyperaceae juss. 75. abildgaardia ovata (burm.f.) kral; syn: fimbristylis ovata (burm.f.) j.kern marmari ag, fl h, er, w gm, sd m, lf, o msi-3335 76. cyperus articulatus l. mutha ghas fl, gl, rs h, er, w all upazilas m, lf, o msi-3442 77. c. brevifolius (rottb.) hassk.; syn. kyllinga brevifolia rottb. shabuj nirbisa fl, gl, rs h, er, w sd m, lf, o msi-2423 78. c. compressus l. chancha fl, gl, rs h, er, w gm, na, sd, sg m, lf, o msi-3353 79. c. corymbosus rottb. mutha ghas fl, gl, wtl h, er, w sg lf, o msi-3391 80. c. cuspidatus kunth vada, vadale fl, gl, rs h, er, w all upazilas lf, o msi-1506 81. c. difformis l. behua ghas fl, gl h, er, w sg m, lf, o msi-2995 82. c. distans l.f. panimalanga fl, gl, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, o msi-3382 83. c. eragrostis lam.* panimutha ag, fl, gl, wtl h, er, w sg lf, r msi-3385 84. c. exaltatus retz. tata ghas, mutha ag, wl h, er, w gm, sg, vh lf, r msi-0980 85. c. haspan l. mutha ag, fl, gl h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, o msi-2235 86. c. iria l. borochucha mutha fl, gl, rs h, er, w na, sd, sg m, lf, o msi-1148 87. c. michelianus (l.) delile pygmy mutha ag, fl, gl h, er, w sg lf, r msi-0935 88. c. mindorensis (steud.) huygh; syn: kyllinga nemoralis (j.r.forst. & g.forst.) dandy ex hutch. & dalziel subashi ag, fl, gl, rs h, er, w all upazilas m, lf, r msi-3354 89. c. niveus retz. sada mutha ag, gl h, er, w sg m, r msi-0938 90. c. pangorei rottb. badami mutha ag, fl, gl h, er, w sd, sg fn, fb, o msi-2854 91. c. rotundus l. nagar mutha fl, gl, hs,rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, c msi-0520 92. c. tenuispica steud. jupri mutha ag, fl, gl h, er, w sg lf, o msi-3386 93. cyperus sp.; syn: kyllinga sp. ghas ag, fl h, er, w na lf, r msi-0760 94. fimbristylis aestivalis (retz.) vahl jhakra fimbry ag, fl, gl h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, o msi-0831 95. f. alboviridis c.b.clarke albo fimbry ag, fl, gl h, er, w sd, sg lf, o msi-0983 96. f. bisumbellata (forssk.) bubani bisu fimbry ag, fl h, er, w sd lf, r msi-1258 97. f. dichotoma (l.) vahl bara nirbishi ag, fl h, er, w na, sd lf, c msi-1158 90 islam and khan name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse 98. f. dichotoma subsp. podocarpa (nees) t.koyama nirbishi ghas ag, fl h, er, w sd lf, c msi-2559 99. f. dipsacea (rottb.) c.b.clarke dipsa fimbry ag, fl h, er, w sd gn, r msi-3401 100. f. falcata (vahl) kunth soto nirbishi ag, fl h, er, w sd m, lf, r msi-2553 101. f. quinquangularis (vahl) kunth bara javani ag h, er, w sg m, lf, o msi-0972 102. f. quinquangularis subsp. quinquangularis; syn: f. miliacea (l.) vahl milia fimbry ag, fl h, er, w gm, sd, sg m, lf, o msi-2964 103. fimbristylis sp. ghas ag, fl h, er, w sd lf, r msi-1018 104. rhynchospora colorata (l.) h.pfeiff.* syn: kyllinga monocephala rottb. sadatara ghas ag, fl h, er, w na, sd, sg, vh m, lf, o msi-3309 105. schoenoplectiella articulata (l.) lye; syn: schoenoplectus articulatus (l.) palla chechra fl, wtl h, er, w all upazilas m, lf, c msi-0958 106. s. juncoides (roxb.) lye; syn: schoenoplectus juncoides (roxb.) palla chechra fl, wtl h, er, w sd lf, fu, o msi-1259 107. s. supina (l.) lye; syn: schoenoplectus supinus (l.) palla sada chechra fl, wtl h, er, w gm, sd m, lf, o msi-1941 108. schoenoplectiella sp.; syn: schoenoplectus sp. chechra fl, wtl h, er, w sd, sg fu, lf, r msi-0960 poaceae barnhart 109. arundinella bengalensis (spreng.) druce gongabena fl, gl, ml h, er, w all upazilas lf, o msi-3109 110. arundo donax l. boronal, goba-nal rb, hs h, er, w na, sg m, lf, r msi-2633 111. axonopus compressus (sw.) p.beauv. carpet ghas fl, gl, rs h, er, w all upazilas m, lf, c msi-1593 112. bambusa balcooa roxb. borak bans gr, hs bmbo, pl all upazilas hc, pp, vg, o msi-3345 113. b.bambos (l.) voss kanta bans gr bmbo, pl sg hc, pp, c msi-3378 114. b. nutans wall. ex munro makhla gr, hs bmbo, pl all upazilas pp, tm, o msi-3346 115. b. salarkhanii alam kalijowa gr, hs bmbo, pl gm hc, pp, r msi-3348 116. b. tulda roxb talla bans gr, hs bmbo, pl gm, sd, sg hc, pp, o msi-3344 117. b. vulgaris schrad. ex j.c.wendl.* ora bans gr, hs bmbo, pl sd, sg hc, pp, tm, c msi-3379 118. cenchrus americanus (l.) morrone* syn: setaria glauca (l.) p.beauv. kauni, bajra ag, fl, rs h, er, w na, sd, sg ed, lf, o msi-1360 119. c. purpureus (schumach.) morrone* syn: pennisetum purpureum schumach. nepier ghas fl, gl, hs, rs h, er, cv na m, lf, o msi-3417 120. centotheca lappacea (l.) desv. centughas sj h, pr, w sg lf, r msi-0268 121. chloris barbata sw. bataghas ag, fl, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, o msi-0148 122. c. virgata sw.* angulighas ag, fl, rs h, er, w na, sg, vh m, lf, o msi-0356 123. chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. premkanta fl, gl, rs h, pr, w sd lf, c msi-3396 124. c. zizanioides (l.) roberty bena fl, ml, rb h, er, w sd m, lf, fu, c msi-0402 125. coix lacryma-jobi l. kuch, roti fl, rb, wtl h, er, w all upazilas m, lf, o msi-1482 126. cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba ghas fl, gl, rs h, pr, w all upazilas m, lf, c msi-0325 a preliminary study of the chapainawabganj district’s flora 91 name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse 127. cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf birenighas ag, gl h, cr, w sd, sg lf, o msi-1196 128. dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. kakpaya fl, gl, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, c msi-0328 129. desmostachya bipinnata (l.) stapf kusha ghas fl, gl, rs h, er, w na, sg m, lf, o msi-1125 130. dichanthium annulatum (forssk.) stapf arali ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w na, sg m, lf, r msi-1567 131. d. caricosum (l.) a.camus arali ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w na, sg m, lf, r msi-0493 132. digitaria bicornis (lam.) roem. & schult. baikochira fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w na, sd, sg lf, o msi-0738 133. d. ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w na, sd, sg m, lf, c msi-1710 134. d. ischaemum (schreb.) muhl.* crab ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg lf, o msi-2494 135. d. sanguinalis (l.) scop. mukurjoli fl, gl, ml, rs h, pr, w sd m, lf, c msi-2517 136. d. setigera roth crab ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, r msi-1180 137. d. stricta roth trick ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd lf, r msi-1301 138. d. ternata (a.rich.) stapf nata ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg lf, o msi-1086 139. dinebra chinensis (l.) p.m.peterson & n.snow; syn: leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees fulka ghas ag, fl, wtl h, er, w sg lf, r msi-1824 140. d. panicea (retz.) p.m.peterson & n.snow; syn: leptochloa panicea (retz.) ohwi mona ghas fl, wtl h, er, w sd lf, r msi-1867 141. echinochloa colonum (l.) link shama ghas fl, ml, wtl h, er, w all upazilas ed, m, lf, c msi-0947 142. echinochloa crus-galli (l.) p.beauv. boroshama ghas fl, ml, wtl h, er, w na, sd, sg, vh m, lf, c msi-0985 143. e. stagnina (retz.) p.beauv. shama ghas fl, ml, wtl h, er, w sd, sg, vh lf, o msi-0827 144. eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. kesla, malankuri fl, gl, rs h, er, w all upazilas m, lf, c msi-1039 145. enteropogon dolichostachyus (lag.) keng; syn: chloris dolichostachya lag. anguli ghas ag, fl, rs h, er, w sg lf, r msi-3387 146. eragrostis ciliaris (l.) r.br. chotochira ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, c msi-2372 147. e. japonica (thunb.) trin.; syn: e. diarrhena (schult. & schult.f.) steud. panghas, love ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, o msi-1010 148. e. multiflora trin.; syn: e. tremula hochst. ex steud. mulakoni ag, fl, rs h, pr, w sd, sg lf, o msi-0936 149. e. tenella (l.) p.beauv. ex roem. & schult. koni ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, c msi-0475 150. e. tenuifolia (a.rich.) hochst. ex steud. chira ghas ag, fl, rs h, er, w sd m, lf, c msi-1762 151. eriochloa procera (retz.) c.e.hubb. cup ghas ag, fl, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, o msi-1822 152. eulalia leschenaultiana (decne.) ohwi eulali ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg lf, o msi-1657 92 islam and khan name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse 153. gigantochloa nigrociliata (buse) kurz kalibans gr, hs bmbo, pl gm, sd, sg hc, pp, r msi-3360 154. hordeum vulgare l.* barley ag, fl h, er, cv sd ed, m, fu, o msi-109 155. hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees ex wight & arn. duloli ghas wtl h, ff, w sd, sg lf, ff, c msi-2173 156. imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch.* chhon ghas ag, gl, fl, ml, rs h, er, w all upazilas m, hc, fn, c msi-3361 157. leersia hexandra sw. jongli dhan, ag, fl, wtl h, er, w gm, na, sd, sg m, lf, c msi-2182 158. louisiella paludosa (roxb.) landge; syn: panicum paludosum roxb. baksa ghas ag, fl, ml h, er, w sg lf, o msi-1825 159. melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz muli bans gr, hs bmbo, pl all upazilas hc, m, o msi-3363 160. oplismenus burmanni (retz.) p.beauv. jabri durba, jabri ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg, vh m, lf, c msi-2551 161. o. compositus (l.) p.beauv. gohur gl, ml, rs, sj h, er, w all upazilas m, lf, c msi-0651 162. oryza sativa l.* dhan ag, fl, wtl h, er, cv all upazilas ed, lf, m, c msi-2377 163. panicum brevifolium l. bashpati ghas gl, ml h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, o msi-1067 164. p. curviflorum hornem.; syn: p. trypheron schult. dhani ghas ag, fl, ml h, er, w sd, sg lf, o msi-1308 165. p. humidorum buch.-ham. ex hook.f. china ghas ag, fl, ml h, er, w gm, sd, sg lf , o msi-2987 166. p. miliaceum l. china ag, fl h, er, cv sg ed, lf, o msi-0961 167. p. notatum retz. jabri ghas gr, hs, fl, rs, wl h, pr, w gm, sd, sg lf, c msi-1044 168. p. repens l. dhani ghas fl, gl, rs h, er, w na, sg lf, c msi-0262 169. panicum sp. ghas ag, fl, gl h, er, w na, sg lf, r msi-1044 170. paspalum conjugatum p.j.bergius* moisshya ghas, gl, hs, rs h, er, w sg m, lf, c msi-3389 171. p. orbiculare g.forst.* bahia ghas ag, fl, gl h, er, w sd, sg lf, o msi-2658 172. p. scrobiculatum l. bishmona ghas fl, gl, rs h, er, w gm, sd, sg, vh m, lf, c msi-3368 173. paspalum sp. ghas fl, gl h, er, w sd lf, r msi-0791 174. phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud. nalkhagra ag, rs h, er, cv sg hc, fn, o msi-1830 175. pseudopogonatherum contortum (brongn.) a.camus voya ghas, banspata ghas fl, gl h, er, w sd lf, o msi-2374 176. pseudoraphis spinescens (r.br.) vickery katarafi ghas ag, gl, fl h, er, w all upazilas lf, o msi-3443 177. rottboellia cochinchinensis (lour.) clayton bara swati ag, fl, rb h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, c msi-3444 178. saccharum officinarum l.* akh, kusol ag, hs h, er, cv all upazilas ed, lf, pp, o msi-3445 179. s. spontaneum l. kashful, kaisha fl, gl, ml, rb h, er, w sd lf, fn, c msi-3411 180. sacciolepis interrupta (willd.) stapf nardula fl, gl h, er, w sd, vh lf, o msi-3412 181. s. myosuroides (r.br.) chase ex e.g.camus & a.camus musurdolla ghas fl, gl, wtl h, er, w sd, sg lf, o msi-1928 182. setaria flavida (retz.) veldkamp; syn: paspalidium flavidum (retz.) a.camus karin ghas ag, fl h, er, w all upazilas lf, r msi-1298 183. s. italica (l.) p.beauv.* kaon fl, gl, ml h, er, cv na, sd ed, m, lf, c msi-0706 a preliminary study of the chapainawabganj district’s flora 93 name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse 184. s. palmifolia (j.koenig) stapf urodhan fl, gl, ml h, er, w sd ed, m, lf, o msi-1171 185. s. pumila (poir.) roem. & schult. shial leja fl, gl, ml h, er, w na, sd m, lf, c msi-0734 186. s. verticillata (l.) p.beauv. shial leja fl, gl, ml h, er, w sd m, lf, o msi-0691 187. sorghum bicolor (l.) moench* syn: sorghum vulgare pers. jowar ag, ml h, er, w sd, sg ed, m, lf, o msi-3416 188. sorghum sp. jowar ag, ml h, er, w sd, sg lf, r msi-0946 189. sporobolus diandrus (retz.) p.beauv. benajoni ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg lf, c msi-3043 190. s. indicus (l.) r.br.* ailbelajoni ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w sd, sg m, lf, c msi-1720 191. s. virginicus (l.) kunth tussock ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er, w na, sd m, lf, r msi-2637 192. themeda quadrivalvis (l.) kuntze grader ghas ag, gl h, er, w sd fu, o msi-3414 193. triticum aestivum l.* gom ag, fl h, er, cv all upazilas ed, m, lf, c msi-0089 194. urochloa distachyos (l.) t.q.nguyen; syn: brachiaria distachyos (l.) stapf cori ghas ag, fl, rs h, pr, w all upazilas m, lf, o msi-1370 195. urochloa kurzii (hook.f.) t.q.nguyen; syn: brachiaria kurzii (hook.f.) a.camus birenighas ag, fl, rs h, pr, w na, sd lf, r msi-2583 196. urochloa mutica (forssk.) t.q.nguyen* brachiaria ghas ag, fl, rs h, pr, w gm, sd, sg m, lf, o msi-2599 197. urochloa panicoides p.beauv. kuri ghas gl, rs h, cr, w na, sd lf, o msi-1324 198. u. ramosa (l.) t.q.nguyen brachiaria ghas ag, fl, rs h, pr, w sd, sg lf , o msi-0915 199. u. reptans (l.) stapf; syn: brachiaria reptans (l.) c.a.gardner & c.e.hubb. peraghas, kuj ag, fl, rs h, pr, w sd, sg m, lf, o msi-1274 typhaceae juss. 200. typha elephantina roxb. hoglapata fl, wtl h, er, w gm, na, sd hc, fn, r msi-2839 bromeliaceae juss. 201. ananas comosus (l.) merr.* anarash gr, hs h, er, pl gm, sd, sg fr, m, o msi-3341 heliconiaceae nakai 202. heliconia psittacorum l.f.* parakeet phul gr, hs h, er, cv na or, r msi-3419 musaceae juss. 203. musa acuminata colla sobrikola fl, hs, ml h, er, cv all upazilas m, fr, c msi-3366 204. m. balbisiana colla* bichikola fl, hs, ml h, er, cv all upazilas m, fr, vg, c msi-3367 205. musa × paradisiaca l.* kachkola fl, hs, ml h, er, cv all upazilas ed, m, vg, c msi-3365 zingiberaceae martinov 206. alpinia calcarata (andrews) roscoe* sugandha mul sj, wl h, er, cv sd m, o msi-3392 207. alpinia nigra (gaertn.) burtt tara sj, wl h, er, w sd, sg m, fn, o msi-3376 208. curcuma aromatica salisb. ban halud fl, rs, wl h, er, w all upazilas m, r msi-3350 209. c. longa l.* halud fl, hs h, er, cv all upazilas ed, m, c msi-3351 210. c. zedoaria (christm.) roscoe shoti fl, rs, sj, hs, wl h, er, w all upazilas m, c msi-3352 211. zingiber officinale roscoe* ada fl, hs, h, er, cv all upazilas ed, m, o msi-3372 costaceae nakai 212. hellenia speciosa (j.koenig) s.r.dutta; syn: cheilocostus speciosus (j.koenig) c.d.specht keomul fl, rb, rs h, er, w sd m, o msi-2481 94 islam and khan name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse cannaceae juss. 213. canna glauca l.* holud kolabati gr, hs h, er, cv na, sd or, r msi-3394 214. c. indica l.* kolabati gr, hs, rs h, er, w na, sd or, o msi-3395 pontederiaceae kunth 215. pontederia crassipes mart.* syn: eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms kochuripana wtl h, ff, w all upazilas m, lf, fu, c msi-1648 216. p. hastata l.; syn: monochoria hastata (l.) solms boro nukha wtl h, em, w gm, sd, sg m, lf, c msi-1938 217. p. vaginalis burm.f.; syn: monochoria vaginalis (burm.f.) c.presl ex kunth nukha wtl h, em, w gm, sd, sg m, lf, r msi-2181 asphodelaceae juss. 218. aloe vera (l.) burm.f.* ghritakumari gr, hs h, er, pl all upazilas m, r msi-3339 amaryllidaceae j.st.-hil. 219. allium cepa l.* piyaj ag, hs h, er, cv all upazilas m, sp, o msi-3322 220. a. sativum l.* rashun ag, hs h, er, cv all upazilas m, sp, o msi-3334 221. crinum americanum l.* shukdarshan gr, hs h, er, pl gm, sd, sg m, or, r msi-3324 222. c. asiaticum l. shukdarshan gr, hs h, er, pl gm, sd, sg m, o msi-3325 asparagaceae juss. 223. agave angustifolia haw. agachokha gr, hs sh, pl sd, sg, na m, fb, r msi-3373 224. a. americana l.* shatabdi gr, hs h, er, cv all upazilas m, or, r msi-3336 225. a. vivipara l.* jarauj agav gr, hs h, er, cv sd, sg or, r msi-3374 226. asparagus racemosus wild. shatamuli gr, hs, sj h, vi, w all upazilas m, r msi-3377 227. cordyline fruticosa (l.) a.chev.* agnishwar hs sh, cv gm, sd, sg m, dy, or, r msi-3439 228. dracaena angustifolia (medik.) roxb. bashpata dracena gr, hs sh, cv sd, sg dy, r msi-3438 229. d. braunii engl.* dracaena gr, hs h, er, cv na, sd, sg or, r msi-3398 230. d. fragrans (l.) ker gawl.* gondhi drakan gr, hs sh, pl gm, sd, sg m, ar, or, r msi-3356 231. d. reflexa lam. * dracaena gr, hs h, er, cv na, sd, sg or, r msi-3399 232. d. trifasciata (prain) mabb.* syn: sansevieria trifasciata prain sarpagach, snake plant hs, rs h, er, pl all upazilas m, fb, or, r msi-0572 233. furcraea foetida (l.) haw.* gandho hemp gr, hs sh, pl gm, na, sd, sg, m, or, r msi-3359 234. f. tuberosa (mill.) w.t.aiton* century gr, hs sh, pl sd, sg or, r msi-3402 colchicaceae dc. 235. gloriosa superba l. ulatchandal gr, hs, wl h, vi, w sd m, or, r msi-1249 smilacaceae vent. 236. smilax guianensis vitman* bagh lata sj, wl h, vi, w na m, r msi-3420 237. s. ovalifolia roxb. ex d. don kumarika, kumarilata sj, wl h, vi, w gm, na, sd m, r msi-3397 238. smilax sp. unknown sj, wl h, vi, w sd m, r msi-0589 dioscoreaceae r.br. 239. dioscorea alata l. chupri alu hs, sj h, vi, w sd, sg m, ed, o msi-1465 240. d. bulbifera l. ban alu hs, rb, sj h, vi, w sd m, o msi-3446 241. dioscorea elephantipes (l'hér.) engl.* syn: dioscorea montana (burch.) spreng. boro alu hs, sj h, vi, w na m, ed, o msi-1137 242. d. esculenta (lour.) burkill mou alu gr, sj, wl h, vi, cv na m, ed, o msi-3418 a preliminary study of the chapainawabganj district’s flora 95 name common name habitat habit distribution use & status rse 243. d. glabra roxb. gach alu gr, sj, wl h, vi, cv sg m, ed, o msi-2997 244. d. pentaphylla l. jhum alu gr, sj, wl h, vi, w sd, sg m, r msi-0307 orchidaceae juss. 245. eulophia picta (r.br.) ormerod; syn: geodorum densiflorum (lam.) schltr. sankhamani wl h, er, w sd or, r msi-1595 246. rhynchostylis retusa (l.) blume kopou phool hs, wl h, pl gm, sd m, or, r msi-1967 247. vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g.don rasna gr, hs, op h, ep, w all upazilas m, or, r msi-3415 248. zeuxine nervosa (wall. ex lindl.) benth. ex trimen nervoxine orchid fl, wl h, er, w sd, sg lf, r msi-0306 249. z. strateumatica (l.) schltr. lawn orchid, soldier orchid gr, hs h, er, w sd or, r msi-0663 notes: habitat: agagricultural field, bwon brick wall, flfallowland, glgrassland, grgarden, hshomestead, mlmarginal land, opon plant, rbriver bank, , rsroadside, sjscrub jungle, wlwoodland, wtlwetland. habit: hherb, shshrub, ttree, bmbobamboo, crcreeper, cvcultivated, clclimber, ememergent, epepiphyte, er-erect, fffree floating, flfloating with rooted, plmpalm, plplanted, prprostrate/procumbent, smsubmerged, vi-vine, w wild. distribution: sdchapainawabganj sadar, gmgomastapur, nanachole, sgshibganj, vhbholahat. use: aq aquarium plant, arair purification, dydye yielding, ededible, fbfibre, lflivestock food, fffish feed, fn fence, frfruit, fufuel, gngreen manure, hchandicrafts, mmedicine, orornamental, oloil yielding, pd poison dart plant, pppaper pulp, spspice, tmtimber, vgvegetable; ccommon, ooccasional, rrare. origin:* exotic; syn.synonym. rse (reprtesentative specimens examined): msimuhammad shahidul islam. fig. 2. composition of major plant families of liliopsida of chapainawabganj district. setaria p. beauv. and eragrostis wolf with five species, and alocasia (schott) g. don, commelina l., schoenoplectiella lye, and paspalum l. with four species each. among the monocotyledons, 199 taxa (88.05%) were herbs, 11 (4.87%) were palms, eight (3.54%) were shrubs, and eight (3.54%) were bamboos. a total of 167 (73.89%) taxa of liliopsida were found in the wild, 31 (13.72%) as planted, and 28 (12.39%) as cultivated. there was a common occurrence of 58 taxa, or 23.29% of the total accounted for in chapainawabganj district, in the five upazilas, viz., chapainawabganj sadar, shibganj, nachole, gomastapur, and bholahat. these included 51 taxa of monocotyledons, five of pteridophytes, and two species of gymnosperms. out of these five upazilas, the highest number of taxa were found in chapainawabganj sadar, followed by shibganj, nachole, gomastapur, and bholahat upazilas (fig. 3). 96 islam and khan the taxonomic counts of the monocotyledonous species of the gomastapur, nachole, and bholahat upazilas that this study completed (fig. 3) are higher than the accounts on the monocotyledonous species of other upazilas cited earlier, but somewhat lower than those of chapainawabganj sadar and shibganj upazilas, almost similar to those of the monohordi, narshingdi sadar, and polash upazilas of the narshingdi district (khanam et al., 2020; khanam and khan, 2020) and satkhira sadar upazilas (hossain et al., 2021) previously reported. the jaccard coefficient also indicated that there was a 23.29% similarity in the composition of plant taxa among the five upazilas in the chapainawabganj district (fig. 4). it suggests that, rather than being similar, the species compositions in these upazilas, that is, throughout the district, were comparatively more variable. nonetheless, a comparison of the plant species composition of the chapainawabganj sadar upazila with that of the other upazilas in the chapainawabganj district reveals that there was a range of similarities, from 31.70% to 46.31%. fig. 3. plant species composition in five upazilas of chapainawabganj district. fig. 4. similarity in species composition in the upazilas of chapainawabganj district based on jaccard coefficient. fig. 5. distribution of plant species in different habitats of chapainawabganj district. a preliminary study of the chapainawabganj district’s flora 97 the species of studied plant groups in chapainawabganj district were found to be distributed in diverse habitats. but the majority of the species were well suited to grasslands, homesteads, roadsides, fallow areas, and agricultural fields; these were followed by gardens, marginal lands, marshes, scrub jungles, wooded areas, and riverbanks. a few tree species and brick walls also harboured some of the species (fig. 5). every plant species found in the district of chapainawabganj has economic value, and nearly 60.64% of these species have two or more uses (table 1). a total of 62.35% (154 species) of the studied plant groups in this district are medicinally useful. in addition, 123 species are designated as cattle food, followed by 32 ornamental, 21 edible, 11 vegetable, 10 handicraft, 9 fuel wood, and 8 paper pulp species. in addition, seven species are recognised as fibre, six as fruit and fencing, fish food, five species each for green manure, four as aquarium plants and oil-, dye-, and spice-producing, and the remaining flora are recognised as economically valuable (table 1). among the plant groups studied, 53 taxa were common, whereas 108 were found to be occasional and 88 to be rare. in terms of plant diversity and resources, the chapainawabganj district in northern bangladesh appears to be at risk. critical issues and dangers to the degradation and destruction of its habitats and ecosystems, and eventually to its flora and fauna, include drought, river bank erosion, poor regeneration of many species, various anthropogenic activities, and a lack of appropriate management strategies. drought, river bank erosion, poor regeneration of many species, different anthropogenic activities, a lack of proper management programmes, etc. were identified for knowing the critical problems and threats for degradation and destruction of its habitats and ecosystems, and ultimately for its flora and biodiversity. eulophia picta, rhynchostylis retusa, and zeuxine nervosa are found to be threatened in the chapainawabganj district based on field observation. the taxonomic data provided by this study might be useful to know about the current species composition of the three plant groups in the flora of chapainawabganj district and helpful as an important guiding database to track the trend of changes in the floristic composition, plant species diversity, vegetation, and status of threatened plant species over time, especially due to different natural and anthropogenic threats, contribute to undertaking appropriate biodiversity conservation initiatives and plant resource-based sustainable socioeconomic development, and estimate the impacts of climate change on the flora and biodiversity of this area. this study recommends improving and preserving the area's valuable flora, reducing threats to its natural habitats, conducting regular taxonomic inventories, monitoring studies and research programmes on the diversity of plants in the area, and implementing sufficient plantation programmes that use appropriate indigenous species and have effective management plans and strategies. acknowledgements the work was partly funded by the grant for advanced research in education (gare), banbeis, for which the authors are truly grateful. the authors have sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to this work, whether directly or indirectly. the chief editor and the journal reviewers are appreciated by the authors for their critical evaluation of their work. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2008–2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vols. 6–8 & 12. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 98 islam and khan ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. (eds). 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vols. 9–10. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. angiosperm phylogeny group. 2016. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg iv”, botanical journal of the linnean society 181(1): 1– 20. cronquist, a. 1988 [1968]. the evolution and classification of flowering plants. second edition, 1988. bronx, ny: the new york botanical garden, pp. 1‒555. district statistics 2011 chapainawabganj. 2013. bangladesh bureau of statistics and informatics division, ministry of planning, government of the people's republic of bangladesh. parishankhan bhaban, e27/a, agargaon, dhaka-1207, pp.1‒100. ghani, a. 1998. medicinal plants of bangladesh with chemical constituents and uses. asiatic society of bangladesh, pp. 1‒467. haque, a.k.m.k., khan, s.a., uddin, s.n. and shetu, s.s. 2018. an annotated checklist of the angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest of moulvibazar. bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 187‒ 207. hooker, j.d. 1872–1897. the flora of british india. vols. 1–7. l. reeve & co., ashford, kent, uk. hossain, g.m., khan, s.a., rahim, m.a., rahman, m.s. and islam, k.m.n. 2021. floristic composition of the coastal district satkhira, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 97‒124. jaccard, p. 1912. the distribution of the flora of the alpine zone. new phytologist 11: 37‒50. khan, m.s. 1977. onagraceae. in: khan, m.s. (ed). flora of bangladesh. fasc. 6: 1‒10. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka. khan, s.a., sultana, s., hossain, g.m., shetu, s.s., and rahim, m.a. 2021. floristic composition of jahangirnagar university campus a semi-natural area of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 27‒60. khanam, r. and khan, s.a. 2020. angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh: class liliopsida. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 391‒405. khanam, r., khan, s.a. and rahim, m.a. 2020. angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh: class magnoliopsida. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 153‒271. khatun, m.a., rashid, m.b. and hygen, h.o. 2016. climate of bangladesh. met report. bangladesh meteorological department, pp.1‒66. kramer, k.u. and green, p.s. 1990. pteridophytes and gymnosperms. in: kubitzki k. the families and genera of vascular plants. vol. 1. springer, berlin. pichi, s.r.e.g. 1977. tentamen pteridophytorum genera in taxonomicum ordinem redigendi. webbia 31: 313‒512. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols. 1 &2. reprint 1963. botanical survey of india, calcutta. rahman, m.s., hossain, g.m., khan, s.a. and uddin, s.n. 2015. an annotated checklist of the vascular plants of sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 17‒41. roy, g.k. and khan, s.a. 2020. preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora of four districts of bangladesh: magnoliopsida. bangladesh journal of plant taxon. 27(1): 37‒65.roy, g.k. and khan, s.a. 2020b. preliminary taxonomic study on homestead flora of four districts of bangladesh: liliopsida (monocotyledons) and pteridophyta. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 407‒ 425. roxburgh, w. 1814. hortus bengalensis (num.nud.). boerhaave press, leiden, holland, pp. 1–105. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.t. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vols. 5 & 11. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. sfd lite report, 2022. chapai nawabganj municipality bangladesh, produced by: cwis-fsm support cell, dphe, pp. 1‒13. a preliminary study of the chapainawabganj district’s flora 99 sultana, m. 2012. taxonomic and ethnobatanical studies on the angiospermic flora of patuakhali district in bangladesh. ph.d. thesis (unpublished). department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 1‒565. tabassum, r. 2015. angiospermic flora of gazipur district, bangladesh. doctoral dissertation. department of botany, university of dhaka, pp. 1‒707. uddin, s.n. and hassan, m.a. 2018. vascular flora of chittagong and the chittagong hill tracts: vols. 1–3. bangladesh national herbarium, zoo road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216. van valkenburg, j.l.c.h. and bunyapraphatsara. n. (eds). 2002. plant resources of south-east asia. no. 12(2). medicinal and poisonous plants 2. prosea foundation, bogor, indonesia, 782 pp. (manuscript received on 5 january, 2024; revised on 10 june, 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 57-71, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74389 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a taxonomic revision of axonopus p. beauv. (poaceae: panicoideae) in india suparna saha1, manasi mandal2, sreyoshee sensarma3, subhasmit bhattacharyya4, durga kumar pradhan5 and debabrata maity1* 1taxonomy and biosystematics laboratory, department of botany, university of calcutta, kolkata 700 019, west bengal, india 2department of botany, sundarban hazi desarat college, pathankhali 743611, west bengal 3eastern regional centre, botanical survey of india, shillong, meghalaya793003 4botanical survey of india, northern regional centre,192 kaulagarh road, dehra dun 248 195, india 5quality control laboratory-harc-sikkim state forest herbarium (ssfh), forests and environment department, government of sikkim, gangtok 737102, india keywords: axonopus; eastern himalaya; revision; paspaleae; poaceae. abstract the status of the genus axonopus p.beauv. in india has been varyingly depicted by different workers so far. after comprehensive study, two species, namely a. compressus (sw.) p. beauv. and a. fissifolius (raddi) kuhlm., are justified for the country. the distributional incongruity of both species in india is unravelled here. the present record of a. fissifolius in sikkim confirms its extended distribution to the indian eastern himalaya. additionally, this species is also reported for the first time from meghalaya. detailed descriptions of both species are appended here. illustrations and photoplates, along with notes on habitat, phenology, and distribution, are also presented. a key to the indian species of axonopus is incorporated for correct identification and easy recognition. introduction the american genus axonopus p.beauv. of grass tribe paspaleae (subfamily panicoideae, family poaceae) (kellogg, 2015; soreng et al., 2015, 2017) includes approximately 78 species globally (powo 2024). the members of the genus are mainly found in tropical africa, central u.s.a. to tropical and subtropical america and easter island, with some species seemingly introduced in the old world (chen and phillips, 2006; giraldo-cañas, 2008; mabberlay, 2017; powo, 2024; wfo, 2024). the genus has great economic importance as fodder (viz., a. fissifolius (raddi) kuhlm., a. obtusifolius (raddi) chase, a. purpusii (mez) chase, a. scoparius (flüggé) kuhlm., a. suffultus (mikan ex trin.) parodi) as well as ornamentals (viz., a. aureus p. beauv., a. brasiliensis (spreng.) kuhlm., a. compressus (sw.) p. beauv.) (black, 1963; nicora and rúgolo de agrasar, 1987; giulietti et al., 1988). apparently though the genus looks like digitaria haller or paspalum l. due to almost similar appearance of synflorescence, however, the following combination of characters: 2–many mostly sub-digitately arranged slender racemes, sometimes spread along a short central axis, solitary, adaxial, subsessile, unawned spikelets alternately arranged in 2 rows in each raceme, total absence of lower glume and lower palea and crustaceous upper floret, immediately make the genus distinct from these two allied genera as well as from other related genera of the tribe (noltie, 2000). the monophyly of axonopus is strongly recommended by lópez and morrone (2012) and delfini et al. (2020). they advocated inclusion of centrochloa swallen and ophiochloa filg., *corresponding author, e-mail: debmaity@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74389 mailto:debmaity@yahoo.com 58 saha et al. davidse & zuloaga within the generic circumscription of axonopus, supported by both morphological and molecular evidences. gledhill (1964) discussed the origin and taxonomy of the west african representatives of axonopus. the genus in europe was first revised by diego giraldo-cañas (2008) and five new synonyms were proposed for axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv. and a. scoparius (flüggé) kuhlm. cytogenetic and evolutionary relationships in the genus axonopus were illustrated by hickenbick (1975). the suitability of axonopus compressus for the removal of petroleum hydrocarbons from contaminated soil was assessed by bordoloi et al. (2012). ibeh and ezeaja (2011) studied the antidiabetic activity of methanolic leaf extract of axonopus compressus in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. the genus is variously interpreted by different researchers in terms of number of species in india resulting in confusion. besides, regional distribution in the country (state wise) differs substantially in different literature. while surveying the grass flora of north sikkim, few notable specimens of axonopus were collected from chungthang and lachen. after critical examination of the collected materials and perusal of relevant literature (noltie, 2000; chen and phillips, 2006), these were identified as a. fissifolius (raddi) kuhlm. this discovery constitutes the first instance of this species in the indian eastern himalaya. in addition, during the present investigation two specimens of the genus collected from shillong, meghalaya were located at cal (deka 18394; identified as a. compressus) and assam (rup chand 8195; identified as a. fissifolius). both the specimens were reexamined and meticulous observation revealed that rup chand 8195 was rightly identified as a. fissifolius, while deka 18394 also appears to be a. fissifolius. this finding validates the species' wider distributional range, extending to meghalaya, the second state in northeast india after assam. besides, though several workers (naithani and raizada, 1977; naithani, 1990; shukla, 1996; kellogg et al., 2020) claimed this species for uttar pradesh, however, it is now excluded from the flora of the state with evidence. on the contrary, report of this species from uttarakhand is accepted with justification. in this communication, a revision of axonopus in india is presented based on field observation as well as study of the herbarium specimens. in addition, we illustrate the current distribution of both species in the country. the new distributional records of a. fissifolius are elucidated with evidence. the elaborate morphological descriptions of both members, along with detailed citations and type information, are incorporated herewith for better taxonomic understanding. hand drawings and photo plates are also included for easy recognition and correct identification. habitat information, phenological data, exsiccate and key to the indian species of the genus are also provided. materials and methods rigorous field surveys have been conducted during 2021-2024 in different parts of india and a considerable number of specimens of axonopus were collected. during collection, all relevant field data have been recorded to understand the morphological attributes of the members of the genus and also to observe the variation and variability of morphological features between the populations and even within the population, if any. the characters which are widely used in segregating species as discussed earlier have been critically encountered in the field itself. digital photographs have been captured. specimens were collected at least in triplicates from each population. to ascertain the taxonomy and distribution of both the members of the genus in india, collections of axonopus housed at arun, assam, bsa, bsd, bsid, bshc, cuh, cal, dd, mh, pbl and tbgt were rigorously studied. relevant literature were also consulted. the a taxonomic revision of axonopus p. beauv. (poaceae: panicoideae) 59 identity of both the species was confirmed after having an eye to the protologues and matching with the type specimens or digital images of the types as well as with other authentic specimens available at jstor and other online herbarium databases. voucher specimens are deposited at cuh for future reference. results and discussion taxonomic treatment axonopus p. beauv., ess. agrostogr. 12.1812; hooker, j. d. in hooker, j. d., fl. brit. india 7:63.1896; prain, bengal pl. 2:1173.1903 (rep. 1963); bor, fl. assam 5:268.1940 et grass. burma ceylon india pakistan 277.1960; shukla, grass. north-eastern india 308.1996; noltie, fl. bhutan 3(2): 716.2000; bhat and nagendran, sedge. garss. 182.2001; chen and phillips in wu et al., fl. china 22:530.2006; kabeer and nair, fl. tamil nadu grass. 213.2009; potdar et al., grass. maharashtra 301.2012; sur and roy choudhury, grass. fl. west bengal, india 92.2015; sinha et al., pl. indian himal. reg. annot. checkl. pict. guid. 2:786.2019; veldkamp et al. in middleton et al., fl. singapore 7:262.2019; prasanna et al. in mao and dash, flower. pl. india annot. checkl. monocot. 3:326.2020; kellogg et al., checkl. grass. india 207.2020; siddabathula and prasanna, grass. telengana 170.2023. lectotype: axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv. (≡milium compressum sw.). lt designated by hitchcock in contr. u.s. natl. herb. 12: 142. 1908; chase, proc. biol. soc. wash. 24: 129. 1911. stoloniferous perennials (rarely annuals); stolons spreading, compressed. culms short, erect, single-noded. leaves sub-basal; leaf blades flat or involute, oblong, blunt or obtuse; ligule short, membranous, truncate, ciliolate; leaf sheaths compressed, keeled. synflorescence of 2–many slender racemes, mostly sub-digitate, sometimes along a short central axis; racemes linear, spikelets borne singly, alternate on opposite sides of the triquetrous rachis. spikelets sessile or subsessile, lanceolate to oblong, flatly biconvex, adaxial, compressed, unawned, muticous, falling entire. glume solitary; lower glume absent; upper glume facing away from rachis, back flat, 2–7veined with 1–3 marginal veins on either side, midvein faint or absent, membranous. florets 2; lower floret sterile, epaleate; lower lemma similar to and about equaling upper glume; upper floret bisexual, compressed; upper lemma crustaceous to coriaceous, back flat, punctate, margins opaque and incurved, tightly enclosing the palea; upper palea flat-backed, crustaceous. lodicules 2. stamens 3. pistil 1; style 2, free; stigmas plumose, exserted laterally. caryopsis elliptic, dorsally compressed, totally enclosed by indurate upper palea and lemma. distribution: the native range of this genus is tropical africa, central u.s.a. to tropical & subtropical america and easter island, with some species seemingly introduced in africa, asiatemperate, asia-tropical, australasia, europe, northern america and pacific (chen and phillips, 2006; giraldo-cañas, 2008; mabberlay, 2017; powo, 2024; wfo, 2024). axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv., ess. agrost. 12, 154, 167.1812; bor, fl. assam 5:269.1940 et grass. burma ceylon india pakistan 278.1960; hara, fl. eastern himal. 352.1966; shukla, grass. north-eastern india 310.1996; noltie, fl. bhutan 3(2):717.2000; bhat and nagendran, sedge. garss. 182.2001; chen and phillips in wu et al., fl. china 22:531.2006; kabeer and nair, fl. tamil nadu grass. 213.2009; potdar et al., grass. maharashtra 301.2012; sur and roy choudhury, grass. fl. west bengal, india 92.2015; sinha et al., pl. indian himal. reg. annot. checkl. pict. guid. 2:786. 2019; veldkamp et al. in middleton et al., fl. singapore 7:262.2019; prasanna et al. in mao and dash, fl. pl. india annot. checkl. monocot. 3:326.2020; 60 saha et al. kellogg et al., checkl. grass. india 208.2020; siddabathula and prasanna, grass. telengana 170.2023. milium compressum sw., prodr. 24. 1788. lectotype: jamaica, r. shakespear s.n. (bm [bm000578790, digital image seen], designated by pohl & davidse, fl. mesoamer. 6: 357.1991). paspalum compressum (sw.) raspail (1825), nom. illeg.; p. tristachyon lam. (1791) {type: “ex america merid. communic. d. richard.” south america; l.c.m. richard s.n. (p-lam, not seen; baa, baa00002565, digital image seen; us, us00140865, digital image seen)}; p. platicaulon poir. (1804) [as “platycaule” in ipni]; digitaria platicaulis (poir) desv. (1831); panicum platicaulon (poir.) kuntze (1898) (as “platycaulon”); anastrophus platycaulis (poir.) nash (1903) {type: “cette espece a été recueillie a porto ricco, par le citoyen ledru.” puerto rico; a.p. ledrú s.n. (p-lam, not seen; us, us00140744 & us00140745, digital images seen)}; paspalum platyculmum thouars ex nees (1829) {type: “habitat in insula s. mauritii.”(not seen)}; p. depressum steud. (1853) {type: usa: louisiana; f.x.von hartmann 51 (p, p00753081, digital image seen)}; p. filostachyum a. rich. ex steud. (1853) {type: west indies; f.w. sieber 365 (p, not seen; us, us00140655, digital image seen)}; p. guadaloupense steud. (1853) {type: guadeloupe; duchaissing s.n. (p, not seen)}; p. raunkiaerii mez. (1917) {type: antillarum insula st. jan; raunkiaer 1313 (us, us00140795, digital image seen; c, c10016782, digital image seen)}; p. laticulmum spreng. (1824; “1825”), nom. superfl. & illeg. for p. tristachyon; agrostis compressa (sw.) poir. (1810), non axonopus compressa willd.1790; digitaria domingensis desv. ex kunth.1833, non roem. & schult. (1817); anastrophus compressus sensu schltr. ex döll. (1877), nonb schltdl. (1850). (figs 2 & 3) perennial. culms creeping or stoloniferous, sometimes mat forming, erect while flowering, 15–32 cm tall, terete; nodes bearded, brownish, lower ones rooting. leaf blades broadly linear or lanceolate, 5–20 × 0.6–1.2 cm, apex obtuse, margin ciliate, otherwise glabrous or adaxial surface pilose; ligule 0.8–1 mm long, membranous, truncate, apex finely fimbriate, base narrowed; leaf sheaths 2.5–8 cm long, margins usually sparsely tuberculate hairy. spikelets arranged in terminal racemes; racemes 3, digitate or sub-digitate, 5.5–9 cm long; peduncles ca. 6 cm long, short, enclosed by sheath; rachis triquetrous, ca. 0.5 mm wide, margin winged, serrulate; spikelets subsessile, in 2-rows, alternate, linear-oblong, 2–3 × 0.65–1 mm, acute or acuminate, shaggy hairy; pedicels 0.4–1.5 mm, flat. glume 1; lower glume absent; upper glume elliptic, oblong or oblonglanceolate, 2–2.5 × 0.4–1 mm, acute to acuminate and never overtopped by hairs, chartaceous, flat, appressed hairs forming a line on both sides of mid-vein, 5-veined, appressed-hairy on veins, margins incurved with long, woolly hairs below. florets 2, lower sterile and upper bisexual; lower lemma elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 1.7–3 × 0.5–0.9 mm, acuminate to apiculate, flat, appressed hairs forming a line on both sides of mid-vein, 5-veined, appressed-hairy on veins, margins incurved; lower palea absent; upper lemma elliptic-lanceolate, 1.3–2.5 × 0.4–1 mm, apex blunt to acute with tuft of cilia, margin tightly enclosing palea, sub-coriaceous to crustaceous, faintly 3veined, pale green; upper palea oblong or elliptic, 1.4–2.5 × 0.5–0.8 mm, acute or obtuse, margin inrolled, sub-coriaceous to crustaceous, faintly 2-veined, pale green. lodicules 2, 0.2–0.4 × 0.2– 0.3 mm, membranous, hyaline. stamens 3; filaments 0.3–0.5 mm long; anthers 0.6–1.2 × ca. 0.2 mm, yellowish to purplish. pistil 1: ovary oblongoid-ellipsoid, 0.3–1 mm long; styles 2, straight, 0.5–1.3 mm; stigmas 2, 0.8–1.5 mm, plumose, yellowish to brownish. caryopsis oblongoid, 1–2 × ca. 0.6 mm, flat, greenish. flowering and fruiting: almost throughout the year a taxonomic revision of axonopus p. beauv. (poaceae: panicoideae) 61 habitat: prefer to grow in open forest margins, as weed along roadsides, in waste ground, neglected garden and orchards in association with digitaria ciliaris (retz.) koeler (poaceae), paspalum conjugatum bergius (poaceae), etc. distribution: india: andaman & nicobar islands, andhra pradesh, arunachal pradesh, assam, bihar, chhattisgarh, himachal pradesh, jharkhand, karnataka, kerala, madhya pradesh, maharashtra, meghalaya, odisha, sikkim, tamil nadu, telengana, uttarakhand, uttar pradesh, west bengal. native to tropical and subtropical america; introduced and naturalized in africa, asia-temperate, asia-tropical, australasia, europe, northern america, pacific (powo, 2024; wfo, 2024). [up to 2300 m amsl] specimens examined: andaman & nicobar islands, rangat, 46 m, 15.10.59, thampi h.c. 5 (cal); little andaman, hut bay, sea level, 20.11.1977, bhargava 6523; great nicobar, 35 km north & south road to galasthea river, 23 m, 25.05.2012, prabhu & sathiyaseelan 0753 (all at pbl). andhra pradesh, towards chinthim from maredumilli, ±550 m, 16-10-94, m. mohanan 102514 (mh). assam, lakhimpur, tinsukia, july-1937, n.l.bor s.n. (dd); digboi forest bunglow compound, 10.07.1959, panigrahi 18950 & 18951 (cal); bokajan, 25.01.74, neogi 56914; kamrup, g.u. campus, 1132 m, 09.05.74, neogi 57022; manas, mathnguri, 07.06.74, neogi 57072; borail, wls, near kalainchurra, 27.08.2012, barbhuiya 930; bhutto bagan, 50 m, 29.08.2013, deori & tahakdu 115421(all at assam); duhalia r.f., 20.04.2014, moonmee devi 12379 (assam, cal). chhattisgarh, korba, cg, 10.09.2009, tiwari 99612 (bsa, two specimens, not seen). karnataka, bhadravathi, s.d., a.n.sindhe 204 (cal); subramanya, south kanara, 500/, 9.2.1952, h sunanda kamath 94244 (mh). kerala, peermede, travancore, 3200/, 2.12.1941, without collector’s name, 20223 (mh); peaty soils, 3.11.56, b.d.patil 783; vazhoor, 04.11.56, b.d.patil 802; chandanathode, ±825 m, 24.02.1979, v.s.ramachandran 61351; nedumpoyil, ±500 m, 12.12.1979, v.s.ramachandran 64072; panathur, 250 m, 29.6.1980, r.ansari 67905; kurumathur, 250 m, 23.09.1982, r.ansari 73963; kumarakom, below 5 m, 2812-1983 v.t.antony 14 (all at cal); garden site, 25.10.84, k.c.koshy 487; chemingi, agasthyamala, 18.3.93, n.moharan 11343; sultan battery, nilgiri biosphere reserve, 23.07.2012, remya. j & prasanna. r 73707; jntbgri, 27.02.2013, k.c.koshy 70542; vssc thuma, 5.2.14, teema joseph 85149 (all at tbgt). madras (chennai), ghat, r.f. coonoor, 1666 m, 27-7-1957, k.m.sebastine 4054; arankattumalai, kakachi, 1733 m, 7-5-1958, k.m.sebastine 5807; near kumili, 850 m, 22.06.1959, subramanyam 8147; near periyar dam, 980 m, 19.10.1959, subramanyam 9449 (all at cal). manipur, nambol, bishnupur district, 776 m, 26.10.2013, dui 11289; bamonkampu, imphal east district, 783 m, 02.11.2013, diu 12012 (all at assam). meghalaya, shillong, area infront of nirala bunglow, 23.11.1956, panigrahi 3791 (assam, cal). telengana, rangareddy district, hyderabad, lacones snr s.n. (bsid). tamil nadu, kotagiri, s.d., sindhe 216; shembaganur, 6000 ft, oct 1955, without collector’s name, 47 (all at cal); nadugani sholar, gudalur, ±600-700 m, 21.7.2003, k. althof ahamed kabeer 116248 (mh). uttarakhand, bangapani, gori valley pithoragarh, 20.09.03, kandwal 155; hudki village, pithoragarh, 26.07.04, kandwal 3348 (all at bsd). west bengal, ballygunj, calcutta, 13.11.1919, nuskriji 2; ajc bose indian botanic garden, near the big banyan tree, 14/12/20, p.m.debbarman s.n.; near oreodoxa avenue, 15/12/20, p.m.debbarman s.n.; near palm avenue, 15/12/20, p.m.debbarman s.n.; near the herbarium, 15/12/20, p.m.debbarman s.n. buxa, santrabari, 700/, 23.5.49, v.narayanaswami & party 2940; ibg, 20th div., 2.11.1966, sharma v.s. s-590; botanic garden, howrah, student garden’s sides, 4-12-1967, d.k.banerjee 4882; west dinajpur, ranigunj, 01.11.1983, r.n.banerjee & m.c.biswas 16108; west dinajpur, islampur, 22.4.1984, r.n.banerjee & party 17554; west dinajpur, ranigunj, 20.8.1984, r.n.banerjee & party 17569 (all at cal); howrah, bokultala, near ajc bose indian botanic 62 saha et al. garden gate, 15 m, 19.11.2018, saha 16622; kalimpong, samsing, suntalekhola, 99 m, 26.04.2023, maity, roy and halder 21 (all at cuh). axonopus fissifolius (raddi) kuhlm., relat. commiss. linhas telegr. estratég. matto grosso amazonas 5(11):87.1922; chen and phillips, in wu et al., fl. china 22:531.2006; veldkamp et al. in middleton et al., fl. singapore 7:264.2019; prasanna et al. in mao and dash, fl. pl. india annot. checkl. monocot. 3:326.2020; kellogg et al., checkl. grass. india 209.2020. paspalum fissifolium raddi, agrostogr. bras. 26.1823. lectotype: raddi s.n. (pi [pi041257, digital image seen], designated by judziewicz, fl. guianas, ser. a, phanerogams 8: 98.1990); isolectotypes (baa [baa00001538, digital image seen], bm [bm000578791, not seen], fi [fi004592, digital image seen], g [not seen], k [k000643281, digital image seen], us [us00140658, digital image seen], w [w19040012152, digital image seen]). axonopus affinis chase (1938); a. compressus var. affinis (chase) hend. (1954) {type: usa: mississippi: waynesboro, in low moist ground, 2 oct. 1896, t.h. kearney 175 (holotype us [us00139602, digital image seen]; isotypes gh [gh00023151, digital image seen], mo [mo-016675, digital image seen], us [us00139603, digital image seen])}; paspalum xizangense b.s.sun & h.sun (2001) {type: medog, beibeng, 950m, 24 sep 1992, sum hang et al. 0042 (holotype kun [not seen]; isotype yunu [not seen])}. (figs 1, 4 & 5) stoloniferous perennials, often mat-forming. culms compressed, 2.5–50 cm tall, nodes glabrous, green to purplish red. leaf blades broadly linear, folded, 2–20 × 0.2–0.6 cm, obtuse, margin pilose near the base only, otherwise glabrous; upper one (just below the racemes, often known as ‘flag leaf’) always distinctly smaller; ligule membranous, 0.2–0.3 mm, truncate, densely ciliolate at apex and back; leaf sheaths compressed, 1.7–7 cm long, strongly keeled, glabrous. spikelets arranged in racemes; racemes 2–4, 2-paired, any others spaced slightly below, 3–6 cm long, slightly diverging; rachis glabrous; peduncle long exserted from upper leaf sheath; spikelets oblong-elliptic or ovate-elliptic, 1.5–2.5 × 0.6–0.8 mm, subacute, apex and margins pilose. glumes 1; lower glume absent; upper glume oblong or ovate, 1.8–2.5 × 0.6–1 mm, blunt to subacute and always overtopped by hairs, flat, margins incurved, 4-veined laterally, mid-vein absent, membranous, appressed-hairy, with long, woolly hairs abaxially and along margins. floret 2; lower sterile, upper bisexual; lower lemma oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, 1.8–2 × 0.6-0.9 mm, acuminate to apiculate, 2-veined laterally, midvein absent, flat, margins incurved, membranous, appressed-hairy near apex; lower palea absent; upper lemma oblong-elliptic or oblong-ovate, compressed, 1.4–1.7 × 0.7–1 mm, obtuse to blunt, with short apical tuft of cilia, crustaceous, margin membranous, pale; upper palea elliptic, 1.3–1.6 × 0.6–0.8 mm, similar to lemma but glabrous. lodicules 2, oblong-obovate, 0.2-0.3 × ca. 0.2 mm, membranous. stamens 3; anthers 0.7–0.8 × 0.2–0.3 mm, yellow, becoming purple at maturity; filaments 0.3–0.4 mm long, hyaline. pistil 1; ovary 1, oblongoid, 0.3–0.4 × 0.2–0.3 mm; styles 2, 0.4–0.5 mm long; stigmas 2, 0.5–1 mm long, plumose, yellow, becoming purple at maturity. caryopsis ellipsoid or oblongoidellipsoid, 1–1.1 × 0.5–0.6 mm, obtuse, glabrous; hilum obovoid ca. 0.3 mm long. flowering and fruiting: march-october habitat: prefer to grow along the roadside green patches in association with ageratina adenophora (spreng.) r.m.king & h.rob. (asteraceae), artemisia vulgaris l. (asteraceae), cuphea carthagenensis (jacq.) j.f.macbr. (lythraceae), galinsoga parviflora cav. (asteraceae), paspalum distichum l. (poaceae), thysanolaena latifolia (roxb. ex hornem.) honda (poaceae), etc. a taxonomic revision of axonopus p. beauv. (poaceae: panicoideae) 63 fig. 1. axonopus fissifolius (raddi) kuhlm.: a. habit; b. synflorescence; c. a single raceme. 64 saha et al. fig. 2. axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv.: a. spikelet; b. upper glume (abaxial surface); c. upper glume (adaxial surface); d. lower lemma (abaxial surface); e. lower lemma (adaxial surface); f. upper lemma (abaxial surface); g. upper lemma (adaxial surface); h. upper palea (abaxial surface); i. upper palea (adaxial surface); j. lodicules; k. stamens & pistil; l. caryopsis a taxonomic revision of axonopus p. beauv. (poaceae: panicoideae) 65 fig. 3. axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv.: a. habit; b. ligule; c. spikelet; d. upper glume; e. lower lemma; f. upper lemma; g. upper palea; h. lodicules; i. stamens & pistil; j. caryopsis. illustrated by suparna saha from saha 16622 & maity, roy and halder 21. 66 saha et al. fig. 4. axonopus fissifolius (raddi) kuhlm.: a. spikelet; b. upper glume (abaxial surface); c. upper glume (adaxial surface); d. lower lemma (abaxial surface); e. lower lemma (adaxial surface); f. upper lemma (abaxial surface); g. upper lemma (adaxial surface); h. upper palea (abaxial surface); i. upper palea (adaxial surface); j. lodicules; k. stamens & pistil; l. stamens & pistil (at maturity); m. caryopsis a taxonomic revision of axonopus p. beauv. (poaceae: panicoideae) 67 fig. 5. axonopus fissifolius (raddi) kuhlm.: a. habit; b. ligule; c. spikelet; d. upper glume (abaxial surface); e. upper glume (adaxial surface); f. lower lemma (abaxial surface); g. lower lemma (adaxial surface); h. upper lemma (abaxial surface); i. upper lemma (adaxial surface); j. upper palea (abaxial surface); k. upper palea (adaxial surface); l. lodicules; m. stamens & pistil; n. caryopsis. illustrated by suparna saha from maity, mandal, ghosh, midday, saha and halder 24810. 68 saha et al. distribution: india: andaman & nicobar islands (doubtful), assam, meghalaya (present report), sikkim (present report), uttarakhand; china, bhutan, myanmar, singapore, taiwan (noltie, 2000; chen and phillips, 2006; veldkamp et al., 2019). [1000-2300 m amsl] specimens examined: meghalaya, khasi hills, 1524 m, s.d., rupchand 8195 (assam); shillong, khasi & jaintia hills, 28.8.1959, g.k.deka 18394 (2 herbartium sheets at cal). sikkim, towards lachen, 2250 m, 12.06.2022, maity, mandal, ghosh, midday, saha and halder 24810; chungthang to lachung, 19.08.2023, maity, mandal, ghosh, saha and halder 26805; near munsithang, 19.08.2023, maity, mandal, ghosh, saha and halder 26820; chungthang, 1618 m, 20.08.2023, maity, mandal, ghosh, saha and halder 26842; phodong, 1656 m, 20.08.2023, maity, mandal, ghosh, saha and halder 26846 (all at cuh). key to the indian species of axonopus 1. culm nodes bearded; leaf blades 0.6-1.2 cm across, margin long-ciliate; longest raceme spicate to base; glume apex acute, never overtopped by hairs; upper floret shorter than spikelet a. compressus culm nodes glabrous; leaf blades 0.2-0.6 cm across, margin eciliate, pilose near base only; longest raceme espicate at base; glume apex blunt, overtopped by hairs; upper floret equaling spikelet a. fissifolius note: many workers claimed only a. compressus (sw.) p. beauv. in india (kabeer and nair, 2009; potdar et al., 2012; sur and roy choudhary, 2015), though in the past, shukla (1996) reported a. fissifolius (raddi) kuhlm. from the then uttar pradesh and assam in addition to the former while studying the grasses of north-eastern india. recently, prasanna et al. (2020), kellogg et al. (2020), and siddabathula and prasanna (2023) also listed both species for the country. likewise, the regional distribution within the nation (state-by-state) also varies significantly. prasanna et al. (2020) reported a. compressus in 14 states of india, including jharkhand, odisha, and sikkim. on the other hand, kellogg et al. (2020), though recorded the same species also in these 14 states of india but did not includ jharkhand, odisha, and sikkim. on the contrary, they reported the species in arunachal pradesh, himachal pradesh, and uttar pradesh, which are not mentioned by prasanna et al. (2020). notably, tiwari and ansari (2014) and bawistale (2016) recorded a. compressus in chhattisgarh and madhya pradesh, respectively, however, both prasanna et al. (2020) and kellogg et al. (2020) did not recognize the species for these two states. recently, siddabathula and prasanna (2023) recorded this species in telengana. in the case of a. fissifolius, the same contradiction prevails. according to naithani and raizada (1977), a. fissifolius was first recorded by r.b. majumdar, as evident from his note on the herbarium sheet naithani 1868 (cal), where he stated that “i have also reported it from assam, where it is also naturalized. but my report has not yet been published”. however, naithani and raizada (1977) published the first evidence on its occurrence in india from dehra dun. later on, naithani (1990) stated its distribution in uttar pradesh. subsequently, referring to naithani and raizada (1977), its distribution in uttar pradesh was also reported by shukla (1996), though no specimen was scrutinized by him. notably, uniyal et al. (2007) did not include the genus axonopus in the checklist of flowering plants in uttarakhand. on the other hand, while updating the grass flora of uttarakhand, kandwal and gupta (2009) reported only a. compressus for the state. furthermore, under the present investigation, one specimen collected from gori valley region of uttarakhand and identified as a. affinis (≡a. fissifolius) has been traced at bsd. though a taxonomic revision of axonopus p. beauv. (poaceae: panicoideae) 69 it apparently looks like a. fissifolius, in-depth character assessment confirms its identity as a. compressus. recently, kellogg et al. (2020) documented this species in uttar pradesh based on naithani (1990). but we failed to trace any representative specimen in any herbaria collected from present day uttar pradesh. notably, naithani and raizada (1977) recorded this species in dehra dun, the capital of uttarakhand, and thus the distributional data by kellogg et al. (2020) is corrected here for this state. therefore, uttar pradesh is excluded from the distributional range of this species, which also corroborates agnihotri et al. (2023), where the genus axonopus is not considered under the recent floristic checklist of the state. prasanna et al. (2020) claimed the distribution of a. fissifolius in andaman & nicobar islands and assam. but specimens from neither of the states have been traced during this study, hence, the existence of the species in these two states is doubtful. acknowledgements we are grateful to the vice chancellor, university of calcutta for facilities and support. we are beholden to the university grants commission (ugc) and science & engineering research board (serb), dst-fist, dbt-builder, govt. of india for financial assistance and the department of forests, environment and wildlife management, govt. of sikkim, home department, govt. of sikkim, superintendent of police, gangtok and 17th mtn. division, indian army for permitting and supporting our field visit. authors are grateful to the director, botanical survey of india, head of office, central national herbarium (cal) and in-charge, sikkim himalayan circle (botanical survey of india) for giving permission to consult herbarium. curators of all the herbaria cited in this paper (assam, bsa, bsd, bshc, cal, dd, mh, pbl, tbgt) are acknowledged here for making it easy to carry out studies on grasses. we express our gratitude to dr. b. ranjan (bsa), dr. wilson arisdason (mh) and dr. lalji singh (pbl) for providing important information on the distribution of the species. we thank sanchayita sengupta and sreyoshee nayak for their assistance and help. references agnihotri, p., yadav, r., jaiswal, s., prasad, r., prabhukumar, k.m., wagh, v.v. and rana, t.s. 2023. a checklist of angiosperms in uttar pradesh, india. in: rana, t.s., agnihotri, p. and prabhukumar, k.m. 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(manuscript received on 23 july, 2023; revised on 6 june, 2024) http://www.worldfloraonline.org. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 141-154, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2. 74394 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morpho-molecular characterization of endophytic fungi associated with aquilaria malaccensis lam. mehnaz zafrin, shamim shamsi* and md. abdullah al noman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: endophytic fungi; agarwood; morphological identification; its sequencing. abstract a total of 26 fungal isolates were identified from aquilaria malaccensis lam. (agarwood). among them aspergillus flavus link type-1, aspergillus flavus link type-2, aspergillus niger tiegh. type. 1, aspergillus niger tiegh. type. 2, aspergillus sp. 1, aspergillus sp. 2, alternaria alternata (fr.) keissl., curvularia lunata (wakker) boedijn, penicillum digitatum (pers.) sacc., penicillium commune thom, penicillum italicum wehmer, penicillium sp. 1, penicillium sp. 2, penicillium sp. 3, penicillium sp. 4, eupenicillium sp. 1, eupenicillium sp. 2, sphaeropsis sp. sacc. and harknessia sp. cooke. were identified by morphological analysis and alternaria tenuissima (kunze) wiltshire, alternaria palandui ayyangar, fusarium sporotrichioides sherb., lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griffon & maubl., lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae a.j.l. phillips, a. alves & cronus, diaporthe hongkongensis r.r. gomes, glienke & cronus and diaporthe perseae (zerova) r.r. gomes, glienke & cronus were identifed upto genus level by morphological analysis, which were later on identified and confirmed at species level by molecular analysis. among these isolated fungal speciesalternaria palandui, diaporthe hongkongensis, diaporthe perseae and lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae have been reported as newly recorded species and harknessia sp. and sphaeropsis sp. were reported as new generic records for bangladesh. introduction endophytes are organisms that live their entire lives or for a specific period of time during their life cycles inside their host tissues without causing visible harm or morphological changes. these organisms include bacteria, actinomycetes, mycoplasma and fungus. most endophytes are capable of synthesizing bioactive secondary compounds that may provide plants with a defense against pathogens and some of these compounds may be useful for novel drug discovery (guo et al., 2008; yan et al., 2011). endophytic fungi have been found to be present in almost all plants, including those that have colonized the arctic and antarctic, deserts, oceans, and tropical rainforests (ding et al., 2015; jin et al., 2021). agar tree (aquilaria malaccensis lam.) belonging to thymelaeaceae family, is widely known for the production of aromatic, dark and resinous heartwood that is commonly named agarwood, eaglewood, aloeswood and gaharuwood (aguru in bengali) (bouverie, 1885). this aromatic heartwood or agarwood is originated from the natural defence mechanism of the plant against the fungal infections on different parts of agar tree caused by various endophytic fungi (hartono et al., 2019). agarwood has a very high economic value as the essential oil obtained from agarwood is considered as the most expensive (islam and chowdhary, 2017). it is used in luxury perfume production and also in manufacturing soap and shampoos (chakrabarty et al., 1994). by the investigation of interrelated studies, agarwood has *corresponding author. e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com. a part of the ms thesis of the first author. mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com 142 zafrin et al. significantly high anticancer activities (gunasekera et al., 1981), analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities (zhou et al., 2008), and anti-depression activities (okugawa et al., 1993; 1996). it is used for treating diseases of female genital organ (chakrabarty et al., 1994), asthma (anon, 1995), jaundice (chakrabarty et al., 1994), rheumatism and other body pain (burkill, 1966). high grade agarwood powder is used in production of pharmaceutical tinctures (beek and phillips, 1999) and agar dust is used in making incense sticks or coils for indoor fragrance and also used for religious ceremonies (yaacob, 1999). endophytic fungi isolated from different parts of agar plant may have significant potential in the production of the aromatic and resinous agarwood used for therapeutic, industrial and religious purposes. the present study describes the isolation and identification of (morphologically and molecularly) endophytic fungi from aquilaria malaccensis 4 different locations of dhaka and sylhet district. materials and methods sample collection mature and healthy leaf, stem and bark samples of aquilaria malaccensis lam. were collected from 4 different locations a. jagadishpur tea estate, post office: itakhola, police station: madhabpur, district: habiganj; b. chundeechara tea estate, post office: chandpu bagan, police station: chunarughat, district: habiganj; c. botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka; d. botanical garden, mirpur, dhaka. isolation of fungi endophytes associated with selected samples were isolated using the "tissue planting method" (cab, 1968) on potato dextrose agar medium. the preserved leaf, stem and bark samples of aquilaria malaccensis lam. were cleaned under running tap water to get rid of the dust and debris before being preparation of inocula.. under aseptic conditions, 5×5 mm² sized iinocula were prepared using sterilized scissor and placed in sterilize petri plates. fig. 1. surface sterilized innocula of aquilaria malaccensis – a. roots, b. stems and c. leaves. each of leaf, stem and root samples in the petri plates was washed with distilled water for 2 minites ubmerged in a 2–4% aqueous clorox solution for one and a half minutes. sterilized inocula were rinsing, the samples were placed within petri plates under aseptic conditions on sterilized filter sheets to surface dry (fig. 1). on sterilized petri plates with potato dextrose agar medium (pda), the surface-sterilized inocula were inoculated on patri plates with pda medium. each petri dish was contained 15 ml of pda, 1 drop (0.03 ml) of lactic acid, and three inocula were placed in each petridish. for each sample, a total of 9 petri plates with 27 inocula (with morpho-molecular characterization of endophytic fungi 143 replications r1, r2, and r3) were employed. from june 2022 to january 2023, a total of 48 isolations of the leaf, stem, and bark of the agar plant were completed. the isolation method was done 4 times for agar plant of each location (4 times for leaf, 4 times for stem and 4 times for bark). lactic acid was used to stop bacterial growth while pda was utilized as a growth medium. petri plates with pda medium and inocula were incubated in the incubation chamber at a temperature of 28ºc. after 5 days, using sterilized needles viable hyphae at the edge of fungal colonies were selected and transferred to a new pda plate to obtain pure cultures. morphological identification of fungi morphological identification of the isolated fungi were determined following the standard literature (thom et al.,1945; booth, 1971; ellis, 1971, 1976; barnett et al., 1972; benoit et al., 1970; sutton, 1980). molecular characterization of fungi in case of molecular identification of the fungi, protocol was used following noman et al. (2021). dna extraction on pda medium, fungi were cultivated for 10 days at 28°c. by using a sterile spatula to scrape the surface of cultures that were 10 days old from the petri plates, fungal mycelium was obtained. each isolate's fungal mycelium weighed one gram, and it was placed in a 1.5 ml sterile eppendorf tube. in each eppendorf tube, 400 µl of sterile extraction buffer (200 mm tris-hci, 250 mm nacl, 25 mm edta, 0.5% sds) was added before the mycelium was promptly homogenized. next, 6 µl of rnase (20 mg/ml) was added to each eppendorf. the mixture was homogenized by using a vortex mixer. the tubes were placed in a water bath that had been prepared to 65°c for 10 minutes. after being removed from the water bath, the samples were cooled at room temperature. each tube received 130 µl of 3m sodium acetate (ph 5.2). tubes were vortexed at their highest speed for 30 seconds and then incubated at -20°c for 10 minutes. the samples were centrifuged for 15 minutes at 13,000 rpm. the supernatants were transferred to new tubes and an equivalent volume of a 24:1 chloroform: isoamyl alcohol combination was added, mixed gently and centrifuged at 12000 rpm for 5 minutes. after discarding the supernatant, the pellet underwent two washings in 700 µl of 70% ethanol. the dna pellets were then dried by air. the final dna pellet was then resuspended in 100 of 1x te buffer ph 8.0 (10 mm tris-hci, 1 mm edta). at 4°c, the dna was allowed to breakdown for the entire night. it was then kept at -20°c for later testing. pcr amplification and sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (its) regions were used for the isolates' molecular identification. the its sections were amplified by pcr using the its1 (5'-tccgtaggtgaacctgcgg-3') and its4 (5'-tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3') primers. in a 0.2 ml pcr tube, a 25 µl reaction volume containing 2.0 µl of template dna, 12.5 µl of master mix, 1.0 µl of forward primer, 1.0 µl of reverse primer, and 8.5 µl of nucleus-free water was used for the pcr. a micro centrifuge was used to vortex and centrifuges the reaction mixture. the first phase of the pcr was a denaturation step at 94°c for 5 minutes, followed by 30 cycles of 94, 54, and 72°c for 30 seconds each, a final extension step at 72°c for 5 minutes, and it was finished at 4°c. pcr-amplified products were kept in a freezer at 20°c until they could be resolved on a 1% agarose gel for examination. ethidium bromide-containing 1.0 g of agarose powder was used to make the gel. in 1×tae buffer, agarose gel electrophoresis was carried out at 90 volts and 300 ma for 40 minutes. using a gel documentation device (model: di-hd, uk), dna bands were 144 zafrin et al. captured on camera. using an automated sequencer, cars (the centre for advanced research in sciences, university of dhaka, 1000) sequenced the pure dna samples. using the bioedit sequence alignment program, sequences were aligned, edited, and compared to sequences already present in the databases using the blastn program (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast). results and discussion morphological identification from the present study, alternaria alternata, aspergillus flavus type. 1, aspergillus flavus type. 2, aspergillus niger type. 1, aspergillus niger type. 2, aspergillus sp. 1, aspergillus sp. 2, curvularia lunata, eupenicillium sp. 1, eupenicillium sp. 2, harknessia sp. penicillum digitatum, penicillium commune, penicillum italicum, penicillium sp. 1, penicillium sp. 2, penicillium sp. 3, penicillium sp. 4 and sphaeropsis sp. were identified from bark, stem and leaf tissues of aquilaria malaccensis by morphological analysis and alternaria tenuissima, alternaria palandui, fusarium sporotrichioides, lasiodiplodia theobromae, lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae, diaporthe hongkongensis and diaprthe perseae were identifed upto genus level by morphological analysis, which were later on identified and confirmed at species level by molecular study. key morphological features of the isolated fungi 1. alternaria alternata (fr.) keissl., beih. bot. centralbl. 29: 433 (1912) (fig. 2a) colony grey, dark brown to black in colour. conidiophores and conidia are typically a light golden brown colour. typically, conidiophores are straightforward, straight or curved, 1-3-septate, up to 50 µm long, 3-6 µm wide, and they have one or more apical conidial pores. conidial chains profusely branched. conidia obclavate to ellipsoidal, with a short and cylindrical beak, medium brown, rugulose with muriform septation, 18-63 × 7-18 µm. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 18 september, 2022. m. zafrin 09. 2. alternaria palandui ayyangar, agricultural research institute pusa bulletin 179: 14 (1928) (fig. 2b) brown to dark brown coloured colony, growth of which is radial without obvious rings of sporulation. primary conidiophores are erect and simple in young growth, up to 40-100 × 3.5-5.0 µm. each produces a long chain of narrow conidia. mature conidia may range within 35-55 × 7-11 µm. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 4. 26 january, 2023. m. zafrin 26. 3. alternaria tenuissima (kunze) wiltshire, trans. brit. mycol. soc. 18 (2): 157 (1933) (fig. 2c) brown to blackish colony on pda media in seven days. conidiophores up to 115 µm long and 4-6 µm thick, pale or medium pale brown in colour. conidia obclavate or ellipsoidal, 22-95 × 8-19 µm. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 2. 21 december, 2022. m. zafrin 21. 4. aspergillus flavus link, mag. ges. naturf. freunde berlin 3 (1): 16 (1809), type 1 (fig. 2d) yellowish-green colonies, usually flat at border but rose at middle. vesicles are globose to sub-globose, 25-45 µm in diameter. phialides are borne directly on the vesicle or on the metulae, morpho-molecular characterization of endophytic fungi 145 6-10 × 4.0-5.5 µm. metulae 6.5-10 × 3-5 µm. conidia globose to sub-globose, 3.6 µm in diameter, pale green. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plant from location: 1. 21 june, 2022. m. zafrin 01. fig. 2. colony on pda medium and conidia under microscope a. alternaria alternata, b. a. palandui, c. a. tenuissima, d. aspergillus flavus type -1, e. a. flavus type -2, f. a. niger type -1, g. a. niger type 2, h. aspergillus sp. 1, i. aspergillus sp. 2. (bar = 50 µm). 5. aspergillus flavus link, mag. ges. naturf. freunde berlin 3 (1): 16 (1809), typ 2 (fig. 2e) yellow-green colonies are usually flat at border but raised at middle, colonies have narrow white margin. conidiophores hyaline. vesicles are globose to sub-globose, 25-45 µm in diameter. phialides are borne directly on the vesicle or on the metulae, 6-10 × 4.0-5.5 µm. metulae 6.5-10 × 3-5 µm. conidia globose to sub-globose, 3.6 µm in diameter, pale green. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 3. 28 june, 2022. m. zafrin 07. 6. aspergillus niger tiegh., ann. sci. nat., bot. 8: 240 (1867), type 1 (fig. 2f) colonies are typically black, powdery except narrow growing white margin. the reverse colony is usually colourless. conidia mostly globose, irregularly roughened, 4.0-5.0 µm diameter. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaf tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 21 june, 2022. m. zafrin 02. 7. aspergillus niger tiegh., ann. sci. nat., bot. 8: 240 (1867), type 2 (fig. 2g) colonies are typically black, powdery sometimes. the reverse colony is usually colourless, sometimes branched foot cells. conidia mostly globose, irregularly roughened, 4.0-5.0 µm diameter. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaf tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 21 june, 2022. m. zafrin 02. 146 zafrin et al. 8. aspergillus sp. 1 (fig. 2h) greyish green colony. mycelium is aseptate and well-developed. long conidiophores. conidia are globose, smooth, dry, gray-green to brown in colour; size ranging from 1.2-3.2 × 1.52.7 µm in diameter. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 2. 19 september, 2022. m. zafrin 17. 9. aspergillus sp. 2 (fig. 2i) colonies are grayish green to brown in color. mycelium is septate and well-developed. long conidiophores. conidia are globose, smooth, dry, grey-green to brown, size ranging from 2.4-3.6 × 2.4-3.10 µm in diameter. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaf tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 2. 19 september, 2022. m. zafrin 18. 10. curvularia lunata (wakker) boedijn, bull. jard. bot. buitenzorg 13 (1): 127 (1933) (fig. 3a) colonies are hairy, greenish black in colour. colonies on pda markedly zonate, conidiophores are mostly unbranched, straight or slightly undulating, brown, septate. conidia mostly three septate, smooth-walled, 24.429.2 × 9.112.4 µm in diameter. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. m. zafrin 25. fig. 3. colony on pda medium and conidia under microscope a. curvularia lunata, b. fusarium sporotrichioides, c. penicillium commune, d. p. digitatum, e. p. italicum, f. penicillium sp. 1, g. penicillium sp. 2, h. penicillium sp. 3, i. penicillium sp. 4. (bar = 50 µm). 11. diaporthe hongkongensis r.r. gomes, glienke & crous, persoonia 31: 23 (2013) fig. 6a) white colored, circular colonies with cottony surface and entire edge are formed on pda media that reaches 70 mm in diameter after 7 days at 25°c. white aerial mycelia, conidiophores long and hyaline. reverse colony yellowish white. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 21 june, 2022. m. zafrin 03. morpho-molecular characterization of endophytic fungi 147 12. diaporthe perseae (zerova) r.r. gomes, glienke & crous, persoonia 31: 29 (2013) (fig. 6b) dirty white to iron grey colored, circular colonies with entire edge are formed on pda media. white aerial mycelia, conidiophores long and hyaline. reverse colony iron-grey with concentric patches of umber. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 4. 26 december, 2022. m. zafrin 23. 13. fusarium sporotrichioides sherb., mem. cornell univ. agric. exp. sta. 6: 183 (1915) (fig. 3b) colonies are initially white to yellowish pink or pale pink. mature colonies maybe greyish red or purplish red shades near the centre and pale yellowish pink or pale pink at the margins. reverse colonies usually vary from medium to dark red or purplish red or reddish brown. floccose aerial mycelium, conidiophores unbranched or more or less abundantly branched, irregular or verticillate. conidia variable in size, shape and septation. sporodochial macro conidia may be 3 to 5 septate, but predominantly 3-septate, 23-43 x 3-5 µm, falcate, pedicillate or apedicillate; widest in the upper half of the conidia with the apical cell more strongly curved than the rest of the conidia. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 3. 19 september, 2022. m. zafrin 19. 14. harknessia sp. cooke. (fig. 4a) white to pale brown colony with cottony mycelium. pycnidia globose, conical, thin, white, porous-lacerate at the apex, ranging from 24-33 x 10-14 µm in diameter, bursting out through the leaf tissue; conidiophores filiform; conidia dark, 1celled, ellipsoid to ovoid, ranges from 8-17 x 5-9 µm in diameter, drawn out into a hyaline pedical (conidiophores). specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 3. 28 june, 2022. m. zafrin 08. fig. 4. colony on pda medium and pycnidia with conidia under microscope a. harknessia sp., b. sphaeropsis sp. (bar = 50 µm). 15. lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae a.j.l. phillips, a. alves & crous, fungal diversity 28: 8 (2008). (fig. 6c) fluffy white to grey, circular colonies forms on pda medium with entire margin and rough surface. reverse colony is fuscous black to dark black. aerial mycelium white to whitish grey as the colony matures. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 21 june, 2022. m. zafrin 04. 148 zafrin et al. 16. lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griffon & maubl., bull. soc. mycol. france 25: 57 (1909). (fig. 6d) colonies are usually greyish sepia to mouse grey to black in colour, fluffy with abundant aerial mycelium; reverse colony is fuscous black to black. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 21 june, 2022. m. zafrin 05. fig. 5. colony on pda medium and cleistothecia with perfect stage under microscope a. penicillium sp. with perfect stageeupenicillium sp. type -1, b. eupenicillium sp. type 2. (bar = 50 µm). fig. 6. colony on pda medium and conidiophores under microscope a. diaporthe hongkongensis, b. d. perseae, c. lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae, d. l. theobromae. (bar = 50 µm). 17. penicillium commune thom, u.s.d.a. bureau of animal industry bulletin 118: 56 (1910). (fig. 3c) colonies with moderate growth, velutinous to floccose; conidial mass dull gray. conidiophores stipes rough-walled, 100-200 μm long; penicilli terverticillate. metulae 8-15 μm long, in whorls of 2-5. phialides flask-shaped, tapering into a narrow neck, 7-9 µm long. conidia sub-globose to ellipsoidal, smooth-walled, grey green to greyish turquoise, 3.5-5 µm diameter. reverse colony cream coloured to beige or cream-yellow. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 18 september, 2022. m. zafrin 10. morpho-molecular characterization of endophytic fungi 149 18. penicillium digitatum (pers.) sacc., fungi italici autographice delineati. fasc. 17-28: tab. 894 (1881). (fig. 3d) colonies typically have a velvety, yellow to brown-green colour. conidiophores with irregular branching, smooth-walled whorls with 3-6 phialides at the end of short stipes with few metulae. phialides are frequently solitary, cylindrical, with a short neck, and a range of sizes between 15 and 30 by 3.5 and 5.0 µm. conidia are olive-green in colour, smooth, ellipsoidal to cylindrical, and range in size from 3.5 to 8.0 by 3.0 to 4.0 µm. a colony matures when it develops a yellow back and stops secreting. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 18 september, 2022. m. zafrin 11. 19. penicillium italicum wehmer, hedwigia 33: 211 (1894) (fig. 3e) colonies are usually grey-green in colour. exudate is largely absent, and when it is, it congregates in hyaline drops. uncoloured to yellow-brown in reverse. conidiophores are normally tervertcillate, smooth-walled, hyaline, and occasionally mononematous. 100-250 x 3.5-5.0 µm stipes. more or less cylindrical metulae with smooth walls, measuring 1520 x 3.54.0 µm, and containing 3 to 6 phialides each. phialides are slim, cylindrical, 8–15 x 2.0–5.0 µm, with short, distinct necks. conidia are smooth-walled, greenish cylinders that are occasionally ellipsoidal to subglobose in shape and measure 4.0-5.0 x 2.5-3.5 µm. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 18 september, 2022. m. zafrin 12. 20. penicillium sp. 1 (fig. 3f) colonies typically have a velvety, yellow to brown-green colour with light yellow to brown margin. conidiophores, which emerge from the mycelium individually or less frequently in synnemata, branch near the tip to produce a brush-like conidia-bearing apparatus. conidia are onecelled, typically globose or ovoid, size ranges from 2.2-2.7 x 2-2.5 µm in diameter, hyaline or brilliantly colored masses that form basipetally. when a colony is mature, it turns yellow on the back and lacks secretion. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 3. 18 september, 2022. m. zafrin 13. 21. penicillium sp. 2 (fig. 3g) pinkish white to orangish white, circular, velvety colony. conidiophores, which emerge from the mycelium individually or less frequently in synnemata, branch near the apex to produce a brush-like conidia-bearing apparatus. they end in phialides, which pinch off conidia in dry chains. conidia are one-celled, size ranges from 2.1-3.6 x 1.7-2.8 µm in diameter, typically globose or ovoid, hyaline or brilliantly colored masses that secrete a pinkish-red fluid basipetally. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 2. 19 september, 2022. m. zafrin 20. 22. penicillium sp. 3 (fig. 3h) green to grey-green colonies with thick margin that expands towards the centre as the colony matures. conidiophores end in phialides, which pin conidia off in dry chains. one-celled, typically globose or ovoid, size ranges from 2.2-3.6 x 2.1-3.1 µm in diameter, basipetally 150 zafrin et al. produced conidia that are either hyaline or vividly colored. as the colony matures, it turns dark brown to red on the rear and secretes a pinkish red fluid. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 18 september, 2022. m. zafrin 14. 23. penicillium sp. 4 (fig. 3i) colonies entire or slightly polygonal in outline, velvety; mycelium white, conidia dull green or greyish dull green. conidiophores which emerge from the mycelium individually or less frequently in synnemata, branch near the tip to produce a brush-like conidia-bearing apparatus. these conidiophores terminate in phialides, which pin conidia off in dry chains. conidia are onecelled, typically globose, smooth, 2.5–3.5 µm in diameter, soluble pigments absent; reverse colony brown. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 1. 18 september, 2022. m. zafrin 15. 24. penicillium sp. with perfect stageeupenicillium sp. 1 (fig. 5a) yellow to brown, circular, velvety colony. reverse colony light yellow. in combination with a penicillium anamorph, eupenicillium produces macroscopic (100–500 µm diameter), smoothwalled, frequently vividly colored cleistothecia. cleistothecia mature into a rock-hard state in many species and may stay that way for weeks or months before finally maturing from the center to produce a large number of eight-spored asci. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 2. 21 december, 2022. m. zafrin 22. 25. penicillium sp. with perfect stageeupenicillium sp. 2 (fig. 5b) colony pale bluish green, reverse colony light pink to yellow. in combination with a penicillium anamorph, eupenicillium produces macroscopic (100–500 µm diameter), smoothwalled, frequently vividly colored cleistothecia. cleistothecia mature into a rock-hard state in many species and may stay that way for weeks or months before finally maturing from the center to produce a large number of eight-spored asci. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 4. 26 december, 2022. m. zafrin 24. 26. sphaeropsis sp. sacc. (fig. 4b) yellow to brown colony. pycnidia black, separate or grouped globose, erumpent, ostiolate, size ranging from 96-163 x 90-120 µm in diameter ; conidiophores short; conidia large, dark, 1 celled, ovoid, elongate or somewhat irregular, ranges from 8-13 x 3-5 µm in diameter. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy bark tissue of aquilaria malaccensis plants from location: 2. 21 june, 2022. m. zafrin 06. molecular identification utilizing sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (its) region, molecular characterization of the fungi species was carried out for accurate identification. by employing the its1 as the forward primer and the its4 as the reverse primer to analyze its regions sequences, seven isolates were discovered. pcr generated bands (~550 bp) from seven samples were subjected to automated sequencing, followed by blast analysis, to confirm at the genomic morpho-molecular characterization of endophytic fungi 151 sequence level (table 1). the sequence similarity of the its region was used to identify the endophytic fungi in this investigation. internal transcribed spacer (its) pcr amplification produced a distinct band of about 550 bp in 1% agarose, indicating that the targeted area was present in each strain. table 1. blast analysis of the amplified sequences from the isolated dna of endophytic fungi. sample id name of fungi max score total score query coverage e value identity (%) ncbi gene bank accession no. m4 alternaria palandui 955 955 96% 0.0 98.88 kf852593.1 m6 alternaria tenuissima 891 891 99% 0.0 95.70 mf405157.1 m2 diaporthe hongkongensis 933 933 94% 0.0 97.98 jf317194.1 m7 diaporthe perseae 918 918 93% 0.0 97.76 mz266635.1 m5 fusarium sporotrichioides 905 905 95% 0.0 98.82 mn644696.1 m3 lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae 907 907 95% 0.0 99.01 mf536297.1 m1 lasiodiplodia theobromae 887 887 94% 0.0 98.42 mk530072.1 the acquired dna sequences of the isolated endophytic fungi were compared with the sequences already present in the national center for biotechnology information database in order to confirm the identity of the fungal isolates. the obtained dna sequences showed 98.88% identity with alternaria palandui, 95.70% identity with alternaria tenuissima, 97.98% identity with diaporthe hongkongensis, 97.76% identity with diaporthe perseae, 98.82% identity with fusarium sporotrichioides, 99.01% identity with lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae and 98.42% identity with lasiodiplodia theobromae (table 1). molecular analysis showed species identification of all the fungal genera studied morphologically (table 2). table 2. comparison between morphological and molecular identification of seven fungal isolates. isolates no. morphological identification molecular identification m4 alternaria sp. 1 alternaria palandui m6 alternaria sp. 2 alternaria tenuissima m2 diaporthe sp. 1 diaporthe hongkongensis m7 diaporthe sp. 2 diaporthe perseae m5 fusarium sp. fusarium sporotrichioides m3 lasiodiplodia sp. 1 lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae m1 lasiodiplodia sp. 2 lasiodiplodia theobromae the endophytic fungi associated with agar plant (aquilaria malaccensis) are quite diverse and a rich source of important bioactive natural products. these products carry high economic and medicinal values. due to this reason researchers from different countries have worked on agar plant in quest of isolating and identifying these diverse group of endophytic fungi (hartono et al., 2019), their diversity and biosynthetic activities (du et al., 2022), their chemical compounds (zhang et al., 2022), molecular phylogenetic identification (premalatha et al., 2013), antioxidant and antifungal activity of endophytic fungi of agar plant (hidayat et al., 2019). the purpose of this study was to isolate and characterize the endophytic fungi from bark, stem and leaf tissue of agar plant (aquilaria malaccensis lam.). from this study a total of 26 152 zafrin et al. fungal isolates were identified. morphologial and molecular analysis was done. these were alternaria alternata, alternaria palandui, alternaria tenuissima, aspergillus flavus type. 1, aspergillus flavus type. 2, aspergillus niger type. 1, aspergillus niger type. 2, aspergillus sp. 1, aspergillus sp. 2, curvularia lunata, diaporthe hongkongensis, diaporthe perseae, fusarium sporotrichioides, harknessia sp., lasiodiplodia theobromae, lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae, penicillum digitatum, penicillium commune, penicillum italicum, penicillium sp. 1, penicillium sp. 2, penicillium sp. 3, penicillium sp. 4, eupenicillium sp. 1, eupenicillium sp. 2 and sphaeropsis sp. among these isolated fungal speciesalternaria palandui, diaporthe hongkongensis, diaporthe perseae, lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae have been reported as new species and harknessia sp., sphaeropsis sp. were reported as new generic records for bangladesh as these where not documented in relevant literature (siddiqui et al., 2007; shamsi s, 2017; nahar et al., 2019; khatun et al., 2022; nessa et al., 2023). up to this point, no comprehensive research had been conducted on the endophytic fungi associated to the agar plant in bangladesh. the endophytic fungi isolated from the bark, stem, and leaf of the agar plant (aquilaria malaccensis lam.) as well as their relationship with the plant from bangladesh are thus the subject of this research, which may be useful in evaluating and comparing the endophytic fungal isolates reported from the agar plant in other countries. several endophytic fungi such as alternaria sp., curvularia sp., fusarium sp., sterilia sp., cladosporium sp., rhizopus and penicillium sp. were isolated and identified from juvenile aquilaria malaccensis from india (mochahari et al., 2020). premalatha et al. (2013) reported alternaria sp., cladosporium sp., curvularia sp., davidiella sp., fusarium sp., hypocrea sp., massarina sp., phaeoacremonium sp., pichia sp. as endophytes of aquilaria malaccensis from india. hartono et al. (2019) reported aspergillus sp., fusarium sp., penicillium sp., tricoderma sp., curvularia sp. and peniophora sp. as endophytic fungi from indonessia. fusarium sp., hypocrea sp., lasiodiplodia sp., cochliobolus lunata, cunninghamella bainieri, curvularia sp. and trichoderma sp. were identified from malaysia (mohamed et al., 2010). acremonium sp., alternaria sp., cladosporium sp., fusarium sp., mucor sp., nigrospora sp., scopulariopsis sp. and scytalidium sp. were isolated and identified from the stem of aquilaria malaccensis by lisdayani et al. (2015). species belonging to fungal genera aspergillus, fusarium, lasiodiplodia, and penicillium have been reported to show potential for use in the production of agarwood as well as synthesize important secondary metabolites in other nations. (subasinghe et al., 2019; mohamed et al., 2010; tian et al., 2013; chen et al., 2017; faizal et al., 2017; sen et al., 2017; huang et al., 2017). in the future, secondary metabolites produced by the endophytic fungal isolates reported from this study should be isolated and analyzed in bangladesh. the species isolated from these genera should be used for inoculating aquilaria malaccensis trees in order to see if they can induce the production of agarwood. acknowledgement the first author expresses her gratitude for the financial assistance provided to her work through the "nst fellowship" by the people's republic of bangladesh's "ministry of science and technology". references anon, 1995. a colored atlas of the chinese materia medica specified in pharmacopoeia of the people’s republic of china (1995 edition). pharmacopoeia commission of the ministry of public health, p.r. china. joint publishing (h.k.) co., ltd., honk kong. morpho-molecular characterization of endophytic fungi 153 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(manuscript received on 23 august, 2023; revised on 2 may, 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 187-195, 2024 (june) review paper © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74402 systematic position of miyakea integrifolia miyabe & tatew. in the infrageneric classification of pulsatilla (ranunculaceae): palynological challenges a.k.m. golam sarwar1* and hideki takahashi2 1laboratory of plant systematics, department of crop botany, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh 2202, bangladesh 2the hokkaido university museum, hokkaido university, n10 w8, sapporo 060-0810, japan keywords: miyakea; pollen morphology; pulsatilla. abstract miyakea integrifolia miyabe and tatew. was considered to be an endemic genus and species to sakhalin island, russia, but the monotypic genus miyakea was later subsumed into pulsatilla as p. integrifolia (miyabe & tatew.) vorosch. this taxonomic treatment has been supported by many botanists. at present, there are two opinions on the systematic position of p. integrifolia within the genus pulsatilla: i) a separate monotypic subgenus miyakea situated at the last position; ii) a close relative of p. patens and p. vernalis in ser. patentes within the species-rich subgen. pulsatilla. since palynological evidence might be promising morphological traits for clarifying the systematic position of miyakea, a table summarizing the pollen morphological traits within the genus pulsatilla was prepared using the previous appropriate palynological reports. hitherto, the morphology of miyakea pollen supports the second opinion i.e., a close relative of p. patens and p. vernalis. moreover, we pointed out the issues that should be focused on in future research on the pollen morphology of pulsatilla s.l. introduction genus pulsatilla miller (pasqueflowers), contains ca. 40 perennial species, belongs to the tribe anemoneae dc., subfamily ranunculoideae hutch. in the family ranunculaceae a.l.juss. (tamura, 1991, 1993, 1995). although phylogenies based on molecular data indicated that pulsatilla was embedded within anemone s.l. (hoot et al., 1994, 2012), all previous molecular phylogenetic studies agreed regarding the monophyly of the genus pulsatilla (sramkó et al., 2019); therefore, the genus pulsatilla is retained here. miyakea integrifolia miyabe and tatew., a closely related taxon of pulsatilla, was collected from the mountain range of the palaeozoic formation situated on the sea of okhotsk side of sakhalin island in 1934 and was first described as a new monotypic and endemic genus in 1935 (miyabe and tatewaki, 1935, 1937). the presence of coriaceous, simple, entire, and evergreen radical leaves with three prominent parallel veins on the underside was regarded as the most prominent generic feature of this taxon (miyabe and tatewaki, 1935, 1941). although the generic status had been maintained by sugawara (1939), czerepanov (1995), starodubtsev (1995), smirnov (2002), barkalov and taran (2004), nishikawa (2008) and eryemin et al. (2019). voroshilov (1966) considered the genus miyakea to be pulsatilla and published the name p. integrifolia (miyabe & tatew.) vorosch. this view was followed by czerepanov (1973) and voroshilov (1982); furthermore, tamura (1991, 1995) and grey-wilson (2014, 2020) recognized this species as a separate monotypic subgenus miyakea situated at the last position *corresponding author, e-mail: drsarwar@bau.edu.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74402 mailto:drsarwar@bau.edu.bd 188 sarwar and takahashi within the classification system of pulsatilla. on the other hand, the most recent molecular phylogenetic study by sramkó et al. (2019) showed that m. integrifolia is subsumed into the genus pulsatilla but is considered to be a closely related sister species to p. vernalis in ser. patentes of subgen. pulsatilla. thus, ser. patentes has been composed of three pulsatilla species: p. integrifolia [≡miyakea integrifolia], p. patens, and p. vernalis. the inclusion of p. integrifolia and p. vernalis within ser. patentes is an unexpected result, as no specialist of pulsatilla has ever considered the species included in this clade to be related (sramkó et al., 2019). several studies on the pollen morphology of pulsatilla species have been conducted: kumazawa (1936), ikuse (1956, 2001), huynh (1970), nakamura (1980), and wang et al. (1995) with light microscopy (lm); clarke et al. (1991) and baladehi et al. (2013) with lm and scanning electron microscopy (sem); nowicke and skvarla (1995), miyoshi et al. (2011), fujiki et al. (2016), and sarwar and takahashi (2023) with sem; xi (1985) and paldat (2023) with lm, sem, and transmission electron microscopy (tem). palynological studies of miyakea integrifolia [as p. integrifolia] have not been carried out except for the sem micrograph shown by nowicke and skvarla (1995) in “die natürlichen pflanzenfamilien” on the family ranunculaceae (hiepko, 1995). a summary table of the palynological traits of pulsatilla including miyakea integrifolia was made from appropriate palynological references (huynh, 1970; xi, 1985; clarke et al., 1991; nowicke and skvarla, 1995; miyoshi et al., 2011; baladehi et al., 2013; fujiki et al., 2016; sarwar and takahashi, 2023; paldat, 2023) following the classification system within the genus pulsatilla by sramkó et al. (2019) (table 1). descriptive terminology follows punt et al. (1994, 2007) and hesse et al. (2009). an overview of pollen morphological traits in the infrageneric taxonomy of pulsatilla by sramkó et al. (2019) the most recent dna-based classification of pulsatilla by sramkó et al. (2019) is characterized by the following three main results; i) the genus was separated into three subgenera, kostyczewianae, preonanthus and pulsatilla, ii) the monotypic subgen. kostyczewianae consisting of only p. kostyczewii was basally placed in the classification, iii) three species (p. integrifolia [≡miyakea integrifolia], p. patens s.l. and p. vernalis) formed the single ser. patentes of sect. pulsatilla within the species-rich third subgen. pulsatilla. the basally positioned subgen. kostyczewianae in the sramkó et al.’s system was characterized by 2to 3-colpate pollen with small grain size below 30 μm in the longest axis (table 1). the two apertures state is palynologically exceptional within the genus pulsatilla and supports the subgeneric status, but further studies are needed because 2-colpate pollen was reported in only 40% of pollen grains in xi (1985). within the recent dna-based classification by sramkó et al. (2019), most species examined in the second subgen. preonanthus (including two sects. preonanthus and preonanthopsis) were characterized by having commonly pantocolpate pollen with a medium (30 μm or more but below 40 μm) grain size (table 1). the palynological evidence would support possibly the unity of subgen. preonanthus. the species-rich third subgen. pulsatilla (including three sects. tatewakianae, pulsatilla, and semicampanaria) is characterized by the following three palynological groups; i) diploid species with mediumto large-sized 3-colpate pollen (sect. tatewakianae [poorly studied], ser. patentes of sect. pulsatilla, and sect. semicampanaria excluding ser. albanae); ii) tetraploid species with large-sized 3-colpate pollen (ser. pulsatilla of sect. pulsatilla); iii) diploid species with mediumsized pantoporate pollen (ser. albanae of sect. semicampanaria) (table 1). systematic position of miyakea integrifolia 189 the irregular and occasional appearance of pantocolpate pollen adding to the usual 3-colpate pollen was observed in p. patens, p. vulgaris, p. halleri, p. chinensis, and p. dahurica within the third subgen. pulsatilla (table 1). this palynological phenomenon indicates at least a similarity between the second subgen. preonanthus and the species-rich third subgen. pulsatilla. the majority of the species (eight examined among the twelve species) comprising the last series albanae within the third subgen. pulsatilla was characterized by having the most specialized pantoporate pollen within the genus pulsatilla (table 1). the evolutionary trend of pollen types; from tricolpate through pantocolpate to pantoporate was postulated in pulsatilla (xi, 1985). series albanae could be distinguished from other series within the genus pulsatilla in the pollen aperture traits (huynh, 1970; tamura, 1995). monophyly and the last position of series albanae in the classification of sramkó et al. (2019) was well supported by the present palynological evidence, and the section-level separation of albanae should be possibly considered. although nowicke and skvarla (1995) pointed out that the pollen morphology of ranunculaceae has generally limited taxonomic values, palynological traits, in some cases, indicate homogeneity at the infrageneric level in the pulsatilla classification by sramkó et al. (2019). systematic affiliation of miyakea based on the palynological traits and future challenges at present, there are two opinions on the systematic position of miyakea [p. integrifolia] within the genus pulsatilla: i) a separate monotypic subgen. miyakea situated at the last position mainly based on morphological and anatomical studies (tamura, 1991, 1995; grey-wilson, 2014, 2020), ii) a close relative of p. patens and p. vernalis in ser. patentes within the species-rich subgen. pulsatilla mainly based on dna and chromosome analyses (sramkó et al., 2019). miyakea pollen was first studied by nowicke and skvarla (1995) in sem and they showed that 3-colpate aperture and supratectal microspinulate ornamentation with distinct tectal perforations. a tri-colpate aperture of miyakea pollen is the same as in many species of subgen. pulsatilla (excluding series albanae) within pulsatilla. although exine ornamentation such as supratectal microspinules is the same character between pulsatilla and miyakea, this feature is common within the ranunculaceae (44 of the 48 genera examined; nowicke and skvarla, 1995). nowicke and skvarla (1995) suggested that elongated tectal perforations on the surface view of miyakea pollen were regarded as characteristic palynological features distinguished from pulsatilla. but the surface shape of tectal perforations of miyakea [as p. integrifolia] in their sem micrograph may not be evidently different from that of p. patens (xi, 1985; plate 3, fig. 4) and p. vernalis (clarke et al., 1991; plate 47, fig. 2) within ser. patentes. therefore, the exine ornamentation of miyakea pollen may not support positively the opinion with the separate monotypic subgen. miyakea (miyabe and tatew.) tamura. as in table 1, the presence of distinct tectal perforations in sem micrographs in most pulsatilla pollen was different from indistinct perforations on the pollen in some samples of pulsatilla; p. kostyczewii, p. patens, p. grandis and p. pratensis and p. cernua. however, considering the different preparation methods and micrograph resolution between them, we did not consider the presence/absence (or distinct/indistinct) of tectal perforations as the taxonomic informative palynological character at the current research stage. to compare the exine ornamentation between species within pulsatilla, it is necessary to thoroughly remove the surface 190 sarwar and takahashi systematic position of miyakea integrifolia 191 192 sarwar and takahashi systematic position of miyakea integrifolia 193 194 sarwar and takahashi material (perine, pollenkitt, and so on) and observe the surface ornamentation of the swollen pollen grains by sem. the palynological trait of flat tectum versus undulate tectum (nowicke and skvarla, 1995) may be problematical for comparison at the species level. palynological studies need to be performed on more species that have not yet been observed (table 1). the pollen morphology of far east asian species (e.g., p. magadanensis, p. tatewakii, p. sugawarai, and p. tongkangensis) in particular should be clarified. palynological studies by lm should clarify aperture type and pollen grain size within a species or between populations. these palynological traits are related to chromosome number (cf. table 1). the tem study on pulsatilla pollen wall has been conducted only in restricted species; p. chinensis and p. campanella in xi (1985), and p. grandis in paldat (2023). structural diversity within the exine wall in pulsatilla pollen is not yet known. acknowledgments the first author is particularly grateful to the japan society for the promotion of science (jsps) for a bridge fellowship for fy2022 when this study was conducted, and prof. masahiro ôhara at the laboratory of systematic entomology, the hokkaido university museum is thanked for hosting during the fellowship. references baladehi, m.h., habibi, m. and azizian, d. 2013. pollen morphology of iranian species of anemone l. and pulsatilla mill. 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(manuscript received on 3 june, 2023; revised on 1 january, 2024) https://www.paldat.org bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 261-271, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists the importance in dna barcoding of the regions which is covering rrna genes and its sequences in the genus quercus l. yilmaz aykut faculty of science and arts, department of molecular biology and genetics, uşak university, uşak, turkey keywords: dna barcoding; igs; rrna gene; its; quercus; turkey. abstract turkey with 18 oak (quercus) species is one of the richest country according to species number and diversity. the most important reason of the species diversity in turkey is its location and geomorphological structure which increase climatic effects and seperate turkey into different phytogeographic regions. furthermore, hybridization behaviours which frequently observed between oak species, genetic drift, gene flow and ecological factors cause morphological variations in the plants species. all of these factors make it difficult to define the species concept for plant groups like oaks. therefore, the region covering 18s rrna gene/ its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna gene and secondly intergenic spacer (igs)/ 5s rrna gene for barcoding were obtained from genbank and used as a useful tool for the determination and solution of the phylogenetic relations of taxonomically problematic species, also these barcoding regions were compared with each other according to species recognition ability for oak species. as a result, it can be stated that both barcoding regions have high variable sites based on sequence information to identify the species and evaluate relationships of species studied. introduction dna barcoding is very important molecular approach for definition biodiversity, evolutionary studies and especially for identifying species with taxonomically problems. dna sequences prefered in dna barcoding must have sufficient variability in grouping of species according to common characteristics and separation of taxonomically closely related species. therefore in past years, different sequences regions belonging to genomic and plastid dna are experienced and tried to find the best regions for dna barcoding. universal barcoding system would be avaluable resource for recognition of unambiguous species and in terms of speed, low cost, reliability (piredda et al., 2011). short dna sequence that contain sufficient sequence variation to distinguish species is used for dna barcode as molecular marker (kress and erickson, 2007). especially internal transcribed spacer (its) regions of rdna genes in genomic dna are the sequences prefered the most commonly for plant molecular systematic studies (baldwin et al., 1995; alvarez and wendel, 2003; bailey, 2003; sramko, 2008; sramko et al., 2014). also the external transcribed spacers (ets) and the intergenic spacer (igs) are widely utilized in phylogenetics in addition to its region. the cytochrome c oxidase-1 (co1) gene from the mitochondria has enough nucleotide differentiation rates to identify many groups of animals and is routinely used to identify new species as an universal barcode (hebert et al., 2003, 2004; greenstone et al., 2005; ward et al., 2005; smith et al., 2006; piredda et al., 2011; hürkan, 2017) but this rate is relatively low and *corresponding author, e-mail: aykut.yilmaz@usak.edu.tr mailto:aykut.yilmaz@usak.edu.tr 262 aykut unsuitable in plants (chase et al., 2005; kress et al., 2005; fazekas et al., 2008; hollingsworth et al., 2009). therefore alternative barcode regions should be screened that can be universally successful in all species, however such a barcode region has not been found yet (chase and fay, 2009; hollingsworth et al., 2009). many regions of chloroplast genome for plant species as effective strategy for barcoding are recently used to resolve problems and the relationships in species level. nevertheless there is still much debate related to the most suitable regions to be used in chloroplast genome. there is no barcoding region available to be used for all plant groups. barcoding regions used together or whole chloroplast genome could provide enormous data and specificity for universal barcoding in plants. the regions and the region combinations belonging to chloroplast genome like rbcl, matk, trnk, trnh-psba, atpb-rbcl, trnt-trnf are commonly and effectively used for plant phylogenetic analysis. as a result, barcoding is used as a useful tool for the determination and solution of the phylogenetic relations of taxonomically problematic species. the genus quercus represented by over 500 species in the northern hemisphere show high phenotypic variation with natural hybrids (manos et al., 2001; borazan and babaç, 2003; yılmaz, 2018a). turkey with 18 oak species belonging to three subgeneric sections (quercus, cerris and ilex) is among the richest country with species number and diversity (yaltırık, 1984). section quercus l. is characterized by the widest distribution and the greatest number of species among the sections which is presented in turkey: q. frainetto ten., q. petraea (mattuschka) lieb., q. pontica c. koch., q. robur l., q. infectoria oliver, q. hartwissiana steven., q. vulcanica (boiss. heldr. ex) kotschy, q. macranthera subsp. syspirensis (c. koch.) menitsky, q. pubescens willd and q. virgiliana ten. (yaltirik, 1984). section cerris loudon. is the second largest section with five species: q. libani olivier, q. trojana webb, q. cerris l., q. brantii lindl. and q. ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis (kotschy) hedge et yalt. (yaltirik, 1984). section ilex loudon is represented by three species: q. ilex l., q. coccifera l. and q. aucheri jaub. et spach. (yaltirik, 1984). the most important reason of the high species diversity in turkey is its location and geomorphological structure which increase climatic effects and seperate turkey into different phytogeographic regions (uslu and bakış, 2012; yılmaz, 2018b). turkey is between the asian and european continents that is used an important migration route for many plants and animals. another factor on species diversity and number in turkey is the anatolian diagonal which divides anatolia as eastern and western parts (davis, 1971; çıplak et al., 1993; borazan and babaç, 2003; yılmaz, 2018 a,b). furthermore oak species can spread across wide geographic regions via wind and grow in mixed populations that increase the hybridization between species belonging to same or different sections (hokanson et al., 1993; kremer and petit, 1993; bacilieri et al., 1996). in addition to all factors, insufficient diagnostic morphological characters that it is sometimes not possible to identify oak species due to high morphological variation (denk and grimm, 2010; simeone et al., 2013) and the lack of investigations such as ecological, historical and genetic descriptors make problematic the genus quercus in turkey and similarly in the world. hybridization behaviours, gene flow, genetic drift, ecological factors and epigenetic mechanisms cause morphological variation in the plants species. the classical taxonomic system that is based on the morphological similarity of individuals makes it difficult to define the concept of biological species, especially for plant groups like oaks. therefore molecular markers instead of morphological characters are frequently prefered to identify the oak species and understand the the importance in dna barcoding of the regions 263 oak evolution (oh and manos, 2008; denk and grimm, 2010; simeone et al., 2013; yılmaz et al., 2013; yılmaz, 2016). especially dna barcoding has been used as the most useful tool in solving these problems. the objective of this study is to evaluate phylogenetic relationships of quercus species by using the 18s rrna gene/ its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna gene and intergenic spacer (igs)/ 5s rrna gene from genbank and compare these barcoding regions according to species recognition ability. materials and methods study materials and dna regions sequences analysis for quercus taxa was seperately done for two regions of rdna containing 18s rrna gene(partial)/ its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna gene (partial) and secondly intergenic spacer (igs)/ 5s rrna gene (partial). informations related to studied taxa were obtained from national centre of biotechnology information (ncbi). studied taxa and genbank codes for the rrna gene regions analysed in this study are presented in table 1 and 5. sixteen taxa for first region containing its1 and its2 together with related genes of rrna and 15 taxa for the other containing igs and 5s rrna gene were prefered and analysed for phylogenetic relations. almost all of taxa selected for this study belong to turkey except a few species. while the locations of 15 studied taxa for first region analysed (18s rrna gene its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna) belong to completely turkey except three species, all taxa prefered for second region belong to turkey. table 1. studied taxa, sections of the species studied and their gen bank accession numbers for 18s rrna gene/ its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna gene region. genus section species genbank acc. no. quercus quercus q. hartwissiana q. vulcanica q.infectoria subsp. boisseri q. infectoria subsp. infectoria q. macranthera q. frainetto q. petraea subsp. petraea q. pubescens q. pontica fm244036 fm244264 fm243942 fm244072 fm244101 fm244015 fm244134 fm244253 fm244159 cerris q. ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis q. trojana q.cerris q. brantii fm243873 fm243920 fm243851 fm243826 ilex q. ilex q. coccifera q. aucheri fm244455 fm244318 fm244282 sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis multiple sequence alignments for both regions were seperately performed by using molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (mega). the probabilities of substitution from one base to 264 aykut another base, transition/transversion ratios for purines-pyrimidines and overall, nucleotide frequencies were computed by using alignment sequences that were edited (tables 2-4 & 6-8). neighbour-joining dendrograms that bootstrap values are reported above branches for two regions such as 18s rrna gene/ its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna gene and secondly igs/ 5s rrna gene were obtained with mega x program (figs 12). all positions containing gaps and missing data were eliminated (complete deletion option). consequently, evolutionary analyses were conducted by using a total of 283 positions in the final dataset for igs/ 5s rrna gene and a total of 690 positions in the final dataset for 18s rrna gene/ its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna gene. fig. 1. neighbor-joining dendrogram given by the 18s rrna gene/ its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna gene for 16 quercus taxa. bootstrap values are reported in the branches. all positions containing gaps and missing data were eliminated (complete deletion option). there were a total of 690 positions in the final dataset. fig. 2. neighbor-joining dendrogram given by the igs/5s rrna gene for 15 quercus taxa. bootstrap values are reported in the branches. all positions containing gaps and missing data were eliminated (complete deletion option). the importance in dna barcoding of the regions 265 results and discussion eighteen oak species belonging to three subgeneric sections (quercus, cerris and ilex) currently occur in turkey that is one of the richest country with species diversity and number (yaltirik, 1984). two rdna regions that sequence information is provided from taxonomy database of ncbi were used for phylogenetic analysis. the foundamental aims of the study is firstly to evaluate the taxa from turkey belonging to genus quercus according to phylogenetic relations and to contribute the solution of taxonomic problems, secondly to compare two rdna regions frequently used in dna barcoding and evaluate the region that gives the best results for barcoding. analysis results for region covering 18s rrna gene/ its1/5.8s rrna gene/ its2/25s rrna gene: the valuable informations about the taxonomy of studied taxa were provided from analysis of the first region. this genomic dna region has the quite wide sequence data covering three rrna gene (18s rrna gene, 5.8s rrna gene and 25s rrna gene) and two spacer regions (its1 and its2) giving the information useful for plant systematics in species and generic level. this dna region has alignment length of 697 bp for taxa studied and showed 94 variable sites. studied taxa and accession numbers obtained from ncbi are given in table 1. table 2 shows the probability of substitution (r) from one base to another base. for simplicity, the sum of r values is made equal to 100. rates of different transitional substitutions are shown in bold and those of transversional substitutions are shown as italics in table 2. this analysis involved 16 nucleotide sequences. all positions containing gaps and missing data were eliminated (complete deletion option). there were a total of 690 positions in the final data set. evolutionary analyses were conducted in mega x. table 2. the probability of substitution (r) from one base (row) to another base (column). a t c g a 1.67 3.02 12.19 t 1.85 39.33 2.84 c 1.85 21.8 2.84 g 7.91 1.67 3.02 transitional substitutions with the rate of 81,23 % are much higher than transversional substitutions according to total base substitutions showing in table 2. moreover, transitional substitutions of the pyrimidines are higher than purines (table 2). in the comparison of purines (k1) and pyrimidines (k2) according to transition/transversion ratio, pyrimidines with 13,02 show the higher value from purines (table 3). overall transition/transversion ratio (r) is 4,01 (r = [a*g*k1 + t*c*k2]/[(a+g)*(t+c)]) in the evaulation of all positions in the final dataset (table 3). the nucleotide frequencies are 19.66% (a), 17.84% (t/u), 32.19% (c), and 30.30% (g) (table 4). it can be stated that the percentage of g and c bases for all studied quercus taxa for the dna region containing 18s rrna gene/ its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna gene is higher than the percentage of a and t/u bases (table 4). neighbor-joining (nj) dendrogram was drawn to show the phylogenetic relations of 16 quercus taxa (fig. 1). the evolutionary history was inferred using the neighbor-joining method (saitou and nei, 1987). the tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths in the same units as those of the evolutionary distances used to infer the phylogenetic tree. the evolutionary distances were computed using the maximum composite likelihood method (tamura et al., 2004) and are in the 266 aykut units of the number of base substitutions per site. the differences in the composition bias among sequences were considered in evolutionary comparisons (tamura and kumar, 2002). it can be stated as a result of the examination of nj tree that the dna region of interest has sufficient information for species separation and sectional grouping of species. sequence datas provided from studied taxa seperates the species to three sections as quercus, ilex and cerris (fig. 1). all samples are clearly differentiated from each other. furthermore, nj tree showed that this barcoding region for the quercus taxa has the enough sequence information with 94 variable sites to compare and evaulate especially taxonomically closely related species. table 3. the transition/transversion rates for purines and pyrimidines. transition/transversion ratio purines (k1) 4.29 pyrimidines (k2) 13.02 overall (r) 4.01 table 4. nucleotide frequencies for each base. transition/transversion ratio nucleotide frequence (%) a 19.66 t/u 17.84 c 32.19 g 30.30 analysis results for region covering igs and 5srrna gene igs/5s rrna gene region has the alignment length of 398 bp and 115 variable sites for taxa studied. studied taxa and accession numbers obtained from ncbi are given in table 5. variable region of the igs/5s rrna gene sequences is widest than the variable sites of 18s rrna gene/ its1/ 5.8s rrna gene/ its2/ 25s rrna gene sequences. in other words, it can be stated that although igs/5s rrna gene has shorter dna sequences, it has more distinctive information for quercus taxa. the probability of substitution (r) from one base to another base was shown in table 6. this analysis involved nucleotide sequences belonging to 15 quercus taxa. all positions containing gaps and missing data were eliminated and evolutionary analyses were conducted in mega x. the rate of transitional substitutions with 63.78 are higher than transversional substitutions according to total base substitutions (table 6). furthermore, 65% of transitional substitutions is caused by base substitutions of pyrimidines with each other. transition/transversion ratios of purines and pyrimidines are 2.87 and 4.00, respectively (table 7). in other words, transitional substitutions of both base group are higher than transversional substitutions. overall transition/transversion ratio is 1.86 in the evaulation of all positions in the final data set (table 7). the nucleotide frequencies for the dna region containing igs/5s rrna gene are 17.74% (a), 28.93% (t/u), 28.32% (c), and 25.02% (g) (table 8). finally, phylogenetic relations of 15 quercus taxa was showed with neighbor-joining (nj) dendrogram (fig. 2). the evolutionary distances were computed using the maximum composite likelihood method. it can be stated that nj tree of interested dna region seperated the studied taxa to three group as sectional and besides had sufficient information for species separation and the importance in dna barcoding of the regions 267 phylogenetic relations of species. furthermore, nj tree showed that this barcoding region like other studied region has the enough sequence information to evaulate taxonomically problematic species like members of the genus quercus. table 5. studied taxa , sections of the species studied and their gen bank accession numbers for igs/5s rrna gene region. genus section species genbank acc. no. quercus quercus q. vulcanica q.infectoria subsp. boisseri q. infectoria subsp. infectoria q. frainetto q. petraea subsp. petraea q. pubescens q. pontica fm243389 fm243123 fm243193 fm243158 fm243232 fm243345 fm243258 cerris q. ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis q. trojana q.cerris q. brantii q. libani fm242972 fm243104 fm242924 fm242906 fm242961 ilex q. ilex q. coccifera q. aucheri fm243603 fm243492 fm243431 table 6. the probability of substitution (r) from one base (row) to another base (column) for igs/5s rrna gene region. a t c g a 5.24 5.13 13.02 t 3.21 20.54 4.53 c 3.21 20.99 4.53 g 9.23 5.24 5.13 table 7. the transition/transversion rates belonging to igs/5s rrna gene region for purines and pyrimidines. the transition/transversion ratio purines 2.87 pyrimidines 4.00 overall 1.86 table 8. nucleotide frequencies provided from igs/5s rrna gene region for each base. nucleotide frequence (%) a 17.74 t/u 28.93 c 28.32 g 25.02 268 aykut in turkey, oaks which are represented by 18 species have wide geographical ditribution and dominated the most of forests. oaks having such a wide geographical spread and variety of species has been used many purposes because of economically importance, such as foods, furniture and especially fuel wood. this situations increases the taxonomic problems in the genus and make it difficult the species definition. additionally, location of turkey between the asian and european continents serve as a migration route for many plants such as oaks. weak reproductive barriers and mixed populations in many regions are observed between oak species. all of these factors may be reason of the extensive hybridization behaviours, morphological variation in the species level and also taxonomic problems. the determination of succesful barcoding regions for the genus quercus would have a considerable effect in improving available taxonomic problems and in the species level identification. for this reason, two genomic dna region containing 18s rrna gene/its1/5.8s rrna gene/its2/25s rrna gene and intergenic spacer (igs)/5s rrna gene proposed by the consortium for the barcode of life (cbol) were used as molecular markers and compared with each other. as a result, it can be stated that both barcoding regions have high variable sites based on sequence information to identify the species and evaluate relationships of species studied. furthermore, it was observed that neighbour-joining dendrograms containing the full oak data for both barcoding regions seperated the species to three group as sectional and besides studied taxa from each other. when it is evaluated the phylogenetic relationships of oaks which are completely similarly grouped as sectional by both nj dendrograms; it can be stated that the evolutionary distances among q. ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis, q. brantii, q. trojana and q. cerris belonging to section cerris showed similarity for each barcoding region. also it is observed that section ilex and section cerris is phylogenetically more close than section quercus for both barcoding region. the comparisons of three species (q. coccifera, q. ilex and q. aucheri) belonging to section ilex show to us that q. ilex and q. aucheri are closer two taxa than q. coccifera. similarly, yılmaz et al., (2013) stated in previous report on dna comparison of related three species from section ilex that q. ilex and q. aucheri were observed as close two separate groups and populations of q. coccifera showed more differences than populations of q. ilex and q. aucheri. besides that, other study on the based the all chromosomal parameters such as length range, haploid complement, a1 and a2 values of these three taxa show similarity the results provided from barcoding regions and supports the study results (yılmaz, 2018b). in a previous study; denk and grimm (2010) used the its and 5s-igs data to recognize the major infrageneric groups and the phylogenetic relationships among the species of quercus from western eurasia. however sequence regions encoding for the 18s, 5.8s and 25s rrna were excluded from the analyses by denk and grimm (2010) on the contrary of this study. while the individuals of q. pontica formed a distinct group in the study of denk and grimm (2010), in this study nj dendrograms showed that q. pontica evaluated within the section quercus is the outmost species in the comparison to other species belonging to section quercus. the comparisons of alignment lengths and variable sites of the barcoding regions studied show to us that although igs-5s rrna gene region with the 398 bp alignment length is smaller than other barcoding region, it exhibit more sequence variation with the range of 28.29%. however, when the sites with missing/ambiguous data and gaps were excluded for effective analyses, igs-5s rrna gene for studied taxa show 16.83% variation range. in other words, it has high missing data in the comparison to other barcoding region containing the sequence variation of 13.48%. the importance in dna barcoding of the regions 269 analyses especially for the species whose sequence lengths differ due to regions containing wide deletions exhibit missing/ambiguous data and gaps in sequence alignment. all species of the section quercus analyzed using the igs-5s rrna gene sequence information have regions of such deletion in comparison to other species belonging to section cerris and ilex. denk and grimm (2010) states that "a number of newly assembled and gene bank sequences include missing data due to the fact that a guanine-rich region within the 5′ its1 region can be difficult to sequence". for this reason, denk and grimm whose added the sequence information to ncbi genbank used by us re-run the sequencing to guarantee at least one completely sequenced its clone per individual. it can be said that both barcoding regions have important sequence information for species identification and evaluation of evolutionary relations in oaks, also these are recommended for further studies. in turkey, another important reason that makes it difficult to understant the oaks besides hybridization is the lack of adequate conservation programs. turkey is a very valuable country with 11000 taxon and 35% endemism rate in terms of plant diversity (vural, 2003). therefore, the results of the study are important for the determination of plant diversity and the conservation of genetic resources. especially, q. aucheri, q. vulcanica and q. macranthera subsp. syspirensis which are endemic taxa are valuable resources due to restricted distribution area. while distribution area of q. aucheri is restricted to south-west anatolia in turkey, q. macranthera subsp. syspirensis 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(manuscript received on 11 may 2019; revised on 10 july 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 31-35, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67033 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new variety of ipomoea triloba (convolvulaceae) from deccan plateau, india d.k. londhe* and a.s. bhuktar1 mvpsamaj’s art, commerce & science college, dindori, nashik (mh), india keywords: ipomoea; convolvulaceae; new variety; maharashtra; india. abstract ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis d. k. londhe & a.s. bhukatar, var. nov. are described here as a new variety of ipomoea triloba l. (convolvulaceae) from the western ghat of the deccan plateau, north maharashtra, india. observations in the field as well as in cultivation for three years showed that the variety retains its diagnostic characteristics and no intermediate exists. detailed descriptions and photo plates are provided to facilitate the identification of this new variety. introduction ipomoea l. is one of the dominant genera in the family convolvulaceae, popularly known as “morning glory”. it represents ca. 650 species and is mainly distributed in tropical and warm temperate regions of the world (mabberley, 2008). the world flora online includes ca.3000 scientific names of species rank for this genus of which ca.714 are accepted names (wfo, 2020). out of 2537, records retrieved in the world checklist of selected plant families, ca. 670 accepted species names entered for ipomoea (wcsp, 2019). india represented 60 species previously (santapau and henry, 1973), but subsequent records of ipomoea mombassana vatke (biju et al., 1998), i. parasitica (kunth) g. don (biju, 2002) and i. ochracea (lindl.) g. don, i. tenuipes verdc. (shimpale et al., 2012 and 2014) have increased the number of species to about ca. 65. taxonomists from maharashtra state reported about 37 species of ipomoea (cooke, 1905; naik, 1998; almeida, 2001; shimple et al., 2012, 2014; undiwade and bhadane, 2017; kattee et al., 2019). authors accidentally came across with an interesting specimen of ipomoea during investigation, at western ghats of deccan plateau of north maharashtra, india. the collected specimens were compared with the herbarium (bamu, bsi). we searched through online photographs as well as ipomoea species occurred in regional online flora, and plant list, ipni, jstor portal, monograph of ipomoea (convolvulaceae) in the new world (wood et al., 2020.) hence revealed that it resembles with i. triloba l. but differ in its morphological traits that turn out it as a new variety. material and methods materials were collected in the months of september to january from 2019-2021 at western edge of deccan plateau of western ghat north maharashtra, india. all specimens collected were processed using standard herbarium techniques (jain and rao, 1977). the authors have collected and recorded the necessary data regarding habitat, habit, morphological variations, phenology and geographic information such as coordinates of the type localities during the field visits. the comprehensive photography of the morphological characters was taken by using d6000 camera (nikon, japan) and cmz-6 stereomicroscope (labomed, japan). the scientific novelty of the *corresponding author. e-mail: dhananjaylondhe45@gmail.com 1mvpsamaj arts, commerce & science college, dindori, nashik (mh) india. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67033 mailto:dhananjaylondhe45@gmail.com 32 londhe and bhuktar specimens was confirmed by a critical survey of the literature (hooker, 1882; cooke, 1905; naik, 1998; almeida, 2001; singh et al., 2001) and comparing with specimens available at bsi, bamu and images of specimens available in the virtual database of jstor (2020), ipomoea species occurred in regional online flora, and plant list, ipni, monograph of ipomoea (convolvulaceae) in the new world (wood et al., 2020.) edinburgh herbarium (https://data.rbge.org.uk/search/ herbarium/) and kew herbarium (http:// apps.kew.org/herbcat/ navigator.do). taxonomic treatment ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis d. k. londhe & a. s. bhukatar var. nov. (fig. 1) the new variety is morphologically allied to ipomoea triloba l. but distinct by having tap root with adventitious roots, completely white petals, completely green sepals, stem, petiole and pedicle, dimorphic leaves, bract persistent, white stamens, hairy style, globose stigma, glabrous ovary, greenish and glabrous capsule, persistent bract, marginal pilous seeds, longer corolla, peduncles longer than petiole. type: india, maharashtra, nasik, dindori 73°48′25.92′′e, 20°12′12.02′′n elevation ca. 640m, november 2019, d.k. londhe. 3297 (holotype cal; isotype bsi, pune). annual climber, ca. 8 m long. tap root. stem cylindrical, wiry, green, pubescent, rooted at nodes and internodes in contact with soil, latex milky. leaves simple, ovate to obovate, 5-8 x 2-7 cm, glabrous above, pubescent beneath, 3-5 lobed, deeply notched, lateral lobes directed backwardly, margin entire, minutely hairy; stipule small, caduceus, pubescent; petiole 2-3 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent. inflorescence axillary umbel cyme, 1-7 flowered in short lax; peduncle up to 18 cm, longer than petiole, swollen at apex. flowers bracteate, pedicellate; pedicel 0.3-0.5 cm, bracts ovate, persistent, pubescent, ca. 6 mm long; bracteole 0.3-0.4 cm linear, green. sepals 5, unequal, 0.7-1.2 cm long, 3-7 mm broad, greenish at apex elliptic ovate to lanceolate, throughout green, usually glabrous, faintly veined; outer two sparsely hairy at lobe. petals 5, gamopetalous, funnel shaped, completely white, ca. 2.5-3 x 1.8-2.5 cm, 5-lobed, mucronate, tube 1-1.8 cm. stamen 5, 0.8-1.5 cm, unequal filaments, hairy at base, included, dithecous, white. stigma globose, white; style 1-1.3 cm long, usually glabrous. style 0.8-1.3 occasionally hairy. ovary 1.3-1.5 cm, glabrous. capsule greenish, grey after dry, glabrous, ca. 1 x 1 cm, dehisces in four halves. seeds brownish black, triquetrous, marginally pilous with brown hairs. flowering & fruiting: flowering from september to january and fruiting from december to feburary habitat: common along wet shady rocky slopes in association with indigofera tinctoria l., alysicarpus heyneanus wight & arn, crotalaria pallida var. obovata (g. don) polhill, lantana camara l., achyranthes aspera l. etymology: the variety epithet ‘deccansis’ refer collected from western ghats of deccan plataue north maharashtra, india. distribution: india, (maharashtra; nasik district; dindori) rare. conservation status: ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis is only reported from single locality from deccan plateau. it grows in open wet shady rocky slopes. no detailed data is available on the distribution and population of this variety, hence assessed here as data deficient (dd) as per the guidelines of iucn (2019). additional specimens examined: bamu: western ghats, talegoan tank 22 nov. 1975 v. n. naik 2828 ; aurangabad, 19 march 1978, v. n. pardeshi 4201. https://data.rbge.org.uk/search/ http:// a new variety of ipomoea triloba 33 bsi pune: naygaonthane, 1968, billore 133774; ramteldhari tankchandrapur, 1972, kulkarni 133991. note: the new variety is closely allied to ipomoea triloba l. but differs by its tap root with adventitious roots, completely white corolla, white stamens, completely green sepals, stem, petiole, pedicle, bract persistent, capitate stigma and sparsely hairy style with a glabrous ovary, greenish and glabrous capsule, seed marginally pilous with brown hairs. fig. 1. ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis d.k. londhe & a.s. bhukatar var. nov. a. habit, b. twing, c. tap root, d. adventatious root, e. flower with npedicle and calyx, f. corolla, g. open split corolla with white stamens, h. glabrous sepals, i pistil, j. glabrous capsule, k. seed. 34 londhe and bhuktar table 1. comparative characters of ipomoea triloba l. var. deccansis d.k. londhe & a.s. bhukatar var. nov. with allied species. characters i. triloba l. i. triloba var. deccansis var. nov. tap root present present stem color purple greenish adventitious root absent present leaf lobes 3-5, side lobes blunt or pointed and forwardly directed 3-7, side lobes pointed backwardly directed inflorescence dense cyme (5-7 flowered) lax cyme (2-7 flowered) bract caducous persistent sepals tip pink tip greenish corolla color and size red(1.5 x 1.2 cm) white (2.5-3 x 1.8-2.5 cm) anther pink white stigma 2-lobed 1-lobed style glabrous hairy ovary densely pubescent glabrous capsule pubescent purple glabrous greenish seed glabrous pilous with hairs acknowledgements authors are thankful to botanical survey of india; the principal, m. v. p. samaj a.c.s college, dindori, nasik, head of department of botany, dr babasaheb ambedkar marathwda university, aurangabad for providing facilities. we are also grateful to karodpati b.n and dr. v.b. shimple for valuable suggestions. references almeida, m.r. 2001. flora of maharashtra. vol. 3b. st. xavier’s college, mumbai. pp. 317-337 biju, s.d. 2002. ipomoea parasitica (kunth.) g. don (convolvulaceae): a new record for india. rheedea, 12(1): 77-79. biju, s.d., matthew, p. and kumar, v.m. 1998. ipomoea mombassana vatke (convolvulaceae)a new record for india. j. econ. taxon. bot. 22(2): 471-473. cooke theodore 1905. the flora of the presidency of bombay. vol. 2. taylor & francis, london. pp. 222– 261. hooker, j.d. 1882. the flora of british india. vol. 3. l. reeve & co. ltd., london. pp. 86 –92. iucn, 2019. iucn red list categories and criteria: version 14. iucn, species survival commission, gland and cambridge. 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(convolvulaceae)a new record for asian continent. jordan j.biol. sci. 7(4): 299-300. shimpale, v.b. 2019. notes on the occurrence of ipomoea acanthocarpa and ipomoea laxiflora (convolvulaceae) in india. rheedea, 29(3): 209-214. shimpale, v.b. 2012. ipomoea parasitica (kunth.) g. don. a new record for flora of maharashtra. j. econ. taxon. bot. 36(1): 52-53. singh, n.p, lakshminarasimahan, p., karthikeyan, s. and prasanna, p.v. 2001. flora of maharashtra state; dicotyledones vol. 2, botanical survey of india, calcutta. undiwade, d.n. and bhadane, v.v. 2017. ipomoea parasitica (kunth.) g. don. a new distribution record for khandesh region, maharashtra, india. int. j. curr. res. biosci. plant biol. 4(2): 72-74. shimpale, v.b., kshirsagar,p.r. and pawar n.v., 2012. ipomoea ochracea (convolvulaceae) – a new record for india. rheedea 22(2): 99-102. shimpale, v.b., kare, m.a., londhe, d.k. and bhuktar, a.s., 2014. on the occurrence of ipomoea tenuipes (convolvulaceae) in india. rheedea. 24(2): 117-119. wfo, 2020. https://wfoplantlist.org/plant-list wood, j.r., muñoz-rodríguez, p., williams, b.r. and scotland, r.w. 2020. a foundation monograph of ipomoea (convolvulaceae) in the new world. phytokeys, 143, p.1. world checklist of selected plant families 2019. royal botanic gardeb kew. (manuscript received on 7 january 2023; revised on 6 june 2023) https://wfoplantlist.org/plant-list bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 325‒327, 2019 (december) short communication © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists azolla microphylla kaulf. (salviniaceae): a new pteridophytic record for bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane1, rauf ahmed bhuiyan, jesmin akhter jolly and shahima islam2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: azolla microphylla kaulf; salviniaceae; new record; bangladesh. azolla lam., a pteridyphytic genus is represented by only seven species throughout the world and in bangladesh this genus is constituted by two species, namely a. pinnata r. br. and a. filiculoides lam. azolla are weeds in many countries of the world, covering some water bodies entirely (ahmed et al., 2009. http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/p/salviniaceae/azolla/). azolla are used for biological control of mosquito in many countries of the world. azolla is a highly productive plant. it doubles its biomass in 1.9 days or more, depending on conditions, and yield can reach up to10 tonnes fresh matter/ha in asian rice fields (hasan and chakrabarty, 2009). 37.8 t fresh weight/ha (2.78 t dm/ha dry weight) has been reported for azolla pinnata in india (ahmed et al., 2009). the plant materials of this study were collected through a hydrobiological expedition carried out in a natural haor, namely kuniar haor located at the baribari union under itna upazila of kishoreganj district in the northern part of bangladesh. geographically, the haor is located between 24˚49' 94.40" n to 24˚50' 03.23" n latitude and 91˚00' 95.84" e to 91˚00' 97.07" e longitude at an altitude of nearly 46 m above the mean sea level. this haor is located at the meeting point of the river narasunda and the river danu. the current research work was carried out from may 2019 to september 2019. the sample was collected from the surface near the bank of the haor with some other aquatic angiosperms in a large air tight polyethylene bag with some water inside. it was transported to the phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka within six hours of sample collection. some fresh materials were preserved in 4% formaldehyde and voucher specimens of the material were prepared and preserved in the laboratory. the remaining plant sample was transferred in a concrete house (1 × 0.5 m length, depth 0.40 cm) in the botanical garden, department of botany, university of dhaka for culturing. the specimen has been identified as azolla microphylla kaulf by consulting standard literature (kunze, 1845; svenson, 1944; fassett, 1957; jain et al., 1989; zimmerman et al., 1989; fernandez et al., 1993; wagner, 1997; fiogbe, 2004, edward and hove, 2004; hasan and chakrabarty 2009; dey, 2017). azolla microphylla kaulf was not reported earlier in the previous studies or literature, viz. hooker (1888), prain (1903), ahmed et al. (2009) from the areas that now fall under the territory of present bangladesh. hence, it is reported here as a new record for bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic account along with illustrations of the species has been prepared based on the fresh specimens. azolla microphylla kaulf, int j. pl. sci. 167: 529-538 (2006). (fig. 1) synonym: azolla mexicana schltdl. & cham. ex c. presl, pl. usda.gov. (1996) common names: mexican mosquito fern, mosquito fern. 1corresponding author: email: <mujaddade@yahoo.com> 2department of environmental management, school of environmental science & management, independent university, bangladesh. http://www.theplantlist.org/1.1/browse/p/salviniaceae/azolla/ mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 326 alfasane et al. prostrate, floating on the water's surface, long, stalk less, alternate, often overlapping, like shingles, along branching stems. stem up to about 1.3 cm long, usually branched, typically fanshaped in outline in well-developed plants; new growth bright green to blue-green, often turning dark red later in the season, or having at least some red-tinged leaves. plants can form large surface area colonies, which sometime cover entire aquatic body, and may form multi-layer mats, up to 3.81 cm thick. leaves 65-72 x 22-38 µm, divided into 2 lobes, folded, upper lobe above the water's surface, blunt to pointed at the tip, somewhat succulent and covered in short, glass-like hairs, the lower lobe submersed, more membranous and rounded at the tip, the distance between two leaves is around 12-18 µm. note: different species of azolla look much alike, and some of them are very difficult to distinguish without size and shape of leaves. fig. 1. azolla microphylla kaulf.; a. whole plant; b. plants showing microscopic leaves; c. arrangement of upper and lower lobes of leaves; d. cell arrangements of leaves. ecology: azolla microphylla kaulf can grow in the edges of kunier haor. this species also grows in rice fields, shallow wetlands, slow moving streams, irrigation reservoirs or canals, edges of lakes, ponds, sloughs, or backwaters. a. microphylla kaulf can grow in water surface and azolla microphylla kaulf. (salviniaceae) 327 tolerates any range of water levels. it can also develop in higher water levels and high-nutrient environments (http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-26608433). numerous rooting of a. microphylla kaulf were observed in the surface of the kunier haor. a. microphylla requires no rooting in bottom sediments. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 2009 (eds). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 5 bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 390 pp. dey, s., hore, m., biswas, j., biswas, m., mandal, b.k., das, p. and gupta, s. 2017. a new record of brown rot disease in water fern azolla microphylla (azollaceae): loss of important bio-resource. fern gaz. 20(6): 245–254. evrard, f. and hove, v.c. 2004. taxonomy of the american azolla species (azollaceae): a critical review. systematics and geography of plants 74(2): 301–318 fassett, n.c. 1957. a manual of aquatic plants. the university of wisconsin press, madison, 405 pp. fernández, o.a., sutton d.l., lallana, v.h., sabbatini, m.r. and irigoyen, j.h. 1993. aquatic weed problems and management in south and central america. in: pieterse, a.h. and murphy, k.j. (eds), aquatic weeds, 2nd edition. oxford university press, oxford, uk. pp. 406–425. fiogbe, e.d., micha, j.c. and van, h.c. 2004. use of a natural aquatic fern, azolla microphylla as a main component in food for the omnivorous-phytoplanktonophagous tilapia, oreochromis niloticus l. j. appl. ichthyol. 20(6): 517–520. hasan, m.r. and chakrabarty, r. 2009 (eds). use of algae and aquatic macrophytes as feed in small scale aquaculture a review. fao fisheries and aquaculture technical paper. no. 531. rome, fao. 123p. hooker, j.d. 1888. flora of british india, vol. 5. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. pp. 463–686. jain, s.k., vasudevan, p.k. and jha, n.k. 1989. removal of some heavy metals from polluted water by aquatic plants: studies on duckweed and water velvet. biol. wastes 28(2): 115–126. kunze, g. 1845. filices a leiboldio in mexico lactae. linnaea 18(3): 302–352. prain, d. 1903. (ind. rep. 1981). bengal plants, vol. 1. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. 663 pp. svenson, h.k. 1944. the new world species of azolla. american fern journal 34: 69–84. wagner, g.m. 1997. azolla: a review of its biology and utilization. bot. rev. 63(1): 1–26. zimmerman, w.j., lumpkin, t.a. and watanabe, i. 1989. classification of azolla spp., section azolla. euphytica 43: 223–232. (manuscript received on 16 september, 2019; revised on 10 december, 2019) http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-26608433). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 285‒298, 2019 (december) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiosperms in gobindaganj upazila of gaibandha district, bangladesh priyanka sarker and a.h.m. mahbubur rahman1 plant taxonomy laboratory, department of botany, faculty of life and earth sciences, university of rajshahi, rajshahi 6205, bangladesh keywords: diversity, angiosperm taxa, gobindaganj upazila, gaibandha district, bangladesh abstract angiosperms at gobindaganj upazila of gaibandha district, bangladesh was studied from january to december 2018. an extensive floristic survey and angiosperms collection have been made throughout the study area. a total of 295 species belonging to 246 genera under 89 families were recorded. plant habit analysis shows that herbs, shrubs, climbers and trees are represented by 47.45%, 15.93%, 12.20% and 24.40%, respectively. distribution of angiosperm species in the families shows variation. asteraceae is the most dominant family represented by 25 species, followed by fabaceae (19 species), euphorbiaceae (18 species), cucurbitaceae (17 species), acanthaceae (11 species), solanaceae (11 species), amaranthaceae (10 species) and apocynaceae (10 species). 44 families are represented by a single species each while 37 families are represented by 2 to 8 species each. status of occurrence has been recorded for proper conservation management and sustainable utilization of the taxa which show 218 (73.89%) to be common, 63 (21.35%) as rare, 10 (3.38%) as vulnerable, and 4 (1.35%) are found as endangered in the study area. for each species scientific name, voucher number, bangla name, english name, habit, status of occurrence and flowering time were recorded. introduction the flowering plants, also known as angiosperms, angiospermae or magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants, with 64 orders, 416 families, approximately 13,000 known genera and 300,000 known species (christenhusz and byng, 2016). angiosperms are seedproducing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies (derived characteristics). these characteristics include flowers, endosperm within the seeds, and the production of fruits that contain the seeds. etymologically, angiosperm means a plant that produces seeds within an enclosure; they are fruiting plants, although more commonly referred to as flowering plants. the ancestors of flowering plants diverged from gymnosperms around 245-202 million years ago, and the first flowering plants known to exist are from 160 million years ago. they diversified enormously during the lower cretaceous and became widespread around 120 million years ago, but replaced conifers as the dominant trees only around 60-100 million years ago (lindley, 1830). the angiosperms provide valuable pharmaceuticals. with the exception of antibiotics, almost all medicines are either derived directly from compounds produced by angiosperms or, if synthesized, were originally discovered in angiosperms. this includes some vitamins (e.g., vitamin c, originally extracted from fruits); aspirin, originally from the bark of willows (salix; salicaceae); narcotics (e.g., opium and its derivatives from the opium poppy, papaver 1 corresponding author: e-mail: drrahmanahmm@ru.ac.bd mailto:drrahmanahmm@ru.ac.bd 286 sarker and rahman somniferum; papaveraceae); and quinine from cinchona (rubiaceae) bark. sonic angiosperm compounds that are highly toxic to humans have proved to be effective in the treatment of certain forms of cancer, such as acute leukemia (vincristine from the madagascar periwincle, catharanthus roseus, apocynaceae), and of heart problems (digitalis from foxglove, digitalis purpurea, plantaginaceae). muscle relaxants derived from curare (strychnos toxifera, loganiaceae) are used during open-heart surgery (naik, 2003). over the last few decades several attempts have been made on the floristic studies in bangladesh, particularly in the forest and protected areas (khan and afza, 1968; khan and banu, 1972; khan and hassan, 1984; rahman and hassan, 1995; uddin et al., 2013; khan and huq, 2001; uddin and hassan, 2010; tutul et al., 2010; arefin et al., 2011; uddin and hassan, 2012). studies on angiosperm flora in different districts and upazilas of bangladesh are limited (islam et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2013; moniruzzaman et al., 2012; rahman and alam, 2013). however, there has been no floristic study in gobindaganj upazila of gaibandha district, bangladesh. materials and methods study area: gobindaganj is an upazila of gaibandha district under the division of rangpur. it is one of the largest upazila in bangladesh including 17 unions and 1 municipality. gobindaganj is located at 25.1333°n3' and 89.391°e. it is bounded by ghoraghat and polashbari upazilas on the north, sonatala and shibgonj upazilas on the south, saghatta and polashbari uazilas on the east, panchbibi and kalia upazilas on the west. one fourth of the total area of the upazila is included in the barind tract. it has 79464 households and a total area of 481.66 sq. km. as of 2011 bangladesh census, gobindaganj has a population of 714591. males constitute 50.89% of the population, and females 49.11%. this upazila's adult population is 205204. soil texture was determined by hydrometer method and soil ph was measured in a 1:2.5. soil water suspension measured by glass clatrode ph meter. this is the best soil for the growth of various plants. the study area has tropical monsoon climate. it is characterized by hot humid summers and generally mild winters and rainfall. the summer season commerce early in the march with the cessation of the northerly wind. the winter season (november-january) which is cool and with little rainfall; the summer season (june-october) is warm and with no rainfall. the maximum monthly temperature can reach up to 37.78°c during april and minimum monthly temperature 7.78°c during january (bpc, 2001). methodology: the work is based on fresh materials collected during twenty seven visits to gobindhaganj upazila of gaibandha, bangladesh from january 2018 to december 2018 to cover the seasonal variations. the visits covered all types of habitats, particular river bank, slope, village grove, fruit gardens and roadsides of the study area. each trip lasted for eight days. plant parts with either flower or fruits were collected using traditional herbarium techniques to make voucher specimens for documentation. field identification of the collected specimens was confirmed comparing with herbarium specimens rajshahi university herbarium. standard literature such as hooker (1877), prain (1903), and ahmed et al. (2008-2009) were consulted for identification. for nomenclature pasha and uddin (2013) and huq (1986) were also consulted. the specimens are deposited in the herbarium, department of botany, rajshahi university, bangladesh for future reference. results and discussion angiosperm diversity at gobindaganj upazila of gaibandha district, bangladesh was investigated during january to december 2018. a total of 295 species belonging to 246 genera angiosperms in gobindaganj upazila 287 under 89 families were recorded (table 1). of these, magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) is represented by 261 species under 213 genera and 73 families while liliopsida (monocotyledons) is represented by 34 species under 33 genera and 16 families. habit analysis shows that herbs, shrubs, climbers and trees are represented by 47.45%, 15.93%, 12.20%, 24.40% species, respectively (fig.1). fig. 1. recorded magnoliopsida plants habit diversity in the study area. fig. 2. recorded magnoliopsida plants status of occurrence in the study area. distribution of angiosperm species in the families shows variation. asteraceae is the dominant family represented by 25 species, followed by fabaceae (19 species), euphorbiaceae (18 species), cucurbitaceae (17 species), acanthaceae (11 species), solanaceae (11 species), amaranthaceae (10 species) and apocynaceae (10 species) (table 1; fig. 3). 44 families are represented by a single species each, while 37 families are represented by 2-8 species each. status of occurrence has been recorded for proper conservation management and sustainable utilization of the taxa, which show 218 (73.89%) to be common, 63 (21.35%) as rare, 10 (3.38%) as vulnerable and 4 (1.35%) as endangered in the study area (fig. 2). fig. 3. dominant plant families in the study area. based on the study, a preliminary list of angiosperm diversity at gobindaganj upazila of gaibandha district, bangladesh is recorded. a total of 295 species belonging to 246 genera under 89 families were found (table 1). the collected information is comparable with the result of other studies in bangladesh. a total of 243 species belonging to 195 genera under 95 families were recorded in khagrachhari district (islam et.al, 2009). a total of 374 species belonging to 264 genera under 84 families were recorded in lawachara national park (uddin and hassan, 2010). a total of 153 species belonging to 120 genera under 52 families were recorded in runctia sal forest (tutul et. al, 2010). a total of 245 species belonging to 183 genera and 72 families were documented in hobiganj district (anefin et al., 2011). a total of 425 species belonging to 321 288 sarker and rahman table 1. angiosperm taxa in gobindagaj upazila of gaibandha district, bangladesh scientific name and voucher number bangla name family habit status of occurrence flowering time magnoliopsida michelia champaca l., ps 19 champa magnoliaceae tree r mar-apr annona reticulata l., ps 29 nona, ata annonaceae tree c oct-jan a. squamosa l., ps 37 sarifa annonaceae tree c mar-jul polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thw., ps 21 debdaru annonaceae tree c mar-oct cinnamomum tamala nees & eberm, ps 49 tejpata lauraceae tree r feb-oct c. verum j. s. presl, ps 131 daruchini lauraceae tree r jan-mar litsea glutinosa (lour.) rob., ps 200 menda lauraceae tree v apr-jan peperomia pellucida (l.) h.b. & k., ps 44 luchi pata piperaceae herb c jul-sep nymphaea nouchali burm f., ps 132 nilsapla nymphaeaceae herb c jun-oct stephania japonica (thunb.) miers., ps 201 akanadi menispermaceae climber r jan-dec tinospora cordifolia (willd.) hook.f. & thoms., ps 45 gulancha menispermaceae climber r jan-oct argemone mexicana l., ps 133 sheyalkata papaveraceae herb c feb-jun trema orientalis (l.) blume, ps 202 jibon ulmaceae tree c jan-jun artocarpus heterophyllus lamk., ps 266 kathal moraceae tree c feb-jul a. lacucha buch-ham, ps 309 dewa moraceae tree v apr-jun ficus benghalensis l., ps 332 bot moraceae tree c may-aug f. hispida l.f., ps 346 khoksa moraceae tree c apr-sep f. racemosa l., ps 59 jagdumur moraceae tree c sep-nov f. religiosa l., ps 134 pakur moraceae tree c mar-oct sterblus asper lour., ps 203 sheora moraceae tree r feb-jun cannabis sativa l., ps 267 ganja cannabaceae herb r jan-dec pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn., ps 310 kullaruki urticaceae herb c jan-dec bougainvillea spectabilis willd., ps 333 baganbilash nyctaginaceae climber r nov-feb mirabilis jalapa l., ps 58 sondha maloti nyctaginaceae herb c jan-dec chenopodium album l., ps 135 bothua chenopodiaceae herb c dec-mar c. ambrosioides l., ps 204 banbotua chenopodiaceae herb c jan-dec spinacia oleracea l., ps 268 palongshak chenopodiaceae herb c feb-mar achyranthes aspera l., ps 311 aparg amaranthaceae herb c jan-dec aerva lanata (l.) juss. ex schult, ps 334 chaya amaranthaceae herb c apr-jul alternanthera sessilis r.br., ps 399 chanshi amaranthaceae herb c jan-dec a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb., ps 61 malancha amaranthaceae herb c mar-jun angiosperms in gobindaganj upazila 289 table 1 contd. scientific name and voucher number bangla name family habit status of occurrence flowering time amaranthus dubius mart., ps 136 daata amaranthaceae herb c feb-oct a. spinosus l., ps 205 katanotey amaranthaceae herb c jan-dec a. viridis l., ps 269 notyshak amaranthaceae herb c jan-dec a. tricolor l., ps 312 lalshak amaranthaceae herb c jan-dec celosia cristata l., ps 335 morogful amaranthaceae herb c jan-dec dirgeria arvensis forsk, ps 347 gungatika amaranthaceae herb v feb-jun portulaca oleracea l., ps 348 baranunia portulacaceae herb c may-jul p. quadrifida l., ps 67 chotonumia portulacaceae herb c may-dec basella rubra l., ps 137 pushak basellaceae climber c nov-feb mollugo pentaphylla l., ps 206 khetpapra molluginaceae herb c jun-jan polycarpon prostratum (forsk) asch. & sch., ps 270 ghima caryophyllaceae herb c dec-feb persicaria hydropiper (l.) spach., ps 313 biskatali polygonaceae herb c aug-apr dillenia indica l., ps 63 chalta dilleniaceae tree r may-oct elaeocarpus tectorius (lour.) poir., ps 138 jolpai elaeocarpaceae tree r may-oct corchorus capsularis l., ps 271 deshipat tiliaceae shrub c aug-feb grewia tiliifolia vahl., ps 51 pholsa tiliaceae tree r sep-may abroma augusta (l.) l.f., ps 139 ulatkambal sterculiaceae shrub v jun-dec bombax ceiba l., ps 207 shimul bombacaceae tree c feb-apr abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench, ps 272 bhindi malvaceae herb c jan-dec abutilon indicum (l.) sweet., ps 314 petari malvaceae herb c jul-apr gossypium hirsutum l., ps 336 karpas tula malvaceae shrub c oct-jan hibiscus rosa-sinensis l., ps 349 joba malvaceae shrub c jan-dec sida cordifolia l., ps 69 berela malvaceae herb c sep-dec barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaerth, ps 140 hijal lecythidaceae tree e may-sep carica papaya l., ps 208 pape caricaceae tree c jan-dec benincasa hispida (thurb.) cogn., ps 273 chalkumra cucurbitaceae climber c may-nov citrullus lanatus (thunb.) mat. & nak., ps 70 tormuj cucurbitaceae climber c mar-sep coccinia grandis (l.) voigt., ps 141 telakucha cucurbitaceae climber c mar-dec cucumis melo l., ps 209 bangi cucurbitaceae climber c mar-jul c. sativus l., ps 274 sosha cucurbitaceae climber c apr-sep cucurbita maxima duch, ps 315 mistikumra cucurbitaceae climber c mar-aug gymnopetalum cochinchinense (lour.) kurz., ps 337 bati jhinga cucurbitaceae climber r jul-dec lagenaria siceraria (monila) standl., ps 71 panilau cucurbitaceae climber c feb-may luffa acutangula (l.) roxb., ps 142 jhinga cucurbitaceae climber c apr-oct 290 sarker and rahman table 1 contd. scientific name and voucher number bangla name family habit status of occurrence flowering time luffa cylindrica (l.) roem, ps 210 dhundul cucurbitaceae climber c jun-dec momordica charantia l., ps 275 korolla cucurbitaceae climber c may-oct m. cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng., ps 72 kakrol cucurbitaceae climber c jul-nov mukia maderaspatana (l.) m. roem., ps 143 agmuki cucurbitaceae climber r jun-dec trichosanthes anguina l., ps 211 chichinga cucurbitaceae climber c apr-jun t. cucumerina l., ps 276 banchichinga cucurbitaceae climber c apr-jun t. dioica roxb., ps 73 potol cucurbitaceae climber c apr-sep t. tricuspidata lour., ps 144 makal cucurbitaceae climber r jul-dec cleome viscosa l., ps 212 hurhuria capparaceae herb r jan-dec brassica napus l., ps 277 sarisha brassicaceae herb c marjul b. oleracea l.var. capitata l., ps 316 badhakopi brassicaceae herb c nov-apr b. oleracea l.var. botrytis l., ps 338 phulkopi brassicaceae herb c nov-apr raphanus sativus l., ps 74 mula brassicaceae herb c jan-may moringa oleifera lamk., ps 145 sajna moringaceae tree c jan-dec manilkara zapota (l.) p. van royen, ps 213 sofeda sapotaceae tree c may-jun mimusops elengi l., ps 75 bokul sapotaceae tree c mar-jun diospyros blancoi a. dc., ps 214 bilatigab ebenaceae tree r may-jul d. malabarica (desr.) kostel., ps 278 deshi gab ebenaceae tree c may-jul d. montana roxb., ps 317 tamal ebenaceae tree v mar-may bryophyllum pinnatum (lamk.) oken, ps 76 pathorkuchi crassulaceae herb c nov-jan kalanchoe laciniata (l.) pers., ps 146 himsagor crassulaceae herb r jan-mar rosa centifolia l., ps 215 golap rosaceae shrub c jan-dec acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex. benth & hook, ps 279 akasmoni mimosaceae tree c jun-feb a. catcechu (l.f) wild., ps 318 khair mimosaceae tree r mar-dec a. nilotica (l.) del., ps 339 babla mimosaceae tree c apr-aug albizia procera (roxb.) benth, ps 350 silkoroi mimosaceae tree c jan-dec mimosa pudica l., ps 77 lojjaboti mimosaceae herb c sep-dec bauhinia acuminata l., ps 147 sada kanchan caesalpiniaceae tree r jan – dec cassia fistula l., ps 216 badorlathi caesalpiniaceae tree c mar-apr delonix regia (boyer) raf, ps 280 krishnochura caesalpiniaceae tree c apr-sep senna alata (l.) roxb., ps 78 dadmardan caesalpiniaceae shrub r sep-jan s. sophera (l.) roxb., ps 148 kalkashunda caesalpiniaceae shrub c dec-mar tamarindus indica l., ps 217 tentul caesalpiniaceae tree c apr-dec abrus precatorius l., ps 79 kuch fabaceae climber r jul-sep angiosperms in gobindaganj upazila 291 table 1 contd. scientific name and voucher number bangla name family habit status of occurrence flowering time arachis hypogea l., ps 149 chinabadam fabaceae herb c mar-dec cajanus cajan (l.) millsp, ps 218 arhar fabaceae shrub c dec-apr clitoria ternatea l., ps 281 aparajita fabaceae climber c jan-dec crotalaria pallida ait., ps 80 jhun-jhuni fabaceae herb c may-dec dalbergia sissoo roxb., ps 150 sissoo gachh fabaceae tree c mar-jun desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc., ps 219 salpani fabaceae herb c apr-nov d. triflorum (l.) dc., ps 282 kudalia fabaceae herb c jan-dec erythrina variegata l., ps 81 madar fabaceae tree c feb-may lablab purpureus (l.) sweet, ps 151 shim fabaceae climber c nov-mar lathyrus sativus l., ps 220 khesari fabaceae herb c feb-sep lens culinaris medic., ps 82 masur fabaceae herb c dec-mar melilotus alba desr., ps 152 sada methi fabaceae herb r mar-oct pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre, ps 221 karanja fabaceae tree r mar-jul sesbania bispinosa (jacq.) wight., ps 283 dhaincha fabaceae shrub c may-oct uraria picta (jacq.) desv., ps 83 shankar jata fabaceae herb r jun-dec visia sativa l., ps 153 ankari fabaceae herb c jul-nov vigna mungo (l.) hepper, ps 222 mashkalai fabaceae herb c nov-jan v. unguiculata (l.) walp., ps 284 borboti fabaceae climber c jan-dec lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers., ps 319 jarul lythraceae tree c apr-aug lawsoria inermis l., ps 84 mehedi lythraceae shrub c jun-dec trapa bispinosa roxb., ps 154 paniphal trapaceae herb c jun-sep eucalyptus citriodora hook, ps 223 eucalyptus myrtaceae tree c jan-dec psidium guajava l., ps 85 peyara myrtaceae tree c jan-dec syzygium cumini (l.) skeels., ps 155 jam myrtaceae tree c mar-jun s. jambos (l.) alston, ps 224 golapjam myrtaceae tree r mar-jun s. samarangense (blume) merr & perry, ps 86 jamrul myrtaceae tree c feb-mar punica granatum l., ps 156 dalim punicaceae shrub c jan-dec ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara, ps 225 kesordam onagraceae herb c mar-dec quisqualis indica l, ps 320 madhabi lata combretaceae shrub c jan-may terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex. dc) wight & arn., ps 87 arjun combretaceae tree c apr-jul t. chebula retz., ps 157 haritaki combretaceae tree r may-jun santalum album l., ps 226 shwet chandan santalaceae tree e feb-jul dendrophthe falcata (l.f.) etting., ps 285 bandha loranthaceae parasitic shrub r jan-dec acalypha indica l., ps 88 muktajhuri euphorbiaceae herb c dec-apr 292 sarker and rahman table 1 contd. scientific name and voucher number bangla name family habit status of occurrence flowering time baccaurea ramiflora lour., ps 158 latkan euphorbiaceae tree r jun-sep codiaeum variegatum (l.) a. juss., ps 227 patabahar euphorbiaceae shrub c jan-dec croton bonplandianus baill , ps 286 banmorich euphorbiaceae herb c jan-dec euphorbia hirta l. , ps 321 dudhiya euphorbiaceae herb c jan-dec e. nerifolia l., ps 340 mansasij euphorbiaceae shrub r jun-nov e. pulcherrima willd. ex klotz., ps 89 lal pata euphorbiaceae shrub r dec-mar e. thymifolia l., ps 159 swetkan euphorbiaceae herb r jan-dec jatropha curcas l., ps 228 jamalgota euphorbiaceae shrub r sep-dec j. gossypifolia l., ps 287 lalbherenda euphorbiaceae shrub c apr-aug manihot esculenta crantz., ps 90 kasava euphorbiaceae shrub c sep-jan phyllanthus emblica l., ps 160 amloki euphorbiaceae tree r mar-sep p. niruri l., ps 229 bhuiamla euphorbiaceae herb c aug-oct p. reticulatus poir, ps 288 chitki euphorbiaceae shrub c mar-oct p. urinaria l., ps 91 hazarmari euphorbiaceae herb c apr-oct ricinus communis l., ps 161 bherenda euphorbiaceae shrub c jan-dec tragia involucrata l., ps 230 bichuti euphorbiaceae herb e oct-jan trewia nodiflora l., ps 289 batul, latim euphorbiaceae tree r feb-aug zizyphus mauritiana lamk., ps 322 boroi rhamnaceae tree c sep-jan vitis trifolia (l.) domin., ps 341 amallata vitaceae climber r jan-dec litchi chinensis sonn., ps 92 lichu sapindaceae tree c apr-jun magnifera indica l., ps 162 aam anacardiaceae tree c jan-apr spondias pinnata (l.f) kurz, ps 231 aamra anacardiaceae tree c feb-jun azadirachta indica a. juss., ps 290 neem meliaceae tree c mar-jul swietenia mahagoni jacq., ps 93 mahagoni meliaceae tree c apr-nov aegle marmelos (l.) corr., ps 163 bel rutaceae tree c apr-dec citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle., ps 232 labu rutaceae shrub c mar-sep citrus maxima (burm.) merr., ps 291 jambura rutaceae tree c feb-nov glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a.dc., ps 323 datmajani rutaceae shrub r jan-dec limonia acidissima l., ps 94 kothbel rutaceae tree c feb-dec murraya paniculata (l.) jack , ps 164 kamini rutaceae shrub c mar-jan averrhoa carambola l., ps 233 kamranga oxalidaceae tree c sep-mar oxalis corniculata l., ps 292 amrul oxalidaceae herb c sep-may impatiens balsamina thusmb, ps 324 dupati balsaminaceae herb c mar-oct centella asiatica (l.) urban, ps 342 thankuni apiaceae herb c jan-dec coriandrum sativum l., ps 95 dhoney apiaceae herb c dec-feb daucus carota l., ps 165 gajor apiaceae herb c may-aug angiosperms in gobindaganj upazila 293 table 1 contd. scientific name and voucher number bangla name family habit status of occurrence flowering time exacum pedunculatum l., ps 234 chirattam gentianaceae herb r feb-apr allamanda cathartica l., ps 293 alkananda apocynaceae shrub c jan-dec alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br., ps 96 chatim apocynaceae tree r nov-may carissa carandas l., ps 166 karamcha apocynaceae herb c jan-dec catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don., ps 235 nayantara apocynaceae herb c jan-dec holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall. ex decne, ps 97 kurchi apocynaceae tree v apr-jan nerium oleander l., ps 167 korobi apocynaceae shrub c jan-may plumeria alba l., ps 236 katgolap apocynaceae tree r may-nov rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth ex kurz., ps 294 sarpagandha apocynaceae herb r jan-dec tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r.br.ex.roem & schult, ps 325 tagor apocynaceae shrub r may-jan thevetia peruviana pers., ps 98 haldekarabi apocynaceae tree c jan-dec calotropis gigantea (l.) r.br., ps 168 akondo asclepiadaceae shrub c apr-may c. procera (ait.) r. br., ps 237 akondo asclepiadaceae shrub c apr-may capsicum frutescens l., ps 99 morich solanaceae herb c jan-dec cestrum nocturnum l., ps 169 hasnahena solanaceae shrub c jan-dec datura metel l., ps 238 dhatura solanaceae shrub c jan-dec lycopersicon esculentum mill., ps 295 tomato solanaceae herb c sep-apr nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv., ps 326 bontamak solanaceae herb c jan-dec physalis minima l., ps 343 kopalftka solanaceae herb c jan-dec solanum melongena l., ps 100 begun solanaceae herb c oct-feb s. nigrum l., ps 170 titbegun solanaceae herb c jan-dec s. tuberosum l., ps 239 golalu solanaceae herb c oct-feb s. torvum swartz., ps 296 gota begun solanaceae shrub c dec-feb s. virginianum l., ps 101 kantakari solanaceae herb c oct-feb evolvulus nummularius (l.) l., ps 171 bhuiokra convolvulaceae herb c jan-dec ipomoea aquatica forssk, ps 240 kalmishak convolvulaceae climber c jan-oct i. batatas (l.) lamk., ps 297 mistialu convolvulaceae climber c jan-dec i. fistulosa mart. ex. choisy in dc., ps 102 dholkalmi convolvulaceae shrub c jan-dec cuscuta reflexa roxb., ps 172 swarnolata cuscutaceae climber c aug-dec nymphoides indicum (l.) o, kuntze, ps 241 panchuli menyanthaceae herb c oct-feb cordia dichotoma forst., ps 103 boula boraginaceae tree v feb-aug heliotropium indicum l., ps 173 hatishur boraginaceae herb c jan-dec clerodendrum viscosum vent., ps 242 bhat verbenaceae shrub c jan-jul c. inerme (l.) grentn, ps 298 bamunhati verbenaceae shrub c jul-nov 294 sarker and rahman table 1 contd. scientific name and voucher number bangla name family habit status of occurrence flowering time duranta repens l., ps 104 katamehedi verbenaceae shrub c jan-dec lantana camara l., ps 174 chotra verbenaceae shrub c jan-dec lippia alba (mill.) briton et wilson., ps 243 boraokra verbenaceae shrub c jan-dec phyla nodiflora (l.) greene, ps 299 khudiokra verbenaceae herb c jan-dec tectona grandis l.f., ps 105 shegun verbenaceae tree c jul-nov vitex negundo l., ps 175 nisinda verbenaceae shrub r apr-feb anisomeles indica (l.) kuntz., ps 244 gobura lamiaceae herb r oct-jul hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., ps 327 tokma lamiaceae herb v jan-dec leonurus sibiricus l., ps 106 roktodron lamiaceae herb c jan-dec leucas aspera (willd) link, ps 176 shetodron lamiaceae herb c jan-dec mentha viridis l., ps 245 pudina lamiaceae herb c jul-sep ocimum tenuiflorum l., ps 300 tulsi lamiaceae herb r jan-dec o. americanum l., ps 107 bon tulsi lamiaceae herb c jun-feb jasminum sambac (l.) ait., ps 177 beli oleaceae shrub c mar-jul nyctanthes arbor-tristis l., ps 246 sheuli oleaceae shrub c aug-sep bacopa monnieri (l.) pannel, ps 301 brammishak scrophulariaceae herb v may-dec scoparia dulcis l., ps 328 bondone scrophulariaceae herb c jan-dec andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall ex ness., ps 108 kalamegh acanthaceae herb c jan-mar barleria prionitis l., ps 178 kanta-janti acanthaceae herb c nov-feb eranthemum pulchellum andre, ps 247 shukh murali acanthaceae shrub r feb-apr hemigraphis hirta (vahl) t. anders., ps 302 buriana acanthaceae herb c jan-jul hygrophila schulli (buch.-ham.) m.r. & s.n.almeida, ps 109 kulekharha acanthaceae herb r oct-jan justicia adhatoda l., ps 179 basok acanthaceae shrub r jan-apr j. gendarussa burm. f., ps 248 jagath madan acanthaceae herb c apr-aug nelsonia canescens (lamk.) spreng., ps 110 paramul acanthaceae herb c oct-feb ruellia tuberosa l., ps 180 chatpoty acanthaceae herb c jan-dec rungia pectinata (l.) ness in dc., ps 249 pindi acanthaceae herb c nov-may thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottler) roxb., ps 303 nillata acanthaceae climber r jan-dec sesamum indicum l., ps 329 til pedaliaceae herb c feb-oct tabebuia aurea f.t, ps 344 tobebia bignoniaceae tree e jan-dec gardenia augusta (l.) merr., ps 345 gondhoraj rubiaceae shrub c mar-may ixora coccinia l., ps 111 rongon rubiaceae shrub c jan-dec neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser, ps 181 kadom rubiaceae tree c may-jul angiosperms in gobindaganj upazila 295 table 1 contd. scientific name and voucher number bangla name family habit status of occurrence flowering time paederia foetida l., ps 250 gandhavaduli rubiaceae climber v jan-dec ageratum conyzoides l., ps 112 ochunti asteraceae herb c nov-jun blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc., ps 182 borokucksim asteraceae herb c nov-jul chrysonthemum coronarium l., ps 251 chandro mollika asteraceae herb c dec-feb chromolaena odorata (l.) king. & robinson, ps 330 germanlata asteraceae herb r nov-may cirsium arvense (l.) scop., ps 113 shial kanta asteraceae herb c feb-jun cosmos bipinatus cav., ps 183 cosmos asteraceae herb c jan-dec eclipta alba (l.) hassk, ps 252 kalokeshi asteraceae herb r jan-dec enhydra fluctuans lour., ps 114 helencha asteraceae herb c jan-apr gnaphalium luteo-album l., ps 184 bara kamra asteraceae herb c mar-aug grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir., ps 253 namuti asteraceae herb r dec-may hellianthus annuus l., ps 115 surjomukhi asteraceae herb c jan-dec lactuca sativa l., ps 185 lettuce asteraceae herb c jan-dec launaea aspleniifolia dc., ps 254 tik-chana asteraceae herb c jan-aug mikania cordata (burm f.) robinson, ps 116 asamlata asteraceae climber c oct-feb sonchus asper (l.) hill., ps 186 sonpalong asteraceae herb c sep-jun spilanthes acmella (l.)l., ps 255 marhatitiga asteraceae herb r jan-dec synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn, ps 304 relanodi asteraceae herb r jan-dec tagetes erecta l., ps 117 genda asteraceae herb c jan-dec t. patula l., ps 187 gendaphul asteraceae herb c nov-mar tridax procumbens l., ps 256 tridhara asteraceae herb c jan-dec vernonia cinerea (l.) less., ps 305 kuksim asteraceae herb c jan-dec wedelia trilobata (l.) a.s. hitchc., ps 331 keshraj asteraceae herb c jan-dec xanthium indicum koen ex roxb. , ps 257 ghagra asteraceae herb c jan-dec youngia japonica (l.) dc., ps 118 youngful asteraceae herb r aug-jan zinnia pauciflora l., ps 188 zinnia asteraceae herb r jun-aug liliopsida areca catechu l., ps 119 shupari arecaceae tree c jan-dec borassus flabellifer l., ps 189 taal arecaceae tree c jan-oct cocos nucifera l., ps 258 narkel arecaceae tree c jan-dec phoenix sylvestris roxb., ps 120 khejur arecaceae tree c dec-may alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g. don., ps 190 mankochu araceae herb c jul-oct amorphophallus campanulatus (roxb) bi. ex. dense, ps 121 olkochu araceae herb c may-nov colocasia esculenta (l.) schott., ps 191 kochu araceae herb c may-oct 296 sarker and rahman table 1 contd. scientific name and voucher number bangla name family habit status of occurrence flowering time epipremnum pinnatum (l.) engl., ps ps 259 money plant araceae climber r apr-may typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott, ps 306 camgash araceae herb c apr-oct lemna perpusilla torrey, ps 122 khudipana lemnaceae herb c jan-dec commelina benghalensis l., ps 192 kanshira commelinaceae herb c apr-nov cyanotis cristata schutt., ps 260 kendara commelinaceae herb c sep-feb cyperus rotundus l., ps 123 muthagas cyperaceae herb c sep-feb kyllinga nemoralis (j.r. forst. & g. forst.) dandy ex hutchins. & dal., ps 124 nirbishi cyperaceae herb c jun-sep bambusa bambos (l.) voss., ps 193 bash poaceae shrub c jan-dec cynodon dactylon (l) pers., ps 261 durba poaceae herb c jan-dec oryza sativa l., ps 125 dhan poaceae herb c jul-sep saccharum officinarum l., ps 194 aakh poaceae shrub c jan-dec setaria glauca (l.) beauv , ps 262 kawn poaceae herb c jan-dec triticum aestivum l., ps 307 gom poaceae herb c jan-dec zea mays l., ps 126 vutta poaceae shrub c mar-apr ananas comosus (l.) merr., ps 195 anaras bromeliaceae herb r feb-jul musa paradisiaca l., ps 263 kola musaceae herb c jan-dec cucurma longa l., ps 127 holud zingiberaceae herb c mar-oct zingiber officinale rose, ps 196 ada zingiberaceae herb c mar-aug cheilocostus speciosus (j.koenig) c. specht., ps 264 keumul costaceae herb r sep-dec canna indica l. , ps 128 kolaboti cannaceae herb c apr-nov allium cepa l., ps 197 piyaj liliaceae herb c feb-jun a. sativum l., ps 265 rosun liliaceae herb c feb-apr asparagus racemosus willd., ps 308 satamili liliaceae climber r nov-mar aloe vera (l.) burn.f., ps 129 ghrita kumari aloeaceae herb c sep-dec smilax macrophylla roxb., ps 198 kumarilata smilaceae climber r nov-mar dioscorea alata l., ps 130 chupri alu dioscoriaceae climber r oct-dec vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook.f. , ps 199 rasna orchidaceae epiphyti c herb r apr-jun jan = january, feb = february, mar = march, apr= april, may = may, jun = june, jul = july, aug = august, sep = september, oct = october, nov = november, dec = december, c = common, r = rare, vul = vulnerable, e= endangered. genera 108 families were recorded in rajshahi district (rahman, 2013). a total of 302 species belonging to 243 genera under 84 families were recorded in bangladesh police academy, rajshahi (rahman et. al, 2014). but there has been published information on the diversity of angiosperm plant species in gobindaganj of gaibandha district, bangladesh. the study area has a moderately rich resource of angiosperms, it witness some threats which might drive this resource to an endangered stated. observations and group discussion with local people during field works resulted in identifying some major threats which include urbanization, angiosperms in gobindaganj upazila 297 modern agriculture, brick fields, deforestation, and lack of awareness, exotic plantation and river erosion. therefore, efforts should be undertaken to safeguard the plants through ex situ and in situ conservation approaches, public awareness, and ensuring protection of habitats. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the ministry of science and technology (most), government of the people’s republic of bangladesh for financial support to complete this research work. the authors are also thankful to the local people in gobindaganj upazila of gibandha district, bangladesh for their 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(manuscript received on 4 june, 2019; revised on 4 december, 2019) 1 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 249-254, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70500 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of seaweeds from the st. martin’s reef, bangladesh. ii. abdul aziz and md. almujaddade alfasane* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: new records; st. martin’s reef; cox’s bazar; bangladesh. abstract peyssonnelia conchicola piccone and grunow, gymnothamnion elegans (schousboe) j. ag. (reds) and spatoglossum schroederi (mertens) kütz. (brown) seaweeds as new records are described and reported here in the second part of studies in the st. martin’s reef. this along with the eight seaweeds (with six new records) recorded and described in the first part earlier, the total taxa now are 11 (eleven). again, all the eight samples were collected in a single day light period. through extensive studies including sub-littoral zones of the two tiny reefs having crystal clear water is expected to yield many seaweed species, including new ones. introduction occurrence of the st. martin’s reef (smr) (fig. 1; aziz et al. 2015, 2023) at about 14 km west of the st. martin’s island was known only in the year 2013, and first explored its sub-littoral seaweed flora on 24th april 2014 with the assistance of bangladesh navy reporting 8 seaweeds such as (pterocladiella maribagoensis boo et geraldino, hypnea spinella (c. agardh) kützing, jania pumila lamx., j. ungulata f. brevior (yendo) dawson, bryopsis plumosa (huds.) c. ag. and halimeda tuna (lin.) lamx).of which pterocladiella maribagoensis boo et geraldino, and bryopsis plumosa (huds.) c. ag. were indicator species of a new reef and six taxa having low turbidity (0.23 ntu), >5.5 m secchi depth (visibility) and 22% light penetration up to 1 m depth indicate a highly transparent water (aziz et al., 2023). materials and methods studies were carried out on the seaweed specimens collected from st. martin’s reef on 24 april 2014, taking a complete support from the bangladesh navy and its scuba diving team equipped with underwater communication systems. the smr is situated at 20º 33΄ 24˝ 20º 34΄ 48˝ n and 92º 10΄ 24˝ 92º 11΄ 12˝ e, about 14 km west of the smi (aziz et al. 2015, 2023; aziz and alfasane, 2020). collected seaweed samples were taken in transparent polythene bags filled with seawater, kept in icebox, transferred to laboratory, preserved in 10% formalin and herbaria were prepared. all the preserved specimens and herbarium sheets are kept in the national professor akm nurul islam laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. results and discussion occurrence and illustrated account of three seaweeds in the st. martin’s reef, are presented in the present paper. an illustrated account of the two groups of seaweed taxa recorded from the st. martin’s reef along with discussion against each taxon is given. *corresponding author. e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com 250 aziz and alfasane fig. 1. st. martin’s island showing the st. martin’s reef (smr) with sampling sites. rhodophyceae order: cryptonemiales; family: squamariaceae genus: peyssonnelia decaisne 1. peyssonnelia conchicola piccone and grunow (fig. 2a-c) (taylor, 1960, p. 372; weber-van bosse, 1916-17; williams, 1949) thallus red-purple colored, consisting of superimposed fan-shaped slightly leathery fronds, lower larger one was about 4.0 cm wide, firmly adhering to boulders, to gradually smaller to about 2.0 cm wide, < 0.2 mm thick, upper ones prominently up-curved with wavy free margins giving a rosy outlook, and without concentric or radial streak (fig. 2a). the upper surface of fronds is soft due to less calcification, poorly di-stromatic in cross section having single layered hypothallus of larger oblong cells, 7 790 µm long, loosely arranged grayish-pink cells, some producing single unicellular rhizoids 72 to 120 µm long (fig. 2c) and surrounded by thick calcification and attaching to boulders. the perithallus is composed of vertical filaments of nearly quadrangular 4-5 cells each, gradually shorten upwardly as compact spherical cells, nearly 36 µm in diameter covered with thin cuticle (fig. 2b). new records of seaweeds from the st. martin’s reef 251 fig. 2a-c. peyssonnelia conchicola piccone and grunow. (a) a preserved whole plant. (b) vertical section showing distromatic thallus and rhizoids from hypothallial cell (cc= calcium carbonate, r = rhizoid). (c) a portion enlarged showing rhizoid formation. scale= 10 μm. the species differs from p. polymorpha (aziz, 1997, p. 81-83, figs1-4) by having rectangular cells in two layers, the hypothallus and non-calcified whole frond like p. rubra (fritsch, 1945). collection no. 2a (14) order: ceramiales; family: ceramiaceae genus: gymnothamnion j. agardh 2. gymnothamnion elegans (schousboe) j. agardh. (fig. 3a-c) (taylor, 1960, p. 522, pl.66, figs. 1-4; joly and cordeiro, 1962, p. 225, pl. 2, figs. 1-2; pham, 1969, p. 221, fig. 2.151) synonyms: gymnothamnion bipinnatum collins et hervey; callithamnion elegans (schousb.) born. et thuret; plumaria ramosa yam. et tan.; ptilothamnion bipinnatum howe plants filamentous, monosiphonous, uncorticated, the primary filaments decumbent and attaching by rhizoids, forming on the upper side plumose fronds which have a percurrent axis and opposite pinnate or bipinnate branching, plants up to 1-4 cm long, or intertwined to form a thin mat over the substratum, gerenally showing rhizomatous axes bearing erect pinnate branches 0.7-5.1 mm. tall, with descending rhizoids opposite these; the axes 20-25 μ diam., the cells 2-5 μ diameters long, subcylindrical or somewhat clavate, bearing the branchlets at the forward end; branchlets opposite in pairs, 9-14 μ diam., sometimes reduced or absent; on well developed or erect branches regularly distichously pinnate and plumose, the pinnae somewhat ascending, often regularly again pinnate on the upper side only. thallus articulated consisting of a horizontal rhizome, a single row of elongated cells, and erect axes (pinna) produced from a relatively short robust cell of the rhizome after every 2-6 cells and opposite to it, rhizoids developed at the tip of three to five-celled branch (fig. 3a-c). axes generally pinnately branched (pinnules), shorter at the base and top, densely equidistantly placed, median pinnules up to 1 mm long consisting of up to nine cylindrical cells. terminal part of each axis is pyramidate consisting of about seven pairs of pinnae. baloonlike conceptacles are located at tips of median pinnules, sporangia tetrahedral, spherical, or somewhat ovoid (fig. 3c). habitat: grows on rocky substrata as creeper. collection no. 1a (11) 252 aziz and alfasane fig. 3a-c. gymnothamnion elegans (schousboe) j. agardh. (stained with safranin). (a) a part of plant showing rhizomatous prostrate part with rhizoids (h) from the under surface and 3 pinnate branches (pinnae) from above. (b) a developing photosynthetic/ erect axis consisting of 21 axial cells or 21 pair branches. (c) showing enlarged pinnules with balloon-like sporangia at the tip. bars = 5 mm. (sm = sporangium, h = hapteron). scale= 10 μm. phaeophyceae order: dictyotales; family: dictyotaceae genus: spatoglossum kützing 3. spatoglossum schroederi (mertens) kützing (fig. 4a-c) (taylor, 1960, p. 225, pl. 33, fig. 5) thallus dark brown in colour, turned to black-brown when dried, moderately adherent to paper, flattened and erect, 5-12 cm in height, branches irregularly dichotomous or subdichotomous, deeply and repeatedly alternately or palmately lobed, the apices rounded, terminal segments often elongated in the older parts, the margin with or without conspicuous teeth and proliferous lobes, the margins undulate or irregularly dentate, the teeth in part acute ; possesses a matted rhizoidal holdfast (fig. 4); lamina is about 0.6 mm thick, cuticle is 4.55.0 µm thick; epidermal cells short but about 20.5 µm in diameter; cortical cells uniformly thick from epidermis to medullary zone, approximately similar in size, thickness more or less ranging from 25.5 to 38.0 µm, periclinally 44.0 – 59.0 µm, medulla cells thickness ranges from 44.0 – 66.0 µm, periclinally 8094 µm (figs. 4b-c);; high concentration of plastid in epidermal cells, fewer in cortical and medullary cells; plastids are very small, spherical, 1.0-2.0 µm in diameter; in surface view, cells are rectangular to quadrangular, number of cells in tires varied little, 68 in stacks beside two layered medullary region (fig. 4c); reproductive structure not found. new records of seaweeds from the st. martin’s reef 253 fig. 4a-c. spatoglossum schroederi (mertens) kützing; (a) a whole plant. (b) transverse section of the frond showing two layered thick walled medullary cells with brick-like stacked cortical layers of cells. (c) enlarged part of transverse section. scale= 10 μm. islam et al. (2004) reported spatoglossum asperum from st. martin’s island, bangladesh. the present species is much smaller and sometimes with proliferations. medullary region of s. asperum shows a single layer of quadratic cells with poor contents. but in this species medullary region shows two layers of cells (fig. 4c) and more regularly arranged cortical layers than that of s. asperum. habitat: spatoglossum schroederi grows on boulders, tightly attached with the substratum by matted rhizoidal holdfast. collection no. 2a (16) the only six collections were made from only about 5-20% of the reefs area in day light and recorded a total of 11 taxa and should be considered as the starting point. a thorough study around the reefs including sub-littoral zones (1020 m depth) expected to yield a good number of genera and species of all three groups. the assumption is based on the physical and chemical parameters of the reef studied: (i) high secchi depth (>5.5 m), (ii) high transparency thus light penetration of 22% at 1m depth), (iii) low turbidity (0.23 ntu) and (iv) importantly the rocky bay bottom (aziz et al. 2023) could be a best site for seaweed cultivation around the reefs. 254 aziz and alfasane acknowledgements heartfelt gratitude to the bangladesh navy authority for providing the naval ship and scuba divers with underwater photographic and communication systems to carry out the research in the bottom of the sea reef. references aziz, a. 1997. peyssonnelia polymorpha (zonard.) schmitz (rhodophyta) newly recorded from st. martin's island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 81-83. aziz, a. and alfasane, m.a. 2020. new records of seaweeds from southeastern coasts of cox’s bazar district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 335–343. aziz, a., kabir, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2023. seaweed flora of the st. martin’s reef, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 153-163. aziz, a., towhidy, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2015. sublittoral seaweed flora of the st. martin’s island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 44(2): 223-236. aziz, a., towhidy, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2022. species diversity, distribution and standing biomass of sublittoral seaweeds of the st. martin's island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 13-29. fritsch, f.e. 1945. the structure and reproduction of the algae, volume 2, phaeophyceae, rhodophyceae, myxophyceae and a foreword. xiv+939 pp., 2 maps. london: cambridge university press. islam, a.k.m.n., aziz, a. and parvin, r. 2004. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh-ii. brown algae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 1-7. joly, a.b. and cordeiro, m. 1962. addition to the marine flora of brail, ii. bol. fac. fil. ciênc. letr., univ. s. paulo 257, botânica 18: 223-228+ 4 pls. pham, h.h. 1969. marine algae of south vietnam (rong biên phíanam viêt nam). trung tâm hoc liêu, sàigòn, 558 pp. taylor, w.r. 1960. marine algae of the eastern tropical and subtropical coasts of the americas. the university of michigan press, ann arbor, 870 pp. weber-van bosse, a. 1916-17. rhizophyllidaceae, squamariaceae, pp. 128-146. in bϕrgesen, f. 1913-20, q.v. williams, l.g. 1949. marine algal ecology at cape lookout, north carolina. furman stud., bull. furman univ. 31(5): 1-21, 1 fig. (manuscript received on 10 march 2022; revised on 12 october 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 51-55, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2. 74388 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists elodea nuttallii (planch.) st. john (hydrocharitaceae) a new angiospermic record for bangladesh kazi sadia nawrin*, md. almujaddade alfasane and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: elodea nuttallii (planch.) st. john; hydrocharitaceae; new record; bangladesh. abstract elodea nuttallii (planch.) st. john has been explained as a new report from bangladesh. the taxonomic description including flowering, fruiting, ecology and distribution of the species are elaborated here. introduction in bangladesh, freshwater wetlands mainly occupied by haors which cover major areas of kishoreganj and greater sylhet districts. a large number of aquatic macrophytes have been found of these habitats. alfasane et al. (2010, 2013, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023) have been reported 11 species of aquatic macrophytes either as new to science, new records and new occurrence including the present species from bangladesh. recently alfasane et al. (2023) reported elodea canadensis michx. from hakaluki haor, bangladesh. it indicates a lot of aquatic macrophytes are not yet listed in the biodiversity components from bangladesh. there are lots of physic-chemical, socio-ecological, economic and cultural importance present of the haors of kishoreganj district (kishoreganj zilla, 1993). this haor district contains 13 upazillas where a total number of 85 haors are present. the total area occupied is about 75000 hectare (dae, 2003-2010). the four upazillas namely, austogram, mithamoin, itna and nikli are fully bounded by haors. on the other hand five upazillas namely, bajitpur, bhairab, karimganj, kuliarchar and tarail are partially bounded by hoars. the agricultural sector is the prime focuses around the haors of kishoreganj district (bhwdb, 2016). mahitulpa haor from austagram upazila of kishoreganj district covers the approximate area 549 ha. this haor is different in geographical position, morphometric nature and biodiversity standpoint. this haor play a great role for the socio-economic importance of bangladesh. due to environmental degradation and losses of biological diversity a taxonomic survey of aquatic plants with hydrobiological study has been made of the mahitulpa haor from kishoreganj districts. a total of 16 genera and about 100 species have been recorded under hydrocharitaceae family. the members of this group mostly in aquatic and cosmopolitan in nature. a total of 8 genera and 14 species have been reported from bangladesh so far (alfasane et al., 2010, 2022, 2023; siddiqui et al., 2007) from hydrocharitaceae. in the present paper, the first report of elodea nuttallii (planch.) st. john from bangladesh has been made. materials and methods the samples were collected from the mahitulpa haor from mankhola village of austagram upazila of kishoreganj district of bangladesh from 01.02.2024 to 05.02.2024. the collections were made at the latitude 24°18'4.78"n and longitude 91° 1'43.28"e. the samples were collected from the depth between 2.04.0 m of the littoral area. the samples were then put in a collection bag mixing with water. *corresponding author. e-mail: sadianawrin477@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2. mailto:sadianawrin477@gmail.com 52 nawrin et al. the detailed taxonomic work and autecological parameters has been made in the national professor a.k.m. nurul islam laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. the exsitu conservation of the elodea nuttallii was done in the botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. the identity of elodea nuttallii has been confirmed with the help of the world monographs and literature (anderberg, 1992; barrat-segretain et al., 2002; cook and urmi-könig, 1985; fassett, 1957; haynes and holm-nielsen, 2001; simpson, 1984, 1990; st john, 1965; subramanyam, 1974; xu et al., 2007). the collected fresh materials of the e. nuttallii have been used for taxonomic description and illustrations. there is no report of e. nuttallii was found of the studied literature (alfasane et al., 2023; hooker 1888; khan and halim 1987; prain 1903; siddiqui et al. 2007) indicating that this species is a new record for bangladesh. results and discussion after detailed observation, the collected specimen was identified as elodea nuttallii under the family hydrocharitaceae. detailed taxonomic description, ecological features, photographs and illustrations are given below: elodea nuttallii (planch.) st. john, rhodora 22:29 (1920) (fig. 1) common name: nuttall waterweed, western waterweed, waterweed esthwaite, free-flowered waterweed, nuttall's pondweed, slender waterweed and western elodea. synonyms: anacharis nuttallii planch., a. occidentalis (pursh) victorin, elodea canadensis rich, in michx. var. angustifolia (britton ex rybd.) farw., e. columbiana h. st. john, e. minor (engelm. ex caspary) farw., e. occidentalis (pursh) st. john, philotria angustifolia (muhl.) britton ex rydb., p. minor small, p. nuttallii (planch.) rybd. ex britton & brown, p. occidentalis (pursh) house, serpicula occidentalis pursh, s. verticillata l. f. ß var. angustifolia muhl. and udora verticillata var. minor (l. f.) spreng. engelm. ex caspary. description of the plant perennial, submerged-rooted aquatic herb; dioecious, stems long, slender, tips not crowded, often freely branched, 35-120 cm long, round in t.s; roots white, unbranched, originated from nodes; whorls of leaves, whorls 3-4, lower leaves lanceolate to ovate, opposite, upper leaves larger, lower leaves smaller rather than that of upper leaves, reduced; wider upper and median leaves 5.5-12 mm long, 0.25-1.4 mm wide, divergent, paler, softer, linear, lanceolate, recurved, margins folded, finely serrulate, green or pale green; flower small, stalk thread like; male flowers sessile, released when anthesis, little floral tube with female flowers ; spathes staminate, 2-parts, twisted lobes, apiculate, sessile, borne at median axis, ovoid to subglobose, suddenly formed twisted acuminate teeth with 2.2 mm long body; obovate to ovate sepals, dark or slightly reddish, 0.75-1.2 mm long, 0.4-0.6 mm wide; petals preset or may not be present, obovate, lanceolate to ovate, 1.45 mm long, delicate, white; stamens 9 with short pedicel, 1.3 mm long, 3 inner stamen filaments forming one column, outer 6 in separate; 1.1 mm long and 0.7 mm wide anther, ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid, tetrad pollen; upper axils remains female flower, cylindrical to broad, 8-24 mm in length, up to 8 cm long threadlike hypanthium, enlarged, tip bifid, slendar stigma and style; sigma 3, fusiform to ovoid fruit forming capsule, 5-7 mm in length and diameter 1.5-2.2 mm, sessile, narrowly ovoid to fusiform; seeds nature fusiform and beaked, base of seeds occupied with long hairs, 4.0-4.5 mm long, 0.5-0.9 mm in diameter. elodea nuttallii (planch.) st. john (hydrocharitaceae) 53 fig. 1 (a-e): a. geographical area of the mahitulpa haor where showing the collection site of (mt1, sentinel 1 sar image) of elodea nuttallii (planch.) h. st john; b-d. habit and habitat of e. nuttallii , anchoring and floating under submerged condition; e-f. mature plants with the arrangement of leaves (scale= 5 mm). 54 nawrin et al. distribution and ecology in bangladesh, it is so far only confined to the mahitulpa haor of kishoreganj district. elodea nuttallii was found in the littoral portion of the haor under submerged condition at the depth up to 6 ft, calm water with oligotrophic nature. they prefer to grow with sufficient light. a total of 27 samples were collected from 9 stations for physico-chemical and biological analyses of the mahitulpa haor. the mean values of the ranges of different physicochemical parametrs were found during the investigation as follows: air temperature 30.25-32.52°c, water temperature 27.2830.45°c, electric conductivity 78.87-98.57 µs/cm, total dissolved solids 40.58-52.67 mg/l, ph 7.08 to 7.15, alkalinity 0.78-0.90 meq/l, turbidity 1.15-1.38 ntu, biochemical oxygen demand of bod5 0.95-2.95 mg/l, dissolved oxygen 10.31-14.25 mg/l, nitrate-nitrogen (no3–n) 0.250.40, total suspended solids 17.14-22.58 mg/l, soluble reactive phosphorus 17.58-20.36 µg/l, soluble reactive silicate 5.45-6.46 mg/l, fl 0.09-0.15 mg/l, na+ 0.09-0.13 mg/l, so4 28.56-10.21 mg/l, k+ 0.18-0.20, nh4 + 0.17-0.19mg/l, no2 0.08-0.13 mg/l, cl 0.45-0.52 mg/l, fe2+ 0.14-0.25 mg/l, mn2+ 0.17-0.24 mg/l, mg2+ 0.28-0.34 mg/l and ca2+ 0.53-0.75 mg/l. e. nuttallii was collected in association with other aquatic plants namely, ceratophyllum, potamogeton, myriophyllum, hygroghiza and hydrilla. as the north american native of elodea nuttallii which were introduced in europe. it is vastly used in aquarium as an ornamental plant. in 1939, e. nuttallii had been reported from belgium and different countries rest of the world (cook and urmi-könig, 1985; nino et al., 2005; simpson, 1984, 1990; xu et al. 2007). it has massive growth and invasiveness due to the vegetative propagation. the differences between the elodea canadensis and e. nuttallii were found in the inflorescences. the male flowers of e. nuttalllii were found to be sessile and these were released at the time of anthesis. on the other hand a minute floral tube present in the female flower rather than that of elodea canadensis. the leaves of e. nuttalllii shorter, folded and bent like twisted form row along the midrib and less wider than that of e. canadensis. specimen examined: mahitulpa haor, austagram upazila, collection no. plhntlmaa105(24), 2 february 2024. acknowledgements the authors express their deep appreciation for the funding provided by the national science and technology (nst) fellowship, ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh, which is supported to conduct the ph.d. research work. furthermore, this research forms a component of the ph.d. thesis of the first and corresponding author. references alfasane, m.a., khondker, m., islam, m.s. and bhuiyan, m.a.h. 2010. egeria densa planchón (hydrocharitaceae): a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 209213. alfasane, m.a., ullah, m.s. and khondker, m. 2013. limnology of lake rainkhyongkain of bangladesh with a new record of marchantia polymorpha l. var. aquatica nees. bangladesh j. bot. 42(2): 223-229. alfasane, m.a., bhuiyan, r., jolly, j. and islam, s. 2019. azolla microphylla kaulf. 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(manuscript received on 2 march, 2024; revised on 5, june 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 65-75, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82393 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular characterization and multilocus dna barcode-based delimitation of duranta erecta l. morphotypes from nigeria abdulquadri sagaya * and abdullahi alanamu abdulrahaman department of plant biology, faculty of life sciences,university of ilorin, ilorin, nigeria keywords: duranta; phylogenetic relationship; plastid marker; species identification; phenotypic plasticity. abstract this study assessed whether the observed morphological variation among eight distinct forms of duranta erecta in nigeria reflects true genetic divergence or represents phenotypic plasticity within a single species. the forms are distributed across geopolitical zones in nigeria and were characterized based on leaf coloration, margin types, and branching architecture. these forms exhibit variations in their chemical compositions, suggesting potential differences in their dna profiles. dna was extracted from leaf samples of all eight morphological forms, and conventional pcr was employed to amplify three marker regions: its, matk, and rbcl. the amplified fragments were visualized on 1% agarose gel electrophoresis, sequenced, and analyzed phylogenetically using mega-11. the matk marker exhibited 100% sequence identity, indicating minimal variation among the forms. in contrast, rbcl and its displayed 99% sequence identity, with its revealing greater polymorphic variation. phylogenetic tree analysis showed the highest support values for rbcl, followed by its and matk. the combined topologies generated from the three markers revealed no significant differences in the evolutionary history of the eight duranta erecta forms. this result suggests a gene flow among the forms, confirming their classification as a single species. introduction the genus duranta l., (verbenaceae) comprises shrubs, often exhibiting a climbing growth habit. the branches are typically spiny, particularly on older stems, and young branches are pubescent. of the approximately 17 species in the genus (munir, 1995), duranta erecta is the most widespread and extensively cultivated for ornamental purposes. in nigeria, it is widely grown as an ornamental hedge plant, for beautification, boundary demarcation, and urban landscaping due to its hardiness and aesthetic appeal. beyond its ornamental value, d. erecta has a long history of ethnomedicinal use. it is traditionally employed in the treatment of tumors, malaria with spleen inflammation, scorpion stings, insect bites, dysentery, and diarrhea. in countries such as burkina faso, ghana, nigeria, and tanzania, it is also used for treating infections, parasitic and digestive system disorders, and diabetes (maregesi et al., 2008; ghaisas et al., 2009; awah et al., 2010). d. erecta is distinguished by its axillary racemose inflorescences, membranous sparsely puberulent leaves, relatively long calyx teeth apicules, and a short corolla tube measuring 7–9 mm, which distinguish it from other related species (sanders, 2001). despite its well-defined morphology, d. erecta exhibits significant phenotypic variation in nigeria, particularly in leaf shape, flower color, thorn, and reproductive traits. these inconsistencies have led to taxonomic debates, with some researchers suggesting the existence of *corresponding author. email: sagaya.aa@unilorin.edu.ng https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82393 mailto:sagaya.aa@unilorin.edu.ng 66 sagaya and abdulrahaman multiple forms or subspecies (liu et al., 2012; moroni et al., 2019). while morphometric and chemometric studies (sagaya and abdulrahaman, 2023a, b) have attempted to address these complexities, a molecular characterization remains crucial for resolving ambiguities, as morphological traits alone can be influenced by environmental factors and phenotypic plasticity. dna barcoding has emerged as a powerful tool for species delimitation, particularly in cases where morphological distinctions are unreliable (heinrichs et al., 2011). this technique relies on short, standardized dna sequences called “barcodes” to distinguish between species. although highly effective in animals, especially through the use of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit i (coi) gene (chen et al., 2010). barcoding in plants presents unique challenges due to slower mutation rates, widespread hybridization, and polyploidy (fazekas et al., 2009). to address this, plant dna barcoding primarily relies on chloroplast (rbcl, matk) and nuclear (its) regions (besse et al., 2021). the rbcl gene is widely used for its high amplification success across plant taxa (kress and erickson, 2007), while matk provides higher evolutionary resolution (lahaye et al., 2008). the its region, due to its high variability, offers superior discriminatory power (sass et al., 2007) and has been recommended by the consortium for the barcode of life (cbol, 2009) for plant identification alone or in combination with other barcode. this study employs its, matk, and rbcl markers to molecularly characterize the eight morphologically distinct forms of d. erecta in nigeria. resolving the taxonomic confusion surrounding this species is essential for clarifying its molecular relationships and improving the understanding of the various forms cultivated in nigeria. materials and methods sample collection and dna extraction fresh leaf samples from eight distinct morphological forms of duranta erecta were collected from four states across three geopolitical zones: kwara (north central), kebbi and sokoto (north west), and borno (north east) in nigeria (table 1). the leaves were cleaned, and genomic dna was extracted using the qiagen dneasy plant mini kit, following the protocol outlined by lee et al. (2016). the extracted dna was stored at –20°c in the dna bank of the molecular plant systematics research group (mpsrg), university of ilorin, nigeria until further use. polymerase chain reaction (pcr) amplification and agarose gel electrophoresis three target dna region were amplified: two plastid regions (matk and rbcl) and one nuclear ribosomal region (its) (table 2). these regions were selected due to their frequent use in plant species identification, high interspecific variability and amplification efficiency (kress et al., 2009; kress et al., 2007; lahaye et al. 2008). pcr reactions were carried out in a 25 μl reaction mixture containing 12.5 μl of taq 2x pcr master mix (new england biolabs), 1 μl each of forward and reverse primers (10 μm), 9.5 μl of double-sterilized distilled water (ddh₂o), and 1 μl of dna template. a control reaction was prepared by substituting ddh₂o for the dna template. to prepare the dna samples for electrophoresis, 5 μl of the extracted dna was mixed with 1 μl of 6x gel-loading buffer containing 0.25% bromophenol blue and 30% sucrose in te buffer (ph 8.0). a 0.8% agarose gel was prepared using 0.5 μg/ml sybr green in 0.5x tris-borateedta (tbe) buffer. the dna mixture was loaded onto the gel, and tbe buffer was used as the running buffer. electrophoresis was performed for one hour at 75 v. the gels were visualized using a genei uv transilluminator, and photographs were captured under a uv lamp using a nikon digital camera (akz-s9 model) (fig. 1). molecular characterization and multilocus dna barcode-based 67 table 1. brief descriptions and coordinates of the duranta erecta forms employed in this study. sl. no. forms of d. erecta sample sources (states) geopolitical zones gps coordinate brief morphological description of samples at their location 1 green bush (gb) kwara north central 8o28’48.30672n 4o40’34.9824e erect stem with serrate to entire green leaves, branches long rarely with a single node with fascicle leaves poorly developed. 2 yellow bush (yb) kwara north central 8o28’48.30672n 4o40’34.9824e branches composed of several nodes and internodes with fascicle serrated to entire yellow leaves well develop. 3 variegated yellow (vy) kwara north central 8o28’48.30672n 4o40’34.9824e erect stem with serrate to dentate variegated yellow leaves, branches are a bit longer with decussate opposite thorn and leaves. 4 variegated white (vw) kwara north central 8o28’48.30672n 4o40’34.9824e erect stem with serrate to dentate variegated white leaves, branches are a bit longer with decussate opposite leaves. 5 thorny green (tg) kebbi north west 12o27’16.22n 4o12’2.14e erect stem with fully serrated green leaves, branches are upright, armed with thorn on opposite sides. 6 variegated yellow double (vyd) kebbi north west 12o27’16.22n 4o12’2.14e erect stem with serrate to dentate plane with variegated yellow leaves, branches are a bit longer with decussate opposite leaves. 7 plain yellow (py) sokoto north west 13o1’37.77n 5o14’20.998e erect stem with serrate to dentate plain yellow leaves, branches are straight with decussate opposite thorn and leaves. 8 broad green (bg) borno north east 11o47’24n 13o10’12e widely spread branches with half serrated to entire glabrous leaves. note: gps coordinates were converted to standard degree–minute–second (dms) notation for consistency. morphotype codes (e.g., gb, yb, vy) are used consistently in the text and figures to aid cross-reference. table 2. gene regions and their respective sequences. primer name sequence reference its1 tccgtaggtgaacctgcgg white et al. (1990) its4 tcctccgcttattgatatgc white et al. (1990) rbcl_f atgtcaccacaaacagagactaaagc levin, (2003) rbcl_r gtaaaatcaagtccaccrcg kress and erickson, (2007) matk_390f cgatctattcattcaatatttc cuenoud et al. (2002) matk_132r tctagcacacgaaagtcgaagt cuenoud et al. (2002) sequence quality, alignment, and phylogenetic analyses raw sequence data were analyzed using a combination of software tools. seqtrace 0.9.0 (singh and kumar, 2012) to view raw sequence data and generate consensus sequences. alignment of dna sequences was carried out using aliview version 1.17-beta1 (larsson, 2014). finalized sequences were submitted to the ncbi genbank database, and accession numbers were obtained. phylogenetic tree construction was performed using mega 11 (tamura et al., 2021). the dna sequences of d. erecta samples were subjected to blast analysis in the ncbi database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast/blast.cgi) for species verification. nucleotide composition (a, t, g, c content) and sequence lengths were determined using the online gc http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast/blast.cgi 68 sagaya and abdulrahaman content calculator (https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/references/genomics-gc-content-calculator). fig. 1. image of the gel electrophoresis for pcr quality check (a= rbcl; b= its and c= matk note: l: ladder; bg: broad green; tg: thorny green; yv: plain yellow; vyd: variegated yellow double; vw: variegated white; vy: variegated white; yb: yellow bush and gb: green bush. for phylogenetic reconstruction, parodianthus ilicifolius (genbank accession: dq463786) was selected as the outgroup based on blast similarity and previous taxonomic placement. the sequence variation and similarity percentages were also assessed. phylogenetic trees were constructed using both the neighbor-joining (nj) and maximum likelihood (ml) methods implemented in mega v11 (tamura et al., 2021). the optimal nucleotide substitution model was determined using akaike information criterion (aic), which selected the tamura 3-parameter (t92) model. node support was assessed with 1000 bootstrap replicates for both individual and concatenated barcode sequences. gaps and ambiguous positions were excluded from the analyses to ensure accuracy. results and discussion dna extraction and amplification high-quality genomic dna could initially not be obtained from duranta erecta forms due to their high content of secondary metabolites, which form complexes with proteins and nucleic acids (agawane et al., 2019; inglis, 2018). this issue was effectively mitigated by incubating leaf samples at 65°c for 35–45 min, which disrupted problematic polyphenolic compounds and https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/references/genomics-g-c-content-calculator https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/references/genomics-g-c-content-calculator molecular characterization and multilocus dna barcode-based 69 reduced viscosity caused by co-precipitated polysaccharides (sablok et al., 2009; schenk et al., 2023). schenk et al. (2023) emphasized that adjustments of extraction protocols improved dna purity and subsequent pcr success. all three dna-barcode regions (matk, rbcl, and nuclear its) were successfully amplified from the eight d. erecta forms. the observed amplicon sizes (875 bp for matk, 570 bp for rbcl, and 671 bp for its) fell within recommended ranges (cbol, 2009; li et al., 2011; kumar et al., 2015). however, incomplete amplification was noted for its in the broad green form and rbcl in the variegated yellow form, likely due to sequence variation or incomplete concerted evolution (mirarab et al., 2016). blast identification and sequence variation blast analysis identified all barcode sequences as d. erecta with 92–100% sequence identity and e-value of zero (0), confirming species-level identification. high identity scores and low e-values are indicative of accurate taxonomic placement (wahyuni et al., 2023). among the barcodes, matk displayed 100% similarity, its 98–99%, and rbcl 92–99%. these results affirm the reliability of dna barcodes in taxonomic identification. sequence nucleotide composition and g–c content are summarized in tables 3–5 and illustrated in fig. 2. the its region exhibited the highest g–c content (64.8–66.5%), followed by rbcl (44.7–46.4%) and matk (34.6–35.1%). this ordering aligns with earlier findings (castro et al., 2015; tang et al., 2016; song et al., 2021), and supporting the distinct genomic characteristics of each barcode region. fig. 2. percentage of guanine -cytosine (g-c) content for its, matk and rbcl for the eight duranta erecta forms. multiple sequence alignment (table 6) revealed 77 variable sites (11.48%) in its, 62 (10.88%) in rbcl, and 18 (2.06%) in matk. the its region exhibited 66 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (snps), with the broad green form showing the highest levels of polymorphism and indel frequency. the high variability in its supports its potential as a discriminating marker in dna barcoding studies (pang et al., 2011; wang et al., 2011; su et al., 2015). comparative studies (fu et al., 2011; castro et al., 2015) further affirm its is superior in resolution over chloroplast loci. 70 sagaya and abdulrahaman table 3. the size and nucleotide content of the its genes of duranta erecta forms. plant samples size (bp) a (bp) t (bp) g (bp) c (bp) g-c content (%) green bush 652 125 96 199 232 66.1 thorny green 657 126 94 201 236 66.5 broad green 236 41 42 63 90 64.8 variegated yellow 656 126 95 201 234 66.3 variegated white 637 125 92 193 227 65.9 variegated yellow double 658 128 96 199 235 66.0 yellow bush 664 127 97 203 237 66.3 plain yellow 662 130 96 201 235 65.9 table 4. the size and nucleotide content of the matk genes of duranta erecta forms. plant samples size (bp) a (bp) t (bp) g (bp) c (bp) g-c content (%) green bush 850 246 307 137 160 34.9 thorny green 860 247 314 137 162 34.8 broad green 848 246 306 136 160 34.9 variegated yellow 845 244 304 137 160 35.1 variegated white 871 252 318 139 162 34.6 variegated yellow double 871 251 316 139 165 34.9 yellow bush 852 246 308 138 160 35 plain yellow 856 247 311 137 161 34.8 table 5. the size and nucleotide content of the rbcl genes of duranta erecta forms. plant sample size (bp) a (bp) t (bp) g (bp) c (bp) g-c content (%) green bush 548 152 151 125 120 44.7 thorny green 544 150 147 127 120 45.4 broad green 570 158 154 134 124 45.3 variegated yellow 332 87 91 76 78 46.4 variegated white 538 150 146 125 117 45 variegated yellow double 546 151 151 125 119 44.7 yellow bush 554 156 151 127 120 44.6 plain yellow 457 121 125 99 112 46.2 table 6. variation of the dna barcodes of individual locus and their combinations. parameters its rbcl matk conserved 589 492 854 variable site 77 62 18 parsimony information site (pi) 11 18 5 singleton 66 41 6 percentage of variable point 11.48 10.88 2.06 average pairwise distance 0.0112 0.0084 0.0015 molecular characterization and multilocus dna barcode-based 71 fig. 3. neighbor joining tree constructed based on the a: its; b: matk and c: rbcl sequences with a bootstrap of 1000 replicates. phylogenetic analysis neighbor-joining (nj) analysis produced bootstrap supports of ≥79%, 46%, and 27% for rbcl, its, and matk, respectively (fig. 3). in contrast, maximum likelihood (ml) analysis produced stronger support values of 95, 81 and 50%, respectively (fig. 4). these results suggest rbcl offers the highest phylogenetic resolution, outperforming its and matk. this trend corroborating previous reports (cbol, 2009; kress et al., 2009; oyebanji et al., 2020). the lower resolution of matk supports the report of parks et al. (2009), highlighting its limited effectiveness in recently diverged taxa. 72 sagaya and abdulrahaman fig. 4. maximum likelihood phylogram for a: rbcl; b: its and c: matk sequences in duranta erecta and the sampled accessions. nj trees distinctly separated the plain yellow form from other d. erecta forms, while ml results clustered most forms with reference sequences. concatenated analyses of two-locus and three-locus combinations yielded modest gains in intraspecific structure; notably, the variegated yellow double and thorny green forms clustered together across rbcl+matk, matk+its, and rbcl+its analyses, though this association did not hold in the three-locus tree (fig. 5). this indicates potential gene flow among the forms and suggests genetic cohesion within the species. molecular characterization and multilocus dna barcode-based 73 fig. 5. maximum likelihood phylogram for the combined a: rbcl+matk; b: matk+its; c: rbcl+its; d: rbcl+matk+its sequences in duranta erecta. this study confirms that rbcl is the most effective barcode for discriminating d. erecta forms, offering high amplification success, high blast identity, and strong phylogenetic resolution. the its region, despite lower amplification stability, exhibits highest sequence variability and potential for distinguishing closely related forms. the matk region, while useful for standardization, demonstrated limited resolution in this taxonomic context. these findings align with cbol (2009) recommendations for multi-locus barcoding and support the inclusion its as a potent combination for intraspecific discrimination. given the potential hybrid origin of d. erecta and its capacity for gene flow, caution should be taken when interpreting sensitive morphological forms. future work could further improve resolution using whole plastome sequencing or genomic snp analysis to robustly address intraspecific variation. acknowledgements the authors wish to express their appreciation goes to the curator of department of plant biology, university of ilorin herbarium in person of mr bolu ajayi for his support on the provision and identification of the plant specimen used for this study. also, to the laboratory technologist for the facilities provided and time given during the research work. references agawane, s.b., gupta, v.s., kulkarni, m.j., bhattacharya, a.k., koratkar, s.s. and rao, v.k. 2019. pathophysiological evaluation of duranta erecta for the treatment of urolithiasis. j. ayurveda integrated. med. 10(1): 4–11. awah, f.m., uzoegwu, p.n., oyugi, j.o., rutherford, j., ifeonu, p., yao, x.j., fowke, k.r. and eze, m.o. 2010. free radical scavenging activity andimmunomodulatory effect of stachytarpheta angustifolia leaf extract. food chemistry, 119: 1409-1416. 74 sagaya and abdulrahaman besse, p., da silva, d. and grisoni, m. 2021. plant dna barcoding principles and limits: a case study in the genus vanilla. in: besse, p. 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(manuscript received on 15 december 2024; revised on 25 may 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(1): 13−28, 2019 (june) © 2019 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists four new varieties of the family araceae from bangladesh hosene ara1 and md. abul hassan2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1 dhaka-1216, bangladesh keywords: new varieties; araceae; bangladesh. abstract four new varieties belonging to four species and three genera of the family araceae are being described and illustrated from bangladesh. the new varieties are: colocasia fallax schott var. purpurea h. ara & m.a. hassan, colocasia oresbia a. hay var. stolonifera h. ara & m.a. hassan, rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. violaceus h. ara & m.a. hassan and typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. fulvus h. ara & m.a. hassan. the morphological diagnostic characters of each new variety and comparison with its closest one are provided. detailed taxonomic description along with other relevant information are provided for easy recognition of the new aroid taxa. introduction the family araceae de juss. is represented by 3,645 species globally under 144 genera (boyce and croat, 2011). in bangladesh, the family consists of 27 genera and 109 species of which 81 species are wild and 29 are cultivated (ara, 2016). for revisionary work on the monocot family araceae of bangladesh the first author has made an extensive field survey throughout the country since 1988 and collected a good number of specimens. while examining the specimens, we came across some characteristically interesting unidentified specimens closest to colocasia fallax schott, c. oresbia a. hay and typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott which were collected from different forests and homestead areas of bangladesh. moreover, some specimens of rhaphidophora hassk. collected from different forest areas of moulvibazar district were found to be closest to r. calophyllum schott. but differs from a number of characters. the flowering and fruiting samples of these specimens were preserved for identification in bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), dhaka. the rhizomes of these specimens were also grown in the garden of bangladesh national herbarium (bnh), dhaka; first author's rooftop garden at khilgaon, dhaka and in the botanical garden of the university of dhaka. these interesting specimens were later critically examined and compared with the identified specimens of colocasia fallax schott, c. oresbia a. hay, rhaphidophora calophyllum schott and typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott available at bk, bkf, bm, cal, dacb, k, dush (dhaka university salar khan herbarium), hcu (herbarium of chittagong university), bcsirh (herbarium, bangladesh council for scientific and industrial research) and bfrih (herbarium, bangladesh forest research institute). besides, consultation of relevant literature (wallich, 18291849; roxburgh, 1832; wight, 1843-1845; hooker, 1893; jackson, 1893-1955; prain, 1903; engler and krause 1908, 1920; engler, 1920; heinig, 1925; hu, 1968; rao and verma, 1976; nicolson, 1976, 1979, 1987; nasir, 1978; nicolson and sivadasan, 1981; mayo, 1985; karthikeyan et al., 1989; hay, 1993, 1996; noltie, 1994; sriboonma et al., 1994; sookchaloem, 1995; liu and huang, 1996; mayo et al., 1997; toha, 2000; hetterscheid and boyce, 2000; wang et al., 2002; warasy and alam 2009; heng et al., 2010) on the family araceae were made. the 1 corresponding author, email: bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh mailto:bnh_mirpur@yahoo.com 14 ara and hassan study revealed that these specimens were closest but sufficiently differed from other described varieties of the species colocasia fallax schott, c. oresbia a. hay, rhaphidophora calophyllum schott and typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott and hence recognized as new varieties, colocasia fallax schott var. purpurea, colocasia oresbia a. hay var. stolonifera, rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. violaceus and typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. fulvus respectively. these new varieties are described and illustrated below and compared in tables 1–4. results and discussion 1. colocasia fallax schott var. purpurea h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. (figs. 1 & 2). diagnosis: colocasia fallax schott var. purpurea h. ara & m.a. hassan is very closely related to colocasia fallax schott var. fallax but can be easily differentiated by the green colour petiole and peduncle with purple to light purple admixture; sterile male zone more than 1 cm long; and chromosome number, 2n = 30. holotype: bangladesh, moulvibazar district, madhabkundo reserve forest, 20.05. 2005, hosne ara ha 1709 (dacb). bengali name: ban kachu. a herb, 30–68 cm high, rhizome c. 1.5 cm in diameter, freely rooting at the nodes. stolon c. 39 cm long, c. 0.5 cm in diameter. leaf blade 10–25 × 8–23 cm, narrowly oblong-ovate, apiculate, base rounded with a shallow rounded sinus, sinus 0.2–1.0 cm long, slightly glaucous beneath, dark green above or dark green above with a deep violet interveinal zone and light green beneath, intramarginal veins several, petiole longer than the blade, 12–68 cm long, sheathing for almost half the length, green with purple, light and deep purple. peduncle slender, 8–20 cm long, green with purple. spathe erect, basal section 1.6–2.3 × 1.0–1.3 cm, green, blade narrowly lanceolate, very finely acuminate, orange-yellow, 6.0–14.5 cm long, more thick. spadix shorter than spathe, female zone 1.2–2.0 × 0.5–0.6 cm with 4-6 rows of whitish sterile ovaries at the base, no narrowed zone of neuters above, male zone 1.5–2.1 × 0.4–0.6 cm, anthers oblong, slightly compressed with the flat top crenulate, dehiscing by apical pores, appendix 3.5–5.7 × 0.2–0.3 cm, acute, scalyrough, with several rows of sterile male flowers at the base, c. 1.1 cm long, c. 0.3 cm in diameter. ovaries sub-globose, c. 1.1 mm in diameter, 1-locular, ovules many, hemiorthotropous on the parietal placentation, green, style short, stigma disciform. fruit many-seeded, ovoid to ellipsoid. flowering and fruiting period: april to september. chromosome number: 2n = 30 (begum and alam, 2009). ecology: grows on the hill slopes as under growth. distribution: north-eastern part of bangladesh, moulvibazar district (within greater sylhet) and south-eastern part of bangladesh, bandarban district. specimens examined: bandarban: betchari forest area, 22.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1188 (dacb); thanchi, 24.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1358 (dacb); moulvibazar: madhabkundo reserve forest, 20.05.2005, hosne ara ha 1709 (dacb); ibid 06.07.2005, hosne ara ha 1844 (dacb); ibid 03.12.2014, hosne ara ha 2867 (dacb); dhaka: bangladesh national herbarium garden (cultivated), 20.06.2015, hosne ara ha 2883 (dacb) [originally collected from madhabkundo forest under moulvibazar district]. etymology: the variety is named after green with purple, light and deep purple colour character of its petiole and peduncle. four new varieties of the family araceae 15 fig. 1. colocasia fallax schott var. purpurea h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov.: a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. sapdix; d. synandria (top view); e. gynoecium. 16 ara and hassan fig. 2. colocasia fallax schott var. purpurea h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov.: a, b. wild habitat; c, d. habit at bnh garden; e. inflorescence; f. spadix; g. lower portion of the appendix; h. lower portion of the spadix. four new varieties of the family araceae 17 the major morphological and cytological differences between two varieties of colocasia fallax schott are outlined in table 1. table 1. morphological and cytological comparison of colocasia fallax schott var. purpurea h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. and c. fallax schott var. fallax. characters colocasia fallax schott var. purpurea h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. colocasia fallax schott var. fallax petiole and peduncle green with purple to light purple admixture green throughout the length sterile male zone not less than1.0 cm long not more than 0.6 cm long chromosome number 2n = 30 2n = 28 (begum and alam, 2009) acrocentric chromosome present (one pair) absent small chromosome present (7 pairs) absent cma-band cma-positive bands 2 cma-positive bands 8 conservation status: collected only from three localities under two distant districts. with forest cleaning existence of this new variety may also become threatened and conservation status of this variety is vu (vulnerable) (iucn, 2017). 2. colocasia oresbia a. hay var. stolonifera h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. (figs 3 & 4). diagnosis: colocasia oresbia a. hay var. obtusifolia h. ara & m.a. hassan differs from its closely related variety colocasia oresbia a. hay var. oresbia by its tuber character (up to 7.0 cm long and 4 cm in diameter); presence of white small stolon; leaf shape ovate-sagittate (up to 52 cm long and 36 cm in diameter); number of inflorescence in groups of up to 3 and male zone c. 5.5 cm long. holotype: bangladesh, rangamati district, rangamati forest area, 27.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1435 (dacb). bengali name: ban kachu. perennial herb, tuber c. 4.5–7.0 cm long and c. 1.8–4.0 cm in diameter, stolon small, white. leaves thin, petiole c. 99.5 cm long, light green, sheathing for about 1/3 at the base; blade peltate, 45–52 × 32–36 cm, ovate-sagittate, acute, base cordate, light green above and beneath, primary lateral veins 5–6 pairs, venation pinnately reticulate, pale green, sinus c. 8.0 cm long. inflorescence solitary or paired, peduncle 30–35 cm long, c. 0.7 cm in diameter, light green, shorter than the petiole. spathe constricted, 19.5–25.0 cm long, tube light green, 2.3–3.5 cm long, c. 2.5 cm in diameter, upper part reflexed, golden yellow, 17.0–21.5 cm long, 5–6 cm in diameter at the middle. spadix sessile, shorter than the spathe, 11.5–13.5 cm long, female zone cylindrical, 2.1–3.0 cm long, 0.8–1.0 cm in diameter, sterile portion 1.0–1.5 cm long, cream, c. 0.5 cm in diameter at the middle, male portion 4.7–5.5 cm long, 0.5–0.6 cm in diameter, light yellow, appendix 3.0–3.5 cm long, c. 0.4 cm in diameter at the middle, light yellow, tip of the appendix blunt. male flower 6-8 androus. ovaries numerous, narrow, green, 1.5–2.0 mm long, 2–3 mm in diameter, style very short, green, stigma c. 0.05 cm in diameter, yellow. ovule numerous. staminode cream colour, 0.2–0.3 cm long, c. 0.15 cm in diameter. flowering and fruiting period: august to october. ecology: grows on the hill slopes as under growth. 18 ara and hassan distribution: south-eastern part of bangladesh, rangamati district. specimens examined: rangamati: rangamati forest area, 27.09.2004, hosne ara ha 1435 (dacb); dhaka: bangladesh national herbarium garden (cultivated), 10.08.2015, hosne ara ha 2894 (dacb); 13.09.2015, hosne ara ha 2895 (dacb); 17.09.2015, hosne ara ha 2896 (dacb) [originally collected from rangamati forest area under rangamati district]. etymology: the variety is named after the presence of white small stolon. fig. 3. colocasia oresbia a. hay var. stolonifera h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov.: a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. spadix; d. lower portion of the spadix; e. gynoecium. note: the chromosome number has been determined for the new variety colocasia oresbia a. hay var. stolonifera. preliminary determination of 2n chromosome number appears as 26. four new varieties of the family araceae 19 fig. 4. colocasia oresbia a. hay var. stolonifera h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov.: a. tuber; b. habit at home garden; c. habit at bnh garden; d, e, f. inflorescence; g. outside of the spathe; h. spadix; i. male zone; j. appendix; k. lower portion of the spadix; l. fruiting peduncle. 20 ara and hassan the major morphological differences between two taxa of colocasia oresbia a. hay are outlined in table 2. table 2. morphological comparison of colocasia oresbia a. hay var. stolonifera h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. and c. oresbia a. hay var. oresbia. characters colocasia oresbia a. hay var. stolonifera h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. colocasia oresbia a. hay var. oresbia tuber up to 7.0 cm long and 4 cm in diameter (4.5–7.0 × 1.8–4.0) not less than 20 cm long and 8 cm in diameter (25–40 × 8–12) stolon present absent leaf shape & texture apex and posterior lobe obtuse, leaf blades shallowly peltate, 45–52 × 32–36 cm, ovatesagittate apex and posterior lobe semicircular, leaf blades deeply peltate, 60–84 × 50– 65 cm, very broadly ovate-sagittate inflorescence in groups of up to 3 in groups of up to 8, never 3 or less conservation status: this new variety is based on only one collection from rangamati district, although further collections were made from dacb campus where it was cultivated. status en (endangered) (iucn, 2017). 3. rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. violaceus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. (figs 5 & 6). diagnosis: rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. violaceus h. ara & m.a. hassan differs from its closely related rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. calophyllum by the length of petiole (3.5–6.0 cm) and peduncle (8.5–20 cm long); length and colour of the spathe blade that is 5.5 cm long and the colour is dark violet (outside) and light creamy pinkish (inside) and length of the spadix is 3.5–4.0 cm. holotype: bangladesh, moulvibazar district, madhabkundo reserve forest, 20.05.2014, sarder nasir uddin n 5242 (dacb). a perennial evergreen climber, rooting on trees, stem 5-6 mm thick. leaves many, petiolate, entire, petiole 3.5–6.0 cm long, channelled up to the base, blade 11–23 × 3.5–5.0 cm with 1–2 cm long acumen, coriaceous, falcately lanceolate or lanceolate, abruptly acuminate, both side rounded or cuneate at base, brownish-green on drying, nerves with anastomosing nervules and usually all similar, rarely 3–5 primary nerves more prominent towards the base. inflorescence solitary. peduncle short, 1.5 cm long, round, smooth, light greenish. spathes thickly coriaceous, ovate, dark violet outside, light creamy pinkish within, 5.5 × 2.5 cm, long-beaked, tip of the beak light greenish. spadix shorter than spathe, narrower, 3.5–4.0 cm long, light yellowish. flowers bisexual. stamens 4, free, anthers linear, much shorter than filament, filament flat, free at the apex, dehiscing by longitudinal slit. ovary smooth, creamy, c. 3.5 mm long, c. 1.8 mm in diameter, unilocular, ovules many, anatropous, placentation parietal, stigma raised on the conical top of the ovary. fruit not seen. flowering and fruiting period: april–september. ecology: subtropical and tropical rain forests. distribution: north-eastern part of bangladesh, moulvibazar district (within greater sylhet). four new varieties of the family araceae 21 specimen examined: moulvibazar: adampur forest beat, kamalganj, 19.05.2014, sarder nasir uddin n 5172 (dacb); madhabkundo reserve forest, 20.05.2014, sarder nasir uddin n 5242 (dacb). etymology: the variety is named after violet colour of its spathe. fig. 5. rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. violaceus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov.: a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. spadix; d. detail of spadix; e. flower. 22 ara and hassan fig. 6. rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. violaceus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov.: a. wild habitat; b. blade; c, d. inflorescence; e, f. outside of the spathe; g, h. inside of the spathe and spadix. four new varieties of the family araceae 23 the major morphological differences between two varieties of rhaphidophora hasskarl. are outlined in table 3. table 3. morphological comparison of rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. violaceus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. and r. calophyllum schott var. calophyllum characters rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. violaceus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. rhaphidophora calophyllum schott var. calophyllum petiole short, 3.5–6.0 cm long, 8.5–20.0 cm peduncle short, up to 1.5 cm long, 3–5 cm spathe blade short, up to 5.5 cm long, 8–11 cm spathe colour dark violet outer side and creamy pinkish inner side orange outer side and pale or dark red inner side conservation status: collected only from moulvibazar district of bangladesh, and the new variety is based on only two collections. it's existence also depends on the supporting trees. status en (endangered) (iucn, 2017). 4. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. fulvus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. (figs 7 & 8). diagnosis: typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. fulvus h. ara & m.a. hassan differs from its closely related variety typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. trilobatum by the twisted tip of the spathe, pale purple appendix, that is very shortly stipitate with crenulate or multifurcate base and light yellowish creamy stigma. holotype: bangladesh, netrakona district, farangpara, 18.06.2004, hosne ara ha 865 (dacb). bengali name: ban kachu. perennial herb, tuber c. 5 cm long, c. 4 cm in diameter. petiole 15–55 cm long, c. 0.8 cm in diameter, green. leaf paired, blade usually deeply trilobed, anterior lobe ovate-lanceolate, to c. 18.0 cm long, c. 9.5 cm in diameter, posterior lobe c. 18 cm long, c. 8 cm in diameter, green. inflorescence paired. peduncle c. 4 cm long, c. 1 cm diameter, green. spathe c. 17 cm long, tube and blade separated by a strong constriction; tube c. 3 cm long, outside green, inside light green; blade c. 14 cm long, c. 8 cm in diameter at the middle, outside dark green, inside light purple, tip of the spathe twisted up to 4 cm. spadix shorter than spathe, c. 11 cm long; female zone c. 1 cm long, c. 1 cm in diameter, flowers congested; sterile zone between female and male zone 2.3-2.5 cm long, the lower 0.8–1.0 cm densely covered with staminodes, the remainder naked, cream colour, longitudinally grooved; male zone cylindrical, c. 1.6 cm long, c. 1.0 cm in diameter; base and top oblique, flowers congested; appendix very shortly stipitate, stipe c. 1 mm long, elongate conical, c. 6.5 cm long, c. 1.3 cm in diameter at the base, pale purple, top acute, base crenulate or multifurcate, producing a strong unpleasant smell at female anthesis. ovaries cylindrical, c. 1 mm long, c. 1 mm in diameter, yellowish green, unilocular, with one basal ovule; stigma sessile, large, discoid, with a central depression, 0.8 mm in diameter, 0.2 mm long, densely shortly papillose, light yellowish cream. staminode filiform, c. 1.5 cm long, c 0.3 mm in diameter, creamy white or light yellowish, curled. flowering and fruiting period: april–november. chromosome number: 2n = 18 (warasy and alam, 2009). 24 ara and hassan ecology: shady moist areas. distribution: northern part of bangladesh. specimens examined: netrakona: durgapur, farangpara, 18.06.2004, hosne ara ha 865 (dacb); dhaka: khilgaon, tilpapara (cultivated), 30.05.2006, hosne ara ha 2648 (dacb); ibid 22.09.2015, hosne ara ha 2902 (dacb) (originally collected from farangpara under netrakona district). economic uses/values/harmful aspects: young leaf and petiole of this plant are used as a vegetable. etymology: the variety is named after light yellowish cream colour of its stigma. fig. 7. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. fulvus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov.: a. habit; b. inflorescence; c. spadix; d. lower portion of the spadix; e. gynoecium. four new varieties of the family araceae 25 fig. 8. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. fulvus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov.: a. habit at home garden; b, c. inflorescence; d. inside of the spathe; e. outside of the spathe; f. spadix; g. male zone; h. male zone and lower portion of the appendix; i. staminodes; j. lower portion of the spadix. 26 ara and hassan the major morphological and cytological differences between two taxa of typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott are outlined in table 4. table 4. morphological and cytological comparison of typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. fulvus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. and typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. trilobatum. characters typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. fulvus h. ara & m.a. hassan, var. nov. typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott var. trilobatum tip of the spathe twisted, up to 4 cm not twisted appendix pale purple, stipe c. 1 mm long, base crenulate or multifurcate glossy purple or reddish, stipe 2–3 mm long, base truncate sterile zone densely covered with staminode loosely covered with staminode stigma colour light yellowish cream purple chromosome number 18 (16 m + 2 ac) 18 (16 m + 2 sm) (warasy and alam, 2009) acrocentric chromosome present absent cma cma-band absent cma-band present m = metacentric chromosome, sm = submetacentric chromosome, ac = acrocentric chromosome. conservation status: the new variety is located in a single locality in the wild and therefore, the status of this new variety is en (endangered) (iucn, 2017). acknowledgements the author is grateful to the authorities of the bk, bkf, bm, cal, dacb, k, dush, hcu, bcsirh and bfrih for providing facilities to consult aroid materials and their libraries. the authors express their gratitude to professor dr. m. oliur rahman and professor dr. mohammed almujaddade alfasane, department of botany, university of dhaka for their encouragement and help during the final preparation of the manuscript. thanks are also due to ms. mahmuda akter, senior artist-cum-illustrator, bangladesh national herbarium for drawing the illustrations, and the researchers at cytogenetics laboratory of the department of botany, university of dhaka for their cooperation in chromosomal investigation of the new varieties. references ara, h. 2016. taxonomic studies in the family araceae from bangladesh. ph. d. thesis (unpublished), department of botany, university of dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1–524. begum, k.n. and alam, s.s. 2009. karyotype analysis in three morphological forms of colocasia fallax schott. cytologia 74(2): 209–214. boyce, p.c. and croat, t.b. 2011 (onwards). the überlist of araceae, totals for published and estimated number of species in aroid genera. http://www.aroid.org/genera/ 180211 uberlist.pdf. 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(manuscript received on 3 january, 2019; revised on 7 may, 2019) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 153‒171, 2020 (june) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh: class magnoliopsida robayda khanam*, saleh ahammad khan and md. abdur rahim plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: angiosperms; magnoliopsida; narsingdi; bangladesh. abstract this study presents taxonomic information on 468 plant species belonging to 326 genera and 85 families of the angiospermic class magnoliopsida (dicotyledones) from narsingdi district of bangladesh. in this area, fabaceae with 53 species of 37 genera is the largest family, followed by asteraceae with 25 species of 24 genera and rubiaceae with 21 species of 17 genera. ficus with eight species is appeared as the largest genus, which is followed by persicaria and solanum with seven species each, lindernia with six species, phyllanthus with five species, and acacia, amaranthus, senna, sida and trichosanthes with four species each. herbs are comprised of 230 (49.14%) species that are followed by trees of 120 (25.64%) species, and shrubs of 118 (25.21%) species. the similarity measured by jaccard coefficient shows that the six upazilas of narsingdi district are relatively more similar (75.47%) in their species composition if they are compared all together. however, the similarities vary from 9.03% to 50% if only two upazilas are compared. in this district, total 333 species have been distinguished as economically useful. the species rauvolfia serpentina of apocynaceae, geophila repens of rubiaceae and acmella radicans of asteraceae have been assessed as endangered (e) in this district. introduction bangladesh constitutes a significant part of the south asian mega centre of genetic diversity (chowdhury, 1996), and supports a rich biodiversity including a huge number (approx. 5000) of angiosperm species (khan, 1977). however, angiosperms of many areas of this country have so far been poorly or partially explored or unexplored. therefore, performing taxonomic studies in these areas is essential to know the status of plant resources of this country. narsingdi is one of the central districts of bangladesh, located at 50 km northeast of the capital city dhaka. some of the previous floristic studies cover the area of the present political boundary of bangladesh (prain, 1903; hooker, 1872-1897; ahmed et al., 2008-2009). many other studies were conducted in the different areas of this country (rahman and hassan, 1995; rashid, et al., 1995; rashid and mia, 2001; khan and huq 2001; alam et al. 2006; islam et al. 2009; tutul et al. 2010; arefin et al. 2011; rahman et al. 2012; rahman, 2013; sarker et al. 2013; rahman et al. 2015; haque et al., 2016, 2018; shetu et al. 2018). however, the flora and plant diversity of narsingdi district have not yet been studied based on field inventories and examination of plant specimens. moreover, this district is also one of the most risk prone areas of bangladesh because most of its areas harboring the natural vegetation are continuousely being replaced by urbanization with numerous infrastructures, industrialization, habitat fragmentation, agricultural expansion and other human interventions. therefore, there is a great need for conducting a detail floristic study throughout this district. *corresponding author, email: robaydakhanam@yahoo.com mailto:robaydakhanam@yahoo.com 154 khanam et al. this study has been carried out to construct a taxonomic checklist of the angiosperms under the class magnoliopsida (dicotyledones) of narsingdi district based on thorough taxonomic inventories throughout the area to serve as a taxonomic baseline on the current status of the species of this plant group in this area, contribute in further studies on the change in floristic composition, plant species diversity and vegetation, help in adopting appropriate biodiversity conservation initiatives and promote plant resourse-based socioeconomic development projects in this area. materials and methods narsingdi district, comprised of an area of 1140.76 sq km and and located in between 23º46'n and 24º15ʹn and 90º34ʹe and 90º59ʹe, is a part of the dhaka division. it is bordered by kishoreganj district in the north and northeast, brahmanbaria district in the east and southeast, narayanganj district in south and southwest and gazipur district in the west. this district is consists of six upazilas, namely belabo, monohardi, narsingdi sadar, palash, raipura, and shibpur. the area is composed of mostly plain lands including numerous agricultural fields, a vast and densely industrial area housing many textile and jute mills etc., a huge fallow lands and homestead areas, many lowand wet lands and some small hills. it includes a total of 89045 hectares of cultivable land and 22154 hectares of fallow land. the maximum annual average temperature in this area is 36°c, the minimum is 12.7°c and the annual rainfall is 2376 mm. the main rivers crossing this district are meghna, arial khan, haridhoa, kalagachhia and paharia. this study was based on a thorough taxonomic inventory comprised of 32 field trips conducted in different seasons of 2014-2019 throughout narsingdi district. the collection, processing, drying and preservation of plant specimens were done following standard herbarium methods and techniques (bridson and forman, 1989; singh and subramaniam, 2008). the representative plant specimens of all taxa were examined at plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory of jahangirnagar university and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). the identification of the specimens was completed consulting taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literatures (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; kanjilal et al. 1934, 1938-1940; nasir and ali, 1980−2005; wu and raven, 1994-2001; wu et al., 1999-2013), and by matching with the respective voucher specimens of dacb and jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). the relevant type images available in the web pages of different international herbaria, such the royal botanic gardens kew (k), and the conservatoire et jardin botaniques de la ville de genève (g) etc., and illustration of flora of china (wu and raven, 1994-2001; wu et al., 1999-2013) were also matched. all voucher specimens have been preserved at juh. nomenclatural informations were verified following flora of china (wu and raven, 19942001; wu et al., 1999-2013), ipni (2017), the plant list (2013) and tropicos (2017). the common names were collected from huq (1986), pasha and uddin (2013), ahmed et al. (20082009) and through interviews with the local people. the families have been arranged following cronquist (1981), and the genera and species under each family alphabetically (table 1). the economic uses of the species were recorded through interviews with the local people during the field surveys, and consulting the relevant literatures (ghani, 1998; van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2002; ahmed et al., 2008-2009). the extent of similarities in species composition in six upazilas of the study area was measured by jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). status of threatened plant species listed in red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001; ara et al., 2013) was asseesed through field observation and estimation on population size, distribution range and regeneration of each species in the area, collections and consulting the relevent iucn guidelines (iucn standards and petitions committee, 2019). angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 155 table 1. list of the species of magnoliopsida (dicotyledones) extant in narsingdi district, bangladesh. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse magnoliopsida brongn. annonaceae juss. annona reticulata l. nona/ata tree, s fl, sj all upazilas fr robayda 2595 a. squamosa l. sharifa tree, s fl, sj all upazilas fr robayda 2422 miliusa velutina (dunal) hook. f. & thomson gandhi gajari tree, m sj m, b, s m, t robayda 2670 polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites debdaru tree, l rs all upazilas o, t robayda 697 p. suberosa (roxb.) thwaites kukuriam tree, s fl, sj ns, b, m, s fr robayda 2528 lauraceae juss. cinnamomum tamala (buch.-ham.) t. nees & nees tejpata tree, m fl m, b, s m, sp robayda 3054 litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. rob. kukur chita tree, m rs, sj all upazilas m, t robayda 2082 l. monopetala (roxb.) pers. bara kukurchita tree, m rs, sj all upazilas m robayda 2072 persea americana mill. avocado tree, m rs (pl) p fr robayda 2959 piperaceae giseke peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth luchi pata herb, er rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 945 piper betle l. pan herb, cl ml (cu) m, s, b m robayda 1812 p. longum l. pipul morich herb, e rs, fl ns, b, r, s m robayda 3032 p. sylvaticum roxb. bon pan herb,cl rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 1223 aristolochiaceae juss. aristolochia indica l. ishwarmul shrub, cl sj b, s, m m robayda 2505 nelumbonaceae a. rich. nelumbo nucifera gaertn. padma herb, aq wl ns, p, b m robayda 3127 nymphaeaceae salisb. nymphaea capensis thunb. nil shapla herb, aq wl ns, b, m, r m robayda 2753 n. pubescens willd. shada shapla herb, aq wl all upazila m, v robayda 2423 n. rubra roxb. ex salisb. lal shapla herb, aq wl ns, b, r m robayda 2751 ranunculaceae juss. naravelia zeylanica (l.) dc. chagul bati herb, cl sj m robayda 1074 menispermaceae juss. stephania japonica (thunb.) miers akanadi herb, cl rs, sj all upazilas m robayda 2164 tiliacora racemosa colebr. bhag-lata shrub, cl sj, fl ns, b, m, s b &th robayda 2106 tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thomson gulancha shrub, cl sj, fl b, s, m m robayda 2571 t. sinensis (lour.) merr. padma gulancha shrub, cl sj, fl b,ns, m m robayda 2297 ulmaceae mirb. holoptelea integrifolia planch. tree, m rs, sj all upazilas robayda 2171 trema orientalis (l.) blume jiban tree, s rs, sj all upazilas fw robayda 1365 moraceae gaudich. artocarpus heterophyllus lam. kathal tree, l fl all upazilas t, f robayda 60 a. lakoocha wall. ex roxb. dewa tree,m sj all upazilas fr, t, m robayda 2268 ficus benghalensis l. bot tree, m rs, sj all upazilas o, m robayda 1070 f. benjamina l. pakur tree, s rs (pl) ns, s o, fw robayda 2450 f. heterophylla l. f. bhui dumur shrub ml, rs p, s robayda 1611 f. hispida l. f. kak dumur tree, s sj, rs all upazilas robayda 69 f. pumila l. lata dumur herb,cl rs (pl) ns, b, s o robayda 2787 f. racemosa l. jagya dumur tree, s ml all upazilas t robayda 1523 156 khanam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse f. religiosa l. ashwath tree, l rs, fl all upazilas t robayda 1561 f. rumphii blume gai ashwath tree, l sj all upazilas t robayda 1509 morus alba l. tut tree, m ml m m robayda 1266 streblus asper lour. sheora tree, s rs, ml all upazilas m robayda 873 urticaceae juss. dendrocnide sinuata (blume) chew chuchra shrub sj b fb, fw, m robayda 2172 laportea interrupta (l.) chew lal bechuti herb, er rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 1653 pilea microphylla (l.) liebm. latamaricha herb, pr fl all upazilas m robayda 1466 pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. kullaruki herb, er rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 1985 casuarinaceae r. br. casuarina equisetifolia l. jhau tree, l rs (pl) p, ns o, t robayda 763 nyctaginaceae juss. boerhavia diffusa l. punarnava herb, rs all upazilas m robayda 698 bougainvillea spectabilis willd. baganbilash shrub, cl fl (pl) all upazilas o robayda 1939 mirabilis jalapa l. sandhya maloti herb, er rs all upazilas m robayda 346 cactaceae juss. opuntia dillenii (ker gawl.) haw. phanimanasa herb, er fl (pl) all upazilas o, m robayda 2922 amaranthaceae juss. achyranthes aspera l. apang herb, er rs, ml all upazilas robayda 2152 alternanthera paronychioides a. st.-hil. jhuli khata herb, pr rs, fl ns, b, s robayda 3043 a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. malancha, henchi herb, pr wl, ml all upazilas v robayda 881 a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex dc. sachi shak herb, pr rs, ml all upazilas m robayda 2568 amaranthus lividus l. gobura notey herb, er fl (cu) all upazilas v robayda 281 a. spinosus l. kata nate herb, er rs all upazilas m robayda 1661 a. tricolor l. data herb, er fl (cu) all upazilas v robayda 3137 a. viridis l. nate shak herb, er rs, fl all upazilas v, m robayda 1413 celosia cristata l. moragphul herb, er fl b, s, m, p o, m robayda 2750 chenopodium album l. batua shak herb, er af all upazilas v, m robayda 1467 c. ambrosioides l. chandan betu herb, er ml ns, b m robayda 2017 cyathula prostrata (l.) blume chaya apang herb, pr rs all upazilas m robayda 1286 deeringia amaranthoides (lam.) merr. golamohani herb, sc fl r robayda 3084 gomphrena celosioides mart. herb, pr rs, fl r, b robayda 1984 g. globosa l. botamphul herb, er rs ns, b o, m robayda 2749 portulacaceae juss. portulaca oleracea l. lunia shak herb, pr rs, fl all upazilas v robayda 2137 p. quadrifida l. chhoto lunia shak herb, pr fl b, s v robayda 2353 p. grandiflora hook. porchulaca herb, pr rs all upazilas o robayda 2508 basellaceae raf. basella rubra l. pui shak herb, cl fl all upazilas v robayda 1667 molluginaceae baril. glinus oppositifolius (l.) aug. dc. gema shak herb, pr rs, fl m, b, p v robayda 1875 caryophyllaceae juss. polycarpon prostratum (forssk.) asch. & schweinf. ex asch. ghima herb, pr ml ns, b, p robayda 2033 stellaria media (l.) vill. sada phulki, tara herb, er fl m, b robayda 1809 polygonaceae juss. persicaria assamica (meisn.) soják assami bishkatali herb, er ml ns robayda 2015 angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 157 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse p. chinensis (l.) h. gross mohicharan shak herb, er rs b, m robayda 2914 p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre bishkatali herb, er ml all upazilas m robayda 2678 p. lanata (roxb.) tzvelev shet panimorich herb, er ml p, b robayda 1621 p. lapathifolia (l.) delarbre panimorich herb, er ml b, p, s m robayda 3028 p. minor (huds.) opiz chhoto bishkatali herb, er ml ns, p, b, s robayda 1169 p. orientalis (l.) spach baro panimorich herb, er wl all upazilas m robayda 2482 polygonum effusum meisn. raniphul herb, pr ml ns, r, b m robayda 3013 p. plebeium r. br. khudi bishkatali herb, er fl m, p, r v robayda 1671 p. pubescens blume lal-bishkatali herb, er fl ns, s robayda 2949 rumex maritimus l. bon palong herb, er ml all upazilas m robayda 1806 dilleniaceae salisb. dillenia indica l. chalta tree, m sj all upazilas fr robayda 1115 dipterocarpaceae blume dipterocarpus turbinatus gaertn. garjan tree, l wd s t robayda 134 clusiaceae lindl. calophyllum inophyllum l. sultan champa tree, l rs (pl) ns o robayda 2964 garcinia cowa roxb. kau tree, l sj s fr robayda 2657 elaeocarpaceae juss. elaeocarpus floribundus blume jalpai tree, m rs all upazilas fr robayda 2313 e. lanceifolius roxb. tree, m fl b robayda 2546 tiliaceae juss. corchorus aestuans l. banpat herb, pr fl p m robayda 759 c. capsularis l. deshi-pat shrub rs all upazilas fb robayda 2059 grewia nervosa (lour.) panigrahi pichandi, datoi tree, s rs, sj all upazilas fw robayda 1969 triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. bon okra shrub rs all upazilas m robayda 840 sterculiaceae vent. abroma augusta (l.) l. f. ulatkambal shrub, fl m, b, s m robayda 2786 melochia corchorifolia l. tiki okra herb, er rs all upazilas w robayda 2006 pentapetes phoenicea l. bandhuli shrub rs ns, s o robayda 2784 malvaceae juss. abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench dheros herb, er ml (cu) all upazilas v robayda 1220 a. moschatus medik. mushak-dana shrub rs, fl b, s m robayda 2431 abutilon theophrasti medik. american pat shrub rs ns, p, s, b fb robayda 2469 bombax ceiba l. shimul tree, l rs, fl b, r, s, p t, fb robayda 1690 ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. swet tula, kapok tree, l rs ns t, fb robayda 3036 fioria vitifolia (l.) mattei ban carpas herb, er rs, fl p, m, b fb robayda 1423 hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. jaba shrub rs all upazilas o robayda 1370 h. sabdariffa l. mesta pat herb, er ml b, s, m, ns fb robayda 2238 h. surattensis l. herb, er ml p fb, m robayda 3014 malvaviscus arboreus cav. morich jaba shrub rs all upazilas o robayda 92 sida acuta burm. f. berela herb, er rs all upazilas robayda 265 s. cordata (burm. f.) borss. waalk. junka herb, er fl r, s robayda 878 s. cordifolia l. berela herb, er rs r, s, m fb robayda 2368 s. rhombifolia l. lal berela herb, er rs all upazilas m robayda 1991 thespesia lampas (cav.) dalzell & a. gibson ban karpas shrub sj m, b fb robayda 1075 urena lobata l. ban okra shrub rs all upazilas fb robayda 1988 lecythidaceae a. rich. barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal tree, m ml ns, b, s m robayda 2375 158 khanam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse flacourtiaceae rich. ex dc. flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. beuchi shrub sj ns, s, m m robayda 08 f. jangomas (lour.) raeusch. paniala, lukluki tree, s sj b, m, s fr. m, t robayda 2245 violaceae batsch hybanthus enneaspermus (l.) f. muell. nunbora herb, er fl r m robayda 1947 caricaceae dumort. carica papaya l. pepe tree, s ml all upazilas v,fr, m robayda 1505 cucurbitaceae juss. benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. chalkumra herb, cl ml all upazilas v robayda 2083 citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai tormuj herb, cl rs ns, r fr, m robayda 3022 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha herb, cl rs, sj all upazilas v, m robayda 2271 cucumis collosus (rottler) cogn. tita bangi herb, cl rs b, m robayda 2604 c. melo l. bangi/futi herb, cl rs ns, r, m fr, m robayda 2604 c. sativus l. shasa herb, cl fl (cu) all upazilas v robayda 2084 cucurbita maxima duchesne misti kumra herb, cl rs (cu) all upazilas v robayda 1646 gymnopetalum cochinchinense (lour.) kurz ban patol herb, cl rs, sj all upazilas robayda 2217 lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. lau/kadu herb, cl ml (cu) all upazilas v robayda 1582 luffa acutangula (l.) roxb. zhinga herb, cl fl (cu) all upazilas v robayda 2300 l. cylindrica m. roem. dhundal herb, cl sj all upazilas v robayda 2557 momordica charantia l. uchchhey/korolla herb, cl rs (cu) all upazilas v robayda 1597 m. cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng. kakrol herb, cl sj (cu) all upazilas v robayda 1662 m. dioica roxb. ex willd. dharkorolla herb, cl sj b v, m robayda 1294 mukia maderaspatana (l.) m. roem. agmukhi, bilari herb, cl rs b, m, s m robayda 2475 solena amplexicaulis (lam.) gandhi rakhal shasha herb, cl sj b m robayda 2379 trichosanthes anguina l. chichinga herb, cl sj (cu) all upazilas v robayda 2005 t. cordata roxb. bhuikakra herb, cl sj b, m m robayda 2155 t. dioica roxb. patal herb, cl sj (cu) s, m, b m robayda 1747 t. tricuspidata lour. makal herb, cl sj b, s, r robayda 2554 capparaceae juss. capparis spinosa l. kabia , katai shrub, cl sj m, s fd, m robayda 852 cleome rutidosperma dc. beguni hurhure herb, dc rs, fl all upazilas robayda 1920 c. viscosa l. halud hurhure herb, er rs, fl all upazilas robayda 2239 crateva magna (lour.) dc. tikthashak, bonnya tree, m ml ns, b, r, m, s robayda 1974 brassicaceae burnett brassica juncea (l.) czern. rai sarisha herb, er rs s, b,r ol robayda 581 b. napus l. sarisha herb, er rs (cu) all upazilas ol robayda 1515 b. rapa l. shalgam herb, er rs (cu) all upazilas v robayda 1545 cardamine flexuosa with. herb, dc af, rs p, s, r, ns robayda 1506 raphanus sativus l. mula herb, er ml (cu) all upazilas v, m robayda 1209 rorippa palustris (l.) besser panisarisha herb, dc rs, fl p, r, s, m robayda 334 moringaceae martinov moringa ovalifolia dinter & berger sajna tree, m rs, fl all upazilas v robayda 1654 sapotaceae juss. chrysophyllum cainito l. star apple tree, m rs (pl) r o robayda 2384 madhuca longifolia (j. koenig ex l.) j.f. macbr. mahua tree, l fl, sj b, s m robayda 2733 angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 159 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse mimusops elengi l. bakul tree, l rs (pl) p, ns, m o, t robayda 787 ebenaceae gürke diospyros blancoi a. dc. beelati gab tree, m sj b, p, ns, m fr, t robayda 2737 d. malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab tree, l sj b, s, m, ns fr, t robayda 2138 d. montana roxb. tamal tree, s sj p, b, r t robayda 2251 primulaceae batsch ex borkh. ardisia humilis vahl chauldhoa shrub sj b, s, p robayda 1731 crassulaceae j.st.-hil. kalanchoe blossfeldiana poelln. patharkuchi herb, er rs b, s, ns, p o robayda 944 rosaceae juss. rosa chinensis jacq. kanta golap shrub rs all upazilas o robayda 2752 fabaceae lindl. acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. akashmoni tree, l wd all upazilas t robayda 940 a. longifolia (andrews) willd. hybrid acacia tree, s wd b, ns, p, r t robayda 2956 a. mangium willd. mangium tree, l wd all upazilas t robayda 2957 a. nilotica (l.) willd. ex delile babla tree, m rs m t robayda 1090 aeschynomene indica l. bhatsola shrub rs, fl ns, p, b, r robayda 2716 albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. siris, kalo karoi tree, l rs all upazilas t robayda 2097 a. lucidior (steud.) i.c. nielsen ex h. hara sil-kioroi tree, l rs b, s, p t robayda 2919 a. richardiana king & prain gagan sirish tree, l rs all upazilas t robayda 1471 alysicarpus rugosus (willd.) dc. herb, dc fl p, b, ns, m robayda 1832 arachis hypogaea l. cheena badam herb, dc af p, ns, r ol robayda 2039 bauhinia acuminata l. sada kanchon tree, s rs all upazilas o robayda 108 butea monosperma (lam.) taub. palash tree, m sj p, ns, s o, m robayda 2430 caesalpinia bonduc (l.) roxb. nata/jhagragota shrub rs, sj r m robayda 3033 c. pulcherrima (l.) sw. radhachura shrub rs ns, s, p o, m robayda 2462 cajanus cajan (l.) huth arahar shrub rs all upazilas pu, m robayda 1475 calliandra surinamensis benth. surinam powderd puff tree, s rs ns, s, p o robayda 564 canavalia virosa (roxb.) wight & arn. kath shim shrub sj b, p, m, r v robayda 2798 cassia fistula l. sonalu, badarlathi tree, m rs all upazilas t, m robayda 1997 cicer arietinum l. chhola herb, er af r, b, ns, m, s pu robayda 3129 clitoria ternatea l. aparajita herb, cl fl all upazilas o robayda 671 crotalaria pallida aiton jhunjhuni herb, er rs, fl all upazilas robayda 417 dalbergia sissoo roxb. ex dc. sissoo gachh tree, l rs all upazilas t robayda 2899 d. stipulacea roxb. dadbari tree, s rs s robayda 3055 delonix regia (bojer ex hook.) raf. krishnachura tree, l rs all upazilas o robayda 2687 derris monticola prain shrub sj ns robayda 2809 desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. salpani shrub rs, fl ns, p,r, s m robayda 1712 d. gyroides (roxb. ex link) dc. shrub rs ns, p, b, m robayda 582 d. triflorum (l.) dc. kulalia herb, pr rs, fl all upazilas robayda 1943 erythrina fusca lour. kanta mander tree, m rs, sj ns, b, s, m fw, m robayda 1884 e. variegata l. madar tree, m rs, sj b, m, s, ns fw robayda 2396 lablab purpureus (l.) sweet sheem herb, cl fl all upazilas v, pu robayda 247 lathyrus sativus l. khesari herb,dc ml all upazilas pu, fd robayda 1593 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit ipil-ipil tree, m rs all upazilas o, fd robayda 1262 160 khanam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse mimosa pudica l. lajjabati herb, er rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 1069 mucuna pruriens (l.) dc. al-kushi herb, cl rs p m robayda 1758 peltophorum pterocarpum (dc.) backer ex k. heyne halud krishnachura, kanakchura tree, l rs ns, s, p o robayda 2715 phaseolus vulgaris l. farash bean herb, er ml (cu) p, s, b, m v robayda 330 pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth. herb, cl rs p, ns, b robayda 1498 rhynchosia minima (l.) dc. herb, cl fl p robayda 271 samanea saman (jacq.) merr. randi koroi tree, l rs all upazilas o, t robayda 1066 senna alata (l.) roxb. dadmardan shrub rs, sj ns, p, s, m m robayda 2771 s. occidentalis (l.) link bara kalkasunda herb, er rs all upazilas m robayda 385 s. sophera (l.) roxb. bara kalkasunda shrub rs ns, r m robayda 2945 s. tora (l.) roxb. chhoto kalkasunda shrub rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 568 sesbania bispinosa (jacq.) w. wight dhaincha shrub ml all upazilas fd, fw robayda 2816 s. sesban (l.) merr. jyonti shrub ml all upazilas fd robayda 1376 spatholobus acuminatus benth. palashi lata shrub, cl sj s robayda 113 tamarindus indica l. tetul tree, l rs all upazilas fr, m robayda 1431 uraria lagopus dc. herb, er fl s, b, m robayda 1909 vicia hirsuta (l.) gray masurechana herb, cl rs p fd robayda 1464 vigna marina (burm.) merr. nonta shim herb, cl ml p robayda 2992 v. mungo (l.) hepper mash kalai herb, er ml (cu) b, m, s, r robayda 1752 v. unguiculata (l.) walp. borboti herb, cl fl all upazilas v, pu robayda 2522 haloragaceae r. br. myriophyllum tetrandrum roxb. herb, aq wl ns, b, p robayda 178 lythraceae j.st.-hil. cuphea hyssopifolia kunth herb, er fl (pl) b, m, s, ns o robayda 2524 lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. jarul tree, m rs ns, p o robayda 2447 l. indica l. cheery tree, s rs ns, s, p o robayda 463 lawsonia inermis l. mehedi shrub fl all upazilas dy robayda 2512 rotala indica (willd.) koehne herb, aq wl ns, s robayda 1158 r. rotundifolia (buch.-ham. ex roxb.) koehne herb, er wl all upazilas robayda 1891 myrtaceae juss. callistemon citrinus (curtis) skeels bottle brush tree, s rs (pl) p, ns o robayda 686 eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. eucalyptus tree, l rs, wd (pl) p, s, ns o, t robayda 2906 e. citriodora hook. eucalyptus tree, l rs, wd (pl) all upazilas o, t robayda 1097 psidium guajava l. peara tree, m ml all upazilas fr robayda 1526 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels kalo jam tree, l fl, rs all upazilas fr robayda 111 s. fruticosum roxb. ex dc. banjam tree, s sj s, ns, m, b fw, fd robayda 362 s. jambos (l.) alston golab-jam tree, s sj, fl all upazilas fw robayda 1368 s. samarangense (blume) merr. & l.m. perry jamrul tree, s all upazilas fr robayda 1487 punicaceae bercht. & j. presl punica granatum l. dalim tree, s fl all upazilas fr robayda 2515 onagraceae juss. ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara keshordam herb, aq wl all upazilas m robayda 1234 l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell jhilmarich herb, er wl, af all upazilas robayda 139 angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 161 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse melastomataceae juss. melastoma malabathricum l. ban tejpata shrub rs, sj ns, s, b m robayda 123 combretaceae r. br. combretum indicum (l.) defilipps madhurilata shrub, cl sj m, b, ns, p o robayda 2448 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun tree, l rs all upazilas m, t robayda 2738 t. catappa l. kathbadam tree, m rs all upazilas m, t robayda 1109 t. chebula retz. haritoki tree, m sj b, m m robayda 2832 cornaceae bercht. ex j. presl alangium salviifolium (l. f.) wangerin akarkanta , aikha tree, s rs b, ns, p, m m robayda 660 rhizophoraceae pers. carallia brachiata (lour.) merr. tree roscow tree, m rs, sj b, ns, m, s t, m robayda 2163 olacaceae juss. ex r. br. olax acuminata wall. ex benth. capsule gach shrub sj s m robayda 56 loranthaceae juss. dendrophthoe falcata ettingsh. bajrangi shrub t. t., sp p, s, m, r robayda 2693 d. pentandra (l.) miq. shrub t. t., sp p robayda 2969 viscum monoicum roxb. ex dc. bhanda shrub, ps t. t., sp ns, p robayda 2712 euphorbiaceae juss. acalypha indica l. muktajhuri herb, er rs, fl b, p, ns, m m robayda 1935 chrozophora rottleri (geiseler) a. juss. ex spreng. khudi okra herb, er rs ns, s, r robayda 550 cnesmone javanica blume pahari bichhuti shrub sj p, ns robayda 51 codiaeum variegatum (l.) rumph. ex a. juss. patabahar shrub fl (pl) all upazilas o robayda 1497 croton bonplandianus baill. mircha herb, er rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 1399 c. caudatus geiseler sabarjala shrub sj s, b, m, r m robayda 68 euphorbia hirta l. dudhia herb, er rs all upazilas m robayda 2073 e. neriifolia l. mansasij shrub sj b, s, m, p m robayda 1442 e. thymifolia l. dudhiya herb, pr rs all upazilas robayda 2009 jatropha curcas l. baghverenda shrub rs, fl b m robayda 2609 j. gossypifolia l. lalbherenda shrub rs p, ns, b m robayda 848 macaranga peltata (roxb.) müll. arg. ratabura tree, s rs, sj all upazilas robayda 1700 mallotus philippensis (lam.) müll. arg. kamalaguli shrub rs, sj b, s, m m robayda 2198 m. repandus (rottler) müll. arg. gunti tree, s sj b, s, m m robayda 2382 pedilanthus tithymaloides (l.) poit. berachita shrub fl b, ns, r, p o robayda 2843 ricinus communis l. verenda shrub rs all upazilas m robayda 1996 suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. ban-narenga tree, s rs, sj b, s, ns, m t robayda 1686 trewia nudiflora l. meragota tree, m ml all upazilas m robayda 1990 phyllanthaceae martinov aporosa dioica (roxb.) müll. arg. pat khorolla tree, s sj s, m, p, ns robayda 115 baccaurea ramiflora lour. latkan tree, m fl b, s fr robayda 2145 breynia vitis-idaea (burm. f.) c.e.c. fisch. lal sitka shrub sj all upazilas robayda 2319 bridelia tomentosa blume khoi shrub sj s, b robayda 137 flueggea virosa (roxb. ex willd.) royle shikori shrub rs, sj all upazilas m robayda 2356 glochidion lanceolarium (roxb.) voigt anguti tree, s rs, sj all upazilas robayda 2538 phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels orboroi shrub rs ns, b, m fr robayda 3107 p. emblica l. amloki tree, m rs all upazilas fr robayda 604 162 khanam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse p. niruri l. bhui amla herb, er rs all upazilas m robayda 154 p. reticulatus poir. chhitki shrub fl, rs all upazilas m robayda 2004 p. urinaria l. hajarmoni herb, er fl, rs all upazilas m robayda 2391 rhamnaceae juss. gouania leptostachya dc. shrub, cl sj b robayda 2292 ziziphus mauritiana lam. boroi tree, m rs, fl all upazilas fr robayda 1528 z. oenopolia (l.) mill. bon boroi shrub sj b, s, m fd robayda 118 vitaceae juss. ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch. jarila lahari shrub, cl sj b, s, m, ns robayda 2330 a. latifolia (roxb.) planch. gowalia lata herb, cl sj b, s, m robayda 2211 cissus adnata roxb. alianga-lata shrub, cl sj b, ns robayda 1326 c. quadrangularis l. harjora lata herb, cl rs ns, m m robayda 2923 leea alata edgew. shrub sj b, s robayda 2260 l. asiatica (l.) ridsdale banchalita shrub sj s, m robayda 1241 l. indica (burm. f.) merr. kukur jihwa shrub sj s m robayda 2261 tetrastigma angustifolium (roxb.) planch. nekung riubi herb, cl rs r robayda 3133 t. leucostaphylum (dennst.) alston horina -lata shrub, cl rs all upazilas robayda 2660 vitis vinifera l. angur shrub, cl ml ns, s, b, m fr robayda 2520 malpighiaceae juss. hiptage benghalensis (l.) kurz madhabilata shrub, cl sj s m robayda 110 sapindaceae juss. allophylus cobbe (l.) forsyth f. rakhalchita shrub sj b, s fw robayda 2277 dimocarpus longan lour. kathlichu, ashfal tree, m sj b, s, m robayda 2545 lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. baraharina tree, s sj, fl b, p, ns, s, m fw robayda 2087 l. senegalensis (juss. ex poir.) leenh. amjam shrub, sj s, m, p fw robayda 2279 litchi chinensis sonn. lichu tree, l ml all upazilas fr robayda 1425 burseraceae kunth protium serratum (wall. ex colebr.) engl. chitrica tree, m sj s t robayda 3053 anacardiaceae r. br. lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga, kafila tree, m rs, ml all upazilas t, fd robayda 2135 mangifera indica l. aam tree, l fl all upazilas fr, t robayda 1444 spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz amra tree, l rs s, m fr robayda 2907 s. purpurea l. beelati amra tree, m fl (pl) all upazilas fr, m robayda 752 meliaceae juss. aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r. parker pitraj, roina tree, m rs, sj all upazilas t, m robayda 2242 azadirachta indica a. juss. nim tree, l rs, fl all upazilas t, m robayda 1450 melia azedarach l. goranim tree, m rs all upazilas t robayda 1957 swietenia macrophylla king bara mehagoni tree, l wd, rs all upazilas t robayda 2283 s. mahagoni (l.) jacq. mehogoni tree, l wd, rs all upazilas t robayda 381 toona ciliata m. roem. toon tree, m sj s, b, m t robayda 22 rutaceae juss. aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel tree, m fl all upazilas fr, m robayda 894 citrus limon (l.) osbeck gora lebu shrub rs all upazilas fr robayda 342 c. maxima (burm.) merr. jambura tree, l fl all upazilas fr robayda 1925 c. medica l. lebu shrub fl all upazilas fr robayda 1560 angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 163 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc. motkila shrub rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 1982 limonia acidissima l. kothbel tree, l rs ns, s, b fr robayda 2722 micromelum minutum wight & arn. koroiphula tree, s sj b, s, m robayda 2259 murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. currypata tree, s rs, sj b, s, m m robayda 1298 m. paniculata (l.) jack kamini tree, s rs all upazilas o, m robayda 780 zanthoxylum rhetsa dc bajna tree, m sj all upazilas ol, t robayda 2400 oxalidaceae r. br. averrhoa bilimbi l. bilimbi tree, s fl ns, b, m fr robayda 2089 a. carambola l. kamranga tree, m rs all upazilas fr, m robayda 632 oxalis corniculata l. amrul herb, pr fl, af all upazilas m, v robayda 1823 balsaminaceae a. rich. impatiens balsamina l. dopati herb, er rs p, b, m o robayda 2756 apiaceae lindl. centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni herb, pr fl, rs all upazilas m, v robayda 1279 coriandrum sativum l. dhonia herb, er ml (cu) b, s, ns, r sp, m robayda 1207 daucus carota l. gazor herb, er ml (cu) p, ns, s v robayda 322 eryngium foetidum l. beelati dhonia herb, er fl all upazilas sp robayda 1522 hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam. herb, cr fl m robayda 1699 apocynaceae juss. allamanda cathartica l. alakananda shrub rs (pl) ns, s o robayda 2764 alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chhatim tree, m sj, fl all upazilas m robayda 1972 catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don nayantara herb,er rs all upazilas o, m robayda 605 carissa carandas l. karamcha shrub fl (pl) b, s, ns, m fr, m robayda 1418 holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall. ex a. dc. kurchi shrub sj s m robayda 387 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w.t. aiton shyamalata shrub, cl sj ns, s, m, b m robayda 2357 nerium oleander l. raktakarabi shrub rs ns, s o robayda 2788 plumeria alba l. gulachin tree, s rs ns, s, b o robayda 3128 rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz sarpagandha herb, er sj b m robayda 2921 tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult. tagar shrub rs, sj b, s, m, ns o, m robayda 01 asclepiadaceae borkh. calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t. aiton akand shrub rs, sj ns m robayda 3061 c. procera (aiton) w.t. aiton akand shrub rs, sj ns, s, b, m m robayda 1547 hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br. ex schult. anantamul shrub ,tw fl p, ns m robayda 1510 marsdenia tenacissima (roxb.) moon jitti, chitti shrub ,tw ml, sj b, s, m m robayda 2651 telosma cordata (burm. f.) merr. kanja lata shrub ,tw sj ns fb robayda 2813 dregea volubilis (l.f.) benth. ex hook.f. madhumaloti shrub, tw rs, sj ns, r robayda 3108 solanaceae juss. capsicum frutescens l. lanka morich herb, er ml (cu) all upazilas v, sp robayda 232 cestrum nocturnum l. hasnahena shrub rs all upazilas o robayda 2518 datura metel l. dhutura herb, er fl, rs all upazilas m robayda 850 lycopersicon esculentum mill. tomato herb, er ml (cu) all upazilas v robayda 321 nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. bon tamak herb, er fl p, ns, b robayda 1594 physalis angulata l. fotka herb, er fl p, s, ns m robayda 2719 p. minima l. fotka herb, er fl all upazilas m robayda 1635 solanum americanum mill. tit begun herb, er fl p, s robayda 2962 164 khanam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse s. erianthum d. don shrub sj b, s, m robayda 2359 s. melongena l. begun herb, er fl (cu) all upazilas v robayda 1600 s. nigrum l. tit begun herb, er fl b, s, m robayda 1340 s. sisymbriifolium lam. kanta begun herb, er rs all upazilas robayda 1794 s. torvum sw. gota begun shrub rs, fl b, s, m robayda 769 s. tuberosum l. aaloo herb, er ml (cu) all upazilas v robayda 1507 convolvulaceae juss. argyreia capitiformis (poir.) ooststr. shrub sj, rs p robayda 2976 a. nervosa (burm. f.) bojer bara dudhi shrub, cl sj, rs p, b, s, m robayda 2624 a. roxburghii (wall.) arn. ex choisy shrub sj ns robayda 2885 cuscuta reflexa roxb. sharnalata herb, ps rs all upazilas robayda 485 evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. bhui okra herb rs, fl all upazilas robayda 243 ipomoea aquatica forssk. kalmi shak herb wl all upazilas v robayda 1204 i. batatas (l.) lam. misti aloo herb ml (cu) all upazilas v robayda 1486 i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy dhol kalmi shrub ml, rs all upazilas robayda 1989 jacquemontia paniculata (burm. f.) hallier f. herb, tw sj p,ns robayda 809 merremia hederacea (burm. f.) hallier f. kaladana herb, cl rs, sj p robayda 838 m. umbellata (l.) hallier f. sada kalmi herb, cl rs, sj all upazilas robayda 2392 menyanthaceae dumort. nymphoides hydrophylla (lour.) kuntze herb, aq wl p, s, m robayda 2731 n. indica (l.) kuntze chandmala herb, aq wl b, s, r robayda 3059 hydrophyllaceae r. br. hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl herb, pr wl s, m robayda 164 boraginaceae juss. cordia dichotoma g. forst. bohal, boula tree, l sj s, ns t, m robayda 527 c. serrata juss. ex lam. tree, s sj b, m, s fw robayda 1318 ehretia acuminata r.br. kala-aja, kalahuja tree, s rs, sj all upazilas m robayda 2435 heliotropium indicum l. hatisur herb, er fl all upazilas m robayda 1865 verbenaceae j.st.-hil. duranta erecta l. kanta mehendi shrub rs all upazilas o robayda 925 lantana camara l. lantana, kutus kanta shrub rs, fl all upazilas o robayda 1585 lippia alba (mill.) n.e. br. ex britton & p. wilson pichas ban shrub rs, ml all upazilas robayda 2071 phyla nodiflora (l.) greene bhuiokra herb, dc ml p, b, ns, r m robayda 1856 lamiaceae martinov anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze gobura herb, er rs, fl b, s, m m robayda 2470 callicarpa macrophylla vahl bormala shrub sj b m robayda 2219 clerodendrum chinense (osbeck) mabb. hazari beli shrub sj b, s, m o robayda 2365 c. indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhatti shrub sj, ml b, s, m m, o robayda 2218 c. infortunatum l. bhat,ghetu shrub rs, ml all upazilas m robayda 1973 coleus scutellarioides (l.) benth. patabahar herb, er ml (pl) all upazilas o robayda 744 gmelina arborea roxb. gamari tree, l sj, fl b, s, m t robayda 2740 hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma herb, er rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 1855 leonurus sibiricus l. roktodron herb, er rs all upazilas m robayda 2364 leucas aspera (willd.) link shetadron herb, er af, rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 1810 angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 165 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse l. indica (l.) r. br. ex sm. shetadron herb, er af, rs, fl b, r m robayda 3065 mentha arvensis l. pudina herb, pr fl (cu) p, ns v, m robayda 344 ocimum americanum l. ban tulsi herb, er fl r, m, b m robayda 1006 o. tenuiflorum l. tulsi herb, er fl all upazilas m robayda 2575 pogostemon auricularius (l.) hassk. herb, er rs s robayda 2537 p. quadrifolius (benth.) f. muell. herb, er ml m robayda 916 p. stellatus (lour.) kuntze herb, er wl r robayda 3131 premna esculenta roxb. lalana shrub sj b robayda 2231 tectona grandis l. f. segun tree, l rs, wd b, s, p, r t robayda 642 volkameria inermis l. banjui shrub rs, ml m o, m robayda 2711 oleaceae hoffeanns. & link jasminum multiflorum (burm. f.) andrews chameli shrub rs (pl) ns, s o robayda 2762 j. sambac (l.) aiton beli shrub sj b, s, m o robayda 1084 nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. sheuli tree, s fl, sj all upazilas o robayda 735 plantaginaceae juss. limnophila aromatica (lam.) merr. pani karpur herb, er af s, r, m, b robayda 1165 l. repens (benth.) benth. herb, er af s robayda 131 l. sessiliflora blume herb, er af s, b, m robayda 130 mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small herb, er fl, af p, b, m robayda 832 scoparia dulcis l. bandhane herb, er fl, rs all upazilas m robayda 2345 linderniaceae borsch, kai müll. & eb. fisch. lindernia anagallis (burm.f.) pennell herb, pr af, ml b, s, m, p robayda 1630 l. antipoda (l.) alston herb, pr rs, af all upazilas robayda 168 l. crustacea (l.) f. muell. herb, pr rs, fl all upazilas m robayda 2485 l. rotundifolia (l.) alston herb, pr af, ml all upazilas robayda 2465 l. ruellioides (colsm.) pennell herb, pr ml m robayda 2533 l. viscosa (hornem.) merr. herb, er rs p robayda 3011 mazaceae reveal mazus pumilus (burm. f.) steenis herb, er rs p, r, s robayda 1427 acanthaceae juss. dipteracanthus prostratus (poir.) nees herb, er rs b, ns, p, m m robayda 1683 ecbolium ligustrinum (vahl) vollesen udujati shrub sj b m robayda 2246 hemigraphis hirta t. anderson buripan herb, er rs, fl p, b, m robayda 290 hygrophila phlomoides nees herb, er af p m robayda 1578 h. polysperma (roxb.) t. anderson herb, er wl, af s, b, m robayda 1166 justicia adhatoda l. basak shrub sj, rs b, s, m, ns m robayda 643 j. diffusa willd. herb, pr rs r robayda 3097 j. gendarussa burm. f. jagatmadan shrub fl all upazilas m robayda 87 lepidagathis inaequalis c.b. clarke ex elmer herb, pr rs ns robayda 2857 nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul herb, pr rs all upazilas robayda 42 phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet herb, pr rs all upazilas robayda 1369 phlogacanthus curviflorus (wall.) nees shrub sj b, m o robayda 2129 ruellia tuberosa l. chotpoty herb, er rs b, m m robayda 2791 rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi herb, er rs all upazilas m robayda 88 staurogyne argentea wall. herb, er fl ns robayda 2932 166 khanam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse thunbergia erecta (benth.) t. anderson nil ghanta shrub rs b o robayda 2414 t. grandiflora roxb. nil lata herb, cl sj s robayda 91 pedaliaceae r. br. sesamum indicum l. til herb, er rs ns, r, b, s ol robayda 2086 bignoniaceae juss. oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz kanaidingi, sona tree, m sj m, ns, s m robayda 2224 lentibulariaceae rich. utricularia foliosa l. jhangi herb, aq wl all upazilas robayda 2732 campalunaceae juss. lobelia radicans thunb. herb, er fl p, b, r,m m robayda 2258 l.terminalis c.b. clarke herb, pr af m robayda 1173 rubiaceae juss. borreria ocymoides (burm. f.) dc. herb, er ml p, b robayda 3009 catunaregam spinosa (thunb.) tirveng. monkata shrub sj s, m robayda 2902 chassalia curviflora (wall.) thwaites hel gass shrub sj b robayda 2212 coffea benghalensis b. heyne ex schult. bancofee shrub sj all upazilas robayda 2151 dentella serpyllifolia wall. ex craib bhuipat herb, pr fl all upazilas robayda 2214 gardenia jasminoides j. ellis gandharaj shrub sj, rs all upazilas o robayda 464 geophila repens (l.) i.m. johnst. koodi munkooni herb, pr sj b, m m robayda 2118 hedyotis corymbosa (l.) lam. khet papra herb, pr fl all upazilas m robayda 1945 h. diffusa willd. herb, pr rs, ml all upazilas robayda 2639 hymenodictyon orixense (roxb.) mabb. bhutum tree, m rs m t robayda 2622 ixora acuminata roxb. rangan shrub sj s, m i. chinensis lam. rangan shrub rs (pl) all upazilas o robayda 627 i. cuneifolia roxb. rangan shrub sj b, s, m robayda 1722 meyna spinosa roxb. ex link monkata shrub sj s, ns, r robayda 61 morinda angustifolia roxb. daru haridra, banomali shrub sj b, s, m m robayda 06 mussaenda erythrophylla schumach. & thonn. machhenda shrub rs (pl) ns, s o robayda 2767 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadam tree, m rs all upazilas o robayda 1359 psychotria monticola kurz shrub sj b robayda 2326 richardia scabra l. herb, pr fl, rs p, r robayda 2215 spermacoce articularis l. f. ahtharogia herb, er fl, rs all upazilas robayda 773 s. latifolia aubl. ghuiojhil shak herb, er fl, rs all upazilas robayda 2236 asteraceae bercht. & j. presl acmella radicans (jacq.) r.k. jansen herb, er rs s robayda 1670 ageratum conyzoides l. fulkuri herb, er rs all upazilas robayda 1976 blumea densiflora dc. kukshim herb, er rs, fl p, s, ns robayda 263 b. membranacea dc. kukshim herb, er rs, fl all upazilas robayda 1808 centipeda minima (l.) a. braun & asch. nakchikni herb, pr wl, ml s, ns, p robayda 1672 chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m. king & h. rob. asamlata shrub rs, sj all upazilas m robayda 1928 cosmos sulphureus cav. cosmos herb, er rs all upazilas o robayda 2759 cotula hemisphaerica (roxb.) wall. ex benth. babuni herb, pr ml s, ns, b, m robayda 1161 crassocephalum crepidioides (benth.) s. moore herb, er af,fl p robayda 2235 eclipta alba (l.) hassk. kalo keshi herb, pr fl, rs all upazilas m robayda 2306 angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 167 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse elephantopus scaber l. hastipadi herb, er fl m, s m robayda 54 emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. mechitra herb, er rs ns, p robayda 2460 enydra fluctuans dc. helencha herb, aq wl all upazilas v robayda 1216 gnaphalium luteoalbum l. bara kamra herb, er ml, af all upazilas robayda 194 grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. nemuti herb, pr ml ns, p, b, s m robayda 169 mikania cordata (burm. f.) b.l. rob. taralata herb, cl rs, sj all upazilas m robayda 1986 parthenium hysterophorus l. herb, er rs ns robayda 2967 pseudelephantopus spicatus (b. juss. ex aubl.) c.f. baker herb, er rs, fl p, ns, b, s, m robayda 1791 sonchus wightianus dc. herb, er fl p robayda 1760 spilanthes calva dc. surja kannya herb, dc fl, rs all upazilas m robayda 2177 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. nakphul herb, er fl, rs all upazilas m robayda 1824 tridax procumbens l. tridhara herb, pc rs all upazilas m robayda 1919 vernonia cinerea (l.) less. shialmutra herb, er rs, fl all upazilas robayda 1389 wedelia trilobata (l.) hitchc. baharibhringaraj herb, pc rs, fl b, ns o robayda 2455 xanthium indicum j. koenig ex roxb. ghagra herb, er ml p, b, m, s m robayda 933 legend: habit. aq = aquatic, cl = climbing, dc = decumbent, er = erect , l = large, m = medium, pc = procumbent, pr = prostrate, ps = parasitic, s = small, sc = scandent, tw = twiner. habitat. af = agricultural field, cu = cultivated, fl = fallow land, ml = marginal land, pl = planted, rs = roadsides, sj = scrub jungle, sp = semi parasitic, tt = tree trunk, wl = wet land, wd = wood land. distrib. = distribution. b = belabo, m = monohordi, ns = narsingdi sadar, p = palash, r = raipura, s = shibpur. use. b & th = binding & thatching material, dy = dye, fb = fiber, fd = fodder, fr = fruit, fw = fuel wood, m = medicine, o = ornamental, ol = oil, pu = pulse, sp = spice, t = timber, and v = vegetable. rse = representative specimens examined. results and discussion this study has confirmed the occurrence of total 468 species of dicotyledons (magnoliopsida) under 326 genera and 85 families in narsingdi district. among these families, 30 were represented by single species each and only 17 by more than 10 (10-53) species. fabaceae with 53 species of 37 genera was recognized as the largest family in this study area, followed by asteraceae with 25 species under 24 genera and rubiaceae with 21 species of 17 genera. ficus l. with eight species was the largest genus in this area, which was followed by persicaria (l.) mill. and solanum l. with seven species each and lindernia all. with six species, phyllanthus l. with five species and acacia mill., amaranthus l., senna mill., sida l. and trichosanthes l. with four species each. rest of the families were consisted of two or three species each. these data on the genera and species indicate that narsingdi district is still rich in dicotyledons. the study area was dominated by the herbs, comprised of 230 (49.14%) species that were followed by the trees of 120 (25.64%) species, and the shrubs of 118 (25.21%) species. in this area, the roadsides, harbouring the highest number of species (226 species), were the most common type of habitat and the agricultural fields with relatively lower number of species (19 species) were the occasional habitat. in narsingdi district, total 200 species were commonly distributed in its all upazilas, 58 species in two upazilas, 83 species in three upazilas, 58 species in four upazilas and only four species in five upazilas. 14 species exclusively occured in palash, 13 in each of belabo and shibpur, 10 in narsingdi sadar, nine in monohordi and only six in raipura upazila. belabo upazila accommodated total 351 species, which was followed by shibpur, monohordi, narsingdi sadar, palash and raipura upazilas harbouring 344, 317, 313, 291 and 248 species, respectively. based on these data, the dicotyledonous flora was considered relatively richer in belabo, shibpur, monohordi and narsingdi sadar upazilas, in comparison to those of palash and raipura upazilas. however, if these species enumeration are considered in term of total land areas of these upazilas, 168 khanam et al. then their sequence turns in to belabo, followed by palash, monohordi, shibpur, narsingdi sadar, and raipura. according to jaccard coefficient, the similarity in six upazilas of narsingdi district in harboring the dicotyledonous species was 75.47% (fig. 1). it indicates that the species composition in these upazilas are more similar rather than different if they are compared all together. however, the similarities in between the two upazilas only varied from 9.03% (in monohordi and raipura upazilas) to 50% (in monohordi and belabo upazilas). fig. 1. similarity in species composition in the upazilas of narsingdi district based on jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). these rercords on dicotyledonous species of six upazilas of narsindi district are higher than the enumeration of this plant group in some upazilas of other districts by the previous studies, (islam et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2012; sarker et al., 2013; sajib et al., 2014; mahmudah et al., 2017; rahman et al., 2019). whereas, the record on dicot species of raipura upazila by this study is somewhat lower than that of munshiganj sadar upazila by rahman et al., 2013, though those of other upazilas of narsindi district are notably higher. considering the size of the study area, the dicotyledonous flora of whole narsingdi district seems richer in comparison to those of sundarbans, patuakhali district and rajshahi district, as reported by rahman et al. (2017), sultana (2012) and rahman (2013), respectively. whereas, the dicotyledones of this district is relatively poorer than those of few forest areas viz., sitapahar reserve forest (uddin et al., 1998; rashid and chowdhury, 2013), satchari national park (arefin et al., 2011); hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary (rahman, 2017), and rajkandi reserve forest (haque et al., 2018). these variation in species composition of different areas might be due to different natural, biogeographical and anthropogenic factors, drivers or threats etc. functioning in these area, and the methods and intenseness of the studies as well. during this study, total 333 dicot species of narsingdi district were figured out as economically useful. the major categories of these species were medicinal (167 species), timber (46 species), fruit (37 species), ornamental (60 species), vegetable (43 species), fodder (9 species), fiber (11 species), fuel wood (12 species), oil yielding (five species), pulse (four species) and spices (three species). among these species, 67 were recognized to be useful in two to three categories. the total number of dicot species (468) recorded from narsingdi district during this study was 17.84% of the total 2623 species, and the number of dicot families (89) was 56.32% of angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh 169 the total 158 families reported for bangladesh by ahmed et al. (2008-2009). however, these proportions of the dicots of this district would be decreased if the flora of bangladesh is explored completely. one threatened species rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz found in the study area is already included in red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001). the species geophila repens (l.) i.m. johnst., rediscovered (khanam et al., 2018) from this area, wasis found as threatened there, which is not yet included in the red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. in the study area, the populations of geophila repens (l.) i. m. johnst. and rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz were comprised of total 50 and nine individuals, respectively. g. repens and r. serpentina were confined to two and four localities with the extent of occurrence (eoo) and area of occupancy (aoo) of 250 km2 and 25 km2, and 280 km2 and 50 km2, respectively. another species acmella radicans (jacq.) r.k. jansen was found in five localities of shibpur upazila with total 40 individuals only. its eoo and aoo were estimated as 120 km2 and 15 km2, respectively. the regeneration in these three species was poor and their localities were under the regular stress of habitat destruction due to which these species have been considered as endangered (e) in narsingdi district. both of acmella radicans and geophila repens might be included in the red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh and iucn red list for bangladesh following exploration in other areas of this country. different anthropogenic activities continuously performed by increased human population, especially vegetation clearing, unnecessary firing, unplanned agricultural extension, over exploitation of natural resources, and habitat fragmentation and depletion; soil erosion; invasion of some exotic species (e.g. acacia auriculiformis, chromolaena odorata, eucalyptus camaldulensis, mikania cordata and parthenium hysterophorus); poor regeneration in some species; lack of awareness in the local people; and lack of proper management programs etc. are the major functional threats to the flora of the study area. the taxonomic information provided by this study on the species of dicotyledons extant in narsingdi district can serve as an important guiding database to track the trend of changes in the floristic composition, plant species diversity and vegetation in course of time due to natural and anthropogenic stresses, contribute in undertaking appropriate biodiversity conservation initiatives and plant resourse-based socioeconomic development and help in estimating the impacts of climate change in this area. this study highly recommends for regular inventory, monitoring and specific research programs on the flora and plant diversity of this district and implementation of appropriate conservation measures for the threatened and depleting plant species of this area. acknowledgements the authors gratefully acknowledge the bangladesh university grants commissions for awarding the ph d fellowship to the first author for conducting her research including this study. they are grateful to the authority of bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) for allowing access to their libraries and relevant herbarium materials. the authors are also thankful to the reviewers of the journal for their critical review of the manuscript. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.t. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 10 january 2020; revised on 10 may 2020) http://www.t http://www.tropicos.org bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 467-478, 2020 (december) invited review article © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists agricultural product-derived carbon for energy, sensing, and environmental applications: a mini-review syed shaheen shah and md. abdul aziz* center of research excellence in nanotechnology (cent), king fahd university of petroleum & minerals, kfupm box 5040, dhahran 31261, saudi arabia keywords: agro-waste; production of carbonaceous materials; water treatment; sensors; supercapacitors; water splitting; gas separation; enhanced oil recovery. abstract carbon is one of the versatile materials used in modern life for human welfare. it has a wide range of applications such as drug delivery, coatings, energy generation and storage, gas separation, water purification, sensor fabrication, and catalysis. most of the widely used carbon materials are graphene and carbon nanotubes. nonrenewable precursors (e.g., natural gas), toxic chemicals, and complex synthesis methods are often required for their preparation, limiting their wide practical applications. besides these, biomass-derived carbons are attractive materials as they can be prepared simply from renewable biomass. however, their practical applications' success partially depends on their properties like size, shape, porosity, and presence of heteroatoms, which can be controlled by selecting the proper type of biomass, activating agent, and preparation method. it is noted that different species of plants have different chemical compositions and textures. this mini-review summarizes our group's recent sophisticated developments in agricultural-bio-waste-derived carbonaceous materials, including nanomaterials for electrocatalytic water splitting, electrochemical sensors, supercapacitors, water splitting, water treatment, gas separation, and enhance oil recovery. this offers valuable insights and essential guidelines towards the future design of agro-waste derived carbonaceous materials in various applications. graphical abstract *corresponding author, e-mail: maziz@kfupm.edu.sa mailto:maziz@kfupm.edu.sa 468 shah and aziz introduction carbon is one of the versatile materials used in modern life for human welfare. it has a wide range of applications such as drug delivery, coatings, energy generation and storage, gas separation, water purification, sensor fabrication, and catalysis. most of the widely used carbon materials are graphene (li et al., 2009) and carbon nanotubes (aziz and yang 2008, 2007; aziz et al., 2007). nonrenewable precursors (e.g., natural gas), toxic chemicals, and complex preparation methods are often required for their preparation, limiting their wide practical applications. besides these, agro-waste-derived carbonaceous materials (adcs) are universal, essential, and attracting much interest for their unique architecture and widespread applications. it is noted that a huge amount of agro-waste, which is more or less responsible for environmental pollution, is generated all over the world, particularly in tropical countries like bangladesh, india, pakistan, and malaysia. this indicates that the preparation of valuable and useful adcs is important. adcs are extensively used in different fields, including sensing (aziz et al., 2020; ahammad et al., 2019a; ahammad et al., 2019b; ahammad et al., 2018; haque et al., 2020a; aziz et al., 2017; haque et al., 2020b), microbial fuel cells (senthilkumar et al., 2020), filtration/separation (aziz et al., 2019; khan et al., 2020), oil recovery (haq et al., 2019), electrochemical water splitting (shah et al., 2019; buliyaminu et al., 2020), electrode materials for supercapacitors (mohamedkhair et al., 2020; islam et al., 2020; shah et al., 2020; deb nath et al., 2019; aziz et al., 2020), and in other emerging technology applications. in addition, unique properties of the adcs like versatile porosity, high specific-surface-area (ssa), and high electrical and thermal conductivities attracted much attention of the researchers to utilize them in various applications. so for, our group has used a variety of agricultural by-products of different species such as jute (corchorus spp.) sticks and fibers (aziz et al., 2020; aziz et al., 2019; ahammad et al., 2019b), tal palm (borassus flabellifer) leaves (ahammad et al., 2019a), taro (colocasia spp.) stems (ahammad et al., 2018), rice (oryza sativa) husk (haque et al., 2020b), date palm (phoenix dactylifera) leaves (haq et al., 2020; aziz et al., 2017), bhant (clerodendrum infortunatum l.) leaves (haque , et al., 2020a), rain tree/monkeypod tree (samanea saman) leaves (khan et al., 2020), siris (albizia procera) leaves (buliyaminu et al., 2020; shah et al., 2019; mohamedkhair et al., 2020), algae (pithophora polymorpha filaments (shah et al., 2020), banana (musa sapientum l. ssp. sylvestris) leaves (roy et al., 2020), and jam (syzygium cumini) leaves (deb nath et al., 2019) as appropriate precursors for the preparation of efficient and low-cost adcs. it is to mention that these plants are produced in most parts of the world, including bangladesh. the selection of proper agro-waste plays an important role in adc properties as the different species have different chemical compositions and textures. the efficient use of adcs relies not only on their impressive physical and chemical properties, such as electrical and thermal conductivities, stability, high ssa, and low density, but also on their wide availability. in the last few decades, extensive progress has been made in carbon synthesis, both through advancements in the existing protocols and practical designing of new synthetic methods. some of the conventional protocols for the synthesis of activated carbons (acs) and simple carbons are chemical and physical activation (aziz et al., 2020; ioannidou and zabaniotou 2007) and simple carbonization of agricultural by-products at high temperatures (aziz et al., 2020; lohri et al., 2016), respectively. in the chemical activation process, the precursor materials are mixed with activating agents, for example, koh, nahco₃, zncl2, h3po4, and k2co3, and pyrolyzed at different temperatures under an inert atmosphere. in contrast, physical activation involves the precursor materials' carbonization under an inert environment, followed by the resulting char's activation at high temperature (700 to 1100ºc) under carbon dioxide or water vapors atmosphere. as chemical activation involves a single step coupling carbonization with activation at low temperature, therefore chemical activation is preferable to physical activation. it agricultural product-derived carbon for energy 469 also results in acs production with a well-developed porous structure, low-cost, and high yields. the production of efficient acs depends upon the preparation conditions. the balancing of the preparation requirements is challenging for researchers, as many resultant characteristics and operating variables need to be taken into consideration. the conditions for the preparation of acs must be balanced appropriately to acquire acs with desirable properties. the major factors of the preparation methods which affect the properties of acs from biomass are the selection of suitable biomass, chemicals, activation temperature, and activation time (aziz et al., 2020). broad pore-size distribution, including both microand mesoporous regions, has been identified for the acs predominantly used in adsorption, separation, catalysis, and electrode materials. acs are not pure elemental carbon but contain different atoms like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur as significant constituents in varying proportions, depending upon the raw materials' nature. some of these atoms enter the structure of acs during preparation and activation processes. the presence of heteroatoms on the surface determines the surface chemistry and the acs application capacity. hydrogen/oxygen is present as a residual element, distributed throughout the carbon surface, while oxygen is also introduced due to the carbon's oxidation during preparation and activation. the oxygen and hydrogen combine with the carbon surface and result in different surface functional groups. the major surface functional groups on the acs are hydroxyl groups (–oh), carbonyl groups (>c=o), carboxylic groups (–cooh), aromatic groups, lactone groups, and hydrolytic ether structures. acs also contains small ash content in the form of oxides and salts of si, fe, mg, ca, zn, pb, al, and na and pure metals. the presence of ash causes defects in the elementary structure of the acs. oxygen is chemisorbed at the defects, which lead to increased adsorption of polar substances. moreover, the ash contents soluble in aqueous solutions affect the adsorption of adsorbate by co-adsorption along with adsorbate, thus changing the adsorptive characteristics of the acs. the conversion of agro-wastes into precious carbonaceous materials can also solve environmental problems such as increased agricultural waste, causing atmosphere and water contamination through the natural degradation process (danish and ahmad 2018; ashraf et al., 2020). the availability and utilization of agro-wastes to produce low-cost and efficient adcs materials have proven to be potentially raw materials for the synthesis of acs. the acs have proved to be ideal materials for diverse applications, including sensors, energy storage, and water treatment. but its widespread usage is limited, due to the expense of production, which has triggered the researchers on the feasible alternative for the cost-effective production of carbon materials from biomass (danish and ahmad 2018). the implementation of biowaste has been extensively investigated as a possible alternative to costly methods of carbon production. a comprehensive list of adcs prepared by our group from various agricultural-byproducts and their diverse applications are presented thoroughly in this mini-review. preparation of adcs the preparation of carbon materials, including nanomaterials from economic, renewable, and abundantly available agricultural resources utilizing environmentally friendly techniques, is a promising research area in science and technology. due to the abundant availability and low-cost of agricultural waste and the unique physical, chemical, and electrochemical properties of the adcs, they are widely used in a variety of applications. adcs have been prepared by various methods in laboratories by using multiple activating agents and different preparation conditions. recently, aziz et al. (2020) have reported a fascinating study on the preparation and applications of jute-derived carbon. this report reviewed broad research in the field of adcs preparation from the renewable, environmentally friendly, widely available, and low-cost jute fibers and sticks. several necessary preparation protocols in designing adcs materials were discussed in more 470 shah and aziz detail, involving simple pyrolysis, physical activation, and chemical activation. the procedures for adcs preparation from jute fibers and sticks are schematically represented in fig. 1. fig. 1. schematic representation for the adcs preparation from jute fibers and sticks. reproduced with permission (aziz et al., 2020). copyright 2020, the chemical society of japan & wiley‐vch gmbh. aziz et al. (2019) also prepared highly porous carboxylated adcs from jute sticks. the jute sticks were cut into small pieces, washed, dried, and pulverized. nahco3 was mixed with the jute powder (4:1 w/w.), which acts as an activating agent. the mixture was heated at 850 °c in a tube furnace under a n2 atmosphere for 5 h with a 5 °c/min heating and 10 °c/min cooling rates. the carbonized product was washed and dried at 60 °c to get adcs. the schematic procedure for the jute derived adc preparation is shown in fig. 2. the adcs were further functionalized with concentrated hno3 and h2so4 (1:3 v/v.) and ultrasonication. the prepared adcs exhibited a combined micro-, meso-, and macroporous structure with a high ssa of 615 m2/g. fig. 2. preparation of jute sticks derived adc via chemical activation. reproduced with permission (aziz et al., 2019). copyright 2019, springer nature. ahammad et al. (2019b) prepared activated jute carbon paste by chemical activation of jute sticks at 850 °c, using zncl2 as an activating agent. initially, the clean, dried, and 100 µm sieved agricultural product-derived carbon for energy 471 powder of jute sticks were mixed zncl2 (1:1 w/w.) and pyrolyzed at 850 °c in a tube furnace for 5 h under the n2 atmosphere. secondly, the carbonized product was washed with 0.5 m hcl and deionized (di) water and dried at 60°c for 12 h to remove the impurities. the resultant adcs from jute sticks exhibited a high ssa of ~1450 m2/g with a 3.6 nm average pore diameter. fig. 3 presents the field emission scanning electron microscopy (fesem) images of the jute-derived adcs, representing a highly smooth surface area. fig. 3. fesem images of the jute derived adcs prepared at 850°c, recorded at different magnifications. reproduced with permission (ahammad, pal et al., 2019b). copyright 2019, elsevier. shah et al. (2019) prepared adcs by simple pyrolysis of albizia procera leaves at 800°c under a n2 environment. the albizia procera leaves were washed, dried, and pulverized to prepare fine powder with particle size less than or equal to 100 µm. the prepared powder was heat-treated in a tube furnace at 800°c for 5 h with heating and cooling rates of 10°c/min and 5°c/min, respectively. the carbonized powder was washed with 0.1 m hcl and di water to eliminate any impurities. similarly, mohamedkhair et al. (2020) reported the effect of activating agents on the preparation of adcs from albizia procera leaves. nahco3 and zncl2 activating agents were used in the preparation of adcs, and their impact on surface functional groups, textural and structural properties, and ssa were compared. the adcs prepared with nahco3 as an activating agent exhibited the highest ssa of 910 m2/g. aziz et al. (2017) reported the adcs preparation from date palm leaflets by simple pyrolysis in a n2 atmosphere. date leaves were washed with di water 472 shah and aziz multiple times and dried at 70°c in an electric oven for 24 h. the leaflets from the date leaves were separated and sliced into 2 cm long pieces. the cut pieces were then put in a flat alumina crucible and placed in a high-temperature tube furnace. afterward, n2 gas was purged into the tube of the furnace, and the product was pyrolyzed at 850°c for 5 h with heating and cooling rates of 10°c/min and 5°c/min, respectively. the detailed procedure for the preparation of adc from date palm leaflets is described in fig. 4. in another study haq et al. (2019) prepared adcs from date leaves using simple pyrolysis, and then carboxylic acid functionalization was carried out to make the product water-soluble. the powder of date leaves was mixed with khco3 (1:4 w/w.) and heated at 850°c for 5 h under a n2 atmosphere with a 10 °c/min heating rate and 5°c/min cooling rate. the carbonized product was washed with 0.5 m hcl and di water and finally dried at 60°c for 24 h to obtain the porous adcs nanosheets. similarly, various agricultural wastes have been used for the preparation of efficient adcs materials, including tal palm leaves (ahammad et al., 2019a), jam leaves (deb nath et al., 2019), bhant leaves (haque et al., 2020a), rain/monkey pod tree leaves (khan et al., 2020), rice husks (haque 2020b), taro stems (ahammad et al., 2018), pithophora polymorpha filaments (shah et al., 2020), banana leaves (roy et al., 2020), and waste tissue paper scraps (senthilkumar et al., 2020). fig. 4. schematic representation for the preparation of nanostructured adc electrode from date palm leaflets. reproduced with permission (aziz et al., 2017). copyright 2017, wiley‐vch verlag gmbh & co. kgaa, weinheim. applications of adc adcs are recognized as the most promising materials, thanks to their favorable chemical and physical properties, including low-cost, chemical-stability, tunable-microstructure, and surface functional groups. appropriate utilization of adcs materials could grab a variety of applications. the realization of useful materials has been a vital objective to accomplish more efficient and environmentally friendly purification and separation processes (li et al., 2016; usman et al., 2020). in a recently published review by aziz et al. (2020) have reported various potential applications of the jute sticks and fibers derived adcs in the field of sensors, water treatment, and energy storage. they also emphasized various future potentials of adcs prepared from jute sticks and fibers, including their utilization in electrochemical/electrical/electronic industries, coatings, solar cells, drug delivery, fuel cells, oil enhancement recovery, pharmaceuticals, catalysts, and steel preparation. the preparation of jute derived adcs, and their various applications are summarized in fig. 5. agricultural product-derived carbon for energy 473 fig. 5. schematic representation for jute derived adcs and their various applications. reproduced with permission (aziz et al., 2020). copyright 2020, the chemical society of japan & wiley‐vch gmbh. aziz et al. (2019) and chowdhury et al. (2020) prepared carboxylated adcs from jute sticks and used it for the removal of pb2+ from aqueous solution under different experimental conditions such as ph, temperature, contact time, and initial concentration. the prepared adcs were tested for 25 and 10 mg/l of pb2+ at different temperatures (27 and 15°c), ph (7.0 and 4.0), and contact periods (1 to 60 min). within 15 min of contact time, ~99% of pb2+ was achieved from the tested sample. the carboxylated adcs from jute sticks may be used for quick and easy removal of toxic elements from aqueous solutions and exhibit a strong potential for household and industrial applications. fig. 6. a simplified illustration for the nitrite sensing mechanism via jute sticks derived carbon paste. reproduced with permission (ahammad et al., 2019b). copyright 2019, elsevier. aziz et al. (2017) reported a simple substrate-free electrode comprising adcs from date palm leaflets for direct use as an economical electrode material. the prepared adc was used as an electrocatalyst for the sensitive detection of hydroquinone and demonstrated a limit of detection of ~6 µm. the prepared electrodes were highly stable and selective for the determination of 474 shah and aziz hydroquinone. ahammad et al. (2019b) constructed an electrochemical nitrite sensor using a screen-printed fluorine-doped tin oxide electrode with adcs from jute sticks. the prepared sensor was used for amperometric detection of nitrite, and a limit of detection of 437 nm and sensitivity of 863.71 μamm-1cm-2 was obtained toward nitrite. the sensor was very stable and can be used in the existence of various interferences. the experimental results suggested that jute-sticks could be used in the fabrication of low-cost and efficient environmental contaminant sensors. fig. 6 presents the influence of jute sticks derived adc on the sensitive detection of nitrite. in another study, ahammad et al. (2019a) fabricated an electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous determination of uric acid and dopamine using porous tal palm derived adcs nanosheets. the sensor delivered a limit of detection of 0.078 µm and 0.17 µm and sensitivity of 2.693 µamm1cm-2 and 1.2057 µamm-1cm-2 for dopamine and uric acid, respectively. similarly, ahammad et al. (2018) reported an electrochemical sensor based on gold nanoparticles coated adcs derived from taro stems from selective dopamine detection. the prepared sensor demonstrated a linear response in the dopamine concentration range from 0.5 µm to 250 µm with a limit of detection of 0.25 µm. similarly, haque et al. (2020b) reported hollow reticular-shaped adcs derived from rice husks for uric acid and dopamine simultaneous detection. the possible oxidation mechanism for the analytes was discussed in detail, and the sensor was tested for stability, reproducibility, and interference. in another study, haque et al. (2020a) prepared nitrogen-doped adcs from bhant leaves and applied as an electrocatalyst for ketoconazole detection. the prepared adcs based electrochemical sensor's performance was tested in phosphate buffer solution (ph 3.0), and a limit of detection of 3 µm with a linear concentration range from 47 µm to 752 µm was achieved. the results confirmed the potential of adcs as an electrocatalyst for the detection of ketoconazole. khan et al. (2020) reported the preparation of carboxylated adcs nanosheets from rain/monkeypod tree leaves, blended with polyetherimide membranes, for improved co2/ch4 separation. the schematic representation for the preparation of carboxylated adcs nanosheets from rain/monkeypod tree leaves and their application in separation of co2/ch4 is shown in fig. 7a, and the corresponding fesem image of the obtained adc is shown in fig. 7b. fig. 7. (a) schematic representation for the preparation of carboxylated adcs nanosheets from rain/monkeypod tree leaves and their application in separation of co2/ch4. (b) fesem image of the functionalized adcs obtained from rain/monkeypod tree. reproduced with permission (khan et al., 2020). copyright 2020, elsevier. agricultural product-derived carbon for energy 475 electrode materials are the most critical component of electrochemical energy storage devices (e.g., supercapacitors), at which the overall charge storage capacity depends (islam et al., 2020). mohamedkhair et al. (2020) applied the prepared naturally nitrogen-doped adcs from albizia procera leaves as electrode materials for supercapacitors. the adcs prepared with nahco3 as an activating agent delivered the highest specific capacitance of 231 f/g at a current density of 1 a/g in 1 m h2so4 aqueous electrolyte. deb nath et al. (2019) prepared defective adcs from syzygium cumini leaves for supercapacitor electrodes. the prepared adcs exhibited structural defects of 0.72, a high ssa of 1184 m2/g, electrical conductivity of 0.0123 s/cm, and contained sufficient oxygen-containing functional groups. these properties of the adcs lead to deliver a high specific capacitance of 222 f/g when used as electrode materials. shah et al. (2020) reported the composite of heteroatoms enriched carbon derived from pithophora polymorpha and polyaniline as electrode materials for high performance supercapacitors. the hierarchical porous adc was prepared by direct pyrolysis of the pithophora polymorpha filaments, and polyaniline was successfully deposited via electrochemical deposition on the prepared adc. the resultant composite was used as electrodes for supercapacitors, which exhibited pseudocapacitor behavior and yielded a high areal capacitance of 176 mf/cm2 at a scan rate of 1 ma/cm2 with a high specific energy and specific power of 24.5 μwh/cm2 and 500 μw/cm2, respectively. recently roy et al. (2020) have reported hierarchical porous adcs for supercapacitor applications. the adcs were prepared by simple activation of banana leaves with k2co3, which produced highly efficient adcs with a high specific surface area of ~1459 m2/g. the electrochemical energy storage performance of the reported adc was investigated using symmetric supercapacitors. the fabricated supercapacitors were tested in various electrolytes, which yielded the specific capacitances of 190, 114, and 55 f/g in pure ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][pf6]), organic 1 m tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in acetonitrile, and aqueous 0.5 m sodium sulfate electrolytes, respectively. the adcs also showed a wider operating potential window, highest energy density, and high-power density of 3v, 59 wh/kg, and 750 w/kg in the [bmim][pf6], respectively. the environmentally friendly, low cost, and electroactive adcs materials could play an important role in the applications of energy storage devices such as supercapacitors and batteries. fig. 8. (a) schematic representation for albizia procera derived adc and manganese oxide nanocomposite, and (b) their corresponding application as electrode material in electrochemical water oxidation. reproduced with permission (shah et al., 2019). copyright 2019, springer nature. 476 shah and aziz shah et al. (2019) prepared manganese oxide nanoparticles-coated albizia procera derived carbon (mnox-adcs) by direct thermal decomposition for electrochemical water oxidation. various compositions of mnox-adcs were prepared by keeping the constant concentration of adcs (200 mg) and changing the mnox precursor concentrations (500 to 1500 mg). considerable differences in the electrochemical properties of the prepared samples were observed towards water oxidation. the results demonstrated that the compositions of mnox-adcs played a significant role in being used as catalysts for electrochemical water oxidation. the schematic representation for albizia procera derived adc and manganese oxide nanocomposite and their corresponding application as electrode material in electrochemical water oxidation is shown in fig. 8. similarly, buliyaminu et al. (2020) reported the preparation of cobalt oxide nanoparticles and albizia procera derived adcs (co3o4-adcs) by direct thermal decomposition and their application as a catalyst for electrochemical water oxidation. the prepared samples were immobilized on the filter paper derived carbon electrode and studied their electrocatalytic properties toward water oxidation and produced a current density of 28 ma/cm2 at 1.5 v with electrochemical water oxidation starting potential of 0.7 v. furthermore, adcs are significantly important electrode materials due to their unique structural and electrochemical properties, demonstrating improved performance and robust stability in various environments (senthilkumar et al., 2020). thus, the freestanding electrodes with fascinating characteristics simplify the electrode fabrication and reduce the overall cost of electrodes that encourages the cost-effective strategy for green energy generation and storage. haq et al. (2019) reported adcs prepared from date leaves for enhancing oil recovery. astm d 97199a method was used to measure the interfacial tension between crude oil and the prepared adcs and obtained the critical micelle concentration and perform a core flood experiment. a critical micelle concentration was found at 600 ppm, with an interfacial tension of 8.56 dyne/cm. conclusions here we have summarized our group’s recent developments in adc materials for electrocatalytic water splitting, electrochemical sensors, supercapacitors, water splitting, water treatment, gas separation, and enhance oil recovery. the precursors of carbonaceous nanomaterials are low-cost and available agricultural-biowastes, which could replace commercially available resources. activation/pyrolysis of agricultural-biowastes is a practical approach to utilize the garbage and wastages into an environmentally friendly procedure to prepare the active carbonaceous materials, including nanomaterials. it has been recognized that porous carbonaceous materials, including nanomaterials with rich porosity, high ssa, and modified surface chemistry, are crucial for further boosting electrochemical applications. to date, numerous carbonaceous nanomaterials, including adcs, have been used extensively in the fabrication of electrochemical sensors, electrocatalysts, and electrode materials for supercapacitors and batteries. the naturally abundant agricultural-biomass resources with intriguing physical and chemical structures are distinctive with the ability to open unique possibilities for developing innovative carbonaceous materials for sensors, high-performance supercapacitors, efficient electrocatalysts, oil enhance recovery. moreover, adcs exhibits an extensive potential to be used in a broad range of applications, including fuel cells, electrochemical/electrical/electronics, catalysts, solar cells, steel preparation, oil enhancement recovery, pharmaceuticals, drug delivery, coatings, energy storage, and 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(manuscript received on 2 july 2020; revised on 2 december 2020) https://doi.org/10.1002/asia.202001342 bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 171‒193, 2021 (june) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54216 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. in relation to ecotypic adaptation s.k. nitu1,2, h. tarique3 and s.m.s. islam1* plant biotechnology and genetic engineering lab., institute of biological sciences, university of rajshahi, rajshahi-6205, bangladesh keywords: anatomy; cynodon dactylon; leaf epidermis; stomatal features. abstract qualitative and quantitative studies were done on leaf epidermal characteristics with special reference to stomatal features to find out the impact of environmental condition on twenty four accessions of cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. collected from different ecological habitats of bangladesh. the foliar epidermal peels from both surfaces of mature leaves were observed under microscope. the leaves were found to be amphistomatic and stomata were paracytic type. the epidermal cells in this study were found to be sinuous. silica bodies were found to be saddle and cross shaped. prickles angular were pointed at the tip. macro-hairs were present in all the accessions, but no micro-hair was found both adaxially or abaxially. stomatal frequency and stomatal index were found to vary from accession to accession on both adaxial and abaxial surface of leaves, and the differences were statistically significant in most of the cases. introduction cynodon dactylon (l.) pers is a typical warm season turfgrass belongs to the family of poaceae and this grass species is widely adapted to various environments of tropical and subtropical regions around the world. there are some ways for genetic diversity and population structure analysis of c. dactylon like interphase nuclear phenotype and chromosomal characterization that are very useful parameters in distinguishing the cytotypes, accessions and even germplasm of a plant species (nitu et al., 2019 a&b). the leaf epidermis is generally considered as an important aspect for the classification and delimitation of species and genera, and for sorting out the evolutionary and phylogenetic problems (stace, 1984; jones, 1986). ahmed et al. (2011) stated that the leaf epidermal characters have significance in grass systematics and classification of ambiguous groups which are not properly adjusted within grasses, particularly at sub-family and tribe level. therefore, it is imperative to make any attempt to study the epidermal characters of taxonomic importance. it is evidenced now that leaf epidermal features can help to elucidate many ecological parameters. in poaceae leaf epidermal anatomy shows variations with a higher degree of specialization than that of any other family and provides extensive features of taxonomic importance. leaf epidermal anatomical features like stomata and trichomes along with some other qualitative and quantitative characters are very much useful in perspective of morphological, ecological, physiological and taxonomical studies. the morphology and ontogenies of taxa are considered to be more important in case of intra-generic and intra-species systematics due to diversity of stomatal types. on the contrary, the most frequent stomata type is considered as taxonomic character. *corresponding author: shahinul68@gmail.com 2department of botany, university of rajshahi, university of rajshahi, rajshahi-6205, bangladesh. 3department of agronomy and agriculture extension, university of rajshahi, bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i1.54216 mailto:shahinul68@gmail.com 172 nitu et al. plant anatomical traits are good indicators of habitat quality, since they manifest variability in relation to microclimatic conditions (barber et al., 2004). stomatal traits like stomatal density, stomatal apparatus and guard cell architecture respond to environmental and physiological cues (nadeu and sack, 2002; gitz and baker, 2009). the present study aims to identify the leaf epidermal features which may focus on stomatal characters because of their importance in many ecological aspects of grass species. cynodon dactylon has paracytic type of stomata (abid et al., 2007) and they are arranged in parallel rows in with silica bodies on the epidermal surface. paracytic type is considered to be primitive and their arrangement reflects the developmental process. in c. dactylon stomata may be present on both side (adaxial and abaxial) of the expanded leaf, but in many grass species they are exclusively abaxial. leaf epidermal traits i.e.; epidermal cells, stomata and micro-hairs have been proved valuable in identification and differentiation of different taxa (stenglein et al., 2003). macro-hairs are also found to vary in size, shape and wall thickness and these are of great value in grass systematic. the shape of silica bodies varies among different grass species from round or oblong to linear, crescent or dumbbell shaped, nodular, sinuous and shaddle or cross shaped (chaudhary et al., 2001b; ahmad et al., 2012; chaudhari et al., 2014). stomatal parameters like size, number and shape are of great ecological significance (jian et al., 2012) and extremely important in stress tolerance (xu and zhou, 2008; zheng et al., 2013). stomatal size and shape regulate water use efficiency. in small stomata less turgour is required for their opening and closing (tufail et al., 2017). stomatal frequency improves the photosynthetic efficiency of plant species. the present study is focused on the qualitative and quantitative leaf epidermal characteristics with special reference to stomatal features to find out the impact of environmental conditions on c. dactylon. materials and methods a total of 24 accessions of cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. was collected from different ecological habitats in bangladesh. selections were based on environmental conditions of the collection site. all the accessions were planted in 1.5 m × 1.4 m plots of the research field of the institute of biological sciences, university of rajshahi, bangladesh. the site has an annual average rainfall of 661.2 mm of which the majority falls during the rainy season (july-september 2019). no fertilizers were used in the experimentation field. the soil at the research field is loamy soil. both abaxial and adaxial surface of the leaves of c. dactylon were studied qualitative and quantitatively which have been mentioned in tables 1-9. the foliar epidermal peels were stained with 1% safranin and observed under microscope (swifts.a no.760090) for detailed obtaining feature as it is done usually. the photomicrographs of the mounted materials were taken using a digital camera (model: c-b5, brand: optica) fitted on the electrical light microscope (model: xsz-107t, brand: novel) with total magnification of 10x in laboratory of phycology and limnology, university of rajshahi, bangladesh. these photomicrographs were useful for identification and differentiation based on the features of epidermal cells. in case of some quantitative characters ocular micrometer was used for measurement and the values were converted into micron (µ) with the help of stage micrometer. observations for number of stomata present in microscopic view field was made for recording and for calculating the stomatal frequency and thereafter, expressed in terms of stomata/mm2. at a given magnification the total number of stomata was counted as visible by square grid scale under microscope. the square grid was composed of 100 identical small squares. the diameter of view field was calculated by ocular scale. the stomatal index (si) was calculated using the formula si = (s/s + e) × 100 where, s and e are the number of stomata per unit area and number of leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 173 epidermal cells per unit area, respectively in microscopic view field and the values were expressed in percentage (%). morphometric measurements for different cells (long cells, stomatal cells, epidermal cells) were taken under suitable magnification by using calibrated ocular micrometer. statistical analysis a statistical comparison of means of different accessions and leaf epidermal quantitative characters was carried out by analysis of variance (anova) followed by duncun’s multiple range test (dmrt). significance level was set at p<0.05. the data analysis was done using spss version 20.0 for windows. graphs were drawn by microsoft office excel software. results and discussion qualitative leaf epidermal characters under this sub-head the findings are described and discussed based on table 1, figs. 1a-c (ax), and 2a-c (a-x). the leaves were found to be amphistomatic. the stomata were paracytic type, dumbbell shaped with two subsidiary cells placed parallel to the pore. two guard cells were found with two subsidiary cells lateral to the guard cells. subsidiary cells in c. dactylon were found to be dome shaped at both abaxial and adaxial surface of the leaves. hepworth et al. (2018) reported, amphistomatic leaves with dumbbell-like, aligned stomata as usual in grass species. like almost all grasses stomata in c. dactylon are paracytic type earlier proved by abid et al. (2007). due to disposition of the subsidiary cells, the stomata were markedly paracytic, which is also typical of poaceae family (rudall et al., 2017). stomatal shape was more responsive to salt stress in the salt range population where elliptic stomatal complex transform to rhomboid and smaller ones under high salt stress (hameed et al., 2014), supports the present findings in case of the accessions collected from three coastal areas (barguna, cox’s bazar and st. martin’s island) of bangladesh. the epidermal cells were elongated and arranged in vertical rows parallel to the long axis of the leaf. all epidermal cells in c. dactylon were found to be sinuous. almost all epidermal cells in c. dactylon are found sinuous or wavy similar to the findings of ahmed et al. (2010). cynodon dactylon accessions had epidermal cells with sinuous cell walls, a common feature among species belonging to the poaceae family (khan et al., 2017) and which is related to the increase of the surface for higher light uptake (de castro et al., 2009). length and width of long cells are significant parameters which help in identification and classification of grasses (elahi and ashraf, 2002). the long cell margins were found to show sinuous almost in all the accessions. but, in case of the accessions of barguna, cox’s bazar and st. martin’s island, the long cell margins were found to be slightly sinuous. silica bodies were saddle shaped and found in the materials collected from rangpur, lalmonirhat, dinajpur, thakurgaon, panchagarh, gaibandha, rajshahi, naogaon, gazipur, jhenaidah. cross shaped silica bodies were found in materials of pabna, sherpur, mymensingh, khulna, shariatpur, khagrachari, bandarban and rangamati. both saddle and cross shaped silica bodies were found in case of narsingdi, jessore and faridpur. horizontally elongated shaped silica bodies were found in case of samples collected from barguna, cox’s bazar and st. martin’s island. silica bodies are a type of phytolith in specialized epidermal cells of grass leaves. various workers have considered silica bodies to be diagnostic for the family poaceae (twiss et al., 1969; brown, 1984; mulholland, 1989). piperno and pearsall (1998) studied the silica bodies of tropical american grasses and discussed their taxonomic implications. thomasson et al. (1986) noted that micro-morphological characters of the leaf provided information on the fossils phylogeny and taxonomic relationships. according to metclafe (1960), chaudhary et al. (2001a), and ahmed (2009) silica bodies in c. dactylon are saddle shaped, which were again confirmed by the present research. 174 nitu et al. table 1. qualitative leaf epidermal characteristics on both abaxial and adaxial surfaces of cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. collected from different habitats of bangladesh. sl. no. habitats stomata type shape of subsidiary cells long cell margins types of silica bodies macro hair micro hair prickle angular hook 1 rangpur paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 2 lalmonirhat paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 3 dinajpur paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 4 thakurgaon paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 5 panchagarh paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 6 gaibandha paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 7 rajshahi paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 8 naogaon paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 9 pabna paracytic dome sinuous cross + + + 10 gazipur paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 11 narsingdi paracytic dome sinuous saddle, cross + + + 12 sherpur paracytic dome sinuous cross + + + 13 mymensingh paracytic dome sinuous cross + + + 14 khulna paracytic dome sinuous cross + + + 15 jessore paracytic dome sinuous saddle, cross + + + 16 jhenaidah paracytic dome sinuous saddle + + + 17 faridpur paracytic dome sinuous saddle, cross + + + 18 shariatpur paracytic dome sinuous cross + + + 19 barguna paracytic dome slightly sinuous horizontally elongated + 20 khagrachari paracytic dome sinuous cross + + + 21 bandarban paracytic dome sinuous cross + + + 22 rangamati paracytic dome sinuous cross + + + 23 cox's bazar paracytic dome slightly sinuous horizontally elongated + 24 st. martin’s island paracytic dome slightly sinuous horizontally elongated + + = present, = absent. prickles angular were pointed at the tip and they were present in almost all accessions except those from barguna, cox’s bazar and st. martin’s island. hooks were also present in almost all the accessions except from those materials of barguna, cox’s bazar and st. martin’s island. macro-hairs were present in all accessions. no micro-hair was found in adaxially or abaxially in this present study. chaudhary et al. (2001b) found that in c. dactylon, stomata were with triangular subsidiary cells, silica bodies were saddle shaped, and micro-hairs with hemispherical distal cells, while macro-hairs were absent. freire et al. (2005) observed the presence of micro hairs in c. dactylon. in the current study, an opposite result has been observes, macro hair was present but micro hair was absent. these features were similar to the results of prat (1934, 1961), metcalfe (1960), ahmad (2009), and khan et al. (2017). it may be due to environmental variations as c. dactylon is a wide spreading grass, which varies considerably in habit. ishtiaq et al. (2018) also found that micro-hair was absent in c. dactylon. in the present investigation, c. dactylon showed dome shaped subsidiary cells at both abaxial and adaxial surface of the leaves. leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 175 fig. 1a (a-h): foliar epidermal structure on abaxial surface of c. dactylon accessions collected from different habitats; a) rangpur, b) lalmonirhat, c) dinajpur, d) thakurgaon, e) panchagarh, f) gaibandha, g) rajshahi, h) naogaon. 176 nitu et al. fig. 1b (i-p): foliar epidermal structure on abaxial surface of c. dactylon accessions collected from different habitats; i) pabna, j) gazipur, k) narsingdi, l) sherpur, m) mymensingh, n) khulna, o) jessore, p) jhenaidah. leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 177 fig. 1c (q-x): foliar epidermal structure on abaxial surface of c. dactylon accessions collected from different habitats; q) faridpur, r) shariatpur, s) barguna, t) khagrachari, u) bandarban, v) rangamati, w) cox’s bazar, x) saint martin’s island. 178 nitu et al. quantitative leaf epidermal characters under this subhead the findings are described and discussed based on the figs. 1a-c (a-x) and 2a-c (a-x) and the values are shown in tables 2-9. for abaxial surface of the leaves, highest mean value for long cell numbers per mm2 was found in sample collected from khulna (7.72) and lowest value was found in case of st. martin’s island (2.14) (table 2). in adaxial surface of the leaves highest mean value for long cell numbers per mm2 was found in sample collected from shariatpur (9.65) and lowest value was found in barguna (3.31) (table 6). the mean value of long cell length was highest in case of samples collected from st. martin’s island (110.26 µm) and lowest in case of cox’s bazar (32.20 µm) in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 2). long cell length was highest in case of barguna (90.76 µm) and lowest in case of shariatpur (31.39 µm) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 6). the mean long cell width was found to be highest in sample of st. martin’s island (8.82 µm) and lowest in sample of cox’s bazar (4.03 µm) in abaxial surface the leaves (table 2). long cell width was highest in cox’s bazar (12.33 µm) and lowest in rangamati (3.40 µm) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 6). the variations regarding different parameters in case of long cells might be due to variations of environmental behavior such as water stress and changes in temperature. stomatal frequency was highest in sample of gazipur (5.56 mm-2) and lowest in sample of st. martin’s island (1.78 mm-2) in abaxial surfaces of the leaves (table 3). stomatal frequency was highest in case of shariatpur (6.61 mm-2) and lowest in case of barguna (3.02 mm-2) in adaxial surfaces of the leaves (table 7). leaf morphological characters like stomatal frequency, distribution, and epidermal features may affect gas exchange quite remarkably and their relationships with key environmental factors such as light, water status, and co2 levels have been found to respond to changing environmental variables of temperature, rainfall, irradiance and co2 (beeling, 1995; royer et al., 2001). therefore, they mainly contribute to the ability of plants to control their water relations and to gain carbon (hetherington and woodward, 2003). it has been shown that environmental signals such as light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration and water availability may affect stomatal development by modifying their size and frequency (knapp et al., 1994; dyki et al., 1998). therefore, it is possible that variations in stomatal characteristics may influence plant growth and productivity (kundu and tigerstedt, 1998). reduction in stomatal frequency and size might also be an efficient feature of checking under water loss via transpiration during limited water availability and under high salinities as reported by different researchers (walsh, 1990; bray and reid, 2002). the salt range ecotype showed decreased stomatal area and frequency under saline conditions on the adaxial leaf surface, so due to this it can be regarded as the best adapted ecotype against highly saline environments. intrinsic variation is a factor that may obscure the potential use of stomatal frequency as a paleoclimatalogical tool (wagner et al., 2005). in terms of stomatal frequency intrinsic variation is the variability in stomatal distribution across a leaf surfaces (poole and kurshner, 1999) and has the potential to be large in angiosperms (uhl and kerp, 2005). the reality of reduced stomatal conductance as a response to increased co2 has been inferred from measurements of transpiration rates during co2 -doubling experiments with agricultural species as well as tree seedlings. an increasing co2 concentration often leads to a significant decrease in leaf conductance corresponding with an increase in water-use efficiency (eamus, 1991). these parameters are helpful to differentiate the species. however, the stomatal features may prove to be a little taxonomic value unless the developments of different stomata types were studied. a greater number of information on taxa will be helpful to understand the taxonomic value of stomata type and distribution. beerling (1995), and mcelwain and chaloner (1995) have provided evidence that stomata frequency decline in response to increasing co2 and may have occurred over geological leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 179 fig. 2a (a-h): foliar epidermal structure on adaxial surface of c. dactylon accessions collected from different habitats; a) rangpur, b) lalmonirhat, c) dinajpur, d) thakurgaon, e) panchagarh, f) gaibandha, g) rajshahi, h) naogaon. 180 nitu et al. fig. 2b (i-p): foliar epidermal structure on adaxial surface of c. dactylon accessions collected from different habitats; i) pabna, j) gazipur, k) narsingdi, l) sherpur, m) mymensingh, n) khulna, o) jessore, p) jhenaidah. leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 181 fig. 2c (q-x): foliar epidermal structure on adaxial surface of c. dactylon accessions collected from different habitats; q) faridpur, r) shariatpur, s) barguna, t) khagrachari, u) bandarban, v) rangamati, w) cox’s bazar, x) saint martin’s island. 182 nitu et al. time. stomatal frequency in present day can be estimated by growing them at different co2 concentration (vesque, 1989). epidermal cell number per mm2 was highest in case of gaibandha (23.89) and lowest in case of st. martin’s island (4.5) in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 3). epidermal cell number per mm2 was highest in case of shariatpur (19.99) and lowest in case of barguna (9.28) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 7). fernandez and mujica (1973) determined that an increase in light intensity decreased the epidermal cell number and increased the stomatal number index and size. schoch et al. (1984) reported that blue and far-red light reduced the stomatal index while red light increased this stomatal index. kim et al. (2004) showed that blue and red light increased the stomata size and decreased the stomata number. lee et al. (2007) found that white light increased the stomatal number and size, while blue light reduced the mentioned parameters. table 2. quantitative epidermal characteristics on abaxial surface of leaves of cynodon dactylon collected from different habitats of bangladesh. sl. no. habitats long cells/mm2 long cell length (µm) long cell width (µm) 1 rangpur 7.66 ± 0.15cd 33.91 ± 2.39hi 6.43 ± 0.26abcd 2 lalmonirhat 5.69 ± 0.13hijk 42.95 ± 2.39 efg 6.42 ± 0.17abcd 3 dinajpur 5.76 ± 0.10ghij 32.29 ± 2.26i 8.02 ± 0.17ab 4 thakurgaon 4.75 ± 0.08m 40.29 ± 2.30efgh 8.02 ± 0.22a 5 panchagarh 5.17 ± 0.13jklm 42.29 ± 2.26efg 8.03 ± 0.26ab 6 gaibandha 6.19 ± 0.08efghi 39.94 ± 1.61efgh 8.02 ± 0.13abc 7 rajshahi 5.16 ± 0.10jklm 39.86 ± 2.00efgh 6.69 ± 0.13abcd 8 naogaon 7.07 ± 0.08bc 40.20±1.56efgh 6.42±0.17abcd 9 pabna 5.56±0.10ijkl 38.88±1.65fghi 8.03±0.26abcd 10 gazipur 7.09±0.13bc 44.29±2.30def 4.43±0.22cd 11 narsingdi 5.01±0.13lm 40.23±1.78efgh 8.02±0.17abc 12 sherpur 6.37±0.13defg 40.37±1.61efgh 7.02±0.13abcd 13 mymensingh 5.10±0.15klm 32.95±2.21i 7.70±0.13abcd 14 khulna 7.72±0.10a 58.90±2.00c 6.82±0.13abcd 15 jessore 6.09±0.13fghi 49.63±2.30d 7.22±0.13abcd 16 jhenaidah 6.61±0.13cdef 37.64±2.34ghi 4.83±0.22d 17 faridpur 5.04±0.10klm 37.02±1.74ghi 6.17±0.26abcd 18 shariatpur 6.01±0.13fghi 45.87±2.08de 8.03±0.26a 19 barguna 2.57±0.13n 96.28±2.17b 8.43±0.26ab 20 khagrachari 7.62±0.15ab 33.59±2.00hi 7.48±0.13abcd 21 bandarban 6.32±0.10efgh 34.31±2.43hi 6.68±0.13abcd 22 rangamati 6.81±0.13cde 34.22±1.69hi 6.70±0.26bcd 23 cox's bazar 2.47±0.08n 32.20±1.56i 4.03±0.22cd 24 st. martin’s island 2.14±0.15n 110.26±2.00a 8.82±0.17a se = standard error, n = 24. in the column, mean values bearing similar letter(s) or without letter are identical and those having dissimilar letters are differed significantly as per duncan’s multiple range test. leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 183 table 3. quantitative epidermal characteristics on abaxial surface of leaves of cynodon dactylon collected from different habitats of bangladesh. sl. no. habitats stomatal frequency epidermal cell no. /mm2 stomatal index 1 rangpur 4.52±0.10fghi 11.92±0.95cdef 26.36±0.49ab 2 lalmonirhat 4.59±0.08efgh 13.28±0.91bcdef 26.34±0.62ab 3 dinajpur 4.82±0.15cdef 12.61±1.30cdef 26.47±0.36ab 4 thakurgaon 3.71±0.08k 10.81±1.30ef 25.46±0.32ab 5 panchagarh 4.26±0.15hij 9.60±1.21f 28.00±0.91ab 6 gaibandha 4.29±0.13hij 23.89±0.69a 25.40±0.82ab 7 rajshahi 4.03±0.08jk 12.37±1.30cdef 25.61±0.88ab 8 naogaon 4.93±0.13cde 12.59±1.48cdef 26.40±0.61ab 9 pabna 4.82±0.15cdef 13.78±0.78bcde 25.78±0.52ab 10 gazipur 5.56±0.10a 16.21±1.04b 25.80±0.61ab 11 narsingdi 4.19±0.08ij 11.33±1.35def 26.25±0.30ab 12 sherpur 4.32±0.10ghij 13.29±1.30bcdef 25.67±0.96ab 13 mymensingh 4.77±0.13cdef 10.61±1.04ef 27.42±1.40ab 14 khulna 5.40±0.10ab 15.53±1.04bc 27.78±1.31ab 15 jessore 5.06±0.15bcd 10.48±0.65ef 28.43±1.55a 16 jhenaidah 4.83±0.08cdef 13.63±1.17bcde 25.36±0.30b 17 faridpur 4.68±0.10defg 10.32±0.91ef 27.64±1.51ab 18 shariatpur 4.69±0.13cdefg 11.06±1.08ef 27.36±1.78ab 19 barguna 2.13±0.13l 5.54±1.39g 26.26±0.43ab 20 khagrachari 4.56±0.10efghi 12.3±0.78cdef 25.98±0.29ab 21 bandarban 5.07±0.08bc 14.86±1.08bcd 26.13±0.71ab 22 rangamati 4.52±0.10fghi 12.98±1.39bcdef 26.17±0.56ab 23 cox's bazar 2.13±0.13l 5.56±1.56g 26.31±0.30ab 24 st. martin’s island 1.78±0.15m 4.5±0.78g 26.59±0.78ab se = standard error, n = 24. in the column, mean values bearing similar letter(s) or without letter are identical and those having dissimilar letters are differed significantly as per duncan’s multiple range test. stomatal index was highest in jessore (28.43%) and lowest in jhenaidah (25.36%) for abaxial surface of the leaves (table 3). stomatal index was highest in khulna (28.76%) and lowest in jhenaidah (24.97%) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 7). stomatal length with guard cell was highest in sample of cox’s bazar (21.50 µm) and lowest in case of mymensingh (11.50 µm) in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 4). stomatal length with guard cell was highest in case of st. martin’s island (17.59 µm) and lowest in case of mymensingh (11.56 µm) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 8). stomatal breadth with guard cell was highest in sample of st. martin’s island (13.71 µm) and lowest in khulna (8.11 µm) in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 4). stomatal breadth with guard cell was highest in barguna (15.62 µm) and lowest in khulna (8.11 µm) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 8). tufail et al. (2017) observed stomata with small dimensions in ecotype of c. dactylon, which could be related to a more efficient physiological regulation since less turgor is required for the opening and closing of the ostiole. it reinforces what 184 nitu et al. had been previously reported in fossils of species belonging to several families, including poaceae (franks and beerling, 2009) along with different plant species in which higher stomatal densities mediated by small sized stomata provide enhanced conductivity and higher photosynthesis rates (franks et al. 2009; drake et al. 2013; vrablova et al., 2017). nevertheless, hetherington and woodward (2003) pointed out that when the environmental alterations are unfavorable the conductance of small stomata is quickly reduced. carpenter and smith (1975) had established such a relationship involving stomata size and growth habit. xerophytic species have much smaller stomata than mesophytic species. it may be compensating for the presence of larger stomata and it may be associated with adaptive success of polyploids (van de peer et al., 2017), mainly regarding water stress and changes in temperature (simonneau et al., 2017). table 4. quantitative epidermal characteristics on abaxial surface of leaves of cynodon dactylon collected from different habitats of bangladesh. sl. no. habitats stomata length with guard cell (µm) stomata breadth with guard cell (µm) epidermal cell length (µm) epidermal cell breadth (µm) 1 rangpur 12.82±0.66f 9.11±0.87cd 32.12±0.95h 8.14±1.13cd 2 lalmonirhat 16.39±0.33cd 9.48±1.13bcd 35.06±0.95fg 8.41±1.13cd 3 dinajpur 16.75±0.38c 8.26±0.43d 38.12±0.95de 8.09±0.74cd 4 thakurgaon 15.75±0.28cde 9.07±0.87cd 32.13±1.00h 8.10±0.78cd 5 panchagarh 16.12±0.59cde 9.38±0.78bcd 39.29±0.74d 10.12±0.95c 6 gaibandha 15.60±0.51cde 9.02±0.48cd 36.10±0.78ef 9.73±1.04cd 7 rajshahi 15.86±0.66e 8.22±0.43d 24.06±0.43k 8.06±0.43cd 8 naogaon 16.05±0.64cde 9.37±0.69bcd 36.07±0.56ef 8.10±0.78cd 9 pabna 15.95±0.38cde 9.58±1.13bcd 36.07±0.52ef 8.07±0.56cd 10 gazipur 15.70±0.66e 10.66±0.43bcd 38.75±0.87d 7.79±0.43cd 11 narsingdi 16.30±0.56cde 11.81±0.61ab 29.41±0.56i 8.06±0.43cd 12 sherpur 12.57±0.53f 8.61±1.00cd 34.85±1.04fg 8.23±0.52cd 13 mymensingh 11.50±0.46f 10.40±1.04bcd 33.32±0.95gh 8.14±1.13cd 14 khulna 14.95±0.28e 8.11±0.87d 27.00±0.48j 7.31±0.82d 15 jessore 12.23±0.28f 8.14±1.08d 36.11±0.82ef 8.14±1.08cd 16 jhenaidah 15.35±0.59e 10.21±1.04bcd 29.40±0.48i 7.73±1.04cd 17 faridpur 15.87±0.59de 8.14±1.08d 23.07±0.52k 8.46±0.43cd 18 shariatpur 15.30±0.36de 12.07±0.56ab 28.12±0.91ij 8.78±1.08cd 19 barguna 19.53±0.33b 9.83±0.56bcd 72.25±0.61b 10.26±1.00c 20 khagrachari 16.2±0.51cde 8.86±0.48cd 40.08±0.61d 8.07±0.52cd 21 bandarban 14.79±0.33e 8.12±0.91d 32.12±0.91h 8.09±0.69cd 22 rangamati 15.74±0.36cde 8.93±1.04cd 26.07±0.52j 8.67±1.04cd 23 cox's bazar 21.5±0.36a 11.29±0.74abc 70.09±0.69c 21.74±1.13a 24 st. martin’s island 20.63±0.48ab 13.71±0.87a 80.06±0.43a 16.25±0.91b se = standard error, n = 24. in the column, mean values bearing similar letter(s) or without letter are identical and those having dissimilar letters are differed significantly as per duncan’s multiple range test. leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 185 table 5. quantitative epidermal characteristics on abaxial surface of leaves of cynodon dactylon collected from different habitats of bangladesh. sl. no. habitats silica bodies /mm2 prickles angular /mm2 hooks/mm2 macro hair/mm2 1 rangpur 7.05±0.53cdefgh 0.22±0.02bcd 0.15±0.03fgh 0.04±0.00fg 2 lalmonirhat 5.28±0.31gh 0.23±0.03bcd 0.26±0.02 de 0.15±0.03bcd 3 dinajpur 7.61±0.33bc 0.26±0.02abcd 0.18±0.02fg 0.14±0.02bcde 4 thakurgaon 5.79±0.38gh 0.22±0.02bcd 0.02±0.02jk 0.09±0.01cdefg 5 panchagarh 5.01±0.33h 0.29±0.01ab 0.28±0.04cd 0.07±0.03defg 6 gaibandha 6.66±0.46efgh 0.32±0.04a 0.04±0.00ijk 0.14±0.02bcde 7 rajshahi 6.45±0.43fgh 0.26±0.02abcd 0.96±0.04a 0.10±0.02bcdefg 8 naogaon 8.29±0.43bcd 0.30±0.02ab 0.43±0.03b 0.12±0.04bcdef 9 pabna 7.24±0.61bcdefg 0.22±0.02bcd 0.29±0.01cd 0.10±0.02bcdefg 10 gazipur 7.66±0.46bcde 0.31±0.03a 0.47±0.03b 0.06±0.02efg 11 narsingdi 5.92±0.51gh 0.26±0.02abcd 0.31±0.03cd 0.10±0.02cdefg 12 sherpur 7.01±0.64efgh 0.23±0.03bcd 0.02±0.02jk 0.07±0.03defg 13 mymensingh 6.39±0.38cdefgh 0.19±0.03d 0.35±0.03c 0.11±0.03bcdefg 14 khulna 8.46±0.46ab 0.31±0.03a 0.29±0.01cd 0.14±0.02bcde 15 jessore 7.36±0.51bcdef 0.23±0.03bcd 0.16±0.00fg 0.11±0.03bcdefg 16 jhenaidah 7.17±0.64defgh 0.28±0.00abc 0.30±0.02cd 0.12±0.04bcdef 17 faridpur 5.16±0.41h 0.23±0.03bcd 0.11±0.03ghi 0.09±0.01cdefg 18 shariatpur 8.10±0.56bcdef 0.20±0.00cd 0.18±0.02fg 0.18±0.02b 19 barguna 2.57±0.64i 0.00±0.00e 0.03±0.03jk 0.10±0.02cdefg 20 khagrachari 9.75±0.28a 0.24±0.00abcd 0.09±0.01hij 0.02±0.02g 21 bandarban 10.26±0.66a 0.27±0.03abc 0.19±0.03ef 0.07±0.03defg 22 rangamati 8.87±0.59ab 0.20±0.00cd 0.08±0.04hijk 0.05±0.01fg 23 cox's bazar 2.92±0.61i 0.00±0.00e 0.00±0.00k 0.26±0.02a 24 st. martin’s island 2.13±0.53i 0.00±0.00e 0.02±0.02jk 0.16±0.04bc se = standard error, n = 24. in the column, mean values bearing similar letter(s) or without letter are identical and those having dissimilar letters are differed significantly as per duncan’s multiple range test. epidermal cell length was highest in st. martin’s island (80.06 µm) and lowest in faridpur (23.07 µm) in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 4). epidermal cell length was highest in barguna (72.06 µm) and lowest in khulna (28.76 µm) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 8). epidermal cell breadth was highest in case of cox’s bazar (21.74 µm) and lowest in case of khulna (7.31 µm) in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 4). epidermal cell breadth was highest in case of cox’s bazar (12.20 µm) and lowest in case of faridpur (7.10 µm) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 8). the epidermis consists of various types of functionally specialized cells play vital role in restricting water loss, regulate gaseous exchange, defense, attract pollinators, photosynthesis, transpiration, respiration, mechanical strength and flexibility. palmer and tucker (1981) also observed that foliar epidermal features were useful in the systematics and 186 nitu et al. characterization within sub families and tribes. many leaf epidermal characters such as length and shape of epidermal cells, stomata, stomatal type, papillae, prickle angular, macro and micro hair, hooks, margins and silica bodies are taxonomically informative and can be used as an important tool in the delimitation of grasses (prat, 1932; metcalfe, 1960; ellis, 1979; petronela and nevana, 2010). watson and dallwitz (1992) reported detailed description of the leaf epidermis in numerous taxa, pointing out the significance of these characters in the systematics of the poaceae. table 6. quantitative epidermal characteristics on adaxial surface of leaves of cynodon dactylon collected from different habitats of bangladesh. sl. no. habitats long cells/mm2 long cell length (µm) long cell width (µm) 1 rangpur 5.88±0.50efghij 37.72±0.82mn 6.63±0.42cd 2 lalmonirhat 5.33±0.52hij 50.12±0.70g 7.73±0.24bc 3 dinajpur 5.15±0.20ij 48.85±0.76g 7.39±0.34bc 4 thakurgaon 9.20±0.44a 72.69±0.61b 7.68±0.44bc 5 panchagarh 9.01±0.30a 41.98±0.87jk 6.53±0.24cd 6 gaibandha 8.46±0.32ab 41.16±0.67kl 7.40±0.36bc 7 rajshahi 6.81±0.60cdef 36.05±0.76n 7.51±0.56bc 8 naogaon 7.50±0.40bc 44.09±0.79hi 6.95±0.56bc 9 pabna 7.43±0.42bc 55.46±0.73ef 6.72±0.58cd 10 gazipur 6.32±0.58cdefghi 33.06±0.58o 7.73±0.24bc 11 narsingdi 7.17±0.52bcde 43.55±0.79hij 6.61±0.38cd 12 sherpur 4.61±0.38j 54.26±0.82f 5.39±0.34de 13 mymensingh 5.75±0.20fghij 49.95±0.84g 7.10±0.54bc 14 khulna 6.75±0.34cdefg 64.69±0.61c 4.62±0.40ef 15 jessore 6.34±0.54cdefghi 56.66±0.58e 6.63±0.42cd 16 jhenaidah 6.60±0.28cdefgh 59.53±0.79d 6.94±0.26bc 17 faridpur 5.92±0.36defghij 42.03±0.61ijk 6.64±0.44cd 18 shariatpur 9.65±0.52a 31.39±0.64p 4.92±0.22e 19 barguna 3.31±0.20k 90.76±0.67a 8.28±0.50b 20 khagrachari 5.43±0.42ghij 54.45±0.76f 7.92±0.58bc 21 bandarban 6.92±0.36cdef 44.98±0.87h 7.02±0.40bc 22 rangamati 6.62±0.40cdefgh 39.32±0.58lm 3.40±0.36f 23 cox's bazar 3.33±0.24k 72.95±0.84b 12.33±0.60a 24 st. martin’s island 7.28±0.44bcd 58.98±0.87d 7.85±0.60bc se = standard error, n = 24. in the column, mean values bearing similar letter(s) or without letter are identical and those having dissimilar letters are differed significantly as per duncan’s multiple range test. leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 187 table 7. quantitative epidermal characteristics on adaxial surface of leaves of cynodon dactylon collected from different habitats of bangladesh. sl. no. habitats stomatal frequency epidermal cell/mm2 stomatal index 1 rangpur 5.21±0.24bcde 16.06±0.73cdef 25.77±0.59bc 2 lalmonirhat 4.59±0.42defg 13.20±0.82hi 26.67±0.36b 3 dinajpur 5.15±0.56bcde 14.95±0.70efgh 26.07±0.46bc 4 thakurgaon 6.29±0.38ab 19.03±0.70ab 25.43±0.33bc 5 panchagarh 5.44±0.22abcde 16.05±0.79cdef 26.81±0.64b 6 gaibandha 6.31±0.56ab 18.85±0.76ab 25.73±0.56bc 7 rajshahi 5.29±0.38bcde 15.98±0.73cdef 25.93±0.64bc 8 naogaon 5.76±0.28abcd 17.69±0.79bcd 25.60±0.46bc 9 pabna 4.61±0.38cdefg 13.57±0.76ghi 26.07±0.28bc 10 gazipur 3.85±0.24fghi 11.85±0.61ij 25.80±0.61bc 11 narsingdi 5.92±0.22abc 17.92±0.82abc 25.87±0.33bc 12 sherpur 4.36±0.22efgh 13.04±0.64hi 26.24±0.48bc 13 mymensingh 4.86±0.26cdefg 14.89±0.79efgh 25.78±0.43bc 14 khulna 5.23±0.20bcde 13.89±0.76fghi 28.76±0.43a 15 jessore 5.10±0.54bcdef 14.76±0.82efgh 26.55±0.61bc 16 jhenaidah 6.40±0.44ab 19.57±0.61ab 24.97±0.28c 17 faridpur 4.96±0.22cdef 15.14±0.55efgh 25.80±0.61bc 18 shariatpur 6.61±0.38a 19.99±0.70a 25.40±0.31bc 19 barguna 3.02±0.32i 9.28±0.82k 26.05±0.53bc 20 khagrachari 5.37±0.60abcde 15.38±0.58defgh 25.61±0.31bc 21 bandarban 5.58±0.32abcde 16.49±0.61cde 26.27±0.61bc 22 rangamati 5.57±0.60abcde 15.66±0.55cdefg 26.37±0.41bc 23 cox's bazar 3.34±0.40hi 9.72±0.67k 26.26±0.33bc 24 st. martin’s island 3.70±0.32ghi 10.48±0.64jk 27.04±0.41b se = standard error, n = 24. in the column, mean values bearing similar letter(s) or without letter are identical and those having dissimilar letters are differed significantly as per duncan’s multiple range test. number of silica bodies per mm2 was highest in sample of bandarban (10.26) and lowest in sample of st. martin’s island (2.13) in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 5). number of silica bodies per mm2 was highest in case of naogaon (7.95) and lowest in case of cox’s bazar (2.00) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 9). prickles angular number per mm2 was highest in case of gaibandha (0.32) and lowest in case of mymensingh (0.19) and no prickles angular was found in case of barguna, cox’s bazar and st. martin’s island in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 5). prickles angular number per mm2 was highest in case of thakurgaon (0.42) and lowest in case of both pabna and rangamati (0.18) and no prickles angular was found in case of barguna, cox’s bazar and st. martin’s island in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 9). number of hooks per mm2 was highest in case of rajshahi (0.96) and lowest in case of thakurgaon (0.02), sherpur (0.02) 188 nitu et al. table 8. quantitative epidermal characteristics on adaxial surface of leaves of cynodon dactylon collected from different habitats of bangladesh. sl. no. habitats stomata length with guard cell (µm) stomata breadth with guard cell (µm) epidermal cell length (µm) epidermal cell breadth (µm) 1 rangpur 12.42±0.73ef 8.77±0.30fgh 38.79±0.70i 8.33±0.60defgh 2 lalmonirhat 14.02±0.87cde 10.73±0.24c 34.16±0.73k 8.43±0.42defgh 3 dinajpur 12.50±0.84ef 9.81±0.38cdef 38.22±0.79ij 7.53±0.60gh 4 thakurgaon 13.69±0.55cdef 9.35±0.52defgh 42.69±0.61gh 8.19±0.34efgh 5 panchagarh 15.41±0.76abcd 9.77±0.60cdef 47.29±0.55e 8.17±0.30efgh 6 gaibandha 13.42±0.73def 9.79±0.34cdef 37.45±0.70ij 8.11±0.56efgh 7 rajshahi 15.29±0.61abcd 8.83±0.30efgh 33.15±0.84k 9.11±0.56bcdef 8 naogaon 15.66±0.58abcd 12.19±0.34b 37.72±0.82ij 10.18±0.56bc 9 pabna 12.66±0.73ef 9.83±0.42cdef 29.52±0.64m 8.33±0.60defgh 10 gazipur 14.09±0.67cde 8.80±0.28fgh 38.62±0.55i 9.81±0.38bcd 11 narsingdi 14.29±0.61cde 8.37±0.38gh 33.85±0.76k 8.38±0.20defgh 12 sherpur 15.57±0.61abcd 9.38±0.32defgh 40.85±0.76h 8.74±0.46cdefg 13 mymensingh 11.56±0.67f 8.78±0.32fgh 51.79±0.70d 7.99±0.34fgh 14 khulna 12.62±0.55ef 8.11±0.20h 28.76±0.67m 8.11±0.20efgh 15 jessore 13.42±0.73def 9.41±0.38defgh 54.69±0.61c 8.31±0.56defgh 16 jhenaidah 14.22±0.73cde 8.70±0.30fgh 44.95±0.84f 8.59±0.58defgh 17 faridpur 15.96±0.82abc 10.12±0.58cde 36.36±0.67j 7.10±0.40h 18 shariatpur 14.65±0.76bcde 9.50±0.54cdefg 30.72±0.64lm 8.12±0.22efgh 19 barguna 16.72±0.64ab 15.62±0.28a 72.06±0.64a 8.31±0.56defgh 20 khagrachari 15.34±0.55abcd 9.50±0.30cdefg 32.66±0.58kl 9.60±0.36bcde 21 bandarban 12.57±0.79ef 9.42±0.40defgh 36.72±0.64ij 8.61±0.52defgh 22 rangamati 12.86±0.58ef 8.54±0.26fgh 32.66±0.58kl 8.20±0.36efgh 23 cox's bazar 17.14±0.87a 14.93±0.60a 58.96±0.67b 12.20±0.36a 24 st. martin’s island 17.59±0.70a 10.40±0.36cd 43.96±0.67fg 10.39±0.42b se = standard error, n = 24. in the column, mean values bearing similar letter(s) or without letter are identical and those having dissimilar letters are differed significantly as per duncan’s multiple range test. and st. martin’s island (0.02) in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 5). number of hooks per mm2 was highest in case of lalmonirhat (1.69) and lowest in case of barguna (0.02) in adaxial surface of the leaves (table 9). in case of cox’s bazar, hook was absent both abaxial and adaxial surfaces of the leaves (table 5 & 9). macro hair number per mm2 was highest in case of cox’s bazar (0.26) and lowest in case of khagrachari (0.02) in abaxial surface of the leaves (table 5). macro hair number per mm2 was highest in case of cox’s bazar (0.52) and lowest in in case of gazipur (0.02) in adaxial surface of the leaves. no macro hair was found in the sample of pabna (table 9). however, all these characters were found to be highest and lowest both abaxially and adaxially, which indicates the taxonomic importance of the foliar characters. the foliar epidermis offers a leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 189 table 9. quantitative epidermal characteristics on adaxial surface of leaves of cynodon dactylon collected from different habitats of bangladesh. sl. no. habitats silica bodies no./mm2 prickles angular/mm2 hooks no./mm2 macro hair no./mm2 1 rangpur 5.69±0.30cd 0.30±0.02cdef 0.52±0.00f 0.11±0.03de 2 lalmonirhat 4.89±0.52d 0.39±0.03ab 1.69±0.01a 0.24±0.04bc 3 dinajpur 5.73±0.30cd 0.22±0.02fg 0.98±0.02d 0.16±0.04cd 4 thakurgaon 6.77±0.60abc 0.42±0.02a 1.54±0.02b 0.11±0.03de 5 panchagarh 5.09±0.52d 0.24±0.04defg 0.32±0.04j 0.06±0.02efg 6 gaibandha 6.48±0.44bc 0.28±0.04cdef 0.48±0.04fgh 0.04±0.00efg 7 rajshahi 5.69±0.38cd 0.24±0.04defg 1.62±0.02a 0.25±0.01b 8 naogaon 7.95±0.20a 0.30±0.02cde 0.79±0.03e 0.09±0.01defg 9 pabna 5.89±0.38cd 0.18±0.02g 0.42±0.02ghi 0.00±0.00g 10 gazipur 5.86±0.46cd 0.27±0.03cdef 1.08±0.00c 0.02±0.02fg 11 narsingdi 6.68±0.44abc 0.26±0.02defg 0.75±0.03e 0.08±0.04defg 12 sherpur 4.83±0.34d 0.32±0.00bcd 0.36±0.04ij 0.06±0.02efg 13 mymensingh 5.65±0.24cd 0.30±0.02cdef 1.11±0.03c 0.11±0.03def 14 khulna 6.87±0.20abc 0.22±0.02efg 0.46±0.02fgh 0.05±0.01efg 15 jessore 5.75±0.42cd 0.35±0.03abc 1.11±0.03c 0.13±0.01de 16 jhenaidah 6.56±0.58bc 0.39±0.03ab 1.05±0.01cd 0.10±0.02def 17 faridpur 5.79±0.34cd 0.35±0.03abc 0.42±0.02ghi 0.12±0.00de 18 shariatpur 6.88±0.28abc 0.26±0.02defg 0.43±0.03ghi 0.03±0.03efg 19 barguna 2.38±0.32e 0.00±0.00h 0.02±0.02k 0.08±0.04defg 20 khagrachari 6.89±0.30abc 0.41±0.01a 1.52±0.04b 0.16±0.04cd 21 bandarban 6.15±0.34cd 0.26±0.02defg 0.50±0.02fg 0.07±0.03defg 22 rangamati 7.67±0.20ab 0.18±0.02g 0.40±0.04hi 0.11±0.03de 23 cox's bazar 2.00±0.58e 0.00±0.00h 0.00±0.00k 0.52±0.04a 24 st. martin’s island 2.55±0.56e 0.00±0.00h 0.04±0.04k 0.24±0.04bc se = standard error, n = 24. in the column, mean values bearing similar letter(s) or without letter are identical and those having dissimilar letters are differed significantly as per duncan’s multiple range test. number of noteworthy taxonomic characters. the biosystematic and taxonomic studies of a number of families established the importance of leaf epidermis (baranova, 1972; raju, 1981; stace, 1984). although the taxonomists realized lately the importance of micromorphology of the epidermis and thus, the taxonomic monographs are now considered incomplete without it (rejdali, 1991). the diversity and distributional pattern of the above mentioned characters can be viewed from different perspectives and used as a model system for investigations into developmental biology, ecology, physiology, morphology and evolution. 190 nitu et al. conclusion different parameters of leaf epidermal anatomy like long cells, silica bodies, prickles angular and hook might be helpful in identification of the accessions of c. dactylon particularly in case of the grasses collected from hilly regions of bangladesh. this study mainly focused on qualitative and quantitative characters of twenty four habitats of c. dactydon and all of them were amphistomatus. stomatal parameters like size and number were found to show great ecological importance especially in case of stress tolerance. the stomatal index and stomatal frequency were of vital value in the delimitation of close relation of accessions when their variations were found to be statistically significant in most of the cases. the present findings have indicated that attempts can be made in future using stomatal characters along with few other epidermal features as the aid in identification and classification of cynodon dactylon at different ecological zones of bangladesh. acknowledgement the anatomical part of this research work has been carried out in plant ecology laboratory, and phycology and limnology laboratory of the department of botany, university of rajshahi, bangladesh and chairman of the said department is gratefully acknowledged for providing 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(lamiaceae). bot j. linn. soc. 107: 67‒77. royer, d.l., berner, r.a. and beerling, d.j. 2001. phanerozoic atmospheric co2 change: evaluating geochemical and paleobiological approaches. earth-science reviews 54(4): 349-392. rudall, p.j., chen, e.d. and cullen, e. 2017. evolution and development of monocot stomata. american journal botany 104(8): 1122‒1141. schoch, p.g., jacques, r., lecharny, a. and sibi, m. 1984. dependence of the stomatal index on environmental factors during stomatal differentiation in leaves of vigna sinensis l. ii. effect of different light quality. j. exp. bot. 35: 1405‒1409. simonneau, t., lebon, e., coupel-ledru, a., margueriti, e., rossdeutsch, l. and ollat, n. 2017. adapting plant material to face water stress in veneyards: which physiological targets for an optimal control of plant water status? oeno one 51(2): 167‒179. leaf epidermal anatomy of cynodon dactylon 193 stace, c.a. 1984. the taxonomic importance of the leaf surface. in: herwood, v.h. and moore, d.m., eds., current concepts in plant taxonomy, academy press, london, pp. 67‒94. stenglein, s.a., colares, m.n., arambarri, a.m., novoa, m.c., vizcaino, c.e. and katinas, l. 2003. leaf epidermal microcharacters of the old world species of lotus (leguminoseae: loteae) and their systematic significance. austr. j. bot. 51: 459‒469. thomasson, j.r., nelson, m.e. and zakrzawski, r.j. 1986. a fossil grass (gramineae-chloridoideae) from the miocene, with krantz anatomy science 233: 876-878. tufail, a., ahmad, f., hameed, m. and ahmad, r. 2017. growth performance and stomatal behavior in relation to ecotypic adaptations in cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. pak. j. bot. 49: 1395‒1403. twiss, p.c., suess, e. and smith, r.m. 1969. morphological classification of grass phytoliths. soil science of america, proceedings 33: 109‒115. uhl, d. and kerp, h. 2005. variabilty of stomatal density and index in the upper permian conifer quadracladus madler-a taphonomic case study. paleogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology. 218(3-4): 203‒213. van de peer, y., mizrachi, e. and marchal, k. 2017. the evolutionary significance of polyploidy. nat rev genet. 18(7): 411‒424. vesque, m.j. 1989. empoly of characters anatomiques dans classification plant. bull soc. bot., france. 36: 41‒77. vrablova, m., vrabl, d., hronkova, m., kubasek, j. and santrucek, j. 2017. stomatal function, density and pattern, and co2 assimilation in arabidopsis thaliana tmm1 and sdd1-1 mutants. plant biol. 19: 689‒ 701. wagner, f., dilcher, d.l. and visscher, h. 2005. stomatal frequency responses in hardwood swamp vegetation from florida during a 60-year continuous co2 increase. american journal of botany 92(4): 162‒168. walsh, g.e. 1990. anatomy of the seed and seedling of spartina alterniflora lois. (poaceae). aquat. bot. 38: 177‒193. watson, l. and dallwitz, m.j. 1992. the grass genera of the world. cab international. wallingford, uk. 1038 pp. xu, z. and zhou, g. 2008. responses of leaf stomatal density to water status and its relationship with photosynthesis in a grass. exp. bot. 59(12): 3317‒3325. zheng, y., xu, m., hou, r., shen, r., qiu, s. and ouyang, z. 2013. effects of experimental warming on stomatal traits in leaves of maize (zea mays l.). ecol. evol. 3(9): 3095‒3111. (manuscript received on 02 july, 2020; revised on 12 november, 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 277-281, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70503 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication notes on oedogonium circinatum tiff. (oedogoniaceae) from indian sundarban manasi mandal* department of botany, sundarban hazi desarat college, pathankhali-743611, west bengal, india keywords: new record; oedogonium circinatum; sundarban; west bengal; india. the genus oedogonium link appears as most species-rich genus and unbranched member of the order oedogoniales distributed worldwide with more than 617 species (guiry and guiry, 2023) and found in almost all fresh water habitats of the globe (gonzalves, 1981). the diversity of the genus in india has been studied by several workers (kamat, 1963; sarma et al., 1987, 1990; mahato, 1999; mahato and mahato, 2000; jawale and dhande, 2005; kargupta and keshri, 2006; keshri, 2012 and sahoo et al., 2014). presently oedogonium is credited with more than 357 species in india (keshri, 2012). in a recent algal exploration programme to sundarban, india few noteworthy specimens of fresh water oedogonium were collected from the ditches near rice field at sibganj in basanti island of sundarban delta, west bengal, india found to be associated with bulbochaete sp., oscillatoria sp., spirogyra sp., vaucheria sp., zygnema sp. and other algal members. critical examination of the morphology and comprehensive literature study revealed this oedogonium as o.circinatum tiff. (oedogoniaceae). it was previously described by tiffany in 1936 based on the specimens collected from a canal of south acradia, florida, north america. the specific epithet has been derived from its remarkable crosier–like circinate curvature of the terminal cell of the filament (tiffany, 1936). later, this species was recorded only in two places, i.e. one at congo (africa) and the other from portugal (europe). this is a unique and until now the only species of the genus oedogonium having circinate nature of filament end and thus drawn attention to the phycologists around the globe (gonzalves, 1981). the taxon is characterized by the depressed globose operculate oogonium usually borne on circinate terminal cell of the filament with 7-9 rounded projections. the species is recorded for the first time in asia from indian sundarban, besides its previous habitats in north america, africa and europe. primarily, the specimens attract attention by two facts: firstly the tiny size of the filaments and secondly the ‘hooked end cell’ which is mostly terminating into an oogonium. in depth character analysis reveals its typical terminal depressed–globose oogonium with 7-9 unequal rounded projections arranged in a whorl, which were more prominent in equilateral view. furthermore, the polar view of the oogonium appears as ‘flower’ having 7-9 ridges and furrows with a central oospore. until now, this species has never been recorded in asia, thus the present collection of the species appears as a new distributional record for the continent in general and india in particular. the collected specimens largely agree with the typical o. circinatum with its gross morphological features. besides, few additional quantitative (e.g. cell size) and qualitative (e.g. coiling of intercalary cells, intercalary oogonia) attributes have been observed and thus the present finding provides an opportunity to circumscribe the species with additional data which will be helpful to understand the species more critically and elaborately. *e-mail: manasimandal175@yahoo.com 278 manasi mandal the present investigation also helps to understand the taxonomy of the species more precisely with newly observed morphological features, both vegetative and reproductive. besides, detailed illustrations and microphotographs are also incorporated for easy and correct recognition of the species. algal specimens were collected in august 2022 from the road side ditches (latitude 22011′53″and longitude 88042′49″)found to be attached with the dried aquatic plant parts at sibganj of basanti island of sundarban delta. environmental parameters like ph and temperature were recorded. slides were prepared from fresh specimens using 10% glycerine and lactic acid to observe the pores/operculum, division of suffultory cells and especially the ornamentation of oospore wall clearly. samples were also preserved in faa (formaldehyde solution 5ml 4%: glacial acetic acid 5ml: ethanol 90ml 70%] solution for future reference. one per cent glycerine was added to prevent the material from desiccation. on reaching laboratory, critical examination and characterization of the collected specimens were done. camera lucida drawings were prepared. photomicrographs were taken by leica dm750 microscope. all relevant literature (tiffany, 1936; gonzalves, 1981; keshri, 2012) has been consulted to confirm identity as well as the distinctiveness of the species. the illustration published in the protologue (iconotype) has also been compared to corroborate identity. the specimens are deposited in the sundarban hazi desarat college herbarium. oedogonium circinatum tiff., amer. micr. soc. 55: 1, f 1-3, 1936; tiff., ame. mid. nat. 32 (1): 98-136, p1. 6, f. 111.1944; gonzalves, oedo. gen. oedo.374.1981. (figs 1-2) nannandrous, heterothallic; filament short, up to 5mm, vegetative cell slightly capitillate, 3-4.5µm in diameter, 12‒21 µm long; upper part of the filament always circinate, some protuberances found at the intercalary positions; oogonium mostly single, sometimes two, terminal sometimes intercalary, with 7-9 rounded projections arranged in median whorl, depressed to sub depressed, globose 9-10.5µm in diameter, 7-12µm long; operculate, division medianinframedian, suffultory cell slightly inflated, curved; basal cells 3-3.6µm in diameter, 16-18µm long pointed at base; oospore depressed globose, 6-8 µm in diameter, 5-7µm long; oospore wall smooth, mostly covering the oogonium completely; antheridia not found. specimens: mmsun: 87, 91; 14.08.2022, microscopic slide (kept at sundarban hazi desarat college herbarium) water quality: clean. temperature: 32°c; ph6.4. habitat ecology: the alga attached on died aquatic weeds in stagnant water at an elevation c. 6 m amsl, in association with species of bulbochaete sp., spirogyra sp., vaucheria sp. and zygnema sp. distribution: africa (congo), north america (florida), europe (portugal), asia (india: sundarban, west bengal -present report). the specimens of o. circinatum under present investigation agrees with the key characters of the species, however, the size of oogonium and ooospore is smaller which could be considered as morphoplasticity due to different environmental conditions. however, the most significant observation is the presence of intercalary oogonia. notably, suffultory cells are always circinate. furthermore, coiling of filaments is also noticed in few intercalary cells of the filament which could be the initiation of reproductive phase, though more intricate observation is needed with more specimens to confirm this fact. notes on oedogonium circinatum tiff. (oedogoniaceae) 279 notes: the occurrence of o. circinatum in sundarbans is perhaps most significant among all recent findings of india because this ‘circinate’ member is recorded for the first time in asia. more importantly, prior to this investigation, only three locations (habitats) of this species are known, one from each continent north america (florida), africa (congo) and europe (portugal) (gonzalves, 1981; guiry and guiry, 2023). so, the present finding confirms its occurrence from indian sundarban, west bengal and from asia for the first time. fig. 1. oedogonium circinatum. a. a filament. b. filament with terminal oogonium (polar view). c. intercalary oogonium (equatorial view). d-e. filament with terminal oogonium (equatorial view). 280 manasi mandal fig. 2. oedogonium circinatum. a. filament with circinate terminal oogonium (equatorial view). b. intercalary and terminal oogonium. c-d. oogonium (polar view). e. oogonium with projections. acknowledgements author wishes to express her gratitude to late prof. pranjit sarma, retr. professor, department of botany, university of burdwan and late dr. golam mustafa, department of botany, university of burdwan for their inspiration and thanks the principal of sundarban hazi desarat college, pathankhali, west bengal, india for his support. references gonzalves, e.a. 1981. oedogoniales, indian council of agricultural research, new delhi. guiry, m.d. and guiry, g.m. 2023. algae base. world-wide electronic publication, national university of ireland, galway. https://www.algaebase.org; searched on 06 april 2023. kargupta, a.n. and keshri, j.p. 2006. new records of the macrandrous oedogonium (oedogoniales, chlorophyceae) taxa from west bengal, india. algological stud. 122(1):57-71. keshri, j.p. 2012. the genus oedogonium link (chlorophyta: oedogoniales) in west bengal, india. sttutgart: j. cramer. bibliotheca phycologica, pp.1-117. jawale, a.k. and dhande, j.s. 2005. some species of oedogonium from hartala lake, district jalgaon, maharashtra. j. aqua. biol. 20: 17–20. notes on oedogonium circinatum tiff. (oedogoniaceae) 281 kamat, n.d. 1963. the algae of kolhapur, india. hydrobiologia 22: 209–305. mahato, a.k. 1999. a new species of oedogonium chlorophyceae, oedogoniales from bihar, india. feddes repertorium 110: 173–176. mahato, p. and mahato, a.k. 2000. three setiferous species of oedogonium from jharkhand, india. phykos 39: 1–6. sahoo, s.k., dutta, b and sarma, p. 2014. new records of the genus oedogonium (oedogoniaceae; chlorophyceae)from west bengal, india. algological studies 144: 3-17. sarma, p., mukherjee, d.d. and chakrabartay, k.a. 1987. new records of nannandrous oedogonium species from india. proc. 74th indian sc. congo pt. 3: 6, abstr. ii. sarma, p., mukherjee, d.d. and chakrabortay, k. 1990. a new species of oedogonium (oe. prathasarathii sp. nov.) from west bengal, india. in: rajarao, v.n. (ed.): perspectives in phycology (prof. m. o. p. iyengar centenary celebration volume). today and tomorrow's printers and publishers, new delhi. pp. 53-54. tiffany, l.h. 1936. new species of oedogonium. transactions of american microscopical society 55: 1-5. (manuscript received on 04 may, 2022; revised on 13 november, 2023) short communication bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 451-453, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57140 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists extreme early-age flowering of a tali palm (corypha taliera roxb.) tree md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: tali palm; corypha taliera roxb.; early-age flowering; bangladesh. tali palm, corypha taliera roxb. (arecaceae) is a giant monocarpic plam discovered in 1919 in bengal by william roxburgh. the plant is regarded as endemic to bengal (siddiqui et al. 2007). tali palm is a tall straight tree, attaining about 40-50 feet high and flowers usually after 6070 years. after flowering and fruiting the palm dies. in bangladesh, tali palm was represented by a single individual which was first recognized in early 1950s in a scrub jungle between jagannath hall and isa khan staff quarters of the university of dhaka. this plant was regarded as the only wild individual of tali palm in the world (khan et al. 2001a, b). at the age of about 60 years or more the dhaka tali palm flowered during 2008-2009. panicle initiation was first noticed on the 18th september 2008. the plant took a total of 431 days from panicle initiation to fruit ripening. from the initiation of fruits about 415 days were taken to ripe. the seeds took 30-48 days to germinate (khondker et al., 2010). as the plant was the only living individual in the world, after the plant had died producing hundreds of ripe fruits, initiatives were taken to raise seedlings from the seeds and to spread these to different areas to save from extinction of so called extinct palm. a large number of seedlings were raised from the seeds by the department of botany, university of dhaka, by the arboriculture section (university of dhaka) and by akhteruzzaman chowdhury who was working on the tali palm materials at the department of pharmaceutical chemistry, university of dhaka. seedlings of c. two years old were then planted in different suitable places. chowdhury took a crash programme to spread the extinct tali palm throughout the country and planted seedlings in different institutions, forest lands, government offices including circuit house premise of tangail district. he planted the seedlings in tangail circuit house premise on 17th june 2012. in 2021, after only 9 years of plantation, one plant in the circuit house premise started flowering in very extreme early-age of eleven only (fig. 1). the plant is taxonomically very important but economically less important. however, hard trunk of tali palm may be used for constructing houses, petioles as firewood and the leaf-blade as thatching materials (siddiqui et al., 2007). tali palm may become a candidate for a potential medicinal plant, because its young fruits have strong antioxidant activity (lc50 19.33 µg/ml as compared to 9.5 µg/ml for the standard bht). it also exhibits antimicrobial activity against few pathogenic bacteria. the methanol extract revealed the strong cytotoxicity ((ic50 = 0.43 µg/ml) (chowdhury et al., 2010). crude methanolic extract of the fruits contains stigmasterol, βsitosterol, β-amyrin, lupeol and betulinic acid which is reduced from betulin (chowdhury et al., 2013). betulin, a triterpene present in the fruits, inhibits the maturation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein which in turn, reduces the biosynthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids, improves hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance and reduces atherosclerotic plaques (khan et al., 2017). https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57140 452 hassan fig. 1. an eleven year old tali palm (corypha taliera) with a panicle at the top. fresh flowers of tali palm contain carbohydrate 41.62%, protein 12.78%, fat 1.25%, calcium 256.51 mg, phosphorus 190.0 mg and iron 36.80 mg. pericarp and testa also contain high percentage of carbohydrate (67.03%), protein (14.70%), calcium (240.0 mg), phosphorus (212.0 mg) and iron (17.0 mg) (khondker et al., 2010). the medicinal and nutritional importance of tali palm is directly related to its flowering and fruiting. early flowering and fruiting of tali palm may bring opportunity for further pharmaceutical research. it may also save the plant from extinction. the extreme early-age extreme early-age flowering of a tali palm 453 flowering might be due to environmental change or molecular level change which needs further detailed investigation. references chowdhury, a., alam, m.a., rahman, m.s., hassan, m.a. and rashid, m.a. 2010. antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of corypha taliera roxb. lat. am. j. pharm. 29(7): 1231-1234. chowdhury, a., alam, m.a., rashid, r.b., al-mansur, m.a., rahman, m.s. and rashid, m.a. 2013. steroids and triterpenoids from corypha taliera roxb.: a critically endangered palm species of bangladesh. res. j. med. plant 7: 125-129. khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and basu, s.k. 2001a. rescue of an extinct palm in bangladesh. species 36: 9. newsletter of the species survival commission, iucn-world conservation union. khan, m.s., rahman, m. and ali, m.a. (eds). 2001b. red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, 179 pp. khan, m.f., rashid, r.b., hossain, m.a. and rashid, m.a. 2017. computational study of solvent free energy, dipole moment, polarizability, hyperpolarizability and molecular properties of betulin, a constituent of corypha taliera roxb. dhaka univ. j. pharm. sci. 16(1): 1-8. khondker, m., hassan, m.a., alfasane, m.a. and shahjadee, u.f. 2010. flowering and fruiting characteristics and biochemical composition of an endemic palm species (corypha taliera roxb.). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 79-86. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmed, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds). 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 11. angiosperms: monocotyledons (agavaceae najadaceae), asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 399 pp. (manuscript received on 5 july 2021; revised on 8 december 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 345-360, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63533 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists determination of local people consensus in the use of medicinal plants of thakurgaon district farhana yesmin mitu, atiya begum rifat, tahmina haque, md. abdul mazid1 and mohammad zashim uddin* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: informant consensus; fidelity level; medicinal plants; thakurgaon district; bangladesh. abstract consensus in the use of medicinal plants is one of the criteria to find the potential medicinal plants for further in-depth investigation. the present study was conducted with the aim to determine the people consensus in the use of medicinal plants in thakurgaon district. data of medicinal plants were recorded using key informant interviews, semi structured interviews and group discussion. a total of 102 medicinal plant species under 49 families with 185 formularies to treat 54 ailments were recorded from the study area. the most frequently utilized plant species are trees (38%) followed by herbs (34%), shrubs (18%) and climbers (10%). the major part used for medicines was leaf. oral consumption was the main mode of treatment in the study area followed by external application. the top fic value was obtained in case of heart diseases (0.92). the most cited species used to treat this ailment was allium sativum, phyllanthus emblica, spondias pinnata and terminalia arjuna. the second highest fic value was found in respiratory disorders (0.89) followed by cuts and wounds (0.85), skin diseases (0.84) and gastrointestinal disorders (0.81). in case of fl value, allium sativum, spondias pinnata, cynodon dactylon, lawsonia inermis, zingiber officinale, saccharum officinarum, tagetes erecta and baccaurea ramiflora were showed 100%. the species of higher citation frequency were allium sativum, phyllanthus emblica, spondias pinnata, terminalia arjuna, cynodon dactylon and ocimum sanctum. this study recommends that the species which showed high fic, fl, cf values could be used for further phytochemical analysis to investigate active compounds for the discovery of new drugs from medicinal plants. introduction ethnobotanical investigation is the gateway in identifying new plant products of potential commercial values (uddin et al., 2015). documented medicinal plants with high degree of consensus can serve as a basis for future investigation of modern drug (khan et al., 2014). the world market for herbal medicines based on traditional knowledge is now estimated at us$ 60 billion (breevot, 1998). in 1992, the world leaders met in rio de janeiro to formulate biodiversity conservation policy including agenda 21 which also gave emphasis on the documentation and sustainable utilization of traditional knowledge of medicinal plants. indigenous knowledge of using medicinal plants for healing human ailments is however in danger of gradually become extinct, because this knowledge is passed on orally from generation to generation without the aid of a writing system (kaido et al., 1997). most culture possess a huge store of undocumented traditional knowledge of applying herbal remedies in the treatment of diseases (offiah et al., 2011). in addition, documenting the results of scientific research into traditional medicine may *corresponding author: zashim01@gmail.com 1department of pharmaceutical chemistry, faculty of pharmacy, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63533 mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 346 mitu et al. also help to conserve an important part of an indigenous people's cultural heritage for the future generations (mahwasane et al., 2013). ethnobotanical studies have got attention in all over the world. unless the plants are conserved and the ethnobotanical knowledge is documented, there is a danger that both the valuable medicinal plants and the associated indigenous knowledge of the ethnic groups could vanish forever due to lack of documentation. the documentation of indigenous knowledge of herbal medicine is an important aspect of conservation approach (umair et al., 2017). many studies have been done on indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants in different parts of bangladesh. today a substantial number of drugs are developed from plants which are active against number of diseases (principe, 2005). in spite of tremendous advances in synthetic drugs and medicine, a large number of people still believe on herbal drugs with hope of safety and efficacy (verma et al., 2008). plants may serve as the alternative sources for the development of new anticoagulant agents due to their biological activities. currently medicinal plants and traditional knowledge have been eroding because of anthropogenic pressure, deforestation, pollution, modern agriculture practices, lack of awareness, unwilling to practice forefather tradition, climate change, modern culture, migrating towards urbans and no written documents. some of such knowledge is going to be eliminated before documentation which is alarming to sustain cultural heritage (uddin et al., 2017). so, it is essential to document all traditional knowledge about herbal medicine and all medicinal plants. in order to protect such knowledge, documentation of ethnobotanical plants is already started in bangladesh. a number of articles have been published in this field, for example, mia and huq (1988), hassan and khan (1986, 1996), alam (1992), alam et al. (1996), uddin (2006), uddin et al. (2001), khan et al. (2002), yusuf et al. (2002), uddin et al. (2004), uddin et al. (2006), yusuf et al. (2006), uddin and roy (2007), uddin et al. (2008), uddin et al. (2012), haque et al. (2014) and uddin and hassan (2014), kona and rahman 2016, nahar et al. 2016, faruque et al. (2018,2014) and uddin et al. (2019). these articles listed a good number of medicinal plants of particular community or particular diseases or particular areas of bangladesh. but there are still more medicinal plants which are being used as the sources of herbal drugs by the ethnic and local people of bangladesh but yet to be identified scientifically. unfortunately, no such work has covered the documentation of ethnomedicinal plants of rural people of thakurgaon district. the houses homesteads of rach village of thakurgaon are rich with natural plant diversity in its unique original ecosystems. the indigenous livelihood is mainly based on cultivation system. they mainly cultivate rice as a principal food and also cultivated other diversity of minor crops in and around their homes. many indigenous species are disappearing from the area as well as many new invasive, alien species are occupying its habitats. such loss of indigenous species might have an adverse effect on the food security and livelihoods of the area. so, there is a great necessity for recording the existing medicinal plant species through adequate ethnobotanical studies in the area before their disappearance from the natural habitats. traditional practitioners of the area also use the medicinal plants in the treatment of various diseases. currently medicinal plants, healthcare knowledge of medicinal plants and their habitats are vulnerable because of many threats such as lack of awareness, deforestation, urbanization, agricultural expansion, illegal logging and poaching etc. if the situation continues, important medicinal plants will be eliminated before their documentation. in the present study an attempt was made to record ethnomedicinal use of plants and to determine the consensus of local people in the use of medicinal plants for the treatment of ailments. determination of local people consensus in the use 347 materials and methods thakurgaon is a district in the northwest of bangladesh under rangpur division. it is located between 25°40' and 26°12' n latitudes and 88°05' and 88°39' n longitudes. the district is bounded by panchagarh district on the north, panchagarh and dinajpur districts on the east, and the west bengal state of india on the south and west. this district consists of six thanas named as thakurgaon sadar, ruhia, baliadangi, pirganj, ranishankail, and haripur. the climate of the district is mainly tropical dry with late monsoon. the monsoon usually begins in june and ends in october, with an average rainfall of 1700 mm. the summer average temperature is 31 °c, and the winter average temperature is 19 °c (banglapedia, 2014). there are five forest beats present in the thankurgaon forest range. the most dominant species in such forest beats is sal (shorea robusta). a good number of herbs, shrubs, and climbers are grown with dominant sal trees those may have medicinal values (personal communication and observations). the study area was visited five times in different seasons of 2018 and 2019. each field trip lasted for five to eight days. the data on medicinal uses were collected through semi–structured interviews, key informant discussions, and informal conversations with local people and also herbal practitioners. participant observation, plant interview, field interview, and group interview were also followed to collect data (alexiades, 1996). a total of 250 local informants, including 58% males and 42% females, were interviewed during the ethnobotanical survey. the education levels of the informants ranged from illiterate up to b.s. degrees. the informants were mainly farmers, housewives, herbal practitioners, shopkeepers, businessmen, teachers, and students. the age of the informants ranged from 21 to 80 years. information on the uses of plants to treat humans, parts used, modes of treatment, and administration were collected during the field survey. the vernacular names were collected with the help of the local people. the recorded medicinal plants were collected from fields and gardens with notes on field characters. voucher specimens for each medicinal plant were processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972 and alexiades, 1996). identification of plant species was done by experts in both the field and laboratory and consulting standard literature (siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009). in case of confusion in identity, standard literature was consulted, and relevant voucher specimens available at the dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) were also compared. all voucher specimens were deposited at dush. to determine people’s consensus in the use of medicinal plants, factor informant’s consensus (fic), fidelity level (fl), and citation frequency (cf) values were calculated using standard mathematical models according to heinrich et al. (1998) and friedman et al. (1986). results and discussion present study was recorded a total of 102 medicinal plant species under 49 families. these medicinal plants were used for the management of 54 aliments through 185 formularies in the study area. maximum medicinal plant species (67%) were found under 17 families and rest medicinal plants species (37%) were found in 32 families (fig. 1). among the families, araceae, rutaceae, cucurbitaceae, poaceae, fabaceae, liliaceae, solanaceae, verbenaceae, asteraceae, and caesalpiniaceae were the dominant families with the common medicinal plant species in the study area. for each species, the scientific name, local name, family, habit, parts-use, ailments, and modes of treatment have been presented in the table 1. it is evident from a preliminary investigation that the study area still has a huge variation of knowledge about the uses of medicinal plants. such knowledge has been passed down orally from generation to generation and no written document found on this knowledge. 348 mitu et al. table 1. ethnobotanical data on medicinal plants and uses in the study area (s=shrub, h= herb, t=tree, c=climber). scientific name local name family habit parts use ailments treatment mode abroma augusta (l.) l. f. ulotkombol sterculiaceae s leaf heart disease juice is taken. stem jaundice soaked in water at night then drunk in morning. justicia adhatoda l. bashak acanthaceae s leaf cough leaf chewed cold treatment chewed leaf is taken worm juice is taken asthma leaf juice is taken with ginger and honey aegle marmelos (l.) corr. bel rutaceae t leaf diarrhoea leaf juice is taken fruit constipation fruit juice is taken gastric fruit juice is taken jaundice fruit juice is taken dysentery juice is taken twice per day albizia procera (roxb.) benth. koroi mimosaceae t leaf allergy leaf paste is applied allium cepa l. peaj liliaceae h bulb flue juice is taken allium sativum l. rosun lilliaceae h bulb heart disease 2-3 cloves are eaten in the morning alocasia macrorrhizos( l.) g. don mankachu araceae h rhizome rheumatic pain cooked rhizome is taken aloe vera(l.) burm. f. aloevera aloaceae h leaf diabetes inside portion of leaf is eaten skin disease paste is applied externally stomachache leaf juice is taken alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chatim apocynaceae t bark cough bark juice is taken amaranthus tricolor l. lalshak amaranthaceae h leaf pressure reduce cooked leaf is eaten amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson olkachu araceae h rhizome rheumatic pain cooked rhizome is taken ananas comosus (l.) merr. anaros bromiliaceae h leaf gastric leaf juice taken. stomachache juice is taken andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall. ex nees kalomegh acanthaceae h leaf cold treatment leaf chewed constipation juice is taken cough chewed leaf is taken arachis hypogaea l. badam fabaceae h seed heart disease fruit juice is taken areca catechu l. supari arecaceae t root stomachache root juice is taken determination of local people consensus in the use 349 scientific name local name family habit parts use ailments treatment mode artocarpus heterophyllus lamk. kathal moraceae t leaf scabies leaf boil with mustards oil then oil then taken on the affected area. asparagus racemosus willd. satamuli liliaceae c root gastric root is powdered and then taken averrhoa carambola l. kamranga oxalidaceae t fruit cough fruit juice is taken daily for 3-4 days. azadirachta indica a. juss. neem meliaceae t leaf diabetes juice is taken pox paste is applied externally skin rash leaf paste is applied baccaurea ramiflora lour. lotkon euphorbiaceae t fruit anti-oxidant fruit juice is taken bambusa tulda roxb. talla bash poaceae t stem impotence stem is cooked and then taken basella alba l. puisak basellaceae c leaf wound leaf paste is applied in the affected area bombax ceiba l. shimul bombacaceae t root impotence juice is taken borassus flabellifer l. tal arecaceae t young apex cough juice is taken bryophyllum pinnatum(lamk.) oken patharkuchi crassulaceae h leaf cold treatment juice is taken diabetes juice is taken jaundice juice is taken acne paste is applied externally cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. orhor fabaceae s leaf jaundice juice is taken calotropis procera (ait.) r.br. akanda asclepiadaceae s leaf ringworm leaf paste is applied carica papaya l. pepe caricaceae s fruit gastric eating fresh fruit or as vegetable piles eating fresh fruit or as vegetable jaundice eating fresh fruit or as vegetable constipation cooked fruit is taken cassia fistula l. sonalu caesalpiniaceae t fruit constipation juice is taken leaf ringworm leaf paste is applied on affected area catharanthus roseus ( l.) g. don noyontara apocynaceae h flower diabetes flower chewed leaf diabetes leaf juice is taken twice per day centella asiatica(l.) urban thankuni apiaceae h leaf diarrhoea leaf paste is eaten brain sharping leaf chewed constipation leaf paste is taken dysentery leaf paste is eaten 350 mitu et al. scientific name local name family habit parts use ailments treatment mode cinnamomum tamala nees & eberm. tejpata lauraceae t leaf cough leaf is boiled with water and then the water is taken cinnamomum verum j. s. presl darchini lauraceae t bark stomachache paste is used with warm water citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle kagolilebu rutaceae s fruit toothache juice is taken vomiting juice is taken citrus grandis (l.) osbeck jambura rutaceae t fruit fever fruit is eaten with pepper citrus limon (l.) burm. f. lebu rutaceae s fruit cold treatment bud is boiled with water and taken with tea digestion bud is eaten raw clerodrendrum viscosum pers. vat verbenaceae s leaf fever young leaf juice is taken stem jaundice 1 cup juice per day for 7 days root daud root blended with zinger then the paste is applied leaf dysentery leaf paste taken internally coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha cucurbitaceae c leaf dysentery 1 glass of leaf juice is taken jaundice juice is taken internally diabetes leaf juice is taken cocos nucifera l. narikel arecaceae t fruit pox juice is taken diarrhoea juice is taken jaundice juice is taken dysentery juice is taken colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kochu araceae h leaf brain tonic cooked and taken internally. coriandrum sativum l. dhonia apiaceae h seed fat remove soaked in water then water is taken bannicasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. chalkumra cucurbitaceae c stem toothache stem decoction for gargling curcuma longa l. holud zingiberaceae h rhizome blood purifier juice is taken scabies & fungal lesion paste is applied in the affected area cuscuta reflexa roxb. swarnalata cuscutaceae c stem dewormimg juice is taken cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba poaceae h leaf cuts & wounds leaf paste is applied dalbergia sissoo roxb. shishu fabaceae t leaf jaundice leaf juice is taken datura metel l. dhutura solanaceae s leaf skin disease leaf is cooked skin disease leaf paste is applied externally paralysis dried crushed leaf is applied determination of local people consensus in the use 351 scientific name local name family habit parts use ailments treatment mode daucus carota l. gajor apiaceae h root heart disease root juice is taken dillenia indica l. chalta dilleniaceae t leaf headache leaf paste is applied externally tumor leaf paste is applied fruit diarrhoea fruit juice is taken internally leaf diarrhoea leaf paste is applied diospyros malabarica (desr.) kostel. gab ebenaceae t leaf headache leaf paste is applied externally diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. deki shak athyriaceae h leaf pressure reduce leaf is cooked eclipta prostata (l.) hassk. kalokeshi asteraceae h leaf hair treatment leaf paste is applied elaeocarpus robustus roxb. jolpai elaeocarpaceae t fruit appetizer fruit juice is taken enhydra flactuans lour. helencha asteraceae h leaf ulcer leaf juice is taken eye treatment cooked leaf is taken diabetes cooked leaf is taken worm cooked leaf is taken jaundice leaf juice is taken ficus bengalensis l. bot moraceae t fruit diabetes cooked fruit is taken ficus racemosa l. jogdumur moraceae t fruit diabetes cooked leaf taken gloriosa superba l. ulotchandal lilliaceae c root stomachache juice is taken glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc. motkila rutaceae s leaf diarrhoea juice is taken internally stem toothache stem used as brushing teeth hibiscus rosasinensis l. joba malvaceae s leaf liver control leaf soaked in water at night then taken in the next morning flower hair fall flower paste is applied over head leaf hair tonic leaves are used in preparation of hair tonic dysentery leaf juice is taken internally twice a day ipomea aquatica forssk. kalmi shak convolvulaceae h leaf eye treatment leaf is cooked lagenaria siceraria (molina.) standl. lau cucurbitaceae c seed kidney infection cooked seed is eaten lawsonia inermis l. mehedi lythraceae s leaf hair treatment leaf paste is applied externally leucas aspera (willd.) link dondokolos lamiaceae h leaf cold treatment juice is taken 352 mitu et al. scientific name local name family habit parts use ailments treatment mode litsea glutinosa (lour.) robinson menda lauraceae t bark dysentery bark soaked in water and then taken leaf diarrhoea leaf juice is taken mangifera indica l. aam anacardiaceae t leaf diarrhoea crushed and then taken in empty stomach once per day heart disease young leaf juice is taken toothache chewed young leaves fruit jaundice fresh fruit juice is taken diabetes fresh fruit juice is taken seed liver control leaf juice is taken melia azedarach l. ghora neem meliaceae t leaf piles juice is taken skin disease leaf paste is applied menstrual disorder juice is taken mentha arvensis l. pudina lamiaceae h leaf stomachache leaf juice is taken mimosa pudica l. lajjaboti mimosaceae h stem fever paste is applied externally root pain root paste is applied externally leaf piles juice is taken internally momordica charantia l. karolla cucurbitaceae c fruit worm fruit juice is taken diabetes fruit juice is taken momordica cochinchinensis (lour.) spreng kakrol cucurbitaceae c fruit diabetes cooked fruit is taken moringa oleifera lamk. sajna moringaceae t fruit diarrhoea juice is taken stomachache cooked fruit is taken murraya paniculata (l.) jack. kamini rutaceae s leaf toothache juice is taken musa acuminata colla kola musaceae h flower heart disease fruit juice is taken internally piles flower paste is eaten fruit dysentery young fruit paste is eaten nigella sativa l. kalojira ranunculaceae h seed liver control crushed seed is taken nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. shiuliful verbenaceae s leaf fever juice is taken ocimum sanctum l. tulshi lamiaceae h leaf constipation dried crushed leaf is taken with raw honey tuberculosis leaf juice is taken with ada ringworm leaf paste is applied cough leaf juice is taken with honey oryza sativa l. dhan poaceae h seed diarrhoea powder is taken phyllanthus emblica l. amlaki euphorbiaceae t fruit heart disease juice is taken constipation fruit juice is taken hair fall juice is applied overhead determination of local people consensus in the use 353 scientific name local name family habit parts use ailments treatment mode piper betle l. pan piperaceae c leaf cuts& wounds leaf juice is applied psidium guajava (l) peyara myrtaceae t fruit dysentery young leaves is eaten with little salt fruit bad smell fruit is taken internally punica granatum l. dalim punicaceae s fruit diarrhoea juice is taken ricinus communis l. verenda euphorbiaceae s seed vomiting juice is applied constipation oil is taken saccarum officinarum l. akh poaceae h stem jaundice juice is taken scoparia dulcis l. chinipata scrophulariaceae h leaf dysentery leaf juice is taken. senna alata ( l.) roxb. dadmardan caesalpiniaceae s leaf skin disease paste is applied ring worm paste is applied sesamum indicum l. til pedaliaceae h seed gastric 5/6 till taken with honey internally. solanum melongena l. begun solanaceae s fruit fat remove boiled fruit is eaten solanum nigrum l. titbegun solanaceae h fruit allergy fruit is taken internally. solaunum tuberosum l. alu solanaceae h tuber cuts & wounds paste is applied externally spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz amra anacardiaceae t fruit heart disease fruit juice is taken sterculia villosa roxb. ex smith udal sterculiaceae t petiole impotence juice is taken swietenia mahagoni jacq. mehogony meliaceae t seed diabetes juice is taken syzygium cumini (l.)skeels kalojam myrtaceae t leaf dysentery one cup leaf juice is taken with honey in the morning. fruit diabetes juice is taken syzygium samarangense (blume) merr. & perry jamrul myrtaceae t leaf stomachache juice is taken tagetes erecta l. gada asteraceae h leaf cuts & wounds leaf paste is applied tamarindus indica l. tetul caesalpiniaceae t fruit heart disease juice is taken leaf jaundice leaves decocted and the water is taken in every morning. tectona grandis l. f. shegun verbenaceae t leaf tooth ache juice is taken terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun combretaceae t bark heart disease powdered bark is mixed with amlaki & bohera then taken 1 spoon twice per day gastric bark soaked in water and the water is taken jaundice bark soaked in water and the water is taken heart disease powdered bark is taken in empty stomach early in the morning 354 mitu et al. scientific name local name family habit parts use ailments treatment mode terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera combretaceae t bark deworming fruit shell is taken for 7 days seed skin disorder seed oil is used bark diabetes juice is taken terminalia chebula retz. haritaki combretaceae t fruit blood purifier fruit soaked in water then water is taken gastrointestinal disorders fruit soaked in water then water is taken diabetes juice is taken vitex trifolia l. f. nishinda verbenaceae s leaf insomnia leaf is kept under pillow zingiber officinale rosc. ada zingiberaceae h rhizome cough rhizome juice is taken with tea ziziphus mauritiana lamk. boroi rhamnaceae t leaf wound leaf is applied plant species recorded as medicinal plants were classified into trees (38%), herbs (34%), shrubs (18%), and climbers (10%) (fig. 2). it was observed that local people use trees more than herbs, shrubs, and climbers to cure different kinds of diseases. they took these medicinal plants because of their easy availability in collection, lack of side effects, and abundance in the area. in the present study, different plant parts are used in the treatment of different ailments, which were also documented. leaves were the leading parts used (fig. 3). from the present study, it was observed that 79% of treatments were taken internally and 21% were applied externally (fig. 4). these data indicated that thakurgaon district still supports rich medicinal plants with diverse applications. figs 1-4: 1. different medicinal plants families. 2. different life forms of species. 3. different plant parts used for medicines. 4. application modes of medicinal plants. determination of local people consensus in the use 355 the reported ailments in the study area were classified into 8 different major disease categories to calculate the fic values including heart diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, skin diseases, respiratory disorders, cuts and wounds, jaundice and kidney diseases, and others. the results could be useful in prioritizing medicinal plants for further scientific validation of plant products as pharmacologically effective remedies with higher fic values. the product of this factor ranges from 0 to 1. a high value (close to 1.0) indicates that relatively few taxa are used by a large proportion of the informants. a low value indicates that the informants disagree on the taxa to be used in the treatment within a category of illness. higher fic values can thus be used to pinpoint particularly interesting species for the search of bioactive compounds. maximum values of factor of informant consensus (fic) were obtained in the cases of heart diseases (0.92) followed by respiratory disorders (0.89), cuts and wounds (0.85), skin diseases (0.84), gastrointestinal disorders (0.81), and others (0.58) (table 2). table 2. values of factor of informant consensus in the uses of medicinal plants among the informants. category no. of use report ( nur) no. of species (ntaxa) factor of informant consensus (fic) heart diseases 171 14 0.92 gastrointestinal disorders 191 38 0.81 diabetes 56 15 0.75 skin diseases 148 24 0.84 respiratory disorders 100 12 0.89 cuts & wounds 35 6 0.85 jaundice 66 18 0.74 others 79 34 0.58 in order to identify medicinally important plant species in the study area, the fidelity level (fl) was calculated. the medicinal plants that are widely used by the local people for particular ailment have a higher value than those that are less used. the fidelity level (fl) of the 15 most important plant species ranged from 60.98% to 100% (table 3). allium sativum l., spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz, cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., lawsonia inermis l., zingiber officinale rosc., saccharum officinarum l., tagetes erecta l., and baccaurea ramiflora lour. species showed 100% fidelity level (fl). medicinal plant species obtained maximum fl value is the valid indication to investigate further for new drugs. citation frequency was calculated to determine the most popular medicinal plants in study area. a total of 11 medicinal plant species of different citation values are presented in the table 4. allium sativum l. is the most cited species in study area. second cited medicinal species is phyllanthus emblica l. these two medicinal plant species are very popular in the study area to treat heart disease. ethnobotanical information is today recognized as the most effective method of identifying new medicinal plants or refocusing on those plants reported in earlier studies for the possible extraction of beneficial bioactive compounds. at the global level, about 80% of local people depend on old-style herbal systems to cure their health disorders. in the past, due to a shortage of doctors and hakims, people used medicinal plant species for various diseases because they were considered to have fewer side effects and could be easily obtainable. ethnobotanical knowledge is transferred from generation to generation, but without proper documentation, such knowledge may disappear. 356 mitu et al. table 3. fidelity level (fl) values of the frequently reported plants and their major uses. scientific name ip iu fl (%) allium sativum l. 51 51 100 spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz 24 24 100 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. 20 20 100 lawsonia inermis l. 15 15 100 zingiber officinale rosc. 15 15 100 saccharum officinarum l. 11 11 100 tagetes erecta l. 10 10 100 baccaurea ramiflora lour. 10 10 100 tamarindus indica l. 15 16 93.75 azadirachta indica a. juss. 15 18 83.33 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. 20 26 76.92 ocimum sanctum l. 16 23 69.57 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) 11 16 68.75 citrus aurantifolia (crist)sw. 15 22 68.18 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt 12 19 63.16 phyllanthus emblica l. 25 41 60.98 table 4. citation frequency of most cited medicinal plants. scientific name local name citation citation frequency (cf) allium sativum l. rosun 51 20.4 phyllanthus emblica l. amlaki 25 10 spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz amra 24 9.6 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun 20 8 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba 20 8 ocimum sanctum l. tulshi 16 6.4 citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle kagogilebu 15 6 lawsonia inermis l. mehedi 15 6 zingiber officinale rosc. ada 15 6 citrus limon l. lebu 15 6 tamarindus indica l. tetul 15 6 azadirachta indica a. juss. neem 15 6 in the present study, carried out in thakurgaon district, 102 plant species have been used for the treatment of different ailments. the present ethnobotanical survey showed that there is variation in the uses of medicinal plants by the local people. among the plant parts, leaves were the most commonly utilized plant parts for the preparation of plant-based medicine, which was similar to (uddin et al., 2017; sajib and uddin, 2013). it has been reported that the use of leaves is better for the survival of medicinal plants compared to the whole plant, roots, and stem, which may pose a severe threat to the local flora (zheng, 2009). determination of local people consensus in the use 357 from the present study, the maximum number of species under 49 families were identified for the treatment of several diseases. among them, araceae and rutaceae were the most commonly used families for medicinal purposes, followed by cucurbitaceae, poaceae, fabaceae, liliaceae, solanaceae, verbenaceae, asteraceae, and caesalpiniaceae in the study area. the most commonly cited mode of preparation is juice, which is made by the local people of the study area. there are many other modes of preparation of medicine, such as paste, decoction, crushing, and cooking. maximum local people are administered orally or internally. the results are supported by uddin et al. (2017) and uddin et al. (2015), who observed the same in different regions of bangladesh. highest fic values were found in cases of heart dieases. the most commonly cited species used to treat this ailment are allium sativum l., phyllanthus emblica l., spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz, and terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. another report showed that the bulb of allium sativum l. is used to reduce chest pain, relieve pressure, and treat ringworm (uddin et al., 2015). terminalia aurjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. is used for the treatment of heartache, which is also used for the same purpose reported from different areas of bangladesh (uddin et al., 2012; uddin and hassan, 2014). this plant is also used for stomachache, cough, diabetes, menstruation, gastric pain, and dysentery (uddin et al., 2006, 2012, 2017; islam et al., 2014; uddin et al., 2015a, b). terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc) wight & arn. is a popular indian medicinal plant, and its bark has been used for over centuries as a cardiotonic. the cardioprotective effects, particularly of the bark of terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn., are well known. such species can be used for further phytochemical analysis to find active compounds for heart disease (uddin et al., 2019). respiratory disorders scored the second-highest fic values. ocimum sanctum l., zingiber officinale rosc., and adhatoda vasica nees are the most cited species used to treat respiratory disorders. ocimum sanctum l. showed the highest fic value among them. another study from bangladesh found that the plant species ocimum sanctum l. was also used for the treatment of cough disorders (uddin et al., 2017; sajib and uddin 2015; 2013). the third highest fic value was found for cuts and wounds. the most cited plant species was cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., used for the treatment of cut injury (similar to khan et al., 2002, uddin et al., 2017; khatun and rahman, 2018; yasmin and rahman, 2017). in the present study, allium sativum l., spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz, cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., lawsonia inermis l., zingiber officinale rosc., saccharum officinarum l., tagetes erecta l., and baccaurea ramiflora lour. showed 100% fidelity level (fl). allium sativum l. obtained the highest cf value, meaning that such species are very important plant species in the study area. phyllanthus embelica l., spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz, terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.), cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., and ocimum sanctum l. were also the most cited plant species in the study area. phytopharmacological investigation has led to the discovery of plant-derived drugs that are effective in the treatment of certain diseases and has renewed interest in plant-based medicines. therefore, these species should be increased and protected in the area. the present analysis has confirmed their popularity among the local people of the thakurgaon district. the present survey revealed that 103 medicinal plant species were used for 54 ailments with 185 formulas by the local people of the study area. the record of 103 medicinal plant species is an indication of rich ethnobotanical knowledge among the local people of thakurgaon district. consensus of people in the use of medicinal plants has resulted in the recording of 102 medicinal plant species under 49 families with 185 formularies to treat 54 ailments. the present results are the indication of rich medicinal plant species with variation of health care knowledge in thakurgaon. the results of this study will be useful in selecting potential medicinal plants for further study to find new sources of drugs. the top fic (factor informant consensus) value was obtained in case of heart diseases (0.92). the most cited species used to treat this ailment are allium sativum l., phyllanthus emblica l., spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz, and terminalia arjuna 358 mitu et al. (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. the second highest fic value was found in respiratory disorders (0.89) followed by cuts and wounds (0.85), skin diseases (0.84) and gastrointestinal disorders (0.81). in case of fl (fidelity level) value, allium sativum l., spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz, cynodon dactylon (l.) pers, lawsonia inermis l., zingiber officinale rosc., saccharum officinarum l., tagetes erecta l. and baccaurea ramiflora lour. showed 100%. according to the cf (citation frequency) the most cited species are allium sativum l., phyllanthus emblica l., spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz, terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn., cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. and ocimum sanctum l. from the study of people consensus, it is recommended that species which showed high fic, fl, cf values could be used for further ethnolead phytochemical analysis to investigate active compounds for the discovery of drugs from medicinal plants. the present study also revealed that the medicinal plants and traditional knowledge of such plants in the thakurgaon district are in a threatened condition due to different disturbances, and some suggestions have been made for sustainable conservation. the findings of the present study are very preliminary. further long-term studies are needed. acknowledgement the authors are grateful to the ministry of science and technology, government of the people's republic of bangladesh, for financial support for the research project and to the bangladesh forest department of dinajpur office and informants for their support during the field works in thakurgaon district for the research. references ahmed, z.u., islam. m.a., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 7 october, 2021; revised on 15 november, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 311-320, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78758 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and molecular identification of biologically active endophytic fungi isolated from dillenia indica l. rabita zinnurine 1,3, md. hossain sohrab 1*, farhana afroz 1, satyajit roy rony 1, shammi akhter 1, mst. nadira begum 2 and md. sohel rana 3 1pharmaceutical sciences research division, bcsir laboratories, dhaka, bangladesh. 2biological research division, bcsir laboratories, dhaka, bangladesh. 3department of pharmacy, jahangirnagar university, savar, bangladesh. keywords: endophytic; microorganism; morphology; molecular discovery. abstract this study reported the broad spectrum endophytic variety from the elephant apple dillenia indica l. endophytes are microorganisms lying within the plant interior tissues, lasting as the whole or part of their life cycle without causing any conspicuous symptoms of infection to host plants. surface sterilization of leaves and stems was the basic doing work to isolate endophytic fungi. 16 isolates were identified and grouped into 7 based on of morphological characteristics. through morphological colony, all the isolated strains were identified up to genus level. isolated seven fungi, 6 from the leaves part and 1 from the bark part were subjected to sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer (its) gene. finally, seven well-known species named colletotrichum siamense, phomopsis liquidambaris, diaporthe perseae, fusarium incarnatum, colletotrichum falcatum, and lasiodiplodia theobromae were identified compared with the basic local alignment search tool (blast) results analysis. this study provides the broad theory of the interrelation of morphological and molecular homologies for the identification of prospective bioactive fungi for further study and experiment so that those fungus acts as a catalyst for novel thinking and the discovery of drug molecules for the welfare of mankind. introduction endophytes play an important role in plant growth and can produce bioactive compounds which contribute an enormous application in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. about 80% of people in developing countries use medicines derived from medicinal plants. they are a rich source of natural products and are extremely valuable for the prevention of diseases and ailments (yirga et al., 2011; pan et al., 2013). medicinal plants have different compounds that have been utilized as an essential resource of medicinal products and can be used in the pharmaceutical industry in anticancer agents, contraceptives, analgesics, antibiotics, diuretics, laxatives, etc. dillenia indica (elephant apple) belongs to the family dilleniaceae. it is a large, knobby fruit with acidic flavored. recently, scientists have given attention to this plant for its various biological activities including anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties. the leaf, bark, and fruit of the plant are used in the indigenous system of medicine. it relieves abdominal pain and regulates the heat in the body. the fungal endophytes from this plant also play an important role in treating various diseases. *corresponding author: mhsohrab@bcsir.gov.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78758 312 zinnurine et al. the actual number of isolated fungi is still unknown. maheswari and komalavalli (2013) recommended only 5-13 % of the overall evaluated worldwide. blackwell (2011) focused, the isolation, identification and characterization of fungi from different environmental sources are still much needed for the viewing and recognizing of more species, editing scientific classification, evaluating their effects in nature and supplying strains for ecological remediation, biological control and industrial aspects. landeweert (2003) represents molecular identification techniques based on total fungal dna extraction provide a unique barcode for the determination and identification of different fungal isolates up to a species level. molecular identification using this barcode has turned into a vital tool for mycologists studying fungal taxonomy, molecular evolution, population genetics or fungus-plant interactions (moller et al., 1992). the identification of fungi using molecular techniques is carried out by the sequencing of pcr amplified part of rrna genes with universal primers to fungal species (monod et al., 2006). materials and methods collection of plant sample the plant samples were collected from the vanga upazila, faridpur district during autumn and winter seasons between october, 2019 and february, 2020 when the tree filled with new leaves and fruits. the fungal endophytes were isolated from the leaves, bark and fruit parts through a surface sterilization method described by qadri et al. (2013). the study was carried out in pharmaceutical sciences and research division (psrd), located at bangladesh council of science and industrial research (bcsir) laboratories, dhaka, bangladesh. all the research work was done under aseptic conditions. media preparation water agar medium (himedia laboratories pvt. ltd) was used for the inoculation and potato dextrose agar (pda) (titan biotech ltd) was used for the isolation of endophytic fungi and prepared them as per the manufacturer’s instruction written on the jar. isolation of endophytes: sample preparation: fungal isolation followed the method of hallman et al. (2007), with modifications. leaf, bark, and root samples were washed with tap water (qadri et al., 2013), sterilized using 70% ethanol, 1.3m sodium hypochlorite, and 70% ethanol, then rinsed with distilled water and dried on sterile filter paper. the sterilized samples were inoculated onto water agar containing streptomycin, using four sections per plate, and incubated at 28 ± 2°c in darkness for 4–6 weeks. emerging mycelia were transferred to potato dextrose agar (pda) for endophyte isolation and compared to exophytes from unsterilized samples incubated under identical conditions (abraham et al., 2015). identification of isolated fungal endophytes morphological identification: the fungus was identified according to their colony morphology, filamentous structure and spore characteristics. through morphological identification the selected fungus was identified as their genus level. all the microscopic study was done under the method of lactophenol cotton blue staining method (shamly et al., 2014). molecular identification: dna extraction and pcr (polymerase chain reaction) amplification: genomic dna was extracted from one-week-old pda fungal cultures using the dneasy plant mini kit (qiagen, usa). species-level identification was performed using pcr morphological and molecular identification 313 amplification of ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (its) regions with primers its4 and its5. the pcr products were purified using the qiaquick pcr purification kit (bao et al., 2012). sequence and analysis:the obtained pcr products were prepared for sequencing and then the sequences were compared with the other related sequences using blast search in gen bank (ncbi) (landeweert et al., 2003). preliminary chemical screening: tlc method thin layer chromatography (tlc) was performed using pre-coated silica gel plates (macherey-nagel, germany) and a solvent mixture of 20% ethyl acetate in toluene. extracts (1% solution) were applied, and spots were visualized under uv light at 254 and 365 nm, followed by staining with 1% vanillin-sulfuric acid and heating at 110°c (sohrab et al., 2004). biological assay of isolated fungus antimicrobial screening: the antimicrobial potential of fungal extracts was evaluated using the disc diffusion method (bauer, 1966) against four pathogenic bacteria (escherichia coli, bacillus megaterium, staphylococcus aureus, pseudomonas aeruginosa) and two fungi (aspergillus niger and aspergillus flavus). bacterial suspensions (~10⁸ cfu/ml) and fungal strains were cultured on nutrient agar (na) and potato dextrose agar (pda), respectively, at room temperature for 24 hours. zones of inhibition were measured after 24 hours of incubation at 37°c, using kanamycin (30 µg/disc) and ketoconazole (30 µg/disc) as positive controls and solvent discs as negative controls. antioxidant activity the antioxidant activity of fungal extracts was determined using dpph free radical scavenging (brand-williams et al., 1995). extracts were serially diluted (0.78–200 µg/ml) in methanol and mixed with dpph solution (20 µg/ml). the reduction of violet dpph to yellow diphenylpicryl hydrazine was measured at 517 nm. ic50 values were calculated using regression analysis. butylated hydroxyanisole (bha), ascorbic acid, and trolox served as positive controls, with methanol as the negative control. results and discussion identification of endophytic fungi a total of 7 endophytes were isolated from the bark and leaf part of dillenia indica plant (fig. 1). the endophytes isolated from the leaves were named as dile-1, dile-2, dile-3, dile-4, dile-5, dile-6 and the endophyte isolated from the bark was named as dibe-1. all the isolated endophytes were identified according to their morphological and molecular characteristics. from morphological identification, the fungus was identified at the genus level and from molecular identification the fungus was identified at the species level. morphological identification: based on obtained morphological characteristics from 3, 6, 9 and 12 days observation of the fungal growth on pda media and the fungus was characterised according the fig. 2. all the endophytic fungi were identified according to their genus level (table 1) such as the strains dile-1, dile-2 and dile-6 were identified as colletrotrichum sp., dile-3 as phomopsis sp., dile-4 as diaporthe sp., dile-5 as fusarium sp. and dibe identified as lasiodiplodia sp. respectively. both the macroscopic and microscopic views of all the endophytic fungi are described table 1. 314 zinnurine et al. fig. 1. isolated endophytic fungi from dillenia indica. a) front view b) back view c) microscopic image. morphological and molecular identification 315 fig. 2. identified fungus characterized according to form, elevation and margin. table 1. morphological characteristics of identified fungus. strain morphological characteristics identified genus dile-1 dile-2 dile-6 macroscopic viewupper view: white with wooly texture, bottom color: same as top color, hyphae: surficial, growth rate: moderate and morphology of colony: irregular microscopic view-hyaline cylindrical conidia colletrotrichum sp. dile-3 macroscopic viewupper view: pure white with wooly texture, bottom color: same as top color. hyphae: surficial, growth rate: slow and morphology of colony: filamentous microscopic viewfiliform conidia or slightly curved at one end. phomopsis sp. dile-4 macroscopic viewupper view: pure white with wooly texture, bottom color: same as top color. hyphae: surficial, growth rate: slow and morphology of colony: entire microscopic viewconidial morphology alpha or beta. diaporthe sp. dile-5 macroscopic view-upper view: yellowish color with wooly texture, bottom color: same as top color. hyphae: surficial, growth rate: moderate and morphology of the colony: circular microscopic view-hook shaped macroconidia fusarium sp. dibe macroscopic view-upper view:ash color with wooly texture, bottom view: black color, hyphae: surficial, growth rate: rapid and morphology of colony: irregular microscopic view-initially the conidia was hyaline and aseptate and became brown and one septate with age. lasiodiplodia sp. 316 zinnurine et al. molecular identification a total of 7 fungi isolated from the plant dillinea indica were identified at their species level (table 2) through molecular identification which includes dna sequencing and ncbi gene bank database. table 2. blast result analysis showing matched sequences with coverage and maximum identity assay. fungal internal strain no. morphological identification one of top blast match sequences references accession no. coverage maxident dile-1 colletotrichum sp. colletotrichum siamense mt434660.1 100% 99.66% dile-2 colletotrichum sp. colletotrichum siamense mt450691.1 98% 98.12% dile-3 phomopsis sp. phomopsis liquidambaris fj478124.1 99% 98.44% dile-4 diaporthe sp diaporthe perseae kc343173.1 99% 99.48% dile-5 fusarium sp. fusarium incarnatum mn882828.1 99% 99.45% dile-6 colletotrichum sp. colletotrichum falcatum mw301214.1 95% 99.82% dibe lasiodeplodia sp lasiodiplodia theobromae mk929514.1 98% 99.29% tlc screening prior to initial screening using the thin layer chromatography (tlc) method, each isolated fungal extract was progressively arranged onto a tlc plate by placing a single spot on it. figure 3 displays all the obtained results. following solvent treatment, each extract shows distinct colored spots in different places. tlc spots of fungal crude extracts showed the presence of secondary metabolites like sterols, terpenoids, flavonoids, isocoumarins, anthocyanins, anthraquinones, and naphthoquinones or their derivatives (sohrab et al., 2004; krohn et al., 2004; khan et al., 2018; mahmud et al., 2020). all extracts were screened visually, under uv light (254 and 365 nm), and after being sprayed with a vanillin-h2so4 spray reagent (table 3). fig. 3. tlc screening of the fungal extracts (1=dile-1, 2=dile-2, 3=dile-3, 4=dile=4, 5=dile-5, 6=dile-6 and b=dibe) by a) visual observation, b) under uv at 254 nm, c) under uv at 365 nm, d) after spray. morphological and molecular identification 317 table 3. chemical screening of fungal extract by thin layer chromatography. internal strain no. identified fungus visual observation visibility under uv light (254 nm) visibility under uv light (365 nm) visibility after spray prospective compounds dile-1 colletotrichum siamense dark quenching blue greenish yellow dark purple steroids, terpenoids, coumarin, isocoumarin or their derivatives dile-2 colletotrichum siamense dark quenching blue quenching greenish yellow pink purple steroids, flavonoids, coumarin, isocoumarin or their derivatives dile-3 phomopsis liquidambaris light quenching blue quenching blue sky blue dark purple coumarin, isocoumarin steroids, terpenoids, dile-4 diaportheperseae dark quenching blue dark purple terpenoids, steroids dile-5 fusarium incarnatum light quenching blue quenching sky blue red light purple dark purple magenta coumarins anthocyanins terpenoids steroids dile-6 colletotrichum falcatum dark quenching blue dark purple coumarins anthocyanins terpenoids steroids dibe lasiodiplodia theobromae light yellow dark quenching blue quenching blue sky blue purple dark purple bluish purple pink purple terpenoids, steroid, anthocyanins coumarin, isocoumarin or their derivatives bioactivity screening evaluation of antimicrobial activity in determining antimicrobial activity, among 7 fungal endophytes, 3 fungal strains like dile4 (diaporthe perseae), dile-5 (fusarium incarnatum) and dile-6 (colletotrichum falcatum) were showed moderate inhibitory effect on four pathogenic bacteria (table 4). on the other hand, the fungal strain dibe showed the highest inhibitory activity against four pathogenic bacteria like s. typhi (16mm), s.aurius (15mm), e.coli (18mm) and b. megaterium (16mm). in case of the activity against fungus, all seven fungal strains showed lowest activity (zones<8 mm). table 4. antimicrobial activity of fungal strains. bacterial/fungal strain diameter of zone of inhibition (mm) dile-1 100 µg/disc dile-2 100 µg/disc dile-3 100 µg/disc dile-4 100 µg/disc dile-5 100 µg/disc dile-6 100 µg/disc dibe 100 µg/disc kanamycin (30µg/disc) ketoconazole (30µg/disc) gram-positive bacteria staphylococcus aureus 11 7 8 12 13 11 15 30 nd bacillus megaterium 8 8 7 12 12 15 16 28 nd gram-negative bacteria escherichia coli 11 9 12 13 15 12 18 30 nd pseudomonas aeruginosa 9 8 8 15 14 15 16 30 nd fungal strain a.flavus --------------nd 40 a.niger --------------nd 35 '---' indicates no sensitivity, 'nd' not done. 318 zinnurine et al. evaluation of antioxidant activity all the fungal strains showed different free radical scavenging activity compared to the standard as shown the fig. 4. in comparison with standard, fungal strains dile-4 and dile-5 showed the most prominent activity as 12.27 µg/ml and 15.64 µg/ml respectively. on the other hand, dibe and dile-6 also showed moderate antioxidant activity in comparison with the standard. fig. 4. free radical scavenging activity of isolated fungal strains of dillenia indica. discussion this investigation was carried out to identify the fungi isolated from the leaves and bark sections of dillenia indica using a variety of morphological and molecular evaluation techniques. total of seven fungal strains were isolated from the plant parts like colletotrichum siamense, phomopsis liquidambaris, diaporthe perseae, fusarium incarnatum, colletotrichum falcatum, lasiodiplodia theobromae. all the fungal strains were isolated and identified their genus level through morphological views as their growth pattern, colony appearance, texture, diameter etc. and molecular view using dna sequencing analysis and blast search results. after identification, all the fungal strains were selected for preliminary bioactivity studies through small scale cultivation in pda medium. all of the fungal strains initially represent the potentially intriguing spots on the tlc plate in the thin layer chromatography procedure. the spots in various positions suggest that the fungal strains may contain substances such as anthraquinones, naphthoquinones, anthocyanins (khan et al., 2018), terpenoids, steroids, flavonoids (sohrab et al., 2004), isocoumarins (krohn et al., 2004) and their derivatives (mahmud et al., 2020). as per tlc analysis, the fungal strain dibe (lasiodiplodia theobromae) may be prioritized over all other fungal strains for further research since it may contain unique chemical compounds. ketoconazole and kanamycin were employed as standards in the assessment of antimicrobial research to inhibit the proliferation of bacteria and fungi, respectively. dile-4, dile-5, and dile-6 demonstrated a slight inhibitory effect against four pathogenic bacteria out of all the fungal strains. conversely, the fungal strain dibe, isolated from dillenia indica bark, revealed increased restrictive activities. in dpph free radical scavenging activity, dile-4 and dile-5 exhibited most prominent activity and the fungal strains dile-6 and dibe shown moderate activity in comparison with the standard. from the bioactivity study of the above fungal strain, it can be mentioned that these strains can be a huge resources for antimicrobial and antioxidant products and plays important role for further research. huge spreading of world population leads to increase in health problems of humans, animals, and plants and increased resistance of pathogens toward drugs. transmittable diseases are worldwide health challenges because of drug resistance to pathogens. nowaday’s researchers focus on inventing new or novel compounds from natural resources. because of the huge chance morphological and molecular identification 319 of getting new compounds, endophytic fungi are attractive topics for pharmacists, scientists and researchers. endophytic fungi also have the ability to provide beneficial contribution to human by production of bioactive compounds application in pharmacy. in a literature survey we found that as a plant, dillenia indica was a precious medicinal plant and several kinds of compound isolated from the plant which plays an important role in treating different diseases. in this research study initially we found seven characteristics fungal strains from the plant dillenia indica. these also play a major role in the recovery of infectious, inflammatory and also certain kinds of certain known or unknown diseases. so, mass research is essential in the area of endophytic fungi isolation and then compound isolation and characterization of the compounds from dillenia indica. acknowledgement for providing the research facilities required to conduct the study, the authors are grateful to bcsir dhaka laboratories' pharmaceutical sciences research division. references abraham, s., basukriadi, a., pawiroharsono, s. and sjamsuridzal, w. 2015. insecticidal activity of ethyl acetate extracts fungal endophytes. mycobiol. 43(2): 137–149. bao, z., ikunaga, y., matsushita, y., morimoto, s., takada-hoshino, y., okada, h., oba, h., takemoto, s., niwa, s., ohigashi, k. and suzuki, c. 2012. combined analyses of bacterial, fungal and nematode communities in andosolic agricultural soils in japan. microbes environ. 27(1): 72–79. bauer, a.w., kirby, w.m., sherris, j.c. and truck, m. 1966. antibiotic susceptibility testing by a standard single disc method. american j. clin. pathol. 45: 493–496. blackwell, m., 2011. the fungi: 1, 2, 3… 5.1 million species? american j. bot. 98(3): 426–438. brand-williams, w., cuvelier, m.e. and berset, c.l.w.t. 1995. use of a free radical method to evaluate antioxidant activity. lwt-food sci. technol. 28(1): 25–30. hallman, j., berg, g. and schulz, b. 2007. isolation procedures for endophytic fungi microorganisms. springer brelin heidelberg: new york. khan, n., afroz, f., begum, m.n., rony, s.r., sharmin, s., moni, f., hasan, c.m., shaha, k., and sohrab, m.h. 2018. endophytic fusarium solani: a rich source of cytotoxic and antimicrobial napthaquinone and azaanthraquinone derivatives. toxicol. rep. 5: 970–976. krohn, k., sohrab, m.h., aust, h.-j., draeger, s. and schulz, b. 2004. biologically active metabolites from fungi, 19: new isocoumarins and highly substituted benzoic acids from the endophytic fungus scytalidium sp. nat. prod. res. 18: 277–285. landeweert, r., leeflang, p., kuyper, t.w., hoffland. e., rosling, a., wernars, k and smit, e. 2003. molecular identification of ectomycorrhizal mycelium in soil horizons. appl. environ. microbiol. 69: 327–333. maheswari, n.u and komalavalli, r. 2013. diversity of soil fungi from thiruvarur district, tamil nadu, india. int. j. curr. microbiol. app. sci. 2: 135–141. mahmud, s.m.n., sohrab, m.h., begum, m.n., rony, s.r., sharmin, s., moni, f., akhter, s., mohiuddin, a.k.m., and afroz, f. 2020. cytotoxicity, antioxidant, antimicrobial studies and phytochemical screening of endophytic fungi isolated from justicia gendarussa. ann. agric. sci. 65: 225–232. moller, e.m., bahnweg, g., sandermann, h. and geiger, h.h. 1992. a simple and efficient protocol for isolation of high molecular weight dna from filamentous fungi, fruit bodies, and infected plant tissues. nucl. acids res. 20(22): 6115–6116. monod, m., bontems, o., zaugg, c., chenne, b.l., fratti, m and panizzon, r. 2006. fast and reliable pcr/sequencing/rflp assay for identification of fungi in onychomycoses. j. med. microbiol. 55(9): 1211–1216. 320 zinnurine et al. pan, s.y., zhou, s-f., gao, s-h., yu, z.l., zhang, s.f., tang, m.k., sun, j.n., ma, d.l., han, y.f. and fong, w.f. 2013. new perspectives on how to discover drugs from herbal medicines: cam's outstanding contribution to modern therapeutics. evid. based compl. altern. med. 2013: 627375. qadri, m., johri s., shah b.a., khajuria, a., sidiq, t., latto, s.k., abdin, m.z. and hasan, s. 2013. identification and bioactive potential of endophytic fungi isolated from selected plants of the western himalayas. springerplus 2: 1–14. shamly, v., kali, a., srirangaraj, s. and umadevi, s. 2014. comparison of microscopic morphology of fungi using lactophenol cotton blue (lpcb), iodine glycerol and congo red formaldehyde staining. j. clin. diagn. res. 8(7): dl01–dl02. sohrab, m.h., chowdhury, r., hasan, c.m., and rashid, m.a. 2004. chemotaxonomic significance of polyoxygenated flavonoids from the leaves of micromelum minutum. biochem. syst. ecol. 32: 829–831. yirga, g., teferi, m. and kasaye, m. 2011. survey of medicinal plants used to treat human ailments in hawzen district, northern ethiopia. int. j. biodiv. conserv. 3(13): 709–714. (manuscript received on 3 march 2024; revised on 12 july 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 437-440, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63538 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists -short communication rediscovery of potentilla supina l. (rosaceae) in bangladesh mohammad tarikul hasan* and mohammad zashim uddin1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh *department of botany, abdulpur govt. college, lalpur, natore-6422, bangladesh. keywords: potentilla supina l.; rosaceae; rediscovery; bangladesh. potentilla supina l. (rosaceae) has been rediscovered after 118 years after the publication from d. prain's. this specie was collected from norigashi; bagatipara upazila of natore district under rajshahi division, bangladesh. detailed description and photographs were presented. rosaceae family consisting of 95 to 125 genera and 2825 to 3500 species which is found in worldwide, but especially diverse in the northern hemisphere and subtropics, with the majority cultivated as ornamentals and edible fruits (te-tsun et al., 1974, 1985, 1986). the genus potentilla consists of over 300 species, mostly herbaceous and woody perennials, and grows as a weed (guillén et al. 2005). in bangladesh, the family rosaceae is represented by 13 genera and 26 species, and the genus potentilla has two species, p. indica and p. supina (pasha and uddin, 2013). potentilla supina was one of them and reported by david prain (1903) from tirhut, north bengal (north bengal consisting with present rajshahi and rangpur divisions of bangladesh and jalpaiguri and malda division of india). since the time of david prain’s collection, no other collectors have collected this species from present bangladesh territory (ahmed et al., 2009; islam et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2010; tutul et al., 2010; uddin and hassan, 2010; arefin et al., 2011; rahman et al., 2012; rahman, 2013; rahman and alam, 2013; rahman et al., 2013; sarker et al., 2013; uddin et al., 2013; kona and rahman, 2015; rahman et al., 2015; uddin et al., 2015; nahar and rahman, 2016; uddin and abiabdullah, 2016; mahmudah et al.,2017; rahaman et al., 2017; haque et al., 2018; rahman et al., 2018; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin and hassan, 2018; rahman et al., 2019a, b; sarker and rahman, 2019; khanam et al., 2020; hossain et al.,2021; khan et al., 2021; hossain et al.,2022; islam et al., 2022; khatun et al., 2022; rahman et al.,2022 and sultana et al.,2022. after a lapse of 118 years, 1st author recently collected one specimen from bagatipara upazila under natore district while exploring the flora of the bagatipara upazila and after a critical study identified it as potentilla supina l (te-tsun et al. 1974, 1985, 1986). detailed description and images of the species have been given below. potentilla supina l., sp.pl.1: 497 (1753); hook, fl. brit. ind. 2:359 (1879); prain, beng. pl. 1: 465(1903); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10:31, (2009). tridophyllum supinum (l.) greene, leafl. bot. observ. crit. 1(14): 189. (1906); comarum flavum buch,-ham. ex roxb. hort. bengal.:39 (1814). argentia supina (l.) lam., fl. franç. 3: 119 (1779); chamaephyton supinum (l.) fourr,. ann. soc. linn. lyon 16: 371 (1868), not validly publ; comarum supinum (l.) alef., bot. zeitung (berlin) 24: 262 (1866); fragaria supina (l.) crantz, stirp. austr. fasc. 2:10(1763). 1 corresponding author: e-mail: zashim@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63538 mailto:zashim@du.ac.bd 438 hasan and uddin english name: spreading cinquefoil, bushy cinquefoil bangle name: shaktitila description: an annual herb, prostrate or sub-erect. roots slender with sparse lateral rootlets. stems spreading, ascending, or erect, dichotomously branched, 10–25 cm tall, together with petioles pilose. radical leaves 4-7 cm including petiole; stipules brown, membranous, abaxially pilose; leaf blade 3-foliolate or pinnately compound with 3-5 leaflets; leaflets alternate or opposite, sessile, or terminal leaflet shortly petiolulate or subsessile, both surfaces green, oblong or obovate-oblong, both surfaces pilosebase cuneate or broadly so, margin obtusely serrate, incised serrate, or 2or 3-parted, apex obtuse or acute; cauline leaves resembling radical ones but pairs of leaflets fewer higher up stem; inflorescence terminal, corymbose-cymose, with axillary flowers on lower part of flowering stem. flowers 6-8 mm in diam.; pedicel 0.8-1.5 cm, densely fig. 1. photograph of potentilla supina l. a. natural view b. flower, c. dry material. rediscovery of potentilla supina l. (rosaceae) 439 pubescent. sepals triangular-ovate, apex acute; epicalyx segments oblong-elliptic or ellipticlanceolate, nearly equaling or slightly longer than sepals, apex acute. petals yellow, obovate, shorter than sepals, apex emarginate. fruits achenes, cylindric, rugose, apex acute. flowering and fruiting: march to october. ecology: the plant is generally found in damp open grass lands or harvested paddy field prefer partial shed. distribution: afghanistan, albania, austria, baltic states, belarus, belgium, bulgaria, china, former czechoslovakia, denmark, russia, egypt, france, germany, greece, hungary, india, iran, iraq, italy, japan, kazakhstan, kirgizstan, korea, mexico, morocco, namibia, nepal, new south wales, north european russi, norway. pakistan, poland, romania, spain, switzerland, tadzhikistan, thailand, tibet, tunisia, turkey, turkmenistan, ukraine, uzbekistan, vietnam, former yugoslavia specimens examined: natore: bagatipara, norigacha, 13 iii 2022, md. tarikul hasan, mth 2117 (dush). references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed a.t.a., (eds.). 2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 10. angiosperms: dicotyledons (ranunculaceae-zygophyllaceae). asiat. soc. bangladesh, dhaka. pp. 31-32. arefin, m.k., rahman, m.m., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2011. angiosperm flora of satchari national park, habiganj, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 18(2): 117-140. guillén a., rico, e. and castroviejo, s. 2005. reproductive biology of the iberian species of potentilla l. (rosaceae). anales del jardín botánico de madrid 62(1): 9-21. haque, a.k.m.k., khan,s. a., uddin, s.n. and shetu, s.s. 2018. an annotated checklist of the angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest of moulvibazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 187207. hossain, g.m., khan, s.a., shetu, s.s., rahman, m.s., ahmed, f.a. and ali, m.a. 2022. floristic survey of vascular plants in coastal district bagerhat of bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 43-78. hossain, g.m., khan, s.a., rahim, m.a., rahman, m.s. and islam, k.m.n. 2021. floristic composition of the coastal district satkhira, bangladesh, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(1): 97-124. islam, k.k., hoque, m.a., rahman, n., sarker, m.a.a. and uddin, s.n. 2022. a checklist of the vascular flora of madhabkundo eco-park, moulvibazar, bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 8: 1-31. islam, m.r., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a 2009. an assessment of the angiospermic flora of ramgarh upazila of khagrachhari district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 16(2): 115-140. khan, s.a., hossain, g.m., shetu, s.s., rahim, m.a., islam, m.s., ahmed, f.a. and fairy, r.h. 2021. a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 329‒365. khanam, r., khan, s. a., and rahim, m.a. 2020. angiosperms in narsingdi district of bangladesh: class magnoliopsida. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(1): 153‒171. khatun, s., khatun, l., ame, m.a., sumona, a.a. and rahman, a.h.m.m. 2022. documentation of angiospermic plants of puthia upazila of rajshahi and their important medicinal values. biological and pharmaceutical sciences, 19(02): 258-281. kona, s. and rahman, a.h.m.m. 2015. an assessment of angiosperm diversity at mahadebpur upazila of naogaon district, bangladesh. intl. j. adv. res. 3(10): 1067-1086. mahmudah, z., islam, m.m., haque,t. and uddin, m.z. 2017. taxonomic enumeration of angiosperm flora of sreenagar upazila, munshigang, dhaka, bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 43(2): 161-172. nahar,j. and rahman a.h.m.m. 2016. study of angiosperm plant species at sadarupazila of naogaon district, bangladesh. discovery, 52(250):1963-1978. 440 hasan and uddin pasha, m.k. and uddin, s.b. 2013. dictionary of plant names of bangladesh (vascular plants). janokalyan prokashani. chittagong, bangladesh. prain, d. 1903 (indian rep. 1963). bengal plants, vol. 2. botanical survey of india, calcutta. p. 913. rahaman, m.a., rahman, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2017. diversity of angiosperm flora of kuakata national park, patuakhali district, bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 43(2): 143-159. rahman, a.h.m.m. 2013. angiospermic flora of rajshahi district, bangladesh. amer. j. life sci. 1(3): 105-112. rahman, m.o. and alam, m.t. 2013. a taxonomic study on the angiosperm flora of trishal upazila, mymensingh. dhaka univ. j. biol. sco. 22(1): 63‐74. rahman, m.o., antara, r.t., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2012. floristic diversity of dhamraiupazila of dhaka with emphasis on medicinal plants. bangladesh j. bot. 41(1): 71-85. rahman, m.o., begum. m. and ullah, m.w. 2013. angiosperm flora of sadarupazila of munshiganj district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 213-231. rahman, m.o., hassan, s and begum, m. 2019a. floristic study in lalpurupazila of natore district, bangladesh: identification, distribution and economic potential. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 45(1): 71-91. rahman, m.o., sayma, n.j and begum, m. 2019b. angiospermic flora of gafargaonupazila of mymensingh district focusing on medicinally important species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 269‒283. rahman, m.o., uddin, m.z., tutul, e., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2010. additions to the angiospermic flora of runctiasal forest, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 167-181. rahman, n. and uddin, s.n. 2018. seventy-one new additions to the angiosperm flora of bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 6: 49-70 rahman, n., sarker, m.a.a. and uddin, s.n. 2018. one hundred and three new additions to the angiosperm flora of lawachara national park. bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 6: 71-88. rahman, m.s., hossain, g.m., khan, s.a. and uddin, s.n. 2015. an annotated checklist of the vascular plants of sundarban mangrove forest of bangladesh, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 22(1): 17–41. rahman,n., sultana, m., rahman, m.s., islam, k.k., hoque, m.a. and saqee, a. 2022. floral composition of birgonj national park in dinajpur district, bangladesh, bull. bangladesh national herb. 8:77-91. sarker, k., islam, m.r., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2013. angiosperm flora of manikgonj sadar upazila, bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 39(2): 147-166. sarker, p. and rahman a.h.m.m. 2019. angiosperms in gobindaganj upazila of gaibandha district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 285-298. sultana, m., rahman, m.s., hoque, m.a. and saqee, a. 2022. checklist flora of khadimnagar national park under sylhet district in bangladesh. bull. bangladesh national herb. 8: 33-76. tutul, e., uddin, m.z., rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiospermic flora of runctiasal forest, bangladesh. ii. magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 33-53. uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2010. angiosperm diversity of lawachara national park (bangladesh): a preliminary assessment. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 9-22. uddin, s.n. and hassan, m.a. (eds.). 2018. vascular flora of chittagong and the chittagong hill tracts. vol. 2. magnoliopsida part 1 (magnoliaceae-celastraceae). bangladesh national herbarium, pp. 1-1060. uddin, m.z., alam, m.f., rhaman, m.a. and hassan,m.a. 2013. diversity in angiosperm flora of teknaf wildlife sanctuary, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 145-162. uddin, m.z., kibria, m.g. and hassan, m.a.2015. assessment of angiosperm plant diversity of nijhum dweep, bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 41(1): 19-32. uddin., m. z. and abiabdullah, m. 2016. taxonomic study on the angiosperms of char kukri mukri wildlife sanctuary, bhola district. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 42(2): 153-168. te-tsun, y., ling-ti, l., tsue-chih, k., chao-luan, l., ke-chien k. and wan-fu, c. 1974, 1985, 1986. rosaceae. in: yü te-tsun, ed., fl. reipubl. popularis sin. 36: 1–443; 37: 1–516; 38: 1–133. (manuscript received on 14 april, 2022; revised on 19 november, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 361-371, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63534 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and molecular identification of endophytic fungi isolated from zingiber officinale rosc. kazi jannatul ferdous1, md. hossain sohrab1, mst. nadira begum2, md. rakibul islam and md. abdul mazid*3 department of biochemistry and molecular biology, faculty of biological sciences, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: endophyte; morphology; blast results; phylogenetic identification. abstracts this study was conducted to discover wide spectrum of endophyte diversity from the zingiber officinale rosc. endophytic fungi were obtained from different plant tissues. all the isolated strains were identified up to genus level following described colony morphology. the recognized five different morphotypes were subjected to sequence analysis of internal transcribed spacer (its) gene. fusarium proliferatum, fusarium solani and cladosporium cladosporoides were identified based on comparison of the blast results and phylogenetic identification. the presented study provides the comprehensive explanation of the interrelation of morphological and molecular homologies for the identification of the prospective fungi. introduction endophytic fungi are miscellaneous polyphyletic groups of microorganisms that can boom asymptomatically in different healthy tissues (stems, leaves, and/or roots) of living plants. it is estimated that over one million endophytic fungal species occur in the nature (faeth and fagan, 2002). the bioactive compounds produced by endophytic fungi can induce the production of a plethora of known and novel biologically active secondary metabolites that can be utilized and functional by human as important medicinal resources (zhang et al., 2006; firáková et al., 2007; rodriguez et al., 2009). zingiber officinale rosc. (ginger) is a herbaceous perennial plant of zingiberaceae family. the family zingiberaceae has 52 genera and 1400 species. it is distributed throughout tropical africa, asia, and the americas. it has great traditional medicinal value being employed in many indigenous medical systems since ancient time. many members of zingiberaceae are used in ayurvedic, unani, and homoeopathic systems of medicine. that is why this family is ethnophamacologically important. phytochemical investigation of the rhizomes of several zingiber sp. has disclosed the presence of bioactive compounds such as gingerols, shogaols, diarylheptanoids, phenylbutenoids, flavanoids, diterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids (sivasothy et al., 2011). the gingerols are identified as the major active components in the fresh rhizome of the plant. in addition, shogaols, dehydrated gingerol derivatives, are the predominant pungent constituents in dried ginger (jiang et al., 2006). this plant also reported to possess several pharmacological activities such as antimicrobial activity, anti-diabetic activity, nephroprotective *corresponding author: e-mail: ma.mazid@du.ac.bd 1pharmaceutical sciences research division, bcsir laboratories dhaka, bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research (bcsir), dhaka-1205, bangladesh. 2biological research division, bcsir laboratories dhaka, bangladesh council of scientific and industrial research (bcsir), dhaka-1205, bangladesh. 3department of pharmaceutical chemistry, faculty of pharmacy, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63534 mailto:ma.mazid@du.ac.bd 362 ferdous et al. activity, hepatoprotective activity, larvicidal activity, anticancer activity, analgesic activity, antiinflammatory activity, immunomodulatory activity, antioxidant activity, anthelmintic property etc. (kumar et al., 2011). but searching of endophytic fungal miscellany from this plant remains unacquainted. endophytic fungi show diversity that belongs to several taxonomic groups. taxonomy uses hierarchical classification as a way to facilitate scientists understands and organizes the diversity. for the taxonomical identification, both the morphological and the molecular characteristics of the organism are needed. morphological identification is the conventional method of describing physical features of the filamentous fungi that are given some possible clues of identification. due to the drawbacks of conventional methods, molecular techniques are used to investigate the problems related to identification and classification of species. identification of fungi to species level is vital for both basic (ecology, taxonomy) and applied (genomics, bioprospecting) applications in scientific research. as for genetic materials, phylogenetic analysis is another alternative way of species identification. it is the study of evolutionary development of a gene to understand the evolutionary relationships among species. thus, in this report a detailed characterization of endophytic fungi isolated from zingiber officinale had been described with respect to morphological and molecular approach for further preliminary screening of their bioactive potentiality. materials and methods plant collection and isolation of endophytes healthy and mature z. officinale plants were collected from dhamrai, dhaka, bangladesh and the plant was recognized and validated by a taxonomist of bangladesh national herbarium (bnh), dhaka, bangladesh. a receipt herbarium specimen under the accession number dacb 55762 of z. officinale was assigned and deposited at the bnh. fungal endophytes were isolated from leaf, bark and petiole parts of the fresh and healthy plant tissues following a revised surface sterilization method (chowdhury et al., 2016; khan et al., 2016). for surface sterilization, the selected cleaned plant parts were undergone into a small cutting (2–3 cm) over a sterile glass plate. the cutting edges were then subjected to subsequent treatment with 70% ethanol, 1.3 m sodium hypochlorite and finally sterile distilled water respectively. the treated plant samples were then soaked on sterile filter paper and placed in an antibiotic (streptomycin 100 mg/l) containing water agar medium for incubation (at 28 ± 2°c). the visible mycelium come out over 4-6 weeks was further transferred into potato dextrose agar (pda) medium to isolate the endophytes by comparing the growth of the exophytes incubated in a same manner collected from the unsterilized plant segments to be used for control study. the isolated pure cultures were cultivated on pda medium and for obtaining the crude fungal extracts of each isolate, the cultured medium of all the fungal strains were extracted three times with ethyl acetate. identification of the isolated endophytes morphological identification: isolated endophytes were identified morphologically based on macroscopic and microscopic features. morphological characteristics such as growth pattern, hyphae structure, the color of the colony and medium, aerial mycelium, surface texture, sporulation and production of acervuli, the size and coloration of the conidia were examined in 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th days of cultural growth on pda medium until full growth of fungi and compared with the standard taxonomic key (devi and prabakaran, 2014; barnett and hunter, 1972). microscopic study of the isolated strains was done followed by staining with lactophenol morphological and molecular identification of endophytic fungi 363 cotton blue (lpcb) and examined under a bright-field and phase contrast microscope (kruss, germany) with objective lens of 40 times magnification and 0.65 numerical apertures (sadananda, 2014). molecular identification to identify the species of the respective fungus, selected endophyte isolates were subjected to molecular characterization by dna amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (its) region. here its4 (5ʹ-tccgtaggtgaacctgcgg-3ʹ) (invitrogen, usa) and its5 (5ʹtcctccgcttattgatatgc-3ʹ) (invitrogen, usa) were used as forward and reverse primer, respectively (white et al., 1990). fungal dna isolation was carried out by using dneasy minikit (qiagen, usa) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. the target dna sequence was then amplified by polymerase chain reaction (pcr) using hot start aq master mix kit (qiagen, usa). its4 and its 5 primers, were mixed with hot star taq master mix kit and dna template in a total volume of 50μlwhere each pcr reaction mixture contained 5-10 ng of genomic dna, 1 µmeach of the primers its4 and its5 and 1 u of hot star taq polymerase. the mixture was then applied to the thermal cycler (biorad, usa) for 35 cycles using initial pre-heat at 95°c for 2 minutes; denaturing for 1minute at 95°c, annealing for40 seconds at 56°c, extension for 1 minute at 72°c, final extension for 10 minutes in 72°c. approximately 550 bp pcr product purification was carried out by using perfect prep gel cleanup kit (eppendorf, usa) following manufacturer’s protocol. the amplified pure fungal dna (pcr product) was sequenced using electrophoretic sequencing on an abi370x1 dna analyzer (applied biosystems, usa) using big dye terminator v 3.1 cycle sequencing kit. phylogenetic analysis the resulting sequences of the isolated endophytes were then subjected to nucleotide blast in order to compare the regions of similarity of the query sequences against the deposited biological sequences into the ncbi databases. to understand the evolutionary relationship, phylogenetic tree of each isolated strain was build up using the selected database sequences through the blast search along with the query sequence. phylogenetic trees were constructed using mega-x software following the statistical method of maximum likelihood including 1000 bootstrap replications. results and discussion identification of the isolated fungi a total 5 endophytes were isolated from the rhizome (bark) (zobe-1, zobe-2), petiole (zope-3) and leaf parts (zole-1, zole-2) of zingiber officinale (fig. 1). all the isolated endophytes were morphologically identified up to the genus level and up to the species level through molecular identification. morphological identification according to the morphological characteristics, four endophytes belongs to fusarium sp. (zobe1, zobe-2, zope-3 and zole-1); and another one belongs to cladosporium sp. (zole-2). identification was based on describing the colony characteristics of 12 days cultural growth according to macroscopic and microscopic point of views explained in tables 1,2 and 3 which were also verified as confirmed by the previously described features. 364 ferdous et al. fig. 1. isolated endophytic fungi from zingiber officinale. (a) zobe-1 (fusarium sp.), (b) zobe-2 (fusarium sp.), (c) zope-3 (fusarium sp.), (d) zole-1 (fusarium sp.) and (e) zole-2 (cladosporium sp.) morphological and molecular identification of endophytic fungi 365 table 1. morphology of the fungal strains isolated from rhizome (bark). strains morphological characterization identified genus zobe-1 macroscopic view upper view of the colony: brown color observed in center with white side; lower view of the colony: light yellowish-brown; growth rate: moderate. hyphae: soft and aerial mycelium; morphology of colony: villous, irregular and raised elevation. fusarium sp. (ignjatov et.al., 2019) microscopic view mycelium: mass branched; spores: single celled, small and large, microconidia: hyaline, delicate, slightly sickle-shaped or almost straight, macroconidia: sickleshaped, one to three septa. zobe-2 macroscopic view upper view of the colony: white color; lower view of the colony: light purple; growth rate: moderate; hyphae: fertile, growing vertically; morphology of colony: villous, circular including entire margin. fusarium sp. (ignjatov et al., 2019) microscopic view mycelium: branched and thread shaped; spores: rod shaped, septed; conidia: slender sickle-shaped, one to three septa table 2. morphology of the fungal strains isolated from petiole. table 3. morphology of the fungal strains isolated from leaf. strains morphological characterization identified genus zole-1 macroscopic view upper view of the colony: white; lower view of the colony: light yellow; growth rate: rapid. hyphae: soft and cottony mycelium; morphology of colony: circular including entire margin.. fusarium sp .(chehri, et.al., 2015) microscopic view mycelium: aerial; spores: single and two celled, small and large, microconidia: oval shaped, macroconidia: curved. zole-2 macroscopic view upper view of the colony: grey-olivaceous; lower view of the colony: light yellowish olive green; growth rate: slow; morphology of colony: velvety, irregular. cladosporium sp. (torres et al., 2017) microscopic view mycelium: aerial, sparse, diffuse, or sometimes abundantly formed; spores: rod shaped, septed; conidia: subglobose, obovoid, ovoid to limoniform, aseptate; conidiophores: straight, solitary, unbranched, terminal or lateral and without nodules. strains morphological characterization identified genus zope-3 macroscopic view upper view of the colony: purple and white; lower view of the colony: deep purple in center with white side; growth rate: fast; hyphae: septate; morphology of colony: cottony, irregular. fusarium sp.(ignjatov et al., 2019; zainudin et al., 2017) microscopic view mycelium: aerial, branched and unbranched; spores: single and two celled, cylindrical; microconidia: small, oval, one or two celled; macroconidia: typically curved like a sickle, three to five septa expanded in the middle of their length. 366 ferdous et al. molecular identification the 5 fungal isolates had been identified at species level through the molecular identification including its gene sequencing, blastn (ncbi) database queries and also interpretation of the phylogenetic analysis respectively. table 4 explained the list of those best matched organisms that are obtained after blastn programs search of the respective strain sequences. table 4. blast results outputs of the selected isolated strains. sl strains query cover percent identity organisms with highest similarity including accession no. 1. zobe-1 100% 100% fusarium proliferatum (hf930594.1) 2. zobe-2 100% 100% fusarium proliferatum (ls422790.1) 3. zope-3 98% 100% fusarium proliferatum (mt280199.1) 4. zole-1 100% 99.64% fusarium solani (kt184398.1) 5. zole-2 100% 100% cladosporium cladosporioides (mg572365.1) phylogenetic analysis phylogenetic analysis is a method to elucidate the evolutionary history and relationship among a group of organisms. a phylogenetic tree is a diagram that represents evolutionary relationships among organisms. in a phylogenetic tree, the relatedness of two species has a very specific meaning. two species are more related if they have a more recent common ancestor, and less related if they have a less recent common ancestor. the species or groups of interest are found at the tips of lines referred to as the tree's branches. the pattern of branching in a phylogenetic tree reflects how species or other groups evolved from a series of common ancestors. each branch point (also called an internal node) represents a divergence event, or splitting apart of a single group into two descendant groups known as a clade. the branch lengths estimate the genetic distance, whereas the branch values represent the bootstrap confidence values. regarding the phylogram of fig. 2 in which zobe-1 falls outside the polyphyletic group of diverse species, is located just adjacent to fusarium proliferatum (acc. no. hf 930594.1) that are strongly supported due to the highest bootstrap value of 82%. morphological verifications and also such distant relationship distinguishing zobe-1 as fusarium proliferatum (ignjatov, et.al., 2019). in fig. 3, zobe-2 falls outside the polyphyletic group of diverse species, is located just adjacent to fusarium proliferatum (accession no. ls 422790.1) that are weekly supported due to low bootstrap value which may be caused by the poor alignment. however, according to the exploration of blastn (ncbi) database queries where most of the search results obtained for the same respective organism and also the previous morphological investigations, zobe-2 can be confirmed as fusarium proliferatum (zainudin et al., 2017). in fig. 4, zope-3 falls outside the polyphyletic group of diverse species, is located just adjacent to fusarium proliferatum (accession no. mt 280199.1) that are weekly supported due to low bootstrap value which may be caused by the poor alignment. however, according to the exploration of blastn (ncbi) database queries where most of the search result obtained for the same respective organism and also the previous morphological investigations, zobe-2 can be confirmed as fusarium proliferatum (zainudin et al., 2017). morphological and molecular identification of endophytic fungi 367 fig. 2. phylogenetic relationship between zobe-1 and the other related species constructed using maximum likelihood method (1000 bootstrap replication) including the bootstrap values supported each node. fig. 3. phylogenetic relationship between zobe-2 and the other related species constructed using maximum likelihood method (1000 bootstrap replication) including the bootstrap values supported each node. 368 ferdous et al. fig. 4. phylogenetic relationship between zope-3 and the other related species constructed using maximum likelihood method (1000 bootstrap replication) including the bootstrap values supported each node. regarding the phylogram of fig. 5 in which zole-1 falls outside the polyphyletic group of diverse species that are strongly supported due to bootstrap value of 36% (accession no. kt184398.1). morphological verifications and also such distant relationship distinguishing zole-1 as fusarium solani (chehri et al., 2015). fig. 5. phylogenetic relationship between zole-1 and the other related species constructed using maximum likelihood method (1000 bootstrap replication) including the bootstrap values supported each node. morphological and molecular identification of endophytic fungi 369 in case of fig. 6, where zole-2 serves as an outgroup positioning beyond the paraphyletic clade of several cladosprium sp., is more distantly related to cladosporium cladosporioides (accession no. mg 572365.1) with a probably significant bootstrap value of 61%. following that arrangement, the zole-2 strain can be registered as cladosporium cladosporioides the morphology of which can also viewed as same as the respective strain (torres et al., 2017). fig. 6. phylogenetic relationship between zole-2 and the other related species constructed using maximum likelihood method (1000 bootstrap replication) including the bootstrap values supported each node. discussion this study was conducted to characterize both morphological and molecular examination following phylogenetic analysis for targeting the proper identification of all the fungi isolated from the plant zingiber officinale. the isolated five strains belong to two genera like fusarium and cladosporium. however, morphological analysis must be compared with the result of molecular examination, as some characteristics are identical between species. for this reason the recognized genera of the isolated fungi were further identified at the species level based on 5.8srrna-its sequences. in finding of evolutionary relationship, phylogenetic trees are commonly constructed. a phylogenetic tree sorts organisms into clades or groups of organisms that descended from a single ancestor using maximum parsimony. all the developed phylogenetic trees of the respective strain were found to be reliable based on bootstrap values except for zobe2 and zope-3 because of forming a weak monophyletic clade. the genera fusarium sp. contains over 300 species and widely distributed in various habitats, aquatic, soil, and plant associated. from the literature it is suggested that they produce many famous bioactive compounds such as equisetin (anti-hiv and anti-bacterial activities) (jeong and moloney, 2015), coniosetin (anti-bacterial activity) (segeth et al., 2003) and fusarisetin a (inhibiting the tumor metastasis) (jang et al., 2011), and so on. in light of this, the fusarium genus fungi have become a rich and hot source for discovering drug leads. the genus cladosporium includes more than 30 species, with c. cladosporioides as one of the most common species. cladosporium sp. was reported to produce several secondary metabolites, including cladosporin, emodin, phytase, taxol, and other antibiotic and antifouling compounds (quan et al., 2004; zhang et al., 2009; xiong et al., 2009). another study isolated and identified beneficial secondary metabolites (brefeldin a) from an isolated active strain i(r)9-2, cladosporium sp. (wang et al., 2007). two naphthoquinones, namely anhydrofusarubin and methyl ether of fusarubin were 370 ferdous et al. isolated from cladosporium sp. by md. imdadul huque khana et al. the isolated compounds showed potential cytotoxicity and prominent antibacterial properties (khan et al., 2016). following such previous investigating report, it can be proposed that these identified endophytes can be the great resources of novel antimicrobial or anticancer compounds. the present study provides a basis for such further studies. secondary metabolites of fusarium sp. and cladosporium sp. can be the preference of our future research. conclusion the current study defines the structural detection of all the fungal isolates that is confirmed throughout the genetic analysis including their commencing from phylogenetic theory. such features of these potential fungi can be considered as the most suitable information in research database. acknowledgement authors are grateful to pharmaceutical 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(manuscript received on 15 may, 2021; revised on 17 november, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 197-203, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78748 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species of globba under sect. haplanthera (zingiberaceae) from myanmar myo min latt 1, min khant naing 2,3, ritesh kumar choudhary 4 and joongku lee 5* 1university of forestry and environmental science, yezin, national unity government of myanmar 2biodiversity research center, hpa an, kayin state, myanmar 3iqy degree college, sydney, australia 4agharkar research institute, g.g. agarkar road, pune, india 5department of environment and forest resources, college of agricultural life science, chungnam national university, daejeon, south korea keywords: zingiberaceae; new taxon; myanmar, zwegabin mountain. abstract globba zwegabinensis sp. nov., under sect. haplanthera (zingiberaceae) is newly described and illustrated from the zwegabin mountain of kayin state in southern myanmar. g. zwegabinensis is morphologically allied to g. sessiliflora and g. lithophila but differs in having the leaves with a foetid smell, glabrous blade, completely yellow filament, glabrous ovary, larger cuneiform labellum with bifid apex, glabrous and oblong to ovate fruit, lack of bulbils and anther appendages. a description and photographic data, along with the comparative characteristics of the closely allied species, are provided. introduction globba l. is one of the largest genera in zingiberaceae, comprising about 140 species (williams et al., 2004; souvannakhoummane et al., 2023; powo, 2024). they are circumscribed under seven sections namely haplanthera horan., ceratanthera (horan.) petersen, globba (previously g. sect. marantella (horan.) benth. & hook.f.), nudae k. larsen, substrigosa k.j. williams, sempervirens k.j. williams, and mantisia (sims) k.j. williams. it is one of three genera within the tribe globbeae, alongside gangnepainia k.schum. and hemiorchis kurz (cao et al., 2018). its distribution spans sri lanka, india, nepal, bhutan, bangladesh, tropical china, and all of southeast asia, extending eastward to australia and the solomon islands. the genus globba is distinguished from the other two genera by unique characteristics, including the presence of anther appendages, the absence of a central stripe or point on the labellum, the labellum being partially fused with the floral tube or free, a reflexed floral tube, and its flowering during the entire rainy season (williams et al., 2004). they are distributed throughout tropical and sub-tropical asia to northeast australia (powo, 2024). in myanmar, they are represented by 27 species (kress and htun, 2003; williams, et al., 2004). however, in the neighboring thailand, 66 species of globba have been recorded (sangvirotjanapat and newman, 2023), highlighting the necessity for further exploration in this area. given that the forest ecosystems and climatic conditions in myanmar are similar to those of neighboring thailand, it is likely that several new plant species may be discovered in myanmar. additionally, local communities in myanmar utilize globba species for ornamental and religious purposes, leading to significant loss of the natural habitats of several globba species. *corresponding author: joongku@cnu.ac.kr https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78748 198 latt et al. in july 2023, one of the co-authors (mkn) found an interesting globba species on the peak of zwegabin mountain (ca. 722 m. asl.) and suspected it to be a new species because of its distinct and unique morphological characteristics, especially the large size of the flower and labellum, and the foetid smell of leaf differed from other globba species. a critical examination of the morphology of the species was carried out along with the closely allied species. besides, relevant literature (williams et al., 2004; tanaka et al., 2015; joe et al., 2019; sangvirotjanapat et al., 2019; ding et al., 2022; sangvirotjanapat and newman, 2023; souvannakhoummane et al., 2023) and type specimens housed at various herbaria viz. e, k, raf, etc., were consulted either virtually or in-person. our observation led us to conclude that our collection belongs to a new species, which we describe here as globba zwegabinensis latt, m.k. naing & joongku lee under sect. haplanthera (zingiberaceae). materials and methods the first floristic survey was conducted in pha-an township, kayin state (fig. 1) in 2023 during the flowering season. morphological characteristics were recorded, and a detailed description was prepared. the plants were monitored in their natural habitat for another year to record variations in the morphological traits, particularly the production of bulbils. in 2024, the morphological traits of the species were re-examined, referring to our earlier collections and photographs to confirm our identification of new species. gps coordinates were recorded, and photo documentation was done. fig 1. (a) location of pha-an township, kayin state where floristic survey was carried out, (b) location of zwegabin mountain where globba zwegabinensis was found and its defragmented forest condition the terminology for descriptions followed beentje (2016) and gledhill (2008). the collected accessions of the new species were compared with descriptions of allied species (curtis, 1811; sangvirotjanapat and newman, 2023). images of herbarium specimens were examined in the database of e-flora of thailand (https://botany.dnp.go.th/eflora/index.html), flora of china (http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=2), e-flora of india (https://efloraofindia.com/), http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=2 https://efloraofindia.com/ a new species of globba 199 plants of the world online (https://powo.science.kew.org/) (powo, 2024), and global biodiversity information facility (https://www.gbif.org/). the conservation status of this species was decided following the iucn (2024), considering the distribution, populations under current ecological habitat and human’s use. detailed photographs of all parts of the species were taken before and after specimen collection. inflorescences were preserved in 70% ethanol for microscopic analysis. herbarium specimens were processed following standard methods (jain and rao, 1977), and the voucher specimens were deposited at the herbarium of the forest research institute, yezin, myanmar (raf), and forest resources taxonomy laboratory at chungnam national university, korea. results and discussion taxonomic treatment globba zwegabinensis latt, m.k.naing & joongku lee, sp. nov. (figs 2–3). type: myanmar. kayin state: zwegabin mountain, pha-an township, pha-an district, in flaked lime rocks on zwegabin mountain, c. 700 m asl., n 16° 49’ 17.6” and e 97° 40’ 17.1”, june 2024, min khant naing my 8041 (holotype raf; isotype raf) vernacular name: “zwe-gabin badein-ngo” (proposed here). “badein-ngo” and “badein-ma-naing” are the local names of globba species in myanmar, whereas “zwegabin” refers to the name of the mountain where it was found first. diagnosis: globba zwegabinensis is morphologically similar to g. sessiliflora sims under the same sect. haplanthera and g. macrochila sangvir. & m.f. newman under sect. nudae but can be distinguished by glabrous leaf-blade, the foetid smell of leaf, totally yellow filament, glabrous ovary, larger cuneiform labellum with bifid apex, glabrous and oblong to ovate fruit, and lack of bulbils. rhizomatous annual herb, 15–40 cm tall, lithophyte, growing in cracked or between the slides of rocks. false stem stout, glabrous. bladeless leaf sheaths up to 3, purple-greenish, glabrous; leaf sheaths pale greenish; ligule membranous, erect inside base of leaf blade, 1–2 mm long; petiole open, c. 4 cm long, pale green, glabrous; blades up to 5, with foetid smell, ovate or broadly elliptic, 5–13 × 3–5.5 cm, base obtuse, apex acuminate to attenuate, adaxially dark green, glabrous, abaxially pale green, pubescent. inflorescence panicle, erect, lax, stout, 8–10 cm long; peduncle 2– 4 cm long beyond leaf sheaths, green, glabrous; rachis green, glabrous; bracts at base of every secondary rachis, green, lanceolate to linear, 20–30 × 5–8 mm, diminishing size to top of rachis, apex acuminate, green, both abaxial and adaxial surface glabrous; bracteole persistent, opposite to flower, ovate to lanceolate, 2–5 × 2–3 mm, glabrous, apex acute; flowers yellow, 2.6–3 cm long, same ♂ and ⚥ ; pedicle c. 3 mm long, glabrous, green; calyx infundibuliform, c. 7 mm long, unequally trilobed with acute apices, green, glabrous; floral tube c. 12 mm long, yellow, glabrous; dorsal corolla lobe cybiform, ovate, ca. 8 × 5 mm, apex acute, greenish yellow, glabrous or minutely pubescent; lateral corolla lobes narrowly ovate, c. 7 × 4 mm, apex obtuse, yellow, glabrous; lateral staminodes obliquely oblong, 10–12 × 4–5 mm, apex obtuse to emarginate, yellow, glabrous; labellum cuneiform, c. 11 × 6 mm, bilobed, base truncate, puberulous, apex bifid, yellow without spot; nectar tube 3–5 mm long; filament c. 7–9 mm long, yellow, glabrous, stigma yellow, simple, crest rounded, c. 2–3 × 1.5–2 mm; anther narrow ovate to lanceolate, c. 3.5 × 2.5 mm, without appendages; anther thecae c. 1.5–2 mm long, dehiscing along entire length, yellow, glabrous, pollen white; ovary ellipsoid, ridged, c. 3 mm long () , green, glabrous; style whitish yellow, tiny, threadlike string, glabrous; stigma cup‐shaped, c. 1.5 mm, glabrous. fruits oblong to ovate, glabrous, c. 6 cm long, c. 5 mm in diam. (young fruit), shallowly trisulcate, rugose, green. https://powo.science.kew.org/ 200 latt et al. seeds globose, glabrous, brown, 1.5–2 mm in diameter, 4–14 seeds, with translucent membranous cover. bulbils lacking. habitat and ecology: globba zwegabinensis is restricted to limestone rocks in the zwegabin mountain range, where humidity remains high during the rainy season but decreases considerably in the dry season. the species is predominantly observed at the mountain's peak, with no records from the foothills or lower slopes. it was commonly associated with begonia species, ferns, and various members of the araceae and gesneriaceae. phenology: flowering in june–july. fruiting: july–september. distribution: myanmar. thus far, it is known only from the type locality. fig. 2. illustration of globba zwegabinensis a. habit, b. leaf and ligule, c. inflorescent, d. side view of flower and cincinni, e. male flower, f. female flower, g. fruit, h. corolla lobes, i. anther, filament, labellum and ovary of the female flower, j. anther, filament and labellum of male flower, and k. anther and labellum. a new species of globba 201 fig 3. globba zwegabinensis a. growing in crack or flaked limestone, b. habit, c-d. rhizome, e. leaves, f. leaf and ligule, g. inflorescent, h. bisexual flower (), i. male flower (♂), j. ovary, k. fruit, l. seeds, m. calyx tube, n. lateral staminode, o. dorsal corolla lobe, p. lateral corolla lobe and q-r. filament and anther. 202 latt et al. etymology. the species epithet is named after the type locality zwegabin mountain, where this species was specifically found among the aggregated limestone hills and mountains across pha-an township. note: globba zwegabinensis is assignable to subgenus globba, sect. haplanthera horan. based on the lack of anther appendages (williams et al., 2004; sangvirotjanapat et al., 2019). it differs from g. lithophila sangvir. & m.f.newman (sect. nudae), which has a similar ecological habitat growing on the rock and lacks anther appendages. the foetid smell of the leaf is unique to distinguish it from both g. sessiliflora, g. macrochila and g. lithophila. a comparative account of the morphologically allied globba species to facilitate easy identification is given in table 1. table 1. morphological comparison of globba zwegabinensis with its allied species. morphological characters globba zwegabinensis sp. nov. globba macrochila globba sessiliflora globba lithophila section haplanthera nudae haplanthera nudae habitat lime rocky mountain bamboo forest under forest cover small pockets of rock or on soil near cliffs. habit lithophyte terrestrial terrestrial lithophyte leaf-blade broadly elliptic to ovate, apex acuminate to attenuate, base obtuse, adaxially glabrous, abaxially pubescent, with foetid smell. elliptic to ovate, apex acuminate, base obliquely obtuse, strigose along veins above. no foetid smell. lanceolate-oblong, apex acuminate, base cuneate, minutely hairy with densely hairy margins. no foetid smell. elliptic to narrowly ovate, apex acuminate, base obliquely cuneate, pubescent along midrib above, pubescent to sericeous below. no foetid smell. ligule 1–2 mm long, membranous, erect 2–5 mm long, bilobed or truncate 2–3 mm long, truncate to bilobed 2–5 mm long, bilobed inflorescence erect, lax, stout, 8–10 cm long erect, lax, conical, 5–12 cm long erect, cymes, 15–30 cm long lax, conical, 7–13 cm long flower bracteole ovate to lanceolate, glabrous bracteoles elliptic, apex and margin pubescent bracteoles elliptic, margins pubescent bracteoles triangular, apex sparsely pubescent calyx infundibuliform, c. 7 mm long, unequally trilobed with acute apices, green infundibuliform, 3–5 mm long, lobes acuminate, green infundibuliform, c. 7 mm long, trilobed, yellow infundibuliform, c. 4 mm long, lobes acute, green lateral staminodes obliquely oblong, 10–12 mm, apex obtuse to emarginate, yellow obovate, 12–14 mm, apex acute, orange linear, c. 10 mm long, apex acute and tends to roll up, yellow oblong c. 11 mm long, patent, apex round or shallowly bilobed, orange labellum truncate, c. 11 × 6 mm, bilobed, base puberulous, apex bifid triangular, 19–20 × 4–7 mm, bilobed, base truncate, apex obtuse oblong to obtriangular, 12–15 × 3–5 mm, apex bilobed, triangular, 7–8 × 4–5 mm, bilobed, apex round to truncate anther no appendages 4 appendages no appendages 4 appendages fruit oblong to ovate ellipsoid globose to ellipsoid triangular bulbils absent present present present conservation status: due to its medicinal and ornamental value, the demand for globba species in the region is increasing. this demand has led to cultivating, selling, and exporting these plants to neighboring countries, attracting interest from botanists. during our floristic surveys, g. zwegabinensis was identified at five locations on zwegabin mountain, growing as a lithophyte among cracked or flaked limestone. at each site, the population consisted of less than 20 a new species of globba 203 individuals. limestone mountains are fragmented by agricultural and settlement areas, creating isolated habitats. we could not locate g. zwegabinensis on other mountains, many of which are being excavated for cement production. consequently, based on the latest iucn criteria, we provisionally designate g. zwegabinensis under the vulnerable (vu d2) category following iucn criteria (2024). acknowledgements the authors extend their gratitude to the local community members who are passionate about plant conservation and assisted with the flora survey. special thanks go to htoo htoo aung lwin for his generosity and support through a small fund for logistics. we also appreciate thura oo and thandar aung for their efforts in collecting and providing living specimens. our thanks to kaung myat naing for the illustrations, and rkc is grateful to the director of agharkar research institute, pune, for the facilities and encouragement. this work was supported by research fund of chungnam national university. references beentje, h. 2016. the kew plant glossary, an illustrated dictionary of plant terms. 2nd edition ed. richnond, surrey, uk: royal botanic gardens kew. cao l., newman m.f., kirchoff, b.k. and ronse de craene, l.p. 2018. developmental evidence helps resolve the evolutionary origins of anther appendages in globba (zingiberaceae). bot. j. linn. soc. 189: 63–82. curtis, w. 1811. curtis's botanical magazine. bot. mag. 35: 1428. ding, h.b., gong, y.x. and tan, y.h. 2022. globba depingiana (zingiberaceae), a new species from yunnan, china. ann. bot. fennici. 59: 57–60. gledhill, d. 2008. the names of plants. 4th edition ed. cambridge: cambridge university press. iucn, 2024. red list categories guidelines for using the iucn and criteria. prepared by the standards and petitions committee. https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/redlistguidelines accessed on 21 july 2024. jain, s.k. and rao, r.r. 1977. a handbook of field and herbarium methods. new delhi, today and tomorrow printers and publishers. joe, a., sabu, m., sanoj, e. and thomas, v.p. 2019. a new species of globba (zingiberaceae) from india. taiwania. 64(1): 4–8. kress, w.j. and htun, t. 2003. a second species of smithatris (zingiberaceae) from myanmar. novon. 13(1): 68–71. powo, 2024. royal botanic gardens kew: plants of the world online. https://powo.science.kew.org/ taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:37273-1#children. accessed on 25 july 2024. sangvirotjanapat, s., denduangboriphant, j. and newman, m.f. 2019. a taxonomic revision of globba subsect. nudae (zingiberaceae). european j. taxon. 503: 1–37. sangvirotjanapat, s. and newman, m. 2023. family: zingiberaceae. in: flora of thailand, vol. 16, part 2. bangkok, department of national parks, wildlife and plant conservation. souvannakhoummane, k., lanorsavanh, s. and sangvirotjanapat, s. 2023. globba amicitia (zingiberaceae: globbeae), a new species from phou khao khouay national protected area, bolikhamxay province, laos. thai forest bull., bot. 51(2): 157–163. tanaka, n., tagane, s., chhang, p. and yahara, t. 2015. a purple flowered new globba (zingiberaceae), g. bokorensis, from southern cambodia. bull. natl. mus. nat. sci., ser. b. 41(4): 155–159. williams, k.j., kress, w.j. and manos, p.s. 2004. the phylogeny, evolution and classification of the genus globba and tribe globbeae (zingiberaceae): appendages do matter. american j. bot. 91(1): 100–114. (manuscript received on 25 september 2024; revised on 6 december 2024) https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/redlistguidelines https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:37273-1#children https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:37273-1#children bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 161-165, 2022 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60456 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication enumeration of climbing angiosperms in and around rajshahi city, bangladesh m. tarikul hasan* department of botany, abdulpur government college, natore, bangladesh. keywords: climbing plant; liana; vine; weak stemmed plant climbing angiosperms generally called as climbers are groups consists of plants that are rooted in the ground and capable to climbing up with the help of neighboring support such as plants or other objects. climbers are found in a majority of the world’s forests but a good number of climbers are also found in the non forest area such as villages, urbanized areas, and besides agricultural fields, railway tracks, highway sides, river or canal banks, garden and grove. they are part of biological spectra of forest ecosystems, on the other hand it constitute a large and important sector of ornamental horticulture due to its flowers and an astonishing range of colors. therefore, an inventory of climber plants of an area or forest is essential not only from taxonomic point of view but also for resource management and developmental planning. the importance of studying local floristic diversity of climbing angiosperm has been realized and carried out in deferent location by several researchers such as bandyopadhyay and mukherjee (2010),patel et al.(2013), gianoli (2015), kensa et al. (2015), sarvalingam and rajendran (2015), vargas et al (2018), birhane et al. (2020), subramanian et al. (2020) but in bangladesh, few studies (rahman et al., 2010; hossain et al.,2015; rani el al., 2019) on climber diversity were done so far. the present work is the outcome of extensive survey at different corners of rajshahi city and its surroundings in different seasons from january 2020 to december 2020. the area of rajshahi city is 95.56 sq km and located in between 24'20' and 24'24' north latitudes and 88'32' and 88'40' east longitudes. under koppen climate classification, rajshahi has a tropical wet and dry climate. collected specimens were identified up to species with the help of ahmed et al. (2009), uddin and hassan (2018), relevant literature and online flora. the up-to-date botanical nomenclature and local name has been cited based on “plants of the world online (http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org)” and pasha and uddin (2013) respectively. specimens have been deposited at department of botany, abdulpur government college, natore, bangladesh. during the study, 91 climbers belonging to 29 families were observed and are presented in table 1. among the record species, 47 were found wild and the rest were found as a cultivated species. the highest numbers of the wild species were collected from highway sides followed by railway tracks. out of 44 cultivated species, 23 species were recorded as ornamental. usually, the city dweller likes ornamental plant that gives flowers or beautification in the garden or in front of residence. they like vines to creep along the tops of walls, twine up pillars and posts and bestride gateways. most of the enumerated climbers were woody vine and the major climbing modes were twiner. rani et al. (2019) did an extensive floristic survey of climbers and recorded 88 climbers of 25 families from rajshahi district. earlier, rahman (2013) reported 52 climbers in a floristic survey of rajshahi district. in the present investigation, cucurbitaceae was found as a major family consisting of eighteen species followed by convolvulaceae and fabaceae consisting of thirteen and ten genera respectively. on the basis of observation, the state of occurrence has been noted as very common, common and occasional. *corresponding author, e-mail: drmthasan@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i1.60456 http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org) mailto:drmthasan@gmail.com 162 hasan in this study, 19 wild species were occasionally found. proper conservation measures should be required to increase their abundance. table 1.list of the climber species in and around rajshahi city. sl no. scientific name family local name status habit climbing modes category 01 abrus precatorius l. fabaceae kunch oc wd tw wc 02 allamanda cathartica l. apocynaceae ghantaphul vc cv tw wc 03 ampelocissus latifolia (roxb.) planch. vitaceae gowalia-lata co wd tn wc 04 antigonon leptopus hook. &arn. polygonaceae anantalata co cv tn wc 05 aristolochia indica l. aristolochiaceae isharmul oc wd tw wc 06 artabotrys hexapetalus (l.f.) bhandari annonaceae kanthalichapa co cv ho wc 07 asparagus racemosus willd. asparagaceae shotomuli vc cv ho wc 08 basella alba l. basellaceae puishak vc cv tw hc 09 benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. cucurbitaceae chalkumra vc cv tn hc 10 bougainvillea glabra choisy nyctaginaceae baganbilas vc cv tw wc 11 brachypterum scandens (roxb.) miq. fabaceae kalilata co wd tw wc 12 calamus tenuis roxb. arecaceae bet oc wd ho wc 13 campsis radicans (l.) bureau bignoniaceae turilata oc cv rc wc 14 capparis zeylanica l. capparaceae kalkera co wd ho wc 15 cardiospermum halicacabum l. sapindaceae lataphutiki oc wd tn hc 16 causonis trifolia (l.) mabb.&j.wen vitaceae amollata vc wd tn wc 17 cayratia pedata (lam.) gagnep. vitaceae goalilata oc wd tn wc 18 cissus adnata roxb. vitaceae vatialata oc wd tn wc 19 cissus quadrangularis l. vitaceae harjora vc cv tn wc 20 citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum.&nakai cucurbitaceae tarmuj oc cv tn hc 21 clematis gouriana roxb. ex dc. ranunculaceae chagolboti oc cv tn wc 22 clerodendrum splendens g.don lamiaceae shum bhat vc cv tw wc 23 clerodendrum thomsoniae balf.f. lamiaceae hridoyhara oc cv tw wc 24 clitoria ternatea l. fabaceae aparajita vc cv tw wc 25 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt cucurbitaceae telakucha vc wd tn wc 26 cocculus hirsutus (l.) w.theob. menispermaceae jaljamani vc wd tw wc 27 combretum indicum (l.) defilipps combretaceae madhabilata vc cv tw wc 28 cryptolepis buchananii r.br. exroem. &schult. apocynaceae karanta oc wd tw wc 29 cucumis maderaspatanus l. cucurbitaceae agamukhe vc wd tn hc 30 cucumis melo l. cucurbitaceae kallubangi co wd tn hc 31 cucumis sativus l. cucurbitaceae sasa co cv tn hc 32 cucurbita maxima duchesne cucurbitaceae mistikumra vc cv tn hc 33 cucurbita pepo l. cucurbitaceae sadakadu oc cv tn hc 34 daemonorops jenkinsiana (griff.) mart. arecaceae golla bet oc cv ho wc 35 dioscorea alata l. dioscoreaceae chuprialu vc cv tw hc enumeration of climbing angiosperms 163 sl no. scientific name family local name status habit climbing modes category 36 dioscorea bulbifera l. dioscoreaceae ratalu oc cv tw hc 37 dioscorea pentaphylla l. dioscoreaceae jumalu oc cv tw hc 38 epipremnum aureum (linden & andré) g.s.bunting araceae money plant vc cv rc wc 39 ficus pumila l. moraceae latadumur oc cv rc wc 40 hemidesmus indicus (l.) r.br. apocynaceae anontomul oc wd tw wc 41 hewittia malabarica (l.) suresh convolvulaceae hiwet oc wd tw hc 42 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w.t.aiton apocynaceae shamlata co wd tw wc 43 ipomoea alba l. convolvulaceae dudhkolmi co wd tw hc 44 ipomoea aquatica forssk. convolvulaceae kalmi vc cv tw hc 45 ipomoea batatas (l.) lam. convolvulaceae mistialu oc cv tw hc 46 ipomoea cairica (l.) sweet convolvulaceae rail lata oc cv tw hc 47 ipomoea coccinea l. convolvulaceae lalkolmi co cv tw hc 48 ipomoea nil (l.) roth convolvulaceae nil komol co wd tw hc 49 ipomoea obscura (l.) ker gawl. convolvulaceae kura kalmi oc wd tw hc 50 ipomoea pes-tigridis l. convolvulaceae langulilata co wd tw hc 51 ipomoea quamoclit l. convolvulaceae kunjolata vc cv tw hc 52 ipomoea triloba l. convolvulaceae ghontikolmi co wd tw hc 53 jasminum sambac (l.) aiton oleaceae beli co wd tw wc 54 lablab purpureus (l.) sweet fabaceae shim vc cv tw hc 55 lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. cucurbitaceae lau vc cv tn hc 56 leptospron adenanthum (g.mey.) a.delgado fabaceae bon barboti oc wd tw hc 57 luffa acutangula (l.) roxb. cucurbitaceae jhinga co cv tn hc 58 luffa aegyptiaca mill. cucurbitaceae dhundal vc cv tn hc 59 mansoa alliacea (lam.) a.h.gentry bignoniaceae rasunlata co cv tw wc 60 merremia hederacea (burm.f.) hallier f. convolvulaceae kaladana vc wd tw hc 61 mikania micrantha kunth asteraceae asamlata vc wd tw wc 62 momordica charantia l. cucurbitaceae korolla co cv tn hc 63 momordica subangulata blume cucurbitaceae kakrol oc cv tn hc 64 mucuna pruriens (l.) dc. fabaceae alakusi oc wd tw wc 65 operculina turpethum (l.) silva manso convolvulaceae dudhkalmi vc wd tw hc 66 pachyrhizus erosus (l.) urb. fabaceae kesur oc cv tw hc 67 paederia foetida l. rubiaceae gandhabhaduli co wd tw wc 68 passiflora foetida l. passifloraceae jhumkolata oc wd tn wc 69 passiflora suberosa l. passifloraceae melajhumka vc wd tn wc 70 pentalinon luteum (l.) b.f.hansen&wunderlin apocynaceae aloknanda oc cv tw wc 71 pergularia daemia (forssk.) chiov. apocynaceae dudhilata co wd tw hc 72 pyrostegia venusta (ker gawl.) miers bignoniaceae sonalilota oc cv tw wc 164 hasan sl no. scientific name family local name status habit climbing modes category 73 scindapsus officinalis (roxb.) schott araceae gojpipul oc wd rc hc 74 smilax perfoliata lour. smilacaceae kumarilata oc wd tn wc 75 solena amplexicaulis (lam.) gandhi cucurbitaceae kundri oc wd tn hc 76 stephania japonica (thunb.) miers menispermaceae nimuka vc wd tw hc 77 syngonium podophyllum schott araceae podolatakachu vc wd rc hc 78 telosma pallida (roxb.) craib apocynaceae kanjalata vc wd tw wc 79 teramnus labialis (l.f.) spreng. fabaceae mashani oc wd tw hc 80 thunbergia coccinea wall. exd.don acanthaceae raktimlata oc cv tw wc 81 thunbergia erecta (benth.) t.anderson acanthaceae neelghonto oc cv tw wc 82 tiliacora acuminata (lam.) miers menispermaceae tiliacora vc wd tw wc 83 tinospora cordifolia (willd.) hook.f. & thomson menispermaceae guloncho vc wd tw hc 84 tragia involucrata l euphorbiaceae bichuti oc wd tw wc 85 trichosanthes costata blume cucurbitaceae batijhinga oc wd tn hc 86 trichosanthes cucumerina l. cucurbitaceae bon chichinga vc wd tn hc 87 trichosanthes dioica roxb. cucurbitaceae potol co cv tn hc 88 trichosanthes tricuspidata lour. cucurbitaceae makal co wd tn wc 89 vicia sativa l. fabaceae ankari vc wd tn hc 90 vigna unguiculata (l.) walp. fabaceae barbati oc cv tw hc 91 vitis vinifera l. vitaceae angur co cv tn wc habit: cv= cultivated and wd= wild; status: co= common, oc= occasional and vc= very common; climbing modes: ho= hook climber, rc= root climber, tn= tendril climbers and tw= stem twiners; category: hc= herbaceous climber and wc= woody climber. acknowledgments the author is grateful to dr. mahabuba sultana, senior scientific officer, bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka and mr. mozaharul islam for their cooperation to carry out this work. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a., haque e.u. 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"plants of the world online”. facilitated by the royal botanic gardens, kew. published on the internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ rahman, a.h.m.m. 2013.angiospermic flora of rajshahi district, bangladesh. american j. life sciences 1(3):105-112. rahman, m.m., begum,f., nishat, a., islam., k.k and vacik, h. 2010. species richness of climbers in natural and successional stands of madhupur sal (shorea robusta c.f. gaertn) forest, bangladesh. tropical and subtropical agroecosystems 12: 117 – 122. rani, r., islam, a.k.m.r. and rahman, a.h.m.m. 2019.diversity of angiosperm climber species in rajshahi region, bangladesh. int. j. adv. res. 7(11): 522-536. sarvalingam, a. and rajendran, a. 2015.climbing plants of the southern western ghats of coimbatore in india and their economic uses. american-eurasian j. agric. & environ. sci. 15(7): 1312-1322. subramanian, m.p.s., ganthi, a.s. and subramonian, k. 2020. diversity of angiosperm climber species in point calimere wildlife and bird sanctuary, tamil nadu. int. j. adv. res. 8(11):1146-1155. uddin, s.n. and hassan, m.a. 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(manuscript received on 19 january, 2021; revised on 03 june, 2022) http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 53-64, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82392 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an outbreak of neopestalotiopsis sp. causing red leaf spot of sapota in bangladesh md. ashraful hoque 1, hasan mehraj 2, rejaul islam 3, ismail hossain 1 and mohammad shahjahan monjil 4* 1 college of agricultural sciences, international university of business agriculture and technology (iubat), 4 embankment drive road, sector-10, uttara model town, dhaka-1230, bangladesh 2 graduate school of agricultural science, kobe university, kobe 657-8501, japan 3 agrotechnology discipline, khulna university, khulna 9208, bangladesh 4 department of plant pathology, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh 2202, bangladesh keywords: manilkara zapota; internal transcribed spacer; disease prevalence; disease incidence; fungal pathogens. abstract sapota (manilkara zapota is an economically important fruit crop in bangladesh that was affected by the different types of red colored leaf spot symptoms from 2019 to 2021. the study aimed to characterize red colored leaf spot symptoms of sapota by morphological and molecular analysis. infected sapota were collected from three southern coastal districts of bangladesh. causal organism of the disease was isolated for morphological and molecular characterization. after 24 months of the plantation, about 70% disease prevalence in the experimental areas was recorded. the present investigation suggested that symptoms were caused by neopestalotiopsis sp. phylogenetic analysis using the internal transcribed spacer (its) region of ribosomal dna additionally confirmed neopestalotiopsis sp. in red leaf spot symptoms of sapota. for further validation, a pathogenicity test was carried out using three isolates on six months old saplings under net-house conditions, and same symptom was developed in inoculated leaves after 14 days inoculation. the present investigation confirmed the outbreak of sapota red leaf spot disease, caused by neopestalotiopsis sp. in bangladesh. introduction manilkara zapota l. commonly known as the sapota, sofeda in bangladesh, is a long‒lived evergreen tree belonging to the sapotaceae family. it is originated in tropi-cal america and now widely cultivated in the tropics, including india, pakistan, bang-ladesh, mexico, vietnam, guatemala, and venezuela (roy et al.,1997; rahim et al., 2011). sapota grows throughout bangladesh, however, extensively grown in coastal areas like barisal, khulna, jashore, chittagong, and chittagong hill tract districts (rahim et al., 2009; hossain et al., 2015) sapota has high calories, 83 calories per 100 grams, with a good source of dietary fiber; and its pulp functions as an ex-cellent laxative (singh et al., 2021). it is loaded with a rich array of vitamins a, c, niacin, folate, pan-tothenic acid, minerals iron, potassium, and copper (singh et al., 2021). since this crop appear in bangladesh, a few phytopathological studies have been conducted. several fungal taxa affecting sapota with different symptoms have been reported (bagheri et al., 2017). based on morpho-logical data and phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer *corresponding author. email: smonjil@bau.edu.bd, smonjil@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82392 mailto:smonjil@bau.edu.bd mailto:smonjil@yahoo.com 54 hoque et al. (its), pestalotiopsis steyaert was separated into three genera namely neopestalotiopsis, pestalotiopsis, and pseudopestalotiopsis (senanayake et al., 2020; maharachchikumbura et al., 2014) the genus neopestalotiopsis maharachch was recently segregated from pestalotiopsis steyaert. the morphology of the neopestalotiopsis-like taxa varies on the isolating environment and the host. therefore, the separation of species by phenotypic characteristics is difficult (maharachchikumbura, 2016). genomic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (its) region is the best way to validate the neopestalotiopsis sp. (martin and rygiewicz, 2005). in 2019–2021, red leaf spot symptoms was noticed in commercial sapota orchards in the southern regions of bangladesh but there were not any disease incidences. the outbreak of neopestalotiopsis sp, was suspected therefore, in the present study the red leaf spot in sapota was undertaken to (i) determine the disease prevalence and incidence, and (ii) identify its fungal taxa in bangladesh. we characterized sapota red leaf spot symptoms morphologically and molecular phylogenetic analyses. materials and methods sample collection ten sapota saplings were planted at ten different farmer’s plots in three southern districts of bangladesh (jashore, khulna, and satkhira). we coded ten farmer’s plot as f1, f2, f3, f4, f5, f6, f7, f8, f9, and f10. we noticed different types of red spots in sa-pota leaves in the study area. all types of red spot diseased sapota leaf samples were collected. disease prevalence, incidence, and morphological characterization the disease prevalence (dp) (spronk et al., 2019) and disease incidence (di) (chiang et al., 2017) were calculated by the following formula: dp (%) = number of field with disease infection in the surveyed area total number of field surveyed × 100 di (%) = infected area of the sample plant total area of sample plants × 100 collected diseased leaves were transported to the microbiology and bio-control laboratory, bangladesh agricultural university, mymensingh, bangladesh for cultur-ing the associated pathogen. diseased leaf lesions were cut into small pieces (4‒5 mm), sterilized with 10% sodium hypochlorite (naocl) for 2 minutes followed by 70% eth-anol for 30 seconds, and washed three times with sterile distilled water. sterilized leaves were cultured on potato dextrose agar (pda) plates at 28 °c for isolation of the pathogen. three fungal isolates were re-cultured by transferring hyphal-tip and purified from the selected three types of symptoms. characteristics of nine isolates of fungi on pda plates were recorded at 24 hours intervals up to 10 days at room temperature. isolated fungal pathogens were identified through morphological characteristics. the compactness, texture, color, and size of the conidia were considered to characterize pathogens on pda culture plates. the experiment was set using a complete random-ized design with three replications. the radial mycelial growth of each isolate at five different temperatures (15, 20, 25, 30, and 35°c) for five to ten days was recorded. mean radial mycelial growth was calculated using the following formula (sultana et al., 2022). mean radial mycelial growth = (length + width)/2 data were statistically analyzed by one-way anova using duncan’s multiple range test (p˂0.01) by statistix10. an outbreak of neopestalotiopsis sp. causing red leaf spot 55 dna extraction, amplification, and sequencing fungal mycelia were grown on pda media at 28°c for genomic dna extraction. total genomic dna of 4 days of fungal mycelia was extracted following the liquid nitrogen method (serna-domínguezusing et al., 2018). wizard® genomic dna purification kit (promega, madison, wi, usa). the genomic dna was treated with rnase a to get rna-free genomic dna. the dna extraction was confirmed in 1% agarose gel. fragments of the rdna internal transcribed spacer (its) region were amplified for each isolates using the primer pairs its4 and its5 (martin et al., 2005). the 25 μl pcr reaction volume was prepared using 1 μl of forward primer, 1 μl of reverse primer, 12.5 μl of gotaq green master mix (promega, wisconsin, usa), 9.5 μl of nuclease-free water, and 1 μl of ge-nomic dna. pcr reaction volume was subjected to a thermal cycler at 95°c for 5 min followed by 35 cycles of 95°c for 30 sec, 54 °c for 30 sec, and 72°c for 45 sec to am-plify the genomic dna (maharachchikumbura et al., 2012). the pcr amplifications were electrophoresed at 1% aga-rose gel and visualized by staining. after the successful amplification, sequencing was performed by macrogen inc. (seoul, korea). sequences were deposited in the national center for biotechnology information (ncbi) under accession numbers ol454511 to ol454513 for the its sequences. phylogenetic analysis the sequences of our study were compared with sequences retrieved from gen-bank. its gene sequence data were assembled using the alignment program bioedit 7.2.5 (hall et al., 1999) and aligned by the online alignment program mafft version 7 (https://maf.cbrc.jp/ alignment/server/41). the maximum likelihood (ml) tree was an-alyzed for each alignment. ml tree and bootstrapping analyses were conducted using mega11 (tamura et al., 2021). the ml analysis was performed using the maximum composite likeli-hood model with 1000 bootstrap iterations (darapanit et al., 2021). support values (ml bootstrap) were calculated for all analyses. pathogenicity test pathogenicity of three fungal isolates (identified by molecular analysis) was tested in their original hosts, six months old saplings of sapota, at net-house. the cross-inoculation experiment was conducted on the host plant. three fresh leaves from each sapling were dusted with carborundum powder and inoculated with conidial suspension (105 conidia per ml sterilized distilled water). all the inoculated and con-trol plants were covered with polybags for two days. after the appearance of symptoms, selected leaves were cut and taken to the laboratory, cleaned with tap water, and sterilized by dipping them into 70% ethanol for 3 mins. isolations of fungi procedures were repeated as previously described. each of the reisolated fungus was placed in a pda medium plate and incubated at 25±2 °c. all inoculated leaves were visually assessed daily and species comparison was performed to confirm the causal pathogen. results and discussion study of the red leaf spot symptom of the sapota plants in the experimental areas different types of sapota leaf spots were observed in the field. the spots were round to irregular in shape and red in color (fig. 1). size increased from 2 to 4 mm in diameter to whole leaves within time passes. spots appeared both at the middle and margin of the leaves. the disease was observed first in the immature leaves. sometimes narrow brown to black margins appeared at the older spots. 56 hoque et al. red leaf spot disease prevalence and disease incidence of sapota in the experimental areas the disease first appeared after 4 months on the plantation at jashore, khulna, and satkhira. disease prevalences were 10, 40, 50, 50 and 70% at jashore at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 months after planting (map), respectively (fig. 2). at khulna, 20% 40, 50, 60 and 70% disease prevalence were found respectively at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 map (fig. 2). at satkhira, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70% were rec-orded at 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 map (fig. 2). our data suggested that sapota red leaf spots showed about 70% disease prevalence at the 2 years of planting. fig. 1. different red spot symptoms in sapota leaves (a) and observed symptoms under infrared ray (b). fig. 2. disease prevalence (%) of the red leaf spot disease of sapota at different locations of bangladesh. during the plantation of sapota, there was 0% disease incidence in all the experi-mental areas. f2, f3, f6, and f8 from jashore showed 0% disease incidence from planta-tion time to 24 map. f1 and f9 farmer’s plots of jashore showed the highest 30% disease incidence after 24 map. most of the farmers from jashore showed 5 to 20% disease in-cidence. f3, f5, and f9 from khulna showed 0% disease incidence from plantation time to 24 map. f1, f4, f6, f8, and f10 farmers’ plots of khulna showed the highest 30% disease incidence after 24 map. most of the an outbreak of neopestalotiopsis sp. causing red leaf spot 57 farmers from khulna showed 10 to 30% disease incidence. after 24 map, f3 and f9 from satkhira showed 0% disease incidence from plantation time to 24 map. f1, f2, f4, f8, and f10 farmers’ plots of satkhira showed the highest 30% disease incidence (%). most of the farmers from satkhira showed 5 to 30% disease incidence (fig. 3). fig. 3. disease incidence (%) of the red leaf spot disease of sapota at different locations in bangladesh. here, f1; farmer plot 1, f2; farmer plot 2, f3; farmer plot 3, f4; farmer plot 4, f5; farmer plot 5, farmer plot, f6; farmer plot 6, f7; farmer plot 7, f8; farmer plot 8, f9; farmer plot 9, and f10; farmer plot 10. isolation of fungal pathogens and morphological characterization of the isolates in total, nine fungal isolates were collected from different sapota leaves with red spot disease symptoms from jashore, khulna, and satkhira. all isolates were morphologically studied. different isolates were similar in their cultural and morphological properties viz. mycelial growth, colony compactness, colony shape, colony texture, and colony color (fig. 4, table 1). all the isolates were compact, colony shapes were round, cottony textured, and white in color (fig. 4, table 1). fig. 4. selected fungal isolates of red leaf spot of sapota. 58 hoque et al. radial mycelial growth of each isolate at different temperatures different temperatures viz. 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35°c were imposed to study the effect of temperature on radial mycelia growth of isolates of leaf spot of burmese grape for 5 days. radial mycelia growth of the disease was increased with the increase of time and temperatures change (table 2, table 3, table 4). the highest radial mycelial growth (13.67 mm) was observed at i4 and i7 after 1 day at 30°c followed by i1 and i6 (13.33 mm) at 30°c (table 2). after 3 days the highest growth (32.67 mm) was rec-orded at i9 and i6 at 25 °c followed by i1 and i7 (32.33 mm) at the same temperature (table 3). the highest growth (58.00 mm) after 5 days was observed at i1 at 25°c fol-lowed by i4 (56.83 mm) at the same temperature (table 4). table 1. morphological characteristics of different fungal isolates of red leaf spot of sapota. sl. no. isolates compactness colony shape texture color i1 bd_mbc_s_1 compact round cottony white i2 bd_mbc_s_2 compact round cottony white i3 bd_mbc_s_3 compact round cottony white i4 bd_mbc_s_4 compact round cottony white i5 bd_mbc_s_5 compact round cottony white i6 bd_mbc_s_6 compact round cottony white i7 bd_mbc_s_7 compact round cottony white i8 bd_mbc_s_8 compact round cottony white i9 bd_mbc_s_9 compact round cottony white table 2. radial mycelial growth of each isolate at different temperature at one day after inoculation. sl. no. temperature 15°c 20°c 25°c 30°c 35°c i1 10.33 a 13.00 a 10.67 a 13.33 a 10.00 i2 10.67 a 12.33 ab 10.83 a 12.67 ab 10.00 i3 10.50 a 11.67 b 11.17 a 11.83 b 10.00 i4 10.33 a 11.67 b 10.83 a 13.67 a 10.00 i5 10.50 a 12.33 ab 10.83 a 12.67 ab 10.00 i6 10.67 a 11.33 ab 11.17 a 13.33 a 10.00 i7 10.50 a 13.00 a 10.67 a 13.67 a 10.00 i8 10.67 a 12.33 ab 10.83 a 11.83 b 10.00 i9 10.33 a 12.33 ab 10.67 a 12.67 ab 10.00 cv% 2.24 3.02 2.65 2.29 isolates those sharing similar letters are statistically identical at 1% level of significance. the average radial mycelial growth of the isolates was found highest (12.78 mm) at 30°c followed by 20°c (12.22 mm) after 1 day. after 3 days, the highest mycelial growth (29.19 mm) was observed at 25°c followed by at 30°c (24.96 mm). the aver-age radial mycelial growth of an outbreak of neopestalotiopsis sp. causing red leaf spot 59 the isolates was found highest (44 mm) at 25°c followed by 20°c (37.85 mm) after 5 days (fig. 5). considering all the temperatures, higher radial mycelial growth was recorded at 25°c followed by 20°c after 5 days. there was significant growth found at 15, 20, 25, and 30°c after 5 days. mycelial growth was also found at 35°c. table 3. radial mycelial growth of each isolate at different temperature at 3 days after inoculation. sl. no. temperature 15°c 20°c 25°c 30°c 35°c i1 21.33 ab 28.33 a 32.33 a 24.17 a 10.00 i2 19.17 b 18.50 c 23.00 b 25.33 a 10.00 i3 23.50 a 20.67 b 31.67 a 25.33 a 10.00 i4 21.33 ab 20.33 b 31.00 a 25.00 a 10.00 i5 19.17 b 18.50 c 23.00 b 24.67 a 10.00 i6 21.33 ab 20.00 b 32.67 a 25.33 a 10.00 i7 21.33 ab 21.33 b 32.33 a 24.33 a 10.00 i8 19.17 b 19.00 c 24.00 b 24.83 a 10.00 i9 21.67 ab 19.33 c 32.67 a 25.67 a 10.00 cv% 3.49 2.77 1.29 2.00 isolates those sharing similar letters are statistically identical at 1% level of significance. table 4. radial mycelial growth of each isolate at different temperature at 5 days after inoculation. isolates temperature 15°c 20°c 25°c 30°c 35°c i1 33.33 a 45.33 a 58.00 a 38.67 a 10.00 i2 28.33 b 33.50 b 24.00 c 37.67 a 10.00 i3 28.67 b 35.33 b 50.33 b 36.90 a 10.00 i4 29.00 a 42.00 a 56.83 a 37.00 a 10.00 i5 28.33 b 33.50 b 49.33 b 37.67 a 10.00 i6 28.67 b 36.33 b 26.83 c 35.83 a 10.00 i7 33.33 a 34.33 b 52.33 ab 38.67 a 10.00 i8 27.67 b 44.67 a 28.00 c 35.33 a 10.00 i9 28.67 b 35.67 b 50.33 b 36.90 a 10.00 cv% 1.92 1.81 0.76 1.81 isolates those sharing similar letters are statistically identical at 1% level of significance. identification of the isolates by the spores of different isolates the conidia were septate (usually 3–4 septa), brown colored, smooth-walled, straight to slightly curved, and sub-cylindrical. the range of average conidial size was 24.00 to 30.60 μm where the average size range of the apical cell was 6.54–7.95 × 4.54–6.32 μm, the median cell was 6.7-9 × 6.7–7.03 μm and the basal cell was 6.73–7.55 × 5.02–7.02 μm. apical cells had two to 60 hoque et al. three appendages of 10.48–47.56 μm and the basal cells bear a single appendage of 3.82–4.58 μm in length (fig. 6). fig. 5. average radial mycelial growth of each isolate at different temperature. fig. 6. pictorial view of the spores of the isolates identification of the isolates through molecular studies three (i1, i4, and i7 named bd_mbc_s_1, bd_mbc_s_4, and bd_mbc_s_7, respectively) isolates were selected for molecular characterization based on their myce-lial growth morphological and physiological characters (fig. 4). selected three iso-lates were characterized at the molecular level based on pcr amplification of the in-ternal transcribed spacer (its4 and its5). its sequences separated the different isolates into different clusters (fig. 7). its regional analysis suggested that all three isolates (bd_mbc_s_1, bd_mbc_s_4, and bd_mbc_s_7) belonged to neopestalotiopsis sp. that were supported by a bootstrap value ranging from 98% to 100% (fig. 7). its sequences of. bd_mbc_s_1 (ol454511) and bd_mbc_s_4 (ol454512) showed >99% similarity with the sequence from neopestalotiopsis sp. strain lc427171, an outbreak of neopestalotiopsis sp. causing red leaf spot 61 and >98% similarity with neopestalotiopsis sp. strain lc427189 in genbank. sequence identity for its of bd_mbc_s_7 (ol454513) was 100% similar to neopestalotiopsis sp. strain mw775515. fig. 7. phylogenetic relationships among the selected isolates by analysis of its sequences. pathogenicity test of the selected isolates on the growing plants three identified isolates (from molecular analysis) were selected for pathogenicity test in six months old saplings of sapota in net-house. three fresh leaves from each sapling were dusted with carborundum powder and inoculated with conidial suspen-sion (105 conidia per ml sterilized distilled water, diw). all the inoculated and control plants were covered with a polybag for two days. within 14 days typical symptoms were developed in all inoculated leaves (fig. 8) and control plants were symptom-less. neopestalotiopsis sp. was successfully re-isolated from all the inoculated plants. fig. 8. pathogenicity test of neopestalotiopsis sp. on sapota at net house (a) sapota plant covered with polythene bag, (b) visible red leaf spot symptom after 14 days and (c) red leaf spot symptom after 1 month. 62 hoque et al. a typical round to irregular shaped, 2 to 4 mm in diameter, red colored leaf spot symptom was noticed in 1 to 2 years of newly established sapota garden in jashore, khulna, and satkhira coastal area. primarily occurrence of neopestalotiopsis sp. caus-ing grapevine leaf spots was characterized by a roughly circular to irregular with 2–4 mm in diameter that was typically described by narrow brown to black margin leaf le-sions on the leaf surface (jayawardena et al., 2016). lesions of sapota red leaf spots in our study were initially reddish-brown which is similar to grapevine leaf spots identified by jayawardena et al. (2016). disease symptoms appeared at every experimental district after 4 months of plantation. the maximum 70% sapota red leaf spot disease prevalence was recorded at satkhira at 24 map while 60% was at jashore and khulna; and at the same time, 30%, 5-20%, and 5-30% disease incidence appeared at khulna, jashore, and satkhira, respectively. it suggests that all three coastal districts are vulnerable to red leaf spot disease in sapota. it was found that white colored cottony mycelia in this study. median cells of neopestalotiopsis clavispora were brown or darker, and the apical and basal cells were hya-line and white, one of which had 2–4 appendages (shi et al., 2022). on the 5th day, it was recorded that the radial mycelial growth of all isolates of sapota red leaf spots at 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35°c temperature where mycelial growth was highest at 25 °c. our findings fit with the ranges of optimum temperature, 22‒27°c, for the mycelial growth of neopestalotiopsis sp associated sapota red leaf spot disease (gerardo et al., 2020). on the other hand, our results are not under‒ or over‒ estimated with the radial mycelial growth conditions (temperature) of neopestalotiopsis sp. causing macadamia nut flower disease in australia (prasannath et al., 2021). the radi-al mycelia growth of all isolates increased with the increase of time while it started to decrease their growth after crossing temperature of 25°c suggesting the lower rate of infestation in high temperatures. however, mycelial development at 35°c means the possibility of infection even at 35°c. bangladesh has some popular sapota cultivars namely bari safeda-1, bari safeda-2, bari safeda-3, ftip-bau sopheda-1, ftip-bau sopheda-2, and ftip-bau sopheda-3; and their planting time is june‒september. after four months, sapota plants started to show the red colored leaf spot symptoms at 4 map in our study while the average temperature ranges from 15‒25°c (october‒january). it suggests that saplings of all popular sapota cultivars in bangla-desh are vulnerable to sapota red leaf spot disease. the mycelia survived with a high temperature of 35°c and low temperature of 15°c suggesting the possibility of the severity in the next season in the bangladeshi environment. the conidia were hyaline, light brown, smooth walled, septate, and straight to slightly curved and subcylindrical. the conidial characteristics of neopestalotiopsis sp. isolated from rhapisexcelsa, rhododendron simsii, rhododendron championiae, and erythropalum scandens were also hyaline, rarely light brown, smooth-walled, and obclavate (yang et al., 2021). the range of average conidial size was 24.00‒30.60 μm whereas the av-erage size range of the median cell was 6.7-9 × 6.7–7.03 μm. the minimum and maxi-mum values for the length of apical appendages of neopestalotiopsis and pestalotiopsis spp. were 11.54 and 34.8 µm, respectively; and the minimum and maximum values for the length of basal append-ages were 3.00 and 6.75 µm, respectively (solarte, et al., 2018). in our study, apical cells had two to three appendages of 10.48–47.56 μm and the basal cells bear a single appendage of 3.82–4.58 μm in length. conidial size from our study also reconfirms the neopestalo-tiopsis sp. the internal transcribed spacer (its) region genes of each isolate were amplified using the primers its4/its5 its sequences of all three isolates, viz. bd_mbc_s_1 (ol454511), bd_mbc_s_4 (ol454512), and bd_mbc_s_7 (ol454513) showed >98% to 100% similarity with the sequence from neopestalotiopsis sp. strain lc427171 and mw775515 in genbank. the an outbreak of neopestalotiopsis sp. causing red leaf spot 63 result support ismail et al., (2017) and wu et al., (2021) who studied its4 and its5 regions, and found neopestalotiopsis sp. similar to other strains of genbank from the phylogenetic study. our study confirmed that the fungal properties of the sapota red leaf spot disease occurred in the presence of neopestalotiopsis sp. neopestalotiopsis sp was not noticed previously in bangladesh suggesting a new outbreak of this disease. after the confir-mation of the genus, we are now investigating the identification of the species level of the pathogen and antifungal properties that can be analyzed for developing fungicides to control the disease. acknowledgments we would like to thank master’s student md. yeamin hossain, department of plant pathology, bau for contributing to the field experiment; and laboratory assistant mr. md. zunayed hossain for his technical support. references bagheri, a., faghihi, m.m., khankahdani, h.h., seyahooei, m.a., ghanbari, n. and sarbijan, s.s. 2017. first report of a phytoplasma associated with sapodilla flattened stem disease in iran. australasian plant dis. notes. 12: 25. chiang, k.s., liu, h.i. and bock, c.h. 2017. a discussion on disease severity index values: warning on inherent errors and suggestions to maximize accuracy. annals of applied biology. 171: 139–154. darapanit, a., boonyuen, n., 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(manusacript received on 9 december 2024; revised on 2 june 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 93-103, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82397 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists evaluating pre-sowing treatments to enhance germination and early growth of the threatened sterculia villosa roxb. in bangladesh zinia naz linda 1, a. k. m. aminul islam 2 and mohammad zashim uddin 1* 1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 2 department of genetics and plant breeding, bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman agricultural university, gazipur 1706, bangladesh keywords: udal; medicinal plants; seed; germination; propagation; threatened species; extinction. abstract elephant rope (sterculia villosa roxb.) is a threatened plant species in bangladesh. to conserve this threatened tree, research should be carried out on improvement of germination and early growth. therefore, the objective of the study was to explore the effects of pre-sowing seed treatments on germination behavior and to assess the possibility of increasing the germination rate of sterculia villosa. the seeds were subjected to nine pre-sowing treatments viz., t0: seeds with no treatment (control), t1: seeds scrapping with sand paper at the distal end, seeds immersed in t2: room temp. water for 24 hours, t3: hot water for 1 minute, t4: 10% concentrated h2so4 for 1 minute, t5: 10% concentrated h2so4 for 3 minutes, t6: 10% concentrated hcl for 1 minute, t7: 10% concentrated hcl for 3 minutes, t8: 200ppm ga3 for 24 hours, t9: fungicide (autostin 50 wdg) for 24 hours. the study conducted in the propagation house, revealed that pre-sowing treatments significantly (p<0.05) enhanced seed germination parameters of sterculia villosa. seed germination started within 2 days after seed sowing and continued up to 15 days. the highest germination percentage (50%) was observed in t8 and the lowest (20%) in t0, t3, and t7. the highest germination index was found in t8 and the lowest in t0. t8 was found more effective in respect to faster germination, high germination percentage, germination index, seedling vigor index, speed, and energy of germination. in case of seedling growth parameters, the highest shoot length (62 cm) was found in t1 and the lowest (33 cm) in t3. here, t1 was found more effective in case of shoot length, leaf number, leaf length, and leaf width. introduction the elephant rope tree (sterculia villosa roxb.) is a near threatened tree species in bangladesh (iucn, 2024), primarily found in the chittagong, chittagong hill tracts and sylhet regions. this tree is known for its large hairy leaves and orange yellow flowers. elephant rope tree is naturally propagated through natural seed dispersal. the poor natural seed dispersal and low germination of seeds hinder tree’s ability to regenerate and expand its population leading to increased vulnerability and potentially endangered of the species. therefore, the development of better propagation techniques is one of the best ways to conserve a threatened plant species. many exotic species are being chosen for plantation for their high germination rate and fast-growing nature. as a result, native species are going extinct day by day as they are being harvested from their natural habitat for consumption and selling purposes but not being planted for lack of knowledge. sterculia villosa, locally known as “udal’’ is one of threatened plants (hasnat et al., 2019). so, it is imperative to develop efficient propagation methods to restore this species. if this *corresponding author. email: zashim@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82397 94 linda et al. species can be conserved in the natural habitat successfully, it can be beneficial in many ways, as it holds economical, ethnobotanical, pharmaceutical and environmental importance. for example, it is used in impotency (khan et al., 2002; uddin et al., 2015; sajeeb et al., 2022). sterculia villosa is also used to prevent jaundice, gastric, dysentery, diabetes and constipation by drinking the petiole (uddin et al., 2017; uddin and hasan 2014). the strong coarse fiber obtained from the inner bark, is used for ropes, bags, cordage, elephant harness, and dragging (dholariya et al., 2019) timber is used to prepare tea boxes, toys, guitars, cheap match boxes, splints and also for manufacturing of commercial plywood grade iv. it served as good quality raw material for pulp and paper industries (barua and rabha, 1992) udal, fibers have good potential for exports owing to their economics, aesthetic appeal and improved overall properties (saikia et al., 2021). ethanolic extract of the bark of sterculia villosa showed antimicrobial, cytotoxicity and antioxidant properties (haque et al., 2014). chemical profiles of the extract demonstrated that the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, flavonoids, reducing sugars and gums in the bark, and also showed moderate antimicrobial activity and anti-inflammatory effects (tania et al., 2013). barua et al., (2018) stated that it has strong sedative activity. the methanolic crude extract and other fractions of the barks of s. villosa have promising peripheral analgesic activity (hossain et al., 2013). s. villosa showed significant anthelmintic activity (alam et al., 2012). sterculia villosa is an ethno medicinal plant and possesses antimicrobial, antiprotozoal properties (das et al., 2016). a study reported the potential antioxidant effects of methanolic bark extract of s. villosa (lyzu et al., 2022). the results of the study indicates that ethanol extract of s. villosa barks possess significant anti-inflammatory activity on both acute and chronic inflammation (hossain et al., 2012). many chemical analyses were done on this species to use it for making sustainable medicines, but only few works have been done on the propagation of the species for its conservation. one researcher in india studied the growth and development of sterculia villosa and proved it to be fast growing (rai et al., 2020). in another study in bangladesh, carried out on the pre-sowing treatments of 14 threatened tree species where sterculia villosa was one of them (hasnat et al., 2019). very few investigations have been done and available on the mode of propagation and conservation strategies of this species. therefore, the aims of the present study were to evaluate pre-sowing treatment effects; to observe the growth and development of the seedlings under different treatments, and to find out ways of in-situ conservation of the species. materials and methods the red ripen fruits of sterculia villosa were collected from the plants available at mirpur botanical garden, mirpur, dhaka. the seeds were then separated from fruits manually, sundried for few hours and treated immediately as these seeds are recalcitrant and cannot be stored for long time. in some fruits, mature seeds were germinated inside the fruits indicating that the seeds were recalcitrant in nature. the experiments were conducted in the propagation house of department of botany, university of dhaka. the propagation house was covered with insect net and an overhead polythene sheet which keeps the moisture inside the propagation house. the temperature and humidity of the propagation house was recorded daily. total nine treatments were set with control and they were indicated as t0 to t9. the treatments were replicated three times with ten seeds in each replication. a completely randomized design (crd) was used to carry out the experiment. the treatments were as follows: t0: seeds with no treatment and sown in poly bag only (control) t1: seeds scraping with sand paper at the distal end t2: seeds immersed in water at room temperature for 24 hours t3: seeds immersed in hot water for 1 minute evaluating pre-sowing treatments of sterculia villosa roxb. 95 t4: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 1 minute t5: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 3 minutes t6: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 1 minute t7: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 3 minutes t8: seeds immersed in 200 ppm ga3 for 24 hours t9: seeds immersed in fungicide (autostin 50 wdg) for 24 hours these treatments were prepared following previous works. good quality sand paper was bought for t1 and the treatment was done carefully to avoid scrapping the seed too much. for t2 the seeds were soaked in normal room temp. water for 24 hours, filter water was chosen to avoid contamination. for t3 boiling water was taken and the seeds were soaked for only 1 min. to avoid losing viability of the seeds. for t4 to t7 the seeds were treated with different concentration acid for different times. 10% acid solutions were first made by diluting the acid with distilled water. good quality acids were chosen for the experiment. after that the seeds were soaked in 1 and 3 mints. in hcl and h2so4, respectively. for t8 gibberellic acid was measured and dissolved in ethanol as it is not soluble in water then it was diluted with distilled water to make it 200ppm solution. the seeds were soaked in the solution for 24 hours. for te las treatment fungicide autostin was made by diluting 2g fungicide in 1l solution. after that the seeds were soaked overnight. after the treatments was performed the seeds were sown in polybags (7 × 5 cm). the polybags were filled with 1-part cow dung and 3-part garden soil which were bought from the nursery. then the polybags were kept in the propagation house. the germination of the seeds was recorded daily till the end of the germination and the data were taken. the seed germination criterion was visible protrusion on the surface of soil at least 0.5cm of the cotyledon and hypocotyl of the seedling. germination percentage and cumulative germination percentage were calculated following the work of (kumar, 1999). when the mean daily germination reached its peak, the germination percentages were also determined to find out the germination energy (dwivedi, 1993; islam et al., 2009). seedlings that survived at the end of the experiment were counted to determine survival percent. germination value was found by multiplying peak value of germination (pv) and mean daily germination (mdg). germination index (gi), seedling vigor index (svi), speed of germination (se) was calculated following the work of (islam et al., 2009; 2013). the detailed estimation procedure of all parameters is described below. germination percentage: the number of seeds out of 100 seeds from the starting of germination to the termination of germination (dey et al., 2021). germination % (gp) = no. of seed germinated x 100 no. of seed sow cumulative germination % (cgp): it assessed at the end of seed germination by summed up daily germination (hasnat et al., 2019). cgp = cumulative number of seeds germinated x 100 germination energy (ge): it is measured by computing the daily germination percentage of its peak time (dwivedi, 1993; islam et al., 2009) germination value (gv): it was calculated by multiplication of the peak value of germination and mean daily germination (hasnat et al., 2019) gv = peak value of germination × mean daily germination germination capacity: it is the percentage of seeds germinated in an experiment from the starting to end. it was classified as follows: a) 90-100%-very good, b)70-90%-good, c)50-70%average, d) 30-50%-poor e)20-30%very poor. (hasnat and hossain, 2012) seedling survival rate (%) = [number of surviving seedlings / number of seeds sown] x 100 96 linda et al. germination index: the germination index (gi) was calculated as described in the association of official seed analysis (aosa, 1983; islam et al., 2009) by following formula germination index= ∑ (gt/tt) or [ 𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 ] + [ 𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝐷𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 ] the vigor index was calculated according to the following formula of islam et al., (2009c): seedling vigor index (svi) = [ 𝑆𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ (𝑐𝑚) 𝑥 𝐺𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 100 ] the speed of emergence was calculated according to the following formula of (islam et al., 2009): 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 = ( 𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 5𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑑 15 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 ) x 100 the seedling height and leaf data were taken at three and five months to calculate the seedling growth in the timeline. total ten plants from each treatment were chosen randomly to avoid manipulation and to take the data as effectively as possible. the collected data was recorded and analyzed statistically by using computer package software spss ver. 16. duncan’s multiple range test (dmrt) was employed to define the statistical significance and it was shown by different letters in the different tables. the graphs were made using microsoft excel 2016 software. results and discussion physical traits of seeds the seeds of the species stay in the seed pod. there are usually 4-6 seed pods in each inflorescence. the seed pods are green when raw and turn bright red when rips. when the seeds get mature the seed pods break and release the seeds in nature. the average seed length and width were found 1.612±0.04 cm and 1.506±0.03 cm, respectively. about 5825 seeds were found per kg (table 1, fig. 1). table 1. seed length, width and number of seeds per kg of sterculia villosa seeds. parameters length (cm) width (cm) weight/seed (g) seeds/kg average average 0.82 ±0.04 0.49 ±0.03 0.158 ±0.006 5825 ± indicates the standard error of mean. fig. 1. different stages of sterculia villosa. (a) mature plant, (b) flowers, (c) pods, (d) seeds. evaluating pre-sowing treatments of sterculia villosa roxb. 97 temperature and humidity monitoring in the propagation house in the propagation house where the experiments took place the daily temperature and humidity was recorded. the highest temperature was recorded in april where the humidity was lowest and the lowest temperature was recorded in july where the humidity was highest (table 2). by analyzing the average temperature and humidity it can be concluded that mean temperature across the six months is approximately 34.2°c and 72.3% which indicates a hot and humid weather condition in the propagation house. table 2. mean temperature and humidity in the propagation house. parameters months april may june july august september mean temperature 37.950c±0.20 34.760c±0.40 340c±0.40 31.70c±0.82 31.80c±0.90 34.60c±0.60 mean humidity 66.25% 68.8% 65% 78% 79% 77% ± indicates the standard error of mean. germination germination behaviors of sterculia villosa were differently affected by applying different presowing treatments (fig. 2). germination started at first (3rd day) in seeds treated with 200 ppm ga3 for 24 hours (t8) and maximum days (5 days) was taken by these seeds in control (t0). the germination ended within only 8 days in case of three treatments viz., seeds scrapping with sand paper at the distal end (t1), immersed in water at room temp. for 24 hours (t2), and immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 3 minutes (t5). seeds took the longest time to germinate in case of seeds treated with 200 ppm ga3 for 24 hours and the germination percentage was also the highest (50%) in the same treatment. the germination percentage of seeds varied significantly in different treatments (table 3, fig. 2). the lowest germination rate (20%) was found in case of seeds with no treatment, immersed in hot water for 1 minute and immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 3 minutes. as the germination percentage increased in hormonal treatment from the control it indicates physiological dormancy of the seeds. the second highest germination percentage (40%) (table 3) was found in seeds soaking in water which also indicates physical dormancy of the seed. the seeds have both physical and physiological dormancies. germination index increased in the pre-sowing treatment compared to control. germination index was found to be the highest (2.99) in case of 200 ppm ga3 treatment and lowest (.81) in case of immersion in hot water for 1 minute and immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 3 minutes, from this result it can be concluded that the hot water may harm the seed health thus more care should be taken in case of hot water treatment. the seedling vigor index was also increased in pre-sowing treatments compared to control. the highest seedling vigor index (6.05) was found in seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 3 minutes and the lowest (1.63) was in seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 3 minutes which indicate the treatment with acid is quit tricky as in one acid the seed performs the best and in another the worst. pre-sowing treatments increased the speed of emergence compared to control. the speed of emergence was highest (66.69) in case of 200 ppm ga3 for 24 hours’ treatment and the lowest (20) in control. plant percent was also higher compared to control. the highest (36.67) was in seeds immersed in water for 24 hours and lowest (10) was in seeds immersed in 10%concentrated hcl for 3 minutes. compared to control seeds treated with different treatments showed better germination capacity (table 3). 98 linda et al. fig. 2. germination experiment of sterculia villosa. (a) different stages of pre-sowing treatments, (b) germinations and (c) seedling establishment. table 3. effects on germination behavior of sterculia villosa seeds in different pre-sowing treatments. treatments no of days to first germinate (days) no of days to end germination (days) cumulative germination % germination index seedling vigor index speed of emergence seedling survival rate % germination capacity t0 5.67e 15bc 20a 0.653a 1.63a 20.00a 16.67b very poor t1 3.33abc 8a 30ab 1.83c 4.00c 66.67e 23.33c very poor t2 2.67a 8a 40ab 2.63e 5.00d 60.00d 36.67e poor t3 5.33de 15bc 20a 0.81a 1.80ab 33.33b 13.33b very poor t4 4.00bc 18c 23.33a 0.87a 1.63a 16.67b 16.67b very poor t5 2.67a 8a 36.67ab 2.13d 6.05e 54.54c 30.00d poor t6 3.67abc 9a 30ab 1.47b 2.40ab 33.33b 23.33c very poor t7 4.33cd 15bc 20a 0.81a 1.60a 33.33b 10.00a very poor t8 3.00ab 13.67b 50b 2.99f 5.83de 66.69de 26.67c poor t9 3.33abc 13b 33.33ab 2.57e 2.67b 60.00d 16.67b poor *means followed by the same letter (s) in the same column do not vary significantly at p<0.05, according to duncan’s multiple range test (dmrt).**t0: seeds with no treatment and sown in polybag (control), t1: seeds scrapping with sand paper at the distal end, t2: seeds immersed in room temp. water for 24 hours,t3: seeds immersed in hot water for 1 minute, t4: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 1 minute,t5: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 3 minutes,t6: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 1 minute, t7: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 3 minutes, t8: seeds immersed in 200 ppm ga3 for 24 hours,t9: seeds immersed in fungicide (autostin 50 wdg) for 24 hours. evaluating pre-sowing treatments of sterculia villosa roxb. 99 to obtain cumulative germination percentage for each treatment, daily germination percentages were summed. cumulative germination of t8 starts after 4 days after seed sown which rose rapidly and continued up to 50% within 14 days. after 6 days of seed sown, seeds in the control treatment (t0) started germination and achieved 20% germination (fig. 3). fig. 3. cumulative germination percentage of sterculia villosa under different pre-sowing treatments [t0: seeds with no treatment and sown in polybag (control), t1: seeds scrapping with sand paper at the distal end, t2: seeds immersed in room temp. water for 24 hours,t3: seeds immersed in hot water for 1 minute, t4: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 1 minute,t5: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 3 minutes,t6: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 1 minute, t7: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 3 minutes, t8: seeds immersed in 200 ppm ga3 for 24 hrs,t9: seeds immersed in fungicide (autostin 50 wdg) for 24 hrs]. seedling growth shoot length, leaf number, leaf length and leaf width were recorded at 1-, 3and 5-months old seedlings. the highest mean shoot length (62 cm) attained in t1(seeds scraping with sand paper at the distal end) and the lowest (33.67 cm) in t3(seeds immersed in hot water for 1 min). mean maximum number of leaves (6) were produced in t1 and minimum (4.33) in t5 (seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 3 minutes. mean maximum leaf length (19.33cm) was observed in t1 and the lowest (13cm) in t3. mean maximum leaf width (22.67cm) was found in t1 and the lowest (16.67cm) in t7 (seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 3 minutes) (table 4). seeds scrapping with sand paper at the distal end (t1) produced vigorous straight seedlings with shoot height of 10.1, 34 and 62 cm at the end of 1, 3 and 5 months, respectively (fig. 4). the shoot length of t1, t2, t5, t6 were higher than other treatments. shoot length of t3 is the lowest among all the treatments. the science of seed biology encompasses development and physiology of seeds until they finally germinate or fail to do so (dey et al., 2021). hard coated seeds are sometimes impermeable to required nutrition for producing vigor seedlings, these seeds need proper pre -sowing treatments for producing potential seedlings for plantation and for restoration of land (hasnat and hossain, 2018). the present study showed significant difference (p<0.05) within the germination percentages among control seeds and treated seeds. seeds treated with 200 ppm ga3 showed maximum germination percentage (50%) compared to control (20%) which indicates physiological dormancy of the seeds. a high percentage of seed germination (80%) was reported by hasnat et al. (2019) form the study conducted in the propagation house (a bed made of sylhet sand) under temperature and humidity control system. on the other hand, vahabinia et al. (2019) reported lower seed germination and that was due to the effects of environmental factors like temperature, water stress, 100 linda et al. salinity and burial depth. they proved that all studied traits including germination percentage (gp), germination rate (gr), germination uniformity (gu), normal seedling percentage (nsp), table 4. mean shoot length, leaf number, leaf length and leaf width of sterculia villosa seeds in different pre-sowing treatments. treatments shoot length (cm) leaf number leaf length (cm) leaf width (cm) 1 month 3 months 5 months 1 month 3 months 5 months 1 month 3 months 5 months 1 month 3 months 5 months t0 7.3± 0.38 21.2± 1.39 39± 1.39 4.2± 0.2 4.6± 0.4 5± 0.32 7.1± 0.33 15± 0.71 16± 1.05 8.9± 0.33 15± 0.77 18± 1.05 t1 10.16± 0.4 34± 0.57 62± 1.53 4.33± 0.33 5.33± 0.33 6± 0 9.675± 0.33 16.67± 1.45 19.33± 0.67 10.33± 0.67 19.33± 0.67 22.67± 1.20 t2 11.33± 0.88 34.33± 0.88 57.67± 1.85 4.33± 0.33 6±0 5.33± 0.33 8.67± 0.67 14.67± 0.88 18.67± 0.67 10.67± 0.33 16.67± 1.20 19.67± 0.67 t3 8.12± 0.43 24.67± 1.85 33.67± 4.5 4.5±. 0.29 6.67± 0.33 4.67± 0.33 9.12± 0.43 17±1.5 13± 3.78 9±0.4 15.33± 2.03 19.67± 1.76 t4 7.16± 0.16 21.67± 2.90 52± 4.16 3± 0.57 54± 0.57 4±0.5 6.67± 0.33 10.67± 0.67 19.67± 4.37 7.67± 0.33 12±1.15 19.33± 3.28 t5 16.67± 1.45 36.67± 1.76 61.67± 2.90 3.67± 0.33 5.0± 0.57 4.33± 0.33 9.67± 0.88 15.33± 0.88 17.33± 0.33 8.16± 0.16 17±1 18.33± 0.33 t6 6.93± 0.38 30± 2.08 56± 2.30 4± 0.31 6.33± 0.33 5.33± 0.67 6.86± 0.45 16.33± 1.20 16.67± 1.20 9.43± 0.60 18.67± 0.67 19± 1.15 t7 7.5± 0.23 20.33± 0.33 42.67± 4.05 4.33± 0.33 5.33± 0.67 5±0.5 8.83± 0.44 13± 0.57 14.67± 1.85 10± 0.28 15.33± 0.33 16.67± 1.45 t8 10.67± 0.33 24.67± 2.73 43± 1.52 4±0 5.33± 0.33 5±0.57 6.83± 0.44 15.67± 2.60 16±1.15 9.16± 0.167 17.33± 3.17 18± 2.08 t9 10.33± 0.33 24± 0.57 43.16± 2.40 4±0 4.67± 0.33 4.67± 0.33 9±0.57 11.33± 0.88 14.67± 0.33 9±0.57 13.67± 0.88 18.67± 0.88 ±indicates the standard error of mean fig. 4. sterculia villosa shoot growth pattern under different pre-sowing treatments [t0: seeds with no treatment and sown in polybag (control), t1: seeds scrapping with sand paper at the distal end, t2: seeds immersed in room temp. water for 24 hrs,t3: seeds immersed in hot water for 1 minute, t4: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 1 minute,t5: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated h2so4 for 3 minutes,t6: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 1 minute, t7: seeds immersed in 10% concentrated hcl for 3 minutes, t8: seeds immersed in 200 ppm ga3 for 24 hrs,t9: seeds immersed in fungicide (autostin 50 wdg) for 24 hrs]. root length (rl), shoot length (sl) and seedling dry weight (sdw) were significantly influenced by the environmental factors. so, more research should be done on the effects of environmental evaluating pre-sowing treatments of sterculia villosa roxb. 101 and other factors on seed germination. another study from india showed that the total seed germination was 80% in the month of may-june within 21 days in sterculia villosa linn (rai et al., 2020), which was different from the present study; it might be due to different species as the species in the present study was sterculia villosa roxb. the second highest germination percentage (40%) (table 3) was found in seeds soaking in water which indicates physical dormancy of the seed. the germination percentage can be increased by increasing the soaking time. dey et al., (2021) reported that the germination percentage increased from 57% to 71% by increasing the soaking time from 24 to 48 hrs. germination percentage of seeds treated with sand paper (30%) was higher from the control (20%), and was different from the works of hasnat et al., (2016), they found similar germination percentage with the control. this also proved that the seeds of sterculia villosa roxb. have physical dormancy. in case of hot water treatment for 1 min the germination percentage was observed 20% which was equal to control. this result was similar to the results reported by dey et al. (2021) but different from the results reported by hasnat et al., (2019) and hasnat et al., (2018), as the germination percentage decreased at a significant rate in the control compared to the hot water treatment. so hot water treatment may not suitable for the cotyledon all species, some species may be harmed by hot water treatment. soaking in concentrated acid sometimes enhances germination rate. seeds soaked sufficiently in acid may boost germination rate in some hard-coated seeds (hasnat and hossain, 2018). but insufficient soaking may not effective enough. moreover, concentration of acid and time of exposure are very critical and varies from species to species. in this study only one concentration (10% solution) and two time of exposures (1 and 3 minutes) to hcl and h2so4 was used. in case of h2so4 treatment, 5min immersion showed better results and in case of hcl immersion of 1min showed better results which is similar to the findings of hasnat and hossain (2018). but more research is needed in case of acid treatment to standardize the concentrations of acids and the duration of immersion time requirements. in case of fungicide treatment, the result was similar to the findings of mohammad et al. (2016). in case of seedling performance, the seedlings from the t1 (treated with sand paper at the distal end) showed good results in every parameter and the germination percentage was 30%. so, it can be said that the sand paper treatment can break the physical dormancy of seed as a result nutrients and water could enter in to the seed, making the seedlings more vigor. in case of t2 (immersed in water for 24 hours), the seedling performance was also good as imbibition could happen. on the contrary the seedling performance of t3 (treated with hot water for 1 min) was poor as hot water may harm the cotyledon (hasnat and hossain, 2018). the seedling performance from acid treatments was also good as acid may soften the seed coat and nutrients can enter but the concentrations and time of acid immersion should be considered more carefully. and more research is necessary. though the 200ppm gibberellic acid treatment could increase the germination percentage but the seedling performance was not satisfactory, if the reason can be found out it will be very useful in other researches. the fungicide treatment is same as gibberellic acid treatment. from the result the second highest germination percentage and seedling vigor was found in seeds immersed in water for 24 hrs. if the immersion time of water can be increased this treatment can be the best. more research is necessary in this matter. conclusion pre-sowing treatment of the seeds of sterculia villosa showed significant difference in germination percentage and seedling performances from the control seeds. in case of germination percentage seeds treated with 200 ppm ga3 showed the highest result (50%). and in case of seedling performance, seeds treated with sand paper at the distal end showed better results. in this experiment it can be concluded that the sand paper treatment is a bit tricky as if scrapped 102 linda et al. vigorously the viability may be lost also if used properly the seeds may germinate more and the seedlings also grow quit viperously. the hot water treatment is also difficult as it may harm the seeds if kept for too long. in case of water treatment, the duration may be increased to get better result again it may also increase the chances of rotting of the seeds. in case of acid treatment h2so4 performed better than hcl. different concentration of ga3 can be used as it increased the germination percentage the most. in case of fungicide the concentration may be increased also. so, more research is needed to evaluate the results of pre-sowing treatment effect of sterculia villosa. this result can be useful in future research to improve seed germination, seedling performance as well as conservation strategies of this species. acknowledgments the authors duly acknowledged the bangladesh academy of sciences (bas) for financial support for the research and fellowship through the project “development of better propagation techniques for the conservation of selected economically important 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(manuscript received on 10 november 2024; revised on 31 may 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 83-92, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82396 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists agaricus brunneosporus, a new species from punjab, pakistan muhammad ahmed raza, muhammad bilal sharif, hira ijaz, memoona azeem, mehboobullah khan and sana jabeen * department of botany, division of science and technology, university of education, township, lahore, 54770, punjab, pakistan keywords: hot desert; saprobic; new species; taxonomy. abstract agaricus species are ecologically and economically significant, yet their diversity in underexplored regions like pakistan remains poorly documented. this study investigated agaricus species from bahawalnagar district, punjab, pakistan. specimens were collected from different locations in bahawalnagar, followed by morphological examination based on macroscopic and microscopic features. for molecular identification, dna was extracted, and the its region of the nrdna was sequenced. phylogenetic analysis was conducted using maximum likelihood methods to determine the taxonomic placement of the species under investigation. the newly discovered species is morphologically similar to a. dunensis, with a brownish-orange central disk and light brown squamules becoming sparser at the margins. basidiospores were subglobose to broadly ellipsoid, measuring 3.9–4.8 × 3.1–4.1 μm, and the species displayed clavate to narrowly clavate cheilocystidia. phylogenetic analysis of the its region confirmed the distinctiveness of this species within agaricus sect. minores. the findings highlight the diversity of macrofungi in this region, with this species representing a previously undocumented taxon. this discovery enhances knowledge of pakistan's fungal diversity and emphasizes the importance of exploring understudied regions. introduction agaricus l. (agaricales, agaricaceae) is a saprobic genus with a wide ecological distribution, ranging from arctic tundra to tropical rainforests. species within this genus are found in diverse habitats, including alpine meadows, grassy dunes, salt-tolerant seaside grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, and various soil types. however, they generally avoid highly acidic and waterlogged soils (bas, 1991). the genus is characterized by species that have white, yellow, or brown pileus, free gills lamellae with a regular trama when young, which later becomes irregular. the spore print appears in dark brown, featuring spores of a dark to purple-brown coloration, devoid of any discernible germ pore basidiospores smooth with a compound wall not visibly pseudo amyloid. the genus commonly displays a partial veil that develops into a ring on the stipe (mitchel and bresinsky, 1999; karunarathna et al., 2016; kuo, 2018; saini et al., 2018; ismail et al., 2023). agaricus is represented by 500 species divided into seven subgenera and twenty-eight sections (heinemann, 1974; stoichev and lacheva, 2002; lacheva and stoichev, 2004; zhao et al., 2016; chen et al., 2017; callac and chen, 2018; he et al., 2018; parra et al., 2018; bashir et al., 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024; jaichaliaw et al., 2021; wang and bau 2024). from pakistan, more than 40 species in this genus are known. among these, 16 species have been reported based on *corresponding author. e-mail: sanajabeen@ue.edu.pk https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82396 84 raza et al. morphological characteristics; however, two species are given in ahmad et al. (1997); a. callipelus berk. & br. and a. lateritiocolor heinm. lack records in index fungorum. the remaining species have been reported on molecular basis (thongklang et al., 2014; chen et al., 2016; bashir et al., 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024; hussain and sher, 2019; niazi et al., 2022; nawaz et al., 2024; ullah et al., 2024). agaricus subgen. minores comprises three sections: a. sect. leucocarpi linda j. chen & callac, a. sect. minores (fr.) henn., and a. sect. pantropicales l.a. parra, angelini, b. ortiz, linda j. chen & callac (zhao et al., 2016; chen et al., 2017; parra et al., 2018). the characteristic feature of the a. sect. minores is that the lower surface of the annulus is neither floccose nor squamose. the universal veil is poorly developed or absent (zhao et al., 2016). agaricus sect. minores stands out as the most diverse section within the genus comprising 80 known species (he et al., 2017, 2018). it is anticipated that this section encompasses around 200 species (chen et al., 2017). among these, approximately 40 species in this section are documented in asia and 21 are reported from europe (chen et al., 2017; hussain and sher, 2019). data of the a. sect. minores in pakistan is extremely limited, with only two known species; a. glabriusculus s. hussain and a. latiumbonatus s. hussain (hussain and sher, 2019). a field survey of haroonabad, bahawalnagar district, punjab pakistan was conducted during the rainy season of 2023 to collect the fungal specimens for a research project. during the survey, various basidiomata were collected. among these, two specimens from two collections were found similar and closely resembled the species in agaricus. the specimens were observed morphologically and phylogenetically, which represent a new species in a. sect. minores. materials and methods sample collection, isolation, and specimen examination the specimens were collected from haroonabad, located in the bahawalnagar district of punjab, pakistan. based on the köppen climate classification, this area experiences a hot desert climate (bwh), characterized by extremely high temperatures and low precipitation. the temperature in the region varies between 11°c and 50°c, with an average annual rainfall of approximately 99 mm (asif et al., 2023). the vegetation in this area predominantly includes species such as azadirachta indica a. juss., albizia lebbeck (l.) benth., dalbergia sissoo roxb., eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. and vachellia nilotica (l.) p.j.h. hurter & mabb. (ahmed et al., 2014). the specimens were photographed at the collection site, morphological features were noted, and the collections were dried using a fan heater. key characteristics, such as the pileus' size, shape, and color, lamellae attachment and color, and the presence and type of annulus on the stipe, were noted. for color specification, munsell color chart mobile application was used (https://munsell.com/color-blog/tag/color-app/). an eu 2230436 microscope with a 100x objective lens was used to observe anatomical features. various chemicals, including 5% koh for rehydration and congo red for staining hyaline tissues, were used as mounting media. measurements were recorded using the calibrated motic images plus 2.0 software. microscopic characteristics were based on a minimum of 20 measurements for each structure. the symbol '(e) f–g (h)' was used to indicate the basidiospore size, where 'f–g' represented 90% of measured values, and 'e' and 'h' indicated extreme values. 'q' denoted the length-to-width ratio of a single basidiospore from the side view, while 'avq' represented the average 'q' value for all specimens. other microstructural measurements included the range between extreme length and width measurements. the specimens were deposited in the herbarium at the department of botany, university of education, lahore, pakistan (ueh). agaricus brunneosporus, a new species from punjab dna extraction, pcr amplification, and sequencing the dna extraction was done by bruns (1995) ctab method. pcr and sequencing used the its1f and its4 primers (white et al., 1990). sequences were analyzed in bioedit version 7.2.5 (hall, 1999). phylogenetic reconstruction involved selecting close matches from genbank, excluding sequences with inadequate query coverage. the phylogenetic tree included published sequences of species' closest relatives with corresponding genbank accessions. to root the tree, sequences from a. sect. agaricus were chosen as the out group (bashir et al., 2021, 2024; hussain and sher, 2019). multiple sequence alignment was performed with the online muscle tool at embl-ebi (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/jdispatcher/msa/muscle). phylogenetic analysis was performed to investigate the evolutionary relationships of the sequences. the best-fit nucleotide substitution model was selected based on model selection criteria, using the mega version 6 software (tamura et al., 2013). kimura 2-parameter model (kimura, 1980) was found to be the most suitable model and applied to account for the nucleotide substitution patterns. phylogeny was inferred using maximum likelihood (ml) for evolutionary distance estimation. the support for the branches was evaluated by performing 1000 bootstrap replicates to assess the robustness and statistical significance of the tree topology. phylogenetic analyses the its sequence of 677 base pairs from our pakistani collection ueh-f0020 was blast searched at ncbi. it showed 100 % similarity with a sequence from pakistan and 99.12–99.38% similarity with agaricus sequences from pakistan and india. these sequences along with closely related sequences of agaricus spp. from a. sect. minores were retrieved from genbank. the final aligned dataset contained a total of 50 nucleotide sequences, including two sequences: a. campestris l. (km657927) and a. langei (f.h. møller) f.h. møller (jf797181) as out group (table 1). the final dataset contained a total of 706 positions in the final dataset. out of which, 493 sites were conserved, 201 variable, 125 parsimony informative and 74 singletons. the sequences from our collections appeared in a clade of a. sect. minores separating from other agaricus spp. in the same section. the sequences generated from the current collections clustered in a clade that includes recently published taxon, a. dunenesis h. bashir & m. asif sequences from india and pakistan along with a. parvibicolor linda j. chen, r.l. zhao & k.d. hyde (nr_151751) from thailand with 86% boot strap value. the clade representing a. dunensis is split into two lineages. the sequences generated during this investigation are separated from the clade that includes the type sequence of a. dunensis (on137217) and two additional sequences labeled as a. dunensis (on158599 & on158600), suggesting that these sequences represent a separate taxon distinct from a. dunensis (fig. 1). results and discussion taxonomy agaricus brunneosporus raza, bilal & jabeen sp. nov. (figs 2, 3) mycobank: mb 852517 etymology: the specific epithet “brunneosporus” (latin) refers to the brown basidiospores. diagnosis: agaricus brunneosporus differs from a. dunensis by its brownish orange central disk and light brown squamules which become sparse towards margins, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid smaller (3.9–4.8 × 3.1–4.1 μm) basidiospores and clavate to narrowly clavate cheilocystidia. holotype: pakistan. punjab, bahawalpur division, bahawalnagar district, haroonabad, 160 m a. s. l., on soil, 26 july 2023, muhammad bilal sharif p325 (ueh-f0020; genbank for its: pp262619). 86 raza et al. table 1. taxa used for constructing the phylogenetic tree, along with their voucher numbers, geographical localities and genbank accession numbers. species voucher country its references agaricus armandomyces zrl2015992 china kx684860 he et al. (2017) a. bonussquamulosus zrl2010106 china kx657047 he et al. (2017) a. brunneolus lapag938 spain ku975082 chen et al. (2017) a. brunneosporous as a. dunensis lah36806 pakistan on158599 bashir et al. (2024) a. brunneosporus ueh-f0020 pakistan pp262619 this study a. brunneosporus ueh-f0021 pakistan pp262620 this study a. brunneosporus ueh-f40027 pakistan pv796086 this study a. brunneosporus as a. dunensis bwn-67 (lah36805) pakistan on158600 bashir et al. (2024) a. campestris lapag370 china km657927 ling et al. (2021) a. coccyginus 275412 china ku245981 unpublished a. comtulus 2692 canada km248904 unpublished a. diminutivus wc912 usa ay484681 geml et al. (2004) a. dulcidulus prm-909627 czech republic kf447894 parra (2013) a. dunensis lah36806 pakistan on158599 bashir et al. (2024) a. dunensis lah35748 pakistan on137218 bashir et al. (2024) a. dunensis lah 35747 pakistan on137217 bashir et al. (2024) a. dunensis cuham737 india om654930 bashir et al. (2024) a. dunensis lah36808 pakistan on158597 bashir et al. (2024) a. dunensis lah21719 pakistan on158598 bashir et al. (2024) a. dunensis lah36807 pakistan on158596 bashir et al. (2024) a. dunensis lah35749 pakistan on137219 bashir et al. (2024) a. edmondoi lapag80 spain kf447902 parra (2013) a. elongatestipes zrl2013271 china kx657002 he et al. (2017) a. friesianus lapag592 france kt951316 parra (2013) a. glabriusculus sh7 pakistan mk751852 hussain and sher (2019) a. heinemannianus lapag302 spain kf447906 parra (2013) a. indicus tbgt16128 india or661746 arya and pradeep (2024) a. jacobi ah-44505 spain nr_158300 parra (2013) a. jingningensis zrl20151562 china kx684877 he et al. (2017) a. kerriganii ah-44509 spain kf447893 parra (2013) a. lamelliperditus mdbf61/96 australia jx984559 lebel (2013) a. langei lapag141 spain jf797181 zhao et al. (2011) a. latiumbonatus sh166 pakistan mk751861 hussain and sher (2019) a. luteomaculatus ca331 france kf447901 parra (2013) a. marisae lapag138 spain ku975083 chen et al. (2017) a. matrum ah-44506 spain kf447896 parra (2013) a. megalosporus mflu:100774 belgium nr_119951 unpublished a. midnapurensis cuh am718 india ol467539 tarafder et al. (2022) a. neimengguensis hmas:254648 china nr_189789 he et al. (2017) a. pallens lapag441 spain kf447898 parra (2013) a. palodensis tbgt17483 india or661748 arya and pradeep (2024) a. parvibicolor mflu:12-0953 thailand nr_151751 liu et al. (2015) a. parvibrunneus hmas0278356 china mg137001 he et al. (2018) a. pseudopallens zrl20151552 china kx684874 he et al. (2017) agaricus brunneosporus, a new species from punjab a. purpurellus trgmb01309 italy kf447903 parra (2013) a. purpurellus canada mn620489 unpublished a. purpureosquameus mflu:17-1306 thailand nr_157484 unpublished a. purpureosquamulosus cuh am716 india ol467541 tarafder et al. (2022) a. robustulus ca847 (mflu160973) thailand ku975086 chen et al. (2017) a. yanzhiensis hmas0281083 china mg137003 he et al. (2018) fig. 1. molecular phylogenetic analysis of agaricus brunneosporus and related species based on its sequences. genbank accession numbers are provided for each taxon. sequences generated during this study are marked with bullets. bold face represents sequence from type species. 88 raza et al. fig. 2. agaricus brunneosporus. a, b. ueh-f20020 (holotype), c, d. ueh-f0021. scale bars: 1 cm. description pileus 3–7 cm diam., parabolic to hemispherical; surface squamulose, dense at center, sparse towards margins; margins entire to eroded; central disk brownish orange (7.5yr 7/8), light brown (10yr 8/6), white fibrillose context. lamellae free, alternate with lamellulae; brownish pink (5rp 7/4); lamellulae frequent, variable in length. stipe 4.2–5.0 × 0.6–0.8 cm, central, cylindrical, bulbous base; surface smooth to slightly fibrillose, brown (7.5yr 7/3) from base to annulus, white above annulus. annulus superior, white. context white, firm, no color change on exposure to air. basidiospores [40/2/2] (3.5)3.9–4.8(4.9) × (3)3.1–4.1(4.2) µm, q = 1–1.3, avq = 1.15, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid, smooth, thick walled, apiculus prominent, monoguttulate, brown in 5 % koh. basidia (11)13–14(15.5) × (5.1)5.5–5.6(5.7) µm, clavate, basal cell present, 2–4 sterigmata. cheilocystidia (10)11.5–12(12.7) × (4.1)4.7–5.1(5.3) µm, clavate to narrowly clavate, septa present at the base. pileipellis hyphae (4.5)5–5.8(6.7) µm wide, septate, cylindrical, agaricus brunneosporus, a new species from punjab branched. stipitipellis hyphae (4.1)5.1–6(6.9) µm wide, septate, branched. clamp connections absent in all tissues. all tissues hyaline in 5 % koh. fig. 3. microscopic characters of agaricus brunneosporus ueh-f0020 (holotype). a. basidiospores; b. basidia; c. cheilocystidia; d. stipe hyphae; e. pileipellis hyphae. scale bars: a–c = 5 μm; d & e = 10 μm. habitat and distribution: found solitary in a hot desert climate with dominant vegetation of azadirachta indica, albizia lebbeck, d. sissoo, e. camaldulensis, and v. nilotica. additional material examined: pakistan. punjab, bahawalpur division, bahawalnagar district, haroonabad, 160 m a. s. l., on the soil, 26 july 2023, muhammad bilal sharif p220 (ueh-f0021; genbank for its: pp262620); 9 august 2024, muhammad bilal sharif p654 (uehf40027; genbank for its: pv796086). agaricus brunneosporus is characterized by its hemispherical pileus covered with brownish orange squamules on white fibrillose surface, having pink and later brownish lamellae and slightly fibrillose stipe bearing a white superior annulus. the basidiospores are brown, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid (3.9–4.8 × 3.1–4.1 μm) without a germ pore. agaricus dunensis, a recently reported taxon from punjab, pakistan differs from a. brunneosporous by its pileus thoroughly covered by orange-yellow squamules, comparatively small and thicker stipe, subglobose to ellipsoid larger (6.3–6.9 × 5–5.3 μm) basidiospores and polymorphous cheilocystidia (bashir et al., 2024). agaricus parvibicolor, a closely related taxon, differs from a. brunneosporus by its hemispherical to convex pileus surface having violet-brown 90 raza et al. fibrils and a crenulate annulus on the stipe. its basidiospores are ellipsoid to oblong and larger (4.7–5.5 × 3–3.5 μm) (he et al., 2018). agaricus glabriusculus s. hussain, a pakistani taxon, differs from a. brunneosporus by its fibrillose pileus surface having pinkish fibrils, pendant annulus and relatively larger (6–6.5 × 4–4.5 μm), cylindrical to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores (liu et al., 2015). agaricus latiumbonatus s. hussain another pakistani species differs from a. brunneosporus by a white pileus having grayish-red to dark-red squamules, arranged in rings and by a broadly umbonate disc, a stipe bearing pendant ascending annulus and by ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid or amygdaliform, and relatively small (4.8–5.5 × 3.2–3.8 μm) basidiospores (hussain and sher 2019). agaricus megalosporus j. chen, r.l. zhao, karun. & k.d. hyde from thailand is distinct from a. brunneosporus by its hemispherical, purplish-brown to brown pileus with an eroded surface, and by a membranous pendant annulus. its basidiospores are relatively larger (5.5– 6.5 × 7–7.5 μm) and ellipsoid to oblong, rarely cylindrical, smooth, reddish-brown, and thickwalled (chen et al., 2012). agaricus parvibrunneus m.q. he, k.d. hyde & r.l. zhao another asian species from china is different from a. brunneosporus by its brown fibrillose pileus surface, pinkish brown lamellae and a white pendent annulus. it further has smooth, thick-walled, and larger (5.0–5.8 × 3.7–4.1 μm) basidiospores (he et al., 2018). agaricus velutinosus t. bau & s.e. wang from northeast china differs from a. brunneosporus by fibrillose minutely floccose pileus and stipe surfaces and by initially white lamellae, and a stipe with superior white annulus. the basidiospores are relatively smaller (2.9–3.0 × 3.7–3.8 μm) ellipsoid to elongate-ellipsoid, thick-walled, and guttulate (wang and bau, 2024). besides these morpho-anatomical differences, molecular phylogenetic analysis based on sequences from its region of nrdna showed that this species formed its own lineage separated from already known taxa in a. sect. minores with a strong bootstrap support. acknowledgments students are grateful to their parents for financial support. references ahmad, s., iqbal, s. and khalid, a.n. 1997. fungi of pakistan. sultan ahmad mycol. soc. of pakistan, department of botany, university of the punjab, pp. 1–248. ahmed, n., mahmood, a., tahir, s.s., bano, a., malik, r.n., hassan, s. and ashraf, a. 2014. ethnomedicinal knowledge and relative importance of indigenous medicinal plants of cholistan desert, punjab province, pakistan. j. ethnopharmacol. 155: 1263–1275. arya, c.p. and pradeep, c.k. 2024. agaricus section minores: new and noteworthy species from india. phytotaxa 634(3): 255–273. asif, m., firdous, q., izhar, a., niazi, a.r., sarwar, s. and khalid, a.n. 2023. 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(manuscript received on 28 january 2025; revised on 25 may 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 301-309, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78757 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists addition of three new lauraceae records for bangladesh mohammad sayedur rahman 1 and saleh ahammad khan 2 1bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur–1, dhaka–1216, bangladesh 2department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka–1342, bangladesh keywords: angiosperms; lauraceae; new records; bangladesh. abstract three new records of angiosperms belonging to the genera cinnamomum, litsea, and neolitsea of the family lauraceae are described and illustrated from bangladesh. following critical examination, two voucher specimens of lauraceae collected from cox’s bazar and rangamati districts, and housed in dacb and bfrih, respectively, were identified as cinnamomum subavenium and litsea glabrata. two other specimens recently collected from the lathitila forest of moulvibazar during the floristic explorations conducted in the northeast region of bangladesh were identified as neolitsea foliosa. these three species are reported here as new to the flora of bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic description, including data on ecology, distribution, and use, representative specimens examined, and an illustration of each of these species have been provided. introduction each year, new plant species have been described by plant taxonomists from the nature. as a result of the ongoing effort to discover new plant species in bangladesh, taxonomists have occasionally released a significant number of new records throughout the past few decades. over 281 new records have been reported since ahmed et al. (2008–2009) published the encyclopedia of the flora of bangladesh, the majority of which provide details on the precise distribution (islam and rahman, 2017; rahman and hassan, 2017; sourav et al., 2017; ara and hassan, 2018; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin, 2018; alam and uddin 2018; alfasane et al., 2019, 2020; hossain et al., 2020; sultana and rahman, 2021; hossain et al., 2022; rahman et al., 2022; sultana et al., 2022; uddin and uddin, 2022; rahman et al., 2023). so far, a total of 3892 species, or 77.84% of khan’s (1977) estimate of 5000 species to exist within the territory of bangladesh, have been reported through various floristic studies conducted so far covering its political boundary (iucn, 2024). this indicates that, if khan's (1977) estimate is taken into account, the presence of around 1108 (22.16%) species and their status in this country have not yet been verified through field investigations, a goal that the nation's plant taxonomists are attempting to achieve. during an investigation on the voucher specimens of lauraceae housed in local herbaria of bangladesh, two specimens of this family that were previously collected from the cox's bazar and rangamati districts and preserved in the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and bangladesh forest research institute herbarium (bfrih), respectively, and two other specimens that were collected from the lithitila forest area of juri, moulvibazar, during the floristic surveys carried out in the northeast region of bangladesh in 2022–2023, seemed to be distinct from all of the 66 species under 14 genera of this family reported so far from bangladesh (das and alam, 2001; ara 1corresponding author: sayedur27bcs@gmail.com mailto:sayedur27bcs@gmail.com 302 rahman and khan et al., 2007; arefin et al., 2011; ara and khan, 2015; basak and alam, 2015; rahim, 2019; rahman et al., 2024). these specimens did not match with the voucher specimens or the taxonomic description or key characters of any species of lauraceae known or reported so far from bangladesh. following a thorough taxonomic examination of these specimens, including matching their characters with relevant descriptions, key characters, voucher specimens, and images of voucher specimens available at the local herbaria and on the websites of a few international herbaria (e.g., kew and p), the voucher specimen of cox's bazar housed in dacb was found to belong to cinnamomum schaeff., and that of rangamati deposited in bfrih to litsea lam., whereas the recently collected two specimens of lithitila forest belong to neolitsea (benth.) merr. of lauraceae. these voucher specimens do not belong to the nine, twenty, and one species of these three genera, respectively, reported so far from bangladesh, but to their other species that have never been reported in any publication on the flora covering the present territory of this country, and hence, these species have been confirmed as new to the flora of bangladesh. the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and the forest research institute herbarium (bfrih) hold the specimens of these species. materials and methods field surveys were carried out between december 2022 and may 2023 in the deciduous, semi–evergreen, and evergreen forests and scrub jungles of the hilly areas located within the administrative borders of the sylhet division, including the moulvibazar district, which represent the northeastern region of bangladesh. following standard herbarium procedures, the freshly collected plant specimens were processed, pressed, dried, and stored at dacb (hyland, 1972; jain and raw, 1977). the taxonomic identification of the specimens was completed by matching their characteristics to the pertinent taxonomic literature (e.g., devis and cullen, 1965; geesink et al., 1981; hooker, 1886; prain, 1903; mia, 2009; li et al., 2008; ngernsaengsaruay et al., 2011), images available on the websites of a few international herbaria (e.g., k, p), and the voucher specimens of lauraceae housed at dacb, bfrih, and herbaria of other institutions. the taxonomic description of each species was created by closely observing and analyzing the morphological characters of the specimens. consulting recent taxonomic publications (li et al., 2008) and the nomenclatural databases of powo (2023), gbif secretariat (2023), and tropicos (2023), nomenclatural information was confirmed. results and discussion the taxonomic identification of the specimen of cox's bazar housed in dacb has been confirmed as cinnamomum subavenium miq., and that of rangamati deposited in bfrih as litsea glabrata (wall, ex nees) hook, f., whereas the specimens of lithitila forest, preserved in dacb as neolitsea foliosa (nees) gamble of family lauraceae. the following taxonomic descriptions of these species, including the key for their identification, have been produced based on the collected specimens and field notes recorded during field visits. key to genera 1. flowers bisexual, in panicles; bract small, not forming an involucre; perianth caducous. cinnamomum – flowers unisexual, in pseudoumbles or racemes; bract large, forming an 2 addition of three new lauraceae records 303 involucre; perianth persistent. 2. flowers 2–merous; perianth lobes 4; fruit 10–12×7–8 mm in diam.; perianth tube upto 7 mm in diam. neolitsea – flowers 3–merous, perianth lobes 6; fruit 10–15×5–7 mm in diam., perianth tube upto 10 mm in diam. litsea cinnamomum subavenium miq. fl. ned. ind. 1(1): 902 (1858); cammerl. (1925) 452; masam. 308 (1942) ; kosterm. 68 (1970b) ; argent et al. (1997) 310; beaman et al. (2001) 400. —type: teijsmann h.b. 1032 and 1037 (ht, u, in 2 sheets, barcodes u0002678, u0002677; iso bo), sumatra, solok; cinnamomum cyrtopodum miq. 897 (1858); c. borneense meisn. 19.(1864); c. borneense miq. 260 (1864), nom. illeg., non meisn.; c. floribundum miq. (1864), nom. nov.; c. glabrescens miq. 264 (1864); c. culitlawan blume var. celebricum teijsm. & binn. 92 (1866); c. nooteboomii kosterm. 446 (1988); c. ridleyi gamble 218 (1910). (fig. 1) a large tree. bark smooth. leaves opposite or subopposite or rarely alternate, trinerved or triplinerved, subcoriaceous, appressed hairy below, narrowly elliptic, (4–) 7–12(–16) by (1.5–)3–4 (-7) cm, base narrowly cuneate and slightly attenuate, apex acuminate, acumen 0.5–1(–2) cm long; midrib flat above, prominent and smoothly raised below; lateral veins flat above, prominent and raised below, ending at the base of acumen; petiole slender, 0.5–1.5 cm long, c. 1 mm diam, flat to fig. 1. cinnamoumum subavenium miq., a branch with infructescence. 304 rahman and khan shallowly grooved above, dark brown, appressed hairy. inflorescences axillary or subterminal, paniculate–cymose branched, densely hairy, 6–9 cm long. flowers greyish when dried, densely appressed hairy; perianth lobes elliptic, c. 2–3 mm long, appressed hairy on both sides; pedicels 2– 3 mm long; fertile stamens c. 2 mm long, anthers 4-locular, filaments c. 1/2 the length of the stamen, hairy; staminodes 1.5–2 mm long, appressed hairy, sagittate; ovary oblong, c. 1 mm long, stigma trilobed. fruits ellipsoid, c. 10  7 mm, drying dark brown; cupule funnel shaped; perianth lobes caducous, sparsely hairy; fruiting pedicel obconical, c. 3 mm long, hairy. flowering and fruiting period: august to december. ecology: in hill forest, at high altitudes. specimen examined: cox’s bazar: rajarchara, teknaf range, 5.10.1991, khan, huq, mia and rahman k. 8580 (dacb 24789). distribution: bangladesh, sumatra and peninsular malysia use: wood is used as timber. notes: c. subavenium miq. seems morphologically similar to c. iners (reinw. ex nees & t. nees) blume, from which it can be distinguished by its cupule with an entire to slightly lobed rim in contrast to c. iners’s cupule with distinct persistent lobes. in c. iners, the hairs on the lower leaf surface are appressed and white, while c. subavenium has erect, curly, and yellowish hairs. litsea glabrata (wall, ex nees) hook, f., fi. brit. india. 5: 174 (1886); gamble, man. timber tress 572 (1902); bourd., for. trees travancore 307 (1908); gamble, fi. pres. madras 2:866 (1957. repr. ed.); kosterm., bibl. 823 (1964); ahmedullah & m. p. nayar, end. pi. ind. reg. 1: 66 (1986); v. chandras. in a. n. henry, kumari & chithra, fi. tamil nadu analysis 2: 210 (1987); vajr., fi. palghat dist. 405 (1990); m. mohanan & a. n. henry, fi. thiruvananthapuram 395 (1994); tetranthera glabrata wall, ex nees in wall., pl as, rar. 2: 67 (1831); syst. laurin. 560 (1836); meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 197 (1864); brandis, indian trees 539 (1906). type: india, tamil nadu, dindugal district, 3000 ft, wight s.n., wallich ct. no.2543, (k image!). (fig. 2) an evergreen tree, 20–25 m tall. branches densely tomentose. leaves 12–15 cm3.6–4.9 cm, alternate, elliptic–oblong, acute at apex, entire along margin, cuneate at base, glabrous; petioles 10–12 mm long, cylindric, tomentose. inflorescence umbellules, axillary, arranged in racemes, 7– 12 cm long, densely silky tomentose, bracteate; peduncles 6–10 mm long, densely tomentose; bracts 4, in 2 rows. flowers 5–7.5 mm  6–8 mm, yellow-green; pedicels 1–2 mm long, stout, green, densely hairy; perianth lobes 6, 3–3.5 mm  2–2.5 mm, elliptic, gland–dotted, densely tomentose outside, hairy at base inside, perianth tubes 1–1.5 mm long, funnel shaped, hairy; in male flowers stamens 12, in 4 rows; in female flowers staminodes 12, in 4 rows, pistil 2.5–3 mm long, stigma irregularly lobed, styles 0.8 –1 mm long, glabrous, ovary 1–1.5 mm long, ovoid, glabrous. berries 1–1.5 cm  0.5–0.7 cm, ovoid to ellipsoid, smooth, green, seated on thickened cup shaped perianth tube, 0.7–1 cm in diameter, entire, obconic, brown, glabrous; fruiting peduncle 8–12 mm long, brown, glabrous; fruiting pedicel 0.5–0.8 cm long, brown glabrous. flowering and fruiting period: flowering august to december and fruiting january to may. ecology: in evergreen forest, at high altitudes. specimen examined: rangamati: pablakhali, 06.04.1965, d. k. das 432 (frih) distribution: bangladesh, india and nepal. use: wood is durable, used for planking and making boxes. addition of three new lauraceae records 305 fig. 2. litsea glabrata (wall, ex nees) hook, f., a) a branch with infructescence, b) a female inflorescence and c) a female flower. notes: morphologically, l. glabrata (wall, ex nees) hook, f. appears to be similar to l. panamanja (nees) hook. f., from which it differs by its shorter recemes (up to 12 cm long), 6–10 pairs of secondary veins, shorter and tomentose petioles, and stalked glands, in contrast to the later’s (l. panamanja) longer (up to 23 cm long) recemes, with 10–12 pairs of secondary veins, longer glabrous petioles, and sessile glands. neolitsea foliosa (nees) gamble, fl. madras 1240 (1925); d.g. long in grierson & d.g. long, fl. bhutan 1(2): 279 (1984); c.j. saldanha et al., in c.j. saldanha, fl. karnataka 1: 70 (1984); kosterm. in dassan. et al., rev. handb. fi. ceylon 9: 168 (1995); chakrab. in phytotaxa 419(2): 213 (2018). tetranthera foliosa wall. [numer. list no. 2563 (1830), nom. nud.]. tetradenia 306 rahman and khan foliosa nees in wall., pl. asiat. rar. 2: 64 (1831). litsea foliosa (nees) nees, syst. laur. 622 (1836); meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 222 (1864), p.p. excl. var. caesia, hook.f., fi. brit. india 5: 178 (1886). litsea foliosa (nees) nees var. puncticulata meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 222 (1864). litsea striolata blume, mus. bot. 1: 347 (1851); meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1): 223 (1864). (fig. 3) a tree, up to 14 m high, branchlets glabrous. terminal buds 3-10 mm long, branchlets flattened towards apices, terete below. leaves elliptic to oblong elliptic to lanceolate oblong or ovate-elliptic to ovate-oblong, 5–18 × 1.5–7 cm, acute, subacute to cuneate at base, apex acuminate, glaucous or glabrescent beneath, lateral primary nerves prominent, 3–5 pairs above the basal, nervules conspicuously reticulate, areolate above and beneath; petioles 6–28 mm long; involucral bracts sub-orbicular 4–5 mm wide; male umbels sessile to pulvinate, 2–5 together; in fig. 3. neolitsea foliosa (nees) gamble., a branch with infructescence. male flowers pedicels 2–5 mm long, sepals ovate to suborbicular 2–3 × 1–1.8 mm, filament 2–4 mm long; anthers oblong ca 1 mm long. female umbels 2–5 together, female flowers pedicels 2–6 mm long, sepals as like as male flower; staminodes ca 2 mm long, ovary subglobose, 1–1.5 mm in diam., styles 1.5–2 mm long, stigma conspicuous, peltate. fruits oblong-ellipsoid, 11–12 × 7–8 addition of three new lauraceae records 307 mm; fruiting pedicels 5–12 mm long, 1–2 mm thick; cupule 1–3 × 3–7 mm. flowering and fruiting period: february–june. ecology: in hill forests, at medium altitude. specimens examined: moulvibazar: lathitila, juri, 28.12.2022, s.a. khan and m.s. rahman 4858 (dacb); 21.05.2023, m.s. rahman 4891(dacb). distribution: bangladesh, india and mayanmar. use: wood is used as timber. notes: n. foliosa (nees) gamble seems similar to n. cuipala (d. don) kostrem, from which it can be easily differentiated by its glabrous young shoots and leaves with finely, conspicuously, aerolate, and reticulate minor venation, in contrast to n. cuipala’s sericeous, tomentose, or pubescent young shoots and leaves with inconspicuously, aerolate, and reticulate minor venation. acknowledgement the authors gratefully acknowledge the bangladesh national herbarium, the bangladesh forest research institute herbarium, and the forest department for providing financial support, specimen access, and accommodation, respectively. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. 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(manuscript received on 17 march 2024; revised on 20 november 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 25-32, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74378 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three bryophyte species new to türkiye and southwest asia nevzat batan1*, hüseyin erata2, tülay ezer3 and mevlüt alataş4 1karadeniz technical university, faculty of sciences, department of molecular biology and genetics, 61080, trabzon, türkiye 2gümüşhane university, kürtün vocational school, 29810, gümüşhane, türkiye 3niğde ömer halisdemir university, faculty of architecture, department of landscape architecture, 51100, niğde, türkiye 4munzur university, tunceli vocational school, 62000, tunceli, türkiye keywords: bryophyte; new records; biosphere reserve area; karçal mountains; türkiye. abstract as a result of extensive bryophyte surveys across the different parts of the karçal mountain, türkiye's first biosphere reserve area, artvin region (caucasus) in the east black sea region of türkiye, jungermannia pumila, scapania uliginosa and heterocladium flaccidum found as new to türkiye. moreover, these taxa are the first time reported for bryophyte flora of south-west asia in this paper. descriptions, illustrations, distributions, ecological characteristics, and comparisons with morphologically similar taxa were also provided. introduction the karçal mountains, which range from the çoruh valley to the georgian border, start at 500 m and reach an altitude of 3545 m. (fig. 1). sub-mediterranean climate prevails in the çoruh valley, while the northern part of the karçal mountains has a black sea climate. in the southern part of the karçal mountains, a climate where sub-mediterranean and continental climates intersect is present, with the effect coming from the çoruh valley, and continental climate prevails in the eastern part and the higher parts of the karçal mountains (eminağaoğlu, 2015; fig. 1). there are three different vegetation types of the research area: forest, subalpine, and alpine. the dominant vegetation is forest vegetation that, covered by mixed forests dominated that abies nordmanniana (steven) spach subsp. nordmanniana, picea orientalis (l.) peterm., ulmus glabra huds., castanea sativa mill., fagus orientalis lipsky, quercus petraea (matt.) liebl. subsp. iberica (steven ex m.bieb.) krassiln., alnus glutinosa (l.) gaertner, populus tremula l., salix caucasica andersson, carpinus betulus l., corylus avellana l., rhododendron luteum sweet, r. ponticum l., prunus laurocerasus l., rubus platyphyllos c. koch., crataegus microphylla c. koch., c. monogyna subsp. monogyna jacq., ilex colchica pojark., acer campestre var. campestre l. and fraxinus angustifolia subsp. oxycarpa (willd.) franco & rocha afonso (eminağaoğlu, 2015; yılmaz, 2016; fig. 2). the camili biosphere reserve area including karçal mountain was included in the world network of biosphere reserves by the international co-ordinating council of the programme mab in 2005, and it subsequently became the first and only biosphere reserve area in türkiye (mittermeier et al., 2005; url 1, in https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/eu-na). the reserve is located in north-eastern türkiye (fig. 1) and covers altitudes ranging from 400 to 3500 m, with an area of 25.222 hectares (pouya and demireş özkul, 2010). the camili valley (inc. karçal mountain) is part of the caucasus region, which is one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world (mittermeier et al., 2005; türkmen, 2023). *corresponding author. e-mail: nevzatbatan@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74378 https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/eu-na). mailto:nevzatbatan@gmail.com 26 batan et al. there are few studies (kürschner et al., 2012) on the bryophytes of the karçal mountain, so it was chosen as the study area for the project and this study contains data from the project. fig. 1. map of reserach area. (a) (b) fig. 2. a) merata plateau; abies nordmanniana (steven) spach subsp. nordmanniana, picea orientalis (l.) peterm. b) balcıköy plateau: populus tremula l., picea orientalis (l.) peterm. three bryophyte species new to türkiye 27 material and methods the bryophyte samples were collected from different localities (various habitats and substrates) from the karçal mountain (artvin) in 2022. the utm vgs84 coordinate system was used to determine the coordinates. the bryophytes were identified by consulting keys (smith, 1996, 2004; paton, 1999; damsholt, 2002; frey et al., 2006; guerra et al., 2018; lüth, 2019; hugonnot and chavoutier, 2021). the status of these taxa was evaluated by reviewing the related literature for türkiye (ros et al., 2013; erdağ and kürschner, 2017; hodgetts and lockhart, 2020; kürschner and frey, 2020), and southwest asia (kürschner and frey, 2020). the study of hodgetts et al. (2020) was followed in terms of nomenclature and synonyms. voucher specimens of bryophyte taxa are kept in the private bryophyte collections of the author (batan), department of molecular biology and genetics, faculty of science, karadeniz technical university, trabzon, türkiye. results and discussion jungermannia pumila with. (fig. 3) plants small, bright, or yellowish-green to dark brownish. shoot 4-6 mm long. rhizoids are abundant and colorless. leaves 0.3 × 1.2 mm wide and 0.5 × 1.4 mm long, distant or almost imbricate spreading, elliptical to lanceolate or ovate to rotundate, rounded at apex. oil-bodies 26(8) per cell. gemmae absent. j. pumila resembles j. atrovirens dumort, and jungermannia eucordifolia schljakov; however, j. pumila can be distinguished from them by its paroicous inflorescences and mostly oval leaves. j. pumila is similar to j. borealis damsh. & váňa. this species differs from j. borealis in leaves usually being elliptical to ovate (paton, 1999; damsholt, 2002; frey, et al., 2006; lüth, 2019; hugonnot and chavoutier, 2021). ecology: j. pumila grows in patches on damp, often shaded rocks. also often as a pioneer on new surfaces of sandstone or even granite. mostly at the base of stones and rock walls in small streams (damsholt, 2002). also, it occurs on moist or wet, mildly basic to acid, often shaded rocks and boulders, on thin soil over rocks, on sandy, gravelly or peaty soil and on silt or detritus on banks and rocks including limestone. often near running water and sometimes intermittently submerged, and frequently as a pioneer species on soft-textured siliceous rock (paton 1999; dierβen 2001). turkish specimens of three bryophytes were collected from merata plateau, karçal mountain, artvin (türkiye), on sandy, gravelly soil, near running water, associated with scapania irrigua (nees) nees, diplophyllum taxifolium (wahlenb.) dumort., solenostoma gracillimum (sm.) r.m.schust., philonotis fontana (hedw.) brid., platyhypnum smithii (sw.) ochyra and ptychostomum schleicheri (dc.) j.r.spence ex d.bell & holyoak. distribution: faroe islands, finland, iceland, norway, sweden, great britain, ireland, northern ireland, andorra, canary islands, corsica, france, italy, madeira, portugal, sicily, spain, austria, belgium, czech republic, germany, luxembourg, poland, slovakia, switzerland, albania, bosnia-herzegovina, croatia, hungary, montenegro, north macedonia, romania, serbia, slovenia, caucasus (in europe), arctic russia, central russia, ne russia, nw russia, south urals, ukraine, sicily, tanzania, macaronesia, greenland, north america, japan (paton, 1999; damsholt, 2002; hodgetts and lockhart, 2020). new to türkiye and south-west asia (kürschner and frey, 2020). specimen examined: türki̇ye, (artvin province): borçka, (karçal mountain), merata plateau, on sandy, gravelly soil, near running water, (38t) 0254903 e, 4591109 n, altitude: 2154 m a.s.l., 26 july 2022, leg. n. batan, h. erata, det n. batan and h. erata, batan 1619. 28 batan et al. fig. 3. jungermannia pumila with.: a) shoots (in dry conditions), b-g) leaves, h) cross section of leaf, i) mid-leaf cells, j) cross section of stem. from batan 1619. scapania uliginosa (sw. ex lindenb.) dumort. (fig. 4) plant robust, brownish red, dark brown, pupish red, up to 10 cm tall. leaves imbricate, subequally bilobed, margins almost entire. ventral and dorsal lobes similar and dorsal lobe 0.5 the size of the ventral lobe. ventral lobe strongly convex and incurved, apex rounded to obtuse. dorsal lobe consistently broadly rounded to reniform, convex and long-decurrent, apex rounded to obtuse. keel curved. marginal cells thick-walled. cells in middle ventral lobe thin walled, 2232 µm wide, trigones absent or very minute. the shape of middle cells variable variable, either rounded, rectangular or quadrate. oil bodies 2-6 per cell. gemmae rare and greenish to reddish, ellipsoid when present but not seen in turkish specimens from karçal mountain. scapania uliginosa (sw. ex lindenb.) dumort. is morphologically and ecologically similar to s. undulata (l.) dumort. but differs in having the differences in the form of dorsal lobes and decurrence of the leaves. the dorsal lobes of s. uliginosa are consistently broadly rounded to reniform, convex and long-decurrent.. also, s. uliginosa (sw. ex lindenb.) dumort. is similar to s. paludosa (müll.frib.) müll.frib. but s. uliginosa differs from s. paludosa in the reddish-brown three bryophyte species new to türkiye 29 color, dorsal lobes are strongly convex and broadly round to reniform, and leaf margins are almost entire(paton, 1999; damsholt, 2002; frey et al., 2006). ecology: s. uliginosa grows in swelling mats in rills in the upper end of small streams and flushes, submerged or emergent in cold springs, occasionally on wet rocks in late snow areas, on lake shores in boggy ground and in gullies, very rarely on soil (smith, 1996: paton, 1999; dierβen, 2001; damsholt, 2002; frey et al., 2006). turkish specimens associated with cephalozia bicuspidata (l.) dumort., imbribryum alpinum (huds. ex with.) n.pedersen, philonotis seriata mitt., ptychostomum pseudotriquetrum (hedw.) j.r.spence & h.p.ramsay ex holyoak & n.pedersen, philonotis marchica (hedw.) brid., platyhypnum duriusculum (de not.) ochyra, pellia epiphylla (l.) corda. fig. 4. scapania uliginosa (sw. ex lindenb.) dumort: a) shoots (wet), b) leaf, c) leaf apex, d) mid-leaf cells, e-f) stem cross section, g) leaf cross section. from batan 1625. distribution: previously known from faroe islands, finland, ireland, norway, svalbard, sweden, great britain, france, italy, spain, austria, czech republic, germany, liechtenstein, poland, slovakia, switzerland, bulgaria, romania, ne russia, nw russia, south urals, 30 batan et al. ukranine; siberia; asia (japan); america (n. america, greenland, aleutian islands) (smith, 1996; paton, 1999; hodgetts and lockhart, 2020). new to türkiye and south-west asia (kürschner and frey, 2020). specimen examined: türki̇ye, (artvin province): borçka, (karçal mountain), çikünet plateau, on wet rock, near running water, (38t) 0250577 e, 4583011 n, altitude: 2473 m a.s.l., 23 agust 2022, leg. n. batan, h. erata, det t. ezer, batan 1625. heterocladium flaccidum (schimp.) a.j.e.sm. (fig. 5) plants 2–2.5 cm long, very slender and form dull green patches. shoots are 0.5-0.7 mm long. stem and branch leaves are similar. stem leaves 225-280 µm × 60-105 µm. leaves ovatelanceolate to lanceolate, acute at apex. leaf margins are roughly toothed. leaf cells shape variable, rectangle, quadrate or hexagonal, papillose. costa is very short, double, or absent. fig. 5. heterocladium flaccidum (schimp.) a.j.e.sm.: a) shoots (dry), b-g) leaves, g) leaf apex , h) lower part of leaf and mid-leaf cells. from batan 1621. h. flaccidum is morphologically similar to h. wulfsbergii i.hagen. but different in terms of having very short costa, double, or absent. in contrast, h. wulfsbergii has usually single costa. h. three bryophyte species new to türkiye 31 flaccidum is also close to h. heteropterum (brid.) schimp., but it differs from the latter species by very slender patches and mid-leaf cells 1–2 times as long as wide. (smith, 2004; frey et al., 2006). ecology: h. flaccidum grows on deeply shaded, in drier habitats mildly to strongly basic rocks in woods and ravines, very rarely on soil (dierben, 2001; smith, 2004: frey et al., 2006; hugonnot et al., 2020). turkish specimens were collected from otingo valley, balcıköy plateau, karçal mountain, artvin (türkiye), on rock, associated with the liverworts barbilophozia barbata (schmidel ex schreb.) loeske., radula lindenbergiana gottsche ex c.hartm., sphenolobus minutus (schreb. ex d.crantz) berggr. and the mosses hymenoloma crispulum (hedw.) ochyra, tortella tortuosa (hedw.) limpr., grimmia hartmanii schimp., saelania glaucescens (hedw.) broth., encalypta microstoma bals.-criv. & de not. and fissidens adianthoides hedw. distribution: previously known from norway, sweden, channel islands, great britain, portugal, spain, belgium, france, ireland, northern ireland, azores, corsicas, austria, germany, luxembourg, switzerland, england, caucasus (georgia), north africa (tunisia) (smith, 2004; hugonnot et al., 2020; hodgetts and lockhart, 2020). new to türkiye and south-west asia (kürschner and frey, 2020). specimens examined: türki̇ye (artvin province): borçka, balcıköy plateau, on rock, (37t) 0746269 e, 4581042 n, altitude: 2095-2150 m a.s.l., 22 may 2022, leg. n. batan, h. erata, det. n. batan, h. erata, batan 1621. acknowledgements this project was financially supported by tubi̇tak (122z039 coded project). references damsholt, k. 2002. illustrated flora of nordic liverworts and hornworts. lund: nordic bryological society. dierben, k. 2001. distribution, ecological amplitude and phytosociological characterization of european bryophytes, bryophytorum bibliotheca, band 56, j. cramer, berlin, stuttgart. eminağaoğlu, ö. 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(manuscript received on 12 december, 2023; revised on 1 june, 2024) https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/eu-na bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 171-174, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70492 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species of pinguicula (lentibulariaceae) from western yunnan, china jun sun, yanli wen and rong li * cas key laboratory for plant diversity and biogeography of east asia, kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences, kunming 650201, p. r. china keywords: gaoligong mountains; morphology; taxonomy; pinguicula. abstract a new species of lentibulariaceae, pinguicula gongshanensis, is described and illustrated from western yunnan, china. morphologically, it is similar to pinguicula alpina but differs from the latter by its corolla with 8–12 brown stripes on the tube and spur, yellow corolla lip, corolla tube with yellow pubescence inside, glandular pilose pedicel, and calyx. introduction the genus pinguicula l., sp. pl.: 17 (1753), includes about 55 species distributed in europe, northern asia, the himalayas, japan, and north america, most diverse in central america (from mexico to the caribbean islands), extending southward to colombia, ecuador, chile, and patagonia (kadereit, 2004; mabberley, 2008; li et al., 2020). two species are distributed in china (li and cheek, 2011; li et al., 2018). during a series of expeditions to western yunnan conducted for six years for the project “the second tibetan plateau scientific expedition and research,” we collected some interesting specimens of pinguicula, and after a thorough examination, we found that they differ from all other known species of pinguicula in their morphological features. based on a detailed morphological study, literature search (casper, 1966; tang, 1985; li, 1986, 1990, 1994; noltie, 2001; li and cheek, 2011; niu and sun, 2021), and examination of many other relevant specimens available in the kun and pe herbaria, we concluded that these specimens of pinguicula represent a new species. its detailed taxonomic description with illustrations is presented below. pinguicula gongshanensis j. sun, y.l. wen & r. li sp. nov. (fig. 1) type: china. yunnan: nujiang lisu people autonomous prefecture, gongshan county, cikai township, dongshaofang, e side of gaoligong mountains, coniferous-broad leaved mixed forest, on rocks in mountains, 3289 m, 27°41′37.7″n, 98°28′32.3″e, 21 may 2019, jun sun 1246 (holotype kun!). vernacular name: ‘贡山捕虫堇’ (gong shan bu chong jin) in chinese. herb, perennial, epilithic. roots numerous, fibrous, ca. 0.2–1 mm thick. leaves 4–9, basal rosette, sessile; leaf blade pale green, elliptic-oblong, 1–3 × 0.5–1 cm, margin entire and involute, apex obtuse to rounded, base broadly cuneate, adaxially with numerous viscid glands, abaxially glabrous. scapes 1 to 3, single-flowered, from basal rosette. pedicel 2–6 cm long, glandular pilose, apical part enlarged in fruit. calyx split from base into 2 lips, outside glandular pilose; upper lip 3 *corresponding author. e-mail: lirong@mail.kib.ac.cn https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70492 172 sun et al. fig. 1. pinguicula gongshanensis sp. nov. a. habit. b. leaf, showing viscid glands. c. flower (front view), showing inside pubescence. d. flower (longitudinal view), showing corolla, stamens, and pistil. e. stamen, showing filament and anther. f. calyx and capsule. g. seed. illustration is created from the holotype by ling wang. a new species of pinguicula (lentibulariaceae) 173 lobed, lobes ovate, ca. 2–4 × 0.8–2 mm; lower lip 2-lobed, lobes obovate, ca. 2–3 × 1–2 mm. corolla open at throat,1–2.5 cm long; upper lip yellow, 2-lobed, lobes broadly ovate to suborbicular, ca. 2–4 × 2–4 mm; lower lip yellow, 3-lobed, middle lobe larger, circular to broadly ovate, ca. 3–6 × 3–5 mm, lateral lobes broadly ovate, ca. 1.5–4 × 2–4 mm; tube white with 8–12 brown stripes extending to spur, funnel-shaped, ca. 2–3 mm long, inside yellow puberulent, outside glabrous; spur yellow, cylindric, straight, ca. 2–4 mm long, apex rounded. stamens 2, filaments curved, ca. 1–1.5 mm long, anther thecae confluent. ovary globose, ca. 1 mm in diam, ovule numerous; style short, ca. 0.1–0.3 mm long; stigma ca. 0.8–1.5 mm wide. capsule ovoidoblong, glabrous. seeds narrowly ellipsoid, ca. 200 μm long; seed coat with small prominent elongate reticulations. phenology: flowering in pinguicula gongshanensis occurs in may to june, and fruiting in june to july. etymology: the specific epithet of the new species refers to its type locality. distribution and ecology: pinguicula gongshanensis is currently known only from four sites on the gaoligong mountains in gongshan county, yunnan province, china. it grows on rocks in mountains at 2900–3300 m elevation. conservation status: the species has been collected only from the type locality and is therefore assumed to be rare. according to guidelines for using the iucn red list categories and criteria (iucn standards and petitions committee, 2022), it is considered as ‘endangered’ (en) using the criteria set out by iucn as its known area of occupancy is less than 500 km2 (criterion b2) and the total population size is estimated to be smaller than 2500 mature individuals (criterion c). pinguicula gongshanensis seems similar to p. alpina l. (1753: 17), but differs by its corolla with brown stripes on tube and spur (vs. yellow spots on throat), yellow (vs. white) corolla lip, corolla tube with yellow (vs. white) pubescence inside, glandular pilose (vs. glabrous) pedicel, and calyx (table 1). table 1. morphological comparison of pinguicula gongshanensis sp. nov. and p. alpina. characters p. gongshanensis p. alpina corolla brown stripes on tube and spur yellow spots on throat corolla lip yellow white corolla tube inside yellow puberulent inside white puberulent pedicel and calyx glandular pilose glabrous notes: morphologically, the new species is similar to pinguicula alpina l. (1753: 17) by its resting bud in winter, margin entire and involute leaves, single-flowered scape, 2-lipped calyx and corolla, hair structure on corolla inside, large middle lobe in lower corolla lip, white corolla tube, and yellow spur, but differs by its corolla with 8–12 brown stripes on tube and spur, yellow corolla lip, corolla tube with yellow pubescence inside, glandular pilose pedicel and calyx. additional specimens examined (paratypes): china. yunnan: nujiang lisu people autonomous prefecture, gongshan county, dulongjiang township, dimagalong, w side of gaoligong mountains, coniferous-broad leaved mixed forest, on rocks in mountains, 2990 m, 27°50′31.4″n, 98°27′52.7″e, 14 may 2020, jun sun 1371 (kun!); dulongjiang township, dimagalong, w side of gaoligong mountains, coniferous-broad leaved mixed forest, on rocks in mountains, 2900 m, 27°48′26.6″n, 98°25′32.1″e, 22 june 2020, jun sun 1406 (kun!); cikai 174 sun et al. township, dongshaofang, e side of gaoligong mountains, coniferous-broad leaved mixed forest, on rocks in mountains, 3300 m, 27°41′30.4″n, 98°28′29.7″e, 19 may 2021, jun sun 1473 (kun!); dulongjiang township, dimagalong, w side of gaoligong mountains, coniferous-broad leaved mixed forest, on rocks in mountains, 3120 m, 27°49′13.6″n, 98°27′23.1″e, 06 may 2022, jun sun 1511 (kun!). acknowledgement the authors kindly thank ms. ling wang from kunming institute of botany, chinese academy of sciences (kun) for the illustration. the study was supported by the key and major program for basic research project of yunnan province (grant no. 202201as070045, 202101bc070002), the national key r&d program of china (grant no. 2022yff1302401), the second tibetan plateau scientific expedition and research program (grant no. 2019qzkk0502), the platform program for basic research project of yunnan province (grant no. 202205am070008) and the strategic priority research program of the chinese academy of sciences (xda26020203). references casper, s.j. 1966. monographie der gattung pinguicula l. bibliotheca botanica, 127/128: 1–209. iucn standards and petitions committee 2022. guidelines for using the iucn red list categories and criteria. version 15.1. prepared by the standards and petitions committee. available from: https://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/redlistguidelines.pdf (accessed 15 august 2023) kadereit, j.w. 2004. pinguicula linnaeus. in: kubitzki, k. (ed.), the families and genera of vascular plants. vol. 7. springer-verlag, berlin. pp. 280–282. li, d.z., chen, z.d., wang, h. and lu, a.m. 2018. a dictionary of the families and genera of chinese vascular plants. science press, beijing. li, d.z., chen, z.d., wang, h., lu, a.m, luo, y. and yu, w.b. 2020. the families and genera of chinese vascular plants. science press, beijing. li, h. 1986. pinguicula linnaeus. in: huo, s.h. (ed.), flora yunnanica. vol. 4. science press, beijing. pp. 737–738. li, h. 1994. pinguicula linnaeus. in: wang, w.c. (ed.), vascular plants of the hengduan mountains. vol. 2. science press, beijing. pp. 1868–1869. li, z.y. and cheek, m.r. 2011. pinguicula linnaeus. in: wu, z.y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.y. (eds.), flora of china. vol. 19. science press, beijing and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. pp. 480–481. li, z.y. 1990. pinguicula linnaeus. in: wang, w.c. (ed.), flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. vol. 69. science press, beijing. pp. 583–586. linnaeus, c. 1753. species plantarum. salvius, stockholm. mabberley, d.j. 2008. mabberley’s plant-book, a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. cambridge university press, new york. niu, y. and sun, h. 2021. flowering plants of hengduan mountains. yunnan science and technology press, kunming. noltie, h.j. 2001. pinguicula linnaeus. in: grierson, a.j.c. and long, d.g. (eds), flora of bhutan. vol. 2 (2). royal botanic garden edinburgh, edinburgh. pp. 1334–1336. tang, y.c. 1985. pinguicula linnaeus. in: wu, z.y. (ed.), flora xizangica. vol. 4. science press, beijing. pp. 406–408. (manuscript received on 26 july 2023; revised on 02 december 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 293-299, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78755 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of macrofungi of the mangrove ecosystem of sundarbans of bangladesh syed arman alam, shamim shamsi* and ashfaque ahmed department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: macrofungi; mangrove; ecological zones; sundarbans; bangladesh. abstract an investigation was carried out from january to july 2021 to study the diversity of macrofungi from mangrove ecosystem of sundarbans of bangladesh. this paper deals with 7 newly recorded macrofungi found in sundarbans of bangladesh namely, entoloma strictius (peck) sacc., hexagonia hirta (p. beauv.) fr., hexagonia tenuis (hook.) fr., hexagonia nitida durieu & mont., coriolopsis gallica (fr.) ryvarden, pleurotus pulmonaris (fr.) quél., trichaptum abietinum (dicks.) ryvarden. detailed taxonomic description of the newly reported species with photographs are provided here. introduction fungi are very diverse group of eukaryotic organisms that range in size from microscopic to macroscopic. macrofungi are large, prominent and spore bearing structures that produce visible fruiting bodies. most of the macrofungi belong to ascomycetes or basidiomycetes and a few are of zygomycetes having large, easily visible, spore-bearing structures below or above the ground (mueller et al., 2007; tang et al., 2015). the total diversity and distribution of macrofungi are not properly explored worldwide (buyck et al., 2006). macrofungi can be found in a variety of habitats depending on the species of trees and other substrates. the distribution of macrofungal species is influenced by geography, light and vegetation in a temperate forest (chen et al., 2018). macrofungi are commercially significant because of their uses in food, medicine, as bio-control agents and in industries (monoharachary et al., 2005). the taxonomic reports of macrofungi from bangladesh are not so enriched in literature (rashid et al., 2017; rubina et al., 2017; islam and aminuzzaman, 2016; islam et al., 2015). the sundarbans, the single largest mangrove forest of the world has been declared as a world heritage site (whs) by the unesco in 1997 and recognized as an international important ramsar site in 1992. mangrove ecosystems are “hotspots” for marine fungal biodiversity and they are home to a diverse range of fungal communities (shearer et al., 2007). shamsi et al. (2018) reported six species and one genus of fungi associated with two mangrove species namely sonneratia apetala buch. ham and s. caseolaris (l.) from coast zone of bangladesh. most of studies of bangladesh sundarbans focused on various aspects such as the diversity analysis of algae (aziz et al., 2012; ahmed et al., 2019), angiosperm species diversity and forest cover changes (ahmed et al., 2018), physiochemical properties and contamination level of different metals of soil (ataullah et al., 2017, 2018), anatomical adaptation of different mangrove plant species (rashid et al., 2020), carbon stock of different plant parts (ahmed et al., 2021), soil carbon pool and respiration of rhizosphere of different mangrove species (alam et al., 2024). *corresponding author: prof.shamsi@gmail.com. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78755 294 alam et al. however, very few studies focused on the fungi, especially on macrofungi (das and aminuzzaman, 2017; rubina et al., 2017). macrofungal diversity and ecology of the indian part of sundarbans were observed by some researchers, from which total 62 species across 27 families and 46 genera were documented in three years study (dutta et al., 2013). the whole macrofungal community of sundarbans of bangladesh was not recorded according to the literature available (das and aminuzzaman, 2017). therefore, this study has been conducted to document the macrofungal community of mangrove ecosystem of sundarbans of bangladesh. materials and methods sundarbans mangrove ecosystem is located between the latitudes 21°30'n and 22°30'n, and longitudes 89°00'e and 89°55'e (das and aminuzzaman, 2017; rubina et al., 2017; iftekhar and islam, 2004). it belongs to satkhira, khulna, and bagerhat districts of khulna division (ataullah et al., 2017, 2018). macrofungal samples were collected from different sub-stations and near the sub-stations under 4 ranges viz., satkhira, khulna, chandpai and sarankhola from the three ecological zones (ahmed et al., 2018, 2019). total 30 places were selected for sampling sites, in which each quadrate covered about (20m×20m) area were established in each area for sample collections (alam, 2022). the samples were collected from january to july 2021. morphological and ecological data of these samples were recorded. samples were then sun-dried (parveen et al., 2017) and transported to mycology and plant pathology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. samples were then examined and were preserved in the herbarium of this laboratory. the taxonomic identification of macrofungi was done with consultation of the standard monographs and literature (dickinson and john, 1982; jorden, 2000; arora, 1986; halling, 1983). consultations of mycologists from home and abroad were also taken for the identification. results and discussion a total of 36 species of macrofungi have been recorded during the period of this study (alam, 2022). out of these 36 species, 7 species of macrofungi are new records for bangladesh with special reference to bangladesh sundarbans. these macrofungi have been recorded from different ecological zones of sundarbans of bangladesh. detailed taxonomic description, photographs, illustrations and other relevant information are given below: 1. coriolopsis gallica (fr.) ryvarden (family polyporaceae) (pl. 1, figs 1a-b) common name: brownflesh bracket. found about 4 to 10 cm wide and 5 cm deep. cap was semicircular, bracket-shaped or somewhat irregular. sometimes cap was fused laterally with other caps. brown to grayish brownish or gray coloured cap was densely hairy and bald on the margin. pore surface was gray to gray-brown and discoloring reddish brown in places. pores were angular, becoming elongated and jagged but sometimes maze-like or gill like found in some places. stem absent and flesh was rusty brown to dull brown, corky, tough and leathery. habitat: found on dead gewa trees (excoecaria agallocha l.). it is saprobic on dead woods. mode of nutrition is saprophytic. collected in january, april and july of 2021. material studied: recorded from q-29 of sundarbans of bangladesh. alam sa 25, 9 april 2021. new records of macrofungi of the mangrove ecosystem 295 2. entoloma strictius (peck) sacc. (family: entolomataceae) (pl. 1, figs 2a-b) common name: straight-stalked entoloma. cap was conical or bell shaped having a distinct but small pointed center. surface was smooth, grayish-brown when moist, paler and streaked when dry. gills were broad, adnate to deeply notched, narrowly attached to the stem. gills were whitish to buff at first but became pinkish and eventually brownish. stem 9 cm long and about 7 mm thick and slightly enlarged towards the base. spore print was slightly pinkish. habitat: this species has been found as solitary in humicolous soil with ectomycorrhizal activity in july 2021. material studied: recorded from q-23 of sundarbans of bangladesh. alam sa 31, 15 july 2021. plate 1. figs 1-4: 1. fruit bodies of coriolopsis gallica (fr.) ryvarden (1a: dorsal view, 1b: ventral view); 2. fruit bodies of entoloma strictius (peck) sacc. (2a: dorsal view, 2b: ventral view); 3. fruit bodies of hexagonia hirta (p. beauv.) fr. (3a: dorsal view, 3b: ventral view); 4. fruit bodies of hexagonia nitida durieu & mont. (4a: dorsal view, 4b: ventral view). 3. hexagonia hirta (p. beauv.) fr. (family: polyporaceae) (pl. 1, figs 3a-b) common name: not known. fruit body was 6 cm in length and 3 cm in wide with wavy margin and little lumpy appearance near the point of attachment. cap had different colors whitish, yellowish-brown to light brown respectively from the margin. surface was whitish and pores were largely rounded to large hexagonal shape and at the point of attachment had yellowish colored tubes. margin was thick and wavy. habitat: found on dead avicennia officinalis l. (bain tree). 296 alam et al. material studied: recorded from q-24 of sundarbans of bangladesh. alam sa 36, 18 july 2021. 4. hexagonia nitida durieu & mont. (family: polyporaceae) (pl. 1, figs 4a-b) common name: not known. the fruit body was 7 cm in length and 4 cm in wide and 2 cm in thickness sessile, semicircular, convex, bumpy with 3 to 6 concentric furrows. color was brown at first and then became dark after dried. margin was thin, straight, sterile, smooth, yellow-brown to bronze-brown colored. underside was yellow colored. tubes were long, thick walled, dark yellow-brown. pores were large, hexagonal, smooth, shiny, fairly light-brown and then blackish brown when matured. spore print was whitish. no stipe present. habitat: found on dead branches of gewa trees (e. agallocha) in january, april and july 2021. material studied: recorded from q-13 of sundarbans of bangladesh. alam sa 08, 16 january 2021. 5. hexagonia tenuis (hook.) fr. (family: polyporaceae) (pl. 2, figs 1a-b) common name: not known. fruit body was 6 cm in length and 5 cm wide. pileus was thin, leathery, bracket, reniform, coriaceous, glabrous. the upper surface had concentric zones of tan or ochraceous to dark brown. fruit bodies were very persistent to slightly depressed. dried samples had dark brown to blackish colored pileus. under surface had pores of small, angular to hexagonal shape. pore surface was grayish to ashy bluish tint. thin fruit body is the diagnostic characteristic of this fungi. habitat: found in dead bain trees a. officinalis in january, april and july 2021. material studied: recorded from q-5 of sundarbans of bangladesh. alam sa 05, 15 january 2021. 6. pleurotus pulmonaris (fr.) quél. (family: pleurotaceae) (pl. 2, figs 2a-b) common name: indian oyster or lung oyster. cap was 3-5 cm was across, convex, becoming flat and depressed when mature, lung shaped to fan-shaped or semi-circular in outline. found circular when growing on the tops of the logs. when young and fresh, the cap was whitish, fairly bald. the margin was in rolled when young and wavy after matured. gills were running down the stem, short-gills frequent, whitish when young and discoloring yellowish with age. stem was 1-4 cm long. flesh was thick and white. spore print was whitish. habitat: dead trees and branches of gewa (e. agallocha). found in july 2021. material studied: recorded from q-27 of sundarbans of bangladesh. alam sa 34, 20 july 2021. 7. trichaptum abietinum (dicks.) ryvarden (family: polyporacea) (pl. 2, figs 3a-b) common name: purple pore bracket. fruit body was 4 cm in length and 2.6 cm wide, tough. it was leathery when fresh but rigid when dried. the cap was 4 cm broad, fan shaped or resupinate. surface was dry and covered with stiff hairs, concentrically zone or grooved, grayish colored. margin was wavy flesh was pale gray to purplish. pores were 2-4 per mm, rounded to angular, irregularly tooth-like. pore surface was brown with hardly a hint of purple especially toward the cap margin. spore print was white. new records of macrofungi of the mangrove ecosystem 297 habitat: found on dead trees and fallen branches and injured gewa trees (e. agallocha). found in january and april 2021. material studied: recorded from q-8 of sundarbans of bangladesh. alam sa 04, 15 january 2021. plate 2. figs 1-3: 1. fruit bodies of hexagonia tenuis (hook.) fr. (1a: dorsal view, 1b: ventral view); 2. fruit bodies of pleurotus pulmonaris (fr.) quél. (2a: dorsal view, 2b: ventral view); 3. fruit bodies of trichaptum abietinum (dicks.) ryvarden (3a: dorsal view, 3b: ventral view). acknowledgement the first author would like to acknowledge the nst fellowship, ministry of science and technology, govt. of the people’s republic of bangladesh for providing the financial assistance. this paper is also a part of the m.s. thesis work of the first author. the second author also like to acknowledge the director of advanced studies and research in biological science, du for providing the financial support as research project for fiscal year 2019-2020. 298 alam et al. references ahmed, a., akter, n., hasan, s. and ataullah, m. 2019. spatio-temporal variations of water quality and phytoplankton diversity of the different rivers flowing within sundarban mangrove wetland ecosystem of bangladesh. j. biodivers. conserv. bioresour. manag. 5(1): 61–76. ahmed, a., ataullah, m., rashid, p., paul, a.r., dutta, s. and ali, m.s. 2018. species diversity, 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(manuscript received on 3 december 2023; revised on 5 november 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 225-238, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78750 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists genomic analysis made easy (game v1): an automated software for plant genome assembly and annotation from illumina sequencing mohammad ajmal ali1,*, rajesh mahato2 and joongku lee 3 1department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh 11451, saudi arabia. 2arraygen technologies private limited, undri, pune-411060, maharashtra, india. 3department of environment and forest resources, college of agricultural life science, chungnam national university, daejeon, south korea. keywords: game v1; python; short reads; plant genome; assembly; annotation. abstract the recent development and affordable accessibility of the next-generation highthroughput sequencing technology and artificial intelligence have propelled more researchers to get involved in genomics and to the threshold of a new beginning in understanding, utilizing, and conserving the biodiversity. however, one of the biggest challenges for the analysis of high-throughput sequencing reads is the whole genome assembly and annotation. availability of user-friendly free software that manages all types of sequenced dna to be used in a local environment is lacking. hence, the genomic analysis made easy (game v1) software has been developed using python to provide a user-friendly, fast, free, and automated gui-based solution for plant genome assembly and annotation. the software performs on a linux-based operating environment with a minimum of 16 gb ram and 100 gb disc space, fully automated from the installation to execution, thus requiring minimal bioinformatics expertise for the execution. the game v1 generates detailed quality reports of the raw reads, genomescope heterozygosity report, quast contigs and scaffolds results, busco summary plot, cog functional annotation chart, go chart, ncbi and uniprot annotations, kegg pathway distribution graph, and repeatmasker plots. the nuclear genome of chenopodium pallidicaule retrieved from ncbi was assembled and annotated successfully using game v1, revealing preliminary genome size estimate of around 419.54 mb based on genomescope analysis prior to assembly. the final assembly, as assessed by quast, unveiled a total length of 285.85 mb (0.29 gb) containing 23,806 genes. this automated solution will facilitate plant genomics research by revealing the underlying insights of draft nuclear genomes. the software is available at https://arraygen.com/game introduction the time-scale has witnessed tremendous changes in nucleic acid sequencing technology, moving from first generation of sequencing used for sequencing of a short oligonucleotides to next generation high-throughput sequencing used for the whole genome and transcriptome analysis (satam et al., 2023). advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies, including long-read platforms like oxford nanopore and pacific biosciences, as well as cost-effective short-read platforms like illumina sequencing, have significantly accelerated genome sequencing efforts over the past decade. these advancements have been complemented by the development of sophisticated computational tools (tian et al., 2024), the integration of automation and artificial intelligence (caudai et al., 2021), and the enhanced availability of high-quality genomic resources, such as chromosome-level de novo genome assemblies (shirasawa et al., 2021) and detailed genome annotations (ejigu et al., 2020). *corresponding author: alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78750 https://arraygen.com/game mailto:alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa 226 ali et al. together, these innovations have ushered in a new era of genomics, enabling ambitious projects like the open green genomes initiative (https://phytozome-next.jgi.doe.gov/) and the earth biogenome project (https://www.earthbiogenome.org/) to sequence the genomes of all complex life on earth. in genomics, generating high-quality genome assemblies and annotations has become essential for understanding the biology of any species (jung et al., 2020). however, existing software for genome assembly and annotation often demands high-performance hardware (kathiresan et al., 2017), advanced bioinformatics expertise (helmy et al., 2016), and costly subscriptions (el-metwally et al., 2013). each tool has its unique strengths and limitations depending on the specific application (rice and green, 2019). despite this, selecting open-access computational tools capable of managing diverse dna sequence types in local environments with minimal hardware requirements and reduced execution times remains a significant challenge (kathiresan et al., 2017). this issue is particularly pronounced for scientists in developing countries, where limited computational resources hinder participation in the genomic revolution (helmy et al., 2016). to address these barriers, genomic analysis made easy (game v1) has been developed. game v1 is an innovative, user-friendly, and fully automated gui-based software designed to simplify the complex and resource-intensive process of plant genome assembly and annotation. built using python, game v1 combines speed, efficiency, and accessibility, making it an ideal tool for researchers with limited computational resources or bioinformatics expertise. by integrating multiple steps into a single streamlined workflow, the software minimizes the technical challenges typically associated with genome analysis. game v1 is available for free, ensuring that scientists, particularly having resource-constrained settings, can actively participate in cuttingedge genomic research without the need for expensive hardware or paid subscriptions. with its intuitive interface and robust performance, game v1 empowers researchers to focus on scientific discovery while democratizing access to advanced genomic tools. materials and methods game v1 was developed on a linux platform using python to create an automated, userfriendly pipeline for plant genome assembly and annotation from illumina sequencing data. it integrates numerous bioinformatics tools to streamline complex genomic workflows. the apt and pip3 packages ensure seamless installation and management of dependencies, while java facilitates the execution of cross-platform tools used in various pipeline stages. for sequence quality assessment and preprocessing, fastqc evaluates raw read quality, and fastp performs adapter trimming and quality filtering to ensure high-quality inputs for assembly (jung et al., 2020). the gatb minia pipeline was chosen as the primary genome assembler due to its high performance with low-memory requirements, making it particularly suitable for resourceconstrained environments (drezen et al., 2014). while assemblers such as masurca or spades offer robust assembly capabilities, their higher computational demands and memory footprints can be prohibitive for researchers with limited hardware resources. gatb minia excels in efficiently assembling genomes from large illumina datasets, aligning with the objectives of game v1 to provide a lightweight and accessible solution (https://github.com/gatb/gatb-minia-pipeline). tools like kmergenie optimize k-mer selection, a critical step in improving assembly accuracy, and quast evaluates the quality of assembled contigs through metrics such as n50 and misassemblies (gurevich et al., 2013). for sequence alignment, bwa maps reads to reference sequences, supporting downstream analysis. functional annotation is carried out using prodigal for gene prediction, augustus for advanced gene model prediction, and busco, which assesses https://phytozome-next.jgi.doe.gov/) https://www.earthbiogenome.org/) https://github.com/gatb/gatb-minia-pipeline). genomic analysis made easy (game v1): an automated software 227 the completeness of genome assemblies based on conserved single-copy orthologs (simão et al., 2015). repeatmasker identifies and masks repetitive dna elements, improving the annotation process (tarailo‐graovac and chen, 2009). for homology-based functional annotation, diamond, hmmer (hmmscan), and metaeuk enable rapid and sensitive protein sequence comparisons. visualization and statistical analysis are conducted using ggplot2 in r, which generates highquality plots for gene ontology (go) and kegg (kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes) pathway enrichment analyses, providing functional insights (wickham, 2011). supporting tools like git ensure version control and collaboration during software development, while cmake automates the compilation and build process for integrated tools (perez-riverol et al., 2016). utilities like gzip and curl handle data compression and retrieval, facilitating efficient processing of large genomic datasets. blastn performs nucleotide sequence similarity searches. validated with chenopodium pallidicaule aellen (srr4425239) as a test case, game v1 integrates these tools into a single pipeline, reducing computational barriers and enabling assembly and annotation of plant genomes efficiently, regardless of prior bioinformatics expertise. the debian package file of the software can be download from https://arraygen.com/game, and extracted followed by command “sudo dpkg -i game.deb” in a new terminal to install. the installation time depends on the speed of the internet. results and discussion the minimum system requirements for running game v1 include ubuntu 22.04.4 lts operating system (64-bit), 16 gb of ram, a processor with at least 4 cores, and a minimum of 2.0 tb hard disk space. however, these requirements may increase based on the size of the raw data being processed. larger datasets (raw data) demand additional ram and disk space to ensure optimal execution by game v1. installation and testing were conducted on a lenovo thinkstation c30 equipped with an intel® xeon® e5-2620 cpu @ 2.00 ghz (12 cores), 128 gb of ram, an 8.0 tb disk, and nv106 graphics, running ubuntu 22.04.4 lts (gnome version 42.9) with the wayland windowing system. under these conditions, installation of the software and all dependencies over a 100 mbps internet connection required approximately two hours. the successful operation of game v1 is contingent upon the proper installation of all dependent tools, including those necessary for genome assembly, annotation, and downstream analyses. once installation is complete, users can launch game v1 by specifying the project path and entering the desired project name in the intuitive welcome interface (fig. 1a). this streamlined setup ensures a seamless start to genome analysis workflows, and generates detailed quality reports of the raw reads, genomescope heterozygosity report, quast contigs and scaffolds results, busco summary plot, cog functional annotation chart, go chart, ncbi and uniprot annotations, kegg pathway distribution graph, and repeatmasker plots. a total of 46.1 gb of paired-end short-read data (c. pallidicaule, srr4425239) was retrieved from the ncbi sra database. the fastq files, containing forward and reverse reads, were seamlessly uploaded into game v1 using the software's "browse" option, enabling efficient integration into the genome assembly workflow (fig. 1b), and it was executed with the tool setting (fig. 1c). under the tools setting, the number of threads were provided according to 10 available threads in the cpu (fig. 1c). on execution, the software first checked the installation of the dependent tools. the successful execution competed in 17 hours, and generated all the results in various html, pdf and excel files. the results of quality control analysis are shown in table 1. before filtering, the dataset comprised 389.56 million reads totaling 38.96 billion bases, with 96.86% of bases having a quality score of q20 or higher and 90.72% achieving q30 or higher. https://arraygen.com/game, 228 ali et al. the gc content of the raw data was 38.53%. after filtering, the dataset was reduced to 350.65 million reads with 35.03 billion bases, indicating the removal of low-quality reads and adapters. the proportion of q20 bases increased to 98.82%, while q30 bases rose to 94.55%, reflecting a significant improvement in overall sequence quality. the gc content post-filtering was slightly reduced to 38.21%, indicating the maintenance of sequence composition integrity. fig. 1. game v1 welcome interface and tools setting. a. interface of the game v1. b. uploading of the sequence data. c. details of the tools setting. a b c genomic analysis made easy (game v1): an automated software 229 these results demonstrate the efficiency of fastp in enhancing data quality for downstream genome assembly and analysis. the filtering process retained 350.65 million reads, accounting for 90.01% of the total input reads, ensuring a high-quality dataset for downstream analysis. a total of 38.90 million reads (9.99%) were removed due to low quality, while 9,220 reads (0.0024%) were excluded because they contained excessive ambiguous bases (ns). notably, no reads were discarded for being too short, reflecting the robustness of the dataset's original length distribution. these results highlight the effectiveness of the filtering process in maintaining high-quality reads while minimizing data loss. table 1. quality control analysis of the paired-end illumina reads generated by fastp tool prebuilt in game v1. qc analysis fastp report summary fastp version 0.20.1 (https://github.com/opengene/fastp) sequencing paired end (100 cycles + 100 cycles) mean length before filtering 99bp, 99bp mean length after filtering 99bp, 99bp duplication rate 3.636400% insert size peak 169 before filtering total reads 389.563646 m total bases 38.955270 g q20 bases 37.732166 g (96.860233%) q30 bases 35.338756 g (90.716238%) gc content 38.531857% after filtering total reads 350.650934 m total bases 35.031077 g q20 bases 34.616826 g (98.817475%) q30 bases 33.120725 g (94.546695%) gc content 38.210978% filtering result reads passed filters 350.650934 m (90.011206%) reads with low quality 38.903492 m (9.986428%) reads with too many n 9.220000 k (0.002367%) reads too short 0 (0.000000%) the genomic properties of c. pallidicaule were assessed using the genomescope model with a k-mer size of 83, following trimming of forward reads to remove adapter sequences and poly-g artifacts. the analysis revealed a low heterozygosity rate, ranging from 0.0642% to 0.0660%, suggesting that the genome is predominantly homozygous (table 2, fig. 2). such low heterozygosity levels often indicate a history of inbreeding, which can arise due to self-pollination, small population size, or geographic isolation. alternatively, it may signify strong selective pressures that favor genomic stability by purging deleterious alleles and conserving adaptive traits. https://github.com/opengene/fastp) 230 ali et al. this genetic uniformity could enhance the species' fitness in its specific ecological niche. it may also reduce its ability to adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions or emerging stressors. understanding heterozygosity is thus crucial for conservation strategies and for elucidating the evolutionary processes shaping the genetic makeup of c. pallidicaule (ellestad et al., 2022). the estimated haploid genome length was approximately 419.33 to 419.54 mb, with a repeat length ranging from 102.62 to 102.67 mb, highlighting the repetitive regions that play a key role in structural and functional aspects of the genome. the unique genome length, spanning 316.71 to 316.87 mb, provides a measure of the non-redundant regions that are essential for understanding the functional genomics of this species. these unique sequences likely encode genes critical for adaptation, stress response, and metabolic processes specific to c. pallidicaule. the model fit, ranging from 97.99% to 99.35%, underscores the robustness of the k-mer-based analysis, ensuring that the genome features are accurately captured. additionally, the extremely low read error rate of 0.1068% reflects the high quality of the input sequencing data, further validating the reliability of the estimates. in a recent study, de novo assembly of gaultheria prostrata kalm ex l. (ericaceae) nuclear genome showed model error rate of about 0.493% (lin et al, 2024). in our study, game v1 successfully executed genomescope and the model error rate was much lower than that of g. prostrata, further validating the game v1 execution protocol. error rates below 0.5% are generally regarded as acceptable for large genome assemblies, as they minimize the risk of misrepresentation in genomic features such as repetitive regions or structural variants. our error rate, which is nearly five times lower, reinforces the reliability of our assembly and confirms that it meets, and indeed surpasses, industry and research standards for de novo genome projects (lin et al., 2024). the insights into heterozygosity and repeat content may aid in designing strategies for assembling repetitive regions and identifying potential genomic markers (dai et al., 2016). fig. 2. genomescope profile of the sequenced illumina paired-end reads of c. pallidicaule. a. k-mer frequency ranging upto 3.0×107. b. k-mer frequency ranging upto 1.0×109. gatb minia pipeline was able to generate the assembled contigs and scaffolds files successfully. quast evaluation of the contigs revealed significant insights on the assembled contigs (table 3). a total of 341,893 contigs were generated, of which 58,302 contigs were longer genomic analysis made easy (game v1): an automated software 231 than 1,000 bp, 17,041 contigs exceeded 5,000 bp, and 5,852 contigs were greater than 10,000 bp in length. additionally, 315 contigs were longer than 25,000 bp, and 3 contigs exceeded 50,000 bp. the total length of the assembled sequences was 320,381,369 bp, with 261,461,981 bp in contigs ≥ 1,000 bp and 166,570,318 bp in contigs ≥ 5,000 bp. the largest contig assembled was 53,042 bp, and the assembly had a gc content of 36.27%. table 2. genomic estimates of c. pallidicaule genome using genomescope module of game v1. properties minimum maximum heterozygosity 0.0642223% 0.0659812% genome haploid length 419,333,197 bp 419,543,345 bp genome repeat length 102,622,500 bp 102,673,929 bp genome unique length 316,710,697 bp 316,869,415 bp model fit 97.9918% 99.3459% read error rate 0.106822% 0.106822% table 3. evaluation of contigs and scaffolds assembled via gatb minia pipeline inside game v1. characteristics contigs scaffolds contigs/scaffolds (≥ 0 bp) 341893 270380 contigs/scaffolds (≥ 1000 bp) 58302 46511 contigs/scaffolds (≥ 5000 bp) 17041 16906 contigs/scaffolds (≥ 10000 bp) 5852 7963 contigs/scaffolds (≥ 25000 bp) 315 1130 contigs/scaffolds (≥ 50000 bp) 3 70 total length (≥ 0 bp) 320381369 316150614 total length (≥ 1000 bp) 261461981 272974537 total length (≥ 5000 bp) 166570318 204363590 total length (≥ 10000 bp) 88104240 140718618 total length (≥ 25000 bp) 9669339 38029954 total length (≥ 50000 bp) 155557 4196083 contigs/scaffolds 85317 64228 largest contig/scaffold 53042 96620 total length 281042957 285845886 gc (%) 36.27 36.33 n50 6394 9805 n90 1246 1717 aun 8339.5 12948.7 l50 12442 8186 l90 50659 34531 n's per 100 kbp 0.00 18.89 the n50 value, a critical metric for evaluating genome assembly quality, provides insight into the contiguity of assembled sequences. for c. pallidicaule, the n50 value was recorded at 6,394 bp, notably higher than the n50 of cymbopogon citratus, which measured 4,347 bp (chakravartty and neelapu, 2024). this comparison highlights that the c. pallidicaule genome assembly possesses greater contiguity, indicating that its sequences are, on average, longer and potentially more complete. higher n50 values are significant as they often reflect better assembly 232 ali et al. performance, facilitating downstream analyses such as gene prediction and structural annotation. conversely, the lower n50 value of c. citratus suggests that its assembly may have more fragmented sequences, possibly due to sequencing limitations, assembly strategies, or inherent genomic complexity. these differences emphasize the importance of optimizing sequencing and assembly methods to achieve high-quality genomic assemblies for comparative and functional studies. the aun was calculated as 8,339.5 bp. the l50 and l90 values, indicating the number of contigs required to cover 50% and 90% of the genome assembly, were 12,442 and 50,659, respectively. no ambiguous bases (n's) were detected in the assembly, as reflected by 0.00 n's per 100 kbp. regarding the scaffold assembly, a total of 270,380 scaffolds were generated, with 46,511 scaffolds being at least 1,000 bp in length and 7,963 exceeding 10,000 bp. the largest scaffold reached a length of 96,620 bp. the assembly achieved a total length of 285,845,886 bp, with a gc content of 36.33%. the n50 was 9,805 bp, and the l50 was 8,186 bp, indicating moderate continuity. the aun was 12,948.7 bp, reflecting the overall quality of the assembly. additionally, there were 18.89 ns per 100 kbp, indicating some unresolved regions, which are typical in draft genome assemblies. these metrics collectively highlighted a robust scaffold assembly with potential for further refinement. the quality of the genome assembly was evaluated using busco (benchmarking universal single-copy orthologs), which assesses genome completeness based on the presence of conserved orthologous genes. the analysis revealed that the assembly contained 269 complete buscos (c), representing 63.29% of the total searched busco groups (table 4). among these, 264 buscos were identified as complete and single-copy (s), while 5 buscos were complete and duplicated (d). additionally, 143 buscos were classified as fragmented (f), and 13 buscos were reported as missing (m). overall, the evaluation was conducted against 425 busco groups. the assembly statistics further supported the busco results, highlighting the structural attributes of the genome. table 4. genome completeness analysis using viridiplantae database in busco module of game v1. busco results complete buscos (c) 269 complete and single-copy buscos (s) 264 complete and duplicated buscos (d) 5 fragmented buscos (f) 143 missing buscos (m) 13 total busco groups searched 425 assembly statistics number of scaffolds 341893 number of contigs 341893 total length 320381369 percent gaps 0.000% scaffold n50 15 kb contigs n50 15 kb the total length of the assembly was 320,381,369 bp, distributed across 341,893 contigs, with no gaps detected (0.000% gaps). the contig n50 and scaffold n50 values were both 15 kb, indicating that half of the total genome length was covered by contigs or scaffolds of this length or longer. these results demonstrate a moderate level of genome completeness and structural integrity, emphasizing the assembly's suitability for downstream analyses such as gene annotation genomic analysis made easy (game v1): an automated software 233 and functional studies. the presence of complete single-copy buscos suggests a significant representation of the essential genes within the assembly, while the fragmented and missing buscos highlight areas for potential improvement in assembly quality (manni et al., 2021). in a recent study of cymbopogon citratus l. nuclear genome, complete buscos were recorded as 60.90% and missing buscos were noted as 17.7% (chakravartty and neelapu, 2024). in the present investigation, game v1 revealed better results for c. pallidicaule with complete and missing buscos of about 63.29% and 3.06%, respectively. this outcome reinforced the nuclear genome assembly of c. pallidicaule using game v1. functional analysis using cog (clusters of orthologous groups) database revealed annotations for 24 different categories while no records were observed for nuclear structure (y) and extracellular structures (w) (fig. 3a). fig. 3. functional annotation of the nuclear genome of c. pallidicaule. a. annotation based on cog identifiers, b. annotation based on gene ontology. 234 ali et al. the highest number of genes (890) were predicted to be involved in the replication, recombination, and repairing processes. the lowest number of genes (3) were predicted to have cytoskeleton-related functions. in c. pallidicaule, the cytoskeleton might play crucial role in cellular processes such as cell division, intracellular transport, and maintaining cell shape. identifying cytoskeleton-related genes provides insights into these critical physiological functions. gene ontology (go)-based analysis categorized the nuclear genome into three major functional groups: biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions, providing comprehensive insights into the functional roles of the predicted genes. a total of 23,806 genes were identified, distributed across cellular components (13,052 genes), molecular functions (8,517 genes), and biological processes (2,737 genes) (fig. 3b). within the cellular component category, the nucleus exhibited the highest representation with 2,736 genes, while the plasmodesma showed the lowest with 585 genes. for molecular functions, atp binding dominated with 2,220 genes, underscoring its critical role in energy-dependent cellular processes, whereas rna binding was the least represented, involving 493 genes. in the biological process category, proteolysis had the highest gene count, reflecting its essential role in protein turnover and cellular regulation, while cell division showed the lowest representation. this go analysis highlights the functional complexity of the genome and provides valuable insights into the biological and molecular mechanisms operating within c. pallidicaule. pathway distribution analysis using kegg database unraveled a total of 2028 genes involved in various pathways (fig. 4). the highest number of genes (460) were found to play functional roles in the protein modification pathways. the lowest gene count (35) was observed in the pyruvate from d-glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate pathway. a total of 335 genes were involved in the protein ubiquitination pathway and another 151 genes were functional in the amino acid biosynthesis pathway. the gene count for carbohydrate metabolism and purine metabolism pathways was same (40). in the same way, aromatic compound metabolism, porphyrin-containing compound metabolism, and fatty acid biosynthesis pathways showed very similar gene count (37). repeatmasker analysis revealed repetitive elements spanning 223,973 base pairs (bp), representing approximately 0.069% of the nuclear genome. a variety of repeat classes were identified, each contributing distinct lengths and gene counts (figs 5 and 6). long terminal repeats (ltrs) were among the most prominent categories. 4,132 ltr/copia elements were identified, contributing 20,230 bp (0.006%), while 3,947 ltr/gypsy elements spanned 23,312 bp (0.007%). additional ltr-related elements, including general ltr sequences, contributed 20,575 bp (0.006%) across 3,184 genes. dna transposons included 267 tir (terminal inverted repeat) elements, covering 13,231 bp (0.004%), and 202 helitron elements, spanning 18,502 bp (0.006%). smaller contributions were observed from trim (terminal repeat retrotransposons in miniature) elements, which accounted for 2,268 bp (0.001%) across 279 genes. unclassified repeats contributed 14,773 bp (0.005%) and were represented by 285 genes. lines (long interspersed nuclear elements) made up 17,576 bp (0.005%) across 41 genes, while sines (short interspersed nuclear elements) contributed 2,171 bp (0.001%) with 7 genes. additional elements, such as rrna-related repeats spanning 3,132 bp (0.001%) across 202 genes, and other simple repeats at 374 bp, were also identified. the analysis reflected a minimal presence of repetitive sequences in the genome, with no single category dominating the genome's structure. this low repeat content suggests a compact and efficient genomic organization, potentially limiting the influence of non-coding repetitive regions on gene functionality. the sequencing of life on earth is revolutionizing basic biological research and transforming our understanding of phylogenetics, evolution, ecology, conservation, agriculture, bioindustry, and medicine (hiller et al., 2012; henry, 2022). these advances are pivotal in building a sustainable future, ensuring biosecurity, and fostering an innovative bio-economy (blaxter et al., 2022). genomic analysis made easy (game v1): an automated software 235 fig. 4. kegg pathway analysis showing the distribution of nuclear genes across various biological pathways. a. histogram plot. b. dot plot. 236 ali et al. fig. 5. analysis of major repeat structures in the nuclear genome of c. pallidicaule using the repeatmasker module of game v1 showing gene count. fig. 6. analysis of repeat structures in the nuclear genome of c. pallidicaule using the repeatmasker module of game v1 showing the length (bp) of the repeat structures. genomic analysis made easy (game v1): an automated software 237 in plants, genomic resources have the potential to simplify and expedite experimental gene function analysis (rodríguez del río et al., 2024), enable metabolic pathway engineering for enhanced drought and heat tolerance (liu et al., 2023), facilitate data mining of bioactive compounds (liu et al., 2022), and improve crop breeding strategies (henry, 2022). as sequencing costs decrease and data volumes surge, computational analysis has emerged as a significant bottleneck (pucker et al., 2022). efficient downstream processing of short-read datasets is critical after sequencing (zhang et al., 2011), with whole-genome assembly and annotation being among the most challenging tasks. while numerous tools exist for genome assembly and annotation, they often require advanced bioinformatics skills (helmy et al., 2016) and, in some cases, costly subscriptions (el-metwally et al., 2013), such as blast2go (conesa and götz, 2008). while game v1 offers a robust, user-friendly platform for the assembly and annotation of higher plant genomes, but limited to short-read sequencing data generated by illumina 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(manuscript received on 22 september 2024; revised on 28 november 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 321-323, 2024 (december) short communication © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78759 salvinia minima baker (salviniaceae): a new pteridophytic record for bangladesh sabiha alam shifa, md. almujaddade alfasane* and md. abul hassan department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: salvinia minima baker; salviniaceae; new record; bangladesh. in bangladesh, a total of four species of salvinia namely, salvinia auriculata aublet, s. cucullata roxb. ex bory, s. molesta mitch., and s. natans (linn.) all. (syn. marsilea natans l.), have been documented so far (hooker, 1888; prain, 1903; datta and mitra, 1953; hadiuzzaman and khondker, 1993; siddiqui et al., 2007). based on standard references (biswas and calder, 1954; fassett, 1957; blagojevich, 2001; usda-erdc, 2002; ufl-ifas, 2002; madeira et al., 2003; issg, 2006; mikulyuk and nault, 2009; smagula and connor, 2007; alam et al., 2012), the present specimen has been identified as salvinia minima baker. however, previous surveys and research contain no records of s. minima from regions that now constitute present bangladesh. consequently, this represents the first report of salvinia minima baker from bangladesh (fig. 1). common name: water spangles. division: polypodiophyta, class: polypodiopsida, family: salviniaceae, genus: salvinia, species: salvinia minima baker, j. bot. 24: 98 (1886), synonym: salvinia minima var. gaillardiana maury, j. bot. (morot) 3: 129 (1889). plant materials were collected on june 20, 2024, from agricultural land in radhanagar, bancharampur upazila under brahmanbaria district of bangladesh. the site is geographically located at 23°41'54.1"n latitude and 90°46'31.5"e longitude. sample was found floating on the surface of the waterbody of a canal and within 1 meter depth. a portion of the samples was preserved as herbarium sheets for long-term documentation. along with a few aquatic macrophytes, the sample was taken from the water surface and placed in a sizable, air tight polyethylene bag with water mixed. within six hours of the sample being collected, it was delivered to the phycology, limnology, and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany at the university of dhaka. voucher specimens of the material were created and stored in the laboratory, while some fresh materials were preserved in 4% formaldehyde. the remaining plant sample was transferred to the botanical garden of department of botany at university of dhaka, for ex-situ culture preparation, in a concrete house that was 1 × 0.5 m in length and 0.40 cm in depth. the aquatic fern s. minima is deep green and free-floating. the leaves range in length from 0.5 to 1.0 cm and are elliptic to nearly spherical or oval, while the stems can reach up to 6 cm. they have a circular to cordate base and an obtuse or notched apex. leaves are arranged in a whorls of three, two of these three leaves are joined horizontally and float, while the third is submerged, dissected which acts as a root (1.5-2.0 cm). plant colour is green to olive-green depending on the environmental conditions such as temperature and sunlight. adaxial surface of the leaf is flat, having white hair on leaf surface. the abaxial surface also contains longer brown hairs. leaf color ranged from vivid green to brown, and they frequently turn brown with age and exposure to sunshine. asexual reproduction occurs primarily through fragmentation. daughter plants can *corresponding author: mujaddade@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78759 322 shifa et al. develop from any segment of the rhizome. the plant often exhibits exponential growth due to the continuous nature of fragmentation process. fig. 1. salvinia minima baker: a. natural habitat of s. minima growing with other aquatic macrophytes, b. leaves are arranged in whorls of three, two of these three leaves are joined horizontally and float, while the third is submerged, c. herbarium specimen with scale. salvinia minima: a new record 323 references alam, a.b.m.s., chowdhury, m.s.m. and sobhan, i. 2012. biodiversity of tanguar haor: a ramsar site of bangladesh, vol. i: wildlife, iucn bangladesh, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. xi+234. biswas, k. and calderk, c.c. 1954. hand-book of common water and marsh plants of india and burma. herbarium, royal botanic garden, calcutta, 216 pp. blagojevich, r.r. 2001. aquatic plants–their identification and management, dept. of natural resources, state of illinois, usa, 60 pp. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1, 2): 1– 110. fassett, n.c. 1957. a manual of aquatic plants. the university of wisconsin press, madison, 405 pp. hooker, j.d. 1888. flora of british india, vol. 5. l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england. pp. 463–686. issg, 2006. salvinia minima. global invasive species database. invasive species specialist group, iucn. auckland, new zealand: university of auckland. http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology. asp?si=570&fr=1&sts=sss&lang=en madeira, p.t., jacono, c.c., tipping, p., van, t.k. and center, t.d. 2003. a genetic survey of salvinia minima in the southern united states. aquat. bot. 76: 127–139. mikulyuk, a. and nault, m.e. 2009. water spangles (salvinia minima): a technical review of distribution, ecology, impacts, and management. wisconsin department of natural resources bureau of science services, pub‐ ss‐1053 2009. madison, wisconsin, usa. prain, d. 1903. (ind. rep. 1981). bengal plants, vol. 1. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. 663 pp. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 2007 (eds). encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol. 5. bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. pp 215-217. smagula, a.p. and connor, j. 2007. aquatic plants and algae of new hampshire’s lakes and ponds, nh department of environmental services, concord, usa, 102 pp. hadiuzzaman, s and khondker, m. 1993. salvinia auriculata aublet – a new recprd of aquatic pteridophyte from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 22(2): 229-231. ufl-ifas, 2002. salvinia minima. aquatic, wetland and invasive plant particulars and photographs. gainsville, fl, usa: university of florida, center for aquatic and invasive plants. http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/395 usda-erdc, 2002. salvinia minima baker (water spangles). aquatic plant information system. vicksburg, md: united states department of agriculture, engineer research and development center. http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/aqua/apis/plantinfo/plantinfo.aspx? plantid=55 (manuscript received on 25 july 2024; revised on 7 november 2024) http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/395 http://el.erdc.usace.army.mil/aqua/apis/plantinfo/plantinfo.aspx doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57132 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists study of marine sand-dwelling dinoflagellate with four new records from the central south coast of viet nam the ho van* and h’yon niê bing1 institute of oceanography, vietnam academy of science and technology (vast), 01, cau da, nha trang, khanh hoa, viet nam keywords: marine sand-dwelling; dinoflagellates taxonomy; vietnamese coast. abstract in this study, marine sand samples were collected from the shallow intertidal zone of nha trang bay, viet nam. taxonomic observations were conducted for the sanddwelling dinoflagellates using light, epifluorescent and scanning electron microscopy. morphology characterizations of the four species namely, amphidiniopsis hexagona, thecadinium pseudokofoidii, amphidinium herdmanii and fukuyoa ruetzleri have been reported as new records for vietnamese coastal waters. the genus amphidiniopsis and thecadinium are a new addition to the dinoflagellates flora of viet nam. taxomomic descriptions and photographs of these species have been provided. introduction benthic dinoflagellates (including epiphytic and sand-dwelling species) consist of known potentially toxic species which produce toxins that cause ciguatera fish poisoning (cfp), a common illness associated with fish consumption in tropical areas. benthic dinoflagellates have been found to be associated with sandy bottoms, dead corals, seagrasses, macroalgae, detrital aggregates and even artificial substrate in tropical and subtropical waters (faust, 1995; tester et al., 2014). over the past decade in viet nam, surveys of the benthic dinoflagellates have mostly focused on epiphytic toxic species (nguyen and larsen, 2004; ho et al., 2010; ho and nguyen, 2014; ho and h’yon, 2019), whereas sand-dwelling dinoflagellates have been poorly studied and information on them is insufficient. the aim of this study is to document the ocurrence of marine sand-dwelling dinoflagellates from the intertidal zone of nha trang bay contribute to a basis for better understanding of the their global distribution. toward said goal, four marine sand-dwelling dinoflagellate species viz., amphidiniopsis hexagona, thecadinium pseudokofoidii, fukuyoa ruetzleri and amphidinium herdmanii have been described in detail and illustrated herein. materials and methods samples were taken monthly (july november 2013) from the shallow intertidal zone of nha trang bay (109o13.218′ e, 12o12.75′ n) (fig. 1). surface sand samples were collected by snorkeling divers using plastic bags at a depth of 1–1.5 m and from the upper layer of sandy flat using a spoon during low tide. water temperature (oc) and salinity (psu) were measured every month during sampling collection in the water column. in the laboratory, the sand samples were mixed and lightly shaken with filtered seawater taken from the same site and the material was passed through consecutive smaller sieve sizes (125 µm, 1tay nguyen institute for scientific research, vietnam academy of science and technology (vast). 116 xo viet nghe tinh, da lat, lam dong, viet nam *corresponding author, e-mail: hovantheio@gmail.com bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 367‒378, 2021 (december) https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57132 mailto:hovantheio@gmail.com 368 ho van and niê bing 64 µm, 32 µm and 20 µm) to remove large particles. material on the 64 µm, 32 µm and 20 µm sieves were examined and observed using a leica mz 12 stereo microscope. cells of dinoflagellates were sought and isolated by pipette. the wild cells were observed alive or preserved with lugol-iodine solution using light microscopy (lm). cell demensions were measured by light microscopy using a calibrated ocular micrometer. thecal plate patterns were observed after staining with calcofluor white m2r with a leica ldmb microscope using equipped phase and differential interference contrasts, epifluorescence microscopy. photographs were recorded with a digital camera (olympus dp-71). for scanning electron microscopy (sem), fixed specimens were isolated and placed on 5 µm carbon membrane in a filter-holder (millipore), rinsed three times with distilled water and dehydrated through an ethanol series of 15%, 30%, 50%, 70%, 90% and 99.99%, then air dried. the filter was mounted on an aluminium stub with carbon tape and coated with gold in a vacuum sputter coater. specimens were observed using a jeol jsm-5410 lv scanning electron microscope. fig. 1. map showing the sampling location in nha trang bay, viet nam. results and discussion based on an examination of cell size shape, cell surface morphology and architecture of thecal plates by light and scanning electron microscopy, the marine sand-dwelling dinoflagellates namely, amphidiniopsis hexagona, thecadinium pseudokofoidii, amphidinium herdmanii and fukuyoa ruetzleri have been described and documented with illustrations. study of marine sand-dwelling dinoflagellate 369 class: dinophyceae west & fritch 1927; order: peridiniales haeckel 1894; family: thecadiniaceae balech 1956; genus: amphidiniopsis woloszyńska 1929 amphidiniopsis hexagona yoshimatsu, toriumi et dodge (figs 2–7) (yoshimatsu et al., 2000a: figs 10–17, figs 18a–d.) taxonomic remarks: cells of a. hexagona are hexagonal in ventral view, slightly dorsoventrally flattened (figs 2–4, 7). thecal surface is slightly thick and coated with nipple-like processes (figs 3–4). cell dimensions range from 34.5–37 µm long and 30.8–31.7 µm wide. measurements of our specimens were smaller than those reported in the document for a. hexagona (44–59 µm long and 40–53 µm wide, yoshimatsu et al., 2000a). the plate formula is po, 4′, 2a, 7′′, 4s, 5′′′, 2′′′′ (the cingulum plates (c) were not visible in the specimens of our study). the epitheca is short, 6.5–7.5 µm long. the epitheca consists of thirteen plates: an apical pore plate (po), four apical (1′, 2′, 3′ and 4′), two anterior intercalary (1a, 2a), and seven precingular plates (1′′, 2′′, 3′′, 4′′, 5′′, 6′′ and 7′′) (figs 5–6). four apical plates are of equal size. the anterior intercalary plate 1a is pentagonal and the plate 2a is long and narrow. plate 1′′ is five-sided, plates 2′′, 3′′, 4′′, 5′′, 6′′ are four-sided and plate 7′′ is trapezoidal. the cingulum is deep and equatorial. it figs 2–7. micrographs of amphidiniopsis hexagona under light and epifluorescent microscopy. fig. 2. ventral view showing a small epitheca and large hypotheca, cingulum (long arrows) and sulcus (arrow) and two spines emerged at end of the plates sda and ss (arrowheads). figs 3–5. ventral view. fig. 6. dorsal view showing the epithecal and hypothecal plates. fig. 7. dorsal view showing a pusule (marked p) and nucleus (marked n) dorsally situated in hypotheca (arrow). scale bars: 10 μm. 370 ho van and niê bing is sinistral torsion and displaced by a deeply as it is wide. the sulcus includes six plates: anterior, right, left and posterior plates (sa, sd, ss and sp) (figs 3–5), as well as to two anterior and right accessory sulcus plates (saa and sda) (figs 2–3). two spines are present at the end of plates sda and ss (figs 2, 4). hypotheca is about 28–30 µm long and notched at the antapex (figs 5–7). the hypotheca contains seven plates: five postcingular plates (1′′′, 2′′′, 3′′′, 4′′′ and 5′′′), and two antapical plates (1′′′′, 2′′′′). the first and fifth postcingular plates are wide and their surface covers most of the ventral side of the cell (figs 5–6). the second and fourth plates are medium in sized and positioned dorsally. the third plate, the largest in the series of postcingular plates, is five-sided and situated at the posterior part of hypotheca. the first and second antapical plates are equally large and arranged symmetrically (fig. 6). at present, twenty-four amphidiniopsis species have been identified and described (yoshimatsu et al., 2000a; murray and patterson, 2002a; toriumi et al., 2002; hoppenrath, 2000a; hoppenrath et al., 2009, 2012, 2014; reñé et al., 2000; selina and morozova, 2017; selina, 2016; selina and hoppenrath, 2013). among them, a. aculeata, a. konovalovae, a. strita, a. swedmakii, a. hirsuta and a. hexagona are similiar in shape, size and arrangement of epithecal and hypothecal plates. a. hexagona is distinguished from the five former by the shape and size of 3′′′, 5′′′, 2′′′′ plates, the number and shape of anterior intercalary plates (a), the presence or absence of two spines at the end of plates sda and ss and the presence or absence of spines at antapical margin. distribution: a. hexagona was found on sandy beach, shirarahama, wakayama prefecture in japan (yoshimatsu et al., 2000a). lately, it has been reported from sandy sediment samples in botany bay, sydney, australia (murray, 2003). this is the first record of a. hexagona in viet nam and genus amphidiniopsis is a new addition to the dinoflagellate flora of viet nam. this species could be frequently observed and never in high abundance. class: dinophyceae west & fritch 1927; order: peridiniales haeckel 1894; family: thecadiniaceae balech 1956; genus: thecadinium kofoid & skogsberg 1928 thecadinium pseudokofoidii selina, efimova & hoppenrath (figs 8–13) (selina et al., 2019: figs 8–12, 32–57) taxonomic remarks: cells of t. pseudokofoidii have golden-brown chloroplasts (figs 8–9). cells are flattened laterally, broadly oval, slightly posteriorly point antapex, as illustrated in lateral view. cells range in size from 25–32 μm long and 24.5–35 μm deep. the nucleus is dorsally located in the lower of the hypotheca (fig. 9). the plate formula is po, pt, 4′, 1a, 3′′, 5c, 8s, 4′′′, 1′′′ (selina et al., 2019). the epitheca is very short. all epithecal plates are ornamented with rough ribs and large pores (fig. 12). the epithecal plates were not visible in our specimens of present study. the hypotheca consists of four postcingular and one antapical plates (1′′′, 2′′′, 3′′′, 4′′′ and 1′′′′). the second and fourth postcingular plates are the largest and cover most of the right and left sides of the hypotheca. their thecal surface is smooth and perforated by numerous small pores, these pores are found mainly at the margins of the lateral plates (2′′′ and 4′′′) and are lacking at plate centers (figs 11–13). the narrow cingulum is deep and does not displace. the genus thecadinium currently includes nine species described (yoshimatsu et al., 2000b; hoppenrath, 2000a,b; hoppenrath et al., 2014; selina et al., 2019). of the nine species, only two t. pseudokofoidii and t. kofoidii are similar in shape, size, numbers and arrangement of epithecal and hypothecal plates. cells of t. kofoidii were 27.5–32.5 µm long, 22.0–26.0 µm wide (hoppenrath, 2000b); 27.0–34.0 µm long, 21–27 µm deep (selina et al., 2019). cells of t. pseudokofoidii were 23–37 µm long, 19–32 µm deep (selina et al., 2019), 25–32 μm long and 24.5–35 μm deep (present study). t. pseudokofoidii could be distinguished from t. kofoidii by the study of marine sand-dwelling dinoflagellate 371 ornamentation of thecal pores on the lateral hypothecal plates (2′′′ and 4′′′). in t. kofoidii, pores were scattered over the entire surface of the lateral plates. whereas, pores were mainly concentrated along the margins of these plates and were devoided in the central area of plates in t. pseudokofoidii. selina et al. (2019) showed that the pores on the lateral hypothecal plates (2′′′′ and 4′′′′) of t. pseudokofoidii had fewer than (37 ± 4.2) those of t. kofoidii (48 ± 11). in contrast, t. pseudokofoidii in present study seem to have more pores (65 ± 20, n = 3) than those of t. kofoidii as described in previous study (selina et al., 2019). distribution: so far, this species has only been reported in japan, russia and viet nam. t. pseudokofoidii was first discovered in sublittoral sands in peter the great bay (northwest sea of japan), in vostok bay (russia), with water temperature ranging from -1.5°c (in february) to 20oc (in september) and salinities from 30–34 psu and 30–32 psu, respectively (selina et al., 2019). this is the first reporting of t. pseudokofoidii species in viet nam and genus thecadinium is a new addition to the dinoflagellate flora of viet nam, where the local waters are warmer than in either the sea of japan or russia. at the collection site, seawater temperature value ranged between 25oc and 29oc and the value of salinity had narrow range (32.5–33 psu). this species was rare during this sampling period. class: dinophyceae west & fritch 1927; order: gymnodiniales lemmermann 1910; family: gymnodiniaceae lankaster 1885; genus: amphidinium claparède & lachmann 1859 amphidinium herdmanii kofoid and swezy (figs 14–16) synonym: amphidinium operculatum herdman (selina, 2016: fig. 3g; hoppenrath et al., 2014: figs 14i–k; al-yamani and saburova, 2010: pl. 22a–f; jørgensen et al., 2004: fig. 1c; murray and patterson, 2002b: figs 22–25, 79; larsen and patterson, 1990: figs 43a–b, 44e; larsen, 1985: figs 20–25, 91) taxonomic remarks: cell is quadrangular-broadly oblong, without thick theca, 26.5 µm long and 23.5 µm wide. measurements in present study resemble those of previous descriptions for a. herdmanii at 26–33 µm long and 18–23 µm wide (larsen, 1985), 27–32 µm long and 14–21 µm wide (larsen and patterson, 1990), 20–31 µm long and 15–25 µm wide (murray and patterson, 2002b) and 28–31 µm long and 22–24 µm wide (al-yamani and saburova, 2010). in ventral view, the epicone is short with a bent triangular shape, with 9 μm long and slightly right deflection, protruding from the ventral side of the hypocone apex and extending dorsally (fig. 14). from the dorsal side, the epicone is symmetrical, rising over the hypocone (fig. 15). the narrow cingulum is short and v-shaped. the sulcus is narrow, beginning near the cell’s center, then slightly widened at its posterior. the hypocone is quadrangular-broadly, notched at the antapex, and slightly asymmetrial, the left side being longer than the right side. the ratio of the epicone relative to total cell length is approximately one-third. the nucleus is crescent-shaped and positioned mainly in the posterior of the hypocone (fig. 16). living cells of amphidinium herdmanii have gold-brown chloroplasts, cell swam freely. chloroplasts appear single, with numerous lobes radiating from the center. distribution: this species is common world-wide, in temperate to tropical waters. this species was found in the uk (lebour, 1925). later, it has been recorded in danish wadden sea (jørgensen et al., 2004), japan, russia (selina, 2016) and from tropical marine sediments in australia (murray and patterson, 2002b) and kuwait (al-yamani and saburova, 2010). amphidinium herdmanii is now recorded for the first time in viet nam. as observed in this study, this species does not appear to be common. 372 ho van and niê bing figs 8–16. lm and sem of thecadinium pseudokofoidii (figs 8–13) and amphidinium herdmanii (figs 14– 16: the same cell). fig. 8. left lateral view showing a small epitheca (long arrow), large hypotheca (arrow) and cingulum (arrowheads). fig. 9. left lateral view with nucleus (marked n) located in hypotheca (arrowhead). fig. 10. right lateral view showing the large postcingular plate (4′′′). figs 11–13. left lateral view showing the thecal pores (arrows) and marginal pores (arrowheads) on smooth large postcingular plate (2′′′). fig. 14. ventral view showing a small epicone (long arrow) over a large hypocone (arrow) with elongated gold-brown chloroplasts; the v-shaped cingulum (arrowheads) and the sulcus (wide arrowhead). fig. 15. dorsal view showing an epicone (arrow) and cingulum groove (arrowhead). fig. 16. dorsal view showing nucleus (marked n) located in posterior part of hypocone (arrow). scale bars: 5 μm. study of marine sand-dwelling dinoflagellate 373 class: dinophyceae west & fritch 1927; order: gonyaulacales f.j.r. taylor 1980; family: goniodomataceae lindem 1928; genus: fukuyoa gómez, qiu, lopes & lin 2015 fukuyoa ruetzleri (faust, litaker, vandersea, kibler, holland & tester) gómez, qiu, lopes & lin (figs 17–28) basionym: gambierdiscus ruetzleri faust, litaker, vandersea, kibler, holland & tester (litaker et al., 2009: figs 43–59; gómez et al., 2015; leung et al. 2018: figs 5 a–j) taxonomic remarks: cells have brown-yellow chloroplasts. cells of f. ruetzleri are globular to obovoid shaped in apical or antapical view, varying from 54–57 µm long, 39–41 µm wide and 45–48 µm deep. along the vertical axis, the apex is deflected dorsally and the antapex is deflected ventrally (figs 20–21). the epitheca is slightly shorter than the hypotheca. the thecal surface is thick, smooth and covered with numerous round pores of about 0.32–0.38 µm in diameter, the thecal pores are evenly distributed (fig. 28). figs 17–22. lm and sem micrographs of fukuyoa ruetzleri. fig. 17. right lateral view of the left of the cell. fig. 18. left lateral view of the right of the cell showing epithecal and hypothecal plates. fig. 19. apical view showing all epithecal plates and po (arrow). fig. 20. left lateral view of the right of the epitheca showing epithecal plates and cingulum (arrowheads). figs 21–22. right lateral view of the left of the epitheca showing epithecal plates, apical pore plate (po) and sulcus (arrows). scale bars: 10 μm. thecal plate arrangement is po, 3′, 7′′, 5′′′, 1p and 2′′′′ (the cingulum (c) and several sulcus (s) plates were not visible in the specimens of our study). the epitheca consists of eleven plates: po, 3′ and 7′′ (figs 17–22). the apical pore plate is elongated and centrally positioned in the epitheca, 9–11 µm long, its largest width 3.5–4.0 µm, with a fish-hook-shaped surrounded by 38– 39 round pores (fig. 28). the apical plates contain three plates (1′, 2′ and 3′). plate 1′ is the largest, 374 ho van and niê bing plate 2′ is long, narrow and five-sided, plate 3′ is pentagonal and medium in size. the precingular plates comprise seven plates (1′′, 2′′, 3′′, 4′′, 5′′, 6′′ and 7′′). plate 1′′ is pointed four-sided and the smallest in the series of precingular plates, followed by the trapezium-shaped 7′′ plate. plates 3′′ and 6′′ are the largest of the epitheca. plates 2′′ and 3′′ are quandrangular, whereas plates 4′′, 5′′ and 6′′ are pentagonal (figs 20–22). the cingulum is narrow and descended by twice its own width. the sulcus is deeply excavated (figs 20–21). figs 23–28. sem micrographs of fukuyoa ruetzleri. figs 23–25. right lateral view of the left of the hypotheca showing three postcingular (1′′′, 2′′′ and 3′′′), one antapical (1′′′′) and posterior intercalary (1p) plates. fig. 26. right lateral view of the left of the hypotheca showing three postcingular and posterior intercalary plates. fig. 27. antapical view showing hypothecal plates. fig. 28. detailed thecal surface showing numerous round pores (arrows) and apical pore plate (po) with a fish-hook-shaped surrounded by many round pores (arrowheads). scale bars: 10 μm, except fig. 28: 2 μm. the hypotheca is made up of eight plates: five postcingular plate (1′′′, 2′′′, 3′′′, 4′′′ and 5′′′), one posterior intercalary plate (1p) and two antapical plate (1′′′′, 2′′′′) (figs 23–27). plates 1′′′ and 5′′′ are triangular and the smallest in the series of postcingular plates. plate 3′′′ is quandragular and medium in size, plates 2′′′ and 4′′′ are quandragular and the largest (figs 23, 27). the posterior intercalary plate (1p) is long and narrow, 27 µm long, its largest width 15.8 µm and positioned between plates 2′′′ and 4′′′ (fig. 27). the antapical plate 1′′′′ is small, four-sided, and situated on the left side of the sulcus. the antapical plate 2′′′′ is forked, pointed and six-sided, it ocuppies the base of the sulcal hollow (fig. 27). at present, three fukuyoa species viz., f. yasumotoi, f. ruetzleri and f. paulensis have been identified and described (homles, 1998; litaker et al., 2009; gómez et al., 2015; leung et al., 2018). the morphology of f. ruetzleri is highly similar to those of f. yasumotoi and f. paulensis study of marine sand-dwelling dinoflagellate 375 (figs 29, 32, 35). however, three species could be distinguished by a number of morphological characteristics. according to litaker et al. (2009), the cell demensions of f. ruetzleri are 52 ± 5 µm long (range 45–59), 37 ± 3 µm wide (31–42), and 45 ± 3 µm deep (42–45) and for f. yasumotoi is 62 ± 4 µm long (range 54–68), 52 ± 5 µm wide (43–60) and 57 ± 5 µm deep (49–67). gómez et al. (2015) reported that the demensions of f. paulensis are 56 ± 3 µm long (range 51– 62), 45 ± 2 µm wide (41–48) and 50 ± 3 µm deep (45–56). of the three species, cell demensions of f. yasumotoi are the biggest, followed by f. paulensis and f. ruetzleri smallest. besides, plate 1′ is nearly rectangular in f. yasumotoi (fig. 30) or broadly pentagonal in f. paulensis (fig. 33) whereas plate 1′ is narrow pentagonal in f. ruetzleri (fig. 36). plate 2′′′′ of f. yasumotoi and f. paulensis is more larger and broader than those in f. ruetzleri. the posterior intercalary plate 1p is elongated, narrow and pentagonal in f. ruetzleri and broader than in f. paulensis and f. yasumotoi (figs 31, 34, 37). from the previous descriptions and above comparisons, the specimens of our present study were described and identified as f. ruetzleri. figs 29–37. thecal plate tabulation of fukuyoa species. figs 29–31: f. yasumotoi. figs 32–34: f ruetzleri (redrawn from litaker et al., 2009). figs 35–37: f. paulensis (redrawn from gómez et al., 2015). figs 29, 32 & 35: ventral. figs 30, 33 & 36: epitheca. figs 31, 34 & 37: hypotheca. scale bar: 20 µm. 376 ho van and niê bing distribution: previously, f. ruetzleri has been reported in caribbean sea, belize, central america to north carolina, it was associated with macroalgae (litaker et al., 2009). recently, this species has been found to be associated with surface of rocks and dead corals from the coast of hong kong, it can produce a compound putatively assigned as mtx-3 (leung et al., 2018). this is the first description of f. ruetzleri in viet nam, with water temperature ranging from 25oc to 29oc and salinities of 32.5–33 psu during collection time. this species does not appear to be common in our study. acknowledgements this work was supported by the yeosu project (korea), the national foundation for science and technology development is acknowledged for funding the first author (project number 106.06-2017.305). we thank dr. shauna murray (university of nsw, sydney, australia) for improving the manuscript with useful comments. this paper is a contribution to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the institute of oceanography, vietnam academy of science and technology. references al-yamani, f.y. and saburova, m.a. 2010. illustrated guide on the flagellates of kuwait’s intertidal soft sediments. kuwait institute for scientific research, lucky press, pp. 1–197. faust, m.a. 1995. benthic, toxic dinoflagellates: an overview. in: lassus, p., arzul, g., erard, e., gentien, p. and marcaillou, c. 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(manuscript received on 8 july 2021; revsied on 8 december 2021) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 265-273, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78752 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomy, karyomorphology and pollen viability of hymenocallis littoralis (jacq.) salisb. (amaryllidaceae) sumona afroz1,2, kazi nahida begum3, susmita saha3, md. abul hassan1 and m. oliur rahman1* 1department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 2national museum, shahbag, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 3department of botany, jagannath university, dhaka 1100, bangladesh keywords: hymenocallis littoralis (jacq.) salisb.; pollen–pistil interaction; new chromosome number; karyotype; ideogram. abstract the present study offers the taxonomy, karyomorphology, and pollen-pistil interactions in the bulbous species hymenocallis littoralis (jacq.) salisb. of the family amaryllidaceae. the genus hymenocallis is closely allied to pancratium, however, differs from the later by filament, number and shape of ovule, and seed characteristics. detailed descriptions and illustrations of h. littoralis are provided, alongside information on its habitat, distribution, examined specimens, and economic significance. a new somatic chromosome number of 2n = 50 is reported for h. littoralis, and this count was not found to be consistent with any of the earlier reports, offering additional insights into its chromosomal characteristics. furthermore, the study reveals a high pollen viability of 95% in h. littoralis. introduction the genus hymenocallis, belonging to the amaryllidaceae family, comprises approximately 70 species (tapia-campos et al., 2012), and is valued for both its horticultural appeal and medicinal properties (ogden, 2007). according to angiosperm phylogeny group (apg iv, 2016), this genus falls into the family amaryllidaceae, though cronquist (1981) placed it into the family liliaceae. initially, the members of hymenocallis were considered the american representatives of the old world genus pancratium l. (sealy, 1954; meerow et al., 2002). however, salisbury (1812) established hymenocallis as a distinct genus, on the basis of distinct differences in seed characteristics: pancratium produces black, dry, compressed seeds with a phytomelan layer, while hymenocallis has nearly ovoid, green, fleshy, and often viviparous seeds. along with the genera ismene salisb. and leptochiton sealy, hymenocallis forms the tribe hymenocallideae (meerow et al., 2002). commonly known as ‘spider lilies’ these plants are distinguished by their unique staminal membrane enveloped by long, slender tepals. in bangladesh, the genus hymenocallis is represented by a single species, h. littoralis, which is rarely found in mymensingh, chattogram and sylhet districts. apart from horticultural and ornamental value, hymenocallis littoralis has been reported to possess antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties (noormi et al., 2012; karthikeyan et al., 2016). karyomorphology plays a pivotal role in plant taxonomy, offering insights into evolutionary relationships, genetic diversity and classification. recent studies underscore the significance of karyomorphological and cytogenetic data in species delimitation, phylogenetic reconstruction, taxonomic revision, conservation, and genomic studies. karyomorphological studies aids in differentiating closely related species and defining species boundaries based on chromosomal *corresponding author. oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78752 mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 266 afroz et al. characteristics (martins et al., 2020). karyotype data contribute to taxonomic revisions and the establishment of robust classification systems by providing additional characters for systematic analysis leading to more accurate taxonomic classifications (de moraes et al., 2021). karyomorphological studies also provide insights into genomic evolution processes such as genome duplication, chromosome rearrangements, and genome size changes (nkongolo and mehes-smith, 2012; sun et al., 2020). the pollen-pistil interaction encompasses a series of events that determines whether the gametes are recognized and accepted or rejected (dumas and guade, 1981). in cases of compatible pollination, pollen grains attach to the stigma, undergo hydration, germinate, and develop pollen tubes that penetrate the stigma’s cell layers. these tubes then extend within the transmitting tissue of style, eventually reaching the ovary for fertilization. in contrast, incompatible pollination can lead to the arrest of pollen tube growth. the tissues of the pistil are believed to provide both chemical and physical support, along with directional guidance, to facilitate pollen tube development (knox, 1984). despite the ecological and economic importance of hymenocallis littoralis, it has not undergone taxonomic revision, nor has it been investigated from cytological and palynological perspectives in bangladesh. therefore, this study aims to conduct a comprehensive taxonomic analysis of h. littoralis, examine its pollen and pollen-pistil interaction, and investigate cytological parameters of the species for the first time in bangladesh. materials and methods taxonomic identity the plant specimen collected from sonargaon, narayanganj and grown in the botanical garden of the university of dhaka was examined critically. in order to ascertain its identity, floral parts were studied in detail using light microscope, and the relevant literatures were consulted to ascertain its identity (dassanayake and clayton, 2000; karthikeyan et al., 1989). the voucher specimen has been housed at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). cytological investigation root tips were collected from h. littoralis, planted in the botanical gardens of the university of dhaka as well as in the jagannath university, dhaka. the roots were pretreated with a 1:1 solution of paradichlorobenzene (pdb) and 0.002 m 8-hydroxyquinoline for 3 h and 30 min at room temperature. subsequently, they were fixed in 45% acetic acid for 15 min at 4°c. afterwards, the roots were hydrolyzed in a solution of 1 n hcl and 45% acetic acid (2:1) for 15 min at 60 ̊c. the root tips were then stained and squashed in 1% aceto-orcein solution (das et al., 2020). chromosomes were observed under an optica electron microscope and photographs were captured with a euromex camera. pollen viability and pollen-pistil interaction freshly opened flowers were used for controlled pollinations. suitable flower buds were emasculated one day prior to pollinations in case of both selfand cross-pollinations. pollinations occurred between 7:30 to 10:00 am, with self-pollinations involving the removal of openpollinated flowers the day before to ensure fresh buds. self-pollination involved touching freshly dehisced anthers onto the stigma using fine forceps. in cross-pollination, conventional methods were used, with emasculation before anthesis to prevent contamination. anthers were carefully removed with pointed forceps and rubbed against the stigma of emasculated flowers. identification tags were tied around peduncles to track pollinated buds (ram et al., 2006). to investigate pollenpistil interaction, the pollinated pistils were collected at 12-, 24-, and 48 h intervals posttaxonomy and karyomorphology of hymenocallis littoralis 267 pollination, and were fixed in aceto-alcohol solution (1:3 v/v). after washing the pistils with distilled water to remove the fixative, they were treated with 1n naoh and incubated for 12 min at 55°c to soften them. following cooling, the pistils were washed with distilled water again to remove any naoh residues, and then stained with 0.1% decolorized aniline blue for 8-10 min (patil et al., 2013). the stained pistils were mounted in a 50% aqueous glycerol and observed under a nikon (optiphot) microscope which is equipped with epi-fluorescence uv illumination using the uv-2a and bv-2a filters. pollen grains, germinated and non-germinated, were counted from 10 pollinated pistils for each pollination type. results and discussion taxonomic account hymenocallis littoralis (jacq.) salisb., trans. hort. soc. lond. 1: 338 (1812). pancratium littorale jacq., select. stirp. amer. hist.: 99 (1763). hymenocallis adnata herbert, amaryll.: 215 (1837). hymenocallis tenuiflora herbert, amaryll.: 215 (1837). pancratium illyricum auct. non l.: blanco, fl. filip. ed. 3: 316 (1877). pancratium maritimum auct. non l.: blanco, fl. filip. ed. 3: 316 (1877). (fig. 1). bengali name: bok phul. bulbous perennial herb; bulbs about 4-5 cm in diameter, with cylindric neck. leaves up to 90 cm long and 7 cm across, radical, linear, distichous. scapes compressed, attain up to 80 cm in length; bracts hyaline, linear or lanceolate. inflorescence umbellate, 6-12 flowered umbels; flowers white. perianth 6-lobed, with a tube up to 14 cm long and approximately 0.5 cm across, light green; lobes can reach to 14 cm long, white. stamens 6, with a white staminal cup, approximately 4 cm in length; filament around 6 cm long; anthers versatile, linear, approximately 2 cm long. ovary 3-chambered, approximately 1.6 cm long and 0.6 cm across, inferior; ovules 4-5 in every chamber; style around 10 cm long; stigma 3-lobed. fruit a subglobose capsule, triangular. seeds angular, black. flowering period: june-august. specimens examined: dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 20.02.1980, mahbuba halim 740 (dacb). narayanganj: sonargaon, amgaon, 25.08.2011, sumona 69; bhola: char kukri mukri, 02.07.2014, sumona 89 (dush). habitat: h. littoralis grows in well-drained soils. distribution: h. littoralis is native to america. though cultivated, this species has become naturalized in tropical regions of africa and asia, malaysia and pacific islands. uses: h. littoralis is valued for its ornamental and medicinal properties. this species possesses strong anti-inflammatory activities (zhang et al., 2022). propagation: by bulbs. taxonomic notes: hymenocallis is closely allied to the genus pancratium, however, the former differs from the later by filament, number and shape of ovule and seed characters. in hymenocallis, filament is straight, whereas in many pancratium, free staminal filament is incurved from the corona. ovule is globose and less than 10 in number per locule in the former but flattened and numerous per locule in the later. in hymenocallis, seeds are hard, while they are fleshy in pancratium (table 1). cytological investigation chromosomal characteristics of hymenocallis littoralis including the length, arm ratio, centromeric index, relative length and centromeric type of mitotic metaphase chromosomes are summarized in table 2. in h. littoralis, orcein staining revealed homogenously stained interphase nuclei (fig. 2a), categorized as the “diffused type” according to tanaka (1971). similarly, the 268 afroz et al. prophase chromosomes exhibited uniform staining along their length (fig. 2b), classified as the “continuous type” based on classification of tanaka (1971). fig. 1. hymenocallis littoralis: (a). habit in nature, (b). habit sketch (×0.05). (c). l. s. of flower (×0.15), (d) t. s. of ovary (×2). table 1. a comparative account of hymenocallis with its closely allied genus pancratium. characters hymenocallis salisb. pancratium dill ex linn. filament straight incurved from the corona number of ovules less than 10 per locule more than 15 per locule shape of ovules globose flattened seed black or brown, hard green, fleshy taxonomy and karyomorphology of hymenocallis littoralis 269 fig. 2. different stages of chromosomes of hymenocallis littoralis after orcein staining. a. interphase nuclei; b. prophase chromosomes; c. metaphase chromosomes (bar=10 μm). typically, specimens showing the “diffused type” in interphase nuclei, also display the “continuous type” in prophase chromosomes, as observed in h. littoralis. this indicates a homogeneous distribution of diffused heterochromatin at the interphase stage, which continues uniformly along the prophase chromosomes. this pattern aligns with the general characteristics of orcein staining in both interphase nuclei and prophase chromosomes. this study reveals that h. littoralis has a somatic chromosome number of 2n = 50 (fig. 2c, table 2). the somatic chromosome number of h. littoralis has been reported to vary in previous studies, with 2n=44 (sharma and bal, 1956) and 2n=46 (sato, 1938, 1942; raina and khoshoo, 1971). recently, tanee et al. (2018) reported different chromosome numbers of 2n=44, 46, 48, 49 and 68 in h. littoralis using conventional staining techniques. in contrast, our study reveals a new chromosome number of 2n=50 for h. littoralis, marking the first report of this chromosomal count. this finding differs from all previous studies (sato, 1942; sharma and bal, 1956; tanee et al., 2018), suggesting potential intraspecific chromosomal variation in h. littoralis. such variations could result from numerical chromosomal aberrations, including euploidy and secondary modifications of polyploidy within species of this genus. alternatively, these variations might arise from distinct cytotypes or the presence of some b-chromosome, indicating that the genus hymenocallis holds significant interest for future cytogenetic studies. the total length of diploid chromosome complement in h. littoralis was measured at 291.94 μm (table 2). this species was found to have 42 metacentric chromosomes, 6 sub-metacentric chromosomes and 2 sub-telocentric chromosomes, as classified by levan et al. (1964) (figs. 3 & 4; table 2). fig. 3. karyotypes of hymenocallis littoralis (bar=10 μm). 270 afroz et al. fig. 4. ideograms of hymenocallis littoralis (bar=10 μm). the relative length of each individual chromosome varied from 0.02-0.07, while the length of individual chromosome ranged from 2.64-10.80 μm (table 2). the presence of metacentric, submetacentric and sub-telocentric chromosomes indicate that h. littoralis has asymmetric karyotypes. according to stebbins (1971), asymmetric karyotypes are considered as advanced character. thus, h. littoralis can be considered as evolutionarily advanced based on its chromosomal architecture. pollen-pistil interaction the study revealed hymenocallis littoralis exhibited 95% pollen viability; however, despite this high viability, no fruit set was observed throughout the investigation. pollen grains failed to germinate, and there was an absence of pollen tubes in all types of pollination experiments, including self-, cross-, and open pollination experiments (fig. 5). fig. 5. pollen grains and pollen-pistil interaction of h. littoralis; a&b. pollen grains; c&d. self-pollination; e&f. cross-pollination. bar=100 μm. taxonomy and karyomorphology of hymenocallis littoralis 271 table 2. chromosomal characteristics of hymenocallis littoralis. chromosome pair long arm (µm) short arm (µm) total length arm ratio relative length centromeric index centromeric type i 5.87 4.93 10.80 1.19 0.07 45.65 m 5.77 4.88 10.65 1.18 0.07 45.82 m ii 5.63 4.81 10.44 1.17 0.07 46.07 m 5.47 4.79 10.26 1.14 0.07 46.69 m iii 4.98 4.81 9.79 1.04 0.07 49.13 m 5.00 4.64 9.64 1.08 0.07 48.13 m iv 5.81 1.76 7.57 3.30 0.05 23.25 st 5.81 1.76 7.57 3.30 0.05 23.25 st v 3.99 3.57 7.56 1.12 0.05 47.22 m 4.06 3.26 7.32 1.25 0.05 44.54 m vi 4.08 3.14 7.22 1.30 0.05 43.49 m 3.97 3.19 7.16 1.24 0.05 44.55 m vii 4.08 3.05 7.13 1.34 0.05 42.78 m 3.99 3.05 7.04 1.31 0.05 43.32 m viii 3.52 3.5 7.02 1.01 0.05 49.86 m 3.52 3.43 6.95 1.03 0.05 49.35 m ix 3.83 2.67 6.5 1.43 0.04 41.08 m 3.75 2.65 6.40 1.42 0.04 41.41 m x 4.44 1.73 6.17 2.57 0.04 28.04 sm 4.51 1.64 6.15 2.75 0.04 26.67 sm xi 3.19 2.89 6.08 1.10 0.04 47.53 m 3.14 2.87 6.01 1.09 0.04 47.75 m xii 2.95 2.63 5.58 1.12 0.04 47.13 m 2.95 2.58 5.53 1.14 0.04 46.65 m xiii 2.76 2.42 5.18 1.14 0.04 46.72 m 2.75 2.42 5.17 1.14 0.04 46.81 m xiv 2.65 2.35 5.00 1.13 0.03 47.00 m 2.53 2.42 4.95 1.05 0.03 48.89 m xv 2.72 2.18 4.90 1.25 0.03 44.49 m 2.70 2.20 4.90 1.23 0.03 44.90 m xvi 2.56 2.3 4.86 1.11 0.03 47.33 m 2.58 2.27 4.85 1.14 0.03 46.80 m xvii 3.07 1.71 4.78 1.80 0.03 35.77 sm 3.05 1.71 4.76 1.78 0.03 35.92 sm xviii 2.87 1.62 4.49 1.77 0.03 36.08 sm 2.82 1.62 4.44 1.74 0.03 36.49 sm xix 2.42 2.02 4.44 1.20 0.03 45.50 m 2.40 2.04 4.44 1.18 0.03 45.95 m xx 2.35 1.86 4.21 1.26 0.03 44.18 m 2.35 1.86 4.21 1.26 0.03 44.18 m xxi 2.02 1.93 3.95 1.05 0.03 48.86 m 1.95 1.93 3.88 1.01 0.03 49.74 m xxii 1.94 1.93 3.87 1.01 0.03 49.87 m 1.93 1.90 3.83 1.02 0.03 49.61 m xxiii 1.93 1.73 3.66 1.12 0.02 47.27 m 1.88 1.73 3.61 1.09 0.02 47.92 m xxiv 1.50 1.42 2.92 1.06 0.02 48.63 m 1.50 1.30 2.80 1.15 0.02 46.43 m xxv 1.36 1.30 2.66 1.05 0.02 48.87 m 1.34 1.30 2.64 1.03 0.02 49.24 m gt= 291.94 m=metacentric. sm=sub-metacentric, st=sub-telocentric 272 afroz et al. this may be attributed to pre-fertilization incompatibility in h. littoralis, potentially explaining the lack of fruit formation. in contrast, a few other species within the liliaceae family, such as allium tuberosum rottler ex spreng, show significant pollen germination and pollen tube development within 24-30 h after both selfand cross-pollination. during open pollination, certain pistils exhibit pollen with fully developed tubes, indicating successful fertilization pathways, while others lack pollen tubes altogether, suggesting variability in pollination success. in the amaryllidaceae family, studies on narcissus triandrus and hippeastrum advenum have shown that self-pollination results in fewer seeds compared to cross-pollination (saavedra et al., 1996; sage et al., 1999). however, zephyranthes atamasco, another member of this family, produces an equal number of seeds through both selfand cross-pollination (broyles and wyatt, 1991). the female pistil plays a vital role by providing essential nutrients and guidance cues that facilitate pollen tube growth across different cellular environments. simultaneously, it acts as a barrier, preventing incompatible pollen from accessing the ovules, including that from other species (swanson et al., 2004). hiscock et al. 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(manuscript received on 17 march 2024; revised on 20 november 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 273-282, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists structure, morphogenesis of calyptra and nomenclatural identity of trichodesmium erythraeum ehr. (cyanobacteria) newly recorded off the south-west coast of bangladesh abdul aziz*and mahin mohid department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: trichodesmium erythraeum ehr., microcoleaceae, calyptra morphogenesis, cyanobacteria, bangladesh abstract trichodesmium erythraeum ehrenberg 1830 (cyanobacteria) has been described and newly recorded from three km off the west coast of the st. martin’s island (smi), cox’s bazar, bangladesh. the red sea algal bloom was narrowly elliptical raft-like loose aggregates 20-40 cm long, 4-8 cm wide and 2-3 cm thick. volume of small and large sea sawdust were 160×10-6 to 960×10-6 m3 consisting of 25-153 millions flat tuft or spindlelike colonies measured 830-1500 µm long and 155-260 µm wide with 13-16 filaments laterally in the median region. sheath was present around each trichome even covering the tip cell wall the feature has so far not been reported for the trichodesmium spp. because of most likely sticky nature of the sheath 300-600 µm long filaments of 195-450 formed compact colonies without colonial sheath around. in interior filaments cells were rectangular 7-10 µm long and 6.3-10 µm wide with abundant gas vacuoles, bluish-green red, no diazocyte developed and without calyptra. cells of peripheral filaments were without gas vacuoles, cytoplasm disorganized, appearing necrotic with glycogen granules, and produced convex to sickle-shaped four-layered calyptra consisting of outermost sheath followed by outer extra thick wall, tip cell wall and inner extra thick wall on the tip cell. calyptra was also produced on tip cells of tapered filaments. presence of sheath around each trichome binding all filaments into a colony without colonial sheath described here, and n2 fixation during day in diazocytes and night times on the periphery described and discussed in literature made the authors to consider t. erythraeum ehr. a distinct taxon under family microcoleacece. introduction trichodesmium erythraeum ehr.a non-heterocystous filamentous colonial cyanobacterium was first found at bay of tor in the red sea, west of saudi arabia and it was probably the colour produced by blooms gave the “red sea” its name by ehrenberg in 1830 (hoffman, 1999). it is also called by sea sailors as “sea-sawdust” (cook, 1842) or ‘windrows’ cells with abundant gas vacuoles (walsby, 1978) and is one of the open ocean cyanobacteria (lee, 2008) of tropical and subtropical regions (hynes et al., 2012) playing a key role in global carbon and nitrogen budget (about 40% nitrogen supply through n2 fixation) in oligotrophic oceans (breitbarth et al., 2007). along north-eastern bangladesh coast islam and aziz (1975) and aziz and islam (1979) studied marine phytoplankton covering summer, monsoon and autumn period in 1973 from 16 locations widely situated between lat. 21º 3′ and 21º 44′ n and long. 91º 36′ and 91º 58′ e, and recorded 23 genera with 64 species of diatoms, 10 genera with 32 species of dinoflagellates and 2 genera with one species each of oscillatoria and anabaena from smi and sundarbans by islam (1976) and a “red-tide” alga from smi by tomascik (1997) but t. erythraeum was not recorded. boonyapiwat et al. (2008) recorded oscillatoria erythraea (ehr.) geitler 1932 (synonym t. erythraeum ehr.) as *corresponding author, e-mail: dr.aziz.botany@gmail.com mailto:dr.aziz.botany@gmail.com 274 aziz and mohid a dominant phytoplankton in three pelagic zones of the bay of bengal (at 16º 45′ n 18º 45′ n and 88º 0′ e 90º 45′ e) south-east of myanmar/west of thailand and east of south india. kumar et al. (2012) reported occurrence of t. erythraeum bloom in the coastal waters of south andaman (11º 33' 20" n and 92º 42' 52" e). consideration of t. erythraeum ehr. as oscillatoria erythraeum (ehr.) geitler (1932) and its use by boonyapiwat et al. (2008) is questionable specially when trichodesmium exhibited colony formation in association with sheath production and cell differentiation along trichomes (golubic, 1977), n2 fixing potential (first reported by carpenter and price, 1977) and presence of groups of short strings of golden-yellow cells along central region of trichomes called diazocytes by bergman and carpenter in 1991 and later by fredriksson and bergman (1997). in oscillatoria princeps trichomes close to t. erythraeum shukovsky and halfen (1976) found extensively disrupted thylakoids, cytoplasm displaying general disorganization characteristic of necrotic cells, decrease in width with a corresponding increase in length and decrease in volume of terminal cell with calyptra. the phenomena found in o. princeps have not been described so far in t. erythraeum. in many tapered cyanobacteria phosphate deficiency results in narrowing of terminal cells forming hair (livingstone and whitton, 1983, aziz et al., 1989). aims of the present study are to describe and illustrate the colony structure, morphogenesis of calyptra, identify the newly collected sea-sawdust and ascertaining its nomenclatural identity. materials and methods occurrence, sampling and water quality determination sea-sawdust t. erythraeum ehr. occurred at about 3 km off the west coast of the smi (narikelzingira/narikeldia), cox’s bazar, bangladesh covering water surface of over one square kilometer at around 20° 37' 20ʺ n and 90° 17' 10ʺ e, at 9:00 am on 21 february 2017 (fig. 1a). the bloom was found during return from st. martin’s reef situated at about 14 km west of the smi (visited for collecting living seaweeds for seaweed cultivation project at cox’s bazar). blooms were collected by a bucket and poured in to an empty one liter drinking water bottle as multiple samples. within half an hour the seawater turned pink and the plankton settled as particles of about one mm long. formaldehyde was added about an hour later. the seawater turbidity in the study area as nephalometric turbidity unit (ntu) was measured by turbidity meter tu-2016, taiwan; ph by hanna pocket ph meter, conductivity by combo ph & ec meter, hanna, romania; salinity by refractometer, atc, china; tds by tds meter, china; temperature by clock/humidity meter, htc-2, china; secchi depth by secchi disc. determination of measurements of sea-sawdust the composition of spindle shaped (from top) raft-like floating sea-sawdust and colonies comprising rafts (figs 1a-e) were determined as follows: (i) total volume of a small raft was calculated by multiplying 20 cm long, 4 cm wide and 2 cm thick. similarly total volume of a large raft was calculated by multiplying 50 cm long, 8 cm wide and 3 cm thick. (ii) the average volume of a colony comprising a raft was calculated by multiplying average values, 1100 µm long, 200 µm wide and 35 µm thick. (iii) the number of colonies constituting a sea-sawdust was determined by dividing average volume of a raft by the average volume of a colony. determining structure of sea-sawdust one liter composite bloom samples collected with the seawater contained all the phases of growth, different types of trichomes, calyptrae, associated structures and successive changes of filament characters were photographed (figs 1b-f, 2a-i) using nikon eclipse 50i microscope structure, morphogenesis of calyptra and nomenclatural identity 275 fitted with nikon digital sight ds-fi2 camera at plant breeding and biotechnology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. attempt to culture the organism was not made as previous worker(s) failed to culture it after repeated attempts (baaleh and brown jr., 1969). results and discussion taxonomic descriptions sea-sawdust: reddish-grey bloom of the sea-sawdust on examination was found to be trichodesmium erythraeum ehr. (figs 1a-f, 2a-i) a member of division cyanobacteria, class cyanophyceae, order oscillatoriales, family oscillatoriaceae (desikachary, 1959; hynes et al.,2012) or microcoleaceae (komárek et al., 2014; wikipedia, 12 jan. 2020) has been described and illustrated using light microscope for the first time from bangladesh coast. sea-sawdust t. erythraeum is narrowly elliptical raft-like spectacular floating bodies 20 to 40 cm long, 4 to 8 cm wide and 2 to 3 cm thick (fig. 1a). volumes of small and large sea-sawdust calculated were 160×10-6 and 960×10-6 m3, respectively formed of loosely packed 25 to 153 million of flat spindle-shaped (top view) compact colonies (fig. 1a-d) volume being 6.3×12 cm3, 830 to 1500 (average 1150) µm long and 155 to 260 (average 200) µm wide with 13-16 filaments in the mid region, total number of filaments per colony was calculated to be 195 to 450 where each trichome is surrounded even the tip cell most likely by a sticky sheath forming a compact colony. filaments 300 to 600 µm long, cells 27 to 55 in each filament, 7-10 µm long and 6.3 to 10 µm wide (figs 1b-e). there is no mention of sheath around trichomes of trichodesmium. (janson et al., 1995; wikipedia, 2020). the very high density of colonies (25 to 153 million) in sea-sawdust was compared with samples from tropical and sub-tropical oceans in north atlantic and caribbean where nausch (1996) recorded only 1000 to 55000 colonies each consisting of different number of trichomes having different compactness and colonies were embedded in a muco-polysaccharide layer. colonies of the present material were without surrounding sheath determined by immerging in indian-ink (fig. 1c). desikachary (1959) also mentioned absence of the colonial sheath. golubic (1977) mentioned that trichodesmium exhibited colony formation in association with sheath production. there are enormous differences on the nature of filaments of peripheral and interior colony. peripheral part of a colony had almost colourless sometimes with bluish tint trichomes lacking gas vacuoles almost similar in cell dimensions and bound together by mucilage sheath like the interior filaments a few with developing calyptrae on top of primordial hair cell (fig. 1e). detached fragmented peripheral filaments were found to have calyptra on very small cells. baaleh and brown (1969) found absence of gas vacuoles and destruction of photosynthetic system in trichodesmiumby direct sunlight. trichomes: a long growing oscillatorialike trichome in seawater sample mount on a slide perhaps recently emerged from interior of a colony was over 500 µm long, consisting of uniformly wide (10 µm) cells, up to 8 µm long many were in dividing stage, all cells with compact irregular dark-red gas vacuoles 60-70 % of the cell volume also mentioned in wikipedia (2020) and glycogen granules as visible cytoplasmic inclusions, appearing blue-green red, apical cell almost rectangular covered by sheath thickened in the central region (figs 2a-c). the trichomes were without golden yellow cell groups (diazocytes), and neither separation discs (necridia) nor any deeper constrictions in the cross walls to produce hormogonia were found in the present samples. bergman and carpenter (1991) demonstrated occurrence of about 15 celled diazocytes confined to a limited number (ca. 10–40 %) of randomly distributed trichomes in the interior of colonies. the diazocyte development was initiated by the degradation of glycogen granules and gas vacuoles (fredriksson and bergman, 1997; sandh et al., 2012) or low carbon nitrogen ratio (aziz and 276 aziz and mohid whitton, 1988). examination of trichomes of interior longitudinally fragmented colony (in the same water mount) revealed over a dozen of compact filaments were individually covered including broken ends by hyaline perhaps sticky mucilage sheath beaded at cross walls (fig. 2a, arrow and arrowheads, respectively) visible between dissociated trichomes, the feature has not been reported so far. figs 1a-e. trichodesmium erythraeum ehr.: (a) reddish-gray bundles or “sea-sawdust” on crystal clear water off the west coast of smi, inset an enlarged part. (b) two spindle-like colonies, right hand one more reddish than the left one. (c) a colony mounted in indian ink showing absence of colonial sheath. (d) half of a colony enlarged showing compactness of trichomes where almost all longitudinal trichomes are seen in one focus of almost flat spindle shaped structure. (e) a bundle of exterior part of a colony enlarged showing a developing calyptra on the tip of a filament at extreme right and a developed calyptra on the extreme left. bars: fig. a =20 cm; figs b-d = 250 µm; e = 10 µm. structure, morphogenesis of calyptra and nomenclatural identity 277 filaments on the periphery of colonies were almost colourless, cells short, uniform in diameter, highly vacuolated with glycogen granules (figs 1d-i). peripheral filaments also form 34 celled tapered structure with vacuoles and lighter cytoplasm (fig. 1e, extreme left). enrichments in alkaline phosphatase demonstrated efficient organic phosphorus scavenging and utilization by trichodesmium (dyhrman et al., 2006). baaleh and brown jr. (1969) observed degrading photosynthetic system in filaments of trichodesmium spp. facing direct sunlight, and a very regular array of gas vacuoles in the form of a hollow cylinder shields most of the photosynthetic system. both types of vacuolated filaments developed calyptra on the top of end cell (figs 1e, f, h). transmission electron microscopic studies will be done to elucidate details of sheath around trichomes, calyptra formation and other features described here. morphogenesis of calyptra in t. erythraeum: janson et al. (1995) showed calyptra formation in the terminal cell where gas vacuoles were disposed at random in the vacuolated cell of t. erythraeum. in the present organism calyptra was formed in two types of filaments(i) on the tip cell of vacuolated uniformly wide filament and (ii) on the tip of smallest cell produced on tapered vacuolated filaments. (i) a calyptra is initiated on the tip of a healthy looking gas vacuolated filament by the thickening of a small portion of its sheath at the centre as an outer extra wall (oew) on parent wall (figs 2b-c, arrowheads). the thickened oew expanded laterally and downwardly covering the top and sides of the cell, simultaneously slightly thinner cap possibly made of sheath (s) become visible on the top of the oew, and an inner extra wall (iew) developed inside the parent wall (enlarged in fig. 2e, arrowheads). janson et al. (1995) also described oew and iew development for calyptra formation on the tip cell in t. contortum with tem. it is interesting to mention that a close examination of the fig. 21 revealed the presence of a double layered thin structure as a sheath equal in length of the hood below (not mentioned or described in the text) while comparing with the light microscopic pictures (figs 2d-g) of the present sample. all three layers covering the top of bell-shaped vacuolated but glycogen granulated cells extended further down. in the next step (figs 2f-g, arrows), further thickening and expanding of the extra walls (hood) outer one more than the inner shorter one both producing knob-like thickenings at both ends and the cell wall at this point became constricted. beyond the knob and constricted wall a loop (fig. 2g) perhaps by the outer and inner extra walls which further down remain together as double layers inside the sheath, covering the trichome all through, the feature needs to be confirmed by tem. finally the tip cell extremely squeezed, covered by sickle-shaped hood, the fully differentiated calyptra (figs 2h-i, arrows). thus the calyptras on the tip cell is a four layeredoutermost sheath followed by outer extra wall, cell wall and inner extra wall (figs 2e, g, i).the cells below were surrounded by perhaps extended thick walls and sheath, become healthy with abundant cytoplasm, especially glycogen granules, forming gas vacuoles and started dividing. the light microscopic structures described in calyptra morphogenesis need confirmation by transmission electron microscopy. (ii) a sickle-shaped calyptra was formed on a small cell at the tip of 3-4 less pigmented gradually tapered vacuolated cells (extreme left fig. 1e). in an electron micrograph of calyptrate trichome of o. princeps shukovsky and halfen (1976) observed extensively disrupted terminal cells, cytoplasm displaying general disorganization characteristic of necrotic cells. detail study was not carried out for filaments in the present material but the pattern appeared to be similar to the cause of development of calyptra described above. however, calyptra formation appeared to be followed by turning the filament into blue-green with some vacuoles still remaining in upper cells, and cells thereafter were without vacuoles and dividing (fig. 1e). trichodesmium is a 278 aziz and mohid prolific phosphorus reducing cyanobacteria that contributes to the turnover of phosphorus in the ocean (wikipedia 2020). why calyptra formed? shukovsky and halfen (1976) observed calyptra formation in extensively disrupted terminal cells of trichomes described above in the o. princeps. in the present material trichomes of peripheral part of colonies (under direct sun light) looked almost colourless and without gas vacuoles but with calyptra on small tip cell (figs 1e, 2d-2f) whereas trichomes of interior part were red with packed gas vacuoles in cells masking blue-green colour and without calyptra (fig. 2a). bell and fu (2005) observed increased cellular concentrations of chlorophyll a and phycobiliproteins under low light conditions (reduced o2 level) in a strain of trichodesmium sp. indicating that the cyanobacteria fix n2 in the interior colony by diazocytes producing gas vacuoles in cells masking blue-green colour. a parallelism of hair and calyptra development in cyanobacteria may be drawn where in both cases cells were without gas vacuoles and chlorotic. the presence of calyptra on peripheral trichome tips was due to low nitrogen indicated by absence of gas vacuoles and chlorotic nature of trichomes. similarly in tapered filaments hair is formed by narrowing of terminal cells under po4p deficiency (aziz et al., 1989), functions in phosphorus absorption (sinclair and whitton, 1977, livingstone and whitton, 1983) contributing to the turnover of phosphorus (wikipedia, 2020). under phosphate rich environment however, the hair disintegrates (aziz, 1993). it appears that atp pool in trichomes was very low limiting chlorophyll, phycobiliprotein and gas vesicle synthesis inducing calyptra differentiation (figs 1e, 2d-i). water quality and regional distribution the water of the study area off the west coast of the smi was crystal clear having <1.00 ntu, secchi depth 5 m, tds 38.0 mg l-1, salinity 35 ‰, ph 8.0 and temperature 28º c; water chemistry was not determined due to limited facilities. breitbarth et al. (2007) found optimum temperature range of 24–30° c for growth and nitrogen fixation of trichodesmium that play a key role in global carbon and nitrogen budget (about 40% nitrogen supply) in oligotrophic oceans. literature review on the occurrence of coastal (south-east and sundarbans) and offshore marine plankton revealed a total of 38 genera and 106 species of phytoplankton including oscillatoria and anabaena (islam and aziz, 1975; islam and aziz, 1977; aziz and islam, 1979; islam and aziz, 1980; tomascik, 1997) but t. erythraeum was not recorded. occurrence of t. erythraeum in 2017 on the north-east coast off the west coast of smi, bangladesh was most likely due to the cyclone roanu that hits bangladesh on 22 may 2016 carrying the sea sawdust northwardly almost along same longitude from pelagic zone of bay of bengal (boonyapiwat et al., 2008) and south of andaman (kumar et al., 2012).the present sampling was carried out from the site about nine months after the cyclone. the assumption is further confirmed by the fact that in 2013 and 2014 the first author studied the seaweed flora of this region and st. martin’s reef 14 km west of smi using naval ship during march and april but did not come across red sea bloom off the west coast of smi. while the organism is commonly regarded as an open ocean cyanobacteria in oligotrophic water (lee, 2008), ferguson-wood (1965) recorded the species extending from shore to great barrier reef. nomenclatural identity presence of oscillatoria-like trichomes in t. erythraeum ehr. 1830 made geitler (1932) to include the cyanobacterium under oscillatoria (o. erythraea (ehr.) geitler). fritsch (1965) also noted lack of sheath around trichomes and exhibit a similarity to oscillatoria only differs in structure, morphogenesis of calyptra and nomenclatural identity 279 figs 2a-i. detail structure of filaments and morphogenesis of calyptra in trichodesmium erythraeum ehr: (a) a bundle of over 15 fragmented filaments from exterior colony enlarged showing individual hyaline sheath around trichomes (arrow) with granular remains (arrowheads) binding the fragments. (b) a long trichome of dividing (dc) and undivided (udc) highly vacuolated cells with surrounding sheath, the flat tip cell developed a thickened portion (arrowhead) at the centre possibly inside the sheath that covered the tip, gas vacuoles etc. (c-i) morphogenesis of calyptra on tip cell: (c) terminal flat cell tip forming outer extra wall at the centre (arrowhead); (d-e) trichome at low and high magnifications, terminal cell become bell-shaped with four layers on the topoutermost sheath on top followed by outer extra wall, cell wall and inner extra wall, all four layers extended downward; (f-g) trichome at low and high magnifications, bell shaped cell narrowed terminally, outer extra wall of calyptra highly thickened, both the outer and inner extra walls developed terminal knobs at both ends (koew and kiew), cell wall below kiew become constricted (ccw) separating the iew which remain attached with the oew forming loops at both ends of the knob side wall with thick sheath; (h-i) trichome at low and high magnifications, fully developed calyptra, all the four layers become sickle-shaped on squeezed tip cell, posterior cells with abundant glycogen granules, cells dividing. bars: 10µm. abbr.: ccw: constricted cell wall; cw: cell wall; dc: dividing cell; gg: glycogen granules; gv: gas vavuoles; iew: inner extra wall; kiew: knob of inner extra wall; koew: knob of outer extra wall; oew: outer extra wall; s: sheath; t: thylakoids; udc: undivided cell. 280 aziz and mohid aggregation of trichomes in flat bundles. after the nomenclatural change extensive ultra-structural (diazocytes), physiological (n2 fixation) and biochemical studies t. erythraeum accumulated a large amount of information which are: (i) colonies spindle-shaped without colonial mucilage (fig. 1c) consisting of 195-450 compact filaments (figs 1b-d) where trichomes have individual sheath around covering even the tip cell wall in the present sample (figs 2b-e) the feature has so far not reported for t. erythraeum. (ii) bergman and carpenter (1991) reported n2 fixation in around 15 golden-yellow cells of same size and shape like vegetative cells containing nitrogenase called diazocyte(s) in 10-40 % trichomes randomly distributed in the interior of colonies. (iii) there are both temporal and spatial segregation of n2 fixation and photosynthesis within the photoperiod (berman-frank et al., 2001; fredriksson and bergman, 1997), the feature first developed in t. erythraeum amongst cyanobacteria (lee, 2008). the features described above for the present material and n2 fixation in diazocytes described by others made the authors to consider t. erythraeum ehr. a distinct taxon. komárek et al. (2014) considered it as a valid name based on molecular sequence data. there is over a dozen of trichodesmium spp. some having overlapping characters. based on botanical nomenclature, cultures and sequences hynes et al. (2012) documented six species from 21 strains which are t. contortum wille 1904, t. erythraeum ehr. 1830, t. hildenbrandtii gomont1892, t. radians wille 1904, t. tenue wille 1904 and t. thiebautii gomont 1892. komárek et al. 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(manuscript received on 5 march, 2020; revised on 13 november, 2020) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 255-261, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70501 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new record of scenedesmus vacuolatus from soil in vojvodina, serbia timea hajnal jafari*, vladimira žunić, simonida djurić and dragana stamenov university of novi sad, faculty of agriculture, dositeja obradovića sq.8, novi sad, serbia keywords: soil algae; scenedesmus vacuolatus; dna extraction; its2. abstract soil algae are photosynthetic microorganisms showing huge differences in morphology depending on the soil type, agricultural practices, and environmental factors. the aim of this research was to compare the results of classical and molecular protocols for microalgal identification. the green microalgae were isolated from acidic arable soil of dystric cambisol type, using bg11 medium and the agar plate method. firstly, the identification of the microalgae was performed based on its morphological characteristics using light microscopy (lm) and taxonomic monographs and reference books. the isolate was initially annotated on genus level as coelastrella sp. gene marker (its2) was used for molecular identification. according to this protocol, the microalga was identified as scenedesmus vacuolatus. combination of morphology and dna-based approach proved to be the most effective for obtaining a consistent species level identification. moreover, this is the first record of scenedesmus vacuolatus identification from soil in vojvodina, serbia. introduction microalgae are microscopic organisms (1-900 µm) that can be either prokaryotic or eukaryotic. they can grow and reproduce in freshwater and marine environments, as well as in soil (nabti et al., 2017). it is estimated that out of existing 800.000 microalgae species, around 50.000 are described (ronga et al., 2019), but only a few species are used for different purposes, such as food or animal feed, in the pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, etc (seman et al., 2021). due to various application potential, microalgae have attracted considerable interest worldwide. the most examined microalgal species originate predominantly from various freshwater environments and belong to the branch of green algae (chlorophyta) and cyanobacteria (bumandalai and tserennadmid, 2019; hernandez et al., 2009). however, soil algal diversity is also enormous, yet nothing or little is done to uncover their importance in the ecosystems they inhabit. underestimating the algal diversity in these ecosystems is due to, first of all poor knowledge about their role in soil ecosystem maintenance as well as lack of significant scientific interest by researchers in algal taxonomy and phylogeny (trbojević and predojević, 2022). though the importance and application of specific soil microalgae are acknowledged by many researchers (hajnal jafari et al., 2016; kholssi et al., 2019; žunić et al., 2022), there are no published articles about the diversity and taxonomy of green soil microalgae in serbia. generally, studies on the identification of microalgae are done using a classical approach based upon the description of cell and colony structures. this is highly subjective since it requires a microscope of high magnification and a skilled observer. zou et al., (2016) even argued that the morphological *corresponding author. e-mail: mikrobiologija@polj.uns.ac.rs mailto:mikrobiologija@polj.uns.ac.rs 256 jafari et al. identification of some species is impossible. moreover, there are morphological adaptation and endemism among many microalgae species which make them difficult to correctly identify (coleman, 2002). that is why the combination of morphology and dna-based approach proved to be the most effective for obtaining a consistent species level identification. hence, in this study, the aim was to compare the results of classical and molecular identification of soil microalgae using gene marker (its2). the identity of the microalgae was initially identified using its morphological characteristics. materials and methods isolation and growth conditions the green microalgae species was isolated from acidic arable soil (ph 4.31) in vojvodina, serbia, using bg11 medium. bg11 medium per one liter of distilled water contains: 1.5 g nano3, 0.04 g k2hpo4, 0.075 g mgso4·7h2o, 0.036 g cacl2·2h2o, 0.006 g citric acid, 0.006 g ferric ammonium citrate, 0.001 g edta, 0.02 g na2co3 and 1ml trace metal solution a5. the composition of the trace metal mix solution is: 2.86 g h3bo3, 1.86 g mncl2·4h2o, 0.22 g znso4·7h2o, 0.39 g na2moo4·2h2o, 0.08 g cuso4·5h2o, 0.05 g co(no3)2·6h2o. the ph of bg11 medium was adjusted to 7.1 and autoclaved at 121ºc. microalgae isolation started with using agar plate method. microalgae were grown in petri dishes on solid bg11 medium under aseptic conditions at room temperature (24±2°c) and day: night photoperiod 14:10. every 14 days, one colony was selected and transferred to fresh agar plates. elimination of contaminants and pure culture was obtained by the agar streaking method and continued growth upon sub-culturing. cell morphology and identification taxonomic identification was performed on the basis of cell morphology. morphological observations were done using a binocular light research microscope at 400× and 1000× magnification (motic, ba210). identification was based on taxonomic monographs and reference books for terrestrial algae and cyanobacteria (komárek and fott, 1983; komárek and anagnostidis, 2005; bellinger and sigee, 2010) molecular identification total genomic dna was isolated from fresh algal biomass using the eurx dna extraction protocol for environmental samples soil (genematrix soil dna purification kit™). 50 ml of fresh algal biomass was centrifuged, and the pellet was used according to the protocol. pcr amplification protocol its2 region was attempted to pcr amplification using the its2 primers according to hadi et al., (2016) and liu et al. (2014): its-2_f, 5’-aggagaagtcgtaacaaggt-3’ (tm=56.9°c) and its-2_r, 5’-tcctccgcttattgatatgc (tm=61.5°c). amplicon size varies (nucleotides span) 600-1000 bp, depending on algal strain. the 25 µl pcr reaction mix was composed of 10 µl of ultrapure water, 12.5 µl of mastermix, 0.25 µl of each primer its2 forward and reverse. at the end, 2 µl of dna template was added in the pcr reaction mixture in eppendorf. the pcr reactions were performed in the pcr thermocycler tc-412 thermal cycler (united kingdom) using a program designed for the amplification of its regions. the program starts with initial denaturation at 96°c, 40 cycles (96ºc 1 min. of template denaturation, 52ºc 1 min. primer annealing, and 72ºc – 1 min. for extension) and final extension at 72ºc for 5 min and hold at 4ºc. new record of scenedesmus vacuolatus from soil 257 gene visualization 10 µl of each pcr sample were mixed with 3µl 6x dna loading dye (thermo fisher scientific baltics uab, lithuania) and loaded onto 1.5% agarose gel and electrophoresed using 1x tbe (tris borate edta) buffer (sigma aldrich co., usa). gene ruler 100 bp dna ladder (thermo fisher scientific baltics uab, lithuania) was loaded onto the first and/or last lane. agarose gel and electrophoresis was run at 100 w for 45 min. after that, gel was added to 1% ethidiumbromide solution (250ml dh2o + 20 µl ethidiumbromide) for 30 min. bands were visualized with a uv lamp in bluecube 300 (serva electrophoresis gmbh, germany). genomic dna was sent out for sequencing to macrogen© (seoul, south korea) and the result was compared with sequences available on the ncbi website database through the blast bioinformatics tool. results and discussion based on the morphology obtained using light microscopy (lm), the taxonomy was further performed using reference books for terrestrial algae and cyanobacteria. the isolated strain was annotated as a member of the genus coelastrella. it is a single celled, non motile green algae with a round to coccoid shape of cell, size 4-12 µm (young and adult). inside the cell, a cup-shaped chloroplast as well as a single pyrenoid can be easily observed (fig. 1). the size and shape of microalgal cells depend on maturity, cell growth phase and origin (darienko et al., 2019). equalsized autospores and autosporangia (mother cell) with autospores inside the cell were also present. the release of autospores was obtained by the rupture of the mother cell wall. traditionally, taxonomic classification and subsequent identification depend on the morphological description of cell and colony features. this could generate mistakes in the taxonomic identification (gour et al., 2016). krienitz et al., (2003) also stated that the classical approaches using morphological characters for the circumscription of coccoid green algae do not adequately reflect the phylogenetic relationships. though it is important to examine the culture and take images for any future record and publication, one should be aware of relying only on lm images because many different algae species may look alike. having that in mind, the next step was using a dna sequence for species-level identification. fig. 1. morphology of the soil microalgae coelastrella sp. (magnification 40× and 1000×) autospores 258 jafari et al. considered as one of the frequently used molecular markers for distinguishing between eukaryotic species, the internal transcribed spacer 2 (its2) is a gene used in several applications among which molecular phylogenetic analyses can be included. the primary sequence of its2 region is highly conserved within species, but is highly divergent between species (hoshina, 2014). fawley and fawley (2020) stated that for algae, and especially for green algae, the its2 region is an important region for species identification. fig. 2 shows the band of sample 63s amplified using its2 rdna primers. a total of 715 base pair sequences was obtained which was submitted to genbank for blast search. the sequence got labeled as scenedesmus vacuolatus 63 (accession number: op808227). the level of identity between the submitted sequence and a published sequence was 99.8%. fig. 2. pcr amplification results of scenedesmus vacuolatus (63s) its-2 region the phylogenetic tree (fig. 3) shows the relationship of scenedesmus vacuolatus 63 to other strains of microalgae based on their its2 sequences. the closest sequences were scenedesmus vacuolatus s12, coelastrella vacuolata fachb-3315 and coelastrella vacuolata fachb-3314 with over 99% similarity. the other nearest group includes the strains s. vacuolatus sag211-8c, s. vacuolatus sag211-8e and s. vacuolatus utex252. the most distant branch is desmodesmus regularis sag24.95 (am228925). the classification of scenedesmus vacuolatus is given below: domain: eukarya; phylum: chlorophyta; class: chlorophyceae; order: sphaeropleales family: scenedesmaceae; genus: scenedesmus; species: s. vacuolatus (shihira & krauss) e. kessler, m. schäfer, c. hümmer, a. kloboucek & v. huss the molecular identification (blast search) showed that the studied strain had a different genus name compared to the one annotated based on morphology. however, that is not something unexpected in algal systematics. the demarcation of genera and species in the family scenedesmaceae is rather difficult. numerous phylogenetic studies revealed the existence of complex relationships among algal species since morphological and molecular identification often resulted in different outcomes (lakshmana senthil et al., 2019). chlorella fusca var. vacuolata, graesiella vacuolata and coelastrella vacuolata (kalina and puncocharova, 1987; hegewald and hanagata, 2002) are the nomenclatural or homotypic synonyms for scenedesmus vacuolatus that can be found in the literature covering algae identification and taxonomy (darienko et al., 2010; new record of scenedesmus vacuolatus from soil 259 shetty et al., 2021). basically, our morphology based identification matched the dna bases, even though the genus names differed. this result is consistent with the initial idea that a combined classical and molecular method of identification has to be applied in order to perform an accurate genus/species level identification. fig. 3. maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree based on its2 sequences of scenedesmus vacuolatus 63 gained by bootstrap analysis in 1000 repetition according to the literature survey, there is no report regarding the diversity of green soil microalgae in serbia. in this context, this is the first record of scenedesmus vacuolatus from the vojvodina region in serbia. acknowledgements this work was supported by the ministry of science, technological development and innovation, republic of serbia, contract no. 451-03-47/2023-01/ 200117. timea hajnal jafari designed the experiments, interpreted the results and wrote the paper. vladimira žunić worked on laboratory research. dragana stamenov was involved in experiments and manuscript preparation. statistical data processing was done by simonida djurić. references bellinger, e.g. and sigee, d.c. 2010. freshwater algae: identification and use as bioindicators. john wiley & sons, ltd. isbn 978-0-470-05814-5. bumandalai, o. and tserennadmid, r. 2019. effect of chlorella vulgaris as a biofertilizer on germination of tomato and cucumber seeds. inter. j. aquat. biol. 7(2): 95-99. coleman, a.w. 2002. microbial eukaryote species. sci. 297: 337. 260 jafari et al. darienko, t., rad, m.c., campbell, c. and pröschold, t. 2019. are there any true marine chlorella species? 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(manuscript received on 05 july 2023; revised on 02 december 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 17-25, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82389 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists cytotaxonomy of centaurea section mesocentron (asteraceae) in türkiye emrah şirin* selçuk university, faculty of science, department of biology, 42130 konya, türkiye keywords: chromosome; compositae; knapweed; star-thistle. abstract this study aims to examine chromosome morphologies of the genus centaurea from türkiye. chromosome counts were performed during somatic metaphase using squash technique. the clearest metaphase stages were identified, and the chromosomes were analyzed using an imaging system. the chromosome number for c. solstitialis subsp. carneola was found to be 2n=18, while the other taxa were determined to have 2n=16. c. verutum is differentiated from other taxa with the same chromosome number based on its karyotype formula. in conclusion, it can be inferred that the data obtained from karyomorphological studies contribute to the differentiation of taxa. introduction centaurea, a significant genus within the tribe cardueae of the asteraceae family, encompasses a variety of herbaceous forms as well as some shrubs. these plants are generally characterized by their unarmed leaves (susanna and garcia-jacas, 2007). a notable characteristic of centaurea is its lateral hilum (dittrich, 1968) and its distinctive floral arrangement, which features prominent sterile peripheral florets that lack staminodes (wagenitz and hellwig, 1996). the shape of the scarious bract appendages is a crucial morphological trait for species classification within this genus. centaurea primarily thrives in the mediterranean and iranoturanian regions, although some species, especially those in section jacea, can be found in temperate areas of europe (hilpold et al., 2014). this genus includes around 650 species globally, making it the largest within the subtribe centaureinae (mabberley, 2008). türkiye serves as a key center of diversity for centaurea (wagenitz, 1986), and recent studies have identified 247 taxa (i̇lçim and demir, 2023; uysal et al., 2024). among these, 145 taxa are endemic to türkiye, yielding an endemism rate of 58.7%. in türkiye, the section mesocentron is represented by three taxa (wagenitz, 1975), and with the inclusion of centaurea verutum l., this number has risen to four (duran et al., 2014). of these, two taxa are endemic, resulting in an endemism rate of 50%. the identification key in the flora of turkey indicates that taxa within this section are differentiated solely by flower color, spine color, and spine length (wagenitz, 1975). cytotaxonomy is a specialized area within cytogenetics that systematically examines karyological features for evolutionary insights (siljak-yakovlev and peruzzi, 2012). chromosomes, particularly those of plants, serve as valuable resources for various types of cytogenetic research (guerra, 2012). since an organism's genetic information is carried by its chromosomes, any alterations in chromosome number (such as polyploidy or diploidy) and structure (including inversions, deletions, or translocations) play a crucial role in plant evolution and speciation. however, simply knowing the number of chromosomes is insufficient for fully understanding the evolutionary history of a group (weiss-schneeweiss and schneeweiss, 2013); *corresponding author. email: emrahsirin@selcuk.edu.tr https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78748 18 şirin karyomorphology can provide additional insights. in some instances, ecological and morphological data alone may not adequately clarify the evolutionary relationships among species. in these cases, combining cytotaxonomy with molecular data can enhance analysis (venora et al., 2008). the karyotype describes the phenotypic characteristics of chromosomes, including their number, size, arm ratio, centromere position, and other fundamental features (levin, 2002). this study aims to uncover the karyomorphological characteristics of species within the section mesocentron, examine the chromosomal relationships among closely related species, and explore the extent of chromosomal variation both within and between the studied taxa. material and methods the specimens from the section mesocentron were gathered from different locations, as detailed in table 1, and preserved in the herbarium of the biology department at selçuk university (knya). only mature achenes were chosen for periodic germination to facilitate chromosomal analysis. chromosome counts were performed during somatic metaphase using squash technique. metaphase plates were obtained from primary root meristems. the samples underwent pretreatment with 0.002 m 8-hydroxyquinoline for 8 hours at 4°c, followed by fixation in karnoy for 24 hrs at the same temperature. hydrolysis was conducted using 5 n hcl for 30 minutes at room temperature, and the material was then stained with 1% aceto-orcein. table 1. localities of the studied mesocentron taxa. taxa endemic (e) locality collector number c. solstitialis l. subsp. carneola(boiss.) wagenitz e i̇çel: mut, roadside,187 m, 19 vii 2023 e. şirin 805 c. solstitialis l. subsp. pyracantha(boiss.) wagenitz e i̇çel: anamur, roadside 356 m, 19 vii 2023 e. şirin 806 c. solstitialis l. subsp. solstitialis konya: şelçuklu, roadside, 1212 m, 21 vii 2023 e. şirin 807 c. verutuml. gaziantep: gaziantep–kilis road, interior of red lentil field, 703 m, 07 vi 2023 e. şirin 795 preparations were made permanent following bowen’s method (1956). for each taxon, a minimum of 10 metaphases were analyzed, and the clearest metaphase image was captured at 100x magnification with the olympus dp-72 digital camera connected to the olympus bx53 microscope. the chromosome nomenclature proposed by levan et al., (1964) was utilized, designating m and sm for metacentric and submetacentric chromosomes, respectively. karyotype asymmetry was assessed using the average centromere index (ci), the ratio of the shortest to longest chromosomes, and the a1 and a2 indices. additionally, total form percentage (tf%, huziwara 1962), arano index of karyotype asymmetry (ask%, arano, 1963), interchromosomal asymmetry index–interchromosomal asymmetry index (a1–a2, romero-zarco, 1986), relative variation in chromosome length (cvcl, paszko, 2006) and stebbins classification (stebbins, 1971) values have been determined. idiograms for the taxa were generated with the karyo measure analysis system (mahmoudi and mirzaghaderi, 2023). the karyomorphological traits of four taxa were evaluated, and their correlation coefficients were computed. these taxa were subsequently classified using a clustering analysis technique, specifically the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (upgma), which cytotaxonomy of centaurea section mesocentron 19 incorporated similarity and standardized variables. to distinguish the mesocentron taxa, 16 quantitative karyomorphological traits were chosen, and their averages were determined. the cluster analysis was performed utilizing euclidean distances and the upgma method via past 4.03 software (fig. 3) (hammer et al., 2001). principal component analysis (pca) was used to identify the most important traits for data interpretation and summarization. eigenvalues were represented in a two-dimensional scatter plot along the first and second principal components (pc1 and pc2), reflecting the greatest variation (fig. 4). box-plot graphs were created based on data regarding a1, a2, cvcl, and cvci (fig. 5). both pca and box plot analyses were carried out using origin 2018 software (moberly et al., 2018). results and discussion c. solstitialis subsp. carneola: this investigation is the first chromosome count and morphology report of the endemic taxon. karyological data and asymmetry values are as follows: 2n=18, x=9, pl=2x, hcl=12.96, tf%=42.01, ask%=57.98, s%=24.96, kf=8m+1sm, ai=3.20, a1=0.28, a2=0.39, xca=16.62, xci=0.41, cvcl=39.93, cvci=8.03, stebbins=4c (tables 2–3, figs. 1–2). fig.1. mitotic metaphase chromosomes of taxa belonging to section mesocentron. a. c. solstitialis subsp. carneola, b. c. solstitialis subsp. pyracantha, c. c.solstitialis subsp. solstitialis, and d. c. verutum. 20 şirin c. solstitialis subsp. pyracantha: this research is the first chromosome count and morphology report of the endemic taxon. the following presents the karyological data and asymmetry values: 2n=16, x=8, pl=2x, hcl=12.47, tf%=39.20, ask%=60.79, s%=62.45, kf=5m+3sm, ai=2.67, a1=0.32, a2=0.15, xca=20.49, xci=0.39, cvcl=15.65, cvci=17.07, stebbins=4a (tables 2–3, figs. 1–2). table 2. karyological characteristic parameters of the studied mesocentron taxa. taxa 2n x pl hcl tf%* ask%** s% kf c.solstitialis subsp. carneola 18 9 2x 12.96 42.01 57.98 24.65 8m+1sm c. solstitialis subsp. pyracantha 16 8 2x 12.47 39.20 60.79 62.45 5m+3sm c. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis 16 8 2x 13.94 38.71 61.28 64.03 5m+3sm c. verutum 16 8 2x 14.86 41.54 58.45 47.50 6m+2sm notes: pl, ploidy level; hcl, total chromosome length of the haploid complement; tf%, total form percentage; ask%, arano index of karyotype asymmetry; s%, symmetry index; mca, mean centromeric asymmetry; kf, karyotype formula. *(huziwara, 1962); ** (arano, 1963) table 3. karyotypes of mesocentron taxa using different methods of evaluating karyotype asymmetry. . taxa ai a1* a2* xca xci cvcl** cvci** stebbins*** c.solstitialis subsp. carneola 3.20 0.28 0.39 16.62 0.41 39.93 8.03 4c c. solstitialis subsp. pyracantha 2.67 0.32 0.15 20.49 0.39 15.65 17.07 4a c. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis 1.27 0.36 0.15 22.34 0.38 15.59 8.19 4a c. verutum 3.30 0.28 0.27 17.11 0.41 27.45 12.05 4b notes: ai, karyotype asymmetry index; a1, interchromosomal asymmetry index; a2, interchromosomal asymmetry index; xca, mean centromeric asymmetry; xci, mean centromeric index; cvcl, relative variation in chromosome length; cvci, coefficient of variation of centromeric index; stebbins: types, classification of karyotypes in relation to their degree of asymmetry according to stebbins (1971). *(romero-zarco, 1986); **(paszko, 2006); *** (stebbins, 1971). c. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis: karyological data and asymmetry values are as follows: 2n=16, x=8, pl=2x, hcl=13.94, tf%=38.71, ask%=61.28, s%=64.03, kf=5m+3sm, ai=1.27, a1=0.36, a2=0.15, xca=22.34, xci=0.38, cvcl=15.59, cvci=8.19, stebbins=4a (tables 2–3, figs. 1–2). c. verutum: the following presents the karyological data and asymmetry values: 2n=16, x=8, pl=2x, hcl=14.86, tf%=41.54, ask%=58.45, s%=47.50, kf=6m+2sm, ai=3.30, a1=0.28, a2=0.27, xca=17.11, xci=0.41, cvcl=27.45, cvci=12.05, stebbins=4b (tables 2–3, figs. 1–2). according to upgma dendrogam, c. solstitialis subsp. pyracantha and c. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis are the closest taxa, while c. solstitialis subsp. carneola is the most distant taxon. it can be suggested that the different chromosome count of c. solstitialis subsp. carneola may have contributed to this situation (fig. 3). cytotaxonomy of centaurea section mesocentron 21 fig. 2. idiograms of taxa belonging to section mesocentron. a. c. solstitialis subsp. carneola, b. c. solstitialis subsp. pyracantha, c. c.solstitialis subsp. solstitialis, and d. c. verutum. fig. 3. the upgma dendrogram shows similarity distance of the studied mesocentron taxa according to investigated characters. 22 şirin in regard to pca analysis, while creating the graph, data on a1, a2, cvcl, and cvci indexes. as a result, c. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis and c. verutum were positioned closely, while c. solstitialis subsp. carneola and c. solstitialis subsp. pyracantha took separate positions (fig. 4). considering the box-plot graphics, just like in the pca analysis, data on a1, a2, cvcl, and cvci indexes were used. the box plot displayed a thin or thick appearance according to the reference range of the relevant character. for example, the values for the a1 and a2 indices are close to each other, resulting in a narrow box plot. in contrast, the values for the cvcl and cvci indices are not close to each other, leading to a wider box plot (fig. 5). fig. 4. pca analysis of achene morphological characteristics. fig. 5. box-plot graphics of karyological indexes. cytotaxonomy of centaurea section mesocentron 23 the quantity, dimensions, and asymmetrical characteristics of chromosomes are significant attributes that aid in understanding the evolutionary relationships among species (erogluet al., 2013). the role of karyology in the systematic classification of different genera within the subtribe centaureinae has been validated through connections among karyological, morphological, and molecular data (wagenitz and hellwig, 1996; hellwig, 2004). karyotype asymmetry serves as a valuable indicator of the overall morphology of plant karyotypes. alterations in genome characteristics are frequently linked to the evolution of more advanced plant species. an alternative approach to assessing karyotype asymmetry has been suggested, which takes into account both innerchromosomal asymmetry (a1) and interchromosomal asymmetry (a2) indices (romero-zarco, 1986). a1 and a2 values were found to be lower than those reported in previous studies on rhaponticoides and centaurea taxa (uysal et al., 2015; uysal et al., 2017; şirin et al., 2019). this suggests that the section mesocentron comprises more symmetric karyotypes and less evolved species. based on the a2 index, the values ranged from 0.15 to 0.39 (table 3). specifically, the lowest value was found in c. solstitialis subsp. pyracanthaand c. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis, while the highest was observed in c. solstitialis subsp. carneola. furthermore, mostly taxa exhibited symmetrical karyotypes. these results indicate that chromosomal exchanges (crossovers) within the section mesocentron are restricted. xca (as mca) and cvcl are the most suitable parameters for measuring intraand interspecies asymmetry (peruzzi and altınordu, 2014). c.solstitialissubsp. carneolahas the highest cvcl value at 39.93, which distinguishes it from other species. c. solstitialissubsp. solstitialishas the lowest cvcl value at 15.59. the xca values of the section mesocentron range from 16.62 to 22.34. the highest value is observed in c. solstitialissubsp. solstitialis, while the lowest value is observed in c. solstitialissubsp. carneola. uysal et al.(2015) reported the ai values for certain centaurea species to range from 1.71 to 3.64. our findings are somewhat aligned with these values, with ai observed between 1.27 and 3.30. the taxa exhibit symmetrical karyotypes, predominantly in c. verutum, while c. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis displays the least. overall, the studied taxa seem to be characterized by symmetrical karyotypes and a predominance of m chromosomes. among the various indices utilized to characterize chromosomes, our results suggest that ai may be preferred, as it shows a stronger correlation compared to other indices. we propose that ai plays a significant role in differentiating closely related species. according to garcia-jacas et al. (1996), the distinction between primitive and derived groups within the centaureinae subtribe is established at x = 12. the fundamental chromosome numbers of x = 12 and lower (such as 8 and 9) are observed in the more advanced groups. therefore, it can be inferred that section mesocentron is among the most advanced groups in this subtribe. numerous chromosome counts have been conducted for the species c. solstitialis, all reported as 2n=16 (strid, 2015; baeza et al., 2016;carev et al., 2016;carev et al., 2017; semple and watanabe, 2023). the chromosome count of c. solstitialis subsp. carneola (2n=18) has been found to be different from that of c. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis and c. solstitialis subsp. carneola. it was intriguing to observe that the subspecies exhibited different chromosome counts. the possibility of classifying the variety as a separate species was considered, though the morphological differences were minimal. a similar situation has been noted in the varieties of draba helleriana greene (ward, 1983; ward and spellenberg, 1988; warwick and al-shehbaz, 2006). c. solstitialis subsp. carneola is distinguished from other taxa by its different chromosome count (2n=18). additionally, it differentiates based on values of tf% (highest), ask% (lowest), 24 şirin a2 (highest), xca (lowest), cvcl (highest), and cvci (lowest). c. solstitialis subsp. pyracantha is distinguished from other taxa by having the lowest hcl and the highest cvci. c. solstitialis subsp. solstitialis is distinguished from other taxa by having the lowest tf%, the highest ask%, the highest s%, the lowest ai, the highest a1, the highest xca, the lowest xci, and the lowest cvcl. c. verutum is distinguished from other taxa by its karyotype formula (6m+2sm). it is also characterized by having the highest hcl and the highest ai. based on all these results, we can conclude that karyomorphological characteristics contribute to the differentiation of taxa in the mesocentron section. acknowledgements this study was financially supported by selçuk university (bap—project number: 23201052). references arano, h. 1963. cytological studies in subfamily carduoideae (compositae) of japan. ix bot mag 76: 32– 39. baeza, c. m., penailillo, p., novoa, p., rosas, m., finot, v.l. and ruiz, e. 2016. chromosomes report from plants that grown in chile. iv (recuentoscromos-micosenplantas que crecenen chile. iv). gayana botanica 73(2): 183–190. bowen, c. 1956. freezing by liquid carbon dioxide in making slides permanent. stain technology 31: 87–90. carev, i., pustahija, f., ruscic, m. and siljak yakovlev, s. 2017. chromosome number and ploidy level in seven centaurea species from croatia. in: kamari, g., blanch, c., siljak-yakovlev, s., eds., mediterranean chromosome data. flora mediterranea 27: 289-294. carev, i., ruscicc, m., skocibusic, m., maravic, a., siljak yakovlev, s. and politeo, o. 2016. phytochemical and cytogenetic characterization of centaureasolstitialis l. 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(manuscript received on 3 january 2025; revised on 4 june 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 233-248, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70499 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floral richness and seasonality of phytodiversity in the tessala mountains, western algeria boubakr saidi*, ali latreche 1 and mustapha mahmoud dif 2 ibn khaldoun university, faculty of natural and life sciences, laboratory of plant physiology and out soil culture, tiaret 14000, algeria keywords: floral richness; seasonal dynamics; plant community; tessala mountains. abstract this work is devoted for the floral richness and seasonality evaluation of the plant communities of the tessala mountains in western algeria. the floristic inventory of the 30 surveys carried out on 10 selected stations has resulted in 152 species under 125 genera and 48 families. seasonal floral richness is concentrated in both spring and summer seasons, while the monthly richness is significant between march to august. vegetations formations are represented physiognomically by four strata, taken into consideration in descending order of importance: herbaceous (68%), shrubby (12%), arbustive (11%), and arborescent (10%). the overall and seasonal distributions of biological types almost follow the diagrams: therophytes (the) > hemicryptophytes (hem) > phanerophytes (pha) > chamephytes (cha) > geophytes (geo). during the two season: the winter and the spring, the annual herbaceous dominate the bio-morphological spectrum with perennial herbs. during the summer and autumn, perennial herbaceous plants dominate the bio-morphological spectrum. the families that are most existing overall and during the four seasons are asteraceae, poaceae, lamiaceae and fabaceae. introduction the mediterranean region has a very high heritage value floristy. they constitute meaningful reserves of genetic, specific, and functional diversity that should be best conserved to the sustainable management of this biological heritage and these potential resources (quézel and médail, 2003). mediterranean landscapes offer a model for studying the evolution of flora and vegetation. the variability of these landscapes also their differences remain very remarkable (quézel, 2000). vegetation characterizes the state of an ecosystem and highlights its natural or induced changes in climate and soil (rama, 2019; ozenda, 1986). therefore, the analysis of the floristic richness of the different groups, their biological and bio-morphological characteristics will make it possible to highlight their originality, state of conservation, and consequently their heritage (benkelfat et al., 2020). algeria has one of the most diverse and original flores of the mediterranean basin. this flora includes 3,139 species in nearly 150 families, 653 of which are endemic, representing a rate of 12.6% endemism. considering only the oran sector, it retains about 1,780 plant species of the total algerian flora or about 57% of the algerian flora, but 95% of the maghrebi mediterranean flora (the latter having 1,865 species according to quézel (2002). *corresponding author. e-mail: <saidi.boubakr@yahoo.fr>, <boubakr.saidi@univ-tiaret.dz>. 1laboratory of plant biodiversity: conservation and valorization, faculty of natural sciences and life, university of djillali liabes, sidi bel abbes 22000, algeria. 2laboratory of ecodeveloppement spaces, institue of science nour el bachir center university el bayadh 3200, algeria. mailto:saidi.boubakr@yahoo.fr 234 saidi et al. the tessala mountains present a great interest because of their geographical and ecological components. its environmental and socio-economic role deserves to be noted and studied. this massif is home to plant diversity of particular interest, favorable to regeneration after fires, and overgrazing makes this area a natural forest (saidi et al., 2016; bouker et al., 2022). much work has been done on the tessala mountains based on the knowledge and degradation of phytodiversity (ferka-zazou, 2006; chérifi et al., 2011; bachir-bouiadjra, 2011; saidi et al., 2017). landscape dynamics could thus be highlighted and quantified by analyzing the composition and configuration of its elements form a morphological, functional and ecological complex (bisane and naik, 2019). indeed, each ecological system is characterized by the interdependence of three key elements: its spatial structure, its composition, and its temporal functioning with the confrontation of environmental factors (bogaert and mahamane, 2005). the landscape will be directly linked to biodiversity, and it will illustrate the contest that exists between society and its environment (burel and baudry, 2003). the former generally reflect the seasonal rhythm of communities, in other words, their phenology, while the latter reflects the evolution of biocenosis and the ecosystem as a whole towards stages of increasing complexity (lacoste and salanon, 2001). thus, the natural dynamics of plant groups generally range from simple structures to complex structures. the main objectives assigned to our work is a continuation of several studies on vegetation dynamics in the tessala mountains, since 2014 until now. previous research namely : the influence of fires on the phytodiversity of the tessala mountains (saidi et al., 2014). the biological rise of post-disturbance (post-fire or post-overgrazing) plant communities in mount tessala, western algeria (saidi et al., 2016). the impact of grazing on heterogeneity and plant diversity dynamics in the tessala mountains (saidi et al., 2017). materials and methods description of the study area the tessala mountains are located: in the west of algeria, in the wilaya of sidi bel abbès. they are limited to the north by the mleta plain and the oran sebkha; to the east by the benichougrane mountains; to the west by the sebaa chioukh mountains, and the south by the sidi bel abbès plain. it is a mountainous area with altitudes ranging from 600 to 1,000 m, culminating at 1,061 m in tessala djebel. the tessala mountain range is formed by the tessala and bouhneche djebels; they are composed of badlands (bneder, 1991;1993) and the forests of tessala and aïntrid. the climate of the tessala region is a mediterranean diet with two seasons of equivalent duration (ferka-zazou, 2006). this set of mountains belongs to the semi-climatic bioclimatic stage-upper arid to temperate winters characterized by marine influences and precipitation of about 400 mm per year. minimum temperatures range from 6 to 10°c, and maximum temperatures range from 20 to 30°c. the risk of frost is high in the region, is a limiting factor for vegetation. the dry period extends over six months, except in areas higher up where the cooler northern exposure mitigates the effects of drought (ferka-zazou, 2006). sampling `for the characterization of phytodiversity, the zuricho montpeliéraine stigmatist method developed by braun-blanquet (1951) which were used. floral richness and seasonality of phytodiversity 235 between 2013 and 2017, conducted space-time monitoring for three years. it is based on geographic coordinates, altitude, exposure, slope, substrate, cover rate, and vegetation physiognomy (dagnelie, 1970; table 1). thirty surveys spread over 10 stations were carried out using a phytoecological approach. floristic surveys with a surface area of 100 m² are carried out and monitored for a period of 4 years (beginning 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, end 2017). table 1. geographic characterization of each station in the study area. station geographic coordinate elevation (m) slope % exposure s1 x:0°46'229" o y: 35°15'975" n 762 25 south –east s2 x: 0°46'278" o y: 35°16'047" n 771 25 south west s3 x: 0°46'238" o y: 35°16'134" n 800 5 south s4 x: 0°46'767" o y: 35°16'374" n 1006 5 nord-west s5 x: 0°46'774" o y: 35°15'514" n 935 50 nord-west s6 x: 0°46'375'' o y: 35°16'226'' n 833 15 south west s7 x: 0°46'521'' o y: 35°16'289'' n 859 30 south s8 x: 0°46'567'' o y: 35°16'097'' n 846 10 south west s9 x: 0°45'826'' o y: 35°16'073'' n 710 25 south west s10 x: 0°45'917'' o y: 35°15'969'' n 680 60 east-south during the follow-up, floristic lists are established and taking into account all species present in each survey, the first expressing their abundance-dominance and sociability scale (braunblanquet et al., 1952), stratification scale by benabdeli (1996) for the woody vegetation of oranie, the floristic richness, and biological and bio-morphological spectrum. the determination of plant species not recognized on the spot, samples were taken and then identified from the descriptions of some works, we used the new flora of algeria of quézel, and santa and north africa of meyer supplemented if necessary by the guide of the mediterranean flora, and the various algerian flores. identify of floristic heritage of the tessala mountains was: all the mediterranean nature (sterry, 2014), guide to mediterranean flora (bayer et al., 2009), larousse: the herbarium of wild plants (thierry, 2011), the great colorful flora of (gaston and robert, 1990), north africa of maire (1952, 1987), sahara flora (ozenda, 1977), new flora of algeria and the southern desert regions quézel and santa (1962, 1963) and also the tela botanica forum: north african flora project. results and discussion assessment of plant biodiversity a total of 152 species under 125 genera and 48 families are shown in table 2. this list is the subject of several treatments such as; specific richness, biological spectra, morphological and biomorphological types, species listed, and the different families to which these species belong in each season. seasonal floristic richness the floristic richness is concentrated in the two seasons: spring (140 species) and summer (86 species). the flora of these two seasons can be described as rich one. however, in the winter season (59 species), very rich one. on the other hand, the autumn season (22 species) medium flora (fig. 1). 236 saidi et al. table 2. list of species and their flowering phenology (type and biological cycle). species family flowering biological type biological cycle acacia nilotica (l.) willd. ex delile fabaceae january-april phanerophytes tree adonis aestivalis l. ranunculaceae april-june therophytes annual herbaceous aegilops triuncialis l. poaceae may-july therophytes annual herbaceous a. ventricosa tausch. poaceae may-august therophytes annual herbaceous ajuga iva (l.) scherb. lamiaceae march-november chamephyte perennial herbaceous ammi visnaga gaertn. apiaceae may-october therophytes annual herbaceous, biennial herbaceous ampelodesma mauritanica (poir.) dir. poaceae may-june geophytes perennial herbaceous anacyclus clavatus (desf.) pers. asteraceae may-july therophytes annual herbaceous a. arvensis l. primulaceae february-july therophytes annual herbaceous anagallis monelli l. primulaceae february-july therophytes perennial herbaceous anchusa azurea mill. boraginaceae march-july hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous arbutus unedo l. ericaceae november february phanerophytes shurb aristolochia baetica l. aristolochiaceae january-june phanerophytes perennial herbaceous artemisia vulgaris l. asteraceae june-september hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous asparagus acutifolius l. asparagaceae july-september geophytes perennial herbaceous asperula hirsuta desf. rubiaceae march-june hemicryptophytes annual herbaceous asphodelus microcarpus salzm et viv xanthorrhoeaceae may-july geophytes perennial herbaceous asteriscus maritimus (l.) less. asteraceae april-july hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous astragalus hamosus l. fabaceae march-may therophytes annual herbaceous atractylis caespitosa desf. asteraceae june-august therophytes perennial herbaceous a. cancellata l. asteraceae april-june therophytes annual herbaceous atractylis gummifera l. asteraceae august-november hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous avena sterilis l. poaceae may-july therophytes annual herbaceous avenula pratensis l. poaceae march-september hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous ballota hirsuta benth. lamiaceae april-september nanophanerophytes perennial herbaceous bartsia trixago l. orobanchaceae april-july therophytes annual herbaceous bellis annua l. asteraceae february-june therophytes annual herbaceous brassica nigra (l.) koch. brassicaceae march-july therophytes annual herbaceous briza maxima l. poaceae may-june therophytes annual herbaceous bromus rubens l. poaceae april-july therophytes annual herbaceous b. sterilis l. poaceae may-august therophytes annual herbaceous b. tectorum l. poaceae may-august therophytes annual herbaceous bryonia cretica subsp. dioica (jacq.) cucurbitaceae may-august geophytes perennial herbaceous calendula arvensis l. asteraceae april-september therophytes annual herbaceous calicotome spinosa l. fabaceae april-june nanophanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub cardaria draba (l.) desv. brassicaceae march-june hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous carduus pycnocephalus l. asteraceae march-june therophytes annual herbaceous carthamus caeruleus l. asteraceae march-june hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous centaurea calcitrapa l asteraceae april-august hemicryptophytes biennial herbaceous c. eriophora l. asteraceae april-july therophytes annual herbaceous c. parviflora desf. asteraceae april-july hemicryptophytes annual herbaceous biennial herbaceous http://www.tela-botanica.org/apd-nn-145532-description?referentiel=apd&niveau=2&module=recherche&action=rechercheavancee&type_nom=nom_scientifique&gen=acacia http://www.tela-botanica.org/apd-nn-145532-description?referentiel=apd&niveau=2&module=recherche&action=rechercheavancee&type_nom=nom_scientifique&gen=acacia&sp=nilotica https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/fabaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-830-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100918&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=ranunculaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-1014-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100898&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=poaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-83152-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100978&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=aristolochiaceae https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/asparagaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-83437-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100945&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=rubiaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-7378-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101123&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=xanthorrhoeaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-9263-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100914&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=orobanchaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-11288-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100999&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=cucurbitaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-38489-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100902&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=brassicaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-14664-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100897&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=asteraceae floral richness and seasonality of phytodiversity 237 species family flowering biological type biological cycle centaurea pullata l. asteraceae may-june hemicryptophytes biennial herbaceous centaurium erythraea rafn. gentianaceae april-june therophytes perennial herbaceous ceratonia siliqua l. fabaceae august-november phanerophytes tree chamaerops humilis l. arecaceae april-june chamephytes perennial herbaceous cistus salviifolius l. cistaceae april-june chamephytes shrub and sub-shrub convolvulus althaeoides l. convolvulaceae march-june hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous crataegus oxyacantha l. rosaceae april-june phanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub cupressus sempervirens l. cupressaceae april-may phanerophytes tree cynara cardunculus l.var. asteraceae march-august hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. poaceae august-september geophytes perennial herbaceous dactylis glomerata l. poaceae april-september hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous daphne gnidium l. thymelaeaceae march-october nanophanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub daucus carota l. apiaceae march-october hemicryptophytes biennial herbaceous dittrichia viscosa l. greuter. asteraceae octobernovember chamephytes perennial herbaceous echinops spinosus l. asteraceae june-august hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous e. strigosus l. asteraceae december-march hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous echium angustifolium mill. boraginaceae march-july chamephytes perennial herbaceous eruca vesicaria (l.) car. brassicaceae february-may therophytes annual herbaceous eryngium triquetrum vahl. apiaceae march-july hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous eucalyptus globulus labill. myrtaceae june-september phanerophytes tree ficus carica l. moraceae may-august phanerophytes shurb filago pyramidata l. asteraceae april-july therophytes annual herbaceous foeniculum vulgare (mill.) gaertn. apiaceae may-october hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous fraxinus excelsior l. oleaceae april-may phanerophytes tree fumana thymifolia (l). spach ex webb. cistaceae march-june therophytes annual herbaceous fumaria officinalis l. fumariaceae march-september therophytes annual herbaceous f. parviflora lam. fumariaceae march-july therophytes annual herbaceous glebionis coronaria l. asteraceae may-september therophytes annual herbaceous globularia alypum l. plantaginaceae november-may chamephytes shrub and sub-shrub hedera helix l. araliaceae septembernovember phanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub hedypnois rhagadioloides (l.) f.w. asteraceae march-june therophytes annual herbaceous helianthemum apenninum l. cistaceae may-august chamephytes perennial herbaceous h. polyanthum desf. cistaceae may-august therophytes perennial herbaceous hordeum maritimum with. poaceae april-august therophytes annual herbaceous h. vulgare l. poaceae may-july therophytes annual herbaceous hypochaeris radicata l. asteraceae april-september hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous iris sisyrinchium l. iridaceae march-may geophytes perennial herbaceous juniperus communis l. cupressaceae april-may nanophanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub linaria triphylla (l.) mill. plantaginaceae march-june therophytes annual herbaceous lobularia maritima (l.) desv. brassicaceae april-september chamephytes perennial herbaceous malva sylvestris l. malvaceae february-may hemicryptophytes biennial herbaceous marrubium vulgare l. lamiaceae may-september chamephytes perennial herbaceous medicago polymorpha l. fabaceae march-may therophytes annual herbaceous http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-18732-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100908&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=convolvulaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-19515-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101130&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=rosaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-21111-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100898&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=poaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-75097-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100897&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=asteraceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-103077-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100904&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=boraginaceae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/brassicaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-84142-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100948&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=apiaceae https://www.google.dz/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahukewjhjesc8zrrahvcwrqkhclpbyoqs2yijcgamaa&url=https%3a%2f%2ffr.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fmyrtaceae&usg=afqjcnfyghlqydslxjnjfzcw-9hymxxynw&sig2=qgdodtpq6-gb1fm5g7di-q&bvm=bv.142059868,d.d24 http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-28387-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100925&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=cistaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-30285-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101080&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=plantaginaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-30892-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100974&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=araliaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-31040-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100925&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=cistaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-35882-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100922&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=iridaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-39325-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101080&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=plantaginaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-75222-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100902&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=brassicaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-40893-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100935&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=malvaceae 238 saidi et al. species family flowering biological type biological cycle m. rigidula (l.) all. fabaceae march-june therophytes annual herbaceous oubiennial herbaceous mentha rotundifolia l. lamiaceae may-october hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous misopates orontium (l.) raff. plantaginaceae june-september therophytes annual herbaceous muscari comosum l. asparagaceae march-june geophytes perennial herbaceous narcissus serotinus l. amaryllidaceae septemberoctober geophytes perennial herbaceous nerium oleander l. apocynaceae april-september phanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub olea europaea var. oleaster l oleaceae march-june phanerophytes tree o. europaea var. sativa l. oleaceae march-june phanerophytes shurb onopordum macracanthum schousb. asteraceae july-september hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous ornithogalum umbellatum l. asparagaceae april-june geophytes perennial herbaceous pallenis spinosa (l.) cass asteraceae april-june hemicryptophytes biennial herbaceous papaver rhoeas l. papaveraceae may-july therophytes annual herbaceous paronychia argentea (pourr) lam. caryophyllaceae may-june hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous phagnalon saxatile (l.) cass asteraceae march-july hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous phillyrea angustifolia l. oleaceae march-may phanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub phlomis crinita cav. lamiaceae march-june hemicryptophytes annual herbaceous picris echioides l. asteraceae april-august therophytes biennial herbaceous pinus halepensis mill. pinaceae january-december phanerophytes shurb pistacia atlantica desf. anacardiaceae january-april phanerophytes shurb pistacia lentiscus l. anacardiaceae march-may nanophanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub p. terebinthus l. anacardiaceae april-july phanerophytes shurb plantago albicans l. plantaginaceae april-june hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous p. lagopus l. plantaginaceae march-june therophytes annual herbaceous prunus dulcis (mill.) d.a.webb. rosaceae january-april phanerophytes tree quercus coccifera l. fagaceae april-may nanophanerophytes shurb q. ilex l. fagaceae april-may phanerophytes tree ranunculus arvensis l. ranunculaceae april-june therophytes annual herbaceous raphanus raphanistrum l. brassicaceae march-july therophytes annual herbaceous biennial herbaceous reseda alba l. resedaceae may-october therophytes annual herbaceous oubiennial herbaceous rhagadiolus stellatus (l.) gaertner. asteraceae march-june therophytes annual herbaceous rhamnus alaternus l. rhamnaceae february-april phanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub rhaponticum acaule (l.) dc asteraceae april-september hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous rosa canina l. rosaceae may-july nanophanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub r. sempervirens l. rosaceae april-june nanophanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub rosmarinus officinalis l. lamiaceae january-december nanophanérophyte shrub and sub-shrub rubia peregrina l. rubiaceae april-june phanerophytes perennial herbaceous rubus ulmifolius schott. rosaceae june-august nanophanerophytes shurb rumex bucephalophorus l. polygonaceae april-october therophytes annual herbaceous ruta chalepensis l. rutaceae march-june nanophanérophyte perennial herbaceous r. montana l. rutaceae march-august hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-42715-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101080&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=plantaginaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-43036-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100979&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=asparagaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-43691-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100931&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=amaryllidaceae https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/apocynaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-46526-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100979&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=asparagaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-75277-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100912&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=papaveraceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-47951-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100911&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=caryophyllaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-83582-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100913&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=lamiaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-49828-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101080&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=plantaginaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-49828-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101080&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=plantaginaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-54767-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100918&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=ranunculaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-55553-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100902&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=brassicaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-55658-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101090&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=resedaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-55789-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101016&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=rhamnaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-75333-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100913&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=lamiaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-57881-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100945&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=rubiaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-58665-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100941&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=polygonaceae floral richness and seasonality of phytodiversity 239 species family flowering biological type biological cycle salvia argentea l. lamiaceae june-august hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous s. officinalis l. lamiaceae may-july chamephytes shrub and sub-shrub scolymus hispanicus l. asteraceae april-august therophytes biennial herbaceous s. maculatus l. asteraceae june-august therophytes annual herbaceous sedum sediforme (jacq.) pau. crassulaceae june-august chamephytes perennial herbaceous sideritis incana l. lamiaceae march-june therophytes annual herbaceous silene colorata poiret. caryophyllaceae march-may therophytes annual herbaceous silybum marianum l. gaertn. asteraceae april-july hemicryptophytes biennial herbaceous sinapis arvensis l. brassicaceae january-may therophytes annual herbaceous sisymbrium officinale l. brassicaceae mayseptember hemicryptophytes annual herbaceous sonchus oleraceus l. asteraceae june-october therophytes annual herbaceous stipa tenacissima l. poaceae march-may hemicryptophytes perennial herbaceous tamarix gallica l. tamaricaceae april-june phanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub teucrium polium l. lamiaceae april-august chamephytes perennial herbaceous thymelaea hirsuta (l.) endl. thymelaeaceae october-may chamephytes shrub and sub-shrub thymus ciliatus desf. lamiaceae march-may chamephytes perennial herbaceous t. ciliatus ssp. coloratus l. lamiaceae april-july chamephytes perennial herbaceous torilis nodosa l. apiaceae april-july therophytes annual herbaceous trifolium angustifolium l. fabaceae april-june therophytes annual herbaceous t. cherleri l. fabaceae may-july therophytes annual herbaceous t. stellatum l. fabaceae march-july therophytes annual herbaceous turgenia latifolia (l.) hoffm. apiaceae may-august therophytes annual herbaceous urginea maritima l. hyacinthaceae august-october geophytes perennial herbaceous u. pancration phil. hyacinthaceae august-october geophytes perennial herbaceous urtica membranacea l. urticaceae march–september therophytes annual herbaceous verbascum sinuatum l. scrophulariaceae may-august hemicryptophytes biennial herbaceous viburnum tinus l. adoxaceae february-may phanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub ziziphus lotus (l.) lam. rhamnaceae may-june phanerophytes shrub and sub-shrub fig. 1. floristic richness by season for all sampled stations. floristic richness, which at least partially reflects the structure and functioning of plant communities, is heavily influenced by rainfall patterns and varies highly from season to season. it is used for the qualitative characterization of the ecosystem since the increase in floristic richness winter spring summer autumn http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-62149-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=recherche&action=rechercheavancee&type_nom=nom_scientifique&gen=sedum http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-62149-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=recherche&action=rechercheavancee&type_nom=nom_scientifique&gen=sedum&sp=sediforme http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-62352-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100910&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=crassulaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-75386-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100902&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=brassicaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-75386-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100902&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=brassicaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-66702-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100942&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=tamaricaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-68053-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101044&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=thymelaeaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-70059-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100948&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=apiaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-70417-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100936&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=urticaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-70972-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100905&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=scrophulariaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-71463-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=3&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100951&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=adoxaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-73244-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101016&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=rhamnaceae 240 saidi et al. during spring and winter can be the cause of a process of self-restoration of a degraded ecosystem (bonet, 2004; zhang et al., 2005) because anthropozogenic action is very influential (chérifi et al., 2011) not forgetting that 32% of our flora sampled is annual and spend the summer as seeds. the variation in composition and floristic richness between the four seasons seems to be more influenced by geographical location. during the dry season, intense grazing is responsible for changing the structure and composition of the vegetation. in the long term (allam et al., 2019), it can cause a reduction in revegetation speed after the first rains following a drought (kinloch and friedel, 2005; metzger, 2005). seasonal drought seems to affect floristic wealth more than animal activity. therefore, it also appears that the unfavorable season is the first cause of the changes in composition and the decrease in floristic wealth.the monthly floristic richness in the tessala mountains varies from 6 to 126 species (fig. 2), which confirms that the agreeable season favors the increase of the floristic procession, the ideal time is may. fig. 2. floristic richness by month for all sampled stations. biological types global biological spectrum : the therophytes remain the predominant and the bestrepresented type (37%), hemicryptophytes (23%), phanerophytes (16%), chamephytes (10%) and geophytes (7%); the global distribution of biological types follow the following schemes: th > he > ph > ch > geo (table 3), this is consistent with the order of biological types in the tessala mountains (bouterfas et al., 2013; fertout, 2014). this general distribution of the biological types also corresponds approximately to that described in north western algeria by kadi-hanifi (2003) and benabadji et al., 2009 and chérifi et al., 2011. these variations in biological spectra are mainly related to local variations in bioclimatic parameters and multiple pressures exerted by humans and animals. they reflect the relationship between the dominant biological types of a spectrum, the degree of environmental degradation, and the constraints associated with each singular medium (verlaque et al., 2001; latreche and mehdadi, 2006; bouker et al., 2022). seasonal biological spectrum: at the four-season level, the distribution of biological types follows the following patterns: spring > summer > winter > autumn, except for phanerophytes have a tolerance for winter than summer. spring remains the predominant season and is best represented by biological types (th, he, ph, ch, and geo respectively 33, 33, 08, 12 and 55), followed by th, he, ph, ch, and geo respectively 11, 22, 06, 07 and 40), winter (th, he, ph, ch, and geo respectively 16, 12, 04, 04 and 23) and autumn (th, he, ph, ch, and geo respectively 06, floral richness and seasonality of phytodiversity 241 03, 03 and 07). in general, the tessala mountains have different distributions of biological spectra in space and time. therophytes occupy a great place at least in all seasons, then come sometimes the hemicryptophytes (spring and summer), and sometimes the phanerophytes (winter and autumn), followed by the chamephytes and geophytes. spring: th he ph ch ge summer: th he ph ch ge winter: th ph he ch ge autumn: th ph he ch ge table 3. biological types of species surveyed by season. biological type global spring summer winter autumn phanerophytes 35 33 11 16 06 hemicryptophytes 35 33 22 12 03 geophytes 11 08 06 04 03 chamephytes 15 12 07 04 03 therophytes 56 55 40 23 07 therophytes are the most dominant in all seasons at least regarding number. their presence in our semi-arid environment is linked to their adaptation strategy. therophtisation is a strategy for drought adaptation that the presence of sand even in reduced layers in saharan habitats leads to the development of psammophytes, especially annual ones. that therophytes do not exhibit specific morphological adaptations to aridity. they escape extreme conditions in the seed state. it appears that the presence of therophytes is generally related to precipitation. the phanerophytes and hemicryptophytes occupy the second position in all the seasons. the phanerophytes are the most suitable since they have a root system that allows searching for water in the soils during the severe seasons. in addition, hemicryptophytes are very common in favorable water conditions and ambient temperatures.in general, chamephytes are adapted to the conditions of arid environments (low temperatures and aridity). geophytes are less represented throughout the year. they are considered as arid-passive perennial plants to resist extreme conditions (drought, low temperature) by limiting their growth or temporarily suppressing it. bio-morphological type overall morphological spectrum: in the tessala mountains, the plant formations are represented physiognomically by four strata: arborescent, shrubby, bushy, and herbaceous. the proportion analysis of various categories of morphological types detected is variable. in our case, four categories are considered in descending order of importance: herbaceous (68%), bushy (12%), shrubby (11%), and tree-like (10%). in this regard, these types of plant formations are the result of several factors like a human intervention with some forest management overgrazing exerts some influence on the distribution of the different morphological types (le floch, 2001). climate change thus promotes the development of herbaceous and bushy stratum species (aboura, 2006). structurally, the morphological spectrum of the tessala mountains with a massive dominance of the tree, shrub, and shrub layers and under stretched shrubs. the forest dynamics of the site have a strong capacity for regeneration (saidi et al., 2016). even if part of the study area is degraded, there are still areas with an adequate intact structure that give this forest a significant biological interest. 242 saidi et al. global bio-morphological type: the perennial herbaceous plants dominate the bio-spectrum overall morphological with annual herbaceous which occupies the second place with rates of respectively 35.53% and 32.24%. the shrubs and under-shrubs occupy the third place with 12.5% and are followed by biennial herbaceous with 9.21%. as for the trees and shrubs, they remain the least present at a rate of 5.26% (table 4). it is well established that environmental conditions influence in one way or another the development and distribution of species and, in this respect, the bio-spectrum morphological would be wholly indicative of the local climate that shapes the structure of the vegetation. table 4. bio-morphological types of species surveyed by season. season/ bio-m tree shrub shrub and sub-shrub perennial herbaceous annual herbaceous biennial herbaceous global 5.26% 5.26% 12.50% 35.53% 32.24% 9.21% winter 5.08% 8.47% 13.56% 30.51% 35.59% 6.78% spring 5% 5% 12.86% 32.86% 34.29% 10% summer 2.33% 3.49% 6.98% 41.86% 11.63% 33.72% autumn 4.55% 9.09% 22.73% 40.91% 9.09% 13.64% seasonal bio-morphological type: table 5 show that analysis of vegetation in its seasonal biomorphological spectrum reveals the following findings: winter: ha > hv > as > at > hb > a spring: ha > hv > as > hb > at > a summer: hv > hb > ha > as > at > a autumn: hv > as > hb > ha > at > a the proportion of the bio-morphological types is as follows, during winter and spring. the annual herbaceous ones dominate the bio-spectrum morphological with rates of 35.59% and 34.29% followed by perennial herbaceous 30.51% and 32.86%. shrubs and sub-shrubs 13.56% and 12.86%, biennial herbaceous 6.78% and 10%, during the summer and autumn seasons: perennial herbaceous plants dominate the bio-morphological spectrum with 41.86% and 40.91 %, followed by biennial herbaceous plants occupy the second place for the summer season with a rate of 33.72%, shrubs and sub-shrubs occupy the second place for the autumn season with 22.73%. then come the annual herbaceous plants in the fourth place with 11.63% and 9.09%. as for trees and shrubs, they remain the least present during the four seasons their rates are between 2.33% and 5.08% and 3.49% to 9.09%, the annual and perennial herbaceous species are largely dominated by the winter and spring seasons is a valuable adaptation to the high variability of rainfall. thus, climatic rigors favor the development of short-cycle annual and perennial herbaceous species at the expense of generally more demanding perennial woody species, as regards water and trophic requirements (aboura, 2006). during the wet seasons, an explosion of germination of annuals is noticed in all the arid zones of north africa (djebbouri and terras, 2019), while the woody well adapted to the aridity are slowly but quite irremediably influenced by the disturbance (bouker et al., 2022 ; bonet, 2004; ni-j, 2003). floristic analysis of families: the percentages of the different families surveyed 48 families and 125 genders were identified (summarised in table 5). the families best represented are those of asteraceae with a rate of 21.05%. it has the best diversity: 25 gender and 32 species. poaceae occupy the second place with a rate equivalent to 9.21% and a significant floristic richness with 10 gender and 14 species. the lamiaceae family is in the third position with 7.89%, or 10 gender and 12 species. the fabaceae family is in the fourth position with 5.92% that is 06 gender and 09 species. floral richness and seasonality of phytodiversity 243 the families best represented on the generic and specific planes alone account for 64.47% of the flora of the tessala mountains. the same families dominate in the flores of southern oran, algiers, and constantine (bouzenoune, 1984; boughani, 1987, 1995). according to data from the table 5. floristic analyses of seasonal families. family species generic winter spring summer autumn adoxaceae 01 01 01 01 amaryllidaceae 01 01 01 01 anacardiaceae 03 01 03 03 apiaceae 06 06 02 06 05 01 apocynaceae 01 01 01 01 araliaceae 01 01 01 01 arecaceae 01 01 aristolochiaceae 01 01 01 01 asparagaceae 03 03 01 02 01 asteraceae 32 25 12 29 23 04 boraginaceae 02 02 02 01 01 01 brassicaceae 07 07 04 07 05 caryophyllaceae 02 02 01 02 cistaceae 04 03 04 03 01 convolvulaceae 01 01 01 crassulaceae 01 01 01 01 cucurbitaceae 01 01 01 01 cupressaceae 02 02 02 ericaceae 01 01 01 01 fabaceae 09 6 05 08 03 01 fagaceae 02 01 02 fumariaceae 02 01 02 02 01 gentianaceae 01 01 01 hyacinthaceae 02 01 01 01 01 02 iridaceae 01 01 01 01 lamiaceae 12 10 04 12 09 02 malvaceae 01 01 01 01 moraceae 01 01 01 01 myrtaceae 01 01 01 01 oleaceae 04 03 03 04 orobanchaceae 01 01 01 01 papaveraceae 01 01 01 01 pinaceae 01 01 01 01 01 01 plantaginaceae 05 04 02 05 01 01 poaceae 14 10 02 14 10 polygonaceae 01 01 01 01 01 primulaceae 02 01 02 02 01 ranunculaceae 02 02 01 01 01 resedaceae 01 01 01 01 01 rhamnaceae 02 02 01 02 rosaceae 05 04 01 05 02 rubiaceae 02 02 01 02 01 rutaceae 02 01 02 02 01 scrophulariaceae 01 01 01 01 tamaricaceae 01 01 01 thymelaeaceae 02 02 02 02 01 01 urticaceae 01 01 01 01 01 xanthorrhoeaceae 01 01 01 01 total 48 152 125 59/26 140/44 86/33 22/17 the report nf/ne 31.58 % 44.07% 31.43% 38.37% 77.27% the generic coefficient 82.24 % http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-71463-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=3&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100951&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=adoxaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-43691-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100931&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=amaryllidaceae https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/apocynaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-30892-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100974&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=araliaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-83152-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100978&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=aristolochiaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-43036-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100979&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=asparagaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-75097-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100897&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=asteraceae https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/boraginaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-47951-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100911&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=caryophyllaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-18732-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100908&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=convolvulaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-62352-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100910&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=crassulaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-11288-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100999&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=cucurbitaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-35882-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100922&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=iridaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-40893-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100935&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=malvaceae https://www.google.dz/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahukewjhjesc8zrrahvcwrqkhclpbyoqs2yijcgamaa&url=https%3a%2f%2ffr.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fmyrtaceae&usg=afqjcnfyghlqydslxjnjfzcw-9hymxxynw&sig2=qgdodtpq6-gb1fm5g7di-q&bvm=bv.142059868,d.d24 http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-9263-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100914&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=orobanchaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-30285-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101080&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=plantaginaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-58665-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100941&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=polygonaceae https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/primulaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-830-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100918&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=ranunculaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-55789-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101016&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=rhamnaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-83437-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100945&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=rubiaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-70972-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100905&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=scrophulariaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-66702-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100942&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=tamaricaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-70417-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=100936&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=urticaceae http://www.tela-botanica.org/bdtfx-nn-7378-synthese?referentiel=bdtfx&niveau=2&module=fiche&action=fiche&num_nom=101123&type_nom=nom_scientifique&nom=xanthorrhoeaceae 244 saidi et al. literature (ozenda, 1991; quézel, 1965), the asteraceae, fabaceae, and poaceae dominate in the sub-sector of the saharan atlas auresio-constantinos of the maghrebi steppic domain. on the other hand, the sahara-mediterranean district is characterized by the predominance of saharan elements dominated by the boraginaceae and apiaceae. according to ozenda (1991), asteraceae, poaceae, and fabaceae account for 35-40% of the flora of each saharan area. the ratio of the number of families to the number of species is 31.58%. it is 14% for south of constantine and 18% for south algiers. the generic coefficient, that is to say, the ratio of the number of genera to the number of species, reaches here 82.24%, while it is equal to 57% in the zone bordering south of constantine (boughani, 1995). the number of families per season varies from 17 in summer to 44 in spring, while the ratio between the number of families and species varies from 77.27% in summer to 31.43% in spring. that explains the impoverishment of families during the unfavorable seasons. a large number of families depend more or less on the favorable conditions favored by the spring. the more heat and humidity there is, the more abundant families are. among the most important factors determining the adaptations of families in wealth and floristic composition are temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, and winds. these elements act together through a complex system of factors that influence vegetation (billings and bliss, 1959; galen and stanton, 1995). climate is considered to be the primary factor, on a global scale, influencing the distribution and composition of species (mccarty et al., 2001; pearson and dawson, 2003). it is recognized that climatic conditions control the distribution of species, as well as the composition of biomes (prentice et al., 1992; pearsonand dawson, 2003). factor analysis of correspondence (afc): the afc performed, whose matrix of crossing all the selected climatic and biological variables of the ten sampled stations, makes it possible to identify four groups of plant formations (fig. 3). on the factorial plant, the f1 axis provides the most information in the afc (57.31% inertia) compared to the f2 axis (37.50% inertia). the discrimination of the four groups was chosen in conjunction with the parallel upward ascending hierarchical classification (ahc). fig. 3. graphical representation of factor analysis of correspondence (afc) hiv :winter ; prin: spring ; eté : summer ; aut : autumn ; arb: tree ; arbs: shrub; abri shrub and sub-shrub; ha : annual herbaceous; hv : perennial herbaceous ; hb : biennial herbaceous; phané : phanerophytes ; chamé : chamephytes ; géo : geophytes ; hémi : hemicryptophytes ; théro : therophytes.g1: autumn ; g2 : winter ; g3 : spring ; g4 : summer. floral richness and seasonality of phytodiversity 245 based on contributions made by individuals and variables: group g1 is represented by the plant diversity associated with the autumn season, where shrubs bushes and under growths, and perennial herbaceous plants dominate. the g2 group is characterized by the winter season-related flora, dominated by trees, annual herbaceous plants, and perennial herbaceous plants. group g3 is represented by spring flora where all biological, and bio-morphological forms dominate. the g4 group is represented by the summer flora, where perennial and biennial herbaceous plants dominate. based on the results obtained, we confirm that these variations in biological and biomorphological spectra are mainly related to local seasonal variations and edaphic parameters altitude and slope factors in addition to anthropogenic action. this same observation is confirmed by the studies of sauvage (1961). it reflects the link between floristic composition and climate change due to seasonal variations. these results are confirmed by several authors, such as daget and poissonet (1997, 1991, 1980), and (floret et al., 1990). who reported the relationships between the distribution of biological and bio-morphological types on the one hand and environmental factors, in particular the climate (precipitationand temperature) as well as altitude, slope, and substrate type, and have a stable forest model (xuan minh, 2022; bouker et al., 2022). conclusion seasonal monitoring of the phytodiversity of the tessala mountains has led to the following main conclusions: the floristic inventory resulted this flora can be described as aparticularly rich. the variation of the analytical elements of phytodiversity (floristic richness, biological type, morphological and bio-morphological type, and distribution of families) reflects, at least partially, the structure and functioning of plant communities; during the spring is heavily influenced by the rainfall regime and varies highly from one season to the next. it is used for the qualitative characterization of the ecosystem since any increase can be the origin of a process of self-reestating and revegetation of our degraded ecosystem. the different floristic, biological, and bio-taxonomic analyses confirm the richness, and the great diversity of the sector studied. the statistical treatments highlight the high diversity of natural elements in place. by these findings brought by our study, the punctual study of disturbances is more than necessary either in its intensity, frequencies, and duration or by its effects over time that are sought specifically to understand the plant dynamics in spaces highly affected by multiple threats. the floristic follow-ups have allowed us to confirm the periods when vegetation develops the most; in this case; spring validates the tradition related to sampling during this season. on the other hand, the temporal monitoring of phytodiversity is part of the recent methods for the knowledge of the implementation, regression, or positive evolution of the different taxa. we have confirmed that the best period is from march to july-august. the conservation actions that must be implemented practically in concrete cases such as the tessala mountains must integrate all these factors; linked to the diversity of plant groups, their respective plant diversity at quantitative and qualitative levels. biological conservation methods can only be relevant and effective if they take into consideration the current dynamics of the local biodiversity of these mountains. 246 saidi et al. the different approaches taken in our work as well as the results obtained shed light on the current state of the vegetation formations of the tessala mountains, of their current evolutions under the effect of the various disturbances and thereby give concrete form to a scientific basis based on a pragmatic biological and ecological conservation. references aboura, r. 2006. comparaison phytoécologique des atriplexaies situées au nord et au sud de tlemcen. mem. mag. ecol.vég. univ tlemcen, 171 pp. allam, a., borsali, a.h., kefifa, a., zouidi, m. and gros, r. 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revised on 05 december 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 293-322, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila under dhaka district of bangladesh m. oliur rahman1, tasnim tahia huq and momtaz begum department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: angiosperm; taxonomy; dichotomous key; flora; dohar upazila. abstract a taxonomic study on the flora of dohar upazila (sub-district) under dhaka district has been conducted that results in occurrence of 204 angiosperm taxa under 165 genera and 68 families. magnoliopsida is represented by 158 taxa distributed in 129 genera and 53 families. in contrast, liliopsida is constituted by 46 taxa under 36 genera and 15 families. asteraceae appears to be the largest family in magnoliopsida consisting of 16 species, whereas poaceae is the largest family with 16 species in liliopsida. in magnoliopsida, 23 families are represented by a single species, while in liliopsida, 7 families are symbolized by a single species. vegetation analysis shows that herbs are represented by 133 taxa, shrubs by 23 and trees by 48 taxa. dichotomous bracketed keys to the families, genera, species and varieties are provided for easy identification of the taxa. each taxon is supplemented by updated nomenclature, habit and representative specimen. introduction the conference of parties (cop) under the umbrella of convention on biological diversity has already recognised the importance of taxonomy and floristic studies. the cop has documented that the combination of inadequate taxonomic knowledge, the shortage of systematists and the inadequacy of sampling, collections, and infrastructure are the taxonomic barriers to implement the convention on biological diversity. as a consequence of the process of executing the convention on biological diversity, the need for taxonomic knowledge for biodiversity conservation is now widely acknowledged worldwide (heywood, 2004). taxonomic data are fundamental to conserving biodiversity as taxonomists need to provide tools to identify and status of species to the conservationists by indicating which species are vulnerable, endangered, and near extinction. this involves continuing the inventory of plant diversity and various kinds of floristic studies. dohar upazila (sub-district) under dhaka district comprises an area of 161.49 sq. km, and located in 23°31´23°41´n and 90°01´90°13´e. it is bounded by nawabganj upazila on the north, sadarpur upazila on the south, sreennagar on the east, and harirampur and char bhadrasan upazilas on the west. dohar upazila consists of eight administrative unions, viz. nayabari, kushumhati, roypara, sutarpara, bilaspur, narisha, muksudpur and mahmudpur (fig. 1). the soils of the area are mainly loamy on ridges and clay in basins. the crests soils are presented by three different soil types, namely brownish grey fine sandy loam, dark grey fine sandy loam, and grey fine sandy loam. the troughs soils are represented by greyish yellow fine sandy loam, yellowish grey fine sandy loam and grey sandy loam soils. though the upazila supports a large number of plant resources including many medicinal plants, the area has never been botanically explored. 1corresponding author, email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd; prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com mailto:prof.oliurrahman@gmail.com 294 rahman et al. in bangladesh, attempts have been made on floristic and taxonomic studies on plant diversity in different parts of the country since last four decades including some protected areas of the country (khan et al., 1994; rahman and hassan, 1995; alam et al., 2006; tutul et al., 2009, 2010; uddin and hassan, 2010; sarker et al., 2013; mahmudah et al., 2017; haque et al., 2018; rashid et al., 2018). though angiosperm flora of some upazilas were investigated earlier (moniruzzaman et al., 2012; rahman et al., 2012, 2013, 2019 a,b; rahman and alam, 2013; sarker and rahman, 2019), however, the flora of dohar upazila has never been explored despite some species are on the verge of extinction due to anthropogenic reasons. the objectives of the present study are to explore angiosperm flora and make a systematic account of the flora of the dohar upazila. fig. 1. map of the study area: a. map of bangladesh, b. district map of dhaka, c. map of dohar upazila showing different unions. materials and methods four botanical expeditions were made in all the unions of dohar upazila (fig. 1) covering all seasons in order to collate plant specimens. the collected specimens were processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972), critically examined and identified. identifications were confirmed by comparing the already identified specimens deposited at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), and by consulting standard literature (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; khan, 1972-1987; khan and rahman, 19892002; dassanayake and fosberg, 1980-1991; siddiqui, 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009). in order to confirm the updated nomenclature the plant list (2013) and tropicos (2017) were a b c synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 295 consulted. the families are arranged following the classification of cronquist (1981), and under each family the genera, species and varieties are placed in an alphabetical order. dichotomous bracketed keys are provided to identify the families, genera, species and varieties. each taxon is supplemented by updated nomenclature, habit and representative specimen (rs), and in order to make brevity, only one represnative specimen has been cited under each taxon. results and discussion an extensive floristic study in dohar upazila has been made resulting in recording of 204 taxa under 165 genera and 68 families. magnoliopsida is represented by 158 taxa distributed in 129 genera and 53 families, while liliopsida is constituted by 46 taxa under 36 genera and 15 families. among the identified taxa, herbs are symbolized by 133 taxa, shrubs by 23 and trees by 48 taxa. magnoliopsida key to families of magnoliopsida: 1. plants rootless, thread-like, fully parasitic. cuscutaceae plants with roots, stems and leaves, not parasitic. 2 2. stem unbranched, palm-like; leaves digitately lobed; petiole very long (up to 60 cm), hollow. caricaceae stem branched; leaves not digitaely lobed; petiole short, not hollow. 3 3. stem and leaves thick and fleshy; fruit with purplish juice, surrounded by the persistent corolla or by wing-like sepals; twiner. basellaceae stem and leaves not thick and fleshy; fruit without purplish juice, not surrounded by the fleshy corolla or by wing-like sepals. 4 4. plants thorny; fruit with a leathery rind; leaves opposite; petals showy. punicaceae plants without thorn. 5 5. leaves compound. 6 leaves simple. 8 6. flowers actinomorphic; stamens usually numerous, united. mimosaceae flowers zygomorphic; stamens not more than 10, free. 7 7. petals imbricate; leaflets imparipinnate. fabaceae petals twisted; leaflets paripinnate. caesalpiniaceae 8. plants climber with tendril. cucurbitaceae plants without tendril. 9 9. anthers syngenecious; fruit cypsela. 10 anthers free; fruit not cypsela. 11 10. inflorescence capitulum or head, surrounded by involucral bracts; ovary 1-locular. asteraceae inflorescence not capitulum; ovary 2-locular. scrophulariaceae 11. stipules interpetiolar; corolla hypocrateriform. rubiaceae stipules not interpetiolar; corolla not hypocrateriform. 12 12. bracts and bracteoles usually prominent; retinacula present. acanthaceae bracts and bracteoles not prominent; retinacula absent. 13 13. inflorescence verticillaster; style gynobasic. lamiaceae 296 rahman et al. inflorescence not verticillaster; style apical. 14 14. plants with milky latex. 15 plants without milky latex. 17 15. ovary with annular or cupular disc. convolvulaceae ovary without annular or cupular disc. 16 16. gynoestegium present; pollen grains united to form pollinia; stigmas angular. asclepiadaceae gynoestegium absent; pollen grains not united to form pollinia; stigmas dumble-shaped. apocynaceae 17. flowers zygomorphic. verbenaceae flowes actinomorphic. 18 18. carpels obliquely placed; placenta swollen; ovary 2-loculed. solanaceae carpels not obliquely placed; placenta not swollen; ovary 4-loculed. 19 19. fruit an elongated woody, ribbed capsule. moringaceae fruit not elongated woody, ribbed capsule. 20 20. plants aquatic. nymphaeaceae plants terrestrial. 21 21. carpels more than 1. 22 carpel 1. 24 22. stamens monadelphous. malvaceae stamens free. 23 23. stamens arising from hypanthium (perigynous). rosaceae stamens arising from receptacles. annonaceae 24. stem quadrangular. lythraceae stem not quadrangular. 25 25. leaves digitately compound. bombacaceae leaves not digitately compound. 26 26. ovary stipitate (on gynophores). capparaceae ovary sessile. 27 27. flowers unisexual. euphorbiaceae flowers bisexual. 28 28. leaves 3-folioate, gland-dotted. rutaceae leaves simple, without gland-dotted. 29 29. petals laciniate; sepals deciduous. elaeocarpaceae petals entire; sepals not deciduous. 30 30. styles 3-4; ovule 1. anacardiaceae style 1; ovules more than 1. 31 31. stamens tetradynamous. brassicaceae stamens not tetradynamous. 32 32. plants herbaceous climber. sapindaceae plants not climber; herbs, shrubs or trees. 33 synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 297 33. flowers trimorphic heterostyly; fruit a 5-celled loculicidal capsule. oxalidaceae flowers not trimorphic heterostyly; fruit not a loculicidal capsule. 34 34. stamens 2; perianth lobes 4. oleaceae stamens 4-5 or 10; perianth lobes more than 4 (5). 35 35. plants armed. rhamnaceae plants unarmed. 36 36. ovary superior. 37 ovary inferior. 38 37. stamens united at the base only. tiliaceae stamens usually united into a tube. meliaceae 38. leaves usually exstipulate. 39 leaves stipulate. 40 39. fruit of two mericarps. apiaceae fruit a loculicidal capsule or berry. onagraceae 40. stipules ochreate. polygonaceae stipules not ochreate. 41 41. perianth and bracts scarious; stamens connate at the base. amaranthaceae perianth and bracts not scarious; stamens free. 42 42. flowers unisexual; style simple. urticaceae flowers bisexual; style usually branched, sometimes simple or absent. 43 43. flowers in panicles or spike; style branched. chenopodiaceae flowers not in panicles or spike; style simple, short or absent. 44 44. leaves opposite, gland-dotted. myrtaceae leaves alternate, not gland-dotted. 45 45. fruit woody; petals and stamens more than 4 cm long. lecythidaceae fruit not woody; petals and stamens less than 4 cm long. 46 46. anthers inflexed and recurved in bud. moraceae anthers not inflexed and recurved in bud (erect). 47 47. terminal leaflet modified into tendril. bignoniaceae terminal leaflet not modified into tendril. 48 48. leaves reduced to scales at the nodal region of the branches. casuarinaceae leaves not reduced to scales at the nodal region of the branches. 49 49. ovary inferior. combretaceae ovary superior. 50 50. leaves simple. 51 leaves opposite. pedaliaceae 51. calyx usually corolloid; fruit an achene. nyctaginaceae calyx not corolloid; fruit not achene. 52 52. fruit usually a berry or loculicidal capsule; seed often arillate. flacourtiaceae fruit drupe or nutlet; seed erect or oblique. boraginaceae 298 rahman et al. family 1. annonaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. petals subequal; fruit one-seeded. polyalthia petals unequal; fruit many-seeded. annona genus annona l., sp. pl.: 536 (1753). key to species: 1. leaves lanceolate to oblanceolate; fruit smooth. reticulata leaves elliptic to oblongobovate; fruit tuberculate. squamosa annona reticulata l., sp. pl.: 537 (1753). small tree. rs: tasnim 47. a. squamosa l., sp. pl.: 537 (1753). small tree. rs: tasnim 54. genus polyalthia blume, fl. jav. annon. 68: t. 3334 b-c (1829). polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thw., enum. pl. zeyl.: 398 (1864). tall tree. rs: tasnim 181. family 2. nymphaeaceae salisbury (1805). genus nymphaea (tourn.) l., sp. pl.: 510 (1753). nymphaea pubescens willd., sp. pl. 2: 1154 (1799). aquatic herb. rs: tasnim 130. family 3. moraceae link (1831). key to genera: 1. inflorescence figs. ficus inflorescence pseudo-catkin or cauliflorous. artocarpus genus artocarpus j. r. forst. & j. g. forst., char. gen. pl. ed. 1: 51 (1775). artocarpus heterophyllus lamk., encycl. meth. 3: 210 (1789). tree. rs: tasnim 124. genus ficus l., sp. pl. 2: 1059 (1753). key to species: 1. plants climber. heterophylla plants not climber. 2 2. leaves opposite or spirally whorled; all parts of the plant hispid. hispida leaves alternate; all parts of the plant glbrous. 3 3. prop root present. benghalensis prop root absent. 4 4. hypanthodium pedunculate, borne in clusters on leafless hanging branches. racemosa hypanthodium sessile or sub-sessile, borne in axillary pairs. 5 5. leaf base round, apex abruptly long acuminate; mature figs dark purple. religiosa leaf base obliquely truncate, apex prolonged acute; mature figs black. rumphii ficus benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753).tree. rs: tasnim 88. f. heterophylla l. f., suppl. pl.: 442 (1781). creeping shrub. rs: tasnim 12. f. hispida l. f., suppl. pl.: 442 (1781). shrub or small tree. rs: tasnim 19. f. racemosa l., sp. pl.: 1060 (1753). tree. rs: tasnim 273. f. religiosa l., sp. pl.: 1059 (1753). deciduous tree. rs: tasnim 274. synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 299 f. rumphii blume, bijdr.: 437 (1825). deciduous tree. rs: tasnim 87. family 4. urticaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus pouzolzia gaudich. in freyc., voy. bot.: 503 (1826). pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn., pl. jav. rar.: 67 (1838). herb. rs: tasnim 246. family 5. casuarinaceae r. brown (1814). genus casuarina adans., fam. 2: 481 (1763). casuarina equisetifolia forst., char. gen.: 103, t. 52 (1776). tree. rs: tasnim 310. family 6. nyctaginaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. plants shrubs or large climbers with spines; leaves alternate; stamens 4-10; stigma fimbriate; fruits cylindric or clavate. bougainvillea plants herbs witout spine; leaves opposite; stamens 3-6; stigma capitate; fruits globose or obovoid. mirabilis genus bougainvillea commers. ex jussieu, gen. pl.: 91 (1789). bougainvillea glabra choisy in dc., prodr. 13, 2: 437 (1849). climbing shrub. rs: tasnim 259. genus mirabilis l., sp. pl.: 177 (1753). mirabilis jalapa l., sp. pl.: 177 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 20. family 7. chenopodiaceae ventenant (1799). genus chenopodium l., sp. pl. 1: 218 (1753). chenopodium album l., sp. pl. 1: 219 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 238. family 8. amaranthaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. flowers unisexual. amaranthus flowers bisexual. 2 2. inflorescene with spines. achyranthes inflorescene without spines. 3 3. inflorescence spikes; anthers 2-celled. celosia inflorescence head; anthers 1-celled. alternanthera genus achyranthes l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 204 (1753). achyranthes aspera l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 204 (1753). perennial herb. rs: tasnim 78. genus alternanthera forsk., fl. aegypt. arab.: 28 (1775). key to species: 1. inflorescence pedunculate, solitary in leaf axil. philoxeroides inflorescence sessile, 1-4 in leaf axil. 2 2. tapals unequal, hairy on back; stamens 5. paronychioides tapals equal, both surfaces glabrous; stamens 3. sessilis alternanthera paronychioides st. hill., voi. distr. dian. 2: 43 (1833). mat forming herb. rs: tasnim 105. a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. in abh., ges. wiss. goett. 24: 36 (1879). herb. rs: tasnim 110. 300 rahman et al. a. sessilis (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult., syst. 5: 554 (1819). herb. rs: tasnim 70. genus amaranthus l., sp. pl. 1: 989 (1753). key to species: 1. plants armed. spinosus plants unarmed. 2 2. fruit indehiscent; bracts and bracteoles shorter than the perianth. viridis fruit dehiscent with a circumscissile lid; bracts and bracteoles as long as the perianth. tricolor amaranthus spinosus l., sp. pl. 1: 991 (1753). annual, profusely branched herb. rs: tasnim 218. a. tricolor l., sp. pl. 1: 989 (1753). ascending, annual or erect herb. rs: tasnim 40. a. viridis l. sp. pl. ed. 2: 1405 (1763). small herb. rs: tasnim 04. genus celosia l., sp. pl. 1: 205 (1753). celosia cristata l., sp. pl. 1: 235 (1753). annual, branched herb. rs: tasnim 280. family 9. basellaceae moquin-tandon (1840). genus basella l., diss. dass.: 12 (1747). basella rubra l., sp. pl.: 272 (1753). twiner. rs: tasnim 286. family 10. polygonaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. tepals usually 6; stipules often disappearing with age; stigma fimbriate. rumex tepals 4-5; stipules persistent; stigma capitate. persicaria genus persicaria [tourn.] ex mill., gard. dict. abridg.: ed. 3 (1754). key to species: 1. annual herb; ovary biconcave. orientalis perennial herb; ovary biconvex or trigonous. 2 2. stamens 8; styles 3; stigmas 3. stagnina stamens 7, rarely 6; styles 2; stigmas 2. tomentosa persicaria orientalis (l.) spach, veg. 10: 537 (1841). herb. rs: tasnim 240. p. stagnina (hamilt. ex meissn.) hassan, bangladesh j. pl. taxon. 3(1): 81 (1996). herb. rs: tasnim 133. p. tomentosa (willd.) sasaki, list pl. form.: 170 (1928). herb. rs: tasnim 132. genus rumex l., sp. pl. 1: 333 (1753). rumex maritimus l., sp. pl. 1: 335 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 211. family 11. elaeocarpaceae a. p. de candolle (1824). genus elaeocarpus l., sp. pl.: 515 (1753). elaeocarpus varunua buch.-ham. ex masters in hook. f, fl. brit . ind. 1: 407 (1874).tree. rs: tasnim 320. synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 301 family 12. tiliaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus corchorus l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 529 (1753). key to species: 1. leaves narrowly ovate; capsule globose, not beaked, muricate. capsularis leaves oblong to lanceolate; capsule elongated, beaked. olitorius corchorus capsularis l., sp. pl.: 529 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 77. c. olitorius l., sp. pl.: 529 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 99. family 13. bombacaceae kunth (1822). genus bombax l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 511 (1753). bombax ceiba l., sp. pl.: 511 (1753). large tree. rs: tasnim 219. family 14. malvaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. epicalyx absent. sida epicalyx present. 2 2. calyx spathacious, adnate to the base of corolla; stigma cushion-like. abelmoschus calyx campanulate, not adnate to the base of corolla; stigma discoid, capitate or papillose. 3 3. staminal column equal to the length of the corolla; fruit a schizocarp, subglobose. urena staminal column shorter than the corolla; fruit a loculicidal capsule. hibiscus genus abelmoschus medik., malv.: 46 (1787). abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench, meth. pl.: 617 (1794). herb. rs: tasnim 157. genus hibiscus l., sp. pl.: 693 (1753). hibiscus rosa-sinensis l., sp. pl.: 694 (1753). shrub. rs: tasnim 97. genus sida l., sp. pl.: 683 (1753). key to species: 1. leaves cordate at the base. cordifolia leaves cuneate at the base. 2 2. stipules longer than petiole, dissimilar in each pair, one lanceolate and the other linear to filiform or elliptic-lanceolate. acuta stipules not longer than petiole, similar in each pair, filiform. rhombifolia sida acuta burm. f., fl. ind.: 147 (1768). herb. rs: tasnim 126. s. cordifolia l., sp. pl.: 684 (1753). herb or undershrub. rs: tasnim 242. s. rhombifolia l., sp. pl.: 684 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 129. genus urena l., sp. pl.: 692 (1753). urena lobata l., sp. pl.: 692 (1753). undershrub. rs: tasnim 42. family 15. lecythidaceae poit. (1825). genus barringtonia j. r. & g. forst., char. gen.: 75 (1776). barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn., fruct. 2: 97, t. 101 (1791). tree. rs: tasnim 141. 302 rahman et al. family 16. flacourtiaceae a. p. de candolle (1824). genus hydnocarpus gaertn., fruct. sem. pl. 1: 288 (1788). hydnocarpus kurzii(king) warb. in engl. & prantl, pflanz. 3(6a): 21 (1893). tree. rs: tasnim 139. family 17. caricaceae dumortier (1829). genus carica l., sp. pl.: 1036 (1753). carica papaya l., sp. pl.: 1036 (1753). tree with milky latex. rs: tasnim 250. family18. cucurbitaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. corolla campanulate. 2 corolla rotate. 3 2. flowers white; tendril simple. coccinia flowers yellow; tendril 2-3 cleft. cucurbita 3. calyx-tube of male flower elongated. lagenaria calyx-tube of male flower not elongated. 4 4. stamens inserted at the mouth of the calyx; anthers free. luffa stamens inserted below the mouth of the calyx; anthers ± coherent. 5 5. calyx with 2-3 scales; male flower with a large enveloping bract; fruit baccate. momordica calyx without scales; male flower without a large enveloping bract; fruit smooth. cucumis genus coccinia wight et arn., prod. fl. ind. 1: 347 (1834). coccinia grandis (l.) voigt, hort. suburb. calc.: 59 (1845). climbing herb. rs: tasnim 08. genus cucumis l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 1011 (1753). key to species: 1. leaves broadly cordate-ovate; young fruits tuberculate. sativus leaves sub-orbicular; young fruits not tuberculate. melo cucumis melo l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 1011 (1753). climbing herb. rs: tasnim 143. c. sativus l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 1012 (1753). climbing herb. rs: tasnim 149. genus cucurbita l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 1010 (1753). cucurbita maxima duch. ex lamk., encycl. 2: 151 (1786). climbing herb. rs: tasnim 248. genus lagenaria seringe, mem. soc. phys. geneve 3(1): 25, t. 2 (1825). lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl., publ. field mus. nat. hist. chicago, b. ser. 3: 435 (1930). climbing herb. rs: tasnim 251. genus luffa miller, gard. dict. abridg. ed. 4: 500 (1785). key to species: 1. calyx lobes lanceolate, apex acuminate; stamens 3; fruits acutely 10-angled; seeds verrucose. acutangula calyx lobes oblong-cuneiform, apex rounded; stamens 5; fruits smooth; seeds usually smooth. cylindrica synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 303 luffa acutangula (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 3: 713 (1832). climber. rs: tasnim 146. l. cylindrica (l.) m. roem., fam. syn. 2: 63 (1846). climber rs: tasnim 136. genus momordica l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 1009 (1753). momordica charantia l. var. charantia c. b. clarke in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 2: 616 (1879). climbing herb. rs: tasnim 254. family 19. capparaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus crataeva l., sp. pl. 1: 444 (1753). crataeva magna (lour.) dc., prodr. 1: 243 (1824). tree. rs: tasnim 17. family 20. brassicaceae burnett (1835). key to genera: 1. seeds biseriate. rorippa seeds uniseriate. 2 2. plants usually hirsute; fruit indehiscent; roots usually fleshy. raphanus plants usually glabrous; fruit dehiscent; roots not fleshy. brassica genus brassica l., sp. pl. 2: 666 (1753). key to species: 1. lower leaves bristly or ciliatly hairy; middle and upper leaves at least clasping half of the stem; filaments of outer stamens curved at the base. napus all leaves glabrous; middle and upper leaves never clasping more than one-third of the stem; filaments of all stamens erect. oleracea brassica napus l., sp. pl. 2: 666 (1753). annual herb. rs: tasnim 100. b. oleracea l., sp. pl. 2: 667 (1753). key to varieties: 1. racemes congested, fleshy and abbreviated. var. botrytis racemes elongated, neither fleshy, nor covered with leaves. var. capitata b. oleracea l. var. botrytis l., sp. pl. 2: 667 (1753). annual or biennial herb. rs: tasnim 151. b. oleracea l. var. capitata l., sp. pl. 2: 667 (1753). annual or biennial herb. rs: tasnim 314. genus raphanus l., sp. pl. 2: 669 (1753). raphanus sativus l., sp. pl. 2: 669 (1753). annual herb. rs: tasnim 335. genus rorippa scop., fl. carniol.: 520 (1760). rorippa indica (l.) hiern. cat. afr. pl. welw. 1: 26 (1896). annual or biennial herb. rs: tasnim 203. family 21. moringaceae dumortier (1829). genus moringa [burm.] adans., fam. pl. 2: 318 (1763). moringa oleifera lamk., encycl. 1(2): 398 (1785). deciduous tree. rs: tasnim 299. family 22. rosaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus rosa l., sp. pl.: 491 (1753). rosa chinensis jacq., obs. bot. 3: 7 (1768). shrub. rs: tasnim 264. 304 rahman et al. family 23. mimosaceae r. brown (1814). key to genera: 1. leaves sensitive to touch; stamens 4-8. mimosa leaves not sensitive to touch; stamens more than 10. 2 2. filaments free at the base; anthers glandular. acacia filaments united into a tube at the base; anthers eglandular. albizia genus acacia mill., gard. dic. abridg. ed.: 4 (1754). acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. & hook., lond. j. bot. 1: 377 (1842). rs: tasnim 316. genus albizia durazzini, mag. tosc. 3(4): 11 (1772). albizia procera (roxb.) benth., lond. j. bot. 3: 89 (1844). deciduous tree. rs: tasnim 323. genus mimosa l., sp. pl.: 516 (1753). mimosa pudica l., sp. pl. 1: 518 (1753). prostrate herb. rs: tasnim 134. family 24. caesalpiniaceae r. brown (1814). key to genera: 1. calyx petaloid. saraca calyx not petaloid. 2 2. petals and stamens 3. tamarindus petals and stamens more than 3. 3 3. rachis with prickles. caesalpinia rachis without prickles. 4 4. leaves bipinnately compound; all stamens fertile. delonix leaves paripinnately compound; all stamens not fertile. senna genus caesalpinia l., sp. pl. 1: 380 (1753). caesalpinia pulcherrima (l.) swartz, obs. bot. ind. occ.: 166 (1791). shrub. rs: tasnim 336. genus delonix rafin., fl. tellur. 2: 92 (1836). delonix regia rafin., fl. tellur. 2: 92 (1836). deciduous tree. rs: tasnim 289. genus saraca l., mant. pl. 1: 98 (1767). saraca indica l., mant. pl. 1: 98 (1767). small tree. rs: tasnim 294. genus senna mill., gard. dict. abr. ed. : 4 (1954). senna alata (l.) roxb., fl. ind. 2: 349 (1832). shrub. rs: tasnim 159. genus tamarindus l., sp. pl. 1: 34 (1753). tamarindus indica l., sp. pl. 1: 34 (1753). large tree. rs: tasnim 95. family 25. fabaceae lindley (1836). key to genera: 1. stipules leafy. lathyrus stipules not leafy. 2 2. bracts and bracteoles present. 3 bracts and bracteoles absent. lablab 3. bracts stipules-like; fruit a pod, subterete. clitoria bracts and bracteoles conspicuous or setaceous; fruit oblong or linear. 4 synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 305 4. ovary stipitate; seeds oblong or quadrate. sesbania ovary sessile; seeds thick, smooth. phaseolus genus clitoria l., sp. pl.: 753 (1753). clitoria ternatea l., sp. pl.: 753 (1753). twining herb. rs: tasnim 57. genus lablab adans. , fam. pl. 2: 325 (1763). lablab purpureus (l.) sweet, hort. brit. ed. 1: 481 (1827). twining herb. rs: tasnim 69. genus lathyrus l., sp. pl.: 729 (1753). lathyrus sativus l., sp. pl. 2: 730 (1753). procumbent herb. rs: tasnim 80. genus phaseolus [tourn.] l., syst. ed. 1 (1735). phaseolus vulgaris l., sp. pl. 1: 723 (1753). climber or suberect herb. rs: tasnim 135. genus sesbania adans., fam. 2: 326 (1763). sesbania bispinosa (jacq.) wight, u.s. dept. bur. pl. ind. bull. no. 137: 15 (1909). annual or biennial herb. rs: tasnim 106. family 26. lythraceae jaume st.-hilaire (1805). key to genera: 1. plants shrubs or small trees; inflorescence a terminal panicle. lawsonia plants herbs; inflorescence axillary cymes, globose, compact, sessile. ammannia genus ammannia l., sp. pl. 1: 119 (1753). ammannia baccifera l., sp. pl. 1: 120 (1753). annual herb. rs: tasnim 239. genus lawsonia l., sp. pl.: 349 (1753). lawsonia inermis l., sp. pl.: 349 (1753). shrub. rs: tasnim 185. family 27. myrtaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. carpels 2; ovary 2-locular; berries ovoid or oblong, black when ripe. syzygium carpels 3-5; ovary more than 2-locular; fruits globose or pyriform, yellow when ripe. psidium genus psidium l., gen. pl. : 615 (1772). psidium guajava l., sp. pl. 1: 470 (1753). tree. rs: tasnim 103. genus syzygium gaertn., fruct. sem. pl. 1: 166, t. 33 (1788). syzygium cumini (l.) skeels in usda bur. pl. industr. bull. 248: 25 (1912). tree. rs: tasnim 104. family 28.punicaceae horaninow (1834). genus punica l., sp. pl.: 472 (1753). punica granatum l., sp. pl.: 472 (1753). shrub or low tree. rs: tasnim 137. family 29. onagraceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus ludwigia l., sp. pl. : 118 (1753). key to species: 1. plants creeping to floating herb; leaves not cuneate at the base; flowers white. adscendens plants erect herb; leaves cuneate at the base; flowers yellow. 2 306 rahman et al. 2. branched herb; stamens 8. hyssopifolia unbranched herb; stamens usually 4, rarely 5. perennis ludwigia adscendens (l.) hara, j. jap. bot. 28: 290 (1953). floating herb. rs: tasnim 260. l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell. apud a. & r. fernandes, garcia de orta 5: 471 & 474, t. 2 (1957). herb. rs: tasnim 262. l. perennis l., obs. bot.: 142 (1791). herb. rs: tasnim 265. family 30. combretaceae r. brown (1810). genus terminalia l., syst. nat. ed. 12, 2: 674 (1767). terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn., prodr.: 314 (1834). tree. rs: tasnim 127. family 31. euphorbiaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. stamen 1. euphorbia stamens more than 1. 2 2. leaves palmately lobed. ricinus leaves not palmately lobed. 3 3. stipules present; inflorescence axillary, cymose, fascicled or solitary. phyllanthus stipules absent; inflorescence terminal or axillary racemose or spicate. croton genus croton l., sp. pl. 2: 1004 (1762). croton bonplandianus baill., adansonia 4: 339 (1863-64). woody herb. rs: tasnim 86. genus euphorbia l. sp. pl.: 450 (1753). euphorbia hirta l., sp. pl.: 454 (1753). annual herb. rs: tasnim 14. genus phyllanthus l., sp. pl. 2: 981 (1753). key to species: 1. stamens 5 in 2 series, outer 2 free, inner 3 filaments connate. reticulatus stamens 3, filaments united into a short or long column, rarely free. 2 2. annual herb; stipule triangular. niruri deciduous tree; stipule not triangular. emblica phyllanthus emblica l., sp. pl. 2: 982 (1753). decedious tree. rs: tasnim 90. p. niruri l. sp. pl.: 981 (1753). annual herb. rs: tasnim 267. p. reticulatus poir., encycl. meth. 5: 298 (1804). shrub. rs: tasnim 21. genus ricinus l., sp. pl.: 1007 (1753). ricinus communis l., sp. pl.: 1007 (1753). shrub. rs: tasnim 21. family 32. rhamnaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus ziziphus mill., gard. dict. abridg. ed. 4 (1754). ziziphus mauritiana lamk., encycl. method. bot. 3: 319 (1789). tree. rs: tasnim 119. family 33. sapindaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus litchi sonn.,voy. ind. orient. 3: 255 (1782). litchi chinensis sonn., voy. ind. orient. 3: 255 (1782). tree. rs: tasnim 313. synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 307 family 34. anacardiaceae lindley (1830). key to genera: 1. plants evergreen; leaves simple; inflorescence a pyramidal panicle, pseudo-terminal or axillary. mangifera plants deciduous; leaves compound; inflorescence long panicles, terminal or axillary. spondias genus mangifera l. fl. zeyl.: 221 (1747). mangifera indica l., sp. pl.: 200 (1753). tree. rs: tasnim 309. genus spondias l., gen. ed. 1: 365 (1737). spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz in pegu rep. a.: 44 (1875). tree. rs: tasnim 55. family 35. meliaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. leaflets entire. swietenia leaflets not entire. 2 2. ovary 4-8 celled; seeds oblong with leathery testa. melia ovary 3-celled; seeds ovoid with thin testa. azadirachta genus azadirachta a. juss., bull. sc. nat. geol. 23: 236 (1830). azadirachta indicaa. juss., mem. mus. hist. nat. paris 19: 221, t. 13 (1832). tree. rs: tasnim 26. genus melia l., sp. pl. 1: 384 (1753). melia azedarach l., sp. pl. 1: 384 (1753). tree. rs: tasnim 306. genus swietenia jacq., enum. pl. carib. 4: 20 (1760). swietenia mahagoni jacq., enum. pl. carib. 4: 20 (1760). tree. rs: tasnim 330. family 36. rutaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. rind of fruit woody; leaves more than 1-foliolate. limonia rind of fruit not woody (coriaceous); leaves 1-foliolate. 2 2. stamens 30-60; filaments long, glandular, glabrous. aegle stamens 20-60; filaments united at the base to form bundle; disk short, annular. citrus genus aegle corr. ex koen., trans. linn. soc. lond. 5: 223 (1800). aegle marmelos (l.) corr. ex koen., trans. linn. soc. london 5: 223 (1800). tree. rs: tasnim 37. genus citrus l., sp. pl.: 401 (1753). key to species: 1. petioles narrowly winged; fruit a globose to ovoid berry; seeds ovoid. aurantifolia petioles broadly winged; fruit spherical, ovoid, pyriform; seeds flattened. maxima citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle, j. wash. acad. sci. 3: 465 (1913). small tree. rs: tasnim 404. c. maxima (burm.) merr., interp. rumph. herb. amb.: 296 (1918). small tree. rs: tasnim 395. 308 rahman et al. genus limonia l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 554 (1762). limonia acidissima l., sp. pl. ed. 2.: 554 (1762). semi-deciduous tree. rs: tasnim 392. family 37. oxalidaceae r. brown (1817). key to genera: 1. trees; leaves pinnately compound; fruit fleshy, indehiscent. averrhoa herbs; leaves digitately or palmately trifoliolate; fruit not fleshy, dehiscent. oxalis genus averrhoa l., sp. pl.: 428 (1753). averrhoa carambola l., sp. pl. 1: 428 (1753). tree. rs: tasnim 261. genus oxalis l., sp. pl.: 433 (1753). oxalis corniculata l., sp. pl.: 435 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 13. family 38. apiaceae lindley (1836). key to genera: 1. plants prostrate-creeping or ascending herbs; stylopodium absent; fruits orbicular to ellipsoid. centella plants erect herbs; stylopidium conic; fruits globose. coriandrum genus centella l., gen. pl. ed. 6: 485 (1764). centella asiatica (l.) urban in mart., fl. braz. 11(1): 187 (1879). herb. rs: tasnim 74. genus coriandrum l., sp. pl. 1: 256 (1753). coriandrum sativum l., sp. pl. 1: 256 (1753). annual herb. rs: tasnim 197. family 39. apocynaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. plants armed. carissa plants unarmed. 2 2. leaves in whorl. rauvolfia leaves opposite. 3 3. plants perennial herbs or undershrubs; disc present. catharanthus plants shrubs; disc absent. tabernaemontana genus carissa l., mant. 1: 7 (1767). carissa carandas l., mant. 1: 52 (1767). shrub or small tree. rs: tasnim 195. genus catharanthus g. don, gen. hist. 4: 71 (1837). catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don, gen. hist. 4: 95 (1837). herb. rs: tasnim 256. genus rauvolfia l., sp. pl.: 208 (1753). rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz, forest fl. brit. burm. 2: 171 (1877). herb. rs: tasnim 350. genus tabernaemontana l., fl. trop. africa 4(1): 126 (1902). tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem & schult., syst. 4: 427 (1819). shrub or small tree. rs: tasnim 344. synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 309 family 40. asclepiadaceae r. brown (1810). key to genera: 1. leaves fleshy; flowers pale violet or white; corona lobes spurred on the back. calotropis leaves not fleshy; flowers orange red to red; corona lobes not spurred on the back. asclepias genus asclepias l., sp. pl. : 214 (1753). asclepias curassavica l., sp. pl.: 215 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 03. genus calotropis r. br., mem. werner. soc. 1: 39 (1811). calotropis gigantea (l.) r. br. in ait., hort. kew. ed. 2, 2: 78 (1811). shrub. rs: tasnim 183. family 41. solanaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. fruit berry. 2 fruit capsule. 5 2 fruit enclosed in the bladder-like calyx. physalis fruit not enclosed in the bladder-like calyx. 3 3. anthers opening by pores at the apex. 4 anthers opening longitudinally. capsicum 4. flowers in dichotomously branched lateral or terminal cymes. solanum flowers in lax few-flowered cymes, not dichotomously branched. lycopersicon 5. fruiting calyx winged, capsule without spines. nicotiana fruiting calyx not winged, capsule with spines. datura genus capsicum [tourn.] l., syst. ed. 1 (1735). capsicum frutescens l., sp. pl.: 189 (l753). shrubby perennial. rs: tasnim 171. genus datura l., syst. ed. 1 (1753). datura metel l., sp. pl.: 179 (1753). robust herb or undershrub. rs: tasnim 182. genus lycopersicon mill., gard. dict. abridg. ed. 4 (1754). lycopersicon esculentum mill., gard. dict. ed. 8, no. 2 (1768). herb. rs: tasnim 382. genus nicotiana l., syst. ed. 1 (1735). nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv., elench, pl. hort. dinegro: 26, t. 5 (1802). herb. rs: tasnim 214. genus physalis l., syst. ed. 1 (1735). physalis minima l., sp. pl.: 183 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 217. genus solanum l., syst. ed. 1 (1735). key to species: 1. a viscoid herb with underground tubers; leaves pinnate. tuberosum an erect or suberect herb or undershrub without underground tuber; leaves not pinnate. 2 310 rahman et al. 2. mature berries more than 3 cm across; calyx enlarged in fruit; seeds lenticular to reniform, flattened. melongena mature berries less than 2 cm across; calyx not enlarged in fruit; seeds discoid, compressed. villosum solanum melongena l., sp. pl.: 186 (1753). herb or undershrub. rs: tasnim 374. s. tuberosum l., sp. pl.: 185 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 162. s. villosum mill., gard. dict. ed. 8, no. 2 (1768). herb. rs: tasnim 35. family 42. convolvulaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. inner surface of the corolla hairy; style simple. ipomoea both the surface of the corolla glabrous; style filiform. merremia genus ipomoea l., sp. pl.: 159 (1753). key to species: 1. herb, usually floating; stem creeping; seeds grey, pubescent or glabrous. aquatica shrub, not floating; stem erect; seeds black, sericeo-villous. fistulosa ipomoea aquatica forssk., fl. aeg.-arab.: 44 (1755). aquatic herb. rs: tasnim 257. i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy in dc., prodr. 9: 349 (1845). shrub. rs: tasnim 269. genus merremia dennstedt, schluss. hort. malab.: 34 (1818). key to species: 1. plant herbaceous or woody twiner; leaves ovate, oblong or lanceolate; corolla white. umbellata plant glabrous or patently hirsute twiner; leaves palmately lobed, lobes triangular to lanceolate; corolla bright to light yellow. vitifolia merremia umbellata (l.) hallier f., bot. jahrb. 16: 552 (1893). herbaceous or woody twiner. rs: tasnim 341. m. vitifolia (brum. f.) hallier f., bot. jahrb. 16: 552 (1893). large twiner. rs: tasnim 173. family 43. cuscutaceae dumortier (1829). genus cuscuta l., sp. pl.: 124 (1753). cuscuta reflexa roxb., pl. corom. 2: 3, t. 104 (1798). parasitic herb. rs: tasnim 16. family 44. boraginaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus heliotropium l., sp. pl. 1: 130 (1753). heliotropium indicum l., sp. pl. 1: 130 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 63. family 45. verbenaceae jaume st.-hilaire (1805). key to genera: 1. leaves digitately 3-5 foliolate. vitex leaves simple. 2 2. flowers pedicellate. 3 flowers sessile or subsessile. 4 synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 311 3. calyx campanulate; corolla hypocrateriform; stamens 5-6. tectona calyx cup-shaped, funnel-shaped or truncate; corolla tube cylindrical; stamens 4. clerodendrum 4. plants prostrate herbs; flowers white. phyla plants usually shrubs or undershrubs; flowers light purple. lippia genus clerodendrum burm. ex l., gen. pl. ed. 1: 186 (1737). clerodendrum viscosum vent, jard. malm. 1: 25 (1803). undershrub or shrub. rs: tasnim 25. genus lippia l., sp. pl. 2: 633 (1762). lippia alba (mill.) briton et wilson, sci. surv. puerto rico. vergin 6: 141 (1925). undershrub or shrub. rs: tasnim 225. genus phyla lour., fl. cochinch. ed. 1: 66 (1790). phyla nodiflora (l.) greene, pittonia 4: 46 (1899). creeping herb. rs: tasnim 43. genus tectona l. f., suppl.: 151 (1781). tectona grandis l. f., suppl.: 151 (1781). tree. rs: tasnim 82. genus vitex [tourn.] l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 635 (1753). vitex negundo l., sp. pl.: 638 (1753). shrub or low tree. rs: tasnim 101. family 46. lamiaceae lindley (1836). genus ocimum l., sp. pl.: 597 (1753). ocimum americanum l., cent. pl. 1: 15 (1755). annual herb. rs: tasnim 10. family 47. oleaceae hoffman. & link (1813-1820). genus jasminum l., sp. pl. 1: 7 (1753). jasminum sambac (l.) ait., hort. kew. 1: 8 (1789). shrub. rs: tasnim 51. family 48. scrophulariaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. flowers in terminal or axillary racemes; anterior anther cells spurred; stigmas 2-lamellate. lindernia flowers axillary, solitary or geminate; anther cells not spurred; stigmas notched or truncate. scoparia genus lindernia all., misc. taur. 3: 178, t. 5 (1766). key to species: 1. leaves sub-acuminate at apex; calyx lobes linear-lanceolate, subequal; capsule linear-cylindric or subulate-cylindric. antipoda leaves obtuse at apex; calyx lobes lanceolate, equal; capsule ovoidglobose. rotundifolia lindernia antipoda (l.) alston in trimen, handb. fl. ceylon. 6: 214 (1931). prostrate herb. rs: tasnim 204. l. rotundifolia (l.) alston in trimen, hand. fl. ceyl. 6: 214 (1931). annual herb. rs: tasnim 255. genus scoparia l., sp. pl.: 116 (1753). scoparia dulcis l., sp. pl.: 116 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 102. 312 rahman et al. family 49. acanthaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. stamens 4. 2 stamens 2. 4 2. bracts inconspicuous or absent. ruellia bracts conspicuous, prominent. 3 3. bracts leafy; corolla distinctly or indistinctly 2lipped, 5lobed. hygrophila bracts 4ranked; corolla tubular ventricose or funnel shaped, 5lobed. hemigraphis 4. capsule with a basal solid beak; anther base shortly appendaged. 5 capsule without a basal solid beak; anther base bearded with tuft of hairs. andrographis 5. flowers in one-sided spikes; bracts usually in 2-4 rows, 2 of the rows barren. rungia flowers not in one-sided spikes; bracts in one rows, linear or subulate to large foliaceous. justicia genus andrographis wall. ex nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 77, 116 (1832). andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees in wall., pl. as. rar. 3: 116 (1832). herb. rs: tasnim 05. genus hemigraphis nees in dc., prodr. 11: 722 (1847). hemigraphis hirta (vahl) t. anders., journ. linn. soc. 9: 462 (1867). prostrate herb. rs: tasnim 244. genus hygrophila r. br., prodr.: 479 (1810). hygrophila schulli (buch.-ham.) m.r. & s.n. almeida, journ. bomb. nat. hist. soc. 83 (suppl.): 221 (1986). herb. rs: tasnim 192. genus justicia l., sp. pl. 1: 15 (1753). justicia gendarussa burm. f., fl. ind.: 10 (1768). undershrub. rs: tasnim 13. genus ruellia l., sp. pl.: 634 (1753). ruellia tuberosa l., sp. pl.: 635 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 65. genus rungia nees in wall., pl. asiat. rar. 3: 77 (1832). rungia pectinata (l.) nees in dc., prodr. 11: 469 (1847). prostrate herb. rs: tasnim 223. family 50. pedaliaceae r. brown (1810). genus sesamum l., sp. pl.: 634 (1753). sesamum indicum l., sp. pl.: 634 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 116. family 51. bignoniaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus tecoma juss., gen.: 139 (1789). tecoma stans (l.) juss. ex kunth in h. b. & k., nov. gen. sp. 3: 144 (1819). shrub. rs: tasnim 61. family 52. rubiaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. corolla narrowly infundibular; anthers basifixed. neolamarckia corolla not narrowly infundibular; anthers dorsifixed. 2 synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 313 2. large shrubs; inflorescence corymbose, panicle-like. ixora small shrubs; inflorescence terminal. mussaenda genus ixora l., sp. pl.: 110 (1753). ixora coccinea l., sp. pl.: 110 (1753). shrub. rs: tasnim 189. genus mussaenda l., sp. pl. 1: 177 (1753). mussaenda erythrophylla schum. & thonn., beskr. guin. pl.: 116 (1827). shrub. rs: tasnim 122. genus neolamarckia bosser, bull. mus. hist. nat. paris ser. 6 (b), adans. 3: 247 (1984). neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser, bull. mus. nat. hist. nat. b, adansonia ser. 4, 6(3): 247 (1985). tree. rs: tasnim 53. family 53. asteraceae dumortier (1822). key to genera: 1. cypsela 2 in each capitulum, included in the hardened, spiny involucre. xanthium cypsela more than 2 in each capitulum, not included in the hardened, spiny involucre. 2 2. head homogenous. 3 head heterogenous. 7 3. flowers ligulate. 4 flowers not ligulate. 5 4. pappus bristles, 1-2 seriate; cypsela fusiform. youngia pappus not bristles, many seriate; cypsela not fusiform. sonchus 5. pappus bristles or scaly. ageratum pappus hairy. 6 6. pappus segment 1-seriate; plants climber. mikania pappus segment 2-seriate; plants not climber. vernonia 7. pappus usually absent. 8 pappus usually present. 10 8. leaves sessile, bracts 4-foliaceous. enhydra leaves petiolate; bracts not foliaceous. 9 9. involucre short; cypsela dorsally compressed. spilanthes involucre campanulate; cypsela laterally compressed. weddelia 10. leaves alternate. 11 leaves opposite. 13 11. pappus usually cupulate; leaves sinuate-pinnatifid. grangea pappus not cupulate; leaves not sinuate-pinnatifid. 12 12. plants woolly or densely tomentose; leaves quite entire; cypsela sub-compressed. gnaphalium plants not woolly or densely tomentose; leaves not quite entire; cypsela sub-terete or angled. blumea 13. branches leafy; leaves pinnatifid, gland-dotted. tagetes branches not leafy; leaves not pinnatifid, without gland-dotted. 14 314 rahman et al. 14. ray-floretes neuter; pappus aristate. helianthus ray-floretes female; pappus not aristate. 15 15. foliaceous bracts present; leaves petiolate; petals yellow. synedrella foliaceous bracts absent; leaves sessile; petals white. eclipta genus ageratum l., sp. pl.: 839 (1753). ageratum conyzoides l., sp. pl.: 839 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 39. genus blumea dc. in guill., arch. bot. 2 : 514 (1833). blumea lacera (burm. f.) dc. in wight., contrib. bot. ind. 14 (1834). herb. rs: tasnim 169. genus eclipta l., mant. 2: 157 (1771), nom. cons. eclipta alba (l.) hassk., pl. jav. rar.: 528 (1848). herb. rs: tasnim 252. genus enhydra lour., fl. cochinch.: 510 (1780). enhydra fluctuans lour. fl. cochinch.: 511 (1790). aquatic herb. rs: tasnim 190. genus gnaphalium l., sp. pl.: 850 (1753). gnaphalium luteo-album l., sp. pl.: 851 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 253. genus grangea adans., fam. 2: 121 (1763). grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir., enc. suppl. 2: 825 (1811). herb. rs: tasnim 227. genus helianthus l., sp. pl.: 904 (1753). helianthus annuus l., sp. pl.: 904 (1753). tall herb. rs: tasnim 164. genus mikania willd., sp. pl. 3: 1742 (1803). mikania cordata (burm. f.) robinson, contr. gray herb. 104: 65 (1934).twining perennial herb. rs: tasnim 02. genus sonchus l., sp. pl.: 794 (1753). sonchus oleraceus l., sp. pl.: 794 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 64. genus spilanthes jacq., enum. pl. carib. 8: 28 (1760). spilanthes calva dc. in wight, contrib. bot. ind.: 19 (1834). herb. rs: tasnim 44. genus synedrella gaertn., fruct. 2: 456, t. 171 (1791). synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn., fruct. sem. 2: 456, t. 171 (1791). herb. rs: tasnim 56. genus tagetes l., sp. pl.: 887 (1753). tagetes erecta l., sp. pl.: 887 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 155. genus vernonia schreb., gen. pl. 2: 541 (1791). vernonia cinerea (l.) less, linnaea 4(1): 291 (1829). herb. rs: tasnim 01. genus wedelia jacq., stirp. amer.: 217, t. 130 (1783). wedelia chinensis (osbeck) merr., philipp. j. sci. 12: 111 (1917). herb. rs: tasnim 58. genus xanthium l., sp. pl.: 987 (1753). xanthium indicum koen. ex roxb., fl. ind. 3: 601 (1832). herb. rs: tasnim 215. genus youngia cass., ann. sci. nat. bot. 1, 23: 88 (1831). youngia japonica (l.) dc., prodr. 7: 194 (1838). herb. rs: tasnim 247. synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 315 liliopsida key to families of liliopsida: 1. plants body thalloid. lemnaceae plants body not thalloid. 2 2. stem triangular, leaves usually tristichous. cyperaceae stem not triangular, leaves not tristichous. 3 3. plants with pseudo-stem. musaceae plants with true stem. 4 4. stem hollow except node. poaceae stem solid. 5 5. leaves with reticulate venation; inflorescence spadix. araceae leaves with parallel venation; inflorescence not spadix. 6 6. plant climbing herbs. 7 plant free floating or erect marshy herbs. 8 7. plants with prickles; ovary superior; tendrils arising from the sheathing petiole. smilaceae plants without prickles; ovary inferior; tendrils not arising from the sheathing petiole. dioscoriaceae 8. plants aquatic. pontederiaceae plants terrestrial or epiphytic. 9 9. flower with inferior ovary. 10 flower with superior ovary 12 10. plants aromatic; leaves ligulate. zingiberaceae plants not aromatic; leaves without ligule. 11 11. inflorescence a raceme, spike or paniculate; stamens petaloid. orchidaceae inflorescence terminal; stamens not petaloid. cannaceae 12. stem unbranched; leaves crowded at the top the stem. arecaceae stem branched; leaves not crowded at the top the stem. 13 13. perienth segments connate. 14 perienth segments free. aloaceae 14. leaves simple, alternate; seeds often flat. liliaceae leaves subsessile, ovate, lanceolate or linear; seeds elliptic or angular. commellinaceae family 1. arecaceae c. h. schultz-schultzen (1832). key to genera: 1. leaves fan-shaped; petiole spinous. borassus leaves not fan-shaped; petiole not spinous. 2 2. fruit ovoid, terete or 3-gonous; endocarp hard with 3 basal eyes. cocos fruit not ovoid, terete or 3-gonous; endocarp not hard, without 3 basal eyes. 3 3. carpels 3, syncarpous; spathe coriaceous; endocarp membranous. phoenix carpels 3, apocarpous; spathe not coriaceous; endocarp not membranous. areca 316 rahman et al. genus areca l., sp. pl.: 1189 (1753). areca catechu l., sp. pl.: 1189 (1753). tall palm. rs: tasnim 356. genus borassus l., sp. pl.: 1187 (1753). borassus flabellifer l., sp. pl.: 1187(1753). unbranched palm. rs: tasnim 346. genus cocos l., sp. pl.: 1188 (1753). cocos nucifera l., sp. pl.: 1189 (1753).tall palm. rs: tasnim 278. genus phoenix l., sp. pl. 2: 1188 (1753). phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb., hort. beng. : 73 (1814), nom. nud & fl. ind. 3: 787 (1832). tall palm. rs: tasnim 283. family 2. araceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). key to genera: 1. flowers bisexual. rhaphidophora flowers unisexual. 2 2. plants aquatic. leaves entire. pistia plants terrestrial. 3 3. fruit greenish-white. colocasia fruit orange to red. alocasia genus alocasia (schott) g. don in sweet, hort. brit., ed. 3: 631 (1839). alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g. don in sweet, hort. brit. ed. 3: 631 (1839). robust herb. rs: tasnim 202. genus colocasia schott in schott & endl., melet. bot.: 18 (1832). colocasia esculenta (l.) schott in schott & endl., melet. bot.: 18 (1832). herb with underground tubers. rs: tasnim 92. genus pistia l., sp. pl.: 963 (1753). pistia stratiotes l., sp. pl.: 963 (1753). aquatic herb. rs: tasnim 175. genus rhaphidophora hassk., flora 25 (beibb. 2): 11 (1842). rhaphidophora aurea (linden & andre) birdsey in bailey 10: 155 (1962). long climber. rs: tasnim 249. family 3. lemnaceae s. f. gray (1824). genus lemna l., sp. pl.: 970 (1753). lemna perpusilla torrey, f. n. y. 2: 245 (1843). free floating herb. rs: tasnim 177. family 4. commelinaceae r. brown (1810). key to genera: 1. perfect stamens 6. 2 perfect stamens 3. commelina 2. bracts overlaping, boat-like. rhoeo bracts not overlaping, not boat-like. tradescantia genus commelina l., sp. pl.: 40 (1753). commelina benghalensis l., sp. pl.: 41(1753). diffused herb. rs: tasnim 09. synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 317 genus rhoeo hance in walp., ann. 3: 659 (1853). rhoeo discolor (l'her.) hance in walp., ann. 3: 660 (1853). stout herb. rs: tasnim 111. genus tradescantia l., sp. pl.: 288 (1753). tradescantia pallida (rose) d.r. hunt, kew bull. 30 (3): 452 (1975). herb. rs: tasnim 370. family 5.cyperaceae a. l. de jussien (1789). genus courtoisina sojak, cas. nar. muz. (prague) 148 (3-4): 193 (1980). courtoisina cyperoides (roxb.) sojak, cas. nar. muz. (prague) 148 (3-4): 193 (1980). herb. rs: tasnim 109. genus cyperus l., sp. pl. 1: 44 (1753). key to species: 1. plants annual. 2 plants perennial. 3 2. culms tufted; stamens 1-2; spikelet not spicately arranged; nutlets yellowish when mature. difformis culms 1 to few; stamens 2-3; spikelets spicately arranged; nutlets dark brown when mature. iria 3. stoloniferous herb; spikes usually solitary; culms woody. tuberosus rhizomatous herb; spikes more usually in sessile clusters; culms not woody. imbricatus cyperus difformis l., cent. pl. 2: 6 (1756). herb. rs: tasnim 67. c. imbricatus retz., obs. bot. 5: 12 (1789). herb. rs: tasnim 145. c. iria l., sp. pl. ed. 1: 45 (1753). herb. rs: tasnim 89. c. tuberosus rottb., descr. et icon. : 28, t. 7, f. 1 (1773). stoloniferous herb. rs: tasnim 107. genus kyllinga rottb., descr. icon. rar. nov. pl.: 12 (1773). kyllinga nemoralis (j. r. forst. & g. forst.) dandy ex hutchins. & dalziel, fl. w. trop. africa 2: 486 (1936). rhizomatous herb. rs: tasnim 23. family 6. poaceae barnhart (1895). key to genera: 1. culms woody. bambusa culms usually herbaceous. 2 2 spikelets with 1 to many florets, but if 2-flowered, either with a rachilla extension, or both florets or lower one bisexual, or spikelets falling from above glumes and awnless. 3 spikelets 2-flowered, lower floret of fertile spikelet male or barren, upper bisexual or female and usually different in appearance; spikelets falling entire. 6 3. spikelets borne alternately on opposite sides of axis of solitary spikes or racemes. triticum spikelets usually in panicles or 1-sided spikes or racemes, rarely on opposite sides of axis of solitary spikes. 4 318 rahman et al. 4. spikelets with 2 or more fertile florets or if with 1 fertile floret, with a rachilla projecting or sterile florets above it. eragrostis spikelets with 1 fertile floret, with or without or 2 male or sterile florets below it, and 1 or 2 above it. 5 5. inflorescence of digitate 1-sided spikes, sometimes borne in 2 or more closely spaced whorls. cynodon inflorescence a distant panicle. oryza 6. spikelets axillary, sessile, single at the nodes of a firm. zea spikelets not axillary or sessile, not single at the nodes of a firm. 7 7. spikelets lanceolate, disarticulation below the glumes, sessile spikelets falling with the contiguous internodes and pedicels. saccharum spikelets solitary, rarely paired and all alike; glumes usually membranous. 8 8. fertile lemma chartaceous to cartilaginous, finely longitudinally striate, with its hyaline margin enfolding often more or less darkly coloured. digitaria fertile lemma more or less brittle, with margins which are firm, inrolled and glabrous or ciliate. 9 9. inflorescence an open, compound, contracted or spike-like panicle. panicum inflorescence composed of 2-many lateral racemes and a terminal racemes similar to the laterals. brachiaria genus bambusa schreber, gen. plant. ed. 8, 1: 236 (1789). key to species: 1. blade of stem-sheaths triangular. 2 blade of stem-sheaths 2-morphic. balcooa 2. ligules narrow, obscure; blade of stem-sheaths with cordate base. tulda ligules not narrow, distinct; blade of stem-sheaths with rounded base. vulgaris bambusa balcooa roxb., fl. ind. 2: 196 (1832). sympodial bamboo. rs: tasnim 59. b. tulda roxb., fl. ind. 2: 193 (1832). a loosely tufted bamboo. rs: tasnim 333. b. vulgaris schrad. ex wendl., collect pl. 2: 26, t. 27 (1810). tufted bamboo. rs: tasnim 187. genus brachiaria (trin.) griseb., fl. ross. 4: 460 (1853). brachiaria reptans (l.) gard. & hubb. in hook., ic. pl.: 34, sub t. 3363 (1938). annual grass. rs: tasnim 108. genus cynodon rich., syn. pl. 1: 85 (1805). cynodon dactylon (l) pres. syn pl. 1: 85 (1805). perennial grass. rs: tasnim 232. genus digitaria heister ex fabricius, enum. ed. 1: 207 (1759). key to species: 1. culms geniculate at the base; inflorescence a panicle, composed of 3 to more racemes; caryopsis ovoid, deep purple. stricta culms decumbent at the base; inflorescence digitate or sub-digitate, composed of 2-16 racemes; caryopsis lanceolate, grey or light brown. sanguinalis digitaria sanguinalis (l.) scop., fl. carn., ed. 2, 1: 52 (1772). annual grass. rs: tasnim 144. d. stricta roth ex roem. & schult. syst. vegt. 2: 474 (1817). annual grass. rs: tasnim 400. synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 319 genus eragrostris host, ic. gram. 4: 14 (1809). key to species: 1. inflorescence a terminal panicle, elliptic or pyramidal; caryopsis ellipsoid, golden brownish. tenella inflorescence a panicle, ovate; caryopsis subglobose or orbicular, dark reddish brown. cilianensis eragrostis cilianensis (all.) vignolo-lutai, malpighia 18: 386 (1904). annual grass. rs: tasnim 302. e. tenella (l.) p. beauv. ex roem. & schult., syst. veg. 2: 576 (1817). annual grass. rs: tasnim 11. genus oryza l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 333 (1753). key to species: 1. spikelets persistent. sativa spikelets caducous. rufipogon oryza rufipogon griff., notul. 3: 5 (1851). aquatic grass. rs: tasnim 156. o. sativa l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 333 (1753). annual or rarely perennial grass. rs: tasnim 388. genus panicum l., sp. pl. 1: 55 (1753). key to species: 1. aquatic grass; ovary ovate, stipitate; caryopsis oblong. paludosum terrestrial grass; ovary elliptic; caryopsis elliptic. notatum panicum notatum retz., obs. bot. 4: 18 (1786). perennial grass. rs: tasnim 148. p. paludosum roxb., fl. ind. 1: 310 (1820). perennial grass. rs: tasnim 270. genus saccharum l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 54 (1753). saccharum spontaneum l., mart. alt.: 183 (1771). rhizomatous grass. rs: tasnim 79. genus triticum l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1: 85 (1753). triticum aestivum l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 1 : 85 (1753). annual or biennial grass. rs: tasnim 167. genus zea l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 2: 971 (1753). zea mays l., sp. pl. ed. 1, 2: 971 (1753). annual grass. rs: tasnim 170. family 7. musaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus musa l., sp. pl.: 1043 (1753). musa paradisiaca l., sp. pl.: 1043 (1753). tree-like herb. rs: tasnim 278. family 8. zingiberaceae lindley (1835). key to genera: 1. lateral staminodes broad, petaloid. curcuma lateral staminodes small or absent. zingiber genus curcuma roxb., asiat. res. 11: 329 (1810). curcuma longa l., sp. pl. 1: 2 (1753). rhizomatous herb. rs: tasnim 153. genus zingiber boehmer, lud. def. gen. pl.: 89 (1760). zingiber officinale rosc., trans. linn. soc. lond. 8: 348 (1807). herb. rs: tasnim 85. 320 rahman et al. family 9. cannaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus canna l., sp. pl. ed. 1 (1753). canna indica l., sp. pl. 1 : 1 (1753). perennial rhizomatous herb. rs: tasnim 194. family 10. pontederiaceae kunth (1816). key to genera: 1. flowers distinctly pedicelled; perianth actinomorphic. monochoria flowers sessile; perianth zygomorphic. eichhornia genus eichhornia kunth, enum. 4: 129 (1843). eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 527 (1883). aquatic herb. rs: tasnim 94. genus monochoria presl, rel. haenk. 1: 127 (1830). monochoria hastata (l.) soloms in a. dc., mon. phan. 4: 523 (1883). perennial herb. rs: tasnim 193. family 11. liliaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus allium l., sp. pl.: 294 (1753). key to species: 1 leaves cylindrical, sub-distichous; fruit with seed. cepa leaves flat, not cylindrical, distichous; fruit without seed. sativum allium cepa l., sp. pl. 1: 300 (1753). annual herb. rs: tasnim 163. a. sativum l., sp. pl. 1: 297 (1753). annual herb. rs: tasnim 205. family 12. aloaceae batsch (1802). genus aloe l., sp. pl. 1: 319 (1753). aloe vera (l.) burm. f., fl. ind.: 83 (1768). succulent herb. rs: tasnim 347. family 13. smilacaceae ventenat (1799). genus smilax l., sp. pl. 2: 1028 (1753). smilax perfoliata lour., fl. cochinch.: 622 (1790). spinous climber. rs: tasnim 62. family 14. dioscoreaceae r. brown (1810). genus dioscorea l., sp. pl.: 1033 (1753). dioscorea bulbifera l., sp. pl.: 1033 (1753) var. bulbifera.twining herb. rs: tasnim 06. family 15. orchidaceae a. l. de jussieu (1789). genus zeuxine lindl., orch. scel.: 9 (1826). zeuxine strateumatica (l.) schltr., feddes report.: 77 (1911). terrestrial herb. rs: tasnim 245. the present study reveals that asteraceae appears to be the largest family in magnoliopsida consisting of 16 species, whereas poaceae is the largest family in liliopsida with 16 species. some other dominant families include cucurbitaceae (8 spp), solanaceae (8 spp), amaranthaceae (8 spp) and moraceae (7 spp). in magnoliopsida, 23 families are represented by a single species, whereas in liliopsida, 7 families are symbolized by a single species. ficus appears to be the largest genus with 6 species. of the recorded 204 taxa from dhohar upazila, approximately 13% have been found to be rare. very recently, sarker and rahman (2019) documented 295 angiosperm taxa from gobindaganj upazila of gaibandha district where 21.35% were reported as rare. in a floristic study in baraiyadhala national park of chittagong, rashid et al. (2018) showed 31.25% of the identified synoptical account on the flora of dohar upazila 321 magnoliids and eudicots as rare. haque et al. (2018) found 25 species as threatened in the rajkandi reserve forest under moulvibazar district, while uddin and hassan (2010) documented 19 threatened species from lawachara national park of the same district, as cited in the red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh (khan et al., 2001). the study area comprises diverse aquatic habitats, viz., ponds, tanks, beels and other lowlying areas filled with seasonal water, and some of the common aquatic angiosperms including species found in muddy areas are alternanthera philoxeroides, pistia stratiostes, enhydra fluctuans, ipomoea aquatica, courtoisina cyperoides, cyperus difformis, lemna perpusilla, nymphaea pubescens, monochoria hastata, ludwigia adscendens, ludwigia hyssopifolia etc. some economically important species in homestead areas include aegle marmelos, annona reticulata, annona squamosa, artocarpus heterophyllus, averrhoa carambola, carica papaya, carissa carandas, citrus aurantifolia, citrus maxima, cocos nucifera, elaeocarpus varunua, hydnocarpus kurzii, limonia acidissima, litchi chinensis, luffa cylindrica, mangifera indica, musa paradisiaca, neolamarckia cadamba, phyllanthus emblica, psidium guajava, punica granatum, spondias pinnata, swietenia mahagoni, syzygium cumini, tamarindus indica, tectona grandis, zizipus mauritiana etc. though dohar upazila is floristically moderately rich, many medicinally important species viz., andrographis paniculata, asclepias curassavica, calotropis gigantea, crateva magna, datura metel, ficus heterophylla, hygrophylla schulli, melia azedarach, physalis minima, rauvolfia serpentina, vitex negundo and zeuxine strateumatica are going to be rare and endangered because of over-exploitation, industrialization, urbanization and agricultural developments. therefore, immediate steps to be undertaken to conserve the plant species of the area, particularly the medicinally important and threatened species through both insitu and ex-situ approaches. acknowledgement the first author is grateful to the university of dhaka for financial support to cover partial expenses for carrying out the study. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t. hassan m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds) 2008-2009. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vols. 6-12. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. alam, m.s., hassan, m.a. and uddin, m.z. 2006. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora of ghagotia union under kapasia upazila in gazipur district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 155–170. cronquist, a. 1981. an integrated system of classification of flowering plants. columbia university press, new york, 1262 pp. dassanayake, m.d. and fosberg, f.r. (eds) 1980-1985. a revised handbook to the flora of ceylon, vols. 1-6. amerind publishing co. pvt. ltd., new delhi. haque, a.k.m. kamrul, khan, s.a., uddin, s.n. and shetu, s.s. 2018. an annotated checklist of the angiospermic flora of rajkandi reserve forest of moulvibazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 187–207. heywood, v. 2004. modern approaches to floristics and their impact on the region of sw asia. turk. j. bot. 28: 7–16. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india. vols. 1-7. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun, india. hyland, b.p.m. 1972. a technique for collecting botanical specimens in rain forest. flora malesiana bull. 26: 2038–2040. 322 rahman et al. khan, m.s. (ed.) 1972-1987. flora of bangladesh, nos. 1–39. bangladesh national herbarium and bangladesh agricultural research council, dhaka. khan, m.s. and rahman, m.m. (eds) 1989-2002. flora of bangladesh, nos. 40–53. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m. and ali, m.a. (eds) 2001. red data book of vascular plants of bangladesh, vol. 1. bangladesh national herbarium, dhaka, bangladesh, pp. 1–179. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focusing on economically and ecologically important plants species. bangladesh j. plant. taxon. 1(1): 21–33. mahmudah, z., islam, m.m., haque, t. and uddin, m.z. 2017. taxonomic enumeration of angiosperm flora of sreenagar upazila, munshigang, dhaka, bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 43(2): 161–172. moniruzzaman, m., hassan, m.a., rahman, m.m., layla, s. and islam, m.r. 2012. a preliminary checklist of the angiospermic flora of daulatpur upazila in kushtia district, bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 38(1): 53–65. prain, d. 1903. (indian reprint 1981). bengal plants, vols. 1 & 2. bishen singh mahendra pal singh dehra dun, india. rahman, m.o. and alam, m.t. 2013. a taxonomic study on the angiospermic flora of trishal upazila, mymensingh. dhaka univ. j. biol. sci. 22(1): 63–74. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur (bangladesh). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47–79. rahman, m.o., antara, r.t., begum, m. and hassan, m.a. 2012. floristic diversity of dhamrai upazila of dhaka, bangladesh with emphasis on medicinal plants. bangladesh j. bot. 41(1): 71–85. rahman, m.o., begum, m. and ullah, m.w. 2013. angiosperm flora of sadar upazila of munshiganj district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 20(2): 213–231. rahman m.o., hassan, s. and begum, m. 2019a. floristic study in lalpur upazila of natore district, bangladesh: identification, distribution and economic potential. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 45(1): 71–91. rahman, m.o., sayma, n.j. and begum, m. 2019b. angiospermic flora of gafargaon upazila of mymensingh district focusing on medicinally important species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 269– 283. rashid, m.h., islam, s. and kashem, s.b. 2018. floristic diversity (magnoliids and eudicots) of baraiyadhala national park, chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 25(2): 273–288. sarker, k., islam, m.r., uddin, m.z. and hassan, m.a. 2013. angiosperm flora of manikgonj sadar upazila, bangladesh. j. asiat. soc. bangladesh, sci. 39(2): 147–166. sarker, p. and rahman, a.h.m. mahbubur. 2019. angiosperms in gobindaganj upazila of gaibandha district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 26(2): 285‒298. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque. e.u. 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(manuscript received on 21 july 2020; revised on 18 november 2020) http://www. http://www.tropicos.org bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 165-169, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67053 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists short communication rosa mironovae, a new replacement name for r. mutabilis n.v. mironova (rosaceae) muhammad idrees, zhiyong zhang and julian m.h. shaw 1* college of life science, neijiang normal university, neijiang 641000, sichuan, china keywords: rosa mironovae; rosaceae; nomenclature. a new name, rosa mironovae m. idrees & j.m.h. shaw, is proposed as a replacement name for the illegitimate name r. mutabilis mironova (rosaceae), a later homonym of r. mutabilis correvon. the genus rosa l. (1753) (rosoideae: rosaceae, jussieu, 1789), comprises about 150–200 species, distributed mainly throughout the temperate and subtropical regions of the northern hemisphere (gandoger, 1881; rehder, 1949; yü et al., 1985; matthews, 1995; ku and robertson, 2003; wissemann and ritz, 2005), except one species from tropical africa. approximately, half of the species of rosa grow in asia, while in north america and europe about a quarter of the total number of species occurs in each continent. species in this genus are economically important as ornamental shrubs and cut flowers, as well as cosmetics and pharmaceutical research (yi et al., 2007; jager et al., 2007; özçelik et al., 2013; verma et al., 2020). classical taxonomy (rehder, 1940; wissemann, 2003) divided the genus into four subgenera based on the diagnostic characters of fruits structure, i.e., r. subgen. hesperhodos cockerell (1913), r. subgen. hulthemia (dumortier 1824) focke (1888), r. subgen. platyrhodon (hurst 1928) rehder (1940) and subgen. rosa (rehder 1940). the first three subgenera are monotypic containing one or two species, while the fourth subgenus rosa harbours about 95% of all species, and is subdivided into ten sections. many attempts were made to reconstruct the phylogeny of this genus, most of which suggested that the divisions of most subgenera and sections based on morphology were artificial (matsumoto et al., 1998, 2000, 2001; iwata et al., 2000; wu et al., 2000, 2001; wissemann and ritz, 2005; bruneau et al., 2007; koopman et al., 2008; qiu, 2012; liu et al., 2015). species identification and boundaries in the genus have been notoriously difficult due to intraspecific variation, polyploidy, and interspecific hybridization (crépin, 1893; erlanson, 1929; erlanson-macfarlane, 1966; melville, 1967; wissemann, 2003; ritz et al., 2005, joly and bruneau, 2006; joly et al., 2006; schanzer and vagina, 2007; mercure and bruneau, 2008; ritz and wissemann, 2011; kellner et al., 2012; fougère-danezan et al., 2015; gao et al., 2015, 2019). taxonomic confusion in the genus rosa is attributed to its complicated evolutionary history of the wild species, and subsequent interbreeding with the cultivated species (ritz et al., 2005). the absence of clear morphological variation, their recent radiation, incomplete lineage sorting and polyploidy are some features that make the complexity in the genus (joly and bruneau, 2006; wissemann and ritz, 2005). morphological characteristics as the basis for the taxonomic classification also cause confusion due to similarity in the features. sometimes, the morphological features are under severe selection pressure, that is, rapid speciation brings changes in some characters (meyen, 1973). sometimes this has resulted in convergence, at other times closely related taxa appear morphologically divergent (ritz et al., 2005; schanzer and kutlunina, 2010), the genus rosa has examples of both (atienza et al., 2005; koopman et al., 2008). *corresponding author, email: julianshaw@rhs.org.uk 1horticultural taxonomy, royal horticultural society, wisley, woking, surrey, gu23 6qb, u.k. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67053 166 idrees et al. the name rosa mutabilis bradbury ex james was first described in 1823 but the name was invalid, because there was no validating description or diagnosis (art. 38.1(a) of icn; turland et al., 2018). jame (1823) mentioned the following information in the original protologue “the new species of rose, pointed out by mr. bradbury and by him called rosa mutabilis. this is a very beautiful species, rising sometimes to the height of eight or ten feet”. the plants of the world online database (https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:733422-1, accessed 8 june 2023) listed the name as an unpublished synonym of rosa setigera michx. (1803). according to nelson and grills (1998), the cultivar rosa ‘tipo ideale’ was first described by lady ross-of-bladensburg in 1921, based on a plant growing in borromean islands in the lago maggiore in northern italy, not far from isola bella, the famous residence of prince gilberto borromeo (1859–1941). in 1895, gilberto borromeo, prince of angera had presented a plant of this rose as a gift to henri correvon, the swiss gardener, who, published it as rosa mutabilis correvon (1934). it was distributed in cultivation by daisy hill nursery, and as early as 19291930 it was listed in the rose catalogue (thomas, 1987; who noted that as ‘mutabilis’ and this rose reached britain in 1916). eventually, this lovely rose was identified as a cultivar of the chinese rose, rosa chinensis ‘tipo ideale’ (thomas, 1980; moore, 1921; nelson and grills, 1998), now listed in pf (rhs plant finder 1997; powo, 2023) as r. × odorata ‘mutabilis’. recently, mironova (2012) published a new dwarf wild species from the rostov region, russia rosa mutabilis mironova, sp. nov. (2012) that belongs to the rosa sect. gallicanae (dc. 1818) ser. (1825), subsect. pygmaeae muzunova (2001). according to icn art. 53. 1 (turland et al., 2018), it is an illegitimate later homonym of r. mutabilis correvon (1934). a new replacement name, rosa mironovae m. idrees & j.m.h. shaw, is therefore proposed here. the specific epithet honours prof. dr. natalia v. mironova (botanical garden, rostov-on-don, russia), author of the replaced name, who first described this new species. nomenclature rosa mironovae m. idrees & j. m. h. shaw, nom. nov. replaced name: rosa mutabilis n.v. mironova in bot. zhurn. (moscow & leningrad) 97(3): 376 (2012), nom. illeg. non r. mutabilis correvon in rev. hort. [paris]. n.s., 24: 60 (1934) nec. r. mutabilis bradbury ex james in account exped. pittsburgh [ed. philadelphia] 1: 69 (1823) nom. inval. type: russia. prov. rostoviensis, distr. kujbyscheviensis, in 15 rkm ad pag. lysogorka, in declibus lapidosis, 9 june 2006, n. mironova s.n. (le–holo). we are grateful to anonymous reviewer for providing helpful suggestions and comments to improve our manuscript. this study was financed by the key research and development project of sichuan provincial department of science and technology (2022yfn0032), the high-level talent introduction project of science and technology department of sichuan province of china (2023jdgd0031), and the scientific research project of neijiang normal university. references atienza, s.g., torres, a.m., millan, t. and cubero, j.i. 2005. genetic diversity in rosa as revealed by rapds. agricult. conspect. sci. 70: 75–85. bruneau, a., starr, j.r. and joly, s. 2007. phylogenetic relationships in the genus rosa: new evidence from chloroplast dna sequences and an appraisal of current knowledge. syst. bot. 32: 366–378. correvon, l.h. 1934. rosa mutabilis corr. rev. horti. année [paris] 24: 60–61. http://bibliothequenumerique.hortalia.org/items/viewer/356 crépin, f. 1893. rosae hybridae. études sur les roses hybrides. bull. soci. royl. bot. belg., 1iérepartie (mémoires) 32: 52–55. rosa mironovae, a new replacement name for r. mutabilis 167 erlanson, e.w. 1929. cytological conditions and evidences for hybridity in north america wild roses. bot. gazette 87: 443–506. erlanson-macfarlane, e.w. 1966. the old problem of species in rosa with special reference to north america. amer. rose ann. 51: 150–160. fougère-danezan, m., joly s., bruneau, a., gao, x.f. and zhang, l.b. 2015. phylogeny and biogeography of wild roses with specific attention to polyploids. ann. bot. 115(2): 275–291. 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(manuscript received on 02 january 2023; revised on 05 june 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 77-82, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82394 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of seven seaweeds from the st. martin’s island, bangladesh farzana nazneen snigdha 1, md. almujaddade alfasane 2* and shamima nasrin jolly 1 1 department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh 2 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: new records; seaweeds; st. martin’s island; bangladesh. abstract the present paper deals with seven seaweed taxa, namely, blidingia minima (kützing) kylin, bryopsis pennata lamouroux, and halimeda simulans howe from chlorophyceae; dictyopteris plagiogramma (montagne) vickers and padina perindusiata thivy from phaeophyceae, and galaxaura obtusata (ellis & solander) lamouroux and liagora valida harvey from rhodophyceae have been identified, described, and illustrated as new records for bangladesh. of these, blidingia is also a new generic record for bangladesh. introduction a total of 210 seaweed species have been documented from the bangladesh coast, with the majority coming from st. martin's island (aziz and alfasane, 2020, 2023; aziz et al., 2008, 2015, 2022, 2023; islam, 1976). examining some recently collected and preserved samples, the authors revealed the existence of three green, two brown, and two red algae that had not previously been recorded in bangladesh. these are described and illustrated in this account. materials and methods the collection of marine algae was conducted several times at the st. martin's island, cox's bazar district, bangladesh, during march 2014 and november 2024. after collection, the seaweed samples were placed in containers filled with seawater, stored in an icebox, and transported to the national professor akm nurul islam laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. upon arrival, the samples were preserved using a 10% formalin solution. some of these specimens were later utilized to prepare herbaria. results and discussion in this study seven seaweed taxa belonging to the classes chlorophyceae, phaeophyceae, and rhodophyceae have been identified and described below. chlorophyceae order: ulvales; family: ulvaceae genus: blidingia kylin 1. blidingia minima (kützing) kylin (fig. 1) (anand 1940, p. 15; taylor 1957, p. 67; norton 1985; burrows 1991; hayward et al. 1996; howson and picton 1997; hardy and guiry 2003) *corresponding author. email: mujaddade@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82394 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 78 snigdha et al. synonym: enteromorpha minima nägeli ex kützing the plants are small, gregarious, attached, and comprise hollow, branching, or unbranched, fine green tubes ranging up to 5.0 cm. tube clusters emerge from the elevated center of a small, flattened, disc-shaped holdfast connected to the rock. the blades are 1–9 cm tall, simple or slightly proliferative, yellowish green, and relatively soft. the blades are linear, dilated sharply above the stalk, and their width is 1-2 (-4) mm. the cells are angular, exhibit an irregular arrangement, measure approximately 10 µm in diameter, and contain stellate chloroplasts. the walls are rather thin, and the cells appear nearly cubical in section, with the inner and outer faces having walls that are about equally thick. habitat and local distribution: plants grow on rocks and shells in the upper littoral zone. the alga was collected as free-floating in sheltered water on the eastern coast of the st. martin’s island. collection no.: phlh 415, 19.11.2024. order: caulerpales; family: bryopsidaceae genus: bryopsis lamouroux 2. bryopsis pennata lamouroux (fig. 2) (taylor 1960, p. 132, pl. 9, fig. 12; pham-hoàng ho 1969, p. 471, fig. 4.78; joly 1965, p. 51, pr. ⅴ, fig. 59) synonym: bryopsis plumosa var. pennata børgesen often found in large tufts, the plants are dark green and occasionally iridescent, held in position by rhizoidal holdfasts. the primary erect filaments are sparingly divided, 6.5 cm in height, and frequently curved at the tips. the distichous branchlets, having a uniform length, give the narrow frond approximately 5-7 mm in width and a linear-lanceolate or oblong shape. the main axes measure approximately 250-350 µm, while the branchlets range from 80-140 µm in diameter. habitat and local distribution: plants were collected from rocks in the intertidal zone on the western coast of the st. martin’s island. collection no.: phlh 222, 12.03.2014. order: caulerpales; family: udotiaceae genus: halimeda lamouroux 3. halimeda simulans howe (fig. 3) (taylor 1960, p. 180, pl. 24, fig. 4) synonym: halimeda incrassata var. simulans (howe) børgesen plants measuring 1.5 dm in height, exhibiting a green yet well-calcified appearance, are predominantly flabellate and exhibit free branching in a single plane above a very short stalk comprising 1-3 segments. the lower segments are terete to cuneate or ovate, entire or somewhat trilobed, measuring up to 15 mm in width and 10 mm in length, with a somewhat nitent and slightly ribbed texture. the upper segments are more sparingly and elongately branched, broadly oval to reniform, with a straight or concave lower margin and an entire or somewhat crenate upper margin; these upper segments measure 5-12 mm in width and 2-9 mm in length. subcortical utricles are arranged in 2-3, occasionally 4, series, with the outermost being turbinate to subglobose, ranging from 35-65 µm in diameter, and the innermost being obovoid to clavate, ranging from 45-100 µm in diameter. surface utricles measure 30-40 (-55) µm in diameter in new records of seven seaweeds from the st. martin’s island 79 surface view and 30-80 µm in length, are turbinate, and are firmly laterally attached, with walls in contact for 0.1-0.3 of their length. medullary filaments are strongly coherent in a single group at the nodes, possessing thick and colored walls, all interconnected by open pits or short processes. habitat and local distribution: plants grow in sand in sheltered places and are found in moderately shallow water on the south-west coasts of the st. martin’s island. collection no.: phlh 201, 13.03.2014. figs 1-3. 1(a-b) blidingia minima (kützing) kylin, 2. bryopsis pennata lamouroux, 3. halimeda simulans howe (scale =1 cm). phaeophyceae order: dictyotales; family: dictyotaceae genus: dictyopteris lamouroux 4. dictyopteris plagiogramma (montagne) vickers (fig. 4) (taylor 1960, p. 229, pl. 33, fig. 2) synonyms: haliseris plagiogramma montagne 80 snigdha et al. plants erect, to a height of about 2.5 dm, profusely branched, pale and translucent; branching alternate to somewhat irregular, at intervals of 1.2-2.2 cm, sinuses narrow but rounded, segments 3-5 mm broad with a prominent midrib and pinnate veinlets running obliquely to the margin, the membrane otherwise in general one cell in thickness, margin entire, cells not greatly elongated; sori of hairs in irregular rows beside the midribs; sporangia irregularly scattered near the midribs, 85-100 µm. habitat and local distribution: plants were collected from the lower littoral zone on the western coast of the st. martin’s island. collection no.: phlh 209, 12.03.2014. order: dictyotales; family: dictyotaceae genus: padina adanson 5. padina perindusiata thivy (fig. 5) (taylor 1960, p. 235, pl. 75, fig. 2) the plants are over 10 cm tall, slightly calcified on both sides, with piliferous lines that alternate on opposite sides and irregularly wide zones that are either fertile (1.5-2.5 mm broad) or sterile (0.75-1.5 mm wide). the blades are bistratose, 100 µm thick below and 85 µm in the middle, with 30-45 µm wide cells and a lower cell layer 0.3-0.45 times deeper than the upper. sporangial sori are 0.50-0.70 mm wide, either in one continuous line or 2-3 broken lines in the center of each fertile zone, bordered by a noticeable indusium. the sporangia are 160 µm in diameter. habitat and local distribution: plants were collected from the mid-sublittoral zone on the eastern coast of st. martin’s island. collection no.: phlh 201, 14.03.2014. rhodophyceae order: nemalionales; family: chaetangiaceae genus: galaxaura lamouroux 6. galaxaura obtusata (ellis & solander) lamouroux (fig. 6) (taylor 1960, p. 342, pl. 44, fig. 4) synonym: corallina obtusata ellis & solander plants of coarse appearance, to about 10 cm tall, copiously branched, the branches 1.5-3.5 mm diam., generally jointed at the forks, the terete segments 1.0-2.5 (4.0) diameters long; smooth, lightly calcified in the cortex, opaque when dry; the cortex in the tetrasporic plants composed of one layer of greatly enlarged cells each outwardly supporting a slender stalk cell which bears 1-2 distal cells closely laterally approximated and polyhedral in surface view, 25-40 μm diam., forming the epidermis. habitat and local distribution: plants were collected from rocks and old corals in the upper sub-littoral zone on the southern coast of the st. martin’s island. collection no.: phlh 210, 13.03.2014. new records of seven seaweeds from the st. martin’s island 81 figs 4-7. 4. dictyopteris plagiogramma (montagne) vickers, 5. padina perindusiata thivy, 6. galaxaura obtusata (ellis & solander) lamouroux, 7. liagora valida harvey (scale = 1 cm). order: nemalionales; family: helminthocladiaceae genus: liagora lamouroux 7. liagora valida harvey (fig.7) (taylor 1960, p. 327, pl. 43, fig. 2) plants rather small, not over 1 dm diameter, dichotomously and rather closely branched; except at the tips calcification moderate to heavy, the whole body stiff and chalk white; branches about 1 mm diameter, smooth, axial filaments 20-35 μm diam., with rhizoidal filaments 8 μm diam., intermixed; assimilators erect, branching 4-5 times, the outer cells oval to pyriform, 10-15 μm diam., spermatangial clusters platelike, borne on the end cells of the assimilators; carpogenic branches 4-5 cells, somewhat curved; cystocarps visible as minute red spots on the surface of the fertile plants. 82 snigdha et al. habitat and local distribution: plants were collected from the mid sub-littoral zone on the western coast of the st. martin’s island. collection no.: phlh 207, 12.03.2014. acknowledgements the authors would like to thank the ministry of science and technology, government of the people's republic of bangladesh, for providing financial assistance for the ms research under the national science and technology (nst) fellowship. references anand, p.l. 1940. marine algae from karachi. i. chlorophyceae. punjab university botany publications 1: 1–52, 269, +62 pls. aziz, a. 2001. st. martin's island, a living museum. i. seaweeds. ocean newsletter 2(3): 3–4. aziz, a. and alfasane, m.a. 2020. new records of seaweeds from southeastern coasts of cox’s bazar district, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon., 27(2): 335–343. aziz, a. and alfasane, m.a. 2023. new records of seaweeds from the st. martin’s reef, bangladesh. ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon., 30(2): 249-254. aziz, a., islam, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2008. ulva lactuca lin. var. rigida (c. ag.) le jolis (chlorophyceae) from inani beach, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. the j. noami, 25(2): 87-89. aziz, a., kabir, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2023. seaweed flora of the st. martin’s reef, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon., 30(1): 153-163. aziz, a., towhidy, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2015. sublittoral seaweed flora of the st. martin’s island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 44(2): 223-236. aziz, a., towhidy, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2022. species diversity, distribution and standing biomass of sublittoral seaweeds of the st. martin's island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(1): 13-29. burrows, e.m. 1991. seaweeds of the british isles. volume 2. chlorophyta. london: british museum (natural history). hardy, f.g. and guiry, m.d. 2003. a check-list and atlas of the seaweeds of britain and ireland. london: british phycological society. hayward, p., nelson-smith, t. and shields, c. 1996. collins pocket guide. sea shore of britain and northern europe. london: harpercollins. howson, c.m. and picton, b.e. 1997. the species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the british isles and surrounding seas. belfast: ulster museum. [ulster museum publication, no. 276] islam, a.k.m.n. 1976. contribution to the study of the marine algae of bangladesh. bibliotheca phycologica 19: 1–253. joly, a.b. 1965. flora marinha do litoral norte do estado de sao paulo e regioes circumvizinhas. boletin no. 294. fac. fil. cienc. e letr. univ. sã paulo, bot. 21: 1–393. kylin, h. 1956. die gattungen rhodophyceen. lund: 1, vol. 673 pp. norton, t.a. (ed) 1985. provisional atlas of the marine algae of britain and ireland huntingdon: biological records centre, institute of terrestrial ecology pham-hoàng, ho. 1969. marine algae of south vietnam trung-tam hoc-lieu xuat-ban 558 pp. taylor, r.w. 1960. marine algae of the eastern tropical and subtropical coasts of the america univ mich press, ann arbor. 870 pp. taylor, w.r. 1957. marine algae of the northeastern coasts of north america. univ. mich.press, ann arbor. 509 pp. (manuscript received on 2 november 2024; revised on 7 june 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 27(2): 323-333, 2020 (december) © 2020 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists the molecular identification of zanthoxylum armatum dc of pakistan based on dna barcoding shakila umer±, nayab safdar± and khushi muhammad* department of genetics hazara university, mansehra, khyber pakhtunkhwa-pakistan 21300 keywords: its; rbcl; dna barcoding; zanthoxylum armatum; molecular phylogeny. abstract zanthoxylum armatum dc., belonged to the family ruteacea, is a medicinal plant used to cure many diseases. dna barcoding was used as a tool for molecular identification of zanthoxylum armatum dc. species from balakot pakistan. in the present study four dna barcodes including matk, rbcl, its and trnh-psba were used. the sequenced data were analyzed by using blastn at ncbi, fasta and mega 7.0 software. during pcr analysis, 3 dna barcodes its, rbcl and trnh-psba were successfully amplified and showed the 100% sequencing success. furthermore, these barcode markers showed 99-100% sequence similarity with the reference sequences at the blastn. the further analysis revealed the sequence similarity of investigating marker with zanthoxylum armatum (mh016484.1), zanthoxylum nitidum (fn599471.1) and zanthoxylum bungeanum (mf097123.1) respectively. the current finding provides the basis for sequenced data of z. armatum to be used in future for molecular discrimination among the plant species from pakistan and it is concluded that combination of diverse kind of barcoding markers could be helpful in proper identification of species at lower taxonomic level. introduction initially plants were used by the peoples for their nourishing requirements. with the passage of time, the natural flora has become an important source across various human communities for health improvement and remedies against several diseases. many species are used by peoples in many different parts of the world such as africa, asia and south america (mustafa et al., 2017). however, more than 50, 000 flowering plants out of 4, 22, 000 purposes reported from world are used for medicinal purpose (uniyal et al., 2006). globally medicinal plants constitute a single larger functional group of plants (khan et al., 2011). medicinal plants as a variety of natural bioactive products provides a rich source of structural biodiversity that have played a fundamental role in the discovery of a drug (hussain et al., 2010). the acceptance and demand of these plants are increasing progressively (jamshidi-kia et al., 2018). but recently due to illegal exploitation decreasing populations of medicinal plants in the wild have led to discussion among ecologists, scientists and conservationists (negi et al., 2010). zanthoxylum armatum (dc) is the important member of rutaceae and it is known as dambrary, dambara (pashtu) and tamur (urdu) in pakistan (alam et al., 2017; ibrar et al., 2017). it is a small xerophytic shrub or tree, with leaflet blades usually having thorns (barkatullah et al., 2013). the plant can be recognized by its shrubby habit, prickled trunk and branches, dense foliage, with pungent aromatic taste and small subglobose, red fruit (paul et al., 2018). in southeast asia it is a common plant (alam et al., 2017). it is reported in pakistan from rawalpindi, hazara, malakand, murree hills, dir, swat and buner and grows at an altitude that starts from about 800m up to 1500m in shady or semi shady habitat (barkatullah et al., 2014). *corresponding author, e-mail: khushisbs@yahoo.com/ ±both authors are contributed equally. mailto:khushisbs@yahoo.com/ 324 umar et al. it is an aromatic medicinal plant and the parts of this plants like fruit, bark, stem, leaves, roots and seeds possess medicinal properties and used in preparation of indigenous medicines against various diseases like rheumatism, varicose veins, bronchitis, dyspepsia, diarrhea, toothache, asthma, indigestion and cholera (singh et al., 2015). for the plant interaction with outside environment as well as for the regulation of development, growth and reproduction of plants, some of the plant derived bioactive molecules act as signalling molecules (peng et al., 2012; dhami et al., 2018). plants that contain bioactive compounds could be an alternative source to control insect agents. many of them have no or little damaging effect on the non-target organisms and environment (zhang et al., 2018). however, zanthoxylum armatum contains the phytochemicals like lignans, saponins, coumarins, alkaloids, flavonoids, sterols and phenolic compounds (brijwal et al., 2013; mirza et al., 2019). based on dna identification, the current systems has the potential to facilitate both the discovery of new ones and proper identification/authentication of known species (braukmann et al., 2017) dna barcoding is a novel technology which uses a short agreed upon fragment of dna to accurately identify species. this method is widely used in plant study to assist biodiversity, differentiation and the discovery of new species. the consortium barcode of life cbol proposed chloroplast genes such as rbcl, matk as universal barcode while the plastid intergenic spacer trnh-psba along with nuclear ribosomal dna internal transcribed region its suggested as supplementary barcode regions for dna barcoding of plants (zhao et al., 2020; whitehurst et al., 2020). two species of zanthoxylum have same morphological features and it is difficult to identify these species traditionally. sometimes, the cultivar ‘qinghuajiao’ habitually mix with z. schinifolium siebold & zucc., but it is z. armatum (feng et al., 2020). mostly in agriculture, improper recognition of zanthoxylum armatum often result in economic losses because they have similar characters and name. to solve this problem, it is urgently needed to apply dna barcoding for the identification of zanthoxylum armatum. many studies have been done on evolving the suitable markers to differentiate 97 diverse species of zanthoxylum across various countries. several molecular markers were used including, amplified fragment length polymorphism (aflp) for distinguishing different species of zanthoxylum (gupta and mandi, 2013), amplified polymorphism (srap) markers and issr markers (feng et al., 2015), internal transcribed spacer its (kim et al. 2019), along with these markers the chloroplast genome markers also used for the correct identification of zanthoxylum. (kumar et al., 2020). recently, various efforts have been made to validate the occurrence of several plastid and ribosomal markers and authenticated dna barcodes have been reported from plant species of pakistan (khan et al. 2019a,b). therefore, the current study is the continuity of our previous efforts and here we are investigating that how combined markers (ribosomal and plastid) could be effective in the molecular systematics and phylogenetic reconstruction of medicinally important plant species from pakistan. the aim of this study to screen suitable dna barcode region for the molecular identification of z. armatum. materials and methods collection, identification and preservation of plant materials plant sample z. armatum was collected from balakot khyber pakhtunkhwa, pakistan found at an altitude of 974 m (3196 ft). along with altitude of 34.2051° and longitude of 7.35213° from balakot khyber pakhtunkhwa, pakistan. the plant specimen was dried preserved and identified with the help of plant taxonomist dried plant specimen pasted on the herbarium sheets. specimen the molecular identification of zanthoxylum armatum 325 with voucher no 6255 dated 12.8.17 was submitted to the herbarium of hazara university mansehra. remaining dried plant specimen was used for the molecular study. extraction, purification and quantification of dna total genomic dna was extracted from dried plant tissue by using ctab method with some modification (verma and biswas, 2020). a fine powder of weighed sample was made by grinding with the help of mortar and pestle. for each 100 mg of grinded tissue 800 µl of ctab extraction buffer was used that was pre-warmed at 65 degrees. the mixture was vortex thoroughly. the homogenate was then incubated for 2 hours at 65°c.after the incubation period 600 µl of pci was added and homogenate was centrifuge for about 20 minutes at 13,000 rpm. the supernatant along with 500µl of ice cold iso-propanol in a new tube was mix by gentle inversion and leave on ice for almost 30 minutes. the samples were centrifuge for another 20 minutes at 13, 000 rpm and then iso-propanol was removed to leave pellet or brown viscous layer in bottom of eppendorf tube. 500µl of 70% alcohol was added and the samples were centrifuge for 10 min at 13,000 rpm. the tubes were inverted for drying to remove alcohol completely. then 60-80 ul of ddh2o were added to each sample. the concentration and quality of extracted dna was checked on 1% agarose gel. details of dna barcoding markers used in this study in this study four candidate barcoding markers namely rbcl, matk, trnh-psba and its were evaluated for the investigation of zanthoxylum armatum primer detail shown in table 2. the dna barcoding markers were amplified by standard polymerase chain reaction. pcr amplification and sequencing the pcr reaction was carried out using universal barcoding primers and standard protocols. the volume of25 µl of pcr reaction mixture was prepared in 200 µl pcr tube and eachtube contained approximately 1µl of dna template, 3µl of 10× pcr buffer, 3µl mgcl2, 3µl of each dttp, dctp, datp, dgtp, 0.5 units of taq polymerase kit (catalog no.k0171) and 2µl of each forward primer and reverse primer. the amplification was performed in an applied biosystems 2720 thermal cycler. the initial step for 10 min at 94°c was followed by 35 cycles for 2 min at 94°c, 58°c for 1:30 min and 72°c for about 2 min and 1 cycle at 72°c of 10 min. the amplified products were electrophoresed on 1.5% tae agarose gel and then the pcr products were sent for sequencing to the sequencing centre of the national history museum, london, united kingdom and sequencing was done in both the direction with the pcr primers. sequencing and sequence analysis for the analysis of z. armatum, we selected one single species while other species were downloaded from ncbi genbank, for the clustering of the zanthoxylum armatum with its most close species as well as diverse species. after the sequencing the quality of the sequences were checked in the geneous software the messy sequence from the start and last were deleted to make the quality high. moreover, the sequencher was used for editing of both directions to make the consensus sequences for the further analysis. the consensus sequences were used for the confirmation of the correct and similar identification on the basic local alignment search tool (blast). to align the sequences maft aligner was used. bioedit removed the roughly arranged data and mega 7.0 software was used for sequence analysis. results and discussion in this study, three chloroplast region and one nuclear dna regions were selected as the candidate dna barcodes. the three regions namely, its, trnh-psba and rbcl were amplified easily while matk was unable to amplify. the pcr success rate of the regions trnh-psba, its, and 326 umar et al. rbcl was (100%) and the sequencing success rate of these three regions was also (100%). the aligned length of its region was 679 bp having the gc content of (63%). the length of the plastid region rbcl was 1188 bp having the gc content of (44.8%). the aligned sequence length of trnhpsba was 506 bp with the lowest gc content of (31.4%) (table 1). table 1. gc content, amplification success rate and sequencing success rate of dna barcode regions in zanthoxylum armatum. plant name dna barcoding regions gc content amplification success rate % sequencing success rate % zanthoxylum its 63% 100% 100% armatum rbcl 44.8% 100% 100% trnh-psba 31.4% 100% 100% sequence analysis phylogenetic analysis was performed to identify the relationship between individual, species and genus. to confirm the monophyly of the species, therefore we performed 3 methods i.e., maximum likelihood (ml), maximum parsimony (mp) and neighbour joining (nj) methods using the data of amplified regions and the phylogenetic tree was constructed with bootstrap replicate 1000 (sheng et al., 2020). a total of 10 sequences of its and trnh-psba and 9 sequences of rbcl were selected including one from the present study and remaining collected from the genbank ncbi for phylogenetic reconstruction. during (ml), (nj) and (mp) analysis of its region, the studied species z. armatum dc. showed close similarity with zanthoxylum armatum (mh016484.1) with bootstrap value of 100 and tree length of 1460.2434, 0.18824824 and 112 respectively (fig 1. a, b, c). the branches less than 50% are collapsed. after trimming the its sequence of z. armatum had a length of 746bp out of which 617 were conserved sites,105 were variable sites, 38 were parsimony informative sites and 66 were singleton sites. the phylogenetic tree constructed by using maximum likelihood method with highest likelihood log -1808.8398 of rbcl sequences composed of sequence length of 1403bp having 1342 conserved sites, 34 variable sites, 7 parsimony sites and 27 singleton sites. further phylogenetic analysis based on kimura 2 parameter revealed that the studied species z. armatum occurred in the same clade with zanthoxylum nitidum (fn599471.1) with 62 bootstrap support as poor resolution power and these species are not highly related to each other in many genetic characters (fig. 2a). on the other hand, in neighbour joining tree, z. armatum shared same clade with zanthoxylum nitidum (fn599471.1) with 63 bootstrap value and having the tree length of 0.01854648 (fig. 2b). and the phylogenetic tree based on maximum parsimony method having tree length of 22 found in same clade with zanthoxylum nitidum (fn599471.1) with the lowest bootstrap value of 29 which showed a diversity between these two species (fig. 2c). three clades were observed in mp tree and first clade had 2 species along with z. armatum while 2 species in each 2 and 3 clades were grouped. however, the remaining one species lied in outer group (fig. 2c). based on maximum likelihood, neighbour joining and maximum parsimony tree analysis the length of trees of trnh-psba were -965.2520,0.11746074 and 54 respectively. maximum likelihood treedisplayed 3 clades with 4 species in one and three species each in other two clades that showed close resemblance of the present studied species with zanthoxylum bungeanum (mf097123.1) with bootstrap value of 63 (fig. 3a). after trimming of the present studied species sequence it was observed that it had a sequence of 519bp with 464 conserved sites, 46 variable sites, 20 parsimony sites and 25 singleton sites. neighbour joining tree having the length of the molecular identification of zanthoxylum armatum 327 0.11719453 with 3 clades in the tree. z. armatum dc. show close resemblance with zanthoxylum bungeanum (mf097123.1) with bootstrap value of 66 (fig. 3b). while in maximum parsimony tree analysis it showed close resemblance with zanthoxylum bungeanum (mf097123.1) with bootstrap value of 53 (fig. 3c). (a) (b) (c) fig. 1a-c. its based trees of maximum likelihood (ml), neighbour joining (nj) and maximum parsimony (mp) methods for phylogenetic analysis. 328 umar et al. (a) (b) (c) fig. 2a-c. rbcl based trees of maximum likelihood method (ml), neighbour joining method (nj) and maximum parsimony method (mp) for phylogenetic analysis. the molecular identification of zanthoxylum armatum 329 a) b) fig. 3a-c. trnh-psba based trees of maximum likelihood (ml), neighbour joining (nj) and maximum parsimony (mp) methods for phylogenetic analysis. the present work is the first report on the effectiveness of four candidate barcode region z. armatum endemic to the himalayan region of pakistan. 330 umar et al. the accurate and authenticated way of identifying the species of genus zanthoxylum is important to ensure the use of this medicinal plant for drug discovery and for other traditional uses. dna barcoding is an advanced technique by using short, standardized gene regions designed to provide automatic, accurate and rapid species identifications (noh et al., 2020). an ideal dna barcode should have high universality power and taxonomic coverage as universality is one of the most important benchmarks for an appropriate dna barcode, i.e., high pcr and sequencing success (srivastava and manjurath, 2020) in addition the effectiveness of dna barcode in the accurate identification of species depend on the monophyletic character of the same group species (le et al., 2020). based on these properties four barcode markers (its, rbcl, matk and trnh-psba) were tested on the zanthxylum armatum from the present study. in previous study, the comparison of matk with its, rbcl and trnh-psba indicates that it is not a suitable dna barcode in identifying zanthoxylum armatum (zhao et al., 2018). for all land plant rbcl and matk were thought to be core barcodes (feng et al., 2020). but some previous study showed matk as a problematic because of its low amplification and sequencing success rate (gao et al., 2019; gostel et al., 2020). in the current study we find the same problems with zanthoxylum armatum, where it showed poor amplification and sequencing success rate. thus, based on these above mentioned results it is suggested that matk region have no potential of dna barcoding in zanthoxylum armatum. its has all the characteristics of an ideal dna barcode so that’s why it could be used as a single barcode our result match with previous results in which authors did not report any difficulty in amplification and sequencing in gymnosperm, the its is consider an ideal dna barcode as it had no amplification, sequencing, alignment and editing problems (chen et al., 2020). in the current study its almost showed a good amplification and sequencing success. based on blast search the (its) showed a species identification of 99.12% with zanthoxylum armatum (mh016484.1) which is more like previous literature showed clearly split two morphological same species without any contact with other species. some of the previous literatures suggest its an ideal dna barcode region based on species identification (pang et al., 2010; demirel et al., 2016; dhivya et al., 2020; kurian et al., 2020). some studies showed the drawbacks of its region related to different species. the its failed in sequencing with calligonum species due to which it is not considered a suitable dna barcode region (nguyen, 2020). compared with its and trnh-psba the dna barcode region rbcl determine a slightly better identification rate of 99.83% with zanthoxylum wutaiense (fn599472.1) but the resolution power was so low which is more lower than other tested barcode regions due to which rbcl was not included in the suitable barcode list. hence, more studies needed to find the correct identification. in most terrestrial plants, the rbcl marker offers great universality in terms of constant pcr amplification, high-quality bidirectional sequencing and reliable alignment of nucleotide sequences (carneiro de melo moura et al., 2019). according to the criteria of high divergence of sequences and universal application among species the trnh-psba spacer is considered the most favourable single locus for land plant barcode (gogoi et al., 2020). due to excellent reliability for authentication in rutaceae family trnh-psba along with its2 can be used as a complementary barcode for a wide range of plant taxa (timpano et al., 2020). here in the present study, trnh-psba is supposed to be a good dna barcode region as it showed a species identification of 99.55% with zanthoxylum bungeanum (mf097123.1) which is slightly lower than rbcl but it is acceptable barcode region because of high resolution power. it is thought to be a useful dna barcode region across a wide range of angiosperms (amar, 2020). the molecular identification of zanthoxylum armatum 331 in the current study, the four dna barcode regions were applied on the plant sample collected from balakot pakistan. the analysis was done for phylogenetic reconstruction of the species genotypes. the sample shows the good species identification with two dna barcode regions (its, and trnh-psba) rbcl showed the lowest resolution power in all the three applied tree method, while matk needs more further research as it failed to amplify in the current study. the data of the dna sequences present in this study could be helpful in the future for further investigation. current study concluded that the trnh-psba and its are the most suitable brcode regions for the dna barcoding and phylogenetic study of the zanthoxylum armatum dc. acknowledgement the authors are thankful to higher education commission, islamabad, pakistan for funding (grant no. 5711). references alam, f., saqib, q.n. and waheed, a. 2017. cytotoxic activity of extracts and crude saponins from zanthoxylum armatum dc. against human breast (mcf-7, mda-mb-468) and colorectal (caco-2) cancer cell lines. bmc complement. altern. med. 17: 368. amar, m.h. 2020. ycf 1-ndh f genes, the most promising plastid genomic barcode, sheds light on phylogeny at low taxonomic levels in prunus persica. j. genet. eng. biotechnol. 18: 1-10. barkatullah, b.b., ibrar, m., ali, n. and muhammad, n. 2013. antispasmodic potential of leaves, barks and fruits of zanthoxylum armatum dc. afr. j. pharm. pharmacol. 7: 685-693. barkatullah, m. i., jelani, g. and ahmad, i. 2014. leaf, stem bark and fruit anatomy of zanthoxylum armatum dc. 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(manuscript received on 21 june, 2020; revised on 19 november, 2020) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0231436. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 177-180, 2024 (june) short communication © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2. 74400 new combinations in primula sect. cortusoides subsect. cortusa (primulaceae) muhammad idrees1, zhiyong zhang1 and julian m.h. shaw2* 1college of life science, neijiang normal university, neijiang 641000, sichuan, china 2horticultural taxonomy, royal horticultural society, wisley, woking, surrey, gu23 6qb, u.k. keywords: cortusa; primulaceae; taxonomy. a number of new combinations of names in the tribe primuleae are required to bring species nomenclature for primula l. into alignment with the results of recent phylogenetic analyses. we proposed here twelve name transfers from cortusa l. to primula sect. cortusoides balf.f. primula l. (1753) is one of the largest genera in the primulaceae, comprising more than 500 species in temperate and arctic zones of the northern hemisphere (fedorov, 1952; hu, 1994; hu and kelso, 1996; richards, 1993, 2002; powo, 2024), with a modern centre of diversity in southwestern china, which harbours about 300 species (hu, 1990, 1994; hu and kelso, 1996; richards, 1993). the genus primula consists of perennial herbs, sometimes monocarpic, and can be explicitly recognised by its perennial habit, basal rosette of leaves, heterostylous flowers with an obvious tube, and capsular fruits (hu, 1994; hu and kelso, 1996; xu et al., 2016). the species are economically important as ornamental plants and have been used to breed numerous cultivars of garden primroses (kovtonyuk, 2006). recent phylogenetic studies have demonstrated that the genus cortusa l. (1753) is nested within the clade of primula l. sect. cortusoides balf.f. (martins et al., 2003; kovtonyuk and goncharova, 2009), hence cortusa is embedded in primula. like most sections of primula subgenus auganthus, cortusa has a chromosome base number of x=12, revolute vernation, articulated hairs, and lobed leaves (mast et al., 2001). new combinations and lectotypifications have been made for primula matthioli (l.) v.a. richt. (1894) (kovtonyuk, 2011; sennikov, 2018), and its subspecies in primula sect. cortusoides subsect. cortusa (l.) kovt. (kovtonyuk, 2011), and this placement was further affirmed by morphological characters (lozina-lozinskaya, 1936; kovanda, 2003; kovtonyuk, 2011, 2013; sennikov, 2021). we found twelve infraspecific names, cortusa matthioli f. alpina podp. (1921), c. matthioli f. cenisia podp. (1921), c. matthioli f. engadinensis podp. (1921), c. matthioli f. freynii podp. (1921), c. matthioli subf. glabrescens podp. (1922), c. matthioli subsp. hazarica y.j. nasir (1984), c. metthioli subsp. iranica iranshahr & wendelbo (1976), c. matthioli subf. latidens podp. (1922), c. matthioli subf. longecalycina podp. (1922), c. matthioli subf. subcanescens podp. (1922), c. matthioli f. tatrensis podp. (1921), and c. matthioli subf. villosula podp. (1922) that need to be transfer to primula; all of these names are not currently listed in online database, such as tropicos (2024; http://www.tropicos.org/), ipni (2024; http://ipni.org/), powo (2024; http://powo.science.kew.org/), and wfo (2024; https://wfoplantlist.org/) except c. matthioli subsp. hazarica y.j. nasir, c. metthioli subsp. iranica iranshahr & wendelbo. however, in view of horticultural usage and usefulness in ecological and conservation studies, we provide combinations to formally transfer all the above cited names to the genus primula l. sect. cortusoides balf.f. (1913: 140) subsect. cortusa (l.) kovt. (2011: 962). *corresponding author: julianshaw@rhs.org.uk https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2. http://ipni.org/), http://powo.science.kew.org/), https://wfoplantlist.org/) mailto:julianshaw@rhs.org.uk 178 idrees et al. taxonomy 1. primula matthioli f. alpina (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli f. alpina podp. in sborn. klubu přír. v brnĕ 3: 67 (1921). type: austria inferior. “am obersberge in der schwarzau in [sic!] gebirge”, june 1872, e. brandmayer s.n. (brnm11626/37–holotype). distribution: central europe (austria). 2. primula matthioli f. cenisia (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli f. cenisia podp. in sborn. klubu přír. v brnĕ 3: 67 (1921). type: gallia: mont cenis à savalain, alt. 2000 m, août, 1886, arvet-touvet s.n. (brnm 11628/37–lectotype, designated by k. sutorý 2010). distribution: western europe (france, tirolia). 3. primula matthioli f. engadinensis (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli f. engadinensis podp. in sborn. klubu přír. v brnĕ 3: 67 (1921). type: helvetia. engadin: bachufer in den wäldern um die hochwiesen plan d’ors am piz mondin ober martinsbrack zahlreich. 28. 7. 1886, kalkschiefer, 1600 [m], freyn s.n. (brnm 11630/37–lectotype, designated by k. sutorý 2010:). distribution: central europe (switzerland, n. italy, slovena). 4. primula matthioli f. freynii (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli f. freynii podp. in sborn. klubu přír. v brnĕ 3: 68 (1921). type: romania. schattige bachufer beim kloster skit la jalomnitza auf der südseite der alpe bucsécs: kalkkonglomrat, 1500 m, 3 aug. 1873, j. freyn s.n. (c. pubens sch. n. et ky cum nota: originalstandort) (brnm11644/37–holotype). distribution: southeastern europe (romania). 5. primula matthioli subsp. brotheri f. glabrescens (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli f. brotheri subf. glabrescens podp. in beih. bot. centralbl., abt. 2, 39: 287 (1922). type: india. lahal: apud rivulos umbrosos in septentrionali montis declivitate kardang, tugjiling, h.a. jäschke s.n. (wu0064467–lectotype designated by k. sutorý 2010). distribution: asia (n.w. india). 6. primula matthioli subsp. hazarica (y.j.nasir) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli subsp. hazarica y.j. nasir in fl. pakistan 157: 80 (1984). type: pakistan. hazara, miranjani, 9000 m, in rich forest, 23 june 1955, r.r. stewart s.n. (raw–holotype). distribution: asia (pakistan and india). 7. primula matthioli subsp. iranica (iranshahr & wendelbo) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli subsp. iranica iranshahr & wendelbo in iran. j. bot. 1(1): 58 (1976). type: iran. mazandaran: above sang-deh c. 30 km se of pol-e sefid, 2500-3000 m, 11 vii 1974, j. renz and m. iranshahr 16804 (in einem wäldchen am, “todten hengsten” zwischen unterlauhsa und windischgarsten, may 1882, h. steininger s.n. (tari: herbarium of the ministry of agriculture, evin, tehran–holotype; gb, tari–isotypes). distribution: asia (iran). new combinations in primula sect. cortusoides 179 8. primula matthioli f. latidens (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli (f. matthioli) subf. latidens podp. in beih. bot. centralbl., abt. 2, 39: 283 (1922). type: romania. siebenbürgen, transsylvanische alpen: königstein, crepatura bei zernest, kalk, 25 july 1909, f.k.m. vierhapper s.n. (wu0064476–lectotype designated by k. sutorý 2010). distribution: central europe (austria, transylvania). 9. primula matthioli f. longecalycina (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli (f. matthioli) subf. longecalycina podp. in beih. bot. centralbl., abt. 2, 39: 283 (1922). type: austria. in einem wäldchen am, “todten hengsten” zwischen unterlauhsa und windischgarsten, may 1882, h. steininger s.n. (wu0064479–lectotype designated by k. sutorý 2010). distribution: central europe (austria, slovenia). 10. primula matthioli subsp. brotheri f. subcanescens (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli f. brotheri subf. subcanescens podp. in beih. bot. centralbl., abt. 2, 39: 287 (1922). type: pakistan. lowári pass, 21 june 1895, s.a. harris 16353 (wu006468–lectotype designated by k. sutorý 2010). distribution: asia (pakistan and india). 11. primula matthioli f. tatrenis (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli f. tatrensis podp. in sborn. klubu přír. v brnĕ 3: 67 (1921). type: slovakia. liptau-sohler alpen, sümpfe am kozí vrch: kalk, 1100 m, 29.5.1870, j. freyn s.n. (brnm11637/37–lectotype, designated by k. sutorý 2010). distribution: central europe (slovakia, austria, n. italy). 12. primula matthioli subsp. brotheri f. villosula (podp.) idrees & j.m.h. shaw, comb. nov. basionym: cortusa matthioli f. brotheri subf. villosula podp. in beih. bot. centralbl abt. 2, 39: 287 (1922). type: india. jammu and kashmir. near gulmarg, 9-10000 ft., 3 june 1892, j.f. duthie 11366 (wu0064470–lectotype designated by k. sutorý 2010). distribution: asia, india (jammu and kashmir). this study was financed by the key research and development project of sichuan provincial department of science and technology (2021yfn0028 and 2022yfn0032). references fedorov, a.a. 1952. cortusa l. in: schischkin, b.k. and bobrov, e.g. (eds.) flora sssr [flora of the ussr], vol. 18. moscow and leningrad: academy of science of the ussr, pp. 242–249. hu, c.m. 1990. primula. in: chen, f.h. and hu, c.m. (eds.) flora reipublicae popularis sinicae, vol. 59, number 2, science press, beijing, pp. 1–277. hu, c.m. 1994. on the geographical distribution of the primulaceae. j. trop. subtrop. bot. 2: 1–14. hu, c.m. and kelso, s. 1996. primulaceae. in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds.) flora of china, vol. 15, science press, beijing and missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 99–185. 180 idrees et al. ipni, 2024. international plant names index. the royal botanic gardens, kew, harvard university herbaria & libraries, & australian national botanic gardens. avalaible from: http://www.ipni.org. retrieved 24 may 2024. iranshahr, m. and wendelbo, p. 1976. a new subspecies of cortusa matthioli (primulaceae) from n. iran. iran. j. bot. 1(1): 57–60. kovanda, m. 2003. cortusa l. in: hejný, s. and slavík, b. 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(eds.) checklist of vascular plants of the tian-shan mountain system. pocheon: korea national arboretum, 607 pp. sutorý, k. 2010. lectotypification of infraspecific taxa in cortusa matthioli (primulaceae) described by josef podpìra. acta musei moraviae, scientiae biologicae (brno) 95(2): 71–75. tropicos, 2024. tropicos.org. missouri botanical garden. available online: http://www.tropicos.org. retrieved 1 june 2024. world flora online, 2024. available from: http://www.worldfloraonline.org/. retrieved 1 june 2024. xu, y., yu, x.-l., hu, c.-m. and hao, g. 2016. morphological and molecular phylogenetic data reveal a new species of primula (primulaceae) from hunan, china. plos one 11(8): e0161172. (manuscript received on 23 july, 2023; revised on 31 may, 2024) http://www.ipni.org. http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/, http://www.tropicos.org. http://www.worldfloraonline.org/. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 279-292, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78754 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists plant diversity, conservation worthiness and people’s perception in future management of purbachal sal forest, bangladesh md. tarikul islam, abulais shomrat and mohammad zashim uddin* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. keywords: plant diversity; conservation; sal forest. abstract the purbachal sal forest, a vital ecosystem in the outskirts of dhaka city facing biodiversity decline, was assessed for its plant composition and public perception of its management and conservation. a total of 190 species under 61 families have been recorded from the study area following the random quadrat method. analyses showed that among the 190 species, the most abundant tree and shrub in the forest are shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn. and melastoma malabathricum l., respectively. in case of dominance based on the importance value index, shorea robusta is the most dominant tree, followed by melastoma malabathricum as the most dominant shrub. the percentages of native and exotic species were found to be 75% and 25%, respectively. the shannon-wiener diversity index in the study area was 0.61, whereas simpson’s and margalef’s indices were 0.178 and 4.77, respectively. from interviews with visitors and stakeholders, this study revealed that the majority of them responded negatively about the presence of exotic species in the forest, and on the other hand, they responded positively on the question of incorporating experts in the management plan of the forest. a number of threats to the species diversity of the forest were recorded through observation in the field and stakeholders’ interviews, such as invasive alien species (ias) intrusion, habitat destruction, agricultural practice, and deforestation. a set of recommendations, including planting more wildlife-supporting native species, preventing the spread of ias like parthenium l. and incorporating experts in the forest’s management, was developed for present and future management of purbachal sal forest. introduction plant diversity serves as one of the basic eco-services all over the world, and urban vegetation provides an extensive range of ecosystem services, especially to the urban dwellers (weber, 2013). the expansion of urban areas in bangladesh has led to the decline of natural ecosystems, including shorea robusta forests. the degradation of these forest ecosystems and biodiversity is caused by anthropogenic activity, including the alteration, reduction, and fragmentation of habitats (popradit et al., 2015; tittensor et al., 2014). shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn.is a semi-evergreen, tall tree that is naturally distributed on the pleistocene tracts (madhupur tracts) in bangladesh (rahman and vacik, 2010; singh and kushwaha, 2005). this species is a keystone species that supports various endangered species (hasnat and hoque, 2016). the purbachal sal forest is thought to be a part of the madhupur tracts that encompasses different plant species, with shorea robusta being the dominant one. the management and conservation of this forest are crucial for preserving plant diversity and ensuring the well-being of the local communities. however, the depletion of forests has been accelerated by the anthropogenic activities for implementing the ‘purbachal new town project’ of rajuk for the extension of dhaka city and also by the introduction of some invasive *corresponding author: zashim01@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78754 280 islam et al. alien species (ias). there is the possibility of decreasing plant diversity, richness, and forest area for the acquisition of land. therefore, a detailed study is needed to know the present condition of plant diversity and dominance and possible threats to this forest for future management. moreover, this study aimed to gather stakeholders' perceptions regarding the future management practices of this forest. materials and methods study area the purbachal sal forest, situated in rupganj upazila of narayanganj district and kaligonj upazila of gazipur district, encompasses a vast area of 144 acres located at sector-24 and sector25 in purbachal. precisely located between 23.860616° north and 90.497203° east, now this forest is under the management of the forest department, which operates under the ministry of environment, forests, and climate change of the government of the people's republic of bangladesh. the annual mean air temperature of purbachal is 28°c, and the annual precipitation is 2400 mm (shapla et al., 2015). the hilly areas of purbachal include scattered homesteads (i.e., settlement and residential areas) and homestead vegetation (including trees, shrubs, and herbs on and around the settlement). at the bottom of the valleys and depressions, one crop is cultivated annually (shapla et al., 2015). although the crop lands are being developed, purbachal is a sanctuary of natural ecosystems supporting ecologically important species and habitats (mamun, 2007). fig. 1. map showing locations of quadrats that were studied inside purbachal sal forest. plant diversity, conservation worthiness and people’s perception 281 floristic survey the floristic survey covered all the habitats and ecosystems of the study area and it was done covering all the seasons from august 2023 to august 2024 (fig. 1). random quadrat method (subrahmanyam and sambamurty, 2006) was applied for the survey and a total of 273 quadrats were surveyed in the study area. sample size was determined using species area curve (goldsmith and harrsion, 1976). the quadrat size was taken as 10 m × 10 m for trees, 5 m × 5 m for shrubs and 2 m × 2 m for herbs according to oosting (1956). in each sampling spots of 10 m × 10 m, names of the tree species present, their number of individuals and circumference at breast height (cbh) (d’eon et al., 1994) were recorded. individuals having ≥ 30 cm cbh at breast height (1.3 m) were considered trees (swaine and alexander, 1987). for shrubs, species name with the individual numbers were recorded and for herbs, only the species were identified and recorded in their respective quadrats. using a smartphone, gps coordinates of the quadrat data were also noted in the same data sheet. identification of species identification of plant species was mostly done consulting experts and standard floristic literatures such as ahmed et al. (2009a, b, c, d, e), ahmed et al. (2008a, b), prain (1903) and hooker (1872-1897). high resolution smartphone camera (samsung galaxy s10 plus) was used to capture close colored photos of plants to aid with identification. moreover, for unidentified species, herbarium samples were prepared (hyland, 1972). some exotic plant species were identified comparing with the reports of akter and zuberi (2009) and hossain and pasha (2004). besides, to identify unknown species, taken photographs and prepared herbarium samples were compared with herbarium specimens of dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush) and bangladesh national herbarium (bnh). the family of each species was identified following the classification system of cronquist (1981). determination of phyto-sociological attributes and ivi phyto-sociological attributes (density, frequency, abundance, their respective relative parameters and ivi = importance value index) of the recorded tree and shrub species were determined for the whole site following the formulae of shukla and chandal (1994), dallmeier (1992) and verma and agarwal (1986). to determine dominant tree and shrub species in the study site, importance value index (ivi) was calculated using the following biostatistical formula (krebs, 1989). species diversity species diversity was estimated using shannon-wiener diversity index (shannon, 1948), simpson‘s diversity index (simpson, 1949) and margalef’s index (margalef, 1957) using the following formulae respectively. 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑛 − 𝑊𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 = − ∑ 𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑛 𝑝𝑖 here, pi = proportion of observations found in category i. ln = natural logarithm 𝑆𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑠𝑜𝑛′𝑠 𝐷𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 = 1 − ∑ 𝑛 (𝑛 − 1) 𝑁 (𝑁 − 1) here, n = total number of individuals of all species n = total number of individuals of a particular species 282 islam et al. 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑓 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 = 𝑆 − 1 ln 𝑁 here, s = total number of recorded species n = total number of individuals of all recorded species interviews with stakeholders to gather the viewpoints of stakeholders on future management of purbachal sal forest, interviews were conducted employing a structured close-ended questionnaire, following the methodology outlined by alexiades (1996). this approach ensured that each participant was presented with the same set of questions in a consistent manner. each question was also followed by a discussion on this study’s findings on plant diversity, so that the stakeholders could make educated comments. results and discussion species composition a total of 190 species belonging to 61 families have been recorded. among these species, 42 were tree species, 32 shrub species, 88 herb species and 28 climber species (table 1). the survey indicated that not all families have equal representations in the study area. among the 61 families, the largest 5 families contain 42% of the species and the remaining 56 families contain the rest 58% of the total species recorded. poacea and fabaceae are the largest family containing 12% each of all the species followed by euphorbiaceae (8%), asteraceae (5%) and cyperaceae (5%). on average about 33 individuals of tree species has been found in each quadrat having a size of 100 sq. m. this shows a relatively high density of tree population in the study area. this is because that the forest has been left undisturbed for several years and it has observed a good amount of regeneration success, especially of sal trees. although malakar et al. (2010) recorded a higher number of tree species (102 species) in the madhupur sal forest compared to our study in purbachal sal forest, this could be attributed to the madhupur sal forest's greater age and larger size. over centuries, the madhupur sal forest has had more time and space for various species to establish themselves. in contrast, the purbachal sal forest, according to the local people, was once a very dense forest with tall sal trees. however, that forest underwent enormous logging and land grabbing, and now, it only stands as a small forest with small to medium sized sal trees. moreover, its shorter history may also explain the lower richness of tree species compared to the madhupur sal forest. based on the usefulness of plants, species found in the study area were categorized into a number of classifications such as medicinal, timber producing, ornamental, edible fruit-bearing, wildlife supporting, fooder and vegetable (table 1). in some cases, the species are found to have multiple uses. majority of the plant species recorded from purbachal sal forest have medicinal uses (46%) followed by wildlife supporting (13%), timber producing (10%), fodder (10%), edible fruit bearing (9%), ornamental (7%) and vegetable (5%). the high percentage of medicinal species stems from the high number of herb species in the total species composition. on the other hand, though wildlife supporting species were recorded in good quantity from the area, these species were not abundant. the limited abundance of wildlifesupporting plant species restricts the forest's ability to support a significant population size of the wildlife. considering the ivi, the forest has different fruit bearing species like zizuphus mauritiana, trema orientale and bridelia tomentosa, these species have very few individuals which are plant diversity, conservation worthiness and people’s perception 283 random but scanty in the whole forest. these species, along with the dominance of tectona grandis were observed in nawabganj sal forest, dinajpur by jubair et al. (2023). moreover, malakar et al. (2010) recorded a total of 24 fruit bearing species from madhupur sal forest whereas this present study recorded 17 species of edible fruit bearing trees. though the number of edible fruit bearing and wildlife supporting species are quite close, the concern lies elsewhere. in case of purbachal sal forest, these species are only found near the periphery of the forest, and in some open spaces inside the forest that have been cleared out of sal trees by local people. table 1. species composition of the study area (origin: e = exotic, i = indigenous; use: m = medicinal, t = timber producing, o = ornamental, f = edible fruit bearing, fd = fooder, w = wildlife supporting, v= vegetable). name of the species habit origin family local name use albizia chinensis (osb.) merr. tree e mimosaceae chakua koroi t albizia julibrissin durazz tree e mimosaceae goalpi sirish t albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. & hook. tree i mimosaceae kalo koroi t albizia procera (roxb.) benth. tree i mimosaceae sada koroi t alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. tree i apocynaceae chhatim t aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.n. parker tree i meliaceae royna (boddira) m azadirachta indica a. juss. tree e meliaceae neem m barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. tree i lecythidaceae hijol t borassus flabellifer l. tree i arecaceae tal f bridelia retusa (l.) a. juss. tree i euphorbiaceae kamkui w bridelia tomentosa blume tree i euphorbiaceae khoi w butea monosperma (lamk.) taub. tree i fabaceae polash o careya arborea roxb. tree i lecythidaceae gola kumbhi w cassia fistula l. tree i caesalpiniaceae sonalu o catunaregam spinosa (thunb.) triveng. tree i rubiaceae monkanta m dillenia indica l. tree i dilleniaceae chalta f ficus benghalensis l. tree i moraceae bot w ficus hispida l.f. tree i moraceae khoksha w ficus racemosa l. tree i moraceae jaga sumur w ficus religiosa l. tree i moraceae asswath w lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. tree i lythraceae jarul t,o lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. tree i anacardiaceae jiga t,m lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. tree i sapindaceae ban lichu w macaranga peltata (roxb.) muell.-arg. tree i euphorbiaceae pelta bura w mallotus polycarpus (benth.) kulju & welzen tree i euphorbiaceae shindur t mangifera indica l. tree i anacardiaceae aam f melia azedarach l. tree i meliaceae ghora neem m moringa oleifera lamk. tree i moringaceae sajna m,v oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz. tree i bignoniaceae kanaidingi t phoenix sylvestris roxb. tree i arecaceae khejur f phyllanthus emblica l. tree i euphorbiaceae amloki f shorea robusta roxb. ex gaertn. tree i dipterocarpaceae sal t streblus asper lour. tree i moraceae sheora m suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. tree i euphorbiaceae ban-naranga f syzygium fruticosum dc. tree i myrtaceae buti jam w tamarindus indica l. tree e caesalpiniaceae tentul f terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. tree i combretaceae bohera m terminalia chebula retz. tree i combretaceae haritaki m trema orientalis (l.) blume tree i ulmaceae jiban w 284 islam et al. name of the species habit origin family local name use zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. tree i rutaceae bajna t ziziphus mauritiana lamk. tree i rhamnaceae boroi f acacia pennata (l.) willd. shrub i mimosaceae bon sirish t dendrophthoe falcata (l. f.) ettingsh semiparasite i loganiaceae dhaerordal f abroma augusta (l.) l. f. shrub i sterculiaceae ulotkambol m ardisia humilis thw. shrub i myrsinaceae chaul dhoa o bridelia stipularis (l.) blume shrub i euphorbiaceae pat khoi w cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. shrub i fabaceae arhor v calamus guruba buch.-ham. ex martius shrub i arecaceae bet w calotropis gigantea (l.) r. br. shrub i asclepiadaceae akanda m clerodendrum viscosum vent. shrub i verbenaceae bhat m croton caudatus geiseler shrub i euphorbiaceae gograil m flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. shrub i flacourtiaceae boichi w glochidion multiloculare (roxb. ex willd.) muell.arg. shrub i euphorbiaceae keora w glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc. shrub i rutaceae dantmajon w hibiscus sabdariffa l. shrub e malvaceae chukhair m jatropha gossypiifolia l. shrub e euphorbiaceae lalbherenda o lippia alba (mill.) briton et wilson shrub e verbenaceae pichas lakri m melastoma malabathricum l. shrub i melastomataceae datranga m morinda angustifolia roxb. shrub e rubiaceae rang gach m phyllanthus reticulatus poir. shrub i euphorbiaceae chitki m phyllodium pulchellum (l.) desv. shrub i fabaceae jata salpani m schoepfia fragrans wall. shrub i olacaceae guchchho gram m senna alata (l.) roxb. shrub e caesalpiniaceae damardan m senna occidentalis (l.) link shrub e caesalpiniaceae bara kalkesunda m senna tora (l.) roxb. shrub e caesalpiniaceae chakunda m sesbania bispinosa (jacq.) wight shrub i fabaceae dhoincha fd sida acuta burm. f. shrub e malvaceae kureta m solanum sisymbriifolium lamk. shrub e solanaceae kanta-begun m tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r. br. ex roem. & schult. shrub i apocynaceae tagor o ziziphus oenopolia (l.) mill. shrub i rhamnaceae jaungli boroi w ziziphus rugosa lamk. shrub i rhamnaceae bon boroi w antidesma ghaesembilla gaertn. shrub i euphorbiaceae khudijam w grewia nervosa (lour.) panigrahi shrub i tiliaceae assar w achyranthes aspera l. herb i amaranthaceae apang m ageratum conyzoides (l.) l. herb e asteraceae fulkuri m alternanthera philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. herb e amaranthaceae malancha shak m amaranthus spinosus l. herb e amaranthaceae kantakhure m anisomeles indica (l.) o. kuntze herb i lamiaceae gobura m axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv. herb e poaceae carpet durba fd cheilanthes tenuifolia (burm.f.)sw herb i pteridaceae shuklata m chromolaena odorata (l.) king & robinson herb e asteraceae bara shialmuti m chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. herb i poaceae chorkanta fd chrysopogon zizanioides (l.) roberty herb i poaceae benna fd commelina benghalensis l. herb i commelinaceae kanchira m crotalaria juncea l. herb e fabaceae jhunjhuni m plant diversity, conservation worthiness and people’s perception 285 name of the species habit origin family local name use crotalaria pallida aiton herb e fabaceae jhunjhuni m curculigo orchioides gaertn. herb i liliaceae tali o curcuma longa l. herb i zingiberaceae holud m cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h. rob. herb i asteraceae kukshim m cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. herb i poaceae durba m cyperus distans l. f. herb i cyperaceae pani malacha fd cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf herb i poaceae not known fd cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (steud.) stapf herb i poaceae sada kandari fd desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. herb i fabaceae salpani m desmodium heterocarpon (l.) dc. herb i fabaceae karpo-mpdi m desmodium laxiflorum dc. herb i fabaceae boro aduulia m desmodium triflorum (l.) dc. herb i fabaceae kulaliya m desmodium triquetrum (l.) dc. herb i fabaceae ulucha m elephantopus scaber l. herb i asteraceae shamdala m emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. herb i asteraceae sadimudi m eragrostis cilianensis (all.) vignolo-lutati herb e poaceae dudh nal m eragrostis tenella (l.) p. beauv. ex roem. & schult. herb e poaceae koni ghas fd euphorbia hirta l. herb e euphorbiaceae dudhia m euphorbia hyssopifolia l. herb e euphorbiaceae jungli badam m fimbristylis rigidula nees herb e cyperaceae hari tandul fd flemingia javanica c.y. wu herb e fabaceae bara salpan m floscopa scandens lour. herb i commelinaceae hangsapadi ghas m fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. herb i cyperaceae mutha fd glinus oppositifolius (l.) aug. dc. herb i molluginaceae gema shak v heliotropium indicum l. herb i boraginaceae hatisur m hellenia speciosa (j. koenig) s.r. dutta herb i costaceae keumul m hemarthria protensa steud. herb e poaceae challey ghas m hypolytrum nemorum (vahl) spreng. herb i cyperaceae kodal patar m hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. herb e lamiaceae tokma m imperata cylindrica (l.) p. beauv. var. latifolia (hook. f.) c. e. hubb. herb i poaceae chon fd leersia hexandra sw. herb i poaceae arali ghas fd leucas aspera (willd.) l. herb i lamiaceae dandokolosh m lindernia anagallis (burm. f.) pennell herb i scrophulariaceae pani ghas m ludwigia prostrata roxb. herb i onagraceae shayankura m mimosa diplotricha c. wright ex sauv. var. diplotricha nielsen herb e mimosaceae assam lajuk o murdannia elata (vahl) brck herb i commelinaceae lamba murdan m mimosa pudica l. herb e mimosaceae lojjaboti o murdannia spirata (l.) beck herb i commelinaceae sishir murdan m nelsonia canescens (lamk.) spreng. herb i acanthaceae nelson's spurge m oplismenus compositus (l.) p. beauv. herb i poaceae ghas fd panicum brevifolium l. herb i poaceae ghas m panicum notatum retz. herb e poaceae panita ghas fd panicum paludosum roxb. herb i poaceae ghas fd panicum repens l. herb i poaceae dhani ghas m paspalum conjugatum bergius herb e poaceae moisshya ghas fd paspalum scrobiculatum l. herb i poaceae goicha m 286 islam et al. name of the species habit origin family local name use pennisetum poystachion (l.) schult. herb e poaceae shuti ghas m phyllanthus niruri l. herb e euphorbiaceae bhui amla m physalis minima l. herb i solanaceae ban tepari m rhynchospora rubra (lour.) makino herb i cyperaceae lalthuti ghas m rhynchospora rugosa (vahl) gale herb e cyperaceae kadathuti ghas m richardia scabra l. herb e rubiaceae nakal ipecac m saccharum spontaneum l. herb i poaceae kash o schoenoplectus articulatus (l.) palla herb e cyperaceae choto chenchra m scleria levis retz. herb i cyperaceae chas ghas fd scleria oblata s.t. blake herb i poaceae rialata ghas fd scleria terrestris (l.) fassett herb i cyperaceae dharalik m scoparia dulcis l. herb e scrophulariaceae chinigura m spermacoce latifolia aublet herb e rubiaceae ban dhatura m sphagneticola trilobata (l.) pruski herb e asteraceae tinkona daisy m spilanthes acmella (l.) l. herb i asteraceae surjakoynna m strobilanthes hirta (vahl) blume herb i acanthaceae burir chul m synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. herb e asteraceae nak phul m tephrosia purpurea (l.) pers. herb i fabaceae bo nil m tridax procumbens l. herb e asteraceae tridahara m triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. herb i tiliaceae bon okra m uraria lagopus dc. var. neglecta (prain) ohashi herb i fabaceae bonkathi m urena lobata l. herb i malvaceae okra m zingiber montanum (koen.) dietr. herb i zingiberaceae am ada m christella dentata (forssk.) brownsey & jermy herb e theypteridaceae bish deki m diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. herb i athyriaceae neutenga shak m lygodium flexuosum (l.) sw. herb i lygodiaceae lata dheki m nephrolepis biserrata (sw.) schott. herb i nephrolepidaceae bagan dheki m pteris pellucida presl herb i pteridaceae dheki shak m bambusa bambos (l.) voss herb i poaceae boro bansh t bambusa vulgaris scharad. ex wendl. herb e poaceae jai bansh t cajanus scarabaeoides (l.) thouars climber i fabaceae lata arhor v coccinia grandis (l.) voigt climber i cucurbitaceae telakucha m dioscorea belophylla (prain) voigt ex haines climber i dioscoreaceae shora alu m dioscorea bulbifera l. var. bulbifera l. climber i dioscoreaceae gonj alu m dioscorea bulbifera l. var. sativa (hook. f.) prain climber i dioscoreaceae gen alu m dioscorea hamiltonii hook. f. climber i dioscoreaceae miltoni alu m dioscorea pentaphylla l. climber i dioscoreaceae jhum alu m dioscorea tomentosa koen. ex spreng. climber i dioscoreaceae kenda m dysolobium pilosum (j.k. klein ex willd.) maréchal climber i fabaceae dudhi lata m merremia hederacea (burm. f.) hallier f. climber i convolvulaceae kaladana m mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l.rob. climber e asteraceae assam-lata m mucuna pruriens (l.) dc. climber i fabaceae alkushi m mukia maderaspatana (l.) m. roem. climber i cucurbitaceae gol akri m operculina turpethum (l.) s. manso climber i convolvulaceae dudh kolmi m smilax ovalifoila roxb. climber i smilacaceae kumarilata m smilax perfoliata lour. climber i smilacaceae kumarilata m stephania japonica (thunb.) miers climber i menispermaceae nimukha m tinospora cordifolia (willd.) hook. f. & thoms. climber i menispemaceae ghora gulancha m lygodium microphyllum (cav.) r.br. climber i lygodiaceae lata dheki m plant diversity, conservation worthiness and people’s perception 287 name of the species habit origin family local name use dalbergia volubilis roxb. climber i fabaceae bara siriskath m derris cuneifolia benth. climber i fabaceae shagun m derris scandens (roxb.) benth. climber i fabaceae kali-lata m spatholobus parviflorus (roxb. ex dc.) o. kuntze climber i fabaceae hati lata m hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br. climber i apocynaceae ananta mul m ipomoea aquatica forssk. climber i convolvulaceae kolmi v merremia hirta (l.) merr. climber i convolvulaceae ghena lota m merremia umbellata (l.) hallier f. climber e convolvulaceae sada kolmi m pueraria montana (lour.) merr. climber e fabaceae kudzu m exotic plant species the current study revealed that 25% of recorded plant species are exotic whereas 75% are indigenous or native. as the forest is dominant by a single tree, the number of exotics and their abundance have been found to be very less. these exotics such as parthenium hysterophorus, mimosa pudica, mikania cordata, chromolaena odorata are relatively common in the forest edges and near the roads, not inside the forest vegetation. besides, different pockets inside the forest and many canals and water bodies also contain these plants in their banks in more or less amount. though the invasion hasn’t gained that much momentum, considering the aspects of accelerated fragmentation and disturbance in the forest, the exotics might be a serious problem in the near future. while rahman et al. (2010) documented the presence of exotic species like acacia auriculiformis, eucalyptus camaldulensis, and a. mangium in other sal forests of central bangladesh, the purbachal sal forest remains free of these species. unlike in some areas where these exotics have been intentionally planted, the purbachal sal forest has not adopted such practices. quantitative attributes of tree species importance value index (ivi) was calculated to determine the predominant tree species in the overall area of study site. according to the analysis, shorea robusta is the most dominant tree species followed by albizia procera, barringtonia acutangula, cassia fistula, trema orientale, ziziphus mauritiana, albizia julibrisshin, lagerstroemia speciosa, zanthoxylum rhetsa and bridelia tomentosa (table 2). table 2. top 10 tree species based on ivi. species rd rf ra ivi shorea robusta 85.9 42.9 90 219 albizia procera 1.88 4.56 1.5 7.94 barringtonia acutangula 0.67 3.77 2.11 6.56 cassia fistula 5.22 0.47 0.05 5.74 trema orientalis 0.6 3.62 0.31 4.53 ziziphus mauritiana 0.49 3.62 0.12 4.23 albizia julibrissin 0.36 2.67 0.56 3.6 lagerstroemia speciosa 0.32 2.36 0.32 2.99 zanthoxylum rhetsa 0.33 2.52 0.13 2.97 bridelia tomentosa 0.24 2.36 0.18 2.79 288 islam et al. the top 10 most abundant tree species, based on number of individuals, on overall research area are given in fig. 2. shorea robusta is the most abundant tree species followed by albizia procera, barringtonia acutangula, trema orientalis, ziziphus mauritiana, albizia julibrissin, lannea coromandelica, zanthoxylum rhetsa, lagerstroemia speciosa and bridelia tomentosa. fig. 2. top 15 species with individuals. the sal tree, s. robusta, asserts its dominance with an unparalleled importance value index (ivi) of 219. this metric, a measure of a species' relative abundance, frequency, and dominance within a community, underscores the sal's exceptional status. in stark contrast, the other species ranked among the top 10 most-ivi-containing species pale in comparison, with ivis that barely reach 10. the sal's dominance actually shapes the very fabric of the forest ecosystem. for example, while the sal trees flourish in the forest area, their less competitive counterparts i.e. other species are relegated to the margins, often confined to areas that have been disturbed by human activities. though the number of associate trees is greater in madhupur sal forests than in purbachal sal forest, the dominance of sal in purbachal exceeds that of madhpur (ivi 120.99) (malakar et al., 2010). in case of bhawal sal forest, the dominance of sal is quite high (277.94), surpassing both the purbachal and madhupur sal forests (rahman and vacik, 2010). diversity of tree species analysis of the sal forest’s tree species diversity revealed moderate species richness (margalef's index: 4.77) contrasting with low diversity (shannon-wiener index: 0.61). this pattern suggests a community with a moderate number of species, but one species, the dominant sal (shorea robusta), exhibiting significantly higher abundance compared to others. this dominance is further supported by the low shannon-wiener index, which incorporates both species richness and evenness of abundance. while a moderate simpson's diversity index (0.178) might suggest otherwise, the lower value in this context likely reflects the presence of a highly abundant species alongside a less abundant long tail of species. this observed pattern of moderate richness with low diversity is commonly documented in sal forests. potential explanations for this phenomenon include efficient regeneration strategies of sal trees, shade tolerance allowing them to thrive under their own canopy, or a combination of these factors. plant diversity, conservation worthiness and people’s perception 289 quantitative attributes of shrub species among the 32 shrub species recorded from the study area, based on ivi, the most dominant shrub plant is melastoma malabathricum, phyllodium pulchellum, solanum sissymbrifolium, clerodendrum viscosum, glycosmis pentaphylla, calamus guruba, grewia nervosa, abroma augusta, sesbania bispinosa and lippia alba (table 3). table 3. top 10 shrub species based on ivi. name of the species rd rf ra ivi melastoma malabathricum l. 13.53 13.9 2.94 30.42 phyllodium pulchellum (l.) desv. 6.58 5.64 3.54 15.76 solanum sisymbrifolium lamk. 5.48 5.04 3.3 13.83 clerodendrum viscosum vent. 5.48 4.45 3.74 13.67 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a. dc. 4.75 5.93 2.43 13.12 calamus guruba buch.-ham. ex martius 4.75 3.26 4.42 12.43 grewia nervosa (lour.) panigrahi 4.2 5.64 2.26 12.1 abroma augusta (l.) l. f. 4.02 2.08 5.87 11.97 sesbania bispinosa (jacq.) wight 1.83 0.59 9.34 11.77 lippia alba (mill.) briton et wilson 4.02 4.75 2.57 11.34 according to the analysis, the top 15 most abundant shrub species in the study area are melastoma malabathricum, phyllodium pulchellum, clerodendrum viscosum, solanum sisymbrifolium, calamus guruba, grewia nervosa, abroma augusta, lippia alba, cajanus cajan, morinda angustifolia, croton caudatus, sida acuta, ziziphus oenopolia, bridelia stipularis and ziziphus rugosa. it is noteworthy that the ivi of m. malabathricum is second to sal (shorea robusta) when compared to both trees and shrubs, highlighting its relative abundance within the forest community. the presence of a single shrub species, m. malabathricum, with such a high ivi alongside sal trees suggests a possible niche specialization or competitive advantage that allows it to thrive in the understory of the sal forest. further investigation into the ecological adaptations of m. malabathricum could provide insights into how it coexists with sal trees and other shrub species. herb species of purbachal sal forest a total 88 herb species belonging to 27 families have been found in the study sites. the scientific name, common name, family, habit, origin and uses were all recorded in the list (table 1). all plant species in the families, are not equally represented. in this instance, 5 families represent 62% of all species, whereas the remaining 22 families represent 42%. poaceae is the largest family followed by fabaceae, cyperaceae, asteraceae and commelinaceae. people’s perception one hundred and eight participants were selected for interviews from a variety of backgrounds, including retired and incumbent govt. officers, businessmen, private job holders, housewives, teachers, and plot owners. each interviewee was asked nine close-ended questions in the form of a questionnaire. each question resulted in a different percentage of positive and 290 islam et al. negative feedback. moreover, they helped in pointing out many challenges of managing purbachal sal forest and also in suggesting recommendations that were duly noted during the interviews. the public survey exposes a deep concern for the purbachal sal forest's health. the presence of invasive exotic plants is overwhelmingly disapproved of (90%), highlighting public awareness of the threat they pose. there is near-unanimous agreement (95%) on the importance of consulting environmental specialists for managing plant diversity, reflecting a public desire for professional guidance. stricter enforcement of laws to protect the forest from human activities like cutting and habitat destruction finds strong support (over 90%), demonstrating public awareness of the anthropogenic pressures on the forest. while nearly three-quarters (76%) see a role for local communities in conservation efforts, a significant minority is unsure, suggesting a need for outreach programs to raise awareness and encourage participation. public opinion is unanimous (100%) on the need for the government to allocate more resources towards forest protection and management. reforestation programs that focus on planting native species are overwhelmingly endorsed (89%), aligning with the concern over invasive plants and emphasizing the public's desire to restore the forest's natural heritage. finally, over three-quarters (77%) believe the loss of the sal forest would significantly impact the local climate and ecosystem, highlighting public understanding of the critical role the forest plays in environmental stability. in conclusion, the survey reveals a clear public mandate for protecting the purbachal sal forest. by acknowledging these concerns and incorporating public sentiment into conservation strategies, policymakers and forest managers can develop more effective and well-supported plans for safeguarding this vital ecosystem for the future. threats to plant diversity in purbachal the purbachal sal forest is threatened by multifaceted problems. invasive alien species like chromolaena odorata, mikania cordata, mimosa pudica, parthenium hysterophorus, sphagneticola trilobata, and acacia auriculiformis are outcompeting native plants, disrupting the forest’s ecosystem balance. habitat destruction caused by urbanization, deforestation, and unsustainable practices like firewood collection and agricultural expansion is further exacerbating the problem. the clearing of land for various purposes, including infrastructure development and housing, is leading to significant deforestation. additionally, the dumping of waste is polluting the forest and harming its biodiversity. these combined factors pose a serious threat to the forest's ecological integrity and its ability to provide essential services. recommendations the purbachal sal forest, despite its promising regeneration as evidenced by its high tree density, faces significant challenges posed by invasive species and the uneven distribution of fruitbearing trees. to address these issues and ensure the forest's long-term health, a comprehensive management plan is essential. this plan should incorporate strategies such as mixed-species regeneration in forest pockets, targeted planting of some wildlife-supporting trees, effective control of invasive species, active community involvement, stricter enforcement of forest laws, and involvement of expert in managing the forests. by implementing these measures, the purbachal sal forest can be effectively protected and its biodiversity could be enhanced, safeguarding this vital ecosystem for future generations. acknowledgement the first author acknowledges the nst fellowship provided by the ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh. plant diversity, conservation worthiness and people’s perception 291 references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 2 january 2024; revised on 25 november 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 115-122, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82399 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new records of angiosperms for bangladesh saleh ahammad khan 1 and mohammad sayedur rahman 2* department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka–1342, bangladesh 2 bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur–1, dhaka–1216, bangladesh keywords: angiosperms; new records; bangladesh. abstract a few of the plant specimens of the family lauraceae juss., previously collected from bandarban and habiganj districts and stored in dacb, were identified as lindera assamica (meisn.) kurz and litsea sericea (wall. ex nees) hook.f. another few specimens of the family rubiaceae juss., recently collected from the lathitila forest of moulvibazar during the floristic explorations conducted in the northeast region of bangladesh, were determined to be acraranthera tomentosa r.br. ex hook.f. these species are new to the flora of bangladesh. taxonomic descriptions of these species have been provided, together with information on their ecology, distribution, representative specimens examined, and illustrations or photographs. introduction over the past few decades, the small pool of taxonomists in bangladesh has periodically published a significant number of new records as a result of their continuous efforts to find new plant species in this country, through which they have made significant strides in expanding the botanical knowledge of its flora. more than 281 new records for bangladesh have been reported since ahmed et al. (2008–2009, 2009) was published in the encyclopedia of the flora and fauna of bangladesh. the majority of these records include details about the precise distribution of the taxa (ara and khan, 2015; uddin, 2018; hossain et al., 2019; hossain et al., 2022; hossain et al., 2023; rahman et al., 2023). to date, a total of 3892 species, or 77.84% of khan's (1977) estimate of 5000 species for bangladesh, have been reported in floristic surveys that span this country's political boundary (iucn bangladesh, 2024). given this, if khan's (1977) estimate is taken into account, the presence of around 1108 (22.16%) species and their status in bangladesh have not yet been verified by field studies, despite the sporadic efforts of the nation's plant taxonomists for floristic research in this country (e.g., khan, 1977; khan and rahman (eds.), 1989-2002; ara et al., 2007; mia, 2009; ara and khan, 2015; basak and alam, 2015; rahman et al., 2015; haque et al., 2018; rahim, 2019; shetu et al., 2022; uddin and hassan, 2018; tabassum, 2015; hossain et al., 2021, 2022; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020; khan et al., 2021; islam and khan, 2024). during a thorough examination of the herbarium specimens of the family lauraceae housed in the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and other local herbaria in bangladesh, a few specimens of this family that had previously been collected from the bandarban and habiganj districts did not match the voucher specimens or the taxonomic description or key characters of any species of lauraceae known or reported so far from bangladesh. besides, in the course of the floristic surveys carried out in the northeast region of bangladesh in 2022–2023, a few other specimens that were collected from the lathitila forest area of juri, moulvibazar, appeared to be *corresponding author. email: sayedur27bcs@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82399 116 khan and rahman distinct from all known species of the family rubiaceae that have been reported from bangladesh to date. a careful taxonomic investigation revealed that two dacb specimens from the lauraceae belonged to two species of the genera lindera thunb. and litsea lam., and the recently collected two specimens of rubiaceae belonged to the genus acranthera arn. ex meisn. these species have been confirmed as new to bangladesh's flora because they have never been reported in any previous publications on this flora including the families lauraceae and rubiaceae that span the country's geographical boundary (e.g., roxburgh, 1814; hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903a,b; heinig, 1925; rashid et al., 1999; ahmed et al., 2008–2009, 2009; rahman et al., 2015; tabassum, 2015; haque al., 2018; alam and uddin, 2018; shetu et al., 2022; uddin and hassan, 2018; rahim, 2019; hossain et al., 2021, 2022; khanam and khan, 2020; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020; khan et al., 2021; rahman et al., 2023; islam and khan, 2024; rahman and khan, 2024). all of the specimens of these species are deposited at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). materials and methods field surveys were conducted in the deciduous, semi-evergreen, and evergreen forests and scrub jungles of northeastern hilly regions of bangladesh belonging to the administrative boundaries of the habiganj, moulvibazar, and sylhet districts between december 2022 and may 2023. the freshly collected plant specimens were processed, pressed, dried, and preserved at dacb in accordance with conventional herbarium protocols (hyland, 1972; jain and raw, 1977). the morphological characteristics of the specimens were examined by consulting pertinent descriptions and key characters available in the taxonomic literature (e.g., geesink et al., 1981; prain, 1903; mia, 2009; li et al., 2008; ngernsaengsaruay et al., 2011); the voucher specimens housed at dacb and bfrih and herbaria of other institutions; and clear images available on the websites of a few international herbaria (e.g., k, p). verification of all nomenclatural information was completed by consulting current taxonomic publications (li et al., 2008) and the nomenclatural databases of gbif secretariat (2023), and powo (2025). results and discussion the taxonomic identification of the concerned lauraceae specimens has been confirmed to be lindera assamica kurz and litsea sericea (wall. ex nees) hook. f., and the rubiaceae specimens have been verified to be acranthera tomentosa r. br. ex hook. f. the following taxonomic descriptions of these three species have been produced based on the specimens and the field notes. 1. lindera assamica (meisn.) kurz, prelim. rep. for. veg. pegu, app. a. p. 103 (1875); forest fl. burma 2: 308 (1877); hook.f., fl. brit. india 5: 182 (1886); a. das in kanjilal et al., fl. assam 4: 95 (1940): c. k. allen in j. arnold arbor. 22(1 ): 1. aperula assamica meisn. in dc., prodr. 15(1):240 (1864). (fig. 1) trees, 6-8 m high; branchlets brown to black, terete, 2-5-5 mm thick, rusty tomentellous, finally glabrous leaves oblong-elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 7-19×2-6 cm, acute or sometimes subacute or cuneate at base, apiculate or caudate or acuminate at apex, chartaceous to coriaceous, glabrous or puberulous on midrib above, rusty or brown tomentellous or coarsely publrulous or pilose on major nerves beneath, dark brown, reddish brown or blackbrown above when dry, brown or coppery and often glaucous beneath, penninerved; midrib flat or slightly incised above, raised beneath; lateral nerves 5-12 pair per side, faint above, raised three new records of angiosperms for bangladesh 117 beneath; tertiary nerves obscure above, usually raised beneath, scalariform, reticulations obscure to faint above, faint beneath, lax; petioles 0.4-1.7 cm long, channelled above, scattered brown or tawny puberulous to glabrous.inflorescence of umbels. male umbels coarsely tawny glabrous, singly or 2-4-togeher; subsessile or peduncles very short; pedicels 2-5×0.5-1 mm, ochraceous tomentellous, tepals 6, obovate to spathulate-oblanceolate, 2.5-3×0.8-1.5 mm, scattered ochraceous pilose to glabrous outside; glands on the inner filament bilobed, ca 0.3×0.5 mm; anthers oblong, ca l mm long. female umbels usually solitary or 3-4 together; peduncles 10-12 mm long, glabrous; involucral bracts 4, suborbicular, decussate, 2×3 mm, outer side hairy, hair white, multicellular, velutionous; flower pedicels ca 2-3 mm long at bud stage, sparsely hairy, hair multicellular; tepal 6, glabrous; pistil ca 5 mm long; ovary subglobose, ca 2.5×1 mm; style cylindrical, ca 1 mm long; stigma capitate or disciform, 2×2 mm . fruit not seen. fig. 1. lindera assamica (meisn.) kurz, a) a branch with inflorescence, b) a female inflorescence at bud stage, c) a pistil 118 khan and rahman flowering period: september-may. ecology: in hill forest at medium altitude. representative specimen examined: habiganj: rema beat, rema-kalenga wildlife sanctuary, 4 iv 1997, khan, islam and uddin k. 9833 (dacb 28183). distribution: native to assam, bangladesh, china including chinese taipei, east himalaya, myanmar, nepal and vietnam (gbif secretariat 2023; powo 2025). notes: morphologically, lindera assamica seems similar to lindera latifolia hook.f., which differs from l. assamica by its shorter fruiting pedicel. 2. litsea sericea (wall. ex nees) hook.f., fl. brit. india. 5: 156 (1886). tetranthera sericea wallich ex nees in wallich, pl. asiat. rar. 2: 67. 1831. (fig. 2) deciduous shrubs or small trees to 12 m. young branchlets covered with dense ferruginous or yellow-white sericeous long hairs. leaves alternate to more or less clustered; elliptic to oblonglanceolate, 4-13×1-4 cm, base cuneate, apex acute or slightly acuminate, secondary veins 4-12 pairs, tertiary venation scalariform or reticulate, more or less villous below, sometimes villous on veins above, often glabrescent; occasionally somewhat glaucous below, petioles 0.7-1.8 cm long. male inflorescence not seen. female inflorescence 6-8 flowered umbels. infructescences with 2-4 fig. 2. litsea sericea (wall. ex nees) hook.f., a) a habit branch with infructescence, b) an immature infructescence. three new records of angiosperms for bangladesh 119 fruits; peduncles 5-8 mm; pedicels 10-22 mm×0.6-1.5 mm, evenly thickened or slightly thicker beneath fruit. cupules 2-3 mm across. fruits globose or ellipsoid, 5-7 mm, seated on 6 lobed perianth tube, apiculate at apex. flowering and fruiting period: april-october.ecology: foot of the hill at medium altitude. immature infructescence representative specimens examined: bandarban: chimbuk hills, 26 xi 1983, khan, huq, rahman and mia k. 6466 (dacb 7587); habganj: shaistaganj, 10 x 1973, m.s. khan and a.m. huq. k. 3162 (dacb 7595). distribution: native to assam, china south-central including tibet, east himalaya, myanmar, and nepal and introduced to bangladesh (powo 2025). notes: litsea sericea seems morphologically similar to litsea kingii hook.f., but its terminal bud is perulate which is necked in l. kingii. 3. acranthera tomentosa r.br. ex hook.f., fl. brit. india, 3: 92 (1880). (fig. 3) perennial shrubby herbs, 25-40 cm tall. stem terete, very stout, tomentose. leaves oppositedecuussate, petioles 3-4 cm long, lamina elliptic to oblanceolate, 12-21×5-8.5 cm, thinly papery, adaxially blackish at drying, sparsely hirsute to hispid, densely strigillose along midrib, abaxially brownish black at maturity, sparsely puberulous in between the lateral veins and densely along lateral veins, densely strigillose along midrib, base cuneate or sometimes slightly unequal, apex attenuate or acute, margins ciliolate, cilia white; lateral veins 11–14 on each side of midrib; stipules persistent, broadly triangular, acute, densely strigillose. inflorescence sub-terminal, cymes, bracteate, borne on the main stem, one flowered or few flowered fascicles, pendulous. fig. 3. acranthera tomentosa r.br. ex hook. f., habit with immature infructescence and persistent calyx. 120 khan and rahman sub-sessile, bisexual; calyx with ovary portion tubular, prolonged, 5 lobed, persistent in the fruit, lobes 20-24×5 mm, linear-lanceolate, margin ciliate; corolla bluish, villus, tube funnel shaped. flowering period: april-june. ecology: on the slope of the hill. representative specimens examined: moulvibazar: lathitila, juri, 21 v 2023, m.s. rahman and s.a. khan 4898 (dacb) distribution: native to assam, bangladesh, and east himalaya (powo 2025). notes: acranthera tomentosa seems morphologically similar to a. sinensis, from which it differs by its shorter (3-4 cm long) petioles, densely tomentose to villose leaf blades and stipules, apically non-cuspidate stipules, longer calyx and bluish corolla in contrast to the longer (up to 7 cm) petioles, glabrescent leaf blades and stipules, cuspidate stipules, and purple corolla of a. sinensis. acknowledgement the authors gratefully acknowledge the bangladesh national herbarium for providing financial support and specimen access. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. 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(manuscript received on 2 february 2025; revised on 5 june 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 123-127, 2025 (june) short communication © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82400 lycium mellitum j. z. dong, a new species of solanaceae juss. from qinghai, china dong jing-zhou 1,2*, wang jia-nan 1 and wang ying 2* 1 school of modern industry for selenium science and engineering, wuhan polytechnic university, wuhan, china 2 key laboratory of plant resources conservation and sustainable utilization, south china botanical garden, chinese academy of sciences, guangzhou, china key words: lycium mellitum sp. nov.; endemic species; numhon; solanaceae. abstract the new species lycium mellitum j. z. dong (solanaceae) is established and illustrated from qinghai province of china. it has a close association with l. ruthenicum and l. ostrum j. z. dong, but is distinguished by several morphological characters: stems much branched, thorns at nodes or not, usually clustered with leaves and flowers; leaves narrowly linear, fleshy, gray, usually apically light yellow; pedicel 10-20 mm long; berries orange-yellow, nearly transparent, inside placenta faintly visible; seeds 1-5, rarely more, light brown. the genus lycium l. (solanaceae) comprises more than 100 species which mostly occur in dry tropical and subtropical to mongolia (plants of the world online, 2025). there are seven species and two varieties recorded in flora of china (zhang et al., 1994). in recent years, three new species of lycium from northwest china were reported (chen et al., 2012; li et al., 2011; dong et al., 2025). in the years from 2007 to 2024, the authors conducted persistent field investigations on lycium plants in the qaidam basin of qinghai province, where multiple species of lycium are distributed. specimens of l. ruthenicum murray, l. ostrum j.z. dong and another similar species were collected. after examination of the latter specimens, a new species was identified on the basis of its branch, flower and fruit morphology. it is here described as lycium mellitum j. z. dong. lycium mellitum j. z. dong (甜果枸杞, tian guo gou ji), sp. nov. type: china. qinghai: doulan co., numhon grassland, 15 sep. 2009, z. j. dong s. 2. (holotype, hib; isotype, ibsc). (fig. 1) diagnosis. lycium mellitum j. z. dong differs from l. ruthenicum murray in its thorns at nodes or not, usually clustered with leaves and flowers (vs. thorns borne singly at nodes, rarely lack); leaves gray, usually apically light yellow (vs. leaf blade grayish); pedicel 10-20mm long (vs. pedicel 5–10 mm); berries nearly transparently orange-yellow, inside placenta faintly visible (vs. berry purple-black), seeds 1-5, rarely more (vs. 5–10). lycium mellitum j. z. dong differs from l. ostrum j. z. dong in its stems stout, much branched (vs. stems slender, flexible bearing thorns or not); berries nearly transparently orange-yellow (vs. berries brown, usually with a groove at apex,), seeds 1-5, rarely more (vs. 10–20). shrubs 0.5-1.5 m, copiously armed with thorny branchlets; stems stiff, much branched, erect, ascending, or prostrate; branches grayish white or brown, with much longitudinal fissuring on bark of older stems and branches; thorns at nodes or not, usually clustered with leaves and flowers; leaves subsessile, usually in fascicles of 2 to 7, fleshy and succulent, usually narrowly lanceolate, *corresponding author: e-mail: djz21cn@aliyun.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78748 mailto:djz21cn@aliyun.com 124 jing-zhou et al. or linear oblanceolate, 1-5 mm × 15-30 mm, leaf blades gray, usually apically light yellow at old branches, grayish green at young branches. flowers solitary or 2 or 3 in a cluster with leaves; pedicels 10-20 mm, rarely less than 10mm. calyx campanulate, 4-5 mm, usually 2-divided halfway, calyx in fruit slightly inflated; corolla pale purple, funnelform, 13-15 mm, tubes light green, with green longitudinal veins, limb usually 5-lobed, enlarged at throat, lobes broadly ovate, 1/3–1/2 as long as corolla tube; lobes glabrous and not ciliate; stamens inserted high on corolla tube, slightly exerted, filaments with villous hairs slightly above base, anthers oblong-elliptic, dehiscing longitudinally; ovary 2-locular, style 1, slender and glabrous, stigma green, slightly exerted. ripe berry globose, orange-yellow, nearly transparent, inside placenta faintly visible, rarely whitish, honey taste, 3-8 mm diam.; seeds 1-5, rarely more, light brown, kidney-shaped, 1.9 × 2.1 mm. fig. 1. lycium mellitum j. z. dong. a. dissected flower, showing the high insertion of filaments. b. pistil. c. globose fruit, nearly transparent, inside placenta faintly visible. d. a branch with thorns, leaves and flowers. e. a branch with thorns, leaves and fruits. f. two nodes, with thorns and leaves. phenology: flowering from june to september and fruiting from june to november. etymology: the specific epithet mellitum refers to the honey taste of the ripe fruits. lycium mellitum j. z. dong, a new species of solanaceae 125 habitat and distribution: lycium mellitum is known from its type locality in saline grassland of numhon in qinghai province, ca. 36°27′n, 96°26.1′e, at elevation of 2774 m, and 36°26′n, 96°26′e, at elevation of 2802 m. the l. mellitum populations occurred together with l. ruthenicum murray, l. barbarum l and l. ostrum. this species is rare and restricted to the populations of ca. 2000 to 5000 individuals, including young plants. notes: the distinguishing features of l. mellitum (table 1) provide support for its recognition as a new species distinctive from l. ruthenicum. l. ruthenicum is found widely distributed in gansu, inner mongolia, ningxia, qinghai, shaanxi, xinjiang and tibet, mostly in saline deserts, sands and roadsides, while l. mellitum is found in limited areas as noted above. lycium mellitum is also distinctive in its corolla, and fruits from the three published lycium species (chen et al., 2012; li et al., 2011; dong et al., 2025). lycium qingshuiheense x. l. jiang and j. n. li was reported to be closely related to l. ruthenicum; its corolla tube is nearly equal to the corolla limb and lobes in length, and the berry is darkly red-brown, compressed-globose, with 1–4 seeds (li et al., 2011). l. ningxiaense r. j. wang & q. liao, originally described as l. parvifolium t. y. chen and x. l. jiang (nom. illeg., non roem. & schult.), was reported to be closely related to l. barbarum, and has a corolla tube nearly equal to the limb in length and a pale yellow, compressedglobose or ellipsoidal berry with 5–8 seeds (chen et al., 2012; wang and liao, 2014). lycium ostrum j. z. dong was recorded close association with l. ruthenicum murray with the distinguishing characters as berries brown, globose, usually with a groove at the apex, seeds numbering 10 to 20, lobes 1/3–1/2 as long as corolla tube (dong et al., 2025). table 1.diagnostic characters comparing lyciummellitum j.z.dong withl. ruthenicummurrayandl ostrum j.z. dong. characters l. mellitum l. ostrum l. ruthenicum plants shrubs 0.5-1.5m, much branched, nodes mostly bearing with apically thorny branchlets shrubs 0.5-1.5m, ascending, slender shrubs 0.2-0.5m, much branched, copiously armed leaves gray, usually apically yellowishgreen gray, usually apically yellowishgreen gray thorns at nodes or not, usually clustered with leaves and flowers at nodes or not, usually clustered with leaves and flowers singly at nodes, rarely lacking pedicels 10-20mm or longer 15-20mm or longer 5-10mm lobe/tube 1/3-1/2 1/3-1/2 1/3-1/2 berries orange-yellow, gobose, nearly transparent, inside placenta faintly visible brown, globose, usually with a groove at apex purple black, usually oblate berries/ branch 5 to 10, rarely more 10 to 20 20 to 30 or more seeds 1 to 5, rarely more, light brown 10 to 20, light yellow to light brown 5 to 10, dark brown this species is much less widely distributed than some chinese lycium species. possible limiting factors of l. mellitum in the past might include less fruits and less seeds which indicate low reproduction. the principal threats to this species’ survival in the future could include the extension of grassland farming, overgrazing, and floods eroding the river banks, which would cause the reduction of l. mellitum populations. 126 jing-zhou et al. paratypes: china, qinghai, doulan, the grassland adjacent to numhon river, 36° 26′n, 96° 26′e, 2802 m, june5, 2025, collectors, j. z. dong and j. n. wang (hb). found in adjacent to numhon river, e: 96° 26′, n：36° 26′, al: 2802m. about 3000 individuals. based on the taxonomic key to lycium species in the english-language flora of china (zhang et al.,1994), we previously suggested an amended key (dong et al, 2025). this amended key is now updated below to include this new species that were mentioned above in which l. mellitum keys out with l. ostrum. amended key to the species of lyciumin china after zhang et al. (1994). 1. berry purple-black, brown or orange yellow, globose; thorns at nodes or not; leaves narrowly linear, fleshy; corolla tube 3-4 × as long as lobes; filaments pubescent 2 berry red or orange-yellow, elongated or sometimes globose; thorns usually clustered with leaves and flowers, rarely lacking; leaves broader, linearlanceolate, lanceolate, or elliptic, fleshy or not; corolla tube ca. 2 × as long as limb and lobes or shorter; filaments glabrous or pubescent. 4 2. berry purple black; stems stout, much branched, thorns singly at nodes, rarely lacking; leaves grayish, pedicel 5–10mm l. ruthenicum berry brown or yellow orange, stems slender or stout, thorns at nodes or not, usually clustered with leaves and flowers; leaves grayish, usually apically light yellow, pedicel10-20mm 3 3. berry brown; stems slender, flexible; pedicel 15–20mm or longer l. ostrum berry orange yellow, nearly transparent, stems stout, much branched, pedicel 10–15mm l. mellitum 4. corolla lobed about 1/4 way down; filaments sparsely pubescent near base 5 corolla lobed 1/3 way down or more; filaments and corolla with a villous ring just above point of insertion 6 5. branches slender, flexible; leaves narrow, widest near middle; calyx truncate at apex or unequally divided, lobes not ciliate; apex of young fruit mucronate from a persistent style l. truncatum branches stout, stiff; leaves usually oblanceolate, sometimes broadly so; calyx lobed halfway down, lobes usually ciliate; apex of young fruit rounded l. dasystemum 6. corolla less than 7 mm; stamens manifestly exceeding corolla; seeds ca. l mm; berry globose, ca. 4 mm l. yunnanense corolla more than 9 mm; stamens shorter than or slightly exceeding corolla; seeds 2-3 mm; berry oblong or ellipsoid, more than 5 mm 7 7. calyx usually 2-lobed; corolla lobes marginally glabrescent, tube and limb funnelform 8 calyx usually 3-lobed or 4or 5-dentate; corolla lobes marginally pubescent, tube cylindric or funnelform, about as long as lobes 10 8. corolla tube obviously longer than lobes; berry oblong or ovoid; leaves 2–3 cm × 3–6 mm l. barbarum corolla tube nearly equal to lobes; berry compressed globose; leaves 0.8– 2.8(–3) cm × 1–2(–3) mm 9 9. branches zigzag; berry pale yellow, nearly transparent, seeds 5 to 8 l. ningxiaense https://www.iplant.cn/info/lycium%20truncatum?t=foc https://www.iplant.cn/info/lycium%20dasystemum?t=foc https://www.iplant.cn/info/lycium%20yunnanense?t=foc lycium mellitum j. z. dong, a new species of solanaceae 127 branches straight; berry dark red–brown, seed(s) 1 to 4 l. qingshuiheense 10. corolla tube cylindric, longer than lobes; leaves lanceolate l. cylindricum corolla tube funnelform, shorter than or subequaling lobes; leaves mostly broadly or narrowly ovate, rhomboid, or elliptic l. chinense acknowledgment this work was supported by a doctoral research project of wuhan polytechnic university (53210052493), guangdong s&t program (2022b1111230001) and national natural science foundation of china (32170389).we are grateful to dr. qiner yang for latin translation, to xiuzhen he (qinghai normal university, qinghai, china), tao shi, xiang gao, shao-hua zeng and tian-shun yang (wuhan botanical garden, wuhan, china) for their help in field sampling. references chen, t.y., jiang, x. l., li, q. s., zhang, z.y. and j. li. 2012. a new species and a new variety of lycium (solanaceae) from ningxia, china. guihaia 32: 5–8. dong, j, z., wang, j, n. and wang, y. 2025. lycium ostrum, a new species of lycium (solanaceae) from qinghai, china. novon 33: 67-70. li, j. n., jiang, x. l., z. g. li, chen, t. y. and zhang, z. y. 2011. lycium qingshuiheense, a new species of solanaceae from ningxia, china. guihaia 31: 427–429. liao, q. and wang, r. j. 2014. lycium ningxiaense, a replacement name for lycium parvifolium t. y. chen & xu l. jiang (solanaceae). phytotaxa 173: 299–300. plants of the world online. 2025. plants of the world online. facilitated by the royal botanic gardens, kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names: 30001330-2, accessed 5 march 2025. zhang, z. y., lu, a. m. and d’arcy, w. g. 1994. solanaceae. pp. 300–332.in: z. y. wu & p. h. raven (editors), flora of china, vol. 17 (verbenaceae through solanaceae). missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, science press, beijing. (manuscript received on 15 february 2025; revised on 27 may 2025) https://www.iplant.cn/info/lycium%20cylindricum?t=foc https://www.iplant.cn/info/lycium%20chinense?t=foc bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 173-176, 2024 (june) short communication © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74398 the complete chloroplast genome sequence of zingiber striolatum (zingiberaceae) and a phylogenetic analysis hui wang*, muhammad idrees* and zhongping song college of life science, neijiang normal university, neijiang 641000, sichuan, pr china keywords: china; phylogeny; plastid genome; zingiber. zingiber striolatum diels (also known as yang-he in chinese), is a unique and valuable chinese medicinal herb that belongs to the tribe zingibereae of the family zingiberaceae. this study characterized the complete chloroplast genome of z. striolatum sample from yunnan, china, and compared it to other representative species from the zingiberaceae family to reveal the phylogenetic relationships. the complete circular plastid genome of this species was 163,947 bp long and consisted of two inverted repeat regions (ira and irb) of 29,912 bp each, separated by two single-copy regions: a large single-copy region (lsc) of 88,267 bp and a small single-copy region (ssc) of 15,856 bp. the genome has 133 unique gene including 87 protein-coding genes, 38 trna genes, and 8 rrna genes, respectively. the maximum likelihood (ml) method was used to generate a phylogenetic tree, and the results revealed that z. striolatum belongs to the sect. crytanthium and it forms a clade with z. mioga roscoe and z. leptorrhizum d.fang. zingiber striolatum is widely distributed throughout china, including guangxi, guizhou, guangdong, hubei, hunan, jiangxi, and sichuan, at elevations ranging from 300 to 1900 m above sea level (wu and larsen, 2000). its edible part is its flower, which has an aromatic odor and can be made into dried fruit and steamed, stir-fried, or eaten raw. it is extensively distributed, primarily in wild form, but less so in cultivated form. the species has a high nutritional value since it contains a wide range of amino acids, cellulose, and proteins (zhang et al., 2014). z. striolatum has gained popularity due to its numerous functional qualities and therapeutic significance. more than 100 z. striolatum-related patents are now registered with the china intellectual property office, and the market potential is enormous. according to the “compendium of materia medica, a famous chinese medicine classic compiled by shizhen li in the 16th century”, z. striolatum was used to promote blood circulation, eliminate phlegm, alleviate coughing, and relieve swelling and pain (huang et al., 2021). zingiber species have identical leaf and other vegetative organ traits, making non-flowering stage species identification extremely challenging (wu et al., 2016). in recent years, efforts have been made to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of some zingiber species using molecular sequence data (kress et al., 2002; theerakulpisut et al., 2012; li et al., 2020, 2021; jiang et al., 2023), but only a small number of samples were used, and the relationships among many species within the zingiber genus remain unclear. in this study, we thoroughly sequenced and reconstructed the chloroplast genome sequence of z. striolatum, including its gene content, and comparisons to closely related species. to clarify the taxonomic position of z. striolatum, a phylogenetic analysis was conducted using previously published cp genomes from the zingiberaceae family. these findings will provide useful genetic resources for future research on the phylogenetic position of z. striolatum as well as evolutionary relationships with the zingiberaceae family. *corresponding authors. e-mail: whscnj@126.com; idreesbiotech@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74398 mailto:whscnj@126.com; mailto:idreesbiotech@yahoo.com 174 wang et al. the plant material was collected from eshan county, yunnan province, china (102°6'9.07" e, 24°17'30.09" n, elevation 1911 m). the specimen was kept at neijiang normal university (https://www.njtc.edu.cn/; voucher no: km001; collector: wang hui). silica-gel dried leaves were sent to novogene (tianjin, china) to extract whole genomic dna for library preparation, and pair-end 250 bp read-length sequencing was performed on the illumina hiseq 2500 platform. the raw reads were filtered using fastp v0.21.0 to remove sequencing adaptors and low-quality sequences. the high-quality reads were assembled with getorganelle v1.7.5 (jin et al., 2020). cpgavas2 (shi et al., 2019) was used to annotate the plastome with default parameters, and blast searches against the swiss-prot database were used to identify predicted protein-coding genes, which were then manually checked in apollo software for a more precise annotation. the annotations of trna genes were confirmed by using trnascan-se v.2.02. a fully annotated plastome circle diagram was created by a website irscope (https://irscope.shinyapps.io/ chloroplot/) (amiryousefi et al., 2018). the cp genome of z. officinale (ncbi accession number: nc_044775) served as a reference for comparative analysis. the complete circular plastid genome of z. striolatum (sra: prjna1099382) was 163,947 bp in length, consisting of a pair of inverted repeat regions (irs with 29,912 bp each) divided by two single-copy regions (lsc with 88,267 bp; ssc with 15,856 bp). the plastid genome has an overall gc content of 36%, with lsc (51.09%), ssc (50.23%), and ir (ra 48.69% and irb 51.31%), respectively. the genome consisted of 133 gene including 87 protein-coding genes, 38 trna genes, and 8 rrna genes (fig. 1). fig. 1. the chloroplast genome map of zingiber striolatum from yunnan province, china. genes within the circle are transcribed clockwise, while those beyond the circle are transcribed anti-clockwise. the tick lines showed the extent of the inverted repeats (ira and irb) that separate the large single-copy (lsc) and the small single-copy (ssc) regions. genes with varying functions are shown by distinct colors. https://www.njtc.edu.cn/; https://irscope.shinyapps.io/ the complete chloroplast genome sequence 175 fig. 2. phylogenetic relationship of z. striolatum based on the maximum-likelihood (ml) tree inferred from 22 chloroplast genomes of zingiber (including kaempferia galanga and curcuma flaviflora as an outgroups). the chloroplast genome accession number used in this study: z. citriodorum pp542025; z. cochleariforme nc_072310; z. corallinum nc_063565; z. densissimum nc_072300; z. ellipticum nc_072301; z. flavomaculosum nc_072311; z. koshunense nc_072302; z. leptorrhizum nc_072309; z. mioga nc_057615; z. montanum mw801386; z. neotruncatum nc_072303; z. officinale nc_044775; z. orbiculatum nc_072304; z. purpureum nc_072305; z. recurvatum mt473712; z. smilesianum nc_072306; z. teres nc_062457; z. xishuangbannaense nc_072307; z. yingjiangense nc_072308; c. flaviflora kr967361, and k. galanga nc_040851. in addition to the newly sequenced plastome, 22 publicly available plastomes retrieved from the ncbi (including twenty zingiber species), with curcuma flaviflora s.q.tong, and kaempferia galanga l., were used as outgroups. phylosuite (v1.2.3) was used to extract proteincoding genes and rnas from cp genomes; then, the sequences were aligned with mafft v7.313, and concatenated with phylosuite (zhang et al., 2020). a phylogenetic analysis was carried out using the maximum likelihood (ml) method in iq-tree version 2.2.0, with the edge-linked partition model and 50,000 ultrafast bootstrap replicates (minh et al., 2020). the tree was visualised with itol v6 (https://itol.embl.de/upload.cgi) (letunic and bork, 2024). the ml tree (fig. 2) agreed with the most recent phylogenetic analysis of zingiber (jiang et al., 2023; theerakulpisut et al., 2012). our results revealed that the zingiber species were monophyletic and split it into three sections: zingiber, pleuranthesis benth., and crytanthium horan. the ml tree showed that z. striolatum clade is a sister group to z. mioga roscoe and z. leptorrhizum d.fang that belongs to the sect. crytanthium. in conclusion, this study will provide valuable genomic information for phylogenetic and evolutionary investigations in the zingiberaceae. acknowledgement this research was supported by the sichuan science and technology program (2022yfn0032) and neijiang normal university research project (2020td02, 2022zh02). https://itol.embl.de/upload.cgi) 176 wang et al. references amiryousefi, a., hyvönen, j. and poczai, p. 2018. irscope: an online program to visualize the junction sites of chloroplast genomes. bioinformatics 34(17): 3030–3031. huang, z., xie, l., xu, y., zhao, k., li, x.t., zhong, j., lu, y., xu, x., goodin, s., zhang, k., zhang, l., li, c. and zeng, x. 2021. essential oils from zingiber striolatum diels attenuate inflammatory response and oxidative stress through regulation of mapk and nf-κb signaling pathways. antioxidants 10: 2019. jin, j.j., yu, w.b., yang, j.b., song, y., de pamphilis, c.w., yi, t.s. and li, d.z. 2020. getorganelle: a fast and versatile toolkit for accurate denovo assembly of organelle genomes. genome biol. 21: 241. jiang, d., cai, x., gong, m., xia, m.q., xing, h.t., dong, s., tian, s., li, j., lin, j., liu, y. and li, h.l. 2023. complete chloroplast genomes provide insights into evolution and phylogeny of zingiber (zingiberaceae). bmc gen. 24: 30. kress, w.j., prince, l.m. and williams, k.j. 2002. the phylogeny and a new classification of the gingers (zingiberaceae): evidence from molecular data. am. j. bot. 89: 1682–96. li, d.m., ye, y.j., xu, y.c., liu, j.m. and zhu, g.f. 2020. complete chloroplast genomes of zingiber montanum and zingiber zerumbet: genome structure, comparative and phylogenetic analyses. plos one 15(7): e0236590. li, d.-m., li, j., wang, d.-r., xu, y.-c. and zhu, g.-f. 2021. molecular evolution of chloroplast genomes in subfamily zingiberoideae (zingiberaceae). bmc pl. biol. 21: 558. letunic, i. and bork p. 2024. interactive tree of life (itol) v6: recent updates to the phylogenetic tree display and annotation tool. nucleic acids res. 13: gkae268. minh, b.q., schmidt, h.a., chernomor, o., schrempf, d., woodhams, m.d., von haeseler, a. and lanfear, r. 2020. iq-tree 2: new models and efficient methods for phylogenetic inference in the genomic era. mol. biol. evol. 37: 1530e1534. shi, l., chen, h., jiang, m., wang, l., wu, x., huang, l., liu, c.2019. cpgavas2, an integrated plastome sequence annotator and analyzer. nucleic acids res. 47: w65–w73. theerakulpisut, p., triboun, p., mahakham, w., maensiri, d., khampila, j. and chantaranothai, p. 2012. phylogeny of the genus zingiber (zingiberaceae) based on nuclear its sequence data. kew bull. 67(3): 389–395. wu, t.l. and larsen, k. 2000. zingiberaceae. in: wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds.) flora of china 24, missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, pp. 322–377. wu, d., liu, n. and ye, y. 2016. the zingiberaceous resources in china. wuhan: huazhong university of science and technology university press, 143 pp. zhang, c., zhang, x. and jiang, n. 2014. analysis of amino acid composition and evaluation of nutritional value of zingiber strioatum diels. j. hubei univ. natl-nat. sci. ed. 32: 380–383. zhang, d., gao, f., jakovlić, i., zou, h., zhang, j., li, w.x. and wang, g.t. 2020. phylosuite: an integrated and scalable desktop platform for streamlined molecular sequence data management and evolutionary phylogenetics studies. mol. ecol. resour. 20(1): 348–355. (manuscript received on 22 february, 2024 and revised on 2 june, 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 111-122, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67050 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi isolated from andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees and centella asiatica (l.) urban fazilatun nessa, shamim shamsi* and md. abdullah al noman department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: morphological identification; its sequencing; medicinal plant; fungi; bangladesh. abstract fungal endophytes were isolated from the leaves, stems and roots of two widely used medicinal plants viz., andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees and centella asiatica (l.) urban. a total of 28 endophytic fungi were identified based on morphological and molecular analyses. the identified fungi were: aspergillus flavus link, a. fumigatus fresen., a. niger tiegh., a. terreus thom, cladosporium sp., colletotrichum sp., curvularia chonburiensis (ibpromma & k.d. hyde, c. hominis da cunha, madrid, gené & cano, c. lunata (wakker) boedijn, c. lycopersici tandon & kakkar, curvularia sp., fusarium falciforme (carrión) summerb. & schroers, f. phaseoli (burkh.) t. aoki & donnell, f. solani (mart.) appel & wollenw, f. udum (berk.) wollenw, fusarium sp., lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) gri. & maubl., monodictys paradoxa (corda) hug., m. putredinis (wallr.) hug., penicillium commune thom, p. chrysogenum thom, p. oxalicum currie & thom, penicillium sp. 1, penicillium sp. 2, penicillium sp. 3, penicillium sp. 4, scytalidium lignicola pesante and talaromyces trachyspermus (shear) stolk & samson. among them aspergillus flavus, a. niger, a. terreus, cladosporium sp., colletotrichum sp. and penicillium sp. 1 were isolated from both the plants. curvularia chonburiensis, c. hominis, c. lycopersici, fusarium falciforme, f. phaseoli, monodictys paradoxa, penicillium commune and scytalidium lignicola were found to be new records for bangladesh. findings of this study will be helpful for better understanding of endophytic fungal diversity and the species richness in those medicinal plants. introduction the term endophytic fungi refers to the fungi that live within the plant tissues throughout their entire or partial life cycle by establishing a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with its host plant without causing any adverse effect or disease (hyde et al., 2019; patchett and newman, 2021). endophytic fungi have been isolated from many plants, including trees, vegetables, fruits and other crops (rosenblueth and martinez-romero, 2006). medicinal plants harbor endophytic microflora and they are valuable source of bioprospecting endophytes. andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees and centella asiatica (l.)urban are two widely used medicinal plants. the whole plant of andrographis paniculata has been used for several applications such as anti-dote for snake-bite and poisonous stings of some insects and to treat dyspepsia, influenza, dysentery, malaria and respiratory infections (chopra, 1980; jarukamjorn et al., 2010). aside from healing wounds, c. asiatica is used for the treatment of various skin conditions such as lupus, leprosy, varicose ulcers, eczema, and psoriasis. (brinkhaus et al., 2000) and also as a blood purifier (gohil et al., 2010). endophytic fungi from medicinal plants have significant role in pharmacology and in industries. they can also promote their *corresponding author, e-mail: prof.shamsi@gmail.com; a part of ms thesis of the first author. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67050 mailto:prof.shamsi@gmail.com; 112 nessa et al. accumulation of secondary metabolites. in the present study these two important medicinal plants, andrographis paniculata and centella asiatica were used for the isolation of endophytic fungi. this study will lead to evaluate the potential bioactive metabolites of the endophytes, relation between endophytes and host plants and also to study the endophytic fungal diversity and the species richness in those medicinal plants. materials and methods centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata were collected from the botanical garden, university of dhaka and used for the present investigation. isolation and morphological identification of fungi endophytes associated with selected samples were isolated by following “tissue planting method” on potato dextrose agar medium (cab, 1968). morphological identities of the fungal isolates were determined following the standard literature (thom and raper, 1945; booth, 1971; ellis, 1971,1976; barnett and hunter, 1972; sutton, 1980). molecular characterization of fungi molecular identification was done by following amer et al. (2009) with some modifications. dna extraction fungi were grown on pda medium at 28°c for 10 days. fungal mycelium was harvested by scraping the surface of 10 days old cultures with a sterile spatula from the petri plates. one gram of fungal mycelium of each isolate was taken in a 1.5 ml sterile eppendorf tube. the mycelium was immediately ground with a homogenizer with 400μl sterile extraction buffer (200mm tris hci, 250mm nacl, 25mm edta, 0.5% sds) in each eppendorf tube. then 6 μl of 20 mg/ml rnase was added in each eppendorf. tubes were stirred with a vortex mixer so that the mixture became homogenous. the tubes were transferred to 65°c preheated water bath for 10 minutes. the samples were taken from the water bath and cooled down to room temperature. 130 μl of 3m sodium acetate, ph 5.2 was added in each tube. tubes were vortexed for 30 seconds at maximum speed and incubated at -20° c for 10 minutes. the samples were centrifuged at 13,000 rpm for 15 minutes. the supernatants were transferred to fresh tubes and equal volume of chloroform: isoamyl alcohol mixture (24:1) was added and mixed by gentle inversion and then tubes were centrifuged at 12000 rpm for 5 minutes. the supernatant was discarded and the pellet was washed twice with 700 μl of 70% ethanol. the dna pellets were subsequently air-dried. the resultant dna pellet was then resuspended in 100 μl of 1 x te (10 mm trishci,1 mm edta) buffer (ph 8.0). the dna was allowed to dissolve overnight at 4°c. then it was stored at-20°c for further analyses. polymerase chain reaction amplification, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis molecular identification of the isolates was performed using the internal transcribed spacer (its) regions. pcr amplification was conducted using the its1 (5'-tccgtaggtga acctgcgg-3') and its4 (5'-tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3') primers for the its regions. the pcr was carried out in 0.2 ml pcr tube with 25 μl reaction volume containing 2.0 μl template dna, 12.5 μl master mix, 1.0 μl forward primer, 1.0μl reverse primer and 8.5 μl nucleus free h2o. reaction mixture was vortexed and centrifuged in a microcentrifuge. the pcr was initiated by an initial denaturation step at 94ºc for 5 minutes following 30 cycles of 94, 54 and 72ºc each for 30 sec, with a final extension step of 5 min at 72ºc and ended with 4ºc. pcr amplified products were stored in – 20ºc freezer for analysis by resolving in 1% agarose gel. the gel was prepared using 1.0 g agarose powder containing ethidium bromide. agarose gel morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 113 electrophoresis was conducted in 1× tae buffer at 90 volts and 300 ma for 40 minutes. dna bands were photographed by a gel documentation system (model: di-hd, uk).the purified dna samples were sequenced through automated sequencer in the centre for advanced research in sciences (cars), university of dhaka, dhaka, 1000. sequences were aligned with clustal w alignment using the molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (mega) software version 7.0 (kumar et al., 2016). the phylogenetic tree was constructed with help of same software using the neighbor-joining method—with relative branch support of 1000 bootstrap replications. results and discussion morphological identification fungal endophytes were isolated from the leaves, stems and roots of andrographis paniculata and centella asiatica, aspergillus flavus, a. fumigatus, a. niger, a. terreus, cladosporium sp., colletotrichum sp., curvularia sp. 1, curvularia sp. 2, curvularia sp. 3, fusarium sp. 1, fusarium sp. 2, fusarium sp. 3, fusarium sp. 4, fusarium sp. 5, lasiodiplodia sp., monodictys paradoxa, m. putredinis, p. chrysogenum, p. oxalicum, penicillium sp. 1, penicillium sp. 2, penicillium sp. 3, penicillium sp. 4, penicillium sp. 5, scytalidium lignicola, and talaromyces trachyspermus were identified morphologically. key morphological features of the isolated fungi aspergillus flavus link, magazin der gesellschaft naturforschenden freunde berlin 3 (1): 16 (1809) (fig. 1a) olive-green colony, flat at their borders while raised in the middle. conidiophore hyaline, coarsely roughened, up to 1.0 mm in length. vesicles globose to sub globose, 25-45 µm in diameter. conidia pale green, globose to sub globose, 3-4 µm in diameter. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 23 march, 2021. f. nessa 1. aspergillus fumigatus fresen., beiträge zur mykologie3: 81 (1863) (fig. 1b) colonies attain a diameter of 3-5 cm within 7 days, consisting of a dense felt of dark green conidiophores intermixed with aerial hyphae bearing conidiophores. conidiophores short, smoothwalled. vesicles broadly clavate, 20-30 µm in diameter. phialides directly borne on the vesicle, often greenish pigmented, 6-8 x 2-3 µm. conidia globose to subglobose, 2.5-3.0 µ in diameter, green, rough-walled to echinulate. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 23 march, 2021. f. nessa 2. aspergillus niger tiegh., annales des sciences naturelles botanique 8: 240 (1867) (fig. 1c) colonies black powdery with conidial production. the reverse is pale yellowish white. conidiophores arise from long, broad, thick-walled, mostly brownish, sometimes branched footcells. conidia in large, radiating heads, mostly globose, irregularly roughened, 4.0-5.0 µm in diameter, uninucleate. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 23 march, 2021. f. nessa 3. aspergillus terreus thom, american journal of botany 5 (2): 85 (1918) (fig. 1d) colonies yellowish-brown to cinnamon-brown, consisting of a dense felt of conidiophores. conidiophore stipes smooth-walled, hyaline. vesicles subspherical, 10-20 µm diameter. metulae 114 nessa et al. as long as the phialides. conidia smooth-walled, striate with sem, spherical to broadly ellipsoidal, 1.5-2.5 µm, hyaline. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka.16 june, 2021. f. nessa 14. cladosporium sp. (fig. 1e) colonies raised at the center, umbonate, circular, ash to blackish ash color, thinly hairy. conidiophore solitary, slightly flexuous, mid brown, smooth 4 – 5.6 µm thick. conidia arising in simple or branched chains, cylindrical, ellipsoidal, sub-hyaline, smooth, 5 – 6.5 × 2 – 3.5 µm. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka.5 january, 2022. f. nessa32. colletotrichum sp. (fig. 1f) colony cottony white, fluffy, front side white with light orangish shade, reverse side orangishwhite. conidia hyaline, aseptate, straight to falcate, smooth, thin walled. conidia length 9.58 µm & width 2.41 µm. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 11 november, 2021. f. nessa24. curvularia hominis da cunha, madrid, gené& cano, persoonia 33: 55 (2014) (fig. 1g) colonies on pda reaching 70-80 mm diam in 1 week, white in color, with moderate aerial mycelium giving the colony a slightly cottony appearance, lobulate; reverse pale to darker luteous towards periphery. conidia 4–5-celled, slightly curved, ellipsoidal to obovoid, the third cell from the base often larger and unequal sided, end cells subhyaline to pale brown and smooth-walled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy root of centella asiatica from the botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 22 july, 2021. f. nessa 19. curvularia lunata (wakker) boedijn, bull. jard. bot. buitenzorg 13 (1): 127 (1933) (fig. 1h) colonies on pda covering the surface of the petri dish in 1 week, center white to colourless towards periphery; abundant aerial mycelium giving the colony a cottony appearance, lobulate with a fimbriate margin; reverse pale gray. conidia smooth-walled, pale brown, end cells paler; conidia obovoidal to broadly clavate, curved at the subterminal cell. specimen examined: isolated from healthy stem ofcentella asiatica from the botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 22 july, 2021. f. nessa 18. curvularia sp. (fig. 1i) colonies on pda white or pale grey when young, orange to brown. colonies effuse orangish black, fluffy, cottony, raised. conidiophore solitary, mostly unbranched, straight or slightlyundulating. conidia mostly 4-5 septate, brown, slightly curved. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica from the botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 11 november, 2021. f. nessa 26. fusarium falciforme (carrión) summerb. & schroers, journal of clinical microbiology 40 (8): 2872 (2002) (fig. 2a) colonies off-white to pale cream, velvety or slightly fluffy, with a slightly raised centre and adpressed margin, growing slowly. conidia colourless, ellipsoidal to reniform, aseptate or septate. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves and root of centella asiaticafrom morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 115 botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 13 april, 2021. f. nessa 10. fusarium phaseoli (burkh.) t. aoki & o'donnell, mycologia 95 (4): 671 (2003) (fig. 2b) colony color on pda white with grayish tint; conidial pustules sometimes present, grayishgreen to dark green under fluorescent; macro-conidia septate, 2-4 celled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem of centella asiaticafrom botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 22 july, 2021. f. nessa 19. fusarium solani (mart.) appel & wollenw., arbeiten aus der kaiserlichen biologischen anstalt für landund forstwirtschaft 8: 64-78 (1910) (fig. 2c) colonies growing rapidly, covering the surface of the petri dish in 1 week, aerial mycelium generally abundant, white cottony; conidiophores arising laterally from aerial hyphae. monophialides mostly with a rather distinct collarette. macroconidia produced on shorter, branched conidiophores which soon form sporodochia, usually moderately curved, with short, blunt apical and indistinctly pedicellate basal cells, mostly 3-septate. microconidia usually abundant, chlamydospores frequent. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 22 july, 2021. f. nessa 21. fusarium udum (berk.) wollenw., phytopathology 1: 206 (1913) (fig. 2d) colony brownish-black to colorless towards periphery, growth rate medium, raised at center; reverse orange center to white towards periphery with colorless border. conidia initially produced on simple or verticillately branched conidiophores; variable in size, with a curved apex; there is no clear distinction between microconidia and macroconidia. specimen examined: isolated from fresh stem and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 13 april, 2021. f. nessa 11. fusarium sp. (fig. 2e) colonies growing rapidly, with white to cream-coloured aerial mycelium, reverse usually colourless. conidiophores arising laterally from aerial hyphae. macroconidia produced on shorter, branched conidiophores. microconidia usually abundant, produced on elongate. chlamydospores frequent, singly or in pairs, terminal, rough-walled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 16 november, 2021. f. nessa 27. lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griffon & maubl., bulletin de la société mycologique de france 25: 57 (1909) (fig. 2f) colonies on agar greyish sepia to mouse grey to black, fluffy with abundant aerial mycelium; reverse fuscous black to black. conidiogenous cells hyaline, simple, cylindrical to subobpyriform, holoblastic, annelidic. conidia initially unicellular, hyaline. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves of andographis paniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 16 june, 2021. f. nessa16. monodictys paradoxa (corda) s. hughes, canadian journal of botany 36(6): 786 (1958) (fig. 2g) colonies white, effuse, dotted with bundles of black conidia, reverse side black and brownish. conidiophora micronematica. conidiophore cells inflated. conidia ellipsoidal, oval, wall-shaped, 116 nessa et al. blackish, smooth, often with one or more basal cells, paler than the others, 20-43 x 17-30 µm, black-soot, basal cell subhyaline. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaf of andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 23 june, 2021. f. nessa 17. monodictys putredinis (wallr.) s. hughes, canadian journal of botany 36 (6): 785 (1958) (fig. 2h) colonies effuse, beige in color. reverse side reddish brown. mycelium mostly superficial. stroma none. setae and hyphopodia absent. vegetative hyphae hyaline or sooty, 1-2.5 µm wide. conidiophora micronematic, aggregated. conidiophore cells not markedly swollen. conidia individually acrogenous, subglobose or ellipsoid, multicellular, wall-shaped, sometimes slightly constricted at the septa, 20-30 x 15-25 µm, smooth. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy root of centella asiatica from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 12 april, 2021. f. nessa 8. penicillium commune thom, u.s.d.a. bur. animal industr. bull. 118: 56 (1910) (fig. 2i) colony growing rapidly, olive-gray in color, white towards the periphery; reverse white to yellow, conidiophore stipes rough-walled, penicilli terverticillate. phialides flask-shaped, tapering into a narrow neck. conidia spherical to subspherical, smooth-walled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy stem of centella asiatica from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 1 december, 2021. f. nessa 29. penicillium chrysogenum thom, u.s.d.a. bur. animal industr. bull. 118: 58 (1910) (fig. 3a) colonies bright green with yellow pigmentation in center, velutinous to floccose, exuding a bright yellow pigment into the medium; reverse yellow. conidiophore stipes smooth-walled, 200-300 µm long; penicilli usually terverticillate. metulae 8-12 µm long. phialides flask-shaped, 7-10 µm long. conidia smooth-walled, ellipsoidal, 2.5-4.0 µm long, blue or bluish-green. specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica and andrographis paniculata from curzon hall campus botanical garden, university of dhaka. 1 december, 2021. f. nessa 30. penicillium oxalicum currie & thom, j. biol. chem. 22: 289 (1915) (fig. 3b) colony white, soluble pigment lacking, reverse pale to yellow. conidial heads irregularly biverticillate. conidiophores smooth, 200-400 x 3-3,5 µm long. metulae appressed. phialides in verticils of 6-10, acerose, 10-15 x 3-3,5 µm. conidia elliptical, smooth. specimen examined: isolated from fresh leaves and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 12 april, 2021. f. nessa 9. penicillium sp. 1 (fig. 3c) colonies olive in color, with clear white border, moderate growth; conidiophores arising from the mycelium singly, smooth-walled. spores minute, globose, white. specimen examined: isolated from andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 13 april, 2021. f. nessa 12. penicillium sp. 2 (fig. 3d) colony yellow in colour with bright orange pigmentation in center, reverse orange. multiple phialides on each metullae grouped in brush-like clusters (penicilli) at the ends of the conidiophores; conidia unicellular, round. morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 117 fig 1. colony on pda medium and conidia under microscope: a. aspergillus flavus, b. a. fumigatus, c. a. niger, d. a. terreus, e. cladosporium sp.,f.colletotrichum sp., g. curvularia hominis, h. c. lunata and i. curvularia sp.(bar = 50 µm) fig 2. colony on pda medium and conidia under microscope: a. fusarium falciforme, b. f. phaseoli, c. f. solani, d. f. udum, e. fusarium sp., f. lasiodiplodia theobromae, g. monodictys paradoxa, h. m. putredinis, and i. penicillium commune. (bar = 50 µm) specimen examined: isolated from centella asiatica from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 1 december, 2021. f. nessa 31. 118 nessa et al. penicillium sp. 3 (fig. 3e) colony yellow in colour with green center, raised at center. no pigmentation present. conidia round, hyaline, rough walled. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaves and root of andrographis apniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 5 january, 2022. f. nessa 35. penicillium sp. 4 (fig. 3f) colony pale yellow in color, orange in center, reverse orange; reddish orange pigmentation. conidiophore greenish in colour. phialides grouped in brush-like clusters (penicilli) at the ends of the conidiophores. conidia round, greenish yellow. specimen examined: isolated from andrographis paniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 5 january, 2022. f. nessa 35. scytalidium lignicola pesante, annali della sperimentazione agaria 11 (suppl.): 265 (1957) (fig. 3g) colonies effuse, flat with raised folds, cottony to woolly, initially whitish, finally becoming dark grey to black. microscopy. hyphae hyaline at first, later becoming brown. arthroconidia hyaline, thin-walled, rectangular, about 5-8 x 2 µm. chlamydospore-like conidia single or in chains, dark brown, thick-walled, swollen up to 7 µm wide. specimen examined: isolated from fresh and healthy leaf of andrographis paniculata from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 23 march, 2021. f. nessa 4. fig 3. colony on pda medium and conidia under microscope: a. penicillium chrysogenum, b. penicillium oxalicum, c. penicillium sp. 1, d. penicillium sp. 2, e. penicillium sp. 3, f. penicillium sp. 4, g. scytalidium lignicola and h. talaromyces trachyspermus. (bar = 50 µm). talaromyces trachyspermus (shear) stolk & samson, stud. mycol. 2: 32 (1972) (fig. 3h) the front side of the colony white and reverse side light brown, texture floccose, sporulation moderately dense to dense, and conidia numerous, colonies grew slowly. phialides lanceolate, morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 119 metulae in small verticils. conidia ellipsoidal to ovoidal and 5.90~ 7.87 μm in diameter. specimen examined: isolated from the fresh and healthy root of centella asiatica from botanical garden of curzon hall campus, university of dhaka. 16 june, 2021. f. nessa 15. molecular identification molecular characterization of the fungal species was conducted for proper identification using sequence analysis of its region. ten isolates were identified by analyzing its regions sequences using the its1 and its4 as forward and reverse primers. in order to confirm at the genomic sequence level, pcr amplified bands (~550 bp) from ten samples were subjected to automated sequencing followed by blast analysis (table 1). the endophytic fungi of this study were identified on the basis of sequence similarity of its region. pcr amplification of internal transcribed spacer (its) regions generated a sharp band of approximately 550 bp in 1% agarose, confirming the presence of the desired region from each of the isolates (fig 4). fig 4. gel electrophoresis of amplified its region of the isolated endophytic fungi. (l represents 1kb dna ladder) table 1. blast analysis of the amplified sequences from the isolated dna of endophytic fungi. sample id name of fungi max score total score query coverage (%) e value identity (%) ncbi gene bank acc. no. f12 curvularia chonburiensis 704 704 75 0.0 98.47 nr168176 f9 curvularia hominis 798 798 96 0.0 93.62 mn540244 f10 curvularia lunata 778 778 96 0.0 92.69 ol699891 f11 curvularia lycopersici 470 470 100 6e-128 99.23 mt590310 f2 fusarium falciforme 656 656 84 0.0 91.53 om372820 f5 fusarium phaseoli 771 771 92 0.0 94.20 om839786 f1 fusarium solani 798 798 94 0.0 94.65 ku939057 f6 fusarium udum 621 621 84 4e-173 91.01 mw647689 f13 lasiodiplodia theobromae 753 753 85 0.0 97.56 ol453207 f3 penicillium commune 714 714 73 0.0 98.53 eu436692 ~550 bp 120 nessa et al. to confirm identity, the obtained dna sequences of the isolated endophytic fungi were matched with the already available sequences in national center for biotechnology information database. the obtained dna sequences showed 98.47% identity with curvularia chonburiensis, 93.62% identity with curvularia hominis, 92.69% identity with curvularia lunata, 99.23% identity with curvularia lycopersici, 91.53% identity with fusarium falciforme, 94.20% identity with fusarium phaseoli, 94.65% identity with fusarium solani, 91.01% identity with fusarium udum, 97.56% identity with lasiodiplodia theobromae, 98.53% identity with penicillium commune (table 1). molecular analysis showed species identification of all the fungal genera studied morphologically (table 2). table 2. comparison between morphological and molecular identification of ten fungal isolates. isolates no. morphological identification molecular identification f9 curvularia sp. 1 curvularia hominis f10 curvularia sp. 2 curvularia lunata f2 fusarium sp. 1 fusarium falciforme f5 fusarium sp. 2 fusarium phaseoli f1 fusarium sp. 3 fusarium solani f6 fusarium sp. 4 fusarium udum f13 lasiodiplodia sp. lasiodiplodia theobromae f3 penicillium sp.5 penicillium commune f12 unidentified curvularia chonburiensis f11 unidentified curvularia lycopersici neighbor-joining tree based on its sequences of ten endophytic fungi was also constructed to see the phylogenetic relationship among them (fig. 5). from this tree, it was demonstrated that fungi belonging to same genera form same cluster. fig 5. phylogenetic tree based on its sequences of ten endophytic fungi. scale bar indicates the number of nucleotide substitution per site curvularia lunata curvularia lycopersici curvularia hominis curvularia chonburiensis penicillium commune lasiodiplodia theobromae fusarium falciforme fusarium udum fusarium phaseoli fusarium solani 100 73 100 90 100 50 50 0.050 morphological and molecular charactrization of endophytic fungi 121 among the total 28 fungal endophytes, 18 species were recovered from different parts of the andrographis paniculata plant. the fungi were aspergillus flavus, a. niger, a. terreus, cladosporium sp., colletotrichum sp., curvularia chonburiensis, curvularia lycopersici, fusarium solani, fusarium udum, fusarium sp., lasiodiplodia theobromae, monodictys paradoxa, penicillium chrysogenum, p. oxalicum, penicillium sp. 2, penicillium sp. 3, penicillium sp. 4 and scytalidium lignicola. earlier 6 fungal endophytes were isolated from the same plant to study their potential for the production of plant growth promoters and enzymes. (adhikari mukhopadhyay, 2022) sixteen species of endophytic fungi were isolated from the centella asiatica plant. the fungi were aspergillus flavus, a. fumigatus, a. niger, a. terreus, cladosporium sp. colletotrichum sp., curvularia hominis, c. lunata, curvularia sp., fusarium falsiforme, f. phaseoli, penicillium commune, penicillium sp. 1 and penicillium sp. 2. this work will lead to the study of the endophytic fungal diversity and the species richness in those medicinal plant. among the isolated fungi, curvularia chonburiensis, curvularia hominis, curvularia lycopersici, fusarium falciforme, fusarium phaseoli, monodictys paradoxa, penicillium commune and scytalidium lignicola have been reported as new records for bangladesh as these were not documented in relevant literature (siddiqui et al., 2007; shamsi s, 2017; nahar et al., 2019; khatun et al.2022). the present investigation suggests that molecular technique is more accurate and rapid means of fungal identification. its-based molecular identification methods might be an important complement to conventional mycological detection by culture. references adhikari, m. and mukhopadhyay, m. 2022. potentials of endophytes of andrographis paniculata for the production of plant growth promoters, enzymes and antimicrobial compounds. saarc j. agric. 19(2): 157–170. amer, o.e., mahmoud, m.a., elsamawaty, a.m.a. and sayed, s.r.m. 2011. non liquid nitrogenbasedmethodfor isolation of dna from filamentous fungi. afr. j. biotechnol. 10(65):1433714341. barnett, h.l. and hunter, s.b. 1972. illustrated genera of imperfect fungi. burgess publishing company, usa. third edition, pp. 44-45. benoit, m.a. and mathur, s.b. 1970. identification of species curvularia on rice seed. proc. inst. seed test. ass. 35(1): 1-23. booth, c. 1971. the genus fusarium. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, england, 267 pp. brinkhaus, b., lindner, m., schuppan, d. and hahn, e.g. 2000. chemical, pharmacological and clinical profile of the east asian medical plant centella asiatica. phytomedicine 7: 427–48. cab (commonwealth agricultural bureau) 1968. plant pathologist’s pocket book. 1st edn. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, 267 pp. chopra, r.n. 1980. glossary of indian medicinal plants. new delhi: council for scientific and industrial research, 18 pp. ellis, m.b. 1971. dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, kew, surrey, england, 608 pp. ellis, m.b. 1976. more dematiaceous hyphomycetes. the commonwealth mycological institute, england, 507 pp. gohil, k.j., patel, j.a. and gajjar, a.k. 2010. pharmacological review on centella asiatica: a potential herbal cure-all. indian j. pharm. sci. 72(5): 546-56. hyde, k.d., xu, j.c., rapior, s., jeewon, r., lumyong, s., niego, a.g.t., abeywickrama, p.d., aluthmuhandiram, j.v.s., brahamanage, r.s. and brooks, s. 2019. the amazing potential of fungi: 50 ways we can exploit fungi industrially. fungal divers.97:1–136. 122 nessa et al. jarukamjorn, k., kondo, s., chatuphonprasert, w., sakuma, t., kawasaki, y. and emito, n. 2010. genderassociated modulation of inducible cyp1a1 expression by andrographolide in mouse liver. eur. j. pharm. sci. 39: 394–401. khatun, a., shamsi, s., and bashar, m. 2022. morphological and molecular characterization of micromycetes associated with seeds of selected cotton (gossypium hirsutum l.) varieties. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 297–312. kumar, s., stecher, g.and tamura, k. 2016. mega7: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 7.0 for bigger datasets. mol. biol. evol. 33(7):1870–1874. nahar, m.n., hosen, s. and shamsi, s. 2019. prevalence of fungi associated with seeds of three cotton varieties (gossypium arboreum l.) in storage. biores. commun. 5(1): 642-648. patchett, a. and newman, j.a. 2021. comparison of plant metabolites in root exudates of lolium perenne infected with different strains of the fungal endophyte epichlo festucae var. lolii. j. fungi. 7:148. rosenblueth, m. and martinez-romero, e. 2006. bacterial endophytes and their interactions with hosts. acta pharmacologica sinica 19: 827–837. shamsi, s. 2017. checklist of deuteromycetous fungi of bangladesh i. j. bangladesh acad. sci. 41(2):115126. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khandker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol.2. cyanobacteria, bacteria and fungi. asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 415 pp. sutton, b.c. 1980. the coelomycetes, common wealth mycological institute, kew surrey, england, 696 pp. thom, c. and raper, k.b. 1945. a manual of the aspergilli. williams and wilkins, baltimore, md., usa, 373 pp. (manuscript received on 12 july 2022; revised on 10 may 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 185-193, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70495 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists anatomical structure of saskatoon berry (amelanchier medik.) leaves under different cultivation conditions e. raeva-bogoslovskaya*, y. vinogradova, o. molkanova and m. hussien tsitsin main botanical garden of the russian academy of sciences, 127276 moscow, russia keywords: amelanchier; stomata; mesophyll; epidermis; adaptation; clonal micropropagation. abstract amelanchier medik. belonging to the family rosaceae includes about 30 species with a high content of biologically active substances. the aim of the study was to determine the morpho-anatomical features of leaves at the adaptation and ontogenesis stages of saskatoon berry variety ‘krasnoyarskaya’ (a. alnifolia) and variety ‘prince william’ (a. canadensis). saskatoon berry leaves are characterized by hypostomatic and anomocytic, less often anisocytic stomata at all stages of ontogenesis. the study revealed in the average length of the polar axis and the stomata equatorial diameter, depending on the cultivation conditions and genotype. a. canadensis had a larger average stomatal area, a thicker epidermis, a greater height of the palisade chlorenchyma cells, and a higher coefficient of palisade, which made it more resistant to changes in atmospheric precipitation, at all stages of ontogenesis, in comparison a. alnifolia. introduction the genus amelanchier medik. belongs to the family rosaceae juss. and includes 23 to 28 species (itis, 2023; powo, 2023). the plant form of this genus is a deciduous shrub or a small tree growing in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. saskatoon berry fruits are characterized by a higher content of flavonoids (mazza, 1982; zatylny and st-pierre 2003; laksaeva and sychev, 2013; donno et al., 2016; szpadzik and krupa, 2021; asyakina et al., 2022; kolesárová, 2022), which allows them to be attributed to nutraceuticals that help reduce the risk of certain diseases in humans (who, 2023). this tree is cultivated on an industrial scale in certain regions of canada and the usa (template business plan for manitoba saskatoon berry producers, 2023; saskatoon berry council of canada, 2023). there are currently no large farms to produce planting material for saskatoon berries in russia. using the sexual propagation method, saskatoon berry was massively propagated in the kudymkar nursery in the 1940, from where the seedlings were distributed to other regions of the soviet union. however, the seedlings obtained turned out to be highly heterogeneous, which reduced interest in this culture (kuklina, 2006). thus, despite the unpretentiousness of the cultivation, nutritional value, and high decorative qualities of the saskatoon berry, it remains a rarely spread plant in russia. saskatoon berry varieties are propagated only by vegetative methods such as grafting, cuttings, and clonal micropropagation (hunková et al., 2017). the last method is considered one of the most effective approaches to obtaining virus-free plants. various studies have been carried out on the influence of mineral and hormonal compositions of the nutrient medium, as well as at the stage of adaptation, on some representatives of the genus amelanchier (pruski et al., 1990; hunková et al., 2017; yang and du, 2018; hunková and gajdošová, 2019; raeva-bogoslovskaya et al., 2021). *corresponding author. e-mail: katyaraevab@gmail.com 186 raeva-bogoslovskaya et al. in vitro culture is carried out under conditions of high relative humidity, which affects the anatomical structure of newly formed tissues and organs in the explant (hazarika, 2006). this leads to a decrease in the ability of plants to maintain homeostasis under ex vitro conditions and, subsequently, reduces the number of adapted plants (blanke and belcher, 1989; romano and martins-loução, 2001; apóstolo et al., 2005; pospísilová et al., 2007; werner et al., 2018; mitrofanova et al., 2018; jagiełło-kubiec, 2021). during the process of adaptation to ex vitro conditions, in vitro-derived plantlets are exposed to water stress. at this stage, the ability of plants to tolerate this stress depends on the genotype, leaf structure and stomatal apparatus (sciutti and morini, 1993; pospísilová et al., 2007; cha-um et al., 2010). the leaves are the most flexible organs because of their individual structures that are associated with certain features. therefore, the type of stomatal apparatus and stomata size, the shape and height of the epidermal cell, and the structure of the mesophyll can be not only taxonomic characteristics, but also characterize the plant adaptability to various cultivation conditions (akhkubekova and tamakhina, 2020). the available studies on the structure of amelanchier leaves in vitro and ex vitro are few and mostly reflect the structure of the epidermis and stomatal apparatus (ganeva and uzunova, 2010; bošnjak mihovilović et al., 2020). therefore, the aim of our study is to determine the morphological and anatomical structures of amelanchier leaves at various stages of ontogenesis. materials and methods plant materials and experimental conditions the research was carried out in the laboratory of plant biotechnology of the tsytsin main botanical garden of the russian academy of sciences in 2022–2023. the objects of this study are two varieties: ‘prince william’ developed from species a. canadensis (l.) medik. and ‘krasnoyarskaya’ derived from a. alnifolia (nutt.) nutt. ex m. roem. the natural habitat of a. canadensis is canada from newfoundland west to southern ontario and usa from maine south to alabama, and a. alnifolia is native to alaska, most of western canada, as well as the western and north–central regions of the united states. comparative analysis of the anatomical structure and development of the stomatal apparatus was carried out on mature leaves, which were selected from different stages: 1. from plantlets rooted in murashige and skoog’s 1962 nutrient medium supplemented with 1.0 mg/l of iba. culture was inducted at 25 ± 2°c under 16/8 (light /dark light conditions) with a light intensity of 3,000 lux. 2. from plants after 30 days of adaptation under greenhouse conditions (at a temperature of 25°c, the photoperiod of 16 hrs of light, 8 hrs of darkness and 2000 lux light intensity). 3. leaves of the middle formation from 3-year-old plants obtained by clonal micropropagation and grown in the open ground at the collection site. observation of the stomatal apparatus stomata were analyzed using the replica method (hilu and randall, 1984). the samples were prepared by applying a thin layer of nail polish to the middle area of the leaf blade. after drying, the varnish was removed with transparent adhesive tape and attached to the object-glass. morphometric traits of stomata (the length of the polar axis and the equatorial diameter) were measured using a digital microscope (keyence vhx-1000e) in at least 5 fields of view at magnification x1500. stomatal shape was calculated as the ratio of the polar axis (l) to the anatomical structure of saskatoon berry leaves 187 equatorial axis length (d). stomata are often considered round if l/d is in the range from 1.0 to 1.4, and elliptical if this proportion ranges from 1.5 to 2.0. the stomatal area was calculated using a following formula (vinogradova et al., 2019): s=π*l*d/4, where 's' is the area of one stoma, 'l' is the length of the polar axis of the stoma, 'd' is the equatorial diameter of the stoma. anatomical structure of leaves all materials were fixed in 70% ethanol. cross-sections slices through the middle part of a leaf blade were made. the slices were made on a sledge microtome ms-2 (tochmedpribor, kharkiv, ukraine) with an attached freezing table omt-2802e (kb techcom llc, yekaterinburg, russia) at a temperature of -10°c, the thickness of the slices was – 80 µm for samples from in vitro culture and 20 µm for leaves from open ground. photographs of leaf crosssections were obtained using an olympus cx41 light microscope (olympus corporation, tokyo, japan) and a canon 7d mark ii digital camera attached to it (canon incorporated, tokyo, japan). at this stage, the following parameters were assessed: leaf thickness, palisade cell height, spongy chlorenchyma thickness, leaf lower epidermis thickness, and upper epidermis thickness. data analysis a completely randomized design (crd) was used to conduct the experiments. to study the anatomical traits, 10 leaves were selected from in vitro culture and at the adaptation stage, and 20 leaves from three-year-old plants grown in the open ground. the quantitative data were analyzed using microsoft office excel 2016 and past 3.2 (pale-ontological statistical) using the methods of descriptive statistics, and one-way analysis of variance (anova). significant variances between treatments were subsequently tested by the t-test at a value of p<0.05. results and discussion stomatal apparatus successful adaptation of in vitro-derived plants can be affected by the structural and functional features of the plant’s various parts. in our study, it was noted that a hypostomatic leaf type was noted in both varieties, regardless of environmental conditions (in vitro or adapted plant): stomata were located only on the abaxial (lower) side of the leaf blade. the walls of the epidermal cells are coarsely wavy (fig. 1a). all samples were characterized mainly by the anomocytic stomata type, where the guard cells of the stomata were surrounded by an indefinite number of subsidiary cells that did not differ from the other epidermal cells (fig. 1b). however, the selected leaves from in vitro conditions also had anisocytic stomata type (fig. 1c), one cell of which is smaller than the other subsidiary cells. to find the most resilient plant species, it is important to assess the resistance of plants to adverse environmental factors (semenyutin, 2000). our observations agreed with other studies: a hypostomatic leaf type and an anomocytic stomatal type are characteristic of this taxon (ganeva and uzunova, 2010; bošnjak mihovilović et al., 2020). during the process of clonal micropropagation, rejuvenation of explant tissue occurs, which is characterized mainly by morphological and anatomical criteria (putenikhin and farukshina, 2007). the appearance of anisocytic stomata in leaves under in vitro conditions may be associated with this phenomenon. thus, pautov et al. (2015) observed a change in the types of stomatal apparatus in the leaves of 188 raeva-bogoslovskaya et al. exbucklandia populnea (r.br. ex griff.) r.w.br. at different ages: in juvenile leaves, the predominant types are lateracytic and paracytic, and in adults, encyclocytic type. fig. 1. leaf epidermis of saskatoon berry in in vitro culture: a. adaxial side; b. anomocytic stomata type, abaxial side; c. anisocytic stomata type, abaxial side. the number, size, and shape of stomata significantly affect the regulation of gas exchange and photosynthesis in plants (semenyutina, 2000; vieira et al., 2015). significant differences in the equatorial diameter and polar axis of stomata, both between studied varieties and between the plants of the same variety, were noted under different cultivation conditions (fig. 2). fig. 2. polar axis length and equatorial diameter of stomata in different saskatoon berry varieties: a. a. alnifolia ‘krasnoyarskaya’; b. a. canadensis ‘prince william’ under various cultivation conditions: dot – in vitro; plus – 30 days after planting under ex vitro conditions; square – from open ground. under in vitro conditions, the stomata were characterized by a high average length of the polar axis and the equatorial diameter (l 40.8±0.5 µm; d 32.4±0.4 µm). while the average length of the polar axis and the equatorial diameter of the stomata decreased under ex vitro conditions (l 34.5 ± 0.5 µm; d 23.3 ± 0.3 µm). consecutively, the stomata of the leaves taken from the open ground were characterized by the smallest length of the polar axis and the equatorial diameter (l 30.2±0.3 µm; d 16.1 ± 0.2 µm). after the adaptation stage, the average length of the polar axis decreased by 13% in the variety ‘krasnoyarskaya’, and by 21% in ‘prince william’. while the average length of the polar axis of stomata in open-ground cultivated plants decreased by 7% in the variety ‘krasnoyarskaya’, anatomical structure of saskatoon berry leaves 189 and in the variety ‘prince william’ by 23%. thus, the area of stomata of the a. canadensis variety from open ground is 49% smaller than stomata from in vitro culture, and the stomata of the a. alnifolia variety is 20% smaller. the stomata of saskatoon berry leaves formed in vitro vary in shape from those formed ex vitro. under in vitro conditions, the stomata were characterized by a round shape (l/d ranged from 1.0 to 1.4). this is mainly due to the stomatal apertures, which are wide open under high humidity conditions (ziv, 1991; pautov et al., 2015). whereas, in ex vitro conditions, elliptical stomata were formed (l/d ranges from 1.5 to 2.0). it was found that in the variety of a. alnifolia, the shape of the stomata changed due to a decrease in the equatorial diameter, and in the variety of a. canadensis both the equatorial diameter and the polar axis of the stomata. the change in the length of the polar axis and equatorial diameter of the stomata in cultivars of the same species, depending on the ecological zone, was noted by babosha et al. (2020) on the varieties of malus domestica borkh. with decreasing altitude above sea level and moving to more arid regions, the length of the polar axis and the equatorial diameter of the stomata become smaller. one of the distinctive features of in vitro culture conditions in the high air humidity of up to 90%. after transferring regenerants to the greenhouse, they begin to adapt to the conditions of lower humidity. the decrease in morphometric parameters of a. canadensis stomata may be due to the same mechanisms as in malus domestica. stomatal density plays an important role in the adaptation of plants to environmental conditions (mizutani and kanaoka, 2018; goremykina et al., 2018). this characteristic is flexible and may change depending on temperature, humidity, light, and other factors (goremykina et al., 2018). in our study, the number of stomata varied from 143 to 199 per 1 m2, which suggests an average density of stomata location (trukhmanova, 2014). stomatal density in leaves selected from under in vitro conditions and in plants grown on open ground did not show any significance. anatomical structure of leaves adaptation to cultivation conditions is a complex process. mesophyll tissue, like the stomatal apparatus, is sensitive to changes in the microclimate (timonin and notov, 1993). leaf blades of saskatoon berry varieties under in vitro conditions showed dorsoventral anatomy, were poorly differentiated, and had only one layer of palisade chlorenchyma overlying four layers of spongy chlorenchyma. the palisade cells were not densely grouped and were characterized by a slightly elongated shape. the cells of spongy chlorenchyma had large intercellular spaces and irregular shapes. it was found that the cells of the upper and lower epidermis did not have cuticles, and the upper epidermis was thicker than the lower epidermis (fig. 3). most tree crops, when cultivated in vitro, obtain a similar leaf structure (mitrofanova, 2018; sarropoulou et al., 2023). this is probably largely due to the increased humidity and reduced light conditions during cultivation. despite the similarity of qualitative characteristics, the varieties of amelanchier species differed in quantitative parameters: the variety ‘prince william’ (a. canadensis) was characterized by a higher height of epidermis cells and palisade chlorenchyma under in vitro conditions in comparison with the variety ‘krasnoyarskaya’ (a. alnifolia). after one month of plantlet cultivation under ex vitro conditions, no changes were observed in the number of palisade layers of chlorenchyma. however, it was noted that the formation of cuticles on the adaxial leaf side was an insignificant increase in the height of the spongy chlorenchyma and epidermis cells. this is consistent with the results of other studies on different species (shekhawat et al., 2021 on santalum album l. and tevik et al., 2017 on canna × hybrida hort. ex-backer). in these studies, it was noted that in both species, the number of mesophyll cells increased after adaptation to ex vitro conditions, and they began to be grouped more densely than in in vitro conditions. 190 raeva-bogoslovskaya et al. fig. 3. leaf cross-sections of saskatoon berry plantlets selected from in vitro culture: а. ‘krasnoyarskaya’ (a. alnifolia); в. ‘prince william’ (a. canadensis). it was observed that the leaves of plants from the open ground were fully differentiated, and the formation of a secondary palisade layer of chlorenchyma was noted. the thickness of the leaf blade, total thickness of palisade chlorenchyma, and spongy chlorenchyma thickness, in comparison with the leaves selected after 30 days of ex vitro adaptation, increased by 3, 4.5, and 1.5 times, respectively. at the stages of in vitro cultivation and adaptation, plantlets of the ‘prince william’ variety were characterized by a higher leaf thickness compared to the ‘krasnoyarskaya’ variety, as well as a greater thickness of the palisade layers of chlorenchyma, and the upper and lower layers of the epidermis. in open-ground conditions, the leaves of ‘prince william’ plants were characterized by a greater thickness (249.63 ± 3.6 µm2) in comparison with the ‘krasnoyarskaya’ variety (243.4± 2.2 µm2). significant differences in the thickness of secondary palisade chlorenchyma and spongy chlorenchyma were noted. the ‘krasnoyarskaya’ variety was characterized by a dense arrangement of columnar-shaped cells, their high length, and, in some places, the rudiments of the third layer. at the same time, the second layer of columnar cells in the ‘prince william’ variety were loosely packed with air spaces in between, and the height of the cells is smaller in comparison with the ‘krasnoyarskaya’ variety (fig. 4). fig. 4. leaf cross-sections of saskatoon berry plants selected from open ground: а. ‘krasnoyarskaya’ (a. alnifolia); в. ‘prince william’ (a. canadensis). the studied varieties of the genus amelanchier can be attributed to the group of mesophytes with some traits of xerophytic plants, since their leaf blade is differentiated, characterized by two layers of palisade chlorenchyma, and the thickness of the leaf ranges from 200 µm to 250 µm (ivanova, 2014). anatomical structure of saskatoon berry leaves 191 the present study of the anatomical features of the genus amelanchier, both in vitro and ex vitro, is the first of its kind. the result showed that plantlets of amelanchier species do not differ in the characteristics of the stomatal apparatus under in vitro conditions as the leaves of both studied species are hypostomatic. the type of stomatal apparatus is mainly anomocytic, anisocytic type is rarely observed and the shape of the stomata is rounded. when cultivating plants in an open-ground environment the stomatal elongation and an eventual shift to an oval shape occur. in the ‘krasnoyarskaya’ variety (a. alnifolia), cells in the second palisade layer are densely arranged and share a similar shape with those in the first layer. conversely, in the ‘prince william’ variety (a. canadensis), the intercellular spaces of the second palisade layer are larger than those in the first layer, and the cells are less elongated. notably, ‘prince william’ exhibits a thicker epidermis, greater palisade chlorenchyma height, and a higher coefficient of palisade development compared to ‘krasnoyarskaya’ at all stages of cultivation. several structural changes in leaf development have been identified during the ontogenesis of saskatoon berry plants, including an increase in leaf thickness by three times and the height of the first palisade layer by 2.5 times. a second palisade layer is formed, which is 44% thinner than the first. the height of the spongy chlorenchyma increases by 1.5 times; 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(manuscript received on 01 july 2023; revised on 03 december 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 153-163, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67052 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists seaweed flora of the st. martin’s reef, bangladesh abdul aziz, shahriar kabir and md. almujaddade alfasane* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: reef seaweeds; st. martin’s reef; cox’s bazar; seaweeds; bangladesh. abstract st. martin’s reef (smr) about 14 km west of the st. martin’s island, teknaf, cox’s bazar, bangladesh was not known during last over 50 years of seaweed researches. recent six collections made with the assistance of bangladesh navy revealed 8 seaweeds species which are pterocladiella maribagoensis boo and geraldino, hypnea spinella (c. agardh) kützing, peyssonnelia polymorpha (zanar.) schmitz, jania pumila lam., j. ungulata f. brevior (yendo) yendo (rhodophyta); caulerpa racemosa var. clavifera (turner) bosse, bryopsis plumosa (huds.) c. ag. and halimeda tuna (ellis & solander) lam. (chlorophyta). of these six seaweeds such as pterocladiella maribagoensis boo et geraldino, hypnea spinella (c. agardh) kützing, jania pumila lamx., j. ungulata f. brevior (yendo) yendo, bryopsis plumosa (huds.) c. ag. and halimeda tuna (ellis & solander) lam. have been newly recorded and described from the smr in bay of bengal (bangladesh territory). presence of peyssonnelia polymorpha and bryopsis plumosa in the collections and physical and chemical water environments recorded indicated it as a true newly forming reef. the present illustrated account is however may be considered as base-line information on seaweed flora of the new smr in the north-east bangladesh coast. a total of six seaweeds have been newly recorded making the total seaweeds to 216 mostly from the smi and nearby smr. introduction a total of 210 seaweed species (some as new var. and species from the st. martin’s island and brackish water, bangladesh) have been recorded from bangladesh coast mostly from the smi (aziz, 1997, 2001, 2016; aziz and alfasane, 2020; aziz and islam, 2008; aziz and islam. s., 2009; aziz and rahman, 2010, 2011; aziz et al., 2001, 2002a,b, 2004, 2008a,b, 2009, 2015; islam, 1976; islam and aziz, 1982,1986; islam et al., 2002, 2004; islam s et al., 2010). occurrence of st. martin’s reef (smr) about 14 km west of the st. martin’s island was known in the year 2013 (fig. 1) during studying sub-littoral seaweed flora with the assistance of bangladesh navy and has been explored. along some of the continental shelves reefs (special structure) develop as an elevated structure from rocky sea bottom, no deeper than 50 m and rises at or near the surface of water at temperature just above 20º c, high water transparency and water movement but low nutrient status i.e. oligotrophic (castro and huber, 2003). diaz-pulido et al. (2007) identified three types of functional seaweed groups interact in reefs: (i) algal turfs, (ii) fleshy macroalgae or seaweeds and (iii) crustose calcareous algae. a total over 600 species are occurring on the great barrier reef (diaz-pulido and mc cook, 2008). encrusting coralline algae are the glue that holds the reef together (castro and huber 2003). alacranes reef (mexico) was found to be composed of 35% halimeda, 8% coralline algae, 29% corals, 8% mollusks, 6% foraminifera, 1% miscellaneous skeletal grains, 9% fecal pellets and 4% aggregates dry volume, indicating about 50% contribution by seaweeds. like corals, *corresponding author, e-mail: mujaddade@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67052 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 154 aziz et al. coralline red algae produce a “skeleton” of calcium carbonate and encrusting coralline algae (lithothamnion) grow in rock-head sheets over the reef (castro and huber, 2003). sidik et al. (2012) reported a total of 16 common seaweeds from a malaysian coral reef at pulau bidong laut and of these seven were rhodophyta (acrochaetium sp., hypnea sp., ceramium sp., laurencia sp., polysiphonia sp., acanthophora sp. and herposiphonia sp. not much calcified); six chlorophyta (rhizoclonium sp., cladophora sp., enteromorpha sp., caulerpa peltata, c. racemosa var. peltata and c. serrulata) and three phytophyta (dictyota bartayressi, d. indica and padina commersonii) in a scientific expedition tsuda et al. (2015) recorded 30 red algae, 24 green algae and 5 brown algae many of them were small sized from seamounts along the mariana islands, western pacific, covering pathfinder reef, arakan reef, santa rosa reef, tatsumi reef, supply reef, etc. the st. martin’s reef is very young, visible only at lowest low tide as two rocky heaps of about 3 and 4 m2 and first of its kind reported along bangladesh coast only recently. several physical and chemical factors of the location along with an illustrated account of eight seaweeds (few more are to be worked out) from the reef have been included in the result that will serve as a base-line data for future researches and development. materials and methods studies were carried out on the seaweed specimens collected from st. martin’s reef on 24 april 2014, taking a complete support from the bangladesh navy and its scuba diving team equipped with underwater communication systems. the smr is situated at 20º 33΄ 24˝ 20º 34΄ 48˝ n and 92º 10΄ 24˝ 92º 11΄ 12˝ e, about 14 km west of the smi (fig. 1). the larger southern heap is wide northerly and narrowed southerly. the smr is visible only at low tide as two rocky heaps of about 3 and 4 m2 in a nearly north-south direction. the rocky floors between the two heaps were whitish with red colour here and there. boulders were predominantly round with abundant calcified seaweeds and flat corals having typical polygonal polyp zones. fig. 1. map of the st. martin’s reef, a long arrow-head like structure (in the left), about 14 km west of the narikeldia, st. martin’s island. seaweed flora of the st. martin’s reef 155 collected seaweed samples were taken in transparent polythene bags filled with seawater, kept in icebox, transferred to laboratory, preserved in 10% formalin and herbaria were prepared. all the preserved specimens and herbarium sheets are kept in the national professor akm nurul islam laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. several physical and chemical factors of the location were determined (table 1). low turbidity (0.23 ntu), >5.5 m secchi depth (visibility) and 22% light penetration up to 1 m depth indicate a highly transparent water. water temperature was 28º c on 24 april 2014 (summer period, table 1). during december and january the temperature may go down to about 20º c. table 1. physical and chemical parameters of st. martin’s reef, bangladesh. ph (hanna ph meter) 8.0 salinity (‰, refractometer) 36.0 turbidity (ntu, turbidity meter) 0.23 secchi depth (m, secchi disc) >5.5 light penetration (1m depth, li-cor, usa light meter) 22% temperature (º c, thermometer) 28.0 tds (mg l-1, aqua tds meter) 37.0 conductivity (µs/cm, aqua conductivity meter) 38.5 results and discussion occurrence and illustrated account of eight seaweeds in the st. martin’s reef, are presented in the present paper. an illustrated account of the two groups of seaweed taxa recorded from the st. martin’s reef along with discussion against each taxon is given. of the eight seaweeds recorded six are recorded as new making the total number of seaweeds to 215, mostly from smi. rhodophyceae order: gelidiales; familly: gelidiaceae; genus: pterocladiella santelices et hommersand 1. pterocladiella maribagoensis boo and geraldin (figs 1a-e) (boo and geraldeno 2016, 239-248, figs 1-9) plants small, forming loose turfs or solitary; cartilaginous, brownish-red or purplish-red when wet but black or blackish-red when dry, extensive creeping base the rhizome giving rise to erect blades up to 8 mm long, about 1 mm broad, sub-cylindrical below, branches trichotomous and sparsely pinnate proliferations with apical cell (representing uniaxial growth). each branch possesses haptera from the lower side of rhizomes 180300 µm broad (figs 1a-d); central part composed of slender colorless filaments with exceedingly thick confluent walls, surrounded by the inner cortex of short, large cells and the epidermal layer of rounded angular cells slightly elongated lengthwise of the axis, about 4-10 µm surface diameter; tetrasporangial sori are formed at the tip of branches as cylindrical structure about 156 aziz et al. figs 1a-e. pterocladiella maribagoensis boo and geraldino: a) a tetrasporic whole plant showing erect dichotomous and trichotomous branching systems, some branches with developing and developed tetrasporangia enlarged; b) a part of gametophytic plant with leafy erect branch; c) highly enlarged hapteron with litle spiky projections; d) single layred with apical meristem, enlarged on the right hand side (arrow); e) a side highly enlarged showing three carpogonia. (am= apical meristem, c= carpogonium h= hapteron, t= tetrasporangia). one-third the diameter if branches (fig. 1a); branches may flat and look like leaf, about 2 mm broad, apices sometimes spoon-shaped sharply thinner than main axix/branch where tetrasporangia are formed (fig. 1b). tetrasporangia are initially in fairly regular rows, later becoming scattered. habitat: it is attached on rocky substratum. collection no. 1a (14), it is a new record for bangladesh territory. order: floridiophyceae; familly: gracilariales genus: hypnea grev. 2. hypnea spinella (c. agardh) kützing (figs 2a-e) (joly 165 , pl. xxvii, fig. 375-376) plants usually very bushy developed from a small discoid base, thallus about 4.5 cm tall and 0.75 mm broad, fleshy-cartilaginous, profusely branched, tip pointed with acentric apical meristem; purplish-violet in colour; cell wall thickened, small in the peripheral region but gradually larger seaweed flora of the st. martin’s reef 157 cells towards the center, multiaxial; the outer cell rows radiating (figs 2a-d); tips of branches slightly curved with several small apical meristem cells, apex look like mouth and head portion of a seahorse and attachment organ develops a bit behind (figs 2d) habitat: grows on boulders along with gelidium pusillum and jania ungulata. they remain strongly attached with the substratum by attachment organ near the tip region. collection no. 1a (14), it is a new record for bangladesh territory. figs 2 a-e. hypnea spinella (c. agardh) kütz.: a) a part of the plant with minute branches; b) a branch enlarged showing spiny secondary branches; c) a branch tip showing apical meristem cells and formation of attachment organ (dao), stained red; d–e) branch tip with attachment organ just behind the apex, note larger empty looking areas representing several axial cells. (am= apical meristem; ao = attachment organ, dao = developing attachment organ) . family: peyssonneliaceae genus: peyssonnelia decaisne 3. peyssonnelia polymorpha (zanar.) schmitz (figs 3a-e) (aziz 1997, 81-83, figs. 1-4) plants have fan-shaped frond, commonly overgrown on another, margin free, sometimes lobed; fronds nearly 2 mm in diameter, brittle due to thick encrustations on the lower surface and thin on the upper surface, upper surface with concentric zones, wavy to deep slope, rosy-red to brownish-red in colour; adhere to small boulders with almost whole of their lower surface with a plenty of rhizoids (figs 3a-e); large hypothallus cells in two rows giving rise to usually dichotomously branched vertical filaments; upper perithallus layer formed of juxtaposed filaments 158 aziz et al. borne upon these, gives rise of two celled thick filaments rising from one hypothallus cell, becoming erect and closely laterally united. figs 3a-e. peyssonnelia polymorpha (zanar.) schmitz: a) a boulder showing epilithic red seaweeds; b) peyssonnelia polymorpha cementing jania ungulata; c) mature peyssonnelia covering the jania; d) a vertical section enlarged showing dichotomous branches from hypothelial cells with epithelial filament; e. a vertical section shows the upper part of the thallus produced into sporangial swelling consisting of paraphyses and several rhizoids develop crossing calcified lower part. the species differs from other species mainly by its calcification. in p. rubra develops noncalcified membranous thallus but p. polymormha is calcified. this appears to be most common calcified bright-red coloured alga found in st. martin’s island, bangladesh (aziz, 1997) even up to a depth of 13 m. the alga was found to be encrusting on small boulders covering jania ungulata (figs 3a-c) increasing the size of the boulders every year. in other words it helps in building the coral reef. habitat: they are found on small boulders covering jania ungulata. collection no. 1b (14). genus: jania lam. 4. jania pumila lam. (figs 4a-d) (taylor 1960, 414, pl. 49, fig. 5) plants pulvinate, caespitose or forming extensive mats, 2-5 mm tall, dichotomously branched, diameter of the branch axis ranges from 155245 µm angles rather acute, forking at the joint, constriction region present, 114 µm in diameter, segments commonly 8-20 times as long as broad, prominently swollen at the ends, terminal dichotomy base diam. 104 µm and terminal part 122 µm., parent cell of dichotomy is about 400 µm long, segments become shorter distantly , last dichotomy length 176 µm and diameter ranges from 60 to 70 µm, structure of the articulations similar but the cell wall thicker, plants sterile (figs 4a-d). this species has been considered as jania pumila. dimension, nature and dichotomy are close to the species. habitat: forms wide loose mat on rocky substratum. collection no. 3a (14), jania pumila lam. is a new record for bangladesh territory. seaweed flora of the st. martin’s reef 159 figs 4ad. jania pumila lamx. (upper row): a) upper part of a plant showing branching pattern; b) base of branches part showing articulation; c-d). tip characteristics. figs 5a-d. jania ungulata f. brevior (yendo) yendo (lower row): a) a whole plant; b) showing enlarged segment of a plant; c) enlarged segment showing dichotomy; d) a growing branch tip showing multiaxial characteristics. 5. jania ungulata f. brevior (yendo) yendo (figs 5a-d) (islam 1976, 53-54, pi. 65, figs. 383-386) thallus generally erect from a small basal disk, about 2 mm long, irregularly dichotomously branched, the branches segmented, in between each branching flexible articulations present, articulation single near the basal segment, 2 in the first branch and 3 in the second branch, so articulation number increases in between the branches towards the apex; segment length ranges from 200-800 µm; branch forming cell 160 µm diameter in upper part and 75 µm diameter in basal parts; segment part cell ranges from 90-160 µm in diameter; eventually thick-walled cells; tip is multiaxial (figs. 5a-d). this species is small in size. other species such jania adherens (1.0-3.5 cm), jania rubens (2.0-6.0 cm) are larger than jania ungulata. this species has few branches. however, the reported species by islam 1976 had more repeated dichotomous branch. the number of taxa reported appears to be low (8) and this might due to the small size and relatively young reef and scanty sampling due to rough sea having 2 to 5 m wave splashes after every 2 to 3 minutes. habitat: found growing on small boulders forming loose mat along with peyssonnelia where fleshy peyssonnelia works as a cementing agent. collection no. 5a (14), it is a new record for bangladesh territory. 160 aziz et al. chloropyceae order: bryopsidales; family: caulerpaceae genus: caulerpa lamx. 6. caulerpa racemosa var. clavifera (turner) bosse (fig. 6) (islam 1976, 19 , pl. 5, figs. 4041; taylor 1960, 151-153, pi. 11 , fig. 8990) plants wide spreading, with long, coarse branching stolons, stout descending rhizoid-bearing branches are common, erect short branches, not often much crowded on the stolons, irregularly developed photosynthetic erect axes up to 5 cm tall, the branchlet or ramuli stalks 1.5-3.0 mm suddenly developing to a rounded top, generally compressed tangentially with respect to the surface of the frond (fig. 6). caulerpa. racemosa has several varieties which differs from each other by the shape of ramuli. this variety differs from c. racemosa var. uvifera by short erect branches, ramuli short with clavate to globular up to 1.5-2.0 µm broad. fig. 6. caulerpa racemosa var. clavifera (turner) bosse. (slightly deformed/plasmolysed): an anterior part of the plant, showing an enlarged tip of a rhizome with rhizoids on the lower left and an enlarged inset of the axis in the upper right showing pinnules developing into stalked hemispheres. habitat: found on rocky substratum strongly attached by the rhizoids from the lower surface. collection no. 3a (14). family: bryopsidaceae genus: bryopsis lamx. 7. bryopsis plumosa (huds.) c. ag. (figs 7a-f) (taylor 1960, 131132, pl. 9, fig.11) plants erect, tufted, about 5 cm. tall, 2.5 mm in diameter, light to olive green; the axis often naked below producing plumule-like branchlets oppositely at regular interval forming exactly feather-like structure; branchlets sharply constricted at the base, obtuse at the apex, simple, maximum length 2.0 mm and 200 µm broad; basal end of the main axis produces as many as 7 seaweed flora of the st. martin’s reef 161 rhizoidal branches for attachment to semisolid substratum (figs. 7a-b) all branches differentiated into gametangia during april; maximum width of the main axis 500 µm; from the base of the axis during gametangial phase two branches developed from about 1.3 cm above. in other species of bryopsis, branchlets may be very short and inconspicuous (b. ramulosa); more or less lineartriangular with 1-2 rows of branchlets (b. pennata). but in b. plumosa, plants having longer and conspicuous branchlets giving a characteristic lanceolate frond structure. this species shows prominent cross walls with constricted base separating it from the main axis (fig. 7e). chloroplasts show divisions within membranes packets (fig. 7 f). figs 7a-f. bryopsis plumosa (huds.) c. ag.: a) an one-half of a bush of the plant where un-branched feather-like assimilatory filaments developed; b) a single plant (lower part not shown) showing pinnule; c) a branch-tip showing opposite pinnules; d) pinnules enlarged showing partition wall at the base of pinna indicating gametangia(g); e) a portion of the plant highly enlarged showing partition walls (pw) at the base of gametangia; f) division of chloroplasts and release in the axis. habitat: loosely attached with the substratum by several rhizoids, no calcification occurs; do not play a direct role in reef formation. but has an important role in primary productivity. this species is an indicator species for reefs. collection no. 6a (14), bryopsis plumosa (huds.) c. ag. is a new record for bangladesh territory. family: halimedaceae genus: halimeda lam. 8 . halimeda tuna (ellis & solander) lam. (figs 8ab) (taylor 1960, 178-179, pl. 24, fig. 5) plants erect from holdfast, total length 2.5 cm, branched segmented with fragile joints, segments length ranges from 1.752.5 mm and width 1.54 mm, 5 to 20 erect branches compact or somewhat loose in orientation, arising in more than one plane from successive segments; calcification moderate to heavy, terminal segments may remain greenish due to incomplete calcification; colour on drying white or greenish, surface dull with naked eye but glossy with fine honey-comb structure under dissecting microscope; segments variable, large flat hemispherical 162 aziz et al. with upper margin entire in distal parts, small undulate or conical in proximal parts (figs 8a-b). branches of this plant originate at random, not in one plane. this characteristic feature differs from another species of the this genus. h. scabra arise from a stalk and highly differentiated. habitat: grows on boulders, due to its highly calcified nature plays a direct role in reef formation. collection no. 2b (14), it is a new record for bangladesh territory. figs 8a-b. halimeda tuna (ellis & solander) lam. showing calcification: a) a whole plant; and b) a segment enlarged. the total number of reef algae collected from st. martin’s island is small, which may be due to small number of collections or due to very specific characteristics of the reef environment that limits the seaweed diversity. literature search also indicated the presence of smaller number of seaweed species in reefs around world. predominance of calcareous and coralline algae indicate reef environment and acting as the cementing organisms in the formation of a reef. the present illustrated account is however, may be considered as base-line information on seaweed flora of the new reef. references aziz, a. 1997. peyssonnelia polymorpha (zonard.) schmitz (rhodophyta) newly recorded from st. martin's island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 81-83. aziz, a. 2001. st. martin's island, a living museum. i. seaweeds. ocean newsletter. 2(3): 3-4. aziz, a. 2016. bangia discoidea sp. nov. from pashur r., khulna, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 45(2): 173-187. aziz, a and alfasane, m.a. 2020. new records of seaweeds from southeastern coasts of cox’s bazar district, bangladesh. bangladesh journal of plant taxonomy, 27(2): 335–343. aziz, a. and islam, a.k.m.n. 2008. marine algae of st. martin’s is., bangladesh. v. antithamnionella floccossum (müller) whittick. bangladesh j. pl. taxon. 15(1): 63-65. aziz, a. and islam, s. 2009. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh. vii. acrochaetium nurulislamii sp. nov. and new records of acrochaetium (rhodophyceae). bangladesh j. bot. 38(2): 145-151. aziz, a. and rahman, m.t. 2010. marine algae of the st. martin's island, bangladesh. xi. red algae (rhodophyceae). bangladesh j. bot. 39(2): 161-168. seaweed flora of the st. martin’s reef 163 aziz, a. and rahman, m.t. 2011. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh. xii. new records of red and green algae. bangladesh j. bot. 41(1): 41-45. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m.n. and parvin, r. 2001. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. i. new records of sargassum spp. bangladesh j. bot. 30(2): 135-140. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m.n. and jahan, a. 2002a. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. iii. red algae. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 28(1):63-70. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m.n. and jahan, a. 2002b. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh. iv. new records red algae. bangladesh j. bot. 31(2):113-116. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m.n. and jahan, a. 2004. peyssonnelia simulans w. van bose (rhodophyta) a new algal record from st. martin's island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 69-71. aziz, a., islam, a.k.m.n. and jahan, a. 2008a. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh. vi. new records of species of the genus kallymenia j.g. ag. (rhodophyta). bangladesh j. bot. 37(2): 173-178. aziz, a., islam, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2008b. ulva lactuca lin. var. rigida (c. ag.) le jolis (chlorophyceae) from inani beach, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. j. noami. 25(2): 87-89. aziz, a., islam, s. and chowdhury, a.h. 2009. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh. ix. new records of green algae (chlorophyceae). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 193-198. aziz, a., touhidy, s. and alfasane, m.a. 2015. sublittoral seaweed flora of the st. martin's island, bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 44(2): 223-236. boo, g.h. and geraldino, p.j.l. 2016. pterocladiella maribagoensis (gelidiales, rhodophyta), a new marine alga from cebu, philippines. phytotaxa 288(3): 239-248 castro, p. and huber, m.e. 2003. marine biology. mcgraw hill, ny. 468 pp diaz-pulido, g., mc cook, l., larkum, a.w.d., smith, j.e. and steneck, r.s. 2007. ecology of algae in coral reef. global change biol. 17: 1798–1808. diaz-pulido, g. and mc cook, l. 2008. macroalgae (seaweeds)’ in chin. a, (ed.) the state of the great barrier reef on-line, great barrier reef marine park authority, townsville. viewed on 23.07.2016 islam, a.k.m.n. 1976. contribution to the study of the marine algae of bangladesh. bibliotheca phycologia vol. 19: 253pp +73 plates. islam, a.k.m.n. and aziz, a. 1982. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin’s island bangladesh. ii. brown, red and blue-green algae. nova hedwigia, 36: 643-657. islam, a.k.m.n. and aziz, a. 1987. addition to the list of marine algae of st. martin’s island bangladesh. iii. red algae. nova hedwigia, 45: 211-222. islam, a.k.m.n., aziz, a. and jahan, a. 2002. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh. ii. new records of red algae. bangladesh j. bot. 31(1): 23-28. islam, a.k.m.n., aziz, a. and parvin, r. 2004. marine algae of st. martin’s island, bangladesh-ii. brown algae. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 1-7. islam, s., aziz, a. and chowdhury, a.h. 2010. marine algae of st. martin's island, bangladesh. viii. new records of red algae (rhodophyceae). bangladesh j. bot. 39(1): 87-96. joly, a.b. 1965. flora marinha do litoral norte do estado de são paulo e regiõoes circunvizinhas. separata do boletim n.°294. fac. fil., ciĕnc. e letras da usp botânica 21. 393 pp. sidik, b.j., harah, z.m. and kawaguchi, s. 2012. historical review of seaweed research in malaysia before 2001. coastal marine science 35(1): 169-177. taylor, r.w. 1960. marine algae of the eastern tropical & subtropical coasts of the america. univ. mich. press. ann abor, 870 pp. tsuda, r.t., vroom, p.s. and page-albins, k.n. 2015. marine benthic algae from seamounts along the mariana islands, western pacific. micronesica. 4: 1–19. (manuscript received on 11 may 2022; revised on 12 may 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 201-212, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70497 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists anatomy, pollen and seed morphology of endemic species verbascum globiferum hub.-mor. and v. lysiosepalum hub.-mor. (scrophulariaceae) in diyarbakir, turkey and their taxonomic importance murat kiliç* department of crops and animal production, mardin artuklu university, 47200 mardin, artuklu, turkey keywords: anatomy; diyarbakır; pollen morphology; seed surface; sem; verbascum. abstract verbascum globiferum hub.-mor. and v. lysiosepalum hub.-mor. are endemic to turkey which is a center of endemism for verbascum species. this study gives the anatomical, palynological and seed micromorphological features of v. globiferum and v. lysiosepalum which grow in diyarbakır. the xylem elements occupy a large area in the root cross-sections of the species. in stem cross-sections, the upper part of the epidermis cells is surrounded by a separate cuticle layer and the pith region covers a large area. in the leaves, the main vein is shapped as collateral bundle. pollen grains are tricolporatetricolpate, oblate-spheroidal, and exine ornamentation is reticulate. seeds are brown and oblong-ovate to prismatic and alveolate. the seed coat ornamentation is irregular with polygonal cells, with densely, distinct vesicles.the capsules are pubescent, covered with stellate and branched hairy or glandular hairs.the seed displayed that substantial taxonomic understanding can be acquired from examining the seed characteristics of verbascum, particularly at the species level. intrudiction verbascum l. genus, which is also known as "sığırkuyruğu" in anatolia, is one of the largest genera of the scrophulariaceae family (heywood, 1993). the genus verbascum with 360 species (judd et al., 1999) worldwide and 257 species and 132 supplement hybrids in turkey, and has been divided into 13 artificial groups in turkey (huber-morath, 1978; davis et al., 1988; karavelioğulları, 2012).the endemism ratio of the genus is very high, with 202 endemic species (80%). (huber-morath, 1978; davis et al., 1988; karavelioğulları, 2012; karaveliogulları et al., 2014; firat, 2022). the genus verbascum is one of the largest genera in terms of the number of species it contains, which is known to have problems in diagnosis and taxonomy because it shows a lot of hybridization in general. there are few studies on the morphological and anatomical features of the genus (çakır and bağcı, 2006). there are many sem studies based on pollen morphology of the some verbascum species taxa (juan et al., 1997; dane and yilmaz, 2002; kheyri, 2009; asmat et al., 2011; al-hadeethy et al., 2014; öztürk et al., 2018; aktas, 2019; aktas et al., 2020; baser, 2021). seed micromorphology of the genus verbascum has been examined by several researchers including juan et al. (1997), petkovié et al. (1997), attar et al. (2007), kheiri et al. (2009), cabi et al. (2011), aktas 2019, and aktas et al. 2020. anatomical studies of this genus were made by few researchers (özdemir and altan, 2007; kheiri et al., 2009; yılmaz and dane, 2011; alan and gökman, 2015; küçük, 2017; tekin and yılmaz, 2018; aktas, 2019; aktaset al., 2020; küçük et al., 2021). there are still deficiencies in information and many taxa are not studied yet in turkey. * e-mail: muratkilic04@gmail.com 202 kiliç verbascum globiferum and v. lysiosepalum are species that grow in diyarbakır in the iranoturanian phytogeographic region and are endemic to turkey (huber-morath, 1978). in this study, the root, stem and leaf anatomy, pollen, and seed micromorphology of the endemic v. globiferum and v. lysiosepalum species have been investigated for the first time to asses their taxonomic values. material and methods the specimens belonging to verbascum globiferum and v. lysiosepalum were collected from ergani and between siverek and diyarbakır (within the borders of diyarbakır province) localities in diyarbakır (fig. 1). we have deposited the voucher samples in the herbarium of the department of plants and animal production of kızıltepe vocational school, mardin artuklu university (collector numbers; m.kılıç 351, m.kılıç 395, m.kılıç 353, m.kılıç 355, m.kılıç 356, m.kılıç 357-1, m.kılıç 394) . the taxonomic description of the plant was prepared according to davis et al. (1988) and karavelioğulları (2012). fig. 1. distribution map of verbascum globiferum (*) and v. lysiosepalum (°). collected specimens were preserved in falcon tubes in 70% alcohol for use in anatomical studies. sections taken from the root, stem and leaf parts of the plants with the help of a razor were prepared by staining with safranin-fast green and examined under the light microscope (4x and 10x) and photographed (bozdağ et al., 2016). for palynological examinations, light (lm) and (sem) values of all pollen grains were determined by standard methods described by erdtman (1952). pollen grains for lm examination were prepared following the standard procedure of wodehouse (1935). thirty pollen grains per specimen were regarded as sufficient for the palynological analysis (wodehouse, 1935; kheiri et al., 2006; cabi et al., 2011). for sem, pollen were removed by distilled water treatment, the air-dried, pollens were directly mounted on stubs using double-sided adhesive tape and it was covered with gold. the photomicrographs were taken with a zeiss evo 50 scanning electron microscope. the values of p (polar axis length), e (equatorial diameter), clg (colpus longitude), clt (colpus latitude), plg (polar longitude), plt (polar latitude), ex (exine thickness), and in (intine thickness) were measured, and the p/e ratio was calculated, apt (aperture type), and or (ornamentation) for 30 pollen grains were measured under light microscope.. the terminology of the pollen follows that of punt et al. (2007). the values are presented as minimum, maximum and mean, that is represented in table 2. anatomy, pollen and seed morphology of endemic species 203 seeds were first examined using a isolab stereomicroscope to ensure that they were of normal size and mature. in order to determine the average seed sizes, 30 mature seeds were measured. for sem, seed debris were removed by distilled water treatment, the air-dried seeds were then mounted on stubs and it was covered. the photomicrographs were taken with zeiss evo 50 scanning electron microscope. terminology for descriptions of morphological characteristics of the mericarps were followd by sutton (1988), juan et al. (1997), attar et al. (2007) and cabi et al. (2011). results and discussion in this study, various features of root, stem and leaf anatomical structures, pollen, and seed surface structures of endemic verbascum globiferum and v. lysiosepalum species are stated. biometric measurements of the root, stem, and leaf tissues and cells are given in table 1 and shown in figs 2, 3, 4. the characteristics of pollen grains are summarized in table 2 and shown in fig. 5. the morphological characteristics of the seed grains, including their size, shape, color, and surface characteristics, are summarized in table 3 and shown in fig. 6. the morphological characteristics of the capsule grains, including their size, shape, and color characteristics, are summarized in table 4 and shown in fig. 7. anatomy root anatomy: cross-sections taken from the root of verbascum globiferum have revealed that the periderm layer on the outermost surface of the root is thin and its cells are irregular. a multilayered parenchyma is present under the periderm. below the parenchyma are 3-5 layered phloem cells. the cambium is indeterminate. the xylem covers a larger area and fills the middle of the root. trachea cells are irregularly located, larger than the tracheit cells, and their length is greater than their width. phloem occupies a narrower area than the xylem. pith rays comprise 2-6 rowed rectangular cells. the pith consists of polygonal or orbicular parenchymatous cells (fig. 2, table 1). fig. 2. cross-section of the root of a: v. globiferum, b: v. lysiosepalum. pe: periderm, p: parenchyma, ph: phloem, x: xylem, pr: pith ray, tr: trachea, pt: pith region. 204 kiliç table 1. the anatomical mesurements of verbascum globiferum and v. lysiosepalum. width (µ) length(µ) species / tissues min. mak. mean±s. min. mak. mean±s. v. globiferum root peridermis cell 12.20 51.16 27.53±10.53 9.75 31.93 17.83±6.53 parenchyma cell 10.93 63.18 36.15±17.82 6.34 30.82 17.87±7.99 phloem cell 6.63 24.27 15.53±5.20 3.21 14.15 7.02±2.69 trachea cell 20.04 52.17 35.14±8.17 16.35 59.08 36.44±12.81 v. lysiosepalum peridermis cell parenchyma cell phloem cell trachea cell 7.76 13.13 9.44 29.41 38.50 75.65 19.78 96.77 19.58±7.61 36.08±17.64 12.90±2.85 58.41±22.72 7.74 7.20 24.16 27.40 14.48±4.40 17.07±6.36 6.03 27.46 15.66 81.70 10.76±2.72 55.26±16.88 v. globiferum stem cuticle 6.61 14.00 9.91±1.95 epidermis cell 10.15 32.49 18.68±5.86 9.25 24.64 15.18±4.97 collenchyma cell 6.82 43.91 18.36±11.68 7.41 48.06 17.92±11.25 parenchyma cell 15.21 48.36 27.46±8.99 9.14 24.00 17.04±4.90 phloem cell 4.50 18.17 9.58±3.20 3.26 6.60 4.92±0.96 trachea cell 10.57 26.91 18.08±4.81 11.54 27.42 20.41±3.98 pith cell 28.60 159.25 96.98±42.62 24.08 189.62 93.30±51.01 v. lysiosepalum cuticle epidermis cell collenchyma cell parenchyma cell phloem cell trachea cell pith cell 11.17 6.51 14.27 3.15 13.72 31.10 28,28 20.13 35.27 11.47 32.38 106.74 17.77±3.97 12.04±4.00 24.21±5.51 7.26±2.27 23.30±6.33 64.65±23.83 3.55 8.89 7.64 9.87 2.60 8.63 29.39 10.40 20.62 18.21 27.67 9.68 45.20 103.32 7.09±1.95 13.33±3.17 12.41±3.02 18.52±4.40 5.79±2.24 27.50±10.33 64.49±24.51 v. globiferum leaf cuticle 5.15 13.90 8.57±2.36 upper epidermis cell 11.20 70.26 34.40±12.71 8.24 27.30 18.41±5.41 palisade parenchyma 13.09 22.29 16.83±2.61 26.00 48.52 33.51±5.89 spongy parenchyma 11.73 22.78 16.92±2.82 12.33 27.00 20.73±5.00 mesophyll layer 174.55 332.09 238.22±36.68 lower epidermis cell 7.40 22.90 14.96±4.97 9.25 20.39 13.52±2.71 v. lysiosepalum cuticle 4.65 13.32 8.28±2.09 upper epidermis cell 11.39 25.34 18.21±4.24 8.76 30.04 16.79±5.00 palisade parenchyma 7.77 17.36 11.06±2.41 22.22 44.03 31.21±5.00 spongy parenchyma 8.85 22.49 14.88±3.91 8.28 30.86 19.10±6.93 mesophyll layer 185.64 237.59 210.58±15.21 lower epidermis cell 8.99 21.84 14.08±3.56 7.24 14.10 11.08±1.75 anatomy, pollen and seed morphology of endemic species 205 cross-sections taken from the root of v. lysiosepalum have revealed that the periderm layer on the outermost surface of the root is thin and its cells are irregular. a multilayered parenchyma is present under the periderm. below the parenchyma are 2-4 layered phloem cells. the cambium is indeterminate. the xylem covers a larger area and fills the middle of the root. trachea cells are irregularly located, larger than the tracheit cells, and their width is greater than their length. phloem occupies a narrower area than the xylem. pith rays comprise 2-6-rowed rectangular cells. the pith consists of polygonal or orbicular parenchymatous cells (fig. 2, table 1). stem anatomy: cross-sections taken from the stem of v. globiferum have exhibited a monolayer epidermis covered by an undulate cuticle. the epidermis is composed of oval or rectangular cells. there are glandular and eglandular hairs on the epidermis. underneath the epidermis, there are 3-5 layers of collenchyma cells. the parenchyma tissue consists of 7-10 layers of oval and orbicular parenchymatous cells. under the parenchyma, there are 4-6 layers of sclerenchyma. cambium is indistinguishable. the xylem occupies a larger area than phloem. the pith comprises hexagonal or orbicular parenchymatous cells with intercellular spaces (fig. 3, table 1). fig. 3. cross-section of the stem of a: v. globiferum, b: v. lysiosepalum. eg: eglandular hair, ch: compound hair, cu: cuticle, ep: epidermis, co: collenchyma, p: parenchyma, sc: sclerenchyma, ph: phloem, x: xylem, tr: trachea, pt: pith region. cross-sections taken from the stem of v. lysiosepalum have exhibited a monolayer epidermis covered by an undulate cuticle. the epidermis is composed of oval, ovate or rectangular cells. there are compound, glandular, and eglandular hairs on the epidermis. underneath the epidermis, there are 3-5 layers of collenchyma cells. the parenchyma tissue consists of 7-10 layers of oval and orbicular parenchymatous cells. under the parenchyma, there are 5-7 layers of sclerenchyma. cambium is indistinguishable. the xylem occupies a larger area than phloem. the pith comprises hexagonal or orbicular parenchymatous cells with intercellular spaces (fig. 3, table 1). leaf anatomy: cross-sections of the lamina sections of adaxial and abaxial epidermis of v. globiferum have showed that both epidermis are covered with compound, glandular, and eglandular hairs and they consist of uniseriate rectangular or oval cells of cuticles. the vascular bundles are collateral. the curved vascular bundle is surrounded by parenchymal cells. the xylem 206 kiliç elements are arranged radially and form a single layer. the midrib is well developed. the parenchyma layer around the vascular bundle covers a large area. cells of parenchymal tissue are polygonal and tightly arranged. cells of the upper epidermis are clearly larger than the lower. under the upper and lower epidermis is the hypodermis. the mesophyll tissue is divided into palisade and sponge parenchyma, with 3-5 layers below the upper epidermis and 1-2 layers of palisade parenchyma above the lower epidermis. palisade parenchyma cells are elongated, cylindrical or quadrangular, and irregularly. between the lower and upper palisade parenchyma cells are sponge parenchyma cells consisting of 2-3 rows of cells. sponge parenchyma cells are oval or polygonal and there is more space between the cells. also, idioblasts have observed in the mesophyll tissue of leaves (fig. 4, table 1). fig. 4. cross-section of the leaves of a: v. globiferum, b: v. lysiosepalum. g: glandular hair, ch: compound hair, m: mesophyll layer, ad: adaxial surface, co: collenchyma, p: parenchyma, x: xylem, ph: phloem, ab: abaxial surface, ue: upper epidermis, le: lower epidermis, pp: palisade parenchyma, sp: spongy parenchyma, hp: hypodermis, i: idioblast. cross-sections of the lamina sections of adaxial and abaxial epidermis of v. lysiosepalum have showed that both epidermis are covered with compound, glandular, and eglandular hairs and they consist of uniseriate rectangular or oval cells of cuticles. the vascular bundles are collateral. the curved vascular bundle is surrounded by parenchymal cells. the xylem elements are arranged radially and form a single layer. the midrib is well developed. the parenchyma layer around the vascular bundle covers a large area. cells of parenchymal tissue are polygonal and tightly arranged. cells of the upper epidermis are clearly larger than the lower. under the upper and lower epidermis is the hypodermis. the mesophyll tissue is divided into palisade and sponge parenchyma, with 2-3 layers below the upper epidermis and 1-2 layers of palisade parenchyma above the lower epidermis. palisade parenchyma cells are elongated, cylindrical or quadrangular, and irregularly. between the lower and upper palisade parenchyma cells are sponge parenchyma cells consisting of 2-3 rows of cells. sponge parenchyma cells are oval or polygonal and there is more space between the cells. also, idioblasts have observed in the mesophyll tissue of leaves (fig. 4, table 1). anatomy, pollen and seed morphology of endemic species 207 pollen morphology verbascum globiferum hub.-mor.: the pollen shape was oblate-spheroidal (p/e: 0.95) with a polar axis of 12.88 μm and an equatorial axis of 13.53 μm. the aperture type of pollen was found as 87 % tricolporate and 13 % tricolpate. the colpus was in long-acute ended with a colpus length of 9.48 μm and width of 3.28 μm; porus length of 3.71 μm and porus width 3.51 μm. exine thickness was 1.01 μm and intine thickness was 0.52 μm. ornamentation was reticulate and reticulum was shallow (fig. 5, table 2). verbascum lysiosepalum hub.-mor.: the pollen shape was oblate-spheroidal (p/e: 0.94) with a polar axis of 12.95 μm and an equatorial axis of 13.70 μm. the aperture type of pollen was found as 90 % tricolporate and 10 % tricolpate. the colpus was in long-acute ended with a colpus length of 10.27 μm and width of 3.25 μm; porus length of 4.07 μm and porus width 3.61 μm. exine thickness was 1.09 μm and intine thickness was 0.61 μm. ornamentation was reticulate and reticulum was distinct (fig. 5, table 2). fig. 5. scanning electron micrographs of pollen in genus verbascum. v. globiferum (aequatorial view, b exine sculpturing), v. lysiosepalum (cequatorial view, dexine sculpturing). seed micromorphology according to the measurements made, the dimensions verbascum globiferum from 0.62 to 1.11 mm in length and 0.37 to 0.78 mm in width. the shape of the seeds in the genus verbascum allows a distinction to be made between species and subspecies subtaxa. prismatic-ovate, oblong, with ±shallow alveolate, multiple linear, deep and broad backs are the shapes of seeds. the seed truncated and obtuse beak. the seed is color brown. because of the irregular, exserted polygonal, and small rectangular cells, with densely and distinct vesicles, a networklike appearance is seen and the seed surface coat is longitudinally alveolate. inside the cells are 3-4 transverse lines (fig. 6, table 3). 208 kiliç table 2. pollen morphological characters in genus of verbascum (min (mean) max). species p (µ) e (µ) p/e ratio sh clg (µ) clt (µ) plg (µ) plt (µ) ex (µ) in (µ) apt or v. globiferum 11.56 (12.88) 14.35 12.18 (13.53) 14.83 0.95 obs 7.35 (9.48) 11.20 2.08 (3.28) 4.56 2.23 (3.71) 5.57 1.87 (3.51) 5.25 0.80 (1.01) 1.58 0.26 (0.52) 0.82 87% tr 13% t r v. lysiosepalum 11.58 (12.95) 14.75 11.78 (13.70) 15.76 0.94 obs 8.59 (10.27) 11.89 2.04 (3.25) 4.12 2.91 (4.07) 5.55 2.40 (3.61) 5.74 0.84 (1.09) 1.66 0.35 (0.61) 0.98 90% tr 10% t r r: reticulate, t: tricolpate, tr: tricolporate, obs: oblate-spheroidal, sh: shape. table 3. seed morphological characters in genus of verbascum. species grou pa length (mm) min (mean) max width (mm) min (mean) max colour shape seed surface v. globiferum k 0.62 (0.91) 1.11 0.37 (0.56) 0.78 brown prismatic-ovate, oblong, with ±shallow alveolate, multiple linear, deep and broad backs, often with truncated beaks, and some with obtuse beaks irregular, exserted polygonal and small rectangular cells with densely and distinct vesicles. inside the cells are 34 transverse lines v. lysiosepalum k 0.70 (0.94) 1.20 0.31 (0.56) 0.68 brown prismatic, prismatic-ovate, oblong, with shallow alveolate, multiple linear, slightly deep and slightly broad backed, truncated beaks irregular, exserted small rectangular cells with densely and distinct vesicles table 4. capsules morphological characters in genus of verbascum. species groupa length (mm) min (mean) max width (mm) min (mean) max color shape hair v. globiferum k 3.89 (5.43) 6.49 3.10 (4.26) 4.87 brown ovate, oblong stellate, tomentose, branched, glandular v. lysiosepalum k 4.11 (5.44) 6.11 4.28 (5.47) 4.85 brown spherical, ovate densely stellate, branched, glandular a according to huber-morath (1978) according to the measurements made, the dimensions v. lysiosepalum from 0.70 to 1.20 mm in length and 0.31 to 0.68 mm in width. the shape of the seeds in the genus verbascum allows a distinction to be made between species and subspecies subtaxa. prismatic, prismatic-ovate, oblong, with shallow alveolate, multiple linear, slightly deep and slightly broad backed are the shapes of seeds. the seed truncated beak. the seed is color brown. because of the irregular, exserted small rectangular cells, with densely and distinct vesicles, a networklike appearance is seen and the seed surface coat is longitudinally alveolate (fig. 6, table 3). capsule morphology according to the measurements made, the dimensions vary verbascum globiferum from 3.89 to 6.49 mm in length and 3.10 to 4.87 mm in width and v. lysiosepalum from 4.11 to 6.11 mm in length and 4.28 to 5.47 mm in width. the shape of v. globiferum capsules is ovate, oblong, and the v. lysiosepalum is spherical and ovate. v. globiferum capsules is brown, while v. lysiosepalum anatomy, pollen and seed morphology of endemic species 209 is dark brown. v. globiferum is covered with stellate, tomentose, branched, and glandular hairs, while v. lysiosepalum is covered with densely stellate, branched, and glandular hairs (fig. 7, table 4). fig. 6. scanning electron micrographs of seed in genus verbascum. v. globiferum (ageneral appearance, bsurface ornamentation), v. lysiosepalum (cgeneral appearance, dsurface ornamentation). fig. 7. stereo microscopy photographs of capsules of verbascum globiferum (a) and v. lysiosepalum (b) species. analyzes of anatomy, pollen, and seeds of the endemic verbascum globiferum and v. lysiosepalum species studied for the first time in this study make them comparable to some of the other verbascum members investigated. the present study indicated that v. globiferum and v. lysiosepalum have a very large xylem area at the root and a thick cuticle layer on the stem. in addition, the same features were also noted by researchers (özdemir and altan, 2007; alan and gökmen, 2015; küçük, 2017; tekin and yılmaz, 2018; aktas et al., 2020; küçük et al., 2021). in some studies (alan and gökmen, 2015; aktas et al., 2020), it was stated that the cambium was indeterminate in the vascular bundle in the root, and in this study, it was found that the root had similar characteristics for the species. in the leaf, cross-section analyses of the species, densely glandular, eglandular, and multicellular 210 kiliç branched hairs were observed on the epidermal cells. similar results have been reported for other investigated verbascum species (alan and gökmen, 2015; küçük, 2017; aktas et al., 2020). idioblasts seen in the mesophyll tissue of the leaf can be considered a factor for identification within the genus verbascum (lersten and curtis, 2001). in this study, the presence of idioblasts in leaf mesophyll was determined and this feature was also noted in other studies (kheiri et al., 2009; yılmaz and dane, 2011; tekin and yılmaz, 2018). the pollen of endemic v. globiferum and v. lysiosepalum species are isopolar and radially symmetric, oblate-spheroidal, tricolporate (there is tricolpate), the exine exhibits a tectate structure and reticulate ornamentation. baser (2021), in his study on verbascum (8 species), established the pollen grains as tricolporate and tricolpate. aktas et al. (2020) determined the pollen grain as tricolpate in their study on the endemic verbascum species. aktas (2019) noted the pollen grain as tricolpate in his study on verbascum species. özturk et al. (2018) reported that there were tricolporate and tricolpate aperture types in their pollen study on v. pycnostachyum (k groups). al-hadeethy et al. (2014) stated that the aperture types of verbascum species (20 species) were tricolporate. aperture type of verbascum reported to have tricolporate aperture type (kheiri et al., 2006; asmat et al., 2011). the pollen of the examined species were determined as oblate-spheroidal shape. however, aktas et al. (2020) recorded the prolate pollen shape in the endemic verbascum species examined. nevertheless, baser (2021) recorded the prolate pollen shape in the verbascum (8 species) taxa in the studied. öztürk et al. (2018) stated that pollen shape was oblate-spheroidal on v. pycnostachyum (k groups). in addition, al-hadeethy et al. (2014) observed the presence of prolate-spheroidal and oblate-spheroidal pollen in verbascum (20 species). morphological pollen traits observed through lm proved not very important in their taxonomic use, but sculpting examined by sem was found to be more significant in the classification of taxa (pehlivan et al., 2008; baser, 2021). the overlapping of exine thickness was found among the taxa studied, thus this character was of little taxonomic value (al-hadeethy et al., 2014). results obtained from the present study agree with previous studies on some species of verbascum (asmat et al., 2011; al-hadeethy et al., 2014; öztürk et al., 2018; aktas et al., 2020; baser, 2021). however, the studied species showed a neat reticulate exine sculpture pattern. but v. globiferum reticulum was shallow and v. lysiosepalum reticulum was distinct. the seeds were brown when mature. the size of the seeds usually ranged between 0.62 to 1.20 mm in length and 0.31 to 0.78 mm in wide. the measurements taken in the present study were compatible with those of the common species in the studies of attar et al. (2007) and kheiri et al. (2009). yet, the measurements taken in this study were larger than the mean measurements of the species common in cabi et al. (2011). seeds in shape from prismatic-ovate and oblong in the species studied, and they ended in an truncated, obtuse beak. the seed coat was longitudinally alveolate. usually, most seeds of the species are prismatic-ovate (table 3). the result regarding seed shape is more or less consistent with the results of attar et al. (2007), kheiri et al. (2009), cabi et al. (2011) and baser (2021). the capsule of v. globiferum is covered with stellate, tomentose, branched, and glandular hairs, while v. lysiosepalum is covered with densely stellate, branched, and glandular hairs. in some verbascum species distributed in iran (attar et al., 2007), the capsules have a similar hair indumentum. based on the available findings, one of the reliable characteristics for grouping in verbascum is the indumentum of the capsule. anatomy, pollen and seed morphology of endemic species 211 acknowledgements we wish to thank scientific investigation project to coordinate of mardin artuklu university (project no. maü.bap.22.kmy.011) for financial support. references aktas, k. 2019. morphology, anatomy, palynology and seed micromorphology of turkish endemic verbascum splendidum boiss. 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(scrophulariaceae) in turkey. inter. j. agricult, for. life sci. 2(2): 6-15. yılmaz, g. and dane, f. 2011. studies on verbascum ovalifolium and v. purpureum (scrophulariaceae) from the vicinity of edirne (european turkey). phytologia balcanica 17(2): 205-212. (manuscript received on 11 janaury, 2023; revised on 22 november, 2023) polleb bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 1-19, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67023 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists pollen morphology of twenty three species of allium l. (amaryllidaceae) from turkey ümmügülsün yildiz* republic of turkey, ministry of agriculture and forestry, general directorate of nature, conservation and nationals parks, karşıyaka-i̇zmir-turkey keywords: allium; amaryllidaceae; pollen morphology; lm; sem; tem; flora of turkey. abstract the pollen morphology of 23 allium l. species, grown in turkey, belonging to the sections; rhizirideum, schoenoprasum, cepa, molium, brevispatha, scorodon, acanthoprason and melanocrommyum, were investigated by lm (light microscopy), tem (transmission electron microscope), and sem (scanning electron microscopy). this paper presents detailed pollen morphological features are given for these taxa. common characteristics of pollen of allium species investigated are ellipsoidal and heteropolar, bilateral symmetry; pollen grains are shed as monads. they are monosulcate (extended sulcate types) and monosulcate-operculate. the sculpturing of the exine, pollen membrane ornamentation, lumina shape, and sulcus membrane with a fragmented operculum are found to be characteristic features for separating species. based on these properties three main pollen types were determined with three different exine sculpturing. the characteristic structures of pollen ornamentation, observed in sem micrographs, are striate­perforate, striate­regulate-perforate and regulate-perforate. sulcus membrane ornamentations are psilate, psilate-perforate, rugulate and regulate-perforate. the exine is semitectate and the tectum perforate. columellae were found to be simplicolumellate. introduction the genus allium l. is one of the most diverse and taxonomically difficult groups of the monocots. the most recent classifications are based on morphological characters and molecular data, recognized more than 920 species in 15 subgenera and 80 sections (friesen et al., 2006). allium is a taxonomically quite complex and has unresolved nomenclatural problems. in the last decades, many allium taxa were newly described for turkey and the certain number of allium species and subspecies raised the number to about 220, classified into 15 sections, ca. one-third of which are endemic to this territory, demonstrating that turkey is a prominent part of the southeastern asian center of allium diversity (kollmann, 1984; davis, 1984, 1988; güner et al., 2000; friesen et al., 2006; koyuncu and eker 2011; celep et al., 2012; güner et al. 2012; özhatay and genç, 2013 and govaerts et al., 2013; ekşi et al., 2015, 2016; duman et al., 2017; fırat et al., 2018; govaerts et al., 2019; özdöl et al., 2022). cytological and data on pollen morphology of representatives of allium genus has been subjected to earlier investigations (nair and sharma, 1965; kuprianova, 1967; radulescu, 1973; kuprianova and aliev, 1979; schulze, 1980, 1980a; pastor, 1981; diez et al., 1987; el-sadek et al., 1994; kosenko and kudryashova, 1995; tolgor, 1995; hosseinzadeh et al., 2009; namin et al., 2009; neshati et al., 2009, maassoumi et al., 2014; wrońska-pilarek et al., 2016; perveen and qaiser, 2015; hosseini, 2018). palynological studies on allium in turkey; detailed studies of the pollen morphology of 14 species of allium were made by güler and pehlivan (2006), 23 species of allium were examined by özhatay and koçyiğit *corresponding author: ugyildizz@gmail.com; ummugulsun.yildiz@tarimorman.gov.tr https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67023 mailto:ugyildizz@gmail.com mailto:ummugulsun.yildiz@tarimorman.gov.tr 2 yildiz (2009) and 16 species of allium were examined by özler and pehlivan (2010), 12 taxa belonging to sect. codonoprasum were examined by koçyiğit (2014) and later, 10 species allium l. taxa, 6 of which are endemic to turkey, were examined by başer et al. (2019), respectively. in literature on the allium genus, the following pollen grain features are considered as having the highest diagnostic value. turkey allium an extremely polymorphous and taxonomically difficult genus species show a great morphological diversity and has unresolved nomenclatural problems therefore many taxonomical problems remain unsolved (kollmann, 1984; gurushidze et al., 2007). to solve the systematic problems of these polymorphic groups further cytological, anatomical and palynological studies are urgently needed. in order to obtain more morphological data to solve taxonomical problems, detailed study of pollen morphology in alliaceae family always has been suggested and pollen structure of some species of the genus allium has been subjected to earlier investigations. in literature on the allium genus, the following pollen grain features are considered as having the highest diagnostic value. pollen information of some species from turkey güler and pehlivan (2006) and özler and pehlivan (2010) suggested the usefulness of pollen characteristics for the systematics of the genus, and observed the possible use of these characters for solving certain taxonomical problems as well. güler and pehlivan (2006) recognized the sulcus type, sulcus structure, exine ornamentation, ekzin structure, presence or absence of operculum and operculum type, presence or absence of perforations on the pollen surface, density of perforations, size of perforations, and size of the pollen grains characteristics, which are also important for separating taxa at different taxonomic ranks. the present study adds pollen morphological data for a further 23 species (including 14 sections and to compare the details of sculpturing), again using light, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope. an overview of pollen characteristics for all the turkish representatives of the genus allium, thus concluding a series of studies aimed at describing the characteristics of all the turkish allium genera, and enabling an overall review of the pollen data both from this study and from our previously published studies (güler and pehlivan 2006). material and methods the pollen grains were obtained from the faculty of pharmacy of ankara university (aef) herbarium. the complete list of the investigated taxa with sample provenance is reported in table 1. pollen morphological terminology of walker (1974a, 1974b), faegri and iversen (1989), punt et al. (1994, 2007); el-sadek et al. (1994) and hesse et al. (2009) was followed. lm investigation samples were taken from herbarium specimens. for lm observations, the pollen was first treated with 70% ethyl alcohol to remove oily substances, and then embedded in glycerine-jelly, stained with safranin. for morphological analysis, pollen grains of specimens for lm investigations were prepared according to the methods of wodehouse (1935) and erdtman (1960). pollen dimensions of all species were measured in such amounts that the resulting data followed gaussian curves these measurements which were made in acetolysed, nonacetolysed pollen. in each sample, 50 pollen grains were measured in order to obtain the maximum and average value of the size. lm studies were made using a nikon alphaphot-2 ys2 microscope, under (e40, 0.65) and oil immersion (e100, 1.25), using 15 eye piece (ocular) and the following paremeters, as which pollen size i.e. long axis (la) and short axis (sa), length of the sulcus (slg), width of the sulcus (slt) sulcus width for all types and operculum type, exine and intine thickness for all types. pollen morphology of 23 speci̇es of allium 3 the used eyepiece and lens scales require a conversion of the measurement results to micrometers (μm). these measurements which were made in acetolysed, nonacetolysed pollen and on lm micrographs are given in (figs. 67-98). the lm photomicrographs were taken with an orthomatw camera connected to a carl zeiss-photo binocular light microscope. sem investigation for sem investigations, the pollen was first treated with 70% ethyl alcohol then air-dried before being mounting on sem specimen stubs subsequently coated with gold plate, and examined under a jeol jsm-840a (turkish petroleum corporation, tpao, turkey) scanning electron microscope. the clearest sem photographs representing each pollen type and the main pollen features were selected for this paper (figs 1-24, figs 25-48, figs 49-56). sem micrographs were used mainly for studying the overall shape, type of sculpturing, and more detailed information on the sculptures. figs 1­12: sem photographs of the pollen grains of allium species, showing pollen grain in distal view. 1. a. scabriscapum: pollen grain in distal view, sem x 2500; 2. a. szovitsii: pollen grain in distal view, sem x 1500; 3. a. cepa: pollen grain in distal view with psilate-perforate of the sulcus membrane, sem x 4000; 4. a. schoenoprasum: pollen grain in distal view with operculum, sem x 2500; 5. a. cassium: pollen grain in distal view, sem x 2000; 6. a. zebdananse: pollen grain in distal view, sem x 2000; 7. a. subhirsutum: pollen grain in distal view, perforate-striate ornamentation, sem x 2200; 8. a. subhirsutum: pollen grain in distal view, sem x 1800; 9. a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum: pollen grain in distal view with rugulate-perforate of the sulcus membrane, sem x 2500; 10. a. longisepalum: pollen grain in distal view, sem x 2000; 11. a. callidictyon: pollen grain in distal view, sem x 2500; 12. a. callimischon subsp. haemostictum pollen grain in distal view, sem x 1500; scale bar = 10 µm (1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12); 1 µm (3). 4 yildiz figs 13-24: 13. a. frigidum: pollen grain in distal view with psilate-perforate of the sulcus membrane, sem x 2500; 14. a. kossoricum: pollen grain in distal view with psilate ornamentation of the sulcus membrane, sem x 2700; 15. a. akaka: pollen grain in proximal view with sulcus extending to the proximal face and with broad and rounded ends view with rugulate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 2000; (16) a. akaka: pollen grain in distal view sem x 1900; 17. a. akaka: pollen grain in distal view with striate-rugulate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 2300; 18. a. chrysanterum: pollen grain in distal view, sem x 2500; 19. a. cardiostemon: pollen grain in distal view with operculum, sem x 2500; 20. a. colchicifolium: pollen grain in distal view, sem x 2500; 21. a. decipiens: pollen grain in distal view with psilate ornamentation of the sulcus membrane sem x 3500; 22. a. kharputense: pollen grain in distal view, with operculum, sem x 2500; 23. a. noëanum: pollen grain in distal view with rugulate ornamentation of the sulcus membrane sem x 2500; 24. a. lycaonicum: pollen grain in lateral view, sem x 2500 with rugulate ornamentation. scale bar = 10 µm. tem investigation acetolyzed pollen grains were stained with 2% oso4 and uranyl acetate, dehydrated and embedded in epon araldite according to the method described by skvarla and turner (1966). ulthrathin sections of the pollen grains were obtained with a glass knife in a reichert supernova microtome (gazi university, faculty of medicine, ankara turkey). post-staining was done with pollen morphology of 23 speci̇es of allium 5 lead citrate for 5 minutes (reynolds, 1963), and the sections were examined under a zeiss em9 (figs 57-66). tem micrographs were used mainly for studying the overall shape, pollen walls type of sculpturing, and more detailed information on the sculptures. figs 25-39: ornamentation of allium pollen grains. 25. a. scabriscapum: striate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 26. a. szovitsii: striate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 27. a. shoenoprasum: striate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 28. a. subhirsutum: striate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 29. a. cassium: striate-rugulate-perforate ornamentation sem x 10000; 30. a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum: striate-rugulateperforate ornamentation sem x 10000; 31. a. zebdananse: striate-rugulate-perforate ornamentation sem x 10000; 32. a. longisepalum: distal face showing perforate-rugulate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 33. a. longisepalum: proximal face showing perforate-rugulate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 34. a. callidictyon: perforate-striate-rugulate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 35. a. callimischon subsp. haemostictum: perforate-striate-rugulate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 36. a. frigidum: rugulate-perforate ornamentation sem x 10000; perforate-striate-rugulate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 37. a. kossoricum: striate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 38. a. akaka: striate-rugulate-perforate ornamentation sem x 10000; 39. a. cardiostemon: perforate-striate ornamentation, sem x 10000; scale bar = 10 µm. 6 yildiz figs 40-48: ornamentation of allium pollen grains. 40. a. colchicifolium: striate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 41. a. decipiens: rugulate-perforate ornamentation sem x 10000; 42. a. orientale: distal face showing striaterugulate-perforate ornamentation sem x 3500; 43. a. orientale: proximal face showing striate-rugulate-perforate ornamentation sem x 3500; 44. a. kharputense: striate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 45. a. noëanum: striate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 46. a. lycaonicum: proximal face showing perforate-rugulate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 47. a. lycaonicum: distal face showing sitriate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; 48. a. hirtifolium: distal face showing sitriate-perforate ornamentation, sem x 10000; scale bar = 10 µm. results and discussion all studied pollen grains are medium-sized (25-50 μm) with more or less bilateral symmetry. the sulcus is either as long as the half of the circumference of the pollen grain (longest axis), or much longer and extends to the proximal face. the main palynogical features of turkish allium taxa (and specimens) examined are summarized in table 2. according to lm and sem investigations, the pollen grains are monad, monosulcate, monosulcate-operculate, ellipsoidal, heteropolar with more or less bilateral symmetry; 25.98 to 50.32 µm long axis (la) and 16.26 to 32.10 µm short axis (sa), the form was prolate (mean of la/sa ratio 1.12 to 1.69). the pollen shapes (based on long axis (la)/ short axis (sa) ratio) prolate or subprolate, outline more or less circular in polar view and boat-shaped. pollen morphological parameters are given in table 2. medium to large in size with la 25-50 µm and sa 17-36 µm. the sulcus extends from distal to proximal in all species. sulcus ends are sharp, blunt, broad and rounded. sulcus membrane ornamentations were rugulate or psilate. in most of the species with operculum, there are fragmented operculum within the sulcus of a. szovitsii, a. shoenoprasum (fig. 69), a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum (fig. 80), a. callidictyon (fig. 82), a. pollen morphology of 23 speci̇es of allium 7 callimischon (fig. 86), a. akaka (fig. 89), a. chrysantherum (fig. 91), a. cardiostemon (fig. 19), a. decipiens (fig. 94), a. orientale (figs 95-96), a. kharputense (fig. 22), a. lycaonicum (fig. 97), and a. hirtifolium (fig. 98). sulcus membrane ornamentations are psilate, psilate-perforate, rugulate and and rugulate-perforate (figs 49-56). figs 49-56: ornamentation of the sulcus membrane of allium pollen grains. sem photographs of the pollen grains of allium species, showing pollen grain in distal view. 49. a. szovitsii: rugulate-perforateof the sulcus membrane sem x 7000; 50. a. subhirsutum: psilate-perforate of the sulcus membrane, sem x 5000; 51. a. zebdananse: rugulateperforate ornamentation of the sulcus membrane, sem x 5000; 52. a. longisepalum: psilate-perforate of the sulcus membrane, sem x 5000; 53. a. cardiostemon: rugulate-perforate ornamentation of the sulcus membrane, sem x 8000; 54. a. colchicifolium: rugulate-perforate of the sulcus membrane, sem x 8000; 55. a. kharputense: psilate of the sulcus membrane, sem x 6500; 56. a. lycaonicum: rugulate-perforate ornamentation of the sulcus membrane, sem x 6000 scale bar = 1 µm. 8 yildiz figs 57-66: tem photomicrographs of exine structure (pollen wall stratification and morphology of allium pollen grains). 57. a. scabriscapum: tem x 10000; 58. a. schoenoprasum: tem x 30000; 59. a. cepa: tem x 10000; 60. a. subhirsutum: tem x 20000; 61. a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum: tem x 20000; 62. a. callidictyon: tem x 20000; 63. a.: tem x 20000; 64. a. frigidum: tem x 12000; 65. a. cardiostemon: tem x 30000; 66. a. decipiens: tem x 20000. pollen morphology of 23 speci̇es of allium 9 figs 67-82: lm photographs of selected allium species. 67. a. szovitsii: proximal view with ornamentation lm x 1000 (a); 68. a. szovitsii: oblique polar proximal view, showing sulcus border, lm x 1000 (a); 69. a. schoenoprasum: oblique polar proximal view, showing operculum, lm x 1000 (a); 70. a. schoenoprasum: pollen grain in proximal view, striate-perforate ornamentation, lm x 1000 (a); 71. a. cepa: pollen grain equatorial distal view lm x 1000 (a); 72. a. cepa: proximal view lm x 1000 (a); 73. a. cepa: oblique polar proximal view, lm x 1000 (n); 74. a. subhirsutum: proximal view with ornamentation lm x 1000 (a); 75. a. cassium: pollen grain equatorial distal view lm x 1000 (n); 76. a. cassium: pollen grain in distal view, striate-rugulate-perforate ornamentation lm x 1000 (a); 77. a. cassium: oblique polar proximal view, lm x 1000 (a); 78. a. cassium: equatorial distal view lm x 1000 (a); 79. a. zebdananse: oblique polar proximal view, lm x 1000 (n); 80. a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum: pollen grain in proximal view with sulcus extending to the proximal face, lm x 1000 (a); 81. a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum: pollen grain in distal view with fragmented operculum, lm x 1000 (n); 82. a. callidictyon: pollen grain in distal view with fragmented operculum, lm x 1000 (n); scale bar = 1µm (40-52). (a) = acetolysed, (n) = not acetolysed. 10 yildiz figs 83-98: lm photographs of selected allium species. 83. a. callidictyon: pollen grain in proximal view with sulcus extending to the proximal face, lm x 1000 (n); 84. a. callidictyon: oblique polar proximal view, lm x 1000 (n); 85. a. callimischon subsp. haemostictum: pollen grain in distal view lm x 1000 (n); 86. a. callimischon subsp. haemostictum: pollen grain in distal view with fragmented operculum, lm x 1000 (n), 87. a. callimischon subsp. haemostictum: equatorial distal view with operculum, lm x 1000 (n); 88. a. frigidum: proximal view with ornamentation lm x 1000 (a); 89. a. akaka: pollen grain in distal view with fragmented operculum, lm x 1000 (n); 90. a. akaka: pollen grain in distal view with fragmented operculum, lm x 1000 (n); 91. a. chrysantherum: oblique polar proximal view, view showing operculum, lmx1000 (n); 92. a. cardiostemon: oblique polar proximal view, lmx1000 (n); 93. a. decipiens: pollen grain in equatorial distal view, lmx1000 (n); 94. a. decipiens: pollen grain in distal view with fragmented operculum, lm x 1000 (n); 95. a. orientale: pollen grain in distal view with operculum, lm x 1000 (n); 96. a. orientale: pollen grain in equatorial distal view with fragmented operculum, lm x 1000 (n); 97. a. lycaonicum: pollen grain in distal view with operculum, lm x 1000 (n); 98. a. hirtifolium: pollen grain in distal view showing sulcus, lm x 1000 (n). scale bar = 1 µm (83-98). (a) = acetolysed, (n) = not acetolysed. pollen morphology of 23 speci̇es of allium 11 the exine, is mainly composed of columellae covered by the tectum which contains perforations (eutectate and microperforate pollen grains). these microperforations were only visible on sem micrographs. there are also differences in the number of perforation, diameter of perforation and thickness of lirae. fine perforation is getting bigger through sulcus side (figs 13, 14, 21), (the perforations small ca. 0.08-0.35 µm the width of the intervening tectum). the most typical (separate species) have structured muri, simplicolumellate muri and were formed by lirae. the lumina are almost circular in allium species (figs 25-48). schulze (1980) and pınar et al. (2009) have shown that muri and lumen shapes of the pollen are taxonomically important characters. small convex sculpture elements (supratectal muri) on the surface are more or less irregularely arranged and short (rugulate to rugulate-perforate pattern, sometimes muri very shallow) with perforations of variable diameter in between, rarely long and parallel (transitions to striate condition) these were formed by striae of different length and orientation and detail of the exine showing irregular striate-perforate ectexine (perforation only on the outside of the tectum) are presented. the number of perforation in 1µm² is 4-14, the diameter of perforation on average is 0.08-0.35 µm and the thickness of lira on average is 0.16-0.33µm (figs. 25-48). the diameter of perforation was observed to be the highest in a. frigidum (fig. 36). intine is 0.52-0.96µm thick. the a. longisepalum and a. subhirsutum had thickest intine while a. schoenoprasum, a. kossoricum, had thinnest one (table 2). according to sem survey, exine ornamentation can be described best as the exine sculpture was striate-perforate, striate-rugulate-perforate and rugulate-perforate (figs 25-56). however, in a. longisepalum, one of the lateral surfaces of the pollens is striate-rugulate-perforate and the other surface of the pollen grains was striate-perforate (figs 10, 32-33); a. akaka (figs 15-17, 38), a. orientale (figs 42-43), a. lycaonicum (figs 24, 46-47), one of the lateral surfaces of the pollens are striate-perforate and the other surface of the pollen grains was rugulate-perforate therefore, these pollens grains are para-isopolar. perforate-striate, perforate-rugulate-perforate and perforatestriate-rugulate exine structure have been reported in previous investigations (pastor 1981; diez et al., 1987; el-sadek et al., 1994; güler and pehlivan, 2006; namin et al., 2009; neshati et al., 2009; özhatay and koçyiğit, 2009; özler and pehlivan, 2010; koçyiğit, 2014; maassoumi et al., 2014; wrońska-pilarek et al., 2016; hosseini, 2018 and başer et al., 2019). a rugulate-perforate ornamentation was observed in a. frigidum (fig. 36) and a. decipiens (fig. 41), while striaterugulate-perforate ornamentation was seen in a. cepa (fig. 3), a. cassium, (fig. 29) and a. zebdananse (fig. 31), a. longisepalum (fig. 32) a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum (fig. 30), a. callidictyon (fig. 34), a. callimischon subsp. haemostictum (fig. 35), a. akaka, a. orientale (fig. 42), a. lycaonicum (fig. 47) whereas in the other species striate-perforate ornamentation was observed. the present study revealed that allium taxa possess three types of ornamentational characteristics as follows: (i) striate-perforate: a. scabriscapum, a. szovitsii, a. schoenoprasum, a. subhirsutum, a. kossoricum, a. chrysanterum, a. cardiostemon, a. colchicifolium, a. kharputense, a. noëanum, a. hirtifolium. (ii) striate-regulateperforate: a. cepa, a. cassium a. zebdananse, a. longisepalum, a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum, a. callidictyon, a. callimischon subsp. haemostictum, a. akaka, a. orientale, a. lycaonicum. (iii) rugulate-perforate: a. frigidum, a. decipiens. 12 yildiz pollen morphology of 23 speci̇es of allium 13 14 yildiz pollen morphology of 23 speci̇es of allium 15 in sem photomicrographs, sulcus membranes are psilate in a. scabriscapum, a. schoenoprasum, a. kossoricum (fig. 14), a. decipiens (fig. 21), a. orientale and a. kharputense (fig. 55); and psilate perforate sulcus membrane ornamentation was seen in a. cepa (fig. 3), a. subhirsutum (fig. 50), a. cassium, a. longisepalum (fig. 52), a. callidictyon, a. frigidum (fig. 13) and a. colchicifolium (figs. 20, 54); rugulate sulcus membrane ornamentation was found in a. chrysanterum and a. noëanum (fig. 23), and rugulate-perforate sulcus membrane ornamentations are seen in a. szovitsii (fig. 49), a. zebdananse (fig. 51), a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum (fig. 9), a. callimischon subsp. haemostictum, a. decipiens (fig. 21), a. akaka (figs 15, 16), a. cardiostemon (fig. 53), a. lycaonicum (fig. 56) and a. hirtifolium similarly, güler and pehlivan (2006); özler and pehlivan (2010); maassoumi et al. (2014) and başer et al. (2019) reported that sulcus membrane ornamentations were psilate, striate-reticulate, rugulate and regulate-perforate in allium taxa. several researchers have emphasized that the sulcus membrane sculpturing may be a taxonomic value in some families (kosenko, 1999; güler and pehlivan, 2006; özler and pehlivan, 2010). the genus studied includes the sections; rhizirideum, schoenoprasum, cepa, molium, brevispatha, scorodon, acanthoprason and melanocrommyum. we aimed to elucidate the infrafamilial positions of the allium. on the basis of the pollen structure of allium within alliaceae it found to be homogenous genus from the pollen point of view and a heterogenous family from the morphological point of view. pollen morphology of 23 taxa of allium was investigated under lm (figs 67-98), sem (figs 1-56) and tem (figs. 57-66). the common characteristics of pollen grains were monad, monosulcate (extended sulcate types), and monosulcate-operculate, ellipsoidal, heteropolar with bilateral symmetry. however, pollen of a. longisepalum, a. akaka, a. orientale and a. lycaonicum are paraisopolar. this study shows that pollen characters have been significant value in classification of allium. the main palynological differences have been found at the section level, especially in the sulcus membrane and the presence of an operculum. a distal fragmented operculum and extended sulcate type are typical for allium of alliaceae. sulcus long, getting the ends of the pollen grain or spreading to the proximal side. in the present study, the biggest pollen size was found in a. longisepalum, whereas the smallest was found in a. cardiostemon. there is a decrease in pollen size in the sequence of the subsections rhizirideum, schoenoprasum, cepa, molium, brevispatha, scorodon, acanthoprason, melanocrommyum .the sulcus extends from distal to proximal and the sulcus ends are braod and rounded only in a. akaka (figs 15, 16) while they were sharp in other species such as a. subhirsutum (figs. 8, 74), a. zebdanense (fig. 6), a. longisepalum (fig. 10), a. cupani subsp. hirtovaginatum (fig. 80), a. callidictyon (figs. 11, 83), a. callimischon (fig. 87), a. chrysantherum (fig. 18) and a. orientale and it’s blund in other ones. the longest length dimension of sulcus was seen in in section molium are a. subhirsutum, a. cassium, a. zebdanense and a. longisepalum. figs 5, 6, 8, 10). the widest sulcus dimension was seen in a. subhirsutum (figs 8, 74). it was recognized that the sulcus extends from distal to proximal end in all the taxa investigated (table 2). the operculum was found to be fragmented on the sulcus membrane (figs 69, 81, 82, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97) or sometimes completely covering it. three are in our previous unreported from this genus, the operculum was determined only in a. pallens subsp. pallens, a. bassitense and a. hirtovaginum under the section codonoprasum (güler and pehlivan 2006). in the other studies of this genus, the operculum was determined only in a. albidum subsp. caucasicum (section rhizirideum), a. rupicola (section codonoprasum), a. asperiflorum under the section allium (özler and pehlivan, 2010), 12 taxa belonging to section codonoprasum 16 yildiz (koçyiğit, 2014) and a. arlgirdense under the section scorodon (başer et al., 2019). according to kosenko (1992), a non-operculate exine is a plesiomorphic peculiarity. several researchers have emphasized that the sulcus features and the presence of operculum may be a taxonomic value in some families (chanda et al., 1979; halbritter and hesse, 1993; güler and pehlivan 2006; özler and pehlivan, 2010). the advantage of a monosulcate aperture (extended sulcate) in monocotyledons with the inclusion of allium, is underlined by harley and zavada (2000); güler and pehlivan (2006); namin et al., 2009; neshati et al. (2009); özhatay and kocyigit (2009); özler and pehlivan (2007, 2010); maassoumi et al. (2014) and başer et al. (2019). palynological data related to exine ornamentation indicate the heterogeneous characters of this genus. in this study we have determined that there are intraspecific variations among studied species as well which are based on exine sculpturing, and sulcus ornamentation. allium species divided into 4 pollen types according to sulcus membrane sculpturing; among allium species a psilate, psilate-perforate, rugulate and rugulate-perforate sulcus membrane is distinctive. in the present investigated taxa such as a. scabriscapum (fig. 57), a. schoenoprasum, (fig. 58) and a. cepa (fig. 59). the exine is semitectate and the tectum perforate while the tectum is with intervals and is formed by simple columella. exine thickness 1-2 µm. ectexine is thicker than endexine and that endexine exhibits a very thin continuous structure. tectum is thicker than foot layer with intervals (figs 57-66). the results show that there were several pollen characters of taxonomic significance in the genus allium. there are also differences in the size of the pollen, exine sculpturing, ornamentation of sulcus membrane and lumen shape, size and murus size, exine thickness and number of perforation, diameter of perforation and thickness of lira. we recognized 3 main types, distinct by pollen sculpturing, lumina shape and sulcus membrane ornamentation. the main palynological differences have been registered at the section level. these results are similar to the earlier studies (güler and pehlivan, 2006; özler and pehlivan, 2010; neshati et al., 2009; özhatay and kocyigit, 2009; başer et al., 2019; table 2; figs 25-48). acknowledgements special thanks are due the council of highre education (yök), the scientific and technological research council of turkey (tubitak). the authors are also grateful to prof. dr. mehmet koyuncu, ankara university-department biology. we also would like to thank to ank herbarium for their kind support. i would like to express my gratitude to the turkish petroleum corporation (tpao) access to their scanning electron microscope and technical support. special thanks are due to tem studies gazi university, faculty of medicine, ankara. references başer, b., fırat, m. and binzet, r. 2019. pollen morphological study on some rare allium l. 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(manuscript received on 3 january 2022; revised on 5 july 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 15-24, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74374 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new records of lythraceae in the flora of bangladesh pingky rani1*, saleh ahammad khan1, sarder nasir uddin2, md. abdur rahim1 and shayla sharmin shetu1 1plant systematics laboratory, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342, bangladesh 2bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh keywords: new record; lythraceae; flora; angiosperms; bangladesh. abstract in the course of studying the family lythraceae of bangladesh in 2023–2024, some specimens of the family were found to be different than those of any other species of this family reported so far from this country. after a critical examination, these specimens have been identified as ammannia auriculata, rotala ramosior, and rotala malampuzhensis of the lythraceae. these species are new to the flora of bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic description, including data on ecology, distribution, and use, a list of representative specimens examined, and illustrations have been provided for each species. introduction almost every year, bangladesh's plant taxonomists sporadically describe newly recorded species. in the last several decades, they have published a significant number of new records as a part of their persistent efforts to discover new plant species from this country. since the publication of ahmed et al. (2008–2009, 2009) and siddiqui et al. (2007), about 288 new records pertaining to the angiosperms of this country have been made available (e.g., rahman and hassan, 2017; islam and rahman, 2017; sourav et al., 2017; ara and hassan, 2018; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin, 2018; alfasane et al., 2019; hossain et al., 2020; sultana and rahman, 2021; hossain et al., 2022; rahman et al., 2022; sultana et al., 2022; uddin and uddin, 2022; hossain et al., 2023; rahman et al., 2023). the majority of these new records contain information on the precise locality of the species. with the addition of these new records to the 3611 angiosperm species described in the encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh effb), edited by ahmed et al. (2008–2009, 2009) and siddiqui et al. (2007), the total number of species of this plant group reported from bangladeshi territory has now risen to 3899 (hossain et al. 2023; rahman et al. 2023). it means the status of at least 1101 (20.16%) species of angiosperms in this country is unknown and needs to be explored for adding new data and obtaining a better idea of this country’s flora, if khan's (1977) estimation of 5000 species' occurrence in bangladesh and all new records for this country reported so far after the publication of effb are considered. besides, the introduction of exotic species is a global event driven by both economic and non-economic factors. some new species might have been introduced recently into this country, either deliberately or inadvertently, and need to be verified and reported. therefore, the small pool of plant taxonomists in this country is devoting a great deal of effort to find and publish the details of these unreported and newly introduced species. *corresponding author. e-mail: pingky.ps.01@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74374 mailto:pingky.ps.01@gmail.com 16 rani et al. the family lythraceae comprises small to large trees, shrubs, perennials, and annual herbs adapted to a wide variety of vegetation types, including mangrove swamps, coastal dunes, freshwater marshes, and shallow waters of ponds and rivers in bangladesh. hooker (1886) described 19 species under four genera, and prain (1903) described 14 species under three genera; khanam (2009) and rahman (2009) compiled 24 species from six genera from the political boundary of bangladesh. heinig (1925) reported 14 species under four genera from the chittagong region. recently, in 2023–2024, rani (2023) conducted a taxonomic study on the lythraceae of bangladesh based on the voucher specimens housed in the herbaria of this country and described a total of 27 species under six genera. recently, in 2023–2024, a taxonomic study on the lythraceae of bangladesh was conducted based on the voucher specimens housed in the bangladesh forest research institute herbarium (bfrih), the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), the dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush), the herbarium of chittagong university (hcu), and the jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). some of these specimens collected from dinajpur, moulvibazar, rajshahi, and sylhet districts, housed at dacb, were identified as members of lythraceae, which did not match the specimens or the taxonomic description or key characters of any species of this family that had been previously recognised or documented in bangladesh. after a rigorous examination, a few of these specimens were identified as the representatives of a species of ammannia l. and a few as the members of two species of rotala l. of the lythraceae that were never reported previously from this country (e.g., hooker, 1886; prain, 1903; heinig, 1925; uddin et al., 2003; khanam, 2009; rahman, 2009; tutul et al., 2010; uddin et al., 2013; rahman et al., 2015; rahman, 2017; uddin and hassan, 2018; roy and khan, 2020; khanam et al., 2020; khan et al., 2021a,b; hossain et al., 2022; shetu et al., 2022). as a result, these species are circumscribed here as new to bangladesh's flora. the specimens are currently deposited at dacb. materials and methods this study was based on the voucher specimens housed at dacb. the taxonomic identification of the specimens was verified by comparing their characteristics with the clear images of lythraceae voucher specimens available on the websites of a few international herbaria (e.g., k, p) and pertinent taxonomic literature (e.g., hooker, 1886; prain, 1903; cook, 1996; de wild et al., 2014). with close observation and critical examination of the morphological characteristics of the typical specimens, the taxonomy description of each species was created. the nomenclatural information was confirmed through consulting the nomenclatural databases (gbif secretariat, 2023a,b,c,d; powo, 2024; tropicos, 2024; wfo, 2024). results and discussion the taxonomic identification of the unnamed specimens of lythraceae collected from different areas of bangladesh has been confirmed as ammannia auriculata willdenow, rotala malampuzhensis r. vasudevan nair ex c.d.k. cook, and rotala ramosior (l.) koehne. the following taxonomic descriptions of these species, including a key for the identification of two rotala species, have been produced based on the specimens. ammannia auriculata willd. (hort. berol. [willd.]), 1: 7, pl. 7 (1803). －type: egypt: aegypt prope rosette, anonymous s.n., lt, designated by graham, j. arnold arbor. 66: 403 (1985). c.d.k. cook, aqua. and wetl. pl. of ind., 248 (1996); w.j.j.o. de wild et al., 2014, fl. of thailand 11: 549‒550 (2014). (fig.1) english name: eared redstem (gbif secretraiat 2023a). three new records of lythraceae in the flora 17 an erect annual herb. stem erect, decumbent, 4-angled, glabrous, unbranched to branched. leaves opposite, lanceolate, 15‒30 mm × 0.8‒12 mm, mostly longer than the internode, marginally entire, adaxially and abaxially glabrous, eglandular, apically acute, basally cordate or auriculate, mid-vein one, reaches upto apex, adaxially raised, abaxially plane, lateral veins not clear, leaves two per node. inflorescence cymes, laxly flowered, 14–16 inflorescence from the middle of the branches, 8–10 flower per inflorescence, peduncles 1.8‒4.5 mm long, flowers 1.2‒2 × 1.2‒1.8 mm, pedicels of the central flowers 1‒2 mm long, bracts 2, opposite, appressed, linear to oblong, 1‒1.2 mm, apically acute, basally cuneate, marginally entire, bracteoles 2, opposite, appressed, linear, c. 0.5 mm long, apically acute, basally cuneate, marginally entire.calyx campanulate, 1.2‒1.5 mm long, 8‒ribbed, sepals 4‒lobed, glabrous, petals 4, 1.8‒2 × 0.6‒0.8 mm, apex round, base cuneate, margin entire. stamens 4. styles 1‒1.5 mm long, as long as ovary, ovary 1‒1.5 × 0.6‒0.7 mm broad. fruit a capsule with persistent erect calyx, 1.5‒1.8 mm long. seeds discoid, ca. 17 per fruit, 0.2‒0.3 mm long, ca, 0.2 mm broad, deep brown colour. flowering and fruiting period: august-december. fig. 1. ammannia auriculata willd. a. a branch ( 5 cm), b. three immature fruits ( 6 cm), c. l.s. of a flower ( 1.3 cm), d. a petal ( 1.1 cm), e. four stamens ( 1.4 cm), f. an imature fruit with calyx and style ( 0.5 cm), g. three seeds ( 1.6 cm). 18 rani et al. ecology: in wet places, marshes, river banks and rice fields (cook, 1996). specimens examined: dinajpur: dinajpur, 11 viii 1977, shahera begum, 14934 (dacb); rajshahi: south side of amalihala, 12 x 1977, md. nazrul islam 73 (dacb 14933). distribution: the species is native to east, west, west-central, and south tropical africa, temperate and tropical asia, northern america, and southern america. it is introduced to japan, nansei-shoto, kirgizistan, the northern territory, queensland, western australia, southeastern europe, sardegna, and hawaii (powo, 2024; wfo, 2024). use: use as a counter irritant for rheumatic pains (cook, 1996). notes: ammannia senegalensis var. auriculata (willd.) hiern is a homotypic synonym. a. auriculata var. auriculata and a. auriculata var. bojeriana koehne are the two accepted varieties of this species (powo, 2024). morphologically, a. auriculata seems similar to a. multiflora roxb. however, it can be distinguished by its laxly flowered 14–16 inflorescences from the middle of the branches, 8–10 flowers per inflorescence, erect calyx in fruit, ca.1.8–2 mm long petals, styles almost as long as ovary or longer, and capsules of 1.5–1.8 (‒2) mm in diameter, in contrast to a. multiflora’s densely flowered, many inflorescences along the length of the branches, more than 10 flowers per inflorescence, reflexed fruiting calyx, up to 1 mm long petals, styles ca. 1/2 as long as ovary, and capsules, ca. 1.5 mm in diameter. rotala malampuzhensis r.v. nair ex c.d.k. cook, boissiera 29: 98 (1979). －type: h868/68, ht (k), pt (department of botany, university of calcata). c.d.k. cook, aqua. and wetl. pl. of ind., 248 (1996). (figs 2 & 3) an aquatic, cespitose, annual herb, 5.3‒7 cm long. stem 4-angled, erect, branched, glabrous. leaves opposite, decussate, 2leaves per node, elliptic-oblong, 8‒12 × 1‒2 mm, apex acute, base attenuate, entire, adaxially and abaxially glabrous, eglandular, mid-vein one, reached upto apex, lateral vein not clearly seen, vein adaxially raised. bracts leaf-like, apically acute, basically cuneate, adaxially and abaxially glabrous, bracteoles 2, erect, adppressed, apex acute, base attenuate, glabrous, shorter than the calyx. flowers sessile, monomorphic, 2‒2.5 × 1‒1.5 mm, 2 flowers per node. calyx campanulate, ca. 2.5 mm long, 4-merous. sepals 4, crimson red, triangular, ca. 0.2 mm long, glabrous, apex acute, base cuneate, sepal appendages longer than the sepal lobes. petals 4, triangular, c. 0.5 mm long. stamens 4 to 5, filaments ca. 2 mm long, originated from the base of the calyx, anther 0.2 mm long. ovary 1 × 1 mm. style 0.1 mm long. stigma capitate. fruit a capsule, crimson red, ca. 1 mm long, opening by 3-valves, surface semitransparent and raised. seeds 0.3‒0.6 mm long, straw-coloured or crimson red. flowering and fruiting period: october-january. ecology: moist or wet soil, usually in rice field, temporary pools, beside streams and in wet pockets in rocks (cook, 1996). specimens examined: moulvibazar: kulaura, tilagaon, lalpur, lalpur chabagan, 22 i 2023, najmul, delwar, liton, riajul, tanvir and shakil, moul. 00746 (dacb). distribution: native to assam, india (powo, 2024; wfo, 2024). notes: r. malampuzhensis was published in j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 72(1): 57 (1975) without type, in j. bombay nat. hist. soc. 73(1): 248 (1976) without the date of latin description, and in ex c.d.k. cook, boissiera 29: 98 (1979), with type. in gbif secretariat (2023b), r. malampuzhensis r.v.nair is cited as an accepted species, and instead r. malampuzhensis r.v.nair ex c.d.k. cook is cited as a doubtful species (gbif secretariat (2023c), which is not supported by other nomenclatural databases (powo, 2024; tropicos, 2024; wfo, 2024). morphologically, r. malampuzhensis seems alike to r. rosea (poir.) c.d.k. cook, but it differs by its cespitose habit, semi-transparent and capsule’s raised wall corresponding to the three new records of lythraceae in the flora 19 firmly attached seeds, crimson red sepals, capsules, and seeds, in contrast to r. rosea’s, nontransparent, even capsule surface, pinkish red sepals, capsules, and seeds. in r. malampuzhensis, the filament originated from the base of the calyx, whereas in r. rosea, the filament originated from the middle of the calyx. fig. 2. rotala malampuzhensis r.v.nair ex c.d.k. cook. a. habit (× 2.1 cm), b. two bracteoles (× 1.5 cm), c. an opened flower excluding carpel (× 1.3 cm), d. a flower (× 1.5 cm), e. a petal (× 1.6 cm), f. two stamens (× 9 cm), g. an ovary (× 1.3 cm), h. three seeds (× 1.6 cm). 20 rani et al. fig. 3. habit of rotala malampuzhensis r.v. nair ex c.d.k. cook. rotala ramosior (l.) koehne, c.f.p. von martius and auct. suc. (eds.), fl. bras. 13(2): 194 (1877). ammannia catholica hook. and arn. ex seem. (1856), a. humilis michx. (1803), a. monoflora blanco (1837), a. occidentalis (spreng.) dc. (1828), a. ramosa hill (1767), rotala dentifera (a.gray) koehne (1880), boykinia humilis raf. ex s.watson (1878). (fig. 4) english name: lowland rotala (gbif secretraiat 2023d). an annual, amphibious or terrestrial herb. stem 4-angled, not distinctly winged, much branched, 1‒1.5 cm long, glabrous. leaves opposite, decussate, oblong to narrowly oblanceolate, 5‒6 × 0.5‒0.8 mm, apically acute, basally attenuate, marginally entire, adaxially and abaxially glabrous, eglandular, mid-vein one, reached upto apex, lateral veins 5–8 pairs. inflorescence axile, one per leaf axis. bracts two, less than half of the length of floral tube, apically obtuse, basally attenuate, entire, opposite, erect, adppressed, adaxially and abaxially glabrous. flowers small, 4merous, globose, reddish, sessile or shortly pedicellate, 1.3‒1.8 mm long, symmetrical, 2-flowers per node. epicalyx 4, deltate, c. 1 × c. 0.5 mm, calyx campanulate, 0.3‒0.5mm long, adaxially and abaxially glabrous, sepals 4, shorter than epicalyx, apically obtuse, basally cuneate. petals absent or 4, obovate, 3.3 mm long, entire, apically obtuse, basally cuneate. stamens 4. fruit a capsule, pinkish red, surface non-transparent and even, 1.8‒2 mm in diameter, opening by 3-valves. seeds ovoid, c. 0.2 × c. 0.1 mm, brown color. flowering and fruiting in july‒october. ecology: on plain land, agricultural field, moist soil. specimens examined: sylhet: chattak, 5 i 1978, huq and rahman h. 3653 (dacb). three new records of lythraceae in the flora 21 fig. 4. rotala ramosior (l.) koehne, a. habit (× 10 cm), b. a flower (× 1.1 cm), c. a sepal (× 18 cm), d. a petal (× 0.3 cm), e. a mature fruit (× 1 cm), f. an ovary (× 1.6 cm), g. three seeds (× 2.5 cm). distribution: this species is native to argentina, bolivia, colombia, costa rica, cuba, guatemala, haiti, honduras, jamaica, mexico, the netherlands, nicaragua, panama, paraguay, peru, puerto rico, trinidad-tobago, the usa, and venezuela. it is introduced to greece, italy, the philippines, taiwan (powo, 2024; wfo, 2024). use: use as aquarium plant. 22 rani et al. notes: ammannia ramosior l. and rotala ramosior var. typica fernald and griscom (1935) are homotypic synonyms (powo, 2024). r. ramosior seems similar to r. simpliciuscula (kurz) koehne, but it differs from r. simpliciuscula by its oblanceolate leaves, sessile flower, and 4 sepals, petals, and stamens, each in contrast to r. simpliciuscula’s oblong leaves, 3 sepals, pedicellate, apetalous flower, and 1‒2 stamens. key to the two newly recorded rotala species: 1 leaves 8–12 mm long, capsule surface semi-transparent and raised, seed straw colour r. malampuzhensis leaves 3–5 mm long, capsule surface non-transparent and even, seed brown colour r. ramosior acknowledgement the bangladesh national herbarium is sincerely acknowledged by the authors for providing the assistance needed to carry out this study. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 2 february, 2024; revised on 5 june, 2024) http://www.tropicos.org, http://www.worldfloraonline.org/. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 105-113, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82398 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists morpho-molecular characterization of lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griffon & maubl and its first report on the association with coconut kernel from bangladesh md. abdullah al noman 1, shamim shamsi 1* and zeaur rahim 2 1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh 2 international centre for diarrhoeal disease research, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: coconut; lasiodiplodia isolate; isolation; characterization; phylogenetic analysis. abstract this study marks the first report of lasiodiplodia theobromae associated with coconut in bangladesh, a pathogen known to cause wide range of diseases crippling coconut production worldwide. two isolates, lt_bd 1 and lt_bd 4, were obtained from coconut samples and subjected to comprehensive morpho-molecular and phylogenetic analyses. morphological observations, including colony characteristics (color, texture, and surface appearance), growth patterns and conidial dimensions and shapes, preliminarily identified the isolates as lasiodiplodia species. molecular analysis, through pcr amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (its) regions, confirmed the identity of the isolates as l. theobromae. a phylogenetic tree, constructed using sequences of the studied isolates alongside 48 reference lasiodiplodia species (retrieved from ncbi) and one out-group species (pyricularia oryzae), corroborated this identification. this study provides a foundation for further rigorous research on the diseases of coconut caused by l. theobromae in bangladesh. introduction the coconut (cocos nucifera l.), a member of the arecaceae family, is one of the most vital perennial crops in tropical regions. often termed the "tree of life," coconut offers diverse applications, ranging from food, oil, and medicine to construction materials, fibers, and cosmetics. the white flesh of the coconut is nutrient-rich, containing high levels of fats, carbohydrates, iron, potassium, vitamin a, and vitamin b. its endosperm is widely consumed raw, used in confections, and forms the basis for various dishes and desserts. coconut oil, extracted and processed from dried coconut, is good for skin and hair care. economically, coconut is significant for bangladesh, which exports pure and natural coconut products globally. coconut production faces significant qualitative and quantitative challenges, with fungal diseases playing a critical role. among these, phytopathogenic species from the genus lasiodiplodia are responsible for approximately 500 plant diseases, including fruit rot, root rot, collar rot, stem-end rot, dieback, canker, and leaf necrosis (huda-shakirah et al., 2022). as a globally distributed pathogen, lasiodiplodia theobromae (pat.) griffon & maubl. (botryosphaeriaceae, botryosphaeriales, dothideomycetes, ascomycota) affects a wide range of hosts and can exist as a parasite, saprophyte or endophyte in nature (alves et al., 2008; machado et al., 2014; rosado et al., 2016). in coconut, lasiodiplodia theobromae causes a wide range of diseases including nut fall (venugopal and mohanan, 2006; sunpapao et al., 2022), leaf blight (santos, 2020; ramjegathesh et al., 2019; ashokkumar et al., 2018), nut rot disease (taylor and hyde, 2003; dheepa et al., 2018) and postharvest stem end rot (rosado et al., 2016; zhang and niu, 2019), all of which cause serious hindrance to coconut production. based on morphological, *corresponding author. e-mail: botanyshamsi@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82398 106 noman et al. phylogenetic and pathogenicity data, santos et al. (2020) first addressed two species namely, botryosphaeria fabicerciana and lasiodiplodia pseudotheobromae in addition to l. theobromae as causal agents of leaf blight disease in coconut from brazil. previously, l. theobromae was the sole species linked to postharvest stem-end rot of coconut (piepenbring, 2006; taylor & hyde, 2003). rosado et al. (2016) expanded this understanding by reporting three additional species alongside l. theobromae namely, l. brasiliense, l. egyptiacae, and l. pseudotheobromae as causative agents of postharvest stem-end rot in brazil. their artificial inoculation experiments demonstrated that l. theobromae was the most prevalent and aggressive species causing the disease. lasiodiplodia spp. are capable of surviving endophytically, enabling them to evade detection during quarantine. these fungi can infiltrate the endosperm, rendering coconut water unsuitable for consumption. additionally, research by felix et al. (2018) underscores the health risks posed by toxic metabolites produced by l. theobromae strains. therefore, identification and proper characterization of this fungus in coconut is desperately needed. several studies on fungal association with coconut have been reported from bangladesh (bhuiyan et al., 2021; khan and hossain, 2014). however, to the best of our knowledge, association of lasiodiplodia theobromae with coconut has not yet been reported from bangladesh. therefore, this study aims to address this gap by characterizing l. theobromae isolates obtained from coconut kernels. materials and methods sample collection and pathogen isolation coconut fruit with characteristic symptoms was collected for isolation. the rotted coconut kernel was associated with dark brown to blackish mycelial patches which is a typical feature of fungi belonging to the botryosphaeriaceae. fungus was isolated directly from symptomatic fruits using the method described by hosen et al. (2023). details of isolate id, origin, and corresponding ncbi accession numbers are provided in table 1. the fungal isolates were incubated at 25°c for five days to obtain pure cultures, which were subsequently used for morphological and molecular characterization. for long-term preservation and future molecular analyses, the isolates were grown on sterile 3 mm filter paper disks and stored in sterile eppendorf tubes at −80°c. morphological identification preliminary identification of fungal isolates was performed based on morphological characteristics, encompassing both macroscopic and microscopic features including conidia, conidiogenous cells and mycelium. spore images were measured at 40x magnification using a nikon optiphot-2 trinocular microscope (japan) equipped with a digital camera and imagefocus alpha software. for each isolate, the length and width of ten spores were recorded, and the average size was calculated. molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis dna extraction approximately 1 gram of mycelium from 7-day-old culture for each isolate was transferred into a 1.5 ml sterile eppendorf tube. the mycelium was ground using a homogenizer in 400 μl of sterile extraction buffer (200 mm tris-hcl, 250 mm nacl, 25 mm edta, 0.5% sds). genomic dna was extracted following the protocol described by noman et al. (2021). the resulting dna pellet was resuspended in 100 μl of 1x te buffer (10 mm tris-hcl, 1 mm edta, ph 8.0) and allowed to dissolve overnight at 4°c. the dna samples were stored at −20°c for subsequent analyses. morpho-molecular characterization of lasiodiplodia theobromae 107 dna concentration was measured at 260 nm using a nanodrop spectrophotometer, and quality was assessed by electrophoresis on a 1% agarose gel prior to pcr amplification. table 1. details of the lasiodiplodia theobromae isolates isolated from coconut kernel during the present study and the reference isolates retrieved from ncbi for phylogenetic analysis. sl. no. a,b&c name of the isolate isolate id origin of the isolate ncbi accession no. references location host 1. lasiodiplodia theobromae lt_bd 1 bangladesh cocos nucifera oq438652 this study 2. l. theobromae lt_bd 4 bangladesh c. nucifera oq438653 this study 3. l. theobromae pcb malaysia jatropha curcas gu228527 sulaiman et al., 2012 4. l. theobromae rsgv/lk02 malaysia j. curcas hm346873 sulaiman et al., 2012 5. l. theobromae fh14k03 mexico citrus tree mk886711 hernández et al., 2021 6. l. theobromae lt1 india bottle gourd mn995068 unpublished jain s and singh g 7. l. theobromae 1_finish china poplar stem kf294005 unpublished sun xm and yan dh 8. l. theobromae ylh2-2 china avocado om736159 unpublished yu hr and wu jb 9. l. pyriformis cbs 121770 namibia acacia mellifera eu101307 cruywagen et al., 2017 10. l. pyriformis cmw 25415 namibia a. mellifera eu101308 cruywagen et al., 2017 11. l. egyptiacae bot-29 egypt mangifera indica jn814401 ismail et al., 2012 12. l. egyptiacae bot-10 egypt m. indica jn814397 ismail et al., 2012 13. l. subglobosa cmm 3872 brazil jatropha curcas kf234558 gnanesh et al., 2022 14. l. subglobosa cmm 4046 brazil j. curcas kf234560 gnanesh et al., 2022 15. l. gilanensis iran1501c iran unknown gu945352 abdollahzadeh et al., 2010 16. l. gilanensis iran1523c iran unknown gu945351 abdollahzadeh et al., 2010 17. l. venezuelensis wac12539 venezuela acacia mangium dq103547 burgess et al., 2006 18. l. venezuelensis wac12540 venezuela a. mangium dq103548 burgess et al., 2006 19. l. venezuelensis cmw 13513 venezuela a. mangium dq103549 burgess et al., 2006 20. l. rubropurpurea wac12535 tully, queensland eucalyptus grandis dq103553 burgess et al., 2006 21. l. rubropurpurea wac12536 tully, queensland e. grandis dq103554 burgess et al., 2006 22. l. rubropurpurea wac12537 tully, queensland e. grandis dq103555 burgess et al., 2006 23. l. rubropurpurea wac12538 tully, queensland e. grandis dq103556 burgess et al., 2006 24. l. citricola cbs124707a iran citrus sp. gu945354 abdollahzadeh et al., 2010 25. l. citricola cbs124706 iran citrus sp. gu945353 abdollahzadeh et al., 2010 26. l. crassispora cbs125626 south africa vitis vinifera mt587424 zhang et al., 2021 27. l. crassispora cmw33262 unknown adansonia sp. ku887068 cruywagen et al., 2017 28. l. crassispora cmw 13488 venezuela eucalyptus europhylla dq103552 gnanesh et al., 2022 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/oq438652 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/oq438653 108 noman et al. 29. l. crassispora cbs 118741 australia santalum album ng_062741 phillips et al., 2005 30. l. euphorbicola cmm3651 brazil jatropha curcas kf234553 machado et al., 2014 31. l. euphorbicola cmw33268 unknown adansonia sp. ku887131 cruywagen et al., 2017 32. l. euphorbicola cmm3609 brasil jatropha curcas kf254926 machado et al., 2014 33. l. mahajangana cbs124925 madagascar terminalia catappa fj900595 begoude et al., 2010 34. l. mahajangana cbs124926 madagascar t. catappa fj900596 begoude et al., 2010 35. l. hormozganensis cbs124709 iran olea sp. gu945355 abdollahzadeh et al., 2010 36. l. hormozganensis cbs124708 iran mangifera indica gu945356 abdollahzadeh et al., 2010 37. l. margaritacea cbs122519 australia adansonia gibbosa eu144050 cruywagen et al., 2017 38. l. margaritacea cbs122065 australia a. gibbosa eu144051 cruywagen et al., 2017 39. l. margaritacea cbs138289 namibia combretum elaeagnoides kp872320 zhang et al., 2021 40. l. margaritacea cbs138290 zambia combretum collinum kp872321 zhang et al., 2021 41. l. parva cbs 356.59 sri lanka theobromae cacao ef622082 ismail et al., 2012 42. l. parva cbs 494.78 colombia cassava-field soil ef622084 ismail et al., 2012 43. l. exigua bl 184 tunisia retama raetam kj638318 linaldeddu et al., 2015 44. l. exigua bl 185 tunisia r. raetam kj638319 linaldeddu et al., 2015 45. l. exigua bl 187 tunisia r. raetam kj638321 linaldeddu et al., 2015 46. l. exigua cbs 137785 tunisia r. raetam kj638317 linaldeddu et al., 2015 47. l. brasiliense cbs123095 cameroon teobroma cacao mt587423 zhang et al., 2021 48. l. brasiliense cmm4015a brazil mangifera indica jx464063 marques et al., 2013 49. l. brasiliense csm11 venezuela teobroma cacao mf436018 mohali-castillo et al., 2023 50. l. brasiliense cf/uenf436 brazil cocos nucifera ky655209 santos et al., 2020 51. pyricularia oryzae bdc_10 bangladesh triticum aestivum mt358609 noman et al., 2021 a lasiodiplodia theobromae isolates studied in the present investigation are shown in bold (1&2) b reference lasiodiplodia isolates obtained from ncbi and used for phylogenetic analysis (03-50) c reference pyricularia oryzae isolate obtained from ncbi and used as out-group for phylogenetic analysis (51) pcr amplification and sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (its) regions of the isolates were amplified using the forward primer its1 (5'-tccgtaggtgaacctgcgg-3') and the reverse primer its4 (5'tcctccgcttattgatatgc-3') (white et al., 1990). each 25 μl pcr reaction mixture contained 2.0 μl of template dna, 12.5 μl of master mix (clever scientific ltd., warwickshire, uk), 1.0 μl of each primer, and 8.5 μl of nuclease-free water. the reaction mixture was thoroughly mixed before thermal cycling, which included an initial denaturation at 94°c for 5 minutes, followed by 30 cycles of denaturation at 94°c for 30 seconds, annealing at 54°c for 30 seconds, and extension at 72°c for 30 seconds. a final extension step at 72°c for 5 minutes was included, ending with a hold at 4°c. successful amplification of the its regions was verified by electrophoresis on a 1% agarose gel with compared to a 100 bp dna ladder (clever scientific ltd., warwickshire, uk). purified pcr products were sequenced using a seqstudio genetic morpho-molecular characterization of lasiodiplodia theobromae 109 analyzer (thermo fisher scientific, usa) at the centre for advanced research in sciences (cars), university of dhaka, bangladesh. sequence analysis and phylogenetic tree construction the nucleotide homogeneity of the obtained consensus sequences was evaluated by comparing them with other sequences in the genbank database using the blastn tool (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast) and these sequences were subsequently deposited in the genbank database. sequence alignment was performed using the clustal w algorithm implemented in molecular evolutionary genetics analysis (mega) software version 7.0 (kumar et al., 2016). a phylogenetic tree was constructed using the neighbor-joining method within the same software, and branch support was evaluated using 1000 bootstrap replicates. results and discussion morphological characterization morphological characteristics such as colony color and texture, surface appearance, growth pattern, and conidial size and shape were examined. the isolates grown on culture media displayed typical lasiodiplodia morphology. the mycelium grew vigorously in all directions, completely covering the surface of the petri plates within 5 days (fig. 1). the colony texture of the lasiodiplodia isolates was fluffy, raised and irregular. initially, the colonies were white, gradually changing to light gray within a week. after two weeks of incubation, the color turned dark gray or black when viewed from the top and dark olive green or black from the reverse side (fig. 1). no variation in conidial shape was observed. the conidia were septate, oval in shape, dark brown in color with irregular longitudinal striations on the spores. average conidial sizes of the isolates lt_bd 1 and lt_bd 4 were found 22.5 × 12.0 µm and 23.0 × 11.5 µm, respectively. fig. 1. morphological characterization of l. theobromae. a. infested coconut kurnel; b-c. 5 days old colony on pda medium from upper (b) and reverse view (c); d-e. 14 days old mature colony on pda medium from upper (d) and reverse view (e); f. conidia under microscope (scale bar = 50 µm). 110 noman et al. molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis were conducted to accurately identify the isolates at the species level. pcr amplification of the internal transcribed spacer (its) regions produced an amplicon of approximately 550 bp for each isolate (fig. 2). the amplicons were purified, sequenced, and analyzed using the ncbi blast search tool. the its sequences of the isolates were found to be identical and confirmed as l. theobromae. the newly generated sequences from this study were submitted to ncbi, and the corresponding genbank accession numbers are listed in table 1. fig. 2. gel electrophoresis of amplified its region of the l. theobromae isolates using 1% agarose gel (m indicates 100 bp dna ladder). to analyze the phylogenetic position of the studied l. theobromae isolates, a neighbor-joining tree was also constructed based on its sequences. the its sequences of the isolates from the present study were aligned with 48 reference isolates of lasiodiplodia species of different countries and plant hosts (retrieved from ncbi) and one outgroup taxon (pyricularia oryzae) (fig. 3). from the phylogenetic tree it was observed that out-group taxon, p. oryzae, clustered completely separately and remaining all the lasiodiplodia species formed a major cluster among them. species wise clustering was demonstrated in the dendrogram. isolates of this study namely, lt_bd 1 and lt_bd 4 showed strong relationship with reference l. theobromae isolates and formed a different cluster. as a result, isolates of this study were verified as l. theobromae by virtue of molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis. lasiodiplodia theobromae has previously been identified as a pathogen of dragon fruit in bangladesh (briste et al., 2021). however, despite being serious pathogen of coconut, there is no available report on the association of this fungus with coconut from bangladesh till date. this study marks the association of l. theobromae with coconut from bangladesh and demonstrated detailed morpho-molecular characterization with phylogenetic relationship. the isolates studied here are preliminarily identified as lasiodiplodia species based on their morphological features, consistent with descriptions provided by other researchers studying lasiodiplodia (alves et al., 2008; marques et al., 2013; machado et al., 2014; linaldeddu et al., 2015; rosado et al., 2016; huda-shakirah et al., 2022). morphological methods have traditionally been central to fungal taxonomy. however, morphology-based identification within the botryosphaeriaceae family is limited to the genus level, as many lasiodiplodia species share overlapping morphological traits. this limitation highlights the importance of molecular techniques. as a result, molecular and phylogenetic investigations incorporating its dna sequences are critical for avoiding ambiguous and misleading results and resolving species-level identification issues. its region is recognized as a morpho-molecular characterization of lasiodiplodia theobromae 111 universal fungal barcode and an effective molecular tool for identifying fungal species and analyzing the phylogenetic relationships of various species and geographic isolates (rosado et al., 2016; noman et al., 2021). in this study, molecular characterization of the isolates was carried out using rdna sequences of the its region. neighbor-joining tree inferred from l. theobromae isolates of this study together with 48 reference lasiodiplodia species and one outgroup taxon (pyricularia oryzae) revealed that studied lt_bd 1 and lt_bd 4 isolates and other reference l. theobromae isolates showed strong relationship and formed a completely separate cluster, confirming that studied fungal isolates were l. theobromae. fig. 3. phylogenetic relationship of lasiodiplodia theobromae isolates with other reference lasiodiplodia isolates based on its sequence similarity using neighbourjoining method. l. theobromae isolates of this study, reference l. theobromae isolates and reference pyricularia oryzae isolate (out-group) were marked in green, yellow and light orange zones, respectively. numbers besides each branch represent bootstrap values obtained after a bootstrap test with 1000 replications. branch support less than 40 was not shown in the dendrogram. as a globally significant pathogen, l. theobromae is responsible for severe diseases in coconut, impacting 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(manuscript received on 2 december 2024; revised on 2 may 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 43-51, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67043 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a new species in genus abutilon (malvaceae) from pakistan fouzia naseer*, ali noor and afshan rahman department of botany, university of karachi, 75270, pakistan keywords: abutilon; malvaceae; taxonomy; morphology. abstract in this research paper, a newly identified plant species of the genus abutilon mill., namely abutilon jafrii f. naseer, a. noor & a. rahman, is described and illustrated for the first time in the province of sindh, detailed morphological descriptions of the species along with the micro-morphological examinations of scanning electron microscopy (sem) for the mericarps, seeds and pollens are presented. additionally, macro morphological characteristics including photographs of the plant habit with flowers, fruits, seeds and mericarps are provided. through gross macro-morphological and micromorphological investigations such as plant height, leaves texture and colour, pedicel of fruits and flowers, flowers diameter, sepal’s size in flowers and fruits, number of seeds per mericarp, pollen tectum exhibit significant differences in characters, which indicate that, it is a distinct species. introduction the genus abutilon mill. is classified under tribe abutilinae (bentham and hooker, 1862). in a taxonomic revision of the entire family by hutchinson (1967), the genus was kept under the tribe abutilieae and sub-tribe abutilinae. though, bates (1968) later removed subtribes and placed them under the tribe malvae. the genus abutilon is considered as one of the large and complex genera (fryxell, 1997 and takeuchi and esteves, 2012). it was established by philip miller in the year 1754 (fryxell, 1983) since been recorded in various parts of the world. while several authors have added and reported different species over time in the genus while christenhusz and byng (2016) stated that the genus includes approximately 4,225 species. it is supposed to be more or less cosmopolitan in distribution, although it is primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions as a genus of annual and perennial, herbs, under shrubs, or mostly shrubs (borssum, 1967; davis, 2002; mabberley, 1987; manjunath, 1948 and taia, 2009). in the pakistan, eighteen specific and infra-specific taxa have been recorded (abedin, 1979) which are belonging to the different southern parts of the country, while only a few species were reported from the northern parts. a total of eleven species have been reported from karachi & its adjoining areas (afaq-hussain et al.1988). different works have conducted for taxonomic examinations of several species in different regions. such as taia (2009) reported five species from saudi arabia based on morphological analysis, including leaves, flowers and fruits of the genus. alzahrani et al. (2021) analyzed six species of the genus using morphological characters with a morphometric approach. in pakistan, hussain and baquar (1974) provided a taxonomic study of twelve species, while abedin (1979) reported eighteen specific and infra-specific taxa. naseer et al. (2015) resolved long-standing confusion between widely spread taxa, namely a. indicum and a. badium based on critical *corresponding author, e-mail: fouzianaseer.ku@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67043 mailto:fouzianaseer.ku@gmail.com 44 naseer et al. analysis of morphological characters. they accepted a. badium as a distinct and separate species as described and mentioned by hussain and baqar (1974) and listed as an accepted name in “the plant list 2013”. however, abedin (1979) in the flora of pakistan considered both as the same taxa. naseer et al. (2020) added one more infra-specific taxa in the genus. for improving systematic position and delimitation of taxa several palynological studies were also carried out on various species from different regions in which christensen (1986), perveen et al. (1994), el-nagar (2004), el-husseini (2006) and shaheen et al. (2009) conveyed important notes about family and genus. in recent years naseer et al. (2015) revised the pollen analysis of two species. seeds are often influenced by environmental factors (zoric et al., 2010), which provides significant data for the delimitation of taxa. the literature provides little information regarding the micro-morphology of seeds, including two species by el-naggar (2001) and amallesh et al. (2012), khushk and vaughan (1986) reported seed data of nine species of the genus. nasser et. al. (2015) examined closely two species namely a. indicum (l.) sweet and a. badium s. a. hussain & baquar, while naseer et al. (2020) studied one infra-specific taxon abutilon pannosum var. balochistanicum in their work. during a revisionary survey of the genus abutilon from pakistan, this species was observed with its distinct morphological characteristics. the current paper introduces and recognizes a new species within the genus namely a. jafrii f. naseer et al. based on macro and micro-morphology particularly pollen and seed characters. in addition, a concise diagnostic key and comparison table is provided, comparing this new species with its closely related species a. sepalum s. a. hus. & s. r. baq. materials and methods plants were extensively studied in their natural habitat using recently collected fresh specimens. study site and collection of material the plant specimens of newly recognized species in the work were collected and discovered by the first author of the current work from the karachi university (ku) campus during revisionary work of the entire genus from 2007 to 2023. all necessary field observations were carefully noted i.e. plant height, soil type, habit, the colour of plant parts, flower opening and closing timings, seed dispersal behavior etc. the specimens were preserved in the herbarium of karachi university (kuh) with all necessary voucher details. macro morphological analysis for the detailed morphological examination of all important qualitative and quantitative features, simple observations were employed of stem, leaves, inflorescence, flower, fruit & mericarp and seeds. digital illustration the same method was adopted as mentioned in naseer et al. (2015, 2020). photographs of the plant’s habits and other parts have been captured with a photographic camera (olympus vr-310). the macro-morphological studies were performed with the help of a hand lens and stereomicroscope. a new species in genus abutilon 45 scanning electron microscopy scanning electron microscopic (sem) studies were made for the mericarp, seeds and pollen grains of both species. for mericarp and seed sem study for the scanning electron microscopy (sem) study preparation of material, mature and healthy seeds were washed successively in three grades of ethanol (30%, 50% and 70%) to remove dirt from the surface of the seeds. dried seeds and mericarp of the specimen were mounted on separate metallic stubs upon double adhesive tape and coated in a sputtering chamber for a few minutes with gold, then observed by sem jeol japan (jsm-6380a), in the central laboratory of the university of karachi for the sem study of seeds. the images were captured by scanning electron microscope. for the pollen sem study for the sem study of pollen grains, dried flower specimens were directly dusted upon metal stubs with double-adhesive tape. the gold coating was done in a sputtering chamber of jeol jec1500, observed and the photographs were captured by scanning electron microscope (jeol: jsm 6380 a). the voucher specimens were recorded and kept in the karachi university herbarium. key to species 1+ stem, petiole and pedicel greyish green, densely covered with hirsute hairs, pedicel joint below the middle, sepals not leathery, mericarps 2330 in each schizocarp abutilon jafrii 1 stem, petiole and pedicel greenish and velvety, pedicel joint at or above middle, sepals leathery, mericarps 20-48 in each schizocarp abutilon sepalum description of the species an erect up to 0.6m tall a large shrub. stem with greyish dense soft hirsute, pubescence and slightly velvety appearance. leaves 3.2 -5.3cm long and 2.5 4.7cm broad, ovate to sometimes old leaves broadly ovate, soft hairs, above velvety dark green to canescent beneath, acute at apex, irregular sharp denticulate to irregular minute dentate, cordate-deep cordate at base, 9-nerves; petiole 2.8-4.5 cm long, dense greyish soft hirsute hairs; stipules deciduous, linear, reflexed,0.40.6cm long. flower solitary axillary and visible in clusters on the terminal side or racemes to sometimes dichotomously branched, pseudo-raceme, ± 3.5cm across, dark yellow. flowering pedicel length is almost 0.3-0.6 cm above while about 0.1-0.2cm below the joint, articulation indistinct below the middle near stem and branches. calyx 5 lobed, densely hairy not leathery, light green to greyish green, acute at apex, sepals 1.2cm long 0.7cm broad, broad ovate; corolla 5 lobed, petals 1.7 cm long, 2.2 cm broad, retuse apex. fruiting pedicel 0.6-0.9 cm above the joint and 0.4-2 cm below the joint, remain indistinct below the middle near the base of the pedicel (while sometimes observed only in old fruit), covered with dense hirsute hairs; fruiting calyx almost enclosed the fruit, light green-yellowish, sepals 1.3cm long and 0.6-0.7cm broad. fruit truncate, 1.5-1.8 cm across, ridges and furrows not clear due to dense hair; mericarps 23-30 in each fruit, obtuse at apex, long spreading the almost equal length of cream to yellowish or golden hairs at edges, 0.6-0.9 cm long 0.4-0.6 cm broad, dark shiny brown, single awn, 0.8-0.9cm long. seeds usually 3 in each mericarp and rarely 2, 2 mm across, ovate, dark brown with dense hairs. 46 naseer et al. fig. 1. abutilon jafrii (a) habit of whole plant (b-c) arrangement of flowers and fruits on floral axis (d) yellow flower opening holotype: karachi district: f. naseer, 223 (kuh). specimens examined: karachi university campus, near the botany department, c. 6.5 feet tall, plant parts greyish green in sunny areas, flower dark yellow, pedicel length very short and covered with dense hairs, fruit greyish to yellowish brown at maturity, f. naseer, 223, 225 (kuh), left area adjacent to chemistry department, c. 6.5 to 7 feet tall, dark green leaves in semi shady area, pseudo-raceme inflorescence, 415, 423, 425, left area near to department of mathematical sciences (kuh). ecology: sandy soil etymology: name of species is dedicated to our one of the honorable taxonomist “s. m. h. jafri”, who was editor of flora of karachi. a new species in genus abutilon 47 phenology: flowers open after 4 o’clock evening in summer while at 3-4 o’clock in winter. distribution: pakistan: karachi (fig. 3) fig. 2. comparison between a.sepalum and a. jafrii in various parts: abutilon sepalum (a) flower in natural habitat (b) fruit with dense hairs (c) mature mericarp with showing apex (d) seeds; abutilon jafrii (e) flower in natural habitat (f) fruiting branch (g) mericarp (h) seeds fig. 3. map showing current distribution of new taxa. 48 naseer et al. results and discussion according to alzahrani (2021) floral morphological features especially fruits play key role for delimitation of taxa in the genus abutilon. in this work abutilon jafrii f. naseer & a. noor although has close resemblance with a. sepalum especially due to calyx condition in fruit but on the basis of various morphological traits it is recognized as distinct species. flower is much darker yellowish in a. jafrii than a. sepalum (fig. 2a & e). in both of the species fruits are enclosed in the calyx as shown in fig. 2 b & f. while in each fruit, numbers of mericarps are lesser in the a. jafrii than a. sepalum. mericarp surface and colour also vary in currently recognized species as dark brownish with dense golden hairs on apex (fig. c & g). leaves texture and size also vary in a. jafrii (fig. 1a) a. sepalum leaves are slightly covered with hispid hairs as described husssain and baquar (1974) while leaves in a. jafrii are densely covered with soft hairs giving velvety touch. leaves colour also differs in both of the species mentioned in table 1. the short pedicel is the key characteristic of species with indistinct to distinct articulation both in flower and fruit, sometimes in flower sub-sessile condition of the pedicel is recorded. calyx is densely pubescent but not leathery as in a. sepalum. seed colour, shape and surface provide strong evidence between both of these species (fig. 2d & h; fig. 3), in species a. jafrii trichomes at notch can be seen clearly while not seen in a. seplaum and the number of seeds is also lesser in the newly recognized species. pollen surface also shows remarkable differences, details of distinguishing characters were mentioned in table 1. illustrated images of the type species and newly recognized species are presented in figs. 1, 2 & 3. fig. 4. (a) scanning electron micrographs of abutilon jafrii (a) entire seeds (b) edges view of seed (c-d) trichomes covered surface of seed (b) scanning electron micrographs of abutilon sepalum (a) entire seed (b) edges view of seed (c-d) trichomes covered surface of seed (c) scanning electron micrographs of pollen grains of abutilon jafrii (a) entire pollen grain (b) edges view of pollen grain (d) scanning electron micrographs of abutilon sepalum pollen grains (a) entire pollen grain (b) edges view of pollen grain a new species in genus abutilon 49 table 1. distinguishing characters of abutilon jafrii from its closely allied species a. sepalum. plant parts a. sepalum s. a. hus. & baq. (abedin, 1979) (characters) a. jafrii f. naseer et al. (characters) stem stem apparently velvety with dense tomentose hairs. stem covered with grayish dense and soft appressed hairs. leaves size leaves range from 4-16cm long and 3-13cm broad. leaves usually range from 5-6 or 7cm long and broad. leaves shape leaves are broad ovate or orbicular to ovate in shape. young leaves are ovate while old leaves are somewhat broad. leaves surface leaves from the upper side are somewhat scabrous. leaves not scabrous. petiole size and surface petioles usually range between 2 to 6cm long. petiole 2.5-4cm long. calyx surface calyx leathery, their size is equal to fruit length and enclosing the fruit. calyx not leathery, the size is more than fruit length and completely enclosing the fruit. pedicel length pedicel is 0.5 to 2cm long in fruit fruiting pedicel up to 0.6 long pollen tectum rugose-punctate, granulated mainly around tubercles, ± unperforated only with any occasional minute perforation. rugose-punctate, granulated mainly around tubercles, minutely and sparsely perforated. articulation mericarps number with distinct joint, usually at middle mericarps 27-33 in each fruit with usually indistinct to distinct joint, usually below the middle to sometime in middle mericarps are quite less in number per fruit 23-24 seeds number seeds are usually three (sometimes 2) in each mericarp seeds range from 1-2 per mericarp pollen tectum rugose-punctate, granulated mainly around tubercles, ± unperforated only with any occasional minute perforation. rugose-punctate, granulated mainly around tubercles, minutely and sparsely perforated. as a large genus comprising several hundred species, they produce attractive yellow to orange-yellow blooms (naseer et al., 2000), generally throughout the year. due to their showy nature of flower and large number of flowers per plant, it is suggested to grow them as an ornamental large shrub in the gardens, particularly in eco-friendly regions. additionally, many species in this genus are considered as fiber-yielding and medicinal plants, used to treat various diseases. therefore, for the conservation and further exploration of newly discovered species demand a comprehensive examination of their pharmacological and phytochemical characteristics. in their natural habitats, these plants frequently encounter a multitude of pests that inflict considerable damage upon their fruits and foliage. within the delicate ecosystem that nurtures these remarkable species, lies an imperative to unveil the untapped potential and ensure their enduring conservation. by exploring pest management technique, we protect precious plant life, pioneer innovative pest control methods, and foster a symbiotic relationship between nature and humans. 50 naseer et al. acknowledgements we are deeply grateful to our respected and honorable supervisor, prof. dr. surayya khatoon (late) for her invaluable guidance and dedication throughout our studies and research, her immense knowledge and extensive experience have been a constant source of motivation for us during this research endeavor. may almighty allah reward her best for her tireless efforts. additionally, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to “fahad ahmed khan yousufi” from the department of geography, uok, for his prompt cooperation in preparing the map. conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest. references abedin, s. 1979. malvaceae in: nasir, e. and ali, s.i. (eds.) flora of west pakistan, university of karachi, pakistan. 130: 1-107.1979. afaq-hussain, s., saeed, s.a. and shahid-hussain, 1988. cytological investigation in abutilon mill. from pakistan. pak. j. bot. 20(2): 191-199. alzahrani, d., albokhari, e. and khoj, a., 2021. taxonomic studies on some members of the genus abutilon mill. (malvaceae). am. j. plant sci. 12: 199-220. amallesh, n.m., debnath, c.r., harisha, v.j., shukla and chauhan, m.g. 2012. the pharmacognostical and phytochemical studies between the seeds of abutilon indicum (linn.) sw and abutilon glaucum (linn.) sw. int. res. j. pharm. 3(5): 149-152. bates, d.m., 1968. generic relationships in the malvaceae, tribe malvae. gentes herbarum 10: 117-135. bentham, g. and hooker, j.d., 1862. genera plantarum. l. vol. 1, reeve and co., london borssum j.v.w., 1967. malesian malvaceae revised. blumea 14: 1-213. christenhusz, m.j.m. and byng, j.w. 2016. the number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase. phytotaxa 261: 201-217. christensen, p.b., 1986. pollen morphological studies in the malvaceae. grana 25: 95-117. davis, p.h., 1967. flora of turkey, vol. 2: 403, edinburgh university press. alzahrani, d.a., albokhari, e.j. and khoj, a., 2021 taxonomic studies on some members of the genus abutilon mill. (malvaceae). am. j. plant sci. 12 (2). el nagar, s.m., 2004. pollen morphology of egyptian malvaceae: an assessment of taxonomic value. turkish j. bot. 28: 227-224. el-husseini, n. 2006. pollen morphology of tiliacaeae juss. and sterculiaceae vent. and their relation to malvaceae juss. in egypt. int. j. agric. biol. 6: 844-847. el-naggar, s.m. 2001. systematic implications of seed coat sculpture in malvaceae. pakistan biol. sci. 7: 822-828. fryxell, j.e. 1983. a revision of abutilon sect. oligocarpae (malvaceae), including a new species from mexico. mardrono 30: 84-92. fryxell, p.a. 1997. the american genera of malvaceae-ii. brittonia 49: 204-269. fryxell, p.a. 2002. an abutilon nomenclature (malvaceae), lundellia 5: 79-118. hussain, s.a. and baquar, s.r. 1974. biosystematic studies in the genus abutilon from pakistan. phyton (austria) 15(3-4): 219-234. hutchison, j. 1967. the genera of flowering plants (angiospermae). vol. 2, clarendon press, oxford. khushk, m.t. and vaughan, j.g. 1986. seed structure in relation to the taxonomy of the abutileae (abutilon, anda, modiola, sida, sphaeralacea and urocarpidium). pakistan journal of botany. 18: 103-114. mabberley, d.j. 1987. the plant book, a portable dictionary of the higher plants, cambridge university press. manjunath b.l. 1948. the wealth of india. a dictionary of indian raw materials and industrial products. 1: 34. a new species in genus abutilon 51 naseer, f., khatoon, s. and noor, a. 2020. a new endemic variety in abutilon pannosum (forst. f.) schecht. (malvaceae) from balochistan, pakistan. nt. j. biol. biotech. 17(1): 117-119. naseer, f., khatoon s. and imran, m. 2015. abutilon indicum (l.) sweet and abutilon badium s. a. husain & baquar (family malvaceae): a long standing confusion. int. j. biol. biotech. 12(4): 551-557, 2015. perveen, a., siddiqui, s., fatima, a. and qaiser, m. 1994. pollen flora of pakistan-1. malvaceae. pak. j. bot. 26(1): 35-56. shaheen, n., khan, m.a., hayat, m.q. and yasmin, g. 2009. pollen morphology of 14 species of abutilon and hibiscus of the family malvaceae (sensustricto). j. med. plant res. 11: 921-929. taia, w.k. 2009. general view of malvaceae juss. s. l. and taxonomic revision of genus abutilon mill. in saudi arabia. journal of king abdulaziz university, science 21: 349-363. takeuchi, c. and esteves, g.l. 2012. synopsis of abutilon (malvoideae, malvaceae) in the state of sau paulo, brazil. phytotaxa. 44: 39-57. zoric, l., merkulov, l. and lukov, j. 2010. comparative seed morphology of trifolium l. species (fabaceae). periodicum biologorum, 112(3): 263-272. (manuscript received on 3 january 2023; revised on 5 june 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 275-278, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78753 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of desmids from mithamoin haor in kishoreganj, bangladesh tanvir ahmed, nur e taj jahan tonne and md. almujaddade alfasane* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: desmids; new records; mithamoin haor; bangladesh. abstract a total of 6 species of desmidiaceae were recorded as new record from mithamoin haor in bangladesh. there are namely, staurastrum mucronatum var. subtriangulare west & west, staurastrum platycerum joshua, staurodesmus tortus (grobland) teiling, cosmarium manomazum p.m. lundell, desmidium bailey var. caclatum (kirchn.) nordstedt and spondylosium lundellii var. lundellii borge. after a careful and intense review on the list of desmids algae of bangladesh, all these six species are found to be new addition, and they are described here for the first time in bangladesh so far. introduction the algal communities of desmid are very common in different aquatic habitats of bangladesh specially in many haors and baors. in the recent study on the aquatic communites of mithamoin haor in kishoreganj, the presence of desmids in the haor was observed from collected samples. after a detailed study of many samples under microscope, these species were identified and they are belonging to desmidiaceae family. following a critical verification, these 6 species of desmids were not reported from bangladesh so far (ahmed et al. 2007; islam, 1970; islam and irfanullah, 2006) and found to be the new addition to the total species number so far reported from bangladesh. the recorded species are belonged to the genera namely, stuarastum, staurodesmum, cosmarium, desmidium and spondylosium. materials and methods the study samples were collected from mithamoin haor of kishoreganj district between april 2023 and march 2024. plankton concentrates were obtained by filtering 100 liters of sub-surface water from mithamoin haor through a plankton net with a 20 μm mesh size. the samples were preserved using lugol’s solution. photomicrographs of the organisms were captured using a nikon optiphot microscope equipped with a ufx-11a unit and a nikon fx-35wa camera (japan). the relevant literature (ahmed et al. 2007; croasdale and scott, 1976; croasdale, 1957; irenee-marie, 1938; islam, 1970; islam and irfanullah, 2006; ling and tyler, 2000; okada, 1934; palamar-mordvintceva, 1982; prescott et al., 1977; scott et al., 1965; west and west, 1903, 1907) used for species identification is listed in the taxonomic enumeration section provided below. taxonomic enumeration class: zygnematophyceae; order: desmidiales; family: desmidiaceae genus: staurastrum meyen 1. staurastrum mucronatum var. subtriangulare west & west (fig. 1) (croasdale, 1957; west and west, 1903; palamar-mordvintceva, 1982, p. 169, pl. 38, fig. 5) cell length 32-52 μm, width 28-48 μm, spines 6-10 μm. cell wall smooth bearing granules, mucros. in vertical view, the cell exhibits bilateral symmetry with a subtriangular shape. each *corresponding author, mujaddade@yahoo.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78753 276 ahmed et al. semicell is broadly triangular with convex margins, and their apices are slightly extended, terminating in sharp mucros spine a defining characteristic of this variety. the isthmus, representing the central constricted region, is relatively narrow, separating the two semicells. 2. staurastrum platycerum joshua (fig. 2) (palamar-mordvintceva, 1982, p. 200, pl. 47, figs 1-2) cell length 34-36 μm, width 40-55 μm, spines 60-70 μm. a bilaterally symmetrical desmid with inwardly curved, trapezoidal or triangular semicells. the semicells are broad at the base, tapering toward the pointed apices, often tipped with short processes. the narrow, well-defined isthmus separates the semicells, forming a central constriction typical of desmids. the cell wall is smooth and exhibit fine granulations. genus: staurodesmus teiling 3. staurodesmus tortus (grobland) teiling (fig. 3) (palamar-mordvintceva, 1982, p. 155, pl. 32, fig.12) cell length 16-20 μm, width 10-15 μm; spines 8-12 μm. plant small in size, semicell triangular from front view, spine like small process at each arm tip upwardly directed and sinus open. its two semicells are elongated, slightly tapering at the apices, and symmetrically oriented in a spiral. the narrow and well-defined isthmus connects the semicells. the cell wall is adorned with granules or short spines, adding a unique texture. genus: cosmarium corda ex ralfs 4. cosmarium manomazum p.m. lundell (fig. 4) (ling and tyler, 2000, p.174, pl. 78, figs 12-13) cell length 30-31 μm, width 32-35 μm, isthmus 13 μm, thickness 18 μm. free living, cells are typically semicircular in lateral view, deeply constricted to form two symmetrical semicells with a narrow, well-defined isthmus. the semicells are circular to sub-hexagonal with smooth or slightly granular margins and fine undulations. each cell contains two chloroplasts. the cell wall slightly granular. genus: desmidium c.a. agardh 5. desmidium bailey var. caclatum (kirchn.) nordstedt (fig. 5) (palamar-mordvintceva, 1982, p. 571, pl.160, figs 6-7) cell length 15-16 μm, width 20-23 μm. elongated, cylindrical cells arranged in linear, unbranched filaments with cells attached end-to-end. the cell wall is smooth or may have slight ornamentation, and the filaments are typically straight or slightly curved. the cell junctions have minimal constriction, giving the filaments a seamless appearance. genus: spondylosium brébisson 6. spondylosium lundellii var. lundellii borge (fig. 6) (palamar-mordvintceva, 1982, p. 549, pl. 154, figs. 1-4) cell length 19-20 μm, width 20-23 μm. unicellular desmid cell forming filament like colony, flatten body with narrow or open sinus, unbranched filaments. the cells are narrow, often slightly curved or straight, and uniformly elongate without mid-region constrictions. cells are united by apposition of their apices. the smooth, unornamented cell wall and parietal chloroplasts, often containing visible pyrenoids, characterize the species. new records of desmids from mithamoin haor 277 figs 1-6. 1. staurastrum mucronatum var. subtriangulare west & g.s. west, 2. staurastrum platycerum joshua, 3. staurodesmus tortus (grobland) teiling, 4. cosmarium manomazum p.m. lundell, 5. desmidium bailey var. caclatum (kirchn.) nordstedt, 6. spondylosium lundellii var. lundellii borge. (scale= 10 μm) acknowledgements the authors express their gratitude to the 5th phase bas-usda endowment program (cc-22) in agriculture and life sciences, the funding agency for supplying the required financial assistance. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m. a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m. h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 3. algae, chlorophyta (aphanochaetaceae zygnemataceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka. 812 pp. croasdale, h. and scott, a.m. 1976. new or otherwise interesting desmids from northern australia. nova hedwigia 27(3-4): 501-596. croasdale, h.t. 1957. freshwater algae of alaska i. some desmids from the interior. part 3: cosmariae concluded. transactions of the american microscopical society 76(2): 116-158. 278 ahmed et al. irenee-marie, f. 1938. flore desmidiale de la region de montreal. laprairie, canada, 547 pp. islam, a.k.m. nurul. 1970. contributions to the knowledge of desmids of east pakistan (part 1). nova hedwigia, 20: 903-983. islam, a.k.m. nurul and irfanullah, h.m. 2006. hydrobiological studies within the tea gardens at srimangal, bangladesh. vi. desmids (xanthidium, arthrodesmus, staurodesmus and staurastrum). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 13(2): 111-129. ling, h.u. and tyler, p.a. 2000. australian freshwater algae (exclusive of diatoms). bibl. phycol. bd. 105. j. cramer, berlin. stuttgart, 643 pp. okada, y. 1934. the desmid flora of the northern kurile islands. journal of the imperial fisheries institute, tokyo, 30 (3): 1-199 + 31 plate. palamar-mordvintceva, g.m. 1982. identification guide of the freshwater algae of the ussr. vol. 11 (2). chlorophyta: conjugatophyceae, desmidiales (2). 619 pp. nauka, leningrad. prescott, g.w., croasdale, h.t. and vinyard, w.c. 1977. a synopsis of north american desmids, part ii. desmidiaceae: placodermae, section 2, university of nebraska press, lincoln and london, 413 pp. scott, a.m., grönblad, r. and croasdale, h. 1965. desmids from the amazon basin, brazil: collected by dr. h. sioli. acta botanica fennica 69: 1-94. west, w. and west, g.s. 1903. scottish freshwater plankton. i. j. linn. soc. london bot. 35: 519-556. west, w. and west, g.s. 1907. fresh water algae from burma, including a few from bengal and madras. annals of the royal botanic garden, calcutta, 6(2): 260 page + 17 plates. (desmids). (manuscript received on 25 march 2024; revised on 27 november 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 373-401, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63535 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists taxonomic revision of the subfamily sterculioideae beilschm. in bangladesh sheikh sunzid ahmed and m. oliur rahman1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: sterculioideae; systematics; taxonomic treatment; malvaceae; bangladesh. abstract the subfamily sterculioideae beilschm. of malvaceae has been revised for bangladesh which revealed 16 taxa belonging to five genera, such as firmiana marsili, heritiera ait., pterygota schott & endl., scaphium schott & endl. and sterculia l. the genus sterculia is unveiled with the highest number of taxa, whereas both pterygota and scaphium are represented with single taxon. dichotomous bracketed keys to genera and species are constructed for easy identification. each taxon is presented with an updated nomenclature, description of the taxa along with illustrations, specimens examined, phenology, notes on distribution and economical importance. in most cases, chromosome number has been provided. introduction understanding on the diversity and inter-relationships of plant life is based primarily upon the comparative data of revisionary studies (stuessy, 1975). the process of undertaking a taxonomic revision is central to taxonomy. a revision involves restudy of a group to correct or improve its diagnosis, description or phylogeny. taxonomic revision helps to update the system of classification as taxa are often subjected to phenotypic plasticity (baur et al., 2014). sterculioideae beilschm. is one of the nine subfamilies of malvaceae representing 13 genera and around 430 species worldwide (wilkie et al., 2006; apg iv, 2016). these 13 genera have been distributed in four major clades (apg iv, 2016), such as (a) cola clade incorporating cola schott & endl., octolobus welw., pterygota schott & endl., hildegardia schott & endl., firmiana marsili, scaphium schott & endl. and pterocymbium r.br.; (b) heritiera clade incorporating the only genus heritiera ait.; (c) sterculia clade including the single genus sterculia l.; (d) brachychiton clade incorporating brachychiton schott & endl., acropogon schltr., argyrodendron klotzsch and franciscodendron b. hyland & steenis (wilkie, 2006). according to bentham and hooker (1883), all these 13 genera belong to the order malvales of the series thalamiflorae, subclass polypetalae under the class dicotyledonae of the kingdom phanerogamia. schumann (1890) classified all these genera under the order malvales of the subclass archichlamydeae. archichlamydeae was grouped along with another subclass metachlamydeae under the class dicotyledonae of the subdivision angiospermae which was incorporated into the division embryophyta. later, hutchinson (1959) placed them under the order tiliales of the division lignosae of the sub-phylum dicotyledones and phylum angiospermae. subsequently, cronquist (1981) grouped them under the order malvales of the superorder malvanae, and the subclass dilleniidae of the class magnoliopsida. the presence of sheath cells in sterculioideae are unique within malvaceae sensu lato (chattaway, 1932, 1938). members of sterculioideae has a pan-tropical distribution, being found in new caledonia and other pacific islands, australasia, south, south-east and east asia, madagascar, tropical africa, central america, the caribbean and tropical south america with most diversely disbursed in 1corresponding author. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63535 mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 374 ahmed and rahman south-east asia (wilkie, 2006). this subfamily harbors a good number of economically and medicinally important species. heritiera fomes buch.-ham is a dominant species of sundarban mangrove forest that shows special ecologically adaptive features and medicinal properties (mahmud et al., 2014). timbers obtained from heritiera fomes, sterculia hamiltonii (kuntze) adleb. are used for electric poles, posts and ridge plates (alam, 2018). firmiana colorata (roxb.) r. br., sterculia villosa roxb. and some other members are economically important for their use as avenue tree (uddin et al., 2021). pterygota alata (roxb.) r.br., sterculia villosa, and firmiana colorata are profusely used in traditional medicine for their significant medicinal values (al muqarrabun et al., 2015). hooker (1874) reported seven species of sterculioideae from the present territory of bangladesh, and prain (1903) documented five species from the current boundary of the country. though several sporadic studies were carried out by different workers (heinig, 1925; raizada, 1941; datta and mitra, 1953; sinclair, 1956; ahmed et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2012; alam, 2018), however, taxonomic revision of the subfamily sterculioideae has not been carried out in bangladesh. therefore, the current investigation aimed to revise the subfamily sterculioideae in bangladesh for the first time. materials and methods a total of 25 field trips were conducted for collecting plant specimens from various parts of bangladesh, covering all the seasons. the collected plant specimens were critically studied and identified. identifications were confirmed by consulting standard literatures (hooker, 1874; prain, 1903; ahmed et al., 2009; wilkie and ahmad, 2011; rahman et al., 2012; alam, 2018). specimens of sterculioideae housed at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush), bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), herbarium of chittagong university (hcu) and bangladesh forest research institute herbarium (bfrih) were also studied and examined critically. dichotomous bracketed keys to genera and species are constructed for ease of use. nomenclature has been updated using standard recent floras and authentic web-based data (https://theplantlist.org; https://powo.science.kew.org; https://tropicos.org; https://gbif.org; https://www.ipni.org). each taxon is presented with detailed taxonomic description along with updated nomenclature, important synonyms, english and vernacular names, flowering and fruiting period, specimens examined, chromosome number, habitat, distribution, economic values and illustrations (whenever possible). the taxa are arranged in an alphabetical order. voucher specimens have been prepared following standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972) and deposited at dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). results taxonomic treatment sterculioideae is characterized by apetalous, exinvolucellate flowers with a fleshy, usually petaloid, gamosepalous calyx, absence of staminodes (estaminodes), monadelphous staminal column, androgynophore and apocarpous ovaries. sterculioideae is represented by 5 genera and 16 species in bangladesh. key to genera of the subfamily sterculioideae 1 leaves compound. sterculia leaves simple. 2 2 fruits samara, 1-seeded, indehiscent; keels prominent. heritiera fruits follicles, 1 to many seeded, dehiscent; keels absent. 3 https://theplantlist.org; https://powo.science.kew.org; https://tropicos.org; https://gbif.org; https://www.ipni.org). taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 375 3 fruits woody; seeds long winged. pterygota fruits membranous; seeds wingless. 4 4 seeds 2-4, borne on margin of carpels; leaves palmately lobed. firmiana seeds solitary, not borne on margin of carpels; leaves not palmately lobed. scaphium firmiana marsili in saggi, sci. acad. padova 1: 114, 116 (1786); miquel, fl. ind. bat. 1: 178 (1859); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 218 (1862); k. schumann in engler & prantl, nat. pflanzenfam. 3: 97 (1895); hutch., gen. fl. pl. 2: 519 (1967); erythropsis lind., melet. bot.: 33 (1832); ridley, fmp 1: 277 (1922); sterculia sect. firmiana (marsili) mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 359 (1874); king. j. as. soc. beng. 60: 60 (1891). trees or shrubs, deciduous. leaves simple, palmately 3–5-lobed or entire. inflorescence paniculate or rarely racemose, axillary or terminal. flowers unisexual or polygamous, sometimes appearing before leaves. calyx orange-red or golden, funnel-shaped or cylindrical, (4 or) 5-lobed or -partite, lobes short or divided nearly to base, reflexed. petals absent. male flowers with stamens 10–20, in capitate cluster at apex of androgynophore; anther 2-celled, anther cells curved; undeveloped pistil present. female flowers with ovary 5locular, ovoid or globose; styles basally connate; stigmas as many as carpels; ovules 2 to many per locule. follicles stipitate, endocarp membranous, dehiscent long before maturity, foliaceous. seeds 1 to many per follicle, globose, endosperm flat or plicate. key to species of firmiana 1 flowering when leafless; calyx lobes much shorter than tube. f. colorata flowering with leaves present; calyx lobes much longer than tube. f. simplex firmiana colorata (roxb.) r. br. in bennet & r. br., pl. jav. rar.: 235 (1844); abedin and ghafoor in nasir & ali (eds.), fl. w. pak. 99: 22 (1976); malick in sharma & sanjappa, fl. india 3: 420 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 437 (1995); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 333 (2009). sterculia rubicunda wall., numer. list [wallich]: 1119 (1829); erythropsis roxburghiana schott & endl., melet. bot.: 33 (1832); clompanus colorata (roxb.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 78 (1891); stercuila colorata roxb., pl. corom. 1: 26, t. 25 (1795); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 359 (1874); prain, beng. pl. 1: 187 (1903); firmiana rubriflora kosterm., reinwardtia 6: 293 (1962). (fig. 1). vernacular names: faisaudal, budula, ujal, udal, patagota, deo udal, tey udal (chakma), krasan-baing (marma), silkamlambar, sikalemak gach (tripura). english name: the coloured sterculia. a medium-sized, spreading, deciduous tree with a height of up to 15 m. stem fluted, juvenile shoots covered with grayish stellate hairs. branchlets sometimes grey-black at the time of desiccation. bark smooth, very fibrous. leaves 12-25 cm long and nearly as broad, crowded at the end of branchlets, palmately 3-5 lobed, lobes triangular, acuminate, leaves sometimes unlobed on adult trees, palmately 5-7 veined, glabrescent on adaxial and abaxial surfaces, base deeply cordate, petiolate, petioles 7-15 cm long. flowers scarlet or orange-red, solitary or in clusters of 2-3 short panicles from the axils of fallen leaves, polygamous, the whole inflorescence densely covered with orange-red or dark brown stellate hairs. sepals 5, calyx broadly tubular or funnel-shaped, slightly curved, toothed, abaxially densely stellate puberulent with orange hairs, adaxially densely stellate 376 ahmed and rahman puberulent, lobes ovate-triangular, ca. 4 mm, apex acute. petals absent. androgynophore present, 5-10 mm long, exserted, filamentous short, anthers 10, locules curved. ovary superior, 5-locular, flask-shaped, glabrous; styles 5, free, short; stigma curved outward. fruit a follicle, 8-11 x 3-5 cm, oblong with acute apex, follicle stalked, red or purple when mature, foliaceous, tongue-shaped, with apparent venation. seeds 2, yellow, wrinkled or smooth, globose or ovoid, ca. 1 cm long, ca. 6 mm in diameter. flowering and fruiting: march-june. chromosome number: 2n = 40 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). ecology: the species occurs usually in mixed forests at high elevations and hilltops. representative specimens: bandarban: keokradong, darjilingpara, 27 mar 2019, khandakar kamrul islam kki 3582 (dacb). chittagong: raimalong hill, 6 apr 1947, s.m. et harley s.n. (dush); dhurung, 23 apr 1980, m.k. alam et d.k. das 3901 (bfrih); russian hill, 17 mar 1982, nashu et al. 4243 (bfrih); chunati, 27 mar 1998, m.a. rahman et al. 2566 (hcu); hathazari, mithachara, 19 mar 1999, m.a. rahman 4717 (hcu); chittagong university botanical garden, 9 oct 2010, m.a. rahman 7129 (hcu); dudhpukuria-dhopachori wildlife sanctuary, 13 jun 2022, sunzid 65 (dush). cox’s bazar: chakaria, dulahazra, bangabandhu safari park, 23 jan 2017, niyamul kabir et al. nk 3207 (dacb). dhaka: sreepur, 20 mar 1964, d.k. das frl348 (bfrih). jamalpur: gandhigaon, gajni forest, 5 may 1982, mia et al. m. 695 (dacb). khagrachari: mong-ro-para, 10 jan 1989, m.k. alam eb 111 (bfrih). mymensingh: barta, 12 feb 1959, m.s. khan k. 342 (dush). patuakhali: andhermanik river, 21 apr 1960, davidson et al. 129 (bfrih). rangamati: pablakhali, 27 apr 1965, d.k. das s.n. (bfrih). sylhet: satgaon forest, 8 feb 1967, p. bhattacharjee 155 (dush). tangail: madhupur, 29 mar 1988, a.m. huq 78 (dacb). global distribution: bhutan, bangladesh, brazil, cambodia, china, india, indonesia, lao pdr, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, pakistan, sri lanka, thailand and viet nam. economic aspects: fresh young seeds with an almond flavor are edible. in the chittagong district of bangladesh, the bark generates cordage that is used to tie animals and goats. the chittagong hill tracts tribal people use the bark to manufacture bamboo busket straps called "turung" which they wear on their foreheads. ethnic people use this plant as a remedy to cholera for its promising anti-diarrheal activities. besides that, some other diseases and disorders like hysteria, jaundice, urine infection, stomach ache, seminal emission, and spermaturia can be treated using this plant (ashrafuzzaman and sarwar, 2021). firmiana simplex (l.) w. wight, bull. bur. pl. industr. u.s.d.a. 142: 67 (1909); meyer, chin. pl. names: 20 (1911); merrill, enum. philip. fl. pl. 3: 56 (1922); cheo, crypt. china. 1: 141 (1931); crossley, an eva. rec. gen. rec.: 23 (1977). hibiscus simplex l., sp. pl. ed. 2: 977 (1763). sterculia urens roxb., pl. coromandel 1: 25, t. 24 (1795). cavallium urens schott & endl., melet.: 33 (1832); kavalama urens (roxb.) raf., sylva tellur.: 72 (1838); clompanus urens (roxb.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 78 (1891). vernacular name: not known. english name: not known. a soft wooded deciduous tree, up to 15 m tall. bark white papery or greenish, smooth on the outer surface. twigs glabrescent with distinct raised leaf scars and lenticels. leaves crowded at the end of branchlets, palmately 3-5 lobed, coriaceous, hairy on lower surface, 12-20 x 10-20 cm, acuminate to cuspidate at the apex, deeply cordate at the base, usually 5-nerved from the base; petiolate; petioles very long, up to 20 cm; stipules narrowly lanceolate, caducous. inflorescence taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 377 terminal, many flowered, 10-18 cm long, glandular, pubescent. flowers small, yellow, pedicellate, pedicels ca. 4 mm long, sometimes equal to the length of calyx. calyx 5-lobed, campanulate, lobes oblong or narrowly triangular, 4-8 x 3-5 mm, twisted outward, abaxially puberulent or yellowish, adaxially villous only basally, calyx tube as long as lobes. male flowers with androgynophore as long as calyx, thicker in lower part, glabrous. stamens 10; anthers sessile; staminodes present, 10. female flowers with 5-6 ovary, ovoid in shape and hairy; style hairy; stigma 5-6 lobed, recurved. fruit a follicle, 2-6, oblong, ellipsoid or kidney-shaped, 4-6 cm long and 1-2 cm broad when young, densely rusty, pubescent. seeds 3-6, oblong to ellipsoid, sometimes globose, 7 mm in diameter, wrinkled, black. flowering and fruiting: october-february. chromosome number: 2n = 40 (raghavan and arora, 1958). ecology: the species usually occurs in mixed deciduous forests. representative specimens: no specimen was available in any herbarium of bangladesh. global distribution: bangladesh, china, cambodia, india, japan, sri lanka, taiwan, thailand, united states of america and viet nam. fig. 1. firmiana colorata (roxb.) r. br.: a. habit (x 0.2); b. fruits (x 0.2). 378 ahmed and rahman economic aspects: the species has been widely employed in the pharmaceutical, health-care, food, cosmetics, waste management, paper-textile, composite fiber, and leather sectors. because the gum exudate, this tree has a high market value, it is popularly referred to as the 'karaya gum' tree. because of its natural availability, economic effectiveness, non-hazardous nature, quick recovery, and physicochemical qualities, karaya gum polymers are an excellent alternative to synthetic ones. furthermore, tribal communities use the tree for its indigenous cures for oligospermia, leucorrhoea, constipation, body swelling, throat infection, wound healing, and other diseases. also, the presence of diverse bioactive compounds has made this plant an excellent source to conduct research on computer aided drug designing (cadd) (dhiman et al., 2019). heritiera ait. hort. kew. 3: 456 (1789); miquel, fl. ind. bat. 1: 179 (1859); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 219 (1862); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 362 (1874); king, j. as. soc. beng. 60: 79 (1891); kostermans, publ. counc. sci. ind. 1: 3 (1959); backer & bakhuizen f., fj 1: 415 (1964); smythies, cst: 127 (1965); cockburn, ts 1: 228 (1976); turner, gard. bull. sing. 47: 475 (1996); phengklai, fl. thailand 7 (3): 573 (2001); tarrietia blume, bijdr. fl. ned. ind.: 227 (1825). trees, usually with buttress. leaves alternate, simple or palmately compound, abaxially usually scaly. inflorescence cymose, paniculate, axillary, many-flowered, hairy or scaly. flowers unisexual. calyx campanulate or urceolate, 4–6-lobed. petals absent. male flowers with short androgynophore. anthers 4–15, in 1 or 2 rings at apex of androgynophore, with pistillode. female flowers with ovary with 3–5 coherent carpels, base with sterile anthers; ovules 1 per carpel. style very short; stigma very small. fruit woody or leathery, with keel-like prominence or wing, indehiscent. seeds without endosperm. key to species of heritiera 1 samara with a longitudinal ridge; leaves with faint secondary nerves and veins. 2 samara winged or wing-like; leaves with prominent secondary nerves and veins. 3 2 fruit body up to 2 x 1 cm; epicarp dull; pistil and stamens on a slender column with parallel sides. h. fomes fruit body not less than 5 x 3 cm; epicarp shining; pistil and stamens on a based column, narrowly in the distal half. h. littoralis 3 leaves with 8-11 pairs of lateral nerves; anthers irregularly clumped on androgynophores. h. macrophylla leaves with 4-5 pairs of lateral nerves; anthers in regular rings on androgynophores. h. papilio heritiera fomes buch.-ham. in symes, embassy ava ed. 2, 3: 319, t. 28 (1800); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 363 (1874); balfour, cycl. ind. east. south. asia 3: 885 (1885); winkler, botanis. hilfs. pflanz. : 139 (1912); heinig, list pl. chitt. coll. & ht.: 7 (1925); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 88 (1955); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds.), fl. india 3: 428 (1993); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 336 (2009). heritiera minor (gaertn.) roxb., hort. bengal.: 50 (1814); fometica punctata raf., syl. tellur. :75 (1838); amygdalus minor (roxb.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 75 (1891). (fig. 2). taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 379 vernacular names: sundari, sunder. english name: sundri. a medium-sized evergreen tree, 15-18 m tall, branchlets lepidote, bark grey. leaves simple, alternate, 10-17 x 3-6 cm, elliptic-lanceolate, tapering to rounded at the base, acute or rounded and mucronate at the apex, glabrous above, adpressed scaly beneath, petioles up to 2 cm long. flowers small, unisexual, in axillary panicles. sepals 5 or rarely 4-6 toothed, stellate-hairy inside. petals absent. male flowers with 5-10 stamens, united in a column with a ring of 2-celled anthers at the apex. female flowers with 4-6 carpels, almost free, styles short, stigmas 5 thick, ovule solitary in each carpel. fruit a cluster of woody, indehiscent, keeled or winged ripe carpel. fruit a cluster of woody, indehiscent, keeled or winged ripe carpel. seed solitary without vivipary but can float on the tidal water. fig. 2. heritiera fomes buch.-ham.: a. habit (x 0.4); b. flower (x 1.5). 380 ahmed and rahman flowering and fruiting: september-december. chromosome number: 2n = 38 (das et al., 1995). ecology: moderately saline zone, well-drained soil inundated by tidal water of low salinity. although it is a mangrove species, it can tolerate the conditions of higher altitudes (ahmed et al., 2009). representative specimens: bagerhat: mongla, hiron-point, 3 feb 1987, a.m. huq et m.k. mia h. 8128 (dacb); barguna: patharhat, 20 mar 1989, huq et al. 9187 (dacb); taltoli, tangragiri, 15 oct 2019, dr. m sultana dms 3056 (dacb). cox’s bazar: chakaria, palakata beat, 24 apr 1966, d.k. das frl89 (bfrih); chokoria sundarban, 27 apr 2014, shahriar ahmed 50 (hcu); chakaria, 27 apr 2014, md. dulal uddin 1 (hcu). dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 17 aug 1953, md. shahjahan s.n. (dush); dhaka university botanical garden, 30 nov 2021, sunzid 39 (dush). khulna: sarankhola range, 9 mar 1963, d.k. das frl305 (bfrih); sundarbans, tidal forest, 20 jun 1966 (dush), m. ismail & m. bhowmik 180 (dush); bhadra, sundarbans, 23 mar 1970, m.s. khan k. 1919 (dush); sundarbans, jongra, chota basta beel area, 5 nov 2001, s.n. uddin et dr. floris deodatus n. 1151 (dacb). satkhira: sundarban, burigualini, 11 dec 1989, huq et al. h. 9368 (dacb); sundarbans, noxabaki, 20 aug 2002, s.n. uddin n. 1360 (dacb). global distribution: bangladesh, india, myanmar and thailand. economic aspects: the plant is used by traditional health practitioners to treat diabetes, hepatic disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, goiter, and skin diseases. it has potent antioxidant, antinociceptive, antihyperglycemic, antibacterial, and anticancer properties. important chemical ingredients such as saponins, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, steroids, flavonoids, gums, phytosterols, and reducing sugars have been discovered through phytochemical investigations. twigs are used in the treatment of oral infections and toothache. hot decoction of bark is used to get relief from goiter and diabetes. decoction of leaves and seeds have efficacy to treat various gastrointestinal disorders (mahmud et al., 2014). heritiera littoralis dryand. in ait., hort. kew. ed. 1, 3: 546 (1789); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 363 (1874); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 279 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 170 (1925); kosterm., reinwardtia 4: 490 (1959); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 337 (2009). balanopteris minor gaertn., fruct. sem. pl. 2: 94 (1790); balanopteris tothila gaertn., fruct. sem. pl. 2: 94 (1790); sutherlandia littoralis (aiton) j.f. gmel., syst. nat. ed. 13: 1027 (1792); samadera littoralis (aiton) oken, allg. naturgesch. 3(2): 1205 (1841); systemon fischeri regel, ind. semin. 1856: 38 (1856); heritiera fischeri regel & rach, ind. semin. 1858: 45 (1859); amygdalus litoralis (aiton) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 75 (1891). (fig. 3). vernacular names: sundri, aina. english names: looking glass tree, looking glass mangrove. evergreen trees, up to 10-15 m tall; bark grayish-brown, sometimes pinkish-grey, vertically and superficially fissured, rough or smooth, inner bark brown-pink. sapwood pale yellow. young branchlets white scurfy scaly, mature branchlets lepidote. stipules lanceolate, caducous; petiole 12 cm; leaf blade simple, alternate, oblong-lanceolate, elliptic, or ovate, 10-20 x 5-10 cm, leathery, abaxially densely silver-white scurfy scaly, adaxially glabrous or nearly so, base obtuse, apex acute or obtuse. inflorescence paniculate, axillary, ca. 8 cm, densely stellate hairy or with scales. flowers pale green to pinkish red. calyx red-brown, campanulate, 4-6 mm, both surfaces stellate hairy, lobes triangular, ca. 2 mm. male flowers with thin disc, papillate. androgynophore short and glabrous. anthers 4 or 5, in 1 ring. female flowers with carpels 4 or 5; stigmas as many as taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 381 carpels, short and curved downward. fruit nutlike, woody, drying yellow-brown, nearly ellipsoid, ca. 6 x 3.5 cm, keeled on back, glabrous. seeds ovoid, ca. 2 cm. flowering and fruiting: may-december. fig. 3. heritiera littoralis dryand. a habit sketch (x 0.4). chromosome number: 2n = 38 (das et al., 1995). ecology: inland zone of mangrove swamps. representative specimens: khulna: s. loc., 13 sep 1949, p. maheshwari s.n. (dush); dhaka: dhaka university botanical garden, 6 jun 2022, sunzid 83 (dush). global distribution: australia, bangladesh, cambodia, china, east africa, india, indonesia, madagascar, malaysia, myanmar, philippines, sri lanka, taiwan, tanzania, thailand, tonga, vanuatu and viet nam. economic aspects: the timber is used as a good source of fuel for its high heat-yielding efficiency. wood is suitable for the production of wrapping, writing and printing papers. tannins are present in the bark which can be used for toughening fishing nets. seed extract is used as medicine in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhea (ahmed et al., 2009; mitra et al., 2021). the crude methanol extract of leaves possesses free radical scavenging, anti-hemolytic, cytotoxic and anti-bacterial activities (karim et al., 2020). 382 ahmed and rahman heritiera macrophylla wall. ex kurz in j. asiat. soc. beng. 42(2): 61 (1873); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 141 (1877); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 155 (1934); kosterm., reinwardtia 4: 502 (1959); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds.), fl. india 3: 430 (1993). trochetia contracta wall., numer list.: 1162 (1829); amygdalus macrophylla (wall.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 75 (1891). (fig. 4). vernacular name: not known. english name: large leaf looking glass tree. a medium-sized evergreen tree, with umbrella shaped crown, arborescent, up to 30 m in height. leaves simple, petiolate, petioles cylindrical, pubescent, rusty brown when mature; lamina ovate-oblong or elliptic-oblong, apex acute, base obtuse to slightly cordate sometimes, margin entire mostly, sometimes undulate in dry condition, veined with pinnate parallel venation, veins prominent adaxially, texture subcoriaceous, adaxial surface sometimes rusty brown while abaxial surface silvery. flowers are unisexual, 3-4 mm across, white-yellowish to pinkish-rose in colour, present in foot-long panicle like cymes, in leaf axils. male flowers with 6-8 stamens; anthers irregularly clumped on androgynophore. female flowers with 1 carpel. fruit a samara, ellipsoid, with one apical fish-tail wing. fig. 4. heritiera macrophylla wall. ex kurz.a habit sketch (x 0.4). taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 383 flowering and fruiting: november-february. chromosome number: 2n = 38 (das et al., 1995). ecology: inland zone of mangrove swamps. representative specimens: khulna: s. loc, 13 sep 1949, p. maheshwari s.n. (dush). global distribution: bangladesh, cambodia, china, india, lao pdr, myanmar, thailand and viet nam. economic aspects: mainly valued for its timber. the wood is hard with distinct annual rings and uniform medullary rays, joined by fine transverse lines. it takes a fine polish. it is used for posts and poles (duncan, 2005). heritiera papilio bedd., fl. sylhet: t. 218 (1872); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 363 (1874); balfour, cycl. ind. east. south. asia 2: 39 (1885); gamble, fl. pres. mad. 1: 104 (1915); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds.), fl. india 3: 430 (1993); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 338 (2009); uddin & hassan, vas. fl. chit. & chit. hill tr. 2: 414 (2018). amygdalus papilio (bedd.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 75 (1891); cattimarus hospitus (l.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 77 (1891); heritiera acuminata all. ex kurz in j. bot. 12: 65, t. 141, f. 1, 1-3 (1874); kanjilal et al., fl. assam 1: 155 (1934). vernacular name: sundari. english name: not known. a small to medium-sized tree, 10-15 m in height, sometimes up to 30 m tall, arborescent. young branches stellate-tomentose. leaves simple, alternate, unifoliolate, 4-16 x 3-17 cm, lanceolate, oblanceolate or oblong to elliptic, base obtuse, obscurely acuminate at the apex, entire, texture coriaceous, petioles ca. 2 mm long, scaly. flowers in axillary panicles, densely covered with stellate tomentose scales. sepals 5, calyx campanulate. petals absent. male flowers with slender staminal column, anther thecae in a regular ring on an androgynophore. female flowers with 5-6 sessile ovary, stellate scaly, sterile anther thecae present at the base of the ovary. fruit a samara, 5-7 cm long, glabrous, 1-seeded. flowering and fruiting: april-december. ecology: usually occurs in the hilly forests (alam, 2018). representative specimen: no specimen was available in any herbarium of bangladesh. global distribution: bangladesh, india and myanmar. economic aspects: timber is hard which takes a fine polish and is used for temporary construction works for the manufacturing of poles, posts as well as agricultural implements (ahmed et al., 2009). pterygota schott & endl. melet. bot.: 32 (1832); schumann in engler & prantl, nat. pflanzenfam. 3: 97 (1895); kostermans, reinwardtia 5: 415 (1961); phengklai, fl. thailand 7 (3): 615 (2001); bayer & kubitzki in kubitzki & bayer (eds.), fam. gen. vasc. pl. 5: 264 (2003); tetradia r.br. in bennett, pl. jav. rar.: 233 (1844); sterculia l. sect. pterygota, benth. & hook. f., op. cit. 218; mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 360 (1874); king, j. as. soc. beng. 60: 60 (1891). trees. leaves cordate, usually entire, but lobed when very young. inflorescence axillary, racemose or paniculate. flowers unisexual. calyx campanulate, 5-lobed to base, lobes reflexed at apex. petals absent. male flowers with cylindrical androgynophore, enclosed by calyx. filaments clustered into 5 groups, staminodes usually present; anthers sessile. female flowers with very 384 ahmed and rahman short androgynophore and 5 undeveloped staminodes. carpels almost free; ovules many per carpel; stigma swollen, radiate. follicle woody, subglobose, with long stipe and many seeds. seeds with long and wide apical wing. pterygota alata (roxb.) r. br. in benn., pl. jav. rar. : 234 (1834); heinig, list pl. chitt. coll. & ht.: 7 (1925); kochumenn in whitmore, tr. fl. malaya 2: 371 (1973); abedin & ghafoor in nasir & ali (eds.), fl. w. pak. 99: 23 (1976); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds.), fl. india 3: 455 (1993); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 343 (2009). erythropsis roxburghii schott & endl., melet. bot.: 33 (1832); sterculia teynii bedd., fl. sylv.: t. 230 (1872); clompanus alata (roxb.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 78 (1891); sterculia alata roxb., pl. corom. 3: 84, t. 287 (1819); fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 152 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 360 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 134 (1877); prain, beng. pl. 1: 274 (1903). (fig. 5). vernacular names: buddha narikel, kashmiri badam, narikeli, pagla gach, tula, kufala (chakma), lakha (marma). english name: buddha coconut tree. large tree, arborescent, deciduous, up to 50 m in height, crown narrow, conical, branches horizontal, branchlets pubescent at first with golden yellow hairs. bark greyish-brown to grey with horizontal wrinkles and shallow vertical fissures. buttress root present. leaves simple, alternate, usually clustered at the end of branchlets, stipulate, stipules subulate, caducous, petiolate, petiole cylindrical, glabrous, 50-150 x 2-2.5 mm, leaf blade cordate or broadly ovate, 10-23 x 8.5-19 cm, sometimes deeply cordate at the base, lobes absent, coriaceous, glabrous both adaxially and abaxially, margin entire to nearly entire, apex acute or obtuse, palmately reticulate veins present, veins 5-7, veinlets numerous, prominent on both surfaces. inflorescence axillary, paniculate, shorter than petiole. flowers brownish yellow, ebracteate, unisexual, male flowers or bisexual but functionally female flowers in rusty-tomentose racemes. calyx campanulate, densely stellate, adaxially subglabrous red abaxially, 5-6 lobed, linear-lanceolate, free upwards, connected at the base, 16 x 4 mm each with 1.5 mm thickness. petals absent. male flowers with androgynophore, cone shaped, inserted, half as long as calyx, 6 mm long, bearing 4-6 groups of 4 anthers each. female or bisexual flowers with 5 carpels, inserted ovary 2-3 mm long, globose and puberulent; style short, extrorse, recurved; stigmas rounded. fruit is woody follicle, large, compressed globose, ca. 12 cm in diameter, puberulent outside, adaxially cork-like. seeds many, ca. 40 per follicle, oblong, compressed in 2 rows with long and wide wing. flowering and fruiting: december-may. chromosome number: 2n = 40 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). ecology: highland and open sunny dryland. the species is also found to be planted along the roadsides as avenue tree (alam, 2018). representative specimens: bandarban: ruma, 28 feb 1988, m.k. alam et m. mohiuddin 6007 (bfrih). bogra: dosmail, rda campus, 18 nov 2020, zinia nasrin zn 03 (dacb). dhaka: ramna, 1 feb 1947, s.k. sen s.n. (dush); azimpur, army recruiting office, 1 nov 1963, a.f. muhammad 34 (dush); dhaka university campus, tsc, 10 sep 1982, a.m. huq 5688 (dacb); dhaka university campus, tsc, 17 oct 2021, sunzid 33 (dush); bangladesh national botanical garden, 6 jun 2022, sunzid 80 (dush). global distribution: bangladesh, bhutan, china, cuba, india, malaysia, myanmar, pakistan, philippines, thailand, united states of america and viet nam. economic aspects: timber is white and has great potential for pulping because of long fibers. extract of leaves have been used to demonstrate antioxidant activities. therefore, the taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 385 phytochemicals can be used to design potential drugs for biogerontological research. seeds are medicinally significant, edible and are often eaten after roasting. seeds possess narcotic properties and often used as a substitute for opium (agarwal and jain, 2017). crude ethanol extract of leaves is reported to have excellent in-vivo and in-vitro antioxidant effects (jahan et al., 2014). the leaf extracts contain active compounds showing in-vitro antibacterial activity against multidrug resistant and biofilm forming strains of staphylococcus spp. (panda et al., 2020). fig. 5. pterygota alata (roxb.) r. br.: a. habit (x 0.3); b. sepal (x 0.5); c. stamen (x 1.5). scaphium schott & endl. melet. bot.: 33 (1832); kostermans, j. sci. res. indonesia 2: 3 (1953); phengklai, fl. thailand 7 (3): 624 (2001); bayer & kubitzki in kubitzki & bayer (eds.) fam. gen. vasc. pl. 5: 265 (2003); cheek in heywood et al., flow. pl. fam. world: 311 (2007); wilkie, edin. j. bot. 66 (2): 283 (2009); caryophyllum miq., fl. ind. bat. suppl. 1: 401 (1861); sterculia l. sect. scaphium benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 218 (1862); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 361 (1874); king, j. as. soc. beng. 60: 60 (1891). 386 ahmed and rahman trees. leaves simple, spirally arranged, entire, stipules caducous. flowers unisexual, small pale green, axillary or terminal panicles. calyx 4-6 lobed, united at the base, glabrous inside. corolla absent. stamens 8 to 10 in male flowers, on a globose head at the terminal part of a thin staminal column. female flowers 5 carpels, free, styles free, stigmas simple, pointed. fruit a large follicle, boat-shaped, membranous. seeds wingless, solitary. scaphium scaphigerum (wall. ex g. don) g. planch, hist. nat. drogues simples ed. 6, 3: 646 (1869); baillon, hist. des pl. 4: 110 (1867); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 140 (1877); balfour et al., ann. bot. 19: 356 (1905); kosterm., j. sci. res. indo. 2(1): 3 (1953); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 344 (2009). scaphium wallichii schott & endl., melet. bot.: 33 (1832); sterculia scaphigera wall. cat. no. 1130 (1828); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 361 (1874); clompanus scaphigera (wall. ex g. don.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 78 (1891). (fig. 6). vernacular names: shaogan, shampan, pogan, sugan, shagan. english name: water malva nut. a deciduous tree, up to 35 m tall. buttresses often present, 1–2 m tall. inner bark reddish, fibrous, 10–15 mm thick. outer bark grey-green to brown, cracked to flaking. sapwood white. terminal branches pale brown to brown, striate to smooth, lenticels absent, glabrous. petiole pale brown, 2–12 cm long, 2–4 mm wide, smooth to striate, glabrous or occasionally stellate hairy, both ends darker. stipules caducous or persistent only at apex of stalk, rounded to triangular, 2–4 mm long, glabrous or with very minute simple hairs on both surfaces. leaf lamina sub-leathery to leathery, occasionally papery, ovate, elliptic or elliptic-oblong, symmetric to asymmetric, base rounded to acute (occasionally truncate or slightly cordate), apex acute, 1.3–2.3 times as long as wide, 8–34 cm long, 6–17 cm at widest point, upper surface glabrous, occasionally with gland dots, drying pale brown-tan, shiny, lower surface glabrous, occasionally with gland dots, drying pale brown-tan, dull; midrib raised on both surfaces; basal veins 1–2 pairs. tertiary veins flat on both surfaces, slightly paler than lamina below, inconspicuous above. inflorescences 5–12 cm long, densely stellate hairy. bracts caducous. flower buds drying brown, ovoid, slightly elongated towards apex, sparsely to densely stellate hairy, lobe margin densely stellate hairy, more or less distinct. pedicel absent to 2 mm long, 0.5–1 mm wide, densely stellate hairy. flowers 5–8 mm long, yellow with purple base, when fresh, drying brown, 5-lobed, lobes 2/3 the length of the calyx, calyx outer surface sparsely stellate hairy, inner surface glabrous (including base), androgynophore 5–8 mm long, protruding, recurved at apex, sparsely simple hairy, sometimes with stellate hairs with long branches on upper half, glabrous on lower half, anthers ca. 10–12, glabrous or sparsely simple hairy, carpels rudimentary and sparsely hairy in male flower, fully developed and densely stellate hairy in female flower, 3–5, free or nearly so; style absent to 0.2 mm long in male flower, 1–1.5 mm long in female flower; stigmas glabrous, as many as carpels, superficially fused. fruit with 2–5 follicles per flower, follicles papery, 9–26 cm long, inner surface sparsely stellate hairy, shiny, outer surface sparsely to densely stellate hairy (especially dense along venation), dull, follicle stalk to 7–25 mm long. seeds 1 per follicle, spherical to elliptic, glabrous, seed oriented away from follicle. flowering and fruiting: february-may. chromosome number: not known. ecology: near limestone deposits, there are evergreen forests. representative specimens: bandarban: kapru para vcf, 25 may 2017, syedul alam et rahman 27893 (bfrih). global distribution: bangladesh, cambodia, china, lao pdr, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and viet nam. taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 387 fig. 6. scaphium scaphigerum (wall. ex g. don) g. planch. a habit sketch (x 0.3). economic aspects: in china, the fruit is used to treat dysentery. the fruit is macerated in water in cambodia, thailand, and malaysia, resulting in a massive increase in the volume of the outer shell or pericarp, generating a big gelatinous mass. sweetened jelly is served as a delicacy. it also aids in the treatment of diarrhea and dysentery (ahmed et al., 2009). studies on biological activities reveals that fruit gel powder of scaphium scaphigerum exhibit glucose absorption inhibitory effect and antioxidant activity. the quality-controlled fruit gel powder controls the body weight (phlicharoenphon et al., 2017). sterculia l. sp. pl.: 1007 (1753); miquel, fl. ind. bat. 1: 172 (1859); benth. & hook. f., gen. pl. 1: 217 (1862); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 354 (1874); king, j. as. soc. beng. 60: 59 (1891); schumann in engler & prantl, nat. pflanzenfam. 3: 96 (1895); ridley, fmp 1: 267 (1922); bull. misc. inform. kew 6: 221 (1938); prain, beng. pl. 1 (reprint): 186 (1963); backer & bakhuizen f., fj. 1: 411 (1964); phengklai, fl. thailand 7 (3): 623 (2001); bayer & kubitzki in kubitzki & bayer (eds.), fam. gen. vasc. pl. 5: 263 (2003); cheek in heywood et al., flow. pl. fam. world: 311 (2007). 388 ahmed and rahman trees or shrubs. leaves simple, entire or palmately lobed, rarely palmately compound, margin entire or dentate. inflorescence usually axillary, paniculate, rarely racemose. flowers unisexual. calyx 5-lobed or 5-partite. petals absent. male flowers with anthers clustered at top of androgynophore, enclosing undeveloped carpels. female flowers with very short androgynophore, staminodes at top of androgynophore in whorl around base of carpels. carpels 5; ovules 2 to many per carpel; styles connate at base; stigmas as many as carpels, free. fruit a group of follicles, usually leathery, less often woody, dehiscent when mature. seeds 1 to many per follicle, usually with endosperm. key to species of sterculia l. 1 leaves palmately lobed or digitate. 2 leaves not lobed. 4 2 leaves digitate. 3 leaves palmately lobed. s. villosa 3 leaflets whitish pubescent beneath; calyx lobes inflexed; staminal column 2 mm long. s. versicolor leaflets glabrous beneath when mature; calyx lobes inflexed; staminal column 10 mm long. s. foetida 4 calyx lobes broadly ovate, spreading. 5 calyx lobes linear or linear-lanceolate, connivent at the top. 6 5 leaves glabrous above, rusty-tomentose beneath, cordate or subcordate at base. s. guttata leaves glabrous on both surfaces, more or less rounded at base. s. lanceifolia 6 fruits lanceolate; staminal column 4-5 mm long. s. lanceolata var. coccinea fruits ovate; staminal column less than 4 mm. 7 7 leaves glabrous or glabrescent on both surfaces; calyx urceolate; style glabrous. s. parviflora leaves densely stellate hairy on both surface; calyx campanulate; style hairy. s. balanghas. sterculia balanghas l., sp. pl.: 1007 (1753); wight, illus. ind. bot. 1: 30 (1840); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 358 (1874); pickering, chron. hist. pl. : 333 (1879); gamble, fl. pres. mad. 1: 106 (1915); merrill, enum. phill. pl. 3: 53 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 169 (1925); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 345 (2009). sterculia citrifolia salisb., prodr. stirp. chap. allerton: 387 (1796); balanghas telabo raf., sylva tellur.: 72 (1838); sterculia mollis wall. ex r. br., pterocym.: 231 (1844); sterculia ensifolia mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 358 (1874); sterculia balanghas l. var. angustifolia (roxb.) mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 358 (1874); sterculia angustifolia roxb., fl. ind. 3: 148 (1832); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 138 (1877); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 274 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 165 (1925); raizada, ind. for. 67: 245 (1941). vernacular name: balan udal. english name: panama tree. a medium-sized tree, young parts rusty tomentose, bark greyish-brown, smooth. leaves simple, 10-30 x 5-13 cm, oblong-ovate, rounded at the base, apex blunt or acute, densely stellate taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 389 hairy on both surfaces, petioles 3-5 cm long, swollen at both ends, pubescent. flowers small, yellow or greenish-purple, fragrant, on stellate hairy panicles, slightly drooping from ends of branches. calyx campanulate, 5-lobed, 7-10 mm long, pubescent outside, hairy inside. petals absent. male flowers with 10 stamens, staminal column ca. 2 mm long, with a group of 2-loculed anthers at the tip, anthers sessile, staminodes 10. female flowers with 5 carpels, free, hairy with 48 ovules; styles cohering, densely hairy; stigmas recurved, 5-lobed. fruit a follicle, 4-5, oblong, woody, almost sessile, curved with dark brown tomentose surfaces. seeds 3-6, oblong-ovoid, black, shining. flowering and fruiting: january-may. chromosome number: not known. ecology: swampy areas and hilly forests. also occurs in the deciduous forests. representative specimen: no specimen was available in any herbarium of bangladesh. global distribution: bangladesh, cambodia, india, lao pdr, malay peninsula, myanmar, nepal, sri lanka and thailand. economic aspects: the plant has ornamental value. seeds are edible and often consumed after roasting. the seeds are nearly palatable as chestnuts. fiber is obtained from the bark which is used in sri lanka to build cottages. the wood is soft. fruit of the species is considered to have cooling and laxative effects (ahmed et al., 2009). sterculia foetida l., sp. pl.: 1008 (1753); roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 154 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 354 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 135 (1877); prain, beng. pl. 1: 187 (1903); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 268 (1922); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 166 (1925); abedin and ghafoor in nasir & ali (eds..), fl. w. pak. 99: 16 (1976); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds.), fl. india 3: 459 (1993); verdcourt in dassanayake et al., rev. handb. fl. ceyl. 9: 431 (1995); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 346 (2009). sterculia polyphylla r. br., pterocymb.: 227 (1844); sterculia mexicana var. guianensis sagot, ann. sci. nat. bot. ser. 6, 11: 153 (1881); clompanus foetida (l.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 77 (1891). (fig. 7). vernacular names: jangli badam, jukigli badam, jangal badam, udal badam. english names: wild almond, poon tree. medium to large tree, arborescent, deciduous, upto 40 m tall. branches verticillate and spreading. bark grey to brown, lenticellate; inner bark brown to reddish brown fibrous. sapwood white to cream. twigs glabrous, swollen towards apex, 2.5 cm in diameter, leaf scars prominent, young shoots hairy. leaves digitately compound, palmately 5-10 foliate, crowded at the end of thick branchlets. stipules present, caducous, subulate, margin pubescent, glabrous adaxially, puberulent abaxially, 8 x 3 mm. petiole 6 cm long, finely pubescent or puberulent. leaflets elliptic-lanceolate, coriaceous, entire, veins pinnately parallel, 7.5-14.0 x 2.0-4.5 cm, apex acute to acuminate, base acute to cuneate, glabrous beneath when mature. inflorescence terminal, subterminal or axillary panicles. flowers unisexual and bisexual, greenish yellow becoming red, smell unpleasant; pedunculate, peduncle 5.5 to 8.5 cm long, pedicellate, pedicel 6 mm long; calyx campanulate, deeply divided into 5-6 lobes, adnate at the base, linear-oblong to lanceolate, subacute, stellate-hairy, 10 x 4 mm. petals absent. male flowers with 14-15 stamens, staminal column ca. 10 mm long, capitate, hairy at the base, 10-15 anthers grouped into a head, staminodes 14. female flowers inserted, ovary globose, densely villous, 5 loculed, each locule with 12-20 ovules; styles cohering; stigmas very small, 5-lobed or flattened, glabrous. fruit is follicle, follicle curved, arranged in a cluster, boat-shaped, woody, short beaked, smooth outside, fibrous inside, 10-15 seeded, red when mature. seeds ca. 20 in each follicle, ellipsoid, 2.5 cm long, 1.3 cm diameter, purple-black. 390 ahmed and rahman flowering and fruiting: november-april. chromosome number: 2n = 40 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). ecology: usually grows in the hot, tropical lowlands and moderate highlands. also found in the areas with or without a clear dry season. the species prefers a deep, fertile, moist but welldrained soil in a sunny, sheltered position. fig. 7. sterculia foetida l.: a. habit (x 0.2); b. flower (x 1.2); c. fruit (x 0.2). representative specimens: bandarban: betchara para, 13 jun 1983, m.k. alam 4606 (bfrih). chittagong: hamzarbagh, 13 mar 1985, mujib et al. 5345 (bfrih); hathazari, fatehpur, mithachara, 1 mar 2017, iqbal mahmud iq 606 (dacb). cox’s bazar: kutubida, 27 dec 1983, huq et al. h. 6653 (dacb); bhomarighona, 24 apr 2017, ehsanul huq eh 91 (dacb); maheshkhali, dineshpur, 2 may 2017, niyamul kabir et al. nk 3644 (dacb); chakaria, fasiakhali, 10 may 2017, niyamul kabir et al. nk 3912 (dacb); himchari, s. dies., m.a. rahman 390 (hcu). dhaka: s. loc., 15 sep 1949, s.k. sen s.n. (dush); azimpur maternity hospital, 12 aug 1964, a.f. muhammad 180 (dush); suhrawardi udyan, 30 oct 2021, sunzid 29 (dush). munshiganj: bikrompur, 20 sep 1996, nazrul huq s.n. (dacb). taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 391 global distribution: bangladesh, cambodia, china, india, indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, pakistan, philippines, sri lanka, thailand, viet nam, eastern africa and north australia. economic aspects: the leaves and seeds of the species possess anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities. the seeds are fit for human consumption, representing a good source of fats (30%–36%) and proteins (11.4%). the leaves and bark are often used as diaphoretic, diuretic, and aperient agents and have been applied to the treatment of rheumatism, obesity, gonorrhea, edema, and skin disease. the plant serves as a repository of phytoconstituents, including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenols, and steroids. therefore, these phytochemicals can serve as useful compounds in the searching of new small drug like potential molecules in the computer aided drug designing endevors (cadd). the ethanolic seed extracts have been reported to show antioxidant and anticancer activities (alam et al., 2021). the sweet yellowish cotyledons are eaten after the black seed coat is removed. they are effective for rheumatism relief and are used as a laxative, diuretic, anti-epileptic, purgative and insect repellant. seed oil is useful for lighting and painting, as well as treating itches and other skin disorders (ashrafuzzaman and sarwar, 2021). sterculia guttata roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 148 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 355 (1874); balfour, cycl. ind. east. south. asia 3: 737 (1885); nairne, fl. pl. w. ind.: 34 (1894); brandis, ind. trees : 82 (1921); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 166 (1925); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds.), fl. india 3: 462 (1993); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 347 (2009). astrodendrum malabaricum dennst., schlussel hort. malab.: 30 (1818); clompanus malabarica kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 77 (1891). vernacular names: raiphal, bansal. english name: not known. a large evergreen tree, young parts rusty stellate tomentose, bark dark green, warty, cracked outside, blaze white, mottled with brown. leaves simple, ovate, rounded, or slightly cordate at the base, acute or abruptly shortly acuminate at the apex, entire, under surface and petioles tomentose, petioles 2-7 cm long, stipules ensiform, caducous. flowers white and pale yellow, in terminal, rusty, tomentose, racemiform panicles, pedicels 2-3 mm long, hairy, with an offensive smell. calyx campanulate, deeply 5-partite, lobes narrowly lanceolate, rusty tomentose outside, glandular and with scattered long hairs inside. petals absent. male flowers with 10-12 stamens, staminal column 6-8 mm long, slender, curved, anthers 10-15, sessile, very small, staminodes 10. female flowers with 5 carpels, free, ovary surmounting the ring of anthers, globose, woolly; styles curved; stigmas 5-lobed. fruit a follicle, red when ripe, coriaceous, compressed, tomentose outside, smooth and reddish inside, with 3-5 seeds in each follicle. seeds black and large. flowering and fruiting: april-august. ecology: the species occurs along the margins of evergreen forests, and in semi-evergreen forests. very rare in moist, low-lying areas. representative specimens: bandarban: keokradong, darjiling para, 26 mar 2019, khandakar kamrul islam kki 3584 (dacb). chittagong: hazarikhil, 30 mar 1976, d.k. das s.n. (bfrih). sylhet: lawachara, 17 mar 1984, m.k. alam 4975 (bfrih). global distribution: bangladesh, india, myanmar, sri lanka, thailand and viet nam. economic aspects: one kind of coarse rug is manufactured by beating and washing the inner bark in the malabar coast. seeds are eaten after roasting. seeds contain important bioactive compounds that might be used in the development of effective insecticides as shown in-vitro tests to control larvae of mosquitos (katade et al., 2006). 392 ahmed and rahman sterculia lanceolata var. coccinea (jack) phengklai, thai. forest. bull. bot. 23: 99 (1995); rehder et sargent, bard. bibl. 2: 538 (1911); craib, contrib. fl. siam. 1: 24 (1912); merrill, bibl. enum. born. pl.: 379 (1921). sterculia coccinea roxb. [hort. beng. : 50 (1814) nom. nud.], fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 151 (1832) non jack (1822); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 359 (1874). clompanus hamiltonii o. kuntze, rev. gen. pl. 1: 77 (1891). sterculia hamiltonii (kuntze) adelb., c.a. backer, bekn. fl. java 4b (107): 23 (1944). sterculia indica men., j. ann. arb. 33: 245 (1952). (fig. 8). vernacular name: toni udal. english name: not known. small tree, up to 15 m tall, ca. 30 cm in diameter. arborescent, buttress absent. bark grey, smooth; inner bark fibrous. sapwood white. twigs grey to pale brown, glabrous but apical parts sometimes with sparse stellate hairs, slender, 0.2-07 cm diameter. stipules caducous, linear, up to 0.7 cm long, creamy. leaves alternate or spirally arranged, simple, lamina papery, broadly elliptic, ovate to slightly obovate-oblong, 7-17 x 3-7 cm, base acute to rounded, symmetric to slightly asymmetric, with 3-5 basal veins, apex often distinctly caudate with slender acumen to 2 cm long, occasionally acuminate; upper surface glabrous, drying brown, lower surface with sparse stellate hairs or glabrous; lateral veins 5-7 pairs, raised on both surfaces, arching to form intramarginal vein; petioles slender, very pale brown to yellow, glabrous, 1-7 cm long, swollen and darkened at both ends. inflorescences sub-terminal or axillary racemes, often branched, up to 12 cm long, with sparse stellate hairs, each branch 3-flowered. flowers unisexual, pale white to green-yellow, calyx tubular to urceolate, 2-15 mm long, 2-4 mm in diameter, outer surface with sparse stellate hairs, inner surface glabrous, 5-lobed, lobes narrowly oblong, 2-3 mm long, with dense simple hairs along margin, joined or not at apex, androgynophore 1-2 mm long, erect, glabrous. male flowers with 10 anthers present at the globose head. female flowers with ca. 1 mm long androgynophore; styles coherent, with sparse stellate hairs; stigmas obovate with sparse stellate hairs. fruit a cluster of 1-5 orange-red leathery follicles; follicles up to 10 cm long, 1.5-3 cm wide, outer surface with dense minute stellate hairs, inner surface glabrous. seeds 3-5 in each follicle, ellipsoid, 0.9-1.6 cm long, 0.6-1.2 cm in diameter, black in color. flowering and fruiting: april-september. ecology: hill slopes along streams. representative specimens: bandarban: ruma, thanapara, 10 may 2018, khandakar kamrul islam kki 2791 (dacb); ruma, bogalake, 26 mar 2019, khandakar kamrul islam kki 3510 (dacb). chittagong: badolchari, 25 jan 1997, m.a. rahmand et aditi khisa 665b (hcu); himchari, barachara, 29 jun 1997, m.a. rahman et al. 1422 (hcu); dhopachori, 2 sep 1999, m.a. rahman et al. 5530 (hcu); hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary, 19 aug 2014, s.n. uddin n. 5469 (dacb). cox’s bazar: ruma, eid ghor, 20 mar 2018, niyamul kabir et mehedi hassan nk 7218 (dacb). khagrachari: dighinala, kowser et al. kh 6689 (dacb). maulvibazar: madhabkunda, 25 jun 2001, s.n. uddin n. 1086 (dacb); lawachara national park, 17 aug 2009, s.n. uddin n. 3896 (dacb); kamalganj, adampur, 20 sep 2011, s.n. uddin n. 4745 (dacb). rangamati: kutukchari, chegaiyachari, 16 jun 1998, s.b. uddin et al. 3125 (hcu); bilaichari, farua, 23 jul 2009, s.n. uddin n. 3802 (dacb). sylhet: golapganj, 3 mar 1976, atiqur rahman 60 (dacb); jainta-sarighat, 3 oct 1983, huq et al. h. 5337 (bfrih); jaintapur, 19 oct 1986, a.m. huq et m.k. mia h. 7839 (dacb). global distribution: bangladesh, bhutan, india, lao pdr, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, thailand and viet nam. economic aspects: wood is hard, strong. usually used for construction works especially for the production of poles, posts and ridge plates. fruits are edible and enriched with nutrients, taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 393 usually consumed after cooking. seeds are also edible and are eaten fried or roasted (ahmed et al., 2009; alam, 2018). fig. 8. sterculia lanceolata var. coccinea (jack) phengklai a habit sketch (x 0.3). sterculia parviflora roxb. ex g. don., gen. hist. 1: 516 (1831); roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 147 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 356 (1874); ridl., fl. mal. pen. 1: 271 (1922); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds.), fl. india 3: 468 (1993); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 348 (2009). sterculia maingayi mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 359 (1874); sterculia holttumii ridl., kew bull. 1926: 471 (1926). vernacular name: parvi udal. english name: not known. arborescent, up to 35 m in height, ca. 100 cm in diameter. buttress plank-like up to 1 m tall. bark grey-orange to brown, smooth with occasional small scales and lenticels; inner bark redbrown, 1 cm thick, fibrous. sapwood white. twigs 0.3-0.6 cm in diameter, slightly swollen at the apex, glabrous but sometimes stellate hairs on the very young parts, leaf scars conspicuous. stipules caducous. leaves alternate, simple, lamina papery to leathery, ovate, elliptic to ellipticoblong, 8-20 x 4-10 cm, base slightly cordate to truncate, basal veins 1-2 pairs, apex acute or very shortly acuminate; upper surface glabrous, lower surface with sparse, very minute, round, peltate scales; lateral veins excluding basal ones, 5-7 or 12 pairs, straight or arching, sunken above, 394 ahmed and rahman prominent beneath; intercostal veins ladder-like, sunken above, often prominent beneath, petioles 1.5-8 cm long, glabrous. inflorescences sub-terminal or axillary panicles, much branched, erect, 920 cm long, with dense stellate hairs or scurfy; bracts caducous. flowers unisexual, pale yellow becoming reddish pink; calyx tube urceolate, 3-5 mm long, outer surface with dense stellate hairs, inner surface glabrous, lobes 5, lanceolate, 3-4 mm long, inner surface with sparse hairs, converging and joined at apex. male flowers with slender androgynophore, 0.5-0.25 mm long, glabrous; anthers 10, forming a globose head at the apex of androgynophore. female flowers with 0.5-1 mm long androgynophore, base of carpels surrounded by 10 sterile anthers, carpels 5, glabrous or with sparse hairs; styles coherent, slender, ca. 0.5 mm long, glabrous or with a few hairs; stigmas 5, ovate, curved. fruit a cluster of up to 5 orange-red leathery follicles; follicles oblong, 6-9 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, with dense minute stellate hairs. seeds 2 or more in each follicle, ellipsoid, 1.2-2 cm long, 0.8-1.5 cm in diameter, black. flowering and fruiting: february-july. ecology: lowland and mixed deciduous forests. found in a variety of substrates including basalt and calcareous shale. representative specimen: no specimen was available in any herbarium of bangladesh. global distribution: bangladesh, cambodia, india, malaysia, myanmar, thailand and viet nam. economic aspects: the white colored wood is used for indoor construction and plywood. good quality fibers can be obtained from the bark of the species. the tree also has ornamental value as it is sometimes planted in the garden as well as in the roadside avenue (alam 2018). sterculia lanceifolia roxb., fl. ind. (eds) 3: 150-151 (1832); laudon et spottiswoode, gard. mag. reg. 4: 450 (1826); kurz, asiatic soc. beng., journ. asiat. soc. 45(2): 120 (1876); western australia museum, rec. wes. aust. mus. 23: 115 (2006). sterculia ovalifolia wall., numer. list: 1132 (1829); sterculia lanceifolia g. don., sylhet 1: 517 (1831); southwellia roxburghiana spach, hist. nat. veg. 14: 402 (1847); clompanus roxburghii (wall.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 78 (1891). (fig. 9). vernacular name: ushli. english name: not known. trees or shrubs. bark grayish. branchlets puberulent. stipules subulate, minutely hairy, caducous. leaves petiolate. petioles 2.5-3.5 cm, both ends pulvinate. lamina lanceolate, linearlanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, 10-23 x 2.5-7.5 cm, minutely pilose, becoming glabrous, lateral veins 9-10 on each side of midrib, slightly connected near margin, base rounded or obtuse, apex obtusely acuminate. inflorescence racemose, or rarely paniculate, axillary, 5-7 cm, much shorter than leaves, few flowered, stellate pilose. pedicel slender, 5-8 mm. calyx red, campanulate, divided nearly to base, ca. 7 mm, abaxially sparsely puberulent, lobes oblong-lanceolate, ca. 5mm, much longer than calyx tube, spreading outward. male flowers with curved androgynophore, surface glabrous. female flowers with globose ovary, densely puberulent. follicle oblong or oblong-lanceolate, ca. 7 cm in length, seeds 4-8, abaxially densely red hirsute, apex beaked. seeds black, ovoid. flowering and fruiting: february-august. ecology: the species is commonly found in the hilly forests. representative specimens: maulvibazar: kamalganj, 7 mar 2011, s.n. uddin n4472 (dacb). global distribution: bangladesh, china, india, lao pdr, malaysia, myanmar, nepal, thailand and viet nam. taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 395 fig. 9. sterculia lanceifolia roxb. a habit sketch (x 0.3) economic aspects: timber serves as the source of fuel. it can also be used for different construction purpose and infrastructure development. seeds are edible, often used in the form of condiments for seasoning of foods (uphof, 1959). sterculia versicolor wall., pl. asiat. rar. 1: 48, t. 59 (1830); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 355 (1874); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 135 (1877); just, botanis. jahres. 6(2): 966 (1878); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 349 (2009); uddin & hassan, vas. fl. chit. & chit. hill tr. 2: 427 (2018). southwellia versicolor (wall.) wight, ill. ind. bot. 1: 77 (1838); clompanus versicolor kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 78 (1891). (fig. 10). vernacular name: ranga udal. english name: not known. large tree with spreading crown, 24-27 m tall, trunk straight, stout, bark grey, branchlets with prominent scars of fallen leaves. leaves peltate, digitately 5-7 foliate, elliptic-lanceolate, 18.528.9 x 4-16 cm, tapering at the base, acute or shortly acuminate at the apex, subcoriaceous, glabrous above, puberulous or glabrescent beneath, petioles 8-15 cm long. flowers fragrant, orange-yellow or pale-yellow, many, in erect panicles crowded at the ends of branchlets, pedicels short. calyx campanulate, hairy, ca. 1 cm long, lobes oblong, inflexed. male flowers with ca. 2 mm long staminal column, curved, filaments short, anthers 2-loculed. female flowers with 5396 ahmed and rahman lobed ovary, hairy with sterile anthers at the base; styles ca. 2 mm long, villous, curved with radiating sub-peltate stigmas. fruit a follicle, slightly compressed, coriaceous. seeds 7-15 mm long, oblong. fig. 10. sterculia versicolor wall. a habit sketch (x 0.5). flowering and fruiting: march-july. ecology: the species occurs in the hill forests. representative specimens: chittagong: maheshkhali, 7 mar 1978, m.s. khan et al. k. 4895 (dacb). global distribution: bangladesh, india and myanmar. economic aspects: mainly valued for timber. timber can serve as a useful source of fuel wood for its high heat yielding capacity. seeds are edible, often eaten after roasting. fiber obtained from bark is used to make ropes and cordage (ahmed et al., 2009; alam, 2018). sterculia villosa roxb., fl. ind. ed. carey 3: 153 (1832); mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 355 (1874); prain, beng. pl. 1: 187 (1903); heinig, list pl. chitt. coll. & ht.: 7 (1925); sinclair, bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 88 (1955); malick in sharma & sanjappa (eds.), fl. india 3: 472 (1993); ahmed et al. (ed.), encycl. fl. fauna bangladesh 10: 350 (2009). sterculia armata mast. in hook. f., fl. brit. ind. 1: 357 (1874); clompanus armata (mast.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 78 (1891); taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 397 clompanus villosa (roxb. ex sm.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 78 (1891); sterculia ornata wall. ex kurz in j. asiat. soc. beng. 42 (2): 228 (1873); kurz, fl. burm. 1: 136 (1877); brandis, ind. trees: 81 (1921); craib, fl. siam. enum. 1: 168 (1925); sterculia lantsangensis hu, bull. fan mem. inst. biol. bot. 8 (1): 42 (1937). (fig. 11). vernacular names: udal, chandul, sambeing (marma), frit (marma), crukhaoya bang (marma), lambuk (tripura), sibo toigo kalai (tripura), ya sing (murong). english name: elephant rope tree. small to medium-sized tree, arborescent, deciduous, 10-15 m tall, bark grey-white, ca. 2.5 cm thick. branchlets robust with heart shaped leaf scars of fallen leaves, brown stellate pubescent to tomentose when young. leaves simple, crowded at the end of branchlets when young; stipulate, stipules lanceolate, ca. 10 mm long, petiolate, petiole cylindrical, 15-40 cm long, minutely tomentose, leaf blade deeply cordate at the base sometimes, entire, coriaceous, minutely pubescent, apex caudate, abaxially densely yellow-brown stellate tomentose, adaxially sparsely pubescent, 30-40 x 30-45 cm, palmately 3-7 lobed, each lobe again 3 lobed, central lobe broadly ovate, veins 5, palmately reticulate. inflorescence subterminal on branchlets, paniculate, densely ferruginous stellate tomentose. flowers bisexual, incomplete, irregular, ebracteate, pinkish-yellow in crowded drooping panicles from the end of the thick shoots, male and female flowers intermixed, pedunculate, peduncle 3-18 cm long, pedicellate, pedicel 5 mm long. calyx broadly campanulate, pinkish inside, 5 lobed, lobes ovate, abaxially pubescent, adaxially glabrous, 7 x 4 mm. petals absent. male flowers with 10 stamens, staminal column 2-3 mm long, recurved, glabrous, anthers 10, sessile, staminodes 10. female flowers with 5 carpels, ovary globose, strigose, 5 loculed, many-ovuled; style inserted, recurved, hairy; stigmas flattened or with 5 lobes, extrorse. fruit is follicle, 3-5 cm in diameter, oblong to ellipsoid, apex shortly beaked, sessile, leathery, rusty pubescent, many seeded, red when ripe. seeds 3-5, oblong, smooth, black. flowering and fruiting: february-may. chromosome number: 2n = 40 (kumar and subramaniam, 1986). ecology: hill slopes in mixed deciduous forests. representative specimens: bandarban: roangchari, 16 jun 2001, m. rahman 8703 (bfrih). chittagong: pablakhali-saratali, 30 apr 1977, huq et rahman h. 3275 (dacb); s. loc., 3 may 1977, a.m. huq 3354 (dacb); chunati wildlife sanctuary, 8 may 1994, a.m. huq et m.k. mia 10372 (dacb); mirsori, mohamaya lake, 21 feb 2018, moniruzzaman et al. mak 7737 (dacb); fatikchari, hazarikhil, 18 apr 2018, moniruzzaman et kowser mk 8275 (dacb). cumilla: cumilla university campus, 29 aug 2016, tajul et al. tok 197 (dacb). dhaka: 25 mar 1964, d.k. das fkh 365 (bfrih); savar, 5 jun 1978, soejarto et m. rahman 4974 (dacb); dhamrai, 29 jan 1982, a.m. huq 5519 (dacb); dhaka university botanical garden, 19 aug 2021, sunzid 3 (dush). khagrachari: panchuri, 5 sep 2016, kowser et al. kh 392 (dacb). mymensingh: jamalpur, gajni forest, 7 may 1982, mia et al. m. 817 (dacb); bangladesh agricultural university botanical garden, 2 jan 2022, sunzid 50 (dush). rangpur: rangpur sadar, 15 apr 1994, m. mohiuddin 1107 (bfrih). sherpur: jhenaighati, gazni, 9 feb 1985, khan et al. k. 7041 (dacb). tangail: pirgacha, 14 jun 1989, m.k. mia 211 (dacb). global distribution: bangladesh, cambodia, china, india, lao pdr, myanmar, nepal, pakistan and thailand. economic aspects: ropes, cordage, and bags are made from a coarse fiber produced from the inner bark. the tree produces a transparent gum that is utilized in medicinal preparation. baked or roasted seeds are popular. the chittagong hill tracts tribal people use the bark to build straps for their long bamboo basket, known as "turung" which they wear on their heads (ahmed et al., 2009). traditionally the plant is used as an agent in diuretic, cooling and aphrodisiac purposes. 398 ahmed and rahman the plant is also utilized by indians as traditional remedy for inflammation. sherbet, prepared from the petiole of the plant along with water and sugar is given in urinary problems and rheumatism. the bark and the petiole are used as a remedy in seminal weakness. white exudates of the tree are used for throat infection. root infusion is taken as food adjunct while the whole plant extract is useful for skin diseases. the plant also has anthelmintic, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, membrane stabilization and antithrombotic activity. some chemical constituents like flavonoids, chrysoeriol, diosmetin-7-o-β-d-glucoside and hrysoeriol-7-o-β-d-glucoside have been isolated from the species. these important phytochemicals can be used for computer aided drug discovery against suitable target using molecular docking, admet (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity) and molecular dynamics simulation approaches (hossain et al., 2013). fig. 11. sterculia villosa roxb.: a. habit (x 0.3); b. flower (x 1.7); c. calyx (x 1.3); d. l.s. of flower (x 1.0). discussion taxonomic revisions are required to keep track of potential changes and implications, as every new species discovered has an impact on the currently accepted system of classification (stuessy, 1975). phenotypic plasticity further necessitates the need of taxonomic revision as it is responsible for the expression of different types of phenotypes from the same genotype depending on the environmental effect (dewitt et al., 1998). the present revisionary studies in the subfamily sterculioideae with 16 taxa is the first on its nature in bangladesh. sterculioideae in bangladesh taxonomic revision of sterculioideae 399 incorporates a good number of economically and medicinally important taxa (alam, 2018). several attempts have been made worldwide to shed light on the current state of the member taxa of sterculioideae. taylor (1989) revised neotropical taxa of sterculia l. which solved the controversy regarding the sexuality of the two floral types. the genus brachychiton was previously included under sterculia and its generic status was ambiguous. later, guymer (1988) resolved it into a distinct genus using characteristic features of follicles, seed coats and embryo. the problem of species delimitation in the genus scaphium was solved by wilkie (2009) with recognition of eight species which was four in the previous revision conducted by kostermans (1953). several floristic studies have reported the occurrence of the member taxa of sterculioideae throughout the country but no detailed revisionary studies have been carried out so far. the present investigation revealed five genera of sterculioideae in bangladesh such as firmiana, heritiera, pterygota, scaphium and sterculia with two, four, one, one and eight taxa, respectively. among the taxa studied, four taxa belonging to three genera could not be examined because of inavailability of these species and no specimens belonging to these species were deposited in any herbaria of the country. these four taxa were firmiana simplex, heritiera papilio, sterculia balanghas and sterculia parviflora. firmiana simplex was reported as sterculia urens roxb. by mia et al. (2011) based on the specimen examined by hooker & thomson in 1850, where no specific location was mentioned. ahmed et al. (2009) stated the occurrence of heritiera papilio from the forests of sylhet district. sterculia balanghas was reported by raizada (1941) from the chittagong hill tracts. hooker (1874) reported sterculia parviflora from the territory which at present falls under sylhet region. based on the field observations, herbarium specimens and relevant literature (ahmed et al., 2009; iucn, 2012; mia et al, 2011; rahman et al., 2012; alam, 2018; ashrafuzzaman and sarwar, 2021) the status of the taxa of the subfamily sterculioideae has been determined. among the studied taxa, sterculia villosa and s. lanceifolia var. coccinea (= sterculia hamiltonii) were found as common and considered as least concern (lc). firmiana colorata, sterculia foetida, pterygota alata, heritiera fomes, h. littoralis and h. macrophylla are rarely found in nature and going to be near threatened (nt). scaphium scaphigerum was found as vulnerable (vu), while firmiana simplex, sterculia guttata and sterculia versicolor were found to be endangered (en). in the recent past, ara et al. (2013) reported sterculia versicolor as endangered in bangladesh that was supported by the present study. as a continuation of the current revision, we aim to apply the techniques of molecular systematics including dna barcoding and phylogenetic analyses which would further strengthen the systematic position of the taxa of sterculioideae in bangladesh. acknowledgements the authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the ministry of science and technology for conducting this study. thanks are due to the authorities of the dacb, dush, hcu and bfrih for providing facilities to examine specimens and to consult their libraries. references agarwal, k. and jain, a. 2017. evaluation of physicochemical standardization parameters of pterygota alata (roxb.) bark. world. j. pharm. res. 17(4): 1110-1114. ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 10 july, 2022; revised on 16 november, 2022) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 263-275, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70502 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists tree diversity, abundance and dominance in the lakeside vegetation of dhaka city, bangladesh evana akter and mohammad zashim uddin* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: tree diversity; dominance; lakeside vegetation; dhaka city. abstract the present article deals with evaluating tree diversity, abundance, and dominance in the urban lakeside vegetation of dhaka city. data were collected using systematic sampling methods along with the transect lines. visitor’s perceptions about existing tree diversity were also collected. a total of 2322 individuals under 118 tree species in 39 families were recorded from dhanmondi, hatirjheel and gulshan lakeside vegetations. the origin analysis of tree species revealed that 39% are exotic and 61% are native. among the tree species, the five most abundant are swietenia mahagoni, mangifera indica, cocos nucifera, khaya anthotheca and delonix regia. in these abundant tree species, three are exotic, such as swietenia mahagoni, khaya anthotheca, and delonix regia, and the rest are native. according to the importance value index, the most five dominant tree species are swietenia mahagoni, samanea saman, cocos nucifera, mangifera indica, and delonix regia. likewise, among the top five dominant tree species, three are exotic, such as swietenia mahagoni, sananea saman, and delonix regia; the rest are native. the maximum number of tree species in the study areas are ornamental (25%), followed by medicinal (23%), fruit-bearing (22%), timber-producing (19%), and wildlife-supporting (11%). the maximum value of the shannon diversity index was found in dhanmondi (3.78), followed by gulshan (3.41), and hatirjheel (3.34). according to visitors’ perceptions, 85% of visitors favored positive actions regarding different management issues for lakeside tree diversity to enhance ecosystem services. a number of threats were identified for tree diversity in the study areas and suggested a number of recommendations for the management of tree diversity in three lakesides of vegetation (dhanmondi, hatirjheel, and gulshan) to improve ecosystem services in the future. introduction the article explored existing tree species diversity, abundance, dominance, uses and their origins in the lakeside vegetation of dhaka city. data on these aspects of trees are very much desirable for the sustainable management of urban environment. tree diversity plays an important role in providing ecosystem services to urban communities, environment, and as well as biodiversity as cited by many scientists of the world (singh et al., 2018; jim and liu, 2001; zhang and jim, 2014; onyekwelu et al., 2008; rahman et al., 2011, 2018; vilaruiz et al., 2014; clarke and jenerette, 2015; su et al., 2021; tordoni et al., 2017; cay and asilioglu, 2014; uddin and hassan, 2016; pasha et al., 2021; uddin et al., 2021). currently, urban plant diversity is very popular topic in scientific research of many countries of the world as mention earlier above works but in bangladesh such research is in the initial stage. most noteworthy works on the plant diversity of dhaka city are included datta and mitra (1953), alam (1967), hossain (1966), hossain (2006), huq and begum (1984), hussain (1965), khan *corresponding author, e-mail: zashim01@gmail.com 264 akter and uddin and huq (1981), rahman (1966), zeauddin (1967), hossain and uddin (2011), uddin and hassan (2016) and uddin et al. (2019, 2021). all this research works were covered mostly on the inventory of plant diversity of dhaka city, list of plant species under families and one was on the plant diversity of road dividers. but no works are available on the tree diversity of lakeside vegetation of dhaka city. lakeside vegetation in dhaka city has been played an important role to ensure congenial environment of urban life. the areas now used mostly for amusement, morning and evening walks, leisure and also for nature learning thus cultural services. if manage properly, the areas could be a hub for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services to urban communities. in the present study an attempt was taken to achieve the following objectives: to determine diversity of tree species, abundance, dominance, uses and origins; to find the threats to tree diversity; and to find perceptions from visitors for the better management of tree diversity in three urban lakeside vegetation of dhaka city. materials and methods study area three lakesides, including dhanmondi, hatirjheel, and gulshan (fig. 1), were selected for the data collection. dhanmondi lake has a surface area of 37.37 ha, a length of 3 km, a width of 35 to 100 m, and a maximum depth of 4.77 m (parvin et al., 2019). it is only connected to a culvert, the only outlet that aids in removing extra floodwater brought on by significant precipitation. the mean depth of hatirjheel lake is 2 m, with a total area of 32.70 ha. the mean depth of gulshan lake is 2.50 m, and its surface area is 58.86 ha. these three lakeside vegetations have been managed by both the dhaka north and south city corporations. filling sand, clay, and sand mixtures make up the majority of the soils in dhaka city. occasionally, an extra clay layer has been noticed. according to ansary et al., (2015), the original ground is primarily composed of clay layers, with a sand layer situated beneath them. the climate of dhaka is tropical, hot, humid, and rainy. a distinct monsoonal season occurs in the city, with an average yearly temperature of 27.5 °c. about 2000 mm of rain fall on the city each year, with over 80% of that falling between june and september during the monsoon season (dewan and yamaguchi, 2009). in addition to its tropical vegetation, dhaka's topography is flat and at sea level, with damp soils that make it vulnerable to flooding during monsoon seasons due to cyclones and excessive rains. (hough, 2004). vegetation of dhaka now planted type with mostly exotic plants (uddin et al., 2021). plantation activities has regulary been conducted by both dhaka north and dhaka south city corporation. the most common plant species are samanea saman, swietenia mahagony, polyalthia longifolia, mimusops elengi, acacia auriculiformis, albizia richardiana, eucalyptus camaldulensis, leucaena leucocephala, mangifera indica and artocarpus heterophyllus. abundance of exotic plant species higher than indigenous plant species (uddin et al., 2021). methods of the study a total of 12 field trips was made to the study areas in dhanmondi, hatirjheel and gulshan lakeside vegetations during june 2022 to may 2023. the study was conducted using a systematic sampling method (peet et al., 1998 and stohlgren et al., 1998). by this way, a total number of 274 quadrats of 10m×10m were taken from three lakeside vegetations (oosting, 1956). the number of quadrates in study area was determined using species area curve (goldsmith and harrison, 1976). in each quadrat, tree species were also identified, counted individual number and recorded diameter at breast height (dbh). to determine the dominant tree species, importance value index (ivi) were calculated using biostatistical formulas (krebs, 1989). species diversity was tree diversity, abundance and dominance in the lakeside 265 determined using shannon-weiner diversity index (shannon, 1948), simpson diversity index (simpson, 1949), margalef index (margalef, 1957) and pielu index (pielou, 1981). exotic tree species were determined comparing with reports of pasha and hossain (2004). most of the identification of tree species was done by experts at field site. in case of confusions in identity, plant samples were taken and brought to the plant taxonomy laboratory of the department of botany, university of dhaka and processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972). and also took color images of plant specimens using a digital camera for aiding in identification. the plant samples were identified up to the species by consulting different literature (datta and mitra, 1953; khan and huq, 1981; uddin and hassan, 2016; uddin et al., 2021; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009) and also comparing with herbarium specimens preserved in dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). fig. 1. map of the study area showing the place of quadrats a. dhanmondi lakeside, b. hatirjheel lakeside and c. gulshan lakeside (source: google earth). 266 akter and uddin to know the perceptions of visitors, a total of 80 informants were interviewed using structured questionnaire in the study sites (alexiades, 1996). the ages of informants ranged from 18 to 78 years. the education backgrounds of the informants ranged from under degree to m.sc. and mba degrees. they were primarily as housewives, shopkeepers, corporates and government offcials. results and discussion inventory of tree species diversity the study recorded a total of 2322 individuals under 118 species from the dhanmondi, hatirjheel, and gulshan lakeside vegetations of dhaka city. these species were assigned to 39 families. for each species, the scientific name, family, abundance, origin status, and usefulness were determined and presented in table 1. plant species are not equally distributed in the family. in this case, eight families account for 53% of the species, while another 31 families account for 47%. arecaceae is the most dominant family, followed by fabaceae, myrtaceae, moraceae, meliaceae, anacardiaceae, caesalpiniaceae, combretaceae, and rubiaceae (fig. 1). based on their ecosystem services, the plant species found in the overall study sites were separated into a number of use categories. the majority of tree species fall into the category of ornamental species, followed by fruit-bearing, timber-producing, medicinal, and wildlife-supporting species (fig. 2). most of the tree species that are planted in the laksides are decorative plants, which serve purely aesthetic purposes rather than serving an ecological or everyday social requirement or providing other ecosystem services. this finding demonstrates that the study area's vegetation only provides a limited number of ecosystem services; as a result, modifications are necessary to increase these services' availability and increase the community's ability to enjoy them. uddin et al. (2021) reported 77 tree species from the road dividers of dhaka city. again, uddin and hassan (2016) reported 157 tree species from the dhaka university campus. if compared to the present number of tree species in lakeside vegetation with road dividers and the dhaka university campus, the diversity of tree species indicates the moderate richness of lakeside vegetation in dhaka. table 1. tree species diversity in the urban lakeside vegetation of dhaka city. species name common name family presence in site abun -dance origin use acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth. akashmoni mimosaceae d,h,g 6 e t a. mangium willd. belijum mimosaceae h 2 e t adenanthera pavonina l. ranjana fabaceae d,g 3 n m aegle marmelos (l.) corr. bel rutaceae d,h,g 7 n f albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. shilkoroi mimosaceae d 6 n t a. procera (roxb.) benth. sada koroi mimosaceae d,h,g 8 n t,ws a. richardiana (voigt) king & prain gogonshirish fabaceae d,h,g 33 e t, ws alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br chatim apocynaceae d,h,g 6 n m, t, ws anisoptera scaphula (roxb.) kurz boilam dipterocarpaceae h 1 n t annona reticulata l. ata annonaceae d,h,g 10 e f a. squamosa l. ata annonaceae g 1 n f, t, ws araucaria heterophylla (salisb.) franco chrismass tree araucariaceae g 2 e o areca catechu l. supari arecaceae d,g 14 e f artocarpus chama buch.-ham. chapalish moraceae d 10 n t a. heterophyllus lam. kathal moraceae d,h,g 73 n f, t, v, ws a. lacucha buch.-ham. deua moraceae d,g 5 n f, t, ws averrhoa bilimbi l. bilimbi avverhoaceae g 1 e f tree diversity, abundance and dominance in the lakeside 267 species name common name family presence in site abun -dance origin use a. carambola l. kamranga avverhoaceae d,h,g 9 e f azadirachta indica a. juss. neem meliaceae d,h,g 25 n m, t, ws barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijol lecythidaceae d,h,g 23 n t bauhinia purpurea l. debkanchon caesalpiniaceae d,g 3 n m, o b. variegata l. rakta kanchan caesalpiniaceae d,h 14 n m, o,t bombax ceiba l. shimul tula bombaceae d,h,g 24 n o, ws borassus flabellifer l. tal arecaceae d,h,g 66 n ws, f, m,t bouea oppositifolia (roxb.) adelb. mailam anacardiaceae h 1 n f butea monosperma (lam.) taub. polash fabaceae d,h,g 17 n m, o calliandra haematocephala hassk. powder puff fabaceae d 1 e o callistemon citrinus (curtis) skeels lal bottle brush myrtaceae h 2 e m, o callistemon pallidus (bonpl.) dc. sada bottle brush myrtaceae h 2 e o caryota urens l. chaur arecaceae d,g 11 n o cassia grandis l.f. lal sonail caesalpiniaceae d,h,g 14 n m b. fistula l. sonalu caesalpiniaceae d,h,g 17 n o, m c. nodosa roxb. java sonail caesalpiniaceae d,h 3 n o a. renigera benth. lal sonail caesalpiniaceae h 1 e m casuarina equisetifolia l. jhau casuarinaceae d,h 35 e t ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. shet shimul bombacaceae d,h 13 n ws cinnamomum tamala (buch.-ham.) t.nees & eberm. tejpata lauraceae d 1 n m c. verum j.presl daruchini lauraceae d 1 e m cocos nucifera l. narikel arecaceae d.h.g 164 n f cordia dichotoma g. forst. bohola boraginaceae d,h 2 n gu, m crateva nurvala buch.-ham barun capparaceae g 1 n m cycas revoluta thunb. cycas cycadaceae h 1 e o dalbergia sissoo dc. shishu fabaceae d,h,g 7 e t delonix regia (bojer) raf. krishnachura caesalpiniaceae d,h,g 95 e o, m dillenia indica l. chalta dilleniaceae d,h,g 5 n f diospyros blancoi a. dc. bilati gaab ebenaceae d,h,g 5 e f diospyros cordifolia roxb. tomal clusiaceae d 1 n m c. malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab ebenaceae d,h 3 n f dipterocarpus turbinatus c.f.gaertn gorjon dipterocarpaceae h 1 n t dypsis lutescens (h.wendl.) beentje & j. dransf. areca palm arecaceae d,g 20 e o, ws elaeocarpus floribundus blume jolpai elaeocarpaceae d,h,g 4 n f erythrina variegata l. mandar fabaceae d 1 n ws eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. eucalyptus myrtaceae d,g 8 e t, m ficus benghalensis l. lal bot moraceae d,h,g 35 n ws, t d. benjamina l. jhir bot moraceae d,h,g 15 n ws e. elastica roxb. ex hornem. rubber bot moraceae d,h,g 3 e ws f. hispida l.f. kakdumur moraceae d,h,g 17 n ws f. racemosa l. dumur moraceae d,g 9 n ws f. religiosa l ashwath moraceae g 1 n ws, t f. rumphii blume pakur moraceae d,h,g 7 n m, t, ws hopea odorata roxb. telshur dipterocarpaceae h 9 n t hyophorbe lagenicaulis (l.h. bailey) h.e. moore bottle palm arecaceae d,h 32 e o 268 akter and uddin species name common name family presence in site abun -dance origin use jacaranda mimosifolia d. don jacaranda bignoniaceae d,h 3 e o khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. lombu meliaceae d,h,g 146 e t lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. jarul lythraceae d,h,g 45 n o lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga anacardiaceae d 2 n ws, fn, gu lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. horinhara sapindaceae g 1 n f, fw leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit epil-epil fabaceae d,h,g 42 e t litchi chinensis sonn. lichu sapindaceae d,h,g 6 e f litseaglutinosa (lour.) c.b. rob menda lauraceae d,h,g 11 n m livistona chinensis (jacq.) r.br. ex mart. china palm arecaceae d,g 2 e o macaranga peltata (roxb.) muell.arg. chandana euphorbiaceae g 1 n o madhuca longifolia (j.koenig ex l.) j.f.macbr. mohua sapotaceae d,h,g 6 n f, m, ws mallotus nudiflorus (l.) kulju &welzen pitali euphorbiaceae g 2 n o mangifera indica l. aam anacardiaceae d,h,g 209 n f, m, t, ws manilkara zapota (l.) p. royen sofeda sapotaceae d,g 5 e f melia azedarach l. goranim meliaceae d,g 2 e t, ws memecylon umbellatum burm. f. anjan melastomataceae d 3 e o michelia champaca l. swarna chapa magnoliaceae d,h 4 n o millettia ovalifolia kurz monihar fabaceae h 1 e m mimusops elengi l. bokul sapindaceae d,h,g 67 e o moringa oleifera lam. sajna moringaceae h,g 21 e m neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser cadam rubiaceae d,h,g 47 n t peltophorum pterocarpum (dc.) backer ex k. heyne konokchura caesalpiniaceae d,h,g 18 e o phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb. khejur arecaceae d,h,g 21 n f phyllanthus emblica l. amloki euphorbiaceae d,h,g 8 n m p. acidus (l.) skeels aorboroi phyllanthaceae h 1 n m pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. khoiababla fabaceae d 1 e m plumeria alba l. katgolap apocynaceae d,h,g 4 e o polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites debdaru annonaceae d,h,g 67 e o pterocarpus indicus willd. padauk fabaceae d 1 e o pterygota alata (roxb.) r.br. buddha narikel sterculiaceae d 1 n m, t putranjiva roxburghii wall. putrojib euphorbiaceae d,g 5 n m samanea saman (jacq.) merr. rain tree mimosaceae d,h,g 91 e t sapindus mukorossi gaertn. ritha sapindaceae h 1 n t saraca asoca (roxb.) willd. ashok fabaceae d,g 5 n o senna siamea (lam.) h.s. irwin & barneby minjiri caesalpiniaceae d,h 7 e fw, o spondias pinnata (l. f.) kurz amra anacardiaceae d,h,g 10 n f sterculia foetida l. basket badam sterculiaceae h,g 5 n t s. villosa roxb. udal sterculiaceae h 6 n m streblus asper lour. sheora moraceae d,g 5 n m swietenia macrophylla king boro mehegoni meliaceae d,g 11 e t s. mahagoni (l.) jacq. mehegoni meliaceae d,h,g 326 e t syzygium cumini (l.) skeels jam myrtaceae d,h,g 28 n f tree diversity, abundance and dominance in the lakeside 269 species name common name family presence in site abun -dance origin use s. jambos (l.) alston golapjam myrtaceae d 3 e f s. samarangense (blume) merr. & l.m. perry jamrul myrtaceae d,g 5 e f s. fruticosum dc. vuti jam myrtaceae h 2 n f, m, t, ws tamarindus indica l. tetul caesalpiniaceae d,h,g 12 n m tectona grandis l.f. segun verbenaceae d,h 9 e t terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun combretaceae d,h,g 13 n m t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera combretaceae d,h,g 11 n m, f,t,ws t. catappa l. kathbadam combretaceae d,h,g 46 e f,m, o, ws t. chebula retz. horitoki combretaceae d,h 5 n m t. mantaly h.perrier nakachua combretaceae g 1 e m trema orientalis (l.) blume jibon ulmaceae d,h,g 19 n ws wrightia coccinea (roxb. ex hornem.) sims palam apocynaceae d,h 8 n o xanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. bajna rutaceae d,h 2 n m, oy ziziphus mauritiana lam. boroi rhamnaceae d,h,g 21 n f, m,ws presence in site d= dhanmondi, h=hatirjheel, g=gulshan; (native or exotic: n= native, e= exotic origin; uses: t= timber, m= medicinal, f= fruit, o= ornamental, ws= wildlife supporting, oy = oil yielding, fw= fuel wood, gu = gum, fn = fence. abundant tree species according to analysis, among the 118 tree species in the research area, the top 15 most abundant tree species were swietenia mahagoni, followed by mangifera indica, cocos nucifera, khaya anthotheca, delonix regia, samanea saman, artocarpus heterophyllus, polyalthia longifolia, mimusops elengi, borassus flabellifer, neolamarckia cadamba, terminalia catappa, lagerstroemia speciosa, ficus benghalensis, and albizia richardiana (fig. 3). these tree species predominate in urban areas due to the greater availability of their seedlings in nurseries, the scarcity of native tree sprouts, the promotion of urban greeing, the potential neglect of native plant conservation issues, or the lack of significant consideration given to plant taxonomists' knowledge when planting. the widespread distribution of these plant species around the city does not accurately represent the rich natural history of our vegetation of the country. fig. 1. dominant tree families of three study sites. fig. 2. tree species of different use groups. 270 akter and uddin fig. 3. top 15 abundant trees in three study sites dominant tree species the important value index was generated to identify the dominant tree species on lakeside vegetations in dhanmondi, hatirjheel, and gulshan areas of dhaka city. according to the findings, swietenia mahagoni is the top dominant tree species, followed by samanea saman, cocos nucifera, mangifera indica, and delonix regia. additionally, these tree species also displayed higher relative densities, relative frequencies, and relative abundances. among the top 15 dominant tree species, seven were native and eight were exotic (table 2). according to uddin et al. (2021), the top dominant tree species on the road dividers of dhaka city was mimusops elengi, whereas in the present research, the top dominant tree species in the lakeside vegetation was swietenia mahagoni. because of aesthetic reasons, the maximum mimusops elengi sampling was planted on road dividers. on the other hand, for the creation of green vegetation and timber value, swietenia mahagoni sampling was planted maximum in the lakeside. table 2. important value index of tree species in the study area. species name origin abundance relative density relative frequency relative abundance important value index swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. exotic 326 14.03962 8.7591241 11.555305 34.354049 samanea saman (jacq.) merr. exotic 91 3.9190351 4.047777 18.944149 26.910961 cocos nucifera l. native 164 7.0628765 4.910418 10.909083 22.882377 mangifera indica l. native 209 9.0008609 8.4936961 4.5717796 22.066337 delonix regia (bojer) raf. exotic 95 4.0913004 3.98142 6.9833417 15.056062 khaya anthotheca (welw.) c.dc. exotic 146 6.2876827 4.180491 3.6528531 14.121027 borassus flabellifer l. native 66 2.8423771 4.246848 5.5989169 12.688142 artocarpus heterophyllus lam. native 73 3.1438414 3.782349 1.3185651 8.2447555 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser native 47 2.024117 2.322495 2.9506029 7.2972149 polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thwaites exotic 67 2.8854434 1.99071 1.9156007 6.7917541 mimusops elengi l. exotic 67 2.8854434 2.853351 0.8874278 6.6262223 ficus benghalensis l. native 35 1.5073212 2.189781 2.5219422 6.2190444 terminalia catappa l. exotic 46 1.9810507 2.455209 1.4054341 5.8416938 albizia richardiana (voigt) king & prain exotic 33 1.4211886 1.526211 1.8813703 4.8287699 lagerstroemia speciosa (l.) pers. native 45 1.9379844 1.99071 0.7932813 4.7219757 tree diversity, abundance and dominance in the lakeside 271 tree species diversity in the present study, shannon index (h) values for tree species diversity of three lakeside vegetations ranged from 3.78 to 3.34; simpson’s diversity index values ranged from 0.96 to 0.94; margalef index values ranged from 13.86 to 11.89; and pielou’s evenness values ranged from 1 to 0.88 (table 3). among the diversity index values, dhanmondi lakeside showed higher value than the other two lakes. this is because dhanmondi lake developed earlier than gulshan and hatirjheel, and plantation activities and time were much longer than on the other two sides. there was also the recent plantion of many tree species with roughly equal numbers of individuals in dhanondi lakeside. gulshan and hatirjheel lakeside developed after dhanmondi and were planted with the maximum number of individuals of a few tree species; that’s the lowest shannon, simpson’s, margalef, and pielou’s evenness value. although it was initially created in the context of information theory (shannon, 1948), the diversity measure (represented by h) was later incorporated in the studies on species diversity (margalef, 1957). shannon's h provides a richer picture of an ecosystem's diversity than a simple count of species since it takes into account the proportion of each species in the environment under study (konopiski, 2020). the index can distinguish between places where a single or a small number of dominant species predominate and those where each species has a comparable contribution to the overall plant diversity when the number of species in two locations is equal (margalef, 1957). according to uddin et al., (2021), the shannon index value for the trees on the road dividers in dhaka city was calculated at 3.17. the present value of the shannon index for the trees in lakeside vegetation almost complied with the value of road dividers. table 3. comparative diversity index values of tree species among the three lakesides. site name number of species number of individuals shannonweiner diversity index simpson’s diversity index margalef index of species richness pielou’s measure of evenness value dhanmondi lakeside 93 763 3.78 0.96 13.86 1 hatirjheel lakeside 83 988 3.34 0.94 11.89 0.88 gulshan lakeside 77 571 3.41 0.94 11.97 0.90 since urbanization is a continuing global issue that is increasing every year, urban ecology is quickly becoming a focus of scientific study. any information on the urban ecology is pertinent because most general and in-depth knowledge on urban biodiversity and ecological processes relates to cities and towns. exotic tree species the current study has made an effort to determine the origin of the reported tree species diversity. the result revealed that 39% of recorded tree species are exotic whereas 61% are indigenous or native (table 1). due to factors like the accessibility of seedlings during plantation and/or a lack of taxonomic expertise during the species selection process, there may be a rise in the incidence of exotic tree species. contractors typically handle plantation programs. unfortunately, they cannot distinguish between native and exotic plant species. some exotic species, such as swietenia mahagoni, samanea saman, delonix regia, khaya anthotheca, 272 akter and uddin polyalthia longifolia, mimusops elengi, terminalia catappa and albizia richardiana were the most dominant tree species in three study sites. other exotic tree species that have been planted in urban lakeside areas are as follows: leucaena leucocephala, hyophorbe lagenicaulis, peltophorum pterocarpum, acacia auriculiformis, moringa oleifera, dalbergia sissoo, pterocarpus indicus, swietenia macrophylla, and ceiba pentandra. the findings reveal that exotic tree species outnumber native tree species, which is surprising given that exotic tree species made up the majority of vegetations. dhanmondi lakeside has nine exotic tree species, hatirjheel lakeside has seven, and gulshan lakeside has nine exotic tree species out of the 15 most abundant tree species in each study area. peltophorum pterocarpum, eucalyptus camaldulensis, acacia auriculiformis, terminalia catappa, and dalbergia sissoo were among the exotic species. these tree species are all easily snapped and have soft wood. despite the aesthetic value of some of these plant species are typically not particularly favorable to animal diversity and can be a major risk during natural catastrophes in the densely populated metropolis of dhaka (uddin et al., 2021). visitor’s perception for the management issue of visitors in the three-lakeside vegetation, a number of structured questions were asked to 80 visitors based on the present findings of the tree diversity analysis. in the initial question on the promotion of tree diversity in lakeside vegetation, 91% of the informants gave positive responses to promote tree diversity, while only 9% gave negative responses. in the case of dominant exotic tree species, 85% of participants opposed it, while only 15% supported it. in the case of native tree species, most people preferred native tree species in their beloved city, dhaka, but few people preferred exotic species for aesthetic reasons only. in the case of the utility of tree species, a total of 86% of interviewees chose an evenly distribution of all purposeful tree species, whereas 14% of the population just desired the plantation for its aesthetic appeal. in the case of expert knowledge during plantation management, all positions require experts’ guidance during plantation. the existing vegetation scenario does not represent professional opinion; all informants made it quite obvious. therefore, it is crucial to seek the advice of experts while managing urban vegetation. the last question was about restoring the floral heritage of dhaka city by planting the once-existing plants. total 85% of the participants responded favorably, 8% negatively, and 7% confusedly, debating whether or not something would be feasible. conclusion the variety of trees in an urban area is crucial to the ecosystem services they provide. the availability of suitable seedlings in urban nurseries, inadequate species selection, and a lack of expert knowledge have all contributed to the current decline in tree diversity in urban areas. from three lakefront vegetation groups, 2322 individuals belonging to 118 tree species in 39 families were recorded. the origin investigation of tree species revealed that 39% were foreign and 61% were native. swietenia mahagoni, mangifera indica, cocos nucifera, khaya anthotheca and delonix regia are the top five most abundant tree species. three of the five most common tree species are foreign species. swietenia mahagoni, samanea saman, cocos nucifera, mangifera indica and delonix regia are the most dominant tree species, according to the significance value index. similarly, three of the top five dominating tree species are non-native species. the research regions had the highest concentration of decorative tree species, followed by medicinal, fruitbearing, timber-producing, and wildlife-supporting species. a comparison of the species richness of the three lakeside vegetation areas revealed that dhanmondi lakeside had the highest species richness (93), followed by hatirjheel (83) and gulshan (77). the highest shannon diversity index value is observed in dhanmondi (3.78), with gulshan (3.41) and hatirjheel (3.34) following tree diversity, abundance and dominance in the lakeside 273 closely behind. based on the opinions of visitors, 85% of respondents supported positive action for the three lakesides' vegetation management issues, such as enhancing native plantations, addressing exotic dominance, raising the proportion of native to exotic species, growing multipurpose tree species, and planting heritage plant species. they also preferred expert consultation for the general administration of the research area. the research area's tree diversity was found to be threatened by several factors, such as the dominance of exotic species, spontaneous tree falls, a scarcity of native seedlings, a lack of experience and understanding in plantations, and a low level of public awareness. several suggestions were made for managing the diversity of trees in three lakeside vegetation areas based on the study's current findings. these included making more native species the dominant species, gradually displacing exotics, increasing the number of trees that support wildlife and other uses, increasing public awareness, and eventually implementing the advice of experts (taxonomists, ecologists, foresters, and conservationists) in urban plantation programs. recommendations based on observations and discussions with visitors, a number of threats to tree diversity were determined. trees falling during a rainy season are one of the threats. the shallow and bushy roots cannot provide support to withstand the soil during rain and gusty wind. the wrong selection of tree species for plantations is another threat to reducing tree diversity in the lakeside vegetation. contractor-based plantation programs create favor to lead exotics in lakeside vegetation. in some cases, financial constraints are a big problem for taking steps to green native tree species. lack of awareness and taxonomic education in planners creates confusion in choosing native tree species for the greenery.taxonomists advice was not sought during the species selection process for plantations. based on the present study, observations, and visitors’ perceptions, a number of recommendations were made for proper management of the lakeside tree vegetation of dhanmondi, hatirjheel, and gulshan lake. a long-term master plan should be developed involving all concerned stakeholders in dhaka city; the current dominant tree diversity of exotic species should be under management; if necessary, those can be replaced by native tree diversity; native multipurpose tree species should be given priority in the plantation list; the knowledge of concerned experts should be sought during the finalization of the tree plantation list. rare, threatened, and of conservation significance tree species should be given priority in the plantation list; for the promotion of ecosystem services, all utility categories of native tree species should be kept in mind during the planning process to enrich the lakeside vegetation; wildlife promoting and biodiversity augmenting native and local tree species should be considered in plantations;original and native floristic components of dhaka division should be resotored as possible as can; local nurseries should be established to expand the range of native uncommon species, species that support wildlife, and species of therapeutic plants; awareness programs should be undertaken among the stakeholders; and at least one plant taxonomist should be required in the concerned departments for those involved in the development of lakeside vegetation. acknowledgement the authors acknowledged the financial contribution of the ministry of science and technology, government of the people’s republic of bangladesh. they also remember the supports 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(manuscript received on 30 may 2023; revised on 30 november 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 241-268, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63528 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists floristic composition and biological spectrum of the bogdkhan mountain, mongolia badamtsetseg bazarragchaa, gantuya batdelger1, monkhjin batkhuu2, agiimaa janchiv3, sang myong lee, hyoun sook kim, seungah yang, woon kee peak4, dong hee kim5 and joongku lee* department of environment and forest resources, college of agriculture and life sciences, chungnam national university, 34134, daejeon, south korea keywords: flora; life-form; chorological element; threatened species. abstract the bogdkhan mountain of mongolia is strictly protected and possesses a unique ecosystem, because of its location in the transitional zone of siberian taiga and the asian steppe. floristic composition and the biological spectrum of the bogdkhan mountain were studied during july 2019 to september 2020. a total of 522 vascular plants were recorded belonging to 249 genera and 63 families. asteraceae was found to be the most dominant family (13.22%; 33 genera and 69 taxa) followed by poaceae (8.43%; 21 genera and 44). the classified life-form spectra of all the species recorded from the study area revealed the predominance of hemicryptophytes (63.03%) followed by geophytes (11.30%), therophytes (10.34%), phanerophytes (9.58%), chamaephytes (5.36%), and hydrophytes (0.38%). the notable changes found in the biological spectrum, which are chamaephytes from 12 to 5.36%, geophytes from 8 to 11.30% and therophytes from 8 to 10.34%. variaty of reasons might cause change the life form, such as climate change, anthropogenic impacts, etc. hemicryptophytes and chamaephytes dominate the flora of the mountain due to the cold mountain niche. the floristic diversity of this mountain tends to decline further videnced from the observed lesser divergence values of geophytes and therophytes. introduction the bogdkhan mountain is one of the well known protected areas of mongolia and the oldest continuously protected areas of the world (jargal, 2003; wurts, 2013) and is located in the southwest of the khentei mountain range (tsegmid, 1969). phytogeographically, it is included in the region of khentei mountain taiga (junatov, 1977; grubov, 1982; ulziikhutag, 1989), also to the region of transbaikalian mountain – hillock forest-vegetation following forest-vegetation classification (junatov, 1977; tsedendash, 1995). previous studies recorded 2823 taxa of vascular plants belonging to 662 genera and 128 families for the flora of mongolia, out of which 1087 species were recorded from the region of khentei mountain taiga (gubanov, 1996). in addition, 44 taxa of vascular plants were further added for khentei mountains (dulamsuren and mühlenberg, 2003). *corresponding author: e-mail: joongku@cnu.ac.kr 1 botanic garden and research institute, mongolian academy of sciences, ulaanbaatar, 13330, mongolia; bgantuyad@gmail.com 2 international university of ulaanbaatar, ulaanbaatar, 17032, mongolia. monkhjinbn@gmail.com 3 department of biology, ulaanbaatar state university, ulaanbaatar, 13343, mongolia. agiimaaj1114@gmail.com 4 deagu national science museum, daegu, 43023, south korea. peakwk@naver.com 5 national science museum, daejeon, 34143, south korea. paleos@hanmail.net https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63528 mailto:joongku@cnu.ac.kr mailto:bgantuyad@gmail.com mailto:monkhjinbn@gmail.com mailto:agiimaaj1114@gmail.com mailto:peakwk@naver.com mailto:paleos@hanmail.net 242 bazarragchaa et al. the bogdkhan mountain is in a mountainous forest-steppe zone with a predominance of larch forests, rich pine forests, spruce forests that follow the upper reaches of small mountain ranges and very small areas of pine (junatov, 1977; ganbold et al., 1993; dugarjav, 2006). this area is considered to be the southern border of the mongolian taiga forest. the steppe vegetation is broadly distributed on this mountain slopes and meadow steppe and meadow vegetation can be seen at the foot of the mountain and sub-belts such as pseudo-taiga, subtaiga, taiga and subgoltsy (tsedendash, 1995). the first floral investigation in the bogdkhan mountain, was carried out by the sovietmongolian joint biological expedition team in 1989-1990 which recorded 579 species belonging to 259 genera and 69 families (ganbold et al., 1993). further, 26 species were newly added to this list by hilbig et al. (2004). the vegetation of the bogdkhan mountain, categorized under 17 different vegetation communities comprising of four altitude levels (hillock, lower montane, upper montane, and subalpine belt), grouped under 20 distribution types (hilbig et al., 2004). however, enkhmaa (2015) recorded 746 species belonging to 295 genera and 75 families, however, the checklist and information of herbarium where the collections were deposited, were not provided. in addition, sanchir (2008), and enkhmaa (2017) reported a number of threatened and economically useful plants from this area. in terms of climate change in mongolia, there is a temperature rise by 1.66ºc during 1940 to 2001 (batima et al., 2005). according to an estimate, the temperature is further expected to rise by 5-7ºc, along with summer precipitation by 40-60 mm till 2100 in mountainous regions (bayasgalan et al., 2009). hence, changes in vegetation communities and between ecosystems have been increasing (dulamsuren et al., 2011; natsagdorj, 2012; bolormaa et al., 2017). considering the above facts, the ecosystem of bogdkhan mountain is vulnerable because of its isolated location at the southernmost point of the khentei range, which is adjacent to the steppe to the south and closest to the most densely populated ulaanbaatar city. the bogdkhan mountains have further been exposed to tourism, construction, and approach roads (erdenechimeg, 2013; naranbaatar et al., 2018; gradel et al., 2019). tourism operations are actively developing ‘ger’ (mongolian traditional house) camps in 24 valleys; and about 17 thousand livestock graze in bogdkhan mountain (erdenechimeg, 2013; naranbaatar et al., 2018). it was documented that 22.4% of pastures were overgrazed and 10.9% were polluted or damaged (erdenechimeg, 2013). the landscape cover decreased by 0.8 2.6% in the forest, meadow, and shrub area, and the steppe area increased by 1.5% (naranbaatar et al., 2018). moreover, many regular activities such as jogging, hiking, skiing, the traditional prayer for mountain, and shamanic rituals, and other seasonal activities such as picking nuts, fruits, and mushrooms have negatively affected the flora of the bogdkhan mountain to some extent (erdenechimeg, 2013; naranbaatar et al., 2018). therefore, we aimed to conduct detailed floral investigations for the bogdkhan mountain and to understand its floristic composition, diversity and ecology. we hypothesized that the bogdkhan mountain ecosystem might be changing rapidly and becoming more vulnerable because of its geographical-transitional location and diverse drivers. furthermore, investigation of vegetation and diversity will allow a better understanding of the natural changes which may ultimately contribute to efficient management of the protected areas of mongolia. materials and methods study area: the bogdkhan mountain is a protected area located 30-40 km south of ulaanbaatar city with relative altitude of 1200-1500 m, and absolute altitude of 2268 m above sea level with its highest peak, called tsetsee-gun (fig. 1). the mountain area is 41,651 ha, thereof forest area covering 53.2% or 22,129 ha square (shirendev and munkhtuya, 2015). tuul river, floristic composition and biological spectrum 243 one of the biggest rivers in mongolia flows by northern downhill of bogdkhan mountain. the topography is alpine, rugged and mostly steep and streams originated from the valleys (mnem, 1998). the main annual average temperature is -0.5 ºc, the coldest month is january, with a minimum average temperature of -22.5 ºc, and the warmest month is july, with a maximum average temperature of 18.7ºc. the average wi and ci for three stations are 45.1 and -41.9, respectively. the annual average total precipitation is 268.5 mm, and summer precipitation occurs between may and september and accounts for 86.5% of the total annual rainfall (table 1). table 1. climate united data of stations located in the near mt. bogdkhan, mongolia. station name average temperature (ºc) index precipitation year jan. jul. warmth coldness total (mm) summer (%) buyant-ukhaa -1.4 -25.5 19.4 46.6 -53.8 244 86.7 zuunmod -0.4 -20.6 18.1 42.9 -38.8 258.9 85.4 amgalan 0.2 -21.3 18.7 45.9 -33 302.5 87.5 average -0.5 -22.5 18.7 45.1 -41.9 268.5 86.5 taxonomic method: fourty field surveys were conducted 5 times during flowering seasons in june, july, august of 2019; july and august of 2020. twenty-five sampling points, including eleven largest valleys of bogdkhan mountain, were targetted during the field trip and 1200 voucher specimens were collected from mountain steppe, mountain slopes, meadow, riverside, forest fringes, larch forest, pine forest, spruce forest, mixed forest, and rocks (fig. 1; table 2). fig. 1. a. geographical location of bogdkhan mountain belongs a region of khentei mountain taiga (2), according to phytogeographical 16 regions with names in mongolia by ulziikhutag (1989). b. route map of the studied area in bogdkhan mountain, and marked location of meteorological stations: a – buyant-ukhaa, b – zuunmod, c – amgalan. 244 bazarragchaa et al. samples of each taxon were prepared following standard herbarium techniques (maden, 2004) and deposited in the herbarium of natural history museum of mongolia (mmnh). these specimens were identified using the key to the vascular plants of mongolia (grubov, 1982) and several volumes of flora of mongolia (nyambayar, 2009; urgamal, 2009; dariimaa, 2014; dariimaa and saruul, 2017; dariimaa et al., 2015). plant classification followed apg iv (2016), and nomenclature according to plants of the world online (powo, 2020), and international plant names index (ipni, 2020). table 2. the locations with habitat and coordinate data. site no. location habitat period gps data voucher code 1 baga tenger mountain steppe; larchbirch forest; 20-22 jul. 2019; 10-11 aug. 2020 47.7874920˚ n; 106.951960˚ e; 1503 m bt 2 chuluut mountain steppe; meadow; rocks 27-28 jul. 2020 47.829890˚ n; 106.105490˚ e; 1522.6 m ch 3 baga khurel togoot meadow; larch forest; rocks 22-23 jun. 2019 47.8677˚ n; 107.0535˚ e; 1584 m sr 4 khuush meadow; mixed forest; rocks 26-27 jun. 2019; 20-21 jun. 2019 47.863433˚ n; 106.8703˚ e; 1593 m kh 5 manzushir meadow; pine forest; mixed forest; alpine meadow and spruce forest 28-30 jul. 2019; 10-15 aug. 2019; 04-06 aug. 2020; 47.780330˚ n; 106.994830˚ e; 2006 m m 6 nukht mixed forest; mixed forest 01 aug. 2019; 29 aug. 2020 47.79225˚ n; 106.849567˚ e; 1606 m n 7 uvur zaisan riverside; forest fringe, mixed forest; rocks 27-29 aug. 2019; 21-22 aug. 2019 47.794083˚ n; 106.899767˚ e; 1756.9 m uzai 8 ikh khurel togoot mountain slopes, riverside; larch forest fringes 29-30 jun. 2019; 04-05 aug. 2020 47.877133˚ n; 107.04225˚ e; 1374 m kht 9 tur khurakh mountain steppe; meadow; rivesrside; larch forest; mixed forest; rosks 05-12 jul. 2019; 14-16 jun. 2019; 28-30 jul. 2020; 20-22 aug. 2020 47.783260˚ n; 107.115530˚ e; 1513 m tkh 10 zaisan mountain steppe; larch forest, forest fringe; riverside; rosks 17-18 jun. 2019; 24-26 jul. 2020 47.860667˚ n; 106.9074˚ e; 1468 m zai 11 zalaat bogino mountain steppe 03 aug. 2020 47.8882050˚ n; 106.974340˚ e; 1244.4 m zalb the analysis of floristic characteristics was based on the total number of species including the collection of vascular plant specimens in investigated areas. besides, earlier specimens collected from the study area and deposited in the herbaria such as moscow university (mw), central siberian botanical garden (nsk), gatersleben (gat), institute of botanical garden and research, mongolian academy of science (uba), national university of mongolia (ubu), and natural history museum of mongolia (mmnh) were also consulted. in table 6, family and taxa names are listed in alphabetical order and each is presented with the following information: accepted name with authority, family name, life-form, chorotypes, global and regional red list categories, endemism, and relict. a biogeographical analysis was performed according to tolmachev (1974) floristic composition and biological spectrum 245 and ganbold (2010) based on plant distribution and phytogeographic origin. each taxon was categorized into five large distributional groups; the asian group was divided into 8 subgroups. chorotypes, life-form are marked with their abbreviations (table 6). threatened species were defined according to international union for conservation of nature (iucn, 2020); regional red list (nyambayar et al., 2011; tsendeekhuu et al., 2019) and mongolian red book (shiirevdamba et al., 2013). endemism was defined according to the conspectus of flora in mongolia (urgamal et al., 2014; urgamal and ouyntsetseg, 2017) and relict plants were noted according to ulziikhutag (1989). statistical analysis: floristic similarities to phytogeographical regions of mongolia were compared using jaccard similarity coefficiant (niwattanakul et al., 2013). plant life-forms were defined according to raunkiear’s classification (1934) based on the position of renewing buds in concern to the soil surface: phanerophytes (ph), chamaephytes (ch), hemicryptophytes (h), geophytes (g), hydrophytes (hy) and therophytes (th). we computed the proportion of species in each life-form class, compared with raunkiaer’s normal spectrum using a chisquare test (ẋ2) (moradi et al., 2010). 푥 = ∑( ) ; ẋ2-chi square; o-observed value; e-expected value in addition, pearson correlation was applied to compare the result life-form spectrum of the present study with different studies. 푟 = ∑(x − ẋ)(y − ẏ) ∑( x − ẋ) ∑( y − ẏ) 푟 -correlation coefficient; x -values of the x-variable in a sample; ẋ -mean of the values of the x-variable; y -values of the y-variable in a sample; ẏ -mean of the values of the y-variable. results and discussion floristic composition: the present study revealed 522 vascular plants taxa belonging to 249 genera, 63 families for the flora of bogdkhan mountain (table 6). these taxa belong to 4 classes, each including 11 pteridophytes, 8 gymnosperms, 97 monocots and 406 dicots (table 3). the most dominant family was found to be asteraceae (13.22%; 33 genera/69 taxa), followed by poaceae (8.43%; 21/44), rosaceae (7.85%; 18/41), fabaceae (6.70%; 11/35), ranunculaceae (5.94%; 12/31), cyperaceae (4.02%; 2/21), brassicaceae (3.64%; 15/19), caryophyllaceae (3.64%; 9/19), lamiaceae (3.26%; 12/17), salicaceae (3.45; 2/18), comprising 59.77% of all species on the mountain (fig. 2). the flora of bogdkhan mountain is similar by 73% or similarity coefficient 0.73 to khentei mountain taiga region (number of region is 2), 62.5% to the khingan mountain meadow steppe (5), 61% to middle khalkha dry steppe (8) (fig. 3). biological spectrum: of the total species recorded from the study area, 88.31% are herbs (461 taxa), 5.55% shrubs (29), 5.17% trees (27), 0.57% creepers (3) and 0.38% climbers (2). the biological spectrum showed that hemicryptophytes were the dominant life-forms, accounted for 329 species, 63.03% of all species in the mountain, followed by geophytes 59 (11.30%), therophytes 54 (10.34%), phanerophytes 50 (9.58%), chamaephytes 28 (5.36%) and hydrophytes 2 (0.38%) (table 4). in addition, the observed flora was compared with raunkiaer’s (1934) normal spectrum which accounts for altitudinal zones in the northern cold temperate. the ẋ2 test results showed significant differences between the bogdkhan mountain and raunkiaer’s normal spectrum (p˂0.05). the observed proportions were higher than expected for the phanerophytes, geophytes 246 bazarragchaa et al. and therophytes. chamaephytes (3.67) had the highest individual value determined from the ẋ2 test, followed by geophytes (1.36) and therophytes (0.69) (table 4). fig. 2. the richest families occupying percentage, their number of genera and taxa. fig. 3. similarity coefficients of bogdkhan mountain (bmt.) compared to phytogeographical regions (names of 16 regions shown in fig. 1). we compared the life-form spectrum of the present study with the results of previous studies that were conducted in neighboring phytogeographical regions (table 5). there was a likeness between neighbor phytogeographical regions. the results of ẋ2 test and correlation analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between the life-form spectrum in the bogdkhan mountain and those of other studies investigated in the neighboring regions which are khangai and mongol daurian forest-steppe, middle khalkha dry steppe. chorological distribution: species geographical distribution showed 5 groups viz. cosmopolitan (10 taxa; 1.92% of the total flora), asia-american (17 taxa; 3.26%), holarctic (68 taxa; 13.03%), eurasian (156 taxa; 29.89%) and asian (271 taxa; 51.92%). the most important global distribution occurs in the asian category with 8 subgroups. the south siberia-mongolian floristic composition and biological spectrum 247 and east asian elements represent 58 taxa each (11.11% of the total flora), followed by eastsiberia-mongolian 46 (8.81%), asian endemic 40 (7.66%), central asian 31 (5.94%), altaidzungaria-mongolian 17 (3.26%), siberia-mongolia 16 (3.07%) and mongolian endemic 5 (0.96%) (fig. 4). fig. 4 the number of taxa for chorological elements to total flora of bogdkhan mountain in mongolia. abbreviation: chorological groups: cosmopolitan (cosm.), asia–american (aa), holarctic (hol.), eurasian (eura.), asian (as.); subgroups: eastern asian (east. as.), central asian (cent. as.), asian endemics (as. endem.), siberia-mongolian (sib.-mon.), east siberia-mongolian (east sib.-mon.), south siberia mongolian (south sib.-mon.), altai– dzungarian mongolian (alt.-dzun.-mon.), and mongolian endemic (mon. endem.). table 3. floristic composition in the bogdkhan mountain, mongolia. group and class family genus species subspecies variaty total of taxa pteridophyta 6 9 11 11 gymnosperm 3 5 7 1 8 angiosperm monocots 9 35 94 3 97 dicots 45 200 393 12 1 406 total 63 249 505 15 2 522 table 4. comparison of the biological spectrum between mt. bogdkhan and raunkiaer’s normal spectrums. life-form ch ph h g hy th total species number 28 50 329 59 2 54 522 biological spectrum 5.36 9.58 63.03 11.30 0.38 10.34 100 raunkiear’s normal spectrum 12 8 63 8 1 8 100 deviation 6.64 -1.58 -0.03 -3.30 0.62 -2.34 ẋ2 3.67 0.31 0.00 1.36 0.38 0.69 6.41 iucn categories and endemism: a total of 96 taxa occurring in the study area are listed in the iucn (global) red list, including 2 categorized as near threatened species (e.g., allium altaicum and diplazium sibiricum). a total of 88 species (or taxa) are listed under least concern, 5 as data 248 bazarragchaa et al. deficient and one not evaluated (elymus sibiricus) categories. according to the (regional) mongolian red list, 32 taxa have been registered as threatened, with 1 critically endangered species (neottia camtschatea), 2 endangered (juniperus pseudosabina and juniperus sabina), 8 vulnerable (saussurea latifolia, solidago dahurica, sambucus williamsii, caryopteris mongholica, chelidonium majus, allium altaicum, corallorhiza trifida and festuca komarovii), 9 near threatened, and 11 least concern species. table 5. comparison of results in the studied area and other studies conducted in mongolia. references present study bataa, 2013 tserendulam et al., 2018 batdelger et al., 2021 phytogeographical region khentei mountain taiga mongol daurian forest-steppe middle khalkha drysteppe khangai foreststeppe location bogdkhan mt. khongor district hustai national park ulziit mt. elevation (m) 1200-2268 700-1500 750-1843 2100-2953 annual precipitation (mm) 268.5 322 222 199 annual temperature (oc) -0.5 3 0 -3.5 ph 9.58 2 8.7 8.28 ch 5.36 5 5.1 1.91 h 63.03 70 56.8 71.97 g 11.3 15 10.5 7.32 hy 0.38 0.2 0.64 th 10.34 8 18.7 9.87 total species 522 141 493 314 ẋ2 with this study 0 9.04 6.92 5.82 pearson correlation 1 0.989 0.988 0.995 in the mongolian red book, 7 species, viz. solidago dahurica, sambucus williamsii, rhododendron dauricum, r. parvifolium, gentiana macrophylla, juniperus sabina and neottia camtschatea were mentioned under “very rare” (critically endangered of iucn catagory) category. in the flora of bogdkhan mountain, 5 endemics (taraxacum ussuriense, oxytropis pseudoglandulosa, thermopsis alpina, caryopteris mongholica, thymus gobicus), and 3 relict (allium altaicum, thermopsis alpina and haplophyllum dauricum) species were recorded. our results indicate that the bogdkhan mountain has relatively high species diversity. the richest families are asteraceae and poaceae in this mountain which is due to the high reconcilability with arid and semi-arid climate condition (kargar et al., 2017), and these richest families are also commonly registered to the other plant composition studies of mongolian flora and vegetation (gubanov, 1996; bataa, 2013; enkhmaa, 2015; tserendulam et al., 2018; batdelger et al., 2021). the bogdkhan mountain flora is most similar to that the region of khentei mountain taiga (coefficient 0.73), because of the transitional location for the geographical and phytogeographical region. previously, the bogdkhan mountain was considered under the phytogeographical region of khentei taiga mountain (ulziikhutag, 1989). for biological spectrum, we compared our results with the earlier studied three different phytogeographical regions (khongor district in the forest-steppe of mongol-daurian, khustai national park in the steppe of middle-khalkha, ulziit mountain in the forest-steppe of khangai mountain). correlation coefficient was found to be very similar (0.989; 0.988; 0.995) to each other. the study showed that all study areas were in the same cold temperate zone of climate condition. despite the similarity of the biological spectrum, the vegetation structure and species composition of the flora were considerably different (fig. 4). floristic composition and biological spectrum 249 table 6. taxa list for the vascular plant flora of the bogdkhan mountain, mongolia. scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t 1. adoxaceae e. mey. adoxa moschatellina l. kh323-1 g hol. sambucus williamsii hance tkh082 ph east as. vu vr 2. amaranthaceae juss. axyris amaranthoides l. m662 th hol. a. hybrida l. uzai150-5 th alt.-dzun.-mon chenopodiastrum hybridum (l.) s.fuentes, uotila & borsch zai228 th hol. ch. album l. kht008 th cosm. corispermum mongolicum iliin kht009 th cent.as. 3. amaryllidaceae j.st.-hil. allium altaicum pall. tkh013 g cent.as. nt vu suben r a. amphibolum ledeb. ch028 g south sib.-mon. a. anisopodium ledeb. nsk0061803 g east as. a. bidentatum fisch. ex prokh. & ikonn.-gal. gat0007968; mw0173326 g alt.-dzun.-mon a. eduardi stearn ex airy shaw sr008 g cent.as. a. leucocephalum turcz. ex ledeb. uzai645 g east sib.-mon. a. maximowiczii regel tkh486 g east sib.-mon. nt a. polyrhizum turcz. ex regel kh511 g alt.-dzun.-mon. suben a. prostratum trevir. nsk0061830 g east as. dd a. ramosum l. kht024 g eura. lc lc a. schoenoprasum l. uzai150-2 g hol. lc a. tenuissimum l. gat0007943 g south sib.-mon. a. victorialis l. tkh559; m043 g eura. 4. apiaceae lindl. aegopodium alpestre ledeb. mw0186138 h south sib.-mon. angelica decurrens (ledeb.) b.fedtsch. tkh135 h eura. anthriscus sylvestris (l.) hoffm. m010 h eura. bupleurum bicaule helm sr031 h east as. b. scorzonerifolium willd. sr421 h as. endem. carum carvi l. zai230 h eura. lc kadenia salina (turcz.) lavrova & v.n.tikhom. ch033 h sib.mon. peucedanum vaginatum ledeb. mw0186674 h south sib.-mon. seseli condensatum (l.) rchb.f. mw0186232 h south sib.-mon. s. seseloides (fisch. & c.a.mey. ex ledeb.) m.hiroe kh-t31 h east as. sphallerocarpus gracilis (besser ex trevir.) koso-pol. tkh173 h east as. 250 bazarragchaa et al. scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t 5. asparagaceae juss. maianthemum bifolium (l.) f.w.schmidt khto382 g eura. polygonatum odoratum (mill.) druce ch045 g eura. lc 6. aspleniaceae newman cystopteris fragilis (l.) bernh. n129 h eura. lc diplazium sibiricum (turcz. ex kunze) sa.kurata ubu19690617 h eura. nt gymnocarpium jessoense (koidz.) koidz. mw0168154 h south sib.mon. lc 7. asteraceae bercht. & j.presl achillea asiatica serg. mw0191966 h eura. a. millefolium l. m522 h hol. lc antennaria dioica (l.) gaertn. ubu19860803 h eura. lc arctogeron gramineum (l.) dc. ubu20060618 h south sib.-mon. artemisia adamsii bess. tup09 ch east sib.-mon. a. annua l. tkhp155 th eura. a. dracunculus l. kht019 ch hol. a. freyniana (pamp.) krasch. ch-zam003 h east as. a. frigida willd. uzai642 ch hol. a. glauca pall. ex willd. kht017 ch hol. a. gmelinii weber ex stechm. kh515 ch as. endem. lc a. integrifolia l. tkh493 h south sib.-mon. a. laciniata willd. sr9-1 h eura. a. macrocephala jacquem. ex besser tkh041 th cent.as. a. mongolica (fisch. ex besser) nakai kht22-3 h cent.as. a. scoparia waldst. & kit. mmnh2016.1. 224 h cent.as. a. sericea weber ex stechm. mp101 h eura. a. sieversiana ehrh. ex willd. kht006 th eura. a. tanacetifolia l. mw0193204 h eura. aster alpinus l. sr9-6 h eura. a. biennis ledeb. tkh010 th east as. a. hispidus thunb. kht011 th east as. carduus crispus l. tkh012 th eura. c. nutans l. n007 th eura. lc chrysanthemum zawadzkii herbich tkh047 h eura. dd ch. zawadzkii subsp. peleiolepis (trautv.) zuev mw0192116 h sib.mon. cirsium esculentum (siev.) c.a.mey. tkh557 h eura. floristic composition and biological spectrum 251 scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t crepidiastrum tenuifolium (willd.) sennikov tkh077 h as. endem. crepis crocea (lam.) babc. mw0194822 h east sib.-mon. echinops latifolius tausch zai019 h east sib.-mon. erigeron acris l. m661 h hol. e. lonchophyllus hook. tkh080 h aa lc filifolium sibiricum (l.) kitam. tkhp90 h south sib.-mon. galatella dahurica dc. srp9 h east as. hieracium korshinskyi zahn tkh070 h as. endem. h. virosum pall. kh509 h eura. ixeris chinensis subsp. versicolor (fisch. ex link) kitam. kht018 h east sib.-mon. klasea centauroides (l.) cass. ex kitag. tkhp90 h east sib.-mon. k. marginata (tausch) kitag. sr410 h as. endem. lactuca sibirica (l.) benth. ex maxim. uzai635 h hol. lc leontopodium campestre (ledeb.) hand.-mazz. tkh060; ubu19590714 h cent.as. l. conglobatum (turcz.) hand.mazz. mw0191729 h sib.-mon. l.leontopodioides beauverd ch032 h east sib.-mon. leuzea uniflora (l.) holub kh584 h east as. ligularia sibirica (l.) cass. tkh106 g eura. dd neopallasia pectinata (pall.) poljakov sr002 h cent.as. parasenecio hastatus (l.) h.koyama m003 h eura. pentanema britannicum (l.) d.gut.larr., santos-vicente, anderb., e.rico & m.m.mart.ort. tkhp024 h eura. saussurea amara (l.) dc. kht014 h eura. s. baicalensis b.l.rob. khp26 h south sib.-mon. s. latifolia ledeb. tkh298 h cent.as. vu s. parviflora (poir.) dc. tsg112 h eura. s. salicifolia dc. bt442 h south sib.-mon. s. schanginiana (wydler) fisch. ex herder tkh80 h as. endem. scorzonera austriaca willd. tkh06 h eura. s. radiata fisch. ex ledeb. kh276 h south sib.-mon. senecio nemorensis l. tkh103 h eura. solidago dahurica (kitag.) kitag. ex juz. m644 g eura. vu vr sonchus arvensis l. tkh172 h cosm. 252 bazarragchaa et al. scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t tanacetum vulgare l. uzai646 h hol. taraxacum bicorne dahlst. mw0194475 h cent.as. t. ceratophorum (ledeb.) dc. mw0194499 h aa t. leucanthum (ledeb.) ledeb. mp104 h alt.-dzun.-mon. t. longicorne dahlst. mw0194565 h east sib.-mon. t. mongolicum hand.-mazz. tkh039 h east sib.-mon. t. officinale f.h.wigg. zai163 h cosm. lc t. ussuriense kom. tkh102 h mon. endem. en tephroseris integrifolia (l.) holub sr408 h eura. tragopogon trachycarpus s.a.nikitin mw0194307 h east sib.-mon. 8. berberidaceae juss. berberis sibirica pall. m021 ch alt.-dzun.-mon. 9. betulaceae gray betula fruticosa pall. tkh126; tkh159; sr111; tkh116 ph east as. lc b. glandulosa michx. tkh63-1; m032; mw0175050; uba738 ph aa lc b. microphylla bunge kh263; khto81; n126-1; n127-3; uzai001 ph alt.dzun.mon lc b. pendula roth tkh104; tkh164; uzai143-1 ph aa lc b. pendula subsp. mandshurica (regel) ashburner & mcall. khto4-1; sr12-1; sr201; tkh147 ph east as. 10. boraginaceae juss. amblynotus rupestris (georgi) popov tkh016; zai013; mw0188217 h south sib.-mon. lappula intermedia (ledeb.) popov sr9-3; mw0188260 th east sib.-mon. mertensia davurica (sims) g.don mw0188567 h south sib.-mon. myosotis sylvatica hoffm. kh257; tkh121; zai160; zai004; sr9-3 h eura. lc 11. brassicaceae burnett alyssum lenense adams mw0180243 th cent.as. arabis hirsuta (l.) scop. kh294 h eura. dd floristic composition and biological spectrum 253 scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t capsella bursa-pastoris (l.) medik. chp030 th cosm. lc catolobus pendulus (l.) alshehbaz tkh045 th eura. clausia aprica (stephan ex willd.) korn.-trotzky tkh138 h eura. descurainia sophia (l.) webb ex prantl tkh083 th hol. dontostemon integrifolius (l.) ledeb. tkh040 th east sib.-mon. draba eriopoda turcz. ex ledeb. nt043 th cent.as. d. lanceolata royle zb016 h aa d. nemorosa l. tkh151 th hol. erysimum cheiranthoides l. tkh148 th eura. e. flavum (georgi) bobrov sr015 h south sib.-mon. e. marschallianum andrz. ex m. bieb. uzai150-1 th eura. lepidium densiflorum schrad. kht013 th east sib.-mon. noccaea cochleariformis (dc.) á.löve & d.löve zai177 h as. endem. odontarrhena obovata c.a.mey. bt007 h as. endem. rorippa palustris (l.) besser tkh094 th hol. lc sisymbrium loeselii l. kht003 th eura. lc stevenia tenuifolia (stephan ex willd.) d.a.german mw01880320 h cent.as. 12. campanulaceae juss. adenophora stenanthina (ledeb.) kitag. m642 h south sib.-mon. a. tricuspidata (fisch. ex schult.) a.dc. kh506 h east as. campanula glomerata l. khtop01 h eura. c. stevenii subsp. turczaninovii (fed.) victorov sr10-2 h eura. 13. caprifoliaceae juss. linnaea borealis l. sr429 ch hol. lonicera caerulea subsp. altaica (pall.) gladkova m023 ph eura. patrinia rupestris (pall.) dufr. tsg60 h east as. p. sibirica (l.) juss. m019 h eura. scabiosa comosa fisch. ex roem. & schult. tkh001 h east sib.-mon. valeriana officinalis l. n005-1 h eura. lc 14. caryophyllaceae juss. cerastium glomeratum thuill. zai001 th eura. dianthus chinensis l. tkh105 h eura. 254 bazarragchaa et al. scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t d. superbus l. kht016 h eura. lc eremogone capillaris (poir.) fenzl tkh002 h east sib.-mon. gypsophila davurica turcz. ex fenzl m001 h east sib.-mon. g. vaccaria (l.) sm. sr402 th cent.as. moehringia lateriflora (l.) fenzl kh299 h hol. lc pseudostellaria rupestris (turcz.) pax uba711/78 h south sib.-mon. silene aprica turcz. ex fisch. & c.a.mey. tkh095 h south sib.-mon. s. chamarensis turcz. m024 h south sib.-mon. s. jeniseensis willd. kh308 h south sib.-mon. s. orientalimongolica kozhevn. mw0177641 h sib.-mon. s. repens patrin sr 15-1 h eura. s. songarica (fisch., c.a.mey. & avé-lall.) bocquet tkh008 h cent.as. nt stellaria cherleriae (fisch. ex ser.) f.n.williams mw0177013 h east sib.-mon. s. crassifolia ehrh. tkh-43 h hol. s. dichotoma l. tkh028 h south sib.-mon. lc s. graminea l. tkh141 h eura. s. peduncularis bunge zai237 h eura. 15. celastraceae r.br. parnassia laxmannii pall. ex schult. tkh079 h south sib.-mon. p. palustris l. tkh526 h hol. lc 16. convolvulaceae juss. convolvulus ammannii desr. tkhp141 h alt.-dzun.-mon c. arvensis l. zb030 h eura. 17. crassulaceae j.st.-hil. orostachys malacophylla (pall.) fisch. sr464 h east as. o. spinosa (l.) sweet tkh091 h eura. phedimus aizoon (l.) 't hart tkh055 h east as. lc rhodiola rosea l. tsg156 h eura. lc sedum purpureum (l.) schult. m660 g eura. 18. cupressaceae gray juniperus communis var. saxatilis pall. m113-1 ph eura. j. pseudosabina fisch. & c.a.mey. kh508 ph south sib.mon. lc en j. sabina l. uzai648 ph eura. lc en vr 19. cyperaceae juss. c. accrescens ohwi mw0172379 h east as. floristic composition and biological spectrum 255 scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t c. amgunensis f.schmidt mw0171906 h eura. c. cespitosa l. tkh42-1 h eura. lc c. curaica kunth. mw0172035 h alt.dzun.mon. lc c.duriuscula c.a.mey. tkh033 g aa c. globularis l. m62-4 g eura. c. iljinii v.i.krecz. mw0172206 h east sib.-mon. c. korshinskyi kom. m101-2 h east as. c. media r.br. mw0172294 h hol. c. melananthiformis litv. m114-3 h cent.as. c. myosuroides vill. m114 h aa c. obtusata lilj. mw0172352 g hol. c. orbicularis boott mw01723666 g as. endem. lc c. pamirensis subsp. dichroa malyschev uzai144-1 h alt.-dzun.-mon c. pediformis c.a.mey. khto6-3 h as. endem. c. schmidtii meinsh. tkh73-1 g east as. c. utriculata boott uzai151-3 g eura. lc eleocharis palustris (l.) roem. & schult. m13 h hol. eriophorum angustifolium honck. m039 h hol. lc e. brachyantherum trautv. & c.a.mey. mw0171498 h aa lc e. latifolium hoppe tkh603 h eura. lc 20. dennstaedtiaceae losty pteridium aquilinum (l.) kuhn uzai632 g eura. 21. elaeagnaceae juss. hippophae rhamnoides l. sr011 ph eura. 22. ephedraceae dumort. ephedra monosperma j.g.gmel. ex c.a.mey. tkh501 ch south sib.mon. lc 23. equisetaceae michx. ex dc. equisetum palustre l. tkh099 g hol. lc e. pratense ehrh. kh290 g hol. e. sylvaticum l. ubu19590728 g hol. lc 24. ericaceae juss. empetrum nigrum subsp. sibiricum (v.n.vassil.) kuvaev tkh 557 ch hol. monotropa hypopitys l. n648 g hol. orthilia secunda (l.) house mw0186725 h eura. pyrola asarifolia michx. khto370 h eura. p. rotundifolia l. tkh647 h hol. 256 bazarragchaa et al. scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t rhododendron dauricum l. tkh66-2 ch east sib.-mon. nt vr rh. parvifolium adams kh577 ch aa lc vr rh. tomentosum harmaja tkh 558 ch cosm. lc vaccinium vitis-idaea l. khto385 ch hol. lc 25. euphorbiaceae juss. euphorbia esula l. tkh062 h south sib.-mon. 26. fabaceae lindl. astragalus cornutus pall. bt010 h eura. a. filiformis (dc.) poir. ubu20070820 h cent.as. a. frigidus (l.) a.gray zai012 g eura. a. laguriformis freyn zai238 h south sib.-mon. a. laxmannii jacq. kht022 h eura. a. melilotoides pall. sr030 h east as. a. mongholicus bunge ubu19670819 h cent.as. lc a. rytidocarpus ledeb. ubu196486 ch south sib.-mon. a. tenuis turcz. ubu19640705 h east sib.-mon. caragana leucophloea pojark. tkh646 ch cent.as. c. pygmaea (l.) dc. bt002 ch south sib.-mon. hedysarum alpinum l. tkh174 h eura. lc h. inundatum turcz. m029 h east sib.-mon. lathyrus humilis (ser.) fisch. ex spreng. kh289 h eura. l. palustris l. mp105 h eura. lc l. pratensis l. mp98 h eura. lc medicago falcata l. tkh084 h eura. m. ruthenica (l.) trautv. kht025 h as. endem. melilotus suaveolens ledeb. sr021 h as. endem. onobrychis arenaria (kit.) dc. kh514 h eura. oxytropis grandiflora dc. mw0183806 h east sib.-mon. o. lapponica (wahlenb.) j.gay kht012 h eura. o. myriophylla (pall.) dc. tkh007 h east sib.-mon. o. nitens turcz. tkh-90 h east sib.-mon. o. oxyphylla (pall.) dc. tkh-90 h east sib.-mon. o. pseudoglandulosa gontsch. ex grubov kh322 h mon. endem. en thermopsis alpina ledeb. tkh025 h mon. endem. en r th. mongolica czefr. sr010 h south sib.-mon. trifolium eximium stephan ex ser. btp29 h sib.-mon. t. lupinaster l. kh256 h eura. vicia amoena fisch. ex ser. kh275 h east as. lc floristic composition and biological spectrum 257 scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t v. cracca l. tkhp36 h eura. lc v. megalotropis ledeb. mw0184499 h as. endem. v. unijuga a.braun zai018 h east as. v. venosa (willd. ex link) maxim. kh288 h east as. 27. gentianaceae juss. gentiana aquatica var. pseudoaquatica (kusn.) s.agrawal mw0187729 th east as. g. decumbens l.f. kht023 h eura. g. macrophylla pall. tkh078 h sib.-mon. nt vr g. squarrosa ledeb. sr001 th as. endem. gentianella amarella subsp. acuta (michx.) j.m.gillett kh598 th aa g. azurea (bunge) holub tkh002 th alt.-dzun.-mon. gentianopsis barbata (froel.) ma m643 th eura. lc halenia corniculata (l.) cornaz tkh042 th as. endem. lomatogonium carinthiacum (wulfen) a.braun m663 th as. endem. l. rotatum (l.) fr. tkh004 th aa lc 28. geraniaceae juss. erodium stephanianum willd. tkh038 th south sib.-mon. geranium platyanthum duthie mw0184647 h east as. g. pratense l. kh518 h eura. g.pseudosibiricum j.mayer kh258 h eura. g. sibiricum l. srp14 h eura. g. wlassovianum fisch. ex link tkh053 h east as. 29. grossulariaceae dc. ribes aciculare sm. tsg154 ph alt.-dzun.-mon nt r. diacantha pall. kh513 ph east as. r. petraeum wulfen m017 ph south sib.-mon. r. pulchellum turcz. tsg156 ph east as. 30. iridaceae juss. iris humilis georgi zai007 g eura. dd lc i. lactea pall. tkhp32 g cent.as. i. ruthenica ker gawl. zai008 g as. endem. i. tigridia bunge ex ledeb. tkh487 g south sib.-mon. 31. juncaceae juss. juncus castaneus subsp. leucochlamys (v.j.zinger ex v.i.krecz.) hultén m042 g hol. j. ranarius songeon & e.p.perrier tkh124 h eura. luzula multiflora subsp. sibirica v.i.krecz. m591 h eura. l. rufescens fisch. ex e.mey. mw173066 h east as. 258 bazarragchaa et al. scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t 32. juncaginaceae rich. triglochin maritima l. tkhp025 g cosm. lc t. palustris l. mp108 g cosm. lc 33. lamiaceae martinov caryopteris mongholica bunge sr019 ch mon. endem. vu en dracocephalum foetidum bunge ch-zam002 th cent.as. d. grandiflorum l. tkh642 h as. endem. d. nutans l. bt643 h eura. galeopsis bifida boenn. tkh100 th eura. lagopsis supina (stephan ex willd.) ikonn.-gal. tkh051 th east as. lamium album l. tkhp36 h hol. lc leonurus deminutus v.i.krecz. tkh013 th east sib.-mon. l. sibiricus l. ch029 th south sib.-mon. lophanthus chinensis benth. zai021 h east sib.-mon. nepeta multifida l. ch013 h sib.-mon. panzerina lanata (l.) soják ch-zam004 h east sib.-mon. phlomoides tuberosa (l.) moench ch014 g eura. scutellaria galericulata l. kh585 h eura. lc s. scordiifolia fisch. ex schrank zai223 th east as. thymus baicalensis serg. tkh161 ch south sib.-mon. th. gobicus czern. tkh057 ch mon. endem. en 34. liliaceae juss. hemerocallis minor mill. btp12 g east as. lilium pumilum redouté uzai643 g east as. nt 35. linaceae dc. ex perleb linum perenne l. tkh072 h eura. 36. onagraceae juss. epilobium angustifolium l. ubu20100625 h hol. lc e. davuricum fisch. ex hornem. mw0185683 h south sib.-mon. e. palustre l. tkh142 h hol. lc 37. orchidaceae juss. corallorhiza trifida châtel. tkh491 g hol. lc vu dactylorhiza salina (turcz. ex lindl.) soó uba:b-39 g sib.-mon. goodyera repens (l.) r.br. bt93-2 g hol. lc neottia camtschatea (l.) rchb.f. mw12375964 g alt.-dzun.-mon. cr vr 38. orobanchaceae vent. cymbaria daurica l. bt008 h east as. euphrasia hirtella jord. ex reut. tkh141 th eura. e. maximowiczii wettst. ex palib. m114-2 th east as. e. syreitschikovii govor. tkh050 th cent.as. suben floristic composition and biological spectrum 259 scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t odontites vulgaris moench tkh153 th eura. orobanche coerulescens stephan ex willd. m002 h eura. pedicularis flava pall. tkh069 h east sib.-mon. p. labradorica wirsing tkh479 h east as. lc p. resupinata l. tkh143 h eura. p. rubens stephan ex willd. zai206 h east sib.-mon. p. uliginosa bunge m034 h south sib.-mon. rhinanthus minor l. tkh523 h eura. 39. papaveraceae juss. chelidonium majus l. n008 h eura. lc vu corydalis sibirica (l.f.) pers. kh297 th east as. hypecoum erectum l. srp15 th eura. papaver canescens tolm. p127-1 h cent.as. p. nudicaule l. tkh093 h sib.-mon. 40. pinaceae spreng. ex f.rudolphi larix sibirica ledeb. btp28 ph eura. lc picea obovata ledeb. m-0132810 ph eura. lc pinus sibirica du tour kh286 ph eura. lc p. sylvestris l. ubu20070618 ph eura. lc 41. plantaginaceae juss. hippuris vulgaris l. tkhw02 hy cosm. linaria acutiloba fisch. tkh024 h south sib.-mon. l. buriatica turcz. ex ledeb. ch046 h east sib.-mon. plantago cornuti gouan zai170 h as. endem. p. depressa willd. sr027 h as. endem. p. major l. tkh03 h eura. lc veronica incana l. tkh05 h eura. v. linariifolia pall. ex link bt012 h east as. v. longifolia l. tkh098 h eura. v. pinnata l. mw0189775 h cent.as. 42. plumbaginaceae juss. goniolimon speciosum (l.) boiss. ch002 h eura. limonium flexuosum (l.) chaz. sr420 h east sib.-mon. 43. poaceae barnhart agropyron cristatum (l.) gaertn. tkh005 h eura. lc agrostis divaricatissima mez tkh123 h east as. a. vinealis schreb. tkh470 h east sib.-mon. alopecurus brachystachyus m.bieb. kh321 h east sib.-mon. anthoxanthum glabrum (trin.) veldkamp mw0169024 h east as. a. nitens (weber) y.schouten & veldkamp tkh241 h aa 260 bazarragchaa et al. scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t arctopoa subfastigiata (trin.) prob. kht22-2 h alt.-dzun.-mon. beckmannia syzigachne (steud.) fernald tkh132 g eura. lc bromus inermis leyss. sr9-4 g eura. b. japonicus houtt. kh300 g eura. b. pumpellianus scribn. khto8-4 g aa calamagrostis epigejos (l.) roth m116-3 h eura. c. lapponica (wahlenb.) hartm. mw0169632 h hol. lc c. macilenta (griseb.) litv. tkh87-1 h alt.-dzun.-mon. c. obtusata trin. khto6-2 h eura. c. purpurea (trin.) trin. n126-2 h hol. elymus confusus (roshev.) tzvelev m99-1 h east as. e. gmelinii (trin.) tzvelev uzai135-1 h as. endem. e. mutabilis (drobow) tzvelev mw0171288 h eura. lc e. repens (l.) gould sr9-10 g eura. e. sibiricus l. sr13-3 g eura. na festuca komarovii krivot. tkh88 h sib.-mon. vu f. lenensis drobow tkh243 h south sib.-mon. f. ovina l. m111-3 h hol. helictochloa hookeri (scribn.) romero zarco kh131-1; sr006 h aa hordeum brevisubulatum (trin.) link mw0171136 h as. endem. lc h. roshevitzii bowden zalb001; mw0171173 h south sib.mon. lc koeleria glauca (spreng.) dc. ubu20060617 h eura. k. macrantha (ledeb.) schult. tkh061 h hol. leymus chinensis (trin.) tzvelev sr9-8 h as. endem. l. secalinus (georgi) tzvelev tkh041 h hol. melica turczaninowiana ohwi ubu20050706 h east sib.-mon. neotrinia splendens (trin.) m.nobis, p.d.gudkova & kht001 h eura. poa angustifolia l. ubu19630618 h eura. lc p. attenuata trin. mw0170365 h south sib.-mon. p. krylovii reverd. sr9-9 h east sib.-mon. p. palustris l. khto1-2 h hol. lc p. pratensis l. tkh471 h eura. lc p. sibirica roshev. tkh75-2 h eura. p. versicolor besser m103-2 h eura. pseudoroegneria reflexiaristata (nevski) a.n.lavrenko khto22-1 h eura. setaria viridis (l.) p.beauv. bt-97 th hol. floristic composition and biological spectrum 261 scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t sibirotrisetum sibiricum (rupr.) barberá tkh602 h hol. stipa krylovii roshev. sr459 h sib.-mon. 44. polemoniaceae juss. polemonium villosum rudolph ex georgi zai015; ubu20050628 h south sib.-mon. 45. polygalaceae hoffmanns & link polygala comosa schkuhr tkh59-1 h eura. p. sibirica l. tkh073 h eura. p. tenuifolia willd. mw0185140 h south sib.-mon. 46. polygonaceae juss. bistorta alopecuroides (turcz. ex kom.) nakai tkh221 g south sib.-mon. lc b. elliptica (willd. ex spreng.) v.v.petrovsky, d.f.murray & elven uba19890829 h sib.-mon. b. vivipara (l.) delarbre tkh101 g hol. fallopia convolvulus (l.) á.löve kht002 th hol. koenigia alpina (all.) t.m.schust. & reveal tkh133 h eura. persicaria angustifolia (pall.) ronse decr. tkh003 h east sib.-mon. p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre tkh150 h hol. lc polygonum aviculare l. ch048 th cosm. lc rheum rhabarbarum l. tkhp40 h east sib.-mon. rumex acetosa l. uba178 h hol. r. acetosella l. tkh122 h eura. lc r. gmelinii turcz. ex ledeb. tkh049 h east as. r. thyrsiflorus fingerh. tkh087 h eura. 47. polypodiaceae j.presl & c.presl dryopteris fragrans (l.) schott uzai631 h hol. lc polypodium virginianum l. bt542 h cosm. 48. primulaceae batsch ex borkh. androsace dasyphylla bunge mw0187070 h cent.as. a. filiformis retz. m011 h eura. a. incana lam. zai014 h south sib.-mon. a. lactiflora fisch. ex willd. tkh098 th as. endem. a. septentrionalis l. kh304 th hol. lysimachia europaea (l.) u.manns & anderb. bt95-1 g hol. primula farinosa l. ubu20110619 h eura. lc p. nivalis subsp. subintegerrima (regel) vorosch. tkh66-3 h east sib.-mon. p. nutans georgi mw0187020 h south sib.mon. lc 262 bazarragchaa et al. scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t 49. pteridaceae e.d.m.kirchn. hemionitis michelii (christ) christenh. uba61/78 h east as. 50. ranunculaceae juss. aconitum baicalense (regel) turcz. ex rapaics uzai 134-2 h sib.-mon. a. barbatum patrin ex pers. mw0178265 h south sib.-mon. a. septentrionale koelle m015 h eura. a. turczaninowii vorosch. ubu20080902 h sib.-mon. nt actaea cimicifuga l. n002 ch sib.-mon. a. rubra (aiton) willd. tkh533 ch eura. anemonastrum crinitum (juz.) holub tkh134 h south sib.-mon. a. sylvestris (l.) galasso, banfi & soldano kh260 h eura. aquilegia sibirica lam. m016 h as. endem. a. turczaninowii kamelin & gubanov mw0178102 h east sib.-mon. a. viridiflora pall. tkh-77 h as. endem. caltha palustris l. tkh103 h hol. lc clematis alpina subsp. sibirica (l.) kuntze tkh145 ch eura. c. tangutica (maxim.) korsh. kh582 ch cent.as. delphinium grandiflorum l. khto467 h as. endem. leptopyrum fumarioides (l.) rchb. tkh083 th aa pulsatilla ambigua (turcz. ex hayek) zämelis & paegle kh247 h south sib.-mon. p. bungeana c.a.mey. mw0178530 h cent.as. p. patens subsp. flavescens (zucc.) zämelis zai187 h eura. p. tenuiloba (turcz.) juz. tu003 h east sib.-mon. p. turczaninovii krylov & serg. tkh115 h east as. ranunculus japonicus thunb. khto329 h east sib.-mon. r. monophyllus ovcz. m105-2 h eura. r. natans c.a.mey. tkh102 hy cent.as. r. pedatifidus sm. mw0178941 h cent.as. r. pulchellus c.a.mey. mw0179012 h sib.-mon. thalictrum foetidum l. zai185 h eura. th. minus l. kh244 h hol. th. petaloideum l. tkh136 h as. endem. th. simplex l. khto343 h as. endem. trollius asiaticus l. m008 h as. endem. floristic composition and biological spectrum 263 scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t 51. rosaceae juss. agrimonia pilosa ledeb. ch036 h eura. lc argentina anserina (l.) rydb. ubu20030622 h hol. chamaerhodos altaica (laxm.) bunge khp56 h alt.-dzun.-mon ch. erecta (l.) bunge tkh070 th as. endem. comarum palustre l. ubu20080915 h hol. lc cotoneaster laxiflorus j.jacq. ex lindl. kh581-1 ph eura. c. mongolicus pojark. kh580 ph east sib.-mon. suben crataegus sanguinea pall. tkh158 ph eura. nt dasiphora fruticosa (l.) rydb. m031 ph hol. filipendula palmata (pallas) maximowicz. tkh154 h east as. f. ulmaria (l.) maxim. sr-15 h hol. fragaria orientalis losinsk. kh270 h east as. geum aleppicum jacq. khto23-2 h hol. malus baccata (l.) borkh. zai240 ph east as. lc nt potentilla acaulis l. zai247 h eura. p. conferta bunge ubu20030628 h eura. p. crantzii (crantz) beck ex fritsch ubu20030623 h as. endem. p. evestita th.wolf zai002 h as. endem. p. flagellaris d.f.k.schltdl. tkh135 h east as. p. fragarioides l. khto-2 h east as. p. multifida l. tkh067 h hol. p. nivea l. m025 h as. endem. p. pensylvanica l. ch017 h aa p. sericea l. tkh-90 h eura. p. tanacetifolia willd. ex d.f.k.schltdl. tkh171 h south sib.-mon. p. virgata lehm. m45 h eura. prunus padus l. mw0182491 ph eura. rosa acicularis lindl. khto332 ph hol. lc rubus arcticus l. tkh492 h hol. lc r. humulifolius c.a.mey. uzai636 ch eura. r. idaeus subsp. strigosus (michx.) kh284 ph eura. r. saxatilis l. ubu20110718 h hol. sanguisorba officinalis l. kh251 h hol. lc sibbaldianthe adpressa (bunge) juz. tkh06-001 h as. endem. s. bifurca (l.) kurtto & t.erikss. tkh008 h eura. sorbus aucuparia subsp. sibirica (hedl.) mcall. uzai627 ph eura. spiraea alpina pall. m027 ph cent.as. 264 bazarragchaa et al. scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t s. chamaedryfolia l. kh273 ph as. endem. s. hypericifolia l. tkh023 ph east sib.-mon. s. media schmidt khto358 ph eura. s. salicifolia l. uzai 150-3 ph as. endem. 52. rubiaceae juss. galium boreale l. kh296 h eura. g. verum l. btp29 h hol. lc 53. rutaceae juss. haplophyllum dauricum (l.) g.don tkh063 g south sib.-mon. r 54. salicaceae mirb. populus suaveolens fisch. ex poit. & a.vilm. m122-1 ph east as. lc p. tremula l. srp16 ph eura. lc salix abscondita lacksch. kh507 ph east as. s. bebbiana sarg. kh312 ph aa lc s. berberifolia pall. m155-1 ch south sib.-mon. s. divaricata pall. mw0174484 ph east as. s. gmelinii pall. khto360 ph eura. s. kochiana trautv. kh131-b ph south sib.-mon. s. microstachya turcz. ex trautv. ubu0008 ph east sib.-mon. s. miyabeana seemen m521 ph east as. s. myrtilloides l. tkh566 ph hol. s. pseudopentandra (flod.) flod. kh131 ph hol. s. recurvigemmata a.k.skvortsov ubu19630636 ch eura. lc s. rhamnifolia pall. tkh048 ph hol. s. rorida laksch. tkh110 ph south sib.-mon. s. saposhnikovii a.k.skvortsov sr535 ph eura. s. schwerinii e.l.wolf tkh473 ph as. endem. lc s. taraikensis kimura m116-2 ph east as. 55. santalaceae r.br. thesium longifolium turcz. ubu20070623 h east as. th. refractum c.a.mey. khto 8-5 h cent.as. th. repens ledeb. tkh645 h south sib.-mon. 56. saxifragaceae juss. chrysosplenium sedakowii turcz. kh323 h south sib.-mon. saxifraga bronchialis l. tkh480 g east as. s. cernua l. ubu20080630 h eura. s. sibirica l. tkh648 h eura. 57. scrophulariaceae juss. scrophularia incisa weinm. tkh652 ch alt.-dzun.-mon 58. solanaceae juss. hyoscyamus niger l. tkh020 th hol. floristic composition and biological spectrum 265 scientific name v ou ch er co de li fe -f or m c ho ro ty pe g lo ba l r ed li st r eg io na l r ed li st m on go lia n r ed b oo k en de m is m r el ic t 59. tamaricaceae link myricaria longifolia (willd.) ehrenb. zalb003 ph south sib.-mon. lc 60. thymelaeaceae juss. stellera chamaejasme l. tkh015 h as. endem. 61. urticaceae juss. urtica angustifolia fisch. ex hornem. tkh035 h east as. u. cannabina l. btp93 h alt.-dzun.-mon. 62. violaceae batsch viola biflora l. tkhp34 h hol. v. brachyceras turcz. m-116 g south sib.-mon. v. dissecta ledeb. m103-1 g as. endem. v. uniflora l. m035; ns0001861 h south sib.-mon. 63. woodsiaceae herter woodsia ilvensis (l.) r.br. khto377 h eura. lc abbreviation: life-form: ph (phanerophytes), ch (chamaephytes), th (therophytes), h (hemicriptophytes), g (geophytes), and hy (hydrophytes); iucn and mongolian red list: en (endangered), vu (vulnerable), nt (near threatened), lc (least concern); endemism: e (endemic), se (subendemic); relict: relict (rl); chorological groups: cosmopolitan (cosm.), asia–american (aa), holarctic (hol.), eurasian (eura.), asian (as.); subgroups: eastern asian (east. as.), central asian (cent. as.), asian endemics (as. endem.), siberia-mongolian (sib.-mon.), east siberia-mongolian (east sib.-mon.), south siberia mongolian (south sib.-mon.), altai–dzungarian mongolian (alt.-dzun.-mon.), and mongolian endemic (mon. endem.). based on raunkiaer (1934) classification system, the life-form composition in the bogdkhan mountain was dominated by hemicryptophytes, followed by geophytes, therophytes, phanerophytes, chameaphytes and a low percentage occupying hydrophytes. the 63.03% of total flora in the study area was dominated by hemicryptophytes, which is in agreement with the results of bataa (2013), tserendulam et al. (2018) and batdelger et al. (2021). abundant hemicryptophytes were mostly dominating in the cold temperate region and mountainous climate condition (archibold, 1995; tuvshintogtokh, 2014). results of the ẋ2 test showed that raunkiaer’s normal spectrum was remarkably different from the amount of chamaephytes, geophytes and therophytes, while the differences between the amounts of phanerophytes, hemicryptophytes and hydrophytes were not significant. the total number of chamaephytes (3.67) was low which showed the maximum divergence compared to the normal spectrum. however, chamaephytes were common in high mountainous (cain, 1950; tuvshintogtokh, 2014). we suppose this decrease may relate to the climate change or mountainous location which is transitional location from taiga to steppe. we suggest that this decline may be due to climate change or a mountainous location that is transitional from taiga to steppe. geophytes (1.36) were slightly increasing, which might be affected by steppe or arid condition in bogdkhan mountain. next in abundance was the therophytes (0.69), which showed a minor increase according to the normal spectrum. however, it seems less correlation but further negative impact on the ecosystem would be high if current anthropogenic and overgrazing effects in the studied area continue. our study found that annual plant species were prevalent in some valleys with buildings, and tourist camps, along the hiking road and foothills. kargar et al. (2017) stated that not only 266 bazarragchaa et al. environmental factor will increase therophytes, but also diverse anthropogenic impacts, such as unregulated tourism, timber harvesting, population settlement etc. in addition, an increase of therophytes causes humidity extremes and water shortages (moradi et al., 2009). we agree with the conclusion of hilbig et al. (2004) that the conditions of the bogdkhan mountain change rapidly due to anthropogenic influences. the underlying causes for the increasing anthropogenic influences are related to land use, which has been intensified near the city of ulaanbaatar since the 1990s during the transitional phase of socialism to a democratic society (erdenechimeg, 2013; naranbaatar et al., 2018; gradel et al., 2019). asian elements with 8 subgroups occupied the most percentage followed eurasian, holarctic, asia-american and cosmopolitan elements, which were influenced to this mountain vegetation. it is in agreement with the results reported by previous studies (ulziikhutag, 1989; ganbold, 2010; tserendulam et al., 2018; batdelger et al., 2021). the presence of endemic, relict and vulnerable (8 vulnerable, 2 endangered and 1 critically endangered) species emphasizes on the need for conserving the rich flora of bogdkhan mountains. cold temperate with mountainous climate conditions in the bogdkhan mountain might allow hemicryptophytes and chamaephytes to be dominant. we consider that the floristic composition of bogdkhan mountain could be decreasing in future, due to increasing of therophytes. given such a situation, the causes for decreases in mountain flora are influences of anthropogenic factors, especially population settlements, and constructions in the mountain. in addition, it was noted that overgrazing in some parts of the studied area, especially in the lower belt of the mountain, has led to an increase in therophytes. therefore, overgrazing is viewed as a cause of the deterioration of the ecosystem in the area. we finally conclude with a strong recommendation to improve the protection management of the bogdkhan mountain in the near future. acknowledgments this research was supported by the bio & medical technology development program of the national research foundation (nrf), south korea, funded by the korean government (msit) (nrf-2017m3a9a507020221). we would also like to thank the natural history museum of mongolia for depositing the herbarium specimens and also to the team of “green taiga institute” ngo for supporting us. references apg, 2016. an update of the angiosperm phylogeny group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: apg iv. botanical j. linn. soc. 181:1-20. archibold, o.w. 1995. the coniferous forests: ecology of world vegetation, springer, dordrecht. netheland, pp. 238-279. bataa, t. 2013. vegetation conditions in various plant communities in khongor district, darkhan-uul province in mongolia. united nations university, land restoration training programme [final project]. batdelger, g., bazarragchaa, b., janchiv, a., enebish, g., yang, s., peak, w. and lee, j. 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(manuscript received on 26 november, 2021; revised on 20 november, 2022) http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(2): 239-264, 2024 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78751 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists integrating taxonomy and drug discovery: liliopsida flora of rajbari, bangladesh targeting amorphophallus paeoniifolius for colorectal cancer therapy miruna banu, sheikh sunzid ahmed, momtaz begum and m. oliur rahman* department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: liliopsida; amorphophallus paeoniifolius; mmp-9; molecular docking; dynamics simulation; mm/gbsa; bioinformatics. abstract the present study explores the angiosperm flora belonging to the class liliopsida in rajbari district, seamlessly integrating taxonomy with phytocompound-based drug discovery through advanced computational biology approaches. the study covered all five upazilas (sub-districts) of the district. a total of 201 taxa across 118 genera and 24 families of liliopsida were identified. the flora is predominantly composed of herbs (79.06%), followed by climbers (7.96%), trees (7.46%), shrubs (2.98%), and a minimal occurrence of epiphytes (1.99%). poaceae emerged as the largest family, comprising 58 taxa across 36 genera, followed by araceae (26 taxa) and cyperaceae (17 taxa). notably, the study identified 25 medicinal plant species under liliopsida. some rare species within liliopsida, such as coix aquatica, wolffia arrhiza, typha domingensis, and schumannianthus benthamianus were also recorded in the study area. among the medicinal plants identified, amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson was selected for further investigation into colorectal cancer drug discovery. the computational therapeutics design endeavor unveiled two lead compounds: riboflavin (7.9 kcal/mol) and lupeol (-6.1 kcal/mol), both of which demonstrated promising favorable drug-likeness properties. molecular dynamics simulation spanning 100 ns revealed structural stability of the identified leads. pca and gibbs free energy landscape study further corroborated the drug-candidacy of the leads. dft-based molecular reactivity study unveiled lupeol as the most kinetically stable compound (6.915 ev). the findings highlight the significance of multi-disciplinary approach integrating classical taxonomy with bioinformatics and pave the way for future colorectal cancer therapeutics. introduction the convention on biological diversity (cbd) has underscored the pivotal role of taxonomic and vegetation studies in ensuring effective biodiversity conservation. such studies provide fundamental data on species identification, distribution, and classification, which are crucial for crafting well-informed conservation strategies. the cbd highlights that a lack of comprehensive taxonomic knowledge, coupled with a shortage of trained taxonomists and inadequate infrastructure, creates a significant "taxonomic impediment" that hampers efforts to assess and safeguard global biodiversity. addressing this impediment is vital for achieving the cbd’s objectives, as it facilitates precise documentation of species diversity, helps identification of conservation priorities, and allows for effective monitoring of ecosystem changes over time. the cbd thus advocates for enhanced investment in taxonomic research and capacity building to support sustainable biodiversity management and policy development (heywood, 2004). rajbari district is geographically positioned between 22°40` and 23°50` n latitudes and between 89°19` and 90°40` e longitudes, covering an area of 1,119 sq. km. the district enjoys a *corresponding author: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v31i2.78751 mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 240 banu et al. moderate tropical monsoon climate characterized by three distinct seasons: a hot summer, a rainy season, and a dry winter. the annual average temperature ranges from a minimum of 9.8°c to a maximum of 30.1°c. relative humidity remains fairly consistent throughout year, fluctuating from 77 to 79%. the annual rainfall is approximately 3742 mm (bbs, 2022). rajbari district comprises 5 upazilas, namely rajbari sadar, pangsha, baliakandi, kalukhali and goalanda with an area of 347.1, 313, 242.53, 157.14 and 149 sq. km, respectively. rajbari district encompasses a variety of habitats, including wetlands, cultivated land, charland, fallow land, scrub jungles and homestead areas. as an agriculturally rich region, its plant genetic, species and ecosystem diversity significantly influence the local environment. however, the floristic compositions are declining due to increasing urbanization, industrialization, habitat fragmentation, road construction, agricultural expansion, mismanaged brickfields as well as other human activities. given the ongoing trend of habitat degradation and fragmentation, many species could disappear from the region before they are even documented and studied. building upon the foundational works of hooker (1872–1897) and prain (1903), numerous floristic endeavors have been conducted within the present political boundaries of bangladesh, including different upazilas and protected areas (rahman et al., 2012, 2013, 2019a,b; rahman and alam, 2013; sarker et al., 2013; rahman and hassan, 1995; islam et al., 2009; uddin and hassan 2010, arefin et al., 2011; rahman et al., 2015; haque et al., 2018). despite these efforts, only a few district-level floras have been produced, such as those for gazipur (tabassum 2015), patuakhali (sultana, 2012), bagerhat (hossain et al., 2022), satkhira (hossain et al., 2021) and narsingdhi (khanam and khan, 2020; khanam et al., 2020). however, the floral diversity of rajbari district has yet to be explored through detailed field inventories and specimen examination, leaving much of its flora unexplored. plant taxonomy and floristics are essential for the precise detection of medicinal taxa, forming the foundation for exploring their therapeutic potential. by systematically classifying plants and understanding their distribution, taxonomists can identify species traditionally used in medicine or those possessing bioactive compounds, thus providing a gateway to drug discovery. this taxonomic accuracy is critical in ensuring the correct selection of plants for phytochemical analysis, driving the development of novel drugs through natural compounds. compared to synthetic drugs, natural products offer several advantages, such as greater structural diversity, better biocompatibility, lower toxicity, and improved efficacy in targeting biological systems. these compounds, refined by evolution over thousands of years, are inherently optimized for biological interactions, making them a valuable resource in modern drug discovery (ahmed and rahman, 2024; ahmed et al., 2024). structure-based drug design (sbdd) integrates this taxonomic knowledge by leveraging advanced computational techniques to accelerate the drug discovery process. sbdd focuses on analyzing the three-dimensional structure of target proteins and identifying compounds, such as phytochemicals, that can effectively bind to them. this approach greatly minimizes the trial-anderror nature of traditional drug development by allowing precise predictions of compound-protein interactions. key techniques in sbdd include molecular docking, which predicts the binding affinity and orientation of drug candidates targeting key protein; admet (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) analysis, which assesses the pharmacokinetic and safety profiles of compounds; and molecular dynamics (md) simulation, which evaluates the stability and flexibility of compound-receptor interactions over time. additionally, dft (density functional theory)-based molecular reactivity analysis aids in understanding the electronic structure and kinetic stability of the lead compounds. together, these methods streamline the drug discovery process, reducing time and costs, while enhancing the precision of selecting potential drug candidates from natural sources (bajad et al., 2021; ahmed et al., 2023a). integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 241 mmp-9 (matrix metalloproteinase-9) is a crucial enzyme involved in the degradation of the extracellular matrix (ecm), and plays a significant role in cancer progression, invasion, and metastasis across various types of cancers, including colorectal cancer (crc) (bendardaf et al., 2010; said et al., 2014). mmp-9 is frequently overexpressed in crc and is associated with poor prognosis due to its involvement in tumor growth, angiogenesis, and the spread of cancer cells to other tissues. inhibiting mmp-9 has been suggested to reduce tumor invasiveness and slow metastasis, making it a viable target for therapeutic agents aimed at improving crc outcomes (rashid and bardaweel, 2023; sarkar et al., 2024). therefore, this mmp-9 protein serves as a promising target for structure-based drug design endeavors. the study aims to identify, document, and analyze the angiosperm flora, particularly liliopsida taxa of rajbari district, assessing their current distribution, and medicinal significance. consequently, it is crucial to identify, and document the plant species, providing a comprehensive taxonomic treatment of the angiosperm flora of rajbari district, and to implement conservation measures to safeguard the region’s plant resources for the benefit of future generations. in addition, the study further aims to bridge the gap between taxonomy and drug design endeavor by identifying potential colorectal cancer drug candidates targeting mmp-9 protein from a medicinal plant of rajbari district. this multi-disciplinary endeavor, therefore aims not only to deepen the understanding of liliopsida diversity in rajbari district but also to investigate novel anticancer therapeutics derived from the selected medicinal plant. materials and methods botanical expedition, plant sample collection and identification a total of 128 field expeditions were conducted between 2019 to 2023 to collect plant specimens from rajbari district covering all five upazilas: rajbari sadar, pangsha, baliakandi, kalukhali and goalanda (fig. 1). fig. 1. map of rajbari district showing the area of investigation (source: banglapedia). 242 banu et al. the collected plant samples were processed following standard herbarium procedures (singh and subramaniam, 2008) and underwent thorough examination and identification at the dhaka university salar khan herbarium (dush). identifications were ensured by consulting standard literatures (khan and alam, 1977; khan and halim, 1985; ara and hassan, 2019; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008) and were cross-referenced with previously identified specimens housed at dush and dacb. for updated nomenclature, the authoritative database plants of the world online (powo, 2024) was consulted. local names were sourced from huq (2019), and the families were arranged following cronquist (1981). the voucher specimens for the identified taxa are deposited at dush. drug design endeavor amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson was chosen for designing colorectal cancer drug candidates due to its novelty, ethnomedicinal significance, and consent of local population in the study area. the drug design endeavor was accomplished in the following steps: preparation of receptor macromolecule the structure of the matrix metalloproteinase 9 (mmp-9) protein, identified by the pdb id “1gkc,” was retrieved from the protein data bank (rowsell et al., 2002). receptor preparation was carried out using autodocktools v.1.5.6 and swiss-pdb viewer v.4.10. subsequently, openbabel v.3.1.1.1 was employed to convert the energy-minimized protein from pdb to pdbqt format for further analysis (guex and peitsch, 1997; o'boyle et al., 2008; rizvi et al., 2013). preparation of ligands phytochemicals from a. paeoniifolius were identified and retrieved in 3d sdf format from relevant literature and the imppat database (shrivastava et al., 2023; vivek-ananth et al., 2023). doxycycline, a known inhibitor of the mmp-9 receptor, was selected as the control drug and obtained from the pubchem database (kim et al., 2005). all ligands were then energy-minimized and converted to pdbqt format using openbabel v.3.1.1.1 for further analysis. active site determination for site-specific molecular docking, the receptor's active site was determined via the castp v.3.0 (tian et al., 2018). the protein, uploaded in pdb format, was analyzed, and the active site with the highest surface area and volume was selected as the optimal site for docking simulations. molecular docking a grid box for molecular docking was defined using the output from castp v.3.0, with dimensions of 68 × 64 × 66 and center coordinates set to 61.125 × 29.614 × 113.283 along the x, y, and z axes, respectively. molecular docking was conducted using easydock vina v.2.237 (minibaeva et al., 2023). the receptor-ligand complexes were visualized with discovery studio (islam et al., 2023). following docking, the selected phytocompounds were evaluated through admet analysis for further assessment. admet properties evaluation the admet evaluation was performed using swissadme to evaluate the drug-likeness of the compounds (daina et al., 2017). toxicity parameters were then analyzed using the stoptox server (borba et al., 2022). for both analyses, the compounds were provided in smiles format. molecular dynamics (md) simulation to examine the thermodynamic behavior of the control drug and lead compounds, molecular dynamics (md) simulations were performed on an ubuntu 22.04 (jammy jellyfish) operating integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 243 system using the desmond module of the schrödinger 2020-1 package, over a duration of 100 ns (rahman et al., 2024). the simulated systems were solvated with the spc water model in orthorhombic periodic boundary boxes. the opls4 force field was applied for energy optimization of the solvated framework, with the default settings in desmond. simulations were processed using the npt ensemble, with nose–hoover temperature coupling and isotropic pressure scaling. the trajectories were sampled at 100 ps intervals, resulting in approximately 1000 frames for subsequent analysis, while energy data were recorded at 1.2 ps intervals. principal component analysis and gibbs fel to analyze the essential dynamics of the top selected leads and the control drug, principal component analysis (pca) was conducted using the statistics kingdom server (https://www.statskingdom.com/). rmsd and rg coordinates for all simulated frames were input as two series to perform pca using a covariance matrix. for gibbs free energy landscape (fel) analysis, a python script was employed on ubuntu focal fossa 20.04.6 lts. the pca data was saved in a csv file for easy manipulation via the pandas library. the script utilized essential libraries such as numpy for numerical operations, facilitating the efficient computation of statistical metrics, and matplotlib for data visualization. a 2d histogram of the pca results was generated to estimate the probability distribution of data points, enabling the calculation of gibbs free energy based on boltzmann statistics (ahmed and rahman, 2024). molecular reactivity analysis quantum mechanics-based dft calculation was performed to estimate molecular reactivity for the lead compounds and control drug employing avogadro and orca v.4.1.1 software packages (snyder and kucukkal, 2021; paul et al., 2023). input files were prepared in avogadro for subsequent processing in orca. geometry optimization was performed, employing the b3lyp-d3 functional and the 6-31g (d, p) basis set to estimate the homo-lumo (highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) energy gap. results and discussion angiosperm flora: annotation of liliopsida the present study identified 201 taxa across 46 genera and 25 families within the class liliopsida (monocotyledons) from rajbari district (table 1). among the families, poaceae emerged as the largest, comprising 58 taxa under 36 genera, followed by araceae (26 species) and cyperaceae (17 species). figure 2 illustrates the ten largest families along with the number of genera and species. agavaceae and dioscoraceae each contribute 9 species, while the liliaceae includes 8 species. the families aponogetonaceae, heliconiaceae, lemnaceae, orchidaceae, and pontederiaceae each contain 3 species. eight families, including aloaceae, cannaceae, costaceae, marantaceae, musaceae, smilacaceae, strelitziaceae and typhaceae are represented by a single species each. among the genera, cyperus stands out as the largest with 17 species, followed by dioscorea with 10 species. the genera colocasia, commelina and digitaria each contain 5 species, while alocasia, bambusa, eragrostis, fimbristylis and paspalum are represented by 4 species each. vegetation analysis shows that the majority of the species are herbs, representing 79.6% (140 species) of the total, followed by climbers (7.96%), trees (7.46%), shrubs (2.98%), and epiphytes (1.99%). habitat analysis reveals that fallow lands (open fields) constitute 24.38% of the identified species, followed by homestead (22.89%), scrub jungles (16.91%), agricultural fields (14.93%), aquatic (11.44%), and road sides (9.45%). https://www.statskingdom.com/). 244 banu et al. table 1. list of liliopsida taxa in rajbari district with local name, habit, habitat, distribution and voucher numbers. taxa local name habit habitat distribution vouchers alismataceae sagittaria guayanensis subsp. lappula (d. don) bogin muamia her aqu rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1482 s. sagittifolia l. muamia her aqu rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 242 hydrocharitaceae hydrilla verticillata (l.f.) royle kureli her aqu rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 2097 nechamandra alternifolia (roxb.) thw. sheola her aqu rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1749 ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. kuchkalai her aqu rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1438 vallisneria spiralis l. pata seola her aqu rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1779 aponogetonaceae aponogeton appendiculatus bruggen ghetu her aqu rs,ba,ka,go,pa miruna 185 aponogeton crispus thunb. ghechu her aqu rs,ba,ka,go,pa miruna 231 aponogeton natans (l.) engl. & krause apanogeton her aqu rs,ba,ka,go,pa miruna 205 arecaceae areca catechu l. supari tre hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1595 borassus flabellifer l. tal tre roa rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1673 calamus viminalis willd. bet cli scr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 61 caryota mitis lour. bottle palm tre hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1759 caryota urens l. sagu palm tre hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1663 chrysalidocarpus lutescens (bory) h. wen. holud palm tre hom rs,ba,ka,go,pa miruna 1673 cocos nucifera l. narikel tre hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 320 corypha taliera roxb. tali tre hom rs miruna 1449 elaeis guineensis jacq. oil palm tre hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1565 licuala spinosa wurmb unknown shr hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1774 phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb. khejur tre roa rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1593 araceae adelonema wallisii (regel) s.y.wong & croat jongli kachu her scr rs,go,bal,pa,ka miruna 1015 aglaonema costatum n.e. brown nemacos her hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1658 aglaonema robeleynii (van geert) pitcher & manda nemacris her hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1659 alocasia cucullata (lour.) g. don bish kachu her scru rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 584 alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott salu kachu her hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 976 alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g. don man kachu her scr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 975 alocasia portei schott puti kachu her scr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 977 amorphophallus bulbifer (schott) blume jongle ol her scr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 978 amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennt.) nicol. olkachu her agr rs,ka miruna 586 caladium bicolor (ait.) vent. diranga kachu her hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 979 caladium humboldtii (raf.) schott befula kachu her hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 980 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kachu her agr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 981 colocasia fallax schott ranga kachu her hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 982 colocasia mannii hook. f. mani kachu her scr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1719 epipremnum aureum (linden & andr.) g.s. bunting pargacha cli roa rs,go,bal,pa,ka miruna 1723 lasia spinosa (l.) thw. kanta kachu her scru rs,go,bal,pa,ka miruna 329 integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 245 table 1 contd. taxa local name habit habitat distribution vouchers monstera obliqua miq. thaka epi hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1359 pistia stratiotes l. topa pana her aqu ba,go,ka, rs miruna 243 raphidophora aurea (linden & andr.) birdsey charulata cli roa ba,go,ka, rs miruna 983 scindapsus officinalis (roxb.) schott gaj pipal cli scr ka, rs miruna 378 scindapsus scortechinii hook. f. kain kanthal cli scr ba,rs miruna 994 syngonium podophyllum schott podolota kachu cli scr ba,go,ka,rs,pa miruna 984 typhonium flagelliforme (lodd.) blume ghechu her scr ba,go,ka,rs,pa miruna 767 typhonium roxburghii schott roxy kachu her scr ba,ka,go,rs,pa miruna 774 typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott ghet kachu her scr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1594 xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott dudh kachu her scr ra,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1553 lemnaceae lemna minor l. kuti pana her aqu rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 670 spirodela polyrhiza (l.) schleid. tetule pana her aqu rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 244 wolffia arrhiza (l.) horkel ex wimm. sujipana her aqu rs miruna 16 commelinaceae commelina appendiculata c.b. clarke kulalatakansira her roa ba,go,ka, rs miruna 1546 commelina benghalensis l. kanshira her roa go,ba,ka,rs miruna 382 commelina erecta l. jata kansira her roa go,ba,ka,rs miruna 1508 commelina longifolia lam. pani kansira her aqu ka,go,ba,rs miruna 120 commelina paludosa blume kanchuria her roa ba,go,ka, rs miruna 129 cyanotis axillaris (l.) d. don ex sweet baghanula her roa ba,go,ka, rs miruna 220 cyanotis cristata (l.) d. don unknown her roa go,ka,ba,rs miruna 216 floscopa scandens lour. hangsapdi gac her roa rs,go miruna 1504 murdannia nudiflora (l.) brenan kenduli her roa rs,ka miruna 157 tradescantia spathacea sw. deopindo her hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1521 cyperaceae actinoscirpus grossus (l.f.) goetgh. & d.a. simpson karui ghas her ope ra,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1526 bulbostylis barbata (rottb.) c.b. clarke bulbobata her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1763 cyperus articulatus l. shoda her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1552 cyperus fuscus l. kanch her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1295 cyperus cuspidatus kunth chapa ghas her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1577 cyperus cyperoides (l.) kuntze boro gothubi her agr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1509 cyperus difformis l. behua her agr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 83 cyperus digitatus roxb. hath ghas her ope rs,ba miruna 1296 cyperus exaltatus retz. tata ghas her aqu rs,pa,go miruna 1510 cyperus imbricatus retz. buethi her ope rs,pa,go, miruna 1520 cyperus iria l. barachucha her ope ra,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1483 cyperus michelianus (l.) delile choto gutubi her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1572 cyperus mindorensis (steud.) huygh gothubi her agr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1862 cyperus procerus rottb. lamba mutha her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 199 cyperus pulcherrimus willd. ex kunth shumo mutha her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1294 cyperus pumilus l. paikpami ghas her agr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1740 cyperus rotundus l. mutha he ope ra,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 214 246 banu et al. table 1 contd. taxa local name habit habitat distribution vouchers cyperus tenuiculmis boeck. khude potari her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1484 cyperus thunbergii vahl mura ghas her ope ra,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1548 cyperus tuberosus rottb. dima mutha her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1291 eleocharis acutangula (roxb.) schult. chesra her ope rs,go miruna 1837 fimbristylis aestivalis (retz.) vahl valis fibri her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 148 fimbristylis alboviridis c.b. clarke sadate fimbri her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 373 fimbristylis dichotoma (l.) vahl subsp. dichotoma bara nirbishi her agr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 123 fimbristylis miliacea (l.) vahl bura javani her ag rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 142 fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. chhata ghas her agr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1800 rhynchospora berteroi (spreng.) c.b. clarke bindimuthi her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1826 schoenoplectiella supina (l.) lye putputicechra her agr ra,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 190 poaceae alloteropsis cimicina (l.) stapf alotara cina her ope rs,go miruna 1564 avena fatua l. jangli jai her aqu rs,pa miruna 1396 axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv. mathghas her ope go,ka,ba,rs miruna 1527 bambusa balcooa roxb. baro aansh tre scr ba,ka,go,rs miruna 1551 bambusa bambos (l.) voss bon bans tre scr ka,ba,go, rs miruna 1561 bambusa salarkhanii m. k. alam katajali bans tre scr rs miruna 687 bambusa vulgaris scharad. ex wendl. jai bansh tre hom ra,ka,ba,go miruna 1834 bothriochloa bladhii (retz.) s. t. blake gandagourana her hom rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 2011 bothriochloa pertusa (l.) a. camus barmuda ghas her ope ra,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 2093 cenchrus purpureus (schumach.) morrone nepier ghas her ope rs,ka,ba,go miruna 717 chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. chorkanta her ope rs,ka,ba,go miruna 1761 coix aquatica roxb. tosbi dana her agr rs, go miruna 487 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba ghas her ope go,ba,ka,rs miruna 605 cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf konaghas her ope go,ba,ka,rs miruna 520 cyrtococcum oxyphyllum (hochst. ex steud.) stapf pokra ghas her ope go,ba,ka,rs miruna 521 dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. mukra her ope rs,go,ba,pa,ka miruna 118 desmostachya bipinnata (l.) stapf kusha her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1821 digitaria ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 172 digitaria ischaemum (schreb.) muhl. kudeanguligas her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 519 digitaria sanguinalis (l.) scop. makunjali her roa rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 518 digitaria setigera roth sheti ghas her roa rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 517 digitaria ternata (a. rich.) stapf nata ghas her agr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 516 dinebra chinensis (l.) peterson & n.snow phulka ghas her agri ba,go,ka,rs,pa miruna 124 echinochloa colonum (l.) link shama ghas her agr ba,go,ka,rs miruna 177 echinochloa crus-galli (l.) p. beauv. borosama ghas her agr ba,go,ka,rs miruna 133 eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. ghira durba her agr ba,go,ka,rs miruna 122 eragrostis japonica (thunb.) trin. chira ghas her agri ba,go,ka,rs miruna 1529 eragrostis lehmanniana nees kona ghas her ope ba,go,ka,rs miruna 1559 eragrostis tenella (l.) p. beauv. ex roem. & schult. koni ghas her ope ba,go,ka,rs miruna 208 eragrostis unioloides (retz.) nees ex sted. chiraghas her ope ba,ka,go,rs miruna 178 hemarthria protensa steud. panseru her ope rs,go miruna 200 integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 247 table 1 contd. taxa local name habit habitat distribution vouchers hordeum vulgare l. job her agr go,ba,rs,ka miruna 1515 imperata cylindrica var. latifolia (hook. f.) c. e. hubb. chon her ope go,ba,rs,ka miruna 1525 imperata cylindrica var. major (nees) c. e. hubb. ex hubb. & vaughan kash her ope ra,ka,ba,go miruna 202 leersia hexandra sw. arali ghas her ope ba,go,ka,rs,pa miruna 1524 louisiella paludosa (roxb.) landge barti herb aqu rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 512 melocanna baccifera (roxb.) kurz muli bansh shr hom rs,ba, ka,go,pa miruna 2026 oplismenus burmanni (retz.) p. beauv. jabri durba her roa rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 207 oryza sativa l. dhan her agr rs,ka,go,bapa miruna 1068 panicum brevifolium l. panibrevi ghas her ope rs,ba,go,pa, ka miruna 513 panicum miliaceum l. cheena chaul her agr rs,pa miruna 1581 paspalum conjugatum bergius dadkuru herb ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 511 paspalum distichum l. nat ghas herb aqu rs,go,pa miruna 150 paspalum scrobiculatum l. goicha herb ope rs, bal,ka miruna 1774 paspalum sumatrense roth lambafuli ghas herb ope pa,go, miruna 1757 pennisetum purpureum schum. hati ghas herb ope ba,rs,go,pa miruna 1841 saccharum officinarum l. akh shrub agr ba,go,rs,ka miruna 423 saccharum spontaneum l. kash herb ope ba,ka,go, rs miruna 524 setaria flavida (retz.) veldkamp datkuri ghas herb roa rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1775 setaria pumila (poir.) roem. & schult. holde kaon herb ope rs,pa,ka,ba,go miruna 524 sporobolus indicus r. br. ghas herb ope rs,pa,ka,ba,go miruna 337 thyrsostachys oliveri gamble burma bans tree ope rs,pa,ka,ba,go miruna 1453 triticum aestivum l. gom herb agr ba,go,ka,pa,rs miruna 1693 urochloa panicoides p. beauv. ghas herb ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1713 urochloa ramosa (l.) t.q.nguyen jhopa ghas her agri rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1903 urochloa reptans (l.) stapf para ghas her ope rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 205 urochloa setigera (retz.) stapf baro goghonti her ope rs,go miruna 1769 zea mays l. bhutta herb agr rs,ka,ba,go,pa miruna 1664 typhaceae typha elephantina roxb. hogla herb aqu ka, rs miruna 1048 strelitziaceae ravenala madagascariensis sonn. panthopadop tre hom go,rs,ka,pa,ba miruna 1691 heliconiaceae heliconia humilis jacq. tiapakhi phul her hom go,pa,rs,ka,ba miruna 1446 heliconia psittacorum l. f. tia thuti her hom go,pa,rs,ka,ba miruna 1467 heliconia rostrata ruiz & pavon chingri nomi her hom rs,go ka,ba,pa miruna 390 musaceae musa paradisiaca l. kanch kola her hom rs,go ka,ba,pa miruna 389 zingiberaceae alpinia nigra (gaertn.) burtt tara her scr rs,go,ka miruna 941 curcuma amada roxb. amada her scr rs miruna 458 curcuma longa l. halud her agr ba,ka,go,pa,rs miruna 1597 curcuma zedoaria (christm.) rosc. shati her agr rs,ba,ka miruna 1687 elettaria cardamomum (l.) maton elach her agr rs miruna 606 hedychium coronarium koen. dolonchapa her hom rs,go,ba,pa,ka miruna 1690 248 banu et al. table 1 contd. taxa local name habit habitat distribution vouchers kaempferia galanga l. ekangi her hom ba,rs,ka miruna 456 zingiber montanum (koen.) dietr. bon ada her scr ka,rs,ba miruna 1691 zingiber officinale rosc. ada her agr go,ba,pa,rs,ka miruna 457 zingiber zerumbet (l.) roscoe ex sm. shoti her scr ka, rs miruna 638 costaceae hellenia speciosa (j. koenig) s.r. dutta kura her hom ba,ka,go,pa,rs miruna 369 cannaceae canna indica l. kolaboti her hom ba,pa,rs,ka,go miruna 439 marantaceae schumannianthus benthamianus (kuntze) veldkamp & turner shitolpati her aqu rs,go miruna 388 pontederiaceae pontederia crassipes mart. kachuripana her aqu go,rs,ba,pa,ka miruna 685 pontederia hastata l. baranukha her aqu pa,rs,ka,go,ba miruna 822 pontederia vaginalis burm. f. nukha her aqu go,rs,ba,pa,ka miruna 1124 liliaceae allium cepa l. piaj her agr rs,ba,go,ka miruna 425 allium sativum l. rasun her agr rs,go,ka,ba miruna 583 asparagus racemosus willd. shatomuli cli hom rs,go,ba miruna 589 crinum asiaticum l. shukhdorson her hom pa,rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1528 pancratium verecundum ait. goroshun her scr go,rs,ka miruna 1248 scadoxus multiflorus (martyn) raf. ball phul her hom pa,rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1568 zephyranthes minuta (kunth) d. dietr. golapi ghasful her hom go,pa,ka,rs,ba miruna 1579 zephyranthes tubispatha (l'hér.) herb. holud ghasful her hom go,pa,ka,rs,ba miruna 1542 aloeaceae aloe vera (l.) burm. f. ghritakumari her hom rs,ka,go,ba miruna 940 agavaceae agave americana l. cantala her hom rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1522 agave amica (medik.) thiede & govaerts rajanigandha her hom rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1447 agave sisalana perrine sisal hemp her hom rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1570 agave vivipara l. bombai agar her hom rs,ka,ba,go miruna 1590 cordyline fruticosa (l.) a. chev. agnishar shr hom ba,rs,ka,go miruna 1617 dracaena angustifolia (medik.) roxb. chikna drakan shr hom rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1501 dracaena trifasciata (prain) mabb. gora chaka her hom rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1657 furcraea foetida (l.) haw. gandho hemp shr hom rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1672 sansevieria roxburghiana schult. & schult.f. gora chaka her hom rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1448 smilacaceae smilax perfoliata lour. kumarilata cli scr go,ba,rs,ka miruna 326 dioscoreaceae dioscorea aculeata l. jointia alu her scr rs,ka,go,ba miruna 558 dioscorea alata l. chupri alu cli scr rs,ka,go,ba miruna 126 dioscorea belophylla (prain) voigt ex hai. shora alu cli scr rs,ka,go,ba miruna 1540 dioscorea bulbifera var. bulbifera l. gonj alu cli scr rs,ka,go,ba miruna 449 dioscorea bulbifera var. sativa prain jen alu cli roa rs,ka,go,ba miruna 559 dioscorea esculenta (lour.) burkill maitta alu cli roa rs,ka,go,ba miruna 451 integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 249 table 1 contd. taxa local name habit habitat distribution vouchers dioscorea kamoonensis kunth erabera lata cli roa rs,ka,go,ba miruna 125 dioscorea oppositifolia l. ludi korphul cli scr rs,ka,go,ba miruna 560 dioscorea pentaphylla l. jhum alu cli scr rs,ka,go,ba miruna 155 orchidaceae acampe praemorsa var. longepedunculata (trimen) govaerts pargacha epi scr go,rs,ba,pa,ka miruna 1823 rhynchostylis retusa (l.) blume rasna epi scr go,rs,ba,pa,ka miruna 1840 vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g. don pargacha epi scr go,rs,ba,pa,ka miruna 1828 habit: her: herb, shr: shrub, tre: tree, cli: climber, epi: epiphyte; habitat: aqu: aquatic, scr: scrub jungles, roa: roadside, hom: homestead, agr: agricultural field, ope: open field; distribution; rs: rajbari sadar, ba: baliakandi, go: goalondo, ka: kalukhali, pa: pangsha. fig. 2. ten dominant families of liliopsida illustrating the number of genera and species in rajbari. the study area supports a variety of aquatic habitats including ponds, beels, lowlands, and rivers, where many monocot species are found, and some of the common aquatic species are aponogeton appendiculatus, aponogeton natans, eichhornia crassipes, hydrilla verticillata, ottelia alismoides, pistia stratiotes, sagittaria sagittifolia, typha elephantina, vallisneria spiralis, wolffia arrhiza etc. a total of 25 medicinal plants used by traditional healers in the study area for treatment of different diseases, and notable species are aloe vera, amorphophallus paeoniifolius, colocasia esculenta, hellenia speciosa, curcuma amada, cyperus rotundus, dioscorea alata, kaempferia galanga, lasia spinosa, pontederia hastata, vanda tessellata and zingiber zerumbet. some medicinally important and rare species are shown in figure 3. field observations have identified several rare species, such as coix aquatica, schumannianthus benthamianus, bulbostylis barbata and bambusa salarkhanii, which warrants further attention for conservation efforts. 250 banu et al. while numerous studies have focused on the angiosperm flora of several upazilas in bangladesh (islam et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2019a,b; sarker et al., 2013; sajib et al., 2014; mahmudah et al., 2017), little effort has been made to produce comprehensive district-level flora. khanam and khan (2020) documented 168 species of liliopsida (monocotyledons) from narsinghdi district, whereas hossain et al. (2021) identified 144 taxa from liliopsida in the coastal district satkhira, and islam et al. (2022) reported a mere 133 taxa from borguna district. in contrast, higher numbers of monocotyledonous taxa were recorded in chapai nawabganj and rangpur districts, with 224 and 211 taxa, respectively (islam and khan, 2024; khan et al., 2021). fig. 3. some medicinal and rare plants of rajbari district. a. amorphophallus paeoniifolius, b. bambusa salarkhanii, c. corypha taliera, d. curcuma amada, e. cyanotis cristata, f. cyperus michelianus, g. cyrtococcum accrescens, h. dactyloctenium aegyptium, i. heliconia rostrata, j. hellenia speciosa, k. kaempferia galanga, l. nechamandra alternifolia, m. pontederia hastata, n. schumannianthus benthamianus, o. syngonium podophyllum, p. zingiber zerumbet. integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 251 compared to the earlier reports, our study, with 201 monocotyledonous taxa from rajbari, surpasses the figures reported for narsinghdi, borguna, satkhira, and patuakhali (sultana, 2012; khanam and khan, 2020; hossain et al., 2021; islam et al., 2022), yet falls slightly short compared to the monocot floras of rangpur and chapai nawabganj flora (khan et al., 2021; islam and khan, 2024). molecular docking analysis a total of 27 unique active site residues were identified in the mmp-9 receptor (fig. 4). the surface area (sa) was calculated as 205.130 å², with a volume of 102.572 å³, making the active site as a significant binding region for molecular docking analysis. performing site-specific docking with active site residues is crucial in accurately predicting the binding interactions between ligands and their target proteins. unlike blind docking, which assesses potential binding across the entire protein surface, site-specific docking focuses on predefined active sites, enhancing the precision of ligand placement. this targeted approach allows for a more refined understanding of ligand-receptor interactions, increasing the likelihood of identifying effective drug candidates (ahmed and rahman, 2024). fig. 4. determination of the best ranked binding site in mmp-9 receptor. rank 1 cavity was determined as the final binding site for its highest surface area and volumetric features. a. rank 1 cavity, b. rank 2 cavity. 252 banu et al. molecular docking of 22 phytocompounds of a. paeoniifolius revealed binding affinity ranged from -4.1 to -8.1 kcal/mol (table 2). alpha-carotene showed the highest affinity (-8.1 kcal/mol), while oxalic acid demonstrated the lowest affinity (-4.1 kcal/mol). doxycycline, as a control, scored -6.0 kcal/mol and comparing with it, a total of nine phytocompounds scored better than the control. these nine compounds were put forward for second-step screening via admet assay that revealed two lead compounds such as riboflavin and lupeol. the docked complexes of the leads and control drug are visualized in the figure 5. table 2. binding affinities of a. paeoniifolius phytocompounds against the receptor mmp-9. no. ligands impaat id/ pubchem cid chemical formula molecular weight (g/mol) binding affinity (kcal/mol) 1 alpha-carotene imphy011609 c40h56 536.9 -8.1 2 riboflavin imphy000846 c17h20n4o6 376.4 -7.9 3 stigmasterol imphy014842 c29h48o 412.7 -7.6 4 quercetin imphy004619 c15h10o7 302.2 -7.2 5 beta-sitosterol imphy014836 c29h50o 414.7 -6.9 6 retinol imphy001308 c20h30o 286.5 -6.3 7 amylotetraose imphy008888 c24h42o21 666.6 -6.3 8 betulinic acid imphy012003 c30h48o3 456.7 -6.1 9 lupeol imphy012473 c30h50o 426.7 -6.1 10 1-ethoxy-4-[(z)-2-nitroprop-1enyl] benzene 5373673 c11h13no3 207.2 -5.9 11 palmitic acid imphy007327 c16h32o2 256.4 -5.9 12 d-xylose imphy015116 c5h10o5 150.1 -5.9 13 4,6-di-tert-butylresorcinol 79337 c14h22o2 222.3 -5.7 14 d-galactose imphy012050 c6h12o6 180.1 -5.7 15 nicotinic acid imphy007357 c6h5no2 123.1 -5.6 16 l-rhamnose imphy015056 c6h12o5 164.1 -5.6 17 thiamine imphy000005 c12h17n4os+ 265.3 -5.5 18 phytic acid imphy007365 c6h18o24p6 660.0 -5.5 19 beta-sitosterol palmitate imphy003933 c45h80o2 653.1 -5.4 20 triacontane imphy009413 c30h62 422.8 -5.0 21 calcium oxalate imphy003530 c2cao4 128.1 -4.2 22 oxalic acid imphy007450 c2h2o4 90.0 -4.1 23 doxycycline (control) 54671203 c22h24n2o8 444.4 -6.0 molecular interaction analysis the molecular interaction study revealed similar interaction patterns between the lead compounds and doxycycline. among the two leads and control, conventional hydrogen bonds (chbs) were observed only in riboflavin, supporting its superiority as potential anticancer drug candidate (table 3). riboflavin interacted with residues gly186, leu187, leu188, his401, glu402, his405, his411 and met422 (fig. 6a), forming chbs with gly186 and met422 residues, while other residues were involved in hydrophobic interactions. lupeol showed interactions with leu187, leu188, his401, his411, and pro421 residues (fig. 6b) where all residues formed hydrophobic interactions. doxycycline interacted with phe110, leu187, his190, and his411 residues with hydrophobic bonding only (fig. 6c). hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions are very important for drug binding and efficacy. hydrogen bonds stabilize ligandreceptor complexes, enhancing specificity and orientation, which improves binding affinity. integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 253 fig. 5. two lead compounds and control drug showing docked complexes after molecular docking analysis. a. riboflavin, b. lupeol, c. doxycycline (control). 254 banu et al. these interactions often dictate the orientation of the ligand within the binding cavity, facilitating effective biological activity. on the contrary, hydrophobic interactions promote the exclusion of water molecules from the binding site, further increasing the stability of the ligandreceptor complex. these interactions occur between nonpolar residues and contribute significantly to the overall binding energy (ahmed et al., 2023b). fig. 6. two-dimensional molecular interaction analysis of the two leads and control drug targeting mmp-9 protein. a. riboflavin, b. lupeol, c. doxycycline. table 3. evaluation of molecular interaction between the leads and the control drug targeting mmp-9 protein. ligands binding sites hydrogenbonding residues (distance in å) hydrogen bonds number hydrophobicinteraction binding affinity (kcal/mol) riboflavin gly186, leu187, leu188, his401, glu402, his405, his411, met422 gly186(2.54), met422(2.59) 2 leu187, leu188, his401, glu402, his405, his411 -7.9 lupeol leu187, leu188, his401, his411, pro421 no residues 0 leu187, leu188, his401, his411, pro421 -6.1 doxycycline (control) phe110, leu187, his190, his411 no residues 0 phe110, leu187, his190, his411 -6.0 integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 255 admet evaluation admet study revealed drug-likeness of riboflavin and lupeol in comparison with doxycycline (table 4, fig. 7). among the lead compounds, lupeol exhibited the highest molecular weight (426.7 g/mol). the h-bond accepting and donating profiles of riboflavin was closely comparable to those of doxycycline, while lupeol demonstrated only one h-bond donor and acceptor. lupeol had the highest molar refractivity score, while riboflavin had the lowest. tpsa was lowest for lupeol, while it was highest for doxycycline. the gastrointestinal absorption capacity of the two lead compounds were very similar to that of the control drug. the cyp isoform inhibition profiles of both leads and doxycycline were alike, with none showing inhibition against various cyp isoforms (table 4). in terms of solubility, riboflavin was highly soluble, doxycycline was soluble and lupeol exhibited poor solubility. riboflavin adhered to lipinski’s rule of five with zero violation, while lupeol and doxycycline demonstrated one violation each which is acceptable. in toxicity analysis, riboflavin and lupeol revealed satisfactory results with no major undesirable complications, similar to the control drug doxycycline. the admet results of the present investigation were consistent with previous sbdd studies (rahman et al., 2024; ahmed et al., 2023a,b; ahmed et al., 2024). fig. 7. drug-likeness and oral bioavailability evaluation of the leads and doxycycline. lipo indicates lipophilicity, insolu depicts insolubility, insatu suggests insaturation index, flex points flexibility, size implies molecular weight, and polar denotes polarity. pink region reflects the best zone while red line denotes best fit. a. riboflavin, b. lupeol, c. doxycycline. 256 banu et al. molecular dynamics simulation the md simulation analysis unveiled structural stability and compactness of riboflavin and lupeol (table 5). both the leads showed similar mean values in rmsd (root mean square deviation), rmsf (root mean square fluctuation), rg (radius of gyration), and sasa (solvent accessible surface area). the rmsd analysis showcased the stability of riboflavin and lupeol after 30 ns and continued to stable until 100 ns (fig. 8a). riboflavin and lupeol closely followed each other than doxycycline. the control drug exhibited a minor fluctuation between 12 to 18 ns, stabilized until 85 ns, and then showed a slight upward movement, becoming stable again with a downward movement near 100 ns. the rmsf analysis showed fluctuations in a narrow range (fig. 8b). the mean rmsf varied from 1.05 ± 0.78 to 1.40 ± 1.07 å, where doxycycline scored the lowest and riboflavin scored the highest. although the rmsf graph begins with residue index 1, this corresponds to the actual sequence of the protein. specifically, the first residue in the graph (index 1) corresponds to phe110 in the protein sequence, the second residue (index 2) corresponds to val111, and so on. this consistent pattern ensures that the fluctuations observed in the rmsf graph can be directly mapped to the biologically relevant residue positions, despite the indexing convention used by the simulation software. table 4. admet properties evaluation of the lead candidates and doxycycline. parameters molecule riboflavin lupeol doxycycline physicochemical properties formula c17h20n4o6 c30h50o c22h24n2o8 molecular weight (g/mol) 376.4 426.7 444.4 h-bond acceptors 8 1 9 h-bond donors 5 1 6 molar refractivity 96.99 135.14 110.91 tpsa 161.56 å2 20.23 å2 181.62 å2 lipophilicity ilogp 1.63 4.72 1.82 xlogp3 -1.46 9.87 0.54 wlogp -1.68 8.02 -0.50 mlogp -0.54 6.92 -2.08 silicos-it log p 1.09 6.82 -0.98 consensus log p -0.19 7.27 -0.24 pharmacokinetics gi absorption low low low cyp1a2 no no no cyp2c19 no no no cyp2c9 no no no log kp -9.63 cm/s -1.90 cm/s -8.63 cm/s water solubility (esol) log s -1.31 -8.64 -2.94 solubility (mg/ml) 1.85e+01 9.83e-07 5.07e-01 solubility (mol/l) 4.93e-02 2.30e-08 1.14e-03 class very soluble poorly soluble soluble drug likeness lipinski (violations) 0 1 1 bioavailability score 0.55 0.55 0.11 medicinal chemistry pains (alerts) 0 0 0 synthetic accessibility 3.84 5.49 5.25 toxicity acute inhalation toxicity no no no acute oral toxicity no yes no acute dermal toxicity no no no eye irritation and corrosion yes no yes skin sensitization no no no skin irritation and corrosion no yes no integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 257 table 5. molecular dynamics simulation trajectory analysis of the leads and doxycycline. tested systems pl rmsd (å) rmsf (å) rg (å) sasa (å2) riboflavin 2.92 ± 0.41 1.40 ± 1.07 3.96 ± 0.09 183.01 ± 39.93 lupeol 3.04 ± 0.55 1.23 ± 1.03 4.26 ± 0.03 235.24 ± 38.18 doxycycline (control) 2.11 ± 0.43 1.05 ± 0.78 3.85 ± 0.04 260.95 ± 30.59 the radius of gyration (rg) study further corroborated the drug candidacy of the two lead compounds, as both exhibited stability without any drastic fluctuations (fig. 8c). lupeol maintained a very steady trajectory, with fluctuations less than (0.2 å). riboflavin also maintained steady trajectory but at around 35 to 52 ns, it showed a minor downward movement, during which it intersected with doxycycline. from 52 ns onwards, riboflavin stabilized, maintaining a steady distance from both doxycycline and lupeol. doxycycline demonstrated a few initial movements from 0 to 5 ns, but after 5 ns, it remained stable throughout the 100 ns. the sasa analysis bolstered the drug candidacy of the two leads as mean sasa score was lower for the two leads compared to doxycycline (table 5). the lowest mean sasa score was found in riboflavin (183.01 ± 39.93) å2, followed by lupeol (235.24 ± 38.18) å2, and doxycycline (260.95 ± 30.59) å2. the trajectory graph elucidated the compactness of the two leads with the progression of time (fig. 8d). riboflavin and lupeol showed minor primary movements from 0 to 55 ns, after which they maintained a consistent distance with each other and demonstrated a steady downward trend until 100 ns. doxycycline also displayed a downward stabilization trend from around 50 ns until 88 ns, after which it showed a slight upward movement from 88 to 96 ns, and became stabilized again near 100 ns. fig. 8. molecular dynamics simulation study showing dynamic stability of the tested systems. a. trajectory based on protein-ligand rmsd, b. trajectory based on rmsf, c. trajectory based on rg, d. trajectory based on sasa. 258 banu et al. the protein-ligand contact analysis revealed that riboflavin formed the most extensive protein-ligand interactions, surpassing both doxycycline and lupeol (fig. 9). riboflavin exhibited the highest interaction fraction with phe110, followed by his175, his190, and other residues (fig. 9a), signifying its robust binding potential. lupeol, which showed predominant hydrophobic interactions, formed its strongest contacts with tyr393, followed by asp185 and leu188 (fig. 9b), underscoring the role of nonpolar interactions in its binding affinity. doxycycline demonstrated the highest interaction with tyr420, followed by asp185 and leu187 (fig. 9c), reflecting its distinct interaction pattern. these variations in binding profiles suggest differential stability and affinity of the compounds within the active site, emphasizing the importance of diverse interactions, especially hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding, in determining the efficacy of ligand binding. fig. 9. evaluation of protein-ligand contacts during molecular dynamics simulation. a. riboflavin, b. lupeol, c. doxycycline. integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 259 pca and gibbs fel the pca and gibbs fel analyses provided crucial insights into the essential dynamics and conformational stability of riboflavin and lupeol compared to doxycycline (fig. 10). fig. 10. evaluation of essential molecular dynamics based on principal components analysis and gibbs free energy landscapes. a. riboflavin, b. lupeol, c. doxycycline, d. superimposition of the two leads and doxycycline. 260 banu et al. the pca phase-space distribution indicated that riboflavin exhibited the highest degree of compactness, followed by lupeol and doxycycline, suggesting that riboflavin maintains the most stable conformation during simulation. this was further corroborated by the gibbs fel analysis, which underscored the stability of riboflavin by displaying a more centralized and extensive lowenergy region (denoted by blue space), reflecting its preference for energetically favorable conformations (fig. 10). lupeol showed moderate stability, with a relatively smaller low-energy region, while doxycycline displayed the least stable dynamics, with more dispersed energy states. these findings suggest that both riboflavin and lupeol demonstrate superior conformational stability compared to doxycycline, potentially enhancing their suitability as drug candidates. the pca and gibbs fel analyses align with previously published structure-based drug design study on chamaecostus cuspidatus targeting dpp4 (ahmed and rahman, 2024). molecular reactivity evaluation molecular reactivity analysis revealed the energy levels of the electrons in the homo and lumo states (fig. 11). the energy of the homo state was the highest for riboflavin (-6.496 ev), followed by lupeol (-6.344 ev), and doxycycline (-5.748 ev). for the lumo state, the fig. 11. dft-based molecular reactivity analysis of the lead compounds and control drug. a. riboflavin, b. lupeol, c. doxycycline (control). integrating taxonomy and drug discovery 261 highest energy was recorded for riboflavin (-3.009 ev), followed by doxycycline (-2.370 ev), and lupeol (0.571 ev). the band energy gap (δe) was 3.487, 6.915, and 3.378 ev for riboflavin, lupeol, and doxycycline, respectively (fig. 11). the homo represents the orbital with the highest energy-containing electrons in a molecule. the electrons in the homo are generally the most reactive due to their high energy state and are thus the easiest to excite or donate to another molecule. the lumo is the lowest energy orbital that does not contain electrons but can accept them. the lumo is critical for understanding molecular interactions, as it is the orbital most likely to accept electrons (paul et al., 2023). the energy difference between homo and lumo plays a critical role in understanding the molecular reactivity and kinetic stability of the lead compounds (ahmed et al., 2023a). doxycycline revealed the highest molecular reactivity with its lowest δe score of 3.378 ev. riboflavin demonstrated closely similar results to doxycyline with band energy gap of 3.487 ev. lupeol showed the highest band energy gap of 6.915 ev and became the least reactive and most kinetically stable compound. the molecular reactivity results of the present investigation were congruent to the dft analysis of amberboa ramosa phytocompounds (paul et al., 2023). with advanced computational biology techniques, our current investigation integrates classical plant taxonomy with drug design endeavor. this study would enrich the floristics knowledge of liliopsida in rajbari district and promote the discovery of anticancer agents targeting colorectal cancer. furthermore, the study will encourage future floristics research to integrate taxonomic insights with bioinformatics, facilitating successful drug discovery from natural compounds and paving the way for exploring alternative medicines. 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(manuscript received on 3 january 2024; revised on 23 november 2024) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 107-110, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67049 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists new records of euglenoid algae from surma river in bangladesh mousumi, anika-ann-noor rahman, md. almujaddade alfasane* and chang-gee jang1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: euglenoid algae; euglena; phacus; trachelomonas; new records; bangladesh. abstract eight species of euglenophyceae from surma river in bangladesh are reported in this paper. the species are: euglena hyalina klebs, e. robertilamii lefèvre , phacus gigas da cunha , p. pseudoplatalea pochm., p. triqueter (ehr.)duj. var. oblonga shi, trachelomonas scabra playf. var. labiata (teiling) h.-p., t. spiculifera palmer, and t. umbilicopora conradare. after a careful review on the list of euglenoid algae of bangladesh, all these eight species are found to be new addition, and hitherto described here for the first time in bangladesh. introduction the occurrence of euglenoid algae are very common in different aquatic habitats of bangladesh (alfasane et al., 2010, 2021a,b; gani et al., 2012; alfasane and khondker, 2007; khondker and alfasane, 2005; islam and alfasane 2002, 2003, 2004; islam and muniruzzaman, 1981). in a recent study on the algae of surma river in sylhet, a good number of samples showed the presence of euglenoid algae in this river. after a detailed microscopic observation, these samples were identified as belonging to eight species of the euglenoid algae of bangladesh. following a critical verification, these eight species were found to be new addition to the total species number so far reported for bangladesh (khondkder 2022). the recorded species belonged to the genera namely, euglena, phacus, and trachelomonas. materials and methods the study materials were collected from the surma river of sylhet district between october 2021 and september 2022. plankton concentrates were collected by sieving 100 l of sub-surface water samples of the surma river through a plankton net having a mesh size 20 μm and preserved with lugol’s solution. photomicrographic images of the organisms were taken with the help of a nikon optiphot, ufx-11a microscope with a nikon fx-35wa camera, japan. the relevant literature consulted to identify the species have been given in the taxonomic enumeration section as furnished below. taxonomic enumeration class: euglenophyceae; order: euglenales; family: euglenaceae; genus: euglena ehrenberg 1. euglena hyalina klebs. (fig. 1) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl.16, fig. 76a, gojdics 1952, 178) syn. euglena ruttneri stein. *corresponding author, email: mujaddade@yahoo.com 1kongju national university, college of education, republic of korea. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67049 mailto:mujaddade@yahoo.com 108 mousumi et al. cell length 128-159 μm, breadth 7-14 μm, cell elongated, rounded anterior tip, slightly curvy in the posterior side and sharply being a long tail, ornamented and arranged striations both side of the cell. chloroplasts with pyrinoids arranged in definite patterns, caudus 18-25 μm. collection no. s-4(2), 16.09.2022 2. euglena robertilamii lefèvre (fig. 2) (gojdics 1953, pl. 37, fig. 6) (syn. e. acusformis schiller) cell length 65-70 μm, breadth 7-14 μm, cells elongate, fusiform, rounded to truncate anteriorly, ending in a blunt point posteriorly. pellicle thin, very finely striated, colourless. chromatophores numerous, discoid, moderately large, peripheral. paramylon numerous rings of varying size. notes: the first report of this species obtained from marine habitat of saint servan, france in 1933 with brachionomonas submarina and platymonas tatrathele. it is a new record for bangladesh. collection no. s-5(2), 07.08.2022 genus: phacus dujardin 3. phacus gigas da cunha (fig. 3) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl.45, fig. 275) cell length 100-123 μm, breadth 70-75 μm, broadly oval flattened body, the anterior end rounded, the posterior end terminating in a long and thin bend sideways from the longitudinal axis with 26-30 μm long tail.longitudinal stripes present in the membrane and disc like chromatophores. numerous and densely packed chromatophores in the central part rather rarer and more distant towards the outside. paramylons present scattered in the protoplasm in the form of numerous ring-shaped bodies. eye-spots found in front part of the cell. collection no. s-3(1), 16.09.2022 4. phacus pseudoplatalea pochm. (fig. 4) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl. 40, fig. 247) syn. phacus platalea drez. fa. minor defl. cell length 58-68 μm, breadth 26-30 μm, broadly rounded anterior end ellipsoid body and posterior end sharply bend sideways with a short narrower pointed tip like cauda. chromatophores and paramylons also found in the central part of the body. collection no. s-4(2), 16.09.2022 5. phacus triqueter (ehr.) duj. var. oblonga shi (fig. 5) (yamagishi and akiyama, 1995, 15:67, 10.01.02) cells oblong to ovoid, dorsal surface with a longitudinal high flange and ventral one slightly concaved or nearly straight, low triangular with concaved lateral sides in apical view; anterior ends narrowly rounded; posterior ends broadly rounded with a cauda; cauda thin,long, slightly inwardly curved; periplast longitudinally striated, paramyon bodies one or two, large circular or ring like plate; cells 40-50 μm in diameter at midregion, 55-60 μm long without cauda; cauda 1218 μm long. collection no. s-2(3), 16.09.2022 new records of euglenoid algae from surma river 109 figs 1-8. 1. euglena hyalina klebs, 2. e. robertilamii lefèvre, 3. phacus gigas da cunha, 4. p. pseudoplatalea pochm., 5. p. triqueter (ehr.) duj. var. oblonga shi, 6. trachelomonas scabra playf. var. labiata (teiling) h.-p., 7. t. spiculifera palmer, 8. t. umbilicopora conrad (magnifications ×400). genus: trachelomonas ehrenberg 6. trachelomonas scabra playf. var. labiata (teiling) h.-p. (fig. 6) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl.70, fig. 655a) syn. trachelomonas labiata teiling cell length 23-30 μm, breadth 16-18 μm, oval shaped, thicken cell wall, anterior side more or less rounded and posterior side slightly narrower and pointed. condensed central part of the body. collection no. s-2(4), 01.08.2022 7. trachelomonas spiculifera palmer (fig. 7) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl. 59, fig. 424a) cell dia 25 μm, more or less circular or ovoid shaped body. rounded anterior side with pore surrounded by an annular thickening. light brown in color. collection no. s-2(3), 01.08.2022 110 mousumi et al. 8. trachelomonas umbilicopora conrad (fig. 8) (huber-pestalozzi 1955, pl. 59, fig. 417) syn. t. perforata awerinz var. umbilicophora (conrad) skv. round shaped cell with color. breadth 24-26 μm, collar 2-3 μm in height. membrane hyaline in color. pore surrounded by an annular thickening and a distinct cylindrical collar which may be anterior end. collection no. s-4(3), 01.08.2022 in a recent review, khondker (2022) has mentioned that the total species of euglenophyta of bangladesh is 254. by adding these eight newly added species, the total number of euglenoid species thus gives a figure of 262. references alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2007. new records of phytoplankton for bangladesh: phacus, lepocinclis and pteromonas bangladesh j. plant taxon. 14(2): 167‒169. alfasane, m.a., islam, m.s. and khondker, m. 2010. some freshwater phytoplankton as new reports from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(1): 87‒92. alfasane, m.a., mehnaz, m., akhtar, a., ayesha, m., shafi, s.a., islam, s., begum, z.n.t. and moustafa, m. 2021a. new records of euglenophyceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j.plant taxon. 28(1): 11‒15. alfasane, m.a., akhtar, a., mehnaz, m., ayesha, m., begum, z.n.t. and moustafa, m. 2021b. new records of some euglenoid algae from bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 311–315. gani, m.a., alfasane, m.a. and khondker, m. 2012. new records of euglenophyceae for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 19(1): 85‒88. gojdics, m. 1953. the genus euglena. the univ. wisconsin press, madison. 268 pp + 39 pls. huber-pestalozzi, g. h. 1955. das phytoplankton des süsswassers. euglenophyceen. stuttgart (reprinted 1979) 16(4): 1‒1135 islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2002. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: i. genus phacus. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 9(2): 3‒18. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2003. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh: ii. lepocinclis, strombomonas and trachelomonas. bangladesh j. plant taxon.10(1): 15‒26. islam, a.k.m. nurul and alfasane, m.a. 2004. euglenophyceae from barisal district, bangladesh:iii. genus trachelomonas ehr. bangladesh j. plant taxon.11(2): 33‒37. islam, a.k.m. nurul and muniruzzaman, k. 1981. euglenophyta of bangladesh. i. genus trachelomonas ehr. int. revue ges. hydrobiol. 66(1): 109‒125. khondker, m. and alfasane, m.a. 2005. euglenamorpha hegneri wenrich (euglenaceae): a rare euglenoid from bangladesh. bangladesh j. bot. 34(1): 41‒43. khondker, m. 2022. phycological research in bangladesh: a review of earlier works and present trend. in: maity, d. and acharya, k. (eds) biosynthetics and bioresources: the proceedings of the international conference on "algae, fungi and plants: systematics to applications, pp. 29-52. bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehradun, india. 249 pp. yamagishi, t. and akiyama, m. 1995 (eds). photomicrographs of the freshwater algae, vol. 15: uchida rokakuho pub., tokyo, japan. 100 pp. (manuscript received on 10 december 2022; revised on 5 april 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 403-429, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63536 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an annotated checklist of the vascular flora of coastal mangrove ecosystems of barguna district, bangladesh md. rafiqul islam, gazi mosharof hossain and mohammad mahfuzur rahman department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: vascular flora; mangrove; barguna; bangladesh. abstract this study provides the basic taxonomic data on the vascular flora of the coastal mangrove ecosystems in barguna district of bangladesh. plant samples and field data have been collected following walk through method. the present study reveals the occurrence of 532 species under 378 genera and 112 families in the study area, of which 24 are true mangroves, 46 mangrove associates and 461 non-mangroves. the pteridophytes are composed of 22 species under 20 genera of 12 families and gymnosperms of two species under two genera and two families. magnoliopsida are composed of 375 species under 279 genera and 77 families, and liliopsida of 133 species belonging to 77 genera under 21 families. fabaceae with 28 species is recorded as the largest dicot family, followed by asteraceae, apocynaceae, euphorbiaceae and malvaceae. poaceae with 45 species is the largest monocot family, followed by cyperaceae, araceae and arecaceae. about 60.15% of these species are herbs, 21.80% trees, 15.79% shrubs, 1.88% palms and 0.38% bamboos. the study area composed with 74.06% native and 25.94% exotic species, 79.70% species are wild, 16.35% planted and 3.95% cultivated species. majority of the species are found to grow in forest margin, roadside, woodland, wetland and river bank. most of the species are economically useful as medicine, ornamental and vegetable. this study concludes that the floristic composition of coastal mangrove ecosystems of barguna district is still rich though the area facing some severe threats. this study strongly recommends adopting effective master plan and implementing adequate measures for sustainable conservation and monitoring of the biodiversity of this disaster-prone area. introduction taxonomic studies and publications provide basic information of the flora occurring within a specific geographical area, which is essential for plant scientists especially for the plant taxonomists, ecologists, forest managers and planners in understanding and conservation of biodiversity. irrespective of a small geographical area (147570 km2, bbs, 2021), the floristic diversity of bangladesh is very rich and hosting approximately 5000 species of angiosperms (khan, 1977). but the floristic exploration throughout this country has not yet been completed during the last five decades after independence of the country, and the floristic compositions in most of the areas of this country are still unknown or poorly understood. a total of about 3886 species have been so far reported from its geographic boundary during the last one and half centuries through sporadically conducted various floristic studies (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903a, b; uddin et al., 1998; khan and huq, 2001; rashid and mia, 2001; uddin et al., 2003; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009; islam et al., 2009; arefin et al., 2011; sultana, 2012; rahman et al., 2015; tabassum, 2015; haque et al., 2018; shetu et al.,  corresponding author, e-mail: gazibotju@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63536 mailto:gazibotju@gmail.com 404 islam et al. 2018; uddin and hassan, 2018; hossain et al., 2020; khanam et al., 2020a, b; roy and khan, 2020a, b; ashrafuzzaman and sarwar, 2021; hossain et al., 2021; khan et al., 2021a, b; ashrafuzzaman et al., 2022; hossain et al., 2022). therefore, there is a great opportunity to conduct baseline floristic studies in the areas where the floristic information is still lacking or scanty is very rational. bangladesh is the largest low-lying deltaic plain in the world (sarker et al., 2010) which is geomorphologically and hydrologically dominated by the ganges-brahmaputra-meghna (gbm) river system and the bay of bengal. the coastal zone of the country represents 32% landmass (islam and rahman, 2015) which consisted of 70 islands of 19 districts and houses 29% of the total country population (abu et al., 2003, hossain, 2001, iftekhar, 2006, ahmad, 2019). depending on geographic features, the coastal zone is divided into three distinct regions, namely the western, central and eastern regions (ahmed, 2011). the coastal area of bangladesh is neither uniform, nor static; it is dynamic (brammer, 2014). the 710 km long coastline composed of interface of various ecological systems, including mangroves, wetlands, natural canals, and floodplains (nandy et al., 2013), which support a very rich coastal and mangrove biodiversity. the mangrove forest community in the south coastline especially, the south-western coastal area covered by the sundarbans, and mid-central zone is covered by haringhata reserve forest and tengragiri wildlife sanctuary, has been taken into consideration as a green protected barrier in the recent years. the south-eastern zone covers a small patch of natural mangrove forestthe chakaria sundarban, which is one of the oldest mangroves in the subcontinent (sarker et al., 2010), but completely destroyed due to excessive human interference and expansion of shrimp farming (hossain and lin, 2001). however, the mangroves are one of the most productive (jennerjahn and ittekkot, 2002) and protective (rahman and rahman, 2015) ecosystems which have immense value to local, national and global communities (tan et al., 2009). they provide wide range of ecosystem goods like wood, medicine, foods including trapping sediments, fishery nursery ground, sewerage phytoremediation (kaewtubtim et al., 2016). mangrove species are also capable to sequester and store carbon (cusack et al., 2018), reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation (schroeder, 2014). the mangrove ecosystems in barguna district are situated in the central coastal region of the country. they are highly dynamic, but highly vulnerable to both climatic (like sea level rise, cyclone, storm surge, coastal inundation, salinity intrusion and land erosion are main the natural disasters (iftekhar, 2006; mowr, 1999) and non-climatic (like economic development, unplanned tourisms, plantation of wrong species, excessive grazing etc.) stressors (nandy et al., 2013; rahman and biswas, 2004). these stresses might have cause a heavy loss of its plant diversity and change in its floristic composition. the basic floristic information of the mangrove ecosystems in barguna district is still lacking. therefore, the present study has been conducted for knowing the current floristic composition and threat generating activities and for providing valuable baseline information required for monitoring and effective sustainable conservation of the biodiversity and ecosystems of this area. materials and methods barguna district is a part of the central-coastal region of the country which belongs to the bioecological zone of the ganges flood plain (iucn, 2002). it lies between 21º48′ and 22º29′ north latitudes and between 89º52′ and 90º22′ east longitudes (district statistics 2011 of barguna, 2013). it is bounded by barisal, jhalokati and patuakhali districts on the north, patuakhali district on the east, the bay of bengal on the south and pirojpur district and a part of sundarbans under bagerhat district on the west. this dristrict comprises an area of 1939.39 km2 including 399.74 an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 405 km2 riverine and 97.18 km2 under forest (kamal, 2012, population and housing consensus-2011, 2015). it is intersected by five rivers viz., baleshwar, bishkhali, paira, haringhata and khakdon; and 300 natural canals. it has a tropical monsoonal climate with an annual average rainfall of 2,758 mm and annual average temperature of about 25°c (district statistics 2011 of barguna, 2013). fig. 1. map showing the mangrove ecosystems of barguna district. soil texture is composed of relative proportions of sand, silt and clay, but maximum area is covered with clay texture (64%) and the rest is clay loam texture (36%). soils in the south region are both saline and clayey and salinity gradually increases with dryness from january and reached maximum level in the month april-may and decreases due to onset of monsoon rainfall (population and housing consensus-2011, 2015). 406 islam et al. the semi-natural and planted coastal mangrove ecosystems of this district are dominated in the sea facing three upazilas including banguna sadar (4000 acre of babugonj forest beat under barguna forest range), patharghata (3000 acre of haringhata forest beat under patharghata forest range) and taltoli (13634.07 acre of sakhina and nishanbaria forest beats under amtoli forest range) (fig. 1). field surveys were conducted throughout all mangrove ecosystems of barguna district during different seasons from 2015 to 2022. in this study all mangrove, mangrove associated and nonmangrove species of vascular plants found in wild and as planted or cultivated with their native and exotic origin have been documented. the collection of the vascular plant specimens were conducted following walk through method (junaid, 2018). the processing, drying and preservation of plant specimens were done following standard herbarium methods and techniques (bridson and forman, 1989; singh and subramaniam, 2008). the identification of each taxon was done based on its voucher specimens collected by the first and second authors. taxonomic identification of the specimens and verification of the nomenclatural information has been completed through consulting taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literatures (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903a, b; wu and raven, 1994-2001; wu et al., 1999-2013; the plant list, 2013; powo, 2020; tropicos, 2021; hossain et al., 2021; khan et al., 2021b; hossain et al., 2022), and by matching with the respective voucher specimens of dacb and jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). the families of pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms have been arranged following the widely used classification systems of pichi (1977), kramer and green (1990) and cronquist (1988), respectively, whereas the genera and species under each family alphabetically. true mangrove and mangrove associated plant species were recognized following fao (2007), giesen et al. (2007) and rahman et al. (2015). data on the uses of the species were recorded based on personal experience and also through interviews with the local people which were varifaied through consulting the relevant literature (siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009; hossain et al., 2021; khan et al., 2021a, b; annon, 2022; hossain et al., 2022). the rare status of the plant species was inferred through estimation of their current population size, occurrence, distribution range and regeneration in the area based on field observation. results and discussion this study documents the occurrence of 532 species belonging to 378 genera under 112 families of vascular plants in the mangrove ecosystems of barguna district, of which 24 (4.51%) species are true and obligatory mangroves, 46 (8.64%) are associates and facultative mangroves and the rest of 461 (86.65%) species are non-mangrove. during this study, pteridophytes are represented by 22 species under 20 genera of 12 families and gymnosperms of two species under two genera and families. among the angiosperms, dicotyledons are represented by 375 species of 279 genera and 77 families that constituted 70.49% of the vascular flora of the study area, whereas, monocotyledons by 133 species belonging to 77 genera under 21 families, which comprised 25.00% of this flora (table 1). about 394 species (74.06%) of this vascular flora are native, whereas, 138 species (25.94%) are exotic to bangladesh. pteridaceae and salviniaceae with four species each representing the largest families of pteridophyta, which is followed by polypodiaceae and thelypteridaceae with three species each. the rest of each families athyriaceae, blechnaceae, lygodiaceae, marsileaceae, ophioglossaceae, psilotaceae, selaginellaceae and vittariaceae represented by a single species. the two gymnosperm families araucariaceae and cupressaceae is represented with only one species each. in dicotyledons, fabaceae with 28 species is recorded as the largest family, which is followed by an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 407 asteraceae (with 23 species), apocynaceae (21 species), euphorbiaceae (20 species) and malvaceae (17 species). in monocotyledons, poaceae is found as the largest family (with 45 species), which is followed by cyperaceae (31 species), araceae (15 species) and arecaceae (10 species). table 1. list of vascular flora of mangrove ecosystems in banguna district, bangladesh. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse pteridophyta schimp. psilotaceae j.w. griff. & henfr. psilotum nudum (l.) p.beauv. psilotum herb, ep; w op tg m gmh 5827 selaginellaceae willk selaginella vaginata spring selaginella herb, pr; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg m mri 168 ophioglossaceae martinov ophioglossum reticulatum l. sharpa jihba herb, er; w rs, wl hg, tg m gmh 5801 salviniaceae martinov azolla pinnata r.br. khudipana herb, ff; w wtl psk gm mri 469 salvinia cucullata roxb. ex bory indur kanipana herb, ff; w wtl psk, tg gm, o mri 464 s. molesta d.mitch. # pani dhekia herb, ff; w wtl psk gm, o mri 471 s. natans (l.) all. pani dhekia herb, ff; w wtl psk, tg gm, o mri 478 marsileaceae mirb. marsilea quadrifolia l. # susni shak herb, cr; w wtl hg, psk, tg vg mri 462 lygodiaceae m. roem. lygodium flexuosum (l.) sw. saralata fern herb, cl; w fm, wl psk, tg m mri 470 pteridaceae e.d.m. kirchn. *acrostichum aureum l. tiger fern herb, er; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg m, tm gmh 5819 adiantum caudatum l. khopa fern herb, ep; w op, obw tg o mri 482 ceratopteris thalictroides (l.) brongn. pani lettuce herb, er; w wtl tg vg mri 461 pteris vittata l. dhekia herb, lp; w obw hg, psk, tg m mri 078 vittariaceae ching *haplopteris elongata (sw.) e.h. crane fitta fern herb, ep; w op, wl hg m, o gmh 5807 polypodiaceae j. presl & c. presl drynaria quercifolia (l.) j. sm. pankhiraj herb, ep; w op, wl hg, psk, tg m, o mri 474 microsorum punctatum (l.) copel. gucha patra herb, ep; w op, wl hg, psk, tg m, o mri 152 pyrrosia nuda (giesenh.) ching pyrosia herb, ep; w op, wl hg, psk, tg m mri 532 blechnaceae newman *stenochlaena palustris (burm.f.) bed. dhekia lata herb, cl; w rb, fm, wl hg, psk, tg m, vg gmh 5885 thelypteridaceae ching ex pic. serm. ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel. dheki shak herb, cr; w fm, wl tg m mri 463 christella crinipes (hook.) holttum bish dhekia herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 513 thelypteris dentata (forssk.) e.p.st.john datitila herb, cr; w fm, wl psk, tg o, vg mri 625 athyriaceae alston diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. dhekia shak herb, er; w fm, wl hg, tg vg mri 599 gymnosperms prantl araucariaceae henkel & w. hochst. 408 islam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse araucaria heterophylla (salisb.) franco # x-mas tree tree, m; pl fm, rs tg o mri 611 cupressaceae gray platycladus orientalis (l.) franco # thuja shrub; pl fm, rs tg o mri 676 magnoliopsida brongn. annonaceae juss. annona reticulata l. # atta, nona tree, s; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg fr mri 624 huberantha pendula (capuron ex g.e. schatz & le thomas) chaowasku # weeping debdaru tree, m; pl fm, rs tg o mri 561 monoon longifolium (sonn.) b.xue & r.m.k.saunders # debdaru tree, l; pl rs, wl hg, psk, tg o, t mri 697 lauraceae juss. cassytha filiformis l. akashbel herb, ps; w op tg m gmh 5836 litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b.rob. kukurchita tree, m; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg m mri 650 piperaceae giseke peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth # luchipata herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 566 aristolochiaceae juss. aristolochia indica l. ishwarmul herb, cl; w fm, wl tg m mri 189 nymphaeaceae salisb. nymphaea nouchali burm. f. nilshapla herb, fl; w wtl hg, psk, tg m, o mri 636 n. pubescens willd. sadashapla herb, fl; w wtl hg, psk, tg o, vg mri 626 n. rubra roxb. ex andrews lalshapla herb, fl; w wtl psk, tg m, o mri 540 ceratophyllaceae gray ceratophyllum demersum l. kantajhanjhi herb, sm; w wtl psk m mri 670 ranunculaceae juss. ranunculus sceleratus l. jhumka phul herb, er; w wtl psk, tg m mri 290 menispermaceae juss. stephania japonica (thunb.) miers akandi manik herb, cl; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg m gmh 5813 tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thomson gulancha herb, cl; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg m mri 657 cannabaceae martinov trema orientalis (l.) blume banjiga, jibon tree, m; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg fw mri 677 moraceae gaudich. artocarpus heterophyllus lam. # kanthal tree, m; pl rs, wl hg, psk, tg fr, t mri 514 ficus benghalensis l. bot tree, l; w fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg o, fw mri 522 f. elastica roxb. ex hornem. rubber bot tree, m; pl fm, rs tg o mri 594 f. hispida l. f. kakdumur tree, s; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 699 f. racemosa l. jagdumur tree, l; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg m mri 466 f. religiosa l. ashwath tree, l; w fm, rs, wl psk, tg m, o mri 225 f. rumphii blume khiri bot tree, l; w fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg m, o gmh 5803 f. virens aiton shada pakur tree, l; w fm, rs, wl tg fw, m gmh 5811 streblus asper lour. sheora tree, l; w fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg fw, m mri 020 urticaceae juss. pilea microphylla (l.) liebm. # latamaricha herb, pr; w obw, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 467 pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. kullaruki herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m gmh 5824 an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 409 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse casuarinaceae r.br. casuarina equisetifolia l. jhaw tree, l; pl fm, rs hg, psk, tg o gmh 5805 nyctaginaceae juss. boerhavia diffusa l. punarnava herb, pr; w fm, rs psk, tg m gmh 5825 bougainvillea spectabilis willd. # baganbilash shrub, sc; pl fm, rs hg, psk, tg o mri 512 mirabilis jalapa l. # sandhyamoni herb, er; pl fm, rs tg m, o mri 620 amaranthaceae juss. achyranthes aspera l. apang herb, er; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg m mri 598 alternanthera paronychioides a. st.-hil. # jhuli khata herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 293 a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. # henchi herb, fl; w wtl hg, psk, tg gm, vg mri 488 a. sessilis (l.) r.br. ex dc. # malancha herb, pr; w fm, rb, rs hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 502 amaranthus blitum l. # goburanotey herb, er; w fm, rs hg, tg m, vg mri 635 a. spinosus l. # kantanotey herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 649 a. viridis l. # notey shak herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 680 celosia argentea l. # morogphul herb, er; pl fm, rs psk, tg m, o mri 510 chenopodium album l. botua shak herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 021 cyathula prostrata (l.) blume shyontula herb, pr; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 671 *suaeda maritima (l.) dumort. ban naringa herb, er; w fm, sd tg m mri 090 portulacaceae juss. portulaca grandiflora hook. # time phul herb, pr; pl fm, rs tg o mri 698 p. oleracea l. # boronunia herb, pr; w fm, rs psk, tg m, vg mri 688 basellaceae raf. basella alba l. pui shak herb, cr; cv fm, rs hg, psk, tg vg mri 487 molluginaceae bartl. glinus oppositifolius (l.) a. dc. gima shak herb, pr; w fm, rs, sd tg m, vg gmh 5863 polygonaceae juss. persicaria barbata (l.) h.hara biskatali herb, er; w fm, wtl psk m mri 468 p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre biskatali herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg m mri 206 p. orientalis (l.) spach bara panimarich herb, er; w fm, wtl psk, tg m mri 640 rumex dentatus l. bon palang herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 646 r. maritimus l. dati palang herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 571 plumbaginaceae juss. **aegialitis rotundifolia roxb. nunia shrub; w fm, rb, wl tg fw, m gmh 5851 dilleniaceae salisb. dillenia indica l. chalta tree, m; pl rs, wl hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 472 clusiaceae lindl. *calophyllum inophyllum l. punnul, punial tree, m; w fm, rs, wl tg m, oy gmh 5872 mesua ferrea l. nageshawr tree, s; pl rs psk, tg m, o mri 679 sterculiaceae vent. abroma augusta (l.) l.f. ulatkambal shrub; w fm, rs psk fb, m mri 500 melochia corchorifolia l. tiki okra shrub; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 491 410 islam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse bombacaceae kunth. bombax ceiba l. shimul tree, l; w rs, wl hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 577 malvaceae juss. abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench dherosh herb, er; cv fm psk, tg vg mri 666 abutilon indicum (l.) sweet petari shrub; w fm, rs psk, tg fb, m mri 689 **brownlowia tersa (l.) kosterm. lata sundri shrub; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg fw, m gmh 5855 ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. # shada shimul tree, m; pl fm, rs psk fb, t mri 511 corchorus aestuans l. jangli pat shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 473 **heritiera fomes buch.-ham. sundri tree, l; w wl hg, psk, tg t gmh 5867 hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. # joba shrub; pl fm, rs hg, psk, tg o mri 590 h. schizopetalus (dyer) hook.f. # jhumko jaba shrub; pl fm, rs psk o mri 597 *h. tiliaceus l. bhola shrub, sc; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg fb, fw mri 366 malachra capitata (l.) l. # bondheras herb, er; w fm, rs tg o gmh 5883 malvaviscus arboreus dill. ex cav. # morich joba shrub; pl fm, rs tg o mri 690 sida acuta burm. f. kureta herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 554 s. cordata (burm. f.) bross. waalk. pitberela herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 637 s. cordifolia l. shet berela herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 581 s. rhombifolia l. lal berela herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 596 triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. ban okra shrub; w fm, rs psk, tg fb, m mri 665 urena lobata l. ban okra shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 475 lecythidaceae a. rich. barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal tree, m; w fm, rb, wtl hg, psk m, o mri 501 *b. racemosa (l.) spreng. shamudra hijol tree, m; w fm, rb psk m, fw gmh 5877 tamaricaceae link *tamarix indica willd. nona jhaw tree, s; w fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg fw, m gmh 5802 passifloraceae juss. ex roussel passiflora foetida l. # jhumkalata herb, cl; w fm, rs psk, tg fr, m mri 555 caricaceae dumort. carica papaya l. # papya tree, m; pl fm, rs hg, psk, tg fr, vg mri 619 cucurbitaceae juss. coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha herb, cl; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 687 cucurbita maxima duchesne # misti kumra herb, cl; cv fm psk m, vg mri 490 lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. lao herb, cl; cv fm hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 601 luffa acutangula (l.) roxb. jhinga herb, cl; cv fm psk m, vg mri 678 l. cylindrica (l.) m.roem. dhundal herb, cl; cv fm psk m, vg mri 696 momordica charantia l. korolla herb, cl; cv fm hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 575 trichosanthes cucumerina l. chichinga herb, cl; cv fm psk m, vg mri 586 salicaceae mirb. flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr. bauchi shrub; w fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 278 cleomaceae bercht. & j. presl cleome rutidosperma dc. # nil hurhurey herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 480 c. viscosa l. halud hurhurey herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m, vg mri 437 an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 411 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse brassicaceae burnett rorippa indica (l.) hiern bansarisha herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 536 moringaceae martinov moringa oleifera lamk. # shajna tree, m; pl fm, rs psk m, vg mri 564 sapotaceae juss. manilkara zapota (l.) p.royen # sopheda tree, m; pl rs hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 549 mimusops elengi l. bokul tree, m; pl rs psk, tg m, o mri 631 planchonella obovata (r.br.) pierre bankathal tree, s; w rb, wl tg m gmh 5804 ebenaceae gürke diospyros discolor willd. # bilati gab tree, m; pl fm, rs hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 592 d. malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab tree, m; w rb; wl psk, tg mri 607 myrsinaceae r.br. ardisia solanacea (poir.) roxb. banjam shrub; w wl hg, psk, tg m, o gmh 5821 primulaceae batsch **aegiceras corniculatum (l.) blanco kholshi shrub; w wl tg hp, fw gmh 5816 crassulaceae j. st.-hil. kalachoe pinnata (lam.) pers. # patharkuchi herb, er; pl fm tg m, o mri 498 rosaceae juss. rosa chinensis jacq. # jangli golap shrub; pl fm tg he, m mri 476 mimosaceae r.br. acacia auriculiformis a.cunn. ex benth # akashmoni tree, l; pl rs, wl hg, psk, tg t mri 250 albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. kalo koroi tree, l; w rs, wl psk, tg t mri 494 a. niopoides var. niopoides (spruce ex benth.) burkart # raj siris tree, l; pl rs hg, psk, tg t mri 496 a. procera (roxb.) benth. shada koroi tree, l; w rs, wl psk, tg t mri 479 **cynometra ramiflora l. shigra tree, s; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg fw, m gmh 5840 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit # ipil-ipil tree, l; w fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg t mri 484 mimosa pudica l. # lajjaboti herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 505 samanea saman (jacq.) merr. # shirish tree, l; pl fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg t mri 546 senegalia catechu (l.f.) p.j.h.hurter & mabb. khoir tree, m; pl fm, rs tg fw, m gmh 5806 vachellia nilotica (l.) p.j.h. hurter & mabb. babla tree, m; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg gu, m gmh 5817 caesalpiniaceae r.br. bauhinia acuminata l. sada kanchon tree, s; pl fm, rs psk,tg o mri 477 *caesalpinia crista l. kutumkanta shrub, sc; w fm, rb hg, psk, tg m mri 061 cassia fistula l. badarlathi tree, m; w fm, rs psk, tg m, o gmh 5890 delonix regia (bojer ex hook.) raf. # krishnachura tree, l; pl rs hg, psk, tg m, o mri 538 guilandina bonduc l. # nata kanta shrub, sc; w fm psk, tg m, oy gmh 5869 *intsia bijuga (colebr.) kuntze. bhaila tree, s; w rb, wl tg m gmh 5880 senna alata (l.) roxb. # dadmardan shrub; w fm, rs psk m mri 587 s. occidentalis (l.) link # bara kalkesunda shrub; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 252 s. siamea (lam.) h.s. irwin & barn. # minjuri tree, l; pl fm, wl hg, psk, tg fw, o mri 603 412 islam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse s. sophera (l.) roxb. # kalkeshunda shrub; w fm, rs psk m mri 614 s. tora (l.) roxb. # kalkeshunda herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 629 tamarindus indica l. # tetul tree, l; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg fr, t mri 589 fabaceae lindl. abrus precatorius l. kunch, rati herb, cl; w fm, rb tg m mri 171 aeschynomene indica l. kathshola shrub; w fm, wtl psk, tg fo mri 381 *aganope heptaphylla (l.) polhill panpata, satpata shrub, li; w fm, rb tg m gmh 5852 brachypterum scandens (roxb.) miq. mohajonilata shrub, li; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg m gmh 5808 cajanus cajan (l.) huth # arhar shrub; cv fm, rs psk m, pu mri 602 c. scarabaeoides (l.) thouars banurkalki herb, cl; w fm psk, tg gm, m mri 485 canavalia rosea (sw.) dc. banshim herb, cl; w fm, sd hg m mri 493 *canavalia maritima thouars banshim herb, cl; w fm, sd hg m gmh 5820 clitoria ternatea l. # aparajita herb, cl; w fm tg m, o mri 504 crotalaria pallida aiton jhunjhuni shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 579 *dalbergia candenatensis (dennst.) prain chanda lata shrub, li; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg m gmh 5812 d. sissoo roxb. ex dc. sisoo tree, l; pl rs, wl hg, psk, tg t mri 622 *d. spinosa roxb. kutum kanta shrub, sc; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg m gmh 5838 *derris trifoliata lour. kalia lata herb, cl; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg fb, m gmh 5847 erythrina fusca lour. kanta mandar tree, s; pl fm, rs psk, tg m, o mri 642 e. stricta roxb. teli mandar tree, s; pl fm, rs psk, tg m, o mri 653 grona heterophylla (willd.) h.ohashi & k.ohashi bon motorshuti herb, pr; w fm, rs tg lf, m mri 569 g. triflora (l.) h.ohashi & k.ohashi kulalia herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg gm, m mri 499 lablab purpureus (l.) sweet # shim herb, cl; cv fm hg, psk, tg pu, vg mri 515 *mucuna gigantea (willd.) dc. bara alkushi herb, cl; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg m gmh 5830 m. monosperma wight nata alkushi herb, cl; w rb, wl tg m mri 481 m. pruriens (l.) dc. bichuti lata herb, cl; w fm tg m mri 508 pleurolobus gangeticus (l.) j.st.-hil. ex h.ohashi & k.ohashi salpani shrub; w fm, rs psk, tg fb, m mri 140 *pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre koroch tree, m; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg fw, m gmh 5844 sesbania bispinosa (jacq.) w.wight. dhoncha shrub; w fm, wtl tg fb, gm mri 203 s. cannabina (retz.) poir. dhonchi shrub; cv fm, wtl psk, tg fb, gm mri 517 *vigna adenantha (g.mey.) marechal & al. ban borboti herb, cl; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf, gm gmh 5809 v. mungo (l.) hepper. mashkalai herb, er; cv fm, rs psk pl, lf mri 528 lythraceae j. st.-hil. ammannia multiflora roxb. # acidpatta herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg m mri 364 lagerstroemia indica l. jarul, furush tree, s; pl rs tg m. o mri 542 l. speciosa (l.) pers. jarul tree, l; pl rs, wl hg, psk, tg m, o mri 530 lawsonia inermis l. # mehedi tree, s; pl fm hg, psk, tg dy, m mri 617 punica granatum l. # dalim, bedana shrub; pl fm psk, tg dy, fr mri 655 **sonneratia apetala buch.-ham. kewra tree, l; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 406 **s. caseolaris (l.) engl. choila, ora tree, m; w rb hg, psk, tg fr, m gmh 5842 myrtaceae juss. callistemon citrinus (curtis) skeels # bottlebrush tree, s; pl fm, rs tg o mri 568 an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 413 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. # eucalyptus tree, l; pl rs, wl hg, psk, tg m, t mri 584 psidium guajava l. # peyara tree, s; pl fm hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 547 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels kalojam tree, l; pl fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg fr, t mri 440 s. jambos (l.) alston golapjam tree, m; pl rs tg fr, m mri 552 s. samarangense (blume) merr. & l.m.perry jamrul tree, m; pl fm psk, tg fr mri 559 onagraceae juss. ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara keshordam herb, fl; w wtl hg, psk, tg m mri 613 l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell # pani palong herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg dy, m mri 644 combretaceae r.br. combretum indicum (l.) defilipps madobi lata shrub, li; pl fm hg, psk, tg m, o mri 674 **lumnitzera racemosa willd. kirpa tree, s; w fm, rb, wl tg dy, fw gmh 5810 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun tree, l; pl rs hg, psk, tg m mri 693 t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera tree, l; pl rs psk, tg m mri 684 t. catappa l. kathbadam tree, l; pl rs hg, psk, tg m, nu mri 001 t. chebula retz. horitoki tree, l; pl rs psk, tg m mri 668 rhizophoraceae pers. **bruguiera gymnorhiza (l.) lam. lal kakra tree, l; w rb, wl hg, tg dy, t mri 662 **b. sexangula (lour.) poir. shobuj kakra tree, l; w rb, wl hg, tg dy, t gmh 5815 **ceriops decandra (griff.) w.theob. goran tree, s; w wl hg, psk, tg dy, fw, hp gmh 5818 **kandelia candel (l.) druce bhatkathi tree, s; w rb, fm tg dy, fw mri 557 **rhizophora apiculata blume jhana tree, m; w rb, fm tg fw, m mri 562 **r. mucronata lam. jhana, garjan tree, l; w rb, fm tg dy, fw mri 150 loranthaceae juss. dendrophthoe falcata (l.f.) blume bajrangi shrub, ps; w op hg, psk, tg m mri 582 scurrula parasitica l. porgacha shrub, ps; w op hg, psk, tg m mri 038 viscum monoicum roxb. ex dc. bhanda herb, ps; w op hg, psk, tg m gmh 5834 celastraceae r.br. *salacia chinensis l. choit boroi shrub, sc; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg fr, m gmh 5849 euphorbiaceae juss. acalypha indica l. muktajhuri herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 574 bridelia retusa (l.) a.juss. harinhara shrub; w fm tg m mri 335 chrozophora plicata (vahl) a. juss. ex spreng. khudi okra herb, er; w fm, rs psk m mri 609 codiaeum variegatum (l.) rumph. ex a.juss. # patabahar shrub; pl fm, rs tg m, o mri 616 croton bonplandianus baill. # bandhone herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 628 c. caudatus geiseler. nan bhantur shrub; w fm tg m mri 544 *drypetes assamica (hook. f.) pax & k. hoffm. bon bokul shrub; w fm, rb, wl tg m gmh 5814 euphorbia hirta l. # bara dudhia herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 524 e. prostrata aiton sij herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m gmh 5823 e. serpens kunth balu madur herb, pr; w fm, rs tg m mri 384 414 islam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse e. thymifolia l. # swetkerui herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 304 e. tirucalli l. # narasaji shrub; pl fm, rs psk, tg m, o mri 497 e. tithymaloides l. bera chita herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg he, m mri 483 **excoecaria agallocha l. gewa tree, l; w wl hg, psk, tg m, pp gmh 5845 jatropha curcas l. # bherenda shrub; pl fm, rs psk he, m mri 451 j. gossypiifolia l. # lal bherenda shrub; w fm, rs psk he, m mri 534 mallotus repandus (rottler) müll.arg gunti tree, s; w fm psk m mri 308 ricinus communis l. # bherenda shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, oy mri 527 *shirakiopsis indica (willd.) esser hurmui tree, s; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg m, fp gmh 5832 trewia polycarpa benth. & hook.f. pitali tree, m; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg fw, m mri 007 phyllanthaceae martinov antidesma ghaesembilla gaertn. khudijam tree, s; w fm, wl tg m mri 520 breynia vitis-idaea (burm.f.) c.e.c.fisch. kalo sitki shrub; w fm tg m mri 213 flueggea virosa (roxb. ex willd.) royle khaukra shrub; w fm, rs tg m mri 103 phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels # arboroi tree, s; pl fm hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 531 p. emblica l. amloki tree, s; pl fm, rs hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 647 p. niruri l. # bhui amla herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg dy, m mri 652 p. reticulatus poir. chitki shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg dy, m mri 043 rhamnaceae juss. ziziphus mauritiana lam. boroi tree, m; w fm hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 661 z. oenoplia (l.) mill. ban boroi shrub, sc; w fm, rb tg he, m mri 172 leeaceae dumort. leea indica (burm. f.) merr. kurkur jihwa shrub; w fm, rb hg, tg gm, m mri 663 vitaceae juss. causonis assamica (m.a. lawson) craib. golgoti lata herb, cl; w fm, wl tg m mri 332 *c. maritima (jackes) jackes golgoti lata herb, cl; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg m gmh 5822 c. trifolia (l.) mabb. & j. wen angur lata herb, cl; w fm, rb, wl psk, hg, tg lf, m mri 056 tetrastigma bracteolatum (wall.) planch nekungriubi herb, cl; w fm, wl tg m mri 138 sapindaceae juss. mri 685 allophylus cobbe (l.) forsyth f. rakhal chita shrub; w fm, rs, wl tg fw, m mri 243 cardiospermum halicacabum l. lataphutki herb, cl; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 656 *dodonaea viscosa jacq. paniphul tree, s; w fm, wl tg fw, m gmh 5853 lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. ban horina tree, s; w fm, wl psk, tg fr, fw mri 359 l. senegalensis (juss. ex poir.) leenh. gota horina shrub; w fm, wl tg fw, m mri 643 litchi chinensis sonn. # litchu tree, m; pl fm hg, psk, tg fr mri 606 anacardiaceae r.br. lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga, jeol tree, s; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg he, gu mri 368 mangifera indica l. # aam tree, l; w fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg fr, t mri 593 spondias dulcis parkinson # amrah tree, l; pl fm hg, psk, tg fr mri 578 s. pinnata (l. f.) kurz bon amrah tree, l; w wl tg fr mri 548 meliaceae juss. **aglaia cucullata (roxb.) pellegr. amoor tree, s; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg m, t gmh 5826 aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.parker pithraj, royna tree, m; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, oy mri 556 an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 415 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse azadirachta indica a. juss. neem tree, m; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, t mri 560 khaya anthotheca (welw.) c.dc. # lombu tree, l; pl rs hg, psk, tg t mri 492 melia azedarach l. ghora neem tree, m; pl fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, t mri 518 swietenia mahagoni (l.) jacq. # mehagani tree, l; pl rs hg, psk, tg t mri 565 **xylocarpus granatum j.koenig dhundal tree, m; w rb tg m, t mri 015 **x. moluccensis (lam.) m.roem. poshur tree, m; w rb, wl hg, tg m, t gmh 5843 rutaceae juss. aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel tree, m; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 535 citrus aurantiifolia (christm.) swingle lebu shrub; pl fm hg, psk, tg fr mri 539 c. maxima (burm.) merr. # jambura tree, s; pl fm, rs hg, psk, tg fr mri 585 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc. datmajoni shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 610 limonia acidissima l. kadbel tree, m; pl rs psk fr mri 595 *merope angulata (willd.) swingle bonlebu shrub; w fm, rb hg, psk, tg m gmh 5829 murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. curry patta tree, s; w fm, rs psk m, sp mri 639 m. paniculata (l.) jack kamini tree, s; pl rs, wl hg, tg m, o mri 651 oxalidaceae r.br. averrhoa bilimbi l. # bilimbi tree, s; pl fm hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 673 a. carambola l. # kamranga tree, s; pl fm hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 692 oxalis corniculata l. # amrul herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 621 balsaminaceae a. rich. impatiens balsamina l. # dopati herb, er; pl fm tg m, o mri 667 araliaceae juss. polyscias fruticosa (l.) harms # tikosaya pata shrub; pl fm, rs tg o mri 632 p. scutellaria (burm. f.) fosberg, # saya pata shrub; pl fm, rs tg o mri 573 apiaceae lindl. centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni herb, cr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 486 eryngium foetidum l. # bilati dhoneya herb, er; w fm hg, tg m, sp mri 641 hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam. kuti thankuni herb, cr; w fm tg m mri 495 oenanthe benghalensis benth. & hook.f. ban dhonia herb, er; w fm, rs tg m mri 288 o. javanica (blume) dc ban dhonia herb, er; w fm, rs tg m mri 376 apocynaceae juss. allamanda cathartica l. # ghonta phul shrub; pl fm, rs tg o mri 694 alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br. chhatim tree, l; w rs, wl hg, psk, tg m, t mri 576 calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton akondo shrub; w fm, rs psk, tg fb, m mri 521 c. procera (aiton) w.t.aiton shda akondo shrub; w rs tg fb, m mri 588 cascabela thevetia (l.) lippold # kolkey phul tree, s; pl rs psk, tg m, o mri 503 catharanthus roseus (l.) g.don # noyantara herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, o mri 608 *cerbera odollam gaertn. dahur tree, s; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 072 dregea volubilis (l.f.) benth. ex hook.f. jukti phul herb, cl; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg fb, m gmh 5828 *finlaysonia obovata wall. mamakola herb, cl; w rb, wl hg, tg fb, m gmh 5841 hoya parasitica wall. ex wight futki lata herb, ps; w op; wl hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 005 hoya lanceolata wall. ex d.don futki lata herb, ps; w op; wl hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 658 416 islam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse hemidesmus indicus (l.) r.br. anantomul herb, cl; w fm, rs psk, tg fb, m mri 313 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w.t.aiton parallia lata herb, cl; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 686 nerium oleander l. # rakta karobi tree, s; pl fm, rs tg m, o mri 591 *parsonsia alboflavescens (dennst.) mabb. pasonsi herb, cl; w fm, rb tg fb, m gmh 5839 *pentatropis capensis (l. f.) bullock panchabrti lata herb, cl; w rb, wl hg m gmh 5831 *sarcolobus carinatus wall. bawali lata herb, cl; w fm, wl tg m gmh 5860 *s. globosus wall. bawali lata herb, cl; w fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg m, vg gmh 5846 tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r.br. ex roem & schult. tagar shrub; w rs, wl hg, psk, tg m, o mri 612 *tylophora flexuosa r. br. (vincetoxicum sp.) unknown herb, cl; w fm, wl hg, tg m gmh 5858 vincetoxicum indicum (burm.f.) mabb. antamul herb, cl; w fm, wl hg, psk, tg fb, m gmh 5850 solanaceae juss. cestrum nocturnum l. # hasnahena shrub; pl fm tg m, o mri 623 datura metel l. # sada dhutra shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 604 nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. # ban tamak herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 506 physalis angulata l. # ban tepari herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 529 solanum americanum mill. # tit begun herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 543 s. bahamense l. morich herb, er; cv fm hg, psk, tg sp, vg mri 563 s. nigrum l. kakmachi herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 570 s. sisymbriifolium lam. # kanta begun herb, pr; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 615 s. torvum sw. # gota begun shrub; w fm, rs tg m, vg mri 645 s. violaceum ortega phutki begun shrub; w fm, rs tg m mri 675 s. virginianum l. kantikari herb, pr; w fm, rs, sd hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 682 convolvulaceae juss. camonea umbellata (l.) a.r. simões & staples # goria lata herb, cl; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, o mri 509 evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. # bhui okra herb, cr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, sb mri 669 ipomoea aquatica forssk. kalmi shak herb, cr; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg vg mri 516 i. batatas (l.) lam. # misti alu herb, cr; cv fm psk vg mri 526 *i. pes-caprae (l.) r.br. chagalkhuri herb, cr; w fm, sd hg, tg m, sb gmh 5856 operculina turpethum (l.) s. manso dudh kalmi herb, cl; w fm, wl tg m mri 618 stictocardia tiliifolia (desr.) hallier.f. ban kalmi herb, cl; w fm, wl tg m mri 664 cuscutaceae dumort. cuscuta chinensis lam. sharno lata herb, cl; w op; fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 638 c. reflexa roxb. sharno lata herb, cl; w op; fm, rs tg m mri 446 menyanthaceae dumort. nymphoides indica (l.) kuntze panchuli mala herb, fl; w wtl psk m, vg mri 654 cordia dichotoma g.forst. bohola, bola tree, m; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg fw, m gmh 5848 heliotropium curassavicum l. # nona hatisur herb, pr; w fm, rs tg m, vg gmh 5833 h. indicum l. hatisur herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 455 verbenaceae j. st.-hil. duranta erecta l. # duranto shrub; pl fm, rs hg, tg he, m mri 627 lantana camara l. # kutuskanta shrub; w fm, rs psk, tg fw, m mri 630 an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 417 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse lippia alba (mill.) n.e.br. ex britton & p.wilson # motmotia shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 181 phyla nodiflora (l.) greene vuiokra herb, cr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 211 lamiaceae martinov anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze. gobura herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 188 clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhatti shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 634 c. infortunatum l. bhat shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 285 gmelina arborea roxb. gamari tree, l; pl rs hg, psk, tg m, t mri 583 hyptis capitata jacq. # tata tokma herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 550 leucas lavandulifolia sm. shetodron herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 523 leonurus sibiricus l. roktodron herb, er; w fm, rs tg m mri 553 mesosphaerum suaveolens (l.) kuntze # tokma herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 558 ocimum americanum l. tulshi herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 580 *premna serratifolia l. gambari shrub; w fm, rb hg, tg m gmh 5854 salvia plebeia r.br. bhuitulsi herb, er; w fm, rs tg m mri 600 tectona grandis l. f. shegun tree, l; pl rs hg, psk, tg t mri 533 vitex negundo l. nishinda shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 436 *volkameria inermis l. shia vat shrub, li; w fm, rb hg, psk, tg m, o gmh 5837 plantaginaceae juss. *bacopa monnieri (l.) wettst. brammi herb, pr; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg m, vg gmh 5835 mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small # micardan herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 300 scoparia dulcis l. # bondhone herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 853 oleaceae hoffmanns. & link jesminum sambac (l.) aiton # beli, jui shrub; pl fm, rb tg m, o mri 836 nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. sheuli, shephali tree, s; pl fm, rs psk, tg m, o mri 779 linderniaceae borsch, kai müll. & eb. fisch. bonnaya antipoda (l.) druce. zai ghas herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 794 b. ciliata (colsm.) spreng. bhui papri herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 802 lindernia procumbens (krock.) borbás bakpuspa herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 781 acanthaceae juss. **acanthus ilicifolius l. hargoza shrub; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg m mri 365 **a. volubilis wall. lata hargoza herb, cl; w rb tg m gmh 5857 **avicennia officinalis l. shada baen tree, l; w rb, wl tg hp, m, t gmh 5874 hemigraphis hirta (vahl) t. anderson buripana herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 801 hygrophila auriculata (schumach.) heine kulekhara herb, er; w fm, rs tg m mri 722 h. erecta (burm.f.) hochr filareck herb, er; w fm, wtl psk m mri 743 h. polysperma (roxb.) t. anderson alai kalai herb, pr; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg m mri 769 justicia adhatoda l. basok shrub; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg he, m mri 817 j. diffusa willd. pitapapra herb, pr; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 826 j. gendarussa burm.f. jagotmadan herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg he, m mri 845 nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 860 rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg p mri 874 418 islam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse ruellia tuberosa l. # chotpotey herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m, o mri 869 thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottl.) roxb. neel lata herb, cl; w fm tg m mri 731 bignoniaceae juss. *dolichandrone spathacea (l.f.) seem. gorshinga tree, m; w rb, wl hg, psk, tg m, t gmh 5859 oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz bhutum tree, m; w fm, rs psk, tg dy, m mri 856 lentibulariaceae rich. utricularia aurea lour. patajhajhi herb, sm; w wtl psk m mri 863 rubiaceae juss. dentella repens (l.) j.r.forst. & g.forst. bhuipat herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 772 gardenia jasminoides j.ellis gondhoraj shrub; pl fm, rs tg m, o mri 791 *hypobathrum racemosum (roxb.) kurz peetunga tree, s; w fm, rb, wl tg m gmh 5865 ixora coccinea l. rangon shrub; pl fm tg o mri 763 *i. pavetta andr. banrangon shrub; w fm, rs, wl tg m, o mri 775 meyna spinosa roxb. ex link katai shrub; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 766 *morinda citrifolia l. noni shrub; w rb, rs, wl hg, psk, tg m gmh 5876 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadom tree, l; w rs hg, psk, tg m, t mri 777 oldenlandia corymbosa l. khet papra herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg dy, m mri 750 o. diffusa (willd.) roxb. fussa papra herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 759 spermacoce articularis l.f. baghajangla herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 829 s. exilis (l.o.williams) c.d.adams ex w.c.burger & c.m.taylor baghajangla herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 810 asteraceae bercht. & j. presl acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen. surjakonnya herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 205 ageratum conyzoides l. # fulkuri herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 823 blumea lacera (burm.f.) dc. shialmutra herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 289 chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king & h.rob. # assam lata herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 753 cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h.rob. kukshim herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 783 eclipta prostrata (l.) l. # kalokeshi herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg dy, m mri 785 elephantopus scaber l. hastipadi herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 797 emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. # mechitra herb, er; w fm, rs tg m mri 804 enydra fluctuans lour. helencha herb, pr; w wtl hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 787 gnaphalium polycaulon pers. bara kamra herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 312 grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. namuti herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 296 launaea aspleniifolia (willd.) hook.f. tik chana herb, er; w fm tg m mri 800 l. sarmentosa (willd.) sch.bip. ex kuntze menthosdana herb, pr; w fm tg m mri 838 mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l.rob. assam lata herb, cl; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 270 pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (l.) hilliard & b.l. burtt barakamra herb, er; w fm, rs tg m mri-833 sonchus wightianus dc. bon palang herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 819 sphagneticola trilobata (l.) pruski tinkona wedelia herb, pr; w fm, rs tg fo mri 841 sphaeranthus africanus l. gangasag herb, pr; w fm, rs psk, tg m gmh 5887 an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 419 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse s. indicus l. mundi herb, pr; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 771 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. # nakphul herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 843 tridax procumbens (l.) l. # tridhara herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 848 *wollastonia biflora (l.) dc. wedelia herb, pr; w fm, rb tg fo mri 415 xanthium strumarium l. # ghagra herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m, vg mri 851 liliopsida batsch alismataceae vent. sagittaria guayanensis kunth kaowa thukri herb, fl; w wtl psk gm, lf mri 840 hydrocharitaceae juss. hydrilla verticillata (l. f.) royle kureli herb, sm; w wtl psk ap, m mri 180 ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. pani kala herb, sm; w wtl psk, tg m, vg mri 790 arecaceae bercht. & j. presl areca catechu l. # supari palm; pl rs hg, psk, tg dy, m mri 782 borassus flabellifer l. tal palm; pl rs hg, psk, tg fb, m mri 806 calamus tenuis roxb. unknown palm; pl fm psk, tg hc, m mri 798 chamaedorea elegans mart. # areca palm palm; pl rs tg fb, o mri 858 cocos nucifera l. # narikel palm; pl rs hg, psk, tg fb, fr mri 865 elaeis guineensis jacq. # oil palm palm; pl rs psk m, oy mri 876 livistona chinensis (jacq.) r.br. ex mart. # china tokopata palm; pl fm, rs tg fb, hc mri 871 **nypa fruticans wurmb golpata palm; w rb, fm hg, psk, tg m, tm gmh 5861 **phoenix paludosa roxb. hental palm; w fm, rb, wl hg, psk, tg fr, hc gmh 5879 p. sylvestris (l.) roxb. deshi khejur palm; w rs hg, psk, tg ju, m mri 861 pandanaceae r.br. *benstonea foetida (roxb.) callm. & buerki keya kanta shrub; w fm, rb, wl hg, tg m, o mri 834 araceae juss. alocasia fornicata (roxb.) schott bishkachu herb, er; w fm, rs hg, tg m mri 818 a. macrorrhizos (l.) g.don # mankachu herb, er; cv fm, rs hg, psk, tg vg mri 761 amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson olkachu herb, er; cv fm hg, psk, tg vg mri 873 caladium bicolor (aiton) vent. # diranga kachu herb, er; pl rs hg, tg o mri 828 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kachu herb, er; w fm, rs, wtl hg, psk, tg vg mri 825 *cryptocoryne ciliata (roxb.) schott kerali herb, er; w fm, rb, wtl hg, psk, tg m, sb gmh 5871 epipremnum aureum (linden & andré) g.s.bunting # money plant herb, cl; w fm tg o mri 820 lasia spinosa (l.) thwaites katakachu herb, er; w rb, wtl psk m, vg mri 764 lemna minor l. sujipana herb, ff; w wtl hg, psk, tg ff, wp mri 774 l. perpusilla torr. # khudipana herb, ff; w wtl hg, psk, tg ff, wp mri 738 pistia stratiotes l. topapana herb, ff; w wtl hg, psk, tg m mri 756 syngonium podophyllum schott # podolata kachu herb, pr; w fm tg o mri 737 typhonium flagelliforme (g. lodd.) blume ghechu herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 733 t. trilobatum (l.) schott ghetkachu herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 740 420 islam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott # dudhkachu herb, er; w fm psk, tg m, vg mri 746 commelinaceae mirb. commelina benghalensis l. kanshira herb, cr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg dy, m mri 702 c. diffusa burm.f. kanshira herb, cr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg dy, m mri 716 c. longifolia lam. pani kanshira herb, cr; w fm, rs, wtl hg, tg m mri 707 murdannia blumei (hassk.) brenan nil murdan herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m mri 832 m. nudiflora (l.) brenan kureli herb, cr; w fm hg, psk, tg m mri 029 flagellariaceae dumort. *flagellaria indica l. abeti herb, cl; w fm, rb, wl tg fb, tm gmh 5870 cyperaceae juss. bulbostylis barbata (rottb.) c.b.clarke bulbobata herb, er; w fm tg lf, sb mri 830 cyperus articulatus l. joraghasi herb, er; w wtl psk, tg fo mri 875 c. brevifolius (rottb.) hassk. shabujnirbisa herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf, m mri 812 c. compressus l. chancha herb, er; w fm, hg, psk, tg m mri 821 c. cuspidatus kunth sagarmuthi herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m mri 808 c. difformis l. behua ghasi herb, er; w fm hg, psk, tg m mri 704 c. digitatus roxb. hath ghasi herb, er; w fm, wtl psk, tg m mri 719 c. eragrostis lam. # bada ghas herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf, sb mri 711 c. exaltatus retz. tata ghasi herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg m, tm mri 197 c. iria l. bara chucha herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg m, lf mri 728 *c. javanicus houtt. java ghasi herb, er; w fm tg sb, tm gmh 5862 *c. malaccensis lam. shumati pati herb, er; w rb, wtl hg, psk, tg hc, m gmh 5878 c. rotundus l. nagarmutha herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg hc, m mri 454 c. sanguinolentus vahl paikram ghasi herb, er; w fm tg sb mri 814 eleocharis dulcis (burm.f.) trin. ex hensch. mishti ghasi herb, er; w fm tg m, vg mri 795 e. geniculata (l.) roem. & schult. jora ghasi herb, er; w fm psk, tg fo mri 852 e. spiralis (rottb.) roem. & schult. ghurni ghasi herb, er; w wtl tg fo mri 859 fimbristylis acuminata vahl chosa fimbry herb, er; w fm hg, psk, tg sb, fo mri 862 f. autumnalis (l.) roem. & schult. # fimbry herb, er; w fm psk, tg sb, fo mri 867 f. bisumbellata (forssk.) bubani dula fimbry herb, er; w fm tg sb mri 824 f. cymosa r.br. mosa fimbry herb, er; w fm psk sb mri 736 f. dichotoma (l.) vahl bara nirbishi herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg gm, sb mri 051 f. disticha boeckeler tika fimbry herb, er; w fm hg, psk, tg fo, sb mri 747 f. ferruginea (l.) vahl gini fimbry herb, er; w fm, wtl psk, tg sb, tm mri 701 f. ovata (burm. f.) j. kern marmari herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg sb, fo mri 718 f. squarrosa vahl zumka chech herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg sb mri 705 f. tetragona r.br. tetra fimbry herb, er; w fm, wtl tg sb, fo mri 842 f. tristachya r.br. trista fimbry herb, er; w fm psk, tg sb mri 827 fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. poshmighas herb, er; w fm, rs, wtl hg, psk, tg lf mri 877 f. umbellata rottb. chati ghasi herb, er; w fm wtl tg fo mri 721 schoenoplectiella articulata (l.) lye chechra herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg lf, m mri 714 s. lateriflora (j.f.gmel.) lye supipotpoti herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg fo, tm mri 726 an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 421 scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse poaceae barnhart axonopus compressus (sw.) p.beauv. karpetghas herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf, sb mri 758 bambusa balcooa roxb. borak bans bamboo; w rs, wl hg, psk, tg hc, vg mri 741 b. tulda roxb. mirtinga bamboo; w rs, wl hg, psk, tg hc, pp mri 793 brachiaria distachya (l.) stapf cori ghas herb, cr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf, sb mri 803 b. mutica (forssk.) stapf para ghas herb, pr; w fm, wtl psk, tg lf mri 450 b. ramosa (l.) stapf jhopa ghas herb, pr; w fm hg, psk, tg lf mri 739 chloris barbata sw. bata ghas herb, er; w fm, rs psk, tg lf gmh 5871 c. virgata sw. # anguli ghas herb, er; w fm, rs tg lf mri 755 chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. prem kanta herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg hc, sb mri 453 c. zizanioides (l.) roberty # bena herb, er; w fm, sd hg, psk, tg m, sb mri 809 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba ghas herb, pr; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, sb mri 146 cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf shonpatacocca herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf mri 811 dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. kakpaya herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf, sb mri 870 digitaria ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira herb, pr; w fm, rs tg gm, sb mri 316 d. ternata (a. rich.) stapf nata ghas herb, pr; w fm, rs psk gm, sb mri 283 echinochloa colona (l.) link. shama ghas herb, er; w fm, rs, wtl hg, psk, tg lf, sb gmh 5864 e. crus-galli (l.) p.beauv. barashamaghas herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg lf, m gmh 5873 e. stagnina (retz.) p.beauv. parua ghas herb, er; w wtl tg fo mri 754 eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. malankuri herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, sb mri 730 eragrostis amabilis (l.) wight & arn. koni ghas herb, er; w fm, rs tg o, sb mri 724 e. tenella (l.) p.beauv. ex roem. & schult koni ghas herb, pr; w fm hg, psk, tg fo, sb mri 734 e. unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud. chira ghas herb, pr; w fm psk, tg fo, sb mri 723 hemarthria protensa steud. chaila herb, er; w fm, wtl tg lf, sb mri 727 hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees ex wight & arn. jongli dhan herb, er; w wtl psk, tg lf, m mri 770 isachne globosa (thunb.) kuntze isacdana herb, er; w fm psk lf, sb gmh 5868 imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. # chhan herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg sb, tm mri 796 leersia hexandra sw. fulka ghas herb, pr; w wtl hg, psk, tg lf mri 816 leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees fulka ghas herb, er; w fm tg lf mri 847 *myriostachya wightiana (nees ex steud.) hook. f. balia ghas herb, er; w fm, rb hg, psk, tg lf, tm gmh 5875 oplismenus burmanni (retz.) p.beauv. gohur herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf mri 319 o. compositus (l.) p.beauv. gohur herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf mri 712 o. hirtellus (l.) p.beauv. gohur herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf mri 320 *oryza coarctata roxb. dhanshi herb, er; w rb, wtl hg, psk, tg lf, sb gmh 5866 panicum brevifolium l. bashpati ghas herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf, sb mri 752 p. maximum jacq. dal / gini ghas herb, er; w fm hg, psk, tg lf, sb mri 208 p. paludosum roxb. borali herb, er; w wtl psk, tg fo mri 807 p. repens l. dhani ghas herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg lf, sb mri 786 paspalum conjugatum p.j.bergius # moisshya ghas herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, sb mri 077 p. distichum l. # chhoto goicha herb, er; w fm, wtl hg, psk, tg lf, sb mri 799 *phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud. nal khagra herb, er; w rb, wtl hg, psk, tg hc, sb gmh 5889 rottboellia cochinchinensis (lour.) clayton bara swati herb, pr; w fm hg, psk, tg fo mri 813 422 islam et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat distribution use rse saccharum officinarum l. # akh, ikkhu herb, er; cv fm psk, tg sb, tm mri 872 s. spontaneum l. kash herb, er; w fm hg, psk, tg sb, tm mri 854 sporobolus indicus (l.) r.br. # smut ghas herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, tm mri 778 *zoysia matrella (l.) merr. baissa ghas herb, pr; w fm hg, psk, tg lf, sb gmh 5881 bromeliaceae juss. ananas comosus (l.) merr. # anaras herb, er; cv rs hg, psk, tg fr, m mri 725 musaceae juss. musa paradisiaca l. # kachkola herb, er; w rs hg, psk, tg fr, vg mri 717 typhaceae juss. typha domingensis pers. hogla herb, er; w wtl hg, psk, tg sb, tm mri 715 t. elephantina roxb. hogla patta herb, er; w wtl ed, tm mri 760 zingiberaceae martinov alpinia nigra (gaertn.) burtt tara herb, er; w rb, wtl tg m gmh 5886 curcuma longa l. # halud herb, er; cv fm hg, psk, tg m, sp mri 839 c. zedoaria (christm.) rosc. sathi herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, pf mri 822 zingiber officinale roscoe # ada herb, er; cv fm hg, psk, tg m, sp mri 709 cannaceae juss. canna indica l. # kolabati herb, er; w fm, rs hg, psk, tg m, o mri 708 marantaceae r.br. schumannianthus benthamianus (kuntze) veldkamp & i.m.turner pati pata shrub; w rs, wtl psk hc, m gmh 5884 pontederiaceae kunth eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms # kachuripana herb, ff; w wtl hg, psk, tg gm, lf mri 784 monochoria hastata (l.) solms bara nukha herb, er; w wtl hg, psk, tg gm, vg mri 805 m. vaginalis (burm. f.) c. presl nukha herb, er; w wtl hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 835 amaryllidaceae j. st.-hil. crinum asiaticum l. shukdarshan herb, er; w rs, wl hg, psk, tg m, o mri 706 *c. viviparum (lam.) r. ansari & v. j. nair gang kochu herb, er; w rb, wtl hg, psk, tg m gmh 5882 hypoxidaceae r.br. curculigo orchioides gaertn. talmuli herb, er; w rs, wl psk, tg m mri 844 smilacaceae vent. smilax ovalifolia roxb. ex d.don kumarika herb, cl; w fm, wl tg m mri 857 dioscoreaceae r.br. dioscorea alata l. chupri alu herb, cl; w fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg m, vg mri 720 d. esculenta (lour.) burkill mou alu herb, cl; cv fm, rs, wl hg, psk, tg vg mri 773 d. pentaphylla l. jhum alu herb, cl; w rs, wl psk, tg m, vg mri 792 orchidaceae juss. geodorum densiflorum (lam.) schltr. sankhamul herb, er; w fm, rs tg m, o gmh 5888 notes: habit: clclimber, crcreeper, cvcultivated, ememergent, epepiphyte, ererect, fffree floating, flfloating with rooted, llarge, liliana, lplithophyte, mmedium, plplanted prprostrate, psparasite, s-small, scscandent, sm submerged, wwild; habitat: fmforest mirgin, obwon brick wall, opon plant, rbriver bank), rsroad side, sdsandy dune, wlwoodland, wtlwetland; distribution: hgharinghata, pskpadda-sonbunia-kumirmara, tg tengragiri; *the species of associate or facultative mangrove, **the species of true or obligate mangrove, #the species of exotic origin; uses: apaquarium plant, dydye yielding, ededible, fbfibre, fffish feed, fpfish poison, frfruit, fwfuel wood, gmgreen manure, gugum, hchandicrafts, hehedge, hphoney plant, jujuice, lflivestock feed, mmedicine, nunut, oornamental, oyoil yielding, pfperfume, pppaper pulp, pupulse, sbsoil binder, sp spice, ttimber, tmtheaching material, vgvegetable; rse: mrimd. rafiqul islam. an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 423 in the study area, a total of 320 (60.15%) plant species are found as herbs that are followed by 116 (21.80%) trees, 84 (15.79%) shrubs, 10 (1.88%) palms and only two (0.38%) bamboos. the most common life-form of this flora is erect herb, which represented 51.56% of the herbaceous species and 31.02% (165 species) of the flora. this life-form was is followed by erect shrubs (70 species), prostrate herbs (56 species), climbing herb (vines) (53 species) and large trees (42 species), comprising 13.16%, 10.53%, 9.96% and 7.89% of this flora, respectively, and medium and small trees representing 7.14% (38 species) and 6.77% (36 species) of the flora. other lifeforms include creepers, palms, scandent shrubs, rooted floating herbs, epiphytes, submerged and free floating, bamboos, parasitic and lithophytic herbs (fig. 2). the study area is mostly composed with 394 species (74.06%) of native plants, where one-fourth portion (25.94%) of this flora is formed by 138 exotic species. most of the flora (424 species) comprising 79.70% are found as wild, whereas 87 (16.35%) species as planted and 21 (3.95%) as cultivated. the plant species of the study area are found to grow in different habitats including forest margin, roadside, woodland, wetland, river bank, on other plant and brick wall. among these habitats, most of the species (75.19%) are well-adapted in forest margin, which are followed by 285 (53.57%) species in roadsides, 115 (21.62%) in woodlands, 71 (13.35%) in wetlands, 69 (12.97%) in river banks and 14 (2.63%) species are grown on the branch and trunk of other plants as epiphytes or parasite, whereas only three species are also found to grow on brick walls (fig. 3). among the three dominant mangrove ecosystems in barguna district, a total of 283 (53.20%) species are commonly found in the all these ecosystems, where 491 (92.29%) species are mostly distributed in the tengragiri reserve forest and tengragiri wildlife sanctuary which is localy known as fatrarban. about 396 (74.44%) and 306 (57.52%) species are found to be distributed in haringhata reserve forest and padda-sonbunia-kumirmara mangrove ecosystems respectively. fig. 2. floristic composition in different life-form categories of the study area. all species recorded during this study are recognized as economically importance where most of the species (372; 69.92%) are useful as medicine, which are followed by 96 (18.05%) species as ornamentals, 58 (10.90%) as vegetables, 58 (10.90%) as soil binder, 37 (6.95%) as 424 islam et al. livestock feed 36 (6.77%) as fruits, 30 (5.64%) as timbers and fiber of each and 26 (4.89%) as fuel woods. additionally, 17 (3.20%) species are useful for green manure and dye yielding of each, 14 (2.63%) as theaching material, 10 (1.88%) as making handicrafts, 9 (1.69%) as hedge plants. a very few number of species are also useful for spice, oil yielding, honey plant, pulse, paper pulp, gum, fish feed, perfume, nut, juice, fish poison, edible and aquarium plant (fig. 4). the total number of vascular plants (532 species) recorded by this study for the mangrove ecosystem of barguna district is more or less similar to the findings of rahman et al. (2015) and higher than the report of prain (1903b) from nearby sundarbans mangrove ecosystem. the taxonomic enumeration of angiosperm species reported from similar coastal ecosystems of bangladesh revealed that the present finding (510 angiosperm species) is higher than those reported from char kukri mukri wildlife sanctuary (272 species; uddin and abiadullah, 2016), kuakata national park (265 species; rahman et al., 2017), nijhum deep (152 species; uddin et al., 2015), saint martin’s island (157 species; boblme, 2015), sandwip island (457 species; sajib et al., 2015) and sonadia island (138 species; arefin et al., 2017) (fig. 5). fig. 3. number and per cent of plant species in different habitats of the study area. fig. 4. uses of plant species recorded mangrove ecosystems of barguna district. an annotated checklist of the vascular flora 425 in the study area, 20 species, viz. acanthus volubilis (acanthaceae), aegialitis rotundifolia (plumbaginaceae), aegiceras corniculatum (primulaceae), barringtonia acutangula and b. racemosa (lecythidaceae), bruguiera gymnorhiza (rhizophoraceae), dodonaea viscosa (sapindaceae), drypetes assamica (euphorbiaceae), geodorum densiflorum (orchidaceae), haplopteris elongate (vittariaceae). intsia bijuga (caesalpiniaceae), lumnitzera racemosa (combretaceae), merope angulata (rutaceae), mucuna monosperma (fabaceae), planchonella obovata (sapotaceae), psilotum nudum (psilotaceae), suaeda maritime (amaranthaceae) rhizophora apiculata, r. mucronata (rhizophoraceae) and xylocarpus granatum (meliaceae) are found as rare with their small population and restricted distribution. among these species, drypetes assamica, merope angulate, psilotum nudum are listed as threatened for bangladesh (khan et al., 2001; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; rahman et al., 2015). fig. 5. species composition in different coastal ecosystems of bangladesh. frequent occurrence of natural disasters such as tidal surges, cyclones and tropical storms, river bank and forest margin erosion by tidal waves as well as multifarious anthropogenic interferences including deforestation, over exploitation of coastal resource, illegal entrance, timber and firewood collection, unplanned tourism, pollution, plantation of exotic and non-mangrove tree species within the vacant spaces and margins of mangrove habitats, in addition to the lack of proper management and public awareness are the critical threats for the flora and habitats of the mangrove ecosystems of barguna. in spite of some severe threats, the study area is still floristically rich than that of previously conducted studies on some coastal ecosystems of the country. the floristic richness of this area might be due to continuous flow of fresh water across the area, its geographical position nearby the world largest mangrove (the sundarbans) forest, diverse micro-habitats that supports both mangrove and non-mangrove plant species. besides, the enumeration of the species done in this study is based on the extensive survey and collection throughout all localities of the mangrove ecosystems since a long period of time. the present study provides baseline information on the vascular flora and revevant threats causing the loss of biodiversity. these information might be useful in undertaking appropriate master plan for sustainable conservation of biodiversity, coastal habitats and socio-economic development of this disaster prone area. the authors highly recommend adopting a master plan for 426 islam et al. the mitigation of adverse impacts of climate change and anthropogenic interferences. it is strongly suggested to ensure regular monitoring the flora and habitats and implementation of adequate measures for the conservation of rare and threatened plants of this area. acknowledgements the authors are grateful to the forest department of gob for providing permission to visit the study area frequently. the authors express their sincere thanks to jahangirnagar university harberium (juh) maintained under plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university for providing support during taxonomic identification of the plant specimens. the authors are thankful to the chief editor and the reviewers of the journal for their critical review of the manuscript. references abu, m., kamal, u. and rob, k. 2003. delineation of the coastal zone. dhaka, pdo-iczmp, bangladesh. ahmad, h. 2019. bangladesh coastal zone management status and future. j coast zone manag 22:1. doi:10.24105/2473-3350.22.466 ahmed, a. 2011. some of the major environmental problems relating to land use changes in the coastal areas of bangladesh: a review. journal of geography and regional planning, 4(1): 1–8. ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(eds). 1994-2001. flora of china. vols. 8, 15-18 and 24. missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, usa. wu, z.y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.y. (eds). 1999-2013. flora of china. vols. 2-7, 9-14, 19-23 and 25. missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. (manuscript received on 15 june, 2022; revised on 28 november, 2022) http://www. http://www.tropicos.org, bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 195-200, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70496 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists elodea canadensis michx. (hydrocharitaceae)a new angiospermic record for bangladesh md. almujaddade alfasane, farhana pervin hoque*, md. abul hassan and md. sabbir mostafa khan 1 department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: elodea canadensis michx.; hydrocharitaceae; new record; bangladesh. abstract a new angiospermic record, elodea canadensis michx. is elaborated with illustration. the detailed taxonomic description of the species with other relevant information are provided here. the present species has been collected from hakaluki haor of moulvibazar district of greater sylhet. introduction in bangladesh, major haor areas are occupied by greater sylhet and kishoreganj districts. hakaluki haor is expanded over maulvibazar and sylhet districts which is the biggest haors of bangladesh and one of asia’s largest haors. it covers the approximate area of 21500 ha in kulaura, juri and barlekha upazilas under maulvibazar district and fenchuganj and golabganj upazilas under sylhet district (bhwdb, 2012, 2014). a little information on hakaluki haor were found on hydrobiological standpoint and this haor is very rich in aquatic macrophytes (alam et al., 2010; ahmed, 2013; islam and paul, 1978; islam et al. 2011). the government of bangladesh declared hakaluki haor as an ecologically critical area and protected ramsar site of international importance of wetlands (bhwdb, 2016). therefore, the present attempt has been taken to study the aquatic macrophytes of hakaluki haor from bangladesh. the family hydrocharitaceae consists 16 genera and about 100 species which are aquatic and cosmopolitan. in bangladesh, it is represented by eight genera and 12 species (siddiqui et al., 2007; alfasane et al., 2010). here, elodea canadensis michx. has been reported as a new records for bangladesh. it will be the new addition to the hydrocharitaceae member from bangladesh. materials and methods the plant materials were collected from the hakaluki haor, juri upazila under maulvibazar district of bangladesh through a hydrobiological expedition carried out from 07.09.2023 to 09.09.2023. it is located between the latitude 24°37'19.22"n and longitude 92°5'13.04"e. the sample was collected from 3.5 m depth of the littoral area of the haor. the collected plant samples were then put in a large air tight ice bag with some water inside. it was then transported to the phycology, limnology and hydrobiology laboratory, department of botany, university of dhaka. some materials were preserved as a herbarium sheet in this laboratory. the remaining plant samples were planted in a concrete house (1 × 0.5 m length, depth 40 cm) in the botanical garden, department of botany, university of dhaka, for ex-situ conservation and further study. *corresponding author. e-mail: trina.farhana@gmail.com 1department of water resources engineering, bangladesh university of engineering and technology, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 196 alfasane et al. the specimen has been identified as elodea canadensis michx. with consultation of the literature viz. fassett (1957), hackney (1992), haynes and holm-nielsen (2001), santos (1923, 1924), simpson (1984), sr john (1920, 1962-1965), subramanyam (1974), wilie (1904) and wyue (1904). a detailed taxonomic description along with illustrations of the plant have been explained based on the fresh specimen. results and discussion during a recent expedition for plant collection in hakaluki haor along with so many common plant samples, some very interesting materials have also been collected. one of these interesting materials was later identified as elodea canadensis michx. after detailed studies, the present specimen was recorded as the genus elodea and the designated species was e. canadensis under the family hydrocharitaceae. taxonomic diagnosis, detailed description, photographs, illustration and other relevant information are provided below: elodea canadensis michx., fl. bor.-amer. 1:20 (1803) (plate 1) synonyms: anacharis alsinastrum bab. ex planch.; a. canadensis (michx.) planch.; a. canadensis var. latifolia (casp.) sanio; a. canadensis var. planchonii (casp.) vict.; a. iowensis (wylie) wylie; a. linearis (rydb.) vict.; a. nuttallii planch.; a. occidentalis (pursh) vict.; a. planchonii (casp.) m. peck; a. pomeranica peterm.; apalanthe schweinitzii planch.; elodea brandegeeae h. st. john; e. canadensis var. angustifolia (muhl.) farw.; e. canadensis var. latifolia (casp.) asch. & graebn.; e. canadensis var. planchonii (casp.) farw.; e. columbiana h. st. john; e. gigantea j. k. santos; e. ioensis wylie; e. iowensis wylie; e. latifolia casp.; e. linearis (rydb.) h. st. john; e. minor (engelm. ex casp.) farw.; e. oblongifolia michx. ex casp.; e. occidentalis (pursh) h. st. john; e. planchonii casp.; e. schweinitzii (planch.) casp.; hydora canadensis (michx.) besser; philotria angustifolia (muhl.) britton ex rydb.; p. canadensis (michx.) britton; p. iowensis wylie; p. linearis rydb.; p. minor (engelm. ex casp.) small; p. nuttallii (planch.) rydb.; p. occidentalis (pursh) house; p. planchonii (casp.) rydb.; serpicula canadensis (michx.) eaton; s. occidentalis pursh; s. verticillata rostk. & w.l.e. schmidt; s. verticillata var. angustifolia muhl.; udora canadensis (michx.) nutt.; u. canadensis var. minor engelm. and u. verticillata var. minor engelm. ex casp. common name american duckweed, american waterweed, broad waterweed, canadian waterweed, canadian elodea, canadian pondweed, common elodea, pond weed, ditch weed, elodea, oxygen weed, water thyme, waterweed, yankee weed. description perennial, fresh water submerged, glabrous, plants growing from rootstocks or stolons, dioecious. roots smooth, slender, pale, unbranched. adventitious root-tips white or grey-green. stems erect, rooting at lower nodes, branched or unbranched. leaves bright green, translucent, opposite or mostly whorled. leaves in whorls of 3 [2-6] at each node, 4.5-17.5 x 1-6 mm, lowermost leaves decussate, ovate, 1.7-10.0 x 0.8-2.2 mm, sometimes weakly twisted; median and upper leaves in whorls of 3, sessile, linear to linear-lanceolate, oblong, 1 veined, http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-219589 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-219591 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-299029 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-453838 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-100147449 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-219597 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-219601 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-219601 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-219602 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-219603 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-220551 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309446 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309449 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-305366 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309451 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-344015 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-299030 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309460 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309462 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309462 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309463 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309470 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309470 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309471 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309475 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-309478 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308102 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308436 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308436 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308437 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308441 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308442 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308445 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308447 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308447 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308826 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308827 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308830 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308830 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-311708 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308946 http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-308946 elodea canadensis michx. (hydrocharitaceae) 197 plate 1: figs 1-2. submerged to emergent habit of elodea canadensis michx. were found in hakaluki haor. fig. 3. branches of the stem with whorled foliage of three leaves. figs 4-5. dense leaf arrangement in the upper portion of the stems. margins serrate in higher magnification, the midrib in fresh leaves without prickles on abaxial side. broadly acute or obtuse leaf apices, narrowly acute rarely, (0.4-) 0.8-2.6 mm wide c. 0.6 mm below the apex. leaf posture spreading, patent, erecto-patent or arcuate-deflexed, usually firm. leaf margin teeth 3575 (-85) μm long. female flowers in female plants with sepals oblong198 alfasane et al. elliptic, cucullate at apex, 1.5-3.0 x 0.5-2.0 mm, recurved, greenish-white, streaked with purple around apex and midrib; petals elliptic-spathulate, 1.5-2.5 x 0.5-2.0 mm, strongly recurved, translucent, whitish; staminodes linear, c. 1 mm long, white; stigmas strongly recurved or slightly bifid, for a third or less than a third of their length, flattened, 20-3.5 mm long, sparsely papillose, the papillae (105-)115-220 μm long, often purple. male flowers in male plants similar to female but with staminodes, stigmas and ovary absent; stamens 9, anthers bilocular. tetrads pollen; staminate pedicels, before or during anthesis detaching; anthers 4 mm or less. the fruit is an ovoid capsule, c. 6 mm long with several seeds, 4-6 mm long seeds, spindle-shaped and smooth. reproducing by seeds, stem fragments, and turions. turions are common in e. canadensis. flowering period june to october. there is no species of elodea genus was reported earlier in any previous relevant literature for this area (ghani, 1964; heinig, 1925; hooker, 1888; khan and banu, 1969; khan and halim, 1987; mia and khan, 1995; prain, 1903; rahman, 2004a,b; raizada, 1941; siddiqui et al., 2007; sinclair, 1955). however, datta and mitra (1953) reported its occurrence in their “common plants in and around dacca”. datta and mitra neither provided information on its specific locality and collection numbers, nor the place where the materials were housed. ghani made an extensive survey on the aquatic and marsh angiosperm of the dacca in 1964. he could not collect any specimen of elodea. there is no elodea specimen available in any herbaria of bangladesh including bangladesh national herbarium (dacb). all these facts indicates that the documentation of e. canadensis from in and around dacca (dhaka) by data and mitra is not beyond doubt. datta and mitra describe e. canadensis michx. as flowers bisexual, stamens 3, but the fact is that the flowers of e. canadensis are unisexual, staminate flowers with 9 stamens, the plants are dioecious (willis, 1960; lawrence, 1968; mukherji, 1990). therefore, datta and mitra must have misidentified any other plant as e. canadensis michx. considering all the facts stated above the authors of the present paper are very much confident to say that e. canadensis michx. is a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. at the same time the genus elodea is also a new generic record for bangladesh. distribution and autecology e. canadensis has been found at the depth up to 4 m, sufficient light, oligotrophic with turbulent haor water. during the collection of the samples, a total of 24 physico-chemical parameters were detected of the hakaluki haor. the ranges of mean values which were obtained: air temperature 29.27-29.80°c, water temperature 26.50-27.00°c, turbidity 1.00-1.10 ntu, electric conductivity 45.28-64.78 µs/cm; tds 30.25-32.07 mg/l; ph 7.02 to 7.20; alkalinity 0.58-0.59meq/l; do 14.25-17.54 mg/l; tss 10.21-12.25 mg/l; bod 0.50-0.58 mg/l; no3 -n 0.120.15; srs 3.45-3.89 mg/l; srp 11.34-12.30 µg/l; so4 27.11-8.12 mg/l; cl 0.30-0.40 mg/l; fl 0.08-0.09 mg/l; no2 0.02-0.03 mg/l; na+ 0.08-0.09 mg/l; k+ 0.14-0.15; nh4 + 0.14-0.16 mg/l; ca2+ 0.45-0.56 mg/l; mg2+ 0.14-0.18 mg/l; mn2+ 0.13-0.17 mg/l;fe2+ 0.09-0.21 mg/l. the e. canadensis helps to promote water quality. they have a great role for absorbing and releasing of nutrients including heavy metals. according to local people, e. canadensis plays a great role for supporting the nesting sites of the fishes and support of lay eggs of different fish species. e. canadensis michx., has been recorded for the first time in hakaluki hoar from maulvibazar district, bangladesh. it is a flowering plant mainly reproduced by fragmentation and turions. fragmentation is very much common. the present study reveals that high ecological tolerance with moderate nutrients maintained its rapid growth and distribution. the plants prefers to grow mesotrophic to eutrophic waters. these characteristics of elodea helps to promote as invasive. the elodea canadensis michx. (hydrocharitaceae) 199 recorded biomass during summer ranged between 150-200 g/m2 in dry weight. the distribution of the plant occurred in the middle of the haor. moreover, this species may support to identify ecological water quality of haor water bodies as indicator species. the e. canadensis is native to, alabama, arkansas, british columbia, california, colorado, connecticut, delaware, florida, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, manitoba, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, nevada, new brunswick, new hampshire, new jersey, new mexico, new york, north carolina, north dakota, nova scotia, ohio, ontario, oregon, pennsylvania, québec, rhode i., saskatchewan, south dakota, tennessee, utah, vermont, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin and wyoming (https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/90075-2). it has been introduced to austria, baltic states, belarus, belgium, bulgaria, buryatiya, canary is., central european russia, cuba, czechoslovakia, denmark, east european russia, egypt, finland, france, germany, great britain, greece, hungary, ireland, irkutsk, italy, jamaica, krasnoyarsk, krym, morocco, netherlands, new south wales, new zealand north and south, north and northwest european russia, northern territory, norway, palestine, poland, portugal, puerto rico, queensland, romania, south australia, south european russia, spain, sweden, switzerland, tasmania, transcaucasia, turkey, ukraine, victoria, west siberia, western australia, yakutsk and yugoslavia (https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/90075-2). acknowledgements the authors would like to acknowledge the funding agency of 5th phase projects under bas-usda endowment program (cc-22) for applied research in natural sciences focused on food security for providing the necessary financial assistance. the present paper is also a part of the phd research work of the corresponding author. references ahmed, a.u. 2013. bangladesh: environmental and climate change assessment, prepared for ifad’s country strategic opportunities programme 2012-2018, asia and the pacific division, environment and climate division, programme management department, 44 pp. alam, m.s., quayum, m.a. and islam, m.a. 2010. crop production in the haor areas of bangladesh: insights from farm level survey, the agriculturists 8(2): 88–97. alfasane, m.a., khondker, m., islam, m.s. and bhuiyan, m.a.h. 2010. egeria densa planchón (hydrocharitaceae): a new angiospermic record for bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 17(2): 209213. bangladesh haor and wetland development board, bhwdb (now department of bangladesh haor and wetlands development), master plan of haor area, 2012, 2014. bangladesh haor and wetland development board, bhwdb (now department of bangladesh haor and wetlands development) 2016, classification of wetlands of bangladesh, vol. 3, annexure 2: haors of bangladesh, 153 pp. datta, r.m. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1-110. fassett, n.c. 1957. a manual of aquatic plants. the university of wisconsin press, madison, 405 pp. ghani, a. 1964. aquatic and marsh angiosperms of dacca (m.sc. thesis). university of dacca (the then east pakistan, now bangladesh). hackney, p. (ed.). 1992. stewart and corry's flora of the north-east of ireland. institute of irish studies and the queen's university of belfast, isbn0-85389-446-9 200 alfasane et al. haynes, r.r. and holm-nielsen, l.b. 2001. the genera of hydrocharitaceae in the southeastern united states. harvard university herbaria 5(2): 201-275. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts. the bengal government branch press, darjeeling, india, 84 pp. hooker, j.d. 1888. flora of british india, vol. 5. hydrocharideae, l. reeve & co. ltd., kent, england, pp 658-664. islam, a.k.m.n. and paul, n. 1978. hydrobiological study of the haor hakaluki in sylhet. j. asiatic soc. bangladesh (sci.) 4(1): 83-91. islam, m., saha, n. and rahman, m. 2011. economic activities decrease biodiversity in hakaluki haor, the largest inland fresh water ecosystem in bangladesh. int. j. env. sci. 2(2): 946-956. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1969.a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts-1 (monocotyledons). j. asiatic. soc. pakistan xiv(2): 217-222. khan, m.s. and halim, m. 1987. aquatic angiosperms of bangladesh. bangladesh national herbarium, barc, dhaka, 120 pp. lawrence, g.h. m. 1968. taxonomy of vascular plants. the macmillan company, new york, 823 pp. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker’s flora of british india and prain’s bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 25-45. mukherji, h. 1990. plant groups: hydrocharitaceae, new central book agency (p) limited, isbn, 817381094x, 9788173810947. length, 1117 pp. prain, d. 1903. (reprint 1996). bengal plants, vol. 2. hydrocharideae, bishen singh mahendra pal singh, dehra dun248001, india, pp. 994-997. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants’-series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s ‘flora of british india’ and prain’s ‘bengal plants’-series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. santos, j.k. 1923. differentiation among chromosomes in elodea. bot. gaz. 75: 42-59. santos, j.k. 1924. determination of sex in elodea. bot. gaz. 77: 353-376. siddiqui, k.u., islam, m.a., ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m. kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.) 2007. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh. vol.11, angiosperms: monocotyledons (agavaceaenajadaceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 399 pp. simpson, d.a. 1984. a short history on the introduction and spread of elodea michx. in the british isles. watsonia 15: 1–9. sinclair, j. 1955. the flora of cox’s bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. bengal 9(2): 84-116. sr john, h. 1920. the genus elodea in new england. rhodora 22: 18-29. sr john, h. 1962. monograph of the genus elodea 1. res. stud. wash. st. univ. 30: 19-44. sr john, h. 1963. monograph of the genus elodea 3. darwiniana 12: 639-652. sr john, h. 1964. monograph of the genus elodea 2. caldasia 9: 95-113. sr john, h. 1965. monograph of the genus elodea 4. rhodora 67: 1-35, 155-181. subramanyam, k. 1974. botanical monograph no. 3, aquatic angiosperms, a systematic account of common indian aquatic angiosperms. botanical survey of india, calcutta, 190 pp. wilie, r.b. 1904. the morphology of elodea canadensis. botanical gazette 37 (1): 4. willis, j.c. 1960 (6th edition). flowering plants and ferns. cambridge at the university press xii, 752 pp. wyue, r.b. 1904. the morphology of elodea canadensis. botanical gazette 37(1): 1-22. (manuscript received on 22 october 2023; revised on 07 december 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 155-172, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2. 74395 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a preliminary inventory of angiospermic flora of bagatipara upazila, natore, bangladesh mohammmad tarikul hasan1 and mohammad zashim uddin2* 1department of botany, rajshahi govt. city college, rajshahi-6000, bangladesh 2department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: biodiversity assessment; floristic research; exotic plants; natore. abstract preparation of the country's flora is very challenging until baseline information on the flora of all district or upazila is available. the purpose of this inventory was to record angiosperm plant species available in the different habitats of bagatipara upazila, which is located in the eastern part of rajshahi district. the traditional taxonomic method was applied for plant sample collection in different seasons of the year 2022 and the identification of the collected samples. this research resulted in the recording of a total of 377 species in 92 families. among them, 310 species were from magnoliopsida, and 67 were from liliopsida. asteraceae and poaceae were the leading families of magnoliopsida and liliopsida, respectively. one-fourth of the total plant species were exotic, and more than half were valuable medicinal species. artocarpus lacucha, bridelia stipularis, callicarpa longifolia, eranthemum pulchellum, oroxylum indicum, potentilla supina, sterculia foetida, and terminalia arjuna were locally found rare. threats such as climate change, expansion of arable land and pisciculture, use of herbicides, over exploitation, clearing brushwood, and unplanned construction activities have been identified. the present study concludes that the floristic composition of this area is still rich, though the area is facing some threats. therefore, we strongly recommend adopting effective and adequate measures for sustainable conservation and monitoring of the biodiversity of this area. introduction information of floristic research is important for the sustainable use and conservation of plant resource as well as resource based-development in the respective area. floristic research in a particular area provides valuable information about existing plant species in that area, such as, their habitat, uses, status, threats, and so on. bagatipara is an upazila of north-western district, natore and adjacent to the warmer zone of bangladesh. both urban and semi-urban or rural areas are found in this upazila. it has mixed habitats and ecosystems such as agricultural fields, railway and road sides, fallow lands, gardens, grooves, thickets, canal or river banks and a little wet land which support luxuriant formation of plants especially flowering plants. bangladesh is very rich in biodiversity due to its unique geographical location and seasonal variation. the flora of bangladesh is thought to consist of approx. 5000 species of angiosperms (khan, 1977). unfortunately, a number of plant species are disappearing day after day at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic disturbance such as habit destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, and invasion of exotic species. apart from these, recent climate change conditions are becoming serious threats to the biodiversity of bangladesh. despite several floristic studies (alam et al., 2006; islam et al., 2009; tutul et al., 2010; uddin and hassan, 2010; arefin et al., 2011; sarker et al., 2013; uddin et al., 2013; kona and rahman, 2015; uddin et al., 2015; uddin and abiadbullah, 2016; mahmudah et al., 2017; rahman et al., 2017; khan et al., 2021; islam et al., 2022) being conducted since the *corresponding author, e-mail: zashim@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2. mailto:zashim@du.ac.bd 156 hasan and uddin emergence of bangladesh, the country’s floristic exploration has not yet been completed. as a result, the floristic composition in most of the upazila or districts is still unknown or little known. as we know, so far a few work has been done by researchers or botanists in natore district (hasan et al., 2013; sultana and rahman, 2017; hasan, 2020) focusing only medicinal plant species. but no comprehensive floristic research has been done in bagatipara upazila before. keeping this view in mind we decided to explore the floristic composition of bagatipara upazila. the objectives of the current work is to formulate baseline data on the floristic composition in bagatipara upazila along with other associated information that will contribute to understanding the flora of bangladesh. materials and methods study area bagatipara upazila of natore district is located between 24°15' and 24°22' n and 89°13' and 89°26' e. it covers an area of 139.86 km2 and is surrounded by natore sadar upazila, lalpur upazila and baraigram upazila to the north, south, east respectively and three upazilas of rajshahi district (charghat, bagha and puthia) to the west (fig. 1) (banglapedia). the topography of bagatipara is typically plane and its average altitude is 19.24 m. (https://elevation.maplogs.com) and has a “tropical wet and dry” climate (https://weatherandclimate.com/bangladesh/rajshahi/ bagatipara). fig. 1. map of bagatipara upazila, natore.(source: banglapedia) data collections this work was carried out from january 2022 to december 2022 to document and enlisting angiospermic taxa in different seasons and divers habitat of the study area. repeated visits were done to every part of the study area and was collect specimen following conventional methods. relevant floras (ahmed et al., 2009; uddin and hassan, 2018), and published articles were https://elevation.maplogs.com) https://weatherandclimate.com/bangladesh/rajshahi/ a preliminary inventory of angiospermic flora 157 consulted for specimen identification. all specimen were housed at depertment of botany, rajshahi government city college, rajshahi. various information was obtained through free interviews and informal conversation. the information regarding the endangered plants and their conservation has been gathered from local farmers, elderly and knowledgeable persons. twenty five (21 men and 4 women) individuals were interviewed. among them, 7 were of ages 20-40 years, 12 were 41-60 years and 6 were of ages more than 61 years. to arrange the collected families in this article, cronquist’s (1988) system was followed in the arrangement of the families, and the species under the same family were arranged alphabetically (table 1). besides that, some families have been sited according to apg iv system (angiosperm phylogeny group. 2016) which was not found in cronquist (1988). scientific names were mentioned according to powo (plants of the world online). local names were mentioned according to pasha and uddin (2013) and huq (2019). exotic plant species have been determined by consulting ahmed et al. (2009), dutta et al. (2015), uddin et al. (2021) and uddin et al. (2022). medicinal plant species have been determined by consulting uddin et al. (2022), mitu et al. (2022) and rifat et al. (2022). results and discussion from the study area, total 377 plant species (both wild and cultivated) have been collected and they were distributed under 92 families. for each species scientific name, bangla name, family name, habits, habitats, uses, status, origin and occurance were provided (table 1). magnoliopsida were represented by 310 species from 242 genera while liliopsida comprising of 67 species from 49 genera. earlier, rahman et al. (2019) documented 216 species under 72 families and khatun et al. (2022) reported 194 species under 72 families from adjacent lalpur and puthia upazila respectively. regarding the distribution of family, magnoliopsida and liliopsida consist of 75 and 17 family respectively. the leading family in magnoliopsida was asteraceae consisting of 31 species and other major families were fabaceae (22), acanthaceae (15) and euphorbiaceae (15). in liliopsida, poaceae appeared as the largest family consisting of 22 species and the other major families were cyperaceae (09) and araceae (08). the largest genus in magnoliopsida was solanum bearing 8 species followed by ficus and euphorbia bearing 6 species each and phyllanthas bearing 5 species. on the other hand, cyperus was the major genus in liliopsida consisting of 5 species followed by commelina consisting of 4 species. species of all habit such as herbs, shrubs, trees, climbers (liana and vine) and grasses were found in this study area. among the species, herbs represent 175 species and appear as a dominant habit which was 46.42% of total collection (fig. 2) while shrubs, trees, climbers and others (bamboo and grasses) representing 16.71%, 18.75%, 10.88% and 7.43% respectively. regarding to habitat (place of collection), most species were found and collected from the road or railway side consisting of 138 species which were 36.60% of total habitat (fig. 2). the second and the third largest habitat were fallow lands (25.46%) and homestead (24.40%) respectively. many herbaceous weeds were found in crop field round the year with the seasonal cultivated crops especially in winter. among the recorded plants, 30 species were cultivated as crops, 75 were planted and the rest were found as a wild species. most of the trees and shrubs found in homesteads habitat were planted by the householders for their daily use such as fruit, vegetables, firewood, forage, construction materials, spices and herbal medicines or for economic benefits (islam et al., 2015). some species were found two or more habitat like fallow land and road side or homestead. based on usefulness, a total of 229 species were found important for food, fiber, fire wood, medicine, spices, building materials, economic benefits and beautification. 169 species are found significant for medicine. local residents were accustomed to consume 67 species in from of fruit, vegetable and grain, 18 timber yielding species were used for furniture and others wooden work. the rest were important for miscellaneous uses 158 hasan and uddin table 1. flowering species of bagatipara upazila of natore, bangladesh. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse magnoliopsida annonaceae annona reticulata l. nona t hs ed wd i c th 2562 annona squamosa l. ata t hs ed,me wd e o th 2523 monoonlongifolium (sonn.) b.xue&r.m.k.saunders debdaru t rs or pt e o th 2043 lauraceae cinnamomum tamala (buch.-ham.) t.nees&c.h.eberm. tejpata t hs sp,me pt i o th 2000 litsea monopetala (roxb.) pers. bara kukurchita t hs me wd i o th 2327 piperaceae piper longum l. pepul v rs me wd i c th 2513 nymphaeaceae nymphaea nouchali burm.f. shapla h aq me wd i c th 2649 nymphaea pubescens willd. shaluk h aq ed wd i c th 2677 nymphaea rubra roxb. ex andrews lal-shapla h aq me pt i o th 2710 ranunculaceae clematis zeylanica (l.) poir. chagolboti l rs me wd i o th 2495 nigella sativa l. kalojira h sp, me cl e o th 2118 ranunculus sceleratus l. palik h wt me wd e o th 2201 menispermaceae cocculus hirsutus (l.) w.theob. jaljamani l rs me wd i c th 1927 stephania japonica (thunb.) miers nimuka l rs me wd i c th 2509 tiliacora acuminata (lam.) miers tiliacora l rs -wd i c th 2290 papaveraceae argemone mexicana l. shialkanta h fl, rs me wd e c th 2289 fumariaceae fumaria parviflora lam. bonsalpa h cf wd e c th 2011 cannabaceae cannabis sativa l. siddhi h fl me wd e c th 2159 ulmaceae trema orientalis (l.) blume jiban t hs ot wd i c th 2279 moraceae artocarpus heterophyllus lam. kanthal t hs ed, ti pt i c th 2149 artocarpus lacucha buch.-ham. deua t hs ed, me wd i r th 2144 ficus benghalensis l. bot t rs me pt,wd i c th 2570 ficus heterophylla l.f. bhuidumur s, sc rs wd i c th 2195 ficus hispida l.f. kak dumur s rs me wd i c th 2573 ficus racemosa l. jag dumur t hs ed, me wd i c th 2867 ficus religiosa l. assawath t rs me pt.wd i c th 2286 ficus rumphii blume gai assawath t rs ot wd i c th 2576 streblus asper lour. shaora t hs me wd i c th 2181 urticaceae pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. kullarruki h fl me wd i c th 2398 casuarinaceae casuarina equisetifolia l. jhau t rs or, me pt e o th 2796 a preliminary inventory of angiospermic flora 159 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse nyctaginaceae boerhavia diffusa l. punarnava h fl, rs me wd i c th 2073 mirabilis jalapa l. sondha maloti h or,me pt e c th 2548 chenopodiaceae chenopodium album l. batuashak h cf ed,me wd i c th 2007 amaranthaceae achyranthes aspera l. apang s fl me wd i c th 1839 alternanthera ficoidea (l.) p.beauv. --h rs wd e c th 1952 alternanthera paronychioides a.st. jhulikhata h fl, rs wd e o th 2266 alternanthera sessilis (l.) r.br. ex dc. chanchi h cf, rs ed,me wd i c th 1951 amaranthus spinosus l. kantanotey h cf, fl, rs ed,me wd i c th 1863 amaranthus viridis l. notey h cf, fl, hs ed wd i c th 2351 celosia argentea l. morogphul h hs or pt e c th 1878 digera muricata (l.) mart. latamouri h cf wd i c th 2480 ouret lanata (l.) kuntze chya h rs wd i c th 1844 portulacaceae portulaca oleracea l. boronunia h cf,rs me wd i c th 2331 portulaca quadrifida l. chhoto nunia h cf, fl wd i c th 2323 basellaceae basella alba l. puishak h hs me cl i c th 2134 molluginaceae glinus oppositifolius (l.) aug. dc. gima sak h fl, rs me wd i o th 2502 caryophyllaceae stellaria media (l.) vill. sada fulki h cf wd i c th 2023 polygonaceae persicaria barbata (l.) h. hara bishkatali h wt wd i o th 2475 persicaria glabra (willd.) m.gómez bihagni h wt wd i c th 2820 persicaria lapathifolia (l.) delarbre lomoshbishkata li h wt wd e o th 2818 polygonum plebeium r.br. chemti sag h cf wd i c th 2169 rumex dentatus l. bon palong h wt wd i c th 2125 dilleniaceae dillenia indica l. chalta t hs ed, me pt i o th 2709 elatinaceae bergia ammannioides roxb. keshuriy h rs wd i o th 2105 sterculiaceae melochia corchorifolia l. tikiokra h rs me wd i o th 2644 sterculia foetida l. jongli badam t hs ed pt i r th 2853 pentapetes phoenicea l. dupur mondi s hs or, me wd i c th 2624 bombacaceae bombax ceiba l. simul t hs, rs fi, me wd i c th 2057 malvaceae abutilon indicum (l.) sweet jhumka s fl me wd i c th 2529 160 hasan and uddin table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse hibiscus acetosella welw. ex hiern lalpata chukai s hs or pt e c th 2751 hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. joba s hs or,me pt e c th 2534 hibiscus vitifolius l. ban karpas s rs wd i o th 2518 malvaviscus penduliflorus moc. &sessé ex dc. duli joba s hs or pt e o th 2538 sida cordata (burm.f.) borss.waalk. pitberal s fl, rs wd i c th 1993 urena lobata l. banokra s rs me wd i c th 2391 tiliaceae corchorus olitorius l. toshapat s fi cl i c th 2477 grewia asiatica l. phalsa t hs ed,me wd i o th 2700 lecythidaceae barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal t wt me wd i o th 2528 flacourtiaceae casearia tomentosa roxb. chila t hs, rs wd i o th 2742 flacourtia indica (burm.f.) merr. boiciful s, ar rs ed wd i c th 2272 passifloraceae passiflora suberosa l. mela jhumka v rs wd e o th 2645 cucurbitaceae benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. chalkumra v hs ed, me cl i c th 2210 citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai tarmuj v ed, me cl e o th 2481 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha l fl, rs me wd i c th 2360 cucumis maderaspatanus l. agmkhi v rs wd i c th 2362 cucumis melo l. kakri v cf wd e c th 2393 lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. lau v hs ed cl i c th 2168 luffa aegyptiaca mill. dhundal v hs ed, me cl i c th 2734 momordica charantia l. korolla v ed, me cl i c th 2354 trichosanthes costata blume bati jhinga v rs wd i o th 2458 trichosanthes cucumerina l. bon chichinga v rs wd i c th 2490 trichosanthes dioica roxb. potol l ed, me cl i c th 2334 salicaceae salix tetrasperma roxb. panijoma t rs me wd i o th 2769 capparaceae capparis zeylanica l. kalkera l rs me wd i c th 2218 cleome viscosa l. holde hurhurey h fl me wd i c th 2454 brassicaceae brassica napus l. maghi sarisha h oi cl e c th 1905 rorippa indica (l.) hiern bansarisha h fl, hs wd i o th 2566 moringaceae moringa oleifera lam. sajna t hs ed, me pt e c th 2545 sapotaceae manilkara zapota (l.) p.royen safeda t hs ed,me pt e o th 2401 ebenaceae diospyros malabarica (desr.) kostel. gab t hs ed,dy wd i c th 2089 diospyros montana roxb. tomal t hs wd i o th 2746 a preliminary inventory of angiospermic flora 161 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse primulaceae androsace umbellata (lour.) merr. satrojaki h rs wd i o th 1963 lysimachia arvensis (l.) u.manns& anderb. pakhi chosha h cf wd e c th 1862 crassulaceae kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers. patric pathorkuchi h me,or pt e c th 2287 rosaceae rosa indica l. golap s hs or pt e c th 2750 potentilla supina l. saktitila h fl wd i r th 2117 mimosaceae acacia auriculiformis a.cunn. ex benth. akashmoni t rs ti pt e c th 2316 albizia lebbeck (l.) benth. sirish t rs ti,me pt i c th 2229 albizia procera (roxb.) benth. koroi t rs ti pt i c th 2871 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit ipil-ipil t ti pt e c th 2843 samanea saman (jacq.) merr. fulkoroi t rs ti pt e c th 2255 senegalia catechu (l.f.) p.j.h.hurter& mabb. khair t rs dy, me pt i o th 2809 vachellia nilotica (l.) p.j.h.hurter& mabb. babla t rs ti,me wd i c th 2444 caesalpiniaceae bauhinia acuminata l. sada kanchan t hs or, me pt i o th 2808 bauhinia purpurea l. deb kanchan t hs or,me pt i o th 2783 delonix regia (bojer ex hook.) raf. krishna chura t rs or, me pt e c th 2368 senna alata (l.) roxb. dadmardan s wt me wd e o th 2684 senna siamea (lam.) h.s.irwin & barneby minjiri t rs ti pt e c th 2702 senna sophera (l.) roxb. kalkasunda s fl, rs me wd i c th 2647 senna tora (l.) roxb. chakunda s fl, rs me wd i c th 2605 tamarindus indica l. tentul t hs ed,ti, me pt, wd e c th 2592 fabaceae arachis hypogaea l. cheena badam h - cl e o th 2719 cajanus cajan (l.) huth arhhar s rs ed,me cl i c th 1837 canavalia gladiata (jacq.) dc. moushim v hs ed pt i o th 2607 crotalaria spectabilis roth pipli jhanjhuni s fl, rs me wd i o th 1829 dalbergia sissoo roxb. ex dc. sishookat t rs ti, me pt e c th 2193 erythrina variegata l. mandar t hs me pt i o th 2790 grona triflora (l.) h.ohashi&k.ohashi kodaliya h fl me wd i c th 2604 guilandina bonduc l. nata s, ar rs me wd i o th 2598 lablab purpureus (l.) sweet shim v hs ed cl i c th 2162 lathyrus aphaca l. jongli motor h cf wd i c th 1834 lathyrus oleraceus lam. motor h -ed, me cl e c th 1884 lathyrus sativus l. kheshari h -ed cl e c th 1865 medicago lupulina l. halude lupin h cf wd e c th 2020 162 hasan and uddin table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse melilotus albus medik. sadamethi h cf wd i c th 2130 pachyrhizus erosus (l.) urb. kesur v hs ed cl e c th 2692 pleurolobus gangeticus (l.) j.st.hil. ex h.ohashi & k.ohashi salpani s rs me wd i c th 2631 sesbania bispinosa (jacq.) w.wight dhaincha h fl ot cl i c th 1849 vicia faba l. barasim h - cl e c th 1974 vicia hirsuta (l.) gray masrchana h cf wd i c th 1847 vicia sativa l. ankari h cf wd e c th 1857 vigna mungo (l.) hepper maskalay h -ed cl i c th 2470 vigna trilobata (l.) verdc. mugani h fl wd i c th 2617 lythraceae ammannia baccifera l. dadmari h fl wd i o th 2723 cuphea hyssopifolia kunth kuphea s -or pt e o th 2408 lawsonia inermis l. mehedi s hs dy,me pt i c th 2540 rotala rotundifolia (buch.ham. ex roxb.) koehne dim ghurni h fl, wt wd i o th 2101 myrtaceae eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. duli eucalyptus t rs ti pt e c th 2594 psidium guajava l. peyara s hs ed,me pt i c th 2787 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels jam t hs, rs ed,ti, me pt i c th 2220 syzygium samarangense (blume) merr. &l.m.perry samari jamrul t hs ed pt e o th 2148 punicaceae punica granatum l. dalim s hs ed, me pt i c th 2793 onagraceae ludwigia adscendens (l.) h.hara keshordam h aq wd i c th 2167 ludwigia hyssopifolia (g.don) exell panilong h fl, wt wd i c th 2451 ludwigia prostrata roxb. shayankura h fl, wt wd i c th 2448 combretaceae terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun t rs me pt i r th 2797 loranthaceae dendrophthoe falcata (l.f.) ettingsh. bandha s, ar ep wd i c th 2037 macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) tiegh. chota banda s, ar ep wd i c th 2441 euphorbiaceae acalypha indica l. muktajhuri h fl me wd i c th 1885 breynia vitis-idaea (burm.f.) c.e.c.fisch. vita salpoti s rs wd i o th 2553 bridelia stipularis (l.) blume pat khowi l rs wd i r th 2844 chrozophora rottleri (geiseler) spreng. khudiphora h fl, rs wd e c th 2048 codiaeum variegatum (l.) rumph. ex a.juss. patabahar s hs or pt e c th 2856 croton bonplandianus baill. bankhira s fl, rs me wd e c th 2252 euphorbia helioscopia l. muhabi h cf wd i c th 1971 euphorbia hirta l. dudhiya h fl, rs me wd i c th 2008 a preliminary inventory of angiospermic flora 163 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse euphorbia hypericifolia l. jalsjardama h cf, fl wd e c th 2369 euphorbia prostrata aiton sijhori h cf wd e c th 2302 euphorbia serpens kunth -h fl, rs wd e c th 2685 euphorbia tithymaloides l. berachita s hs pt e c th 2271 mallotus nudiflorus (l.) kulju &welzen pitali t rs me wd i c th 2312 mallotusphilippensis (lam.) müll.arg. kamela t hs me wd i o th 2835 phyllanthus amarus schumach. & thonn. vuiamla h cf, fl me wd i c th 2506 phyllanthus fraternus g.l.webster --h cf, fl wd e o th 2503 phyllanthus reticulatus poir. panjuli s rs me wd i c th 2070 phyllanthus urinaria l. hajarmoni h fl wd i c th 2527 phyllanthus virgatus g.forst. chhitki h fl wd i o th 2366 putranjiva roxburghii wall. ghornifol t hs ot wd i o th 2815 ricinus communis l. rerhi s hs oi, me wd e c th 1894 tragia involucrata l. bichuti v rs wd i o th 2278 rhamnaceae ziziphus mauritiana lam. boroi t, ar fl, hs ed, me pt i c th 2611 vitaceae ampelocissus latifolia (roxb.) planch. gowalia-lata l fl, rs wd i c th 2516 causonis trifolia (l.) mabb. &j.wen amollata l fl, rs me wd i c th 2124 sapindaceae cardiospermum halicacabum l. lataphutiki v rs me wd e c th 1872 litchi chinensis sonn. lichu t hs ed pt i c th 2081 anacardiaceae lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga t hs ot pt i c th 2791 mangifera indica l. aam t hs ed,ti, me pt i c th 2044 spondias dulcis parkinson bilati amra t hs ed pt e c th 2568 meliaceae aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.parker pitraj t hs ti, me wd i c th 2763 azadirachta indica a.juss. nim t hs me, ti pt i c th 2243 khaya anthotheca (welw.) c.dc. lombu t rs ti pt e c th 1913 melia azedarach l. ghoranim t hs ti, me wd i c th 2852 swietenia macrophylla king bara mehogani t hs, rs ti pt e c th 2864 toona ciliata m.roem. toon t hs ti wd i c th 2765 rutaceae aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel t hs ed, me wd i c th 2778 bergera koenigii l. borosunga s rs me wd i o th 2147 citrus maxima (burm.) merr. batabilebu s hs ed, me pt i c th 2789 citrus × aurantiifolia (christm.) swingle kagagilebu s, ar hs ed, me pt i c th 2066 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc. ashsaora s rs me wd i c th 1918 164 hasan and uddin table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse limonia acidissima l. koethbel t hs ed, me pt i c th 2582 murraya paniculata (l.) jack kamini s hs or, me pt i c th 2601 oxalidaceae averrhoa carambola l. kamranga t hs ed pt i c th 2560 oxalis corniculata l. amrul h fl, rs me wd i c th 2036 apiaceae hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam. kuti thankuni h rs wd i o th 2223 apocynaceae calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton baro akand s rs me wd i c th 2426 carissa carandas l. karamcha s, ar hs ed, me pt i o th 2357 hemidesmus indicus (l.) r.br. anontomul l fl, rs me wd i o th 2507 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w.t.aiton shamlata l rs me wd i o th 2824 rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz sarpagandha h fl me wd i o th 2260 tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r.br. ex roem. & schult. togarphul s hs or pt i c th 2207 telosma pallida (roxb.) craib kanjilata l rs wd i o th 2489 solanaceae cestrum nocturnum l. hasna hena s or pt e c th 1969 datura metel l. dhutra s fl, rs me wd e c th 1922 nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. bontamak h fl, rs wd e c th 2214 physalis angulata l. phutki h cf, fl me wd e c th 2397 solanum americanum mill. tit-begun h fl wd e c th 2733 solanum erianthum d.don arasa s rs me wd e o th 2205 solanum lycopersicum l. tomato h ed, me cl i c th 2199 solanum melongena l. begun s, ar ed cl i c th 1994 solanum torvum sw. gothbegun s fl, rs e c th 2069 solanum tuberosum l. alu h ed cl i c th 2034 solanum villosum mill. villo begun h cf, fl wd i c th 1908 solanum violaceum ortega phutki s, ar rs me wd i c th 2033 convolvulaceae convolvulus arvensis l. horin padi v cf wd e o th 2026 evolvulus nummularius (l.) l. bhuiokra h fl, rs wd i c th 2051 hewittia malabarica (l.) suresh hiwet v rs wd i o th 2341 ipomoea aquatica forssk. kalsmi v wt ed wd i c th 1936 ipomoea carnea jacq. dholkalmi s rs ot pt i c th 2786 ipomoea pes-caprae (l.) r.br. chagolkuri kalmi h gr or, me pt i o th 2780 ipomoea pes-tigridis l. langulilata v rs wd i o th 2469 merremia hederacea (burm.f.) hallier f. kaladana v fl, rs wd i c th 2686 operculina turpethum (l.) silva manso dudh kalmi l rs wd i o th 2693 cuscutaceae cuscuta reflexa roxb. swarnalata h ep me wd e c th 2859 a preliminary inventory of angiospermic flora 165 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse menyanthaceae nymphoides hydrophylla (lour.) kuntze chandmala h aq wd i c th 2346 boraginaceae cordia dichotoma g.forst. bohul t hs wd i c th 2317 cynoglossum lanceolatum forssk. kukurghiba h rs wd i o th 2402 heliotropium indicum l. hatishur h fl, wt me wd i c th 2233 lamiaceae anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze gobura s rs wd i c th 2735 leonurus sibiricus l. raktodhrone h fl wd i c th 2019 leucas lavandulifolia sm. shetodron h fl ed, me wd i c th 2074 ocimum tenuiflorum l. kalotulsi s me pt i c th 1909 pogostemon benghalensis (burm.f.) kuntze pacholi s rs me wd i o th 2143 salvia plebeia r.br. bhuitulsi h fl, rs me wd i c th 2174 verbenaceae callicarpa longifolia lam. boro bormala s hs me wd i r th 2427 clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhati s fl, rs me wd i o th 2802 clerodendrum infortunatum l. bhant s fl, rs me wd i c th 2080 duranta erecta l. kata mehedi s or pt e o th 2536 gmelina arborea roxb. ex sm. gamary t rs ti, me pt i o th 2772 lantana camara l. putush l rs me wd e o th 2737 lippia alba (mill.) n.e.br. ex britton &p.wilson vui-okra h rs, wt wd i c th 2552 phyla nodiflora (l.) greene vuiokra h fl me wd i c th 2310 premna bengalensis c.b.clarke dauli s hs me pt i o th 2840 tectona grandis l.f. segun t hs ti, me pt e o th 2587 vitex negundo l. nishinda s hs me pt i o th 2510 oleaceae jasminum sambac (l.) aiton beli l rs me wd i c th 2276 scrophulariaceae bonnaya antipoda (l.) druce sada panighas h cf, wt wd i c th 2164 limnophila heterophylla (roxb.) benth. patakutra h aq wd i c th 2659 lindernia procumbens (krock.) borbás bokpuspo h cf,fl, wt wd i c th 2112 mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small mikardan h cf, fl wd e c th 2055 mazus pumilus (burm.f.) steenis tutra h cf wd i c th 1932 scoparia dulcis l. bandhoney h fl, rs me wd i c th 1840 torenia crustacea (l.) cham. &schltdl. chapraghas h fl, rs wd i c th 2497 veronica anagallis-aquatica l. paniveronti h wt wd i o th 2185 yamazakia viscosa (hornem.) w.r.barker, y.s.liang&wannan atha chapra h wt wd i o th 2439 acanthaceae andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall. ex nees kalomegh h hs me wd i o th 2758 166 hasan and uddin table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse ecbolium ligustrinum (vahl) vollesen nam ecbol h hs me wd i o th 2544 eranthemum pulchellum andrews shuk murali h hs me pt i r th 2237 hygrophila auriculata (schumach.) heine kulekhara h wt me wd i c th 1986 hygrophila polysperma (roxb.) t.anderson alai kalai h wt wd i c th 2728 hygrophila ringens (l.) r.br. ex spreng. --h wt wd i o th 2111 justicia adhatoda l. basak s hs me pt i c th 2208 justicia gendarussa burm.f. jagatmadan s hs me pt i c th 1861 nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul h rs wd i o th 2200 phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet kantasi h rs wd i o th 2876 ruellia prostrata poir. posta booti h rs wd i c th 2156 ruellia simplex c.wright --h or pt e o th 1893 ruellia tuberosa l. chotpoty h fl, rs wd e c th 2335 rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi h fl wd e c th 1891 strobilanthes hirta (vahl) blume buripana h fl wd i c th 2135 pedaliaceae sesamum indicum l. til s oi, me cl i c th 2308 bignoniaceae oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz kanidingi t hs ed, me wd i r th 2741 lentibulariaceae utricularia stellarisl.f. patajangi h aq wd i c th 2755 campanulaceae campanula dimorphantha schweinf. ghanti h rs wd i o th 1999 wahlenbergia marginata (thunb.) a.dc. nak-phul h cf wd i c th 1998 rubiaceae dentella repens var. serpyllifolia (wall. ex craib) verdc. sharpilbhuipat h fl wd i c th 2446 meyna spinosa roxb. ex link mainakanta s, ar rs ed wd i o th 2282 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadam t rs me,or pt i c th 2578 oldenlandia corymbosa l. khet papra h fl, rs me wd i c th 2691 spermacoce articularis l.f. atharogia h rs wd i o th 2485 asteraceae acmella ciliata (kunth) cass. --h fl, rs me wd e c th 1887 acmella radicans (jacq.) r.k.jansen --h rs wd e o th 1876 acmella uliginosa (sw.) cass. marhatitiga h cf wd e o th 1874 ageratum conyzoides l. ochunti h fl me wd e c th 1902 blumea axillaris (lam.) dc. nilmoli h fl, rs wd i o th 2123 blumea lacera (burm.f.) dc. kukur shunga h fl, rs me wd i c th 1964 blumea sinuata (lour.) merr. --h fl, rs wd i c th 2060 caesulia axillaris roxb. fuiltagas h cf wd i c th 2638 a preliminary inventory of angiospermic flora 167 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king&h.rob. assamlata s rs me wd e c th 1880 cirsium arvense (l.) scop. shial kata h rs wd i c th 2204 cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h.rob. kukshim h rs me wd i c th 1884 eclipta prostrata (l.) l. kesuti h fl me wd i c th 1929 gamochaeta pensylvanica (willd.) cabrera silvalomi h fl wd e c th 2090 gnaphalium polycaulon pers. kulakolmi h fl wd i c th 1931 grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. nemuti h cf, rs me wd i c th 2025 ixeris polycephala cass. fala geris h cf wd i c th 1924 lagascea mollis cav. reshmi pata h rs wd e o th 2394 launaea aspleniifolia (willd.) hook.f. tikadana h fl wd e c th 2230 mikania micrantha kunth asamlata l rs me wd e c th 1925 parthenium hysterophorus l. gajargas h fl, rs wd e c th 1853 pseudoconyza viscosa (mill.) d'arcy coniza h fl, rs wd i o th 2433 pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (l.) hilliard &b.l.burtt barakamra h cf, fl wd i c th 2065 saussurea lyrata (bunge) franch. saussurea h cf wd i c th 2013 sonchus asper (l.) hill sonpalong h fl, rs wd i c th 2120 sonchus wightianus dc. ban palang h rs me wd i o th 2184 sphagneticola trilobata (l.) pruski latadeiji h fl or wd e o th 2262 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn. relanodi h fl, rs me wd e c th 1895 tagetes erecta l. gendaphul h hs or, me pt e c th 1851 tridax procumbens l. tridhara h fl, rs me wd i c th 1955 xanthium strumarium l. ghagra s fl, rs me wd i c th 2416 youngia japonica (l.) dc. youngaful h fl wd i c th 2001 liliopsida alismataceae sagittaria guayanensis kunth kauathukri h aq wd i c th 2653 sagittaria sagittifolia l. chotokut h aq wd i c th 2172 hydrocharitaceae nechamandra alternifolia (roxb. ex wight) thwaites rasna-zanji h aq wd i o th 2681 ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panicola h aq wd i c th 2690 potamogetonaceae stuckenia pectinata (l.) börner sagu zhanchi h aq wd i o th 2805 arecaceae areca catechu l. suoari t hs ed, me pt e c th 2799 borassus flabellifer l. tal t hs, rs ed, me wd i c th 2837 calamus tenuis roxb. bandribet l hs ot wd i c th 2559 cocos nucifera l. narikel t hs ed, me pt e c th 2804 phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb. khajur t hs, rs ed, me wd i c th 2841 pandanaceae benstonea foetida (roxb.) callm. &buerki keyakata t or pt i o th 2829 168 hasan and uddin table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse araceae alocasia fornicata (kunth) schott salukachu h fl, hs wd i c th 2711 alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g.don mankachu h hs ed, me wd i c th 2621 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott mmukhi kochu h fl ed, me wd i c th 2593 lasia spinosa (l.) thwaites katakuchu h rs wd i o th 2406 pistia stratiotes l. topa pana h aq wd i c th 2442 leucocasia gigantea (blume) schott salad-kachu h fl, hs ed wd i c th 2646 typhonium flagelliforme (g.lodd.) blume gechu h wt wd i o th 2726 typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott ghechu h fl ed wd i c th 2324 commelinaceae commelina benghalensis l. kanchira h fl me wd i c th 2461 commelina diffusa burm.f. manaina h fl wd i c th 2464 commelina longifolia lam. pani kanshira h wt wd i o th 2779 commelina paludosa blume jota kanchira h fl me wd i c th 1958 cyanotis axillaris (l.) d.don ex sweet axinot h cf wd i c th 2685 murdannia nudiflora (l.) brenan kanduli h wt wd i o th 2586 cyperaceae bolboschoenus maritimus (l.) palla balbobin h wt wd i o th 2177 cyperus brevifolius (rottb.) hassk. shabuj nirbisa g fl, rs wd i c th 2419 cyperus difformis l. behuaghasi g wt wd i c th 2107 cyperus iria l. iri ghasi g cf, wt wd i c th 2404 cyperus mindorensis (steud.) huygh subasi nirbisa g fl, rs wd i c th 2328 cyperus rotundus l. mutha g cf me wd i c th 2297 fimbristylisdipsacea (rottb.) c.b.clarke dipsa fimbry g fl, wt wd i o th 2436 schoenoplectiella articulata (l.) lye chechra h fl, wt wd i c th 2695 schoenoplectiella juncoides (roxb.) lye chechri h cf, wt wd i o th 2202 poaceae apluda mutica l. matika g rs wd i o th 2620 bambusa balcooa roxb. borakbash ba hs bm wd i c th 2555 bambusa tulda roxb. tollabash ba hs bm wd i c th 2563 cenchrus purpureus (schumach.) morrone napier gas g fl, rs fo cl e c th 1890 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durbaghass g rs me wd i c th 2349 dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. makra g fl, rs me wd i c th 2459 dichanthium annulatum (forssk.) stapf loari g rs wd i c th 1855 digitaria setigera roth shetighas g cf wd i c th 2298 echinochloa crusgalli (l.) p.beauv. bara shama gash g cf, wt wd i c th 2132 eragrostis tenella (l.) p.beauv. ex roem. & schult. koni ghas g rs wd i c th 2300 imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. ulukhor g fl wd i c th 2484 leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees --g cf, wt wd i c th 2097 a preliminary inventory of angiospermic flora 169 table 1 contd. scientific name bangla name habit habitat use status origin occur rse oplismenus burmanni (retz.) p.beauv. jabri durba g hs, rs wd i c th 2626 oplismenus compositus (l.) p.beauv. gohur durba g hs wd i c th 2696 oryza sativa l. (th 2724) dhan g ed, me cl i c saccharum officinarum l. akh g me cl e c th 1960 saccharum spontaneum l. kash g fl me wd i c th 2640 setaria flavida (retz.) veldkamp bolaymandi ghas g rs wd i c th 2375 setaria pumila (poir.) roem. & schult. haludkawn g fl wd i c th 2126 sorghum bicolor (l.) moench deodhan g cl e o th 2256 triticum aestivum l. gom g ed cl i c th 2042 urochloa reptans (l.) stapf peraghas g rs wd i c th 2303 musaceae musa × paradisiaca l. kola h hs ed, me cl i c th 2099 zingiberaceae alpinia nigra (gaertn.) burtt jongliada h hs me wd i o th 2816 costaceae hellenia speciosa (j.koenig) s.r.dutta kew mul h hs me wd i c th 2551 pontederiaceae pontederia crassipes mart. kochuripana h aq wd e c th 2219 pontederia hastata l. bara nukha h aq wd i c th 2602 liliaceae allium cepa l. piaj h ed, me cl e c th 1959 allium sativum l. rosun h ed, me cl e c th 2086 curculigo latifolia dryand. ex w.t.aiton talmule h me cl i o th 2831 dioscoreaceae dioscorea alata l. chupri alu v hs ed cl i c th 2616 dioscorea pentaphylla l. suar alu v,ar hs ed wd i o th 2759 orchidaceae vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g. don tessi rasna h ep or, me wd i c th 2600 habit: armed= ar, bamboo= ba, grass=g, herb=h, liana=l, scandent=sc, shrub=s, tree=t and vine=v; habitat: aquatic=aq, epiphyte= ep, crop field=cf, fallow land= fl, homestead= hs, road/railway side= rs, timber= ti and wetland= wt; use: building materials= bm, dye= dy, edible= ed, fiber= fi, fodder= fo, medicinal= me, oil= oi, ornamental= or, other use = ot and spice = sp; status: cultivated= cl. planted=pt and wild=wd; occurrence: common=c. occasionally=o and rare=r and rse: th= tarikul hasan. such as oil, spices, fiber, forage, natural dye, building materials etc. in bangladesh, plant immigration is a common scenario since long. most of the plant introduced by settler, invaders or traders (dutta et al., 2015). in this study, a total of 93 species were found as exotic species in the study area which was one fourth (24.67%) of the total collection. among them, 49 were herbs, 16 were shrubs, 20 were trees and 8 were climbers. regarding status of exotic species, 13 species were cultivated, 33 species were planted and 48 species were found wild. it is alarming that out of 48 exotic wild species, 35 species are spreading fast and are being a common species. further research is needed to assess their impact on native species. total 37 exotic species have medicinal potential for different ailments and 44 were useful to the householders. 170 hasan and uddin fig. 2. habit and habitat composition conservation significance of local plant species throughout the study on the basis of field observation of richness and their population size, eight species were found as rare or species of conservation concern for this area such as artocarpus lacucha buch.-han.; bridelia stipularis (l.) blume; callicarpa longifolia lam.; eranthemum pulchellum andrews; oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz; potentilla supina l.; sterculia foetida l. and terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. except bridelia stipularis (l.) blume and sterculia foetida l. all species have medicinal potentiality. potentilla supina l. is recollected after 118 years from this area (hasan and uddin, 2022). rare species need to be specially cared and regularly monitored. identified threats to local plant diversity on the basis of field observations and personal interviews as well as group discussions, the present study identified some threats on plant biodiversity of this area. in this regard, main threats are of two types. one is expansion of arable land and the other is the digging of ponds in low land for pisciculture. as a results of which fallow land as well as wet land is decreasing and demolish terrestrial, aquatic or sub-aquatic species. another major threats were availability of the substitutes of natural product like plastic product, pharmaceutical product, synthetic dye etc. other threats were lack of awareness among the residents about plants, use of unnecessary agrochemicals specially herbicides and pesticides, changes of cropping pattern, random collection of medicinal plants, filling the low lands, clearing the brushwood, unplanned construction activities and change of climates. based on this present assessment and information gatherd from informal discussion with the resident, some recommendation provided for judicious attention. first of all, infrequent and endangered plant should be considered for ‘in-situ’ and ‘ex-situ’ conservation. secondly, local small nurseries or garden should be developed to grow the population of native rare species, wildlife-supporting species and medicinal plant species as well as infrequent species. last but not least, awareness should be built up among the local people to save threatened and valuable plant species and their habitat. conclusion this study indicates that bagatipara upazila is rich in angiospermic species. though some species are found to be exotic, fortunately most of the species are indigenous and important sources for medicine and food. some threats have been identified and some locally rare species a preliminary inventory of angiospermic flora 171 were found in this area. therefore, some steps should be taken immediately, such as raising awareness among the residents about the importance of indigenous plant species; 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(manuscript received on 12 november, 2023; revised on 24 may, 2024) http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 431-435, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63537 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists -short communication struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze (asteraceae): a new angiosperm record for the flora of bangladesh md. salah uddin and shaikh bokhtear uddin1* department of biology, kyungpook national university, daegu 41566, republic of korea keywords: struchium sparganophorum; asteraceae; new record; bangladesh. asteraceae is one of the largest plant families, with thousands of species. asterideae has a significant productivity as angiosperm phylogeny. there are 24,000 recognized species in the asteraceae plant family. it also has roughly 1,600 to 1,700 genera that are found all throughout the planet, with the exception of antarctica. this family is also known as a cosmopolitan family since it has a large number of species from several climate zones, including temperate, cold-temperate, and subtropical (flora of china, 2022). for the genus struchium, the plant list comprises 17 scientific plant names of species rank. these are the only three species names such as struchium africanum (steud.) p.beauv. struchium americanum poir., and struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze that have been accepted (the plant list, 2013). struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze, an annual, semi-aquatic herb was collected from amki, sonaimuri, noakhali, bangladesh in the month of march, 2022 by the first author. after critical studies, it has been identified as struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze with the help of floristic literatures and databases viz. bunwong et al. (2014), gbif (2022), india biodiversity (2022), wfo (2022), flowers of india (2022), powo (2022a). struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze belong to the asteraceae. the sessile capitula in the axillary head, achenes with coroniform pappus, and florets with 3-4 corolla lobes are the distinct characters of s. sparganophorum (bunwong et al., 2014). as this genus and any of its species have never been reported in any of the pertinent floristic literature covering bangladesh region viz. roxburgh (1832), hooker (1872-1897), prain (1903), heinig (1925), cowan (1928), raizada (1941), datta and mitra (1953), sinclair (1956), khan and banu (1972), khan and hassan (1984), khan et al. (1994), mia and khan (1995), rahman and hassan (1995), rahman and uddin (1997), uddin et al. (1998), uddin and rahman (1999), rashid et al. (2000), khan and huq (2001), rahman et al. (2002), uddin et al. (2003), rahman (2004a, b), ahmed et al. (2008), rahman and uddin (2011), rahman and uddin (2012), pasha and uddin (2013), uddin et al. (2013), rahman et al. (2016), rashid et al. (2016), rahman (2017), uddin and hassan (2018), rahman et al. (2019) therefore, it is being reported as a new generic and species record for bangladesh. specimens (n=2) of species were collected and photographs of species in their natural habitat were taken during a field trip. the collected specimens were deposited in chittagong university's herbarium (hcu). *corresponding author. email: bokhtear@cu.ac.bd 1ethnobotany and pharmacognosy lab., department of botany, university of chittagong, chattogram 4331, bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63537 mailto:bokhtear@cu.ac.bd 432 uddin and uddin the detailed description and photographs of the plant are given below. struchium p. browne. in: hist. jamaica. 312. t. 34. (1756). annual herb. leaves alternate. capitula congested in axillary sessile clusters, homogamous, many-flowered; phyllaries in several series, imbricate, slightly unequal, the innermost longest. florets 3-4-lobed; anthers sagittate, with triangular distal appendage; style branches subulate. achenes slightly angular with 3-4 angles, glandular; pappus a thick, oblique corona. this genus is native range is se. mexico to tropical america (powo, 2022b). struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze, revis. gen. pl. 1: 366 (1891). ethulia sparganophora l., sp. pl.: 1171 (1763); sparganophoros vaillantii crantz, inst. rei. herb. 1: 261 (1766); ethulia struchium sw., prodr. 111 (1788). (fig. 1) type: sparganophorus vaillantii crantz vaillant, s.. mnhn p p00682416 (type) struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze george richardson proctor (1959) guadeloupe. bm000576316 (epitype) sparganophorus vaillantii gaertn. var. griseb. longifolius wright, c. (no. 1025 = 2783) (1863) cuba. goet 002448 / 753024 / 396451; sparganophorus vaillantii gaertn. var. longifolius griseb. wright (1863) goet-typen 6048; struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze. mo 101128505 (holotype). struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze charles (carlos) cuba. mo mo 2593200; struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze wright, c. k k k000373105 (isotype). struchium africanum p. beauv. palisot de beauvois, a. m. f. benin. g geneva herbarium – de candolle's prodromus (g-dc) g-dc-279850/2 (syntype). annual, 30-60 cm tall, erect, branching, semi-aquatic herbs with green, scattered finely velvet-hairy stems. leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate; leaf-stalk to 2.5 cm long, base amplexicaul with minutely hairy margin; lamina elliptic, narrowing at both ends, acute, margins minutely toothed-finely toothed. inflorescence axillary, of 4-5 subsessile, clustered, globose, homogamous capitula, hairy when young. mature head about 5 mm diam; involucre of 4-5 series of ascending, outer smaller and inner larger, triangular to inverted-lanceshaped, tapering, greenish, margins scarious and hairy. receptacle convex, pitted. florets all tubular, without palea, 4-5 mm long, hermaphrodite. calyx of three, white, spongy, acute scales .united in varying degree, often lightly, .unequally lobed at apex, valvate, persistent. corolla about 2-3 mm long, white, with narrow tube, lobes 5, spreading glandular. androecium of three epipetalous stamens; filaments short, filiform, white. ovary about 1.5 mm long, with three or more vertical ridges and glands on surface. ovule solitary, basal, anatropus, slightly flattened. style filiform, white, with a minute disc-like joint at base. stigma bifid, subulate, purple, outer surface shortly hairy, receptive surface papillose. fruits about 1.5 mm long, triangular, blackish. seed obovate-lenticular. flowering and fruiting: august-april. ecology: grows in waste places by the sides of the canal. specimen examined: noakhali: amki (latitude: 23.058877, longitude: 91.032303), 06.03.2022, uddin, m.s. and uddin, s.b., hcu06032022-132 (hcu). distribution: native of tropical america, not it distributed in all warmer countries (india biodiversity 2022). struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze (asteraceae) 433 uses: struchium sparganophorum is a medicinal herb used in traditional medicine, a decoction made with the whole plant is taken for the treatment headache, cold, wheezing, asthma and backaqche (fern, 2022). leaves cooked as vegetable. used as a condiment in soups (uphof, 1959). fig. 1. struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze a. habit (×0.5); b. branch (×0.5); c. inflorescens (×0.5); d. ray florate (×5); e. disc florate (×5); f. androecium (×8); g. gynoecium (×10). plate 1. struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze (a, b, c) herbs in natural habitat; (d) habit: a part of flowering branch; (e) leaf; (f) inflorescences. 434 uddin and uddin acknowledgement the authors are thankful to nature conservation network (ncn) for providing logistic support. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. (eds.). 2008. encyclopedia of flora and fauna of bangladesh, vol. 6. angiosperms: dicotyledons (acanthaceae-asteraceae). asiatic society of bangladesh, dhaka, 408 pp. bunwong, s., chantaranothai, p., keeley, s. 2014. revisions and key to the vernonieae (compositae) of thailand. phytokeys 37: 25-101. cowan, j.m. 1928. the flora of chakaria sundarbans. rec. bot. surv. ind. 11: 197-225. datta, r.b. and mitra, j.n. 1953. common plants in and around dacca city. bull. bot. soc. beng. 7(1&2): 1-110. fern, k. 2022. tropical plants database, published on the internet: http://tropical.theferns.info/ viewtropical.php?id=struchium+sparganophorum.accessed on april, 2022. flora of china. 2022. asteraceae. published on the internet: http://www.efloras.org/florataxon. aspx? flora_ id=2&taxon_id=10074. accessed on march, 2022. flowers of india. 2022. published on the internet: http://www.flowersofindia.net/ [accessed on march, 2022]. gbif. 2022. global biodiversity information facility. published on the internet: https://www.gbif.org/ species/182228619. accessed on march, 2022. heinig, r.l. 1925. list of plants of chittagong collectorate and hill tracts, darjeeling. 84 pp. hooker, j.d. 1872-1897. the flora of british india. vols. 1-7. l. reeve & co., ashford, kent, uk. india biodiversity portal. 2022. struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze. published on the internet: https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/262958/ accessed on march, 2022. khan, m.s. and banu, f. 1972. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of chittagong hill tracts2. j. asia. soc. bangladesh 17(2): 59-88. khan, m.s. and hassan, m.a. 1984. a taxonomic report on the angiospermic flora of st. martin’s island. dhaka univ. studies, part b. 32(1): 71-84. khan, m.s. and huq, a.m. 2001. the vascular flora of chunati wildlife sanctuary in south chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 8(1): 47-64. khan, m.s., rahman, m.m., huq, a.m., mia, m.m.k. and hassan, m.a. 1994. assessment of biodiversity of teknaf game reserve in bangladesh focusing on economically and ecologically important plant species. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 1(1): 21-33. mia, m.m.k. and khan, b. 1995. first list of angiospermic taxa of bangladesh not included in hooker's flora of british india and prain's bengal plants. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 24-45. pasha, m.k. & uddin, s.b. 2013. dictionary of plant names of bangladesh. janokalyan prokashani. chittagong. 433 pp. powo. 2022a. plants of the world online. published on the internet: https://powo.science. kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1059151-2, the royal botanic gardens, kew. accessed on march, 2022. powo. 2022b. plants of the world online. published on the internet: https://powo. science.kew.org/ taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:11185-1, the royal botanic gardens, kew. accessed on march, 2022. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants, vol. 2. (indian reprint 1963). botanical survey of india, calcutta, pp. 667. prain, d. 1903. bengal plants. vols. 1 & 2. reprint 1963. botanical survey of india, calcutta. rahman ma 2017. plant diversity in hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary of chittagong and its conservation management. j. biodivers. conserv. bioresour. manag. 3(2): 43-56. http://tropical.theferns.info/ http://www.efloras.org/florataxon. http://www.flowersofindia.net/ https://www.gbif.org/ https://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/262958/ https://powo.science. https://powo. struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze (asteraceae) 435 rahman ma and mm uddin 2011. floristic diversity in hazarikhil reserve forest of chittagong. biod. bull. bangladesh 5:1 (december). rahman ma, mansour, s.a., jaber, s.m., al-yahya, ma and al-hemaid, f. ma 2002. a checklist of angiosperm flora of farasan islands, kingdom of saudi arabia. pak. j. bio. sci.5(11):1162-1166. rahman ma, mf ahmed and me rashid 2016. plant diversity of the hakaluki haor of bangladesh and its management issues. j. biodivers. conserv. bioresour. manag. 2(1): 47-60. rahman ma, mn uddin, me rashid, mn uddin and mm islam 2012. floristic diversity in rampahar reserve forest of kaptai, rangamati. biod. bull. bangladesh 6:1-31(june). rahman ma, mr hasan and me rashid 2019. the inventory and assessment of plant species diversity in dulahazra safari park, cox’s bazar. physiol. ecol. & environ. sci. 10(1&2): rahman, m.a. and uddin, s.b. 1997. angiospermic flora of sitakund in chittagong, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 4(1): 17-36. rahman, m.o. 2004a. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants”series i. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(1): 77-82. rahman, m.o. 2004b. second list of angiospermic taxa not included in hooker’s “flora of british india” and prain’s “bengal plants”series ii. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 11(2): 49-56. rahman, m.o. and hassan, m.a. 1995. angiospermic flora of bhawal national park, gazipur, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 2(1&2): 47-79. raizada, m.b. 1941. on the flora of chittagong. indian forester 67(5): 245-254. rashid, m.h., rahman, e. and rahman, m.a. 2000. additions to the angiospermic flora of the moheskhali island, cox’s bazar, bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 7(1): 43-63. roxburgh, w. 1832. flora indica (gynadria monandria). ed.2,2: 609–622. parbury, allen & company ltd., london. sinclair, j. 1956. the flora of cox's bazar, east pakistan. bull. bot. soc. beng. 9(2): 84-116. the plant list. 2013. struchium. published on the internet: http://theplantlist.org/ 1.1/browse/ a/compositae/struchium/ accessed on march, 2022. uddin sb and rahman ma 1999. angiospermic flora of himchari national park, cox’s bazar. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 6(1): 31 68. uddin, m.z., hassan, m.a. and khan, m.s. 2003. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of remakalenga wildlife sanctuary (habiganj) in bangladesh ii.a: magnoliopsida (dicots). bangladesh j. plant taxon. 10(1): 79-94. uddin, mg, ma rahman and me rashid 2013. plant diversity in upper rezu reserve forest of ramu, cox’s bazar. biod. bull. bangladesh 7:1-26 (june). uddin, s.n. and hassan, m.a. 2018. vascular flora of chittagong and the chittagong hill tracts: vols.1-3. bangladesh national herbarium, zoo road, mirpur 1, dhaka 1216. uddin, s.n., khan, m.s., hassan, m.a. and alam, m.k. 1998. an annotated checklist of angiospermic flora of sita pahar at kaptai in bangladesh. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 5(1): 13-46. uphof, j.c.t. 1959. dictionary of economic plants, by j.c. th. uphof. weinheim: j. cramer. wfo. 2022. struchium sparganophorum (l.) kuntze. published on the internet: http:// www. worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000021260. accessed on march, 2022. (manuscript received on 15 january, 2022; revised on 18 november, 2022) http://theplantlist.org/ http:// bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 21-30, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67031 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists four new records for the vascular flora of bangladesh gazi mosharof hossain*, shayla sharmin shetu and saleh ahammad khan department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka–1342, bangladesh keywords: hemionitis cordata; ophioglossum nudicaule; bacopa australis; salvia misella; pteridophytes; angiosperms. abstract this study records two species of pteridophytes, viz., hemionitis cordata roxb. ex hook. & grev. and ophioglossum nudicaule l.f. of pteridaceae and ophioglossaceae, and two species of angiosperms, viz., bacopa australis v.c. souza and salvia misella kunth of plantaginaceae and lamiaceae, respectively, for the first time in bangladesh, based on the plant specimens collected during the recent botanical explorations conducted in selected areas of bagerhat, barguna, and cumilla districts. a detailed taxonomic description with key characters, notes on ecology, uses, distribution, distinctness from other similar taxa, representative specimens examined, and photographs of each of these four species have been provided. introduction bangladesh, as an integrated part of the indian-subcontinent centre of plant diversity (vavilov, 1926) and the south asian mega centre of genetic diversity (chowdhury, 1996), harbours almost all groups of plants in its 148,460 sq. km. area. within the territory of bangladesh, a total of around 6,612 species of green plants have so far been recorded, in contrast to the flexible estimate of 11,650 plant species for the country (khan 1977; ahmed et al., 2007, 2008–2009, 2009a, b; siddiqui et al., 2007; sarker and hossain, 2009; begum et al., 2014; rahman and khatun, 2014; tabassum, 2018; alfasane et al., 2019; tabassum et al., 2020; dong and haque, 2021; sultana and rahman, 2021; sultana et al., 2022; jone et al., 2022; rahman et al., 2022; http://bforest.portal.gov.bd). nevertheless, the publication of 329 new records of vascular plants following the report of a total of 3,813 species for the vascular flora of bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008–2009, 2009a) raises the total number of recorded vascular plant species in this country to around 4,142 (sultana and rahman, 2021; hossain et al., 2022; rahman et al., 2022; sultana et al., 2022; uddin and uddin, 2022). during our botanical explorations conducted in 2019–2022, in different areas of bagerhat, barguna and cumilla districts, including the sundarbans and tengragiri mangrove forests, many specimens of vascular plants were collected and housed in the jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). recently, we found that some of these specimens do not match any known plant species in bangladesh. after a detailed taxonomic investigation, we identified a few of these specimens belonging to two pteridophyte species, namely, hemionitis cordata roxb. ex hook. & grev. of family pteridaceae and ophioglossum nudicaule l. f. of ophioglossaceae, and a few other specimens associated with two angiosperm species, namely, bacopa australis v.c. souza and salvia misella kunth of plantaginaceae and lamiaceae, respectively. these species have never been reported earlier in any taxonomic literature published so far on the flora of bangladesh (e.g., hooker, 1872–1897; prain, 1903a, b; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008–2009, 2009a; rahman et al., 2015; haque et al., 2018; shetu et al., 2018, 2022; uddin and hassan, 2018; *corresponding author, email: gazibotju@gmail.com https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67031 http://bforest.portal.gov.bd). mailto:gazibotju@gmail.com 22 hossain et al. hossain et al., 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020a, b; khan et al., 2021a, b; islam et al., 2022). therefore, these four species have been reported here as the new records of vascular plant species for bangladesh. materials and methods the plant specimens of b. australis and h. cordata were collected from lalmai hill and its adjacent areas in cumilla district; specimens of o. nudicaule from the coastal areas of bagerhat (sundarbans east wildlife sanctuary) and barguna (tengragiri eco park) districts; and those of salvia misella from mongla port area of bagerhat district, during our recent floristic explorations conducted in 2019–2022. the collected specimens were processed, dried, and managed using standard herbarium techniques (singh and subramaniam, 2008). these specimens were critically examined in the plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory of jahangirnagar university. their taxonomic identification was confirmed through consulting the experts and taxonomic descriptions and keys available in the relevant literature (hooker, 1885; prain, 1903a, b; li and hedge, 1994; stevens et al., 2001; hammel et al., 2003–2014; cui et al., 2004; mirza, 2007a, b; khanam, 2009; rahman, 2009; gangmin et al., 2013; xianchun et al., 2013; sosa et al., 2018), matching with the relevant voucher specimens of the jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh) and bangladesh national herbarium (dacb), and digital images of the respective voucher specimens available on the websites of different international herbaria, including herbarium of royal botanic gardens (k) and muséum national d'histoire naturelle (p). nomenclatural details and worldwide distribution were fetched from the most recent and relevant taxonomic publications (li and hedge, 1994; cui et al., 2004; gangmin et al., 2013; xianchun et al., 2013) and databases (e.g., gbif secretariat, 2022; ipni, 2023; powo, 2023; tropicos, 2023; wfo, 2023). the taxonomic descriptions were produced in the plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, after consulting the relevant representative specimens, field notes on ecology, and photographs of mature individuals, collected during field surveys. results and discussion hemionitis cordata roxb. ex hook. & grev., icon. filic. t. 64 (1828). parahemionitis cordata (hook. & grev.) fraser-jenk (1997), mickelopteris cordata (hook. & grev.) fraser-jenk. (2016). (fig. 1) a terrestrial, erect herb, 20–35 cm tall when fertile fronds develop. rhizomes dark brown, erect, short, 1.5–2.5 cm long, with numerous scales, and fibrous roots. scales brownish to reddish brown, narrowly lanceolate, 1.75–2.25 mm long. roots many, fibrous, profusely branched, with numerous root hairs. sterile fronds 6–12 per plant, 7.0–12.5 cm long; stipes 3.0–5.5 cm long, reddish brown, densely with 1.0–1.5 mm long brown hairs; lamina 8.5–9.5 × 3.5–5.5 cm, simple, dorsiventral, adaxially light green and glabrous, abaxially yellowish green, sparsely with 0.5 mm long broad base white hairs, narrowly cordate, base cordate, entire or repand with dense, small whitish hairs, and reduced with maturity. fertile fronds 4–7 per plant; stipe much longer than that of the sterile frond, 15–20 cm long, reddish brown, sparsely with 1.0–1.5 mm long brown hairs; lamina 7.2–10.8 × 3.2–5.3 cm, abaxially light green, adaxially deep green, sagittate, base sagittate to sub-cordate, abaxially sparse, 1.0–1.5 mm long white, broad base brownish hairs along veins, adaxially glabrous, sparse reddish-brown hairs around the margins, apex obtuse or rounded. sori black to brown, confluent throughout the abaxial surface along the veins when mature. sporophytic stage: october to february. four new records for the vascular flora 23 ecology: on the shady place of the hill slope. uses: this plant is used as an ornamental herb in shade houses. distribution: this species is native to cambodia, china, india, indonesia, laos, malaya, myanmar, the philippines, sri lanka, taiwan, and viet nam (powo, 2023). in bangladesh, this species is recorded in the lalmai hill area of the cumilla district. as bangladesh belongs to the historical native range of the indian subcontinent, this species is most probably native to this country. representative specimens examined: cumilla: lalmai, lalmai hill, 26.10.2022, g.m. hossain 7415; s.s. shetu 4044 (juh). fig. 1. hemionitis cordata roxb. ex hook. & grev. a) habit (fertile stage) (×0.3), b) habit (vegetative stage) (×0.3), c) root system (×0.3), d) stipe hairs (×15), e) stem scale (×30), f) a sterile lamina (adaxial surface) (×0.3), g) a sterile lamina (abaxial surface) (×0.3), h) a fertile lamina (×0.45) with sori (×15) (inset). in bangladesh, only one species of the genus hemionitis l., namely h. arifolia (burm. f.) t. moore has been reported before (mirza, 2007a). h. cordata can be distinguished by its sagittate or narrowly cordate lamina with a sagittate to cordate base and reddish-brown stipes and hairs, in contrast to the narrowly ovate lamina with a deeply cordate base and nearly black stripes with brown hairs of h. arifolia. ophioglossum nudicaule l.f., suppl. pl. 433 (1782). type: south africa, cape of good hope, thunberg s.n. (ups-25286). o. capense sw. (1803), o. ellipticum hook. & grev. (1831), o. vulgatum var. nudicaule (l.f.) d.c. eaton (1860), o. dendroneuron e.p.st. john (1938), o. nudicaule var. typicum r.t. clausen (1938). (fig. 2) a terrestrial, small, erect herb, 3–8 (–10) cm tall. rhizomes erect, 3.0–4.5 mm height with 2.0–2.5 mm diam., very thick, and with fibrous roots. roots unbranched, yellowish to pale brown, 24 hossain et al. 1.5–2.5 cm long, with 0.5–1.0 mm diam. stem cylindrical, pale green, upright, 0.5–1.8 cm, 0.8– 1.5 mm diam., most parts being buried underground, usually bearing 1–2 (3) fronds per plant. sterile lamina 1.2–1.8 × 0.4–0.6 cm; trophophore stalk 2–4 mm, trophophore blade spreading, green, elliptic or elliptic-ovate, 1.0–1.5 × 0.4–0.6 cm, fleshy, cuneate, entire, acute or rounded; venation indistinct due to thick and fleshy texture of blade. fertile spikes arise from the base of the sterile lamina, 2.8–8.5 cm long, light green, cylindrical. sporophore 2.5–7.5 cm long, 0.7–1.0 mm diam.; sporangial clusters 0.8–1.3 cm long, 1.0–1.5 mm diam., apex acute, usually bearing 10–18 pairs of sporangia. sporophytic stage: july to november. ecology: moist sand and clay soils in shady habitats. uses: it is used as medicine in the treatment of anti-inflammatories and wounds and as a vegetable or salad. distribution: this species is native to cape province, south africa. it is reported from argentina, africa, australia, brazil, french guiana, guyana, mexico, peru and the united states of america (powo, 2023). in bangladesh, it is recorded in the coastal habitats of bagerhat (sundarbans east wildlife sanctuary) and barguna (tengragiri eco park) districts. representative specimens examined: bagerhat: sharankhola, katka, 19.08.2019, g.m. hossain 0249 (juh); barguna: taltoli, tengragiri, 05.09.2022, g.m. hossain 5892 (juh). fig. 2. ophioglossum nudicaule l.f. a) natural habitat (×0.3), b) habit (×0.6), c) a fertile spike with sporangia and spores (×5), d) a spike without spore (×4). in bangladesh, five species of ophioglossum l., viz., o. costatum r. br., o. pendulum l., o. petiolatum hook., o. polyphyllum a. braun ex schub., and o. reticulatum l., have been reported previously (mirza, 2007b). o. nudicaule is clearly distinct from these species of ophioglossum by four new records for the vascular flora 25 its stem height, sterile lamina size, shape, venation, etc. o. nudicaule differs from o. pendulum by its terrestrial habit and elliptic, erect sterile laminas, in contrast to the epiphytic habit and ribbonshaped pendulous sterile laminas of o. pendulum. o. nudicaule can be easily distinguished from o. costatum, o. petiolatum, o. polyphyllum, and o. reticulatum by possessing a plant height of up to 10 cm, a sterile lamina length of less than 3 cm, and indistinct venation as compared to the latter’s having a 10 cm plant height and a more than 5 cm long sterile lamina with apparent reticulate venation. bacopa australis v.c. souza., acta bot. bras. 15(1): 58 (2001). type: brazil. paraná. capanema, río iguazú, j. lindeman & h. haas 3358 (ht: mbm!, it: k!). (fig. 3) fig. 3. bacopa australis v.c. souza. a) natural habitat (×0.45), b) habit with flowering branches (fresh) (×0.75), c) whole plant (dry sample) (×0.25), d) flowering branch (dry) (×0.75 ), e) dense hairs on apical internode (×15), f) sparse hairs on median internode (×15), g) a flower (dry) (×4), h) calyx (×5), i) a fruit with persistent calyx (×4), j) seeds (×30). 26 hossain et al. an annual, prostrate, aquatic, or amphibious herb, up to 15 cm tall. roots fibrous, arising from lower nodes with dense and fine short hair. stems stout, green or reddish, succulent, prostrate with ascending tips, strigose or villous, denser towards the apex; internodes slender, 2.5–3.5 cm long. leaves simple, opposite, entire, sessile, 1.0–1.8 cm × 0.7–1.4 cm, fleshy and thick but very thin and fragile when dry, broadly spatulate to orbicular, shallowly cordate to rounded or broadly angled at the base, slightly clasping the stem, rounded at the tip, the venation palmate with 6–8 main veins, glabrous at maturity, adaxial surface glassy. inflorescences axillary, solitary, or 2–3 per leaf axil. flowers bisexual, zygomorphic, pedicellate, 0.5–2.5 cm long, sub-glabrous or sparsely pubescent, bracteoles absent; calyx 5-lobed, the outer 3 lobes leaf-like, green and the inner 2 inconspicuous, the external dorsal lobe ovate to broadly ovate, 3.5–4.5 × 2.2–3.0 mm, apex rounded, base cordate, hispid towards the apex; the two lateral lobes ovate, 3.5–4.2 × 1.7–2.0 mm, apex obtuse, base cordate, hispid; the two internal lobes linear, 2–3 × 0.4–0.5 mm, apex acute, hispid on the margins; corolla 5-lobed, glabrous, tubular, 2.5–4.5 mm long, white; stamens 4, not exerted, the anthers attached near the midpoint, the anther sacs parallel, staminodes absent; ovary bilocular, glabrous, style not exserted, bifid, apex smooth. fruits a capsule, globose to broadly ellipsoid, 3.5–3.8 × 1.7–2.0 mm long, glabrous, usually enclosed within a persistent calyx, dehiscent longitudinally by 4 valves. seeds numerous, 0.4–0.6 mm long, ellipsoid to cylindric, with a minute tail-like appendage at each end and a yellowish-brown surface with a network of fine ridges. flowering and fruiting: june to december. ecology: on mud in ditches and paddy fields. uses: the stems and leaves of this species are eaten by wildlife. distribution: this species is native to argentina, brazil, and paraguay (powo, 2023). in bangladesh, this species seems to be introduced. representative specimens examined: cumilla: lalmai, 26.10.2022, s.s. shetu 4171; g.m. hossain 7413 and 7414 (juh). in bangladesh, two species of bacopa aubl., viz., b. hamiltoniana wettst. and b. monnieri (l.) pennell., have been reported previously (rahman, 2009). b. australis differs from b. hamiltoniana and b. monnieri by its pubescent stems, broadly spatulate to orbicular leaves, and ebracteate flowers, in contrast to the glabrous stems, linear-lanceolate to oblong-oblanceolate leaves and bracteate flowers of the latter two species. salvia misella kunth in humb., bonpl. & kunth, nov. gen. sp. 2: 290 1818. s. riparia kunth (1818), s. obscura benth. (1833), s. privoides benth. (1846), type: mexico: guerrero, humboldt & bonpland s.n. (ht: p-bonpl., p00670423, image!). (fig. 4) an annual to perennial, erect or decumbent terrestrial herb, up to 1 m tall, with a strong and unpleasant odour. stems quadrangular, pubescent, with simple, unbranched white hairs, reddishtinged, swollen above nodes. leaves simple, sessile; leaf blades membranous, deltoid ovate, lanceolate-ovate or rhombic-ovate, 4.5–8.0 × 2–4 cm, acute, crenate-serrate along the distal margins, the bases narrowed, obtuse to truncate or rarely attenuate, sparsely pubescent with short hairs on both surfaces but more on abaxial surface. inflorescence terminal racemes, up to 20 cm long with 6 to 15 interrupted verticils of 1–2 flowers in each, pubescent with glandular–capitate hairs. bracts broadly ovate and long-acuminate, or rhomboid, ca 4.5–5.0 × 2.0–2.5 mm long, persistent, glabrous inside, glandular-pilose outside. flowers pedicellate, ca 1.0–1.5 mm long, zygomorphic; calyx green, zygomorphic, tubular or campanulate, 3.5–5.0 mm long, clothed, bilabiate, prominently veined (the upper lip mostly 5–9-veined), densely covered with capitate glandular hairs persisting in fruit; corolla tubular, ca 2.5 mm long, blue with white streaks, naked four new records for the vascular flora 27 within, the upper lip ca 1.2–1.8 mm long, the lower lip weakly 3-lobed, ca 3.0–3.5 mm long; stamens 2, included, filaments 1.2–1.3 mm long, pubescent, connective produced, adnate towards the lower half of anther; anthers slender, ca 0.6–0.8 mm long; styles 5–6 mm long, included, slender, glabrous; stigmas 2-lobed, lobes flattened. fruits a mericarp, oblong, ca 1.5 mm long, grey with dark streaks, mucilaginous when wet. seeds greyish to brown, obovate with highly reticulate venation. flowering and fruiting: november to february. ecology: found to grow along the roadside in moist and semi-shady habitats. uses: this species is considered a weed in tropical america (richardson and keng, 2010). distribution: this species is native to belize, colombia, costa rica, cuba, ecuador, el salvador, guatemala, haiti, honduras, jamaica, mexico, nicaragua, panamá, peru, puerto rico, united states of america (florida), and venezuela. it is introduced to australia, central africa, india, and indonesia (powo, 2023). in bangladesh, it has been recorded from wild habitats along the roadside near the mongla port area of the bagerhat district. this species is most probably introduced to bangladesh. representative specimens examined: bagerhat: mongla (near mongla port area), 22.12.2021, g.m. hossain 2951 and 5805; s.s. shetu 3891 (juh). fig. 4. salvia misella kunth. a) habit (×0.25), b) stem with swollen part and reddish tinged dots (×0.8), c) stem hairs (×3.5), d) a leaf (adaxial surface) (×0.30), e) a leaf (abaxial surface) (×0.3), f) an inflorescence (×1), g) a flower (×3.75), h) calyx (lower lips) (×3), i) calyx (upper lip) (×3), j) anthers and stigma (×10), k) ovary (top view) with glandular hairs on calyx tube (×6), k) ovary (lateral view) with glandular hairs on calyx (×7), l) seeds (×6.5). in bangladesh, four species of salvia l., viz., s. coccinea juss. ex murr, s. leucantha cav., s. plebeia r.br., and s. splendens sellow ex rome & schult., have been reported so far (khanam, 2009). s. misella is clearly distinct from s. splendens by its deltoid, sparsely pubescent leaves, deep green calyx, and 5–6 mm long corolla, in contrast to s. splendens’s ovate, glabrous leaves, red calyx, and 4.5 cm long corolla. s. misella is a herb with a green calyx, while s. leucantha is a 28 hossain et al. subshrub with a purple calyx. s. misella differs from s. coccinea’s campanulate and deep red or scarlet, 2 cm long corolla by its tubular, purple, 5–6 mm long corolla. s. misella is different from s. plebeia by its deltoid ovate leaves and bluish-purple corolla, in contrast to s. plebeia’s ellipticlanceolate leaves and white corolla. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 17 november 2022; revised on 2 may 2023) http://www.tropicos.org http://www.worldfloraonline.org. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(2): 213-232, 2023 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i2.70498 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae in bangladesh inferred from matk and rbcl genes sheikh sunzid ahmed, m. oliur rahman 1, m. ajmal ali 2, fahad al-hemaid 2 and joongku lee 3 department of botany, faculty of biological sciences, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh keywords: molecular dating; molecular phylogenetics; neighbor joining; maximum likelihood; bayesian inference; arecaceae; matk; rbcl. abstract a molecular phylogenetic investigation was undertaken for 30 species belonging to 15 genera of the palm family arecaceae in bangladesh to infer evolutionary relationships and molecular dating utilizing plastid-based matk and rbcl genes through multifacetedalgorithm driven approaches with neighbor-joining, maximum-likelihood, and bayesian inference methods. the study revealed that matk has better species discrimination efficiency than rbcl gene due to its highly variable nature. transition/transversion bias test corroborated this finding as matk showed higher bias (2.632) than rbcl (2.235). nucleotide substitution patterns were visualized via hypermut program, which unveiled higher variability in matk and lower variability in rbcl alignment. phylogenetic trees constructed with matk revealed monophyletic nature of origin for all the three subfamilies, viz. arecoideae, coryphoideae and calamoideae, while rbcl trees exhibited polyphyly for coryphoideae and monophyly for arecoideae and calamoideae. all the nine tribes belonging to three subfamilies demonstrated monophyletic nature in matk trees. bootstrap support and bayesian posterior probability were found to be higher in matk topologies than that of rbcl. the molecular clock test unraveled an equal evolutionary rate for matk and unequal rate for rbcl sequences. molecular dating approach unveiled calamoideae to be the most ancient subfamily (65.75 mya) among the three subfamilies that originated during the late cretaceous period in the mesozoic era, whereas coryphoideae and arecoideae were found to have originated in the cenozoic era. introduction the arecaceae or palmae family, commonly referred to as palms, represents an iconic group of flowering plants, encompassing approximately 2600 species belonging to 181 genera, and is distributed across tropical and subtropical regions (christenhusz and byng, 2016). this monocot family boasts a well-documented fossil history tracing back to the turonian period, approximately 89 to 93.5 million years ago (harley, 2006). nevertheless, molecular dating analyses suggest that the lineage predates this period by a considerable margin (bremer, 2000; bremer et al., 2004). palms play vital roles in numerous ecosystems, exerting significant ecological influence. furthermore, they hold immense economic importance, featuring prominently in international trade (e.g., date palm, palm oil, coconut, rattan etc.) and sustaining the livelihoods of some of the world's most impoverished communities, both at the subsistence level and beyond. in bangladesh, 1corresponding author. email: oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 2department of botany and microbiology, college of sciences, king saud university, riyadh 11451, saudi arabia 3department of environment and forest resources, chungnam national university, daehak-ro, yuseong-gu, daejeon, republic of korea 214 ahmed et al. arecaceae is represented by 40 species belonging to 20 genera. the family is characterized by the presence of large, compound leaves that are often long, narrow, either palmate or pinnate and arranged spirally at the top of the trunk, giving the palm its iconic appearance. flowers are usually small, bisexual or unisexual, actinomorphic, sessile or very shortly pedicellate. palms produce a variety of fruit types, including drupes (e.g., coconuts, dates), berries, and capsules (siddiqui et al., 2007). chloroplast genome or plastome data is pivotal for resolving phylogenetic relationships among plants, providing a rich source of genetic information that is highly conserved and offers insights into the evolutionary history and relatedness of plant species (palmer et al., 1988). the matk gene holds substantial significance in molecular phylogenetics due to its unique combination of conserved and variable regions. these features make it an indispensable genetic marker for studying the evolutionary relationships among plant species. its variable regions, in particular, offer the necessary genetic diversity to distinguish closely related taxa, making matk particularly valuable for resolving phylogenetic relationships at lower taxonomic levels, such as intergeneric and interspecific points. moreover, matk is often used in conjunction with other genetic markers to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of plant evolution, resulting in robust and accurate phylogenetic reconstructions. the contribution of this gene to finer-scale resolution in phylogenetic studies makes it an essential tool in the biologist's toolkit (dong et al., 2012; watto et al., 2016). the rbcl gene is of paramount importance in molecular phylogenetics due to its conserved nature and essential role in photosynthesis. this gene encodes a critical enzyme involved in carbon fixation and is highly conserved across plant taxa. its slow evolutionary rate in coding regions, combined with its widespread presence in the chloroplast genome, makes it an ideal candidate for investigating evolutionary relationships and resolving the deep branches of the plant tree of life. the conserved nature of rbcl also enhances its utility in cross-species comparisons, allowing for robust phylogenetic analyses even at higher taxonomic levels (soltis et al., 2001). molecular dating analysis holds a central role in the field of phylogenetics, providing a potent instrument for gauging the temporal aspects of evolutionary events by leveraging genetic data (roger and hug, 2006). this approach helps to reconstruct the temporal dimension of phylogenetic trees, shedding light on diverged and evolved species. by examining the rate of genetic changes in specific molecular markers, such as matk, rbcl, its and so on, it is possible to calibrate an evolutionary "clock" and estimate the ages of common ancestors and branching points in the tree of life. molecular dating information is vital for understanding the evolutionary history of organisms, including when and how they adapted to changing environments, migrated to new regions, or underwent significant speciation events. in addition, it helps in investigating the impact of geological and climatic events on diversification and biogeography as well as providing explanations for inquiries regarding the timing of significant evolutionary shifts, like the emergence of essential characteristics or the establishment of particular habitats. in sum, molecular dating analysis serves as a crucial bridge between genetic data and evolutionary time, enhancing our understanding of the intricate tapestry of plant life on earth and its historical development (marshall et al., 2016; muellner-riehl et al., 2016). a few endeavors have been made to unravel the molecular phylogeny of arecaceae, occasionally delving into its subfamilies and tribes by investigating chloroplast dna (cpdna) and nuclear ribosomal dna (nrdna) sequences. hahn (2002) evaluated arecaceae based on atpb, rbcl and 18s nrdna sequences without molecular dating assessments. asmussen et al. (2006) conducted phylogenetic analysis focusing on matk, rbcl, rps16 intron and trnl-trnf intergenic spacer wherein molecular dating is missing. baker et al. (2011) performed a study on the arecoideae subfamily only, while comer et al. (2016) analyzed the subfamily arecoideae molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae 215 targeting nuclear genes. nevertheless, as of yet, no concerted efforts have been undertaken to elucidate the phylogenetic and evolutionary relationships among arecaceae members with a specific focus on the matk and rbcl genes alongside molecular clock dating. furthermore, there has been no study towards uncovering the molecular phylogenetics and molecular dating pertinent to the arecaceae taxa occurring in bangladesh. therefore, in the present investigation, we aimed to reconstruct a robust phylogeny of arecaceae using a multi-algorithmic approach with neighborjoining (nj), maximum-likelihood (ml) and bayesian inference (bi) analyses inferred from matk and rbcl genes to shed light on the molecular evolutionary relationships of taxa. in addition, molecular dating initiative was undertaken to highlight temporal aspects of evolutionary events that impacted the diversification of arecaceae throughout the geological time scale. materials and methods taxon selection and retrieval of sequences the ncbi (national center for biotechnology information) nucleotide database was explored to select and retrieve gene sequences of the member taxa of arecaceae reported from bangladesh (siddiqui et al., 2007). based on availability, a total of 30 taxa belonging to 15 genera were chosen and both matk and rbcl gene sequences were downloaded in fasta format. in addition, two species of marantaceae, viz. maranta arundinacea l. and marantochloa leucantha (k. schum.) milne-redh. were chosen as outgroups, and their sequences were retrieved in fasta as well. marantaceae was selected as the outgroup due to its close taxonomic affinity with arecaceae, as both families belong to the clade commelinidae, and the availability of matk and rbcl sequences for these two species. the fasta files were accumulated together using notepad of windows 10 to create two separate multifasta files for matk and rbcl sequences. sequence alignment all the matk and rbcl sequences were subjected to multiple sequence alignment (msa) following sequence retrieval. multifasta matk and rbcl files were uploaded to the mafft server (katoh et al., 2019) for msa. for iterative refinement, the e-ins-i method was selected which utilized clustal omega to perform msa. afterwards, blosum62 was fixed as the scoring matrix for amino acid sequences. all other settings were kept default before running mafft. the aligned sequences were retrieved in fasta format for subsequent analyses in mega 11 (tamura et al., 2021). transition-transversion bias was calculated for matk and rbcl genes using the models module of mega 11. nucleotide substitution patterns were investigated and visualized further using the hypermut server (rose and korber, 2000). phylogenetic analyses the phylogeny module of mega 11 was employed to construct phylogenetic trees for matk and rbcl sequences using both distance-based and character-based approaches to corroborate the findings. both the neighbor-joining (nj) tree and the maximum-likelihood (ml) tree were generated with 1000 bootstrap replicates with the kimura-2 parameter model as the substitution model. both transition and transversion types of substitutions were included and uniform rates were selected as the substitution rates among sites. partial deletion was preferred for the gaps or missing data treatment with a site coverage cutoff value of 95%. for maximum-likelihood analysis, tree inference options were additional where nearest-neighbor-interchange (nni) mode was implemented as ml heuristic method. initial tree for ml was selected automatically and the branch swap filter was set to ‘none’. 216 ahmed et al. bayesian evolutionary analyses were carried out further using four-software packages, i.e., beast 1.10.4, beauti 1.10.4, treeannotator 1.10.4 and figtree 1.4.4 (naro-maciel et al., 2008; drummond et al., 2012). to carry out analyses, both matk and rbcl alignments were imported first in beauti to generate parameter files for beast. hasegawa–kishono–yano (hky) was selected as the nucleotide substitution model in beauti and yule speciation process (reid and carstens, 2012) was selected as the prior tree. all settings in beauti were maintained as default, and after generating parameter files, the beagle library was installed to run beast properly. for running beast, the xml file was given as input, keeping double preferred precision and default rescaling scheme. the output was analyzed using treeannotator to produce a figtree editable file and later visualized using figtree. molecular dating analyses the clocks module of mega 11 was employed for molecular dating analysis. prior to that, molecular clock hypothesis was tested first for both matk and rbcl alignments. based on the null hypothesis, the matk alignment was selected for subsequent molecular dating analyses using the reltime-ml module. firstly, the matk alignment file was loaded followed by maximumlikelihood tree file in newick format. afterwards, the outgroup taxa of marantaceae were specified. the timetree server was explored to add constraints in calibration nodes and based on the availability of taxa four nodes were selected keeping uniform distribution type of calibration (hedges et al., 2006). kimura-2 parameter model was selected as a nucleotide substitution model with uniform substitution rates. partial deletion was followed by gaps or missing data treatment with a site coverage cutoff value of 95%. the time tree was visualized using the default tree explorer of mega 11. results and discussion taxon sampling the ncbi nucleotide database unveiled available matk and rbcl sequences for 30 species of arecaceae reported from bangladesh, belonging to 15 genera and three subfamilies. among these three subfamilies, coryphoideae contained the highest number of taxa (15) followed by arecoideae (9) and calamoideae (6). maranta arundinacea l. and marantochloa leucantha (k. schum.) milne-redh. of the family marantaceae were selected as outgroups. among the investigated genera, calamus l. appears to be the largest genus comprising six species. the list of the studied species along with their accession numbers and subfamilies are appended in table 1. sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses multiple sequence alignments revealed average nucleotide frequencies for a, t, g and c bases on both matk and rbcl alignments. in the matk alignments, the average frequency was recorded as 29.8%, 37.2%, 15.5% and 17.4% for a, t, g and c bases, respectively, whereas, in the rbcl alignment, this frequency was recorded as 27.9%, 28.9%, 22.4% and 20.8%, respectively. the number of variable and conserved sites was recorded to be 182 and 681 for matk alignment, while in rbcl alignment, these were recorded as 53 and 653, respectively. therefore, considering variability matk alignment was more justified than rbcl alignment. transition/transversion bias was found to be higher in matk (2.632) than rbcl (2.235) alignment (table 2). transitional and transversional substitution rates were recorded as 74.56% and 25.44%, respectively for matk alignment. in the rbcl alignment, the transitional substitution rate was 69.47% and the transversional rate was 30.53%. hence, the two genes differ in transitional and transversional substitutions, and this variation was clarified further with the physical molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae 217 representation of substitutions sites in figures 1 and 2. figure 1 illustrates a higher variability of the matk gene, while figure 2 distinctly shows lower variability in rbcl. table 1. taxon used in the present investigation to infer phylogenetic relationships using matk and rbcl barcodes. no. taxon subfamily matk accession rbcl accession ingroup 1 areca catechu l. arecoideae kx783635.1 mk753924.1 2 a. triandra roxb. ex buch.-ham. arecoideae mk705059.1 mk753941.1 3 borassus flabellifer l. coryphoideae mk705088.1 mk753416.1 4 calamus erectus roxb. calamoideae jq041985.1 mk754002.1 5 c. gracilis roxb. calamoideae jq041982.1 jq042033.1 6 c. guruba buch.-ham. ex mart. calamoideae jq042013.1 jq042064.1 7 c. longisetus griff. calamoideae jx185542.1 jq906811.1 8 c. tenuis roxb. calamoideae jx390640.1 jx185534.1 9 c. viminalis willd. calamoideae mk705230.1 jx502779.1 10 caryota mitis lour. coryphoideae kj708862.1 jf344847.1 11 c. urens l. coryphoideae mk705128.1 jf344863.1 12 cocos nucifera l. arecoideae kx783653.1 mk753840.1 13 corypha umbraculifera l. coryphoideae mk705154.1 mk753393.1 14 dypsis lutescens (h. wendl.) beentje & j. dransf. arecoideae kx783673.1 mk753724.1 15 d. madagascariensis (becc.) beentje & j. dransf. arecoideae mk705003.1 mk753718.1 16 elaeis guineensis jacq. arecoideae mg648356.1 om837689.1 17 licuala grandis (t. moore) h. wendl. coryphoideae ol354144.1 ol536973.1 18 livistona chinensis (jacq.) r. br. ex mart. coryphoideae kx783705.1 gu135214.1 19 l. speciosa kurz coryphoideae mk704536.1 mk753429.1 20 phoenix acaulis roxb. coryphoideae mk704670.1 mk753959.1 21 p. paludosa roxb. coryphoideae mk704675.1 mk753964.1 22 p. rupicola t. anderson coryphoideae mk704669.1 mk753973.1 23 p. sylvestris (l.) roxb. coryphoideae mk704660.1 mk753976.1 24 ptychosperma macarthurii (h. wendl. ex h. j. veitch) h. wendl. ex hook. f. arecoideae mk704980.1 mk753661.1 25 rhapis excelsa (thunb.) a. henry coryphoideae kx783766.1 mk753583.1 26 r. humilis blume coryphoideae mk704592.1 mk753575.1 27 roystonea oleracea (jacq.) o. f. cook arecoideae mk704872.1 mk753867.1 28 r. regia (kunth) o.f. cook arecoideae kx783772.1 mk753868.1 29 wallichia caryotoides roxb. coryphoideae mk705141.1 mk753528.1 30 w. oblongifolia griff. coryphoideae mk705143.1 mk753495.1 outgroup 1 maranta arundinacea l. marantaceae (family) jq588311.1 jq592612.1 2 marantochloa leucantha (k. schum.) milneredh. marantaceae (family) ol690061.1 ol536989.1 218 ahmed et al. table 2. analysis of substitution matrix using transition/transversion rates. each entry indicated the probability of substitution from one row (base) to another row (column). dna bases a t c g matk alignment a 4.63 2.22 11.45 t 3.86 13.34 2.02 c 3.86 27.87 2.02 g 21.9 4.63 2.22 rbcl alignment a 4.38 3.25 13.37 t 4.23 16.84 3.41 c 4.23 22.68 3.41 g 16.58 4.38 3.25 in the present investigation, both matk and rbcl aligned sequences underwent through neighbor-joining (nj) and maximum-likelihood (ml) analyses for a better understanding of the tree topology. the nj tree of matk taxa revealed a clear segregation pattern among the member taxa of the three subfamilies of arecaceae (fig. 3). the subfamily arecoideae was represented by three tribes such as areceae, cocoseae and roystoneeae. all the members of areceae, viz. areca catechu, a. triandra, ptychosperma macarthurii, dypsis lutescens and d. madagascariensis clustered together with a bootstrap support value of 76. two members of the tribe cocoseae. such as cocos nucifera and elaeis guineensis grouped together with a bootstrap support value of 63 and another two members of the tribe roystoneeae, such as roystonea regia and r. oleracea clustered together showing a bootstrap value of 96. all the members of arecoideae exhibited monophyletic nature of origin. subfamily coryphoideae was represented by five tribes, e.g. livistoneae, phoeniceae, borasseae, corypheae and caryoteae, where they formed two subclusters. the first major subcluster incorporated livistoneae and phoeniceae whereas, the second major subcluster included the remaining three tribes. the livistoneae tribe formed a single cluster with a bootstrap value of 97 incorporating its five member taxa, viz. livistona chinensis, l. speciosa, rhapis excela, r. humilis and licuala grandis. four species of phoeniceae including phoenix acaulis, p. paludosa, p. rupicola and p. sylvestris grouped together separately with bootstrap support of 97. both the borasseae and corypheae tribes were represented by a single species, namely borassus flabellifer (borasseae) and corypha umbraculifera (corypheae). these two tribes grouped together and got separated from caryoteae. caryoteae clustered together with four taxa belonging to two genera, viz. caryota and wallichia with good bootstrap support values. like arecoideae, coryphoideae also exhibited monophyletic nature of origin. subfamily calamoideae demonstrated monophyletic nature of origin and was represented by a single tribe, calameae which circumscribed six species of the genus calamus with a very good bootstrap support value. the outgroup taxa maranta arundinacea and marantochloa leucantha clustered distinctively, clearly showing the point of divergence for arecaceae, and formed the root of the tree with perfect bootstrap support (100). maximum-likelihood (ml) tree of matk reflected the relationships of three subfamilies, presenting a very close affinity with the nj-matk tree topology (fig. 4). bootstrap support for the ml-matk tree was much better than that of the nj-matk tree. all the terminal and internal nodes showed bootstrap scores above 50, with the majority of them showing scores exceeding 80. three tribes of arecoideae such as, areceae, cocoseae and roystoneeae clustered together and separated molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae 219 from coryphoideae and calamoideae. coryphoideae members formed two subclusters incorporating its five tribes. livistoneae and phoeniceae grouped together in the first subcluster and the remaining three tribes, borasseae, corypheae and caryoteae clustered together in the second subcluster. members of calamoideae represented very good bootstrap support (100) and clustered together showing their monophyletic nature of origin. fig. 1. distribution of substitution sites across the matk region obtained from 30 species of arecaceae using marantochloa leucantha as reference (red=gg to ag, cyan=ga to aa, green=gc to ac, magenta=gt to at, black= not g to a transition, yellow=gap). the nj tree of rbcl unveiled the polyphyletic nature of origin for the subfamily coryphoideae, and monophyly for arecoideae and calamoideae (fig. 5). in the subfamily arecoideae, tribe areceae and tribe roystoneeae demonstrated monophyletic nature; however, the tribe cocoseae exhibited polyphyletic nature of origin. two taxa of cocoseae (e.g. cocos nucifera and elaeis guineensis) did not share any common ancestor with each other. cocos nucifera 220 ahmed et al. grouped with the roystonea clade (roystoneeae) and elaeis guineensis clustered with areca clade (areceae). in the coryphoideae subfamily, four tribes, i.e. livistoneae, caryoteae, borasseae and corypheae claded together but the tribe phoeniceae was claded outside the subcluster. tribe livistoneae was polyphyletic as licuala grandis did not share common ancestry with rhapis and livistona clade. tribe caryoteae, borasseae and corypheae were found to have monophyletic origin. in the subfamily calamoideae, calamus tenuis, c. guruba and c. erectus demonstrated closer similarity than the other three species within calamoideae. bootstrap support values were moderately well at the terminal nodes than the internal nodes, however, in overall consideration boostrap support was found to be weaker than matk trees. fig. 2. distribution of substitution sites across the rbcl region obtained from 30 species of arecaceae using marantochloa leucantha as reference (red=gg to ag, cyan=ga to aa, green=gc to ac, magenta=gt to at, black=not g to a transition, yellow=gap). molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae 221 the ml tree of rbcl taxa unraveled a tree topology very similar to that of the nj-rbcl tree (fig. 6). in comparison to bootstrap support, the ml-rbcl tree was found to have weaker support than the nj-rbcl tree. the root was supported with an almost perfect bootstrap value (99), though in the internal nodes the values decreased significantly. a significant downfall was observed at the terminal nodes with a relatively small number having higher bootstrap support of over 80. coryphoideae was found to be polyphyletic, while arecoideae and calamoideae were observed to be monophyletic. phoenix clade was the underlying reason for the polyphyletic nature of coryphoideae. due to licuala grandis, tribe livistoneae became polyphyletic while tribe caryoteae, borasseae and corypheae remained monophyletic. in arecoideae, the tribes areceae and roystoneeae were monophyletic, and the tribe cocoseae was found to be polyphyletic. subfamily calamoideae exhibited good bootstrap support at the internal nodes as well as monophyletic nature of origin with its six member taxa of calamus. fig. 3. neighbor joining tree showing inter-relationships among three subfamilies of arecaceae using 1000 bootstrap replicates based on matk gene. 222 ahmed et al. fig. 4. maximum likelihood tree showing inter-relationships among three subfamilies of arecaceae using 1000 bootstrap replicates based on matk gene. the bayesian evolutionary tree was analyzed further to corroborate our phylogenetic study, revealing significant results that correlated with both nj and ml approaches for both matk and rbcl genes. the bayesian tree demonstrated strong posterior probability support for the matk tree (fig. 7). the matk tree exhibited 100% posterior probability support to signify monophyletic nature of origin for arecoideae, coryphoideae and calamoideae. this finding is congruent with the nj-matk and ml-matk trees, providing additional support for the constructed phylogeny of arecaceae. within the subfamily arecoideae, all three tribes were monophyletic and did not converge with the members of coryphoideae or calamoideae. of the two major subclusters of coryphoideae, the tribes corypheae, borasseae and caryoteae formed the first cluster, while the second one consisted of the species of the tribes livistoneae and phoeniceae. most of the terminal nodes and many internal nodes showed nearly 100% posterior probability. molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae 223 fig. 5. neighbor joining tree showing inter-relationships among three subfamilies of arecaceae using 1000 bootstrap replicates based on of rbcl gene. the subfamily calamoideae unraveled moderately strong support for calamus tenuis, c. viminalis and c. guruba compared to the other three species within calamoideae. marantaceae was supported with 100% confidence as outgroup. the bayesian-rbcl tree unveiled similar tree topologies to the nj-rbcl and ml-rbcl trees (fig. 8). arecoideae demonstrated polyphyletic nature of origin for the tribe areceae. the tribe cocoseae showed polyphyletic nature, while the tribe roystoneeae exhibited monophyletic origin. coryphoideae showed polyphyletic origin, and calamoideae unraveled monophyletic origin. the outgroup marantaceae was corroborated with perfect posterior probability support. bayesian inference for matk and rbcl has been visualized as radiation diagram in figure 9. 224 ahmed et al. fig. 6. maximum likelihood tree showing inter-relationships among three subfamilies of arecaceae using 1000 bootstrap replicates based on of rbcl gene. molecular dating analyses the molecular dating was performed based on the null hypothesis, where it was hypothesized that the rate of molecular evolution or the rate of nucleotide substitutions is constant across the branches of the phylogenetic trees. the test in mega 11 unveiled acceptance for matk sequences and rejection for rbcl sequences. the p value at 5% significant level was denoted as 0.1335, and a total of 630 positions were covered in the final dataset of matk. on the contrary, the p value at 5% significant level was marked as 0.4648 with a coverage of 508 positions in the final dataset of rbcl sequences. consequently, we carried out molecular dating analysis for matk sequences. prior to molecular dating analyses, the timetree server revealed a total of four calibration points using four pairs of taxa for efficient calculation of the time tree (fig. 10). the pairs were: (a) borassus flabellifer vs corypha umbraculifera, (b) borassus flabellifer vs cocos nucifera, (c) areca catechu vs roystonea regia and (d) rhapis excelsa vs phoenix sylvestris. the calibration points were fixed based on the availability of data in the timetree server. the tree unraveled the first molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae 225 point of divergence about 65.75 million years ago (mya) from the outgroup marantaceae during the late cretaceous period in the mesozoic era that resulted in the separate occurrence of calamoideae (fig. 11). fig. 7. bayesian inference analysis showing inter-relationships among three subfamilies with posterior probability values based on matk gene. according to the geological time scale, the most ancient species among the six species in the genus calamus is c. longisetus (3.18 mya), whereas the most recently evolved taxa are c. erectus, c. guruba and c. tenuis (0.23 mya). among the three subfamilies, calamoideae is the oldest (65.75 mya) followed by coryphoideae (39.00 mya) and arecoideae (23.82 mya). within the arecoideae subfamily, the tribes roystoneeae and cocoseae originated earlier (22.18 mya) during the neogene period of the cenozoic era, while the tribe areceae originated later (14.07 mya) in the same period of the cenozoic era. 226 ahmed et al. fig. 8. bayesian inference analysis showing inter-relationships among three subfamilies of arecaceae with posterior probability values based on rbcl gene. fig. 9. radial representation of divergence of three subfamilies of arecaceae following bayesian inference analysis. black circles are showing terminal nodes and square boxes are demonstrating internal nodes. molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae 227 fig. 10. pairwise divergent times for different species of arecaceae used in the calibration nodes. a. borassus flabellifer and corypha umbraculifera, median time: 84 mya, confidence interval (ci): (33.8-85.8) mya, adjusted time: not available; b. borassus flabellifer and cocos nucifera, median time: 22.3 mya, ci: (14.4-83.8) mya, adjusted time: 62.3 mya; c. areca catechu and roystonea regia, median time: 35 mya, ci: (8.1-69.9) mya, adjusted time: 50 mya; d. rhapis excelsa and phoenix sylvestris, median time: 35 mya, ci: (8.0-49.8) mya, adjusted time: 55 mya. 228 ahmed et al. in the subfamily coryphoideae, the tribe livistoneae diverged earlier (39.00 mya) followed by the tribes corypheae (34.17 mya), phoeniceae (32.53 mya), borasseae (25.18 mya) and caryoteae (12.62 mya). both the corypheae and phoeniceae tribes evolved during the eocene epoch of the paleogene period in the cenozoic era (fig. 11). borasseae originated during the oligocene epoch of the paleogene period in the cenozoic era, while caryoteae evolved during the miocene epoch of the neogene period in the cenozoic era. fig. 11. molecular dating assessment showing time tree for the three subfamilies of arecaceae. squares indicate calibration nodes used to construct the time tree. molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae 229 the present investigation shed light on the molecular phylogeny of arecaceae employing matk and rbcl barcodes of the chloroplast genome. the study only considered those taxa reported from bangladesh based on the availability of sequence information in the ncbi nucleotide database. in bangladesh, arecaceae is represented by 20 genera and 40 species (siddiqui et al., 2007). sequence information of both matk and rbcl genes was available for 30 species under 15 genera which was analyzed in the present study (table 1). application of ncbi public sequence data alone to resolve phylogenetic relationships was supported by several studies (gholizadeh et al., 2013; ali et al., 2020; aykut, 2020). several species including arenga pinnata (wurmb) merr., calamus latifolius roxb., corypha taliera roxb., daemonorops jenkinsiana (griff.) martius, didymosperma gracilis hook. f., d. nanum h. wendl. & drude, licuala peltata roxb., l. spinosa jhun., nypa fruticans wurmb, and pinanga gracilis blume, were not included in the analysis due to their unavailability in the nucleotide database of ncbi. arecaceae is globally represented by five subfamilies such as, arecoideae, calamoideae, ceroxyloideae, coryphoideae and nypoideae (asmussen et al., 2006), however, we employed three subfamilies (e.g. arecoideae, calamoideae and coryphoideae) in our study since the remaining two subfamilies are missing in the flora of bangladesh. the current study aimed to understand the molecular evolutionary relationships of the three subfamilies, viz. arecoideae, coryphoideae and calamoideae, and to infer their molecular dating. yao et al. (2023) proposed a plastome-based phylogenomic framework of arecaceae, where arecoideae, coryphoideae and calamoideae demonstrated monophyletic nature of origin. in the present investigation, the matk phylogeny of these three subfamilies was found congruent with the findings of yao et al. (2023). asmussen et al. (2006) proposed a new classification for these subfamilies based on plastid dna sequences including rbcl, trnl-trnf, matk and rps16, and their findings revealed the divergence of arecoideae and coryphoideae from calamoideae, which aligns with the results of our study (figs 7 & 8). in a previous study, a close relationship was found between rhapis excelsa, licuala kunstleri and livistona chinensis. within the tribe caryoteae, caryota mitis clustered with wallichia distica, and the tribe phoeniceae exhibited a closer proximity to the tribe livistoneae than to the tribe caryoteae (asmussen et al., 2006). these findings were found congruent with our study, in particular, for the matk derived phylogeny (figs 3, 4 & 7). comer et al. (2016) carried out a phylogenetic study of the subfamily arecoideae and its 14 tribes employing nuclear genes, where the tribe roystoneeae clustered with the tribe cocoseae. a similar phylogeny of arecoideae using the chloroplast gene matk was reconstructed in the current investigation (figs 3, 4 & 7). the prk (phosphoribulokinase) and rpb2 (rna polymerase ii, subunit b) genes of nuclear genome were analyzed to delineate phylogeny of the subfamily arecoideae where subtribe attaleinae (cocos nucifera) clustered together with the subtribe elaeidinae (elaeis guineensis) under the same clade of the tribe cocoseae (baker et al., 2011). our matk phylogeny aligned with this finding and supported the position of tribe cocoseae under the subfamily arecoideae. however, the rbcl phylogeny of present study was not consistent with the findings of baker et al. (2011). in the present investigation, matk trees were found to be comparatively more consistent, accurate and congruent to segregate lineages of arecoideae, coryphoideae and calamoideae than rbcl trees. we hypothesize that several factors are responsible for this variation between matk and rbcl phylogenies. the rate of evolution could be a predominant cause, where rbcl may get evolve at a faster or slower rate in some lineages within arecaceae leading to more sequence variation and inconsistency in phylogeny. during the molecular clock test, rbcl alignment was not supported by the null hypothesis which further corroborates this supposition (debry, 1992; huelsenbeck and hillis, 1993). the function of the gene can also influence its consistency. as rbcl is involved in photosynthesis, a fundamental process, it may undergo different selective 230 ahmed et al. pressures in different lineages of arecaceae, affecting its sequence evolution. the length of the sequence employed in phylogenetic analysis can affect its reliability. when a gene offers a longer and more informative sequence, it has the potential to yield more dependable outcomes (moreira and philippe, 2000). as matk furnished longer sequences in contrast to rbcl in the present study, it showed more accuracy than rbcl. asahina et al. (2010) used a similar protocol to the present investigation to resolve the phylogeny of medicinal dendrobium species using matk and rbcl genes, where they reported matk to have better species discriminating power than rbcl which was further supported by our study. a combination of matk and rbcl has been used in several studies to resolve the phylogeny of plants which justifies our selection of these two plastid genes for arecaceae (goldman et al., 2001; bello et al., 2009; ortiz-covarrubias et al., 2022). molecular dating analyses unveiled divergence periods and era for the three subfamilies, and the oldest point was recorded for the late cretaceous period of the mesozoic era (65.75 mya). the late cretaceous period is significant for the rapid diversification and proliferation of angiosperms. this period witnessed the co-evolutionary "arms race" between angiosperms and insects. many angiosperms developed specialized structures, such as flowers and nectar, to attract pollinators, like bees and butterflies. this co-evolutionary interaction contributed to the success of both groups, and shaped the modern biodiversity of flowering plants and insect pollinators (batten, 1981). cornejo et al. (2017) performed molecular dating with chloroplast genome data to resolve the phylogeny of the species stachys coccinea employing a single calibration point. in our investigation, we have used four calibration points which corroborates the protocol more informative than cornejo et al. (2017). the reltime-ml module of mega has been used by several studies for molecular dating analyses which justifies our choice of using this package for molecular dating venture (tokhmechi et al., 2021; kakhki et al., 2023; lyu et al., 2023). arecaceae is an important angiosperm family that includes many medicinally and economically important species. understanding the relationships among the member taxa of the family would clarify their systematic position and substantiate their molecular authentication based on genomic information derived from the plastome. molecular dating information would provide additional phylogenetic support in relation to evolutionary divergence according to geological time scale. this approach would shed light further on the historical biogeography of arecaceae by estimating their colonizing patterns throughout different regions of the world and speciation events in geological time scale. until now, no efforts have been made to establish the phylogeny of arecaceae taxa in bangladesh using the matk and rbcl barcodes. our study marks the inaugural endeavor to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among arecaceae species in bangladesh, thereby validating the utility of two chloroplast dna barcodes. this validation is accomplished through a comprehensive comparative analysis of phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary divergence, aligning with the geological time scale. acknowledgement the authors extend their appreciation to the researchers supporting project number (rsp2023r306), king saud university, riyadh, saudi arabia. references ali, m.a., rahman, m.o., lee, j., al hemaid, f., kambhar, s.v., elangbam, m. and gurung, a.b. 2020. dissecting molecular evolutionary relationship of krameriaceae inferred from phylotranscriptomic analysis. bangladesh j plant taxon. 27(2): 427-433. molecular phylogenetics and dating of arecaceae 231 asahina, h., shinozaki, j., masuda, k., morimitsu, y. and satake, m. 2010. identification of medicinal 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(manuscript received on 7 august 2023; revised on 3 december 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 29(2): 203-240, 2022 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63527 © 2022 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists an inventory of vascular flora of the lalmai hill area of cumilla district, bangladesh shayla sharmin shetu*, gazi mosharof hossain, saleh ahammad khan and md. abdur rahim plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: flora; angiosperms; lalmai hill; cumilla; bangladesh. abstract in this study, the vascular flora of the lalmai hill area of the cumilla district has been thoroughly explored. this study reveals the occurrence of 923 species of vascular plants under 594 genera and 141 families in the study area, which represents 23.75% of the total 3886 plant species reported from bangladesh until now. about 68.15% of these species are native and 31.85% are exotic to bangladesh. pteridophytes are represented by 30 species belonging to 21 genera and 11 families, whilst gymnosperms are represented by eight species under seven genera and six families. magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) comprises 661 species, including four subspecies and two varieties, from 429 genera and 96 families, accounting for 71.54% of the vascular flora of the study area. liliopsida (monocotyledons) represents 225 species under 137 genera and 28 families, making up 24.35% of this flora. in magnoliopsida, fabaceae with 55 species is the largest dicot family, followed by asteraceae, malvaceae, euphorbiaceae, lamiaceae and rubiaceae. most of the species of liliopsida (68%) are represented by the five families viz., poaceae, cyperaceae, araceae and commelinaceae. poaceae with 75 species is the largest monocot family, followed by cyperaceae, orchidaceae, araceae and arecaceae. the genus cyperus is the largest in the study area. the species antidesma roxburghii wall. ex tul. of phyllanthaceae is rediscovered in bangladesh. most of the magnoliopsida and liliopsida are herbs (59.80%), which are followed by trees (21.02%), shrubs (17.23%), and palms (1.41%). about 64.57% of the species are recorded as wild, but a significant percentage (27.41%) is planted and cultivated (8.02%). the majority of the species are found to grow in eight categories of habitat viz., roadside, fallow land, homestead, woodland, garden, scrub jungle, agricultural field and grassland. eight plant species, listed in the red data book of bangladesh including six as data deficient (dd), one not evaluated and one endangered (en) species, are harboured in the study area. we strongly recommend the adoption of a master plan for minimizing all major threats to the vegetation and habitats of this area and sustainable development, utilization and conservation of its plant resources. introduction it is essential to have a fundamental understanding of the biodiversity of a country to improve and use its biological resources sustainably and address and mitigate its environmental problems. taxonomic studies using various non-molecular and molecular data lay the groundwork for understanding and assessing various aspects of plant biodiversity. these studies offer very important and pertinent information and expertise on plant species that are crucial for the confirmation of their identity, description, distribution, origin, evolution, relationship, classification, management and sustainable utilization. such studies are useful for economic and environmental development based on plant resources, exploration of alternative plant species, *corresponding author: e-mail: shetuss@juniv.edu https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.63527 mailto:shetuss@juniv.edu 204 shetu et al. recognition and conservation of threatened plant species, and assessment, monitoring, and mitigation of the negative effects of climate change on plant species. due to these consequences, taxonomic studies have been considered pivotal in different regions and nations worldwide for more than a century (ostertag et al., 2014). in bangladesh, a total of 3886 species of vascular plants have been reported through various taxonomic studies conducted sporadically so far (hossain et al., 2022). these studies were conducted in different forests, regions and small to large administrative areas or small to moderate-sized families at different times since 1814 (roxburgh, 1814). the plant species composition of many areas or most of the large plant families of this country is still unknown or partially and inadequately known (hossain et al., 2022; khan et al., 2021a,b). if adequate floristic surveys are conducted in the remaining areas and large plant families of this country, approximately a further 2000-2500 species of vascular plants might be explored. on the other hand, almost all of the large-scale (prain, 1903; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009; uddin and hassan, 2018) and many small-scale (rahman, 2013; ara et al., 2007; rahman, 2017; rashid et al., 2018; uddin and hassan, 2010; malaker et al., 2010; uddin et al., 2003) taxonomic publications on the flora of this country do not provide information on the specific distribution and voucher specimens of the reported plant species, though some such publication include these kinds of information (uddin and rahman,1999; islam et al., 2009; tutul et al., 2010; rahman et al., 2012; sultana, 2012; sarker, 2013; rahman et al., 2015; tabassum, 2015; nahar and rahman, 2016; haque et al., 2018; shetu et al., 2018; khanam and khan, 2020; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020a,b; hossain et al., 2021; khan et al., 2021a,b; hossain et al., 2022). therefore, further and adequate floristic surveys involving data collection on specific distribution and voucher specimens of the plant taxa of the unexplored or partially explored areas of this country are very crucial. the lalmai hills were once densely wooded and an area near kotbari was earmarked as a forest belt (bbs, 2013). the vegetation was mainly deciduous and the dominant tree species was shorea robusta c.f. gaertn (sal) (rahman et al., 2001). but in course of the last 20 years, the vegetation of this area has been modified to a semi-deciduous and mixed evergreen category, composed of mostly planted forests associated with many naturally grown plant species and a few small patches of s. robusta forest. almost the whole of lalmai hills has been cleared up and cultivation has been extended up to the foothills (bbs, 2013). previously, no floristic or similar other study was carried out on this hill area except enlisting a few plant species in the district gazetteer of comilla and the booklet of ismail and mia (1973), generating the checklists of 103 undergrowth plant species by rahman et al. (2001), and 151 angiosperms species by hossain et al. (2005), and a hydrobiological study on three different water bodies of this area reporting the occurrence of 352 species of phytoplanktons (bhuiyan, 2022). most of the habitat-relevant threats to the flora and plant diversity of the lalmai hill area are functional and have the potential to significantly reduce or change the plant diversity and floristic composition (ali, 1999; choudhury, 2002; khan, 2008; kulatunga et al., 2012). the hills of this area are going to be destroyed and the hills have already turned to be a hillock on the plain land. the land grabbers carry on their destructive activities. due to unhindered earth cutting, the deep forest of this area is going to lose its existence. therefore, it makes logical sense to perform a thorough floristic study throughout this territory, particularly for understanding the current species composition and diversity, searching the potentially threatened plant species and knowing the changes in plant species composition of the area in course of time and the impacts of climate change, plant resource-based sustainable development, and providing invaluable baseline data necessary for effective conservation of the threatened species as well as assessment and monitoring of the impacts of anthropogenic climate an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 205 change on the plants and ecosystems of this area. this study was carried out to provide basic taxonomic information on the vascular plant species extant in the lalmai hill area, i.e., all hills of lalmai and their adjacent area, based on detailed floristic inventories and examination of representative specimens. materials and methods the lalmai hill area is a low-amplitude anticline and consists of three toposequence arrangements as hills, piedmonts, and floodplains (khan et al., 2018; rahman et al., 2021). this area lies between the latitudes 23°20'n to 23°30'n and longitudes 91°05'e to 91°10'e, at about 8 km westward from cumilla township (fig. 1). the chittagong-tripura fold belt, particularly the raghunandan hill of indian tripura hills, borders this region on the east, the meghna river on the west, the gumti river on the north, and the dakatia river on the south-southeast (khan et al., 2018). it consists of a north-south elongated low hill range of about 17 km long and 1-2.4 km wide, covering an area of about 33 sq km and locally it is known as the mainamati-lalmai range (https://en.banglapedia.org). fig. 1. location map of the study area. https://en.banglapedia.org). 206 shetu et al. this hill range is mostly composed of some small to medium-sized hills of about 12 metres in height on average, but the peaks of a few rise up to 52 metres (www.freemaptools.com/elevationfinder.htm). the hills are associated with the faults on the western and eastern sides that are the direct result of the collision of the indian and burmese plates (khan et al., 2018). the eastern half of the hills gradually merges with the surrounding lands and the western section of the hills abruptly transforms into plain land. there are a lot of little hillocks throughout the area. deeply carved valleys divide some of the hilltops that symbolize the table surfaces. the hill range gradually widens from about 1 km in the north to about 3 km in the south. it is surrounded by the chandina deltaic plain and drained by three major rivers-the gumti, the dakatia, and the little feni (https:// en.banglapedia.org). the climate of this region is typically humid tropical with hot, oppressive and mostly cloudy wet seasons and warm and mostly clear dry seasons. a long dry season usually extends from october to may. the hot season lasts from march to june and in this season the maximum temperature ranges from 37°c-39°c (https://en.banglapedia.org). the cool season lasts from december to january and in this season the minimum temperature varies from 7°c-10°c. over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 12°c-33°c, the average temperature from 23°c-35°c and the hottest period exists from june to mid-july. the area experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. the rainy period of the year lasts for 10 months, from february to november. the rainless period of the year lasts for two months, from december to january. the average rainfall is 1930-2700 mm, the average humidity is 67%, and about 90% of rainfall appears in the months of may to october (https://weatherspark.com). the soil of this area is mostly composed of fine madhupur clay, which cakes very hard in the dry season (https://en.banglapedia.org). it is unconsolidated, finer textured, moderately well-drained, strongly acidic, and low in plant nutrients and droughty. the topsoil is sandy-clay-loam to clay-loam in texture and yellowish-brown in colour. the underlying subsoil is brown to yellowish-red. this study was carried out in different seasons of 2021-2022. representative plant specimens were collected, prepared, dried, and preserved using conventional herbarium procedures and techniques (bridson and forman, 1989; singh and subramaniam, 2008) and stored and studied at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). taxonomic identification of each taxon and collection of data on the uses of plant species in the study area have been done following the approach described in khan et al. (2021a) and hossain et al. (2021). nomenclatural information, accumulated from relevant literature (hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; wu and raven, 19942001; wu et al., 1999-2013), are verified by visiting the updated nomenclatural databases (ipni, 2022; powo, 2022; tropicos, 2022; wfo, 2022). all voucher specimens are preserved at juh. the families of pteridophyta, gymnosperms and angiosperms have been arranged following pichi (1977), kramer and green (1990) and cronquist (1988), respectively, and the genera and species under each family alphabetically. in magnoliopsida, the families phyllanthaceae, putranjivaceae, linderniaceae and mazaceae, not included in cronquist (1988)’s system, are placed beside their close families, viz. euphorbiaceae, plantaginaceae and lamiaceae, respectively, whereas, in liliopsida, the taxa of liliaceae are placed under three separate families, viz. hypoxidaceae, amaryllidaceae and asparagaceae following the apg iv system (angiosperm phylogeny group, 2016). the nativeness of the species was recognized by consulting the relevant literature (wu and raven, 1994-2001; wu et al., 1999-2013; hossain and pasha, 2001) and databases (powo, 2022). the use categories of the species were determined based on the authors’ knowledge, consultation with the local people and relevant literature (ghani, 1998; van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2001; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009; khan et al., 2021a; annon, 2022; hossain et al., 2022). http://www.freemaptools.com/elevationhttps:// https://en.banglapedia.org). https://weatherspark.com). https://en.banglapedia.org). an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 207 results and discussion this study documents the occurrence of a total of 923 species of vascular plants under 594 genera and 141 families in the study area. these species constitute about 23.75% of the total 3886 plant species reported from bangladesh so far (hossain et al., 2020; ashrafuzzaman and sarwar, 2021; ashrafuzzaman et al., 2022). pteridophytes were represented by 30 species under 21 genera and 11 families, whereas gymnosperms by eight species under seven genera and six families. magnoliopsida (dicotyledons) comprised 661 species, including four subspecies and two varieties, from 429 genera and 96 families, accounting for 71.54%of the vascular flora of the study area, whereas, liliopsida (monocotyledons) represented 225 species under 137 genera and 28 families comprising 24.35% this flora (table 1). the native species of this vascular flora make up about 68.15% (629 species), while the exotic species 31.85% (294 species) of the total. the majority of the species (64.57%; 596 species) were wild, but a significant percentage (27.41%; 253 species) was found as planted and cultivated (8.02%; 74 species). in pteridophyta, the family pteridaceae composed of 12 species was the biggest. it was followed by polypodiaceae with four species, salviniaceae and thelypteridaceae three species each. the biggest plant genus in this group was adiantum l. and pteris l. with three species each. in gymnosperms, cupressaceae and cycadaceae representing two species each were the bigger families, and except cycas l., all genera were represented by single species each. in magnoliopsida, five families namely fabaceae, asteraceae, malvaceae, euphorbiaceae and lamiaceae, represented by 55, 43, 36, 31 and 25 species respectively, comprised 28.74% of species of this group. the families acanthaceae, apocynaceae, and phyllanthaceae were represented by 20 species each, which were followed by caesalpiniaceae and cucurbitaceae (18 species each), amaranthaceae (17 species), moraceae (16 species), solanaceae (15 species), mimosaceae (14 species), vitaceae (13 species) and rutaceae and polygonaceae (10 species each). the genus euphorbia l. composed of 12 species was the largest and followed by ficus l. (10 species), solanum l. (eight species), hibiscus l. (seven species), persicaria (l.) mill. and phyllanthus l. (six species each), albizia durazz., brassica l., syzygium p. browne ex gaertn., senna mill., sida l., terminalia l., and ipomoeal. (five species each), and amaranthus l, artocarpus j.r. forst. & g. forst., bougainvillea comm. ex juss. cissus l., torenia l., vigna savi, and ziziphus mill. (four species each). most of the species of liliopsida (68%, 153 species) were represented by the five families viz., poaceae (75 species), cyperaceae (31 species), araceae (21 species) and arecaceae and commelinaceae (13 species each), which were followed by the families amaryllidaceae, asparagaceae and zingiberaceae (eight species each), orchidaceae (seven species) and dioscoreaceae and hydrocharitaceae (five species each). the genus cyperus with 16 species was the largest, which was followed by panicum l. (eight species), fimbristylis vahl (six species), dioscorea l. (five species), and commelina l., eragrostis wolf, murdannia royle and dracaena vand. (four species each). a total of 552 species (59.80%), of this flora and most of the magnoliopsida and liliopsida were herbs, 159 (17.23%) shrubs, 194 (21.02%) trees, 13 (1.41%) palms and five (0.54%) bamboos (table 1). the majority of the herbaceous species were erect (56.34%), which was followed by climber (16.85%), prostate (15.40%), epiphyte (2.36%), creeper (4.17%) and others (floating, submerged and parasite etc.). other habit categories included submerged, rooted floating, free-floating, prostrate and parasite. among the shrubs, most were erect (132 species, 83.02%), which was followed by scandent (18 species, 11.32%), liana (6 species, 3.77%), and parasites (three species, 1.89%). 208 shetu et al. table 1. list of vascular plant taxa of lalmai hill area of cumilla district, bangladesh. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse pteridophyta schimp. selaginellaceae willk selaginella ciliaris (retz.) spring selaginella herb, cr; w hls native o sss 4078 salviniaceae martinov azolla pinnata r.br. lal khudipana herb, fl; w wtl native gm gmh 6183 salvinia cucullata roxb. ex bory indurkanipana herb, fl; w wtl native gm, o sss 4095 s. natans (l.) all. panidhekia herb, fl; w wtl native gm, o sss 4015 marsileaceae mirb. marsilea quadrifolia l. susnishak herb, cr; w af, fl, wtl exotic vg sss 4115 lygodiaceae m. roem. lygodium flexuosum (l.) sw.1 saralata fern herb, cl; w sj, wl native m sss 4039 l. microphyllum (cav.) r.br. lata dhekia herb, cl; w sj native m mar 7738 pteridaceae e.d.m. kirchn. adiantum caudatum l. khopa fern herb, ep; w hls, obw native o sss 4213 a. philippense l. kalijhat herb, er; w op native o sss 4103 a. tenerum sw. biddapata herb, ep; w hls, obw exotic o gmh 6001 ceratopteris thalictroides (l.) brongn. pani lettuce herb, er; w wtl native vg gmh 6279 hemionitis belangeri (bory) christenh. shadadhekia herb, er; w hls native o gmh 6307 pityrogramma ochracea (c. presl) domin rupalidhekia herb, er; w hls exotic o, m mar 4584 pteris ensiformis burm.f. dhekia herb, cr; w hls native o sss 4253 p. quadriaurita retz. dhekia herb, er; w hls native o, m gmh 6077 p. semipinnata l. dhekia herb, er; w hls native o gmh 6099 p. venusta kunze shukhpteris herb, er; w fm native o mar 4560 p. vittata l.1 dhekia herb, er; w hls, obw native m gmh 6002 tectaria chattagrammica ching junglidhekia herb, er; w hls native vg mar 4607 vittariaceae ching haplopteris elongata (sw.) e.h. crane fitta fern herb, ep; w op, wl native m, o gmh 6588 polypodiaceae j. presl & c. presl drynaria quercifolia (l.) j. sm. pankhiraj herb, ep; w op, wl native m, o sss 4259 microsorum punctatum (l.) copel. guchapatra herb, ep; w op, wl native m, o gmh 6003 pyrrosia nuda (giesenh.) ching pyrosia herb, ep; w op, wl native m gmh 6098 p. piloselloides (l.) m.g. price paisa dhekia herb, ep; w op, wl native m, o mar 4629 thelypteridaceae ching ex pic. serm. ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel. dhekishak herb, cr; w fl, fm, wl native m sss 4144 christella crinipes (hook.) holttum bishdhekia herb, er; w fl, hls, rs native m gmh 7138 thelypteris dentata (forssk.) e.p.st. john datitila herb, cr; w fl, fm, wl native o, vg gmh 7517 aspleniaceae newman blechnum orientale l. bilas dhekia herb, er, w hs, fm native m gmh 7177 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 209 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse athyriaceae alston diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. dhekia shak herb, er; w fl, fm, wl native vg mar 4160 dennstaedtiaceae pic. serm. microlepia speluncae (l.) t. moore fita dhekia herb, cr; w hs, fm native vg gmh 7199 gymnosperms prantl araucariaceae henkel & w. hochst. araucaria heterophylla (salisb.) franco araucaria tree, m; pl gr, hs exotic o sss 4123 cupressaceae gray juniperus chinensis l. china juniper tree, s; pl gr, hs exotic o gmh 7606 platycladus orientalis (l.) franco thuja shrub; pl gr, hs, rs exotic o mar 4169 cycadaceae pers. cycas circinalis l. cycas tree, s; pl gr, hs exotic m, o gmh 7403 c. revoluta thunb. moniraj tree, s; pl gr, hs exotic m, o gmh 7105 pinaceae spreng. ex rudolphi pinus caribaea morelet pine gach tree, l; pl gr, hs, rs exotic o gmh 7401 zamiaceae horan. zamia furfuracea l.f. ex aiton zamia palm shrub; pl gr exotic o sss 4099 podocarpaceae endl. podocarpus neriifolius d. don bash pata tree, m; pl gr native m, t gmh 7209 magnoliopsida brongn. magnoliaceae juss. magnolia champaca (l.) baill. ex pierre2 champa tree, l; pl gr, rs native m, o sss 5042 m. grandiflora l. udoypoddo tree, m; pl gr, hs exotic m, o sss 4187 annonaceae juss. annona reticulata l. ata tree, s; w hs, sj exotic fr, fw gmh 7219 a. muricata l. muriata tree, s; pl gr exotic fr, ju gmh 7806 a. squamosa l. sharifa tree, s; pl hs exotic fr mar 4127 artabotrys hexapetalus (l.f.) bhandari kathalichapma shrub, sc; pl gr, hs exotic m, o gmh 7306 huberantha pendula (capuron ex g.e. schatz & le thomas) chaowasku weeping debdaru tree, m; pl rs exotic o, fw sss 4308 monoon longifolium (sonn.) b. xue & r.m.k. saunders debdaru tree, l; pl rs, wl exotic fw, o, t sss 4318 polyalthia suberosa (roxb.) thwaites barachali tree, s; w fl, wl native fw, fr mar 4206 uvaria ferruginea buch.-ham. ex hook. fil. & thomson bonkhejur shrub, w fm, hlt, sj native m gmh 7803 lauraceae juss. cinnamomum tamala (buch.-ham.) t. nees & eberm. tejpata tree, m; pl hs native sp sss 4359 c. verum j. presl darchini tree, m; pl hs exotic sp sss 5231 litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b. rob. pipalti tree, m; w hlt, sj, wl native fw, m mar 4117 l. monopetala (roxb.) pers. borokukurchita tree, m; w sj, wl native fw, m mar 4211 persea americana mill. avocado tree, m; w gr exotic fr gmh 7207 piperaceae giseke peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth luchipata herb, pr; w gl, hls exotic m sss 4003 210 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse piper betle l. pan herb, cl; cv af, hs exotic m sss 4022 p. longum l. pipul herb, cl; w fl, wl native m gmh 7409 aristolochiaceae juss. aristolochia indica l. ishwarmul herb, cl; w sj native m mar 4411 nymphaeaceae salisb. nymphaea nouchali burm. f. nilshapla herb, fr; w wtl native m, o sss 4305 n. pubescens willd. sadashapla herb, fr; w wtl native o, vg sss 4307 n. rubra roxb.ex andrews lalshapla herb, fr; w wtl native m, o sss 4344 ceratophyllaceae gray ceratophyllum demersum l. kantajhanjhi herb, sm; w wtl native m gmh 7412 menispermaceae juss. cocculus hirsutus (l.) w. theob. huyer herb, cl; w sj native m sss 4419 cyclea barbata miers patalpur herb, cl; w hs native m sss 4521 pycnarrhena pleniflora hook.fil. & thomson gondhalata shrub; w hls, sj native m mar 4219 stephania japonica (thunb.) miers1 akandi manik herb, cl; w sj, wl native m sss 4459 tiliacora acuminata (lam.) hook. fil. & thomson bagbandhalata shrub, li; w sj, wl native m mar 4222 tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thomson baka gulancha herb, cl; w wl native m sss 4428 t. sinensis (lour.) merr. padma gulancha herb, cl; w wl native m gmh7555 cannabaceae martinov trema orientalis (l.) blume1, 2 banjiga tree, m; w hlt, sj, wl native fw sss 4188 moraceae gaudich. artocarpus altilis (parkinson) fosberg ruti phal tree, m; pl gr exotic fr, m sss 4510 a. chama buch-ham.2 chapalish tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl native fr, t sss 4333 a. heterophyllus lam.2 kanthal tree, m; pl hlt, hs, wl exotic fr, t sss 4277 a. lacucha roxb. ex buch.-ham. dewa tree, m; pl hs, wl native fr, t gmh 7714 ficus benghalensis l.2 bot tree, l; w fl, rs, wl native o, fw gmh 7711 f. benjamina l. lankha pakur tree, m; pl gr, rs native o, fw mar 4136 f. elastica roxb. ex hornem. rubber bot tree, m; pl gr, rs native o mar 4122 f. heterophylla l.f. bhuidumur shrub; w sj, wl native m mar 4106 f. hispida l.f.2 kakdumur tree, s; w hlt, sj, wl native m, vg gmh 7336 f. pumila l. latabot herb, cr; w hls exotic o gmh 7388 f. racemosa l. jagadumur tree, l; w fl, hls, sj native fr, m sss 4388 f. religiosa l.2 asswath tree, l; w sj, wl native m, o sss 4316 f. rumphii blume khiri bot tree, l; w fl, rs, wl native m, o sss 4337 f. semicordata buch.-ham. ex sm. jaya dumur tree, s; w fm, hls, sj native fr, m sss 4386 morus alba l. tut tree, s; pl rs exotic fr, fw sss 4339 streblus asper lour.2 sheora tree, l; w hlt, sj, wl native fw, m sss 4321 urticaceae juss. boehmeria nivea (l.) gaudich. ramie herb, er; w fl, rs native fb, m mar 4650 b. virgata subsp. macrophylla (hornem.) friis & wilmot-dear syn. b. macrophylla hornem. ulichara shrub; w rs, sj exotic fb, m mar 4612 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 211 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse laportea interrupta (l.) chew chotrapatta herb, cl; w hls, sj, wl native m, po mar 4618 pilea microphylla (l.) liebm.1 latamaricha herb, pr; w hls, obw exotic m gmh 7643 pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn.1 kullaruki herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native m sss 4023 sarcochlamys pulcherrima (roxb.) gaudich. maricha shrub; w hls, sj, wl native fw, vg sss 4056 casuarinaceae r.br. casuarina equisetifolia l. jhau tree, l; pl gr, rs native fw, o gmh 7631 nyctaginaceae juss. boerhavia diffusa l. punarnava herb, pr; w fl, rs native m sss 4166 bougainvillea buttiana holttum & standl. baganbilas shrub, sc; pl gr, hs native o sss 4108 b. glabra choisy lal baganbilas shrub, sc; pl gr, hs exotic o mar 4512 b. peruviana bonpl. shadabaganbilas shrub, sc; pl gr, hs exotic o mar 4517 b. spectabilis willd. baganbilash shrub, sc; pl gr, hs exotic o mar 4519 mirabilis jalapa l. sandhyamoni herb, er; pl fl, hs exotic m, o sss 4110 aizoaceae martinov trianthema portulacastrum l. swetpunarnova herb, pr; w af, fl, rs native m gmh 7164 cactaceae juss. acanthocalycium spiniflorum (k. schum.) backeb. cactus herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic o gmh 7143 epiphyllum oxypetalum (dc.) haw. night queen herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic o sss 4523 ferocactus peninsulae (f.a.c. weber) britton & rose ferocactus herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic o gmh 7234 mammillaria compressa dc. cactus herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic o gmh 7258 opuntia dillenii (ker gawl.) haw. fhonimonosha shrub; w gr, rs exotic he, m sss 4528 o. ficus-indica (l.) mill. fhonimonosha shrub; w gr, rs exotic he, m sss 4531 o. stricta (haw.) haw. nagphana shrub; w gr, rs exotic he, m mar 4301 selenicereus undatus (haw.) d.r. hunt dragan phal herb, cl; cv gr exotic fr, m sss 4538 amaranthaceaejuss. achyranthes aspera l.2 apang herb, er; w fl, rs, wl native m sss 4541 aerva lanata (l.) juss. ex schult.2 chaya herb, pr; w fl, rs native m, vg mar 4334 a. sanguinolenta (l.) blume lal apang herb, er; pl fl, gr, hs native m, o mar 4400 alternanthera paronychioides a. st.-hil. jhulikhata herb, pr; w af, fl, rs exotic m, vg sss 4543 a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb. henchi herb, fr; w af, wtl exotic gm, vg sss 4547 a. sessilis (l.) r.br. ex dc. malancha herb, pr; w af, fl, rs exotic m, vg sss 4549 amaranthus blitum l. goburanotey herb, er; w fl, rs exotic m, vg gmh 7505 a. spinosus l. kantanotey herb, er; w af, fl, rs exotic m, vg gmh 7515 a. tricolor l. lalshak herb, er; cv af, hs native vg gmh 7535 a. viridis l.2 noteyshak herb, er; w af, fl, rs exotic m, vg gmh 7737 celosia argentea l. morogphul herb, er; pl gr, hs, rs exotic m, o gmh 7545 chenopodium album l. botuashak herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m, vg mar 4696 cyathula prostrata (l.) blume1, 2 shyontula herb, pr; w fl, rs native m mar 4551 dysphania ambrosioides (l.) mosyakin & clemants dysphania herb, er; w fl, rs native m, vg mar 4676 212 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse gomphrena celosioides mart. botam phul herb, pr; w gl, fl, rs exotic m sss 4550 g. globosa l. botam phul herb, er; pl gr, hs, rs exotic o sss 4601 spinacia oleracea l. palong shak herb, er; cv af, hs exotic vg sss 4613 portulacaceae juss. antigonon leptopus hook. & arn. anantalata herb, cl; pl gr, hs exotic o sss 4551 portulaca grandiflora hook. time phul herb, pr; pl hs, rs exotic o sss 4602 p. oleracea l. boronunia herb, pr; w af, fl, rs exotic m, vg sss 4614 p. quadrifida l. chhotonunia herb, pr; cv hs, rs exotic o gmh 7551 talinum paniculatum (jacq.) gaertn. talinum herb, er; pl gr exotic m, o gmh 7747 basellaceae raf. basella alba l. pui shak herb, cr; cv af, hs native vg mar 4656 molluginaceae bartl. glinus lotoides l. alu ghash herb, pr; w af, fl native m sss 4552 g. oppositifolius (l.) a. dc. gima shak herb, pr; w af, fl native m, vg sss 4619 trigastrotheca pentaphylla (l.) thulin khetpapra herb, pr; w af, fl exotic m sss 4708 caryophyllaceae juss. dianthus chinensis l. china salpar herb, er; pl gr, rs exotic o sss 4717 d. pinifolius sm. dianthus herb, er; pl gr, rs exotic o sss 4720 polycarpon tetraphyllum (l.) l. gimi herb, er; pl gr, rs exotic vg sss 4621 polygonaceae juss. persicaria barbata (l.) h. hara biskatali herb, er; w fl, wtl native m mar 4646 p. glabra (willd.) m. gómez biskatali herb, er; w af, fl native m mar 4606 p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre pani biskatali herb, er; w af, fl, wtl native m gmh 7565 p. lanata (roxb.) tzvelev shetpanimarich herb, er; w af, fl, wtl native m gmh 7575 p. orientalis (l.) spach bara panimarich herb, er; w fl, wtl native m gmh 7606 p. viscosa (buch.-ham. ex d. don) h. gross ex t. mori athalo bishkatali herb, er; w af, fl, wtl native m gmh 7586 polygonum effusum meisn. raniphul herb, pr; w fl, hls native m sss 4553 p. plebeium r.br. khudi bishkatalil herb, pr; w wtl native m sss 4625 rumex dentatus l. bonpalang herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m sss 4556 r. maritimus l. datipalang herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m sss 4702 plumbaginaceae juss. plumbago zeylanica l. shadachita herb, er; pl gr, hs native m gmh 7616 dilleniaceae salisb. dillenia indica l. chalta tree, m; pl hlt, hs, wl native fr, m mar 4616 dipterocarpaceae blume anisoptera scaphula (roxb.) kurz boilam tree, l; pl hlt, gr, wl native t mar 4868 dipterocarpus turbinatus c.f. gaertn.2 garjan tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl native t mar 4874 hopea odorata roxb. telshur tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl native t gmh 7626 shorea robusta c.f. gaertn.2 sal tree,l; w hlt, wl native t gmh 7636 theaceae mirb. camellia japonica l. camellia shrub; pl gr exotic o gmh 7641 c. sinensis (l.) kuntze cha shurb; pl hlt, hs exotic m, rf gmh 7657 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 213 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse clusiaceae lindl. calophyllum inophyllum l. puinnal tree, m; w fm, rs native m, oy gmh 7646 garcinia cowa roxb. ex choisy cowphal tree, m; pl gr, hs, wl native fr, m mar 4637 mesua ferrea l. nageshwar tree, s; pl gr, rs native m, o sss 4555 elaeocarpaceae juss. elaeocarpus floribundus blume jalpai tree, m; pl hs native fr, oy sss4609 e. serratus l. jalpai tree, m; pl hs native fr, oy gmh 7656 bombacaceae kunth. bombax ceiba l.2 shimul tree, l; w hlt, rs, wl native fb, m sss 4713 malvaceae juss. abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench dherosh herb, er; cv af, hs native vg sss 4631 a. moschatus medik. mushak dana shrub; w fl, hls, sj native m mar 4636 abroma augusta (l.) l.f. ulatkambal shrub; w hs, sj native fb, m sss 4706 abutilon indicum (l.) sweet petari shrub; w fl, rs, sj native fb, m mar 4421 ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn. shadashimul tree, m; pl hs, rs exotic fb, t mar 4433 corchorus aestuans l. janglipat shrub; w fl, rs, sj native fb, fw gmh 7666 c. capsularis l. bogi pat herb, er; cv af, hs native fb, vg gmh 7673 c. olitorius l. tosha pat herb, er; cv af, hs native fb, vg gmh 7679 gossypium arboreum l. karpash shrub; cv af exotic fb, oy gmh 7681 grewia asiatica l. pholsa tree, s; pl hs, wl native fr, m gmh 7686 g. serrulata dc.2 panisara tree, s; pl gr native fw, m mar 4437 g. tenax (forssk.) fiori kango shrub; w fl, gr native fb mar 4439 g. tiliifolia vahl raktokussum tree, m; w fl, sj native fb, m mar 4555 hibiscus cannabinus l. mesta pat herb, er; cv af, hs exotic fb, vg sss 4557 h. mutabilis l. stholpaddo shrub; pl gr, hs exotic o sss 4632 h. rosa-sinensis l. jaba shrub; pl gr, hs, rs exotic o sss 4715 h. sabdariffa l.2 chukar shrub; pl hs, rs exotic m, vg sss 4558 h. schizopetalus (dyer) hook.f. jhumkojaba shrub; pl gr, hs, rs exotic o gmh 7691 h. surattensis l. kata jaba herb; pl hls, fl native fb, m gmh 7694 h. vitifolius l. bonkarpas shrub; w sj native m, o gmh 7696 malachra capitata (l.) l. bondheras herb, er; w fl, hs, rs exotic o gmh 7707 malvaviscus arboreus dill. ex cav. morichjaba shrub; pl gr, hs, rs exotic o sss 4633 melochia corchorifolia l.1 tikiokra shrub; w rs, wl native fw, m sss 4710 microcos paniculata l.2 asar shrub; w hlt, sj, wl native fw, m sss 4716 pentapetes phoenicea l. dupurmoni shrub; pl gr, hs native o sss 4559 pterospermum acerifolium (l.) willd. muchkundo tree, l; w hls, hlt, wl native m, t sss 4634 pterygota alata (roxb.) r.br. buddha narikel tree, l; plw gr, wl native m, t gmh 7717 sida acuta burm. f.1, 2 kureta herb, er; w fl, sj, rs native m sss 4718 s. cordata (burm. f.) bross. waalk. pitberela herb, er; w fl, sj, rs native m sss 4722 s. cordifolia l. shetberela herb, er; w fl, rs native m sss 4727 s. mysorensis wight & arn.2 chatchata herb, er; w fl, rs native fb sss 4730 s. rhombifolia l.2 lalberela herb, er; w fl, rs native fb, m sss 4705 sterculia foetida l. bakshobadam tree, l; pl hs, rs native fr, m mar 4910 214 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse s. villosa roxb. udal tree, l; w hlt, wl native fb, m gmh 6101 triumfetta rhomboidea jacq.2 ban okra shrub; w fl, rs, sj native fw, m sss 4749 urena lobata l.1, 2 ban ghagra shrub; w fl, sj, rs native fw, m sss 4901 lecythidaceae a. rich. barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal tree, m; w rs, wtl native fw, m sss 4731 careya arborea roxb.2 kumvi tree, m; sj, wl native m mar 4666 couroupita guianensis aubl. naglingom tree, l; pl gr, rs exotic o gmh 6005 bixaceae kunth bixa orellana l. shindur tree, s; pl gr exotic m, o mar 4907 passifloraceae juss. ex roussel passiflora. foetida l.1 jhumkalata herb, cl; w sj exotic fr, m sss 4732 caricaceae dumort. carica papaya l.2 pepe tree, m; pl af, hs, rs exotic fr, vg mar 4919 cucurbitaceae juss. benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. chalkumra herb, cl; cv af, hs exotic vg sss 4741 citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai tormuj herb, cl; cv af exotic fr sss 4635 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha herb, cl; w sj, wl native m, vg sss 4808 cucumis maderaspatanus l. agmukhi herb, cl; w af, fl, sj native m sss 4561 c. melo l bangi herb, cl; cv af exotic fr, vg gmh 6029 c. sativus l. shosha herb, cl; cv af, hs native fr, vg gmh 6057 cucurbita maxima duchesne misti kumra herb, cl; cv af, hs exotic m, vg gmh 6086 diplocyclos palmatus (l.) c. jeffrey mala herb, cl; w hls native m mar 4550 lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. lau herb, cl; cv af, hs exotic m, vg mar 4929 luffa acutangula (l.) roxb. jhinga herb, cl; cv af, hs native m, vg mar 4660 l. cylindrica (l.) m. roem. dhundal herb, cl; cv af, hs native m, vg sss 4733 momordica charantia l. korolla herb, cl; cv af, hs native m, vg sss 4669 m. dioica roxb. ex willd. kakroll herb, cl; cv af, hs native m, vg gmh 6006 solena amplexicaulis (lam.) gandhi ex saldanha & nicolson rakhalshosha herb, cl; w hls, sj native m gmh 6030 trichosanthes cucumerina l. chichinga herb, cl; cv af, hs native m, vg gmh 6058 t. dioica roxb. potol herb, cl; cv af, hs native m, vg mar 4771 t. tricuspidata lour. makal herb, cl; w fm, sj exotic m mar 4951 trichosanthes sp. banpatol herb, cl; w hls, sj native m mar 4949 salicaceae mirb. casearia tomentosa roxb. chilla tree, s; w hs, wl native fw mar 4958 flacourtia indica (burm. f.) merr.2 boiuchi shrub; w sj, wl native fr, fw sss 4636 f. jangomas (lour.) raeusch. lukluki tree, s; w fm, wl native fr, fw mar 5553 salix tetrasperma roxb. panihijal tree, m; w fl, wtl native fw gmh 6052 capparaceae juss. capparis zeylanica l. katai shrub, sc; w sj native m sss 4744 c. spinosa l. kabia shrub, sc; w sj, wl native m sss 4811 crateva magna (lour.) dc. borun tree, s; w fm native m mar 5501 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 215 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse cleomaceae bercht. & j. presl cleome houtteana schltdl. hurhurey herb, er; pl gr, rs exotic m sss 4638 c. rutidosperma dc. nil hurhurey herb, er; w af, fl, rs exotic m sss4712 c. viscosa l.1, 2 haludhurhurey herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m, vg sss 4571 brassicaceae burnett brassica cretica lam. subsp. cretica fulkopie herb, er; cv af, hs exotic vg mar 4760 b. napus l. sarisha herb, er; cv af, hs exotic lf, oy gmh 6007 b. nigra (l.) w.d.j. koch rai sarisha herb, er; cv af, hs exotic oy gmh 6031 b. oleracea l. badhakopie herb, er; cv gr exotic o gmh 6059 b. rapa l. shalgom herb, er; cv af, gr, hs exotic vg mar 4913 cardamine flexuosa with. bansarisha herb, er; w af, fl exotic m mar 4780 raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus (l.) domin mula herb, er; cv af native vg mar 4890 rorippa benghalensis (dc.) h. hara bel rai herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m mar 4923 r. indica (l.) hiern2 bansarisha herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m, vg mar 4773 moringaceae martinov moringa oleifera lamk. shajna tree, m; pl hs, rs exotic m, vg sss 4734 sapotaceae juss. chrysophyllum cainito l. star apple tree, m; pl gr exotic fr sss 4802 madhuca longifolia (j. könig ex l.) j.f. macbr. mohua tree, m; w gr, rs, wl native m, oy sss 4711 manilkara zapota (l.) p. royen sofeda tree, m; pl gr, hs exotic fr, m sss 4740 mimusops elengi l. bokul tree, m; pl rs native m, o sss 4719 ebenaceae gürke diospyros discolor willd. bilati gab tree, m; pl hs, rs exotic fr, m mar 4943 d. malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab tree, m; w wl native fr, m mar 4881 d. montanaroxb. tamal tree, s; pl gr, wl native m, po gmh 6069 myrsinaceae r.br. ardisia solanacea (poir.) roxb. banjam shrub; w hls, wl native m, o gmh 6088 primulaceae batsch maesa ramentacea (roxb.) a. dc. noa maricha tree, s; w hls, sj native m mar 4963 crassulaceae j. st.-hil. kalachoedaigremontiana raym-hamet & h. perrier hajar pathorkuchi herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic m, o gmh 6032 k. laciniata (l.) dc. himsagor herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic o gmh 6062 k. pinnata (lam.) pers. pathorkuchi herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic m, o gmh 6008 rosaceaejuss. fragaria × ananassa (duchesne ex weston) duchesneex rozier strawberry herb, cr; cv gr, hs exotic fr gmh 6033 rosa × centifolia l. golap shrub; pl gr, hs exotic m, o gmh 6090 r. chinensis jacq. jangligolap shrub; pl gr, hs exotic he, m gmh 6073 mimosaceae r.br. acacia auriculiformis a. cunn. ex benth2 akashmoni tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl exotic t sss 4637 a. mangium willd. mangium tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl exotic t sss 4742 216 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse albizia chinensis (osbeck) merr. chakuakoroi tree, l; pl rs, wl native t sss 4810 a. lebbeck (l.) benth. kalokoroi tree, l; w hlt, rs, wl native t sss 4750 a. lucidior (steud.) i.c. nielsen ex h. hara motor koroi tree, l; w hlt, rs, wl native t sss 4643 a. niopoides var. niopoides (spruce ex benth.) burkart gagan shirish tree, l; pl rs exotic t gmh 6014 a. procera (roxb.) benth.2 shadakoroi tree, l; w hlt, rs, wl native t sss 4728 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit ipil-ipil tree, l; w fl, rs, wl exotic fw, t sss 4739 mimosa diplotricha var. diplotricha baralajjaboti shrub; w hlt, rs, sj native m sss 4849 m. pudica l.1, 2 lajjaboti herb, pr; w hlt, fl, rs exotic m sss 4804 pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth. khoi babla tree, m; w hs, rs exotic fr, m sss 4888 samanea saman (jacq.) merr. rendi koroi tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl exotic t gmh 6116 senegalia catechu (l.f.) p.j.h. hurter & mabb. khoir tree, m; pl rs native fw, m gmh 6038 vachellia nilotica (l.) p.j.h. hurter & mabb. babla tree, m; w hlt, fl, rs native gu, m mar 4993 caesalpiniaceae r.br. bauhinia acuminata l. sadakanchon tree, s; pl gr, hs, rs native fw, o mar 4894 b. purpurea l. raktokanchan tree, s; pl gr, hs, rs native fw, o mar 4552 brownea coccinea jacq. pakhiphul tree, s; pl gr native o mar 4804 caesalpinia pulcherrima (l.) sw.2 chottoradhachura shrub; pl gr, rs native o gmh 6015 cassia fistula l.2 badarlathi tree, m; w rs, sj native m, o gmh 6039 c. javanica l. burmese shonalu tree, m; pl gr, rs native fw, o mar 4717 delonix regia (bojer ex hook.) raf. krishnachura tree, l; pl gr, rs exotic m, o sss 4570 mezoneuorn cucullatum (roxb.) wight & arn. natakula shrub, sc; w fl, hls native fw, m sss 4651 moullava digyna (rottler) gagnon & g.p lewis umulkuchi shrub, sc; w fm, hls native m sss 4581 peltophorum pterocarpum (dc.) backer ex k. heyne radhachura tree, l; pl rs, wl exotic m, o sss 4663 saraca asoca (roxb.) w.j. de wilde ashok tree, m; pl rs, wl native m, o sss 4889 senna alata (l.) roxb. dadmardan shrub; w fl, hs, rs exotic m sss 4591 s.occidentalis(l.) link1, 2 barakalkesunda shrub; w fl, rs exotic fw, m sss 4697 s. siamea (lam.) h.s. irwin & barn. minjiri tree, l; pl fl, hlt, wl exotic fw, o sss 4756 s. sophera(l.) roxb. kalkeshunda shrub; w fl, sj, rs exotic fw, m sss 4763 s. tora(l.) roxb.2 choto kalkeshunda herb, er; w fl, rs exotic m sss 4584 tamarindus indica l.2 tetul tree, l; w hs, wl exotic fr, t sss 4603 xylia xylocarpa (roxb.) w. theob. lohakat tree, l; pl gr, hlt, wl native t mar 4824 fabaceae lindl. abrus precatorius l.1 kunch herb, cl; w sj native m sss 4838 adenanthera pavonina l. kuachandan tree, m; pl gr, rs native m sss 4805 aeschynomene indica l. kath shola shrub; w fl, wtl native gm, lf sss 4926 a. virginica (l.) britton, sterns & poggenb. banda shola herb, er; w fl, wtl native gm, fw mar 4704 alysicarpus rugosus (willd.) dc. vui kolai herb, er; w fl, sj native gm, lf gmh 6134 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 217 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse a. vaginalis (l.) dc. pan nata herb, er; w fl, sj native gm, lf sss 4329 arachis hypogaea l. china badam herb, pr; cv af exotic fr sss 4191 brachypterum scandens (roxb.) miq. mohajonilata shrub, li; w sj, wl native m gmh 6051 butea monosperma (lam.) kuntze2 palash tree, m; pl rs, wl native m, o sss 4812 cajanus cajan (l.) huth2 arhar shrub; cv af, fl, hs exotic m, pu sss 4841 c. scarabaeoides (l.) thouars1, 2 banurkalai herb, cl; w sj native gm, m sss 4771 canavalia gladiata (jacq.) dc. makhan shim herb, cl; cv af, hs native m, vg mar 4727 centrosema pubescens benth.2 prajapati shim herb, cl; cv fl, rs native gm sss 4820 christia vespertilionis (l.f.) bakh.f. chamchika herb, er; pl gr native o sss 4692 cicer arietinum l. chola herb, er; cv af exotic gm, pu sss 4397 clitoria ternatea l. aparajita herb, cl; w hs exotic m, o sss 4251 crotalaria pallida aiton2 jhunjhuni shrub; w fl, rs native fb, m sss 4837 c. prostrata rottler ex willd. chotojhunjhuni herb, pr; w hls, rs native gm, m sss 4687 codariocalyx gyroides (roxb. ex link) hassk. beguni shalpan shrub; w rs, sj native m sss 4597 dalbergia sissoo roxb. ex dc. sisoo tree, l; pl rs, wl native fw, t sss 4102 d. stipulacea roxb. dadbari shrub, sc; w hls, sj native fw, m mar 5502 d. volubilis roxb. ankilata shrub, sc; w hls, hlt, sj native fw, m sss 4776 erythrina fusca lour. kanta mandar tree, s; pl fl, rs native m, o sss 4850 e. stricta roxb. telia mandar tree, s; pl fl, rs native m, o sss 4775 e. variegata l.2 bichitra mandar tree, s; pl fl, rs native m, o sss 4596 flemingia macrophylla (willd.) kuntze ex merr. bara salpan shrub; w hls, sj, wl native fw, m gmh 6017 grona heterophylla (willd.) h. ohashi & k. ohashi bon motorshuti herb, pr; w fl, gl native lf, m sss 4894 g. heterocarpos (l.) h. ohashi & k. ohashi kodalia shrub; w fl, sj native m sss 4867 g. triflora (l.) h. ohashi & k. ohashi1, 2 kulalia herb, pr; w af, fl, gl native gm, m sss 4875 lablab purpureus (l.) sweet shim herb, cl; cv af, hs exotic pu, vg sss 4769 lathyrus oleraceus lam. motor kolai herb, cl; cv af, hs exotic lf, pu sss 4862 l. sativus l. khesari herb, cl; cv af exotic lf, pu sss 4873 melilotus albus medik. sadamethi herb, er; w af, fl native m sss 4911 mucuna pruriens (l.) dc.1 alkushi herb, cl; w rs, sj, wl native m sss 4748 pachyrhizus erosus (l.) urb. shakalu herb, cl; cv hs, rs exotic ed, m sss 4852 phaseolusvulgaris l. french shim herb, cl; cv af, hs exotic vg gmh 6103 phyllodium pulchellum (l.) desv.2 jata shalpani shrub; w gr, hs native m, o sss 4836 pleurolobus gangeticus (l.) j. st.-hil. ex h. ohashi & k. ohashi1, 2 salpani shrub; w fl, sj, wl native fb, m sss 4915 pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth. ban borboti herb, cl; w fl, sj native lf, m mar 4834 rhynchosia minima (l.) dc. minibhatraj herb, cl; w fm, gl, sj native m mar 4841 sesbania cannabina (retz.) poir. dhonchi shrub; cv af, fl, rs native fb, gm sss 4935 s. grandiflora (l.) pers. bokphul tree, s; pl hs, rs exotic fw, vg sss 4868 sohmaea laxiflora (dc.) h. ohashi & k. ohashi fitta shalpan shrub; w fl, rs native m sss 4826 spatholobus parviflorus (roxb. ex g. don) kuntze1 goalialata herb, cl; hls native m mar 4818 218 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse tadehagi triquetrum (l.) h. ohashi lurimanda shrub; w hls, sj, wl native gm, m sss 4133 tephrosia purpurea (l.) pers. bon nil shrub; w fl, sj native fw, m sss 4009 uraria crinita (l.) desv. ex dc.1 diangleja shrub; w fl, sj native m, po sss 5089 u. rufescens (dc.) schindl. belaileja shrub; w fl, sj native m mar 4747 vicia hirsuta (l.) gray masurchana herb, pr; w af native lf, gm sss 4807 v. lens (l.) coss. & germ. moshur herb, pr; cv af exotic lf, pu sss 4778 v. sativa l. ban mosur herb, cl; w af native lf, gm sss 4588 vigna mungo (l.) hepper mashkalai herb, pr; cv af, fl, rs exotic gm, pu sss 4219 v. radiata (l.) r. wilczek. sona mug herb, cl; cv af, fl native gm, pu sss 4865 v. trilobata (l.) verdc. jangli mug herb, cl; w fl, gl native gm, lf sss 4391 v. unguiculata (l.) walp. borboti herb, cl; cv af, hs exotic pu, vg sss 4075 elaeagnaceae juss. elaeagnus latifolia l. guara shrub, sc; w hls, rs native m mar 5754 lythraceae j. st.-hil. ammannia baccifera l. dadmari herb, er; w af, fl, wtl native m mar 4767 a. multiflora roxb. acidpata herb, er; w af, fl, wtl exotic m mar 4763 cuphea hyssopifolia kunth panica herb, er; pl gr exotic o gmh6127 lagerstroemia indica l. choto jarul tree, s; pl gr, hs, rs native m. o gmh 6132 l. parviflora roxb. sidha jarul tree, m; w wl native fw, t mar 4769 l. speciosa (l.) pers.2 jarul tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl native m, o sss 4131 lawsonia inermis l. mehedi tree, s; pl hs exotic dy, m sss 4209 punica granatum l. dalim shrub; pl hs exotic dy, fr mar 4797 rotala indica (willd.) koehne paina ghas herb, er; w wtl native m gmh 6137 r. rotundifolia (buch-ham. ex roxb.) koehne dim ghurni herb, er; w fl, wtl native m gmh 6156 thymelaeaceae juss. aquilaria malaccensis lam. agar tree, l; pl gr, hlt exotic pf gmh 6402 myrtaceae juss. callistemon citrinus (curtis) skeels bottlebrush tree, s; pl hs, rs exotic fw, o gmh 6043 eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh. eucalyptus tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl exotic m, t gmh 6075 psidium guajava l.2 peyara tree, s; pl gr, hs exotic fr, m sss5103 p. guineense sw.1, 2 bon peyara shrub; w hls, hlt, sj native fr, m sss 4773 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels2 kalojam tree, l; pl hs, rs, wl native fr, t mar 4611 s. jambos (l.) alston golapjam tree, m; pl gr, hs native fr, m mar 4613 s. myrtifolium walp. bahari jam tree, s; pl gr, rs native o mar 4659 s. nervosum a.cunn. ex dc. botijam tree, s; w sj native fw, m, t mar 4781 s. samarangense (blume) merr. & l.m. perry jamrul tree, m; pl gr, hs native fr mar 4793 onagraceae juss. ludwigia adscendens (l.) h. hara keshordam herb, fr; w wtl native m gmh 6019 l. hyssopifolia (g. don) exell1, 2 pani long herb, er; w af, fl, wtl exotic dy, m gmh 6040 l. octovalvis (jacq.) p.h. raven ban long herb, er; w fl, wtl native m mar 5629 l. perennis l. amorkura herb, er; w fl, gl native m mar 5562 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 219 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse melastomataceae juss. melastoma malabathricum l.1, 2 ban tejpata shrub; w fl, hls, hlt native fw, m sss 5287 combretaceae r.br. combretum acuminatum roxb. patuinia shrub, li; w fm native m sss 4789 c. decandrum jacq. sada guicha shrub, li; w fm, hs native fb sss 4907 c. indicum (l.) de filipps madhumalati shrub, li; pl hs native m, o sss 4562 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn.2 arjun tree, l; pl rs native m, t gmh 6063 t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl native m, t gmh 6118 t. catappa l. kathbadam tree, l; pl rs native m, nu, t gmh 6102 t. chebula retz. horitoki tree, l; pl hlt, rs, wl native m, t mar 5573 t. neotaliala capuron umbrella tree tree, m; pl gr exotic o mar 5538 rhizophoraceae pers. carallia brachiata (lour.) merr. roskao tree, m; w wl native fw, m gmh 6131 cornaceae bercht. ex j. presl alangium salviifolium (l.f.) wangerin aikha tree, m; w sj, wl native m, t mar 5591 olacaceae r. br. olax acuminata wall. ex benth. capsul gach shrub; w hls, sj, wl native fw, m sss 4119 loranthaceae juss. dendrophthoe falcata (l.f.) blume2 bajrangi shrub, ps; w op, wl native m gmh 6111 macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) tiegh. renda shrub, ps; w op, wl native m gmh 6020 scurrula parasitica l. porgacha shrub, ps; w op, wl native m mar 5529 euphorbiaceae juss. acalypha hispida burm.f. bara hatishur shrub; pl gr, hs native m, o sss 4695 a. indica l. muktajhuri herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native m sss 4544 astraea lobata (l.) klotzsch khajkata croton herb, er; w fl, rs exotic m mar 5504 codiaeum variegatum (l.) rumph. ex a. juss. patabahar shrub; pl gr, hs, rs exotic m, o mar 5548 croton bonplandianus baill.1 bandhone herb, er; w af, fl, rs exotic m gmh 6047 cnesmone javanica blume1 pahari bichuti shrub; w fm, hls, rs native m, po mar 5586 c. caudatus geiseler. sabarjala shrub; w fm, sj native m, po gmh 6079 euphorbia antiquorum l. tiktasij shrub; w gr, hs, rs native m, o gmh 6169 e. cotinifolia l. lalpata shrub; pl gr, rs exotic o sss 4586 e. hirta l. baradudhia herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs exotic m sss 4866 e. hispida boiss. lomahori herb, pr; w fl, rs native m sss 4891 e. milii des moul. kata mukut shrub; pl gr, hs exotic o sss 4848 e. neriifolia l. manoshasij shrub; pl gr, hs native m, o gmh 6119 e. prostrata aiton sijhori herb, pr; w fl, rs exotic m gmh 6091 e. pulcherrima willd. ex klotzsch lalpata shrub; pl gr, rs exotic o gmh 6042 e. thymifolia l. swetkerui herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs exotic m gmh 6120 e. tirucalli l. narasij shrub; pl hs, rs exotic m, o mar 5531 e. tithymaloides l. berachita herb, er; w gr, hs, rs native he, m mar 5631 220 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse e. trigona mill. tripokkhi chita shrub, pl gr, hs native o gmh 6163 jatropha curcas l.2 bherenda shrub; pl fl, rs exotic he, m mar 5564 j. gossypiifolia l. lalbherenda shrub; w fl, rs exotic he, m mar 5516 j. podagrica hook. bagbherenda shrub; pl gr exotic o gmh 6064 macaranga denticulata (blume) müll. arg.2 rata bura tree, m; w hls, sj native fw, m mar 5505 m. indica wight deshibura tree, s; hls, sj, wl native fw mar 5544 mallotus nudiflorus (l.) kulju & welzen latim tree, l; w fl, rs native m, t mar 5596 m. philippensis (lam.) müll. arg. sinduri tree, s; w fm, hls, hs native m, t sss 4823 manihot esculenta crantz1, 2 kassava tree, s; pl hls, hlt, rs exotic ed, m sss 5004 ricinus communis l.2 bherenda shrub; w fl, hs exotic m, oy sss 4569 suregada multiflora (a. juss.) baill. ban naringa tree, s; w hlt, wl native fw, m mar 5563 tragia involucrata l. bichutilata herb, cl; w fm, sj, wl native m, po gmh 6109 trewia polycarpa benth. & hook.f. pitali tree, m; w fl, rs, wtl native fw, m gmh 6081 phyllanthaceae martinov antidesma acidum retz. multa shrub; w hls, fm native fw, m mar 5506 a. ghaesembilla gaertn.2 khudijam tree, s; w hlt, sj, wl native fw, m mar 5546 a. roxburghii wall. ex tul. boro shialboka shrub; w hls, sj native m gmh 6021 aporosa wallichii hook.f. kokra tree, l; w hlt, sj, wl native fw, m mar 5571 breynia retusa (dennst.) alston silpati shrub; w fm, rs, sj native fw, m gmh 6107 b. vitis-idaea (burm. f.) c.e.c. fisch. vita salpoti shrub; w sj, wl native fw, m sss 4299 baccaurea ramiflora lour. latkan tree, m; pl gr, hs native fr, dy sss 4178 bridelia retusa (l.) a. juss.1 kata kushi tree, m; w fm, hls, rs native fw, m sss 4966 b. stipularis (l.) blume2 pat khowi shrub; w fm, rs, sj native fw, m mar 5511 b. tomentosa blume khoi tree, s; w fm, sj native fw, m mar 5507 flueggea virosa (roxb. ex willd.) royle khaukra shrub; w sj, wl native fw, m gmh 6121 glochidion heyneanum (wight & arn.) wight kechua tree, l; w fm, rs native m gmh 6130 g. lanceolarium (roxb.) voigt anguti tree, s; pl fm, rs native dy gmh 6022 g. multiloculare (rottler ex willd.) voigt2 paniatori shrub; w sj, rs native m mar 5536 phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels arboroi tree, s; pl hs exotic fr, m sss 4982 p. emblica l.2 amloki tree, s; pl hs, rs native fr, m sss 5268 p. niruri l. bhuiamla herb, er; w af, fl, gl exotic dy, m sss 5177 p. reticulatus poir.1, 2 chitki shrub; w fl, sj native dy, m sss 5166 p. urinaria l. kalochitki herb, er; w fl, gl native m sss 5175 p. virgatus g. forst.1 vui chitki shrub; w fl, gl native m mar 5565 putranjivaceae endl. putranjiva roxburghii wall. jiapati tree, l; w rs, wl native fw, m, t mar 5587 rhamnaceae juss. gouania leptostachya dc. harjengagota shrub, sc; w hls, sj, wl native fw, m mar 5611 ziziphusfuniculosa buch.-ham. ex m.a. lawson bon boguri shrub, sc; w sj native fw, m mar 5503 z. mauritiana lam. boroi tree, m; w hs, wl native fr, m sss 5264 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 221 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse z. oenoplia (l.) mill. banboroi shrub, sc; w hlt, sj, wl native fw, m gmh 6122 z. rugosa lam.2 jongliboroi shrub, sc; w hlt, sj native fw, m mar 5632 leeaceae dumort. leea aequata l. kakjangha shrub; w hls, sj, wl native m mar 5513 l. indica (burm. f.) merr. kurkurjihwa shrub; w hls, sj, wl native fw, m sss 5163 vitaceae juss. ampelocissus barbata (wall.) planch. jharila herb, cl; w sj, wl native m sss 5192 a. latifolia (roxb.) planch. angurlata herb, cl; w wl native m mar 5543 causonis japonica (thunb.) raf. golgotilata herb, cl; w fl, fm, sj native m mar 5566 c. trifolia (l.) mabb. & j. wen anallata herb, cl; w sj, wl native lf, m mar 5585 cayratia pedata (lam.) gagnep. golgotilata herb, cl; w fm, sj, wl native m gmh 7111 cissus adnata roxb. bhatia lata herb, cl; w sj, wl native m gmh 6309 c. assamica (m. a. lawson) craib. angurlata herb, cl; w fm, sj native m sss 4970 c. quadrangularis l. harjora herb, cl; w hs, rs native m sss 5159 c. repanda (wight & arn.) vahl agrorida herb, cl; w fm, sj native m sss 5245 tetrastigma angustifolium (roxb.) planch. nekungriubi herb, cl; w sj, wl native m mar 5567 t. leucostaphylum (dennst.) alston horinalata herb, cl; w sj, wl native m sss 5158 t. serrulatum (roxb.) planch. koratilata herb, cl; w sj, wl native m mar 5588 vitis vinifera l. angur herb, cl; cv hs exotic fr sss 5272 malpighiaceae juss. galphimia gracilis bartl. swarnajhara shrub; pl gr native o mar 5762 malpighia coccigera l. khoiya shrub; pl gr native o sssf 4961 polygalaceae hoffmanns. & link polygala erioptera dc. teradudhi herb, er; w rs, hls native m mar 5532 sapindaceae juss. cardiospermum halicacabum l. lataphutki herb, cl; w fl, sj native m, vg gmh 6023 dimocarpus longan lour. ashphal tree, m; pl hs native fr gmh 6050 lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. ban horina tree, s; w fl, wl native fr, fw mar 5574 l. senegalensis (juss. ex poir.) leenh. gota horina shrub; w fl, sj, wl native fw, m mar 5598 litchi chinensis sonn. litchu tree, m; pl hs exotic fr sss 5156 sapindus saponaria l. ritha tee, s; pl gr native dy, m sss 4155 burseraceae kunth garuga pinnata roxb. jeolbhadi tree, l; pl fm, hls, wl native m, oy, t mar 5731 protium serratum (wall. ex colebr.) engl. gutgutya tree, l; pl fm, hls, wl native fr, m, t gmh 6097 anacardiaceae r.br. anacardium occidentale l. kajubadam tree, m; pl hs exotic m, nu sss 5054 lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr.2 jiga tree, s; w fl, rs, sj native he, gu sss 5153 mangifera indica l.2 aam tree, l; w gr, hs, wl exotic fr, t sss 5295 m. sylvatica roxb. uri aam tree, m; w hls, hs native fr, t mar 5638 spondias dulcis parkinson amrah tree, l; pl hs native fr mar 5523 222 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse s. pinnata (l.f.) kurz bon amrah tree, l; w hls, wl native fr, m gmh 6104 swintonia floribunda griff. civit tree, l; pl gr, hlt, wl native t gmh 6128 meliaceae juss. aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.parker2 pithraj tree, m; w hls, hs, wl native m, oy gmh 6065 azadirachta indica a. juss.2 neem tree, m; w hlt, rs, wl native m, t gmh 6124 chukrasia tabularis a. juss. chikrassi tree, l; pl hlt, gr, wl native t gmh 6092 khaya anthotheca (welw.) c. dc. lombu tree, l; pl hlt, rs exotic t mar 5508 melia azedarach l.2 ghora neem tree, m; pl hlt, rs, wl native m, t mar 5568 swietenia macrophylla king bara mehagani tree, l; pl hs, rs, wl exotic t sss 5151 s. mahagoni (l.) jacq.2 mehagani tree, l; pl hs, rs, wl exotic t sss 4150 toona ciliata m. roem. rongi rata tree, l; w hlt, rs, wl native dy, m, t sss 4109 rutaceae juss. aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa2 bel tree, m; w hs, rs, wl native fr, m sss 5148 citrus aurantiifolia (christm.) swingle lebu shrub; pl gr, hs native fr sss 4247 c. maxima (burm.) merr. jambura tree, s; pl gr, hs exotic fr mar 5600 c. medica l. satkora shrub; pl gr, hs native fr, m mar 5540 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) dc.1, 2 datmajoni shrub; w fl, sj, wl native fw, m mar 5512 limonia acidissima l. kadbel tree, m; pl hs, rs native fr, m sss 5146 micromelum minutum (g. forst.) wight & arn.2 koroiphula tree, m; w fm, hls, wl native fw, m mar 5637 murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. curry pata tree, s; w fl, wl native m, sp gmh 6071 m. paniculata (l.) jack kamini tree, s; pl rs, wl native m, o gmh 6095 zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc.2 bajna tree, m; w fl, hls, wl native m, oy gmh 6142 oxalidaceae r.br. averrhoa bilimbi l. bilimbi tree, s; pl gr, hs exotic fr, m sss 4149 a. carambola l. kamranga tree, s; pl gr, hs exotic fr, m sss 5143 oxalis corniculata l.2 amrul herb, pr; w af, gl, rs exotic m, vg sss 5182 o. debilis kunth golapiamrul herb, pr; w gr, hs exotic o gmh 6155 o. triangularis a. st.-hil. beguniamrul herb, pr; w gr, hs native o mar 5514 balsaminaceae a. rich. impatiens balsamina l. dopati herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic m, o sss 5059 araliaceae juss. polyscias fruticosa (l.) harms tikosayapata shrub; pl gr, hs exotic o mar 5576 p. scutellaria (burm. f.) fosberg saya pata shrub; pl gr, hs exotic o mar 5620 heteropanax fragrans (roxb.) seem. gutisuna tree, m; w fl, fm native m gmh 6136 heptapleurum arboricola hayata bahari schefflera shrub; pl gr, hs native m, o gmh 6024 apiaceae lindl. centella asiatica (l.) urb.1, 2 thankuni herb, cr; w af, fl, rs native m sss 5140 coriandrum sativum l. dhonia herb, er; cv af, fl, hs, exotic m, sp sss 5179 daucus carota l. gajor herb, er; cv af exotic vg sss 4138 eryngium foetidum l. bilatidhoneya herb, er; w af, hs exotic m, sp gmh 6123 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 223 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse hydrocotyle sibthorpioides lam. kutithankuni herb, cr; w fl, rs native m gmh 6138 oenanthe benghalensis benth. & hook.f. bandhonia herb, er; w fl, rs, wtl native m gmh 6173 gentianaceae juss. canscora alata (roth ex roem. & schult.) wall. dhankuni herb, er; w fl, rs native m mar 5612 apocynaceae juss. allamanda cathartica l. ghontaphul shrub; pl hs, rs exotic o mar 5589 alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br.2 chhatim tree, l; w rs, wl native m, t sss 5137 asclepias curassavica l. kakturi herb, er; w fl, rs, sj native m, o mar 5515 calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t. aiton1, 2 akondo shrub; w fl, rs native fb, m mar 5541 c. procera (aiton) w.t. aiton shdaakondo shrub; w fl, rs native fb, m gmh 6096 carissa carandas l. karamcha shrub; pl hs, sj native fr gmh 6141 cascabela thevetia (l.) lippold kolkeyphul tree, s; pl hs exotic m, o sss 4116 catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don noyantara herb, er; w hs, rs exotic m, o sss 5135 dischidia nummularia r.br. dischidia herb, cl; w op, wl native m, o sss 4134 gymnema acuminatum wall. kharalata shrub, sc; w fm, sj native m gmh 6172 hoya lanceolata wall. ex d. don futkilata herb, ps; w op, wl native fb, m gmh 6025 hemidesmus indicus (l.) r.br.2 anantomul herb, cl; w fl, gl native fb, m mar 5539 holarrhena antidysenterica (l.) wall. ex a. dc. kurchi tree, s; w fl, sj, wl native m mar 5551 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) w.t. aiton dudhialata herb, cl; w fl, sj, wl native fb, m gmh 6018 nerium oleander l. raktakarobi tree, s; pl hs, rs exotic m, o gmh 6189 plumeria alba l. shadakathgolap tree, m; pl hs, rs exotic m, o sss 5133 p. pudica jacq. nag dahur tree, s; pl gr native o sss 5234 p. rubra l. lal kathgolap tree, m; pl hs, rs exotic m, o sss 5289 tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r.br. ex roem & schult.1 tagar shrub; w rs, sj, wl native m, o sss 5270 telosma cordata (burm. f.) merr. kanjalata herb, cl; w sj, wl native m sss 5129 solanaceae juss. brunfelsia pauciflora (cham. & schltdl.) benth. brunfelsia shrub; pl gr, hs exotic o sss 5238 capsicum annuum l. morich herb, er; cv af, hs exotic sp mar 5644 cestrum nocturnum l. hasnahena shrub; pl hs exotic m, o gmh 6162 datura metel l. sadadhutra shrub; w fl, rs exotic m gmh 6139 nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv. ban tamak herb, er; w af, fl, rs exotic m sss 5127 petunia hybrida e. vilm. petunia herb, er; pl gr, hs native o sss 5319 physalis angulata l. ban tepari herb, er; w af, fl, rs exotic m sss 5256 solanum americanum mill titbegun herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic m mar 5518 s. lycopersicum l. tomato herb, pr; cv af exotic vg mar 5535 s. melongena l. begun shrub; w af, hs exotic vg mar 5594 s. nigrum l.1, 2 kakmachi herb, er; w fl, rs native m mar 5640 s. sisymbriifolium lam. kantabegun herb, pr; w fl, rs exotic m gmh 6076 s. torvum sw. gota begun shrub; w fl, sj, rs exotic m, vg gmh 6106 224 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse s. tuberosum l.2 golalu herb, pr; cv af exotic vg gmh 6165 s. violaceum ortega phutki begun shrub; w af, fl, rs native m gmh 6143 convolvulaceae juss. camonea umbellata (l.) a.r. simões & staples2 gorialata herb, cl; w fl, gl, rs exotic m, o sss 5233 c. vitifolia (burm.f.) a.r. simões & staples kormolata herb, cl; w fl, rs native m, o mar 5639 evolvulus nummularius (l.) l.1 bhui okra herb, cr; w fl, gl, rs exotic m, sb sss 5123 ipomoea alba l. dhudh kalmi herb, cl; w fl, wl exotic m, o sss 4958 i. aquatica forssk. kalmishak herb, cr; w af, wtl native vg sss 5212 i. batatas (l.) lam. misti alu herb, cr; cv af, hs exotic vg gmh 6066 i. carnea subsp. fistulosa (mart. ex choisy) d.f. austin1, 2 dholkalmi shrub; w fl, rs, wtl exotic he, sb gmh 6094 i. quamoclit l. kunjalata herb, cl; pl gr, hs native o mar 5590 merremia hederacea (burm.f.) hallier f. kaladana herb, cl; w fl, rs, sj native m mar 5569 cuscutaceae dumort. cuscuta chinensis lam. swarnalata herb, cl; w op native m sss 5141 c. reflexa roxb.2 aloklata herb, cl; w op native m gmh 6144 menyanthaceae dumort. nymphoides hydrophylla (lour.) kuntze chand mala herb, fr; w wtl native m mar 5522 n. indica (l.) kuntze panchuli mala herb, fr; w wtl native m, vg gmh 6125 hydroleaceae r.br. ex edwards hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl kasschera herb, pr; w wtl native m gmh 6148 boraginaceae juss. cordia dichotoma g. forst. bohola tree, m; w sj, wl native fw, m gmh 6177 heliotropium indicum l.2 hatisur herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m sss 5120 verbenaceae j. st.-hil. duranta erecta l. kata mehedi shrub; pl gr, rs exotic he, m sss 4957 lantana camara l.2 kutuskanta shrub; w rs, sj, wl exotic fw, m sss 5118 lippia alba (mill.) n.e.br. ex britton & p. wilson motka shrub; w fl, sj exotic m sss 4988 phyla nodiflora (l.) greene bhuiokra herb, cr; w fl, gl, rs native m sss 5116 lamiaceae martinov anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze.1 gobura herb, er; w fl, wl native m gmh 6140 callicarpa arborea roxb. bormala tree, m; w fl, sj native m mar 5577 c. macrophylla vahl1 borobormala tree, m; w fl, hls, sj native m gmh 6157 clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhati shrub; w fl, sj, wl native m mar 5537 c. infortunatum l.2 bhat shrub; w fl, rs, wl native m sss 5115 coleus amboinicus lour. pathor chur herb, er; pl gr, rs, hs native o sss 4954 c. scutellarioides (l.) benth. coleus herb, er; pl gr, rs, hs exotic o sss4443 gmelina arborea roxb. gamari tree, l; pl rs, wl native m, t sss 4112 hyptis capitata jacq. mastak tokma herb, er; w fl, rs, sj exotic m sss4139 leucas cephalotes (roth) spreng. bara halkus herb, er; w fl, rs, sj native m gmh 6159 l. lavandulifolia sm.1 shetodron herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m gmh 6160 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 225 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse leonurus sibiricus l. roktodron herb, er; w fl, rs native m gmh 6163 mentha spicata l. pudina pata herb, pr; cv gr, hs exotic m mar 5519 mesosphaerum suaveolens (l.) kuntze1, 2 tokma herb, er; w fl, rs, sj exotic m mar 5641 ocimum basilicum l. babuitulsi herb, er; w fl, hs native m sss 5107 o. tenuiflorum l.1, 2 tulshi herb, er; w fl, hs native m sss 4169 pogostemon auricularius (l.) hassk. aripachuli herb, er; w af, fl, hs native m sss 5105 premna bengalensis c.b. clarke2 koya jarul tree, m; pl fm, wl native t mar 5592 p. esculenta roxb. lalong shrub; w fl, sj, wl native m mar 5642 salvia plebeia r.br. bhuitulsi herb, er; w fl, fm, rs native m gmh 6166 s. splendens sellow ex schult. lal sagi herb, er; pl hs, rs exotic o gmh 6171 tectona grandis l.f. shegun tree, l; pl rs, wl native t sss 5104 vitex negundo l.1 nishinda shrub; w fl, sj, rs native m sss 4406 v. peduncularis wall. ex schauer2 goda tree, m; pl gr, wl native t sss 5106 volkameria inermis l. sitka vat shrub, li; w gr, rs exotic m, o mar 5550 plantaginaceae juss. bacopa monnieri (l.) wettst. brammi herb, pr; w fl, wtl native m, vg mar 5528 mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small micardan herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs exotic m gmh 6175 scoparia dulcis l.2 mishridada herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic m sss 5101 oleaceae hoffmanns. & link jasminum multiflorum (burm.f.) andrews jui shrub, sc; pl gr, hs native m, o sss 4089 j. sambac (l.) aiton beli shrub; pl gr, hs exotic m, o gmh 6170 j. scandens (retz.) vahl jongli jui shrub; pl gr, hs native m gmh 6158 nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. sheuli tree, s; pl hs, rs native m, o mar 5643 linderniaceae borsch, kai müll. & eb. fisch. bonnaya antipoda (l.) druce. zaighas herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m mar 5572 b. prostra (colsm.) spreng. bhuipapri herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m mar 5593 lindernia procumbens (krock.) borbás bakpuspa herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m gmh 6149 l. rotundifolia (l.) alston1 tan chapra herb, pr; w fl, rs, wtl native ap, m gmh 6152 torenia anagallis (burm.fil.) wannan, w.r. barker & y.s. liang panighas herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m sss 5086 t. crustacea (l.) cham. & schltdl.1 chapraghas herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m mar 5580 t. diffusa d. don ushatoren herb, pr; w fl, rs native o mar 5604 t. violacea (azaola ex blanco) pennell beguni chapra herb, er; w gr native o mar 5525 yamazakia pusilla (willd.) w.r. barker, y.s. liang & wannan pusichapra herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m mar 5581 mazaceaereveal mazus pumilus (burm. f.) steenis tutra herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m sss 5281 acanthaceae juss. andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) nees kalomegh herb, er; w wl native m sss 5081 asystasia gangetica (l.) t. anderson jongli basak herb, er; w fl, rs native m mar 5524 barleria cristata l. janti herb, er; pl gr, hs native m, o mar 5627 hemigraphis hirta (vahl) t. anderson buripana herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m gmh 6154 hygrophila erecta (burm.f.) hochr filareck herb, er; w wtl native m gmh 6174 226 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse h. phlomoides nees gokul kanta herb, er; w fl native m gmh 6178 h. polysperma (roxb.) t. anderson alai kalai herb, pr; w fl, wtl native m mar 5582 justicia adhatoda l. basok shrub; w gr, hs, rs native he, m mar 5605 j. diffusa willd. pitapapra herb, pr; w fl, sj native m mar 5526 j. gendarussa burm.f.2 jagotmadan herb, er; w fl, rs, sj native he, m mar 5649 lepidagathis incurva buch-ham. ex d. don2 karuggathis herb, pr; w fl, rs, sj native m gmh 6196 nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng.2 paramul herb, pr; w fl, gl, wl native m gmh 6070 phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet2 bhuibashak herb, pr; w sj, wl native m gmh 6179 pseuderanthemum maculatum (g. lodd.) i.m. turner unknown shrub; pl gr, hs exotic o gmh 6195 phlogacanthus thyrsiformis (roxb. ex hardw.) mabb. agnibashak shrub; pl hs, rs native o, m gmh 6129 rungia pectinata (l.) nees2 pindi herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native p sss 5067 ruellia tuberosa l. chotpotey herb, er; w fl, wl exotic m, o sss 5064 thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottl.) roxb. nil lata herb, cl; w fm, wl native m sss 4069 t. mysorensis (wight) t. anderson basharlata herb, cl; pl gr exotic o sss 5061 strobilanthes scabert. anderson2 khaskhasabila herb, er; w fl, rs native m sss 5056 pedaliaceae r.br. sesamum indicum l. til herb, er; cv af, rs native m, oy sss 5055 bignoniaceae juss. oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz kanaidingi tree, m; w hls, sj, wl native dy, m mar 5626 stereospermum chelonoides (l.f.) dc. parul tree, l; pl hlt, wl native m gmh 6180 s. colais (buch-ham. ex dillwyn) mabb. dharmara tree, l; pl hlt, wl native t gmh 6151 tecoma stans (l.) juss. ex kunth haimanti tree, s; pl gr, rs exotic o sss 4959 lentibulariaceae rich. utricularia aurea lour. patajhajhi herb, sm; w wtl native m mar 5595 sphenocleaceae t. baskerv. sphenoclea azeylanica gaertn. jhilmorich herb, er; w wtl native m mar 5617 rubiaceae juss. catunaregam spinosa (thunb.) tirveng. man kanta shrub; w hls, sj, wl native fw, m mar 5521 coffea benghalensis b. heyne ex schult. bangla coffee shrub; w sj native m, o mar 5645 dentella repens (l.) j.r. forst. & g. forst. bhuipat herb, pr; w af, fl, gl native m mar 5547 gardenia jasminoides j. ellis gondhoraj shrub; pl gr, hs native m, o sss 5043 hymenodictyon orixense (roxb.) mabb. bhuikadam tree, l; pl gr native m sss 5111 hyptianthera stricta (roxb. ex sm.) wight & arn. unknown tree, s; w hls, rs native fw sss 5041 ixora coccinea l. rangon shrub; pl gr, rs native o gmh 6181 i. cuneifolia roxb.2 janglirangon shrub; w sj, wl native m, o gmh 6193 i. pavetta andr. banrangon shrub; w sj, wl native m, o gmh 6197 leptopetalum biflorum (l.) neupane & n. wikstr. bhuipapra herb, pr; w fl, gl native m gmh 6209 meyna spinosa roxb. ex link katai shrub; w sj, wl native m sss 4990 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 227 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse morinda angustifolia roxb. pandusi shrub; w sj, wl native m mar 5811 mussaenda erythrophylla schumach. & thonn. lal mussenda shrub; pl hs exotic o mar 5651 m. philippica a. rich. mussenda shrub; pl hs exotic o mar 5677 m. roxburghii hook.f.2 silchauri shrub; w hls, sj native m sss5036 mitracarpus hirtus (l.) dc. tupikadam herb, er; w rs, fl, gl exotic m mar 5794 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadam tree, l; w rs, wl native m, t sss 5031 oldenlandia corymbosa l.1 khet papra herb, pr; w af, fl, gl native dy, m sss 4629 o. diffusa (willd.) roxb. fussa papra herb, pr; w af, fl, gl native m gmh 6198 ophiorrhiza rugosa wall. ophiorrhiza herb, er; w hls, rs native m gmh 6208 paederia foetida l. gandhabaduli herb, cl; pl hs, sj native m mar 5652 scleromitrion diffusum (willd.) r.j. wang panki herb, pr; w fl, fm, rs native m mar 5724 s. verticillatum (l.) r.j. wang notapapra herb, pr; w af, fl, gl native m mar 5686 spermacoce articularis l.f.1, 2 baghajangla herb, pr; w fl, rs, wl native m sss 5024 s. exilis (l.o. williams) c.d. adams ex w.c. burger & c.m. taylor baghajangla herb, pr; w fl, rs, wl native m sss 5055 asteraceae bercht. & j. presl acilepis divergen (dc.) h. rob. & skvarla bichutivernon herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic m gmh 6202 acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen.2 surjakonnya herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m gmh 6207 ageratum conyzoides l.2 fulkuri herb, er; w fl, rs, wl exotic m mar 5678 a. houstonianum mill. pahari ochunti herb, er; w fl, rs native m mar 5701 bidens pilosa l. bidenlosa herb, er; w gr, rs native o sss 4035 blumea lacera (burm.f.) dc.2 shialmutra herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native m sss 5017 b. membranacea dc. kukurshinga herb, er; w fl, rs native m gmh 6203 b. oxyodonta dc. katapata herb, er; w fl, rs native m gmh 6182 calendula officinalis l. calendula herb, er; pl gr exotic o gmh 6188 centipeda minima (l.) a. braun & asch. nakchikni herb, pr; w af, fl, rs native m gmh 6206 chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m. king & h. rob.2 assamlata herb, er; w fl, fm, wl exotic m sss 5028 chrysanthemum indicum l. chandramallika herb, er; pl gr, hs native o sss 4020 conyza semipinnatifida wall. ex dc. coniza herb, er; w fl, rs native m gmh 6161 cosmos bipinnatus cav. cosmos herb, er; pl hs, rs exotic o sss 4503 c. sulphureus cav. komola cosmos herb, er; pl hs, rs exotic o sss 4504 cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h. rob.2 kukshim herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native m sss 4509 dahlia imperialis roezl ex ortgies dalia herb, er; pl hs, rs exotic o sss 4527 eclipta prostrata (l.) l. kalokeshi herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs exotic dy, m mar 5702 elephantopus scaber l.2 hastipadi herb, er; w gl, rs, wl native m mar 5679 emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. mechitra herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic m mar 5795 enydra fluctuans lour. helencha herb, pr; w wtl native m, vg sss 4019 glebionis coronaria (l.) cass. ex spach chandramallika herb, er; pl hs, rs exotic o sss 5044 gnaphalium polycaulon pers. bara kamra herb, er; w fl, gl native m sss 4928 grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. namuti herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m sss 4944 gymnanthemum amygdalinum (delile) sch.bip. ex walp. herb, er; pl hs native m mar 5653 228 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse helianthus annuus l. surjomukhi herb, er; pl af, hs exotic o, oy sss 5011 launaea aspleniifolia (willd.) hook.f. tikchana herb, er; w fl, rs native m gmh 6184 l. sarmentosa (willd.) sch.bip. ex kuntze menthosdana herb, pr; w fl, gl native m gmh 6192 mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l. rob.2 assamlata herb, cl; w sj, fm, wl native m mar 5681 parthenium hysterophorus l. parthenium herb, er; w fl, rs exotic m mar 5707 pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (l.) hilliard & b.l. burtt barakamra herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native m gmh 6194 pseudelephantopus spicatus (b. juss. ex aubl.) c.f. baker kukurgihba herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic m gmh 6191 pseudogynoxys chenopodioides (kunth) cabrera agnilata herb, cl; pl gr exotic o mar 5675 sonchusoleraceus l. titlia herb, er; w fl, rs exotic m mar 5664 sphaeranthus africanus l. gangasag herb, pr; w af, fl, rs native m gmh 6289 sphagneticola trilobata (l.) pruski latadeji herb, pr; w fl, rs exotic gm, o mar 5712 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn.2 nakphul herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic m sss 4925 tagetes erecta l. genda herb, er; pl hs, rs exotic m, o sss 5003 tarlmounia elliptica (dc.) h. rob., s.c. keeley, skvarla & r.chan akorkata herb, cl; pl gr exotic he sss 5072 tridax procumbens (l.) l. tridhara herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic m sss 5001 xanthium strumarium l. ghagra herb, er; w af, fl, rs exotic m, vg mar 5772 youngia japonica (l.) dc. youngaful herb, er; w fl, gl native m gmh 6293 zinnia peruviana (l.) l. zinia herb, er; pl gr exotic o gmh 6212 liliopsida batsch alismataceae vent. limnocharis flava (l.) buchenau letuce pana herb, er; w wtl exotic m, vg sss 5201 sagittaria guayanensis kunth kauathukri herb, sm; w wtl exotic lf mar 5806 s. sagittifolia l. chotokut herb, er; w af, wtl exotic o, lf sss 5260 hydrocharitaceae juss. hydrilla verticillata (l.f.) royle kureli herb, sm; w wtl native ap, m gmh 6253 najas indica (willd.) cham. deshi jhaji herb, sm; w wtl native ap, gm gmh 6291 nechamandra alternifolia (roxb. ex wight) thwaites rasna jhajhi herb, sm; w wtl native ap, gm mar 5777 ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panikala herb, sm; w wtl native m, vg sss 5220 vallisneria spiralis l. patseola herb, sm; w wtl native ap, m mar 5727 aponogetonaceae planch. aponogeton appendiculatus h. bruggen ghechu herb, sm; w wtl native ap, m sss 5241 a. natans (l.) engl. & k. krause ghechu herb, sm; w wtl native ap, m sss 5258 potamogetonaceae bercht. & j. presl potamogeton crispus l. patazhanchi herb, sm; w wtl native m, wp gmh 6213 iridaceae bercht. & j. presl iris domestica (l.) goldblatt & mabb. basbichandi herb, er; pl gr native o mar 5797 arecaceae bercht. & j. presl areca catechu l. supari palm; pl hs, rs exotic dy, m sss 5202 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 229 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse borassus flabellifer l.2 tal palm; pl hs, rs native fb, ju, m mar 5810 calamus erectus roxb. kodom bet palm; plw gr, fm native hc ssss 5221 c. tenuis roxb. sanchi bet palm; pl fl, hls, sj native hc, m gmh 6214 caryota urens l. chau palm; pl hls, rs, wl exotic m, o gmh 6233 chamaedorea elegans mart. supari palm palm; pl gr, hs, rs exotic fb, o gmh 6254 cocos nucifera l.2 narikel palm; pl hs, rs exotic fb, fr mar 5657 dypsis lutescens (h. wendl.) beentje & j. dransf. areca palm palm; pl gr, hs exotic o mar 5709 elaeis guineensis jacq. oil palm palm; pl hs, rs exotic m, oy mar 5753 livistona chinensis (jacq.) r.br. ex mart. china palm palm; pl gr, rs exotic fb, hc mar 5781 phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb.2 deshi khejur palm; w fl, rs native ju, m sss 5257 rhapis excelsa (thunb.) a. henry gurital palm; pl hs exotic o mar 5687 roystonea regia (kunth) o.f. cook bottol palm palm; pl gr, rs exotic o, tm gmh 6273 pandanaceae r.br. benstonea foetida (roxb.) callm. & buerki keya kanta shrub; w fl, hls native m, o mar 5788 pandanus amaryllifolius roxb. ex lindl. polaupata herb, er; pl fl, hs exotic m, pf sss 5203 araceae juss. anthurium andraeanum linden ex andré anthurium herb, er; pl gr native o mar 5733 alocasia cucullata (lour.) g. don bishkachu herb, er; w hls, wl native m mar 5790 a. fornicata (roxb.) schott salukachu herb, er; w fl, wl native m gmh 6231 a. macrorrhizos (l.) g. don mankachu herb, er; cv fl, hs exotic vg gmh 6215 amorphophallus bulbifer (schott) blume jungle ol herb, er; w fl, hls native vg gmh 6234 a. paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson olkachu herb, er; cv af, hs native vg gmh 6292 caladium bicolor (aiton) vent. dirangakachu herb, er; pl hs exotic o sss 5222 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott1 kachu herb, er; w hls, wtl native vg sss 5204 dieffenbachia seguine (jacq.) schott dieffenbachia herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic o sss 5253 epipremnum aureum (linden & andré) g.s. bunting money plant herb, cl; w hs, wl exotic o sss 5210 lasia spinosa (l.) thwaites katakachu herb, er; w fl, hs, wtl native m, vg mar 5661 lemna minor l. sujipana herb, ff; w wtl native ff, wp sss 5320 l. perpusilla torr. khudipana herb, ff; w wtl exotic ff, wp gmh 6216 monstera deliciosa liebm. bishalpatri herb, cl; pl gr, hs exotic o gmh 6256 pistia stratiotes l. topapana herb, ff; w wtl native m gmh 6299 pothos scandens l. hatilata herb, cr; w op, wl native m sss 5205 scindapsus officinalis (roxb.) schott gaj-pipul herb, cl; w op, wl native m mar 5715 syngonium podophyllum schott podolatakachu herb, pr; w fl, hs, sj exotic o mar 5808 typhonium flagelliforme (g. lodd.) blume ghechu herb, er; w af, fl, rs native m sss 5228 t. trilobatum (l.) schott ghetkachu herb, er; w fl, rs native m, vg sss 5267 xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott dudhkachu herb, er; w fm, hs, rs exotic m, vg mar 5756 commelinaceae mirb. commelina benghalensis l. kanshira herb, cr; w af, fl, rs native dy, m sss 5308 230 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse c. diffusa burm.f. kanshira herb, cr; w af, fl, rs native dy, m sss 5187 c. erecta l. jatakanchira herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic m mar 5655 c. longifolia lam. panikanshira herb, cr; w fl, gl, rs native m mar 5751 cyanotis axillaris (l.) d. don ex sweet baghanulla herb, pr; w af, fl, gl native m gmh 6229 c. cristata (l.) d. don tata kansira herb, cr; w fl, gl native m gmh 6250 murdannia blumei (hassk.) brenan nil murdan herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m gmh 6217 m. loriformis (hassk.) r.s. rao & kammathy lori murdan herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native m gmh 6232 m. nudiflora (l.) brenan1 kureli herb, cr; w fl, hls, rs native m sss 5223 m. vaginata (l.) g. brückn. dhaka murdan herb, pr; w fl, rs native m gmh 6252 tradescantia pallida (rose) d.r. hunt. begunipindo herb, pr; pl gr, hs exotic m, o sss 5284 t. spathacea sw. chamapindo herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic m, o mar 5734 t. zebrina bosse zebrapindo herb, pr; pl gr, hs exotic o mar 5798 cyperaceae juss. bulbostylis barbata (rottb.) c.b. clarke bulbobata herb, er; w gl native lf, sb gmh 6271 cyperus alternifolius l. jora ghasi herb, er; w fl, rs exotic o gmh 6251 c. babakan steud. baba ghasi herb, er; w af, fl, hls native lf mar 5662 c. brevifolius (rottb.) hassk.1 shabujnirbisa herb, er; w af, fl, gl native lf, m gmh 5635 c. compressus l. chancha herb, er; w af, fl, gl native m sss 5206 c. cuspidatus kunth sagarmuthi herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native m sss 5301 c. cyperoides (l.) kuntze2 bara guthubi herb, er; w fl, rs, wtl native m gmh 6218 c. difformis l. behua ghasi herb, er; w af, fl native m gmh 6235 c. digitatus roxb. hath ghasi herb, er; w wtl native m mar 5763 c. eragrostis lam. bada ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic lf, sb gmh 6221 c. iria l.2 barachucha herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native m, lf sss 5230 c. mindorensis (steud.) huygh2 subashinirbisa herb, er; w af, fl, gl native lf, m sss 5274 c. pangorei rottb. madurkathi herb, er; w fl, wtl native hc, lf mar 5654 c. rotundus l.2 nagarmutha herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native hc, m sss 5312 c. sanguinolentus vahl paikramghasi herb, er; w gl, wtl native sb mar 5680 c. tenuiculmis boeckeler tonimutha herb, er; w wtl native lf mar 5726 c. unioloides r.br. paikolghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native lf, sb sss 5796 eleocharis dulcis (burm.f.) trin. exhensch. mishtighasi herb, er; w fl, rs native m, vg mar 5656 fimbristylis acuminata vahl chosafimbry herb, er; w gl native lf, sb sss 5207 f. bisumbellata (forssk.) bubani dulafimbry herb, er; w gl native sb sss 5303 f. dichotoma (l.) vahl bara nirbishi herb, er; w rs, wtl native gm, sb sss 5255 f. disticha boeckeler tika fimbry herb, er; w gl native lf, sb mar 5728 f. ovata (burm. f.) j. kern marmari herb, er; w gl, wtl native lf, sb gmh 6288 f. quinquangularis (vahl) kunth pachkonafibmry herb, er; w gl native lf, sb sss 5276 fuirena ciliaris (l.) roxb. poshmighas herb, er; w fl, gl, wtl native lf mar 5767 f. umbellata rottb. chatighasi herb, er; w gl, wtl native lf sss 5315 hypolytrum nemorum (vahl) spreng. unknown herb, er; w gl, fl native lf mar 5658 schoenoplectiella articulata (l.) lye chechra herb, er; w af, fl, wtl native lf, m mar 5706 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 231 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse s. juncoides (roxb.) lye chechra herb, er; w fl, wtl native lf gmh 6242 s. supina (l.) lye supipotpoti ghas herb, er; w af, fl, wtl native lf, m mar 5729 scleria biflora roxb. riaflora ghasi herb, er; w gl native lf gmh 6219 poaceae barnhart arundinella bengalensis (spreng.) druce1 ganga bena herb, er; w gl, rs native lf mar 5802 axonopus compressus (sw.) p. beauv. carpet ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native lf, sb sss 5307 bambusa balcooa roxb.2 borak bans bamboo; w wl native hc, vg mar 5717 b. nutans wall. ex munro mahal bans bamboo; w wl native pp, tm mar 5758 b. tulda roxb. mirtinga bamboo; w hs, wl native hc, pp mar 5786 bothriochloa bladhii (retz.) s.t. blake gandhagourni herb, pr; w gl, hls native lf, sb gmh 6276 brachiaria distachya (l.) stapf cori ghas herb, cr; w gl, rs native lf, sb gmh 6328 cenchrus purpureus (schumach.) morrone nepiar ghas herb, er; cv af, rs exotic lf gmh 6211 centotheca lappacea (l.) desv.1 centu ghas herb, er; w hls, wtl native lf gmh 6258 chloris barbata sw. bata ghas herb, er; w af, fl, rs native lf gmh 6317 c. virgata sw. anguli ghas herb, er; w af, fl, rs exotic lf gmh 6243 chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. premkanta herb, er; w gl, rs native hc, sb sss 5209 c. zizanioides (l.) roberty bena herb, er; w fl, hls, rs exotic m, sb sss 4912 coix lacryma-jobi l. tasbi herb, er; w fl, wtl native hc, m sss 5313 cymbopogon citratus (dc.) stapf lemon ghas herb, er; cv gr, hs native m, sp mar 5665 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers.2 durba ghas herb, pr; w af, fl, gl native m, sb sss 4950 cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf shonpatacocca herb, er; w gl, rs, wl native lf mar 5713 dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. kakpaya herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native lf, sb mar 5716 dendrocalamus giganteus munro budum bans bamboo; pl gr, hs exotic o, tm mar 5666 dichanthium annulatum (forssk.) stapf loari herb, er; w fl, gl, hls native lf gmh 6281 d. caricosum (l.) a. camus detara herb, er; w gl, hls, rs native lf gmh 6294 digitaria ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native gm, sb sss 5224 d. sanguinalis (l.) scop. mukorjoli herb, er; w fl, fm, gl native lf mar 5689 echinochloa colona (l.) link. shama ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl native lf, sb sss 5311 e. crus-galli (l.) p. beauv. barashama ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl native lf, m sss 4981 eleusine indica (l.) gaertn.1, 2 malankuri herb, er; w af, fl, gl native m, sb sss 5233 eragrostis ciliaris (l.) r.br. chhotchiraghas herb, er; w fl, gl native lf sss 5489 e. tenella (l.) p. beauv. ex roem. & schult konighas herb, pr; w gl native lf, sb gmh 6277 e. tremula hochst.ex steud. chiranula herb, pr; w fl, gl, rs native lf, tm gmh 6295 e. unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud.2 chiraghas herb, pr; w gl native lf, sb gmh 6314 eriochloa barbatus (trin.) s. yadav & m.r. almeida motanol herb, pr; w gl exotic lf, sb gmh 6326 heteropogon contortus (l.) p. beauv. ex roem. & schult. assegai ghas herb, er; w fm, wl native lf mar 5708 hemarthria protensa steud. chaila herb, er; w gl, rs, wtl native lf, sb mar 5684 hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees ex wight & arn. jongli dhan herb, er; w wtl native lf, m mar 5799 isachne globosa (thunb.) kuntze isacdana herb, er; w fl, gl native lf, sb mar 5667 imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch.1 chhan herb, er; w fl, gr, rs exotic sb, tm sss 5225 232 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse leersia hexandra sw. arali herb, pr; w wtl native lf sss 5302 leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees fulka ghas herb, er; w af native lf sss 4952 lophatherum gracile brongn. lophail ghas herb, er; w fl, fm, hls native lf gmh 6220 narenga porphyrocoma (hance) bor maja ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native sb gmh 6260 oplismenus burmanni (retz.) p. beauv. gohur herb, er; w fl, rs, wl native lf gmh 6278 o. compositus (l.) p. beauv.1 gohur herb, er; w fl, rs, wl native lf sss 4980 oryza. sativa l. dhan herb, er; cv af exotic ed, lf sss 5211 panicum brevifolium l.2 bashpati ghas herb, er; w af, gl, rs native lf, sb sss 5314 p. incomtum trin. panick ghas herb, er; w fl, gl native lf mar 5663 p. luzonense j. presl panicombo herb, er; w fl, gl native lf mar 5711 p. maximum jacq. gini ghas herb, er; w wtl native lf mar 5801 p. notatum retz.1, 2 panita ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native lf gmh 6222 p. paludosum roxb.2 borali herb, er; w wtl native lf gmh 6262 p. repens l.2 dhani ghas herb, er; w af, fl, gl native lf, sb sss 5226 p. sarmentosum roxb. voya ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rds native lf gmh 6239 paspalum conjugatum p.j. bergius moisshya ghas herb, er; w gl, hs, rs exotic m, sb sss 5306 p. distichum l. chhotogoicha herb, er; w gl, rs, wtl exotic lf, sb sss 4972 p. scrobiculatum l. bishmona ghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native lf, sb gmh 6226 perotis indica (l.) kuntze perotghas herb, er; w gl native lf, sb gmh 6301 phragmites karka (retz.) trin. ex steud. nalkhagra herb, er; w rb, wtl native hc, sb gmh 6320 phyllostachys aurea rivière & c. rivière sarna bans bamboo; pl gr exotic hc gmh 6327 rottboellia cochinchinensis (lour.) clayton bara swati herb, pr; w gl native lf mar 5782 schizachyrium brevifolium (sw.) nees ex buse tush ghas herb, er; w hls, fl native lf mar 5809 sclerostachya fusca (roxb.) a. camus syn. miscanthus fuscus (roxb.) benth. unknown herb, er; w fl, gl native lf mar 5789 saccharum officinarum l. akh, ikkhu herb, er; cv af, gr, hs exotic ju, m sss 4962 s. spontaneum l. kash herb, er; w fl, fm, rs native sb, tm mar 5737 sacciolepis indica (l). chase1 siltatto ghas herb, er; w wtl native lf mar 5765 setaria flavida (retz.) veldkamp2 karingghas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native lf, sb gmh 6238 s. pumila (poir.) roem. & schult. haldekawn herb, er; w fl, gl native lf sss 4973 s. viridis (l.) p. beauv. kawn herb, er; cv af, rs native lf gmh 6260 sporobolus diandrus (retz.) p. beauv. benajoni herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native m, tm gmh 6270 s. indicus (l.) r.br. ailbelajonighas herb, er; w fl, gl, rs exotic m, tm sss 4984 s. virginicus (l.) kunth jholadurba herb, pr; w wtl native lf mar 5735 thysanolaena latifolia (roxb. ex hornem.) honda phuljharu herb, er; w rs, sj native lf, tm sss 5248 urochloaapanicoides p. beauv. kuridana herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native sb gmh 6275 u. distachya (l.) nguyen chri ghas herb, er; w fl, gl native sb gmh 6237 u. kurzii (hook.f.) t.q. nguyen kurokti ghas herb, cr; w gl, rs native lf gmh 6263 zea mays l. bhutta herb, er; pl af exotic ed, lf sss 5316 bromeliaceae juss. ananas comosus (l.) merr. anaras herb, er; cv gr, hls, hs exotic fr, m sss 5309 an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 233 scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse strelitziaceae hutch. ravenala madagascariensis sonn. panthopadap tree, s; pl gr, hs exotic o mar 5779 heliconiaceae nakai heliconia metallica planch. & linden ex hook. swarga pakhi herb, er; pl gr exotic o sss 5271 h. rostrata ruiz & pav. chingrinomi herb, er; pl gr exotic o sss 5298 musaceae juss. musa acuminata colla aittakola herb, er; w fl, hs, rs native fr, vg gmh 6283 m. paradisiaca l. kachkola herb, er; w fl, hs, rs exotic fr, vg mar 5765 typhaceae juss. typha elephantina roxb. hogla pata herb, er; w wtl native ed, tm gmh 6267 zingiberaceae martinov alpinia nigra (gaertn.) burtt tara herb, er; w fl, wtl native m mar 5785 curcuma longa l. halud herb, er; cv fl, hs exotic m, sp sss 4953 c. zedoaria (christm.) rosc.1, 2 sathi herb, er; w fl, gl, rs native m, pf sss 5236 hedychium coronarium j. könig dolonchapa herb, er; cv hs, rs exotic m, o gmh 6303 kaempferia galanga l. chandumula herb, er; pl gr, hs native m, co sss 5299 zingiber montanum (j.koenig) link ex a. dietr. bon ada herb, er; w fl, hls native m mar 5668 z. officinale roscoe ada herb, er; cv fl, hs exotic m, sp sss 5294 z. zerumbet (l.) roscoe ex sm. mohaboribotch herb, er; w fl, hs native m mar 5714 costaceae nakai cheilocostus speciosus (j. koenig) c.d. specht2 keomul herb, er; w fl, sj native m sss 4955 costus woodsonii maas lipistic plant herb, er; cv gr exotic o sss 4987 cannaceae juss. canna glauca l. halud kolabati herb, er; cv gr, hs exotic o mar 5669 c. indica l. kolabati herb, er; w fl, hs, rs exotic m, o mar 5738 marantaceae r.br. calathea ornata (linden) körn. shukh nata herb, er; pl gr, hs native o gmh 6027 maranta arundinacea l. ararut herb, er; w sj, wl exotic m, o gmh 6055 schumannianthus benthamianus (kuntze) veldkamp & i.m. turner patipata shrub; w hs, wtl native hc, m gmh 6084 pontederiaceae kunth eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms kachuripana herb, ff; w wtl exotic gm, lf mar 5784 monochoria hastata (l.) solms bara nukha herb, er, w wtl native gm, vg mar 5805 m. vaginalis (burm. f.) c. presl nukha herb, er; w wtl native m, vg mar 5722 amaryllidaceae j. st.-hil. allium cepa l. piyaj herb, er; cv af, hs exotic m, sp sss 5232 a. sativum l. rashun herb, er; cv af, hs exotic m, sp sss 4974 crinum americanum l. bara kanur herb, er; w hs, wl exotic m, o gmh 6036 c. asiaticum l. shukhdarshan herb, er; w hs, wl native m, o gmh 6115 c. latifolium l. sukhdarshan herb, er; w gr, hs, rs native o gmh 6013 234 shetu et al. scientific name bangla name habit habitat origin use rse scadoxus multiflorus (martyn) raf. agnigolock herb, er; pl gr, hs native m, o sss 4985 zephyranthes candida (lindl.) herb. golapi ghasphul herb, er; pl gr, hs exotic o mar 5670 z. minuta (kunth) d. dietr. sada ghasphul herb, er; pl gr, hs native o mar 5720 asparagaceae juss. agave americana l. shatabdi udvid herb, er; cv hs exotic m, o gmh 6255 asparagus racemosus wild. shatamuli herb, cl; w fl, rs native m gmh 6298 cordyline fruticosa (l.) a. chev. agnishwar herb, er; cv hs, rs native m, o gmh 6305 dracaena angustifolia (medik.) roxb. chiknadrakan shrub; pl gr, hs native o mar 5744 d. reflexa lam. dracaena shrub; pl gr, hs native o mar 5759 d. spicata roxb. kadodrakan shrub; pl gr, hs native o mar 5807 d. trifasciata (prain) mabb. snake plant herb, er; cv gr, hs, rs exotic o sss 3114 furcraea foetida (l.) haw. gandhohemp shrub; pl gr, hs exotic o sss 3011 hypoxidaceae r.br. curculigo orchioides gaertn. talmuli herb, er; w hls, sj, wl native m gmh 6113 molineria latifolia (dryand. ex w.t. aiton) herb. ex kurz molinpasna herb, er; w hls, hs, sj native m, fb gmh 6056 xanthorrhoeaceae dumort. aloe vera (l.) burm.f. ghritakumari herb, er; cv hs exotic co, m sss 4956 smilacaceae vent. smilax ovalifolia roxb. ex d. don kumarika herb, cl; w sj, wl native m sss 5208 s. perfoliata lour.1 kumarilata herb, cl; w sj, wl native m sss 5250 dioscoreaceae r.br. dioscorea alata l. chupri alu herb, cl; w sj, wl native m, vg sss 5317 d. bulbifera l.1 ban alu herb, cl; w sj, wl native m sss 5296 d. esculenta (lour.) burkill mou alu herb, cl; cv hs, sj, wl native vg mar 5671 d. hamiltonii hook.f. dudh alu herb, cl; w fm, wl native m mar 5692 d. pentaphylla l. jhum alu herb, cl; w sj, wl native m, vg mar 5761 orchidaceae juss. acampe praemorsa (roxb.) blatt. & mccann rasna herb, ep; w op native m, o gmh 6028 coelogyne cristata lindl. rasna herb, ep; pl op native o gmh 6010 dendrobium aphyllum (roxb.) c.e.c. fisch. patrojhara herb, ep; pl op native m, o mar 5059 d. fimbriatum hook. rasna herb, ep; pl op native o mar 5155 rhynchostylis retusa (l.) blume shial leza orchid herb, ep; w op native m, o gmh 6135 spathoglottis plicata blume kantaglottis herb, er; pl gr, hs native o gmh 6539 vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g. don rasna herb, ep; w op native o sss 5010 notes: habit: clclimber, crcreeper, cvcultivated, epepiphyte, ererect, fffree floating, flfloating with rooted, l large, liliana, mmedium, plplanted , prprostrate, psparasite, s-small, scscandant, smsubmerged, wwild; habitat: afagro field, flfallow land, fmforest margin, glgrassland, grgarden, hlshill slope, hlthill top, hs homestead, obwon brick wall, opon plant, rsroadside, sjscrub jungle, wlwoodland, wtlwetland; uses: ap aquarium plant, cocosmetics, dydye yielding, ededible, fb-fibre yielding, frfruit, fwfuel wood, gmgreen manure, hchandicrafts, hehedge, jujuice, lflivestock feed, mmedicine, oornamental, oyoil yielding, pf perfume, po-poisonous, pppaper pulp, pupulse, sbsoil binder, spspice, ttimber, tmtheaching material, vg vegetable; superscript number 1 and 2 at the end of species name indicating it’s record mentioned by rahman et al. (2001) and hossain et al.(2005) respectively; rse:gmhgazi mosharof hossain, marmd. abdur rahim, sssshayla sharmin shetu. an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 235 in the study area, the majority of the species were found to grow in eight categories of habitat viz., roadside (37.16%), fallow land (34.24%), homestead (26.54%), woodland (20.48%, garden (18.85%), scrub jungle (16.14%), agricultural field (14.08%) and grassland (12.89%), followed by other habitat categories namely, wetland (9.32%), hill slope (9.21%), forest margin (5.42%), hilltop (5.42%), other plants (2.28%), and brick wall (0.43%) (fig. 2). the majority of the species were reported as medicine (61.54%), which was followed by ornamental (24.27%), livestock feed (9.53%), vegetable (9.10%), fuel wood (7.91%), fruit (7.04%), timber (6.07%), soil binder (4.33%), fibre (3.36%) and green manure (2.93%), which are the major produces of the study area (fig. 3). the plant species used as dye-yielding (1.63%), oilyielding (1.52%), hedge (1.41%), handicrafts (1.30%), spice (1.19%), timber (1.19%), pulse (0.98%), aquarium plant (0.76%), poison (0.65%), edible (0.54%), juice (0.43%), perfume (0.33%), paper pulp (0.22%), cosmetics (0.22%) and refreshment (0.11%) were the minor produces of the study area. fig. 2. plant species in different habitats of lalmai hill area. fig. 3. the major economically important species of lalmai hill area. 236 shetu et al. the study area harbours eight plant species, six of which are listed as data deficient (dd), one as not evaluated (ne) and one as endangered (en) (khan et al., 2001; ara et al., 2013). these species are andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) nees (dd), anisoptera scaphula (roxb.) kurz (dd), aquilaria malaccensis lam. (dd), calamus erectus roxb. (dd), glochidion heyneanum (wight & arn.) wight (en), mangifera sylvatica roxb. (ne), swintonia floribunda griff. (dd) and tectaria chattagrammica ching (dd). all of these species were found as planted except a. paniculata and t. chattagrammica which were observed as common and naturally regenerated and g. heyneanum which was rare in this area. a comparison in the plant species composition of the study area (lalmai hills and their adjacent area) with that reported previously from some localities of this country, composed of similar kinds of habitats, indicates that the number of species per square kilometre found in the study area is nearly similar to that of rajkandi reserve forest (haque et al., 2018), hazarikhil wildlife sanctuary (rahman, 2017), somewhat higher than that of sitakunda ecopark (islam et al., 2016), satchari national park (arefin et al., 2011), baraiyadhala national park (rashid et al., 2018), and teknaf wildlife sanctuary (uddin et al., 2013) but lower than those reported from jahangirnagar university campus (khan et al., 2021a) and lawachhara national park (uddin and hassan, 2010) (fig. 4). fig. 4. comparison of lalmai hill area with some pertinent localities of bangladeshin plant species composition. rahman et al. (2001)’s recorded 24 species of lalmai hills were not found to occur there during this study. these species belong to the families annonaceae (one species), apocynaceae (one species), asteraceae (one species), commelinaceae (one species), convolvulaceae (one species), euphorbiaceae (one species), fabaceae (three species), lamiaceae (two species), passifloraceae (one species), phyllanthaceae (two species), poaceae (two species), polygalaceae (one species), polypodiaceae (one species), rubiaceae (five species), and zingiberaceae (one species). similarly, 17 species belonging to the families acanthaceae (one species), apocynaceae (two species), cyperaceae (one species), elaeocarpaceae (one species), fabaceae (four species), lamiaceae (one species), myrtaceae (one species), phyllanthaceae (one species), poaceae (three an inventory of vascular flora of lalmai hills 237 species), primulaceae (one species) and solanaceae (one species) reported by hossain et al. (2005) from this area were not found during this study. a reason for the absence of these species in the study might be their direct missing due to habitat destruction and other anthropogenic activities. another reason seems to be the incorrect identification of the species that could not be verified due to the lack of their voucher specimens. traditionally, the study area is being gradually converted from a natural deciduous forest area to a semi-urban area covered with cultivated, planted and natural plant populations. currently, about 20%-25% of the area is already converted into a semi-urban area housing some infrastructures including a few institutions and a part of the regional cantonment. a notable part of the remaining area is notably disturbed through various anthropogenic activities including different plantation and cultivation programs following repeated vegetation clearing and habitat destruction. however, a huge number of plant species, as enumerated by this study, have been established in this area through the introduction of many exotic species (31.12% of the flora), mainly in the semi-urban localities including gardens, campuses, roadsides, tourist spots etc. and the introduction of diaspores of different plant species from different regions of the country through various biotic and abiotic agents. some parts of the area, composed of roadside, fallow lands, homesteads, woodlands, gardens, and agricultural fields, are covered with dense vegetation. the vegetation of the study area provides habitats for various animal groups (wildlife). the biodiversity of the study area is affected by different kinds of threats, mostly resulting from multifarious anthropogenic activities including hill clearing and cutting, land grabbing, agricultural expansion following vegetation clearing, infrastructure development, settlement, firing, grazing, leaf litter and fuel wood collection, and huge visits etc. are recognized as the major threats to its biodiversity. however, this area is harbouring a rich biodiversity with a huge number of plant species in its diverse ecosystems. as an original site of natural vegetation, this area might be an excellent choice for in situ and ex situ biodiversity conservation. therefore, we strongly recommend the adoption of a master plan for minimizing all major threats to the vegetation and habitats of this area and sustainable development, utilization and conservation of its plant resources. in order to implement this plan, strengthening and improving the existing management of the area by adopting necessary conservation initiatives including effective policies, and legislation, adopting and strict enforcement of the necessary laws of natural resource utilization including lands, controlling and minimizing anthropogenic interferences, increasing public awareness, improving the quality of major natural habitats are highly recommended. we highly advise routine inventories and monitoring programs for this area’s biodiversity. adequate protection, conservation and development of the diminishing natural resources of this area including its biodiversity will improve its sustainable socio-economic and ecological services. references ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(eds). 2001. plant resources of south-east asia. no. 12(2). medicinal and poisonous plants 2. prosea foundation, bogor, indonesia, 782 pp. wfo. 2022. world flora online. published on the internet; http://www.worldfloraonline.org. accessed on: 15 feb 2022. wu, z.y. and raven, p.h. (eds). 1994-2001. flora of china. vols. 8, 15-18 and 24. missouri botanical garden press, st. louis, usa. wu, z.y., raven, p.h. and hong, d.y. (eds). 1999-2013. flora of china. vols. 2-7, 9-14, 19-23 and 25. missouri botanical garden press, st. louis. (manuscript received on 15 june, 2022; revised on 11 november, 2022) http://www.tropicos.org, http://www.worldfloraonline.org. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 32(1): 1-16, 2025 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82388 © 2025 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists de novo nuclear genome assembly and annotation of aizoon canariense l. (aizoaceae): uncovering genomic adaptations of a medicinal herb to arid environments reem lafi saleem alofi1, mohammad ajmal ali1*, mona solaiman alwahibi1, sheikh sunzid ahmed2, m. oliur rahman2*, rajesh mahato3, soo-yong kim4 and joongku lee5 1 department of botany and microbiology, college of science, king saud university, riyadh-11451, saudi arabia 2 department of botany, faculty of biological sciences, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 3 arraygen technologies private limited, undri, pune-411060, maharashtra, india 4 international biological material research center, korea research institute of bioscience and biotechnology, daejeon 34141, republic of korea 5 department of environment and forest resources, college of agricultural life science, chungnam national university, daejeon, south korea keywords: nuclear genome; aizoon canariense; game v.1; annotation; go analysis; kegg pathway. abstract in this investigation, whole genome sequencing and assembly of medicinally important species aizoon canariense l. were performed to unveil its nuclear genome. the assembled nuclear genome length was 661.14 mb, with an n50 value of 25,334 bp. the genome was largely homozygous, with a low level of heterozygosity ranging from 0.077 to 0.078%. busco assessment exhibited 91.8% completeness based on the viridiplantae database. orthologous gene-based analysis revealed that the highest number of genes were associated with replication, recombination, and repair category. gene ontology (go)-based annotation identified 5,814 genes involved in biological processes (bp), 25,137 genes linked to cellular components (cc), and 16,644 genes associated with molecular functions (mf). pathway enrichment analysis identified the protein modification pathway representing the highest number of genes (807), whereas the pigment biosynthesis pathway exhibiting the lowest number of genes (75). a total of 20,448 repeat elements across 57 distinct types were identified in the assembled genome, with ltr/gypsy being the most abundant, comprising 7,532 copies and spanning approximately 27,750 bp. these findings lay a strong foundation for future research on the molecular mechanisms of stress resilience in arid ecosystems targeting a. canariense. introduction aizoon canariense l. is a native desert herb found in saudi arabia, belonging to the family aizoaceae martinov that holds significant pharmacological properties. the aizoaceae, commonly known as the ice plant family, consists of 127 genera and approximately 1,860 species, primarily distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of south africa, with some species found in australia. these plants are often referred to as "stone plants" or "carpet weeds" (bittrich and hartmann, 1988; leistner, 2000). a. canariense is an annual or perennial herb, characterized by its prostrate growth and thick-stemmed morphology, stems reaching up to 40 cm in length and often *corresponding authors. email: alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa ; oliur.bot@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v32i1.82388 mailto:alimohammad@ksu.edu.sa mailto:oliur.bot@du.ac.bd 2 alofi et al. exhibiting a papillose texture. the leaves are subcircular to obovate, entire, decurrent at the base, and covered with fine hairs. the flowers are solitary and sessile, with perianth segments that are yellowish inside and greenish or reddish and pilose outside. the fruit is star-shaped, red or pink, and depressed at the center (el-amier and al-hadithy, 2020). nature-derived medicines have long been a cornerstone of traditional healing systems, offering a rich source of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential. unlike synthetic drugs, which are often associated with side effects and environmental concerns due to complex chemical synthesis, plant-based medicines provide a more biocompatible and sustainable alternative (bhardwaj et al., 2024; rather et al., 2025). a. canariense, a medicinally significant desert herb, exemplifies the potential of nature-derived treatments. traditionally used to treat ailments such as hypertension and digestive disorders, recent studies have highlighted its cytotoxic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties (yonbawi et al., 2021). the diverse phytochemicals in a. canariense, including flavonoids, alkaloids, and saponins, contribute to its pharmacological profile, many of which remain unexplored in the context of modern drug development (bakr et al., 2021). moreover, its ability to thrive in extreme desert environments suggest the presence of unique stress-related metabolites that may inspire novel therapeutics. in light of growing concerns over antibiotic resistance and the adverse effects of synthetic drugs, exploring plant-derived medicines from a. canariense may offer a promising avenue for safer, more effective, and environmentally sustainable drug discovery, further underscoring the need for decoding its genomic blueprint. adapted to the harsh environmental conditions of saudi arabia, a. canariense exhibits unique physiological and biochemical traits that enable its survival in arid ecosystems (baeshen et al., 2021). understanding its nuclear genome assembly is crucial for unravelling the genetic basis of its resilience to drought, high salinity, and intense heat. the nuclear genome in plants serves as the central repository of genetic information, regulating vital biological processes such as growth, development, stress responses, and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites (hu et al., 2021). with the rapid advancements of next-generation sequencing (ngs) technologies, particularly illumina sequencing, and the emergence of sophisticated bioinformatics tools, plant genome decoding has become more efficient and accessible than ever before (raza and ahmad, 2019). in the past, large genome sizes, high repeat content, and structural complexities posed significant challenges to genome assembly. however, modern sequencing technologies and computational pipelines have now facilitated high-quality nuclear genome reconstruction (miller, 2001; taber et al., 2014). with reference to genomic adaptations of desert plants, baeshen et al. (2021) performed de novo transcriptome assembly of several species native to saudi arabia to investigate their responses to abiotic stress, identifying thousands of stress-responsive genes and transcription factors associated with drought and salinity tolerance across multiple taxa. a full-length transcriptome analysis of stipagrostis pennata revealed rapid transcriptomic evolution, indicating that desert adaptation in s. pennata is driven by dynamic gene regulation and functional diversification of stress-related genes (ding et al., 2021). more recently, alharbi et al. (2024) conducted a comprehensive genomic survey of 51 plant species from saudi arabia, with a primary focus on chloroplast genomes, growing interest in nuclear genomes, and limited exploration of mitochondrial data, emphasizing the need for more extensive nuclear genome sequencing and further research into adaptive trait genomics. in this context, assembling and annotating the nuclear genome of a. canariense may offer valuable insights into genes responsible for abiotic stress tolerance, metabolic pathways linked to medicinally significant compounds, and evolutionary adaptations that enhance its survival in harsh desert conditions. furthermore, a wellde novo nuclear genome assembly of aizoon canariense 3 annotated genome provides a foundation for comparative genomic studies with other stresstolerant species, enabling the identification of both conserved and novel adaptive traits (vu et al., 2015). these insights not only broaden our understanding of desert plant biology but also hold significant promise for biotechnological applications, including the development of climateresilient crops and the identification of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical and agricultural advancements. despite its ecological and medicinal significance, the nuclear genome of a. canariense remains unexplored. therefore, in the present study, we aim to generate the first whole-genome assembly of a. canariense using next-generation sequencing approach, focusing on assembling and annotating the genome to identify genes linked to stress tolerance and medicinal properties. the findings will enhance our current understanding of desert plant resilience and open new avenues for biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. materials and methods specimen collection a. canariense was collected from medina, saudi arabia (24º42ʹ42.5ʹʹn, 39º28ʹ18.2ʹʹe; altitude: 828 m). species identification was carried out based on the morphological characteristics of leaves and fruits (fig. 1). the voucher specimen has been deposited in the king saud university herbarium (ksuh) in riyadh, saudi arabia, under the collection code alofi, r.l.s & ali, m.a. 2023-1. genome sequencing total genomic dna was extracted from silica gel-dried leaves using the qiagen dna extraction kit. paired-end sequencing was performed on a novaseq 6000 platform, generating 151 bp reads. the quality of the ngs reads was assessed using fastqc v.0.12.1 and fastp v.0.20.1 tools (chen et al., 2018; ahmed and rahman, 2025). the raw sequencing data are publicly available on ncbi under the sra accession id srr31760782. nuclear genome analysis the paired-end sequencing reads were processed using the genomic analysis made easy (game) v.1 pipeline to estimate the pre-assembly genome size, construct the nuclear genome assembly, annotate the assembled genome, and characterize repetitive dna elements (ali et al., 2024). the game v.1 software was developed using python to provide a user-friendly, fast, free, and automated gui-based solution for plant genome assembly and annotation. genome size estimation and assembly genomescope v.1.0 integrated within game v.1 platform was employed to estimate genome size, heterozygosity, and repeat content based on k-mer frequency distribution derived from highthroughput sequencing reads (ranallo-benavidez et al., 2020). the nuclear genome was subsequently assembled using the gatb minia pipeline, an efficient de bruijn graph-based assembler optimized for large-scale genomic datasets (drezen et al., 2014). assembly quality assessment the completeness and accuracy of the assembled genome were evaluated using quast v.5.3.0 module, which provided key assembly metrics such as contig length distribution, n50 values, and genome coverage (gurevich et al., 2013). the completeness of the genome assembly was evaluated using busco v.5.8.0 based on benchmarking universal single-copy orthologs (seppey et al., 2019). 4 alofi et al. functional annotation gene prediction and functional annotation were conducted using augustus v.3.4.0 (stanke et al., 2004), an ab initio gene prediction tool. repeat elements within the assembled genome were identified and masked using repeatmasker to characterize repetitive dna sequences (chen, 2004). data visualization the results of the analysis, including genome size estimation, assembly statistics, gene annotation, and repeat content, were visualized using ggplot in r, providing graphical representations of the key genomic features (valero-mora, 2010). results and discussion sra reads and quality control whole-genome sequencing was performed on the illumina novaseq 6000 platform, generating a total of 178,737,199 sequencing reads, corresponding to 54 gbp of raw data with a total file size of 16.6 gb (sra accession: srr31760782). fastqc quality control analysis revealed satisfactory results for both forward and reverse reads, with high base-call accuracy (q32–q36) across most positions, showing only a slight decline toward the end of the reads. the q scores, also known as phred scores, represent the accuracy of each base call in sequencing data. the observed high q scores suggest that the sequencing data is of very high quality, with a low error rate. the slight decline toward the end of the reads is a common occurrence and typically reflects a natural decrease in sequencing accuracy as the sequencing process progresses. this finding is consistent with previous studies (ahmed and rahman, 2024, 2025). fig. 1. morphology of aizoon canariense collected from medina of kingdom of saudi arabia. a. habit (×1), b. flowering twig (×3). de novo nuclear genome assembly of aizoon canariense 5 the fastp-based quality control analysis revealed that the raw data set contained 357.47 million reads (53.98 gbp), with q20 and q30 percentages of 97.10% and 92.38%, respectively (table 1). after filtering, 344.94 million high-quality reads (96.49%) were retained, totaling 52.02 gbp, with improved q20 (97.89%) and q30 (93.48%) values. the mean read length remained almost consistent (151 bp before filtering and 150 bp after), and the gc content showed a slight reduction from 39.87% to 39.75%. a low duplication rate (4.82%) indicated minimal pcr bias, while stringent filtering effectively removed low-quality reads (3.45%), those with excessive ambiguous bases (0.0027%), and short reads (0.0487%). these results underscore the high accuracy and reliability of the sequencing data, ensuring an optimal dataset for genome assembly of a. canariense and its downstream analyses by minimizing sequencing artifacts and preserving authentic genomic information. genome characterization using k-mer-based analysis genomescope analysis of the a. canariense nuclear genome yielded essential genomic estimates through k-mer profiling, enabling precise genome characterization without a reference genome (fig. 2). the haploid genome size was estimated to be between 849.09 mb and 849.40 mb, with a substantial proportion of unique sequences (81.6%) and repetitive content ranging from 156.35 mb to 156.40 mb, indicating a moderately complex genome (table 2). the heterozygosity rate was low (0.0766–0.0777%), suggesting a largely homozygous genome and limited genetic variation within the sampled population. the model fit was high (98.39–99.46%), confirming the accuracy of the k-mer-based predictions, while the sequencing read error rate remained minimal (0.1419%), ensuring the high quality of the dataset. table 1. summary of quality control metrices for paired-end illumina reads processed using the fastp tool. summary fastp version 0.20.1 sequencing paired end (151 cycles + 151 cycles) mean length before filtering 151 bp, 151 bp mean length after filtering 150 bp, 150 bp duplication rate 4.817741 % insert size peak 0 before filtering total reads 357.474398 m total bases 53.978634 g q20 bases 52.414873 g (97.102999%) q30 bases 49.863750 g (92.376829%) gc content 39.872787% after filtering total reads 344.941404 m total bases 52.023063 g q20 bases 50.922957 g (97.885349%) q30 bases 48.631723 g (93.481084%) gc content 39.745233% filtering result reads passed filters 344.941404 m (96.494016%) reads with low quality 12.349180 m (3.454563%) reads with too many n 9.748000 k (0.002727%) reads too short 174.066000 k (0.048693%) 6 alofi et al. table 2. genome characteristics of a. canariense estimated using the genomescope module of game v1. property minimum maximum heterozygosity 0.0766417% 0.0777496% genome haploid length 849,091,440 bp 849,396,167 bp genome repeat length 156,345,157 bp 156,401,267 bp genome unique length 692,746,283 bp 692,994,900 bp model fit 98.3917% 99.4597% read error rate 0.141877% 0.141877% to validate the effectiveness of genomescope in characterizing the nuclear genome of a. canariense, its results were compared with those obtained for spiraea crenata (laczkó et al., 2024). although a. canariense and s. crenata belong to different families (aizoaceae and rosaceae, respectively), the comparison highlights the utility of genomescope in estimating key genomic parameters across diverse plant taxa. the haploid genome size of s. crenata (232.33 mb) was considerably smaller than that of a. canariense, illustrating variations in genome expansion between the species. the proportion of unique sequences in s. crenata (60.2%) was lower than in a. canariense (81.6%), suggesting that a. canariense harbored a higher fraction of non-repetitive sequences. additionally, s. crenata exhibited a higher heterozygosity rate (0.834%) compared to a. canariense (0.0766–0.0777%), implying greater genetic diversity within the sampled population. the k-mer sequencing coverage (kcov) was higher in s. crenata (16.5×) compared to a. canariense (6.57×), suggesting a higher depth of sequencing in s. crenata, which could potentially lead to more reliable genome assembly. both species exhibited low sequencing error rates (s. crenata: 0.0621%, a. canariense: 0.1419%), further bolstering the reliability of the ngs data. gaultheria prostrata (ericaceae) nuclear genome assembly revealed a model error rate of about 0.493% (lin et al., 2024). in contrast, the assembly of a. canariense in the present study achieved a significantly lower model error rate of 0.1419%, nearly five times lower than that reported for g. prostrata (fig. 2). for large genome assemblies, error rates of less than 0.5% are usually considered as acceptable since they lessen the possibility of distortion in repeated regions and structural variants (ali et al., 2024). the significantly lower error rate in a. canariense underscores the robustness of our genome assembly, ensuring a more accurate representation of the nuclear genome and reinforcing its suitability for downstream analyses and comparative genomic studies. nuclear genome assembly and quality assessments the gatb-minia pipeline successfully assembled the nuclear genome of a. canariense, generating a total of 181,780 contigs with a cumulative length of approximately 660.44 mb (table 3). the largest contig reached 474,998 bp, reflecting the assembly's capability to reconstruct long genomic fragments. the n50 value, a key metric for assembly continuity, was 7,092 bp, indicating that at least half of the total assembly length was represented by contigs of this size or longer. the assembly exhibited a gc content of 39.14%, aligning with expected values for plant genomes. the total number of contigs exceeding 1,000 bp was 128,133, with a combined length of ~622.78 mb, while 38,857 contigs were longer than 5,000 bp. notably, 218 contigs exceeded 50,000 bp, reflecting the presence of relatively long, high-confidence sequences. the absence of n’s per 100 kbp indicated a clean assembly with no unresolved base calls. these results demonstrate the de novo nuclear genome assembly of aizoon canariense 7 effectiveness of the gatb-minia pipeline in assembling the nuclear genome, providing a strong foundation for downstream gene annotation and comparative genomic analyses. fig. 2. pre-assembly genomic characterization of the nuclear genome of a. canariense using genomescope module. fig. 3. busco evaluation of the nuclear genome of a. canariense. a. genome completeness, b. assembly statistics. 8 alofi et al. table 3. post-assembly assessment of scaffolds and contigs via quast tool. assembly metrices scaffolds contigs sequences ≥ 0 bp 164058 279492 sequences ≥ 1,000 bp 49824 128133 sequences ≥ 5,000 bp 27928 38857 sequences ≥ 10,000 bp 18837 13994 sequences ≥ 25,000 bp 7183 1135 sequences ≥ 50,000 bp 1865 218 cumulative size (≥ 0 bp) 686543321 692180555 cumulative size (≥ 1,000 bp) 638256886 622779075 cumulative size (≥ 5,000 bp) 587307098 413363501 cumulative size (≥ 10,000 bp) 521466937 238850598 cumulative size (≥ 25,000 bp) 333766500 55564350 cumulative size (≥ 50,000 bp) 150608110 26771333 total sequence count 83246 181780 longest single sequence 1419080 474998 overall assembled length 661142997 660442599 gc content (%) 39.13 39.14 n50 25334 7092 n90 4387 1440 aun 49500.0 15686.7 l50 7057 24896 l90 29576 104616 n's per 100 kbp 460.59 0.00 the gatb-minia pipeline assembled 83,246 scaffolds for the a. canariense nuclear genome, with a total length of ~661.14 mb (table 3). the largest scaffold reached 1,419,080 bp, indicating successful reconstruction of extensive genomic regions. the assembly had an n50 value of 25,334 bp, suggesting enhanced scaffold continuity compared to previous scaffold-based assemblies. the gc content was 39.13%, aligning with expectations for plant genomes. of the total scaffolds, 49,824 exceeded 1,000 bp, contributing to ~638.26 mb, while 27,928 scaffolds were longer than 5,000 bp. remarkably, 1,865 scaffolds surpassed 50,000 bp, highlighting the presence of long, high-confidence sequences. the l50 value of 7,057 indicated that the shortest 50% of the assembly was contained in 7,057 scaffolds, while the l90 value of 29,576 reflected a substantial proportion of smaller fragments. the aun value of 49,500 supported the overall quality of the assembly. however, the presence of 460.59 n’s per 100 kbp suggested some unresolved regions. despite this, the results demonstrate the efficacy of the gatb-minia pipeline in producing a robust and high-quality scaffolded genome assembly, facilitating downstream annotation and comparative genomic analyses. compared to cymbopogon citratus (dc.) stapf, which had a total genome size of 364.44 mb and an n50 value of 4,347 bp, our a. canariense assembly exhibited significantly higher contiguity and scaffold length (chakravartty and neelapu, 2024). the longest scaffold in a. canariense (1,419,080 bp) was more than 20 times longer than that of c. citratus (67,673 bp), indicating a superior reconstruction of genomic regions. additionally, the l50 of a. canariense (7,057) was considerably lower than that of c. citratus (23,781), suggesting fewer but larger scaffolds covered half of the assembled genome. a higher proportion of large scaffolds was also de novo nuclear genome assembly of aizoon canariense 9 observed in a. canariense, with 22.6% exceeding 10,000 bp, compared to only 3.3% in c. citratus. however, while c. citratus reported no unresolved regions, a. canariense exhibited 460.59 n’s per 100 kbp, indicating the presence of some assembly gaps. overall, the a. canariense genome assembly demonstrated greater scaffold continuity, longer genomic fragments, and a more contiguous structure, making it a more comprehensive resource for genomic studies. the busco analysis of the nuclear genome assembly of a. canariense, using the viridiplantae database, revealed a high level of completeness, with 91.8% of the searched buscos identified as complete (fig. 3). of these, 31.8% were single-copy genes, while 60.0% were duplicated, suggesting a substantial proportion of retained gene duplications within the assembly. additionally, 7.3% of buscos were fragmented, and only 0.9% were entirely missing, indicating minimal gene loss and a well-represented gene space. the assembly consisted of 164,058 scaffolds and 188,226 contigs, with an estimated genome size of approximately 686.54 mb. the scaffold and contig n50 values were 24 kb and 14 kb, respectively, indicating a moderately continuous assembly that captures large genomic segments while balancing contiguity and completeness. the percentage of gaps in the assembly was 0.444%, suggesting that most of the genomic regions were successfully resolved with minimal ambiguity. when compared to phoenix roebelenii and cymbopogon citratus, the genome assembly of a. canariense shows markedly superior genome completeness. the overall busco completeness score for a. canariense (91.8%) surpasses those of p. roebelenii (84.2%) and c. citratus (60.9%), reflecting a more comprehensive representation of conserved plant orthologs (chakravartty and neelapu, 2023, 2024). moreover, the proportion of duplicated buscos in a. canariense (60.0%) is significantly higher than in p. roebelenii (4.3%) and c. citratus (2.1%), suggesting greater retention of gene duplications in a. canariense, potentially reflecting evolutionary processes such as whole-genome duplications. the missing buscos are considerably lower in a. canariense (0.9%) compared to p. roebelenii (10.2%) and c. citratus (17.7%), demonstrating the assembly's greater completeness and minimal gene loss. additionally, the percentage of fragmented buscos in a. canariense (7.3%) is also lower than in c. citratus (21.4%), highlighting the greater continuity and higher-quality assembly in a. canariense. the busco metrices validate the robustness of the a. canariense genomic assembly and underscore its potential for downstream functional genomics and evolutionary studies. functional annotation of the nuclear genome the cog (clusters of orthologous genes)-based functional annotation of the a. canariense nuclear genome revealed a wide array of functional categories, highlighting key biological processes and metabolic pathways. the most abundant category was replication, recombination, and repair, comprising 2,015 annotated genes, indicating a strong genomic stability mechanism and active dna maintenance processes (fig. 4). signal transduction mechanisms were the second most represented group, with 1,296 genes, suggesting complex regulatory networks for cellular communication. a significant number of genes were also assigned to general function prediction (1,227) and mobilome elements, including prophages and transposons (1,151), indicating the presence of uncharacterized proteins and mobile genetic elements, respectively. key metabolic pathways were well-represented, including carbohydrate transport and metabolism (993 genes), amino acid transport and metabolism (739 genes), and lipid transport and metabolism (655 genes), indicating a well-developed metabolic framework. genes involved in translation, ribosomal structure, and biogenesis (950 genes) and post-translational modification, protein turnover, and chaperones (835 genes) underscore the importance of protein synthesis and maintenance. the transcription-related genes (628) reflect robust gene expression regulation, while energy production and conversion (610) genes indicate an active cellular energy metabolism. secondary 10 alofi et al. metabolite biosynthesis, transport, and catabolism category was represented by 495 genes, pointing to the plant’s potential in producing bioactive compounds. genes related to defense mechanisms (347) and cell wall/membrane/envelope biogenesis (687) suggest adaptations for environmental stress responses and structural integrity. the presence of nucleotide transport and metabolism (203), intracellular trafficking and secretion (113), and cell motility (91) genes further enriches the genomic functional landscape. less common but notable categories included chromatin structure and dynamics (18), rna processing and modification (16), cytoskeleton components (11), and extracellular structures (2), while nuclear structure-related genes were missing (fig. 4). fig. 4. functional characterization of the aizoon canariense nuclear genome elucidating classification of nuclear genes based on cog functional categories. the gene ontology (go)-based functional annotation provided a comprehensive overview of the biological processes (bp), cellular components (cc), and molecular functions (mf) of a. canariense nuclear genome (fig. 5). in the biological process category, 5,814 genes were annotated, with proteolysis being the most abundant category (993 genes), emphasizing its critical role in protein turnover and cellular regulation. conversely, the response to abscisic acid was the least represented (445 genes), indicating a more specialized function in stress adaptation mechanisms. in the cellular component category, 25,137 genes were identified, with the nucleus exhibiting the highest representation (4,801 genes), highlighting its essential role in genetic regulation. in contrast, the golgi apparatus had the lowest gene count (1,027 genes), reflecting its specialized role in protein modification and transport. the molecular function category included 16,644 genes, with atp binding being the most prevalent (4,557 genes), underscoring its fundamental role in energy metabolism and enzymatic activity. the mrna binding class was the least represented (900 genes), indicating its selective role in gene expression regulation (fig. 5). a comparative analysis with the go-based annotation of chenopodium pallidicaule aellen revealed striking similarities, reinforcing the robustness of the a. canariense genome annotation. in both species, proteolysis emerges as the most enriched biological process, emphasizing its conserved role in protein homeostasis (ali et al., 2024). likewise, within the cellular component domain, the nucleus is the most represented structure, validating its universal significance in transcriptional control. furthermore, atp binding is the dominant molecular function in both genomes, underscoring its critical role in cellular energetics. these consistent patterns suggest a de novo nuclear genome assembly of aizoon canariense 11 shared functional framework between a. canariense and c. pallidicaule, further validating the accuracy and biological relevance of the go classification in a. canariense. fig. 5. functional characterization of the aizoon canariense nuclear genome illustrating gene ontology-based annotation across biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions. pathway-based annotation represents a pivotal component of genome analysis, as it provides functional insights into the biochemical and metabolic pathways within an organism. mapping genes to specific pathways may help to identify key biological processes, elucidates metabolic capacities, and infer species-specific adaptations. this approach is particularly instrumental in uncovering mechanisms underlying stress responses, biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, and complex regulatory networks. these insights hold significant implications for agriculture, biotechnology, and evolutionary biology (wang et al., 2022). the kegg pathway-based annotation of the a. canariense nuclear genome revealed the distribution of functional genes across ten major pathway categories, highlighting key metabolic and regulatory processes (fig. 6). among these, the protein modification pathway exhibited the highest gene representation, comprising 807 genes, emphasizing the significance of posttranslational modifications in cellular function and proteome stability. protein ubiquitination, a crucial process for protein degradation and cellular homeostasis, ranked second with 632 genes, while amino acid biosynthesis, essential for fundamental metabolic activities, was the third most abundant pathway with 402 genes. in contrast, pathway with the lowest gene representation included pigment biosynthesis, with only 75 genes, indicating a relatively specialized and limited role in pigment formation. similarly, porphyrin-containing compound metabolism, associated with 12 alofi et al. heme and chlorophyll biosynthesis, had 81 genes, while fatty acid biosynthesis, a vital pathway for membrane lipid production, contained 83 genes. fig. 6. kegg pathway-based functional classification of nuclear genes in a. canariense. a. histogram representation of gene distribution across different pathways, b. dot plot visualization of pathway enrichment. de novo nuclear genome assembly of aizoon canariense 13 in comparison with the nuclear genome of c. pallidicaule (ali et al., 2024), a. canariense exhibited a similar pattern of pathway enrichment. in c. pallidicaule, the highest number of genes was associated with the protein modification pathway (460 genes), followed by protein ubiquitination (335 genes) and amino acid biosynthesis (151 genes). notably, a. canariense showed significantly higher gene counts in these pathways, 807, 632 and 402 genes respectively, suggesting a more extensive involvement in protein regulation and primary metabolic processes (fig. 6). moreover, while c. pallidicaule had the lowest gene count in pyruvate from dglyceraldehyde 3-phosphate metabolism (35 genes), a. canariense exhibited comparatively higher representation in low-count pathways, such as pigment biosynthesis (75 genes) and porphyrin metabolism (81 genes). these findings validate the pathway-based annotation approach and underscores the functional diversity of both species. the higher gene representation in a. canariense may suggest possible adaptations related to stress response, metabolic plasticity, or genome evolution, reinforcing the importance of pathway annotation in understanding plant genomic functionality (kellogg and bennetzen, 2004). the repeatmasker analysis identified 20,448 repeat elements across 57 distinct repeat types within an assembly length of 686,543,321 bp. the total length of repeat sequences accounted for 269,099 bp. the most abundant category was ltr/gypsy, with 7,532 copies spanning 27,750 bp (fig. 7). fig. 7. evaluation of repetitive elements in the nuclear genome of a. canariense using repeatmasker module. a. major repeat types showing number of genes, b. major repeat types showing length distribution. 14 alofi et al. other major repeat classes included ltr (4,170 copies) and ltr/copia (3,173 copies), contributing 22,104 bp and 18,129 bp, respectively. dna transposons such as trim (2,085 copies) and tir (603 copies) were also prevalent, along with smaller contributions from helitron, line, and sine elements. unclassified repeats and other mobile elements further contributed substantial sequence lengths, forming a diverse set of repetitive sequences within the genome. in contrast, the repeatmasker analysis of c. pallidicaule revealed significantly lower repeat content, spanning only 223,973 bp, with a more limited set of repeat classes (ali et al., 2024). although ltr elements such as copia and gypsy were also present in c. pallidicaule, they were less abundant, contributing to smaller proportions of the genome. the findings in a. canariense revealed a more complex and diverse repeat landscape with a greater variety of repeat types and higher repeat counts. this suggests that a. canariense possesses a more expansive set of repetitive sequences compared to c. pallidicaule, potentially reflecting differences in genome size, complexity, and structural organization. in conclusion, the comprehensive whole-genome sequencing and subsequent analyses of aizoon canariense, a medicinally important desert plant, have provided valuable insights into its genomic structure and functional potential. the successful nuclear genome assembly, spanning 661.14 mb, laid the foundation for functional annotation through cog and gene ontology classifications, revealing a diverse array of genes involved in critical biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions. repeatmasker analysis identified a variety of repetitive sequences, highlighting the complexity and diversity of its genome. these findings contribute significantly to the understanding of the genomic architecture of a. canariense, offering a deeper insight into its potential for bioactive compound discovery and adaptation to harsh desert environments. the present investigation lays the groundwork for future research aimed at exploring the molecular mechanisms underpinning its medicinal properties and stress resilience, thus paving the way for further applications in pharmacological and biotechnological fields. acknowledgements the authors extend their appreciation to ongoing funding research program (orf-2025306), king saud university, riyadh, saudi arabia, for funding this work. this research was also supported by the kribb initiative program [kgm1172511] of the republic of korea. references ahmed, s.s. and rahman, m.o. 2024. deciphering the 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(manuscript received on 20 january, 2025; revised on 2 june, 2025) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 31(1): 101-121, 2024 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74392 © 2024 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases management in manikganj district tahmina sultana juthi1, mohammad zashim uddin1*, md. abul hassan1 and mohammad a. rashid2 1department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka 1000, bangladesh 2department of pharmaceutical chemistry, faculty of pharmacy, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: ethnomedicinal plants; management; cardiovascular diseases; bangladesh. abstract the present research deals with the identification of ethnomedicinal plants used by the local people for curing cardiovascular diseases in manikganj district, bangladesh. the present study aimed to record and validate the ethnomedicinal knowledge used by the local people for cardiovascular disease (cvd) management in manikganj district, bangladesh using recent ethnobotanical survey methods. the record of 131 ethnomedicinal plant species with diverse use patterns reflected the traditional knowledge richness in the study area. among the ethnomedicinal plants, 10 plant species, including phyllanthus emblica l., allium sativum l., terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn, achyranthes aspera l., terminalia chebula retz., allium cepa l., adhatoda zeylanica nees, cinnamomum tamala nees & eberm, cajanus cajan (l.) millsp, and ipomea aquatica forssk, were cited most frequently by the local people. among the disease categories, the highest fic (factor of informant consensus) value was obtained in cardiac complaints, followed by blood purifiers, chest pain, high blood pressure, and antioxidants. in this research, 131 plant species were recorded, and 45 plants obtained the highest fl (fidelity level) value of 100%. the members of the most common medicinal plants were from the families of fabaceae, amaranthaceae, asteraceae, cucurbitaceae, and apocynaceae. this result provides baseline data to link the local population, including traditional health professionals and scientific communities, which could be significant in drug discovery and is very important for the sustainable development program and conservation management in bangladesh. introduction cardiovascular disease (cvd), a group of heart and vascular diseases, is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. in the past, there was a scarcity of modern drugs that bound people to depend on medicinal plant parts, which was so helpful for the local people at that time, especially the poor, who were not able to afford any kind of modern medicine because of its expenses. many ancient herbs and their parts are shown to possess medicinal properties and can be used to prevent, alleviate, or cure several human diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases. it’s calculable that between 70% and 80% of individuals worldwide rely on traditional, largely herbal medicine to meet their primary healthcare needs (farnsworth and soejarto 1991; shengji 2001). it has been ascertained that a lot of trendy medicines are derived from the plants used by indigenous peoples (balick and cox, 2011; rahmatullah, et al., 2010). worldwide, cvd plays a bigger role in being a significant explanation for morbidity and mortality (krisela 2007). historically, bangladesh may have been burdened with infectious diseases like several low-income countries in *corresponding author, e-mail: zashim@du.ac.bd https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v29i2.74392 mailto:zashim@du.ac.bd 102 juthi et al. the world. compared to different ethnic groups, south asians, like those from bangladesh, pakistan, nepal, and other asian nations and states, have a better prevalence of cad and connected risks (yusuf et al., 2001). southern asians have a 3-5fold higher risk of myocardial infarction (gupta et al., 2006). bangladesh has 99.6% of males and 97.9% of females exposed to one of the established risks of cvd, with cvd at a young age (males below 40 years of age) (elsaharty et al., 2013, islam et al., 2014, enas et al., 1995), and several plants are known to possess cardioprotective properties, resulting in their use by traditional healers for the treatment of chest complaints, high cholesterol, high and low blood pressure, and general heart problems. although some plants have been used in various systems of ancient and traditional medicine to treat thrombolytic diseases or as antithrombotic agents, such plants claimed in ancient systems are still not scientifically proven (kumar et al., 2011; manicam et al., 2010). to safeguard this data, documentation of ethnic medicinal plants is already starting in bangladesh. several articles were revealed in this field, including hassan and khan (1986); alam (1992); alam et al. (1996); uddin et al. (2001, 2006, 2012, 2017); khan et al. (2002); ghani (2003); islam and uddin et al. (2009); uddin and roy (2007); roy et al. (2008); uddin (2013); haque et al. (2014); uddin et al. (2015); haque et al. (2017); uddin et al. (2019); uddin et al. (2023). this article lists several medicinal plants from specific communities, specific diseases, or specific regions in asia. however, this study provides insufficient documentation of ethnomedicinal plant species contributing to the treatment of cardiovascular disease management in manikganj district because, in previous years, only specific disease-related medicinal plants were documented in this specific region of bangladesh (eneh et al., 2013). further study is needed to identify the effectiveness of the medicinal plants in this district because the younger generation is not aware of the richness of medicinal plants in this area. further analysis and conservation are needed for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. materials and method the manikganj district (dhaka division) spans 1383.66 square kilometers and is situated between latitudes 23°38‘ and 24°03‘ north and longitudes 89°41‘ and 90°08‘ east. the total area of manikganj is 1,383.66 km2 (534.23 sq mi) and the average annual temperature is between 36.5 °c and 12.7 °c, with 2,376 mm (93.5 in) of rainfall falling on average each year. the padma, kalinga, jamuna, dashwari and ichamati rivers are among the several rivers that flow through the manikganj district. there are seven upazilas in the district of manikganj. this district is surrounded by the upazilas of saturia to the north, singair to the east, harirampur to the south, shivalaya and ghior to the west, and harirampur to the east. this district has a range of humidity levels from 56% to 83%. silty and sandy alluvial soil, represented by the brahmaputra floodplain, makes up the majority of the surface soil associated with agriculture. the main river that flows through the research region is the kaliganga river. 43.43% of the dwelling families in the research region rely on agriculture as their primary source of income, with 15.94% working in agriculture and 27.49% in cropland, livestock, forestry, and fishing (sayed et al., 2015). the sampling sites were visited during the years 2018 and 2019 (table 1). the visit duration for each site lasted for 4-5 days. the data on the medicinal uses of plants was recorded through semi-structured interviews with the help of herbal practitioners and also through key informant discussions (alexiades, 1996). field interviews, plant interviews, and group discussions with local people were also conducted for the promotion of data collection. during the field survey, information on the uses of plants to treat humans, modes of preparation, parts used, and mode of administration was documented. a total of 300 local informants, including 67% of males and 33% of females, were interviewed during the ethnobotanical survey. the local informants include housewives, herbalists, farmers, rickshaw-pullers, job-holders, craftspeople, shopkeepers, teachers ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases 103 and students aged between 21–70 years old. voucher specimens for each medicinal plant species were collected and processed using standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972). identification of plant species was confirmed using standard literature (siddiqui et al., 2007 and ahmed et al., 2008-2009). all voucher specimens were deposited at dush. table 1. data collections sites in and around manikganj district. visit no. name of place gps (latitude, longitude) 1. manikganj sadar 23° 51' 0.00" n, 90° 00' 39.96" e 2. shivalaya 23° 49' 59.88" n, 89° 47' 30.12" e 3. singair 23° 49' 0.12" n, 90° 09' 0.00" e 4. daulatpur 24° 00' 5.04" n, 88° 52' 30.00" e 5. ghior 23° 53' 15.00" n, 89° 50' 15.00" e 6. harirampur 23° 43' 59.88" n, 89° 58' 0.12" e 7. saturia 23° 35' 33.00" n, 90° 01' 23.16" e for estimating the diversity of medicinal plants and determining which plants are particularly valuable in the search for bioactive compounds, the factor of informant consensus (fic) was calculated (heinrich et al., 1998). fic is calculated in the following equation: fic = nur – ntaxa/nur1, where nur is the number of use-reports in each category and ntaxa is the number of species in each category (trotter and logan, 1986; heinrich et al., 1998). a fic-value provides a range from 0 to 1, where a high fic-value (close to 1) means that there is a well-defined group of species used to cure a particular ailment-category and that information is exchanged between informants. on the other hand, a low fic value (close to 0) indicates that informants disagree over which plants to use, due to random choice or a lack of exchange of information about the use of informants. such analyses classified disorders into groups, such as plant species with a high fic value, which can be considered more pharmacologically effective than plant species with a low fic value (ragupathy et al., 2008). the credibility level was calculated for the foremost reported medicinal plant species as: fl (%) = (np / n) × 100; wherever np = the number of informants that claim the use of a plant species to treat a specific disease. n = the number of informants that use the plants as medicine to treat any given disease (friedman et al., 1986). the fidelity level (fl) varies from 0 to 100%. medicinal plants, that are widely used by local individuals for certain ailments, have higher flvalues, instead of those, that are less well-liked for being considered good remedies. citation frequency (cf) was calculated using the following method: frequency of citation for a particular species = (number of citations for that particular species/number of all citations for all species) x 100. results and discussion the present ethnobotanical survey has recorded a total of 131 medicinal plants with 114 formularies belonging to 61 families that were acquired by conducting 300 interviews for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. for each species, the scientific name and voucher number, local name, family, habit, ailments, part(s), and treatment mode have been provided (table 2). 104 juthi et al. table 2. ethnobotanical data on medicinal plants and uses in the study area. scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moen., tsj82 dherosh malvaceae herb antioxidant cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. blood purifier cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. cardiac complaints cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. high blood pressure young fruit is boiled in water, and the water is consumed regularly.. abroma augusta (l.) l. f., tsj76 ulat-kambal. sterculiaceae. shrub heart disease leaf juice is taken. acalypha indica l., tsj20 muktajhuri euphorbiaceae herb blood purifier leaf juice is taken. blood purifier root juice is taken achyranthes aspera l., tsj-70 apang amaranthaceae herb chest pain one gm of seed powder is taken. cardiac complaints one ml of leaf juice is taken with cold water. acorus calamus l., tsj109 boch araceae herb antioxidant rhizome powder is used as spice in cooking. cardiac complaints rhizome soaked in water overnight and the extract is taken in the morning. aegle marmelos (l.) corr., tsj-75 bel rutaceae tree cardiac complaints 6-12 gm root powder is taken with milk. allium cepa l., tsj-110 piaj liliaceae herb blood purifier 1 ml of bulb juice is taken. cardiac complaints young bulb is taken directly. high blood pressure leaves are taken as vegetable. allium sativum l., tsj83 rosun liliaceae herb cardiac complaints 2 pieces of bulb is taken everyday. high blood pressure bulb paste is taken with boiled rice. aloe vera (l.) burm. f., tsj-79 ghritokumari aloaceae herb antioxidant leaf juice is taken. blood purifier latex paste is eaten with honey. cardiac complaints latex is taken as vegetable. high blood pressure latex pieces is taken internally. alstonia scholaris r. br., tsj-9 chatim apocynaceae tree high blood pressure 50 gm bark powder is taken with hot water twice in a day. alternanthera sessilis (l.) r.br., tsj-84 hainsashak, kathapata shak amaranthaceae herb chest pain cooked whole plant is taken as vegetable. ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases 105 scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode amaranthus tricolor l., tsj-85 lalshak amaranthaceae herb antioxidant cooked whole plant is taken as vegetable. blood purifier cooked whole plant is taken as vegetable. cardiac complaints whole cooked plants are consumed as vegetables. high blood pressure cooked whole plant is taken as vegetable. amaranthus spinosus l., tsj-86 katanote shak amaranthaceae herb blood purifier whole cooked plants are consumed as vegetables. amaranthus viridis l., tsj-87 note shak amaranthaceae herb blood purifier cooked whole plant is taken as vegetable. anacardium occidentale l., tsj-111 kajubadam anacardiaceae tree cardiac complaints fried seed is taken. andrographis paniculata nees., tsj-19 kalomegh acanthaceae herb antioxidant leaf juice is taken with honey. blood purifier leaf juice is taken. aquilaria malaccensis lam., tsj-112 agor thymelaeaceae tree cardiac complaints 2/3 gm bark powder is taken with milk twice a day. arachis hypogaea l., tsj-24 china badam fabaceae herb antioxidant fried seed is taken. blood purifier 5/10 seed soaked in water overnight and take the water with seed. . cardiac complaints seed juice is taken. high blood pressure seed paste is taken with boiled rice. artabotrys hexapetalus (l.f.) bhandari., tsj113 kathalichapa annonaceae shrub blood purifier flower powder is taken in empty stomach with water twice in a day. artocarpus heterophyllus lamk., tsj-88 kathal moraceae tree antioxidant seed paste is taken with boiled rice. blood purifier young fruit is taken as vegetable. cardiac complaints ripe fruit is taken. high blood pressure ripe fruit is taken. asclepias curassavica (l.)., tsj-89 bon-karpash asclepiadaceae shrub chest pain leaf juice is taken with honey twice in a day with empty stomach. asparagus racemosus willd., tsj-90 satamuli liliaceae climber antioxident 5/7 gram boiled leaf is taken. chest pain 2/3 ml root juice is taken with half cup of raw milk and drink it in empty stomach. 106 juthi et al. scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode averrhoa bilimbi l., tsj-16 bilombo oxalidaceae tree antioxident leaf paste is taken in empty stomach. high blood pressure fruit is taken with salt. averrhoa carambola l., tsj-52 kamranga oxalidaceae tree antioxidant fruit is preserved as pickles. cardiac complaints ripe fruit is taken. high blood pressure fruit juice is taken. azadirachta indica a. juss., tsj-62 neem meliaceae tree blood purifier young leaf juice is taken. high blood pressure leaf juice is taken with honey. baccaurea ramiflora lour., tsj-1 lotkon euphorbiaceae tree cardiac complaints fruit juice is taken bacopa monniera (l.) pennel., tsj-8 brahmmishak scrophulariaceae herb antioxidant cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. high blood pressure cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. basella alba l., tsj-100 puisak basellaceae climber antioxidant cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. cardiac complaints leaf juice is taken. high blood pressure boiled leaf is taken. benincasa hispida (thub.) cogn., tsj-114 chal kumra cucurbitaceae climber blood purifier cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. blumea lacera (burn. f.) dc., tsj-22 kukur shunga, shealmoti asteraceae herb antioxidant cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. boerhaavia diffusa l., tsj-74 punornova nyctaginaceae herb cardiac complaints 5-10 ml leaf juice is taken twice in a day. bombax ceiba l., tsj115 shimul bombacaceae tree blood purifier 1/2 gm root powder is taken with goat milk twice in a day. brassica oleracea var. capitata l., tsj-116 badhakopi brassicaceae herb blood purifier leaf is taken as salad. cardiac complaints cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. brassica nigra (l.) koch., tsj-54 sorishashak brassicaceae herb cardiac complaints cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. brassica oleracea var. botrytis l., tsj-117 fulkopi brassicaceae herb antioxidant 1 cup boiled fruit is taken with salt. . blood purifier cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. cardiac complaints boiled fruit paste is taken with rice. cajanus cajan (l.) millsp., tsj-12 arhar fabaceae shrub blood purifier boiled leaf juice is taken. cardiac complaints cooked seed is taken. ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases 107 scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze., tsj-87 cha pata theaceae shrub antioxidant boiled leaf juice is taken. blood purifier boiled leaf juice is taken. cardiac complaints boiled leaf juice is taken. high blood pressure boiled leaf juice is taken. cardiospermum halicacabum l., tsj-44 phutka, bontepari sapindaceae climber antioxidant one ml of whole plant juice is taken with one spoon of water. cardiac complaints 4/5 fruit is boiled with water and the juice is taken. carica papaya l., tsj18 pepe caricaceae shrub antioxidant leaf juice is taken. blood purifier young fruit is taken as salad. cardiac complaints young fruit is taken as vegetable. high blood pressure ripe fruit is taken. carissa spinarum l., tsj-2 koromcha apocynaceae shrub cardiac complaints fruit is taken with salt. high blood pressure root juice is taken cassia fistula l., tsj-69 sonalu caesalpiniaceae tree antioxidant leaf juice is taken. high blood pressure 4/5 gm fruit is taken with half cup of milk and drink the mixture twice in a day. senna occidentalis (l.) link, tsj-119 kolkesunda caesalpiniaceae herb chest pain one gram dried flower powder is taken with milk twice in a day. catharanthus roseus (l.) g. don., tsj-50 nayantara apocynaceae herb blood purifier leaf juice is taken. high blood pressure root juice is taken with empty stomach. centella asiatica (l.) urban., tsj-67 thankuni apiaceae herb blood purifier 4 ml leaf juice is taken with one spoon honey and drink the mixture in empty stomach. chenopodium album l., tsj-101 bathuashak amaranthaceae herb blood purifier cooked plant is taken as vegetable. cinnamomum tamala nees &eberm., tsj-81 tejpata lauraceae tree antioxidant dried leaf powder is used as spice. blood purifier leaf soaked in hot water overnight and then water is taken in the next day morning. cardiac complaints 3 gm leaf powder mixed with 300 ml water boiled for few minutes and drink the juice. 108 juthi et al. scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode cinnamomum verum presl., tsj-56 darchini lauraceae tree antioxidant bark powder is taken as spice. blood purifier bark powder is taken with honey. cardiac complaints bark is soaked with water overnight and then water is taken in the next morning in empty stomach. cissus quadrangularis l., tsj-77 harjora vitaceae climber high blood pressure leaf juice is taken. citrullus lanatus (thumb.) marts., tsj120 tormujh cucurbitaceae creeper antioxidant outer surface of the fruit is taken as salad. cardiac complaints ripe fruit is taken. high blood pressure young fruit is taken as vegetable. citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle., tsj-49 kagojilebu rutaceae shrub antioxidant fruit juice is taken. chest pain one ml of fruit juice is taken with half glass of water. high blood pressure outer surface of the fruit is taken as salad. citrus maxima (burm.) merr., tsj-3 jambura rutaceae tree antioxidant ripe fruit is taken. blood purifier outer surface of the fruit is taken as salad. high blood pressure fruit juice is taken. citrus reticulata blanco., tsj-45 komolalebu rutaceae shrub antioxidant outer surface of the fruit is taken as salad. cardiac complaints ripe fruit is taken. high blood pressure fruit juice is taken. cocos nucifera l., tsj121 narikel arecaceae tree antioxidant cooked copra is taken with sugar. blood purifier young fruit is taken. cardiac complaints young fruit is taken in empty stomach. high blood pressure young fruit juice is taken. corchorus capsularis l., tsj-43 path shak tiliaceae herb antioxidant cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. blood purifier cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. cardiac complaints cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. high blood pressure cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases 109 scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode coriandrum sativum l., tsj-122 dhonia apiaceae herb antioxidant leaf juice is taken. blood purifier seed soaked in water then the water is taken. high blood pressure leaf paste is taken with boiled rice. croton bonpladianus baill., tsj-102 bon tulshi euphorbiaceae shrub antioxidant leaf juice is taken with honey in empty stomach. cardiac complaints fresh leaf is chewed in every morning with empty stomach. cucumis sativus l., tsj123 sosha cucurbitaceae climber cardiac complaints fruit is taken as salad. cucurbita maxima duch, ex lamk.,tsj103 mistikumra cucurbitaceae climber antioxidant 1 glass fruit juice is taken with honey 3 times in a day. . blood purifier seed paste is taken. high blood pressure cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. curcuma longa l., tsj104 holud zingiberaceae herb antioxidant rhizome juice is taken with milk. blood purifier rhizome juice is taken. cardiac complaints rhizome powder is used in cooking. cuscuta reflexa roxb., tsj-105 swarnalata cuscutaceae climber blood purifier stem juice is taken. cynodon dactylon pers., tsj-51 durba ghash poaceae herb blood purifier leaf juice is taken with goat milk. cyperus rotundus l., tsj-73 mutha ghash cyperaceae herb blood purifier one spoon of leaf juice is taken in empty stomach. daucus carota l., tsj124 gajor apiaceae herb antioxidant tuber juice is taken. blood purifier tuber is taken as salad. cardiac complaints tuber is taken. dillenia indica l., tsj-5 chalta dilleniaceae tree antioxidant fruit is taken as vegetable. blood purifier fruit juice is taken with warm water. cardiac complaints fruit is preserved as pickles. dioscorea alata l., tsj39 gach alu dioscoreaceae climber high blood pressure cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. diplazium esculentum l., tsj-33 dheki shak polypodiaceae herb high blood pressure cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. eclipta prostrata (l.) l., tsj-47 keshraj asteraceae herb blood purifier one spoon of leaf juice is taken with one cup of water. elaeocarpus floribundus blume, tsj-71 jolpai elaeocarpaceae tree antioxidant leaf juice is taken. blood purifier fruit is preserved as pickles 110 juthi et al. scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode cardiac complaints fruit is taken. high blood pressure cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. elettaria cardamomum (l.) maton., tsj-125 elach zingiberaceae herb antioxidant 4/8 pieces seed soaked in water overnight and take it next morning in empty stomach blood purifier seed is chewed in empty stomach. high blood pressure seed powder is taken as spice. enhydra fluctuans lour., tsj-32 helencha asteraceae herb antioxidant cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. blood purifier 20 ml leaf juice is taken with one spoonful of sugar. high blood pressure 2 ml of leaf juice is taken with 2 ml of honey. ficus racemosa l., tsj7 jogdumur moraceae tree antioxidant young leaf is chewed with boiled rice 3 times in a day. blood purifier 2 ml of bark juice is taken with honey. high blood pressure cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. ficus religiosa l., tsj-4 pipal moraceae tree blood purifier 2 gm of root powder is taken with one ml of water. cardiac complaints fruit powder is taken with water. high blood pressure leaf powder is taken with water. helianthus annuus l., tsj-126 surjomukhi asteraceae herb cardiac complaints seed oil is used in cooking. hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br., tsj-56 ananta mul asteraceae creeper blood purifier 1-3 gm root powder is taken after meal twice a day. hibiscus rosa-sinensis l., tsj-80 joba malvaceae shrub antioxidant dried flower powder is taken with boiled water. blood purifier dried flower powder is taken with boiled water. high blood pressure dried flower powder is taken with boiled water. hymenodictyon orixensis (roxb.) mabb., tsj-128 bhuikadam rubiaceae tree antioxidant bark is soaked with water overnight and then water is taken in the next morning in empty stomach. high blood pressure bark is soaked in water overnight, and the following morning, water is consumed on an empty stomach. hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit., tsj-129 tokma lamiaceae herb cardiac complaints 1 spoonful of seed is soaked with water overnight and then water is taken in the next morning in empty stomach. ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases 111 scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode ipomoea aquatica forssk., tsj-106 kalmishak convolvulaceae creeper antioxidant cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. ipomoea batatas lamk., tsj-55 misti alu convolvulaceae creeper antioxidant boiled tuber is taken. blood purifier boiled tuber is taken with boiled rice. cardiac complaints fried tuber is taken. justicia adhatoda l., tsj-21 basak acanthaceae shrub blood purifier leaf juice is taken. kalanchoe pinnata (lamk.) pers., tsj-42 pathorkuchi crassulaceae herb high blood pressure leaf juice is taken. lablab purpureus (l.) sweet., tsj-25 shim fabaceae climber antioxidant cooked seed is taken. blood purifier flower is taken with salt. cardiac complaints fruit paste is taken with boiled rice. high blood pressure cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. lactuca sativa l., tsj129 lettuce pata asteraceae herb antioxidant leaf juice is taken. blood purifier leaf is taken as salad. cardiac complaints leaf powder is taken for flavouring food. lagenaria siceraria (mol). stan., tsj64 lau cucurbitaceae climber blood purifier leaf is taken as vegetable. cardiac complaints boiled fruit paste is taken with boiled rice. high blood pressure fruit is taken as vegetable. lawsonia inermis l., tsj-13 mehedi lythraceae shrub blood purifier dried leaf powder is taken with boiled water. lens culinaris medic., tsj-131 musur dal fabaceae herb blood purifier boiled seed is taken. cardiac complaints boiled seed is taken. high blood pressure boiled seed paste is taken with boiled rice. lycopersicon lycopersicum (l.) farewell., tsj68 tomato solanaceae herb antioxidant young fruit is taken. blood purifier fruit is taken as salad. high blood pressure young fruit is taken as vegetable. malus domestica borkh., tsj-66 apel rosaceae tree antioxidant 3 fruits are taken in empty stomach. cardiac complaints at least one fruit is taken everyday. high blood pressure fruit is taken as salad. mangifera indica l., tsj-10 aam anacardiaceae tree antioxidant dried leaf powder is taken twice in a day. 112 juthi et al. scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode blood purifier seed paste is taken with boiled rice. cardiac complaints ripe fruit is taken. high blood pressure 5-12 leaves are boiled with water and take water in an empty stomach. mentha spicata l., tsj60 pudina lamiaceae herb antioxidant 6/7 leaves are taken with boiled with water. blood purifier leaf juice is taken. . cardiac complaints leaf is taken as salad. high blood pressure 2 leaves are chewed in every morning with empty stomach. momordica charantia l., tsj-107 korola cucurbitaceae climber antioxidant fruit juice is taken with one spoonful of honey in an empty stomach. blood purifier cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. cardiac complaints boiled fruit paste is taken with boiled rice. high blood pressure fruit juice is taken. moringa oleifera lamk., tsj-78 sajna moringaceae tree antioxidant 2-5 leaves are chewed in empty stomach. blood purifier 7 gm leaf powder is taken with water everyday. cardiac complaints leaf paste is taken with boiled rice. high blood pressure leaf is taken as vegetable. murraya koenigii (l.) spreng., tsj-26 curry pata, choto kamini rutaceae shrub antioxidant one cup leaf juice is taken with butter and black pepper. blood purifier 4 fresh leaves are taken in empty stomach. cardiac complaints leaf juice is taken. musa paradisiaca l., tsj-23 kola musaceae treelike blood purifier leaf is taken as vegetable. chest pain flower juice is taken at least for 15 days. cardiac complaints young fruit is taken as vegetable. high blood pressure ripe fruit is taken. nerium indicum mill., tsj-36 korobi apocynaceae shrub cardiac complaints 500 gm root powder is taken with honey. nigella sativa l., tsj30 kalojira ranunculaceae herb blood purifier seed paste is taken with boiled rice. cardiac complaints one ml of seed oil is taken with one cup of milk. ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases 113 scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode high blood pressure one ml of seed oil is taken with one spoon of honey. nyctanthes arbor-tristis l., tsj-57 shiuli verbenaceae shrub antioxidant boiled leaf juice is taken. blood purifier leaf juice is taken with honey. nymphaea nouchali burm. f., tsj-65 shapla nymphaeaceae herb cardiac complaints flower is taken as vegetable. ocimum tenuiflorum l., tsj-11 tulshi lamiaceae herb antioxidant 4/5 young leaves are chewed in empty stomach. blood purifier leaf juice is taken with honey. oldenlandia corymbosa l., tsj-91 khet papra rubiaceae herb blood purifier boiled leaf juice is taken. oryza sativa l., tsj-72 dhan poaceae herb cardiac complaints boiled seed is taken. phyllanthus emblica l., tsj-17 amloki euphorbiaceae tree antioxidant fruit is taken. blood purifier fruit is preserved as pickles. cardiac complaints fruit juice is taken. high blood pressure fruit powder is taken with milk everyday. piper nigrum l., tsj-28 golmorich piperaceae climber antioxidant fruit powder is used as spice. high blood pressure one gm of fruit powder is boiled with two spoon of honey and then the mixture is taken. polyalthia longifolia (sonn.) thw., tsj-41 debdaru annonaceae tree cardiac complaints 3-4 gram bark powder is taken with boiled water. psidium guajava l., tsj-14 peyara myrtaceae tree antioxidant leaf juice is taken in empty stomach. blood purifier ripe fruit is taken. high blood pressure young fruit is taken as salad. punica granatum l., tsj-58 dalim lythraceae shrub antioxidant fruit juice is taken. blood purifier dried fruit surface powder is taken with water. chest pain ripe fruit is taken. cardiac complaints fruit juice is taken. high blood pressure fruit is taken as salad. raphanus sativus (l.) domin., tsj63 mula brassicaceae herb antioxidant leaf juice is taken with honey. blood purifier boiled tuber is taken with salt. cardiac complaints cooked tuber is taken as vegetable. 114 juthi et al. scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode high blood pressure leaf is taken as vegetable. rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth.ex kurz., tsj-34 sarpagandha apocynaceae shrub cardiac complaints root powder is taken after meal twice in a day. high blood pressure leaf juice is taken. rosa centifolia l., tsj 53 golap rosaceae shrub blood purifier 6 gm leaf crushed is taken with 60 ml water. saraca asoca (roxb.) de wild., tsj40 ashok caesalpiniaceae tree blood purifier bark soaked with water overight and then water is taken in empty stomach. scoparia dulcis l., tsj 27 chini-pata scrophulariaceae herb high blood pressure leaf juice is taken. solanum melongena l., tsj92 begun solanaceae shrub antioxidant fried fruit is taken. blood purifier boiled fruit is taken with salt. cardiac complaints fruit is taken as vegetable. high blood pressure boiled fruit paste is taken with boiled rice. spilanthes calva dc., tsj31 osom shak, midi phul asteraceae herb high blood pressure cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. spinacia oleracea l., tsj-93 palongshak chenopodiaceae herb antioxidant leaf juice is taken. cardiac complaints boiled leaf paste is taken with boiled rice. high blood pressure cooked leaf is taken as vegetable. spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz., tsj59 amra anacardiaceae tree antioxidant fruit is taken. blood purifier fruit juice is taken. cardiac complaints cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. syzygium cumini (l.) skeels., tsj15 jam myrtaceae tree antioxidant ripe fruit is taken. blood purifier one gm of seed powder is taken in empty stomach. high blood pressure fruit juice is taken. tamarindus indica l., tsj37 tetul caesalpiniaceae tree antioxidant fruit is preserved as pickles. blood purifier leaf is taken with boiled water. cardiac complaints ripe fruit is taken. high blood pressure fruit juice is taken. terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn., tsj35 arjun. combretaceae tree chest pain bark is decocted with water and then drink the water. ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases 115 scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode cardiac complaints bark powder is taken in empty stomach. high blood pressure bark is soaked in water overnight and then water is taken in the morning. terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb., tsj48 bohera combretaceae tree cardiac complaints fruit is soaked in water overnight and then water is taken in the morning. terminalia catappa l., tsj38 kath badam combretaceae tree antioxidant boiled seed paste is taken with boiled rice. blood purifier seed is soaked in water overnight and then taken in the morning. cardiac complaints seed is taken. high blood pressure seed juice is taken with milk. terminalia chebula retz., tsj6 haritaki combretaceae tree blood purifier fruit is soaked in water overnight and then water is taken in the morning. . cardiac complaints dried fruit powder mixed with amloki and bohera powder in water and drink the mixture in an empty stomach. high blood pressure fruit is decocted with water and then drink the water. cascabela thevetia (l.) lippold, tsj94 kalke phul apocynaceae shrub cardiac complaints 0ne gram root powder is taken with boiled milk. tinospora crispa (l.) hook. f. & thoms., tsj 95 guloncholota menispermaceae climber blood purifier 10-12 gm leaf powder is taken with one cup of water for 30 days. trichosanthes dioica roxb., tsj96 potol cucurbitaceae climber antioxidant seed paste is taken with boiled rice. blood purifier boiled fruit paste is taken with boiled rice. cardiac complaints fruit is taken as vegetable. trigonella foenumgraecum l., tsj97 methi fabaceae herb antioxidant leaf is taken as vegetable. blood purifier seed are soaked in water overnight and then water is taken in the morning. cardiac complaints seed paste is taken with boiled rice. high blood pressure seed powder is taken with water. triticum asetivuml., tsj46 gom poaceae herb blood purifier boiled seed is taken with milk. cardiac complaints leaf juice is taken in empty stomach. 116 juthi et al. scientific name & voucher no. local name family habit ailments parts and treatment mode vachellia nilotica (l.) p.j.h.hurter & mabb., tsj61 babla mimosaceae tree high blood pressure bark juice is taken. high blood pressure leaf juice is taken. vigna sesquipedalis (l.) walp., tsj98 borboti fabaceae climber antioxidant cooked fruit is taken as vegetable. chest pain boiled fruit is taken as salad. cardiac complaints boiled fruit paste is taken with boiled rice. high blood pressure boiled seed paste is taken with boiled rice. vitis vinifera l., tsj 108 angur vitaceae climber antioxidant fruit is taken. blood purifier fruit juice is taken. cardiac complaints young fruit is preserved as pickles. zea mays l., tsj-99 vutta poaceae herb antioxidant fried fruit is taken. blood purifier seed is take as popcorn. cardiac complaints boiled seed is taken as vegetable. high blood pressure dried seed powder is taken with water. zingiber officinale rosc., tsj29 ada zingiberaceae herb blood purifier rhizome is taken with salt. chest pain 2-inch rhizome is boiled with 2 cup of water and the water is taken. cardiac complaints rhizome juice is taken with honey. among the 131 plant species in the review region, herbs have been addressed by 41%, trees by 33%, shrubs by 19%, and climbers by 7%. the outcome mirrored that herbs are the most prevalent life form among the medicinal plants in the review region. leaves were the most regularly used plant part, with 35% application in traditional medicinal recipes, followed by fruit (26%), seed (12%), root (6%), bark (5%), whole plant (5%), flower (4%), rhizome (2%), tuber (1%), bulb (1%), latex (1%), and stem (1%). for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders, 61 families of medicinal plants have been identified in the current study. the top five families, including fabaceae, amaranthaceae, asteraceae, cucurbitaceae, and apocynaceae, were found to contain many species that are medicinal (fig. 1). those were the most dominant, with the maximum number of medicinal plant species in the study area. to calculate the factor of informant consensus (fic) values, total ailments were categorized into five groups, such as cardiac complaints, blood purifiers, chest pain, high blood pressure, and antioxidants. the average fic value for all ailment categories obtained was 0.8492, with phyllanthus emblica l., allium sativum l., terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight and arn., achyranthes aspera l., terminalia chebula retz, and allium cepa l. as the most cited plants. such a value indicated that the maximum number of people in the study area were well informed about the medicinal knowledge of plants. among the five categories, the cardiac complaints group ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases 117 attained the highest fic values (0.8640), followed by blood purifier (0.8590), chest pain (0.8492), high blood pressure (0.7164), and antioxidant (0.6667). fig. 1. ethnomedicinal plant families according to the high number of plant species for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in bangladesh. the medicinal plant species that have been extensively used by the people of the locality had an excessive fidelity level (fl) compared to the ones that have been less vital. for figuring out medicinally vital plant species in the study area, the fidelity level (fl) was calculated. in general, the high fl of a species suggests the superiority of a particular disorder in a place and the usage of plant species by the population to deal with it (bibi et al., 2014; srithi et al., 2009). among the 131 plant species, 45 scored fl values of 100%. the fidelity level of the most cited plant species was turned into a category (table 3). according to the citation frequency of all medicinal plants, the most frequently used plants were phyllanthus emblica l., allium sativum l., terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight and arn., achyranthes aspera l., and terminalia chebula retz (table 4). the highest cf value means that such species were very popular plant species in the study area and were used for the treatment of cardiac diseases. among the disease categories, the highest (fic) value was obtained in cardiac complaints, followed by blood purifiers, chest pain, high blood pressure, and antioxidants. the cardiac complaints were managed by a total of 80 medicinal plant species. among the medicinal plants, the most cited were phyllanthus emblica l., allium sativum l., and terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc). wight and arn., achyranthes aspera l., terminalia chebula retz, and allium cepa l. in the blood purifier category, 76 species were used, and phyllanthus emblica l., terminalia chebula retz, and allium cepa l. were most cited. in the chest pain category, 20 species were used, table 3. fidelity level (fl) values of the frequently reported plants and their major uses. ailments scientific name np n fl % blood purifier adhatoda zeylanica medikus. 160 160 100 cardiac complaints terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. 108 108 100 chest pain alternanthera sessilis (l.) r.br. 77 77 100 cardiac complaints baccaurea ramiflora lour. 76 76 100 helianthus annuus l. 58 58 100 hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. 58 58 100 blood purifier hemidesmus indicus (l.) r. br. 56 56 100 cardiac complaints nymphaea nouchali burm. f. 47 47 100 118 juthi et al. table 4. citation frequency of most cited medicinal plants. scientific name local name parts use ailments citation cf value phyllanthus emblica l. amloki fruit antioxidant 197 65.67 blood purifier 197 65.67 cardiac complaints 197 65.67 high blood pressure 197 65.67 allium sativum l. rosun bulb cardiac complaints 182 60.67 high blood pressure 182 60.67 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun. bark chest pain 174 58 . . cardiac complaints 174 58 high blood pressure 174 58 achyranthes aspera l. apang leaves cardiac complaints 172 57.33 seed chest pain 172 57.33 terminalia chebula retz. horitoki fruit blood purifier 166 55.33 cardiac complaints 166 55.33 and the most cited were terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc). wight and arn. and achyranthes aspera l. in the high blood pressure category, 39 species were used, and the most cited were phyllanthus emblica l., allium sativum l., and terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc). wight and arn., terminalia chebula retz, allium cepa l. in the antioxidant category, 36 species were used, and phyllanthus emblica l. was the most cited plant. among the 131 plant species, 45 species scored a 100% fidelity level as culturally important plant species. the record of 131 ethnomedicinal plant species with diverse use patterns reflected the traditional knowledge richness in the study area. among the ethnomedicinal plants, 10 plant species, including phyllanthus emblica l., allium sativum l., terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight and arn, achyranthes aspera l., terminalia chebula retz., allium cepa l., adhatoda zeylanica nees, cinnamomum tamala nees and eberm, cajanus cajan (l.) millsp, and ipomoea aquatic forssk, were cited the most times by the local people. the study resulted in the recording a total of 131 ethnomedicinal plant species under 61 families with 114 formularies documented by the local people around the study area of manikganj district for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. although modern health services are available, the local people still rely on traditional medicine, highlighting the importance of traditional herbal treatment methods. since the dawn of society, humans have relied on plants to create new fields for the discovery of drugs derived from plants. these medicines are effective in curing several ailments and have changed the focus on herbal medicines in new ways. it is estimated that about 30% of pharmaceutical products are made from plant derivatives (leta et al., 2002; gillman et al., 1995). several studies have been conducted to find plants, natural food sources, and their supplements that have antithrombotic effects such as anticoagulants and antiplatelets. there are indications that consumption of these foods leads to the prevention of coronary disease and stroke (ratnasooriya et al., 2008; liu et al., 2000; joshipura et al., 1999; bazzano et al., 2002). although there are several thrombolytic drugs derived from those obtained with recombinant dna technology, the side effects associated with some of these drugs have been reported to cause further difficulties (baruah et al., 2006; gallus et al., 1998; capstick et al., 2005). the ethnomedicinal plants were also used for the treatment of covid-19 pandemic in and around dhaka city (uddin et al., 2023). however, herbal preparations with the right dosage can be an alternative and a better choice for curing various diseases. ethnomedicinal plants for cardiovascular diseases 119 based on observations and local people's perceptions, the most cited species, named achyranthes aspera l., cajanus cajan (l.) millsp., andrographis paniculata nees., aquilaria malaccensis lam., dioscorea alata l., and rauvolfia serpentina (l.) benth. ex kurz., were found to be very rare in the habitat and were also in danger because of anthropogenic pressure, deforestation, lack of knowledge about plants, and mismanagement of plantations in the study area. this survey has significant value for conservation managers and policymakers for the sustainable management of medicinal plant species that are threatened in nature. this species should be conserved before being eliminated from nature. there is an urgent need to document this knowledge before it becomes extinct. these herbal remedies can be further tested against various diseases to discover their unexplored capacity and may be a potential source of biologically important drug components. acknowledgement the authors are acknowledged to prime minister’s education assistance trust fund for the financial support. we are also thankful to the local people who helped us during data collections in the study areas. references ahmed, z.u., islam. m.a., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., rahman, m.m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 21 december, 2023; revised on 9 may, 2024) http://www.ebbd.info. bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 89–97, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67046 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists three new records of lauraceae for bangladesh mohammad sayedur rahman*, saleh ahammad khan1, gazi mosharof hossain1, khandakar kamrul islam and mohammad amdadul hoque bangladesh national herbarium, chiriakhana road, mirpur-1, dhaka-1216, bangladesh keywords: angiosperms; lauraceae; litsea; new record; bangladesh. abstract during the floristic explorations conducted in 2022–2023 in different forest areas of the northeast region of bangladesh, some specimens of the family lauraceae were collected. the critical examinations of these specimens have revealed that they belong to the species litsea kurzii, litsea stocksii, and litsea variabilis of the family lauraceae. these species are new to the flora of bangladesh. a detailed taxonomic description, including data on ecology, distribution, and use, a list of representative specimens examined, and photographs of each of these species have been provided. introduction taxonomists are relentlessly describing new extant species every year. in bangladesh, the endeavour of exploring new plant species is continuing, and as a consequence, the taxonomists of this country have published a notable number of new records in the last few decades, though sporadically. likewise, after the publication of the encyclopedia of the flora and fauna of bangladesh (effb) (ahmed et al. 2008–2009, 2009; siddiqui et al. 2007), around 281 new records of angiosperms have been published, mostly with information on the specific distribution of the recorded taxa (rahman and hassan, 2017; islam and rahman, 2017; sourav et al., 2017; ara and hassan, 2018; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin, 2018; alfasane et al., 2019, 2020; hossain et al., 2020; sultana and rahman, 2021; hossain et al., 2022; rahman et al., 2022; sultana et al., 2022; uddin and uddin, 2022). it means that in the last 13 years, around 7.78% of the effb’s record of 3611 species and 5.6% of khan (1977)’s estimate of 5000 species of angiosperms to exist within the territory of bangladesh have been newly added to the flora of this country. as a result, the total number of angiosperm species in bangladesh has increased to 3892 through the addition of these additional records to the 3611 species listed in the effb. now, if khan's (1977) estimation of 5000 species to occur in bangladesh is considered, the existence of around 1108 (22.16%) species and their status in this country is yet to be confirmed through intensive and extensive field explorations, and the plant taxonomists of this country are working towards this goal. recently, in 2022–2023, floristic surveys were conducted in the northeast region of bangladesh. during these surveys, some specimens of angiosperms collected by the authors from the lithitila forest area of juri, moulvibazar district, and nijpat of the jaintiapur hill areas of sylhet district appeared to be different. these specimens were preliminarily identified as belonging to lauraceae, but they did not match with any specimens of this family collected previously from this country or with the taxonomic description or key characters of any species of this family known or reported previously from bangladesh. following the rigorous examinations of these specimens, matching their characters with the relevant published descriptions, key * corresponding author, email: sayedur27bcs@gmail.com 1department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka-1342, bangladesh https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67046 mailto:sayedur27bcs@gmail.com 90 rahman et al. characters, and specimens available at the local herbaria and the herbarium of the botanical survey of india (cal), and images of lauraceae voucher specimens available on the websites of a few international herbaria (e.g., kew herbarium, k and missouri botanical garden's herbarium, mo), these unknown specimens were found to belong to three species of the genus litsea lam. of the lauraceae. these species have never been mentioned or reported previously in any publication on the flora covering the present territory of bangladesh. hence, these three species have been confirmed as new to the flora of bangladesh. the specimens are presently deposited at the bangladesh national herbarium (dacb) and the jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). materials and methods field surveys were conducted from december 2022 to may 2023 in the evergreen, semievergreen, and deciduous forests in the northeast region of bangladesh that belong to the administrative boundaries of the habiganj, moulvibazar, and sylhet districts of sylhet division. these field surveys were carried out in all three major seasons of the year, mostly in the forests and scrub jungles of the hilly regions and foothills of habiganj, moulvibazar, and sylhet districts. the freshly collected plant specimens were processed, dried, and preserved following standard herbarium techniques (hyland, 1972; jain and raw, 1977). the taxonomic identification of these specimens was confirmed by matching their characters with the relevant taxonomic literature (e.g., devis and cullen, 1965; geesink et al., 1981; hooker, 1890; prain, 1903; mia, 2009; li et al., 2008; ngernsaengsaruay et al., 2011), voucher specimens housed at dacb and juh, and clear images available on the websites of a few international herbaria (e.g., k, muséum national d'histoire naturelle p, and mo). a taxonomic description of each species was prepared through careful observation and examination of the morphological characters of the representative specimens. nomenclatural information was verified following recent taxonomic publications (li et al., 2008) and the nomenclatural databases of powo (2023), wfo (2023), gbif secretariat (2023), and tropicos (2023). the voucher specimens have been deposited at dacb and juh. results and discussion the taxonomic identification of the specimens of litsea collected from different forest areas of the sylhet division of bangladesh has been confirmed as l. kurzii king ex hook.f., l. stocksii (meisn.) hook.f., and l. variabilis hemsl. the following taxonomic descriptions of these species, including the key for their identification, have been produced based on the collected specimens and field notes recorded during field visits. litsea lam. encycl. 3: 574 (1792) litsea lam., with over 300 species, is one of the largest genera in the lauraceae family, which makes up a significant portion of tropical forests. this genus is native to tropical asia, australia, mesoamerica, florida, georgia, north carolina, and virginia in north america, and a few in the pacific islands. it is introduced into comoros, kwazulu-natal, mauritius, rodrigues, réunion, seychelles, and trinidad and tobago (powo, 2023; ngernsaengsaruay et al., 2011). in bangladesh, the genus litsea is known to be represented by 19 species (heinig, 1925; khan and banu, 1969; mia and huq, 1986; alam, 1988; das and alam, 2001; ara et al., 2007; mia, 2009; arefin et al., 2011; ara and khan, 2015; basak and alam, 2015; rahman and hassan, 2017; rahman and uddin, 2018; uddin and hassan, 2018; uddin, 2018; rahim, 2019). three new records of lauraceae 91 key to the species 1. leaves glabrous beneath; peduncles 1–2 cm long; perianth tube cylindrical, glabrous, inserted to the half portion of fruit at maturity……………………. l. stocksii leaves pubescent beneath, peduncles 0.3–0.8 cm long, perianth tube shallow cup-shaped, pubescent, attached only at the base of the fruit………. 2 2. leaf blade obovate, sometimes elliptic-oblong, margins ciliate, secondary veins ≥ 12 pairs……………………………………………………………… l. kurzii leave blade oblong or oblong-lanceolate, margins aciliate, secondary veins ≤10 pairs……………………………………………………………………... l. variabilis litsea kurzii king ex hook.f., fl. brit. india 5: 164 (1886), type: india: south andaman, 23.9.64. s. kurz s.n. (it: k, image!); brandis, ind. trees: 537 (1906); parkinson, forest fl. andaman islands: 226 (1923); kosterm., bibliogr. laur. 836 (1964); ngernsaengsaruay et al., thai for. bull. (bot.) 39: 40–119 (2011). malapoenna kurzii kuntze in revis. gen. pl. 2: 572 (1891). (fig. 1) small tree, up to 7 m tall; bark smooth, lenticellate, brown; young branchlets densely hairy. leaves spiral, blade obovate, sometimes elliptic-oblong, 15–25 by 5.0–9.5 cm, apex acuminate, sometimes cuspidate or obtuse, base cuneate or slightly oblique, margins ciliate or partly ciliate, glabrous above, glaucous, pubescent beneath; petioles 1.5–3.5 cm long, densely reddish-brown pubescent; midrib shallowly sunken above, raised beneath, secondary veins 12–15 pairs, shallowly sunken adaxially, raised abaxially. inflorescence umbel, towards the branchlets or in leaf axils, the cluster of umbels 0.5–1.0 cm in diam.; peduncles 0.3–0.8 cm long, pubescent; bracts 4–5, decussate or imbricate, suborbicular or broadly ovate, concave, 3–5 by 3–4 mm, outer ones coriaceous, pale green to yellowish and pubescent outside, inner ones membranaceous, hairy, marginally fimbriate. male flowers 6–7 in each umbel; pedicels up to 3 mm long, densely fig. 1. litsea kurzii king ex hook.f. a) a fruiting branchlet. 92 rahman et al. pubescent; tepals 6, ovate, subequal, 2.5–4.0 by 1.5–2.0 mm, membranaceous, pubescent; stamens 9, unequal; anthers 0.5–1.0 mm long; filaments slender, 2–4 mm long, villose. female flowers 4–6 in each umbel; pedicels 1.5–2.5 mm long, densely pubescent; tepals 6, ovate, pubescent; ovaries ovoid, 1–1.5 by 0.8–1.0 mm, glabrous; styles 2–3 mm long; stigma peltate; staminodes 9, villose. fruits ovoid, 1.0–1.1 by 0.8–0.9 cm, green with white dots, slightly pointed towards the apex, turning dark purple and black when ripe, glabrous, glaucous; perianth tubes shallow cup-shaped, spreading up to 0.4 cm in diam., pubescent; fruiting pedicels thickened, 0.3–0.5 cm long, pubescent; infructescence stalks 0.5–0.6 cm long, pubescent; fruit clusters 4.0 by 2.5 cm with 10– 16 fruit in each cluster. flowering and fruiting period: april-september. ecology: often by streams in the rain forest, dry evergreen forests. specimens examined: moulvibazar: lathitila beat, goalbari, juri, 17.8.2015. k.k. islam 302 (dacb); 23.5.2023, m.s. rahman 4915 (dacb). distribution: native to bangladesh, india (andaman is. and nicobar is.), myanmar, and thailand. use: the trunks of the plant are used for making house pillars by the local people. l. kurzii king ex hook.f. seems similar to l. grandis (nees) hook.f., from which it can be easily distinguished by its tomentose chartaceous leaves, densely reddish-brown pubescent petioles, pale-green to yellowish and pubescence bracts, perianth tubes of ca. 0.4 cm in diam, 0.3– 0.5 cm long fruiting pedicel, and 0.5–0.6 cm long infructescence stalks, in contrast to the sparsely pubescent coriaceous leaf, puberulous petioles, reddish-brown and puberulous bracts, perianth tubes of ca. 1.1 cm in diam., 0.5–1 cm long fruiting pedicel, and 0.8–1.4 cm long infructescence stalk of l. grandis. litsea stocksii (meisn.) hook.f., flora of british india 5:176 (1886). flora of bombay 2:539 (1906); srinivas and krishnamurthy, j. indian bot. soc. 95 (3 & 4): 169–182 (2016). tetranthera oblonga var. stocksii meisn., prodr.15(1): 205 (1864). cryptocarya neilgherrensis meisn. (1864), l. josephi s.m.almeida (1990), l. vartakii m.r.almeida (1989). (fig. 2) tree, up to 18 m tall, petioles 2.0–2.5 cm long, leaves alternate, leaf blades oblong to lanceolate, apically acute, 8–20 by 3–6 cm, white glaucous beneath, glabrous, lateral nerves 8–13 pairs. inflorescence umbel, monoecious, 2.5 cm long, greyish tomentose, male inflorescence 4–8 flowered and female inflorescence 4–5 flowered, arranged in 1 whorl; pedicels 1 cm long in male flower, 0.5 cm long female flower; in male flower stamens 8–10, introrse, unequal, 6 larger, different in length, 4 smaller, largest one c. 0.34 cm long, filament c. 0.24 cm long, sparsely hairy, anther c. 0.12 cm long. ovary in female flower straight, 1.0–1.3 mm by 0.6–0.8 mm half inferior, covered with the hairy perianth; styles 0.2–0.3 mm long; stigma dilated, 0.2–0.3 mm by 0.2 mm. fruiting peduncles 1–2 cm long at the young stage; pedicels up to 0.5 cm long; perianth tube 0.5– 0.7 cm long, up to 0.2 cm in diam. at the distal part of the fruit. berry oblong, 1.0–1.5 cm long, seated on cup-like perianth tube; young fruit almost completely inserted into perianth tube; half portion of fruit inserted into perianth tube at maturity. flowering and fruiting period: may to january. ecology: in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. specimens examined: moulvibazar: lathitila beat, goalbari, juri, 14.11.2022, k.k. islam and m.a. hoque 5132 (dacb). sylhet: nijpat, jaintiapur, 29.12.2022, s.a. khan, g.m. hossain and m.s. rahman 15 (juh); 24.05.2023, m.s. rahman 4931 (dacb). distribution: native to bangladesh and india. three new records of lauraceae 93 uses: the leaf is used to cure irritation of the urinary bladder and urethra; the root is used for the treatment of bruises; and the fruit and seed are used to cure sprains and itches (bhuinya et al., 2010). fig. 2. litsea stocksii (meisn.) hook. a) a branchlet showing habit, b) male inflorescence c) female inflorescence, d) young infructescence and e) mature infructescence. l. stocksii (meisn.) hook.f. appears to be close to l. laeta (wall. ex nees) hook.f., from which it differs by having 2.1–2.4 cm long petioles, an oblong berry inserted almost fully into the perianth tube or at least half porting of fruit, a fruiting pedicel c. 0.5 cm long with 1.8–2.0 cm long infructescence stalks, in contrast to the 0.6–1.6 cm long petioles, ovoid or ellipsoid berries inserted 94 rahman et al. into less than half of the perianth tube, 0.5–1.2 cm long fruiting pedicels, and less than 1.6 cm long infructescence stalks of l. laeta. litsea variabilis hemsl., j. linn. soc. bot. 26: 386 (1891); liou ho, laurac. chine & indochine. 188 (1932); allen, ann. missouri bot. gard. 25: 393 (1938); kosterm., bibliogr. laur. 891 (1964); ngernsaengsaruay et al., thai for. bull. (bot.) 39: 40–119 (2011). (fig. 3) small tree, up to 6 m tall; bark smooth, lenticellate, dark brown; branchlets sparsely pubescent or glabrous. leaves spiral; leaf blades oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 8–14 cm by 2.5–4.5 cm, apically acute or acuminate, basally cuneate, marginally entire, chartaceous, dark green, glabrous adaxially, glaucous, sparsely pubescent, or glabrous abaxially; petioles 0.8–1.0 cm long, sparsely pubescent; midrib sunken above, raised beneath; secondary veins 6–10 pairs, shallowly sunken or flattened above, raised beneath, curving near margins; tertiary veins reticulate, distinct beneath. inflorescences umbel, on reduced branchlets, umbels in the short cluster, in axils of leaves or along branchlets, clusters of umbels 0.7–1.0 cm long, 0.3–0.6 cm in diam.; peduncles 0.4–0.5 cm long, pubescent; bracts 4, decussate, suborbicular, or broadly ovate, concave, 2–5 by 2–3 mm, pubescent outside. male flowers 3–4 in each umbel; pedicels 1–2 mm long, pubescent; tepals 6, elliptic or elliptic-oblong, subequal, 2.5–3.0 mm by 1.0–1.5 mm, membranaceous, hairy; stamens 8–12, unequal; anthers 0.5–1.2 mm long; filaments 1–2 mm long, villose, 2 glands at base or without glands; pistillode 1.5 mm long. fruits globose, 0.7–1.1 cm in diam., green with white dots, turning black when ripe, glabrous, glossy; enlarged perianth tube, a shallow cup, 0.4–0.5 cm in diam., sparsely pubescent; fruiting pedicels 0.2–0.5 cm long, sparsely pubescent; shallow perianth tubes up to 0.2 cm in diam.; infructescence stalks 0.4–0.5 cm long, sparsely pubescent. flowering and fruiting period: march-november. ecology: in the moist evergreen forest beside the canal. fig. 3. litsea variabilis hemsl. a) a branchlet with mature infructescence. three new records of lauraceae 95 specimens examined: moulvibazar: lathitila beat, goalbari, juri, 15.11.2022 k.k. islam 5297 (dacb); 23.05.2023, m.s. rahman 4897 (dacb). distribution: native to bangladesh, china, laos, thailand, and vietnam. uses: the wood is heavy, slightly hard, and resistant to water and borer insects. it is used for furniture-making and house construction. l. variabilis hemsl. seems closer to l. khasyana meisn, from which it can be clearly distinguished by its pubescent petioles and globose fruits, in contrast to l. khasyana’s glabrous petiole and ellipsoid or cylindrical fruit. the images of all three species presented have been collected from mature plants naturally growing in the study area. the finding of these three species will make little contribution to the efforts to confirm the existence of more species in bangladesh in addition to the current record of 3892 angiosperm species for this country. acknowledgement the first author gratefully acknowledges the bangladesh national herbarium and forest department for providing financial and accommodation support, respectively. references ahmed, z.u., hassan, m.a., begum, z.n.t., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m. and ahmed, a.t.a. 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(manuscript received on 1 january 2023; revised on 5 june 2023) http://www.tropicos.org, http://www.world bangladesh j. plant taxon. 30(1): 123-151, 2023 (june) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67051 © 2023 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 pandemic in and around dhaka city mohammad zashim uddin*, md. abdul mazid1, md. siddiq hasan, abulais shomrat, noushin sharmili suzana and marzuk ahmad saad department of botany, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh keywords: ethnomedicinal plants; covid-19; pandemic environment; dhaka city abstract the present article deals with recording ethnomedicinal plants used by the people living in and around dhaka city and also focuses on the plant species used during the pandemic to get relief from covid-19. the information was gathered using open-ended and semi-structured questionnaires from 348 informants belonging to different classes of life. the survey has resulted in the recording of a total of 160 medicinal plant species belonging to 62 families and used for 157 ailments through 250 different formularies. azadirachta indica a. juss. was the most cited species in the study area. the highest factor informant consensus (fic) was found in the cuts and wounds category, and cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. is the most cited species for this category. acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen was the culturally bound species attaining 100% fidelity level (fl) value. among the ethnomedicinal plants, 40 species were found in the survey that were used by people to get relief from covid-19. this interesting ethnomedicinal use is a new record for these 40 species. most notable species are ocimum tenuiflorum l., justicia adhatoda l., centella asiatica (l.) urban, citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle, syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry, mentha arvensis l., zingiber officinale rosc., camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze, and nigella sativa l. since ancient times, these species have been very popular and used to treat several ailments. the use of these species during the pandemic is a new hope for covid-19 management. but this is a preliminary report. further long-term study is needed to confirm the claim of these plants’ use against covid-19. due to excessive use during covid-19, these species have been scarce in the habitats in and around dhaka city. conservation measures should be applied to save these species from extinction. introduction covid-19, a newly emerging global pandemic, has been one of the major causes of mortality around the globe in the past few years. during this pandemic till vaccines were discovered, the scarcity of conventional modern medicines forced people to look for alternatives from nature, one of which is ethnomedicine. ethnomedicinal plants are important natural resources that have been used by traditional healers and local people for centuries in the treatment of various diseases. for the scientific community, it serves as a gateway to identify new plant products with potential medicinal and commercial value, as well as a foundation for future investigation into modern drug development through the consensus on documented medicinal plants (khan et al. 2014). the use of medicinal plants, though more or less common among all classes of people, is particularly relevant in urban areas, where access to quality healthcare is limited during critical times. the covid-19 pandemic that started in 2019–20 has further highlighted the importance of natural remedies in treating this disease and others. *corresponding author: zashim01@gmail.com 1department of pharmaceutical chemistry, university of dhaka, dhaka-1000, bangladesh. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v30i1.67051 mailto:zashim01@gmail.com 124 uddin et al. a good number of research works on the documentation and evaluation of ethnobotanical knowledge in bangladesh are available. most noteworthy works are hassan and khan (1986), mia and huq (1988), alam (1992), chowdhury et al. (1996), alam et al. (1996), uddin et al. (2001), yusuf et al. (2002), khan et al. (2002), uddin et al. (2006), yusuf et al. (2006), uddin and roy (2007), uddin et al. (2008), uddin et al. (2012), haque et al. (2014), and uddin and hassan (2014). apart from these, ethnobotanical research works in certain parts or in and around dhaka city were done by rahmatullah et al. (2009a), ahmed et al. (2015), ocvirk et al. (2013), nusrat et al. (2015) and uddin et al. (2019). these studies mainly focused on the ethnomedicinal, antidiabetic, and anti-coagulant properties of plant species. according to the above articles on ethnomedicine, there is no concept of the use of ethnomedicines for covid-19 because covid19 is a newly borne pandemic disease spreading all over the world and it costs millions of lives globally. this disease has no proper modern treatment except vaccines. in the absence of modern treatment, the affected people looked for alternatives in nature to save themselves from this disease. in the present study, an attempt was made to record ethnomedicinal plants used to treat different diseases by the people in and around dhaka city during the covid-19 pandemic environment and also to focus on the plant species that were used during the pandemic to get relief from covid-19; to identify the threats to ethnomedicinal plants and to make recommendations for conservation measures for the ethnomedicinal plants used during covid-19. materials and methods dhaka, the capital city of bangladesh, is located in the bengal plain and has witnessed continuous expansion since gaining independence. on its’ southern border, the city is bordered by the buriganga river, while the eastern boundary is formed by the balu and the shitalakhya rivers. to the north lies the tongi canal, and to the west, the turag and the buriganga rivers define its limits (banglapedia, 2014; sayed et al., 2015). in the past, dhaka was a part of the natural sal (shorea robusta c.f.gaertn.) forest of bhawalgarh, encompassing various water bodies. however, due to rapid urbanization and development, most of the natural vegetation and water bodies have suffered degradation (rahman et al., 2011). at present, dhaka lacks natural forests, but different stakeholders such as the city corporation, rajuk, and public work department have been undertaken plantation initiatives along road dividers, footpaths, city parks, and lawns (rahman et al., 2011). dhaka, the urban centre of bangladesh, has a tropical climate known for its hot, damp, and humid conditions. it undergoes a well-defined monsoon period, with an average yearly temperature of 27.5°c and an annual precipitation of approximately 2000 mm, with more than 80% of it occurring during the monsoon season (dewan and yamaguchi, 2009). the city is situated on flat terrain at a low elevation near the sea, making it vulnerable to flooding during the monsoon season due to intense rainfall and cyclones (hough, 2004). the survey was conducted from january 2022 to january 2023 for a period of 13 months, with a total of sixteen field visits (table 1). the interviews were done at different times of the day and in different parts of the city using open-ended, semi-structured questionnaires (alexiades,1996) so that different classes of people could be interviewed for the survey. a total of 348 informants were interviewed. they were mostly male, and their ages ranged from 18 to 96 years old. the education levels of the informants ranged from illiterate to m. sc. degrees. professionally, they were mostly rickshaw pullers, small vendors and housewives. during the field survey, information on the uses of plants to treat different diseases, the parts of plants used, and modes of preparation and administration were collected. the local names were collected with the help of local people. consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 125 table 1. data collections sites in and around dhaka city. visit no. name of place gps (latitude, longitude) 1 purbachal (1) 23°50'44.8"n, 90°29'50.8"e 2 uttara, diabari 23°52'09.8"n, 90°23'36.6"e; 23°52'30.8"n, 90°21'21.5"e 3 airport, matikata, basundhara 23°50'06.0"n, 90°25'02.8"e; 23°49'13.6"n, 90°23'25.7"e; 23°49'11.5"n, 90°27'15.0"e 4 jatrabari 23°42'37.0"n, 90°26'07.3"e 5 keraniganj 23°41'48.2"n, 90°21'03.5"e 6 abdullahpur 23°39'41.5"n, 90°21'29.5"e 7 bachila, noya bazar, hajaribag 23°44'46.2"n, 90°20'57.6"e; 23°43'39.0"n, 90°20'20.1"e; 23°44'10.1"n, 90°21'43.5"e 8 kakrail, motijheel 23°44'16.6"n, 90°24'16.2"e; 23°44'04.2"n, 90°25'15.6"e 9 khilgaon 23°44'56.7"n, 90°25'12.4"e 10 nandipara 23°44'48.6"n, 90°26'40.1"e 11 demra 23°43'17.9"n, 90°28'59.6"e 12 purbachal (2) 23°50'46.3"n, 90°30'53.9"e 13 tongi (near dhaka) 23°53'06.2"n, 90°24'17.9"e 14 mirpur 23°48'15.9"n, 90°20'52.2"e 15 rupganj 23°48'02.2"n, 90°31'22.3"e 16 gulshan 23°46'58.0"n, 90°25'12.6"e the ethnomedicinal plants mentioned by the dwellers in and around dhaka city were identified by their vernacular names and physical specimens by a group of experts led by a taxonomist in the field. in case of confusion, voucher specimens were prepared following standard herbarium techniques (alexiades, 1996; martin, 2010). these specimens were identified later by comparing them with various renowned works such as prain (1903), siddiqui et al. (2007); ahmed et al. (2008a, b), ahmed et al. (2009a, b, c, d), uddin and hassan (2016) and uddin et al. (2021). based on the information obtained from the people in the study area, all the reported ailments were categorized into 14 broad categories and tabulated. several diseases were placed in one ailment category based on the body systems treated. to measure the level of consensus between the usage of plants in a definite ailment category and its users in the study area, the informant consensus factor (fic) value was determined using the formula of heinrich et al. (1998). to determine the most frequently used plant species for treating a particular ailment, fidelity level (fl) was determined following the formula of friedman et al. (1986). citation frequency (cf) values are useful to determine the most common medicinal plants in the study area. the cf values of medicinal plants were estimated using the formula of friedman et al. (1986). results and discussion a total of 160 medicinal plant species belonging to 62 families were used by the people in and around dhaka city for 157 ailments through 250 different formularies. this result indicates the huge diversity of medicinal plants and also shows the diversity of modes of use for different 126 uddin et al. ailments. for each species, scientific name, local name, family, habitat, parts used, ailments, and modes of treatment are provided (table 2). for each species, updated scientific name and family name is used (powo, 2023). the ten most abundant families are fabaceae, asteraceae, rutaceae, lamiaceae, amaranthaceae, malvaceae, cucurbitaceae, moraceae, solanaceae and arecaceae (table 2). fig. 1. percentage habit of recorded ethnomedicinal plants fig. 2. percentage of plant parts used in treating ailments the majority of medicinal plants are herbs (36%), followed by trees (30%), shrubs (21%), and climbers (13%) (fig. 1). leaves are the most commonly used parts, followed by fruits, seeds, stems and barks (fig. 2). this suggests the sustainable use of natural resources in the study area. among the 250 formularies, 81% were for internal applications, and the remaining 19% were for external applications (table 2). among all the recorded species, azadirachta indica a. juss. has the most citations (fig. 3). the next most cited plant species is ocimum tenuiflorum l., followed by centella asiatica (l.) urban, cynodon dactylon (l.) pers., coccinia grandis (l.) voigt, terminalia arjuna (roxb. exdc.) wight & arn., zingiber officinale rosc, justicia adhatoda l., litsea glutinosa, (lour.) rob., nigella sativa l., mangifera indica l., phyllanthus emblica l., calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton., citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle, and bombax ceiba l. besides, some ethnopharmacologically important plant species were determined using the informant consensus factor (fic) parameter (heinrich et al. 1998). the fic value was determined to measure the agreement on each disease category among the informants living in and around dhaka city. fig. 4 indicates the result where fic values ranged from 0.88 to 0.29, with the highest value (0.88) found in the cut and wounds category. the second-highest fic value (0.86) was for covid-19, followed by glandular and intestinal problems, worm and insect problems, mouth and dental problems, cardiovascular and circulatory problems, excretory problems, dermatological disorders, analgesics and antipyretics, skin and health care, digestive and liver problems, gynaecological or sexual disorders, and others. medicinal plants that are efficient in treating a particular ailment have higher fic values. consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 127 table 2. list of ethnomedicinal plants (h = herb, s = shrub, t = tree, c = climber). scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode abroma augusta (l.) l.f. ulot kombol malvaceae s stem heart problem stem soaked in water and taken stem constipation stem soaked in water and taken stem urinal burn stem soaked in water and taken stem male weakness stem soaked in water and taken stem cold, cough juice taken achyranthes aspera l. apang amaranthaceae h leaf headache leaf chewed and taken root stop bleeding juice applied whole plant jaundice juice taken root diarrhoea root crushed and juice taken root piles juice applied root worm juice taken acmella calva (dc.) r.k.jansen surjokonna asteraceae h flower toothache flower chewed aegle marmelos (l.) corr. bel rutaceae t fruit analgesic fruit taken leaf scabies leaf crushed with terminalia arjuna leaf, boiled and then the water is used. fruit dysentery fruit taken fruit stomach problem young fruit taken leaf strength leaf crushed with terminalia arjuna leaf, boiled and then the water is used. agaricus bisporus (j.e.lange) imbach masroom agaricaceae h fruit body diabetes cooked and taken allium cepa l. peyaj amaryllidaceae h latex hair fall latex applied on bare head allium sativum l. rosun amaryllidaceae h bulb heart problem one seed taken regularly bulb high pressure bulb taken raw alocasia macrorrhizos (l.) g.don mankochu araceae s stem body pain juice taken regularly with oil aloe vera (l.) burm.f. alovera asphodelaceae h leaf thermoregulation leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf juice taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken leaf skin care leaf paste applied leaf hair treatment leaf paste applied leaf nutrition leaf juice taken alstonia scholaris (l.) r. br. chatim apocynaceae t leaf diarrhoea leaf juice taken latex gonorrhea latex mixed with sugar and then taken bark pregnancy issues soaked in water and then taken 128 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode amaranthus spinosus l. katanote amaranthaceae h root dysentery root crushed with molasses and taken whole plant jaundice cooked and taken amaranthus tricolor l. lalshak amaranthaceae h whole plant blood increase cooked and taken whole plant for vitamins cooked and taken amaranthus viridis l. noteshak amaranthaceae h whole plant weakness cooked and taken whole plant eye sight issues cooked and taken ananas comosus (l.) merr. anaros bromeliaceae h fruit fever ripe fruit taken leaf stomach pain leaf juice taken leaf worms leaf juice taken in empty stomach andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) nees kalomegh acanthaceae h stem blood purification stem soaked in water at night and taken in the morning stem skin problem stem soaked in water whole night and taken in the morning leaf jaundice leaf juice taken leaf constipation soaked in water then water is taken leaf covid-19 leaf juice taken leaf worm leaf juice taken leaf fever juice taken leaf itching leaf soaked in water and taken leaf liver problem leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf soaked in water and taken leaf stomach problem leaf juice taken leaf cold leaf juice taken leaf worm leaf juice taken leaf fever pill made and then taken arachis hypogaea l. badam fabaceae h seed heart problem raw seeds taken seed diet maintenance roasted seed taken artocarpus heterophyllus lamk. kathal moraceae t latex skin problem white latex applied fruit appetizer fruit taken artocarpus lakoocha roxb. deowa moraceae t latex skin disease latex taken asparagus racemosus willd. sotomuli asparagaceae c root male weakness raw root taken root impotent raw root taken root male weakness raw root taken averrhoa carambola l. kamranga oxalidaceae t fruit high pressure fruit taken azadirachta indica a. juss. neem meliaceae t leaf fever leaf dried and taken like pill leaf body pain leaf juice taken leaf rheumatic pain leaf juice applied consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 129 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode leaf blood purifier leaf taken leaf antiseptic leaf juice applied leaf itching leaf juice mixed with water and bathe with it leaf skin problem pasted with turmeric and applied leaf itching crushed with turmeric and applied leaf pox juice mixed with water and bathe leaf allergy leaf cooked and taken with rice leaf scabies leaf paste applied leaf smallpox juice mixed with water and bathe leaf jaundice leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf juice taken leaf diarrhoea leaf dried and taken like pill leaf diabetes leaf juice taken leaf stomach ache leaf juice taken bark stomach pain powder soaked in water and taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken stem tooth and gum problem used as brush leaf cholera leaf dried and taken like a pill leaf kidney problem leaf juice taken leaf hair fall leaf juice mixed with coconut oil and applied leaf worms leaf juice taken leaf louse leaf paste applied to the head leaf insecticide leaf used to preserve crops bacopa monnieri (l.) wettst. brammi shak plantaginaceae h whole plant health tonic cooked and taken barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaerth. hizol lecythidaceae t leaf dysentery leaf juice taken bark dysentery bark juice taken benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn. kumra cucurbitaceae c leaf headache leaf chewed and taken leaf constipation leaf cooked and taken leaf stomachache leaf chewed and taken fruit body maintenance cooked and taken bombax ceiba l. simul malvaceae t root heart disease juice taken root constipation young root taken root dysentery root juice taken bark dysentery bark juice taken root gastritis young root taken 130 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode root semen increase young root taken root ca2+ deficiency young root taken borassus flabellifer l. tal arecaceae s stem diarrhoea warm juice taken leaf ear problem young leaf burnt and the liquid applied on the ear stem cold, cough warm juice taken leaf asthma warm juice taken brassica juncea (l.) czern. sorisha brassicaceae h seed body pain seed oil massage seed neck pain seed oil massage seed cold, cough seed oil taken seed cold, cough oil boiled with garlic and massage seed cold, cough seed oil massage on the throat cajanus cajan (l.) millsp. arhar fabaceae s leaf jaundice leaf juice taken fruit weakness cooked and taken calamus tenuis roxb. bet arecaceae c young shoot gastritis paste taken calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton. akondo apocynaceae s leaf body pain warm leaf juice massaged leaf rheumatic pain warm leaf juice massaged leaf sexual weakness leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf cold, cough warm leaf juice mixed with mustard oil and then massaged latex insect bite latex applied leaf snakebite leaf juice applied on bitten place camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze cha theaceae s leaf headache boiled in water and water drunken leaf corona leaf powder boiled in water and then taken leaf body fitness boiled in water and water taken leaf weight reduction boiled in water and water taken canavalia gladiata (jacq.) dc. mou shim fabaceae c fruit appetizer cooked and taken careya arborea roxb. kumvi lecythidaceae t leaf cold, cough paste taken with a bamboo stick carica papaya l. pepe caricaceae s latex ringworm latex applied on the infected skin fruit constipation fruit taken fruit gastritis young fruit taken in the morning fruit stomach problem cooked with less spices and taken leaf malaria leaf juice taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 131 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode cassia fistula l. sonalu fabaceae t fruit dysentery fruit pulp taken catharanthus roseus (l.) g.don noyontara apocynaceae s flower diabetes flower juice taken centella asiatica (l.) urban thankuni apiaceae h leaf body pain leaf chewed and taken leaf high pressure leaf juice taken leaf skin problem leaf juice applied on skin leaf, stem skin problem cooked and taken leaf jaundice leaf juice taken leaf liver problem leaf taken leaf dysentery leaf juice taken leaf diarrhoea leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf juice taken leaf upset stomach leaf juice taken leaf diabetes leaf juice taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken in the morning leaf leucorrhea leaf juice taken leaf eye cataract leaf juice applied on eye leaf covid-19 leaf chewed and taken leaf skin glamour leaf juice applied on skin leaf weight reduction leaf juice taken leaf worm leaf juice taken chenopodium album l. bethua amaranthaceae h leaf weakness whole plant cooked and taken chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king & h.rob. ujaru lota asteraceae s leaf stop bleeding juice given to the wounded place leaf fracture leaf paste applied leaf ulcer leaf juice is taken leaf gastritis leaf juice is taken cinnamomum tamala (buch. -ham.) t.nees & c.h.eberm. tejpata lauraceae t leaf gastritis leaf juice taken leaf covid-19 dry leaf boiled with clove and water taken leaf cold, cough dry leaf boiled and water taken leaf hair fall dry powder applied on bath water cinnamomum verum j.presl daruchini lauraceae t bark acne powdered stem applied with honey bark covid-19 bark boiled and water taken bark hair fall dry bark powder mixed with water and then bathe with it cissus quadrangularis l. harvanga vitaceae c stem rheumatic pain cooked and taken stem fracture stem paste applied on broken bone citrus aurantium l. malta rutaceae s fruit covid-19 fruit juice taken citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle lebu rutaceae s fruit high pressure juice taken fruit digestion fruit juice applied leaf nausea leaf crushed and smell taken 132 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode fruit weakness fruit juice taken fruit tooth problem fruit taken fruit cancer fruit boiled and then taken fruit sleep problem fruit juice taken fruit covid-19 fruit juice taken fruit antioxidant fruit juice applied fruit skin care fruit juice applied citrus maxima (burm.) merr. jambura rutaceae s fruit jaundice fruit taken clerodendrum infortunatum l. vat lamiaceae s root dysentery root crushed and taken with water leaf stomach problem leaf juice taken root tooth problem root chewed stem tooth problem stem used as brush leaf toothache leaf chewed young shoot asthma juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken young shoot worm juice taken clitoria ternatea l. aparajita fabaceae c flower cold, cough flower chewed and taken coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha cucurbitaceae c leaf fever leaf juice taken leaf chest pain leaf juice taken leaf rheumatic pain cooked and taken leaf blood purifier cooked and taken leaf blood clotting leaf paste applied leaf body burning cooked and taken leaf jaundice leaf juice taken leaf constipation leaf cooked and taken leaf piles leaf crushed with salt and applied leaf diabetes leaf juice taken leaf diabetes cooked and taken leaf gastritis cooked and taken leaf ear problem leaf paste prepared with mustard oil, salt and then juice applied leaf kidney stone leaf juice taken leaf cold, cough cooked and taken leaf head cool cooked and taken cocos nucifera l. dab arecaceae t fruit jaundice fruit water taken fruit diarrhoea fruit water taken fruit pregnancy problem fruit water taken with faith root toothache young root juice taken evening consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 133 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode fruit covid-19 fruit water taken three times a day colocasia esculenta (l.) schott kochu araceae h stem pain cooked and taken stem rheumatic pain cooked and taken stem blood purifier cooked and taken leaf stop bleeding paste applied on the wounded part rhizom e blood dysentery cooked and taken leaf constipation leaf cooked and taken combretum indicum (l.) defilipps modhumonj uri combretaceae c leaf allergy leaf cooked with black pepper and taken corchorus capsularis l. pat malvaceae h leaf upset stomach fried leaf taken crinum asiaticum l. gorosun amaryllidaceae h bulb liver problem soaked in water and then small amount is taken crotalaria pallida aiton jhunjhuni fabaceae s leaf stomach pain cooked with other veggies and taken cucumis sativus l. shosha cucurbitaceae c fruit heart problem fruit taken fruit stomachache fruit taken with salt fruit dark spots fruit applied on the place fruit reduce obesity fruit taken fruit weight reduction fruit taken cuminum cyminum l. jira apiaceae h seed gastritis seed chewed and taken curcuma longa l. holud zingiberaceae h rhizom e body pain rhizome taken with milk rhizom e blood purifier raw rhizome taken in the morning rhizom e skin problem paste applied to skin rhizom e acnes spots rhizome paste applied rhizom e jaundice raw rhizome taken rhizom e skin glamour rhizome paste applied on skin curcuma zedoaria (christm.) roscoe sothi zingiberaceae h root gastritis root juice taken cuscuta reflexa roxb. sornolota convolvulaceae c stem fever crushed and juice taken stem body pain stem paste applied stem rheumatic pain cooked and taken stem fracture paste applied leaf allergy leaf boiled and applied stem jaundice stem juice taken stem diarrhoea stem paste applied stem gastritis cooked and taken 134 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode stem stomach problem stem boiled and taken stem excessive menstruation stem juice taken stem worm juice used cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba poaceae h leaf stop bleeding leaf juice given to the wounded place whole plant wound healing crushed and paste applied on the wounded place leaf ulcer leaf juice taken leaf urinary problem leaf juice taken whole plant gastritis plant crushed and juice taken leaf gum strong leaf chewed and juice taken leaf insomnia leaf juice taken datura metel l. dhutura solanaceae s leaf rheumatic pain young leaf cooked and taken leaf itching young leaf cooked and taken leaf skin problem young leaf cooked and taken root constipation soaked in water and then water taken fruit mental problem fruit taken after purifying it. leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken dillenia indica l. chalta dilleniaceae t fruit high pressure fruit juice taken leaf constipation soaked in water and then water taken fruit dysentery fruit juice taken leaf dysentery soaked in water and then water taken leaf urinary problem soaked in water and then water taken leaf stomach problem soaked in water and then water taken fruit vitamins soaked in water and then water taken dioscorea alata l. pastalu dioscoreaceae c tuber health care cooked and taken diospyros malabarica (desr.) kostel. gab ebenaceae t leaf constipation soaked in water and then water taken leaf dysentery soaked in water and then water taken eclipta prostrata (l.) l. keshraj asteraceae h young shoot hand pain five shoots crushed with lime and applied in hands leaf headache leaf juice taken whole plant stop bleeding paste applied on wounded part whole plant dandruff paste applied on head consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 135 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode whole plant jaundice cooked and taken fruit toothache chewed on the infected tooth whole plant hair fall paste applied on head leaf blackening hair leaf crushed and applied on head leaf head cool paste applied on head elaeocarpus floribundus blume jolpai elaeocarpaceae t fruit appetizer fruit taken fruit vitamin c fruit taken elettaria cardamomum (l.) maton alach zingiberaceae fruit covid-19 boiled and water taken enydra fluctuans lour. helencha asteraceae h whole plant asthma cooked and taken whole plant eye sight improve cooked and taken whole plant vitamins cooked and taken euryale ferox salisb tal makhna nymphaeaceae h fruit constipation taken with molasses ficus hispida l. f. kak dumur moraceae t stem eye cataracts young branch latex applied on eye ficus racemosa l. dumur moraceae t fruit diabetes fruit taken fruit cold, cough ripe fruit taken raw or unripe fruit cooked and then taken leaf cold, cough leaf cooked and taken glinus oppositifolius (l.) aug.dc. gima shak molluginaceae h leaf skin problem whole plant cooked and taken leaf body pain cooked and taken glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a.dc. motkila rutaceae s stem tooth problem stem used as brush leaf worms leaf juice taken glycyrrhiza glabra l. josthimodhu fabaceae s stem, root throat problem dried and then soaked water taken stem and root cold, cough stem or root dissolved in water and then taken gynura procumbens (lour.) merr. diabetic plant asteraceae s leaf diabetes leaf juice taken heliotropium indicum l. hatishur boraginaceae h leaf and stem fever juice taken leaf abscess warm leaf juice applied root delivery problem root juice taken root strength root crushed and juice taken flower ophthalmia flower juice applied hibiscus rosa-sinensis l. joba malvaceae s bark dysentery soaked in water and then taken flower pregnancy problem flower juice mixed with milk and taken to have baby 136 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode flower hair treatment flower juice applied on head flower head cool flower paste applied on head and then washout hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit. tokma lamiaceae h seed body cool seed soaked in water and taken seed constipation seed mixed with water and then taken seed dysentery seed soaked in water and taken leaf constipation leaf juice taken seed diabetes seed soaked in water and taken seed strength seed mixed with water and then taken imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch. uluchan poaceae h whole plant new hair growth whole plant crushed and the paste applied on head ipomoea aquatica forssk. kolmi convolvulaceae h leaf abscess leaf mixed with onion and paste applied leaf insect bite leaf paste applied justicia adhatoda l. basok acanthaceae s leaf body pain leaf juice massaged leaf covid-19 leaf juice taken leaf asthma leaf juice taken kalanchoe daigremontiana raym.hamet & h.perrier pathor chuna crassulaceae h leaf stomachache leaf taken with molasse leaf dysentery leaf chewed in morning empty stomach leaf semen increase leaf chewed in morning empty stomach kalanchoe pinnata (lam.) pers. pathor kuchi crassulaceae h leaf fever leaf juice applied leaf urinary problem leaf juice taken leaf stomach problem leaf juice applied lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl. lau cucurbitaceae c fruit stomach problem fruit cooked and taken laportea interrupta (l.) chew chotra urticaceae h root dysentery root juice taken lawsonia inermis l. mehedi lythraceae s leaf dandruff leaf paste applied on head leaf nail problem leaf juice applied leaf gastritis leaf juice taken leaf abortion leaf juice is taken leaf hair fall leaf juice applied on head leaf head cool paste applied on head leaf hair color paste applied on head lens culinaris medik. mosur dal fabaceae h seed skin glamour soaked in water and then pasted leucas aspera (willd.) link dondo kolosh lamiaceae h leaf face swollen leaf juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf cooked and taken whole plant cold, cough crushed and juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 137 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode young shoot diabetes cooked with potato and taken leaf worm leaf juice applied limonia acidissima l. kodbel rutaceae t fruit apatite fruit taken fruit constipation young fruit dried and then taken with water and sugar litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b.rob. menda lauraceae t leaf, stem body burning sensation soaked in water and then taken leaf jaundice leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf dysentery leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf constipation leaf soaked in water and then water taken bark dysentery bark crushed and soaked in water and then water taken leaf urinary problem leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf stomach problem leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf cold, cough leaf soaked in water and then water taken leaf burning sensation leaf soaked in water and then taken bark burning sensation bark soaked in water and then taken leaf head cool leaf paste applied mallotus nudiflorus (l.) kulju & welzen pitali euphorbiaceae t stem, root tooth problem used as brush fruit abscess fruit powder applied mangifera indica l. amm anacardiaceae t fruit high pressure fruit juice taken bark jaundice bark juice taken fruit jaundice fruit water taken bark dysentery bark juice taken bark diarrhoea bark soaked in water with molasses and then taken flower dysentery flower bud juice taken on empty stomach leaf dysentery leaf juice taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken on empty stomach seed diabetes seed taken flower gastritis flower bud taken directly on empty stomach leaf stomach pain leaf chewed and taken leaf toothache leaf chewed and taken fruit vitamin c young fruit is taken fruit heart problem young fruit taken 138 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode melia azedarach l. ghoranim meliaceae t leaf louse leaf paste applied on the head mentha arvensis l. pudina lamiaceae h leaf digestion leaf taken raw leaf gonorrhea leaf juice taken with milk leaf covid-19 leaf warm juice taken leaf asthma leaf boiled in water and then taken leaf closed nose leaf juice vapors taken by nose mikania scandens (l.) willd. asamlota asteraceae c leaf headache leaf paste applied leaf wound healing leaf juice applied on the wounded place leaf gastritis leaf juice taken leaf diabetes leaf cooked and taken or taken raw leaf stomachache leaf juice taken mimosa pudica l. lojjaboti fabaceae s root dysentery root crushed and juice taken with water root sleep problem root tie on hand momordica charantia l. korola cucurbitaceae c fruit diabetes cooked and taken fruit diabetes fruit juice taken leaf diabetes juice taken moringa oleifera lam. sajna moringaceae t fruit fever cooked and taken leaf rheumatic pain leaf juice taken bark rheumatic pain bark fried and chewed with rice seed powder leaf jaundice cooked and taken leaf dysentery leaf juice taken leaf diabetes cooked and taken leaf weakness cooked and taken leaf, bark cold, cough bark or leaf crushed and taken bark asthma bark juice taken murraya paniculata (l.) jack kamini rutaceae t leaf tooth problem leaf chewed musa paradisiaca l. kola musaceae h fruit dysentery unripe fruit crushed with sugar and taken fruit eye sight fruit taken leaf skin problem leaf paste applied cone jaundice cooked and taken fruit dysentery unripe fruit crushed with sugar and taken cone constipation cooked and taken fruit constipation cooked and taken fruit diarrhoea unripe fruit cooked and taken cone upset stomach cooked and taken fruit stomach problem unripe fruit crushed and taken cone diabetes cooked and taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 139 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode fruit dysentery fruit soaked in water and then water taken fruit weakness fruit taken fruit diarrhoea fruit soaked in water and then water taken nelumbo nucifera gaertn. poddo nelumbonaceae h leaf pain leaf juice taken neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kodom rubiaceae t leaf rheumatic pain body massage with the warm juice of leaf bark dysentery bark soaked in water and then taken leaf worm young leaf chewed and taken nigella sativa l. kalojira ranunculaceae h seed pain seed oil massage to get remedy seed skin problem seeds are taken seed gastritis seeds are taken seed stomach problem seeds are taken seed strength seeds are taken seed covid-19 seed paste taken seed cold, cough seed paste taken seed covid-19 seeds taken regularly to get remedy from covid-19 seed cold, cough seed boiled with ginger, tea leaf and clove and water taken nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. shiuli oleaceae s leaf fever leaf crushed and juice taken leaf piles leaf crushed and juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf crushed and juice taken ocimum tenuiflorum l. tulshi lamiaceae s leaf headache warm juice taken leaf skin problem crushed with mango leaf, guava leaf and then paste mixed with bath water leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken leaf cold, cough leaf chewed and taken leaf covid-19 leaf chewed and taken leaf cold, cough leaf boiled and taken with honey leaf sore throat warm juice taken oroxylum indicum (l.) benth. ex kurz. kanai dinga bignoniaceae t leaf stomach problem young leaf chewed and taken oryza sativa l. dhan poaceae h seed strong hair boiled and water applied seed upset stomach processed seed (cheera) taken with yogurt paederia foetida l. gondho vadhuli rubiaceae c leaf liver problem cooked and taken leaf dysentery leaf juice taken with sugar persicaria orientalis (l.) spach bishkatali polygonaceae h whole plant fish killing plant crushed and applied phoenix sylvestris (l.) roxb. khejur arecaceae t fruit migraine unripe fruit taken fruit increase weight fruits are taken regularly 140 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels orboroi phyllanthaceae t fruit cold, cough fruit taken phyllanthus emblica l. amloki phyllanthaceae t fruit chest pain crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit heart problem powder soaked in water and taken fruit high pressure crushed with t. chebula fruit and taken fruit appetite crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit aversion to food fruit taken fruit digestion fruit taken fruit liver problem crushed with t. chebula fruit and taken fruit excretory problem crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit constipation fruit taken fruit constipation crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit gastritis crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit impotent crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit strength crushed with terminalia bellirica and t. chebula fruits and taken after drying fruit mouth problem raw fruit taken fruit mouth ulcer raw fruit taken fruit antioxidant fruit juice applied fruit hair fall soaked in water and applied on head fruit skin care fruit juice applied phyllanthus reticulatus poir. sitki phyllanthaceae s stem tooth problem used as brush physalis minima l. photka solanaceae h seed diabetes 2 or 3 seeds are chewed and taken piper betle l. pan piperaceae c leaf digest leaf taken leaf diabetes leaf taken piper longum l. pipul piperaceae h leaf fever crushed with black pepper seed and taken leaf fever leaf juice taken leaf headache leaf juice taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 141 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode piper nigrum l gol morich piperaceae c leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken piper retrofractum vahl chui jhal piperaceae c stem better digestion stem cooked and taken plantago ovata forssk. esobgul plantaginaceae s seed coat constipation seed coat powder mixed with water and taken indigestion seed coat powder mixed with water and taken prunus domestica l. alu bokhara rosaceae t fruit diabetes fruit taken psidium guajava l. peyara myrtaceae t fruit constipation fruit taken leaf dysentery juice taken leaf diabetes leaf juice taken leaf toothache young leaf chewed leaf tooth pain boiled with azadirachta indica leaf and aegle marmelos leaf and then mouthwash with the water leaf tooth decay leaf chewed twice a day punica granatum l. dalim lythraceae s fruit blood increasement fruit taken leaf pox juice taken leaf blood dysentery leaf crushed with mango leaf and, guava leaf then taken. fruit diarrhoea fruit taken flower dysentery paste applied fruit cold, cough fruit taken fruit cold, cough fruit peel boiled in water and then taken pyrus communis l. naspati rosaceae t fruit heart water remove fruit taken ricinus communis l. verenda euphorbiaceae s seed pain seed oil massage to get remedy seed rheumatic pain seed oil massage to get remedy salvia hispanica l. chiya seed lamiaceae h seed constipation soaked in water and then taken seed skin, organ nutrition soaked in water and then taken saccharum officinarum l. akh poaceae h stem jaundice stem juice taken stem jaundice stem juice taken scoparia dulcis l. bon dhone plantaginaceae h leaf cold, cough juice taken leaf body pain leaf juice taken senna alata (l.) roxb. dad mordon fabaceae s leaf ringworm leaf juice applied senna alexandrina mill. sonapata fabaceae s leaf constipation leaf powder taken sesamum indicum l. til pedaliaceae h seed cold, cough seed oil applied shorea robusta c.f.gaertn. sal dipterocarpacea e t bark diarrhoea bark juice taken stem impotence mixed with molasses and taken 142 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode sida cordifolia l. berela malvaceae s root weakness root juice taken with sugar regularly smilax perfoliata lour. kumari lota smilacaceae c stem fracture paste applied stem strength young stem chewed and taken stem sexual problem stem taken solanum indicum roxb. tuni begun solanaceae s fruit blood purifier chewed or juice taken solanum nigrum l. titbegun solanaceae h leaf itching leaf burned and ash applied solanum sisymbriifolium lam. kata begun solanaceae h seed allergy cooked and taken spinacia oleracea l. palong amaranthaceae h leaf vitamins cooked and taken spondias pinnata (l.f.) kurz amra anacardiaceae t fruit high pressure fruit taken fruit appetite fruit taken stephania japonica (thunb.) miers aknadi menispermacea e c leaf leukorrhea 19 leaves crushed and paste taken with molasses for 7 days sterculia villosa roxb.ex sm. udal malvaceae t stem strength young stem soaked in water and taken stevia rebaudiana bertoni chinipata asteraceae h leaf cold, cough leaf juice taken streblus asper lour. shewra moraceae t leaf diabetes leaf juice taken strychnos nux-vomica l. kuchila loganiaceae t leaf diabetes cooked and taken swietenia macrophylla king mehogoni meliaceae t seed diabetes taken raw syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry lobongo myrtaceae t flower tooth problem flower chewed flower cold, cough flower chewed flower shore throat flower chewed with nigella sativa syzygium cumini (l.) skeels jam myrtaceae t fruit blood increase fruit taken leaf diarrhoea leaf juice taken leaf dysentery leaf juice taken seed diabetes seed powder taken regularly seed gastritis seed powder taken regularly seed male strength seed crushed and then taken fruit strength fruit pulp taken tagetes erecta l. gada asteraceae h leaf stop bleeding leaf juice given to the wounded place leaf liver problem leaf juice taken tamarindus indica l. tetul fabaceae t fruit high pressure fruit taken fruit skin care fruit juice applied fruit antioxidant fruit juice applied terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun combretaceae t leaf fever leaf juice taken bark heart problem powder soaked in water and taken bark heartache powder soaked in water and taken bark high pressure powder soaked in water and taken consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 143 table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode bark constipation powder soaked in water and taken bark gastritis powder soaked in water and taken leaf diabetes leaf taken leaf gastritis leaf juice taken bark semen increase powder soaked in water and taken bark burning sensation bark chewed or bark juice taken bark ca2+ deficiency powder soaked in water and taken bark dizziness powder soaked in water and taken terminalia bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera combretaceae t fruit heart problem powder soaked in water and taken fruit stomach problem fruit taken terminalia chebula retz. horitoki combretaceae t fruit heart problem powder soaked in water and taken fruit appetite powder soaked in water and taken fruit constipation powder soaked in water and taken fruit stomach problem powder soaked in water and taken fruit weakness unripe fruit soaked in water and then taken trigonella foenumgraecum l. methi fabaceae h seed diabetes seed taken leaf strength leaf cooked and taken typhonium trilobatum (l.) schott. kharkan araceae h leaf pain cooked and taken vachellia nilotica (l.) p.j.h.hurter & mabb. babla fabaceae t young shoot urinary problem shoot chewed and juice taken for 5-7 days vigna mungo (l.) hepper mashkolai fabaceae h seed increase lactation in mothers seeds are cooked with squash and taken vitex negundo l. nishinda lamiaceae s leaf worm leaf juice taken vitis vinifera l. angur vitaceae c fruit eye sight fruit taken fruit blood purification fruit taken regularly xanthium strumarium l. ghagra asteraceae h leaf body pain leaf juice taken leaf blood purifier leaf cooked and taken latex stop bleeding latex applied leaf itching leaf cooked and taken root dysentery root paste taken zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. bajna rutaceae t seed body pain seed oil massage spine cold, cough spine powered and taken with water 144 uddin et al. table 2 contd. scientific name local name family habit part used ailment treatment mode zingiber officinale rosc. ada zingiberaceae h rhizome gastritis raw rhizome taken with salt rhizome stomach pain raw rhizome taken with salt rhizome nausea prevention raw rhizome taken with salt rhizome weakness rhizome taken rhizome cold, cough boiled with tea leaf and drunk rhizome covid-19 raw rhizome taken rhizome covid-19 raw rhizome taken with clove, black pepper and black cumin. rhizome sore throat raw rhizome taken ziziphus mauritiana lam. boroi rhamnaceae t fruit high pressure raw fruit taken leaf itching leaf juice applied in bath water leaf dysentery leaf paste taken leaf dead body wash leaf boiled in water and then bath fig. 3. most cited top fifteen species. fig. 4. disease clusters with fic value. consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 145 the high fic value for cuts and wounds showed that this ailment is possibly common in the study area and that a small number of taxa are used by a large number of people to treat this ailment. this is also applicable in case of covid-19 category (the second highest fic value), as the potential risk of being attacked by the corona virus and the fear of not getting proper treatment led people to collect different species from the study area in the hope of getting relief from this disease. the higher fic value also establishes better communication among the people in treating the particular disease. it also indicates that the species traditionally used to treat these ailments are worth searching for bioactive compounds. the fidelity level (fl) was calculated to determine the most medicinally important plant species. medicinal plants that are widely used for a particular disease by local people show higher fl values than those that are used to treat multiple ailments. the fl values for 17 species were calculated (table 3), among which acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen has 100% fl, which means this species is only used for toothache treatment. there is no controversy about this use. in the case of other species, the values show less than 100% fl, which means those species have some other uses as well. table 3. fidelity level (fl) from all disease categories. disease disease categories scientific name local name fl% toothache mouth and dental problems acmella calva surjokonna 100.00 cold and cough covid-19 ocimum tenuiflorum tulshi 96.12 cold and cough covid-19 justicia adhatoda basok 95.12 fracture cuts and wounds cissus quadrangularis harvanga 92.31 stop bleeding cuts and wounds cynodon dactylon durba 87.88 corona covid-19 nigella sativa kalojira 78.13 hair fall skin and health care lawsonia inermis mehedi 76.47 wound healing cuts and wounds mikania scandens asamlota 66.67 heart problem cardiovascular and circulatory problem terminalia arjuna arjun 61.54 dysentery excretory problem centella asiatica thankuni 60.81 body pain analgesic and antipyretic calotropis gigantea akondo 59.09 diabetes glandular and intestinal problem coccinia grandis telakucha 58.46 gastritis glandular and intestinal problem mangifera indica amm 51.61 cold and cough covid-19 zingiber officinale ada 40.43 semen increase gynecological or sexual disorders bombax ceiba shimul 30.00 worms worm and insect problem azadirachta indica neem 17.69 itching dermatological disorders azadirachta indica neem 14.97 one of the interesting findings of this survey is the first-time record of 40 plant species getting relief from covid-19. these species are abroma augusta (l.) l.f., aloe vera (l.) burm.f., andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall.ex nees, borassus flabellifer l., brassica juncea (l.) czern., calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton., camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze, careya arborea roxb., centella asiatica (l.) urban, cinnamomum tamala nees & eberm., cinnamomum verum j.presl, citrus aurantium l., citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) 146 uddin et al. swingle, clerodendrum infortunatum l., clitoria ternatea l., coccinia grandis (l.) voigt, cocos nucifera l., datura metel l., elettaria cardamomum (l.) maton, enhydra fluctuans lour., ficus racemosa l., glycyrrhiza glabra l., justicia adhatoda l., leucas aspera (willd.) link, litsea glutinosa (lour.) robinson, mentha arvensis l., moringa oleifera lamk., nigella sativa l., nyctanthes arbor-tristis l., ocimum tenuiflorum l., phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels, piper nigrum l., punica granatum l., scoparia dulcis l., sesamum indicum l., stevia rebaudiana (bertoni) bertoni, syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m.perry, zanthoxylum rhetsa (roxb.) dc. and zingiber officinale rosc. among them, 10 species were widely used by most people. these species are holy basil (ocimum tenuiflorum l.), malabar nut (justicia adhatoda l.), pennywort (centella asiatica (l.) urban), lemon (citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle), cloves (syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry), spearmint (mentha arvensis l.), ginger (zingiber officinale rosc.), tea (camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze), and black cumin (nigella sativa l.). the local informants of the purbachal area reported that, during the pandemic the distribution of centella asiatica (l.) urban and andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall.ex nees were sharply declined. local people and as well as people from different areas were collected these species in the hope of treating the covid-19 disease. dream stories about the use of centella asiatica (l.) for covid-19 treatment were spread among the people of purbachal and keraniganj. according to the dream, the use of three leaves of centella asiatica (l.) can cure covid-19. according to the people, centella asiatica (l.) leaves were very scarce during covid-19, and even three leaves were sold in the market for 100 taka. hot, salt water with zingiber officinale rosc., nigella sativa l., ocimum tenuiflorum l., syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry, raw camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze, mentha arvensis l. and leaves, andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall.ex nees, were regularly used by the people who were out of vaccines. there is really no corona virus, as said by a good number of people, including rickshaw pullers and people from slums. they led their normal life during the pandemic situation, and they did not maintain any isolation from each other. the rate of death in slums and rickshaw pullers was very low as compared to higher society, as reported by the informants during the survey. the cited plants in the report are very preliminary in their uses against covid-19. to validate these plants’ use against covid-19, further long-term research is necessary. traditionally, the oil of black cumin (nigella sativa l.) seed is used to treat impotence by the people of lawachara national park (uddin et al., 2017). moreover, rahmatullah et al. (2009b) reported that black cumin is taken with crushed roots of mapania caudata kük. to treat helminthiasis. the present survey explored a new use of this species, that is many informants in and around dhaka regularly took black cumin to get relief from covid-19. the roots and leaves of black pepper (piper nigrum l.) are used to treat fever, cough, and rheumatism by the chakma community of bangladesh (roy et al., 2008). rahman et al. (2018) have mentioned its antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities against the germs that attack our respiratory system. the present study also found the same result where the local informants mentioned the effectiveness of the leaves and seeds of black pepper against symptoms of covid-19. indian pennywort (centella asiatica (l.)) urban has many uses, and in most cases, its whole body is taken to treat different ailments. roy et al. (2008), uddin et al. (2012), and uddin and hassan (2014) recorded that this plant’s body is used to treat dysentery, diarrhoea, and other stomach-related disorders. moreover, its leaf juice, when applied to the eyes, can help treat cataracts (uddin et al., 2017). the present study found that people believed so much in the efficacy of indian pennywort against covid-19 that this species became scarce during the pandemic period due to over-exploitation. lemon (citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle) is used to treat jaundice (uddin et al., 2017) and fever (uddin et al., 2012). the present study revealed that majority of the informants who consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 147 participated in the survey took lemon juice in the belief of being relieved of covid-19. the decoction produced from the rhizome of ginger (zingiber officinale rosc.) is used to treat neck pain (uddin et al., 2017). moreover, to treat flu and bronchitis, ginger rhizome is taken with betel leaf and also taken as a syrup by the local people of lawachara national park (uddin et al., 2012). informants of the present study linked this species with the treatment of covid-19. holy basil (ocimum tenuiflorum l.) is considered the most sacred plant in hindu scriptures. its leaf paste is applied to reduce high blood-pressure (uddin et al., 2017), and leaf juice is taken to treat colds and coughs (uddin et al., 2017; uddin and hassan, 2014). moreover, informants in the present study took leaf juice of this species to get relief from covid-19 during the pandemic period. the whole plant of green chiretta (andrographis paniculata (burm. f.) wall. ex nees) is used by the people of lawachara national park to treat diseases like malaria (uddin and hassan, 2014), diabetes, dermatitis, and anthelmintic disorders (uddin et al., 2017). many informants in the present study were mentioned this plant to use in the treatment of covid-19. the leaf juice of malabar nuts (justicia adhatoda l.) helps in treating colds and coughs (uddin et al., 2017) and fever, malaria, impotence, and jaundice (uddin and hassan, 2014). the study revealed that many informants in and around dhaka city took the leaf juice of malabar nuts when the primary symptoms of covid-19 developed. the leaf juice of spearmint (mentha arvensis l.) is used to treat stomach aches (uddin et al., 2017). this study revealed a new use of this species: many informants of dhaka took hot leaf juice of spearmint to get relief from covid-19. uddin et al. (2015) recorded the use of tea (camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze) leaves in the treatment of diarrhoea. the present study also revealed that many informants drank tea regularly in the hope of being relieved from covid-19. the present survey recorded a number of threats to the local ethnomedicinal plants that were mentioned by the informants in and around dhaka city and were also observed by this team of experts in the field. most of the people mentioned rapid infrastructural development, construction works, urbanization, pollution, overexploitation, ignorance about ethnomedicinal plants, deforestation, and a lack of local medicinal plants in nurseries as the major threats. urbanization and construction works have been observed in more or less all parts of dhaka that were visited during this survey. in the purbachal area green spaces are more abundant compared to other parts that were surveyed. but the deforestation of the local forest and the emigration of some of the local people from that area have resulted in the reduction of many local ethnomedicinal plants and also to the sharp decline of the ethnomedicinal knowledge bank. many informants from the surveyed areas reaffirmed that the knowledge bank on ethnomedicines has shrunk from that of previous generations, and a lack of ethnomedicinal practices has contributed to the sharp decline of maintaining local ethnomedicinal plants in the homestead vegetation. moreover, a lack of such plants in the local nurseries and too much dependency on aesthetic plants for home décor have also accelerated this process. besides, people also exploit and over-exploit ethnomedicinal plants from time to time, especially when there is no alternative source of medicine during a crisis period. this was evident in the purbachal area, where local dwellers mentioned centella asiatica (l.) urban and andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) wall.ex nees as plants that became scarce due to overexploitation during the covid-19 pandemic period. a study by setzer et al. (2006) showed that more than 80% of rural people around the globe depend on herbal medicines. besides, the world market for herbal medicines based on traditional knowledge was estimated at us$ 60 billion (brevoort, 1998) more than 24 years ago. these studies prove how immensely important ethnomedicinal knowledge is! yet its’ practices and knowledge banks have been ignored by city dwellers and government and non-government authorities to a large extend. there has been no government effort so far that actually upheld or tried to uphold the local ethnomedicinal knowledge of our country. however, the practices of 148 uddin et al. conserving this knowledge have only been limited to the researches of scientific communities. so, the urgent focus has to be given by all of the respective communities to conserve ethnomedicinal plants, their practices, and the people who practice this knowledge. on top of that, a number of other recommendations have been provided. incentives can be given to nurseries to display and sell local ethnomedicinal plants with discounts on them. local people, especially city dwellers should be enlightened with the importance of ethnomedicinal plants. the chance of building industries on ethnomedicinal plants and their active compounds can be examined. besides these, ethnomedicinal plants can be planted on government properties such as road dividers, road pavements, parks and lakes. a national knowledge bank on ethnomedicinal plants and the practices regarding them can be built. compensation for the destruction of ethnomedicinal plants due to urbanization and industrialization with more secured plantations can be done. pollution in sensitive areas such as rivers where ethnomedicinal plants are found to be growing abundantly should be stopped. deforestation needs to be banned and a master plan regarding sustainable and urban development can be formulated. the present work is one of the initial efforts to quantify ethnomedicinal information in bangladesh, focusing on covid-19 disease. this study will provide a better option for the selection of widely used medicinal plants in the search for bioactive compounds for further research. the record of 160 ethnomedicinal plant species belonging to 62 families and used for 157 ailments through 250 different formularies is an indication of the richness of ethnomedicinal plants in the study area. the highest citations of azadirachta indica a. juss. reaffirmed that this is one of the most important ethnomedicinal plants in bangladesh. cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. is generally used for cuts and wounds treatment in all around bangladesh and this was proved by having the highest fic value in the present study. acmella calva (dc.) r.k. jansen was the culturally bound species attaining 100% fidelity level (fl) value. the most important finding of this present study is the record of 40 species under covid-19 category. these species were used by local informants to get relief from covid-19. among these 40 species, most notable species are holy basil (ocimum tenuiflorum l.), malabar nut (justicia adhatoda l.), pennywort (centella asiatica (l.) urban), lemon (citrus aurantifolia (christm. & panzer) swingle), cloves (syzygium aromaticum (l.) merr. & l.m. perry), spearmint (mentha arvensis l.), ginger (zingiber officinale rosc.), tea (camellia sinensis (l.) o. kuntze), and black cumin (nigella sativa l.). the record of these 40 species against covid-19 is a preliminary report. further longterm study is needed to confirm the claim for these plants’ use against covid-19. due to sudden excessive use during covid-19, these species became very scarce in the habitats in and around dhaka city. there is an urgent need to formulate suitable conservation strategies for the naturally growing ethnomedicinal plants to overcome their depletion. acknowledgement we duly acknowledge the ministry of science and technology for financial support of the project. we also acknowledge the local people who helped us by sharing their knowledge during the interview process. references ahmed, f.a., bristy, r.s. and tasnova, n.j. 2015. ethnomedicinal practice of tinospora cordifolia (willd.) meirs ex hook f. & thoms. by the traditional medicine practitioners at savar, dhaka. jahangirnagar university journal of biological sciences. 4(2): 47-51. consensus in the use of ethnomedicinal plants during covid-19 149 ahmed, z.u., begum, z.n.t., hassan, m.a., khondker, m., kabir, s.m.h., ahmad, m., ahmed, a.t.a., rahman, a.k.a. and haque, e.u. 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(manuscript received on 2 january 2023; revised on 5 june 2023) bangladesh j. plant taxon. 28(2): 329‒365, 2021 (december) doi: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57131 © 2021 bangladesh association of plant taxonomists a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur district, bangladesh saleh ahammad khan, gazi mosharof hossain1, shayla sharmin shetu, md. abdur rahim, md. shariful islam, fakhruddin ali ahmed and rukaiya habib fairy plant systematics and biodiversity laboratory, department of botany, jahangirnagar university, savar, dhaka, bangladesh keywords: flora; angiosperm; rangpur; bangladesh. abstract this study demonstrates that the vascular flora of the rangpur district area consists of 825 species under 537 genera and 139 families. the pteridophytes and gymnosperms are represented by 25 and seven species, respectively, whereas the angiosperms by 793 species including 582 species of dicotyledons (magnoliopsida) and 211 species of monocotyledons (liliopsida). poaceae with 67 species, representing 8.12% of the flora, is appeared as the largest family, and followed by asteraceae, fabaceae, araceae, malvaceae and euphorbiaceae that collectively constitute 17.94% of this flora. persicaria comprising 10 species is recorded as the largest genus, and followed by ficus, euphorbia, solanum, albizia and brassica. about 59.71% taxa of this flora are herbs, 21.71% trees, 14.72% shrubs and the rest are palms, lianas, and bamboos. erect herbs forming 35.22% of the flora comprise the most common life-form. in this flora, almost 64.29% taxa are native and the rest 35.71% are exotic. nearly 62.61% taxa of the flora are found in wild, 26.90% as planted and 10.49% as cultivated. about 35.46% of the species commonly occur throughout all upazilas of this district. most of the species are harboured in fallow lands, roadsides, gardens, and homesteads. all species of this district flora are known as economically useful. most of its habitats and ecosystems are exposed to different threats. adequate measures with effective management plans should be adopted and implemented for the sustainable use, improvement and conservation of this precious flora. introduction taxonomic studies provide the foundation for understanding biological diversity. such studies provide essential, crucial and useful data on the identification, composition, origin, distribution, diversity, classification and relationship of the biological organisms. the sustainable use of plant resources and such resource-based development of a country as well as its environmental issues are largely dependent on basic and adequate understandings on the plant species found within its geographical area, i.e., its flora, and such understandings are primarily furnished by taxonomic studies. though the flora of bangladesh is inferred as rich (approx. 5000 species of angiosperms, khan, 1977) in term of its geographical area (147570 km2, bbs, 2021), it has been incompletely explored through various kinds of sporadic taxonomic inventories conducted so far covering this area partly (roxburgh, 1814; hooker, 1872-1897; prain, 1903; khan and huq, 2001; uddin et al., 2003; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2015; haque et al., 2018; shetu et al., 2018; uddin and hassan, 2018; khanam and khan, 2020, khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020a, 2020b; hossain et al., 2021; khan et al., 2021). consequently, the floristic compositions in most of the areas of this country are still unknown or inadequately known. 1author for correspondence: <gazibotju@gmail.com> https://doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v28i2.57131 mailto:gazibotju@gmail.com 330 khan et al. rangpur district comprising a total area of 2400.56 km2 of north-western region of bangladesh consists of eight upazilas and 83 unions. it lies between 25°18' and 25°57' north latitudes and between 88°56' and 89°32' east longitudes (district statistics 2011 rangpur, 2013). the topography of rangpur is mostly flat, with an average elevation above sea level of 35 meter (https://elevation. maplogs.com). the land area is mostly covered by grasslands, croplands, scrub jungles, homestead gardens, and some wetlands. the soil is mostly (80%) alluvial of the teesta river basin, and the remaining is barind (https://elevation.maplogs.com). it has a subtropical humid and summer wet monsoon climate (khatun et al., 2016; https://en.climate-data.org). the mean annual temperature varies from maximum 29.3°c to 36.3°c to minimum 6.0°c to 20°c and 1932 mm to 2309.5 mm precipitation falls annually (district statistics 2011 rangpur, 2013; khatun et al., 2016). some taxonomic studies on the flora of several districts of bangladesh have been carried out (sultana, 2012; tabassum, 2015; uddin and hassan, 2018; khanam and khan, 2020; khanam et al., 2020; roy and khan, 2020a, b; hossain et al., 2021). however, any taxonomic literature on the flora of rangpur district based on field inventories throughout its entire geographical area is not known to be published so far. taxonomic studies on the flora of rangpur district are necessary to generate the baseline data on the current composition, status and distribution of plant species, and to contribute in promoting plant resource-based socioeconomic development projects, undertaking appropriate conservation initiatives for the threatened or near threatened species, and future studies on floristic composition, plant species diversity and vegetation of this area. this study was performed to construct a taxonomic checklist and provide quantitative data on the vascular flora (i.e., pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms) of rangpur district based on thorough field inventories throughout the area. materials and methods field inventories were conducted throughout all upazilas of rangpur district in different seasons of 2018-2021. in this study all indigenous and exotic species of vascular plants found in wild and as planted or cultivated have been circumscribed. the collection, processing, drying, preservation and identification of the plant specimens was completed and nomenclatural information were verified following the methods described in khan et al. (2021) and hossain et al. (2021). all voucher specimens have been preserved at jahangirnagar university herbarium (juh). the families of pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms have been arranged following the widely used classification systems of pichi (1977), kramer and green (1990) and cronquist (1988), respectively, whereas the genera and species under each family alphabetically (table 1). the families, which are not included in cronquist (1988), have been placed following apgiv system (angiosperm phylogeny group. 2016). in the tabulated list of the species (table 1), only the currently accepted names and their recent synonyms have been cited. data on the uses of plant species studied were collected through interviews with the local people during the field inventories, and consulting the relevant literatures (ghani, 1998; van valkenburg and bunyapraphatsara, 2002; siddiqui et al., 2007; ahmed et al., 2008-2009; ahmed et al., 2009). the extent of similarities in species composition in eight upazilas of the study area was measured by the jaccard coefficient (jaccard, 1912). the status of rare and threatened plant species in the study area was inferred through field observation and estimation on their population size, distribution range and regeneration in the area. https://elevation. https://elevation.maplogs.com). https://en.climate-data.org). a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 331 results and discussion this study recorded a total of 829 taxa comprised of 825 species and four varieties under 537 genera and 139 families of pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms growing within the geographical boundary of rangpur district. pteridophytes with 25 species of 20 genera under 12 families constituted 3.03% species of rangpur district flora. gymnosperms with seven species of six genera under five families comprised only 0.85% species of the flora. magnoliopsida or the dicotyledons, composed of 582 species belonging to 381 genera under 95 families, constituted 70.55% species of the flora and liliopsida or the monocotyledons, comprised of 211 species of 130 genera and 27 families, represented 25.58% species of the flora (table 1 and fig. 1). in the 829 taxa, a total of three subspecies and six varieties are included. each of these three subspecies and two of the six varieties represent an independent species, due to which these are enumerated as the separate species. the remaining four varieties belonging to the enlisted species do not represent any separate species. in this article, 825 species have been considered for the taxonomic enumeration of the species, genus and families, whereas, data on 829 taxa have been used for the categorization of the taxa in terms of habitat, habit, distribution and economic uses. a total of 495 (59.71%) plant taxa recorded from this district were herbs, 180 (21.71%) trees, 122 (14.72%) shrubs, 15 (1.81%) palms, 11 (1.33%) lianas and only six (0.72%) bamboos. the most common life-form in this district flora was the erect herb, which represented 58.99% of the herbaceous taxa and constituted 35.22% (292 species) of the flora. this life-form was followed by erect shrubs (108 species), prostrate herbs (73 species), vines (71 species) and small trees (62 species), comprising 13.03%, 8.81%, 8.56% and 7.48% of the district flora, respectively, and medium and large trees, each representing 58 species (7%) of the flora. other life-forms include creepers, palms, scandent shrubs, rooted floating herbs, epiphytes, submerged and free floating, bamboos, and parasitic and emergent herbs. the flora of rangpur district is mostly composed of native taxa (64.29% or 533 species). however, a major part (35.71%) of this flora is formed by 296 exotic taxa. total 519 taxa comprising 62.61% of the flora were found in wild, and 223 or 26.90% of the species as planted and 87 or 10.49% as cultivated. fig. 1. species composition of different plant groups of rangpur district. fig. 2. composition of major plant families of liliopsida of rangpur district in pteridophyta, the family pteridaceae, consisted of seven species, was the largest, which was followed by thelypteridaceae and polypodiaceae, represented by four and three species, respectively. rest of the families were composed of one to two species each. the genus pteris l. was consisted of three species, the genera adiantum l., christella léveillé, and nephrolepis schott were composed of two species each, and the rest of single species each. the families of gymnospermae were represented by one to two species and all of their genera by one species 67 25 19 16 15 10 9 8 7 37 18 5 8 14 4 5 7 4 0 20 40 60 80 n o. o f s pe ci es & g en us family with its species% in the flora major families of liliopsida species genus 332 khan et al. each, except the cycas l., constituted of two species. all species of pteridophytes, except asplenium nidus, nephrolepis biserrata and n. exaltata, were herbs and found in wild, and all of the six tree and one shrub species of gymnosperms were planted. in liliopsida or monocotyledons, poaceae composed of 67 species under 37 genera, representing 8.12% of the vascular flora of rangpur district, was the largest family and followed by araceae with 25 species of 18 genera, cyperaceae with 19 species of five genera, asparagaceae with 16 species of eight genera and arecaceae with 15 species of 14 genera. these four families collectively constituted a total of 9.09% of the flora (fig. 2). the families commelinaceae, zingiberaceae, orchidaceae, and amaryllidaceae were found to be composed of less than 11 species each that constituted together 4.12% of this district flora (fig. 2). cyperus l., composed of nine species, was the largest monocot genus and followed by dracaena vand. and fimbristylis vahl with six species each, digitaria haller with five species, alocasia (schott) g. don, bambusa schreb., dioscorea l., setaria p. beauv. and urochloa p. beauv. with four species each, and agave l., commelina l., crinum l., curcuma l., eragrostis wolf, panicum l., sacciolepis nash and tradescantia l., each with three species. total 182 species (85.85%) of the monocotyledons were herbs, seven (3.30%) were shrubs, and two (0.94%) were trees. total 135 or 63.68% species of this plant group were found in wild, 44 (20.75%) as planted and 33 (15.57%) as cultivated. fig. 3. composition of major plant families of magnoliopsida of rangpur district. in magnoliopsida or dicotyledons, the family asteraceae comprising 41 species and representing 4.97 % of the rangpur district flora was the largest that was followed by fabaceae, malvaceae, rubiaceae, euphorbiaceae, lamiaceae and apocynaceae (fig. 3) and these six families constituted 17.45% of this district flora. the families acanthaceae, cucurbitaceae, amaranthaceae, mimosaceae, caesalpiniaceae, phyllanthaceae, moraceae, solanaceae, polygonaceae, brassicaceae, vitaceae, rutaceae and convolvulaceae (fig. 3), comprised 21.82% of this district flora. persicaria mill., composed of 10 species, was the largest dicot genus, which was followed by ficus l. with nine species, euphorbia l. with eight species, solanum l. with seven species, albizia durazz., brassica l., cissus l., hibiscus l. and phyllanthus l. with six species each, and ipomoea l., leea d. royen ex l., limnophilla r. br., lindernia all., senna mill. and vigna savi with five species each. total 288 taxa (49.23%) of the dicotyledons were herbs, 172 (29.40%) trees, 116 (19.82%) shrubs and 11 (1.88%) lianas. in this plant group, total 362 or 61.88% taxa were found in wild, 172 (29.40%) as planted and 51 (8.72%) as cultivated. 41 35 24 22 22 21 20 18 17 15 15 15 15 14 13 12 12 12 11 11 9 8 8 7 7 7 36 24 14 16 12 14 16 14 12 9 8 8 7 4 7 3 4 5 7 6 5 6 4 6 5 2 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 n o. o f s pe ci es & g en us family with its species % in the flora major families of magnoliopsida species genus a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 333 the occurrence of total 294 taxa, i.e., 35.46% of the flora, including 230 species of dicotyledons, 55 species of monocotyledons, seven species of pteridophytes and two species of gymnosperms, was common in all of the eight upazilas of rangpur district. among these eight upazilas, taraganj harboured the highest number of species, which was followed by rangpur sadar, pirganj, gangachara, badarganj, mithapukur, pirgachha and kaunia upazilas (fig. 4). fig. 4. plant species composition in eight upazilas of rangpur district. according to jaccard coefficient, the similarity in plant species compositions of eight upazilas of rangpur district was 64.47% (fig. 5). it indicates that the species compositions in these upazilas, i.e., throughout the district, were relatively more similar rather than different. however, a comparison in plant species composition of taraganj upazila, housing a relatively higher number of plant species, with those of other upazilas of rangpur district indicates that a similarity range of 49.77% to 59.97% in plant species composition existed there. fig. 5. similarity in species composition in the upazilas of rangpur district based on jaccard coefficient. in rangpur district, the plant species were distributed in diverse habitats. however, most of the species were well-adapted to fallow lands, roadsides, gardens and homesteads, which were followed by woodlands, scrub jungles, grasslands, wetlands, agricultural fields, marginal lands, brick wall (including forest margins and river banks). some species were also found on a few tree species and on brick walls (fig. 6). 237 210 153 139 138 112 97 88 531 504 447 433 432 406 391 382 taraganj rangpur sadar pirganj gangachara badarganj mithapukur pirgachha kaunia species number u pa zi la plant species composition in the upazilas of rangpur district total species including the 294 species common to all upazilas total species excluding the 294 species common to all upazilas 49.77 51.15 51.81 51.86 53.19 60.07 59.97 64.47 taraganj & pirganj taraganj & pirgachha taraganj & gangachara taraganj & mithapukur taraganj & kaunia taraganj & badarganj taraganj & rangpur sadar all upazilas percent (%) u pa zi la similarity in species composition 334 khan et al. all plant species found in rangpur district are economically useful and about 33.98% of these species have at least two uses (table 1). a total of 472 plant species, comprising 56.94% of this district flora, are economically useful as medicinal. additionally, a total of 282 species are recorded as ornamental that are followed by 113 species of fodder and forages, 98 of timbers, 66 of vegetables, 56 of fruits, 41 of fireand fuel wood, constituting 34.02%, 13.63%, 11.82%, 7.96%, 6.76%, and 4.83% of the flora, respectively. besides, 22 species are known as edible, 15 species as fibre, 13 as spices, 10 as oil-yielding, nine as fencing and eight as soil binder, and 61 species, representing 7.36% of the flora, are known as useful for other economic purposes (table 1). fig. 6. distribution of plant species in different habitats of rangpur district. the total number of angiospermic species enumerated from rangpur district by this study seems closer to that of gazipur district (tabassum, 2015) but higher than those of rajshahi (rahman, 2013), narsingdi (khanam et al., 2020; khanam and khan, 2020) and satkhira districts (hossain et al., 2021). the taxonomic accounts of angiospermic species of five of the eight upazilas of rangpur district viz., taraganj, rangpur sadar, pirganj, gangachara and badarganj upazila, as recorded by this study (fig. 5), are higher than those of different upazilas of bangladesh reported by the previous studies (e.g., islam et al., 2009; rahman et al., 2012; rahman et al., 2013; sarker et al., 2013; nahar and rahman, 2016; rahman and kona, 2016; mahmudah et al., 2017; roy and rahman, 2018, and rahman et al., 2019) (fig. 7). fig. 7. angiospermic species composition in five districts of bangladesh. a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 335 table 1. list of vascular plant species of rangpur district, bangladesh. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse pteridophyta schimp. selaginellaceae willk. selaginella ciliaris (retz.) spring katagenella fl, rs, wl h, cr; w bg, pr, pg, tg m, o sss 3231 salviniaceae martinov azolla pinnata r.br. khudipana wtl h, ff; w bg, mp, pr, tg gm gmh 5530 salvinia cucullata roxb. indur kani wtl h, ff; w pr ap, o gmh 5529 marsileaceae mirb. marsilea minuta l. susni shak fl, wtl h, cr; w all upazilas m, vg sss 3239 lygodiaceae m.roem. lygodium flexuosum (l.) sw. saralata fern fl, rs, sj h, vi; w tg, pg, pr m gmh 5545 dennstaedtiaceae lotsy microlepia strigosa (thunb.) c.presl. fern rs, wl h, er; w bg, gc, pg, tg m mar 3707 pteridaceae e.d.m.kirchn. adiantum caudatum l. bidda pata bw, rs, gr h, pr; w mp, pg, gc o gmh 5562 a. philippense l. kalijhat bw, gr, ml h, pr; w gc, rs, mp, pg o sss 3237 ceratopteris thalictroides (l.) brongn. pani lettuce fl, wtl h, er; w all upazilas o sss 3242 cheilosoria belangeri (bory in belang.) ching & k.h.shing belangeri fl, wl h, er; w bg, gc m mar 3700 pteris ensiformis burm.f. ensifern fl, hs h, pr; w bg, kn o mar 3716 p. semipinnata l. semipinna fern fl, rs, wl h, er; w tg o mar 3712 p. vittata l. imodi pteris bw h, pr; w bg, kn, pg, tg o gmh 5511 polypodiaceae j.presl & c.presl drynaria quercifolia (l.) j.sm. pankhiraj op h, ep; w all upazilas m gmh 5510 microsorum punctatum (l.) copel. punctasorum fern op h, ep; w gc, pr, rs, tg o gmh 5515 pyrrosia nuda (giesenh.) ching nudarossi op h, ep; w all upazilas o sss 3005 blechnaceae newman stenochlaena palustris (burm.f.) bedd. lata dhekia sj, wl h, vi; w bg, tg m gmh 5507 thelypteridaceae ching ex pic.serm. ampelopteris prolifera (retz.) copel. lombo dheki shak fl, ml, rb h, cr; w all upazilas vg gmh 5519 christella dentata (forssk.) brownsey & jermy bish dhekia fl, hs, rs h, er; w all upazilas m sss 3008 c. arida (d.don) holttum fern datitila fl, hs, rs h, er; w gc, kn, pr m mar 3711 thelypteris parasitica (l.) tardieu partila fern fl, hs, rs h, er; w bg, gc, mp m mar 3715 336 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse aspleniaceae newman asplenium nidus l.* pakhir basha fern gr, hs h, er; cv mp, pr, rs, tg o mar 3701 athyriaceae alston diplazium esculentum (retz.) sw. dheki shak fl, rb, rs h, er; w all upazilas vg sss 3004 nephrolepidaceae pic.serm. nephrolepis biserrata (sw.) schott bagan dekhi gr, hs h, er; cv tg o mar 3710 n. exaltata (l.) schott jhara fern gr, hs h, er; cv tg o mar 3713 gymnospermae prantl araucariaceae henkel & w.hochst. araucaria heterophylla (salisb.) franco* christmas tree gr, hs t, l; pl all upazilas o gmh 5520 cupressaceae gray juniperus chinensis l.* china juniper gr, hs t, s; pl rs, tg o mar 3702 thuja plicata donn ex d.don* thuja gr, hs t, l; pl all upazilas o sss 3011 cycadaceae pers. cycas circinalis l.* nali cycas gr, hs t, m; pl bg, rs, tg m, o mar 3706 c. revoluta thunb.* volu cycas gr, hs t, m; pl bg, rs, tg o mar 3705 pinaceae spreng. ex rudolphi pinus palustris mill.* carebian pine gr, rs t, l; pl rs m, t faa 101 zamiaceae horan. zamia furfuracea l.f. ex aiton* zamia palm gr, hs s; pl rs, tg o mar 3703 magnoliopsida brongn. magnoliaceae juss. magnolia champaca (l.) baill. ex pierre champa gr, rs t, l; pl mp, pr, rs m, o sak 3100 m. grandiflora l.* udoy paddo gr, hs t, m; pl rs, tg m, o sak 3120 annonaceae juss. annona reticulata l.* atta, nona fl, gr, hs t, s; w all upazilas fr, fw gmh 5521 a. squamosa l.* sharifa gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas fr gmh 5508 artabotrys hexapetalus (l.f.) bhandari* kathali chapma gr, hs s, sc; pl tg m, o gmh 5505 huberantha pendula (capuron ex g.e.schatz & le thomas) chaowasku* zhopalo debdaru rs t, m; pl kn, rs, tg fu, o mar 3704 miliusa velutina (dunal) hook.f. & thomson gandhi gojari wl, rs t, l; w bg, pr, rs t, m mar 3714 monoon longifolium (sonn.) b.xue & r.m.k.saunders* debdaru rs, wl t, l; w all upazilas o, t sss 3012 polyalthia suberosa (roxb.) thwaites barachali fl, wl t, s; w gc, pg, pr fr, m sss 3015 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 337 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse lauraceae juss. cinnamomum tamala (buch.-ham.) t.nees & eberm. tejpata gr, hs t, m; pl all upazilas co, sp mar 3733 c. verum j.presl daruchini gr, hs t, m; pl bg, kn, pr, tg m, sp sss 3418 litsea glutinosa (lour.) c.b.rob. kukurchita sj, wl t, m; w all upazilas m sak 3109 l. monopetala (roxb.) pers. borokukurchita sj, wl t, m; w all upazilas m sak 3119 l. salicifolia (j.roxb. ex nees) hook.f. digloti hs, wtl t, s; w gc m mar 3717 piperaceae giseke peperomia pellucida (l.) kunth* luchi pata bw, ml, wl h, pr; w all upazilas m sss 3025 piper betle l.* pan gr, hs h, vi; cv bg, gc, tg m mar 3725 p. longum l. pipul fl, wl h, vi; w all upazilas m gmh 5526 nelumbonaceae a.rich. nelumbo nucifera gaertn. paddo wtl h, fl; w mp, bg, pr m, o mar 3718 nymphaeaceae salisb. nymphaea nouchali burm.f. nil shapla wtl h, fl; w all upazilas m, o sss 3234 n. nouchali var. pubescens (willd.) hook.fil. & thomson sada shapla wtl h, fl; w bg, gc, mp, pr o, vg mar 3724 n. rubra roxb. ex andrews lal shapla wtl h, fl; w all upazilas o, vg sss 3236 ceratophyllaceae gray ceratophyllum demersum l. kantajhanjhi wtl h, sm; w pr, tg m mar 3732 ranunculaceae juss. clematis vitalba l.* polaka jui gr h, vi; cv rs, tg o mar 3984 c. zeylanica (l.) poir. murcha, chagolbati fl, sj, wl h, vi; w bg, pg, tg m gmh 5588 menispermaceae juss. stephania japonica (thunb.) miers akandi manik sj h, vi; w all upazilas m mar 3723 s. rotunda lour. thandamanik sj h, vi; w pg, tg m mar 3719 tiliacora acuminata (lam.) miers bagh lata fl, rs, wl liana; w all upazilas m gmh 5589 tinospora sinensis (lour.) merr. gulancha wl h, vi; w rs, tg m mar 3731 papaveraceae juss. argemone mexicana l.g.b.* shial kanta af, fl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m gmh 5615 cannabaceae martinov trema orientalis (l.) blume banjiga sj, wl t, m; w all upazilas fw sss 3235 cannabis sativa l. bhang, ganja fl, rs h, er; w pr, mp m mar 3864 moraceae gaudich. artocarpus chaplasha roxb. chapalish wl, rs t, l; w bg, mp, rs, tg fr, t mar 3720 a. heterophyllus lam.* kanthal wl, hs t, m; pl all upazilas fr, t sss 3240 a. lacucha buch.-ham. deowa wl, gr t, m; w all upazilas fr, fw mar 3726 ficus benghalensis l. bot bw, wl t, l; w all upazilas fw, sd sss 3241 f. benjamina l. jiri pakur gr t, m; pl pg, rs, tg fw, o mar 3730 f. elastica roxb. ex hornem. rubber bot gr, rs t, m; pl rs, tg o mar 3722 338 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse f. heterophylla l. f. bhuidumur sj, wl s; w bg, gc, kn fw, m sss 3243 f. hispida l. f. kakdumur bw, sj, wl t, s; w all upazilas m, vg sss 3244 f. pumila l.* latabot bw h, cr; pl tg o mar 3729 f. racemosa l. jagga dumur bw, sj, fl t, l; w all upazilas fr, m mar 3727 f. religiosa l. ashwath bw, wl, sj t, l; w bg, gc, kn, tg o, sd sss 3246 f. rumphii blume khiri bot wl t, l; w rs, tg o, sd mar 3721 morus alba l.* shada tut hs, ml, rs t, s; pl gc, tg fr, sf mar 3728 streblus asper lour. sheora sj, wl t, l; w all upazilas fw, m sss 3247 urticaceae juss. boehmeria nivea (l.) gaudich. kanchara fl, rs h, er; w mp, pg m mar 3734 b. virgata (g.forst.) guill. subsp. macrophylla (hornem.) friis & wilmot-dear* ulichara fl, rs h, er; w gc, pg m mar 3745 dendrocnide sinuata (blume) chew law chutra fl, wl h, er; w tg, bg m, po mar 3750 laportea interrupta (l.) chew chotra pata sj, wl h, er; w gc, mp m, po mar 3744 pilea cadierei gagnep. & guillaumin aluminium plant gr h, er; cv tg o msi 110 p. microphylla (l.) liebm.* lata maricha bw, rs h, er; w pr fd gmh 5590 pouzolzia zeylanica (l.) benn. kullaruki bw, sj, gl h, er; w all upazilas m sss 3315 casuarinaceae r.br. casuarina equisetifolia l. jhau gr, rs t, l; pl gc, mp, rs, tg o sss 3247 nyctaginaceae juss. boerhavia repens l. payanava fl, rs h, cr; w gc, tg m msi 111 bougainvillea glabra choisy* baganbilas gr, hs s, sc; pl all upazilas o gmh 5592 b. spectabilis willd.* shukhbilas gr, hs s, sc; pl all upazilas o sss 3249 mirabilis jalapa l.* sandhyamoni sj, gr, hs h, er; w all upazilas m, o sss 3248 cactaceae juss. consolea macracantha (griseb.) berger; syn. opuntia falcata ekman & werderm. fonimonosha gr, hs s; pl rs, tg o mar 3858 opuntia dillenii (ker gawl.) haw.* fonimonosha gr, hs s; pl rs, tg o mar 3859 o. elatior mill.* fonimonosha gr, hs s; pl rs, tg o mar 3860 o. ficus-indica (l.) mill.* fonimonosha ml, rs s; w tg fn, m mar 3535 o. monacantha (willd.) haw.* fonimonosha gr, hs s; pl rs, tg o mar 3985 amaranthaceae juss. achyranthes aspera l. apang gl, fl, wl h, er; w all upazilas m faa 103 a. aspera var. indica l.* apang gl, fl, wl h, er; w bg, pr, pg, rs m msi 113 alternanthera ficoidea (l.) p.beauv.* nanthi fl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas fd, m msi 112 a. philoxeroides (mart.) griseb.* henchi wtl h, fl; w all upazilas vg gmh 5593 a. sessilis (l.) r.br. ex dc.* malancha gl, fl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas vg mar 3743 amaranthus blitum l.* goburanotey gl, rs h, er; w bg, gc vg msi 114 a. spinosus l.* kantanotey af, fl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m, vg msi 115 a. tricolor l. lal shak af h, er; cv all upazilas vg mar 3749 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 339 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse a. viridis l.* notey shak fl, rs h, er; w pr, rs vg msi 116 celosia argentea l.* morog phul hs, rs h, er; w rs m, o faa 104 chenopodium album l. botua shak fl, gr, rs h, er; w all upazilas m, vg gmh 5547 cyathula prostrata (l.) blume chya apang gl, fl, rs h, pr; w bg, gc m faa 105 deeringia amaranthoides (lam.) merr. golamohani sj h, vi; w bg, tg m, vg mar 3743 dysphania ambrosioides (l.) mosyakin & clemants* chandan betu fl, rb, rs h, er; w gc, mp, tg m msi 117 gomphrena globosa l.* bottum phul hs, rs h, er; pl rs, tg o mar 3736 g. serrata l.* sada bottum phul gl, fl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m mar 3735 portulacaceae juss. portulaca oleracea l.* boronunia fl, rs h, pr; w pg, rs m, vg sss 3307 p. grandiflora hook.* time phul hs, rs h, pr; cv rs, tg o gmh 5527 p. quadrifida l. chhoto nunia hs, rs h, pr; cv rs o mar 3742 basellaceae raf. basella alba l. pui shak af, hs h, cr; cv all upazilas vg msi 118 molluginaceae bartl. glinus lotoides l. kakdim af, rb, rs h, pr; w gc m msi 119 g. oppositifolius (l.) aug.dc. gima shak af, fl h, pr; w all upazilas vg gmh 5528 trigastrotheca pentaphylla (l.) thulin* khetpapra fl h, pr; w gc, mp, pg, tg m gmh 5546 caryophyllaceae juss. polycarpon prostratum (forssk.) asch. & schweinf. chutki shak gl, fl h, pr; w gc m msi 120 stellaria wallichiana haines sada fulki fl, rs h, pr; w gc, kn m msi 121 polygonaceae juss. persicaria barbata (l.) h.hara biskatali fl, wtl h, er; w mp, pr, rs m faa 106 p. chinensis (l.) h.gross pantabhat rs h, er; w gc, pg ed, m msi 122 p. glabra (willd.) m.gómez biskatali fl h, er; w kn, mp, tg m mar 3741 p. hydropiper (l.) delarbre biskatali af, fl, wtl h, er; w all upazilas m msi 124 p. lapathifolia (l.) delarbre; syn. polygonum lapathifolium l. shet panimarich af, fl, rs h, er; w bg, gc m msi3867 p. minor (huds.) opiz; syn. polygonum minus huds. chhotobishkatali af, fl h, er; w pg, rs m mai3737 p. orientalis (l.) spach; syn. polygonum orientale l. bara panimarich fl, wtl h, er; w bg, mp, tg m mar 3746 p. perfoliata (l.) h.gross kata bishkatali af, fl, rs h, er; w gc, kn m, vg mar 3872 p. pubescens (blume) h.hara lal bishkathali fl, rs, wtl h, er; w pg, pc m msi 123 p. viscosa (buch.-ham. ex d.don) h.gross ex nakai athalo bishkatali af, fl h, er; w pg, rs m msi 125 rumex dentatus l. bon-palang fl h, er; w gc, kn, mp m gmh 5594 r. maritimus l. dati-palang fl h, er; w gc, mp, rs m faa 107 dilleniaceae salisb. dillenia indica l. chalta wl t, m; pl all upazilas fr, m faa 108 340 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse dipterocarpaceae blume dipterocarpus turbinatus c.f.gaertn. teligarjan wl, rs t, l; pl gc t sak 3121 hopea odorata roxb. telsur wl, rs t, l; pl rs, tg t sak 3122 shorea robusta gaertn. sal wl t, l; w bg t sak 3123 clusiaceae lindl. mesua ferrea l. nageshawar gr, rs t, s; pl rs m, o faa 110 garcinia cowa roxb. ex choisy cawphal gr, hs t, m; pl rs, tg fr mar 3738 elaeocarpaceae juss. elaeocarpus floribundus blume jalpai gr, hs, wl t, m; pl all upazilas fr, oy mar 3746 sterculiaceae vent. abroma augustum (l.) l.f. ulatkambal hs, sj s; w gc, kn, tg fb, m faa 111 melochia corchorifolia l. tiki-okra wl s; w all upazilas m mar 3739 sterculia foetida l. baksho badam gr, rs t, l; pl mp, rs fr, o gmh 5544 s. villosa roxb. udal gr, wl t, l; pl pg m, pp sss 3314 bombacaceae kunth. bombax ceiba l. shimul wl, sj t, l; w all upazilas fb, m msi 126 malvaceae juss. abelmoschus esculentus (l.) moench dherosh af, hs h, er; cv all upazilas vg mar 3747 a. moschatus medik. mushokdana sj, fl h, er; w bg, mp, rs, tg m gmh 5545 abutilon indicum (l.) sweet petari fl, rs, sj s; w bg, kn, mp, pr m sss 3312 berrya cordifolia (willd.) burret. chavandalai rs t, l; w rs o, t gmh 5584 ceiba pentandra (l.) gaertn.* shada shimul gr, hs, rs t, m; pl rs, mp, pg fb, t mar 3740 corchorus aestuans l. janglipat sj s; w all upazilas fb, m msi 127 c. capsularis l. pat hs h, er; cv all upazilas fb, vg msi 128 grewia nervosa (lour.) panigrahi asar, pichundi wl t, s; w bg, rs, tg ed, t mar 3861 hibiscus acetosella welw. ex hiern* lalchokai gr, hs s; pl gc m, vg mar 3760 h. mutabilis l.* sthol paddo gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas m sak 3102 h. rosa-sinensis l.* jaba gr, hs, rs s; pl all upazilas o sak 3111 h. sabdariffa l.* chukar gr, hs s; pl rs, tg m sak 3116 h. schizopetalus (dyer) hook.f.* jhumko jaba gr, hs s; pl mp, pg o sak 3119 h. surattensis l. ram bhindi gr, hs s; pl all upazilas m sak 3113 malva verticillata l. napa shak af h, er; cv gc, pr, pg, tg vg mis 129 malvaviscus arboreus cav.* morich joba gr, hs s; pl pg, tg o mar 3751 pentapetes phoenicea l. bandhuli phul gr, hs s; pl bg, rs, tg m, o gmh 5540 pterygota alata (roxb.) r.br. budha narikel gr t, l; pl all upazilas m, t gmh 5541 sida acuta burm.f. kureta fl, sj, rs h, er; w bg, kn, rs m faa 112 s. cordata (burm.f.) bross. waalk. pitberela fl, sj, rs h, er; w mp m faa 113 s. cordifolia l. shet-berela fl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m mar 3767 s. rhombifolia l. lal-berela fl, rs h, er; w all upazilas fb, m msi 130 triumfetta rhomboidea jacq. bon okra fl, wl, sj s; w all upazilas fb, m gmh 5587 urena lobata l. ban ghagra fl, sj, rs s; w all upazilas fb, m sss 3318 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 341 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse lecythidaceae a.rich. barringtonia acutangula (l.) gaertn. hijal rs, hs t, s; w bg, gc, rs fw, t faa 114 couroupita guianensis aubl.* naglingom gr t, m; pl rs o, m mar 3880 bixaceae kunth bixa orellana l.* belatihaldi gr t, s; pl rs, tg dy, m mar 3759 passifloraceae juss. ex roussel passiflora caerulea l.* passion phal gr, hs h, vi; pl tg fr, m sak 3110 caricaceae dumort. carica papaya l.* pepe gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas fr, vg mar 3752 cucurbitaceae juss. benincasa hispida (thunb.) cogn* chalkumra hs h, vi; cv all upazilas vg mar 3759 citrullus lanatus (thunb.) matsum. & nakai* tormuj fl, hs h, vi; cv gc, kn fr mar 3766 coccinia grandis (l.) voigt telakucha bw, sj, wl h, vi; w all upazilas m, vg faa 115 cucumis melo l.* kakur fl, hs h, vi; cv pg, mp, tg fr, vg mar 3753 c. sativus l. khira fl, hs h, vi; cv all upazilas vg mar 3758 cucurbita maxima duchesne* kumra fl, hs h, vi; cv all upazilas vg mar 3765 diplocyclos palmatus (l.) c.jeffrey mala fl, sj h, vi; w pr m msi 131 lagenaria siceraria (molina) standl.* lao fl, hs h, vi; cv all upazilas vg mar 3754 luffa acutangula (l.) roxb. jhinga fl, hs h, vi; cv all upazilas vg mar 3757 l. cylindrica m.roem. dhundal fl, hs h, vi; cv all upazilas vg mar 3756 momordica charantia l. karolla fl, hs h, vi; cv all upazilas vg mar 3755 m. dioica roxb. ex willd. kakrol fl, hs, sj h, vi; cv all upazilas vg mar 3761 cucumis maderaspatanus l.; syn. mukia maderaspatana (l.) m.roem. agmukhi bw, gl, sj h, vi; w bg, kn, tg m faa 116 solena amplexicaulis (lam.) gandhi rakhal sosha sj h, vi; w bg, mp m gmh 5537 trichosanthes dioica roxb. potol hs h, vi; cv all upazilas vg gmh 5535 t. cucumerina l. bon chichinga fl, hs h, vi; cv pr vg mar 3762 t. tricuspidata lour* makal fl, hs h, vi; cv bg, gc, mp m gmh 5539 salicaceae mirb. casearia tomentosa roxb. chilla wdl t, s; w bg, rs fw, m mar 3881 flacourtia indica (burm.f.) merr. beuchi sj, wl s; w pr, pg fr, m msi 132 f. jangomas (lour.) raeusch. lukluki hs t, s; pl pr, pg fr, m msi 133 capparaceae juss. capparis spinosa l. katai rs, sj s; w rs m, fw mar 3882 c. zeylanica l. katai sj s; w pr, pg fr, m sss 3306 crateva magna (lour.) dc. borun wtl t, s; w bg, gc fw, m gmh 5529 cleomaceae bercht. & j.presl cleome houtteana schltdl.* hurhuria gr, rs, fl h, er; pl mp, rs o sss 3315 c. rutidosperma dc.* nil hurhurey bw, fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m gmh 5534 c. viscosa l. halud hurhurey bw, fl, gl, rs h, er; w kn, mp, pg m gmh 5542 342 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse brassicaceae burnett brassica cretica lam. subsp. cretica; syn. b. oleracea var. italica plenck* broccoli af, hs h, er; cv pr, pg, mp, rs vg msi 135 b. napus l.* sarisha af h, er; cv all upazilas oy mar 3763 b. nigra (l.) w.d.j.koch* rai sarisha gr, hs h, er; cv all upazilas oy mar 3764 b. oleracea l.; syn. b. oleracea var. capitata l.* badhakapi af h, er; cv all upazilas vg mar 3768 b. oleracea var. botrytis l.* phulkapi af h, er; cv bg, mp, pr, rs vg mar 3777 b. rapa l. sarisha af h, er; cv all upazilas oy, vg msi 134 cardamine cf. flexuosa with.* bansarisha af, fl h, er; w all upazilas m mah 3778 raphanus sativus l. mula af, hs h, er; cv all upazilas vg msi 137 rorippa benghalensis (dc.) h.hara bel rai af, hs, rs h, er; w all upazilas m msi 138 r. indica (l.) hiern bansarisha fl, gr h, er; w all upazilas m sss 3313 r. palustris (l.) besser panisarisha fl, hs, rs h, er; w pr, pg m msi 138 moringaceae martinov moringa oleifera lamk.* shajna hs, rs t, m; pl all upazilas m, vg mar 3779 sapotaceae juss. manilkara zapota (l.) p.royen* sopheda gr, hs t, m; pl all upazilas fr, m gmh 5530 mimusops elengi l. bokul gr, hs t, m; pl mp, rs, tg m, o gmh 5533 ebenaceae gürke diospyros discolor willd.* bilati gab gr, hs t, m; pl all upazilas fr, m faa 117 d. malabarica (desr.) kostel. deshi gab wl t, m; w all upazilas fr, m mar 3769 d. montana roxb. tomal sj, wl t, s; w pr, tg fw, m msi 139 hydrangeaceae dumort. hydrangea macrophylla (thunb.) ser.* hydrangea gr, hs s; pl tg o mar 3903 myrsinaceae r.br. ardisia solanacea (poir.) roxb. banjam wl s; w mp, pr, rs m, o msi 140 maesa benghalensis mez. banglauni sj, wl s; w mp, pr, rs m msi 141 m. indica (roxb.) a.dc. ramjoni sj, wl s; w pr, pg m msi 142 crassulaceae j.st.-hil. kalachoe pinnata (lam.) pers.* patharkuchi gr, hs h, er; pl all upazilas m, o mar 3780 rosaceae juss. rosa × centifolia l.* golap gr, hs s; cv all upazilas m, o mar 3769 r. chinensis jacq.* jangli golap gr, hs, ml s; pl tg fn mar 3776 fragaria × ananassa (duchesne ex weston) duchesne ex rozier* stawberry gr, hs h, cr; cv gc fr gmh 5532 fragaria vesca l.* jangli strawberry sj h, cr; w kn m gmh 5531 mimosaceae r.br. acacia auriculiformis a.cunn. ex benth akashmoni fl, rs, wl t, l; pl all upazilas t sss 3250 a. mangium willd.* mangium gr, wl t, l; pl mp, pr t sss 3255 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 343 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse albizia chinensis (osbeck) merr. chakua koroi hs, rs t, l; pl all upazilas t msi 143 a. lebbeck (l.) benth. kalo koroi gr, rs, wl t, l; w all upazilas t sss 3253 a. lucidior (steud.) i.c.nielsen ex h.hara motor koroi wl t, l; w all upazilas t sss 3252 a. niopoides var. niopoides (spruce ex benth.) burkart; syn. a. richardiana (voigt) king & prain* raj siris gr, rs t, l; pl pg, rs, tg m, t sss 3260 a. odoratissima (l.f.) benth. tetuya koroi rs t, m; pl kn t faa 118 a. procera (roxb.) benth. shada/sil koroi gr, rs t, l; w all upazilas t sss 3254 samanea saman (jacq.) merr.; syn. albizia saman (jacq.) merr.* shirish rs, wl, ml t, l; pl all upazilas t, sd sss 3258 leucaena leucocephala (lam.) de wit* ipil-ipil fl, rs, wl t, l; pl all upazilas fw, t sss 3256 mimosa diplotricha sauvalle* baralajjaboti sj, rs s; w bg m sss 3259 m. pudica l.* lajjaboti gl, fl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m sss 3257 pithecellobium dulce (roxb.) benth.* khoi babla rs t, m; pl kn, pr fr, fw sss 3265 senegalia catechu (l.f.) p.j.h.hurter & mabb.; syn. albizia catechu (l.f.) willd. khoir gr t, m; pl bg m, tn mar 3784 vachellia nilotica (l.) p.j.h.hurter & mabb.; syn. a. nilotica (l.) delile babla fl, rs t, m; w all upazilas gu, m sss 3251 caesalpiniaceae r.br. bauhinia acuminata l. sada kanchon gr, hs t, s; pl tg o mar 3879 b. purpurea l. rakto kanchon gr, rs t, m; pl tg m, o mar 3775 b. variegata l. lal kanchon gr, rs t, s; pl mp, rs m, o mar 3781 cassia fistula l. badarlathi gr, rs t, m; w all upazilas m, o sss 3272 c. javanica l. banson alu gr, rs t, m; pl gc, rs o mar 3877 delonix regia (hook.) raf.* krishnachura rs t, l; pl all upazilas o gmh 5538 peltophorum pterocarpum (dc.) k.heyne* meghsirish gr, rs t, l; pl bg, gc, rs o gmh 5543 saraca asoca (roxb.) willd. ashok gr, wl t, m; pl gc, tg m, o mar 3876 senna alata (l.) roxb.* dadmardan fl, hs, rs s; w kn m sss 3280 s. occidentalis (l.) link* barakalkesunda fl, rs s; w all upazilas m sss 3267 s. siamea (lam.) h.s.irwin & barn.* minjiri fl, gr, wl t, l; pl gc, mp, rs fw, o sss 3261 s. sophera (l.) roxb.* kalkeshunda fl, sj, rs s; w all upazilas m sss 3282 s. tora (l.) roxb.* araj fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m sss 3283 tamarindus indica l.* tetul gr, hs, wl t, l; pl all upazilas fr, t mar 3770 xylia xylocarpa (roxb.) taub. lohakath gr, wl t, l; pl rs t sss 3278 fabaceae lindl. abrus precatorius l. kunch sj liana; w gc, rs m sss 3281 a. pulchellus thwaites shet kunch sj liana; w gc m sss 3277 adenanthera pavonina l. poa chandan gr, wl t, s; pl rs m mar 3771 aeschynomene americana l.* shola fl, wtl h, er; w bg, gc, pg fd, fu mar 3783 a. indica l. bhatshola fl, wtl h, er; w all upazilas gm, m mar 3774 344 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse butea monosperma (lam.) taub. palash gr, rs, wl t, m; pl all upazilas dy, m sss 3279 cajanus cajan (l.) millsp.* arhar fl, hs s; cv all upazilas m, pu sss 3262 clitoria ternatea l.* aparajita gr, hs h, vi; pl all upazilas m, o sss 3276 crotalaria pallida aiton jhunjhuni fl, rs h, er; w bg, mp, tg fb, m sss 3271 dalbergia sissoo dc. sisoo gr, wl, rs t, l; pl mp, pr, pg t sss 3290 desmodium gangeticum (l.) dc. salpani fl, sj, wl s; w all upazilas m sss 3319 d. heterophyllum (willd.) dc. bon motorshuti fl, gl h, pr; w all upazilas fd, m sss 3318 sohmaea laxiflora (dc.) h.ohashi & k. ohashi; syn: desmodium laxiflorum dc. laximodi fl, sj h, pr; w all upazilas m mar 3316 erythrina fusca lour. kanta mandar ml, rs t, s; w gc, rs fn, m sss 3263 e. stricta roxb. rakta mandar ml, rs t, s; w rs, tg fn, m sss 3266 e. variegata l. parijat, mandar fl, ml, rs t, s; w all upazilas fn, m sss 3264 grona triflora (l.) h.ohashi & k.ohashi kodalia fl, gr, rs h, cr; w bg, rs, tg m sss 3270 mucuna pruriens (l.) dc. bilaichimti sj, wl liana; w gc, mp m, po sss 3293 pachyrhizus erosus (l.) urb. shak alu hs h, vi; cv bg, rs ed, m mar 3782 phyllodium pulchellum (l.) desv. jatsalpani wl s; w bg, gc, pr m sss 23275 pongamia pinnata (l.) pierre koroch gr t, m; w rs fu, m sss 3273 pterocarpus indicus willd. padauk gr t, l; pl gc, pr m, o sss 3268 pueraria phaseoloides (roxb.) benth. mugi kunch fl, sj liana; w bg, gc, kn fd sss 3269 sesbania cannabina (retz.) pers. dhonchi fl, hs, ml s; cv rs fb, gm sss 3274 s. grandiflora (l.) pers.* bak phul gr, hs, ml t, s; pl bg fd, vg sss 3284 spatholobus parviflorus (dc.) kuntze polasia lata sj, wl liana; w gc, tg fb, m sss 3285 tephrosia candida (roxb.) dc. bilakshani fl, sj s; w all upazilas gm, m mar 3772 t. purpurea (l.) pers. bannil fl, sj s; w bg gm, m sss 3291 uraria lagopodioides (l.) dc. chakulia sj, wl s; w all upazilas m sss 3286 vicia hirsuta (l.) gray masurchana gl h, pr; w all upazilas fd, m sss 3292 vigna aconitifolia (jacq.) marechal bon mugh fl, sj h, vi; w rs fd sss 3295 v. adenantha (g.mey.) maréchal, mascherpa & stainier bon barbati fl, sj h, vi; w mp, pr, rs fd sss 3299 v. mungo (l.) hepper mashkoli af, rs h, vi; cv all upazilas pu, fd mar 3785 v. radiata (l.) r.wilczek shona mung af h, vi; cv all upazilas pu, fd mar 3793 v. unguiculata (l.) walp. barbati af h, vi; cv all upazilas vg sss 3311 lythraceae j.st.-hil. ammannia baccifera l. dadmari fl, wtl h, er; w bg, gc, pr m gmh 5536 cuphea hyssopifolia kunth* panica gr h, er; pl all upazilas o gmh 5563 lagerstroemia indica l. jarul gr, rs t, s; pl all upazilas o, t gmh 5562 l. speciosa (l.) pers. jarul gr, ml, rs t, l; pl all upazilas o gmh 5595 lawsonia inermis l.* mehedi gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas dy, m gmh 5548 punica granatum l.* dalim, bedana hs s; pl bg, pr, tg dy, fr gmh 5550 rotala indica (willd.) koehne ghurni fl, ml h, er; w bg, mp, pr, rs m gmh 5549 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 345 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse r. rotundifolia (buch.-ham. ex roxb.) koehne dim ghurni fl, ml h, cr; w bg, pr, rs m gmh 5551 thymelaeaceae juss. aquilaria malaccensis lam. agar gr t, m; pl rs, pr, mp pf, t mar 3883 myrtaceae juss. callistemon citrinus (curtis) skeels* bottlebrush gr, rs, hs t, s; pl rs, tg o gmh 5561 eucalyptus camaldulensis dehnh.* eucalyptus gr, rs t, l; pl bg, kn, rs t, o gmh 5552 e. citriodora hook.* maleria gach af, rs, wl t, l; pl kn, mp, tg t, fw mar 3878 psidium guajava l.* peyara gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas fr, m faa 126 syzygium cumini (l.) skeels kalojam rs, wl, hs t, l; w all upazilas fr, t faa 127 s. fruticosum dc. khudi jam sj, wl t, m; w gc fr, m faa 128 s. jambos (l.) alston golapjam gr t, l; pl rs fr, m gmh 5553 s. samarangense (blume) merr. & l.m.perry jamrul gr, hs t, l; pl all upazilas fr mar 3801 onagraceae juss. ludwigia adscendens (l.) h.hara keshordam wtl h, fl; w all upazilas m msi 143 l. hyssopifolia (g.don) exell* panipalong fl, ml, wtl h, er; w bg, pr, rs, tg m msi 144 l. octovalvis (jacq.) p.h.raven atkora af, wtl h, er; w pr, rs fd msi 145 l. perennis l. amorkura fl, gl h, er; w pr m msi 146 combretaceae r.br. combretum indicum (l.) de filipps madhu-manjuri gr, hs liana; pl all upazilas m, o mar 3786 terminalia arjuna (roxb. ex dc.) wight & arn. arjun gr, rs t, l; pl bg, rs, tg m faa 129 t. bellirica (gaertn.) roxb. bohera gr, rs, wl t, l; pl bg, pr, rs, tg m faa 130 t. catappa l. kathbadam gr, rs t, l; pl all upazilas ed, m faa 131 t. chebula retz. horitoki gr, rs, wl t, l; pl all upazilas m faa 132 rhizophoraceae pers. carallia brachiata (lour.) merr. rosh cau sj, wl t, m; w pg fw, m faa 133 cornaceae bercht. ex j.presl alangium chinense (lour.) harms. marleja gach sj, wl t, s; w mp, tg fw, m sss 3308 a. salviifolium (l.f.) wangerin ankura gr, sj t, m; pl bg, pg, rs m, fu gmh 5585 olacaceae r.br. olax scandens roxb. capsul gach sj s, sc; w pr m mar 3800 loranthaceae juss. dendrophthoe falcata (l.f.) etting. bajrangi op s, ps; w all upazilas m faa 134 macrosolen cochinchinensis (lour.) van tiegh. renda op s, ps; w all upazilas m msi 148 scurrula parasitica l. porgacha op s, ps; w mp, pg, rs m gmh 5560 celastraceae r.br. celastrus paniculatus willd. malakangni sj, wl t, m; w rs m, po mar 3908 icacinaceae miers natsiatum herpeticum buch.-ham. ex arn. swarpa nata sj, wl h, vi; w all upazilas ed, m mar 3902 346 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse euphorbiaceae juss. acalypha indica l. muktajhuri fl, gl, rs, sj h, er; w bg, gc, tg m gmh 5591 cnesmone javanica blume chotra sj h, vi; w gc m, po mar 3872 chrozophora plicata (vahl) a juss. ex spreng.* khudiokra fl, gl h, er; w rs m mar 3873 codiaeum variegatum (l.) rumph. ex a.juss.* patabahar gr s; pl all upazilas o mar 3794 croton bonplandianus baill.* nakphul fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m msi 150 c. roxburghii balakrishman saba fl, sj, rs s, sc; w pr, pg fu, m mar 3787 euphorbia cotinifolia l. lal shalu gr, hs, ml s; pl tg m mar 3788 e. hirta l.* dudhia fl, gl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m faa 135 e. milii des moul.* kata mukut gr s; pl rs, tg o mar 3799 e. neriifolia l.* manosha sij gr, hs, ml s; pl gc, pr o, m gmh 5557 e. tithymaloides l.* rangchita gr, hs h, er; w rs m gmh 5553 e. thymifolia l.* swetkerui fl, gl, rs h, pr; w rs m mar 3795 e. tirucalli l. nara sij gr, hs t, s; pl tg m mar 3875 e. trigona mill.* tinkona saje gr, hs s; pl rs, tg fn mar 3884 jatropha curcus l.* bagh bherenda fl, re t, s; w gc, kn, pg bf, fn mar 3885 mallotus philippensis (lam.) müll.arg. sinduri sj, wl s; w all upazilas dy, m sak 3112 m. nudiflorus (l.) kulju & welzen pitali sj, rs, wl t, m; w all upazilas fw, t sak 3114 m. repandus (willd.) müll.-arg. gunti sj, wl s, sc; w gc m mar 3789 m. tetracoccus (roxb.) kurz kumaribura sj, wl t, s; w all upazilas m, fw sak 3115 manihot esculenta crantz* kasava gr, hs t, s; pl gc ed, m sss 3288 ricinus communis l.* bherenda fl, hs s; w all upazilas m, oy gmh 5596 suregada multiflora (a.juss.) baill. ban naringa wl t, s; w all upazilas fw, m mar 3798 phyllanthaceae martinov antidesma acidum retz. multa sj, wl s; w pr ed, m mar 3792 a. bunius (l.) spreng. banshialbuka gr t, s; pl rs, tg ed, m mar 3797 a. ghaesembilla gaertn. khudijam sj, wl t, s; w mp fr, m mar 3791 aporosa octandra (buch.-ham. ex d.don) vickery patkhorolla sj, wl t, s; w gc, mp dy, fw sak 3106 a. wallichii r.br. ex wall. kokra sj, wl t, s; w gc mp, pr, rs fw, m sak 3108 baccaurea ramiflora lour. latkan gr, hs t, m; pl kn, pr, rs fr, m sss 3296 breynia vitis-idaea (burm.f.) c.e.c.fisch. lal sitka sj, wl s, sc; w gc, kn m mar 3796 bridelia tomentosa blume harinhara rs t, s; w bg m mar 3790 flueggea virosa (roxb. ex willd.) royle khaukra sj, wl s; w kn, mp, rs m sss 3294 phyllanthus acidus (l.) skeels* arboroi gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas fr, m sss 3297 p. emblica l. amloki gr, hs, rs t, s; pl all upazilas fr, m sss 3298 p. niruri l.* bhuiamla fl, gl h, er; w all upazilas m mar 3802 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 347 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse p. multilocularis (roxb. ex willd.) müll.arg. pannyaturi sj, ml s; w all upazilas fw, m mar 3884 p. reticulatus poir. chitki fl, sj s; w pr fu, m sak 3107 p. urinaria l. kalochitki fl, gl h, er; w rs, tg m mar 3818 putranjivaceae endl. putranjiva roxburghii wall. putronjiba gr, rs t, l; pl bg, gc, tg m, t gmh 5559 rhamnaceae juss. ziziphus mauritiana lam. boroi gr, hs, wl t, m; w all upazilas fr, fw msi 155 z. oenoplia (l.) mill. bonboroi sj, wl s, sc; w all upazilas fu, m faa 136 leeaceae dumort. leea asiatica (l.) ridsdale bonchalita sj, wl s; w mp, pr, tg m mar 3803 l. acuminata (burm.f.) merr. phupharia sj, wl s; w mp, pr, pg m mar 3804 l. indica merr. kukurjibba sj, wl s; w gc, rs m mar 3805 l. macrophylla roxb. ex hornem. dholshomudro hs, sj, wl s; w pr m mar 3806 l. rubra blume ex spreng. aundabhanga sj, wl s; w kn m mar 3875 vitaceae juss. ampelocissus indica (l.) planch. goalia lata sj, rs, wl h, vi; w all upazilas m sak 3105 a. latifolia (roxb.) planch. angur lata sj, wl h, vi; w all upazilas m msi 156 causonis trifolia (l.) mabb. & j.wen amal lata sj, wl h, vi; w bg, gc, tg fd, m mar 3817 cayratia pedata (lam.) gagnep. goali lata sj, wl liana; w kn m faa 137 cissus adnata roxb. bhatia lata sj, wl h, vi; w mp, pr, pg m msi 157 c. assamica (m.a.lawson) craib amasha lata sj, wl h, vi; w kn m mar 3807 c. javanika dc. dukhu lata sj, wl h, vi; w bg, pg m faa 138 c. quadrangularis l. harjora gr, fl, hs h, vi; w rs, tg m faa 139 c. repanda (wight & arn.) vahl pani lata gr, fl, hs h, vi; w bg, tg m sak 3101 c. repens lam. marmaria pata sj, wl h, vi; w kn, rs m sak 3118 tetrastigma bracteolatum (wall.) planch. ghonti lata sj, wl h, vi; w bg, gc, pg fd, m sak 3104 t. leucostaphylum (dennst.) alston horina lata wl liana; w gc, pr, pg fd msi 158 sapindaceae juss. cardiospermum halicacabum l. lataphutki fl, sj h, vi; w all upazilas m sss 3319 dimocarpus longan lour. ashphal gr, hs t, m; pl all upazilas fr mar 3808 lepisanthes rubiginosa (roxb.) leenh. horina fl, gr, wl t, s; w kn, mp, pr fr, fw gmh 5558 l. senegalensis (poir.) leenh. gotaharina sj, wl t, s; w gc fr, fw gmh 5599 litchi chinensis sonn.* litchu gr, hs t, m; pl all upazilas fr sss 3293 anacardiaceae r.br. lannea coromandelica (houtt.) merr. jiga fl, ml, wl t, s; w all upazilas fn, gu gmh 5554 mangifera indica l.* aam gr, hs, wl t, l; w all upazilas fr, t gmh 5598 spondias dulcis parkinson* belati amrah gr, hs t, l; pl all upazilas fr sss 3287 s. pinnata (l.f.) kurz buno amrah sj wl t, m; w all upazilas fr sss 3320 348 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse meliaceae juss. aphanamixis polystachya (wall.) r.parker pitraj hs, wl t, m; w all upazilas m, oy sss 3289 azadirachta indica a.juss. neem hs, rs, wl t, m; w all upazilas m gmh 5614 khaya anthotheca (welw.) c.dc.* lombu gr, rs t, l; pl all upazilas t mar 3816 melia azedarach l. goranim rs, wl t, m; pl all upazilas t, m gmh 5555 swietenia macrophylla king* bara mehagani gr, hs, rs t, l; pl rs, tg t mar 3815 s. mahagoni (l.) jacq.* mehagani gr, hs, rs t, l; pl all upazilas t mar 3814 toona ciliata m.roem. rangi rata sj, rs, wl t, m; w all upazilas m, t sak 3130 rutaceae juss. aegle marmelos (l.) corrêa bel hs, wl t, m; w all upazilas fr, m sss 3327 citrus aurantiifolia (christm.) swingle* lebu gr, hs s; pl all upazilas fr sss 3300 c. limon (l.) osbeck* gora lebu gr t, s; pl gc, mp fr, pi mar 3809 c. maxima (burm.) osbeck* batabilebu gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas fr gmh 5554 c. reticulata blanco; syn. citrus × aurantium l. kamola gr, hs t, s; pl rs, tg fr mar 3885 clausena heptaphylla (roxb.) wight & arn. pan mouri gr s; pl gc, rs m mar 3813 feronia limonia (l.) swingle ; syn. limonia acidissima l. kadbel, kathibel gr, hs t, m; pl all upazilas fr sss 3305 glycosmis pentaphylla (retz.) a.dc. ashseora fl, sj, wl s; w all upazilas fu, m faa 138 micromelum minutum wight & arn. bankuch sj, rs, wl t, s; w all upazilas m msi 159 murraya koenigii (l.) spreng. curry patta fl, gr, wl t, s; pl all upazilas m, sp mar 3812 m. paniculata (l.) jack kamini gr, rs, wl t, s; pl rs, tg m, o gmh 5556 oxalidaceae r.br. averrhoa bilimbi l.* bilimbi gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas fr gmh 5580 a. carambola l.* kamranga gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas fr gmh 5579 oxalis corniculata l.* amrul gl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m, vg mar 3811 o. debilis kunth* golapi amrul gr, hs, fl h, pr; cv rs, tg o mar 3819 balsaminaceae a.rich. impatiens balsamina l.* dopati gr, rs h, er; pl rs o sss 3301 araliaceae juss. heteropanax fragrans (roxb.) seem. guti suna sj, wl t, s; w gc, kn, tg fw, m gmh 5606 polyscias guilfoylei (w.bull) l.h.bailey* polyscias gr, hs s; pl tg m, o mar 3893 p. scutellaria (burm.f.) fosberg* balbusaya pata gr s; pl tg m, o mar 3820 schefflera arboricola (hayata) merr.* schefflera gr s; pl rs, tg o mar 3835 apiaceae lindl. centella asiatica (l.) urb. thankuni fl, gl h, cr; w all upazilas m, vg sss 3303 coriandrum sativum l.* dhonia fl, gr, hs, h, er; cv all upazilas m, sp mar 3828 daucus carota l.* gajor af h, er, cv all upazilas m, vg msi 160 eryngium foetidum l.* bilatedhoneya gr, hs h, er; w all upazilas m, sp gmh 5573 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 349 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse oenanthe benghalensis benth. & hook.f. bondhonia fl, gl, ml h, er; w all upazilas m sss 3302 o. javanica (bl.) dc. bandhania af, fl, h, er; w gc, rs m mar 3836 apocynaceae juss. adenium obesum (forssk.) roem. & schult.* adenium gr h, er, pl rs o mar 3886 allamanda blanchetii a.dc.* golapi ghonta gr, hs s, sc; pl tg o mar 3896 a. cathartica l.* ghonta phul gr, hs, rs s; pl all upazilas o sss 3304 alstonia scholaris (l.) r.br. chhatim rs, wl t, l; w all upazilas m gmh 5600 calotropis gigantea (l.) w.t.aiton akondo ml, rs s; w bg, mp, pr, rs fb, m sss 3321 carissa carandas l. karamcha gr, hs, sj s; pl all upazilas fr, pg sss 3328 cascabela thevetia (l.) lippold* kolkey phul gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas m, o mar 3821 catharanthus roseus (l.) g.don* noyantara gr, hs, rs h, er; w all upazilas m, o gmh 5572 cerbera odollam gaertn. dahur gr t, m; pl tg m, o mar 3892 dischidia nummularia r.br. knachiba gr, hs h, vi; cv tg o mar 3891 d. oiantha schltr.* dischidia gr, hs h, vi; cv tg o mar 3890 holarrhena pubescens wall. ex g.don kurchi gr, sj, wl t, s; w gc, pr fw, m msi 161 hoya australis r.br. ex traill* hawa lata gr h, vi; cv tg o mar 3901 h. verticillata (vahl) g.don var. verticillata; syn. h. parasitica wall. ex wight hoya lata op h, pr; w bg, mp, pr, pg fb, m faa 140 ichnocarpus frutescens (l.) aiton parallia lata fl, sj, wl liana; w all upazilas fb, m faa 139 nerium oleander l.* rakta karobi gr, hs, rs t, s; pl all upazilas o mar 3822 plumeria alba l.* shada kathgolap gr, hs, rs t, m; pl rs, tg o mar 3823 p. rubra l.* lal kathgolap gr, hs, rs t, m; pl rs o sak 3121 tabernaemontana divaricata (l.) r.br. ex roem & schult. tagar gr, rs, sj, wl s; w all upazilas m, o sak 3132 telosma cordata (burm.f.) merr. kanza lata sj, wl h, vi; w all upazilas m msi 162 solanaceae juss. capsicum annuum l.* morich gr, hs h, er; cv all upazilas sp sss 3329 cestrum diurnum l.* hasnahena hs s; pl gc, rs, ts o gmh 5605 datura stramonium l.* sada dhutra fl, gr, rs s; w all upazilas m sss 3330 nicotiana plumbaginifolia viv.* ban tamak fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m gmh 5601 petunia hybrida e.vilm.* petunia gr, rs h, er; pl gc, rs, tg o sss 3322 physalis angulata l.* futka fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m faa 141 solanum americanum mill.* tit-begun fl, gl, rs h, er; w gc, mp, pr m msi 163 s. lycopersicum l.* tomato af, hs h, pr; cv all upazilas vg msi 164 s. melongena l.* begun gr, hs s; w all upazilas vg sss 3331 s. torvum sw.* gota begun fl, sj, rs s; w bg, kn, mp, tg m, vg sss 3332 s. tuberosum l.* alu af h, pr; cv all upazilas vg msi 165 s. violaceum ortega phutkibegun fl, sj, rs s; w pr m msi 166 s. virginianum l. kantakari fl, rs h, pr; w bg m mar 3829 350 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse convolvulaceae juss. aniseia martinicensis (jacq.) choisy* shadamati fl, gl h, vi; w gc m mar 3830 argyreia capitiformis (poir.) ooststr. bijtarak sj, wl s, sc; w gc m mar 3831 camonea umbellata (l.) a.r. simões & staples* goria lota fl, gl, rs h, vi; w bg, kn, rs m mar 3824 c. vitifolia (burm.f.) a.r.simões & staples korma lata sj, wl h, vi; w tg, gc m mar 3825 evolvulus nummularius (l.) l.* bhui okra fl, gl, rs h, cr; w tg m, sb sss 3333 ipomoea aquatica forssk. kalmi shak fl, wtl h, cr; w all upazilas vg ss 3324 i. fistulosa mart. ex choisy* dhol kalmi fl, ml s; w all upazilas pp, sb mar 3834 i. obscura (l.) ker gawl. kura kalmi gr, rs h, vi; w rs fo, m mar 3832 i. quamoclit l.* kunja lata gr, hs h, vi; pl tg o mar 3833 i. tricolor cav.* morning glory gr, hs h, vi; pl tg o mar 3826 xenostegia tridentata (l.) d.f.austin & staples prasarini gl, rs h, vi; w gc m mar 3827 cuscutaceae dumort. cuscuta chinensis lam. china sharno lata op h, ps; w gc, mp m sss 3335 c. reflexa roxb. sharno lata op h, ps; w all upazilas m gmh 5611 menyanthaceae dumort. nymphoides cristata (roxb.) kuntze chand mala wtl h, fl; w bg, tg ed mar 3837 n. hydrophylla (lour.) kuntze chand mala wtl h, fl; w all upazilas m mar 3838 n. indica (l.) kuntze panchuli mala wtl h, fl; w bg, mp, pr, tg ed, m mar 3895 polemoniaceae juss. phlox drummondii hook.* flox gr, rs h, er; pl kn, rs, tg o mar 3839 hydroleaceae r.br. ex edwards hydrolea zeylanica (l.) vahl kasschera wtl h, pr; w all upazilas m msi 161 boraginaceae juss. heliotropium indicum l.* hatisur fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m faa 142 cordia dichotoma g.forst. bohola, bola sj, wl t, m; w gc, pr, pg gu, m gmh 5612 c. grandis roxb. kum, kalauja rs t, m; w tg m, t mar 3901 verbenaceae j.st.-hil. duranta erecta l.* duranto gr, ml, rs s; pl rs, tg o sak 3129 lantana camara l.* kutuskanta rs, sj, wl s; w bg, gc, tg, tg m sak 3131 lippia alba (mill.) n.e.br. ex britton & p.wilson* pichas-lakri fl, sj s; w all upazilas m faa 143 petrea volubilis l.* nilmoni lata gr s, sc; pl tg o mar 3840 phyla nodiflora (l.) greene vuiokra fl, gl, rs h, cr; w all upazilas m faa 144 lamiaceae martinov anisomeles indica (l.) kuntze. gobura fl, wl h, er; w all upazilas m sss 135 callicarpa arborea roxb. bormala sj t, l; w tg t, fw mar 3969 clerodendrum indicum (l.) kuntze bamunhatti fl, sj, wl s; w all upazilas m msi 162 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 351 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse c. infortunatum l. bhat fl, sj, rs, wl s; w all upazilas m mar 3853 c. splendens g.don* shum bhat gr s; pl rs m mar 3852 coleus scutellarioides (l.) benth.; syn. plectranthus scutellarioides (l.) r.br.* coleus bw, fl, gr, rs h, er; w bg, gc, rs o mar 3846 gmelina arborea roxb. gamari gr, wl t, l; pl all upazilas t msi 163 hyptis capitata jacq.* tata tokma fl, rs, sj h, er; w bg, gc, tg m faa 145 leucas zeylanica (l.) w.t.aiton dondokalosh bw, fl, gl, rs h, er; w kn, pr, rs m faa 147 leonurus sibiricus l. rokto-dron fl, rs h, er; w bg, mp m mar 3847 ocimum basilicum l. bantulsi fl, gr, hs h, er; w mp, kn, pg m sss 3323 o. gratissimum l. ram tulsi gr, hs h, er; w rs, tg m sss 3325 o. tenuiflorum l. kalo tulsi fl, gr, hs h, er; w all upazilas m sss 3326 mesosphaerum suaveolens (l.) kuntze; syn. hyptis suaveolens (l.) poit.* tokma fl, rs, sj h, er; w gc, mp, rs m faa 146 pogostemon auricularius (l.) hassk. aripachuli fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m mar 3887 rotheca serrata (l.) steane & mabb. bamanhati sj, wl s; w pr m gmh 5602 salvia splendens sellow ex schult.* lal sagi gr, rs, hs h, er; pl rs, tg o mar 3841 tectona grandis l.f. shegun rs, wl t, l; pl all upazilas t gmh 5603 vitex negundo l. nishinda fl, sj, rs s; w kn, tg m gmh 5575 v. peduncularis wall. ex schauer goda gr, wl t, m; pl bg t mar 3842 volkameria inermis l.* shia vat gr, rs s; pl all upazilas m, o gmh 5571 plantaginaceae juss. bacopa monnieri (l.) wettst. brahmi shak af, wtl h, pr; w pr, pg m gmh 5610 limnophila aromatica (lam.) merr. pani korpur fl, wtl h, pr; w gc, pr, tg m gmh 5564 l. chinensis (osbeck) merr. anguli ghash fl, wtl h, pr; w gc, pr, tg m gmh 5566 l. heterophylla (roxb.) benth. patakutra wtl h, fl; w gc, mp, pr, tg m, o sss 3334 l. indica (linn.) druce pani karpur wtl h, pr; w kn, pr, tg m msi 163 l. sessiliflora (vahl) blume bamonkeshori wtl h, em; w kn, mp, tg wp faa 148 mecardonia procumbens (mill.) small* micardan fl, gl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m gmh 5570 microcarpaea minima (k.d.koenig ex retz.) merr. lalmanik wtl h, pr; w pr m mar 3897 scoparia dulcis l.* bondhone fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m msi 164 oleaceae hoffmanns. & link jasminum grandiflorum l. jui gr s; pl tg m, o sss 3334 j. multiflorum (burm.f.) andrews chameli gr, hs s; pl rs, tg m, o sss 3345 j. sambac (l.) sol.* beli gr, rs, hs s; pl bg, mp, pr, tg o sss 3346 j. scandens (retz.) vahl paharijui sj, wl s; w bg, pr, rs, tg m sss 3336 nyctanthes arbor-tristis l. sheuli gr, hs t, s; pl all upazilas m, o sss 3337 352 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse linderniaceae borsch, kai müll. & eb.fisch. bonnaya antipoda (l.) druce; syn. lindernia antipoda (l.) alston zai ghas af, fl, hs, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m msi 165 lindernia ciliata (colsm.) pennell bhui papri fl, gl, rs h, pr; w gc, kn, mp m faa 149 l. crustacea (l.) f.muell. chapra ghas fl, gl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m faa 150 l. procumbens (krock.) borbás bakpuspa fl, gl, rs h, pr; w bg, pr, mp, tg m mar 3851 l. rotundifolia (l.) alston tan chapra fl, gl, rs h, pr; w gc, pr, tg m mar 3843 torenia diffusa d.don ushatoren fl, rs h, pr; w gc o mar 3888 t. anagallis (burm.f.) wannan, w.r. barker & y.s.liang; syn. lindernia anagallis (burm.f.) pennell. pani ghas af, fl, wtl h, pr; w all upazilas fd msi 166 mazaceae reveal mazus pumilus (burm.f.) steenis tutra fl, gl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m msi 167 gesneriaceae rich. & juss. aeschynanthus pulcher (blume) g.don* lipstick plant op h, vi; cv tg o mar 3987 acanthaceae juss. andrographis paniculata (burm.f.) nees kalomegh gr, hs, wl h, er; w rs m mar 3848 dicliptera paniculata (forssk.) i.darbysh.; syn. peristrophe paniculata (forssk.) brummitt nashabhanga rs, gl, wl h, er; w bg, rs, tg m mar 3898 ecbolium ligustrinum (vahl) vollesen shial leza fl, wl h, er; w bg, tg m sss 3339 fittonia albivenis (lindl. ex veitch) brummitt* fittunia gr, hs h, pr; cv tg o mar 3889 hemigraphis hirta (vahl) t.anderson.; syn. strobilanthes hirta (vahl) blume buri pan fl, gr, rs h, cr; w all upazilas m msi 168 hygrophila erecta (burm.f.) hochr filareck wtl h, er; w pr, pg, rs m mar 3850 h. auriculata (schumach.) heine kulekhara wtl h, er; w gc, pr m, fd msi 169 h. polysperma (roxb.) t.anderson alai kalai fl, wtl h, pr; w all upazilas m msi 170 justicia adhatoda l. bashok gr, hs, rs s; pl all upazilas m sss 3344 j. diffusa willd. pitapapra fl, sj h, pr; w tg m sss 3352 j. gendarussa burm.f. jagotmadan fl, ml, sj h, er; w all upazilas fn, m gmh 5609 lepidagathis incurva buch.-ham. karuggathis fl, sj, rs h, pr; w mp m gmh 5613 nelsonia canescens (lam.) spreng. paramul fl, gl, wl h, pr; w bg, pr, pg, rs m gmh 5623 phaulopsis imbricata (forssk.) sweet* bhuiba shak sj, wl h, pr; w pr, pg, rs m mar 3844 phlogacanthus tubiflorus nees agni golak gr, sj, wl s; w bg m mar 3846 ruellia tuberosa l.* chotpotey fl, wl h, er; w pr, pg, rs m, o gmh 5608 rungia pectinata (l.) nees pindi fl, gl, rs h, pr; w pr, pg, rs m gmh 5574 thunbergia grandiflora (roxb. ex rottl.) roxb. neel lota ml, sj, wl h, vi; w kn, mp, tg m mar 3849 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 353 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse pedaliaceae r.br. sesamum indicum l. til af h, er; cv gc, kn oy sak 3122 bignoniaceae juss. crescentia cujete l.* paglabel, dugdugi hs t, s; pl mp m, o mar 3855 kigelia africana (lam.) benth. jhar fanoos gr t, m; pl rs o mar 3986 mansoa alliacea (lam.) a.h.gentry* rasun lata gr, hs liana; pl rs, tg o mar 3863 oroxylum indicum (l.) kurz kanidingi sj, wl t, m; w all upazilas m msi 171 stereospermum chelonoides (l.f.) dc. dharmara rs, wl t, m; w rs m, t mar 3889 spathodea campanulata p.beauv.* rudra polash gr, rs t, l; pl pg m, o sss 3351 tecoma stans (l.) juss. ex kunth* sonapati gr, rs t, s; pl pg, rs, tg o sss 3350 lentibulariaceae rich. utricularia vulgaris l. patajhajhi wtl h, sm; w all upazilas m, wp gmh 5565 campanulaceae juss. lobelia zeylanica l. anica lobe fl, rs, sj h, pr; w tg ed mar 3871 rubiaceae juss. canthium parvifolium roxb. chaikhan sj, wl t, s; w mp, pg m mar 3900 catunaregam spinosa (thunb.) tirveng. mankanta sj, wl s; w pr fu, m msi 172 coffea arabica l.* koffee gr s; pl tg bv, m sak 3123 c. benghalensis b.heyne ex schult. bangla koffe sj, wl s; w all upazilas m gmh 5567 dentella repens (l.) j.r.forst. & g.forst. bhuipat fl, gl h, pr; w all upazilas m sss 3347 gardenia jasminoides j.ellis gondhoraj gr, hs s; pl tg m, o mar 3866 ixora coccinea l. rangon gr, rs, hs s; pl pr, tg o sak 3124 i. undulata roxb. palkajui sj, wl s; w tg m sak 3125 meyna pubescens (kurz) robyns sarol moina sj, wl s; w pr m mar 3899 m. spinosa roxb. ex link katai sj, wl s; w pr m mar 3856 morinda angustifolia roxb. pandusi sj, wl s; w bg, kn, mp, pg m mar 3910 m. citrifolia l. noni sj, wl s; w gc, kn, tg m gmh 5576 mussaenda erythrophylla schumach. & thonn.* lal mussenda gr, hs s; pl mp, rs, tg o sss 3348 m. glabra vahl. sada mussenda gr, hs s; pl mp, pr, rs, tg o sss 3349 m. philippica a.rich.* mussenda gr, hs s; pl rs, tg o sss 3340 neolamarckia cadamba (roxb.) bosser kadom rs, wl t, l; w all upazilas o, t sak 3129 oldenlandia corymbosa l.; syn. hedyotis corymbosa (l.) lamk. khet papra af. fl, gl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m msi 175 paederia foetida l. gandhya bhaduli gr, hs, sj h, vi; w mp, pr m msi 177 354 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse richardia scabra l.* taraphul fl, gl, rs, wl h, pr; w bg, tg m sak 3133 scleromitrion diffusum (willd.) r.j.wang; syn. hedyotis diffusa willd., oldenlandia diffusa (willd.) roxb. khetpapra af, fl, gl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m msi 174 spermacoce articularis l.f. baghajangla fl, gl, rs, wl h, pr; w all upazilas m sak 3134 s. exilis (l.o.williams) c.d.adams ex w.c.burger & c.m.taylor* baghajangla fl, gl, rs, wl h, pr; w gc, kn, mp m gmh 5568 asteraceae bercht. & j.presl acmella calva (dc.) r.k.jansen. surjakonnya fl, gr, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m sak 3135 a. paniculata (wall. ex dc.) r.k.jansen surjakonnya fl, gr, rs h, pr; w gc, pr, rs, tg m sak 3136 ageratum conyzoides (l.) l.* fulkuri fl, rs, sj h, er; w all upazilas m sak 3126 blumea densiflora dc. kukurshinga fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m mar 3856 b. clarkei (hook.f.) dc. monchotta fl, rs h, er; w pg, tg m mar 3865 b. lacera (burm.f.) dc. barokukshim fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m sak 2026 b. oxyodonta dc. choto kukurshinga fl, gl, ml h, er; w gc m mar 3870 calendula officinalis l.* calendula gr, rs h, er; pl tg o sak 3131 centipeda minima (l.) a.br. & asch. nakchikni fl, gl, rb h, pr; w all upazilas m mar 3857 chromolaena odorata (l.) r.m.king & h.rob.* bon motmotia gl, rb h, er; w all upazilas m sak 3129 conyza semipinnatifida wall. ex dc. conyza af, fl, rs h, er; w bg, mp m mar 3862 cosmos bipinnatus cav.* cosmos gr, rs h, er; pl rs, tg o gmh 5569 c. sulphureus cav.* cosmos gr, rs h, er; pl mp o sss 3343 cotula hemisphaerica wall. ex benth. & hook.f. nooney shak gr h, pr; w kn, pr m sak 3132 crassocephalum crepidioides (benth.) s.moore teolang fl, rs h, er; w pr m mar 3909 cyanthillium cinereum (l.) h.rob. shialmutra fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m mar 3869 dahlia imperialis roezl ex ortgies* dalia gr, rs h, er; pl tg o sss 3340 eclipta prostrata (l.) l.* kalokeshi fl, gl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas m sss 3341 elephantopus scaber l. hastipadi gl, rs, wl h, cr; w kn, pr, tg m sss 3342 emilia sonchifolia (l.) dc. mechitra fl, gl h, er; w rs m gmh 5625 enydra fluctuans dc. helencha wtl h, pr; w bg, gc, kn m, vg gmh 5607 gerbera jamesonii adlam* jarbera gr, rs h, er; pl rs, tg o gmh 5576 gamochaeta pensylvanica (willd.) cabrera; syn. gnaphalium pensylvanicum wild. kula kolmi af, gr, fl, rs h, er; w gc, pg m mar 3902 gnaphalium polycaulon pers. bara kamra fl, gr, gl h, er; w gc, kn, pr m mar 3868 grangea maderaspatana (l.) poir. nemuti af, fl h, er; w all upazilas m mar 3911 helianthus annuus l. surjamukhi af, hs h, er; cv bg, mp, pr, rs o, oy mar 3912 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 355 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse helichrysum luteoalbum (l.) rchb.; syn. pseudognaphalium luteoalbum (l.) hilliard & b.l.burtt shet lumi af, gr, fl, rs h, er; w tg m mar 3917 hemisteptia lyrata (bunge) fisch. & c.a.mey. ban shimul fl, rs h, er; w bg m mar 3918 launaea asplenifolia hook.f.* tik-chana fl, rs h, er; w rs m sak 3149 mikania cordata (burm.f.) b.l.rob.* assam lata fl, ml, sj h, vi; w all upazilas fd, m sak 3150 parthenium hysterophorus l.* parthenium fl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m, po sak 3154 pluchea paniculata (willd.) karthik. & moorthy; syn. b. membranacea dc. kukurshinga fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m sak 3127 pseudelephantopus spicatus (b.juss. ex aubl.) c.f.baker* kukurjibba ml, rs h, er; w bg, pr m mar 3903 sonchus arvensis l.* chashar fl, gl, rs h, er; w gc, tg m sak 3148 sphagneticola trilobata (l.) pruski* bhringaraj fl, rs h, pr; w rs fd, o sak 3153 synedrella nodiflora (l.) gaertn.* nak phul fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m sak 3147 tagetes erecta l.* gada, ganda gr, hs h, er; pl all upazilas m, o gmh 5581 tridax procumbens (l.) l.* tridhara fl, rs, gl h, er; w all upazilas m gmh 5604 xanthium strumarium l.* ghagra fl, gl h, er; w all upazilas m mar 3867 youngia japonica (l.) dc. youngaful fl, gl, rs h, er; w gc, mp, pr, tg m mar 3869 zinnia peruviana (l.) l.* zinia gr, rs h, er; pl rs o sss 3307 liliopsida batsch alismataceae vent. limnocharis flava (l.) buchenau* letucepana wtl h, er; w gc ap, vg gmh 5616 sagittaria guayanensis kunth kauathukri wtl h, fl; w bg, rs, pr fr, gmh 5629 hydrocharitaceae juss. hydrilla verticillata (l.f.) royle kureli wtl h, sm; w all upazilas ap, ff sss 3338 najas indica (willd.) cham. deshi jhaji wtl h, sm; w bg, pr ap sss 3340 n. minor all. soto jhaji wtl h, sm; w pr ff mar 3907 ottelia alismoides (l.) pers. panikala wtl h, sm; w all upazilas vg gmh 5622 vallisneria spiralis l. patseola wtl h, sm; w kn, gc ap mar 3916 aponogetonaceae planch. aponogeton appendiculatus h.bruggen ghechu wtl h, er; w bg, tg, gc vg sss 3349 potamogetonaceae bercht. & j.presl potamogeton crispus l. pata zhanchi wtl h, sm; w bg, tg, pr, gc vg sss 3341 arecaceae bercht. & j.presl areca catechu l.* supari gr, hs, rs palm, l; pl all upazilas ed, m msi 178 borassus flabellifer l. tal gr, hs, rs palm, l; w all upazilas fb, ju msi 179 calamus tenuis roxb. jalibet gr, rb, sj palm, cl; w bg, mp, pr cc, fr mar 3911 caryota urens l.* chau, ramgua gr, rs palm, l; pl all upazilas m, o sss 3353 chamaedorea elegans mart.* supari palm gr palm, s; pl tg, rs, mp o sss 3354 356 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse dypsis lutescens (h. wendl.) beentje & j.dransf.* areca palm gr, hs palm, s; pl rs, tg, mp o mar 3907 cocos nucifera l.* narikel gr, hs, ml palm, l; pl all upazilas fw, oy msi 180 corypha umbracaulifolia l.* talipot palm gr palm, l; pl rs o mar 3904 elaeis guineensis jacq.* oil palm gr, hs palm, l; pl bg, gc, tg oy gmh 5617 licuala grandis h.wendl.* fan palm gr palm, l; pl tg o mar 3912 livistona chinensis (jacq.) r.br. ex mart.* china palm gr, rs palm, m; pl rs, tg o gmh 5618 phoenix canariensis chabaud* canarian khejur gr palm, s; pl tg o mar 3913 p. sylvestris (l.) roxb. deshi khejur hs, ml, rs palm, l; w all upazilas hc, ju sss 3356 rhapis excelsa (thunb.) henry* gurital, lady palm gr palm, s; pl mp, kn, rs, tg o sss 3357 roystonea regia (kunth) o.f.cook* botol palm gr palm, l; pl rs, tg o sss 3355 pandanaceae r.br. pandanus amaryllifolius roxb. ex lindl.* polao pata hs s; pl mp, pr, kn s, m mar 3916 pandanus furcatus roxb. keya gr t, s; pl rs, tg, pr o, m mar 3915 araceae juss. aglaonema commutatum schoot* aglaonema gr, hs h, er; pl bg, gc, kn, rs o mar 3919 a. costatum n.e.brown aglaonema gr, hs h, er; pl bg, pr o mar 3929 alocasia acuminata schott bish kachu fl, hs, rs, sj h, er; w gc, mp, pr, pg v gmh 5630 a. decipiens schott pai kachu hs, rs, sj h, er; w gc, pr, pg, v sss 3358 a. fornicata (roxb.) schott salu kachu hs, rs, sj h, er; w bg, pr, pg, v, m sss 3359 a. macrorrhizos (l.) g.don* man kachu af, hs h, er; cv all upazilas m, vg mar 3920 amorphophallus paeoniifolius (dennst.) nicolson ol kachu af, hs h, er; cv gc, pr, pg, rs m, vg mar 3921 anthurium andraeanum linden ex andré* flamingo gr, hs h, er; pl rs, tg, mp o sss 3359 caladium bicolor (aiton) vent.* diranga kachu gr, hs h, er; cv rs, tg o mar 3935 c. humboldtii (raf.) schott* caladium gr, hs h, er; pl tg, mp o mar 3936 colocasia esculenta (l.) schott jangli kachu fl, hs, wtl h, er; w all upazilas m, vg msi 182 dieffenbachia seguine (jacq.) schott* segubet fl, gr, hs h, er; w tg, rs, pg o mar 3928 epipremnum aureum (linden & andré) g.s.bunting* money plant gr, hs h, vi; w bg, kn, tg o sss 3367 lasia spinosa (l.) thwaites kata kachu hs, wtl h, er; w gc, kn m, vg gmh 5627 lemna minor l. suji pana wtl h, ff; w mp, pr, pg ff, wp sss 3366 l. perpusilla torr.* khudipana wtl h, ff; w all upazilas ff, wp sss 3363 monstera deliciosa liebm.* makhna gr, hs h, vi; pl rs, tg o mar 3931 pistia stratiotes l. topapana wtl h, ff; w all upazilas m gmh 5622 pothos scandens l. hati lata sj, wl h, cr; w gc, kn m msi 183 spirodela polyrhiza (l.) schleid. tetulipana wtl h, ff; w kn, mp ff, wp mar 3922 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 357 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse syngonium podophyllum schott* podolata kachu fl, gr, hs, sj h, pr; w bg, rd, gc, pr o sss 3360 thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum (schott ex endl.) sakur., calazans & mayo; syn. philodendron bipinnatifidum schott ex endl.* philodendron gr, hs h, er; pl rs, tg o mar 3932 typhonium flagelliforme (lodd.) blume ghechu af, fl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m gmh 5620 t. trilobatum (l.) schott ghet kachu af, fl, rs h, er; w all upazilas m, vg gmh 5621 xanthosoma sagittifolium (l.) schott* dudh kachu fl, wtl h, er; w all upazilas m, vg gmh 5622 commelinaceae mirb. commelina benghalensis l. kanshira af, fl, gl, rs h, cr; w all upazilas m msi 184 c. diffusa burm.f. monayna kanshira af, fl, gl, rs h, cr; w all upazilas fd msi 185 c. longifolia lamk. pani kanchira af, fl, gl, rs h, cr; w all upazilas fd faa 151 cyanotis axillaris (l.) d.don ex sweet beguni kanchira fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas fd gmh 5623 floscopa scandens lour khara gaith fl, gl, rs h, er; w bg, tg fd gmh 5631 murdannia blumei (hassk.) brenan kureli af, fl, rs h, er; w rs, pr, kn fd mar 3933 m. nudiflora (l.) brenan kureli fl, ml, rs h, cr; w all upazilas fd mar 3934 tradescantia pallida (rose) d.r. hunt * begunipindo gr, hs h, er; pl rs, tg o sss 3422 t. spathacea sw. * chamapindo gr, hs h, er; pl rs, tg o sss 3420 t. zebrina bosse * zebrapindo gr, hs h, er; pl rs, tg o sss 3419 cyperaceae juss. cyperus brevifolius (rottb.) hassk.; syn. kyllinga brevifolia rottb. shabuj nirbisa fl, gl, rs h, er; w bg, gc, kn, pr fd faa 152 c. compressus l. chancha fl, gl, rs h, er; w pr, pg fd sss 3361 c. cuspidatus kunth sagarmukhimethi fl, gl, rs h, er; w bg, rs, pr fd mar 3923 c. difformis l. behua ghasi fl, gl h, er; w bg, gc, pr, rs fd sss 3362 c. distans l.f. panimalanga fl, gl, rs h, er; w bg, mp, pr fd msi 187 c. exaltatus retz. tata ghasi af, wl h, er; w gc, kn, pg fd msi 188 c. iria l. barachucha fl, gl, rs h, er; w bg, rs, kn fd, m mar 3924 c. rotundus l. nagarmutha fl, gl, hs, rs h, er; w all upazilas m sss 3368 c. sesquiflorus subsp. cylindricus (nees) t.koyama; syn. kyllinga. odorata subsp. cyllindrica (nees) t.koyama gandho nirbisha af, fl h, er; w bg, rs, pr fd, fo faa 154 eriocaulon quinquangulare l. guri af, fl h, er; w pg, pr fd mar 3934 fimbristylis bisumbellata (forssk.) bubani bisu fimbry fl, ml, wtl h, er; w pg, pr, tg fd sss 3369 f. dichotoma (l.) vahl bara nirbishi fl, gl, rs h, er; w bg, rs, pr fd gmh 5113 f. dipsacea (rottb.) c.b.clarke dipsa fimbry af, fl, gl h, er; w bg, rs, pr fd sss 3364 f. ovata (burm.f.) j.kern marmari af, wl h, er; w mp, kn, pg fd, fo gmh 5619 358 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse f. quinquangularis (vahl) kunth; syn. f. miliacea (l.) vahl. bara javani af, wl h, er; w mp, kn, pr fd, fo sss 3365 f. schoenoides (retz.) vahl. kesari malanga af, wl h, er; w bg, kn, mp fd, fo gmh 5620 kyllinga nemoralis (j.r.forst. & g.forst.) dandy ex hutch. & dalziel subashi nirbisa fl, gl, rs h, er; w bg, rs, pr fd, fo faa 153 schoenoplectiella articulata (l.) lye chechra fl, rs h, er; w bg, kn, pg, rs fd gmh 5632 s. supina (l.) lye supipotpoti ghas fl, rs h, er; w bg, rs, pr fd mar 3937 poaceae barnhart arundo donax l. baranal, goba-nal rb, hs h, er; cv bg, gc, rs, pr fd, m mar 3938 axonopus compressus (sw.) p.beauv.* karpetghas fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas fo gmh 5633 avena sativa l.* jab, oat af, fl h, er; w gc fd, fo mar 3939 bambusa balcooa roxb. borak bans gr, hs bamboo; pl all upazilas bc sss 3370 b. bambos (l.) voss kanta bans gr bamboo; pl pg bc sss 3371 b. nutans wall. ex munro mahal bans gr, hs bamboo; pl all upazilas bc sss 3372 b. tulda roxb. mitinga gr, hs bamboo; pl gc, mp bc gmh 5634 cenchrus americanus (l.) morrone; syn. pennisetum glaucum (l.) r.br., setaria glauca (l.) p.beauv.* kauni, bajra af, fl, rs h, er; w all upazilas fd, fo, m mar 3958 c. purpureus (schumach.) morrone; syn. pennisetum purpureum schumach.* nepier ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; cv all upazilas fd sss 3382 chloris barbata sw. bataghas af, fl, rs h, er; w gc, kn, pr fo gmh 5636 c. virgata sw.* angulighas af, fl, rs h, er; w gc, kn, pg fo gmh 5637 chrysopogon aciculatus (retz.) trin. premkanta fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas hc gmh 5638 c. zizanioides (l.) roberty* bena fl, ml, rb h, er; w all upazilas hc, sb sss 3373 coix lacryma-jobi l. tasbi fl, rb, wtl h, er; w rs, gc, tg ed, fo sss 3374 cymbopogon caesius (hook. & arn.) stapf nilagni sj h, er; w gc fo mar 3942 c. citratus (dc.) staph.* lemon grass, gandhya trino gr, hs h, er; w rs, tg m, sp. mar 3943 cynodon dactylon (l.) pers. durba ghas fl, gl, rs h, pr; w all upazilas fo, sb gmh 5639 cyrtococcum accrescens (trin.) stapf; syn. c. patens var. latifolium (honda) ohwl shonpatacocca fl, gl, rs h, er; w pg, kn, tg fo sss 3376 c. oxyphyllum (hochst. ex steud.) stapf oxycocca ghas fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas fo sss 3375 dactyloctenium aegyptium (l.) willd. kakpaya fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas sb gmh 5640 dendrocalamus giganteus munro* budum bans gr bamboo; pl rs bc, o gmh 5641 digitaria bicornis (lam.) roem. & schult. baikochira fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w pg, kn, tg fo sss 3377 d. ciliaris (retz.) koeler kokjachira fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w bg, kn, pg fo sss 3378 d. sanguinalis (l.) scop. mukurjoli fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w pg, kn, tg fo sss 3379 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 359 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse d. stricta roth trick ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w bg, gc fo mar 3944 d. ternata (a.rich.) stapf nata ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w pg, kn, tg fo mar 3945 echinochloa colona (l.) link.* shama ghas fl, ml, wtl h, er; w bg, pg, kn, tg fo mar 3946 e. crus-galli (l.) p.beauv. barashama ghas fl, ml, wtl h, er; w bg, pg, kn fo, m faa 156 eleusine indica (l.) gaertn. malankuri fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas sb faa 157 eragrostis ciliaris (l.) r.br. chhotochira ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w bg, gc, mp, tg fd mar 3947 e. tremula hochst. ex steud. mulakoni af, fl, rs h, pr; w bg, tg, rs fd gmh 5643 e. unioloides (retz.) nees ex steud.; syn. e. amabilis (l.) wight & arn., e. tenella (l.) p.beauv. chira ghas, koni ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w all upazilas fd sss 3380 hemarthria protensa steud. chaila fl, ml, wtl h, er; w mp fd mar 3948 hygroryza aristata (retz.) nees ex wight & arn. jongli dhan wtl h, er; w all upazilas fd gmh 5644 imperata cylindrica (l.) raeusch.* chhan fl, gl, rs h, er; w all upazilas fd, th gmh 5645 isachne globosa (thunb.) kuntze ball ghas fl, gl, wtl h, er; w tg, rs, pr, pg fd mar 3954 leersia hexandra sw. arali ghas af, fl, wtl h, cr; w all upazilas fd gmh 5646 leptochloa chinensis (l.) nees fulka ghas af, fl, wtl h, er; w tg, rs, pr fd msi 189 l. panicea (retz.) ohwi mona has fl, wtl h, er; w pr fd msi 190 oplismenus burmanni (retz.) p.beauv. jabri durba fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w bg, rs, tg kn fd gmh 5647 o. compositus (l.) p. beauv. gohur gl, ml, rs, sj h, er; w all upazilas fd, m gmh 5648 oryza sativa l.* dhan af, fl, wtl h, er; cv all upazilas ed, fd sss 3381 panicum brevifolium l. bashpati ghas gl, ml h, er; w gc fd sss 3387 p. repens l. dhani ghas fl, gl, rs h, er; w rs fd sss 3386 p. sarmentosum roxb. voya ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w gc, rs fd mar 3949 paspalum conjugatum p.j.bergius.* moisshya ghas gl, hs, rs h, er; w tg, rs, pr fd gmh 5650 p. scrobiculatum l. bishmona ghas fl, gl, rs h, er; w rs, gc, mp fd, fo mar 3953 phragmites karka (retz.) trin ex steud. nal, nalkhagra af, rs h, er; cv all upazilas fd, fo gmh 5651 phyllostachys aurea carrière ex rivière & c.rivière* sarna bash fl, gl, ml, rs bamboo; pl rs fd, fo sss 3385 pogonatherum crinitum (thunb.) kunth nitu bans rb h, er; w pr, mp fd mar 3052 saccharum officinarum l.* akh, ikhhu gr, hs h, er; cv all upazilas fd mar 3955 s. spontaneum l. kash, kaichha fl, gl, ml, rb h, er; w all upazilas fo, sb sss 3388 sacciolepis indica (l.) a.chase sil-tatto ghas wl h, er; w gc, mp, tg fo gmh 5655 s. interrupta (willd.) stapf nardula fl, gl h, er; w bg, pr, pg fo mar 3956 s. myosuroides (r.br.) chase ex e.g.camus musurdolla ghas fl, gl, wtl h, er; w rs, tg fo mar 3957 setaria italica (l.) p.beauv* kaon, kanti fl, gl, ml h, er; w bg, kn, pg, pr fo, m mar 3959 s. flavida (retz.) veldkamp; syn. paspelidium flavidum (retz.) a.camus karin ghas af, fl h, er; w bg, gc, rs fd, fo mar 3951 s. palmifolia (j.koenig) stapf urodhan fl, gl, ml h, er; w rs, kn fo mar 3960 360 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse s. pumila (poir.) roem. & schult. shial leja fl, gl, ml h, er; w mp fo mar 3961 sorghum bicolor (l.) moench.* jowar af h, er; w rs, tg fd, m mar 3962 sporobolus diandrus (retz.) p.beauv. benajoni fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w all upazilas fo sss 3389 s. indicus (l.) r.br.* ailbelajoni ghas fl, gl, ml, rs h, er; w bg, pr, pg fo sss 3390 urochloa distachyos (l.) t.q.nguyen; syn. brachiaria distachya (l.) stapf. cori ghas af, fl, rs h, pr; w bg, kn, pg, rs fo gmh 5635 u. kurzii (hook.f.) t.q.nguyen; syn. brachiaria kurzii (hook.f.) kurokti ghas af, fl, rs h, pr; w bg, rs, pg fo mar 3940 u. panocoides p.beauv., kuri ghas gl, rs h, cr; w br, gc, pr fo, sb sss 3391 u. reptans (l.) stapf; syn. brachiaria reptans (l.) c.a.gardner & c.e. hubb. peraghas af, fl, rs h, pr; w bg, rs, tg fo mar 3941 zea mays l.* bhutta fl, hs h, er; cv all upazilas ed, fd sss 3392 bromeliaceae juss. ananas comosus (l.) merr.* anaras af, hs h, er; cv pr, pg, mp fr sss 3416 cryptanthus bivittatus (hook.) regel* starfish gach gr, hs h, er; cv rs, tg o sss 3417 strelitziaceae hutch. ravenala madagascariensis sonn.* panthopadap gr t, s; pl pg, tg o sss 3393 heliconiaceae nakai heliconia metallica planch. & linden ex hook.* swarga pakhi gr h, er; pl rs, tg o gmh 5652 h. rostrata ruiz & pav.* chingrinomi gr h, er; pl tg o gmh 5653 musaceae juss. musa paradisiaca l.* kachkola fl, hs, ml h, er; w all upazilas fr, vg msi 191 zingiberaceae martinov alpinia calcarata (haw.) roscoe* choto elachi gr h, er; cv gc m, sp sss 3394 a. nigra (gaertn.) burtt tara rb, wtl h, er; w all upazilas m sss 3395 curcuma aromatica salisb. ban halud fl, rs, wl h, er; w kn, pr, tg m sss 3396 c. longa l.* halud fl, hs h, er; cv all upazilas sp sss 3397 c. zedoaria (christm.) rosc. sathi fl, rs, sj, wl h, er; w all upazilas m sss 3398 elettaria cardamomum (l.) maton* soto elachi gr, hs h, er; pl mp, pg sp sss 3399 hedychium coronarium j.könig* dolon chapa gr, hs, rs h, er; cv kn, tg, tg o sss 3400 zingiber officinale roscoe* ada fl, hs h, er; cv all upazilas sp sss 3401 z. zerumbet (l.) roscoe ex sm. mohaboribotch fl, hs, sj h, er; w pr, tg m sss 3402 costaceae nakai hellenia speciosa (j.koenig) s.r.dutta; syn. cheilocostus speciosus (j.koenig) c.d.specht keomul fl, rb, rs h, er; w rs, mp, tg m gmh 5657 costus woodsonii maas* lipistic plant gr h, er; cv bg, rs, tg o gmh 5658 cannaceae juss. canna glauca l.* holud kolabati gr, hs h, er; cv tg o sss 3304 c. indica l.* kolabati gr, hs, rs h, er; w all upazilas m, o sss 3303 a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 361 scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse marantaceae r.br. ctenanthe oppenheimiana (é.morren) k.schum.* never never plant gr h, er; cv tg o mar 3963 maranta arundinacea l.* barli fl, gr, rs h, er; w gc, mp, pr ed, m gmh 5659 schumannianthus benthamianus (kuntze) veldkamp & i.m.turner pati-pata hs, wtl s; w gc, mp, kn, pg hc gmh 5660 pontederiaceae kunth eichhornia crassipes (mart.) solms* kachuripana wtl h, ff; w all upazilas fo gmh 5661 monochoria hastata (l.) solms bara nukha wtl h, em; w all upazilas m sss 3405 m. vaginalis (burm.f.) c.presl nukha wtl h, em; w all upazilas m mar 3964 amaryllidaceae j.st.-hil. allium cepa l.* piyaj hs h, er; cv all upazilas sp mar 3965 a. sativum l.* rashun hs h, er; cv all upazilas sp mar 3966 crinum asiaticum l. shukdarshan gr, hs h, er; pl bg, kn, rs m, o sss 3406 c. americanum l.* shukdarshan gr, hs h, er; pl bg, pr, pg m, o sss 3407 c. latifolium l. baro shukdarshan gr, hs h, er; pl bg, kn, rs m sss 3408 scadoxus multiflorus (martyn) raf.* agnigolock gr, hs h, er; cv tg m, o sss 3409 zephyranthes minuta (kunth) d.dietr.* golapi ghasful gs, hs h, er; pl all upazilas o sss 3421 asparagaceae juss. agave americana l.* shatabdi udvid gr, hs h, er; cv rs, tg o mar 3967 a. angustifolia haw.* agachokha gr, hs s; pl tg o mar 3968 a. vivipara l.; syn. a. cantula roxb.* jarauj agav gr, hs h, er; cv tg o mar 3970 asparagus racemosus wild. shatamuli gr, hs, sj h, vi; w rs, tg, kn m mar 3971 aspidistra elatior blume* shukdarshan gr, hs h, er; pl bg, pr, pg m, o mar 3972 cordyline fruticosa (l.) a.chev.* agnishwar gr, hs h, er; cv rs, mp, pr m mar 3973 chlorophytum comosum (thunb.) jacques spider plant gr h, er; cv tg o mar 3974 dracaena angustifolia (medik.) roxb. chikna drakan gr, hs h, er; cv rs, tg o mar 3975 d. braunii engl.* dracaena gr, hs h, er; cv rs, tg o mar 3980 d. fragrans (l.) ker gawl.* gondhi drakan gr, hs s; pl tg o mar 3976 d. surculosa lindl.* dracaena gr, hs h, er; cv tg o mar 3977 d. reflexa lam.* dracaena gr, hs h, er; cv tg o mar 3979 d. reflexa var. angustifolia baker; syn. dracaena marginata lam.* dracaena gr, hs h, er; cv rs o mar 3978 d. trifasciata (prain) mabb.; syn. sansevieria trifasciata prain* sutahara gr, hs h, er; cv rs, tg o sss 3410 furcraea foetida (l.) haw.* gandhohemp gr, hs s; pl tg o mar 3981 f. tuberosa (mill.) aiton fil.* century gr, hs s; pl rs, tg o mar 3982 yucca aloifolia l. yucca gr s; pl tg o sss 3411 362 khan et al. scientific name bangla name habitat habit distribution use rse colchicaceae dc. gloriosa superba l. ulatchandal gr, hs, wl h, vi; w rs m sss 3412 hypoxidaceae r.br. curculigo orchioides gaertn. talmuli sj, wl h, er; w pr m mar 3983 xanthorrhoeaceae dumort. aloe vera (l.) burm.f.* ghritakumari gr, hs h, er; cv pg, rs, tg m, o sss 3413 smilacaceae vent. smilax ovalifolia roxb. kumarika sj, wl h, vi; w pr, tg m sss 3414 dioscoreaceae r.br. dioscorea alata l. chupri alu hs, sj h, vi; w all upazilas vg gmh 5667 d. bulbifera l. banalu hs, rb, sj h, vi; w pr, pg, kn m gmh 5668 d. esculenta (lour.) burkill mou alu gr, sj, wl h, vi; cv bg, gc vg gmh 5669 d. pentaphylla l. jhum alu gr, sj, wl h, vi; w bg, gc, pr, mp m, vg gmh 5670 orchidaceae juss. bulbophyllum lilacinum ridl. gota parchallow gr h, ep; w tg o gmh 5671 cymbidium aloifolium (l.) sw. tosabak gr h, ep; w tg m, o sss 3415 dendrobium anceps sw. asiriam gr h, ep; w tg m, o gmh 5672 d. aphyllum (roxb.) c.e.c.fisch. fasiariam gr h, ep; w tg m, o gmh 5673 geodorum densiflorum (lam.) schltr. sankhamani wl h, er; w pr m gmh 5674 rhynchostylis retusa (l.) blume kopou phool hs, wl h, ep; pl pg m, o gmh 5675 vanda tessellata (roxb.) hook. ex g.don rasna gr, hs h, ep; w pr, pg m gmh 5676 zeuxine nervosa (wall. ex lindl.) benth. ex trimen nervoxine orchid fl, wl h, er; w pr m gmh 5677 notes: habitat: bwon brick wall, flfallowland, glgrassland, grgarden, hshomestead, mlmarginal land, op on plant, rbriver bank, , rsroadside, sjscrub jungle, wlwoodland, wtlwetland; habit: hherb, sshrub, t tree, crcreeper, cvcultivated, ememergent, er-erect, fffree floating, flfloating with rooted, l-large, m-medium, pl planted, prprostrate/procumbent, ps-parasite, smsubmerged, s-small, sc-scandant, vi-vine, wwild; distribution: bg badarganj, gcgangachara, knkaunia, mpmitha pukur, pgpirgachha, prpirganj, rsrangpur sadar, tgtaraganj; use: apaquarium plant, bc-bamboo crafts, bvbeverage, cccane crafts, cocosmetics, dydye yielding, ededible, fbfibre, fdfodder, fffish feed, fnfence, foforage, frfruit, fufuel, fwfuel wood, gmgreen manure, gu gum, hchandicrafts, jujuice, mmedicine, mumulching, oornamental, oyoil yielding, pcpickle, pfperfume, pppaper pulp, popoisionous, pupulse, sbsoil binder, sdshade providing, spspice, ttimber, tntannin, vg vegetable, wpwater purify; origin: *exotic; syn.-synonym; rse: faafakhruddin ali ahmed, gmhgazi mosharof hossain, marmd. abdur rahim, msimd. shariful islam, saksaleh ahammad khan, sssshayla sharmin shetu. the taxonomic enumerations of angiospermic species of mithapukur, pirgachha and kaunia upazilas, completed by this study (fig. 5), are somewhat lower than those of belabo and shibpur upazilas, nearly similar to those of monohordi, narshingdi sadar and polash upazilas of narshingdi district (khanam et al., 2020; khanam and khan, 2020) and satkhira sadar upazila (hossain et al. 2021) reported previously, but higher than the accounts on angiospermic species of other upazilas cited earlier. rangpur district seems to be a vulnerable area of northern bangladesh for housing the plant resourcesand diversity. drought, river bank erosion, poor regeneration of many species, different anthropogenic activities, and lack of proper management programs etc. are the critical problems a preliminary taxonomic study on the flora of rangpur 363 and threats for degradation and destruction of its habitats and ecosystems, and ultimately for its flora and biodiversity. during this study, the species andrographis paniculata, berrya cordifolia, celastrus paniculatus, cordia grandis, fragaria vesca, geodorum densiflorum, gloriosa superba, heteropanax fragrans, miliusa velutina, olax scandens, rhynchostylis retusa and zeuxine nervosa were found as rare in the rangpur district area. the taxonomic data provided by this study on the flora of rangpur district, might be useful as an important guiding database to track the trend of changes in the floristic composition, plant species diversity, vegetation and status of threatened plant species in course of time, especially due to different natural and anthropogenic threats, contribute in undertaking appropriate biodiversity conservation initiatives and plant resource-based sustainable socioeconomic development, and help in estimating the impacts of climate change on the flora and biodiversity of this area. this study highly recommends to adopt and implement adequate measures for conservation, improvement and sustainable use of this precious flora, to minimize the existing threats and degradation of the natural habitats throughout the area, to conduct regular taxonomic inventories, monitoring studies and research programs on the flora and plant diversity of this area, and to execute sufficient plantation programs using appropriate indigenous species with effective management plans and strategies. acknowledgements the authors express their sincere thanks to grant for advanced research in education (gare), banbeis, for funding this study. the authors are grateful to all people who were directly or indirectly involved in 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